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remove this dependency creating a dummy protocol like this:
So our delightful API could become something like:
This could look like a silly move but it could lead us to share this fetch API, for instance, with Core Data Entities.
In that case all we need is to create
and that it’s. Also the Core Data Entities could be used with our new API. It’s silly to say but this is an interesting first step to create a shared API across multiple persistence frameworks.
Create an High Level API:
Now that we are convinced that we can create a more abstracted API, let’s do it!
Here we go, everything appears quite easy so far. Basically we have built basic CRUD operations to:
create an empty object
save an object
update an object
delete an object / delete all objects of a certain type
retrieve objects based on the type.
If you are wondering what Sorted is, it’s just a struct like this one:
Move to the concrete implementation:
Now we are ready to provide a concrete implementation based on Realm. The first step is to configure a new RealmStorageContext that adopts our StorageContext. The first stage is to inject in some way a configuration within the concrete Storage.
As you may know we can instantiate Realm to work with the concrete database (Realm.Configuration.defaultConfiguration) or to be stored in memory (setting configuration.inMemoryIdentifier). For this reason I have extended the StorageContext protocol to include a quite abstract:
And the implementation of this init could be something like:
Now, once the RealmStorageContext is instantiated, we have a backed Realm object to work with for our operations.
The latest step is to implement concrete CRUD operations specifically for Realm:
write and update operations
delete operations
fetch operation
Test time!
Well now, in order to understand the usage of this code, I’ve written few unit tests that use the RealmStorageContext:
Instead of focusing on the tests details what I want to underline here is that basically we are testing the persistence layer without importing RealmSwift, so we can assume that the dependency is finally broken 🎉
PS: you can find the test suite here (link).
Create Storage Context Stubs:
The latest step the can justify the presence of this layer is that if a component uses this client, we are able to test the component without the concrete database implementation.
Let’s consider that we have this class in which dummyMethod returns true if the method fetches more 10 objects, otherwise it returns false.
In order to test that method we are going to create a stub for StorageContext in this way:
And finally we can test that method:
Conclusion:For over a century Coke and Pepsi have been at each other's throats in a constant struggle for a bigger piece of the billion-dollar soda market.
Along the way the companies have picked up a slew of loyalists and fans, adamant that their cola reigns supreme. While there are countless spots online to check out the history of either company we decided to put together an interactive infographic, putting all cola war highlights together in one spot.
This infographic is extremely large, has multiple roll-overs and click-able regions. Depending on the speed of your connection this infographic might take a while to load, and could feel sluggish when you first start using it. If you run into any issues, have any questions or just want to add your opinion to the mix drop a comment at the bottom of the post.
Note: This infographic is comprised of images, video and code. You cannot simply save the image and re-post it on your blog. To share this image you must link to to http://www.cnntees.com/infographics/coke-vs-pepsi/, or use the embed code found at the bottom of the page.
To embed this infographic select all the text below then hit Ctrl-C to copy.
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This infographic created by CnnTees. Read the original blog here.The Mac has plenty of games, but it'll always get the short end of the stick compared to Windows. If you want to play the latest games on your Mac, you have no choice but to install Windows...or do you?
There are actually a few ways you can play Windows games on your Mac without having to dedicate a partition to Boot Camp or giving away huge amounts of hard drive space to a virtual machine app like VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Here are a few other options for playing Windows games on your Mac, without the hassle or expense of having to install Windows.
The Wine Project
The Mac isn't the only computer whose users have wanted to run software designed for Windows. More than 20 years ago, a project was started to enable Windows software to work on POSIX-compliant operating systems like Linux. It's called The Wine Project, and the effort continues to this day. OS X is POSIX-compliant, too (it's Unix underneath all of Apple's gleam, after all), so Wine will run on the Mac too.
Wine is a recursive acronym that stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. It's been around the Unix world for a very long time, and because OS X is a Unix-based operating system, it works on the Mac too.
As the name suggests, Wine isn't an emulator. The easiest way to think about it is as a compatibility layer that translates Windows Application Programming Interface (API) calls into something that the Mac can understand. So when a game says "draw a square on the screen," the Mac does what it's told.
You can use straight-up Wine if you're really technically minded. It isn't for the faint of heart, although there are instructions online and some kind souls have set up tutorials, which you can find using Google. Wine doesn't work with all games, so your best bet is for you to start searching for which games you'd like to play and whether anyone has instructions to get it working on the Mac using Wine.
Download: Wine
CrossOver MacA former lead ship in a class of Royal Navy’s mine hunting vessels has joined NATO’s standing mine countermeasures group as an Estonian Navy vessel.
Estonian minehunter EML Admiral Cowan (M313) was formerly known as HMS Sandown and served the Royal Navy from 1989 to 2005.
Sandown and two more vessels in the class were decommissioned in 2005 and 2006 and sold to the Estonian Navy. The vessels were delivered to Estonia in 2007 after undergoing a refit in Scottland.
EML Admiral Cowan was named after the British Royal Navy admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan who helped Estonia and Latvia fight for independence from the Russian Empire. Admiral Cowan commanded a light cruiser squadron that was sent to the Baltic in 1919 to help keep sea routes open for the two countries.
EML Admiral Cowan is now joining NATO’s SNMCMG1, a multinationally formed maritime rapid response mine counter-measures unit reporting directly to Commander MARCOM that provides NATO with a capability to provide mine counter-measures in peacetime, war or armed conflict.Coach Chip Kelly said Colin Kaepernick will not play in Saturday’s preseason game against the Broncos, but the hope is to have the 49ers quarterback practice in full next week and play against the Packers on Aug. 26.
Kaepernick did some light throwing on a side field Wednesday as he works his way back from muscle fatigue in his right shoulder. He gave his arm a more rigorous workout Thursday, making approximately 45 throws – including 19 from 25 yards out – to an equipment manager.
As has been the case over the past week, he did not attempt any throws during formal drills. When he took snaps in team sessions, it was on running plays.
“In talking to him, he says he feels really good about it,” Kelly said. “But we don’t want to throw him back out there and have a setback right now.”
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Kelly said the plan is for newly acquired Christian Ponder to play against Denver on Saturday. The first two quarterbacks to play will be Blaine Gabbert and rookie Jeff Driskel.
Kaepernick, meanwhile, likely will rejoin practice when the 49ers return to Santa Clara.
“He’s involved in every discussion,” Kelly said. “It’s not like we’re telling him what to do because he’s the one who ultimately knows how he feels. But it’s like a lot of times when you have a muscle injury, all of a sudden, ‘Hey, I feel great,’ and then all of a sudden you hear the guy reinjures it because they pushed themselves a little bit too far. So we want to err on the side of caution and make sure that he’s 100 percent as we get rolling here.”
Et cetera – Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch was wearing sunglasses Thursday after getting poked in the eye during Wednesday’s joint practice with the Broncos. Lynch, who was involved in a brief melee Wednesday, did not practice Thursday. Several more skirmishes broke out in Thursday’s joint session.
▪ Wide receivers Bruce Ellington (ankle) and DeAndre Smelter (hamstring) did not practice. Ellington suffered the injury during last Sunday’s game against Houston. Smelter has not practiced in full for more than a week. He dealt with a hamstring injury in the spring, too.
▪ Arik Armstead (shoulder) did not practice but went through a conditioning session with the team’s strength coach. That signals he will return to practice soon.
SHARE COPY LINK The 49ers and Broncos scrimmaged Wednesday in Englewood, Colo.Looking for news you can trust?
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I grew up in Pasadena, California, attending school with the sons and daughters of fathers (yup, in those days it was only dads) who worked at Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These parents of my classmates were my first encounter with technologists, and they were, to a man, good liberals. These were the kind of folks who would have Pete Seeger do a benefit concert for our school. They voted New Deal Democratic; they were the grateful recipients of all the money the U.S. government had poured into science, post-Sputnik; they had a sense that the government could do and had done good things, from building Boulder Dam to pulling off the Manhattan Project to putting a man on the moon. And, as beneficiaries of government largesse in ways they were well aware of — from the GI Bill to interest deductions for home mortgages to the vast expansion of government funding for R&D — they felt society in general, as manifested in the actions of the government, had an obligation to help everyone in it.
They were also fully aware of the positive value of government regulation, from the reliability of the FDA-mandated purity of pharmaceutical-grade chemicals they used in their research to the enforcement of voting rights for African-Americans in the South. And what with the very visible air quality problems in the Los Angeles basin (their government-funded studies had recorded the smog death of trees in the encircling San Gabriel Mountains by the 1960s), they were able to see the benefits of regulation in the local ban on trash incineration, the regulation of refinery effluents in the L.A. area, and the implementation of federally stipulated smog devices on automobiles.
So it came as a shock, when, 20 years later, I stumbled into the culture of Silicon Valley (my first job at a software company, 1981; first job at a computer magazine, 1983; attendance at the first commercial conference devoted to the Internet, 1987; token feminist/humanist/skeptic on the masthead of Wired magazine, 1993). Although the technologists I encountered there were the liberals on social issues I would have expected (pro-choice, as far as abortion; pro-diversity, as far as domestic partner benefits; inclined to sanction the occasional use of recreational drugs), they were violently lacking in compassion, ravingly anti-government, and tremendously opposed to regulation.
These are the inheritors of the greatest government subsidy of technology and expansion in technical education the planet has ever seen; and, like the ungrateful adolescent offspring of immigrants who have made it in the new country, they take for granted the richness of the environment in which they have flourished, and resent the hell out of the constraints that bind them. And, like privileged, spoiled teenagers everywhere, they haven’t a clue what their existence would be like without the bounty showered on them. These high-tech libertarians believe the private sector can do everything — but, of course, R&D is something that cannot by any short-term measurement meet the test of the marketplace, the libertarians’ measure of all things. They decry regulation–except without it, there would be no mechanism to ensure profit from intellectual property, without which entrepreneurs would not get their payoffs, nor would there be equitable marketplaces in which to make their sales.
..... "flaming" libertarians.....
When I was asked to participate in a survey on the politics of the Net, the questions presumed respondents were libertarian, but charitably gave space for outdated contrarian views. When Byte magazine’s former West Coast bureau chief wrote an editorial mildly advocating government subsidy for basic Net access for elementary schools and public libraries, the only response he got was outraged flames from libertarians.
And when Self magazine started an online gun control conference on The Well, an electronic bulletin board and Internet gateway smack in the middle of tree-hugging, bleeding-heart-liberal, secular-humanist Northern California, opinions ranged from mildly to rabidly anti-gun control. This passionate hatred of regulation, so out of whack with the opinions of the man and woman on the street in my own bioregion/demographic, showed me how different a place the online, high-tech world is from the terrestrial community to which it is nominally tethered — even an online world with countercultural roots as strong as those of The Well.
Mike Godwin, staff counsel for the online watchdog group Electronic Frontier Foundation, has written in Wired magazine, “Libertarianism (pro, con, and internal faction fights) is the primordial net.news discussion topic. Anytime the debate shifts somewhere else, it must eventually return to this fuel source.” In a decentralized community where tolerance and diversity are the norm (no one questions online special-interest chat rooms devoted to consensual S&M or Wiccan nature mysticism or…), it is damned peculiar that there seems to be no place for political points of view other than the libertarian.
..... true stories.....
I think this all very strange, because, of course, I know that without the government, there would be no Internet (majorly funded by the government until recently).
Further, there would be no microprocessor industry, the fount of Silicon Valley’s prosperity (early computers sprang out of government-funded electronics research). There would also be no major research universities cranking out qualified tech workers: Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon get access to incredibly cheap state-of-the-art equipment plus R&D, courtesy of tax-reduced academic-industrial consortia and taxpayer-funded grants and fellowships.
But libertarianism thrives in high-tech, nonetheless. I spent a week at the plushy Lake Tahoe getaway of a Silicon Valley guy who’s made it. We argued and butted heads with great civility — but perhaps the most Found moment came when he complained about how the local Tahoe building code wouldn’t let him alter the silhouette of his megachalet. I nodded sympathetically, yet pointed out that in Los Angeles, where there were no such planning guidelines until recently, plutocrats often tore down existing structures and rebuilt monstrosities that take up the entire lot, blocking their neighbors’ views. He looked at me, puzzled; he hadn’t considered that possibility. Obviously, he had never heard of the tragedy of the commons, where one sheep too many consuming more than its share of common resources destroys the whole; nor had he thought much about what participating in a community means.
Of course, I was also thinking about the fine system of interstate highways that made his trip from Silicon Valley to the Sierra a breeze; the sewage and water-treatment facilities that allowed his toddlers to drink safely out of the tap in his kitchen; the fabric contents-and-care labels on the sheets and towels freshly laundered for each new houseguest; and the environmental regulations that keep Tahoe the uniquely blue, gorgeous, and safe refuge it is — precisely the lateral, invisible, benign effects of the government he constantly railed against.
..... i got mine.....
The nexus of libertarianism and high-tech in the Silicon Valley will come to matter more and more, because it involves lots and lots of money (companies with valuations rivaling General Motors’). And it’s a wealth of tremendous self-insulation: I routinely attend parties peopled by digerati in their 20s and early 30s who, in addition to their desirable arrogance of youth, have a frightening invulnerability (their skills in demand, the likelihood of cashing out high).
One of these, a friend newly venture-funded to capitalize on Net advertising, commented that the economy was basically in good shape (after all, no one she knew was struggling) — and then wondered why, when she ran a help wanted ad for an office manager in the San Francisco Chronicle, she got so many applicants, so many of whom had advanced degrees and employment histories of authority and responsibility.
Never mind people like my sister, who, with her biology degree from Stanford and master’s in public health, has rarely found a steady job with benefits in the last 10 years, and has at times resorted to desperation moves such as selling flowers at subway stations to prevent foreclosure on her house (wrong gender; wrong skill set: teaching, public health, environmental concerns — just the kind of “middle manager/government bureaucrat” so despised by technolibertarians).
Or my ex-boyfriend, the English professor (B.A. honors, University of Chicago; Ph.D., Cornell), who was lucky to find a job where he earned about what I made at my first technical writing gig 15 years ago (wrong skill set: all that subjective liberal-arts-flake crap no one cares about. After all, anyone can publish on the Web, and, as MIT Media Lab’s Archduke Nicholas Negroponte points out, what’s the future of books anyway?).
And what would the technolibertarians make of the New York Times front-page series on the chronic, structural unemployment of masses of skilled middle-class workers, folks theoretically immune to being rendered redundant in the ’90s? Or the heartbreaking stories I read about blue-collar workers (haven’t they had the good taste to become extinct by now?) in the house organ of the United Auto Workers (the National Writers Union is part of the UAW). I imagine the technolibertarians thinking, “Well, the blue-collar miscreants, it’s their own damned inertial Second Wave thinking that’s got them unemployed.” But what would they say about the white-collar jobless, who, no doubt, were working with computers?
..... the true revenge of the nerds.....
As surely as power follows wealth, those who make money decide that society, having rewarded their random combination of brains and luck in one sphere, should pay attention to them in another. And so, high-technocrats are beginning to try to influence the world beyond VDTs.
But what will result if the people who want to shape public policy know nothing about history or political science or, most importantly, how to interact with other humans? Programmers, and those who know how to make money off them, mostly find it easier to interact in e-mail than IRL (in real life), and are often not good at picking up the cues, commonplaces, and patterns of being that civilians use to communicate, connect, and operate in groups.
The convergence between libertarianism and high-tech has created the true revenge of the nerds: Those whose greatest strengths have not been the comprehension of social systems, appreciation of the humanities, or acquaintance with history, politics, and economics have started shaping public policy. Armed with new money and new celebrity — juice — they can wreak vengeance on those by whom they have felt diminished.
Implicit is their assumption that those who excel by working with the tangible and not the virtual (e.g., manufacturing and servicing actual stuff) are to be considered societally superfluous. Technolibertarians applaud the massive industrial dislocations taking place in affluent North America, comparable to the miseries of the Scottish enclosures or the Industrial Revolution.
Compare my father’s generation: My father succeeded through his era’s version of the arriviste drive so celebrated by technolibertarian theorists such as George Gilder, Silicon Valley’s John Knox. One of eight children in an immigrant family, second in his class in medical school when there were still quotas on Jews (the usual story), my father, like the majority of his age-cohorts, never had contempt for those who couldn’t find a way to work the system as he had. He believed in social safety nets and as much government regulation (for consumer health and safety, for example) as possible to aid ordinary people. It would have made no sense to him to adopt the stance of today’s technolibertarian nouveau riche (or even more scarily, wannabe nouveau riche). And in this he was not exceptional.
..... the ultimate escape.....
It’s not clear how all this evolved: a combination, no doubt, of the money to be made by developing technology in the private sector, the general worldwide resurgence of libertarianism, maybe some previously undocumented deleterious effect of the toxic byproducts of semiconductor manufacturing that have leached into the aquifers below Sunnyvale. But there are some worrisome consequences to consider as technology touches more and more people’s lives — and those who rule are increasingly the ones who understand it, own it, create it, and profit by it.
Protecting privacy.
Technolibertarians rightfully worry about Big Bad Government, yet think commerce unfettered can create all things bright and beautiful — and so they disregard the real invader of privacy: Corporate America seeking ever-better ways to exploit the Net, to sell databases of consumer purchases and preferences, to track potential customers however it can. Skimping on philanthropy.
In Silicon Valley and its regional outposts (Seattle, Austin), it’s not even a joke, not even an embarrassment, that there’s so little corporate philanthropy, except where enlightened self-interest can come to bear (donating computers to schools, contributing to a local computer museum). High-tech employees rank among the lowest of any industry sector for giving to charity — especially dismaying given their education, job security, lifetime earnings potential, and annual income. It’s an issue of culture: Unlike other educated professionals, who see good works and support of the arts as symbols of having arrived or as payback to the society that has treated them well, the average geek espouses a world where the only art would be that which has withstood the test of the marketplace (Dong Kingman museums? Leroy Nieman traveling exhibitions?), and where there is no value to be derived in experiencing a painting in person (that is, in a museum) as opposed to on CD-ROM. And since these guys honestly can’t perceive the difference between a Lichtenstein and some soi-disant computer art exercise in primary-colored fractals, courtesy of Kai’s Power Tools — they don’t see anything out there worth subsidizing. A total sweetheart of my acquaintance, the smart and aesthetically sensitive creative director of a hot hot hot Web design studio, not only hadn’t read The Magic Mountain, he hadn’t heard of it. Nor of its author, Thomas Mann, a Nobel laureate and one of the great novelists of the century, an early multivoiced postmodernist if ever there were one. And perish the thought that anyone should need the services of an AIDS hospice, without the benefit of a few thousand shares of founders’ stock in Intel or Cisco to cash in. Gutting the environment.
High-tech also has tremendously negative environmental impacts: Manufacturing its plastics and semiconductors is a remarkably toxic and resource-depleting affair. No surprise, then, that high-tech companies increasingly manufacture them in countries without environmental and worker safety regulations, or in U.S. locales where these regulations are more lax. This way, the guys in area codes 415 and 408 who like to go telemarking in the Shasta Trinity Alps or bouldering in the Desolation Wilderness don’t have to confront the opportunity cost of their wealth: the poisoning of the world due to the ever-expanding reach of industrialization. And they never consider that one of the reasons the whole world (including the immigrant engineers working in Silicon Valley) wants to be here is that environmental regulation and a culture of government-mandated conservation (however imperfectly executed) have made the United States probably the safest, healthiest, and, in some ways, most pristine place on earth. Ignoring cities. The anti-communitarian outlook is an outcropping of how suburban an industry high-tech is. The quintessential edge-city business, high-tech celebrates people operating as monads, free agents who work in industrial parks and aspire, when they cash out in an initial public offering, to telecommute from horse country, puma country, or even from within the spare-bedroom-cum-home-office located in a half- million-dollar Eichler ranch house on a street close to El Camino Real. Never mind that most start-up/self-employed/telecommuting Internet entrepreneurs are concentrated in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, thriving on the grit/density/frisson/charge of urban areas.
..... new robber barons.....
All this matters desperately: With the libertarian agenda at work, the very things that fed the boom economy in intellectual property — the last great thing the United States has done — will disappear without more investment in infrastructure and health and safety and education and every other good legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society. In 20 or 30 years, the United States may well cease creating the one commodity that produces a trade surplus and new jobs.
And the sorrow for the bottom 90 percent of society — what Apple Computer once disingenuously called “the rest of us” — will be that once again we may deceive ourselves. We make goo-goo eyes over the megabucks high-tech generates, but we ignore the price. Just as 19th-century timber and cattle and mining robber barons made their fortunes from public resources, so are technolibertarians creaming the profits from public resources — from the orderly society that has resulted from the wise use of regulation and public spending. And they have neither the wisdom nor the manners nor the mindset to give anything that’s not electronic back.
San Francisco writer Paulina Borsook has published essays in Suck, MIT Press’ Leonardoand the Seal Press anthology Wired Women.Toto Wolff has left the door open for Mercedes to supply rivals Red Bull with customer engines, making it clear that "you need to consider all the options".
A surprise report in Autocar ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix claimed that Red Bull, currently struggling for form with engine partners Renault, were in talks about entering into a technical and brand partnership with Aston Martin which would help them broker a deal for a supply of the class-leading Mercedes engine from as early as 2016.
The prospect of Red Bull running the German manufacturer's power units has previously been considered unthinkable given their status as two of F1's biggest teams and winners of the last five world championships between them.
However, with the engine market set to be potentially shaken up by Renault returning to team ownership, most likely as the new owners of Lotus, Wolff said there would be ramifications from such a move.
And while he denied that talks with Red Bull had started, Wolff intriguingly suggested that "maybe there is a new enemy" following the ex-champions' fall from dominance since the end of 2013.
"There are many, many things to be considered. What happens if Renault decides to have their own team and buy another team? Will they continue to supply Toro Rosso and Red Bull and, if not, what are the solutions?" Wolff, the Mercedes motorsport boss, mused after another one-two finish for his team at Silverstone.
"Who’s going to supply them in order to make them stay in the sport? What does it mean for us? Until now they were the enemy, maybe there is a new enemy. What does it mean in the great scheme of things in politics and the balance of things?
"There are no discussions ongoing, nothing has been started. But you need to consider all the options."
Asked if he was therefore leaving the door open to a Red Bull supply deal, Wolff replied: "I'm leaving the door open."
For Red Bull's part, team principal Christian Horner labelled the Aston Martin/Mercedes report as "purely speculation" and reaffirmed that his team's deals with Renault and title sponsor Infiniti, the luxury car brand of the Nissan-Renault alliance, run until the end of next season.
“The fact is we have a contract with Infiniti and a contract with Renault until the end of 2016, anything beyond the end of that agreement is purely speculation," Horner said. "Last week it was Ferrari, this week it is Mercedes, next week it will probably be Honda or Lamborghini. There is a lot of speculation at the minute with Infiniti, we have a very good relationship with Infiniti and anything beyond the end of 2016 is purely speculative at the minute.”
Asked if he could therefore deny that he had spoken to them about such a deal, Horner cryptically replied: “I speak to lots of people.”First wireless split prototypes
I got the first wireless split PCB’s today.
USB-micro Version
The USB-micro version turned out well. Uploaded some code and everything seems to be working so far. There’s a couple small adjustments I’d like to make to the PCB but nothing major.
USB-C Version
In the USB-C version, I didn’t realize that USB-C cables are “cross-over” cables with respect to the pins A2,A3 -> B10,B11 and B2,B3 -> A10,A11. So I ended up incorrectly assigning the pins for the i2c interconnect. Anyway for the next iteration, I’m going try do things a bit differently. What I’m planning will make it so:
It won’t matter what side you plug things in. (i.e. either side can connect to a PC, and either side can be used for daisy chaining)
I’ll be do things in a way that properly comply to the USB standard.
(maybe) Control multiple hosts using the ports at the either end of the daisy chain.
(maybe) Use the spare USB-C port as a charging port.
What’s next
Now that I’ve got a couple of controllers available, I’ll start adding the rest of the i2c features (at the moment the code only works for two devices connected via i2c), and I’ll give some of the RF features some more thorough testing.
Comments on redditOne of my most favorite clients ever asked me to create a steampunk cake for her husbands birthday. The catch? I get to do whatever I want. Oh wait, that’s not really a catch, more like a reason to get completely excited and go way over the top and make the most epic steampunk cake everrrrrrr.
So yeah, I went a little crazy with the details! I can’t help it! I looovveee details. My lovely intern helped cut a bazillion gears using these PERFECT gear cutters that I got from Ruthrickey.com. I made the gear pattern on the board and on the cakes by using a gear stencil I purchased from Mimi Hood who makes some AMAZING custom stencils. You can use these to airbrush over or you can use luster dusts. I absolutely adore the dusts from thesugarart.com
I wanted to create a real show stopper and knew I wanted a lot details so we made as many things in advance as possible. I always decorate my cakes in two days (bake and then decorate the next day) so that the cake is as fresh as possible. We made a TON of gears, the lights, the wings, the little gear houses and the structure in advance so we had those things ready to go.
What would a steampunk cake be without steam?? I decided to incorporate some steam effects using dry ice. I have never used dry ice on a cake before so it was a fun experiment. I used a tin can as the ice holder and a small plastic container for the ice holder on top of the airship. Add hot water and VOILA! Steam! I drilled holes near the bottom of the can so that the steam could escape through “pipes” that I had created out of chocolate
I also attached some battery operated LED lights to some cake pop sticks and modeling chocolate to make some lighted effects for the cake. I kept imagining little steampunk people walking around in this city I had created. I really never wanted this cake to end. I could have kept adding details but eventually you have to deliver! I simply cannot wait to make another steampunk cake <3In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches.
It is the opposite of divergent evolution, where related species evolve different traits.
On a molecular level, this can happen due to random mutation unrelated to adaptive changes; see long branch attraction.
In cultural evolution, convergent evolution is the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by different peoples with different ancestral cultures.
An example of convergent evolution is the similar nature of the flight/wings of insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats.
All four serve the same function and are similar in structure, but each evolved independently.
Some aspects of the lens of eyes also evolved independently in various animals.
Convergent evolution is similar to, but distinguishable from, the phenomena of evolutionary relay and parallel evolution.
Evolutionary relay refers to independent species acquiring similar characteristics through their evolution in similar ecosystems, but not at the same time (e.g. dorsal fins of extinct ichthyosaurs and sharks).
Parallel evolution occurs when two independent species evolve together at the same time in the same ecospace and acquire similar characteristics (extinct browsing-horses and extinct paleotheres).
Structures that are the result of convergent evolution are called analogous structures or homoplasies; they should be contrasted with homologous structures, which have a common origin.Agent Vigil with a drug shipment. Mike Vigil via GlobalPost Anti-drug agents are usually extremely cautious about spilling the beans on their secret world, which lies somewhere between espionage, police work and battlefield.
But here's a rare inside look, offered by a veteran of the drug war. Mike Vigil, the Drug Enforcement Administration's former chief of international operations, served more than three decades in the agency, including 18 years abroad, and more time than any other DEA agent in Mexico.
Now an independent consultant who still advises Mexican security forces, Vigil has detailed his work in a new memoir called "Deal."
Vigil's known as the agent who best infiltrated Mexico's and Colombia's violent cartels. And he lives to tell the tales.
He has many thrilling ones: pretending to be a trafficker and setting up cocaine deals; working to take down corrupt soldiers and police; watching a drug lord offer him $3 million for his freedom, and smiling as he turned it down.
But, no doubt, the DEA is a controversial operator. The US government has spent billions to break up narco networks in Latin America and elsewhere, only to see millions of Americans still abusing drugs. Some of the agency's tactics, at times backed by elite military operatives, have also come under criticism.
And times have changed since Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs" in 1971. US citizens in many states are even voting to legalize pot. On this issue, Vigil is a defender of the DEA's official, prohibitionist line about marijuana being a highly addictive gateway drug — claims that are increasingly disputed.
Still, whatever the debate, agents like Vigil have some of the sharpest inside knowledge of drug cartels wreaking havoc on the Americas.
Mike Vigil via GlobalPost
In a recent interview, GlobalPost asked Vigil to dish on some crime family secrets and to explain why he still backs the drug war. Excerpts follow.
GlobalPost: How did you first become a DEA agent?
Mike Vigil: I was always very interested in law enforcement. I grew up watching TV programs such as "The Untouchables," "Dragnet" and "FBI." I went to New Mexico State University, which was just south of my hometown and one of the few colleges that offered a four-year degree in police science criminology. I graduated with honors and looked at different law enforcement agencies. The one that attracted me was the DEA as it gave me the opportunity to work both in the United States and abroad.
How did you pull off the drug trafficker act?
Spanish was my first language and I didn't learn English until I started school. I picked up the Mexican trafficking jargon very quickly. They have their own code words, their own way of talking. When I was working undercover I would totally expunge from my mind the fact that I was an undercover agent and, quite frankly, I transformed myself mentally into a drug trafficker. I thought like them, I acted like them, I spoke like them, and that prevented them from noticing any nervousness. There was no perspiration, and I knew how to answer all of their questions in a way they could not check on the story and check my bonafides.
What's the closest you've come to losing your life?
I was working on a case in Caborca, Sonora, Mexico. I had met with a trafficker and negotiated to buy several tons of marijuana. Mexican federal agents moved in to make an arrest. A Mexican fed came and put his gun to the trafficker's chest.
The trafficker grabbed the barrel and got leverage. He pulled back the gun so it went off and shot the fed in the head. I saw a splat of blood go up in the air. He turned quickly and fired two rounds at me from 3 feet with the federal agent's gun. [Vigil wasn't hit.] It all happened in two to three seconds. Then he went down. I was fortunate to have survived because I did an enormous amount of undercover work.
Agent Vigil stands next to seized drugs in a jungle. Mike Vigil via GlobalPost
What motivated you to take this risk?
The big thing was that I enjoyed playing the chess game. It was the ultimate game of cat and mouse where somebody was going to win and somebody was going to lose. And it was the adrenalin rush, it was incredible. You really have to curb that situation. Because you find yourself taking more and more chances to get a bigger rush, and that is when it really becomes deadly.
How did you arrest Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros, the Honduran trafficker convicted in the kidnapping of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena?
We tracked him to a house in Colombia. When we went in he started to run and jumped over a wall. I jumped after him and he |
you don’t like loud noises.
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW?! THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE! WHY IS AUSTRALIA EVEN A DICTATORSHIP? THIS SHOULD NOT EVEN BE HAPPENING!”
“Julius, the cult has influenced many people and many influential people has convinced the citizens to rise up-” Senator Doukas began.
“SO WHAT! OUR PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE EDUCATED,NOT A BUNCH OF PEASANTS! IT’S SICKENING! ALL MY LIFE I HAVE BELIEVED IN THE ORDINARY NATIVE TO SEE LIGHT AND ASSIMILATE INTO ROMAN CULTURE PEACEFULLY, AND THAT HAS ALL BEEN SHATTERED! AND WHAT ABOUT CHINA! THOSE BASTARDS HAVEN’T HELPED US ONE BIT, THANK GOD THE UTA HAS JOINED AGAINST THE NORTHERN ALLIANCE, THOSE UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS. WE HAVE BOUGHT LIGHT AND TECHNOLOGY TO A DARK EUROPE AND THIS IS HOW THEY REPAY US!
*Julius sits down, calming down a bit*
I once met an Australian family while travelling in Australia when I was 16. They were nice people, offered me food and water and helped me to Sydney. They believed in the empire, and wished for it’s eternal life. Now, after all these events,I am shattered. Hairini, I apologise for all these events regarding your family. Hopefully, you will find them.
Now, let us crack some skulls, shall we?
-Senator Marco
Nestorius and Hairini were both blown away by Julius’ reaction to the news. They didn’t expect that kind of vilification, especially Hairini.
She spoke; “T-Thank you for your kind words, Senator Marco,” she said nervously, “but you must remember that many immigrants and settlers who come to Oceania are racist as well. Regarding education, I would be willing to bet that those in power there currently are highly educated and are using their intelligence to take power. We natives want to assimilate, to consider ourselves Roman, but with how we are treated, we end up assuming that you don’t want us to be that. In fact, that’s what I feared the most when I started working overseas, but I am relieved to have experienced a lack of racism in my time in Europa. I was humbled by your kindness,” she told the senate. “And I doubt any Cult is involved in Oceania; most natives follow either a syncretic faith, combining Christianity and their local beliefs, or just Christianity outright. And because of the aforementioned racism, I doubt any native asking for independence would ask help from people not their own race,” she explained.
Nestorius spoke up; “And one has to ask; what is truly Roman? We may be Romans now, but in the times of antiquity, the Romans were Italics who ended up conquering the land we stand in now. They brought the culture of the ancient Greeks into their own, syncretising it with their own. Perhaps we should do the same too. I mean, if it weren’t for this fact, then how did Gaul, Iberia and other such territories allow themselves to be enveloped by Greco-Roman culture?” he asked the Senate.
Julius. This kind of sentiment is the reason we are in this mess. Instead of working with each other for the benefit of the Empire, we are arguing and even killing each other over racial differences! If we are to survive and save the Empire, we must work together. Keep in mind that the Old Empire fell when the people failed to work together to oppose the barbarians and instead killed each other. We must not let that occur again! Calm down, because if we fall apart, the Cult could bring us all down by exploiting our rivalries, and then we will all die.
-Senator Doukas
“To be Roman is to speak Greek and embrace the ideas and values of Rhomaion. You can be born as far from the bells of the Hagia Sophia as it is possible to be on this green earth and still be a Roman if you believe that you are. Remember: One God, one Emperor, one people.”
-Senator Angelos
Okay…Yes.. thank you. I apologise for my outbreak earlier.
Speaking of which, I think something here is odd. God loves us, yes? He punishes sinners, does he not? Then, pray tell, why is he allowing this? Hell, why did god even let catastrophe’s in the past happen! The bible says love thy neighbour, and treat everyone as you wish to be treated, and that hasn’t stopped prejudice, or hate. Also, what is religion? Believing in a god, but the religions just interpret it differently.
-Senator Marco
“I am not qualified to debate on theodicy or the nature of God, Senator Marco. Perhaps you should ask a priest?”
-Senator Angelos
hmmm… good idea.
-Senator Marco
“Aren’t the values and ideals of Rhomaion ever changing, Senator Angelos?” Nestorius asked. Hairini stepped in. “While this discussion over Romanity is an important one, I think discussing what to do over both the rebellions and the war against the Northern Alliance would be significantly more important.”
“Good point. We can continue this discussion after all the warring has passed,” Nestorius said. “Now, does anyone have any idea how we are going to go about the wars?”
My suggestion: withdraw as many legions to the borders and hold the line there, while other legions try to defeat as many rebel factions as quickly as possible. Once at least the European rebels are defeated, we can focus on defeating the Northern Alliance (this means probably abandoning Australia and Aoteorea for the time being, my apologies). Hit Germany and the Central European members first, then go after Russia. But it’s up to the Emperor to decide what to do.
-Senator Doukas
How much men can the russians pull up, and what is their equipment? I would like to think we have superiority in the equipment field.
-Senator Marco
We do not have enough Legions to even attempt an offensive that has a reasonable amount of success. We must mobilize every single able bodied male in this Empire and rush them to the borders. We will have to abandon Italia, land to the East of Romania, and land north of the Caucasus. Guyana must also be given up. With the shorter lines, our decisive advantage as the defender in home terrain will show and we will take down 10 enemies for each Roman. Africa will be easily subdued as will North America. India, this time, is a useless ally as their navy is too small to transport their armies to where they are needed.
-Senator Palaiologos
I never advocated for a primarily offensive strategy; I only advised that we withdraw all of our legions to our own borders to hold off the Russians, while on the side we send a few legions to defeat the smallest rebel factions. I hope that clarifies everything up.
-Senator Doukas
We simply do not have the men to do what you propose. We must mobilize, shorten our borders, and hold in defensive terrain. We do not have enough troops to simultaneously bring back into the fold some of weaker rebel factions while holding off the Northern Alliance. We must wait for India and the UTA to come reinforce us.
-Senator Palaiologos
I BEG YOUR PARDON?!
-Senator Marco
Abandon my family’s vineyards to those rebel scum? I’ll march into Italy myself and take them out single-handedly before I see my family estate touched by those traitors! And to even suggest letting Rome fall is absurd. Even with our capital at Constantinople, there is no Roman Empire without Rome.
– Senator Raphael Favero
There will be no Roman Empire without victory in this war. We must do what is necessary to win this war. Are you calling the Eastern Roman Empire unroman? How dare you insult our ancestors! If we do not shorten the land we need to defend, we will be crushed in this war. For the greater good. -Temporary Senator Palaiologos
“Given that our ancestors are dead, it would make more sense to focus on recovering Italia and meeting the Russians in battle.”
-Senator Angelos
Give our ancestors are dead, it would make more sense for us to survive instead of attempting and failing to keep their estates safe.
-Senator Palaiologos
“Then we agree that our revered ancestors have nothing to do with the issue and that bringing them up just hinders discussion.”
-Senator Angelos
So says the reactionary…ah, the hypocrites in this Senate.
-Senator Palaiologos
“As I recall, it was the fascist who brought up their ancestors first, but as has been noted, there are hypocrites in the Boule.”
-Senator Angelos
Order! Order! I will not having us giving in to petty arguments while we are at war! We are senators and Romans! We must unite together against the rebel scum and the Russian menace, or else we will all die!
-Senator Doukas
Julius sniffs.
That speech was truly inspiring, Doukas. Our boys in the legions could use it.
Here is a propoganda poster I am using to help recruitment.
The Emperor was relieved that the near fight it the Senate had resolved itself. The last thing the Empire needed was disunity at this level.
Senators, We thank you for your insights. It is still too early to make too great of plans, but We hope the situation will continue to stabilize quickly. We hope Our citizens will not suffer under these rebellious regimes for long, and that the northern barbarians will be thrown back yet again. We will hold a new meeting when there is more news. In the meanwhile, We will most often be found at the Hagia Sophia, where the Patriarch is holding continual prayer services for the Empire and its citizens.
June 24, 1910
Senators,
There has been much news in the past week. As might be expected, XXIII. Legio was immediately attacked by German forces after the declaration of war. Simultaneously, a German fleet moved to block the transports from being ready to extract the legion. The North Sea Fleet attacked the German fleet, though most of the German fleet slipped away. Both battles are still under way.
XXIX. Legio had escaped to a safe location in Pannonia, when yet more of their regiments declared for Burgundy. XXVIII. Legio had hoped to rest and recover a little, but immediately moved to assist XXIX. Legio.
Transports arrived in Quiberon Bay to extract VI. Legio from La Roche. They are expected to have fully boarded the transports by 3 July.
On 22 June, Persia gave India military access, so India may yet be able to assist the Empire.
Also on 22 June, XXV. Legio reported that they had completed destroyed all British forces in Guyana, making it secure for now.
On 23 June, XI. Legio was dropped off on the Cocos Islands, and the transport fleet moved to rescue XXXII. Legio from Java. They are expected to arrive on 4 July.
Thus far, We have not seen to much action from the Northern Alliance. There are scattered German forces in the Alps, and a Russian army in Stavropol, but no other forces of note in the heartland of the Empire. A few armies have left the Scottish and English colonies in Africa, but once the rebels are defeated, the local Legions should be able to fight them off. However, Ukraine is being attacked by both Russia and Poland-Lithuania. It is too early to see how this will go, but We are not confident.
In potentially good news, Japan and Ming have formed what they call the ‘Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere’, and even swapped some land to cement the treaty. We hope this may distract Russia.
Workers Revolutionary Army HQ. – Brest Fortress Gathered to listen to the Workers Beacon of Hope and Chairperson of the Workers Combined International Armed Forces – Layla Gray, daughter and granddaughter of the Senatorial Gray family, are representatives from France, Brittania, emissaries from the Northern Alliance and Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere and the entire parliament of Brittany. Men and Women of the Revolution, I have received word from Paris that our superweapon the Aiden Gray has managed to bring the Imperial death machine to the ground. However it too has been lost and all on board as well. With sadness we acknowledge the martyrdom of those on board. However to business, we welcome our guests from the North and the East. Our proposal is simple that each of us hve much to gain with the demise of the Empire, we may have differing goals and our visions for the future vary but as my French counterparts have noted recently to the German ambassador until the threat of the Empire has passed we are all at risk of gaining naught but extermination. The threats and insults coming from the capital prove that if they had their way our cities would be torn down and our citizens enslaved or worse. Or proposal is simple, though no formal alliance will exist between the Workers Combine and either the Northern Alliance or the GACOS, we will not engage in hostilities and will allow passage of troops through our respective territories in order to better co-ordinate this war against the true enemy. The various workers parliaments have agreed so we provide you with the various agreements for you to take to your superiors for approval, with that if there is no other business you will have to excuse me as we still have battles to fight.
July 1, 1910
Senators,
Again, there is not detailed news on the war front. You should know that Italian incursions into Pannonia and Naples have been thrown back, but the legions now desperately need time to recover. Meanwhile, new incursions have begun.
XXIII. Legio made an excellent showing for themselves in Amsterdam, and should board their transport fleet by the fifth.
The only legion still in danger is XXXXII. Legio in Batavia, and it seems there is a chance they might win their battle, despite the 60,000 enemies they have faced since the outbreak of the rebellion. Nevertheless, the South East Asia Transports will arrive on 4 July.
We fully expect Pannonia to be cleared of rebels within a week, at most, two. Once that is complete, recruitment of new regiments to bolster the legions in that region can begin.
In world news, the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere has expanded. We now believe their interests will be opposed to both the Empire and the Northern Alliance. But what truly will happen is yet to be seen.
Nestorius wasn’t really sure what to add to the conversations at the Senate. He wasn’t much of a military man, so all he could do was praise the victories and hope for the best. He was however getting worried over Hairini. She had been trying to contact her family once more, to no avail. She had lost that wunderlust she had back when they arrived in the capital; she had become a nervous mess disguised in a calm skin. Nestorius tried to think of something to reassure her that everything was going to be fine, but nothing came to mind. He was looking over the balcony on the evening of the 30th of June, watching the city stay awake as Hairini slept. All of a sudden, he got an idea. He knew that he always worked better as a governor than a senator, especially when the news at the Senate consisted mostly of military events. He decided to go through with his idea tomorrow.
—
Nestorius stood up, ready to go through with his idea. “My Emperor, if I may ask something of you,” he started, “I would like to be assigned the position of Governor of Aeteorea,” he said. “I have learned much in my time as Governor of Naples, and I feel as though my abilities gained would allow me to serve as an able provisional governor,” he stated. “However, as I have learned, a governor by himself cannot run a governorship. Those who have worked under me in Naples are excellent at their jobs, and thus I ask for them to join me in the provisional governorship,” he asked him. Hairini looked at Nestorius in surprise.
Christophoros Palaiologos has been confirmed to have died in Britannia. Paulinas Palaiologos has been assassinated by radical communists in the streets of Constantinople. I am the sole remaining member of the main Palaiologoi dynasty.
-Talbot Palaiologos
Senator Septiadis, your request is granted, though We are not sure what you wish to accomplish with this move. It seems likely it will be some time before Aetoerea is returned to Imperial control.
Senators, thank you for your time. As always, We will share further news as it arrives.
8 July 1910
Senators,
This newspaper was released this week. The archivists consider it significant, so fresh copies have been provided to each of you.
This week, XXV. Legio decided it would be better to wait for transport from Trinidad—where the Guyana Fleet could block any English armies—than from Guyana. They are expected to arrive on Trinidad tomorrow, but We still have seen no sign of English armies.
IX. Legio, after helping clear Armenia of rebels, decided to strike for the heart of Azerbaijan. They anticipate arriving in their capital of Baku on 14 July.
VI. Legio escaped to their transports and will be dropped off in Sicily to recover.
XXXXII. Legio began a retreat for the transports that finally arrived off the coast of Batavia. Though the battle was ‘lost’, they proved the valor of the legions.
The half of XXIII. Legio that had escaped to the North Sea made it to their transports, and will be brought to the southern shore of Anatolia. Once there, they will be reinforced and take up the numeral of one of the traitorous regiments.
Our navies proved their worth as well. The Red Sea navy sank the entire Hedjaz fleet in their battle, and the North Sea Fleet has held off more than three times their number so that the half of XXIII. Legio could escape from Germany. We will probably send them to a friendly port to recover before the battle is over, but wish the transports to gain a little more distance first.
We felt confident enough in the growing security of various regions that We began recruiting new regiments to restore the legions in Pannonia, Naples, Macedonia, Armenia, and southwestern Africa.
And in further good news, Ming has declared war on Russia, bringing the Northern Alliance and the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere to war with each other. This is a much-needed distraction.
Now let’s hope they don’t get any ideas and attack the Empire.
-Senator Doukas
Following the session, Nestorius and Hairini quickly returned to their residence. “What was that about at the senate?” she asked him, still in surprise that he had requested the Aoteorean governorship. He turned to her; “As a skilled governor, I would imagine my services would be of great use there, especially after we get control of the territories once more. Plus, I’ve always wanted to go beyond Mare Nostrum,” he told her. While the reasons were sound, it was obvious there was another reason. Before she could interrogate him even more, he had moved to the telephone. He called the Neapolitan governorship. On the other side, one of his subordinates picked up. Nestorius explained the situation and told him to gather everyone, sans a few Neapolitans to keep the place in check, and to come to the capital as soon as possible. At that point, Hairini realized that the senator was going to turn part of their residence into a base for the provisional governorship. She attempted to object, but decided against it. Deciding she needed some fresh air, she left to explore the city some more. Not noticing she had left, Nestorius thought over if he should call up a few buddies of his to come and help him as well. He decided more hands would be best.
—–
The early morning before the session, Nestorius waited for his buddies to arrive. His subordinates from Naples wouldn’t arrive for another week or so, if his own trip here was any indication. Soon, they arrived. He went over to greet them with great big hugs, as he hadn’t seen most of them in years; Michail Lykidis, a politician from the town of Ulpiana, Stefanos Antecheirinidis, a linguist from the town of Aenona, Antiochos Heraklides, a childhood friend from the town of Dioclea, Nicolaos Alexidas, an old family friend from Singidunum, and Savvas Epimonopoulos, a theologist from Arsa he met in Naples a few years earlier. He trusted these men quite a bit. He brought them to his residence, where he introduced them to Hairini. He told them to get comfortable, as he and Hairini left for the Senate.
—–
The two sighed in relief after hearing that the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere had gone to war with the Northern Alliance. The thing the Empire needed the most was some relief and they had just got it.
“It is great to hear that we’re recruiting new regiments for the legions. All help is welcome,” Nestorius commented.
Thank god the asians and Russians are killing each other istead of us. -Senator Marco
((Somewhere in northern France))
John-Loukas Picardie suddenly opened his eyes and saw nothing but an empty blue sky, clouded by flames and smoke. He tried to move, but his entire body flared with pain, and restraints held down his waist. He looked down found that he was miraculously only bruised, with no broken bones as far as he could tell; not only that, but his chair was generally intact as well. The rest of his crew, though weren’t as lucky. Many officers lay prone throughout the wreckage of the still-burning bridge, some of them impaled on the jagged metal fragments that once made up the skeleton of the Empress Veronica.
He unbuckled his seat belt and got up. Almost immediately he stumbled as pain flared in his left ankle. He wasn’t as lucky as he thought. At least he could still walk.
Where was Laskaris? Where were his other senior officers too? They had to get out of here as quickly as possible and make it back to the Empire. Only God knew how much the rebels had radicalized the locals to communist ideals.
He rounded a corner and stopped, spotting an equally ragged man wearing a rebel French Commune uniform. He carried a pistol with him, while John-Loukas was unarmed. While John-Loukas was a quite experienced soldier, having fought in Konstantinos’s Rebellion and served as a marine on the Empress Veronica, he was in no shape to fight this man. So he hid and frantically looked for something to defend himself with. Unfortunately, in his haste, he knocked over a piece of shrapnel, making a loud noise.
The rebel’s head snapped around towards the origin of the noise. “Who’s there!” he demanded. “Show yourself, Imperial! No rebel would ever hide from his own comrades!”
John-Loukas remained silent as the rebel advanced towards his hiding place. Then a gunshot rang out, and he heard a thud. Warily peering out, he saw that the rebel was dead.
“Hey,” somebody said behind him.
John-Loukas recoiled so rapidly and instinctively that by the time he recognized Laskaris, he had a piece of sharpened metal well on its way towards the first officer’s neck.
“Commander Laskaris!” shouted John-Loukas, dropping his weapon. “You almost gave me a heart-attack there.”
“Not so loud,” said Laskaris, “It’ll attract the other rebels. The gunshot’s already drawing several of them.”
“How many of our crew are still alive?”
“Not many. I found about three of them, but the rebels got five more and executed them.”
“We have to get out of here.”
“Agreed.”
The two men hurried away from the wreckage of the two airships, towards where three other crewmen–who appeared to be Britannians and went by Leonard, Jonathan, and Brent–had hidden. Jonathan was severely wounded, with a large gash in his right leg. He needed medical attention urgently.
“Okay, where to?” said Brent.
“I don’t know, but we have to stay low and avoid the rebels,” said John-Loukas.
There was a shout from behind them. “Hey! Over here! The Imperials must have gone in that direction!”
“They’re onto us, move!” shouted the captain.
The five men rushed out of there as quickly as possible.
((Paris, some time later))
“Chairman, it appears that the Aiden Gray did not go down with all hands as previously believed.”
“Why is that?”
“Some men have arrived in the city, claiming to be part of the Aiden Gray’s crew. They have important news on the situation.”
“What is that?”
“That although it is confirmed that the Imperial superweapon has also been taken down, some of its crew have survived and escaped custody. If not captured, they could exploit anti-communist sentiments in the populations and bring back sensitive information to Constantinople.”
“Then hunt them down at all costs. I want them brought before me dead or alive, preferably alive. And speed up the production of our replacement Aiden Gray-class airships. We need them to take down the Empire for once and for all.”
17 July 1910
Senators,
The clearing of rebels from within our heartland continues. The Bulgarian region is on schedule to be cleared of rebels within the next week or two. As such, new recruits for XXIV. Legio have been called up within that region.
Likewise Egypt, where recruits are being called up for XIX. Legio and XXXVII. Legio, Tunis, where recruits are being called up for XVII. Legio, and Morocco, where recruits are being called up for XXXVI. Legio.
The North Sea Fleet has withdrawn in good order from their battle off the coast of Holland. Though Germany is hailing this as a victory for them, they lost ships, while We lost none. Some of our ships are heavily damaged, and the fleet plans to undertake repairs at Lucca.
In bad news, Italy has seized the region of Chur and fully incorporated it. The entire region of the Alps is completely overrun, and We hope that it will take long enough to secure it that the reinforcement of the legions can take place and Pannonia defended.
Likewise, Persia has decided to conquer Baluchistan, bringing the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity to war with the Empire and its allies. Truly this is a time of world war.
Damn Persians, always stirring up trouble! They must be taught a lesson again!
And what is the state of the front in the Middle East? Has Jerusalem been liberated yet?
-Senator Doukas
We MUST consider my uncle’s strategic plan! Without a solid defensive plan in place, we will lose this Empire to the forces of nationalism and revanchism along with a health bit of imperialism. Outnumbered by these numbers, we have no hope of attacking anywhere and winning!
-Senator Palaiologos
Senator Doukas, the front in the middle east has remain fairly static. Israel has sent an army north into Syria, as has Iraq, but this region is heavily fortified and their armies will not have an effect for a long time. The legions currently have no plans for retaking Jerusalem, but that may change once they are reinforced with new regiments.
Senator Palaiologos, We agree with the plan to withdraw to defensive lines. The border of Pannonia in the west, and the Caucasus mountains in the northeast are the current planned lines. But We do not wish to withdraw too far, as that gives the legions fewer people to draw upon. And a full mobilization must wait until the Jacobins have been fully defeated, lest they slaughter farmers and miners waiting to form up.The Chinese now consume more than twice as much organic food as health-conscious Japan.
The market is worth an annual 10billion yuan (£1billion) having quadrupled in the past five years. For comparison, the British organic market is worth roughly £2billion. Interest has been promoted by a series of scares including toxic beans, contaminated milk and pork, pesticide-laced dumplings, chemically-tainted chicken, and the growing presence of what is known as “sewage oil”.
Night soil collectors typically visit the drains behind restaurants late at night to scoop up dregs of oil, which they filter and resell.
The government, which released the figures, has promised to take action against the practice. But since there are no laws against skimming oil from drains, police have had to release any suspects.
In April, a man was caught in broad daylight collecting oil at a sewer in Zhengzhou, Henan province, which he admitted intending to sell to street food vendors for 300 yuan a barrel.
“There is no way to prevent this oil from returning to the food chain,” said Zhen Zhiquan, 32, the manager of a company in Qingdao that turns sewage oil into biofuel.
“Companies like us buy around 10 to 20 per cent of the oil that is dredged from the sewers, but at least 80 per cent is recycled,” he said.
Xie Lili, 25, runs an organic store on the internet. In the aftermath of the oil scare, she said she had seen “a huge increase” in demand for organic salts, oils and spices.
“The volume is 10 to 15 times greater. People became quite scared and preferred to cook at home,” she added.
In the Shanghai suburb of Nanhui, famous for its peaches, the 4,000-acre Duoli Organic Farm was founded in 2005 and left fallow for three years to allow pesticides to seep out of the soil.
“In Shanghai, because land is scarce and the city has 20 million people, farmers are using up to four times the recommended amount of pesticides to boost their yields,” said Wang Tao, the head of the farm’s quality control department. In 2009, Duoli’s sales were 30 million yuan. This year, it expects revenues to more than double.
To encourage more sustainable farming, the Shanghai government provided 140 million yuan out of the farm’s 200 million yuan start-up costs. It sent scientists from local universities to help to develop new farming methods.
Nonetheless, it would take a decade before organic food became mainstream, Mr Wang said.
“It is very expensive, and mostly for rich people,” he said. “Also, Chinese people like to judge their food by how it looks, but organic food does not look so good. It is lumpy and has holes in it.”The Falcons spent how much on painkillers?
Emails brought to light last week by a class-action lawsuit revealed that officials with the Atlanta Falcons, who play the New England Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl LI, were alarmed by the team’s prescription medication use as early as 2010. The emails suggest that the Falcons’ head trainer, along with the team’s management, were concerned about an “excessive” reliance on painkillers to treat players. The team was worried that the information, if it went public, could embarrass the team and the league.
As first reported by the Associated Press earlier this week, those concerns were raised by a review of medication use by an outside agency. The agency found that the Falcons spent $81,000 on prescription medications for the team’s players in 2009—nearly three times the league average of $30,000.
The news came at a time when the NFL’s zero-tolerance ban on cannabis use is coming under increasing scrutiny, especially from former players damaged by the league’s reliance on prescription painkillers to keep athletes on the field. On Wednesday, retired players working with the Cannabis Gridiron Coalition were featured on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” discussing their medical use of cannabis and how it helped them kick the painkiller habit.
The emails were entered into court last week as a part of a class-action lawsuit by more than 1,800 former NFL players, titled Evans v. Arizona Cardinals Football Club. The lawsuit alleges that NFL trainers distributed drugs improperly and that teams failed to properly store and keep accurate records of the drugs—violating federal laws. The case is being heard in the Northern District of California by US District Court Judge William Alsup.
These are the same allegations that were originally filed in a 2014 class-action lawsuit, Dent v. NFL, in 2014 that was later dismissed.
The former players allege that NFL clubs have conspired since at least 1964 to have trainers dole out pills and inject players with painkillers, sometimes mixing them with other drugs in dangerous cocktails, to get them back on the field to drive league profits.
The email chain included Falcons owner Arthur Blank, team president Rich McKay, general manager Thomas Dimitroff, and then-head athletic trainer Marty Lauzon. All of them are still working with the team, which plays the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Sunday.
“That’s being litigated now. That’s not something we’re going discuss right now,” Dimitroff said Monday when asked by reporters at the official Super Bowl media event. “When the time is right, we’ll readdress that.”
According to reports on the emails, Lauzon emailed Dimitroff, “Within the first days on the job, I was informed that we barely missed a DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency] investigation because of improper billing issues.”
Dimitroff then forwarded Lauzon’s email to team owner Blank.
“I thought it quite important for you to be aware of a rather sensitive subject and one we need to discuss before we include others on this topic matter,” [Dimitroff wrote to Blank].
In a later reply to the email, Blank suggested the group talk about the subject together along with team president McKay. It’s not clear which practices changed as part of that discussion, and there’s no evidence that the Falcons violated league rules.
What’s clearly evident though, is that Lauzon was concerned enough about what was going on that he warned team executives that what was found could be damaging to the team, and in the bigger picture, the NFL as a whole.
The lawsuit alleges that the NFL and its clubs have created a “return to play culture,” pressuring players to return from injuries as quickly as possible. From the lawsuit:
88. The Clubs have recognized the appeal of violence associated with football since the inception of the sport. But the Clubs have also recognized that, to give the public the best product possible, marquee players need to play, even if they are injured and in pain. One solution to this inherent conflict – violence sells but it also puts players on the sidelines who bring fans to the game – would be to play fewer games, give players more time to rest between games, and have larger rosters. But that would cut into the Clubs’ profit margins 89. Instead, the Clubs have resolved this inherent conflict in favor of profit over safety with more games, less rest (e.g., Thursday night football), and smaller rosters that save payroll expenses. And they achieve their ends through a business plan in which every Club employee – general managers, coaches, doctors, trainers and players – has a financial interest in returning players to the game as soon as possible. Everyone’s job and salary depend on this simple fact. The return to play culture was based on four cornerstone concepts: profit, media, non-guaranteed contracts, and drugs. As professional football entered the 1960’s, these bedrock concepts of the return to play culture would become the driving force behind every business decision made by the Clubs.
Court documents filed on behalf of the former players also asserted that NFL clubs have manipulated the media to increase league revenue and reinforce the “return to play” culture.
In 1965, the Clubs created NFL Films to market video of the Clubs’ games, coaches, and players. NFL Films highlighted the violence of the game and the “toughness” of its players. Dramatic collisions between players were highlighted in slow motion. Players who returned to the game with severe injuries were lauded as courageous heroes. These same themes were repeated by the broadcast networks. American folklore regarding professional football players was indelibly established – the players were super human warriors who played through pain for the integrity of the game they loved. The return to play culture became an accepted fact of doing business by the Clubs as profits soared
One specific example, attorneys for the player argue, occurred during the 1987 season, when the players union went out on strike, and the athletes were temporarily supplanted by “replacement players.”
Television ratings for these games dropped by more than 20%. The networks agreed to continue broadcasting them only when the Clubs agreed to reduce prices to enable the networks to recoup the losses. The Clubs never used replacement players again. On information and belief, this experience reinforced to the Clubs the importance of having “star” NFL players on the field.
Evans v. Arizona Cardinals Football Club et al is an ongoing case that will likely heat up after this weekend’s Super Bowl. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, among others, is expected to be questioned in court about painkiller use in the coming weeks and months. Leafly will continue to follow the case and update as information becomes available.No one's calling it a "campaign" event. But it will surely dominate the presidential campaign on Wednesday when Democratic President Barack Obama and New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie inspect storm damage in the hard hit coastal state - together.
Had Obama been traveling with any old Republican governor, few would have taken notice.
But Christie is not any old governor. He's young, at 50, and a possible Republican presidential contender as soon as 2016, should Mitt Romney happen to lose.
And he's not just any critic of Obama. As keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in August, he was the party's critic-in-chief.
Christie has continued to play that role as one of the highest-profile surrogates for the Republican presidential nominee, Romney.
Indeed, it would be hard to find a more unlikely duo six days before a presidential election - and Christie knows it.
"If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don't know me," Christie said Tuesday.
He was responding not to the announcement of the joint tour, which had yet to become public, but to questions about all the praise he has been heaping on Obama during and after Sandy hit New Jersey.
The unlikely partnership began just hours after the worst of the storm knocked out power for 2.4 million people in New Jersey, south and west of New York City. Christie was quick to applaud Obama and the Federal |
episode.[4]
"It Hits the Fan" was released on VHS in June 2002, along with the episodes "Scott Tenorman Must Die" and "Cripple Fight", on a video titled Insults to Injuries.[5] A DVD version of the compilation was released simultaneously, and also contained "Proper Condom Use", in addition to the episodes contained on the VHS release.[6]Ronnie Stanley Expected To Play Thursday Night
Ravens fans got quite the scare Saturday night when they saw Stanley, the team’s first-round pick, leave the field and head for the locker room.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said it was a soft-tissue injury, but added that things didn’t seem too serious.
“Both Harbaugh and Stanley declined to disclose the injury, but both seemed confident the sixth-overall pick won't miss a significant amount of time,” wrote Zrebiec. “Stanley said he's optimistic he'll play in the preseason opener Thursday against the Carolina Panthers.
“Stanley was replaced at left tackle by fellow rookie Alex Lewis, a fourth-round pick. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Lewis has been splitting time between guard and tackle, as he did in college with Nebraska.”
Josh Johnson Playing Better Than Ryan Mallett?
Mallett is expected to be the primary backup to Flacco this season, but if you ask CSNMidAtlantic.com’s Clifton Brown, another backup has outshined Mallett so far in training camp.
“Backup quarterback Josh Johnson has thrown the ball better in camp than Ryan Mallett,” Brown wrote. “Throughout camp, Johnson has been more accurate than Ryan Mallett, the Ravens’ No. 2 quarterback. It’s very unlikely the Ravens will keep three quarterbacks, and it’s also unlikely the Ravens will part with Mallett.
“However, if Mallett wants to eliminate any suspense about his backup role, he needs to perform more consistently.”
Running Back Competition Heating Up With Dixon Standing Out
Ravens coaches have a very good problem on their hands … they have four running backs that are all playing very, very well. Harbaugh will either have to cut one back, or leave another position a little thin.
With fourth-round rookie Dixon shining upon his return from injury, things are only getting more interesting.
“[T]he Ravens’ competition at running back is heating up,” wrote Brown. “Dixon made sharp cuts, showed excellent acceleration, and looked fully recovered from his knee injury suffered early in camp.
“Even if Forsett keeps the starting job, there is no reason to overwork him if the younger backs show they are ready to contribute consistently. Forsett, Allen, and Dixon are probably locks to make the 53-man roster. West’s impressive camp could force the Ravens to keep all four backs.”
*Another Rookie, Tavon Young, Turning Heads *“There is one player every summer that comes out of nowhere, turns heads, and instantly becomes the guy all in attendance search out,” wrote Russell Street Report’s Brian Bower. “They’re [not] just noticeable; they stand out.”
Who is Bower referring to?
Just another fourth-round rookie: Young.
Bower goes on to talk about how Young has been stacking days, and despite his smaller 5-foot-9, has kept the bigger Ravens wide receivers at bay. He always seems to be around the ball, notching an interception or a near-interception on an almost daily basis.
Young was asked how many picks he can get this season, and he responded with a big smile: “As many as I can get. Put me down for 100.”I find myself in an interesting position I honestly never expected. The ZNN Translation Team is phenomenal, and the fandom just keeps pumping out comics like there’s no tomorrow. This applies to both comics in foreign languages and those originally written in English. So right now, we have more comics than we know what to do with.
Which is fantastic! Keep it up!
To help address this seemingly insatiable desire for comics (which I share with all of you), we’re going to start combining 2-3 single-page comics into one post. Larger comics will still get their own, so don’t worry about that.
So, to kick this off, we have 3 comics by あさやみのる (@Asayaminoru)! They’re essentially the comic equivalent of one-shot stories, and they’re all very amusing in their own right. Thank you Asayaminoru for making them, thank you LMAbacus for translating, and thank you gfcwfzkm for editing them!
Check out the links to the originals on pixiv and get the translated versions after the break! And as always, read from right-to-left!In this Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011, photo, Wal-Mart employees Jon Christians and Lori Harris take job applications and answers questions during a job fair at the University of Illinois Springfield campus in Springfield, Ill. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer and nation's largest private employer, said Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, it is making a pledge to boost its sourcing from domestic suppliers and hire more than 100,000 veterans. The plans were to be announced as part of an address by Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. business, at an annual retail industry convention in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
Retail giant Walmart will open a small store on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. later this year.
Georgia Tech will be the second college to host a miniature Walmart, joining the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville store which opened in January.
The Walmarts on campus will have pharmacy services, basic groceries, general merchandise, check cashing and bill paying services. The UA location replaces a university-run pharmacy, Advertising Age reports.
According to the Dow Jones Newswires, the Georgia Tech location will be between 2,500 and 5,000 square feet, drastically smaller than the average 185,000 square feet at Super Walmart stores. The UA spot is 10,000 square feet.
The Georgia Tech store will be the smallest Walmart in the country, NBC News noted. (By the way, Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke is a Georgia Tech alum.)
AdAge reports Walmart may be using these smaller versions as a way to get around zoning restrictions which have kept them out of major urban areas, such as New York City.
Walmart has also been the subject of protest recently for their stores selling assault weapons and ammunition.ABC27 Aniya Wolf was thrown out of her own prom for wearing a tuxedo.
This is not how prom is supposed to go.
Aniya Wolf, a student at Catholic high school Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg, PA, was kicked out of her own prom this past weekend for wearing a tuxedo. The junior told ABC27 News that she received a last-minute email before prom telling her that her suit went against the school's dress code, which specified that girls "must wear formal dresses."
Wolf's mom, Carolyn Wolf, immediately called the school. “I told them that I had read the dress code that was given to the students and I didn’t think that it precluded her from wearing a suit. I said that this was very unfair, particularly at the last minute," she told ABC27 News. "We had gone out and bought a new suit. I think my daughter is beautiful in a suit."
Since Wolf had already bought her suit and invited a date, she decided to go to prom despite the school's email. When she arrived at prom Wolf said the principal grabbed her arm and threatened to call the cops if she didn't leave.
“I think my experience shouldn’t be any different than anyone else’s because of something I was born with,” Wolf said, standing outside of prom after she was kicked out of the venue.
Wolf is a lesbian who has always worn more masculine clothing, so her choice to wear a tuxedo should not come as a surprise to her high school. “I’ve just always been like this, ever since I was little,” Wolf told ABC27 News. “I was always more masculine. You wouldn’t catch me playing with any Barbie dolls, I’ll tell you that right now.”
“The dress code for the prom specified girls must wear formal dresses,” the school said in a statement posted to Facebook the night after the prom on May 7. “It also stated that students who failed to follow the dress code would not be admitted.”
Wolf was not the only one who was upset about the dress code. A few of Wolf's peers and even some celebrities tweeted their support for the teen.
Mcd has completely contradicted what they teach us. Aniya was dressed modestly and wasnt disrespectful in any way. #suitsforaniya — sarah:) (@_SarahParkerr_) May 7, 2016
.@AniyaWolf Don't let the narrow minds seep into your abundant soul. That suit is fly 👌 Keep on being you ✌️🤘👏 https://t.co/GhcqnJWjsI — Max Ehrich (@maxehrich) May 9, 2016
Hey @aniyawolf you know what's way better than prom? Being yourself! U look 👍🏼👍🏼https://t.co/mr3V0aPyQQ — Leslye Headland (@LeslyeHeadland) May 9, 2016
@LeslyeHeadland @AniyaWolf as a product of the archdiocese of phila I can proudly say FUCK THAT SHIT you rock! — Christine Nangle (@nanglish) May 9, 2016
@AniyaWolf straight killed it last night in her suit. You don't know me, but I'm an MCD alum and I'm so proud of you. Keep doing you.👏🏻👌🏻 — Leigh Erin (@LeedleisLeigh) May 7, 2016
.@AniyaWolf I don't know you but I just read your prom story and I'm really sorry that happened. You looked awesome! Glad you stood up! — Andy Mientus (@andymientus) May 9, 2016
Two Bishop McDevitt students even came up with the genius idea for all of the female students to wear pants on Monday as a sign of solidarity with Wolf.
WE SHOULD THROW ANIYA A PROM AND ALL WEAR SUITS!! Everyone's invited! #suitsforaniya — Krin (@kristi_cannon) May 7, 2016
Girls, if u don't have pants to wear tomorrow to support @AniyaWolf, ask one of your guy friends. Let's not let this die down #suitsforaniya — marisa (@marisafbaby) May 8, 2016
Senior prank: all girls come to school wearing tuxes and boys wearing dresses — marisa (@marisafbaby) May 9, 2016
On Friday night, Wolf posted a photo of her and her prom date with a perfect caption: "They can't take my pride."The moms are taking the gun control fight to Kroger's backyard.
On Thursday, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a gun control group backed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's considerable financial resources, will blanket half a dozen newspapers with ads meant to pressure the grocery giant to stop allowing customers to openly carry firearms in its stores. The ads will be displayed on the newspapers' websites as well as on a billboard in Cincinnati, where Kroger's corporate headquarters is based, according to the group.
The ads will contrast images of shoppers doing things that are currently prohibited in Kroger's stores -- such as eating ice cream and shopping while shirtless -- with images of people carrying rifles. "Guess which one" isn't allowed at Kroger, the tag line says. (Scroll down for full images of the group's ads.)
This is the first time Moms Demand Action has bought ads as part of one of its campaigns to convince a company to enact a no-open-carry policy. Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for Everytown for Gun Safety, the umbrella group that includes Moms Demand Action, declined to say how much the ads cost, saying only that the amount was in the "six figures."
Moms Demand Action first announced its intention to focus on Kroger two weeks ago, citing several shootings that had happened in or near Kroger stores as the impetus. Kroger has about 2,500 locations in the U.S., and is the nation's largest grocery chain. In response to the announcement, Kroger initially said that it would continue to follow local gun laws, and argued that asking its employees to enforce a no-gun policy would be impractical and dangerous.
Other companies previously targeted by Moms Demand Action initially made similar statements, before reversing course and requesting that gun owners not bring weapons inside their stores or restaurants. Chipotle, Sonic, Target and Starbucks have all changed their policies in response to the group's demands.
While falling short of outright bans -- which business owners generally say would be impossible to enforce -- these new policies suggest that corporate America may fear the economic might of gun control activists more than supporters of permissive open carry laws. (This calculus, so far, does not apply to Congress, where the National Rifle Association and its lobbyists largely hold sway.)
Moms Demand Action's most effective technique has been to circulate photos taken by people who support the right to openly carry weapons in public. Some of the photos depict people holding large rifles as they wait in line to buy a burrito or order a hamburger. Tensions over this practice have flared up in several states, especially Texas, where openly carrying a handgun in public is banned, but carrying long rifles is not.
The earlier campaigns by Moms Demand Action have largely been waged on Twitter and Facebook, though the group has also staged protests at several stores. The Kroger ad buy represents a significant escalation in terms of both financial commitment and visibility. The ads will run as "homepage takeovers" in the online editions of USA Today, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch, the Houston Chronicle, The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, according to the group. The ads will also appear in the print editions of several of these papers, as well as The Tennessean.
"These images bring into stark contrast Kroger policies that prohibit skateboards, food and a lack of appropriate attire in stores, but allow the open carry of loaded guns," said Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, in a statement. "Businesses have an obligation to protect their employees and patrons."
Kroger, so far, has rebuffed the group's calls to take its side in the national gun debate.According to the Guardian David Cameron is seeking to deflect attention from his own tax affairs by introducing a new law that will make companies criminally liable if they fail to stop their employees from facilitating tax evasion.
Call this the HSBC law if you like, but I suspect it is not that, and I very strongly suspect that this law, if it is enacted, will never be used and be quite incapable of use for three very good reasons.
First, the crime of tax evasion will not take place in the UK. It will be exceptionally difficult to prove liability in many cases as a result.
Second, the defence to the crime will be that of Mossack Fonseca, who made it clear (as does almost every offshore operator) that they are not responsible for the use their clients make of the facilities that they create for them.
Third, because offshore works by referring one person to another, to another, in a web of layers of opacity proving who facilitated evasion will be nigh on impossible.
The result is that we will have a law of little consequence only of use for targeting the activities of small limited companies where the owner/director knowingly pockets cash. Whilst that is a big issue that is not the issue of the moment.
Cameron knows that. And I am sure that he knows this law will be useless.
There is, however law that would be immensely useful. That would be the legal requirement that all multinational corporations - without exception, regardless of size - publish country-by-country reporting data to show just where they are and what they do in every place where they trade, including tax havens.
The EEU parliament demanded parliament demanded such a requirement of the EU Commission late last year and the EU began a review of such a requirement. However, only a couple of weeks ago it was reported that the EU's plans have been massively curtailed. The requirement will only be for disclosure within the EU, leaving the rest of the world and as a result the vast majority of tax havens out of any scrutiny, whilst the rule was only to apply to companies turning over more than €750 million, leaving most companies out. The result is a hollowed out and meaningless gesture that will achieve almost none of the goals of proper country-by-country reporting.
If David Cameron wants to back something he has to demand full country-by-country reporting on public record now. Then we will know those companies who are really making use of tax havens and who, by their actions, fund the infrastructure of these places that is also, whether they are aware of it or not, used for illicit activity.
David Cameron's new law will be a meaningless gesture. Country-by-country reporting would really change corporate behaviour. By his choice will you know him.We’ve been writing here — perhaps ad nauseum — about the changes the game is undergoing currently. The ball may be different, the launch angles may be changing, power is definitely up, and starting-pitcher innings are down. Are these fundamental changes, though? Is this a different game we’re watching than the ones our elders enjoyed? And if so, is it necessary to alter the way we think about building successful teams?
I thought it would be interesting, at last week’s Winter Meetings, to ask front-office members of all kinds if they thought the game had really changed. If so, I wondered, had these insiders changed the way they approach their jobs over the last few years? To get better answers, I asked most of these generous people to talk off the record — meaning, in some cases, I’m unable to reveal their particular roles.
These answers do run the gamut, and the sources are varied — from former players to former business-school graduates. In sum, the responses offer us a peek at a fundamental choice in front of every team-builder right now, the same choice, ironically, that players face every day — namely, is it time to adjust?
All the team officials with whom I spoke seemed to take for granted that the ball is different, and that it directly causing the spike in power. The conversation flowed right past that as if it were a given.
“Everyone is using the same ball,” laughed Oakland general manager David Forst.
“Power is everywhere right now,” said one analyst.
In terms of change, however, all seemed to agree that there was more to the story.
“Guys are putting the ball in the air more and teams are advancing so much, it’s harder to set yourself apart,” lamented one analyst about the struggles of adapting to the new powered-up environment.
“People are just more aggressive with two strikes than I remember,” said Giants general manager Bobby Evans before pushing the question to manager Bruce Bochy.
“It’s difficult to manufacture runs now,” said Bochy in his patented slow rumble. “With the way pitching is, how they bring in the bullpens earlier for matchups, it’s easier to score by getting the ball to leave ballparks.”
That batter-pitcher interaction was at the center of many comments about the changing face of baseball.
“The nature of the batter-pitcher interaction has evolved, too,” pointed out one front-office member. “There are more opportunities to find guys at the fringes who can rotate onto a roster because you can find more strengths for pitchers to pitch to.” That sounds like a little bit of analyst speak for “relievers are fungible.”
“Personally I feel that the game itself has turned more boom/bust on every front, trying to exploit the highest probabilities of each outcome,” said one analyst who may have been familiar with Russell Carleton’s work on the relationship between strikeouts and home runs. “Offensively, you have a lot more swing and miss in exchange for home runs and power. On the mound, going for strikeouts instead of weak contact. And overshifting to the occasional point where sides of the infield are completely vacated. Not to say this is bad, as this is just trying to maximize your optimal outcome on each front.”
One source felt that this mode of analysis was so pervasive that it ended up changing the way we digest baseball, even more than just changing the game itself.
“I do think there’s been a fairly extreme shift in the makeup of front offices and even media coverage,” said the higher-up. “The general framework of a lot of conversations about the game has really changed. Roster-building is a year-round sport, and it does tend to feel at times like we’re all a part of some meta theater that’s somewhat loosely attached to dudes playing on a field. The focus of what it means to be a fan or follow a team has shifted at least somewhat from simply knowing the players and what happened in games toward some bigger picture perspective that accounts for assets in the farm system, where you are on the win curve, and how efficiently resources are being utilized.”
That one reads FanGraphs.
Another analyst felt that there was change, but it wasn’t fundamental.
“It changes how you appraise the game, just insofar [as] more eggs are in the one basket than they used to be, but I don’t think it changes the game,” he said over drinks. “I would say that, these days, extra-base hits and home runs are a larger proportion of run creation, but it doesn’t fundamentally change how you evaluate the game; it just causes you to revisit some of the ways you looked at power.”
Still, most agreed that change is in the air, even if they couldn’t quite come to a consensus on the type and size of the difference.
The second question might be more interesting than the first, anyway. How do you adjust to this change? The analyst who talked of eggs in a basket thought it was an easy fix.
“What it changes are constructs,” he continued. “Power is relative in the sense that we have goalposts for what is good power, not good power. That’s just the conditions.”
“I don’t know that you necessarily have to adjust,” said Forst, seeming to agree. “You can’t argue with the numbers — the increase in the homers, the increase in the strikeouts — all those things are pretty apparent. But everyone is still playing the same game, so I don’t know that you need to adjust what you do.”
Others thought that it was time to zig where others were zagging, perhaps.
“If you have this ball that has lower seams and carries better and you get rewarded for putting the ball in play, why not focus more on contact skills, much like the Astros?” wondered one analyst aloud. “I think there’s a lot of emphasis on swinging hard and getting on plane and maximizing launch angle and exit velocity, which I’m a huge proponent of, but I think you have to look at two strikes as a different scenario, and maybe you make some sacrifices to make contact there.”
He wasn’t alone.
“I think the game is eventually going to reverse course in the timeless hitter/pitcher struggle that will see a renewed emphasis on bat control, weak contact, and running speed,” forecast one analyst. “So, in light of this, rosters may want a diverse ‘portfolio’ of skill sets. Guys with high-spin curveballs are great, but maybe not to the point of gratuitousness.”
But it’s not all just about team-building. This can manifest itself when it comes to developing players, too.
“Changing looks is validated on all fronts,” continued the same analyst. “Same way, looking for guys who maybe have reduced launch angle for their benefit are recognized for their value as much as guys who have increased it. We are also now getting into a new frontier of data where holes in guys game — swing path, general body movement, flight of the ball — can be fixed on the player-development side rather than solely reverse-engineering from outcomes, which not only helps the player, but reinforces some of these principles.”
Others though a return to old-school form might be in the cards.
“You can’t get away from the fundamentals, either,” said Bochy, still answering the first question. “You look at the first inning of the seventh game last year of the World Series. Houston did the little things — they hit the ball to the right side, found a way to score a run — and LA was in the same boat and couldn’t execute. That will never leave the game.”
And beyond the fundamentals, there’s also just the old-school, build-with-the-traditional-draft approach we can’t forget.
“A more traditional approach to team-building — i.e this Royals run with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, etc. — might be viable if you can do it effectively, since there’s less heated competition for those types of players,” thought one analyst about a return to the past. “There’s compelling evidence that no team/person can do this reliably, but it’s hard to prove that’s true.”
Maybe there’s some real value to zigging when others zag. The problem, though? With so much data available, it’s possible that, whatever plan one club develops, another has already begun executing it.
“There’s so much information, you have to figure out what’s actionable and what’s not,” said one front-office person.
Another echoed that sentiment, offering a bit of insight into the thought process here. “The public can quickly catch up to the bigger themes, making undervalued players harder to find,” they said. “What’s harder to figure out is what’s a temporary change and what’s approaching an equilibrium, so roster construction is always going to lag [behind] the hot trend some.”
A third thought it wasn’t just the public that was catching up with these themes. “More teams are now building or rebuilding their clubs with similar techniques, like the draft, waivers, and the low end free agency market,” they pointed out, “so there’s a land rush in certain competitive environments where there’s a couple highly competitive bidders — often with smaller payrolls — and then a bunch of teams that don’t get why that happened.”
In the end, this sounds very similar to what Brandon Crawford once told me about the difficulty of deciding when to adjust to the opposition as a player. He said, generally, that it was the hardest part of being a player.
“That’s what makes it tough,” said Crawford in late 2015. “Once you start to figure something out, they figure you out.”Sen Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) can't seem to hold back his excitement about Pope Francis, the Catholic leader widely heralded for his commitment to social issues.
Though Sanders' praise of Pope Francis is nothing new, he's taken many opportunities to reiterate his support since the pope's arrival to the United States Tuesday afternoon. In a floor speech that took place just as the pope was landing in Washington, the senator and Democratic presidential hopeful lauded Pope Francis for "speaking out with courage and brilliance about some of the most important issues facing our world." The speech went on for 11 minutes.
Later Tuesday, in an interview with with MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Sanders said he believed Pope Francis "has played just an extraordinary and brilliant and courageous role on this planet over the last several years."
"He's dealing with issues that very few people in Congress are prepared to deal with," Sanders said.
The senator admitted that he disagrees with Pope Francis on women's right to choose and marriage equality, but said the pope's stance on climate change has been "hugely important." He referenced Pope Francis' 192-page encyclical on the environment in which the pontiff called climate change the Earth's response to the “irresponsible use and abuse of the goods that God placed in her.”
"That is a profound statement which I see already having a significant impact on the debate," he told Hayes.
NICHOLAS KAMM via Getty Images
Sanders continued his praise Wednesday morning in a CNN interview prior to the pope's arrival at the White House, saying the the Catholic leader has reached beyond the church "to people all over the world, and with an incredibly strong message of social justice."
"He is saying that as a planet, as a people we have got to do better," Sanders said, touting the pope's progressive agenda.
"He's looking in the eyes of the wealthiest people of this country... and he's saying, 'You know what, you cannot continue to ignore the needs of the poor, you cannot continue to ignore the needs of the sick.'"
The support mounted in a Wednesday Facebook post, in which Sanders said Pope Francis' contributions go beyond his push for climate action and addressing economic inequality.
"He is asking us to become a different kind of person, where our happiness and well-being comes from serving others and being part of the human community," Sanders wrote.
Pope Francis is not just asking us to alleviate poverty and move toward more a equitable distribution of wealth and... Posted by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday, September 23, 2015Trump is no neocon. Houston Chronicle, Gary Coronado/Pool/AP
Monday's announcement of Sen. Marco Rubio's foreign policy team could not have been better timed. Not because it will save Rubio – his string of second- and third-place finishes, coupled with his collapse in the polls, signals a campaign on its last legs. Rather, the reveal of Rubio's "neocon dream team" makes clear that his campaign isn't the only thing disintegrating. So too is the GOP's neoconservative establishment.
One of the most confounding political developments of the past decade has been neoconservatism's grip on the Republican Party. The catastrophic Iraq War should have driven its architects into the wilderness. But the party's blanket opposition to the Obama administration gave them a way back in. Since Obama governed as a pragmatic realist, Republicans granted the neocons a reprieve.
Which is not to say neoconservatives had an iron-lock on the GOP. For a brief period after the 2012 election, the party experienced a libertarian moment, one that extended to foreign policy. Two 2016 candidates, Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, capitalized on the shift in public opinion to push hard for Republican non-intervention. When Paul launched his 13-hour filibuster of American drone policy in 2013, Cruz was there by his side – a partnership that caused Sen. John McCain to dismiss them as "wacko birds."
But with the rise of the Islamic State group, the Republican affection for nonintervention dissolved overnight. The neocon consensus came roaring back: boots on the ground in Syria, the silent treatment in Tehran, sanctions against Russia. Better reckless than feckless.
No candidate exemplifies the neocon resurgence better than Rubio. He proudly called for "a new American Century," the guiding vision of neoconservatives since the 1990s. As I wrote last April, "That he can openly embrace the ideas that led to the most disastrous decade in U.S. foreign policy history shows how little the GOP has learned from the failures of the last decade, and how calcified its foreign policy thinking has become." At the time, it was difficult to imagine his foreign policy hurting him. Paul's campaign was clearly a non-starter. And former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a liberal interventionist, would have difficulty scoring points off his hawkishness.
Enter Donald Trump.
Now, Trump is not what anyone would call a foreign-policy savant. He hews to no consistent ideology. (Consistency is not his strong point.) But he does have preferences. Thomas Wright sifted through decades of Trump's statements for Politico to try to suss out a set of policies, arguing the Republican front-runner does in fact have "a remarkably coherent and consistent worldview." While I wouldn't go that far, it is clear that Trump offers a challenge to both noninterventionism and neoconservatism. It may not be an -ism, but it is an alternative.
Trump is all about bluster and strength, but has no real attachments to intervention or democracy. He readily labels the war in Iraq a "mistake" and attacks the foreign-policy establishment for its error-laden intelligence on weapons of mass destruction. He wants a strong military, but wants NATO allies to pay for it. He promises to bully adversaries, bill allies and buddy up with dictators.
And his supporters love him for it.
Neocons, on the other hand, are teetering on the edge of full-scale panic. Two weeks ago, Robert Kagan announced his support for Clinton, arguing that the rise of Trump had left the Republican Party unfit for habitation. "The party cannot be saved," he concluded, "but the country still can be." As Rubio flounders, other neocons will surely follow.
Not that they will find the Democratic Party, the original home of the neoconservative movement, a welcoming place. While they might find Clinton's interventionism more palatable than Trump's big-talk-small-stick philosophy, today's Democratic Party was forged in the antiwar fires of the 2000s. Neocons might momentarily roost on the fringes of the party, but it seems unlikely they could make a home there.The U.S. labor market topped expectations in April.
In April, the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to a new post-crisis low of 4.4%. This is the lowest unemployment rate since May 2007.
Wages, which are closely tracked by the Federal Reserve, rose 0.3% month-on-month, as expected. The the annual increase in wages, however, disappointed with wages up just 2.5% over the same month last year. Economists had expected a 2.7% increase in wages over the prior year. Weekly hours worked were steady at 34.4.
The U-6 unemployment rate, also known as the underemployment rate, fell to 8.6% after hitting a post-crisis low of 8.9% in March. Last month, Gary Cohn, President Trump’s chief economic advisor, said the administration is focused on the underemployment rate.
Source: BLS More
Following the report, U.S. stock futures were little-changed. Treasury yields were also little-changed, with the 10-year sitting near 2.35% and the 2-year near 1.31%.
Friday’s report also showed that manufacturing payrolls grew by 6,000 in April, though the labor force participation rate — which had been stabilizing in recent months — fell to 62.9%. March’s report, which initially showed the economy added 98,000 jobs during the month, was revised down to show just 79,000 jobs were added. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 174,000.
Also notable is that retail sector jobs, which had plunged in recent months, were up by a little more than 6,000 in April. The biggest additions were from leisure and hospitality jobs, which rose by 55,000, and education and health services jobs, up 41000 in April.
“The U.S. job market is in solid shape, with underlying job growth of around 175,000 per month,” said PNC chief economist Gus Faucher.
“This is about double underlying labor force growth, and thus labor market slack continues to diminish, pushing up wages… With continued solid job growth, the U.S. economic expansion will continue throughout 2017.”
Capping a busy week for markets and political news, the report was expected to show a rebound in hiring last month after March’s report disappointed.
Via Bloomberg, here’s what Wall Street was looking for on Friday:
Nonfarm payrolls: +190,000
Unemployment rate: 4.6%
Average hourly earnings, month-on-month: +0.3%
Average hourly earnings, year-on-year: +2.7%
Average weekly hours worked: 34.4
—
Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdlandReady to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
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Thanks to Jeb Bush’s tongue-tied responses to repeated questions about his brother’s regrettable record as president, we finally had the “Should we invade Iraq?” debate we needed in 2002. And while “reality” did slightly better this time, the debate demonstrated yet again the power of far-right ideologues to pervert simple and obvious truths about the world in order to evade responsibility for the catastrophes their policies unleashed. Ad Policy
Recall what we were told at the time: “There’s no debate in the world as to whether they have those weapons…. We all know that. A trained ape knows that,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted. “This is going to be a two-month war, not an eight-year war,” the genial über-hawk William Kristol promised. Vice President Dick Cheney assured us that “we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.” One could supply hundreds more such promises, but let these three stand in for the fact that none of the war’s perpetrators and few of its publicists have ever been called to account for the destruction created by their lethal combination of arrogance, ignorance, and incompetence. Nor have they come forward to apologize. Instead, we get excuses, evasions, and more lies.
Now examine the results: nearly $2 trillion spent, hundreds of thousands of people killed, and millions displaced from their homes. Iraq lies in ruins; Iran’s regional power has grown; and America stands before the world as not only an imperialist nation but also a lawless one. And then there’s the birth of ISIS, a |
, in particular. Wenger is adamant that Arsenal should hold on to the player for whom they paid £12m to Southampton in 2011, just before Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 18th birthday. Despite the manager’s declared fondness for him, Oxlade-Chamberlain is not a definite member of Wenger’s preferred starting lineup, with half of his 24 Premier League appearances so far this season being as a substitute. Even the player’s best position is unclear, although his most recent outings have been as a deep-lying central midfielder rather than as a winger.
Oxlade-Chamberlain performed badly in that position in the 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion last month and then underwhelmed in the same role for England against Lithuania, and injury made him miss Arsenal’s past two matches, during which Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka formed a strong partnership in central midfield. With the injured Santi Cazorla scheduled to return to action next season and Wilshere due to return on loan from Bournemouth, competition in central midfield is strong at Arsenal even before any potential summer recruits are factored in. All the same, Wenger says he foresees Oxlade-Chamberlain’s long-term future being in the middle and at Arsenal.
“That’s always what I’ve had in mind,” he said. “I’ve played him there a few years ago and I think he did well. He’s offensive and you can feel as well that he’s a guy who can get out of pressure because of his dribbling skill. And he has penetrating skills and in midfield that is important. I find as well that sometimes on the flank he is out of the way. In the middle he’s more focused, he needs to be involved in the game.”
Wenger admitted that Oxlade-Chamberlain needs to improve the defensive aspects of the role. “Because he has not enough experience in that position. He’s a player who likes to take the ball and go at people. He can lose balls but defensively he is strong in the challenge. He has that kind of robustness to deal with the body-to-body that is very important in the Premier League.”Gay couple sues airline after 'baggage handlers took dildo out of their checked luggage and taped it to the top of their bag'
A gay couple in Virginia is suing United-Continental airlines after the two men found a large dildo had been removed from their checked checked luggage and taped to the top of their suitcase - and then sent down to the baggage pickup carousel.
Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger say baggage handlers at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport invaded their privacy and targeted them for humiliation because of their sexuality.
They are seeking punitive damages to hold the airline accountable, they say, after officials refused to respond to their complaints.
Mortified: Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger said they were humiliated when all of the passengers of their plane saw the sex toy taped to the top of their luggage
Blogger Michael Hamar, who is friends with the couple, first wrote about the'mortifying' experience shortly after it happened in May 2011.
Mr Bridgeman and Mr Borger said they were returning home to their native Norfolk, Virginia, from a vacation to Costa Rica when they stopped at the Houston airport for a connecting flight.
They picked up their bags in Houston, as required for international flights, and then checked them again for their trip back to Virginia.
Insulting: The couple says there was no there was no reason for the sex toy to be displayed like that if it wasn't deliberate
They were standing around the baggage carousel in Norfolk with the other passengers from their plane, when the defaced bag appeared.
It was wrapped in clear tape that had the Continental airlines logo on it. The purple sex toy was prominently attached to the top.
What's more, they say, some sort of foul-smelling grease had been smeared on it to make it appear that it had been 'used.'
'SO EMBARRASSED, ABSOLUTELY MORTIFIED... just knowing that everyone in sight had already seen it and after looking at their faces that depicted disbelief, some were snickering, others completely astonished, and of course, disgust was ubiquitous,' they wrote in an e-mail to Mr Hamar.
There was no reason for the sex toy to have been removed from the bag and no reason for the bag to be bound in tape, the couple says.
The zippers on the luggage were intact and working fine and the sex toy had been secured inside the bag.CTVNews.ca Staff
One person is dead and another injured after a gunman opened fire behind Parti Quebecois headquarters in Montreal as PQ Leader Pauline Marois delivered her election victory speech Tuesday night.
The incident at the Metropolis concert hall prompted Marois’s security detail to whisk her off stage and evacuate the building.
Montreal police arrested a 50-year-old man at the scene, clad in what appeared to be a long, blue housecoat and a makeshift balaclava.
Police said they believe the suspect also lit a small fire near PQ headquarters after the shooting, before he tried to flee.
The man was handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser in front of cameras and a crowd that had assembled outside. The Canadian Press reports that the suspect shouted in French: "The English are waking up!"
Police did not immediately release any details about the shooting victims, nor would they comment on the suspected shooter’s possible motive.While Allo's new web client scored most of the headlines this week, its sister app Duo wasn't to be left out in the cold. A new update to the video chat app is out with a few changes of its own. Notifications are a significant part of this release with a new toggle in settings for all users and full support for Notification Channels on Android O. And for some users, there are a few tweaks to the UI of the Audio/Video selector and contact list.
What's New
Unofficial Changelog: (the stuff we found) New notification type for "special events & topics"
Custom notification channels (Android O)
Audio/Video toggle moved down to the calling window and icons in the contact list match the current setting
Special events & topics
If you haven't really had a sense of when to use Duo, you can always let the app itself tell you. At least that's what a new toggle on the settings page would seem to suggest. It bears the name "special events & topics," but the description says these are "suggestions on when to use Duo." I'm not sure that title and description really go together, nor do they make it clear what we'll get exactly. Nevertheless, it's easily disabled if these notifications become a bother.
Notification channels (Android O)
Duo doesn't produce a lot of notifications, but Android O users can now take full control over the behavior of the ones that do occur. A set of custom notification channels have been added for Duo, making it easy to configure sounds, vibrations, notification lights, and more. Best of all, Duo follows the example set by a few apps like Android Messages and Gmail by hiding their own options for notifications and providing a link to the notification channels screen.
The list mirrors the three toggles within Duo's settings screen, including: contact updates, new in Duo, and the newly added special events & topics section mentioned above. There is also an additional category for call notifications, but don't confuse this with the popup that appears when you receive a call or the sounds that are made, those things are still configurable in Duo's settings screen.
Audio/Video UI Changes (in testing?)
There haven't been a lot of changes to Duo's interface since it launched last year, but you might spot a couple things in this update that don't look quite like they did before. However, it's important to note that these tweaks to the interface are part of v16, but they aren't necessarily going to show up for everybody after updating. Google seems to be doing a staged rollout to users, so you may still see the older interface elements after installation.
Left: Previous version. Center: New version. Right: New version with old UI.
For starters, the Audio/Video toggle is no longer locked to the top of the screen. It is now attached to the draggable contacts panel where it makes a little more sense and should be easier to reach. Also, if you're paying attention, the icons have also been removed from the center of the toggle. If you're still stuck with the old interface after updating, the toggle will still be at the top of the screen, but it's permanently visible instead of auto-hiding itself.
Along with the changes to the slider, the full list of contacts (the one you'll see by tapping on the Contacts button, not the slide-up panel) will show phone or video camera icons next to each contact as you switch modes.
Thanks:
Badrinath
Download
The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is safe to install and was not tampered with in any way. Rather than wait for Google to push this download to your devices, which can take days, download and install it just like any other APK.
Version: 16.0.165611256.DR16_RC11If you own a dog, you likely know that dogs love being outside and being active. Dogs, like people, need exercise to be healthy and happy. Dogs’ love of exercise and the outdoors makes them ideal running partners. If you already run with your dog or want to start running with your canine best friend, read on for some useful tips on how to run with your dog.
I regularly run with Charlie on top of our daily walks, weekend hikes, and his normal crazy puggle behavior (as I write this, he’s running around the house chasing a yogurt container). Charlie loves being outdoors and getting exercise, and I appreciate how calm and well-behaved he is after he’s enjoyed a good run or hike.
I started running with Charlie when he was about eight or nine months old. When we run together, we run anywhere from 3-6 miles. Charlie is a small dog (right between 20-25 pounds) so I keep his mileage fairly low; bigger dogs such as labs and German shepherds can run much farther.
The following tips help Charlie and I stay safe, healthy, and happy when we run together. Use these tips when you run with your four-legged friend!
9 Tips for How to Run with Your Dog
1. Comfortably secure the dog.
Charlie has a tendency to pull on his leash, so we have him wear a harness for walking and running. The harness distributes the tension of the leash across his torso, rather than pulling at his neck and causing trouble for his breathing. Additionally, he cannot slip out of the harness in the same way he can with a collar. He is also less likely pull as hard with the harness on him. Use a four to six foot long leash to keep your dog close to you. You don’t want your dog to jump on other runners, as friendly and excited dogs will tend to do.
2. Keep a good grip on the leash or go hands-free.
Whether or not your dog pulls like Charlie, you want to keep a good grip on his or her leash when out running. I wrap the handle around your wrist and then grab on to the leash for extra reinforcement. This also prevents too tight of a grip on the handle, which can throw off your balance and running form. Runners with bigger dogs can use a hands-free leash that wraps around the waist to provide them with a better base of stability to handle the dog during the run.
I use a hands-free leash even with Charlie, who’s a 22-pound puggle. It offers great control and makes the run easier and safer for both of us. This Tuff Mutt leash is adjustable, durable, and comfortable!
3. Switch between your hands if you hold the leash.
Too much stress on one side of the body over the other can cause imbalances over time that can in turn damage your running form or cause injuries. Since holding onto the leash and guiding your body places more stress on one side of your body than the other, switch which hand you use to hold the leash. You can use a different hand for each run or pause in the middle of your run to carefully move the leash from one hand to another.
4. Let your pooch set the pace (within reason).
Pick a pace that is comfortable for both you and your dog. Your dog has shorter legs than you, which may mean he needs a slower pace for the distance you two are covering. You don’t want to push your dog to maintain a speed he can’t keep up with. If your dog wants to run fast, then settle into a comfortably hard pace so he doesn’t get bored or pull you too hard. Don’t let them go at an all-out sprint – your dog will probably feel exhausted before you even finish the first mile.
5. Run together on your easy days.
Speed work and long run days are not the ideal days to run with your dog. Dogs like to start and stop a lot when out running—they may smell something that catches their attention or stop for frequent bathroom breaks. If you are trying to run 5 mile repeats at your 5K pace, then stopping in the middle of each repeat so your puppy can use the bathroom will not reap the right physiological benefits of the workout. Additionally, most dogs do not have the patience or physical capacity to run for two hours, especially if you have a smaller dog. Go on your easy runs together: it will be a more enjoyable experience for both you and your dog.
6. Run a distance appropriate to your dog’s abilities.
Most dogs aren’t training for a marathon, so don’t take them out on long endurance runs. For many dogs, 3-8 miles provides an excellent workout. When your dog is just starting to running, stick to runs of 30 minutes or less or use run-walk intervals to introduce them to running. Once your dogs builds her endurance or strength, you can increase the duration or frequency of her runs. Dogs are just like people when it comes to running: training should progress gradually to stay injury-free and healthy.
7. Bring lots of bags.
If you’re a runner, then you know how sometimes running can stimulate your digestive system and make you need to use the bathroom. Vigorous cardio exercise has the same effect on dogs, only more quickly because of their smaller size. Always carry bags for disposing of your dog’s number twos. Cleaning up after your dog is courteous to other runners and your neighbors.
8. Monitor your dog for signs of discomfort.
When you’re out running with your dog, especially if your pup is new to the sport, frequently assess your dog’s attitude and movements for signs of discomfort. Dogs don’t register overexertion in the same way we do, so he may keep running even when he begins to feel sick. Listen to your dog’s breathing for signs of panting, watch for changes in his gait or how he holds his tail, keep an eye on his paws, and stop if he shows any signs of overexertion or illness. If you are running with a short-nosed breed such as a pug or bulldog, pay close attention to their breathing, as these breeds can experience shortness of breath or reverse sneezing.
9. Make sure your dog refuels after a run.
When I come in from a run, I drink water and eat a healthy breakfast to help my body recover. Do the same for your dog: make sure they have food in their bowl and lots of fresh water. Don’t give your dog huge portions, though, as they could overeat and become sick. If you plan to run with your dog for longer than 45 minutes, bring water for them and be sure to give it to them midway through the run, especially if you are running on a hot or humid day.
Of course, these tips come primarily from two years of experience of running with a medium-sized dog. If you are running with a larger or smaller dog, you should adapt to ensure the health, happiness, and safety of your pet.
What tips would you add to this list?
Do you run with your dog?
What type of dog do you have?Story highlights Bill Nye: Question for GOP candidates: Do you disagree with world's scientists on climate change because you know better?
He says 10% of electricity in Texas is from wind. America could build on this, surmount challenge
Bill Nye is an Emmy-winning TV host as well as a scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor. He is best known to television audiences as "Bill Nye the Science Guy." Follow him on Twitter. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) Here's hoping someone can manage to ask the candidates a question like: "Mr. _______, you've stated repeatedly that you feel that climate change and global warming are not things we need to worry about in the short or even long term; why do you disagree with the world's science community and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?"
Bill Nye
Then, I'm hoping that the same person or another citizen asks a follow-up: "Mr. _______, would you say that you believe your intuition and experience with weather are more scientifically correct than the research done by the world's climate scientists, and do you believe that the world's scientists are part of a conspiracy?"
As you may know, the three front-running candidates are apparently in denial about the effects and seriousness of climate change and global warming. As a voter and taxpayer, I'd like to know why each of them has no apparent concern about a problem that is worrying people all over the rest of the world. And by the way, those same people are very much hoping the U.S. will lead, showing the way to produce all of our energy renewably.
Texas is a remarkable example of the number of jobs we could create and the new economy we'd establish by embracing renewable energy sources. Right now, Texas gets 10% of its electricity from the wind. I hope you find that remarkable, if not astonishing, because it's a huge number. The wind industry there is just getting started. The Stanford University-based Solutions Project estimates that Texans could get over 60% of their energy from the wind, and virtually all of the remaining 40% from the sun.
This is the very same state where you can find oil refinery upon oil refinery in and around the Houston area.
Read More“Help Make Kids a Big Deal On and Off the Field.”
It’s a great tagline, something that Big Brothers Big Sisters is all about, something they’ve attached to a new fundraiser, a great event Ottawa RedBlacks quarterback Henry Burris has thrown himself behind.
The Henry Burris All-Star Weekend, an event the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2015 hosted for 10 years in Calgary, will push Big Brothers Big Sisters into the spotlight May 15-16. It’s an event that’s sure to bring awareness to an organization that can use all the help it can get.
There will be a sports camp from 9 a.m. to noon at TD Place on May 15, with Big Brothers Big Sisters hoping to get 250 kids on to the field. There will also be plenty of athletes — including RedBlacks, Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens football players and Fury FC soccer players — on hand.
“(These kids) don’t have access to this kind of thing typically,” said Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa executive director Susan Ingram. “We already have 56 kids signed up so I don’t think it’ll take long to fill up — 250 will go pretty fast.”
“All of us are coming together to work with these kids who are coming from high-risk areas, they’re high-priority kids who need this kind of interaction,” said Burris. “It’s all about planting that seed of confidence to help them grow.”
Burris and wife Nicole have two boys — Armand and Barron — and he knows how important it is for kids to have good influences.
“There’s a rising gang problem,” said Burris. “Gangs are old school to me. I know exactly who they target. They go after people who don’t have confidence, who don’t think they’re part of anything and want to feel like they’re somebody. That’s what Big Brothers and Big Sisters offers, that’s where it can help. There are young men and young women who need that confidence.
“We have new refugees who need a sense of belonging as well. Kids want to feel like they’re part of something. We had the same charity in Oklahoma. I had both of my parents, a lot of kids didn’t have that. To see the way this charity affected their lives, it gave them a directive to focus on something different.
“I was part of an in-school program, it gave me an alternative to going out and getting myself into trouble. It kept me busy until my parents were done with work. It gave me something else to do, something else to focus on and it’s the reason I’m here today — playing football.”
It was tough for Burris to step away from the All-Star Weekend in Calgary. It made a huge difference, raising $250,000 in 2015.
“It was perfect timing, we committed to it for 10 years,” he said. “If we still lived there, we would still be hosting the event. We thought we’d like to continue the event. We’re in a new market, a place where we can build something here and have an impact.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters, which serves more than 1,000 youth in the city each year and has 500 kids still waiting for mentors, is delighted to have Burris on board.
“We’re really thankful to have Henry as an ambassador and a champion for us,” said Ingram. “He really understands the impact mentoring can have on a child’s life.
“The charitable sector in Ottawa, we’re all always struggling to find funding and support. When we tell the stories about what we do and the impact what we do has on the kids in the city, that’s when we see that people really want to support us.
“It’s a long-term impact. Those kids who are receiving the mentorship from us, as adults they become part of the community and give back. We raise the money and there’s a long-term investment. It’s really impactful to have an event that’s going to be talked about. It’s really about the kids. That’s what we’re here to do – serve the youth in the city.”
The All-Star Weekend concludes on May 16 with a Texas Scramble golf tournament at The Marshes. Threesomes, at a cost of $900, are being sold with the fourth golfer being a celebrity athlete. Organizers are looking for 36 teams —108 golfers.
When Burris, appreciative of the support the community throws behind the event, addresses everybody, they can expect to hear some familiar words.
Said Burris: “I say the same thing every year when I start my speech … ‘Nobody in this room would be here, having the success you’re having in your life, if it wasn’t for somebody who impacted you. It may not necessarily be through charity, but there’s somebody in your life – parents, family members, a coach, a teacher – somebody who touched that spot in your heart and drew something out of you.’ ”
Yep, we can make a difference.
Twitter: @TimCBaines
HENRY BURRIS ALL-STAR WEEKEND
When: May 15-16
What: May 15 will be a sports camp for 250 kids, many of them at-risk youth, at TD Place — with several RedBlacks, Ravens, Gee-Gees and Fury FC players on hand. May 16 will be a Texas Scramble golf tournament at The Marshes (11 a.m. shotgun start) with organizers looking for 36 teams of three (with a celebrity athlete added to each group). The cost is $900 per threesome. It will be followed by a silent auction and dinner. For details, go to bbbso.ca.
Why: Raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, which needs funding for its programs and needs awareness for its mentorship program.
The connection: Burris hosted an All-Star Weekend for 10 years in Calgary.Bank of America is trying to steal a march on the latest developments in the technology behind digital currency bitcoin by loading up on blockchain-related patents.
Blockchain works like a huge, decentralized ledger for the digital currency bitcoin which records every transaction and stores this information on a global network so it cannot be tampered with.
Major financial institutions -- including the Bank of England -- have released a number of notes over the last year on the potential of the technology and have created teams within their organizations to look into how to develop the cryptocurrency.
But Bank of America is going one step further by attempting to patent some of the use cases of the technology. The company has already filed for 15 blockchain-related patents and is currently in the process of drafting another 20 to be submitted to the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) later this month, a spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday.
"Blockchain's very intriguing and for us it's a balance between not wanting to be Neanderthal but not wanting to put something out in a commercial application where the commercial application is still very unclear as a technologist, the technology is fascinating," Catherine Bessant, the chief operations and technology office at Bank of America, said during a CNBC event at Davos last week.
"And we have tried to stay on the forefront, I think we have somewhere around 15 patents, most people would be surprised at Bank of America with patents in the blockchain or cryptocurrency space. (It's) very important in the intellectual property world to reserve our spot even before we know what the commercial application might be."Interview with Ferruccio Lamborghini Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, Jan. 1991.
So we want to meet Ferruccio Lamborghini? No problem at all. Unlike the late Enzo Ferrari, the creator of the Miura, the Espada and the Countach is pleased to meet people who appreciate the cars that bear his name, owners and ordinary enthusiasts alike. Ferruccio Lamborghini is a young man of 75, who works Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm, on his vineyards near Lake Trasimeno in middle Italy. Besides having various minor business interests, he is still president of three factories which produce tractors, air-conditioning equipment and hydraulic systems. We have to travel 220 miles south from the Lamborghini car factory at Sant'Agata Bolognese to meet the man who shattered Ferrari's domination in the late Sixties. Eventually we turn off the main road and down a dusty country lane which leads us through the vineyards. Cantina (winery) reads a sign, and on the right there appears a hall housing Lamborghinis even more massive than the LM002 off-roader: the tractors which are still built in a joint Swiss/Italian venture. Next door is Lamborghini's museum. Apart from examples of 350GT, Islero, Espada, Jarama, Urraco, Miura and Countach, there are several Lamborghini tractors displayed here, starting with a rather crude-looking device from the late Forties. But we enter the small office opposite and ask for Il Cavaliere. His private secretary tells us he is out in the fields. "Just drive on; he's expecting you." Construction work is going on at the end of the dusty road, and a short, stocky man wearing a cowboy's hat is talking things over with the workers. “Ali, so you have arrived! I'm Lamborghini. We are just building a golf course over there," he immediately explains, pointing towards the horizon. "Golf has a big future. The right sport for the right people." I make the mistake of asking Il Cavaliere which architect he chose to design the course. "It's me!" he exclaims, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "I looked at more than 40 golf courses all over the world, from California to Japan. Now I know how to do it myself." We are totally captivated by this charming man. Ferruccio Lamborghini was born in 1916, the son of poor peasants in a poor country village. By the end of the Sixties, his companies employed about 4,500 people - but a few years later he was heavily in debt. Now, at 75, he is a man of considerable wealth again, who sees no reason to stop working. "When you stop working, you start to die!" Lamborghini still remains very much a peasant at heart, and is the kindest man we have ever met. After demonstrating a hydraulically powered golf caddy of his own design - "We start production next year" - he invites us back to his flat, sits us down and makes coffee. Yes, Ferruccio Lamborghini is making us coffee! Just imagine Enzo Ferrari making a coffee for visiting journalists in the kitchen of his Fiorano residence... So what was Lamborghini's first car? "I started motoring soon after the war, with a Fiat Topolino. I went through a large number of them, and soon I began to tune them, taking the displacement up from 500 to 750cc and fitting my own Testa d'Oro head to convert them from side valves to overhead valves." In 1948, Lamborghini and a certain Baglioni entered the first post-war Mille Miglia with a Fiat 750 Testa d'Oro. Their race finished prematurely in an inn near Fano, "which we entered by driving through the wall," according to Lamborghini. As his wealth increased, the young industrialist turned to Alfa Romeo and Lancia in the early Fifties. "I had an Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint first and a 1900 Super Sprint later, both of which were quite good. But I preferred the Lancia Aurelia B20. It was no more powerful than the Alfa, but much more sophisticated, more civilised. I had a number of Aurelias, over the years - six or seven, I guess." This was when Lamborghini began running up to seven cars at the same time, so that he could choose a different one every day of the week. "In 1954 or '55, I got a Mercedes 300SL, the one with the gullwing doors. It was a remarkable car, a very progressive design for its day. No, I did not keep it. After two or three years I sold it to a friend. I had to try something new." Typical of Ferruccio Lamborghini... "Later on, I had two Maserati 3500GTs. Adolfo Orsi, then the owner of Maserati, was a man I had a lot of respect for: he had started life as a poor boy, like myself. But I did not like his cars much. They felt heavy and did not really go very fast; normally 220kph [138mph], perhaps 230 on a cool day." What about the eight-cylinder cars, the Quattroporte, Mexico, Ghibli? "No, I never tried any of those. When they became available, I already had my own GT, and with my 12-cylinder engine I was playing in the first division - against Ferrari." Before turning to Ferrari, I asked Lamborghini about the other supercars of the day - Jaguar, for instance. "I only ever had one of those, a very early E-type coupe" (it seems that Lamborghini never drove roadsters or spiders). "It was a very attractive car and I really liked being seen in it! But on the road I found the rear end was rather nervous, even though on paper the rear suspension looked great." Ferruccio demonstrates with his hands how the rear end oversteered to the left, then right, left, right... "But it looked so good. When I had my first car built by Scaglione, I told him that I wanted an Italian version of the E-type." Why did Lamborghini choose Franco Scaglione? "Well, in the early Sixties there was quite a number of designers and stylists to choose from. But Scaglione arrived at my place in a big shiny Mercedes, immaculately dressed and accompanied by a breathtakingly beautiful secretary. ‘Your car will be ready in a week,’ he told me. So I gave him the job. In the end my car was bodied in a ramshackle hut that hardly measured three or four metres long." Did Lamborghini ever try an Aston Martin, a DB4, say, of that period? "Yes, but I did not like it." I look surprised. The DB Astons are considered great supercars of the Fifties and Sixties; even James Bond had one... "Perhaps you are right, but I did not like it. The one I tried felt very much like an English version of the Maserati 3500GT: upright and old fashioned, noisy and choppy." Finally we turn to Enzo Ferrari's cars. "I had three or four of them. The Ferrari was a very good car, I must admit, the best I had had so far apart from the Mercedes 300SL. After I got my first Ferrari, my other six cars - Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Mercedes, Maserati, Jaguar were always left in the garage." What types of Ferrari did Lamborghini own over the years? "In 1958 I went to Maranello for the first time to buy a 250GT coupe, the two-seater by Pininfarina. After that I had one, maybe two, 250GT Berlinettas, the short wheelbase car from Scaglietti. I did like that one very much. It was ahead of its time, had a perfect balance and a strong engine. Finally I bought a 250GT 2 + 2, which was a four-seater by Pininfarina. That engine was very strong too and it went very well. “All my Ferraris had clutch problems. When you drove normally, everything was fine. But when you were going hard, the clutch would slip under acceleration; it just wasn't up to the job. I went to Maranello regularly to have a clutch rebuilt or renewed, and every time, the car was taken away for several hours and I was not allowed to watch them repairing it. The problem with the clutch was never cured, so I decided to talk to Enzo Ferrari. I had to wait for him a very long time. 'Ferrari, your cars are rubbish!' I complained. Il Commendatore was furious. "Lamborghini, you may be able to drive a tractor but you will never be able to handle a Ferrari Properly.' This was the point when I finally decided to make a perfect car. "To start with, I bought a bigger clutch from Borg & Beck and had it fitted in the tractor factory workshop. Then we discarded Ferrari's cylinder heads, which were rather simple affairs with just a single overhead camshaft and 12 rockers. I had them replaced by heads of our own design with twin cam shafts. We then put the engine back in the 250GT and fitted six horizontally mounted carburettors, just like on the 350GT two years later. It was already quite a good car. Several times I used to wait for test drivers from Maranello, with Prova MO plates on their cars, at the entrance to the motorway near Modena. After some time we would be doing 230, 240kph [145-150mph] and then I would start to pull away from them - my Ferrari was at least 25kph faster than theirs thanks to our four-cam conversion. 'Hey, Lamborghini, what have you done to your car?' they would ask me later 'Oh, I don't know" I used to answer with a grin!” Did Lamborghini still have any personal contact with Ferrari after the launch of his own GT car in late 1963? "One day in Modena I was entering a restaurant when I recognised Ferrari sitting at one of the tables. As I passed I tried to greet him, but he turned his head away and pretended to be talking to the person next to him. He was ignoring me!" Ferruccio grins. "I used to have contact with Adolfo and Omer Orsi of Maserati, Renzo Rivolta of ISO, even Alejandro de Tomaso. But Ferrari never spoke to me again. He was a great man, I admit, but it was so very easy to upset him." As soon as he was producing his own GT, Lamborghini started to use one as his everyday hack, personally owning two Espadas and a Miura, a Jarama and an Urraco. "I preferred the Jarama to all the others, because it is the perfect compromise between the Miura and the Espada. The Miura is a sports car for the young at heart who want to go like hell and love to be seen. Myself, I considered the Miura too extrovert after a while. In turn, the Espada was my Rolls-Royce: still quite fast, but also large and comfortable. The Jarama is the perfect car if you just want to have one car." The Urraco? "I thought the Urraco the ideal car for women who love to go fast. And the Bravo I planned as the car for lovers.." Why? "Because my friend Bertone was going to tint all the glass completely black!" Ferruccio opens another bottle of his homegrown red wine, Sangue di Miura (Bull's Blood), lights another cigarette and listens to us patiently. Who decided on the character of future models in the Sixties? The sales director, the engineers, or Bertone, the designer? "Difficult to explain," says Ferruccio, trying to remember. "Personally I thought it important to launch a new car every year to show that we were still here and very active. Look: in 1963 we had the 350GT. In 1965 the 350GT Spider and the Miura. chassis. In 1966 there were the 400GT and the Miura. In 1967 the Espada. In 1968 the lslero, and in 1969 the Islero GTS. In 1970 the Jarama and Urraco. In 1971 the prototype Countach. In 1972 the Jarama GTS. In 1973 the production version Countach.Image caption Patel worked as a surgeon at a Queensland hospital
A US surgeon convicted of manslaughter after botching a series of operations has been jailed for seven years by an Australian court.
Jayant Patel, an Indian-born US citizen dubbed "Dr Death" by Australian media, worked at a Queensland hospital between 2003 and 2005.
He was found guilty at the Brisbane Supreme Court earlier this week of the manslaughter of three patients.
He was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to a patient.
Patients hidden
Patel had pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Gerry Kemps, James Phillips and Merv |
retaking” Christian and Muslim Arab towns in Syria, but are doing the same in the Nineveh province of Iraq—areas “which were never Kurdish in the first place. Kurds now regard Qamishleh, and Hassakeh province in Syria as part of ‘Kurdistan’, although they represent a minority in many of these areas.” [31]
The PKK now controls 20,000 square miles of Syrian territory [32], or roughly 17 percent of the country, while Kurds represent less than eight percent of the population.
In their efforts to create a Kurdish region inside Syria, the PKK “has been accused of abuses by Arab civilians across northern Syria, including arbitrary arrests and displacing Arab populations in the name of rolling back Islamic State.” [33] The PKK “has expelled Arabs and ethnic Turkmen from large parts of northern Syria,” reports The Wall Street Journal. [34] The Journal additionally notes that human rights “groups have accused [Syrian and Iraqi Kurdish fighters] of preventing Arabs from returning to liberated areas.” [35]
Neither Syrian nor Democratic
The PKK dominates the Syrian Democratic Forces, a misnomer conferred upon a group of mainly Kurdish fighters by its US patron. The group is not Syrian, since many of its members are non-Syrians who identify as Kurds and who flooded over the border from Turkey to take advantage of the chaos produced by the Islamist insurgency in Syria to carve out an area of Kurdish control. Nor is the group particularly democratic, since it seeks to impose Kurdish rule on Arab populations. Robert Fisk dismisses the “Syrian Democratic Forces” as a “facade-name for large numbers of Kurds and a few Arab fighters.” [36]
The PKK poses as a Syrian Democratic Force, and works with a token force of Syrian Arab fighters, to disguise the reality that the Arab populated areas it controls, and those it has yet to capture, fall under Kurd occupation.
A De Facto (and Illegal) No Fly Zone
In August, 2016, after “Syrian government bombers had been striking Kurdish positions near the city of Hasakah, where the U.S. [had] been backing Kurdish forces” the Pentagon scrambled “jets to protect them. The U.S. jets arrived just as the two Syrian government Su-24 bombers were departing.” This “prompted the U.S.-led coalition to begin patrolling the airspace over Hasakah, and led to another incident…in which two Syrian Su-24 bombers attempted to fly through the area but were met by coalition fighter jets.” [37]
The Pentagon “warned the Syrians to stay away. American F-22 fighter jets drove home the message by patrolling the area.” [38]
The New York Times observed that in using “airpower to safeguard areas of northern Syria where American advisers” direct PKK fighters that the United States had effectively established a no-fly zone over the area, but noted that “the Pentagon has steadfastly refused to” use the term. [39] Still, the reality is that the Pentagon has illegally established a de facto no-fly zone over northern Syria to protect PKK guerillas, the tip of the US spear, who are engaged in a campaign of creating a partition of Syria, including through ethnic cleansing of the Arab population, to the delight of Israel and in accordance with US designs to weaken Arab nationalism in Damascus.
An Astigmatic Analogy
Some find a parallel in the YPG’s alliance with the United States with Lenin accepting German aid to return from exile in Switzerland to Russia following the 1917 March Revolution. The analogy is inapt. Lenin was playing one imperialist power off against another. Syria is hardly an analogue of Imperial Russia, which, one hundred years ago, was locked in a struggle for markets, resources, and spheres of influence with contending empires. In contrast, Syria is and has always been a country partitioned, dominated, exploited and threatened by empires. It has been emancipated from colonialism, and is carrying on a struggle—now against the contrary efforts of the PKK—to resist its recolonization.
The PKK has struck a bargain with the United States to achieve its goal of establishing a Kurdish national state, but at the expense of Syria’s efforts to safeguard its independence from a decades-long US effort to deny it. The partition of Syria along ethno-sectarian lines, desired by the PKK, Washington and Tel Aviv alike, serves both US and Israeli goals of weakening a focus of opposition to the Zionist project and US domination of West Asia.
A more fitting analogy, equates the PKK in Syria to Labor Zionism, the dominant Zionist force in occupied Palestine until the late 1970s. Like Ocalan, early Zionism emphasized decentralized communes. The kibbutzim were utopian communities, whose roots lay in socialism. Like the PKK’s Syrian incarnation, Labor Zionism relied on sponsorship by imperialist powers, securing their patronage by offering to act as the tips of the imperialists’ spears in the Arab world. Zionists employed armed conquest of Arab territory, along with ethnic cleansing and denial of repatriation, to establish an ethnic state, anticipating the PKK’s extension by armed force of the domain of a Kurdish state into Arab majority territory in Syria, as well as Kurd fighters doing the same in Iraq. Anarchists and other leftists may have been inspired by Jewish collective agricultural communities in Palestine, but that hardly made the Zionist project progressive or emancipatory, since its progressive and emancipatory elements were negated by its regressive oppression and dispossession of the indigenous Arab population, and its collusion with Western imperialism against the Arab world.
Conclusion
Representing an ethnic community that comprises less than 10 percent of the Syrian population, the PKK, a Kurdish anarchist guerrilla group which operates in both Turkey and Syria, is using the United States, its Air Force, Marine Corps, Army Rangers and Special Forces troops, as a force multiplier in an effort to impose a partition of Syria in which the numerically insignificant Kurd population controls a significant part of Syria’s territory, including areas inhabited by Arabs in the majority and in which Kurds have never been in the majority. To accomplish its aims, the PKK has not only struck a deal with a despotic regime in Washington which seeks to recolonize the Arab world, but is relying on ethnic cleansing and denial of repatriation of Arabs from regions from which they’ve fled or have been driven to establish Kurdish control of northern Syria, tactics which parallel those used by Zionist forces in 1948 to create a Jewish state in Arab-majority Palestine. Washington and Israel (the latter having long maintained a semi-clandestine relationship with the Kurds) value a confederal system for Syria as a means of weakening Arab nationalist influence in Arab Asia, undermining a pole of opposition to Zionism, colonialism, and the international dictatorship of the United States. Forces which resist dictatorship, including the most odious one of all, that of the United States over much of the world, are the real champions of democracy, a category to which the PKK, as evidenced by its actions in Syria, does not belong.
1. Nikolaos Van Dam, The Struggle for Power in Syria: Politics and Society under Assad and the Ba’ath Party, IB Taurus, 2011, p.1.
2. “The Kurds of Iraq: Renewed Insurgency?”, US Department of State, May 31, 1972, https://2001-2009.state.gove/documents/organization/70896.pdf
3. Sam Dagher, “Kurds fight Islamic State to claim a piece of Syria,” The Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2014.
4. Patrick Cockburn, “War against ISIS: PKK commander tasked with the defence of Syrian Kurds claims ‘we will save Kobani’”, The Independent, November 11, 2014.
5. Carne Ross, “Power to the people: A Syrian experiment in democracy,” Financial Times, October 23, 2015.
6. Dagher, November 12, 2014.
7. Dagher, November 12, 2014.
8. Dagher, November 12, 2014.
9. Yaroslav Trofimov, “The State of the Kurds,” The Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2015.
10. Joe Parkinson and Ayla Albayrak, “Syrian Kurds grow more assertive”, The Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2013.
11. Patrick Seale, “Al Assad uses Kurds to fan regional tensions”, Gulf News, August 2, 2012.
12. Seale, August 2, 2012.
13. Dagher, November 12, 2014.
14. David E. Sanger, “Legacy of a secret pact haunts efforts to end war in Syria,” the New York Times, May 16, 2016.
15. Anne Barnard, “Syrian Kurds hope to establish a federal region in country’s north,” The New York Times, March 16, 2016.
16. Dagher, November 12, 2014.
17. Dagher, November 12, 2014.
18. Robert Fisk, “This is the aim of Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia – and it isn’t good for Shia communities,” The Independent, May 18, 2017.
19. Seale, August 2, 2012.
20. Yaroslav Trofimov, “U.S. is caught between ally Turkey and Kurdish partner in Syria,” The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2017.
21. Anne Barnard, “Syrian Kurds hope to establish a federal region in country’s north,” The New York Times, March 16, 2016.
22. David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, Henry Holt & Company, 2009, p. 437.
23. “President al-Assad to RIA Novosti and Sputnik: Syria is not prepared for federalism,” SANA, March 30, 2016.
24. Paul Sonne, “U.S. seeks Sunni forces to take militant hub,” The Wall Street Journal, April 29, 2016.
25. Dion Nissenbaum, Gordon Lubold and Julian E. Barnes, “Trump set to arm Kurds in ISIS fight, angering Turkey,” The Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2017.
26. Nissenbaum et al, May 9, 2017.
27. Dion Nissenbaum and Maria Abi-Habib, “Syria’s newest flashpoint is bringing US and Iran face to face,” The Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2017; “Syria condemns presence of French and German special forces in Ain al-Arab and Manbij as overt unjustified aggression on Syria’s sovereignty and independence,” SANA, June 15, 2016; Michael R. Gordon. “U.S. is sending 400 more troops to Syria.” The New York Times. March 9, 2017.
28. Matt Bradley, Ayla Albayrak, and Dana Ballout, “Kurds declare ‘federal region’ in Syria, says official,” The Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2016.
29. Maria Abi-Habib and Raja Abdulrahim, “Kurd-led force homes in on ISIS bastion with assent of U.S. and Syria alike,” The Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2017.
30. Patrick Cockburn, “Battle for Raqqa: Fighters begin offensive to push Isis out of Old City,” The Independent, July 7, 2017.
31. Robert Fisk, “This is the aim of Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia – and it isn’t good for Shia communities,” The Independent, May 18, 2017.
32. Dion Nissenbaum and Maria Abi-Habib, “U.S. split over plan to take Raqqa from Islamic state,” The Wall Street Journal. March 9, 2017.
33. Raja Abdulrahim, Maria Abi_Habin and Dion J. Nissenbaum, “U.S.-backed forces in Syria launch offensive to seize ISIS stronghold Raqqa,” The Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2016.
34. Margherita Stancati and Alia A. Nabhan, “During Mosul offensive, Kurdish fighters clear Arab village, demolish homes,” The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2016.
35. Matt Bradley, Ayla Albayrak, and Dana Ballout, “Kurds declare ‘federal region’ in Syria, says official,” The Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2016.
36. Robert Fisk, “The US seems keener to strike at Syria’s Assad than it does to destroy ISIS,” The Independent, June 20, 2017.
37. Paul Sonne and Raja Abdulrahim, “Pentagon warns Assad regime to avoid action near U.S. and allied forces,” The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2016.
38. Michael R. Gordon and Neil MacFarquhar, “U.S. election cycle offers Kremlin a window of opportunity in Syria,” The New York Times, October 4, 2016.
39. Michael R. Gordon and Neil MacFarquhar, “U.S. election cycle offers Kremlin a window of opportunity in Syria,” The New York Times, October 4, 2016.
AdvertisementsAlisyn Camerota and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (CNN)
A CNN anchor was left speechless after a Republican lawmaker claimed that weakening a nonpartisan ethics watchdog and placing it under congressional control was “draining the swamp.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) appeared Tuesday morning on “New Day” to discuss the measure, which requires the Office of Congressional Ethics to issue its reports to the lawmakers it’s tasked with investigating instead of releasing them directly to the public.
“Any time you can provide more accountability and more transparency to any process that is in place, then you’re going to take another step toward draining the swamp,” Blackburn said, echoing a campaign promise by Donald Trump. “I am all for draining the swamp. I think that anyone who knows me knows that I’ve spent much of my career on reducing the size, the scope and the cost of the federal government, and in its place putting transparency and accountability.”
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota said, if she’s worried about transparency, that Blackburn should understand why Democrats were concerned that the measure was passed without their input during a nighttime, closed-door meeting.
“Most people would say 5 o’clock in the afternoon is not at night,” Blackburn said, shrugging. “We could discuss that. It does start getting dark outside.”
Blackburn suggested congressional Democrats were hypocrites for holding a private strategy session with President Barack Obama.
“The Democrats have their meeting behind closed doors also, and on Wednesday, when the president comes to talk to them about how to fight against the repeal of Obamacare, they’re going to do that one behind closed doors,” Blackburn said, punctuating her attack with a wink.
Camerota watched in stunned silence as Blackburn continued with a half-hearted defense of the GOP’s actions.
“The conferences meet together in a room, and that is where they have their conference meetings,” Blackburn said. “Each conference does that, and it is bipartisan and it is bicameral.”Now feel the might of (tiny) Surtur in his glory! Super-cute Funko POP! version of the character from Thor: Ragnarok
You'll have to do Clancy Brown's voice yourself
A ThinkGeek / GameStop exclusive
Super-cute Funko POP! version of Surtur, the fire demon
Officially-licensed Thor: Ragnarok merchandise
merchandise A ThinkGeek / GameStop exclusive
A bobble-head
Materials: Vinyl
Dimensions: 3 3/4" tall
We cannot guarantee that packaging will be in perfect shape when it arrives.
WARNING - SMALL PARTS - Not intended for children under 3 years of age.
If you want to round out your collection of Funko POP! Thor: Ragnarok vinyl figures, we have your Surtur right here.A ThinkGeek / GameStop exclusive, this Funko POP! features the king of the Fire Giants on fire. Well, not literally on fire. That would be bad for both our warehouse and your collectibles. But he's captured in "flaming" transparent vinyl, armed with his fire sword, Twilight.The Arizona Cardinals are doing something about their troubled ground game.
The team on Tuesday announced the signing of veteran running back Michael Bush. In a corresponding move, the Cardinals released fellow runner Kerwynn Williams.
Bush, 30, hasn't played since making 13 appearances with the Bears last season as a short-yardage back who never lived up to the promise of the four-year deal he signed in 2012. The former Raiders starter rumbled for 977 yards with Oakland in 2011, but accounted for just 197 yards and three scores in the Windy City last autumn.
In theory, Bush gives the Cardinals a physical presence they've missed this season. Andre Ellington is a tantalizing athlete, but Arizona's inability to sustain drives on the ground cost them dearly in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. Coming out of Week 12, only the Raiders are churning out fewer yards per outing than the Cards.
Bush has a shot to immediately steal carries away from Marion Grice, Robert Hughes and Stepfan Taylor. If he has anything left, that is.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews Thanksgiving Thursday's three games and recaps Monday night's Week 12 doubleheader. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.Led by their fearless captain, New Zealand threw themselves at this World Cup and came as close as they ever have done to greatness
Almost famous © Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Brendon McCullum is in mid-air. He is above the ground, above the ball. Floating. Flying.
The ball is heading for the boundary. McCullum sticks his hand down just before his body hits the ground. He stops the ball, but his hand, his shoulder, and most of his spine are on the padded triangle.
The ball dribbles off slowly. McCullum crashes into the LED advertising boards behind the rope. He gets up wringing his hand.
The match is against Bangladesh. It is the last of New Zealand's group games. They cannot be anywhere other than first in their group. The game means nothing. It should mean nothing.
McCullum doesn't play like that. He doesn't think like that. He doesn't lead like that. He flies into danger. Sometimes he crashes.
****
Mitchell Starc to Brendon McCullum is how you start a World Cup final. The first two balls to Martin Guptill were little more than a cocktail sausage. McCullum and Starc was the whole spit roast.
That first ball seemed too quick out of Starc's hand, but somehow McCullum's bat speed was even quicker. The whole thing was such a blur that there was even a micro moment where the crowd was waiting to see if it was six or out. Instead it had flown past the base of off stump.
Brad Haddin did a little "I can't believe it" skip. Starc reach for his head in despair. McCullum just stared back at him.
The World Cup final had started.
****
Six World Cup semi-finals. New Zealand were virtually in a permanent state of semi. It was one of the more remarkable, almost invisible, records in cricket. New Zealand are nearly almost never not good at ODI cricket. New Zealand are never great at ODI cricket.
In 1975 they ran into West Indies. Glenn Turner might have been batting in that tournament like no one could get him out, but he did get out and West Indies won with 119 balls to spare. In '79 they were up against England, and had 221 to chase in 60 overs. They ended up nine runs short with one wicket in hand. Glenn Turner went out with 60 to get. Richard Hadlee with 42 to go. Geoff Boycott took 1 for 24 from his nine overs.
Saeed Anwar could not be dismissed in the 1999 semi-final, and New Zealand didn't set him enough to really test his skills anyway. In 2007, Mahela Jayawardene made 115 and New Zealand's top six combined for less than that. Four years later New Zealand played Sri Lanka again. They made 217 and Sri Lanka were 160 for 1 before four quick wickets scared them, but not enough to prevent them cruising into the final.
If you meet Martin Crowe, there is a chance that, not long into meeting him, he will mention not being on the field for the whole '92 semi-final. This was the tournament of Crowe. He let Mark Greatbatch attack in the batting. He used Dipak Patel with the new ball. And he smashed Australia for a hundred.
Crowe did all this while looking good and sounding like a cricket genius. In the semi-final, he continued to smash. He scored a better-than-run-a-ball 91 that was only ended by a run-out. At this stage, the '92 World Cup was Martin Crowe's tournament.
Martin Crowe was Man of the Tournament at the 1992 World Cup, but he never forgave himself for his side losing the semi-final © Getty Images
New Zealand made a huge total of 262, the highest score of any game not featuring Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe. But Crowe had hurt his hamstring, so he sat out the bowling innings, with such a big total already in the bag. Even so, Pakistan still needed 123 off the last 15 overs. New Zealand should have been in the final, but instead, Inzamam-ul-Haq came into our lives and Pakistan won the World Cup. Crowe has never forgiven himself. Crowe left the field, and the tournament.
Of all of New Zealand's almosts, this was the most almost.
****
Lose toss, be asked to bat. Face sixth ball of World Cup, smash it over cover to the rope. Score 65 off 49. Win match. That is Brendon McCullum starting the World Cup.
New Zealand bowled out Scotland for 142. The game is over. But New Zealand don't just want to win the game. They want to win the net run rate. They want to dance gloriously over the line in the shortest amount of time possible. First ball McCullum faces, he slashes wildly and mishits it over cover for 1. Then a drive to the fielder. Then a perfect cover drive. Then a dropped flick. Then a turn for one. Then a crazy charge and swipe to the rope. New Zealand's innings is much the same as that. Instead of dancing across the line, they stumble out of the pub after having a cracking night.
Tim Southee produced one of the greatest bowling performances in World Cups against England. Old swing bowlers were watching in tears. Some of his deliveries seemed designed to not only dismiss English batsmen but humiliate them for years to come. Everyone should have been talking about him for years to come. Fifteen minutes after his seventh wicket, his name was already fading away. Had McCullum been holding a chainsaw he couldn't have done any more damage to the English bowlers. He made 77 from 22 balls. There were four dot balls and two singles in that. The rest was too brutal to relive.
In Auckland, Australia were 51 for 1 after six overs. It is hard to attack with that going on. So McCullum didn't attack. He changed the attack. Daniel Vettori came on. In his first 23 balls, Australia only took 13 runs. His 24th ball dismissed Shane Watson. Australia were 80 for 2. They would not double that score from there. Mitchell Johnson tried to break McCullum's, um, arm but he still made a third of the chase in 24 balls. Somehow, even with the back of innings already broken, Mitchell Starc almost stole it with 6 for 28. McCullum took Starc for 16 off eight balls.
Vettori had seven catchers against Afghanistan for a hat-trick ball. Later that game, McCullum almost took out Guptill with a down-the-track cross-bat straight smash.
Win toss against West Indies. Watch Guptill bat. Move to seventh World Cup semi-final in country's history.
****
New Zealand came into Test cricket in 1930. Their first-class cricket was probably not much stronger than that in Argentina at the time. A first Test was against England. A day later England played another Test against West Indies.
Australia played their first Test against New Zealand in 1946. They did not consider it a Test at the time. New Zealand made 42 and 54. Australia did not play New Zealand again for 10,136 days. In 1955, New Zealand went into the third innings 46 runs behind England. England won the match by an innings and 20 runs.
In this period, New Zealand had many players but only one champion. Bert Sutcliffe.
For 12 Tests, he proved to everyone that New Zealand belonged in Test cricket and should be taken seriously. It was Sutcliffe's 13th Test that changed him.
Neil Adcock was the bowler. He was patient zero for South African quick bowling. Adcock had this flock of hair that would stand on end as he hurled the ball in. It was cute. It was the only thing cute about him; the rest of him was terrifying. He bruised everyone he played against. Australia's Colin McDonald once said, "Tell this bastard I've got a family to go home to." This day in Johannesburg, Adcock was bowling length balls, at pace, that according to Sutcliffe were going "almost vertical". Both New Zealand's openers were hit before they were out.
People at the ground talked about the sound the ball made on Sutcliffe's head for years afterwards. Sutcliffe slumped to the ground unconscious. He got up, and even walked off the ground. As Sutcliffe got to hospital, Lawrie Miller was hit right on the heart, and started spitting blood. Two other players were hit as well. At the hospital, Sutcliffe lost consciousness again.
They hit him, then he hit them: Bert Sutcliffe battles on against South Africa in 1953 © ESPNcricinfo Ltd
The image of Sutcliffe going back out to bat at Ellis Park looks more like a war photo than a cricket one. His head is covered in a bandage. There is a huge lump on the back of his neck. According to Richard Boock's The Last Everyday Hero, on Sutcliffe, "[captain Geoff] Rabone and a couple of first-aid men raced into the middle to readjust the Kiwi's bandages, which had been weeping blood during the exchanges. They eventually decided to tape a white towel around his head."
Sutcliffe smashed the ball while he was out there. He smashed Adcock, and the great Hugh Tayfield. He went after everyone. Sutcliffe went past the follow-on with a six. At nine down, Sutcliffe was still unbeaten; he started to walk off the ground.
Bob Blair was supposed to bat at No. 11. Blair's fiancée had tragically died in the Tangiwai train crash the day before. Blair was in mourning. Sutcliffe, and most at the ground, thought that Blair wouldn't bat. He did. He played one scoring shot, for six. Sutcliffe ended up with 80 out of 187. The two men showed amazing bravery.
At that time, these two brave men batting in a losing cause was New Zealand's greatest day. New Zealand lost the game by 132 runs.
****
McCullum doesn't run down the wicket, he hurls. It's not a charge, it's a challenge. The first ball from Starc might have beaten him, but that doesn't stop him, it seems to spur him on. The Aussies must know who they are playing against, he must show them, he must bash them, he must end them.
He is three paces down the wicket, and two outside the leg stump. He is standing in the middle of the MCG, nowhere near the stumps.
Starc follows him. The ball is fast, again, and it comes in at him, again. This time it beats him outside his off stump and inside his leg stump. McCullum turns his head to see if Haddin has taken the ball, and then casually gets back into his crease.
McCullum has not hit a ball. He is under attack.
****
South Africa lose two early wickets. McCullum places every single New Zealander in a catching position. All four million of them.
McCullum won't back off. He keeps attacking. He uses up his best overs, he ignores his risky, fifth-bowler overs. He knows, he hopes, that if he goes hell for leather he can bowl South Africa out. He is wrong. In the end the most important force is the weather.
Until McCullum enters with the bat, that is. You might be excited by Chris Gayle. You might love Glenn Maxwell. You might think AB de Villiers is the best batsman on the planet. But every single ball you miss of Brendon McCullum is a moment lost.
Against South Africa, McCullum might as well have taken a sword, ripped off his clothes, hopped on a wild stallion and ridden into an invading army on his own
Not just the boundary, or play and miss, but the feeling you get as the bowler comes to the crease. The cricket possibilities are endless. He could save the world, chop his own head off, or clear a stand at cover. It is all possible, it is all probable, in that final moment. The moment between delivery stride and McCullum playing a shot is the best moment in cricket right now.
Against South Africa, he might as well have taken a sword, ripped off his clothes, hopped on a wild stallion and ridden into an invading army on his own. He has batted quicker. He has batted better. But never have 26 deliveries been more important to his country.
In McCullum's 4.2 over spell of destruction, he changed the entire run chase. It was mad. It was beautiful. It was almost enough.
Later, New Zealand would win thanks to Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott. The whole country celebrated. They had defeated the semi-final. They had won the biggest game of their country's cricket existence. They had won.
They were almost World Cup champions.
****
Thirty-nine years is a long time to wait for your first Test series win. When New Zealand did finally win a series, they did it in their own way. They had no champions in the team that won the only Test out of three. In that Test, the top score was from a Pakistani, and so was the only five-wicket haul. They had a collapse of 4 for 4. When they were finally chasing the target of 82, they lost five wickets. Plus, they did it away from home.
In the third Test they had to hold on for the draw. They did it because one man made the heroic contribution of 23 and four wickets in the match.
In the third innings, New Zealand fell to 108 for 8, with a lead of less than a hundred. Then Mark Burgess was joined at the crease by Bob Cunis.
Neither would have played much, if at all, for other countries. Burgess played 50 Tests and averaged 31.20. Cunis was, and will always be, known as famously "neither one thing nor the other".
In two hours these two put on 96 runs. They put on a lead. Took time out of the game. Gave some hope. Burgess made a hundred, his second first-class hundred; Cunis 23. Which is neither one thing nor the other.
Pakistan's chase was two hours and 20 minutes long to score 184. Pakistan shut up after losing four wickets. Cunis took all four, 4 for 21. In that whole match, he took only four wickets and made 23 runs. In his whole career, he made one fifty and took one five-wicket haul. In the history of New Zealand cricket, there have been greater personal performances, but few that were as important. Bob Cunis was one thing that day: a hero.
Don Neely, a former first-class cricketer and cricket official, later said: "It's a pity this side hasn't had greater recognition - perhaps their achievements were overshadowed by other world events in those tumultuous times, which saw men walking on the moon, as well as Vietnam and Woodstock."
New Zealand cricket had survived a war, some of the most humiliating defeats in Test cricket and a train tragedy, all on their way to one Test series win.
****
Never a lost cause: McCullum set the tone for his team with the bat and in the field © Getty Images
McCullum has three slips. The ball is swinging. Aaron Finch is a distance away from it. And McCullum smiles.
The rest of the world might think this is a formality. But McCullum has not given up. He has the smile of a man who knows the future, and it's a World Cup victory for New Zealand.
His smile is misguided, and magnificent.
****
New Zealand's second Test series win was against West Indies in 1979-80. They would be the only Test side to beat a full-strength West Indies. That started a whole new era of New Zealand cricket. The greatest days, at home and away. They beat Australia and England. They survived the underarm ball. And the team included a comic villain and a pretty hero.
That moustache. There was no way around it. It was the moustache of a villain. It wasn't just the moustache. Richard Hadlee had the sharp features of someone who would tie a young girl to a train line. And his eyes. They were supposed to look at you like that. Always. Hadlee seemed to pop out of a 1920s film and straight into the bowling crease. When Australian crowds called him a "wanker", it was the highest honour they could bestow.
Martin Crowe was like a beautifully illustrated coaching manual come to life. He managed to play forward and still late. He rotated the strike right up until the moment there was a ball he could hit for four, and then it went. His batting was calm and complete. When Crowe pushed through point, you wanted to convert to him.
New Zealand had a team around them as well. They were the good old days. In 14 series New Zealand won nine times.
But they weren't the best team on earth, West Indies were. They never even made the semi-final of a World Cup in this era. New Zealand might have been at their best. But they weren't the best.
****
When the MCG knew they had won the World Cup © Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
On the back page of Melbourne's biggest newspaper it said, "Hey Bro" with a photo of Brendon McCullum. He is the superstar of this New Zealand team. Australia is a country that doesn't know the difference between a Trent Boult, a Kane Williamson and a Luke Ronchi (even though he used to play for them). They know McCullum.
McCullum has a great team, but he's the face, the brawn, the leading man. And the man who can take Australia's whole World Cup away.
But he's still not hit a ball after the first two deliveries. And the MCG is salivating as one. The whole ground feels moist. Eager. Desperate. Lustful.
McCullum doesn't run, charge or hurl down the wicket. He stays in his crease. Starc doesn't hoop the ball. It isn't a Wasim Akram ball. It didn't have a devious mind and a cunning plan. It was straight and full, and it faded back.
McCullum played it like a man who had just played and missed twice. McCullum was late. McCullum was wide. McCullum was out.
The MCG reacted like it had won the World Cup. You could feel the shake in the stands. You could feel the shake in every person. You could feel the concrete erupting.
The MCG had just won the World Cup.
New Zealand will fight, they will hope, they will "dare to dream" but they will come to find what the MCG already knew - it wasn't their day.
"The greatest time of our lives" is how Brendon McCullum described this tournament. It was perhaps the greatest time of New Zealand cricket. Eight straight wins and a trip to the MCG for a magical day.
It was almost. But their greatest almost.
Jarrod Kimber is a writer for ESPNcricinfo. @ajarrodkimber
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.Swimmers play in the sea during a hot day at the West Beach in St Andrews, east Scotland July 21, 2008. REUTERS/David Moir
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The Scottish government announced a 10 million pound ($14.94 million) prize for new wave or tidal power technologies on Tuesday as part of the country’s renewable energy drive.
First Minister Alex Salmond announced details of the international “Saltire Prize” at a ceremony in Edinburgh castle.
The prize is intended “to push the frontiers of innovation in clean, green marine renewable energy,” he said ahead of the ceremony.
Salmond said Scotland could enjoy a quarter of Europe’s total marine power potential and described the turbulent waters off the northern Scottish mainland as “our Saudi Arabia of renewable marine energy.”
The prize will be awarded to the team that can demonstrate the best commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology in Scottish waters that produces at least 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) over a two-year period using only the power of the sea.
Scotland’s chief scientific adviser and head of the prize committee, Anne Glover, said the competition would open in the summer of 2009 and close by June 2013.
Scotland hopes to get half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.Having established a bigger circle of influence after signing for two more years, Sunderland’s head coach will implement a made-in-Britain policy to build the squad he wants
It promises to be a busy summer for Gus Poyet. There’s a holiday to be taken with his wife Madelon, a spot of World Cup punditry for ITV in Rio de Janeiro and an operation to repair a torn cruciate ligament in Darlington.
Along the way Sunderland’s manager must also perform major surgery on a team whose miraculous escape from relegation concealed manifold flaws. In many ways it is |
some of the issues facing Miami and some of the questions the Hurricanes will have to answer ahead of their season opener against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 5. Today, we’ll check in on the defense, with a look at special teams coming later in the week. If you missed it, here’s our look at the offense, which ran earlier.
Key losses: LB Denzel Perryman, DE Anthony Chickillo, DT Olsen Pierre, CB Ladarius Gunter, LB Thurston Armbrister, S Nantambu Fentress
Key returning players: LB Jermaine Grace (6-1, 208), LB Raphael Kirby (6-1, 235), S Deon Bush (6-1, 205); LB Tyriq McCord (6-3, 236), CB Artie Burns (6-0, 190), S Dallas Crawford (5-10, 200), CB Tracy Howard (5-11, 191), DE Trent Harris (6-2, 245), DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (6-4, 256), DE Chad Thomas (6-5, 254), DE Jelani Hamilton (6-5, 302), DT Ufomba Kamalu (6-6, 295), DT Anthony Moten (6-4, 299)
Defensive line
One of the units that has faced some of the most scrutiny – and criticism – in recent seasons could be a bright spot for the Hurricanes. Though the line lost end Anthony Chickillo and tackle Olsen Pierre, who combined for 26 starts last season, it should be bolstered by the return of rush end Al-Quadin Muhammad, who missed last season after being suspended for a semester. During his time away from the team, Muhammad added plenty of bulk and this spring, emerged as one of the defense’s more vocal leaders. Also back is Chad Thomas, who arrived on campus as one of the prizes of Miami’s 2014 signing class and appeared in 12 games last year. He’s expected to be one of the Hurricanes’ rising stars on defense. Ufomba Kamalu, who led the returning linemen with 3.5 sacks, has the ability to play both end and tackle, and Hurricanes coach Al Golden said he expects Jelani Hamilton and Earl Moore to have benefitted from redshirting last season. Tackles Courtel Jenkins and Michael Wyche have also made progress this off-season according to Golden, particularly on the conditioning front. Calvin Heurtelou is also worth watching and should continue to make an impact after making 12 starts last season. Former St. Thomas Aquinas standout Anthony Moten is back too.
“It’s a much deeper group and a much more veteran group,” Golden said of the line. “I’m excited about it.”
Linebackers
For the first time since the 2011 season, the Hurricanes won’t have Denzel Perryman on the field and that’s going to be a loss they’ll have to adjust to, quickly. Perryman was the emotional heart and soul of the Miami defense through a tough stretch and finished as the team’s leader with 110 tackles last season, 50 more stops than the next Miami defender, fellow linebacker Jermaine Grace. And it’s Grace who will be called on to try and help fill the void left by Perryman’s departure for the NFL. Grace – a former Miramar High standout – had 60 tackles last season and has earned praise from teammates and coaches for his off-season work after a brief suspension during spring football. Grace reportedly clocked the fastest off-season time in the 40-yard-dash and Golden is hopeful he can keep that speed as the Hurricanes try to add a few more pounds to his 6-foot-1 frame. One of the players credited with helping Grace develop is senior Raphael Kirby, who had 54 tackles and is projected to be the starter at the middle linebacker spot this season. One battle worth watching in camp includes Tyriq McCord (48 tackles) and Darrion Owens (23 tackles) at the Sam position. Freshmen Mike Smith and Charles Perry could also make an impact.
Defensive backs
Miami’s secondary could prove one of the most exciting, talented units on the team – if it lives up to its potential. The group loses corner Ladarius Gunter, who had 28 tackles and was one of three players along with Kirby and Deon Bush to have two interceptions last season. Also gone is Nantambu Fentress, who made nine starts at safety. But Bush, who made 11 starts and had 53 tackles, two picks, five forced fumbles and broke up three passes is back and has the ability to play both corner and safety, much like Gunter did last season. In an off-season in which Miami has looked for its veteran players to step up and become more vocal leaders, Golden says Bush has done that and more ahead of what will be his senior season.
Also stepping up in that role, Golden said, has been former Miramar standout Tracy Howard, who made one start last year, had an interception and 20 tackles. He’ll be battling redshirt freshman Ryan Mayes for one of the starting cornerback jobs. At the other spot, two-sport standout Artie Burns and Corn Elder will be fighting for reps. Burns, a standout on the Hurricanes’ track team had 40 tackles last season while Elder had 34 stops. Dallas Crawford, who made the move from running back to safety last season, returns after emerging as one of the defense’s biggest hitters. He, too, has drawn raves from Golden for his work ethic and leadership.
“He kind of gives you that maturity and poise,” Golden said of Crawford. “A very physical player, an unselfish player, a guy that will help you on special teams too.”
Miami will also get Rayshawn Jenkins back after the former starter redshirted last season with a back injury and the Hurricanes hope he can return to form after a three-interception, 46-tackle season as a sophomore in 2013. Keep an eye on freshmen Sheldrick Redwine, Jaquan Johnson, Michael Jackson and Robert Knowles – all were highly touted prospects that could see playing time even in a crowded, experienced defensive backfield.Tracks include an early demo of 'Never Had No One Ever'
A number of rare tracks and recordings by The Smiths have been uploaded to a Morrissey fansite.
The songs have appeared on the website Morrissey-solo.com. Among the collection are an early demo of ‘Never Had No One Ever’, from a 1986 recording session for ‘The Queen Is Dead’, which you can listen to below.
Other rare and early demos include an acoustic take of ‘Nobody Loves Us’ and alternate versions of ‘Bengali In Platforms’, ‘He Knows I’d Love to See Him’ and ‘Southpaw’.
Daddy the group fronted by actor James Franco, recently signed a record deal and will release an album and film inspired by The Smiths.
Franco has previously written poetry influenced by the Salford band’s songs, with the actor now intending to use these poems as the basis for original music. The album, titled ‘Let Me Get What I Want’ in reference to The Smiths’ 1984 song ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’, will be released in 2016 via Kobalt.
Daddy is a musical partnership between Franco and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Keefe. The Smiths’ own bassist Andy Rourke will also feature on every track.
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“We are really excited to partner with Kobalt on our upcoming Daddy album and film,” Franco and O’Keefe said of the news.
“Kobalt has the right forward-thinking approach to work with a project as unique as ours, where we see our work not only existing within the music realm, but extending into the film, art space and beyond on an independent basis.”
https://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=1481543944001Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson will be running for re-election after all, journalists have been told.
In a stunning U-turn, President Grímsson has just told a press conference that he intends to stand in the upcoming presidential elections in June.
Having served as President for twenty years, Grímsson has decided to run for a further four-year term – after announcing to the nation on New Year’s Day that he would not.
"Iceland has never seen day-in-day-out protests before," explained Grímsson at this afternoon's press conference. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Golli
He told journalists that he has come under “much pressure” to stand again, with a “wide cross-section of the public” urging him to stand.
Should he win in June, Grímsson does not rule out the possibility of serving for less than the full four years of the usual term of office. He has been Iceland’s President since 1996.
Recent political unrest in Iceland – and the prospect of difficult general elections this autumn – have influenced this changed of heart, Grímsson said.
Bessastaðir, the residence of the President of Iceland. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Ómar Óskarsson
Iceland’s image and reputation abroad were decisive factors behind the encouragement Grímsson received to run again, journalists heard.
The recent anti-government demonstrations in Reykjavik are one of the motivations for his decision. Grímsson considers that the currently lack of “beneficial coexistence” between Parliament and the people requires him to carry on.
Related articles:Some disturbing news about STD infection rates recently came out of Rhode Island via the state’s department of health. A survey conducted by the department revealed that from 2013 to 2014, cases of syphilis rose by 79 percent, gonorrhea by 30 percent and HIV by almost 33 percent.
In the report, the department stated that they believe this is reflective of a national trend. They also warned that even though infection rates are up across the board, new cases of HIV and syphilis continue to increase among gay and bisexual men at a faster rate than in other parts of the population.
One of the contributing factors in this increase, cited by Dr. Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive at the UK-based Terrence Higgins Trust, is the rise in dating app usage (like Tinder and Grindr) over the past five years and users engaging in casual and often unsafe sex, saying “Dating apps have given people more opportunities to meet potential partners than ever before, and we are currently looking at their impact on gay men’s sexual health.”
Whether gay, straight, bi, meeting in person or on an app, safer sex practices always need to be part of the discussion.
No word on whether or not researchers have been able to find a correlation between STD increases and abstinence-only sex education.With the jubilation of American Kurt Caselli’s win of Stage Seven in the 2013 Dakar Rally, there comes bad news regarding the passing of race competitor, Thomas Bourgin. Killed during the liaison section of the seventh stage’s special timed section, the French rider was killed when his KTM race bike collided with a Chilean police vehicle.
No other details of the crash have been released by race officials, though the incident highlights the risks that riders undertake while racing The Dakar. At only 25 years of age, Bourgin was competing in his first Dakar Rally, and was in an impressive 68th position at the end of Stage Six. Our thoughts are with Bourgin’s family and friends today.
Statement by the A.S.O.: Death of the rider Thomas Bourgin
Motorcycle rider no. 106 Thomas Bourgin (FRA) was the victim of a fatal traffic accident on the link route as he made his way to the start of the day’s special stage.
The accident took place at 08.23 hours local time on the link route on the way up to the Chilean side of the mountain range. The 25-year-old rider collided with a Chilean police car that was travelling in the opposite direction. The exact circumstances of the accident are being subjected to an inquiry.
The rally’s medical teams deployed on the ground were only able to certify the rider’s death, probably instant.
Thomas Bourgin, from Saint Etienne, where he was born on December 23rd 1987, was in 68th place in the overall ranking of his first Dakar. He had realised his passion since 2009 when he took part in the Morocco Rally, followed by a 4th place in the 2011 Africa Race and a 7th place finish in the Tunisia Rally.
The organisers of the Dakar and everyone involved in it express their great sadness to his family and friends and offer their most sincere condolences.
Source: Dakar; Photo: thomasbourgin.comALBANY — Seven dozen protesters arrested over the course of Occupy Albany's two-month downtown encampment are officially off the hook.
City Court Judge Thomas K. Keefe has formally dismissed more than 100 charges that were still technically pending against the protesters — long after District Attorney David Soares' office announced that it would not prosecute protesters arrested for nonviolent offenses that did not involve property damage while exercising their free speech rights.
Citing Soares' refusal to prosecute, Keefe wrote in a brief decision that he had no other choice — making official what had been all but a foregone conclusion.
"Absent a clear abuse of discretion, which is not indicated here, this court's only recourse is to dismiss," the judge wrote.
The vast majority of the arrests were made by State Police in Lafayette Park in November, when protesters provoked troopers into arresting them after city police had for weeks refused to do so in neighboring Academy Park, home to the protest's large encampment.
The arrests became a nightly ritual, during which the protesters — a dozen or a more a night — would gather on the state-owned land in violation of its curfew and peacefully await troopers to bind their hands with plastic ties and lead them away.
Soares' refusal to prosecute the arrests — largely for violations such as trespassing — made him an early hero of the movement and a villain to those who viewed the city's refusal to oust the occupiers and Soares' refusal to try them as weak-kneed.
To date, only one protester — 63-year-old William Preston — has pleaded guilty to anything in connection with the encampment.
Preston was charged with resisting arrest, criminal contempt and obstruction of governmental administration during the Dec. 22 confrontation with police that followed the city's dismantling of the encampment.
Preston pleaded guilty last month to disorderly conduct, a noncriminal violation that landed him a $250 fine and a court surcharge around $200.
The protesters remain locked in civil litigation with the city over its enforcement of a court order to dismantle their tents. The occupiers, who are now ensconced in a Madison Avenue storefront, maintain their right to camp in the city-owned park across the street from City Hall and the Capitol — not just protest there — is protected by the First Amendment.
jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com • 518-454-5445 • @JCEvangelist_TUMore than 50,000 fans were on hand to see Lionel Messi score an incredible 19-minute hat trick vs. Panama at Soldier Field Friday night.
But few Chicagoans got up close and personal with the No. 1 team in the FIFA World Ranking the way the Chicago Fire Academy sides did last week.
The Chicago Fire Academy U-18 and U-16 squads trained alongside Argentina before and after Friday's 5-0 defeat of Panama in Copa America Centenario Group D action. Training at UIC's Flames Field on Wednesday and Thursday, the Chicago Fire Academy had the once-in-a-soccer-lifetime educational experience of mimicking the Panamanian side's tactics and personnel as Gerardo Martino readied his men for the match.
The teams then shared the pitch again on Saturday after the Academy's preparatory assistance -- along with a little help from the aforementioned hat trick off the bench by Messi -- had seen La Albiceleste through to victory the night before.
Argentina closes out group play Tuesday night against Bolivia at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The Chicago Fire Academy sides, meanwhile, are in final preparations for the start of USSDA playoffs June 22-26 in Frisco, Texas." No Labels" finally has its presidential candidate — and he's running on the Republican ticket.
The scolding centrist non-partisan nonprofit hasn't officially endorsed Donald Trump, but its founding co-chairman Jon Huntsman has. And Trump, in many ways, is the perfect fit for the group, and for the mindset and attitude behind it: the condescending, self-styled non-ideological pragmatism that speaks as if obvious and easy policy answers are at hand to fix all of our problems, if only partisans and ideologues would "stop fighting and start fixing."
Huntsman on Monday brought his "stop fighting" message to Republican voters. Get in line behind the GOP frontrunner, Huntsman argues. Quit the talk of contesting the convention, running third-party, or staying home. Vote Trump.
A "moderate" like Huntsman endorsing Trump shocked some commentators, but it's actually a great fit. Trump embodies the No Labels approach to politics.
Non-partisan and bipartisan? Trump is the pinnacle of this. He was a registered Democrat until a few years ago. Trump has donated to Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. On the federal level, Trump has reportedly given about 30 percent of his money to Democrats. In New York state, he's reportedly given about 60 percent to Dems.
Trump brags about his ability to win crossover voters, and his bragging proved true — the most reliable Trump demographic has been the registered Democrat who votes in the Republican primary. Huntsman praised Trump's "ability to cut across traditional party boundaries."
Non-ideological? You couldn't get less ideological than Donald Trump. He calls himself a "common-sense conservative," which means he occasionally adopts conservative views, but feels totally unbound by principles or any coherent philosophy of government.
Trump is clearly not wedded to any idea of smaller government, or frankly any limits on government. And that's the key. The real obstacle to the Pragmatic Centrist Agenda — as presented by not only No Labels, but also pundits and politicians of many stripes — is probably the Constitution: its irritating checks and balances, and its curbs on the power of the majority. So archaic!
This is the mantra, and the true belief of this odd slice of the American political class: that we could all solve problems if we set aside ideology and just stopped bickering. Just below the surface here are condescension and and a whiff of fascism, two Trumpian traits.
Trump says Washington can't solve problems because "the stupid people" run the show. Under President Trump, "We'll have all the smartest people." The smartest people will solve the problems.
This echoes Chris Christie's disdain for deliberation. The New Jersey governor, during his presidential run, would tout his bold leadership and mock Washington's "subcommittees." (Christie hates subcommittees. Under President Trump, one expects Secretary Christie will outlaw subcommittees.) Folks like Christie made it clear what they wanted: a strong leader, unbeholden to ideology or party who would simply get things done.
This includes calls to end "bickering" when Congress debates an issue like taxes, or spending and the national debt. But here's the thing: Liberals, conservatives, moderates, libertarians and populists all actually disagree on things. Debating and fighting is how a democracy resolves these issues. Trump and the No Labels crowd think that debate is dumb and a waste of time.
Trump's fascistic strains are fairly obvious. He objects that preacher Rafael Cruz "is allowed to say" certain things, he calls for press crackdowns, killing innocents who are related to terrorists, and forcing military officers to break the law. The Pragmatic Centrists have a more hidden fascistic streak.
"Exploit the fear factor," Politico alumnus Jim Vandehei wrote in his recent manifesto for a centrist Innovation Party. A third-party presidential "candidate should be from the military," Vandehei writes. "A third-party candidate could build on death-by-drones..." Vandehei calls for a "National App" whereby Washington can coordinate labor flows.
"Who is to blame for Trump?" is a popular game in Washington these. In the wake of Huntsman's endorsement, allow me to suggest a new culprit: No Labels, and the gang scolding Pragmatic Centrists. They have spent years telling voters that common-sense solutions to our nation's problems are at hand, but only the perfidy and stupidity of our leaders stand in the way.
If you wonder why millions of Americans believe Trump can solve our problems, even though he has no understanding of policy, blame these No Labels types and preachy pragmatists.
Policy is tricky in real life. Different people have different views on what makes good policy. Solving our problems is hard. Donald Trump denies these truths, and so does the No Labels ideology.
This mindset is dangerous and condescending. That's something on which I think Left and Right can agree.
Timothy P. Carney, the Washington Examiner's senior political columnist, can be contacted at tcarney@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.One of the main figures in protests against the current Rangers board, Sandy Chugg, will stand trial in July following his arrest after the League Cup semi final on 1st February, which saw Celtic beat the Ibrox side 2-0.
Chugg was arrested on Argyle Street for threatening and abusive behaviour, but denied the charges.
An initial hearing of 1st July at Glasgow Sheriff Court will take place, before the trial date of 29th July.
Chugg was arrested under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 for threatening or abusive behaviour, where a person commits an offence if:
(a)A behaves in a threatening or abusive manner,
(b)the behaviour would be likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm, and
(c)A intends by the behaviour to cause fear or alarm or is reckless as to whether the behaviour would cause fear or alarm.
The Sons of Struth claim to a group of ‘like minded Rangers fans who hold dear the values of Struth. Dignity, honesty and openness’. But as we reported on this site several months ago, Chugg has an unsavoury past.
Chugg was a former leader of the Rangers hooligan group ‘Inter City Firm’ and was jailed for three years in 1990 for drug dealing, specifically the sale of LSD and Temazepam. He was also given a community service order in 2000 for being in possession of a stun gun.
Rangers handed the convicted drug dealer three lifetime bans over his hooliganism, the last being handed to him in 2007 for attending Rangers’ European clash against Osasuna – despite being handed an indefinite suspension by the club. The bans were lifted in August 2011.
He also tried and failed to organise violent clashes during Scotland’s 1998 World Cup campaign in France, which was foiled after a six-month operation involving Scots, French and Spanish police forces. The bus carrying them was intercepted by Police at Salou in Spain, included members linked to Ulster Loyalist terror groups [Ulster Freedom Fighters and the Ulster Volunteer Force] and were heading to Bordeaux intent on causing trouble at the Scotland – Norway match.
If found guilty, the Sons of Struth co-founder could face a fine or given his previous criminal history, a prison sentence.
The League Cup semi final match was marred by sectarian and racist singing from the Rangers supporters as they watched their team fail to put up a fight against their city rivals. While Celtic unfurled offensive banners mocking Rangers over their financial history.
Despite this Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Andy Bates, speaking after the match, said: “As usual, the vast majority of the 50,000 fans were here to enjoy the game and support their respective team. They deserve credit for their excellent behaviour. However, again, it is the minority of fans who spoiled the occasion by for example setting off flares and singing sectarian songs. We dealt with any incidents swiftly and with minimum disruption.”
Sons of Struth spokesperson and fellow co-founder Craig Houston was not available for comment on Sandy Chugg’s arrest or impending trial despite numerous attempts to contact the self-appointed fans spokesperson.With voters feeling that she has charted a different course to her predecessor, Conservative and UKIP supporters are especially likely to think that May is the superior PM
By the time Britain goes to the polls on 8 June, Theresa May will have been in post as Prime Minister for almost a year. The current PM's style could not be more different from that of her predecessor: Cameron’s more cosmopolitan attitudes, slick communications, and “chillaxing” management style is in distinct contrast with May’s caution and more traditional Conservatism.
But which of the two do they think is better at the job of Prime Minister? Approaching four in ten (38%) pick Thersa May, whilst just under a quarter (24%) choose David Cameron. A large proportion (38%) can’t choose between them.
This is perhaps unsurprising, with the current PM enjoying an unusually long honeymoon period while her predecessor's time in office ended in resignation when he didn't win the EU referendum.
The choice is especially clear for those who are planning on voting Conservative or UKIP at the forthcoming election, with 69% and 63% respectively favouring May. By contrast, supporters of two of the opposition parties are more likely to say that Cameron was better at the job (Liberal Democrat 47%, Labour 37%).
During her time as Prime Minister, Theresa May’s government has jettisoned key Cameron pledges (such as the ban on new grammar schools), whilst maintaining others (like ringfencing 0.7% international aid spending). The new leader has also set out her own stall on issues including executive pay and workers on company boards (although since she appears to have stepped back from some of these policies).
The public certainly seems to feel that the new Prime Minister is charting her own course in government and that it is a positive change.While nearly half of people (48%) think Theresa May has changed direction from David Cameron, this figure is split between 35% who think she has changed direction and this is a good thing and 13% who think she has changed direction as this is a bad thing.
By contrast, just 23% of people think that the see May as continuity from Cameron. This figure is split between 15% who think it is a bad thing that Theresa May has stuck to her former boss’ course and 8% who think it is a good thing.
Photo: PA
See the full results hereOn Wednesday’s Morning Joe, the panel breathed a collective sigh of relief over the news that during yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rebuffed the notion that he would launch a special prosecutor’s investigation against the Clintons for their alleged corrupt conduct related to the Russian acquisition of Uranium One. The liberal pundits proceeded to proclaim that the Uranium One story was a “dumb conspiracy theory” that has “been debunked” “many times” and praised Sessions for his “noble” actions.
The show started off with a brief discussion of the Sessions hearing and a few clips from it. The panelists lauded Sessions for stepping aside earlier this year to allow Rod Rosenstein to appoint a special prosecutor to go after Trump and for doing what he did yesterday in pushing back against Representative Jim Jordan’s [R-OH] suggestion that a special prosecutor would be appropriate to examine the Uranium One case.
Host Joe Scarborough and regular guest Mike Barnicle then went back to their oft-repeated talking points about how Trump is an “autocrat” trying to obliterate “constitutional norms”:
SCARBOROUGH: We had an attorney general that stepped up and [...] look[ed] like he was not going to allow our President, our Republicans in Congress turn this Justice Department into some device for a tyrannical autocrat in the making. BARNICLE: Yeah. I mean, we will get to the fact that he's prone to amnesia. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. BARNICLE: The attorney general, Sessions. BRZEZINSKI: [talking under Barnicle] He’s got some issues with his memory. BARNICLE: We’ll get to that. But on this specific facet of yesterday, what happened yesterday, I mean, this is an attempt, a concerted attempt by the President of the United States and allies within the House of Representatives, clearly, yesterday, Jim Jordan, the guy without a coat from Ohio, to turn the Justice Department into just a political property of the President, to inflict politics into the Justice Department, which would affect the morale of the Justice Department. And- SCARBOROUGH: [interrupting] Well, it would shatter constitutional norms. And again, that's why- BARNICLE: [interjecting] Yeah! SCARBOROUGH: -we’re starting with this, because if he listened to Donald Trump,- BRZEZINSKI: [interjecting] It would have been chilling. SCARBOROUGH: -this would shatter constitutional norms and would be chilling.
The Constitution explicitly puts the Justice Department directly under the control of the executive branch. This means that the President has complete legal authority to push the Justice Department to direct its investigative resources towards particular individuals or groups of people as long as its lawyers follow applicable legal standards regarding due process. If Scarborough and company are skeptical about this, perhaps they will believe liberal legal analyst and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz:
Throughout American history — from Adams to Jefferson to Lincoln to Roosevelt to Kennedy to Obama — presidents have directed (not merely requested) the Justice Department to investigate, prosecute (or not prosecute) specific individuals or categories of individuals. It is only recently that the tradition of an independent Justice Department and FBI has emerged.
The panel moved on to try to discredit the essence of the Clinton-Uranium One claims by, in part, using Fox News anchor Shepard Smith’s recent rant decrying the story as fake news:
BARNICLE: Yeah. And this thing is all over a Canadian company purchased by the Russians. The purchase as it involved the United States was approved by a committee that represented nine different federal agencies of the government. That's some conspiracy- SCARBOROUGH: [interjecting] Right. Not [trails off]. [talking under Barnicle] Nine federal agencies. BARNICLE: -that you hold together. You know, nine different agencies. BRZEZINSKI: President Trump and his allies have been hammering the Clinton State Department for months, calling the Uranium One deal, quote: “Watergate modern age.” SCARBOROUGH: [exasperated tone] Oh, come on. Come on, take a cold shower. BRZEZINSKI: It’s also been covered virtually wall-to-wall on Fox News in their own special way. But one of Fox's leading journalists, Shep Smith, took on the President's statements, calling them inaccurate in a number of ways, noting that, quote: “The Clinton State Department had no power to veto or approve that transaction.” [cuts to Shepard Smith Fox News clip] SHEPARD SMITH: Even so, the accusation is predicated on the charge that Secretary Clinton approved the sale. She did not. A committee of nine evaluated the sale, the President approved the sale, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others had to offer permits, and none of the uranium was exported for use by the U.S. to Russia. That is Uranium One. [end of clip] BRZEZINSKI: So this was six minutes of beauty. And we’re gonna have much more of Shep's surgical debunking of his own network’s obsession ahead on the show. SCARBOROUGH: Sam Stein, Shep actually just,- BRZEZINSKI: [interjecting] It was incredible. SCARBOROUGH: -Shep undercut this entire conspiracy theory. And it is an -- it is a dumb conspiracy theory - BRZEZINSKI: [talking under Joe] And the, and the clown show. SCARBOROUGH: -because, again, you had all these agencies that had to sign off on it. This wasn't Hillary Clinton saying: Give me money and I’m gonna take care of this.
Amazingly, no one bothered to mention that, unlike with the constantly touted “evidence” of Trump-Russia “collusion,” it has been confirmed by multiple outlets that millions of dollars were flowing into the Clinton Foundation from Russian-connected sources at the same time that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which Hillary Clinton was a part of, was reviewing the Russians’ bid to buy a majority share in Uranium One. Moreover, as The New York Times reported two years ago, not only did Clinton herself have the power to nix the purchase if she or anyone else in her department raised concerns about the deal, but she also failed to disclose the Clinton Foundation’s receipt of millions of dollars that potentially influenced her decision-making process:
When a company controlled by the Chinese government sought a 51 percent stake in a tiny Nevada gold mining operation in 2009, it set off a secretive review process in Washington, where officials raised concerns primarily about the mine’s proximity to a military installation, but also about the potential for minerals at the site, including uranium, to come under Chinese control. The officials killed the deal. Such is the power of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. [...] They are charged with reviewing any deal that could result in foreign control of an American business or asset deemed important to national security. (...) Before Mrs. Clinton could assume her post as secretary of state, the White House demanded that she sign a memorandum of understanding placing limits on the activities of her husband’s foundation. To avoid the perception of conflicts of interest, [...] the foundation was required to publicly disclose all contributors. To judge from those disclosures [...] the only Uranium One official to give to the Clinton Foundation was Mr. Telfer, the chairman, and the amount was relatively small: no more than $250,000, and that was in 2007, before talk of a Rosatom deal began percolating. But a review of tax records in Canada, where Mr. Telfer has a family charity called the Fernwood Foundation, shows that he donated millions of dollars more, during and after the critical time when the foreign investment committee was reviewing his deal with the Russians. With the Russians offering a special dividend, shareholders like Mr. Telfer stood to profit.
If any news outlet had such a story about Trump or anyone even loosely connected to him or the campaign receiving millions of dollars from Russian-connected business interests during the elections, liberal media heads would collectively explode and we would be subjected to endless months of incendiary propaganda about Trump being a traitor who must be impeached.
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
However, when it came to the Clintons, everyone on Morning Joe just dismissed real concerns based on facts as a “dumb conspiracy.” Why? It seems that they simply can’t fathom how Clinton or her associates might have wrangled behind the scenes to make sure that the Uranium One sale went through, even though at that early stage of Obama’s presidency, she was clearly a top contender for being the future standard bearer of the Democratic Party. This undoubtedly gave her immense political clout within the party to influence policy.
No matter, because after adulating Shepard Smith for his “six minutes of beauty,” Daily Beast politics editor Sam Stein jumped into the conversation to concur with the other liberal journos that the Uranium One story was “debunked”:
Yeah, there was [sic] nine separate entities that did have to sign off on it. As I understand, she had a proxy sign off on it. It wasn't even her that signed off on it. Um, it's difficult to see how you can orchestrate a conspiracy with the input of nine other agencies. (...) I mean, it's almost silly that we’re even trying to debunk it ‘cause it's been debunked so many times. But to your point, I think there is a propensity to believe these nefarious things about the Clintons that leads us to these conspiracy fever swamps. And for whatever you think about Jeff Sessions, the ability for him to say you know what, we’re not gonna devote resources or time or energy, or at least to hint that, is noble.
Scarborough agreed: “It is noble.”
During the broadcast, no one brought up the salient bit of information that Sam Stein’s publication is owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC), whose board of directors includes Chelsea Clinton, who has herself been involved in running the Clinton Foundation. It’s difficult to take journalists seriously when they fail to mention clear conflicts of interest with stories that they are commenting or reporting on.
See the transcript of the segment below:I recently posted this video as part of the ongoing Vadi interpretation work I am doing. As should be clear from the context, this is not syllabus-ready material, it is just my first proper take on the subject. In other words, the interpretations in the video are not the gospel according to Guy, but an indication of my current thoughts on the subject. Bear that in mind when putting it into practice!
This play is tricky to interpret as the image seems to show something that directly contradicts an earlier statement in the text. I don’t know of anyone who has a definitive interpretation with no such inconsistencies. So this may be a good place to look at the assumptions I am making, as they shed light on the process of interpretation that I tend to follow. And a deeper look into the text that may support my current view.
Here is the image in question:
And the text that goes with it:
E reverso fendente ho tratto sul pe stanco Senza scanbiar pe voltando el galone Traro el dritto senza moverme anco. I have made a roverso fendente on the left foot,
Without changing the foot turning the hips I strike a dritto without further movement. (Translation mine, from Veni Vadi Vici, p 126)
The first question then is can we trust the image? It is possible to argue that given medieval artistic conventions and the like that the the play done in real life may not look much like the image. I reject these arguments out of hand on the grounds that there is no end then to what the image may represent- it becomes essentially useless. I make exceptions only for images that are anatomically impossible to replicate, such as this one from the Getty MS:
To claim that an interpretation looks nothing like the image because the image is wrong demands a hefty burden of proof. So we might ask, are the other images in this MS reliable? And with the exception of sudden hand changes (eg the 12th play, p 134), and the 14th play (p |
good bet that happy hour's over.
A/N: I felt the urge to write something new today, and this idea came to me in a dream the other night. I kind of like the premise of it. Please read and share your thoughts. A 3,200 word one-shot.
All the best,
-Joe
Tragedy, Mine Alone
Let the truth be known though the heavens fall.
A dangerous lie to find the truth. To find the men
who would be revealed as its enemy, as our enemy.
As the enemy within.
~Fox Mulder
July 31st, 2015
The Twentieth Glorious Year of Ascension
Dale Penticott could feel the anticipation in the air. The feeling of awed expectation rose back and forth like a wave of determined intent across the three thousand people gathered within Trafalgar Square.
It was a perfect day for the Gift of Healing.
The sun was high in the sky, just before noon, and not a single cloud marred the clear blue heavens. The great floating city of New Atlantis hung magnificently in the sky, its massive foundation chains dangling down to the ground like cords of pure, empiric strength. Once it was completed, those chains would no longer be needed and the Saviour's city would stand as a shining testament to the light and order he had pulled from chaos twenty years ago.
"Two minutes," whispered Roland Abberley on Dale's left. "He'll be here in two minutes."
Dale nodded. There was a taste of magic on the warm summer's breeze. A spark of power leaping through every man, woman and child in the square. All of them, every one, could sense his imminent arrival.
Behind Dale, who stood upon a crystal stage at the very heart of Trafalgar Square, rose the marble column detailing the utter cruelty and madness of the Dark War – days that should never be forgotten, lest they happen again – and atop of the column stood a golden statue of the Chosen One himself, looking up at the sky-city overhead, his greatest work, and looking up into the bright future crafted by his own hand.
From his position amongst the Honour Guard, Dale commanded a magnificent view of London, of the crowd, and could not help but feel vital, feel needed and appreciated, for his role today.
He stood with eleven of his colleagues, resplendent in fine dark dress robes and the white masks of the Guard – masks that set them apart from the wizards and witches in the crowd and especially from the rank and file of the Soldier Guard. The Soldier Guard were tasked with keeping the crowds in order, making sure the red carpet holding the sick and infirm just before the stage was kept clear. It was an important task, to be sure, but Dale knew his was more important – he was part of the elite, part of the few responsible for the safety of the Saviour himself.
"There are more and more every year," Roland said, gesturing to the sick that sat almost cowering before the stage. There were at least a hundred people there, most of them in their prime – a few only children – and all of them being devoured from the inside by their own magic.
"You know he is devoting every moment of his time to finding a cure," Dale replied. "Have faith in the Devotion, and serve him with as much of your strength as you can."
Roland, only newly appointed to the Honour Guard, nodded profusely. Eager to please. He had come very close to suggesting the Chosen One, the Saviour of the Wizarding World, had no control over the wasting sickness. It was a strange affliction, striking without reason or forewarning, but the man Dale had sworn to protect could cure it.
Cure, but not wipe it out… Dale had a near-blasphemous thought of his own.
He shook his head to dispel such nonsense. The sense of anticipation had grown into a palpable touch of awe and wonder now. The heavy, dull roar of the crowd turned to furious whispering. In the distance, Big Ben began to chime the hour…
A reverential silence fell across the crowd.
There.
The saviour of the Wizarding World stepped sideways out of nothing, appearing upon the crystal stage cloaked within robes of crisp midnight blue. He whispered into existence with his eyes closed and his head bowed. After a moment, he looked up and beheld the silent audience before him.
A stunned collective gasp shimmered through the crowd. Here he was – the Chosen One – alive and well, powerful, in the only public appearance he made all year. Just once, always on July 31st, and always to bestow Healing upon those afflicted with the wasting sickness.
As one, the three thousand people packed into the square felt the weight of his gaze upon their shoulders and fell to their knees.
"My people," the God-Lord Voldemort said, his voice soft and melodious. "My loyal people. I appear before you today…" And here he paused. Dale sensed the crowd tense. "…disappointed."
No!
A heavy groan spread like a dull ache through the mass of robed people. Tears fell down more than a few faces. Disappointed. The word was a knife to their hearts.
"Another year of peace, of prosperity under my guiding counsel, and yet the devotion you provide me does not afford a permanent cure to the sickness that afflicts the poor people I see before me."
His words were mesmerising, Dale observed. He felt guilt through to his very core. The Devotion was a binding magical contract with the God-Lord himself, a sacrifice of power and forbidden magics that every member of the Ascended society was privileged to provide upon reaching eleven years of age. A magical contract signed in blood and wrought in devotion.
A few ounces of any given individual's power was a small, necessary price to pay for the safety and prosperous government provided by Lord Voldemort and the Twelve Great Houses of pureblood lineage.
"I am, however, and will always be, a forgiving lord." The Chosen One smiled. His pale, snake-like features were a tribute to his noble lineage. A direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. "Bring forth the sick to receive my Gift of Healing."
There was no wind, but the dark blue robes billowed about the God-Lord's form. The bright summer sun didn't seem to touch the aura of immortal majesty surrounding his body, as he raised his wand across the weeping, kneeling crowd… and waited.
The Soldier Guard managed the flow of sick and wasted people up the cloudy-blue crystal stairs toward the pedestal Lord Voldemort stood upon. The children, first, as was only fair and right.
Walking with the aid of a cane, and dressed in fine robes that hung lank from her tiny frame, the first child to approach the God-Lord – understandably shaking with nerves – was a bony, skeletal thing. Her hair hung lank and thin in greasy brunette patches, and her eyes were so wide and so hollowed back into her skull that she looked absurdly frightened. Her skin was yellowed and covered in sores. She was no more than seven years old.
Dale's heart went out to the girl. Despite her illness, the clear pain wracking her every movement, she still had the courage to approach a figure as daunting, if not benevolent, as the Saviour. Her bravery was inspiring.
As she had been instructed, she fell to her knees only a few feet before Lord Voldemort and bowed her head. Dead silence gripped the crowd. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. A silence that was, by its weight, deafening.
"What is your name, child?" Lord Voldemort asked, his words ringing clear and true across the square.
Dale was close enough on the stage to hear the girl take a terrified, rasping breath. "M-Maria, my lord," she managed. "Maria Birchgrove."
"And you wish to be well, Maria Birchgrove?"
"Yes, my lord," the young girl wept. "So very much."
"Then be well," Lord Voldemort said, and tapped her on the top of her head with his wand of legend – the Elder Wand.
Maria screamed. Her wails pierced the veil of quiet hovering across London. She rose three feet off the crystal platform, her entire form seizing in raw pain. It only took mere moments, but it felt a lot longer. Almost as soon as it had begun, it was over.
The young girl, Maria Birchgrove, stood for the first time in months upon her own two feet, unsupported, and her skin was whole and unblemished. Her hair was full and clean, shining like silk in the sun, and her thin form had filled out, no longer a walking skeleton – she had been cured.
More and more of the crowd were silently weeping now, as Maria laughed in pure joy.
And why not? Dale thought. They were witnessing a miracle. A disease that in the last ten years had killed hundreds, that resisted all potions, all forms of magical treatment – indeed magic seemed to increase the severity of the sickness, yet not for the God-Lord. His strength, his power, could overcome even death.
Their silence may as well have been thunderous applause and raucous cheering. Yet that was simply not done. Such displays would be frowned upon in front of Lord Voldemort himself.
Dale thought he saw a flash of annoyance cross the God-Lord's face as Maria stood laughing before him, free of the debilitating sickness that had marred her life. A moment later she seemed to remember her place, however, and fell once more to her knees before her saviour.
"Come," Lord Voldemort said, "and be healed."
And one by one they did come. All of them, all of the sick, took their turn to kneel in the presence of the God-Lord, took their turn to be blessed by the touch of the Elder Wand, and were cured of the sickness that had reduced them to worn-out husks, to lepers and worse…
The immortal man who had vanquished the feared dark wizard Albus Dumbledore, that had wrought peace from the shattered remnants of a fallen world, that had singlehandedly overthrown a corrupt Ministry of power-hungry fools, did not even break a sweat as he conjured the impossible.
It was almost time for the service to end. For the Gift of Healing to finish for another year. As expected, there had been no problems, no security breaches or embarrassing mistakes. There would be promotion in this, Dale was sure, and perhaps one day a personal audience with Lord Voldemort on New Atlantis itself!
The last of the sick were healed and removed back down onto their knees before the crystal platform. The God-Lord surveyed the crowd, immovable and silent, and then spoke.
"We have built a better world from the ruins of the old," he said, and here his voice was tinged with regret. No doubt for the life lost in that war, and the history. "But there is still much work to do. There are those who would undermine our vision, our goal of an ascended society, who would cavort in shadows and malice, and rebel against the wise rule of your lord."
Lord Voldemort paused and Dale felt the crowd's mood shift toward anger – anger on behalf of the man who had sacrificed so much to ensure their survival. Anger that anyone would dare challenge their Saviour.
"These people must be found and dragged into the light. It is the duty of every one of you."
Every soul in the square knew of whom the God-Lord spoke. A name that wasn't said aloud in decent company – a name that was a curse, a blight upon an otherwise utopian civilization.
Once again, silent agreement rippled through the crowd. But then something strange happened, and it was so unexpected that for a moment Dale wasn't sure what he was hearing…
But it was there, and behind his white mask his jaw dropped. Shock rippled through the crowd, through the heart of every person in the square, as the sound of one individual clapping punctured the faithful devoted silence owed to the God-Lord.
Dale's eyes immediately fell upon the source of the blasphemous applause. A man had appeared at the foot of the stairs, using the same magic that was forbidden to all but the God-Lord and the Great Houses. What wizards before the Ascension called apparation.
"Yet another stirring round of bullshit from the mouth of the God-Lord," the man sneered, still clapping sarcastically.
Dale knew who the man was. They all knew who the man was.
His face was recognisable across the entire planet – the most wanted and feared man in all of the Wizarding World. It was an awful face, too, eclipsed with long jagged scars under a mess of dark hair. He was dressed in Muggle clothing – another insult – and a raw lightning bolt was carved into his forehead.
The man was Harry Potter.
"Potter!" the God-Lord snarled, biting off the name for the curse it was. "Die!"
The untempered rage on Lord Voldemort's face, the fire in his crimson eyes, sent fear coursing through Dale's veins. Yet he knew what his task was, and his wand was already in his hand.
"If I were assured of your destruction I would cheerfully accept my own! Ha!" Potter cried and then clapped his hands a final time above his head.
He disappeared.
At the same time across the square, two great explosions of green fire blasted into the heart of the crowd, killing dozens instantly and wounding hundreds more – men, women, children – Potter didn't make any distinction. A wave of heat and power knocked Dale back even as the Honour Guard moved to surround the God-Lord.
Great chunks of flaming stone and severed body parts were hurled into the air and rained back down on the crowd. All silence was obliterated now, and the mass of people packed into the parade began to run for their lives as another explosion rocked Trafalgar Square.
Shields sprang up from the Soldier Guard, deflecting the fiery missiles. Dale scanned the crowd, searching for the man who had just unmade weeks of hard preparation and planning. There hadn't been an attack from his rebel group in years… many thought him dead… and now this!
Half a dozen loud pops echoed across the square just in front of the crystal stage. Potter had returned – with a slew of his traitorous allies!
Potter's band of rebellious witches and wizards – the Order of the Phoenix. Traitors to peace and warmongers every last one! Terrorists with an agenda of fear and supremacy. Dale despised them with every inch of his being. He had sworn long ago to destroy them all! They fanned out in formation and engaged the Soldiers in fatal combat.
Dale knew their names, their faces. Weasley, Granger, Longbottom, Delacour, Tonks – and there were others – but the core of Potter's operation was here, openly challenging the God-Lord and slaughtering the innocent. And of course there was Potter himself, gazing up from the red carpet in front of the stage with clear insanity etched across his ruined face.
"Slay them," the God-Lord whispered, and his voice echoed through the minds of every devoted witch and wizard there. Another benefit of the Devotion contract. "Slay them all."
Gripping his wand tightly in his fist, Dale stepped forward and obeyed his lord's command. He tore the mask from his face – it was purely ceremonial – and advanced down the crystal stairs, curse-light already flaring at the tip if his wand, against Potter.
Rage as pure and as fierce as the sun bled through his body and soul, and Dale charged the Order of the Phoenix with every ounce of his considerable training.
Yet Potter moved like the wind. Unnatural, dark magic fuelled his enemy.
Dale's first curse didn't even come close. The terrorist bastard disappeared and reappeared a few feet away, smirking. He raised a chipped and battered wand, the glint of a golden feather sticking out of the tip, and returned fire.
The power behind the spell surprised Dale, who managed a hasty shield to deflect the blow. The blue cone of his protective magic shattered under the light from Potter's wand and Dale stumbled back. He recovered quickly, however, and fired a beam of purple light at Potter, aiming for his heart.
Potter… dissolved… and was suddenly ten feet closer. Dale had time to blink, to curse the blatant use of forbidden magic, and then a beam of odd yellow and red light struck him in the neck. He frowned, not feeling a thing, and only seeing the world spinning about his head. Why was it doing that?
He hit the crystal steps hard and his wand clattered away. He watched it roll down the stairs. Potter stepped over him, a grim look of determined anger on his face. Dale tried to grab at his pants, to pull him back, but his arm was sluggish and useless.
I'm hurt, he thought. There's no pain, so it mustn't be too bad… I'm just dazed.
Despite the bright summer sun, Dale felt quite cold. He couldn't feel his legs anymore, either, which should have been worrying but was not. He turned his head and watched Potter storm the crystal stage, facing off against what remained of the Honour Guard and the God-Lord Voldemort himself.
Dale could taste blood in his mouth, like a fistful of copper knuts under his tongue, and the edges of his vision began to darken. That did not seem important, either.
A jet of azure lightning burst from the tip of Potter's wand and dispelled the protections around the stage. He used the forbidden magic with such careless disregard! Why? Dale managed a final thought. Why does he hate us so much? What did we ever do to him?
Another beam of crimson light erupted from his wand and struck the mighty marble column beyond the stage. It exploded in a rain of fiery stone and twisted metal. The statue of the Chosen One, standing tall and proud one hundred feet above the square, began to topple…
"Stop him, my Lord…" Dale prayed as he died. And his prayers were answered as the God-Lord stepped forward, brandishing the mythical Elder Wand, against Potter. "Yes…"
All sound seemed to be coming from far away now, and Dale Penticott's vision had narrowed to a single tunnel. At the end of that tunnel was not light but his lord and Harry Potter preparing to duel.
The last thing he saw in this world was Potter step forward, dark and menacing, his face crisscrossed with those horrible scars, and raise his wand toward the sky. A muttered incantation, a burst of silver light…
A mammoth crimson lightning bolt formed in the sky over Trafalgar Square – the mark of the Nightmare Child, the mark of the scourge of the Wizarding World…
…of the Dark Lord Potter.
A/N: Oh yeah, Terrorist!Harry in a seemingly idyllic – yet brainwashed – future society in which Voldemort controls all forms of magic, is empowered through devotion, and loved by the people. This idea came to me in a dream, of all things, and will probably just stay a one-shot.
Cheers for reading.
-JoeNights will be a living dread for out-of-state motorists if one New York lawmaker has his way.
Queens Assemblyman Michael Miller has proposed a law that would prohibit cars with out-of-state plates from parking overnight on city streets. The bill would make it illegal to park with non-New York plates from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. Violators could have their vehicles towed.
“In the City of New York and other areas throughout the state, we have become inundated with out-of-state vehicles taking up parking spaces on public streets to the detriment of local residents,” Miller said.
“By registering out-of-state, you are either committing fraud by not registering your vehicle in New York state or you are avoiding paying state Department of Motor Vehicles fees.”
Under the Democrat’s proposal, visiting out-of-town guests could apply for an “exemption sticker.” A resident who owns property in another state — and has a car registered there — could also apply for an exemption.
According to Miller’s estimates, one of every five parked vehicles in his district — encompassing Woodhaven, Glendale, Ozone Park and Richmond Hill — is registered outside New York state.
“We have lots of cars with Florida plates, Jersey plates, Massachusetts, Georgia, you name it,” he said.
Miller said he’s heard numerous complaints about out-of-state parking freeloaders, particularly from the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association.
“We want to have parking for residents who pay insurance and motor-vehicles fees here,” Miller said. “It’s only fair.”
But the AAA is raising a red flag.
“To have a provision that prevents people from coming to New York City and parking on the street during some given hours seems totally shortsighted and unfair,” said Robert Sinclair, New York spokesman for the nonprofit automobile service organization.
There are about 2 million cars registered in the city and 10 million in New York state.By Stanley Lubman
Chinese citizen anger has been stoked to dangerous levels by reports of urban management officers, or chengguan, employing extreme violence against street vendors.
In Hunan Province last month, a street vendor and his wife selling watermelons were attacked by a group of chengguan officers who brutally beat and kicked the husband to death. In another incident earlier in July in the Southern city of Fuzhou, a group of chengguan officers beat up an unlicensed female peddler. Bloodied, she was carried away on a stretcher by paramedics, but not before the scene was captured and posted on the popular Sina Weibo microblogging platform.
Chengguan are auxiliary para-police organized and hired by city governments to handle various urban problems under laws so vague and general that there is little restraint on their powers. Despite years of bitter public complaints over the thug-like, and often violent, behavior of many chengguan, little has been done to rein them in. This situation can’t continue without consequences: As the population of Chinese cities continues to expand, maintaining order in the streets will become more difficult, requiring the central government to define and enforce needed laws and regulations – or risk public acts of rebellion.
Some members of the public have already begun to rebel. After the tragedy in Hunan, thousands gathered on the street to prevent the dead body from being removed, prompting 200 police to drive the crowd away with sticks. “[H]atred of chengguan is obviously nothing new. But in the age of Weibo, average citizens are reacting with increased vigor as each case of abuse emerges,” noted the China-watching website Tea Leaf Nation in reporting on reaction to the case in Fuzhou. It went on to wonder “how much more damage chengguan will have to visit upon small-time vendors before the powers that be find online voices too loud to ignore.”
The origin of this auxiliary force has been traced to the decline of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which had for decades largely kept their workers from engaging in unregulated outside enterprises. In the 1990s, as the SOEs shrunk and China’s cities grew, millions of migrant workers became part of urban life. In a thorough study by Human Rights Watch (HRW), a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Law, Zhou Hanhua, is quoted as saying: “The traditional system could no longer manage [so]… the chengguan were established to handle the problems of the urban environment.”
In 1996, according to the HRW report, an Administrative Penalties Law authorized municipalities to establish “a comprehensive department for administrative enforcement” that could impose penalties ranging from warnings, fines and suspension of businesses to confiscation of “illegal gains.” These new agencies were required to give notice to violators and inform them both of the violation involved and their rights to a legal defense. The law did not, however, specify legal or illegal means of enforcement. In 2011, an Administrative Enforcement Law adopted by the Standing Committee of the NPC stated a procedure for using ”compulsion” and made clear that the chengguan could not detain suspects. Although the main emphasis in Chinese media on chengguan misconduct has involved the use of excessive force against street vendors, the chengguan have also been found detaining people, even though that detention is limited by law to public security organs.
The chengguan are completely under the control of local governments, making them an exception to the otherwise nationwide practice of dual leadership by local and central governments. A commentary by Chinese law professor Wang Yong highlights an extraordinary departure from any semblance of legality: Many of the chengguan’s powers “remain unexplained” by existing laws, such as “the legal basis of urban administration enforcement and uniform procedures, the division of powers with other departments…and so on.” The author reports that in November 2012, representatives of 44 cities called for “the establishment of a central government department to report to” and for the adoption of more laws and regulations to standardize the nation’s urban management.
Although laws stipulate educational and training qualifications for chengguan officers, the Christian Science Monitor quotes the director of the Urban Management Research Institute in Guangdong as saying that most are “uneducated, unemployed young men” who “often behave like thugs” and only want to satisfy their employers in municipal governments. Compounding the problem, job shortages are reportedly prompting some college graduates to apply to become chengguan, hoping to rise to positions with greater power.
More frequent street violence is certainly going to cause concern to a party-state preoccupied with maintaining social stability. A vicious circle is playing out as the current economic decline results in increased urban unemployment, which leads to more street vendors falling prey to chengguan, who may not only beat the vendors and seize goods, but sometimes demand protection money. And the new central government policy of increasing the flow of millions of countryside residents into the cities will further exacerbate the difficulties of policing conduct in city streets, putting greater pressures on the chengguan. The role of the chengguan will be even more important, as will the awareness of the need to increase their regulation.
The chengguan represent only one aspect of the long-established use of extra-legal methods by the Party-state to deal with conduct that in Western nations commonly falls within the purview of the formal legal system as ‘infractions” or “petty offenses,” punishable by a fine and, in most jurisdictions, without a trial. To address chengguan behavior, Beijing will most likely respond by issuing further regulations to define procedures and sanctions for the conduct they are supposed to monitor. Greater central government attention to standards for training and behavior of the officers would be helpful, but only if they are enforced.
Absent more clarity from Beijing, chengguan illegalities will surely keep riling the public. Last month, a 34-year-old man who had been severely beaten by para-police in 2005 for operating an illegal taxi business in Guangdong detonated a bomb in Beijing’s Capital International Airport and suffered severe injury. He had lost the case he had brought to court and after eight years of petitioning surrendered to despair. Veteran China journalist Frank Ching argues that the chengguan “reflected the uncaring attitude of the powerful toward society’s weakest and most vulnerable members.”
In order to avoid escalating confrontation between these agents of the party-state and China’s underclass, the central government needs to provide greater legal definition of chengguan powers and their limits. Maintaining social harmony requires legality, not repression.
Stanley Lubman, a long-time specialist on Chinese law, is a Distinguished Lecturer in Residence at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He is the author of “Bird in a Cage: Legal Reform in China After Mao” (Stanford University Press, 1999) and editor of “The Evolution of Law Reform in China: An Uncertain Path” (Elgar, 2012).Here’s a recipe for you from my newest book, The Great Vegan Bean Book. I hope you enjoy it – it’s one of my favorite warm weather meals!
– Kathy Hester, Healthy Slow Cooking
This is a great dish for your backyard cookouts. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free and even has a soy-free variation. The tart yogurt dressing and Indian spices make this a salad no one will forget!
Indian Chickpea Salad
1½ cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15 ounce can rinsed and drained)
1 large cooked potato, diced (about 3 cups)
1 large cucumber, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
½ cup minced tomatoes
1 cup So Delicious plain coconut yogurt or unsweetened soy yogurt
juice of 1 lime
1 to 1½ teaspoons kala namak
1½ teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove minced
½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne or other spicy chili powder, to taste
½ teaspoon dried mustard
¼ cup chopped cilantro plus more for serving
In a large bowl combine the beans and veggies.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a smaller bowl to create the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Add the dressing to the veggies and mix until throughly combined. Serve topped with cilantro over lettuce or by itself.Port of Los Angeles sets record for exports?
More U.S. goods than ever are shipped to foreign destinations, helped by a weak dollar and a strengthening manufacturing sector.
Goods moving through the port for sale in Asia and other world markets included manufactured items such as integrated circuits and micro assemblies, agricultural goods, raw materials and discretionary consumer items such as California wines.
For the 11-month period ended Nov. 30, the port sent 1.9 million containers to foreign shores, surpassing its annual record of 1.8 million boxes, set in 2010.
In November, more U.S. goods than ever before moved out of the Port of Los Angeles to foreign destinations, with 195,878 outbound cargo containers, up 15% from the same month last year.
A rising tide of exports has been flowing through the nation's busiest seaport complex this year, helped by a weak dollar and a strengthening U.S. manufacturing sector.
A weak U.S. dollar made these goods more affordable, but the tepid domestic economy also has forced Americans to find new income through foreign markets.
"It has been a robust year for exports," said Jock O'Connell, an international trade expert with Beacon Economics. "On an inflation-adjusted basis, this may, for example, turn out to be the best year ever for California exports."
Traditionally, imports have been the dominant news at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which rank first and second, respectively, in the nation in the number of cargo containers handled.
The neighboring ports move more than 40% of the nation's Asian imports. But the big story this year has been the growth in foreign markets for goods through the Los Angeles Customs District and California as a whole.
"Finished goods are also part of the rising export picture, and that is really good news for the California and U.S. economies," said John Husing, an economist who concentrates on international trade and its effect on the Inland Empire.
Exports also have been strong at other U.S. ports. And although U.S. export volume is expected to increase by nearly 7% this year, some experts project that the growth rate could be much slower next year.
In California, exports this year include $5.26 billion in electronics such as integrated circuits and micro assemblies; $5.2 billion in "electrical apparatus for line telephony," including mobile phone components; $2.54 billion in semiconductor devices; and $2.39 billion in industrial machinery, including computers, O'Connell said.
Locally, the surge of exports has been seen through the entire Los Angeles Customs District, which includes both ports and air freight moving through Los Angeles International and Ontario airports, said Ferdinando Guerra, an economist specializing in international trade for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
"All of the top 10 export categories for the Los Angeles Customs District are up, with the exception of aircraft and aircraft parts," Guerra said. Part of the surge has been growth in new foreign markets, and some old ones.
Guerra said that Australia rose to the No. 4 spot in terms of exports from the Los Angeles Customs District, moving ahead of Taiwan. India's burgeoning middle class made it the fastest-growing foreign market for locally exported goods. The $2.6 billion in sales of goods to India through October was enough to put it in the top 10 among foreign markets for the L.A. Customs District for the first time, Guerra said.Story highlights David Frum: Democrats could pick 2008 also-ran Hillary Clinton for 2016
He says Republican front-runners seem unlikely to measure up
Despite losses, GOP could pick long shots such as Marco Rubio or Rand Paul, he says
Frum: One candidate who appeals across party lines is Chris Christie
Democrats acting like Republicans. Republicans acting like Democrats. The 2016 presidential contest is shaping up to be the political equivalent of gender-bending.
Democrats are coalescing early around a front-runner who certainly will be lavishly funded, Hillary Clinton. She's campaigning on the familiar GOP platform: "Next in line."
Meanwhile, a twice-beaten Republican Party finds itself doing as Democrats often did in the Reagan era, surveying a field of little-knowns and hoping for magic. The Republican field is led by two freshman senators: Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, plus a member of the House and the party's 2012 vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan.
Three things are immediately striking about the top of the Republican field:
David Frum
1) It's not only Washington-based, but it's all congressionally based. There is no governor in the top three, no general, no former Cabinet secretary, nobody with any notable private-sector accomplishment.
2) It's light on accomplishment. Ryan has to date been the most productive of the top three, but none of his famous budgets have been passed into law. Paul can cite no legislative accomplishments at all, only a stunt filibuster against the entirely imaginary menace of drone strikes against American citizens on American soil. Rubio has taken a lead role in immigration reform but must make some tough decisions about whether his future is best secured by negotiating a deal or scuttling one. None of the three Republican front-runners has any administrative experience to speak of.
3) It's intensely doctrinaire. Ryan was the author of much of the Republican Party's post-2009 tea party program. Rubio has to date shown himself an undeviating follower of that program. Paul dissents from some aspects of that program but in the direction of even greater extremism.
A party rebuilding from back-to-back presidential defeats has to face the possibility that the problem may be bigger than its candidate, bigger than its campaign tactics. There are a couple of obvious ways to address that possibility:
JUST WATCHED Rubio: No special pathway to citizenship Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Rubio: No special pathway to citizenship 02:32
The party might look for an outsider nominee, a candidate so attractive in his or her own right as to offset the party's own unpopularity. This is what Republicans did by nominating Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 after five consecutive defeats by New Deal Democrats.
Or the party might allow an insider some latitude to edge back toward the political center. This is what Democrats did in 1992 when they nominated a pro-death penalty, pro-welfare reform, pro-free trade governor of Arkansas after losses under the party-line liberals, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis.
In 2016, however, Republicans as yet show no inclination to try either remedy. No independent superstar; no deviation from party line orthodoxy. The one Republican with the highest cross-partisan appeal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has been consigned to fourth place.
As the saying goes, the first step toward recovery is to acknowledge the problem.
The problem in 2012 -- as in 2008, as in the near-death experience of 2004, as in the popular vote loss of 2000, as in the loss of 1996, as in the loss of 1992 -- was the GOP's failure to offer an economic program relevant to the problems of middle-class Americans. The party's present three front-runners would not only repeat that failure, but double down on that failure.
The Republican Party desperately needs renewal, its early presidential front-runners are characterized by their rejection of change.
At a time when voters reject generic Republicanism, Republicans themselves are rallying to two of the most generic Republicans in the party -- and a third, Paul, who diverges from generic Republicanism only by offering voters even more of what they most dislike about today's GOP.
The party talks about learning from its mistakes. Thus far, the main thing the party seems to have learned from those mistakes is how to repeat them.With all the debate these days about legalizing Marijuana, it is great to know that many people find marijuana to be helpful for a variety of reasons. Gone are the days when pot users were called stoners and potheads. What exactly makes marijuana so awesome? We ask a scientist. Mr Scientist! 1) The fiber in Marijuana plants, or hemp, can be cultivated to make various products. These include paper, rope and even fabrics. Pot is cheap to grow and cultivate so just think of a world with cheaper paper, rope and fabrics. The leftovers after cultivation can still be smoked! Talk about a win- win situation! 2) Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Marijuana has been proven to help many medical illnesses and issues. The list runs the gamut from cancer to seizures to tremors. In fact, the list is so long, most everyone can find a medical reason to smoke marijuana. It’s not legal to smoke in your state? Colorado still has plenty of room for newcomers! 3) Think about the fact that Marijuana tends to induce a peaceful feeling in it’s users. Now imagine the entire world smoking pot at the same time. No more war or fights… well, at least till the high burns off! With the abundance of Marijuana on planet earth, there is enough for all of the planet to smoke a joint every two hours for a continuous effect! 4) Is your fridge overstocked? Do you have food that isn’t too popular with your family? Nothing cleans out a fridge and food pantry like smoking a joint! Then you are all set to make another trip to the grocery store. Just ensure that you do it slightly high so you can clear the shelves! As you can see, Marijuana is the best plant to ever grow on planet earth! Who knew it was totally awesome and had so many benefits? Just remember, you too can be like Harrison Ford’s character in Star Wars. A few joints and you too can join the ranks of Hans So-High!
Wait, what?EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Lakers already have lost more |
to hate our pussies.
We’re taught to see them as a the most untrustworthy part of ourselves and regard our pussies warily, because they will lead us down dark dangerous pathways in life from which there is no return to Good Girldom.
Pussies are inconsistent.
We are not allowed to form a relationship with our pussies, and therefore many of us feel taken aback when she starts bleeding or foams at the mouth or burns or itches or emits foul odors. She can change our lives and take away our comfort and happiness it seems, at her whim.
Pussies are dangerous.
They can turn a good man bad and make a good woman a whore (which etymologically speaking means sacred woman). They are solely responsible for unwanted pregnancies, rampant abortions and unloved babies.
—
Through this entire slander campaign Pussy continues to parcel out bliss each and every time she is given proper attention. She continues to be the gateway to the spirit realm. She remains beautiful and juicy and sweet and irresistible. It is as the holy odu ose says of Oshun, “No matter what you say about honey, the taste will remain sweet”.
Pussy is the undefeated, indisputable center of The All and She has never stopped being exactly who and what she is.
—
Winter is a journey into the Pussy of the Universe. Winter is an experience of everything we have been taught to deny about womanhood. Its cold, is dark, its damp, its dangerous, its trying, it can take your life and it can strengthen you and give you the tools to live life more abundantly.
Consider the mystery of conception, gestation and birth. These are all obstacle courses.
As all the ancients knew and attested to in allegory, winter is this same kind of necessary testing ground. Winter weeds out the weak, the unprepared and the worn and sloughs laziness and complacency off of those of us who prove ourselves fit to survive her. In short we come out better on the other side of her.
Ancient earth-centered cultures embraced the realities of Pussy, and fully saw these same realities mirrored in winter. So as with any interaction with Mother, winter must be approached with careful preparation.
Have an action plan.
If you have what I call a ‘real Black momma’ you don’t ever approach her with poorly conceived bullshit. You must remain alert and have your wits about you during winter. Women suffer fools lightly.
Bring your A game.
Never bring a knife to the gunfight. Dealing with a fully self-realized woman, she will chew you up and spit you out without a second thought and then demand that you thank her for the opportunity to do so.
Prepare to enter into the Dark Side.
Women are capable of levels of emotional intensity that no other creature can attain, real destructive anger and real life giving love come from the same place in us. So if you’re easily frightened, stay home.
Be prepared to die.
Women are made to push all things around them to their absolute highest potential, so after actual intimate contact with us, you cannot remain the same. Mourn the passing of the old you. We cannot tolerate half assedness.
Be prepared to be reborn.
We will birth you fresh, new and better in each and every way. Resistance is futile, there is no way to avoid winter or womanhood. Most of our lives began and we were raised under the watchful, terrifying eye of no nonsense women, and we all know we are better for it.
This is the energy of Winter.
Like all Pussy it stands before us in its terrible splendor commanding us to surrender, die and be made whole.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
March 22, 2017, 5:24 PM GMT / Updated March 22, 2017, 5:24 PM GMT By Kasie Hunt, Frank Thorp V and Erik Ortiz
Former Vice President Joe Biden has blunt advice for President Donald Trump two months into his tumultuous tenure: Stop campaigning and start governing.
Biden — during his warmly received return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning — questioned the administration's "romance" with Russia and advised Trump to scale back the incendiary rhetoric.
"The president's words matter, they matter a great deal, they have repercussions around the world," Biden, who's also known for his off-color gaffes, told reporters. "And that's not hyperbole. I mean, they literally do."
Biden's beef with the Trump administration ranges from its effort to undo President Barack Obama's signature health care legislation to floating unfounded charges about the prior administration.
Last month, Trump tweeted that Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign — an explosive claim that has so far proven baseless, FBI Director James Comey said at a House Intelligence Committee meeting Monday.
Related: Biden Defends Obamacare as Republican Leaders Hunt for Repeal Votes
Trump a week ago said he plans to present more information "soon" about his wiretapping allegations.
Asked by NBC News if the Obama administration ordered surveillance on Trump, Biden quipped: “Five or six times."
"Are you joking? Are you serious?" he added. "I guess there’s been a great deal of humor lately."
Former Vice President Joe Biden waves to the crowd on Capitol Hill on March 22. Susan Walsh / AP
Biden added that Trump should apologize as "any gentleman would," adding, "I always hold out hope that people can get good manners."
Biden reacted just as incredulously to reports that the Trump administration's top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, is expected to miss a NATO meeting next month because of a scheduling conflict, but still planned to travel to Russia.
The secretary of state's trip to Moscow has not been confirmed by Russia.
"The notion that there's still this romance with Putin... I'm told [Tillerson] has decided he's going to go visit Putin before he goes to the NATO conference? What in the hell are we doing?" Biden told reporters.
His remarks follow a rally with Democratic leaders hoping to halt the GOP's health care bill aiming to scrap Obamacare.
Obama's Affordable Care Act was signed into law seven years ago, but Republicans have long vowed to repeal and replace it. The House is scheduled to vote on the GOP's replacement legislation Thursday, although it remains in danger of failing with some Republicans waffling on parts of the bill.
Meanwhile, Biden's return to Capitol Hill may not be his last as the health care fight heats up.
"I ain't going anywhere. This is not going to pass," he said.In medieval England and France the village was the smallest but also, arguably, the most important cell of a Kingdom’s organism. The countryside was literally littered with thousands of villages a couple of miles apart from each other.
Standing at the heart of agrarian economy, villages provided the population of a kingdom with the most important product during the middle ages – food. Without it a kingdom would fall, without a single drop of blood to ever being shed. On the flip side, the wealth of a kingdom and its prosperity was dependent on its ability to create surplus of food and other agricultural resources. Surplus allowed two things – trade and cities. Both of these exploited the surplus resources of villages; one to create wealth by selling the resources, and the other to manufacture items with higher value and to support a city’s population.
Our project’s goal
The aim of this project is to create a document that will explain in detail the design of a village, and to provide you with the resources to build your own villages for your games or pleasure. We will provide you with:
Architectural plans (black and white floor plans) Top view drawings (full colour) of all the components, in a format that you will be able to reuse to build your maps (png with transparency) An outlook on how each building was used List of technologies and tools that were involved Information about the skilled labourers that worked on these buildings, and the villagers, freemen and nobles that lived there Infrastructure and map designs of 3 villages (see below) with documentation regarding the know-how behind their design
We will also expand on the economy and culture of a village to give you some hints and tips regarding what your adventurers, and what other visitors, might expect from a realistic medieval village.
This article will also serve as the directory for all the resources we will be building, in order to have a place from which they can be systematically accessed.
The Medieval Village
In order to give you a thorough view on the inner workings of a village, we will focus on four distinctive types of villages:
Lancestrike, a small hamlet at the verge of the forest Fulepet, a fishing village on the warm, south-west coast Sojourn, a medium-sized village owned by a Knight at the cold northern fringes of a Kingdom Ravenmoor, a large-sized, prosperous village of a Baronet, on the verge of becoming a town
Each of these villages has a slightly different focus and economy, and will serve to show the variety that can be achieved when you design your own. This project will also take into account that these villages belong to a world where magic exists, and we will expand in topics related to it.
The Buildings, Structures and Locations list
For each of the following structures, we will be showing you a bird’s eye view (so you can put it on your maps), an architectural plan and finally some information regarding the inhabitants, fittings and everyday usage of the building.
Houses
Cottager’s cottage
Bordar’s house
Villein’s house
Freeman’s house
Manor house (small)
Manor house (large)
Knight’s motte and bailey
Priest’s parsonage
Workshops Blacksmith
Woodcutter
Mill
Charcoal Maker
Fishery
Bake house
Brewery
Furrier
Carpenter
Tailor & Cobbler (shoe maker)
Barber
Mason Arable land Grain Field
Vegetable Patch
Orchard
Vineyard Manorial Buildings Church
Monastery (satelite Manor)
Well
Barn (Tithe Barn)
Granary
Cattle Barn
Stables
Warehouse
Market
Tavern
Inn
Almshouse
Great Hall Non-arable Land Meadow
Pasture
Woodland / Forest
Marsh
Field (Fallow)
River and Pond
Continue reading Let’s Design a Medieval Village Series
The Fishing Village of Fulepet
A cottager’s cottage
Coming up next
On our next article, we will be dissecting the medieval village of Lancestrike, the archetypical rural village (a small hamlet at the verge of the forest).
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or join our newsletter to keep up-to-date with all upcoming articles
Notes
All resources that will be created for this article will be designed, written and illustrated by our team, and will be completely free to use (based on the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International from Creative Commons), which means you can use it as you please and share it, but not for work you will be making money from.
References
This project will be making referencing several academic publications and a variety of books. The following will also be used:Battle for Zendikar is freshly released, and the Magic world is still operating on their first impressions of the cards. If you’re looking for a quick leg up in BFZ Limited, then this article is for you. I’ll point out, from my own experiences, where our first impressions may have led us astray.
Owen took care of the underrated and overrated cards of Constructed already.
Note: I don’t mean to give the impression that the cards on the “overrated” list are unplayable, or that the cards on the “underrated” list are among the best in the format. Consider this more to be a catalogue of my discoveries which have surprised me. It’s food for thought about interesting cards.
I’ll start with overrated cards today, and cover the underrated cards next time.
#1) Scour from Existence
I strongly considered including Scour from Existence in my prerelease deck, and so far I think that more than half of my opponents have had this card against me. There was a time in Magic’s history where this effect would have been powerful in Limited at virtually any mana cost, but that time has passed. 7 mana is simply too much to pay for a 1-for-1. In this set, there are plenty of creatures, even at common and uncommon, that ought to dominate the game singlehandedly if you’re willing to pay 7 mana for them.
Consider Scour from Existence a sideboard card for slow matchups, or when you’re desperate to answer a particular threat.
#2) Ondu Rising
Ondu Rising looks very exciting. First, it’s a hallmark example of the new awaken mechanic; and second, it’s a gamebreaker in any kind of race.
Unfortunately, I’ve found awaken to be less exciting in practice than it looks on paper. The optimistic way to look at the awaken on Ondu Rising is 6-mana for a 4/4 haste! The pessimistic way to look at it is 5 mana for a 4/4 that enters the battlefield tapped and requires you to sacrifice a land. While neither of these are precisely accurate, I now believe that the reality is closer to the pessimistic view. You need your lands in this format, and by the time awaken becomes relevant, there’s usually a larger creature dominating the other side of the battlefield.
Don’t consider awaken spells as creatures. Consider awaken a moderate upside on a spell that you’d want to play with anyway. Also, they get weaker in multiples, so there’s not a lot of incentive to play more than about 3 awaken spells in your deck.
To get back to Ondu Rising in particular, games don’t play out as close races all that often. For Ondu Rising to function at its full effect, you need a board state in which you can tap all of your mana on your precombat main phase and still make a giant attack. If your opponent has favorable blocks, you’ll gain a bunch of life, but get your board wiped and lose anyway.
This card can still be great if the game does turn into a pure race (for example, if one player is swinging for the fences with flying creatures, and the other is swinging for the fences with ground creatures). However, it’s going to do virtually nothing in an unacceptably high portion of games.
#3) Processor Assault
Processor Assault represents a very efficient 1-for-1, but sometimes can’t even be cast. More specifically, it cannot help you when your plan A game plan is failing. That makes it risky and, frankly, bad.
I drafted what I consider to be just about the best deck for Processor Assault that you can reasonably expect to get. (I had six ingest creatures that cost 1 or 2 mana and two removal spells that exiled cards). Of the eight games I played with the deck, I lost two because of not being able to cast Processor Assault. To clarify, I don’t simply mean that I played two games where I could not cast Processor Assault. I mean that I played two extremely close games that I would have won if Processor Assault was any reasonable, castable card, but instead I lost because I had a dead card in my hand. I predict that that will be an all-too-common experience.
#4) Volcanic Upheaval/Reclaiming Vines
I had originally thought that land destruction might be maindeckable in Battle for Zendikar. However, going along with the awaken mechanic underperforming, I’ve found that to not be the case. Firing off a turn-4 Stone Rain in an attempt to mana-screw your opponent is a bad plan. Saving it for a possible awaken spell is also a bad plan. By the point in the game that lands are being awakened, those lands are usually not the best creatures on the battlefield anyway.
#5) Roil’s Retribution/Turn Against
I thought these cards would be great because some of their ancestors—namely Arrow Volley Trap and Act of Aggression—were. But passing the turn with 5 mana open and asking your opponent to make a reckless attack is sometimes too bold. It will work more often in the early days of the format, and at lower levels of competition, but once savvy players get used to the format, they won’t walk into these cards often enough to make them good.
As a side note, I did get to Turn Against an Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger once!
#6) Pathway Arrows/Hedron Blade
Slow, weak equipment. Pathway Arrows can be a sideboard card, but avoid Hedron Blade.
#7) Brilliant Spectrum
I think you should aim for 2-color decks in Battle for Zendikar Limited. It’s nice to play a few colorless value lands, and the tools just aren’t there to build multicolor converge decks. Everyone wants Evolving Wilds for landfall anyway, so you won’t get them late like you might’ve in other formats.
Avoid Brilliant Spectrum, and any converge card that’s not at least somewhat respectable to cast for two colors of mana.
#8) Allies
The value of “random” Allies is lower than I expected, and lower than it was in original Zendikar. The strong Allies create exciting effects right away when you cast them, but you don’t necessarily need to be rallying every turn for them to be good. Starting your draft with a Lantern Scout and a Kor Bladewhirl is great, but it doesn’t mean your finished product needs to have sixteen Allies, and you don’t have to start drafting bad Allies right away.
#9) Retreats
The Retreats are difficult to evaluate at first glance. Some players liked them, others did not. From my experience, there’s not a blanket answer of “good” or “bad,” but instead the five Retreats vary wildly in power level. None of the Retreats are going to be good in short games. Kazandu, Coralhelm, and Valakut do not give large, tangible enough advantages in protracted games, either, so you should avoid them.
Remember, it’s still early in the format, and my experiences also have their limits. I’m sure that I’ve misjudged more than one or two cards in these lists, and that there will be plenty more to add as the format matures. Until then, I hope you can use these thoughts as a jump-start for your own exploration of Battle for Zendikar limited!Last week, the Australian government caused a stir when it issued a statement declaring that it would no longer refer to East Jerusalem as “Occupied East Jerusalem.” The announcement drew immediate protest from Palestinian representatives, but Australia has shown no signs of backing down. On the contrary, in an interview with Tablet, Australia’s Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma not only defended the rationale behind the controversial move, but said that the same reasoning also informed his government’s outlook towards the West Bank, though it has not taken an official position on the matter. “The statement that came out that was issued in Canberra last week didn’t make reference to this,” he told me, but “I think we just call the West Bank, ‘the West Bank,’ as a geographical entity without adding any adjectives to it, whether ‘occupied’ [the Palestinian position] or ‘disputed’ [the Israeli position]. We’ll just call it what it is, which is ‘the West Bank.'”
Though some of Israel’s critics and supporters have characterized this move as adopting the Israeli position, Sharma explains that the policy is actually designed to ensure that Australia is not taking sides in the conflict at all. “Our position on this is that all the final status issues as identified by Oslo—and that includes the status of Jerusalem, borders, right of return—are all amenable only to political negotiations and a political solution,” he said. “And so a third country taking positions on the legal merits of each party’s plans, if you like, is not helpful and not constructive and ultimately not what’s needed. So we took the view that the term ‘occupied East Jerusalem’ implied a legal view of the respective claims of the parties and we didn’t think it was helpful to be doing that, and as a result, we just said that we won’t be using that term any longer.”
In other words, Australia’s policy is not intended to endorse one side over the other, but rather to maintain neutrality and avoid prejudging the outcome of negotiations. As Israel considers Jerusalem to be sovereign Israeli territory annexed in 1967, while the Palestinians consider East Jerusalem to be occupied Palestinian territory, Australia is opting to employ language that endorses neither party’s claim. Similarly, by avoiding adjectives when it comes to the West Bank, Australia sidesteps the question of whether the area is “disputed” or “occupied” territory. In fact, the country maintains a similar policy in other territorial conflicts like those over Western Sahara and East Timor.
Naturally, dropping “occupied” from the lexicon has upset Palestinian leaders, who often benefit from the traditional diplomatic language being freighted towards their position, rather than being agnostic. But Sharma, a career foreign service official who has held his post in Israel since 2013, maintained that Australia’s policy of eschewing “occupied” is not new, but rather a codification of what the country has been doing in practice for many years. “In truth, we haven’t really used that term for some time,” he said. “As a government, we’ve certainly signed up for certain [U.N.] General Assembly resolutions where that term is used, but it’s not a common term that we would use in respect to East Jerusalem.”
That said, this effort to concretize the previously implicit policy does not come in a vacuum. In last September’s national elections, Australia’s Liberal party wrested control from the Labor party, bringing Prime Minister Tony Abbott to power, and with him, a determination to reset relations with Israel. “The party that’s in power did take the view in the last election firstly that being too critical of the settlements was not helpful or constructive, and categorizing them incessantly as illegal was not an optimal thing for us to be doing,” Sharma said. “They also took the position in the last election that they wanted to reestablish a closer relationship, or a more traditional relationship with Israel, which had existed previously. So this is very much part of the government’s platform.”
Abbott’s government soon set about putting this position into practice. In January, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop came to Israel and suggested that the country’s settlements might not be illegal under international law, and stated that she didn’t want to “prejudge the fundamental issues in the peace negotiations.” Sharma noted that this was “very much of a continuum” with the subsequent move to drop “occupied” so as to maintain Australia’s neutrality. “She didn’t want to buy in to a characterization of the settlements being ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’ because to be honest, that’s going to depend on where the borders are finally drawn and some of what we call settlements now will end up being in the state of Israel, more than likely, and some might not,” he explained. “It doesn’t make much sense now to be characterizing settlements as being consistent or inconsistent with international law until those borders are known.”
It was only a matter of time before this line of thinking led to further shifts in Australian diplomacy. Last month, Sharma himself met with an Israeli official in East Jerusalem, eliciting a sharp public condemnation from Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, who protested the envoy’s actions in “occupied East Jerusalem,” and wrote that “Australia’s actions are tantamount to complicity in ongoing Israeli violations of international laws of war.” Sharma does not apologize for the incident. “My meeting in East Jerusalem wasn’t intended to be a provocative act, and the truth is, a lot of ambassadors do meetings in East Jerusalem,” he said. “As it is now, everyone just tries to keep it quiet. It’s one of those well-kept secrets within the diplomatic community.” But rather than papering over Sharma’s conduct, the Australian government doubled down and chose to concretize the spirit underlying it as official policy. From now on, it insisted, it would not take sides on a final status issue by using loaded language to describe Jerusalem. “The description of East Jerusalem as ‘Occupied East Jerusalem’ is a term freighted with pejorative implications, which is neither appropriate nor useful,” read the June 5 statement subsequently issued by Attorney General George Brandis.
Are there more such moves on the horizon? Australian officials with close knowledge of the recent policy shifts say, in essence, yes and no. “This isn’t actually part of some grand plan where we’re going to unveil our own sort of one-state solution next month or anything,” said one. “There’s nothing like that in the works.” But some smaller shocks are likely as the “process of this government adjusting the policy setting it inherited from the previous government” continues. “There’s been a bit of clunking of the gears that’s going on, and until we adjust to the new settings–our government, our political class, the bureaucracy and everything else–there’ll probably be a few more things like this,” the official added. “A process of recalibration is taking place, but we’re not moving towards some big end goal with this.” Whether other countries opt to follow Australia’s lead on any of these matters also remains to be seen.The Musical Cliché Figure Signifying The Far East: Whence, Wherefore, Whither?
Introduction, preliminary results, and some thoughts
The little ditty above is what I call "the musical cliché figure signifying the Far East."
I would venture that a majority of music-culturally aware people would agree that there is such thing as "the stereotypical Chinese (or more generally Asian) riff." Most of them would also agree that the "canonical" form of it is the one notated above, typically instrumented with some kind of squeaky wind instruments playing in a pitch at least higher than middle C, and with some ticking-sounding rhythm instrument underlining the rhythm.
Did the exact variant above originate no earlier than 1974?
Several people have asked on various message boards on the internet the question to which this webpage is dedicated: How, when and where did this figure originate and emerge as a musical cliché?
And the efforts to investigate this have generally led to some minor frustration, since people have had very hard to find any example of that exact figure before Carl Douglas' top hit Kung Fu Fighting from 1974; all that could be found was "similar variants." This despite many people having a feeling that the cliché must have emerged much earlier: Some people remembered actually having heard it back then, and it seems a reasonable argument that the usage in Kung Fu Fighting has the character of a reference, a quotation of an already established trope.
Listen to a one minute sample from Kung Fu Fighting (1974) with Carl Douglas [mp3 file] (It appears towards the end of the clip. Note how the version of the riff used here is devoid of harmonization in parallel fourths.)
Now, I have found that exact "modern" cliché figure in an earlier example: a Betty Boop cartoon from 1935 (and yes, in a scene with "Chinese content," of course). The problem is that that is the only earlier example found so far: There is nothing that connects this example with Kung Fu Fighting causally, so that the Betty Boop occurrence might just be one of countless variations of the "proto-cliché" (see below) which incidentally happens to be identical to the "modern canonical version."
Update: The "modern" cliché has now been found in a few more 1930's cartoons (Laundry Blues (Van Beuren Studios, 1930), Chop Suey (TerryToonCartoons, 1930) (contains (starts with) both proto riff and exact riff. Then the song Chinatown, my Chinatown. Then "This is the way we wash our clothes" to the riff), Happy Hoboes (1933, Van Beuren) (close to kung-fu riff at 3:25)) and in an undated "beach movie," presumably from before 1974. And in a series of lectures by Leonard Bernstein from 1957, where he calls the riff "Chinese folk music."
The earlier existence of a "proto-cliché"
But what this web page contributes with so far is something else: I broaden the question a little bit and go on to show that there exists, very much earlier than 1974, a distinct musical meme which I call "the Far East Proto-Cliché," and which I define like this:
i.e. any melody with this particular rhythmical pattern and whose first four tones are identical. The other notes typically move around on a pentatonical scale. And if it's not harmonized in parallel fourths then it is most often harmonized with voices that are parallel by some other interval, or at least by several voices all having the same rhythm as the melody, so as to create a more demarcated rhythm and general "noisyness." And the instrumentation and general context should be meant to suggest the Orient in order for this pattern to actually be the Far East Proto-Cliché if it happens to occur in some piece of music. The six bracketed notes make up the totally obligatory part of the theme.
Note that while this pattern is a bit more vague than the exact modern Musical Cliché Figure Signifying the Far East it is still quite distinct (although there are quite a lot of "border line instances" of it). This webpage concerns itself only with this specific pattern, and not with all other stereotypical ways of signifying the Far East in music.
Indeed our cliché-figure can be seen as a specific combination of several more general methods of musical chinoiserie: pentatony, parallel fourths, that specific rhythm of the first six notes, and a kind of squareness and stiffness (and, arguably, sillyness) which the repeated notes in the beginning help evoke.
I reference on this site around 70 instances of the Far East Proto-cliché in music. Most of the examples date from before 1930. The reason for this is mainly that it has been rather easier to do research on this earlier time period, since a lot of the music has gone out of copyright protection and is available freely online in both sonic and notated form. This also means that I can link directly to the actual music (in either mp3, m3u, ram, midi or sheet music form) which I think makes this page a lot more interesting.
Findings And Conclusions So Far
The Far East Proto-Cliché "kind of almost occurs" already in 1847 In the United States during the second half of the 19th century some instrumental pieces with names like "Chinese polka" etc. were published, which use some moderate means of trying to sound Chinese: repeated notes with chromatic appoggiatura slides to them in order to sound "noisy," and a kind of rhythmical stiffness and I dare even say monotony and repetitiveness. But they do not really sound to our modern ears stereotypically quasi-Chinese as we have come to know how China is supposed to be signified in music: they are for example typically not pentatonical at all. Several of these pieces use the Far East proto-cliché, or rather just the rhythm of the first six notes and the fact that the first four notes are of the same height. They use this rhythm as just one "means of sounding Chinese" among many; it does not stand out as something especially "semiotic". I reference on this site those two retrieved examples from this genre which have the clearest instances of this "proto-proto-cliché": Alladin Quick Step (1847) and Chinese Galop (1871).
In the United States during the second half of the 19th century some instrumental pieces with names like "Chinese polka" etc. were published, which use some moderate means of trying to sound Chinese: repeated notes with chromatic appoggiatura slides to them in order to sound "noisy," and a kind of rhythmical stiffness and I dare even say monotony and repetitiveness. But they do not really sound to our modern ears stereotypically quasi-Chinese as we have come to know how China is supposed to be signified in music: they are for example typically not pentatonical at all. There are some more convincing occurrences in the late 19th century The first examples that I've found which seem to be using something like the proto-cliché as a conscious gimmick with specific "signifying power" are Japanese tone picture (1881) by Chas J. Newman and An Afternoon in Midway Plaisance (1893) by Gustav Ludner. The latter seems to be associating the pattern with the Orient in general, including the Middle East. The possibility of using the proto-cliché (or at least the rhythm of it) for the Middle East would continue to exist later (examples are The Sultana (1906) and The Sheik of Araby (1921)), although over time the stereotypical musical representations of the Far and the Middle East would diverge and become more distinct.
The first examples that I've found which seem to be using something like the proto-cliché as a conscious gimmick with specific "signifying power" are (1881) by Chas J. Newman and (1893) by Gustav Ludner. It definitely occurs from 1900 and on Beginning around 1900 there are several Tin Pan Alley-associated songs and even whole musicals that have a Far East theme and which use those means of chinoiserie which we still recognize today, including a lot of pentatonicism. Here many instances of the proto-cliché appear in a context that we recognize as typical of it. The earliest example that I've found in this genre is Mamma's China Twins (1900). It seems that during these years the cliché is seriously starting to stand out as something special, so that beginning in around 1906 I have found examples that seem to be making more fleeting and casual references to the pattern and still expect their listeners to catch the signification of it.
Beginning around 1900 there are several Tin Pan Alley-associated songs and even whole musicals that have a Far East theme and which use those means of chinoiserie which we still recognize today, including a lot of pentatonicism. Here many instances of the proto-cliché appear in a context that we recognize as typical of it. The earliest example that I've found in this genre is (1900). It seems that during these years the cliché is seriously starting to stand out as something special, so that beginning in around 1906 I have found examples that seem to be making more fleeting and casual references to the pattern and still expect their listeners to catch the signification of it. It proliferates seriously in the 1910's In the 1910's and 20's the proto-cliché gets very established and used a lot of times (I would say ad nauseam ). I think a lot of the responsibility for this falls on the song Chinatown, My Chinatown by William Jerome and Jean Schwartz, which became a number one hit in 1915 in a recording with Billy Murray. It spawned a lot of other "Asian-bashing" songs that were more or less blunt rip-offs of the general concept, and which most often contained the Far East proto-cliché too.
In the 1910's and 20's the proto-cliché gets very established and used a lot of times (I would say ). I think a lot of the responsibility for this falls on the song by William Jerome and Jean Schwartz, which became a number one hit in 1915 in a recording with Billy Murray. It spawned a lot of other "Asian-bashing" songs that were more or less blunt rip-offs of the general concept, and which most often contained the Far East proto-cliché too. The tradition is carried on in Swing music The proto-cliché also found its way into instrumental dance music from about 1920 and forth. And the tradition of using the proto-cliché in various forms would continue in swing era big band music. It is for example smuggled into several (but far from most) versions of Limehouse Blues, despite the original version not containing it. And Chinatown, My Chinatown itself would later become a jazz standard. Some versions totally exclude the cliché-riff (for example the Mills Brothers' version which was a hit in 1932, or those recordings with Louis Armstrong that I've heard). But others indulge in it. And then there are of course many less standard Oriental-themed compositions which feature it.
The proto-cliché also found its way into instrumental dance music from about 1920 and forth. And the tradition of using the proto-cliché in various forms would continue in swing era big band music. It is for example smuggled into several (but far from most) versions of, despite the original version not containing it. And itself would later become a jazz standard. Some versions totally exclude the cliché-riff (for example the Mills Brothers' version which was a hit in 1932, or those recordings with Louis Armstrong that I've heard). But others indulge in it. And then there are of course many less standard Oriental-themed compositions which feature it. The evidence that I have of the cliché from later dates until today is so far more sporadic: as mentioned above it is a bit harder to get hold of the "suspected" material. But I have gathered some examples from pop songs and cartoons.
Unresolved Questions
As mentioned above it is still undetermined when (or even if) the "Kung Fu Fighting" variant came to gain some prominence (Though I think one can arguably see in the examples a gradual evolution over time towards variants that are more and more like it).
The origins of the proto-cliché are still a bit unclear, too: one could argue that even the earliest clear instances of the proto-riff that I've found, from 1881, 1893 and 1900 seem to be referencing something that is already established.
And it is always impossible to prove that something (i.e. in this case an earlier instance of something) does not exist.
So if you have spotted this cliché or proto-cliché, or something that you think sounds somewhat like it, then feel more than welcome to contact me about it. When referenced here I will (if you wish so) credit you with finding it.
Some thoughts
What is the point of gathering this information? Why is it interesting?
Well, to begin with some people might find it fascinating simply to regard the manifold of instances of the cliché, with a collector's mind, and admire the variety: "hardly two instances are alike."
And the project provides for a bit of a challenge since computerized search methods for musical material aren't quite as developed as those for text.
But more to the point it feels from some |
the behest of the F.B.I.
''The F.B.I. controlled everything she did,'' Janet Levine, a lawyer for Ms. Leung, said in the filing. ''The F.B.I. fed information to her and encouraged her to give it to the P.R.C. in order to obtain the trust of the P.R.C. and obtain information in return. For over 20 years, she was used and controlled by the F.B.I.''
Defense lawyers argued that Ms. Leung, now being held without bail, should be freed on a bond of $250,000. They argued further that it was unfair for the courts to have granted Mr. Smith bail last week while declaring Ms. Leung a flight risk and ordering her held pending trial. A bail hearing is set for Tuesday in Los Angeles.Ever wonder what you would do if someone fell to the floor and was dying right before your eyes?
It's happened to me once, six years ago when a good friend seated next to me at a restaurant birthday party suddenly began choking on a piece of meat.
And I choked too …. helplessly backing out of the way and muttering "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God" a thousand times over. Thankfully, my prayers were answered: Others in the room were a heckuva lot more competent and this story turned out to have a remarkably happy ending.
Heidi Scaletta only had a split second to react, as well. While shopping at the Community Thrift Store on Indian Trail in Aurora earlier this month, an urgent cry for help rang out after a man dropped to the floor from a heart attack, hitting his head hard on the counter as he went down.
The good news is that this 50-year-old mom of two and her twin sister Holly had unexpectedly decided to kill a few hours at the resale shop while on their way from her home in Geneva to visit a niece on the far East Side of Aurora.
The even better news: CPR training is required in her role as a certified nurse's aid at River Glen of St. Charles senior living facility.
Scaletta, also a school crossing guard in Geneva for 18 years, admits hesitating in that moment she heard that frantic call for help around 1 p.m. Jan. 14. Although she's had CPR training off and on since 1984 – because techniques change so frequently, certification is only good for two years – she's never had to actually perform it on a real live person.
And so her first two thoughts were: I sure hope someone else steps forward first, and could I be held liable if something goes wrong?
Then, because there were only about a dozen shoppers in the store, a split second later she told herself that she had to help.
As Scaletta raced to the front of the store, about 30 feet away, 78-year-old Pete Catlow had already begun turning blue from lack of oxygen. But Scaletta said it took only two sets of chest compressions and mouth to mouth breathing before his color began to normalize. She had completed three sets when paramedics from the nearby Aurora Fire Station 3 arrived --- within minutes, thanks in large part to store clerk Nancy Orbes dialing 911 almost the instant Catlow collapsed.
Catlow and wife Ann had been visiting his sister Nita Hayward and her husband Kent in Aurora on that fateful Saturday. They decided to hit the resale shop before heading back to their Fontana, Wisconsin, home so Pete, who had forgotten to bring his coat, would have something warm to wear going home.
Kent Hayward said his brother- in-law – who had bypass surgery a decade ago but has since been healthy – was preparing to pay for his $7 purchase when he suffered a heart arrhythmia that dropped him to the floor.
"Had he been driving on the way home and had the attack," noted Hayward, he "likely would have died," perhaps even killing or injuring others on the road.
Scaletta remembers those life-saving moments now as if they occurred in slow motion. And later that day, after paramedics took Catlow to Presence Mercy Medical Center, also thankfully nearby, she "went about the rest of my day in a daze."
A couple days after the incident, she called the thrift store to check on the man's condition, not even aware of his name at that point. By that time, Catlow's loved ones had also called in an attempt to find out who their hero was. And so the store was able to bring both parties together.
Catlow's daughter Terri Catlow says her dad was neurologically unresponsive for a couple days. But after his EEG showed brain activity, the retired school math teacher – father of five, grandpa to 13 – began making progress. On Monday he was released from the hospital and is now at a rehabilitation center near his home where he'll likely spend the next month.
"He's already read the first chapter of a John Grisham novel my uncle bought at the resale shop," said Catlow. "So he's doing super well."
"You have saved the life of a truly extraordinary person," she wrote in a letter to Scaletta.
Capt. Jason Demas, supervisor and part of the Fire Station 3's responding crew, echoed that sentiment. Scaletta's quick action was part of a "call that went seamless," and one he described as "the highest level of professionalism on everyone's part."
When they arrived on the scene, the patient was unconscious and not breathing, he said, but Scaletta's quick actions gave him enough oxygen for the emergency crew – including Dave Christensen, Jack Erdmanis John Dixon and Rick Torres – to start treatment. By the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Demas said, the patient had a pulse.
"In our job, you really do see the best of humanity," he noted.
Battalion Commander Jim Rufer, also part of the response team, later revisited the thrift store in an attempt to find out who the unnamed hero was. Sometimes, he said, "it all comes down to having the right person in the right place at the right time."
Although Scaletta was somewhat uncomfortable with the attention she's begun to receive, she told me she hopes her story reminds others of the importance of knowing CPR. While 911 dispatchers are trained to give emergency instructions over the phone, already knowing how to administer it, Aurora's first responders pointed out, can mean the difference between life and death.
"If I had to do it again, I think I'd have a lot more confidence now," said Scaletta. "I would not hesitate again."
Dcrosby@tribpub.comFootage aired on Indian television showed the extraordinary scene of local women surrounding the man, ripping off his shirt and repeatedly slapping him across the face.
Police said the man, Bikram Singh Brahma, was visiting the village of Santipur on the Bhutan border, when he allegedly entered a woman's house and raped her at about 2 a.m. local time (2030GMT Wednesday).
A senior police officer in the area said villagers ran to the home when they heard the screams, and captured the man.
Later in the day the man was filmed being beaten by villagers with sticks, and slapped by local women.
The arrest was a sign that attitudes towards such behaviour might be changing, with even powerful men being held accountable for their actions.
There have been widespread protests across India in the wake of the gang rape of a 23-year-old university student on a New Delhi bus, who later died of her injuries.
The crime horrified Indians and provoked a national debate about the treatment of women.
Protesters are demanding tough new rape laws, better police protection for women, and a sustained campaign to change society's views about women.
Authorities on Thursday filed rape and murder charges against five men accused of the attack on the student.
Police said they plan to push for the death penalty in the case, as government officials promised new measures to protect women in the nation's capital.
Source: APTNAny woman who doesn’t want children is automatically worse than Hitler, says an mob made up of fucking morons.
The mob, which has been gathering online under the name “Your Uterus, Our Business,” has been gaining traction over the last week by writing all in caps, yelling incoherently and getting really sweary.
“It’s a fucking disgrace,” head pitchfork wielder William Limpdick spat.
“A woman’s decision not to reproduce affects everybody. What am I supposed to tell my children? That some people don’t think they’re the centre of the universe? I want my kids to have healthy self esteem, thank you very much.”
Mob member Gemma Judgey said: “No, reproductive decisions are not private and personal ones, because they directly affect how validated I feel by society.
“If a woman doesn’t want kids, she’s basically saying that I should have drowned mine at birth, and that’s unacceptable.
“Maybe the world is overpopulated, under-resourced and full of wars, disease and Justin Bieber, but not having a child is still the most selfish thing I can think of.”
In a public statement, Your Uterus, Our Business revealed that it will be lobbying the government to introduce a spare womb tax.
“An unused womb is a waste of anatomy, and we don’t see why childless women should be allowed to strut around with their fancy jobs, disposable income and vomit-free clothes at the taxpayer’s expense.
“We don’t care how many people they employ, or how much they contribute to the so-called economy, they’re a drain on society.”
“Now who wants to see pictures of our kids?”A TEEN is fighting for his life after being hit by a car while playing chicken on a busy Queensland road.
The 19-year-old Bowen man was hit in Leichhardt St, Bowen, near the intersection of Poole St, about 8.50pm, on Monday.
Early police investigations suggest he had been dodging cars along Leichhardt St, before stepping out of the path of one car, only to be hit by a southbound car.
The impact sent the teenager through the windscreen of the Holden Commodore, leaving him with serious head and leg injuries.
He was rushed to Bowen Hospital in a critical condition before being flown to Townsville Hospital, where he remained in an induced coma last night.
The driver of the Holden Commodore was not injured and the Mackay Forensic Crash Unit have ruled out speed as a factor in the incident.
Police ruled out alcohol as being a contributing factor for the driver after she blew zero on a breath test.
Inspector Steve O’Connell said the investigation into the crash surrounded the actions of the injured teenager.
“Initial reports indicate that he may have been dodging around traffic on the roadway and has jumped out of the way of one car, to be struck by another car travelling in the opposite direction,” Insp O’Connell said.
“He was hit by a Holden Commodore, driven by a 40-year-old woman from Bowen.
“At the moment, the focus is on the activities of the pedestrian … there have been reports of him playing in the traffic earlier.
“We are also investigating whether any alcohol or other substances were involved in the incident.
“The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating the incident and he is in a critical condition.”
Police are asking anyone with dashcam footage or if they saw people ducking in and out of traffic in Leichhardt St on Monday night to contact police or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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I can't help but laugh when I think of polenta, the Italian corn porridge. Everyone always repeats the same old rules for making it—make sure the liquid is boiling before adding the polenta, then stir nonstop until it's done. And yet, of all the things worth knowing about how to cook great polenta, those might be two of the least important (and, frankly, partially incorrect) lessons. How can the wisdom around such a simple food get so universally bungled?
I want to rewrite some of these rules and set the record straight. First, if the things you've heard about polenta have left you too intimidated to cook it, I want to assure you: It couldn't be easier. Yes, it does require some attention as it cooks, but not more than, say, steel-cut oatmeal. Don't fret about constant stirring or unconquerable lumps. Those are practically nonissues.
What does matter? More than anything else, it's the ratio of liquid—whether water, milk, or stock—to polenta, and the cooking time. Those are the things far too many people (including some so-called experts!) get wrong, with disastrous results. Get them right, though, and the polenta will be so good, I promise you'll want to make it a heck of a lot more often at home.
Let's start at the beginning to make sure we're all clear on what polenta is, then look at what you do and don't need to think about when making it.
What Is Polenta, Anyway?
Polenta, in short, is a cornmeal porridge that's a common dish in Northern Italy (so much so that one derogatory word for Northern Italians is polentoni—"the big polentas"). It's frequently eaten with meats and ragù, cheese like Gorgonzola, or condiments like mostarda d'uva, a grape-and-nut jam from Piedmont. It can either be eaten freshly cooked, as a thick porridge, or it can be cooled and then sliced and fried, grilled, or baked.
Long before corn was brought from the Americas to Europe, polenta was already a staple food—it just wasn't made from corn, obviously. The name originally comes from the Latin word for "pearled grain" (like barley), and the dish, a gruel that could be made with all sorts of grains and legumes, dates to Roman times.
Today, it's no longer associated with those other grains—just corn (or, in the case of polenta taragna, cornmeal mixed with buckwheat). While there are certain heirloom varieties of corn, like otto file and biancoperla, which some prefer over the more generic stuff, for all practical purposes, any medium-ground or coarsely ground cornmeal will do. Even grits, which are often ground more coarsely than polenta and are sometimes made with a different variety of corn (dent instead of flint), are a perfectly acceptable substitute in just about any situation requiring polenta.
That's the first thing that's helpful to know: Polenta doesn't have to be made with a product that says "polenta" on the package. There's nothing wrong with using a product designed exclusively for polenta, but you can just as easily use any medium- or coarse-ground cornmeal.
For instance, the above photo shows an imported package of Italian polenta as well as a bag of stoneground cornmeal from Bob's Red Mill. The Bob's Red Mill stuff makes no mention of polenta anywhere on the bag, and yet it's totally fine for making polenta. (The company also makes a product that it does sell as polenta, but it's not stoneground.)
The biggest difference between the two, in fact, is the grinding method. In this case, the imported polenta has a more consistent grind, while the Bob's Red Mill product is stoneground, producing a more irregular texture. Stoneground grains can range from a powdery flour to large, grit-size pieces. Bear in mind that there's no connection between origin and grind type: You can find imported Italian polenta that's stoneground, and domestic stuff with a more consistent grind size. In the end, it's just a matter of personal preference. The consistent grind will produce a more uniform polenta, while the stoneground cornmeal will have a more varied texture, potentially with some large, firm bits of chaff mixed in.
A lot of stores sell quick or instant polenta, which is made either from an incredibly fine grind of cornmeal or from precooked polenta that's then dried and processed into a flour that can be rapidly reconstituted and put on the table within minutes. While I recognize the convenience a product like that offers, I'll be honest: I've never met a quick-cooking polenta I've liked. Personally, I'd rather just not eat polenta than settle for that stuff.
The Common Refrains
There are a few things you hear over and over when people talk about making polenta, and not all of them are true. The first is that the water absolutely must be boiling. That is 100% wrong. I've made many side-by-side batches of polenta, some for which I stirred the cornmeal into cold water and some with boiling water, and it makes no difference at all in the finished product. If your water is boiling, that's fine. If it's not, that's fine, too.
The second is that you should add your polenta to your water in a thin stream while whisking constantly in order to prevent lumps. This is generally true if you're starting with boiling water and dry polenta, but, as we'll see in a bit, it's not true for all cases (and, in fact, my favorite method of making polenta involves no boiling water or slow addition of polenta at all).
The third thing you hear over and over is that you have to stir the polenta nonstop until it's done. This is another rule that simply isn't true. If you don't stir polenta at all, it will stick to the bottom of the pot and eventually burn, while a skin can form on top that will create lumps once stirred back in. Both of these issues are solved by frequent—but not constant—stirring. If you're making polenta, it's enough to give it a good stir every few minutes. The rest of the time, you're free to prepare the rest of whatever it is that you're cooking. If you do get a skin on top that creates lumps, vigorously stirring with a firm whisk will get rid of them.
I'm not even going to give serious consideration to the two other commonly cited rules of polenta, specifically that you absolutely must use a wooden spoon, and that you must stir in only one direction. Suffice it to say, I've broken these silly rules countless times and always had great results, so just disregard them.
The Real Rules of Making Polenta
So, what is important when you're making polenta? Let's take a look.
The Liquid
Perhaps the biggest decision, aside from the exact type of cornmeal itself, is what type of liquid you're going to use for the polenta. Years ago, when I worked for the Tuscan chef Cesare Casella, I spent a week or so cooking with his mom. One day I asked her about making polenta with milk, and she looked at me in complete horror. No, no, no, she told me, you don't make polenta with milk, ever—you use water!
Not being as bound to tradition as she is, I don't necessarily agree that water is the only acceptable choice for polenta. Milk, for instance, makes an incredibly rich and creamy polenta that's a lot more of an indulgence all on its own, while chicken stock infuses the polenta with much more flavor. They're both perfectly good options, depending on what you want.
Still, while I like polenta made with either milk or stock, water is my personal favorite. First, because it creates a more neutral polenta that allows the corn flavor to shine through.
Second, polenta made with milk can often be too rich. It reminds me of another experience I had while working for Cesare. At the time, he had a very talented cook working as his chef de cuisine, who had a tendency to load just about everything with cream, cheese, and other heavy ingredients. One night, Cesare took me outside and said, "Look, that guy is a very good cook, but he's not thinking about an important part of cooking: Food can't just be judged by how it tastes in your mouth; you also have to consider how it leaves you feeling once you're done eating. Delicious food that makes you ill isn't necessarily good food."
I think about that lesson a lot with things like polenta. Sure, you can load it with milk (and then, often, finish it with butter and tons of cheese). It will taste good, but it'll also leave you feeling pretty gross afterward. More often than not, I opt for water instead, which, when the polenta is cooked right, still leads to incredibly creamy (but less heavy) results.
The Polenta Ratio
Once you've picked up your polenta and decided on a liquid, the next question is what ratio to use. I've seen far too many recipes that mess this up, so here's what you need to know: Any recipe that uses less than four parts water to one part polenta by volume should be approached with extreme caution. I have yet to see such a low ratio produce good results, unless it's with instant or quick polenta. Frankly, depending on the grind of the cornmeal, even a 4:1 ratio can be too low; I almost always use a ratio of five parts water to one part polenta by volume.
The problem with using less liquid than that is that it almost invariably fails to fully hydrate the cornmeal: Your polenta may thicken faster and appear to be done sooner, but the little bits of dried corn will retain an unpleasant crunch. In essence, too little water makes polenta that's undercooked and gritty.
Using more liquid does extend the cooking time, but I like to think of it as the proper cooking time, not a long cooking time.
The Cooking Time and How to Shorten It
So, if we're using a proper ratio of liquid to cornmeal, the next question is how long to cook it. This is another area that a lot of people get wrong all too often, serving the polenta while it's still very runny. Of course, there's space for personal preference, and if you want a runny polenta, I won't argue, but I'd like to share one more story about my time working for Cesare that may change how you think about it.
One day, I was cooking some polenta at his restaurant, and I pulled it from the fire a little too soon. Cesare walked over, lifted a spoonful of polenta from the pot, then tipped it so the polenta flowed off the spoon in a thick stream back into the pot. "You want your polenta to look like snot?" he asked me. No, I realized, I do not. I'll never look at runny polenta the same way again.
So what is a good texture? As Max put it the other day, when he ate some of the polenta I was making in the office, "It's like soft-scrambled eggs."
He's exactly right. For me, the best polenta texture in most circumstances is soft and moist, spreadable, spoonable and creamy, and just barely flowing.
With the right ratio of liquid, it can take a while to get there, so here's another warning: Beware any polenta recipe that uses medium or coarse cornmeal and specifies a cooking time of less than 45 minutes. Honestly, an hour is even more realistic. (Some folks start with more liquid and go even longer, but I don't think that's necessary.)
Now, as I said above, you don't actually have to stir the polenta constantly for a full hour as it cooks, but it does require frequent attention. I get that an hour-long commitment just to make the starch component of your meal may be off-putting to some. But here's the good news: In the course of my testing, I stumbled on a way to cut the cooking time roughly in half. All it requires is a little forethought.
The trick is to presoak the polenta in its liquid for several hours before cooking it. This step helps fully hydrate the cornmeal before you even start cooking it, which in turn drastically cuts down on the cooking time. By presoaking, I was able to fully cook polenta that otherwise would have taken an hour in just 30 minutes.
Alternative Methods For Cooking Polenta
As part of my testing, I played with a few other methods of making polenta, including an oven method, a double-boiler method, and a microwave method.
Oven Method
The recipes for oven-made polenta that I found online called for combining polenta with water in a baking dish, then cooking it, in some cases covered and in others uncovered, until done. I tried this uncovered and got the above result: soupy polenta, with a dry skin stretching across the top. Not appealing.
Covering helps mitigate this somewhat, but you still have to stir the polenta from time to time to prevent lumps. It works fine, but doesn't result in much effort saved.
Double-Boiler Method
I thought a double boiler might help reduce the need for stirring, since the steam heat from below won't cause the polenta to scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. Once again, though, a skin on top of the polenta became a problem, and I found myself stirring it nearly as frequently as polenta cooked directly over the flame. Plus, it took a while longer to cook, since the heat was gentler. This really didn't seem worth it to me.
Microwave Method
Cook's Illustrated has published a microwave version, in which polenta and water are combined in a large Pyrex measuring cup, then cooked, covered, for about 12 minutes total.
The method works, but I have some reservations. First, the Cook's Illustrated recipe uses a ratio that's slightly too low in water (three and a half cups water per cup of cornmeal), producing polenta that's still a little gritty when done. I'd recommend bumping the water up to a full four cups at the very least. Second, the water has a tendency to boil over in the microwave, which is why the CI recipe calls for a two-quart Pyrex measuring cup—nearly twice the total volume of ingredients. It's an unusually large Pyrex measuring cup; we don't have one that size in the SE test kitchen, nor do I have one at home. Of course, you can use some other microwave-safe cooking vessel that's large enough, but it does put a limit on how much polenta you can make in the microwave, since you need a vessel that's significantly larger than the polenta and liquid it's holding, lest it spill over during cooking.
Finally, this method, too, requires stirring between blasts in the microwave to keep the polenta smooth and lump-free. Still, it's a good method to have in your back pocket, especially if your stovetop is crowded with pots and pans.
Most of the time, though, I'll stick with the stovetop method, since I like being able to watch the polenta as it cooks.
Stovetop Polenta, Step by Step
We start with water (or stock, or milk), either cold, warm, or boiling, and sprinkle in the polenta, whisking as it goes in to prevent lumps. (If you presoak, just dump the water and soaked polenta together into the pot, and turn on the heat.)
The polenta will come to a rolling boil, and will thicken quickly as the cornmeal absorbs water.
Reduce the heat as soon as it starts to show the first signs of spitting, keeping it low enough that the polenta won't puff, pop, and spit as it cooks. Stir it every few minutes. I recommend using a three-quart saucier, which has rounded sides that are easier to reach into and scrape clean with a whisk or spoon.
After a while, the polenta will start to thicken even more, pulling away from the side of the saucepan slightly as you stir. It's close to being done at this point.
If any lumps at all form, grab a stiff whisk, and give the polenta a good beating. All lumps should disappear.
Once the polenta is smooth and thick, I add some butter and/or olive oil to enrich it slightly.
It will become just a tad glossy from the added fat, and should feel rich, creamy, and smooth. Note that it's not soupy or runny at all.
Season with salt, and you're all set. At this point, you can spoon the polenta onto plates and top with whatever you're serving with it, or pour it into a mold of some sort and let it cool until set. You can also pour it out onto a wooden board and serve from there, cutting it with a string or wire, which is what they sometimes do in Italy, though usually only when making polenta for large crowds.
If at any point your polenta becomes too thick or hard, just add some water, stock, or milk, and whisk it in. It'll start off lumpy, but will quickly become soft and smooth again.
How to Sear, Fry, and Grill Polenta
If you want to chill the polenta and then cut it up for frying, grilling, or searing, here's how.
Start by pouring the polenta into a greased vessel. Here, I'm using a rimmed quarter sheet pan.
Spread it as evenly as you can.
Then press parchment or plastic wrap against the surface, further smoothing and evening the surface out. This will also help prevent a dry skin from forming on it. Wrap the vessel well in plastic, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until it's completely chilled and set.
When you take the polenta out, it should have set into a solid block. Using a thin spatula, make sure it's not stuck to the sides or bottom.
Then invert the vessel onto a work surface, turning the polenta out onto it. It should come out in a single piece. Cut the polenta into squares, rectangles, triangles, or circles, as you desire.
You can deep-fry, sear, or grill the polenta at this point. Here, I'm showing the polenta seared in a cast iron skillet, but my tips hold true for the grill as well. Namely, you want the skillet or grill to be clean, well seasoned, and oiled, and hot when you set the polenta in it.
Now here's the secret: Do not give in to the temptation to move the polenta. It will almost definitely stick at first, and any attempt to lift or move it will cause it to tear. Just wait!
After a few minutes of high heat, the polenta should release all by itself. You'll know when it's ready, because it'll just come free and offer no resistance when you try to lift it. Now turn the polenta over, and cook the other side.
As soon as it's browned and crisp on the outside, you're all set.
The polenta is ready to serve. Here, I've put some gorgonzola dolce on top, and allowed it to melt slightly from the polenta's heat.
This part doesn't make me laugh. It just makes me hungry.
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The last big oil shale* boom in the West busted on “Black Sunday” 1982. I was 11 years old, then, living in Western Colorado, and I can still remember my dad explaining the boom, the bust and the process necessary to get the "oil" out of the shale.
Here's a primer: Underground room and pillar or strip mining is typically used to get the rock, which is then ground up, heated to extremely high temperatures, or retorted, to get the "oil" out of the kerogen, a waxy hydrocarbon. The oil then must be processed and refined in order to make them into a mid-grade fuel. It’s a water-intensive process. The leftover shale -- laden with the same sort of nasty heavy metals and other substances as coal combustion waste -- actually expands during the process, making disposal a bit of a challenge.
It sounded as crazy back then as it does now.
And it’s that very craziness that has largely kept oil shale off my radar as a journalist covering the big issues in the West. It’s simply too costly, too inefficient and too illogical for any profit-minded company to pour billions of dollars into trying to make it work. Why waste time, I thought, worrying about something that was nothing more than some western Colorado energy booster’s waxy hydrocarbon dream?
Then, this spring, Eesti Energia, the biggest energy company in the tiny country of Estonia, bought the Oil Shale Exploration Company and its oil shale land and research lease in Eastern Utah. My views on oil shale were tipped upside down.
Here’s the thing about oil shale: There is a lot of it in the ground in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, which has long inspired folks to try to use it, somehow. A 1922 report by M.J. Gavin et. al. noted that “remarkable interest” in Western oil shale had been sparked in 1916. “It is reasonable to say that over 100 companies have been organized, ostensibly for the purpose of developing oil-shale in some way or another,” wrote Gavin, “but really for the purpose of fattening the pocketbook of the (stock) promoters... (who) do not hesitate to make the prospect more dazzling, by presenting all sorts of impossible estimates of assured profits in oil-shale operations.”
Gavin, working for the Bureau of Mines, led the construction of an oil shale plant in Rulison, Colo. (Rulison would later be home to another zany energy-extraction scheme in which a nuclear bomb was detonated underground in order to release natural gas from rocks -- call it extreme fracking.) The hype faded, but the mine bureau kept trying to crack the oil shale code for decades. In 1980, sparked by the energy crisis and fed by President Carter’s Synfuel subsidies, Exxon started a large-scale oil shale project in Western Colorado. Two years later, when a recession and shifts in the global market brought oil prices down and Reagan’s free-market policies wiped out the Synfuel program, Exxon bailed, laying off 2,200 employees.
Click to view full screen image.
It might have ended there. After all, how many decades must one attempt to feasibly squeeze oil from a stone and fail before one gives up? But the 2005 Energy Policy Act encouraged oil shale production, bringing the dream back to life. That’s led to a heated debate, with environmentalists warning about the potential impacts, especially in terms of water use and contamination. Conservative lawmakers see an economic bonanza for the West, (if only those damned regulations were rescinded).
Meanwhile, the energy corporations haven’t done much at all except sign up for a few research and development leases. Royal Dutch Shell has long been experimenting with an in situ technique that involves sticking heaters into the ground and heating up the shale to 700 F while freezing the earth around the shale in order to prevent groundwater contamination. The four-year-long process has produced some oil, but Shell is reportedly years away from any sort of commercial production.
Then came the Estonians, who plan to have a 50,000 barrel production plant in Utah by the end of the decade. I know, it conjures up images of a bunch of young Eastern European computer nerds sitting around in a dark room in a tiny, former Soviet Bloc country trying to figure out ways to scam gullible Utah investors out of their cash. But here’s the thing: Estonia (aside from being the birthplace of Skype), has a thriving oil shale industry, comprised of Eesti Energia, that produces 90 percent of the nation’s power and liquid fuel (w/ transportation fuel on its way, apparently).
And Eesti Energia -- the American subsidiary is called Enefit -- is now casting its eyes on global oil shale prospects. It’s working with both Jordan and Morocco to produce electricity from oil shale. Eesti Energia and other companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, have plans to produce liquid fuel from Moroccan and Jordan oil shale deposits. And Israel wants its shale to turn it into an “oil” powerhouse like its neighbors, supposedly using some miraculous new oil shale extraction process that doesn't use water.
Just because these places (and many more, it turns out) can do oil shale, doesn’t mean we can. For one thing, we’ll never use oil shale to produce electricity because we have plenty of coal for that. Still, this global rush makes me think that maybe oil shale’s not just a Western scam that hopes to attract government subsidies in the name of that ever-elusive energy independence. (Maybe it’s a global scam!) Or, maybe, it’s actually becoming economically feasible in these peak oil times.
Uintah County, Utah, officials seem to think so. They visited Estonia’s oil shale facilities and then proposed tax incentives for Eesti Energia’s Utah operations. Meanwhile, the economics for zany energy sources are more favorable than they’ve been since 1981. A 2005 Rand Corporation report found that oil would have to cost $75-$90 per barrel before current oil shale technologies could be profitable. Oil topped $75 in 2007, and except for brief dips, it has remained far above that ever since, hovering around $100 for the last year -- and that’s during economic hard times, when domestic demand has staggered (but global demand has continued to climb).
Oil shale is still a crazy idea, not least because it means getting hooked on yet another carbon-intensive fossil fuel. But now maybe it can be profitable, and for the corporations who will be trying to wring the hydrocarbons out of those rocks, profit always trumps logic.
*Oil shale is not the same as what’s known as shale oil. I’m sure Goat readers know that. Unfortunately, a few energy journalists (i.e. Wall Street Journal reporters) don’t. Shale oil (a better term would be oil-bearing shale) is basically oil trapped in shale that can be released via hydraulic fracturing. Once free, the oil behaves pretty much like any other oil, complete with gushers and all. Oil shale (a better term would be kerogen-bearing rock) starts its long life in much the same way as conventional oil. But it never completely matures, getting stuck instead at a stage of hydrocarbon adolescence called kerogen. That leaves humans to finish the geological growing-up process. Shale oil drilling is a booming business in formations such as the Niobrara in Colorado and the Bakken in North Dakota. Commercial oil shale production in the U.S. remains elusive.
Jonathan Thompson is a contributing editor at High Country News and a 2011-2012 Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder.A Labour MP and social media strategist |
the world. The tantalizing twilight view is composed of eight single frames captured from 4,000 meters above sea level at sunset on April 6. Just above the dark grey Earth-shadow boundary lies a fading, pinkish, anti-twilight arch. Also known as the belt of Venus, its reddened and back-scattered sunlight finally merges with the still blue eastern sky. Standing tall near center along the rugged horizon line is the distant sharp peak of Mount Damavand in the snowy Alborz mountains. A feature in Persian mythology and literature, Damavand is a stratovolcano reaching 5,610 meters above sea level, the highest peak in Iran and the Middle East.Louis C.K. announced the self-cancellation of his money-losing web series “Horace and Pete” on Saturday.
The comedian last week released the 10th (and now final) episode of the dramedy in which he starred with Steve Buscemi as the co-owners of a downmarket Brooklyn bar, but sent a follow-up email to his fans on Saturday stating that the show would not be returning.
The move is not a surprise given the shaky finances for the project. On Monday, C.K. told Howard Stern that he’s “millions of dollars in debt right now” because he self-financed the series and distributed it on his own.
Also Read: Louis CK in Debt 'Millions of Dollars' Over 'Horace and Pete'
“I had to take out a line of credit.” he told Stern. “I’m not a wealthy guy. I don’t have a ton of money saved up.”
He told Stern he originally intended to shell out $2 million of his own money to cover the cost of the first four episodes — $500,000 each, leaving him, he said, with “no cushion in life.”
By releasing the show direct to his web site and bypassing any middlemen, C.K. said he hoped to make the money back on sales of each episode in order to fund the rest of the season. But that didn’t happen.
Also Read: 'Horace and Pete' Review: Louis CK Surprise Series Is an Intriguing Retro Drama
The show, which touches on health, politics and family matters, also stars Alan Alda, Edie Falco (“Nurse Jackie”), Steven Wright and Jessica Lange (“American Horror Story”).
As the comedian noted in his email on Saturday, “Horace and Pete” earned rave reviews from critics. It scored an impressive 78 percent on Metacritic, 8.9/10 on IMDb and a jaw-dropping 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The text of Louis C.K.’s email follows:
Hi. So. That was it. I didn’t want to say, in the last email, that it was the last episode. Because I didn’t want you to know, as you watched the episode, that it would be the last one. But yeah, obviously, That was it.
I’m writing you now for two reasons.
Reason one is to tell you that you can now buy the entire season of Horace and Pete with one payment of 31 dollars. This feature also includes “complete my season” so if you have bought some episodes already just log into the site and click the complete season button and you can fill out the rest of the episodes. You can also gift the whole season to someone you think needs to see it.
Go here to buy the complete season of Horace and Pete.
I know that people have wanted to buy the whole season at one time since we started the show. But you see we made the show one episode at a time on a weekly basis as it aired so if I had let you pay ahead of time, and then something happened that would have prevented me from making the whole season, I would have owed a dizzying amount of people a small amount of money each.
Now that I have finished the season, we can offer it to you this way. We don’t offer a discount for buying all episodes, because that isn’t fair to those who bought them one at a time, with no other option at the time.
And I also don’t want to penalize people who want to sample one show or more first. It’s just simpler to charge the same either way.
So go here and buy the complete season of Horace and Pete.
The second reason is that I wanted to say it is a singular experience to have done this show and a very very sad thing to be done doing it. I loved telling that/those story(ies). I loved working in that (fake) bar with that crew for those ten weeks. It was a wicked high privilege to act with those actors. I mean holy shit. Those actors. Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco, Alan Alda, Jessica Lange, Aidy Bryant, Laurie Metcalf, Maria Dizzia, my good friends Steven Wright and Nick DiPaolo. Watching the budding talent of new kids like Kurt Metzger. Fly-by encounters with greats like George Wallace, Burt Young, Colin Quinn, Rick Shapiro, Tom Noonan, Reg E. Cathey, Craig muMs Grant. Sitting across from home run hitters like Karen Pittman, Nina Arianda, Amy Sedaris, while all I had to do was twirl my finger in the air like an umpire watching it go over the fence.
And the pleasure and satisfaction of working again with my constant partners for so many years. Blair Breard, who produces the show and everything else that I do. Paul Koestner, the great eye (Director of photography) who gave the show such a lovely and original look. Amy Silver, the production designer, who made Horace and Pete’s real. I don’t know how she did it. I believed every day that that bar was real and had stood in that spot for 100 years.
And the new experience of learning to trust an editor. Gina Samson has been my assistant editor for 5 seasons of Louie. On Horace and Pete I let her take over and show me a new way to look at the things I make and boy did it pay off.
Vernon Chatman, Dino Stamatopolous and Annie Baker, all world-class writers, were there to help me see what was going on as I did my stupid acting.
The camera operators, who were your eyes on a basically live show. They were Todd, Ricardo Nico and Ruben.
Those are the names at my disposal at this moment and the rest will hate me but thanks to Everyone in the booth. The carpenters, the gaffers. John and Wyatt on sound. Chris the on set art guy. The directorial department. Giles and Caspar who made the website easy and cool to use. This was a dedicated crew who really cared about the show being as good as we could make it.
To have had the opportunity to work with Paul Simon and have the tone literally set by his voice, his melody, his words. I hope that I earned that one.
And it was great to share this with all of you in this unique and intimate way. I don’t usually read the emails that I get on my website but I read a lot of yours. Because this show was for you and a lot of you were passionate in what you wrote back about it.
I chose to do the show this way, knowing that it would be a quiet and strange experiment and that only a few of us would take part in this stage of it, that has just ended. The creating, unfolding and watching of the show, one episode at a time, from nothing. I am grateful to all of you that took this trip with me the way that you did, not knowing what you were getting, how much you were getting or how it would all feel. I was right there with you. I didn’t know how any of this would go or feel.
I’m grateful to the TV critics that got out in front and wrote so thoughtfully about the show and the experience. I enjoyed reading it. After we shot the last episode, the cast crew and I put real beer on the taps at Horace and Pete’s and we had a drink and we talked. I don’t think we’ll ever experience anything like that show again. I miss all of them.
So now the show is finished. It’s complete. Now I’ll go and tell the world about it, and ask them to come see what we made.
I’m excited because I’ve been dying to talk about it. It was so fun and so goddam weird, what I just went through. And it continues to be so. Sorry ahead of time for how annoying it will be to see me and hear me yammering about this show and promoting it, flying in the face of the whole idea of watching a show from nothing and seeing where it goes. But I want folks to see this show.
Thank you again to those of you who watched with us as we made it. To those of you who haven’t, I can tell you, now that it’s done, it’s a fucking good show. It really is. You can go and google it and read many terrific reviews.
Like these:
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/horace-and-pete-is-louis-c-k-s-most-audacious-independent-creation-yet
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/03/louis-cks-horace-and-pete-is-like-nothing-else-on-tv/472662/
http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/horace-and-pete-silence-and-the-failed-patriarchy.html
Yes that was me bragging about the reviews.
And you can watch a few stolen clips on youtube. But if you really want to experience this show the way we all have, just start watching it. Take a chance with a few bucks and give it a shot. Buy an episode and see. Or
GO HERE and buy the whole thing.
Take your time watching it. Give it time. It doesn’t really follow any rhythms that you’re used to. So watch that one and wait a week and think about it. Then watch another one.
And once again thank you to the folks who already watched.
Take care. Be well. See you around.
Louis C.K.A retired Army Special Forces sergeant major and combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan endorsed Paul Nehlen for Congress Monday in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News.
Andrew Wilson told Breitbart News he decided to support Nehlen after the two men had frank conversations about problems facing the country. Nehlen is a Wisconsin businessman challenging Speaker Paul D. Ryan in Tuesday’s Republican primary.
“It was his attitude and his genuine concern for military veterans and their families, the security of the U.S.–and jobs,” said the president and CEO of Quiet Professionals, a Tampa, Florida-based consultancy.
“There was quite a bit of back and forth there,” he said. “I wanted to find out about his principles and values and it sounded like we were on the same track.”
The retired sergeant major, who was a 14-year veteran of a special operations mission unit, said another factor in his decision was the example of retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely to endorse Nehlen.
Writing in a special op-ed for Breitbart News, Vallely said Ryan failed to live up to his committments to the people of Wisconsin’s First Congressional District and the American people,by his failure to fight to secure the borders and maintain a strong national defense.
Because I love this nation, and as a matter of conscience, I unequivocally oppose the re-election of United States House of Representatives Speaker and representative of the First Congressional District of Wisconsin, Paul Ryan, and place all my support behind his opponent, Paul Nehlen.
Wilson said his own concerns for Ryan’s support of open immigration and trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, are not just theoretical.
“My concern about all that is that as I work overseas–and it is completely different for somebody who served in the military, especially for someone who has served in some of the units that I have served in–I have seen how things really work,” he said.
“I think most Americans have an unrealistic view of the rest of the world, simply because they have not been immersed in those types of environments before,” he said.
“It is incumbent upon us, especially members of the special operations, to be able to serve and protect the United States and certainly our homeland,” he said.
“I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about people who can come in and out the country illegally and what that means,” he said.
Wilson said when illegal aliens pass in and out of the country without proper screening and without the government being able to track and monitor then, it creates opportunities for terrorists and other agents hostile to the United States to plan and execute attacks upon the American people in the shadows.
“They can quickly form cells,” he said. “They can mobilize when the time comes or they can execute subversive acts–and I think those things are starting to happen on a small scale now.”
The retired sergeant major said if the policies supported by Speaker Paul D. Ryan continue those cells and their activities will grow and mature and become an even greater danger.
“I see those things growing on a larger scale down the road if we continue with the same polices and procedures that we have had–certainly when it comes to immigration.”New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer was one of only four Democrats to vote for legislation allowing for the repeal of recent regulations finalized by the Obama administration. (Courtesy Josh Gottheimer Facebook page)
The three Blue Dog Democrats who voted for the Republican-backed Midnight Rules Relief Act last November had some new company Wednesday night, when the House again passed California Rep. Darrell Issa’s reintroduced legislation.
The House voted 238-184 to allow Congress to repeal en bloc multiple regulations approved in the last 60 legislative days of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and Minnesota Rep. Collin C. Peterson all bucked the Democratic Party to support the measure. But their trio grew to a quartet with New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who, on just his second day as a congressman, also sided with Republicans on this vote.
“For too long, unnecessary and out-of-date regulations have been able to pile up on the books, burdening businesses large and small, and passing hidden costs along to families,” Gottheimer said in a statement Wednesday night.
“I also think it’s critical that Congress is always a check on regulation, regardless of who is in the White House. I will support efforts to cut unnecessary and out-of-date regulations and help New Jersey’s businesses and families grow and prosper,” he added.
Gottheimer received the Blue Dog PAC’s endorsement during his campaign against Republican Rep. Scott Garrett last summer. A former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, he campaigned as a fiscal conservative and social moderate.
In one of the Democrats’ few bright spots on election night 2016, he upset Garrett by 4 points in northern New Jersey’s 5th District, which both Donald Trump and Mitt Romney narrowly carried. He over-performed Hillary Clinton, who lost by 1 point here, according to Daily Kos Elections.
But Garrett suffered from self-inflicted wounds, and without him on the ticket, Republicans may be itching to take back the seat in 2018.
Garrett’s comments about not wanting the National Republican Congressional Committee to support gay candidates made his defeat a cause celebre for Democrats. In one of the most brutal ads of the 2016 elections, House Majority PAC suggested Garrett’s views aligned better with Alabama than with New Jersey, where his district includes both rural areas in the West and commuter suburbs outside New York City.
Peterson is one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, and despite joking about having an underfunded challenger who received little help from Washington Republicans, the longtime Democrat prevailed by just 5 points in Minnesota’s 7th District last year. Peterson, Sinema and Cuellar all supported Issa’s bill when it passed the House in November.
“As a former small business owner, I know the difficulties of conducting efficient business under the pressure of heavy-handed federal regulations,” Cuellar said in a Wednesday night statement. “Congress is the branch of government charged with setting policy for our nation and should have a say in all rules and regulations impacting our constituents. This bill puts that power back within the legislative branch where it belongs.”
But these four Democrats were in the minority of their Blue Dog Coalition on Wednesday. Other new members endorsed by the Blue Dog PAC during the 2016 campaign, including Arizona Rep. Tom O’Halleran, California Rep. Lou Correa and Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider, voted with their party against the GOP legislation.The problems start the moment I settle into my seat on the plane. The armrests are digging into my sides. The man walking down the aisle realises his seat is next to mine and doesn't look pleased. I try and take up as little space as possible, but my avoirdupois is ample. A trolley dolly offers me a seatbelt extender and I flash an angry look: I'm not THAT fat. The tray table will not fold down, I cannot move my arms and I'm facing a nine-hour flight wedged into a seat that constricts my blood flow. Welcome to the world of the larger traveller. Welcome to my world.
I am 5ft 8in, a size 24 and have been fat my whole life. Someone recently asked me if I'd like to be thin. It's like asking me if I want to be a man, or if I'd like to be black. I just don't know; the reality is so far removed from my existence it is difficult to imagine what it would be like. Being fat doesn't bother me - I am used to it. But sometimes it is a hassle, mostly due to people's ignorance and rudeness. Like the time a London bus driver slammed the doors in my face and shouted 'No room left for a fatty like you, love!' Or when I tried to hire a flamenco dress for a masquerade party. The shop assistant, explaining why he didn't have one in my size, said it was because 'fat people can't dance'.
The real gems happen when I'm on holiday. I generally avoid package deals and prefer to travel inde pendently; I like to immerse myself in local life, for better or for worse. As a result I have learnt reactions to fat people vary across the globe, and my most important travelling companion is a sense of humour. In Spain, grandmothers usually stop, stare at me and whisper the word gorda to each other behind their hands. In Italy, I provoke much more positive responses. This summer in Sicily I had several short, hairy, middle-aged men tell me they loved me. Whenever I visit Rome, home to some of the most beautiful people on earth, both men and women stop me in the street to tell me how stylishly gorgeous I am. Who am I to argue?
But it was in Cuba that I developed a very tough skin. I was travelling with my partner, who is average-sized. We hired a bicycle taxi to take us across town for an agreed price. When we arrived at our destination the driver looked me straight in the eye and demanded double, because 'you're so fat I had to pedal harder'. In Cienfuegos a waitress refused to let me see a menu. Her reason? 'You're too fat already - you don't need to eat dinner.' Small children and grandmothers (what is it with them?) walked up to me in Havana and pinched my flesh in amazement.
If I could sum up my experiences as a travelling fat female object of desire and derision, it would be in a few words sung by Danny la Rue: 'I am what I am - I don't want praise, I don't want pity.' OK, maybe the praise. But keep your pity to yourself.
I have become increasingly aware that I am not alone in my largesse. Everywhere I look, there seem to be more fat people. More than half the UK population is overweight or obese: that's about 24 million of us. As we get fatter, will the travel industry respond by making our holidays, from beginning to end, more accommodating to excess flesh? Airlines are adapting - American Airlines recently removed thousands of seats from economy cabins, raising the average seat pitch to a comfy 36 inches. Holiday companies have introduced specialist options such as llama trekking for Jewish singles and luxury cruising for gay couples. This niche has not been a possibility for fatties - until now.
Freedom Paradise is the world's first size-friendly holiday resort. It has just opened on the Riviera Maya, among the palm trees, alabaster beaches and clear Caribbean waters south of Cancun in Mexico. The resort's name and concept connotes a chubby heaven where everyone is fat and fabulous, but I was dubious. Is Freedom Paradise an idyllic place for a big beautiful holiday, or is it a ghetto where fat people console their misery over an open bar and all-you-can-eat buffet?
You don't have to be fat to stay at Freedom Paradise (but it helps). There isn't a Fat Guard at reception wielding a tape measure ensuring guests meet minimum girth requirements. But prepare to be shocked. I was when I saw a fellow female guest who weighed in the region of 30 stone, and was forced to confront my own prejudices. Fat people can be terribly judgmental about other chubsters. I found it difficult, beyond the folds of flesh, to see the person underneath. Once I got past the surface, the rewards of holiday friendship with Nicki from Michigan were instant. We share similar interests, and were both taunted by the same names at school. A friend told her about Freedom Paradise; Nicki loves swimming but hates the teasing whenever she wears her bathing suit in public. Over a few margaritas, Nicki told me how her mother put her on diet pills at the age of nine and refused to let her eat the same meals as the rest of the family. Nicki went on to become a compulsive eater; she is currently at her heaviest and gets professional help for her problem. For her, Freedom Paradise's name says it all.
Everything you would expect at an all-inclusive resort is here, but is adapted for fat people. All staff are trained in'size awareness issues', and are friendly and accommodating. But it is ironic that the native Mayan people are short and of slight build - next to guests, they look Lilliputian. The air-conditioned rooms are smaller than I had expected, but Freedom Paradise has been adapted from an existing resort and the rooms originally had double beds; now they have reinforced king-sized ones. Bathroom doorways have been widened, and the showers are huge. Ground-floor rooms open on to a private patio overlooking the pools and sea, with wooden lounge chairs and a supersize hammock. I confess I didn't try the hammock; I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out!
The public areas are size-friendly too. In the outdoor dining room, extra large chairs are painted in bright Mexican colours. In high season there is a buffet and five restaurants; during my low-season stay, only two were open along with the poolside barbecue. The chef creates a mix of Mexican and gringo fare: enchiladas or omelettes for breakfast, tacos with mole sauce or rib-eye steak for dinner. Though delicious, the portions were on the small size; I hope this was more to do with local standards rather than a covert slimming operation.
Poolside sun loungers are made of sturdy wood, and some are double size - suitable for one supersize guest. Tables and benches are hewn from tree trunks and support even the plumpest. One of the four pools has in-water seats next to a sunken bar - sipping a pina colada in my XXL bikini has never been so easy! The same bar also has oversized swings made of thick planks of wood and super strong rope instead of bar stools. I lazily swung back and forth in the Caribbean breeze and contemplated my ample rolls of flesh... which is exactly what one of my fellow guests was doing.
Eduardo is a charming thirtysomething Mexican who readily describes himself using the acronyms invented by the size acceptance movement in America. He is an FA (Fat Admirer) and a BHM (Big Handsome Man). Visiting Freedom Paradise was the first step for Eduardo in admitting he likes larger women. I quickly became the object of his unrequited affection and an offer of marriage was in the sea breeze. We agreed to remain friends and shared a few platonic evenings together over cocktails instead. His friend Humberto offered moral support, and by the end of the trip was converted by the wiles of BBWs (Big Beautiful Women).
'They are just nicer than skinny ladies,' he said. Which is a broad brushstroke, but the women at Freedom Paradise didn't seem to mind. The sight of Humberto - a muscular Latin hunk - parading about in his leopard-print thong set temperatures rising. Freedom Paradise is no chubby knocking shop, but it is an ideal place to meet like-minded people - and possible partners.
Each morning at Freedom Paradise begins with an optional exercise class designed for large people by Kelly Bliss, America's plus-size fitness guru. We did simple low-stress stretching and aerobics but I got the feeling that we'd all have to do this 24/7 for the rest of our lives for it to have any major impact. My favourite activity involved lying immobile on the beach at sunset while Teresita, a massage therapist, pummelled me.
The management at Freedom Paradise have got most things right. But one of the pools, beautifully tiled in azure blue, does not have a handrail so getting in and out can be difficult. Some activities have not been adapted yet: kayaks, water buggies and small boats are aquatic nightmares for chubsters. And plastic chairs are a collapsing time bomb; during my stay a chair crumpled under the weight of one guest who was lucky to escape injury. The staff seem to have an honest dedication to their unique concept, and their personal touch is a far cry from the faceless anonymity reported at many all-inclusive resorts.
Does Freedom Paradise live up to its name? I found it truly relaxing and a relief to enjoy myself in all my corpulence away from the prying eyes and judgmental sneers of skinny people. Whether it encourages us fat people to stay fat, or is a necessary antidote to a society that often wrongly stereotypes us as lazy, stupid and out of control, is up for debate. Brits are the world leaders in package holidays, and with the UK population getting fatter by the day, I don't think it will be long before we see a Freedom Paradise on the Costa del Sol. Freedom Paradise may be a chubby ghetto, but it is the first time I have felt totally comfortable prancing around in my specially bought skimpy swimsuit. And THAT is fat liberation!
Factfile
Freedom Paradise, Tulum, Mexico (00 52 998 887 1101). Rooms start at $155 (£92.50) per night per person double occupancy, all meals and drinks included. Single occupancy £110.50 Transfers from Cancun airport cost £71.50 round trip. Plus-size fitness: www.kellybliss.com
Getting there: Amy Lamé flew with American Airlines (08457 789789). Round trip flights from London to Cancun start at £600 including tax.
· Amy Lamé is arts correspondent for BBC London 94.9FMSearch and rescue volunteers search debris in an avalanche field for a missing skier in southwestern Montana on Monday. (Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center via AP)
The avalanche broke loose from Imp Peak, a rushing wall of snow — two feet high at the vertical crown and 150 feet across — slipping quickly along the older dense accumulation.
The hard slab slammed down into the gully on the mountain’s side, stretching for 300 feet over the dark rock outcroppings, burying two young backcountry skiers Saturday at 10,000 feet above sea level, six miles from the trail head and 20 miles southwest of Big Sky, Mont.
Hayden Kennedy, a 27-year-old world-class climber, fought his way out from the pileup. But he could not find his girlfriend, 23-year-old Inge Perkins.
A report released Tuesday by the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center says Kennedy searched, then trekked out of the area for help. On Monday, rescuers discovered Perkins’s body beneath three feet of snow.
But the tragedy unfortunately didn’t stop on the wind-ripped side of the Madison Range‘s fourth highest peak. On Sunday, as searchers were mustering to locate the missing skier, Kennedy took his own life.
This week, his father, Michael Kennedy, confirmed his son’s death.
“Hayden survived the avalanche but not the unbearable loss of his partner in life,” his father wrote on Facebook. “He chose to end his life. Myself and his mother Julie sorrowfully respect his decision.”
The gravity of both losses is pulling particularly hard on the world of professional mountain climbers, globe-trotting alpinists and extreme outdoors-people. Both Kennedy and Perkins were renowned climbers with corporate sponsorship and followings.
Kennedy was a climbing wunderkind who had pulled himself to the top of some of the globe’s most demanding peaks. The son of prominent members of the climbing scene, he was dubbed “the best young climber on the planet” in 2014 by Elevation Outdoors.
Despite his age, Kennedy had scraped up enough mountainsides to understand his chosen lifestyle was a tricky balancing act between daredevil risk and safe respect for the threats and challenges of the natural world.
“I see both light and dark in climbing,” he wrote in September on the website Evening Sends. “I have watched too many friends head into hills without thought or reason just because that’s what they have always known. I have been guilty of this approach, too. Why do some of us survive and others don’t?”
It's w/ heavy hearts that we say bye to our friend, Ambassador & true brother of the BD tribe, Hayden Kennedy, & his partner Inge Perkins. pic.twitter.com/1U8MYze5rp — Black Diamond (@BlackDiamond) October 10, 2017
Kennedy grew up in Carbondale, a Colorado mountain town. His mother, Julie, was the founder of the 5Point Film Festival, an annual event for outdoor and adventure-related films. His father Michael was an acclaimed alpinist who also worked as the editor in chief of Climbing magazine for 30 years.
“I started climbing a lot at 13, 14,” Hayden Kennedy told Elevation Outdoors in 2014. “I grew up climbing with my dad when I was super young. But I wasn’t that into it. Then as a teenager, I did more sport and trad climbing.”
With climbing such a part of his family life, Kennedy was naturally pulled to the sport — despite his mother’s concern over the risks.
“Do you remember when she told me that if I ever taught you to ice climb, she’d kill me?” Michael Kennedy wrote to his son in an open letter published in 2012 on Alpinist.com. “She figured that ice climbing was the gateway drug to alpinism. Fortunately, you learned it on your own.”
In an essay last September, Hayden Kennedy explained how he educated himself to climb:
I spent my entire youth reading everything about our sport’s history that I could get my hands on, not to mention discussing the nuances of climbing’s ethics with my dad, a former world-class alpinist, and all of his fellow world-class alpinist buddies when they’d come through town. More importantly, I’ve tried to make opinions about climbing ethics based on firsthand experiences — not through Internet forums. That seems to be a rare thing these days.
After graduating high school, Kennedy opted not to go to college, but hit the road to climb. Self-effacing and humble, with what one friend later described as a “hang-loose sincerity,” the young climber was unlike many of the high-profile names in the sport, who seemed obsessed with documenting their adventures on social media.
“I’ve never been a goal-oriented climber so I don’t really see the point in recording my climbs or hyping them up,” he wrote in September. “I don’t hashtag on Instagram. And I’m not on Facebook. I guess that makes me a s‑‑‑ty Millennial.”
But his climbs caught attention. Among his many achievements, he climbed a new route up K7 in Pakistan, where he also trekked up the Ogre of the Baintha Brakk.
Most infamously, in 2012, Kennedy and a partner climbed the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre on the border between Chile and Argentina. The mountain had originally been climbed in 1970 by mountaineer Cesare Maestri, who installed bolts into the rock face for an easier ascent. On their way down, Kennedy and his partner tore out the bolts, a defiant gesture to restore the mountain to its natural condition.
He wrote of the experience:
Maestri drilled his way to the top, without any regard to the natural features of the mountain. Over the years, as alpine climbers’ skills, vision, and talent increased, so did the call to restore the natural challenges of this special mountain. After climbing Cerro Torre without the bolts, and seeing firsthand the outrageous nature of their placements — and understanding the history of the debate — Jason and I decided to remove a majority of the bolts on our way down.”
“It’s so fun climbing with Hayden Kennedy,” one friend testified in 2014. “He’s such a rad, humble dude. He has this lighthearted attitude about everything. And super-psyched as well. His skill base is insane. This kid can climb everything.”
In between his worldwide jaunts, Kennedy returned home. He worked odd jobs for money, including putting his climbing skills to work crawling over big houses hanging Christmas lights for the holiday season.
“It was the exact kind of brutal, dangerous work that would suit an alpine climber, so long as we could ignore the fact that we were contributing to one of the most obscene spectacles of American consumerism ever invented,” he wrote.
Perkins shared Kennedy’s feel for the outdoors. A native of Bozeman, she was an award-winning skier, having skied the Grant Teton, crossed the Taylor Hilgard Unit and won the Montana Randonee Championships, Rock and Ice Magazine reports. She also ascended numerous peaks.
“Climbing of different varieties is a main vein in my life,” she explained in an interview in February. “Over the past five years I have fallen back in love with backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering.”
The couple had recently moved to Bozeman. Perkins was completing her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and education at Montana State University. Hayden was working toward his EMT certification.
A week before his death, Kennedy wrote honestly of the dangers inherent in pushing the edge in the wild. “It’s not just the memorable summits and crux moves that are fleeting. Friends and climbing partners are fleeting, too. This is the painful reality of our sport, and I’m unsure what to make of it.”
More from Morning Mix:
Model in ‘racist’ Dove ad says it was misinterpreted: ‘I am not a victim’
Utah police officer fired after manhandling, arresting nurse who was doing her job
Mensa’s brainiacs offer to host Trump-Tillerson IQ faceoff
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg apologizes for ‘tone-deaf’ virtual trip to Puerto RicoBangalore. Prashant Sharma, an IT professional, who once upon a time used to be a shy man, turned into a superstud after making a pilgrimage to the holy country of Thailand.
Somewhat similar is the story of Kailaash Naagar, who is a budding politician.
“Till last month, he was even afraid of talking to a girl, most probably because of his engineering background. It’s then, I suggested him to visit Thailand, as that was his last hope,” said Babu Biswal, a senior colleague of Prashant, who initially motivated him to change his life forever.
“And today, he is confident enough to ask even Sunny Leone out on a date,” boasted Babu Biswal.
As per tourism industry experts, Thailand has a mystical power of turning rowdy introverts into gentle perverts.
“They have developed a unique ecosystem to channelize human perversion, which results into removal of guilt factor from a person’s mind,” said an expert.
Prashant’s friends, who accompanied him on the soul searching journey, revealed that Prashant started bursting with confidence even before their flight landed at Bangkok airport.
“We were shocked to see the way he was talking to air hostesses. He asked for a glass of water, and that too shaken, not stirred, in James Bond style,” disclosed Prashant’s friend Vikas, “By the time the flight landed, he was completely charged up. For getting down, instead of using stairs he jumped down from the plane.”
Prashant credits ambience of Thailand for the drastic change. “I remember myself wandering around ‘Walking Street’ of Pattaya, where I felt shyness evaporating out of my body,” said Prashant recollecting memories of the trip, “Nobody was there to judge me, so I let my emotions out, loud and loud.” Reportedly, Prashant even made a girlfriend during his Thailand trip. Although, he doesn’t understand her language but love is still there.
Meanwhile, Prashant’s parents were distributing prasad in their colony that Prashant had sent them. They were told by Prashant that he was going on a chaar dhaam pilgrimage.Fowl Play National surveys show that the majority of Americans are opposed to the inhumane treatment of farm animals. In fact, Americans are in opposition to the very treatment animals face every day on factory farms. This disconnect that people have between the food they buy and the industries they support is exactly what agribusiness counts on to maintain its bottom line. However, a growing movement of people are opposed to factory farming and the commodification of animals. They are organizing, documenting the living nightmare that animals face, and speaking out against animal agriculture. Fowl Play illuminates the plight of factory-farmed laying hens through interviews with people who are fighting diligently to save them. A story of hope emerges as footage recorded inside battery cage and other facilities is balanced with personal accounts of the individuals working to protect the often-forgotten victims of the egg industry. The film also introduces us to animals who survive the system: Hope, a hen left to die in a garbage can but then rescued by activists; and Consuela, a hen gassed on a farm when she was no longer useful but who survives to be rescued at a landfill. The suffering that animals face on factory farms won't end until enough people are motivated to change it. Fowl Play connects the dots between consumers and the practices they support, and leaves viewers with a groundbreaking message of personal change and community outreach.Mary Economou Bailey Green
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
mebailey@ |
mutilation is the fourth most popular surgical procedure in the U.S. even though it is unnecessary and highly damaging. The world is geared to have compassion for women’s needs but not as much for the needs of men. We could go on and on about each of the many men’s issues and see how the lack of compassion and choice plays a part in their dilemma.
The unconscious nature of gynocentrism may be its most ruinous aspect. People are simply unaware of the great differences in the way men and women are treated. It is in some ways reminiscent of the racism I remember in the mid 20th century. People were simply unaware of their treatment of blacks. There were surely outright bigots at the time but the majority of people were basically asleep to the impact of their attitudes and behaviors and went along with the status quo that treated blacks and whites in significantly different ways. The general public was duped by a media that portrayed blacks as inferior and an educational system and even academic research that did the same. With gynocentrism 2.0 we are seeing something very similar but instead of the blacks it is now our men. Today’s gynocentrism is made up primarily of people who are basically unaware of the impact of their behaviors and are simply going along with the gynocentric status quo.
It’s time to wake up.
Knowing these things and taking the red pill makes it important for us to start offering men and boys greater compassion and choice.
And let’s not forget. Men Are Good!The price of bitcoin continues to rise, led primarily by the exchanges in China, which have, oftentimes, been trading at a premium of $10/BTC higher than the other major exchanges around the world. With China driving such an increase in the bitcoin price, many have been speculating that it could be driven by capital controls.
In China, the law stipulates that individuals cannot send more than the equivalent of $50,000 out of the country in a year. To get around this, individuals have hired smugglers to get cash out of the country, bought extremely expensive real estate in cities like New York and London, and even set up businesses in other countries with the goal of overpaying for inventory from China. All of this just to get money out of the country.
According to pseudonymous blogger Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge, the primary driver has been the Chinese purchasing bitcoin as a way of getting around capital controls.
“If a few hundred million Chinese decide that the time has come to use bitcoin as the capital controls bypassing currency of choice … sit back and watch as we witness the second coming of the bitcoin bubble,” he wrote in a recent blog post.
But is this, in fact, what is occurring?
According to Bobby Lee, the Founder and CEO of BTCC, while a hedge against capital controls is certainly a use case for bitcoin, it’s not what is driving this run up.
“I can tell you, being on the ground with the bitcoin exchange in China, I can guestimate that the vast majority of trading volume is not for that reason. The reality is, there are many loopholes around the capital controls. For the most part, it’s not a strict, strict capital controls,” he explained in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine. “If you look at countries like Myanmar and Argentina, which have very strict capital controls, you’ll have the price of bitcoin to USD [U.S. dollars] is much greater.”
Jack Liu, head of international at OKCoin, also disagreed with the notion that it had anything to do with capital controls. In an email to Bitcoin Magazine, he said, “I don't think so. It's speculation.”
Leon Li, CEO of Huobi, said in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, “to be clear, it’s not about capital controls.”
BTCC, OKCoin, and Huobi are the three biggest exchanges in China. All three don’t see a fear of capital controls driving the recent run-up of the price of bitcoin.
If it’s not capital controls, what is it?
It’s About Perception
“Over the last two months, we’ve seen a steady increase in bitcoin activity and bitcoin volumes and price appreciation. The reason this price has happened is because of renewed interest,” Lee explained. “All the bad news has come out over the past year and a half, and now it’s over.”
Lee walked through a list of the bad news that held bitcoin back: Mt. Gox imploding, the Chinese government offering ambiguous opinions on bitcoin, and the Silk Road bitcoin being sold en masse. “We’ve been in a bear market for the past 18 months,” he said.
And with that bear market came the need for miners to liquidate more of their bitcoin than normal because they didn’t know what the future price would be, Lee explained. “There’s a constant selling pressured caused by bitcoin miners.”
“The price is recovering on a rebound after several months in a narrow range. Some Chinese traders are expressing a view on the CNY exchange rate after the last devaluation, and you have interest by mainland speculators to move to other assets after the stock market fallout,” Liu of OKCoin said to Bitcoin Magazine.
What Lee does believe is that there is only one reason that the price of bitcoin is going up:
“It’s mostly new users,” he said, referring to who was signing up for the site during this recent run-up in price. “Bitcoin price, if I may be bold, has been going up in the recent years for only one reason: more usage, more acceptance and more awareness. When bitcoin is in more hands, the price naturally goes up. It’s the law of scarcity.”
Li of Huobi believes that there are a multitude of reasons driving the price higher. He touched on the recent regulatory environment with the CFTC saying bitcoin was a commodity and, in Europe, the courts saying that it was exempt from VAT.
“More financial institutions entered this industry,” he said, “such as bitcoin-based ETN and ETF were founded in Europe. Organizations and individuals involved more in bitcoin market as the policy and funding is becoming in favor of bitcoin.”
But Li also offered some negative reasons in China that might support the recent rise.
“Finance industry is developing rapidly in China during recent years, however, there still exists a distance in terms of trading mechanisms compared to the developed countries, which hindered the small and medium-sized investors from enjoying convenient services and trades," he said. "Chinese banking industry is still charging high transaction fees despite the fact that we’re living in the Internet Age.”
Nonetheless, bitcoin is rising, and China is leading the pack. Whether this run will last for only a short while or this is the beginning of another bull run, no one is certain. But the energy within the community is certainly more positive, this run-up encouraging more people to talk about bitcoin.
And as Lee said, as more people become aware of bitcoin, more people will use it, and that alone will drive the price up.
Has purchasing #bitcoin to get around capital controls in China driven up the price? https://t.co/BFuTMWmxpN — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 30, 2015
Jacob Donnelly is a full-time product manager and freelance journalist covering stocks, business and bitcoin. He runs a weekly digital currency and blockchain newsletter called Crypto Brief.We gave you an eye-popping teaser yesterday (see it again above) and now we have another exclusive for American Horror Story fans: EW is debuting the latest piece of art from season 6 featuring a really nasty looking horned creature.
AHS has dealt with similar monsters before — remember the Minotaur from Coven?
Is this a nod to that season? Or is this fella season 6’s big monster? Every season of AHS has some kind of big bad, from Rubberman to Bloodyface to Twisty to the Addiction Demon. Maybe this poster is a reveal of the latest addition to the AHS monster library?
Or maybe Ryan Murphy just liked the way the horns look like a question mark? Anything is possible!
FX
American Horror Story season 6 premieres Sept. 14 on FX.
From now until our huge fall TV preview hits newsstands Sept. 9, EW is bringing you 50 scoops in 50 days. Follow the hashtag #50Scoops50Days on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest, and check EW.com/50Scoops50Days for all the news and surprises.Fox News announced tonight that they are holding a Democratic presidential town hall in Detroit, Michigan this coming Monday, and only one of the two Democrats in the race will participate.
Yes, Bernie Sanders will actually appear on Fox News to participate in a forum where he will face questions from Bret Baier and an audience of voters.
Hillary Clinton will not be in attendance due to an apparent conflict in her campaign schedule.
Sanders recently said he would have no problem doing a debate on Fox News. Clinton has not publicly commented on the matter.
The town hall will take place on Fox News next Monday, March 7th, at 6 pm EST.
[image via screengrab]
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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic " products / arts belong to Hasbro Studios, Lauren Faust DHX Media and all the respective owners of this brand.
What's the story narrated in this book? We're kind of lazy about telling it, but YOU can write down and/or draw the reason why our ponies are so freaked out. Could it be that they see Spike appear on the pages? Is it Moondancer taking revenge on Twilight? Starswirl's personal collection of photos? An OC? It's up to you to decide, let your imagination flow!GO go! We don't require any quality level for the art. There's nothing to win, but all contributions will be published. Of course, please avoid porn or gore, folks! We want to keep it family-friendly!Please link your contribution in the comment section below.You may use wathever technique suits you! Paint, Word, Excel, Photoshop, pencil, it doesn't matter to us as long as you're having fun! And fun isn't even mandatory! An example by/ LumDon't forget to download the picture of course - Lumic4: lumic4.deviantart.com/ - Facebook: www.facebook.com/mlptimeywimey - Webcomics: little-pony-timey-en.webcomics… --------------------------------------Writer and story-board by/ LumVector drawing and compositing by/ LightThe CW has slated new unscripted series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, a reboot of the improv comedy series; game show Perfect Score; and competition The Hunt as well as returning Breaking Pointe. After experimenting with Canadian scripted shows 18 To Life and L.A. Complex the last couple of years, the network is keeping its original summer slate all-unscripted this year. Whose Line, hosted by comedian Aisha Tyler and featuring the return of cast members Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie, will be paired with Perfect Score, hosted by Arielle Kebbel, on Tuesdays. Breaking Pointe will air on Mondays, The Hunt on Wednesdays. All shows will premiere late in the summer to help launch CW’s fall slate. Here are the dates:
TUESDAY, JULY 16
8-8:30 PM: WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (Series Premiere)
8:30-9 PM: WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (All-New Original Episode)
9-9:30 PM: PERFECT SCORE (Series Premiere)
9:30-10 PM: PERFECT SCORE (All-New Original Episode)
BEGINNING TUESDAY, JULY 23
8-8:30 PM: WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (Original Episode)
8:30-9 PM: WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (Encore)
9-9:30 PM: PERFECT SCORE (Original Episode)
9:30-10 PM: PERFECT SCORE (Encore)
MONDAY, JULY 29
9-10 PM: BREAKING POINTE (Season Premiere)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31
9-10 PM: THE HUNT (Series Premiere)With A Google Map, You Can Find Doctors Behaving Badly
View Doctors Behaving Badly in a larger map
If you've just moved, as we have, and it's time to find a new doctor, how do you at least rule out the really bad apples?
Well, try the cool interactive map put together by William Heisel for the Reporting on Health site. (You might start with the version embedded above.)
Heisel's been trolling the records of state medical boards across the country this year. And he's found all kinds of problems you'd probably like to know about before ever setting foot in a hospital or doctor's office.
There's the California ER doc charged with driving under the influence on her way to the hospital on Valentine's Day last year. After the cops released her, she worked the overnight shift "legally drunk" for at least half the period, he writes.
A recent Heisel post tells the story of a Kansas doctor disciplined by the state medical board. The county hospital that employed him decided his offenses were serious enough to fire him. Eventually, the state medical board censured him, too. But for what? You can't tell from the records, Heisel notes, because all the specifics have been redacted.
Finally, just up the road from us, Heisel uncovers the case of an anesthesiologist at Children's National Medical Center who was found to be taking painkillers that were supposed to be used for children's surgeries.
Even if the reading isn't always uplifting, do yourself a favor and check out Heisel's regular reports on medical mischief, now on a map for easy access.Some moderate Republicans in Congress are choosing retirement over reelection runs in 2018, but U.S. Rep. Fred Upton's office says the West Michigan Congressman isn't among them.
Citing "multiple party officials," a New York Times story published Sept. 8 briefly mentioned Upton, R-St. Joseph, and fellow Michigan U.S. Rep. David Trott, R-Birmingham, as Republicans leaning towards retirement.
Trott announced his upcoming retirement from Congress Monday, joining the growing list of Republicans foregoing a reelection campaign in 2018. He will join U.S. Reps. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, Dave Reichert, R-Washington, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, in leaving Congress after this session.
Michigan U.S. Rep. Dave Trott not running for reelection in 2018 Republican U.S. Rep. David Trott, R-Birmingham, has decided not to run for reelection in 2018.
But Upton spokesperson Tom Wilbur said Upton is not planning to retire from politics anytime soon.
"Fred is happy with his day job and remains very focused on the bipartisan work he's doing for our state," Wilbur said. "He continues to explore all of his options and has a jam packed schedule. At this point retirement is not in the cards."
Upton hasn't ruled out a run for U.S. Senate in 2018 to challenge sitting U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., but has said he's focused on his current position for the time being.
Upton, 64, has served in Congress since 1987. The 6th Congressional District includes the counties of Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Cass, St. Joseph, Berrien, and most of Allegan County.
Several Democrats have announced their intentions to run in the 6th District, including Western Michigan University professors David Benac and Paul Clements, biologist businessman Rich Eichholz, Pfizer quality control tester Eponine Garrod, and Portage physician Matt Longjohn.
Who might take on Debbie Stabenow, and more questions about the 2018 Senate race U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, is up for reelection in 2018.Briefly about the results of the military action of January 26 in Donbass.1. The Debalcevo pocket hasn't become a full-fledged encirclement yet, our forces managed to get within acceptable distance for shelling the crucial road that connects Debalcevo with the mainland. Meanwhile, offensive action is conducted on the perimeter of the pocket. The enemy is mostly holding on to its defensive positions for now. This week will be decisive here: either our offensive will get stuck and the pocket will be preserved, or our forces will finish it and a full-fledged cauldron will come into being.2. Fighting continues in the area of Popasnaya, but the town itself is still not captured. Both sides note the fierce nature of fighting on this direction. The plans of a strike through Popasnaya on Artyomovsk are quite clear and well understood by the junta, so they will try to hold firmly to this town.3. The enemy tried to engage in offensive action in the area of Gorlovka and Donetsk, in particular they tried to recapture the lost Krasnyi Partizan. The NAF temporarily transitioned to conducting defensive action on these directions. Gorlovka and Donetsk are fiercely shelled, suppression of the junta's artillery positions is unsuccessful for now. Zakharchenko said that they'll try to push them back from the cities. How will it work out — we'll see in the coming days.4. In the area of the airport the junta, as it was already officially recognized, gradually pushed the NAF out of Peski. Our forces are present on the outskirts of the village, they couldn't penetrate the defense in the end and the incoming reserves allowed the junta to stabilize the front line here. Fighting continued under Avdeyevka, but as it was announced officially, they aren't going to storm Avdeyevka, because the junta is using civilians as shields. The airport and Spartak remained under the control of the NAF. Due to the lack of news on sweep or capture of Tonenkoye, no substantial gains were obtained out of this activity. Overall, the front line here gradually stabilized.5. The AFU activity continued in the area of Yelenovka and Dokuchayevsk. On this location, Dokuchayevsk and the NAF positions were subjected to artillery strikes and mechanized detachments tried to penetrate the NAF defense near Yelenovka, which led to armor-against-armor fighting. The enemy attacks are repelled and the junta has no substantial gains here.6. Everything is quite stable under Mariupol after the infamous provocation, which the junta is trying to spin now. Meanwhile there was an attempt to spin another false-flag operation that involved using the DPR uniforms. Today there was a video on the network where the DPR materiel is rolling around in Mariupol. I remind once again that this was exactly the scenario about which the DPR military intelligence forewarned just a few days ago. Of course, there is no DPR materiel in Mariupol. Regarding provocations, it is worth noting that the LPR officials announced that an analogous provocation with using the LPR uniforms is being prepared in Stanitsa Luganskaya.7. Little has changed on the front at Stanitsa Luganskaya – Schastye – Slavyanoserbsk. The sides exchange periodic artillery strikes. It is also worth noting the LPR yesterday transitioned to using the electricity from Russia, making yet another step of separating from the Ukrainian infrastructure.8. In the area of the Bakhmutka roadway the attempts of capturing Krymskoye and making progress to the west of Slavyanoserbsk didn't deliver any decisive results. The enemy's reserves that entered action slowed down the NAF offensive in this area.Overall, if we evaluate the situation on the front, then we can see that after the first successes of the NAF the enemy reserves entered into action, reinforced the shaky location, and is even counter-attacking on a number of directions. Debalcevo pocket, which is on the border of turning into an encirclement, remains the main problem of the junta. Here the junta is still unable to stabilize the situation for now. Meanwhile, the resumption of enemy attacks suggests that it has quite sufficient forces for both defensive and offensive action. Nevertheless, the situation is very unstable, because the NAF hasn't engaged their principal reserves yet, so the development of the situation will depend on how they will be used. The losses of both sides over the last week are very serious. The junta losses mostly exceed our losses due to a huge number of dead and wounded in the area of the airport.Original article: http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/2012285.html (in Russian)The Suicide Grief Support Forum is a public message board, an outreach project of the Parents of Suicides (POS) and Friends and Families of Suicides (FFOS) Internet Communities. The forum officially began on October 2, 2002. Our mission is to provide information, support and comfort to anyone whose life has been touched by the suicide of another person. Connecting with others who have walked the same road can sometimes make a difference in how we survive a tragedy that may be incomprehensible. The board is monitored by special volunteers who give freely of their time in memory of the people they lost to suicide. We do not pretend to be professionals, and we encourage anyone whose needs are greater than can be met here to seek out professional help.
Parents of Suicide Internet Community Friends and Families of Suicides Community POS-FFOS Internet Community
We Remember Them Memorial Wall Suicide Memorial Wall International Suicide Memorial Wall Faces of Suicide These links are for our other outreach sites. We encourage you to visit them.
This is not a suicide or crisis hotline. Please contact a counselor, family member, friend, or emergency services if you are having suicidal thoughts. Visit www.samaritans.org or email jo@samaritans.org or www.befrienders.org for international telephone numbers. Or in the USA, call: 1-800-SUICIDE 1-800-273-TALK
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For Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and People with Speech Disabilities who use a TTY, call 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
Links to Other International ResourcesEmma does Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research at the U. As an individual recovered from an eating disorder, she is extremely passionate about mental health advocacy. Emma is determined to fight for mental health awareness, parity, and health care reform. Emma believes that every person has a right to the help and care that they need.
Emma Leigh Shankland - Emma is a Bernie volunteer residing in Whittier Minneapolis. Her interest in politics was sparked as a teenager growing up in Kansas City, MO. Emma canvassed in both MN and WI. She played a crucial role bringing out over 1,000 voters in her precinct, which went overwhelming for Bernie. Emma has also helped organized several community events, including a Dine with the 99% event which raised over $1000 for Bernie!
Caroline Hooper - mom, teacher, union activist, veteran and stalwart Bernie supporter--hosted events, canvassing, phone banking, organizing.
Caroline's statement:
Bernie has called for a revolution to take back our government and economy for the people, not the 1%.
As a single mother I support a revolution so that all our families have decent paying jobs, affordable housing and single-payer health care—Medicare for all. All families should have paid time off. Dignity for all our families should not be dependent on immigration status, gender, orientation, race, religion or composition. We need a revolution for real family values.
As a mom of biracial sons I know we need a revolution to establish racial justice. It is time to end physical, political, legal, economic and environmental racism. We cannot move forward as a people if we continue to systemically leave people out and behind.
As an educator I support a political revolution that guarantees quality, free education from pre-K through college. We all do better when our young people do better. Every child deserves a stable home, food security, health and dental care and freedom from bigotry and threats.
As a union activist, I know we need a revolution for workers. The levels of income and wealth inequality are immoral. We need jobs that offer indexed living wages, paid time off, and the ability to organize. Workers create the wealth, and in the richest nation in the world no one should be denied the dignity of rewarding, decent paying work with benefits.
As a ten-year active duty Army veteran I call for a revolution to stop our endless wars. We need to quit sending our young men and women to wars that profit the oligarchs. We need to quit murdering people throughout the world. We need to quit deserting our veterans when they return home. Instead, we need to promote peace. We are facing an existential threat in global climate change. Our obligation here at home, to our posterity and to humanity is to use our ingenuity and our vast wealth to reverse the degradation of our planet.
I ask for your vote to represent you and MN Bernie supporters at the DNC in Philadelphia. We have a chance to nominate a true progressive and jump start the political revolution that is so sorely needed.The Virginia House of Delegates’ tradition when dueling special interests can’t agree is for a committee chair to invite them to sit down somewhere and seek “peace in the valley” – a compromise.
Don’t look for much peace in the valley next year in a closely divided House.
As the commonwealth teeters toward what could be a 51-49 or 50-50 split in a House long dominated by the GOP, few political scientists are looking for comity and compromise to emerge.
“It will certainly change this session but I’m not sure it will be a kumbaya moment,” said John McGlennon, a professor of political science at the College of William and Mary.
“51-49 – think trench warfare,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.
“Every little inch will be fought over every day.”
Even worse, Farnsworth said, would be if the final result of electoral board certifications and likely recounts of extremely narrow Republican leads — such as Del. David Yancey’s 13 vote margin in Newport News or Robert Thomas’s 84 vote lead in outgoing Speaker Bill Howell’s district or House caucus chairman Tim Hugo’s 115 vote lead in his Fairfax County district — produces a 50-50 House.
51-49 – think trench warfare. Every little inch will be fought over every day. — Stephen Farnsworth, political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.
“That’s the nightmare scenario,” he said.
Virginia’s been there before.
The 1997 election returned 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans and one independent who caucused with the Republicans.
“It was a nightmare,” said Jay DeBoer, Director of the state Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation who at the time was in his 15th year as the House member from Petersburg and the nearby countryside.
“Members banging their desks, not for laughter but to disrupt, trying to shout down the clerk as he was trying to conduct business, keeping the chief justice of the supreme court waiting on you for hours – that’s not the way we once did things in Virginia,” he said.
It started badly, too. Norfolk Democrat Tom Moss held on to the speakership because of a game over election certifications that kept a couple of newly-elected Republicans from taking their seats on the first day, a maneuver that allowed his re-election as speaker, DeBoer recalled.
But Dick Cranwell, the Roanoke attorney who was the Democratic leader at the time, said the House was able to work out a power-sharing agreement, with equally divided committees and co-chairs who rotated presiding over debates on bills.
“You’ve got to reach across the aisle,” he said. “There was a lot of horse-trading going on, and I know people don’t like that word, but legislating is a human endeavor and there has to be give and take.”
CAPTION Virginia Peninsula residents react to the controversy involving Gov. Ralph Northam appearing in a racist yearbook photo. Virginia Peninsula residents react to the controversy involving Gov. Ralph Northam appearing in a racist yearbook photo. CAPTION Virginia Peninsula residents react to the controversy involving Gov. Ralph Northam appearing in a racist yearbook photo. Virginia Peninsula residents react to the controversy involving Gov. Ralph Northam appearing in a racist yearbook photo. CAPTION Trump doesn't rule out another government shutdown during Super Bowl Sunday interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation' and during the network's pre-game coverage. By declaring a national emergency, Trump could redirect military construction money to build a wall on the U.S. southern border. Trump doesn't rule out another government shutdown during Super Bowl Sunday interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation' and during the network's pre-game coverage. By declaring a national emergency, Trump could redirect military construction money to build a wall on the U.S. southern border. CAPTION Protesters demanding his resignation gather outside the governor's mansion in Richmond on Saturday, February 2, 2019 after a racist photo of Gov. Ralph Northam was found in his 1984 medical school yearbook. Protesters demanding his resignation gather outside the governor's mansion in Richmond on Saturday, February 2, 2019 after a racist photo of Gov. Ralph Northam was found in his 1984 medical school yearbook. CAPTION US Economy Suffered $11 Billion Hit From Government Shutdown But, the CBO's report adds that $3 billion of the total loss is gone for good. The shutdown, caused by President Trump's request for border wall funding, lasted a record 35 days. US Economy Suffered $11 Billion Hit From Government Shutdown But, the CBO's report adds that $3 billion of the total loss is gone for good. The shutdown, caused by President Trump's request for border wall funding, lasted a record 35 days. CAPTION Trump Will Not Deliver State of the Union on Tuesday. Tuesday was the day the address had been originally scheduled to take place. An aide for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that President Donald Trump's address will not take place. Trump Will Not Deliver State of the Union on Tuesday. Tuesday was the day the address had been originally scheduled to take place. An aide for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that President Donald Trump's address will not take place.
Cranwell said when compromise was reached, legislators had to get to work talking to House members from the other party early, before heated exchanges at committee hearings or the oratory of floor debate made it impossible for anyone to shift position. Key, too, was the old House principle of “my word, my bond” — that is, once you promise something you stick to it, no matter how painful, he said.
“Right now, the problem is persuasion is not a big-ticket item; everybody’s got an opinion, everybody has their position, and they’re sticking to it,” he said.
Still, in the tied House of 1998 and 1999, the General Assembly’s big task – nailing down a budget – wasn’t too badly affected, since that topic tends to be as much about the clash of regional issues as partisan battles, DeBoer recalled. Many legislative issues have more to do with the varying needs of Virginia’s regions than partisan politics, Cranwell said.
But budgeting may be harder in 2018.
One likely flashpoint will be Medicaid expansion.
For each of the past four years, the House’s two-thirds Republican supermajority marched in almost complete lockstep opposing Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s requests to use federal Affordable Care Act money to expand Medicaid health insurance coverage for an estimated 400,000 impoverished Virginians.
McAuliffe argued that using the federal money would free up hundreds of millions of state funds now spent on caring for the indigent, especially people with mental illness, as well as people in prison and jail.
House Republicans replied that Medicaid was a broken system with costs running out of control, and that it was a bad idea to bring more people under its umbrella. Many argued that they could not trust the federal government to live up to its promise to pay virtually all of the cost of the expansion.
William and Mary’s McGlennon says the question is sure to arise in 2018.
And the pressure could be intense on Republicans who represent districts where Hillary Clinton, with her promise to defend the Affordable Care Act, won strong support.
Similarly, the possibility that the U.S. District Court in Richmond will order a redrawing of lines for 11 House districts, after the U.S. Supreme Court this spring held that the lower court used the wrong standard in upholding the General Assembly’s 2011 redistricting, also adds to the pressure. Several of those 11 districts are next to narrowly-held Republican districts — and one is next to Newport News’ 94th district, where Del. David Yancey has a 13-vote lead and a recount is certain — all of which could swing Democratic if new lines add more Democratic-leaning voters. Republican incumbents in those districts are likely concerned, McGlennon said.
“When you’re one of 66 you can hide, but when your vote could be the deciding one, you’ll really be in the spotlight,” McGlennon said.
“There’ll be crowds outside your door, talking about 400,000 uninsured Virginians,” and some pretty intense wooing from the other party, hoping to convince waverers to break with their party’s view on particular issues, he said.
There will also be pressure from caucus leaders to stick to the party line, he said.
But Tuesday’s results could actually get legislators from both parties working together, said Bill Thomas, who as associate vice president for government relations at Hampton University keeps a close on General Assembly actions.The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union filed a complaint alleging unfair labor practices at Babeland after a pro-union worker was fired. The store's owners say they support the union. View Full Caption Babeland
PARK SLOPE — A sex toy shop that was the first unionized adult store in the country is getting spanked over allegations it fired an employee for being pro-union.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union filed a complaint Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board over Babeland's Oct. 25 firing of an employee who mentioned the workers' union to a reporter.
"Our issue with this particular situation wasn't just that the firing was unfair, but that it showed a clear anti-union animus," said RWDSU spokesman Phil Andrews.
The RWDSU wants the fired Babeland employee, Kamryn Wolf, to be re-employed there or receive lost wages.
The store says Wolf, was let go because Wolf violated a longstanding policy that staff must forward press inquiries to a company spokeswoman, and also violated a rule that staffers are not allowed to advocate for personal causes while they're on the job, said Babeland co-founder Claire Cavanah.
Cavanah opened the first Babeland store in Seattle in 1993 and came to New York City in 1998 with a store on the Lower East Side. A SoHo location followed and the Park Slope outpost, at 462 Bergen St. (between Flatbush and Fifth avenues) opened in 2008.
In May of this year, Babeland's New York workers voted to join the RWDSU, the same union that organized the Vegas Auto Spa car wash workers in the South Slope. Babeland workers decided to unionize in part to get higher wages and better benefits and scheduling, Andrews said.
Cavanah said the workers' decision to unionize was at first a "real shock," but she's worked with them since to meet their demands.
So far negotiations have centered mostly on employees' safety concerns, Cavanah said. The company met workers' demands by hosting a de-escalation training so employees are better equipped to deal with customers who act inappropriately in the store, and the phone system was outfitted with an automated answering system to shield workers from prank phone calls, she said.
Cavanagh said negotiations have been going well and the two sides were supposed to enter talks about the financial aspects of workers' demands next week.
"We really want to get back on track and get to the economic side of the contract as soon as we can," Cavanah said. "This [complaint] is just kind of a distraction."
But union reps say Babeland has resisted employees' attempts to organize by handing out anti-union literature at mandatory meetings. "We have definitely gotten the sense that while the company has accepted the fact of the union, they still very much do not like it and they let the employees know that," Andrews said.
"It was very unfair that they fired me," Wolf said in a statement. "They never asked me for my side of the story. Other workers have done the same thing and they haven’t been fired. They went after me because I was active in the union."
The employee had already given notice when the firing happened and was due to leave the company in two weeks when management and the employee arrived at a mutual decision to part ways due to the conversation with the reporter, Cavanah claimed.
"It's not like we're anti-union," Cavanah said, adding that she wants to work toward a contract that will create a "better functioning workplace." Cavanah said she used to honk in support of the Vegas Auto Spa workers every time she drove past their picket line on the way to her children's school.
The RWDSU spokesman said Babeland customers seem to like the fact that the store is now unionized, and that it could ultimately lead to more revenue for the shop.
"We think their customers are happy the workers have unionized," Andrews said. "We think when we reach a contract and we announce it to the world, their customers will be very excited and their sales will increase."
RELATED: Brooklyn Adult Shop Offers Tips for Mind-Blowing SexAccolade returns, announces Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back for PS4, PC
Due out this fall. What could possibly go wrong?
Accolade, a publisher that operated from 1985 to 2000, has returned in 2017 with the announcement of Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back for PlayStation 4 and PC, the first new Bubsy game since Bubsy 3D for the original PlayStation in 1997.
Due out this fall, Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is a new adventure developed by Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams studio Black Forest Games. It features Bubsy in “a bevy of exotic locations” as he travels the planet in search of the “beloved Golden Fleece.” Bubsy will use all of his classic moves in addition to new ones to “dodge and out-bobcat a battalion of Woolies, sharks, and bees, not to mention the gnarliest UFO to ever grace a Bubsy adventure |
neurological correlates of acute and chronic visuospatial neglect following right hemisphere stroke, Cortex, 1997, vol. 33 (pg. 271 - 85 ), vol.(pg. Schmidt GL DeBuse CJ Seger CA Right hemisphere metaphor processing? Characterizing the lateralization of semantic processes, Brain and Language, 2007, vol. 100 (pg. 127 - 41 ), vol.(pg. Shamay-Tsoory SG Adler N Aharon-Peretz J Perry D Mayseless N The origins of originality: the neural bases of creative thinking and originality, Neuropsychologia, 2011, vol. 49 (pg. 178 - 85 ), vol.(pg. Smith S Fast robust automated brain extraction, Human Brain Mapping, 2002, vol. 17 (pg. 143 - 55 ), vol.(pg. Solso R Brain activities in a skilled vs a novice artist: an fMRI study, Leonardo, 2001, vol. 34 (pg. 31 - 4 ), vol.(pg. Sternberg RJ Lubart TJ Investigating in creativity, American Psychologist, 1996, vol. 7 (pg. 677 - 88 ), vol.(pg. Swan L Unilateral spatial neglect, Physical Therapy, 2001, vol. 81 (pg. 1572 - 80 ), vol.(pg. Takeuchi H Taki Y Sassa Y, et al. White matter structures associated with creativity: evidence from diffusion tensor imaging, Neuroimage, 2010, vol. 51 (pg. 11 - 18 ), vol.(pg. Vingerhoets G de Lange FP Vandemaele P Deblaere K Achten E Motor imagery in mental rotation: an fMRI study, Neuroimage, 2002, vol. 17 (pg. 1623 - 33 ), vol.(pg. Windischberger C Lamm C Bauer H Moser E Human motor cortex activity during mental rotation, Neuroimage, 2003, vol. 20 (pg. 225 - 32 ), vol.(pg. Winstein CJ Grafton ST Pohl PS Motor task difficulty and brain activity: investigation of goal-directed reciprocal aiming using positron emission tomography, Journal of Neurophysiology, 1997, vol. 77 (pg. 1581 - 94 ), vol.(pg. Woolrich M Robust group analysis using outlier inference, Neuroimage, 2008, vol. 41 (pg. 286 - 301 ), vol.(pg. Woolrich MW Behrens TE Beckmann CF Jenkinson M Smith SM Multilevel linear modelling for FMRI group analysis using Bayesian inference, Neuroimage, 2004, vol. 21 (pg. 1732 - 47 ), vol.(pg. Woolrich MW Ripley BD Brady M Smith SM Temporal autocorrelation in univariate linear modeling of FMRI data, Neuroimage, 2001, vol. 14 (pg. 1370 - 86 ), vol.(pg. Worsley KJ Statistical analysis of activation images. Functional MRI: An Introduction to Methods, 2001
© The Author(s) (2012). Published by Oxford University Press.Image copyright AFP Image caption The deaths came amid a truce in Gaza scheduled to end late on Wednesday
Six people were killed in the Gaza Strip when an Israeli missile exploded amid attempts to dismantle it.
The dead included two journalists - an Italian and a Palestinian - and a number of bomb disposal officers.
The incident happened in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza Strip
It comes hours before a three-day ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Palestinians is due to expire.
Image copyright AP Image caption Simone Camilli: the first foreign journalist to be killed in Gaza in the current wave of conflict
Indirect talks aimed at finding a long-term solution to the Gaza conflict having been taking place in Cairo involving negotiators from the two sides.
Among those killed in Wednesday's explosion was Simone Camilli, a video journalist working for several international agencies, including Associated Press.
Some 2,000 people have died since the fighting in Gaza began on 8 July.
Those killed include more than 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the UN.
Sixty-four Israeli soldiers have been killed in the violence and three civilians in Israel have also died.This page contains spoilers — important plot secrets and/or conclusions may be revealed. For example,
HOLY SHIT evalion married an autist and got pregnant then got a miscarriage!!!1
Evalion = infected with = infected with GOTIS You can help by not giving her any attention.
Eva wearing her rabbit fursuit. She also has a panda one. Yes being a nazifur is a real thing.
✡ (Powerword: Veronica Bouchard) is a young Canadian woman who has become e-famous after producing dozens of lulzy videos on YouTube. These projects were conducted from a standpoint of trolling, presenting the truth in a lulzy and offensive manner. They often targeted Jews, Niggers, Muslims and other degenerate plagues upon the white race; all for great justice and for shits and giggles. Her channel quickly pulled in viewership within a month of its creation, at one point gaining 16,000 subscribers within a day, and became the most infamous channel among the JewTube community at the time. She started to get attacked and mass-flagged by kikes like Onision and LeafyIsHere, which resulted in her eventual termination from YouTube. This story has made international headlines and has raised debates about free speech and censorship, further emboldening the current cultural wars playing out, and has significantly increased the amount of normies getting redpilled and joining up with the 4th Reich. However, it did not take long for the alt-right, the major driving force of her support, to turn on her after several investigations into the life of Evalion revealed her to be a troll, whore and jew. A year after her original termination, she has returned under several alts to spam the series of tubes up with more sorry ass propaganda, this time written by a different boyfriend, one who is far more leftist than her other. It is presumed that as of the current year, her vagina fully resembles an Arby's roast beef sandwich. A typical occurrence with "liberated"[citation needed] western women past the age of like 8.
Background [ edit ]
The confessions of an attention whore
Veronica/Elegon/Evalion is an girl with a troubled life. Her parents had a bad divorce when she was young. She was raised by a single mom, and if you know anything, kids raised by single moms are often raised and end up worse than those raised through a strong nuclear familial unit. A lot of the time, children raised by single parents grow up to become Serial Killers, Psychopaths or worst of all: Weeaboos. It is believed that she is mixed race and possesses some Kike blood. This is believed to have caused her an identity crisis, as having mixed blood does for most of the lot. She could never get a job because of all the fucking immigrants coming in and takin aour jawbz. She couldn't speak of her life problems, as it would be politically incorrect and she would get v& due to Canada's faggy Hate Speech laws.
The only boy friend she ever had was a 34 year old man from Germany(lol) that she met through the internet. So Evalion, the unhappy teen that she is, made the mistakes that most other similar people made; she ran away from home. She went to the train yard and jumped on a train to take her as far away as possible. She picked the first train that left off and it just so happened to be the Trump Train! This train has no breaks, and the train is crashing with no survivors!
She was still little known until she put on a rabbit fursuit and bawwwed over her now ex-boyfriend. She literally looked just like this. She started to make videos a few years ago, but after having limited success, came back in march 2016 under the alias 'Evalion' and produced the 60 videos we all know about today; the evil Nazi bigoted Fascist videos that triggered so many faggot leftists and got her b&.
She was being used by a group of people that idle in the #chimpire IRC to eventually boost their own e-celeb careers after a manufactured fall from YouTube and later resurgence (she's already taking over some parts of Reddit), taking advantage of the "alt-right" phenomenon. They are a bunch of faggots from Reddit that moved over to a le Reddit alternative known as voat.co, which doesn't censor free speech and has thus become overrun by trolls and /pol/lacks; although the two are one in the same.
Essentially, she is a political stunt for fame and shekels; and previously came to a small degree of notoriety in the past, following drama that occurred between her "online boyfriend", Michael Constantine, a fellow YouTuber (Jewgle hangout [1]). The image of a Skype conversation to the right, shows that she camwhored for some random guy. An audio clip is also rumored to exist, however, Constantine appears to have made amends with her, inviting her for an interview on his channel. A sex tape also exists in which she pleasures herself in both orifices with bowling pins and other assorted objects; however, this is rather sensitive information as she was likely underage b& at the time, and could possibly get you v& IRL. So... we're gonna avoid showing you this shit.
After all of this, she disappeared off of the internet for a while and has now come back under the name Evalion, (just like we told you a few minutes ago) which was then terminated because of a flagging campaign headlined by one of the most despicable human beings of all time, Onision. Since Evalion is a young, ignorant fool who doesn't know how to stay anonymous, it has been concluded that she lives in Pickering, Ontario. Living in a cucked up country like Canada probably explains why she is retarded enough to publicly describe herself as a National Socialist. As she is still young, hopefully this is just an edgy phase and she will eventually realize how stupid Socialism and its forms are, as she grows up.
Evidence [ edit ]
IRC logs (#chimpire): https://archive.is/k8HYj
A conversation about her mixed race origin and camming on Voat (the information was provided by the beta Michael Constantine who lost her to someone with more money, apparently): https://archive.is/JtC8l
“
18:21 <~Suspook> never once
18:22 < constantine> and never even touched her
18:22 <&cttechnician> this motherfucker right here
18:22 < constantine> just whined
18:22 < constantine> over her
18:22 <~Suspook> have i ever gave any girl online money
18:22 < constantine> sure
18:22 <~Suspook> im sure
18:22 < constantine> you just wrote her scripts, right?
18:22 <~Suspook> that is correct
18:22 <&myth> ROF1
18:22 < constantine> out of the good ness of your heart
18:22 <&myth> i love how Kowal1488 pings me every time!!!
18:22 <~Kowal1488> myth: you seeing this
18:22 <@watitdew> constantine: um, if you haven't figured out that suspook has a political agenda that he found elegon useful for, you're p dumb.
18:22 <~Kowal1488> lol
18:22 <&myth> cuckstantine how mad are you im about to put elegon on a stripper pole?
18:22 < constantine> fuck myth
18:22 <&myth> make her det real money
18:22 < constantine> and fuck suspook
18:22 <~Suspook> i was going to use her channel/followers as a bridge to chimpire
18:22 <&myth> fuck myth?
18:22 <~Suspook> it's about networking
„
—The following is taken from the irc logs
She had her scripts written by Suspook who is hoping to gain power and shekels from the resurgence of the right. Supporting this camwhore means you are supporting this hand-rubbing kike. We cannot allow people like this to gain power early on. It will only mean trouble for us later.
SJWs Attack [ edit ]
After her channel gained massive attention, the SJW faggots quickly took notice and launched countless attacks against her; calls to arm to shut it down like the filthy fucking kike scum they are.
The faggot LeafyIsHere, who has around 4 million autistic subscribers, made a video on her which hit 4 million views. Leafy goes on a butthurt autistic rage against her using countless elementary-grade insults such as ad hominems and being a whiny little kike bitch for 10 minutes. The emo cocksucker Onision made a video on her that's reached around 200k hits.
SHUT IT DOWN [ edit ]
The Shutdown begins.
b& by der jude
"Le me hate myself"
After the leftist faggot degenerates waged war on her, they got the kikes who control jewtube to terminate her account after a two day long e-war. The leftists rejoiced in victory, proud to be fighting against Free Speech, differing opinions / thought, and most of all, common sense. She recreated her channel after a few hours, but it was quickly shut down - again.
You can often find fucked up shit on jewtube, like gore (medical purposes), borderline child porn, furry porn flashes, etc; however, a young woman expressing how the jews had a hand in 9/11, are a filthy fucking piece of shit race that needs to be fucking wiped off the face of the earth, and control the mind, money, and morality of the masses, is going way too fuckin' far. Fuckin' holocaust #2 right there.
Woman hater Onision saw that this girl was getting attention, so he didn't want none of that, so he sent his braindead 13 year old subscribers to her channel in order to flag it. Turns out it worked.
Twitter Ban [ edit ]
She was banned from Twatter on June 12th, 2016. This caused even more drama and outrage regarding the event.
On June 3rd, 2016, Evalion was mentioned on French TV, where they brought up many of her videos, including one detailing how the Teletubbies were a communist plot to destabilize the minds of Millenials. Other lulzy videos of hers were broadcast on national television, bringing in thousands of french fuckers to the Evalion story (and probably boosting this page by 2.5k hits)
The Return [ edit ]
Several months after getting terminated on JewTube, Evalion has returned from the grave around September 19th, 2016. Her new channel won't last long, so now's a good time to mirror what videos you can. First new vid, uploaded Sep 19. She is a member of Heathen Women, a new site for neonazi bitches. After being shoah'd on JewTube again, Evalion is back on vid.me now. On November 7th, she conducted an interview with (((Global News))), and new facts revealed that she had her laptop and other electronic devices seized upon returning to Canada from Germany. It is suspected that she will be charged for hate crimes. On the American election day, Evalion was interviewed on The Brian Ruhe Show, regarding the polarizing and grueling battle of Trump VS. Hillary.
Communism [ edit ]
It should be painfully obvious to any who aren't thinking with their dicks that Evalion was obviously just a troll, with her videos likely being written by her boyfriend. Apparently, they had a little breakup and the slut got a different man. She came out from under the table of sucking off her greasy neckbeard master, around the middle of 2017, to shit out some more rubbish videos, this time defending Joseph Stalin, a communist dictator who grew to be one of the most evil and murderous thugs the world has ever seen. It is likely that she will cuck her current boyfriend and get another one, completely reshaping her weightless opinions to the wills of her next owner, akin to women in general.
Pregnant [ edit ]
On the 12 of June 2017, Evalion revealed that she became pregnant with her autistic husband's child, while flaunting her boobs around during the whole fucking video.
Luckily for the (((world))), she had a miscarriage.
Videos [ edit ]
Her Videos [ edit ]
Please keep in mind that these are all mirrors. They could easily be shut down so in the event that any of the videos go down, please add another in.
Reactions [ edit ]
A Evalion Tribute Video
Evalion (I'm Not a Jew)
Evalion's Last Video
Evalion crocodile tears
(REUPLOAD)PROOF Leafy is a NAZI!
Leafy the faggot attacks her again!
Evalion Will Never Be Forgotten!
Interviewing Evalion
Gallery [ edit ]
Sex Tape [ edit ]
See Also [ edit ]
Mirrors [ edit ]
Any mirrors of her videos can be found below; if you have a site with mirrors for her videos, add it to the list. We encourage you, the viewer, to archive and mirror what you can; this is one of the only ways we can continue to fight for free speech. We haven't conducted a virus scan on any of these, so you take your own risk by viewing or downloading from the following links; you have been warned.
Torrent:
Infohash: 97ba91083fc682c6c819a0bf9e03bd6709315dd8
A magnet link can be found here
Evalion is part of a series on Trolls Visit the Trolls Portal for complete coverage.
Evalion is part of a series on Whores Visit the Whores Portal for complete coverage.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Some 300,000 farmers have killed themselves in India since 1995
Are fewer farmers killing themselves in India today?
Yes, according to the latest data from the country's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
A total of 11,744 farmers ended their lives in India in 2013, down from 13,754 farmers in 2012.
Most farm suicides have been linked to debt, a sharp rise in input costs, serious water crises, price volatility and crop failure due to pest attacks and disease. A total of 296,438 farmers have killed themselves in India since 1995.
The latest numbers show a very welcome decline - until you look at the numbers more closely.
With a total of 7,653 cases, five key states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka - still account for two-thirds of all farmer suicides in the country. There are no changes in the pattern there. Also, 15 other states recorded mostly mild increases.
Alarming
Also, with 3,146 suicides, Maharashtra, India's richest state, tops the grim list for the 12th year in a row. The state alone has accounted for an alarming 60,750 farm suicides since 1995.
The fall in numbers coincides with a growing trend of states with traditionally high farm suicide numbers declaring zero or near-zero suicides in recent years.
Chhattisgarh has done this three years in a row now since 2011: it has declared 0, 4 and 0 suicides. West Bengal recorded no suicides in both 2012 and 2013.
What if we take a three-year average for these states before they began showing up virtually no suicides?
For Chhattisgarh that average was 1,567 suicides, and for West Bengal, 951.
This is not to say that states cannot or have not seen any decline at all. Also, one-off annual rises or falls are quite normal.
It is just that the nature of the decline as recorded in the past three years appears to be highly suspect.
So Chhattisgarh, a state that saw some 14,000 farm suicides from 2001 to 10, suddenly has none at all in the last three years.
Pondicherry, for long the worst among the federally-governed union territories in farm suicides, has declared a zero figure in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2010, it claimed only four suicides. But in 2009, its figure was 154 farm suicides.
"Clearly, massaging of the data continues," says Prof K Nagaraj, an economist at the Chennai-based Asian College of Journalism, whose study on farm suicides in India remains the most important one on the subject.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The widow of an Indian farmer who killed himself
"When you want to play down very bad numbers in one column, you can't just erase them. You have to fit them into some other category. Shoving unwanted numbers into 'Others' is the common route to data massaging."
And that's exactly the trend in the data that India's states have been submitting to the NCRB.
Here's another thing that possibly gives away the heavy massaging the data have been subject to at the state level.
On the same page as the NCRB data which records the victims as "Self-employed (farming/agriculture)" is another column: "Self-employed (Others)."
As Chhattisgarh's farm suicide numbers have dwindled to zero, its numbers of suicides in this "Self-employed (Others)" column have swollen.
Premature
In the years when Chhattisgarh wasn't blanking out farm suicides numbers - 2008 and 2009, for example - its figures for suicides in this "Others" column were 826 and 851.
In the last two years, when it reported zero farm suicides, the numbers for others soared to 1,826 and 2,077.
Maharashtra, which claims a decline of 640 in farm suicides, records a rise of over 1,000 suicides under "Self-employed (Others)."
Madhya Pradesh records a decline of 82 in farm suicide numbers, but a rise of 236 in this "Others" category. Pondicherry shows a similar trend. West Bengal solved that problem by simply not filing any data at all in 2012.
Those prematurely celebrating a decline in farm suicides miss another point.
There were 7.7 million fewer farmers in 2011 than there were in 2001, as the census data shows. Millions were and are either quitting the profession or losing full farmer status.
In that period, the country, on average, saw 2,000 fewer farmers each day. So there were surely even fewer farmers in 2013.
Also studies have shown that suicide rates among Indian farmers were 47% higher than they were for the rest of the population in 2011. In some of the states worst hit by the farm crisis, they were well over 100% higher.
Are the suicides occurring because of drought and crop failure?
Image copyright AP Image caption Nearly 300,000 farmers have committed suicide in India since 1995
Farmers have been killing themselves in years when the crop has been excellent and in the years it has failed.
They have taken their own lives in large numbers in very different years. When it rains they lose out; when it doesn't, they lose out worse.
There have been high suicide numbers in some good monsoon years. And so too, in years of drought.
The suicides have been occurring overwhelmingly amongst cash crop farmers - growers of cotton, sugar cane, groundnut, vanilla, coffee, pepper and others.
Far fewer suicides occur amongst growers of paddy or wheat.
Can we argue that drought kills cash crop farmers but not those cultivating food crops?
India's south-west monsoon does have a significant impact on agriculture. But lack of a good monsoon is by no means the main reason for the farm suicides.
With the bulk of those suicides occurring amongst cash crop farmers, the issues of debt, rising input costs, water-use patterns, and severe price shocks and price volatility come much more to the fore.
P Sainath is Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu newspaperAnatomy of Linux flash file systems
Options and architectures
Solid-state drives are all the rage these days, but embedded systems have used solid-state devices for storage for quite some time. You'll find flash file systems used in personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellphones, MP3 players, digital cameras, USB flash drives (UFDs), and even laptop computers. In many cases, the file systems for commercial devices can be custom and proprietary, but they face the same challenges discussed below.
Flash-based file systems come in a variety of forms. This article explores a couple of the read-only file systems and also reviews the various read/write file systems available today and how they work. But first, let's explore the flash devices and the challenges that they introduce.
Flash memory technologies
Flash memory, which can come in several different technologies, is non-volatile memory, which means that its contents persist after its source of power is removed. For a great history of flash memory devices, see Related topics.
Two of the most common types of flash devices are defined by their respective technologies: NOR and NAND. NOR-based flash is the older technology that supported high read performance at the expense of smaller capacities. NAND flash offers higher capacities with significantly faster write and erase performance. NAND also requires a much more complicated input/output (I/O) interface.
Flash parts are commonly divided into partitions, which allows multiple operations to occur simultaneously (erasing one partition while reading from another). Partitions are further divided into blocks (commonly 64KB or 128KB in size). Firmware that uses the partitions can further apply unique segmenting to the blocks—for example, 512-byte segments within a block, not including metadata.
Flash devices exhibit a common constraint that requires device management when compared to other storage devices such as RAM disks. The only Write operation permitted on a flash memory device is to change a bit from a one to a zero. If the reverse operation is needed, then the block must be erased (to reset all bits to the one state). This means that other valid data within the block must be moved for it to persist. NOR flash memory can typically be programmed a byte at a time, whereas NAND flash memory must be programmed in multi-byte bursts (typically, 512 bytes).
The process of erasing a block differs between the two memory types. Each requires a special Erase operation that covers an entire block of the flash memory. NOR technology requires a precursor step to clear all values to zero before the Erase operation can begin. An Erase is a special operation with the flash device and can be time-consuming. Erasing is an electrical operation that drains the electrons from each cell in an entire block.
NOR flash devices typically require seconds for the Erase operation, whereas a NAND device can erase in milliseconds. A key characteristic of flash devices is the number of Erase operations that can be performed. In a NOR device, each block in the flash memory can be erased up to 100,000 times. NAND flash memories can be erased up to one million times.
Flash memory challenges
In addition to and as a result of the constraints explored in the previous section, managing flash devices presents several challenges. The three most important are garbage collection, managing bad blocks, and wear leveling.
Garbage collection
Garbage collection is the process of reclaiming invalid blocks (those that contain some amount of invalid data). Reclamation involves moving the valid data to a new block, and then erasing the invalid block to make it available. This process is commonly done in the background or as needed, if the file system is low on available space.
Managing bad blocks
Over time, flash devices can develop bad blocks through use and can even ship from the manufacturer with blocks that are bad and cannot be used. You can detect the presence of back blocks from a failed flash operation (such as an Erase) or an invalid Write operation (discovered through an invalid Error Correction Code, or ECC).
After bad blocks have been identified, they are marked within the flash itself in a bad block table. How this is done is device-dependent but can be implemented with a separate set of reserved blocks managed separately from normal data blocks. The process of handling bad blocks—whether they ship with the device or appear over time—is called bad block management. In some cases, this functionality is implemented in hardware by an internal microcontroller and is therefore transparent to the upper-level file system.
Wear leveling
Recall that flash devices are consumable parts: You can perform a finite number of Erase cycles on each block before the block becomes bad (and must therefore be tagged by bad block management). To maximize the life of the flash, wear-leveling algorithms are provided. Wear leveling comes in two varieties: dynamic wear leveling and static wear leveling.
Dynamic wear leveling addresses the problem of a limited number of Erase cycles for a given block. Rather than randomly using blocks as they are available, dynamic wear-leveling algorithms attempt to evenly distribute the use of blocks so that each gets uniform use. Static wear-leveling algorithms address an even more interesting problem. In addition to a maximum number of Erase cycles, certain flash devices suffer from a maximum number of Read cycles between Erase cycles. This means that if data sits for too long in a block and is read too many times, the data can dissipate and result in data loss. Static wear-leveling algorithms address this by periodically moving stale data to new blocks.
System architecture
So far, I've explored flash devices and their fundamental challenges. Now, look at how these pieces come together as part of a layered architecture (see Figure 1). At the top is the virtual file system (VFS), which presents a common interface to higher-level applications. The VFS is followed by the flash file system, which will be covered in the next section. Next is the Flash Translation Layer (FTL), which provides for overall management of the flash device, including allocation of blocks from the underlying flash device as well as address translation, dynamic wear leveling, and garbage collection. In some flash devices, a portion of the FTL can be implemented in hardware.
Figure 1. Basic architecture of a flash system
The Linux kernel uses the Memory Technology Device (MTD) interface, which is a generic interface for flash devices. The MTD can automatically detect the width of the flash device bus and the number of devices necessary for implementing the bus width.
Flash file systems
Several flash file systems are available for Linux. The next sections explain the design and advantages of each.
Journaling Flash File System
One of the earliest flash file systems for Linux is called the Journaling Flash File System. JFFS is a log-structured file system that was designed for NOR flash devices. It was unique and addressed a variety of problems with flash devices, but it created another.
JFFS viewed the flash device as a circular log of blocks. Data written to the flash is written to the tail, and blocks at the head are reclaimed. The space between the tail and head is free space; when this space becomes low, the garbage collector is executed. The garbage collector moves valid blocks to the tail of the log, skips invalid or obsolete blocks, and erases them (see Figure 2). The result is a file system that is automatically wear leveled both statically and dynamically. The fundamental problem with this architecture is that the flash device is erased too often (instead of an optimal erase strategy), which wears the device out too quickly.
Figure 2. Circular log before and after garbage collection
When a JFFS is mounted, the structural details are read into memory, which can be slow at mount-time and consume more memory than desired.
Journaling Flash File System 2
Although JFFS was very useful in its time, its wear-leveling algorithm tended to shorten the life of NOR flash devices. The result was a redesign of the underlying algorithm to remove the circular log. The JFFS2 algorithm was designed for NAND flash devices and also includes improved performance with compression.
In JFFS2, each block in the flash is treated independently. JFFS2 maintains block lists to sufficiently wear-level the device. The clean list represents blocks on the device that are full of valid nodes. The dirty list contains blocks with at least one obsoleted node. Finally, the free list represents the blocks that have been erased and are available for use.
The garbage collection algorithm can then intelligently decide what to reclaim in a reasonable way. Currently, the algorithm probabilistically selects from the clean or dirty list. The dirty list is selected 99 percent of the time to reclaim blocks (moving the valid contents to another block), and the clean list is selected 1 percent of the time (simply moving the contents to a new block). In both cases, the selected block is erased and placed on the free list (see Figure 3). This allows the garbage collector to re-use blocks that are obsoleted (or partially so) but still move data around the flash to support static wear leveling.
Figure 3. Block management and garbage collection in JFFS2
Yet Another Flash File System
YAFFS is another flash file system developed for NAND flash. The initial version (YAFFS) supported flash devices with 512-byte pages, but the newer version (YAFFS2) supports newer devices with larger page sizes and greater Write constraints.
In most flash file systems, obsolete blocks are marked as such, but YAFFS2 additionally marks blocks with monotonically increasing sequence numbers. When the file system is scanned at mount time, the valid inodes can be quickly identified. YAFFS also maintains trees in RAM to represent the block structure of the flash device, including fast mounting through checkpointing—the process of saving the RAM tree structure to the flash device on a normal unmount so that it can be quickly read and restored to RAM at mount time (see Figure 4). Mount-time performance is a great advantage of YAFFS2 over other flash file systems.
Figure 4. YAFFS2 mount-time optimization through checkpointing
Read-only compressed file systems
In some embedded systems, there's no need to provide a mutable file system: An immutable one will suffice. Linux supports a variety of read-only file systems, two of the most useful are cramfs and SquashFS.
Cramfs
The cramfs file system is a compressed read-only Linux file system that can exist within flash devices. The primary characteristics of cramfs are that it is both simple and space-efficient. This file system is used in small-footprint embedded designs.
While cramfs metadata is not compressed, cramfs uses zlib compression on a per-page basis to allow random page access (pages are decompressed upon access).
You can play with cramfs using the mkcramfs utility and the loopback device.
SquashFS
SquashFS is another compressed read-only Linux file system that is useful within flash devices. You'll also find SquashFS in numerous Live CD Linux distributions. In addition to supporting zlib for compression, SquashFS uses Lembel-Ziv-Markov chain Algorithm (LZMA) for improved compression and speed.
Like cramfs, you can use SquashFS on a standard Linux system with mksquashfs and the loopback device.
Going further
Like most of open source, software continues to evolve, and new flash file systems are under development. An interesting alternative still in development is LogFS, which includes some very novel ideas. For example, LogFS maintains a tree structure on the flash device itself so that the mount times are similar to traditional file systems, such as ext2. It also uses a wandering tree for garbage collection (a form of B+tree). What makes LogFS particularly interesting, however, is that it is very scalable and can support large flash parts.
With the growing popularity of flash file systems, you'll see a considerable amount of research being applied toward them. LogFS is one example, but other options, such as UbiFS, are also growing. Flash file systems are interesting architecturally and will continue to be a source of innovation in the future.
Downloadable resources
Related topicsHello, everyone! My name is Ari. I live in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. It's such an enjoyable place to live. You can see a beautiful garden and wonderful forests. For you who love wandering through the forest, my hometown would be a suitable place for your interest.
Daily, I work as agricultural engineer in Palangkaraya. I consult with the farmers in Kalimatan and provide them with the new methods of farming. Considering the topography of Kalimantan, we need the improvement in the way of farming. I also need to keep updating the new methods of farming in the world.
Besides farming and forestry, I also love to write something on my notebook. I am too shy to show my writing (hehe..). Moreover, I love to read. I read many thing taking my interests. I love to read TopLucu. Why? Because somehow, they can motivate me to do the best for my live. a toplucu also can give me inspiration in life, friendship, love, and work.Riverside Park (veadavies/Flickr)
Cops are looking for a woman who plowed into a 2-year-old girl while biking through Riverside Park early on Saturday evening, then left the scene. The crash happened near W. 95th Street at about 6 p.m. The cyclist was riding "unbelievably fast" when she hit the toddler in the shared bike and pedestrian path along the Hudson River, according to Joshua Sperber, who was sitting in the park with his own 7-month-old at the time. Sperber was horrified by what he saw.
"It felt like someone hit me in the stomach with a sledgehammer," he said.
"The girl appeared to be in shock, had an immediate severe bruise on her face, and suffered what seemed to be a seizure," he wrote in an email.
Sperber rushed to the aid of the girl's parents and, "for a split second I literally forgot [my son] in the stroller for a moment. I was on my phone and I dropped it." He said he didn't see whether the cyclist fell, but that she apologized to the family as the father tried to carry the toddler away.
"She said, 'I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry. I didn't see her at all,'" Sperber remembers. The parents ignored her, and the cyclist became loud and more insistent, saying, "I'm sorry! I didn't expect to see her right in the middle of the path."
Sperber said that the woman left about five |
unknown at that time, but the National Enquirer somehow gauged from that instance (and the unexplained, prolonged hospital stay that followed it) that Simmons was in the process of becoming a woman named “Fiona.” In turn, Simmons reached out to TMZ to explain that he had only been suffering from dehydration, but the damage had clearly been done as several media outlets began to run the NE story.
Simmons also used Tuesday’s Facebook post to touch on the tragedy of the Orlando Pulse shooting massacre.
“We should not lose focus on showing love, strength and compassion to all of the LGBT community during these tragic times,” he added. “My broken heart and healing thoughts are with the people of Orlando and all other victims of prejudice, bigotry, and hate.”
[Photo by Ilya S. Savenok / Stringer / Getty Images] Despite still not being seen in public, Simmons maintains quite an active presence on social media — his Facebook and Twitter profiles are updated almost daily, and promises of his return are still made occasionally. In a recent piece with People (the same piece where he debunked the rumors of Simmons’ transition), Estey implored his client’s fans to allow him the privacy he craves after spending nearly four decades in the public eye.
“He should be able to have a private life,” Estey said. “When [Richard] decides to come back, he will come back.” Simmons’ full Facebook post can be found below.
[Photo by Michael Buckner / Staff / Getty Images]As we continue to roll up to the release date of Xbox One X on November 7, you’ve no doubt heard us talking a lot about feature terminology: 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR), supersampling and others. Just a few weeks ago, Major Nelson sat down with Albert Penello to cover many of your questions about Xbox One Enhanced, what that means, and how game developers look to harness the power of Xbox One X. It’s a great piece and we highly recommend you check it out.
The simple fact is that all your games will look and play better on Xbox One X. Yes, your picture will look sharper on a 4K screen. Yes, your brights are brighter and more detailed thanks to HDR. Xbox One X will still deliver faster performance, better loading times, and greater framerates — these are all features Xbox One X will bring into your living room regardless of your TV.
Today we’d like to take a trip back down terminology lane, just to keep everything fresh in your minds and perhaps educate a few more of you about these buzzwords you’re seeing today — because you’re going to keep seeing them in the months and years to come — and we’re here to help.
What is 4K?
Simply put, it’s a higher resolution than that of a 1920×1080 (1080p) television, coming in at a crisp 3840×2160 (2160p). This means any supported television programming or game can run at a higher resolution than the previous standard of 1080p, so you have an even sharper and more detailed picture.
Xbox One X is the only console that can deliver the crisp and clean 4K resolution for your supported games, streaming video, and when pairing a 4K screen with the built-in Ultra High Definition (UHD) Blu-ray drive, you’ll get cinema-like picture quality in your living room.
Bonus: you can sit even closer to your 4K television screen than your 1080p display before the image starts to break down. But be warned: your parents will still be upset with you if they catch you sitting that close to the TV.
What is UHD, 4K UHD, Ultra HD, and Others?
It’s kinda the same thing as 4K. They both play in the same high-resolution ballpark, but the term UHD and other variants of it is used largely with consumer brand televisions. So, if you see one of those labels on a television, you’re still getting a 4K television. It’s just that different manufacturers are choosing to go with their own terminology over others, thus creating a great deal of confusion.
What is HDR?
This is money. While higher resolution is great and gives us a sharper, clearer picture when playing games, it’s HDR that really helps with emersion thanks to deeper colors — blacks and whites in particular — and a rich contrast allowing for greater detail in all parts of the image. Obviously, it’s easier to see this effect rather than describe it, but I’ll give it a shot.
When looking at a bunch of thick clouds against a bright blue sky, imagine not being able to make out the shading they make upon one other. You’ll wind up with giant flat white objects floating in the sky. Now add the shading element back in, making it easier to see the shapes and bulbs of clouds floating in the sky. That’s essentially what HDR brings to your games and movies, a greater level of contrast to objects, helping you see a better distinction between brightness, shadows, shading, and more of those subtle bits of an image you may have been taking for granted all this time. HDR makes images look more natural, more detailed, and more realistic.
What is Supersampling?
If there’s one thing I’d love for you to take away from all this information is this: a 4K screen is not required to play great games on Xbox One X. Your games will still look and run much better on Xbox One X than any other console on the market regardless of your television and that’s thanks to supersampling. Supersampling also helps to reduce “jaggies” around the edges of objects and other staircasing-like effects
Think of supersampling as the cousin of upscaling. Instead of taking a lower resolution image and blowing up (creating a distortion) like upscaling’s effect, supersampling takes a high-resolution image and scales it down to your television’s native resolution — be it 720p or 1080p — to bring all the information that Xbox One X is pouring into its games and beaming to the screen.
But supersampling is more than just resolution as any Xbox One X Enhanced title running on at 1080p television is still taking advantage of the power of the system. That makes your draw distance better, greater special effects, and everything else that’s running under the hood of the world’s most powerful console.
Yes, a 4K screen will deliver a sharper and clearer image, and HDR will bolster the light and dark features of your game, but supersampling does an effective job of letting you play your games best on Xbox One X regardless of your screen.
What is Xbox One X Enhanced?
This is a term to let you know that the game developer has tapped into the power of Xbox One X. It means faster loading times, higher resolution textures, higher framerates — but it’s up to the developer to decide the best way they want to utilize that power.
So, when you see Xbox One X Enhanced mentioned on your favorite game’s product page or game box, it means there has been some special care taken to utilize the Scorpio engine. We recommend following up for more info on our recently launched Xbox One Enhanced site that has a deep dive on this feature.
How do I know if the Xbox One X Enhanced game updates are on my console?
By the time Xbox One X launches on November 7, some of your favorite games may still be getting ready for the Xbox One X revolution. The best way to know when Xbox One X Enhanced Updates are ready is to keep an eye on those game’s social media channels and official sites — they’ll be one of the first to let you know there is an update available. You can also check out our Xbox One X Enhanced Games list found here, which will be updated daily.
On the console, if you have Automatic Updates on, your console should update when new versions are available on the service. To see which games have been updated, go to My Games and Apps, then My Games, and filter for Xbox One X Enhanced — if the game is listed in this section, it has been updated. If the game is not included in the Xbox One X Enhanced section under My Games and Apps, the game update is either not live yet, or you haven’t installed the update. If the update hasn’t been installed yet, the fastest way to update it is to launch the game – you can only play online when you have the most recent version of the game available.
If you don’t have Automatic Updates turned on, go to Updates to check for the latest available game updates. You can also sort “My Games and Apps” by “Last Update” to see a list of recent updates.
We hope this article helped bring a new level of understanding to some of the terms you’ve been seeing lately. We honestly can’t wait for you to play games on Xbox One X so you can see the difference for yourself, and perhaps come up with a better analogy about HDR than cloud shapes.Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney, and starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe and Bill Murray. Doyle-Murray also has a supporting role.
Caddyshack was Ramis' directorial debut and was a major boost to the film career of Dangerfield, who was previously known mostly for his stand-up comedy. Grossing nearly $40 million at the domestic box office (the 17th-highest of the year),[1] it was the first of a series of similar comedies. A sequel, Caddyshack II, followed in 1988, although only Chase reprised his role and the film was poorly received.
The film has garnered a large fan following and has been hailed by media outlets, such as Time and ESPN, as one of the funniest sports films.
Plot [ edit ]
Danny Noonan works as a caddie at the upscale Bushwood Country Club in Nebraska to earn enough money to go to college. Danny often caddies for Ty Webb, a suave and talented golfer and the son of one of Bushwood's co-founders. Danny decides to gain favor with Judge Elihu Smails, the country club's stodgy co-founder and director of the caddie scholarship program, by caddying for him. Meanwhile, Carl Spackler, a somewhat-unhinged greens-keeper, is entrusted with combating a potentially disastrous gopher infestation. He employs a variety of methods to kill the gopher (e.g. shooting, drowning) without success.
Al Czervik, a brash and obnoxious nouveau riche, begins appearing at the club. Smails is heckled by Czervik as he tees off, causing his shot to go badly wrong. Smails throws his putter in a fit of frustration and accidentally injures another club-member. Danny takes responsibility for the incident, as a ploy to gain Smails' trust. Smails encourages him to apply for the caddy scholarship.
At Bushwood's annual Fourth of July banquet, Danny and his girlfriend Maggie work as servers. Czervik continues to irritate Smails and the club members, while Danny becomes attracted to Lacey Underall, Smails' promiscuous niece. Danny wins the Caddy Day golf tournament and the scholarship, earning him praise from Smails and an invitation to attend the christening ceremony for his boat. The boat is sunk at the event after Czervik lowers the anchor from his large motor-yacht, so that it goes right through Smails' smaller "Flying Wasp" sailboat. Returning home, Smails discovers Lacey and Danny having a tryst at his house. Expecting to be fired or to have the scholarship revoked, Danny is surprised when Smails only demands that he keeps the incident secret.
Unable to bear the continued presence of the ill-mannered Czervik, Smails confronts him and announces that Czervik will never be granted membership. Czervik counters by announcing that he would never consider being a member: he insults the country club and claims to be there merely to evaluate buying Bushwood and developing the land into condominiums. After a brief scuffle and exchange of insults, Ty Webb suggests they discuss a resolution over drinks. After Smails demands satisfaction, Czervik proposes a team golf match with Smails and his regular golfing partner Dr. Beeper against Czervik and Webb. Against club rules, they also agree to a $20,000 wager, which quickly doubles to $40,000, on the outcome of the match. That evening, Webb practices for the game against Smails and meets Carl; the two share a bottle of wine and a joint.
The match is held the following day. Word spreads of the stakes involved and a crowd gathers. During the game, Smails and Beeper take the lead, while Czervik, to his dismay, is "playing the worst game of his life". He reacts to Smails' taunts by impulsively doubling the wager to $80,000 per team. When his own ricocheting ball strikes him, Czervik feigns injury in hopes of having the contest declared a draw. Lou, the course official who is acting as an umpire, tells Czervik his team will forfeit unless they find a substitute. When Webb chooses Danny, Smails threatens to revoke his scholarship, but Czervik promises Danny that he will make it "worth his while" if he wins. After a moment, Danny decides he would rather humiliate the selfish, conceited Smails than take the scholarship.
By the time they reach the final hole, the score is tied. Judge Smails makes a putt for birdie with his prized "Billy Barue" putter. With Danny about to attempt a difficult putt to tie, Czervik again redoubles the wager to $160,000 per team that Danny will make the putt. Danny's putt leaves the ball hanging over the edge of the hole. At that moment, Carl, in his latest attempt to kill the gopher, detonates a series of plastic explosives that he has rigged around the golf course. The explosion shakes the ground and causes the ball to drop into the hole, tying the match but handing Danny, Webb, and Czervik victory on the wager. Smails refuses to pay, so Czervik beckons two hulking men, named Moose and Rocco, to "help the judge find his checkbook." As Smails is chased across the course, Czervik leads a wild party at the clubhouse, attended by all of the onlookers at the match. Some distance away, the gopher emerges from underground, unharmed, and dances amid the smoldering ruins of the golf course.
Cast [ edit ]
Production [ edit ]
The movie was inspired by writer and co-star Brian Doyle-Murray's memories working as a caddy at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka, Illinois. His brothers Bill and John Murray (production assistant and a caddy extra), and director Harold Ramis also had worked as caddies when they were teenagers. Many of the characters in the film were based on characters they had encountered through their various experiences at the club, including a young woman upon whom the character of Maggie is based and the Haverkamps, a doddering old couple, John and Ilma, longtime members of the club, who can barely hit the ball out of their shadows. The scene involving a Baby Ruth candy bar being thrown into the swimming pool was based on a real-life incident at Doyle-Murray's high school.[2][not in citation given] The scene in which Al Czervik hits Judge Smails in the genitals with a struck golf ball happened to Ramis on what he said was the second of his two rounds of golf, on a nine-hole public course.[3]
The dinner and dancing scene was filmed at the Boca Raton Hotel and Club in Boca Raton, Florida.[4]
The film was shot over 11 weeks during the autumn of 1979; Hurricane David in early September delayed production. Golf scenes were filmed at the Rolling Hills Golf Club (now the Grande Oaks Golf Club) in Davie, Florida.[5] According to Ramis, Rolling Hills was chosen because the course did not have any palm trees. He wanted the movie to feel that it was in the Midwest, not Florida. The explosions that take place during the climax of the film were reported at the nearby Fort Lauderdale airport by an incoming pilot, who suspected a plane had crashed.[2]
The scene that begins when Ty Webb's golf ball crashes into Carl Spackler's ramshackle house was not in the original script. It was added by director Harold Ramis after realizing that two of his biggest stars, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray (who previously did not get along due to a feud dating back to their days on Saturday Night Live, but were at least tolerant and professional towards each other while on set), until then, did not appear in a scene together. The three met for lunch and wrote the scene. This is the only film that Chase and Murray have appeared in together.[6]
Bill Murray's famous "Cinderella story" scene was improvised based on two lines of stage direction. Ramis gave him direction to act as a child announcing his own imaginary golf moment, with Murray then improvising. The flowers were his idea.[6] Murray was with the production only six days, and all of his lines were unscripted.[3] Murray was working on Saturday Night Live at the time, and was not intended to have a large role in the movie. However, he was repeatedly recalled from New York to film additional scenes as production continued.[7]
In interviews, Cindy Morgan stated that the scene she shared with Chevy Chase, in which he pours massage oil on her, was completely improvised, and her reaction to Chase dousing her back with the massage oil, where she exclaimed "You're crazy!", was genuine.[8] The scene where her character had to dive into the pool was executed by a professional diver, but up to that point in the scene, she had to be led to the diving board by the crew and carefully directed up the ladder since she could not wear her contact lenses near the pool and was legally blind without them.[9]
An overall deal was made with John Dykstra's[6] effects company for all the necessary visual effects (including lightning, stormy sky effects, flying golf balls, disappearing greens' flags, etc.), so shooting the gopher puppet became part of the intensely negotiated effects package. Dykstra's technicians added extra hydraulic animation to the puppet, including ear movement, and built the tunnels through which he moved.
In later years, the production became infamous for the amount of drug usage which occurred on-set, with supporting actor Peter Berkrot describing cocaine as "the fuel that kept the film running".[10]
Reception [ edit ]
Caddyshack was released on July 25, 1980, in 656 theaters, and grossed $3.1 million during its opening weekend. It went on to make $39,846,344 in North America.[11]
The film holds a 74% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though unabashedly crude and juvenile, Caddyshack nevertheless scores with its classic slapstick, unforgettable characters, and endlessly quotable dialogue".[12] Christopher Null gave the film four stars out of five, and wrote, "They don't make 'em like this anymore... The plot wanders around the golf course and involves a half-dozen elements, but if you simply dig the gopher, the caddy, and the Dangerfield, you're not going to be doing half bad".[13] The film was met with generally poor reviews upon its original 1980 release. Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "Caddyshack feels more like a movie that was written rather loosely, so that when shooting began there was freedom—too much freedom—for it to wander off in all directions in search of comic inspiration".[14] Dave Kehr, in his review for the Chicago Reader, wrote, "The first-time director, Harold Ramis, can't hold it together: the picture lurches from style to style (including some ill-placed whimsy with a gopher puppet) and collapses somewhere between sitcom and sketch farce".[15]
Nevertheless, the film has gained a cult following in the years after its release and has been positively reappraised by many film critics.[16] It is a favorite in the golf world. Tiger Woods has said[17] that it is his favorite film, so much so that he played Spackler in an American Express commercial based on the film. Many of the film's quotes have entered the lexicon of pop culture.[18]
Ramis noted in the DVD documentary that TV Guide had originally given the film two stars (out of four) when it began showing on cable television in the early 1980s, but over time the rating had gone up to three stars. He himself said he could "barely watch it. All I see are a bunch of compromises and things that could have been better", such as the poor swings of everyone, except for O'Keefe.[19]
In 2007, Taylor Trade Publishing released The Book of Caddyshack, an illustrated paperback retrospective of the movie, with cast and crew Q&A interviews. The book was written by Scott Martin.
Denmark was the only place outside the US/Canada where Caddyshack was initially a hit. The distributor had cut 20 minutes from the movie to emphasize Bill Murray's role.[20]
Awards and honors [ edit ]
This film is also second on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".[21]
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
Soundtrack [ edit ]
In 1980, CBS Records issued a soundtrack to Caddyshack. It includes 10 songs, four of which were performed by Kenny Loggins.
Sequel [ edit ]
There was a 1988 sequel, Caddyshack II, which did poorly at the box office.
Caddyshack restaurants [ edit ]
On June 7, 2001, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, and their brothers opened a themed restaurant inspired by the movie at the World Golf Village, near St. Augustine, Florida. The restaurant is meant to resemble the fictional Bushwood Country Club, and serves primarily American cuisine. The brothers are all active partners and make occasional appearances at the restaurant. Three more Caddyshack restaurants were opened, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Orlando, and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; however, all three have been closed.[25]
Bill Murray and two of his brothers were in attendance when a new location opened in Rosemont, Illinois, in April 2018.[26]OTTAWA — Canada has signed almost two dozen side letters with its trading partners in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, including an agreement with the United States to combat illicit trade.
Canada also signed a side agreement with Japan that appears to protect the exports of British Columbia logs, a key sticking point between those countries in the multi-layered negotiations.
The letters were released as the text of the broader TPP agreement, finalized Oct. 5 between a dozen Pacific Rim countries, was also publicly released Thursday.
The complex deal contains hundreds of pages of provisions covering the trade of a vast range of goods, including cars, cheese and wine.
Canada also released a series of side letters that cover a range of bilateral issues with specific countries spanning several sectors.
Canada and the U.S. traded a letter on border enforcement and information sharing, to “address illicit trade in counterfeit trademark and pirated copyright goods.”
The letter says Canada and the U.S. are committed to “using appropriate risk management, as determined by each government, to address the challenges that this illicit trade poses at their respective borders.”
They pledge to share information between their respective customs agencies on goods that infringe copyright and trademarks in an attempt to target the “organizations engaged in this illicit activity” and “target future illicit shipments and to investigate trade in counterfeit trademark and pirated copyright goods.”
Another letter between Canada and Japan appears to confirm that the current Canadian regime on the export of B.C. logs remains in place. The export of logs is heavily controlled by the federal and provincial governments, which drives up their cost to foreign buyers. That is similar to the protections afforded to Canada’s dairy farmers under the supply management system.
Timber had become a sticking point between Canada and Japan. Canadian government documents previously obtained by The Canadian Press said Japan was pushing Canada to eliminate or modify the controls it imposes on B.C. log exports.
“For greater certainty, Japan and Canada confirm that nothing in this letter shall have any other implications with respect to Canada’s existing practices and procedures relating to its existing measures concerning the export of logs of all species,” the new side letter states.
“In respect of the export of logs, Japan and Canada maintain their rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement, and any dispute regarding a matter relating to the export of logs shall be settled under the WTO.”
The letter between Canada and Japan also formalizes the creation of a bilateral forestry committee on forest products to help settle disagreements.
“Either Japan or Canada may raise a matter relating to the understandings set out in this letter to the committee, and the committee shall seek to resolve that matter,” the letter states.
The Japan letter is one of 10 dealing with market access for goods. Other side letters were signed Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the United States.
Canada also signed a letter with its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, the U.S. and Mexico on government procurement rules.
Canada also signed other letters with various TPP countries covering intellectual property and government procurement.File picture of Malli Mastan Babu.
Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who went missing since March 24 while on a climb in the Andes Mountains in Argentina, has been found dead.
"Mountains retained its favourite child.. R.I.P Malli Mastan Babu," read the announcement on Facebook page, 'Rescue Malli Mastan Babu', which had been set up by his friends and well-wishers to share updates on the search for the missing mountaineer.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said it was coordinating with authorities in South America over the search for Malli Mastan Babu.
The news was conveyed to the family members by government officials, according to Mastan Babu's sister Dorasanamma.
Mr Babu, an accomplished mountaineer, held a number of records and achievements. He had achieved the feat of becoming the "fastest seven summiteer" in the world (172 days in 2006, during which he climbed seven summits on seven days of the week in each calendar month). He was also the first Indian to summit Mt Vinson Massif, the tallest peak in Antarctica, and the first person from Andhra Pradesh to scale the Mt Everest. Mr Babu hailed from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, and is an alumnus of IIM-Calcutta, IIT-Kharagpur, NIT Jamshedpur and Sainik School, Korukonda. He had left home on December 16 for his trek in the Andes Mountains, which straddle the border between Argentina and Chile. The weather had turned bad soon after he had started his climb, and he had gone missing on March 24.click to enlarge Photo via MTV
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MTV's cringeworthy new "reality show"debuted this week, and while it might be the most painful thing to watch on television, it's actually not as painful to look at as a few of the cast members' Instagram accounts.Unsurprisingly, the cast of Siesta Key have already purged their social media accounts of just about anything remotely controversial. The main character, Alex Kompothecras, scorched his Instagram so hard that if you scroll down just a few posts you'd think he was a 12-year-old kid last week.But none of this really matters. The Internet has the miraculous ability to never forget, and whatever is posted never goes away. The Facebook page BoycottSiestaKeyMTV has been archiving all of these posts, and they're incredibly damning.Take, for example, Alex's cousin Pauly, aka Pauly Paul, an aspiring DJ and producer who once shared a post showing a receipt from a meal at Miller's Ale House in Sarasota in which, instead of a tip, he left his server a smiley face and a free guest pass to a gym.To make matters worse, the caption reads "The waiter was fat an lazy so this is the tip I left" followed by memorable hashtags like #ImSoHighRightNow and #LoseWeight #Fatty.There are also posts of showing a pile drugs and another where he appears to be snorting cocaine. But of course, this account is completely gone now. However, you can still follow Pauly at MTVpaulypaul Then there's Alex Kompothecras' Instagram account, which somehow manages to be much much worse. Here's a post showing a dead hammerhead shark...And another where someone is popping off a few rounds into a shark...Here's one where someone's allegedly pouring beer into a dog's mouth through a bong...And here's another that at first doesn't look so bad, but check out the hashtag at the bottom...It was recently discovered through social media posts that Kompothecras is friends with Michael Wenzel, of the now viral shark-dragging video. There's even a post where he can be seen on the same fishing boat as Wenzel.Of course, Kompothecras has since denounced Wenzel's actions and even his own past behavior. "There are images of me harming some animals and I feel horrible," Kompothecras explained in a recent interview with People. "I am embarrassed and it won’t happen again."The thing is,is supposed to be a glimpse into the sun-washed life of swimsuit-wearing socialites on a Florida barrier island. But after all the editing, voice-overs and EDM-packed soundtracking, it's still devastatingly bland and unauthentic.Unfortunately for the show's producers, who apparently failed to adequately vet any of the cast members before printing a contract, the off-camera actions are far more interesting than the show, and will arguably garner more eyeballs.With Run The Series, The A.V. Club examines film franchises, studying how they change and evolve with each new installment.
“I have nothing but love for Troma… that love you have for your alcoholic, abusive grandfather.”
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These words come from a crew member on set during production of Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000), the most recent installment in Troma Entertainment’s flagship franchise. The documentary chronicling the calamitous process, a nasty piece of anti-hagiography called Apocalypse Soon, characterizes the atmosphere behind the scenes of Troma’s ramshackle punk productions as a cesspool of negative energy and mistreatment bordering on abuse. Studio founder and director of all four Toxic Avenger films Lloyd Kaufman speaks to all of his collaborators like they’re stooges incapable of doing anything right without careful instruction but simultaneously expects them to intuit his needs through unspecific rambling and, more frequently than not, a combination of ESP and osmosis. This raging maelstrom of incompetence, hostility, and outright harassment was business as usual for Kaufman and Troma, however. It was only natural for this toxic environment to beget their Toxic Avenger series.
The four films starring the most notable organism to have slithered out of Troma’s radioactive swamp—a hulking, turd-like, violent “superhero” affectionately referred to as “Toxie” by the insular cult that keeps Troma in the black year after year—stand as a monument to, and a microcosm of, the dysfunctional complex that churns them out. The Toxic Avenger films, to put it in the parlance of tertiary Big Lebowski characters, beleef in nussink, nussink but Troma. Through both brashly offensive rhetoric and scandalizing deeds, the series espouses viewpoints that are anti-religion, anti-police, anti-capitalist, anti-Washington, anti-Hollywood, anti-hippie, anti-woman, anti-good taste, and anti-pretty much everything else. The litany of shit too lame for Troma runs a mile long, but the only belief Toxie appears willing to commit himself to is the absolute, unquestionable purity and nobility of Troma’s films. Among the more brazen acts of self-aggrandizement ever committed to celluloid, Kaufman’s Toxic Avenger movies have stubbornly stood the test of time with a cockroach’s indomitable might. And like the lowly cockroach, these films are disgusting, and most people want nothing to do with them.
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But clearly enough people find a certain adolescent charm in the the fuck-everything-but-me spirit of the franchise to merit four installments, a 13-episode TV spin-off, a Marvel comic book that ran from 1991 to 1992, a novelization, and two musicals, one licensed and one not. (Troma’s Jeremy Newberger tells me via Twitter that he and Kaufman have completed the script for The Toxic Avenger V: The Toxic Twins, and that his colleague now just needs the required funds to realize his vision of Toxie’s new life as a father to an infant daughter and son.) In fact, a rather fervent cult has formed around the giddy nihilist gospel of Toxie and his gruesome misadventures, annually congregating at the highly disreputable TromaDance Film Festival, yet another #onbrand extension of Kaufman’s dumpy empire. When Kaufman decided to subtitle his third Toxic Avenger film The Last Temptation Of Toxie, the Christ allusion was not incidental; as Apocalypse Soon would have it, few men believe in themselves and their work with the unconditional devotion of Lloyd Kaufman.
Proudly and only semi-ironically trumpeted as New Jersey’s first superhero, Toxie begins, in his 1984 origin story, The Toxic Avenger, as pitiful nerd Melvin Ferd (later, inexplicably, Melvin Junko), an off-market bootleg of Peter Parker who mans the mop at the local gym. Although he mostly minds his own business, Melvin’s mere existence infuriates the local gym bullies to the point of apoplexy, and so they form a plan to fix him up proper. After conning him into dressing up in a pink tutu and frenching a sheep—oldest trick in the book—Melvin shame-stumbles out of a second-floor window and falls into a vat of radioactive waste left unattended while the truckers transporting it mash their faces into a Ziploc full of coke. (The details are the most telling parts of the Troma universe; even the margins have been packed with depravity for its own sake.) The vague biological processes that create superpowered mutants work their magic on Melvin, who thusly metamorphoses into the towering, mop-wielding, tutu-clad defender of justice that the town deems The Toxic Avenger. Cue tacky ’80s rawk theme.
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Toxie naturally gravitates toward his new calling as the protector of Tromaville, but he takes to his work with a disturbingly remorseless brio. If superhero devotees nibble their nails over Superman snapping one guy’s neck, Toxie’s blithe and nauseatingly creative killing sprees would send them out of the theater on stretchers. Despite, or perhaps because of, his underdeveloped mind, Toxie serves exaggeratedly brutal beatings to his foes that almost always culminate in sadistic murder. One scene midway through the Toxic Avenger’s maiden voyage pits the “hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength,” a phrase uttered literally dozens of times over the course of the series, against a gang of cast-offs from a cattle call for a Warriors sequel. (“Tweaked, slightly worse versions of other, more recognizable things” quickly emerges as the guiding aesthetic principle in Kaufman’s style.) Toxie dispatches them with minimal strain when they attempt to rob a taco shack, neutralizing each threat in an increasingly over-the-top manner, suffocating one by making a sundae in his mouth and dunking another’s head into the flash fryer. Our hero clearly takes a sick glee in mutilating his various enemies, which speaks to a larger and more foundational concern overall.
Namely, that The Toxic Avenger is a real dick. He’s not a clear-cut hero and not morally or intellectually complex enough to be an antihero. He’s just some sniveling loser who fell into a vat and gained superpowers along with a bone-deep A-hole streak and decides the only thing to do is fight crime. The overt racism is one thing—nobody was expecting an advanced cultural sensitivity from the folks behind Fortress of Amerikkka, but Toxie sealing a beat-down with the one-liner, “No tickee, no laundry!” is tough to hear. Over time, Toxie becomes a holistically bad person beyond all debate. By the time the series rolls into its fourth film, he has transformed into a monster in the figurative sense as well as through the appearance of an evil twin, treating his blind lover Sarah not like a queen but like another fuck-puppet to be leered at by the men out of frame and spoiling what was once Toxie’s most admirable quality: his devotion to his gal. The Toxic Avenger movies assume the worst of everyone, inflating negative qualities to cartoonish extremes; as Melvin writhes on the ground in agony while chemical burns coagulate his flesh wounds, his tormentors scream at him, “If this guy can’t take a joke, he stinks!”
Things only get more dire and flamboyantly amateurish with each new missive from Tromaville. The Toxic Avenger: Part II makes the daring suggestion that Kaufman may have been holding back with the first film, as it piles absurdities atop one another. The entire raison d’être for Troma remains its total independence from the creativity-stifling, art-killing squares of the studio system, and so there was nobody around to advise Kaufman against inserting a handful of tuneless musical numbers into Part II or ask him why he kept integrating Freudian theories from Psych 101 into the script or suggest that maybe his film didn’t need so many topless Asian actresses. Any attempt to take notes on these films invariably devolves into a catalog of all the bizarre, shocking provocations that Kaufman and his merry band shoehorn into each installment, which in turn resemble the ravings of a madman. (“Black dwarf smashes testicles, mutant fish-head man, guy made into human ramen…”) Weirdest of all, the second installment introduces the concept of Tromatons, microscopic lifeforms in Toxie |
's anything wrong with these things, but you’ll find no micro-transactions in our game, nor will you require an internet connection to play.
This term is taken from the imaginary “fourth wall” envisioned in the production of a play – the wall that separates the characters and the world of the story, from the members of the audience. When characters speak directly to the audience, or acknowledge their presence, this is referred to as “breaking the fourth wall.”
CONSORTIUM is a unique experience in that we are constantly skirting along the edge of the fourth wall, as the player is both part of the story-world, as well as the audience. We believe this technique makes for a more interactive, and fully immersive, form of storytelling, which has yet to be employed to the full extent in other forms of entertainment.
The story of CONSORTIUM revolves around a universe parallel to ours, but in the year 2042. This is a surprisingly bright future... even nearing utopic. Global hunger and energy problems seem to have been largely solved, and war has taken a back-seat to peaceful endeavors. Thousands of people are living in orbit, on the Moon, on Mars...
A headline pulled from the alternate dimension by iDGi-1. It describes the end of a global conflict referred to as "The Resource Wars," and the formation of the Global Senate. The distortion is due to unavoidable errors in the quantum data stream.
iDGi-1 is the name of a satellite constructed within our own universe, capable of connecting you to this parallel universe and to the mind of a powerful, sentient A.I. residing on the other side. While exploring this new world through the use of iDGi-1, you will inhabit the body of a human being known only to us as Bishop Six (his true identity and back story have been concealed from us to avoid a "temporal breakdown”). Upon first connecting to the other world, it will appear that your interdimensional arrival has gone unnoticed by its people.
But not everyone is ignorant to your presence! The sudden and unexplained murder of a Consortium officer racks the crew, and a once-thought harmless enemy re-emerges with a frightening array of experimental weaponry and equipment. Shortly after your arrival you will learn that someone in their world knows who you really are, where you're really from, and they'll stop at nothing to ensure the Consortium does not use you for their own agenda.
Who, why, and how are all mysteries that must be unraveled for yourself. You are led to believe that the Consortium is a force of good in this world you have entered – but is this truly the case? As the true purpose for your presence is revealed, you will come to realize that your actions will have far-reaching consequences, not only for their universe – but for ours as well.
Far more detail on the story behind CONSORTIUM can be found HERE.
CONSORTIUM unfolds in a non-linear fashion, its presentation and pacing dictated in many ways by your conversation choices, actions and what you choose to look at. There are no cut-scenes and you always have complete control over what to do and say.
The original blueprints and design schematics for iDGi-1
Why does the game look so simple?
The iDGi-1 satellite is a brand new technology, and is currently only able to stream basic details of the parallel universe to your computer. Details that are considered extraneous are discarded due to bandwidth limitations. In addition, iDGi-1's environment streaming ability is currently limited to a low color light spectrum.
It is imperfect, and the quantum connection often experiences various issues, resulting in distortion, especially when the host you are inhabiting (Bishop Six) is injured.
"Playing CONSORTIUM" means connecting to the parallel universe using iDGi-1's quantum streaming abilities
Our flash-based A.R.G. started in 2010, and acts as the back story to everyone and everything happening in CONSORTIUM - and it is absolutely 100% free to play. Three years of A.R.G. updates (with the help of the public!) has helped us build the level of depth required to truly make the CONSORTIUM game world as immersive as possible.
To begin your own explorations of the other world – click “Experience” at INTERDIMENSIONALGAMES.COM and then wait for the Moon to eclipse the Sun on the space scene. Click the anomaly once it appears. This will take you to when we first connected to their world, back in 2010. The system will allow you to ‘play along’ as if you were with us at that time. NOTE: Keep an eye on the Progress Bar on the top right of the screen, as this will tell you how close you are to being caught up to present time.
Here are some of the things you'll find while experiencing our A.R.G...
Audio & written blogs.
Audio puzzles.
Alternate world/future News Articles and Mission Reports regarding countless elements/characters in our story.
Regular puzzles/riddles/hidden secrets that are what A.R.G.s normally comprise of.
comprise of. Hand-written journals also with secret codes and puzzles hidden within.
Hidden dialing coordinates (find them all to dial into an entirely different time/place!).
An entire “internal Worldview Industries” e-mail program, packed with over a hundred email correspondences between characters.
A * massive * in-game forum between the public and characters of our game.
* in-game forum between the public and characters of our game. A fun “arcade-style” game called the Greenberg Device, with 21 unique levels of play.
Once you reach the 93-99% complete mark (according to the in-game progress bar) you can then access the "King-Made Question Bot." Simply put, you can directly ask this BOT questions about anything at all, and it will reply to the best of its ability.
We invite YOU, the gamers, to become our publisher!
We want hundreds, hopefully even thousands, of people to play our game before we're done to help us focus on the right elements to polish, and to be an active part of the process of balancing and refining the game. Also, because we are entirely independent, we do need some financial help to allow us to finish the game to a degree of polish and gameplay refinement to meet our high standards.
CONSORTIUM is being developed with Valve Software’s SOURCE engine, which has been used to power immersive single-player experiences such as Valve’s Half-Life and Portal series of games.
Trademark Valve Corporation
We were chosen from over a thousand applicants for the “experimental stream” of the awesome new Canada Media Fund (C.M.F.). Their support has allowed us to come as far as we have...
Trademark Canada Media Fund
We hereby solemnly pledge to divert 5% of profit from sales of CONSORTIUM to future Kickstarter projects...
We were also backers of the incredible Kickstarter-funded Oculus Rift project (have a dev-kit incoming!) and believe that CONSORTIUM would be the perfect fit for this technology. We will be doing everything in our power to make this a reality.
Trademark Oculus VR
CONSORTIUM is actually the first in an envisioned large series of games. Each game would be completely separate, yet connected through the game world, its characters, and of course the meta-storyline involving the "in-game" version of Interdimensional Games. And to be absolutely clear: this Kickstarter campaign exists solely to fund and help produce one game, CONSORTIUM, and any future games will be entirely separate entities.
Gregory is an 18 year video game development veteran. Through working with companies such as Cavedog Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Relic Entertainment, Turbine, and Radical Entertainment, Gregory has experienced video game development from many vantage points. Gregory has played principal creative roles for the following titles, among others: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets PC,” “Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction,” and “Scarface: The World is Yours.” Gregory was also the project lead for Cavedog’s ambitious “Amen: The Awakening” and wrote the original game design treatment for Relic’s “Homeworld.”
Jason started his video game development career in 1994, with Sierra On-Line. He worked on such game classics as “King’s Quest 7,” “Space Quest 6,” and “Leisure Suit Larry.” In 1996 he became the animation director for “King’s Quest 8,” the first real-time 3D adventure game from Sierra. Jason was the animation lead for “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets PC,” where he worked closely with Gregory. Jason has been running his own art asset development company, Turnstyle Studios, for over 10 years.
To learn how Jeremy's music will be used as a storytelling tool in CONSORTIUM, click HERE. From the very beginning of this project we’ve believed that music is one of the most important storytelling tools we have at our disposal.
Known to many as the “John Williams of video-game music,” for the past 18 years Jeremy Soule has provided music for some of the most successful and admired games of all time. “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic,” “Harry Potter,” “Total Annihilation,” “Guild Wars 2,” and the “Elder Scrolls: Skyrim” are a small sampling of Jeremy’s games.
Jeremy worked with Gregory on the unreleased AMEN: THE AWAKENING project and they’ve both been chomping at the bit for a chance to work together again in a creatively unrestrained fashion.
"The Seeker Prophecy" FRONT
"The Seeker Prophecy" BACK
"ZENLIL" FrontSyrian refugees who have been living in the Zaatari camp in Jordan crowd onto buses to go home to Syria on June 18. (William Booth/The Washington Post)
The Syrian refugees were a portrait of desperation, clawing their way into packed buses headed to the border. Panicked mothers begged for help, as their wailing toddlers were forced through open windows. Men threw fists at each other, and soldiers in riot gear pushed forward, with truncheons and tear gas, to disperse rock-throwing youth.
But these refugees were not fleeing Syria.
They were going home — leaving the overcrowded, windblown Zaatari refugee camp and returning to their villages in Syria.
On many days in the past month, more refugees returned to Syria than entered Jordan, where an estimated 500,000 have sought refuge since the conflict began.
In the Zaatari camp, home to 140,000 displaced Syrians, many said they were heading back because they feared that the rebels were losing and that any day, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad would seize control of the last safe zones along the Syria-Jordan border and leave them stranded on the wrong side.
The reverse exodus comes as Syrian fighters and refugees in northern Jordan exude a thrumming panic that the tides of war are turning against them.
In interviews at the Zaatari camp and with a dozen Syrian rebel commanders and fighters passing through Jordan, many said Assad’s forces, aided by foreign fighters from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, had gained the advantage.
Rebel commanders said their men were subsisting on water, a few pieces of bread, and whatever they could scavenge or beg from markets and fields. Some had been eating grape leaves, they said. They described battalions in which rebel troops were carrying only a few dozen bullets per man into battle. They said that roads they once controlled had been taken by Assad forces.
The refugees also described a grim life in the camps, especially as the heat of summer builds.
“We would rather die in dignity back home than beg in Jordan,” said Mohammed al-Ghanem, who was set to return to his home village of Al Shajareh with his five children after spending the last of his $2,000 in life savings over the past four months in the camp.
“We are seeing high numbers of Syrians returning home in recent days,” said Andrew Harper, the representative for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Jordan.
In the past month, Harper said, 500 Syrians on average would enter Jordan each day as 250 returned home. “We don’t recommend it. The situation in the camps is dire, but the situation in Syria is worse,” he said.
Harper said there were days when returnees to Syria greatly outnumbered those seeking refuge in Jordan. On Wednesday, for example, more than 3,000 Syrians boarded buses at the Zaatari refugee camp.
On Thursday and Friday, though, the numbers of Syrians going home dropped to zero, as Assad’s troops engaged in heavy shelling around border towns — which increased dread in the camps that it would be difficult to get home.
Assistance from afar
News that President Obama promised to provide rebels with light arms — and that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya would send antitank and antiaircraft weapons — was greeted here with skepticism.
“Why did they wait until now, when we have almost lost?” said Abu Mohammed al-Naimi, a former brigadier general in the Syrian army who defected and now commands a Free Syrian Army battalion.
In addition to the new U.S. aid promised to the rebels, the Obama administration has long been assisting the opposition with logistical and intelligence support, as well as training. CIA officers have been working with allies in Jordan and Turkey for more than six months, helping with instruction on skills ranging from securing chemical weapon stockpiles to using advanced antitank weapons, according to a senior Middle Eastern government official familiar with the operation.
Rebel fighters regularly slip across the border for training sessions that last from a few days to two weeks, before returning to Syria to rejoin the fighting, said the official, who insisted that both his name and nationality be withheld because of the secrecy surrounding the operation. The role of U.S. personnel in the program has included supervising contract employees and foreign nationals who conduct the bulk of the instruction, as well as some hands-on training, the official said.
Defending their own
Ahmed al-Saeed, an 18-year-old from the border village of Jasem, said he was encouraged to enlist with the Free Syrian Army along with his three cousins after hearing reports that fighters from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement had reached the outskirts of the southern city of Daraa earlier this month.
“Foreign fighters are invading our homes and are trying to kill the revolution,” Saeed said shortly before fighting his way onto a bus for the border. “Now it is time to defend our lands and our honor.”
Some Syrian refugees say they are answering a call to jihad issued by prominent Sunni clerics across the Middle East to wage holy war against the Shiite fighters entering Syria.
“Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are going house to house raping women, murdering children and destroying mosques,” said Ahmed al-Zoubi, one of several camp residents who said they aim to join Islamist rebel forces upon their return. “It is our duty as Syrians and Muslims to defend our homeland.”
Rumors of rapes and other atrocities in southern Syria could not be confirmed.
The young men returning to fight hope they can push back the Assad forces and the foreign fighters. They say they naturally fear retribution if Assad ultimately wins but would be ashamed to explain to their families why they didn’t return to fight when foreigners came to their lands.
With rebels sustaining a string of losses at the hands of Assad and Hezbollah forces, many anxious refugees say they are heading back to their homeland while opposition forces can still safeguard their return and before the tide of the conflict shifts in Damascus’s favor.
Many are returning not knowing whether their home or village still stands.
“But we will rather die in our homeland than wander the Earth as refugees,” Um Samar al-Hariri, 42, a resident of the southern village of Itlaa, said before boarding a bus with her six children.
Joby Warrick in Washington contributed to this report.This image showed up on various image boards in January of 2012 and it caught people’s imagination. Joel Eriksson recorded his adventure looking into the mystery and it feels like it could be the start of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Or is it?
According to this article on Cicada 3301 there is potentially a lot more to this than meets the eye. That article is also the best synopsis of this bizarre mystery.
“This is a dangerous organisation,” he concluded, “their ways are nefarious.” With no other clues, it was also asssumed by many to be a recruitment drive by the CIA, MI6 or America’s National Security Agency (NSA), as part of a search for highly talented cryptologists. It wouldn’t have been the first time such tactics had been used. Back in 2010, for example, Air Force Cyber Command – the United States’ hacking defence force, based at Fort Meade in Maryland – secretly embedded a complex hexadecimal code in their new logo. Cybercom head Lt Gen Keith Alexander then challenged the world’s amateur analysts to crack it (it took them three hours). And in September this year, GCHQ launched the “Can You Find It?” initiative– a series of cryptic codes designed to root out the best British cryptographers. As GCHQ’s head of resourcing Jane Jones said at the time, “It’s a puzzle but it’s also a serious test – the jobs on offer here are vital to protecting national security.”
It could be a recruitment tool, but I like Reddit user Glizzard’s take. In the same thread, user Mirus provides helpful links to understand the past of Cicada 3301:
The discussion over at MetaFilter is concerned more about ski resorts than the mystery at large.
Will you solve the Cicada 3301 puzzle in 2014?
Like this: Like Loading...BY MELISSA RUGGIERI/AJC Music Scene
(This post was originally filed at 2:59 a.m. May 1, 2017)
Col. Bruce appeared immersed in the music during his first stage appearance. Photo: Melissa Ruggieri/AJC
Hours after a star-studded birthday celebration at the Fox Theatre Monday night, Col. Bruce Hampton passed away.
Atlanta’s “Granddaddy of the Jam Scene” turned 70 on April 30 and performed at the “Hampton 70” gathering in his honor.
During the show’s encore of “Turn on Your Lovelight,” Hampton collapsed onstage. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died. No other details are available at this time.
Around 7:50 p.m., Hampton opened the sold-out concert to celebrate his birthday milestone and appeared locked in a groove with his backing band as he sang with his eyes closed and his knee bouncing to the beat.
During the four-hour show, musicians who came to honor his legacy – which included the avant-garde Hampton Grease Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit and The Codetalkers – included Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, John Popper, Oliver Wood, Dave Schools, Chuck Leavell, guitar prodigy Brandon Niederauer and many other rock and jam band luminaries.
Just before 3 a.m., Trucks and Tedeschi posted a notice on their Facebook page from Hampton’s family, confirming his death.
https://www.facebook.com/DerekAndSusan/posts/10155291052483493:0
Hampton, born in Knoxville, Tenn., enjoyed a varied career that ranged from his progressive jazz-rock leanings to appearing in a 2014 video for “Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1” with rap act Run the Jewels.
Hampton was also the subject of a documentary, “Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret.,” that premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in March 2012.
Earlier this year, AJC freelancer Jon Waterhouse wrote an in-depth profile of Hampton that focused on his weekly residency at the Vista Room in Oak Grove.
In the story, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ frontman Kevn Kinney refers to Hampton as “a legend.”
“People don’t understand how far back he goes,” Kinney said. “He’s just the ultimate showman. He’s our P.T. Barnum. You never know when he’s going to pop out of the jack in the box.”The official website of the Dragon Ball Super television anime series revealed on Monday that the series will begin a "Future Trunks Arc" on June 12. Original creator Akira Toriyama is plotting the story and designing the new characters for the arc, including Future Trunks' design (below).
The new arc follows the conclusion of the "God of Destruction Champa" arc. After the end of the fight between universes six and seven, Goku and friends encounter Future Trunks once more. The website asks, "Why has Future Trunks returned to the present again after defeating Cell and attaining peace?" and "Who will be the future's new enemy?"
Toriyama teased in a comment that the new enemy will be called "Goku Black." He also teased that the arc will involve both the Gods of Destruction and the Supreme Kai.
Dragon Ball Super premiered in Japan on July 5 on Fuji TV and other channels. The series is the first new Dragon Ball television series since Dragon Ball GT, which aired from 1996 to 1997.
Akira Toriyama is credited as the original creator, as well as for "original story & character concepts." Toei Animation's Kimitoshi Chioka (Hakaba Kitarō, Kamisama Kazoku) is the series director, and Naoko Sagawa (Yomiko Advertising, Inc.) and Atsushi Kido (Toei Animation) join Osamu Nozaki as producers. Kido entered Toei just as the company was animating the Dragon Ball Z anime's Frieza arc.
Voice actress Mami Koyama's official website revealed last month that she will play the Dr. Slump character Arale in the Dragon Ball Super episode airing on Fuji TV on May 15.
Toonami Asia announced in November that it will show the "English-language world premiere" of Dragon Ball Super in Southeast Asia and India in mid-2016.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan WebIt is not often you wake up in the morning and within a near instant get jolted back 23 years. It seemed such a normal Friday morning too. Snowy, our border collie, arriving with the schedule of an Olympic athlete to make sure I didn’t stay in bed one minute past 7am.
A minute or two later I checked the emails on my phone, and it was there, from an unlikely sender, that I first heard the news that the Chinese women who stunned the athletics world back in 1993 were part of a state-sponsored doping programme. Would this finally confirm the many doubts and questions that were always at the back of my mind?
So I did what I normally do – gathered the necessary dog-walking tools, and headed straight out the door. It felt a little like a Roy Keane moment, just me and the dog out for a walk. So much had changed overnight but in reality nothing had changed in my life.
We walked and walked and I reflected on all those years ago. It was a different time back in 1993; no internet, no social media, barely a mobile phone. Race results were in the newspapers or on the teletext.
After finishing fourth at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, I was attacking the new season with renewed energy, confidence and belief.
My first 3,000m of the season was against the Olympic champion, and I won, clocking a new personal best of 8:32. Then I ran 4:03 for 1,500m at the Europa Cup. It was early season and some people were wondering was I running too fast, too soon. Only I knew there was more to come.
Out of nowhere
In Oslo, at the Bislett Games, I ran 8:28 over 3,000m, the fastest time since the 1988 Olympics. The next day news came that Chinese women had just run 8:27, out of nowhere, and this certainly shocked the athletics world.
Who were these athletes, and would they turn up a few weeks at the World Championships in Stuttgart? The prospect of facing someone you have never seen or raced against throws up a lot of uncertainty; how you approach that race, what tactics to employ.
So when we arrived in Stuttgart all the talk was about the Chinese athletes. They were staying across from the Irish block, and every morning headed off running in formation, dressed in full tracksuits, arms straight down by their sides, as if carrying a shopping bag in each arm. This was totally alien to the athletics world, where everyone tries to express their individuality. Only this Chinese team ran as one, ate as one, kept everything to themselves.
Second Captains
I tried hard not to get distracted, but it was impossible not to get involved in the scarcely credible reports coming back from the training track. All athletes are tapering in the days leading up to a major championship, which means easy running, a few fast strides, just to keep the engine ticking over ahead of the most important race of the year.
But the Chinese athletes were at the track everyday banging out 400m regular repeats at race pace. Even the day after they ran away with the 10,000m they were back on the track, clocking up fast times.
Wear themselves out
My only hope was that they would wear themselves out with all the training, but this wasn’t to be. In the 3,000m, I knew they were likely to take off with 700m to go, the spot where Ma Junren, their coach, sat in the crowd.
This happened in the 10,000m, when they looked up for the signal to literally take off. But I got a little stuck behind at that point and missed the break for home.
I kept chasing to no avail. The first two athletes kept looking behind for the third, and managed to get her to hang on for the clean sweep. It was a wipe out. I didn’t want to believe this could happen, fourth again. Only this time it wasn’t the same. I had to put it behind me, focus on the 1,500m, one more chance on the world stage.
Hassiba Boulmerka from Algeria, the Olympic champion, was also in the race but it was the Chinese who had the upper hand. I needed to get some reward for my year of hard work, and it can only have been pure determination and belief that got me across the line to claim the silver medal.
I had no race plan; just get a medal. There was a tussle with 200m to go for the minor medals, because by then Liu Dong was clear. All I could hope for was to be the best of the rest. The silver was some consolation, but still the questions were there: everyone wanted to know if what the Chinese had done was possible.
Instead they simply disappeared back to China with their shiny gold medals and brand new Mercedes Benz cars. Their next stop was the Chinese national games, where they completely rewrote the record books. The goalposts had been moved again, just when I thought I was getting close. I went back on the European track circuit, continuing to dominate the rest of the world, but the questions still remained: how could I compete with these athletes from China the next time we met?
Never angry
I was never angry, and still don’t feel anger at what was allowed to take place at those World Championships in 1993. There was always a sense of curiosity, that maybe it was possible for women to run so fast and so dominantly.
I know I stepped up a level again in 1994 and 1995, showed no fear, just took control of every race. But still, I was a long way off the Chinese times. So something wasn’t right, and the question of what they got away with, and how they got away with it, was always there.
So now it’s more a sense of relief that the truth has finally seeped out. Even if it’s not conclusive, I don’t believe this is something that should be buried in the sand of the IAAF offices in Monte Carlo.
Too many athletes were affected, too many sports fans left devastated, and I would be confident this will be resolved in time.
Full admission
After 23 years I can wait for the full admission and confirmation. I don’t want a package with two gold medals. That wouldn’t change a thing. I just want to know that in 1993 I did everything I could to be the best I could be, to be the best in the world.
It’s also about knowing that the governance of the sport, which was beyond my control, was compromised, was blind to the truth, and that the IAAF accepted what almost everyone else never accepted.
If there is to be a new era for the IAAF, under Seb Coe, that also means obvious irregularities such as the Chinese women should be more thoroughly investigated, beyond the random doping controls. It’s not too late for that now.June 12, 2013 at 5:51 AM
A man was shot in North Seattle early this morning when he apparently refused to hand over marijuana he had, according to police.
The victim, 45, met three other men for a drug deal near North 92nd Street and Woodlawn Avenue North about 1 a.m. One of those men demanded that the victim give him the marijuana. When he didn’t, a gun was pulled and the victim was shot in the chest and arm, police said.
The shooter and the two other men took off. Police are looking for them. The victim drove himself to the hospital. His wounds were not life-threatening.
Police are asking anyone with information about what happened or know the people involved in the incident to call 911 or the Seattle Police Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535. Anonymous tips are welcome.Right on schedule, the New York Times has published a 7,500-word account of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack that all but ignores Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's role and quotes a terrorist saying a supposedly anti-Islam video insulting the Prophet Muhammad "might well have justified" the killing of four Americans.
With their hero, President Obama, flagging badly and in jeopardy of becoming a lame duck even before the mid-term congressional elections, the piece states that "months of investigation by The New York Times, centered on extensive interviews with Libyans in Benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack there and its context, turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.”
The Times also concludes that "contrary to claims by some members of Congress, [the attack] was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam."
To be clear, the Times couldn't care less about the Sept. 11 attack, when heavily armed terrorists poured over fences into the Libyan consulate, setting the building ablaze and killing the ambassador. The paper has done virtually no investigative work to uncover exactly what happened that night.
And rather than setting the record straight, the lengthy piece finds that the "reality in Benghazi" was "murkier" than once thought.
Still, reporter David Kirkpatrick declares in one sweeping statement that "Anger at the video motivated the initial attack." And this: "There is no doubt that anger over the video motivated many attackers."
To refresh your memory, that video, "Innocence of Muslims," was posted on YouTube in July 2012. Vanity Fair said the 13-minute video was "clearly designed to offend Muslims, portraying Mohammed as a bloodthirsty murderer and Lothario and pedophile with omnidirectional sexual appetites."
The claim that the video caused the attack was put forward in Sunday talk shows by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who also said attackers gathered "spontaneously." In the days and weeks after the attack, the White House, State Department and even President Obama distanced themselves from that claim, saying that it was preliminary information that, for some reason, they blurted out before confirming.
Remember, too, that Hillary Clinton would not be questioned for months and months about the attack. First she was too busy, then State said she suffered some sort of medical condition and had fallen, hitting her head.
When she finally did appear before congressional overseers, she grew progressively angry at the questioning. Eventually, she spat out: "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they’d they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."
Most amazing about the Times piece is that Clinton does not appear -- not once, not even in the section titled "Aftermath." She is simply missing, but not in an AWOL way, only in a "it-can't-have-been-my-fault-I-wasn't-involved" way.
The report came up on the Sunday talk shows.
“I find the timing odd,” Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I find it interesting that there is this roll-out of stories” on Benghazi.
Even a Democratic lawmaker questioned the Times report.
“They didn’t have the same access to people who were not aware that they were being listened to,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat and a member of the House Intelligence Committee. The paper, he said, was “heavily reliant, obviously, on people they interviewed who had reason to provide the story that they did.”Since Playtonic’s official “coming out” last week, there’s been a brass band-load of speculation around who will weave musical fabric for our debut game – and pretty much all of it was accurate.
To be fair, that’s mostly thanks to our own relentless teasing on social media (oh, we do love a tease), which in particular caused the messiah-like Twitter status of a certain former-Rare composer to come crashing down on our doors, like a violent mob demanding steel drum melodies and catchy A cappella tunes.
But you can put down your shovels now, because today we can officially confirm that one Grant Kirkhope, legendary composer of Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata and more, has agreed to make music for our first game. And what’s more, he’s agreed to do it for a regular wage of Yorkshire Teabags, which we’ll ship directly to his bleak, Tetley-free sound suite in rainy California (we may have hidden this detail in the small print).
But wait, there’s more! As charitable types, we don’t like to see any of our former noise makers go without work, and so we’ve managed to convince David Wise, equally legendary composer of 20-years-worth of Rare games including the Donkey Kong Country series, to contribute tunage to our first game. And all for a bumper box of Werther’s Originals.
Pulling it all together is the esteemed sound man Steve Burke, best known for his magical score for Kameo: Elements of Power and all manner of sound effects, voices and fart noises for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts ‘n Bolts. Sadly, Steve insists on being paid in real currency.
Phew. How’s that for an announcement? For all you Tweeters, you can follow Playtonic’s music men at @grantkirkhope, @ David_Wise and @SteveBurkeMusic. Tell ‘em we sent you, but don’t mention the minimum wage.44 arrested in massive Federal corruption sweep July 23, 2009
Posted by jefhenningeresq in News Tags: Bribery
Today is a huge day for politics, New Jersey and criminal justice. 44 people have been arrested by Federal Authorities on charges of political corruption and money laundering. This does not seem to be a small time case either. All stories indicate that this is a high-volume case that may likely expand beyond the 44 people that have been charged. In other words, it could be one of the most serious public corruption cases in New Jersey’s history.
The case started as a bank fraud case against a member of the Syrian Jewish community in Deal, N.J. That man became a federal informant and posed as a crooked real estate developer offering cash bribes to obtain government approvals and in the end, it apparently ensnared a lot of people.
Just some of the people arrested include:
— Peter Cammarano III, the newly elected mayor of Hoboken and an attorney, charged with
accepting $25,000 in cash bribes, including $10,000 last Thursday, from an undercover
cooperating witness.
— L. Harvey Smith, a New Jersey Assemblyman and recent mayoral candidate in Jersey City, charged along with an aide of taking $15,000 in bribes to help get approvals from high-level state agency officials for building projects.
— Daniel Van Pelt, a New Jersey Assemblyman, charged with accepting a $10,000 bribe.
— Dennis Elwell, mayor of Secaucus, charged with taking a $10,000 cash bribe.
— Anthony Suarez, mayor of Ridgefield and an attorney, charged with agreeing to accept a $10,000 corrupt cash payment for his legal defense fund.
— Louis Manzo, the recent unsuccessful challenger in the Jersey City mayoral election and former state Assemblyman, and his brother and political advisor Robert Manzo, both with taking $27,500 in corrupt cash payments for use in Louis Manzo’s campaign.
— Leona Beldini, the Jersey City deputy mayor and a campaign treasurer, charged with taking $20,000 in conduit campaign contributions and other self-dealing in her official capacity.
— Eliahu Ben Haim, of Long Branch, N.J., the principal rabbi of a synagogue in Deal, N.J., charged with money laundering of proceeds derived from criminal activity.
— Saul Kassin, of Brooklyn, N.Y., the chief rabbi of a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York, charged with money laundering of proceeds derived from criminal activity.
— Edmund Nahum, of Deal, N.J., the principal rabbi of a synagogue in Deal, charged with money laundering of proceeds derived from criminal activity.
While not yet arrested, Federal authorities also searched the office and home of Joseph Doria who is the commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. Doria previously served a the Democratic mayor of Bayonne for nine years and represented Hudson County in the State Senate.
This case is going to create a lot of work for many lawyers in New Jersey. These defendants have to make sure that these lawyers 1) know what they are doing, 2) have a plan and 3) have the time and ability to make it happen. Of course, the clients just need one thing: money as it is going to take a lot of it to dig them out from the whole that they are in.
A lawyer really needs to put life on hold (including weekends) at the moment and dig into this case right away. You need to determine if your client has any real exposure here. Then, you need to determine if any of these 44 people can flip on your guy. If so, its a race |
between Russia and the West has become more entrenched. A median of just a quarter of NATO publics now say they have a favorable view of Russia. Meanwhile, only 12% of Russians give NATO a positive rating. And Russians’ favorable views of the U.S. and the European Union have plummeted by more than 30 percentage points since 2013, before the beginning of the crisis. Half of Russians say NATO is a major military threat to their nation. And Russians overwhelmingly oppose Ukraine becoming a member of either NATO (83% oppose) or the EU (68%).
At the same time, President Vladimir Putin’s image at home continues to improve amid the conflict. Overwhelming majorities in Russia approve of Putin’s performance on a range of domestic and international issues. This support holds despite the fact that Russians are less happy about the country’s current economic situation than in 2014 and are now more likely to say that Putin’s actions in Ukraine are tarnishing Russia’s image worldwide. Russian nationalism is also at an all-time high – 63% have a very favorable image of their own country, up 34 percentage points since 2013 and up 12 points in just the past 12 months. In addition, 69% of Russians say it is a bad thing that the Soviet Union dissolved, and 61% agree that parts of other countries really belong to Russia.
Meanwhile in Ukraine, the security situation on the ground posed a serious challenge to safely surveying the public. Pew Research Center was, however, able to interview in all regions of the country except Luhans’k, Donets’k and Crimea. The areas covered by the survey represent roughly 80% of the Ukrainian population. Among those surveyed, a majority of Ukrainians (67%) support becoming a member of the EU. They also favor joining NATO by a 53%-to-32% margin. At the same time, a plurality (47%) expresses support for negotiating with the rebels and Russia. Roughly a quarter (23%) says using military force to fight the separatists is the best way to end the conflict in the east, and another 19% volunteer either both or neither.
National differences in the preferred outcome for negotiations may continue to complicate reaching a settlement. While most Ukrainians outside of Donbas and Crimea say Luhans’k and Donets’k should remain part of Ukraine, either on the same terms with the national government as before (51%) or with increased regional autonomy (33%), a majority of Russians believe these two oblasts should secede, becoming either independent states (35%) or part of Russia (24%).
These are the key findings of a Pew Research Center survey of 11,116 respondents in eight NATO member countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Russia and Ukraine. The survey was conducted from April 6 to May 15, 2015.
Surveying Ukraine in 2015: Security Conditions Limit Access to Eastern Regions In 2014, Pew Research Center surveyed Ukraine from April 5 to April 23, coming out of the field just days before violence began in Odesa and other cities in the east. While the increasingly tense atmosphere in spring 2014 presented some obstacles, the survey included the oblasts of Luhans’k and Donets’k (also referred to as the Donbas region), as well as Crimea. This year, however, security conditions in the Donbas region deteriorated to the point where it was unsafe to conduct face-to-face interviews, especially on the topics covered in this poll. In addition, the survey was too politically sensitive to conduct in Crimea. For these reasons, Luhans’k, Donets’k and Crimea are not included in the 2015 survey of Ukraine. The map below illustrates which areas surveyed in 2014 were not able to be surveyed this year, as well as the west-east regional divide used throughout the report for analysis. Excluding the Donbas region and Crimea can have an effect on the national results, particularly on topics related to Russia and the crisis. To assess this impact, we analyzed the 2014 survey with and without Luhans’k, Donets’k and Crimea in the sample. The findings show that, in general, when the Donbas region and Crimea are included, the national results are more favorable toward Russia, less favorable toward Western countries, and more supportive of secession. The variations on these topics were in the range of 5 to 12 percentage points. Despite these exclusions, the 2015 survey still covers a significant portion of the eastern population and was designed to be able to capture the variety of attitudes within the eastern region. The survey also continues to reveal deep divides between Ukraine’s west and east in attitudes about Russia, Western countries and the crisis, similar to last year. To make it possible to compare 2015 results to those from 2014, in this report we show the 2014 national data excluding the Donbas region and Crimea. This is to ensure that any change reported between 2014 and 2015 in Ukraine is based on comparable populations. Therefore, results for the 2014 survey reported here may differ somewhat from results published at the time, which were based on a survey including Luhans’k, Donets’k and Crimea. For more on the full methods for the survey, see here. For a discussion of the survey sampling design, see here.
NATO Publics Back Economic Aid to Ukraine, but Oppose Sending Arms
NATO publics broadly support sending Ukraine economic aid to address the current crisis. And, with the exception of Germany and Italy, majorities say Ukraine should become a member of the alliance.
However, other measures to address the crisis receive much weaker support among these allies, or at the least are more divisive. Roughly half or more of Germans (54% oppose), French (53%) and Italians (47%) oppose allowing Ukraine to join the EU, while the Spanish (65% support), Poles (60%), and British (53%) support the idea.
Few believe NATO should send military assistance to the Ukrainian government. Support for this measure is particularly low among Germans (19%), Italians (22%) and Spanish (25%). And, with the exception of Poles, three-in-ten or fewer want to increase sanctions on Russia. Still, most publics want to keep sanctions at their current level (median of 49%), rather than decrease them (15%).
Among Ukrainians living outside Donbas and Crimea, majorities support receiving economic aid from Western countries (71%), joining the EU (67%) and increasing sanctions on Russia (65%). More than half also want to receive military assistance (54%) and join NATO (53%), though support for these measures is more tepid and regionally divided. Ukrainians in the west are much more supportive than those in the east of becoming a member of NATO (68% in west vs. 34% in east) and receiving military aid (66% support in west vs. 38% in east). Neither western nor eastern Ukrainians, however, want to join the Eurasian Economic Union with Russia (82% and 61% oppose, respectively).
Most Say U.S. Would Defend NATO against Russia
Most NATO publics surveyed are reluctant to live up to the promise in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty that member countries will assist allies who are attacked, including with armed force. Roughly half or fewer in six of the eight countries surveyed say their country should use military force if Russia gets into a serious conflict with a neighboring country that is a NATO ally, including just 40% in Italy and 38% in Germany. Only in the U.S. (56%) and Canada (53%) do more than half say their nation should use military action in such a situation.
Contrary to their attitudes about what their own country should do, widespread majorities of most NATO publics believe the U.S. would use military force to defend a fellow NATO country. Poles stand out as less certain that the U.S. would come to an ally’s aid (49% would, 31% would not).
Americans and Germans Disagree over Best Course
U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have made considerable efforts to downplay any disagreements they have over how to address the Ukrainian crisis. But it is clear their respective publics hold different views. Roughly six-in-ten Americans (62%) believe Ukraine should become a member of NATO and just under half (46%) support sending military assistance to the Ukrainian government. Few Americans (10%) think sanctions on Russia should be decreased. And a majority of Americans (56%) believe the U.S. should use military force to defend a NATO ally. Among Americans, Republicans are much more supportive than Democrats of allowing Ukraine to join NATO as well as sending military aid to the Ukrainian government.
Meanwhile, just 19% of Germans support sending arms to Ukraine and roughly four-in-ten or fewer believe Ukraine should join either the EU (41%) or NATO (36%). Germans (29%) are the most likely among allied nations to say that sanctions on Russia should be decreased. And only 38% of Germans say their country should use military force to protect a NATO ally if attacked by Russia. Within the country, western Germans are more favorable of NATO and using military force to defend an ally than eastern.
However, the two nations are more in agreement on economic aid – substantial majorities in both Germany (71%) and the U.S. (62%) support sending monetary assistance to Ukraine.
Poles Concerned about Russia, Want Action from NATO
Poles are more concerned about Russia’s role in the current crisis than other NATO publics. Seven-in-ten Poles say Russia is a major threat to neighboring countries, compared with a median of 49% of the other seven allied countries surveyed. Similarly, Poles are more likely to blame Russia for the crisis and to have an unfavorable view of the former Cold War power than their NATO counterparts.
Perhaps because of this anxiety about Russia’s intentions, nearly half of Poles (49%) would increase economic sanctions on Moscow. Only a median of 25% in the other countries say the same. And 50% back sending arms to Kyiv (Kiev), while just 40% of other NATO member publics agree.
Increasing Animosity between Russia and the West
NATO publics generally hold Russia in very low esteem: Less than a third in any country give it a positive review, including just 15% in Poland and 18% in the UK. Pluralities in every NATO country except Germany and Italy blame Russia for the violence in eastern Ukraine, including a majority of Poles (57%) and four-in-ten or more in France (44%), the U.S. (42%) and the UK (40%). And roughly half or more in most allied nations believe that Russia is a major military threat to its neighboring countries besides Ukraine. This includes 70% in Poland and 59% in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Russians have soured considerably on major Western powers in just the past few years. Favorable views of the U.S., Germany, the EU and NATO have dropped by 25 percentage points or more since 2011. Half of Russians blame Western countries for the crisis in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian government (26%) a distant second. Russians also say Western sanctions (33%), along with falling oil prices (33%), rather than their government’s economic policies (25%), are responsible for the country’s current economic woes. And 50% of Russians think NATO is a major military threat to their country; another 31% say it is a minor threat while just 10% believe it is not a threat at all.
Russians Rally around the Flag – and Putin
National pride has reached new heights in Russia. The percentage of Russians who say they have a very favorable image of their own country has continued to climb, from 29% in 2013, to 51% in 2014, to 63% today – the highest it has been in Pew Research Center polling since first asked in 2007. Roughly seven-in-ten (69%) also say it is a bad thing that the Soviet Union dissolved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is faring well with his public during this crisis. Despite the fact that 73% of Russians are now unhappy with their country’s economy, seven-in-ten approve of Putin’s performance on the economy. And even though a plurality (37%) believes Putin’s handling of the crisis in Ukraine has damaged Russia’s international image, nearly nine-in-ten (88%) express confidence in him to do the right thing in international affairs – including 66% who say they have a lot of confidence.
Ukrainians Ready to Negotiate with Russia, but Little Common Ground
A plurality of Ukrainians (47%) living outside of the Donbas region and Crimea say the best way to resolve the conflict in the east is to negotiate a settlement with the rebels and Russia. Roughly a quarter (23%) would prefer to use military force to fight the separatists, and 19% volunteer both or neither. Eastern Ukrainians are more supportive of negotiations than those in the west (56% vs. 40%), though this is still the most common answer in each region. Among eastern Ukrainians, those who live closest to the conflict areas – the bordering oblasts of Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovs’k and Zaporizhzhya – are the most eager for a settlement (65%).
However, negotiations may be difficult, as they have proved to be so far, because of the large divide between Ukrainians and Russians over the future of the Donbas region. As was true in 2014, an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians would prefer Ukraine to remain one country (85%) rather than allow regions to secede (10%). Both western and eastern Ukrainians support unity (91% and 77%, respectively).
There is somewhat more disagreement among Ukrainians over the exact terms under which the oblasts of Luhans’k and Donets’k should remain part of Ukraine. Roughly half (51%) say these oblasts should have the same level of autonomy from the central government as they did before the crisis, while 33% say they should have greater regional authority. Western Ukrainians are more supportive of reverting back to the situation before the crisis (61%) than granting increased autonomy to the regions (27%). Eastern Ukrainians are divided – 37% say they prefer the previous status quo while 41% support more independence. Residents of the border oblasts are more supportive of greater autonomy (45%) than others in the east. Regardless of these regional divides, there is very little support in Ukraine for Luhans’k and Donets’k becoming either independent states (4%) or joining Russia (2%).
Russians, however, disagree. Just about a third says Donbas should stay part of Ukraine – either on the same terms as before (11%) or with greater autonomy (21%). A majority (59%) believes they should secede, including 35% who say they should become independent states and 24% who think they should become part of Russia.Add former Bush press flack and lifelong Republican Scott McClellan to the long list of unlikely Obama endorsements.
WaPo:
Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, who angered many Republicans earlier this year with a memoir criticizing President Bush, said today that he's voting for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
McClellan told CNN that Obama's message "is very similar to the one that Governor Bush ran on in 2000," apparently referring to the current president's early pitch as a reformer and a moderate.
"From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama," McClellan said during the interview, which was taped for the Saturday broadcast of a new CNN show, "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News."Life is cyclical. Things are born, thrive, wear out, and then die.
And then they begin again.
Mostly we think of this in terms of fashion trends and perhaps, for some, geologic shifts. But on some level we seem to believe that society as a whole is on a continual track forward, and that this track can only go forward.
For the majority of history our food had been restrained mostly to local farmers, and the label of “Import” had intonations of luxury, delicacy and exoticism. But near the end of the late 19th century the practice of food processing came about. The Industrial Revolution had changed the world and with it came a huge change in the way that food was distributed. By the 1920’s and the invention of frozen foods, processed food began to dominate the market. This was the new world. Modern, efficient, a step forward for society.
Now, fast forward 150 years. Our vegetables are from Mexico, our seafood is from China, much of our meat comes from Canada while we export our own meat to other counties. The Import label has taken on a new meaning as the quality of food has decreased and as Americans lose their connection to where the food they buy actually comes from. The physical distance has created a mental distance as well, as we became more inclined to buy pre-made meals, we lose awareness of what our food really is, at its raw level.
A perfect example of this distance can be shown from an old episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, in which he asked a group of school children to identify vegetables that he brought in. The children in the class were unable to name even one of them; they knew what a french fry was, but not a potato.
We have reached a dangerous peak in this trend, culminating in jumbo sized coffins. But we have also begun to see it grow old, and in its place sprout the seeds of a new (or better yet, old) thought process.
Local.
In an interesting turn, local has begun to replace the prestigious label of import in the food industry. After having gorged ourselves on all things cheap and easy, we are beginning to recognize the limitations of this way of life, and move backwards. Backwards into an age of small, local farms that produce food which is sold within a limited area from where it is grown.
Sacramento is a perfect example of this trend, as it is surrounded by vast farmlands. While much of this land still operates on a corporate, exporting level, there has been an emergence of small farms which specialize in supplying the market with local alternatives.
A woman in Yolo county raises free range chickens and sells them at the local farmers markets.
A family in Woodland who raise pigs are beginning to sell their pork to local restaurants as well, while some local chicken farmers are selling directly to large companies such as Foster Farms.
More and more, we are seeing food being grown for the needs of specific local consumers. A wonderful example of this is Feeding Crane Farms, which specializes in “grow to order” organic produce. Chefs are able to visit the farm, and specify exactly what they need.
“The advantage is that it’s in the ground until you need it, and they pick it, wash it off and drive it down to you,” says Managing Partner Jacqueline Barton of Michelangelo’s Italian Art Restaurant. “Our customers are able to get super-fresh local produce.”
While these efforts may seem miniscule considering the vast monopoly that commercial factory farming has on the food industry, there is one important thing to remember. These efforts are endued with the status of quality over quantity. They are recognized as being a more desirable, higher end product. And with time, this small seed, given the proper environment, may just sprout and grow into a new world view.Eben Moglen of the Software Freedom Law Center recently gave the keynote address at the LibrePlanet conference hosted by the Free Software Foundation. He speaks about the current state of Free Software, what some of the challenges will be going forward, and what is needed for stage 2, as he thinks of it. In the course of his speech, he also speaks about patents, Microsoft, the growing value of patent pools to protect the community's interests, and about Oracle and MySQL, and why the community needs corporate allies, suggesting a more nuanced and strategic view of who are the community's allies and why: We need to think about the grand strategy of our continued forceful campaigning for free as in freedom. But we also need to be extremely aware of the extent to which we can now capitalize upon the achievements we have already set up and the alliances with forces not necessarily concerned with freedom that our technological sophistication has brought to them. He calls them friends in unexpected places, and he discusses strategic possibilities, particularly with respects to dealing with Microsoft and the noxious patent system. We will need these allies, he says, that we are gaining, and here's why: Microsoft will continue to attempt to get paid for what we do, by forcing people -- or quasi-forcing people through intimidatory conduct -- to take patent licenses to run our software....If we are to quell this nuisance we can only do so in cooperation with others who see clearly that this is a threat to the welfare of their customers.... We try to know what is going on, and we try and respond to it as effectively as we can, and we try to build coalitions with industrial parties outside the limits of the free world, narrowly construed, in order to protect the free world's interests. He ends talking about privacy, and he sees a need to provide federated services and a free, compelling replacement for Facebook and then explain to people why they need such replacements. A member of Groklaw, brooker, has done an unofficial transcript of the video. Enjoy! There are a few places where the audio was unclear, and we've left those without guessing. But if your ears are better than ours, and you can decipher the words, please let me know. We aim for perfection, while recognizing our limitations.
******************************* Keynote Address by Eben Moglen, SFLC, at LibrePlanet 2010, delivered on July 31, 2010
[The first several seconds of the video consist of Eben Moglen saying thank you's, greetings and acknowledging old friends, with a statement that "It's good to be home."] 0:30
The state of Free Software -- a subject I've had occasion to talk about from time to time and in places like Cambridge -- is the subject this afternoon, and I'm pleased to be able to say that the state of Free Software is now unprecedentedly strong. We are, in my judgment, past the point of inflection, in a journey we have all been taking now for longer than I care to think about. We have become indispensable. That was our goal from the beginning, to be indispensable. The purpose of being indispensable is to make freedom inexpungible, and I think we are now at the point where we can say that in practical terms that all that's been achieved. It is really no longer possible to do Information Technology in the global environment and on large scale without us. 1:41
It is not feasible because the goal of software engineering, when Richard and John and I and lots of other young people started fooling around with computers a quarter of a century or more ago, the purpose of software engineering was described in a single phrase: "Write once, run everywhere." That was the goal. That was the objective of software engineering as a discipline in our youth, and up until this point, nobody has achieved it except us. We have achieved it. It took us really a remarkably short time to achieve that goal in view of the fact that everybody thought we either didn't exist at all or couldn't possibly be for real. [laughter] But now, the only place you can go -- if what you want to do is write code that will run on everything from the smallest device you can carry in your pocket to the largest cluster of devices you can use -- the only place you can go, if you want to achieve that "write once, run everywhere" across all the orders of magnitude in scale that digital computation now embraces, the only place you can go is to us. We provide the one place where everybody can look for the ability to get something up that works -- not just works a little bit, but works with extraordinary solidity, reliability and effectiveness; not just works with extraordinary solidity, reliability and effectiveness, but does so at unit cost zero, if you are a sophisticated engineer. 3:39
The ability to run everywhere, in everything, reliably, dependably, with high quality code at unit price zero is not an achievable goal for the richest, most deeply funded monopoly in the history of the world, which is still, fundamentally not even trying [laughter] and which has just announced a "back to the drawing board" complete reset of the software it intends to use on mobile devices -- which means an essential return to "let's go back to scratch and start again" -- the consequence of which is not going to be "write once, run everywhere." We are, in other words, now the technology leadership at what was seen a generation ago as the hardest possible problem in computer technology. We are also free, as in freedom. [loud applause] 4:50
What this means is that a social and political idea which, without Richard, would have perished is now directly tied to technology that nobody can do without, if they are seriously attempting to build things for 21st Century use. 5:10
Freedom will from here out be endangered. Freedom will be attacked, freedom will be undermined, freedom will be evaded in various ways -- some of them clever some of them stupid [laughter] -- but from here on out, the relationship between technological sophistication, agility, reliability, adaptability and low cost, means that freedom has acquired an extraordinary set of unintentional allies. They may not care about freedom at all, but they no longer have a choice but to further freedom's interests. This represents, as I said, the point of inflection in our long campaign. Now, we begin to defend the achievement. Now we begin to play downhill against parties who have the harder sell in attempting unfree. Now we begin to become the default choice. And the process of limiting freedom becomes the problem of how to not choose the thing which works really well everywhere, and is extremely cheap, reliable, and simple and [unclear]. 6:38
That's an extraordinary change in circumstances, and we deserve a moment in which to contemplate how far that place is from Richard's original starting point. We need to recognize the nature of the communal achievement. That should both give us confidence and energize us for the nature of the challenges that remain, which are serious in every respect. We need to talk about the nature of those challenges. We need to think about the grand strategy of our continued forceful campaigning for free as in freedom. But we also need to be extremely aware of the extent to which we can now capitalize upon the achievements we have already set up and the alliances with forces not necessarily concerned with freedom that our technological sophistication has brought to them. 7:46
To begin with that, it is entirely clear, as Richard suggested for the better part of a decade and a half before most people started to believe it, it is entirely clear that the patent system's relationship to software technology is pathological, dangerous, and potentially fraught with opportunities to defeat us and our goals. When Richard began to say this about the patent system in relation to software, the parties who have lots of patents that read on software technology did not believe. Some were polite, some were overtly dismissive, and some refused even to get into dialogue with people who were so foolish as to believe that the patent system was not only dangerous to freedom, but crushing innovation in software. 8:50
That is no longer true. Many parties continue to regard their own patents as given to them by God [laughter] as a force for virtue. [laughter] But soon the parties who take this position with respect for their own patents, have largely come to regard everybody else's patents as the work of the devil. [laughter] They experience continuous difficulty in achieving obviously socially positive goals, as well as their own home-based concern, which is the making of money and the keeping of the money that they make. They experience constant difficulty in relation to everything they want to do, caused by bad patents given to other people by the devil. [laughter] 9:44
The difficulty in sorting out, therefore, the good patents they possess, given to them by God, from the bad patents that everybody else possesses, given by the devil to everybody else has become a task for which they recognize that they are not precisely suited. [laughter] Even if, as sometimes happens, they are enabled by the ordinary routine of rotation in office to possess the job at the top of the patent office, this still does not end their need for some relief from the pathological behavior of the patent system, as it affects them through the patents given by the devil to everybody else. 10:27
They now begin to use substantial amounts of resource -- more money than we, collectively, will ever possess put together throughout our entire lives -- much political influence we do not yet directly possess, a great deal of industrial diplomacy, and a good deal of lawyering, for which I have at least the admiration that there is lots and lots of it, and sometimes it's very good. They now put all of that in the center of the table in order to defend...well...OUR software from its patent attack, primarily by a party which used to make a heap of money, allegedly making software, and which is now absolutely determined to get paid lots and lots for software it does not make, because the software it DOES make is no longer very good. 11:34
But it is not merely a question of what happens as Microsoft goes through the spiral of failure in which it is now caught. It is also the extent to which the trolls and the other parties placed on the battlefield by this incautious desire to get a lot of patents, only to discover that everybody else's patents are what the whalers used to call loose second lines. You remember in Moby Dick -- you throw harpoons at the whale and some of them miss, and then men in the water attached to lines zipping around, taking a guy's leg or arm or head off, because they're now simply unintended consequences of the physics you were attempting to use to kill your whale. The patent system is now full of loose second lines, whizzing around, and being sold to people whose sole usage of them is the making of trouble, the causing of bad consequences. There is much more going on than is publicly known, because, by and large, when large wealthy organizations get bitten by patent trolls or by rent-seeking, failing monopolists, they don't go to the newspapers and talk about them, they don't post on Slashdot. They pay for peace and quiet, and they try and keep it peaceful and quiet. And it becomes very difficult to get anybody to confirm being mugged. But I will tell you that in private they discuss it, when they can. And they complain about it bitterly. And the consequences of their unhappiness with other people's patents given to them by the devil, now in the hands of the demons and the trolls, their unhappiness is very intense. Of course, it is difficult to get everybody together in one big patent pool. 13:50
But we already have what Richard and I tried for years to conceptualize ways to bring into existence, namely patent pools to defend some free software projects. Those pools are, from our point of view, inadequate. Their coverage is not broad enough to sustain all of freedom. Their coverage is not even broad enough to sustain all the Free Software of greatest commercial value, *but* their coverage is broadening. 14:25
The nature of the access to the party's claims within those pools may not be operable for us, and we continue constantly to discuss and to negotiate how to make those pools optimally effective in helping us to do what we need to do to protect us from the patent mess. But they are beginning to have significant effect in mitigating the problem in the margins, and they will grow with time and become more significant to us as we become more significant to them. 15:06
It is also true that the misbehavior of patent holders has given us friends in unexpected places. This was clear as early as the negotiations over GPLv3 in 2006 and 2007. When parties who began with the belief that they did not want what FSF wanted for the license, and who were motivated to disagree, sometimes vehemently, about details of the proposals concerning the license, discovered through the duration of the process that the very clients that patent protection we were trying to create, the very forms of resistance to patent misbehavior that we were trying to embed in the license, were becoming increasingly necessary to them. 16:06
GPLv3's appeal to developers has been broad and significant because developers appreciated the benefits of the license as a whole. GPLv3's appeal in quarters where Free Software is now used by rich businesses to make money for themselves has turned out to be much greater than those companies thought the appeal would be, in very substantial part because they recognize the benefit of patent safety that we are providing within the commons established by GPLv3. 16:45
This is, of course, not the same as the adoption of our goals, or even the participation in the movement for freedom, but it means that the environment in which we operate has now got strategic possibilities for us that it didn't used to have. The patent system is still, I think, the nightmare at the front of where we are. If we make a list of the bad things going on, the patent system is directly responsible for, or significantly advances the threats that most concern us. We are also, I regret to say, increasingly aware that in order to quell the various forms of aggression against us in the use of patents, we will need the allies we are gaining. 17:48
Microsoft will continue to attempt to get paid for what we do, by forcing people -- or quasi-forcing people through intimidatory conduct -- to take patent licenses to run our software. In order to quell that nuisance, which is a very serious nuisance, because if parties who want to use our software commercially can't secure freedom zero without paying tribute in Redmond, then they don't get freedom zero. They get something less. 18:29
And they buy that from a party that has no right to interfere with their freedom, but who insists that their freedom is only a privilege in light of what is called intellectual property interests in the propaganda for unfreedom. If we are to quell this nuisance we can only do so in cooperation with others who see clearly that this is a threat to the welfare of their customers. 18:59
The customers we are talking about are the biggest businesses in the world. They make a lot of money. They buy a lot of information technology. They buy that information technology from all the largest suppliers in the world. They buy from IBM, they buy from Hewlett Packard, they buy from Cisco, they buy from Oracle, they buy from Microsoft. There is only one party in that club routinely demanding that they pay to use other people's software. And if we can pull together a coalition about that, we can change the situation. Maybe not completely, but quite drastically. From day to day, from week to week, from month to month, that's a large part of what SFLC needs to do, and does. We try to be a part of that conversation everywhere on earth. We try to know what is going on, and we try and respond to it as effectively as we can, and we try to build coalitions with industrial parties outside the limits of the free world, narrowly construed, in order to protect the free world's interests. That activity will continue for years to come. We also recognize that there are complicated motions afoot within those large IT companies around the world. They have become aware of the free world's activity as contributing to what they think of as the commoditization of everything they don't make. 20:42
The commoditization of everything they don't make is an enormous economic value to all of those IT giants, because their business increasingly in a VERY competitive world, where profit margins on most physical things are very small -- their business is the provision of service, advice, knowledge, how-to-do. And in the business of providing know-how and service to add value to objects and software, the commoditization of everything you don't make, lowers your costs and increases your effectiveness in serving your customers. This has been an enormous advantage to us, because what THEY call commoditization, we call freedom to redistribute. And commoditization has therefore been the word under which business went into securing for us assistance to the furthering of freedoms two and three. 21:52
It's of course, not exactly the commitment to the freedoms, but it's a commitment to the reduction of friction affecting freedoms two and three. It's a commitment to undertaking to make freedoms two and three easier to have and easier to spread. Of course, once you have commoditized successfully most of what you don't make, there is a tendency in all the businesses to sit back and think it's over. You can feel, if you deal with them about free world concerns all the time as I do, you can feel the way in which the particularly intense enthusiasm for the free world's products has begun to end. They know now, exactly what the commoditization of everything they don't make by the free world can do for them, and they're delighted to see it being done, but the manufacturing of innovative strategies has begun to flag. 23:07
Their business model doesn't require them to do more than they have done; it requires them now to keep what they have done rolling in the way that they have learned they can roll. We do face a challenge in managing the process by which their enthusiasm is harnessed. Their engineers remain enthusiastic -- they are us. The business units that deal directly with the engineers who are citizens of the free world remain enthusiastic. The laboratories and the post-laboratory structures which deal with the Free Software manufacturing inside the giants remain stalwart for us. Of course they serve their own business purposes first, but everything that isn't their business purposes is ours. It's beyond that level, where the strategy of corporations is made by software strategists and business executives at the higher end of the org charts, where -- while I think it would be fair, not unduly critical -- to call "taking for granted" is beginning to occur. 24:25
We need to deal with taking for granted. It is in this context that I want to say a word about a matter that was controversial at the end of last year, which was the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle, a subject which caused a great deal of discussion, thoughtful and passionate both, as it should have done. We, in the free world, have in general not looked to Oracle for pro-freedom activities. [laughter] We have tended to assume indeed that there was a basic conflict between the way in which Mr. Ellison runs his business and our general outlook on how people and their computers should sort together. The purchase of Sun Microsystems by Oracle came -- for reasons which I think |
’d offered any kind of response to her. It turns out that I’d blocked him, but could still see that he was indeed using the doctored photo in his profile picture, and that the collage was the header art on his main page. My own personal use of the block feature on social media is usually because someone was abusive to me or I saw someone being abusive to a person I enjoy chatting with, and was so repulsed that I’d do a pre-emptive block. Since I have no memory of ever chatting with Shkreli, and scrolling back through a year’s worth of old tweets told me I didn’t, I concluded that I must’ve observed him being abusive to someone else. Also, unlike Beck, I didn’t see the collage and the doctored photo as a “juvenile prank” or “harmless fun,” I saw it as the creepy stuff that stalkers do to assert dominance over their victims. Also, Beck’s assertion that Duca could’ve simply blocked Shkreli doesn’t hold any weight with me, especially when, if I’d already blocked him and could still see the photos, I don’t understand what it would’ve accomplished. Shkreli’s use of the pictures was a power trip. In addition to the pictures, there were a number of other creepy tweets.
Since I already had Shkreli blocked, I started hunting for other evidence that he’d harassed people on Twitter prior to Duca. I didn’t have to go very far, since another Splice Today contributor, Noah Berlatsky, shared a tweet from writer Dana Schwartz containing a screenshot of Shkreli describing himself as her boyfriend in his Twitter profile, in addition to pictures of her in his profile picture and header art. I saw this as perhaps establishing a pattern of behavior for Shkreli. But as I looked around for more information on the incident with Schwartz, I stumbled upon something I didn’t expect.
Beck, and a few others, have cited a picture that Duca tweeted out of Shkreli, captioned, “Martin Shkreli is literally at Guy Fieri’s Flavor Town right now. I don’t even know,” followed by subsequent tweets: “I left right away. I feel sick,” and “I felt so gross. I still feel gross.” The argument is that this picture is Duca firing the first shot. On the surface, it would appear that Duca happened to see one of the most despised men in the country and tweeted out a picture, while telling the world how gross she thinks he is. At least, that’s how I interpreted the incident; Beck saw it as “A feminist warrior in New York City is so sensitive she has to leave a restaurant because she can’t share the same air with someone she hates, and over three hours later still feels ‘gross?’” Beck also asked, “Isn’t it targeted harassment to use Twitter to single out someone who’s minding his own business in a restaurant and making him even more of an object of scorn?”
Here’s what happened: In August 2016, someone pretended to be Shkreli in an email chain scam that reached 400 members of the press, and that led to Shkreli arguing with some of those reporters. Someone suggested that the only way to resolve this was an afternoon of drinking at Guy Fieri’s Flavor Town. Shkreli actually followed through, inviting the press to happy hour and footing the bill. According to both Grub Street and Complex, the event was set for three p.m. on August 12, 2016. Duca’s photo is timestamped 2:37pm on that day. Shkreli also livestreamed the event for two hours on Periscope, with the video saved to Twitter—video that seems to have disappeared due to his banishment from the service. In Complex’s detailed article about the event, they said Shkreli was already at Flavor Town when they arrived; presumably Duca was already gone. Also, the turnout was very small, comprised only of the two people from Complex writing the article, plus a few others from Mashable and Adweek. While there’s nothing on either website about this incident, I did find that Mashable’s Kerry Flynn still has a 48-minute Facebook live video posted to her account. Complex describes the event as going on for almost three hours, but much of what’s in their article can be easily corroborated by Flynn’s video. I’d say that Shkreli is a surprisingly good sport over the email incident, even if his personality remained consistently arrogant, even when he manages to be engaging.
There’s no mention of Duca or Teen Vogue anywhere, so it’s safe to assume that she did in fact leave shortly after taking the picture. As a member of the press, she had a legitimate reason for being at Flavor Town that afternoon and tweeting out pictures of Shkreli. Why would she leave before the event is scheduled to start, and express her disgust for hours afterwards? As a woman, I know what kind of garbage an entitled douchebag can say or do to make a gal’s skin crawl, especially when there aren’t that many people around. I’m not a mind reader, but an ugly exchange strikes me as likely.
As for Schwartz, I have no idea why Shkreli would’ve targeted her. I do agree with Beck that some of Duca’s tweets where she calls white men trash aren’t worthy of defense; I hate that sort of thing. But I do wonder where Beck is learning about feminism, because the feminism he describes isn’t something I recognize. It’s a bit like when I hear evangelicals talk about the Bible, and realize I learned something different in Catholic school. But it probably explains how he arrived at viewing Ivanka Trump, one of nepotism’s greatest beneficiaries, as a “feminist exemplar.”
Beck’s main argument about Duca playing the victim card is something I see whenever women complain about harassment or assault, if they’re not being called desperate for attention. There’s an oft-cited Pew study that a lot of people have used to “prove” that men are harassed online more than women, but that’s not the whole story. The patterns of abuse are different, with women more likely to be stalked and sexually harassed, particularly over a sustained period of time (which Pew doesn’t specify).
Either way, online harassment is common. When Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asked users about their 2017 wish list for the service, the top three were an edit function, a better way to bookmark, and improved responses to harassment. Dorsey has asserted that addressing abuse is a priority of the company. To characterize Duca as a damsel running to the patriarchy is insulting, especially when Dorsey is volunteering himself.
Speaking of insulting, as one writer to another, I find it ridiculous that Beck is defending Tucker Carlson’s assertion that because Duca writes about fashion, she can’t write about more serious topics; Carlson once interviewed Stan Lee—does this mean he can only stick to comic books? I also think it’s as true when Duca called Carlson a partisan hack as when Jon Stewart said it.
What bothered me most about Beck’s piece is that we both saw the same evidence and came to very different conclusions. I saw Shkreli’s pictures of Duca and saw a stalker, and Beck saw a prank. I saw a woman concerned about her personal safety, and he saw a woman behaving like a whiny little girl. This breakdown is why women are afraid to report crimes perpetrated against them. Women’s truth is treated like something always open to negotiation.The Eighth Tower
On Ultraterrestrials and the Superspectrum by John A. Keel Trade Paperback, 266 Pages $15.95, ISBN: 9781938398193 Genre(s): UFOs The Disturbing Follow-Up To The Mothman Prophecies Is there a single intelligent force behind all religious, occult, and UFO phenomena? Strange manifestations have haunted humans since prehistoric times. Beams of light, voices from the heavens, the “little people,” gods and devils, ghosts and monsters, and UFOs, have all had a prominent place in our history and legends. In this dark work, John Keel explores these phenomena, and in doing so reveals the shocking truth about our present position and future destiny in the cosmic scheme of things. Are we pawns in a celestial game? In the Orient, there is a story told of the seven towers. These citadels, well hidden from mankind, are occupied by groups of Satanists who are chanting the world to ruin. Perhaps this is just a story; perhaps there is some truth behind it. But what if there is yet another tower, a tower not of good or evil but of infinite power? What if all our destinies are controlled by this cosmic force for its own mysterious purposes? And what if UFOs and other paranormal manifestations are merely tools being used to manipulate us and guide us toward the cosmic role we are fated to play? Perhaps, after all, we are not independent beings but are instead the creations and slaves of the eighth tower. About the Author: JOHN A. KEEL (March 25, 1930 – July 3, 2009) was an American journalist and influential UFOlogist best known as the author of The Mothman Prophecies. The least known of his tremendously influential works, The Eighth Tower was derived from material left out of The Mothman Prophecies. Keel’s first book, Jadoo, and his breakthrough UFO book, Operation Trojan Horse, have also been reprinted by Anomalist Books. Don't miss this new edition of John Keel's Grand Unified Field Theory of High Wierdness. At the time of publication, the price for a used copy of this book ranged from $128 to more than $2,800. That's crazy! Our brand new editon sells for just $15.95.The functional significance of the erupted narwhal tusk has been the subject of conjecture and theory since the writings of Albertus Magnus in 1495 (Magnus, 1495). It has been thought to serve as an acoustic probe (Best, 1981; Reeves and Mitchell, 1981), possibly associated with sound transmission (Ford and Fisher, 1978; Best, unpublished B.Sc. Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1972); a thermal regulator (Dow and Hollenberg, 1977); a swimming rudder (Kingsley and Ramsay, 1988); a breathing organ; a spear for hunting or finding food (Vibe, 1950; Harrison and King, 1965; Ellis, 1980; Bruemmer, 1993); an aggressive weapon in interspecific fighting (Brown, 1868; Beddard, 1900; Lowe, 1906; Geist et al., 1960) or self‐defense against predators (Buckland, 1882; Gray, 1889: Freuchen, 1935); and a tool used for breaking the ice (Scoresby, 1820; Tomlin, 1967), digging (Freuchen, 1935; Pederson, 1960; Newman, 1971), or resting on ice (Porsild, 1918). Many studies describe the tusk as a secondary sexual characteristic used in aggressive encounters or intraspecific display (Lowe, 1906; Norman and Fraser, 1949; Miller, 1955; Silverman, 1979) associated with tusk fracture and head scarring (Porsild, 1922; Silverman and Dunbar, 1980), and to establish social hierarchy amongst males (Scoresby, 1820; Hartwig, 1874; Mansfield et al., 1975; Silverman and Dunbar, 1980; Gerson and Hickie, 1985).
Examining the narwhal tooth organ system through a multidisciplinary approach that combines studies of anatomy, morphology, histology, neurophysiology, genetics, and diet gives a more comprehensive view of its functional significance and highlights sensory ability as an added functional attribute.
Anatomy Narwhal teeth have unusual anatomical features. Among them are (1) a sinistral spiral morphology (Worm, 1655; Scoresby, 1823); (2) an extreme degree of tooth asymmetry in males, with a single left tusk expression and embedded right tusk (Sonnini and Buffon, 1804; Home, 1813); (3) an extreme expression of sexual dimorphism, with the male having an erupted left canine tusk reaching 2.6 m and the female commonly with right and left embedded tusks, often less than 33 cm (Sonnini and Buffon, 1804; Home, 1813); (4) a unique form of tooth asymmetry in a double‐tusked expression, since the morphology of the spiral remains sinistral for both left and right antemeres, and the left tusk is often slightly longer than the right (Worm, 1655; Sonnini and Buffon, 1804; Home, 1813); (5) a horizontal direction of eruption in both erupted and unerupted tusk forms (Linné et al., 1792: Egede and Wood, 1818); and (6) perforation of the tooth through the upper lip (Hampe, 1737; Brisson, 1756; Crantz, 1767; Donndorff, 1792). Though narwhal teeth share many anatomical characteristics with other tusked animals including a lack of enamel (Ishiyama, 1987), the presence of cementum, dentin, pulpal tissue and their associated structures (Seltzer and Bender, 2002; Berkovitz et al., 2002), and the presence of the maxillary division of the fifth cranial nerve associated with tooth innervation (Nweeia et al., 2009), they have many distinguishing features. Among them are a cementum layer overlying over the erupted canine (Nweeia et al., 2012) tusk, a patent network of dentinal tubules through the full thickness of dentin (Nweeia et al., 2009; Boyde, 1980; Locke, 2008), and pulpal soft tissues, extending the full length of the tooth, diminishing only in diameter with age (Pederson, 1931; Dow and Hollenberg, 1977; Nweeia et al., 2009). Initial scanning electron micrographs of the erupted male narwhal tusk reveal patent dentinal tubules that extend the full thickness of the dentin and correspond to lumina on the tusk surface. The tubules radiating outward from the dentin‐pulpal wall are similar to those of humans and other mammals in diameter, though the spacing is three to five times wider. Limited scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been completed for other odontocetes, but suggests dentinal tubules are well occluded within the erupted portion of the dentinal layer for most odontocetes (Boyde, 1980). In cases where the dentinal tubules are patent through the full dentinal layer, such as the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) (Boyde, 1980; Locke, 2008), they are covered by an enamel layer (Loch et al., 2012). Dentinal tubules have been described for other marine mammals, including the rough‐toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) (Miyazaki, 1977), pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) (Myrick, 1980), grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) (Hewer, 1964), hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) (Mohr, 1966) harbor porpoise (Phoecoena phoecoena) (Perrin and Myrick, 1980), short‐beaked dolphin (Delphinus delphis) (Gurevich et al., 1980), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and pilot whale (Globicephala melaena) (Boyde, 1980; Locke, 2008), and the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious), and killer whale (Orcinus orca) (Locke, 2008). Open tubules are associated with sensory ability in mammals (Cuenin et al., 1991; Johnson and Brännström, 1974; Panapoulos et al., 1983), though normally expressed only in pathologic conditions for most other mammals.
Histology Studies of nerve‐associated tissue in the pulp of odontocete teeth are limited, though helpful in understanding function (Holland, 1994). Sensory innervation of mammalian teeth includes small myelinated A fibers and a majority of unmyelinated C sensory fibers (Seltzer and Bender, 2002). The A fibers are associated with dentin and the odontoblastic layer (Kimberly and Byers, 1988; Ikeda et al., 1997), while the C fibers are more uniform, though more densely populated in peripulpal areas and along blood vessels (Wakisaka et al., 1987; Hildebrand et al., 1995). Both A and C fibers contain the neuropeptide calcitonin gene‐related peptide, or CGRP (Silverman and Kruger, 1987; Fristad et al., 1994). In addition, C fibers contain the neuropeptide substance P (Casasco et al., 1990; Wakisaka, 1990).
Gene Expression The presence of sensory‐associated genes in the pulp is an indicator for sensory function in mammalian teeth. Though there is a lack of genomic information for the narwhal, techniques are available to measure the gene expression profiles using a universal array platform to de novo sequencing that are informative to identify sensory‐associated genes associated with the pulp (Velculescu et al., 1995; Unneberg, 2003; Roth et al., 2004). Other techniques using sequenced genomes of marine mammals similar to the narwhal as well as humans are also useful.
Diet Evolutionary patterns of mammalian tooth anatomy and morphology are driven by diet (Anapol and Lee, 1994; Jernvall et al. 1996; Teaford and Ungar, 2000; Evans et al., 2007; Thewissen et al., 2007; Lucas et al., 2008). Thus, comparing the foraging habits of male and female narwhals can potentially provide useful information about the erupted male tusk. Previous dietary studies comparing male and female narwhals from the Baffin Bay population have found no difference in stomach contents between the sexes (Finley and Gibb, 1982; Laidre and Heide‐Jørgensen, 2005); however, smaller sample size of female narwhals has limited these analyses, and stomach contents can be biased since they only provide information on the most recent meal from a specific foraging area. Stable isotope and fatty acid analyses provide long‐term integrated dietary information to investigate if dietary differences exist between male and female narwhals in the Baffin Bay population. Both techniques investigate chemical signals in animal tissues which have incorporated isotopic and fatty acid values from their prey over various time frames, depending on the tissue. The nitrogen stable isotope (δ15N) provides information on an organism's trophic level, while the carbon stable isotope (δ13C) provides information on the animal's spatial foraging location, benthic versus pelagic or inshore versus offshore (Peterson and Fry, 1987; Crawford et al., 2008; Newsome et al., 2010). Fatty acids are transferred relatively unmodified from prey tissues to predator tissues, and thus can also be used to determine and compare diet among groups of organisms (Iverson et al., 2004). Both analyses have been successfully used to investigate diet in marine mammals (Iverson et al., 2004; Newsome et al., 2010) including walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) (Dehn et al., 2007), bowhead (Balaena mysticetus), and gray (Eschrichtius robustus) whales, and the narwhal's closest relative, the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) (Horstmann‐Dehn et al., 2012). When the two analyses are used together and provide complementary results they can verify and confirm dietary interpretations, as was done in determining the primary prey for the beluga whale as arctic cod (Loseto et al., 2008, 2009) and for the bottlenose whale as Gonatus (Hooker et al., 2001).
Neurophysiology Brännström's theory of dental sensitivity is the most widely accepted mammalian model to explain this sensory ability and function for teeth. Changes to the interstitial fluid flow within dentinal tubules changes the conformation of odontoblastic cells connected to a pulpal nerve plexus which sends signals of sensory perception to the brain (Brännström, 1966). This theory explains the known ability of teeth to sense environmental stimuli, and supports the evolutionary descriptions of tooth precursors as sensory organs (Lumsden, 1987). Human and other mammalian teeth are known to be capable of sensing external stimuli (Anderson, 1968; Haegerstam, 1976; Byers and Dong, 1983; Byers, 1984; Balam et al., 2005) such as temperature (Yamada et al., 1968; Jyväsjärvi and Kniffki, 1987; Ahn et al., 2012), pressure (Mengel et al., 1992), proprioception (Hassanali, 1997; Catania and Remple, 2002; Ozer et al., 2002), osmotic gradients, galvanic potential (Ramirez and Vanegas, 1989; Heyeraas et al., 1994), nocioception (Hu et al., 1978; Lisney, 1983; Narhi et al., 1984; Shigenaga et al., 1986; Byers et al., 1988; Iwata et al., 1998; Kawarada et al., 1999; Andrew and Matthews, 2000), and percussion (Ogawa et al., 2002; Watanabe et al., 2003). Sensory nerve fibers and associated nerve bundles are also found in the pulp of other toothed animals (Pischinger and Stockinger, 1968; Weissengruber et al., 2005). This sensory ability serves many different functions, such as protecting teeth against environmental insults and responding to age‐related and pathological conditions (Hildebrand et al., 1995). Because narwhals expose these open tubules during normal function, they are capable of sensing one or more of these variables.Drupal 8 just got out and many people are looking at it to power their decoupled website. There is a lot of noise about Angular, Ember, and React. Somewhere along the way, we started to forget what mobile first meant. All of this makes right now the perfect time to take a bad decision. After my Frontend Thunderdome session at DrupalCamp Vienna I wanted to contribute to the discussion and highlight a recurrent issue with blog posts popping up about frameworks and mobile devices.
TL;DR: In articles discussing mobile web performance there is usually a variation of: users probably don't have a device as powerful as what I used. Imagine how bad it'd be with cheap hardware!. It's lazy, there is no excuse to omit low-spec smartphone testing. By nature those devices are dirt cheap. $50 will get you a 2 × 1 GHz CPU and 512 MiB RAM smartphone, go buy one, install UC browser in proxy mode, and use it to test everything you're building. Knowing the size of the performance gap is important.
Before getting into the why I’d like to frame the reasoning with a piece of wisdom from Stevey’s Google Platforms Rant:
I’m not really sure how Bezos came to this realization – the insight that he can’t build one product and have it be right for everyone. But it doesn’t matter, because he gets it. There’s actually a formal name for this phenomenon. It’s called Accessibility, and it’s the most important thing in the computing world. The. Most. Important. Thing.
It’s accessibility in a broad sense, in the sense that you can access the content or service at all, before any usual assisting technology comes in. With smartphone and the web there are three major components that can prevent access: connectivity, hardware, and software. I won’t be talking about connectivity here since this is what most of thoses who cared about mobile first are currently caring about: offline-first with service workers. There are a few blind spots when it comes to the two other topics.
Hardware
First is The Cost of Frameworks from Paul Lewis:
“A Nexus 5 / iPhone 5S isn’t what our users use.” That’s also probably true. I have the privilege of using good hardware, and I would imagine that many people don’t have access to top end phones, so I’d expect these numbers to be even worse in those cases.
How much worse is critical to know, it can’t just be swept under the rug. After using a cheap smartphone for a while I’m convinced everyone working with the web needs to experience first hand the slowness, the crazy viewing angles, the bad quality touchscreen to truly understand what it means for most people to browse the web. What came out of the data I researched for my previous post is that very soon a large number of people will be getting online with those devices exclusively. They won’t be able to check something on their computer later at home. A cheap smartphone is all they have to access the web.
Take refugees coming to europe, many articles have been written about their use of smartphones to keep safe and stay in contact. If you look at the pictures from the article, you can see a couple of recent ones but most are old models. It is not responsible to footnote cheap hardware performance. By 2020 6 billions smartphones are expected to be online. That’s about the number of people that don’t live in poverty. Of those 6 billions I’m pretty sure most can’t afford a high-end device.
What cheap gets you is surprisingly a lot. There are octo-cores for less than $200. After looking at many, many smartphones prices in Europe, India and what I could from China what I found is that anything under $50 will be crap and anything above $80 starts to have at least one good spec. Either a quad-core, octo-core, or a decent screen. What $50 gets you in 2015 is a dual-core and less than 1 GB RAM. This is about the right combination of specs because what $200 get you is too far from the specs of other devices that will end up on the net.
Internet of weak Things
If we step out of smartphones for a second, consider the Raspberry Pi Zero that you can buy for $5. Same specs as a 5 years old high-end smartphone and people make media centers and servers out of those things. Tiny computers are not the only devices roaming the internet. Consider a Wii U, Xbox, even TVs that will end up on the web with their puny specs. Remember, it’s all about accessibility.
Software
In JavaScript Frameworks and Mobile Performance Tom Dale talks about the benefits of frameworks in managing complexity, maintainability and velocity. I’m sensitive to his argument, especially because we used backbone in Drupal 8 for the exact purpose of taming complexity and improving maintainability:
The bottom line is that I don’t think “reduce the amount of code” is a reasonable lesson for the average developer to follow. Much better to let developers write as much code as they need for the cool apps they want to build, and then have tool vendors figure out how to make that fast.
As browsing a Drupal 8 site shows, the new toolbar is much too expensive to render on every page, in part because it depends on backbone and it’s render pipeline and another part because of a menu tree that is very expensive to render. For our toolbar problem no amount of tooling will help, the architecture needs to change to make it fast. Backbone for the toolbar is not worth it anymore because it’s much simpler than it was planned to be, as is usually the case. On the other side we have quickedit, which I wouldn’t want to write or maintain outside of a framework, but which is less mobile-critical.
The amount of cool needed is often highly overestimated by clients — I’ve done enough site audits to know — they overwhelmingly choose something that works over something cool. Unless the framework used is geared towards performance and provides tools and concepts that are, by nature, performance friendly the cool factor needs to be toned way down to make something accessible. Of the popular frameworks React with redux are those that do the most.
There is another side of software, client software, namely web browsers. To know how a cheap smartphone is used we only need to look at what China is doing. It’s the biggest market, they’re not the richest consumers and the most popular browser is UC. As shown in my presentation, using this browser in proxy mode transforms a cheap device into a high-end one as far as page loading is concerned. There is a reason why it’s the most popular browser is because it’s optimized for cheap hardware, and about 46% of all smartphones are cheap — for some definition of cheap. The same way you can’t forget about cheap smartphones you can’t forget about proxy browsers.
Conclusion
At our level caring about cheap smartphones and proxy browsers is an act of solidarity. There is no reason to exclude them from what you’re building. I’m not saying that if you use Angular, Ember, or React in their current state you don’t care about people, I’m simply writing it. If your problem is that you can’t run your profiling rig on cheap smartphones, it’s not a problem since you’ll be looking at time on the second order of magnitude, and you’re not a sloth, a stopwatch will do.
By coincidence Dries just posted Should we decouple Drupal with a client-side framework?, my answer should be pretty clear by now but it deserve it’s own post to answer with all the appropriate nuances. After writing most of my post I stumbled upon the very detailed The viability of JS frameworks on mobile which talk about this issue with a focus on the how, worthy read.(Paul Lowry/Flickr)
Everyone hates overdue library fees. But what if you could return your book without even leaving your computer chair?
That would be possible if you borrowed the book from the Digital Library of America. It doesn't exist yet, but there's a movement to create it.
Prof. Robert Darnton, the director of the Harvard University library, wants to digitize millions of books and create a nonprofit digital library that users all over the world could access.
“I think that the cultural heritage of this country belongs to the people of this country and it should be made available free of charge," Darnton said.
Google has already begun work on creating a giant digital library, but a federal judge in New York struck down a settlement that would have allowed the company to offer every book ever written online through its Google Books service. Google had planned to offer some books for free, but most for a price.
The Google settlement was an intricate spider's web of deals between authors, publishers and libraries that would have governed the distribution of profits from Google's service. Darnton's digital library, on the other hand, wouldn't be run for a profit. Still, it would face many of the same legal pitfalls.And here is the TCPS Holy Grail - LINKMany of you have been reading about my DD that suggests the TCPS revival has something to do with the December 2012 vote to open additional spectrum to alleviate traffic on wireless networks. The original proposals by the FCC came in years ago. The FCC moves slow, but, they have moved on this issue.Since the FCC had not previously allowed for this access, it made it difficult for TCPS to implement its technology. In the link below, you will see the TCPS Holy Grail, updated in 2009 by the brains of TCPS as they were wishing for the FCC proposal to come true.After reading the paper below, you will see that TCPS would like to license out it's Lycon chip, awaiting the FCC to make a move. No wonder TCPS went down in 2007 through 2009, the FCC squashed it, but now TCPS is poised to be what dreams are made of.For further reference, here is the FCC change that just occured:And here is a April 2013 patent just issued to Ron Hickling that we think may be the icing on the cakeQuote EricMusco Quote: Originally Posted by Hey folks,
Yesterday, we made a few changes to how Cartel Packs work with the release of the GEMINI pack. I want to share the changes that were made to the pack.
Grand Chance Cubes/Bronze Items
The primary feedback we have heard from players over the past few months is that you would prefer to receive Bronze items rather than Chance Cubes. For that reason, one of the first things you will notice is that we have re-introduced Bronze items back into the Cartel Pack. Although you can get amazing items out of the cubes, we took your feedback and made the following changes: We have introduced multiple Bronze items into the GEMINI Pack.
To allow for the addition above, the drop rate of Grand Chance Cubes has been greatly reduced.
Pack Pricing Changes
You will notice that with the GEMINI Pack, the price has moved back to 300 Cartel Coins. As with any price change we want you to understand why it changed. The short explanation is that we have item slots to the packs, packs contained fewer slots with the launch of KotFE and therefore the pricing was lowered. Now that we have added items and value to the pack in the form of additional slots, we adjusted the price to match. Here is a more detailed breakdown.
Pre-KotFE Packs (2 pack items) – 300 Cartel Coins discounted to 250 Cartel Coins for launch Pack item
Pack item
Additional items including companion gifts, etc.
KotFE Launch Packs (1 pack item) – 200 Cartel Coins Pack Item
Companion Gift
GEMINI Pack (2 pack items) – 300 Cartel Coins discounted to 250 Cartel Coins for launch Pack Item
Pack Item
Additional items including companion gifts, etc.
You may also notice that Hypercrates are more expensive than before. We added 6 more packs into each Hypercrate with KotFE and so the price is reflective of that change. The price per pack in a Hypercrate is actually lower than the pre-KotFE numbers. Thank you for your understanding and support! As always, the team will continue to look to your feedback regarding packs and their content.
-eric
Greets,
JE. The price increase is still not acceptable, if the packs gave for example 6x more items (so 120 items instead of giving 20) what they give now then you had a very good reason to increase the pack price. Let me remind you all that the drop rates of the 5500 hypercrates since 4.0 are very low on deco's and quite bad, the old hypercrates where also way to expensive and terrible drop rates. It was better if you lowered the price too 2500 cartel coins, because that is more to true price, no scrap that better to make it 1000 cc. Paying 40 bucks for getting random items is insane. And let me remind you all, that people who bought the packs say we got less now then we got before, https://www.reddit.com/r/swtor/comme...and_cost_more/, so no Eric tell your bosses there to reduce the price 6x, because this is legal money grabbing and it is absurd, you should feel ashamed about it. People do not let yourself being foolish to participate with this, like I said keep your 40 bucks, it is more worth around 10.Greets,JE.A man armed with a gun was no concern for a souvlaki employee who calmly served another customer before walking away.
CCTV footage shows a man, armed with a hand gun, enter Souvlaki restaurant on Papanui Rd, Christchurch about 10.38pm, May 28. The incident was only recently reported to police.
The offender appears to threaten the restaurant employee, however the employee keeps working, making a souvlaki and then giving it to another customer.
SUPPLIED CCTV footage shows a man, armed with a hand gun, enter Souvlaki restaurant on Papanui Rd, Christchurch about 10.38pm, May 28.
He then walks out towards the back of the shop when the offender decides to leave as well. Nothing was taken in the attempted robbery.
READ MORE:
* One injured during Lower Hutt armed robbery at New World
* Shot fired as doorman tries to stop armed robbery
* Man sought after attempted armed robbery in Hamilton
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police on 03 363 7400 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.VA falsified records, inquiry finds
A VA investigation of one of its outpatient clinics in Colorado reveals how ingrained the delays in medical care may be for an agency struggling to rapidly treat nearly 9 million veterans a year amid allegations that dozens have died because of delays.
Clerks at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Fort Collins were instructed last year how to falsify appointment records so it appeared the small staff of doctors was seeing patients within the agency's goal of 14 days, according to the investigation.
A copy of the findings by the VA's Office of Medical Inspector was provided to USA TODAY.
Many of the 6,300 veterans treated at the outpatient clinic waited months to be seen. If the clerical staff allowed records to reflect that veterans waited longer than 14 days, they were punished by being placed on a "bad boy list," the report shows.
"Employees reported that scheduling was 'fixed,' " the findings say.
Department officials revealed last month that 23 deaths of veterans were linked to delayed cancer screenings dating back four years. More recently, a retired doctor, Sam Foote, alleged that 40 other veterans died because of treatment delays at a VA hospital in Phoenix. VA officials say there's no evidence to support those claims, but the hospital administrator was placed on leave pending an investigation by the agency's inspector general.
The medical inspector's probe |
will prevent minors from seeing too much flesh is up for debate, but although the comparison between Google and The Pirate Bay has been a hot one this week, one thing is certain – there is a hell of a lot more porn to be found via a Google image search than is to be found on The Pirate Bay.
Failing that there’s always daddy’s porn mags to fall back on – quick, board up the newsstand.Cartoon Network's Clarence is coming to BOOM! Studios' KaBOOM! imprint as a four-issue limited series from writer Liz Prince and artist Evan Palmer, ComicBook.com has learned exclusively.
The series will launch in June and run through the fall, and the first issue will feature four different covers, including a standard cover by JJ Harrison, incentive variants by Roger Langridge and Kassandra Heller and a subscription variant by Prince.
You can check out the solicitation text and three of the four covers below (the Roger Langridge 10 Years Incentive will be released at a later date). Clarence #1 (of 4)
Author: Liz Prince
Artist: Evan Palmer
Cover Artists:
Main: JJ Harrison
Subscription: Liz Prince
10 Years Incentive: Roger Langridge
Incentive: Kassandra Heller
Format: Standard comic size, 32 pages, full color
On sale: June 2015The Doctor Does Not Seem Himself
"Doctor Who: Dead Air" is narrated in first person by the Tenth Doctor, which sounds like it should be fun. Unfortunately, this approach really means that during the prose-y descriptive bits the Doctor sounds less like his usual zippy self and more like a slightly dull narrator. Which is a shame, because, as anyone who has seen the show, or heard David Tennant narrating other audiobooks, knows, neither the Doctor nor Tennant are dull by a *long* shot. There are a few shiningly fun moments - the exchanges between the Doctor and Layla, and the distinctly individual voices for the other original characters are a real treat. There are also plenty of gasp-worthy encounters with the monster, and a neat-ish twist towards the end, when it turns out the Doctor knew quite a bit more than he'd been letting on.
But the thing that got this a 3 instead of a 4 was the actual ending - which made the Doctor's solution, and the Doctor himself, seem ludicrously slow. The monster even TELLS him what the fatal flaw in his plan is. It's a hugely obvious mistake, and the ingenius movie-going pop-culture nut that is the Tenth Doctor should have accounted for it, especially. But he dismisses it out of hand and carries on. My reaction: Who are you and what have you done with the real Doctor?
But if the writer had let the Doctor be himself, I guess he wouldn't have had an excuse for putting in the final, blandly ominous lines. Which would have been cool, if there weren't already so many other tales all over TV, film, and literature with similar endings.
If you're looking for a Tenth Doctor audiobook to try, you might be tempted to start with this one, because it is one of the more inexpensive options. However, it doesn't do the Whoverse canon, or the Doctor, much justice. You'll be better off starting with something like "The Stone Rose" or "Feast of the Drowned."
8 of 8 people found this review helpfulFAQ
Q: I've disabled this module but Heads Up still show up, what can I do?
A: If you've used a version prior to 1.2 in the past, you may need to run the following command in a terminal emulator, as root (to request root: use the'su' command):
Code: settings put global heads_up_enabled 0
If you've used a version prior to 1.2 in the past, you may need to run the following command in a terminal emulator, as root (to request root: use the'su' command): Q: How can I hide Heads Up for a particular notification?
A: You can use the blacklist for this. Open the notification shade and long press the notification you want to blacklist. Tap "App Info" and note the package name to identify which package sent the notification. Now open Heads Up Xposed and blacklist the relevant package.
You can use the blacklist for this. Open the notification shade and long press the notification you want to blacklist. Tap "App Info" and note the package name to identify which package sent the notification. Now open Heads Up Xposed and blacklist the relevant package. Q: SystemUI is crashing!
A: This happens on some vendor ROMs (e.g. TouchWiz). To fix it, blacklist your dialer package. If that doesn't solve the issue, also disable Heads Up for ongoing notifications.
This happens on some vendor ROMs (e.g. TouchWiz). To fix it, blacklist your dialer package. If that doesn't solve the issue, also disable Heads Up for ongoing notifications. Q: Can we customize the colors?
A: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...&postcount=366
Feature requests
Bug reports
Before suggesting new features, please search this thread and check the commits issues and pull requests on GitHub to make sure your suggestion hasn't been offered before (or completed).Please search this thread and check the commits issues and pull requests on GitHub. If it's already been reported or fixed, there's no need to post about it. When reporting a force close, include a logcat.Also keep in mind this module enables Heads Up - it doesn't implement it from scratch. Some vendor specific issues may not be possible to resolve.Quote: Harlequin Originally Posted by Is it just me or does sound K'thon extremely familiar?
Wikipedia - the definitive source of all knowledge
"Chthonic ( /ˈkθɒnɪk/, from Greek χθόνιος chthonios, "in, under, or beneath the earth", from χθών chthōn "earth";[1] pertaining to the Earth; earthy; subterranean) designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land (as Gaia or Ge does) or the land as territory (as khora (χώρα) does). It evokes at once abundance and the grave."
The world just fits extremely well because in our mythos, the Ch'thonians dwell not just under the ground but basically, underneath the realms of existence in a void where they were cast by the gods. Ch'thon is actually a reference to Greek mythos, which is where everyone else borrowed it from."Chthonic ( /ˈkθɒnɪk/, from Greek χθόνιος chthonios, "in, under, or beneath the earth", from χθών chthōn "earth";[1] pertaining to the Earth; earthy; subterranean) designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land (as Gaia or Ge does) or the land as territory (as khora (χώρα) does). It evokes at once abundance and the grave."The world just fits extremely well because in our mythos, the Ch'thonians dwell not just under the ground but basically, underneath the realms of existence in a void where they were cast by the gods.The modern plagues of obesity, physical inactivity and processed food have been definitively established as modern causes of colon cancer. Researchers have also associated a mutation of the Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene with the deadly disease. But which came first? Is colon cancer a lethal product of modernity? Or is this an open-and-shut case of DNA gone awry?
A new Tel Aviv University discovery suggests that a genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer preceded the advent of modernization -- and, in a bizarre twist, they discovered this evidence in an 18th-century Hungarian mummy.
The research team was led by Dr. Rina Rosin-Arbesfeld of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Dr. Ella H. Sklan of the same department, together with Prof. Israel Hershkovitz and Michal Feldman of the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at the Sackler Faculty. The findings were published February 10, 2016, in the journal PLOS ONE.
Meeting the mummies
In 1995, more than 265 mummies were excavated from sealed crypts in the Dominican church in Vác, Hungary. These crypts were used continuously from 1731 to 1838 for the burial of middle-class families and clerics and provided ideal conditions for the natural mummification of corpses -- low temperatures, constant ventilation and low humidity. Some 70% of the bodies found had been completely or partially mummified.
The preservation of the tissue samples and abundant archival information about the individuals buried in the crypts attracted researchers from around the world, all of whom where interested in conducting their own morphological and genetic studies of the human remains.
"Colorectal cancer is among the most common health hazards of modern times," Dr. Rosin-Arbesfeld explains. "And it has a proven genetic background. We wanted to discover whether people in the past carried the APC mutation -- how common it was, and whether it was the same mutation known to us today. In other words: Is the increase in the incidence of cancer the result of man's manipulation of nature alone?
"After hearing that tuberculosis had been discovered in the corpses, I was interested in seeking out a number of gene mutations known to be associated with colorectal cancer," Dr. Rosin-Arbsefeld says.
A new area for cancer research
The researchers used genetic sequencing to identify mutations in APC genes that were isolated from the mummies. "Mummified soft tissue opens up a new area of investigation," Prof. Hershkovitz says. "Very few diseases attack the skeleton, but soft tissue carries evidence of disease. It presents an ideal opportunity to carry out a detailed genetic analysis and test for a wide variety of pathogens."
"Our data reveal that one of the mummies may have had a cancer mutation. This means that a genetic predisposition to cancer may have already existed in the pre-modern era," Dr. Sklan says. "But we've found this mutation in only one individual so far. Additional studies with a larger sample size should be conducted in order to draw more meaningful conclusions."
The researchers are currently establishing a specialized lab at TAU for ancient DNA research.
###
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is inherently linked to the cultural, scientific and entrepreneurial mecca it represents. It is one of the world's most dynamic research centers and Israel's most distinguished learning environment. Its unique-in-Israel multidisciplinary environment is highly coveted by young researchers and scholars returning to Israel from post-docs and junior faculty positions in the US.
American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) enthusiastically and industriously pursues the advancement of TAU in the US, raising money, awareness and influence through international alliances that are vital to the future of this already impressive institution.Members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, students, and other members of the Harvard Community gather in Harvard Yard to rally for a fair contract on November 15, 2012. The HUCTW is asking for a fair contract including raises that keep up with inflation and better health care costs.
The Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers rallied with its supporters on Thursday in a demonstration of solidarity as contract negotiations between the union and the University drag into their eighth month.
Hundreds of protesters swarmed the plaza in front of Dudley House and raised their voices in chants and songs—at one point, urging the administration to "invest in the staff" in a song set to the tune of "Hey Jude." One woman lifted a sign that read, in reference to a recent pop hit, "We have no contract, and this is crazy. Treat the union fairly, maybe?
"HUCTW, which represents more than 4,600 of Harvard’s non-faculty staff, has been deadlocked in negotiations with the University regarding a contract that was originally scheduled to go into effect on July 1. The lack of "any real significant movement" in the negotiations, as HUCTW Director Bill Jaeger puts it, has led to undesirable delays for union members seeking a contract that calls for higher salaries and more affordable health-care plans.
"I’m standing up for those people who come here every day and give 110 percent," Tasha Williams, president of HUCTW, shouted into the microphone as she stood before the crowd. "We want Harvard to appreciate the work we do."
The "We (Still) Can’t Eat Prestige" rally, which takes its name from a HUCTW slogan more than several decades old, was the third public event organized by the union over the past two months to garner community support.
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George Kokkinogenis, a HUCTW member who works as an IT analyst at the Business School, said he hoped the rally would show the University that the negotiations affect the very livelihoods of its workers.
"We’re not just numbers on a paper," Kokkinogenis said. “We’re actually people."
At the rally, speakers gave testimonials and read from letters that union members had sent to high-level University administrators about the personal importance of the negotiations. Musical interludes were provided by the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band, a group that uses music in support of social activism.
U.S. Senator John F. Kerry and Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren—also a professor at Harvard Law School—sent messages of support to the union, according to HUCTW officer Peter Berry, who read a letter from Kerry at Thursday’s rally.
"You’re at the very core of the people who make the University hum on a daily basis," Kerry wrote to HUCTW, adding that he hoped for the "fair and equitable contract you deserve."
Harvard spokesman Paul Andrew said the University is committed to agreeing on a fair contract. "We have been proactive in negotiations with the union," he wrote in an emailed statement, "proposing offers that are highly competitive in the market and consistent with agreements reached with other unions at Harvard."
—Staff writer Samuel Y. Weinstock can be reached at sweinstock@college.harvard.edu.Genetic Risk for Schizophrenia is Connected to Reduced IQ
Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2013
The relationship between the heritable risk for schizophrenia and low intelligence (IQ) has not been clear. Schizophrenia is commonly associated with cognitive impairments that may cause functional disability. There are clues that reduced IQ may be linked to the risk for developing schizophrenia. For example, reduced cognitive ability may precede the onset of schizophrenia symptoms. Also, these deficits may be present in healthy relatives of people diagnosed with schizophrenia.
In a remarkable new study published in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Andrew McIntosh and his colleagues at the University of Edinburgh provide new evidence that the genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with lower IQ among people who do not develop this disorder.
The authors analyzed data from 937 individuals in Scotland who first completed IQ testing in 1947, at age 11. Around age 70, they were retested and their DNA was analyzed to estimate their genetic risk for schizophrenia.
The researchers found that individuals with a higher genetic risk for schizophrenia had a lower IQ at age 70 but not at age 11. Having more schizophrenia risk-related gene variants was also associated with a greater decline in lifelong cognitive ability.
“If nature has loaded a person’s genes towards schizophrenia, then there is a slight but detectable worsening in cognitive function between childhood and old age. With further research into how these genes affect the brain, it could become possible to understand how genes linked to schizophrenia affect people’s cognitive function,” said McIntosh.
These findings suggest that common genetic variants may underlie both cognitive aging and risk of schizophrenia.
“While this study does not show that these common gene variants produce schizophrenia per se, it elegantly suggests that these variants may contribute to declines in intelligence, a clinical feature associated with schizophrenia,” commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. “However, we have yet to understand the development of cognitive impairments that produce disability in young adulthood, the period when schizophrenia develops for many affected people.”
Clearly, more research is necessary, but this new study adds to the growing and substantial effort to understand how the gene variants that contribute to the development of schizophrenia give rise to the cognitive disability commonly associated with it.
The article is “Polygenic Risk for Schizophrenia Is Associated with Cognitive Change Between Childhood and Old Age” by Andrew M. McIntosh, Alan Gow, Michelle Luciano, Gail Davies, David C. Liewald, Sarah E. Harris, Janie Corley, Jeremy Hall, John M. Starr, David J. Porteous, Albert Tenesa, Peter M. Visscher, and Ian J. Deary (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.01.011). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 73, Issue 10 (May 15, 2013), published by Elsevier.
---
Notes for Editors
Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Rhiannon Bugno at +1 214 648 0880 or Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Andrew M. McIntosh at +44 (131) 537 6274 or andrew.mcintosh@ed.ac.uk.
The authors’ affiliations, and disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.
John H. Krystal, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available here.
About Biological Psychiatry
Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, whose purpose is to promote excellence in scientific research and education in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion, or behavior. In accord with this mission, this peer-reviewed, rapid-publication, international journal publishes both basic and clinical contributions from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders.
The journal publishes novel results of original research which represent an important new lead or significant impact on the field, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Reviews and commentaries that focus on topics of current research and interest are also encouraged.
Biological Psychiatry is one of the most selective and highly cited journals in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. It is ranked 5th out of 129 Psychiatry titles and 16th out of 243 Neurosciences titles in the Journal Citations Reports® published by Thomson Reuters. The 2011 Impact Factor score for Biological Psychiatry is 8.283.Official silence, a veil of secrecy and even outright disbelief about wartime sex among servicemen has reigned supreme ever since, compounded by mythologies about Aussie diggers and the ''mateship'' legend. Now, historians are telling a different, more realistic story thanks to the release of an army file on the discharge of male homosexuals in WWII. During investigations over the past two years, researchers Yorick Smaal and Graham Willett gained almost complete access to the National Archives file, first released in 1992 but in a heavily edited form that revealed little. One of the key episodes outlined in the fuller file is about a series of incidents in New Guinea in late 1943 involving a group of self-identifying homosexual - or ''kamp'' - men. The records include the life stories of 18 of these soldiers, who were interviewed by a major after they were reported for illicit sex by a United States defence investigator. The soldiers' names and identifying material have been withheld, but the file details how army authorities, for the first time, began to tackle the idea that there was a difference between homosexual behaviour and homosexual identity. Dr Willett, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne's Australian Centre, suspects that the men agreed to tell their stories in detail in exchange for a medical discharge rather than a dishonourable one.
The historians, whose research was partly funded by the Australian Army History Unit, say they had long suspected homosexuality in the armed services was far more common than traditionally acknowledged. They initially pieced together fractured accounts from novels, diaries, memoirs, oral histories and official records. The accounts include ''situational sex'' between men - ''making do'' because there were no women around, so that ''butch'' men might have sex with ''queens'' with no loss to their masculine status. This is possibly the case with some of the 1945 ''jungle juice'' soldiers in Borneo. Other incidents the researchers came across involved a more clearly articulated homosexual identity. The stories in the National Archives file, however, are different to those other sources: they not only give extraordinary insight into the lives of homosexual men on the frontline, but also detail their first sexual experiences, relationships and friendships, sex lives, army experiences and their relationships with each other and the American soldiers stationed nearby. The file, and other New Guinea research material, reveals such things as wild sex parties in the jungle, regular sexual horseplay, and liaisons with American soldiers in old shower blocks. ''Sex was certainly central to their wartime experience and the Americans were particularly prized,'' says Dr Smaal of those 18 soldiers. An historian from Griffith University, his PhD on sexuality in WWII sparked his research with Dr Willett. '' 'Trade' were often found at the bar at the American Red Cross at Ela Beach where a large 'kamp' crowd hung about. Some Americans would often take half a dozen Australian 'girls', as they were known, out to the bush by jeep or truck where sex would take place. There were usually about 15 US men to six 'girls' at these parties and it was common for the Australians to have more than one partner a night to keep the men satisfied.''
Dr Smaal says the role-playing of the ''girls'' in New Guinea was shaped by commonly held notions of the day about sexuality and gender. ''They were, in the words of the US army provost who alerted Australian officials, men who 'practised the female side of homosexuality'.'' In one excerpt from the army files, a soldier recounts how he would go about with other ''kamp'' men, visiting the American Red Cross at Ela Beach. ''Several times we were 'picked up' by Australian or American soldiers. Once or twice we went along the beach, other times we went in parties in trucks into the bush. We had relations with them.'' Others spoke of how ''Aunties'' took less-experienced men under their wings and taught them the ''tricks of the trade''. While Dr Smaal says the ''girls'' were simply one group of Australians - most likely there were also butch Australians going with effeminate Americans - it just so happens this is the group they have found out about. ''The evidence is so fractured, so we have to be cautious about extrapolating too far,'' he says. ''But clearly what is happening in New Guinea is a mirror of what is happening back on the home front and that is quite clear in the interviews. All the ideas playing out in New Guinea about their sense of self and sense of identity are the same that are happening back in Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne. It is not an isolated instance.'' The jungle sex parties were discovered by the US Army provost in what Dr Smaal describes as a witch-hunt. ''The American army has certainly got a pedigree with that sort of activity,'' he says. The provost had worked with a vice squad, ''so he knew what he was looking for - the signs and codes of the 'perverted practices' he was seeking out''. Gore Vidal, the late American author and US Army veteran in the Pacific, is quoted in Dennis Altman's Coming Out in the Seventies, as saying that Australian soldiers ''had a reputation for rolling over on their stomachs most obediently''. This sort of account, including Robert Hughes's reports of widespread convict-era homosexual practices in The Fatal Shore, often meets with stern denial along the lines of ''there were no poofters in the armed services''.
But in historian Frank Bongiorno's new book The Sex Lives of Australians: a History, it is suggested as likely there were considerably more instances of homosexual activity in the defence forces than have survived the record because, when discovered, it was possibly dealt with ''quietly and informally, so as not to draw attention to its embarrassing presence''. This, remarkably, was not the case in New Guinea. Dr Willett says the commander of Australia's military forces in New Guinea wrote anxiously to Melbourne headquarters and wanted to know what to do after the US told him about what was happening among the men. When alerted to the ''problem'', the top brass spent several months debating the causes and how to respond, being unsure whether to use legal or medical approaches. ''The existence of several different (and often opposing) conceptions of homosexuality at work in the army - namely disciplinary, medical and moral discourses - presented commanders with a variety of policy outcomes,'' says Dr Smaal. ''Working their way through this problem, the army became one of the first Australian institutions to grapple in a practical way with the differences between homosexual behaviour and homosexual identity.'' The defence forces, though, probably worried that the incidents in New Guinea might indicate a much bigger ''problem'', so all the commanders around Australia were contacted to try and get a sense of its scope and how to handle it. ''New Guinea was a flashpoint that got Melbourne [headquarters] thinking about homosexuality and identity and how it was playing out in the rank-and-file and how to deal with it. They realised this was about homosexual people rather than homosexual behaviour.'' This, he says, was a radical change to the past. ''If you go all the way back to that idea of the Australian legend, that idea of sublimated mateship and male friendship that lends itself so well to the army as an institution - there was very little inquiry or interrogation into the shifts between platonic and emotional bonds between men and perhaps where that blurs into something more physical or intimate.''
Many of the soldiers in New Guinea and Borneo in the mid-1940s are probably now dead, but Dr Smaal says a sense of self must have been awakened for some of them. ''It must have been quite a revelatory experience, putting them in touch with feelings and desires that they were unable or unwilling to explore on the home front. It might have confirmed their sense of identity and desire for other men. For some men, they wouldn't be prepared to go back to the lives they were living before the war; they wanted to go back and live with their best friends and lovers.'' As one soldier reports in the files, after first joining the army and having sex with eight or nine other soldiers in his unit, he ''ran about a lot'' enjoying many sexual adventures but, five weeks before giving his statement he had met an Australian at the American Red Cross. ''I am greatly in love with him, he returns my love and has asked me to live with him in later life. This I have promised to do.''Atlanta is on the verge of going from the city too busy to hate to the city too busy to care.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner has proposed an ordinance aimed at stopping prostitution that could banish convicted sex workers from certain parts of the city — or even Atlanta itself.
Under the proposed ordinance, a person arrested for sex work would be both jailed and, upon release, exiled from that community for a certain period. If he or she is found in the neighborhood again, they could be arrested on sight. If convicted a second time, a judge would have the authority to banish that person from the city limits. Customers of sex workers could face the same penalties.
Atlanta police and neighborhood residents have real concerns about the effect that this problem has on communities. In fact, it has been referred to as a "plague." In our outreach work with the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, we have encountered men and women from as far as Europe who are now soliciting sex on streets from southwest Atlanta to Midtown.
However, arresting and trying to banish people convicted of prostitution will create an even bigger problem.
Not only do we have little understanding of the long-term consequences of this ordinance, we have not pushed for the types of programs and community development that would allow people to find real alternatives to sex work. We contend that this ordinance is ill-conceived and would affect women, men, and families of all colors. Rather than convince sex workers to change their ways, it would run them underground. In short, arrest and banishment are not the answers for Atlanta's prostitutes.
The problems with prostitution run a lot deeper than women selling sex for a living. According to studies, anywhere from 75 to 95 percent of sex workers have suffered some kind of sexual abuse. This includes rape and/or molestation as a child or teenager, be it by a family member, friend of the family, or stranger.
In addition, many have suffered or are suffering with mental health issues. Because they received inadequate or zero counseling, many sex workers end up medicating themselves with drugs and/or alcohol. They then turn to prostitution to support their drug habits. Often, these men and women are from the poorest neighborhoods in Atlanta and don't earn a living wage. Some use prostitution to support their children.
Many prostitutes work in areas where they live. If a parent is incarcerated or banished from an area under the ordinance, what would happen to their children? Their sons and daughters might have an even harder time finding the stability they need to finish school. And as a result, prostitutes might continue the cycle of doing what they know in order to make ends meet.
People trying to escape sex work need intervention, treatment, and alternatives — not punishment.
Nonprofits, including our organization, have tried to help. Free of charge, working on grants and donations, we have offered HIV counseling and testing, a syringe-disposal program, STD screenings, education programs, and street outreach services. We would love to partner with the city to help solve this problem.
Atlanta could save a lot of money and make more progress not by arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating sex workers, but by helping them. And it can look to other cities for ideas.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, locking up convicts in a Texas prison for a year costs $18,538. A year in a lower-security state jail costs nearly $15,500. But enrolling a nonviolent offender, such as a sex worker, in a community-based program costs just $4,300 a year.
The Corpus Christi, Texas, Police Department adopted a model used in Dallas in which police officers work with health care officials, outreach workers, and the judicial system to provide social services to prostitutes and offer a way off the streets. Police Chief Floyd Simpson says the outreach and community support model works far better. Jail is a last resort. In Seattle, sex workers are given the choice between accepting social services, such as counseling or drug and alcohol treatment, or jail.
Sex workers are still God's children. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, and friends with all the same human needs that we share. Over the past 14 years, I (Marshall) have helped 364 people get off the street. I've learned what they want most is for someone to care and to offer them guidance, just like someone did for me when I was living on the streets and trading drugs with women for sex in 1997.
The Atlanta City Council met this week with community leaders, pastors, and advocates (including us) to discuss the proposal and will give it more consideration. We hope they'll take these words to heart — and remember that we can't arrest and banish away Atlanta's problems.Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is cautioning against sending Canadian jet fighters to join U.S. air strikes against the Islamic State.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced the air strikes against militants in Syria and Iraq in an address Wednesday night.
While Mr. Trudeau didn't completely rule out supporting such a move eventually, he said Canadians aren't enthusiastic about taking on such a "combat" role.
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"Shifting toward a combat mission, which air strikes would be, will require a large shift in Canada's positioning, and I just don't see a tremendous level of enthusiasm or openness among Canadians, or Canadian parliamentarians, for taking on a combat role in Iraq," he said.
So far, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sent special forces advisers to assist the U.S. military in northern Iraq, but he has not made clear whether Canada will expand that role.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Defence Minister Rob Nicholson appeared before MPs at a special committee hearing Tuesday, where Mr. Nicholson described the sending of advisers as an "initial deployment" of troops.
The group that calls itself the Islamic State – formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – seeks to impose a vicious interpretation of its religion on captured cities and has conducted mass killings of non-believers.
Mr. Trudeau warned against escalation of Canada's involvement in the conflict.
"Ten years ago, Mr. Harper was eager to send us into a combat role in Iraq, and we managed to avoid that. I think it would be a mistake to escalate our support. But there are many ways to support our allies, and we are and we should."
Mr. Trudeau, however, did not completely rule out sending jet fighters in the future, such as when Canada sent six CF-18s to take part in airstrikes in Libya in 2011.
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"I think that's something we could certainly talk about, but it would be an escalation of Canada's role right now. I truly believe that Canada's role needs to primarily be what it's been laid out as: humanitarian support for civilians, help on a refugee basis, but also providing training in a non-combat mission, non-combat role, to the local troops."Trust a guy who dresses in a school-boy uniform to pull a prank on Gun N' Roses.
As the band landed in Sydney, Australia, ahead of their concerts at ANZ Stadium there on Friday and Saturday (their first time in Sydney in 24 years), they were held up on the plane and not allowed to get off because of a "security check".
Turns out the real reason Gun N' Roses got held up was because of AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, who was sporting the orange vest of an airport employee.
Gunners' bassist Duff Mckagan tweeted about the incident:
Apparently Angus is in Sydney to visit his ailing brother, Malcolm, who is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, and the rumour-mill is now buzzing that Angus may play with the Gunners for a couple of songs, most likely "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Riff Raff".
Last year at Coachella, Angus joined Guns N' Roses onstage as they ripped through those two classic AC/DC tracks.
And Axl Rose made some extra cash last year filling in for former AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, who stepped away from the Aussie rockers because of hearing issues, for their live Rock Or Bust shows.
The future of AC/DC is up in the air after the departures of Johnson and bassist Cliff Williams – although Angus has said he feels “obligated” to keep the band going.
Hopefully Angus sees the light and shuts AC/DC down. As much as he is the face of AC/DC, a reinvented version of the band would simply come off as cheesy and insincere.KITCHENER — The purchase of a small property paves the way for a big redevelopment of 2.4 hectares of land fronting along King Street West that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Zehr Group announced Friday it completed the purchase of 641 King St. W. in Kitchener, and now owns all of the land between the railway tracks and Wellington Street South, and into the block as far as the Ontario Seed property.
"It really allowed us to close off the entire block," said Zac Zehr, manager of development for the Zehr Group. "We can now move forward with the whole master plan vision we have for the site."
During the next two months, the company will apply for zoning changes and an amendment to the city's official plan.
The changes are needed to accommodate the high-density, mixed-use redevelopment of the site. Preliminary plans call for one million square feet of new buildings — three condominium towers, an apartment building and office and retail space.
"Right now we have a huge team of consultants who are working with us behind the scenes, and we are getting very close to being able to move it forward into the public realm," Zehr said.
The demolition of the modern wings of the former Kaufman mansion will begin in the spring. The original mansion will be preserved, and incorporated into the redevelopment.
The first phase of the redevelopment could begin this time next year, and will include residential, retail and office space along King Street West.
"Our site is challenging in that it is quite large in comparison to a more traditional downtown site," Zehr said. "The overall plan at this point is to build in phases."
What others are readingShadow chancellor claims business leaders are looking to party for security as he calls for end to austerity in next week’s budget
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, argued that big business now trusts Labour more than the government on the economy and Brexit as he launched his vision for a budget next week that would involve more investment and an end to austerity.
Answering questions after a speech in Westminster where he called for Philip Hammond to “make the decisive break with the failed past”, McDonnell said recent discussions with business groups, investors, asset managers and others had left him with a clear impression.
“It’s interesting – the message I’m getting is that they’re coming to us for reassurance about the long-term future of our economy,” he said. “They obviously now increasingly see us as a government in waiting.
“We’ve been trying to say to them: what you see is what you get. We’ve outlined our plans, we want to work with them as partners, and there’s nothing up my sleeve.
“That gives them, I think, confidence and assurance, which they’re not getting from this government. That’s about investment, and how we manage the economy in the interests of everybody.
“They’re coming to us with the same arguments about infrastructure and investment in particular, and skills. We’re working in partnership with them about developing our plans, so when we get into government we can hit the deck running.”
While McDonnell and his team have been actively courting groups such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) |
with the preseason, probably the most commonly skipped item in all of CFM and rightly so. I used to play every preseason game back in the Madden 2004 days and even into M12. The problem with the preseason is that somewhere down the line, the already little incentive there was to play them was lost. There isn't many ways to spice up preseason games and I'm not looking to make them anything more than they are which is exhibition games predominantly played by backups.This was always one of my favorite things from past Madden's. It's obviously a little thing but would be a colossal improvement over playing the exact same preseason opponents (and often division foes) for the entirety of your franchise. I always used to do things like play the SB champs, the team with the #1 overall pick, try to play in stadiums I liked and against teams that were really active in free agency. Again, nothing huge but something that can incentivize playing preseason in some way. It would be another way to let users play the way they want to rather than being restricted by static opponents or even random ones.Off-season NFL rosters allow for 90 players while Madden currently allows for only 75. It may not seem like much adding another 15 players to the bottom of your roster but for those that want even more ability to tinker with their roster it gives them that ability while more importantly being authentic to real life. Additional elements that come along with this is an increased free agent pool so that players won't disappear completely from your franchise as well as increased draft class sizes to account for more UDFA's being available.I don't know if this would make preseason more fun, so to speak, but I think it would definitely make it more practical and functional. The idea here is that as the user you'd be able to create unique depth charts to represent each "team" that may take the field during a preseason game. So to the example, you can see there's a first team, second team, third team, etc. To go with this, prior to each game you would choose the number of series each team would play before being subbed out. So rather than seeing your starters come out at halftime, or mid-drive at a quarter change like in previous Madden's, as well as obnoxious things like your starting CB's and WR's in on Nickel and 4WR sets, you'd now have full control of who is playing, when they're playing and how long they're playing during each preseason game. This is something that also would work wonderfully with Play The Moment. Say you're still not really interested in playing the preseason, you could hop into a game, play one series with each team while simming everything in between and still get a look at virtually your entire roster in a very minimal amount of time.This pretty much goes along with the expanded rosters. It wouldn't make sense to add more players for preseason if you didn't get a decent chance to play with them. A recent NFL rule change has eliminated 'cut days' and turned them into one major "Cut Day" after the last preseason game. So that's going from 90 to 53 all at once. Being that it could be quite overwhelming to make that many decisions at once, I'd like to see multiple options for how cutdowns work with a few different choices of four-stage (weekly), two-stage (after weeks 3 and 4), and then one-stage which would be the authentic rules.I'll get to the coaching staff later but this is something aimed at both helping the user as well as incorporating tangible effects of your hired coaching staff. The better a position coach is, the better he is at identifying and ranking players according to their value. Green circles indicate players the position coach recommends keeping while red X's would signify players that he suggests be cut. This would help make the task of cutting so many players a bit less overwhelming as well as providing a tangible risk/reward to your coaching staff.This isn't exclusively a preseason item but this would be the first place you'd encounter it. This is something that in preseason can be quite an overwhelming experience as there will there can be a very large number of players available for claim. What I'd suggest for the preseason is that immediately following Cut Day you're presented with something similar to a View Roster screen with all the players cut from other teams all in one place and sortable by position with a checkbox so that you could easily see any players you may potentially want to claim.Another way to help alleviate this is to allow you to search or sort for a certain criteria of player available and narrow the field to those 'targets.' So maybe you're in need of a KR you can scan the waiver wire for players with only, say, 85+ KR rating and go from there. Players claimed in this portion go directly to the 53-man roster and once this event has passed, you can then move on to adding players to your Practice Squad. Claiming priority throughout all of the off-season and preseason would be the same as the draft order from the most recent draft.And once again you'll notice in the screenshot the green circle and red X signifying that your position coach is either recommending or discouraging you to claim a player which could also be another search criteria to limit the sheer overload of players.Pretty straightforward. Only thing here is changing the eligibility rules (and more so how seasons are accrued in-game) to accurately represent real life. Rules allow for 10 players on the practice squad with four of those players allowed to have up to two years of accrued service. Currently if a player spends an entire year on free agency, he accrues a season played and a full year of service when he really shouldn't. An accrued season is any season that a player is on a team’s roster (both active and inactive), Injured Reserve or Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list for more than six games. Simple enough.This is a smaller thing but affects roster management early on in your season. It would become a more prominent tool if it allowed you to place players injured in preseason on it but that also goes against its intentions and authenticity. However if they added a few weeks of Gameplanning prior to preseason to represent Training Camp and then tuned more serious injuries to have a longer recovery time then this would become a much more important factor in roster management early on in your season.How the PUP List works is that the Active PUP is used exclusively during the preseason for the players that are unable to practice at the start of training camp. They are still counted as part of the 90-man roster and are available to practice at any time once medically cleared. However, once a player either practices or returns to practice they are no longer eligible for any form of the PUP list.If a player ends preseason and is still on the Active PUP List they're automatically transferred to the Reserve PUP List. These players don't count towards the 53-man roster but along with this designation comes the requirement that the player is inactive from both games and practice for the first six weeks of the season. Upon the end of those six weeks teams have another six week window in which the player can return to practice. If the player returns to practice the team has three weeks from that day to either activate the player, release him, or place him on season-ending IR. If at the end of that six-week window the player has still not returned to practice he must then either be released or moved to season-ending IR.On to the regular season. I think that I may have a different view of how I'd like regular season to play out than others. I would personally prefer to leave a good amount of the off-season roster management type stuff like re-signings to the off-season and have the regular season majorly focus on playing games. I'm not completely aversed to it, it just has to be interesting enough and have enough of a tangible effect to make it feel worthwhile. And the issue without having those things is that the games have to make you feel like you're actually progressing through a living season and not just playing a series of consecutive Play Now games. To accomplish this I'm going to try to achieve the best of both worlds where you feel in charge of your franchise outside of the game and like you're in a living one while playing the game.Mostly the same as setting up a practice in M17 where you choose an offensive focus and defensive focus but with one key change in shifting focus players into a position group focus for the week and one key addition in the form of practice intensity.High intensity practices are more physical and create a greater risk-reward for you team in terms of both XP gain and gameday boosts. Players who have good practices will see greater boosts for the current week while players who have poor practices during a week of high intensity practices will be subject to harsher reductions. Also, high intensity practices come with a greater risk of injury as well as potential gameday hits to stamina and injury ratings. Save these practices to try and break a losing streak or for the biggest games on your schedule. Use wisely.Standard practice intensity. Standard everything across the board. XP gain and gameday boosts are standard. No additional injury risk. Your ordinary practiceLow intensity practices are the lightest practices and come with the lowest potential XP gain and gameday boosts as well as the lowest injury risk but also carries the possibility of seeing harsher penalties to emulate players not being prepared for the ferocity of gameday. Limit these practices to points in your season where your team is beat up as well as short weeks where making sure your team is as fresh as possible is imperative.First things first, showing a few of the key players on both sides of the ball that you need to watch out for and potentially game plan around. You could also take this into gameplay by placing a star icon under these players so you know where they are at all times.This is more of an aesthetic thing but I always enjoyed in the older Maddens the ability to click the right stick and get a matchup breakdown that showed both teams stats and where they (and you) ranked in the league and this is a good place to do it. As it currently stands you only get a couple rankings and I'd like to see this expanded to showing YPG (total, rushing, passing) for both sides of the ball along with where they rank in the league. You could also throw in a couple extra stats like sacks and INT as well. This is also something that easily keeps the user aware of things going on in their league without really having to look for it which is always a big plus for immersion IMO.This is another aspect I'd like to see represented and that's knowing how often the opponent uses certain personnel and lines up in certain formations. The formations isn't nearly as important but knowing the likelihood of the personnel grouping you'll see greatly aids in preparing for an opponent. At the very least it gives you an idea of what to be prepared for. In addition to showing how often personnel packages and formations were used, there would also be run/pass ratios attached to them. You could go even further and break it down again by down and distance but I think that would admittedly be a quite a bit of information to handle. The idea would just be to give you more general knowledge of how the opponent plays and what you can expect. Alternatively you could show how the opponents defense reacts to certain personnel as well showing their counter personnel as well as man/zone percentages and blitz percentages given the personnel they're facing. However in this mock up, I just followed the offensive format and showed how often the defense uses certain personnel and what they tend to do out of each.Going to stick to the topic of tendency tracking first because I feel it's the most important aspect of Gameplanning as well as what needs the most work. For those unaware tendency tracking in M17 was pretty much useless. For online users the data tracked was only first down plays from the previous game. For AI teams the data shown was completely made up as well as static regardless of coach or personnel. So as an offline user the numbers you saw for the Chargers or any other team would be the same in 2045 as they were in 2016.Now tendency tracking isn't something that is overly complicated to understand and with suggestions already in place there's really no reason for it to be as shallow as it is. The goal should be to provide the user with a detailed look at what their opponent has done so that they can be prepared as well as formulate a gameplan to attack and defend their opponent.This is the obvious one. Expand the tendency tracking to represent the full spectrum of situations to include 2nd/3rd & long, medium, and short as well as additional scenarios like Red Zone, Goal Line, and an overall run/pass ratio. This would provide a much better picture of your opponent and would prepare you for your game in far greater detail. Now this may seem like a bit of a overload but I'd imagine this is exactly what kind of information that someone in an online franchise would love to have.This would also be a very simple visual aid to show the user certain tendencies that their opponent may have. Have a chart showing the percentage of runs that go left, right, up the middle, etc. You could expand this to outside left, inside left, middle, inside right and outside right but that wouldn't be essential to the purpose. You could throw in YPC averages into each slot as well to show how effective your opponent is at running in each direction. Also show a "spray chart" of pass tendencies that shows the direction and distance in which passes go. You could also have things like target and carry distribution and little nuance stats that just give you that much more information about your opponent. Same things would be shown for the defense where you'd see where they are the best and weakest at stopping opposing offenses.Only improvement here would just be expanding the concepts to more than three that are currently shown on the offensive side. Show percentages for all the concepts that an opponent runs for both runs and passes. This isn't something that really needs to be broken down by down or distance and I think a simple percentage for each side would suffice. This would be something more expanded for the defensive side of things where it could provide man/zone percentages as well as blitz percentages and even blitz tendencies as well.This would just be an ease-of-use addition. Rather than having to go to the injury report and scan through a bunch of teams to see what your opponents situation was, it'd be made readily available at on the teams game prep reportPretty much the same thing here. This would show you something similar to your injury report but it would illustrate who wasn't practicing that week, who was limited and what players would be full participants which would all play into XP gain, gameday boosts, etc.So having all of this info for your opponent is great but I think it is equally important to have all of this information tracked and easily visible to the user as well. It might just seem like something for the stat nerds but the way I look at it is that it's also an easy way to identify and be aware of your own playstyle and tendencies. This benefits users in two ways: it shows them their potential strengths and weaknesses from a gameplay and philosophy standpoint as well as showing what portions of their roster they could stand to improve to help bolster those strengths and tighten up any weaknesses.Now I haven't mentioned how any of this would work with the CPU and I'm not sure there's any pretty way to go about tracking stuff for nothing but simulated games. But earlier in the OP I talked about Dynamic Gameplans and what they could bring to CFM in regards to CPU playcalling and I believe it's something that could also work together very well into Gameplanning for the solo CFM or offline player. When you're playing another user, there's hard data based on actual games to base it off of. With the CPU all you really have is the sim stats but fortunately for a lot of what I've described above it can easily be manufactured simply by using the Gameplan Playbooks. The playbooks show how likely a team is to run vs. pass, run a certain direction or use a certain concept so most of the data would already be provided by the playbook itself. And not only is this data actually usable but it is far more relevant on a week-to-week basis which is something this feature completely lacks for the offline crowd. Obviously something like Dynamic Gameplans would be a full fledged feature but even with the base feature that is currently implemented it would still work just fine. Ratios and other stats could be directly pulled and provide the user with reliable data for every game rather than just fabricating it and having it be completely static.Not a game! Not a game! We talkin' bout Practice! As someone who would rather do literally anything else within Madden than practice, it's good that there is the ability to sim practice but locking it behind having to do a drill first is a huge mistake IMO. You can sim practice without playing but it also comes at the expense of having your team progress at the slowest pace possible which I don't feel like is a reasonable trade off. To the other side if you get a couple drills Gold you're automatically locked into the best possible progression for an entire season without doing much at all. I understand this was done with Online CFM's in mind but I still think it is a poor design decision. In the end it's extremely monotonous and feels more intrusive than anything and having it be what essentially dictates the level of development for an entire unit of players is a poor choice IMO. I'm fine with keeping it as it is so that it can continue being a teaching tool for less experienced users but there needs to be some more options to make it a better and more well rounded experience. For me personally, I don't think you should be required to ever play practice or penalized for not wanting to do so.This is something I'd like to see removed and that's restricting development to certain position groups every week. If that means that you have to reduce the amount of XP given on a per week basis then that's fine but I don't like that each week it can only be certain units and the rest of your team gets no credit for practicing. It should just be offense and defense and everyone should be eligible for some sort of gain. You can still use the current system to an extent where maybe those position groups are "emphasis groups" and get potentially a slight boost for everyone in that unit but everybody practices and that should be rewarded as such. And having the emphasis groups could be a nice way of expanding the "focus players" that it's more of team oriented focus rather than individual.I do like the idea of players earning medals in practice. It emulates and can accurately depict a player having a good or bad week of practice which definitely is a good thing. However their implementation is quite basic and shallow. You earn a gold and the whole unit earns a gold. You earn a bronze, the whole unit earns a bronze. I'd like to see medals distributed individually to players rather than just allowing for one all encompassing medal for the unit. Now, this obviously presents a problem for those that do play practice and feel if they earn a gold, everyone should earn a gold and I'm not entirely sure how that can be handled. The idea I'd propose is having two options for practice (Manual & Auto), similar to progressing players where if you're on Manual you play practice and your players get the medal they get and then there's Auto where you can sim practice and each player gets a random medal largely based on a combination of morale, DEV trait, coaching staff, etc.Definitely not a fan of how these worked in M17 but I think they can still have a place in CFM and add an interesting dynamic to matchups and even presentation. So under the system I've laid out, rather than having specific position groups (LB's, QB's, etc.) getting those boosts, it'd be expanded to specific players. So a player that earns gold will receive a very slight ratings boost (for the whole game, not just certain concepts) for that given week but if you only earn a bronze then it is considered a bad week of practice and those players see a slight reduction in certain attributes. Maybe a CB loses a couple points in MCV or PRC for the week due to a poor week at practice. Maybe an OL receives a couple point boost in RBK and PBK for the next weeks game because of a good week of practice. It would change week-to-week adding a new dynamic to certain matchups like a WR-CB matchup where both players had a great week of practice or maybe a T-EDGE match-up where a one had a bad week and the other a good. This also presents a great opportunity for commentary lines mentioning how coaches raved about his week at practice or how a player struggled through the week.The idea here is that based on a players morale they will progress differently based on their morale. The main goal being an increased emphasis put on maintaining a happier and more cohesive roster. How this would work would be that tied to each players DEV trait would also be a happiness modifier. For example, there'd essentially be Superstar-Happy, Superstar-Neutral, Superstar-Unhappy instead of just Superstar or any other DEV level. A happy player would receive a slight boost in the amount of XP earned while neutral would be normal and an unhappy would result in a slight reduction in the amount of XP earned. So hypothetically, a happy player with Quick DEV could be actually progress better than an unhappy player with SS DEV.This could be taken a step further where you have five tiers of Very Happy, Happy, Neutral, Unhappy, and Very Unhappy but I think the main goal is still accomplished with just the three tiers. Something like this puts an emphasis on keeping players happy and maintaining that happiness to get the most out of them. Knowing that offering a contract or making a transaction could have a drastic impact on both a players (or multiple players) happiness or ability to progress adds an interesting dynamic to making every roster move.Having injuries available in practice would be nice. Adds a bit more risk/reward in a couple of different facets. On one hand you risk any player at anytime getting injured which is something we see every year (hey Dante Fowler and Teddy Bridgewater). Having that risk of a player getting injured during practice and missing that weeks game or (far less likely) the season is something that adds some dynamism while placing a greater emphasis and priority on roster management as well. And secondly, it could propose a new "big decision" where you're faced with the proposition of practicing an injured player and risking further injury or the chance he misses the upcoming game or sitting him and sacrificing development time for health while a player lower on the depth chart gets their reps.This is an additional idea I had for practice but it is quite a bit more restricting although, in my mind, it makes a bit more sense. This would be something that would be better paired with the 'Strict' XP allocation setting that I mentioned and how it would work is just like it sounds -- progress what you practice. The idea here is that whatever you practice dictates what you earn towards progression. Practicing Cover 3? Your DB's earn XP towards ZCV and PRC while DL earn XP towards FMV and PMV, etc. Practicing Read Option? BCV and AWR for the RB, RBK for WR, OL, TE. This is something that could definitely fit into the scope of what is already there with practicing concepts and even more so if the amount of available practice scenarios was expanded. Obvious this is a bit more restricting as you wouldn't be able to practice Cover 3 or anything else to boost a players SPD or other physical attributes but I also feel as though it would be more strategic.To add to that, I mentioned that this is something that would work better paired with the strict XP allocation that I mentioned but it is also something that could work in itself as an automated progression system. Because what you practiced would allocate XP to specific attributes, there would be no need for the user to have to upgrade their players. once a player reached the amount of XP available it would automatically upgrade because the XP earned there wouldn't be allowed to be spent anywhere else. Additionally, if players had something like a career cap on certain attributes that essentially dictated their peak potential, it would add another element of strategy into what you're practicing especially if paired with masked ratings.Just as a quick (and likely poor) example, let's say you draft two CB's that both have 75 for MCV. Player A has slow DEV with a MCV cap of 85 while Player B has normal and a MCV cap of 95. You pump a ton of practice hours into MCV and both players start going up and after a couple seasons Player A has reached his 85 MCV cap while Player B has progressed a bit quicker and is up to 88. Now as you continue to practice MCV, Player B still has the possibility of going up because his cap hasn't been reached. However for Player A his rating is stuck at 85 until he begins to regress but the rating shown still acts as if his cap is 99 and his attributes are continuing to grow until he starts to regress. So if you continued to practice MCV, at the end of the season maybe Player B is a 93 and it is a "true" 93 because he hasn't reached his peak yet while Player A might display as an 88 now because of the time put in but on the surface he's really still that 85. And as he regresses his "true" rating and his perceived rating might always be slightly different.Obviously this isn't a fully fleshed idea but just something I'd been thinking about and wanted to add. There's a lot of different ways you could take it but it's not nearly as "fun" or user friendly as the other options obviously.This could be something to add a little bit of uniqueness to players with Superstar DEV and that's something like Platinum Medals available to them for Gameplanning. They'd be more rare but would give a player a chance at earning a bit more than usual in a given week. You could have this tied into something like all the necessary factors being in line with each other where a player is Superstar DEV, has a good coach, is healthy, etc. Just an idea to throw an added element into the fire.The GamePlan function is one of the most underutilized features in all of Madden. It's original premise was to reduce play time by giving the user the ability to have a "coordinator" call plays for them based on the scenario. This turned out to not have much of an impact but the implementation ended up giving us access and control over one thing that had always been more or less a mystery and that's CPU playcalling. Now when it comes to a User v. CPU franchise this is HUGE. Simply taking the tools that are already present and modifying the existing playbooks would make teams playcalling miles better and more exciting than it currently is but the issue comes with playing over several seasons this could become stale and repetitive. I'm aiming to take the current GamePlan function a step further so that as you play more seasons you get a real sense of teams adapting and changing with their coaches and players.If you're not familiar how GamePlan works it's essentially a star system for plays in a given scenario (1st & 10, 3rd & long, etc.) that determines which plays are called. The higher the star rating, the greater the chance that play is called in a given scenario. Most teams playbooks consist of about 20 plays per scenario and for the most part most plays are rated at two and a half out of five stars. The first issue is that the playbooks don't take nearly enough of their playbook into consideration in these scenarios. You'll see plays like Curl Flats, Slants, Corner Strike, and Four Verticals prominent in just about every teams playbooks taking up multiple spots in multiple scenarios which plays a part in teams playing so similar. So the first step to this is to make sure each team is utilizing as much of their playbook as possible for each given scenario when possible. Now, that doesn't mean making all of their running plays available in 3rd & long scenarios, it just means applying more of the playbook to scenarios where those plays fit in so as to further diversify playcalling.Now to the dynamic part. The idea I have is attaching star boosts/reductions to certain plays/concepts within a teams playbook based on player ratings, coach tendencies, and team performance.
A few examples:
A QB with a high great passing intangibles bumps all passes in the playbook a half/full star, alternatively a lower overall QB lowers pass plays
A QB with high SPD raises read options and QB runs while a pocket QB largely eliminates those from being called
A QB with low THP lowers stars on deep passes and plays with more routes deep down the field
A HB with a high OVR raises all run plays, a HB with high TRK raises all inside runs, a HB with high SPD raises all outside runs, a HB with high catch raises screens and plays where the HB has receiving responsibility
Now, obviously player attributes shouldn't be the lone factor in determining how a team calls their plays. Every coach/coordinator has their own preference and style when it comes to playcalling as well so that should also play a role in how this works. So apply the same logic as you would with the player ratings for coaches (and coordinators but more on that later). Instead of having star boosts based on ratings, essentially create a philosophy or personality trait for each coach where each concept is either neutral, boosted, or reduced. So a coach like Mike Martz would have traits that call for a boost in passing plays while a coach that loves to pound the rock would have boosts for running plays. These would work together with the player ratings to create a unique star system for every team that would adapt and change over time and make teams truly feel unique as you progressed through a CFM. Another big part of this would be the ability to create unique fictional personalities that enter your CFM and provide something new and exciting to the franchise.
And for the last part of this, team performance and personnel. This is something that would more appopriately tied to the Gameplanning/Game Prep side of things but I'll talk about it here and how this is where things could become really interesting. What I'd do is similar to what is set up now except maybe expand it to two or three concepts on offense and defense and have those based on an opposing teams tendencies as well as strengths and weaknesses. What would factor in this is ratings as well as team performance. So let's say your team is ranked in the low-20's against the run and you've been getting gashed up the middle or you have poor to average DT's. I'd like to see the CPU prioritize inside runs and runs in general in their gameplan to attack your weakness. The big change I would make to Gameplanning is that instead of having the attribute boost be based on this, I'd follow the format of star increases and apply that to inside runs in this scenario so that they're called more against you so you really get a sense that teams are trying to attack your weaknesses. Alternatively, each week you'd be faced with the decision to either try and spend more time focusing on trying to attack the other teams weaknesses and strengths or spending time trying to compensate for your own weaknesses. I want there to really be a sense of teams attacking your weaknesses and playing to their strengths and having that chess match feeling while prepping and playing.
Team Chemistry/Player Morale
This is something that would essentially replace Confidence. I haven't been much a fan of Confidence and the issues with Drive Goals pretty much sealed its fate for me. I don't like the attribute boosts or reductions as it is and especially so when they're predominantly based on stuff like wins and goals. So what I'd do is replace it with a Player Morale system similar to The Show which directly correlates to overall Team Chemistry. Each player's happiness could vary from very unhappy, unhappy, neutral, happy, and very happy. It would be based on a number of factors including contract status, player role, playing time, production, and team record. It could play a role in contract negotiations, performance on the field and during practice, as well as potentially affecting other players and bringing team morale down if he is very unhappy.
Big Decisions - Regular Season
Injuries
This is the other big one when it comes to week-to-week type things. I'm glad they finally did something about injuries in M17 but I'm not exactly fond of how they did it. Giving XP boosts for opting to start backups and the static nature of how injuries are handled doesn't make much sense to me and isn't something I'm a fan of. A few things here:
More Injury Variety
More sprains, strains, bruises, contusions and just overall more variety. Injuries like broken collarbones are far too common and I don't feel as if there as many of those nagging and intermediate injuries as there should be. I also feel like there should be a good number of injuries available to each body part (hands, shoulders, feet, etc.) to go along with the expanded injury ratings that I'll talk about later.
Wear-and-Tear/Season Stamina Effect
This is one of the biggest things that I think would help convey a feeling of progressing through a season although maybe in a less noticeable fashion. Think something similar to Fight Night, UFC or MVP Baseball. The idea being that each player has a Season Stamina that is separate but also coincides with game stamina. The goal is to create something that represents the wear and tear of an NFL season while providing an effect on gameplay based on what happens over the course of each game and throughout the season.
I'll try to describe this as simple as I can using an RB as an example. Week One and your RB starts at 100% and receives 40 carries in the first game. After the game his season stamina falls to something in like the 60's or 70's and starts to regenerate based on how many days before the teams next game. By the time you reach the game he should be back to around the high 90's where as if he only had 20 or so carries or didn't take many hits he'd likely make it back to 100%. Over the course of the season it becomes harder to get back to that 100% threshold and the max that a player can get back to can begin to drop. The affect this would have is that the further the player falls in Season Stamina, the more it could start to affect certain attributes. So let's say you're going into the postseason with your workhorse running back and he's only at 80-85% maybe that takes a couple points off his injury and stamina rating so he fatigues quicker in-game and is at a little bit higher of an injury risk. The lower you go the more attributes that become affected and physical attributes start to become minorly affected as well. Also to clarify, this wouldn't be something that would mean if your player was at 85% that he would have 85% stamina when you started the game. He would have 100% per normal but he may fatigue faster than normal if the situation calls for it. This is also something that could have a great affect on older players where as they age their recovery period takes longer and they begin to wear down faster which can create a lot of interesting roster dynamics.
This would be something that would emulate the grind of an NFL season as well as helping represent things like short weeks for Thursday night games and/or teams fresh off of a bye. It would also present the user with roster management decisions when it comes to maybe resting players for the playoffs or in blowouts. For those that don't want to have to deal with or manage around this, put in an On/Off "Fatigue Effect" option to disable it.
Expanded Injury Ratings
One, all-encompasing injury rating is extremely antiquated and doesn't do a good job of giving players any sort of identity when it comes to their injury profile. This would look to change that. I really like what 2K does with their injury system and I think it's something that would carry over well to Madden. Assign a Injury/Durability rating to each major body part like the head, arms, knees, feet, and back. You could get a bit more intricate and have INJ ratings for both left and right sides but I don't think that would be necessary. These ratings would determine how likely a player would be to injure that part of their body. In addition, certain injuries would drop the durability rating for that body part and repeated injuries would increase those effects (i.e. repeated torn ACL's). This also adds an interesting element to scouting players with questionable medical grades.
Injury Timeline
This is the big one for me and kind of goes along with Injury Variety. Like I said before, I like that they did something with injuries but I'm not a fan of how they've done it. I don't like the idea that it's always 2 weeks before a player is scheduled to be back that you have the option to play him. This isn't dynamic or realistic and takes nearly all of intrigue away from dealing with injuries. Here's what I would propose as an injury timeline: I think you probably get the gist. The main idea is to giving teams the ability to adapt their playcalling on the fly to fit their rosters strengths and weaknesses rather than simply relying on their base playbook. If a team like Pittsburgh loses Big Ben they shouldn't be running the same air it out offense with Landry Jones or any other scrub QB. If a team like Carolina loses Cam Newton they shouldn't be running QB Powers with someone like Derek Anderson. This could be something that has a hugely positive effect on how teams play and really give you the feeling that the teams you're playing are alive and always evolving and adapting to injuries and the moves they make in the draft and free agency.Now, obviously player attributes shouldn't be the lone factor in determining how a team calls their plays. Every coach/coordinator has their own preference and style when it comes to playcalling as well so that should also play a role in how this works. So apply the same logic as you would with the player ratings for coaches (and coordinators but more on that later). Instead of having star boosts based on ratings, essentially create a philosophy or personality trait for each coach where each concept is either neutral, boosted, or reduced. So a coach like Mike Martz would have traits that call for a boost in passing plays while a coach that loves to pound the rock would have boosts for running plays. These would work together with the player ratings to create a unique star system for every team that would adapt and change over time and make teams truly feel unique as you progressed through a CFM. Another big part of this would be the ability to create unique fictional personalities that enter your CFM and provide something new and exciting to the franchise.And for the last part of this, team performance and personnel. This is something that would more appopriately tied to the Gameplanning/Game Prep side of things but I'll talk about it here and how this is where things could become really interesting. What I'd do is similar to what is set up now except maybe expand it to two or three concepts on offense and defense and have those based on an opposing teams tendencies as well as strengths and weaknesses. What would factor in this is ratings as well as team performance. So let's say your team is ranked in the low-20's against the run and you've been getting gashed up the middle or you have poor to average DT's. I'd like to see the CPU |
age. Phage pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are complex because of the nature of the predator-prey relationship at the site of infection, in which both elements are replicating while the target bacteria are also undergoing lysis [31]. Phages are rapidly removed from the circulation by cells of the reticuloendothelial system and may also be subjected to removal by neutralizing antibody, if present. The former, however, has been overcome in a murine model by selection of virus persisting in the circulation after serial phage passage [32]. Organ and tissue targeting may be further complicated by the fact that bacteriophages are within the size range of nanoparticles (9–15 nm). Nanoparticles in biological fluids, such as blood, acquire a corona, a “cloud” of proteins and other molecules, the composition of which depends on particle size and charge, and the corona would affect the trafficking of the nanoparticles [33]. Computer modeling suggests that the timing of administration relative to the onset of infection is likely to be important [34, 35]. In addition to an understanding of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, the safety of phage therapy will also require strict attention. Administered phages should be demonstrated to be free of genes that encode factors that enhance bacterial virulence—a requirement that is relatively easy to address with modern gene sequencing techniques. Recently, Kwan et al. [36] determined the genomes and proteomes of 27 individual S. aureus bacteriophages, including the first discovered phage, phage Twort. Therapeutic phages would also require demonstration of stable viability, preferably without the necessity of maintenance of an intact cold chain.
Phages as Therapeutic Delivery Systems
The specificity of targeting by phages may be exploited for their use as a delivery system for antibacterial molecules. As an example, US patent 6759229 (issued in 2004) describes a “toxin-phage bacteriocide antibiotic and uses thereof” [37], consisting of a modified phage-encoding TPB peptide toxin A, which is bactericidal only when it is located intracellularly. Similarly, nonlytic phages engineered to produce antimicrobial proteins were effective in a systemic mouse model of Escherichia coli infection [38]. Yacoby et al. [39, 40] demonstrated in vitro activity against S. aureus of filamentous phages modified to display target-specific peptides or antibody, with chloramphenicol attached to the phages through a labile linker molecule. The antibiotic is only active when it is released, and it is only released at the target site; therefore, its concentration is maximized at the site of infection, and the systemic toxicity is minimized. Although phages alone can disrupt biofilm colonies of target organisms, such as Staphylococcus epidermidis growing on silcon catheters [41, 42], phages have also been bioengineered to attack biofilm. An E. coli phage, T7, was modified to express dispersin B, an enzyme that degrades β-1,6-n-acetyl-d-glucosamine (an important component of biofilm) in such a way that the enzyme was released into the extracellular milieu during bacterial cell lysis [43]. The dispersin B-expressing phage reduced the biofilm bacterial load by ∼99.997% (−4.5 log>10), to a level ∼2 orders of magnitude lower than that achieved with phages alone.
Targeted gene deletions have produced phages that are capable of binding to their target receptors and injecting their DNA but that do not replicate and do not lyse bacteria [44]. Such modified phages have been further altered to encode small acid-soluble proteins that bind to DNA (chromosomal and plasmid) in a non-sequence-specific manner, causing a shift in conformation and halting DNA replication and gene expression [44–47]; this potentially results in inhibition of toxin production and in bacterial killing. Exposure of methicillin-resistant S. aureus to this construction results in a >99.9% kill in 5 min with an inoculum of 1×105 organisms and a >99.9% kill in 10 min with 1×107 organisms [45–48].
External application of purified phage-derived lysin rapidly kills gram-positive bacteria with species- or strain-specific activity [49, 50]. Gram-negative bacteria cannot, however, be targeted in this way, because the outer cell membrane of these organisms represents an impenetrable barrier, preventing access to cell wall target sites. Pathogens for which potential therapeutic lysins have been specifically identified include Bacillus anthracis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae [49, 50]. Potential uses include topical administration for therapy or the elimination of colonizing organisms, as well as systemic therapy. The latter is illustrated by evidence that the phage-derived enzyme Cpl-1 has had a significant antibacterial effect in rodent models of pneumococcal septicemia [51] and endocarditis [52] with intravenous administration and against meningitis with both intracisternal and intraperitoneal administration [53]. MV-L, a lysin cloned from S. aureus bacteriophage ϕMR11, was active against methicillin-resistant S. aureus, vancomycin-resistant S. aureus, and some vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus in vitro, interacted favorably with vancomycin, and was active in a murine infection model [54].
Mayer et al. [55] determined the genome sequence of a C. difficile bacteriophage, subcloned the endolysin gene, and expressed the gene in E. coli. The endolysin was active against a diverse panel of 30 strains of C. difficile, including the epidemic strain, ribotype 027 (B1/NAP1). The authors also expressed the gene in Lactococcus lactis MG1363, a potential delivery organism to the gastrointestinal tract. Similar to phages, lysins could be used in combinations of >1 enzyme or together with antibiotics. Sublethal concentrations of at least some quinolones and β-lactam antibiotics mobilize virulent phages, increasing bacterial killing [56].
What Are the Prospects for Therapeutic Uses of Phages in the United States?
Nonhuman applications of phages and phage lysins, some of which are already implemented in the United States, will represent the first and widest use of these agents. These include use in food safety, agriculture, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, aquaculture, waste-water treatment, and environmental remediation. The initial approved uses of phages in humans will likely be for topical administration (e.g., for infected chronic wounds) or for elimination of colonization with organisms such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Phages may also be used in the United States for prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal infections, including those caused by enteric pathogens and, possibly, C. difficile.
The systemic administration of phages for the treatment of deep infections would likely meet significant regulatory obstacles in the United States and elsewhere. Phage therapy is reported to present European regulatory agencies with a conundrum [57], and this is also true for the International Conference on Harmonization [58]. There appears to be no published US Food and Drug Administration guidelines about the evaluation of the safety of phage therapy, but the following statement from the agency with regard to somatic cell therapy and gene therapy may possibly indicate a lack of great concern: “In the case of MCB's [Master Cell Banks] consisting of bacteria carrying plasmids of interest, testing for bacteriophage is not required but the possible presence of bacteriophage should be considered, since it could adversely affect stability and yield” [59].
In the absence of significant advancements in point-of-care diagnostics, the rational use of phages and some phage products would likely be limited, in the majority of instances, to circumstances in which the pathogen is known and, preferably, its in vitro susceptibility to the available phage(s) is also known. This implies the ready availability of in vitro testing methods that can be performed in a clinical microbiology laboratory, which is also important for topical phage therapies. Optimal targets may be multidrug-resistant pathogens and organisms that are difficult to eradicate, such as those growing in biofilm. In the absence of rapid and accurate point-of-care testing, the systemic use of phages will logically be limited to follow-up use when classical microbiology techniques provide support for choosing this method of antibacterial therapy. One advantage of developing phage lysins for therapeutic use, rather than developing only phages, is the likely greater ease with which the lysins can move through the regulatory process. In any case, the path will be a difficult one, but reaching the goal has great potential benefit. With that goal in sight, attention may eventually be given to the potential usefulness of even smaller fleas in the form of virophage, such as the recently described Sputnik, a viral parasite of the mimivirus-related mamavirus [60].
Acknowledgments
Potential conflicts of interest. S.D. has been an advisory board member for Schering Plough, Ortho-McNeil, Cephid, Targanta, and Theravance; has served on the speakers' bureau for Merck, Ortho-McNeil, Schering Plough, Pfizer, Wyeth, Cubist, Targanta, and Theravance; and has been a consultant for Targanta and Theravance.
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Inactivation of indispensable bacterial proteins by early proteins of bacteriophages: implication in antibacterial drug discovery, Curr Protein Pept Sci, 2008, vol. 9 (pg. 284 - 90 ), vol.(pg. 17 Hanlon GW Bacteriophages: an appraisal of their role in the treatment of bacterial infections, Int J Antimicrob Agents, 2007, vol. 30 (pg. 118 - 28 ), vol.(pg. 18 Guttman B Raya R Kutter E Basic phage biology. In: Bacteriophages biology and applications. Kutter E, Sulakvelidze A, eds. New York: CRC Press, 2004 (pg. 29 - 66 ) (pg. 19 Svrividhya K Krishnaswamy S Subclassification and targeted characterization of prophage-encoded two-component cell lysis cassette, J Biosci, 2007, vol. 32 (pg. 979 - 90 ), vol.(pg. 20 Borysowski J Weber-Dabrowska B Gorski A Bacteriophage endolysins as a novel class of antibacterial agents, Exp Biol Med (Maywood), 2006, vol. 231 (pg. 366 - 77 ), vol.(pg. 21 Matsuda T Freeman T Hilbert D, et al. Lysis-deficient bacteriophage therapy decreases endotoxin and inflammatory mediator release and improves survival in a murine peritonitis model, Surgery, 2005, vol. 137 (pg. 639 - 46 ), vol.(pg. 22 Bruynhoge R Maisin J Experiments using the therapeutic bacteriophage of Staphylococcus, J Compt Rend Soc Biol, 1921, vol. 85 (pg. 1120 - 1 ), vol.(pg. 23 d'Herrele F Bacteriophage: its role in immunity. Paris: Masson et Cie, 1921 24 d'Herrele F The bacteriophage and its behavior. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1926 25 d'Herelle F Experimental treatment of bubonic plague by the bacteriophage, La Presse Med, 1925, vol. 33 (pg. 1393 - 4 ), vol.(pg. 26 Markoishvili K Tsitianadze G Katsarava R, et al. A novel sustained-release matrix based on biodegradable poly(ester amide)s and impregnated with bacteriophages and an antibiotic shows promise in management of infected venous stasis ulcers and other poorly healing wounds, Int J Dermatol, 2002, vol. 41 (pg. 453 - 8 ), vol.(pg. 27 Intralytix 28 National Institutes of Health, A prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled study of WPP-201 for the safety and efficacy of treatment of venous leg ulcers 29 Gorski A Wazna E Dabrowska B, et al. Bacteriophage translocation, FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol, 2006, vol. 46 (pg. 313 - 9 ), vol.(pg. 30 Levin BR Bull JJ Population and evolutionary dynamics of phage therapy, Nat Rev Microbiol, 2004, vol. 2 (pg. 166 - 73 ), vol.(pg. 31 Cairns BJ Payne RJH Bacteriophage therapy and the mutant selection window, Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2008, vol. 52 (pg. 4344 - 50 ), vol.(pg. 32 Merril C Biswas B Carlton R, et al. Long-circulating bacteriophage as antibacterial agents, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1996, vol. 93 (pg. 3188 - 92 ), vol.(pg. 33 Lundqvist M Stigler J Elia G, et al. Nanoparticle size and surface properties determine the protein corona with possible implications for biological impacts, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2008, vol. 105 (pg. 14265 - 70 ), vol.(pg. 34 Payne R Jansen V Pharmacokinetic principles of bacteriophage therapy, Clin Pharmacokinet, 2003, vol. 42 (pg. 315 - 25 ), vol.(pg. 35 Payne R Phil D Jansen V Phage therapy: the peculiar kinetics of self-replicating pharmaceuticals, Clin Pharmacol Ther, 2000, vol. 68 (pg. 225 - 30 ), vol.(pg. 36 Kwan T Liu J DuBow M Gros P Pelletier J The complete genomes and proteomes of 27 Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophages, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2005, vol. 102 (pg. 5174 - 9 ), vol.(pg. 37 Shaak DL inventor; President & Fellows of Harvard College assignee. Toxin-phage bacteriocide antibiotic and uses thereof. US patent 6759229, 2004 38 Westwater C Kasman L Schofield D, et al. Use of genetically engineered phage to deliver antimicrobial agents to bacteria: an alternative therapy for treatment of bacterial infections, Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2003, vol. 47 (pg. 1301 - 7 ), vol.(pg. 39 Yacoby I Shamis M Bar H, et al. Targeting antibacterial agents by using drug-carrying filamentous bacteriophages, Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2006, vol. 50 (pg. 2087 - 97 ), vol.(pg. 40 Yacoby I Bar H Benhar I Targeted drug-carrying bacteriophages as antibacterial nanomedicines, Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2007, vol. 51 (pg. 2156 - 63 ), vol.(pg. 41 Azeredo J Sutherland I The use of phages for the removal of infectious biofilms, Curr Pharm Biotechnol, 2008, vol. 9 (pg. 261 - 6 ), vol.(pg. 42 Curtin J Donlan R Using bacteriophages to reduce formation of catheter-associated biofilms by Staphylococcus epidermidis, Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2006, vol. 50 (pg. 1268 - 75 ), vol.(pg. 43 Lu T Collins J Dispersing biofilms with engineered enzymatic bacteriophage, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2007, vol. 104 (pg. 11197 - 202 ), vol.(pg. 44 Phico Therapeutics 45 Wilkinson A Holme S Pitts K, et al. SASP: a novel antibacterial DNA binding protein and its targeted delivery for Staphylococcus aureus [abstract F1-2132]. In: Program and abstracts of the 47th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (Chicago). Washington, DC: American Society of Microbiology, 2007 46 Setlow J Randesi M Adams J Setlow B Setlow P Mutation and killing of Escherichia coli expressing a cloned Bacillus subtilis gene whose product alters DNA conformation, J Bacteriol, 1992, vol. 174 (pg. 2943 - 50 ), vol.(pg. 47 Fairhead HM inventor; Phico Therapeutics, assignee. Small acid-soluble proteins and uses thereof. UK patent EP1343896, 2001 48 Barnard A Pitts K Brown D, et al. SASP: rapid bactericidal activity against USA strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [abstract P561]. In: Program and abstracts of the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (Barcelona), 2008 49 Fischetti V Nelson D Schuch R Reinventing phage therapy: are the parts greater than the sum?, Nature Biotechnology, 2006, vol. 24 (pg. 1508 - 11 ), vol.(pg. 50 Fischetti V Bacteriophage lysins as effective antibacterials, Curr Opin Microbiol, 2008, vol. 11 (pg. 393 - 400 ), vol.(pg. 51 Loeffler J Djurkovic S Fischetti V Phage lytic enzyme Cpl-1 as a novel antimicrobial for pneumococcal bacteremia, Infect Immun, 2003, vol. 71 (pg. 6199 - 204 ), vol.(pg. 52 Entenza J Loeffler J Grandgirard D, et al. Therapeutic effects of bacteriophage Cpl-1 lysin against Streptococcus pneumoniae endocarditis in rats, Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2005, vol. 49 (pg. 4789 - 92 ), vol.(pg. 53 Grandgirard D Loeffler J Fischetti V Leib S Phage lytic enzyme Cpl-1 for antibacterial therapy in experimental pneumococcal meningitis, J Infect Dis, 2008, vol. 197 (pg. 1519 - 22 ), vol.(pg. 54 Rashel M Uchiyama J Ujihara T, et al. Efficient elimination of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by cloned lysin derived from bacteriophage ΦMR11, J Infect Dis, 2007, vol. 196 (pg. 1237 - 47 ), vol.(pg. 55 Mayer M Narbad A Gasson M Molecular characterisation of a Clostridium difficile bacteriophage and its cloned biologically active endolysin, J Bacteriol, 2008, vol. 190 (pg. 6734 - 50 ), vol.(pg. 56 Comeau A Tetart F Trojet S, et al. Phage-Antibiotic Synergy (PAS): β-lactam ad quinolone antibiotics stimulate virulent phage growth, PLoS One, 2007, vol. 2 (pg. e799 - 0000 ), vol.(pg. 57 Verbeken G Vos DD Vanechoutte M, et al. European regulatory conundrum of phage therapy, Future Microbiol, 2007, vol. 2 (pg. 485 - 91 ), vol.(pg. 58 Withington Ris Regulatory issues for phage-based clinical products, J Chem Technol Biotechnol, 2001, vol. 76 (pg. 673 - 6 ), vol.(pg. 59 US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Guidance for human somatic cell therapy and gene therapy. March, 1998 60 La Scola B Desnues C Pagnier I, et al. The virophage as a unique parasite of the giant mimivirus, Nature, 2008, vol. 455 (pg. 100 - 4 ), vol.(pg.
© 2009 by the Infectious Diseases Society of AmericaCochlear Limited (ASX:COH) grew its revenue the half-year ended in December by 18% to a record $438.3 million, driven by strong performance in the Americas.
The company’s net profit surged 240% to $71.4 million. Excluding the provision taken during the first half of FY14 regarding the patent violation lawsuit filed by the Alfred E Mann Foundation for Scientific Research, net profit increased by 94%.
Depreciation of the Australian dollar against the greenback helped improve revenue from overseas contracts. Sales increased 17% to $440.5 million, but in constant currency were up 15%.
Cochlear implant sales revenue grew 16% year-on-year to $383 million. Unit sales remained stable at 11,689. Sound processor upgrade sales meanwhile grew 9% to $82.2 million, while bone anchored solutions sales were up 25% to $57.5 million.
Broken down by region, sales to the Americas grew 30% to $195.3 million, EMEA sales improved 7% to $181.6 million and APAC sales grew 10% to $63.6 million.
“A focus of 1H15 was continuing the sales momentum for products launched in FY14,” Cochlear CEO Dr Chris Roberts said. “Feedback on these products throughout the half was extremely positive.”
Looking ahead, Cochlear has obtained regulatory approval in various markets for five products due to launch during the second half of the financial year. These include two new versions of its Nucleus Profile series and accessories for its Nucleus 6 implants.
Cochlear (ASX:COH) shares were trading 1.4% higher at $88.83 as of around 1 pm on Tuesday.Former NHLer Stan Jonathan has been committed to stand trial on charges of criminal negligence causing death and careless use of a firearm.
The charges stem from the 2012 death of a Hamilton man who was shot while hunting on Six Nations.
Jonathan, 59, of Ohsweken, will next appear in court Nov. 20.
Peter Kosid, 29, was shot in the back on Nov. 11, 2012, by a bullet fired from Third Line Road, according to earlier published reports.
Initial police reports revealed that a deer hunter had fired one round from the roadway into the bush and struck a man who was bow hunting.
The bullet travelled about 375 metres.
The two hunters were not known to each other and were not hunting together, police said earlier.
Police also said that Kosid was bow-hunting in the bush with permission on an acquaintance’s land.
An early discovery by hockey pundit Don Cherry, Jonathan was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1975 and later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He was nicknamed Bulldog and known for his offensive game and toughness.Yinming from MIT, who studied with Yaron: Yaron is energetic, committed and motivated. He used lots of different techniques to help me cross the chasm of learning a new language. He is patient, fun to work with and very supportive.
Alma, who studied Arabic with Ebtisam: The course was fun, especially for me, as someone who usually doesn't do things over the internet. It was very easy and friendly.
Eshel after an Arabic course with Ghassan: Ghassan was very alert and focused. He was accommodating, patient and a very nice guy to interact with.
Tal after a Spanish course: Merceditas was very attentive and knew clearly how to explain every question that I had. I really enjoyed learning with her and it was convenient to study in the virtual classroom. The course met my expectations and I recommend it.
Robert after a Hebrew course: I just had my first lesson with David and I loved it. I'm really excited about studying Hebrew. Can't wait for my next lesson :-) David is a very friendly person.
Sagit who studied business English: : I enjoyed learning at Lingolearn. The teacher's professional level was very high and he was available for questions and very committed. The lessons were fun and included detailed explanations. My English has improved significantly. I would recommend learning at Lingolearn to everyone.
Leon after a Chinese course: Sujanti taught classes in an efficient and enjoyable way. She was committed to my success and I felt very comfortable learning with her.
Lihi after a Spoken Arabic course with Kobi: : Kobi is an extremely knowledgeable and professional teacher. He was able to adapt the course format to my personal needs and level, and kept things interesting by using diverse materials such as texts, audio clips and songs. He was very patient and encouraging but also demanding – every time I made a mistake, even the smallest one, he would correct me and give me tips on how to avoid making pattern mistakes. He is one of the best Arabic teachers I have ever had.Share. Acerbic newspaper columnist and games lover Charlie Brooker also lends his support. Acerbic newspaper columnist and games lover Charlie Brooker also lends his support.
Stephen Fry and Charlie Brooker have both used Twitter to come out in support of EA after the publisher was targeted by anti-gay protestors. Speaking over Easter, Fry said "If you do 0 else today, do join me and @Yoda to help game-maker @ea stand strong against anti gay hate & the dark side". Brooker was equally supportive, saying "Good for @EA for telling the homophobes to **** off."
"They should make *every* character in their games gay for a year just to wind up the bigots. Starting with the FIFA franchise," Brooker added. "In the next Modern Warfare, they should have a special 'gay' gun that's better than all the others, thus forcing online players to use it."
EA has received "several thousand" letters objecting to the inclusion of same-sex relationships in recent games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3. A counter-petition supporting EA has since launched and has accumulated over 65,000 names over the past four days.UPDATED March 4: Philip Larsen cleared waivers and will report to Oklahoma City Barons.
Edmonton Oilers cleared some of the logjam on their blueline on Monday morning with the announcement that Philip Larsen has been placed on waivers.
The 24-year-old Danish defenceman was acquired last July in the trade that sent former Oilers’ captain Shawn Horcoff to Dallas Stars. Larsen got a decent look on the Oilers blue earlier this season, playing 17 games during which time he averaged over 20 minutes a night. The mobile puck-moving rearguard scored 1 goal and 5 assists, a higher points per game rating than any other Edmonton defender than Justin Schultz, but had issues at the defensive end of the rink. He’s a “chaos defender” in the mould of former Marc-Andre Bergeron, and fairly ill-suited to match up against top offensive players, especially big ones.
A slight player listed at 6’0, 182 pounds, he contracted an illness just before Christmas that put a big hole in his season. He played just one game in the last ten weeks, a cameo in Ben Scrivens’ miracle shutout against San Jose, then found himself right back in sick bay. Even after the extended Olympic break he remained on the injured reserve list, perhaps as a roster convenience given the presence of 9 defencemen in Edmonton.
Now he’s apparently healthy enough to play. While one option for Craig MacTavish would have been to reassign him to OKC for conditioning, that would have required placing him on the 23-man active roster while placing a two-week limit on his AHL stint. By exposing him to waivers, he may get claimed; if not, he will likely remain with the Barons for the duration. His contract expires at the end of the season, and today’s decision suggests he’s unlikely to remain in the organization for long no matter what.
Will another team be interested in Larsen? Not too hard to imagine a team rolling the dice on the last quarter of a $1.025 MM cap hit on a young veteran with 112 games of NHL experience (6-19-25, -3) who has proven to be a decent scorer at the AHL level (74 GP, 6-33-39, -1). Once roster limits are removed after the deadline he might be a decent option as, say, a #8 d-man on a team that’s not happy with its depth on the blue.
But my best guess is that he’ll likely clear. If so, he will fill a valuable role on the farm club that is just one point out of a playoff berth after sweeping a three-game home stand this past weekend, especially given the non-zero possibility that another defender like Taylor Fedun or Oscar Klefbom might get the call to Edmonton once the dust settles after Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Philip Larsen career stats
Links to NHL Rinks
Staples: Oilers re-up Scrivens to 2-year pact
Staples: Is big, skilled Draisaitl the centre the Oilers need?
McCurdy: Interview with Oilers prospect Chase
Staples: Oilers offered Ilya Bryzgalov to Wild, Minnesota beat writer reports
McCurdy: By the numbers — evaluating Ales Hemsky as a trading chip
Follow Bruce McCurdy on TwitterA SUNSHINE Coast councillor told an anti-desalination meeting last night that the carrying capacity of the land had been reached when we had to manufacture water to support further population growth.
Council major portfolio head Debbie Blumel said the time had come to respect the regional landscape rather than accept planning driven by the development industry.
Organised by Communities Against Desalination the meeting at Marcoola surf club, which attracted more than 200 people, was the final public gathering in opposition to planning for a desalination pipeline that would pump water from about 1.5km seaward of Marcoola to a treatment plant next to Sunshine Coast Airport.
“Let's talk about how we can have more population growth when there is insufficient water for the population we already have,'' Ms Blumel said.
“Let me be absolutely clear about this. SEQ is unable to provide water for the future population unless we manufacture it using desalination.”
Queensland Water Commission executive director Dan Spiller said it would explore all options before committing to a model to deliver water to the south-east corner's growing population.
He said the community could, by limiting use, stall the need for a new supply source.
Mr Spiller said the commission had to undertake planning and be ready to act to meet demand.
That could be as early as 2017, which would require the construction of a supply source by 2014, or as late as 2032.
Mr Spiller said he believed that the 230 litre a person each day assumption that informed the commission's demand projections could be improved to 200 but that it required community feedback on what it wanted.
However, if desalination is determined to be needed to augment the water grid, it appears that Marcoola is shaping as the preferred option over Lytton because of the already degraded state of Moreton Bay.
Member for Maroochydore Fiona Simpson said if the government was serious about demand management it should re-introduce the rebate scheme for tanks and water efficient devices and assist with the plumbing of tanks to existing homes.
She called on the government to work cooperatively with the community to reduce demand.
Environmental scientist Justin Holbrook outlined plans for a water harvesting scheme at Coolum Ridges which he said offered a model for all new subdivisions.• Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh explained in December 2010, "We said it five years ago and we say it now... we will never, we will never, we will never recognize Israel."
In a December 2010 statement, the group noted, "We say that Palestine from the sea to the (Jordan) river is fully the land of the Palestinians. We will cede none of it, and we will not recognise the so-called state of Israel."
• Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said in November 2010 that the Jews "have no place among us...and no future among the nations." Where are the Jews to go? Al-Zahar predicts: "You are about to disappear, and we are about to emerge victorious."
• Zahar also said in June 2010, "Our plan for this stage is to liberate any inch of Palestinian land, and to establish a state on it. Our ultimate plan is [to have] Palestine in its entirety. I say this loud and clear so that nobody will accuse me of employing political tactics. We will not recognize the Israeli enemy."
• A November 2007 Hamas statement asserted, "It is not shameful to correct a mistake. Palestine is Arab-Islamic land from the river to the sea, including Jerusalem, and Jews have no place there"
• Khaled Meshal in December 2006 called Israel a "cancer that must be pulled out by its roots."Official site of the sit-in across from the mayor's office at Toronto City Hall
Note: We were provided with this report and photos by an eyewitness and are publishing with their consent. The eyewitness wishes to remain anonymous and is a credible source.
Eyewitness report of Sandro Lisi setting up Doug Ford campaign signs
Ward 17 Davenport
12:10 last Thursday (October 16, 2014)
At the corner of Sellers and Rogers Road, someone who appeared to be Sandro Lisi got out of a white Volkswagen with one other person, and put up two signs on a fence at 162 Sellers, while another person remained in the car. I was familiar with Sandro Lisi's distinctive features as a result of coverage like this: Who is Sandro Lisi?
The man placed one sign on the fence so cars heading west could see it. He put two on the lawn on Rogers Road, and one on the back of the property's fence so cars going east along Rogers could see it. This yard is very close to a garage shop called Malfara's.
I began to take photographs after I spoke with the two others with me. We all agreed that the man putting up the signs was Sandro Lisi.
A third person got out of the Volkswagen and was smoking a cigarette. We made eye contact. Very soon after that, the man putting up the signs walked around to the entrance of the yard and popped up over the fence, amongst shrubs and trees.
"Do you have a problem?" he asked.
"Pardon me?"
"Do you have a problem?"
"Not at all, there is |
ite M15, or Olympic Arms PCR,
“(iv) AR70,
“(v) Calico Liberty,
“(vi) Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle or Dragunov SVU,
“(vii) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, or FNC,
“(viii) Hi-Point Carbine,
“(ix) HK–91, HK–93, HK–94, or HK–PSG–1,
“(x) Kel-Tec Sub Rifle,
“(xi) M1 Carbine,
“(xii) Saiga,
“(xiii) SAR–8, SAR–4800,
“(xiv) SKS with detachable magazine,
“(xv) SLG 95,
“(xvi) SLR 95 or 96,
“(xvii) Steyr AUG,
“(xviii) Sturm, Ruger Mini–14,
“(xix) Tavor,
“(xx) Thompson 1927, Thompson M1, or Thompson 1927 Commando, or
“(xxi) Uzi, Galil and Uzi Sporter, Galil Sporter, or Galil Sniper Rifle (Galatz).
“(B) The following pistols or copies or duplicates thereof:
“(i) Calico M–110,
“(ii) MAC–10, MAC–11, or MPA3,
“(iii) Olympic Arms OA,
“(iv) TEC–9, TEC–DC9, TEC–22 Scorpion, or AB–10, or
“(v) Uzi.
“(C) The following shotguns or copies or duplicates thereof:
“(i) Armscor 30 BG,
“(ii) SPAS 12 or LAW 12,
“(iii) Striker 12, or
“(iv) Streetsweeper.
“(D) A semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine, and that has—
“(i) a folding or telescoping stock,
“(ii) a threaded barrel,
“(iii) a pistol grip,
“(iv) a forward grip, or
“(v) a barrel shroud.
“(E) (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), a semiautomatic rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
“(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply to an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with,.22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
“(F) A semiautomatic pistol that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine, and has—
“(i) a second pistol grip,
“(ii) a threaded barrel,
“(iii) a barrel shroud, or
“(iv) the capacity to accept a detachable magazine at a location outside of the pistol grip.
“(G) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
“(H) A semiautomatic shotgun that has—
“(i) a folding or telescoping stock,
“(ii) a pistol grip,
“(iii) the ability to accept a detachable magazine, or
“(iv) a fixed magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds.
“(I) A shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
“(J) A frame or receiver that is identical to, or based substantially on the frame or receiver of, a firearm described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (I) or (L).
“(K) A conversion kit.
“(L) A semiautomatic rifle or shotgun originally designed for military or law enforcement use, or a firearm based on the design of such a firearm, that is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes, as determined by the Attorney General. In making the determination, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that a firearm procured for use by the United States military or any Federal law enforcement agency is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes, and a firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event.
“(2) RELATED DEFINITIONS.—
“(A) BARREL SHROUD.—The term ‘barrel shroud’ means a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel of a firearm so that the shroud protects the user of the firearm from heat generated by the barrel, but does not include a slide that encloses the barrel, and does not include an extension of the stock along the bottom of the barrel which does not encircle or substantially encircle the barrel.
“(B) CONVERSION KIT.—The term ‘conversion kit’ means any part or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a firearm into a semiautomatic assault weapon, and any combination of parts from which a semiautomatic assault weapon can be assembled if the parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
“(C) DETACHABLE MAGAZINE.—The term ‘detachable magazine’ means an ammunition feeding device that can readily be inserted into a firearm.
“(D) FIXED MAGAZINE.—The term ‘fixed magazine’ means an ammunition feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm.
“(E) FOLDING OR TELESCOPING STOCK.—The term ‘folding or telescoping stock’ means a stock that folds, telescopes, or otherwise operates to reduce the length, size, or any other dimension, or otherwise enhances the concealability, of a firearm.
“(F) FORWARD GRIP.—The term ‘forward grip’ means a grip located forward of the trigger that functions as a pistol grip.
“(G) PISTOL GRIP.—The term ‘pistol grip’ means a grip, a thumbhole stock, or any other characteristic that can function as a grip.
“(H) THREADED BARREL.—The term ‘threaded barrel’ means a feature or characteristic that is designed in such a manner to allow for the attachment of a firearm as defined in section 5845(a) of the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. 5845(a)).
“(d) Termination.—This section shall not apply with respect to any weapon surrendered during a taxable year beginning more than 2 years after the date of the enactment of the Support Assault Firearms Elimination and Reduction for our Streets Act.”.
(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended by inserting before the item relating to section 26 the following new item:
“Sec. 25E. Assault weapon turn-in credit.”.
(c) Effective date.—The amendments made by this Act shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.A Michigan State University senior tried his hand at a challenge posted on Snapchat last week – to eat 100 McDonald’s McChicken sandwiches in a 24-hour period, without vomiting.
Derek Metcalf thought he’d give it a go since he’s already such a fan of the chicken sandwich.
“I’m a fan of the McChicken,” Metcalf told the Lansing State Journal, “I’ve always loved them.”
The chemical engineering major started preparing for the eating marathon the weekend before by working out aggressively. He tried to burn as many calories as he could since 100 McChicken sandwiches – with shredded lettuce, mayonnaise, toasted bun and chicken patty – equals about 35,000 calories, or roughly 17 times the recommended amount of calories an average adult male should be consuming daily.
MCDONALD'S REVEALS PLANS TO SELL ONLY HUMANELY RAISED AND SLAUGHTERED CHICKENS
Metcalf started his experiment at 4:30 am Monday, working his way through the ten sandwiches he had purchased the night before.
The first four were easy, the Lansing State Journal reported. But Metcalf soon found his downfall.
“Too much mayo makes a man weak,” Metcalf said. “It was really hard to eat that amount of mayo.”
Part of the challenge is to eat the McChicken sandwiches unadulterated, so Metcalf pressed on, mayonnaise and all.
The college student had to stuff his backpack full of the sandwiches when he left for class, which won him some odd looks from his peers.
Metcalf kept track of his progress on Snapchat, which quickly amassed more than 5,000 views when he uploaded it to Michigan State University’s specific Snapchat story.
The videos consisted of Metcalf ordering and eating the sandwiches, but it also included tips for how to get McChicken sandwiches crispy after refrigeration. One includes pan-frying the patty, or throwing the sandwich in the oven on low heat.
After Metcalf was closing in on 20 McChickens, he started to lose steam.
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"Personally, I had him at 16 or 17," Metcalf’s friend Andrew Seng said. "He definitely surpassed what I thought he could do."
Seng bought Metcalf the next five sandwiches. However, once Metcalf hit 24, he had to quit.
Surprisingly, since the challenge, Metcalf hasn’t tired himself out of the crispy dollar menu staple.
“The day after I was grossed out, but today I could order one,” Metcalf said.Haters are all around us, especially in skateboarding. Shit, I’m a hater sometimes. In skateboarding, everyone has their own unique style, and it’s easy to bag on others that are different from yourself or your particular crew. Go to youtube and type in Tony Hawk. Most of the comments will be straight hate—bet it doesn’t phase him though, cause he’s having fun, shredding hard, and is making more money than you. Downhill skateboarding specifically isn’t quite at the same level that street or park skating is, but I have a feeling that it will be someday. We need to get ready for this shit to blow up.
That said, during your time on a skateboard you are bound to encounter some people who aren’t down with the way you shred. I’m not claiming profound knowledge or wisdom on the subject, but I’ve run into my fair share of haters over the past couple years. Here are some of my views on the matter:
DGK put it best: “I love haters.” Don’t get butthurt about what they say, let it be fuel to skate even harder. The more recognized you become as a skater the more hate you receive. Congratulate yourself and keep on keepin’ on. The crazy ol’ internet makes it easy for people who know nothing about skating to talk shit. Don’t take it too seriously. Like your 1st grade teacher said, respect others and they will respect you. Try to stay humble and respectful. Stay focused and keep killing it, don’t alter the way you do things because of shit talk.
With all the new faces getting involved in this corner of skateboarding there is a growing number of new voices and opinions on style, gear, and type of riding. I feel that skateboarding itself is expanding and maturing in general, and people need to stay true to their roots and ignore those that aren’t cool with how a person skates. Do your thing! Change what you do for yourself—not for sponsors, not for other people, and definitely not for the haters.
-Liam
________________________________
GENERAL DISCLIAMER: The statements, comments, and opinions expressed by Liam Morgan through Notes of a Greasy Young Man are those of “Mr. Greasy” himself, who is solely responsible for them, and they do not necessarily represent the views of Wheelbase LLC. Questions or comments regarding any information listed in this particular column can be addressed by contacting aliens, or channeling the spirit of Isaac Hayes.
Wheelbase Management
Share +1 Share Shares 0Home-Wrecker: Woman Doesn't Like Neighbors, Demolishes Their Home
When Ana Maria Moreta Folch had issues with her neighbors, she did what most of us would. Scratch that. She had their mobile home demolished.
The Florida Times-Union reports that the 62-year-old St. Johns County, Fla., resident "told a heavy equipment operator she owned the trailer on Dusty Road and wanted it and its septic tank destroyed." She told the contractor Monday that she had a key and that no one was living at the trailer. But the owner, Maria Gottfried, showed up when the demolition was underway and called the police.
Moreta Folch was charged with criminal mischief, which is a third-degree felony. She was released Wednesday on $10,000 bail.
Gottfried told police she'd owned the trailer since 2006. She denied having given Moreta Folch a key.
Here's more from the newspaper:Browse > Home Documents / 158 Year Struggle for Legal Justice
158 Year Struggle for Legal Justice
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
-Mohandas Gandhi
“We are working towards complete freedom in a lawful, non-violent, non-aggressive way.”
- Russell Means
The Lakotah’s 158 Year Long Struggle for Justice
In December of 2007, the Republic of Lakotah was formed by the formal withdrawal from its Treaties of 1851 and 1868. This was the latest step in the longest running legal battle in the history of the World.
This was not a “cessation” from the United States, but a completely lawful “unilateral withdrawal” from the Treaties as permitted under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, of which, the United States is a signatory.
The purpose of the Republic of Lakotah is to follow the Instructions given by the Elders at the first International Indian Treaty Council in 1974. The Council held a “Western Hemisphere” Conference at Wakpala on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Over 5000 delegates of 97 Indigenous Peoples from the Americas gathered. The “manifesto” that was created on that occasion supports the rights of all Indigenous Peoples to live free and take whatever actions are necessary to uphold our sovereignty. This was the largest gathering of Indian People in the 20th Century where Indians paid their own way.
It was here that the Declaration of Continuing Independence was created. The conference was attended by numerous elders, including Chief Frank Fools Crow, pictured left. These were not your ordinary elders; most of them were born in the 1800’s to parents who had been born free, they had never been to schools. The majority spoke no English, and the rest spoke broken English. Russell Means was made a permanent trustee of the International Indian Treaty Council by the elders and the conference.
These Elders Gave the Conference and the Newly Formed International Treaty Council Two Mandates:
1. The first mandate was to become recognized by the International Communities. On September 2007, when the United Nations passed the Declaration of Indigenous Rights, that mandate was fulfilled.
2. We were to remember the words of Noble Red Man (Matthew King, pictured below), “We must always remember that we were once a free People, if we don’t, we shall cease to be Lakotah.” This second mandate is to return to our original status as free and Independent Nations. On December 17, 2007, the Lakotah Freedom Delegation presented to the Department of State of the United States of America, we are unilaterally withdrawing from all Treaties and Agreements entered into between the United States of America and Lakotah.
Leading up to the 2007 Unilateral Treaty Withdrawal, Russell traveled all over the five state area meeting with key people over a seven month period. Now in his seventieth winter, he is working on achieving better conditions for the Indian people for over forty years. Russell was appointed by the conference and the elders as a permanent trustee of the Indian Treaty Council.
The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty was considered by some commentators to have been a complete victory for Red Cloud and the Sioux. In 1904 it was described as “the only instance in the history of the United States where the government has gone to war and afterwards negotiated a peace conceding everything demanded by the enemy and exacting nothing in return.”
As a result of the long running litigation between the Lakotah and the United States, the U.S. has made some telling statements:
“A more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history,…” U.S. Court of Claims, 1975
“ It is clear that, based on the representations of the United States negotiators, the Indians cannot have regarded the 1868 Treaty as a treaty of cession. Nowhere in the history leading up to the treaty negotiations themselves is there any indication that the United States was seeking a land cession or that the Sioux were unwilling to consent to one. On the contrary, the evidence is overwhelming that the Sioux would never have signed the treaty had they thought they were ceding any land to the United States.” Sioux Tribe v. United States, 42 Indian Claims Commission, 1978
“Here, there is no doubt that the Black Hills were “taken” from the Sioux in a way that wholly deprived them of their property rights to that land. The question presented is whether Congress was acting under circumstances in which that “taking” implied an obligation to pay just compensation, or whether it was acting pursuant to its unique powers to manage and control tribal property as the guardian of Indian welfare, in which event the Just Compensation Clause would not apply.” U.S. Supreme Court, UNITED STATES v. SIOUX NATION OF INDIANS, 1980
The court also remarked upon President Grant’s duplicity in breaching the Government’s treaty obligation to keep trespassers out of the Black Hills, and the pattern of duress practiced by the Government on the starving Sioux to get them to agree to the sale of the Black Hills.
“That there was tragedy, deception, barbarity, and virtually every other vice known to man in the 300-year history of the expansion of the original 13 Colonies into a Nation which now embraces more than three million square miles and 50 States cannot be denied. But in a court opinion, as a historical and not a legal matter, both settler and Indian are entitled to the benefit of the Biblical adjuration: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged.’” Hearing before the committee on Indian affairs, united states senate session on Tribal Sovereign Immunity 9-24, 1996
The Historical Facts that Form the Basis of the Lakotah’s Claim to Sovereignty
1824 – Indian Service Department (BIA) created in the War Department.
1849 - Indian Service Department (BIA) transferred to the Department of the Interior.
1851 – Treaty of Fort Laramie marks turning point in U.S.-Indian relations on the northern plains creating the Great Lakotah (Sioux) Nation
1853-56 – The United States acquires 174 million acres of Indian lands in a series of 52 treaties, all of which are subsequently broken by the U.S. Government
1854 - U.S. Indian Affairs commissioner calls for end of Indian removal policy – IGNORED
1862-63 – Santee Sioux uprising in Minnesota under Chief Little Crow ends with the hanging of 38 Santees on Dec. 26, 1863, the largest mass execution in U.S. history was ordered by President Lincoln without a hearing just two days after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
1864 - Nov. 29, Army Colonel (and United Methodist Reverend) John M. Chivington’s hastily assembled volunteers massacre more than 300 Cheyenne men, women and children peacefully camped at Sand Creek.
1866 – U.S. Congress appropriates Indian lands (without consultation or consent as required by the Treaty of 1851) as right-of-way for construction of transcontinental railroad
1866-68 – U.S. TREATY VIOLATION: In direct violation of the Treaty of 1851, the U.S. government allowed the Bozeman trail to go through the Heart of the Lakotah Nation as a short-cut to the gold fields in Montana. Soon, the Army began, in another gross violation of the 1851 Treaty, to construct and man a string of forts along the Bozeman Trail. Cheyenne, Lakotah and Arapaho forces led by Chief Red Cloud soundly defeat the U.S. Army on the field of battle. The war ended when the U.S. sued for peace and made the promises documented in the Treaty of 1868. This will remain the only full-scale “Indian War” won by the Indians, a victory formalized in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty
1868 - The United States pledged that the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, would be “set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians herein named.” The Fort Laramie Treaty included several agreements central to the issues presented in this case. First, it established the Great Sioux Reservation. The United States “solemnly agree[d]” that no unauthorized persons “shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in [this] territory.” Second, the United States permitted members of the Sioux tribes to select lands within the reservation for cultivation. Id., at 637. In order to assist the Sioux in becoming civilized farmers, the Government promised to provide them with the necessary services and materials, and with subsistence rations for four years. Third, the U.S. Government fraudulently claims, that in exchange for the benefits conferred by the treaty, the Sioux agreed to relinquish their rights under the Treaty of September 17, 1851, to occupy territories outside the reservation, while reserving their “right to hunt on any lands north of North Platte, and on the Republican Fork of the Smoky Hill river, so long as the buffalo may range thereon in such numbers as to justify the chase.” The Indians also, allegedly, expressly agreed to withdraw all opposition to the building of railroads that did not pass over their reservation lands, not to engage in attacks on settlers, and to withdraw their opposition to the military posts and roads that had been established south of the North Platte River. Fourth, Art. XII of the treaty provided: “No treaty for the cession of any portion or part of the reservation herein described which may be held in common shall be of any validity or force as against the said Indians, unless executed and signed by at least three fourths of all the adult male Indians, occupying or interested in the same.”
1868 - The U.S.A. Treaty Commission, upon returning to Washington, D.C., stopped in Chicago and altered the text of the Treaty to eliminate all land now used by the State of Nebraska.
1869 - Transcontinental railroad completed. Among other uses, this transported large numbers of hunters to kill off the Buffalo herds.
1871 – Congress ratifies last of 372 treaties made with Indian tribes since 1778; later accords will not have treaty status, which recognizes tribes as sovereign nations – General Sheridan issues orders forbidding western Indians to leave reservations without permission – White hunters in Unites States begin wholesale killing of buffalo
1874 – U.S. TREATY VIOLATION: Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led the expedition of close to 1,000 soldiers and teamsters, and a substantial number of military and civilian aides. By the end of JULY, they had reached the Black Hills, and by mid-August had confirmed the presence of gold fields in that region. The discovery of gold was widely reported in newspapers across the country. Custer’s florid descriptions of the mineral and timber resources of the Black Hills, and the land’s suitability for grazing and cultivation, also received wide circulation, and had the effect of creating an intense popular demand for the “opening” of the Hills for settlement. The only obstacle to “progress” was the Fort Laramie Treaty that reserved occupancy of the Hills to the Sioux.
In an interview with a correspondent from the Bismarck Tribune, published September 2, 1874, Custer recognized the military’s obligation to keep all trespassers off the reservation lands, but stated that he would recommend to Congress “the extinguishment of the Indian title at the earliest moment practicable for military reasons.”
Quoting the 1874 annual report of Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan, as Commander of the Military Division of the Missouri, to the Secretary of War: “Having promised the Sioux that the Black Hills were reserved to them, the United States Army was placed in the position of having to threaten military force, and occasionally to use it, to prevent prospectors and settlers from trespassing on lands reserved to the Indians.”
For example, in September 1874, General Sheridan sent instructions to Brigadier General Alfred H. Terry, Commander of the Department of Dakota, at Saint Paul, directing him to use force to prevent companies of prospectors from trespassing on the Sioux Reservation. At the same time, Sheridan let it be known that he would “give a cordial support to the settlement of the Black Hills,” should Congress decide to “open up the country for settlement, by extinguishing the treaty rights of the Indians.”
Sheridan’s instructions were published in local newspapers. Eventually, however, the Executive Branch of the Government decided to abandon the Nation’s treaty obligation to preserve the integrity of the Sioux territory. In a letter dated November 9, 1875, to Terry, Sheridan reported that he had met with President Grant, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of War, and that the President had decided that the military should make no further resistance to the occupation of the Black Hills by miners, “it being his belief that such resistance only increased their desire and complicated the troubles.”
These orders were to be enforced “quietly,”, and the President’s decision was to remain “confidential.” (letter from Sheridan to Sherman). With the Army’s withdrawal from its role as enforcer of the Fort Laramie Treaty, the influx of settlers into the Black Hills increased. The Government concluded that the only practical course was to secure to the citizens of the United States the right to mine the Black Hills for gold. Toward that end, the Secretary of the Interior, in the spring of 1875, appointed a commission to negotiate with the Sioux. The commission was headed by William B. Allison. The tribal leaders of the Sioux were aware of the mineral value of the Black Hills and refused to sell the land for a price less than $70 million. The commission offered the Indians an annual rental of $400,000, or payment of $6 million for absolute relinquishment of the Black Hills. The negotiations broke down.
Winter of 1875-1876 – Many of the Sioux were hunting in the unceded territory north of the North Platte River, reserved to them for that purpose in the Fort Laramie Treaty. On December 6, 1875, with blatantly hostile intentions, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs sent instructions to the Indian agents on the reservation to notify those hunters that if they did not return to the reservation agencies by January 31, 1876, they would be treated as “hostiles.”
Given the severity of the winter, compliance with these instructions was impossible. On February 1, the Secretary of the Interior nonetheless relinquished jurisdiction over all hostile Sioux, including those Indians exercising their treaty-protected hunting rights, to the War Department.
1876 – Sioux War for the Black Hills waged by Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho forces under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. On June 25, 1876, Custer’s 7th Cavalry is crushed at Battle of the Little Bighorn while on the way to ambush a Lakotah village. That victory, of course, was short-lived, and those Indians who surrendered to the Army were returned to the reservation, and deprived of their weapons and horses, leaving them completely dependent for survival on rations provided them by the Government. Sitting Bull and followers seek refuge in Canada.
1876 – U.S. TREATY VIOLATION: “GIVE UP THE LAND OR STARVE CAMPAIGN”: August, Congress enacted an appropriations bill providing that “hereafter there shall be no appropriation made for the subsistence” of the Sioux, unless they first relinquished their rights to the hunting grounds outside the reservation, ceded the Black Hills to the United States.
A commission, headed by George Manypenny, arrived in the Sioux country in early September and commenced meetings with the head men of the various tribes. The members of the commission impressed upon the Indians that the United States no longer had any obligation to provide them with subsistence rations. The commissioners brought with them the text of a treaty that had been prepared in advance. The principal provisions of this treaty were that the Sioux would relinquish their rights to the Black Hills and other lands west of the one hundred and third meridian, and their rights to hunt in the unceded territories to the north, in exchange for subsistence rations for as long as they would be needed to ensure the Sioux’ survival.
Hagan, The Reservation Policy: Too Little and Too Late, in Indian-White Relations: A Persistent Paradox 157-169 (J. Smith & R. Kvasnicka, eds., 1976). In words applicable to conditions on the Sioux Reservation during the years in question, Professor Hagan stated: “The idea had been to supplement the food the Indians obtained by hunting until they could subsist completely by farming. Clauses in the treaties permitted hunting outside the strict boundaries of the reservations, but the inevitable clashes between off-reservation hunting parties and whites led this privilege to be first restricted and then eliminated. The Indians became dependent upon government rations more quickly than had been anticipated, while their conversion to agriculture lagged behind schedule. The quantity of food supplied by the government was never sufficient for a full ration, and the quality was frequently poor. But in view of the fact that most treaties carried no provision for rations at all, and for others they were limited to four years, the members of Congress tended to look upon rations as a gratuity that should be terminated as quickly as possible. The Indian Service and military personnel generally agreed that it was better to feed than to fight, but to the typical late nineteenth-century member of Congress, not yet exposed to doctrines of social welfare, there was something obscene about grown men and women drawing free rations. Appropriations for subsistence consequently fell below the levels requested by the secretary of the interior….That starvation and near-starvation conditions were present on some of the sixty-odd reservations every year for the quarter century after the Civil War is manifest.” The Government’s “sell or starve policy” was not effective.
According to the terms of the one-sided Manypenny arrangement, the Sioux were to surrender claims to the Black Hills region, which stretched across five states and covered 47 million acres of land stuffed with gold and other resources that would enrich American industrialists and financiers while impoverish the indigenous people who lived there.
In setting out to obtain the tribes’ agreement to this treaty, the commission ignored the stipulation of the Fort Laramie Treaty that any cession of the lands contained within the Great Sioux Reservation would have to be joined in by three-fourths of the adult males. Instead, the treaty was presented just to Sioux chiefs and their leading men. It was signed by only 10% of the adult male Sioux population.
The provision of rations was to be conditioned, however, on the attendance at school by Indian children, and on the labor of those who resided on lands suitable for farming. The Government also promised to assist the Sioux in finding markets for their crops and in obtaining employment in the performance of Government work on the reservation.
Three years after the agreement that bore his name was ratified, George Manypenny wrote a book entitled Our Indian Wards. There he wrote that:
It can not be denied, that from the period when the first infant settlements were made upon the Atlantic sea-board by European colonies, until the present time, there have been constant, persistent, and unceasing efforts on the part of the white man to drive the Indian from his hunting ground and his home.
1877 – Feb. 28, – Congress “resolves” the “3/4 of adult males” problem by enacting the 1876 “agreement” into law as the Act of(1877 Act), 19 Stat. 254. The Act had the effect of abrogating the earlier Fort Laramie Treaty, and of implementing the terms of the Manypenny Commission’s “agreement” with the Sioux leaders. The passage of the 1877 Act legitimized the settlers’ invasion of the Black Hills, but throughout the years it has been regarded by the Sioux as a breach of this Nation’s solemn obligation to reserve the Hills in perpetuity for occupation by the Indians secured by the Sacred document of the white man and the Constitution of the United Sates of America!
1877 – Crazy Horse is killed while in custody after he surrenders.
1881 – Sitting Bull and 187 followers surrender to U.S. officials at Fort Buford, North Dakota
1885 – The last great herd of buffalo in the United States (at one time 60,000,000) is exterminated. In this chapter of history eliminated from the history books, the government took sixty years to accomplish this most damning genocidal policy!
1887 - Congress passes the General Allotment Act (the Dawes Act), which ends communal ownership of reservation lands, distributing 160-acre “allotments” to individual Indians and disposing of the surplus. Tribes lose millions of acres. (Much of this land is now in the hands of white ranchers.)
1888 – Congress begins the outlawing of the entire Indian Way of Life and our Spiritual and Prayer Ceremonies.
1890-1910 – U.S. Indian population reaches low point: less than 250,000. The population of the Indigenous People prior to the invasion in 1492, has been estimated at 14,000,000 in the contiguous 48 states!
1890 – On Dec. 15, 1890, Sitting Bull is killed at the Standing Rock Reservation, South Dakota, increasing tensions there.
1890 - Dec. 28, U.S. troops massacre more than 300 Sioux prisoners of war at what is now known as Wounded Knee who were traveling to to visit Red Cloud. After disarming the Indians, the U.S. Army used for small arms and four of their newest weapons, the Hotchkiss revolving canon which fired 1.25 inch exploding shells.
This “battle” as it’s recorded in the U.S. history books resulted in the awarding of twenty Congressional Medals of Honor for Valor which were bestowed on the 7th Calvary. To this day, this day, this is the most Medals of Honor EVER awarded for a battle. More than any of the atrocious battles in the Pacific during World War II.
1891 – Indian Education. A Congressional Act authorized the Commissioner of Indian Affairs “to make and enforce by proper means” rules and regulations to ensure that Indian children attended schools designed and administered by non-Indians. Children were literally ripped from their parents’ arms and sent to federal and missionary boarding schools all over the West. This genocidal campaign continues to this day as children are unlawfully and manipulatively taken from their parents all over the U.S. under the 1978 “Indian Child Welfare Act.”
1891 – Amendment to the Dawes Act. This amendment modified the amount of land to be allotted and set conditions for leasing allotments.
1891 – Congress authorizes the leasing by whites of allotted Indian lands
1893 - Indian Education. This Congressional Act made school attendance for Indian children compulsory and authorized the BIA to withhold rations and government annuities to parents who did not send their children to school.
1898 – Curtis Act. This Congressional Act ended tribal governments practice of refusing allotments and mandated the allotment of tribal lands in Indian Territory – including the lands of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations.
1898 – TREATY VIOLATION: Curtis Act seeks to extend allotment policy to “Five Civilized Tribes” by dissolving tribal governments, requiring abolished Indian nations to submit to allotment, and instituting civil government in Indian Territory
1903 - Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 U.S. 553, 23 S.Ct. 216, 47 L.Ed. 299 (1903) Supreme Court decision. The Kiowas and Comanches sued the Secretary of the Interior to stop the transfer of their lands without consent of tribal members which violated the promises made in the 1867 Treaty of Medicine Lodge. The Court ruled that the trust relationship served as a source of power for Congress to take action on tribal land held under the terms of a treaty. Thus, Congress could, by statute, abrogate the provisions of an Indian treaty. Further, Congress had a plenary – or absolute – power over tribal relations.
1906 - Antiquities Act. This Congressional Act declared that Indian bones and objects found on federal land were the property of the United States. This unleashed a flood of of anthropologists and archaeologists as well as ghoulish profiteers to rob our graves with impunity.
1906 – Burke Act. This act amended the Dawes Act to give the secretary of War the power to remove allotments from trust before the time set by the Dawes Act, by declaring that the holders had “adopted the habits of civilized life.” This act also changed the point at which the government would award citizenship from the granting of the allotment to the granting of the title.
1908 – TREATY VIOLATION: Supreme Court defines rights of the federal government to reserve water for the use of Indian tribes
1910 – TREATY VIOLATION: Federal government forbids the Sun Dance among the Plains Indians, giving the use of self-torture as the reason.
1923 - The Lakotah, after years of lobbying, succeeded in obtaining from Congress the passage of a special jurisdictional Act which provided them a forum for adjudication of all claims against the United States “under any treaties, agreements, or laws of Congress, or for the misappropriation of any of the funds or lands of said tribe or band or bands thereof.” Pursuant to this statute, the Sioux, in 1923, filed a petition with the Court of Claims alleging that the Government had taken the Black Hills without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment. This claim was dismissed by that court in 1942. The case was re-filed after the establishment of the Indian Court of Claims in 1946. Subsequently, the case went to the Supreme Court three times, before finally being ruled on in 1980, thus making the “Black Hills Claim” the longest running litigation in U.S. history, 58 years. As the money awarded has still not been accepted by the Lakotah, one could say that the claim is yet unresolved. The Lakotah asked for the return of all lands according to the treaties and the Constitution. However, once the lawyers go to Washington, D.C., they violated the Lakotah’s instructions and and sought not the return of the land, but “just compensation.”
1924 – The Indian Citizenship Act, also known as the |
war.” [See Beckwith v. Bean, 98 U.S. 266, 293-294 (1878).]
But Justice Field added, “This martial rule – in other words, this will of the commanding general is limited to the field of military operations. In a country not hostile, at a distance from the movements of the army, where they cannot be immediately and directly interfered with, and the courts are open, it has no existence.”
Worldwide Battlefield
Today, however, U.S. government officials routinely describe the whole world as the battlefield, with seemingly the global population subject to the “U.S. common law of war,” as interpreted under the Civil War precedents, meaning President Lincoln’s Martial Law Proclamation of Sept. 24, 1862.
This read, in pertinent part: “ all Rebels and Insurgents, their aiders and abettors within the United States, and all persons... guilty of any disloyal practice, affording aid and comfort to Rebels against the authority of the United States, shall be subject to martial law and liable to trial and punishment by Courts Martial or Military Commission.”
An 1862 U.S. Army Order is quoted at the embarkation point for Alcatraz: “The order of the President [Abraham Lincoln] suspending the writ of habeas corpus and directing the arrest of all persons guilty of disloyal practices will be rigidly enforced.”
Disloyal practices were not limited to actual acts of rebellion but could be an offense such as any of the following: unauthorized correspondence with the enemy; mail carrying across the lines; and publicly expressing hostility to the U.S. government or sympathy with the enemy. [See William Winthrop, A Digest of Opinions of The Judge Advocate General of the Army 328-29 (1880).]
As readily apparent, those offenses go to the core of freedom of expression, as guaranteed under the U.S. First Amendment and internationally under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. But according to 19th Century “law of war” expert Col. William Winthrop, these were “offences against the laws and usages of war.” They were charged generally as “Violations of the laws of war,” or by their specific name or descriptions. [See William Winthrop, Military Law and Precedents 1314 (2d ed. 1920).]
These particular offenses for which civilians were tried by military commissions would have been committed in Union territory, as the population of the Confederate states was given belligerent rights and thus did not have the “duty of loyalty” as did civilians in the North.
The most prominent civilian tried and convicted by military commission was Clement Vallandigham, a former Ohio congressman and a member of the Democratic Party who supported the right of states to secede. In 1863, he was charged with “having expressed sympathies for those in arms against the Government of the United States, and for having uttered... disloyal sentiments and opinions.” [See Ex Parte Vallandigham, 68 U.S. 243, 244 (1863).]
But Vallandigham was only one of hundreds convicted for disloyal speech. Today’s Military Commissions prosecutors cite the 1862 case of editor Edmund J. Ellis to support their position that material support for terrorism is a “war crime,” even though it involved only disloyal speech from a newspaper editor convicted of violating the laws of war by publishing information “intended and designed to comfort the enemy.” [See Special Order No. 160, HQ, Dep’t of the Missouri (Feb. 24, 1862), 1 OR ser. II, at 453-57, cited in Bahlul v. U.S., Government brief at 48.]
That might be the same “offense” as the editors of the Guardian and Der Spiegel would be charged with under the so-called “U.S. common law of war.”
Defining a Violation
What is a law of war violation? During the Civil War, the War Department’s Solicitor General William Whiting provided a definition for the martial law that the U.S. was under:
“Military crimes, or crimes of war, include all acts of hostility to the country, to the government, or to any department or officer thereof; to the army or navy, or to any person employed therein: provided that such acts of hostility have the effect of opposing, embarrassing, defeating, or even of interfering with our military or naval operations in carrying on the war, or of aiding, encouraging, or supporting the enemy.” (Emphasis added.)
But as the United States has adopted these Civil War military commissions as precedents, the U.S. government logically has adopted this domestic martial law definition as well for the U.S. military to apply globally. And, as Whiting explained, military arrests may be made for the punishment or prevention of military crimes. [See William Whiting, War Powers under the Constitution of the United State 188 (1864).]
As Whiting stated, “the true principle is this: the military commander has the power, in time of war, to arrest and detain all persons who, being at large he has reasonable cause to believe will impede or endanger the military operations of the country.”
He elaborated further: “The true test of liability to arrest is, therefore, not alone the guilt or innocence of the party; not alone the neighborhood or distance from the places where battles are impending; not alone whether he is engaged in active hostilities; but whether his being at large will actually tend to impede, embarrass or hinder the bona fide military operations in creating, organizing, maintaining, and most effectually using the military forces of the country.” (Emphasis in original).
“Aiding the enemy” is, in fact, what constitutes the entirety of what Whiting describes as crimes of war. While it exists under martial law as described by Whiting, it is also codified under the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice as Article 104.
In either case, it was never contemplated that it criminalized anyone who didn’t have a “duty” of loyalty to the United States by being resident within the United States, until the U.S. government adopted an expansive interpretation of it in order to charge non-U.S. citizens with Material Support for Terrorism under the fallacious claim that the two offenses are analogous.
Talking to the ‘Enemy’
Under Article 104, Aiding the Enemy is defined as, in pertinent part, any person who: “(2) without proper authority,... gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly; shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.” (Emphasis added.)
Article 99 is referenced for the definition of “enemy,” which defines enemy as the organized forces of the enemy in time of war and includes civilians as well as members of military organizations. In addition, Article 99 states: “‘Enemy’ is not restricted to the enemy government or its armed forces. All the citizens of one belligerent are enemies of the government and all the citizens of the other.”
Article 104c(6) explains the offense of “Communicating with the enemy” further: “No unauthorized communication, correspondence, or intercourse with the enemy is permissible. The intent, content, and method of the communication, correspondence, or intercourse are immaterial. No response or receipt by the enemy is required. The offense is complete the moment the communication, correspondence, or intercourse issues from the accused. The communication, correspondence, or intercourse may be conveyed directly or indirectly.” (Emphasis added.)
But this strict rule of non-intercourse, the term used during the Civil War era which strictly prohibits any “communication” with the “enemy,” is what provides the elements of “war treason,” as was frequently charged in the Civil War.
‘War Treason’
Article 90 of Lieber’s Code provided: “A traitor under the law of war, or a war-traitor, is a person in a place or district under Martial Law who, unauthorized by the military commander, gives information of any kind to the enemy, or holds intercourse with him.”
As war-traitors are the enemy also, as Solicitor General Whiting wrote, then any communication with a war-traitor as the editor of the Guardian could be defined under the “U.S. common law of war” would also be communication with the enemy, at least under this theory.
This is the foundation of totalitarian law, as we saw in the former Soviet Union and in Nazi Germany. In fact, both those regimes relied on military courts to strictly enforce loyalty by punishing “disloyalty,” war-treason, severely.
Germany under the Nazis even had a dedicated court, the National Socialist People’s Court, or Volksgerichthof (VGH), strictly for the prosecution of disloyal internal “enemies,” to include “non-German ‘terrorists’ in occupied France, Belgium, Norway and Holland, who were deported to Germany to stand trial in the VGH courts.” The court’s motto was; “Those not with me are against me.” [See H.W. Koch, In the Name of the Volk – Political Justice in Hitler’s Germany, 5 (1989).]
This isn’t to analogize the United States to totalitarian regimes, though German officials are currently likening the U.S. NSA surveillance program to the tactics of the Stasi. But it is to point out that the body of law that is the so-called “U.S. common law of war” has the same underlying legal theory as totalitarian bodies of “law,” and represents a threat to the global free flow of information and freedom of expression.
In the digital age, it is impossible to avoid “communicating” with the enemies of the United States as everyone on the planet has digital access to the Internet. Nations can no longer cut the telegraph lines to enemy territory to prevent communication, nor can a journalist limit his or her global digital audience.
Consequently, the “U.S. common law of war” hangs like the sword of Damocles over the global exercise of freedom of speech, of the press and of conscience. It is held in abeyance only at the sufferance of the U.S. president, but it could be allowed to fall at the start any new crisis.
As Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, U.S. Army (Ret.) wrote in 2009, “Although it seems unthinkable now, future wars may require censorship, news blackouts and, ultimately, military attacks on the partisan media.” [See Ralph Peters, Wishful Thinking and Indecisive Wars, The Journal of International Security Affairs, Spring 2009, www.securityaffairs.org/issues/2009/16/peters.php.]
Todd E. Pierce retired as a Major in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps in November 2012. His most recent assignment was defense counsel in the Office of Chief Defense Counsel, Office of Military Commissions. In the course of that assignment, he researched and reviewed the complete records of military commissions held during the Civil War and stored at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.1960s
The first silicone breast implants are developed by two plastic surgeons from Texas: Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin.
1962
Timmie Jean Lindsey becomes the first woman to receive silicone breast implants.
1976
The Food and Drug Administration enacts the Medical Devices Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. FDA now has the authority to review and approve the safety and effectiveness data of new medical devices. But since silicone breast implants have been on the market for almost 15 years, they are "grandfathered." Manufacturers of the implants, when called to do so by the FDA, will be required to provide safety and effectiveness data.
1977
Richard Mithoff, a Houston attorney, wins the first lawsuit for a Cleveland woman who claims that her ruptured implants and subsequent operations had caused pain and suffering. She receives a $170,000 settlement from Dow Corning. Case receives little publicity.
1980s
Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Health Research Group, Washington, D.C. sends out warning signals that silicone breast implants cause cancer.
January 1982
FDA proposes to classify silicone breast implants into a Class III category which would require manufacturers to prove their safety in order to keep them on the market.
1984
Stern vs Dow Corning, San Francisco. Case wins on many internal Dow Corning documents that had been discovered in a Dow storage area by attorney Dan Bolton. Maria Stern's systemic autoimmune disease is found by a jury to be caused by her silicone breast implants. Bolton introduces the silicone-induced problems for the first time in court, with "experts" that theorize the silicone-immune system connection. After a monthlong trial, the jury awards Maria Stern $211,000 in compensatory damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages. The evidence is sealed by a court order.
June 1988
Six years after the 1982 proposal, FDA classifies the implants into Class III. Premarket Approval Applications from silicone breast implant manufacturers are due by July 1991. The PMA's must prove affirmatively, with valid scientific data evaluated by the FDA, that their devices are safe and effective. After the PMA's are submitted by the manufacturers, the FDA has 180 days to evaluate the safety data.
December 1990
Program on the dangers of silicone breast implants airs on "Face to Face with Connie Chung."
December 1990
Congressional hearing headed by Representative Ted Weiss deals with the safety of silicone breast implants. This hearing also discusses the fact that not all the information that the manufacturers have are available for public scrutiny due to a court order from the Stern verdict.
July 1991
Dow Corning releases 329 studies to FDA.
July 1991
Toole vs Baxter, Alabama. Jury decides against Baxter/Heyer-Shulte and awards the largest settlement so far, $5.4 million, to Brenda Toole. Toole, who shows only preliminary symptoms of systemic autoimmune problems, nevertheless had silicone in her lymphatic system according to plaintiffs' witnesses and thus an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disease.
September 1991
FDA concludes that the silicone breast implant manufacturers' safety data does not prove the devices are safe--or harmful. Manufacturers are told to submit further data.
November 1991
The FDA brings together its General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel to review all of the safety data from the manufacturers' PMA's. The purpose of the panel is to advise FDA as to what they could tell the public about the safety and effectiveness of the silicone breast implants based on the PMA's. The panel is composed of a broad range of experts, including representatives from the fields of plastic surgery, oncology, epidemiology, internal medicine, immunology, radiology, pathology, gynecology, toxicology, sociology, biomaterials and psychology, as well as industry and consumer groups. The panel hearing rejects the data from Dow Corning, Mentor, McGhan, and Bioplasty, concluding there is not sufficient data about the risks and benefits of the devices. The panel recommends the devices stay on the market temporarily and with limited access. The need for more safety data is stressed.
December 1991
Hopkins vs Dow Corning, San Francisco. The largest award yet, $7.3 million, is given to Mariann Hopkins whose mixed connective- tissue disease is linked to her ruptured silicone breast implants. The lawyer for the case, Dan Bolton, wins the suit with the help of internal memos and studies from the Stern lawsuit, in addition to new studies he recently obtained from Dow. Mr. Bolton gives several of the internal documents to the FDA which has never seen the documents before.
December 1991
To date, 137 individual lawsuits have been filed against Dow Corning.
January 1992
FDA Commissioner, David Kessler, calls for a voluntary moratorium on the distribution or implantation of silicone breast implants until the FDA and the advisory panel have an opportunity to consider newly available information. The manufacturers agree.
February 1992
The class action lawsuit is filed in Cincinnati by Stan Chesley. The hope is to compensate women at a faster rate than filing individual lawsuits.
February 1992
Dow Corning CEO, Lawrence Reed, is replaced by Keith McKennon.
February 1992
The General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel reconvenes to review the new information regarding the safety of silicone breast implants. The panel recommends that the further use of implants be limited for reconstruction only and that women receiving the implants participate in scientific protocols and that epidemiologic studies be conducted to assess the risk of autoimmune disease. The panel concludes that no causal link has been established between autoimmune disease and silicone breast implants.
February 1992
Many of the Dow Corning internal memos are released to the public.
March 1992
Dow Corning leaves the silicone breast implant business as do Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bioplasty. McGhan and Mentor will still manufacture breast implants. Dow sets up a fund for further research into the safety of breast implants.
April 1992
Dr. Kessler lifts the moratorium on silicone breast implants. The only women allowed to receive implant surgery are those undergoing breast reconstruction. All of the implant recipients must become part of a scientific protocol.
May 1992
First woman gets implants under new rules.
December 1992
Johnson vs Bristol-Myers Squibb, Houston. Pamela Jean Johnson wins $25 million, $5 million actual damages and $20 million punitive damages in a case argued by Texas attorney John O'Quinn. A jury finds Ms. Johnson's ruptured silicone implants were linked to her mixed connective tissue disease, auto-immune responses, chronic fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, and dizziness. Expert witnesses and lawyers admit her symptoms amount to "a bad flu."
December 1992
To date 3,558 individual lawsuits have been filed against Dow Corning.
June 1993
Dick Hazleton becomes CEO of Dow Corning.
December 1993
By year's end 12,359 individual lawsuits have been filed against Dow Corning.
March 1994
A Houston jury awards three women a total of $27.9 million against 3M, $15 million in punitive, $12 million in compensatory damages for illness. The lawyer arguing the case against 3M is John O'Quinn. The three women suffered from either atypical lupus, neurological impairment, and a "silicone induced" autoimmune problem.
March 1994
The class action suit is finalized by manufacturers with Dow Corning being the largest contributor. The other contributors include Baxter, Bristol-Myers Squibb/MEC, 3M. It is the largest class action settlement in history. Manufacturers claim there is no scientific evidence linking silicone breast implants with autoimmune diseases. There are set monetary amounts that will be awarded to women with specific medical conditions. No requirements are needed to prove implants are the cause of their ailments. Women will be allowed to drop out of the settlement. Companies can also opt out if too few women register claims.
April 1994
Preliminary approval to class action by Judge Pointer. Clears the way for women to start applying for claims in the settlement.
June 1994
The Mayo Clinic epidemiologic study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which finds no increased risk of connective-tissue disease and other disorders that were studied in women with silicone implants.
September 1994
Final approval of class action/global settlement from Judge Pointer.
December 1994
By this date 19,092 individual lawsuits have been filed against Dow Corning.
1995
The American College of Rheumatology issues a statement saying the evidence is "compelling" that implants did not cause systemic disease.
February 1995
Gladys Laas vs Dow Corning.
May 1995
Dow Corning files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Dow is facing 20,000 lawsuits, some with multiple plaintiffs and about 410,000 potential claims that have been filed in the global settlement. The bankruptcy essentially halts all litigation.
June 1995
About 440,000 women have registered in the global settlement. About 70,000 can be immediately compensated.
June 1995
The Harvard Nurses Epidemiologic Study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This finds no increased risk of connective-tissue disease or certain signs and symptoms of connective-tissue disease in women with silicone implants.
October 1995
Mahlum vs Dow Chemical, Reno. This is the first case where Dow Chemical, the parent company of Dow Corning, is the sole defendant. Charlotte Mahlum is awarded $3.9 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. About 13,000 breast implant lawsuits are pending against Dow Chemical.
November 1995
New global settlement is devised minus Dow Corning. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baxter and 3M are the participants. The monetary awards are less than the previous settlement.
December 1995
By now 15 individual lawsuits against Dow Corning have gone to trial involving some 19 plaintiffs. Of these, Dow Corning have had 8 trial "wins" and 6 trial "losses," with one split decision.
December 1995
By now more than 20 (non-case report) studies and abstracts have come out in the U.S. and internationally, all failing to support a causal relationship between silicone implants and a variety of auto-immune related illnesses.
April 1996
Two Federal judges in New York appoint an impartial, expert panel to review the scientific issues involved in breast implant lawsuits. This rare move will influence judges throughout the country.
September 1996
The California Court of Appeal upholds a decision dismissing Dow Chemical and Dow Corning from 1,800 breast-implant lawsuits.
December 1996
Oregon Federal Judge Robert E. Jones, after input from a panel of impartial scientists, rules that plaintiffs' lawyers cannot present evidence that silicone implants caused disease because it is scientifically invalid. He dismisses 70 claims, shocking the litigation community.
Sam C. Pointer, the Alabama judge overseeing all federal implant cases, appoints his own panel of scientific experts who are not connected to implant litigation.
January 1997
The American Academy of Neurology reviews existing silicone implant studies and reports that "existing research shows no link between silicone breast implants and neurological disorders."
March 1997
A judge in Michigan rules that the Dow Chemical Company is not liable for the medical problems of hundreds of women in the state. Thus far, some state appellate courts have upheld Dow Chemical's liability and others have not.
August 1997
The New York Times reports that implant manufacturers have been winning 80% of cases against them. Nevertheless, a state jury in the first class-action suit finds that Dow Chemical (which owns half of Dow Corning) knowingly deceived women by hiding safety information about the silicone in their implants.
September 1997
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute publishes a review of scores of medical studies that concludes breast implants do not cause breast cancer. The researchers described the evidence for linking implants to any other disease as "borderline."
December 1997
The first class-action lawsuit in an implant case is reduced to its original eight claimants when a Louisiana judge decides the 1,800 women have cases too dissimilar to group into one lawsuit.
April 1998
Two large Scandinavian studies fail to show that silicone implants are linked to neurological disease.
July 1998
Plaintiffs agree to Dow Corning's offer of $3.2 billion to settle tens of thousands of claims of injury from silicone breast implants. The agreement will let the plaintiffs receive money within a year and also enable Dow Corning to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings.
After being asked by the British minister of health to review the safety of silicone implants, a seven-member panel of scientists report no convincing evidence that they cause disease. (The U.K. has never removed silicone implants from the market.)
November 1998
Dow Corning files for bankruptcy reorganization, which includes the $3.2 billion previously agreed-to settlement and offers claimants several payout options. Those who want to cash-out immediately and not file a disease claim will be paid $2,000. This figure can also be combined with $5,000 for implant removal surgery and $20,000 for a ruptured implant. Those who have already filed a disease claim will receive between $10,000 and $250,000 plus any compensation claimed for removal or ruptures.
December 1998
After two years and $800,000, a panel of four independent experts appointed by Judge Sam C. Pointer, overseer of implant lawsuits in the Federal courts, concludes that scientific evidence so far has failed to show that silicone breast implants cause disease.
Nevada Supreme Court upholds a compensatory damage award of $41 million against Dow Chemical to Charlotte Mahlum for her multiple-sclerosis-like symptoms. Dow Chemical was earlier found liable for helping Dow Corning conceal evidence about the harmful effects of silicone. The court, however, overturns a $10 million punitive award.
January 1999
A jury in a Washington Federal court awards $10 million in compensatory damages against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to an attorney who claimed her implants caused scleroderma.
Spring 1999
Silicone-gel-filled implants remain off the market in the U.S. pending manufacturer safety studies. They are available only to women who have had or will have breast surgery for a medical condition or have other complications from existing implants, and only if they agree to be part of a scientific protocol, or study. The latest status of silicone breast implants can be found at the FDA website.
June 1999
The Institute of Medicine releases a 400-page report prepared by an independent committee of 13 scientists. They conclude that although silicone breast implants may be responsible for localized problems such as hardening or scarring of breast tissue, implants do not cause any major diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. The Institute of Medicine is part of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most prestigious scientific organization. Congress had asked the Institute to set up the committee. The committee did not conduct any original research; they examined past research and other materials, and conducted public hearings to hear all sides of the issue.
(Sources: The New York Times, Bloomberg Business News, AP, and American Academy of Neurology)
web site copyright 1995-2014 WGBH educational foundationWhen Lt. j.g. Timothy W. Dorsey intentionally fired his fighter jet’s missile at an Air Force reconnaissance plane, nearly killing its two aviators and destroying the aircraft during a training exercise, it was hard to imagine then how his Navy career would wind up 25 years later.
The official investigation into the 1987 shoot-down said the F-14 pilot’s decision “raises substantial doubt as to his capacity for good, sound judgment.” The Navy banned him from flying its aircraft.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta this month announced to the Senate several nominations for promotion to admiral.
On the list is Navy Reserve Capt. Timothy W. Dorsey, the same man who, while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, committed what the report said was an “illogical act.”
Capt. Dorsey today is the inspector general for Navy Reserve Detachment 106 in Norfolk, Va.
His promotion to admiral has some in the aviation community shaking their heads, especially because minor discretions by flight officers over the past decades have resulted in reprimands and the ends of careers.
Lawyer Charles Gittins, a former Marine Corps aviator, has represented several naval officers whose careers were ended for what he considered minor misconduct.
“It is shocking that the Navy would promote an officer with this background to flag rank, particularly in an environment where the Navy relieves commanding officers of their commands at the drop of a hat for trivial or insubstantial reasons,” Mr. Gittins told The Washington Times.
Capt. Dorsey’s father, James Dorsey, was at the time of the incident commander of the carrier USS America and an aviator. A year later, he became assistant deputy chief of naval operations at the Pentagon and later attained three-star vice admiral rank.
In his civilian job, Capt. Dorsey is general counsel at USA Discounters in Virginia Beach.
He said Thursday that he did not want to discuss the shoot-down or his career because he is about to take a Navy Reserve intelligence post.
“I’m going to have to decline to talk right now, based on the kind of job I’m going to be taking,” he said. “I’m not really big on talking to press for anything.
“It means heading up some intel factions. So it’s really not something I would typically do. I [would] rather not see my name in the paper at all right now because of the job I’m getting ready to take. A lack of press is good on what I’m getting ready to do.”
Capt. Dorsey kept his Navy career on track by reinventing himself, first as a Reserve intelligence officer and then as an inspector general in charge of investigating wrongdoing. In 1995, he earned a law degree from the University of Richmond.
A 2010 alumni magazine profile says Capt. Dorsey “has endured countless physical and mental tests in his 47 years - first, as a fighter pilot flying F-14 Tomcats, and later during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq as an intelligence officer interrogating prisoners.”
“I’ve been through naval aviation training, survival training and a dual-degree program in college,” he told the magazine, “and nothing came close to the rigors of first-year law.”
The flattering profile does not mention what Capt. Dorsey did in 1987 as a rookie Tomcat pilot, with 245 flying hours, in one of the naval air community’s most embarrassing incidents.
Then-Lt. Dorsey was taking part in a non-fire flight exercise over the Mediterranean Sea.
He was given a command to simulate a missile firing but took it literally, armed his Sidewinder missile without telling his back-seat radar intercept officer, and shot down the Air Force plane. Its two aviators ejected moments before the plane exploded.
The Navy’s 1988 investigative report on Lt. Dorsey was blunt and damning, according to the Associated Press, which obtained a copy via the Freedom of Information Act in 1988. It said Lt. Dorsey knew the plane was “friendly” and knew he was on a routine exercise.
“The September 22, 1987, destruction of USAF RF-4C was not the result of an accident, but the consequence of a deliberate act,” the investigator wrote. “His subsequent reaction [to the radio command] demonstrated an absolute disregard of the known facts and circumstances.
“He failed to utilize the decision-making process taught in replacement training and reacted in a purely mechanical manner. The performance of Lieutenant Timothy W. Dorsey on September 22, 1987, raises substantial doubt as to his capacity for good, sound judgment.”
Vice Adm. Kendall E. Moranville, who had headed the 6th Fleet, said: “We necessarily rely on the self-discipline and judgment of pilots to prevent such incidents; we have no other choice. Nothing, in my opinion, can mitigate Lieutenant Dorsey’s basic error in judgment.”
Jon Ault, a retired F-14 pilot, said Capt. Dorsey never took responsibility.
“I would never have guessed he’d ever make it to commander, much less admiral,” he said. “In fact, I thought his career was over back when the shoot-down happened. He refused to accept any blame for the shoot-down and swore he was just following [rules of engagement] even though he knew it was a friendly. I mean, the guy did it on purpose.”
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.To learn more about tracking protection and content blocking, see the Content blocking article.
The privacy benefits of Tracking Protection are now part of content blocking. When you see the shield in your address bar, content blocking is on. Currently, content blocking protects against certain types of trackers. Firefox is adding more privacy features to content blocking over future releases.
Tracking generally refers to content, cookies, or scripts that can collect your browsing data across multiple sites. Firefox provides users with tools to block these online trackers. This feature was called Tracking Protection in the past. Starting in Firefox version 63, the functionality of Tracking Protection is included in a new set of features called Content Blocking. Now, you can get the same tracking protection by selecting the setting to block all detected trackers.Dublin Bus passengers will face 13 further days without services in the weeks ahead on foot of a dramatic escalation in the current pay dispute.
Unions are planning to stage a further 48-hour stoppage this Tuesday and Wednesday, September 27th/28th, as well as 11 days of strikes in October.
The stoppages scheduled for October will be on Saturday 1st, Wednesday 5th, Friday 7th, Monday 10th, Wednesday 12th, Friday 14th, Tuesday 18th, Wednesday 19th, Monday 24th, Wednesday 26th and Saturday 29th.
In a statement, Minister for Transport Shane Ross said he “greatly regrets the grave inconvenience caused to the travelling public by this ongoing dispute”.
The statement from Mr Ross’s department said: “He is acutely aware of calls for him to directly intervene but must reiterate, that as any Ministerial intervention could be interpreted as a commitment to open the State chequebook, it would be inappropriate for him to do so.
“He again calls on Management and the Unions to engage with each other immediately,”
On Wednesday, trade unions representing drivers strongly criticised what they described as the silence of the Mr Ross, Dublin Bus management and the Department of Transport in relation to resolving the dispute.
Siptu organiser John Murphy said the “complete intransigence shown” by the three parties in response to the need of his members for an acceptable pay rise had created “real anger and frustration”, and strengthened the resolve of striking workers.
On Thursday, Siptu transport, energy, aviation and construction division organiser, Owen Reidy, said: “Our members are disappointed that the only response so far from the chief executive of Dublin Bus to this dispute has been to call for talks at the Workplace Relations Commission to discuss a Labour Court recommendation that has already been rejected by over 90 per cent of our members. It is not a genuine attempt to find an agreed resolution to this dispute.”
He said what was needed to resolve the dispute was for all sides to commit to
a serious negotiation process and to display fresh thinking concerning the funding of Dublin’s public bus system.
“Workers are no longer prepared to be a soft touch whose pay is suppressed to subsidise a declining state subvention.”
About 400,000 Dublin Bus passengers are facing travel disruption on Thursday and Friday this week as a result of the latest strikes at the company.
In a statement, Dublin Bus apologised to customers. It said the ongoing industrial action was costing it more than €600,000 a day and was limiting its ability to pay even the 8.25 per cent increase over three years recommended by the Labour Court, but rejected by workers.© Lay’s Lay’s Launches Four Limited-Time Flavors Celebrating International Tastes
Lay’s takes to tastes from international cuisines as inspiration for its newest flavors.
Its “Passport to Flavor” program not only invites consumers to try “new global flavors,” but gives them the opportunity to win trips and other travel-related prizes.
The flavors are Brazilian Picanha, Chinese Szechuan Chicken, Greek Tzatziki, and Indian Tikka Masala.
Brazilian Picanha is meant to capture the flavor of Picanha, “the finest cut of Brazilian steak,” skewer-grilled with coarse salt and served with chimichurri sauce.
The Greek Tzatziki chips are inspired by the classic Mediterranean sauce, which is made with yogurt, dill, garlic, and other unique spices.
The new flavors will be available at retailers nationwide beginning July 25.
Specially marked Lay’s products will have special codes, which consumers can enter online at www.Lays.com for a chance to win special prizes. Specially marked Lay’s products will have special codes, which consumers can enter online atfor a chance to win special prizes.Parallel Universe — Open Window
Emily Wilcox Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 26, 2015
There’s an open window in my grandmother’s house that hasn’t been closed for years. Top floor, back room to the left, as wide as it can go. The curtains are always open, fluttering in the breeze, easy access to any who might want it.
I’ve asked her, many times, why she hasn’t shut that window and I’ve warned her, many times, of what could happen if she doesn’t. And always she comes out with the same response and the same assurance; that she will never close it.
When I was little I didn’t really understand what she meant. It was just a window in the guest bedroom that had hardly been touched, letting in a draft. I’d often try to sneak upstairs and close it, just to see if the house would suddenly explode or if the sky would melt, but she always caught me, soft hands on rebellious little shoulders, steering me back downstairs.
Every other window could be opened and closed at will. So, of course, I made a point of constantly opening and closing the ones in the rooms she was in, just to see if I could spark a reaction from her and figure out what was so special about the one upstairs. But nope, nothing.
As I got older, I began to understand. I could see on grandma’s face how much it meant to her and I stopped trying to sneak off and close it. Slowly it started to sink in and suddenly it was the most reasonable thing I had ever heard.
I’m still unsure why it took me so long to get it.
Because every time I asked her why she wouldn’t shut the window, her response was always the same and yet it never made any sense at first.
But now it means everything.
“Grandma, why don’t you just close it?” I would ask, again and again and again.
“Because, my dear, it’s not just a window. It’s a reminder.”
“ A reminder for what?”
Grandma would always smile to herself then, arm around my shoulders, “for the days when I feel a little lost, a little homesick. To remind me that, no matter where I am in the world, there’s always a reason to come home. Always a place to return to. Always love waiting.”
And one day, when I was old enough and I asked once more, it was then that I realised it was never just a window, wide open on the top floor, back room to the left. It was so much more than that.
It was us.
“It’s a reminder, my dear, that there’s always a window to come back and close.”Shemale pornography or transsexual porn is far more popular than most people think. Not only that, the majority of individuals who watch it, are heterosexual males. The reasons why this is so has been debated and continued to be done so today. Whatever they |
...God help him]
128-132 Ekke
133 itsmesteve72 [sprouted from Odd?]
134 ProfGood
135-136 raybasto
137 krazymunky
138 Froadac [maybe]
139 dirtyshoes [offering rides ooooh yeaaa]
140 zhul4nder [wants a car?]
141 HonestTea
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143-144 zephry221
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There is a carpool from UCSD at peterson hall.
Also congrats to UCSD CSL for TAKING THE CHAMPIONSHIP UNNNFFFF
Check list to bring
1) If you can please bring a spare laptop (just in case we have streaming problems)
Some wise people brought board games last time to play during the interim. My suggestion would be to bring starcraft the board game.
2) PLEASE BRING SPARE CHAIRS IF YOU HAVE THEM
3) If anyone has portable sound equipment (karaoke/megaphone with mic etc) for potential casting please bring it along.
For those that have attended in the past you know the drillJoes pizza (www.joespizzasd.com)5583 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.San Diego, CA 92117Delicious all you can eat pizza + salad + drink + starcraft = awesome (10$ for the buffet)Friday May 28th 10:30pm to whenever the games are doneJaedong or Calm, Flash, a huge crowd and YOU!Last time we managed to hit 112. This is probably going to be the last event of this kind before the SC2 release. Be sure to let us know you are coming!1 Diggity2 Semiold guy [TL admin and co-coordinator in theory]3 Machine [maybe]4 Psyonic [maybe]5 Nyoken [maybe]6 GhostClaw [maybe]7 Day9 [awesome guy at large 100% going]8 krowe [Heading out from Anaheim]9 endGame10 mr.fuglies [UCSDer]11 OhThatDang [the infamous]12 Moonshine [driving down from mammoth]13 derekrowin [needs a ride from miramesa]14 Muddled15 talismania [bringing a few]16 Escoffier [willing to help pay for gas for a ride from Antelope Valley]17 OhNoes [maybe from Santa Barbara]18 Xeris [head coach extraordinaire]19 jonich0n [maybe *wanting to carpool]20 blabber21 T.O.P. [doesnt like the pizza but better show up anyhow!]22 randomKo_Orean [Hero organizer of hello goodbye]23 sm0b [coming from poway and offering rides]24 thunddr [super awesome organizer of UCSD Winter Games Fest]25 Lysogen [digs the pizza]26 wireframejesus27 Azerbaijan28-32 Davee and friends [from garden grove]33 [ur]Chin34 orgolove [if flash wins OSL]35-36 Frets37-39 Afterhours [true to his name]40 Ergo41 Vivi5742 tmonet43 pandabearguy [nobody kill him]44 VAR1ABLES45 Dyno46 NoUShutUp47 Littlebootz [Coming from Ontario??? OMG]48 krndandaman49 50 Kleander + gf51 52 LOcDowN53 Censored [So likely it hurts]54 Legendary [Is looking to carpool from AZ and therefore should talk to machine etc]55 Mystlord [Needs a ride from pasadena/LA]56 57 General Nuke Em58-60 Sabu11361 JL1362 TwitchALot63 MrBlanks [heading in with ohthatdang]64 Rekrul [I have faith he will find a way]65 Nullshock [starbuck connection]66 Quesadilla [aka Punic the proxy]67-70 ERGO71 anch [willing to split gas money]72 WARMASTER [might bring friends]73-74 TeNken.1 [+1 so now he is TeNken.2]75 Ramyondude [from Monterey Park]76 TheAdmiral714 [wafflle-ling]77-79 Oai [OAI!!!]80 NiGhT_mArE [hero from SB again!]81-83 TimeToPractice! [Time to party!]84 Enderbantoo [offering up rides from Ventura if he goes]85 itmeJP [JP the man]86-? Sigmaoctanus [has an indeterminate amount of friends]88 DoctorHelvetica89 Spyfire242 [HAPPY BIRTHDAY!]90 zTz [wants an after party *someone else will have to arrange]91 BrownBear [is a maybe]92 Barbados Slim93 LittLeLives [needs a friend]94 wobbaone95 Strategery [mastermind]96 MasterDana97 Entaro[AoV]98 -101 D0me102 houseurmusic103 oddsprout104 hipaul [has been on live korean TV]105 pjstyles106-109 JoeMcDoug110 FabledIntegral111 GHOSTCLAW112-113 DangNabbit114 audio_penguin115-116 blobdole117 John49ers118 thekaz119-122 blobdole [blobdole likes starcraft!]123 Spyfire242 [musically inclined]124 Rend [return visit]125-126 NauticalSky127 f4hy [bringing his girlfriend...God help him]128-132 Ekke133 itsmesteve72 [sprouted from Odd?]134 ProfGood135-136 raybasto137 krazymunky138 Froadac [maybe]139 dirtyshoes [offering rides ooooh yeaaa]140 zhul4nder [wants a car?]141 HonestTea142 Shengster143-144 zephry221145 Plutonium146 XtrEEmMaShEEN3k2147 PalatableThere is a carpool from UCSD at peterson hall. link here Also congrats to UCSD CSL for TAKING THE CHAMPIONSHIP UNNNFFFF1) If you can please bring a spare laptop (just in case we have streaming problems)Some wise people brought board games last time to play during the interim. My suggestion would be to bring starcraft the board game.If you missed our Kickstarter Campaign, don't worry! Get notified when David is available for Pre-Order: http://eepurl.com/3EUkP
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Reduced material cost per kilogram.
Plastic is Everywhere Every plastic product, even filament, starts out in pellet form. Because of this, raw pellets are readily available in thousands of different materials, colors, and grades. By printing directly with plastic pellets, David can print with many more materials than traditional 3D printers - making him useful to many more people and industries.
Reduced processing, increased quality and value There are many additional engineering and manufacturing steps that are involved in turning pellets into filament. These layers of cost add up, and are forwarded directly to your wallet. Additionally, with all of this processing, the likelihood of contamination and reduced quality become very high. Printing with pellets also prevents many issues that currently plague filament-ready 3D printers, including poor tolerances, air bubbles, and contamination. Finally, using pellets allows for access to a wide variety of unadulterated materials, stripped of several layers of cost and time. In short, you get to print with higher quality materials, for less money. Manufacturing comparison: Sample Prints Directly from Pellets
We are constantly testing and optimizing new materials to work with FLEX technology. David can currently print soft and flexible materials, like TPU and EVA, standard hard materials, like PLA and ABS, and even some interesting composites, like wood. With a successful campaign, our material library will rapidly grow to include a wider selection of unique and useful materials.
All of the materials that we have certified to work with David will be available for pre-order through our website store after the campaign. These materials will ship at the same time as the Kickstarter rewards. BYOP — Bring Your Own Pellets David does not require proprietary materials from Sculptify — it’s your machine, and you should be able to use it how you want. Since pellets are widely available, they can be found on many 3D printing and plastic supply websites in varying types and sizes. Why Sculptify Pellets?
There are certain grades, sizes, and shapes that are optimal for use with David, and there are some that simply won’t work with the system. Because of this, pellets will also be available through the Sculptify store to give those who do not want to experiment proven material options for everyday printing. With your support: We will continue to certify more FLEX-compatible materials and colors, and make them available for purchase in the future. Our vision is to make our technology both powerful and easy-to-use, and with a successful campaign, we will reduce David’s printing and material change processes to the following steps: This unique loading system allows for some serious experimentation — there is potential for mid-print color/material changes, color blending, and even part recycling. These are features that we plan to refine and fully develop in the future. David is designed to be manufactured. A significant portion of the prototype you see today came right from the mass production tooling. David’s mechanical hardware can be made 100% production ready with minimal design changes, and with the purchase of remaining tooling. Exterior David utilizes high-quality materials both inside and out. The entire exterior is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and anodized for a long-lasting finish. The side and rear windows are made from virtually unbreakable polycarbonate, and offer a great view of your print from every angle. Under the hood Only precision components can make precision prints. Using high-quality, high-tolerance parts allows David to print smoothly, quietly, and accurately. A unique lead screw design allows for excellent print resolution and consistency. Using a steep-threaded lead screw system, rather than belts, provides a great balance between speed, precision, and durability. Built to compete with the best: David is designed to offer not only new technology, but also great performance and reliability. In addition to competitive specs, David includes features that add industrial-grade capability. Watch David Printing Close-Up: Removable heated bed Not only is David’s aluminum print surface easy to remove, but it’s also extremely durable and resistant to warping. It can also be heated to 200C, for added capability. With your support: We will finalize all mechanical hardware and purchase minimal remaining tooling for mass production David. We will also be able to further refine features, so that David is as capable as possible when shipped.
David supports open source software, and we intend to keep it that way. Great mechanical hardware is nothing without sophisticated electronics - David is driven by powerful ARM architecture. We are also developing source code and software that will provide as much open access as possible. We believe that sharing this with the community is the best way to take this incredible hardware to the next level. With your support: We will continue developing and optimizing David’s firmware, software, and electronics. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a term rarely discussed in the desktop 3D printing market. Daily users including enthusiasts, professionals, educators, and commercial entities consume large quantities of 3D printing materials on a yearly basis. Combined with pellets, David offers a considerable reduction in TCO over just 2 years when compared to filament-based 3D printers. Estimated Total Cost of Ownership after 2 Years: Your support will help David be the most capable and powerful machine possible.
With your support: David will be assembled in Columbus, Ohio.
David is nearly mass-production ready, and suppliers are prepped for manufacturing. Your support will help us lease a design and assembly facility right here in Central Ohio. Performing engineering, design, and assembly in-house, will allow us to closely control the build quality of each machine, and ensure that you get the best device possible.
An expanded selection of pelletized materials will become available. In order to build a large material library, we need to continue testing and optimizing different materials. As new materials are certified to work with David and FLEX technology, they will be made available through the Sculptify store.
The user experience will be optimized. Making David the most capable 3D printer on the market is our ultimate goal. Your support will help us make every feature as powerful and flexible possible.
Development of David’s open-source software will progress. The open-source community is extremely important to us, and with a successful campaign, we’ll be able to continue to develop both robust, and production-ready, open-source software.
David will be certified for international sale. Certifications are extremely important, but also very expensive. Your contribution will help us certify David for sale in North America and Internationally.
David will be 100% mass-production ready. We have been able to bring the David project very far with limited resources, but we need your help to finalize designs, establish remaining supply chains, and develop assembly operations.
David will finally get into the hands of the 3D printing community! We think that this technology could be the next standard in 3D printing, but we need the community’s help to take David and FLEX technology to the next level. Commemorate the Sculptify Kickstarter campaign with this special edition. This unique edition includes an anodized exterior in a stunning satin black finish. Each Limited Edition Black is signed by the Sculptify team, and includes a distinct limited edition badge indicating its production number in the series. We have received an incredible amount of support from around the world, and are excited to offer David internationally. Unfortunately, different prices must be set for these orders. Additional support, logistics, handling, and regulatory requirements, are among the main drivers for this increased price. That being said, we believe that David is still the most versatile and advanced printer that you can get for your money.
Before you place your international order, please read the International Shipping and Use Disclaimer in the Shipping & Delivery section of this campaign page. Vinyl Die-Cut Sculptify Sticker
From April 2013 - August 2014, the Sculptify team has passed the following milestones: Developed an entirely new print system that utilizes pellets effectively, consistently, and accurately
Acquired, tested, and optimized materials that have never been 3D printed before
Designed and sourced all mechanical components, including supply chain and mass-production tooling
Designed a complete printed circuit board, based around ARM architecture, and began production sourcing
Began developing open-source software
Developed and maintained a professional and robust website
Developed complete business plan to ensure sustained growth
Selected a facility to support Operations, R&D, and Assembly
Sculptify after Kickstarter
Here's what you can expect from Sculptify following a successful Kickstarter campaign: The Backstory. The development of David began after we found ourselves frustrated with current filament-based 3D printers. We wanted to use 3D printing in many different applications, but found that it was ultimately limited by spools of hard, expensive filament. We realized that there are currently no 3D printers on the market that support a variety of material types right out of the box, so we decided to create David. We began the project in a couple basements with little more than the five of us, our personal savings, and a few loans from family and friends. Fast forward about 16 months, and we have taken David from a few drawings to a mass production level prototype (yes, we are still in the basements) - now we are ready to get David into the hands of the community. Sculptify West & East The Vision. David is the first step of many for Sculptify. Our long-term goal is to offer a complete ecosystem that provides the tools to print with a wide variety of materials, while also making it easy and enjoyable. We think that David and our new technology will push 3D printing into many new sectors, while also offering extreme value to many different people - consumers, prosumers, small businesses, rapid prototypers, educators, emerging economies… the list goes on. We want to eventually offer a full product line of printers and devices that expand the capability and usefulness of 3D printing. Your support goes far beyond a single project. We are more than just a group of people that love 3D printing - we are a company that is ready to take on the industry. Passion and Experience. The five team members of Sculptify share both experience and expertise in computer science and engineering, computer aided design, business development, marketing, material science, mechanical engineering, physics, rapid prototyping, thermodynamics, and web development. This variety of skills, combined with a passion for pushing technology forward, gives our team the tools necessary to sustainably and effectively grow our business. In just 16 months, we have taken a concept from drawings, through eight iterations (virtual and physical), and finally, to a mass-production-ready machine. The development of this new technology has been supported solely by our personal savings and loans from family and friends - all from a couple small basements in Columbus, OH. To learn more about each member, visit our About Us page.After almost 40 years of investigating the shrouded history of UFOs throughout North America, Grant Cameron is getting some recognition.
Ever since his own reported UFO sightings in Manitoba, Canada, in 1975, Cameron has doggedly researched the subject. Using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents and information, and traveling to many presidential libraries, Cameron became focused on the relationship of American presidents and UFOs.
At the recent 22nd annual International UFO Congress in Arizona, Cameron -- co-author of "UFOs, Area 51, and Government Informants" -- was honored with the researcher of the year award for his outstanding achievement in the field of UFO studies.
Cameron's websites, presidentialufo.com and hillaryclintonufo.net, offer insight about past leaders' interest in the UFO subject. If you're looking for a one-stop place for UFO records, Cameron has a trove to sift through:
On Eleanor Roosevelt's 1950 weekend television talkshow, "Today With Mrs. Roosevelt," the outspoken former first lady showed great interest during her interview with an airline captain about a rapidly moving circular UFO with windows that crossed the path of his plane.
Video testimony from a former New Hampshire state legislator who claimed to have seen an official briefing document to Dwight Eisenhower informing the president of an alleged continued presence of extraterrestrials in America and suggesting Eisenhower could meet with them.
Before becoming president, Michigan Congressman Gerald Ford called for "a full-blown investigation of these mysterious flying objects" after many UFO sightings in his home state.
Jimmy Carter described his 1969 Georgia UFO sighting and said he wasn't sure how much UFO information hadn't been released to the public.
Ronald Reagan had two UFO sightings while he was governor of California and later, as president, told the United Nations how an alien invasion would bring the countries of the world together.
Bill Clinton attempted to learn more about UFOs and speculated that top secret documents may have been kept from him.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of UFO material that Cameron compiled.
"I'm not trying to prove anything, one way or the other. I'm just trying to show the associations about the presidents and UFOs, and that the presidents are ordinary people like you and I and are interested in the subject."
PHOTO GALLERY UFOs, Aliens And U.S. Presidents
"If you take a look at Jimmy Carter or President Clinton, those were the two that had this really extreme interest, where there's actually quite a bit of documentation at their libraries that shows that, behind the scenes, they were trying to get stuff and were running up against this brick wall," Cameron told The Huffington Post.
"The Jimmy Carter library, for example, shows all the correspondence between his science advisor at NASA, and his press secretary was going after the FBI. He had a bunch of officials going to various agencies trying to figure out what was going on [re. UFOs], and it looked like he hit a brick wall."
In 2001, armed with the FOIA tool, Cameron recovered 1,000 pages of documents from the Clintons -- at the end of Bill Clinton's presidency -- from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
"Those documents have disappeared, nobody claims to know where these are, but I have all of them," Cameron said. "And when I went to the Clinton library, I recovered another 1,500 pages of UFO documents."
Prior to becoming vice president to George W. Bush in 2001, Dick Cheney had served as a member of the House of Representatives, chief of staff to President Ford and secretary of defense for the elder President Bush. During a radio interview, Cameron asked Cheney if, during any of his government jobs, he had ever been briefed on the subject of UFOs. Cheney's response: "Well, if I had been briefed on that, I'm sure it was probably classified and I couldn't talk about it."
Cameron's FOIA requests led to a rich volume of documents that detail the attempts of financier and philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller to get Clinton to disclose information about UFOs and a possible alien presence on Earth in the mid-1990s.Selling McCain buttons at the Palin rally
LANCASTER, Pa.—The line to see Sarah Palin is the longest I have ever seen this side of security at JFK Airport. It starts at the front door of the Franklin & Marshall College gym; goes out to Harrisburg Pik;, turns right and heads all the way down the block, almost to Wendy’s; then turns right again and snakes through the parking lot, doubling back on itself so many times that people standing in the line are actually heckling those of us who are still searching for its end. “You’re not there yet!” someone cracks when I sidle into a gap that I’d mistaken for the end.
I eventually find the end of the line and fall into conversation with the family that slides right in behind me: an auto parts dealer with his wife and two young kids. They drove an hour from Wilmington, Del., despite not having tickets. Like most of the crowd, they’re not here to see John McCain. They’re here for Sarah.
So is the guy with the “Taxpayers for Palin” sign, the young women with the “You Go Girl” signs, and the many “Kids for Sarah Palin.” More than a few moms are sporting some variant of the Palin look, with their new icon’s boxy glasses and piled-up ‘do. They contrast oddly with the Amish men in beards and straw hats who also dot the line. Someone asks the question everyone is thinking: “I wonder if this many people would have shown up just for John McCain?”
Good question. Lancaster County, Pa., might well be described as the base of the Republican base. Megachurches dot the landscape, but the original Amish and Mennonite and Church of the Brethren settlers (whose descendants are still going strong) make the Wasilla Assembly of God seem socially liberal. SUVs share the road with horse-drawn buggies, McMansion developments rub shoulders with Plain People farms not served by electricity, and they vote in overwhelming numbers for Rep. Joe Pitts, who chairs something called the “Values Action Team,” which is basically the congressional wing of James Dobson’s Focus on the Family.
A sign of whom the crowd came to see
But just a few weeks ago, you didn’t see a whole lot of McCain signs around. And by and large, this is Sarah’s crowd. She’s the reason the two middle-aged ladies near me, members of a local symphony, called in sick to work today (which, in turn, is why they shoo away a TV reporter). There’s a tiny gaggle of protesters, maybe half a dozen, preaching to the unconvertible. And as the 3:30 p.m. start time draws near, it’s beginning to look like we might get stuck out here listening to them.
Soon enough a staffer delivers the Straight Talk: We’re hosed. The fire marshals have said no more people can be allowed into the gym. Everyone sort of sags, and begins the long trudge over to the Auxiliary Viewing Area, where a JumboTron has been set up. Unfortunately, it’s partly blocked by a fire engine and an ambulance, and a wall of Secret Service.
Sarah Palin and John McCain
Inside, the rally has already started. We know this because of the tinny cheers emanating from the gym’s side door. There is a moment of, dare I say it, bitterness. “I’m gonna vote for him anyways,” says a heavyset man in a military cap. Then the screen flashes on, and there they are: Palin in her blood-red power suit, McCain standing next to her. She goes first, launching into a remixed version of her convention speech; in her squeaky, cheerleader-mom voice, its harsh sentiments come off as almost saucy. The crowd hoots and claps at the screen. McCain stands beside her like a man who doesn’t know what to do with himself, blinking and waving to the crowd on cue with her applause lines. He seems quite happy to be her Denis Thatcher, and his own brief remarks almost seem an afterthought.
We can’t really hear too well, the sound’s been turned down so low, but still people clap and cheer. We’re happy at last because we’ve realized we’re going to get something far more precious: Palin and McCain will be coming out this side door, and we’ll have our own private audience! The bad news is the Secret Service won’t let anyone get close to the door. After more furious cell phoning and gesticulating, the Secret Service relents: We press forward to be individually wanded, then charge to our positions behind some metal barricades where we wait and wait, the excitement building as the sound system blares “Straight Talk” and that Toby Keith 9/11 song at tinnitus-inducing levels.
We wait some more. Finally McCain comes striding around from the back of the building, with a huge grin. But no Palin. The crowd cheers anyway, and even McCain seems pumped as he mounts the stage set up just outside the door. This must be like the old days for him, a rally of just a few hundred amped-up fans. I wonder if he misses those times, when he shot the breeze with reporters and mixed it up with the public and enjoyed having the spotlight to himself.
Up close, he seems like a different guy from the awkward and confused-seeming old gent we see on TV sometimes, the one who stumbles through his own speeches. He gives a quick pep talk in which he says, jokingly I think, “Kill the fire marshals!” That gets a big cheer.
Afterward he charges all the way to the end of the barricades, not afraid to wreck his shoes in the sodden mulch. His charge brings him very near. Up close, he’s compact and full of surprising energy. I’ve been getting squeezed by a fiftysomething guy who’s been using his 4-year-old granddaughter (I assume) as a battering ram, but now it pays off; I’m almost against the barricades. McCain is coming, his left hand floating into space toward me amid the surge of shoulders and limbs and cell phones and proffered hands.
I swoop in and take his hand in my right, overhand to his underhand, for a brief but firm squeeze. His hand is wrinkled but not rough, surprisingly soft, in fact, obviously well-manicured, and fragrant with lanolin. We make eye contact briefly, and there is an awkward moment when neither of us says anything. Then he moves down the line, giving the distinct impression that this might be the highlight of his day.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If Jim Harbaugh is eyeing another big spring-break trip, this year is the time to do it.
NCAA leadership took steps this week at the association's annual convention to close the loophole that allowed Harbaugh to escort Michigan football players off campus for four practices over spring break last March at IMG Academy, a Florida recruiting hotspot.
The Division I Council on Wednesday asked the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to review and report its recommendation on the issue of staging practice sessions away from campus during a break from school.
Brady Bramlett, SAAC co-chair, said Thursday that the 32-member committee stands opposed to such trips.
"We all agree, that's something that should not happen," said Bramlett, a former baseball player at Ole Miss. "We're very adamant that, in your non-championship season, if you have a vacation period, it should really be a vacation period.
"If we're going to honor student-athletes' time, we need to honor to the utmost."
Bramlett said the SAAC would recommend to the council to draft legislation that would eliminate off-campus practice similar to Michigan's 2016 trip. According to Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips, chair of the D-I council, legislation -- if approved -- could go into effect as soon as August, removing the possibility of a spring-break trip in 2018.
So go ahead, dream of a destination for this year.
The time demands placed on student-athletes will take center stage at the convention Friday during the autonomy session of Power 5 conferences. The Power 5 institutions are scheduled to vote on a measure that would define activity such as compliance meetings and team-building events not required to count against the 20-hour-per-week limit on athletic activities.
In other words, the NCAA membership is finally getting serious about trying to find a balance for student-athletes' time commitments.
And a trip to Florida for practice over spring break doesn't fall on the right side of the potential new rules.
"For me, it would be like baseball taking a Thanksgiving trip to the Dominican or to Costa Rica to play in a Latin American league," Bramlett said. "A lot of people would be against that, because it cuts into our time to get away from the field, which people need.
"And sometimes, a student-athlete needs to be told, 'Hey, you need time off. You need to let your body rest. You need to let your mind rest, because it can be consuming.'"
Former Boston College running back Myles Willis, also a member of the SAAC, said he understood the benefits to an experience like the Wolverines' trip last year.
"But we need to make sure we're not getting too far away from academics as the main focus of college athletics," Willis said.
Michigan has not announced a 2017 trip over spring break. Last year, Harbaugh unveiled plans for the IMG visit in early February.
Earlier this week at the NCAA convention, another Harbaugh delight -- satellite camps -- was essentially nixed. That move would be effective this year if the council passes legislation, as expected, in April that would limit the number of days to 10 that a school can hold camps or clinics and require the camps to be staged on the institution's campus.Gargling Purification Process
Through extensive recruitment within the upper echelons of society, we deliver the finest milk purified in a way only we can. Our secret ingredient is in the process through which rich, beautiful, white girls gargle your milk to absolute perfection. It's her touch that sets us far above the rest. Our diverse Milk that may appear by smell to be perfectly consumable (even organic), can contain contaminants such as suspended particles, parasites, bacteria, viruses, and fungi.Our secret ingredient is in the process through which rich, beautiful, white girls gargle your milk to absolute perfection. It's her touch that sets us far above the rest. Our diverse selection includes West Coast, The South, New England, New York, and London. Each of the carefully selected girls offer subtle differences of background, yet what they share is most important. All are waiting to clean your milk with their mouths. That is our promise to you!
To be eligible to filter White Power Milk, each white girl must be accredited as socially elite and deemed physically in superb health. However, rarely is it necessary to involve interviews or doctors. When we find the right girl from the right family, we just know.Devastated Stephen Curry Discovers Context Of Philippians 4:13
OAKLAND, CA—Thoroughly baffled after losing game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night despite his frequent assertion that he “can do all things through Christ who strengthens him”—which he assumed would include winning as many NBA titles as he desired—Stephen Curry reportedly pulled his Bible out of his locker and hastily flipped to Philippians 4:13 to make sure he had been reading his life verse correctly all these years, only to discover, much to his devastation, multiple additional verses before and after the text.
“Wait—what are all these other words?” sources reported Curry as exclaiming after the unbelievable loss which made the Golden State Warriors the first team in NBA history to surrender a 3–1 series lead in the NBA Finals. “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content,” he slowly read aloud. “Seriously? In whatever situation?”
A shocked Curry reportedly then sat on the locker room floor in disbelief. “It doesn’t mean that I can do anything at all because of Jesus? I... I can’t believe it,” he reportedly muttered to himself in horror.
At publishing time, sources confirmed that a wave of relief had washed over Curry as he realized that, while it would be nice for Philippians 4:13 to be an iron-clad promise that any believer can literally do anything because of Jesus, the meaning he now understands it to have because of the context—that Jesus is enough for any believer to be content in any situation he or she faces—is even better, “especially after the most disastrous Finals collapse in NBA history.”If you are looking for tailgating ideas and information on the tailgate party lifestyle, you have come to the right place. We noticed you are new here and encourage you to stay in touch by joining us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for even more tailgating fun.
Image by Jibby7 via Flickr
Beer at a tailgate party is a common sight much like grills, BBQ sauce and long lines for the port-o-let. Just because beer at a tailgate party is as common as Amy Winehouse at last call does not mean it should not be considered a precious commodity. That is why you as a seasoned tailgater need to know the eights ways tailgaters ruin the taste of their beers. Why would you want to intentionally ruin a beer? You wouldn’t. Knowing the techniques that will turn a beer into a skunky, foul, undrinkable mess can help you keep your beer tasting great and ensure the girls next to you will invite you back next time. So here are the eight ways tailgaters need to avoid so they do not ruin their beer.
1. The Heat Is On – Heat is the major death blow to the overall taste of beer. There is a reason many beer companies spend millions in advertising telling you how cold their beer is filtered and packaged. That’s because even if your beer is ice cold when you pop the top, if it has gotten too hot sometime during the process it will taste flat out awful. The ideal temperature to store beer is between 38 and 40 degrees. So if you are on your way to the tailgate, make sure you take your beer and place it in the cooler with ice directly from the fridge. That will preserve the taste and also will save you money on buying more ice because your warm beer killed your ice stock.
2. Set It and Forget It – From the moment you open a beer it starts to go south. No need to panic and break out the Flabongo just yet. Your normal drinking speed should be just fine to still enjoy your beer before it goes bad. However, we know while tailgating people like to move around and socialize. So if you set down your beer and spend the next 30 minutes in line for the port-a-potty you’ll come back to a beer that is not only warm but on its way to tasting nasty. Make sure to keep tabs on your beer and remember where you put it down unless you like the taste of flat beer.
3. Freeze Frame – We all like beer ice cold but it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Even though alcohol does not freeze (high alcohol content is the reason why you can put a bottle of Jägermeister in the freezer and it will still pour like maple syrup) the alcohol content in beer is not high enough to prevent the rest of it from freezing. Have you ever had a beer that was frozen and then thawed out? It is normally flat as Kansas and all the taste has been killed. Also, serving beer that cold actually prevents some of the volatile components in the beer from being released. Keep it cold but not too cold.
4. Let The Light Shine On In – We’ve already told you about heat being a big enemy of beer. Meet light, heat’s evil twin and just as nasty. Unless you like the smell of skunk, you need to keep your beer shielded from light as much as possible. Think of your beer bottles as a pair of sunglasses to prevent that skunky flavor. Brown bottles keep out the harmful UV rays the best while green bottle do little in the line of protection and clear bottles provide no protection. Beer cans are your best choice for tailgating because they let in zero light and many tailgating parking lots have a strict “no glass” policy. (You can thank Raider Fan for that rule.)
5. Shake Yo Thang – Shaking up a beer does two things to damage it. The first is obvious that when you open it, 2/3rds of it will spray out everywhere making a foamy mess. The other is that the remaining beer has been overexposed to the pent up carbonation and that ruins the flavor of beer while also making it flat. Try to avoid bumpy roads, swerving in and out of traffic or sharp turns on your way to go tailgating. That is unless you prefer a cooler full of beer waiting to explode.
6. Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Many Mexican beers are marketed to the American beer drinking public to encourage putting a lime wedge into your beer. Maybe this is to mask the sk |
for the first time all major European parties presented lead candidates – or Spitzencandidaten – for the post of Commission president.
“The process of lead candidates has deepened a European-wide debate about European issues,” he said. “And without doubt, via this process the EU has become closer to its citizens, more transparent and more democratic.”
Cameron, the EU’s isolated ‘enfant terrible’
Juncker’s appointment comes as a blow for David Cameron, who led a campaign to block Juncker, but found himself increasingly isolated, as more countries rallied behind Juncker, except for Hungary.
Despite his defeat, the British Prime Minister said he ‘lost one battle but not the war’. He called the nomination of Juncker “a serious mistake”. “This is going to be a long, tough fight,” he said, adding that the ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ process was unacceptable, as it did not allow any serving prime minister to stand in the race. “This process developed a momentum of its own,” he insisted, saying that it sidelined smart and capable leaders.
“This is a bad day for Europe. It hands new power to the European Parliament,”Cameron said. “This whole process has simply reinforced my conviction that the EU has to change.”
David Lidington, Britain’s Europe minister, had warned earlier this week that choosing Juncker for the Commission job risked turning the EU executive into “a creature” of the European Parliament, a view that was apparently not shared by a majority of EU member countries.
EU leaders have nonetheless offered political concessions to Britian. They added in their final statement that London’s concerns about the future direction of the EU ‘will need to be addressed’ and that the principle of an ‘ever closer union’ in the treaties allowed for different paths of integration for different countries.
They also agreed to review the process for appointing the president of the European Commission once the new executive was in place.
>> Read: Opposition to Juncker wanes, Cameron isolated
The campaign turned ugly and personal in the run-up to the EU summit.
Juncker, the former long-serving prime minister of Luxembourg and son of a steelworker, was caricatured in the British press as a dangerous European arch-federalist, bent on alcohol and chain-smoking. British tabloid papers threw dirt on his father, saying he served in the Wehrmacht.
As the summit meeting resumed this morning in Brussels, Cameron told reporters: “There are times when it is important that you stick to your principles and you stick to your convictions. It is not right for the elected heads of government of the European countries to give up their right to nominate the head of the European Commission. And it is the wrong person,” he said, underlining his objections.
>> Read: Cameron vows to fight Juncker ‘to the end’
David Cameron has promised Britons an in/out referendum on the UK’s EU membership if he is re-elected next year, and said he would push the vote forward if Juncker was appointed.
Finland’s new prime minister, Alexander Stubb, said “we need to build some bridges” between the programme the UK puts forward, and the position of other member states on Juncker at the top of the executive. “But in the UK, I think people should really wake up and smell the coffee.”
Leaders will meet on 16 July, after the Parliament vote on Juncker, to discuss the appointments for the other top jobs, including the High Representative for Foreign affairs and security policy and the European Council president, as well as the composition of the next Commission.Arvind Kejriwal, who is on a three-day Punjab tour, had a spat on Twitter With Amarinder Singh.
Highlights In Punjab, Kejriwal attacks Congress, Amarinder dares him to a debate Punjab leaders can debate him, I'll debate Congress leadership: Kejriwal Punjab polls next year, three-way contest among Akali-BJP, Congress, AAP
Kejriwal better set his own house in order, before he sets his sights on Punjab - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 23, 2016
Sir, Badals closed corruption cases against u just a few months before elections. Why? Punjab asking what's the deal? https://t.co/qJ0zLK8XeB - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 23, 2016
You and your shoot and scoot politics!! Tell us how many of those who you accused before elections have been put behind bars till now? (1/2) https://t.co/kN1rOaTxD5 - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 23, 2016
Country is increasingly sick of your theatrics just to grab headlines! (2/2) - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 23, 2016
Sir, ppl talking in Punjab that u using Majithia's drug money in ur campaign. Is it true? U had saved him from CBI enquiry 3 yrs back https://t.co/RysiDptHT4 - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 24, 2016
When your hopes crash from 100 to 30 & still sliding,you're bound to hallucinate & see things that don't exist.आपको दिन में तारे दिख रहे हैं https://t.co/e9yfDIrBd4 - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 24, 2016
Now that you've shot your mouth, don't scoot like you typically do!Show courage & come for an open debate. Choose the time, place & platform https://t.co/e9yfDIrBd4 - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 24, 2016
So you've chickened out!You're the'Aam Aadmi' who levels allegations on everyone bt wud like to engage only with PM & Presidents of parties! https://t.co/YNBR7T7XNM - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 24, 2016
Morning you started with Majithia,now you're bringing in BJP,next you'll say Donald Trump is conspiring with me against you. https://t.co/jiK22ycMQD - Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 24, 2016
A day after he launched the Aam Aadmi Party's election trade manifesto in Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh exchanged blows on Twitter, with a challenge for an open debate.But the Delhi Chief Minister said he was ready to undertake such a thing only if his opponents were Mr Singh's political bosses -- Sonia or Rahul Gandhi.The war was triggered as Mr Kejriwal, who is on a three-day Punjab tour attacked not only the ruling Akali Dal, but also the previous Congress regime for neglecting industry in the state, which has been known for the Green Revolution since the 1960s.Mr Singh responded with a tweet:To which, Mr Kejriwal wrote back:The response set off a war of words:This was aimed at AAP's claim that it would bag 100 seats in the coming assembly elections in Punjab. A recent opinion poll conducted by a private news channel has claimed that the party's prospects are on the decline.Mr Singh then challenged Mr Kejriwal for an open debate.But the Delhi Chief Minister, while accepting the challenge, suggested his Punjab teammates - Bhagwant Mann, Jarnail Singh, HS Phoolka and Gurpreet Ghuggi - represent him. He himself, he said, was ready for a debate with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi or her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.Enraged, Mr Singh tweeted:To this, Mr Kejriwal shot off another tweet, alleging collusion between Congress and BJP. Then Mr Singh shot back:Dr Navjot Kaur - the wife of cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu - meanwhile told the media that they were talking to both Aam Admi Party and the Congress and will soon decide which side they are on. She also praised the manifesto for industry released by Mr Kejriwal in Ludhiana on Sunday.Mr Sidhu, who recently quit the BJP, had recently met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Sources said the only gap that remains is Mr Sidhu's reluctance to merge his recently floated Awaaz-e-Punjab with the Congress. Today, in a media statement, Amarinder Singh reiterated that he had no reservations about Mr Sidhu and other leaders of Awaz-e-Punjab joining the party. "I was the one who told Sidhu, when he left the BJP, that he should join the Congress," said Mr Singh, who is the state chief of the Congress.Democrat Congressman Files Lawsuit Over Painting That Portrays Cops As Pigs
Democrats Outraged That Painting Was Taken Down
The Hill reported on Monday that Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) is filing a federal lawsuit on Tuesday over a controversial painting that was taken down from the Capitol complex back in January.
The Gateway Pundit’s Kristinn Taylor reported extensively on painting back in January when there was a lot of back-and-forth about whether the painting should remain hung inside the Capitol complex.
From TGP:
The painting by St. Louis student David Pulphus which was selected as a winner of a Congressional art contest in 2016 is about the Ferguson, Missouri anti-police riots and depicted police officers as pigs. The painting was selected to hang in the Capitol by the office of Congressman William Lacy Clay, Democrat from Missouri. It has hung at the Capitol in a tunnel that connects lawmakers’ offices at the Longworth Building with the Capitol since a June ceremony for winners of the contest.
Tuesday morning Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) sent out a tweet that reads: “This morning, I will be going to federal court to stand up for my constituent, and to defend the #1stAmendment”
This morning, I will be going to federal court to stand up for my constituent, and to defend the #1stAmendment pic.twitter.com/1LnNS2D8Pp — Lacy Clay MO1st (@LacyClayMO1) February 21, 2017
When will Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) stand up for the law enforcement that keeps him and his community safe?
Follow Ryan Saavedra On Twitter @NewsRevoltRyanThe WWE Hall of Fame is probably the pinnacle (and also the end) of a wrestler’s career. Reaching this milestone is the dream of any wrestler who steps foot in a wrestling ring. The WWE has shown great leniency over the years with their Hall of Fame selections, as they seem to use the induction ceremony as a way to bury the hatchet with former superstars who maybe didn't get their fair due in the company.
The WWE Hall of Fame comes with a prestige that only a select few should be allowed to attain, but the WWE has over the years seemingly spoiled the aura of the honor by inducting unnecessary people who didn’t have much of an impact during their wrestling days. There have been a lot of Hall of Famers who many thought were undeserving of their spot, and with the ceremony becoming more of a ratings upper over the years, the company is definitely going to induct many other superstars in the future who don’t deserve the spot.
There are certain superstars who did little to help the company and therefore don’t deserve their spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. On the other hand, there are some who have dedicated their lives to the progress of the company and therefore deserve their spot amongst the immortals of the WWE.
Here are 8 wrestlers who deserve to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and 7 who don't.
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15 Those Who Deserve It
via sportzmode.com
8. Randy Orton
Many would think of Randy Orton as this 3rd generational superstar who got everything handed to him on a plate because of his family’s influence in the business, but what many forget is the amount of hard work he has put in for the WWE over the years. After coming in from OVW, he started out on the right track with Evolution and was a solid mid-carder and amazing worker at the time, soon becoming the youngest World Heavyweight Champion of all time. Orton would then take on his “Legend Killer” gimmick which was amazing, and then his sadistic predator form gave for many great feuds as well. The 12-time World Champion has since shown an amazing veteran aura to himself, as he blended into the authority role to the main-event status and is making his current feud with Bray Wyatt look stunning as well. Randy is the Orton family member who deserves a place in the WWE Hall of Fame, as he shone through the mid 2000s and is still going strong, inspite of having major injuries and setbacks in his career and has always shown a championship material to himself, which makes him deserve the honor.
14 Kane
via wwe.com
When Kane debuted by tearing apart the Hell in a Cell cage door to destroy his “brother” The Undertaker, many thought that this was the beginning of something big in the WWE. Though the WWE did cover the Undertaker vs Kane storylines very well over the years, Kane himself didn’t manage to make himself as big as his brother or even the likes of Stone Cold, The Rock or Triple H in the future. But his incredible dedication towards the company was often rewarded, as the Big Red Machine has held both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships in his career, while also being one of the most destructive tag team guys in history. Though Kane is highly overdue a last push with a Royal Rumble victory and Hall of Fame induction an almost necessity considering his dedication to the company, the latter is the least the WWE can do to repay his faith towards the company as Kane has obliged to everything the WWE has commanded him to do, and is a great ambassador outside the ring as he is a destructive force inside it and deserves a hall of fame induction as soon as possible.
13 Chris Jericho
via sportskeeda.com
Chris Jericho is a legend if there ever was one in the WWE, as he has been entertaining fans with his amazing aura and skills ever since arriving from WCW in late 1999 and has been one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. Be it his wrestling skills or his incredible ability to adapt himself with his current surroundings, the Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla has won it all in the WWE ever since arriving and has put in some amazing feuds with the best wrestlers in the company in the years he has been in the WWE. His entertaining skills and outside interests means he keeps on coming and going in the WWE, but he always shows passion for the product and has been in his most entertaining self in his latest stint in the company. Jericho is one of the WWE’s most loyal employees, and going by his amazing contribution to the company over the years, is one of the first guys who the WWE should nominate once he hangs up his boots, as not putting him in the Hall of Fame means the WWE will be put on the “List of Jericho” and the Hall of Fame ceremony deserves to “Drink it in, man”.
12 Daniel Bryan
via latimes.com
Daniel Bryan was introduced in the WWE as part of “The Nexus”, but soon configured himself to becoming the most successful of the lot as his stable yet well-built growth in the WWE made for a stunning movement. Bryan was always this underdog when he won the United States Champion after leaving the Nexus, and soon moved into the main event scene as a heel when he won the Money in the Bank Briefcase and his first World Heavyweight Championship afterwards. He’d then move onto a new gimmick with Team Hell No with Kane which was hilarious, before his “YES!” movement took flight and the greatest underdog story of all time culminated with him winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. But injuries would start to plague his career, as he came and went from WWE TV as the Intercontinental Championship win which made him a grand slam champion would be his last hurrah. Bryan would be forced to retire in 2016 because of his injuries at the age of 34, but the WWE has kept him under contract and made him the new Smackdown GM, as he is more over than most of the superstars right now. Bryan’s unbridled dedication at thrilling the fans and putting his body on the line everytime he stepped into the ring is a prime reason the WWE should induct him into the Hall of Fame in the future, as Bryan has sacrificed a lot for the company and always held it in high accord.
11 John Cena
via forbes.com
“The Face That Runs The Place” John Cena is someone you can hate or like, but you cannot ignore him when he’s inside that ring as the golden boy of the WWE in the past decade has been putting in incredible work for the company ever since arriving and is possibly the best ambassador of it right now. Everyone loves to hate John Cena because of him apparently “constantly hogging someone else’s spotlight” or “burying people” or “kissing Vince McMahon’s a**” but many often forget the amount of hard-work he has put in to put over the company at all times, as the 15 time World Champion is definitely the right guy the WWE bet on to usher their company into a new era. Be in feuding with the best of the best or keeping the WWE title relevant at all times under him, John Cena has also promoted the WWE through various advertisements and shows and is continuing to help it grow in the world through outside work, and for that he’s definitely in due of a Hall of Fame induction. It’s rather obvious that WWE will induct him, but he has thoroughly deserved that spot because of his passionate performance level over the past years and helping the WWE stay on top of the sports-entertainment field at all times, while also never bailing on them when other opportunities came crawling.
10 The Rock
via rickey.org
The Rock built himself from scratch to become an icon of the Attitude era, as his amazing charisma and displays in the ring brought him his “millions of fans” as he put in some amazing work in his initial WWE years, as well as promoting the product well over the past few years. Debuting as “Rocky Malvia” he was pushed as a prominent mid-carder who was often taunted by the fans, but afterwards he joined the Nation of Domination stable as just “The Rock”, and his popularity continued to escalated. Be it amazing catchphrases of roasting other wrestlers, The Rock was also a solid worker who put in some great matches with the greats of that time and wasn’t afraid to taking it to the next level. His feuds with Stone Cold, Triple H and Mankind are what helped the WWE conquer WCW, as the “People’s Champion” was quickly the most over superstars of his time. Be it a heel or a face, The Rock would always be the most entertaining person in the ring and he always showcased himself as a bonified superstar and top guy of the company. Even after spending much years outside WWE to pursue a wrestling career, The Rock returned in 2011 and went onto have some iconic matches with the greats of the present and kept on making sporadic appearances to thrill the crowd, and continues to put over guys on social media. His dedication towards the product is what makes him such an icon, and the WWE would be mad not to induct him into the Hall of Fame, as the most electrifying man of all of entertainment has earned his name and reputation over the years.
9 Triple H
via bleacherreport.com
Triple H is another wrestler who has devoted his wrestling career into making the WWE a more world-wide phenomenon as the Game has been an amazing worker ever since he debuted in the mid-90s. With competition from the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker, Triple H slowly bode his time and built himself into a main event star as the raunchy guy from D-Generation X was quickly a heel to be reckoned with. Many think that him marrying the boss’s daughter in Stephanie McMahon was a move for him to cement his place in the WWE, but his constant hard-work and dedication towards the product and willingness to do anything the WWE told him to(including that dreadful Katie Vick Angle) is one of the reasons he’s one of the greatest of all time. Not only are his feuds memorable, but his in-ring skills even after some injuries are solid as ever and his transition from a wrestler to the creator and booker of the wrestling phenomenon in WWE NXT shows how good a backstage guy is too. Be it his wrestling career or booking career, Triple H has shone through everything and the 14 time World Champion needs to be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon because of his work for the WWE and unbridled dedication he has put in to put the WWE over before himself.
8 The Undertaker
via thegolfnewsnet.com
The Demon of Death Valley has been a mystical man in the WWE over the years, but is undoubtedly one of the most respected icons in the industry right now, perfectly depicting his character even now as this character he had created for himself became a legend in the eyes of many quickly after he debuted. Be it his Wrestlemania undefated streak of 21-0 which was broken only by Brock Lesnar a few years back or his amazing depiction of various forms of his character, The Undertaker is perfect both as a heel and face and one of the most terrorizing forces in his feuds, which have been amazing over the years. The Undertaker has won it all in the WWE, and at the age of 51 doesn’t have much more left in him as a retirement seems to be nearing for the Deadman, and an induction into the Hall of Fame is an utmost necessity for such a passionate servant of the product who changed Pro Wrestling forever with his mystical character and has been making for some amazing stuff ever since and is a hug crowd puller whenever he steps into the ring which makes him such an iconic character in the history of the WWE.
7 Those Who Don’t Deserve It
via breakingwrestlingnews.com
7. Vader
Big Van Vader was one of the most terrorizing figures in wrestling in the 90s, as he had quite a career in both New Japan Pro Wrestling and WCW before stepping into a WWE ring, as he was hyped for a number of weeks before actually debuting. He was instantly pushed as a main event star because of his size and intimidating behavior, as his hard-hitting style of wrestling legitimately hurt many wrestlers and forged many complaints against him. After having some high-end feuds with the wrestlers of the time, Vader would go ballistic in a post match interview as he made some really vulgar comments in it. This infuriated management, who degraded him to a jobber to the stars before he left the company soon. But inspite of talking some bad things about WWE over the years, Vader has consistently been called back for sporadic appearances and even inducted his good friend Stan Hansen into the Hall of Fame this year. This probably means a Hall of Fame induction is coming for the big man, but honestly he doesn’t deserve it because he didn’t have much success in the WWE anyhow and has a bad history of mouthing off some bad things which can hamper the WWE’s reputation as well. Vader just isn’t worthy enough to be in the WWE Hall of Fame because of his lack of success in the company, with his horrible attitude a prime reason as to why he shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.
6 Jon Stewart
via gq.com
Jon Stewart is the latest addition to WWE’s list of personalities the company hires to increase the TRP of its show, but the things he has done in WWE TV have felt underwhelming somehow. Stewart is obviously a renowned TV host who was at the helm of “The Daily Show” for almost 16 years and has a popularity in America for being quite the comedian with a very fine sense of humor. Stewart was made the host of SummerSlam 2015, before which he started a feud of sorts with WWE Champion Seth Rollins, and then screwed over his opponent Jon Cena in their match at SummerSlam. Stewart appeared after that as well, as he took an Attitude Adjustment from Cena the next day and reappeared on this year’s SummerSlam as well, when he partied and enjoyed with The New Day. Now we all know how WWE is willing to induct these celebrities into their Hall of Fame with Donald Trump and Mike Tyson being some of them, and an induction for Stewart doesn’t look much far either but he definitely doesn’t deserve it. He wasn’t entertaining enough in his segments and it felt forced and if WWE are to induct him into the Hall of Fame instead of hard-working wrestlers, that would be a massive travesty and really take away our faith from them.
5 Alberto Del Rio
via wwe.com
Alberto Del Rio might have been one of the most talented guys in the WWE when he was there(until a few months back in his 2nd stint), but his attitude is pretty horrible as WWE got a slice of that when they first tried to sign him in 2008, but he declined their offer to go wrestle for CMLL. He would eventually join the company in 2010 with Ricardo Rodriguez as his ring announcer, and he had a JBL like feel to him by travelling in fancy cars and having that dictatorial attitude to him. Del Rio was held in high regard by WWE, as he was pushed as a WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion in his first years and was one of the top heels at the time in the company. He was fired in 2014 because of a bad scuffle backstage, but returned in 2015 to instantly win the United States Championship from John Cena clean. Del Rio held it for sometime before becoming a part of The League of Nations, and was mostly a lower-mid carder before he violated WWE’s Wellness Policy and got suspended because of it. He left the company after that(he had a clause in his contract stating he could) and his lack of passion for WWE and uplifting the company makes him a bad employee, who definitely shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame. Del Rio’s selfishness and horrible attitude are something which WWE shouldn’t ever rehire him again, and they’d be fools to get him into the Hall of Fame later on.
4 Lex Luger
via wrestlingnews.co
Lex Luger was groomed by Vince McMahon to be the successor for Hulk Hogan, which he quickly discovered wasn’t possible because there was no 2nd Hulk Hogan! Luger would be signed from WCW by the WWE as they gave him the All-American gimmick and booked him very strongly,having him bodyslam Yokozuna and earn the opportunity to face him for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 93. But Luger’s push was boding well with the fans who backlashed against him, and an incident in a bar where Luger told everything about the match to a journalist meant he could only win the match via count-out, hence not winning the title. He was then made into a tag team guy with Davey Boy Smith, before he left for WCW without letting Vince McMahon know. Luger has a horrible history with drugs and is mostly a WCW guy because of the amount of time he spent in that promotion, he isn’t an able WWE Hall of Famer anyways and the WWE should keep a respect to themselves and Luger by not ever inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame, even though its possibly considering that Luger is working for the WWE with their Wellness Policy right now, but it would be really annoying if he got inducted into the Hall of Fame ahead of someone way more deserving and someone who has done well for WWE.
3 Batista
via mindofcarnage.com
Batista was quite a powerhouse when he was on top of the WWE ladder in the mid 2000s, but quickly bailed on them when more outside opportunities came his way as he had the potential to become a legend in the WWE, but hasn’t quite attained that status because of his inconsistency in wrestling. Batista truly debuted for Evolution for whom he was the muscle, taking out much of their competition on his own, but quickly went his own way to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H. He then went onto dominate the title scene over the years, being the top guy of the Smackdown! brand and feuding with the best of superstars. But Batista would soon get sour as he lost many opportunities to win titles, and left the company in 2010 stating that “he didn’t like the way the company was headed at”. Inspite of making bad remarks about the company, he was rehired in 2014 when he was instantly rewarded with winning the Royal Rumble match. He lost his opportunity to win the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania, but continued to help Triple H’s authority as they feuded with The Shield. But he quietly left again after that was over, and has spoken about how he’d be interested to the WWE but only in untelevised shows. He was offered a contract extension in 2016, but turned in down saying “he wanted something bigger”. Batista’s arrogance and attitude has risen over the years, as he has forgotten the things WWE did for him and often bad-mouths the company and even though he’s one of the most hard-hitting wrestlers of his time, he doesn’t deserve the Hall of Fame induction because of his sour attitude and should never be rewarded as such for bailing out on the WWE when the times got tough and seeking a career somewhere else.
2 Goldberg
via wwe.com
Goldberg was the main attraction of WCW in its heydays, but going by WWE’s record of inducting legends of other promotions into their own Hall of Fame, this one seems a real possibility in the future. Goldberg is obviously remembered for his amazing time in the WCW, where he held an undefeated streak of 173-0 before it was broken and held its major championships multiple times. While the NWO were seemingly dominating WCW, Goldberg made quite the fan-following with his iconic entrance and hard-hitting style and the former footballer was signed by the WWE after WCW went out of business. Goldberg would defeat The Rock in his debut match in the WWE, before going on an undefeated streak for half of that year. He won the World Heavyweight Championship quickly, but lost it back to Triple H and went onto wrestle important matches over the course of the year. He would then feud with Brock Lesnar, culminating in a match at Wrestlemania XX with Stone Cold Steve Austin as special guest referee, winning the match and then leaving the WWE. Goldberg recently had talks with WWE after being a special option in WWE 2k17, and is expected to return soon for a last match and will probably be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame too. But he doesn’t deserve it for his short amount of work in the WWE, as he’s a WCW Legend and not a WWE one and the company shouldn’t induct him into it as it wouldn’t make much sense and take away all that credibility the WCW Goldberg provided in his dominating reign.
1 Brock Lesnar
via wwe.com
Brock Lesnar might be the most complete athlete in the WWE right now, and one of the greatest in sports-entertainment history, but his attitude is quite poor for a long time now as he does it for the money and now for the passion. Lesnar was signed by the WWE after having an impressive amateur wrestling career, winning the NCAA Championship and was built like a beast right from his debut. Only months after debuting, Lesnar defeated the Rock to win the WWE Championship, becoming the youngest WWE Champion in the history of the company and was consistently booked very strongly as they made him into a bonified main eventer. Lesnar would feud with every big star in Smackdown during his time and defeated his opponents comprehensively, before he left the company after having a match vs Goldberg at Wrestlemania XX. He then went to New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won the NJPW Heavyweight Championship before going to UFC, where he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He also had a lawsuit battle with the WWE at this time and they reached a settlement for that, before he returned in 2012. Lesnar would start another dominating reign in the WWE, which reached a peak when he broke the Undertaker’s undefeated streak and has continued to dominate the WWE scene, always main eventing shows and having to work limited dates at that. Lesnar might be one of the most dominating WWE Superstars of all time, but doesn’t deserve the Hall of Fame induction because of his lack of passion for the product and lack of hard-work for the WWE. Lesnar is all about the money and does it solely for that, and with that sort of attitude the WWE shouldn’t make him a hall of famer in the future as he’s extremely selfish and thinks only about the good of Brock Lesnar and not the WWE.A nagging lack of evidence for weakly interacting massive particles has spurred physicists to start searching for a range of lightweight dark particles and even new dark forces.
In 2015 a team of nuclear physicists in Hungary reported an anomalous bump in the signal from radioactive decays of unstable beryllium-8, corresponding to a putative new particle with 34 times the mass of an electron (1). It was largely overlooked at the time, but a year later US theorists suggested that this might point to a new force felt by dark matter, hinting that the mysterious substance is more complex than previously believed (2). Ideas about dark matter are evolving.
Using observations of gravitational lensing of galaxies, astronomers have mapped out dark matter in the Bullet Cluster, which is formed by two enormous colliding clusters of galaxies. Composite image courtesy of NASA/CXC/M. Weiss.
Since the late 1990s most researchers have posited that dark matter is probably made of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs): ghostly hypothetical objects that would pass through normal matter like light through a glass window. Entities with perfectly WIMP-like properties happen to appear in supersymmetry, a popular theory extending the Standard Model, the current framework describing the interactions of all known particles and forces. But experiments searching for these WIMPs have so far turned up empty, and the Large Hadron Collider has failed to reveal any signs of supersymmetry.
Although supersymmetric WIMPs remain the most-favored candidate for dark matter, their nonappearance has led some scientists to begin doubting their existence and explore numerous new models. A few physicists are turning to another kind of particle, an ultralight entity known as the axion. Others suggest that there might be many distinct dark matter particles, each with unique properties, which could combine into dark atoms and dark molecules and emit dark photons. “This generalization from a particle to a sector, which has particles and forces in it, has really opened up the floodgates,” says particle physicist Jonathan Feng of the University of California, Irvine.
New technology is creating ways to find these elusive entities. In March 2017 physicists attending a workshop at the University of Maryland, College Park listed more than 100 ideas for such experiments (3). Some are already running; others should begin taking data in the next few years.
Birth of Darkness Dark matter is known to exist because of its gravitational effects—stars in the outer reaches of galaxies seem to be moving faster than they should, given the visible material present, as if they were being tugged by some huge unseen mass. In the late 1970s a few researchers realized that as-yet-undiscovered stable particles could have been created in the fiery conditions after the Big Bang, which would account for this enigma (4). Around the same time, theorists developed the idea of supersymmetry and realized that the lightest supersymmetric particle, known as a neutralino, happened to be an ideal fit. In the particle soup of the early universe, neutralinos would have constantly collided with and annihilated one another, producing decay products that include ordinary matter. At first the process would also run in reverse, with ordinary matter particles crashing and creating dark matter. But then as the universe expanded and cooled, ordinary matter particles would have had too little energy to create heavy neutralinos. The neutralinos meanwhile would continue to meet and annihilate. But if the neutralinos have a low probability of finding each other, they could remain in large numbers today. Dark matter is currently thought to outweigh ordinary matter in the universe by a ratio of five to one. Using this value, theorists could ask themselves what the rate of interaction of neutralinos would have been in the early universe. By adding in the neutralino’s proposed mass, which is between 50 and a few thousand times that of a proton, the calculations showed that a particle interacting through only the weak force, and not electromagnetism or the strong force, would exactly produce the current dark matter density—a coincidence known as the WIMP miracle. Following this revelation, researchers began to invent clever ways to look for the prospective particle. They seized on the possibility of a chance encounter: although a neutralino should typically sail right through ordinary matter without leaving a trace, there is always some extremely tiny probability that it will interact with an atom via the weak force. Beginning in the 1980s experimentalists built dark matter detection devices and placed them deep underground to protect them from interfering cosmic radiation in the hopes that a neutralino or other similar WIMP-like particle would eventually run into one of the particles in their detector, producing a measurable recoil signal. The LUX experiment, its light sensor shown here, searches for a type of dark matter known as a WIMP. But WIMPs have failed to turn up in recent years, leading physicists to consider alternative dark matter models. Image courtesy of Matt Kapust/Sanford Underground Research Facility.
Coming Up Empty Recoil detection works best if the target nucleus and the projectile have roughly the same mass, so many of the world’s leading dark matter direct-detection experiments use xenon, which has 131 times the mass of a proton. In January 2017 the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) collaboration, whose experiment ran at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, released its final results (5). They showed no dark matter collisions. Researchers working on the XENON 1-Ton (XENON1T) project in Gran Sasso National Laboratory near L'Aquila, Italy, the largest dark matter experiment of its kind, unveiled their latest data analysis on May 18, 2017, placing even more sensitive constraints on how readily WIMPs interact with regular matter (6). The Particle and Astrophysical Xenon Detector team at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory in Sichuan, China, presented findings from their second-generation detector at a conference in August 2017 (7). Again, they saw nothing. Perhaps, some |
Golden Wonder: Photos of the Jackson's Climbing Salamander]
Stunning rediscovery
The Jackson's Climbing Salamander is known as the "golden wonder" for its bright-yellow body, which is topped by a black streak running from its head to most of the way down its tail. It's named after its discoverer, Jeremy Jackson, who first identified it while exploring the Cuchumatanes with his friend Paul Elias, who was a college student at the time. They found three new species of salamander on that trip, including the long-limbed salamander (Nyctanolis pernix) and the Finca Chiblac Salamander (Bradytriton silus). Those species were found again on expeditions in 2009 and 2010, but the Jackson's salamander stayed missing.
The nonprofit group Global Wildlife Conservation put the Jackson's salamander on its Top 25 "most wanted species" list as part of its Search for Lost Species initiative. The initiative, which launched in April, aims to seek out 25 species that have not been seen for years or decades but aren't confirmed extinct. Among them are the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus mayri), seen only once in 1928 in Indonesia, and the pink-headed duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea), last seen in Myanmar in 1949.
Finding lost species
It was shocking to find the Jackson's salamander so quickly, said Lindsay Renick Mayer, a spokesperson for Global Wildlife Conservation. The group had planned an expedition to the region to search for the salamander in January, but León found the amphibian first.
"The night I got the news from Carlos that Bolitoglossa jacksoni had been rediscovered, I flew off the couch where I'd been falling asleep, let loose a string of expletives (in a good way), and did a little happy dance," Jackson, the salamander's original discoverer, said in a statement. He went on to praise the reserve that has protected the unwitting salamander species throughout the years.
"I'm more than delighted that Yal Unin Yu Witz exists so that Jacksoni and other wonders can survive, and I'm so pleased to hear that it was a guard protecting the preserve who found this beauty," he said.
"I love this story because it conveys how protecting habitat gives species a fighting chance to survive on this planet," Don Church, the president of the Austin, Texas-based Global Wildlife Conservation, said in the statement. "This rediscovery can only be a good omen for the future of the Search for Lost Species campaign. It's a sign that if we get out there and work at it, many of these species can be found and saved."
Original article on Live Science.Giant cranes tower over "the ugliest damn building in New Jersey and maybe America," as Governor Chris Christie once called it, and are slowly transforming the ill-fated Xanadu project into the American Dream Meadowlands.
Now in its 12th year, the third developer in the project's history, Triple Five Group, is promising something akin to two properties it already owns: The Mall of America in Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.
But don't call American Dream a mall.
"It is an entertainment, shopping, and dining destination. If you look at the success of the West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America, you have to think about the consumers and the future and what their habits are and how online shopping has evolved," said Debbie Patrie, senior vice president of marketing for American Dream. "We look at this building as a destination and not as a shopping center."
When complete, the 91-acre complex will be broken up into five connected sections more than a half-mile long. Skylights and large windows will bathe the crisp, clean white walls and spaces with natural light. Fresh flowers, plants, and fountains will highlight the inside and provide what Triple Five says will be a warm, inviting atmosphere when it opens in the summer of 2017.
Nearly $5 billion will be invested in the project by the time it opens, Don Ghermezian, a principal with Triple Five, told The New York Times.
"I think that makes it the most expensive retail project on earth," Ghermezian said.
And when complete, the project will feature several impressive amenities.
For starters, it will be home to North America's largest indoor amusement park and biggest indoor waterpark, the latter of which is being developed with Dreamworks SKG and their movie properties. An 800-foot-long indoor ski hill will be the first in the Western Hemisphere. A 300-foot-tall Ferris wheel will offer a one-of-a-kind view of Manhattan, Triple Five says.
The 150,000-square-foot food hall will feature 15 restaurants, 50 grab-and-go offerings and the world's first Kosher food court.
Moviegoers will be able to smell scents in the films they watch in Cinemex's 1,400-seat, dine-in movie theater with X4D technology. A hotel is in the planning stages for American Dream and could open a year after American Dream, Patrie said. The hotel at the West Edmonton Mall runs at or near capacity year round.
For the kids, there will be a LEGOLAND discovery center with a 4-D cinema, brick pool, and rides for kids 3 to 10 years old. The first Sea Life aquarium in New Jersey will feature a walk-through underwater tunnel and some exotic animals, including seahorses and sharks.
Plus, Toys "R" Us' three-level, 55,000-square-foot retail store will be one of the shopping center's anchor locations. The Wayne-based company will vacate its Times Square flagship location next year due to high rent.
To date, the following retail tenants have been announced:
Saks Fifth Avenue
Lord & Taylor
Off 5th
Hermes
Aritzia
Banana Republic
Gap
Lululemon
MAC
Microsoft
Pink
Uniqlo
Victoria's Secret
Zara
As malls continue to face growing competition from eCommerce, American Dream developers say the new retail project will attract customers because it will be more than just a shopping spot — it will be a destination.
The project should help the Garden State tap into a fiscal pipeline that, until now, has remained largely on one side of the Hudson River: New York City tourists, local businesspeople say.
"It makes the Meadowlands region a primary destination rather than us just playing second fiddle to New York City," said Jim Kirkos, chief executive officer of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce. "There are people who will come to see American Dream first and then go to New York City."
But Bergen County Blue Laws will mean American Dream's 500 retail stores will be closed on Sundays.
"You'll probably see another six to 10 hotels built around here in the next three years," Kirkos said. "The impact covers a wide spectrum of opportunities."
Those opportunities could have a ripple effect on the North Jersey economy and add 20,000 jobs to a region where corporations and jobs are relocating to less taxed areas of the Garden State and the United States, Kirkos said. The effect could also be positive for the malls and shopping centers, including the Willowbrook Mall and Garden State Plaza, that have been North Jersey mainstays for decades.
Kirkos said the regional malls near the West Edmonton Mall have expanded three times in the last six years.
"The Garden State Plaza, the Willowbrook Mall, American Dream is not expected to put those places out of business," Kirkos said.
Public transit intends to provide accommodations to make the gigantic destination accessible.
A commuter shuttle will run between the station NJ Transit operates at the Meadowlands and the Secaucus train station, Kirkos said. NJ Transit will also operate a direct bus line from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City to American Dream.
New York Waterway is in talks to run a shuttle to take passengers to and from marinas along the Hudson River along the Gold Coast — Edgewater, Weehawken, and North Bergen — to American Dream.
"With the addition of private shuttles, we may not have as much traffic problems to worry about," Kirkos said.
NJ Transit officials did not go into specifics about what its plans are for the site, but did say it plans to accommodate the increase in visitors to the area.
"The frequency and capacity of bus and rail service to the Meadowlands complex will be expanded, monitored, and adjusted if necessary to accommodate the influx of people to the area – including those visiting American Dream and MetLife Stadium on game days," said Lisa Torbic, senior public information officer for NJ Transit. "Further discussions on the transit and traffic enhancements are continuing with the developer."
Regardless of how people get there, developers are promising it will be worth the trip.
"It's overwhelming when you think of what will be here," Patrie said. "You can come here and make a day of it. It gives you the option of creating a personalized itinerary and an experience that's your own."
(Pictured: The American Dream complex being constructed in the Meadowlands and an artist's rendering of part of the inside of American Dream/Courtesy of Triple Five Group)The records, obtained by USA TODAY through the Freedom of Information Act, show DOE components reported a total of 1,131 cyberattacks over a 48-month period ending in October 2014. Of those attempted cyber intrusions, 159 were successful.
"The potential for an adversary to disrupt, shut down (power systems), or worse … is real here," said Scott White, Professor of Homeland Security and Security Management and Director of the Computing Security and Technology program at Drexel University. "It's absolutely real."
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Energy Department officials would not say whether any sensitive data related to the operation and security of the nation's power grid or nuclear weapons stockpile was accessed or stolen in any of the attacks, or whether foreign governments are believed to have been involved.
"DOE does not comment on ongoing investigations or possible attributions of malicious activity," Energy Department spokesman Andrew Gumbiner said in a statement.
In all cases of malicious cybersecurity activity, Gumbiner said the Energy Department "seeks to identify indicators of compromise and other cybersecurity relevant information, which it then shares broadly amongst all DOE labs, plants, and sites as well as within the entire federal government."
The National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-autonomous agency within the Energy Department responsible for managing and securing the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, experienced 19 successful attacks during the four-year period, records show.
While information on the specific nature of the attacks was redacted from the records prior to being released, numerous Energy Department cybersecurity vulnerabilities have been identified in recent years by the department's Office of Inspector General, an independent watchdog agency.
After a cyber attack in 2013 resulted in unauthorized access to personally identifying information for more than 104,000 Energy Department employees and contractors, auditors noted "unclear lines of responsibility" and "lack of awareness by responsible officials." In an audit report released in October of last year, the Inspector General found 41 Energy Department servers and 14 workstations "were configured with default or easily guessed passwords."Image copyright Getty Images
The holder of a jackpot-winning EuroMillions ticket bought in the UK has come forward to claim their £93,388,943 prize, lottery operator Camelot has confirmed.
The identity of the winner is still unknown, and they can choose to remain anonymous if they wish.
The prize is the biggest in the UK this year and the sixth-biggest ever in the country.
The winner could receive their money by Monday, Camelot said.
"We're delighted Friday's ticket-holder has come forward to claim this truly life-changing prize," a National Lottery spokeswoman said.
The winning numbers in Friday's draw were 5, 8, 10, 11 and 37, with Lucky Stars numbers of 7 and 9. The jackpot had not been won since 26 May.
EuroMillions began in 2004 and the biggest prize in UK history was £161m, won by a Scottish couple in 2011.
Chris and Colin Weir, from Largs in Ayrshire, said they were "tickled pink" when they realised they had won the record-breaking prize.
Image caption Chris and Colin Weir won the biggest ever UK lottery prize
The couple gave large donations to several causes, including £1m to the Scottish National Party's campaign for Scottish independence.
There was also a Thunderball draw on Friday, but no-one scooped the £500,000 top prize or the £5,000 second prize - and the biggest prize won was £250.
Top UK jackpot winners
£161,653,000 - Colin and Chris Weir from North Ayrshire in 2011
£148,656,000 - Gillian and Adrian Bayford from Suffolk in 2012
£113,019,926 - anonymous, 2010
£107,932,603.20 - Neil Trotter from Surrey in 2014
£101,203,600.70 -Dave and Angela Dawes, Cambridgeshire in 2011
£84,451,320.60 - anonymous, 2010
£81,381,673.30 - anonymous, 2013
£73,205,659.50 - anonymous, 2014
£56,008,113.20 - Nigel Page, Gloucestershire, 2010
Image copyright Science Photo Library Image caption The winners would be able to afford a tropical island in each one of the world's oceans
The unknown winners of the £93m are now in a position to buy everything from private islands to superstar footballers.
Here is a look at some of the luxuries on which the millionaire ticketholder could splash their considerable winnings.
Friday night's earnings could be put towards staging a mini Formula 1 race for the winner's enjoyment. The estimated cost of building an F1 car ranges from £6m to £9m, allowing them to host at least a 10-car race with some change left over.
Commercial space trips would also be within the financial orbit of the winner - 581 trips to space, to be exact. Virgin Galactic hopes to launch paying customers into the stratosphere in the next few years, charging £160,000 per ticket.
A private island on each of the world's oceans is another investment they could make. Options include a sandy paradise off the coast of the United Arab Emirates for a reported £11m and a 100-acre island near Fiji in the South Pacific for £2.8m.
A number of the world's most expensive jets would fit on to the shopping list, including a £41m Gulfstream G650 - currently one of the fastest private business jets on the market, which is equipped with a full kitchen and bar.
The services of Welsh footballer Gareth Bale were snapped up by Real Madrid for roughly £85m in 2013, meaning this lucky winner theoretically has the money to commission his talents.
Teenage millionaire: Life as one of the youngest lottery winnersMany leaders of the shutdown strategy have yet to donate to the NRCC. | AP Photos House tea partiers not anteing up
Hard-line conservatives aren’t just sticking it to the national GOP by shutting down the government and bringing the nation to the brink of default — they’re also refusing to pony up to help their party defend the House in 2014.
With a little more than a year until the midterm election, many leaders of the shutdown strategy have yet to donate to the National Republican Congressional Committee, records show. At least eight of the debate’s 20 or so most outspoken figures have not given any money to the NRCC, and others have forked over token amounts.
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Their refusal to contribute to the House GOP’s political arm, coming as Republicans are getting thumped by Democrats in the money race, is causing heartburn and frustration among Republican strategists charged with laying the groundwork for next year’s races. They say it is reinforcing a perception of the conservative gang that they’re out only for themselves and don’t much care about advancing the party’s larger cause.
( Also on POLITICO: Cruz: I don’t work for party bosses)
Take Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, the libertarian acolyte of former Rep. Ron Paul and one of the most outspoken lawmakers for a hard line on the budget and debt negotiations. Amash, who voted against the final deal to reopen the government, hasn’t contributed to the NRCC this year, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Nor has he given to the committee at any point during his two terms in Congress.
Freshman Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), who said Republicans would be seen as “heroes” for waging a battle to defund Obamacare in the budget debate — the strategy that led to the shutdown — also hasn’t contributed to the NRCC this year. Nor has Georgia Rep. Tom Graves or Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp.
None of the House Republicans mentioned in this story returned requests for comment on why they haven’t given or whether they would give to the NRCC in the future. Of course, many tea party members see their allegiance as being to the grass roots, not to the party establishment, and want to change business as usual in Washington.
( Also on POLITICO: Graham to House: Follow Boehner)
The NRCC also declined to comment but provided a statement thanking the House GOP’s leadership team for its fundraising help.
“Here at the NRCC we continue to exceed our internal goals and beat our own records thanks to the hard work our dedicated members are putting into growing the Republican majority,” said Andrea Bozek, an NRCC spokeswoman.
“Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, NRCC Chairman Greg Walden and the rest of our leadership team in the House have personally put in extraordinary time and effort to ensure that Republicans have the resources necessary to go up against the Obama-Pelosi machine,” she added.
No one would call any of the lawmakers friends of the Republican establishment. All year long, they and other tea party-aligned lawmakers have given House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) fits.
But some GOP officials argue the conservatives are only hurting their cause by potentially threatening the party’s 17-seat hold on the House. Republicans are heavily favored to maintain control of the chamber after the midterms, but the combination of superior fundraising and recurring drama in Washington could give Democrats hope.
( PHOTOS: Republicans, 2016 contenders)
“These members can, and do, talk until they are red in the face about how this shutdown effort will somehow help Republicans in 2014, even though all the evidence is to the contrary,” said one House GOP leadership aide, who declined to criticize members of their own party on the record. “However, none of them have stepped up to the plate to make sure the party has the resources it needs to actually win races.”
Just because a member hasn’t contributed at this point doesn’t mean he or she won’t later on. Graves, for example, provided a $120,000 donation just weeks before the last election. But with tensions between the conservatives and leadership especially raw, many Republicans view the lack of giving as a proverbial middle finger to the establishment — and an indication that the money will very possibly never come.
Member fundraising isn’t the be-all, end-all of a political committee’s financial fortunes. Many members are expected to pay in the low six figures. If those dues go unpaid, however, it can be offset in other areas. The NRCC, for example, relies heavily on K Street dollars, on Boehner’s considerable fundraising muscle, and on a nationwide network of online donors.With Modern Family heading to its schedule, USA is set to add two new comedies.
On the day of its upfront presentation, the NBCUniversal-owned network said Thursday that is has ordered to series Sirens, from Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and Bob Fisher (Wedding Crashers), and Playing House, from Best Friends Forever pair Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham. Both entries -- USA’s first batch of original comedies in more than a decade-- will premiere in the first quarter of 2014, months after Modern Family repeats debut Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. Additionally, the No. 1 cable network has added a new comedy pilot, Love Is Dead, from Chuck’s Zev Borow.
PHOTOS: The Faces of Pilot Season 2013
“With Modern Family joining our lineup in the fall, we can leverage television’s most popular comedy to serve as a powerful launch pad for new originals in this genre,” said Chris McCumber, co-president of USA. His network is relying on Modern to launch its comedy brand much as TBS has done with Big Bang Theory, though it isn't yet clear the single-camera Emmy winner will perform quite as well as multi-cam Big Bang has in syndication. As CBS CEO Leslie Moonves noted at his upfront presentation Wednesday, Big Bang is now not only the top-rated comedy in originals on broadcast but also the top-rated laugher in repeats on cable. Particularly promising for USA brass, however, is that there is only an eight percent overlap between the cable network's viewers and fans who watch Modern Family.
Added co-president Jeff Wachtel: “Our new series come from some of the best comedic talent in the business, and reflect USA’s style -- with great characters, strong execution and compelling storytelling." The new entries will join a schedule that includes such series as Suits, Necessary Roughness, Burn Notice and upcoming effort Graceland, a dark undercover agent drama that's often described as the blue sky brand's biggest departure yet.
Looking ahead, Sirens, which is based on a U.K. format, will center on three of Chicago’s best EMTs, whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance. The series, from Apostle and Fox Television Studios, will star Michael Mosley (Pan Am), Kevin Daniels (Modern Family), Jessica McNamee (The Vow) and Kevin Bigley (Game Change). Apostle’s Jim Serpico (Rescue Me) along with Hal Vogel, David Aukin (Hyde Park on Hudson) and David Leach will serve as executive producers.
STORY: USA Sets Summer Schedule, Including 'Graceland' Debut
For its part, Playing House is a buddy comedy that looks at what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most. Much like their short-lived NBC series Best Friends Forever, the single-camera half-hour effort is inspired by the ultra-close friendship between St. Clair and Parham. Here, when mother to-be Maggie (Parham) asks her single and career-driven best friend Emma (St. Clair) to return home from her job overseas to attend her baby shower, she has no idea what’s truly in store. The series, from Universal Cable Productions and American Work, is being written by the duo, with Old School’s Scot Armstrong and Animal Practice’s Ravi Nandan on board as EPs.
Finally, the Love is Dead project being ordered to pilot is set at a company that specializes in breaking-up romantic relationships -- rationally, compassionately, thoroughly -- on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens. Written and executive produced by Borow, the pilot, which is based on an award-winning French short by the same name, hails from UCP and Gaumont International Television.
Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRoseCats in the Cradle of Conservation
Bart van Dorp/Creative Commons
"If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat." — Mark Twain
Cats have long captivated the human imagination, which explains not only their popularity as pets but also the perennial appeal of calendars featuring fluffy kittens and the incessant social media posts of felines doing funny things.
JAGUAR
It’s a considerably more momentous occasion, however, when a wildlife trail camera captures the grainy image of a jaguar (Panthera onca) skulking through the rugged mountains of southern Arizona. When first listed as endangered in 1972, jaguars were believed to have been extirpated from the U.S. But in 1996, on two separate occasions, mountain lion hunting dogs treed a jaguar and their respective owners snapped photos for subsequent verification.
“It was very exciting news and it triggered a … study during which one of the lion hunters set up cameras throughout parts of southern Arizona,” says Melanie Culver, a U.S. Geological Survey geneticist and assistant biology professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources. “They also found two jaguars during the study.” Culver and her academic colleagues initiated another, more extensive study in 2012, monitoring one jaguar since November of that year.
The largest, most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere and certainly king of its domain, the jaguar ranges from southwestern Arizona and Mexico, across much of Central America, and into South America. But the apex predator has witnessed its kingdom significantly reduced as a result of wide-scale habitat destruction – particularly deforestation – and hunting, which persists illegally for trade purposes in many parts of its range. In addition to illegal trade, these animals are also killed because they are seen as a threat to livestock.
At the northwestern most portion of the species’ range, “jaguar recovery will be dependent on the stabilization and growth of the two core populations, and the maintenance of the movement corridor between them,” says Dr. Howard Quigley, co-leader of the bi-national Jaguar Recovery Team and Executive Director of the non-profit organization Panthera's Jaguar Program. “This will be dependent on reducing mortality factors, reducing the threats to jaguar survival.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Jaguar Recovery Team, which includes biologists in the U.S. and Mexico, are developing a draft recovery plan that will be available for public comment this year. Part of this plan will include strategies to improve habitat connectivity throughout the cat’s range. To this end, the recovery team oversees many efforts, including developing road crossing design recommendations in the northwestern part of the jaguar’s range to facilitate safe movement across roadways. Additionally, last year, federal wildlife officials designated nearly 1,200 square miles (3,110 square kilometers) along the U.S.-Mexico border, including parts of Arizona and New Mexico, as habitat essential for jaguar conservation.
OCELOT
It was serendipitous that trail cameras in Arizona also caught images of a subspecies of ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), a wild cat that weighs between 15 and 30 pounds and resembles a small leopard. The species once roamed from Texas and Louisiana up into Arkansas, south through Mexico, and deep into Central and South America. Outside the few sightings of the subspecies in southern Arizona, today in the U.S., there are just three small breeding populations of ocelot, all in South Texas, totaling fewer than 100 cats.
Photo credit: © Mary Jo Bogatto
Not far from where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is a sanctuary of more than 97,000 acres (31,970 hectares) of thornsrub, freshwater wetlands, coastal prairies, mudflats, and beaches. Here, biologists are working on behalf of the ocelot.
“We have 13 known cats here on the refuge and there are 34 more in the region directly around us,” says refuge biologist Hilary Swarts.
The cats contend with three current threats: habitat loss and fragmentation due to urbanization, agriculture, and oil and gas activity; lack of genetic diversity due to the limited population and lack of habitat connectivity; and road mortality, which accounts for some 40 percent of ocelot deaths.
“As far as addressing genetic diversity issues, we’re exploring the possibility of translocating cats, specifically moving breeding females from other populations in Texas or from the ocelot population in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, about six hours south of the border,” says Swarts. “Genetic diversity is extremely important in population-level disease resistance as well as in reducing the possibility of inbreeding depression, which can suppress population growth.”
In the meantime, the refuge is focused on improving and expanding existing ocelot habitat. Whenever possible, the refuge acquires lands or encourages partners to develop conservation easements to conduct habitat restoration. But the Tamapaulin thornscrub in which the cat thrives can take time – between 20 and 30 years – to mature. To expedite habitat restoration, refuge biologist Jonathan Moczygemba has partnered with the University of Texas at Brownsville to explore the use of tree tubes, herbivore exclosures, and the removal of non-native grass species that compete for water and soil nutrients.
“Speeding the process will be huge,” says Moczygemba. “It may cost more up front, but the returns will be worthwhile. The ocelot is an umbrella species for the habitat it prefers. In restoring habitat for the ocelot, we’re also improving conditions for species such as javelina, chachalaca, and the state-endangered Texas tortoise and indigo snake, and an immense number of bird species.”
However, like the thornscrub, ocelot populations themselves take time to reestablish. Unlike housecats, which can produce litters of four to six kittens several times each year, ocelots typically only produce one kitten – occasionally two – every one and a half to two years. Ocelot offspring are highly dependent on their mothers and may stay with them for up to two years before establishing a separate home range.
“It’s a long process,” says Swarts. “But the ocelots are making babies. We just have to help keep them alive.”
That’s why Swarts and her colleagues are pleased that the Texas Department of Transportation has committed to building 12 wildlife crossings that will provide safe passage beneath two major highways that border the refuge. Fencing between crossings will help keep cats off busy roadways and funnel them towards the crossings.
“This will definitely help reduce road mortalities and should be a crucial turning point in ocelot population recovery,” says Swarts.
Photo credit: Rodney Cammauf/NPS
FLORIDA PANTHER
On the other side of the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi), an endangered subspecies of cougar that can grow to 160 pounds, represents a remarkable success story in the making. Historically, the cat ranged throughout Florida and other states along the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast. Primarily because of urbanization and agricultural development, that range was reduced to just one percent. By the 1970s, there were an estimated 20 individual cats remaining in the wild, all in South Florida.
“Now we have perhaps as many as 200 panthers,” says Larry Williams, a Service biologist who coordinates recovery efforts for the subspecies. “And they seem to be dispersing.”
But conservation efforts have not been without their challenges. Because their numbers were so limited when the recovery planning began in the 1970s, maintaining genetic diversity became a priority.
“There were so few and the gene pool was so shallow,” explains Williams. “Genetic analysis indicated high levels of inbreeding, which led to anomalous health issues: cats had holes in their hearts; many males only had one testicle and abnormal sperm. So the tiny population was rapidly trending toward extinction.”
In order to save the subspecies, eight female Texas cougars – “the closest relative to the Florida panther,” says Williams – were introduced to the cats in Florida. Before long, inbreeding rates declined and the population began to grow.
Today, the Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and other partners are focused on making panther conservation compatible with private landownership. Already, the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers a program that includes reimbursement for livestock killed by large predators such as jaguars. But according to Williams, it will become increasingly important to create programs that financially incentivize landowners to become part of the solution by creating and maintaining suitable panther habitat.
The Florida panther, according to the Service’s recovery plan, would be delisted once there are three populations of 240 animals. “We could reach a population of 240 animals in South Florida very soon,” says Williams. “To get three populations of 240 each would require reintroductions, and that doesn't seem likely at this time. Therefore, our emphasis is on working with private landowners to help the existing population expand on its own."
CANADA LYNX
A cat that fancies colder climes, the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is yet another target for recovery. A mid-sized feline with a silvery-brown coat and long black ears tufts, the lynx boasts huge feet that allow it to stalk and capture snowshoe hare – its primary prey – in the deep, powdery snow common throughout much of its North American range.
Photo credit: Eric Kilby/Creative Commons
Lynx thrive in the expansive boreal forests of northern Canada and Alaska, which support high hare densities. “However, historic lynx numbers and distributions in the Lower 48 states are uncertain and clouded by inaccurate and unreliable trapping records, anecdotal occurrence information, confusion and misidentification with the similar but much more common bobcat, and incomplete understanding of lynx habitat needs and the role of immigration from Canada in sustaining Lower 48 populations,” explains Jim Zelenak, a biologist in the Service’s Montana Field Office.
In 1977, the Service wrote that lynx had been “extirpated in 15 of 30 states in which it was thought to have occurred,” and its status was of concern in 14 of the 15 states in which it remained. In 2000, the Service listed the contiguous U.S. distinct population segment (DPS) of lynx as threatened. However, unlike many listed species, and despite earlier conclusions about the lynx’s status, there was no compelling evidence of a population decline or substantial range contraction. Rather, the DPS was listed because regulatory mechanisms were deemed inadequate to ensure its persistence, particularly regarding potential habitat impacts on public lands.
Also in 2000, the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Montana completed an exhaustive review of all available lynx records for the Lower 48. This important work verified records of lynx in only 24 states, most with very few records, and others where records were correlated with intermittent mass dispersal of lynx into the northern U.S. following cyclic hare population crashes in Canada. Many of the records occurred in habitats that biologists now believe are naturally incapable of supporting lynx.
“One of the challenges of lynx conservation is un-telling a story that’s already been told,” says Zelenak. “Our current understanding, based largely on research conducted since the DPS was listed, is that most lynx habitats in the Lower 48 are naturally marginal compared to those in Canada and Alaska. We are at the southern edge of the range where boreal forests transition to more temperate forests that typically don’t provide consistent hare densities capable of supporting lynx populations. However, a handful of places – northern Maine, northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Montana and northeastern Idaho, northcentral Washington, and the Greater Yellowstone Area of southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming – have supported persistent lynx subpopulations. These are the places we think are essential to conserving lynx in the Lower 48.”
Since the lynx was listed, most federal land managers have, in coordination with the Service, formally amended their management plans to conserve lynx and hare habitat. In Maine, where most lynx occur on private commercial timber lands, the Service has provided incentives for landowners to develop forest management plans and design landscapes that will continue to support lynx.
“We have plans covering about 600,000 acres (242,810 hectares) intended to create and maintain lynx habitat in those landscapes,” says Mark McCollough, an endangered species specialist with the Service’s Maine Field Office. “We need to do more to offset the anticipated decline in lynx habitat in Maine over the next 30 years from changing forest practices, but it’s a start.”
Additionally, the Service must determine if other factors threaten the persistence of lynx in the Lower 48. Chief among those concerns are the potential impacts of climate change, which may be increasing the rate at which boreal forest habitats are receding northward and upslope in elevation, decreasing snowfall depths and durations, thus reducing the lynx’s competitive advantage over bobcats and other hare predators, and increasing forest insect outbreaks and forest fire size and intensity.
Ben Ikenson is a New Mexico-based freelance writer.by John P. Thomas
Health Impact News
The therapeutic use of human poop has proven to be more effective than very expensive pharmaceutical drugs for certain diseases. Fecal Microbiota Transplants (FMT) are a less expensive and more effective treatment for many common diseases, yet the FDA is limiting the use of this therapy to a single condition. Further limitations have been recently proposed by the FDA, which will make it even more difficult for people to receive this life saving therapy.
Fecal Microbiota Transplant therapy involves transplanting stool from a healthy person into the digestive system of an unhealthy person to cure specific diseases. FMT is helpful because the poop from a healthy person contains bacteria that is needed by the person who is sick.
FMT has been successfully used for: drug-resistant bacterial infections such as Clostridium Difficile, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, chronic constipation, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), obesity, type II diabetes, Autism, Parkinson’s, mental disease, food poisoning, Malaria, Metabolic Syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and allergies.
The natural combination of bacteria in healthy human poop is the perfect health promoting probiotic. The transplant restores the damaged internal microbial environment, which helps people heal.
The threat to annual drug company profits could be measured in the many billions of dollars of income per year if doctors were free to use fecal microbiota transplants for treating the above list of diseases.
Fecal Transplants Cure Disease – FDA Declares it a Drug so They Can Control it
The biggest problem, from the point of view of drug makers, is that fecal transplants do more than just manage disease, they can actually cure disease and bypass the need for pharmaceutical drugs. In response to physicians who were beginning to experiment with using FMT for a wide range of health conditions, the FDA declared that poop from healthy people is a drug, and therefore can only be used for medical purposes according to the criteria that the FDA establishes. At this point, the FDA only permits physicians to use FMT with patients who have failed to respond to conventional antibiotic treatment for C Diff. Thus, first a doctor must use expensive antibiotics, which are |
test. See ProductTest (covers product entity.) as an example Functional: Functional tests are tests which require a fully bootstrapped Drupal and provide browser emulation via Mink. This test type will look familiar to those who have worked with Simpletest. See StoreTypeTest as an example.
Functional tests are tests which require a fully bootstrapped Drupal and provide browser emulation via Mink. This test type will look familiar to those who have worked with Simpletest. See StoreTypeTest as an example. FunctionalJavascript: These tests have Mink configured to talk to PhantomJS to run JavaScript. A great example is our AddToCartMultipleTest.
Tests live in the Drupal\Tests\$module\$type namespace (e.g. Drupal\Tests\commerce\Kernel) and tests/src/$type folder (e.g. tests/src/Kernel).
Note: Simpletest had the ability to render Drupal's AJAX Form API operations manually. It never actually supported JavaScript. When working with robust field widgets, such as Address' you'll need to use a FunctionalJavascript test.
Get Setup
We will cover how to setup PhpStorm to run Drupal Commerce's tests. PhpStorm provides a PHPUnit test runner and lets you stay within your workbench to run tests. I run my tests using PHP's built-in server and SQLite. This allows you to run tests with a minimal environment setup.
PhpStorm professional? Here's the tl;dr configurations to put in your project: https://gist.github.com/mglaman/f0cbe19a2fae4fb7f685c25606ab60ea
If you are new to all of this, you will also want to check out the Running PHPUnit tests handbook page on Drupal.org: https://www.drupal.org/node/2116263
Configure phpunit.xml
The first step is to copy the phpunit.xml.dist shipped with Drupal. Make a copy and name it phpunit.xml. There are three values you will want to adjust in the <php> section of the configuration file.
SIMPLETEST_BASE_URL : The URL the Drupal site can be viewed at.
: The URL the Drupal site can be viewed at. SIMPLETEST_DB : If the site is not installed, or is different than the default database connection.
: If the site is not installed, or is different than the default database connection. BROWSERTEST_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY: Specifying this path will save Functional and FunctionalJavascript HTML output.
You can use SQLite for testing, which is my primary use case for setting SIMPLETEST_DB. Below is a sample of what the configuration changes would look for the environment settings.
<!-- Snippet of environment settings. -->
<php>
<!-- Set error reporting to E_ALL. -->
<ini name="error_reporting" value="32767"/>
<!-- Do not limit the amount of memory tests take to run. -->
<ini name="memory_limit" value="-1"/>
<!-- Example SIMPLETEST_BASE_URL value: http://localhost -->
<env name="SIMPLETEST_BASE_URL" value="http://localhost:8080"/>
<!-- Example SIMPLETEST_DB value: mysql://username:password@localhost/databasename#table_prefix -->
<env name="SIMPLETEST_DB" value="sqlite://localhost/sites/default/files/.ht.sqlite"/>
<!-- Example BROWSERTEST_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY value: /path/to/webroot/sites/simpletest/browser_output -->
<!--<env name="BROWSERTEST_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY" value="/var/platform/www/sites/simpletest/browser_output"/>-->
<env name="BROWSERTEST_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY" value="/Users/mglaman/Drupal/sites/commerce2x/www/sites/simpletest/browser_output"/>
<ini name="display_errors" value="On" />
<ini name="display_startup_errors" value="On" />
</php>
Setup PHPUnit Runner
The first step is to create a PHPUnit Runner. Visit Run -> Edit Configurations and create a new PHPUnit runner. You will want to have it configured to look for tests inside of modules/commerce (or wherever you put Drupal Commerce, e.g. modules/contrib/commerce.) Then change the configuration to be base on the one you created previously, such as core/phpunit.xml.
Setup PhantomJS
You will need to setup PhantomJS to test the FunctionalJavascript test suite tests. If you are running Mac OS X and have Homebrew, you can just run brew install phantomjs. Otherwise, review http://phantomjs.org/download.html and use the appropriate steps to install PhantomJS. It's worth doing, as most visual regression tools (like Wraith) need it.
Drupal expects PhantomJS to run on a particular port with seeded configuration. The IntelliJ platform does not have a PhantomJS plugin yet, so I recommend writing a Bash script, and then a Bash runner. Note: You will need to install the BashSupport plugin in order to have this runner.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
phantomjs --ssl-protocol=any --ignore-ssl-errors=true./vendor/jcalderonzumba/gastonjs/src/Client/main.js 8510 1024 768
The above line starts PhantomJS as the Drupal tests assume it will be running. You then just need to add a configuration to have PhpStorm execute the script.
Note: I am currently working on an IntelliJ PhantomJS integration plugin to make this easier.
Optional: Built-in server
As stated, I run my tests using PHP's built-in server instead of booting up my Docker containers. In fact, this is how our tests run on TravisCI. Create the runner and configure the domain and port.
Optional: Compound runnerCRETE, Neb. -- On the morning of the second Thursday in May, I visited this town of about 7,000, 30 miles southwest of Lincoln, to meet Ron Douglas, the oldest living former Nebraska football player.
The idea was to chat with Douglas and his sons, Ron Jr. and Roger, and gather information for an article this summer on the man who received two ovations in the past year at Nebraska sporting events.
I got more than simply a few notebook pages of information.
I got a history lesson and a peak into the mind and spirit of Douglas, who celebrated his 100th birthday six weeks before we met. The character and class of Douglas, a humble man inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1995, was evident, even as age took his ability to articulate fully.
On the position Nebraska coaches asked him to play in its famous 1936 backfield, Douglas said: “I wondered sometimes.”
On my suggestion that perhaps 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers learned a few of his moves from watching tape of the 1936 Huskers, Douglas fired back with sarcasm: “Oh, I’m sure.”
On what he remembered most about his time as a college player: “I enjoyed all the train trips.”
Douglas died Sunday at his home in Crete, surrounded by family. He leaves a legacy steeped in Nebraska tradition. His sons attended the university. Both played baseball, and Roger earned a spot on the football team as a sophomore.
Ron Sr., a native of Crete, spent two years during World War II at work in California for an aircraft company. Otherwise, he devoted his life to family and his home state. Douglas married his college sweetheart, Jean, after her graduation in 1939, helped run the family’s manufacturing business and coached at Doane College in his hometown.
According to his sons, Douglas talked little of his football career. They learned about it from a scrapbook kept by his mother. And there was much to know.
He played in Nebraska’s single-wing attack alongside Sam Francis, the 1936 Heisman runner-up and No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, Lloyd Cardwell and quarterback Johnny Howell. Nebraska has enshrined all four in its Hall of Fame.
Dana X. Bible coached those teams. He later spent nearly two decades as coach and athletic director at Texas and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
“As far as I know, we all respected him,” Douglas said last month. “Still do.”
Douglas also played defense and punted for Nebraska. Against powerhouse Minnesota in his senior year, he outkicked the coverage in a scoreless game. Future Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson caught the ball, and the Golden Gophers ran a reverse on the return, scoring the game’s only points.
“It haunted him his whole life,” Ron Jr. said last month during our visit.
The Douglas sons showed me a message from Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch, the 2001 Heisman winner who sent well wishes on Douglas’ 100th birthday. Roger held tight to a game program from Nebraska’s 1935 win over the University of Chicago and Jay Berwanger, who won the first Heisman later that year.
Ron Douglas was honored on the field during the Nebraska-Minnesota game last November.
When he was introduced again this year during a Nebraska basketball game, the crowd showered Douglas with applause. First-year football coach Mike Riley, in attendance, went a step further. He set out to find Douglas in the arena. They talked for a few minutes, and the coach later signed a photo of the moment for Douglas.
Ron Jr. and Roger spoke in Crete with great pride about all of it, including the Huskers’ 1936 win over Indiana, in which their dad served as captain and scored the decisive touchdown. As boys, the Douglas brothers played in the streets with the game ball -- autographed by the team -- from that win over Indiana.
They damaged it badly. Their father didn’t get angry though. It’s a ball, he said. You’re supposed to play with it.
“We’d give $1,000 just to get that back,” Ron Jr. said.
Until 2013, Ron Sr. regularly attended Nebraska games at Memorial Stadium. His status as a former player afforded him one season ticket, and Douglas purchased a second every year.
At age 96, Douglas received a phone call from the ticket office. A school official questioned that he was still alive, assuming that a family member instead used the seats. Douglas, angry, drove straight to campus.
“They apologized vociferously,” Roger Douglas said.
The brothers laughed about it in May. This week, they celebrated 100 years of their father’s life, remembering a Nebraska football legend lost but not forgotten.John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, PC (1730 – 25 February 1809), generally known as Lord Dunmore, was a Scottish peer and colonial governor in the American colonies and The Bahamas. He was the last royal governor of Virginia.[1]
Lord Dunmore was named governor of the Province of New York in 1770. He succeeded to the same position in the Colony of Virginia the following year, after the death of Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt. As Virginia's governor, Dunmore directed a series of campaigns against the trans-Appalachian Indians, known as Lord Dunmore's War. He is noted for issuing a 1775 document (Dunmore's Proclamation) offering freedom to any slave who fought for the Crown against the Patriots in Virginia. Dunmore fled to New York after the Burning of Norfolk in 1776, and later returned to Britain. He was Governor of the Bahama Islands from 1787 to 1796.
Family and early life [ edit ]
Murray was born in Taymouth, Scotland, the eldest son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, by his marriage to Catherine Nairne; he was a nephew of John Murray, 2nd Earl of Dunmore. In 1745 both Murray, then only 15, and his father joined the ill-fated Rising of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" (Charles Edward Stuart), and the young Murray was appointed as a page to Prince Charles. The second Earl, his uncle, remained loyal to the Hanoverians.
After the Jacobite army was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, William Murray was imprisoned in Tower of London and his family was put under house arrest. By 1750, William Murray had received a conditional pardon. John Murray was now aged twenty and joined the British Army. In 1756, after the deaths of his uncle and father, he became the fourth Earl of Dunmore.
In 1759 Dunmore married Lady Charlotte, a daughter of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway. Their daughter Lady Augusta Murray later became an unwanted daughter-in-law of King George III, when she married his son Prince Augustus Frederick without the consent of the King. The Dunmores had another daughter close to her age, Lady Catherine Murray, and soon after they landed in Virginia they had another child, Lady Virginia Murray. Their daughter Lady Susan Murray (1768–1826) had three husbands and children by each: first Joseph Tharp, heir to a Jamaica sugar fortune; second John Drew, son of the Chichester banker John Drew; and finally a clergyman in Ireland, the Reverend Archibald Edward Douglas.
Colonial governor of New York [ edit ]
Dunmore was named the British governor of the Province of New York from 1770 to 1771. Soon after his appointment, in 1770, Virginia's governor, Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (Lord Botetourt) died, and Dunmore was eventually named to replace him.[2]
Colonial governor of Virginia [ edit ]
Dunmore's War [ edit ]
Dunmore became royal governor of the Colony of Virginia on 25 September 1771. Despite growing issues with Great Britain, his predecessor, Lord Botetourt, had been a popular governor in Virginia, even though he served only two years before his death. As Virginia's colonial governor, Dunmore directed a series of campaigns against the Indians known as Lord Dunmore's War. The Shawnee were the main target of these attacks, and his avowed purpose was to strengthen Virginia's claims in the west, particularly in the Ohio Country, but as a byproduct it was known he would increase his own power base. Some even accused Dunmore of colluding with the Shawnees and arranging the war to deplete the Virginia militia and help safeguard the Loyalist cause, should there be a colonial rebellion. Dunmore, in his history of the Indian Wars, denied these accusations.[3]
Battle for control [ edit ]
Lacking in diplomatic skills, Dunmore tried to govern without consulting the House of Burgesses of the Colonial Assembly for more than a year, which exacerbated an already tense situation.[4]
When Dunmore finally convened the Colonial Assembly in March 1773, which was the only way he could deal with fiscal issues to financially support his war through additional taxation, the burgesses instead first resolved to form a committee of correspondence to communicate their continued concerns about the Townshend Acts and Gaspee Affair to Great Britain. Dunmore immediately postponed the Assembly. Many of burgesses gathered a short distance away at the Raleigh Tavern and continued discussing their problems with the new taxes, perceived corruption and lack of representation in England. When Dunmore reconvened the Assembly in 1774, the burgesses passed a resolution declaring 1 June 1774 a day of fasting and prayer in Virginia. In response, Dunmore dissolved the House.
The burgesses again reconvened as the Second Virginia Convention and elected delegates to the Continental Congress. Dunmore issued a proclamation against electing delegates to the Congress, but failed to take serious action.[5] In March 1775, Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech delivered at St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond helped convince delegates to approve a resolution calling for armed resistance.[6]
In the face of rising unrest in the colony, Dunmore sought to deprive Virginia's militia of military supplies. Dunmore gave the key to the Williamsburg magazine to Lieutenant Henry Colins, commander of HMS Magdalen, and ordered him to remove the powder, provoking what became known as the Gunpowder Incident. On the night of 20 April 1775, royal marines loaded fifteen half-barrels of powder into the governor's wagon, intent on transporting it down the Quarterpath Road to the James River and the British warship. Local militia rallied, and word of the incident spread across the colony.
Confrontation with the Hanover militia [ edit ]
The Hanover militia, led by Patrick Henry, arrived outside of Williamsburg on 3 May. That same day, Dunmore evacuated his family from the Governor's Palace to his hunting lodge, Porto Bello in nearby York County.[7] On 6 May, Dunmore issued a proclamation against "a certain Patrick Henry... and a Number of deluded Followers" who had organised "an Independent Company... and put themselves in a Posture of War."[6]
Dunmore threatened to impose martial law, and eventually retreated to Porto Bello to join his family. Dislodged by the Virginia rebels and wounded in the leg,[8] on 8 June, Dunmore took refuge on the British warship HMS Fowey in the York River. Over the next months, Dunmore sent many raiding parties to plunder plantations along the James, York and Potomac rivers, particularly those owned by rebels. The raiders exacerbated tensions, since they not only stole supplies, they also encouraged slaves to rebel. In December, Washington commented "I do not think that forcing his lordship on shipboard is sufficient. Nothing less than depriving him of life or liberty will secure peace to Virginia, as motives of resentment actuate his conduct to a degree equal to the total destruction of that colony."[8]
Dunmore's Proclamation [ edit ]
Dunmore is noted for Dunmore's Proclamation, also known as Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation. Dated 7 November 1775, but proclaimed a week later, Dunmore thereby formally offered freedom to slaves who abandoned their Patriot masters to join the British. Dunmore had previously withheld his signature from a bill against the slave trade.[4] The proclamation appeared to respond to the legislature's proclamation that Dunmore had resigned his position by boarding a warship off Yorktown nearly six months earlier. However, by the end of the war, an estimated 800 to 2000 escaped slaves sought refuge with the British; some served in the army, though the majority served in noncombatant roles.[9][10]
Dunmore organized these Black Loyalists into his Ethiopian Regiment. However, despite winning the Battle of Kemp's Landing on 17 November 1775, Dunmore lost decisively at the Battle of Great Bridge on 9 December 1775. Following that defeat, Dunmore loaded his troops, and many Virginia Loyalists, onto British ships. Smallpox spread in the confined quarters, and some 500 of the 800 members of the Ethiopian Regiment died.[11]
Final skirmishes and return to Britain [ edit ]
On New Year's Day in 1776, Dunmore gave orders to burn waterfront buildings in Norfolk from which patriot troops were firing on his ships. However, the fire spread. The city burned, and with it any hope that Dunmore's loyalists could return to Virginia.[12] Dunmore retreated to New York. Some ships of his refugee fleet were sent south, mostly to Florida.[13] When he realized he could not regain control in Virginia, Dunmore returned to Britain in July 1776. Dunmore continued to draw his pay as the colony's governor until 1783, when Britain recognized American independence.
From 1787 to 1796, Dunmore served as governor of the Bahamas. During his tenure as governor, the British issued land grants to American Loyalists who went into exile. The sparse population of the Bahamas tripled within a few years. The Loyalists developed cotton as a commodity crop, but it dwindled from insect damage and soil exhaustion. In addition to slaves they brought with them, the loyalist planters' descendants imported more African slaves for labour.
Peerage [ edit ]
Dunmore sat as a Scottish representative peer in the House of Lords from 1761 to 1774 and from 1776 to 1790.
Death [ edit ]
Dunmore died on 25 February 1809 in Ramsgate in Kent.[14] He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, George.[15] The Countess of Dunmore died in 1819.
Legacy [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]Ever needed to run a command on currently editting file/folder? I've made a simple plugin to do just that.
Save the following as run_cmd.py in your Packages/User folder.
import os import sublime import sublime_plugin class RunCmd ( sublime_plugin. WindowCommand ): def run ( self, cmd ): if "$file_name" in cmd : view = self. window. active_view () cmd = cmd. replace ( "$file_name", view. file_name ()) if "$file_dir" in cmd : view = self. window. active_view () cmd = cmd. replace ( "$file_dir", os. path. split ( view. file_name ())[ 0 ]) print 'Running custom command:', cmd os. system ( cmd + " &" )
Now it's super easy to run commands. Strings $file_name and $file_dir are replaced with file's name or directory, respectively.
Want to run Double Commander on file's folder? Add this to your Commands.sublime-commands :
{ "caption" : "doublecmd", "command" : "run_cmd", "args" : { "cmd" : "doublecmd $file_dir" } }
Need to run gitk on the current file? Ok:
{ "caption" : "Gitk: Current file", "command" : "run_cmd", "args" : { "cmd" : "gitk $file_name" } }
Create a tmux shell with R in CWD? I think you've got the point...The principle of “one person, one vote” sounds simple. But this week, the Supreme Court will hear a case that reveals how not-simple it really is, and how race lurks in the background of profound legal questions.
According to the Constitution, states determine how their state and local legislative districts are drawn. For more than a century, many were based on geography, which led some sparsely populated rural districts to have as much representation as cities.
That changed in 1964, when the Supreme Court ruled, in the case of Reynolds v. Sims, that the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution required districts to be based on population, not geography. “Legislators represent people, not trees,” wrote Chief Justice Earl Warren. And the Constitution requires that “the vote of any citizen is approximately equal in weight to that of any other citizen in the state.” The principle of “one person, one vote” was born.
Well, wait a minute. Suppose only half the people in District A can vote, because the other half are non-citizens, or children, or felons. Meanwhile, in District B, almost everyone can vote. That means that the voters in District A get twice as much representation as the voters in District B. That seems unfair.
And that is what the plaintiffs in Evenwel v. Abbott are alleging. They say that “one person, one vote” should really mean “one voter, one vote,” and that districts should be drawn based on eligible voters, not total population. Otherwise, some votes count more than others.
The devil, though, is in the details.
First, says Nathaniel Persily, a law professor at Stanford who specializes in election-law issues, no one’s ever counted eligible voters in that way before. The Census counts population, and it’s used around the country. But if the court requires states to use eligible-voter data instead, then, Persily told The Daily Beast, “every city, county, and school board in the country would have to redraw its lines. It’s a 50-state disaster.”
Rejecting federalism and imposing a uniform federal standard is a highly un-conservative thing to do, of course. And yet the people pushing this case are far-right conservatives, led by serial litigation activist Ed Blum. What’s going on? What is this case really about?
The answer is what you might expect: race. Latinos, in particular.
Evenwel is a case out of Texas, where the Latino population is booming. That means that there are a lot of places like District A in cities with Latino immigrants, who may be in the country legally but who have not yet gained citizenship. Meanwhile, there are a lot of District Bs in the white suburbs. If the Supreme Court rules for Evenwel, those white suburbs would instantly gain even more power in the state legislature.
That explains the involvement of Blum, who, since losing an election of his own in 1992, has engineered Supreme Court cases against affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act (including the notorious Shelby County v. Holder decision that eviscerated the VRA in 2013) and who is funded by anonymous conservative donors whose identities are shielded by financial nondisclosure rules.
Ironically, notes Persily, the Texas legislature has hardly been friendly to non-citizens. “Look at the laws Texas has been putting out,” he told The Daily Beast. “Redistricting, which Latino groups are suing over. Voter ID, which Latino groups are suing over. This is not an area where the court has to get involved.”
But that’s today. Demographers have estimated that Latino votes could “turn Texas blue” within two decades, possibly within even one. Add in districts where those votes “count more” than white suburban ones, and you can see the Texas old boy network disappearing like beer at a barbecue.
Isn’t it unfair, though, that voters in districts with a lot of non-voters count more than others?
Well, consider the alternatives.
First, if the Supreme Court rules for Evenwel, it will be creating a constitutional right out of thin air. In fact, though the Constitution is silent on state representation; everywhere it talks about federal representation it uses the word “people,” which included non-voting women and non-voting slaves. It mandates a census of population, not voters.
Indeed, as Persily noted, the loathsome Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of white men, was all about representation in Congress. If slaves, who could not vote, weren’t counted, the Southern states would have had 30 percent fewer electoral votes for president, and 30 percent fewer seats in Congress. So a compromise was reached in which slaves were counted, but not fully counted.
True, that’s about federal, not state, representation. But it would be quite odd for the Constitution to require counting voters (not population) for states while remaining totally silent on the matter, and while requiring the exact opposite (population, not voters) for federal purposes.
Second, as Persily said, “there’s a lot of unfairness in the political system” and a change in the way districts are drawn would simply move the unfairness around. If the court rules for Evenwel, some districts would have hundreds of thousands of people in them, while others would have only tens of thousands. Surely, resources would be allocated as a result, thus favoring the districts with lots of voters, but fewer people—who, let’s remember, are already disproportionately white, rich, and powerful. That sounds unfair, too.
Finally, there are the jurisprudential consequences. Justice Roberts, as I’ve written before, is a judicial conservative more than a social conservative. Will he really vote to junk a system being used everywhere for decades, and to require states and localities to spend billions of dollars because of something the Constitution doesn’t actually say?
Moreover, this recourse to the courts is exactly the kind of end-run around legislatures that conservatives usually complain about. Blum and his ilk know what would happen if the Texas legislature decided to redistrict this way: There would be an outcry and a likely backlash. So they’re going to the courts instead, trying to void every state’s system of redistricting and impose a uniform standard across the country. Hardly conservative, but when the alternative is the “browning of America,” folks get desperate.
We’ll see how many Supreme Court justices agree with them.The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the third of the four exclusive minifigures to be given away at SDCC 2014 will be Bard the Bowman from The Hobbit. It's pictured to the right alongside a human sized model of Smaug the dragon, also from The Hobbit, which will be on display at SDCC.
The article also touches upon the method that will be used to give away these figures - the badges of attendees will be scanned in order to "determine a winner" in a lottery style giveaway. It's certainly reassuring that LEGO seem to have given some thought to the method used for the distribution of these figures, after the claims last year that the raffles were rigged. Hopefully this new method will be completely random.
Share your thoughts in the comments below or in the SDCC forum discussion.
Thanks Aanchir for the tip.New evidence is suggesting that the emergence of birds was from a drastic change in how dinosaurs developed. Rather than spending years to reach sexual maturity, they drastically shortened their development, essentially remaining juvenile dinosaurs their whole lifespan.
Some species of birds take as little as 12 weeks to reach maturity, as opposed to the very long development of some species of dinosaurs.
“What is interesting about this research is the way it illustrates evolution as a developmental phenomenon,” said Arkhat Abzhanov, associate professor at Harvard and study co-author. “By changing the developmental biology in early species, nature has produced the modern bird — an entirely new creature — and one that, with approximately 10,000 species, is today the most successful group of land vertebrates on the planet.”
There are some clear differences between birds and dinosaurs; birds have shorter snouts, less/no teeth, and they have proportionally larger eyes and brains. But those differences are all from the sexual characteristics of grown dinosaurs — the skulls of juvenile dinosaurs and birds are virtually identical.
“No one had told the big story of the evolution of the bird head before,” said Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, a Harvard PhD student and first author of the study. “There had been a number of smaller studies that focused on particular points of the anatomy, but no one had looked at the entire picture. What’s interesting is that when you do that, you see the origins of the features that make the bird head special lie deep in the history of the evolution of Archosaurs, a group of animals that were the dominant, meat-eating animals for millions of years.”
To perform the study, the researchers used CT scanners; scanning dozens of skulls from birds, theropods (the dinosaurs most closely related to birds), and from other early dinosaur species.
By keeping track of the different “landmarks” on the skull, such as the orbits, cranial cavity, and other bones; the researchers were able to track how the skull changed over millions of years.
“We examined skulls from the entire lineage that gave rise to modern birds,” Abzhanov said. “We looked back approximately 250 million years, to the Archosaurs, the group which gave rise to crocodiles and alligators as well as modern birds. Our goal was to look at these skulls to see how they changed, and try to understand what actually happened during the evolution of the bird skull.”
What the researchers found is that while early dinosaurs undergo large morphological changes in their skull as they mature, the skulls of of adult and juvenile birds are nearly the same.
The process of a species changing to reach sexual maturity earlier is called progenesis. Different from their dinosaur ancestors, birds reach sexual maturity rapidly, as quickly as in 12 weeks.
The researchers of this study comment that this highlights the diversity of different evolutionary strategies that species use.
“That you can have such dramatic success simply by changing the relative timing of events in a creature’s development is remarkable,” he said. “We now understand the relationship between birds and dinosaurs that much better, and we can say that, when we look at birds, we are actually looking at juvenile dinosaurs.”
“It shows that there’s so much for evolution to act upon,” Bhullar agreed. “When we think of an organism, especially a complex organism, we often think of it as a static entity, but to really study something you have to look at its whole existence, and understand that one portion of its life can be parceled out and made into the entire lifespan of a new, and in this case, radically successful organism.”
Source: University of Texas at Austin
Image Credits: Frank Ippolito/AMNH, University of Texas at AustinA poll has been conducted among Nico Nico Douga users of their most anticipated anime of the winter 2016 season. The results were determined through a combination of the percentage of respondents who claimed they would watch the anime and the degree of anticipation they felt for the anime.
ERASED Ajin Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū DAGASHIKASHI Myriad Colors Phantom World AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue BBK/BRNK Girls Beyond the Wasteland Dimension W Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
The poll was conducted 84.1% of men, 15.8% of women. The age breakdown was 11.2% 10s, 33.2% 20s, 28.4% 30s, 27% 40s and above.
As for the other end of the list, Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation performed worst, followed by Reikenzan: Hoshikuzu-tachi no Utage and Divine Gate.
If past polls are any indication, the ranking of best winter anime after the season will be really different. A Charapedia poll from December was also drastically different. A poll of ANN readers led to results much closer to Charapedia's than to Nico Nico's.
[Via Yaraon!;Image from ERASED anime official site]The OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by K&N Filters, has now been held eight times, and with only one exception, Chevrolet has absolutely dominated the event. Danny Popp is a big reason why, as he has captured the title three times, including back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015. Popp's first victory came in the 2011 edition, in a 2006 Corvette he built for Todd Rumpke, but the last two wins have come in his own C5 Z06.
The field is certainly not full of pushovers, counting more than a dozen SCCA national championships in the field, as well as two of the Top-three overall finishers in the 2015 One Lap of America. Speculation leading up to the event suggested this would be the year all-wheel drive competitors finally broke the Bow Tie stranglehold on the top spot, but it was simply not meant to be. Second-place Andy Smedegard's Evo had wastegate issues early in the Falken Tire Road Course Time Trial, and OLOA runner-up, Hugh Bate's Nissan GT-R took a stab at Popp's top time, but couldn't come within two seconds of the overall winner's top lap.
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Smedegard did finish ahead of Popp in the Wilwood Speed Stop Challenge and Detroit Speed Autocross, but the gap created by Bate's second-place finish on the Road Course, combined with the Corvette's slight edge in the Lingenfelter Design & Engineering Challenge, gave Popp the cushion he needed to take home his third victory and second in a row. Chevys have now captured the last six OUSCI events in a row, but the AWD crowd is closing in, grabbing Second and Third place, along with six of the top-ten spots.
The schedule for OPTIMA's 2016 Search for the Ultimate Street Car has already been announced and includes such iconic tracks as Road America, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Circuit of the Americas. Registration will open before the end of the year, and all of these events are expected to sell out (seven of nine sold out in 2015). If you want to get in on the action, visit driveoptima.com for more information.
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2015 OUSCI Top-Ten
Danny Popp, 2003 Chevrolet Corvette
Andy Smedegard, 2006 Mitsubishi Evo
Brandon Ranvek, 2006 Mitsubishi Evo
Hugh Bate, 2013 Nissan GT-R
Rich Willhoff, 2006 Chevrolet Corvette
Clay Shearer, 2015 Porsche 911 Turbo S
Ken Thwaits, 2006 Mitsubishi Evo
Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
Ronnie Soliman, 2006 Mitsubishi Evo
Bryan Johnson, 2013 Chevrolet Camaro
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11/83A weekly analysis of the Redskins’ quarterback play.
Rewind: Robert Griffin III looked like a guy playing his first game in eight months coming off surgery and without benefit of a preseason game. Griffin’s numbers were respectable: 30-of-49 for 329 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. But he’s not yet the same dynamic threat, and his mechanics (and decision-making, at times) looked rusty. He wasn’t always helped by his protection. Griffin did find a rhythm in the fourth quarter, hitting mostly short underneath throws. But he completed his day with a pretty 24-yard touchdown pass to receiver Leonard Hankerson that required rhythm and finesse.
Fast-forward: The Packers did a good job taking away San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick's legs. Then again, he didn’t need them, as the Packers struggled to stop the pass, partly because they changed up their coverage strategies. Until Griffin shows he can beat teams by running, my guess is they will do what they can to take away the pass with more man-press coverage.
Inside the numbers: Griffin’s numbers were built on the short pass Monday as he completed just 2 of 11 passes for 51 yards on throws that traveled 11 or more yards according to ESPN Stats & Information. A year ago he completed 59 percent of such throws (and was at 63.4 percent on throws between 11-20 yards). That rust stems from players being unable to work as much together as usual and from not getting into a rhythm during game action. Also, against a five-man rush or more Griffin was 9-for-20 for 78 yards and an interception. He faced those situations only 83 times last season and never threw a pick (compared to 10 touchdowns and a 67.5 completion percentage).
Prediction: Griffin will take another week or two to find his true rhythm, both as a passer and as a runner. Minus corner Casey Hayward, the Packers are more susceptible at corner. If the Redskins' offense really starts clicking, then Griffin won’t be in the 300-yard range, as the ground game will take a strong share of the focus. I’d expect a more balanced attack this week -- that is, if they don’t want to fall behind big again. Keep in mind that Kaepernick completed 9-of-11 play-action passes, averaging 13.8 yards per attempt, against the Packers according to ESPN Stats |
commits (not including commits through beta forge). And I can tell you that we have steadily been increasing year after year. So while GitHub has added to the number of overall open source commits, the landscape has been growing each year. If we look at the number of commits collectively across all repos (GitHub+SF+GoogleCode+Codeplex+ Bitbucket+Launchpad), the number is astonishing. It cannot be denied that this is an exciting time to be in open source, and the future looks bright for us all.
What really disappoints me, however, is the reaction by the general open source community. Check Twitter and you’ll see a flood of hate against SF.net. Have we forgotten that we’re all in this “open source” thing together? Do we not realize that it’s not a “popularity” contest, and that number of commits does not necessarily indicate a number of stable, released and downloadable projects? What GitHub does is awesome, and I fully support them in their efforts. But admittedly, we also have some pretty damn cool projects hosted on SF.net, and we do still serve up > 3,000,000 downloads every day. Let me say that again. 3,000,000 people come to our site *every day* and get a piece of open source software that makes their lives better. If that makes us “unpopular” then so be it.
To all the haters that have written us off, and wished we would die, I say this. We’re on your side, and we still love you. We still support you in your open source efforts. But it would be awesome if you would stop the hating and start doing something constructive. Can SF do things better? Of course! Allura is open source. Feel free to jump in, join the community, and help us continue to help open source. Don’t have time to contribute? Send us helpful, constructive feedback. Hating on us for the sake of hating is as ridiculous as hating on a different software language, OS, or text editor.
Open source is all about choice, transparency, and collaboration, not hating on others. Use what tools work best for you, and respect that others may choose a different path.
(And to the SF.net critics: you should pull up a chair, because we’re here to stay. 🙂 )Despite the former Conservative government’s anti-fraud efforts, ineligible immigrants have continued to beat the system and secure Canadian citizenship, the auditor general says. “People were granted citizenship based on incomplete information or without all of the necessary checks being done,” Michael Ferguson wrote in an audit of the citizenship program tabled Tuesday in the House of Commons. “Since revoking citizenship after it has been granted is costly, while the cost to grant it is far less, it is important to ensure that only eligible applicants receive it in the first place.”
Auditor General Michael Ferguson issued his spring report on Tuesday. ( Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo )
The auditor general investigated citizenship applications between July 2014 and last fall and found Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not have a systematic method of identifying and documenting fraud risks and that existing guidelines were not followed consistently by staff. In response to the report, Immigration Minister John McCallum said he is working with the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP to improve information sharing and to put in place a new integrity system by December. “We have thoroughly reviewed all cases flagged by the Office of the Auditor General to determine if citizenship fraud may have occurred. As a result, we’ve opened investigations toward possible citizenship revocation from about a dozen individuals,” McCallum said.
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“We are continuously looking for ways to improve fraud detection and prevention processes in all of our programs.” To become a citizen, permanent residents must have lived a minimum amount of time in Canada, pass a language and knowledge test, and obtain criminal clearances from the RCMP. The most common fraud involves pretending to have lived in Canada to maintain permanent resident status and meet residency requirements for citizenship, the report said. Sometimes people use an address that is known or suspected to be associated with fraud in their applications, the report found. However, due to “date entry errors and inconsistent updating,” immigration officials failed to detect potentially fraudulent residency claims. “Both immigration and the border services are not up to the task in policing and prosecuting fraud because there are no consequences and a lot of incentives to commit it,” said Toronto immigration lawyer Sergio Karas. “We need to face up to the fact that most frauds are committed in certain parts of the world and we need to target our efforts.”
The auditor general examined the addresses of 9,778 of the 106,271 adults who applied for citizenship in 2014 and identified at least six such “problem addresses” that were not flagged. “We also found examples where many applicants used the same addresses over several years although none of the citizenship officers who processed their applications noticed,” said the report, adding that one such address was used by at least 50 different applicants during overlapping time periods between 2008 and 2015. Seven of those became Canadian citizens.
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Citizenship officers also failed to check travel documents against the Lost, Stolen and Fraudulent Document database, as instructed by departmental guidelines, allowing fraudulent papers to continue to circulate and slip through the cracks. The anti-fraud effort was further hampered by untimely and insufficient co-operation and communication with the RCMP and border services. In one of the border agency’s investigations, 16 different people had used two addresses but the information was not provided to citizenship officers, the report found. Half of those applicants were granted citizenship. In another case, the border agency linked 21 problem addresses to multiple applicants but three of the addresses were not added to its immigration counterpart’s watch list. Investigators also probed if the RCMP provided immigration officials with complete and timely information about criminal charges brought against immigrants awaiting citizenship. They did a random audit of 38 cases and found the RCMP only shared the required information with immigration in two of the cases. “The outcome was that two applicants received citizenship and a third who might have received it did not, due to failing the test on knowledge of Canada. The fourth... abandoned the application,” said the report. Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Steven Meurrens said the lack of information sharing is astounding but he hopes a planned system to be implemented by Ottawa next year to monitor the exit of permanent residents from the country can help crack down on residency fraud. “The exit control system will be a positive game-changer,” he said. Lawyer Mario Bellissimo said it is not known from the audit the extent of citizenship fraud and warned officials and the public against overreacting. “No system is 100 per cent perfect. This is a good start but we need to measure the actual impact of what’s being missed and understand how prolific the issue is,” said Bellissimo.Patrizia, Simon and Helen, ages 12, 12 and 11, respectively, went on Germany's 'The Voice Kids' to sing Leonard Cohen's classic "Hallelujah," and the effect was stunning.
Although they are young, the kids seem to draw from life experience or universal human emotions to convey the beauty of Cohen's song. Naturally, their parents backstage are beside themselves with pride.
Cohen wrote the tune in 1984, and it has retained in place in people's hearts the past three decades, finding its way into countless films, shows and covers.
The song's lyrics go:
I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, HallelujahRyan Reynolds has announced that production on Deadpool has wrapped.
Filming on the long awaiting film began earlier this year in Vancouver, after fan reaction to leaked test footage moved 20th Century Fox to rescue the project from development hell. The film is now scheduled for release on February 12.
#Deadpool has been a privilege to make. And we got to make this film because of you. Gonna eat a samich now. #wrapped pic.twitter.com/AMW68HD2BI
The next entry into Fox’s X-Men film universe, Deadpool will tell the popular character’s origin story. Armed with accelerated healing powers and a twisted sense of humor, former mercenary Wade Wilson (Reynolds) goes in search of the man who nearly destroyed his life.
In addition to Reynolds, the film also stars Morena Baccarin as Copycat, Ed Skrein as Ajax, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, and T.J. Miller as Weasel.Just three short weeks since The New Yorker unveiled its brand new, responsive site, there have already been a slew of updates. Whilst it’s not unusual for issues to come to light after a launch, the current online version of the classic American magazine has some fundamental problems that require more than a quick fix.
It’s hard to envisage a magazine with a grander tradition than that of The New Yorker, the aspirational magazine is for many, synonymous with life in the Big Apple. Despite content heavily focussed on the greater New York area, its appeal is global and it can be found gracing magazine racks in waiting rooms from Baghdad to Bangkok.
Despite this pedigree, The New Yorker has experienced the same pinch as other great titles like Time and Vanity Fair, as readers move online. Owners Condé Nast chose this Summer to overhaul the site, but the result has been a slow-motion car wreck of a website launch, that has done little to entice new subscribers ahead of the Autumn switch over to what CN hope will be a profitable, paywall model.
It is of course impossible to know from exactly where The New Yorker’s online problems stem, without being party to the internal workings of the publisher. However, what issues are evident point the finger firmly at the web designer’s nemesis: interference from above.
At first glance, The New Yorker’s new site is an appealing, minimal space in which primary focus is placed on content. I have to admit that it may be a little sparse, even for me. But in my opinion it is a significant improvement on the previous version. Even in places where the layout doesn’t quite work, like the vertical spacing on the masthead, it all seems to be much improved once you size your browser window down. I can’t say whether the team took a mobile-first (or at least, tablet-first) approach and then ran out of time for the desktop version, but it feels that way.
newyorker.com old version (left), and new version (right).
The site would perhaps have benefitted from a little warmth in the background, the slightest of off-whites, would have made a more relaxing reading experience. However, I certainly wouldn’t criticize the design team for reducing the extraneous elements on the page, even if the end results are a little stark.
I’m also a fan of the Stanley Chow style portraits of contributors. They manage to be light-hearted, without becoming caricatures, which fits the tone of the magazine perfectly.
One of the more appealing aspects of The New Yorker online version is the typography, which has been carefully put together to reflect the print magazine’s brand. There’s some particularly pleasing kerning in the “Spotlight” title that substitutes for a ligature. Carried over from the previous design the display type is NY Irvin (provided as a custom solution by Adobe Typekit) and the body text is Adobe Caslon. There’s even a bit of Neutraface thrown in for good measure.
It’s a shame that the emphasis on good typography has been let down by a lack of attention to detail. Throughout the content you’ll find widows, made particularly offensive by the center alignment. Surely it’s not hard to insert a non-breaking space, at least for featured copy?
There are a few decisions that I personally may not have taken. Why, for example, are the featured articles center aligned? Centering text does not make it easy to scan. Likewise, why apply the alignment inconsistently? It’s jarring. But those things are largely subjective and I know plenty of designers who would disagree with me.
The “Most Popular” title on the right really should align with the list.
Unfortunately the dominant element on any page of The New Yorker online, is the advertising. Naturally, I understand the need to bring in revenue. Even if Condé Nast weren’t a commercial organization, they still couldn’t run the magazine at a loss. Personally I’d hope that the paywall site will do away with most, if not all, advertising. However the current layout suggests that at least some advertising is destined to remain, so I’d like to have seen the design lessen its dominance on the screen.
One of the many revisions to the redesign has been an effort to visually contain adverts, with the introduction of devices like the rule between the masthead and the top banner advert. The question is why weren’t these details implemented in the original redesign?
Minor alterations have been made to the original redesign (above) to correct issues in the new redesign (below).
However, where the problems really start to mount up is the implementation. Below (left) is the image rollover effect from a couple of weeks ago, where banding appeared on mouseout. Below (right) is the lastest version, in which the problem has been corrected. Yes, it’s great that the team at The New Yorker have fixed the problem, but this bug was found in the current version of Chrome, not a relatively obscure setup, and it’s hard to understand how it could have made it into the live site.
Further issues have yet to be corrected: take a look at the subscription box on the left-hand side of the masthead. If you’ve been in the web industry for less than a decade you won’t have seen one of these before; it’s called an image map. Seriously.
By far the most troubling aspect of both redesigns has been the clear influence they have had on editorial decisions.
The New Yorker redesign screams of a site that’s been mocked up using Lorem Ipsum. And for a publication with decades’ worth of content with which to test, the only possible reason for that is a total separation of the design process from the editorial staff.
Too much white space betrays a design that didn’t have real content to work with.
In a blog post detailing the original redesign, The New Yorker’s editors state:
For months, our editorial and tech teams have been sardined into a boiler room, subsisting only on stale cheese sandwiches and a rationed supply of tap water, working without complaint on intricate questions of design, functionality, access, and what is so clinically called “the user experience.”
Clearly, there’s some appreciation — albeit, tongue in cheek — of the need to coordinate efforts in order to deliver this kind of site; but the results speak for themselves.
The New Yorker redesign has really suffered from a failure, to test to breaking point, at a very early stage. It’s clear that bugs that made it into the live version could have been quickly resolved — because they have been in a matter of weeks. And so, it seems the in-house team made the classic mistake of launching too early. The Summer period intended to entice new subscribers before the introduction of the paywall this Fall, has instead been spent patching up a beta version that should never have been seen outside of Condé Nast’s offices.
The New Yorker has undeniably great content. And Condé Nast have the financial muscle to present it in a package so appealing that it would be impossible to click away. However, its latest online incarnation feels terribly unfinished and the recent revisions have only addressed the surface issues.The Audio Technica ATH-M50 is a tremendous buy. The overall construction is light but sturdy. I read many reviews from users of other manufacturers and found frequent complaints about plastic headbands breaking. The ATH-M50 uses a stainless steel rail to support the cups. The ear cup pressure is adequate without causing discomfort after extended listening. The cord for this model comes in a 6 ft coiled or a 12 ft straight option. I opted for the straight cord because I don't like having the cord constantly pulling on me. For shorter distance listening, I simply put a Velcro strap on the cord to take up the excess. I also like the 1/8 inch plug that's screwed into the 1/4 inch plug adapter. It gives it a clean and sturdy look.
The most stunning feature of the ATH-M50 is its flat response. This headphone does not color the material in any way. Music is reproduced clearly and precisely. The dynamic range is stellar and the sensitivity is most notable.
After a couple weeks of generaI listening to break-in the drivers, I put these headphones to the test. I started with a test track called 'Red hot car' from Squarepusher. The track is very synthetic, with extreme changes in dynamics and frequencies. The response was amazing with no distortion. The sensitivity is the next admiral quality of these headphones. During an HD performance of the New York Philhrmonic, I could easily and clearly hear the minute sounds of the performers shuffling and turning pages of sheet music during quiet passages. To test vocal and DEEP bass response, I used a recording called 'River' by Natalie Merchant. The headphones pushed my low-end hearing abilities to near sub-sonic. Then to test overall response, I ran a dynamically scorching groove called 'Walk the Walk' by non else than the jazz group, Spyro Gyra.
The Audio Technica ATH-M50 certainly proved to be the perfect asset to the audiophile's music collection and I highly recommend them. I was extremely impressed by the quality of sound for such a fair price. There was only one disappointing characteristic about the headphone that I should warn you of. If you have a poorly recorded music collection and sensitive hearing, this headphone will reveal all the annoying flaws. Some listeners may have to upgrade their music collections.Dan Carter (left) and Richie McCaw won 260 Test caps between them
New Zealand v Wales (first Test) Venue: Eden Park, Auckland Date: Saturday, 11 June Kick-off: 08:35 BST Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, the BBC Sport app, Connected TV, and live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.
Former New Zealand coach John Hart says the absence of stars like Dan Carter and Richie McCaw makes it "a good time" for Wales to play the world champions.
Steve Hansen will be forced to make numerous changes to the side that won the 2015 World Cup, with nine players who featured in the final missing.
The All Blacks and Wales announce their teams on Wednesday evening for Saturday's first Test in Auckland.
"The challenge for this team is its on-field leadership," said Hart.
"Taking out players like McCaw, Conrad Smith and Dan Carter is huge.
"I think it's a good time to play the All Blacks, but anyone who underestimates the succession planning - this will be a very experienced team."
Wales' summer fixtures: 11 June: New Zealand (Auckland) 14 June: Chiefs (Hamilton) 18 June: New Zealand (Wellington) 25 June: New Zealand (Dunedin)
Wales have not beaten New Zealand in 26 matches since 1953.
The match at Eden Park will be the All Blacks' first since beating Australia 34-17 to lift the Webb Ellis trophy, but they go into the game shorn of many of their World Cup stars.
Captain McCaw and hooker Keven Mealamu retired, and while Carter, Ma'a Nonu and Smith have all joined clubs in France, while prop Ben Franks has linked up with London Irish. The players playing domestic rugby outside New Zealand are not considered for international selection.
Hurricanes forward Victor Vito, who is joining La Rochelle next season, has not been selected either.
Wing Nehe Milner-Skudder is unavailable because of a shoulder injury, while centre Sonny Bill Williams is busy preparing for the Rio Olympics as he targets a place in New Zealand's sevens squad.
Hart still expects the All Blacks to select a "very experienced" side, adding: "I don't have any doubts about the skill set or the capability of the players who will be named for the All Blacks this weekend."
Media playback is not supported on this device Former New Zealand coach John Hart believes Wales can pose a tough challenge to the All Blacks in the first Test in Auckland.
But Hart, who coached the All Blacks to the 1999 World Cup semi-finals, thinks the hosts have a "potential weakness" in midfield.
In the absence of Smith and Nonu, Malakai Fekitoa and Ryan Crotty are expected to form a new centre partnership - an area Hart thinks Wales could attack.
"They haven't worked together so they could be exposed," he said.
"I think that's probably an area where the All Blacks will be wanting to shore up defensively. I'm sure Jamie Roberts and co will have a crack at that channel.
"It will take a big effort from Wales to get over the top of this All Blacks side, but I certainly don't underestimate Wales.
"I was over for the World Cup and I admired their approach and tenacity.
"I think it's going to be a very interesting Test match."Hundreds of Housing New Zealand properties have been left empty and millions squandered on methamphetamine testing, Housing Minister Phil Twyford says.
Photo: RNZ/ Nick Munro
Mr Twyford apologised on Checkpoint with John Campbell today for the treatment of a man who spent 58 weeks in emergency housing in a motel - costing the government $44,000, after traces of methamphetamine were found in his home.
Mr Twyford pledged to make changes to the existing regime.
Last night Checkpoint reported that Robert Erueti was evicted from his state house where he lived for more than 15 years in February last year.
Mr Twyford said yesterday Mr Erueti should never have been evicted from his HNZ home.
"I wanted to tell him that Housing New Zealand are changing their policy and they are moving to a new approach for dealing with this issue that I think is more compassionate and more considered."
The minister said if methamphetamine traces were found now support, not eviction, would be the first approach.
"Over the last three years Housing New Zealand, on behalf of the tax payer, has spent $75 million on testing and remediating houses that are or were allegedly contaminated."
Mr Twyford said this had left hundreds of properties empty.
Photo: RNZ / Claire Eastham-Farrelly
"Some 900 properties have been left vacant in the middle of a housing crisis on the basis of a methamphetamine contamination standard that cannot distinguish between a place that is genuinely contaminated from the manufacture of methamphetamine, and would endanger the health of someone living in that house, and an infinitesimally small residue that would pose no risk."
He said a kind of moral panic over methamphetamine had taken hold.
"I think that has been drummed up and exploited by a meth testing industry that saw an opportunity to make a dollar.
"Put that together with the fact we had a standard that was patently not fit for purpose."
Mr Twyford met Mr Erueti and his daughter Casey in Auckland and apologised.
"The eviction of Robert made his life immeasurably more difficult … I apologised to them on behalf of the government."Mr Mousa's sons were left orphaned after his death British soldiers who abused an Iraqi detainee who died in their custody were not just "a few bad apples", a public inquiry has been told. There was "something rotten in the whole barrel", Rabinder Singh QC said. Troops in Iraq routinely used banned interrogation methods they did not think were illegal, lawyers told the inquiry into the 2003 death. The inquiry, led by Sir William Gage, is focusing on Baha Mousa's death, detainees' treatment and army methods. Mr Singh, counsel for Mr Mousa's family and the other Iraqis detained alongside him, said: "This case is not just about beatings or a few bad apples. "There is something rotten in the whole barrel." TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS 14 Sep 2003 Baha Mousa and nine other Iraqis arrested at Haitham Hotel in Basra by members of the 1st Battalion The Queen's Lancashire Regiment 16 Sep 2003 Mr Mousa dies in British army custody in Iraq with multiple injuries 30 April 2007 Cpl Donald Payne jailed for a year and dismissed from the Army for inhumanely treating civilian detainees 27 March 2008 MoD admits breaching the human rights of Mr Mousa and others 14 May 2008 Defence Secretary Des Browne announces public inquiry to be held into Mr Mousa's death 10 July 2008 MoD agrees to pay £2.83m compensation to mistreated detainees 13 July 2009 Public inquiry begins in London
Q&A: Baha Mousa inquiry His comments came as legal teams for key parties were allowed to read statements to the inquiry. It has already heard of the abuse Mr Mousa and his fellow detainees suffered. A short video showing Cpl Donald Payne shouting obscenities at the hooded Iraqi prisoners calling them "apes" has also been played. In 2007, Cpl Payne was jailed for a year and dismissed from the Army after being convicted of war crimes charges related to the death. On Monday, Mr Singh told the inquiry: "The official version of events was that nothing on that video was in fact illegal. "What we saw was a soldier trying to implement official policy, forcing detainees to get back into stress positions when they were clearly moaning and unable to maintain those positions. "They are all shown hooded, again in accordance with orders, again illegally." Hotel arrest Mr Mousa and nine other civilians were arrested at a Basra Hotel on 14 September 2003 by soldiers from the former Queen's Lancashire Regiment who found weapons on the premises. Staff insisted the weapons were kept for security, but they were taken to a detention centre at the Battle Group Main camp, under suspicion of being insurgents. Two days later Mr Mousa was dead. A post-mortem examination showed he suffered asphyxiation and had at least 93 injuries to his body, including fractured ribs and a broken nose. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Mr Singh said: "One of the striking features of the terrible events is that the abuse did not take place in a secret location behind closed doors. "The temporary detention facility (TDF) was open to the outside. Many people must have seen or heard what was going on. Many seem to have visited the TDF. "This gives rise to serious questions about the professionalism of the outfit and whether the culture was one of impunity, [and] about the capacity of the regiment's members to question and challenge abuse." Convicted war criminal A six-month court martial saw seven soldiers facing war crimes charges relating to Mr Mousa's death. In April 2007, all but Cpl Payne, 36, were cleared on all counts at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. He became the UK's first convicted war criminal under the International Criminal Court Act. The brutality was completely unacceptable. It has stained the reputation of the British army
David Barr
MoD counsel In July 2008 the MoD agreed to pay £2.83m in compensation to the families of Mr Mousa and the nine other detainees. David Barr, counsel for the Ministry of Defence, said the "appalling" behaviour of British soldiers in the case "disgusted" the Army. He told the inquiry: "It is with huge regret that the Ministry of Defence acknowledges the way in which some of those techniques were used on Baha Mousa and those detained with him. "The brutality was completely unacceptable. It has stained the reputation of the British army." Public apology Cpl Payne's barrister, Michael Topolski QC, said the former soldier hoped the inquiry would provide a "clearer and fuller picture" of events. Mr Topolski said: "Donald Payne has accepted and he does accept that he violated his duty to those detainees. "For that, through us, now without hesitation he wishes to publicly apologise to each of them and in particular to the family of Baha Mousa." The inquiry later adjourned for the day and will reconvene at 1000 BST on Wednesday when the first witness will be Mr Mousa's father.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionAIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. - A Spokane law firm expects many people to seek damages from the Air Force.
Paukert and Troppmann have already filed one legal claim against Fairchild Air Force Base, seeking $1 million for a property owner who lives near the base.
Now, lawyers Andrew Biviano and Breaan Beggs expect to represent multiple other people who have been affected by the PFOS and PFOA contamination.
“There's a lot of facts to untangle here in who knew what when and who's responsible for the damage that's been caused to all these people who unwittingly trusted the water that came out of their taps,” said Biviano.
They have identified 4 main groups of people who have been affected by the contaminated water.
-First, people with homes and wells right by the base.
“It's polluted, they can't drink the water, their property value is destroyed,” said Beggs.
-Second, people who've been drinking Airway Heights water.
"That's a whole group that it's not their property damage, but their health needs to be monitored," Beggs said.
-Next, Airway Heights Businesses that have been affected.
-And finally, people who've been drinking the polluted water for a long time and have health issues their doctors say is related to this type of pollution.
“People are just kind of figuring that out with their doctors right now,” said Beggs.
Beggs and Biviano said many people have reached out to them, interested in taking legal action.
“We've received more than a dozen calls from people who have serious health issues that they can pretty directly trace to the water in Airway Heights and Medical Lake,” said Biviano.
And while Beggs and Biviano said the current wing commander is doing his best to handle the situation, more needs to be done for the people who have been affected.
"I feel like people are rallying, but it's not enough to rally right in the middle of a crisis," Beggs said, "you have to make things right for people at the end of the day."
"People who suffered because of this through no fault of their own deserve compensation for being damaged without doing anything wrong," Biviano said.
Fairchild's Wing Commander, Colonel Ryan Samuelson gave us a statement Friday afternoon that said:
"We understand the concerns that affected community members have and we've provided information necessary for them to file claims.
The property and personal injury claims that Fairchild AFB has received, and any future claims the installation may receive related to the PFOS/PFOA matter will be forwarded to the Air Force Legal Operations Agency in accordance with Air Force policy."A A
SEATTLE - Police say over 30 shots were fired and one man was killed just after 3 a.m. in the International District Saturday morning.
"For the third time in a week, Seattle has suffered a devastating loss of life as result of guns," Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement.
Police responded to South Main Street and 12th Avenue and found a man in his 20s dead.
The suspect or suspects fled the scene, and police say no witnesses are cooperating.
"There have been quite a few incidents in this area. And we are definitely watching it. The officers are very aware and there's a lot of patrols that go on in the area, especially on weekends with nice weather," Detective Drew Fowler said.
Along with the victim, several businesses and vehicles were also hit by gunfire. Officers recovered at least 30 bullet casings from the scene.
"Once again, it is members of our East African community who feel the pain of this violence most directly," Mayor Murray said. "And once again, we as a city together mourn the loss of one of our young men taken too soon."
Anyone with information is asked to call either 911 or the Seattle homicide tip line at 206-233-5000.The characteristic and nature of our language largely speaks of our culture which distinguishes our identity and uniqueness from other societies.
Filipino curse words, like any other cultural terms, have its origin and meaning. It serves as living evidence of our historical past and in some way, it explains how we Filipinos think and behave.
1. Put*ng ina
The word puta, whore or prostitute in English, is of Spanish origin. It was combined with the Tagalog word ina and used as an adjective to describe the latter. In Spanish, they have ijo de puta or son of a b*tch. It will be too long if translated to Tagalog word for word, anak ka ng puta, which made it more comfortable to refer to the mother instead.
Today, in our culture, it is used as an expression or curse even if the referred mother is not a whore in real life. Surprisingly, even males could be labeled as such.
Di ka na naman naligo! ‘Tang in* ka!
Put*ng ina talaga ‘yang tatay mo!
The puta referring to females stems from the patriarchal culture of the Spanish colonizers. During the pre-Hispanic times, females have equal rights with males. Is this the reason why we use the sexist remark ‘put*ng ina’ to refer even to males? Why didn’t we invent put*ng ama instead?
Putragis, putek, or putakti are morphophonemic variations of the word puta. These are used more of an expression of annoyance.
2. Pesteng yawa
This negative remark is a combination of Tagalog and Visayan language. The Tagalog peste means parasite and Visayan term yawa means devil. It could be said that pesteng yawa means a person acting like a parasite depicting a devilish character.
Today, it could refer to any person or a thing that causes trouble. But it is also used as an expression of disappointment. For example, if your faucet runs out of water, you may shout pesteng yawa!
3. Kupal
Originally, kupal is a Tagalog word referring to a yellowish paste-like substance accumulating inside the skin of an uncircumcised human penis. In English, they call it smegma and it is used as a medical term.
Today, there is no definite qualification of who must be described as such. Its meaning would depend on the context when and how it was used. The best meaning I can give is that it is a negative term used to describe or call a person acting differently from what is expected and favorable.
Ang laki na naman ng bill natin. Kupal talaga ‘yang Meralco!
But sometimes, it could also be used as a term of endearment between two close friends:
A: Hoy, kupal, libre mo nga ako ng softdrink!
B: O, sige! Kuha ka lang d’yan.
Many people avoid using the term and are not comfortable to hear it either. The problem is that, whenever we hear it, its contemporary meaning confuses us with the originally equivalent term smegma. Yucky!
SEE ALSO: 10 Satires and hoaxes that fooled Filipinos in 2013
4. Tarantado
Tarantado is of Spanish origin. It is the adjective form of taranta meaning bewildered, confused, or disoriented.
For this reason, the term tarantado could be used in TV, radio, or print without fearing admonition from government censors.
Today, it could refer either to a neighbor playing stereo too loud during midnight or a corrupt public official who stole pork barrel funds. Mga tarantado sila!
5. Gago
The term gago is a Spanish and Portuguese derivative. It means stupid nowadays. But originally, it is a nickname for a man afflicted with a stammer or stutter. In Tagalog, its closes synonym would be bulol.
I guess the reason why we use it to call a stupid person is because stuttering is well associated with stupidity.
We also use the term kagaguhan, a noun referring to acts if foolishness. We also have ogag, a Filipino variation of the term gago spelled backwards. There is no huge difference in meaning of the two, however, ogag could be said with lesser restriction or feeling of guilt. Its meaning today may refer to anything or anyone annoying.
Pinagti-trip-an niyo na naman ako! Mga gago!
Bakit di mo pinatay yung kalan? Ogag ka talaga.
SEE ALSO: 10 December memes that will make you ‘get it’
6. Buwisit
The Tagalog expression buwisit is from the Fukien phrase bo ui sit which means no clothes or food. This is the reason why we associated it with bad luck |
-sign Cousins but also risks losing him to free agency.King believes that Washington is still looking for Cousins to prove himself worthy of such a large contract. The Oakland Raiders recently set the market for franchise quarterbacks when they signed Derek Carr to a new five-year contract worth up to $125 million."Kirk Cousins went to Michigan State – 'Oh well, I've got to prove it there,'" explained King. "He was not the big star when he went to college. Then, in the NFL, he gets picked 100 picks after Robert Griffin III so he has to prove it again. And this has been his whole life as a quarterback. 'I've got to prove it. I've got to prove it.' So this is not really that strange to him."Now, having said all that, the big question right now is, 'WWFD?' What will the 49ers do? And the big question there is I believe the 49ers would love to sign Kirk Cousins in 2018. If that's the case and if they don't franchise him in 2018, it's an easy decision. But what happens if they do franchise him again and the 49ers say, 'Well, that's alright. It's worth it to us to go after him and get him.' Would they be willing to pay the great freight to get him under the franchise tag?"These are the kind of questions but I don't expect anything to happen by 4 o'clock (1 p.m. PST) today."King is correct that Washington could use the franchise tag on Cousins for an unprecedented third straight year – but at an excessive cost. Cousins earned nearly $20 million playing under the franchise tag in 2016. The cost to use the franchise tag on Cousins in 2018 will have a cost of nearly $35.4 million. Washington could use the transition tag on the quarterback at a reduced cost starting at $28.7 million but would risk losing Cousins to a higher bidder if it does not match a competing offer. That would be a three-year cost of anywhere between $72 million and $79.3 million.That is a lot of money for a quarterback it could have signed for much cheaper if it truly believed he was a crucial part of Washington's future.Right now, the 49ers have four quarterbacks on the roster with Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley, and rookie C.J. Beathard being the most likely to make the 53-man roster. The team also signed rookie Nick Mullens, who will have to compete for a spot, as an undrafted free agent.If the 49ers cannot acquire Cousins or another quarterback and do not believe that one of the signal callers on the roster is a long-term solution, the team still has the 2018 NFL Draft. The quarterback class in that draft is expected to be the strongest in recent years.The situation for the 49ers might become clearer by Monday's deadline, but there will still be a lot of questions leading into the 2018 offseason.Electricity supplies should be sufficient to meet consumer demand for electricity in New England this winter, but constraints on the region’s natural gas pipelines could pose a challenge to reliable operations, according to ISO New England, the region’s grid operator. Because of this concern, ISO New England has put into place a Winter Reliability Program that will help protect overall power system reliability.
“Winter has become a challenging time for New England grid operations,” said Vamsi Chadalavada, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ISO New England Inc. “Especially during the coldest weeks of the year, the natural gas infrastructure in New England is inadequate to meet the demand for gas for both heating and power generation. In fact, we’ve identified over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of natural-gas-fired generating capacity at risk of not getting sufficient fuel on any given day.”
A study conducted by ICF International for the ISO in 2013, and updated after the operational challenges experienced during the winter of 2013/2014, provides more detail regarding the natural gas supply constraints that can be expected in New England under various conditions.
“To address the serious challenge these constraints create for reliable power system operation and to ensure that generators can run during times of system stress, ISO New England will again employ a Winter Reliability Program to incentivize oil-fired generators and generators that can access liquefied natural gas to procure sufficient fuel before winter begins. The program has been a key factor in our ability to keep the lights on the last two winters,” Chadalavada said.
More than 45%—about 13,650 MW—of the total generating capacity in New England uses natural gas as its primary fuel, and natural gas generated 44% of the region’s power in 2014. Currently, most natural gas pipeline capacity is committed for commercial and residential heating use. Any pipeline capacity remaining after heating customers are served can be sold for power generation; however, multiple studies and experience show that the natural gas pipelines are operating at or near full capacity to serve heating demand during most of the winter.
2015/2016 Winter Outlook by the Numbers
Peak demand forecast: At normal winter temperatures of about 7 degrees Fahrenheit (°F): 21,077 megawatts (MW) If extreme winter weather of 2°F occurs: 21,737 MW Both forecasts take into account the 1,663 MW in energy savings from energy-efficiency measures acquired through the region’s Forward Capacity Market (FCM)
Resources with an FCM capacity supply obligation to be available: 31,058 MW Total includes 29,932 MW of generation, 587 MW of demand-response resources, and 1,226 MW of imports minus 687 MW unavailable due to maintenance or other reasons
Total resources, including both FCM obligations and capability without FCM obligations: 33,922 MW A generator’s maximum possible output may be greater than its FCM obligation Total includes 32,872 MW of generation, 587 MW of demand-response resources, and 1,226 MW of imports minus 763 MW unavailable due to maintenance or other reasons
Natural gas-fired generating capacity at risk of not being able to get fuel when needed: 4,220 MW
Winter 2014/2015 peak demand: 20,583 MW on January 8, 2015, for the hour from 5 to 6 p.m.
on January 8, 2015, for the hour from 5 to 6 p.m. All-time winter peak in New England: 22,818 MW on January 15, 2004
on January 15, 2004 All-time peak demand: 28,130 MW, on August 2, 2006
ISO New England Reliability Measures
The ISO:
Worked with stakeholders to design the Winter Reliability Program, a short-term wintertime program to ensure system reliability until performance incentives go into effect in 2018
Communicates frequently with natural gas pipeline operators to monitor conditions on the pipeline network and assess how these conditions may affect the natural-gas-fired generators in the region
Coordinates with pipelines on system maintenance
Meets with generators and conducts audits to determine winter readiness and checks fuel inventories monthly, then weekly or daily as winter progresses
Reviews preparations by transmission owners and coordinates equipment tests
Conducts regular, frequent calls with pipeline operators, national and regional power system reliability coordinators, and neighboring power grids
Developed a specialized software tool for ISO control room operators to determine whether natural gas-fired power plants scheduled to run will be able to obtain the gas they need Software collects publicly available information about natural gas pipeline flows and calculates the likely total draw by natural gas utilities based on weather forecasts
Changed the Day-Ahead Energy Market deadlines to more closely align with natural gas trading deadlines, making it easier for natural-gas-fired generators to obtain pipeline capacity for the next day
Revamped its entire energy dispatch software to enable generators to enter hourly, rather than daily, offers that can reflect volatile fuel prices that change throughout the day
Operational Procedures to Maintain Reliability
In planning for the winter season, ISO New England takes into account a number of outage scenarios, including the potential for some natural gas generators to be temporarily unavailable during cold or extreme winter conditions. Should unexpected generator or transmission line outages occur, the ISO has procedures in place to maintain reliability, including calling on demand-response resources to reduce their energy use, importing emergency power from neighboring regions, and asking businesses and residents to voluntarily conserve electricity.Recently, an infographic titled “What happens one hour after drinking a can of Coke” went viral. Created by Niraj Naik of The Renegade Pharmacist website — and based on a 2010 post published at wellness site Bliss Tree — it made the rounds online, appearing in reputable news sources such as The London Telegraph, the Daily Mail, The International Business Times and Medical News Today. A Huffington Post U.K. article on it received 70,040 Facebook shares.
But the infographic makes some scientifically inaccurate statements. It also ignores the larger problem of the long-term health effects of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and doesn’t address other public health concerns that relate to the soda industry.
Its first claim is that within 10 minutes of drinking Coca-Cola, when 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, “You don’t vomit from the overwhelming sweetness … because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor, allowing you to keep it down.”
A Dunkin’ Donuts chocolate chip muffin delivers 50 grams (over 12 teaspoons) of sugar and phosphoric acid is nowhere to be found on the ingredient list. By the infographic’s logic, our bodies would reject the muffin before we were done eating it in its entirety, which is not the case.
Its second claim is that within 20 minutes, “Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.”
It is correct that the higher our blood glucose, the more insulin our pancreas secretes. But insulin also signals our cells to absorb as much glucose as possible — for energy or storage — in order to lower the amount left in the bloodstream. Type 2 diabetes develops because cells can no longer efficiently absorb glucose in the blood, thereby leaving substantial amounts floating around. In healthy individuals, any remaining glucose is sent to the liver and stored as glycogen. When glycogen stores are full, the liver converts additional calories from carbohydrates (i.e., the calories in soda) into fat. While consistently high and frequent intakes of sugary foods and beverages can contribute to that development, one can of soda will not.
Its third claim is that within 40 minutes, “Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate; your blood pressure rises; as a response, your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.”
While it is true that caffeine is fully absorbed 45 minutes after ingestion, the liver doesn’t dump sugar into our bloodstream as a result of blood pressure rising. It’s actually the other way around: High blood sugar levels can damage nephrons, the filtering structures in the kidneys that help regulate blood pressure.
Its fourth claim is that within 45 minutes, “Dopamine production increases. This is the same way heroin works.”
But increased dopamine production is not in itself a problem. Dopamine production also increases after we exercise; it’s the reason we feel good after a workout.
Additionally, a can of Coca-Cola only contains 34 milligrams of caffeine, a low dose that studies have shown “significantly improves auditory vigilance and visual reaction time.” Only higher doses have been shown to lead to negative effects such as anxiety and nausea.Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a prominent charter school ally and one of the toughest opponents de Blasio could face, declared this week that "all options are on the table," though earlier this year he claimed he was "very unlikely to run for mayor." Jeffries now says his "inclination" is to stay in D.C. thanks to Trump's election, but he'd be able to retain his seat in Congress if he loses a mayoral bid.
The other major figure in the mix is Stringer, who's never ruled out a run himself. Recently, a longtime Stringer supporter, attorney Martin Karlinsky, sent out an invitation for a December fundraiser that he said would help elect "New York's next mayor" and asked recipients to donate to Stringer's 2017 campaign account. But Karlinsky later claimed to the Daily News that his invite only reflected his "hope" that Stringer would run.
New York is, of course, lousy with Democrats, so there are plenty of other people who could run if the likes of Jeffries and Stringer decline. Diaz, for instance, has been raising money at the citywide (rather than the lower borough-wide) limit, while Adams has said he'd like to be mayor—but that he'd be content with waiting until 2021, when de Blasio would be term-limited (if he were, in fact, to win another term).
And though Quinnipiac did include Quinn in their poll, it's hard to take her seriously after de Blasio demolished her three years ago when she campaigned for what essentially would have been Mike Bloomberg's fourth term. However, she recently started criticizing the mayor for his policies on the homeless, and she refused to say whether she might run, so who knows?
De Blasio also remains popular with unions and black voters; combine that with the clown-car problem, and we may just see the top-tier challengers all opt out, which would allow de Blasio to pull off one of the most improbable political escapes we've seen in some time.
Senate:
● TX-Sen: One of the more startling results of last week's presidential election was the fact that Hillary Clinton took a higher share of the vote in supposedly dark-red Texas (43.3 percent) than in seemingly swingy Ohio (43.1 percent). But while Donald Trump's 9.1 percent margin in the Lone Star State was the narrowest for a Republican presidential candidate in many years, Democrats still have a long way to go before they're competitive at the statewide level.
So bear all that in mind when considering Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke's statements that he's weighing a run for Senate—possibly against Ted Cruz in 2018, or maybe John Cornyn in 2020. O'Rourke came to the House four years ago by toppling Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a veteran El Paso Democrat, but winning an upset in a Democratic primary in a blue corner of Texas is an entirely different proposition from knocking off a giant in a statewide battle. (Cruz's fanatic supporters would undoubtedly rally behind him, and the well-connected Cornyn would never lack for money.)
Still, O'Rourke might yet go for it, since he's a zealous believer in term limits and has said he'll serve no more than four, so if he sticks to that promise, he'd have only one more election to the House left. That would mean it's either up or out for O'Rourke, though if he changes his mind, he wouldn't be the first politician to back off a pledge like this.
● UT-Sen: When Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch successfully sought re-election in 2012, he pledged he would retire in 2018. But apparently, politicians don't always tell the truth. Hatch has been talking about seeking an eighth term for a while, and he told Roll Call this week that now that the GOP will control D.C., "circumstances have greatly changed, so I'll have to look at" running again.
Utah is a very conservative state, and the GOP nominee should have little trouble winning here. Hatch could have trouble in a GOP primary if he runs for renomination, though. However, Hatch took his 2012 fight very seriously even as other Republican incumbents like Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar didn't, and he beat state Sen. Dan Liljenquist 67-33 in the primary.
Utah's electoral laws have also changed in the last few years in a way that should help establishment types like Hatch. In 2010, Hatch's Senate colleague, the late Bob Bennett, took third place at the tea party dominated GOP state convention, which prevented him from even advancing to the primary. However, Utah now allows candidates to collect signatures to get on the primary ballot regardless of what happens at the party convention.
● NRSC: On Wednesday, the GOP Senate caucus elected Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner to lead the NRSC. Michael Bennet, the Centennial State's Democratic senator, ran the DSCC during the 2014 cycle. Colorado is the only state where both of its current senators headed up Senate campaign committees, much less rival Senate campaign committees.
Gubernatorial:
● CA-Gov: California Republicans will be hard-pressed to put up a serious fight for governor in 2018, but one of their better potential recruits, outgoing Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, isn't ruling out a bid. Swearengin will leave office early next year and claims "the thought of running for governor is the furthest thing from my mind right now," which, when translated into regular-person English, means the exact opposite of what she says. The only other notable Republican whose name is in circulation is San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who just won re-election earlier this year. He previously said he'd serve out his term, but who knows?
The Democratic field, on the other hand, is large and could grow further. One potential candidate we haven't yet mentioned is Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who doesn't appear to have said anything publicly but has nevertheless gotten Great Mentioner treatment from the local press. A big problem for Garcetti, though, is that he's up for re-election early next year. While he's a heavy favorite for a second term, it would be awkward to win and then immediately turn around and seek a promotion.
● IL-Gov: Sen. Dick Durbin had toyed with a run against Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018, but on Wednesday, he finally ruled it out for good. Durbin's fellow Democrats in the Senate re-elected him as party whip, which is the number two job in the caucus and will keep him plenty busy in the upcoming session.
Durbin would have been a strong candidate, and likely would have had a clear path to the general election, so now that he's bowed out, the Democratic field is wide open. One person reportedly considering is billionaire venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker, who was a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser and whose father co-founded the Hyatt hotel chain. Back during the summer, "a source close to" Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers told the Chicago Sun-Times that Summers was also thinking about a gubernatorial bid, while in September, Politico reported that unnamed Illinois Democrats "close to the state party" were hoping to recruit Rep. Cheri Bustos, who didn't rule out a run.
The same Politico piece also mentioned Chris Kennedy, a son of RFK; state Sens. Kwame Raoul, Andy Manar, and Heather Steans; and former Gov. Pat Quinn. It's almost impossible to imagine Quinn, who lost to Rauner 50-46 in 2014, having any constituency clamoring for him to make a comeback, though.
● NV-Gov, NV-Sen: Democrats haven't won the governor's office since Bob Miller was re-elected in 1994. But GOP incumbent Brian Sandoval is termed out, and this may be Team Blue's best chance to flip this seat in a long time.
So far, no Democrats have officially declared. However, Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston writes that Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak is "openly running," and has millions raised already. State Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford also reportedly openly talks about running, though he also hasn't made anything official.
The GOP field is also slowly taking shape. Sen. Dean Heller has been mentioned as a possible candidate, and he didn't rule anything out back in May. Heller is up for re-election in 2018, and if he seeks the governorship, some other potential GOP candidates could decide to seek his seat rather than face him in the primary.
Ralston mentions both Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison and Attorney General Adam Laxalt as potential gubernatorial candidates, and writes that Hutchison "has been running for governor, it seems, since he was sworn in." Ralston also names Steve Hill, the executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, as a possible contender. Last year, Rep. Mark Amodei talked about running for governor if Heller didn't, though he doesn't appear to have said much since then.
● NY-Gov: So is Andrew Cuomo going to run for a third term? Who knows! When asked about his future this week, the New York Democrat would only say, "I'm planning to run for re-election in two years"—which, as you know, is our least-favorite formulation ever. We'll mark that down as nothing more than "not ruling it out." Cuomo could conceivably run for the presidency in 2020 (puke), and he hasn't ruled that out, either, though in theory, he could do both.
● TN-Gov: Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is one of a legion of governors who are termed out in 2018. Tennessee has a ton of Republicans who could run to succeed him, and the jockeying has already begun. Rich guy Bill Lee, a major GOP donor who is an appointed member of the state Higher Education Commission, told The Tennessean he was interested back in May. State Sen. Mark Green launched a statewide listening tour ahead of a potential bid this week, while state House Speaker Beth Harwell has also expressed interest.
Ex-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who currently is the dean of the Belmont University School of Law, isn't saying no to a bid. In fact, when The Tennessean asked him if he was interested, he gave a very candidate-like, "What I'm interested in is continuing to build upon this great start we have here at Belmont law school. I've got confidence in the voters of Tennessee that they're going to elect the right person to be our next governor of this great state."
But wait… there's more! GOP insiders say that businessman Randy Boyd, who serves on the state Economic and Community Development Commissioner, is interested. Rep. Diane Black, who is wealthy, hasn't said much publicly, but the Times Free Press says she is "seen as keenly interested." They also report that state Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris is looking at running.
The Tennessean also gives the Great Mentioner treatment to even more Volunteer State Republicans: Rep. Marsha Blackburn; outgoing Rep. Stephen Fincher; rich guy Bill Hagerty (who, as of this writing, is still on Trump's transition team); Secretary of State Tre Hargett; Americans for Prosperity state head Andy Ogles; and wealthy perennial candidate Joe Carr. Finally (for now), the Times Free Press name-drops Sen. Bob Corker, who has also been mentioned for several positions in the Trump cabinet.
The Democratic list is much shorter, though there are a few notable names. Ex-Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has been touring the state, and he recently said he's "still very interested in" a gubernatorial bid, and "assum[es] I have to make a decision to make about it early next year, the first half anyway, maybe sooner." Wealthy real estate developer Bill Freeman, who took a close third place in the 2015 contest to succeed Dean as mayor, also says he'll decide early in 2017. Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero are also mentioned, though neither seems to have publicly expressed interest.
● WI-Gov, WI-Sen: Wisconsin is one of the relatively few states that doesn't impose term limits on its governors, and GOP Gov. Scott Walker is holding out the possibility that he could run for a third term. When asked whether he might challenge freshman Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2018, Walker seemingly ruled out the idea, saying, "If I run for anything, it will be for re-election in 2018." (Walker also noted that former Gov. Tommy Thompson managed to hold that position for four terms.)
While Walker's presidential bid this cycle somewhat mysteriously failed to go anywhere, he'd be a tough gubernatorial opponent for Democrats, who fell short in two bitter campaigns to unseat him: the notorious recall effort in 2012 and the regular 2014 election. As a result of those two failures, the biggest problem for Team Blue will likely be recruitment, particularly since the Democrats' bench is now so thin in Wisconsin. Of course, should anti-Trump sentiment make itself felt in two years' time, that could shuffle the deck, but we also thought that's exactly what would happen this year.
Legislative:
● DE State Senate: Democrats have controlled the Delaware Senate since the early 1970s, but the GOP could flip the chamber thanks to a special election early next year. Team Blue held a 12-to-nine majority going into Election Day, but the GOP managed to unseat an incumbent Democrat, narrowing the Democrats' advantage to 11-to-10.
At the same time, Democratic state Sen. Bethany Hall-Long, who won a four year-term in 2014, was also elected lieutenant governor. Hall-Long will stay in the Senate until she's inaugurated in January, but afterward, the chamber will be deadlocked at 10 seats apiece until her seat is filled in a special election, which Delaware Public Media says will likely be in February or March. (Democrats held on to Delaware's governorship and state House last week.)
Hall-Long's 10th Senate District, which is located just south of Newark, backed Obama 59-40 in 2012. However, Hall-Long only beat Republican John Marino 51-49 in 2014, and Delaware Public Media reports that he could run again. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Earl Jaques is the most talked-about potential candidate.
Other Races:
● Maricopa County, AZ Recorder: Maricopa County is home to Phoenix and three-fifths of Arizona's population, and with 4.2 million people, it's America's fourth-largest county. Although the county and Arizona itself have long leaned Republican, Democrats scored some key downballot victories in 2016. They finally defeated Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one of the most racist sheriffs in America, and now they have also captured the county recorder's office by a razor-thin 50.5-49.5 margin, defeating longtime Recorder Helen Purcell. She had first won election to the office all the way back in 1988, and Democrats haven't held the position in at least half a century.
The county recorder administers elections, and Purcell had been instrumental to closing an astounding 70 percent of Maricopa County's polling places ahead of the March 2016 presidential primary, which led to disastrously long lines. Arizona has been at the forefront of a wave of states with large minority populations closing polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. With Democrat Adrian Fontes' victory, Team Blue will hopefully be able to streamline election administration in much of Arizona and make it less burdensome for hundreds of thousands to vote.
Grab Bag:
● Pres-by-CD: Our project to calculate the presidential election results by congressional district makes a stop in Oklahoma, which recently certified its official results. (Ballotpedia has a list of state certification deadlines.) We have a chart of all 435 congressional districts here, which also includes results from 2012. That's the page you'll want to bookmark, since we'll be updating it continuously.
For the fourth presidential election in a row, the GOP nominee carried every single one of Oklahoma's 77 counties. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton 65-29, a slightly larger margin than Romney's 67-33 performance here four years ago. Trump unsurprisingly carried all five congressional districts with ease, and all five GOP incumbents were decisively re-elected.
The 2nd District in eastern Oklahoma's Little Dixie area saw the largest swing towards the GOP between 2012 and 2016. Romney took the seat by an already-formidable 68-32, and Trump did even better by winning 73-23. For decades, the 2nd was relatively friendly to Democrats. In 2000, Al Gore won several of the counties that make up the 2nd while coming up short everywhere else. As recently as 2010, Democrat Dan Boren (a possible 2018 gubernatorial candidate) won re-election in this seat. However, Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin took the seat after Boren retired the next cycle, and it looks unlikely it'll be going anywhere anytime soon.
The one possible silver lining in the Sooner State for Team Blue is the 5th District, based in Oklahoma City and represented by Rep. Steve Russell. Romney won it 59-41, while Trump carried it by a smaller 53-40 margin. But the least-Republican district in Oklahoma is still pretty damn red, and it will probably be a long time before Democrats make a serious play for it.
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, and James Lambert.Steve McClaren: Believes the future is bright at Derby
The trio made impressive contributions to the collective cause in 2013/14 as Derby came within one game of promotion back to the Premier League.
That dream was dashed at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, with Bobby Zamora netting a dramatic winner for 10-man Queens Park Rangers as they edged a keenly-contested Championship play-off final 1-0.
It is now back to the drawing board for McClaren and his troops as they prepare for another year in the second tier.
There is, however, cause of optimism heading forward and transfer business should help to keep Derby competitive.
The acquisition of those already familiar with the club would significantly aid the cause, and talks are being planned with West Bromwich Albion (Thorne), Liverpool (Wisdom) and Chelsea (Bamford).
McClaren said after seeing his side fall at the final promotion hurdle: "The next stage is keeping the players we have under contract together.
"I'd like to sort out the likes of Wisdom and Thorne and Bamford. Maybe we have a chance of getting them back because I think they've enjoyed their time here.
"We'll look back with a bit of anger, sadness and remorse but in a few days when we talk of the future, it looks bright.
"When we came in, we never dreamt we'd be third with 85 points, top scorers. And the key thing is the style of play.
"It takes courage to play because you have to take risks and sometimes we've lost because of that, but most of the time we've won.
"We didn't win on Saturday but we have to keep that style of play because I enjoy watching it and the players will enjoy playing it.
"They're all the positives and there's only been one real negative, and it's very cruel."
McClaren added: "I've had worse defeats than this and greater victories than how it happened.
"It's football and I'm a bit hardened to the knocks now.
"My main priority is not myself. It's making sure the team and the staff are right, the club is right. We have to go forward as a club."Over the years the SSD market has become saturated with a many companies competing for market share. According to a report from Forward Insights it looks like Samsung and Kingston are selling by far the most units.According to the data from Forward Insights, Samsung claimed 21 percent of the global SSD market in 2016, followed by Kingston with 16 percent. All the other vendors are only capable of achieving single digit percentages regarding market share. According to the analysts, a total of 63 million SSDs have been sold in 2016, which means that Samsung 13.23 million units and Kingston Kingston achieved 10.1 million drives. It’s quite impressive to see that Kingston has managed to secure a solid second place regarding market share. Especially since Kingston doesn’t own any manufacturing plant, which is a huge disadvantage over Samsung for instance.Looking at the report it shows that “other” account for 30% market share, which is a huge chunk. One thing that is not perfectly clear is whether Forward Insights, in the case of Samsung, only counted the units sold by Samsung Electronics or if they also included the numbers from Samsung Semiconductor, through which Samsung handles its OEM clients. If this report only mentions the units sold by Samsung Electronics then arguably quite a few Samsung units must be in the “other” section.Source: TheSSDReviewThere are many apps and tools available for Android and other mobile platforms that businessmen and professionals find very useful for work. One of the more reliable apps today is Confide because it allows people to be worry-free while using the tool to record important business transactions. The development team promises end-to-end encryption of documents, messages, text, and photos from sending to viewing to sharing.
You know how photos and documents can easily be copied by taking a screenshot? Confide app brings screenshot-proof messages. It can even let a page disappear so you’re sure no unwanted, prying eyes will be able to see what you don’t want others to see. This makes communication more efficient and unfiltered. Believe it or not, the messages on Confide can disappear once read already. Messages are also securely encrypted and are more private. To prevent screenshot, do a swipe-to-reveal.
Confide makes sending text, photos, and documents more secure to any phone number or email address on your mobile device. And so you know a recipient has already read your important message, a notification will be sent to you. Read-receipts come in pretty handy when someone is making excuses that he has not received or read any email from you.
Confide app has been available for iOS for sometime but it’s only now that Android users can take advantage of the tool. This brings documents “off-the-record”. This means no more permanent digital record being saved because messages or documents can disappear as you wish.
The Confide team has added support for 14 languages and app is now added on the phone’s default share options. Navigation has been improved too so you can send and receive messages more quickly. As for notifications, you can now modify push notifications, ringtones, and read receipts in Settings.
Download Confide from the Google Play StoreSky's the limit for English as he takes on superstar Rudisha
The UCD medical student signed a prestigious two-year sponsorship deal with Sky Sports yesterday and revealed he will be racing Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha in a unique race at the 'Golden Spike' meeting in Ostrava on May 26.
"I'm really excited about it because it is over 600m and Rudisha is looking to break the world record," he said. "I've always felt that 600m could be the perfect distance for me, though it probably also is for him too!"
America's Johnny Gray has held the world record (1:12.81) for the non-competition event since 1986, and an athlete he now coaches, Duane Solomon, tried unsuccessfully to break it this time last year, running 1:14.43.
Rudisha ran 1:13.7 last year and English has an unofficial 600m PB of 1:14.5 clocked in training in Austria last summer during his build-up to the European (outdoor) Championships, where he won 800m bronze.
The Donegal star's great one-lap speed - he ran 46:56 in Belfast last year, which puts him 15th on Ireland's all-time list - suggests that he should do particularly well at 600m.
It will not be English's first time to race against Rudisha. He was second to the Kenyan superstar in the New York Diamond League meeting last year in his own third-fastest 800m time (1:45.03).
Solomon was third and Poland's Marcin Lewandowski and Adam Kszczot - since crowned European indoor and outdoor champions respectively - were next over the line, so that race seriously established English's credentials.
That's the sort of company that he can now keep and explains why Sky Sport have decided to sponsor him in the run-up to next year's Olympics.
Katie Taylor, Jason Quigley and Paralympian Mark Rohan are previous recipients of Sky's academy scholarships, which include mentoring and media training as well as financial backing.
English is the only Irish athlete named so far in Sky's crop for Rio, which include Jessica Judd (800m), pole-vaulter Holly Bleasdale, Louis Persent (400m) and Paralympic sprinter Olivia Breen from British track and field.
"It was a shock to hear that I'd be invited to join an academy with such talent," English said. "It's a huge honour to be associated with such a massive global brand name such as Sky and their support will be absolutely vital in my preparations for Rio 2016."
His third-year exams will be finished by May 11, allowing him to concentrate on a hectic pre-Olympic summer that will include European U-23 and World Championships.
He hopes to get into a greater number of Diamond League meetings this summer. Coach Nic Bideau has already secured New York, on June 13, and English will compete in Hengelo 48 hours before facing Rudisha in Ostrava.
Irish IndependentNot to be confused with Steve Harley
Broderick Stephen Harvey[3][4] (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, producer, radio personality, actor, and author. He hosts The Steve Harvey Morning Show, the Steve talk show, Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud, Little Big Shots and its spinoff Little Big Shots: Forever Young, Steve Harvey's Funderdome, Showtime at the Apollo, and since 2015, the Miss Universe pageant.
Harvey is the author of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, which was published in March 2009, and the book Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find and Keep a Man. He starred in The Steve Harvey Show and was featured in The Original Kings of Comedy. He is a six-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, two-time Marconi Award winner, and a 14-time NAACP Image Award winner in various categories.
Early life
Harvey was born on January 17, 1957,[5][6] in Welch, West Virginia, and is the son of Jesse Harvey, a coal miner, and Eloise Vera.[7][8][9] His first name is Broderick, named after actor Broderick Crawford of the TV series Highway Patrol.[3] Harvey's family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, living on East 112th Street, which was renamed Steve Harvey Way back in 2015.[10] He graduated from Glenville High School in 1974.[10][11][12]
Shortly after high school, he attended Kent State University and West Virginia University and is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.[7][11] He has been a boxer |
at the time, for a brief stint with the Yankees in 1995. The point: to expose Jeter to veteran star Don Mattingly, by then a fading player but whose professionalism, Showalter figured, would rub off on young future stars like Jeter and Bernie Williams. I knew I could build a culture around Donnie, he says.
The club won steadily from 1993 to 1995. But when Steinbrenner asserted his post-suspension muscle by insisting that Showalter fire several of his coaches after a 1995 playoff loss to Seattle, Showalter refused, and his run in pinstripes was over. It came as quite a jolt after almost 19 years with the organization as a minor league player and manager and big league coach. That was the first time Id lost some of my naiveté about the game, he says.
Showalter didnt stay unemployed for long--two minutes, to be exact. After his Yankee contract expired at midnight on Nov. 1, 1995, his phone rang at 12:02 a.m.. It was Jerry Colangelo, owner of the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. He wanted Showalter to help build his club, which would begin play in 1998, as a manager in waiting. Despite a sudden 11th hour plea from Steinbrenner to return to New York, Showalter joined Colangelo (instant credibility for us; Colangelo says), and spent the next two-plus years scouting for talent across the U.S. and Central America, assembling scouting reports on hundreds of players and helping to plan the Diamondbacks spring training facility in Tucson. Showalter recalls the long grind outside his natural element of the dugout as his toughest time in baseball. I wouldnt wish it on anybody, he says.
But the work paid off. The Diamondbacks vaulted to a division title in just their second year, and then to a World Series title two years later after Showalter left. His take on their quick success: Dont fall in love with your expansion draft picks. Take guys with tools that will have value in the market and trade them out. Sure enough, major championship contributors like slugger Luis Gonzalez and pitcher Curt Schilling were acquired for early Diamondbacks Karim Garcia, Travis Lee and Vicente Padilla. But a 20% drop in season ticket sales after the Diamondbacks inaugural year prompted Colangelo to scrap his five-year building plan in favor of adding veterans like Randy Johnson and Steve Finley. Many of them didnt mesh with Showalter, who Colangelo replaced with the easygoing Bob Brenley in 2001. I felt we needed a different leader, someone who could relate to veteran players, says Colangelo.
A four-year run with the Texas Rangers followed with limited success--one winning season during a period when the franchise was hamstrung by the 10-year, $250 million contract it lavished on Alex Rodriguez. The Rangers fired Showalter after the 2006 season, replacing him with Ron Washington, who eventually led the club to the 2010 World Series. That made it three for three: the intense, hands-on Showalter forced to give up his job to a laid back successor who landed in the World Series. But after a few years of sharing his baseball insights from an ESPN studio, he took up the challenge of one more franchise revival.
The Orioles roster, stocked with young players who havent tasted much success, seems right up his alley. MacPhail added some veteran muscle this winter, including designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero and first baseman Derrek Lee for a modest $15.25 million combined. Showalter particularly pushed for Lee, who he sees as his veteran leader capable of duplicating Mattinglys role in New York 16 years ago. And if the new veterans tune the teacher out? Hes not going to sweat it. Im a 54-year-old man, Ill go home, Showalter says matter-of-factly. I dont want to hear that I shouldnt talk to a guy with four-year contract a certain way because hes sensitive. The fan working a seven-day week is paying money to see us play. If he succeeds in jump starting one of baseballs underperforming markets, hell please more than just the local fans. The entire league will be grateful.
Special Offer: Free Trial Issue of ForbesWASHINGTON—Having described each of the state-of-the-art facilities as crucial to serving the evolving needs of the college’s student body, campus sources confirmed Wednesday that George Washington University has unveiled a new media center every single month for the last five years. “I’m pleased to announce the opening of the Carroll-Eldridge Media Center, which will offer our students a unique and cutting-edge learning experience,” Dean of Students Dr. Peter Konwerski said of the school’s newest media center, which—like the recently constructed Decker Media Center, Sheila and Arthur Bergmann Media Center, Eugene Willis Media Arts Center, Sussman Media Center, Michael Schwartz Media and Computer Center, David Schwartz Media and Computer Center, and Benjamin Coleman Media Center—boasts a fully furnished computer lab, soundproofed recording studios, and a media rental library containing more than 75,000 audiovisual titles. “This ultramodern facility will also feature dozens of video projectors, music practice rooms, and a 450-seat auditorium that dwarfs the nearby Clayton Media Center’s 350-seat auditorium. It will ensure that our student body has full access to all the conveniences they require, while also allowing GW to remain competitive with other colleges that are adding their own media centers.” Konwerski later noted that undergraduate tuition will rise approximately $6,000 next year.
AdvertisementLuisa Ortega Díaz seeks help of Inter-American Commission on Human Rights after supreme court barred her from leaving country and froze her bank accounts
Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for protection, days after the supreme court barred her from leaving the country and ordered her bank accounts frozen.
Tensions between Luisa Ortega Díaz and President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist administration have been steadily escalating since she contested a supreme court decision in late March that dissolved the opposition-controlled National Assembly and sparked a deadly wave of unrest.
Venezuela's chief prosecutor becomes hate figure for Maduro supporters Read more
Since then, she has become one of the few critical voices within the government – other than the sidelined Congress – challenging Maduro’s push to rewrite the constitution and pressing charges against officers responsible for deaths during anti-government protests.
On Friday, Ortega Díaz’s office announced it was summoning the chief of Venezuela’s intelligence agency, Gustavo Gonzalez, to appear on suspicion of “committing grave and systemic violations of human rights”.
Prosecutors said they are investigating incidents of illegitimate detentions, arbitrary raids and cases in which people have remained imprisoned despite court orders that they be freed.
“The Public Ministry will continue safeguarding the protection and defense of Venezuelans’ human rights,” her office said in a statement.
The developments capped perhaps the most turbulent week yet in Ortega Díaz’s struggle to assert her office’s authority in a country where nearly every branch of the federal government is filled with Maduro allies.
Earlier this week, the government-stacked supreme court ruled that a number of responsibilities long the exclusive jurisdiction of the state prosecutor’s office would also be assigned to the pro-government public ombudsman’s office. The decision was drafted as a rogue police pilot flew a stolen helicopter over the supreme court, dropping several grenades and fleeing.
“This is yet another step against the democratic institutions and autonomy of the Venezuelan public prosecutor,” Diego Garcia Sayan, the United Nation’s special investigator on the independence of judges and lawyers, said Friday.
Ortega Díaz announced on Twitter she was seeking the protection of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for all workers at the state prosecutor’s office, but provided no further details.
The Washington-based body, which is an agency of the Organization of American States, is responsible for protecting human rights throughout the hemisphere. It did not respond to a request for comment.
In recent weeks, Maduro and his allies have stepped up their criticism of the prosecutor.
Diosdado Cabello, the head of Venezuela’s socialist party, recently called her the “traitor prosecutor”. Ortega Díaz is a longtime supporter of the socialist administration installed by the late president Hugo Chavez, whom she frequently quotes in stating her positions. More recently, however, she has become a thorn in Maduro’s side as he attempts to proceed with a constitution rewrite that she has roundly dismissed.
“I don’t recognize these decisions,” she said this week in denouncing the supreme court’s move to allow the ombudsman to carry out criminal investigations. “I will defend Venezuela’s constitution and democracy even if it costs me my life.”
Ortega Díaz has reported that relatives have been threatened and harassed.
Patriot, or government plant? Rumors fly over Venezuela helicopter attack Read more
Three months of political upheaval in Venezuela triggered by the March supreme court decision have left at least 77 people dead, hundreds injured and thousands detained. On Friday, opposition leaders denounced the detention of more than a dozen student protesters who were loaded into the back of a truck as tear gas launched nearby drifted into the vehicle and the doors were closed.
Student leader Daniel Ascanio said 29 students were detained Thursday for participating in the protests. It was unclear what charges if any they are facing, though Ascanio said some had been able to speak with relatives and appeared “physically well”.
“We are living at a time when the national government detains youths just for expressing our desire for a different country,” he said.
Demonstrators are demanding new elections, but Maduro has vowed instead to resolve the crisis by convoking a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. The election is slated to take place in late July though polls indicate it has little public support.A/N: I am ashamed of myself. I've been a fan of RWBY ever since it's release and I've only discovered of Monty's passing very recently. In my shame, I wrote this in his honor. You'll be missed Monty.
Chapter 1: A Blade Through Time
(Beacon Academy)
How did it all go so wrong?
That was the question that rang in Jaune's mind as he barricaded the door to Beacon Academy. Around him stood the mutilated corpses of Grimms and Hunters alike who fought valiantly against the enemies that came against them. As he finished putting the last of the broken pillars in place, the boy looked to scan the area in search for any other life other than himself.
Beacon was a war torn shadow of its former self. Its glittering tower and large courtyard which was often filled with students and visitors alike was now a wasted battlefield marked with scars of countless bombed craters. Various Hunters both students and teachers littered the place, finding a corner to rest their tired bodies, the mark of exhaustion clearly displayed on their faces. The battle they had fought was a grueling one. It caught them with such a surprise that barely any of them had a chance to defend themselves against the hordes of Grimms that flooded through the walls.
Up above, Jaune could see multiple ships with foreign banners hanging from their side raining fire and death to the city below. How did it all go so wrong?
It all happened… what? A week ago? He and his friends were all enjoying the Vytal Festival watching Pyrrha beat the living daylights out of the competition when something happened. First, it was those damnable robots that the military brought to the city, the ones that were shown to be superior to the newer models. The knights in shining armor guarding the streets with a friendly face. They were supposed to be the ones protecting the people from harm… but then something went wrong.
Before any of them even realized it, the robots had turned against their creators and began firing at civilians indiscriminately. The Hunters were called to action and before long the whole city became a warzone that set ablaze everything that stood in its way. But of course, a few mechanical drones were no match for an entire academy of Hunters. The students thought that things would return to normal until the next day, the Grimms showed up.
From out of the Darkness and taking advantage of the confusion of the malfunctioning robots, the Grimms poured from the woods invading the land as if they were coordinated by some signal. It came down hard that the natural barriers surrounding the countryside fell within the first few hours. It didn't take long until the students were asked to participate in the fight. Many of the senior cadets volunteered and gladly rode on to battle. Many prayed that it would be enough. That the lives sacrificed on this war would be enough. But it wasn't…
One disaster struck after another. Reports from multiple teams called in that they were being overwhelmed and struck down by some unknown force. The news came repeatedly over and over before the air waves went silent.
Then came the invasion…
Jaune didn't know who was invading. He was never close to the political ties of this world. Heck, the biggest thing he had to worry a few weeks ago was finding a date to the dance. He just knew that in two days, the whole world had gone mad with war. Everything burned. From the city, to that bookstore, that noodle shop across the street, right down to Beacon Academy.
On day three, that was when thing really took turn for the worst.
When the war came down to the city, all the civilians were rounded into Beacon Academy to be shipped off to a rally point offshore to another school called Signal Academy. All remaining soldiers and Hunters alike rallied to make a desperate stand here at the school to hold off the impending hordes of robots, Grimms and invaders. It seemed like they stood a chance.
The Atlesians brought in a massive fleet from the mainland preparing to dish out the fists of the kingdom. But that armada was easily swiped by a green flare that seemingly came out of nowhere. As the ships flew by, a single female figure with multiple blades hovering behind it could be seen in the distance, tearing through the massive fleet of Vale like a scythe on a harvest day.
With their advantage gone, all the Hunters had were each other and the weapons in their hands. They never stood a chance.
Weakened from the never-ending conflict that took place in Vale, the Hunters could barely hold their grounds against their enemies. Many died on the first wave alone and many more followed as the attacks kept coming. Soon enough, the siege of Beacon Academy became a battle for survival for Jaune and his team.
The Hunters stood their ground and fought valiantly, but despite their best effort, they could only do so much before their enemies finally decided that they were not worth the waste of resources. After fending off the last of them and barricading the main entrance with everything they could scrounge up, the students of Beacon took a much needed rest hoping that this war would soon come to an end. But that was probably just wishful thinking on their part, cupped with the weary exhaustion from their mentality.
But Jaune couldn't blame them. They were just students who were training to become warriors. They didn't know better about this war and politics. Hell… in fact, many of them still thought that this was a dream… a horrible nightmare that they would soon wake up to. But there was no such thing. They were awake and the sounds of cannon fire in the distance kept them on their toes no matter what they thought.
"Ren, can you get up?" The blonde boy was alerted by a familiar voice of his teammate who was carrying a wounded green dragon warrior on her shoulders. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine Nora, really. It's… nothing serious." Ren brushed her off trying to hide the bleeding wound on his forehead. "My Aura took most of the blow."
"But… you're bleeding."
"It's fine. A little rest and it'll go away. I promise."
"Better put a Band-Aid just in case." Jaune interjected offering said Band-Aid. "You two should go to the tower. The next flight leaves in 15 minutes."
"I can still fight." Ren offered to stand but found his legs giving way. "Argh!" Nora reacted to his grunt offering her shoulder to carry him. "Thanks Nora."
"Hey. We're partners to the end… right?" The Valkyrie flashed her trademark smile which was perhaps the only thing that brought them back to the good old days. It was hard to find such blissfull happiness in these dark times. Oh the good old days… where have they gone?
"You two should leave." Jaune repeated gesturing to the tower. "This place won't hold out for much longer and I'm not sure if the barrier surrounding the school will be able to last the next barrage."
"You're not asking us to run, are you?" The green dragon asked trying to muster some strength into his limbs. "We've… fought all this time."
"And you've done your part." The boy countered turning to Nora. "Nora. You take him to the next shuttle and the two of you get out as fast as you can."
"What about you?" She asked, worried about her team leader.
"Don't worry about me. I'll look for Pyrrha and follow you guys on the next shuttle out." The boy suggested, giving a thumbs up to them.
"Hey… a team fights together." Ren struggled with his words barely holding himself on Nora's shoulders. "You can't just ask us to go."
"No, I'm ordering you." It was a non-believable order. Jaune was technically the leader of team JNPR but in the end, he was just a 2nd in this whole bunch. In fact… he still couldn't wrap his head around the reason why he was made leader in the first place. Was it just luck or perhaps someone was just trying to fill in the gaps of the first letter on their team names. "I need you guys to protect the refugees that are making it to the island. You'll be more useful there."
"Heh… for once you're actually sounding like a leader." Ren laughed genuinely for the first time in the last three days that had gone by.
"Hey, bite me. I've only been here for what… a week or two? You can't expect me to be a pinnacle of inspiration in that short amount of time. I'm not like… I'm not like Ruby…"
"No… you're not."
Team RWBY was never seen in the battle. Apparently, no one saw them ever since in the incident that took place a week ago. The strongest team of the school simply vanished… like they had undergone some sort of top-secret mission on their own. It worried Jaune constantly, but the lives of his team and his friends took top priority at the moment.
"Things would've been different if they were here…"
"Hehehe… probably. But still… it doesn't feel right to just walk away."
"You're not." Jaune interjected. "You're going to protect the people who made it out alive. Go. The flight will be leaving soon." But before Ren could voice his protest, they were suddenly interrupted by a noise coming from the barricaded doorway.
"It's a Goliath!" A student on the bulwark cried out as the door was smashed in, a giant tusk poking through the hole. "And there's another horde of Grimms behind it!"
"Go!" Jaune ordered, drawing his blade out as the rest of his classmates formed together to make one last stand at the door. Nora complied and quickly dashed up with her mighty strength to bring her partner away from the futile stand.
You'd better come back…
Those were the words Jaune heard from Ren's lips as they parted off to the tower. With nerves of steel born from the fear of death, the students held their ground as the door finally came down with the tide of darkness following not far behind.
…
…
…
It took but a moment to see everything shatter to pieces. The students fought valiantly, holding against a seemingly endless tied of Grimms. But their valiance made little difference as the Grimm simply replenished their depleting numbers over and over again. It didn't take a skilled Hunter to understand that this was the last moments of their lives.
Jaune was the first to fall. It was no surprise. He didn't have the strength or the training to survive such a battle to begin with. How he was able to last this long was probably a miracle in its own right. He fought bravely, blocking blow after blow and surprisingly took down one or two Ursas along the way. But that was about it. When the Nevermores and Death Stalkers broke through the wall, the fight became a slaughter. It was so one-sided that bards all over the world would probably compose ballads of how pathetically they fought. Heck… Jaune wouldn't mind if they made him the lead protagonist in the whole shebang.
As the boy laid there on his bleeding stomach, he saw one of the Grimms noticing his moving eyes. It licked its lips thinking that he was a snack worth savoring on. It was frightening, so frightening that Jaune could only laugh at his weakness. So this is how he was going down. To become a chew toy for this monster. Well… it was an unfortunate but not unexpected outcome for someone who forged his own transcript to enter such a prestigious academy.
He only hoped now that the Grimm would at least say that he was delicious…
"Haaaaaa!" But just before the monster could get a first bite in, a roaring voice boomed over followed by an explosion coming from a… mace of some sort. "Come on you freaks! Come and get it!" To the Vomit Boy's surprise, his savior, his knight in shining armor was the last person he expected to see in this conflict.
"Cardin?" He muttered as he was finally able to get himself off the floor.
"Get your sorry butt up Jauny Boy!" Cardin shouted as he mashed not one, but four Grimms to the ground with a single sweep of his mace. "I'm not letting you die on my watch! Now get up!" Jaune barely had the chance to understand what was happening when the chestnut haired barbarian scooped him from the floor and rushed him to the tower. "There's one last flight leaving for the island and you're getting on it."
"Wha… what?"
Jaune couldn't focus. All he could see was the torn down gate and the few students that were left to fend for themselves. Oh… and there was a horde of Grimms catching up to them too but he couldn't really care. He was too tired to care.
"Take this on for size!" Cardin gave out a war cry smashing his mace to the ground creating a loud explosion that sent the dark beasts away like animals scurrying from fire. They kept their distance and decided to prey on other students that were unfortunate enough to be in their line of sight.
A few minutes later, Cardin made it to the tower. The elevator was still working. It was a good sign.
Putting down the wounded knight, he pressed the button leading to the landing pad, hoping that the other shuttles hadn't left yet. The music on the elevator was soothing but at the same time out of place. If he had his team up here with him, they'd probably try some ridiculous rap music to pass the time. But instead, he was stuck here with the dork of the school.
"Why… did you save me?"
"I… I didn't save you." Cardin retorted. "It was the spur of the moment. Don't let it get to your head. This doesn't make us friends."
Jaune forced a laugh. It was a grim laugh but a laugh nonetheless. Was he just happy to survive or was this just to prolong to the inevitable? "Thanks… Cardin…"
"Don't thank me." The man returned with a roughed voice. "I only saved your sorry butt because someone had to. I'll be kicking it later once we get out of this place."
"Either way… thanks… Cardin."
"Oh shut up. We're here." As he said the words, the elevator door opened. The man expected and hoped to see the shuttle there, hoping that they would still have a chance to escape this mess. But that hope was dashed all too soon when he saw the landing pad in flames.
In front of them stood the shuttle, burning to the ground like someone poured gasoline all over it and lit a match just to see it burn. It was a hopeless sight. At the center of that carnage strewn the bodies of Atlesian soldiers and a single bronze armored figure who seemed to be the one responsible for this slaughter.
"Is that…"
"Pyrrha?" Jaune recognized it instantly. His heart lifted before he mustered his voice. He was happy… ecstatic to find his loss teammate show up. Even though it was the worst possible timing, it was a silver lining to be seen. "Pyrrha!"
The red headed figure reacted to the voice and turned around slowly, her once emerald eyes gleaming red with rage.
Something… was wrong…
The figure that stood before the two was definitely the same champion that won the Minstrel Tournament. She had the eyes, the face… but it wasn't her. No… something was off and the blood dripping on the tip of her weapon confirmed it.
"Pyrrha?"
"Look out!" Cardin reacted and pushed Jaune aside before suddenly feeling a stab piercing his armor. The man looked back and only a moment to realize that the redhead was now standing only a single feet from him, her weapon piercing into his chest plate. "Ah… wha…?"
"…" The Greek Amazonian barely muttered a word before she pulled her weapon out and letting the blood gush from the body of that barbarian. It almost looked as if she was… smiling from that kill.
Cardin's body went limp and fell to the ground with his last breath taken from him. Jaune couldn't believe it. What happened? Why did it happen? Why did her teammate attack… and why did that man… the man who he could barely consider a friend, take the blow that was meant for him? The world wasn't making sense.
"Pyrrha… why? Why did you…?" The boy was met with a stern stare from the figure that wore the mask of his friend. Those emerald eyes that bore the wise and strong figure of his team now glowed red as if possessed by some demon. "You're not… her… are you?"
Another silenced reply. And just when things couldn't get any stranger, Pyrrha raised her weapon in the air preparing to deliver the killing blow. Knowing well that the attack would instantly kill him, Jaune made one last attempt at survival. He dodged her attack just well enough for it to strike his shoulder. It easily pierced his bone and pierced the back of his armor.
Jaune screamed but was able to put some distance between him and his partner. His aura was spent so it was easy to say that if he wasn't fast enough, he wouldn't be here shaking in his armor.
"You're definitely not… Pyrrha." He muttered to himself before drawing his blade. But again, his weakened state could barely hold the weapon together before he felt his fingers go numb from exhaustion. "Ah man. Not now!"
"…" The Greek Amazonian curled a sickening smile as if it was mocking the poor knight. She readied her weapon once again which prompted Jaune to raise his shield. "Hmph…"
Jaune parried… or at least blocked the first few blows. All the training with Pyrrha made him understand her leg works and attacks giving him a few short seconds to exploit. That was perhaps the only time he was only ever able to show off the result of those hard training days on the roof. But now it was no more.
The young knight was tired. His strength left his body. There was nothing… nothing left to hold back the attacks. His hand-me-down weapons were useless and now… he was going to die… by the hands of his own teammate.
Meh…
At the least it was better than being eaten alive by Grimms. He must've been really desperate to see that as a silver lining.
As the boy lay down, surrendering to fate, he saw Pyrrha raise her spear preparing to deliver the coup de grace. He still pondered… wondering who this woman was. But he was certain… this was not the girl he knew in Beacon Academy. She was not the one, the one who trained him, taught him… cherished him. She wasn't…
…!
But before the false Pyrrha could strike down, another incident happened. She hesitated as if she was reacting to another presence. Before Jaune could even take note, he saw a giant red blade flash through his sights, cleaving at the Amazonian sending her a few feet back. Quickly enough a dark red figure appeared, a Grimm mask covering her face.
The presence of this newcomer alone was enough to make the hair on Jaune's head stand. The very aura that surrounded that woman was so terrifying that it made the Death Stalkers look like kitty cats on the streets. It resonated with such resounding ferocity that Pyrrha found herself backing away… slowly.
"Leave…" The red figure stated at her opponent, giving her a chance to flee. The Amazonian took it and leaped from the building deciding that she was not strong enough for such an opponent.
The red dressed figure gave out a sigh, enough for the boy to hear from that short distance. Jaune couldn't tell if she was looking around to make sure there were no more enemies or per chance she was looking for anymore survivors. Whatever the reason, she saved his bacon and twice now did he owe his lives to others.
"This… this is all my fault." The red figure muttered. Upon closer inspection, Jaune noted that this woman… this girl was no less weary than he was. She was bruised from head to toe and her battle uniform was torn in some areas. Even that Grimm mask she wore had a crack on it. She definitely wasn't a Hunter. Jaune would've recognized someone with such a big sword. That scabbard which also held multiple dust cartridges seemed to have been depleted hinting that she must've gone through countless battles to get here. But all that analyzing came to an end when she directed her voice at him. "You… no… don't tell me. Don't tell me that you're the only one left." She sounded panicky almost to the point her voice was cracking. Was him surviving really that bad? Or perhaps she was looking for a better Hunter, a better warrior.
"Hold still…" She added before placing her hand on the boy's stomach. "This should only hurt for a second."
Before the boy could voice a question he quickly realized how that girl lied. The pain seared onto his stomach like someone was marking him with a cattle rod. She burned it shut. He wanted to grunt but he barely had the strength to do even that. The pain hardly lasted a second… it was more like… a minute? Not that it mattered. It still hurt.
"I can't believe this. This… this shouldn't have happened." The woman slowly removed her mask revealing her petite face to the boy. "This wasn't meant to be. I wanted to change it… change everything… but I only made it worse… worse for everyone. This… this was all my fault."
Jaune didn't quite understand what the lady was rambling on about. He was too tired and too weak to even speak. He wanted to understand what the girl was saying and why she was implying that all of this was her fault. But the girl's tears seemed to douse all the anger he had for her in the beginning. Her face… her eyes… it reminded him of someone. A close friend… a good friend.
"Ruby?" That was the only thing that came to mind. He struggled just enough of his stamina to mutter that name… and it was enough to garner that raven haired warrior's attention.
"Y… you… how do you know that name? Wait… do you know her? How do you know Ruby?"
"So… you're not… Ruby?" This wasn't good. His vision was failing. He could hear the familiar roaring noise of Grimms coming not far off. He lost too much blood to remain stable.
It seemed hopeless. But the raven haired warrior was not done yet. Despite her guilt of bringing chaos upon the world, she still had one turn left to play. She had a chance to turn things around, a chance for one last throw of the dice, a better throw.
Clutching her scabbard the warrior gathered all the remaining dust to her blade and with a good heave she swung it in an arc cutting a rift through the air. A dark red portal opened up hinting a malicious omen within.
"This is the only thing I can do." She said to the boy who was nothing more of a carcass at this point. "I've gone through this loop so many times I don't think I can handle another. Listen to me. I know that this might sound strange but I need you to go back. Back before all of this happens. You can stop this, prevent all of this from ever happening." Hastily the girl tore a piece of her cloth, wrapping a small object in it and tucking it into the boy's chest plate.
"What… are you talking about?"
"Your soul won't adapt to your old body that quickly and… you'll probably forget some things along the way but it's sad to say… you're all I have."
"My soul?" Weary and delusional, Jaune could only mutter incoherently as she brought him closer to the portal. Along the way, he could see the Grimms slowly scaling up the tower, preparing to delve their claws into their last meal.
"Go… and change it. For better or for worse…"
"You're not… making sense."
She laughed. "Heh… I hardly do these days. Not like my career had much in any conversations. Hey… what's your name anyway?"
"J… Jaune… Jaune… Ar…c."
"Heh… that's a good name." She smiled before realizing that the Grimms had gotten close. "Well… here's your stop. And Jaune… I know you might forget this when you wake up but please… take care my girls. They're really… important… to me." And with one last heave, the girl tossed the boy into the void closing it forever. "Good luck… oh and just in case we don't see each other again… my name is… R…"
Her charming smiling face was the last thing Jaune saw before the Grimms came and interrupted the scene. His mind slowly drifted closer to sleep and he felt like he was going through a free fall… somewhere far… far… away.
All that exhaustion, all that fatigue finally gave in, allowing him to sleep.
Until he found himself slammed head first on a metal floor, waking him from that drifting sleep.
The first thing he did was look up and heard a familiar voice coming from one of the holo screens.
"—In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil right protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization…"3D Puyo Puyo 2, better known under the Japanese name Puyo Puyo Tsu, is one of several games as part of the upcoming SEGA 3D Classic Collection. Puyo Puyo Tsu is considered an arcade classic in Japan, with it being played on a high level even today and setting the standards for future Puyo Puyo games like the concept of offsetting, All Clear, and standardizing four colors. But playing the game might be intimidating since for people this might be the first time playing the game. Luckily this guide will explain how the game works so you can feel more confident.
Before we begin, let’s just clarify a few things.
This game is not Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine or Kirby’s Avalanche. Those games were localized versions of the first arcade game Puyo Puyo, Puyo Puyo Tsu is the sequel and as such should stand on it’s own.
. Those games were localized versions of the first arcade game Puyo Puyo, Puyo Puyo Tsu is the sequel and as such should stand on it’s own. 3D Puyo Puyo Tsu is based on on the arcade version of Puyo Puyo Tsu. There may be differences between that version and other versions. Screenshots will be based on the (almost) arcade perfect Mega Drive version.
This article will cover modes that appear in the arcade version. Modes introduced in later ports such as Rally Mode and Practice Mode will not be documented.
Single Player
Single player adapts a unique tower system in this game. Arle enters a tournament set up by Satan that recruits the best Puyo Puyo players out there, and as Arle your job is to climb up a tower by beating these opponents. As mentioned you’re goal is to climb up the tower by beating your opponents, but the opponent you face is randomized using a roulette like system. If you are worried about having to deal with luck based gambles, the good news is the roulette is very lax, as pressing the button will instantly select whatever it’s currently on and the roulette will gradually slow down. The exception to the rule is the final floor, where you’ll face off against Schezo, Rulue, and Satan (or Masked Satan under certain conditions) in order.
You’ll be given a brief description on who they are, and afterwards you’ll play against them with the intent of beating them. But beating your opponents has a catch. You need to score enough points to climb up the tower, and depending on your performance you may need to keep beating opponents until you earn enough points and move on. You face each opponent once, and if in the scenario they’re all cleared without you moving on, you’ll face against a hidden opponent. If that opponent is defeated and you still didn’t get enough points, Arle will be booted from the tower and the game ends. Luckily the scenario of that happening is nearly impossible.
As you climb the tower, the game will gradually increase in difficulty. The drop speed of Puyo will increase, the opponents you face will become more savvy, you’ll need to earn more points to continue, and you will have less opponents to face and therefore tempt the above mentioned scenario. In addition, the opponents you face will sometimes utilize a gimmick that may throw off players. For example the character Nohoho will fill up the right three columns on his field and then bank on getting a big chain, and Harpy will fill the first and sixth columns.
Opponents
Floor 1
Skeleton-T
Will o’ Wisp
Sukiyapodes
Trio the Banshee (aka Banshee Trio)
Nomi
Momomo
Baromett
Mini Zombie
Masked Satan*
Floor 2
Panotty
Uroko Sakana Bito (aka Seriri)
Nohoho
Cait Sith
Fufufu
Mummy
Owlbear*
Floor |
restroom. The market will take care of that. It’s one example.”
In the end, it’s probably good that America’s top leaders have the health of both business and the public in mind. Let’s just hope they all remember to wash their hands before pressing the flesh at election time.An etiquette lesson on board a TTC subway train took a turn for the bizarre over the weekend, with a woman sitting on another rider’s feet.
According to rider Juliette Shylo, who filmed the aftermath of the incident, one man was sitting with his feet on another seat.
That’s when a woman asked him to move his feet. When he didn’t, she sat on him.
Shylo’s video begins with a young black man, wearing glasses and appearing to use a phone, telling a white woman to “Get off me.”
She responds, “Sorry, I can’t.”
The woman continues to sit on the man, a stranger, despite repeated requests to move. Their verbal argument then escalates.
“Get your fat self of my [expletive] feet,” the man says. “You’re going to come sit down on other people? The [expletive is wrong with you?””
“Your fat self has got a big mouth,” the woman says.
“I know I have a big mouth and I’m [expletive] using it,” he says.
“And you’re fat too!” she interjects.
“I love my fat self,” he responds. “Thank you bitch.”
“Ok then we’re equal,” she says. At this point, she is still sitting on his feet. He asks why she hasn’t moved.
“I’m trying to explain to you that your feet shouldn’t be on the seat,” she says.
“Why does it matter to you?” he says.
“Do you own the subway? Let me ask you a serious question. Do you own the subway?” he says.
“No! Do you?” she responds.
“No,” he says.
“Then how can you do whatever you want?” she asks.
“Is there a rule on this train that says I can’t put my foot on the seat right now?” he asks.
“There’s lots of social rules,” she responds.
“Ok so I can take myself and just go like that?” he says, leaning forward and pushing the woman’s back with his shoulder. The woman, after sitting on the man for about a minute, then gets up. She walks to another seat and pushes the emergency alarm.
“Thank you,” the man says. “I shouldn’t be having to touch a lady. Get off me. You put yourself on me. I have all right to push you off me. You sat on me. You pushing [the alarm] is just disrupting every body else … You could have left me alone… Shut up! Just shut up!”
The woman is still criticizing the man she sat on.
“Why does it [expletive] matter to you? It doesn’t [expletive] matter,” he says.
“We’re a society! We all have to live together,” she says.
At this point, the man bangs on the glass window of the train.
“I don’t care! Is there an [expletive] rule, right here, that says I can’t put my feet right there?” he says. He adds that there are plenty of empty seats, he’s not stopping anyone from sitting, and that the woman was in another part of the car but moved to come speak to him.
“You started this. I didn’t. You had to come sit your [expletive] fat ass on my leg. So leave me the [expletive] alone. Now that you pressed [the alarm], you stopped the whole [expletive] train. For what?”
“That’s right. I did,” the woman says. “Because you pushed me.”
“You sat on me!” the man responds. “You put your body on me. I can push you off me.”
The woman argues that she was not sitting on him.
The man, visibly angry, then leaves the train, saying he doesn’t want to “spit in your [expletive] face.”
The video then ends.
TTC spokesman Stuart Green said the woman was justified in pressing the emergency alarm.
“Bad etiquette is not appropriate use of the emergency alarm, but in this case it appears someone was pushed, and that is appropriate use of the emergency alarm,” he said.
Meanwhile, witness Juliette Shylo said she thought both people were at fault.
“In my head, I was like, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Just walk away.’ But no,” she said.
“Both parties were wrong in this situation. But again, it’s public transit.”
According to the TTC website, there is a rule against putting your feet on the seat (bylaw 3.19 A). It comes with a $200 fine, though it is rarely enforced, a TTC spokesperson said.
Click here for the full list of TTC fines.
We want to know, what’s the worst behaviour you’ve ever seen on the TTC? How did you deal with it?The Religious Right magazine Charisma is none too pleased with Beyoncé’s performance at the Super Bowl and is pinning the blame on Satan. Writing in Charisma yesterday, Alyssa Shull of “Skunks TV” laments that “Beyoncé has this beautiful gift, that the enemy (Satan) has twisted to use for his kingdom” and that her performance is further evidence that “we need to be aware of the devil’s ploys so we can resist them!”
Hear me out here, to me, her performance was soft porn. I wouldn’t want my (future) sons and daughters to ever see a performance like that. My sons, because it was completely sexual, and I don’t want those images in their minds. My daughters, because I don’t want them to think that to be an attractive women you have to look, dress or act like that.
…
Ask yourself, did Beyoncé’s performance glorify God?
So whatever we do, we should do it to the glory of God. Sure, Destiny’s Child came out and people were screaming Beyoncé’s praises, but did it bring God praises?
Beyoncé has this beautiful gift, that the enemy (Satan) has twisted to use for his kingdom. Beyoncé was born into a Christian family and she said in one her first popular songs, Survivor, “I’m not gon’ compromise my Christianity (I’m better than that)”.
What is Christianity? It is following Christ. Christ has called us to follow Him. It says in 1 Corinthians 8:13 that if what we do causes another believer to stumble, then we should have no part in it. And then Jesus says that even if a man looks at a women with lust for her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28). The way Beyoncé is displaying her body to people causes men to stumble and influences women to follow her behavior.
Girls, we need to be aware of the devil’s ploys so we can resist them!Perhaps overlooked in the run-up to the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis this weekend is that it’s also a showcase event for all three Mazda Road to Indy divisions, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.
As in Barber, each series will have a pair of races. But unlike Barber, no series has two races in one day; they’ll all have one Friday and one Saturday race.
In Indy Lights, the field is down to 11 cars with the withdrawal of Italian Vittorio Ghirelli, who had driven the second Team Moore Racing entry. Ghirelli was initially planned to race the full season, but was not present for the series’ open test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval this past weekend – Jimmy Simpson, who drove the No. 22 in last year’s Freedom 100, filled in.
Up front the battle again is expected to rage between Zach Veach, points leader on 181, and Gabby Chaves, with 172 markers. The pair of split the four races thus far. Meanwhile it would not be a surprise to see Matthew Brabham or any of the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports quartet break through and claim their first win in the series.
Pro Mazda has seen Spencer Pigot of Juncos Racing go 4-4 to open the season, although his teammate, Kyle Kaiser and the pair of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing drivers Neil Alberico and Scott Hargrove have shown promise as they seek to knock Pigot off the top step of the podium. A 20-car field will take the green flag for the two events; World Speed Motorsports adds a third car while JDC’s fourth, which had been driven by Italian Vicky Piria in the first two weekends, is not entered this one. Tough week for Italians in the ladder series…
With three wins from the first four USF2000 races, including a Saturday two-race sweep in Barber, Winterfest champion RC Enerson is poised to add to that this weekend. He’ll attempt to do so in a 23-car field that has its second significant driver change in as many races. Florian Latorre shifted from Belardi Auto Racing to Cape at Barber in a third car there; Jeroen Slaghekke now moves over to Belardi from Afterburner Autosport this weekend.
Follow @TonyDiZinnoListen up, “World of Color” fans! Since it’s “Christmas in July” week here at Disney Parks, it’s the perfect time for some exciting holiday-time news. Check out the video below for a special announcement from Steve Davison, vice president of Parades and Spectaculars, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, who has very exciting news to share about the “so wonderful, so beautiful” nighttime spectacular at Disney California Adventure park. Disney Parks Blog readers got to know Steve back in 2010 as he provided regular updates on the “World of Color” as it was in development. He’ll be joining us again, updating us on this exciting news that he’s about to reveal. What is it? Watch the video and find out!
Mark your calendars because “World of Color – Winter Dreams” will begin November 15, 2013, at Disney California Adventure park.It’s been a pretty special year for horror, with Get Out grossing $253m to make it the sleeper hit of 2017, and It becoming a bona fide blockbuster by amassing $653m and counting. Their budgets were (relatively) modest, the former costing $4.5m and the latter $35m. And neither film featured stars, with It author Stephen King the biggest name attached to either project.
Their success has meant the genre is garnering the acclaim and respect it consistently deserves yet so rarely receives. But 25 years ago things were very different. For a brief period, Hollywood took horror seriously, pumping money into lavish, big-budget productions, hiring acclaimed directors to oversee proceedings, and casting the biggest stars on the planet in lead roles.
With only a couple of these features doing any real business at the box office, however, the period was short-lived, but it did result in the following five films gracing cinema screens.
Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a big deal back in 1992. The Oscar-winning director assembled an all-star cast, with Gary Oldman playing the Count, Winona Ryder cast as Mina, the object of his affections, and Anthony Hopkins playing grizzled vampire-hunter Van Helsing. Though the less said about Keanu Reeves’ turn as Jonathan Harker, the better.
Together with screenwriter James V. Hart and production designer Dante Ferretti, Coppola turned the gothic horror into a lush, operatic wet dream, sexing up Stoker’s prose at every turn, and throwing in some pretty extreme violence for good measure. He also avoided CG and modern special effects techniques, instead creating much of the film’s startling visuals in camera via matte paintings and forced perspectives. The result is a decidedly odd concoction, but one that scored at the box office, won three Academy Awards (for costume, sound and make-up), and even spawned a hit single in the shape of Annie Lennox’s Love Song For a Vampire.
If Dracula was heavily hyped, that’s nothing compared to the attention — and furore — that surrounded Neil Jordan’s big-budget adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire. Trouble arose when Tom Cruise was cast as vampire Lestat, and Rice made her feelings known, stating that Cruise was “no more my vampire Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler.” The author did a speedy about-turn when she saw the finished film, however, praising the performance by stating “from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me.”
He’s definitely playing against type as a vampire who loves to kill, but Cruise absolutely nails it, while the homoeroticism that underpins his scenes with Brad Pitt’s Louis is white-hot. Covering a period of 200 years, and traversing Louisiana, New Orleans and Paris, Interview with a Vampire is an atmospheric assault on the senses that should have been followed by a series of equally gorgeous sequels about the sexy vampire duo. Instead, all we got was toothless 2002 adaptation Queen of the Damned, which replaced Tom Cruise with Stuart Townsend. Enough said.
With Jack Nicholson cast as a werewolf, Michelle Pfeiffer his love interest, and Graduate director Mike Nichols on helming duties, what could possibly go wrong? Well a few things actually, the main issue being that Wolf doesn’t know what it is, the film part-romance, part-workplace drama, and part-creature feature. Jack plays a weak-willed publishing editor whose life changes when he gets bitten by a wolf, giving him literal and metaphorical teeth.
Indeed there are metaphors all over the place, most obviously regarding gender and office politics. Storylines that don’t a fun genre movie make. But there’s unmistakable chemistry between Nicholson and Pfeiffer, and the film does feature a memorable scene in which Jack marks his territory by pissing on James Spader’s shoes. But all-in-all, this one was something of a missed opportunity.
Like Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein aimed to be the definitive adaptation of one of the great horror novels. And the ingredients were all there — Branagh had a fortune to spend, Shawshank Redemption writer Frank Darabont was on scripting duty, and Robert DeNiro was playing the monster.
But while the film looked good — a globe-trotting epic that featured action and drama, but focussed on the tragedy at the heart of the story — the finished film was somewhat underwhelming; an overwrought hodgepodge of thoughts and ideas that never really coalesce. So while it might be the most faithful of all Frankenstein adaptations, Branagh’s films doesn’t come close to capturing the power of the novel.
Mary Reilly is the only fully-fledged disaster on this list. A loose adaptation of the Jekyll and Hyde story, this version — based on the novel of the same name by Valerie Martin — instead focusses on the doctor’s maid. And there was trouble from the start.
Tim Burton was initially supposed to direct Winona Ryder in the title role, before Stephen Frears took over helming duties, and Julia Roberts — then pretty much the biggest star in the world — was cast in the lead. But there was trouble behind the scenes between director and star. Roberts’ Irish accent left a lot to be desired. Her chemistry with Jekyll/Hyde actor John Malkovich was non-existent. And the finished film was dull, uninspired, and entirely lacking in scares. Worst of all, it took one of the greatest stories in horror literature, and managed to make it boring.
And that was it for this five-year period when horror was taken seriously. There has been the odd exception since. World War Z (2013) had a big budget and huge star in the shape of Brad Pitt, and the resulting film was a hit. Crimson Peak (2015) also cost a fortune, but fared less well at the box office. And expensive Alien films still continue to get made, with varying degrees of success. But examples are few and far between.
So it will be interesting to see if the success of 2017’s horror films will see the genre once again going legit, and receiving the investment and support it so richly deserves.Stanford researcher declares that the sixth mass extinction is here
Paul Ehrlich and others use highly conservative estimates to prove that species are disappearing faster than at any time since the dinosaurs' demise.
Video by Rob Jordan Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich calls for fast action to conserve threatened species, populations and habitat before the window of opportunity closes.
There is no longer any doubt: We are entering a mass extinction that threatens humanity's existence.
That is the bad news at the center of a new study by a group of scientists including Paul Ehrlich, the Bing Professor of Population Studies in biology and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Ehrlich and his co-authors call for fast action to conserve threatened species, populations and habitat, but warn that the window of opportunity is rapidly closing.
"[The study] shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event," Ehrlich said.
Although most well known for his positions on human population, Ehrlich has done extensive work on extinctions going back to his 1981 book, Extinction: The Causes and Consequences of the Disappearance of Species. He has long tied his work on coevolution, on racial, gender and economic justice, and on nuclear winter with the issue of wildlife populations and species loss.
There is general agreement among scientists that extinction rates have reached levels unparalleled since the dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. However, some have challenged the theory, believing earlier estimates rested on assumptions that overestimated the crisis.
The new study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that even with extremely conservative estimates, species are disappearing up to about 100 times faster than the normal rate between mass extinctions, known as the background rate.
"If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover, and our species itself would likely disappear early on," said lead author Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Autónoma de México.
Conservative approach
Using fossil records and extinction counts from a range of records, the researchers compared a highly conservative estimate of current extinctions with a background rate estimate twice as high as those widely used in previous analyses. This way, they brought the two estimates – current extinction rate and average background or going-on-all-the-time extinction rate – as close to each other as possible.
Focusing on vertebrates, the group for which the most reliable modern and fossil data exist, the researchers asked whether even the lowest estimates of the difference between background and contemporary extinction rates still justify the conclusion that people are precipitating "a global spasm of biodiversity loss." The answer: a definitive yes.
"We emphasize that our calculations very likely underestimate the severity of the extinction crisis, because our aim was to place a realistic lower bound on humanity's impact on biodiversity," the researchers write.
To history's steady drumbeat, a human population growing in numbers, per capita consumption and economic inequity has altered or destroyed natural habitats. The long list of impacts includes:
Land clearing for farming, logging and settlement
Introduction of invasive species
Carbon emissions that drive climate change and ocean acidification
Toxins that alter and poison ecosystems
Now, the specter of extinction hangs over about 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains an authoritative list of threatened and extinct species.
"There are examples of species all over the world that are essentially the walking dead," Ehrlich said.
As species disappear, so do crucial ecosystem services such as honeybees' crop pollination and wetlands' water purification. At the current rate of species loss, people will lose many biodiversity benefits within three generations, the study's authors write. "We are sawing off the limb that we are sitting on," Ehrlich said.
Hope for the future
Despite the gloomy outlook, there is a meaningful way forward, according to Ehrlich and his colleagues. "Avoiding a true sixth mass extinction will require rapid, greatly intensified efforts to conserve already threatened species, and to alleviate pressures on their populations – notably habitat loss, over-exploitation for economic gain and climate change," the study's authors write.
In the meantime, the researchers hope their work will inform conservation efforts, the maintenance of ecosystem services and public policy.
Co-authors on the paper include Anthony D. Barnosky of the University of California at Berkeley, Andrés García of Universidad Autónoma de México, Robert M. Pringle of Princeton University and Todd M. Palmer of the University of Florida.
Media Contact
Paul Ehrlich, Biology: (650) 723-3171, pre@stanford.edu
Rob Jordan, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment: (650) 721-1881, rjordan@stanford.edu(AP) A first edition of The Book of Mormon printed in the upstate New York town linked to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sold at auction for more than $50,000.
in Manhattan says the rare 1830 edition was sold Tuesday for $52,500. The buyer's name was not released. The item had an estimated pre-sale price of $40,000 to $60,000.
The auction house says the first edition of the scripture of the LDS church was released just days before the church's official establishment in early April 1830.
It was published in Palmyra in western New York, where Smith had a family farm. Mormons believe
KUTV was able to contact the buyer, who lives in Draper. Matthew K. says he bought the book for his own personal use based on some advice from his dad: "You should always invest in what you believe in."
"So why not invest in something you love," Matthew said.
Matthew said he has always wanted to own a first edition of The Book of Mormon and has done a lot of research on them. He was pleased to come across this copy because of how clean the pages are -- this increases the value, he says.
Another thing that makes Matthew's copy even rarer is it's only been in possession of one cosigner, whereas many of the other copies tend to circulate quite a bit.
Matthew gained an interest in the rare book about 10 years ago when his wife gave him, he says he has a couple of those but does not otherwise have many LDS collectibles.
"I'm glad it's back in the hands of a member of the LDS church," Matthew said, "Someone who understands its value."
He plans to keep it around for he and his family to treasure.The video will start in 8 Cancel
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Police have launched a major response to an incident which reportedly left five people stabbed, shots fired and vehicles ablaze.
Officers were sent to the scene in Cardowan in Glasgow at around 1.30pm on Sunday afternoon.
Scotland's Ambulance Service also confirmed they are attending the scene and said "several casualties" have been taken to hospital.
According to the Daily Record, multiple people have been injured including up to five who may have been knifed.
One witness posted an image of the scene on Facebook and described it as a "war zone".
Robin Neilson wrote: "Just dropping the kids off in cardowan and frankfield rd has been closed, it's like a war zone 2 vans on fire, stabbings, reports of shootings, just another day in car/D lol"
Another local resident told the Record: "There are police cars everywhere and a police helicopter flying overheard.
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(Image: Daily Record)
"I spoke to an officer on the scene but she wouldn’t say anything other than they were dealing with a ‘major incident’.
"At first I heard two people had been stabbed, but some are saying the number is five.
"There were reports of someone being attacked by a machete and even a shooting - it’s all unclear just now.
"The whole road’s closed off so you can’t really see anything either.
"I also spoke to two young boys who told me there was a video circulating on Snapchat of two cars on fire on the road."
Images later revealed two grey vans had been left burnt out as several streets were cordoned off in the area.
One witness said: "There was a massive bang. Two vans went up in flames. I’ve never seen anything like it.
"I don’t know what’s been going on but it’s frightening."
Police Scotland remained tight-lipped on Sunday evening and would say only: "There is an ongoing police incident in the Stepps area of Glasgow.
"Inquiries are very much at an early stage and there are no further details."× Text
Every All-Nighter Paper You Write
By Mike Trapp
The All Nighter Term Paper 9:00 PM: We see a screenshot of a computer screen. Word is open on the screen with the following text: Title of the Paper: Longer Sub-Headline Using Unnecessarily Long Words and the Word “Modern.” Respected Scholar, who has been studying in this field for longer than I have been alive, once made the claim “An idea that has been generally accepted as true by respected professionals within my field for the past 30 years (CorrectCitation 42).” Though mountains of evidence exist to support this claim, this paper will look at a few unconvincing modern examples in hopes of questioning this idea and appearing iconoclastic in an academically admirable way. I will not, at this point in the paper, claim Respected Scholar is wrong for fear of pissing off the professor, and will instead be calling my paper an “investigation” or similar nonsense. By the end I will conclude that Respected Scholar is probably right after all, but that healthy debate is important in any field. This opening paragraph did not require many citations or much research, so I was able to type it up pretty quickly, and I feel pretty confident I will finish earlier than expected. 10:00 PM: Word is still open, but there’s also a little iTunes player in the corner playing the song (Distracting Music that You Claim Helps You Think) As I begin writing the actual meaty part of my essay, I’m starting to realize how long this will take (Main Source 56). I wasn’t taking good notes while I was researching, and now I can’t remember where I got my facts (Main Source 58). To try to hide this, most of my information is coming from one source (Main Source 59). After realizing that I have cited the same source three times in a row, I will try to make my research look more varied by citing some common knowledge from some other place (Bullshit Source 12). Perhaps most troubling is that I can’t remember where one of the best examples came from, but I KNOW I read it somewhere. I will write down how I remember it and make a note to find the correct citation later (???). I will not remember to do this by the end of the night. 11:00 PM: The internet is open with a bunch of tabs: Reddit, Facebook, Tumblr, CollegeHumor if we want to suck our own dicks. You can still kind of see the essay in the window underneath. Facebook status reads “Just taking a quick break! I totally deserve it even though I’ve only written a paragraph” Other friends have statuses like “Doing something way more fun than writing a paper” “Yay! Finished all my exams, I’m gonna PARTY!” links to articles like “Does writing papers make you impotent” and pictures of people having fun. 11:30 PM: Back to the essay. It is scrolled down so the previous last line is now at the top of the page. I have rewritten this one sentence twenty times in the last 30 minutes. 11:32 PM: More internet nonsense. YouTube window with video titled “Cat Hits Guy in the Balls (Gangnam remix). There’s a shit ton of tabs open. 12:30AM : Wikipedia is open. The Wikipedia Title page Reads “Relevant Topic.” Some of the words are hyperlinks. It looks like a Wikipedia page. In the corner is an IM window conversation. IM Conversation: Friend: How’s the paper coming? You gonna make it out tonight? You: Oh, um, we’ll see. I’m a little behind, but I should be fine. Wikipedia Page: Relevant Topic is a piece of information that is actually useful for your current goal of finishing this damn paper. If you have only just realized how much time you wasted on stupid websites, this is actually a good way to remember where you left off in the paper, remind yourself of certain key points, and generally get you back on track. Relevant topic is also very tangentially related to slightly interesting thing. Slightly interesting thing is only slightly more interesting than whatever the topic of your paper is. [cursor hovers over the link to “slightly interesting thing”] 1:00 AM: We are now on the Wikipedia page for the 1991 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: the Secret of the Ooze. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a page that you have somehow landed on by following a series of Wikipedia links. It is the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, and is in no way related to the paper you are supposed to be writing. You should probably stop reading this and just get to work, but let’s be honest, wouldn’t you rather learn that the actor who played Shredder also played Pierre Chang in LOST. You don’t believe me, do you? 2:00 AM: Netflix takes up the whole screen. It is playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze. We see shredder. There is an IM window in the corner. IM Conversation: You: Hey, did you know that Shredder and Pierre Chang are the same dude? Girlfriend: Who? Are you writing your paper? I thought you said you’d be done by now. You: Almost. 2:30 AM: The word document is open. All other windows are closed. We see the last sentence he has written. After procrastinating for several hours I have completely lost my train of thought (add Citation Later). I am going to just type out some notes I made from my research in loosely connected sentences (add Citation Later). Just a load of word vomit. As I start to get sleepy, I also notice that I’m mrore prone to tpypos (add Citation Later). I’m going to down acoupeld of red Bulls to try to get me throuhg this. 4:00 AM: We’re now on page 6 of the paper. more energy drinks than I should have. I’ve blastd through a bunch of pagse with help from my awesome friend “block quotes”: “Block quotes are a perfectly legitimate way to stretch this paper out. Isn’t it amazing how someone before me has already stated the very thought I want to make. It’s a shame this guy is so long winded; I guess I’ll just have to quote everything he says.” Im not sleepy anymore but I ahave notived that all theis caffeing is making me jittery and I’m still makin a lto fo typos. Not ime to fix them now. I’[ll go back later. 5:00 AM: Facbook again. Status reads “I can’t believe how long this paper is taking.” Friends statuses: “Can’t believe what an AMAZING night this was. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life” “Here’s a video of me rocket-skiing over the Quendleton Gorge!” “Did everyone see that orgy on the quad?” 8:00 AM: Page 9 of the essay. In conclusion, my roommate just came home from a crazy night out and found me passed out with my paper still open on my computer. He thinks it would be very funny to add multiple references to the Illuminati and use find-replace to find all instances of a very common word and replace it with the word “poop.” STEPHEN SUCKS! QUENDLETON FOOTBALL RULES! This poop going to be hilarious.IBF light heavyweight titlist and living legend Bernard Hopkins will be the third man in the booth calling the action for Showtime on Saturday night, as normal expert analyst Paulie Malignaggi will be at his day job, defending the WBA welterweight title against Adrien Broner in the night's main event from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Hopkins will join Mauro Ranallo and Al Bernstein calling the action, as well as ringside reporter Jim Gray and host Brian Kenny. Malignaggi-Broner is the headline bout of a Showtime tripleheader, which also features a rematch between heavyweights Johnathon Banks and Seth Mitchell, and a vacant super middleweight title fight between Sakio Bika and Marco Antonio Periban.
Hopkins has done a little commentary work in the past, and always acquitted himself well, I thought. He's a strong analyst who breaks down fights as well as anyone, and adds genuine "expert" level stuff to the call. Still, it would be great if Antonio Tarver laid him out with a chair and took his old seat back.This post has been corrected.
India’s startup industry isn’t just about warring e-commerce firms.
Backed by global venture capital and large content libraries, entrepreneurs are now fighting it out on a new battlefield: Digital music.
There were already over a dozen digital music services in the country, when Rdio announced in January that it would enter India. About 10 months earlier, the San Francisco-based startup had acquired Dhingana, an Indian music streaming service.
In November last year, Australian music streaming company Guvera also arrived in India, even as telecom giant Bharti Airtel introduced its own digital music app, Wynk.
All these launches not only mean more competition for homegrown companies like Gaana and Hungama—but also for Saavn, the first international startup to test India’s digital music market around five years ago.
India’s Spotify
Often likened to Spotify—the American digital music behemoth—Saavn began in May 2010 with a catalogue of 150,000 songs, and swiftly pulled in a million users within six months.
Now, as India’s digital music market is heating up, Saavn is switching gears.
In August last year, Saavn signed up Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor to become the face of the brand. But Kapoor—featured in Saavn’s television ads in recent weeks—isn’t just a brand ambassador. Instead, his association is termed as a creative partner, where the actor works on “consumer marketing ideation and production, business development and content.”
Two months later, in November, Saavn began a partnership with Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal, to lure online shoppers on Android phones onto the music service.
And last month, the New York-based startup announced it had 11 million users streaming music every month—and that it hired former Google executive Mahesh Narayanan as the chief operating officer.
With almost 90% of its listeners tuning into Saavn on their mobile phones, the company now plans to launch a “social experience,” perhaps like Facebook and Whatsapp. It already has a Twitter-powered internet radio station.
“Music, messaging and social are king,” CEO and cofounder Rishi Malhotra told Quartz. ”So users aren’t just going to be playing music, they’re going to be playing with music.”
Bullish investors
Although the industry worldwide is estimated to be worth about $9 billion (Rs55,800 crore) in 2014, it touched only $450 million (Rs2,790 crore) in India and other emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region.
There are significant challenges. For one, internet speeds can be sketchy. And second, Indians are the world’s second highest consumers of illegal and pirated music content, worth $64.3 billion, according to marketing consultant Tru Optik Data. Out of this, the illegal music content is worth $298.2 million (Rs1,849 crore).
Still, investors are bullish about digital music websites and apps on the back of the ever increasing number of internet users in the country.
Last year in August, Saavn closed a round of funding estimated at $4 million, led by Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital. In an earlier round, the startup raised about $16 million from US-based Tiger Global Management and other investors.
Before all startups…
Saavn started as a movie service in 2006 in the US. The company licensed Bollywood films from India, and brought them onto cable platforms, such as Time Warner, Comcast and Cablevision.
“We were basically selling movies on-demand because we saw a gap in the marketplace,” said Vinodh Bhat, Saavn’s president and cofounder. “That evolved into music.”
Saavn was the first Indian music store on Apple’s iTunes, however Bhat said it was “frustrating because when you work for a third party, you don’t control the end-user experience.”
“There’s a certain way they will merchandise content; a certain way they will promote it; a certain way they will control the playlists,” he explained.
In 2010, the startup decided to hit out on its own and became one of the first companies to bring Indian music to digital space—legally. “We had a partnership with Google India—and so we were the No. 1 organic result when anyone was looking for music. We quickly moved from a few thousand users to up to a million,” Bhat said.
Today, Saavn licenses music with record labels directly.
A data company too
Within India, the company offers English tracks. Outside of the country, it is an only Indian music streaming service.
India’s Spotify for Bollywood music, Saavn even licenses content to the American music store giant. “But what we do is we give a sliver of the catalogue. So when people who want to deep dive, they can only do that on Saavn.”
Although an editorial team of six carefully curates music, creates playlists and ideates genres, Saavn’s secret is an intelligent algorithm—or codes that manipulate playlists on the basis of a user’s likes, dislikes and listening behaviour.
“We’re just as much a data company as a music company, and that’s going to come through in a big way this year,” Malhotra said.
“Streaming music enables us to understand everything from carrier connectivity to label priorities to advertiser needs. It’s an advantage (over other companies that) we have built as a company and model |
Soviet Union.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Red Hawk Management
Trade Mark (6)
Elongated nose
Calming voice
Intense physical and mental commitment to his roles
Often plays intellectuals or artistic types
Frequently plays characters with mental illnesses
Tall, thin frame
Trivia (48)
Is the only actor to win a Best Actor Oscar when nominated alongside four previous Oscar winners.
In 2003, at the age of 29, he replaced Richard Dreyfuss as the youngest actor ever to win the Best Actor Academy Award, for his role in The Pianist (2002).
Has great appreciation for hip-hop music. Like the Beatnuts, one of his favorite groups, Brody is also from Queens.
Performed magic shows at children's birthdays as a child as the Amazing Adrien.
In 2004, Esquire Magazine named him the Best Dressed Man in America.
Once owned and drove a Hummer H2.
Was considered for a role in Pearl Harbor (2001).
Was dressed by Zegna for the Academy Awards.
Is a big hip-hop fan and plans on becoming a producer. He is being mentored by The RZA
Ranked #21 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties.
Adrien's father, Elliot Brody, is a retired history teacher; Elliot is of Polish Jewish descent, and lost family members in the Holocaust. Adrien's mother, Sylvia Plachy, the renowned Hungarian-born photographer, fled Communist Hungary as a child during the 1956 revolution against the Soviets. Adrien's maternal grandfather was from an aristocratic Hungarian background, while Adrien's maternal grandmother was of Czech Jewish descent (her own parents, Adrien's great-grandparents, were killed in the Holocaust). Adrien's mother was not aware of her own mother's Jewish background until later in life.
Took acting classes as a youth; by age 13 he had done an off-Broadway play and a PBS-TV movie.
In 1992, he was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in which he flew over a car and crashed feet-first into a crosswalk. He spent months recuperating.
To prepare for his title role in The Pianist (2002), he learned to play Frédéric Chopin pieces on the piano and shed 30 pounds off his already-thin frame. He cut himself off from his real life by giving up his car and apartment because he felt responsible to those Polish Jews who had suffered greatly and wanted to connect, to some small degree, with their hurt and despair.
Shares a birthday with Sarah Michelle Gellar
Admits a shot of his parents in a passionate, back-bending embrace inspired his famous kiss with Halle Berry at the Oscars in 2003.
Is one of only two American actors to win a César, the French equivalent to the Oscar. The other one is Kristen Stewart
Has been compared to Robert De Niro and Al Pacino for his unconventional acting skills and unique looks.
Did sessions in an isolation tank, performed prison exercises, and went on a protein diet for his role in The Jacket (2005).
He was furious when his nose was broken during the final fight in Summer of Sam (1999). When he had it fixed, he didn't change it: his nose is one of his most distinctive features and sets him apart from other actors.
Close friends with Asia Argento
Grew up in the Woodhaven section of Queens in New York.
Was friends with the late Tupac Shakur, with whom he starred in the little-known film Bullet (1996).
He signed on to make Bread and Roses (2000) without a script because he trusted the director Ken Loach. Prior to filming, he also went undercover to research life as a union member in Los Angeles, California. He went to conventions and sat in on strike talks. A couple of the members recognized him, but Brody persuaded them not to blow his cover.
Attended CUNY Queens College in the Flushing section of Queens, New York.
Was engaged to Elsa Pataky, having been in a relationship with her since June 2006 after meeting on the set of A Matador's Mistress (2008) (April 2008-May 2009).
Fought hard to convince producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimród Antal that he was a good choice for the lead role of "Royce" in Predators (2010).
Put on 25 pounds of muscle for the role of Royce in Predators (2010).
He attended a charity auction in November 2011 for Artists for Peace & Justice, which was offering "Tea with Gerard Butler " as a bidding item; it was a chance to meet and chat with Butler. Brody's $15,000 bid was the winner. On a whim, Brody offered to host "Champagne with Adrien Brody" as a last-minute addition to the auction, if it could take place later that day; he had a bottle available. Brody's offer was accepted, and it earned an additional $17,000 for the charity.
Attended the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 19th. [May 2008]
Attended the Elle Magazine 20th Anniversary Party in Valenica, Spain on October 20th. [October 2006]
Attended the Hugo Boss: Paris Fashion Week Menswear in Paris, France on June 25th. [June 2009]
Attended the 2006 MTV European Music Awards in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 2nd. [November 2006]
Attended the CatHouse grand opening at the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Dec. 29th. [December 2007]
Haikou, China: Attended the World Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament. [October 2012]
Attended the 2009 Moscow Film Festival in Moscow, Russia on June 19th. [June 2009]
Attended the BOSS Orange Fashion Party: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in Berlin, Germany on July 2nd. [July 2009]
Attended the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sept. 9th. [September 2008]
Attended the 64th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy on September 3rd. [September 2007]
He and Marion Cotillard are the only actors to win both a César and an Oscar for the same performance. Brody won both awards in 2003 for The Pianist (2002) and Cotillard won in 2008 for La Vie en Rose (2007).
Appears in the music video of the song "A Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos.
His maternal great-great-grandfather was noted Hungarian painter Ábrányi Lajos.
He was considered for the role of The Joker in 'The Dark Knight (2008)'.
He was considered for the role of Spock in 'Star Trek (2009)'.
Has expressed a desire to star in a comic book film as a hero or villain. He has said he would love to play The Joker or The Riddler in a Batman film.
He has expressed considerable interest in playing The Joker in a Batman film.
Personal Quotes (41)
[on his portrayal of Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman who survived the Holocaust, in The Pianist (2002)] It made me have a much greater understanding of loss, of loneliness, and the level of intense tragedy that so many people have experienced in this world, I take a lot less for granted. It's really valuable to gain that, especially at a young age.
[on his role as the village idiot in The Village (2004)] It just felt like it was the unconventional choice. It was the kind of role that I would have taken prior to the Academy Awards. A lot of actors tend to wait for the perfect role. And that perfect role may never come. I don't want to start changing the way that I view things and become precious.
I was a wild, mischievous kid and I had tremendous imagination. Any experience I had, I'd try to reenact it. I always had an actor within me.
I think to be a well-rounded person, you have to experience good and bad, wonderful moments and pain. You need to meet people who have no exposure to kindness, who lack any opportunity and have no way out--like the homeless, the mentally ill--and you've got to learn empathy for them.
[on working on Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005)] I'm running around in front of a green screen screaming, "Where's the monkey? Where's the monkey?"
[on his role as Jack in Love the Hard Way (2001)] I identified a lot with that character, I was exorcising the demons that I'd has as a hoody kid in Queens, where you hold your own or wither. So my character out-hustled the hustle.
My dad told me, "It takes fifteen years to be an overnight success", and it took me seventeen and a half years.
[on giving up material possessions and shedding 30 pounds for The Pianist (2002)] There's no comparison to what Wladyslaw Szpilman went through and the suffering that people during the Holocaust, or nations afflicted with famine are going through, but it gave me a much greater understanding of that. And you can't act that. I take the work very seriously.
[on working with Roman Polanski on The Pianist (2002)] We were shooting a scene and he's like, "Adrien, I need you to climb up the building. And I want you to go up to the roof and I want you to climb out the window. And I want you to hang and they're going to shoot at you. And I want you to slide off the building and hold on to the gutter and then you're going to fall". And I said, "Has anyone tried this before?" And he said, "Hollywood actors! Come on, I show you, I show you." And he runs up the building, sixty-eight years old, climbs out the window and hangs from the window, slides down the roof of the building, hangs from the gutter, jumps down to the ground, brushes himself off and he said, "There, somebody did it. Now do it".
[on proclaiming himself a magician at age five] I was an amazing Adrien. I may still be at times. In retrospect, I see that was my first performance. And you know a lot about magic is not just the trick, it's the pattern. It's the delivery. It's the presentation. And this is why you're going to be amazed.
[on Roman Polanski ] He wasn't easy on me, ever. He wasn't particularly kind to me, but he wasn't -- he was never disrespectful regarding the work. I grew. I'm stronger, I'm tougher from Roman. I'm tougher. I'm not harder, I'm just tougher.
[on winning the Academy Award for Best Actor] It's interesting, winning an Academy Award as a young man... life-changing, but I'm just me within that. It's been very helpful for my career, but I'm trying to stay on the path I was on before.
[on being strapped in a straitjacket and thrown in a body drawer for The Jacket (2005)] Those situations are very challenging, emotionally and psychologically, to find yourself in a confined space like that. I thought it would be interesting. It was very painful and I kind of encouraged that pain. I spent time in an isolation tank -- lots of time -- and I would let them leave me in the jacket and leave me in the drawer for a while.
I'm not the kind of person to deliberately behave differently for the sake of behaving differently, but there are certain things that you have to kind of be true to and sacrifice your own freedom at that time to do.
I've never taken a role for money. I felt it would be wrong - not necessarily a career decision - just wrong.
[on playing hero Jack Driscoll in Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005)] I've always wanted to do something like King Kong. It's a phenomenal role that any actor would kill for. I've been looking for this kind of iconic leading man guy for years, but they are hard to find.
They compare me to Al Pacino -- I admire and appreciate the comparison. But, really, I'd rather be thought of as "the first Adrien Brody," than "the new Al Pacino".
[on growing up in Queens, New York] I hung out with troublemakers. I was a sensitive teenage boy, who luckily had kind parents, but I lived in a not-so-kind neighborhood. In order to deal with it, I toughened up and became more of a hoodier kid. It was never malicious, that's not in my nature, but I was much harder than I am today. Had I not had parents I could talk to, it would have got out of hand.
[on being enrolled into acting classes by his parents when he was a teen] I liked it instantly. Aside from being one of only three boys in a class of 20 girls - the odds were fantastic - I felt I was good at it, it was creative. I had been encouraged by my parents to be outspoken and free, so I was pretty much disinhibited. It was a good outlet for me.
[on his role in The Thin Red Line (1998) being cut down from lead character to bit part] It kind of felt like a soldier coming home after giving his soul and then not being appreciated. At 24, it sucked; it was embarrassing because I would assume if an actor was cut out of a movie of that nature with a director of that caliber it must be as a result of a flaw in the actor's work. Not as a result of a director changing his vision. But you pick yourself up. The advantage of being a bigger name is it costs them too much money to cut you out of a movie.
I suppose that means I'm not easy to define. But that's good, isn't it? In this town they love to define you to death.
Everything is harder than you would imagine, including success. You might think it's lovely to be famous, but if your process is to constantly observe people and human behavior and yet everyone is observing you all the time, how do you do what you do? I never saw that coming as an obstacle.
I don't think anyone saw me as the heroic leading man before I won an Oscar. I'm not sure anyone does now, outside of Peter Jackson
I would have loved to make a lot of money as an actor. I would have loved to not live in a shitty little apartment for most of the time I've been in Los Angeles. I would have loved to have nice things and bought new cars, but it's painful for me to do a bad role. Personally painful. You feel like you're lying to everybody. It's just not worth it.
I grew up without a lot of money and my parents grew up with far less money. And that's kept me in line. Really in line.
You get a little fame as an actor and suddenly people ask your opinion on world politics and why we're in Iraq. Why is my opinion any more valid than anyone else's? My opinion doesn't count more just because I'm famous now.
[Upon being described as "a young Al Pacino "] I'm a young Adrien Brody, thanks.
[on motorcycling in India] I almost died. I jammed on the brakes, skidded and nearly slammed into it. I was laughing, thinking, "This is the way I'll be remembered: rear-ending a cow".
What guides me is to do work that's more avant-garde - things that I think are special. You can easily become a celebrity and get caught up in all that blur. I just want to work and surprise myself.
[on dealing with his fame after The Pianist (2002)] Even though I've had plenty of ups and downs, I didn't have the maturity and the sense of self-awareness to have gotten me through it as positively as I did if I had been in my early twenties. A five-year difference would have had a big impact. Because you have a tremendous amount of attention: All the girls think you're beautiful all of a sudden, and people wanna be your friends - and they genuinely wanna be your friend. I don't feel that it's insincere. You now emanate some sort of light that you didn't have before, and it's created, but it's too much. Even tons of positive energy on one person is still energy, and that does something. There're repercussions for that kind of energy. It's a lot of forces coming right at you, and that's tumultuous for any young person. [2010]
[on his career] I work when I want to work. I don't feel the pressure that I used to feel as an actor that I may not have an opportunity to work, that I will not find gainful employment with something that inspires me, that I might have to take work just for the sake of working. I feel honestly so fortunate to have that. [2010]
[on acting] I was always an actor - not in a way that people might presume actors to be, 'cause I believe there's a presumption that they like attention all the time, and that they're very outgoing. Acting is perhaps misunderstood. I'm a relatively shy person. I often liken it to my mother's approach as an artist, because she's a photographer and she sees so much in a situation that very few people might see. She'll see so much happening beneath the surface with an imagery that says something else. And I have a fascination with a similar kind of thing where I see details in people's mannerisms, or beneath something that's said to someone else. All these things that lay beneath the surface and things that are really special and that make us all so unique. Growing up in New York, I encountered so many different kinds of people everywhere. I went to the School of Performing Arts, but I feel like my real acting training came from going to and from school on four different trains each way, because of how many human beings I've encountered, between homeless people and immigrant workers and shark businessmen and every kind of human being - every kind of human being every other step. My natural fascination was that I gravitated toward their mannerisms - not to use as an actor, just because I'm curious, I guess. And rather than capture the image with photography, I feel like I capture it somehow and remember details very specifically, and I retain things very easily and evoke them later. [2010]
[on acting] An actor has a responsibility [to be] connected and present and able to be very malleable and exist in a space that isn't his or her own on set, and when they're working. I'm not able to fully engage with you when I'm working on a set. I couldn't do an interview justice because it's impossible for me to separate from myself, and then to engage as myself, and then go back to [that character]. So then my producer who needs that interview might say, "Oh, he's being pretentious." But it's detrimental to my process of being truthful [to the character], nothing more. Sometimes I am very gregarious and outgoing, and sometimes I'm not. I'm relatively introverted, and I'll stay by myself; but they'll misinterpret what that is. [2010]
The reality is that, for me, acting is somewhat of a painful process. A beautiful process, but a painful one. The more I have to do battle to find truth, the more painful it is if I don't, because film is permanent. So it's important the work I choose is something I can have that confidence in. Otherwise, a movie becomes a permanent reminder of a mistake you made. [2010]
[on losing or gaining weight for a role] It's exciting when you physically change, when you change your body chemistry and you feel a transformation, it helps you feel a connection to the character. You feel different from yourself. It's another level of involvement. [2010]
[on adding muscle for Predators (2010)] Putting on weight obviously is more enjoyable, though I was trying to put on lean muscle. So they're both very strict diets. But one diet builds confidence and the other strips it away. The diets are similar, but with volumes more food when you're building muscle. I have a fast metabolism so I had to gain mass and then shred it. I started with heavy weights to put on size; then I did higher repetitions with smaller weights to give the muscles definition. No carbs and I did a workout with more cardio. [2010]
[on his first role in Home at Last (1988), when he was 14] I was in high school and I went off to Nebraska by myself and I loved it. I was playing an orphan from the 1800s and I went wild. I hung out with the wranglers' sons and was riding horses and chewing tobacco and having amazing experiences. I remember when it was over, the director kiddingly said that they were going to turn it into a series. I was ready, I didn't want the experience to end.
[on acting for the paycheck] Everybody has a price, I'm sure. Often times the jobs you'll be well-compensated for are that way for a reason. The roles that speak to you usually don't have resounding success, or even compensate you fairly. There is a balance you try to strike. Really, if I wasn't an actor, I don't know what the alternative would be. I'm glad I don't have to face that. [2010]
[on Detachment (2011)] That's a movie that we all made for the right reasons and no one saw. That is upsetting. It was a wonderful role, and in playing that character it made me think a lot about our children's future and how frightening it is, and what they're up against.
[on fame] It's made the world a much smaller place. I was lost, hiking in New Zealand and these two girls literally picked me up and drove me home. There was nothing weird, there was no agenda, nobody asked for anybody's number, not even a photograph, but they recognised me and they felt safe to put me in their car - a complete stranger from New York, a grown man. The reason that resonated with me is that here, on the opposite side of the world, complete strangers kind of took me in.
[on famously kissing Halle Berry on stage at the Academy Awards after winning for The Pianist (2002)] There was a lot of love it that room, real love and recognition. It was just a good moment and...I took it. [2017]
Salary (3)As a Veteran, in 2014, your main New Year’s resolutions should be to sign up for VA Healthcare; and if you file a claim for VA Benefits/Compensation, make sure to go through an accredited Veterans Service Officer to help in the process.
Now I’ll address some common myths about VA Healthcare.
I’m not eligible. I was turned down, I make too much money.
If you were denied healthcare due to income or assets you should reapply every 12 months. You can request an exception based on a recent change in income or unusual family medical expenses. •
When declaring assets make sure you deduct all medical expenses to include Medicare premiums, supplemental health insurance premiums, over the counter drugs, medical supplies and mileage driven to medical appointments.
I already have health insurance; it would affect my current health care coverage.
Other health insurance is not an issue if you are eligible for VA Healthcare. Treatment by the VA will have no effect on current healthcare coverage.
I was never in a combat zone, my condition is not combat related.
Service connection for a disability may be an issue for Benefits/ Compensation but not for healthcare.
It doesn’t matter if the condition was combat related or not, if you are eligible for VA healthcare you can be treated.
I don’t need it. If you don’t need VA healthcare, that’s fine. It’s your option. Simply bear in mind the VA budget is based on numbers. The more veterans registered, the more funds to treat veterans. Get in the system.
How do I register?
You can go to the nearest VA facility or outpatient clinic to apply or you can contact me to help guide you through the process. I have the secret phone numbers.
You must have a copy of your DD-214 or discharge papers, proof of household income from all sources (don’t forget to deduct all medical expenses). If you have a service connected disability, you must have the letter from the VA declaring that disability.
Finally, never, never, never file a benefits/compensation claim without going through an accredited Veterans Service Officer. Contact me and I will get you to the right people.By Hunter Wallace
According to Mitt Romney, a President Trump would bring about not only “trickle-down racism,” but “trickle-down bigotry” and “trickle-down misogyny” as well:
“I don’t want to see trickle-down racism,” Romney said in an interview here in a suite overlooking the Wasatch Mountains, where he is hosting his yearly ideas conference. “I don’t want to see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following. Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation, and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America. …”
In 2012, Romney was “honored” to have Trump’s endorsement, even after the whole birther crusade against Obama. He also won the Republican primary by running to the right of all his opponents on immigration.
Mitt has a point though: we like Trump because we agree “presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation” and we also believe he will change the “character of America” in a kind of “trickle-down” way. This isn’t because we believe Trump is a racist or a White Nationalist. We’ve said all along that Trump isn’t one of us.
Instead, we believe that Trump doesn’t really like political correctness, that he doesn’t enjoy being bound by restrictive norms, that he doesn’t believe in those norms, and that he shares our belief that the cucks are weak and unmanly. Trump is also a nationalist. He isn’t a preening cuckservative like Mitt Romney who engages in virtue signaling over “racism” and “misogyny” in order to impress the media.
This is an important distinction that the media fails to grasp: Trump has a passionate and devoted Alt-Right following, but the Alt-Right doesn’t believe Trump is a racist. The Alt-Right loves Trump because it hates everything about mainstream conservatism. Speaking more broadly here, we hate their ideas, their effete moral posturing, their weakness, their tone policing, the housebroken cucks who suck up to the Left on MSNBC every night. We hate their physiology. We hate the way they dress. We hate their corrupted religion. We hate their routine purges at the behest of the SPLC. More than anything else, we believe their role in the system is to lose gracefully as the loyal opposition, to stand athwart history in their bow-ties meekly protesting “now wait a minute,” only to assimilate every new leftist innovation and baptize it as “conservatism” and “morality.”
Trump is only the instrument of their destruction. Their visceral negative reaction to Trump is what caused the Alt-Right to embrace him. It started out as trolling, but snowballed from there into a contest between nationalism and conservatism for dominance over the Right. Simply by breaking their monopoly over the Right, Trump will have a “trickle down” effect as president, which we believe will be positive.The Cubs are thinking about adding a mascot. The team wants to come up with ways to make the Wrigley Field experience more family-friendly. Good luck. Drinking is so hard-wired into the Wrigley's DNA that it will take generations to turn things around. Plus, mascots are a tricky proposition. Marketing firms are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to come up with cartoon caricatures of the team logo, or fuzzy creatures that look like they emerged from Pink Floyd's "The Wall." Despite the hard work and creativity, it's still up to the fans to accept the new mascot.
In a way, a team giving itself a mascot is kind of like giving yourself a nickname. It rarely works:
The White Sox fell into this trap in 1981. When Eddie Einhorn and Jerry Reinsdorf bought the team, they went out of their way to prove that they were modern owners with their feet firmly planted in the 1980's. They beefed up the team's marketing and community relations staff, along with opening offices in the Hancock Building. That way, potential business partners could be wowed by the view of Lake Michigan. It sure beat the Bards' Room at Comiskey Park.
The Sox hired the marketing firm that designed the Phillie Phanatic to design modern mascots for the White Sox. The end result was Ribbie and Roobarb, two fuzzballs who looked like the product of a bad experience with LSD. Ribbie was a purple anteater and Roobarb looked like the love child of the San Diego Chicken and a Swiffer.
Ribbie and Roobarb appeared everywhere. Comiskey Park. Community events. TV Commercials. They were even part of the team's effort to woo the voters of Addison when they wanted to build a ballpark in the western suburbs in 1986.
There was one problem. The introduction of Ribbie and Roobarb in August of 1981 meant the ham-fisted ejection of Andy the Clown from Comiskey Park. Andy Rozdilsky had been appearing at Sox games in a clown costume since 1960, when he won season tickets in a Knights of Columbus raffle. He was never the official mascot of the team, but the ushers continued to give him free admission. The Allyns and Bill Veeck were more than happy to have Andy the Clown wandering the stands, yelling "Cooooommeeee Onnnnnnn Youuuuuu Whiiiiiiiite Soxxxxxxxxxxx!" He had a nose that would light up whenever a child shook his hand. He sat in Mayor Jane Byrne's lap during an exhibition game with the Cubs and told dirty jokes (he sat down, his nose lit up, turned to her husband, and said, "Your wife is turning me on!").
In other words, everyone liked Andy the Clown. Well, almost everyone. The new administration of the White Sox felt a clown didn't jibe with their image as the team of the 1980s. On the day the Sox introduced Ribbie and Roobarb, Andy the Clown was told he had to pay his own way into the ballpark.
The reaction was immediate. Channel 7 sportscaster Al Lerner spearheaded a telephone campaign that forced the White Sox to change their mind the very next day. Andy could return, Einhorn said, but he could only limit his clowning to the concourses and the upper deck. The ushers, who had been at Comiskey as long as Andy, had a rather liberal interpretation of the rule, and were more than willing to let him into the lower deck.
When the Sox moved into New Comiskey Park in 1991, the team decided to cut ties with Andy. He was given a plaque to commemorate his years of service.
Andy would attend games at the new ballpark -- as a paying customer, and sans clown makeup. He did wear his trademark red bowler hat, and he would still employ his trademark cheer. Rozdilsky died in 1995. During his years of clowning, he only missed one Opening Day. He couldn't attend the opener in 1989 because of the death of his wife the day before.
Ribbie and Roobarb were the targets of verbal abuse by both adults and children alike. They were retired after the 1988 season. The Sox would dip back into the mascot pool in the 1990's, with "Waldo the White Sox Wolf." That was another failure. The Sox finally struck mascot gold with the introduction of Southpaw in 2002.
The lesson for the Cubs is this: Old teams have old traditions that die hard. The new Sox management did everything right, in the context of the time. But Sox fans felt they were being told that they were wrong for liking Andy the Clown and the Seventh Inning Stretch. If I'm the Ricketts, it pays to have a soft touch.New Zealanders are trusting politicians less and less, according to a new survey.
Just 8 percent of people questioned said they trusted MPs, while government ministers edged up towards 9 percent.
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
The survey, carried out by Colmar Brunton for Victoria University's Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, asked 1000 people across the country about their confidence in government ministers, academics, judges, churches and the media, among others.
Medical practitioners scored highest with 56 percent trusting them "lots" or "completely", followed by police (53 percent). Judges and courts had a 34 percent rating.
But there was little faith in politicians, nor in media, with print and broadcast media at 9 percent, and last on the list, bloggers, trusted by 5 percent in the survey.
Not only do people have little trust in their elected officials, they're trusting them less.
The survey showed trust in MPs and government ministers fell over the last three years more than any other group, with 58 percent saying they trust them less.
ACT party leader David Seymour said the survey was concerning, though not surprising.
"It was already starting from a low base, so that is very disappointing."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said once politicians get into parliament, they forgot the people who elected them.
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
"Many MPs are living evidence that New Zealanders can take a joke. You've seen their behaviour - their egregious, self-serving behaviour [and] the fact they get outside their electorate and forget their people."
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said politicians tended to come across as a "self-interested political class" who had "nothing better to do than throw insults at each other."
In order to fix that image, the processes in Parliament needed to change.
"The way that we examine bills breaks the process down in such a way that MPs, they show up, they make a five-minute speech and they go away again. That is clearly not a real debate.
"There are some things that the Speaker can do to lift standards of behaviour [and] I think we should have a code of ethics for politicians and political operators that is way more rigorous than the one we currently have."
Institute for Governance and Policy Studies director, Professor Michael Macaulay, said the rankings offered a snapshot of the current political climate, which was "typified by low voter turn out and a public largely disengaged with politics."
The survey revealed numbers but did not go into the reasons for people's lack of confidence, and he wanted it to be used as a basis for further research.VANCOUVER — Here’s something you don’t expect to see in the “Free” section of the classified ads: Two detached houses in downtown Vancouver.
There’s a catch, though: The homes don’t come with real estate.
But if you‘re willing and able to relocate one or both of the century-old wooden dwellings on Hornby Street near Davie, the property owner is happy to part with them for free.
“It’s home free,” laughed developer Jon Stovell.
Stovell’s company, Reliance Properties Ltd., is developing the property with Jim Pattison Developments Ltd., as part of a large project that will take up most of a downtown block bordered by Burrard, Davie, Drake and Hornby streets. When finished, the Burrard Place development will include a mix of residential, office and public space, and the third-tallest residential tower in Vancouver.
But for now, a pair of side-by-side, two-and-a-half-storey wooden houses sit on the 1200-block of Hornby Street. Originally built as single family homes by the same owner in 1904, they are two of the last remaining houses of their type in a dense part of downtown increasingly filled with high-rises.
Brandon Barton, 27, has already spent most of his 20s living in what he and his friends fondly call “The Hornby House.”
“I’m downtown, it’s convenient, it’s close to everything,” Barton said. “It’s fairly cheap when you share it with everyone for rent.”
Barton has lived there for almost seven years now, and currently shares the place with five other tenants.
He’s grown quite fond of the place, despite a few quirks: He shows how the floor slopes to one side, and he says that when a large truck drives by outside, you can feel the house rumble.
But there aren’t many people his age living in downtown Vancouver with their own front porch, with plenty of room for a foosball table.
For better and for worse, Barton said, the place is “unique.”
The next-door house is home to 10 tenants, mostly foreigners on working holiday visas, said resident Helga Husmann.
The two houses have been identified as having heritage value, but are not currently listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register.
Stovell said he hopes someone will come up with a plan to remove the houses and find a new location for them.
“We’re big supporters of heritage,” said Stovell. “We would be delighted if someone could figure out a way to use them.”
But if not, Stovell said, the houses will likely be demolished, though that day could still be three or four years away. Because of where the homes are situated, it would be possible to break ground on the first phase while tenants are still living in the Hornby houses.
According to the houses’ entries in the B.C. Register of Historic Places, each home has “value for its longevity as a rare survivor of early 20th century residential development in Vancouver’s Downtown South neighbourhood.”Looking for a car dock for your smartphone? Well we've got a bunch of car docks that work for multiple smartphones so that you don't need a new one the next time you buy a new phone. Pretty slick right? Let's check out some of our favorites.
Alpatronix MX101 Universal Car Cradle Dock Station
The Alpatronix MX101 is the intersection of every operation you do on your Smartphone or portable GPS device, while keeping charger cords to a minimum and out of your way. The MX101 Universal bracket can accommodate all different sizes of smartphones and hold them up for you to view (for GPS or roadside assistance purposes). With the dual USB charger, you can charge up to two electronic devices simultaneously such as GPS units, tablets, gaming devices or other smartphones.
Alpatronix MX101 |
next test, of appreciation of melody, asked people to distinguish between two sequences of four to nine notes, in which one sequence would sometimes differ from the other in the pitch of a single note. The final test, of sensitivity to rhythm, required volunteers to decide whether two sequences of five to seven notes with the same pitch, but possibly different time intervals, were indeed the same or different.
Expert musicians are exceptionally good at detecting differences in pitch, melody and rhythm in these sorts of tests. Dr Mosing therefore expected to find that if someone had put in sufficient practice time his musical ability would be as high as an expert’s. But that was not true. In fact, there appeared to be no relationship between practice and musical ability of the sort she was measuring. A twin who practised more than his genetically identical co-twin did not appear to have better musical abilities as a result. In one case the difference between two such twins was 20,228 hours of practice, even though the pair’s measured musical abilities were found to be the same.
That is not to say practice has no value. Playing an instrument and singing are physical skills, and do take a long time to master. But, though the experiment could not measure this directly, it is a fair bet that only those with high musical ability in the first place can ever hope to master these skills—and Dr Mosing has shown that musical ability has a big genetic component.
One other curious fact to emerge from the study was that the practice of practice itself seems to be under genetic control. Even allowing for counter-examples such as the identical twins with a 20,000 hour difference in their lifetime practice regimes, such twins are more similar in their attitudes to practising than are fraternal ones. For children who find practising the violin a chore, this may be the study’s most useful result. When asked by their teachers why they have not practised during the previous week, they can now blame their genes.Lights, camera... free movies 1* To view movies and select on-demand TV content, download the Southwest app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store before your flight..
We have a wide variety of movies available. Nothing makes time fly like a good film, and we’ve got something for everyone–and then some. Also, movies are now viewable via the Southwest app.
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1 To view movies and select on-demand TV content, download the Southwest app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store before your flight.The two ships now sit in ports a short drive apart on the coast south of Tokyo, the 9,000-ton, $1.5 billion Fitzgerald at Yokosuka naval base, its home port, and the 29,000-ton Crystal at Yokohama.
The Fitzgerald has a section of its starboard side caved in, where the Crystal smashed directly into Commander Benson’s stateroom, tearing it open and leaving him injured. Sailors had to bend back the door of his cabin to free him and get him inside the ship, the United States Naval Institute News reported. Beneath the water line, the container ship’s flared bow also tore a large gash in the destroyer’s hull, officials said.
As seawater poured in, some 116 crew members were asleep in two flooded berthing rooms. The ship’s radio room was damaged and much of its communications gear ruined or left without power. Sailors fought the flooding for an hour before sending out distress calls, the institute said.
The bodies of the seven men who died were recovered by divers from flooded spaces sealed off to keep the ship from foundering, a wrenching decision by officers in the chaotic aftermath of the crash.
There are many signs that the Fitzgerald had almost no warning of the approaching collision: the fact that the captain was in his cabin and that no shipwide alarm had rousted sailors from their bunks. “As to how much warning they had, I don’t know,” said Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the Seventh Fleet, at a news conference on Sunday. “That’s going to have to be found out during the investigation.”
Less is known about what happened aboard the Crystal, which had been chartered by a Japanese company to bring cargo from Nagoya, on Japan’s central coast, to Tokyo. Manned by a Filipino crew, it was far less damaged than the Fitzgerald. On Wednesday afternoon, a large blue tarp hung from a gash in the front of the ship, large scratches were visible on the port side and a section of the bow was crumpled.
Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for Dainichi-Invest Corporation, the Crystal’s owner, said the company “wishes to offer sincere condolences to the family and friends of those who so tragically lost their lives on the U.S.S. Fitzgerald.” He declined to comment on whether anyone was awake in the pilot house of the container ship at the time of the collision.SEX robots will completely change human interaction – including the way we make love – adult industry insiders have warned.
Cyborgs have already started taking over brothels across Europe and the demand for the romp bots have been increasing this year. The adult industry is beginning to worry what the raunchy dolls will do to their line of work. One porn star, Ela Darling, fears the kinky cyborgs are set to become a “game changer” in the near future.
DS SEX ROBOTS: These cyborgs will eventually change the way we make love
Sex robot's makers lab UNCOVERED in first behind-the-scenes pictures Check out these exclusive photos from behind the workings of a sex robot lab created by sex robot developers Sergi and Marista Santos 1 / 11 Daily Star Sex robots still a working progress
“Robotic sex is the future of sex” Jim Austin Now a webcam site boss cyborg romps are “the future of sex”. Jim Austin, the head of business development for Stripchat, an adult live cam, told Daily Star Online: “I think sex robots have a role to play in the future of sex. “I’ve noticed that human sexual interaction is changing, especially among the younger generations.
FIRST LOOK: World's first sex robots with eight modes go on sale The march of the sex-bots continues, with designer Sergi Santos set to unleash these eerily lifelike love droids on the world 1 / 28 Sergei Sanchez
“Robotic sex is the future of sex.” Jim recently revealed that his business hasn’t ruled out sex robots for Stripchat. He added: “Experimentation is the spice of live.”
DAILY STAR ONLINE KINKY: The demand for sex robots have been increasing this year
“You should never rule out anything in life.” Since the production of sex robots began to increase, some people have begun to fear what cyborgs will do next. But Jim reassured people the changes won't affect every bloke.
SERGEI SANCHEZ CYBORG: Sex bots are being used in brothels across Europe
Turn me on: Sex robots that ORGASM revealed Sex robot creator Sergi Santos has exhibited his latest creations in a live demonstration in Barcelona. This model can apparently "orgasm" if you "treat her right" 1 / 12 Sergi Santos Sex robots that orgasm, revealed as part of an exhibitionSenate Rejects All CISA Amendments Designed To Protect Privacy, Reiterating That It's A Surveillance Bill
from the the-exclamation-point dept
That Burr and DiFi watered down Tester’s measures so much makes two things clear. First, they don’t want to count some of the things that will be most important to count to see whether corporations and agencies are abusing this bill. They don’t want to count measures that will reveal if this bill does harm.
Most importantly, though, they want to keep this information from Congress. This information would almost certainly not show up to us in unclassified form, it would just be shared with some members of Congress (and on the House side, just be shared with the Intelligence Committee unless someone asks nicely for it).
But Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein want to ensure that Congress doesn’t get that information. Which would suggest they know the information would reveal things Congress might not approve of.
In case you weren't already convinced that CISA is a surveillance bill masquerading as a cybersecurity bill, today the Senate rejected four separate amendments to the bill that attempted to better protect the privacy of Americans. Senator Wyden had an amendment to require the removal of personal information before information could be shared, which was voted down 55 to 41. Senator Heller had an amendment that was basically a backstop against the Wyden amendment, saying that if the Wyden amendment didn't pass, Homeland Security would be responsible for removing such personal information. That amendment also failed by a 49 to 47 vote. Senator Leahy had an amendment that would have removed FOIA exemptions in the bill (making it much less transparent how CISA was used). That amendment was voted down 59 to 37. Senator Franken then had an amendment that would have "tightened" the definition of cybersecurity threats, so that the shared information needed to be "reasonably likely" to cause damage, as opposed to the current "may" cause damage. And (you guess it, because you're good at this), it was also voted down by a 60 to 35 vote Meanwhile, Marcy Wheeler notes that the revised version of the bill by Senators Burr and Feinstein, which claimed to incorporate greater transparency requirements proposed by Senator Tester, actually takes away a lot of transparency and actually makes it more difficult for Congress to learn whether or not CISA is being used for domestic surveillance:Once again, these kinds of actions really only make sense if CISA is being used to justify warrantless domestic surveillance. Which once again raises the question of why Congress is willing to move forward with such a surveillance bill. We just went through a whole process showing that the public is not comfortable with secret laws and secret interpretations that lead to surveillance. Why would they immediately push for a new secret law that expands surveillance and reject any and all attempts at protecting the privacy of the American public or any sort of transparency and accountability in how the bill is used?The bill is positioned as a cybersecurity bill, but good luck finding a single computer security expert who actually thinks the bill is either useful or necessary. I've been trying and so far I can't find any.
Filed Under: al franken, cisa, dean heller, dianne feinstein, pat leahy, privacy, richard burr, ron wyden, senate, surveillance, transparency(NaturalNews) The government's latest jobs report which noted a decline in the unemployment rate, as well as additional economic data, was largely bogus -- filled with distortions, misrepresentations and, if not outright lies, then the next closest thing to it.That's according to a pair of economic experts, one of whom served in that capacity during the Reagan Administration -- Paul Craig Roberts.In a column penned after the early January release of December's job figures and the fourth quarter economic report, issued by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Roberts cited the other expert, John Williams, of the website Shadow Government Statistics, in which he reports on the latest of Uncle Sam's statistical discrepancies.According to mainstream media reports, you may recall, the unemployment rate (supposedly) fell in December to 5.6 percent, the lowest it has been said to be since the beginning of the Great Recession in early 2008.But Williams, in his subscription newsletter, noted that the real number is much, much higher."As increasingly has become the common circumstance, the upside revisions in headline monthly numbers simply are constructs of highly unstable, inconsistent and questionable seasonal adjustments being shifted between months," he wrote, as quoted by Roberts.In reality, Williams noted, overall unemployment in December 2014 was far higher -- 23 percent, in fact -- when counting all potential workers, especially those who have become discouraged and have dropped out of the search for employment."More than anything else, though, what removes headline-unemployment reporting from broad underlying economic reality and common experience simply is definitional," he wrote. "To be counted among the headline unemployed (U.3), an individual has to have looked for work actively within the four weeks prior to the unemployment survey."If the active search occurred at any time during the last year but not in the last four weeks, he explained, the person is then considered a "discouraged worker" by the BLS and therefore not counted in the U.3 measurement.He describes that group as "short-term discouraged workers," as opposed to "long-term discouraged workers" -- those who have not found employment after one full year. Such non-reporting therefore skews the data, he said."The 23% unemployment rate is consistent with the declining Civilian Employment-Population Ratio and the declining Labor Force Participation Rate. The rise in discouraged workers is reflected in the decline in these ratios," Roberts observed, commenting on Williams' figures."Are you surprised that the government lies about the number of new jobs and the unemployment rate? Why are you surprised?" Roberts continued. "The government lies about everything--'Iraqi weapons of mass destruction,' 'Iranian nukes,' 'Assad's use of chemical weapons,' 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine,' etc."Roberts further stated that Williams reported that the Birth/Death Model utilized by the BLS assumes that more jobs are created each month by new startups than are lost by companies going out of business. Therefore, per the government's statistics, the supposed excess of new startups over business closures adds an average of 61,000 jobs per month. "In other words," he writes, "these jobs are spun off of the assumptions of a model and are likely to be phantom jobs."[Editor's note: Gallup recently reported, "for the first time in 35 years, American business deaths now outnumber business births," so the BLS Birth/Death Model is completely invalid.]He also points out that a columnist for the, John Crudele, has reported that the issue of data falsification by the Census Bureau is under investigation by a congressional committee and is urging Americans to contact the new chairman of that committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, to urge him to continue the as-yet-incomplete invesgitation:You can read the remainder of Credule's column here:Before it fell apart at the weekend, Mike Pence tweeted a photo of the Freedom Caucus discussing the Republicans’ healthcare bill.
A similar thing happened back in January, when Donald Trump signed an action banning US tax dollars from being spent on foreign NGOs which promote or perform abortions.
Picture: Ron Sachs - Pool/Getty Images
Many have pointed to this as an example of Trump’s lack of experience and incompetence. Kellyanne Conway was reportedly in the room with the Freedom Caucus, so why not get her in the shot?
They know they are going to face criticism if there are no women, so why wouldn’t they make the effort even if just for PR purposes?
She thinks they are fully aware of how the photos come across – and they are subtly sending a message with them. Say explains:
Mr. Trump promised he would make America great again, a slogan that included the implicit pledge to return white men to their place of historic supremacy. And that is precisely what these photos show.
She says that these photos are intentionally telling the people who voted for Trump – especially the white male voters – that they are keeping the status quo, and keeping women out.
This… Is a choice, and it also sends a message about the party’s values and to whom it appeals. Republicans bank on a white male voter base that is shrinking demographically, yet they are making no real effort to broaden their appeal, perhaps counting on voter suppression to make it harder for likely Democratic voters to cast their ballots, and simultaneously throwing red meat to the men they need to turn out to carry them to victory.
She continues:
The Trump team is well aware of this dynamic, which is why it doesn’t spend much time worrying about even putting forward a facade of diversity. The great America it promised has white men at the top, and that’s the image they’re projecting, figuratively and literally. It’s not an error, it’s the game plan.The famous Ötzi, a man murdered about 5,300 years ago in the Italian Alps, had what's now considered the world's oldest known case of Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that can cause ulcers and gastric cancer, a new study finds.
It's unclear whether the ancient iceman did, in fact, have ulcers or gastric cancer because his stomach tissue didn't survive. Today, about half of the world's human population has H. pylori in their gut, but only one in 10 people develop a condition from the bacteria, the researchers said.
However, an analysis of tissues from Ötzi's gastrointestinal tract shows that his immune system had reacted to the potentially virulent strain, suggesting he might have felt ill from H. pylori symptoms on the day he died. [Mummy Melodrama: Top 9 Secrets About Otzi the Iceman]
"We showed the presence of marker proteins which we see today in patients infected with Helicobacter," study lead author Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at the European Academy in Bozen/Bolzano in Italy, said in a statement.
The researchers also analyzed the specific H. pylori strain that Ötzi carried. They found that, although it was unique, it was strikingly similar to a strain seen in ancient Asia but not to those in northern Africa as the researchers had suspected.
Hikers discovered Ötzi's mummified body in a glacier in 1991, and his remains now reside at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. Studies on the Copper Age man suggest that Ötzi likely lived with aches and pains — during his lifetime, he had bad teeth and knees; a genetic predisposition to heart disease; lactose intolerance; arthritis; a possible case of Lyme disease; and wounds indicating that he suffered from an arrow injury and a blow to the head before he died at somewhere between 40 and 50 years old.
Despite these maladies, Ötzi probably would have lived for another 10 to 20 years if he hadn't been murdered, study co-author Albert Zink, the head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman at the European Academy, said during a news conference yesterday (Jan. 6).
Needle in a haystack
The researchers were curious about whether Ötzi carried the ancient form of H. pylori, which research suggests has existed in humans for at least 100,000 years.
But the new study was no easy undertaking. The scientists defrosted the heavily tattooed mummy and used an incision made by an earlier inspection of Ötzi to take tissue samples. The team extracted 12 biopsy samples from the stomach and intestine, and analyzed the genetic material from each.
"We had to separate the Helicobacter pylori sequences from the other genetic material," which included the DNA from the iceman himself, food he had eaten, soil bacteria that invaded the body, and other material, study co-senior author Thomas Rattei, the head of the Division of Computational Systems Biology at the University of Vienna in Austria, said at the news conference. "This was like searching [for] a needle in the haystack."
But they did find it. Moreover, Ötzi's H. pylori strain was heavily fragmented because of degradation, providing more evidence that it wasn't the result of modern contamination but rather the actual ancient strain that had infected him during the Copper Age, Rattei said. [Album: A New Face for Ötzi the Iceman Mummy]
Migration clue
After sequencing the ancient H. pylori strain, the researchers compared it to other known strains of the pathogen.
Interestingly, scientists can use H. pylori as a tool to study human migration. The human genome typically mutates slowly over time, but H. pylori mutates quickly. It changes so fast, in fact, that it's usually unique to each geographic population. What's more, if one group of people encounters another — by migrating to a new area, for instance — their H. pylori strains can mix, leaving genetic clues about the mixed strain's background.
Furthermore, these H. pylori strains infect only humans, so it can't be carried by other animals, the researchers said.
"That is why we studied Helicobacter pylori and why it's so important for illustrating all of these wonderful prehistoric human migrations," said co-senior author Yoshan Moodley, a professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Venda in South Africa.
Modern European H. pylori strains are mixed with those from ancient Europe and ancient northern Africa, but researchers are unsure when the northern African peoples migrated to the continent. They hoped that Ötzi would help them identify when that event occurred, the researchers said.
But they were in for a surprise. Ötzi had very little evidence of an African strain. Instead, his H. pylori was closely related to strains found in ancient Europe and central and south Asia today.
"This would lead us to believe that the population that Ötzi or the iceman strain belonged to must have been the original population that inhabited the stomachs of Europeans 5,300 years ago," Moodley said. "We can say now that the waves of migration that brought these African Helicobacter pylori into Europe had not occurred, or at least not occurred in earnest, by the time the iceman was around … 5,300 years ago."
Of course, Ötzi is just one person, so it's impossible to say definitively that the northern African people hadn't migrated to Europe during his time. But it does offer a small hint, the researchers said.
The researchers plan to study H. pylori more in the future, and are already in talks with experts who study mummies in South America and Asia. Egyptian mummies cannot be included because their stomachs, which would hold any potential H. pylori bacteria, were removed during the mummification process.
The study was published online today (Jan. 7) in the journal Science.
Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Chromebook owners rejoice: a new, standalone video player app is coming to Chrome OS soon.
A dedicated video player app will replace the current ‘media player’, which is actually based on the same code as the Chrome OS file manager.
By creating a standalone Chrome app that can play videos developers will have more freedom to add new features and adjust the interface, free from the responsibility of inadvertently impacting the performance or codebase of the file manager.
The brief for the new player was laid out in a bug report opened in 2013. It proposes:
We want to separate the video player from playing inside Files.app
This will fix several issues with trying to watch videos and open Files.app
This separate video player should be a packaged app
The video player should not have a dedicated launcher icon
A commit introducing the change landed in the Chromium codebase recently, and should arrive to Dev Channel users in the next release. For now the player is just a copy of the current embedded player.
Going forward we can expect an interface overhaul, playlist support, additional file formats (maybe even the holy grail of audio in.mkv!) and improved performance.
It’s also possible, though this is speculation on my part, that we’ll also see native support for sharing videos via Google Chromecast added.
No Icon?
See Also: Subtitle Video Player for Chrome OS
Of the points listed above the last, that the player should not have a dedicated launcher icon, may sound strange but is actually a pretty consistent way of handling certain ‘apps’ in Chrome OS.
For example, the gallery does not have a dedicated app icon in the App Launcher, nor does the wallpaper changer or audio player.
The video player will show an icon on the App Shelf when open so that it’s easy to switch to and from while using other apps and windows, but it won’t be able to be ‘pinned’ or found in the app list.
The initial commit makes use of the following YouTube-esque generic video icon for when the player is open:As the long-standing Australian league of ozfortress heads into another season, it is bidding adieu to one of its famous mascots in the owl. Going forward, the league competition will drop its traditional title of the ozfortress winter league (used despite the league occurring in any of the other three seasons as well) in favor of the simpler title ozfortress season. The upcoming season will thus be known as ozfortress season 15 (ozf15), continuing the legacy of the 14 seasons before it.
The league is also undergoing an overhaul similar to the one ETF2L had seasons ago, in which fixed-size divisions will be replaced with the international standard of tiers using the Swiss system. ozfortress season 15 will feature three tiers: Premier, Intermediate, and Open.
ozfortress league director Kenneth discussed the changes to the league:
OWL has been going on since 2009 and has been a major cornerstone of our community, but that community has changed massively since then. We decided to look at what sort of league we want to run and what our niggles are with the current format. The move to Swiss (which we've been teasing for a while) is obviously the biggest change, allowing us to eliminate the solid and quite unnatural gaps between different divisions. A huge benefit is the flexibility we now have with the lower end of the scene—we no longer have to deny teams because "there’s not enough space and you’re the worst team here" which was one of the most heartbreaking parts of the seeding process. Our main goal through this entire process is to deliver teams the most fun competitive TF2 experience we can, and we believe that Swiss is the best system for that. We hope that teams will get onboard with the Swiss system—even if teams have a few tough rounds at the beginning, it’s designed to give really even and fun matches towards the end of the season once the system has sorted the men from the boys.
Signups for ozfortress season 15 will open on March 12th, 2016 and end shortly after on March 17th, 2016, and the first round of matches for the league will be played the next week starting on March 20th, 2016.Marie joins Persona 4 Arena Ultimax as post-launch DLC
Hollow Forest Tsundere Poet uses Kaguya in battle.
Marie will be a playable character in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, this week’s Famitsu reveals. She will arrive as paid post-release downloadable content.
The “Hollow Forest Tsundere Poet,” who first appeared in Persona 4 Golden‘s Velvet Room, will use the Persona Kaguya in battle.
Marie will make full use of the contents of her bag, as well as her Persona, and excels at ranged attacks and diversion techniques.
Outside of Marie, a few new details were announced.
A new “Lobby” feature has been added to the game’s online mode. Here, players can gather and chat, as well as battle. Players can also control their own avatar and move around world locations such as the school and Junes.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is due out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall in North America. It will be region-free, European importers.
Thanks, Re: Zaregoto.As I sit and watch video after video of Monday's senseless federal raid of Oaksterdam University and other medical cannabis-related facilities managed by Richard Lee, the orchestrator of California's historic Proposition 19, a few serious concerns come to mind.
I noticed agents from at least three federal agencies: the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Marshals Service and the Internal Revenue Service. I'm not talking about two agents here and a couple more there. There were several dozen federal agents spending their day on the scene.
Meanwhile, just blocks away, a deadly shooting was taking place. While federal agents were using a battering ram, a sledgehammer and power saws to break into a business that complies with state and local law and pays taxes, a gunman was murdering seven people at Oikos University, just three-tenths of a mile away.
As a retired police officer who wore the badge for over 30 years, this is not how I want our law enforcers to be spending their time. Rebecca Kaplan, a member of Oakland's City Council, said it best: "We have a serious gun violence problem in Oakland. If there are extra law enforcement resources available, they should be focused on fighting illegal guns and gun violence."
Beyond the human toll, what's the fiscal cost to taxpayers of this federal raid? For yesterday's multiple-hour operation, I would estimate at least $22,000 to $30,000 just in man-hours alone, for straight time and not overtime. The planning for this raid is even more draining upon man-hours, at least another $20,000. What about the many hours of investigation follow-up, which will most likely carry on for months if not longer? Throw in likely judicial cost and when all is said and done, we could be looking at a taxpayer price tag of $250,000 or more for a raid of Oaksterdam properties, which will result in... what?
Let's take a look at the results of this "successful" raid upon those who care for the sick. The first indicator of success is one of public safety. That's why we have such enforcement activity in the first place -- law enforcement and public safety should be synonymous. Will the raid make the community safer? Will there be fewer homicides? Oh, wait, there never were any on-site at Oaksterdam. They occur blocks away while we "the police" do our thing here. Will there now be fewer robberies in the neighborhood? Just the opposite: violent crime has been down in the area since Oaksterdam became operational. Well, maybe there will now be less "pot" being sold to kids in the neighborhood? Actually, expect that to increase now that any marijuana being sold in the area, post-raid, will be done by drug dealers on the corners who don't check ID. Oh yes, one more observation: Patients will no longer have access to safe medicine in safe environments. They will be forced to acquire cannabis from the dangerous illegal marketplace, lining the pockets of criminal organizations, gangs and thugs instead of universally supported local businesses that pay taxes and create jobs.
What about the success of this raid for the IRS? If their goal is to put more people out of work, causing less people to pay federal and state income taxes, call it success. If the goal is to have the state collect fewer taxes from cannabis sales, call it success. And as for the US Marshals Service, I'm still trying to figure out their role in this. Maybe it was to apprehend members of the Mexican cartel lurking in the classrooms of Oaksterdam U? Oh wait, this wasn't a cartel operation. It was a legal state and city business where employees were US citizens and members of a workers union.
It's clear to see that this raid will be far from any true success. This raid is undoubtedly counterproductive to public safety. More people out of work, a staple of business removed from the community, patients forced into the dangerous illegal marketplace, thousands if not millions of dollars back into the pockets of criminals, fewer tax dollars for the city of Oakland and homicides occurring just blocks away while so many law enforcement resources were being squandered raiding medical cannabis facilities.
Am I accusing law enforcement of being responsible for the seven murders just blocks away? No, but what I am saying is that they are misguided and focused upon those things that will not improve public safety. It is their duty and responsibility to prioritize things of public safety first, not politics.
Our commander in chief, President Obama, the head of the executive branch, carries that ultimate responsibility for the actions of federal law enforcement. Yesterday, he let the city of Oakland and this country down. At a time when 80 percent of the public supports medical marijuana, I can't for the life of me imagine how this fits into the president's reelection strategy. There's still time for President Obama to reign in the federal thugs who work for him and seem hell-bent on intimidating the medical cannabis industry out of existence, but the hour is growing late.
Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com), was a narcotics cop in Baltimore.Labour and Lib Dem MEPs vote to give Brussels the power to raise its own taxes
Yesterday, the European Parliament carried out a series of votes on the catchily titled ‘Report on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: Annual Growth Survey 2014‘ – in essence, a series of proposals on economic and budgetary matters.
So far, so boring.
Amid all the jargon, though, was something rather important. Here’s paragraph 44 of the report:
“[The European Parliament] Recalls its view that the fiscal situation of Member States can be eased through a new system of own resources to finance the Union budget that will reduce gross national income contributions, thus enabling Member States to meet their consolidation efforts without jeopardising EU funding to support investment in economic recovery and reform measures; underlines, therefore, the importance it attaches to the new high-level group on own resources, which should lead to a true reform of EU financing;”
In translation, “a new system of own resources” means the idea of the EU being able to create and raise its own taxes, taken directly from individuals and companies. One of the most fundamental powers of the nation state would be taken up by Brussels.
The motivation for such a huge step towards EU integration is as follows: “enabling Member States to meet their consolidation efforts without jeopardising EU funding to support investment in economic recovery and reform measures”.
There it is in black and white – not only does the EU want to have its own tax-raising powers, it wants them specifically in order to stop national governments being able to reduce the amount paid into the EU budget. This is the fiscal enabler to allow Brussels to wield fiscal power without the consent of democratically elected national governments.
Having been burned by recently being forced to accept a cut in their budget, the eurocrats are apparently intent on preventing that from ever happening again.
Conservative (and UKIP) MEPs voted against the proposal for obvious reasons. To their shame, Labour and the Lib Dems enthusiastically voted in favour of it.
As Syed Kamall MEP puts it:
“Conservative MEPs and the Conservative Government have just delivered the first ever cut to the EU’s overall budget, showing that we are beginning to win the argument about bringing down the cost of Europe. Now the Liberals and Socialists want to hand Brussels the right to stick its own hand straight in our citizens’ pockets.”
It’s bad enough that Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg don’t want the people to have a say on our EU membership, and want to continue handing billions to Brussels. Now they want an EU which can tax us directly, too.Thanks to The One Shots for picking up this story!
@TristanMaack was just your average Canadian man on Twitter. On April 15 he saw that the phrase “Welcome to the Overdose Era” was trending and assumed that it had something to do with overdosing on drugs. One click for him and he quickly learned that he was wrong. “Welcome to the Overdose Era” was trending because of EXO and their upcoming comeback for “Overdose.” Tristan Maack proceeded to tweet about his misunderstanding, unaware that he had just introduced himself to the EXO fandom.
The EXO fans decided this was hilarious.
It didn’t take long for him to realized what happened.
He could have just moved on with his life, but instead, he got curious.
Encouraged by the enthusiastic response from EXO fans, This random Canadian man decided he must see for himself what this EXO group was all about.
“Not bad” he says, but how does he feel about EXO now that he knows who they are?
Now that he and the EXO fans were quite friendly, he decided that he should give back by offering his recommendation.
This was about when he realized he was becoming somewhat famous.
He had 293 by the time Noona started writing
I think he may understand Noona feels
He’s in too deep. He has a bias now.
Did someone tell him that once he’s in K-Pop he can never leave?
Someone make this happen for the sake of all that is good in this world.
CallMeN00NA is a Soompi editor who might be spending too much time on Twitter and Instagram, but then how else could she have come across a gem like this? Perhaps she should spend more time on Twitter and answering questions on ask.fm.ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- West Michigan foresters are investigating the discovery of an invasive insect that helps cause the death of hardwood American beech trees. The Gun Lake Tribe says that
, an exotic pest that has helped kill millions of Michigan beech trees, was recently found on tribal land in Hopkins Township. The tribe issued a notice about the discovery on Monday, Feb. 9. Environmental staff "may have identified this problem early enough to prevent further infestation," said D.K. Sprague, Gun Lake Tribe chairman. Together, beech scale and an exotic fungus called
Neonectria faginata
infest stands of beech trees, leading to the fatal Beech Bark Disease (BBD). The disease itself has not been confirmed on the tribal land, but where the scale is found, BBD usually follows, said Allegan Conservation District forester Shawn Kelly. Allegan is the southernmost Michigan county where the scale insect or disease has been found,
Kelly. Last year, infected trees were discovered in Kent County. |
through Limited Run Games! The next year should be an exciting one for Sekai Project fans!"- Josh Fairhurst,Mighty Rabbit StudiosAbout Sekai ProjectSekai Project is a Los Angeles-based publishing, licensing, and localization company. Comprised of a diverse enterprising group of industry professionals, Sekai Project is focused on bringing new media, games, and pop culture from Asia to the western world. Founded in 2013, the company continues to improve upon the way in which fans can connect with creators through the creative use of marketing, crowdfunding, and social media. www.sekaiproject.com About Mighty Rabbit StudiosMighty Rabbit Studios is an independent game development studio based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Josh Fairhurst and Nicholas Allen founded the company in August of 2010 through the inaugural session of Joystick Labs, a game development focused tech incubator. The company released its first major project Saturday Morning RPG onto the Apple App Store in April of 2012. Their sophomore release, Breach & Clear, was released in July 2013. Both games have been well received by both critics and players alike. www.mightyrabbitstudios.com About Limited Run GamesLimited Run Games is a publisher of limited run physical games for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4. They focus on bringing games that were previously only available in a digital format to a physical medium. All Limited Run Games are part of the Limited Run Collection with each release being numbered. All releases and their numbering can be easily identified by the Limited Run stamp on the back of the game's cover. Limited Run Games is a publishing offshoot of Mighty Rabbit Studios, a game developer from Cary, NC. www.limited-run-games.myshopify.comThe Great Lakes share a surprising connection with Wisconsin's small lakes and aquifers — their water levels all rise and fall on a 13-year cycle, according to a new study. But that cycle is now mysteriously out of whack, researchers have found.
"The last two decades have been kind of exceptional," said Carl Watras, a climate scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Water levels have been declining since 1998, Watras told Live Science. "Our lakes have never been lower than they are."
The research was published Jan. 21 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
According to 70 years of lake and aquifer records from northern Wisconsin, the states' small lakes usually rise and fall on a regular cycle — about six years up, and six years down. But since 1998, there has been only one brief uptick in levels, in 2002 through 2003).
Both the normal 13-year cycle and unusual recent downward trend are mirrored in the world's biggest freshwater water body, the linked Great Lakes of Michigan and Huron, Watras said.
"What that tells us is some hydrologic driver is operating on all of these lakes, and groundwater in the region, and controlling the water levels," Watras said.
Earlier research uncovered a 12-year cycle of rising and falling lake levels in the Michigan-Huron lakes, as well as a shorter 8-year cycle. [The Great Lakes: North America's 'Third Coast']
"It is likely the same signal," said Janel Hanrahan, a climate scientist at Lyndon College in Vermont and lead author of the earlier studies, who was not involved in the new research. Hanrahan attributed the 8-year cycle to changes in precipitation during the winter months, and the 12-year cycle to precipitation changes during the summer.
Watras and his co-authors similarly link the long-term rise and fall in Wisconsin's lakes to an cyclic atmospheric pattern called the circumglobal teleconnection (CGT), a narrow, high-altitude wind similar to the jet stream. The pattern flows about 16,500 feet (5,000 meters) above the Midwest, bringing in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
Since the lake levels started their downward plunge in the late 1990s, the CGT's pattern has been stuck in a position that means less rainfall for Wisconsin, the study found. But evaporation also plays a role. Warmer-than-average winters since 1998 kept smaller lakes free of ice for longer time spans, allowing more water to escape through evaporation.
"The balance between precipitation and evaporation is key," Watras said.
The good news is that with this year's polar vortex icing the Great Lakes, combined with an early freeze in November that put a lid on small lakes, 2014 could be a better year overall for Wisconsin's lakes, Watras said.
"Our crystal ball is foggy," he said. "Things may return to normal, but we don't know. This year we are seeing lake levels and groundwater levels rise a little bit, but we don't know whether the uptick will be sustained or everything will continue to crash. At least now we have a history to look back on, and make comparisons."
Copyright 2014 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.WILLINGBORO, N.J. — Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) faced an angry crowd at a town hall Wednesday night demanding he call for an independent investigation of President Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE's Russia ties.
The town hall came a day after Trump fired James Comey as director of the FBI amid a probe into whether his campaign associates colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.
"Donald Trump is not a Republican, Congressman. Donald Trump is an authoritarian!" a constituent screamed at MacArthur to roaring approval from a crowd of about 200.
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"How long are you and your fellow Republicans going to defend this American nightmare?" the constituent asked. "When are you going to decide to be an American and not a politician?"
MacArthur, after listening calmly, insisted he wants to see the House and Senate committees complete their investigations before calling for an independent probe. He reminded his constituents in this predominately Democratic part of the district that other people disagree with the constituent angry over Trump.
"I hear you, but there are loads of other people who don't see it that way," MacArthur said.
This story was updated at 12:26 a.m.Two weeks ago I developed my first event-driven web framework for Ruby, Fastr. It helped me understand why running a web framework in an event loop is so natural.
As I continued to tackle more features in Fastr, it was time to tackle persistence – notably, database access.
AsyncRecord is/will be an ORM, similar to ActiveRecord – with one major difference – it doesn’t block. AsyncRecord currently uses em-mysql to access a MySQL database.
How it usually works
In most ORMs, when you attempt to access the database, everything in that thread will block until a response is received. This means that you waste time – just waiting. The CPU may be idle, but you cannot handle any more requests. (Typically you start multiple instances of your application to get past this, unfortunately each instance requires more resources on your server)
How AsyncRecord works
When you access something in the database with AsyncRecord, the request is sent to the database server, but control returns to the application immediately after the packet(s) are sent. When the server responds, which could be 20ms or 200ms later, a callback that you specify is invoked.
One important thing about accessing a database asynchronously, especially in web frameworks, is the ability to defer a response. Fastr has built-in support for deferred responses, a-la EventMachine/Thin.
A deferred response is when you tell the web server that you will send data to the client some time in the future, and the server is free to handle more requests until you are ready to respond.
Benchmarking
As I was implementing AsyncRecord, I knew it would be faster – but I wasn’t sure by how much. I setup a very simple Rails 2.3.5 application, as well as a Fastr application (from the latest source).
My goal was to make an application that has a single page, which shows 5 usernames from the database.
Rails controller:
class MainController < ApplicationController def index users = [] User. all( :limit => 5 ). each do | user | users << user. username end headers [ 'Content-Type' ] = 'text/plain' render( :text => users. join( "
" )) end end
Fastr controller:
class MainController < Fastr :: Controller def index defer_response( 200, { "Content-Type" => "text/plain" }) do | response | User. all( :limit => 5 ) do | users | users. each do | user | response. send_data( " #{ user. username }
" ) end response. succeed end end end end
The Numbers
Fastr
Average Latency: 123ms Requests per second: 385 r/s
Rails
Average Latency: 2040ms Requests per second: 42 r/s
The tests were performed using JMeter. 100 concurrent requests (10 requests per connection).
I also ran some tests using apache bench, here are the results:
ab -c 100 -n 1000 http://127.0.0.1:5000/
Fastr
Average Latency: 90ms Requests per second: 1100 r/s
Rails
Average Latency: 2235ms Requests per second: 44 r/s
Conclusion
I am extremely happy with what AsyncRecord can do – and I hope to make it even better. I will be moving it out of Fastr and into its own project soon.
Fastr GitHub: http://github.com/chrismoos/fastrTwitter is planning to lay off 9 percent of its global workforce, as the ailing San Francisco tech giant struggles to please Wall Street despite beating earnings expectations.
The company officially announced the cuts today in its third-quarter earnings, days after reports began to surface of the impending cuts. According to Twitter, the majority of the reductions will take place in its sales, partnerships and marketing divisions in order to "continue to fully fund our highest priorities," according to a letter to shareholders.
However, the earnings also came with some good news. Total monthly active users grew for the second consecutive quarter to 317 million users, gaining 4 million over the past three months since its second-quarter results. Daily active users also increased, rising 7 percent year over year.
Twitter's revenue totaled $616 million—an 8 percent increase year over year. Earnings per share totaled 13 cents, beating expectations of 9 cents per share and $606 million in total revenue. However, the company reported profit fell by $103 million.
Advertising revenue grew 6 percent to $545 million, with mobile now accounting for 90 percent of total ad revenue. U.S. revenue grew just slightly, increasing 1 percent to $374 million year over year, outpaced by international ad revenue, which grew by 21 percent to $242 million. Revenue from data licensing and other revenue also grew, increasing 26 percent year over year to $71 million.
Ad engagements also increased, growing by 91 percent year over year, with cost per engagement decreasing 44 percent year over year.
In a statement, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the company's strategy is driving increased audience size and engagement, both in terms of monthly and daily users, but also in terms of tweet impressions and time spent.
"We see a significant opportunity to increase growth as we continue to improve the core service," Dorsey said. "We have a clear plan, and we're making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth. The key drivers of future revenue growth are trending positive, and we remain confident in Twitter's future."
Noah Mallin, head of social at MEC North America, said Twitter's progress might be going even better than it appears on Wall Street. But it might take some time to tell.
"What it seems like to me, first of all, is that Twitter is in the midst of a transformation," Mallin said. "And it's on every level. There's a business transformation, and I think, sadly the layoffs are part of that. There's an advertising transformation, and I think the surprise of the numbers going up points to the fact that it's taking hold. And I think theres a transformation in terms of how people are using the platform."
Some of MEC's clients have already begun advertising through Twitter's live video offerings, such as ad-supported livestreams of NFL games and presidential debates. Mallin said that has provided pleasing results for the brands that have tried it out. He said live video is likely to grow as awareness grows both on the advertiser and user fronts. (On the quarterly earnings call this morning, Twitter chief financial officer Anthony Noto said the company will introduce new syndicated video from partners such as NBA, NHL and Bloomberg in the fourth quarter.)
Others are less optimistic about Twitter's progress. According to Janice Suter, director of social media at GSD&M, Twitter is still playing catch-up with its competitors.
"Twitter can't touch the deep interest and behavior targeting capabilities that Facebook offers," she said. "And from a user perspective, the continuing lack of direction and understanding of what Twitter stands for is turning people away in favor of channels with more unique and compelling experiences, like Snapchat."
Brand advertisers remain the largest contributor to the company's overall revenue, Twitter said, with promoted tweets containing video beating other ad formats in terms of generating the largest share of revenue. Revenue from promoted tweets that lack video continued to decline.
Twitter said it plans to continue improving the users' timeline with machine learning, which the company said helps with both timeline relevance and also with increasing relevant notifications to drive engagement.
"We continue to work on optimizing the efficiency of our ad platform," according to the letter to shareholders. "This quarter, we were pleased to realize a higher overall revenue yield quarter-over-quarter. We achieved this at meaningfully reduced ad loads compared to the previous quarter, including on US home timelines."
Mallin said Twitter is still struggling to define what it wants to be: Is it a media company, is it a news organization or is it something altogether different? He said that lack of identity might have been what caused some companies to bow out of bids for a potential acquisition of Twitter earlier this month. (Reportedly interested companies have included Google and Disney.)
"I think some of the whole thing that happened where you had Disney and all these other folks look at them and then pass isn't because there isn't value there," Mallin said. "I think Twitter is tremendously valuable. I just think you can't really define them in a way that puts them in a box. So when shareholders of Disney or shareholders of Google look at it, they can't just say they're buying a media company or they're buying a social platform. Because Twitter really is its own unique beast."Illustration: Karl Hilzinger In fact, as banks try to clean up their tarnished reputations, the report suggests the $50 billion credit card market is another area where banks need to lift their game in how they treat customers, because some people are being sold cards that allow them to rack up unsustainable debts. So, what is the problem with credit card debt? Well, for most people holding the 16 million credit cards in Australia, there probably isn't a huge worry. The $32.6 billion in card debt that is accruing interest is a small fraction of the country's $1.3 trillion in mortgage debt, and paying it off is only a small fraction of total household income. But that's not the case for all households. Treasury says there is a "significant minority" of people for whom credit cards impose a "large burden on their financial and general wellbeing", because they struggle to repay these debts.
It cites a 2010 survey that found 9 per cent of customers struggle to make their minimum repayments, especially lower income-earners. It also points out lower-income households are more likely to pay credit card interest. There will always be some borrowers who struggle to repay loans. However, Treasury points to some distinctive features of the credit card market that make borrowers especially vulnerable to falling into a debt trap. One is the fact that banks don't really compete on their interest rates, which keeps them very high indeed. The average interest rate on credit card debt is a whopping 19.75 per cent, according to the latest Reserve Bank data. Even though interest rates on just about every other form of debt are at record lows, Treasury reports the "spread" banks make on credit cards has increased in recent years, which suggests "limitations" in how competitive this market is. How do banks get away with not really competing on interest rates?
Treasury names a number of "behavioural biases" that it says mean we don't really pay much attention to credit card interest rates. One bias is that many of us are overly optimistic and (in many cases, wrongly) assume we won't pay interest, so we ignore the rate. Another bias is that credit cards are packed with so many complex features: such as interest-free days, loyalty points, or balance transfers, that it can lead to a case of "choice overload". Confronted with the array of choices, many of us probably ignore the interest rate being charged, even if it's sky-high. The point is, these "biases" mean we're not really focused on interest rates when picking a card. The banks know this, and respond by not really competing on interest rates, keeping them excessive. Making matters worse, it is also harder than it should be to cancel a card and switch to a rival. For all the hype about online banking, customers normally need to go to a bank branch or call up a customer service hotline, says Treasury.
As well as excessive interest rates due to weak competition, the other big problem Treasury identified was that too many customers end up with a credit limit that's too high for them. When banks are approving customers for credit cards, it says many only look at a consumer's ability to make the minimum repayments. However, this is a notoriously bad way to pay off this type of loan. Only paying the minimum on a bill of $3,000 or so would end up taking about 17 years, and cost you about $1700 in interest alone. For the banks, however, customers that pay loans off slowly are lucrative indeed. "Consumers with high credit limits who cannot afford to pay much more than the minimum repayment are the most profitable to card issuers," Treasury says. "These incentives could be resulting in many consumers being offered credit limits in excess of their requirements." In other words, Treasury reckons banks are giving excessive credit limits to (highly lucrative) customers who end up paying off debt at a very high interest rate, for years.
That is not a good look for an industry that keeps saying it wants to do the right thing by customers, especially when banks make returns of up to 40 per cent from credit cards, according to previous Treasury estimates. In response, the government is planning changes that would force banks to only give customers credit card limits they are able to pay back over a reasonable period, and to look at whether the cards are suitable for customers. The banking industry hasn't responded to the proposals yet. Whether they support these changes will be a key test of their claims to be putting customers first.story | Tee Zhuo and Feroz Khan, guest contributors
Today we write as concerned students troubled by a recent string of administrative decisions which point to a disturbing trend of disregard for student input in Yale-NUS College’s approach to student concerns and community issues. We stand at a crucial moment in our College’s history, where our core traditions—those of academic freedom, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a shared commitment to community-building—are being eroded. Of the developments that have been most concerning of late, four stand out as particularly troubling.
A series of unfortunate events
Event Approval Committee
First, the abrupt change in policy for College space use was made all the more shocking by its heavy-handed invocation of Singapore’s laws. An email which tried to play down the wide-reaching effects of this decision was sent only to student organization leaders on Feb. 1 about a newly set up “Event Approval Committee” to assess the “desirability and feasibility” (desirable for whom?) of holding an event on campus. Importantly, the policy disallows any event that requires licenses or permits under the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act (Cap. 257) or a permit under the Public Order Act (Cap. 257A). This is troubling given the former’s provisions regarding “transgender performances”, which raise questions about whether student events broaching these ideas risk censure.
Both the policy’s drafting process and its results have troubling hints of authoritarianism. Not a word was said and no student input was sought during the drafting process of a policy which would affect virtually all students—a process which started as far back as September last year. Furthermore, Rectors and Vice Rectors—the members of the administration who are most connected with students’ experiences—are notably excluded from membership to a committee that deals with events, a central feature of campus life. More objectionable are the obstructionist clauses that require submission of applications two months in advance, and the appeals to Acts and rules that allow the purely administration-led committee (with no student representation) to “refuse any Application without assigning any reason whatsoever”, and which ban the display of publicity material without consent from the College.
Students have converged on the College’s Facebook groups to condemn the new policy as going against the founding ideals and principles of the College, especially those guaranteeing the important academic freedoms that are “a cornerstone of our Institution”. The administration has responded by saying that the policy will have no impact on the school’s current practices pertaining to the exchange of ideas. These words ring hollow in the immediate aftermath of the announcement, especially the chilling effect it seems to already have had on widely-supported events. The event “1987: Untracing the Marxist Conspiracy”—despite attracting close to 130 members of the Yale-NUS community, including faculty and students, as potential attendees—has not been allowed to use the Tan Chin Tuan (TCT) Lecture Theatre, a more centralised and larger space that would have better accommodated attendees, despite suggestions by both the organisers and attending students.
Instead it will be held at the much smaller Saga Rector’s Commons. While the organizer Jonas Yun ’18 has said in the event’s Facebook post that he cannot comment on why this decision was made, the TCT had not been booked for another event and the move happened immediately in the aftermath of the space use policy announcement. Indeed, a closer look at the policy suggests that events such as Rector’s Teas are considered “Business As Usual” and ought to be exempt from the policy, while large spaces such as TCT are subject to further approval. The idea that students have to use roundabout ways to hold events that add to the value of a liberal arts education is ludicrous, especially in a school that prides itself for having “no questions that cannot be asked”.
Graduation committee
Second, the revelation on Feb. 6 of the dissolution of the Graduation Committee, constitutes yet another unilateral decision made by the administration with regard to student issues. According to Dean of Students Christopher Bridges, the Committee’s dissolution was ostensibly due to the committee having fulfilled its objectives, but it seems obvious that these “objectives” were not those of graduating students but those of the administration. We also know that the Administration reacted negatively to a post by Committee member Tiffany Sin ’17, despite it being phrased politely as a call for increased participation by the student body in graduation-related discussions.
Such an abrupt dissolution of the committee shows that its student members were treated as mere afterthoughts in decisionmaking. Such a unilateral action rudely dismisses the efforts of students who have contributed their time and effort for over half a year, and are still doing so despite being in arguably the most crucial semester of their College career. It suggests that the administration cares more about mining student ideas, than actually factoring student preferences into decision-making. Another example is the selection of Commencement Speaker. Despite efforts to source and create a list of speakers, students in the Committee were informed only two days before the announcement that the speaker—who was not on the list proposed by the committee—had already been decided unilaterally by Pericles Lewis, President of Yale-NUS. Ultimately, the administration has thus far treated a milestone event, which ought to be about celebrating the first-ever graduating from Yale-NUS, as though it is merely a “[public relations] obligation” to be relegated to the Public Affairs department.
Suspension of YIRPA
Third, the suspension of the Yale-NUS International Relations and Political Association (YIRPA), one of the College’s largest student organisation both in terms of membership and spending, is another troubling development that has gone little-discussed in the broader College community (except, to our knowledge, in open Student Government meetings). At present, after three weeks of suspension, no information has been given to the students regarding the reasons behind its suspension. This is disturbing for many reasons. A large number of students are involved in YIRPA, which draws its funds from the Yale-NUS Student Organisations Budget, and YIRPA itself is part of the Yale-NUS community, carries our name, and reflects upon us as an institution. As the first-ever suspension of a student organization in the College, it presents an important shift in the administration’s relationship with student organizations. The complete lack of transparency around the circumstances of the suspension is problematic and illustrative of the administration’s disregard for accountability to students.
Mental Health
Finally, we come to the sensitive issue of mental health at Yale-NUS. Despite consistent pressure from the Student Council and extensive coverage by The Octant, progress has been slow. Efforts have been made to increase awareness, including placing posters in lifts and mounting start-of-semester events. Staffing has also been stabilized. However, it has taken us nearly half a year of investigation, confrontation and advocacy to reach this point, and there is still a long way to go. Where are the feedback channels for students to express their concerns about reaching out for mental health resources? How visible are the Wellness/Mental Health initiatives currently pushed by the school? Have there been any efforts made to engage the student body in what the vision for wellness is?
A climate of apathy and fear
The blame for this turn of events does not wholly lie on the administration. We need to reflect on how we (as students) have been complicit in bringing us to the dire straits we find ourselves in today. We have relegated too completely the task of engaging with the administration to our peers in the Student Council or our friends on various administration-linked committees. As has always been the case, issues pertaining to the student body that incite indignation blow up and then promptly fizzle out on Facebook discussions. A case in point is the Event Approval Committee document, which sparked significant outrage but has inspired little concerted effort to address concerns.
Tasked with the admittedly unenviable job of bridging the gap between students and administration, the efficacy of the Council in representing student interests has of late seemed questionable. Despite organising a Town Hall meeting, it was not until two days before the meeting that the Council thought to invite senior administration to attend. Just yesterday (Feb. 6), senior Council members tried to push the blame, claiming that administration were unlikely to attend for fear of facing student criticism. This is highly indicative of the deterioration of relationships between the Student Council and the College administration.
A troubling symptom of the latter is the administration’s response to the Student Life report put forward by the Council last semester. The report, which detailed areas of student discontent and potential areas for improvement, was received in a markedly different way from previous student life surveys: this time, the administration pivoted immediately to the defensive, arguing that students should not seek to do the work of professionals and should refrain from making recommendations on specific measures that could be undertaken by the administration.
Such a response marks a worrying change from an administration that just two years ago sat down patiently in a room with Student Government members who brought them a radical proposal for gender-neutral housing, itself a deeply controversial issue at the time. Even more concerning is that none of the students we approached for this article were willing to be identified as sources, preferring to remain anonymous due to fear of sanctions from the administration in one form or another. How has a climate of fear come to infect an institution so young and so full of promise?
Why you should care
What does this all mean? A common and disturbing trend is the increasing disembodiment of the administration from students on the ground. Even with limited communication channels, student-facing members of the administration have chosen to be defensive rather than collaborative, dismissive and not accepting. Rather than being treated as “citizens of the world” and partners in a diverse endeavour to “build a community”, we are not involved in or told the reasons for decisions that ultimately impact us the most—not those making them.
Entitlement is a frequently-used objection to the claim that students ought to be involved in College decision-making processes: some say we should be grateful to have any influence over administrators at all instead of lobbying for more. But institutionalization is not an excuse for freedom from accountability, especially in decisions that affect students. This school has demonstrated that it works best when students are involved in making key decisions. It has a rich history of just and principled policies crafted from meaningful consultation with students: from gender-neutral housing to Common Curriculum reform, student input has been powerfully influential when effectively mobilized to advocate for student welfare. There is nothing “entitled” about trying to get involved, actively, in the project of college-building, especially when that is part of why we are admitted in the first place.
The erosion of the foundational values on which the aspirational project of Yale-NUS College was built sets a disturbing precedent that should be of utmost concern to every member of this community—staff, students, faculty, and administration. As students who participated actively in the shared project of college-building underpinned by mutual respect, it is disheartening and disappointing to see this common understanding slowly die away. Students of Yale-NUS respect and accept the risk in enrolling in a new school with uncertain prospects, with the proviso that we can help shape those prospects. Is there not then an honest obligation to honor this leap of faith, and to value the efforts of students in shaping this College?
Will we so easily cede our potential—indeed, our right—to influence and enrich our college experience? Will we allow apathy and the pursuit of individual goals to make us forget the reasons we came here and the commitments we made in attending a startup college? Or will we reclaim for ourselves the capacity to influence the direction our college takes, to hold the administration accountable for its missteps, and to build the just institutions and moral communities upon which our college experience thrives?
The way forward
To our fellow students, we exhort you to participate as citizens of this College and fulfil your civic duties to a community of peers. First, we ask that you attend the Town Hall meeting happening tomorrow (Wednesday) 8pm at Saga Lecture Theatre 1. Even if no administrators turn up, your attendance in numbers is critical to show you care and to ensure the Council faithfully represents your concerns. Second, we are committed to coordinating a petition demanding administrative explanations on these issues should they not be addressed in tomorrow’s Town Hall, and to pave the way for more accountability to, and involvement of students in decision-making. We seek your input and support in this endeavour should it become necessary. Third, we ask that you support your fellow students as they strive in various ways to make the College a better place. An example is the newly-founded student organisation Aloe (speak to Alex Meyer ’18), which works with the administration to improve mental health initiatives at the college, and seeks to better support students in need of such resources. The Graduation Committee’s call for assistance is another example which students can enthusiastically support. Finally, we ask that you participate politically. Attend Council meetings where issues that affect our college experience are debated, get involved in Student Government elections, and keep yourself informed on goings-on through the Council’s minutes and posts.
To our professors, some of the policies that are being unilaterally implemented have the potential to curtail academic freedom, and we look up to you as guardians of this ideal. We hope you will show your support and continue to be involved in the ongoing conversations of this College (as we know many of you already are). Please feel free to approach either of us if you wish to understand more about the issues in this article.
To our administration, we hope you will not brush this article aside as an unwelcome intrusion into your work, or an attempt to undermine the authority of professionals. Students wish to work productively with administrators, and we ask only that you provide the conditions for doing so and engage with us honestly. We are heartened that administrators will be attending the Town Hall tomorrow. Students will be angry—and they have every right to be. But the attendance of administrators will be a respected and welcome gesture that shows the school still cares about genuine engagement with its students, and is willing to listen and incorporate their concerns and suggestions into decision-making. This will help students and administration return to a relationship of mutual cooperation, as all of us try to bring this school forward to achieve its vision of being a true community of learning, innovation, and mutual respect.
Correction: Originally this article stated that members of the administration were reluctant to attend the Town Hall. It has since been corrected to reflect that they were only formally invited on Monday Feb. 6.
Tee Zhuo ’18 and Feroz Khan ’18 both served on the inaugural Student Government (February 2015–2016). Tee also currently serves as Chief Justice on the 2nd Student Government Judiciary. The views articulated in this piece reflect solely those of the authors, and not the views of the Judiciary or any other body.
The views expressed here are the author’s own. The Octant welcomes all voices in the community. Email submissions to: yncoctant@gmail.comUpdate: On Friday, June 12th, the House voted for the Fast Track bill, or Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) (219-211); however, they voted against Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) legislation that is needed to advance Fast Track. Keep up the pressure!
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade deal currently under negotiation among 12 nations—Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam. If ratified by these governments, TPP would be the largest trade deal in history -- representing 792 million people and accounting for 40 percent of the world economy1 -- yet it's being written and negotiated in secret.
That’s right—none of the details of this sweeping trade agreement are available to the public. The only text that has been made public so far has been through leaked documents. Members of Congress have extremely limited access to the negotiation texts. But Corporate representatives have access to, and in some instances have written the negotiation documents through USTR advisory committees, where they “significantly outnumber representatives of organized labor, environmental advocates and academic experts”.2
What's been leaked about it so far reveals that the TPP would offshore millions of American jobs, expose the U.S. to imports of unsafe food, and empower corporations to attack hard-fought U.S. environmental and health safeguards.
For example, the TPP would require the U.S to allow food imports if the exporting country claims that their safety regime is "equivalent" to our own, even if it violates the key principles of our food safety laws. So, fish from Vietnam and other TPP countries using antibiotics and other drugs banned in the U.S. would be allowed under equivalency rules in the agreement. These rules would effectively outsource domestic food inspection to other countries. Further, any U.S. food safety rules on pesticides, labeling or additives that is higher than international standards could be subject to challenge as "illegal trade barriers."
Instead of using trade agreements to elevate economic, health, and environmental standards across borders, the TPP creates a race to the bottom.
What’s worse, Congress is currently considering granting “fast track” approval of the TPP. “Fast track” enables trade agreements to become law by removing a democratic step of lawmaking by stripping Congress of its authority to debate or amend the content of a trade deal. Congress gets a vote, but only after the negotiations have been completed.
Tell Congress to Vote “No” on Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and demand the text of the TPP be made public!By Isaac Simpson
Last year Eazy-E's son told TMZ that his father's grave had been desecrated.
The area was littered, the 28-year-old Eric Wright Jr. complained, with "empty beer bottles and "marijuana cigarette butts."
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It didn't sound exactly like a desecration to me -- maybe more like a tribute. So recently, along with a Swedish friend who was living in L.A. and a Dutch guy he knew, I decided to check it out for myself.
A quick Google told us Eazy was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Lupine Lawn Lot 2482, Grave 1.
We headed way the fuck out East to the cemetery, located in Whittier. We bought some 40s and rolled a blunt in the back seat to honor the occasion.
Hey, we had limited rolling surfaces Isaac Simpson
We arrived at Rose Hill, a massive, pretty mega-cemetery with endless rolling hills of graves. We needed a map, so we went into the office area and asked the clerk for one.
"Who are you here to see?" the old man asked.
"Oh, we're just looking for Lupine Lawn. We have the lot number."
"Why don't you just tell me the name and I can look it up for you? That's easier." He seemed suspicious.
"Um, the name is Wright. Eric Wright."
"I'm sorry, we can't give you that information."
"Why not?"
"Because we can't.
"And why is that?"
"The family has requested we don't give that information out because the grave has been desecrated."
"Oh...ok."
Being stoned at a cemetery is already paranoia-inducing, but being part of a group of red-eyed white dudes, too old to be goofing around, requesting access to Eazy's grave using his given name felt just pathetic. Nonetheless, we we'd come this far and weren't about to give up so easily.
We drove slowly up the hill in search of Lupine Lawn. It's a huge cemetery, but the lawns are clearly labeled. It only took a couple minutes to find it. Numbers on the sidewalk seemed to label the lots, and we looked out for Number 2482.
As we crept towards the 2400s, we met with a large funeral. We rolled by, peering out of the window as the mourners stared back at us.
At the top of a hill, right next to where 2400 should be, there was another obstacle, Four police officers on motorcycles. We couldn't tell if they were there for the funeral or to protect Eazy's grave. Riding dirty as we were, we stopped the |
neither case was there any general or wholesale implantation of what Gramsci was to call ‘Fordism’, on the lines of what had by then existed for two decades in the USA. Europe was still over a generation behind America in the structure of its civilian industry and pattern of consumption, on the eve of the Second World War. Finally, the prospect of revolution was now more proximate and tangible than it had ever been—a prospect that had triumphantly materialized in Russia, touched Hungary, Italy and Germany with its wing just after the First World War, and was to take on a new and dramatic immediacy in Spain at the end of this period. It is within this space, prolonging in its own way an earlier ground, that generically ‘modernist’ forms of art continued to show great vitality. Quite apart from the literary masterpieces published in these years but essentially nurtured in earlier ones, Brechtian theatre was one memorable product purely of the inter-war conjuncture, in Germany. Another was the first real emergence of architectural modernism as a movement, with the Bauhaus. A third was the appearance of what was in fact to prove the last of the great doctrines of the European avant-garde—surrealism, in France.
The West’s Season Ends
It was the Second World War—not the First—which destroyed all three of the historical coordinates I have discussed, and therewith cut off the vitality of modernism. After 1945, the old semi-aristocratic or agrarian order and its appurtenances was finished, in every country. Bourgeois democracy was finally universalized. With that, certain critical links with a pre-capitalist past were snapped. At the same time, Fordism arrived in force. Mass production and consumption transformed the West European economies along North American lines. There could no longer be the smallest doubt as to what kind of society this technology would consolidate: an oppressively stable, monolithically industrial, capitalist civilization was now in place. In a wonderful passage of his book Marxism and Form, Fredric Jameson has admirably captured what this meant for the avant-garde traditions that had once treasured the novelties of the 20’s or 30’s for their oneiric, destabilizing potential: ‘The Surrealist image,’ he remarks, was ‘a convulsive effort to split open the commodity forms of the objective universe by striking them against each other with immense force.’ But the condition of its success was that ‘these objects—the places of objective chance or of preternatural revelation—are immediately identifiable as the products of a not yet fully industrialized and systematized economy. This is to say, that the human origins of the products of this period—their relationship to the work from which they issued—have not yet been fully concealed; in their production they still show traces of an artisanal organization of labour while their distribution is still assured by a network of small shopkeepers... What prepares these products to receive the investment of psychic energy characteristic of their use by Surrealism is precisely the half-sketched, uneffaced mark of human labour; they are still frozen gesture, not yet completely separated from subjectivity, and remain therefore potentially as mysterious and as expressive as the human body itself.’ Jameson then goes on: ‘We need only exchange, for that environment of small workshops and store counters, for the marché aux puces and the stalls in the streets, the gasoline stations along American superhighways, the glossy photographs in the magazines, or the cellophane paradise of an American drugstore, in order to realize that the objects of Surrealism are gone without a trace. Henceforth, in what we may call post-industrial capitalism, the products with which we are furnished are utterly without depth: their plastic content is totally incapable of serving as a conductor of psychic energy. All libidinal investment in such objects is precluded from the outset, and we may well ask ourselves, if it is true that our object universe is henceforth unable to yield any “symbol apt at stirring human sensibility”, whether we are not here in the presence of a cultural transformation of signal proportions, a historical break of an unexpectedly radical kind.’
Finally, the image or hope of revolution faded away in the West. The onset of the Cold War, and the Sovietization of Eastern Europe, cancelled any realistic prospect of a socialist overthrow of advanced capitalism, for a whole historical period. The ambiguity of aristocracy, the absurdity of academicism, the gaiety of the first cars or movies, the palpability of a socialist alternative, were all now gone. In their place, there now reigned a routinized, bureaucratized economy of universal commodity production, in which mass consumption and mass culture had become virtually interchangeable terms. The post-war avant-gardes were to be essentially defined against this quite new backdrop. It is not necessary to judge them from a Lukácsian tribunal to note the obvious: little of the literature, painting, music or architecture of this period can stand comparison with that of the antecedent epoch. Reflecting on what he calls ‘the extraordinary concentration of literary masterpieces around the First World War’, Franco Moretti in his recent book Signs Taken for Wonders writes: ‘Extraordinary because of its quantity, as even the roughest list shows (Joyce and Valéry, Rilke and Kafka, Svevo and Proust, Hofmannsthal and Musil, Apollinaire, Mayakovsky), but even more than extraordinary because that abundance of works (as is by now clear, after more than half a century) constituted the last literary season of Western culture. Within a few years European literature gave its utmost and seemed on the verge of opening new and boundless horizons: instead it died. A few isolated icebergs, and many imitators; but nothing comparable to the past.’ There would be some exaggeration in generalizing this judgement to the other arts, but not—alas—all that much. Individual writers or painters, architects or musicians, of course produced significant work after the Second World War. But not only were the heights of the first two or three decades of the century rarely or never reached again. No new aesthetic movements of collective importance, operative across more than one art form, emerged either, after surrealism. In painting or sculpture alone, specialized schools and slogans succeeded each other ever more rapidly: but after the moment of abstract expressionism—the last genuine avant-garde of the West—these were now largely a function of a gallery-system necessitating regular output of new styles as materials for seasonal commercial display, along the lines of haute-couture: an economic pattern corresponding to the non-reproducible character of ‘original’ works in these particular fields.
It was now, however, when all that had created the classical art of the early 20th century was dead, that the ideology and cult of modernism was born. The conception itself is scarcely older than the 1950s, as a widespread currency. What it betokened was the pervasive collapse of the tension between the institutions and mechanisms of advanced capitalism, and the practices and programmes of advanced art, as the one annexed the other as its occasional decoration or diversion, or philanthropic point d’honneur. The few exceptions of the period suggest the power of the rule. The cinema of Jean-Luc Godard, in the 60s, is perhaps the most salient case in point. As the Fourth Republic belatedly passed into the Fifth, and rural and provincial France was suddenly transformed by a Gaullist industrialization appropriating the newest international technologies, something like a brief after-glow of the earlier conjuncture that had produced the classical innovatory art of the century flared into life again. Godard’s cinema was marked in its own way by all three of the coordinates described earlier. Suffused with quotation and allusion to a high cultural past, Eliot-style; equivocal celebrant of the automobile and the airport, the camera and the carbine, Léger-style; expectant of revolutionary tempests from the East, Nizan-style. The upheaval of May–June 1968 in France was the validating historical terminus of this art-form. Régis Debray was to describe the experience of that year sarcastically, after the event, as a voyage to China which—like that of Columbus—discovered only America: more especially, landing in California. That is, a social and cultural turbulence which mistook itself for a French version of the Cultural Revolution, when in fact it signified no more than the arrival of a long-overdue permissive consumerism in France. But it was precisely this ambiguity—an openness of horizon, where the shapes of the future could alternatively assume the shifting forms of either a new type of capitalism, or of the eruption of socialism—which was constitutive of so much of the original sensibility of what had come to be called modernism. Not surprisingly, it did not survive the Pompidou consolidation that succeeded, in Godard’s cinema or anywhere else. What marks the typical situation of the contemporary artist in the West, it might be said, is, on the contrary, the closure of horizons: without an appropriable past, or imaginable future, in an interminably recurrent present.
This is not true, manifestly, of the Third World. It is significant that so many of Berman’s examples of what he reckons to be the great modernist achievements of our time should be taken from Latin American literature. For in the Third World generally, a kind of shadow configuration of what once prevailed in the First World does exist today. Pre-capitalist oligarchies of various kinds, mostly of a landowning character, abound; capitalist development is typically far more rapid and dynamic, where it does occur, in these regions than in the metropolitan zones, but on the other hand is infinitely less stabilized or consolidated; socialist revolution haunts these societies as a permanent possibility, one indeed already realized in countries close to home—Cuba or Nicaragua, Angola or Vietnam. These are the conditions that have produced the genuine masterpieces of recent years that conform to Berman’s categories: novels like Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, or Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, from Colombia or India, or films like Yilmiz Güney’s Yol from Turkey. Works such as these, however, are not timeless expressions of an ever-expanding process of modernization, but emerge in quite delimited constellations, in societies still at definite historical cross-roads. The Third World furnishes no fountain of eternal youth to modernism.
The Limits of Self-development
So far, we have looked at two of Berman’s organizing concepts—modernization and modernism. Let us now consider the mediating term that links them, modernity itself. That, it will be remembered, is defined as the experience undergone within modernization that gives rise to modernism. What is this experience? For Berman, it is essentially a subjective process of unlimited self-development, as traditional barriers of custom or role disintegrate—an experience necessarily lived at once as emancipation and ordeal, elation and despair, frightening and exhilarating. It is the momentum of this ceaselessly ongoing rush towards the uncharted frontiers of the psyche that assures the world-historical continuity of modernism: but it is also this momentum which appears to undermine in advance any prospect of moral or institutional stabilization under communism, indeed perhaps to disallow the cultural cohesion necessary for communism to exist at all, rendering it something like a contradiction in terms. What should we make of this argument?
To understand it, we need to ask ourselves: where does Berman’s vision of a completely unbounded dynamic of self-development come from? His first book, The Politics of Authenticity, which contains two studies—one of Montesquieu and the other of Rousseau—provides the answer. Essentially, this idea derives from what the sub-title of the book rightly designates the ‘radical individualism’ of Rousseau’s concept of humanity. Berman’s analysis of the logical trajectory of Rousseau’s thought, as it sought to contend with the contradictory consequences of this conception across successive works, is a tour de force. But for our purposes the crucial point is the following. Berman demonstrates the presence of the same paradox he ascribes to Marx within Rousseau: if unlimited self-development is the goal of all, how will community ever be possible? For Rousseau the answer is, in words that Berman quotes, that: ‘The love of man derives from love of oneself’—‘Extend self-love to others and it is transformed into virtue’. Berman comments: ‘It was the road of self-expansion, not of self-repression, that led to the palace of virtue... As each man learned to express and enlarge himself, his capacity for identification with other men would expand, his sympathy and empathy with them would deepen.’ The schema here is clear enough: first the individual develops the self, then the self can enter into relations of mutual satisfaction with others—relations based on identification with the self. The difficulties this presumption encounters once Rousseau tries to move—in his language—from the ‘man’ to the ‘citizen’, in the construction of a free community, are then brilliantly explored by Berman. What is striking, however, is that Berman nowhere himself disowns the starting-point of the dilemmas he demonstrates. On the contrary, he concludes by arguing: ‘The programmes of nineteenth-century socialism and anarchism, of the twentieth-century welfare state and the contemporary New Left, can all be seen as further developments of the structure of thought whose foundations Montesquieu and Rousseau laid down. What these very different movements share is a way of defining the crucial political task at hand: to make modern liberal society keep the promises it has made, to reform it—or revolutionize it—in order to realize the ideals of modern liberalism itself. The agenda for radical liberalism which Montesquieu and Rousseau brought up two centuries ago is still pending today.’ Likewise in All that is Solid Melts into Air, he can refer to ‘the depth of the individualism that underlies Marx’s communism’ —a depth which, he then quite consistently goes on to note, must formally include the possibility of a radical nihilism.
If we look back, however, at Marx’s actual texts themselves, we find a very different conception of human reality at work in them. For Marx, the self is not prior to, but is constituted by its relations with others, from the outset: women and men are social individuals, whose sociality is not subsequent to but contemporaneous with their individuality. Marx wrote, after all, that ‘only in community with others has each individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions: only in the community, therefore, is personal freedom possible’. Berman cites the sentence, but without apparently seeing its consequences. If the development of the self is inherently imbricated in relations with others, its development could never be an unlimited dynamic in the monadological sense conjured up by Berman: for the coexistence of others would always be such a limit, without which development itself could not occur. Berman’s postulate is thus, for Marx, a contradiction in terms.
Another way of saying this is that Berman has failed—with many others, of course—to see that Marx possesses a conception of human nature which rules out the kind of infinite ontological plasticity he assumes himself. That may seem a scandalous statement, given the reactionary caste of so many standard ideas of what human nature is. But it is the sober philological truth, as even a cursory inspection of Marx’s work makes clear, and Norman Geras’s recent book Marx and Human Nature—Refutation of a Legend makes irrefutable. That nature, for Marx, includes a set of primary needs, powers and dispositions—what he calls in the Grundrisse, in the famous passages on human possibility under feudalism, capitalism and communism, Bedürfnisse, Fähigkeiten, Kräfte, Anlagen—all of them capable of enlargement and development, but not of erasure or replacement. The vision of an unhinged, nihilistic drive of the self towards a completely unbounded development is thus a chimera. Rather, the genuine ‘free development of each’ can only be realized if it proceeds in respect for the ‘free development of all’, given the common nature of what it is to be a human being. In the very pages of the Grundrisse on which Berman leans, Marx speaks without the slightest equivocation of ‘the full development of human control over the forces of nature— including those of his own nature’, of ‘the absolute elaboration (Herausarbeiten) of his creative dispositions’, in which ‘the universality of the individual... is the universality of his real and ideal relationships’. The cohesion and stability which Berman wonders whether communism could ever display lies, for Marx, in the very human nature that it would finally emancipate, one far from any mere cataract of formless desires. For all its exuberance, Berman’s version of Marx, in its virtually exclusive emphasis on the release of the self, comes uncomfortably close—radical and decent though its accents are—to the assumptions of the culture of narcissism.
The Present Impasse
To conclude: where, then, does this leave revolution? Berman is quite consistent here. For him, as for so many other socialists today, the notion of revolution is distended in duration. In effect, capitalism already brings us constant upheaval in our conditions of life, and in that sense is—as he puts it—a ‘permanent revolution’: one that obliges ‘modern men and women’ to ‘learn to yearn for change: not merely to be open to changes in their personal and social lives, but positively to demand them, actively to seek them out and carry them through. They must learn not to long nostalgically for the “fixed, fast-frozen relationships” of the real or fantasized past, but to delight in mobility, to thrive on renewal, to look forward to future developments in their conditions of life and relations with their fellow men.’ The advent of socialism would not halt or check this process, but on the contrary immensely accelerate and generalize it. The echoes of 60’s radicalism are unmistakable here. Attraction to such notions has proved very widespread. But they are not, in fact, compatible either with the theory of historical materialism, strictly understood, or with the record of history itself, however theorized.
Revolution is a term with a precise meaning: the political overthrow from below of one state order, and its replacement by another. Nothing is to be gained by diluting it across time, or extending it over every department of social space. In the first case, it becomes indistinguishable from mere reforms—simple change, no matter how gradual or piece-meal, as such: as in the ideology of latterday Euro-communism, or cognate versions of Social-Democracy; in the second case, it dwindles to a mere metaphor—one that can be reduced to no more than supposed psychological or moral conversions, as in the ideology of Maoism, with its proclamation of a ‘Cultural Revolution’. Against these slack devaluations of the term, with all their political consequences, it is necessary to insist that revolution is a punctual and not a permanent process. That is: a revolution is an episode of convulsive political transformation, compressed in time and concentrated in target, that has a determinate beginning—when the old state apparatus is still intact—and a finite end, when that apparatus is decisively broken and a new one erected in its stead. What would be distinctive about a socialist revolution that created a genuine post-capitalist democracy is that the new state would be truly transitional towards the practicable limits of its own self-dissolution into the associated life of society as a whole.
In the advanced capitalist world today, it is the seeming absence of any such prospect as a proximate or even distant horizon—the lack, apparently, of any conjecturable alternative to the imperial status quo of a consumer capitalism—that blocks the likelihood of any profound cultural renovation comparable to the great Age of Aesthetic Discoveries in the first third of this century. Gramsci’s words still hold good: ‘The crisis consists,’ he wrote, ‘precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appears.’ It is legitimate to ask, however: could anything be said in advance as to what the new might be? One thing, I think, might be predicted. Modernism as a notion is the emptiest of all cultural categories. Unlike the terms Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Mannerist, Romantic or Neo-Classical, it designates no describable object in its own right at all: it is completely lacking in positive content. In fact, as we have seen, what is concealed beneath the label is a wide variety of very diverse—indeed incompatible—aesthetic practices: symbolism, constructivism, expressionism, surrealism. These, which do spell out specific programmes, were unified post hoc in a portmanteau concept whose only referent is the blank passage of time itself. There is no other aesthetic marker so vacant or vitiated. For what once was modern is soon obsolete. The futility of the term, and its attendant ideology, can be seen all too clearly from current attempts to cling to its wreckage and yet swim with the tide still further beyond it, in the coinage ‘post-modernism’: one void chasing another, in a serial regression of self-congratulatory chronology. If we ask ourselves, what would revolution (understood as a punctual and irreparable break with the order of capital) have to do with modernism (understood as this flux of temporal vanities), the answer is: it would surely end it. For a genuine socialist culture would be one which did not insatiably seek the new, defined simply as what comes later, itself to be rapidly consigned to the detritus of the old, but rather one which multiplied the different, in a far greater variety of concurrent styles and practices than had ever existed before: a diversity founded on the far greater plurality and complexity of possible ways of living that any free community of equals, no longer divided by class, race or gender, would create. The axes of aesthetic life would, in other words, in this respect run horizontally, not vertically. The calendar would cease to tyrannize, or organize, consciousness of art. The vocation of a socialist revolution, in that sense, would be neither to prolong nor to fulfil modernity, but to abolish it.In Venezuela, the State's strict monetary control makes it a real challenge for locals to obtain dollars, or make a simple purchase on the Internet. To overcome this difficulty, Venezuelans are turning to Bitcoin for practical reasons, but also to manifest their discontentment towards the system.
Many experts have already discussed the potential of digital currencies in Latin America. In fact, CoinDesk's new Bitcoin Market Potential Index shows that among the top 10 countries likely to see mass adoption, 3 are Latin Americans: Argentina, Venezuela and Nicaragua; and according to experts, this argument can be explained by the region's highly volatile government-backed currencies, strict capital controls, and expensive remittance fees.
Thus, many Venezuelans believe Bitcoin can overcome their country's economic limitations.
Introduced by former president Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's strict currency controls imply locals to either request fiat currencies to the State, which is already struggling to satisfy demand, or recourse to the black market.
Caracas-based software developer John Villar, said he discovered Bitcoin's true utility while trying to make a purchase on Amazon, reported Reuters. While finding himself unable to pay in US dollars for a US$10 cell-phone battery, Villar decided to buy bitcoins from a friend with Venezuelan bolivars and purchased an Amazon gift card using his bitcoins. According to Villar, Bitcoin does not only enable Venezuelan individuals to access foreign markets; the digital currency is also "a way of rebelling against the system."
Another individual who demonstrates a similar Government-rebellious mindset, is University of Tachira's graduate business school teacher Gerardo Mogollon. Mogollon, who calls himself 'Dr. Bitcoin Venezuela,' is also a public speaker that makes recurrent online video appearances where he evangelizes Bitcoin and urges locals to adopt the digital currency. He told Reuters:
"I'm teaching people to use Bitcoin to bypass the exchange controls."
In parallel, Venezuela's first Bitcoin exchange SurBitcoin, will hopefully start trading this week, said Venezuela-born brothers Kevin and Victor Charles, SurBitcoin's founders. Announced on August 15, SurBitcoin uses BlinkTrade's open-source exchange platform, and while still in beta version, Venezuelans can already register on the platform.
While Bitcoin has long been criticized to be highly volatile, the digital currency's price fluctuation does not impress Venezuelans who saw inflation reach 142% between 2013 and 2014. Last year, Venezuela's bolivar dropped nearly 60% versus the US dollar on the black market; and it is worth noting that black market dollars are being sold 16 times the highest government-fixed exchange rate.
In recent months, Bitcoin has attracted mainstream demographics, and according to Nicolas Cary, CEO of Blockchain.info: "Bitcoin makes a lot of sense in emerging economies like Brazil and Argentina and Russia." The executive told Yakima Herald:Dave Gettleman was passed over for the general manager's job in Kansas City in 2009. Then the director of pro personnel for the New York Giants, he was passed over for another GM position that year by the Cleveland Browns, who bypassed him twice overall.
Mistakes?
You be the judge.
The people who did get those jobs aren't with their clubs today. Kansas City fired Scott Pioli after an NFL-worst 2-14 season in 2012. Cleveland is on its fourth general manager since 2009.
Gettleman? He landed on his feet. After a year of stepping back in the Giants' organization out of frustration of being overlooked, he was hired as general manager of the Carolina Panthers in February 2013.
He hasn't gotten as much credit as head coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton for Carolina's 12-4 record and first trip to the playoffs since 2008, but Gettleman's imprint is all over the team.
From the selection of what he affectionately calls "hog mollies" (defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short) with Carolina's first two picks of the 2013 draft, to taking the team from $16 million over the salary cap to more than $15 million under it, Gettleman has had as much or more to do with Carolina's resurgence as anybody.
Now he's at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, busy scouting college talent and talking to agents of the team's 21 unrestricted free agents to make sure the Panthers are in position to take the next step forward.
"When I saw the wave of general managers that got hired [in 2012], and a lot of them were in their 30s and early 40s, I started to get concerned that he would never get a chance at the age of 61," said former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, who recommended Gettleman to Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.
"Thankfully, he ended up with a great job, a better job than any of the others that he was considered for."
Gettleman, now 62, doesn't like talking about himself, which is why you won't see comments about himself here. He'd like to keep it that way after spending more than 30 years behind the scenes, but the demands of a general manager require him to be out front.
He's what he likes to call a "grinder," with the work ethic he learned as a kid in Boston, helping his father install boilers in apartment buildings.
He's also one of the best in the NFL at evaluating talent, from college players to experienced veterans. That he has been a part of six teams that reached the Super Bowl -- including three that won it -- between Buffalo, Denver and the Giants is no coincidence. He helped each get there.
Now he's proving he can be just as valuable as the man in charge.
"He learned from good people," Accorsi said. "But you have to have something inside of you that sooner or later, when you have to make the call, you have to feel it. Eventually, it has to come out of your stomach.
"Sometimes other people in the organization don't agree with you and you have to hold your ground, and he's always been able to do that."
More importantly, Gettleman has done that without causing a rift in communication.
"A lot of people, if they get into a disagreement with a scout or their boss, it becomes somehow antagonistic," Accorsi said. "Never with Dave."
Gettleman will tell you that life is too short to get mad and hold grudges over differences of opinions. It's also a waste of time.
Gettleman doesn't have time to waste. Decisions he makes over the next few months will have a huge impact on Carolina as it moves forward.
Does he sign Newton, a player he acknowledges as the organization's franchise quarterback, to a long-term extension? Does he re-sign defensive end Greg Hardy, give him the franchise tag that will eat up about $12 million of the team's cap space, or let him move on?
Does Gettleman re-sign other key free agents such as safety Mike Mitchell and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn? Does the GM draft a wide receiver with the No. 28 pick of the draft to give Newton another much-needed weapon, or go with an offensive tackle to give the quarterback more protection?
With all this on his plate, Gettleman doesn't have 10 hours to spend evaluating players on film as he did in his former job. He can't tell you everything about the fifth cornerback for the Denver Broncos as he once could without looking at his computer.
Now he has a staff he depends on for that.
And speaking of his staff, Gettleman didn't clean house as many general managers do when taking over a losing club. He kept everyone, believing they had as much of a right to prove themselves to him as he had a responsibility to prove himself to them.
"I know whatever mistakes I made early in my career, I made because I knee-jerked too quick," Accorsi said. "You can't be patient to a fault, but you have to at least give everybody a chance."
Patience is one of Gettleman's great strengths. It's why he stuck with Rivera after a 1-3 start following consecutive losing seasons when many were wondering if the coach deserved to last through the season.
When an NFL Network report surfaced early in the season that Carolina already had begun looking at coaching candidates, Gettleman became incensed and said, "Unequivocally false."
That's significant because Gettleman doesn't do interviews during the season, but he made an exception for this brief comment. It's also one of the few times you could see the fiery side that exists in his otherwise laid-back demeanor.
Gettleman's support has meant a lot to Rivera. When the new general manager was hired, it would have been natural to wonder if this was the first step toward an overhaul in the coaching staff.
"Dave’s been very instrumental, obviously,” Rivera said late in the season. “A lot of the things that we’ve gone through this season, some things that he’s helped direct and put it into play for us, has been very beneficial and worked out very well.
"And quite honestly, the relationship that he and I have developed, the ones that he’s developed with our coaches and our players, have been tremendous.”
Gettleman just did what he does best, which is work hard to figure out how to put the best team on the field.
"He doesn't want attention," Accorsi said. "He just wants to work.... He's just a worker and that's what is endearing about him."
Gettleman worked to convince stars such as running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, defensive end Charles Johnson, center Ryan Kalil, left tackle Jordan Gross and tight end Greg Olsen to play for less money to ease the salary-cap restraints.
He released veterans Chris Gamble and defensive tackle Ron Edwards to free up more cap room.
He went bargain shopping in free agency and found Mitchell, safety Quintin Mikell, linebacker Chase Blackburn, wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and defensive tackle Colin Cole -- and all played vital roles in the team's success.
He made hard decisions such as the one to trade popular linebacker Jon Beason to the Giants three games into the season.
He made brilliant draft decisions (Lotulelei, Short and linebacker A.J. Klein), which helped elevate Carolina to No. 2 in the league in defense.
He did many of the same things he did behind the scenes for the Giants but got little credit for.
"His record of being right was incredible," Accorsi said. "If you look at our free-agent signings, he didn't blow any."
Despite his new role, Gettleman hasn't changed. He's unpretentious, choosing to credit the coaches and players for success instead of himself.
"He is just doing his job," Accorsi said. "I knew how good he was. I knew what I had. I don't know why he didn't get a chance before this.
"He's just a down-to-earth person. One of the reasons he gets along with people is because he's a good person. People can see that. That's why they trust him."
The Panthers trusted Gettleman to turn around their struggling organization. They gave him the chance other teams passed on.
Mistake?
You be the judge.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Trump negotiations with the Democrats over the Daca deal has caused a spilt within his supporters
Disaffected supporters of US President Donald Trump have posted social media videos of themselves burning his "Make America Great Again" (Maga) hats.
It comes after news the president was working with Democrats toward a deal to protect some young undocumented immigrants in the US.
More hard-line elements of his support have criticised him for the move.
On the election trail, he had promised to "immediately terminate" the "illegal executive order" known as Daca.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme was put in place to protect so-called "Dreamers" - migrants brought to the US illegally as children - from deportation.
Some 800,000 young undocumented migrants are thought to be in the US, but they have been left in limbo after President Trump first announced he was abolishing the scheme and then appeared to backtrack by negotiating with his rivals.
Mr Trump's campaign was spearheaded by a tough stance on immigration. This included a promise to build a US-Mexico border wall, paid for by the Mexican government.
Breitbart, the right-wing news outlet led by Mr Trump's former chief-strategist Steven Bannon, accused the president of a "full-fledged cave on the issue of giving amnesty to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens."
The website labelled him "Amnesty Don" and a hashtag was born with some supporters posting videos of themselves burning their Maga hats and criticising the negotiations.
One Twitter user @_weese_ said he was left with "no choice" to burn his hat, saying the president had "violated several campaign promises".
"You have become the swamp, either drain the swamp or you'll never make America great again," he said, before setting light to the cap in a video.
Others online said Trump voters needed to criticise him.
"Trump needs us to hold him accountable to keep his promises. He'd want that," posted one.
Ann Coulter, a right-wing political commentator, has also publicly criticised the president's move, as well as his recent sympathetic Twitter comments towards young undocumented immigrants.
She also shared a number of the burning videos on her account.
Supporters on a prominent online pro-Trump forum argued between themselves over the Daca negotiation.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Trump announced he was scrapping the Daca scheme earlier this month
Most users defended Trump and slammed those who had turned against them.
Some accused critics of being fake or "bots".
One supporter posted: "He gave up his billionaire lifestyle to MAGA. He's being attacked from every direction. He deserves 4 years of trust and support."
Another said: "Seriously. This is what we hired him to do. When you hire someone, the best thing you can do as an employer is take a step back, let the specialist do their job and wait to see the results."If we say "Spain" and "StarCraft II", chances are high that the names you have in mind are LucifroN and VortiX. However, the country from the Iberian Peninsula gets others talented players, more discreets, but capable of notable performances. We are aware - more or less - of players like AlaStOr, ToXiC, or even LoLvsxD for the oldest among us, but it's Majestic that recently drew attention behind the scene.
With his recent qualification to WCS Challenger League, the opportunity was too good for us to get our hands on the young Protoss player from team Mousesports.
It starts with CoD
[M] TinkeR : I saw you've started competitive gaming with Call of Duty, how did you eventually ended up switching to StarCraft II?
[mouz]Majestic : In 2011, I was playing Call of Duty on Xbox 360 and I started to be interested in the competition. That's when I heard about the most important tournament of e-Sports in Spain (LVP). Then I started to be fascinated and interested in e-Sports, and that's the time I first saw StarCraft II. The first StarCraft II match that I watched was LucifroN vs VortiX.
I played Call of Duty rather casually (I played at Dreamhack Valencia 2012). I've also played a bit StarCraft II and League of Legends around 2012, I was fascinated how big was the StarCraft II scene at that time compared to Call of Duty's. The problem was that I had to share a computer with my brother, so I only played two or three games of StarCraft II a day, and I was usually following some tournaments like DreamHack. I managed to get to the Master league and that's when I realized that I wanted to compete in StarCraft II, and eventually I bought another computer. At the end of 2012, I definitely switched to what I've considered the best game : StarCraft II.
How could you describe the path you've taken to be where you are right now?
A great journey of more than two years where I managed to grow as a person and learn more in depth about my greatest passion, eSports. At first I didn't play very often (I used to play more League of Legends games with my friends), but as time passed by, I was enjoying the game more and more starting to follow tournaments. When I finally got promoted to Grandmaster league in 2013, I thought that I could do something in the competitive scene and until now I just try to fullfill the objectives that I've set myself. I am not so naive to think that I can be the best in the world in a snap. Actually, all the goals that I had for 2014 have been accomplished : winning a Spanish championship in 2014, having a good run at DreamHack |
lowski will be a "vital partner in a McCord administration," but said he did not make any promises regarding administrative appointments in exchange for Pawlowski leaving the race.
"Let me be clear and blunt: There were no deals of any kind," McCord said.
A regional challenge
Pawlowski compared himself to Democrats from Lehigh Valley such as Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, former state Rep. Jennifer Mann and former Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham who have been unsuccessful in state races due to a lack of institutional support.
"Until we change our perspective in the Democratic party to support these candidates, it's going to be very hard for the Lehigh Valley to get any influence of any consequence in Harrisburg," he said.
Despite its early end, Pawlowski said his campaign -- which included visiting more than 50 counties -- accomplished many of his goals, particularly to draw attention to the need for economic development and more jobs around the state.
Pawlowski expressed confidence McCord will address those priorities if elected, citing his tenure with the state treasury that generated strong investment returns and more than $2.1 billion for the state.
"Mayor Pawlowski and I share a common vision for the future of Pennsylvania," McCord said. "We both believe in the power of education and economic development and the core need for safe neighborhoods."
Pawlowski and McCord stuck to their plan for today's announcement in Center City despite a snow emergency having been declared earlier that day.
Lehighvalleylive.com reported Friday that Pawlowski would withdraw from the race. Gubernatorial candidates began releasing their fundraising numbers Friday, but Pawlowski's have not yet been released by the state.
Name recognition test
Past surveys showed Pawlowski polling on the low end compared with the other Democrats. A Harper Polling survey in November found 81 percent of respondents did not know enough about him to form an opinion.
During his campaign, Pawlowski drew much attention to the estimated $1 billion in Center City construction underway, and emphasized he was the only gubernatorial candidate with executive experience.
Pawlowski had pushed for stable funding for Pennsylvania's public schools, a farmer-friendly agriculture policy and the adoption of the federal Affordable Care Act.
"We brought much-needed attention to the critical issues facing our state, and I learned a lot about the challenges facing every corner of Pennsylvania," he said. "These challenges are not being met by the incumbent."
The Pawlowski campaign had hoped to leverage support and endorsements through contacts Pawlowski has gained as president of the Pennsylvania Municipal League and other mayors' organizations.
Pawlowski said McCord has taken steps to repair the $1.5 billion PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan, as well as streamlining operations, cutting costs and dramatically improving the treasury's productivity.
Contact Allentown reporter Colin McEvoy at 484-894-2549 or cmcevoy@express-times.com.
Like Allentown on lehighvalleylive.com on FacebookCommittee agrees on charter recommendations
BEND, Ore. - Bend's form of governance could be changing in major ways in 2018, possibly carving the city into wards and having a directly elected mayor -- if councilors go along with a committee's recommendations, and voters say yes to the proposal
The Bend City Charter Review Committee has been meeting for months now, trying to reach unanimous decisions on what to recommend to the city council and ultimately to voters.
In a 7-2 vote Tuesday, the committee recommended the council propose a four-ward system, with one councilor elected from each ward. Citizens within their designated wards would be able to vote for candidates within their ward. The other two councilors would be elected citywide, as well as the mayor, rather than chosen from among fellow councilors, as is the current, long-standing practice.
The committee focused the ward boundaries on not dividing communities of common interest, making sure the wards are of roughly equal population, and using existing geographic or political boundaries wherever possible.
The panel also voted 9-1 to recommend the council back having a city-wide elected mayor for a four-year term as part of the proposed charter changes.
Committee Co-Chair Brent Landels said the mayor, now chosen by councilors, is the political leader of the city and meets with the state and other regional bodies. He said having a mayor for only two years is not long enough.
"They don't really have the opportunity to build those relationships," Landels said. " Having someone to help with EDCO and other organizations, to bring jobs here, and to have somebody there who's here for a four-year term gives a better opportunity to build those relationships with CEOs of companies, to hopefully bring some living-wage jobs to the city of Bend."
The committee also recommended the council remove mayoral and council pay from the charter. They want the council to form an independent committee that would review whether the mayor's pay, currently the same $200 a month as fellow councilors, should go up.
Landels said the committee ran out of time to reach an informed and unanimous decision.
"The most common term we heard for the mayor was 50 percent of area median income, which would be around $25,000 a year, so it's not a huge amount of money we are talking about," Landels said.
"But there are people on our committee who didn't think it should only be roughly double, so about $400 per month. Then there are people who think it should be paid significantly better, so we couldn't really come to a consensus on it during the time frame we had."
Landels said a decision on raising pay for the mayor or councilors would be a future council ordinance, and not part of what would be brought before voters, under the committee's recommendations.
The charter review committee will present these options to city council Wednesday, December 6.
For more information: https://www.bendoregon.gov/government/citizen-committees/charter-review-committeeICC says PA and Hamas must resubmit charges against Israel, which would leave them open to war crimes charges as well.
A report on Monday reveals that America and other Western countries are pressuring the Palestinian Authority (PA) not to carry out its threat of suing Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for "war crimes."
PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki last Saturday threatened "we will go to the ICC, and put our signature on it. Very soon we will be a (sovereign) state. That is enough for the court to start an investigation."
However, citing inside sources in the ICC and among the PA's lawyers, The Guardian reports strong US and Israeli pressure on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas not to take such actions, or else risk cutting his own purse-strings.
The report comes as tensions have been rising between Israel and the US; just last Wednesday night reports revealed that US President Barack Obama's administration blocked a weapons transfer to Israel, and ordered greater scrutiny on future transfers.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the PA needs to submit a new declaration, and cannot resubmit the 2009 charges of "war crimes" against Israel in then-Operation Cast Lead, a complaint that was rejected because the PA has no status as a state.
"War crimes" suits go both ways
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who was ICC prosecutor during the 2009 lawsuit, told The Guardian "if Palestine wants to accept jurisdiction, it has to submit a new declaration."
Such a declaration would first require the PA and Hamas to reach a consensus following their unity pact, and would also leave them open for investigation of "war crimes," not just Israel. Indeed, Hamas has openly been using Gaza citizens as human shields, even exhorting Gazans to serve as human shields in TV messages.
"I heard all the arguments. I received different Oxford professors who were explaining the different and many times opposing arguments, and I concluded that the process should...go first to the UN. They should decide what entity should be considered a state," Moreno-Ocampo added to The Guardian.
In a recent interview, the PA's envoy to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) admitted the PA has no hope of pressing charges against Israel in international courts, because PA and Hamas terrorist groups are far worse violators of international law themselves.
The UNHRC has itself launched a committee to investigate "war crimes" allegations against Israel, an investigation that Nobel laureate Professor Yisrael (Robert) Aumann on Monday said amounted to anti-Semitism.Scientists can study Earth’s climate as far back as 800,000 years by drilling core samples from deep underneath the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Detailed information on air temperature and CO2 levels is trapped in these specimens. Current polar records show an intimate connection between atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature in the natural world. In essence, when one goes up, the other one follows.
There is, however, still a degree of uncertainty about which came first—a spike in temperature or CO2. Until now, the most comprehensive records to date on a major change in Earth’s climate came from the EPICA Dome C ice core on the Antarctic Plateau. The data, covering the end of the last ice age, between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago, show that CO2 levels could have lagged behind rising global temperatures by as much as 1,400 years. “The idea that there was a lag of CO2 behind temperature is something climate change skeptics pick on,” says Edward Brook of Oregon State University’s College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. “They say, ‘How could CO2 levels affect global temperature when you are telling me the temperature changed first?’”
Frédéric Parrenin of the Laboratory of Glaciology and Geophysical Environment in France and a team of researchers may have found an answer to the question. His team compiled an extensive record of Antarctic temperatures and CO2 data from existing data and five ice cores drilled in the Antarctic interior over the last 30 years. Their results, published February 28 in Science, show CO2 lagged temperature by less than 200 years, drastically decreasing the amount of uncertainty in previous estimates.
The wide margin of error in the EPICA core data is due to the way air gets trapped in layers of ice. Snowpack becomes progressively denser from the surface down to around 100 meters, where it forms solid ice. Scientists use air trapped in the ice to determine the CO2 levels of past climates, whereas they use the ice itself to determine temperature. But because air diffuses rapidly through the ice pack, those air bubbles are younger than the ice surrounding them. This means that in places with little snowfall—like the Dome C ice core—the age difference between gas and ice can be thousands of years.
Parrenin’s team addresses these concerns with a new method that establishes the different ages of the gas and ice. They measured the concentration of an isotope, nitrogen 15, which is greater the deeper the snowpack is. Once they were able to determine snowpack depth from the nitrogen 15 data, a simple model can determine the offset in depth between gas and ice and the amount of time the difference represents. The researchers then compared results from multiple locations to reduce the margin of error.
“Our method takes into account more data and shows that the age difference in Antarctic temperature and CO2 levels is less than we previously thought,” Parrenin says. “I think this could help to change the tone of discussions about climate change.”Bitcoin enthusiasts and libertarians the world over are in a state of confusion about the slowness with which the outside world is catching on to their new way of exchanging money. But regulators and lawmakers are now, very gradually, realising they need to do something about this growing beast, even if they don’t quite know what that something is.
Bitcoin is at an awkward teenager stage. The adopters are unsure which direction the currency should take. Those with a rebellious streak shun the physical coin and want to develop new protocols that make Bitcoin more anonymous and more distinguished from mainstream finance. The well-raised opportunists, on the other hand, are starting businesses and seek recognition from the bigger, older financial system. The hope of these ambitious entrepreneurs is that regulators will step in and ensure that they can secure funding and legal status to operate as legitimate businesses. If the latter succeed, Bitcoin will mature into a new alternative system that will have a place alongside our existing financial infrastructure. If the former succeed, we could see more dramatic technological innovations that attempt to challenge our wider societal architecture and relations.
While the rebellious developers can operate much like a punk band, playing music they love in cramped spaces, the entrepreneurs must engage with financial institutions and regulators in order to achieve their goal for the currency. In the US, Bitcoin companies have joined forces to display their commitment to self-regulation in a bid to influence the regulatory process. A new group, called the Data Asset Transfer Authority (Data), will develop a self-regulatory framework and liaise with law enforcement in Washington.
Traction with big financial and regulatory institutions has not however been a resounding success thus far. In the US and UK, Bitcoin entrepreneurs have faced a challenge proving that the currency is a large enough phenomenon to merit the attention of policymakers. It has caught the eye of some regulators but largely for the wrong reasons. In New York there is a pending investigation into the potential uses of Bitcoin by drug dealers and gun smugglers. There is little in the way of geographic and usage statistics to prove its credibility as most transactions are still anonymous on the public ledger. Some progress has been made in Germany, where Bitcoin took a step towards recognition last week by being given the status of “financial instrument”. For the community, a definition marks the beginning of defining the rules of the game. There is some guidance regarding tax compliance but it is not yet clear how this would be implemented.
To have a tax system that is fully compliant with capital gains and sales taxes in Bitcoin would be technically feasible but it would come at a large cost to the tax authorities. The regulation most likely to appear in the short term is an anti-money laundering initiative to ensure that people buying and selling Bitcoins have to reveal their personal information when converting into and from national currencies into Bitcoin. This in itself is also problematic from a regulator’s perspective. It only provides an incomplete regulatory framework. Unlike the financial system, where actors are members of the exchanges and subject to their own regulation, private individuals with access to coinmixers (nodes on the bitcoin network that add anonymity) and other anonymous wallets would not come under any such regulation on virtual currency exchanges.
The noises coming from the hackerspaces are difficult to tune into. Hardware innovation has been one of the loudest sounds along with the creation of new alternative currencies and protocols layered on top of Bitcoin. The developers work in small teams; designing new services and extensions to Bitcoin and ultimately determining the future of the currency. In the past decade the financial establishment has offered lucrative contracts to technically able computer scientists and hackers. Now they have a political message and a community to rally behind. The existence of cryptographic currencies may ignite the passion of the young hackers who will now be able to shun the money being offered by the existing system and go off and create a real alternative. As Bitcoin edges closer to the mainstream, it seems less and less likely that it could be the poster girl for this genre of innovation.
If the teenage band gets signed on a mainstream label then it will inevitably stray into more commercially minded territory. However, if the managers of the labels are not listening closely or do not like what they hear, perhaps this period of underground innovation will continue. In the music industry, punk musicians often depend on pop music to provide the investment in services and technology to reach the public. The bitcoin community, in its teenager stage, depends on all of its users, no matter what their political alignment, because as yet there is no mainstream label.1. If you owe someone money, always pay them back in a bar. Preferably during happy hour.
2. Always toast before doing a shot.
3. Whoever buys the shot gets the first chance to offer a toast.
4. Change your toast at least once a month.
5. Buying someone a drink is five times better than a handshake.
6. Buying a strange woman a drink is still cool. Buying all her drinks is dumb.
7. Never borrow more than one cigarette from the same person in one night.
8. When the bartender is slammed, resist the powerful urge to order a slightly-dirty, very-dry, in-and-out, super-chilled half-and-half martini with a lemon twist. Limit orders to beer, straight shots and two-part cocktails.
9. Get the bartender’s attention with eye contact and a smile.
10. Do not make eye contact with the bartender if you do not want a drink.
11. Unacceptable things to say after doing a shot: Great, now I’m going to get drunk. I hate shots. It’s coming back up.
12. Never, ever tell a bartender he made your drink too strong.
13. If he makes it too weak, order a double next time. He’ll get the message.
14. If you offer to buy a woman a drink and she refuses, she does not like you.
15. If you offer to buy a woman a drink and she accepts, she still might not like you.
16. If she buys you a drink, she likes you.
17. If someone offers to buy you a drink, do not upgrade your liquor preference.
18. Always have a corkscrew in your house.
19. If you don’t have a corkscrew, push the cork down into the bottle with a pen.
20. Drink one girly drink in public and you will forever be known as the guy who drinks girly drinks.
21. Our parents were better drinkers than we are.
22. Never talk to someone in the restroom unless you’re doing the same thing—urinating, waiting in line or washing your hands.
23. Girls hang out, apply make-up, and have long talks in the bathroom. Men do not.
24. After your sixth drink, do not look at yourself in the mirror. It will shake your confidence.
25. It is only permissible to shout ‘woo-hoo!’ if you are doing a shot with four or more people.
26. If there is a d.j., you can request a song only once per night. If he doesn’t play it within half an hour, do not approach him again. If he does play it, do not approach him again.
27. Learn how to make a rose out of a bar napkin. You’ll be surprised how well it works.
28. If you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to drink in a bar. Go to the liquor store.
29. If you owe someone twenty dollars or less, you may pay them back in beer.
30. Never complain about the quality or brand of a free drink.
31. If you have been roommates with someone more than six months, you may drink all their beer, even if it’s hidden, as long as you leave them one.
32. You can have a shot of their hard liquor only if the cap has been cracked and the bottle goes for less than $25.
33. The only thing that tastes better than free liquor is stolen liquor.
34. If you bring Old Milwaukee to a party, you must drink at least two cans before you start drinking the imported beer in the fridge.
35. Learn to appreciate hangovers. If it was all good times every jackass would be doing it.
36. If you ever feel depressed, get out a bartender’s guide and browse through all the drinks you’ve never tried.
37. Try one new drink each week.
38. If you are the bar’s sole customer, you are obliged to make small talk with the bartender until he stops acknowledging you. Then you’re off the hook. The same goes for him.
39. Never tip with coins that have touched you. If your change is $1.50, you can tellthe barmaid to keep the change, but once she has handed it to you, you cannot give it back. To a bartender or cocktail waitress, small change has no value.
40. If you have ever told a bartender, “Hey, it all spends the same,” then you are a cheap ass.
41. Anyone on stage or behind a bar is fifty percent better looking.
42. You can tell how hard a drinker someone is by how close they keep their drink to their mouth.
43. A bar is a college, not a nursery. If you spill a beer, clean it up. If you break a glass, wait for a staff member to clean it up, then blame it on someone else.
44. Being drunk is feeling sophisticated without being able to say it.
45. It’s okay to drink alone.
46. After three drinks, you will forget a woman’s name two seconds after she tells you. The rest of the night you will call her “baby” or “darling”.
47. Nothing screams ‘nancy boy’ louder than swirling an oversized brandy snifter.
48. Men don’t drink from straws. Unless you’re doing a Mind or Face Eraser.
49. If you do a shot, finish it. If you don’t plan to finish it, don’t accept it.
50. Never brood in a dance bar. Never dance in a dive bar.
51. Never play more than three songs by the same artist in a row.
52. Your songs will come on as you’re leaving the bar.
53. Never yell out jukebox selections to someone you don’t know.
54. Never lie in a bar. You may, however, grossly exaggerate and lean.
55. If you think you might be slurring a little, then you are slurring a lot. If you think you are slurring a lot, then you are not speaking English.
56. Screaming, “Someone buy me a drink!” has never worked.
57. For every drink, there is a five percent better chance you will get in a fight. There is also a three percent better chance you will lose the fight.
58. Fighting an extremely drunk person when you are sober is hilarious.
59. If you are broke and a friend is “sporting you”, you must laugh at all his jokes and play wingman when he makes his move.
60. If you are broke and a friend is “making sport of you”, you may steal any drink he leaves unattended.
61. Never rest your head on a table or bar top. It is the equivalent of voluntarily putting your head on a chopping block.
62. If you are trading rounds with a friend and he asks if you’re ready for another, always say yes. Once you fall out of sync you will end up buying more drinks than him.
63. If you’re going to hit on a member of the bar staff, make sure you tip well before and after, regardless of her response.
64. The people with the most money are rarely the best tippers.
65. Before you die, single-handedly make one decent martini.
66. Asking a bartender what beers are on tap when the handles are right in front of you is the equivalent of saying, “I’m an idiot.”
67. Never ask a bartender “what’s good tonight?” They do not fly in the scotch fresh from the coast every morning.
68. If there is a line for drinks, get your goddamn drink and step the hell away from the bar.
69. If there is ever any confusion, the fuller beer is yours.
70. The patrons at your local bar are your extended family, your fathers and mothers, your brothers and sisters. Except you get to sleep with these sisters. And if you’re really drunk, the mothers.
71. It’s acceptable, traditional in fact, to disappear during a night of hard drinking. You will appear mysterious and your friends will understand. If they even notice.
72. Never argue your tab at the end of the night. Remember, you’re hammered and they’re sober. It’s akin to a precocious five-year-old arguing the super-string theory with a physicist. 99.9% of the time you’re wrong and either way you’re going to come off as a jackass.
73. If you bring booze to a party, you must drink it or leave it.
74. If you hesitate more than three seconds after the bartender looks at you, you do not deserve a drink.
75. Beer makes you mellow, champagne makes you silly, wine makes you dramatic, tequila makes you felonious.
76. The greatest thing a drunkard can do is buy a round of drinks for a packed bar.
77. Never preface a conversation with a bartender with “I know this is going to be a hassle, but...”
78. When you’re in a bar and drunk, your boss is just another guy begging for a fat lip. Unless he’s buying.
79. If you are 86’d, do not return for at least three months. To come back sooner makes it appear no other bar wants you.
80. Anyone with three or more drinks in his hands has the right of way.
81. If you’re going to drink on the job, drink vodka. It’s the no-tell liquor.
82. There’s nothing wrong with drinking before noon. Especially if you’re supposed to be at work.
83. The bar clock moves twice as fast from midnight to last call.
84. A flask engraved with a personal message is one of the best gifts you can ever give. And make sure there’s something in it.
85. On the intimacy scale, sharing a quiet drink is between a handshake and a kiss.
86. You will forget every one of these rules by your fifth drink.
To purchase a full-sized or mini-poster of the 86 Rules, click here.A majority of North Koreans who escape and defect are women, who are often at an extremely high risk of being sold as brides or being subjected to sexual violence. In 2010, one aid worker estimated that around 90 percent of North Korean women escapees ended up becoming victims of human trafficking. This includes exploitive labor and prostitution, but bride trafficking has been a large market in the rural areas of China, close to the North Korean border.
Demand for brides in the more rural regions of China has surged with the male-female gap, a legacy of the “one-child policy.” Because of the country’s historic preference for male children, selective abortions of female fetuses have resulted in 122 boys being born for every 100 girls. In the three provinces closest to North Korea, the ratio of young men to women is 14:1.
According to statements from victims, the women are sold to older Chinese men for 2,000 yuan ($260) to 20,000 yuan ($2,600); the price varies depending on the woman’s age or appearance. Scouts seek “marketable” women, then lure them into China, usually with promises of more food and money. Many women who escape into China are from areas close to the Chinese border, usually living in poverty. “Distributors” match the women to the buyer’s preferences, and the brokers complete the sale. Some women are able to escape from their forced marriages with the help of underground human rights organizations, while others decide to adapt to their new life rather than face the risk of deportation.
If the escapees are caught by police, they will be deported back to North Korea. That is unless the police happen to be corrupt, in which case the women may be sold to another broker. China has been criticized for violating the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which prohibits the deportation of refugees when they are at the risk of being tortured upon returning. For its part, China sees the North Korean refugees as an “economic threat,” and classifies them as “economic migrants.”
Refugees from North Korea are terrified of what awaits them if they are arrested and deported back to their homeland; a fear that is exploited by the traffickers. Some women may agree to be sold as a bride rather than be deported, while others are coerced into trading sex for their presence to be kept silent. North Korea has strict laws designed to maintain its racial purity; it denounces marriages to foreign nationals and does not allow the entry of Chinese-Koreans or other mixed race children. Mothers are separated from their children, and women who return pregnant are subjected to forced abortions. Witnesses have reported that a woman was forced to drown her half-Chinese newborn. Many other Chinese-Korean children are denied legal recognition, with an estimated 10,000-20,000 such “stateless” orphans in China.
Harsh punishments await those caught trying to escape North Korea, including the “three generation of punishment” rule, in which three generations of the defector’s family are sent to the notorious prison camps. Meanwhile, China’s bride trafficking industry continues to grow, with estimates suggesting that by 2020 there will be 30 million Chinese men unable to marry. With a large number of women continuing to flee North Korea, the risk that they will be exploited to meet this demand will only rise.Blistering heat is affecting much of central and northern India ahead of the summer monsoon rains. Temperatures are generally around four or five degrees above average both by day and by night.
New Delhi has seen temperatures up around 45 Celsius over the last three day and dip no lower than 30C overnight. Wednesday’s maximum of 45.6C was a new record for the month of May.
Meanwhile, Nagpur saw the mercury rise to 47.9C, but top of the table were Ganganagar and Chandrapur hitting highs of 48.2C. Locals have been struggle to cope, and there has been a surge in the number of heat stroke patients at the hospitals.
The severe heatwave conditions look set to ease as we go into the weekend. Temperatures are likely to peak across the northwest on Friday before thundery showers break the heat, albeit temporarily.
May and June are usually the hottest months of the year in India with temperatures often in the range of 42 to 47C in many places. Temperatures may rise even higher next week. The hottest weather is still to come.2nd episode of the first season of South Park
"Weight Gain 4000" is the second episode of the first season of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 20, 1997.[1] In the episode, the residents of South Park excitedly prepare for a visit by celebrity Kathie Lee Gifford, whom the boys' third-grade teacher Mr. Garrison plans to assassinate because of a childhood grudge. In the meantime, Cartman becomes extremely obese after constantly eating a bodybuilding supplement called Weight Gain 4000.
The episode was written and directed by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone. After the South Park pilot episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", drew poor test audience results, Comedy Central requested a script for one more new episode before deciding whether or not to commit to a full series. The resulting script for "Weight Gain 4000" helped the network decide to pick up the show. Although the second episode to be produced, it was originally broadcast as the third episode. It was also the first South Park episode created completely using computers rather than construction paper.
Although some reviewers criticized the episode for its profanity and other material deemed offensive at the time of its original broadcast, several others felt "Weight Gain 4000" was a significant improvement over the pilot, particularly for its satirical element regarding American consumerism. The episode introduced such recurring characters as Jimbo Kern, Mayor McDaniels, Bebe Stevens and Clyde Donovan. The show's portrayal of Kathie Lee Gifford was the first time a celebrity was spoofed in South Park.
Plot [ edit ]
South Park Elementary teacher Mr. Garrison announces that Cartman has won the school's "Save Our Fragile Planet" essay contest, much to the anger of his classmate Wendy Testaburger, who immediately suspects him of cheating. The rest of the town becomes a flurry of excitement upon learning celebrity television host Kathie Lee Gifford will come to South Park to present Cartman with an award on national television. Mayor McDaniels plans a big event to showcase the town, with hopes of furthering her own career. Mr. Garrison directs rehearsals for a play with the schoolchildren depicting the history of South Park, which is to be shown at the event. Mayor McDaniels is horrified, however, to learn the historically accurate play includes children playing pioneers who attack and brutally beat the students portraying Native Americans. Garrison later gets fired for badmouthing Gifford.
Unbeknownst to the rest of town, Mr. Garrison relives a traumatic childhood memory in which a young Gifford defeated him in a national talent show. Mr. Garrison is manipulated by his hand puppet, Mr. Hat, to assassinate Gifford out of revenge. He purchases a large rifle from Jimbo's gun shop and plots to shoot Gifford. Meanwhile, Cartman is excited to appear on live television, and Mayor McDaniels instructs him to get into shape for Gifford's visit. Seeing a television commercial for a bodybuilding supplement called "Weight Gain 4000", Cartman asks his mother to buy it for him. Cartman becomes extremely fat from the product, although he believes he is in excellent shape and the excess weight is strictly muscle. Back at the school, Wendy looks through Mr. Garrison's papers and confirms Cartman indeed cheated on the contest by writing his name on a copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Wendy also learns about Mr. Garrison's assassination plan, and enlists the help of her friend Stan to stop him.
Gifford arrives, and most of the town attends the celebratory event, where Chef sings a song to seduce her. Mr. Garrison takes his position in a tall book depository, but he is frustrated to see that Gifford is hidden behind a bulletproof glass bubble. Wendy and Stan arrive and try unsuccessfully to stop Mr. Garrison, saying that they understand his pain, but when Stan accidentally reignites Garrison's anger, he decides to go through with the assassination. Just as he is about to fire, Cartman's new immense weight causes the stage to collapse, catapulting Gifford off it, and causing the bullet to hit Kenny in the head. Kenny is propelled through the air and impaled on a flagpole. Gifford's bodyguards whisk Gifford away, costing a disappointed Cartman his chance to be on television. Wendy takes to the stage and reveals that Cartman cheated on his essay, but the townspeople are too upset about Gifford's departure to care. Mr. Garrison is taken to a mental hospital, where Mr. Hat is placed into a straitjacket. Mr. Garrison apologizes to the kids for costing the town a chance to be on television, although Kyle explains to him that Cartman is now appearing on talk show Geraldo because of his tremendous obesity. Meanwhile, Chef is lying in bed with Gifford post-coital while watching Geraldo.
Production [ edit ]
"Weight Gain 4000" was written and directed by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It was first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 27, 1997.[1] The South Park pilot, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", did not do well with test audiences, and Comedy Central executives were unsure whether they wanted to order any additional episodes. However, they paid Parker and Stone to write another script when Internet buzz began to generate about the duo and their work on The Spirit of Christmas, the 1995 animated short film that served as a precursor to South Park. The network opted not to commit to a full Comedy Central series until they could read the newly commissioned script. The result was "Weight Gain 4000", which the two South Park creators wrote while they were working on their 1997 comedy-action film, Orgazmo.
In writing the script, the duo sought to give Comedy Central executives an idea of what the series would be like and how each show could differ from the others. Parker and Stone also said they would not write another script until the network signed off on the full show with a season of at least six episodes. Comedy Central liked the script and agreed to commit to a series. While "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" was created almost entirely with construction paper, "Weight Gain 4000" was the first South Park episode made completely using computers.[3] It was created in little over a month in a studio in Westwood, California, by about 15 animators using PowerAnimator, the Alias Systems Corporation animation program most commonly known as "Alias", which would be used in subsequent episodes. In the future, South Park shows would be created within a week of their broadcast dates and require about 40 animators. "Weight Gain 4000" was animated in chronological order from beginning to end. Although Parker and Stone sought to improve the details and textures of the characters and overall animation, they also specifically chose Alias because it would allow the animation to maintain the show's deliberately crude visual style they first created with construction paper in The Spirit of Christmas and "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".
The South Park creators and animators said they were still developing the characters and trying to figure out the future direction of the show with "Weight Gain 4000", which was more slow-paced than the series would eventually become. The 30-page script was shorter than in later episodes, which would average between 45 to 50 pages. The child protagonists also spoke slower. While recording their voice performances, the actors read the lines slowly and the dialogue was then sped up to create the characters' distinctive voices. At that time, Parker and Stone had not mastered the pace at which they needed to speak. The crowd shots in "Weight Gain 4000" took a particularly long time to animate due to the large number of people featured, and the animators were especially proud of the use of depth and motion in the perspective of the crosshairs in Mr. Garrison's rifle scope as he tried to assassinate Kathie Lee Gifford. Mr. Garrison's hatred for Gifford was foreshadowed in "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", where the sentence "I'm not positive, but I think Cathy [sic] Lee Gifford is much older than she claims to be", can be seen on his classroom's chalkboard. During a flashback scene in "Weight Gain 4000", an eight-year-old Mr. Garrison is shown to already be bald on top with gray hair on the side of his ears. This led to an inconsistency in the first season episode "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut", in which he has a full head of hair during a flashback.[4]
Themes [ edit ]
Describing the general tone of the show, Teri Fitsell of The New Zealand Herald explains that "South Park is a vicious social satire that works by spotlighting not the immorality of these kids but their amorality, and contrasting it with the conniving hypocrisy of the adults who surround them."[5] The humor of the show comes from the disparity between the cute appearance of the characters and their crude behavior.[6][7] However, Parker and Stone said in an early interview that the show's language is realistic. "There are so many shows where little kids are good and sweet, and it's just not real... Don't people remember what they were like |
became worthless when Bond's global business empire collapsed under a mountain of debt.
"The share certificates are buried in some cardboard box or another. I've still got the paperwork but it's about as valuable as the wallpaper covering the cracks,'' he said.
Mr Markey bought a total of about 5000 shares in the 1980s after Bond took over the Swan Brewery. The shares cost the former teacher and father-of-three about $7000.
"I thought it sounded like a good investment. They paid dividends of about 10 per cent each year but there was nothing of substance in the company - it was all borrowed money,'' Mr Markey said.
"He had these interwoven companies and trusts and God knows what else. Everything was owned by trusts, which meant outside creditors couldn't get at it.
"I'm only one of many. Luckily it was money that I could afford to lose. I would say a heck of a lot more people lost a lot more than me.''
However, Mr Markey said he was no longer bitter about Bond.
"I don't think of him. He's in the past,'' the Claremont pensioner said.
"If I was dwelling on it, I'd be screwing up my own life. Don't get your bile up or your guts screwed up in a ball.
"I stopped being bitter about it many years ago, but I do believe it's important to keep reminding each new generation what he did, because people forget.''
In the wake of the collapse, Bond - who was once the nation's largest brewer and set up Australia's first privately-funded university - was declared bankrupt and in 1997 he was jailed for what was described as Australia's biggest corporate fraud.
Camera Icon Alan Bond arrives at his grandson Jeremy's wedding. PICTURE: Sean Middleton Picture: PerthNow
Bond returned to business and Business Review Weekly's Rich list in 2007 after serving almost four years in prison for corporate fraud, but the ventures soured once again and shareholders turned on him.
One shareholder accused him of "rape and pillage'' of the company in an email to shareholders.
Another said: "He hasn't learnt his lesson. He operates as if the 1980s never went away. He's like Gordon Gekko greed is good. He has a complete lack of understanding that the world has moved on.''
Henry Bosch, who as chairman of the former National Companies and Securities Commission led the investigations into Bond's corporate fraud, also hit out at Bond when he returned to the BRW Rich 200 list.
"My first reaction is of sympathy to the thousands who lost their life savings,'' Mr Bosch said at the time.
"I think it's a defect of our system that a man can pay his creditors half a cent in the dollar and then go on to flaunt his riches.''
Also in 2007, expat Australian businessman Greg Kennedy, who was living in Singapore and was one of Alan Bond's best mates, spoke out because he wanted his old friend brought to account.
"I used to believe what most Australians believed: that Bond was a bit loud, a bit of a larrikin, a bit of a hero,'' Kennedy said.
"Now I think he's a master manipulator and a fraud, who should be stopped before he does any more damage to anyone.''
ALAN BOND: HOW IT HAPPENED
1938 Born in London, England.
1950 Emigrates to Australia aged 12 with his parents and sister.
1955 Marries Eileen Hughes, both 17. They went on to have four children: John, Craig, Susanne and Jody.
1959 Forms what was to become Bond Corporation.
1960s-70s Amasses a fortune mainly in property development, becoming one of Australia's most prominent businessmen.
1978 Selected as an Australian of the Year.
1980s WA Inc political scandal unfolds after it is revealed the state government, led by former Premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen - including Bond - which resulted in a loss of public money estimated at more than $600 million.
1983 Bankrolls the successful bid for the 1983 America's Cup, becoming a public hero in his adopted country.
1987 Pays $1 billion for Kerry Packer's Channel Nine television network; buys Vincent van Gogh's painting, Irises, for $54 million but fails to repay loan from the auctioneer.
1990 Sells Nine back to Packer for $700 million as his business empire collapses.
1992 Declares bankruptcy; divorces Eileen.
1995 Family buys him out of bankruptcy, with creditors accepting a payment of $12 million, just over half a cent per dollar owed.
1995 Marries Diana Bliss, a public relations consultant and theatre producer.
1997 Sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding Bell Resources after siphoning $1.2 billion was siphoned into Bond Corporation.
2000 Released from Karnet Prison Farm having served four years in prison.
2000 Daughter Susanne dies from a suspected accidental overdose of prescription medication.
2003 Inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
2004 Secures interests in companies including Madagascar Oil and Global Diamond Resources.
2008 Returns to Business Review Weekly's "Rich 200 List'' at 157th place with an estimated wealth of $265 million.
2010 Loses his second fortune, with several companies he was involved with going bust or into liquidation owing millions of dollars; a former friend and associate describes him as "a master manipulator who should be stopped before he does any more damage to anyone''.
2012 Di Bliss is found dead in the couple's swimming pool at their Perth mansion after taking her own life; A court appeal backfires for 20 banks who are ordered to pay up to $3 billion to the liquidators of Bond's former company Bell Group.
2013 Lives in seclusion following the death of his wife but opens up about her battle with depression, describing it as like living in a ``black hole''.On June 4, 2009, I both called Congressman Dent's office and sent the below text in an email. I identified myself as a candidate in next year's election. during the call and I am pleased to remark that the call was handled in a courteous and professional manner.
Please take a read. My remarks are that our health is the most integral part of our wealth – do we REALLY want government running and involved with our health care? Although I commend the Congressman for taking the proper steps against the Democratic Party – which is aggressively advancing “ObamaCare” – I fail to see why there is need to debate this topic. Why?
Well, there is simply nothing in the Constitution that delegates the power to federal Congress to legislate on this matter. The argument to fully privatize health care will be saved for a later day, but I wish Congress would turn it's attention to Constitutional topics that are far more serious and relevant, such as our monetary policy.
Dear Congressman Dent – I have read about your efforts to, in your own words, pass a bill that “bans government interference into the doctor-patient relationship by protecting the right of Americans to get the care they need when they need it.” I want you to know that I agree with this sentiment; however, my personal view is that a Constitutional amendment is necessary before the federal government can setup a federal health care system for citizens, and the government is already too involved with our health. The text of HR 2516, which you co-signed, states “no Federal funds shall be used to permit any Federal officer or employee to exercise any supervision or control over.” Why does it simply not state “no Federal funds shall be used for the practice of medicine”? Would you support this change and why? Please also consider co-signing HR 2630, the Protect Patients and Physicians Privacy Act. This bill will give all individuals “the ability to opt out of any Federally mandated, created, or funded electronic system for maintaining health care information.” This is the Constitutional view I mentioned above. Please also consider co-signing HR 2629, the “Coercion is Not Health Care Act.” This act will FORBID the federal government to set a requirement for health insurance coverage and bluntly states “no individual or agency of the Federal Government shall ever require any individual to purchase health insurance coverage.” Again, this is the Constitutional view. Also, roughly one month ago I requested by both written letter and phone call to your office your thoughts on our nation's monetary policy, specifically to abolish the Federal Reserve. I have not received any form of reply to my email or address. Could you please reply as I am unaware of your views on this important topic? Sincerely, Jake Towne
Feel free to let me know what you think about the nationalization of health care and my above letter below, or leave a comment on my interim campaign web page – there is a Discussion devoted to health care. I am happy to report that a much better website is under construction.
However, the fact is that our current crop of politicians are not following the Constitution, and here is what I think we must do “RALLY AT THE BREACH!! – A Note on the U.S. Constitution.”
Jake Towne is running for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 15th District in the 2010 election as a citizen unaffiliated with any political parties. Jake also writes at www.LibertyMaven.com and www.CampaignForLiberty.com. A master campaign presentation for internet viewing is available. [Reach the Author Here!]
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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. As always, unlike the NFL, the author grants full permission to allow any accounts of, rebroadcasts, retransmissions, repostings of this article to your blog or anywhere else in order to promote the Restoration of our Republic. Veritas numquam perit. Veritas odit moras. Veritas vincit. Truth never perishes. Truth hates delay. Truth conquers. Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.
“Intelligence is quickness in seeing things as they are.” – George Santayana
Nolan Chart Facebook Group Page Created
Summary of Articles and Bibliography for Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution (5/9/2009)
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Other Recent Articles by the Author
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Ron Paul's rEVOLution Versus the “One Ring” of the Federal ReserveThe deportation of the Crimean Tatars (Crimean Tatar Qırımtatar sürgünligi; Ukrainian Депортація кримських татар; Russian Депортация крымских татар) was the ethnic cleansing of at least 191,044 Tatars from Crimea in 18-20 May 1944. It was carried out by Lavrentiy Beria, head of the Soviet state security and secret police, acting on behalf of Joseph Stalin. Within three days, Beria's NKVD used cattle trains to deport women, children, the elderly, even Communists and members of the Red Army, to the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan, several thousand kilometres away. They were one of the ten ethnicities who were encompassed by Stalin's policy of population transfer in the Soviet Union.
The deportation ostensibly was intended as collective punishment for the perceived collaboration of some Crimean Tatars with Nazi Germany. Soviet sources indict the Tatars as traitors; Tatar nationalists dispute this, maintaining the program was part of the Soviet plan to gain access to the Dardanelles and acquire territory in Turkey where the Tatars had ethnic kinsmen. Although the Nazis initially viewed the Crimean Tatars negatively, their policy changed in face of determined Soviet resistance. Many of the Soviet prisoners of war were recruited by the Wehrmacht as support units. Meanwhile, 15,000 to 20,000 Crimean Tatars were persuaded to form self-defence battalions to protect Crimean Tatar villages from attacks by Soviet partisans as well as hunting them down, though these units typically sided with whoever was stronger in an area. In addition, Muslim Committees were also formed, giving them limited self-governance. This increased the suspicion despite a similar number as the self-defence volunteers also having joined the Red Army and thousands still serving when the Soviets attacked Berlin, with numerous Crimean Tatars also joining the partisans. Majority of hiwis and their families, along with those associated with Muslim Committees eventually were evacuated. Although many Soviet officials recognised that the guilty segments of the population had been evacuated, the demand to collectively punish the Crimean Tatars grew louder.
Nearly 8,000 Crimean Tatars died during the deportation, while tens of thousands perished subsequently due to the harsh exile conditions. The Tatar exile resulted in the abandonment of 80,000 households and 360,000 acres of land. Stalin sought to eradicate all traces of the Crimean Tatars and, in subsequent censuses, forbade any mention of the ethnic group. In 1956, the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, condemned Stalin's policies, including the deportation of various ethnicities, but did not lift the directive forbidding the return of the Crimean Tatars. They remained in Central Asia for several more decades until the Perestroika era in the late 1980s when 260,000 Tatars returned to Crimea. Their exile lasted 45 years. The ban on their return was officially declared null and void, and the Supreme Council of Crimea declared on 14 November 1989 that the deportations had been a crime.
By 2004, sufficient numbers of Tatars had returned to Crimea that they comprised 12 percent of the peninsula's population. The local authorities did not assist their return or compensate them for the land they lost. The Russian Federation, the successor state of the USSR, did not provide reparations, compensate those deported for lost property, or file legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the forced resettlement. The deportation was a crucial event in the history of the Crimean Tatars, and has come to be seen as a symbol of the plight and oppression of smaller ethnic groups by the Soviet Union. On 12 December 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament issued a resolution recognizing this event as genocide and established 18 May as the "Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Crimean Tatar genocide".
Background [ edit ]
The Crimean Tatars controlled the Crimean Khanate from 1441 to 1783, when Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire as a target of Russian expansion. By the 14th century, most of the Turkic-speaking population of Crimea had adopted Islam, following the conversion of Ozbeg Khan of the Golden Horde. It was the longest surviving state of the Golden Horde. They often engaged in conflicts with Moscow—from 1468 until the 17th century, the Crimean Tatars made almost annual incursions into Slavic lands, capturing many people used in the slave trade, and were averse to the newly-established Russian rule. Thus, the Tatars began leaving Crimea in several waves of emigration. Between 1784 and 1790, out of a total population of about a million, around 300,000 Crimean Tatars left for the Ottoman Empire.
The Crimean War triggered another mass exodus of Tatars. Between 1855 and 1866 at least 500,000 Muslims, and possibly up to 900,000, left the Russian Empire and emigrated to the Ottoman Empire. Out of that number, at least one third were from Crimea, while the rest were from the Caucausus. These emigrants comprised 15–23 percent of the total population of Crimea. The Russian Empire used that fact as the ideological foundation to further Russify "New Russia". Eventually, the Crimean Tatars became a minority in Crimea; in 1783, they comprised 98 percent of the population, but by 1897, this was down to 34.1 percent.[10] While Crimean Tatars were emigrating, the Russian government encouraged Russification of the peninsula, populating it with Russians, Ukrainians, and other Slavic ethnic groups; this Russification continued during the Soviet era.[10]
After the 1917 October Revolution, Crimea received autonomous status inside the USSR on 18 October 1921, but collectivization in the 1920s led to severe famine from which up to 100,000 Crimeans perished when their crops were transported to "more important" regions of the Soviet Union. By one estimate, three-quarters of the famine victims were Crimean Tatars. Their status deteriorated further after Joseph Stalin became the Soviet leader and implemented repressions that led to the deaths of at least 5.2 million Soviet citizens between 1927 and 1938.
World War II [ edit ]
In 1940, the Crimean Socialist Soviet Republic had approximately 1,126,800 inhabitants, of which 218,000 people, or 19.4 percent of the population, were Tatars. In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Eastern Europe, annexing much of the western USSR. Tatars initially viewed the Germans as liberators from Stalinism, and they had also been positively treated by the Germans in World War I.[15]
Many of the captured Crimean Tatars serving in the Red Army were sent to POW camps after Romanians and Nazis came to occupy the bulk of Crimea. Though Nazis initially called for murder of all "Asiatic inferiors", they revised this policy in the face of determined resistance from the Red Army. Beginning in 1942, Germans recruited Soviet prisoners of war to form support armies.[16] The Dobrucan Tatar nationalists Fazil Ulkusal and Edige Kirimal helped in freeing Crimean Tatars from German prisoner-of-war camps and enlisting them in the independent Crimean support legion for the Wehrmacht. This legion eventually included eight battalions.[15] From November 1941, German authorities allowed Tatars to establish Muslim Committees in various towns as a symbolic recognition of some local government authority, though they were not given any political power.
Number of Tatars in Crimea Year Number Percentage 1783 500,000 98% 1897 186,212 34.1% 1939 218,879 19.4% 1959 — — 1979 5,422 0.3% 1989 38,365 1.6%
Some of the Crimean Tatars were also organized into Schutzmannschaft (police battalions) and Selbstschutz (self-defence) brigades to protect Crimean Tatar villages from the attacks and to track down the Soviet partisans. According to both German and Crimean Tatar evidence, the Germans persuaded between 15,000 and 20,000 Crimean Tatars to form self-defence battalions. However, rather than uniformly support German forces, these units frequently sided with whoever was the strongest in an area. Soviet Communist partisans also raided Tartar villages as punishment for perceived collaboration.[20]
Toward the end of the war, the SS began enlisting every Eastern Muslim in its reach. In summer of 1944, 800 former soldiers of Tatar units who had been evacuated from Crimea to Romania were recruited into the Tatar SS Waffen Mountain Brigade or Tatarische Waffen-Gebirgs-Brigade der SS. These fought in Hungary before integration into Harun al-Rashid's legions.
However, not all Tatars joined the collaboration; Crimean Tatar Ahmet Özenbaşlı, for instance, strongly opposed the occupation and nurtured secret contacts with the Soviet resistance movement to provide valuable strategic and political information. Other Crimean Tatars also fought on the side of the Soviet partisans, like the Tarhanov movement of 250 Tatars which fought throughout 1942 till its destruction. Furthermore, 25,033 Crimean Tatars fought in the Red Army during World War II,[23] a greater number than the 15,000 to 20,000 persuaded to join the self-defence units that protected Tatar villages and also hunted down partisans.[24] Eight Crimean Tatars were even named the Heroes of the Soviet Union. In addition to this, even though the Volga Tatars actually participated in collaboration in higher number than the Crimean Tatars, with 35,000–40,000 volunteers fighting with the Axis, they avoided any kind of collective punishment. Many other ethnicities were also Nazi collaborators, even numerous Russians and Jews, suggesting that some people in the occupied territories had been forcibly drafted.[24]
Up to 130,000 people died during the Axis occupation of Crimea. The Nazis implemented a brutal repression, destroying more than 70 villages that were together home to about 25 percent of the Crimean Tatar population. Thousands of Crimean Tatars were forcibly transferred to work as Ostarbeiter in German factories under the supervision of the Gestapo in what were described as "vast slave workshops", resulting in loss of all Crimean Tatar support.[27] The Nazis considered the Crimean Tatars and various other nations as "people of a lower race." In April 1944 the Red Army managed to repel the Axis forces from the peninsula in the Crimean Offensive.
A majority of the hiwis (helpers), their families, and all those associated with the Muslim Committees were evacuated to Germany and Hungary or Dobruca by the Wehrmacht and Romanian army where they joined the Eastern Turkic division. Thus, the majority of the collaborators had been evacuated from Crimea by the retreating Wehrmacht. Many Soviet officials had also recognised this and rejected claims that the Crimean Tatars had betrayed Soviet Union en masse. However, with the German retreat, voices demanding punishment of the Tatars grew louder. In addition, the presence of Muslim Committees organized from Berlin by Kirimal and other members of Turkish and Dobrucan diaspora appeared particularly damning in the eyes of the Soviet government. The linking of Tatars with Turkey by the "Crimean Turk" nationalists also increased suspicion.[24]
Deportation [ edit ]
We were told that we were being evicted and we had 15 minutes to get ready to leave. We boarded boxcars – there were 60 people in each, but no one knew where we were being taken to. To be shot? Hanged? Tears and panic were taking over.[31] — Saiid, who was deported with his family from Yevpatoria when he was 10
Ostensibly due to the collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II, the Soviet government inflicted a collective guilt and punishment on ten ethnicities, among them the Crimean Tatars.[33] Punishment included deportation to distant regions of Central Asia and Siberia. Soviet accounts of the late 1940s indict the Tatars as an ethnicity of traitors, leaving no doubt as to the reasons for their deportation. Although refused by Crimean Tatars, this opinion was widely accepted in the Soviet period and persists in the Russian scholarly and popular literature.[34]
On 10 May 1944, Lavrentiy Beria recommended to Stalin that the Crimean Tatars should be deported away from the border regions due to their "traitorous actions". Stalin subsequently issued GKO Order No. 5859ss, which envisaged the resettlement of the Crimean Tatars.[36] The deportation lasted only three days, 18–20 May 1944, during which NKVD agents went house to house collecting Crimean Tatars at gunpoint and forcing them to enter sealed-off cattle trains that would transfer them almost 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) to remote locations in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. The Tatars were allowed to carry up to 500 kg of their property per family.[40] By 8:00 on the first day, the NKVD had already loaded 90,000 Crimean Tatars distributed in 25 trains. The next day, a further 136,412 persons were boarded onto railroad cars. The only ones who could avoid this fate were Crimean Tatar women who were married to men of other non-punished ethnic groups. They traveled in overcrowded wagons for several weeks and were plagued by a lack of food and water. It is estimated that at least 228,392 people were deported from Crimea, of which at least 191,044 were Crimean Tatars in 47,000 families. Since 7,889 people perished in the long transit in sealed-off railcars, the NKVD registered 183,155 Crimean Tatars who arrived at their destinations in Central Asia.[46] The majority of the deportees were rounded up from the Crimean countryside. Only 18,983 of the exiles were from Crimean cities.
The deported peoples were transferred in sealed off railroad cars
On 4 July 1944, the NKVD officially informed Stalin that the resettlement was complete.[48] However, not long after that report, the NKVD found out that one of its units forgot to deport people from the Arabat Spit. Instead of preparing an additional transfer in trains, the NKVD boarded hundreds of Crimean Tatars onto an old boat, took it to the middle of the Azov Sea, and sank the ship, on 20 July. Those who did not drown were finished off by machine-guns.
Uzbekistan, the main destination of the deported
Officially, Crimean Tatar were eliminated from Crimea. The deportation encompassed every person of Crimean Tatar descent, including children, women, and the elderly, and even those who had been members of the Communist Party or the Red Army. In March 1949, a total of 8,995 former soldiers of the Red Army of Crimean Tatar descent were registered in special settlements. Among these veterans, there were 534 officers, 1,392 sergeants, and 7,079 soldiers. There were also 742 members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and 1,225 members of Komsomol. According to one Russian witness of the deportation, some men were still fighting at the Eastern front, but the deportation awaited them at the end of the war. This was especially humiliating for war heroes; Ilyas Ablayev, for instance, fought on various fronts in the war and served in the Red Army until May 1947, only to then live in exile in the region of Tashkent.
During this mass eviction, the Soviet authorities confiscated around 80,000 houses, 500,000 cattle, 360,000 acres of land, and 40,000 tons of agricultural provisions. In addition, all Crimean Tatars were fired from the Red Army. Besides 191,000 deported Tatars, the Soviet authorities also evicted 9,620 Armenians, 12,420 Bulgarians, and 15,040 Greeks from the peninsula. All were collectively branded as traitors and became second class citizens for decades in the USSR. Among the deported, there were also 283 persons of other ethnicities: Italians, Romanians, Karaims, Kurds, Czechs, Hungarians, and Croats. During 1947 and 1948, a further 2,012 veteran returnees were deported from Crimea by the local MVD.
In total, 151,136 Crimean Tatars were deported to the Uzbek SSR; 8,597 to the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; and 4,286 to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic; and the remaining 29,846 were sent to various remote regions of the Russian SFSR. When the Crimean Tatars arrived at their destination in the Uzbek SSR, they were met with hostility by Uzbek locals who threw stones at them, even their children, because they heard that the Crimean Tatars were "traitors" and "fascist collaborators." The Uzbeks objected to becoming the "dumping ground for treasonous nations." In the coming years, several assaults against the Crimean Tatars population were registered, some of which were fatal.
Lavrentiy Beria, the chief of the Soviet NKVD
The mass Crimean deportations were organized by Lavrentiy Beria, the chief of the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, and his subordinates Bogdan Kobulov, Ivan Serov, B. P. Obruchnikov, M.G. Svinelupov, and A. N. Apolonov. The field operations were conducted by G. P. Dobrynin, the deputy Head of the Gulag system; G. A. Bezhanov, the Colonel of State Security; I. I. Piiashev, Major General; S. A. Klepov, Commissar of State Security; I. S. Sheredega, Lt. General; B. I. Tekayev, Lt. Colonel of State Security; and two local leaders, P. M. Fokin, head of the Crimea NKGB, and V. T. Sergjenko, Lt. General. In order to execute this deportation, the NKVD secured 5,000 armed agents and the NKGB allocated a further 20,000 armed men, together with a few thousand regular soldiers.[36] Two of Stalin's directives from May 1944 reveal that every aspect of the Soviet government, from financing to transit, was involved in executing the operation.
On 14 July 1944 the GKO authorized the immigration of 51,000 people, mostly Russians, to 17,000 empty collective farms on Crimea. On 30 June 1945, the Crimean ASSR was abolished.[36]
Soviet propaganda sought to hide the population transfer by claiming that the Crimean Tatars had "voluntarily resettle[d] to Central Asia".[56] In essence, though, according to historian Paul Robert Magocsi, Crimea was "ethnically cleansed." After this act, the term "Crimean Tatar" was banished from the Russian-Soviet lexicon, and all Tatar toponyms (names of towns, villages, and mountains) in Crimea were changed to Russian names on all maps. Muslim graveyards and religious objects in Crimea were demolished or converted into secular places. During Stalin's rule, nobody was allowed to mention that this ethnicity even existed in the USSR. This went so far that many individuals were even forbidden to declare themselves as Crimean Tatars during the Soviet censuses of 1959, 1970, and 1979. They could only declare themselves as Tatars. This ban was lifed during the Soviet census of 1989.[57]
Aftermath [ edit ]
Mortality and death toll [ edit ]
Mortality of deported Crimean Tatars according to NKVDs files Year Number of deceased May 1944 – 1 January 1945 13,592 1 January 1945 – 1 January 1946 13,183
The first deportees started arriving in the Uzbek SSR on 29 May 1944 and most had arrived by 8 June 1944. The consequent mortality rate remains disputed; the NKVD kept incomplete records of the death rate among the resettled ethnicities living in exile. Like the other deported peoples, the Crimean Tatars were placed under the regime of special settlements. Many of those deported performed forced labor: their tasks included working in coal mines and construction battalions, under the supervision of the NKVD. Deserters were executed. Special settlers routinely worked eleven to twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Despite this difficult physical labor, the Crimean Tatars were given only around 200 grams (7.1 oz) to 400 grams (14 oz) of bread per day. Accommodations were insufficient; some were forced to live in mud huts where "there were no doors or windows, nothing, just reeds" on the floor to sleep on.
The sole transport to these remote areas and labour colonies was equally as strenuous. Theoretically, the NKVD loaded 50 people into each railroad car, together with their property. One witness claimed that 133 people were in her wagon. They had only one hole in the floor of the wagon which was used as a toilet. Some pregnant women were forced to give birth inside these sealed-off railroad cars. The conditions in the overcrowded train wagons were exacerbated by a lack of hygiene, leading to cases of typhus. Since the trains only stopped to open the doors at rare occasions during the trip, the sick inevitably contaminated others in the wagons. It was only when they arrived at their destination in the Uzbek SSR that the Crimean Tatars were released from the sealed-off railroad cars. Still, some were redirected to other destinations in Central Asia and had to continue their journey. Some witnesses claimed that they traveled for 24 consecutive days. During this whole time, they were given very little food or water while trapped inside. There was no fresh air, since the doors and windows were bolted shut. In Kazakh SSR, the transport guards unlocked the door only to toss out the corpses along the railroad. The Crimean Tatars thus called these railcars "crematoria on wheels." The records show that at least 7,889 Crimean Tatars died during this long journey, amounting to about 4 percent of their entire ethnicity.
We were forced to repair our own individual tents. We worked and we starved. Many were so weak from hunger that they could not stay on their feet.... Our men were at the front and there was no one who could bury the dead. Sometimes the bodies lay among us for several days.... Some Crimean Tatar children dug little graves and buried the unfortunate little ones. — anonymous Crimean Tatar woman, describing life in exile
The high mortality rate continued for several years in exile due to malnutrition, labor exploitation, diseases, lack of medical care, and exposure to the harsh desert climate of Uzbekistan. The exiles were frequently assigned to the heaviest construction sites. The Uzbek medical facilities filled with Crimean Tatars who were susceptible to the local Asian diseases not found on Crimean peninsula where the water was purer, including yellow fever, dystrophy, malaria, and intestinal illness. The death toll was the highest during the first five years. In 1949 the Soviet authorities counted the population of the deported ethnic groups who lived in special settlements. According to their records, there were 44,887 excess deaths in these five years, 19.6 percent of that total group.[1] Other sources give a figure of 44,125 deaths during that time, while a third source, using alternative NKVD archives, gives a figure of 32,107 deaths. These reports included all the people resettled from Crimea (including Armenians, Bulgarians, and Greeks), but the Crimean Tatars formed a majority in this group. It took five years until the number of births among the deported people started to surpass the number of deaths. Soviet archives reveal that between May 1944 and January 1945 a total of 13,592 Crimean Tatars perished in exile, about 7 percent of their entire population. Almost half of all deaths (6,096) were of children under the age of 16; another 4,525 were adult women and 2,562 were adult men. During 1945, a further 13,183 people died. Thus, by the end of December 1945, at least 27,000 Crimean Tatars had already died in exile. One Crimean Tatar woman living near Tashkent recalled the events from 1944:
My parents were moved from Crimea to Uzbekistan in May 1944. My parents had sisters and brothers, but when they arrived in Uzbekistan, the only survivors were themselves. My parents' sisters and brothers and parents all died in transit because of catching bad colds and other diseases.... My mother was left completely alone and her first work was to cut trees.
Estimates produced by Crimean Tatars indicate mortality figures that were far higher and amounted to 46% of their population living in exile. In 1968, when Leonid Brezhnev presided over the USSR, Crimean Tatar activists were persecuted for using that high mortality figure under the guise that it was a "slander to the USSR." In order to show that Crimean Tatars were exaggerating, the KGB published figures showing that "only" 22 percent of that ethnic group died. The Karachai demographer D. M. Ediev estimates that 34,300 Crimean Tatars died due to the deportation, representing an 18 percent mortality rate.[1] Hannibal Travis estimates that overall 40,000–80,000 Crimean Tatars died in exile. Professor Michael Rywkin gives a figures of at least 42,000 Crimean Tatars who died between 1944 and 1951, including 7,900 who died during the transit —J. Otto Pohl concludes this would mean that at least 20% of their population died as a consequence of this policy. Pohl described it as "one of the worst cases of ethnically motivated mass murder of the 20th century." Professor Brian Glyn Williams gives a figure of between 40,000 and 44,000 deaths as a consequence of this deportation. The Crimean State Committee estimated that 45,000 Crimean Tatars died between 1944 and 1948. The official NKVD report estimated that 27 percent of that ethnicity died.
Various estimates of the mortality rates of the Crimean Tatars:
18%[1] 82% Died in exile Survived in exile
20% 80% Died in exile Survived in exile
27% 73% Died in exile Survived in exile
46% 54% Died in exile Survived in exile
Rehabilitation [ edit ]
Crimean Tatars Chronology of the ethnic makeup of Crimea. The sharp drop of the Tatars is visible after the deportation.
Stalin's government denied the Crimean Tatars the right to education or publication in their native language. Despite the prohibition, and although they had to study in Russian or Uzbek, they maintained their cultural identity. In 1956 the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, held a speech in which he condemned Stalin's policies, including the mass deportations of various ethnicities. Still, even though many peoples were allowed to return to their homes, three groups were forced to stay in exile: the Soviet Germans, the Meskhetian Turks, and the Crimean Tatars. In 1954, Khrushchev allowed Crimea to be included in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic since Crimea is linked by land to Ukraine and not with the Russian SFSR. On 28 April 1956, the directive "On Removing Restrictions on the Special Settlement of the Crimean Tatars... Relocated during the Great Patriotic War" was issued, ordering a de-registration of the deportees and their release from administrative supervision. However, various other restrictions were still kept and the Crimean Tatars were not allowed to return to Crimea. |
pull, numbers-wise, from the stats we have available to us.
As for the numbers we do have … well, some guys miss the net on purpose to avoid blocks, using the angle of the boards as a pass, but that's tallied the same as a wild bomb from the boards that wraps its way out of the zone. Some guys shoot the puck off the net at sticks, slap-pass style - because they've got vision - but that's not an easily quantified play. Other defensemen are paired with offensive dynamos and end up with clear lanes because they're forgotten, while the opposite situation exists too.
Still, there seems to be at least some separation between players. You can see below that the top-20 D-men in avoiding block attempts over the past four years (minimum 400 tries) is a list of generally excellent defensemen:
(Stick-tap to Domenic Galamini for the chart.)
But again, we're hardly able to definitively say, "Here are guys who excel at getting pucks through." On the surface, those names seem to have made the list for widely varying reasons.
Shea Weber and Dustin Byfuglien have ROCKETS for shots, so you can see why some players "oopsie!" it and fail to get in front of their attempts. Roman Polak could be one of those guys nobody respects offensively, so when he does get the puck, he's open. Marc Methot could be there because he's left alone while defenses struggle to contain the uncontainable Erik Karlsson (who likely isn't on the list himself because of all that extra attention).
But in general, the names there make you go, "Yeah, that makes sense."
Because of all the "noise" in the numbers, as statisticians say, this is an area where coaching and pro scouting are crucial, and it's an area many teams are targeting for improvement. The big boomer isn't useful if it’s shot directly into a trampoline, so expect to see more players - particularly the forward in the high slot - offering options for their QB.
And expect to see D-men who do this well rewarded for it. How we think about hockey is always evolving, and it seems to be favoring players who can process the game exceedingly well over guys who just have raw skill.
Big and tough is great, but not if it's always trapped in its own zone. Speed kills, but not when it's forced to stand still. And hard shots inspire awe. Though, if a guy doesn't have the meat calculator to know when to use it, it's as good as a muffin. After all, the best NFL quarterbacks aren't necessarily the guys who can throw the ball farthest.Tokyo woman previously accused of distributing 3D data of her genitals arrested again
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday re-arrested an artist, previously charged earlier this year with the distribution of obscene material, for a public display of a recreation of her genitals, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Dec. 3).
Officers took Megumi Igarashi, a 42-year-old resident of Setagaya Ward, and Minori Watanabe, a 44-year-old writer and author who works under the name Minori Kitahara, into custody for allegedly displaying a plaster cast of Igarashi’s vagina in an exhibition at an adult shop in Bunkyo Ward managed by Watanabe between October of last year and July.
Of the 19 works in the exhibition, police deemed three items, including that by Igarashi, to be “highly obscene” and in violation of the law, according to Sports Nippon(Dec. 3).
Igarashi has reportedly denied the allegations. “The work is not an obscenity,” the artist is quoted by police. Watanabe has refused to comment on the charges.
On July 12, Igarashi was charged the distribution of obscene material for mailing links for the download of 3D-image data of her genitals to donors of an art project. She was released from custody six days later.
Igarashi, who works under the name Rokudenashi-ko (Good-for-nothing girl), has also been charged with sending discs containing image data of a boat shaped like a female vagina that was on display at an exhibition in Shinjuku Ward to 17 people in May.
Watanabe, the founder of the adult-goods shop Love Piece Club, regularly contributes columns on gender issues to the weekly publication Shukan Asahi.Just over a year ago, the San Jose Sharks announced they were rebuilding.
“We’re a tomorrow team,” said general manager Doug Wilson to the Mercury News. "This is a phase that this organization has never gone into in the past, and maybe should have many years ago.”
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And then … well, there wasn’t a purge. There wasn’t a reshuffling of the deck. Nothing really happened, partially because it couldn’t, thanks to the no-movement clauses for Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.
So one year later … where are the Sharks. Rebuilding? Contending? Retending? Conbuilding?
Wilson appeared on Marek Vs. Wyshynski on Wednesday and offered some thoughts.
“We were crystal clear about what we were doing last summer. We used the exact same terminology that the Detroit Red Wings used. We expected to be able to rebuild and compete at the same time. We did the exact same thing after 2003,” Wilson said.
(So much for “a phase that this organization has never gone into in the past.”)
“Make no mistake about it: We expect to make the playoffs and compete every year,” he said. “Coming into this year, we had some cap space. We were looking at three important pieces for us. We wanted to secure a No. 1 goalie, who could fit for now and for the future, and that’s Martin Jones. He’s 25. We wanted to find a find a defenseman who could complement [the Sharks’ other D-men], and hopefully a left-shot guy who could play with Brent Burns. At the top of our list was Paul Martin. He played all those years with Kris Letang, played in a winning environment. Then were looking for a really quality, versatile veteran that hasn’t played a lot of games in this league. And that was Joel Ward.
“We wanted players that could help us now, but they can also enhance the growth of the younger players we have.”
Story continues
Listen to the full interview for more.Mine Little Brony
Click to reveal
On the far left is poison joke, which has a different affect for each mob that touches it. After that, throrn bushes, that spawn in the Everfree Forest, and then a fully grown corn crop. After that, in the from left to right are Apple, Fluttershy, zap apple, and cherry saplings with their relevant logs, leaves and planks.
Clouds:
On the left is a cloud slab, created by putting two cloud pieces next to each other. On the right are cloud steps, made by 3 cloud pieces in a crafting area in a right angle shape.
In the middle top from left to right are a storm cloud, soft cloud, and in the middle middle from left to right are the hard cloud and bouncy cloud.
In the middle bottom, we have a cloud machine and cloud masher.
Everything Else:
A block is added that drops random gems, but it looks exactly like stone, so there's no point wasting everyone's bandwidth with an image. There's also Tom, who gives himself a random crafting recipe requiring a different kind of stone each time you launch Minecraft. He has a 1 in 500 chance to drop a diamond. Vegetation:On the far left is poison joke, which has a different affect for each mob that touches it. After that, throrn bushes, that spawn in the Everfree Forest, and then a fully grown corn crop. After that, in the from left to right are Apple, Fluttershy, zap apple, and cherry saplings with their relevant logs, leaves and planks.Clouds:On the left is a cloud slab, created by putting two cloud pieces next to each other. On the right are cloud steps, made by 3 cloud pieces in a crafting area in a right angle shape.In the middle top from left to right are a storm cloud, soft cloud, and in the middle middle from left to right are the hard cloud and bouncy cloud.In the middle bottom, we have a cloud machine and cloud masher.Everything Else:A block is added that drops random gems, but it looks exactly like stone, so there's no point wasting everyone's bandwidth with an image. There's also Tom, who gives himself a random crafting recipe requiring a different kind of stone each time you launch Minecraft. He has a 1 in 500 chance to drop a diamond.
Click to reveal
Top left we have a Diamond Zaxe, made by crafting a diamond axe with zap apple sticks as the sticks instead. To craft Zap Apple sticks, (or any sticks in this mod), simply make sticks the same way you would in vanilla Minecraft, but with Zap Apple logs, Cherry logs, or Fluttershy logs. On the far right we have a salt rake, which, when you right-click water, will give you salt, which is used in a few crafting recipes.
Edibles:
On the top left we have Cherries, dropped by breaking Cherry Tree leaves. Next to that is a cherrychanga. Below that are Zap Apples, Apple Fritters, and Apple Juice. Below that is a bottle of Vanilla. Finally, on the bottom left, are: Tube of Mix, Cup of Flour, Cookie Dough, Cookie Crumbs, and salt.
On the top right are: Popcorn, Corn Seeds and Corn. Below that, a Dandelion Sandwich. Finally, below that, we have an Assault Cake (you can throw it at things - try throwing one at a sheep), muffins and cupcakes.
Gems:
On top we have a gem pouch, you can use this to hold any gem. It will also hold diamonds and emeralds. In the middle are every kind of gem you can find in the mod.
Elements of Harmony:
These currently do nothing more than function as really good armour. I'll be adding new abilities in the future. Tools:Top left we have a Diamond Zaxe, made by crafting a diamond axe with zap apple sticks as the sticks instead. To craft Zap Apple sticks, (or any sticks in this mod), simply make sticks the same way you would in vanilla Minecraft, but with Zap Apple logs, Cherry logs, or Fluttershy logs. On the far right we have a salt rake, which, when you right-click water, will give you salt, which is used in a few crafting recipes.Edibles:On the top left we have Cherries, dropped by breaking Cherry Tree leaves. Next to that is a cherrychanga. Below that are Zap Apples, Apple Fritters, and Apple Juice. Below that is a bottle of Vanilla. Finally, on the bottom left, are: Tube of Mix, Cup of Flour, Cookie Dough, Cookie Crumbs, and salt.On the top right are: Popcorn, Corn Seeds and Corn. Below that, a Dandelion Sandwich. Finally, below that, we have an Assault Cake (you can throw it at things - try throwing one at a sheep), muffins and cupcakes.Gems:On top we have a gem pouch, you can use this to hold any gem. It will also hold diamonds and emeralds. In the middle are every kind of gem you can find in the mod.Elements of Harmony:These currently do nothing more than function as really good armour. I'll be adding new abilities in the future.
Click to reveal
Salt Rake:
Food:
Cookie Crumbs:
Cookie Dough:
Elements Of Harmony:
Cloud Masher:
Cloud Maker:
Weather-o-Meter:
Diamond Zaxe:
Chocolate Milk:
Gem-Sack:
Waterproof Barrel:
Salt Rake:Food:Cookie Crumbs:Cookie Dough:Elements Of Harmony:Cloud Masher:Cloud Maker:Weather-o-Meter:Diamond Zaxe:Chocolate Milk:Gem-Sack:Waterproof Barrel:
Rainbows:
These are available in the "Render" module. When it's raining, a few will spawn in your world within 1000 blocks of spawn. They work on both single player and multiplayer worlds - your friends will be able to see the same rainbows as you can!
Ponies:
Not much to say about ponies, they're added to the world and you can interact with them. They have their own inventory, and (depending on the pony), can also wear armour. They use (with permission) Verdana's model and rendering code from Mine Little Pony.
Click to reveal
You right click tamed ponies with a torch. Why a torch? It's a place-holder until I add a meta gui.
To tame ponies, simply right-click them with some tall grass. After that, if it's a Unicorn (and not a background pony), you can ask him/her to show you some gem-filled rocks if you right-click him/her with a gem. You'll need to be in a cave, else you won't notice them.You right click tamed ponies with a torch. Why a torch? It's a place-holder until I add a meta gui.
Biomes:
The Everfree Forest:
Lots of close-together trees, vines, and thorn bushes. Poison Joke also spawns here, rather plentifully. Timber Wolves and Changelings are native to this biome too.
Other Mobs:
Timber Wolves:
These spawn in the Everfree Forest, and Swamps. Their eyes glow in the dark, and they're very hostile.
Changelings:
These spawn in the same places as Timber Wolves, and will attack ponies on sight. They will transform into the pony they attack.
Copyright Stuff:
More Copyright Stuff
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
0. USED TERMS
MOD - modification, plugin, a piece of software that interfaces with the Minecraft client to extend, add, change or remove original capabilities.
MOJANG - Mojang AB
OWNER - Teotoo, Original author(s) of the MOD. Under the copyright terms accepted when purchasing Minecraft (
USER - End user of the mod, person installing the mod.
1. LIABILITY
THIS MOD IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITH NO WARRANTIES, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE. THE OWNER OF THIS MOD TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES INCURRED FROM THE USE OF THIS MOD. THIS MOD ALTERS FUNDAMENTAL PARTS OF THE MINECRAFT GAME, PARTS OF MINECRAFT MAY NOT WORK WITH THIS MOD INSTALLED. ALL DAMAGES CAUSED FROM THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS MOD FALL ON THE USER.
2. USE
Use of this MOD to be installed, manually or automatically, is given to the USER without restriction.
3. REDISTRIBUTION
This MOD may only be distributed where uploaded, mirrored, or otherwise linked to by the OWNER solely. All mirrors of this mod must have advance written permission from the OWNER. ANY attempts to make money off of this MOD (selling, selling modified versions, adfly, sharecash, etc.) are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN, and the OWNER may claim damages or take other action to rectify the situation.
4. DERIVATIVE WORKS/MODIFICATION
This mod is provided freely and may be decompiled and modified for private use, either with a decompiler or a bytecode editor. Public distribution of modified versions of this MOD require advance written permission of the OWNER and may be subject to certain terms.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS0. USED TERMSMOD - modification, plugin, a piece of software that interfaces with the Minecraft client to extend, add, change or remove original capabilities.MOJANG - Mojang ABOWNER - Teotoo, Original author(s) of the MOD. Under the copyright terms accepted when purchasing Minecraft ( http://www.minecraft.net/copyright.jsp ) the OWNER has full rights over their MOD despite use of MOJANG code.USER - End user of the mod, person installing the mod.1. LIABILITYTHIS MOD IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITH NO WARRANTIES, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE. THE OWNER OF THIS MOD TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES INCURRED FROM THE USE OF THIS MOD. THIS MOD ALTERS FUNDAMENTAL PARTS OF THE MINECRAFT GAME, PARTS OF MINECRAFT MAY NOT WORK WITH THIS MOD INSTALLED. ALL DAMAGES CAUSED FROM THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS MOD FALL ON THE USER.2. USEUse of this MOD to be installed, manually or automatically, is given to the USER without restriction.3. REDISTRIBUTIONThis MOD may only be distributed where uploaded, mirrored, or otherwise linked to by the OWNER solely. All mirrors of this mod must have advance written permission from the OWNER. ANY attempts to make money off of this MOD (selling, selling modified versions, adfly, sharecash, etc.) are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN, and the OWNER may claim damages or take other action to rectify the situation.4. DERIVATIVE WORKS/MODIFICATIONThis mod is provided freely and may be decompiled and modified for private use, either with a decompiler or a bytecode editor. Public distribution of modified versions of this MOD require advance written permission of the OWNER and may be subject to certain terms.
Warning: This mod contains rapid colour-changing sheep.
Downloads:
Want to copy and paste this mod thread on your site, and then put the download link behind an ad.fly (or other monetising) link?
Requires:
Minecraft Forge & Minecraft 1.5.2
Something Crashed?
Do not just say "it crashed" and expect me to be some sort of mind reader. Post a crash-log - but
do not post crash-logs here.
Put any crash-log you have on
and put a link to that paste here.
If you do not want to use pastebin, you may use any other web-paste-sharing tool. If you don't want to do that, post the error on the MinecraftForums thread for this mod, in spoilers.
I will not assist you in crash debugging unless you have posted a crashlog adhereing to the above rules. If the issue does not produce a crash, or you're having trouble installing it, then disregard the above information.
Click here for proof of Verdana allowing use of models from MineLP.
This mod adds pony mobs and pony-related items and blocks from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic to Minecraft!Yes, it has a similar name to the awesome "Mine Little Pony" mod! (Which you should definitely check out if you haven't heard of it)! However, it does entirely different things. It lets you turn into a pony!This mod adds many new items to the game, including zap apples, Fluttershy trees, and many more things! There's also a biome for the Everfree Forest. The ponies use Verdana's Models from the aforementioned "Mine Little Pony" mod. They also use Verdana's skins.I don't own Hasbro, or My Little Pony, or any franchise about colourful ponies. All I did was code and texture. If you have any issues, feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can to fix the issue. I have used nothing from anypony elses work, except Verdana - with Verdana's permission.I'm uncertain if it's enough to affect people with epilepsy, but here's a warning, just in case.Version 3.1.8 for Minecraft (with Forge) 1.5.2--Core (necessary): Core download is available in the normal download box, at the top of this page.--Render (optional): download --Clouds (optional): download --Vegetation (optional): download You can't.Stop doing it.It's not that I don't want people using this mod, it's that other websites may alter the mod in some way as to make it evil. Also, it's immoral. If you want to share about the mod, please feel free to copy and paste the thread but the DOWNLOAD LINK MUST BE TO THIS THREAD. You can NOT include a download link on your page.The banking industry fosters a culture of dishonesty, according to a new scientific study which shows that bank employees are more likely to cheat when reminded about which profession they belonged to.
A test designed to expose levels of cheating revealed that bank employees are generally as honest as other people, but that they switch to being significantly more dishonest when in the mindset of their workplace.
The scientists who carried out the work suggested that the banking industry could address the problem by introducing a code of ethical conduct, similar to the Hippocratic Oath sworn by doctors, to instil a culture of honesty, rather than focusing on short-term personal gain.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
The researchers, led by Michel Marechal of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, asked 128 employees of a large international bank to take part in tests where they were asked to toss a coin in secrecy for a given number of times and to report the results.
The participants knew beforehand that they would be given a $20 reward for each specific toss of the coin so there was an incentive to be dishonest about the total number of “heads” and “tails” – which in theory should be roughly 50:50.
Most people who undertake this kind of test, even when there is considerable financial incentive to cheat, are surprisingly honest about the outcome, the scientists found. Even the bank employees were as honest as other employees when treated as if their profession was unknown.
However, when the bank employees were “primed” to think about their job with questions such as “at which bank are you presently employed?” they reported 58.2 per cent winning tosses, which was significantly greater than the 51.6 per cent of the control group on non-bankers.
“This effect is specific to bank employees, because control experiments with employees from other industries and with students show that they do not become more dishonest when their professional identity or bank-related items are rendered salient,” the researchers write in their study published in the journal Nature.
“Our results thus suggest that the prevailing business culture in the banking industry weakens and undermines the honesty norm, implying that measures to reestablish an honest culture are very important,” they say.
The scientists suggested that the prevailing business culture in the banking industry favours dishonest behaviour and so contributed to the loss of the industry’s reputation following the global financial crisis of 2008.
“Our results suggest that banks should encourage honest behaviours by changing the norms associated with their workers’ professional identity,” the researchers say.
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 nowSince 1990, The Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) has required the Justice Department to collect statistics and report annually on hate crimes directed against individuals because of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender or gender identity. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, dozens of large cities either do not report hate crime data at all – or underreport the data to the FBI. ADL is working with communities across the country to improve their hate crime prevention and reporting.
This interactive map contains selected HCSA reported data from the FBI from 2004-2017, as well as an aggregation of hate crime laws in the US.
Note: We will update the ADL Hate Crime Map to add in specific anti-Muslim hate crime data as soon as these numbers are available.Most people wear camouflage to blend in, Bishop Nehru's outfit catches your eye. When I meet him, his shirt features patches of green and brown splattered on a vibrant white. He wears a matching bucket hat.
Growing up in Rockland County, New York, Bishop Nehru similarly stood out in high school. He dressed differently than most of his peers, and listened to different music. He had different priorities. Although at times being the odd man out could feel alienating, this experience turned out to be what author Malcolm Gladwell calls a desirable difficulty. Nehru has thick skin and a clearly resilient, expressive, mind.
"If you didn't like me, fine. That's great. That's your problem. I don't care," he says. "I'm not one to dwell on other people's opinions. Everybody has their own opinion at the end of the day. You feel how you feel for a reason. If there's no reason, then so be it. It's just hate. But if there's a reason you don't like somebody, I can't change your reasoning. There were days when I sat in the cafeteria by myself, and there were days when I sat with friends and talked."
Nehru continues, "But those days when I was by myself, I either was sitting there thinking about something or thinking about how I could get these people to look back and be like, "Damn, I should've sat with kid.' That's the type of mind I have."
I can't help but like Nehru for his candour. He didn't downplay his ambition. He had something to prove.
Nehru's friend, Lucas, was one of the few people who shared similar tastes and interests. They had plans to collaborate, but Lucas ended up moving to Peekskill, a town about an hour away. Nehru says, "Everything got stagnant. I was alone again, which is not a bad thing, being alone. I was alone, I had no one to really talk to about creative things or anything like that. No one would really understand."
Although this obstacle might've stopped or slowed down most young artists, Nehru doubled down. "That's when I just really started to take it into my own hands, like, 'Alright, maybe I'll have to do it myself,'" he says. "It was a sign. So I just got my own camera and started doing it myself." Nehru started directing his own music videos, and still directs to this day (including this song he worked on with MF DOOM).
This fits into Nehru's advice for learning, which is surprisingly simple. Learn by doing. It's similar to martial artist and filmmaker Bruce Lee's and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's beliefs.
And for everything you can't figure out how to do, read. Don't wait for school to teach you. I ask him what he learned outside of school, and he says, "That's where I learned everything, honestly. That's where I learned the most valuable information that I've been blessed with hearing."
I ask him about what he learned in school, and recalls an important story with his english teacher, Mr. Leonard. "One year, we were in class, and he sat everyone down. I feel like this speech was intentionally for me, to this day.
"He told the whole class, 'School is not for everybody.' He wasn't saying it to get kids to drop out or anything, he was like, 'If you feel like you have something else that's doing you better justice, why waste your time going to school everyday? You're wasting six hours in school doing something that you don't like, and you're wasting other people's time who might want to be here. You could be outside of school doing what you love to do...'
The most important lesson he learned in school was to think twice about what it meant to him. It made all the difference.
"That was actually one of the first times I thought about not caring about school as much as my music. I really started to take music more seriously after that."
ALSO ON HUFFPOST:Updating this list as I do at least once a year (as I learn of new projects) to keep you all up-to-date on where each stands, this time with at least a dozen new additions and a few subtractions. —
There are more than 60 biopics on the lives of black public figures in some stage of development - the majority of them first announced in the last 0 - 5 years, and, unfortunately, so few of them will actually, eventually see the light of day.
Some of these figures even have more than 1 film project in the works that will center on their lives; a few have/have had as many as 4 or 5. It's not necessarily mind-boggling but, with each new project announcement, one can't help but be skeptical that they all will all receive the necessary backing, and be pushed through production.
Based on my research, I'd say that the hold-up for most of them is financial. Some have already been scripted and have actors attached, but financiers apparently aren't convinced enough to invest in them. Others have rights hurdles to get past; and still some face challenges/objections from family members, estates, or other powerful, influential voices.
A few have already been produced, but are without distribution (at least, stateside distribution); others may have the financial backing necessary to go into production, and are scheduled to do so soon, but as we've seen happen with at least one of those sure-things, anything can go wrong, leading to projects being sent back into so-called "development hell"; and still others are now complete and set to make their world premieres at upcoming festivals.
Some of the names have seen successful feature documentaries made about their lives (or documentaries currently in development), but progress on feature scripted narratives that were once announced, aren't certain in every case.
On-screen depictions of a few of these names will happen in films centered on other real-life figures (in most cases, white people); essentially, they'll be supporting characters in someone else's story.
And on, and on, and on...
But a question worth asking is whether we really need, or rather if there's a large enough audience for films on every single one of these men and women. I'm much less interested in what I call birth-to-death stories, and would prefer to see filmmakers tackle specific periods of a subject's life - maybe cover a range of years in which the person being profiled was at their career peak, or went through some tragic, life-changing experience.
Or maybe even select a single interesting week, or a day in that person's life, and tell us about it.
It's a fool's errand trying to capture an entire life in 2 hours, and those conventional biopics tend to be rather boring. At least I think so.
Below you'll find the full list of the all the biopics (fiction and non-fiction) we know of that are in some stage of development, with new additions announced since the last time I updated this list in February 2017 (there are over a dozen changes since then, which is plenty for such a short period of time). Accompanying each name is a sentence or more updating you on what we know of each one as of today. Dig in!
- Lifetime has greenlighted The Simone Biles Story (working title) a biopic about Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles, based on her book, Courage To Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance. The film will follow Biles through her sacrifices and hard work that lead her to win 19 Olympic and World Championship medals and cemented her stake as one of the greatest gymnasts of all-time. It’s slated for premiere in 2018.
- BBC Films has greenlit a film based on the life of internationally renowned Afro-Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada CBE, who trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba with many of its most influential teachers, and has performed throughout the world with many of the greatest companies including the Paris Opera, the Bolshoi, English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, American Ballet Theatre and more. Based on Acosta's autobiography titled No Way Home, which became a bestseller in the UK, and went on to be published in several other countries including the USA, Australia and Germany, Paul Laverty is attached to script the film, with Spanish filmmaker Iciar Bollain to direct. The film is currently in pre-production under the title Yuli and will star Acosta as the older version of himself, along with two younger Cuban actors playing him during his childhood and young adult years. Principal photography is expected to happen during the latter half of 2017 for a 2018 premiere.
- Add Luther Campbell, leader of the provocative, controversial 80s/90s rap group 2 Live Crew, to the growing list of potential hip-hop biopics. Although this one appears to be a sure-thing, with a studio, Lionsgate, backing it. It'll be based on Campbell's memoir, The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City and has already found its lead: RJ Cyler of Fox Searchlight's Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and the 2017 reboot of Power Rangers which Lionsgate also distributed. Published in summer 2015, the book is described as "the raw and powerful true story of how one man invented Southern Hip-Hop, saved the First Amendment, and became a role model for his disenfranchised Miami neighborhood... The 'King of Dirty Rap' who helped pioneer the worldwide phenomenon known as the Miami Bass sound, infuriated the conservative mainstream and became Public Enemy #1 when hip hop crossed the color line into white America." (Amazon). Lionsgate is said to be moving ahead quickly with the project, billed as "Straight Outta Compton meets The People Vs. Larry Flynt," tapping Craig A. Williams to script. Mike Epps is an executive producer alongside Industry Entertainment, with Temple Hill producing and overseeing the project. No director is attached at this time.
- Rahman Ali is the younger brother of Muhammad Ali, and a former heavyweight boxer as well, with a 14-3-1 (14 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw) record. In his career he knocked out seven opponents and was himself knocked out once. Rahman released his autobiography on January 17, 2015, titled That's Muhammad Ali's Brother! My Life on the Undercard which was co-authored by H. Ron Brashear. A film based on Rahman Ali's life has been put into development by Goalpost Film and producer Evan J. Bochetto, which will tell his life story which isn't entirely different from his late older brother's - humble beginnings in Louisville, successful professional boxing career, civil rights struggles, and, later, battle with Parkinson’s disease; although Rahman would take a back seat to support his brother's successes, dedicating his life to his brother’s career, and boxing as a sport overall. The producers of the film will work with Rahman's wife, Caroline Ali, on the biopic.
- Antoine Fuqua wants to bring a Fred Hampton biopic to the big screen, which will be based on the book, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by author by Jeffrey Haas, which was published in 2009 (hardcover). The book uncovers the cold-blooded execution of Hampton at the hands of a conspiring police force, providing an engaging account that relentlessly pursues the murderers of the Black Panther leader - a 14-year process of bringing the killers to justice, and the 18-month court trial that followed. Fuqua will direct from an already scripted adaptation of the book by Chris Smith. No word on casting, or an ETA on the project.
- Don Cheadle has acquired the film and TV rights to Shane White's Prince of Darkness, the story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton - a man whose origins were said to be lowly, possibly born a slave, and who went on to become the richest black man in the United States during his time, in the 19th century, possessing a fortune of over $2 million (which would be in excess of $250 million in today's currency). Cheadle plans to adapt the book as a starring vehicle for himself, and he's brought with him his Miles Ahead co-writer Steven Baigelman, to adapt the book. No other information is available at this time; it's likely still very early in the development process, so add this one to your list of projects to watch.
- The name Malcolm Butler will be remembered especially by New England Patriots fans, thanks to his game-winning interception in the final moments of Super Bowl XLIX 2 years ago, which pitted the Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks. Those same fans will have even more to celebrate the pro athlete with when a biopic on Butler is produced and eventually released. Titled The Secondary, the film will chronicle Butler’s journey from a Popeyes fryolator to a star NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion (all happening over only 3 short years). Narrative Capital (co-producer of the multiple Oscar-nominated Lion) is behind the project. It will tell dual stories, adding Butler's agent, Derek Simpson, a small-town lawyer who arranged for Butler to have a Patriots tryout and never gave up on him. He oversaw Butler’s quick rise to a successful football career while simultaneously fighting a commercial-trucking giant in court on behalf of a paralyzed teen. Narrative Capital chief Daniel Levin has acquired life rights to both Butler's and Simpson's stories, seeing the potential that the undrafted Butler's against-all-odds story has as a big screen success. No ETA on The Secondary at this time.
- After the immense ratings and social media success of BET's The New Edition Story, many fans were quite vocal about what group they hoped would be the focus of the network's next bio-miniseries - Jodeci. It appears they'll get their wish, although not on BET, but on one of its sister networks, VH1 (they backed and aired the Aaliyah biopic a couple of years ago). The Jodeci news was revealed by group member Mr. Dalvin during an interview with Q102.1 FM in San Francisco in April of this year (2017). Apparently VH1 bought the rights to the Jodeci story early last year, commissioned a script, which is now done. Dalvin added that fans should expect a premiere of the finished product towards the end of this year. He also said that casting details would be announced soon although we've heard nothing yet.
- A feature biopic on Stephon Marbury - the former NBA star basketball player who would later move to China, and currently plays for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association - might be coming to a theater near you some time in the next year. The project, titled My Other Home, is part of a 5-picture deal between Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and China’s Beijing Hairun Pictures, which was announced at the Beijing International Film Festival a couple of years ago. Marbury, who arrived in Beijing in 2011 and transformed both himself and his Beijing pro team into champions, is the heart of the film which covers his move to China. Retired NBA star Allen Iverson, and two-time NBA All Star Baron Davis also appear in the film. SK Global - a joint venture between Ivanhoe Pictures and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment - |
more unjustified do over in UFC history than McGregor Diaz 2? Diaz wouldn't have gotten a rematch right? @benfowlkesMMA #TMB — Mr. Patton (@BeardedChild88) June 30, 2016
You’re putting me in an uncomfortable position here. Because I have to tell you, you’re absolutely right. And then I have to tell you that you absolutely need to get over it and accept that this is going to be awesome anyway.
That’s what I did. When I first heard that the UFC was looking to run it back after Nate Diaz (19-10 MMA, 14-8 UFC) very clearly defeated Conor McGregor (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) at UFC 196, I was just as eager as you are to call shenanigans. And it is some shenanigans, because clearly the only reason to book this fight again is because: a) you suspect the wrong guy won, b) you let one of these two men call his own shots, or c) you don’t care how it looks, because you know it’ll make a bunch of money.
In this case, seems like it could be some combination of all three. And you’re right, no way Diaz would have gotten the same shot at redemption if he’d lost that first fight. But since he won, he now stands to make a bunch of money to do it all over again, so I’m not sure how indignant we can really get on his behalf.
Plus, come on, you know you’re going to watch this fight. You know you’re going to watch all the pre-fight stuff too, just to hear Diaz hold his win over McGregor’s head while McGregor does logical and rhetorical backflips in order to continue claiming total supremacy. A good time for all, in other words.
@benfowlkesMMA Condit v Maia the winner gets a title shot right? #WouldWatch — Angry Albert (@Angry_Albert) June 29, 2016
Aren’t you forgetting someone? Fresh-faced karate dude with the crewcut? Has a nickname that implies he is a youthful phenomenon, despite the fact that he’s nearing his mid-thirties? I’m talking about Stephen Thompson (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) here, Albert. Wasn’t he just promised the next UFC welterweight title shot?
But aha, you might say, Demian Maia and Carlos Condit aren’t going to fight until August. Robbie Lawler (27-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) will defend his title against Tyron Woodley (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC 201 in late July. So it’s plausible for the winner of that one to turn around and defend the belt a few months later while the winner of Maia (23-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) vs. Condit (30-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) licks his wounds and eases back into the gym.
And, hey, maybe you’re right. Then again, maybe there’s a whole lot of stuff that could happen between now and then to ruin such carefully plotted plans.
I’m just saying, can we stop acting like there’s any one fight you can win that will guarantee you a title shot in the UFC? It’s just words, man. If you’re Maia, you could choke Condit out and get your promise of a title shot carved into a gold tablet, and it would still be nothing more than a heavy IOU if Georges St-Pierre came back and demanded a fight with Lawler. That’s life in the UFC, like it or not.
@benfowlkesMMA are you one of those people who never turns on the air conditioner? If so, why? — Daniel Downes (@dannyboydownes) June 29, 2016
@benfowlkesMMA if you're fox sports, are you looking at the fight pass card and thinking "Why didn't we get Lewis vs Nelson?" — joelsellsout (@joelsellsout) June 29, 2016
It’s funny you should mention Derrick Lewis (15-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC), because I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately. Mostly it’s because I follow him on Instagram, where he has become my go-to source for what the kids refer to as “dank memes.”
For instance, this. And this. And that. This too.
Basically, “The Black Beast” has made me care about his fights purely by having a rad social media presence. And it has nothing to do with MMA. Honestly, when he does post the usual video of him hitting mitts or screwing around in the gym, those are the only posts I don’t care about.
But all the other stuff is so great that, when I remember he’s fighting Roy Nelson (21-12 MMA, 8-8 UFC) on a UFC Fight Pass card, I’m suddenly grateful I’m already a subscriber. I’m invested. I’ve got to see my dude Derrick fight.
If you’re the Fight Pass people, that’s exactly the kind of fight you’re looking for. It’s the kind that, while it doesn’t seem immediately relevant to the division, still feels weirdly emotionally important to the people who know what’s up in the UFC.
Should FOX Sports be mad that it didn’t get that fight for one of its broadcasts? Maybe, but only to the extent that it should be mad that Fight Pass exists at all. If the UFC has its own subscription-based streaming service to show live fights on, you’ve got to assume there will be an incentive for it to keep some of these fights for itself. At least we can all still enjoy Lewis’ Instagram together.
@benfowlkesMMA The only submissions in the UFC this year were guillotines & RNCs. Are referees to blame for standing fighters up too soon? — Aonghus Ó Faoláin (@Aongiebob) June 29, 2016
First of all, you’re wrong. There was an arm-triangle choke submission at UFC Fight Night 89 just a couple weeks ago. There was another one at UFC 197 in April. And didn’t Donald Cerrone submit Alex Oliveira with a triangle choke in February? (Answer: Yes, he did.)
But you’re right that, at least lately, the submissions we see in the UFC are almost entirely chokes, with guillotines and rear-naked chokes forming the bulk of the finishes. But that makes sense to me, and I don’t think you need to blame the refs to see why it’s the case.
For one thing, you’ll note the general lack of arm or leg lock submissions. That’s because, for one thing, it’s tough to finish a joint lock these days on a trained professional who has money on the line. Did you see how far Ali Bagautinov was willing to let his shoulder get cranked without tapping? He may have risked injury, but he ended up winning the fight.
For another, how many people are even going for armbars and heel hooks (now that Rousimar Palhares is gone and Ronda Rousey is on hiatus)? When they do, it’s usually from their backs, or as part of a sweep/takedown attempt. Very few fighters are willing to sacrifice a dominant position for a joint lock. You might not finish it. The other guy might just tough it out. But as Helio Gracie said, “For the choke, there are no tough guys.”
So why RNCs and guillotines? Think about how the chokes usually happen. Either you’re dominating someone so thoroughly on the ground that you take his back or he gives it up to avoid further punishment, at which point you sink the rear-naked choke. Or maybe you’ve rocked him on the feet, he’s desperate to get the fight to the floor, so he sticks his neck out during a sloppy takedown attempt and you snag a guillotine.
That’s what submissions often look like in MMA today. It’s not anything the refs are doing; it’s what fighters are doing, adjusting to the sport and to the adjustments of their opponents. Moral of the story? Protect ya neck, kid.
Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.Introduction
The first 100 days of the Trump administration are upon us, with all of the hype and freighted expectations usual for the first period of a new presidency, even when accomplishing long-term goals or structural changes is completely unrealistic in such a short time.
Overall, the administration so far has done well. Though there is much yet to be achieved, and in some areas campaign promises have not been met, a significant amount has been done, or at least started down the right path. Viewed against the backdrop of the Obama administration's eight-year history of deliberately ruinous immigration policies, this is impressive. What a difference 100 days can make.
This overview provides no grade or score for the administration's performance. Instead, we consider developments in the following areas:
Illegal immigration, border control, and crime;
Legal immigration and foreign workers;
National security and vetting; and
The rule of law.
Illegal Immigration, Border Control, and Crime
The administration kicked off with a bang, issuing no fewer than three presidential executive orders (EOs) within weeks of inauguration, serially addressing border control (including construction of the border wall), interior enforcement, and transnational border- and immigration-related crime, including drug and people smuggling. Among other things, the EOs directed the expeditious hiring of 5,000 new Border Patrol agents, hundreds of new air-and-marine officers for Customs and Border Patrol, and 10,000 new interior immigration enforcement agents.
The EOs in turn were followed quickly by policy memoranda from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly (see here and here). Attorney General Jeff Sessions also issued directives and made public pronouncements making clear that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under his leadership was committed to vigorous prosecution of immigration offenses, including alien smuggling and transporting, illegal entry and reentry after deportation, and drug and weapons crimes, plus an emphasis on targeting and dismantling cross-border carters and transnational gangs. (See here, here, and here.)
As many media outlets have noted, illegal border crossings are markedly down since President Trump took office. That is a good sign, and indicates that aliens are taking the rhetoric of the president and his staff seriously. Some have claimed that this signals that a border wall isn't really needed. But we have seen such dips before — for instance, after passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 — and whether the slowdown becomes institutionalized will depend in no small measure on the willingness and ability of the administration to put action to its words. Smuggling organizations and the illegal aliens themselves will at some point begin testing our border enforcement resolve and whether illegal crossers will be detained upon being apprehended or allowed to settle in the United States, as was the norm during the Obama presidency.
The Wall. To this end, it is important that the border barrier proceed expeditiously, so that it becomes one of several layered defenses that render it unnecessary to choose between detaining or releasing tidal waves of humans attempting to cross. While there appears to be some willingness on the part of Congress to consider technology and additional resources, it has balked about funding the wall itself, and Democratic legislators have threatened a shutdown of the government rather than pass a budget that contains funding for the wall. It seems likely (as of this writing) that Republicans will cave on the issue of funding the wall for the moment. We are concerned about throwing good money after bad on other forms of layered border security, though. While the fledging drone program at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), parent agency to the Border Patrol, sounds cutting edge — and may be an excellent pork project for certain senators and representatives, as well as the drone manufacturing industry — there is little evidence that it has worked effectively or cost efficiently.
As to funding the wall itself, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has introduced legislation that would permit DOJ and DHS to divert funds seized from drug cartels such as that run by El Chapo (Shorty) Guzman before his arrest and extradition to face U.S. charges, in order to fund the wall. This merits serious consideration.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) has also introduced legislation that would authorize levy of a 2 percent tax on wire transfer remittances sent to certain countries that are the sources of illegal border crossers, with the proceeds to be used to fund the wall. We are generally in favor of such a tax, which was in fact first proposed by one of our fellows several years ago —although if the legislation were amended to permit across-the board taxation of remittances, it would increase revenues and perhaps even permit additional funding to be used for hiring of the enhanced border and interior enforcement agent corps.
The most important improvements in immigration security have been the reversal of the Obama administration's version of "catch and release" at the border and ending the disastrous prioritization scheme that resulted in tens of thousands of deportable aliens (including many criminals and egregious immigration scofflaws) escaping removal each year.
Catch and Release. The most noticeable change was putting a stop to the practice of releasing arriving non-Mexican illegal border crossers with a notice to appear for an immigration court hearing years in the future, which was usually ignored. Now most new arrivals are either turned back right away or held in custody, and if they ask for asylum, their claims are reviewed promptly by a group of asylum officers and immigration judges that were recently deployed to the border areas. Several temporary holding facilities were set up, and a plan to house up to 12,500 people was adopted. Plans were made to conduct deportation proceedings by videoconference. In addition, the administration issued new guidance to asylum officers directing that cases must now be adjudicated according to the law, rather than according to a relaxed standard or review that leaned heavily in favor of approval. As it turned out, the deployment of asylum officers and judges and the new detention space was not needed as much as expected, because following the implementation of the new policies, the number of new illegal arrivals declined dramatically, bringing border apprehensions to a 17-year low.
No Exemptions. Within the country, ICE officers and agents have been directed to exercise their authority under a new enforcement prioritization scheme that does not exempt most illegal aliens from enforcement, as was the case under Obama policies. As has always been the case, the majority of ICE deportation cases are still criminal aliens who come to ICE's attention after an arrest on state or local charges, or after incarceration. The big difference is that now ICE officers can act on any deportable alien as soon as they are encountered, and detain the aliens if appropriate, so that the person is actually removed, held accountable for any local crimes, and does not have the opportunity to flee from deportation. ICE has increased its detention capacity by 1,100 beds, and made plans to acquire 21,000 additional beds if funding is made available. Equally important, ICE officers are no longer told that they must look the other way at deportable aliens who have committed ID theft, been charged with minor crimes, have family members here, or have advocacy groups orchestrating a campaign for leniency on their behalf. Criminals are still the priority, but anyone here illegally is potentially subject to deportation.
287(g). The Trump administration has resurrected a popular and successful enforcement partnership program to enable local law enforcement agencies to supplement ICE and the Border Patrol efforts in their local areas, known as the 287(g) program. ICE fast-tracked the approval of eight new jurisdictions to participate (which had been stalled by the Obama administration) and already has identified 50 more local law enforcement agencies that want to participate.
VOICE. During the election cycle, candidate Trump made clear his strong disapproval of sanctuary states, counties, and cities that have resulted in the murder or injury of so many because they release alien criminals to the street instead of into the hands of federal ICE agents. At many campaign stops, the surviving family members of some of the victims of these crimes.
As evidence of his continuing concern, the president ordered creation of a new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE). The office has been launched and will be a welcome relief from the old ICE ombudsman's office, which functioned as a one-stop shop for the private immigration bar to obtain relief (from detention, deportation, whatever) when they could not achieve it through the due process system.
E-Verify. Worksite enforcement has not received the same attention so far as criminal-alien issues, but the president's FY 2018 budget blueprint does request $15 million to begin implementation of nationwide E-Verify. The online system allowing employers to check the work authorization of new hires was used for about half of all hires last year, but is still voluntary. Making it universal for all new hires nationwide would require separate legislation from Congress.
Legal Immigration and Foreign Workers
The administration's actions and approach to amending the current approach to legal immigration, both temporary and permanent, are promising, but mixed. For instance, there have been a number of high-profile appointments made of individuals whose expansive views on the hiring of "temporary" foreign workers by certain industries are well known.
Although the president has issued an EO dealing with the importance of ensuring full employment for American workers, the signal sent by these appointments is in conflict with the emphasis on buying and hiring American. Which direction will prevail in the Trump White House remains to be seen.
Guestworkers. The new administration has so far made few solid accomplishments in these fields, but it has made a number of promising statements, notably as related to the H-1B program (for college grads to work in the U.S.). These are complex programs that have been shaped, for years to meet the needs of employers, who, in turn, have shouldered aside US workers from good jobs they are qualified to do.
The administration has signaled it will roll back two of its predecessor's more egregious decisions: 1) the granting of work permits to the spouses of H-1B workers (who are supposed to be here only on a temporary status); and 2) the extension of OPT (Optional Practical Training) status to some alien college grads working in high tech industries, enabling them to stay to work for as long as 24 months after graduation.
Further, eliminating the purchased, speedier processing for those employers seeking quick decisions on their H-1B applications, a standard feature of previous H-1B programs, was useful both as a symbol of fairness (you should not be able to buy your way to the front of the line), and as a symbol that the administration was not going to leave the H-1B program in its current shape.
H-1B. Much needs to be done to cut back the H-1B program to its original design – to allow employers to hire skilled individuals from abroad to fill certain types of positions – and address one common current abuse, which is to replace American workers with lower-paid guest workers. It was too much to expect that reform could be installed before the annual submission of H-1B applications, during the first week in April, but now there is opportunity to rethink the types of workers that can be imported, the wages paid in those jobs, the number of admissions a year, and the length of the visas. Currently an H-1B gets a three-year job, and then, almost automatically, a three-year-extension, and an infinite time beyond that if his employer had filed for a green card for that worker.
OPT. While H-1B is a rather widely-discussed program, its hidden handmaiden, the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program is rarely mentioned. It allows most alien college grads up to a year of legal employment beyond the degree (earned in the US) and, beyond that, another additional 19 months for those in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The program is often used to bridge the gap between the alien’s college years and an H-1B appointment.
What is scandalous is that U.S. employers are given a bonus for hiring an OPT, rather than an American with the same skills for the same salary. What OPT does is, in effect, touch the alien grads with a magic wand and convert them to students again, so that neither they nor their employers have to pay the usual payroll taxes. This can be as much as a $10,000 bonus to the employer for hiring a former foreign student rather than a citizen. While the Trump administration has often mentioned H-1B as a program needing change, we have seen no similar mentions of OPT.
Permanent Immigration. As to changing the permanent legal immigration system to mitigate, if not eliminate, the present extended-family oriented chain migration system (which works contrary to the national interest): that is a legislative chestnut that must be dealt with by Congress. One sign that some in Congress are willing to address this issue is the introduction of the RAISE Act by Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue. The White House not yet endorsed the bill, but the senators met with President Trump, who is said to have welcomed the bill as moving toward his goal of a merit-based legal immigration system.
Until Congress enacts changes, the administration will be reduced to nibbling around the edges of that system until the statutory basis behind it is changed, although much could, and should, be done to minimize the rampant fraud now existing throughout the immigration benefits adjudication regimen.
To that end, one area in which the administration has extensive power that it has not yet wielded is in wise and targeted use of the bloated slush fund known as the Examinations Fee Account, which presently holds well over $1 billion in reserve. Much of that money could be used to substantially increase the presence of USCIS fraud detection officers at key field locations, and to support beefed-up post-audits of high-fraud prone applications and petitions.
The administration has taken steps to tackle the rampant fraud in the legal immigration system by detailing fraud officers to the border facilities and increasing the number of fraud officers who work on asylum cases. In addition, ICE has been directed to resurrect the important Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces throughout the country, which work cooperatively to target document fraud rings, immigration fraud schemes, and identity theft problems, all of which are part of the criminal infrastructure that supports illegal immigration and exploitation of our legal immigration system. Further, ICE has been directed to bring more immigration fraud and human smuggling cases to prosecutors.
National Security and Vetting
Consistent with his campaign promise to ensure "extreme vetting" of visa applicants and refugees wishing to come to the United States, along with the several other immigration-related EOs President Trump issued one titled, "Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States". Both the first and second iterations of this EO ran into a buzz saw of lawsuits, several of which were filed by various states.
Various courts issued restraining orders enjoining the executive branch from implementing key provisions, such as a time-out on admitting nationals from certain states identified as high-risk, despite the law and prior court precedents being clearly on the side of the president's authority in the matter (see here, here, here, and here).
Issuance of the EO was criticized as having been poorly planned and announced, and ill-executed by the various immigration agencies. But in truth even a flawless roll-out would not have stopped the inevitable lawsuits strategically planted by opponents in the most liberal courts they could find in the United States, where they were most sure to meet with sympathetic sitting judges both in the district and appellate courts. This was proven when, after the initial EO was withdrawn, recalibrated, and reissued, the successor once again dead-headed at the Ninth Circuit.
Fighting these lawsuits has now gained in importance, because they are a clear affront to the lawful powers of the president (as opposed to Barack Obama's illicit use of executive action), and must be battled all the way through the circuit courts to the Supreme Court in order to address the obstacles that have arisen.
But looked at objectively, the so-called "travel ban" EO was never intended as anything more than a place-holder to give the administration breathing room to consider what needed to be done to shore up its hemorrhaging vetting system for immigrants and refugees (and asylees, too, for that matter), because it has become abundantly clear in recent years that there is no category of visa recipient or entrant that isn't subject to fraud and, more significantly, a risk to public safety and national security. We have seen jihadists enter as fiancees, refugees, students, and family members. We have seen permanent residents and naturalized citizens charged for material support of terrorism. In fact, since the 9/11 attack, 72 individuals from the seven countries subject to the travel restrictions have been convicted of terror or terror-related crimes, and currently there are more than 1,000 open terror investigations involving foreign nationals, according to the Justice Department.
But there is another area in which simple fraud detection efforts won't work, and that has to do with admission of persons with ideological, religious, or cultural views that are antithetical to our constitutional system and values of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. This is what "extreme vetting" was originally intended to address.
While the administration has not yet publicized a plan for such "ideological exclusion", the first iteration of the terrorist entry EO (but not the second one) specifically referred to the need to keep out those who hate America, even if they are not themselves terrorists. The relevant passage read: "In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law."
While the lawsuits work their laborious way through the judicial system, we hope and expect that DOJ, DHS, and the State Department are busy working on reforms to the visa and benefits applications process.
The Rule of Law
DACA. One of candidate Donald Trump's campaign promises was to roll back the unconstitutional and extra-statutory programs granting a renewable two-year amnesty to so-called "Dreamers" — illegal aliens who came before age 16. Far from simply providing "protection from deportation", DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status enables an illegal alien to get a work permit, a Social Security number, a state driver's license, and access to certain welfare programs.
It appears to have been easier for the candidate than for the elected president to take the matter head-on. So far, nothing has been done to dismantle the program. In fact, USCIS continues not only to renew the status of DACA recipients, but is continuing to approve new applications, actually expanding the number of people covered by this amnesty and giving it the de facto imprimatur of the current president.
Sanctuary. The principle of defunding sanctuaries was also embedded in the president's EOs, and was quickly followed up by announcements from AG Sessions that DOJ would be doing exactly that. The DOJ had already put 10 of the most egregious sanctuaries on notice of possible debarment and clawback of prior grants, and gave several sanctuary jurisdictions until June 30 to comply with federal law (specifically 8 U.S.C. 1373). One of these jurisdictions (Miami-Dade County, Florida) has already reversed its policy.
An April court ruling widely described as halting those efforts at defunding did no such thing and, in fact, specifically acknowledged that the DOJ grants in question could be withheld.
Another part of the administration's struggle to get sanctuary cities to comply with the law is a weekly report listing instances of criminal aliens released by sanctuary cities. This was temporarily suspended due to problems with data collection, but is expected to be restarted, and may well prove a potent tool in building political support for confronting cities, counties, and states that take immigration-enforcement decisions into their own hands by deciding if and when they will cooperate with ICE.
Conclusion
The administration's efforts at implementing its immigration agenda has been, and will continue to be, met at every step with determined resistance, not least by using "lawfare" through the federal court system. It is the equivalent of trench warfare, and the Trump White House will be obliged to show equal determination, and a long-term strategic and tactical commitment to defending itself against the lawsuits with sufficient and well-prepared legal resources in order to prevail. It might also steal a chapter from that playbook, and strategically initiate some of its own in judicial districts and circuits which are likely to support key initiatives, and which will drain the coffers, time, and energy of open borders advocacy groups in defending against the lawsuits, in the same way that they are attempting to do against the government and its resources.
Further gains may well depend on whether congressional Republicans get on board with the administration's immigration priorities and begin promoting a vigorous agenda to get long overdue legislation passed. A public that "hired" Donald Trump as president will have little tolerance for inactivity from our lawmakers if the result is that critical reforms don't take place. A key take-away lesson from the Obama presidency is that, if we value checks and balances in government, not everything in government can, or should, be done by executive order.
This paper has been edited since its original publication.Why do tens of thousands of Muslims from the Ahmadiyya caliphate come together in the English Countryside?
Ahmadiyya Muslims are outcasts within their own faith and often persecuted and ostracised across the world. They preach against violent Muslims and criticise extremism.
United by the concept of a spiritual Ahmadi Caliphate, tens of thousands Ahmadis attend one of the most important events in the year of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, the Jalsa Salana – a three day festival designed to reinvigorate the faith. The community claims over half a million converts join their particular branch of Islam every year, the majority from across Africa.
So why are people turning towards this sect of Islam – one which is deemed outside the fold of the religion by many Muslims? Athar speaks to some of the converts who have left their old lives behind and joined the Ahmadiyya community. He explores why Ahmadis are considered as apostates by many Muslims and meets the community’s caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
Presenter and Producer: Athar AhmadIn what should give critics reason to feel confident there are no conflicts of interest taking place, one of President Donald Trump‘s sons now running his business empire said Saturday he has “zero contact” with his father.
…or, given the media’s dislike of the president, the news will prompt claims of Trump being estranged from his family.
Speaking at a GOP fundraiser in Dallas, Donald Trump Jr. praised the progress his father has made as president, saying he’s seen “more take place in two months than I saw in two terms before.”
McCain demands Trump produce evidence by Monday that Obama wiretapped him, or …
But Trump Jr. said he doesn’t speak with his father at all.
“I basically have zero contact with him at this point,” he told the crowd, according to NBC News.
Trump Jr. tells GOP donors he has "zero contact" with president https://t.co/EnDBQus9jW pic.twitter.com/u0kkWzUOSO — NBC News (@NBCNews) March 12, 2017
Trump Jr. and younger brother Eric took the reins of the family business in January, but leaving politics behind has not been easy.
“I thought I was out of politics after Election Day and [would] get back to my regular life and my family,” Trump Jr. said. “But I couldn’t.
“Deals are still exciting,” he added. “But when you’re the sort of guy out there every day, 24-7, fighting in this thing — it’s like a great fight.”
Sen. Ted Cruz was also speaking at the fundraiser, prompting the president’s son to take a playful jab.
Sean Spicer ambushed at DC Apple store; attention whore asks for money to celebrate her harassment
“I saw on TV that [Cruz] had had dinner with my father earlier this week,” he told attendees. “Now, I don’t even know if I have to deliver a punch line to that. But it’s sort of ironic.”It has become a truism recently to say Australians are staying away from Australian films at the cinema. But why is that? Let's consider some of the possibilities. Disappointing results: Ethan Hawke in Predestination. Australian films are dark and depressing This is a frequent complaint, and there's at least some truth in it. Our filmmakers do tend towards darker material. But so do Hollywood's most interesting directors. David Fincher's Gone Girl isn't light and fluffy, but it has already taken more than $17 million locally. Dark isn't necessarily a turn-off. Besides, we don't only do dark. We turn out about 30 feature films a year (more if you include features financed outside official channels) and they don't all fit the same mould. Last year, for instance, saw the release of Save Your Legs!, a blokey comedy about cricket, and Goddess, a gaudy musical about a stay-at-home mum who rediscovers her creative side via the internet. They both underperformed, Save Your Legs! making about 10 per cent of its budget back at the box office and Goddess about one-sixth.
Oh, and last year's best-performing Australian film was The Great Gatsby, a tale of a con artist, his doomed love affair, and a former lover who dies after being hit by a car. This year's (though it was released on Boxing Day 2013) is The Railway Man, about a veteran still suffering PTSD four decades after being brutalised as a POW in Burma. Not exactly light fare. Home grown: Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson in The Rover. Australian films are full of outmoded ocker stereotypes Another common complaint, even if it is seemingly borne out of the trauma of watching The Adventures of Barry McKenzie some time in the mid-'70s. But, even assuming it is the case, it's far from clear it's a turn-off.
It was true of Kenny in 2006, and the film took almost $7.8 million locally and made Shane Jacobson a star. It was true of Save Your Legs! and it didn't help it one bit. It was true of 2011's Red Dog, the year's top local grosser with $21.5 million. But it hasn't really been true of any of this year's releases other than Wolf Creek 2 ($4.7 million), which has outperformed everything except The Railway Man. It's the critics' fault Margaret Pomeranz recently decried a tendency of our press to knock Australian filmmaking in general. "The eagerness with which the local media pick up bad news and negative reviews from overseas reminds me of the old days," she wrote. "I hate to say it, but it smacks of colonial cultural cringe." Yet the reality is many of the Australian films released this year have been showered with praise: The Babadook, Predestination, The Infinite Man, Felony and Charlie's Country have been lauded, but not one of them has passed the $1 million mark. On the flipside, critics are accused of being too soft on Australian films, and maybe there's something in that. When you watch 300-odd films a year it can be thrilling to see some aspect of your real-world experience reflected back at you, especially if it's done inventively and with wit. But if you watch only six or seven films a year (the Australian average) that matters less: you simply want to be entertained.
Then again, the most notable thing about the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes given by critics and audiences to Predestination, The Babadook, The Infinite Man and others isn't how much they differ but how little, which suggest the critics haven't got it that wrong after all. I didn't even know it was on Conduct a straw poll in your home or office. Who had heard of Son of a Gun before it opened (or indeed since)? Or of 52 Tuesdays (a prize winner at Sundance and Berlin earlier this year; local box office $163,411)? Or of The Infinite Man (raves at the hipster festival SXSW in Austin Texas, local box office $50,516)? Not many, at a guess. The problem is most Australian films get a limited release, and that means a small budget for advertising and marketing. Troy Lum, managing director of eOne Australia, told industry site if.com.au last week the distributor had spent about $300,000 on prints and advertising for Son of a Gun, which opened on 53 screens. A typical Hollywood blockbuster opens in Australia on about 500 screens, with a P&A spend anywhere between $1.5 million and $3 million. What's more, those films tend to be released globally at the same time. The $3 million spent in Australia might come on top of $30 million in the US. The chatter around the film – in advertising and marketing, traditional and social media – is simultaneous and deafening. Little wonder the Australian film, being released and marketed in Australia only, gets drowned out.
Tim White, producer of Son of a Gun, says he wonders whether Australian films actively suffer from being released at home first. "We now have to consider releasing our films here after the US or UK," he says. "The fact is, our young audience will be exposed to the campaigns and media profiles from overseas." There are echoes of the cringe about this, too. As a veteran PR figure in the industry says: "It's almost as if we need to hear from overseas that something is good before we'll give it a go. It's the same if it's a blockbuster or an Australian film – it's just that the blockbuster makes a lot more noise." Now I know about it, why can't I see it – now? The horror-comedy 100 Bloody Acres opened in August 2013 off great festival receptions at home and abroad … and promptly sank without trace. It took $18,356 at the box office. But that didn't mean people didn't want to see it. They did. In 2013, a US research team claimed it was illegally downloaded 57,870 times in October alone.
"We can't stick our heads in the sand and pretend this isn't happening," the film's producer, Julie Ryan, said at the time. "We have to come up with a new way of financing and distributing these sorts of movies." A year on, nothing has changed. Australian films generally hit the cinemas, garner whatever scant attention they can, then disappear. Around 120 days later, they crop up on DVD, Blu-Ray or on iTunes or video on demand (VOD) platforms. But by then, the audience has moved on. For many in the industry, closing this release "window" so that titles are available to view at home on or very close to the day they hit cinemas is the best, |
projects than have been possible with Arduinos in the past.
Or as Wired's editor in chief Chris Anderson put it to us: "Basically, Arduino just grew up."
"It's more than just 32-bit power," says Anderson, who founded maker site DIYDrones. "It's also debugging, a real-time operating system, native USB," and a host of other mod-friendly attributes that appeal to the tinkering crowd.
The Arduino Due isn't the first of its kind to include an ARM-based processor (which are used in a number of smartphones and mobile devices). The Beagleboard beat Arduino to the punch, but a higher price, smaller community and a relatively more complicated nature kept the Beagleboard from getting big.
But a more complicated product, like the Due, means that developing for it will also get a bit more tricky. The Arduino Due platform won't be quite as beginner-friendly as the company's other boards, so Arduino has taken measures to ensure that it doesn't end up in novice hands, at least initially.
The Arduino site – along with DIY destinations like Instructables, Hackaday and Wired.com's How-To Wiki – offer a wealth of project ideas, step by step instructions and sample code for those who want to get into the Arduino scene.
The Due will first roll out to developers, rather than immediately being released to the community at large. The company plans a final, tested release by the end of 2011.
The Arduino Leonardo should be available late October for a pocket-friendly $20. The Arduino Wi-Fi will also be available in October.
See Also:- Why Arduino Is a Hit With Hardware HackersImage copyright SNap Image caption Snap Map lets people track their friends
An update to Snapchat that shows publicly posted images on a searchable map has raised safety concerns among parents.
Snap Map lets people search for places such as schools and see videos and pictures posted by children inside.
It also lets people locate their "friends" on a map that is accurate enough to determine where people live.
Snap, the company behind Snapchat, stressed to the BBC that location sharing was an opt-in feature.
Exact location
Snap Map was launched on Wednesday and was promoted as a "new way to explore the world".
Video clips and photos that members have posted publicly can be discovered on the map, while members who have chosen to share their location can also be seen on the map by those they have added as "friends".
However, members can add people they have never met to their friends list too.
A message to parents posted by St Peter's Academy in Staffordshire warned that the location-sharing feature lets people "locate exactly where you are, which building you are in and exact whereabouts within the building".
One parent described the update as "dangerous" while another said she could not find the setting to disable it.
People have expressed concern online that the app could be used for stalking or working out exactly where somebody lives.
"If you zoom right in on this new Snapchat map thing it literally tells you where everyone lives? Like exact addresses - bit creepy no?" wrote one user called Leanne.
"This new Snapchat update is awful. An invitation for stalkers, kidnappers, burglars and relationship trust issues," suggested Jade.
Snap told the BBC that accurate location information was necessary to allow friends to use the service to meet, for example at a restaurant or crowded festival, and said points of interest on the map, such as schools, were provided by third-party mapping service Mapbox.
Concerned parents could find out more information on its Privacy Center website, a spokesman told the BBC.
"With Snap Map, location sharing is off by default for all users and is completely optional. Snapchatters can choose exactly who they want to share their location with, if at all, and can change that setting at any time," a Snap spokesman said.
"It's also not possible to share your location with someone who isn't already your friend on Snapchat, and the majority of interactions on Snapchat take place between close friends."
How to switch off Snap Map location sharingImagine a record-setting distance runner. This marathoner you envisage should be a history maker. The fastest in the world, by a long margin. Concentrate. Got a picture in mind?
Is she four-feet-10 inches tall? Is she 13 years old? Is she Canadian? Is her name Maureen Wilton?
May 6, 1967. Three hours 15 minutes and 23 seconds. Maureen Wilton, now Maureen Mancuso, ran the fastest 42.2 kilometres by a female. She knocked more than four minutes off the previous world record. She is the only Canadian ever to own a marathon world best. It would be hard to prove, but they say Mancuso that day ran the longest distance any Canadian woman had ever run, period. She was also the youngest record holder. In fact, she was too young for the record keepers in that day and age.
You can be forgiven for not knowing Mancuso’s story, because her incredible run happened almost 50 years ago. But what if you had been there, back in the Summer of Love? Did Canadians celebrate her achievement? Did young Maureen get to ride Yonge Street on the back deck of a convertible, waving to adoring fans? Was she showered with rewards, our very own world beater?
She was not.
Mancuso got bupkes.
Muted mention in the media. No prize money. Not even an assembly at her school. Her coach was scolded by athletics officials. Her mom and dad were accused of putting their child in harm’s way.
Seen through modern eyes, the reaction to Mancuso’s marathon was cruel and cold. It left a marvelous young athlete feeling confused, and almost furtive about her accomplishment. It is hard to overstate how different the response to her run would be in today’s world, where tens of thousands of people — more women than men — show up for weekend marathons. At the very least, the women who run by the blockful today, owe some of their endurance sisterhood to a quiet act of defiance by that very young woman, back in Canada’s summer of Expo.
It feels strange now, the skepticism that shrouded marathon running 50 years ago. And it is downright gruesome to revisit the sexism that was so pervasive in athletics then. Taken together, those two attitudes make Mancuso’s breakthrough even more unlikely.
There was nothing in the air back then that would seem to encourage or prompt a diminutive young girl from Willowdale, Ont., to set out to obliterate a world marathon record...and yet.If you have no problem consuming wheat or gluten, bulgur could be a fantastic whole grain to add to your diet if you haven’t already discovered it. Personally, I will take it instead of rice any day.
Bulgur is ground whole wheat kernels, parboiled and dried. The kind used in pilaf needs to be the coarse ground variety while the fine ground bulgur could be used to make salads like tabbouleh.
Bulgur can be cooked much like rice, though it cooks faster than brown rice. I incorporate vegetables in mine. Without further ado, here is the recipe:
Print Bulgur Pilaf Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 25 mins Total Time 35 mins Course: Pilaf Cuisine: Vegan Author : Dreamy Leaf Ingredients 1 cup coarse bulgur
2 cups water
Half of a medium sized onion chopped
2 to matoes diced
1 medium red bell pepper diced
1 jalapeno pepper
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and black pepper Instructions Put olive oil and the onion in a saute pan over medium heat. When onions start changing color, add rest of the vegetables, garlic, salt and black pepper. Cook all together an additional 5 minutes. Add the bulgur, mix and keep cooking for 1 more minute. Lastly, add the water, stir and reduce heat to low. At this point, taste for saltiness. With the lid closed, cook for about 15 minutes or until the excess water is evaporated/soaked by the bulgur. You should end up with a slightly moist pilaf, not watery.
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Receive future posts by emailVladimir Putin said the US is trying to “neutralize Russia’s nuclear potential” with its on-going deployment of a missile defense shield in Europe. The Russian president has promised a response.
“References to Iran and North Korea nuclear threats are just a cover for the true purpose [of NATO missile defense]. That is to neutralize the potential of other nuclear states not the US or its allies – primarily Russia,” Putin said during a meeting in Sochi dedicated to national military development. “The US is attempting to achieve strategic military superiority, with all the consequences that entails.”
Vladimir Putin has reminded that Iran reached a landmark nuclear deal with world powers in July. The agreement would remove sanctions that have crippled its economy, in exchange for severe restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Russia has been repeatedly told Iran is the main threat.
“Now, the Iranian problem is off the table – treaties have been signed and ratified. Yet, the work on missile defense continues, as before,” Putin said.
The Russian leader promised Russia would take the “necessary measures to respond by strengthening its own missile defense.”
“And at the first stage we are also going to develop strike weapons that can penetrate any missile defense shield.”
First time in Europe: US Navy successfully intercepts missiles during war games (VIDEO) https://t.co/PuE8e40UT2pic.twitter.com/ef87NP8FDQ — RT (@RT_com) October 21, 2015
Over the last three years, the Russian defense industry has created and successfully tested a range of promising weapons that can operate against a multilayer missile defense system, the Russian president said.
In June, Putin announced Russia would add 40 new-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year. In briefing to the media after the Sochi meeting, Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, insisted that Russia's strategic warfare expenditures, would not emulate "the American path of extortionate expense."
Putin said Russia’s concerns over US missile defense had been “ignored.”
“We have pointed out that these actions [construction of the shield] are an attempt to undermine the nuclear parity principle, and to destabilize the existing world and regional order.”
Last month, nine NATO states conducted a joint test of the ship-mounted anti-missile Aegis system in its first ever European exercise, off the coast of Scotland. Days later, the US staged a separate $230-million intercept of dummy nuclear launches near Wake Island in the Pacific.
First developed under Ronald Reagan, plans for a ballistic missile shield were revived by the George W. Bush administration in 2002. But the major rift with Russia began in 2007 when Poland and the Czech Republic agreed to host missile bases on their territory, despite protests from Moscow. The Czechs later withdrew from the US missile defense plans.
Since coming to power in 2008, Barack Obama has modified the plan, increasing its cost efficiency, but not its purpose. When it becomes fully operational – scheduled for early in the next decade – the system will comprise Aegis-equipped ships patrolling from Spain, and rocket equipped silos in Romania and Poland, with Turkey, Germany and other NATO states providing radar capability.A search and rescue team has launched a crowd-funding campaign to buy gear for its members.
West Midlands Search & Rescue covers Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire and wants to equip its latest volunteers with clothing and other items to help them operate in winter weather.
A spokesperson for the team said: “WMSAR believes that this is the first time crowd-funding has been used to help a UK search and rescue team fund their equipment, and hopes that it will ease the burden on its operational members having to devote as much unpaid time towards fundraising.
“The registered charity, which is a lowland rescue member team, does not receive the same annual grant from Government as mountain rescue, and thus all equipment and training is paid for by charitable donations and the members themselves.
“The average operational member of the team gives over 80 hours towards fundraising per year, on top of their commitment to training and callouts.”
Ten new volunteers joined the team recently, boosting numbers of the 30-member team, and the appeal is to help equip them.
The team has set up a Crowdfunder page, hoping to raise £5,000 for items such as waterproof jackets, hats and gloves, batteries for their torches and Blizzard bags for protecting casualties.
The target has to be met by 2 February under the Crowdfunder scheme.
Those pledging larger cash amounts will receive certificates and, for the top amount, a chance to join the team on a training exercise.
WMSAR has two bases: Telford and Worcester and a mobile team in the Shropshire Hills.
The Crowdfunder page can be accessed via the West Midlands Search & Rescue website.Barcelona manager Luis Enrique says his side deserved to win Saturday's El Clasico after conceding a late equaliser to Real Madrid.
The visitors shaded the goalless first half, but it was the Catalan club who took the lead eight minutes into the second period as Luis Suarez headed home from a Neymar free-kick.
They had a number of chances to add to their tally - Lionel Messi, Andreas Iniesta and Neymar all going close - but were made to pay for their missed opportunity on the stroke of full-time.
Luka Modric delivered a free-kick from the left-hand side, and it met the head of an unmarked Sergio Ramos who powered home to take a point away from the Nou Camp.
Barcelona's coach Luis Enrique says his side deserved all three points on Saturday
Luis Enrique was disappointed to have let the victory, and the chance to cut the deficit to three points, slip away from his side.
"We deserved to win. We could have closed the game out, we had it in our hands, but we have not achieved it," he said.
Luis Suarez scored the opener for Barcelona during the El Clasico clash
"It is not the best result for us. It was a very even first half and a second that we were better, we created chances. We continued looking for the second to avoid being levelled, but we were unable to do so.
"In my opinion, the performance of the team was higher than that of the rival, but we have to improve, it is clear. I say this even when we win, and even when we draw. We can improve in all aspects of the game. We are ambitious."
Iniesta was the catalyst for much of the good play for Barcelona during the second half as he came on for Ivan Rakitic on the hour mark.
He came in for praise from his manager, who said he did not regret any of the decisions he made during the draw.
Lionel Messi competes with Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo during the game
"It is clear that Iniesta is a unique players and his input was perfect. He entered at a key moment and, despite the difficulties of being out for so long. He gave us quality, vision and hard work," Luis Enrique added.
"I am not sorry about any decisions I made. If the game had ended in the 89th minute you would not be asking me this."We now know that 3 variations of the retro electric scooter will be shown at the Paris Motorshow (2nd-17th October) this year. A small single seater version called the “Mini Ego” will be offered alongside a 2-seater variant called the “Mini Eco Roller”, a 3rd as yet unspecified model will also be offered.
No set pricing has been announced, hell we don’t even know if they are going to pursue a production run – although that does seem like the logical next step after taking the time to create and brand 3 unique concepts. Mini have said they’ll produce it if there is “enough interest” and have hinted that it’ll take about 2 years to hit showroom floors.
Mini’s electric scooters will have an onboard lithium-ion battery system and a rear hub-mounted electric motor that offers regenerative braking and will power to a top speed of 60km/h with a range of 100km and will cost “over” 2,500 Euros.Michel Vorm: FIFA to act after Utrecht report Swansea following Spurs transfer
FIFA have confirmed it is investigating the transfer of Netherlands goalkeeper Michel Vorm from Swansea to Tottenham after a formal complaint from his first club Utrecht.
The Eredivisie side claimed they were due a 30% sell-on fee but Swansea sources say it was a free transfer and the Dutch club are not due any money.
A FIFA spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we've received a complaint from the club FC Utrecht against the club Swansea City in connection with the transfer of the player Michel Vorm.
"At this stage we cannot make any further comment."
Vorm came on as a 93rd-minute replacement in the third-placed World Cup play-off for the Netherlands in their 3-0 win over hosts Brazil.
The 30-year-old moved to the Liberty Stadium in July 2009 for £1.5million before signing a fresh deal at the club in September 2012 to take him up to the summer of 2016.
However, Spurs secured his signature, and that of Swans team-mate Ben Davies, last month.
Davies signed a five-year contract at White Hart Lane, while Vorm signed a four-year agreement. Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson moved to south Wales as part of the deals.
Swansea previously said Vorm's transfer did not break any rules.
"The transfer of Michel Vorm was conducted and concluded correctly under Premier League rules," a Swansea spokesman said.
"It was approved by the Premier League and also FIFA via their TMS (Transfer Matching) system.
"While we have been in contact with Utrecht as a matter of courtesy, we will continue to conduct our business in the best interest of our football club and our supporters, and not based on the views of other clubs.
"Unlike some countries abroad, we do not have third party ownership of players in Britain. The club will not be commenting further on this matter."Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Four weeks after being invited to participate; a fortnight after the official flyer was circulated; and just four days after the program was confirmed, One in Three received an apologetic email yesterday from Strathfield Council.
The email withdrew the Council's invitation for One in Three to present at the Domestic & Family Violence Forum on 13th May. The reason given was that the Stop Domestic Violence Action Group is trying to develop links with welfare organisations to connect victims of domestic violence directly with crisis emergency services. Hence it isn't the right audience for our presentation about male victims of family violence.
The current program for the event includes Our Watch and Bankstown Primary School, neither of which are welfare organisations nor emergency services.
We are disappointed that once again a Domestic Violence event will have no advocacy for the one in three victims of family violence who are male.From many of the comic book lists on this site you can tell Toptenz.net is big supporter of comic books. In today’s comic books you don’t see the advertisements you used to – no ads with outrageous promises to be taller or more muscular. No advertisements to own a nuclear sub or army tank can be found nowadays. But if you look in older comic books you’ll see a treasure trove of sneaky ads, crazy claims, preposterous promises and looney lies. We’ve tried to bring you the worst comic book ads of the bunch. Here are 10 of the most outrageous comic book advertisements ever. Read on, true believer!
10. Sea Monkeys
A bowl full of happiness: How many of us were suckered into purchasing these aquatic miracles of life? An entire humanoid-looking family of pets for our amusement. This was great and surely the pictures (illustrations) would never lie. Heck, they might even be able to speak. After all they have mouths and sparkling white teeth. And look at the size of the shadows in the fish bowl! They are enormous. I do like the way the father (male) has his tail strategically placed over his crotch.
The Truth: They were just above microscopic size and certainly didn’t look anything like a human or a mermaid. They were usually dead within a week. Next time buy gold fish.
9. Amazing X-Ray Specs
A Hilarious Optical Illusion: Well, the ad does have the word illusion written in bold, so we were only fooling ourselves if we believed the x-ray glasses would actually work. Did it not occur to us that doctors would be wearing these x-ray specs if they could see through things? Well, I guess doctors didn’t read comics so maybe they just didn’t know about this medical marvel.
The Truth: You paid for glasses that made things look blurry which gave the “illusion” of seeing through objects. Your only hope was to pawn these disappointing specs on the next sucker. Too bad you couldn’t “see through” the scam.
8. How to Hypnotize – Hypno-coin
Impose will over someone – Sure, impose your will by learning these amazing hypnotic techniques. You get 24 photographs to show you how. And if they techniques are beyond you, (although it states anyone can follow it) you can order from the inset advertisement and get the Hypno-Coin. How the heck do you spin it and why turn your victim into a zombie with arms held out in front?
The Truth – While trying to hypnotize your friends you either look like an idiot as nothing happens or they fake being hypnotized and embarrass you as they ignore all your commands for world domination.
7. Charles Atlas
The insult that made a man out of Mac – The best part of this comic book advertisement is the fifth panel as they show the passage of time with a simplistic “Later”. How much later? One day, one month or one year? They don’t say and if you follow the logic of the comic it looks like later that same summer season, so it must be only a few weeks at most. Good to know that violence IS the answer, Mac. Thanks, Charles Atlas!
The Truth – You received a big rubber band and got fed up after a few days of pulling rubber. Then you start a company called Microsoft and the rest is history.
6. Automatic Firing Tripod Machine Gun
Develops Deadly Target Skill – Nothing like preparing our youth early for their days of protecting our country. It’s magazine fed and swivels in all directions. So, once you kill all your enemies you can turn it against your fellow soldiers. Friendly fire never felt so right. And all this imaginary killing is yours for $1.98!
The Truth – When it worked, it shot pellets which could, in the immortal words of Clark Griswald, “…lodge under the skin and cause a very bad infection.”
5. Build Your Own Apollo Lunar Module
You get all this for just one dime – The real beauty of this was that you actually mailed the dime in the safety coin holder included – do not tape or seal. And you got, not one, but two lunar astronauts in FULL space gear. Good to know your toy astronauts will not be braving fake space without full space gear.
The Truth – It was just a scale model and you will only be traveling to space in your dreams, but you did get a trial membership at the Science Program, whatever that was. And why was it a trial?
4. Grow Man Grow – Be Taller
Height gain guaranteed – If you are worried about being short, act NOW! It actually says, “Tall up instantly.” How do you tall up? If you look at the picture it would also leave you to believe you get pumped up too. Pump up instantly? Your new height secrets will be rushed to you in a PLAIN WRAPPER. This sounds insidious, but gaining 3 inches is worth the possible embarrassment. Wait, are we talking about your height or that certain part of the male anatomy?
The Truth – At best you were sent a pair of shoe lifts. At worst you were sent advice like, “Stand up straighter.” Either way you weren’t going to be any taller. And no, gaining 3 inches was not meant for your, well…you know.
3. Live Miniature Dog at No Cost
Please give me a home at no cost – Paris Hilton must have read this ad to get her tea cup dog, poodle, or whatever it is. They give you good advice and say you can keep it in a box and enjoy teaching it tricks. Yes, like play dead, because keeping your dog in a box will suck all the life out of it. But hurry, they only have a limited supply of miniature dogs. Imagine the storage facilities.
The Truth – You could get a dog (and some ads offered a monkey) if you could get 20 of your friends to order hand colored enlargements of photos they send in to Dean Studios, the ad’s sponsor. I’m betting not many people could sucker 20 other people to pay for this rip off, but I assume a few did. Getting the mutant dog or the half-dead monkey with HIV must have been quite a reality check.
2. 200 World War II Soldier
2 armies, the Americans, the Germans – Okay, I certainly didn’t believe I would be getting real soldiers in the mail. But I fully expected to receive unbreakable plastic army men. I have outlined the promise of indestructible plastic army men in red. Feel free to click the picture to see a larger image. It states it quite clearly. UNBREAKABLE. I assume I was getting some space-age plastic that would resist all efforts to destroy these men of plastic.
The Truth – These plastic army men met their demise with frightening ease. Of course they melted effortlessly and I can forgive that. But a few days after receiving them it looked like war had, indeed, been hell. Many were missing legs, arms and even heads, but they continued to fight on…brave soldiers that they were. I was disappointed as one bite would render any plastic soldier headless.
1. Nuclear Sub, Army Tank – Toys of War
“Fires Rockets & Torpedoes” – With that one statement all bets are off. This submarine must work. I don’t care how it was powered. You could power it with a nuclear reactor or rubber bands but I fully expected it to submerge and fire freakin’ torpedoes. Is that too much to ask? And when I read I’m getting a real mobile tank I fully expected to be crushing the neighborhood bully under my metal machine of death. A real working, electronically lit control panel only adds to the promise of realism.
The Truth – Each item is really just a weak cardboard cut-out you put together. And nothing worked. No rockets and no torpedoes from your sub and your tank could be trampled by a pack of ill-tempered kittens. Lesson learned, you can’t get instruments of war for under $7.00 with a 10-day free trial. You just can’t. Sigh…
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Other Articles you Might LikeI'll start by denouncing Kathy Griffin for her tasteless and offensive "joke." We not only need denounce it, but avoid the temptation to draw parallels between racist memes spread about President Barack Obama. Pretending to hold a sitting president's severed head is abhorrent, period.
By the same token, supporters of President Donald Trump have to stop responding to criticisms of him by simply stating that Hillary Clinton or Obama were worse. This doesn't require any critical thought or introspection and serves only to prompt all sides of an argument to retreat into their comfortably entrenched preconceived beliefs.
I also wholly condemn the students at Evergreen State College in Washington who asked all white students and faculty not to come to the campus for a day, as part of an annual "day of absence" tradition. This doesn't further the cause of social justice, it's an act of overt racism.
Similarly, there are the students at universities across the country who are protesting and rioting to keep rabble-rousers like Ann Coulter and Richard Spencer from being allowed to speak. It's important to distinguish protesting their beliefs from those who protest their right to speak those beliefs. The former are as American as apple pie. The latter are enemies of freedom of speech, and just as odious to me as those who vandalized a bumper sticker on my wife's vehicle in the days after the election, or the person who stole a sign out of our yard that simply expressed support for our neighbors, no matter their background.
I'm not naive enough to believe that the polarization of American opinion that has been building for decades will change anytime soon. But I do call on the principled among us to put country and reason above party, whether you're a Democrat or Republican. Condemn the extremists in your own ranks, think critically about your position without just thinking about how evil your opponent is, and acknowledge that extremism and ultra-polarization are harmful to the very fabric of our government and society.
If some of us can start to build on those ideas, we'll go a long way toward reviving an important and seemingly forgotten political group: pragmatic moderates.
Dylan Whitehead is an insurance professional in Richardson and a Dallas Morning News Community Voices columnist. Email: Dylan.Whitehead@gmail.com
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The Mitt Romney campaign supposedly has a "no whining rule" when it comes to media coverage, but veep candidate Paul Ryan apparently didn't get the memo. "It goes without saying that there is definitely media bias," Ryan said on Fox News Sunday. "I think most people in the mainstream media are left of center and, therefore, they want a very left-of-center president versus a conservative like Mitt Romney." It's an age-old complaint — George H.W. Bush's 1992 campaign featured bumper stickers that read: "Annoy the Media — Re-elect Bush." But coupled with GOP claims that even pollsters are skewing their results to favor President Obama — allegedly part of a nefarious scheme to suppress Republican enthusiasm — there is a sense that Republicans are letting an "alternate campaign reality flower" in the face of harsh truths, say Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns at Politico. Is this true?
Conservatives are in denial: Inarguably, Romney is trailing in the polls — "the only question is by how much," say Martin and Burns. Yet you wouldn't know he's behind by watching Fox News or listening to Rush Limbaugh. "The attempt to debunk polls is in many ways the logical, if absurd, outgrowth of a choose-your-own adventure political news environment where partisans have outlets that will echo their views." Conservatives are now seeking "out polls that favor their side or even [finding] a tonic in the arbitrary rejiggering of professional polls."
"The parallel universe where Mitt Romney leads all the polls"
And the claims of liberal bias don't hold water: Despite Romney's "47 percent" gaffe and other indisputable missteps, conservatives insist that the "mainstream" media has orchestrated Romney's slide by putting "their collective liberal thumb on the scale, in terms of coverage and, more oddly, polling," says David Carr at The New York Times. But liberals don't dominate our current media landscape. The Wall Street Journal, "a bastion of conservative values" has the highest circulation of America's newspapers. Three of the top five radio broadcasters, including Limbaugh, are conservatives, while Fox News continues to dominate cable news. "Many Republicans see bias lurking in every live shot, but the growing hegemony of conservative voices makes manufacturing a partisan conspiracy a practical impossibility."
"Tired cries of bias don't help Romney"
Democrats live in their own world, too: It's not just conservatives who view the world through a partisan lens, say Ben Smith and Zeke Miller at BuzzFeed. Party identification can "trump voters' experience of reality" on both sides of the aisle — just look at how Democrats and Republicans view the economy. Polls show that "if you're a Democrat, it's something approaching morning in America. If you're a Republican, we're screwed." That's why Romney has gotten so little traction from running on the economy: No one can agree on how it's faring.
"How the economy collapsed (as a political issue)"'ENIGMA' -- Cipher Machine. A three-rotor Enigma machine, number A-9457, with electric core, three aluminium rotors each stamped WaA618, raised 'QWERTZ' keyboard with crackle black painted metal case (some restoration), three division window flap over rotors and plugboard in the front with ten patch leads, with metal label 'Chiffriermaschinen Gesellschaft Heimsoeth und Rinke, Berlin W.35 Ludendorffstraße 6' on the inside of the lid, circa 1939. Modern power supply. 260 x 320 x 140mm.
A three-rotor ENIGMA, the standard German electronic ciphering machine widely used in World War II. It derives from a 1919 patent of a Dutch inventor, H.A. Koch; an early design marketed by Dr. Arthur Scherbius was bought out by the German military in 1929 and placed in service. ENIGMA in several variants was used by the German Navy, the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the state railroad system, the Abwehr (intelligence) and the SS.
It was designed with a complex, interchangeable series of three rotors bearing the 26-character alphabet, a'reflector' and a plugboard with movable connecting cords that connected pairs of letters. As an added precaution, the base or starting settings for the rotors was changed every 24 hours, according to pre-printed setting registers furnished in advance or supplied daily by courier. It has been calculated that the 3-rotor ENIGMA, with plugboard in use, made possible a total of 15 billion billion possible readings for each character.
ENIGMA was widely regarded by the Germans as too complex to be broken, but in the 1930s a team of Polish analysts (Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rszycki and Henryk Zygalski), made remarkable progress in working out the machine's basic system, identified its vulnerabilities and succeeded in deciphering much of the encrypted German radio traffic. Their findings, including plans for very useful mechanical devices known as 'bombes', which aided in the decryption operation, were secretly passed on in 1939 to French and British investigators. An elite team of cryptanalysts, mathematicians and engineers including Alan Turing (see lot 60) were established in a top-secret facility at Bletchley Park. For the rest of the war that legendary team's heroic and unstinting efforts gradually accomplished the seemingly insurmountable task of deciphering an enormous volume of encrypted communications. The critical intelligence deriving from their decipherment was dubbed ULTRA and was employed cautiously but to great effect during the war; some commentators credit ULTRA with shortening the war by some two years.This article is over 2 years old
Approval rating of Yatsenyuk’s party stands at 2% after painful economic reforms and perceived inability to tackle corruption
Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has announced his resignation following a political crisis that has paralysed the government and frozen the release of western aid for months.
“Having done everything to ensure stability and make a smooth transition of power possible, I decided to step down from the post of prime minister of Ukraine,” the 41-year-old pro-western leader said in a video address.
His decision comes barely two months after he survived a no-confidence vote in his government.
He said the party of the president, Petro Poroshenko, had already nominated the speaker of parliament, Volodymyr Groysman, to fill his post and he would not stand in the way.
“From today onwards I see my goals in a broader light than just heading the government,” Yatsenyuk said.
His condemnation of Russia’s alleged backing of the two-year uprising in eastern Ukraine and his clinching of a crucial IMF rescue package in early 2015 helped his party become parliament’s second largest in elections in October 2015.
He formed a parliamentary coalition with the president’s bloc and several junior partners, and was able to push through some tough and highly unpopular austerity measures prescribed by the IMF.
His party’s approval rating has since slumped to 2%, both because of the painful economic reforms and his perceived inability to tackle state corruption.Publish before March 28 and we will tell your story to the world.
First of all, hello! This is my first official OUYA blog post, and I couldn’t be more excited to work with all of you.
Devs, as of today, any game you upload to OUYA on http://devs.ouya.tv will be available for real on OUYA when units start to ship on March 28. This means the games you have in the store after today will be in gamers’ hands when they receive their OUYA units — starting first with our Kickstarter backers, and continuing on through June when we launch to anyone and everyone who wants to get OUYA.
Those of you who uploaded a game during our test period — thank you for helping us work out the kinks — we are now resetting the store from those early uploads and starting over fresh!
Here’s how it will go down:
You submit your game on http://devs.ouya.tv
We will review submissions (as quickly as we can!). See our Content and Review Guidelines on the dev portal — that’s what we’ll be checking it up against. Don’t worry, it’s a pretty brisk read.
You will be notified by email when your game is ready to go live, or if there are any issues.
After you go live, OUYA allows you to update your game, as often as you like, at no cost to you.
And here’s where it gets interesting!
We want to help developers make their games known. So, if you publish your game before March 28, you’ll be eligible for a special promotion.
We will take the top three games (by total gamer time spent playing during the first six weeks that OUYA is in gamers’ hands), and… make you famous! OUYA is investing in a series of short documentaries to tell developers’ stories. We want to share your process, ups and downs, everything that goes into making the thing that you love — and that game we love to play.
If your game is one of the top three in the first six weeks, then one of those documentaries will be about you. We will rely heavily on these documentaries to tell people about OUYA, and we’ll share them far and wide as part of our launch marketing in June leading up to the holidays — everyone will know your name, your game, and where to play it ;)
Can’t wait to play your games! We’re truly honored to have you as our inaugural developers.
– Kellee
@KelleeSan
K |
fasshion!"
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Side note; my inspiration pool is coming back! /); u ;/)Most people think of a dollar store as a store where every item costs $1. This is not the case for Family Dollar, a discount chain, or and Dollar General, one of the suitors seeking to acquire it. Dollar Tree, the company’s other suitor, is a traditional dollar store. As the chains compete to merge, there’s one important question: who do these stores compete with?
Sources close to the (potential) deal told the New York Post that the Federal Trade Commission is concerned that the various stores with “dollar” in their names mostly compete with each other. If the FTC finds that to be the case, it could have tough consequences for either company that’s looking to acquire Family Dollar. Dollar General had assumed that it would only need to sell 1,500 stores, but that number could be as high as 4,000 stores.
The management of Dollar Tree apparently assumed that it mostly competes with other stores where everything costs $1 or less, and that it wouldn’t have to sell any stores, but those same sources told the Post that the smaller chain would also have to sell some stores, too.
The government requires these divestments not because they’re just being mean, but to protect consumers from the artificially high prices and crappy service that can happen when mergers result in a local monopoly. If you live in a remote area that has only a Dollar General and a Family Dollar and those two stores combine, that leaves your area without real discount retail competition. The FTC could force Dollar General to sell to a fellow discount store or dollar store. The same would go for Dollar Tree if it wins the Dollar Store Wars (that mostly include stores that aren’t dollar stores.)
While Family Dollar shareholders have accepted the offer from Dollar Tree, they have not yet accepted the higher offer (by $5.50 per share) from Dollar General. That offer now expires on December 31st.
Dollar General may have to ax more than 4K stores [New York Post]First published Fri Nov 29, 2002; substantive revision Mon May 1, 2017
This entry explores the topic of free speech. It starts with a general discussion of freedom in relation to speech and then moves on to examine one of the first and best defenses of free speech, based on the harm principle. This provides a useful starting point for further digressions on the subject. The discussion moves on from the harm principle to assess the argument that speech can be limited because it causes offense rather than direct harm. I then examine arguments that suggest speech can be limited for reasons of democratic equality. I finish with an examination of paternalistic and moralistic reasons against protecting speech, and a reassessment of the harm principle.
The topic of free speech is one of the most contentious issues in liberal societies. If liberty of expression is not highly valued, as has often been the case, there is no problem; freedom of expression is simply curtailed in favor of other values. It becomes a volatile issue when it is highly valued because only then do the limitations placed upon it become controversial. The first thing to note in any sensible discussion of freedom of speech is that it will have to be limited. Every society places some limits on the exercise of speech because it always takes place within a context of competing values. In this sense, Stanley Fish is correct when he says that there is no such thing as free speech (in the sense of unlimited speech). Free speech is simply a useful term to focus our attention on a particular form of human interaction and the phrase is not meant to suggest that speech should never be limited. One does not have to fully agree with Fish when he says, “free speech in short, is not an independent value but a political prize” (1994,102) but it is the case that no society has existed where speech has not been limited to some extent. Haworth (1998) makes a similar point when he suggests that a right to freedom of speech is not something we have, not something we own, in the same way as we possess arms and legs.
Alexander and Horton (1984) agree. They note that “speech” encapsulates many different activities: speaking, writing, singing, acting, burning flags, yelling on the street corner, advertising, threats, slander and so on. One reason for thinking that speech is not special simpiciter is that some of these forms of communication are more important than others and hence require different levels of protection. For example, the freedom to criticize a government is generally thought to be more important than the freedom of an artist to offend her audience. If two speech acts clash (when yelling prevents a political speech) a decision has to be made to prioritize one over the other, which means that there can be no unlimited right to free speech. For example, Alexander and Horton (1984) claim that arguments defending speech on democratic grounds have many parts. One is a claim that the public needs a great deal of information in order to make informed decisions. Another is that because government is the servant of the people, it should not be allowed to censor them. Such arguments show that one of the main reasons for justifying free speech (political speech) is important, not for its own sake but because it allows us to exercise another important value (democracy). Whatever reasons we offer to protect speech can also be used to show why some speech is not special. If speech is defended because it promotes autonomy, we no longer have grounds for protecting speech acts that undermine this value. If our defence of speech is that it is crucial to a well-functioning democracy, we have no reason to defend speech that is irrelevant to, or undermines, this goal. And if we agree with John Stuart Mill (1978) that speech should be protected because it leads to the truth, there seems no reason to protect the speech of anti-vaccers or creationists.
Speech is important because we are socially situated and it makes little sense to say that Robinson Crusoe has a right to free speech. It only becomes necessary to talk of such a right within a social setting, and appeals to an abstract and absolute right to free speech hinder rather than help the debate. At a minimum, speech will have to be limited for the sake of order. If we all speak at once, we end up with an incoherent noise. Without some rules and procedures we cannot have a conversation at all and consequently speech has to be limited by protocols of basic civility.
It is true that many human rights documents give a prominent place to the right to speech and conscience, but such documents also place limits on what can be said because of the harm and offense that unlimited speech can cause, (I will discuss this in more detail later). Outside of the United States of America speech does not tend to have a specially protected status and it has to compete with other rights claims for our allegiance. John Stuart Mill, one of the great defenders of free speech, summarized these points in On Liberty, where he suggests that a struggle always takes place between the competing demands of authority and liberty. He claimed that we cannot have the latter without the former:
All that makes existence valuable to anyone depends on the enforcement of restraints upon the actions of other people. Some rules of conduct, therefore, must be imposed—by law in the first place, and by opinion on many things which are not fit subjects for the operation of law. (1978, 5)
The task, therefore, is not to argue for an unlimited domain of free speech; such a concept cannot be defended. Instead, we need to decide how much value we place on speech in relation to other important ideals such as privacy, security, democratic equality and the prevention of harm and there is nothing inherent to speech that suggests it must always win out in competition with these values. Speech is part of a package deal of social goods: “speech, in short, is never a value in and of itself but is always produced within the precincts of some assumed conception of the good” (Fish, 1994, 104). In this essay, I will examine some conceptions of the good that are deemed to be acceptable limitations on speech. I will start with the harm principle and then move on to other more encompassing arguments for limiting speech.
Before we do this, however, the reader might wish to disagree with the above claims and warn of the dangers of the “slippery slope.” As Frederick Schauer (1985) has demonstrated, slippery slope arguments make the claim that a current acceptable change (he calls this the instant case) to the status quo regarding speech will lead to some intolerable future state of affairs (what he calls the danger case) once the instant case prohibiting speech is introduced. The assumption is that the instant case is acceptable; otherwise it would be critiqued in its own right. The complaint is that a change from the status quo to the instant case will lead to unwanted future limitations on speech and should be avoided (even if a change to the instant case would be immediately desirable). The slippery slope argument has to make a clear distinction between the instant and the danger case. If the former was part of the latter then it is not a slippery slope argument but simply an assertion about the unwarranted breadth of the instant case. The claim being made is that a change to an acceptable instant case that is distinct from the danger case should nevertheless be prohibited because a change from the status quo to the instant case will necessarily transport us to the danger case.
As Schuer says this is not very compelling because it needs to be demonstrated, rather than merely stated, that the move from the status quo is so much more likely to lead to the danger case. Part of the problem is that slippery slope arguments are often presented in a way that suggests we can be on or off the slope. In fact, no such choice exists: we are necessarily on the slope whether we like it or not, and the task is always to decide how far up or down we choose to go, not whether we should step off the slope altogether. We need to keep in mind that the slippery-slope claim is not that the proposed instant case will lead to minor changes in the future, but that a small change now will have drastic and tyrannical consequences. The slippery-slope argument seems to suggest that the instant case is so flawed that any change to it from the status quo (which again, is a position already on the slope) puts us in imminent threat of sliding into the danger case. Unfortunately, the causal mechanisms for how this must necessarily happen are usually unspecified. Anyone making such claims should be willing to demonstrate how this unlikely event will happen before being taken seriously. Such a person is not simply advocating caution; she is claiming that there is an imminent risk of moving from an acceptable instant case to an unacceptable danger case. This is not to say that slippage cannot occur. One safeguard against this is to be as precise as possible in our use of language. If harm to others is our preferred stopping point on the slope, we need to specify in clear terms what counts as harm and what does not. Sometimes we will fail in this task, but precision puts brakes on the instant case and limits its capacity for sliding down the slope.
Those who support the slippery slope argument tend to make the claim that the inevitable consequence of limiting speech is a slide into censorship and tyranny. It is worth noting, however, that the slippery slope argument can be used to make the opposite point; one could argue that we should not allow any removal of government interventions (on speech or any other type of freedom) because once we do we are on the slippery slope to anarchy, the state of nature, and a life that Hobbes described in Leviathan as “solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short” (1968, 186).
It is possible that some limits on speech might, over time, lead to further restrictions—but they might not. And if they do, those limitations might also be justified. The main point is that once we abandon the incoherent position that there should be no limits on speech, we have to make controversial decisions about what can and cannot be expressed; this comes along with the territory of living together in communities.
Another thing to note before we engage with specific arguments for limiting speech is that we are in fact free to speak as we like. Hence, freedom of speech differs from some other types of free action. If the government wants to prevent citizens engaging in certain actions, riding motor bikes for example, it can limit their freedom to do so by making sure that such vehicles are no longer available; current bikes could be destroyed and a ban can be placed on future imports. Freedom of speech is a different case. A government can limit some forms of free expression by banning books, plays, films etc. but it cannot make it impossible to say certain things. The only thing it can do is punish people after they have spoken. This means that we are free to speak in a way that we are not free to ride outlawed motorbikes. This is an important point; if we insist that legal prohibitions remove freedom then we have to hold the incoherent position that a person was unfree at the very moment she performed a speech act. The government would have to remove our vocal cords for us to be unfree in the same way as the motorcyclist is unfree.
A more persuasive analysis suggests that the threat of a sanction makes it more difficult and potentially more costly to exercise our freedom of speech. Such sanctions take two major forms. The first, and most serious, is legal punishment by the state, which usually consists of a financial penalty, but can stretch to imprisonment (which then, of course, further restricts the persons free speech). The second threat of sanction comes from social disapprobation. People will often refrain from making public statements because they fear the ridicule and moral outrage of others. For example, one could expect to be publicly condemned if one made racist comments during a public lecture at a university. Usually it is the first type of sanction that catches our attention but, as we will see, John Stuart Mill provides a strong warning about the chilling effect of the latter form of social control.
We seem to have reached a paradoxical position. I started by claiming that there can be no such thing as a pure form of free speech: now I seem to be arguing that we are, in fact, free to say anything we like. The paradox is resolved by thinking of free speech in the following terms. I am, indeed, free to say (but not necessarily to publish) what I like, but the state and other individuals can sometimes make that freedom more or less costly to exercise. This leads to the conclusion that we can attempt to regulate speech, but we cannot prevent it if a person is undeterred by the threat of sanction. The issue, therefore, boils down to assessing how cumbersome we wish to make it for people to say certain things. I have already suggested that all societies do (correctly) make some speech more costly than others. If the reader doubts this, it might be worth considering what life would be like with no sanctions on libelous statements, child pornography, advertising content, and releasing state secrets. The list could go on.
The conclusion to be drawn is that the problem we face is deciding where, not whether, to place limits on speech, and the next sections look at some possible solutions to this puzzle.
Given that Mill presented one of the first, and still perhaps the most famous liberal defense of free speech, I will focus on his arguments in this essay and use them as a springboard for a more general discussion of free expression. In the footnote at the beginning of Chapter II of On Liberty, Mill makes a very bold statement:
If the arguments of the present chapter are of any validity, there ought to exist the fullest liberty of professing and discussing, as a matter of ethical conviction, any doctrine, however immoral it may be considered. (1978, 15)
This is a very strong defense of free speech; Mill tells us that any doctrine should be allowed the light of day no matter how immoral it may seem to everyone else. And Mill does mean everyone:
If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. (1978, 16)
Such liberty should exist with every subject matter so that we have “absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical or speculative, scientific, moral or theological” (1978, 11). Mill claims that the fullest liberty of expression is required to push our arguments to their logical limits, rather than the limits of social embarrassment. Such liberty of expression is necessary, he suggests, for the dignity of persons. If liberty of expression is stifled, the price paid is “a sort of intellectual pacification” that sacrifices “ the entire moral courage of the human mind” (1978, 31).
These are powerful claims for freedom of speech, but as I noted above, Mill also suggests that we need some rules of conduct to regulate the actions of members of a political community. The limitation he places on free expression is “one very simple principle” (1978, 9), now usually referred to as the harm principle, which states that
…the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. (1978, 9)
There is a great deal of debate about what Mill had in mind when he referred to harm; for the purposes of this essay he will be taken to mean that an action has to directly and in the first instance invade the rights of a person (Mill himself uses the term rights, despite basing the arguments in the book on the principle of utility). The limits on free speech will be very narrow because it is difficult to support the claim that most speech causes harm to the rights of others. This is the position staked out by Mill in the first two chapters of On Liberty and it is a good starting point for a discussion of free speech because it is hard to imagine a more liberal position. Liberals are usually willing to contemplate limiting speech once it can be demonstrated that it does invade the rights of others.
If we accept Mill's argument we need to ask “what types of speech, if any, cause harm?” Once we can answer this question, we have found the appropriate limits to free expression. The example Mill uses is in reference to corn dealers: he suggests that it is acceptable to claim that corn dealers starve the poor if such a view is expressed in print. It is not acceptable to make such statements to an angry mob, ready to explode, that has gathered outside the house of the corn dealer. The difference between the two is that the latter is an expression “such as to constitute…a positive instigation to some mischievous act,” (1978, 53), namely, to place the rights, and possibly the life, of the corn dealer in danger. As Daniel Jacobson (2000) notes, it is important to remember that Mill will not sanction limits to free speech simply because someone is harmed. For example, the corn dealer may suffer severe financial hardship if he is accused of starving the poor. Mill distinguishes between legitimate and illegitimate harm, and it is only when speech causes a direct and clear violation of rights that it can be limited. The fact that Mill does not count accusations of starving the poor as causing illegitimate harm to the rights of corn dealers suggests he wished to apply the harm principle sparingly. Other examples where the harm principle may apply include libel laws, blackmail, advertising blatant untruths about commercial products, advertising dangerous products to children (e.g. cigarettes), and securing truth in contracts. In most of these cases, it is possible to show that harm can be caused and that rights can be violated.
There are other instances when the harm principle has been invoked but where it is more difficult to demonstrate that rights have been violated. Perhaps the most obvious example is the debate over pornography. As Feinberg notes in Offense to Others: the Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, most attacks on pornography up to the 1970s were from social conservatives who found such material to be immoral and obscene. This type of argument has died away in recent times and the case against pornography has been taken up by some feminists who often distinguish between erotica, which is acceptable, and pornography, which is not, because it is claimed it degrades, harms, and endangers the lives of women. The harm principle can be invoked against pornography if it can be demonstrated that it violates the rights of women.
This is an approach taken by Catherine MacKinnon (1987). She takes seriously the distinction between pornography and erotica. Erotica might be explicit and create sexual arousal, but neither is grounds for complaint. Pornography would not come under attack if it did the same thing as erotica; the complaint is that it portrays women in a manner that harms them.
When pornography involves young children, most people accept that it should be prohibited because it harms persons under the age of consent (although the principle would not necessarily rule out people over the age of consent from portraying minors). It has proved more difficult to make the same claim for consenting adults. It is difficult to know if the people who appear in books, magazines, films, videos and on the internet are being physically harmed. If they are we then need to show why this is sufficiently different from other forms of harmful employment that is not prohibited, such as hard manual labour, or very dangerous jobs. Much of the work in pornography seems to be demeaning and unpleasant but the same can be said for many forms of work and again it is unclear why the harm principle can be used to single out pornography. MacKinnon's (1987) claim that women who make a living through pornography are sexual slaves seems to exaggerate the case. If conditions in the pornography industry are particularly bad, stronger regulation rather than prohibition might be a better option, particularly as the latter will not make the industry go away.
It is also difficult to demonstrate that pornography results in harm to women as a whole. Very few people would deny that violence against women is abhorrent and an all too common feature of our society, but how much of this is caused by pornography? MacKinnon, Andrea Dworkin, (1981) and many others, have attempted to show a causal link but this has proven challenging because one needs to show that a person who would not rape, batter or otherwise violate the rights of women was caused to do so through exposure to pornography. Caroline West provides a useful overview of the literature and suggests that even though pornography might not dispose most men to rape, it might make it more likely for those men who are already so inclined. She uses the analogy of smoking. We have good grounds for saying that smoking makes cancer more likely even though smoking is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for causing cancer. One possible problem with this analogy is that we have very powerful evidence that smoking does significantly increase the possibility of cancer; the evidence suggesting that viewing pornography leads men (already inclined) to rape women is not as robust.
If pornographers were exhorting their readers to commit violence and rape, the case for prohibition would be much stronger, but they tend not to do this, just as films that depict murder do not actively incite the audience to mimic what they see on the screen. For the sake of argument let us grant that the consumption of pornography does lead some men to commit acts of violence. Such a concession might not prove to be decisive. The harm principle might be a necessary, but it is not a sufficient reason for censorship. If pornography causes a small percentage of men to act violently we still need an argument for why the liberty of all consumers of pornography (men and women) has to be curtailed because of the violent actions of a few. We have overwhelming evidence that consuming alcohol causes a lot of violence (against women and men) but this does not mean that alcohol should be prohibited. Very few people reach this conclusion despite the clarity of the evidence. Further questions need to be answered before a ban is justified. How many people are harmed? What is the frequency of the harm? How strong is the evidence that A is causing B? Would prohibition limit the harm and if so, by how much? Would censorship cause problems greater than the harm it is meant to negate? Can the harmful effects be prevented by measures other than prohibition?
There are other non-physical harms that also have to be taken into consideration. MacKinnon argues that pornography causes harm because it exploits, oppresses, subordinates and undermines the civil rights of women, including their right to free speech. A permissive policy on pornography has the effect of prioritizing the right to speech of pornographers over the right to speech of women. MacKinnon's claim is that pornography silences women because it presents them as inferior beings and sex objects who are not to be taken seriously. Even if pornography does not cause violence, it still leads to discrimination, domination and rights violations. She also suggests that because pornography offers a misleading and derogatory view of women, it is libelous. Along with Andrea Dworkin, MacKinnon drafted a Minneapolis Council Ordinance in 1983 that allowed women to take civil action against pornographers. They defined pornography as:
…the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures or words that also includes women dehumanized as sexual objects, things, or commodities; enjoying pain or humiliation or rape; being tied up, cut up, mutilated, bruised, or physically hurt; in postures of sexual submission or servility or display; reduced to body parts, penetrated by objects or animals, or presented in scenarios of degradation, injury, torture; shown as filthy or inferior; bleeding, bruised or hurt in a context which makes these conditions sexual (1987, 176).
Such arguments have so far not led to the prohibition of pornography (which was not the intent of the Ordinance) and many liberals remain unconvinced. One reason that some doubt MacKinnon's claims is that the last twenty years have seen an explosion of pornography on the internet without a concurrent erosion of women's rights. If those arguing that pornography causes harm are right, we should expect to see a large increase in physical abuse against women and a hefty decrease in their civil rights, employment in the professions, and positions in higher education. The evidence does not seem to show this and social conditions for women today are better than 30 years ago when pornography was less prevalent. What does seem to be reasonably clear, at least in the USA, is that the increased consumption of pornography over the last 20 years has coincided with a reduction in violent crime against women, including rape. If we return to West's smoking analogy, we would have to rethink our view that smoking causes cancer if a large increase in smokers did not translate into a comparable increase in lung cancer.
The matter remains unsettled, and the lives of women might be significantly better if pornography was not around, but so far it has proven difficult to justify limiting pornography by way of the harm principle. It is important to remember that we are currently examining this issue from the perspective of Mill's formulation of the harm principle and only speech that directly violates rights should be banned. Finding pornography offensive, obscene or outrageous is not sufficient grounds for censorship. Nor does Mill's principle allow prohibition because pornography harms the viewer. The harm principle is there to prevent other-regarding not self-regarding harm.
Overall, no one has mounted a compelling case (at least as far as legislators and judges are concerned) for banning pornography (except in the case of minors) based on the concept of harm formulated by Mill.
Another difficult case is hate speech. Most liberal democracies have limitations on hate speech, but it is debatable whether these can be justified by the harm principle as formulated by Mill. One would have to show that such speech violated rights, directly and in the first instance. I am interested here in hate speech that does not advocate violence against a group or individual because such speech would be captured by Mill's harm principle. The Public Order Act 1986 in the U.K. does not require such a stringent barrier as the harm principle to prohibit speech. The Act states that “A person is guilty of an offence if he...displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.”
There have been several prosecutions in the U.K. that would not have happened if the harm principle governed “absolutely the dealings of society with the individual”(Mill,1978, 68). In 2001 evangelist Harry Hammond was prosecuted for the following statements: “Jesus Gives Peace, Jesus is Alive, Stop Immorality, Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism, Jesus is Lord”. For his sins he was fined 300 pounds and made to pay 395 pounds in costs. In 2010, Harry Taylor left anti-religious cartoons in the prayer-room of Liverpool's John Lennon Airport. The airport chaplain was “insulted, offended, and alarmed” by the cartoons and called the police. Taylor was prosecuted and received a six-month suspended sentence. Barry Thew wore a t-shirt hours after two women police officers were murdered near Manchester in 2012. The front of the shirt had the slogan “One less pig, perfect justice,” and on the back was written “Kill a cop for fun”. He admitted a Section 4A Public Order Offence and was sentenced to 4 months jail. Also in 2012, Liam Stacey took to twitter to mock a black professional football player who collapsed during a match. He then proceeded to racially abuse people who responded negatively to his tweet. He was sentenced to 56 days in jail. This case provoked significant commentary, most of it taking the form of slippery-slope claims that the decision would inevitably lead to Britain becoming a totalitarian state. The most recent (June 2016) case to receive public attention involves Paul Gascoigne, the former English football star, who has been charged with racially aggravated abuse after commenting, whilst on stage, that he could only make out a black man standing in a dark corner of the room when he smiled. It is doubtful that any of these examples would be captured by Mill's harm principle.
In Australia, Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 states that “It is unlawful for a person to do an act, otherwise than in private, If: (a) the act is reasonably likely in all the circumstances to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or group of people, and (b) the act is done because of race, colour or national or ethnic origin”. The most prominent person prosecuted under the Act is Andrew Bolt, a conservative political commentator, who was found guilty of racially vilifying nine aboriginal persons in newspaper articles in 2011. He suggested that the nine people had identified as aboriginal, despite having fair skin, for their own professional advantage. The case prompted the Tony Abbott led Liberal government into a failed attempt to change the legislation.
It should be noted that Section 18C is qualified by Section 18D (often ignored in the backlash against the Bolt decision). 18D says that
…section 18C does not render unlawful anything said or done reasonably and in good faith: (a) in the performance, exhibition or distribution of an artistic work; or (b) in the course of any statement, publication, discussion or debate made or held for any genuine academic, artistic or scientific purpose or any other genuine purpose in the public interest; or (c) in the making or publishing: (i) a fair and accurate report of any event or matter of public interest; or (ii) a fair comment on any matter of public interest if the comment is an expression of a genuine belief held by the person making the comment…
It is clear that these qualifications remove some of the teeth from Section 18C. As long as the statements are made artistically and/or in good faith, for example, they are immune from prosecution. The conclusion of the judge in the Bolt case was that none of the Section 18D exemptions applied in his case. Even with these qualifications in place, however, it seems that the Racial Discrimination Act would still be ruled out by Mill's harm principle which seems to allow people to offend, insult, and humiliate (although perhaps not intimidate) regardless of the motivation of the speaker.
The United States, precisely because it fits most closely with Mill's principle, is an outlier amongst liberal democracies when it comes to hate speech. The most famous example of this is the Nazi march through Skokie, Illinois, something that would not be allowed in many other liberal democracies. The intention was not to engage in political speech at all, but simply to march through a predominantly Jewish community dressed in storm trooper uniforms and wearing swastikas (although the Illinois Supreme Court interpreted the wearing of swastikas as “symbolic political speech”). It is clear that many people, especially those who lived in Skokie, were outraged and offended by the march, but were they harmed? There was no plan to cause physical injury and the marchers did not intend to damage property.
The main argument for prohibiting the Skokie march, based on considerations of harm, was that the march would incite a riot, thus putting the marchers in danger. The problem with this argument is that the focal point is the potential harm to the speakers and not the harm done to those who are the subject of the hate. To ban speech for this reason, i.e., for the good of the speaker, tends to undermine the basic right to free speech in the first place. If we turn our attention to members of the local community, we might want to claim that they were psychologically harmed by the march. This is much more difficult to demonstrate than harm to a person's legal rights. It seems, therefore, that Mill's argument does not allow for state intervention in this case. If we base our defense of speech on Mill's principle we will have very few prohibitions. It is only when we can show direct harm to rights, which will almost always mean when an attack is made against a specific individual or a small group of persons, that it is legitimate to impose a sanction.
One response is to suggest that the harm principle can be defined less stringently. Jeremy Waldron (2012) has made a recent attempt to do this. He draws our attention to the visual impact of hate speech through posters and signs displayed in public. Waldron argues that the harm in hate speech (the title of his book) is that it compromises the dignity of those under attack. A society where such images proliferate makes life exceedingly difficult for those targeted by hate speech. Waldron suggests that the people engaged in hate speech are saying “[t]he time for your degradation and your exclusion by the society that presently shelters you is fast approaching” (2012, 96). He claims that prohibiting such messages assures all people that they are welcome members of the community.
Waldron does not want to use hate speech legislation to punish those who hold hateful thoughts and attitudes. The goal is not to engage in thought control but to prevent harm to the social standing of certain groups in society. Liberal democratic societies are founded on ideas of equality and dignity and these are damaged by hate speech. Given this, Waldron wonders why we even need to debate the usefulness of hate speech. Mill, for example, argued that we should allow speech of this type so that our ideas do not fall into the “slumber of a decided opinion” (1978, 41). Waldron doubts that we require hate speech to prevent such an outcome.
As we have seen, Waldron is making a harm based argument but his threshold for what counts as harm is lower than Mill’s. He needs to convince us that an attack on a person's dignity constitutes a significant harm. My dignity might often be bruised by colleagues, for example, but this does not necessarily show that I have been harmed. Perhaps it is only when an attack on dignity is equivalent to threats of physical abuse that it counts as a reason for limiting speech. Waldron does not offer a lot of evidence that a permissive attitude to hate speech, at least in liberal democracies, does cause significant harm. There is no specific hate speech regulation in the United States, for example, but it is not clear that more harm occurs there than in other liberal democracies.
David Boonin (2011) is not convinced that there is a need for special hate speech legislation. He claims that hate speech does not fit within the regular categories of speech that can be prohibited. Even if he can be persuaded that it does fit, he still thinks special hate speech laws are not required because existing legislation will capture the offending speech. I will examine one example he uses to make his point. Boonin argues that threatening speech already sits within the category of speech that is rightfully prohibited. He suggests, however, that hate speech does not fall within this category because a significant amount of hate speech is not directly threatening. A group of black men, for example, will not be threatened by a racially abusive elderly white woman. He argues that this example, and others like it, show why a blanket ban on all hate speech on the grounds that it is threatening cannot be justified.
Nor is it likely, he suggests, that racist attacks by frail old ladies will contribute to an atmosphere of danger. This argument might be less persuasive. Mill’s use of the corn dealer example demonstrates how the use of language can incite violence regardless of who is speaking. But Mill’s example also shows that a blanket ban would still be unwarranted because it allows incendiary statements to be made about corn dealers under controlled conditions.
Boonin’s argument does not rest here. If it really does turn out to be the case that all hate speech is threatening in the appropriate sense, this still does not justify special hate speech laws because there is already legislation in place prohibiting threatening language. Boonin is opposed to banning hate speech because it is hateful not because it is threatening. He claims that the argument for special hate speech laws is “impaled on the horns of a dilemma: either the appeal is unconvincing because not all forms of hate speech are threatening, or it is unnecessary precisely because all forms of hate speech are threatening and are therefore already prohibited” (2011, 213). Boonin uses the same strategy with regard to other reasons, such as “fighting words”, for banning hate speech; they all find themselves impaled on the horns of the same dilemma.
The arguments of Waldron and Boonin seem to be a long way apart and the latter suggests that anyone who argues for hate speech laws is taking an extreme position. There is, however, a lot of overlap between the two, particularly as both focus on harm, and neither wants to censor hate speech simply because it is offensive. This becomes clearer if we take a suggestion offered by Waldron. At one point in his book he ponders whether it might be advantageous to abandon the term “hate speech” altogether. Such a move goes a long way to reconciling the arguments of Waldron and Boonin. Both authors agree that prohibition is acceptable when speech is threatening; they disagree on what counts as a harmful threat. Waldron thinks most forms of racial abuse qualify whereas Boonin is more circumspect. But the disagreement between the two is about what causes harm rather than any major philosophical difference about the appropriate limits on speech. If both agree that a threat constitutes a significant harm, then both will support censorship. This still leaves lots |
it signified that the scalp taker had dared to enter the very heart of the enemy's territory."[11]
French and American Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars [ edit ]
In The American Revolution, also known as the American Revolutionary War, many basic tactics of total war, such as the Scorched earth policy, were created in a modern form. In 1779, The Sullivan Expedition began, marching through Western Pennsylvania and up through New York, burning Iroquois villages to the ground, leaving nothing behind but smoldering ruin and dead animals. The goal was to force the Indians to go to Canada for food and thuis be out of range of attacking American settlements.[12]
Grande Armée had lost about half a million men. Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812. Napoleon'shad lost about half a million men.
The French Revolutionary Wars introduced to mainland Europe some of the first concepts of total war, such as mass conscription.[13] The fledgling republic found itself threatened by a powerful coalition of European nations. The only solution, in the eyes of the Jacobin government, was to pour the entire nation's resources into an unprecedented war effort—this was the advent of the levée en masse. The following decree of the National Convention on August 23, 1793 demonstrates the immensity of the French war effort, when the French front line forces grew to some 800,000 with a total of 1.5 million in all services—the first time an army in excess of a million had been mobilized in Western history:
From this moment until such time as its enemies shall have been driven from the soil of the Republic all Frenchmen are in permanent requisition for the services of the armies. The young men shall fight; the married men shall forge arms and transport provisions; the women shall make tents and clothes and shall serve in the hospitals; the children shall turn old lint into linen; the old men shall betake themselves to the public squares in order to arouse the courage of the warriors and preach hatred of kings and the unity of the Republic.
In the Russian campaign of 1812 the Russians resorted to destroying infrastructure and agriculture in their retreat in order to hamper the French and strip them of adequate supplies. In the campaign of 1813, Allied forces in the German theater alone amounted to nearly one million whilst two years later in the Hundred Days a French decree called for the total mobilization of some 2.5 million men (though at most a fifth of this was managed by the time of the French defeat at Waterloo). During the prolonged Peninsular War from 1808–1814 some 300,000 French troops were kept permanently occupied by, in addition to several hundred thousand Spanish, Portuguese and British regulars, an enormous and sustained guerrilla insurgency—ultimately French deaths would amount to 300,000 in the Peninsular War alone.[14]
Taiping Rebellion [ edit ]
A scene of the Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) was one of the deadliest wars in history.[15] About 20 million people died, many due to disease and famine.[16] It followed the secession of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from the Qing Empire.[17] Almost every citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom was given military training and conscripted into the army to fight against the Imperial forces.[17]
American Civil War [ edit ]
During the American Civil War, Union Army General Philip Sheridan's stripping of the Shenandoah Valley, beginning on September 21, 1864 and continuing for two weeks, was considered "total war". Its purpose was to eliminate food and supplies vital to the South's military operations, as well as to strike a blow at Southern civilian morale. Sheridan took the opportunity when he realized opposing forces had become too weak to resist his army.[18]
Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman's 'March to the Sea' in November and December 1864 destroyed the resources required for the South to make war. General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln initially opposed the plan until Sherman convinced them of its necessity.[19]
Scholars taking issue with the notion that Sherman was employing "total war" include Noah Andre Trudeau. Trudeau believes that Sherman's goals and methods do not meet the definition of total war and to suggest as much is to "misread Sherman's intentions and to misunderstand the results of what happened".[20]
20th century [ edit ]
World War I [ edit ]
Damage and destruction of civilian buildings in Belgium, 1914
Almost the whole of Europe and the European colonial empires mobilized to wage World War I. Rationing occurred on the home fronts. Bulgaria went so far as to mobilize a quarter of its population or 800,000 people, a greater share of its population than any other country during the war.
One of the features of total war in Britain was the use of government propaganda posters to divert all attention to the war on the home front. Posters were used to influence public opinion about what to eat and what occupations to take, and to change the attitude of support towards the war effort. Even the Music Hall was used as propaganda, with propaganda songs aimed at recruitment.
After the failure of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the large British offensive in March 1915, the British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal John French blamed the lack of progress on insufficient and poor-quality artillery shells. This led to the Shell Crisis of 1915 which brought down both the Liberal government and Premiership of H. H. Asquith. He formed a new coalition government dominated by Liberals and appointed David Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions. It was a recognition that the whole economy would have to be geared for war if the Allies were to prevail on the Western Front.
As young men left the farms for the front, domestic food production in Britain and Germany fell. In Britain the response was to import more food, which was done despite the German introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare, and to introduce rationing. The Royal Navy's blockade of German ports prevented Germany from importing food and hastened German capitulation by creating a food crisis in Germany.
Hakkō ichiu Monument, promoting the unification of "the 8 corners of the world under one roof" Founding ceremony of theMonument, promoting the unification of "the 8 corners of the world under one roof"
World War II [ edit ]
The Second World War was the quintessential total war of modernity. The level of national mobilization of resources on all sides of the conflict, the battlespace being contested, the scale of the armies, navies, and air forces raised through conscription, the active targeting of non-combatants (and non-combatant property), the general disregard for collateral damage, and the unrestricted aims of the belligerents marked total war on an unprecedented and unsurpassed, multicontinental scale.
Shōwa Japan [ edit ]
During the first part of the Shōwa era, the government of Imperial Japan launched a string of policies to promote a total war effort against China and occidental powers and increase industrial production. Among these were the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement and the Imperial Rule Assistance Association.
The National Mobilization Law had fifty clauses, which provided for government controls over civilian organizations (including labor unions), nationalization of strategic industries, price controls and rationing, and nationalized the news media.[21] The laws gave the government the authority to use unlimited budgets to subsidize war production, and to compensate manufacturers for losses caused by war-time mobilization. Eighteen of the fifty articles outlined penalties for violators.
To improve its production, Shōwa Japan used millions of slave labourers[22] and pressed more than 18 million people in East Asia into forced labor.[23]
United Kingdom [ edit ]
Before the onset of the Second World War, the United Kingdom drew on its First World War experience to prepare legislation that would allow immediate mobilization of the economy for war, should future hostilities break out.
Rationing of most goods and services was introduced, not only for consumers but also for manufacturers.This meant that factories manufacturing products that were irrelevant to the war effort had more appropriate tasks imposed. All artificial light was subject to legal blackouts.
"..There is another more obvious difference from 1914. The whole of the warring nations are engaged, not only soldiers, but the entire population, men, women and children. The fronts are everywhere to be seen. The trenches are dug in the towns and streets. Every village is fortified. Every road is barred. The front line runs through the factories. The workmen are soldiers with different weapons but the same courage." Winston Churchill on the radio, June 18 ; and House of Commons 20 August 1940:[24]
Not only were men conscripted into the armed forces from the beginning of the war (something which had not happened until the middle of World War I), but women were also conscripted as Land Girls to aid farmers and the Bevin Boys were conscripted to work down the coal mines.
Enormous casualties were expected in bombing raids, so children were evacuated from London and other cities en masse to the countryside for compulsory billeting in households. In the long term this was one of the most profound and longer-lasting social consequences of the whole war for Britain. This is because it mixed up children with the adults of other classes. Not only did the middle and upper classes become familiar with the urban squalor suffered by working class children from the slums, but the children got a chance to see animals and the countryside, often for the first time, and experience rural life.
The use of statistical analysis, by a branch of science which has become known as Operational Research to influence military tactics was a departure from anything previously attempted. It was a very powerful tool but it further dehumanised war particularly when it suggested strategies which were counter intuitive. Examples where statistical analysis directly influenced tactics include the work done by Patrick Blackett's team on the optimum size and speed of convoys and the introduction of bomber streams by the Royal Air Force to counter the night fighter defences of the Kammhuber Line.
Germany [ edit ]
In contrast, Germany started the war under the concept of Blitzkrieg. Officially, it did not accept that it was in a total war until Joseph Goebbels' Sportpalast speech of 18 February 1943.
"I ask you: Do you want total war? If necessary, do you want a war more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today?" Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, 18 February 1943, in his Sportpalast speech
The commitment to the doctrine of the short war was a continuing handicap for the Germans; neither plans nor state of mind were adjusted to the idea of a long war until the failure of the Operation Barbarossa. A major strategical defeat in the Battle of Moscow forced Albert Speer, who was appointed as Germany's armament minister in early 1942, to nationalize German war production and eliminate the worst inefficiencies.[25]
Under Speer's direction a threefold increase in armament production occurred and did not reach its peak until late 1944. To do this during the damage caused by the growing strategic Allied bomber offensive, is an indication of the degree of industrial under-mobilization in the earlier years. It was because the German economy through most of the war was substantially under-mobilized that it was resilient under air attack. Civilian consumption was high during the early years of the war and inventories both in industry and in consumers' possession were high. These helped cushion the economy from the effects of bombing.
Plant and machinery were plentiful and incompletely used, thus it was comparatively easy to substitute unused or partly used machinery for that which was destroyed. Foreign labour, both slave labour and labour from neighbouring countries who joined the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, was used to augment German industrial labour which was under pressure by conscription into the Wehrmacht (Armed Forces).
Soviet Union [ edit ]
Three men burying victims of Leningrad's siege, in which about 1 million civilians died
The Soviet Union (USSR) was a command economy which already had an economic and legal system allowing the economy and society to be redirected into fighting a total war. The transportation of factories and whole labour forces east of the Urals as the Germans advanced across the USSR in 1941 was an impressive feat of planning. Only those factories which were useful for war production were moved because of the total war commitment of the Soviet government.
The Eastern Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. It was the largest theatre of war in history in terms of numbers of soldiers, equipment and casualties and was notorious for its unprecedented ferocity, destruction, and immense loss of life (see World War II casualties). The fighting involved millions of German, Hungarian, Romanian and Soviet troops along a broad front hundreds of kilometres long. It was by far the deadliest single theatre of World War II. Scholars now believe that at most 27 million Soviet citizens died during the war, including at least 8.7 million soldiers who fell in battle against Hitler's armies or died in POW camps. Millions of civilians died from starvation, exposure, atrocities, and massacres.[26] The Axis lost over 5 million soldiers in the east as well as many thousands of civilians.[27]
During the Battle of Stalingrad, newly built T-34 tanks were driven—unpainted because of a paint shortage—from the factory floor straight to the front. This came to symbolise the USSR's commitment to the World War II and demonstrated the government's total war policy.
United States [ edit ]
The United States underwent an unprecedented mobilization of national resources for the Second World War. Conditions in the United States were not as strained as they were in the United Kingdom or as desperate as they were in the Soviet Union, but the United States greatly curtailed nearly all non-essential activities in its prosecution of the Second World War and redirected nearly all available national resources to the conflict, including reaching the point of diminishing returns by late 1944, where the U.S. military was unable to find any more males of the correct military age to draft into service.
The strategists of the U.S. military looked abroad at the storms brewing on the horizon in Europe and Asia, and began quietly making contingency plans as early as the mid-1930s; new weapons and weapons platforms were designed, and made ready. Following the outbreak of war in Europe and the ongoing aggression in Asia, efforts were stepped up significantly. The collapse of France and the airborne aggression directed at Great Britain unsettled the Americans, who had close relations with both nations, and a peacetime draft was instituted, along with Lend-Lease programs to aid the British, and covert aid was passed to the Chinese as well.
American public opinion was still opposed to involvement in the problems of Europe and Asia, however. In 1941, the Soviet Union became the latest nation to be invaded, and the U.S. gave her aid as well. American ships began defending aid convoys to the Allied nations against submarine attacks, and a total trade embargo against the Empire of Japan was instituted to deny its military the raw materials its factories and military forces required to continue its offensive actions in China.
In late 1941, Japan's Army-dominated government decided to seize by military force the strategic resources of South-East Asia and Indonesia since the Western powers would not give Japan these goods by trade. Planning for this action included surprise attacks on American and British forces in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaya, and the U.S. naval base and warships at Pearl Harbor. In response to these attacks, the U.K. and U.S. declared war on the Empire of Japan the next day. Nazi Germany declared war on the U.S. a few days later, along with Fascist Italy; the U.S. found itself fully involved in a second world war.
Especially when you don't know what it's for
But it's the girl that makes the thing that drills the hole
that holds the spring that works the thing-ummy-bob
that makes the engines roar.
And it's the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil
that oils the ring that works the thing-ummy-bob
that's going to win the war." "It's a ticklish sort of job making a thing for a thing-ummy-bob Especially when you don't know what it's forBut it's the girl that makes the thing that drills the holethat holds the spring that works the thing-ummy-bobthat makes the engines roar.And it's the girl that makes the thing that holds the oilthat oils the ring that works the thing-ummy-bobthat's going to win the war." "The Thing-Ummy Bob", A British song made popular in the US by Gracie Fields[28]
As the United States began to gear up for a major war, information and propaganda efforts were set in motion. Civilians (including children) were encouraged to take part in fat, grease, and scrap metal collection drives. Many factories making non-essential goods retooled for war production. Levels of industrial productivity previously unheard of were attained during the war; multi-thousand-ton convoy ships were routinely built in a month-and-a-half, and tanks poured out of the former automobile factories. Within a few years of the U.S. entry into the Second World War, nearly every man fit for service, between 18 and 30, had been conscripted into the military "for the duration" of the conflict, and unprecedented numbers of women took up jobs previously held by them. Strict systems of rationing of consumer staples were introduced to redirect productive capacity to war needs.
Previously untouched sections of the nation mobilized for the war effort. Academics became technocrats; home-makers became bomb-makers (massive numbers of women worked in heavy industry during the war); union leaders and businessmen became commanders in the massive armies of production. The great scientific communities of the United States were mobilized as never before, and mathematicians, doctors, engineers, and chemists turned their minds to the problems ahead of them.
By the war's end a multitude of advances had been made in medicine, physics, engineering, and the other sciences. Even the theoretical physicists, whose theories were not believed to have military applications (at the time), were sent far into the Western deserts to work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on the Manhattan Project that culminated in the Trinity nuclear test and changed the course of history.
In the war, the United States lost 407,316 military personnel, but had managed to avoid the extensive level of damage to civilian and industrial infrastructure that other participants suffered. The U.S. emerged as one of the two superpowers after the war.[29]
Unconditional surrender [ edit ]
"Actually Dresden was a mass of munitions works, an intact government centre, and a key transportation point to the East. It is now none of these things." Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris, in a memo to the Air Ministry on 29 March 1945[30]
After the United States entered World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared at Casablanca conference to the other Allies and the press that unconditional surrender was the objective of the war against the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.[31] Prior to this declaration, the individual regimes of the Axis Powers could have negotiated an armistice similar to that at the end of World War I and then a conditional surrender when they perceived that the war was lost.
The unconditional surrender of the major Axis powers caused a legal problem at the post-war Nuremberg Trials, because the trials appeared to be in conflict with Articles 63 and 64 of the Geneva Convention of 1929. Usually if such trials are held, they would be held under the auspices of the defeated power's own legal system as happened with some of the minor Axis powers, for example in the post World War II Romanian People's Tribunals. To circumvent this, the Allies argued that the major war criminals were captured after the end of the war, so they were not prisoners of war and the Geneva Conventions did not cover them. Further, the collapse of the Axis regimes created a legal condition of total defeat (debellatio) so the provisions of the 1907 Hague Convention over military occupation were not applicable.[32]
Postwar era [ edit ]
Since the end of World War II, no industrial nation has fought such a large, decisive war.[33] This is likely due to the availability of nuclear weapons, whose destructive power and quick deployment render a full mobilization of a country's resources such as in World War II unnecessary. Such weapons are developed and maintained with relatively modest peacetime defense budgets.
By the end of the 1950s, the ideological stand-off of the Cold War between the Western World and the Soviet Union had resulted in thousands of nuclear weapons being aimed by each side at the other. Strategically, the equal balance of destructive power possessed by each side situation came to be known as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), considering that a nuclear attack by one superpower would result in nuclear counter-strike by the other.[35] This would result in hundreds of millions of deaths in a world where, in words widely attributed to Nikita Khrushchev, "The living will envy the dead".[36]
During the Cold War, the two superpowers sought to avoid open conflict between their respective forces, as both sides recognized that such a clash could very easily escalate, and quickly involve nuclear weapons. Instead, the superpowers fought each other through their involvement in proxy wars, military buildups, and diplomatic standoffs.
In the case of proxy wars, each superpower supported its respective allies in conflicts with forces aligned with the other superpower, such as in the Vietnam War and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
During the Yugoslav Wars, NATO conducted strikes against the electrical grid in enemy territory using graphite bombs. Some observers[who?] considered this to be an act of total war, owing to the fact that powerplants supported by the electrical grid were essential to water purification and thus the strike represented a direct attack on civilian resources. NATO claimed that the objective of their strikes was to disrupt military infrastructure and communications.[37]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Notes
Bibliography
Baylis, John; Wirtz, James J.; Gray, Colin S., eds. (2012), Strategy in the Contemporary World (4, illustrated ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 55, ISBN 9780199694785
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plato
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:42 am Post subject: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe......IF the Lakers are rebuilding. This Odom trade smells like a salary dump to me. It feels like we swung for the fences with Paul/Dwight, and now may be out of options. Feels like 2004 all over again. It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career.
Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe so that he can have a chance to win somewhere else. I'm sure Jim Buss wouldn't mind the Lux tax savings.
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:44 am Post subject: Grow up people! The season hasn't even started yet. Let's wait to see how everything plays out before we give up the season. I'm as despondent as everyone else, but I still trust Mitch and the FO to make some moves even if we don't get Paul or Howard.
PDX_LAKERFAN
Joined: 20 Jan 2004
Posts: 2426
Star PlayerJoined: 20 Jan 2004Posts: 2426
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:45 am Post subject: Who cares about Kobe and his 25 mil/year contract, what about me; I'm broke and I can't bare to watch this team give away players!
Last edited by PDX_LAKERFAN on Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:47 am; edited 2 times in total
KobeDunk
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 26582
Retired NumberJoined: 23 Sep 2004Posts: 26582
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:45 am Post subject: can we trade you?
venturalakersfan
Joined: 14 Apr 2001
Posts: 130257
Location: The Gold Coast Retired NumberJoined: 14 Apr 2001Posts: 130257Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:47 am Post subject: Re: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe plato wrote: It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career. Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe.
I am sure all he has to do is ask, though I doubt there would be a big market for a guy making 30 mil a year.
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angrypuppy
Joined: 13 Apr 2001
Posts: 30387
Retired NumberJoined: 13 Apr 2001Posts: 30387
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:47 am Post subject: KB24.com =======>> that way, please
mmkillen
Joined: 25 Jun 2007
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:48 am Post subject: Re: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe plato wrote: It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career. Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe.
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Crumbling Dynasty
Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 1933
Star PlayerJoined: 28 Dec 2010Posts: 1933
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:50 am Post subject: LOL. I would have never thought this could be possible. Now I'm not sure. Who knows what's going on with Jimbo Buss. I could see Kobe requesting to get amnesty and signing with the Nets or Knicks
USCandLakers
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 19714
Franchise PlayerJoined: 13 Mar 2008Posts: 19714
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:52 am Post subject: Re: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe venturalakersfan wrote: plato wrote: It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career. Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe.
I am sure all he has to do is ask, though I doubt there would be a big market for a guy making 30 mil a year.
Are you serious? This is just not any guy making 30 million a year(which he isn't this upcoming season btw). We're talking about the most popular player on the planet, and arguably the best player in the league. Even if not for "basketball reasons", the move would be made from a pure revenue standpoint.
I'm hoping your post was sarcasm. If not, then
_________________
A banana is killed every time a terrible thread or post is made. Save the bananas. Stop creating terrible posts! Are you serious? This is just not any guy making 30 million a year(which he isn't this upcoming season btw). We're talking about the most popular player on the planet, and arguably the best player in the league. Even if not for "basketball reasons", the move would be made from a pure revenue standpoint.I'm hoping your post was sarcasm. If not, then_________________A banana is killed every time a terrible thread or post is made.Save the bananas. Stop creating terrible posts!
reset
Joined: 24 Jun 2004
Posts: 6
RookieJoined: 24 Jun 2004Posts: 6
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:54 am Post subject: lol garbage thread
999
Joined: 19 Oct 2006
Posts: 19885
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:54 am Post subject: KobeDunk wrote: can we trade you?
this might be a good thought. 1 crappy LG member is equal to 5 Heat fans.
Crumbling Dynasty
Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 1933
Star PlayerJoined: 28 Dec 2010Posts: 1933
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:54 am Post subject: Re: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe venturalakersfan wrote: plato wrote: It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career. Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe.
I am sure all he has to do is ask, though I doubt there would be a big market for a guy making 30 mil a year.
He would still get paid his 30mill per year and sign with his new team for the minimum. Lakers would still be paying him. So the market would actually be quite long
Last edited by Crumbling Dynasty on Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:56 am; edited 1 time in total
LA_Lakers_Rule
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 19458
Location: The X-Files Franchise PlayerJoined: 23 Aug 2004Posts: 19458Location: The X-Files
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:55 am Post subject:.... so sad....
.... actually probably worth two
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Rule = win titles
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers... ^^^ Oh no.... not another dead banana....... so sad........ actually probably worth two_________________Rule = win titlesGood judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers...
Last edited by LA_Lakers_Rule on Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:56 am; edited 1 time in total
gill2k
Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 7038
Location: Somewhere in Canada Star PlayerJoined: 06 Jun 2005Posts: 7038Location: Somewhere in Canada
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:56 am Post subject:
_________________
Yeah so he can go join Miami too, right?_________________
venturalakersfan
Joined: 14 Apr 2001
Posts: 130257
Location: The Gold Coast Retired NumberJoined: 14 Apr 2001Posts: 130257Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:58 am Post subject: Re: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe USCandLakers wrote: venturalakersfan wrote: plato wrote: It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career. Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe.
I am sure all he has to do is ask, though I doubt there would be a big market for a guy making 30 mil a year.
Are you serious? This is just not any guy making 30 million a year(which he isn't this upcoming season btw). We're talking about the most popular player on the planet, and arguably the best player in the league. Even if not for "basketball reasons", the move would be made from a pure revenue standpoint.
I'm hoping your post was sarcasm. If not, then Are you serious? This is just not any guy making 30 million a year(which he isn't this upcoming season btw). We're talking about the most popular player on the planet, and arguably the best player in the league. Even if not for "basketball reasons", the move would be made from a pure revenue standpoint.I'm hoping your post was sarcasm. If not, then
I see you don't pay much attention to the new CBA and what is going on so far in the trade market. Kobe is on the wrong side of 30 making too much money. Tell me who could trade for his salary and have a team better than what the Lakers are now. Please do.
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plato
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 1167
Star PlayerJoined: 15 Dec 2007Posts: 1167
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:59 am Post subject: KobeDunk wrote: can we trade you?
Too late, I was thrown in at the last minute with Odom to sweeten the deal for the Mavs.
venturalakersfan
Joined: 14 Apr 2001
Posts: 130257
Location: The Gold Coast Retired NumberJoined: 14 Apr 2001Posts: 130257Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:59 am Post subject: Re: I hope the Lakers amnesty or trade Kobe Crumbling Dynasty wrote: venturalakersfan wrote: plato wrote: It's not fair to Kobe to have the Lakers give up on championship aspirations in the last years of his career. Kobe has a couple more season of elite production, and he shouldn't have to waste them on a team that's not serious about winning rings right now. If the Odom trade really was a salary dump, and the Lakers don't plan on making a significant move to get back into championship contention, they might as well part ways with Kobe.
I am sure all he has to do is ask, though I doubt there would be a big market for a guy making 30 mil a year.
He would still get paid his 30mill per year and sign with his new team for the minimum. Lakers would still be paying him. So the market would actually be quite long
Not if he were traded, which besides retiring, is the only way he would leave the Lakers.
_________________
All have some |
may have noticed over the years that a great tempo of music for studying, working or writing is around 120 to 130 bpm, or in more lay terms the pace of electronic dance music. Tracks of this nature also have the added headspace bonus of being hypnotically long.
MEDIUM VOLUME
There is zen like middle path approach to working or studying with music. Concentration works on a very fine tipping point. Too much of a good thing and you’ll destroy your work headspace. Too much volume or too much detail and you may find all attention has shifted the music to the front of your mind. For more information on hitting this sweet spot read this study.
REPETITIVE, FAMILIAR YET AMBIVALENT SOUNDS
Research suggests that it is easier to work to music that you find familiar. Hence why we have designed this playlist to feature tracks that roll on for 15 minutes, allowing your mind to accept their format and motifs. There are also remixes of the same track and work produced under pseudonym. We also suggest repeat listens to further elevate your mental state. This study shows that repetition helps to create further immersion within a task which is why you’ll find beautifully long and subtle tracks in the playlist above.
SOUNDS OF NATURE
The Acoustical Society of America revealed last year that working alongside naturalistic sounds will reduce stress and lower heart rate. This study details that sounds of rain, water, wind etc... allow us to become more relaxed. And when we find a deeper level of relaxation then we are more productive. This calmer state also massively increases the conditions for when we produce creative ideas.
Trigg is a paper productivity companion that will propel you faster and more effectively towards your real goals in life. Ascend to greater perspective.NASA Announces $20,000 Prize For New Mars Balance Mass Challenge
NASA has announced a new competition that tasks the public with designing devices to help stabilize future NASA spacecraft as they enter the atmosphere of Mars. The Mars Balance challenge was announced by NASA Chief Technologist, David Miller, at this weekend's Maker Faire in Queens, New York and will see $20,000 in prize money going to the designer of the chosen device.
"The Challenge is to develop ideas for how NASA can turn available entry, descent, and landing balance mass on a future Mars mission into a scientific or technological payload," reads the official NASA release. "Proposed concepts should indicate uses for ejectable mass up to 150 kg prior to Mars atmospheric entry and/or another 150 kg during the entry and landing phases of the mission. NASA is seeking concepts that expand scientific knowledge or technological capabilities while exhibiting a high degree of practicality."
Balance Mass Devices traditionally see the jettisoning of weights from the spacecraft upon entry into a planetary atmosphere. For example, when the Curiosity Rover approached Mars, two tungsten weights totalling 150kgs were expelled from the spacecraft. The jettisoning of such weights help to shift the center of balance of the spacecraft, placing it at an angle on its approach to the planet's surface. This angled entry helps the spacecraft to generate lift, which subsequently aids in a more controlled landing.
NASA's Mars Balance Mass Device Challenge opens for registration today and closes on 1st November 2014.
For more information on specs and how to enter, visit https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9933607.Williams and Hoedemaker are victims of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of marriage equality, although six U.S. states (and Washington, D.C.) have legalized marriage equality.
"We're not married, but if we got married, we wouldn't have the ability to sponsor Bart for a spousal green card," Williams told The Bilerico Project. "Even though Connecticut has marriage equality, it's not recognized by the federal government, so there would be nothing we could do based on our relationship to help him get a visa."
Williams and Hoedemaker currently live together in Connecticut. They're not married (although same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut), but even if they were married, Hoedemaker would still have to leave the country at the end of October.
As the days tick down until the end of October, Mike Williams and his partner, Bart Hoedemaker, are getting more worried about the future of their life together in the United States. Hoedemaker is a Dutch citizen currently employed in the country as a horse trainer. He's on an O-1 visa for extraordinary ability, but since he's losing his job at the end of September, his visa will expire at the end of October and he'll have to return to the Netherlands.
An Issue of Fairness
For the past few months, Williams has been speaking out about the personal impact that DOMA has had on his relationship and family. He is a Democratic politician running for Congress in the 5th congressional district of Connecticut, and much of his national media attention has been focused on his DOMA story. That differs from his campaign platform in Connecticut, which centers on creating jobs, protecting the environment, and investing in education. LGBT issues are not his top campaign priority - after all, in Connecticut, marriage equality is the lay of the land and in May, the state approved a trans-inclusive non-discrimination bill.
But that hasn't discouraged Williams from speaking out on the evils of DOMA; his story, he reasons, puts a personal face on a sometimes hard-to-grasp issue.
"There's no reason why two adults in a heterosexual relationship should have the ability to sponsor their partner for a visa whereas two people in a homosexual relationship wouldn't have the same right," Williams told The Bilerico Project. "I pay taxes, I abide by the law, and I'm supposed to be treated equally. Clearly, I'm not. There's a real fairness issue in DOMA, which privileges one type of relationship over another."
Williams acknowledges that the immigration and visa system in the United States need to be retooled, remarking specifically on the challenges that talented people from other countries face while immigrating to the United States.
"There is definitely a larger visa and immigration issue here," Williams said. "But I think this one aspect is very simple to address: DOMA is wrong, and it should be repealed or stopped being enforced entirely."
The Obama Administration's DOMA Actions
In August, President Obama revealed plans for an updated immigration policy that would "limit" the number of non-criminal deportations, including cases of same-sex couples where one partner is facing deportation. Before this announcement, the number of non-criminal deportations was 25 percent higher than the number of criminal deportations.
Williams said that while Obama has been a positive advocate for gay rights since his inauguration, the president's statement that cases involving binational same-sex couples will be "low priority" does not go far enough.
"I appreciate that the White House is trying to limit DOMA - that they're making deportation not a top priority," Williams said. "I understand what they're doing. But it's still completely inadequate to say that for a same-sex couple to stay together that they should break the law. In order for Bart to stay, he has to break the law, and all that the Obama administration has asked is that it is not made a top priority. That means that the law is still being enforced."
"It's a bit callous to say that putting it as a 'low priority' for enforcement is a solution," he continued. "It's not."
A States' Rights Issue
Many marriage equality opponents return to a familiar chorus about the importance of states' rights with regard to the marriage equality issue. But it's hypocritical to simultaneously argue that marriage equality is a states' rights issue while also opposing the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which directly undermines states' rights with regard to marriage equality.
"Connecticut and Massachusetts, for example, have marriage equality," Williams explained. "And the federal government is preventing them from defining marriage equality as they see fit. So while Im in favor of marriage equality nationally, I'm not asking the government to put a blanket marriage equality law in place [by arguing for DOMA repeal]. I do, however, support the removal of DOMA so that those states, who are doing the 'right thing' by their citizens, have the ability to protect Connecticut citizens."
Williams continued: "I'm making a very basic argument: that the federal government is violating the right of the government of Connecticut to define marriage the way it wants. And that's wrong. The lack of equality [in general] is wrong, but this is also a basic constitutional issue."
The 2011 edition of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate in March, and it received President Obama's endorsement in July. Just this week, the bill received its first show of support from a Republican representative when Ileana Ros-Lehiten from Florida signed on.Carlotta Susann Kutschenreuter was sentenced Thursday morning to 35 years in prison for murdering her husband in July 2010.
Carlotta Susann Kutschenreuter was sentenced Thursday morning to 35 years in prison for murdering her husband in July 2010.
She was convicted of murder on Sept. 6 for shooting her husband of 29 years, Joel David Kutschenreuter, three times while he slept. She claimed self-defense and said her husband repeatedly abused her emotionally and sexually and forced her to get an abortion shortly after they were married.
“It’s a substantial sentence,” Deputy District Attorney Marcus Reid said. “We’re grateful to the court.”
Reid said the court followed the jury’s lead with the sentence. The jury rejected Kutschenreuter’s self-defense argument and also did not convict her of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Reid said her defense was offensive to all the legitimate victims of spousal abuse.
Kutschenreuter faced a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of 99 years to life. She will be eligible for parole in 2028.A municipal-grade traffic railing protecting the fence of Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone had some villagers griping the mayor was getting special privileges at taxpayer expense. (JEAN LOTUS/Staff)
By Jean Lotus
Editor
A 20-foot traffic barrier, erected June 25 by five Public Works employees to protect the fence of Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone has neighbors and citizens irked.
A pickup truck, dump truck, digger loader and a cement mixer were parked in the alley at the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Thomas Avenue as workers installed a municipal grade guard rail.
As the cement was drying on the long steel barrier, the Forest Park Review office received several phone calls from citizens who complained that the rail was protecting Calderone's personal property at public expense.
In response to questions, Calderone said in an email that his fence had been damaged twice by vehicles "causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage."
"The guardrail that was installed is within the public right of way," Calderone added. "Public works would never be allowed to work on my personal property."
"In the past the village has installed similar guardrails where situations warrant the same protective measures," Calderone said. A second guardrail is installed at the north end of his block near the Thomas Avenue tot lot.
Calderone said he had special challenges as mayor because in addition to auto damage to the corner fence, vandals had attacked his home in the past.
"The fence and my house have been egged, and pelted with a water mud mixture," he wrote. Additionally, he said a neighbor's unruly vegetation crossed the fence, causing extra work for his landscaper.
"My next door neighbor's intentional growing of vines protrude several feet onto my property along the back side of my home," he said. "This I have chalked up to bitterness."
"Serving as the mayor of Forest Park should not be a license for others to damage my property without taking responsibility," he wrote.
But citizens were less sympathetic.
"Someone damaged his fence. So what," said one caller, who asked not to be identified because he feared reprisal. "That happens to everyone with a fence on a street or alley. It is not the duty of all village taxpayers to pay what Calderone's insurance carrier should pay for."
"Every person with a dented fence should go to village hall and demand a village installed guard rail."
The 6-foot privacy fence itself was criticized when it was built in the mid-2000s because it blocks the view of drivers turning left onto Jackson from the alley. Children cross the alley on the way to Garfield School a block away.
This article has been updated to correct the height of the privacy fence.
Contact: jean@forestparkreivew
Twitter: @FP_ReviewLeading up to the next legislative session, Virginia lawmakers met in Richmond Wednesday to make healthcare improvements a top priority.
Among the problems they addressed is the number of residency slots in Virginia. At the Joint Commission on Health Care meeting Wednesday, an analyst for the panel said there are 850 medical students per year in Virginia but only 700 residency openings for them upon graduation.
73rd District Delegate John O'Bannon (R), the chair of the commission, says a large part of this problem comes down to a freeze on funding. Historically, the residencies are primarily paid for by the federal government and Medicare.
O'Bannon adds Virginia might eventually have to rely on state dollars to pay for residencies. He hopes that will create an incentive for more doctors to remain in Virginia once they are done with all their studies and training. O'Bannon also suggests that slots could be expanded in underserved and rural parts of the commonwealth.
"I think there is no question that healthcare is important, that access to healthcare, that the uninsured folks in Virginia are going to be high up on our radar screen, is what we do. We may not totally agree with the governor on everything, but we all agree that we need to be doing more on what we can do to get folks care," he stated.
The panel also addressed the high costs associated with emergency care visits from uninsured Virginians. With fewer options for care after-hours and on weekends, lawmakers have spotted a trend.
"At any Friday or Saturday night, the emergency room was packed full of people. I talked to the CEO and they said that most of them did not have any insurance and it was not an emergency but they came there because of the services that they would have to receive,” said 62nd District Delegate Riley Ingram (R) about his experiences at John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell.
Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) will come up with his budget in the coming months. In the past, he has fought for the Republican-led legislature to expand Medicaid.Gold sink is an economic process by which a video game's ingame currency ('gold'), or any item that can be valued against it, is removed. This process is comparable to financial repression in real economies. Most commonly the genres are role-playing game or massively multiplayer online game. The term is comparable to timesink, but usually used in reference to game design and balance, commonly to reduce inflation when commodities and wealth are continually fed to players through sources such as quests, looting monsters, or minigames.
Overview [ edit ]
The economy of such games typically involves players gathering gold from playing the game, which they then use to purchase items or services, or trade with other players. Gold sinks serve to decrease the total amount of gold players have, since without sinks, there will be inflation. Gold sinks are commonly called drains or gold drains. They can also be associated with item drains. For example, in Ultima Online, items that were placed on the ground would be gathered by the server. This form is referred to as decay or garbage collection.
Economies in virtual worlds operate very differently from those in the real world. Passive gold sinks may be in operation at all times to slowly extract value from the game. Players are usually more willing to accept this method of sinking. Passive sinks would be item degradation, consistent taxes, or decay. Active sinks are aggressive actions by the programmers to remove excessive value. These can be changes in the severity of the passive sinks, such as higher taxes or faster decay. But more effectively, an active sink can be the selling of unique items whose intrinsic values are much lower than the selling price sold by NPC vendors. Zack Booth Simpson cites one example in Ultima Online when the NPC vendors carried blue tinted armor that couldn't be made by players.[1] Blue armor prices could be much higher, but decayed and degraded just like any other piece of armor.
Another improvement to active sinking is to couple it to a feedback control system. Such systems can be designed to maintain a set of prices or asset ratios, and if properly set up can add a great deal of price stability to a virtual economy; one example of this can be found in the MMO MUD Alter Aeon.[2] The feedback control system used in Alter Aeon works by tracking the total amount of money in the game in order to dynamically adjust drop rates and shop prices. Players with more than 1 million in currency are taxed for 2% of the money they own over that limit. This keeps the economy permanently stable. The peaks in the total amount of in-game currency do not vary more than 10% in a time period of 2 years.
Resource flow [ edit ]
Depending on how resources are created and where resources go once destroyed, gold sinks are classified differently. There are two major types of resource management: linked and unlinked. Several aspects can be linked while others can be unlinked.
Linked [ edit ]
Linked resource flow means that the head is connected to the tail. All things have a resource intrinsic value. A deer may be worth three pieces of meat and two yards of leather. A sword can be worth three units of iron. When a resource such as a sword is destroyed through garbage collection, those three units of iron will go back into the mines of the virtual world for extraction. This is essentially no different from melting the sword down for the raw metal. A few steps of procurement are skipped, but essentially it's the same.
A strong linked system would have a governing equation for NPC vendors to follow. NPCs would be restricted to craft with the resources they have in stock. Player character Jake could sell the town vendor a sword for 10 gold. If Jake wanted to purchase gauntlets (let us assume gauntlets have a resource value of two units of iron), he could for 12 gold. The town vendor has made a 2 gold and 1 unit of iron profit off the transaction. Should another player character want to purchase something, the new character could only buy items that have a 1 unit of iron resource value or he could sell an item, let us say 1 leather and 1 iron, to now be able to purchase items that have a resource value equal to or less than 2 units of iron and 1 unit of leather.
To be a total linked system, NPCs would be programmed to break even or make small profits. Some virtual worlds may opt to leave NPCs unrestricted as to how much money they give out.
Examples [ edit ]
The intended purpose of gold sinks is to remove currency from the game, as excess currency leads to inflation of player driven prices. Game designers must balance between scarcity of currency and ease of acquiring currency.
Greater methods of currency spending can be implemented when players accumulate more wealth than intended. One example is Ultima Online; after the Renaissance expansion, players could earn money without fear of loss, due to the implementation of non-player versus player areas. As currency entered the economy at a greater pace, new "luxury" items were sold at high prices for the purpose of reducing large sums of money.
In Kingdom of Loathing, the massive acquisition of "meat" (the currency of the game) through exploitation of bugs led to the implementation of new high priced items that gave no in-game benefits (simply rare collectibles) to the player to eliminate excess currency.
In RuneScape, the Construction skill can be seen as a gold sink. This skill allows players to spend money on building a house. This way, money is taken out of the game, without players obtaining any tradeable items.
Other forms of gold sinks include:
Quests requiring a certain amount to continue with the task at hand. This is offset by quest rewards and items that may be resold.
Fees associated with NPC services and tasks.
Fees associated with travel and convenience.
Crafting, often requiring an initial investment and a continued chance of failure. Items may be crafted at a loss to increase crafting skill.
Auction House Taxes
See also [ edit ]TARSplay
By Ochre Jelly, recreated the robot TARS from the movie Interstellar.
"This is my full-sized walking replica of the robot TARS from the movie Interstellar. It took 3 months to build, and was unveiled at Emerald City Comic Con (Seattle) in March 2015, where it interacted with the public and even won me the "One To Watch" award in the costume contest!"
Requiring over 100 man hours to construct, the replica weighs 40 lbs (a mere fifth of the one in the movie) and uses two iPads to recreate TARS' computer readouts. To allow the operator to interact with their surroundings, the aluminum-clad wooden frame includes a camera, LCD screen, audio amplifier, and head set.
Ochre Jelly Via neatorama
By Ben on Mon Apr 6 2015
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:No, this is not from The Onion. And yes, it is rich. With a hat tip to Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit, check out this from Erin Grace of Omaha.com, the website of the Omaha World-Herald:
The Omaha Central High teacher froze. Could this Jonathan Butler — the one at that moment beginning his eighth day of a hunger strike at the University of Missouri — be the same Jonathan Butler who wrestled for him more than a decade ago as a freshman? Could the quiet kid he knew in high school be the same young adult at the center of a storm about to bring down the house at Missouri’s flagship school?
It turns out, yes he is. And:
Butler has said in news reports that his paternal grandfather, an attorney helping the poor in New York City, was a big influence. So were his parents: Eric is a Union Pacific executive and Cynthia is a former educator who runs an advocacy program.
And the organization in which his father is an executive is the Union Pacific Railroad, one of the biggest companies in the country, where he earned over $6 million last year as executive vice president for marketing and sales. From The Revolution’s Facebook Page:
You know Jonathan Butler, the Mizzou student that started a hunger strike because he wanted the school's president fired for something he had no part in? It turns out he comes from a family with a net worth of over $20 million!!!
http://people.equilar.com/bio/eric-butler-union-pacific/salary/690589#.VkJx266rSu6
The link provided is dead, but this link shows:We don't need another commission; we need leadership, and we need to act.
President Obama speaks about recent unrest in Baltimore during his joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday. (Photo11: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)
For some, the death of Freddie Gray is yet another example of police brutality in a season that has seen too many dead black bodies stacking up too high in America's morgues.
Others cite national crime statistics to justify their claim that this is just another "isolated incident" of police misconduct, not an assault on the lives of black men and boys.
Fair enough, but how many isolated incidents equal a pattern?
Every time another precious black life is lost under mysterious circumstances and we regard it as just another "isolated incident," we demean the unnecessary death and disrespect the dignity of black fellow citizens.
There is a pattern here. It might well be a pattern that we have yet to acknowledge or come to terms with, but there is a pattern.
A pattern of unconscious bias where black boys are more likely to be mistaken as older, perceived as guilty and face police violence if accused of a crime, according to the American Psychological Association.
A pattern that causes black men and boys to be demonized and end up dead even when they pose no threat to the life of the arresting officer. Is Gray dead for merely making eye contact with an officer and running away? Is that a crime? Did running away warrant the death of an unarmed Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C.?
A pattern that leads to predatory policing rather than community-based policing in neighborhoods of color.
A pattern of citizen disbelief that for decades has deemed the stories of victims suspect, until the advent of video, which now regularly proves that police aren't always so virtuous.
A pattern in which every time this happens, we engage in a faux national conversation about police misconduct and race relations until the looters stop looting, until the fires have been doused. And then we return to business as usual.
What's tragic about these riots in Baltimore is that they will be used once again by the chattering class to suggest that African Americans don't respect police authority.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Indeed, because black folk are the disproportionate victims of violent crime, black communities across America welcome community-based policing that protects and serves them.
What black residents oppose is police mischief and police abuse.
Especially when the mayor and the police in Baltimore can't explain how Gray wound up dead in their custody. A black mayor and a black police commissioner, I might add.
Whether the power structure is white or black, the humanity and dignity of Freddie Gray and others is still being contested. After recent municipal elections, they now have black elected officials in Ferguson, Mo., too, but if the pattern of predatory policing doesn't change, what does it matter?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. abhorred riots because he saw violence as both impractical and immoral. But he also said this: "You can't blame non-violent demonstrators who are demonstrating for their constitutional rights when violence erupts. This would be like blaming the robbed man for the evil act of robbery because his possessions of wealth, money, precipitates the act. Society must always condemn the robber and protect the robbed."
King went on to say, "If our government cannot create jobs, it cannot govern. It cannot have white affluence amid black poverty and have racial harmony. The turmoil of the ghetto is the externalization of the negro's inner torment and rage."
King was talking about Detroit then; clearly his words apply to Baltimore today.
Police misconduct is nothing new. Riots are nothing new.
What's new would be a meaningful and sustained conversation about how to make America better, by making its politically, economically and socially disenfranchised citizens less embittered.
President Obama is right to urge the nation to do some "soul searching," but we also need moral leadership. These national crises such as Ferguson and Baltimore show the limits of the president's "hands off" approach to a "hands up" crisis. We have to be intentional; we have to be engaged. We don't need another commission or task force to study the problem, offering recommendations that are never heeded or enacted.
"Ignorance is not genetic. A lack of courage allows us to remain blinded to our own history and deaf to the cries of our past," poet Maya Angelou said. "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
Do we have the courage?
Tavis Smiley is host and managing editor of Tavis Smiley on PBS, and author of My Journey With Maya.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the Opinion front page.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1GD4tNCAIPAC Seeks to Imprison Americans for Opposition to Israel
Seldom does an agent for a foreign country dare to push legislation that in effect would prohibit constitutional protections to exercise lawful defiance. Before undertaking a scrutiny of this tragic abuse of legislation, one needs to understand the malevolent nature of AIPAC. Examine the article, AIPAC Zionists - the Archenemy of the American Nation for a detailed analysis of the fifth column that operates with impunity on our very shores. If you are concerned about collusion into our elections by a foreign power, look no further than the strings pulled on Congressional representatives, who are toadies for the state of Israel. Glenn Greenwald from The Intercept provides a compelling case that U.S. Lawmakers Seek to Criminally Outlaw Support for Boycott Campaign Against Israel. This is a most important essay because it provides irrefutable evidence of the methods that AIPAC uses to shape the "PC" orthodox culture and control Congressional legislation for the sole purpose of protecting the Zionist regime. Greenwald writes on this treasonous legislation. "The proposed measure, called the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), was introduced by Cardin on March 23. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that the bill “was drafted with the assistance of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.” Indeed, AIPAC, in its 2017 lobbying agenda, identified passage of this bill as one of its top lobbying priorities for the year:" Criminalizing the expression of protected free speech and the righteous dissent of political expression against a foreign government, which is a permanent constitutional Bill of Rights safeguard, because extreme Jewish Zionists maintain their loyalty to Israel above the natural rights of all Americans; is obscenely offensive. When the ACLU objects to this proposed statute being pushed by Israel-First zealots, the normally reliable pro Zionists signifies that the assault on civil liberties must be so egregious that resistance to the Reign of Terror from AIPAC must be recognized. Read the ACLU letter to the 45 senators support bill that makes boycotting Israel a crime, urging them to Oppose S. 720 – Israel Anti-Boycott Act. The essential aspects that have alarming consequence from this S. 720 legislation follow as cited in The Intercept essay.
Greenwald reveals just how sneaky the AIPAC lobbying operates to deceive the bootlick Senators who would never dare to defy the Israel Lobby. Read carefully the sources used to create a perverted linkage of previous laws in their disgusting attempt to circumvent the constitution in order to criminalize behavior that opposes the Khazars rogue apartheid state of Israel.
"But as the ACLU put it, “Violations would be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison.”
That’s because, as Josh Ruebner expertly detailed when the bill was first unveiled, “the bill seeks to amend two laws — the Export Administration Act of 1979 and the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945,” and “the potential penalties for violating this bill are steep: a minimum $250,000 civil penalty and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years imprisonment, as stipulated in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”
Indeed, to see how serious the penalties are, and how clear it is that those penalties are imposed by this bill, one can just compare the bill’s text in Section 8(a), which provides that violators will be “fined in accordance with Section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705),” to the penalty provisions of that law, which state:"
Both the ACLU and The Intercept have a reputation of being left leaning. There is no such proclivity from the Daily Stormer. Drunk on Their Own Kool Aid, Jews Protest Themselves at AIPAC, cites a report in the Jerusalem Post, "Protesters bore a banner saying: “Jews won’t be free until Palestinians are, reject AIPAC, reject occupation.”
Azzmador, the author of the Daily Stormer article contends.
"Jews are just crotchety people with no sense of humor whatsoever, that’s why they’re always protesting something, and if the gentiles have not done something worthy of marching and shrieking about on any given day (excluding Shabbos, of course) they will march against themselves.
You see, the Jews are the most hated group of people in history for a reason, and no one knows this better than other Jews, thus, they hate themselves. They hate themselves so much that they even have Knesset members (the Israeli version of a congressman) come to America to protest their own country, whatever sense that makes."
Wow, contention in the ranks of Israelis? Guess they may need AIPAC to set up their own versions in Tel Aviv. Watch the video, AIPAC 101 for U.S. appeal used to convince naive Americans that supporting Israel is in the best interests of our own country. As the factual evidence proves, formulating American foreign policy to advance Israel has demonstrated that a state of permanent war is a direct result from allowing Zionists to write or vote on our legislation.
Bipartisan consensus in Congress always bows to Jewish demands. Study the Philip Weiss essay: The Role of Jewish Democrats in Bill That Could Imprison Israel Boycotters for 20 Years Nevertheless, reading the text of S. 720 goes too far for any objective participant in the legislative process.The Toronto Port Authority is considering its options after the winning bidder for financially troubled Captain John’s Restaurant reneged on making final payments Thursday. “We are working with the port authority on an extension,” said Toronto entrepreneur James Sbrolla on Friday, almost 24 hours after he was to have made final payments of about $30,000 for the 300-foot ship, the Jadran.
Today is the deadline for new buyer of Captain John's. James Sbrolla has to pay the full $33,051 for a ship that's turned out to be a much bigger project.
So far, he’s only put down a deposit of $3,000 and missed three deadlines — the 4 p.m. Thursday deadline set by the court, which was extended at his request until 6 p.m. and eventually to midnight by port authority officials. “We have not delivered the money,” he confirmed Friday afternoon. “We are hoping we can still do the transaction.” But, as has been the case with almost everything related to the years-long saga of the financially crippled ship, the deal turned out to be far more complicated than Sbrolla, an avid sailor, had anticipated.
Article Continued Below
And the August 22 deadline for having the ship removed from the foot of Yonge St. has turned out to be onerous: Even having the high-risk hydro line that powers the ship disconnected is likely to delay the move beyond Aug. 22. The process is tricky because it’s dependent on temperatures being less than 24C and requires transiting other area customers linked to the line to other power systems. The port authority, however, really doesn’t have many options. “Captain” John Letnik, who owes close to $2 million in outstanding realty taxes, berthing fees and mortgages on the defunct floating restaurant, has tried for years to sell the ship. It could be listed for sale, again, but it’s unlikely another buyer would be found. And there was only one other credible bid earlier to this month, from a veteran ship recycler asking more than $303,000 to tow and scrap the ship. A group of Boston-based investors have been closely watching the sale, anticipating that Sbrolla might have taken on more than he could handle, and haven’t counted themselves out of trying to restore and revive the ship as a possible restaurant or entertainment venue.
Toronto entrepreneur James Sbrolla said on Friday that he is attempting to negotiate an extension on the deadline to make final payments of about $30,000 for the 300-foot ship, the Jadran, which houses Captain John's Restaurant. Marta Iwanek/Toronto Star
The condition — which waterfront officials have refused to really consider so far — is that the investors would need another waterfront slip, and a long-term lease, on Toronto’s waterfront to make the business viable.Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution by John Paul Stevens Little, Brown, 177 pp., $23.00
It’s hard to amend the United States Constitution. Under Article V, an amendment can be proposed only with the approval of either two thirds of both houses of Congress or the legislatures of two thirds of the states. It’s difficult enough to obtain that level of agreement, but there is another obstacle, which is that no proposed amendment can be ratified without agreement from either three fourths of the state legislatures or conventions in three fourths of the states. The authors of the Constitution knew exactly what they were doing. They wanted to limit amendments to what James Madison called “great and extraordinary occasions.”
Their plan worked. In well over two centuries, only twenty-seven constitutional amendments have been ratified. Two periods of constitutional change stand out. In 1791, the nation added the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights, thus rejecting the view, originally pressed by Madison himself, that an explicit enumeration of rights was unnecessary. After the Civil War, the nation added three amendments, which (among other things) abolished slavery, applied the due process clause to state governments, adopted a new principle of “equal protection,” and guaranteed the right to vote to African-Americans.
The Bill of Rights and the Civil War amendments account for nearly half of the total. Other amendments allow Congress to collect income taxes, call for direct elections of senators, forbid denial of the vote to women, impose a two-term limit on presidents, prohibit poll taxes, and allow all citizens who are eighteen or older to vote. In the successful efforts to amend the Constitution, a recurring theme has been improvement of self-government, above all by extending the right to vote.
As a member of the Supreme Court from 1975 to 2010, John Paul Stevens was widely liked and admired. Modest and eclectic, he could not be pigeonholed, and he displayed a consistent openness to both facts and arguments. He frequently emphasized that under the American Constitution, the government must be “impartial,” and he exemplified impartiality with his own capacity to listen, his unfailing humility, and his insistence on giving respectful attention to opposing views. Stevens also revered, and reveres, the American Constitution. It is nothing short of remarkable that at the age of ninety-four, he has published a book calling for no fewer than six new amendments to the nation’s founding document. No Supreme Court justice, sitting or retired, has ever done anything of this kind.
It is noteworthy, though perhaps not surprising, that in every case, Stevens wants an amendment that will overturn what he sees as a wrongheaded decision by the Supreme Court. In each of these cases, Stevens was a dissenter. It is also noteworthy that Stevens’s broadest theme is the importance of democratic rule. His general goal is to promote self-government, which, as he sees it, has been badly compromised by recent Supreme Court rulings.
Let’s begin with gun control.…You won't get Loon to blame Diddy for his turning to religion or getting locked up. The incarcerated rapper explained that he doesn't fault Diddy for the many Bad Boy Records artists who have become religious or ended up in jail after leaving the label.
"I don’t attribute it to Puff," Lo |
manually by very small amounts before and after the beat. Use your ears — not the screen — to decide what sounds best. There is no right answer.
and move drum hits manually by very small amounts before and after the beat. Use your ears — not the screen — to decide what sounds best. There is no right answer. If you’re making four-to-the-floor music, try locking at least the first kick of each bar to the grid, then experiment with micro-timings throughout the bar. A slightly late-arriving snare will create a lilting effect, great for soulful house and disco.
Real drummers change their timing throughout the song, particularly in band-centric music. Often the final chorus will be a few BPM faster than the intro. If this is the effect you’re looking for, you can automate the tempo in your DAW or sequencer. As a general rule of thumb: increase tempo by 1 or 2 BPM as the musical energy rises.
Perfecting The Velocity of Drums
Adding variation in velocity is almost as important as timing. Drummers don’t hit with the same amount of force each time they make contact with a drum or cymbal; they place emphasis at different measures in the pattern. An eighth-note hi-hat pop/rock pattern in 4/4, for example, will feel more human with more emphasis on the down beat and a softer off-beat.
Tips
MIDI velocities range from 0-127, so you have a reasonably wide dynamic range. If you want to mimic a real drummer, reserve maximum velocity for the very loudest moments of your song, and steer clear of using the same velocities for repeating drum hits to avoid the ‘machine-gun effect’.
MIDI velocity affects the volume of the sounds played out. Ensure your virtual drums are responding to the velocity variation you create. In software samplers, you’ll normally find a setting like ‘Vel > Vol’ which allows you to vary the extent to which thevelocity affects the volume of the sounds played out.
Avoiding Repetition In YourDrum Loops
Humans are highly attuned to identifying patterns. So a one-bar drum loop, no matter how ‘real’ sounding in isolation, will start to sound repetitive very quickly.
Tips
Mix long loops of different lengths; maybe a 32-bar hi-hat, a 24-bar kick drum and a 10-bar snare. The interplay will create variety that will be constantly shifting throughout the track.
Add subtle variation to your drums. Hand-drawn ghost notes (the super-quiet hits before and after the snare back-beat, for example) will do a lot to trick the listener into thinking the player is human. Open hi-hats and suitably timed cymbal crashes will help here too.
Drum Machines & MPC's
Machine-based drums sound the way they do because their sounds are triggered according to a virtual grid, which is generated by a digital clock signal inside the machine. Drum machines are generally hard to humanize, but that’s not to say that they can’t have character.
Tips
Program in the bones of your beat to a rigid timing structure, then experiment with manually playing in percussion and other additional parts. You don’t have to have exquisite finger-drumming skills to be able to bring your beats to life.
For the very wonkiest of beats, use extreme positive/negative swing settings and place drum hits one step out of place. The effect will be notes that appear so early/late that you can be fooled into thinking they’re in the right place.
The Pocket & Rhythmic Timing
You’ll often hear musicians referring to ‘the pocket’. This is an extension of the concept of groove, where the pocket is the specific push and pull of timing within a looping riff, ‘felt’ by the musicians playing it. Drummers like Steve Gadd and Clyde Stubblefield were masters of the pocket, and bands like Parliament/Funkadelic and Hiatus Kaiyote demonstrate incredible dexterity in this regard.
The key here is the interplay between the bass, drums and other rhythmic and percussive elements of the musical arrangement. It’s crucial, when programming, to lock all these pattern components to the same groove, to get them all in the (same) pocket.
Tips
Listen to the interplay between the bass and drums. If the bass is pushing/pulling at a certain time, make the drums follow. These microscopic timing fluctuations will give character and a sense of rhythmic consistency.
If you’re making music with a bass player, get her to overlay some sample-based percussion — mirroring the bass groove in percussion will form a subconscious musical bond that will help to tie your rhythm section together.
Use Actual Live Drums!
This seems like a dumb suggestion in an article about drum programming. But adding elements of human drumming or percussion — no matter how insignificant they seem — can brighten up the dullest of drums.
Tips
If you don’t have a tambourine, shaker or other hand percussion available, try banging on the tabletop, shaking a can of coffee beans, or slapping random interesting-sounding items together. You’ll be surprised by the results.
If you don’t have A-class recording equipment, don’t worry. You don’t need Abbey Road’s mic collection or an acoustically perfect studio — you can easily mask imperfections by filtering and EQ. Remember that this shouldn’t be a prominent instrument; it just needs to be ‘there’ in the mix.
Hopefully this list of tips will have you on the way to characterful, vibrant drums. One final piece of advice, especially in a subject that will have you staring at little dots on the screen… if itsounds right, it usually is.Since NBA players began participating in the Olympics back in 1992, the United States has won five gold medals and one bronze. The 2004 bronze medal squad was considered a massive disappointment when it returned from Athens and sparked a rebirth for the country’s Olympic basketball program.
Team USA is supposed to dominate in basketball, regardless of who plays or sits out for the squad. The 2016 Olympic squad was announced this weekend and some are already calling it the weakest roster since NBA players were admitted. But is it? Some of the previous squads have had their own glaring weaknesses. What follows is a breakdown of the weaker rosters the USA has boasted in Olympic basketball tournaments.
(Side note: Obviously, the 1992 Dream Team and 1996 team – that may have actually been better – are both omitted from this analysis since no one would argue their dominance.)
This edition of Team USA was fairly weak on paper, but still mostly dominated the 2000 Olympic tournament. The Americans went 8-0, but did have a few close games. In the quarterfinals, they topped Russia 85-70, then squeaked by Lithuania in the semifinals 85-83, before topping France 85-75 in the gold medal game.
Vince Carter was the clear leader of the team, and everyone remembers this tournament for “The Dunk” over French center Frederic Weis. Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Alonzo Mourning were also key to the team’s title run.
This team had a few weak links though. Steve Smith was two years removed from his only All-Star appearance. Antonio McDyess was a solid battler but only got an All-NBA nod once, and it came on the third team. Shareef Abdur-Rahim showed flashes but never made an All-NBA team and had just one All-Star appearance that came two years after this. Vin Baker was two years removed from his last All-Star appearance. Allan Houston was in the middle of his two All-Star years but was always an up-and-down guy. This roster is also the only one that didn’t boast an NBA MVP or NBA champion on it at the time.
While this squad wasn’t overwhelming it wasn’t as bad as it looks on the surface. There were solid role players who fit the roster, while Carter, Garnett, Ray Allen and Jason Kidd led the way. The whole wound up being much better than the sum of its parts thanks to the way the players all fit together. Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich also must be commended for the coaching job he did with this group.
This is the only time American NBA players have failed to win a gold medal, and this group embarrassed itself by losing three games in the tournament. The team was a mess, a mismatched grouping of young talented guys and veterans who didn’t fit a team concept. In hindsight, everyone should have seen the disaster coming.
This edition of the “Dream Team” quickly turned into a nightmare. Larry Brown’s squad dropped its opening game to Puerto Rico by 19 (!!!) points. The Americans rebounded by topping Greece and Australia, but then lost to Lithuania 94-90. A blowout win over Angola got them out of group play, and a 102-94 victory against Spain put them in the semifinals. But in the semis they fell to Argentina 89-81, and were relegated to the bronze medal game, where they beat Lithuania 104-96.
The team never gelled and despite near-heroic efforts from Lamar Odom, Tim Duncan and Shawn Marion, this squad was doomed from the start. It was a terrible roster that just didn’t fit together and wasn’t built to win at the international game.
This team will always stand as the reason you can’t just throw a group of NBA players together and expect it to win gold. Basketball teams need to be crafted, not just crammed together.
The “Redeem Team” stands as the antithesis of the 2004 team. This was a team crafted of superstars who also happened to fit the international game and were selfless enough to buy-in to the team concept.
The roster was tailored for international basketball. It boasted post players who could move and guard away from the hoop (Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer), defensive length on the perimeter (Tayshuan Prince, LeBron James), quick driving guards (Chris Paul, Deron Williams), stronger guards/wings (Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony) and a 3-point specialist (Michael Redd). In any situation coach Mike Krzyzewski could call on a different type of player to turn the tide of a game.
Aside from having three of the greatest players of all-time in Bryant, James and Wade, Coach K also had a bunch of guys hitting their primes who were willing to give up touches in order to win games. Wade’s defense was one of the big stories of the 2008 run and he emerged as a true superstar during and after the Beijing Games.
While everyone pretty much deferred to the reigning NBA MVP (Bryant), he bought into the team as well and relished winning a gold medal.
The Redeemers breezed through the opening rounds, smoking the host Chinese team (101-70), Angola (97-76), Greece (92-69), Spain (119-82) and Germany (106-57). In the knockout rounds, the Americans topped Australia 116-85, then battled with Argentina before securing a 101-81 win and topped Spain 118-107 in a hotly contested gold medal game.
While this group will never be exalted like the 1992 and 1996 teams, it was just as important to Team USA’s legacy.
The 2012 team was, again, an expertly crafted roster, built for the international game. While Olympic veterans like Bryant, James, Anthony, Williams and Paul dotted the roster, Coach K and Jerry Colangelo added key pieces to surround them. Guys like Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler were perfect fits for international basketball because of their versatility.
Durant led the Americans in scoring (19.5 points per game), while Anthony, Bryant and James were the clear leaders of the team. Andre Iguodala provided outstanding perimeter defense off the bench, Russell Westbrook gave energy and athleticism no opponent could counter and James Harden gave the team instant offense when needed.
The Americans dominated this tournament for the most part. They blew through the preliminary round, ripping France (98-71), Tunisia (110-63) and Nigeria (156-73). They almost slipped up against Lithuania but managed to escape with a 99-94 win, before blasting Argentina 126-97.
The Lithuania loss served as a wake-up call, as Coach K’s squad took gold with relative ease. The Americans beat Australia 119-86 in the quarterfinal, bested Argentina again 109-83 in the semis and fought a tough Spanish team for a 107-100 win in the final.
The pure talent of the 2012 team may have surpassed that of 2008, but the “Redeem Team” looked like a group on a mission from the start, whereas the 2012 squad nearly slipped up a few times. Still, the 2012 roster is one of the best ever assembled.
The 2016 team has already received its fair share of early criticism, but I believe it’s unwarranted. Though this roster is more notable for the names not listed, it appears to be built for success internationally. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Dwyane Wade, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Blake Griffin, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are all out, which means the team staying home is likely better than the team making the trip to Rio. But that doesn’t mean the squad going can’t win gold.
Durant and Anthony appear to be the unquestioned leaders of this year’s team, while the pieces surrounding them all bring something to the table. Paul George, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Harrison Barnes bring versatility that is incredibly valuable in an Olympic tournament. Klay Thompson will give Krzyzewski a knock-down shooter to rely on. DeMar DeRozan, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry will give him three relentless drivers who can get into the paint and score or distribute. DeAndre Jordan is a mobile big man who can block shots, defend away from the hoop and finish at the rim. While DeMarcus Cousins is a ball-stopper offensively and doesn’t seem to fit the international model, he likely wouldn’t have made the team if Davis or LaMarcus Aldridge were healthy. Still Cousins has value as a bull in the post who can gobble rebounds and score around the hoop.
This year’s team has an underrated mix of quality guys with games that fit international basketball. I’d be shocked if the Americans didn’t take home the gold. If this team can gel quickly and move forward with a singular purpose it should cruise to victory. But cohesiveness will be the key.
While this year’s roster may be more notable for the guys sitting out the summer, it certainly blows away the 2004 and 2000 teams in terms of quality. It has guys who know how to win big games and several players who can take over games single-handedly.
The 2016 Team USA squad is far from the worst group of NBA players sent to the Olympics and there’s a reason the Americans are still overwhelming favorites to capture gold.David Friend, The Canadian Press
The Canadian co-creators of the Broadway smash "Come From Away" have collected many awards this year, but they insist getting a Grammy nomination on Tuesday was a complete surprise.
Irene Sankoff, one half of the married couple behind the Newfoundland-set production, says she was still sleeping when husband David Hein awoke her to reveal they were in the running for the best musical theatre album award.
"Wake up, Grammy nominee," Hein told his wife as he returned home from dropping their daughter at school.
"There's been a lot of very excited cheering going on."
The duo are in good company with plenty of other Canadians vying for Grammys in other categories. Some of the biggest names include Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara, the late Leonard Cohen and the Weeknd.
The Grammys will mark its 60th anniversary in New York City on Jan. 28, 2018, rather than at the usual venue in Los Angeles.
A nomination for "Come From Away" -- the uplifting story of strangers who united in Gander, N.L., after planes were grounded in the wake of 9/11 -- carries a certain significance for the creators. The original cast recording was completed last December during a frantic time as they prepared for their Broadway opening while juggling other events.
"We'd just got back from Gander and were so exhausted and so focused and so stressed," Sankoff said.
Part of the challenge was shrinking the musical into a concise album that captured the spirit of the live production. The play features 12 actors on stage for the entire show, which meant replicating their energy in a studio took some unique measures. They arranged the cast in a semi-circle of recording booths so they could see each other as they sang.
Unconventional instruments like an ugly stick -- a Newfoundland favourite that's fashioned out of a mop handle and bottle caps -- and the one-handed Irish bodhran drum brought a particularly Canadian flavour to the recording.
The co-creators also threw a curveball to one of the cast members during the final days in the studio. After meeting one of the real-life people stranded in Gander they were inspired to add the new song "I Am Here."
"(We were) writing things on sticky notes... and putting them in front of her," Sankoff said. "She would just do it, she was so focused."
Among the other Grammy nominees, Bieber is up for his vocal contributions to "Despacito," the massive global hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. The track is in the running for record of the year, song of the year, and best pop duo and group performance.
Cara is also nominated in the song of the year category for "1-800-273-8255," a song she co-wrote and performs with rapper Logic. The song, named for the U.S. suicide prevention hotline, is also nominated for best music video. She grabbed two other nods for the best new artist award and best pop duo and group performance for the song "Stay" with Zedd.
"Really honoured to be given this kind of acknowledgment," Cara said in a tweet. "I'm not sure what to say or feel at the moment, but for now, thank you to everyone in my corner for all your love."
Cohen is nominated in the best rock performance category for his song "You Want It Darker" and for best American roots performance for the track "Steer Your Way," both off his final album.
Toronto R&B singer Daniel Caesar also has two nominations. He's contending for best R&B performance for "Get You" featuring Kali Uchis and best R&B album for "Freudian."
Grabbing spots in the best traditional pop vocal album category are Michael Buble for the deluxe edition of "Nobody But Me" and Sarah McLachlan's second Christmas album "Wonderland."
"I put out that record out last year, did a little tour with it, haven't even thought about it, and -- oh, someone's still thinking about it," McLachlan said.
She has pocketed three Grammys over her career and now has a total of 14 nominations. She was last nominated for her 2006 holiday album "Wintersong."
"I haven't been nominated for a Grammy for a good chunk of change, so it's nice," she said.
"It reminds people there's a Christmas album out there they might want to hear."
Sound engineer Charles Moniz grabbed three nominations for his work on the Bruno Mars album "24K Magic," including best record and album of the year nods. The Burlington, Ont., native already has two Grammys on his mantle, one for creating the catchy "doh" vocal line on the inescapable hit "Uptown Funk" and another for his contribution to Adele's album "25."
Among the Canadian snubs was Shania Twain's "Now," her hyped return to the studio after 15 years that was released in September just before the Grammy qualification deadline.
The Weeknd's "Starboy" also fell short of expectations by only scoring a nomination for best urban contemporary album, despite his performing two songs from the album at last year's ceremony.
Drake chose to skip the Grammys entirely by not submitting his latest project "More Life" for consideration for album of the year or best rap album, according to a report by The Associated Press.
Other Canadian nominees include:ATTENTION! The content of this article is more than three months old and may not be relevant to the current version of the game
Roses are red,
violence is blue,
I see your heart,
my aim is true! Will you be my Warlentine?
Update Friday the 17th of February 2017: The voucher-code and the 25% discount on Infantry Support Vehicles has expired.
Warlentine’s Day is all about spreading love, blowing up enemies and giving presents for your loved ones. That is why we at Reto-Moto want to give you, our beloved players, a gift allowing you to progress faster, earn more credits and give a bonus to the friends in your squad.
Voucher-code:
WARLENTINE2017
This voucher gives your account a FREE one day Veteran Membership and can be activated from now until Friday the 17th of February at 1am US PST / 4am US EST / 10:00 CET.
How do I activate the code?
Start the game Log in Click the Menu button (looks like a cogwheel) in the top right corner Click on the “Redeem Voucher” button Paste or type in the voucher code and click “OK”
25% Discount on Infantry Support Vehicles
Make a difference and help the friends fighting alongside you with this limited time Warlentine’s offer!
Halftracks and Trucks work as mobile deploy points for your friends, while Mobile AA guns protect them against the Warbirds in the sky!
This offer expires Friday the 17th of February at 1am US PST / 4am US EST / 10:00 CET.
XOXO,
Reto-MotoFor yearly variation in mortality rates, see Birthday effect
The birthday-number effect is the subconscious tendency of people to prefer the numbers in the date of their birthday over other numbers. First reported in 1997 by Japanese psychologists Shinobu Kitayama and Mayumi Karasawa, the birthday-number effect has been replicated in various countries. It holds across age and gender. The effect is most prominent for numbers over 12.
Most people like themselves; the birthday is associated with the self, and hence the numbers in the birthday are preferred, despite the fact that they appear in many other contexts. People who do not like themselves tend not to exhibit the birthday-number effect. A similar effect, the name-letter effect, has been found for letters: people tend to prefer the letters that are part of their name. The birthday-number effect and the name-letter effect are significantly correlated. In psychological assessments, the Number Preference Task is used to estimate implicit self-esteem.
There is some evidence that the effect has implications for real-life decisions. One lab study revealed an increase in a favourable attitude towards prices when they were secretly manipulated to match subjects' birthday dates, thus resulting in a higher chance of purchase. However a second study using birth year as price did not lead to the same result. A study of the liking of products found that participants with high self-esteem liked products better if the product names unknowingly involved their birthday number and letters of their name. Some field research into the impact of the birthday-number effect on bigger life decisions (e.g. where to live) is controversial.
Background [ edit ]
Throughout history, societies have had numbers they consider special. For example, in ancient Rome the number 7 was auspicious, in Maya civilisation the number 13 was sacred, in modern-day Japan people give three, five, or seven gifts for luck, and in China the number 8 is considered lucky and 4 is avoided whenever possible. In Western cultures the number 13 is often considered unlucky, hence the term triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13.
Controlled experiments with numbers date back to 1933 when the researcher Dietz asked Dutch people to name the first number to come to mind between 0 and 99. The number 7 was mentioned most, as it was in various later replicas of the study in other countries.[A] The number 7 also came out on top in studies that asked people to name their favourite number. In an online poll by Alex Bellos, a columnist for The Guardian, more than 30,000 people from all over the world submitted numbers, with 7 the most popular. All numbers under 100 were submitted at least once and nearly half of the numbers under 1,000.[B] Marketing researchers King and Janiszewski investigated number preference in a different way. They showed undergraduate students random numbers and asked them to say quickly whether they liked the number, disliked it, or felt neutral. The number 100 had the highest proportion of people liking it (70%) and the lowest proportion of people disliking it (5%). The numbers 1 to 20 were liked by 9% more people than the higher numbers; the numbers that are the result of rote-learned multiplication tables (i.e. 2 × 2 to 10 × 10) were liked by 15% more people than the remaining numbers. The researchers concluded that number fluency predicts number preference: hence multiplication table numbers are preferred over prime numbers.
The closely related field of letter-preference research dates back to the 1950s. In 1985, Belgian psychologist Nuttin reported the unexpected finding that people tend to disproportionately prefer, unknowingly, the letters of their own name. The name-letter effect has been replicated in dozens of follow-up studies in different languages, cultures and alphabets, no matter whether participants selected their preferred letter from a random pair, or picked the top six of all letters in the alphabet, or rated each individual letter. Nuttin predicted that because the driving force behind the name-letter effect is an unconscious preference for anything connected to the self, there would also be a birthday-number effect.
Original study [ edit ]
In 1997, researchers Shinobu Kitayama and Mayumi Karasawa observed that studies repeatedly showed that Japanese people do not seek to maintain and enhance their self-esteem, unlike Europeans and Americans. Whereas research with Western participants found that, on average, people falsely believe they are better than average, that they take credit for successes and blame others for failures, and that they overestimate the chances of good fortune happening to them, studies with Japanese did not reveal such self-enhancing tendencies. In addition, in cross-cultural studies, Japanese reported self-esteem to be hurt more by failures than boosted by successes, the opposite of what was reported by Americans. All these studies involved participants being aware that their self-esteem was being evaluated, and hence they are said to be measures of explicit self-esteem. This made Kitayama and Karasawa wonder. It seemed unlikely to them that Japanese have no positive feelings attached to their selves. They hypothesized that somehow Japanese do not allow these feelings to be detected overtly. To test this, they ran two experiments that hid the aim of assessing self-esteem, measuring instead implicit self-esteem. Because by definition implicit self-esteem is not accessible to introspection, measures of it do not rely on direct self-reports but on the degree to which objects associated with the self generate positive versus negative thoughts. The first experiment was a replica of Nuttin's 1987 study of letter preference, looking for an effect tied to letters of the participant's name. The second experiment involved numbers, looking for an effect tied to numbers representing the day of the month a participant was born (between 1 and 31) and the month of their birthday (between 1 and 12).
Method [ edit ]
For the letter experiment, they asked 219 Japanese undergraduate students to rate each of the 45 hiragana, part of the Japanese writing system, according to how much they liked it. For the number experiment, they asked 269 Japanese undergraduate students to rate the numbers between 0 and 49 on attractiveness. The number 49 was chosen as the upper limit to mask the true aim of the study, which 31 (being the maximum number of days in a month) might have hinted at. Likewise, the number 0 was included for disguise. Participants had to give ratings on a six-point scale, ranging from 1, if they disliked the number very much, to 6, if they liked it very much. Once done, participants were asked for various demographic data, including their birthdays.
Results [ edit ]
Analysis of the letter preference data revealed a name-letter effect: an enhanced liking for letters in the participant's own name. Analysis of the number preference data revealed a birthday-number effect. For each number, the researchers first calculated the mean liking by participants who did not have that number in their birthday. These means served as a baseline. For each participant 50 relative liking scores were computed between the baseline of a number and the actual preference.[C] The mean liking scores for different types of numbers showed that participants disproportionately preferred numbers in their birthday. The effect was stronger for higher numbers, over 12, than for lower numbers. The effect was weakest for males and their birth month (only a 0.03 difference from the mean), and strongest for females and the day of their birthday (0.77 difference with the mean). Overall, women showed a greater liking for the numbers in their birthday than men did.
Explanations [ edit ]
Kitayama and Karasawa concluded that the patterns in the findings from both experiments were most consistent with the hypothesis that the preference is due to an attachment to the self. These feelings leak out to stimuli that are closely associated with the self, not just names and birthdates, but also, implicitly, their constituent letters and numbers.[D] Since most people like themselves, most people are found to have positive feelings for these constituent parts. The researchers suggested that the effect is stronger for higher numbers because in daily life these numbers are less saturated with other meanings, other than their associations with birthdays.
An alternative explanation for the birthday-number effect that had to be tested is mere exposure. If it were true that the numbers in one's birthday are used disproportionately in one's daily life, then the preference for numbers in one's birthday could simply be a preference for what is most frequent. Zajonc found in his 1960s and 1980s lab studies that familiarity can strongly influence preference, and coined the term "mere exposure effect". But Kitayama and Karasawa argued that even if people did see numbers from their own birthday more, this would still be negligible in comparison to the overall quantity of numbers they encounter in daily life.[E] This is in line with the argument other researchers have used to rule out mere exposure as an explanation for the name-letter effect.
Kitayama and Karasawa concluded that Japanese people do indeed have warm feelings towards themselves, just like Americans and Europeans, but that these feelings are masked when explicitly asked for. They speculated that the reason for this masking lies in the Japanese tendency to attend to negative, undesirable features by way of improving the self.
Subsequent studies [ edit ]
By 2017, Kitayama and Karasawa's original study had been cited in over 300 scientific papers.
Early follow-up studies [ edit ]
The first follow-up study looked at cultural differences. Blass, Schmitt, Jones, and O'Connell used US undergraduate students as participants to replicate the original study. In their paper presented at the American Psychological Association's annual conference in Chicago, in August 1997, they reported the same result: a preference for birthday numbers. They did find a much stronger effect though, which according to the researchers could be due to Americans' tendency towards self-enhancement.
The second follow-up study was done in 1998 by Kitayama and Uchida. They sought to investigate the relationship between a person's name-letter effect and his or her birthday-number effect, given that Kitayama and Karasawa had suspected a single driving force behind both. As they had predicted, Kitayama and Uchida found that within a person the two effects were correlated. Later studies confirmed this finding.
In 2000, Bosson, Swann and Pennebaker tested seven measures of implicit self-esteem, including the birthday-number task and name-letter task, and four measures of explicit self-esteem. They used a seven-point rating scale instead of the six-point scale Kitayama and Karasawa had used, and they only looked at the day of the birthday. On average, respondents scored their birthday number 0.73 higher than the other numbers. When the researchers retested all seven implicit self-esteem measures, the birthday-number task was one of three that produced similar results. From the weak or non-significant correlations between the implicit and explicit self-esteem measures they concluded that implicit and explicit self-esteem are tapping different underlying constructs.
Later follow-up studies [ edit ]
Later studies investigated aspects of the effect. Koole, Dijksterhuis, and van Knippenberg sought to explore how automatic the preference process was. They did this with both numbers and letters. They divided participants into two groups. The first group was asked to give quick, intuitive reactions stating preferences for the stimuli. The second group was asked to reason why they liked some numbers better than others and to analyse which features of the numbers they liked. As the researchers had predicted, they found that both the birthday-number effect and name-letter effect disappeared in the ‘thinking’ condition. They argued that thinking about reasons instigates deliberative overriding of implicit self-esteem effects. This conclusion was supported by looking at correlations between the effects: whereas in the feeling condition the strength of a participant's birthday-number effect was correlated to his or her name-letter effect, no such correlation was found in the thinking condition.
Jones, Pelham, Mirenberg, and Hetts investigated how the effect held up under so-called 'threats' to the self. Earlier research by Koole, Smeets, van Knippenberg, and Dijksterhuis had already shown that the name-letter effect is influenced by a perceived threat. Jones, Pelham, Mirenberg, and Hetts first made some participants write about a personal flaw and then gave all participants the Number Preference Task and the Letter Preference Task. What they found was consistent with previous findings: people who liked themselves a lot liked the numbers in their birthday and the letters of their name even more when an aspect of their self seemed under threat. This is predicted by the theory of unconscious self-enhancement. It can not be explained by mere exposure theory.
Nickell, Pederson, and Rossow looked for effects with significant years. They asked 83 undergraduate students to rate, on a scale from 1 to 7, how much they liked the years between 1976 and 2001, the months of the year, the seasons, times of day, and even types of pet in an attempt to disguise the aim of the study. Analysis of the data showed that participants liked the year of their birth much more than the average of the four years after they were born. The researchers also found that the year of high school graduation was also liked better than average. Of the months of the year, the most liked month was the one in which the participants were born.
Falk, Heine, Takemura, Zhang and Hsu investigated the validity of implicit self-esteem measures to assess cultural differences. They subjected Canadian and Japanese participants to a series of tests, one of which was rating the numbers to 40 by how much participants liked them. Because the researchers saw little to no correlation between the various implicit self-esteem measures, they did not draw any conclusions about cultural differences. Stieger and Krizan explored cross-cultural differences in number preferences, specifically the day on which Christmas is celebrated as a contributor to number preference. They asked participants from six countries to rate numbers between 1 and 36. They found that in countries where gifts are exchanged on 24 December participants disproportionately preferred the number 24, whereas in countries that do this on 25 December participants preferred 25. They concluded that cultural influences need to be taken into account if these preferences are used to reflect individual differences.
Application [ edit ]
In psychological assessments, the birthday-number effect has been exploited to measure implicit self-esteem. The Number Preference Task is often used in combination with the more popular Letter Preference Task, sometimes jointly called the Initials and Birthday Preference Task (IBPT). The most popular method to measure implicit self-esteem is the Implicit Association Test.
There is no standard method for applying the task. The most commonly used one is a rating task, which involves having participants judge all the numbers under a certain threshold (typically over 31 to mask the purpose of assessing connections to dates), indicating how much they like them on a 7-point rating scale. There is no standard algorithm for calculating implicit self-esteem. At least six algorithms are in use. In their meta-analysis of the name-letter effect, Stieger, Voracek, and Formann recommend using the ipsatized double-correction algorithm. The algorithms are typically applied to both the number of the day and of the month.
Stieger, Voracek, and Formann recommend that the task involve both letter preference and number preference, that it be administered twice, and that the instructions focus on liking rather than attractiveness. The Number Preference Task has been used to measure implicit self-esteem in contexts as diverse as parenting and mental habits.
Wider implications [ edit ]
Researchers have looked for wider implications of the birthday-number effect on preferences, both inside and outside the lab. A body of controversial research under the umbrella of implicit egotism, starting with Pelham, Mirenberg, and Jones, has investigated whether people unknowingly make life decisions based on their name letters or birthday numbers. Skeptics say that the claim that letters influence life decisions is an extraordinary one that requires extraordinary evidence. Based on analysis of US field data Pelham et al. concluded that people disproportionately live in towns whose names contain numbers that match the numbers in their birthday. They looked at people who were born on 2 February, 3 March, 4 April, etc. up to 8 August, and at people who lived in towns with numbers in them, such as Two Rivers, Three Oaks, Four Corners, etc. But in his critical analysis of this study Simonsohn argued that its reliability is questionable, as it found only a small number of residents with matching numbers. Simonsohn tried to replicate the finding in different ways but without success. He found no effect of just the day of birthday on the town (e.g. the second of any month, not just February). He also found no effect of birthday number on street, address, or apartment number.
Jones, Pelham, Carvallo and Mirenberg investigated the influence of number preference on interpersonal attraction. In a lab study they showed US participants text profiles of people. The profiles came with a prominently displayed, seemingly arbitrary code that was explained as merely to help the researchers keep track of the profiles. One half of the participants were shown a code that matched their birthday (e.g. someone born on 8 September saw a partner profile with the code "09-08"); the other half a non-matching code (e.g. "03-23"). All participants were shown exactly the same profile. They had to rate how much they thought |
and bring..... Oh, it's not the actual Death Star. Measuring cups! I can rule the kitchen and bring order to the cupboards! I do most of the cooking anyways. (wife only microwaves, but I still love her) This will come in handy, especially as my current measuring cups, the half cup is dented.
Oh Many thanks oh Santa who stalks!President Donald Trump’s new Chief of Staff John Kelly gave a speech to roughly 200 White House aides Friday and warned them about the serious repercussions of leaking classified information and about their priorities in serving the president.
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps four-star general, reportedly told the staff that he did not care how long each staff member has been with the Trump camp or how they made it to the White House. Each member of the staff works with one common purpose: to serve at the pleasure of the president, he said Friday.
The former Marine Corps general said members of the staff should be loyal to their country first, the president second, and their own individual needs and priorities should come last, Bloomberg reported.
In his first week as chief of staff, Kelly fired former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci just 10 days after the Wall Street banker took the job. Kelly also terminated two National Security Council aides that were speculated to have their own agendas and who were reportedly working outside the chain of command.
Kelly has also stopped the open door policy to the Oval Office that the president had established and that former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was seemingly unable to stop. The new chief of staff has issued a new law of the land: all visitors or staff members who wish to enter the Oval must go through him first.
These shake-ups are evident that Kelly was not all talk when he told White House staff Monday that he was in charge. Trump even allows Kelly to see some of his tweets before he fires them off — a measure that could prove helpful in deterring some of Trump’s tweet storms that find the president in hot water with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The president’s tweets since Aug. 3 have been rather tame, mainly championing the success of the stock market and applauding the U.N. for sanctioning North Korea.
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Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.THE NATION African heritage, an American dream
Liberian-born fashion designer Korto Momolu, who was a "Project Runway" runner-up and was voted the fan favorite, celebrated her heritage with gowns melding visual inspirations from Africa and Arkansas.
There's the Senegalese American rapper Akon and Nomvuyo Mzamane, the South African-born educator who made headlines when she was chosen to lead Oprah Winfrey's African girls school and again when she sued the talk show host over her dismissal.
Immigrants from Africa, who claim the son of a Harvard-educated Kenyan father and a white American mother as one of their own, are starting to draw attention, both for their strong presence at elite colleges -- where 13% of black students are first- or second-generation African immigrants -- and for the rise of high-profile individuals.
But if the president-elect is in many ways unique, he's also part of a broader phenomenon.
CHICAGO — Barack Obama is often viewed as a singular sensation: a disaffected teen with no family wealth or connections who went on to become president of the Harvard Law Review, a U.S. senator and the first black president of the United States.
"I definitely think that we're having an impact," said Chioma Achebe, a Nigerian American from Evanston, Ill., who is president of the Harvard African Students Assn.
"The fact that a lot of us were brought up with these different strands of African culture woven into our experience, I think, makes us care a lot more about what's going on there," she said, pointing to new initiatives at her school, including a fundraiser for clean water in African villages.
"And I think as time goes on we'll be even more of an influential group."
There are about 880,000 African immigrants residing in the U.S., and they are a highly educated group, with census figures showing that they are more likely to have a college degree (43.8%) than Asian Americans (42.5%) and the U.S. population as a whole (23.1%).
First- and second-generation African immigrants are quick to point out that Obama represents many experiences, not just their own.
Still, many find the stories of Obama and his father familiar. The elder Obama came to the U.S. for college in Hawaii, left with a doctorate degree from Harvard and wanted his American son to achieve academically.
In the president-elect's memoir, "Dreams From My Father," he recalls a visit from his father, also named Barack, when he was about 10. Young Barack was watching TV -- a long-awaited Christmas special -- when his father told him to go to his room and study. It didn't matter that his son was a good student or that he had apparently -- the memoir isn't clear on this point -- finished his homework.
If young Barack had done his homework, his father said, he could start on the next day's assignment.
And if the boy had done the next day's assignment, he could move on to the work that would be due after winter vacation.
The story draws chuckles of recognition from young people such as Abimbola Oladokun, a junior at the University of Chicago whose parents hail from Nigeria.
"When I'd get an A-minus, my dad was like, that's great, but you can do better," Oladokun said.
The message from her father wasn't harsh or negative, Oladokun said. He was telling her that she could do anything she wanted: "The sky's the limit."
Tsion Gurmu, vice president of political affairs for the University of Chicago's Organization of Black Students, said high expectations were a family legacy for her too.
Her father, she said, was active in the democracy movement in Ethiopia and endured five years as a political prisoner.
"After my parents brought us all the way here and started over -- in terms of education, economic base and everything -- it's not even an option to come here and not do well," she said.There's something nearly unhinged about Weaves' music. Some of that is in the frenetic guitar of Morgan Waters and the way it contrasts with the swaying-in-the-breeze feel of singer Jasmyn Burke. But then it can all turn upside-down in a hurry — the guitar becomes almost lyrical as Burke sings:
A portion of popcorn that's popping and shopping for fresh hands Distortion is motion that's ridden forbidden Don't you dare, don't you dare You're so coo coo I'm so coo coo
All the while, the rhythm section jitters and shakes, or you may find Burke flat on the floor, singing toward the ceiling.
A Toronto-based art and pop project, Weaves is a young band with just one EP and a debut album coming June 17. That album has already become a favorite of mine: The group has an eagerness to try on new sounds while always remaining playful and quirky — sometimes loud, sometimes gentle and always a trip.
Weaves is available for pre-order now. (iTunes) (Amazon)
Set List
"Coo Coo"
"S***hole"
"One More"
Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Niki Walker; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Kara Frame; Production Assistant: Jackson Sinnenberg; Photo: NPR.
For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.With 98 percent reporting in South Carolina, Trump is winning per his pre-election polling. He neither over nor underperformed. I put his magic number at 210,000 with a 650,000 voter turnout. Turnout is well over 730,000 and Trump is projected to hit 240,000, which is going to be difficult to beat but beatable.
Erick wrote that it’s Rubio’s race to lose, but that ignores delegate math.
Either the race goes to Trump by March 15, or one of Rubio or Cruz stands to face him. Cruz has the most money in the bank, the best data analytics, and the most well-developed ground operation. There’s no way Cruz will back off short of a total meltdown.
Cruz has a good chance at winning several states on the March 1 “Super Tuesday.” He really has to win Georgia and Texas to have a chance, and I believe he has a better chance in those states (with large delegate counts) than Rubio.
With Bush out of the race, the question becomes who will get Bush’s support, and likely Carson’s support. Kasich will probably stay in out of sheer spite.
Blame Jeb Bush for ruining the race. If he had endorsed either Cruz or Rubio a few days ago, we might not be faced with this fustercluck right now.
Rubio is doing well right now (thanks to a well-timed endorsement by Nikki Haley), but Cruz has not spoken his last word on the race. There are many delegates left. Stopping Trump may be a technical matter of getting to Cleveland (the GOP Convention) with enough delegates to stop Trump from winning outright, then taking the nomination on the subsequent rounds. Cruz has a better delegate operation than Rubio–he just plays that chess game better.
In order for Rubio to win that way, he either has to blunt-force stop Trump (a very difficult task given turnouts and trends) or finesse it. That will require Cruz’s organization to swing behind him. I believe, given a hopeless situation, Cruz will make the right decision.
Cruz may be hurt by South Carolina, but Rubio’s gain doesn’t spell his doom.This updates a story posted at 5 p.m. Saturday.
AMHERST — With a bittersweet haze lingering above the crowd of thousands in downtown Amherst Saturday, the 23rd annual Extravaganja festival brought together political activists and casual users alike.
Extravaganja is officially organized by the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition, the oldest student-run drug law reform organization in the United States. The gathering's official purpose was to highlight the ongoing battle to change the law surrounding marijuana to progress from decriminalization to approval of medical marijuana, and eventually to legalize it for recreational use.
Legalization is something 63-year-old Franktinus Stuitje of Greenfield never thought he'd see in his lifetime. But as Colorado and Washington state have already removed criminal penalties for possessing marijuana, he is certain that more states will follow.
"So many of my friends have been punished for marijuana over the years, I just never thought this country would get to this point. But now, it is just a matter of time before it is legal everywhere. Either that or we'll go the other way and start putting people away for smoking tobacco," Stuitje said.
Marijuana use is one of those complicated American issues that crosses a number of social mores and depending on where you live or travel, its use or acceptance may not be acceptable, aside from the legal aspect. But in the progressive Town of Amherst, which has hosted the festival for more than two decades, bringing together a controversial topic and a live and let live attitude seems like a perfect fit.
Sebastian Vivas, the president of the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition, said that the event takes nearly a full year to plan and is coordinated almost entirely with the town administration and its police department.
"They have been just great to work with. I love being in a place where they aren't afraid to hold such a controversial event right in the center of town," Vivas said. "It goes to show the difference between this and something like the Blarney Blowout. Everyone here is just having a good time and not causing any trouble."
One major difference between Extravaganja and the Blarney Blowout is the official capacity in which the annual weed-fest exists. The Blarney Blowout typically goes fine and without incident, when only considering the bars which officially hold the event.
It is the rest of the college-aged students all over the town, however, that end up extremely drunk and find themselves in violent clashes with the police, as was the case this year.
To Vivas, the fact that thousands of people getting high cause no public safety issue but thousands of drunk people cause a riot which draws negative national attention and costs taxpayers upwards of $200,000 if proof that the law needs to be changed.
"It goes to show the difference between alcohol and marijuana. Once substance can lead to people having a more positive experience in their community and the other can lead to chaos, but it is still legal," Vivas said. "That doesn't make sense."
Don Davis, a 61-year-old Vermont resident attending Extravaganja Saturday, said that the push to legalize marijuana is a good thing in his view, but mostly led my politicians looking to collect more tax revenue.
"It's a good trade off, I guess," Davis reluctantly concluded. "It's better than people going to jail over marijuana but it has taken so long to get here."
In Colorado, where full legalization has cut into the underground sales of marijuana, the state is set to collect $98 million in tax revenue this year from official sales, according to a report by Reuters. That estimate is 40 percent higher than Colorado lawmakers originally anticipated.
Brandie Lucia, a 20-year-old Westfield resident also attending Extravaganja, said that money, when spent correctly, can be used to help everyone instead of spending tax money to punish those who use marijuana.
"Just look how much money they are raising from taxes in Colorado alone. That money can be used to improve schools and roads, helping all the people that live there," Lucia said. "If we can make our cities better and not punish people for what they choose to do, who loses there?"
Lucia admits that not everyone is quite ready to throw a nationwide pot party just yet. "Even talking about marijuana still makes some people uncomfortable, but things look like they are trending in the direction of legalization."
But a recent national Pew Research Center survey of 1,821 adults concluded that while just 39 percent of those polled say marijuana should be legalized for adult use, 75 percent, whether they support or oppose it, think it is just a matter of time before marijuana is legalized entirely.
"I think you'll continue to see the change on a state-by-state basis as momentum builds in different places to change the law," said an Amherst resident walking by the festival with her infant who asked to only be identified by her first name, Chris. "The attitudes are changing and there are bigger problems society now has to focus on over marijuana. Look at them- they are just a happy, peaceful group enjoying their Saturday afternoon in the sun. This seems perfectly fine to me."
When contacted Saturday evening, an Amherst Police Department official said he didn't have information about any arrests made in connection with the Extravaganja festival. The Republican/Masslive will follow up with police and publish information as it becomes available.Pennsylvania Secretary of State Carol Aichele had a message for the hundreds of people gathered at the State Capitol yesterday to rally against voter ID laws: “Go home” and find ways to make their fellow citizens comply with the state’s controversial law.
“We hope that some of the people who are outside would go home from this rally,” said Aichele during a closed-door press conference. “Focus that energy, go home and find five people who need transportation to a [driver’s license] ID center and take those people to get photo identification.”
Today, a court will begin hearing arguments in a case to determine whether the state’s voters must in fact carry Aichele’s burden. Ten Pennsylvania residents will seek to demonstrate how the state denied them ID for voting purposes, thereby showing the harmful effect of the law that is required to knock it down. The voters’ lawyers are seeking an injunction to stop the law due to the problems it poses for hundreds of thousands of voters. For an injunction, they don’t have to prove the law violates voters’ rights. They need only to convince a judge that there are too many unresolved issues with the law that deserve deeper scrutiny.
The legal push and pull over voter ID laws has moved through a growing number of states, as federal and state courts weigh the laws’ constitutionality. The fight in Pennsylvania, like an earlier one in Wisconsin, stands out in that plaintiffs believe they’ll be able to show clear harm to specific groups of people, including along racial lines.
Testifying against the state will be Matt Barreto, director of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality, who surveyed over 1,285 Pennsylvanians and found disproportionate burdens on multiple voting populations, including Latinos, women, the elderly and those of very low income.
If Barreto’s research is correct, then 1.3 million Pennsylvanians, or
14.4 percent of the voter-eligible population, lack ID–that’s twice as large as the number of votes President Obama earned in the state in 2008. Aichele’s office originally said that only 1 percent of voters, or about 88,000, lacked ID, but then later released figures suggesting that 9.2 percent of voters, or 759,000, didn’t have state-issued photo ID. Yesterday, Aichele said they’re back to sticking with the 88,000 number.
The Department of Justice has requested information from Aichele’s office about the numbers of eligible voters lacking ID and their racial demographics. Aichele said at the press conference, “We will comply with the request from the Department of Justice and provide the information they have requested.”
DOJ’s intervention in the state is unique (for a lot of reasons) because unlike the other states they’ve interrogated for passing questionable voter laws–Texas, South Carolina, and Florida–Pennsylvania doesn’t need their pre-clearance. Those other states have histories of discrimination at the polls and are considered “covered jurisdictions” under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The investigation into Pennsylvania is being done under Section 2, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity or language, whether by intention or impact.
Asked by a reporter if she thought DOJ’s request suggested the voter ID law might be constitutionally faulty, Acihele responded: “The state of Pennsylvania believes the law passed by the General Assembly was valid and will sustain any kind of test. Our law is very similar to the law in Indiana and we are being called into question under Section 2 not Section 5. South Carolina and Texas have past histories of discrimination. Pennsylvania does not. So we would fall under the same category as Indiana.”
This is the same argument that Aichele will lean on in this week’s court hearings. Their original crutch, that voter ID laws are needed to stop voter fraud, went bust when they realized they had no prosecuted cases to back up their argument.
Republican Philadelphia Commissioner Al Schmidt tried to help along the fraud case by releasing a report last week on the subject, but it failed miserably. The so-called “Schmidt Report” may have even helped civil rights lawyers, since it reinforced the point that voter-impersonation fraud hasn’t and isn’t happening.
So the state will claim their voter ID law is the twin to Indiana’s law, which passed muster under the U.S. Supreme Court. But there are two big problems with that.
First, this week’s case is being argued on state constitutional grounds, not federal constitutional grounds–as was the case with the Indiana law challenge. There is technically no “right to vote” established in the U.S. Constitution, only a prohibition of race-based voting obstructions. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s constitution is much more clear about its citizens’ voting rights.
Second, civil rights lawyers failed in Indiana because they didn’t produce any individuals who had actually been harmed by the law. In the Pennsylvania case, there are 10 people who will show how they’ve been harmed by the law, including being denied ID, or being denied the documents needed to obtain ID. That makes it more akin to Missouri. In that state, when voter ID boosters claimed their law cloned Indiana’s, the Missouri Supreme Court still rejected it after residents testified how the law prevented them from voting. And the U.S. Supreme Court’s own Indiana decision left a path open for voters to re-visit the case if discrimination was found.
It’s the discriminatory impact that Aichele and the state seem to be in flat-out denial about. They’ve not even acknowledged the impact on black and Latino voters. The only remedy Aichele has proposed is modification of the rules for obtaining a photo ID, which her office has modified twice.
When I asked Aichele if these modifications suggested an admission that the voter ID law is burdensome for voters, she responded, “I would say we have identified specifically the problem of out-of-state residents who are having trouble getting birth certificates from other states and other countries for that matter. The birth certificate issue is a tough hurdle.”
It’s indeed tough for over 120,000 Pennsylvanians from Puerto Rico, where the government invalidated all birth certificates before 2010. Reaching out to the Latino population seems not even a thought to Aichele’s office, which built a website, votespa.com, to spread awareness about voter laws that has an inoperable link to the Spanish translation of the site.
Another note on race and ethnicity: When Aichele said Pennsylvania has no history of racial discrimination, she wasn’t telling the whole truth. It was just 2010 when Chester County was sued in federal court for depriving students at the historically black Lincoln University of their right to vote. Aichele was named in that suit, as she was the commissioner of Chester County at the time and in charge of their elections. Now she’s in charge of the state’s elections. Everett L. Butcher, head of the Chester County Minority Caucus, was at yesterday’s rally and told me that Lincoln University students may be deprived again, because their student IDs don’t have expiration dates.
While Butcher was out in the sweltering heat yesterday, still advocating for black students, Aichele was in the cozy confines of a state government building, where she neither had to face her history nor the hundreds of people fighting against voting obstacles. But this week, the state won’t be able to avoid facing Viviette Applewhite, Wilola Shinholster Lee, Grover Freeland, Gloria Cuttino, Nadine Marsh, Dorothy Barksdale, Bea Bookler, Joyce Block, Henrietta Kay Dickerson, and Devra Mirel “Asher” Schor–the petitioners in the case. These are real Pennsylvanians with personal narratives about how the new voting rules acted as barriers to their voting rights. Before the judge, Aichele won’t have the luxury of telling them to simply “go home” and find out how to deal with it.CAREM: Argentina's innovative SMR 14 May 2014
First concrete was poured in February for the prototype of the domestically-designed CAREM 27 MWe small modular reactor. This article gives an overview of the main thermal-hydraulic features of the natural circulation, self-pressurized, integral reactor. By Christian Marcel, Darío Delmastro, M. Celeste Magni and Osvaldo Calzetta.
In recent years, small modular reactors have attracted attention because they can meet the needs of emerging electricity markets. They use a proven technology together with novel designs, including new engineering solutions relying on passive features. Passive safety features do not require outside power input to work, instead depending only on physical laws.
An example of this is the CAREM-25 reactor, which is an Argentine project designed to deliver 27 MWe with minimum operator feedback control. This nuclear plant is an indirect-cycle reactor with distinctive features that greatly simplify the design, improving safety. Its primary circuit is fully contained in the reactor vessel (eliminating the possibility of a loss of coolant accident), it has no cooling pumps (since natural convection drives the primary flow) and pressurization is achieved by balancing vapour production and condensation in the vessel (thus eliminating the need for an active external subsystem). The CAREM-25 design reduces the number of sensitive components and potentially risky interactions with the environment.
This article describes the most important thermal-hydraulic phenomena, showing how the CAREM-25 behaviour differs from existing water-cooled reactors. Some of the most important phenomena are self-pressurization, natural circulation, flashing, subcooled boiling, density wave instabilities, neutronic feedback and condensation. The CAREM-25 concept was presented in 1984 and was one of the first designs in the present new generation of reactors. It has been recognised as a 'near-term deployment' reactor by the Generation IV International Forum (GIF).
Numerous researchers have in the past made numerical and experimental studies of natural circulation systems. However, none of those studies looked at this case of a self-pressurized system. Different small integrated reactor designs exist, some of which are (partially) cooled by natural circulation low-quality flows, whose phenomenology has been discussed elsewhere. What makes CAREM-25 different that it does not have any active device controlling the system pressure. For this reason, the linked phenomena in operation in the plant cause it to behave differently to traditional LWRs (including the referenced designs). Such a difference has important consequences for the reactor thermal-hydraulics.
CAREM-25 reactor design
The entire CAREM-25 is considered an integrated reactor: its high-energy primary system (core, steam generators, primary coolant and steam dome) is contained inside a single 11m high, 3.5m-diameter pressure vessel. Primary cooling flow is achieved by natural circulation, which is induced by placing the steam generators above the core.
The right-hand side of Figure 1 shows natural circulation of the coolant in the primary system. Water enters the core from the lower plenum. After being heated, the coolant exits the core and flows up through the chimney to the upper steam dome. In the upper part, water leaves the chimney through lateral windows to the external region. It then flows down through modular steam generators, decreasing its enthalpy.
The coolant exits the steam generators and flows through the downcomer to the lower plenum, closing the circuit. At steady-state conditions, the driving forces created by the density differences along the circuit are balanced by the friction and form losses, so there is an adequate flow rate in the core. The coolant also acts as a neutron moderator.
Self-pressurization of the primary system in the steam dome is the result of the liquid-vapour equilibrium, so the heaters used in conventional PWRs are eliminated. The large vapour volume in the RPV also helps damp pressure perturbations. The self-pressurization means that bulk temperature at the core outlet is at saturation temperature at primary pressure.
Physical phenomena
Individually, the physics involved in self-pressurization, flashing, natural circulation, condensation, density wave instabilities and neutronic coupling in the reactor are well known. In combination, however, they give rise to numerous feedback loops that influence the reactor dynamics, creating novel situations that are potentially destabilizing and therefore need to be investigated in depth. The phenomena and their consequences are described in detail below.
In the CAREM-25 reactor the steam quality is very low and therefore the largest contribution to the momentum balance is single-phase buoyancy forces. This is shown in simplified diagrammatic form on the left of Figure 1.
Some vapour needs to be created inside the RPV in order to have a constant system pressure. This constraint fixes the core outlet temperature close to the saturation value. Assuming there is no carry-under of bubbles in the downcomer, the vapour created in the hot leg is condensed before entering the cooling devices [carry-under of bubbles in the downcomer and carryover of water to the turbine requires analysis that is neither simple or straightforward; it goes beyond the scope of this article]. Condensation takes place in the upper part of the reactor vessel and is a direct consequence of the heat losses and the interaction between the vapour and cold structures in the steam dome, such as those from the reactivity control mechanism.
The steady state energy balance for the entire circuit yields:
QNuc = QSG + QCond
where QSG is the power extracted by the cooling devices (that is, the steam generators) and QCond the power related to vapour condensation phenomenon.
In operational conditions (QNuc >>QCond), when the power level is decreasing while all other parameters are kept constant, the core mean enthalpy approaches saturation value, so that the core is hotter at low power levels than at nominal conditions. This counter-intuitive result is related to the fact the core inlet enthalpy is not a controlled variable as in conventional reactors.
"Natural circulation is enhanced in this type of reactor by using a high chimney."
Some vapour is created in the core (although the core exit vapour quality is practically zero) and a certain amount of vapour is produced by flashing in the chimney. As shown in Figure 1, density differences between the cold and hot legs cause the water to flow without using pumps. Natural circulation is thus enhanced in this type of reactor by using a high chimney. As the heated coolant flows upwards, the hydrostatic pressure falls, so the saturation temperature decreases. When the saturation enthalpy becomes equal to the (constant) fluid enthalpy in the chimney, flash-boiled vapour appears (see Figure 1). This ex-core boiling increases as the reactor pressure decreases, since at low pressure the saturation enthalpy depends on the axial position. In CAREM-25 flashing is crucial for stability studies when the reactor is starting up (that is, at low pressure) and at nominal conditions.
The vapour produced by flashing enhances the self-pressurization of the system. If the vapour production rate is greater than the condensation rate, the system pressure will increase and the flashing effect will diminish, helping to keep the pressure constant. Vapour production in the chimney directly affects the gravitational pressure drop over this section, so the Type-I feedback mechanism is amplified by void flashing.
Studying uncertainties
The uncertainties relating to the prediction of the resulting coolant mass flow rate need to be carefully studied. Two extreme cases might occur.
In the first case, the total friction in the system might be overestimated and thus friction in reality could be much smaller than estimated. It is well known that two of the crucial parameters influencing the critical heat flux (CHF) are the local quality? and the mass flux G flowing through the channel. The CAREM-25 reactor operates in a particular region of the critical heat flux qcr versus the mass flux G curve, which is characterized by a decrease in qcr when increasing G. In order to clarify this behaviour, Figure 2 is built, for CAREM-25 conditions, by using 1986 AECL-UO Critical Heat Flux Lookup Table, Heat Transfer Engineering 7 (1), 46-62, by DC Groeneveld, S.C. Cheng and T. Doan.
If the real friction in the system is lower than the estimated value, both the mass flux and the mean quality increase (that is, the mean quality becomes less negative), reducing the thermal margin. For this reason it is very important to fix a maximum mass flow rate in the reactor.
In the second case, the total friction in the system might be underestimated, which would imply that the real mass flow rate is much smaller than expected. This might mean the steam generators need to work beyond their design limits, as they are unable to evacuate power as required.
From this simple analysis it is clear that, for a given power, the mass flow rate must remain within a certain range to avoid any undesired consequences. In particular, it must not exceed the design value, in order to preserve the thermal margin.
Despite this limitation, the fact that CAREM-25 operates in such a particular region of the qcr vs. G curve has certain benefits in accidental conditions. When the reactor is SCRAMMED, the mass flux decreases, since the power is considerably reduced. As a result the reactor starts operating in a region with a higher critical power, which helps increase the thermal margin. The same argument can be made if the coolant level accidentally decreases in the RPV.
Reactor stability
"The system might be susceptible to density wave oscillations (DWO), and in particular so-called Type-I instabilities."
Since low thermodynamic quality natural circulation drives the primary flow in the reactor, the system might be susceptible to density wave oscillations (DWO), and in particular so-called Type-I instabilities. This instability mechanism becomes dominant in natural circulation reactors operating at low power and pressure conditions, or when the flow has low thermodynamic quality. Under these conditions, the mass percentage of steam at the core outlet becomes very small. For small flow qualities, the volumetric amount of steam (the void fraction) increases very rapidly as a function of the flow quality. A small reduction in the core inlet flow then leads to a large increase in the volume of steam produced at the core outlet.
In a natural circulation reactor, this causes a low-density wave to travel through the chimney. This enhances the driving head, and the inlet flow will therefore increase. Then the opposite process occurs, and the void fraction in the chimney decreases. Consequently, the driving head becomes smaller, and the flow rate will decrease. This completes one cycle of a Type-I oscillation. The transit time of the voids through the chimney is the main time-constant governing this type of DWO. For this reason, we should consider the stability performance of the reactor.
In order to discuss the CAREM-25 stability performance, a stability map obtained with a dedicated linear model at constant pressure and for a wide range of conditions is presented in Figure 3. The stability boundary is shown, with two more lines that correspond to cases in which the two-phase boundary is located in the core outlet and the chimney middle.
As can be observed, under a certain condensation power, for which the boiling limit? is outside the core, the system shows a significant increase in the amplification factor. This occurs when, without core boiling, enthalpy outside the core is higher than the saturation enthalpy at the chimney outlet, producing vapour by means of flashing. The presence of vapour in the hot leg increases the buoyancy force. The higher the void fraction, the lower the average density in the hot leg and thus the higher the buoyancy force.
If the boiling limit? is located in the chimney, the sensitivity of the buoyancy force to changes in the coolant enthalpy increases. This is because a slight perturbation in the core outlet enthalpy causes a large change in?, which in turn causes a large variation in the buoyancy force. This tends to destabilize the system, decreasing the stability performance when is located between the chimney middle and the core outlet. As a result, when the system is unstable it can be stabilized by either increasing or decreasing QCond. The lower QCond is, the closer is regarding the chimney outlet. Therefore, when the system is unstable, by lowering QCond the two-phase region becomes smaller, reducing the void fraction contribution in the buoyancy force; as a result, it reduces its relative sensitivity. Thus, the oscillations are more efficiently damped, creating a new stability area.
The effect of the neutronic feedback on the system dynamics can be summarized as follows:
One of the most important effects is due to coolant density changes. Where there is a constant heat flux, an increase in the core flow is followed by an enthalpy decrease at the channel outlet and, consequently, an increase in the coolant average density at that point. Because the reactivity coefficient due to coolant density r is positive there is an injection of reactivity. Then the fission power increases, which in turn increases the enthalpy at the core outlet. This tends to balance the thermal hydraulic effect, stabilizing the system.
In addition, the neutronic feedback has a faster response than a Type-I instability mechanism. This is because a change in the average coolant density affects the nuclear core power before the arrival of the enthalpy front to the chimney outlet. This reduces the associated phase delay. This phenomenon has a stabilizing effect in the low frequency oscillations that occur in the CAREM-25. The effect of the core dynamic has a stabilizing effect on the unstable region induced by flashing phenomenon, particularly at relatively high QCond values, when the two-phase boundary is located in the core.
In summary, as a result of competing effects, the Type-I unstable region is limited to cases in which the two-phase boundary limit is located within a region between the core outlet and the chimney middle.
"The results obtained so far regarding the CAREM-25 reactor stability performance are positive"
The results obtained so far regarding the CAREM-25 reactor stability performance are positive, since they show a large region within which the system can be operated with sufficient stability margins. It should be noted that the margin may be considerably improved by slightly increasing the condensation power at the dome. In this way, the reactor operational point can be tuned, optimizing its stability performance.
The subcooled boiling effect
The subcooled boiling effect is expected to have a stabilizing effect in the system. This is explained by the fact that the main destabilizing mechanism in CAREM-25 is density waves travelling through the chimney section, that is, Type-I. In such conditions the increase of the void fraction within the reactor core tends to increase the feedback dynamics due to coolant density variations, which has a stabilizing effect. (When there is a slight change in the two-phase flow within the core, there is a different neutron moderation rate and therefore this affects power production. Such a change also affects the two-phase flow characteristics.) This reasoning agrees well with results found in literature. Moreover, even when operating in the linearly unstable region, the resulting oscillations have a relatively small amplitude. This is explained by the fact that the (destabilizing) two-phase buoyancy term in the momentum equation is considerably smaller than the (non-destabililzing) single-phase buoyancy term.
In the CAREM-25, the coolant from the secondary system flows through helically-coiled tubes located inside the steam generators. The coolant goes from a subcooled liquid state to superheated vapour as it passes through the tubes. As a result, instabilities due to density waves are likely to occur in the secondary side of the SGs. In addition, different heat transfer mechanisms within the SGs determine the axial heat transfer between the coolants from the primary to the secondary side. Due to the inherent complexity of such phenomena an analytical approach was preferred to investigate the system's stability performance. A nodal linear model was developed to model the stability of the helically-coiled tubes in realistic conditions. The model includes friction, acceleration, inertia and gravity effects in each region of the tubes - the subcooled liquid region (preheating zone), boiling region (evaporation zone) and vapour region (superheating zone).
Because the heat transfer mechanisms vary considerably from region to region, the axial power profile |
uality a phase isn't the only annoying misconception we face. Bisexuals are stereotyped as cheaters, lacking commitment, and overly sexualized. Bisexual women are caricatured as attention seekers, whilst bisexual men are assumed to really be gay and unable to "fully" come out of the closet. It's odd how much ignorance there is around bisexuality when we make up the largest part of the LGBT community. Statistics show that, in the United States, 2/3 of LGBT women are bisexual and 1/3 of LGBT men are bisexual. Still, there is a lack of basic understanding, and acceptance of bisexuality. And it is harming us.
The capability of being attracted to someone of a different sex leads people to assert bisexuals aren't "queer" enough to be a part of the LGBT community. Even more so, when bisexuals are in a relationship with someone of a different sex, it appears to be a traditional, heterosexual relationship. Yet, saying bisexuals have some sort of "straight privilege" is a misnomer -- passing is not a privilege. That "privilege" only leads to further invisibility and does not help dispel any of the misconceptions we face.
The other problem is that we face speculation about our identities from both the gay and straight community. The gay and lesbian community find themselves to be just as prejudiced (if not more so) against bisexuals. Bisexuality complicates a narrative that says sexuality is either gay or straight, because it says that you can be romantically and sexually attracted to men, women, and everyone in between. The idea that bisexuality is a phase is rooted in this binary narrative.
The same misconceptions faced in public, bisexuals face with healthcare providers. The bisexual community continually ranks higher health disparities than our gay and straight counterparts. Many of these disparities can be pinpointed to how our healthcare providers handle our sexuality. In a recent study conducted by the UK-based Equality Network, researchers found that nearly half of bisexuals have faced biphobic comments while accessing healthcare services. Similar studies have said the same of US based healthcare services. People, including doctors, who believe that bisexuality is a phase, simply will not take our health issues seriously. Bisexual women face high rates of domestic violence, bisexual men face high rates of contracting STIs (due to biphobia at healthcare spaces); bisexuals are more likely to engage in substance abuse and have an array of mental health issues.
Clearly, acknowledging and learning about bisexuality is incredibly important. I personally hope this education is prioritized, not only to end passing remarks that attempt to delegitimize bisexuality but also in working to end the various health issues bisexuals' face. The "bisexuality is a phase" misconception trickles down into bisexuals' everyday experiences. It erases mine and millions of other bisexuals' existence, making us an invisible minority. My sexuality is valid and perpetuating this misconception is not just insulting, it is harmful in very tangible ways.
Credits
Text Eliel Cruz
Photography MaryAndy Najar is taking a break from the Honduran national team.
Now with Belgian club Anderlecht, the D.C. United academy graduate and 2010 MLS Rookie of the Year released a letter via his agent’s Twitter account on Monday announcing his intention to step away from Los Catrachos.
Najar, 22, said that he’s going on hiatus from Honduras to deal with pressing family issues.
Carta oficial de Andy Najar a los medios de comunicación. pic.twitter.com/cy5N5non16 — chrismegaloudis (@chrismegaloudis) October 19, 2015
Najar made 82 appearances in three seasons with D.C., helping the club to the 2012 Eastern Conference regular season title before leaving for Belgium in January 2013. He has 31 career caps with Honduras, and played in two of the country’s three matches at the 2014 World Cup.
Honduras will kick off the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying next month, taking on Canada at BC Place on Nov. 13 before hosting Mexico in San Pedro Sula on Nov. 17.Get the biggest Newcastle United FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Aleksandar Mitrovic admits his patience is ‘almost to an end’ and says the support of Newcastle fans is ‘keeping him alive’ amid frustration about a lack of gametime.
Since scoring against West Ham in August, Mitrovic has played just 20 minutes of football for the Magpies, although he did serve a three-match suspension during that time.
Newcastle’s goalscoring troubles have been glaringly obvious, but Rafa Benitez has opted against using Mitrovic, keeping faith with Joselu and Dwight Gayle instead.
There has been plenty of reported interest in the 23-year-old, with Brighton and Southampton, as well as clubs in the Championship, Belgium, Italy and China said to be monitoring his situation.
Benitez will unlikely want to sell Mitrovic until he finds a replacement, and while the Serbian says he is remaining patient, he admits he may have to assess the situation in a month’s time.
“I’m patient, but we will see,” said Mitrovic.
“My patience is almost to the end, so we will see. I want to play. I want to be on the pitch. I’m patient, but we will see.
“I see where I am already. I’ve said already that I’m patient, but we will see. I don’t know what to say. I’m here, and we’ll see what’s happening.
(Image: 2017 Getty Images)
“I want to be here. I want to play. I like this club. I train good, I try to use every minute.
“We will see. I’ll try to do my best in the next few weeks.”
While he has struggled for game-time at Newcastle, his form for Serbia has been extraordinary.
Since last June, Mitrovic has scored nine goals in 13 international matches, firing them to next year’s World Cup in Russia.
Despite that, the former Anderlecht forward is concerned a lack of game-time at club level will affect his ability to perform in next year’s showpiece.
“It’s a big thing for the whole country, for all the Serbian players and for all the people in Serbia.
“It’s a big thing for my country, for my family and for all people in Serbia. If you want to do something there, you have to be ready. If I want to be ready, I have to play games and to be on the pitch scoring goals. That’s it.”
One constant of Mitrovic’s time on Tyneside has been the affinity he has held with the supporters.
During the home defeat to Bournemouth, the Serbian’s name was chanted loudly in the terraces and he admits the love of the fans has kept him going.
“This is what’s keeping me alive,” he added.
“Since the beginning, I don’t know why, but we have had a really amazing relationship. I love them, they love me.
“Newcastle is in my heart, and even if I maybe go somewhere, Newcastle will be in my heart.
“I hope I will stay here, but we will see what happens. I will always be a Newcastle United fan all my life. We will see.”
(Image: Iain Buist)
Mitrovic came on for the final seven minutes on Saturday, as the Magpies were beaten 4-1 by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Newcastle caused the Red Devils some problems going forward, but were punished for defensive mistakes.
And Mitrovic says it is these fine margins that can cost you in the Premier League and admits United must learn from Saturday’s defeat.
“We had a good 25-30 minutes. We scored a goal and I think we could have scored one more. We had chances, but we didn’t.
“With big teams like Manchester United, if you don’t score your chances they will punish you. They did and scored two goals after that and in the second half they finished the game.”
He continued: “This (Man United) is a big team - one of the best on the world. They have the best players in the world, so they will use every chance and punish you.
“We made some mistakes and got punished. In the second half, they finished the game. We have to learn from this. Our season is long. We will play again against them and big teams, so we have to learn from this game.”TAKING one pill that combines your medication instead of two might be convenient for the patient but a “scandalous” government loophole means it is costing taxpayers $200 million a year.
And general consumers are worse off when they buy some of these treatments — such as the anti-blood clotting clopidogrel plus aspirin combination, which costs them $15.02 a packet more than if they bought the medicines separately.
A new study to be published on Monday in the Medical Journal Australia has found drug companies are using the new combination therapies to avoid government price cuts to generic medicines.
If the government acted to close the loophole it could save $800 million over the next four years, more than the $750 million it will save under its controversial plan to impose a $6 charge on GP visits.
There are currently more than 20 combination drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and around 10 are more expensive to the government than if patients purchased the medicines separately.
Melbourne University Health economist Professor Philip Clarke describes the loophole as “scandalous” and “one of the greatest loopholes of all time”.
Under our medicines subsidy scheme these combination therapies are initially given subsidy approval because when they are first listed they cost around one cent less than the cost of the main treatment on its own.
But when the main treatment comes off patent and faces generic competition its price is cut dramatically under the government’s price disclosure policy.
Just before this happens the drug company that makes the combination treatment puts another brand of the combination drug on the PBS.
Under a government loophole this means the price of the two drugs in the combination treatment are no longer compared to the cheaper price of their individual components.
Instead, they are compared only to the other combination therapy listed by the same drug company at the same price and they escape any generic price cuts.
Professor Clarke says the most glaring example is the combination therapy that includes amlodipine (for blood pressure) and Atorvastatin (for lowering blood cholesterol). It currently costs the government just $76.10 a month when a patient takes this combination pill but the price to the government would be just $40.78 if the patient purchased the two pills separately.
The government is paying $54.96 for the combination treatment clopidogrel plus aspirin when clopidogrel on its own costs just $20.88 and aspirin cost just $1 a pack in a supermarket.
General consumers who buy this clopidogrel/aspirin combination drug pay $36.90 when they would save $15.02 if they bought the treatments separately.
In most cases it will always be cheaper for pensioners to buy these combination therapies because they only pay $6 for scripts.
Later this year when the price of the anti-cholesterol pill atorvastatin falls again general consumers using the amlodipine and Atorvastatin combination pill will be better off purchasing the drugs separately, Professor Clarke says.
The high prices of these medicines means the UK does not use these combination therapies even though research shows people are more likely to comply with their medicine regime using them.
Professor Clarke says a new pricing framework is needed to ensure combination therapies remain a cost effective option for the government and consumers.Lord Glenconner's multi-million pound fortune left to servant
Servant Kent Adonai inherits 240-acre St Lucia estate, mansion and its contents
Lord Glenconner, the multi-millionaire who bought the Caribbean island of Mustique and gave the Queen’s sister a holiday retreat there, cut his entire family out of his will before he died, I can reveal.
Almost a year after Glenconner’s death at 83, his widow, Lady Anne, and his children and grandchildren have learned to their distress that the eccentric Scottish aristocrat changed his will less than a year before his death — leaving everything to the beloved West Indian manservant who cared for him at his adopted home of St Lucia.
High life: The Lord Glenconner at his home on Mustique in February 1985
Kent Adonai, who worked for Glenconner for years, and who was his driver and companion, has inherited his master’s entire estate in the West Indies, including his beachside house between the Pitons in St Lucia, all its contents and a valley overlooking the Caribbean that is worth millions.
Lady Anne, a former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, had agreed with her late husband that the Caribbean estate would be left to his 17-year-old grandson Cody, now the fourth Baron Glenconner.
She tells me: ‘Unfortunately, he changed his will seven months before he died and not one member of his family was named in this new will — not me, his wife for more than half a century, or any of his children or grandchildren.’
Loyal: Kent Adonai cared for Lord Glenconner at his adopted home of St Lucia
Adonai, 48, has now cleared Glenconner’s beach property of all its contents and is organising a sale of furniture and belongings at Bonhams.
‘Some things belong to me personally. I am hoping those things will be returned to me,’ says Lady Anne.
‘We have looked at the possibility of challenging the will, which would be possible in Britain or America. But under St Lucian law there is no possibility of that.
‘We are hoping Kent will follow what we all knew were my husband’s wishes — namely that Cody would be left his estate in St Lucia.’
Lady Anne had agreed with her late husband that the Caribbean estate would be left to his 17-year-old grandson Cody, now the fourth Baron Glenconner
This weekend, the Glenconner clan, plus scores of friends, are gathering in Scotland for a memorial service for him at Traquair Church, Peeblesshire, followed by a party at the family’s nearby baronial castle, Glen.
Among the 50 guests will be Glenconner’s recently discovered illegitimate son, Joshua Bowler. Glenconner had five other children, though his two eldest sons died before he did.
Kent, who was also invited, will not be there. Instead, he will be represented by his former common-law wife, Mona, who also worked for Glenconner.
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When marriage is the best medicine
Falling in love: Anna and Andrew
When writer Anna Pasternak made an appointment with a therapist to mend her broken heart, she ended up with a remedy she hadn’t bargained for — falling in love with him.
Now, less than a year after meeting, Anna — great niece of Doctor Zhivago author Boris Pasternak — and Andrew Wallas are planning their wedding.
The moment that changed both their lives came shortly after Anna, 43, had completed her course with Andrew. ‘He had to go to Bali and I was on the platform at Carlisle railway station,’ Anna tells me. ‘Andrew rang me and said he had fallen in love with me and I realised I was in love with him. Suddenly, the whole axis of my life tilted as I stood waiting for a train.’
Anna — author of the bestselling Daisy Dooley Does Divorce — and Andrew, 55, are marrying in Florence this September on the first anniversary of that phone call.
It is a second marriage for both of them. Andrew has three grown-up children and Anna, whose first husband was Old Etonian writer Bill Coles, has a seven-year-old daughter by a previous partner.
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Caring v Birley gets personal
For more than two years, they have been exchanging insults like a barrage of champagne corks. Sometimes there is a truce, only for hostilities to quickly break out again.
But the latest incursion between rival club owners Richard Caring and Robin Birley has plunged Mayfair back into a warzone.
Clothing and restaurant tycoon Caring, who bought Annabel’s in Berkeley Square from Birley’s father Mark, is said to be incensed by claims that the club has since gone down-market.
A recent interview with Birley described members as ‘common’, ‘newly-monied types’ and ‘Eurotrash’.
After being contacted by members upset at the brash criticism, Caring is diplomatic, telling me: ‘I was surprised to read Robin’s comments over the weekend, particularly as we had several amicable conversations last week. I have always believed it is appropriate to keep private conversations out of the media.’
But a source close to the businessman says: ‘In view of the fact that 85 per cent of Annabel’s membership was hand-picked by Robin’s late father, this criticism seems a bit rich.
‘The fact is Mark Birley chose not to pass on his clubs to Robin and felt that Richard Caring was the person to preserve his legacy.’
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Elegant: Kirsty Gallacher
Veteran golfer Bernard Gallacher is being left holding the babies by his elegant daughter Kirsty this Father’s Day. Kirsty (above), who is off to Seville for a hen party, tells me: ‘I feel a bit guilty leaving the children with Mum and Dad, but it will be great to have some time to myself.’
The TV presenter’s husband, rugby player Paul Sampson, was at the lively stag do of Zara Phillips’s fiance Mike Tindall last weekend, but Kirsty — who has two sons — insists her event will be more sedate. Speaking at the Evian-sponsored Hurlingham Classic tennis event, she tells me: ‘I’ll be spending most of the weekend in the spa.’
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Have Carole and Michael Middleton made their first social gaffe? I hear the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents — who yesterday were guests of the Queen at Ascot — were expected at the Boodles Tennis Challenge at Stoke Poges, Bucks, on Wednesday.
They were, I am told, to be on a table for ten, but their seats and those of the other guests were left empty.
A spokeswoman for the event at first said: ‘They were certainly invited, but I am not sure if there was anything firmly confirmed.’ Later, she added: ‘It was a very wet day and some matches were cancelled, so quite a few people didn’t turn up.’
A representative of Stoke Park hotel, which hosted the lunch, says: ‘They were expected, but I do not know the details.’
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A genteel opening at the National Portrait Gallery turned into a stand-off between Selina Scott and gallery director Sandy Nairne after the TV presenter took exception to a full-frontal painting of male nudes.
Selina, 60, told Nairne that children would be shocked by Paul Beel’s Beach Painting Odyssey, which depicts a nudist beach in Corfu.
The former newsreader, a guest of her sister Fiona, whose self-portrait was on show, told Nairne at the private view for the BP Portrait Award: ‘My sister’s ten-year-old son, Ted, and 40 children from primary schools in Yorkshire are coming to see Fiona’s painting. They will be confronted with these graphic sights. There should be a warning to the teacher or a sign about what is around the corner.
‘There is a major debate about the sexualisation of children. I think the gallery should take that into account.’
But Nairne tells me: ‘We have many school parties. Teachers usually do their homework over what is on show. There is a sign at the start of the exhibition warning that there is some nudity. Selina must have missed it.’
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Ps Vacuum entrepreneur Sir James Dyson was less than impressed by Lord Sugar’s rationale for firing Apprentice hopeful Glenn Ward, a design engineer. ‘I’ve never come across an engineer who can turn his hands to business,’ Sugar loftily declaimed.
Multi-millionaire Sir James tells me: ‘It’s a shame this mindset still exists. We needs engineers in order to compete — you can’t reshape the economy on old business values.Synagogue under restoration will not be turned into museum, says top official
EDİRNE
The historical Büyük Synagogue (Great Synagogue), built in 1907 in the village of Kaleiçi, has been under restoration since 2010 with a budget of 3.7 million Turkish Liras. DHA photos
A historical synagogue under restoration in the northwestern province of Edirne will not be turned into a museum, a top state official has said, despite earlier remarks from the province’s governor.“All decisions regarding the functions of the buildings owned by the Directorate General of Foundations are taken by the directorate,” Foundations Director General Adnan Ertem told Anadolu Agency on Nov. 22.“Our intentions is to keep that building as a house of worship to serve all visitors,” he added.Edirne Gov. Dursun Şahin created uproar when he told reporters on Nov. 21 that he ordered the historical Büyük Synagogue (the Great Synagogue), built in 1907 in the village of Kaleiçi, to be turned into a museum, citing the recent Israeli raid on al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.“While those bandits blow winds of war inside al-Aqsa and slay Muslims, we build their synagogues,” Şahin said.“I say this with a huge hatred inside me. We clean their graveyards, send their projects to boards. But the synagogue here will be registered only as a museum, and there will be no exhibitions inside it.”However, Ertem vowed that the building, which has been under restoration since 2010 on a budget of 3.7 million Turkish Liras, would serve both as a place of worship and visit, similar to Süleymaniye and Sultanahmet mosques.“All visitors should be able easily pray there, which is the biggest synagogue in Europe. That is our intention” said Ertem.The Jewish community in Turkey had applied to the governor’s office to have sermons and wedding ceremonies at the synagogue, whose restoration is almost complete.A main opposition lawmaker has called for the governor’s resignation for his remarks.“If Şahin does not resign to save the dignity of his post and Turkey’s honor, he should be removed from his post immediately,” Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Aykan Erdemir said in a written statement.It is shameful for a public official to make such remarks, added Erdemir, who argued that “hatred and anti-Semitism have seized the state.”Earlier this month, clashes occurred between Israeli police and Palestinians at the entrance to the 8th-century al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third most sacred place.Palestinian officials said Israeli forces had crossed the threshold of the mosque for the first time since 1967, while Israeli police denied going into the house of worship.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed Israel over the action, warning both Israel and the international community that an Israeli offensive on the al-Aqsa Mosque may pave the way for a “new intifada,” leading to troubles that might spread across the world and not be limited to the Middle East.Alam T.
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visit his mother, saying that prison authorities had refused his request to telephone her when she was unwell."They told me 'it's forbidden for security reasons,' but she was there on the day of victory and it is she who fed me and gave me a drink," he said.The bespectacled 37-year-old, thin and with a long beard, was released before dawn in an apparent effort to limit attention to the move, initially expected at midday.A spokeswoman for the Israeli Prison Authority confirmed the release but provided no other details.Islamic Jihad congratulated Adnan in a statement for his "victory" and said a celebration was being organised in his village of Arraba.Adnan had been held for a year under administrative detention, which allows imprisonment without charge for renewable periods of six months indefinitely.Of the 5,686 Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel, 379 are detained under the procedure.His hunger strike, which had brought him near death by the time it concluded last month, had sparked warnings from the Palestinian government that it held Israel responsible for his fate.Regular protests were organised in his support.Adnan ended his hunger strike on June 28 after Israel agreed to release him, at which point he was transferred to an Israeli hospital.An Israeli official said at the time that the deal was made possible after Adnan withdrew his demand that Israel undertake never again to place him under administrative detention.The official said Adnan's deteriorating health and appeals from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestinian Authority had contributed to the decision to release him.He was detained a year ago, shortly after the kidnapping and murder of three young Israelis, which triggered the arrests of hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.The killings were part of an upsurge in violence in the run-up to the 2014 Gaza war.Adnan had previously gone on hunger strike for 66 days in 2012 to protest against his detention.He was released at the end of the protest, during which he had ingested vitamins and salt.He refused to swallow anything except water during his most recent detention.A long list of Palestinian prisoners have gone on hunger strike, including nearly 2,000 in 2012 to protest against the administrative detention policy.The Israeli government in mid-June renewed efforts for legislation that would allow prisoners to be force-fed when their lives are in danger, sparking criticism from health experts and rights groups.The bill was initially approved by the government in June 2014 at the height of another mass hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners during which 80 were hospitalised. The Palestinian leadership submitted a report to the International Criminal Court last week that included the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.In a widely expected move, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority has approved an $878 million construction contract to build the new 49ers football stadium.
By a 5-1 vote Tuesday night, the stadium authority — composed of the seven City Council members — approved hiring Turner-Devcon to build the stadium, which is now scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2014 season.
Councilman Will Kennedy voted no, saying he thought the authority should wait until a legal challenge regarding a referendum over a loan approval vote on the stadium is settled. Councilwoman Jamie McLeod was ill and not present at the meeting.
The authority also approved the hiring of Hathaway Consulting as the project manager.
Under the terms of the contract with Turner-Devon, construction on the 68,500-seat stadium is scheduled to begin by July 1, six months earlier than expected. The entire project is projected to cost about $1 billion.
The deal includes large fines — $6 million per game — if the stadium is not done by the start of the 2014 football season. But Turner-Devcon will receive a $5 million bonus if the project is finished ahead of schedule.
Turner Construction is a huge New York City-based firm that has three Bay Area offices, including one in San Jose. It has worked on NFL stadium projects for the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles. Devcon Construction is much smaller and based in Milpitas.
Contact Lisa Fernandez at 408-920-5002.Google announced the Duo video chat app (and the messaging app Allo) at Google I/O this year, saying only that we'd see the final release later this summer. Well, here we are. Google Duo is beginning its global rollout right now. It's still showing as "pre-registration" for us right now, but it's finally happening. No sign of Allo yet.
Duo is designed to be a simple 1-on-1 video chat client without all the complications and baggage of Hangouts. It's based on your phone number, so you can chat with anyone in your contact list that has Duo—it's compatible with both Android and iOS out of the gate. It's just one tap to start a call. When someone hits you up on Duo, you'll also see a live video of them before you answer; like a digital peephole. Google calls this Knock Knock. Sound annoying? You can turn it off, and iOS users won't see Knock Knock previews at all unless the app is already open.India has successfully conducted a flight test of its indigenously designed Advanced Air Defense (AAD)/ Ashvin Advanced Defense interceptor missile on Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal, home to the Indian military’s primary missile test facility, the so-called Integrated Test Range, on March 1, according to the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD).
The missile test was overseen by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the MoD’s research and development wing. The test firing from a mobile missile launcher occurred at 10:15 a.m. local time. According to the MoD, the missile interceptor destroyed the incoming target with a direct hit at an altitude of 15 kilometers. “All the mission objectives were successfully met,” the statement reads.
Like during previous tests, the target simulating an incoming ballistic missile was presumably launched from an Indian warship in the Bay of Bengal.
“The weapon system radars tracked the target and provided the initial guidance to the interceptor which could precisely home on to the target and destroyed it in endo-atmospheric layer,” the statement continues. “The complete event including the engagement and destruction was tracked by a number of electro-optical tracking systems using infrared imagery. Radars and telemetry stations tracked the target and the interceptor till the destruction of the target.”
As I explained elsewhere, the single stage solid rocket propelled AAD/Ashin interceptor missile is part of a two-layered ballistic missile defense (BMD) system:
Following the end of the Kargil War and in reaction to China and Pakistan’s growing missile arsenals, India has been working since 1999 on a two-tiered ballistic missile defense system with the PAD [Prithvi Air Defense] and PDV [Prithvi Defense Vehicle] designed to destroy missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 50–150 kilometers (some sources say 180 kilometers) and the Advanced Air Defense (AAD)/ Ashvin Advanced Defense interceptor missile endo-atmosphere at altitudes of 20-40 kilometers. The BMD system can allegedly intercept medium range ballistic missiles traveling at speeds of Mach 3 to Mach 8. PAD and PDV are designed for mid-course interception, whereas AAD is a terminal phase interception system capable of intercepting missiles after they enter the earth’s atmosphere.
As I reported last month, India also successfully conducted a test of the new PDV exo-atmospheric interceptor missile slated to replace the existing Prithvi Air Defense (PAD)/Pradyumna Ballistic Missile Interceptor. “Among other things, the new two-stage solid-fueled PDV interceptor is fitted with an Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker, developed by DRDO, to distinguish between incoming warheads and decoys,” I explained.
India last test fired the Ashvin interceptor from a mobile launcher in May 2016, where it successfully destroyed an incoming Dhanush ballistic missile, the naval variant of the Prithyi III tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile with a range of 350 kilometers (217 miles), at endo-atmospheric altitudes. Like previous tests, the March 1 missile launch will likely lead to strong condemnation from Pakistan, which in January test fired a new medium range ballistic missile purportedly capable of carrying multiple warheads using Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.In a rare moment of clarity, Texas voters say they believe transgender people face more discrimination than any other minority in the US, according to a a new poll.
The poll from The University of Texas and The Texas Tribune found that 73 percent of voters believe transgender people face “a lot” or “some” discrimination. That’s compared to 72 percent who said they believe Muslims face discrimination, 70 percent who said gays and lesbians face discrimination, and 68 percent who said they believe African-Americans face discrimination.
Not surprisingly, the poll reveals a major split in attitudes about discrimination between Tea Party Republicans and the rest of the state’s voters:
“There is an enormous divide here,” said Daron Shaw, co-director of the poll and a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin. While 72 percent of all respondents said there is either “a lot” or “some” discrimination against Muslims in the U.S., only 49 percent of voters who identified themselves as Tea Party Republicans thought so. And 70 percent of all respondents said gays and lesbians face discrimination, but only 45 percent of Tea Party Republicans and 45 percent of Hispanics thought so. … More than half of respondents — 52 percent — said Christians face discrimination, a view shared by 68 percent of Republicans and only 30 percent of Democrats, by 60 percent of registered voters over 65 years of age and only 39 percent of voters under 30.
In perhaps the most telling example of right-wing insanity, 62 percent of Tea Party Republicans believe white people are discriminated against in the US, according to the poll. Which is why it wasn’t terribly surprising to learn that the leader of the racist hate group that influenced mass murderer Dylann Roof is from Texas.
But when it comes to LGBT issues at least, and aside from the Tea Party, Texas voters appear to be evolving. Back in May, a poll found that 63 percent of Texas voters — including 52 percent of Republicans — support statewide LGBT protections, and that 52 percent oppose anti-LGBT religious exemption laws.INTRODUCTION
The growing friendship between Russia and Turkey in recent years was a problem for Europe. But their recent bust-up – after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet over Syria in November 2015 – is an even bigger one.
The two countries were drawn together in the last decade by growing economic ties and the rapport between their strongman leaders, threatening to create an anti-Western axis on Europe’s borders. But the downing of the jet thrust them into a confrontation that could spiral into proxy war in Syria and damage Europe’s effort to cope with the refugee crisis, according to a new paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“With friends like these: Turkey, Russia, and the end of an unlikely alliance”, argues that Europe can’t afford for their conflict to grow more intense. The Syrian war, the refugee crisis, and the Kurdish question are deeply intertwined. And Turkey is not only a NATO member and EU candidate, but a key part of planned Russian energy routes to Europe.
Tensions first began to rise as the one-time friends were sucked into the regional struggle for Syria – while Russia backed Assad, Turkey agitated for regime change. As the alliance unravelled, Moscow broke the silent pact that neither side would support the other’s separatists, and made moves to befriend the Kurds. For its part, Ankara slunk back towards NATO and the West.
An all-out clash between two major powers on Europe’s borders is not in anyone’s interest. The chance of a direct military confrontation between the two powers has receded – for now – as Turkish forces avoid Syrian airspace and Ankara moderates its ambitions for regime change. Still, a return to normal will take a long time.
Europe should take this chance to push Turkey in the right direction – back towards democracy and European values, and away from Russian-style nationalism and crony capitalism. The paper argues that Europe should work to draw Turkey back into its sphere, building on the refugee deal and visa liberalisation, and encourage Ankara to diversify its energy supplies away from Russia.
At the same time, Europe should increase its role in the Syria talks, helping to de-conflict Russian and Turkish actions in the country. It should develop its own Kurdish policy, facilitating talks between Turkish and Syrian Kurdish forces, to help reduce tensions within Turkey and ensure that Europe is not left out of the high-stakes game that the US and Russia are playing in the region.
Author Asli Aydintasbas said:
“Turks and Russians have found the perfect enemy in one another, providing an excuse for their overseas adventures. For Russians, Turkey is once again ‘the sick man of Europe’ – a term Tsar Nicholas I coined for the Ottomans before the Crimean War– that needs to be reminded of its limitations. For Turks, Russia provides a convenient excuse not to own up to its mistakes on the Kurdish issue and its failing Syrian policy.”
“A reconciliation is unlikely in the short term, barring a public mea culpa by Erdoğan or a major reversal in his Syria policy, dropping plans for regime change and the creation of opposition-controlled zones. Efforts to de-escalate are evident in both Ankara and Moscow – but Syria remains a quicksand that could engulf both powers. No one can guarantee that Russia would not shoot down a Turkish fighter jet tomorrow if one flew over Syrian territory. But a more likely scenario is avoidance, a gradual return to economic activity, and over the next few years, begrudging acceptance of one another.”
“Europe has a vested interest in Turkey’s economic well-being, stability, and political model, as it is a significant NATO ally and a candidate for EU membership. Turkey’s burgeoning alliance with Putin’s Russia was an unrecognised problem for Europe because it meant the rise of a consciously illiberal axis that positioned itself as an alternative to the European model. However, Turkey’s falling out with Russia has not resulted in Ankara’s immediate return to European values.”
“Europe also has much at stake in the Syrian conflict, given the impact of the refugee crisis. This is particularly the case in northern Syria, where the Turkish-Russian rivalry is playing out and the US is focusing its efforts against ISIS. However, Europeans are largely absent from the international debate on Syria. Europe should start thinking about bringing stability to the country, not just counting the number of refugees.”EVERETT, Wash. -- A man who struggled with officers when he was arrested and later at the Snohomish County Jail died early Thursday morning in a restraint chair.
The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, which comprises detectives from several agencies, is investigating.
Authorities say Everett police arrested the man, 35 and from Everett, for attempted vehicle prowl and obstruction. He struggled with arresting officers.
At the jail he continued to resist. Jail medical staff tried to de-escalate the situation and monitor the man's vital sings.
Jail staff used a Taser on him, but he continued to resist.
Authorities say he was then put in a restraint chair. He became non-responsive. Life-saving measures were used, 911 was called and Everett firefighters arrived and continued life-saving measures.
He was later pronounced dead.Late in his new book, Chuck Klosterman suggests that he has “temporarily rented an apartment inside your skull.” This notion is totally true of real life too, because after hanging out with him for a few hours, I feel like I’m talking to myself. But Klosterman isn’t telepathic, he’s just a regular guy with a super-brain. Or, as he says in his new book, “an uninteresting version of an abnormal person.” Now, after over a decade of being one of the defining voices of cultural criticism, he’s willing to admit that he might have been wrong all along. Or rather, maybe everyone is wrong.
But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If it Were the Past is Klosterman’s ninth book and a kind of culmination of his critical writing up to this point. Its central thesis is deceptively simple: throughout history, humankind has been wrong about all sorts of things from science, to politics, to popular culture. Meaning, maybe it’s time to start incorporating our inherent wrongness into our current beliefs about the future, or as he puts it: “it’s impossible to answer questions we refuse to ask.” What emerges is a stimulating, hilariously enthralling read that doubles as both armchair futurism and an intellectual trip to the gym. Throughout the book, Klosterman attempts to make all sorts of futuristic predictions — from literature, to science, and even football — all with his new reflexive probable wrongness principle in place.
A few weeks ago, I sat down with Klosterman for lunch in Brooklyn to discuss his journey as a nonfiction writer, the topsy-turvy mental flips of his latest book, and whether or not he is now a bonafide member of the scientific community.
At the beginning of your new book, you say “My argument requires a successful futurist to anticipate whatever it is that can’t possible be anticipated.” Here, you introduce Klosterman’s Razor: “…the philosophical belief that the best hypothesis is the one that reflexively accepts its potential wrongness to begin with.” Help me get inside the mind of a guy who creates a potentially contradictory premise in chapter one. It’s like you’re breaking intellectual promises while you’re making them.
I just think that’s how it is! I mean, I did sort have a real break with criticism in the ‘90s without even recognizing it. I was working at newspapers and there was sort of unspoken set of rules for criticism which were things like: you should never use words like “kind of or “sort of” or “arguably” or “to some degree.” You weren’t supposed to use those qualifiers. The argument being that those words make the writing weaker. But this seemed to overlook a pretty obvious reality that the object [of criticism] is not to trick people into thinking you are right, even if you are unsure. I feel like my goal is to accurately reflect how I actually feel about things. So, there’s going to be tons of contradictions in that! There’s nothing that I’m going to think about seriously that isn’t at times going to collide with its own self.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 21: Moderator Chuck Klosterman attends the 'Mad Men' special screening at The Film Society of Lincoln Center on March 21, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
To me, the aim of this book is similar to the aim of good science fiction. How would you feel about But What If We’re Wrong? being classified as a work of nonfiction that is also science fiction?
Well, if this was the first nonfiction book that was considered science fiction, I’d be fucking ecstatic! But I don’t know if that’s true, because I think a lot of futurism is nonfiction science fiction.
Sure, but I mean the that this reflexive idea of yours — “maybe we’re wrong” — is built into good science fiction. It’s not like Arthur C. Clarke was like “Oh, man, I’m so pissed I got those spaceships wrong.” It’s not like the writers of the ‘60’s Star Trek were disappointed there wasn’t a world war in the ‘90s.
Well, the thing is with futurism and, I guess, in reality, this book, is that it all has a real parachute attached – in the sense that we’re all going to be dead when any of these theories will be proven true or false. You know, it’s [futurism] a different way to look at criticism. Like, take Car Seat Headrest for example. He’s this super young new musician who has like 15 albums on band camp. Super talented. Like the most talented young person I’ve seen in rock in a long time. Now, if I write about him, I’m writing about what his career will be for all of us. But when I write about the idea of [the future of] rock I’m writing about things we’ll never experience. What I like about the second idea is that takes away the… world. It just makes it stay in your mind. Almost everything in this book — if it has any sort of existence outside of the year it comes out or whatever — is still going to be people thinking about a world they’ll never experience.
Here is the soundtrack to BUT WHAT IF WE'RE WRONG? It's like reading the book very fast with your eyes closed. https://t.co/UfFjrxns9V — Chuck Klosterman (@CKlosterman) May 27, 2016
The primary tenet of the book is that we live in an age of “casual certitude.” Toward the end, you talk about how there’s a ton of internet articles claiming “You’re Doing It Wrong,” and how that’s actually a way of people being able to constantly say that they’re right. Do you think, that for whatever reason, that in the past 10 years or so, its become more popular to be emphatically right about things?
It feels that way. But, you know, sometimes the ways something feels and the way things are can be distant. But that’s definitely how it seems. And I think the most plausible explanation as to why is probably the volume of criticism being written now. There isn’t really sort of authoritative criticism anymore, people don’t take it as seriously as they used to take someone like Pauline Kael. Nothing is as serious anymore and there’s more of it. So, I think the way to succeed in the attention economy seems to be demanding that you’re correct! And almost building in a sentiment that people who disagree with you are not just wrong but ridiculous!
I love how this book could only be a book. In the introduction you make great pains to point out that this is not a collection of essays. In the chapter on literature, you say the way books are written is inherently different than writing for the internet. Why is it so hard to convince people of this difference?
That’s a big question. Because, a couple things have happened. One thing is that the internet has changed the way people read in a general sense. We used to read horizontally and now we mostly read vertically. And that’s a pretty profound change because it’s not as though people can easily switch back between the two. So, even when people read books they’re reading them a little bit like they’re reading the internet. They’re reading down.
Like a lot of people, I felt much smarter when I was dumber.
Plus, everything on the internet just appears in blocks of copy. Because of that, I think it tricks your mind into thinking that every paragraph is an autonomous idea. Therefore you don’t really have to write transitions and transitions are what writing really is. Transitions are connecting unlike ideas. But, if you don’t have to do that, it really simplifies the process. And, I think, to a lot of people, if you try to argue that writing a book is like, in some ways, more difficult that writing on the internet; one, they think you’re being condescending and two, they perceive it like well, I prefer the way the internet is.” Like they prefer reading that way. Nobody would say they prefer to read vertically. But they do.
The Internet is expository. And sometimes it wants to tell you exactly how you will feel. So, for people who might be ten years younger than you, they look at writing maybe the same way teenagers in the late ‘60s in San Francisco looked at relationships. Like they just couldn’t believe that the people who came before them said “you can’t just have sex with whoever you want!” And they were like are you fucking crazy!?” And this seems to create an atmosphere where it’s more acceptable on the internet to just declare that you’re right. It’s like because people take everything a little less seriously, it seems like you can say crazier things.
There’s a lot of subjects covered in the book. The future of pop music. The future of literature. The future of football. But there’s some stuff you don’t cover. And you even have a section in the book where you talk about why you don’t cover climate change.
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The thing with writing about not putting climate change stuff in this book was sort of threefold thing. One, which I kind of state, is that it [climate change] is a measurable thing. You can measure the carbon in the air. It’s not really something we have to speculate about. Second, is that it’s not like everyone thinks the same thing about it. I mean, theres already a pretty dynamic argument there. But, the biggest reason for cutting a lot of climate change stuff from the book was because there are certain issues, that because of their political underpinnings, if written about, have a negative effect on apolitical ideas.
So, I didn’t want someone to be so impacted by their entrenched position on an issue that they can’t read about music, television and sports with an open mind. I mean, this has happened to me so many times in my life. There are soccer fans who will hate everything I ever write because of my soccer essay in Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs For some people, that alone, is the prism through which they see everything else. And that’s an unavoidable problem, and in some ways you have to be happy about it almost because your work has impacted people. But, it takes away the neutrality of intellectualism.
Book cover for *But What If We're Wrong?* (Yes, it's supposed to be upside-down.)
I live in hope every day that the Fermi Paradox is false and that I will meet aliens in my lifetime. What’s the most improbable, unscientific notion you believe or hope is real?
I kind of do think we’re living in a simulation. But I don’t really hope that’s the case. Though I will say there would be something reassuring about that realization. It removes so many problems about reality. Things that don’t make any sense would suddenly make sense. Ghosts. Coincidences. Most pressingly, there seems to be within the existence of being a person, something telling us that there is force that made this happen. And yet, life seems so unfair and arbitrary. So, when we think of a god, there’s a contradiction. But, if we’re living in a simulation, and it’s just a [regular] person running that simulation, then there’s no contradiction at all.
In the chapter titled “The World That Is Not There,” you talk about the infamous internet dress and then you talk about Homer and the Aegean Sea and how it’s described as “wine-dark.” In the discussion about whether humans can even agree on objective colors you say “it’s either meaningful or meaningless which is probably why no one will ever stop talking about it.” Are all searches for objective truth caught up in the debates we experienced with the internet dress? Does that mean objective truth is DOA?
I don’t know if objective truth is DOA. It exists. There is an objective answer. What may be impossible is the irrefutable understanding and acceptance that this answer is a universal truth. If we have a box in the corner — one we cannot see —and we throw a six-sided die into the box, we could then talk forever about which digit the die landed on. But if we can’t go into the box and look, we’ll never know. And I think that’s most of life.
Can you retroactively apply “Klosterman’s razor” to your early work? Looking at places where you reflexively knew you might have been wrong?
Fargo Rock City was a book about hair metal, so going into it I knew that what I was asserting contradicted the complete universe of music…so I suppose, I thought to myself: “I believe this, but my belief is misguided, but I’m going to do it anyways, because I want to read book like this, so I guess I gotta write this book.” Lets see. What else. In Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs there’s stuff in there that’s wrong, but that’s mostly because I was wrong.
A younger (wronger) Klosterman
What do you mean?
When I talk about the media in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs[the chapter titled ‘’All I Know is What I Read in the Papers”], I hadn’t yet experienced media in New York. In places like Akron, the idea of the journalist striving to be objective is real. But New York is different. I dont find a lot of objective journalists in New York, even though I will say there’s some of the best journalists in New York. Their talent is much higher here. But it’s not objective. People look at journalism as advocacy in New York. So, if you read “All I Know is What Read in the Papers,” I think if someone had a lot of experience in New York media, they’d read that and say “that’s not true.” But when I was in Fargo and Akron, and a band was coming to town that I liked, the papers I worked for would see that as a reason to not let me write about that band. In New York, they actually want the fans doing the journalism. Which is okay, because the value of journalism here is placed on expertise over objectivity.
When you interviewed Neil DeGrasse Tyson you described his posture. Like, it seemed as though he was hostile.
I think he thought me interviewing him was a set-up. I think he thought I was some kind of climate change denier. He was unusually defensive. But, when I interviewed Brian Greene, he was immediately like this is crazy, but I love it!
Do you think there’s a little bit of a disconnect between the scientific community and everybody else?
Sure. Anytime you hear about an issue and its said “the scientific community almost unilaterally agrees…” I always wonder who does that extend to? If you’re a high school science teacher does that count? Someone with a vested interest in science? You own a telescope? What’s the cut off? I always used to assume the scientific community was small, but now I wonder if it’s actually too big. I’ve written a book now, with a section on science. Can I say I’m part of the scientific community? Am I a science writer now? I don’t think so, but I’ve written about science! By definition I am! Science has fundamentally replaced religion in society, which is mostly good, but problematic. For me, the difference between science and religion is like saying “we’re going to replace farming with cooking.” They’re kinda related!
Can you make a prediction about anything happening this year that would withstand your own analysis?
I don’t think so. But, I will say, I don’t think it’s mathematically possible for Trump to win the election.
But What If We’re Wrong publishes this week from Blue Rider Press(Penguin Random House)
This interview has been edited for clarity.KIEV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian government warned on Friday it could take “more concrete actions” next week if pro-Russian separatists do not end their occupations of public buildings under the terms of an international accord.
Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia gave no details and Kiev has threatened to use force before to little effect. The minister also said that, despite demands from the separatists in the east, the government saw no need under its deal with Russia to dismantle the pro-European Maidan camp in Kiev.
Asked whether there was a deadline for implementing the agreement on clearing occupied buildings, Deshchytsia told a news conference that he hoped this weekend’s Easter holidays might ease tension and let monitors from Europe’s OSCE security body oversee the process. He noted an amnesty was on offer.
“Hopefully, if those people are ready to leave the buildings, to surrender weapons, today, tomorrow, so we can encourage the OSCE mission to negotiate, to mediate and implement this,” he said in English.
“But if this will not start in a few days, I think that after Easter there will more concrete actions.”
He echoed other officials in saying that an “anti-terrorist” operation announced last week was continuing - though there has been little evidence of attempts to use force on the ground.
“Its intensity will depend on the practical implementation of this accord, on the real evacuation of occupied buildings and the handing over of weapons,” he said of the operation.
Russia, Ukraine, the United States and European Union have agreed that: “All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated.”
Pro-Russian separatists have said they will not leave until activists whose protests helped topple the pro-Moscow president in February evacuate their barricaded camp known as Maidan.
But Deshchytsia said: “This is about streets and buildings which are illegally occupied by protesters. As far as I know, Maidan is legal.”
Many of those on Maidan are suspicious of the government that took power through parliament after President Viktor Yanukovich fled to Russia and they say they will remain in place until after a presidential election scheduled for May 25.Women without the shackles of dependent children are more likely to be the main breadwinners in their household, a major study shows.
But women with dependent children continue to do the lioness' share of housework, slaving an average of 15 hours more on housework and 15 hours more on child-rearing than men.
These insights into the home life of Australians come from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia study (known as HILDA) by the University of Melbourne and edited by Associate Professor Roger Wilkins. It is Australia's only large-scale longitudinal household study.
''It is absolutely true that the decision to have children has big impacts on women's employment and earnings – big negative impacts,'' Professor Wilkins said.
''I would like to think most women know that their labour-market fortunes are going to take a hit from having children, but is the hit bigger than they expected or bigger than it should be? Possibly yes,'' he said.Nations Agree To Establish World's Largest Marine Reserve In Antarctica
Enlarge this image toggle caption Natacha Pisarenko/AP Natacha Pisarenko/AP
After years of negotiations, nations have reached an agreement to establish the world's largest marine sanctuary in Antarctica's Ross Sea.
Twenty-four countries and the European Union reached the unanimous deal at an international meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in Hobart, Australia on Friday.
"The Ross Sea is widely considered to be the last great wilderness area on Earth and known as the polar 'Garden of Eden'," according to a statement from the United Nations Environment Programme. The area is home to "50 per cent of ecotype-C killer whales (also known as the Ross Sea orca), 40 per cent of Adélie penguins, and 25 per cent of emperor penguins."
At 600,000 square miles, the sanctuary covers an area twice the size of Texas, as reporter Stuart Cohen tells our Newscast unit.
"The U.S. and New Zealand have been pushing for the reserve for years," Cohen adds. "But the area is also popular among commercial fishermen. And countries including China and Russia have been holding out, until today."
The agreement is "remarkable" at a time of "strained political relations," as U.N. Environment's Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh says in a statement.
"In 1959 at the height of the Cold War, Antarctica was set aside as a place for peace and science," Pugh says. "Today's announcement shows that Antarctica continues to be a place for peace and bridge building, a place where we can find common ground. My hope is that what has been achieved here, can be used to foster dialog and cooperation in other parts of the world."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calls this agreement "extraordinary progress" that "didn't happen by accident." Here's more:
"It happened thanks to many years of persistent scientific and policy review, intense negotiations, and principled diplomacy. It happened because our nations understood the responsibility we share to protect this unique place for future generations."
Individual countries have established protected areas in their own waters. For example, President Obama recently expanded a marine national monument off the coast of Hawaii to a size nearly as large as this one.
But the Ross Sea sanctuary is only the second-ever marine protected area on the high seas, according to the CCAMLR. The first was established in the South Orkney Islands in 2009 and covered 58,000 square miles in the south Atlantic.
The agreement will come into force in December. Seventy-two percent of the sanctuary "will be a 'no-take zone, which forbids all fishing, while other sections will permit some harvesting of fish and krill for scientific research," the CCAMLR says.
Scientists will be able to compare the impact of areas closed to fishing with other areas where fishing is allowed, according to the CCAMLR. "This enables scientists to research the relative impacts of fishing and other changes, such as those arising from climate change," and "can help our understanding of the range of variables affecting the overall status and health of marine ecosystems."Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson backs Roberto Firmino to get even better at Anfield
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson admits he did not know much about Roberto Firmino before the Brazilian arrived at Anfield - but now expects him to get even better.
Firmino joined the Reds from Hoffenheim in a £29m deal in June, and following a slow start at the club, has played a pivotal role, scoring a goal in each of his last three matches.
The Brazil international played a part in both goals during Liverpool's 2-0 Europa League win over Manchester United last Thursday. He played in Nathaniel Clyne, who was subsequently felled to win a penalty, before scoring the second himself.
Firmino netted his third goal in as many games against Manchester United last Thursday
Skipper Henderson has revealed he has been impressed by the 24-year old, and is expecting him to go from strength to strength.
"Being completely honest, I had seen very little of him before he arrived here," Henderson told the Liverpool magazine.
"Naturally, he needed some time to settle in but he's been brilliant for us, especially over the last few months.
Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson is backing Roberto Firmino to go from strength to strength at the club
"He's a very, very good player with a lot of skill who also works extremely hard for the team. He's provided goals and I think he's much more robust than people realise, he's quite wiry.
"Now it's about him continuing to grow and get even better."
Another |
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There will be written contributions by the musicians and behind the scenes stories of the many images I captured at Marin venues — including the original Sweetwater, Bob Weir’s TRI Studios, Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads, Sweetwater Music Hall and many others.
Bob Weir and Phil Lesh at Terrapin Crossroads
Steve Kimock's 60th Birthday show
Ratdog ~ TRI Studios ~ 1/25/12
Marin County, just north of San Francisco, has been home to countless musicians and bands for decades. The opening of Terrapin Crossroads and Sweetwater Music Hall in 2012, spurred a musical renaissance that has continued to grow. These clubs have become destinations for music lovers from all over who are eager to see their favorite bands up close and personal in these intimate venues.
From my days as Senior Photographer for Relix Magazine, to my tenure as chief package designer for Grateful Dead Productions, and current House Photographer at Sweetwater Music Hall, I’ve enjoyed unique access to these incredible musicians and insight into the music scene we love. And I want to share it all with you all, near and far!
Hot Tuna at Sweetwater
Bill Kirchen in the Terrapin Crossroads Bar
All the books printed for this campaign will be considered First Edition and will contain a unique thank you page that will not be in any subsequent editions, should there be any additional printings. This page will list the names of all backers.
This book will cost upwards of $30,000 to produce, publish and deliver, and funds raised from this Kickstarter campaign will help pay to get it made and in your hands to enjoy forever.
I am grateful for any help from you, and have created rewards that will make it worth your while! Please consider the $50 level of support that will serve as an advance purchase of the book.
Bob Weir, Dona Jean Godchaux and John Perry Barlow backstage at the old Sweetwater
Leaping Lukas Nelson
Mickey Hart and Pete Sears
Hanging out in San Rafael with Phil Lesh and Friends
THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED will be available in two formats, Standard Edition and Collector’s Edition.
STANDARD EDITION:
First Edition Hardcover book
Personally signed by Bob Minkin
208 pages (approximately)
Size: 9”x 12” inches
High quality, heavy weight acid-free matte paper
Spot varnish on the photos to make them glow.
COLLECTOR’S EDITION:
The Standard Edition book with alternate cover
Limited edition of 150
Personally signed and numbered by Bob Minkin
Gorgeous clamshell case
Fly Sheet
Includes an original signed and numbered 8.5” x 11” photograph of Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh (pictured below in “Rewards”). This print is exclusive to the COLLECTOR'S EDITION, and will not be available again in this format.
COLLECTOR'S EDITION—This photograph of Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh will be included in the COLLECTOR'S EDITION book (limited edition of 150). Personally signed and numbered by Bob Minkin.
Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh - Fairfax, CA 8/22/81
$20 Reward Level—The 5.5 x 8.5 inch cards (limited edition of 100) will feature this photograph of Jerry Garcia playing in Marin County. Personally signed and numbered by Bob Minkin.
Jerry Garcia - Fairfax, CA 8/22/81
Website—At the conclusion of this Kickstarter campaign, Bob will create a website for the book, where all supporters at the $15 level and up will be listed on our website’s page of special contributors so people can see that you were part of THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED.
The internet has made it possible for us to enjoy many things from our computers and mobile devices; but there are still some things that cannot be replicated on a computer screen. A book resonates with the viewer in a deeper way. There is personal investment involved in taking the time to turn the pages of a book and appreciate the tactile nature of the medium; time moves differently as you pause to admire the details in an image that you might have otherwise quickly scrolled past on a screen.
Using Kickstarter as a platform for preorders allows me to deliver a beautiful book directly to you for a fraction of the price. The upfront cost to produce and deliver this book is well over $25,000, and Kickstarter enables me to create a high-quality, fine art coffee table book. Following a traditional publishing model, it would likely retail for over $100.
By preordering via Kickstarter you can own a signed copy of THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED for only $50.
My previous kickstarter for LIVE DEAD had over 700 backers and was featured on Rolling Stone.com as well as many other websites and publications.
Here’s what some people had to say:
Bob Minkin is a sharpshooter. He captures the precious moments perfectly. He’d make a good drummer... —Mickey Hart
On an artistic level, Bob Minkin has as good an eye as you’ll find out there. He has a sense of moment and fast reflexes. He also makes all the shows, so he gets the pix. —Bob Weir
So many of Bob’s photographs are just beautiful. He really knows how to frame a feeling, and he gets it. He’s definitely an exceptional artist, one of the best. He’s very thorough in everything he sets his heart and his mind to, and I’ve watched that and seen that through the years I’ve known him. Beyond that, he’s a sterling human being. That emanates not only from what he does, but from who he is as a person. I’ve grown to love him dearly.
—Donna Godchaux MacKay, former Grateful Dead singer
One thing I’ve really noticed about Bob as a photographer is he reminds me a lot of the great Jim Marshall in his way of taking photographs. Jim wasn’t there constantly snapping away, taking loads and loads of photographs and hoping he might get a good one. He would wait for something to happen that caught his eye and then take a few shots. I see that in Bob. I see him really checking things out and waiting for that right moment, even anticipating it, and then snapping it. Obviously he has a good eye for what that moment is. The way he conducts himself is always professional, yet he also makes everyone feel at ease.
—Pete Sears, keyboardist for Jefferson Starship, Moonalice, Hot Tuna, et al
Bob has a passion for music that has allowed him to, very much like myself, break into photography as a way to connect with the music. He is on a very short list of the hardest working music photographers in the Bay Area. He is constantly shooting, which is what a true photographer should be doing. Bob has a sixth sense for anticipating and capturing the moment, and that is what makes him one of the best in the business.
—Ed Perlstein, photographer
Bob, I always imagine you with camera in hand ever since the early days at the beginning of the seventies when I first met you at a Dead show. There you were taking photos all the time. Over the years I had the pleasure of seeing many of your great photos. I knew what a talent you were early on. I received my beautiful copy of “Live Dead” in the mail yesterday evening. I did not have a chance to crack it open until just now. I’d like to say I’m surprised at the quality and the great images, but I’m not. I expected something of this caliber. This book is fantastic! Thank you so much for making this possible for all of us to enjoy. I have only just begun to dive deeply into this book and it has already conjured incredible memories. Thanks again Bob you are a true artist! —Jim ChristaldiA malware-laced e-mail that spoofed seasons greetings from The White House siphoned gigabytes of sensitive documents from dozens of victims over the holidays, including a number of government employees and contractors who work on cybersecurity matters.
The attack appears to be the latest salvo from ZeuS malware gangs whose activities over the past year have blurred the boundaries between online financial crime and espionage, by stealing both financial data and documents from victim machines. This activity is unusual because most criminals using ZeuS are interested in money-making activities – such as swiping passwords and creating botnets – whereas the hoovering up of sensitive government documents is activity typically associated with so-called advanced persistent threat attacks, or those deployed to gather industrial and military intelligence.
On Dec. 23, the following message was sent to an unknown number of recipients;
“As you and your families gather to celebrate the holidays, we wanted to take
a moment to send you our greetings. Be sure that we’re profoundly grateful
for your dedication to duty and wish you inspiration and success in
fulfillment of our core mission.
Greeting card:
hxxp://xtremedefenceforce.com/[omitted]
hxxp://elvis.com.au/[omitted]
Merry Christmas!
___________________________________________
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Recipients who clicked either of the above links and opened the file offered were infected with a ZeuS Trojan variant that steals passwords and documents and uploads them to a server in Belarus. I was able to analyze the documents taken in that attack, which hoovered up more than 2 gigabytes of PDFs, Microsoft Word and Excel documents from dozens of victims. I feel reasonably confident I have identified several victims, all of whom appear to be employees of some government or another. Among those who fell for the scam e-mail were:
-An employee at the National Science Foundation’s Office of Cyber Infrastructure. The documents collected from this victim include hundreds of NSF grant applications for new technologies and scientific approaches.
-An intelligence analyst in Massachusetts State Police gave up dozens of documents that appear to be records of court-ordered cell phone intercepts. Several documents included in the cache indicate the victim may have recently received top-secret clearance. Among this person’s cache of documents is a Department of Homeland Security tip sheet called “Safeguarding National Security Information.”
-An unidentified employee at the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body dedicated to the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
-An official with the Moroccan government’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and New Technologies.
-An employee at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a federal agency set up to provide foreign aid for development projects in 15 countries in Africa, Central America and other regions.
The most interesting component of this attack was not the ZeuS variant, which by most accounts was an older, well-understood version of the banking Trojan. Rather, researchers are focusing on the component responsible for stealing documents, which suggests the handiwork of a novice who was quite active in 2010.
As noted by security blogger Mila Parkour, the “pack.exe” file downloaded by the Trojan is a Perl script converted to an executable file by way of a commercial application called Perl2exe. The pack program is the one responsible for snarfing up the documents on a victim’s computer and relaying the data to a file repository in Belarus.
Alex Cox, principal research analyst with NetWitness, a Herndon, Va. based security firm, said the attack bears remarkable similarities to the “Hilary Kneber” ZeuS botnet discovered by NetWitness last February. That discovery (PDF) garnered an unusual amount of coverage from the mainstream media, in part because NetWitness said the attackers had infected some 75,000 PCs on a wide range of government and private sector networks.
At the time, NetWitness said the victims were all part of the same botnet because the Web sites used to control them were all registered with the same hilarykneber@yahoo.com e-mail address. But it turns out that the more telling infrastructure point among the victims was this Perl2Exe component, which Cox says the company intentionally did not mention in its widely-quoted paper on the Kneber botnet.
“We didn’t talk about it at the time because it was somewhat sensitive then,” Cox said. “One aspect of this whole series was this government spear phish that also involved all these Hilary Kneber domains. At the time we thought they were all connected, but in hindsight what I think what was more likely was that this was someone mass-selling a bunch of preregistered domains in the underground. We continued to see that Hilary Kneber address off and on in attacks throughout last year, but this connection – where the [modus operandi] is similar without the Kneber address — is kind of interesting. It says to me that the same guy who was involved back in February is still doing it. It’s either the same guy, or someone is using this guy’s exact same technique.”
Update, Jan. 4, 9:23 a.m.: NetWitness posted its own writeup on this attack, available here.
Tags: Alex Cox, Hilary Kneber, Mila Parkour, netwitness, spear phishing, White House, zeusWhat’s wrong with this picture? Education is supposed to produce knowledgeable students who are fluent in English and math, along with science, reading and on and on. Right?
Don’t you wonder why the left coast of California has exempted Math and English from required curriculum?
The Daily Wire has the story, if you are among those who can read it:
On Wednesday, California State Chancellor Timothy P. White announced that the public university system will no longer incorporate placement exams for English and mathematics for incoming freshmen. In his executive order, White stated that it was important to measure proficiency in English and mathematics through “multiple measures,” including SAT scores and high school grades. He also announced that Cal State would commence an “Early Start Program,” which is intended to help incoming students who have poor proficiency in the aforementioned subjects.
The controversy about remedial education and placement exams is not new. The Public Policy Institute of California, for example, found that eight out of ten community college students take remedial classes to gain college-level skills but only 16% of those students acquire either a skill certificate or finish a two-year degree within six years. This study sparked a conversation about whether these placement exams set up those who lack English or mathematics proficiency for failure, as opposed to properly preparing students for real-world jobs and skills. Thus, many argue that these new guidelines will do more to help people move forward in their careers and education.
Some individuals argued that these placement exams are somewhat discriminatory toward low-income families and people of color. One of those who imported intersectionality into this debate was California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who said the following to the Los Angeles Times:
What’s the point of going to school if students aren’t required to learn?
By Lisa Payne-Naeger Posted on August 6, 2017The council member behind the measure says it's clear the city's not ready, but he will bring it up again later.
The Jacksonville, Fla., City Council member who had proposed an LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination ordinance is withdrawing the measure.
Councilman Tommy Hazouri’s action, which he announced Saturday, effectively ends efforts to expand the city’s human rights ordinance for now, The Florida Times-Union reports. His move comes after a series of public hearings that saw impassioned debate between supporters and opponents of the legislation.
After the hearings, it’s apparent that “the City Council and many citizens of Jacksonville still have sincere questions and are not ready to move forward on this issue,” Hazouri said in a written statement, according to the Times-Union. He will make the withdrawal request Thursday, he said, adding, “Be assured, this bill and this issue is coming back.”
Supporters of the bill expressed disappointment. “It’s pretty shocking, honestly, to see the bill is being withdrawn,” Jimmy Midyette, legislative director for the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality, told the newspaper. “The coalition is going to keep working on getting it passed.”
Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida, is also one of the biggest cities in the nation without an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law, the Times-Union notes. A similar effort to expand the ordinance failed in 2012. Hazouri’s bill had the support of many business leaders and some clergy members, but other clergy spoke out against it, and Mayor Lenny Curry was not enthusiastic about it.
And at the hearings, some men came forward to say they’d been molested in public restrooms, which stoked fears that an LGBT-inclusive ordinance would enable such predatory behavior — an assertion that has been widely debunked.
Councilman Bill Guilford had introduced a competing measure calling for a voter referendum on adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the human rights ordinance. With Hazouri withdrawing his bill, Guilford said he will withdraw his as well, the Times-Union reports.For many cord-cutters, the holy grail has long been a reliable over-the-air (OTA) DVR that isn't saddled with subscription fees. And as you'd expect from a holy grail, it hasn't been easy to find short of building one yourself.
The new Channel Master DVR+ ($250) hits most of the major points cord-cutters have been looking for. There are absolutely no subscription fees and the DVR+ comes with free premium program guide data from Rovi, which is a big step-up from the guide data that's embedded in OTA signals. It has dual-tuner functionality and support for Vudu, plus its image quality is excellent, unlike some of the other OTA solutions that use compression. Best of all, I found it to be reliable over my testing period -- something I couldn't say about Channel Master's last attempt at an over-the-air DVR.
Still, it's not perfect. The DVR+'s upfront cost is reasonable, but you need to add a lot of your own accessories (antenna, hard drive, Wi-Fi adapter), which can drive up the price. Its software and user interface is decent, but rough around the edges, lacking basic options like the ability to only record new episodes of your favorite shows. And while the DVR+'s image quality is typically great, I experienced a few glitches during playback.
None of that is enough to sully what the DVR+ has accomplished: it's the "good enough" DVR without subscription fees that many have been looking for. Yes, TiVo is still better and other options offer cool features, but if your primary goal is to save money, and you don't mind its imperfections, it's hard to beat the Channel Master DVR+
Design: Flat, wide, and discreet
The DVR+ doesn't look like any other living room box. It has the large footprint (13.38 inches wide by 11.25 inches deep) of a traditional device like a cable box, but it's remarkably thin, coming in at just 1.5 inches tall.
Sarah Tew/CNET
That's just thick enough to accommodate its ports on the back, namely an antenna input, HDMI output, Ethernet port, two USB ports, and an IR-extender port. That IR-extender port means you can hide the box itself, by placing an IR extender cable (not included) in a place that can receive remote codes. But even if you need to stash the DVR+ in plain sight, its matte-gray finish lets the box blend in with your other living room electronics.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The included remote is decent, although it could be a lot better. On the upside, it's a full-size clicker with all the buttons you're used to seeing on a DVR remote, like a directional pad, Guide, DVR, and playback controls, including commercial skip and jump back buttons. And it's nice that a remote is included at all; many new over-the-air DVR solutions like Tablo and Simple.TV rely on your tablet or phone to act as the remote, which isn't ideal in a living room environment.
Sarah Tew/CNET
On the other hand, the DVR+ remote's button layout doesn't make a whole lot of sense. As a frequent commercial-skipper, I found myself using the playback controls the most, but they're awkwardly scrunched at the bottom of the remote and the buttons themselves are tiny. All of the buttons also tend to feel flat and similarly-sized, which makes it difficult to navigate by feel. You may want to consider investing in a universal remote if you end up going with the DVR+.
Setup: Bring your own (required) accessories
Like any over-the-air TV product, the Channel Master DVR+ requires more setup than a typical gadget. To start, you'll need to connect an antenna (not included) and find a place for it where it gets good reception. The initial channel scan takes about 4 minutes.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The DVR+ also requires a USB hard drive (not included) for DVR functionality. There's 16GB of flash storage built-in, but that's mainly used for buffering and pausing live TV. I had a spare 320GB hard drive lying around that I used, but if you need to buy one, it's about $55 for a 500GB drive, which should be plenty for most people.
Finally, you'll need to get the DVR+ online. While Internet connectivity isn't absolutely necessary to use the DVR+, I'd highly recommended it. The DVR+ can use the program guide data that's included with over-the-air broadcasts, but getting it online means you get access to up to two weeks of data from Rovi -- all without a monthly fee. Rovi's guide data is significantly more extensive and accurate than what you'll get otherwise, so it's worth the hassle of getting the DVR+ online.
It's a hassle mainly because there's no built-in Wi-Fi, so you'll need to either connect it via Ethernet, use a USB Wi-Fi adapter ($40 from Channel Master), or use another workaround. It's certainly frustrating that the $250 device charges extra for wireless connectivity, when even the $35 Chromecast includes built-in Wi-Fi.
After you've rounded up all the accessories, setup itself is straightforward and takes less than 10 minutes.
What can you watch? Major networks and Vudu
The DVR+ is primarily designed around recording free, over-the-air TV signals that it can receive using an antenna. In a perfect world, you should be able to get all of the major networks (CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC) as well as PBS and a handful of other stations. In the real world, your reception might vary considerably, depending on your location, antenna and a host of other factors, such as the weather.
Sarah Tew/CNET
In addition to over-the-air TV, the DVR+ also has support for one streaming video service: Vudu. It's a good choice, as Vudu offers a large library of movies and TV shows that you typically can't get with over-the-air TV. And Vudu has been in the streaming video game longer than most, offering up top tier image quality on its streaming content, and serving as one of the few Ultraviolet lockers. The main downside is that it's entirely pay-per-view, with no Netflix-style all-you-can-stream subscription model.
Channel Master says it's working on adding more services, but the reality is in the meantime you'll probably need a second box dedicated to streaming video if you want to use services like Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon Instant. (Roku's boxes start at $50.)
User interface: Familiar guide, rough around the edges
The DVR+'s channel grid won't win any design awards, but it does have a familiar layout that should be easy to navigate for anyone coming from a traditional cable box. That may not seem like a big deal, but one of the biggest drawbacks to many over-the-air DVR solutions (including Tablo and Aereo) is the lack of a good onscreen interface. The DVR+ feels like the TV experience you're already comfortable with.
Sarah Tew/CNET
There are some quirks, however. If you select a program from that grid that's currently on, you don't go right to the live feed; instead, there's a prompt asking whether you want to watch it now, record it, or set a manual recording. It's a minor nuisance, but it's a recurring feeling on the Channel Master, where everything takes a few more clicks and searches than you'd expect.About
Find Glad Rags on Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Pinterest
Positive change never goes out of style! We are gearing up for a cross-country road trip to uncover and document the life cycle of clothing through the people who buy, sell, love and live vintage. Glad Rags will be produced as a series of short episodes (8-12 minutes each), released on the web as a multi-part documentary filmed across the U.S. If funded, this Kickstarter campaign will assist in the creation of Season One of the Glad Rags series.
Vintage clothing is unique - it's green! Every piece of clothing has a story that shouldn't have an end. This is our chance to continue that story. Part of what makes vintage clothing special is that one-of-a-kind vintage pieces are not only fashionable, they are environmentally friendly. It’s our job to help prevent unique and valuable textiles from making their home in landfills instead of in our closets!
Our mission is to shed light on the underground industry that is vintage and the history of the textile industry that created it. We will illustrate how easy it is to become a part of the sustainable fashion movement while reducing your carbon footprint, and look good doing it!
We're Brianne and Vallerie, the Glad Gals! We will be traveling across the U.S. during the month of August to unravel the story of vintage and sustainable fashion. With your help we will be able to travel and interview shop owners, experts in textiles and lovers and wearers and bloggers of vintage. We will work together to build our Glad Gang of vintage and textile connoisseurs to demonstrate to the masses how easy it is to travel, thrift and shop with a go-green initiative.
You will find the Glad Gals in Vallerie's little Scion heading down the East Coast from Boston through Washington D.C., the Carolinas and then Florida. Next we plan to head Northwest to Atlanta and Tennessee, then to Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and finally, Los Angeles. Along the way we will be discovering the story of vintage, collecting accessories and cards for your rewards, and learning something new every day! Do you know a person or place of vintage or textile interest on our route? E-mail us at gladragsdoc@gmail.com and it would be our pleasure to meet and interview them!
If we reach our goal, this Kickstarter campaign will fund Season One of the Glad Rags multi-part documentary web series. More specifically, we'll use the funds to help with the categories below...
We, the Glad Gals, come to you as filmmakers, photographers, avid thrifters and Do-It-Yourselfers so your rewards for pledging to support us will be coming straight from our hands and hearts. Your rewards may be on the road finds, handmade by us or exclusive insider content to introduce you to your spot in the Glad Gang. Each reward has a touch of Glad because we want you to be a huge part of this story, especially if you have one to tell yourself.
Head over to the right column to check out Rad Glad Rewards we have in store for you for pledging your support and remember, always Kick It Forward. If successful, we ourselves pledge to back future Kickstarter projects for their creativity and determination to make their ideas a reality.Middle East (Sputnik) –In the hospital called “Ibn Sina” located in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, Daesh members are filling up one quarantined room. These militants are infected with HIV and their numbers are rising, a source in the hospital told Sputnik.
A source in Mosul hospital, who asked to remain anonymous, said that currently there are 23 people infected with HIV in Daesh’s ranks.
According to the source’s data, about a year ago on August 23, 2015, three patients of Asian origin were reported positive with HIV. Today this number has reached 23 people. Recently, the hospital received six young newcomers, who recently joined Daesh.
“Daesh forbids the hospital staff of Ibn Sina to enter the room where those infected with AIDS are located. Most of these mercenaries are of Asian origin. Only foreign doctors who work for Daesh come to visit these patients,” the source added.
Local media and journalists have repeatedly accused Daesh militants of engaging in same-sex relations and raping teenagers, despite the fact that these terrorists have not once executed people by throwing them from the roof on sodomy charges.
According to the hospital’s doctors, that could be a reason why HIV is spreading among the militants.
The source further explained that the militants have taken over a separate medical center in the hospital where they are providing the infected patients with chemotherapy.
According to another source in Mosul, Daesh used to push prisoners of war from the roof, declaring them to be homosexual at a time when it could not find evidence of them being spies for the security forces and the government.
This report prepared by Sputnik News.Getty President Barack Obama's approval rating has hit a three-plus-year high, while the approval rating of Congressional Republicans has sunk to a corresponding low, according to a new poll from Bloomberg.
The poll shows that Obama's approval rating has jumped to 55 percent, its highest point since September 2009 in Bloomberg's tracking. Meanwhile, only 35 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Congressional Republicans, the lowest since September 2009.
Meanwhile, a new Pew Research Center poll finds similar numbers — Obama's approval rating sits at 51 percent, while only 25 percent of respondents approved of Congressional Republicans.
The polls come just more than a week before a series of cuts known as the sequester are set to begin kicking in. Obama and Republicans have spent the early part of the week battling over the cuts, as each side attempts to swing public opinion to its side before the cuts take effect.
These two surveys foreshadowed that Republicans will be to blame if the sequester goes into effect.
Here are some numbers from both polls that show why:
According to the Pew poll, 49 percent would blame Republicans if the cuts take effect, compared with just 31 percent for Obama.
In the Bloomberg poll, 49 percent said that Obama's proposals for government spending on infrastructure, education, and alternative energy are more likely to create jobs than Republican proposals to cut spending and taxes.
By a 49-43 margin, poll respondents said Republicans were more to blame for "what's gone wrong" in Washington.
76 percent say that Congress should work on a package of spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the deficit. Only 19 percent of Americans agree with Republicans that all tax increases should be off the table.The Milwaukee Bucks will be filling local streets once again with entertainment, fun and a festival-like atmosphere for the Bucks Third Annual Summer Block Party. The third edition of the block party will take place on Saturday, June 10, from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. on Second Street and Cherry Street outside of the Bucks offices in Schlitz Park, and will consist of current and former Bucks players, live entertainment, food, drinks and everything that makes summer festivals in Milwaukee can’t-miss events. The highlight of this year’s Summer Block Party will be a special announcement at 2 p.m. that will be the first major announcement of the Bucks’ 50th Anniversary celebration – a season-long celebration of the Bucks’ 50th season calling Milwaukee home that will take place throughout the 2017-18 season.
Rookie of the Year candidate Malcolm Brogdon, and fellow guards Gary Payton II and Rashad Vaughn, along with Bucks legends Vin Baker, Bob Dandridge, Marques Johnson and Desmond Mason, are scheduled to be in attendance to sign autographs and interact with the crowd. Live music, presented by Sucher Entertainment and FLYE entertainment, will consist of all local bands including Rob Martin, Mt. Zion Roots, Corey Pieper, Cigarette Break and Cincere, while food and drinks will available for purchase by Davian’s catering, nearby Third Street restaurants and local food trucks. A special Bucks history and museum display, a Bucks Pro Shops tent, and over 50 vendors will be set up in addition to the entire Bucks Entertainment network that will also be on site.
BUCKS THIRD ANNUAL SUMMER BLOCK PARTY INFORMATION
What: Third annual Bucks Summer Block party featuring current and former Bucks players, Bucks entertainment groups, local bands, local food and drinks, games and vendors When: Saturday, June 10
12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
*2 p.m. – Special announcement to tip-off the Bucks’ 50th Anniversary celebration Where: Schlitz Park, in front of the Stock-House building along Second Street and Cherry Street
The event is FREE!Billionaire hedge fund operator and “green” energy magnate Tom Steyer has pledged $100 million in the 2014 election cycle to help Democratic candidates who oppose the Keystone pipeline and who favor “green” energy over fossil fuels. Steyer claims to be a man of principle who has no financial interest in the causes he supports, but acts only for the public good. That is a ridiculous claim: Steyer is the ultimate rent-seeker who depends on government connections to produce subsidies and mandates that make his “green” energy investments profitable. He also is, or was until recently, a major investor in Kinder Morgan, which is building a competitor to the Keystone pipeline. Go here, here, here, here, here and here for more information about how Steyer uses his political donations and consequent connections to enhance his already vast fortune.
But Steyer’s hypocrisy goes still deeper. Today, he is a bitter opponent of fossil fuels, especially coal. That fits with his current economic interests: banning coal-fired power plants will boost the value of his solar projects. But it was not always thus. In fact, Steyer owes his fortune in large part to the fact that he has been one of the world’s largest financers of coal projects. Tom Steyer was for coal before he was against it.
A reader with first-hand knowledge of the relevant Asian and Australian markets sent us this detailed report on how Steyer got rich on coal. He titled his report “Hypocrisy & Hedge Funds: Climate Change Warrior Tom Steyer’s Secret Life as Coal Investment Kingpin.” Here it is, in full:
Tom Steyer founded Farallon Capital Management L.L.C. (“Farallon”) in 1986. Farallon has grown to become one of the largest and most successful hedge funds in the United States with over $20bn in funds under management.1 Mr. Steyer’s net worth is reported to be $1.6bn.2
Mr. Steyer left Farallon in 2012 to focus on political and environmental causes and potentially to position himself for public office. He has been described in the press as the “liberals’ answer to the Koch Brothers”3 due to his wealth and his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and carbon-based energy in general. He has dedicated some $50 million of his personal fortune to back political candidates who support his position on climate change – and punish those who don’t. Mr. Steyer has led recent campaigns with Bill McKibben to encourage university endowments to divest coal equities.
In his recent letter to the Middlebury College and Brown University Boards of Trustees, investment professional Mr. Steyer wrote:
I believe a coal free portfolio is a good investment strategy…4
In a recent interview, Mr. Steyer was quoted referring to “coal-industry baron David Koch”:
[Koch is] taking the most incredible risk that I’ve ever seen someone take, of going down in history as just an evil – just a famously evil – person!5
By their nature, hedge funds are shadowy organizations and Farallon is no exception. Farallon staff do not talk to the press. Their website provides virtually no information and, because it is a private fund, Farallon is not required to |
the homeless. “People don’t realize how not having access to things like showers and toilets can make our lives so much harder,” said a happy Jeremy Runcon, 36, at the Youth With a Mission homeless facility in the Tenderloin. “How can anyone get a job when they smell?”
(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Jonathan Oatis)FILE - In this July 31, 2012 file photo, workers from the Antamina copper mine, wearing white uniforms, clean the river in Cajacay, Peru. A pipeline carrying copper concentrate laced with volatile compounds burst open on July 25. More than a month after toxic slurry from a major copper mine sickened scores of people in one of Peru's highland communities, villagers complain that the government and company have done little to help and have even failed to tell some parents that tests showed their children had been poisoned. (AP Photo/La Republica Newspaper, File)
LIMA, Peru (AP) — More than a month after toxic slurry from a major copper mine sickened scores of people in one of Peru's highland communities, villagers complain that the mining company and the government have done little to help and have even failed to tell some parents that tests showed their children had been poisoned.
Testing eight days after the July 25 pipeline rupture found six children with unacceptably high levels of copper and one with similarly high levels of lead, but none have received any special care, Mayor Felipe Lazaro of Cajacay told The Associated Press.
In fact, he said authorities haven't even identified by name exactly which of the 18 children they tested were poisoned.
Villagers say some children still suffer nose bleeds, nausea and headaches.
"I don't know whether it's ill-will, neglect or what, but I don't understand how the government, after learning which of the children were poisoned, can refuse to identify them," Lazaro said by phone over the weekend. "How are they going to be treated if they haven't even been identified?"
At least 350 Cajacay residents were sickened by the spill of 45 tons of copper concentrate, a mineral stew of volatile compounds. At least 69 were children.
The mine's owner, Antamina, has not responded to repeated AP phone and email requests to identify the toxic components of the slurry and details on medical care it is providing for the spill victims. A document obtained by the newspaper La Republica shortly after the spill described the mixture as "highly toxic."
The company did provide initial medical treatment for the villagers, including 42 who were hospitalized in the community for up to 11 days after the spill.
Mining is the engine of Peru's region-leading economic growth. The country is the world's No. 2 producer of copper, silver and zinc and it is No. 6 producer of gold. But the mining and lax environmental regulations have taken a toll on communities, waterways and livestock.
A deputy environment minister, Mariano Castro, told the AP in mid-August that the government had examined the Cajacay slurry and expected lab results as soon as the following week.
Dr. Ted Schettler, science director of the U.S.-based Science and Environmental Health Network, said results identifying toxic components are key to treating victims properly.
A Health Ministry official, Percy Minaya, told the AP that the poisoned Cajacay children "if they have not been identified will be shortly." The rest of the villagers will know by Sept. 15 if they have been intoxicated, Minaya added.
Last month, Antamina said in a statement that it was "offering the necessary medical support of diverse medical professionals" to the children with unacceptable metal levels.
In all, 18 children between the ages of 2 and 12 and 34 adults had their blood and urine tested for copper, arsenic and lead by the government's occupational and environmental health agency, CENSOPAS. In addition to the poisoned children, one adult was found to have copper above acceptable levels, the agency said.
The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says children are especially susceptible to damage from high levels of copper, which can cause liver damage.
"My little boy is still sick. I am not going to stay silent even if I must fight with the government and Antamina, which for me are one and the same," Wilfredo Moran, a 34-year-old villager, told the AP by phone on Friday.
He said his 4-year-old is nauseous nearly every day, vomits after eating and has lost weight.
Yasira Sotela, a 9-year-old who was hospitalized immediately after the spill for profuse nose bleeding "continues to bleed from the nose at least twice a week," her mother, Ines Valverde, told the AP on Friday.
When she goes to the village's medical clinic, "they only give us paracetamol (an over-the-counter analgesic) and say, 'Nothing's wrong. Go home. Don't worry,'" she said.
Senior Peruvian environmental officials answered evasively when asked on Monday about the slurry test results and the villagers' claims of inadequate medical care.
"The state is sometimes accused of being slow," Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said during a meeting with international press when the AP inquired about the two issues. "We are trying to change that."Dig into the PEL archives and you will find a link to a paper by Hubert Dreyfus on Foucault and Heidegger in which he writes that in Foucault’s early work “the subject is reduced to a function of discourse.†Dreyfus is illustrating an important link between these two towering figures - the role of language, which Heidegger called “the house of being.â€Â
Language, in fact, plays such an important role in Foucault’s epistemology that his notion of the “episteme,†which as we will see bears a resemblance to Kuhn’s “paradigm,†is grounded in such linguistic objects as discourse, statement, and archive. These are just a few of the technical terms Foucault explores in The Archeology of Knowledge, a book he wrote in response to readers of The Order of Things who likened his approach to structuralism. (The conclusion of Archeology consists of an imaginary dialogue written by Foucault between himself and these very critics.)
If Foucault felt this characterization was inadequate, one can only wonder what he thought of Jean Piaget’s likening of the episteme with Kuhn’s concept of paradigm. Both are ways of describing the fact that every period has its own conditions for what is true, what is nonsense, and how best to ask the most meaningful questions. Most importantly, both abandon what Mark in the podcast calls the “pre-philosophical†view of science as “teleological.â€
Now, the publication of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) predates The Order of Things by four years, though chances are Kuhn was no influence on Foucault or vice versa. (This abstract of a paper on narrative genres insightfully compares the two models.)
My own experience with these thinkers is as a teacher of a high school course on the history of ideas. I try to spend at least one class on the panopticon and Foucault's theories of discipline, which resonate with teenagers for all the reasons you might expect if you’ve ever talked to a teenager. However, though talking about Foucault and the redistribution of power is an easy way to grab attention, when we begin new chapters, turning from, say, the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, we talk about “paradigm†shifts—not episteme shifts. I suspect this has more to do with their respective styles and less to do with the actual content of their major contributions. Whatever the reason for "paradigm" becoming mainstream and "episteme" remaining a specialist term, both are better than "zeitgeist."
David CrohnHackers have broken into a Fox.com extranet site, designed as a repository of research statistics, programming details and ratings for clients and affiliates, and stolen the emails and passwords for hundreds of Fox Broadcasting employees.
The group, which calls itself Lulz Security, then used that information to alter the LinkedIn accounts of more than a dozen Fox sales employees, tweeting each one on its @LulzSec twitter account. It also posted the trove online, saying, ‘We invite the Internet to ravage the following list of emails and passwords (from a database within Fox.com) - Facebook, MySpace, PayPal, whatever you can get your hands on. Take from them everything. Remember to proxy up, or tunnel like a pro!”
The security breach apparently took place more than a week ago, as Fox Broadcasting alerted its users on April 29th that it had been hacked and urged them to change their passwords.
Last week, the hacker group published personal information for thousands of contestants on Fox’s “X Factor.” Fox told contestants that it was working with federal authorities.
I’ve reached out to Fox for comment and will update when I hear back.
UPDATE: A Fox Broadcasting spokeswoman offers an official comment: "About two weeks ago, we learned that computer hackers illegally accessed fox.com and obtained a database file that contained usernames and passwords used to access a Fox extranet site. We took immediate steps to stop the illegal intrusion, have notified all users who were affected and are working with law enforcement."California man Carl Brewer dropped his daughter off at day care, then dropped his Toyota off at a local Jiffy Lube. Then the whole truck just dropped itself on the ground. As in, all four wheels fell off while driving.
Hanging out in the waiting room at Bakersfield’s Oak Street Jiffy Lube for a brake replacement, Brewer overheard a technician saying “everything fell off” to the manager.
Apparently Brewer didn’t think much of it until he was told a test drive of his third-generation 4Runner (with the sweet hood scoop!) had resulted in the windshield being smashed, driving through two signs, and of course all four wheels no longer being attached to the vehicle as reported by KBAK/KBFX.
He walked to the scene of his SUV collapsing where he saw one sad-looking Toyota and snapped the picture above, posted by local news.
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WCVB reports that the old Toyota has already been considered “totaled,” which is insurance-language for “the repair would be too big a percentage of the vehicle’s value” based on a combination of statistical and arbitrary factors.
That’s a rant for another day, but the point is Brewer had a car when he brought it in to be repaired and now he doesn’t. To his credit, he remained remarkably composed in his TV interview. Even when the newscaster dopily asks; “Will you ever go back to Jiffy Lube?”
Brewer’s answer, by the way, was “no, for sure not.”
For their part Jiffy Lube has reportedly paid for Brewer to have a rental car for a week and the franchisee of the Oak Street location has released the following statement:
\“As a local family-owned company, we pride ourselves in our guest experience and partnership with the community. We certainly understand the seriousness of this recent event and are working diligently and directly with the guest to resolve the matter. We are thankful no one was injured and we are committed to ensuring that our processes and procedures regarding quality and training are reinforced so that such an incident does not happen again. Please know that this is our top priority to correct this and earn your trust once again.
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Once again? I’m thinking Brewer shouldn’t have trusted this shop in the first place. Hopefully he got a more personal apology himself.
“What if I had been doing that [driving] with my daughter?” Brewer said to KBAK/KBFX. That network also quotes another Jiffy Lube spokesperson saying the cause of the crash is still unknown, but “the franchisee is reviewing information around the service visit, interviewing service center employees and inspecting the vehicle to determine the cause of the accident.”
I suppose there’s always the chance that every lug nut on this truck was cracked and cross-threaded before this Jiffy Lube tech took the car out for that fateful test drive. But I have a feeling it’s far more likely that somebody went a little too wild with their impact gun and over-torqued the lug nuts holding the wheel on the car to the point of breakage.
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Now it’s your turn to theorize! What the hell happened here and how can we make sure we never do it to our own cars?As we reported earlier this month, for a while it seemed that there would be no new police station built in Rinkeby, a notorious culturally enriched suburb of Stockholm. The neighborhood was just too dangerous — no contractor was willing to submit a bid. The risk of vandalism and assault would, at the very least, have required armed guards on the site 24/7.
However, in the past two weeks these difficulties have apparently been overcome. A new heavily armored police station will be built, but for their own protection the police officers who work in it may have to be driven to and from the building, rather than take public transportation.
Many thanks to Linda Andersson for translating this article from Fria Tider:
The new police building in Rinkeby Police officers may get a lift to the new police station in Rinkeby Published March 21, 2017 at 20:30 DOMESTIC. The new police station in Rinkeby is going to be built after all. But police officers are worried about how the working environment should be in the violent immigrant area. Therefore, they may be offered a lift to the station. The planned police building in Rinkeby sounds more like a military installation. Bulletproof windows, walls reinforced with sheet metal and fencing around it. This is what it will look like, the newspaper In the Middle of Stockholm reported. In addition, the building is classified as protected, which means that you can get a year in prison if you so much as photograph it. According to In the Middle of Stockholm, however, there are problems. Police officers are worried about what the working environment will be like. Those who will be working in Rinkeby do not want to use public transport and take the subway. It’s too dangerous. One suggestion is secured parking for the private cars of police personnel. Another is that the police will be driven back and forth from work. Local Police Area Manager Niclas Andersson hopes, however, that it will not be needed.Already on Friday, swisshockeynews.ch reported that the Swedish defenseman David Rundblad supposedly moves from Chicago to Zurich. As the Tages-Anzeiger now writes, the 25-year-old will indeed join the ZSC Lions.
Photo Lisa gANSKY
According to the Tages-Anzeiger, the young defenseman is going to stay in Zurich until the end of the current season, despite a valid contract with the Chicago Blackhawks until 2017. The contractual situation, however, seems to be complicated. If he wanted to terminate his contract early, he would need to go through waivers again. It is not clear at this point whether Rundblad will only play on loan with the Lions.
Rundblad only appeared in nine NHL-games for the Chicago Blackhawks this season, scoring two assists. As a consequence, he cleared waivers on December 30 and was sent to the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. (bsc)Internet service provider Embarq eavesdropped on the web surfing habits of 26,000 customers in Kansas without notifying them personally, as part of its test of new, controversial advertising technology that profiles users, the company told federal lawmakers Wednesday.
Embarq, an offshoot from Sprint, tested the service in Gardner, Kansas, saying it was their smallest facility. The secret test ended earlier this year, though no dates were given for when it started or stopped. The letter also disclosed that 15 people from the region opted out, even though the company didn't notify the affected subscribers that the technology was being tested – it just added a paragraph to its privacy policy.
Telecom subcommittee head Reps. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts), watchdog groups and law professors have questioned whether the technology violates federal privacy laws, including the wiretapping statute.
"While I am pleased that Embarq chose to answer our specific questions in their second letter, I am still troubled by the company's failure to directly inform their consumers of the consumer data gathering test and the notion that an 'opt-out' option is a sufficient standard for such sweeping data gathering," Markey said.
The letter (.pdf) comes just two days after the company attempted in a Monday letter to justify, rather than explain, the trialto powerful House Commerce members, who have already shown they are highly dubious of any ISP's plan to monitor its customers' web usage for profit. According to one congressional aide, the follow-up letter came after staff made it clear the first letter didn't suffice.
The three have already forced Charter Communications to cancel its proposed trial of ISP eavesdropping technology from a NebuAd, the same company that powered Embarq's secret test.
Charter, Embarq and NebuAd all say the technology is legal since they only classify web pages and web searches into categories such as "shopping for SUV" – rather than storing the webstream.
NebuAd pays ISPs to let it monitor user's web surfing and searching in order to classify their interests. Those profiles are then used to deliver targeted ads when the users visit NebuAd partner sites. Subscribers must choose to opt-out with each browser they use, though NebuAd won't explain how the opt-out works.
In the second letter, Embarq, a Fortune 500 telecom company, said it notified its subscribers by adding new information to its privacy policy, saying that's how traditional web advertisers do it.
Though the company again defended the test on legal grounds, the company clearly understood in the second letter that Congressmen John Dingell (D-Michigan), Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Markey were not pleased with the secret test or the company's first letter.
"In summary the brief test was concluded earlier this year, no customer data continues to exist, and we have no plans for more tests or for general deployment of this technology, until such time as privacy concerns have been addressed," CEO Tom Gerke wrote.
The technology partner NebuAd earlier referred questions about the test to Embarq, but had said that it always required its partners to notify individuals before using its technology.
Photo: Tim Samoff/flickr
See Also:NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women’s rights campaigners in Lebanon said they were confident that lawmakers were set to abolish a law that absolves convicted rapists of their punishment if they marry their victim.
Rights groups have led a campaign protesting the law on the grounds it sides with rapists rather than protecting victims.
Elie Kayrouz, a member of Lebanon’s parliament who sits on a parliamentary committee tasked with examining the law - article 522 of the penal code - said the committee had agreed to recommend its repeal.
“For article 522 there is consensus among all members of the committee to abolish this article,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.
But the committee has yet to issue a formal statement announcing its decision because it was still working on reforming other elements of the penal code, Kayrouz said.
In order to become law, parliament will have to vote on a bill following the parliamentary committee’s recommendations.
“It is likely that the parliament will pass... the repeal of article 522 as proposed by the committee,” said Rothna Begum, Middle East women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Under article 522, authorities can overturn the sentence of a convicted rapist if he or she marries the victim, said Saja Michael, a spokeswoman for Beirut-based women’s rights group ABAAD, which has campaigned to abolish the law.
ABAAD’s lobbying included a protest this month in downtown Beirut of a dozen women dressed as brides with blood-stained gowns made from medical gauze.
“Looking at the momentum and feedback from different parliamentarians... it is now going to look very bad if the parliament does not agree with the abolition of the article,” Michael said in a telephone interview.
In a message on Twitter this month, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri threw his support behind plans to overturn the law.
“We will be waiting for the completion of this civilized step at the beginning of the next parliamentary session,” Hariri said in his Twitter message.
Lebanon’s President, Michel Aoun, and Hariri formed a new government on Sunday.
The rape of a woman in Lebanese society is often perceived as compromising the victim’s honor as well as that of her family, complicating the task of punishing the rapist, Michael said.
Despite Lebanon being one of the most socially progressive countries in the Middle East, more work needs to be done to protect the rights of women, she said.
In 2014, Lebanon passed a long-awaited legislation establishing for the first time important protection measures for victims of domestic violence.
But advocates expressed outrage at the law falling short of criminalizing marital rape.A couple of weeks ago, as I stood before climate scientists, advocates, and world policy leaders at the COP22 in Morocco, I felt the increased importance of my message as climate denier Donald Trump was voted into office. My perspective as a young Native woman living on the Navajo reservation and studying both renewable energy engineering and Diné studies had earned me an appointment to the NEJAC/EPA Youth Perspectives on Climate Working Group as well as to the SustainUs Youth Delegation attending the November climate talks in Marrakech.
I was there to bring Standing Rock to the world climate talks.
Watching the events at Standing Rock unfurl over the past year, I felt compelled to ask our Navajo leadership to divest from oil, coal, and uranium and instead invest in the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s fight against the Dakota Access pipeline. Eventually they did. Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye announced a formal stance of solidarity and traveled to Cannon Ball, North Dakota, to plant the Navajo Nation flag there. A week later, I stood on the front lines of #NoDAPL while energy company employees hit us with pepper spray and threatened us with attack dogs. I found everything dear to me, suddenly, at the heart of this battle — fought by people from the four corners of the world.
Which brings me to the significance of counting by four. To understand Standing Rock, you must remove the Western lens and adopt a holistic, indigenous perspective of the world.
BUMP bump bump bump. BUMP bump bump bump. The rhythm of the powwow drum, the heartbeat of life, beats in a sequence of fours. It celebrates the ebb and flow of the natural world. The rhythm falters only during the Honor Beats, when a Jingle Dress dancer raises her fan to catch the spirit of the drums. Rarely do so many nations come together in one space for a shared purpose. It is a gathering where commonalities are celebrated, such as the sacredness of the eagle feather and the direness of maintaining balance in the world. Certain concepts — holistic methodologies, the value of ceremony and language, the religious significance of certain landmarks, the beliefs of interconnectedness and interdependence — put indigenous groups in stark contrast with Western thinking.
This similarly has been the exception of Standing Rock.
And, just as the powwow rhythm carries four beats, an overwhelming number of indigenous communities count various elements of their lives in fours. The medicine wheel of Native culture represents the four directions. There are the four elements, which build all life and the four seasons that govern time.
Where I live in the Navajo Nation, the culture is steeped in fours. Dinébikéyah, the land given to the Diné (Navajo) by the Holy People, falls between four sacred mountains. The day is broken into four phases, which correlate to the four stages of life and the four steps that govern life in Navajo philosophy: Nitsakees (Thinking), Nahat’a (Planning), Iina (Living), and Sihasin (Reflection, which provides hope and assurance). Each Navajo has four clans that constitute his or her identity.
The beauty of using fours, to define so many aspects of life, is that we are forced to see the holistic picture. Without this bigger picture, we lose sight of the interconnectedness of humans to nature and to each other. The intricacy of this worldview is captured in the traditional Navajo home, the hooghan or hogan. It represents the entirety of life as a Navajo: its four pillars symbolizing the four sacred mountains. Its doorway faces the east, a fire at the heart. Within the hogan, you are cradled between Mother Earth and Father Sky (visible through the smoke hole in the ceiling). This same smoke hole allows the sun to pass through. It traces a clockwise path on the walls called sha bikego, or “sunwise.” This direction is used in every ceremony and every meeting. When the sun reaches the northern wall, this symbolizes winter; when it strikes the fire, it’s time to plant. The northern star, above the hogan, is the symbolic fire in the sky around which the First Man and First Woman constellations rotate.
Everything in Navajo philosophy is related to the concept of balance, and even groups of fours balance one another. These are pairs rather than opposites, and maintains what Navajos call hózhǫ́, a sort of harmony the universe relies on. The other key concept is k’é, or your relations. These could be your siblings, your clan relatives, your tribe, or even your belonging among all creations on this shared planet.
To me, conversations of hózhǫ́ and k’é are crucial to global talks of sustainability. We cannot address how climate change will affect our futures if we do not acknowledge the need for both balance and our fellow beings. The concepts may be of Navajo origin, but they embody the holistic viewpoint of many indigenous communities.
What does this view have to do with the climate? To achieve sustainability in any society, we must ensure the protection of four areas of community well-being:
Environmental: We are all made of water. We all breathe air. We cannot change our dependency on the four elements or the fact that they create us; therefore, we must protect our environment.
Economic: No community can operate without an adequate and fair economy. Furthermore, the diversity and adaptability of an economy are key to its survival.
Social: Our relationships to one another ensure the well-being of us as individuals and as societies. Our communities thrive when we have mutual respect, safety, and room for personal growth.
Cultural: Identity is a critical part of community sustainability, and it is often left out of the greater picture. This is a crucial issue when indigenous communities attempt to assert their sovereign authority and are faced with infringement of their cultural freedoms and rights which, without, would destroy the ability to maintain harmony.
So this is what I had to say to the climate justice world two weeks ago. Standing Rock requires us not to forget that fourth piece: cultural identity.
When we have global conversations about loss and damage, we cannot simply tick off the population counts for displaced people or the dollar figures for economic impact or infrastructure damage. This is watching disorder through a Western lens. Instead, we must analyze the loss and damage done to a way of life, to the sustainability of an entire identity of people. The United Nations may have a definition for poverty, but to be impoverished does not always equate to having no financial leverage. Hardships come in many forms.
Jon Eagle Sr., the tribal historic preservation officer for the standing Rock Sioux, recounts the struggle of his ancestors through his tribe’s winter records. Their lives were extraordinarily difficult, but the definition of what they consider true hardships provides important context. Not surprisingly, the traditional Lakota people define four hardships in life:
To hear an orphan cry, as it was a terrible sound.
To lose a child, an indescribable pain.
To lose your mother.
To not know where your warriors fell.
With this reference point, consider Energy Transfer’s decision to desecrate sacred sites and destroy graves of warriors and other ancestors. It is forcing cultural damage on the Lakota people.
***
I want to make sure the world’s youth hear an indigenous perspective on sustainability and comprehend how the need to protect our cultural identity and exercise our tribal sovereignty in the DAPL fight impacts our survival as nations.
Because we are still learning how to erase the colonization of our own minds to really see the cultural implications of our so-called “infrastructure projects,” perhaps it is easier to identify straightforward acts of environmental racism, such as placing a refining factory within an impoverished community. Perhaps we can more easily oppose using cheap labor as a country’s leading export or stand up for the rights of a particular sex, gender, or religion.
And perhaps that is why, on Sept. 3, the water protectors who watched Dakota Access workers destroy the graves of their ancestors, continued to pray for and forgive the ignorance of those committing the crimes against them.
“These people in our history, they were our heroes,” explains Jon Eagle Sr. in National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Standing Rock Preservation Leadership Forum, as he described the ancestral burial sites that Energy Transfer destroyed. “I don’t think the mainstream society understands that.” Our cultural lenses prevent many of us from realizing that.
As I told the COP22 audiences, the battle at Standing Rock symbolizes the greater battle we all face: The assurance of cultural well-being and sustainability as a global community while combating the short-term visions and greed of corporations. We must remember the importance of hózhǫ́ — balance — and that we, as beings of the Five Fingered Clan, are connected as k’é — relatives. We are made of the same four elements, and we share the same finite resources. As my my mother says: “We may be coming from all four directions, but we all come from the same neighborhood — the earth.”Right whales have every reason to distrust humans, since their sociable nature helped make them the "right" target for generations of harpoon-happy whaling captains. Nonetheless, an endangered North Atlantic right whale near Virginia Beach recently made the right call by giving a masked, knife-wielding human the benefit of the doubt.
The whale was tangled in fishing lines about 50 miles off the Virginia coast, where it was spotted by fishermen Pat Foster and Adrian Colaprete. They recognized it as a rare North Atlantic right whale, and moved their boat closer to see why it was swimming strangely. Realizing its predicament — loose fishing gear is the leading cause of death for large whales in the region — they eventually decided to try a rescue mission.
After studying the whale's movements, Colaprete got in the water with a knife and began approaching it. He also had the foresight to bring a waterproof camera, capturing the dramatic rescue of an endangered species that only has about 450 members.
"I started swimming toward it, and I couldn't see it because I was pretty far in front of it," Colaprete recounts in the video. "And all of a sudden, it kind of came out of the gloom, and it was almost like a submarine coming at me. It was kind of scary at first, but it was real trippy — as soon the whale passed me and I was parallel to its face and its eye, it kind of stopped … and gave me a little window to get down there."
Check out the amazing video below, which includes Colaprete's first-person footage of the rescue followed by interviews with both fishermen:
As Colaprete notes in the video, he only decided to help the whale because he's an experienced diver with a trusted colleague watching his back. North Atlantic right whales can grow to 50 feet long and weigh 70 tons, and one could easily kill a human without trying — especially if it's already thrashing around to escape entanglement. Getting close to a federally protected species is also a good way to get in legal trouble, even with good intentions. (Of course, it can be hard to resist a wild animal's apparent pleas for help.)
If you see an entangled whale, dolphin or other marine mammal in U.S. waters, the best way to help is usually to either contact onshore authorities or call the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Animal Entanglement Hot Line at 1-866-755-NOAA (6622). See this NOAA page for more detailed regional and state contact information.
Related whale and dolphin stories on MNN:
Knife-wielding diver saves rare whale [Video]
After spotting a North Atlantic right whale tangled in fishing lines near Virginia Beach, an angler swims to the rescue with his knife — and his video camera.Get Stuff We Love Subscribe to our newsletter.
Nov. 12, 2013, 3:50 PM GMT By Eun Kyung Kim
Who gets married on a Tuesday? Early in the morning? In the middle of November?
Shanel Manzano and Elliot Bryant, two self-professed “math geeks,” that’s who.The New York couple wed Tuesday during a live TODAY ceremony that not only marked their commitment to each other, but a special sequence of numbers.
The couple officially became husband and wife at exactly 9:10 am on Nov. 12, 2013.
In other words, they got married at 9:10 on 11/12/13.
“Let’s get started. Welcome to this very New York celebration of your marriage,” declared Deborah Roth, the interfaith minister who officiated the brief ceremony.
Manzano and Bryant aren’t alone in their decision to get married Tuesday.
According to the wedding website TheKnot.com, about 3,000 couples registered to get married on 11/12/13. That’s four times as popular as any other Tuesday in November.
Sequential dates, as well as repeat dates like 9/09/09, historically make popular wedding dates.
David’s Bridal conducted a recent poll that found 40 percent of brides considered planning their wedding on a special day like Tuesday — or a year from now on a date with a similar memory aid.
The newlyweds and their TODAY wedding guests toast to their lucky day. Today
"11/12/13 is a sequential pattern, and we have learned that couples love dates that have patterns,” said Brian Beitler, the company’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “The last consecutive series of the century will occur next year, 12/13/14. It falls on a Saturday, so we predict this date could reach record breaking numbers."
Manzano and Bryant, both 27, said they originally planned to get married on this date, in a park on New York's Upper East Side, when the chance to get married on TODAY came along.
“We both like incremental numbers and fluidity. And we’re also math geeks, so if you add 11, 12, 13, it equals 9, which means long life,” Manzano, a senior account manager, told TODAY’s Willie Geist from the Orange Room before the ceremony.
The couple met while attending high school in California, and even went to a sophomore dance together. After Bryant’s family moved away, the two kept in touch.
“We separated into our lives and we went into different directions, but kept in contact, somehow found each other again and reconnected,” said Bryant, a special education teacher.
Bryant proposed to Manzano in front of the Eiffel Tower in September. Today
Bryant, who proposed to Manzano this past September in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower, called his bride “my rock.”
“She’s my counsel. I go to her for everything. If I ever have a problem, she’s my solution,” he said.
Manzano’s father gave the bride away, leading her to a special TODAY altar that featured a fall backdrop and a wedding arch.
The bride and groom’s immediate family, along with their dog, Napoleon, who served as the ring bearer, sat nearby.
When Roth pronounced them man and wife, they kissed, and were met with glasses of Champagne and congratulatory wishes from TODAY anchors.
Asked about how nervous she was, Manzano said she surprisingly wasn’t.
“It went by fast,” she said with a laugh.
Geist then asked the couple how they felt about awkward wedding guests.
“Are you cool with Natalie dancing at the reception, because it gets a little weird sometimes,” he said.
“We’re totally cool with that,” Manzano said.
TODAY viewers offered their best wishes and advice for the couple in tweets to the #OrangeRoom.Disclaimer: The Mathew Mii here refers to the character as opposed to my identity on other sites. With that said, this is not a self ship.
Guess who's back for the grand adventure? It's the Mathew Mii and Runy Mii! Mat is all suited up in his armor while Runy is still wearing his Mii Gunner outfit from Sm4sh. It seems that Runy is a big fan of the cape and his most favorite Mii in it.
---
I am still waiting for my copy to be delivered from Toys R' Us, but I have played the crap out of the demo for a couple of days after it was released. This is one of the games I have desired according to my Youtube Top 10 list. It does have a few annoying flaws, but I know that I am in for a wild ride ahead.Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, GOP truth teller
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.
Mitt Romney has gone from being the face of the Republican Party to being just another face in the crowd—at the gas station, at the pizza joint, and ringside at a boxing match. The party is looking for somebody new, and the tryouts are already well under way.
The Republican National Committee announced this week that it has put together a committee to investigate the lessons of 2012 and help chart a new course for the future. GOP stars like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Rep. Paul Ryan, and Sen. Marco Rubio appear to have already reached their own conclusions. As they and others come forward, we can see the rough outlines of a classification scheme of potential GOP party leaders begin to emerge. So far, we have the truth teller, the compassionate conservative, the coalition whisperer, and the doer.
Jindal was in Washington playing the role of the truth teller on Tuesday, and he hoped he would get noticed. “Maybe I should say some things that are not allowed to be said in public. Maybe I should say some things that folks think about but are afraid to say in polite company,” he told a Brookings Institution audience. “It is completely dishonest to pretend today that America provides equal opportunity in education. We do not. And if you say that we do, you are lying.”
Not too many people think there is equal opportunity in education—so “truth teller” is a more apt label—but by trying to be |
. Runs are generally shown in order of their number, starting from #1 and moving through the First Stage to #100. The show is being shown in primetime in Japan, which means early morning for the USA and a little bit later in the day for Europe.
Japanese Broadcast – SASUKE 29
Broadcast information for Japanese locals, particularly anyone who receives TBS through their local cable provider in Japan.
Channel – Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)
– Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Date – Thursday, June 27, 2013
– Thursday, June 27, 2013 Start Time – 19:00 (7pm)
– 19:00 (7pm) End Time – 21:54 (9:54pm)
– 21:54 (9:54pm) Duration – 2 hours, 54 minutes.
International Timezones
If your timezone, location, or a location near you (in the same timezone) is not shown, click here to see all the timezones in the world.U.S. Supreme Court
Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693 (1986)
Bowen v. Roy
No. 84-780
Argued January 14, 1986
Decided June 11, 1986
476 U.S. 693
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Syllabus
Appellees applied for and received benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and the Food Stamp program. They refused, however, to comply with the federal statutory requirements that participants in those programs furnish the state welfare agencies who administer the programs with their Social Security numbers and those of each member of their household as a condition of receiving benefits, and that each state agency utilize those numbers in administering the programs. Appellees contended that obtaining a Social Security number for their 2-year-old daughter would violate their Native American religious beliefs. Thereafter, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare terminated AFDC benefits payable to appellees on the child's behalf and instituted proceedings to reduce the level of food stamps that appellees' household was receiving. Appellees then filed an action in Federal District Court, claiming that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment entitled them to an exemption from the Social Security number requirements, and requesting injunctive and other relief. Following a trial in which it was disclosed that the child had in fact been assigned a Social Security number, the court held that the public interest in maintaining an efficient and fraud-resistant system could be met without requiring a Social Security number for the child. The court then enjoined the Secretary of Health and Human Services from using and disseminating the Social Security number issued in the child's name, and also enjoined the federal and state defendants from denying appellees benefits, until the child's 16th birthday, because of their refusal to provide a Social Security number for her.
Held: The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded.
590 F.Supp. 600, vacated and remanded.
CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I and II, concluding that the statutory requirement that a state agency utilize Social Security numbers in administering the programs in question does not violate the Free Exercise Clause. That Clause affords an individual protection from certain forms of governmental compulsion, but does not afford an individual a right to dictate the conduct of the Government's internal procedures. The Government's
Page 476 U. S. 694
use of a Social Security number for appellees' child does not itself impair appellees' freedom to exercise their religion. Pp. 476 U. S. 699-701.
CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER, joined by JUSTICE POWELL and JUSTICE REHNQUIST, concluded in Part III that the statutory requirement that applicants provide a Social Security number as a condition of eligibility for the benefits in question does not violate the Free Exercise Clause. That requirement is facially neutral in religious terms, applies to all applicants for the benefits involved, and clearly promotes a legitimate and important public interest. Preventing fraud in these benefit programs is an important goal, and the Social Security number requirement is a reasonable means of promoting that goal. Government regulation that indirectly and incidentally calls for a choice between securing a governmental benefit and adherence to religious beliefs is wholly different from governmental action or legislation that criminalizes religiously inspired activity or compels conduct that some find objectionable for religious reasons. Pp. 476 U. S. 701-712.
BURGER, C.J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I and II, in which BRENNAN, MARSHALL, BLACKMUN, POWELL, REHNQUIST, STEVENS, and O'CONNOR, JJ., joined, and an opinion with respect to Part III, in which POWELL and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, post, p. 476 U. S. 712. STEVENS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the result, post, p. 476 U. S. 716. O'CONNOR, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which BRENNAN and MARSHALL, JJ., joined, post, p. 476 U. S. 724. WHITE, J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 476 U. S. 733.
Page 476 U. S. 695
CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I and II, and an opinion with respect to Part III, in which JUSTICE POWELL and JUSTICE REHNQUIST join.
The question presented is whether the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment compels the Government to accommodate a religiously based objection to the statutory requirements that a Social Security number be provided by an applicant seeking to receive certain welfare benefits, and that the States use these numbers in administering the benefit programs.
I
Appellees Stephen J. Roy and Karen Miller applied for and received benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and the Food Stamp program. They refused to comply, however, with the requirement, contained in 42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(25) [Footnote 1] and 7 U.S.C. § 2025(e), that participants in these programs furnish their state welfare agencies with the Social Security numbers of the members of their household as a condition of receiving benefits. Appellees contended that obtaining a Social Security number for their 2-year-old daughter, Little Bird of the Snow, would violate their Native American religious beliefs. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare thereafter terminated AFDC and medical benefits payable to appellees on the child's behalf and instituted proceedings to reduce the level of food stamps that appellees' household was receiving. Appellees then filed this action against the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Agriculture, arguing that the Free Exercise Clause entitled them to an exemption from the Social Security number requirement. In their complaint,
Page 476 U. S. 696
appellees stated that "[t]he sole basis" for the denial of welfare benefits was "Mr. Roy's refusal to obtain a Social Security Number for Little Bird of the Snow," and thus requested injunctive relief, damages, and benefits. In the statement of "undisputed facts," the parties agreed that Little Bird of the Snow did not have a Social Security number.
At trial, Roy testified that he had recently developed a religious objection to obtaining a Social Security number for Little Bird of the Snow. [Footnote 2] Roy is a Native American descended from the Abenaki Tribe, and he asserts a religious belief that control over one's life is essential to spiritual purity, and indispensable to "becoming a holy person." Based on recent conversations with an Abenaki chief, Roy believes that technology is "robbing the spirit of man." In order to prepare his daughter for greater spiritual power, therefore, Roy testified to his belief that he must keep her person and spirit unique, and that the uniqueness of the Social Security number as an identifier, coupled with the other uses of the number over which she has no control, will serve to "rob the spirit" of his daughter and prevent her from attaining greater spiritual power.
For purposes of determining the breadth of Roy's religious concerns, the trial judge raised the possibility of using the phonetics of his daughter's name to derive a Social Security number. Although Roy saw "a lot of good" in this suggestion, he stated it would violate his religious beliefs because the special number still would apply uniquely and identify her. Roy also testified that his religious objection would not be satisfied even if the Social Security Administration appended the daughter's full tribal name to her Social Security number.
Page 476 U. S. 697
In Roy's own testimony, he emphasized the evil that would flow simply from obtaining a number. [Footnote 3] On the last day of trial, however, a federal officer inquired whether Little Bird of the Snow already had a Social Security number; he learned that a number had been assigned -- under first name "Little," middle name "Bird of the Snow," and last name "Roy."
The Government at this point suggested that the case had become moot, because, under Roy's beliefs, Little Bird of the Snow's spirit had already been "robbed." Roy, however, was recalled to the stand and testified that her spirit would be robbed only by "use" of the number. Since no known use of the number had yet been made, Roy expressed his belief that her spirit had not been damaged. The District Court concluded that the case was not moot because of Roy's beliefs regarding "use" of the number. See Roy v. Cohen, 590 F.Supp. 600, 605 (MD Pa.1984) (finding of fact 33) ("Roy believes that the establishment of a social security number for Little Bird of the Snow, without more, has not robbed her spirit,' but widespread use of the social security number by the federal or state governments in their computer systems would have that effect").
After hearing all of the testimony, the District Court denied appellees' request for damages and benefits, but granted injunctive relief. Based on the testimony of the Government's experts and the obvious fact that many people share certain names, the District Court found that
"[u]tilization in
Page 476 U. S. 698
the computer system of the name of a benefit recipient alone frequently is not sufficient to ensure the proper payment of benefits."
The court nevertheless concluded that the public
"interest in maintaining an efficient and fraud resistant system can be met without requiring use of a social security number for Little Bird of the Snow,"
elaborating:
"It appears to the Court that the harm that the Government might suffer if [appellees] prevailed in this case would be, at worst, that one or perhaps a few individuals could fraudulently obtain welfare benefits. Such a result would obtain only if (1) Little Bird of the Snow attempted fraudulently to obtain welfare benefits or someone else attempted fraudulently to obtain such benefits using Little Bird of the Snow's name and (2) identification procedures available to the Defendants that do not require utilization of a social security number failed to expose the fraud. This possibility appears to the Court to be remote."
Id. at 612-613. Citing our decision in United States v. Lee, 455 U. S. 252 (1982), the court entered an injunction containing two basic components. First, the Secretary of Health and Human Services was
"permanently restrained from making any use of the social security number which was issued in the name of Little Bird of the Snow Roy and from disseminating the number to any agency, individual, business entity, or any other third party."
Second, the federal and state defendants were enjoined until Little Bird of the Snow's 16th birthday from denying Roy cash assistance, medical assistance, and food stamps "because of the [appellees'] refusal to provide a social security number for her."
We noted probable jurisdiction, 472 U.S. 1016 (1985), and we vacate and remand.
Page 476 U. S. 699
II
Appellees raise a constitutional challenge to two features of the statutory scheme here. [Footnote 4] They object to Congress' requirement that a state AFDC plan
"must... provide (A) that, as a condition of eligibility under the plan, each applicant for or recipient of aid shall furnish to the State agency his social security account number."
42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(25) (emphasis added). They also object to Congress' requirement that "such State agency shall utilize such account numbers... in the administration of such plan." Ibid. (emphasis added). [Footnote 5] We analyze each of these contentions, turning to the latter contention first.
Our cases have long recognized a distinction between the freedom of individual belief, which is absolute, and the freedom of individual conduct, which is not absolute. This case implicates only the latter concern. Roy objects to the statutory requirement that state agencies "shall utilize" Social Security numbers not because it places any restriction on what he may believe or what he may do, but because he believes the use of the number may harm his daughter's spirit.
Never to our knowledge has the Court interpreted the First Amendment to require the Government itself to behave in ways that the individual believes will further his or her spiritual development or that of his or her family. The Free Exercise Clause simply cannot be understood to require the Government to conduct its own internal affairs in ways that comport with the religious beliefs of particular citizens. Just as the Government may not insist that appellees engage in
Page 476 U. S. 700
any set form of religious observance, so appellees may not demand that the Government join in their chosen religious practices by refraining from using a number to identify their daughter.
"[T]he Free Exercise Clause is written in terms of what the government cannot do to the individual, not in terms of what the individual can extract from the government."
Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U. S. 398, 374 U. S. 412 (1963) (Douglas, J., concurring).
As a result, Roy may no more prevail on his religious objection to the Government's use of a Social Security number for his daughter than he could on a sincere religious objection to the size or color of the Government's filing cabinets. The Free Exercise Clause affords an individual protection from certain forms of governmental compulsion; it does not afford an individual a right to dictate the conduct of the Government's internal procedures.
As Roy points out, eight years ago, Congress passed a Joint Resolution concerning American Indian religious freedom that provides guidance with respect to this case. As currently codified, the Resolution provides:
"On and after August 11, 1978, it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites."
42 U.S.C. § 1996. That Resolution -- with its emphasis on protecting the freedom to believe, express, and exercise a religion -- accurately identifies the mission of the Free Exercise Clause itself. The Federal Government's use of a Social Security number for Little Bird of the Snow does not itself in any degree impair Roy's "freedom to believe, express, and exercise" his religion. [Footnote 6]
Page 476 U. S. 701
Consequently, appellees' objection to the statutory requirement that each state agency "shall utilize" a Social Security number in the administration of its plan is without merit. It follows that their request for an injunction against use of the Social Security number in processing benefit applications should have been rejected. We therefore hold that the portion of the District Court's injunction that permanently restrained the Secretary from making any use of the Social Security number that had been issued in the name of Little Bird of the Snow Roy must be vacated.
III
Roy also challenges Congress' requirement that a state AFDC plan
"must... provide (A) that, as a condition of eligibility under the plan, each applicant for or recipient of aid shall furnish to the State agency his social security account number."
42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(25) (emphasis added). [Footnote 7] The
Page 476 U. S. 702
First Amendment's guarantee that "Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise" of religion holds an important place in our scheme of ordered liberty, but the Court has steadfastly maintained that claims of religious conviction do not automatically entitle a person to fix unilaterally the conditions and terms of dealings with the Government. Not all burdens on religion are unconstitutional. See Reynolds v. United States, 98 U. S. 145 (1879). This was treated recently in United States v. Lee:
"To maintain an organized society that guarantees religious freedom to a great variety of faiths requires that some religious practices yield to the common good. Religious beliefs can be accommodated, but there is a point at which accommodation would 'radically restrict the operating latitude of the legislature.'"
455 U.S. at 455 U. S. 259.
Page 476 U. S. 703
The statutory requirement that applicants provide a Social Security number is wholly neutral in religious terms, and uniformly applicable. There is no claim that there is any attempt by Congress to discriminate invidiously, or any covert suppression of particular religious beliefs. The administrative requirement does not create any danger of censorship, [Footnote 8] or place a direct condition or burden on the dissemination of religious views. [Footnote 9] It does not intrude on the organization of a religious institution [Footnote 10] or school. [Footnote 11] It may indeed confront some applicants for benefits with choices, but in no sense does it affirmatively compel appellees, by threat of sanctions, to refrain from religiously motivated conduct [Footnote 12] or to engage in conduct that they find objectionable for religious reasons. [Footnote 13] Rather, it is appellees who seek benefits from the Government and who assert that, because of certain religious beliefs, they should be excused from compliance with a condition that is binding on all other persons who seek the same benefits from the Government.
This is far removed from the historical instances of religious persecution and intolerance that gave concern to those who drafted the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. See generally M. Malbin, Religion and Politics: The Intentions of the Authors of the First Amendment (1978). We are not unmindful of the importance of many government benefits today or of the value of sincerely held religious beliefs.
Page 476 U. S. 704
However, while we do not believe that no government compulsion is involved, we cannot ignore the reality that denial of such benefits by a uniformly applicable statute neutral on its face is of a wholly different, less intrusive nature than affirmative compulsion or prohibition, by threat of penal sanctions, for conduct that has religious implications.
This distinction is clearly revealed in the Court's opinions. Decisions rejecting religiously based challenges have often recited the fact that a mere denial of a governmental benefit by a uniformly applicable statute does not constitute infringement of religious liberty. In Hamilton v. Regents of University of California, 293 U. S. 245 (1934), for example, the Court rejected a religious challenge by students to military courses required as part of their curriculum, explaining:
"The fact that they are able to pay their way in this university, but not in any other institution in California, is without significance upon any constitutional or other question here involved. California has not drafted or called them to attend the university. They are seeking education offered by the State, and at the same time insisting that they be excluded from the prescribed course solely upon grounds of their religious beliefs and conscientious objections to war...."
Id. at 293 U. S. 262. [Footnote 14] In cases upholding First Amendment challenges, on the other hand, the Court has often relied on the showing that compulsion of certain activity with religious significance was involved.
Page 476 U. S. 705
In West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette, 319 U. S. 624 (1943), for example, the Court distinguished the earlier Hamilton holding and upheld a challenge to a flag salute requirement:
"Here... we are dealing with a compulsion of students to declare a belief.... This issue is not prejudiced by the Court's previous holding that, where a State, without compelling attendance, extends college facilities to pupils who voluntarily enroll, it may prescribe military training as part of the course without offense to the Constitution. It was held that those who take advantage of its opportunities may not, on ground of conscience, refuse compliance with such conditions. Hamilton v. Regents, 293 U. S. 245. In the present case, attendance is not optional."
319 U.S. at 319 U. S. 631-632. [Footnote 15] The distinction between governmental compulsion and conditions relating to governmental benefits contained in these two cases was emphasized by JUSTICE BRENNAN in his concurring opinion in Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U. S. 203 (1963):
"The different results of [Hamilton and Barnette] are attributable only in part to a difference in the strength of the particular state interests which the respective statutes were designed to serve. Far more significant is the fact that Hamilton dealt with the voluntary attendance at college of young adults, while Barnette involved the compelled attendance of young children at elementary and secondary schools. This distinction warrants a difference in constitutional results."
Id. at 374 U. S. 252-253 (footnote omitted).
Page 476 U. S. 706
We have repeatedly emphasized this distinction: in rejecting a Free Exercise challenge in Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U. S. 574, 461 U. S. 603-604 (1983), for example, we observed that the
"[d]enial of tax benefits will inevitably have a substantial impact on the operation of private religious schools, but will not prevent those schools from observing their religious tenets. [Footnote 16]"
We conclude then that government regulation that indirectly and incidentally calls for a choice between securing a governmental benefit and adherence to religious beliefs is wholly different from governmental action or legislation that criminalizes religiously inspired activity or inescapably compels conduct that some find objectionable for religious reasons. Although the denial of government benefits over religious objection can raise serious Free Exercise problems, these two very different forms of government action are not governed by the same constitutional standard. A governmental burden on religious liberty is not insulated from review simply because it is indirect, Thomas v. Review Board of Indiana Employment Security Div., 450 U. S. 707, 450 U. S. 717-718 (1981) (citing Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. at 374 U. S. 404);
Page 476 U. S. 707
but the nature of the burden is relevant to the standard the government must meet to justify the burden.
The general governmental interests involved here buttress this conclusion. Governments today grant a broad range of benefits; inescapably, at the same time, the administration of complex programs requires certain conditions and restrictions. Although, in some situations, a mechanism for individual consideration will be created, a policy decision by a government that it wishes to treat all applicants alike, and that it does not wish to become involved in case-by-case inquiries into the genuineness of each religious objection to such condition or restrictions is entitled to substantial deference. Moreover, legitimate interests are implicated in the need to avoid any appearance of favoring religious over nonreligious applicants.
The test applied in cases like Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U. S. 205 (1972), is not appropriate in this setting. In the enforcement of a facially neutral and uniformly applicable requirement for the administration of welfare programs reaching many millions of people, the Government is entitled to wide latitude. The Government should not be put to the strict test applied by the District Court; that standard required the Government to justify enforcement of the use of Social Security number requirement as the least restrictive means of accomplishing a compelling state interest. [Footnote 17] Absent proof of an intent to discriminate against particular religious beliefs or against religion in general, the Government
Page 476 U. S. 708
meets its burden when it demonstrates that a challenged requirement for governmental benefits, neutral and uniform in its application, is a reasonable means of promoting a legitimate public interest.
We reject appellees' contention that Sherbert and Thomas compel affirmance. The statutory conditions at issue in those cases provided that a person was not eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if, "without good cause," he had quit work or refused available work. The "good cause" standard created a mechanism for individualized exemptions. If a state creates such a mechanism, its refusal to extend an exemption to an instance of religious hardship suggests a discriminatory intent. Thus, as was urged in Thomas, to consider a religiously motivated resignation to be "without good cause" tends to exhibit hostility, not neutrality, towards religion. See Brief for Petitioner 15, and Brief for American Jewish Congress as Amicus Curiae 11, in Thomas v. Review Board of Indiana Employment Security Div., O.T. 1979, No. 79-952. See also Sherbert, supra, at 374 U. S. 401-402, n. 4; United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. at 455 U. S. 264, n. 3 (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment) (Thomas and Sherbert may be viewed "as a protection against unequal treatment, rather than a grant of favored treatment for the members of the religious sect"). In those cases, therefore, it was appropriate to require the State to demonstrate a compelling reason for denying the requested exemption.
Here there is nothing whatever suggesting antagonism by Congress towards religion generally, or towards any particular religious beliefs. The requirement that applicants provide a Social Security number is facially neutral, and applies to all applicants for the benefits involved. Congress has made no provision for individual exemptions to the requirement in the two statutes in question. Indeed, to the contrary, Congress has specified that a state AFDC plan
"must... provide (A) that, as a condition of eligibility under the plan, each applicant for or recipient of aid shall furnish to the
Page 476 U. S. 709
State agency his social security account number,"
42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(25) (emphasis added), and that
"[s]tate agencies shall (1) require, as a condition of eligibility for participation in the food stamp program, that each household member furnish to the State agency their social security account number,"
7 U.S.C. § 2025(e) (emphasis added). Nor are these requirements relics from the past; Congress made the requirement mandatory for the Food Stamp program in 1981. Compare 7 U.S.C. § 2025(f) (1976 ed., Supp. IV) (State agencies "may" require that each household member furnish their Social Security number), with 7 U.S.C. § 2025(e) (States "shall" require that such numbers be furnished). Congress also recently extended to several other aid programs the mandatory requirement that the States use Social Security numbers in verifying eligibility for benefits. See Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, Pub.L. 98-369, § 2651(a), 98 Stat. 1147.
The Social Security number requirement clearly promotes a legitimate and important public interest. No one can doubt that preventing fraud in these benefits programs is an important goal. As Representative Richmond explained in support of the bill that made the Social Security number requirement mandatory for the Food Stamp program:
"We know that, however generously motivated Americans may be to furnish resources to the poor to enable them to survive,... they understandably object if they believe that those resources are being abused or wasted...."
"We want to be certain that the food stamp program is run as efficiently and as error-free as possible."
"We want applicants and recipients alike constantly to be aware that the Congress does not and will not tolerate any refusal to disclose earnings accurately, and underreporting of welfare or other assistance program benefits, any efforts to evade the work requirement, or any other attempts to take advantage of the program and dollars intended only for those who completely satisfy the stringent
Page 476 U. S. 710
eligibility requirements set forth in sections 5 and 7 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and further tightened this year and in this bill."
127 Cong.Rec. 24783 (1981). We also think it plain that the Social Security number requirement is a reasonable means of promoting that goal. The programs at issue are of truly staggering magnitude. Each year, roughly 3.8 million families receive $7.8 billion through federally funded AFDC programs, and 20 million persons receive $11 billion in food stamps. The Social Security program itself is the largest domestic governmental program in the United States today, distributing approximately $51 billion monthly to 36 million recipients. Because of the tremendous administrative problems associated with managing programs of this size, the District Court found:
"Social security numbers are used in making the determination that benefits in the programs are properly paid and that there is no duplication of benefits or failure of payment.... Utilization in the computer system of the name of a benefit recipient alone frequently is not sufficient to ensure the proper payment of benefits."
Social Security numbers are unique numerical identifiers, and are used pervasively in these programs. The numbers are used, for example, to keep track of persons no longer entitled to receive food stamps because of past fraud or abuses of the program. Moreover, the existence of this unique numerical identifier creates opportunities for ferreting out fraudulent applications through computer "matching" techniques. One investigation, "Project Match," compared federal employee files against AFDC and Medicaid files to determine instances of Government employees receiving welfare benefits improperly. Data from 26 States were examined, and 9,000 individuals were identified as receiving duplicate welfare payments. While undoubtedly some fraud escapes detection in spite of such investigations, the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, known more popularly as the "Grace Commission,"
Page 476 U. S. 711
recently reported that matching
"is the Federal Government's most cost-effective tool for verification or investigation in the prevention and detection of fraud, waste and abuse."
7 The President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, Management Office Selected Issues -- Information Gap in the Federal Government 90 (1984).
The importance of the Social Security number to these matching techniques is illustrated by the facts of this case. The District Court found that
"efficient operation of these [matching] programs requires the use of computer systems that utilize unique numerical identifiers such as the social security number."
590 F.Supp. at 606. It further found that exempting even appellees alone from this requirement could result in "one or perhaps a few individuals... fraudulently obtain[ing] welfare benefits," id. at 612, a prospect the court termed "remote." Id. at 613. The District Court's assessment of this probability seems quite dubious. [Footnote 18] But in any event, we know of no case obligating the Government to tolerate a slight risk of "one or perhaps a few individuals" fraudulently obtaining benefits in order to satisfy a religious objection to a requirement designed to combat that very risk. Appellees may not use the Free Exercise Clause to demand
Page 476 U. S. 712
Government benefits, but only on their own terms, particularly where that insistence works a demonstrable disadvantage to the Government in the administration of the programs.
As the Court has recognized before, given the diversity of beliefs in our pluralistic society and the necessity of providing governments with sufficient operating latitude, some incidental neutral restraints on the free exercise of religion are inescapable. As a matter of legislative policy, a legislature might decide to make religious accommodations to a general and neutral system of awarding benefits, [Footnote 19] "[b]ut our concern is not with the wisdom of legislation, but with its constitutional limitation." Braunfeld v. Brown, 366 U. S. 599, 366 U. S. 608 (1961) (plurality opinion). We conclude that the Congress' refusal to grant appellees a special exemption does not violate the Free Exercise Clause.
The judgment of the District Court is vacated and the case is remanded.
It is so ordered.
[Footnote 1]
We refer to the statutory scheme as it existed at the time appellees filed suit. The scheme has since been amended, although the Social Security number requirement has been retained in virtually identical form. See Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, Pub.L. 98-369, § 2651(a), 98 Stat. 1147.
[Footnote 2]
Roy and Miller both have Social Security numbers. They also obtained a Social Security number for their 5-year-old daughter Renee at some time prior to the present dispute.
[Footnote 3]
"[Q.] Mr. Roy, could you explain why obtaining a Social Security Number for Little Bird of the Snow would be contrary to your religious beliefs as a native Abenaki?"
"A. Yes. Because we felt that this number would be used to rob her of her ability to have greater power in that this number is a unique number. It serves unique purposes. It's applied to her and only her; and being applied to her, that's what offends us, and we try to keep her person unique, and we try to keep her spirit unique, and we're scared that, if we were to use this number, she would lose control of that, and she would have no ability to protect herself from any evil that that number might be used against her."
App. 85.
[Footnote 4]
They also raise a statutory argument -- that the Government's denial of benefits to them constitutes illegal discrimination on the basis of religion or national origin. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d; 7 U.S.C. §2011. We find these claims to be without merit.
[Footnote 5]
The Food Stamp program restrictions that appellees challenge contain restrictions virtually identical to those in the AFDC program quoted in the text. See 7 U.S.C. § 2025(e).
[Footnote 6]
Roy's religious views may not accept this distinction between individual and governmental conduct. See, e.g., n 3, supra. It is clear, however, that the Free Exercise Clause, and the Constitution generally, recognize such a distinction; for the adjudication of a constitutional claim, the Constitution, rather than an individual's religion, must supply the frame of reference.
[Footnote 7]
This issue is clearly not moot in light of our discussion in 476 U. S. contrary to the suggestion of the two concurrences. JUSTICE STEVENS asserts that
"there is nothing in the record to suggest that the Government will not pay the benefits in dispute as soon as the District Court's injunction against the use of the number has been vacated."
Post at 476 U. S. 723. To my mind, this statement, while true, fundamentally misperceives the nature of appellees' suit. Appellees do not seek to have the Government "pay the benefits in dispute as soon as the District Court's injunction against use of the number has been vacated." Such payment would entail use of Little Bird of the Snow's Social Security number, use that appellees filed suit to prevent.
JUSTICE BLACKMUN similarly believes that, on remand,
"it is possible that the Government, in a welcome display of reasonableness, will decide that, since it already has a Social Security number for Little Bird of the Snow, it will not insist that appellees resupply it."
Post at 476 U. S. 714-715. My reading of the record is that such an occurrence is not a mere "possibility." JUSTICE STEVENS cites federal regulations that provide that the Government will assist households that, for some reason or other, are unable to furnish a Social Security number. See post at 476 U. S. 721-722. Moreover, the Government's brief in this Court reports that
"we are advised by the Social Security Administration that the agency itself assigns [Social Security numbers] to persons who are required by federal law to have one, but decline to complete an application. If, for religious reasons, the individual requiring [a Social Security number] does not wish to receive a social security card, the agency will accommodate that request. Similarly, when an applicant refuses to sign an application for [a Social Security number] on religious grounds, [Social Security Administration personnel] may sign in lieu of the applicant."
Brief for Appellants 46, n.19 (emphasis added; citations omitted). Thus, the Government undoubtedly would be happy to "supply" the number for appellees -- i.e., fill the number in on their applications -- if this is what they wanted. But appellees do not desire any such assistance from the Government; instead they filed suit seeking a ruling excluding them from the operation of any portion of the statutory scheme involving Social Security numbers. They continue to press this claim in this Court. For the reasons advanced here, this claim ultimately lacks merit, but it certainly is not moot.
Also, in view of our analysis of the case, because all relevant facts are before the Court and further proceedings in the District Court could not produce information that would change the result, the case is ripe for decision.
[Footnote 8]
Cf. Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U. S. 296, 305 (1940).
[Footnote 9]
Cf. Follett v. Town of McCormick, 321 U. S. 573, 577-578 (1944); Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U. S. 105, 112 (1943).
[Footnote 10]
Cf. Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral, 344 U. S. 94 (1952).
[Footnote 11]
Cf. NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 440 U. S. 490 (1979).
[Footnote |
you see it with concussions, that's the most important thing to the fans?
WILLIAMS: Pardon my French, but f*** the fans. I think if players were allowed to use cannabis, I think you'd think better resolutions of the long game. I think you'd see less players committing suicide. You'd see less players struggling with concussion-caused symptoms. I think you'd just see less players struggling after football. Before I started using cannabis, I just was like football, football, football, and trying to fit into the identity of what it meant to be a football player. Then I started using cannabis and my mind opened, and I realized there's more to me and there's more to life than just football. I started to pursue other things that I was interested in, so when it was time for me to leave football, it was a smooth and easy transition. We can talk about pain, but I think the spiritual and the mind-opening affects of cannabis are where the true healing occurs.
TPG: You heard it a lot that people think players are just machines that can keep going night-in, day-in, Sunday-in, Sunday-out. From what you're saying, it's important for the fans to realize – or you can say F the fans – that there's more going on with players.
WILLIAMS: To me, the whole point of professional sports is that people are supposed to watch professional sports and feel inspired. But because they project this machine stuff on us they don't relate to us. We all went to elementary school together. We're just like everyone else, we've just found something we're really good at and we've dealt with the difficulties it's taken to be the best. I think if other people are willing to look at football players and other professional athletes and be inspired to find what they're good at and work hard to achieve at that level, that's what it's really about.
On getting weed in Austin:
WILLIAMS: I spend most of my time in LA, but I have been in Austin for the past five years and it's liberal in the sense that it's pretty easy to get in Austin and the cops are pretty chill, but if you go one county to the north, you're in jail for a joint, you're in jail for a doobie.
-- Follow Jeff Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband. Like Jeff Eisenband on Facebook.
-- Follow ThePostGame Podcast on SoundCloud and subscribe on iTunes.Greg Hardy and Dallas Cowboys fans got what they paid for on Sunday when a plane carrying the message of "We Still Dem Boyz. #SacksComin" flew over the Eagles' practice at Lincoln Financial Field. The gesture looked dumb, however, because it interrupted the National Anthem. Eagles fans predictably reacted to the plane by booing.
After practice, Eagles players gave their reactions to the incident. Some had some pretty strong words for Hardy and the Cowboys. Quotes via Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com unless noted otherwise.
One of nicest guys on team, #Eagles Bennie Logan on Cowboys banner: "Shows what kind of character they have. That's pretty stupid of them." — Ed Kracz (@kracze) August 9, 2015
"It's a waste of money. I think he is a hothead that gets carried away with himself. He is going to have his hands full with (Jason Peters), I promise you that."
"I didn't even know he was playing the first couple games. I heard 'Dallas Sucks' so I guess that is where it was coming from."
Jordan Matthews on Greg Hardy flying a banner over Eagles practice: "He spent money on that?" — Reuben Frank (@RoobCSN) August 9, 2015
Jason Peters
"Whatever floats his boat."
"Tell him not to go broke after football."
""It would rub anybody the wrong way," Cox said. "We came here today to salute the soldiers and then you look up during the national anthem and you see something like that...I think it was real disrespectful to us and to the people who serve us. They are our rivals, and they try to do stuff to get in our heads but we have to take care of business."
DeMeco Ryans on Cowboys banner: "It's no big deal. We're not concerned about them, but it seems like they're concerned about us." — Zach Berman (@ZBerm) August 9, 2015
...
The Eagles play the Cowboys in Week 2 and Week 9 of the 2015 season. Hardy will not be suiting up for the first matchup in Philadelphia due to his four-game suspension but he'll be available to play in Week 9. No word on whether or not this retaliation banner will appear during the games.Giacomo Gambineri
This article was first published in the May 2016 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online. For more stories from WIRED's Security issue, click here.
Here are two statistics I mention to every C-suite executive or board director I meet: first, 93 per cent of the IT executives you hire to safeguard your organisation believe that "insider risk" is an increasingly serious issue. Second, only 3.6 per cent of IT budgets are focused on addressing it.
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The malicious insider can appear in multiple forms and evolve over time, just as external threats do. For example, people who have otherwise good intentions sometimes face changes in their lives such as financial stress. They can also come from people with intent to do harm for personal gain or because of a grievance with the company.
Part of the reason executives don't want to talk about malicious internal threat is because they tend to think it won't happen in their organisation. They're also concerned with the message that knowledge of a malicious insider might send about their company, its screening practices, its basic security or its culture. But perhaps the principal reason malicious insider risk isn't widely discussed is that the problem is particularly difficult to address. How can a company defend itself against threat actors with legitimate access to its premises, its networks and data and, in some cases, its crown-jewel assets?
In 2016, the same kind of focused attention and resources that are already being applied to external threats will begin to be applied to insider risks. The rise of big-data analytics holds promise in this regard, as highly effective new tools are coming to market. Many leading companies are starting to proactively address insider risk by investing in risk-management technologies to identify, and in some cases prevent, these threats.
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Just as businesses analyse big data to gain insight into customers' buying behaviour, combining an understanding of human behaviour with analysis of data from electronic communications has allowed companies to get in front of internal threats and take protective action.
All companies will need to approach insider risk and, further, speak openly about it. As we've seen with external threats, sharing information and experience will enhance everyone's ability to meet this challenge.
Edward Stroz is is chairman of Stroz Friedberg, a consulting firm with a focus on risk managementBuckle up! Two high-flying stars from the iconic spoof film Airplane! have reunited for a commercial to promote — brace yourselves — Wisconsin tourism.
Surely, you can’t be serious.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Hays played stricken copilot Roger Murdoch and the drinking-problem-plagued Ted Striker in the oft-quoted 1980 comedy. The duo are back in the cockpit as two pilots with a difference of opinion when it comes to a safe altitude. Both the classic movie and the commercial were filmed by writer-directors Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker, each a Wisconsin native.
In the spot, the two hapless aviators are flying a bit too close to the ground because Kareem, who began his NBA career in Milwaukee with the Bucks before moving on to the Los Angeles Lakers, wants to get a nice look at the beautiful Wisconsin foliage.
"Pull up, we’re too low," Hays screams. "I know, but isn’t Wisconsin beautiful in the fall," Kareem responds. "You’re out of your mind," says Hays. "I know," says Kareem, shaking his head. "Why did I ever leave this place?"
Of course no homage to the movie would be complete without an appearance from a certain inflatable autopilot. Turns out: He’s a cheesehead.'Too many people are getting sick'
Studies find fluoride to be a neurotoxin
(NaturalNews) The city council of a Canadian community has been informed that it may be legally liable for harm caused to any of its residents by the fluoridated water in the city's system."Not only is the region responsible and liable to the people of Peel, individual councillors are responsible and liable," said lawyer Nader Hasan, who is representing the group Concerned Residents of Peel, told the Peel Region council recently.Thereported that Hasan informed the council that Charter rights protecting against government policies that cause harm are currently being violated, and he further warned that if the fluoride is not removed from the city's system, there may be a costly legal battle ahead.Thefurther reported:After hearing from Hasan, the council voted to defer a move to reopen the issue until they meet again in September, when Peel Region legal staff will be able to deliver an opinion on Hassan's claims and arguments.In 2007, Health Canada, the country's health service, announced that fluoridating water is safe at the levels currently permitted throughout the country.In 2011, the City of Toronto public health board, under public pressure, voted to continue putting fluoride in the city water supply. And in 2012, the paper reported, Halton Region's council voted narrowly, 11-9, to keep fluoride in their system.Thereported that studies around the world "suggest low-level fluoride poses no health risks and is very effective at fighting tooth decay." But Hasan argued that many of those studies are either outdated, flawed or were not peer-reviewed.In fact, he noted, a number of jurisdictions across Canada have removed fluoride from drinking water recently, including Calgary and Windsor, but many others have not yet followed them."Many jurisdictions, including all of western Europe, are not fluoridated," Hasan said. "Yet we see rates of tooth decay going down in these jurisdictions."A founding member of the residents' group, Mississauga resident Liesa Cianchino, was instrumental in getting the issue before the Peel Region council, thereported."Too many people are getting sick," she said following Hasan's presentation.In a recent online poll by retail club giant Costco, Paul Connett, co-author ofand the director of the Fluoride Action Network argued that almost 100 percent of Europe's drinking water was fluoride-free."Most countries in the world (including 97 percent of Europe) do not fluoridate their water. Yet, tooth decay has been coming down as fast in non-fluoridated countries as in fluoridated ones, according to a World Health Organization study," he said.Connett added: "It is a poor medical practice to use the water supply to deliver medicine. You cannot control the dose or who gets the medicine, and it violates the individual's right to informed consent to medical treatment."As for studies, a number of found fluoride to be harmful, especially to children. A recentstudy, for instance, found that fluoride was linked to higher incidents of ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder."Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) found that, among other things, the fluoride chemicals added to many public water systems in North America directly contribute to both mental and behavioral disorders in children,"' Jonathan Benson wrote, citing the study's findings.Thestudy built upon previous research from 2006, which dubbed fluoride as a "developmental neurotoxicant." The more recent findings stemmed from a meta analysis of 27 studies,researchers said.The Troika’s recommendation to give Ireland seven more years to repay its bailout loan has been welcomed by Government ministers.
A leaked document from international lenders to EUpolicy makers has recommended Ireland and Portugal should get an extension on their loans from the European Union to facilitate their return to full market financing.
Such a move, if accepted, would mark a significant concession to Ireland, helping to seal its return to normal borrowing on markets, as well as offering a significant boost to Portugal as it struggles to push through spending cuts.
Speaking in Dublin today, Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said the decision would give “stability and confidence” to the country, which would be of “real practival benefit to workers, businesses and the community at large”.
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn described the decision as a “step in the right direction”.
“It has the possibility if it comes though of reducing in effect the cost of our mortgage,” he said.
The paper, seen by Reuters, was drafted by representatives of the European Central Bank, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, called the Troika, and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
It will be presented to European Union ministers when they meet in Dublin on Friday and Saturday to discuss the extensions.
Because the meeting is described as informal, the ministers are likely to give only political support for the extensions for both countries with a formal decision to follow only next month.
Ireland and Portugal got emergency loans from the European Union in 2010 and 2011 respectively after investors refused to lend to them at sustainable prices.
The average maturity of EU loans to Ireland is 12.5 years and to Portugal between 12.5 and 14.7 years depending on which EU fund provided the money. Ireland is to return to full market financing late this year and Portugal in 2014.
By extending the maturity, the payments are spread over a longer time, reducing the burden on the countries.
But Ireland will need to roll-over about €20 billion per year in 2016-2020 while Portugal will need the same amount per year between 2015 and 2021, a paper prepared for junior EU finance ministers and central bankers said.
While Ireland is likely to get full support from EU ministers, the backing for more time for Portugal is likely to be made conditional on Lisbon finding new measures to fill a €1.3 billion gap in the 2013 budget following a ruling by Portugal's constitutional court that some of the earlier planned steps were illegal.
"That is the maximum one can expect," one senior euro zone official involved in the preparations for the meeting said.
While much of the debt that falls due between 2015-2022 for Portugal and Ireland is privately owned, it also includes IMF and EU loans.
Data on websites of the EFSF and the EU bailout fund ESFM shows that redemptions of EU loans account for €8.6 billion in 2016 for Ireland and almost €7 billion in 2016 and €8.7 billion in 2021 for Portugal.
Dublin and Lisbon have therefore asked EU ministers to extend the average maturity of the loans by 15 years since the EU redemptions would have to be financed by market borrowing.
The paper considered extensions of 2.5, 5, 7 and 10 years and more, rejecting the shorter extensions as not beneficial enough for the two countries.
The longest extension was too risky for future EU budgets, against which the EU borrowed on the market to lend on to Lisbon and Dublin through its European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM), the paper said.
"An extension of the maximum average maturity by seven years would provide a balanced compromise between the lender and creditor constraints," the paper said.
"Such an extension would remove redemption humps in the post-programme period, provides a sufficiently large window for Portugal and Ireland to issue medium and long-term bonds which would not risk competing with EFSF/EFSM redemptions, smooth the debt profile well into the 2020s and hence send a strong positive signal to the markets," the paper said.
"The troika partners and the EFSF would advocate to extend the maximum average maturity by seven years as it appears to be the best compromise accommodating the constraints and preferences of debtors and creditors," it said.Manchester is to be the first city where people can sign up for a new ID card, ministers are to confirm. Will you sign up for one of the new cards? Read the main story Read your most recent comments Read the third page of comments Read the second page of comments Read the first page of comments We are having serious technical problems with the usual Have Your Say service which our engineers are working to fix. In the meantime we are using the form on the right to ask for your comments. We will aim to publish as many of your views as we can. We apologise for any inconvenience. Read the editor's blog about this fault Your comments: Why not just insist on ID cards for people that do not already have a driver's license or a UK passport? Then the remaining money can be used to improve the NHS and reduce council tax. Or does that make too much sense?
Elsabe Smit, Fleet, UK And as for handing over my fingerprints in a High Street chemist or Post Office - forget it. It's not long since we had a card terminal stolen from a shop round here, and all our credit card numbers used in Canada. If someone did that with the fingerprint terminal, there will be all hell to pay
Shining Light, Northampton A fitting quote from the most recent James Bond film says it all - "When you can't tell your friends from your enemies, it's time to go."
David Cook, London, England This project will generate a lot of money for the economy from the IT companies producing it to the selling of the data. This may be more about "better for business" than "big brother"?
Jason, Newcastle, UK The reason this is different from other forms of ID is that it contains your bio-information (fingerprint) Giving this to the government will give them the new ability know anywhere you've been - and you can't take that ability away from them. You may say that you have nothing to hide, and trust this government not to misuse that power, but are you going to say that you will trust all future governments, without having had a look at them? Also are you going to trust every minor civil servant who has access to this, not to let it fall into the hands of just anybody who is willing to bribe them?
Cardotyn, Wales If the UK goes for the identity card, there will no remaining reason to stay British.
Bob Carrington, Goldenstedt, Germany ID cards are worthless for the stated purpose. Just more for the poor man in the street to pay! Don't we pay enough in income tax N.I, council tax, VAT etc etc already!? Its the surveillance state reaching out to control and monitor. Resist this I.D card madness at every turn
Colin, Gravesend, Kent. UK I really wish people would stop using the tired old "if you've got nothing to hide.." excuse. For a start ID cards did nothing to stop the Madrid terrorist attacks. Given the Governments track record of incompetence with large database projects it will fail, through deliberate hacking or human error in database additions. This will lead to either people having difficulty proving they're legitimate as shown with the DVLA database and perversely it'll make ID theft easier as people will become accustomed to accepting just one proof of identity. If the Ministers are saying don't worry it's just like a passport why do we need it? that in itself shows they're lying. Day to day we hear of councils abusing anti-terror laws for snooping etc. Do you really think this database won't be abused? That's not even mentioning the costs involved, especially during the recession. I have nothing to hide but I still don't want an ID card as it goes against the British ideal (which the Government said the terrorists wouldn't change) and the security services already have enough powers that are rightly controlled by warrants and court orders. ID cards offer nothing that will make Britain safer.
John, London I'm sure the population of Manchester has far better things to do with £60. It won't make you any safer than you are already and it won't let you do things you can't already do. You'll have to buy a new card every 5 years. You'll NEVER get off the database. And if the Home Office enters your details wrong, it's your responsibility. It's expensive, dangerous and pointless.
Mr Crocus, UK I will never carry an ID card. That's all i have to say...
John, Coventry It blows my mind that the UK doesn't have national ID cards already. We are way behind many countries as usual. I live in a country where you need your national ID to do anything from joining a website to getting married. The people that don't want ID cards are the same people that have let UK society fall into the law-less awful state it is in today, open to abuse and utterly crime ridden.
Nick Chaddock, Seoul, S Korea I can't afford to pay £60 on a card let alone any thing else, I don't see why I should need an ID card I have my pass port, Birth certificate, etc what's the point in the I.D card?. It's just another excuse to get more money off us, to make Police work easier and to keep tag of every one. I refuse to give more details to our government as they seem to struggle keeping the stuff they got. What annoys me is I know it's going to be forced on us even though it seems most people are saying no to it we are STILL being ignored and our tax being wasted as always. And it will still get pushed through the back door as normal one way or another! we have no say in the matter do we? If the government wasn't so incompetent we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.
yorkshire lass, NorthYorkshire I cannot see any benefit to people spending yet more money on identification - We already have enough. Also, I don't understand how having an ID card will deal with threats to terrorism - How exactly will this work? Will we all need to show our ID cards to get into airports, train stations or cinemas, and who will protect us from this Government losing more of our private information?
Sue, Bristol The only reason for the particular ID Card Scheme being proposed is to honour contracts signed in haste with IT Suppliers. We will now all repent at leisure as the cards are used for every tinpot dictator to "demand proof of id" to buy electrical goods or travel tickets.
henry, liverpool I have a driving license with photo, a passport with a photo. ID cards are just another tax and infringement of our already eroded liberty under this control freak government.
Peter Smith I spend a lot of time in a country where ID card is compulsory. It really doesn't bother me at all. However, when I return to the UK I will not get an ID Card. The reason I object to the UK ID is the cost. If it is compulsory, or will eventually become compulsory, it should be free. It's really objectionable for Government to make it compulsory and then charge £60. I know we must pay for our Passports, but then, we make a choice whether to travel abroad or not.
pat leiper, Varsheta, Bulgaria Our liberties are being eroded. This government is obsessed with controlling us. They CCTV me, They want to know where I travel to and from as the new checks at Border Control evidence. For the antics of a few dozen nutcases Labour is turning this country into a semi-police state. It has to stop. I have voted Labour all my life. Not at the next election.
Malcolm Rasala, London This will not prevent crime or terrorism; it will merely inconvenience the law abiding. As the US Libertarian Phil Zimmerman said, 'When privacy is outlawed only outlaws have privacy.'
Malcolm Highfield, Northampton I cannot see the point of them. I know who I am, and that fraudsters are always at least one jump ahead of the IT "experts" who have designed them - and the real sting in the tail is that we are expected to pay for them. This potty Labour government is still on its spend, spend trip, even in the midst of recession. Still, at least it will create even more jobs in the civil service.
milvusvestal, Ramsey, England I definitely will not sign up for an ID card. I think the arguments put forward for them is not credible and also an utter waste of money or is a fee for them another form of stealth tax? I think this country is getting more like the old East Germany every day. What next the Stasi?
Mike Jeatt, Eastleigh To the person who says he has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide, why wouldn't he want a card. Can he prove it and how will having an ID card help?
Darkslider, Shoreham-by-Sea However, the Home Office argues that ID cards will help fight crime and terrorism and help reduce fraud, which will save money in the long term.
What a childish ridiculous statement. There is NO evidence to substantiate any real improvement in crime/fraud & terrorism from having ID cards. Criminals will just adapt as they have for thousands of years. It seems to be a case of spend £5 billion to save a £1. Just as with NHS IT system, the benefits are unaffordable & very mediocre & NOT worth the time money effort & resources which could be put to better use.
Anon Anyone who pays for an ID card is wasting their money. When this 'government' is destroyed at the next election, the whole charade will be stopped as a blatant waste of taxpayer's money.
Bruce Covey, Ormskirk Lancashire Great, yet more confidential information for the government to loose! The government cant even keep the info they already have safe. To combat terrorism & immigration, they 1st need to tighten up current immigration laws. Once that is done, then see if ID cards are needed. Another typical useless idea from this useless government.
Sandi, London I don't understand all these readers who say, I don't mind having an ID card but it should be free. They imply the government should pay for it. These readers need to be reminded how the government ultimately raises funds to pay for expenditure.
Paul Tew, U.K what a waste of money, it is just another way of protecting / adding to the number of Civil Servants
Mr Parish, United Kingdom No one in their right mind will sign up for this.. It will not cure illegal immigration / Terrorism or any other reason. They said it will cure fraud..No it wont. Pin and Chip didn't because if anyone wants to they will find away to get around this waste of money
G Moses, Leeds I will accept neither a voluntary nor compulsory ID card. It is fundamentally un-British.
Philip Proudfoot, United Kingdom So they want me to volunteer and pay for the privilege? (Very Funny). Besides what is Manchester council getting out of this?
EEvans, Sixty Pounds is another stupid method for the Labour government to sneak more and more money and profits out of the citizens. It just shows how really bad they are. The money will most likely go towards MP's expenses, or a nice bonus. What this country really needs to gain money is much, much, much more industrial manufacturing, it's a shame and stupid that the Labour party got rid of mostly all manufacturing in the 1970s; look at Germany for example, they have hardly been hit by this "recession" because they have a high amounts of manufacturing and output. Alternatively, it just shows how much British society is changing into 'Big Brother', with the security services watching our every move, 'Privacy' hardly exists these days. Overall, I say NO to this idea as it's not necessary because we can just use our driving licence or passport for a formal proof of identity.
Michael, Cornwall not a chance....
KEVIN, wirral Will public sector employees have an option on having an ID card? Or will they be pressurised into having one, in order to bolster the figures and allow the government, to, yet again put forward massaged figures in order to claim that the "majority of people like the idea and therefore claiming it a success. Are the people taking up the option having to pay for them? If they decide that they no longer want the card, can they cancel it and have their information removed? I doubt it!!!!
Ray, Fareham Hants I have two ID Cards already, they are called my driving license and passport. Please could someone offer a sensible explanation on why there is a necessity for a third? And by the way, I'm not swayed by the illegal immigration thing, they will still be around whether they have ID cards or passports or neither.
Bertie Bobbins Under no circumstances. If the government want a single form of ID then make t free of charge. The card is not where the complaint against the card lies though, it is the giant centralised database which will contain everybody's data. A piece of plastic such as a driving licence is fine, but the database is not.
James, Reading I think its a good thing about the card but I don't think any one will pay £60.00 for the card
leigh heaver, Manchester, Lancashire I would like to know how many members of the Labour Party will be signing up for these ID Cards when the scheme is launched in Manchester. After all, practice what you preach.
Jenny Divine, Edinburgh, Scotland Unless it is a legal force, I don't see the point to do it. It would just get lost at the end.
KB, Oxford If the government are sure about the need for this scheme then why isn't it first being tried with the people who have the most power - the PM and MPs. After all, more than enough of them have proven themselves to be criminals. Let's keep tabs on them before anyone else, then, if they still want this thing to go ahead (and I doubt they would) move on to the police.
Teresa, Leeds, UK The card isn't the issue, it's the great big database behind recording who knows what about you every time you card passes a scanner - that's the issue. This isn't about security; it's about control.
George, Chessington UK Once again this government is showing its arrogance by forcing ID cards on a nation that doesn't want them, whilst blatantly deceiving the people by lying about their popularity. How stupid does this government think we are?? Why do they think they can get away with it, time and time again?!
Richard Conway, London, UK Total and utter waste of money. Just another New Labour exercise in control freakery.
Michael Rolls, Burrelton, Scotland For the sake of comparison, a Spanish ID card costs 10 . Spanish ID cards can replace passports when travelling within Europe, are used to back up credit cards and should be carried at all times - if you are stopped by police and do not carry ID you may end up spending a night in jail. I've had an ID card for years and do not understand the fuss about it in the UK.
Karen C., Madrid, Spain Roll up, roll up, get your pointless bits of plastic here. Only £60. Help pay for Labour's reckless public spending. Roll up, roll up.
Barry, Manchester ID cards are alien to the British way of life. Freedom and liberty have been slowly eroded by this Government. If they are serious about terrorism then they can close the borders of this country. Anybody entering must have the required documentation.
jim, London I will not make it easier for my identity to be used by others for criminal activity, this government is incapable of securing its own information let alone individuals. It should not be up to me to prove who I am! my passport tells you where I am from and my bank and social security number tells you what I have and what I pay towards society. Why are we expected to do any more which is of very little use or advantage except to the criminals who wish to exploit us. Banks cards are supposed to be secure yet my daughter this weekend had her identity stolen with all her savings for university. Let's get real stop this waste of effort and stop making information more important than helping each other through life. Greg
Greg Wood, Chippenham Wiltshire I have nothing against ID cards but I will not pay £30.00 or any other amount. If the Government want me to have an ID card, they should supply it FOC. It's their idea.
Dave Lathan, Carterton, Oxford Definitely NOT! They cannot manage the 'Small' Data-bases that they have already. According to the Pensions Data-Base " I don't exist! " According to the Inland Revenue Data-Base " I do exists! ", so they take Income Tax from my Occupational Pension. Don't trust them ONE single bit!
B.W.Moore. Mr., Stockton on Tees. UK No Way!! Why should I? We are being lumbered with a product that the Tory party have already said they will scrap; therefore and on the probability that Labour will be decimated at the next election we are now being served up a card that is obsolete before it starts. It cannot fight crime and it cannot stop people from entering the country as an illegal. We should spend the money on these things i.e. more staff not on a product that is unwanted by over eighty percent of the population. Then in a few months we will get the propaganda from New Left Labour that they have been a 'great success' etc. and that we all want them, (even Hitler's propaganda machine were not a patch on the Labour Party machine)... So as I said NO... Not Now Not Ever
peter lee, Stevenage NO. I already know who I am
Andrew Holt, Southsea UK I'd like an id card to verify my credit cards. It cant be hard to improve on the security of a signature. It would make the use of credit cards safer if we had to prove our id through a photo.
k holliday, Inverness It's nothing more than paying a tax for being human and an infringement of civil liberties. I believe that people will be placed under suspicion or treated like criminals if they do not carry their cards with them. More worrying, in response to a petition calling for a referendum on the matter, Number10.gov.uk stated that 'the Government does not believe that there is a need to hold a public referendum on the introduction of the NIR and associated ID cards.' This statement is clear enough - your civil liberties are being infringed, you have no say in the matter. The only response is to send a clear message back and vote the advocates of this ridiculous scheme out of power.
David C, London, England Why bother when the next gov. will abolish them. Expensive piece of nonsense from a nonsense gov!
john, Solihull, UK No way
jane.harrison, Halifax,UK Absolutely not. It is an invasion of people's privacy and, could be compared to the branding of Jews held in concentration camps during WW2. ID cards are not essential in combating fraud and terrorism, what is required in the above mentioned fields is for the government to concentrate on those issues rather than pushing for an absurd idea such as ID cards. And if they are going to become compulsory, why should we, the taxpayers have to pay to obtain them? It's just another way for Labour to waste money in pushing the idea through and then squeeze more money out of us by making us pay for something that we do not want. Do us a favour Gordon, show your spine and call a general election.
Alexandra Heaton, Wigan/ England I will be buying an ID card as I don't drive and have no passport so on occasions i have to supply proof of Id i have to carry paperwork and such with me. This will make my life easier
Ray Milne, manchester A very sad day. Some people seem to think that these little plastic cards will provide "safety [for] the whole country" they must truly be the most wonderful and amazing bits of plastic ever invented. I'm sure the Real IRA, Al Qaeda and others will now stop bombing Britain. Or, absurd I know, maybe, just maybe it will give law abiding British Citizens just one more state imposed millstone to carry around their necks - yes, very heavy plastic indeed. A sad day for democracy.
Chris Lynch, Boise, USA In my humble opinion an ID card that incorporates your national insurance number, driving license and national health or medical number would make the system more efficient for all government departments, police & health trusts etc. Think of the savings and streamlining of red tape? Someone please tell me if the disadvantages outweigh the advantages?
Patrick Houston, Strabane, N. Ireland I do not think so. What is the point? My business is my business, my beliefs are my beliefs.
Abajan Elhalled, Manchester Maybe if the UK finally decide to join the SCHENGEN agreement like most of the UK and thus don't require a full passport to travel between countries, then I wouldn't mind carrying a UK Passport issued ID Card. But again, it depends on what the card will hold. Fingerprints and iris scan would be ok as its a perfect way to determine counter forgery.
Martin Allan, Glasgow, Scotland I've got no problems with the ID card scheme but only if they brought them in and they replaced everything else. Passports, driving licences, even bank cards and payment cards for gas and electric etc. We have to pay for all these things and to just add another card to the mix without any tangible benefit see silly. As a few people have said this country is in recession so surely they should be trying to save us money....Oh wait that would make sense something most governments don't do!!
Neil, Liverpool I wont sign up until its forced upon me even then i will do so under protest. the people of this once great country are becoming more like barcodes each day
pete, Bradford This is all rather irrelevant now as Labour is doomed at the next election and we will see a Conservative majority. It will be interesting to see if they suddenly change their stance on this silly scheme and try to introduce it? Seriously where do they think all the money is coming from? Unlike MP's the rest of us can't put it all on an expenses claim.
Andrew, Colchester, UK Will I sign up? - no but I will be forced to by the government. Any time I need a passport etc they will use it to get me to sign up to a useless expensive system that will reinforce the police state - why not make it easier and just chip people
Lord Wot Wot, West Yorkshireville In my opinion if you have nothing to hide it is not a problem especially if it will help to solve crimes more quickly. Big brother is already watching over us probably much more than we realise.
Ann Morgan, London, England Why don't they just chip us all and be done with it ;-)
Amanda, Bristol, S Glos I've paid for a passport; why would I want to pay for an ID card as well? I can't believe that anyone in their right minds in this cash-strapped nation would want to part with an extra £60 to prove they are who their |
30, has been arrested by police after being accused of shooting at cows with an AR-15 on Florida's Turnpike. Click through the slideshow to see mugshots of a Florida man who has been... more Photo: Orange County Jail Photo: Orange County Jail Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Florida man accused of shooting cows with AR-15 from moving car 1 / 32 Back to Gallery
A Florida man is behind bars after troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol said he shot at cows while inside of a car.
According to news station WFTV, Elvis Antonio Artola, 33, is accused of shooting at cows with an AR-15 on the Florida Turnpike.
SORE WINNER: Florida man, 83, hits car salesman in the head with golf club after winning gift card
Trooper Konner Achors was on patrol Sunday when he received a call that someone in a blue Hyundai Sonata was shooting at cows in Kissimmee, the news station reports. Achors said Artola was in the passenger seat and denied firing off a rifle.
Artola told the trooper that he did have a weapon in the vehicle. When Achors asked Artola to put his hands behind his back, WFTV reports he refused to. Achors had to call for back up to get Artola to put his hands behind his back.
According to the news station, the driver told troopers he stopped along the side of the Turnpike so Artola could use the restroom. He said Artola stepped out the vehicle and fired into the woods with the AR-15.
KEEPING THEM SAFE: Florida county takes steps to track animal abusers like sex offenders
The driver said Artola fired shots from the car window as they drove away. WFTV reports the driver wasn't sure if Artola was attempting to hit the cows.
Troopers said a fully-loaded Bushmaster rifle was in the trunk of the car. Artola is being held in the Orange County Jail.This article originally appeared in the October issue of No Fluff Just Stuff magazine. The copyright recently reverted to me, so here is the reprint for the general public. As an unneeded aside, I’m really happy about the way this article turned out. I hope you enjoy it too.
In our industry no one recommends increasing waste, there are no waste evangelists, and no pro-waste lobby. So why is there so much of it? As we scramble frantically through the day to please our customers we are often not even aware of the pointless trail of half done work and unwanted features we leave in our wake. This article helps you understand what waste is, where it comes from, and what you can do about it by mapping the seven wastes of Lean Manufacturing into the software development field. If you want both better software and happier customers then quit wasting time and read this article.
There’s something very natural about seeing waste in the world around us. We think about waste almost every day in our personal lives. For example, just in the last few minutes I’ve thought to myself: I should recycle these stacks of magazines (wasting space), I should watch less Tool Academy (wasting time), and I should really start running again (wasting away). Many of us are equally good at spotting waste at work: pointless meetings, fancy meals for the sales staff, and expensive development tools (SharePoint anyone?). And every year, around January 1st, we recommit ourselves to avoiding the same wastes as the previous year, willfully ignoring our past failure to lose weight, quit smoking, or watch less reality television. Likewise with work, every person in an organization from CEO to janitor can rail about wasted time in meetings yet somehow the situation never improves. Clearly, finding solutions to waste requires more than a statement of intent.
Eliminating waste and improving productivity should be easy and uncontroversial. There are really only two rules to follow: 1) stop doing things that aren’t worth the effort or 2) do the same things with less effort. These are the basic building blocks of improvement, whether they be related to your personal or professional life. If you’re wasting your time watching trash TV then stop! Skip those quarterly meetings where half the audience is playing Bejeweled on their phones. In fact, why not dial in to every meeting you can and write your code to the background noise of a glacially paced decision process?
If these two rules of waste are so simple, then why is making a lasting change so hard? Why do we have the same resolutions every New Year, and why aren’t we hurtling forward at work to ever higher levels of productivity? The reality is that we are good and seeing waste but not good at seeing its causes, and we often eliminate a wasteful practice without finding a suitable replacement. Consider the classic resolution of losing weight. We say to ourselves, “I’m going to eat less junk food this year” without asking why we have this tendency in the first place. Caffeine and lack of sleep are both known to contribute to overeating, but we don’t often focus on these causes. Excessive meetings form an even better example. Why do some workplaces have so many meetings? This is often a sign of a broken decision making process. Here’s a fun way to fill up your daily calendar: when you can’t make a decision then call a meeting and get everyone to talk about it. But be sure to leave the agenda and result open ended, so the conversation can be free form and lead to no particular resolution. Your days will quickly fill up leaving you busy yet unproductive, and you can use your quick lunch breaks to bemoan your culture of meetings. No, on the contrary, fixing a culture of meetings requires you to both find the cause and make a replacement. First identify the real problem, difficulties making decisions, and then experiment with new ways to solve the problem. Perhaps you need to discuss and embrace decision forms other than “unanimous”, or learn to hold shorter, more specific meetings, or just create a team decision board and handle issues in the team room instead of the conference room.
The antithesis of removing waste is what I call “Write Only Process Improvement”. As a group tries to adopt a better process, they are only allowed to add new practices without removing unneeded ones. This is the bane of agile pilot groups around the world. Your team is certainly free to try a Scrum style iteration with story cards, a burndown chart, and iterative planning. But you still need to adhere to the enterprise standards of full requirements documents, weekly status reports, and quarterly deployments. Feel free to add whatever you want to the process, just don’t dare remove anything. This arrangement requires duplicate work, quickly consumes the time of the ScrumMaster, and leads to the conclusion that agile methods are slower than the alternative. Of course a new practice is slower if you’re not allowed to abandon the old way of doing things. The Agile Manifesto has a wonderful parody site called the “Manifesto for Half-Arsed Agile Software Development“. While the original manifesto claims to value “Working software over comprehensive documentation”, the parody adds the line “as long as that software is comprehensively documented.” This rings perfectly true for so many Agile pilot projects: please try your new process, but be sure to follow the old one as well. New practices are adopted despite “Write Only Process Improvement”, never because of it.
To reduce cost and be more effective we must eliminate waste. By now you know we do this in two ways: find the real cause of software waste and find suitable replacements to eliminate the cause. To help us understand waste we can turn to the Lean community for inspiration. Lean is a broad and growing movement, and was first brought to the software world by Mary and Tom Poppendieck in the book Lean Software Development[1]. Lean provides, among other things, a set of categories for recognizing waste. Learning how these categories apply to software is a good first step for improvements. The categories of waste are:
1. Partially Done Work
2. Extra Features
3. Relearning
4. Handoffs
5. Task Switching
6. Delays
7. Defects
Let’s discuss each one in turn, and see what insights they can reveal.
Partially Done Work
So you own a bicycle factory (trust me on this one), and you make 1000 mountain bike frames with the plan to later make the handlebars and ship the whole units. Guess what happens when your customers decide they want road bikes instead? Yup, you’re stuck with 1000 useless frames. It would have been better to produce one entire bike at a time. Then, you would never be left with excess inventory. Or maybe, instead of a bicycle tycoon, you are a humble developer needing to write a new fangled Service Oriented Architecture. Someone (usually a consultant) says “You need to design Contract First” so you spend two weeks creating ten different WSDL service descriptors by hand. Guess what happens when the architecture group decides to switch to REST and plain old XML services? Yup, you just worked for two weeks and have nothing to show for it. In-process inventory is a risk and a cost, whether it is half built bicycles or partially complete web services. Changing requirements and technologies will leave you with wasted effort sooner or later. When this happens to me I think, “I wish I’d spent two weeks at home instead, it would have had the same value to my company.” Partially done work manifests in many ways in software development.
Dividing Work
Your new project is starting and you’ve got a great team of three developers. After the first planning meeting you divide up the story cards… Sean takes feature x, Felix takes feature y, and you take feature Z. Unfortunately, at the end of the week your team gets re-prioritized and which of the features is complete? Possibly none of them, your three person team has delivered no business value at all. This is similar to what happened in the bike factory, where one person made 1000 frames. Instead, we had three people work on three frames and none of them got quite done. A better approach is to have three people work on one feature until it is complete. This gives you the least amount of time that any feature is partially done.
Unsynchronized Code
You bust your hump all week and finally finish your feature on Friday afternoon, just in time to check in and head home – except that you get version control merge errors. Maybe your merge errors are simple and you can still make it home to watch the Friday night “Must See TV” with your family. Or maybe you end up working until when Saturday Night Live comes on. Bummer. Unsynchronized code is a risk, just waiting to slash down your productivity. Check in early, check in often, avoid costly delays. And what about version control branches and distributed version control systems? Any code not checked into the branch that gets deployed is partially done work and will eventually cost you in terms of productivity. There are some unique environments where DVCS makes sense, but in general you should be careful. Anything on a branch is waste; whether you call it a fork or a branch is immaterial.
Undeployed Code
Customers almost always want new features. You only have to ride along on a few sales calls before realizing this. Sometimes you get lucky, and a feature the customer wants is in the next release. Unfortunately, you may have to make the customer wait six months until the next release date. This is a problem. Your customers get value from using the software you write and your company gets value from having customers. Any software you write is inventory, and it doesn’t do customers any good to have the software written if they can’t use it. Avoid the risk and cost by deploying frequently.
Extra Features
Back at your bike factory you started to take eliminating Partially Done Work seriously, and now only complete, fully built bicycles roll off your assembly line, one at a time. But now you’ve got another problem. It seems customers don’t actually need bright yellow shock absorbent banana seats (who could have predicted?). But that’s what you built and you need to charge a little extra for each bike because of it, even though your customers neither want nor need it.
This happens all the time with software, and an oft quoted Standish Group[2] study found that almost 65% of software features are rarely or never used. The implication is that you can practically double your development speed by simply not writing in the features no one wants. Easier said than done. I, for instance, would love a yellow banana seat even without a shock absorber. Still, there are a couple of options to avoid extra, value-wasting features.
Economic Models
Create a currency based cost/benefit model for all new features. Estimate what revenues and income the new feature will likely produce, and what development costs it requires to create. Be sure to pick the same unit of measure for these estimates. Can you sort the following data: 5 weeks, $10,000, 40 developer hours? Of course not, all these measurements use a different unit. But if you convert them all into a currency such as dollars, then choosing priorities becomes a lot easier. Clear and simple economic models, while never perfect, enable the whole team to make better decisions. Now be extra cautious in what you develop. In the words of Mary Poppendieck, “If there isn’t a clear and present economic need for the feature, it should not be developed.”[3] When in doubt, leave it out.
Get Close to the Customer
You’ve just heard that your biggest customer needs your software to send email (all systems eventually need this feature). How sure are you that this a real requirement? Did an end user tell you this? Or did an end user tell the sales person who told the product owner who discussed it with the business analyst and now there is a “Must Send Email” item in your product backlog? A string of message passing like this results in garbled priorities and misunderstood requirements even when intentions are good. Add to this the perverse incentives in many enterprises, such as delivery bonuses, and you can quickly end up developing the wrong product for the wrong market. The closer you are to the end user, and their value stream, the better.
Relearning
Rework in manufacturing is easy to identify. Sending a bike frame back through painting to turn it from blue to red is rework. You shouldn’t have painted it blue in the first place and now you’ve wasted time and paint. How does this map to software development? Discovering something we once knew but have now forgotten is one definition. In big companies it’s quite common to have two different groups independently verify a technical failure. You hear anecdotal evidence of it after work wherever developers gather to drink.
Dev #1 – Ugh, our new web framework sucks.
Dev #2 – Yes, we tried the same framework last year and it does suck.
How great would it be if this conversation could have happened six months ago before the second attempt at using the web framework. Sharing and broadcasting failures is just as important as broadcasting successes. Good decisions come from knowing what you should not do as much as what you should do.
How do you find out about failed approaches today instead of tomorrow after you’ve invested energy into the failure? Google, of course. Blog posts and Stack Overflow-like forums are an excellent chronicle of failure. You search for what you are trying to do, you find an article by someone trying the same, and then you scroll down to read the comments lambasting the original author for their horrible idea. You can even take a more direct approach. When contemplating using a new technology, my first search always contains the word “sucks”. EJB Sucks, Groovy Sucks, Flex Sucks. Evangelists are great at posting glowing, moderately informed reviews on new technologies… but if you want to know the sharp edges and failure points in a framework then seek out the opinion of those bitter and frustrated enough to write a scathing review. Plus, reading about epic failure is always a bit of fun. As long as it’s not yours.
Handoffs
The first few days at a new job or project are usually pretty easy: you’re a trainee and not expected to contribute much. You’re often given an Intranet link and a few printed documents and left alone to somehow magically “ramp up”. If you make minimum wage as a fast food fry cook then a little down time can be tolerated, after all minimum wage is around 10 times less than what programmers make. But why in the world do we tolerate ramp up time in IT? The problem only gets worse as companies invest in closed source and proprietary software. You’re at a severe disadvantage if you can’t hire new employees that already have experience in the web framework, persistence layer, and even programming language of your software system.
Fortunately, there is an easy answer to long ramp up times and knowledge handoffs, but many programmers just don’t want to hear it. If you want a new team member to check in working code on their first day on the job then start pair programming. If you want to ensure just-in-time delivery of system knowledge to your new teammate then sit the entire team in the same room and let the newbie ask questions when they are needed. For some reason, many enterprise developers resist team rooms, flexible workspaces, and pair programming. Few people like writing documentation, but when given the choice they’ll cite the need for better architecture documents and “living documentation” rather than make a simple change to the work environment. Having been on both sides recently, first watching new team members come into an agile environment and then later myself rolling into a pair programming team, I now understand that a team room and pair programming is the easiest and quickest way to eliminate ramp up time. You don’t even need to pair forever, just the first few weeks. But you may keep doing it anyway.
Task Switching
Switching tasks takes time. You need to mentally and sometimes physically reset. If you have three separate week-long tasks, then in an ideal world you will take longer than three weeks to complete the tasks. Why? Even if switching tasks takes only 30 seconds each, completing three week-long tasks requires two context switches, resulting in a minimum of three weeks and one minute to complete the work. And 30 seconds for task switching is ludicrously short. Facebook doesn’t check itself you know.
So we just need to stop switching tasks. Except you can’t. There is always maintenance work arriving at an uneven rate. You can’t eliminate that disruption but you can minimize it. One way is with a separate maintenance team, but I can’t imagine living through that drudgery for more than a few weeks before looking for a new job. Plus, living with your code in production brings valuable lessons. A temporary maintenance team where you serve for only a few weeks has worked for me in the past, mainly because there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you know when your tour of duty is up. A better solution is having maintenance days. For example, every Friday the team must work solely on defects and maintenance issues. Having everyone work maintenance is fair, and it also minimizes interruption. When a small team is needed to solve a problem then the right people are available and feature work isn’t being interrupted. Just be careful. Senior team members tend to have more vacation and sometimes take Fridays off near the end of the year. If this is the case, pick a different day. Also, some defects take longer than one day to fix. You may find defect Friday stretching into defect Monday as well, splintering the team.
Delays
Developers do a lot of waiting. Maybe the requirements aren’t ready, or the design isn’t approved, or QA hasn’t certified the build. Wait, wait, wait. The only time we enjoy waiting is when the power goes out. Then we recognize our helplessness and turn the dimly lit office into some sort of indoor business-casual football match. Just like summer camp, my favorite memories from work involve the power being cut off. Good times. The bad times, on the other hand, all involve waiting for approval. The requirements are almost done, and you could start work on some of it, but you’re not allowed because they haven’t officially been approved. Or your design is trapped in some sort of review loop, where not enough commitment has been made to start work.
You can’t just throw out approval. Things need to be approved. Agreements must be made. But you can change the frequency and granularity of approvals. If your large requirements document is not approved, then why have a large document in the first place? Why not break it up into smaller pieces, in which case portions of it can be approved and you can move on. If your design documents need approval, then why not break these up into manageable portions as well. In Waterfall shops, or other bureaucratic environments, the process police don’t normally care if you produce more, smaller documents. Just avoid having no documentation. Short iterations aren’t just for code. If you’re stuck with delays, break down the problem into smaller pieces and deliver less more often.
Defects
It’s not a waste of time to work on defects. They do need fixing and you can’t eliminate waste by simply declaring that you’ll no longer be doing defect work (although this might be a good way to shorten your product’s lifespan if you get really tired of the defect work). Quality Assurance departments recognized the real waste with defects years ago and have been asking to be involved early in the life cycle for many years now. What QA “gets” is that inspecting products for defects after the product is built is wasteful, it’s much better to inspect before it’s built to prevent the defects. QA departments world-wide frequently lobby to be brought in earlier in the process. If only we could be in the requirements meetings, they say, then we could ensure the product quality, which is absurd. High quality cannot be achieved through better use of meetings or documentation.
Quality comes from every single person on the team caring about a better product. If quality is the domain of a single person or department, then it’s likely quality does not describe your product. Moving QA forward in the process needs to mean partnering on acceptance tests that constitute the design of the product. Having a developer and tester pairing on the same workstation is a good sign, and automated acceptance test frameworks facilitate this. Fitnesse, easyb, whatever. Having a developer and tester work in different tools, where neither has access to the other, leads to strong test ownership and little collaboration. It is easy to give the advice that “whenever a defect is found, a test should be created so that it cannot happen again.” To do this, you need to pick a development tool where your testers can create a failing test for the developers, and then throw out that other one you were using before.
In Conclusion…
The point of all this is not to categorize waste. Learning about the categories helps you recognize waste, which is good, but the real goal is reducing cost and becoming more effective. The underlying causes of waste are not always obvious, and real improvements are seldom straight forward. The first step is to recognize the waste, and the second step must be replacing the old way of doing things with something new. Perhaps you are building unnecessary software and need to change the way you approve feature requests. Or maybe you’re drowning under the burden of failed installations and need to move product deployment into the development life-cycle. Whatever it is, each company and situation is unique. No advice or software practice is universally applicable. It’s up to you to figure out what needs to be done on your team and then start trying something new and different. Good luck.
About the Author
Hamlet D’Arcy, Canoo Engineering AG
Hamlet D’Arcy has been writing software for over a decade, and has spent considerable time coding in C++, Java, and Groovy. He’s passionate about learning new languages and different ways to think about problems. Hamlet is a founder of the Basel-based Hackergarten open source coding group, and regularly participates and speaks at local and international user groups and conferences. Hamlet is a committer on the Groovy and CodeNarc projects, and is a contributor on a few other open source projects (including Griffon, GPars, the IDEA Groovy Plugin). He blogs regularly at http://hamletdarcy.blogspot.com and can be found on Twitter as HamletDRC (http://twitter.com/hamletdrc).
References
[1] Mary and Tom Poppendieck, Lean Software Development 2003
[2] Jim Johnson, Standish Group. XP 2002 Conference Presentation
[3] Mary and Tom Poppendieck, Implementing Lean Software Development 2006
Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.There are bad days and then there are bad days like University of Dayton basketball player Sam Miller experienced.
The 6’9″ forward was originally charged with disorderly conduct by intoxication and underage consumption. By the end of his night in jail, he was also charged with misdemeanor assault.
This info comes courtesy of the Dayton Daily News:
According to a Beavercreek police report, officers were dispatched to Caddy’s Taphouse at 2760 Towne Dr. in Beavercreek at 1:21 a.m. Sunday in reference to an assault.
A bartender told police Miller became upset when she told him he couldn’t have any more drinks, and he knocked all the glasses off the bar and pushed her, the report alleged. A security officer escorted Miller outside the bar. Miller told the security officer he was going to punch someone and then pushed the officer, the report said, and that officer then took Miller to the ground and held him there until Beavercreek police arrived.Hundreds of teenage pupils have rushed to defend their teacher who was suspended after posting a ‘inappropriate’ selfie on social media.
Mum-of-three Lydia Ferguson is part of the pastoral care team at Newport Pagnell’s Ousedale School.
The 'inappropriate' selfie
Pupils overheard her being reprimanded last week by a senior staff member over a photograph on her personal Facebook account.
It shows her wearing a white dress, sitting on the edge of a bed. She was accused of looking “sultry” and “provocative”, say the students.
They whipped out their mobile phones and recorded the eight minute row, which took place in the school office.
“Miss Ferguson was saying she didn’t think there was anything wrong with the photo. All it was showing was a bit of leg,” said one pupil.
Shortly afterwards more pupils watched as Miss Ferguson was escorted off the premises to her car.
She is now suspended while the school conducts an investigation.
Meanwhile pupils have launched a petition called ‘Get Miss Ferguson Back’ and have flooded social media with accusations that the school has acted too prudishly.
“There is nothing wrong with the photo at all. We think Miss looks lovely,” said one.
Another said: “She is a brilliant teacher. She is there to help students who have problems like bullying and stuff. She does so much to help us and we’re so upset she’s been suspended.”
Ousedale school has refused to discuss the matter with the Citizen.
Within 24 hours of the ‘Get Miss Ferguson Back’ petition being launched, 250 people – including parents – had signed it. Signatures are still being gathered this week.
The ‘provocative’ photograph of Miss Ferguson started as a single post on her Facebook page. It has now been shared more than 100 times by students on social media.
The photograph has generated 300 comments on social media. “Not a single person thinks there is anything inappropriate about it,” said one student.
Ousedale head Sue Carbert said: “If we have any concerns about a staff member, this would not be discussed with students. We are aware of rumours but conclusions are being drawn which have no factual basis.”Washington (CNN) The fate of Donald Trump's presidency may hinge on what he does next.
His failure to convert the core campaign promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare -- even with a GOP monopoly on power in Washington -- has left the White House reeling.
Trump and his advisers must now regroup and try to figure out how to avoid another legislative debacle on their next big issue, tax reform. They will do so knowing that a second failure could throttle his presidency.
Once, Trump's aides viewed health care reform, presumably an easy early win, as a way to deliver momentum to his presidency and to build toward more sweeping change picked from his ambitious agenda.
But the effort's ignominious defeat Friday has severely weakened the President, electrified Democrats and left Trump's declarations that he is the ultimate dealmaker who can change Washington looking increasingly hollow.
Trump surprised some of those close to him with his reaction to Friday's health care collapse. He did not vent or rage. Instead in the Oval Office afterward Trump was "sullen and quiet" as he contemplated his first blow, dealt by the Washington swamp he had vowed to drain, one insider source said.
The President was well aware he failed to deliver on an issue that stirs the passions of his political base. He was also mindful that the health care disaster would make his quest to tackle a behemoth tax package that much more difficult, the source said.
Indeed, the early failure means that hundreds of billions of dollars in federal savings that the White House had earmarked to bankroll a tax code overhaul are nowhere to be seen.
"It makes everything harder moving forward," one Trump adviser said.
Another senior administration official told CNN's Gloria Borger that tax reform could now have to be a "smaller version," than originally planned and the problem would be explaining to the public that because the repeal of Obamacare didn't happen, there's "a trillion dollars less to deal with."
Already casting an eye toward the midterm elections, which typically hurt the President's own party, some of Trump's advisers fear Obamacare's underdog survival will provide a rallying point for their political foes.
"Democrats will feel emboldened and their base will feel emboldened," a senior administration official said.
JUST WATCHED Gergen: May be worst 100 days of any presidency Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Gergen: May be worst 100 days of any presidency 04:49
Washington wins
As the White House grasps for a bounce back strategy, his team must take another look at one of the most important questions that Trump faced when he took power, one lent more urgency by his humiliation over health care.
They must consider whether his brand as an outsider -- with broad strokes politics that exacerbates grievances, has little time for dissenters and is anchored around his imposing, unpredictable personality -- can actually prosper in Washington.
Ironically, it was the same forces of inertia and division in the capital that soured Trump's voters on the political establishment and helped elevate him to power that combined to defeat him in his first legislative venture.
"I think what happened is that Washington won," said Trump's budget director Mick Mulvaney, in a frank moment Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I think the one thing we learned this week is that Washington was a lot more broken than President Trump thought that it was," said Mulvaney, adding "the status quo wins and, unfortunately, the folks back home lost."
Mulvaney's comments marked a stunning admission, given that he works for a President who brashly predicted he knew politics better than the politicians and would soon bring the city to heel with his negotiating flair and mastery of sealing a deal.
Instead, two-thirds of the way through his crucial First 100 days, Trump is nowhere near any significant legislative victory. And health care reform's failure is not his only problem. His travel ban on citizens on a list of predominantly Muslim nations has twice been turned back by the courts. His budget, which features steep cuts in diplomacy spending to finance an increase for the military, is facing stiff resistance in Congress. A building intrigue over his campaign's ties to Russia is clouding the White House's mood.
It now appears that the most tangible success of Trump's first months in office will be the expected confirmation of his Supreme Court pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch -- though even that will further polarize Washington. Republicans are vowing to invoke the "nuclear option" by changing Senate rules so that Gorsuch can be confirmed with 51 votes, along party lines, rather than with the super-majority traditionally required for nominees to the nation's top bench.
In one sense, it should not be surprising that Trump is struggling. He is the most inexperienced new president in history, and lacks the political networks and insider contacts that most commanders-in-chief take for granted when they take office.
Capitol Hill sources report that the President appeared unfamiliar with the in-depth details of the health care bill, as he tried to move votes in meetings with holdout Republican lawmakers.
And while his predecessor, Barack Obama, spent months marshaling Obamacare through Congress, Trump tried to ram through the repeal bill in a matter of weeks.
That was part of a White House strategy to get a fast start in the First 100 Days to create a shock-and-awe sense of momentum. But the tactic appears to have backfired -- especially in the case of Obamacare and the travel ban where too little time was spent assessing the political and legal complexities and framing a coherent strategy.
JUST WATCHED Trump and Ryan pull GOP health bill Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Trump and Ryan pull GOP health bill 02:36
Political capital spent?
And some polls showing Trump's approval rating dipping below 40% have undercut the leverage of a new presidency, making it tougher still to drive ambitious bills into law.
There are still plenty of whispers about the fractious nature of the West Wing itself. Stories of rivalry and infighting have been proliferating since the start of the election -- apparently owing to Trump's habit of setting up rival centers of influence in his own operation to create chaos in which he believes he can thrive.
If the President "wanted to end the infighting, he could end it," a senior administration official told CNN's Borger. And amid rumors that Chief of Staff Reince Priebus could pay the price for health care reform's failure with his job, the source said that if the Wisconsin Republican is in trouble "it's because of reasons other than health care. Things are not run very smoothly."
But there's plenty of blame to go around.
Once again, the fractious Republican coalition seems unsuited for government, as House Speaker Paul Ryan remarked himself on Friday.
And while some on Trump's team may look to blame the intransigent Freedom Caucus or Ryan's insistence in pushing a brand of conservative reform that seems an odd fit for Trump's ideological coalition, the President's team knows it must up its game and embrace a more inclusive, strategic approach in his next legislative fight.
Two senior administration officials acknowledged to CNN that the White House should have made earlier appeals to outside conservative groups and taken a bigger role in driving the strategy to sell the health care bill -- rather than play a supporting role to House GOP leaders -- from the outset.
"Going forward you're going to see the White House play a more active role on the front end in terms of language and strategy out of the gate," one of the officials said.
Priebus meanwhile went out of his way on Sunday to smooth over any suggestion that Trump and Ryan were at odds, after rumblings to that effect from administration officials and Capitol Hill Republicans in anonymous accounts on Friday.
"He talked to Paul Ryan yesterday for about an hour. He believes what he said in the Oval Office on Friday. He doesn't blame Paul Ryan," Priebus said on "Fox News Sunday."
Incredibly, after Trump spent months demonizing Washington and playing up its dysfunctional nature, and chief strategist Steve Bannon's spent extensive time spent fueling GOP infighting as head of Breitbart News, Trump's team still seems to have underestimated the treacherous political forces that simmer below its surface.
A second senior administration official conceded that the White House underestimated "how deep the animosity is in the Republican conference," believing that the pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare would outweigh the fine points that stirred factional rivalries.
"It's more poisonous than at any point," the official said, adding that Republicans' ability to mend fences internally may define whether the White House is successful in its subsequent attempts at major legislation like tax reform and an infrastructure bill.
JUST WATCHED Kasich on Trump: 'He's going to learn' Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Kasich on Trump: 'He's going to learn' 02:29
Democrats rising
Democrats, some of whom Trump will need to pass a tax overhaul, are already feeling emboldened by Republicans' failure to work in lockstep to repeal President Barack Obama's proudest achievement. It may be that the drama of the last few days has given the party the sense of purpose that has been lacking as shell-shocked Democrats try to move past Hillary Clinton's defeat in November.
"Today is a great day for our country, it's a victory -- what happened on the floor is a victory for the American people, for our seniors, for people with disabilities, for our children, for our veterans," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. "Quite frankly, I thought they might have accomplished something in the first couple of months."
Trump blamed Democrats Friday for his failure to pass the health care bill -- an odd tactic since Republicans dominate Congress. But he also signaled he was willing to work with them on subsequent legislation -- including a potential attempt to save Obamacare, which the President insists is "imploding."
But it seems just as likely that if his presidency continues to struggle, Democrats will see little political imperative to help out a Republican president who has maligned Obama and made little attempt to enroll them in the first health care reform effort.
Of course, 66 days is too soon to judge a four-year presidential term, but it's clear that Trump cannot afford a repeat of the disastrous Obamacare drama as he moves to his next big legislative battles.
Whether Trump is prepared to soberly analyze what went wrong, and hold himself as accountable as those around him in his White House and Capitol Hill will go a long way to deciding whether his reeling presidency can make a comeback.
So far, his CEO brand of leadership appears to be less effective in the political arena than it had been in the boardroom.
But it's not too late.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-New York, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday: "I think that he's going to learn an awful lot from this experience."VIENNA — Ukraine suffered one of the most horrendous man-made disasters in recent memory — the Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986. It is now suffering through a war that is poisoning relations between Donbas and the rest of Ukraine, polluting the political climate between Kiev and Moscow and tainting the relationship between Russia and countries around the world.
The conflict also has the potential to create pollution of a very real kind — as continued fighting threatens chlorine storage facilities, chemical plants, metallurgical factories, hazardous waste storage sites, and coal mines.
The situation is a ticking time bomb. Because the divided communities are geographically very close, an incident on one side of the line of contact will have an impact on people living on the other side — and beyond.
For example, earlier this year shelling hit a building at the Donetsk Filter Station, where 7,000 kilograms of chlorine gas is stored. Had it exploded, the damage would have been catastrophic.
One of Europe’s most heavily industrialized |
ines died in Iraq on August 3, 2005, military analyst Bill Cowan, a Fox analyst and retired Marine colonel, was scheduled to appear on Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor. Whitman, along with other Pentagon public affairs officials involved in the program, received an email (sent by a redacted source pdf link, p. 3) which said that Cowan “wanted to give us a heads-up about what he’s going to say” and was also requesting “anything and everything we can give him [regarding] the deaths of the marines.” Cowan, though, who Barstow reported had grown frustrated with the Pentagon program, also noted that his comments “may not all be friendly.”
In another email, Whitman offered, “I’ll talk to him if you like.” Within a couple of hours, Whitman also confirmed that he had arranged for one of two generals to speak with Cowan.
Though in this case, Whitman’s efforts notwithstanding, Cowan (Barstow also detailed) went too far off script for the Pentagon’s liking when he said that America “is not on a good glide path right now.”
Cowan told Barstow that the Pentagon “simply didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t carrying their water” so he was “precipitously fired from the analysts group” after the appearance.
Other documented communications illustrate Whitman’s shaping and sanctioning program activities such as an August 2005 email (pdf link, p. 95), which shows Whitman as one of four senior Pentagon officials to approve the list of attendees for a scheduled military analyst trip to the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
“I’ve attached the list discussed and agreed to between Cully, Mr. Smith, Bryan Whitman, and Mr. Haynes,” the sender (name redacted) wrote to then head of community relations Allison Barber.
The other three senior Pentagon officials cited include, at the time, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs Dorrance Smith, general counsel WJ Haynes and deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs Charles Cully.
Time and again, records show Whitman in the mix, championing the program.
“The analyst[s] are back from Iraq and starting to make do [sic] their thing – very positive contribution to the reporting,” Whitman crowed in this December 2005 email (pdf link, p. 106), on the success of the military analysts latest excursion and subsequent on-air offensive.
And throughout, Whitman is consulted on what messaging to spoon feed them, such as in this October 2006 email from Barber (pdf link, p. 115): “Do we have an official line for the military analysts on this?”
Records also show that Whitman, along with his colleagues in the program, received regular summaries and extensive systematic reports detailing the military analysts impact around the networks, on the radio, in print and online, as in this excerpt from one such typical email from February 2005 (pdf link, p. 97), addressed (from a redacted source) directly to some of the usual senior officials involved in the program – Di Rita, Whitman, Barber and Ruff — and cc’d to dozens of others:
“TV Broadcast Summary: Analysts Tommy Franks, Jed Babbin, Don Shepperd, Montgomery Meigs and Jack Jacobs were all featured on national news stations (Fox News, CNN and MSNBC). Generally speaking, all agreed that the election was not as violent as expected and that the Iraqi security forces and American troops did a very good job. Several analysts alluded to the fact that there will be more danger ahead. The analyst mood was positive as Iraqi events unfolded. …The attached memo provides information on what each analyst said and how often they appeared on television.”
Whitman even proved a creative force in getting the most out of the analysts, seeing opportunities even in a national disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina.
Two days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, then community relations director Dallas Lawrence wrote to Whitman (pdf link, p. 6), “Bryan, per our chat, at the conclusion of our conference call this afternoon with Bg Hemingway, I pulsed our analysts to see if there would be an interest in a 4:15 call today to discuss the DoD response to Katrina. …There was a universal positive response, several said they have been doing radio interviews throughout the day and have been asked several times, what DoD, specifically, is doing.”
Lawrence concluded the email by thanking Whitman and confirming that an RSVP list for the military analyst meeting on Katrina would arrive soon.
Part II of this expose will explore how the Pentagon press office and community relations worked in tandem on the military analyst program, and how “information dominance” drove not only this project but the embed program for reporters, about which Bryan Whitman admits he was “heavily involved in the process.”
(Brad Jacobson is a contributing investigative reporter to Raw Story; additional research provided by Ron Brynaert)How to create a Growth Engine for your SaaS product Aaron Beashel 05.05.2014 SaaS Share Facebook
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These days we have more access to great information on marketing our SaaS products than ever before. People like Sean Ellis, Neil Patel, Chris Hexton, Peep Laja and many others choose to share their knowledge of online marketing via blog posts and eBooks and it is all available for us to learn completely free as long as we have the desire.
But do you get the feeling that there is just so much you could be doing it’s hard to know how it all fits together to achieve that illusive ‘Growth’?
I’ve been fortunate to lead marketing & growth for several great SaaS companies, and in that time it has been my responsibility to take all this great knowledge & information and distill it into a strategic plan and a set of prioritised initiatives to which we can execute.
I haven’t always gotten it right, but over the years I have formed somewhat of a ‘framework’ for how all these different initiatives come together to drive growth. This framework focuses on combining all these different initiatives into a ‘machine’ I like to call a Growth Engine.
I wanted to present this framework for thinking about customer acquisition and retention in the hope it will give some context to all the different marketing channels and initiatives that are available to you and help you prioritise and execute the right ones at the right time.
What is a growth engine?
Let’s start with a definition – A Growth Engine is a systemised, measurable and scalable process for turning potential customers into happy, paying customers.
A Growth Engine should be a structured, machine-like process that takes into account the different paths users can follow to becoming a customer, and provides an automated, integrated process to meet their needs at each stage of the buying process and drive them towards the ultimate conversion point of becoming an happy, paying customer.
This customer-centric, machine-like approach is designed to ensure the following:
The process of acquiring customers is aligned with the way customers buy the?product
The process is scalable and efficient, so that you can maximize ROI on top of funnel?marketing activity (channels).
The process is automated where possible, so that it can be run with as little human?resources as possible.
The process can be thoroughly instrumented, so that you can identify bottlenecks in the machine, prioritise activities based on those that will gives you the highest ROI and understand what channels are turning a positive ROI and scale them.
How do I design a growth engine for my SaaS product?
It’s important to note that SaaS is a product delivery model, not a business model. Salesforce, Xero and Unbounce are all SaaS products but their business models are VERY different. Salesforce has a huge team of inside sales representatives that drive their sales, Xero gets almost half of their revenue from channel sales whilst Unbounce is almost exclusively leverages touchless acquisition.
In order to design a Growth Engine for your SaaS product you first need to have a firm grasp on your business model and ensure it is aligned with the way your customers buy. I’ve never seen a business sell a $10,000 per month SaaS product on a touchless acquisiton model. It’s just unrealistic.
Assuming you have this handled however, the next step is to create a diagram of your Growth Engine. When doing this, think about all the different pathways a person can go from potential customer all the way through to happy paying customer.
To show you what I mean, I have included two examples below from different types of organisations:
Model 1: Touchless Acquisition + Inside Sales
The above diagram is an example for an organisation that uses a combination of touchless acquisition for SMB customers and inside sales for enterprise customers.
Potential customers find the product through the various channels (SEO, PR, etc) and arrive at the destinations (Marketing site, blog, etc) where they are educated about the product. From here, they can either signup for the product and start using it themselves (known as touchless acquisition) or they can request a demo or download an eBook, in which case they are put through lead nurturing and scoring processes and ultimately passed to the sales team for closing (known as inside sales).
Model 2: Touchless Acquisition + Bottom Up Sales
This diagram on the contrary, is for an organisation that uses a touchless, bottom up approach to acquisition.
Potential customers find the product through the various channels (SEO, PR, etc) and arrive at the destinations (marketing site, blog, etc) where they are educated about the product. From here, they can download a content offer and go into the lead nurturing stream or they can progress down the direct conversion path by signing up, activating and going on to upgrade to a paying account. Once a user has signed up and started receiving value from the product, an assessment on whether they are a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) happens and if they’re qualified they are moved into the sales process in an attempt to upsell them to enterprise-level plans.
As you can see from the above diagrams, there is a fairly significant difference in the growth engine depending on your business model, target market, customer buying process, etc. Not only do the channels you use change, but the way you convert them from website visitor into paying customer is significantly different.
How do I build a Growth Engine for my SaaS product?
Now that you understand what a Growth Engine looks like and have mapped it out, it’s time to start building and optimising the engine to start driving that illusive growth.
In order to wrap your head around it and get an understanding of where to begin, it’s helpful to look at the Growth Engine in multiple ‘parts’ just like a normal engine.
I generally look at a Growth Engine as having 4 parts; channels, destinations, conversion paths & customer success.
Channels
Channels are top of funnel activities designed to reach customers where they’re hanging out (social networks, other blogs & news sites, etc.), raise awareness of your product and drive traffic to the website.
There are a number of different channels available to SaaS marketers today and your mix will likely be unique to you and your target market, however there are some general ones that are available – with varying effectiveness – in all situations, including:
SEO – There are more than 131 billion searches conducted everyday and in my experience, traffic from search tends to convert 3 -4 x better than other sources due to the intent visitors arriving from this channel have. Definitely worth exploring for your product.
– There are more than 131 billion searches conducted everyday and in my experience, traffic from search tends to convert 3 -4 x better than other sources due to the intent visitors arriving from this channel have. Definitely worth exploring for your product. Direct – Direct is one of those channels that is a bit harder to measure and optimise. Depending on your product and marketing mix it can include word of mouth and customer referrals, offline campaigns & brand awareness and many others.
– Direct is one of those channels that is a bit harder to measure and optimise. Depending on your product and marketing mix it can include word of mouth and customer referrals, offline campaigns & brand awareness and many others. PR/Guest Posting – Whilst only proper customer discovery can tell you where your target market is hanging out, it is highly likely they are reading various blogs on the web and a significant opportunity exists to leverage the audience of these bloggers to drive traffic and signups.
– Whilst only proper customer discovery can tell you where your target market is hanging out, it is highly likely they are reading various blogs on the web and a significant opportunity exists to leverage the audience of these bloggers to drive traffic and signups. Paid Acquisition – When done right, paid acquisition can be a solid source of visitors and signups, but it isn’t always easy to do it right. You need to have a thorough understanding of what a sustainable CAC is (I like to base this on time to payback as per this great article) and then you need to experiment relentlessly with the different networks & sites that have a reach into your target market.
– When done right, paid acquisition can be a solid source of visitors and signups, but it isn’t always easy to do it right. You need to have a thorough understanding of what a sustainable CAC is (I like to base this on time to payback as per this great article) and then you need to experiment relentlessly with the different networks & sites that have a reach into your target market. Viral Mechanisms – If you have a product that has an inherent viral aspect to it (I.e. people share things using your product, like files with Dropbox or designs with InVision) then it is likely you will be driving some traffic through this channel. There are a number of things that can be done to optimise this, but it all starts with measurement.
– If you have a product that has an inherent viral aspect to it (I.e. people share things using your product, like files with Dropbox or designs with InVision) then it is likely you will be driving some traffic through this channel. There are a number of things that can be done to optimise this, but it all starts with measurement. Social Media – While customer discovery will help you understand where your target market is hanging out, it is high likely they are active on at least one or two social networks. Through the creation and curation of great content relevant to your target market you can build a strong social following that can one day turn into customers, or at the very least help you spread your content to others that will (little tricks like this can also help).
Destinations
As the above diagrams shows, channels are essentially all designed to draw users back to your destinations, which in most cases will include a marketing site as well as a blog and often even landing pages for content offers (such as eBooks, webinars, etc).
Every organisation may have a slightly different series of ‘destinations’ depending on your goals, target market, business model, etc, but generally speaking for a SaaS product they will include:
Marketing Website – The goal of the marketing site should be to provide a user with the information they need at each stage of their buying cycle and provide a clear path to conversion (signup, request a demo, etc).
– The goal of the marketing site should be to provide a user with the information they need at each stage of their buying cycle and provide a clear path to conversion (signup, request a demo, etc). Blog – Depending on your customer acquisition model, the blog can serve many goals. For those with primarily an Inside Sales model, the main goal should be to drive traffic from channels like search and social and expose potential customers to your various offers (free demos, ebooks, etc) in an attempt to turn them into a lead. If you have a touchless model, the blog is largely a driver of traffic which you can convert into free trial signups.
– Depending on your customer acquisition model, the blog can serve many goals. For those with primarily an Inside Sales model, the main goal should be to drive traffic from channels like search and social and expose potential customers to your various offers (free demos, ebooks, etc) in an attempt to turn them into a lead. If you have a touchless model, the blog is largely a driver of traffic which you can convert into free trial signups. Lead Generation Pages – Generally speaking, lead generation pages are dedicated landing pages for different offers your business is utilising to generate leads, including eBooks, webinars, toolkits & more. Their purpose is to present offers in a clear and concise manner and convince the user to give up their details in return for the promise offer.
Conversion Paths
As the example diagrams show, conversion paths are the various pathways in which website visitors can convert. Depending on your acquisition model, this could either be into a lead through some sort of offer (demo, eBook, etc) or into a free trial/freemium user.
Successful SaaS companies have multiple conversion paths> They realise that 90% of visitors to their site aren’t yet ready to purchase so they attempt capture their details through some sort of offer so they can continue to market to them and convert them into paying customers at a later date.
Direct Conversion Path
If your product utilises a touchless acquisition model, than those that are ready to purchase will likely progress through your direct conversion path. Generally speaking, this path has the following stages:
A definition of each stage is below:
Visited Marketing Site – Visited the marketing site (I wouldn’t count visits to your blog, but your call)
– Visited the marketing site (I wouldn’t count visits to your blog, but your call) Sign Up – Signed up for your free trial or freemium offering
– Signed up for your free trial or freemium offering Activated – Reached the ‘Aha moment’, the point where they realise the value your product adds to their lives.
– Reached the ‘Aha moment’, the point where they realise the value your product adds to their lives. Purchased– The first time they are billed for your service, usually by becoming a paying customer beyond your trial period or by upgrading to a paid plan from your free plan.
Activities to enhance conversion rates through your direct conversion path are generally outside the scope of this article, but ideas include:
Optimising your marketing website – This could include the addition of prominent calls to action, creating persona-centric solutions pages, increasing social proof through case studies and customer testimonials, clearly presenting pricing and more.
– This could include the addition of prominent calls to action, creating persona-centric solutions pages, increasing social proof through case studies and customer testimonials, clearly presenting pricing and more. Implementing lifecycle emails – This includes the design and development of a series of email workflows that get sent when users complete (or don’t complete) certain actions in your app, and are usually aimed at driving users towards completing the steps needed to reach ‘activation’.
– This includes the design and development of a series of email workflows that get sent when users complete (or don’t complete) certain actions in your app, and are usually aimed at driving users towards completing the steps needed to reach ‘activation’. Implementing in-app tours or a tailored new user experience – This includes having some sort of interface unique to new users of your product that guides them through the steps they need to take to realise the value your product offers and ultimately reach Activation. Dropbox’s getting started page is a great example of a very effective onboarding experience.
– This includes having some sort of interface unique to new users of your product that guides them through the steps they need to take to realise the value your product offers and ultimately reach Activation. Dropbox’s getting started page is a great example of a very effective onboarding experience. Exposing self-serve help documentation – This includes the creation and implementation of a self-serve help portal with videos and articles showing users how to perform certain actions within the application.
Lead Nurturing Path
Those that are not ready to purchase do not have an immediate need for your product and therefore will not likely progress down the direct conversion path. In this case, you should attempt to capture their information (Name, Email, Company Name, etc.) so that you can push them through a lead nurturing process, educating them on the problem your product solves, the benefits of your product offering and ultimately pushing them back into the direct conversion process (either through the touchless conversion process or through the inside sales process, depending on your acquisition model).
Patrick McKenzie has a great course on deploying a series of lead nurturing emails and it’s really not a hard thing to do, particularly considering the results it can generate. Essentially, he recommends a series of 8 emails over 30 days that increase in ‘Salesness’ as time goes on:
A simple email lead nurturing campaign could be as follows:
The problem email – Designed to break the status quo (remember; everybody is using something else to achieve what your product does, whether it be pen & paper, excel, email, whatever) and open the reader to the possibilities of replacing there existing process with software. This email should focus on educating readers on the problems associated with their current method and should barely mention your product.
– Designed to break the status quo (remember; everybody is using something else to achieve what your product does, whether it be pen & paper, excel, email, whatever) and open the reader to the possibilities of replacing there existing process with software. This email should focus on educating readers on the problems associated with their current method and should barely mention your product. The benefit email – A look at the benefits of using software like yours to achieve whatever it is your product achieves. This email should focus on the benefits of using your category of product (I.e. person-based analytics tools as opposed to KISSmetrics directly)?and how it can help improve their lives.
– A look at the benefits of using software like yours to achieve whatever it is your product achieves. This email should focus on the benefits of using your category of product (I.e. person-based analytics tools as opposed to KISSmetrics directly)?and how it can help improve their lives. The transition email – As mentioned before, everybody is switching from something and the switching process itself is a barrier you need to overcome. This email should focus on outlining a simple and easy process for making the switch to using software to achieve the problem.
– As mentioned before, everybody is switching from something and the switching process itself is a barrier you need to overcome. This email should focus on outlining a simple and easy process for making the switch to using software to achieve the problem. The tools email – An overview of the tools available to achieve what your product achieves, almost a quick buyers guide. This is the first time you introduce your product and outline why it’s superior to your competition. Include a CTA to signup for your free trial/free plan in this email.
– An overview of the tools available to achieve what your product achieves, almost a quick buyers guide. This is the first time you introduce your product and outline why it’s superior to your competition. Include a CTA to signup for your free trial/free plan in this email. The case study email – A case study on how one of your customers uses your product, what problems it solves for them (tied to the problems outlined in the first email and what benefits it bring them (tied to the benefits outlined in the second email). Include a testimonial from you customer and a CTA to signup for your free trial/free plan in this email.
– A case study on how one of your customers uses your product, what problems it solves for them (tied to the problems outlined in the first email and what benefits it bring them (tied to the benefits outlined in the second email). Include a testimonial from you customer and a CTA to signup for your free trial/free plan in this email. The resources email – The final email. Suggest some other eBooks, blogs, templates, kits, etc for learning more about whatever it is your product does. Include a CTA to signup for your product with a discount code or special offer as if you haven’t converted from the previous emails, a special offer can help tip them over the edge.
Whilst this is just an example campaign, you can see that the focus is on educating prospects rather than making the hard sale. Only once they have been sufficiently educated on the problems of their existing approach and the benefits of replacing it with software do you introduce your product and make an offer, at which point they are much more likely to signup for your free trial/free plan.
Assisted Conversion Path
The assisted conversion path is designed to provide those who require more information a pathway in which to get that information and ultimately convert. In most cases, this is an offer of a free demonstration of your product or in some cases a free evaluation of something (their workflow, their existing marketing, etc) where you can showcase how your product can help them with their specific use case
This path generally has the following stages:
In terms of optimising this conversion path, it is obviously possible to devise and run A/B tests in an attempt to improve the conversion rate but before you start, I would ask yourself whether the volume of demo requests warrants optimisation of this path? Unless you are receiving hundreds of demo requests each month it will likely take months for your tests to reach statistical significance and even if they do the lift in the actual number of demo requests would likely be minimal.
Retargeting Path
In order to capture users who visit and leave the website without progressing through any of the previous paths, it can be effective to implement a retargeting system that serves advertisements to users as they move across other sites on the web.
Considering these people have already visited your site and not converted, it is likely that they are not yet ready to purchase and blasting them with ads right after they leave the site isn’t likely to change that. Instead, use retargeting to promote a top of funnel content offers (like an eBook or an email course) and drive people to landing pages where they can download your content and be entered into the lead nurturing path.
Customer Success
As the example diagrams show, the work of the Growth Engine does not stop once the user has upgraded and become a paying customer, the focus then shifts into making sure sure they become a happy, paying customer.
There is a two-fold focus here; retain paying customers by preventing them from churning and activating your most engaged customers and turning them into evangelists.
Retention
Customer Retention (or Churn) is one the key factors of a successful SaaS business. As per the goals, it is one of they key ways to increase MRR and also has a significant effect on the CAC – LTV ratio, which is another critical success factor tied to the unit economics of your SaaS product.
Consider this example: If you have 10,000 customers with an annual ARPU of $500 and your Churn rate is 15%, you are losing $750,000 worth of potential revenue every year. If you can reduce that Churn rate to 5%, the lost revenue drops to $250,000, netting you an extra $500,000 per year.
I have previously written a post outlining some ways to help reduce churn in your SaaS product, but as an overview:
Implement customer marketing – Using your analytics tool, find out what features of your product are being used by your most engaged, happy customers and build a profile of a ‘happy customer’. Next use the marketing channels available to you (triggered emails, customer focused blogs, support sites, transaction emails, etc.) to promote the use of these features and drive people towards becoming a ‘happy customer’.
– Using your analytics tool, find out what features of your product are being used by your most engaged, happy customers and build a profile of a ‘happy customer’. Next use the marketing channels available to you (triggered emails, customer focused blogs, support sites, transaction emails, etc.) to promote the use of these features and drive people towards becoming a ‘happy customer’. Utilise your pricing structure – Most people look at their pricing structure and try to optimise it to get people to signup or upgrade to a higher plan, but there is also a great opportunity to utilise your pricing structure to reduce churn. I see so many SaaS companies who base their pricing tiers on product usage (# of contacts, # of emails sent, # of projects, etc) and while value based pricing is definitely a smart idea, I would suggest introducing more axes to your pricing structure in order to prevent people from downgrading their plan just because of changes within their business. Is there a feature that people absolutely love and couldn’t do without? How could you structure that feature in your pricing plans to prevent people from downgrading their plan? Worth thinking about.
Referral/Evangelism
Word of mouth and referrals are one of the most powerful customer acquisition channels you can activate, not only because of their ability to scale at a low cost but because of the persuasion ability of a referral from a friend or trusted source.
The idea of activities in the Referral/Evangelism part of the Growth Machine is to activate those customers that love your product and get them to refer others.
There are a number of ways you can do this to great effect but that’s for another post (or an upcoming eBook I’m creating), however here’s a few ideas:
Implement a referral program – A referral program is a methodology that allows your existing customers to share your product with a friend, usually in return for something. There are a number of key factors in a good referral program, including: Two way rewards – When implementing a referral program, you need to make sure there is a reward for both users. Dropbox’s infamous ‘refer a friend and get 2GB of storage free’ is a great example of rewarding the referrer, but you also need to incentivise the referree to take up the offer with something like an extended free trial, free projects, more storage or whatever. Make it easy – Like any process you want users to complete, it is critical you reduce friction through the steps of referral. From my experience, giving people their own unique URL’s to share is the best way to do this as it allows them to share through whatever channels they feel most appropriate (email, Facebook, Twitter, etc) rather than having to try type people’s emails into some dialog box. Optimise for conversions – Each step in the referral process is a potential dropoff point, so make you use all the tricks in the book to optimise conversions along the way. One company doing this really well is Freshbooks, who have created a personalised landing page for every unique referral URL generated that contains all the features of a great landing page, including a clear link to the referring source (Aaron Beashel has invited you to join Freshbooks), a clear value proposition, social proof, on-page signup form & more. Instrument It – Depending on your product and how passionate people are, this can be a huge growth channel for you so make sure you have the ability to optimise it (if you can reach the illusive viral factor = 1 than you are laughing all the way to IPO). Make sure you have instrumented each step of the referral process (number of invites sent, invites converted, subsequent invites sent, etc) so that you can deploy initiatives to optimise the conversion rates at each stage. Depending on your scale, small gains in conversion rates at each of these stages can mean BIG gains in # of customers acquired through the program. Implement channel sales – Whilst probably not traditionally thought of as a ‘referral’ tactic, in my opinion channel sales is a massive opportunity to create a one to many effect if you have the right market. HubSpot initially sold their product direct to customers like most SaaS businesses do, however an idea from a sales representative to implement channel sales changed all that. Initially shut down by CEO Brian Halligan, the employee was persistent and Halligan eventually agreed to let him work on it in his own spare time. He did, and these days 20% of new HubSpot customers now from the channel (which primarily consists of small marketing agencies selling the product and inbound marketing consulting and execution services on top of it). It’s worth thinking about who else is selling products and services to your customer base? And what value could you potentially add to these people’s lives that would make them want to sell your product as well?
– A referral program is a methodology that allows your existing customers to share your product with a friend, usually in return for something. There are a number of key factors in a good referral program, including:
As I mentioned in the introduction to this post, the point was not to provide an in-depth how-to of different growth hacks or marketing initiatives you should be implementing, but to provide a framework for understanding how all these different channels and initiatives all lead to that illusive ‘growth’ and how you can prioritise them based on the things that are going to return the quickest ROI with the least output.
I hope this has helped you achieved that.
I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.SEVILLE, SPAIN — Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is expected to break his silence on Saturday over a report this week alleging that he and other conservative politicians had received regular payments from a previously undisclosed account run by treasurers of his Popular Party.
According to the newspaper El País, the payments were made to Mr. Rajoy and other leading party members from 1990 to 2008 — when Spain’s construction bubble burst — via a slush fund administered by former party treasurers, including Luis Bárcenas, whom Swiss authorities recently reported to have maintained as much as €22 million, or $29 million, in Swiss bank accounts.
On Friday, El País reported that more than €5 million of the €7.5 million listed as payments to party leaders in accounting ledgers prepared by Mr. Bárcenas, copies of which were published by the newspaper, may have exceeded the legal limits under the law that was in effect at the time.
Spain’s attorney general, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, said late Thursday that the judiciary was considering incorporating the bookkeeping evidence into an ongoing investigation into possible kickbacks received by conservative politicians.It could not have been easy for Tim Cook to step into the immense shadow cast by the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. But with grace and courage and an unabashed willingness to be his own man, Tim has pushed Apple to unimaginable profitability—and greater social responsibility. He is setting a new standard for what business can do in the world. Tim is unwavering in his support of an individual’s right to privacy and is not only embracing equality and LGBT rights but advocating for change through his words and actions. His commitment to renewable energy is also leaving our planet a little cleaner and a little greener for generations yet unborn.
Above all, he has shown that profitability and integrity can go hand in hand. Tim has done this while introducing, time and again, some of the most innovative products the world has ever seen. Tim Cook is proof that even the most successful companies can and should be judged by more than just their bottom line.
Lewis is a civil rights leader and Democratic Congressman from Georgia
Contact us at editors@time.com.MSNBC’s Chris Hayes tonight said it’s pretty clear both the White House and its favorite news channel are trying to play a game of “I know you are but what am I” on Russia.
“Fox News, the conservative media at large, and a handful of Republican investigations, and the White House,” he said, “continue to throw a bunch of things named Russia against the wall to see what sticks.”
He cited Fox & Friends coverage in particular of “President Hillary Clinton… I mean, private citizen Hillary Clinton” and how they and others in the conservative media have been playing up the news about Uranium One and the Trump dossier funding.
“The more that all of them attempt to use sheer brute force to push this… into the national conversation,” Hayes said, “the more unhinged it’s getting.”
He cited Sebastian Gorka invoking the fate of the Rosenbergs in talking about the Clintons and Uranium One.
Watch above, via MSNBC.
[image via screengrab]
— —
Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
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The Paris-Nice riders will race individually 9.6km (5.2 miles) up Col d’Èze, just outside Nice. That’s not long enough for massive time gaps to appear, but it’s the final stage of the race so any small advantage a rider can gain could have a major bearing on the overall finishing positions.
Trek Factory Racing say that they’ll be the first team to have conclusive data on what bikes and strategy are best for tackling the Col d'Eze time trial, where teams |
didn’t take the necessary precautions, your code will become difficult to understand and maintain. Too often, the state of an object is kept by creating multiple boolean attributes and deciding how to behave based on the values. This can become cumbersome and difficult to maintain when the complexity of your class starts to increase.
This is a common problem on most projects, and it is wise to model it with a Finite State Machine (a.k.a FSM). In fact, there is a design pattern called State that address this very well, so you can find hundreds of gems implementing this pattern.
A great description of the problem can be found on SourceMaking.org:
A monolithic object’s behavior is a function of its state, and it must change its behavior at run-time depending on that state. Or, an application is characterized by large and numerous case statements that vector flow of control based on the state of the application.
What is a Finite State Machine?
Finite state machines are an incredibly useful tool for modeling objects that change their behavior based on the state they happen to be in. As I mentioned, this is a situation that happens in a lot of projects, so if you hadn’t already heard about FSM, I strongly recommend you check out Basics of Automata Theory which is a great starting point.
That being said, here’s a quick informal definition anyway:
A finite state machine is a mathematical abstraction used to design algorithms. The machine is in only one state at a time. It can change from one state to another when initiated by a triggering event or condition; this is called a transition. A particular FSM is defined by a list of its states, and the triggering condition for each transition.
In practice, state machines are often used for:
Design purposes
Natural language parsers
String parsing
Communication protocols
Algorithms
etc
In fact, here is a list of real life examples modeled with FSM:
Traffic Light
Vending Machine
Android’s class: MediaRecorder
Rails router: journey
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
AI algorithms: Pac-Man’s ghosts
What does a Finite State Machine look like?
A picture is worth a thousand words, maybe more on this topic.
The Pac-Man’s ghosts FSM caught my attention.
It is so simple to read and understand the ghosts behavior on Pac-Man’s game that anyone who can speak English can understand it, no programming skills required!
The ghosts in Pac-Man have four behaviors:
Randomly wander the maze Chase Pac-Man, when he is within line of sight Flee Pac-Man, after Pac-Man has consumed a power pellet Return to the central base to regenerate
These four behaviors correspond directly to a four-state FSM. Transitions are dictated by the situation in the game. For instance, a ghost FSM in state 2 (Chase Pac-Man) will transition to state 3 (Flee) when Pac-Man consumes a power pellet.
Designing a State Machine with State pattern
The state pattern is a behavioral object design pattern. The idea is to change an object’s behavior depending on its state. In the state pattern, we have the following classes:
Context class : This class has a state reference to a Concrete State instance.
State base class : Declares particular methods that represent the behaviors of a particular state.
Concrete States class: Implement the behaviors of a particular state.
By changing a Context ’s Concrete State, we change its behavior. This is an elegant solution because it encapsulates the set of behaviors that are specific to a certain state.
Some benefits using this design pattern are:
Avoiding inconsistent states
Putting all associated behavior together in one state object
Removes monolithic if or case statements
Summarizing: The state design pattern allows for full encapsulation of an unlimited number of states on a context for easy maintenance and flexibility.
Because this is a common, repeatable problem that engineers find themselves encountering I have put together a step-by-step process for architecting your own finite state machine. There are four simple steps:
Identify the domain model Enumerate the valid states Describe the state-related events Specify transitions
1. Identify the domain model
Let’s go through an example and say that we want to model a Lamp. A Lamp have many attributes, like brand, price, voltage, watts, etc but for this example I want to use the state of a Lamp, the simple on/off I don’t care about other possible states like broken for this example. It is very important to identify the real object that owns a state machine or later you will find your code hard to maintain and understand and may end up refactoring.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 class Lamp attr_accessor :state, :brand, :voltage def turn_on fail 'It is already on' if state == :on state = :on end def turn_off fail 'It is already off' if state == :off state = :off end end
2. Enumerate the valid states
Keep in mind that the purpose of State pattern is to “represent the state of an object”. In our Lamp example, we would create two concrete state classes: OnLampState, OffLampState.
State classes will only model valid states of the lamp, removing the problem when there is one combination of values that does not correspond to a valid state for your lamp (generally, when the object uses multiple booleans to represent a state).
In the Lamp example, those states are
:on
:off
So make a list with all the states you want to identify, or expect different behavior. As simple as that.
3. Describe the events which change or involve the state
Every model with a state has a method where it changes a value, or behaves differently depending on the state. Those methods are potential events.
In our example, I evaluated these to be:
turn_on
turn_off
In this step, you have to list the events that will trigger a state transition.
4. Specify the transitions between states
Finally, we have to write down every single branch of the state machine. When I say branch I mean the process to fire an event from a state A and move to the state B.
The transitions are composed by two states: from and to, and there are triggered when an event is fired.
The Lamp example shows us only two possbile transitions:
from :off to :on
to from :on to :off
List every possible ending state from each valid state. At this point you should have three lists:
1. Lamp States
:on
:off
2. State Events
turn_on
turn_of
3. Transitions
from :off to :on
to from :on to :off
Ruby implementation using aquam
You already been through the hardest part: you were thinking about the states, every possible transition, you argued with your teammates, you did some sketches (if you didn’t, you should try) until you reached the solution. Your Finite State Machine is ready, now you only have to code it!
You probably are anxious to test your FSM, so I will be short.
Introducing aquam
aquam simplifies the design by introducing the various parts of a real state machine, including states, events and it meets our criteria for this problem
Full object oriented
Framework-agnostic
No dependencies
Allows the developer to make important design decisions
I’m gonna use this gem that we developed for a past project because it suits perfectly with our criteria.
Write your FSM guidelines
Taking the three lists you build in the design step, use aquam DSL to write it down. It will look like
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 class LampStateMachine < Aquam :: Machine state :on, OnLampState state :off, OffLampState event :turn_on do transition from: :off, to: :on end event :turn_off do transition from: :on, to: :off end end
Represent the different states
The State pattern does not specify where the state transitions will be defined.
There are two choices: the context object, or each individual State class. The advantage of the latter option is ease of adding new State classes. The disadvantage is each State class has knowledge of its siblings, which introduces dependencies between them.
Every bit of behavior that is state-dependent should become a method in the concrete state classes. Also, aquam transforms every event defined into a method in the concrete state class.
Example Option 1 - Context Object Class
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 class Lamp def turn_off current_state. turn_off self. state = :off end def turn_on current_state. turn_on self. state = :on end end
Example Option 2 - State Classes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 class OnLampState < Aquam :: State use_machine LampStateMachine def turn_off # Do something @object. state = :off end end class OffLampState < Aquam :: State use_machine LampStateMachine def turn_on # Do something @object. state = :on end end
Delegate to the state
In order to allow an object to alter its behavior when its internal state changes we need to delegate the events to the current state class. The object will appear to change its class.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 class Lamp attr_accessor :state, :brand, :voltage def turn_on state_machine. current_state. turn_on end def turn_off state_machine. current_state. turn_off end def state_machine @state_machine ||= LampStateMachine. new self end def state @state ||= :off end end
NOTE: Remember to always set the initial state
Play with your Lamp
And that’s it! You can play with your lamp, using a real state machine. Try to turn it on when it is already on, add a few more states and see how it changes it behavior!
Good reading
If you enjoyed this article, you should know that Finite State Machines are studied in the more general field of Automata theory, a theoretical branch of computer science.
Here are some links that you might want to read:Simon Zhou with controversial Chinese political donor Huang Xiangmo. "We now know that Senator Dastyari's about-face on the South China Sea had a price tag attached to it, indeed a reported $400,000 was all it took for Senator Dastyari to trash Labor's official foreign policy position," Ms Bishop said in Parliament on Tuesday. Last week, Fairfax Media and Four Corners revealed Mr Huang had threatened to withdraw $400,000 from the ALP after its defence spokesman Stephen Conroy attacked Beijing's South China Sea activities. Mr Zhou's ties to a Chinese Communist Party lobby group headed by Mr Huang were detailed last week in the Fairfax Media and Four Corners investigation.
Mr Zhou's resignation was announced by the ALP after it was sent questions by Fairfax Media about his connection to a long-running tax scam involving gold dealers. Fairfax Media and Four Corners first sought to question Mr Zhou several weeks ago. Simon Zhou (left) with former Chinese consul-general in Sydney, Li Huaxin (second from left) and two others. Mr Zhou said he had resigned to "focus on other priorities" and that he could not comment on his "ongoing dialogue with the ATO" because it involved "very complex" gold business dealings. Mr Zhou co-ordinated up to $140,000 in ALP donations from several gold dealers in May and June, 2016, and was given a job as the NSW ALP's multicultural officer, as well as a place on Labor's NSW Senate ticket for the July, 2016 federal election. Simon Zhou, left, with NSW Labor MP Ernest Wong.
Mr Zhou is a key figure in a gold-trading operation being investigated by the Australian Tax Office and which includes collapsed companies, massive tax debts and a shelf company in the British Virgin Islands. The ALP donations linked to Mr Zhou include a $29,000 donation declared by one of Mr Zhou's business associates, who was accused by Australia's tax commissioner of lying about trading gold bars in Sydney car parks at night as part of a scheme designed to avoid paying $13 million in tax. A second gold dealer linked to Mr Zhou has been accused by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of falsifying invoices linked to this same gold-trading scheme. This businessman, a Chinese national, declared a $35,000 donation to the NSW ALP via a gold-trading company owned by Mr Zhou. These donations, along with a further $56,000 in contributions from related gold businesses, were collected by the NSW ALP on May 15 and 16, 2016 – seven weeks before the federal election. Five weeks later, Mr Zhou, whose former company contributed another $25,000 to the party in late June, was announced as an ALP senate candidate.
Mr Zhou, who worked at the NSW ALP's Sussex Street headquarters, is a close political ally of Mr Huang, a Chinese Communist Party aligned billionaire, who is a major donor to both the ALP and the Liberals. Mr Huang was a VIP guest at Mr Zhou's Senate ticket announcement and told China's state broadcaster at the event that it reflected the rising status of "overseas Chinese" and the desire "to safeguard Chinese interests and let Australian society pay more attention to the Chinese". Mr Huang also asked the NSW ALP to give Mr Zhou a job as an adviser, although the party insists he was appointed on merit. Mr Zhou and Mr Huang entertained China's consul-general in Sydney, Li Huaxin, on a boat cruise prior to Mr Li leaving Australia to take up a senior government post in China in April, 2016. ASIO has confidentially expressed its concern to the major parties about donations from some Chinese Communist Party-aligned sources, including Mr Huang. Meanwhile, in comments likely to infuriate some within the Labor Party, MP Anthony Byrne said public hearings by the joint parliamentary intelligence committee were needed to examine the past conduct of figures from both sides of politics.
"We have to have public hearings. I don't care if it is uncomfortable for any party," Mr Byrne said. His call raises the prospect that Senator Dastyari – who has regularly used parliamentary committees to grill business figures about alleged impropriety – may endure a hearing about his relationship with donors, including Mr Huang. Fairfax Media revealed last week that Mr Dastyari or his office called the immigration department four times to quiz it about the progress of Mr Huang's citizenship application, which has stalled while it is scrutinised by ASIO. Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten last week wrote to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull seeking his support for a joint parliamentary committee on intelligence to examine foreign interference on political campaigns. Mr Zhou could also likely face questioning in any parliamentary committee hearings.
The ATO suspects gold traders such as Mr Zhou and his associates have exploited a loophole by which GST is charged on gold ore, but not on higher-grade gold bullion. The loophole has created a sham industry in which circular or carousel-style arrangements "recycle" gold through syndicates of people, who keep the GST as well as claiming tax credits, leaving the ATO millions of dollars out of pocket. One of Mr Zhou's gold-trading companies, Australian Coin Exchange, collapsed this year owing the Australian tax office $2.54 million, with liquidators now examining the firm's operation. Mr Zhou is closely linked to several companies involved in suspected GST rorts. Two of these firms' directors or managers, Chinese national Chris Wang and his business associate Leo Yang, filled out Australian Electoral Commission forms last year to declare donations to the NSW ALP. A gold trading company owned by Leo Yang was declared insolvent by the Federal Court when it couldn't pay a tax bill of $8 million following an ATO audit. Chris Wang has been labelled a tax fraud by the ATO in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which in February ordered he pay the tax office more than $20 million. The AAT has labelled some of Chris Wang's evidence, which included a claim about buying $143 million worth of gold ore at night in Sydney car parks, as "fanciful... inconsistent and unpersuasive".
The Tribunal said Chris Wang's evidence was "not reliable" about his "rather unusual business" as a "one-man company with no gold industry experience" which was "the sole customer of an unidentified entity able to supply tonnes of gold". Leo Yang was similarly criticised by the Tribunal for his "apparent role... directly" facilitating Mr Wang's alleged fraud by providing allegedly doctored invoices. The donations declared by Leo Yang and Chris Wang, and the other funds raised by Mr Zhou, raise serious questions around whether the ALP has accepted tainted money and is trading political access for donations – a claim that Mr Zhou and Labor deny. When Leo Yang and Chris Wang were separately quizzed last week by Fairfax Media, they said they could not remember the date or size of the donations they declared. Mr Huang has no connection to the approximately $140,000 Mr Zhou raised for the ALP in May 2016.
But a few years earlier, in November 2012, Mr Huang and two other members of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China gave the NSW ALP $500,000 in donations. The council is a branch of a Beijing lobby group operated by the Chinese Communist Party. Loading Six months after these donations, peaceful reunification council adviser and Mr Huang's political ally Ernest Wong was parachuted by the NSW ALP into a state upper house vacancy created by ex-NSW ALP kingmaker Eric Roozendaal. Mr Roozendaal was subsequently employed by Mr Huang. Mr Huang has appointed Mr Zhou as an executive of the peaceful reunification council, although his name was recently removed from the website. Mr Zhou confirmed the council had part-funded two of his trips to China. Know more? Contact us securely via JournoTips or SecureDropCops point weapon at St. Louis alderman [YouTube]
Video filmed by a St. Louis alderman shows police aiming a weapon at him while responding to the latest round of demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri.
Alderman Antonio French posted the footage Monday night, following another protest criticizing police for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Michael Brown. The video shows French being approached by officers in riot gear inside a parking lot. One officer has his firearm drawn toward French while another says, “Get the f*ck out of here” and motions away from the parking lot. It is not clear whether French identified himself as a city official during the encounter in the St. Louis suburb.
French’s video also shows protesters gathered in front of the Quik Trip convenience store that was hit by looters Sunday night. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Monday’s demonstration came hours after the Federal Bureau of Investigations opened a separate probe into Brown’s death. Local authorities said Brown was shot while trying to take an officer’s gun after being stopped and asked to stop walking on the street.
But Dorian Johnson, a friend of Brown’s who has identified himself as a witness, has been quoted as saying that Brown did not go into the vehicle and had his hands up indicating surrender when the unidentified officer shot him multiple times.
Brown’s parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, also made their first public statement on Monday alongside Benjamin Crump, the attorney who represented 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s parents following his shooting death at the hands of George Zimmerman in Florida.
“We need justice for our son,” Michael Brown Sr. said several times during their appearance.
French posted extensively about Monday’s demonstration on Twitter, including a photo and statement that police had blocked media outlets from entering the area.
A line of police cars with high beams on greats anyone trying to enter #Ferguson. It's shut down. No media allowed. pic.twitter.com/pPE2m4G0UQ — Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) August 12, 2014
Post-Dispatch photographer corroborated French’s statement, saying on Twitter that he was, “Being ordered to leave scene threatened with arrest.”
Watch French’s video, as posted on Monday, below.The only thing that was particularly unusual about two asteroids that zipped past Earth September 8, astronomers say, was that anybody noticed them.
Such close approaches — one of the asteroids passed within 79,000 kilometers of Earth — actually happen several times a week, according to scientists’ calculations. Yet some media outlets described the close encounter as if it were a brush with Armageddon.
"Quite frankly, I don’t know why they’re making such a fuss about it," says astronomer Brian Marsden of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "This is essentially nothing."
Astronomers first spotted the two asteroids three days before their close encounter with Earth, using the Catalina Sky telescope near Tucson, Ariz., which routinely scans the skies for near-Earth objects. At the time they estimated the larger asteroid to be 10 to 20 meters in diameter, and the smaller 6 to 14 meters across. But subsequent observations by Richard Binzel and Francesca DeMeo of MIT using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea showed that the objects were actually only about half that size.
The discovery of the two space rocks demonstrates that programs like the Catalina survey, designed to find much larger near-Earth asteroids that do have the potential to cause devastating collisions, can also find smaller bodies, Marsden notes.
It might be a little unusual to have two asteroids swing by hours apart. But with small asteroids passing by Earth several times a week, there’s always a chance that two could pass by in the same day, he adds.
Much more intriguing to astronomers was the discovery of a small near-Earth asteroid by the Catalina survey in 2008 just hours before it landed in Sudan, where researchers later recovered the fragments.
"The small fry are interesting, not because of damage," Binzel says, "but because of their potential for delivering 'free samples' to Earth."
Image: NASA
See Also:Following the press conference of the meeting “The Urgency of Addressing the Plight of Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons and Detention Facilities” held at the UN Office in Vienna last March 7 2011 and the non-answers which I received from PNA Minister for Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe about the deteriorated human rights situation at the jails of the PA, and his “justification” for jailing and torturing the Palestinian prisoners after their release from Israeli jails, in which Minister Qeaqe denied my information and referred me to the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) as a trusted source of reports on human rights in the PNA territory.
ICHR was established in 1993 upon a Presidential Decree issued by President Yasser Arafat, in his capacity as President of the State of Palestine and chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The Decree was subsequently published in the Official Gazette in 1995. In accordance with the Decree, the duties and responsibilities of ICHR were set out as follows: “to follow-up and ensure that different Palestinian laws, by-laws and regulations, and the work of various departments, agencies and institutions of the State of Palestine and the Palestine Liberation Organization meet the requirements for safeguarding human rights”. The Decree entrusted ICHR with the drafting of its statutes in a manner that would ensure its independence and effectiveness. Read more about ICHR.
I called Mr. Majeed Sawalha, director of public relations at ICHR in Ramallah and asked him for his comments on the information which I presented at the UN about torture and unjustified incarceration of Palestinian prisoners by the PNA.
Mr. Sawalha fully confirmed my information and referred me to the latest ICHR reports issued in January and February 2011, which expand them with detailed data.
Click here to read the full ICHR report of January 2011.
Click here to read the full ICHR report of February 2011.
Quotes from the ICHR report of Jan. 2011.
Based on ongoing monitoring and documentation of violations of human rights and public freedoms during the month of January 2011, The Independent Commission for Human Rights, ICHR concluded the following:
1. Several death cases occurred for different reasons including clan disputes and negligence of public safety measures. Some of these deaths happened under mysterious circumstances.
2. Torture and ill-treatment of detainees continue in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as indicated by detainees’ claims and complaints filed to ICHR.
3. Detention of persons without regard to due process and provisions of the Basic Law and the Criminal Procedural Code continues in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
4. Non-implementation or procrastination of court decisions continues where the cases that receive release decisions are referred to the Military Judiciary to be sentenced again.
5. The Ministry of Interior in Ramallah continues to deny issuance of passports to citizens living under the control of the Deposed Government in the Gaza Strip
Torture during Detention – Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment
ICHR expresses its grave concern over the ongoing serious violations of detainees’ rights by the security agencies and considers all patterns of ill-treatment and torture practiced by these agencies in the Gaza Strip (Under control of Hamas) and the West Bank (Under the control of the Palestinian Authority) prohibited and punishable by law. ICHR continued over the month of January and the months before to receive complaints from persons claiming they were subjected to torture at the hands of members of the security agencies (Police, preventive security, operating in the West Bank and the security agencies adherent to the De facto Authority in the Gaza Strip.
ICHR received 289 complaints against the security agencies in the West Bank during January, of which 19 (7% of the total number) include claims of torture and ill-treatment.
These complaints were distributed as follows:
– (4) Complaints against the police agency
– (10) Complaints against the preventive security agency
– (5) Complaints against the General Intelligence Agency
ICHR also documented (12) torture cases of which (5) cases against the preventive security agency and (7) against the general intelligence agency. The complainants claimed that they were subject to severe torture, especially standing in a difficult position for a long time (Shabh) during detention. They requested from ICHR not to follow up on these cases, and so they were documented only.
The torture allegations concentrated on different patterns of torture including: standing in a difficult position for a long time “Shabah”; beating; punching; flogging; intimidation; psychological pressure and ill treatment.
II. Violation of the Right to Proper Legal procedures – Arbitrary Arrests Based on Political Affiliation
ICHR is gravely concerned over ongoing arbitrary detention and non-compliance with proper legal procedures during detention. Such measures constitute a stark violation of personal freedoms without any legal justification. Detainees are deprived of their major rights including access to the civil judiciary since bringing detainees before the military judiciary constitutes a clear breach of the Palestinian Basic Law and Criminal Procedures Law.
Arbitrary detention continued in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and ICHR received during January (358) complaints in the West Bank. (289) complaints were against the security agencies as (235) complaints focused on inappropriate procedures of detention. Most of the complainants claimed that they were arbitrarily detained or for political reasons.
In the Gaza Strip, ICHR received during the same month (62) complaints of which (36) against the security agencies which are adherent to the MoI of the Deposed Government. (24) complaints focused on inappropriate detention procedures and arrests based on political affiliation.
IV. Delays in Implementing Palestinian Court Decisions in the West Bank.
Non-implementation of court decisions and rulings continued in the West Bank during the month of January. Such conduct by the Palestinian courts, regardless of their degrees, is a blatant breach of the 5 Palestinian Basic Law, particularly, article 106, which stipulates that “Judicial decisions are enforceable and any form of refraining from that is a crime punishable by imprisonment and dismissal from office”.
As for the implementation of decisions of both the Palestinian High Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance, ICHR documented a number of complaints on their non-implementation. The High Court of Justice issued some decisions, but the executive authority, in both its civil and military wings, failed to implement those decisions up to the moment of this report. The following are among these cases:
First: In January, ICHR received a number of complaints relating to release decisions due to the illegality of the detention procedures, but these decisions went unimplemented
Second: Decisions of release issued during previous months due to the illegality of detention that went unimplemented
Besides these decisions, administrative decisions were issued during the past months, but the Executive Authority hasn’t implemented any of them. The following are some of these decisions:The new roads, which cost an estimated £40m and stretch a total of 50 miles between KwaNxamalala and other nearby villages and towns, were unveiled this week by officials from the KwaZulu Natal provincial government.
President Zuma already faces investigation by the country's anti-corruption watchdog over an upgrade to his sprawling rural home which includes a helipad, playground and underground rooms.
Local officials insist that the roads project was conceived before Mr Zuma came to power.
But opposition parties say that developments around Nkandla, the nearby town which has given its name to the president's home, represent "an unprecedented and biased cash splurge using public funds", and point to other roads in the province in greater need of repair.
The area, which has an unemployment rate of 47.4 per cent, has recently benefited from the construction of a library, a post office, a Jacob Zuma Education Trust office, and a health clinic.
There is also a plan in the pipeline for a new town already dubbed Zumaville by media pundits to be built a stone's throw from his house. It will reportedly span almost 500 acres and include government offices, a theatre, a school with boarding facilities and a recreation centre with a swimming pool and tennis courts.
Tempers flared in South Africa's parliament on Wednesday as the ANC chairman of the transport committee prevented opposition MPs from asking "politically motivated" questions about the roads project.
Mr Zuma, who is up for re-election as ANC president in December, has remained silent on the allegations of impropriety around Nkandla, and the public officials said to be funding the projects have refused to disclose further details, citing national security.
"Public funds should not be spent to service the home and the hometown of the president to the detriment of other projects that are meant to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans," Ian Ollis, the Democratic Alliance transport spokesman said.Charity accuses authorities in the UK of pursuing cases against rape complainants more aggressively than other countries
At least 109 women have been prosecuted in the last five years for making false rape allegations in the UK, according to campaigners who are calling for an end to what they claim is the aggressive pursuit of such cases.
On Tuesday, the charity Women Against Rape (War) is taking its campaign to the House of Commons, where some of those who have been jailed for lying about rape allegations will speak out against their treatment by the authorities.
The vast majority of the convictions in the last five years, 98 out of 109, involved prosecutions for perverting the course of justice – which carries a maximum life jail term – rather than the lesser offence of wasting police time, which has a maximum tariff of six months in prison or a fine.
A US law professor, who will be speaking at the Commons, said the UK’s stance on false allegations is more aggressive than in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. Prof Lisa Avalos, of the University of Arkansas, said false allegations in the US were dealt with as a misdemeanour offence, not a felony – and most women were not jailed if found guilty.
“In the course of my research I have not found any country that pursues these cases against women rape complainants in the way the UK does. The UK has an unusual approach and I think their approach violates human rights,” she said.
In 2012/13 there were 3,692 prosecutions for rape in England and Wales, resulting in 2,333 convictions.
War says it is supporting several women who say they were forced into retracting their rape complaint by police and then told they would be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice.
But Prof Claire Ferguson, a forensic criminologist from the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia, said it was not the norm to prosecute women for false allegations and that only those in the most egregious cases were charged, often where the accused man had spent time in custody.
“There have been cases in Australia where people have been accused, then nothing ever happens to the accuser, even though the police believe the report is indeed false.
“This can be hugely problematic and has led to many personal and professional issues for the accused [including suicide], even when the police have proven that they did nothing wrong and are not a sex offender,” she said.
Sandra Allen’s daughter Layla Ibrahim was seven months pregnant when she was jailed for three years for perverting the course of justice, after reporting a sexual assault by two strangers. “My daughter still maintains she was attacked,” said Allen, who will be addressing the public meeting. “We found out that within days of her reporting the attack the police started investigating my daughter.
“The police trot out these words that victims will be believed but I don’t think they ever bothered investigating what Layla was saying from the beginning. I will fight for her innocence to my dying day. What happened to her was beyond horrific, she suffered that night, she suffered in prison and she is still suffering.”
Ibrahim’s lawyer, Nigel Richardson, is preparing to submit her case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which pursues miscarriages of justice.
He said: “These cases seem to be pursued with a particular vehemence by the police and CPS [Crown Prosecution Service]. It’s as though lying to the police, as they would see it, demands a really heavy reaction. There comes a moment when the woman goes from being a victim in the eyes of the police to a suspect. She may not even know that has happened.”
Recent figures from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the police watchdog, revealed that more than a quarter of rape and sexual offences were not being recorded as crimes by forces and rape is a hugely under-reported offence.
Campaigners say that context has to be taken into account when police and prosecutors decide to pursue women for apparently lying about sexual attacks.
The director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, is scheduled to publish a statement on the case of Eleanor de Freitas, a rape complainant who killed herself on the eve of a prosecution for perverting the course of justice.
Lisa Longstaff, from War, said: “It’s appalling that when over 90% of rapists are getting away with it and two women a week are killed by partners or ex-partners, women who report violence are being imprisoned.
“From Rotherham to Westminster, police dismiss victims and press them to retract their allegations.
“We have repeatedly raised with the former and present DPP that biased and negligent rape investigations result in miscarriages of justice.”
The CPS said it did not collate figures on how many individuals have been prosecuted for allegedly making false rape allegations. A CPS review over 17 months from January 2011 to May 2012 revealed there had been 44 individuals prosecuted for perverting the course of justice or wasting police time, out of 159 charging decisions.
A spokeswoman said: “Cases of perverting the course of justice that involve allegedly false rape allegations are serious but rare. They are usually highly complex and sensitive often involving vulnerable parties, so any decision to charge is extremely carefully considered and not taken lightly.
“Such cases can only be brought where the prosecution can prove that the original rape allegation was false and the relatively few cases that are brought should not dissuade any potential victim from coming forward to report an assault.”Global warming? More like global cooling, according to a leading U.K. scientist.
Professor Mike Lockwood from Reading University told the BBC that at the current rate of decline in solar activity, there is a risk that Northern Europe could become much colder and enter a new “Little Ice Age.”
The “Little Ice Age” refers to a period during the 1600s when winters were harsh all across Europe. The cold weather that plagued the continent coincided with an inactive sun, called the Maunder solar minimum.
Lockwood argues that during the late 20th century, the sun was unusually active, with the so-called “grand maximum” of solar activity occurring around 1985. But solar activity has decreased since then.
“By looking back at certain isotopes in ice cores, [Lockwood] has been able to determine how active the sun has been over thousands of years,” The BBC reports.” Following analysis of the data, Professor Lockwood believes solar activity is now falling more rapidly than at any time in the last 10,000 years.”
Based on these findings, Lockwood argues that there is an increased risk of a Maunder minimum; and a repeat of a “Dalton solar minimum,” which occurred in the early 1800s, is “more likely than not” to happen again.
“He believes that we are already beginning to see a change in our climate — witness the colder winters and poor summers of recent years — and that over the next few decades there could be a slide to a new Maunder minimum,” BBC reports, adding that harsh winters and cooler summers would become more frequent.
Lockwood’s research flies directly in the face of scientists who argue that human activities are causing the planet to heat up, commonly known as global warming. They argue that greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, trap heat in the planet, causing the Earth’s surface and oceans to warm.
“It is clear from extensive scientific evidence that the dominant cause of the rapid change in climate of the past half century is human-induced increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrous oxide,” according to the American Physical Society.
However, the globe has not significantly warmed in the last 15 years or so, leading some to criticize previous predictions made by climate scientists.
“[I]n attributing warming to man, they fail to point out that the warming has been small, and totally consistent with there being nothing to be alarmed about,” said Dr. Richard Lindzen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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the Supreme Court struck down legally enforced segregation in public schools through Brown v. Board of Education.
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger — and helped launch the civil rights movement.
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.
In 1964 and 1965, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.
In 2008, America voted for its first black president.
In 2016, McLaurin met the first black president and his wife.
Simply put, the amount of progress on racial justice issues that McLaurin has seen is almost hard to imagine. When she said she was at the White House to "celebrate black history," she wasn't just talking about the month we're all celebrating right now — but her lived experience, too.A $2,000 reward is being offered after an atheist banner installed to counter a Nativity scene was vandalized again in an Arlington Heights park, officials said Monday.
"We're very disappointed, obviously, that this would happen in a very progressive area, a very tolerant area," said Tom Cara, president of the Chicago chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The repeated offense is prompting the cash incentive funded by the national group for what it considers to be a hate crime.
"We are offering a reward for any information leading to a determination of who has done this," Cara said.
This is the second year that signs bearing atheist beliefs from the Freedom From Religion Foundation were damaged at North School Park, near the annual Arlington Heights holiday lights display, said Steve Scholten, executive director of the Arlington Heights Park District.
"The maintenance of those things is the responsibility of the owners of those signs," Scholten said. "Obviously, we would encourage people to understand that this is an expression of freedom of speech and to not vandalize any of the displays out there."
The foundation, in conjunction with the umbrella organization Chicago Coalition of Reason, had set up this year's atheist display Nov. 29. It included a vinyl banner owned by the coalition and a 5-foot-tall scarlet letter "A" owned by the foundation, as well as two aluminum signs indicating both groups' contributions, Cara said.
The banner, which measured 31/2 by 7 feet and read "Are you good without God? Millions are," was ripped from its attachments sometime Sunday, Cara said. The Freedom From Religion Foundation contribution sign was also severely bent.
"The banner itself must have been ripped out with some tremendous force, because we had screw eye hooks and the banner stand is made of wood," Cara said.
Another atheist banner was vandalized in December 2013. Cara said police determined that someone had kicked a tear into it, but the offender was never identified.
The foundation has posted atheist messages at the park since 2012, when a Christian activist filed a complaint against the Park District demanding permission to install a Nativity scene at the park near downtown.
Officials at first rejected the donation but then allowed the Nativity scene to be put up with a special-use permit, acknowledging that there were no policies in place to deal with "unattended displays" on public property. The Freedom From Religion Foundation then countered immediately with its own request.
"Our reason for putting (up) our displays is to communicate the understanding to people that religion and nonreligion is a very divisive issue and should not be debated on public property," Cara said. "Secular public property should be neutral on the subject of religion.... What we do is a response to what they do."
The Park District has since approved a formal policy limiting such displays to two of its parks and only for certain times of the year.
Cara said he is getting the banner repaired or replaced and that the bent aluminum sign has been straightened. The atheist foundation said it has had its banners vandalized or stolen in other parts of the country before.
"This has happened very often to us," Cara said.Often on Lawfare, we think and write about the tensions between government’s responsibility to protect national security and the media’s role in informing the public about sensitive national security and foreign policy matters. We consider the government’s role in protecting classified information versus the press’s decision to publish information it deems in the public interest. We dissect leaks of classified information and the investigations and criminal culpability of those who are complicit in unauthorized disclosures. We think through legal opinions and policies and procedures, and how much of the work done in the national security community can be reported on and released; we analyze the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), its value and its inadequacies; we think and write about whether an appropriate balance was struck when legal proceedings or pleadings are closed to the public in the name of national security.
Much of this work exists at the intersection of national security and press freedom. This intersection is generally understood to be in conflict or, at the very least, to exist as a well-worn tension between divergent interests: protecting national security vs. protecting press freedom.
Despite how this natural tension plays out in the day-to-day work of national security professionals (including lawyers) and journalists, the legitimacy of government national security work depends on its practitioners and leaders having a foundational respect for the free press and an unfailing adherence to the Constitution that provides for it. Protecting national security and protecting press freedom are not mutually exclusive. They are interdependent: A free press cannot operate in an environment that is not protected to a reasonable degree by appropriate national security activities; a national security apparatus betrays its purpose and core values if it does not recognize that it exists to protect freedoms, including those guaranteed to the press.
I have thought about this issue a great deal over the past year in the context of then-candidate Trump, and now President Trump, and his repeated, sustained attacks on the media. The First Amendment is, in its text alone, a provision prohibiting Congress from making a law abridging freedom of the press. The First Amendment text is silent as to the relationship between the executive and the media. So, the question to wrestle with is this: whether the president’s constant, intentional, derogatory statements and other hostile activities with respect to the press are consistent with an ability to fulfill, and fitness for, his constitutional role as commander in chief. I think they are not.
In government practice, protecting First Amendment rights is an integral part of daily national security lawyering that takes place in the intelligence community and at the Department of Justice. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Attorney General’s Guidelines for FBI Domestic Operations, for instance, are examples of a law and policy, respectively, that specifically demand an analysis of First Amendment considerations in the context of national security activities. As a practical matter, the First Amendment issues in those types of operational law analyses generally concern an individual’s or a group’s rights to association and speech.
In searching for some point of reference for how respect for First Amendment rights, including press freedom, is integral to the work of a national security professional, one indicator we might look to for guidance is the fact that applicants for security clearances are evaluated for past activities that may demonstrate a lack of such respect. Not only do government officials take an oath to uphold the Constitution when they step into their position, but respect for the exercise of rights under the Constitution, including the First Amendment, is also a requirement for a federal civil servant to obtain a security clearance and be granted access to classified information.
In particular, the following question appears on the SF-86, the lengthy form that applicants for a security clearance must complete:
Have you ever been a member of an organization that advocates or practices commission of acts of force or violence to discourage others from exercising their rights under the U.S. Constitution or any state of the United States with the specific intent to further such action? (Question 29.5 SF-86])
Of course, neither the president nor other elected officials are required by law to submit themselves to the same security clearance review that executive-branch officials and employees must. And the question posed on the form is quite narrow—it asks only about membership in an organization, and specifically one that encourages or engages in force or violence. Despite its narrow focus, however, it suggests a broader point: access to classified information—and, accordingly, a role of public trust involving protection of national security—cannot be consistent with activities that encourage or tolerate discouraging others from exercising their rights under the Constitution. The government wants its national security professionals to respect constitutional rights; their job is to uphold and protect them.
I think this understood value among the national security community is one reason we are seeing honorable former senior leaders of government intelligence agencies speak so publicly about their increasing unease with President Trump: They might not be able to put their finger on the law or policy he is breaking with each verbal or written assault on the media; they just know that his attacks on the press are inconsistent with their former roles as stewards of U.S. national security. It is worth pausing to reflect on the role of the national security community: It is the protection of the country. That includes physical security. But it also can mean protecting against a silent assault on our democracy using modern weapons and tradecraft to pursue age-old strategic objectives. The national security community’s mission includes, inherently, protecting not just our physical territory and personal security but also our democracy. To protect our system of government, our liberties and our freedom. That is why national security officials take the oath to the U.S. Constitution—because their duty is to protect Americans and America.
President Trump’s strategy of delegitimizing the press is a significant reason he is so unsuitable for his constitutional role and, since assuming office, should be understood to be actively undermining it. While President Trump is not the first to say derogatory things about the press, he has taken the practice to a new and dangerous level. Why is this? One answer may be that he seeks to centralize power in the White House, including with his family. This approach is consistent with other steps he has taken, such as leaving vacant key diplomatic and other national security posts and, instead, using family members to conduct official business. Similarly, he delegitimizes the two major political parties when he attacks politicians of both parties and when he refers to his voter base not as the Republican base but as the “Trump Base.”
An additional answer may be found in the observation that government leaders often seek to suppress media in order to hide public corruption activities. (For more on this point, see this 2009 UN/DESA Working Paper by Monica Nogara.) While the ongoing law enforcement investigations may eventually uncover criminal activity, corruption may also be significantly exposed through reporting. (See this past year’s consistent reporting by the Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold and the New York Times’ Eric Lipton, for example.) The media are reporting constantly on the number of days Trump spends at his private properties; money Trump and his family are earning through their hotel in Washington, D.C.; the bills Trump and his family are sending the Secret Service for rent; and much, much more.
As with his assault on the Justice Department, it is not necessary to recount here all the ways in which the president has attacked and sought to discredit the press in the past year; they are well-documented, and they reveal themselves daily (including, most recently, at his Phoenix campaign rally Tuesday ). In short, the president has launched a consistent, sustained effort to discredit the media with the goal of minimizing the role of America’s free press and establishing himself, instead, as the one true source of information to be believed. His effort bears relation to that of authoritarian regimes that put forth their own state media to serve as the official source of information. In more severe environments around the globe, harassment of the press can include jailing reporters, closing down media outlets, censorship, criminal prosecution, harassment by police authorities and other law enforcement, or litigation strategies.
Freedom House, which surveys and reports annually on global press freedom, has stated that “No U.S. president in recent memory has shown greater contempt for the press than Trump in his first months in office.” While the first eight months of the Trump administration have not brought the extreme measures noted above, we have seen:
The 2016 Trump campaign as a national embarrassment for its treatment of the press, as well as the hostile atmosphere it created. The president repeatedly mocked the media from the podium. His campaign limited journalists to “pens.” As documented by Freedom House, there was “harassment and roughing up of journalists at Trump rallies.”
The Trump White House suspended video and live audio feeds of press briefings for several weeks over the summer of 2017.
The president tweeted, on two separate occasions, images (a video and a cartoon) of physical violence against CNN and a fictional CNN reporter.
The president has consistently and repeatedly made derogatory verbal attacks on specific reporters.
The Freedom House report observes that President Trump’s disparagement of the press (using his well-worn accusation of “fake news” and repeatedly describing the news media as “the most dishonest people” places him in the company of Bolivia’s Evo Morales (who accused the media of being a “cartel of lies”), the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte (who called the media “the vultures, pretending to be journalists”) and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan (“Know your place... shameless militant woman disguised under the name of a journalist.”)
The U.S. president issuing official statements via Twitter depicting physical violence against a widely recognized U.S.-based international news outlet should not be minimized or ignored; nor should his personal attacks on individual reporters. Freedom House notes that press intimidation is a tool that insecure leaders use to “cling to power.” Throughout the world, members of the media face physical danger, including threats to life. Official government denigration of journalists is not a harmless act; it is a technique of regimes that seek to suppress the media. Politicians globally are on notice that journalists face potential violence for simply doing their jobs; activities or statements by politicians that intentionally provoke hostility toward the press are not innocent, uninformed or benign.
While we don’t know the precise motivation for the president’s attacks on the press, what we do know is that they are deliberate. They encourage an environment of hostility against the media. They are intended to affect the press’s exercise of its rights under the Constitution. The attacks may be an effort to centralize power and dissuade further scrutiny of unscrupulous activities. And they are inconsistent with a constitutional role of protecting national security.The week in big brand social media marketing started off with a lot of buzz. On Monday, the verified Twitter account for Burger King was taken over and rebranded for McDonalds. It took a few hours for Twitter to suspend the account and restore control to the flame-broiled burger chain. Despite what was certain to be a community manager’s nightmare, the account picked up lots of new followers. Yesterday saw a similar takeover of the official @Jeep account, rebranding it for Cadillac. The takeover didn’t last nearly as long as the Burger King incident.
Then later in the afternoon @MTV and @BET were seemingly hacked and switched identities. But according to Forbes, the last incident was a promotional stunt.
In an exclusive interview with Forbes, an inside source at MTV has confirmed that MTV’s Twitter account was never “hacked.” MTV has since tweeted “We totally Catfish-ed you guys. Thanks for playing! <3 you, @BET. ;)” The short-lived “takeover “on Twitter (supposedly by BET) was actually a stunt likely to promote the show “What the Hack”, a show previously aired on MTV India that the network is soon bringing stateside. BET and MTV are both owned by Viacom.
For entertainment brands like MTV and BET, the prank would play very well with their audiences, but the hacking issues associated with Twitter recently are the stuff of PR nightmares for brand managers. These recent events should shed light on the need for brands to put in place a proper password maintenance policy for their social media and other online accounts. Use strong passwords and change them regularly. Keep in mind that everyone knows your Twitter username, it is the same as your @namehere. All that’s needed is the password to gain access to your account to either spam your follower’s Direct Message (DM) box with questionable links or take over your account.
Here are some basic best practices to keep in mind when it comes to passwords.
Use of both upper- and lower-case letters (case sensitivity)
Include one or more numerical digits
Include special characters, e.g. @, #, $ etc.
Don’t use words found in a dictionary or the user’s personal information
Don’t use passwords that match the format of calendar dates, license plate numbers, telephone numbers, or other common numbers
The more random the characters the better
Change the passwords often. With social media accounts like Twitter I’d recommend every 60 – 90 days.
Category SEOImage copyright Reuters Image caption Malala says she is nervous about starting as a student at Oxford
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says the "global community" needs to intervene to protect Myanmar's Muslim minority.
She urged Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak up for the Rohingya.
"We can't be silent right now. The number of people who have been displaced is hundreds of thousands," Malala told the BBC.
The human rights activist is about to become a student at Oxford and admitted to "nerves" about her new life.
Speaking in Oxford, she called for an international response to the violence in Myanmar.
Human rights
"I think we can't even imagine for a second what it's like when your citizenship, your right to live in a country, is completely denied," said Malala.
"This should be a human rights issue. Governments should react to it. People are being displaced, they're facing violence.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Rohingya refugees have been trying to reach Bangladesh
"Children are being deprived of education, they cannot receive basic rights - and living in a terrorism situation, when there's so much violence around you, is extremely difficult.
"We need to wake up and respond to it - and I hope that Aung Sang Suu Kyi responds to it as well," she said.
Malala, now 20, is about to become an undergraduate at the University of Oxford.
While the university might have produced many people who went on to win Nobel prizes, she is unusual in having one before she has arrived.
"I am trying to be just a normal student."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Malala received her A-level results this summer
"I want to make friends just as the girl Malala and not the Nobel laureate."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch: Who are the Rohingya?
"I'm a bit nervous as well, because in the beginning you don't know anyone, and you don't know how to make friends and it will be challenging… but fingers crossed it will be OK."
She also says she is pleased to be following in the footsteps of another "strong female leader" from Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, who studied at Oxford.
Missing school
Malala has been campaigning over the rights of girls to have an education - and she is setting up a network of "champions" for education in countries such as Afghanistan and Nigeria and for Syrian refugees.
This is called the Gulmakai Network - the name taken from her pseudonym when she wrote a blog about the loss of girls' rights under the Taliban in Pakistan, which had lead to the attempt on her life in 2012.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Students in Mexico hold up copies of her book when she visited this year
She says she wants education to be recognised as a global priority - and for more urgency in addressing the lack of access to school for 130 million girls, often in the world's poorest countries or in conflict zones.
"I know there are other issues that are taken more seriously - such as poverty, terrorism, or climate change, but education is the only solution for all of these problems."
She says there are many problems to overcome, "whether it's early marriage, poverty, lack of awareness or lack of funding".
"But the benefits are many, we need to educate people about the importance of education," she said.
Forgiveness
Malala, the advocate of girls' right to education, came to the world's attention after the Taliban in her native Pakistan attempted to murder her in a gun attack.
This week there have been reports that one of those involved in the attack had been killed by security forces in Pakistan.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Malala's life is being depicted in a Bollywood movie
She says she has already forgiven the people who were trying to murder her.
"I have forgiven them.
"But they were able to carry out other killings in Pakistan. I hope that the army and the country helps them in a deradicalisation process and they learn about the true message of Islam and the meaning of human rights and learn about the importance of education.
"But personally I have forgiven them.
"I think what's the point now to say that they should be punished. It has no benefit to anyone, you're just creating more harm. I would want to reduce harm and help each other."In an interview recorded for CBS 60 Minutes Sports, former Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina said flatly: "I did not find that evidence."
That was after Fina stated that he did come to believe, as the state's probe of Sandusky progressed, that former Penn State president Graham Spanier and several of his top aides had tried to interfere with the probe for years.
"Now they're going to be tried on that... But I investigated that case," Fina said of Spanier, retired senior vice president Gary Schultz and former Athletic Director Tim Curley. "They deserved to be charged, and I hope justice will be served there."
Spanier, Curley and Schultz are currently awaiting trial in Dauphin County court on charges of perjury before a grand jury, obstruction of justice, and endangering the welfare of children.
As for Paterno, Fina carved out a space that sounded pretty close to the legal responsibility / moral responsibility divide first raised by Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan at a press conference on Sandusky's arrest in November 2011.
Paterno met minimal legal obligations, officials said then, because he did alert his superiors at Penn State to a 2001 eyewitness account of alleged sexual abuse by Sandusky, his longtime defensive coordinator, at a football shower facility.
That report was never turned to police or child welfare authorities for investigation.
Paterno was dead from complications from lung cancer months before before the state's probe of Penn State's response to the Sandusky probe was completed.
When pressed by interviewer Armen Keteyian on Paterno's role, and the common perception that he had a controlling hand in all university affairs, Fina suggested the former coach's words will have to speak for themselves.
"He (Paterno) said it best," said Fina, who has since left his state post for a position with the Philadelphia District Attorney's office. "He said: 'I didn't do enough... I should have done more.'"
Fina's reference appeared to be to a statement issued by Paterno in the days following Sandusky's arrest in which the longtime coach announced his intent to resign as head football coach at the end of the 2011 season.
Paterno, faced with growing questions about his role in the case, said in part that day: "This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."
Penn State trustees instead fired him that night.
Paterno's role in the scandal has become an unending debate for Pennsylvanians and Penn State fans, in part because of a communal need to know what to make of the coach so many lauded for his commitment to "success with honor" for so many years.
It is the first broadcast interview Fina and colleague Joseph P. McGettigan III have done about the case since Sandusky's June 2012 conviction for the serial sexual abuse of 10 different boys between 1994 and 2008.
The state's investigation, meanwhile, is currently the subject of an internal review by current Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who promised during her campaign last year to try to review the case's management by her predecessors, including now-Gov. Tom Corbett.
Kane has given no indication when that probe will run its course.
Another key figure in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case weighed in Tuesday with his take on whether former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno was an active participant in efforts to cover up Sandusky's sex crimes.Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a rally at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. (Kiichiro Sato/AP)
In a testament to his staying power in the Democratic presidential race, the campaign of Bernie Sanders said Thursday that he is on the verge of raising more money in March than the pace-setting $43.5 million he brought in during February.
Aides to the senator from Vermont said he has raised more than $39 million so far during March — the vast majority of it online — as the campaign touted a final-day push to top last month's figure.
Sanders's haul in February far exceeded that of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who reported bringing in $30.1 million in February. That was the second month in a row that Sanders outraised Clinton.
[Jane Sanders: Winning Wisconsin wouldn’t mean less because of a large white population]
As part of their pitch, Sanders's aides noted the fundraising numbers they report for March will be the last before key primaries in Wisconsin and New York.
In the race for the Democratic nomination, Clinton has built a formidable lead in the delegate count. Sanders, however, has vowed to stay in the race through the party convention, saying he is capable of mounting a comeback in a series of states more favorable to him.
Last weekend, he swept caucuses in Washington state, Alaska and Hawaii.Former The Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal went to “dark of place as possible” to bring to life the iconic Marvel character The Punisher in season 2 of Netflix’s Daredevil. Below the actor breaks his silence on playing Frank Castle, the ex-military veteran who uses an arsenal of weapons to wipe out crime by any means necessary. Netflix was so impressed by his performance, they’re even reportedly developing a Punisher spinoff series starring the actor (we hear it’s rather early in the process). Note: While Bernthal is careful not to reveal any Daredevil spoilers, he does reference Castle’s tragic backstory from the comics and previous adapations.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What drew you to this part?
JON BERNTHAL: I was a big fan of the first season. I love the way the first season attacks the comic world and it did it with authenticity. And obviously this is a character that’s resonated for a long time. It’s an important character, it’s one I’m honored to play. This is a guy who means a lot to a lot of people and his character has resonate with law enforcement and military. People have been coming up to me on the streets of New York saying, “Do not mess this up.”
How do you see Frank Castle?
As a man who put his on the line and really went through the ultimate sacrifice for this country in his involvement in the military. He’s a guy who brought the war home with him [in] the worst possible way. There are a lot of iterations of this character and in all of them it’s a man who’s gone through this unbelievable trauma and what’s interesting about our take on him is how this trauma reshapes his own philosophy. I can’t give too much away, but what’s interesting is the way [showrunners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez] have made his story a slow burn. It’s interesting to find this guy at the point we find him. You want an evolution and a process. He starts in one place and will end up in another.
What were some of the choices you made as an actor to bring him to life?
The training and physicality is extremely important in whatever I do. Luckily I know guys in the military branch he was in. I trained with them and trained a lot with weapons. But with Frank, what was important was the emptiness inside him. He’s dealing with this unbelievable loss. There’s unbelievable anger and hatred and shame. There’s a sense of responsibility and as a father and husband, if I were to lose my family on my watch … I had to put myself in as dark of place as possible the last six months.
What toll did that take?
Especially at the beginning, what was powerful was a lot of isolation. The first few months I was taking long walks across the Brooklyn Bridge to the set, trying to shed any outside influence of joy. Whether it’s successful or not remains to be seen.
It’s a very physical role, what’s the most challenging thing about that?
This stunt team, what they’re accomplishing puts them on a level nobody can compare to, in movies or television. They’re putting movie-quality fights — not just the intricacies and physicality, but there’s an emotional story behind every fight. What they’re doing in an eight-day schedule and we do in one episode, in a film you’d be rehearsing that for months. What they accomplish is staggering. I love physicality, I love fighting, I think the way a character fights and deals with adversity and danger tells huge amounts about the character. As this character develops into what he becomes, he becomes more violent and more raw.
I’ve seen the first two episodes. You’re going to have a lot of viewers rooting for you to kill these people. How do you feel about that?
One of the things I’m most excited for is I’m hoping the audience will go back and forth. There are things you can identify with and get behind,and there are things when the character pushes it and you can’t get behind him anymore. And that’s what I want. I think that’s the nature of the character. This is a guy who pushes the envelope. He’s brutal, but he’s coming from a place of unbelievable hurt. And the best thing about the character is he just doesn’t care. It’s a highly personal mission he’s on and if he offends you, it’s completely unimportant to him.
Superheroes tend to not have guns, your guy uses a gun. When you’re debating with Daredevil, are you thinking your character is right, or do you think he’s kinda messed up?
My job is to root this guy and get into his backstory and be an advocate for this character 100 percent of the time and believe in what I’m doing. And it’s really important that what I do and what I say might not be a characters’s true feeling.
You said the character evolves in the first season, can you give us some sense of that?
Obviously secrecy is key to Marvel. I can tell you that this guy, horrible tragic things happen, and we will see how he goes through that. The effect the other characters have on him will push him certain directions. I think once you see these characters collide, it’s tremendously interesting and emotionally gripping as well. It’s going to be a special season. If you thought last season of Daredevil was dark, we’re going to a whole new place.
Are you still watching The Walking Dead?
Those guys are and always will be family to me. I’m always rooting for them and behind them. But I’ve had an extremely busy year and really behind a little behind. One of the great things about finally wrapping [Daredevil] is I get to spend time with my family and catch up on The Walking Dead.
Daredevil returns March 18.Israeli aircraft have killed three top Hamas commanders in southern Gaza, inflicting a heavy blow on the movement's armed wing after failing to kill its top military chief.
Thursday's attack, on a day when a total of 26 people were reported killed in Gaza, came a day after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel's offensive may be an extended operation.
The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said Mohamed Abo Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohamed Barhoum had been killed in an Israeli attack in Rafah, the Reuters news agency reported.
The raid came a day after Israel attempted to kill the brigades' leader Mohammed Deif. Dief's wife and baby son died in the attack.
"The assassination... is a big Israeli crime, which will not succeed in breaking our will or weakening our resistance," said spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, adding: "Israel will pay the price."
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from West Jerusalem, said Israel had turned to its historical tactic of targeting senior figures.
"This could be seen as an acknowledgement that military tactics have not been delivering on several different levels," she said.
Israel said on Thursday it was rotating 10,000 troops - meaning fresh soldiers were being prepared for future operations.
At a news conference on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu pledged "a continued campaign" in Gaza aimed at restoring "calm and safety to Israeli citizens".
"Operation Protective Edge is not finished, not for a minute, we are talking about a continued campaign," Netanyahu said, before adding he saw a "new diplomatic horizon for the state Israel" in the coming months.
Hamas spokesman Zuhri denounced Netanyahu's speech as "a pathetic attempt to heal Israel's psyche".
"The assassination threats... reflects the extent of the occupation's violence and [Israel's] lack of seriousness in achieving a ceasefire," he said
"These threats will not frighten Hamas leaders. We will continue to protect and defend our people in facing Israeli crimes or foolishness," he said.
Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson, reporting from Gaza, said the Hamas commanders killed on Thursday had been implicated in the kidnapping of its soldier Gilad Shalit, who was freed in 2011 under a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
She added that Hamas and other Palestinian factions were still open to talks, an "indicator of how both sides... are aware that while they say they're prepared to fight, they also know that they need a political solution at some stage".
Hamas is seeking an end to a seven-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has battered Gaza's economy, while Israel wants guarantees that Hamas will disarm.
More than 40 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza since a week-long ceasefire collapsed on Tuesday, raising the total death toll to over 2,035 since the beginning of Israel's "Operation Protective Edge" on July 8.Absa Bank, the South African subsidiary of Barclays Africa Group, has joined the R3 blockchain consortium representing over fifty major corporations from around the world. Absa will also be working towards developing a collaborative working group with other South African banks to develop the African continent’s first distributed ledger-based banking solution.
Join the iFX EXPO Asia and discover your gateway to the Asian Markets
David Rutter, CEO of R3, commened: “The addition of Absa marks another significant milestone for R3 as we continue to expand the global presence of our consortium. Africa is a key market for us and we look forward to collaborating with Absa to develop distributed and shared ledger technologies that have the potential to revolutionise the infrastructure across global financial markets.”
Andrew Baker, CIO for Corporate and Investment Banking at Barclays Africa, says: “We see huge potential for financial institutions in Africa to embrace disruptive technologies like blockchain, and use them to empower individuals and improve the lives of their customers. However, its true value will only be realised if we work together to co-develop and share solutions to common problems.
Suggested articles Why Brokerages Outsource Their Broker TechnologyGo to article >>
R3 has made significant breakthroughs in this field to explore and test how the technology can be best adopted by financial institutions, and we believe widespread adoption will happen quickly. Change is currently focused on disruptive innovation but will become more mainstream as industry alliances such as R3 and regulatory acceptance grows.”
Baker adds: “Barclays Africa has been experimenting with blockchain for some time. In mid-2015 we launched an Africa-wide blockchain supply chain challenge through our Rise open innovation platform. We also co-hosted the second Blockchain and Bitcoin Africa Conference in February this year, and we currently have over ten blockchain-based experiments and research initiatives that are being piloted within the bank.”
James Scott, Head of Digital, Corporate and Investment Bank for Barclays Africa, comments: “We have been watching this space closely and the client and product use cases in the corporate and investment bank are starting to look really interesting. We look forward to working with R3 to fully explore these applications.”
Ashley Veasey, CIO for Barclays Africa, comments: “While this initiative is probably the first of its kind in terms of technology innovation within financial services in Africa, such collaboration is critical to unlocking the value that blockchain could hold for trade in Africa.”The Health Ministry has said Waikato Hospital's Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre is not fit for purpose (file photo).
Waikato's burgeoning prison population will have a dramatic influence on the region's mental health services, health bosses say.
Waikato DHB plans to replace the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre and gave an update on options at its October board meeting.
Both the Health Ministry and the DHB say the current building puts patients and public safety at risk.
Waikato DHB interim executive director for mental health and addictions Vicki Aitken said the new build was part of a wider process examining the DHB's whole model of care.
READ MORE:
* New mental health facility to replace Waikato's Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre
* Greens lash Waikato DHB over state of mental health services
* Calls to tweak Waikato Hospital's smoking ban policy
* Super city rents drive patients to seek out cheap Waikato accommodation
Possible options to replace the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre include: a new build on the main Waikato Hospital campus site, a fit-for-purpose build on a greenfield site, or a "hybrid" option with mental health services being provided at the hospital campus as well as a rural setting.
Aitken said a key consideration for the DHB was the proposed expansion of Waikeria Prison from 740 to 3000 beds.
"We've been very clear that this business case is wider than just our acute inpatient facility. It does need to take into account the fact we're going to have more prison beds on our doorstep," she said.
"There will be a massive impact, not just on the forensic services, but adult mental health services [and] addiction services."
Derek Wright, Waikato DHB interim chief executive, said the Health Ministry and Treasury had been intimately involved in the business case process.
"At the moment, they're heavily engaged with us, which is why it [the business case] has probably got more elements to it now," Wright said.
Aitken said staff were continuing to hold workshops to discuss the new build options.
The DHB has previously said it hopes to open the new complex within five years.Milliardetterslep
– At en bro skal erstattes av en ny, betyr at vi hele tiden må se til at den er trygg, og det gjør vi, sier direktør Jane Bordal, som leder vei- og trafikkavdelingen i Vegdirektoratet.
Vegdirektoratet forteller at vedlike |
last public effort to urge the Obama administration not to finalize those controversial earnings stripping rules, our Katy O’Donnell reports. GOP tax writers told Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Shaun Donovan, whose Office of Management and Budget just received the final rules, that the proposed regulations needed to be thrown out and the administration needs to do more consulting with the business community.
The Republicans, who want another set of proposed regulations, also said the rules should get a thorough economic analysis. The final regulations sent to OMB were classified as economically significant, meaning that Treasury needed to include a detailed evaluation of the costs and benefits.
And as you’d expect, it’s also becoming nail-biting time for those outside the halls of Congress who have been leaning on Treasury to make changes to the rules. Tax Analysts, for instance, reports that practitioners are really hoping that the final regulations will have less of an impact on cash pooling, which has been one of the central complaints that business groups have been sending to Lew and his team. (To be fair, Treasury has acknowledged that they need to take a look at the cash pooling implications.)
UP BECOMES DOWN: Trump’s made trade the centerpiece of his campaign, and specifically the idea that bad trade deals and an unlevel playing field are imposing a trade deficit that’s dragging down the U.S. But The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip maintains there’s a certain irony to that, because another key plank of Trump’s plan — a tax cut worth trillions of dollars — would have the opposite effect of closing down a trade gap. “Conventional economics predict that the Republican presidential nominee’s deficit-financed tax cut would drive up interest rates, sucking in foreign capital and driving the dollar higher. The result would be higher imports, weaker exports and more foreign debt than otherwise, developments likely to intensify Mr. Trump’s protectionist instincts.”
STAY TUNED: You might recall both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, have plugged their plans to cut taxes for the middle class. But while the Clinton campaign has released some targeted tax relief measures for families, it has yet to roll out the sort of broader middle-class tax cut that many have expected. Now, after Kaine broached the topic in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, The Washington Examiner’s Joseph Lawler reports that a Clinton staffer declared that the team has “been building on our proposals and clarifying them as the campaign progresses. So, I'm sure we will discuss this more but just not sure when."
** A message from the Intuit Tax & Financial Center: Our Voluntary Compliance system presents an opportunity for taxpayers to jumpstart their savings by setting aside part of their refund. To learn more, watch our latest Talking Tax & Finance series with Leigh Phillips, President & CEO of EARN.org, a national nonprofit helping working families achieve prosperity through savings. http://bit.ly/2BNqn5V. **
THE 47 PERCENT: Make that 44.3 percent. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center is out with new estimates for the amount of households that don’t pay income taxes, a statistic made forever famous by Mitt Romney four years ago. (Alright, maybe not forever.)
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of households making under $40,000 a year aren’t paying income taxes, even if they largely pay sales taxes, payroll taxes and other levies. But even about 1 in 8 households making between $75,000 and $100,000 a year aren’t paying income tax, and there’s apparently 1,000 households out there making seven figures that have found a way around income tax, too.
ABOUT THAT INFASTRUCTURE: S&P Global is throwing its hat into the infrastructure debate, Katy also reports — pitching the idea of ending the tax on multinationals’ repatriated earnings altogether, in exchange for the promise that 15 percent of the money would go to infrastructure bonds. The group said the return on investment for corporations would potentially be good enough for them to actually take part, and that getting private capital involved could help break the gridlock on an issue where there’s bipartisan interest in getting something done.
AS IF ON CUE: Pro Transportation’s Lauren Gardner notes that lobbyists aren’t giving up on getting Washington to boost the gas tax, but they’re also not blind to the fact that their efforts on that front haven’t been very successful so far. The problem: While transportation advocates know they should be pitching other ideas for long-term funding, they’re also well aware that repatriated funds would be a one-time shot in the arm, and not sure where else to turn.
AN ESTATE TAX RETORT: Rep. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, a GOP tax writer in the House, recently wrote an op-ed for Fox News detailing how hard the estate tax hit her family after the death of her father. Now, Americans for Tax Fairness is taking aim at Noem for what it says are misleading statements about Clinton’s estate tax plan, and noting that the estate tax exemption was $600,000 when Noem’s father died. (It’s at least $5.45 million now.) “It’s important to note that it has not been shown that a single family farm has ever been lost as a result of the estate tax,” said the group’s Frank Clemente.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATE —
NOT QUITE TRILLIONS: The German governing coalition — the conservative Christian Democrats and their junior partners, the center-left Social Democrats — have agreed on a package of tax cuts that could be worth 6.3 billion euros ($7 billion) per year, Reuters reports. Some of those tax cuts will also sound familiar to American tax watchers, including a plan to stop the so-called bracket creep that occurs when a taxpayer gets sucked into a higher tax bracket because of inflation. More robust tax benefits are also included in the plan, from Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, that the German Cabinet will consider next week.
THE CASE FOR SOFTENING THE BREXIT: The British finance industry could lose more than $48 billion (38 billion pounds) worth of revenue in a so-called hard exit from the European Union, Reuters reports via a study that was admittedly sponsored by an industry group. (A “hard” Brexit basically means that the U.K. would give up full access to the single European market.) With London at its center, the U.K. financial industry is both the country’s biggest export sector and provider of tax revenue.
STATE NEWS —
IT’S NOT DELAWARE’S FAULT: That’s the case that a new Atlantic article makes — that the other 49 states are playing a pretty substantial role in submitting to Delaware’s lax tax laws that have made it a magnet for businesses. Delaware doesn’t tax intangible assets, which allows companies headquartered elsewhere to set up subsidiaries in the state where they transfer property like trademarks. “Since intangible assets are not taxed in Delaware, the company doesn’t have to pay taxes on the money that was transferred to the subsidiary. The company can deduct the cost of the royalties on its state returns in other states where it operates, and thus avoid a large share of the state income taxes it would have otherwise owed. It is the laws of states other than Delaware that allow this system to work,” Alana Semuels writes.
QUICK LINKS
— Jersey showdown rescheduled: Gas tax hike vote rescheduled for Friday.
— Danish central bank unnerved by government proposal to pare back property taxes, fearing housing bubble.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ginza, Tokyo’s main shopping district, means “silver guild” in Japanese. It’s located in the area where the Japanese government transferred its silver mint in 1612.
** A message from the Intuit Tax and Financial Center: While tax season is likely not a time that many of us look forward to, it’s an essential part of performing our tax compliance responsibility. Our Voluntary Compliance system presents a once-a-year opportunity for taxpayers to jumpstart their savings by setting aside part of their refund, increasing their overall financial stability. In our most recent Talking Tax & Finance video series, we hear from Leigh Phillips, President & CEO of EARN.org, a national nonprofit that helps working families achieve prosperity through savings. Phillips discusses how direct citizen participation in this tax time moment while leveraging the economic opportunity that tax refunds represent, can positively impact a family’s financial health and well-being. In fact, for many Americans, the largest check they receive all year comes in the form of tax refunds and credits. To read more, visit http://bit.ly/2BNqn5V. **Somebody must have thought they were hiding something by smashing the computer hard drives the FBI recovered from the home of Imran Awan, the former information technology aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat – Florida.
But odds are excellent they were wrong. Federal law enforcement authorities may have already recovered and read whatever was on those hard drives.
“It depends on what happens, but even if it is hit with a hammer, it probably doesn’t damage the platters that actually hold the data, which remains recoverable,” said Tom Hakim, engineering supervisor for WeRecoverData.com, a New York-based lab that specializes in difficult digital retrieval.
“In most cases, it’s very likely” the information on a smashed hard drive can be recovered “in two or three days, maybe a week,” Hakim said.
His lab, which does extensive work for law enforcement and Fortune 500 corporations, has also recovered data from disks that were in fires and that had been submerged in water.
That may be bad news for Pakistani-born Awan. He and his younger brothers; his wife, Hina Alvi; and his best friend, Rao Abbas, are criminal suspects in a federal investigation first made public in February. Investigators are looking into abuse of the congressional IT servers, including the possible transfer of data, emails, and files from the offices of dozens of House Democrats.
Awan had worked for Wasserman Schultz—who resigned in July 2016 as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee after its IT system was hacked—since 2005. His relatives and friend had also worked on and off as congressional IT aides, being paid collectively more than $4 million from 2009 to 2016.
All five of the suspects lost access to the congressional IT system in February, and all of them were removed from office payrolls except Alvi, Awan’s wife, who left the country in March.
Wasserman Schultz didn’t fire Awan until the day after his arrest and appeared prepared to keep paying him in Pakistan had he not been arrested by the FBI on his way there.
In a related development Monday, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust filed an ethics complaint with Congress against Wasserman Schultz because she kept Awan on her official office payroll for months after his IT access was terminated.
Other House Democrats fired Awan, his relatives, and friends while Wasserman Schultz continued employing him.
“There is something quite amiss as to why Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz continued to use taxpayer funds to employ former technology staff member Imran Awan, even months after he was barred from accessing the House’s computer systems and a number of her colleagues severed ties with Awan,” said Matthew Whitaker, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust’s executive director.
“Since Awan’s arrest last week, Wasserman Schultz has been evasive and unable to answer even basic questions about the nature of Awan’s employment with her office. This only further confirms the urgency of an investigation into her unethical and illegal actions,” Whitaker said in a prepared statement released by the nonprofit watchdog for government ethics.
Whitaker is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa.
Also on Monday, Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., a key member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called on lawmakers to assess the damage the IT vulnerabilities might have caused.
“Congress needs to know how this happened and what damage has been done. We have a responsibility to protect the House,” DeSantis said.
“The possibility that sensitive congressional information was compromised requires Congress to examine this matter,” the Florida Republican added.
DeSantis is chairman of the oversight panel’s subcommittee on national security and a member of its subcommittee on government operations.
From - The Daily Signal - by Mark Tapscott
Read more articles by The Association of Mature American CitizensV. Stiviano, the visor-clad woman whose leaked recording of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist remarks transformed her into a tabloid-ready celebrity, was reportedly assaulted by two men in New York City on Sunday.
Mac Nehoray, Stiviano’s lawyer, told the New York Daily News that the men attacked his client as she left a restaurant in New York City’s Meatpacking District. The two men, each of whom were white, reportedly called her the N-word and used other racist language during the altercation.
“The two men who attacked her punched her on the right side of her face several times,” Nehoray told the newspaper.
A bouncer from the nearby Gansevoort Hotel who witnessed the attack said that Stiviano was caught in the middle of a fight between the two men. Stiviano’s role in the fight is not yet clear.
The 31-year-old reportedly saw a doctor after the attack, but has yet to file a police report.
The attack on Stiviano was first reported by Radar Online, who also spoke to Nehoray. Stiviano’s lawyer told the website that “two white men descended on her” as she was leaving the Gansevoort Hotel.
“They were about 5’7” and they knew exactly who she was,” he said. “They began to hit her and called her the N word. […] Other disgusting slurs were made against her. She was able to run away and several onlookers then began attempting to apprehend the two men.”
Nehoray confirmed that Stiviano had not yet filed a police report, but said that she “will probably do so [but] her immediate reaction was to run away from the attackers and get to safety.”
Sterling was banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million after a recording of a phone conversation he had with Stiviano was obtained by TMZ. During the call, Sterling made several disparaging statements about African-Americans, including NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
Stiviano will appear on CNN’s "Anderson Cooper 360" on Monday night.I finished a drawing! Yay! It’s been a while. I chose to draw Bunny aka Grav3yardgirl. I’m a big fan of her YouTube channel, which is the first channel I ever subscribed to. She’s so funny and genuine and I’m proud to call myself part of her Swamp Family. I follow her on Snapchat and this picture once came up in her story and I thought it was so pretty and so I screen shot it and knew that one day I’d draw it. Are there swamp family out there who are excited about her Tarte Palette? I am, the color shades are right up my alley.
I was in the middle of filming this one and I realized her eye was too high on her face. I don’t think it was incredibly noticeable, but it bothered me enough that I stopped filming to move it down. You can see it in the video there’s a bit of a jump and her eye went from looking finished to looking bare. It’s all part of the process.
About the drawing itself. This is on 9×12 Bristol Smooth paper. It’s the first time I’ve ever used smooth paper, and I think I really liked it. It was easy to fix mistakes and to blend tones together. I used 4H, HB, 7B, and 8B pencils, kneaded eraser and blending stumps.
I hope you enjoy the video. Keep Drawing!
Grav3yardgirl on YouTube
Pencils used for this drawingIn the last comment thread Rational Male regular, Glenn, had an interesting exchange that went like this:
My marriage exactly. And she really did turn on me by the time my daughter was 2, also having two miscarriages. It was as though a switch went off and she simply fucking hated me. In my case, I had too much dignity and many women who were interested in me who seemed quite fine, so I put my foot down and my ex then just began an affair with a Plan B she had in the wings (hotties always have a Plan B guys, especially wives). She married him and destroyed him too, but it wrecked my relationship with my daughter along the way. So much destruction and pain. I often look back on my marriage now from the RP perspective and have started to blame myself for not being more dominant and not seeing shit tests for what they were etc, but I also wonder if there was anything I could have done? She was hot, there were always good looking guys willing to fuck her – I mean, is it just inevitable for some women?
As I’m finishing up the final edits of the next book, I’m once again reminded of its main purpose – a cautionary explanation of what men can expect of contemporary women at the various phases of their maturity. In Anger Management I detailed the anger men direct at themselves, not at the women who followed a natural predictable ‘flow’ of rationalizations and social conventions they can be expected to as their conditions in life dictate. Naturally any anger a man may deal with or express in this regard is always presumed to be directed towards women. A feminine dominant social order is one founded on the innate solipsism of women.
Now, before I dig in a bit deeper here, I want to make clear that while Glenn’s comment started my thinking process about this week’s topic, what I’m going to get at here isn’t a reflection on anything personal. His story of being “turned on” by a wife he believed was playing on his team is a very common one related by many a post-divorced man using the hindsight of a Red Pill lens.
I’m adding this caveat since only Glenn can really say for himself whether his mindset at the time he first met, and later married, the wife who turned on him was colored by Blue Pill idealism and / or a Beta self-perception. My guess, as with most men in his situation, was that he actually had what was a realistic expectation of a reciprocal relationship based on what he thought would be her genuine appreciation of his efforts and merits.
Betas at the Epiphany
I’ve discussed in several prior threads the Alpha Fucks / Beta Bucks strategy women use in both the short and long term. What I think needs a bit more explanation is the long term effects of that strategy on the Beta man’s mindset as a result of his fem-centric conditioning.
When a woman approaches and enters into her Epiphany Phase, she has a limbic understanding that her genetic chips need to be cashed in with a man who has ‘proper’ long term provisioning potential. For the greater part, those men are at least expected by women to have a Blue Pill, Beta conditioning that will make them more compliant with, now, what’s becoming an unignorable open Hypergamy.
These are the men Sheryl Sandberg describes as,
“…someone who wants an equal partner. Someone who thinks women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home.”
These are nice euphemisms used to describe a man willing to accept his position of powerlessness in the grand scheme of feminine-primacy and open Hypergamy for his participation in realizing women’s dominant sexual strategy.
The Beta man encountering this new found attraction convinces himself that women’s interest in him is genuine and organic. In a sense it is, but although this attraction (not to be confused with arousal) is perceived as genuine on the part of women, it’s an attraction born of necessity. That necessity is the need to consolidate on monogamy with a man who’ll willingly ignore not just her past Alpha Fucks indiscretions, but participate in what he’s been conditioned to believe is his duty as a man from society and start to build a “mature adult” life with her.
A Beta at the Epiphany phase believes his ship has finally come in and his self-righteous AFC strategy of patience and perseverance will be rewarded. The social conventions at the time make him believe he’s to be more lauded for ‘forgiving’ a woman’s past, irrespective of whether he can expect praise for looking past her misgivings.
The Alpha Widow or carousel riding wife-to-be may then convince herself that she in fact actually sees an Alpha potential, or a potential for long term success, in ‘settling’ on that Beta in the long term. While I have had men relate horror stories about women knowing that they were settling and being insecure about their futures before or at the time of their wedding, I’m going to suggest that this foreknowledge is rarely a conscious aspect of women’s insight. “Turning” on their husband-to-be later in is life rarely a preconceived plan, but it is a predictable outcome for men who persist in a Beta mindset throughout their marriages.
Getting Her Settled Best
Saving the Best continues to be a seminal post on Rational Male, not the least of which because so many men could relate to the experience. However, this may not have been the experience of discovering a sexual past his wife had no intention of ever allowing him to share with her, but rather the expectation men have of receiving a woman’s ‘sexual best’ in marriage. That may not amount to the sexual experimentation she had in her Party Years, but for a Beta who believes his patience and virtue are to be rewarded at long last it is an expectation of enjoying the same or better sexual urgency his wife-to-be shared with her past lovers.
That Beta believes it’s his turn, because why else would a woman commit to a lifetime investment in a man she didn’t think was her best option?
Remember, during the Epiphany Phase a woman’s rationale for choosing the Beta for a long term investment is because she’s “experienced it all” and finally “knows better than to keep dating the Bad Boys who don’t appreciate her.” Thus the Beta believes he must be the best option for her by virtue of her investment in that belief.
And if she’s finally come to realize he’s the best option, why would she not expect to enjoy her best sexual performance with him? After all, even Sheryl Sandberg said, “…in time, nothing’s sexier.”
For the Alpha Widow marrying the Beta-in-waiting, the comparison of his sexual appeal with prior lovers conflicts with her need to finalize the long term security she couldn’t with her previous Alphas (or the men she perceived as Alpha). Thus comes reserved, self-restrained and self-conscious sex with her new Beta provider. She knows that sex with her Beta lacks the intensity of her prior lovers, but falls back on her Epiphany Phase rationalizations that she’s “doing it for the right reasons this time”.
That right reason being of course getting pregnant to further consolidate long term provisioning.
Our Beta simply lacks the same sexual experience as his wife-to-be to know any better (unless of course he finds proof of that experience later), but he gradually suspects her progressive lack of passion, reservations and self-consciousness by comparing it to porn or some of the other women’s he’s had sex with.
Social conventions abound for women to rely on as they become less incentivized to have sex with their Beta after the first child. Body image considerations, ‘mismatched libidos’ and “well, sex is supposed to taper off after marriage, everyone knows that” are just some of the prepackaged tropes ready for use.
The Turning
Once the first (and possibly second) child arrives, a woman’s order of intimate priorities changes, “turns” to that of the child. The sex “reward”, the ‘cookie time for good boy’, for desired behavior or performance ‘turns’ off, or sex is used as an intermittent reward for desired behavior (i.e. Choreplay). Sex becomes a utility; a positive reinforcer for her Beta increasing his provisioning capacity rather than the true visceral enjoyment she had with her past lovers.
This new functionality sex represents to a wife becomes ‘turning’ on her husband who believed he would always be her most intimate priority. In the instance of a woman marrying her ‘Alpha Provider’ this may in fact be the case, but as with the hierarchies of love that Alpha doesn’t have the same concern with, and didn’t marry his wife under the same pre-expectations a Beta does.
For the man who persists in his Beta mindset (or the guy who regresses into that mindset) this ‘turning’ becomes more and more pronounced. The turning comes out of the bedroom and into other aspects of their relationship – finances, familial ties, her expectations of his ambitiousness, his asserting himself at work or with their mutual friends – on more and more fronts he’s compared to other men and the ghosts of the Alphas she knows or has known.
Even though the Beta is aware his children are now his wife’s true priority, his Blue Pill conditioning still predisposes him to sacrifices. Again, he meets with ready-made social conventions that shame his discontent; “Is sex all that’s important to you?” It shouldn’t be, because it’s really “what’s on the inside that counts”, but he can’t shake the feeling he’s slipping out of her respect.
This is when Beta Dad doubles down. His Blue Pill expectations of himself require an all-consuming, self-sacrificing predisposition. The horse will work harder. His wife may have lost respect for him by this point, but his sense of honor and duty press him on. He doesn’t want to be like his oppressive or non-present father was. He wants to ‘out-support’ his father’s ghost, or what he believes ‘other guys’ would do when their marriages get tough.
So he waits it out, but she’s ‘turned’ on him by this point. It wasn’t planned, but all of his martyr-like determination only makes her that much more resentful for having settled on this Beta. After a certain stressing point, her disinterest or indignation goes even beyond his capacity to stay committed to a losing investment. These are the guys who tell me, “Damn Rollo, where where you when I was 30? I wish I’d known then what I know now.”
Do all marriages and relationships follow this schedule? No, but it’s important that men know the signs, understand what’s really expected of them and know when they’re being settled on despite all a woman’s self-interested refutations of that. It’s important they realize that performance isn’t limited to how well they meet a woman’s expectations, but that performance means ignoring those preconceptions and exceeding them because he has a passion to excel on his own, and for himself.
It’s important that he lives in his own Frame and that any woman, wife or otherwise, participates in his Frame at his pleasure. Beta men rarely have those expectations, beginning from a position of scarcity and a preconditioned responsibility to forgive a woman’s sexual strategy while still being gushingly appreciative that she chose him to settle on.
Like this: Like Loading...The sugar alcohol erythritol occurs naturally in foods like pears and watermelons but has been used as a sugar replacement in low-calorie foods and has been found to be a biomarker for weight gain. Photo by Edwin01/PixaBay
May 10 (UPI) -- A commonly used sugar replacement used in low-calorie foods that people eat to lose weight may actually have the opposite effect.
Researchers at Cornell University have found that erythritol is a biomarker for increasing fat mass and can be metabolized by and produced in the body.
The sugar alcohol erythritol occurs naturally in foods like pears and watermelons but has been used as a sugar replacement in low-calorie foods. It is found in the sugar replacement products Zsweet, Zero and Sweet Simplicity. Truvia is a mix of erythritol and stevia.
The study was a collaboration of researchers at Cornell, Braunschweig University of Technology in Germany and the University of Luxembourg, on a discovery-based analysis to identify metabolomic markers linked to weight gain and increased fat mass in students transitioning to college life.
"About 75 percent of this population experiences weight gain during the transition," Patricia Cassano, professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell, said in a press release. "With this in mind, it is important to identify biomarkers of risk that could guide its understanding and prevention."
Researchers found that people who gained weight and abdominal fat over the course of a year had 15 times higher blood erythritol at the beginning of the year compared to those who were stable or had lost weight and fat mass.
The study was part of Cornell's ENHANCE project by the Division of Nutritional Sciences to understand how the transition to college affects changes in diet, weight and metabolism in students.
RELATED Study links diet soda to stroke and dementia risks
"With the finding of a previously unrecognized metabolism of glucose to erythritol and given the erythritol-weight gain association, further research is needed to understand whether and how this pathway contributes to weight-gain risk," Cassano said.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Australians would be prohibited from buying cigarettes until age 21 under a new cancer-fighting plan developed by billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
Mr Forrest and his wife Nicola are spearheading a major lobbying campaign to convince federal and state governments to raise the legal tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 – a move they say would stop young people getting hooked, save lives and save government coffers up to $3.1 billion a year.
Mr Forrest and other members of the Eliminate Cancer Initiative – which the Forrests fund through their philanthropic Minderoo Foundation – have already presented the plan to federal Health Minister Greg Hunt and his state counterparts as part of an all-out assault on big tobacco.
The effort comes after Mr Forrest confirmed last week he is considering suing big tobacco companies for the cost of smoking-related illnesses. The plan is based on a landmark Canadian lawsuit in which three companies were ordered to pay more than $15.6 billion in damages.Claim: Consumers who visit the “Cash for Clunkers” web site must agree that their computers become U.S. government property.
FALSE
Example: [Collected via e-mail, July 2009]
DO NOT GO ON CARS.GOV, a disclaimer says by using the site your computer and all of it’s files are then property of the government. This means they can look at your computer anytime and if you use a program like Skype they can eaves drop on any call you make. It is like having the government sitting by your side as you use it.
DO NOT GO ON CARS.GOV, a disclaimer says by using the site your computer and all of it’s files are then property of the government. This means they can look at your computer anytime and if you use a program like Skype they can eaves drop on any call you make. It is like having the government sitting by your side as you use it. WARNING – DO NOT LOG ON TO CARS.GOV If you log on to cars.gov and accept the privacy terms, the government now has the right to take all the information on your computer. That will include all your personal information, bank records, transactions, web site log ins, EVERYTHING ON YOUR COMPUTER. I am not saying the government will take your personal information. I am telling you that accepting the terms will allow them to. Is this what our government is coming to?
Origins: CARS.gov is the web site for the U.S. government’s Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), a program more commonly referred to as “Cash for Clunkers” which provides consumers with $3,500 or $4,500 discounts for their trade-ins when they purchase or lease new vehicles.
In late July 2009, a rumor began spreading (promulgated widely by FOX News’ Glenn Beck) that the terms and conditions on the CARS.gov web site specified that by using the site, consumers explicitly agreed that
their computers would be considered U.S. government property. This false rumor was based on someone’s mistaken application to the general public of a “Privacy Act & Security Statement” linked from the CARS.gov web site (the wording of which has since been changed).
Prior to 3 August 2009, the CARS.gov web site did include a privacy statement declaring that:
This application provides access to the DOT CARS system. When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a federal computer system and it is property of the United States Government. Any or all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized CARS, DOT, and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.
However, the statement in question was actually tied to the “Submit Transaction” function on the Dealer Support portion of the web site and related only to a login page for entry to the Enterprise Services Center (ESC) web site at esc.gov, which is used by automobile dealers (not consumers) who have been authorized and registered to participate in the CARS program. That statement did not apply to consumers who might use the site to obtain benefits from the CARS program; it was something consumers would never encounter in the ordinary use of the web site, and it was not something they had to agree to in order to claim benefits from the CARS program.
Although Beck did mention that the statement was something dealers would encounter, he and his co-discussionist in that segment, FOX News anchor Kimberly
Guilfoyle, also misleadingly implied that it applied to consumers, telling the audience “I recommend that you do not try this at home” and “People shouldn’t go on [the CARS.gov site] right now,” and asserting that clicking on the web site would give the government complete access to consumers’ home computers (despite proffering no evidence that the web site was even capable of such a function).
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), even consumers who may have inadvertently stumbled across the notice and mistakenly clicked on it were not in danger of having the “government take all the information on their computers”:
Clicking “continue” on a poorly worded Terms of Service on a government site will not give the government the ability to “tap into your system … any time they want.” The seizure of the personal and private information stored on your computer through a one-sided click-through terms of service is not “conscionable” as lawyers say, and would not be enforceable even if the cars.gov website was capable of doing it, which we seriously doubt. Moreover, the law has long forbidden the government from requiring you to give up unrelated constitutional rights as a condition of receiving discretionary government benefits like participation in the Cars for Clunkers program.
As of 3 August 2009, the wording of the Privacy Act & Security Statement presented to dealers who submit transactions through the CARS.gov web site was changed to the following:
This notice is provided pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 USC § 552a: This information is solicited under the authority of Public Law 111-32, 123 Stat. 1859. Furnishing the information is voluntary, but failure to provide all or part of the information may result in disapproval of your request for a credit on this purchase or lease transaction under the Cars Program. The principal purposes for collecting the information are to determine if purchase or lease transactions are eligible for credits under the CARS Program, to ensure proper disposal of trade-in vehicles, to prevent, identify and penalize fraud in connection with the Program, and to update an existing government database of Vehicle Identification Numbers. If you complete the optional survey, the survey information will be used to report to Congress on the Program. Other routine uses are published in the Federal Register at 65 F.R. 19476 (April 11, 2000), available at: www.dot.gov/privacy.
In short, there was once a poorly-worded privacy statement on the CARS.gov site, but it never applied to ordinary consumers visiting the site (just dealers), and it has since been changed. Consumers visiting the CARS.gov web site do not (and never did) have to agree that the federal government can own or take control of their computers.The SIM-based NFC Canadian mobile wallet SureTap is to be discontinued in August 2016 due to “ongoing changes in the market”, the mobile wallet provider has announced.
“With ongoing changes in the market and an increasing number of mobile payment and banking options available from CIBC, Desjardins, Scotiabank as well as other wallets such as Ugo, we at Suretap have decided that we will no longer offer Suretap after August 26, 2016,” the company says.
“After August 26th, 2016, all Suretap wallet data will be securely stored in accordance with applicable law. Suretap does not and will not store any sensitive information such as credit card information. As of today, Suretap is no longer available for download from the Google Play Store or the Blackberry World Apps Store.”
“Gift cards are no longer available for purchase from the Suretap card store and balance inquiries can no longer be performed through the wallet app,” Suretap continues. “Users are encouraged to spend down the balance of any gift cards in your Wallet before August 26, 2016. After this date, gift cards will no longer be accessible.”
Remaining balances
“While we encourage you to spend down the remaining balance of your gift cards before August 26, you will still be able to redeem your gift cards by presenting a screenshot/photograph of the gift card number and PIN (if applicable), directly at the retailer. You must take your screenshot/photograph before August 26,” the company adds.
“Loyalty cards will be available up to August 26th, 2016. After this date, the loyalty card program will no longer be accessible.”
Mobile network operator Rogers launched Suretap in partnership with CIBC in November 2012 and went on to launch a second and separate Suretap mobile wallet service in 2013. The company span off its Suretap mobile wallet service as a separate company in June 2015, opening it up to other mobile network operators. It then launched with Bell, Telus, Koodo and Virgin.
The announcement follows news that New Zealand’s SIM-based NFC mobile wallet Semble is also being discontinued.Colonization of the Americas wasn’t a free-for-all. The Pope divided the world into Spanish and Portuguese influence spheres that determined who had the right to colonize a given part of the world. In the El Dorado expansion, Catholic nations will be able to gain a similar sanction for their colonization by being the first nation to create a colonial nation in a colonial region while having positive relations with the Papal States. The first nation to do so will be given a ‘Papal Grant’, which speeds up the growth of settlers for them by +10 in that colonial region and slows down the settler growth of all other Catholic nations there by -20. A Catholic nation that violates a Papal Grant also gets -50 relations with both the nation that has the grant and the Papal States.
Click to expand...We’ve all |
some guns, the hammer doesn’t even contact the primer directly at all. In those cases, a firing pin is used. The firing pin is struck by the hammer driving it forward into the bullet’s primer to fire the round.
The Trigger
The trigger is the part of a firearm that files the round. On certain guns, like single action revolvers, the hammer has to be “cocked” – or pulled back into position – before the trigger can be pulled. In those cases, the pull of the trigger releases the hammer to fire the round. With most other guns, the trigger pull is considered double action in that pulling the trigger both cocks the hammer and releases it thereby firing the gun..A few days ago we added domain pages. These enabled us to see all posts that link to a specific domain.
Once we added this feature, the obvious question arose: Shouldn't we be able to follow and ignore domains, just like users and tags?
Now we can.
Simply put, you can now follow a domain, and all posts with that domain will appear in your feed. Conversely, you can ignore a domain, and all posts with that domain will not appear in your feed.
For example, if I follow 'wired.com', all posts that link to 'wired.com' will appear in my feed. If I ignore 'wired.com', I will never see posts that link to 'wired.com' in my feed.
In all respects, following or ignoring a domain works just like following or ignoring users or tags.
It's our hope that this added flexibility will help everyone get the Hubski experience that they want.
As always, feedback is much appreciated!Often, celebrities' Instagram accounts serve as a one-way window into their lives. They post a photo with a cute caption, we freak out, the cycle repeats itself. But every so often, a celeb will actually take the time to reply to the comments left on their photos, and it often offers a revealing glimpse into their personal life.
Such is the case with Paris Jackson, the 17-year-old daughter of Michael. She spoke out in a recent Instagram post about the pressure people put on her to reply to every single one of her comments, saying "I am expected to literally sit on my ass all day replying to comments people leave me (positive and negative)?" In one comment, she mentioned that she had "AA meetings" and "family obligations" to attend to, emphasizing that these were all "PERSONAL" obligations. She added that "it's so...selfish that I am literally attacked on every...thing I post because people that I DON'T EVEN KNOW aren't getting what they want."
Photo: Courtesy of Paris Jackson / Instagram
Paris also said that "people have been ramming me since the second I unchecked the privacy button. I'm just not taking [it] anymore...like when I was 14 and deleting every single comment by hand because people were fighting too much and sending to so much hate to the point where I was suicidal? It's always been like this." She also pointed out that "the expectations for my DAD were f*cking ridiculous," she said, "He didn't owe you anything, yet he was ripped to shreds DAILY. I will not let that happen to me."
Photo: Courtesy of Paris Jackson / Instagram
It's a sobering reminder that, in a world where we feel like we know everything about a celebrity because we have constant access on multiple social media channels to their lives, they don't owe us as much as you might think. And even if they do comment back here and there, it's not for us to say that they should spend all day replying to fans. After all — they have jobs to do, and simply want to live their own lives, too. Finding the balance between a life online and one IRL isn't selfish of Paris, and people shouldn't vilify her for it, either.
Related: Vanessa Hudgens Actually Posted That Selfie She Took in the Grease Live! Opening Number
Check this out:5 The Advertising And PR Industry Is Still Stuck In The Mad Men Era
As Mad Men showed, the advertising industry of the '60s was a booze-filled orgy that was awesome for everyone who was white, male, and not named Pete Campbell. But in addition to being responsible for a spike in fedoras and breast implants, the show served as a painful reminder of the rampant sexism, racism, alcoholism, and other -isms that reigned even more freely in the not-so-distant past.
It certainly would have been great if those lessons had carried into the present day, but alas, in 2006, the New York City Commission on Human Rights subpoenaed 16 ad executives about implicit racism in their hiring and advertising practices. The commission revealed that many companies intentionally ignored the popularity of their products with minorities in order to push them to white folks. One executive for GlobalHue, an agency specializing in marketing to nonwhite ethnicities, stated: "They know our buying power. Clients don't want to pay for it." It takes a special kind of racism for a company to willingly leave money on the table just because a black person touched it.
alvarez/iStock
"So what do you guys think about having more customers? No? Me neither."
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But there are some diversity victories happening in the industry. In 2016, J. Walter Thompson, a major agency in New York, named Tamara Ingram to replace the outgoing CEO. However, the only reason Tamara had the opportunity was because the old CEO was being sued by another female executive for subjecting employees to "to an unending stream of racist and sexist comments as well as unwanted touching and other unlawful conduct." Another agency, IPG, was slapped with a racial discrimination suit in 2012, and then had to fire a creative director and CEO from one of its subsidiaries after the director sent out a deeply racist email inviting employees to participate in "Ghetto Day." Ironically, the quickest way forward for the ad industry is by incriminating itself into equality.
Unfortunately, the PR industry (i.e. the people you call when you send out a racist email in celebration of "Ghetto Day") isn't doing much better. You would think an industry that makes its money off people blundering into racist and sexist comments would know how to avoid those same pitfalls, but a survey of British PR firms found that only 8 percent of employees were nonwhite, while nonwhite people make up 14 percent of the country's population. Partially to blame is the fact that while other industries have tried to move toward the more novel method of hiring people based on their abilities, PR jobs are still largely won based on who you know in the field. And since people already working in PR are mostly white, they're mostly going to recommend their squash buddies for the job.Looking for news you can trust?
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The Trump administration has reportedly tried to cut a deal with Planned Parenthood: You can keep your federal funding—maybe even increase it—if you stop providing abortions.
The informal proposal was revealed Monday by the New York Times.
Not surprisingly, the White House offer was a non-starter. Planned Parenthood executive vice president Dawn Laguens told the Times that the women’s health care organization rejected the idea out of hand. “Offering money to Planned Parenthood to abandon our patients and our values is not a deal that we will ever accept,” she said.
Currently, several proposals to defund Planned Parenthood are moving through Congress. One was approved by the House, another was introduced in the Senate, and a third cropped up in a draft of the proposed bill to repeal Obamacare. The measures would make Planned Parenthood and any other clinic that offers abortions “prohibited entities” for the use of Medicaid. This means that low-income patients with Medicaid coverage would be barred from using their federally funded benefits at Planned Parenthood—even to obtain non-abortion health care, such as pap smears, cervical cancer screenings, STI testing, and contraception. It is already illegal for Medicaid to cover most abortions, and it has been for more than 40 years.
In the last Congress, a broader bill to deny federal funds to Planned Parenthood passed both chambers, but it was vetoed by then-President Barack Obama. Donald Trump, however, said repeatedly on the campaign trail that defunding Planned Parenthood would be a priority for his administration.
Since Inauguration Day, it’s become increasingly apparent that even some Republicans are worried about the political repercussions of defunding Planned Parenthood, particularly through the Obamacare repeal. “We are just walking into a gigantic political trap if we go down this path of sticking Planned Parenthood in the health insurance bill,” said Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) in leaked audio of a closed-door meeting obtained by the Washington Post in January.
It would seem that the deal-maker-in-chief is trying to avoid any possible backlash over a crackdown on Planned Parenthood funding. The Times reported that White House officials have even offered a possible increase in federal money for Planned Parenthood if it stops providing abortions.A profitable high-speed rail (HSR) service between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane could be built for $30 billion – less than third of previous cost estimates – according to a new book.
The rail would need little or no direct government funding and could be constructed in less than seven years, not the 30 to 35 years previously suggested.
High Speed Rail for Australia Now is by Peter Knight, a HSR expert and former senior BHP manager and Reserve Bank economist.
HSR has been mooted in Australia for more than 30 years but the concept has stalled because of political hurdles and high costs. The most recent Federal Government feasibility study in 2013 estimated the cost at $114 billion.
But Mr Knight said vast cost savings could be made by laying tracks in trenches rather than tunnels near the cities and building housing over new inner-city land created by the trenches.
Profitability of the system could be ensured by building a Fast Freight Rail (FFR) next to the HSR at the same time.
In a message on the cover of the book, the former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer says: “This is a comprehensive and yet clear-cut template for getting High Speed Rail jolted into action.”
Mr Knight’s book says the HSR/FFR project would best be accomplished by a private consortium rather than government. A VFT 2 Consortium project would require little or no direct government funding, he said.
The Federal Government should initiate formation of the consortium and a feasibility study. Government guarantee of private finance would ensure the project would proceed. This guarantee would be a contingent liability, not an increase in government debt.
Mr Knight said Australia now had a population large enough to support the project. The HSR/FFR project would aid budget recovery, spread non-mining investment along the east coast, create thousands of jobs and stimulate the economy.
HSR would mean fewer people living in major cities and more in regional cities within 30-60 minutes commuting time of the CBD at speeds of up to 350 kmh.
The project would build low-density housing over 30km of 100m wide trenches into and out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne This would create 21 square km of free inner-city land.
HSR would connect Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Brisbane in three hours comfortably, reliably and safely directly into the CBD. FFR would halve the cost and delivery time to connect a more competitive, single market along the coastal strip no longer isolated by high-cost road freight.
The book argues that freight in Australia is distorted. What should be carried cheaper by sea is carried by rail, what should be carried by rail is carried by road.
By amending freight distortions Australia would increase productivity substantially, become more internationally competitive and achieve greater GDP growth. HSR/FFR would create a cultural, innovation and trade route along the east coast. The aim is to grow liveability and prosperity while the population doubles.Hara Arena closing its doors after 60 years Copyright by WDTN - All rights reserved The final era of Hara Arena (Maytal Levi / WDTN Photo) [ + - ] Video
TROTWOOD, Ohio (WDTN) - The iconic venue that brought sports, concerts, entertainment and special interest shows to the Miami Valley for 60 years is closing their doors.
Hara Arena is closing due to not being able to overcome an internal legal battle that has spanned the last two decades.
"We are painfully aware of the loss this announcement will generate, which is why we have fought so long and hard to prevent it," says Karen Wampler, Hara's marketing director.
The loss will come in the form of $36 million in annual economic impact; youth, men's and professional hockey programs; and the hundreds of events that called Hara home this past year.
"We had hoped to announce a new era at Hara, but are announcing the end of one, instead." says Wampler.
According to the press release when Harold Wampler passed away in 1996 his unresolved estate - under which Hara is co-owned - launched into a two-decades long family and legal battle that drained Hara of the resources for much-needed renovations and reorganization.
"There's a saying let go or be dragged and I think we've been dragged a little over the last year and it is time for the sake of Hara and our patrons to close this chapter." says Wampler.
The Wamplers, with the help of national venue management company, VenuWorks, worked relentlessly for years to change that to a public/ private ownership structure to clear Hara's debt, lighten its tax burden and place it on a more sustainable path, but were unsuccessful.
Hara has hosted hundreds of high-profile events that include presidential visits, Wayne Gretzky's pro hockey debut and performances by the Rolling Stones, Prince, Nirvana and the Grateful Dead.
The staff is working to help relocate as many Hara events as possible within Montgomery County.
2 NEWS recently reported that the The Dayton Demolition Hockey team that is housed by Hara Arena will not play this season citing lack of arena availability.
One of the most popular events at Hara Arena is Hamvention that had nearly 3,000 vendors from this May.
Hara's final events include:
August 6 & 7th - Bill Goodman's Gun & Knife Show / BA
August 21st - Die Cast Collectors Show/ EH
August 27th - Comic Book & Toy Show / SA
Hara Arena officials say they're planning to auction venue equipment and furniture on August 27th before closing.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Donald Trump receives two folders of screen grabs, transcripts, and pictures of himself looking strong each day as the White House using the communications office to compile propaganda that makes Trump feel better.
Vice News reported:
Twice a day since the beginning of the Trump administration, a special folder is prepared for the president. The first document is prepared around 9:30 a.m. and the follow-up, around 4:30 p.m. Former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and former Press Secretary Sean Spicer both wanted the privilege of delivering the 20-to-25-page packet to President Trump personally, White House sources say.
These sensitive papers, described to VICE News by three current and former White House officials, don’t contain top-secret intelligence or updates on legislative initiatives. Instead, the folders are filled with screenshots of positive cable news chyrons (those lower-third headlines and crawls), admiring tweets, transcripts of fawning TV interviews, praise-filled news stories, and sometimes just pictures of Trump on TV looking powerful.
This White House has gone to extreme lengths to try to lift Trump’s depression over his failing presidency. The White House staged a cabinet meeting where all the members of Trump’s cabinet heaped praise on the President and told him what an honor it was to serve him. There have been multiple reports over Trump’s first 200 days in office of the President being depressed and longing to return to his life in New York City. Last week, Trump called the White House a dump.
Officials from previous administrations have called the need for Trump to have a twice daily propaganda folder abnormal, but the behavior of those around demonstrates why removing Trump via 25th Amendment is never going to happen. Trump is surrounded by enablers in the Republican congressional leadership and the White House.
This president is so mentally broken that he requires looking pictures of himself to feel strong. Donald Trump isn’t fit to be president, but as long as Republicans maintain control of Congress and continue to enable him, America will be stuck with him until at least 2020.
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:Queens Park Rangers may have lost their first game back in the Premier League but majority owner Tony Fernandes is having better luck off the pitch with his other major interest AirAsia, which has just seen its profits surge.
Favourable currency markets and a modest rebound in Asian travel saw profits increase five-fold at AirAsia in the second quarter to 367m ringgit (£69m) as Fernandes told CNBC that air traffic across the region was set to improve.
Fernandes is under pressure at QPR to invest in new players after the team returned to the top flight of English football this year. The air tycoon is thought to have paid around £45m for a 66pc stake in the West London club in 2011 but has since had to absorb an estimated £88m of losses over the last couple of seasons.
A life-long football fan, Fernandes who made his millions in the airline industry in Asia bought out Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone. As majority shareholder he works alongside the other major backers of the Loftus Road based club, the Mittal family.
Despite significant investment in new players and coaching staff QPR have suffered a torrid few years on the pitch having been relegated two seasons ago. The club bounced back last year but an opening day loss to Hull at the weekend has again left them at the foot of the league.Apple’s recent OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 update is causing even more headaches for users of the latest Mac Pro line. Last week, we reported that 10.9.3 incompatibilities are the source of GPU issues with professional video editing programs. Now, multiple threads on Apple’s support forums are indicating issues with 10.9.3 Mac Pros and multiple external monitors. The issue causes users with several monitors to only see a portion of their monitors functioning.
As one user explains:
I have three 30″ displays, but after the 10.9.3 update, only 2 of them work at a time. Is this a known issue? Can I downgrade to 10.9.2 to get the use of my other display back? It was working just fine on my Mac Pro with 10.9.2.
And several users corroborate:
While the several-thousand dollar Mac Pro improperly utilizing external monitors in professional work environment is a serious problem, there is some good news to report. According to one poster who submitted a bug report to Apple, the Cupertino-based company appears to be aware of and investigation the issue:
Some users are also reporting some solutions for the problem. Some users say that re-installing the 10.9.3 Combo Update is helpful. Users are also recommending combining that re-install with a PRAM reset. Lastly, one user suggests installing the GPU driver files from the preceding 10.9.2. Apple is already internally testing OS X 10.9.4, so hopefully that update has a definitive fix for these Mac Pro GPU problems.Yesterday, John Kelly provided the context to President Trump’s call to the family of Sergeant La David Johnson. Kelly said that he has talked with Trump about the kind of words that offer some small solace to grieving Gold Star families.
Gen. Kelly is uniquely qualified to counsel the president about this. He has made consoling calls to families and received such a call when his son was killed while serving in Afghanistan.
The words that Rep. Frederica Wilson found objectionable were along the lines that Kelly says he recommended to the president. It’s important to keep in mind that, as Kelly suggested, families in the midst of unbearable grief don’t all react the same way to these kinds of calls.
Clearly, it was reasonable of Trump to consult with Kelly. However, this seems to have been a case in which Trump didn’t need advice.
Gold star widow Natasha De Alencar has released the audio of a phone conversation she had with Trump in April about the death of her husband who was killed in Afghanistan. The audio speaks for itself, as does the fact that Ms. De Alencar released it amidst the controversy that the ridiculous Rep. Wilson ginned up:There have been plenty of insane attempts to grant the Earth legal “rights”.
New Zealand has eclipsed them all by declaring a river to have the same legal rights as a human being. Yes, the Whanganui River is LITERALLY a person according to New Zealand.
“‘The reason we have taken this approach is because we consider the river an ancestor and always have,’ said Gerrard Albert, the lead negotiator for the Whanganui iwi [tribe]. “‘We have fought to find an approximation in law so that all others can understand that from our perspective treating the river as a living entity is the correct way to approach it, as in indivisible whole, instead of the traditional model for the last 100 years of treating it from a perspective of ownership and management.'”
The minister for the treaty of Waitangi negotiations went on to say that the agreement “responds to the view of the iwi of the Whanganui river which has long recognised Te Awa Tupua through its traditions, customs and practice.”
The traditions and customs of the common law and the Anglo-sphere ought to suffice. Embracing the “customs” and “traditions” at odd with reality really do need to be eschewed.
To up the ante, the Indian state of Uttarakhand has declared two rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganges, to both be “living entities” with de facto human status:
“The court justified its ruling on the grounds that the rivers were ‘losing their very existence’ and the situation required ‘extraordinary measures to be taken to preserve and conserve the Rivers Ganga and Yamuna,’ using an alternative name for the Ganges.”
How many hippies who whine about corporations not being people are swooning over a river being declared to have “its own legal identity with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person”?
Would damming a river be considered a form of rape or a form of slavery? Would diverting a river via aqueduct be kidnapping? Would drinking from that water be cannibalism? Would using that water so that downriver becomes dry be considered murder?
This brings a whole new meaning to the sexualized term “motorboating”…
A corporation is owned by human stockholders, is run by directors who are human. A river is just a ditch in the land whereover water flows. It isn’t even an actual living thing like a bird, a hobbit, or an ent!
To put it bluntly, f**k this insane worldview.
A river isn’t even an inanimate object! It is just the flow of water over some quite often shifting path of depressed ground!
If a river can be a person, why not a rock or a lightning bolt?
Why haven’t Ents been declared persons, or Entmoots recognized as legal local governments? #EntLivesMatter, after all…
The so-called secular “science based” green movement and other assorted ninnies will praise this bowing down to this nature-worshipping nonsense. The precedence has been set. It is only a matter of time until it spreads through the “secular” and “rational” Western (post-)Civilization.
20 NZ$ to the first person who can documents themselves literally raping the Whanganui river!
TweetA former elite Israeli soldier infiltrated a group of Russian neo-Nazis, posing as one of their own in order to document their activities and try to solve a gruesome murder.
Documentarist Vladi Antonevicz, an alumnus of Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, told Channel 2 on Friday that his journey into the dark heart of Russia began after he saw a 2007 internet video of an execution-style double murder committed by neo-Nazis.
The disturbing clip, and the brashness of those who distributed it, led Antonevicz to concoct a plan which most people would find unthinkable: to travel to Russia, disguised as an extremist himself, and film his attempts to get to the bottom of the killings.
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“Many tried before me (to solve the murder) and they all failed,” he told Channel 2. “So I decided to try something new: I would ask the killer.”
The result is the film “Credit for Murder,” which was screened during this month’s Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival in Tel Aviv, and will soon air on Israeli cable’s Channel 8.
‘If you made a mistake, you would probably get a knife in your neck’
As a former soldier in the Israeli military’s Duvdevan unit, an elite task force which specializes in undercover operations in the heart of hostile territory, Antonevicz was no stranger to the concept of disguising himself as the enemy to achieve his objectives. But here he would be exposing himself for far greater stretches of time, and with no backup at hand should things go awry.
Antonevicz traveled to Russia several times over a period of six years, slowly befriending and gaining the trust of neo-Nazi leaders operating outside of Moscow. He was joined by an Israeli cameraman and a Russian former soldier.
Antonevicz told extremist groups that he was a Russian-born American journalist who wanted to learn about their lives. In order to gain their trust he shaved his head, adopted their style of dress and even wore makeup to appear more white.
He was not oblivious to the irony on display: the descendants of communists who despised the Nazis and all that they represented have now come to adore and idolize them.
“For seventy-odd years the Russians were brainwashed with one ideology,” he told Channel 2. “And then the Soviet Union collapsed and a very, very serious ideological vacuum was created. Into this vacum began to seep all sorts of ideas from the periphery… They spread like cancer.”
While Antonevicz explained that the neo-Nazi scene consisted of many organizations, some of them in conflict with one another, they had some things in common.
“They all hate the Jews,” he said wryly.
He had to hope that nothing and no one would give him away, he said, “because if at any stage… you made a mistake, you would probably get a knife in your neck at some point.”
One masked neo-Nazi tells Antonevicz during an interview that “Even if you cut a black in line, that’s already good, that warms your heart. And if I come to him and murder him, I’m not doing it for myself but for everyone: I’m cleaning trash from the streets.”
During another conversation held by a group of activists over dinner, a woman argues that one shouldn’t spray paint swastikas on Jewish graves, as doing so sullies the holiness of the Nazi symbol.
On one occasion he had to agree to be shot at point-blank range wearing a shoddy protective vest to prove his manliness
“It demeans the swastika, your own symbol, it’s stupid,” she says.
On his ability to sit and listen to such conversations, Antonevicz said he forced himself into the state of mind of his subjects.
“I’m sitting there not as a Jew but as an instrument,” he said. “I have to create a very relaxed atmosphere and my method to create a relaxed atmosphere is to identify with them. And I do. What, Jews? They obviously blew up the World Trade Center, obviously! The Holocaust? Wonderful… You get used to it.”
Antonevicz’s journey involved many hair-raising ordeals. On one occasion he had to agree to be shot at point-blank range wearing a shoddy protective vest to prove his manliness. On another he was forced to take part in a “friendly” knife fight with a neo-Nazi leader.
The filmmaker said he later realized that he was not just dealing with isolated extremist cells, but that there were far greater forces at play: the Russian government was entirely aware of the neo-Nazis’ activities, he alleged, and chooses to allow them to operate to a certain degree, for its own interests.
“When (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel comes to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and asks him ‘Why are you acting like a madman?’ he can always point to the right and say ‘Angela, it’s either me or them, which do you prefer?'”
Antonevicz did not reveal during his interview whether he managed to solve his murder investigation, but the movie is perhaps no less about his own experiences, which seem to have affected him deeply.
“At first, you do it because you can,” he said of his motivations. “Afterwards, you do it because you can’t not do it. It becomes personal.A total of 37 foreign workers died in a hostage crisis at an Algerian desert gas plant and seven are still missing, Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal said today.
Mr Sellal also told a news conference that a Canadian had coordinated the attack by Islamists on the site near the Libyan border.
Mr Sellal also said that 29 Islamists had been killed in the siege, which Algerian forces ended by storming the plant, and three had been captured alive.
"A Canadian was among the militants. He was coordinating the attack," Mr Sellal told a news conference, adding that the raiders had threatened to blow up the gas installation.
American, British, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Filipino and Romanian workers are dead or missing after the attack, for which veteran Islamist fighter Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda.
The jihadists had planned the attack two months ago in neighbouring Mali, where French forces began fighting Islamists this month, Sellal added.
In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a news conference he had received information that seven Japanese had been killed and the fate of three more was still unknown.Six Filipinos died and four were wounded, a government spokesman in Manila said.
Norwegian International Development Minister Heikki Holmaas said his stepfather, Tore Bech, was among the missing and presumed dead.
Mr Sellal said that initially the raiders in Algeria had tried to hijack a bus carrying foreign workers to a nearby airport and take them hostage. "They started firing at the bus and received a severe response from the soldiers guarding the bus," he said. "They failed to achieve their objective, which was to kidnap foreign workers from the bus."
He said special forces and army units were deployed against the militants, who had planted explosives in the gas plant with a view to blowing up the facility.
One group of militants had tried to escape in some vehicles, each of which also was carrying three or four foreign workers, some of whom had explosives attached to their bodies.
After what he called a "fierce response from the armed forces", the raiders' vehicles crashed or exploded and one of their leaders was among those killed.
Mr Sellal said the jihadists who staged the attack last Wednesday had crossed into the country from neighbouring Libya.
Bringing home the bodies of the victims of the Algerian terror siege is Britain’s top priority but it might take some time, UK prime minister David Cameron said today.
Mr Cameron confirmed to MPs that three British nationals were known to have been killed in the attack on the In Amenas gas field and a further three were believed to be dead, along with a Colombian who lived in the UK.
Mr Cameron said his deepest condolences were with the families of the victims and said work to clear the site of potential traps was continuing.
Family members of the British people involved in the Algerian hostage crisis have criticised British authorities for a lack of official information.
One of those killed was Kenneth Whiteside, a 59-year-old from Glenrothes, Fife, who lived in Johannesburg with his wife and two daughters. His brother, Bob Whiteside, told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme the family learnt of Mr Whiteside’s death on Facebook.
It was not until after his daughter found a message on the social network site that police confirmed Mr Whiteside had been killed. “We were not given any official information and it was through Facebook, of all things, that we found out of Kenny’s demise.
“It was my daughter who found it on Facebook, a message from an Algerian co-worker. “The police came last night and informed us that what was on Facebook was true, that Kenny had been... he was executed.”
The raid has exposed the vulnerability of multinational-run oil and gas installations in an important producing region and pushed the growing threat from Islamist militant groups in the Sahara to a prominent position in the West's security agenda.
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ordered an investigation into how security forces failed to prevent the attack, the daily El Khabar said. The militants had used nine cars in Sonatrach colours and all with Libyan registration plates, it quoted unnamed security sources as saying.
Algerian Tahar Ben Cheneb - leader of a group called the Movement of Islamic Youth in the South who was killed on the first day of the assault - had been based in Libya where he married a local woman two months ago, it said.
Belmokhtar - a one-eyed jihadist who fought in Afghanistan and Algeria's civil war of the 1990s when the secular government fought Islamists - tied the desert attack to France's intervention across the Sahara against Islamist rebels in Mali. "We in al-Qaeda announce this blessed operation," he said in a video, according to Sahara Media, a regional website. About 40 attackers participated in the raid, he said, roughly matching the government's figures for fighters killed and captured.
Belmokhtar demanded an end to French air strikes against Islamist fighters in neighbouring Mali. These began five days before the fighters swooped before dawn and seized a plant that produces 10 per cent of Algeria's natural gas exports.
US and European officials doubt such a complex raid could have been organised quickly enough to have been conceived as a direct response to the French military intervention. However, the French action could have triggered an operation that had already been planned.
The group behind the raid, the Mulathameen Brigade, also threatened to carry out more such attacks if Western powers did not end what it called an assault on Muslims in Mali, according to the Site service, which monitors militant statements.
In a statement published by the Mauritania-based Nouakchott News Agency, the hostage takers said they had offered talks about freeing the captives, but the Algerian authorities had been determined to use military force. "We opened the door for negotiations with the Westerners and the Algerians, and granted them safety from the beginning of the operation, but one of the senior (Algerian) intelligence officials confirmed to us in a phone call that they will destroy the place with everyone in it," Site quoted the statement as saying.
The siege turned bloody on Thursday when the Algerian army opened fire, saying fighters were trying to escape with their prisoners. Survivors said Algerian forces blasted several trucks in a convoy carrying both hostages and their captors.
Nearly 700 Algerian workers and more than 100 foreigners escaped, mainly on Thursday when the fighters were driven from the residential barracks. Some captors remained holed up in the industrial complex until Saturday when they were overrun.
The bloodshed has strained Algeria's relations with its Western allies, some of which have complained about being left in the dark while the decision to storm the compound was being taken. Nevertheless, Britain and France both defended the military action by Algeria, the strongest military power in the Sahara and an ally the West needs in combating the militants.
Among other foreigners confirmed dead by their home countries were three Britons, one American and two Romanians. The missing include five Norwegians, three Britons and a British resident. An Algerian security source said at least one Frenchman was also among the dead.
Irish hostage Stephen McFaul was reunited with his family in Belfast yesterday.
Reuters/PAFILE - In a Monday, March 27, 2017 file photo, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks to reporters outside the General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. Haley said Sunday, April 2, 2017, in an interview aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” there’s no question Russia was involved in the U.S. presidential election and that the actions of the Kremlin will be addressed after the investigations are completed. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Seth Wenig
The United States blocked a Security Council resolution Monday at the United Nations that would have rejected President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s vote marked the Trump administration’s first Security Council veto. All 14 other members supported the resolution, underscoring the U.S. isolation on the issue.
Haley said she cast the veto “in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America’s role in the Middle East peace process.”
The draft of the resolution, called for by Egypt, did not name the United States or Trump. It expressed “deep regret at certain decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” and asserted that “Jerusalem is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations.” It further declared as null and void “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition” of the city, and urged countries not to establish diplomatic missions in the city.
Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital and start lengthy preparations to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv has been criticized by all the Arab countries and many U.S. allies, including fellow Security Council members France and Britain.
It came as Vice President Mike Pence was preparing to visit Israel later this week, a trip that has since been delayed with the vote on the tax bill looming.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had refused to meet with him because of the decision, a move the White House called “unfortunate.” Israeli media reported Monday that the rabbi with authority over the Western Wall declined to grant Pence permission to hold a news conference at the site. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation said they were in “discussions” in advance of Pence’s visit.
Jerusalem’s status is one of the most thorny and emotional issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel captured the eastern part of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967, annexed it and has since expanded the city’s boundaries. It considers Jerusalem its undivided and eternal capital. The Palestinians desire to make East Jerusalem the capital of an eventual Palestinian state. In deference to the principle that Jerusalem’s status be determined in the final stages of negotiations – which have been frozen since 2014 – all countries have situated their embassies in Tel Aviv, a roughly 45-minute drive from |
compound in tiny Eldorado, about 45 miles from San Angelo, after hearing allegations that young girls were being forced into polygamist marriages.
More than 400 children were seized temporarily but eventually returned to their families. Still, Jeffs and 11 other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy.Donald Trump appears to back Roy Moore: 'Look, he denies it. He denies it'
Donald Trump finally weighed in on the sexual misconduct allegations that have engulfed the Senate candidate Roy Moore. The president’s comments seemed to amount to an endorsement.
Late-night hosts: 'There is now a lower bar to entry for the Senate than a mall in Alabama' Read more
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump spoke about the Alabama Republican, who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls while he was in his 30s, including two allegations of assault. Moore has denied the allegations.
Asked if he was ready to talk about Moore, Trump said: “Yeah, I’ll be talking about him. I can tell you one thing for sure: we don’t need a liberal person in there, a Democrat – [Doug] Jones.”
Trump went on: “[Moore] denies it. Look, he denies it. I mean, if you look at what is really going on, and you look at all the things that have happened over the last 48 hours, he totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen. You’re talking about … he said 40 years ago this did not happen.
He also described Moore’s opponent Doug Jones as “terrible on crime”. Trump said: “I’ve looked at his record. It’s terrible on crime. It’s terrible on the border. It’s terrible on the military.”
Trump also left open the possibility of campaigning with Moore, saying: “I’ll be letting you know next week.”
Trump’s comments represent a significant shift from past statements from the White House, where the press secretary, Sarah Sanders, insisted that the election was a decision for Alabama voters and that Moore should “step aside” if the allegations were true.
She had also said that Trump supported the decision by the Republican National Committee to cut off all support for Moore’s campaign.
Many national Republicans have denounced Moore. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said of his accusers: “I believe the women.” Of the US senators who had previously endorsed Moore, all but one have now withdrawn their support.
Trump also spoke on growing reports of sexual harassment and misconduct in all sectors of society. Asked what his message was to women at this pivotal moment, the president said: “Women are very special. I think it’s a very special time because a lot of things are coming out, and I think that’s good for our society, and I think it’s very, very good for women. And I’m very happy a lot of these things are coming out, and I’m very happy it’s being exposed.”
During the 2016 campaign, Trump was accused of sexual harassment by 16 different women. However, he has denied all the allegations and the White House has insisted all of his accusers were lying. Trump has also yet to follow through on his campaign pledge to sue all of his accusers for defamation.
Trump’s comments on Tuesday come as the Moore campaign stepped up its campaign against the allegations. They have repeatedly described the allegations as part of a campaign by the “fake news” and the “Republican establishment” to defeat Moore.
Moore has long derided McConnell and has called on him to step down as the top Republican in the US Senate. McConnell actively supported Moore’s opponent in the Republican primary, appointed incumbent Luther Strange. Republican insiders saw Strange as a more reliable vote than Moore, who has twice been removed from his post as chief justice of the Alabama supreme court for defying federal courts, and has said “homosexual conduct” should be illegal.
Dean Young, a top adviser to Moore, explicitly said on Tuesday that the campaign would not answer any more questions about the allegations, and dismissed them as “Jerry Springer stuff”.
Although Moore originally equivocated about whether he ever dated teenage girls, telling Sean Hannity in an interview, “Not generally, no,” he has since issued a blanket denial by saying, “I have never dated or engaged in any inappropriate conduct with an underage girl” in response to a written question.
Moore has paid a significant price in the polls in the deep red state since the Washington Post first reported the allegations earlier in November.
The election on 12 December to fill the seat previously held by the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, should have been a comfortable Republican hold, but has become competitive. Republicans hold a narrow 52-48 majority in the Senate, adding to the significance of the contest, where Moore has fallen behindJones in the polls. A Fox News poll recently gave the Democrat an eight-point lead.
An hour after Trump spoke to reporters, the Moore campaign touted his comments in a press release: “President Trump blasts liberal Democrat Doug Jones.”Nicotine is known to have enhancing effects on some aspects of attention and cognition. As for the pre-attentive processes of detecting sensory changes, nicotine has significant effects on the auditory and visual systems implying that its pre-attentive effect is common among sensory modalities. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate whether acute nicotine administration has enhancing effects in the somatosensory system. Change-related cortical activity in response to an abrupt increase in stimulus intensity was recorded using magnetoencephalography. The test stimulus consisted of standard electrical pulses at 100 Hz for 500 ms applied to the dorsum of the left hand followed by 0.7-mA stronger pulses for 300 ms. Nicotine was administered in a gum (4 mg of nicotine). Eleven healthy nonsmokers were tested with a double-blind and placebo-controlled design. Effects of nicotine on the cortical response in the primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortices were investigated. Results showed that nicotine failed to affect the S1 response while it significantly increased the amplitude of S2 activity in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the stimulation, and shortened the peak latency of S2 activity in both hemispheres. Since cortical responses in the present study represent a pre-attentive automatic process to encode new somatosensory events, the results suggest that nicotine can exert beneficial cognitive effects without a direct impact on attention and that the effect of nicotine on the automatic change-detecting system is common across sensory modalities.
Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Gingrich: Trump's 'Luck' Will Continue as We Learn More About Clinton Corruption
Judicial Watch Pres on New Findings From the FBI's Clinton Email Report
Herridge: Hillary 'Couldn't Recall' Training About Handling Classified Info
Mike Huckabee appeared on "Hannity" last night to react to the newly-released FBI notes from their interview of Hillary Clinton, which revealed that the Democratic nominee "could not recall" something dozens of times.
Huckabee said this "damages" how the American people perceive Clinton.
"For her to claim that she has less memory about what she was briefed on than Jason Bourne knew about his past identity is just not realistic," Huckabee said. "If she really doesn't remember fundamental facts of national security like this, then she has no business being sworn is as president."
"And we have to make sure the American people don't make what could be an incredibly irrevocable mistake."
Huckabee said this is just another example of how Bill and Hillary Clinton operate as if the laws don't apply to them.
"In 2008, the big banks were protected because they were 'too big to fail,'" Huckabee said. "I think what we have is a Hillary Clinton who thinks she's 'too big to jail.'"
Watch more above.
Carlson 'Appalled' by FBI's Timing: 'You're Trying to Affect the News Cycle'
Clinton, Trump Campaigns Respond to FBI Release of Email Investigation Docs
Gutfeld Goes Off on Hillary: 'She Passes More Bucks Than an ATM'Can somebody explain to me what this is?
I found this on CBN reporter David Brody’s blog “The Brody File” where Brody makes it sound as if the video itself was produced by CBN:
CBN sent out this video above in an attempt to draw awareness to the major problem of the rising deficit, the declining dollar, and the eventual threat to the long-term stability of America’s economy. The video is very similar to the “Throw granny of a cliff”video by the Agenda Project, a liberal group who released their video a few months ago to suggest that Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan would ruin the lives of senior citizens through big cuts to entitlement programs. The point of this video is that it won’t be just “granny” at risk if lawmakers don’t do something drastic about the debt crisis. It will be all of us. It’s notable that the video doesn’t take aim at Democrats or Republicans. It’s simply all about getting America’s fiscal house in order. This video is part of a movement within the conservative evangelical focusing on morality and the debt. Videos like this and other forms of communication have really exploded within the last few years. We have seen a number of Christian organizations like the Family Research Council, American Family Association, Focus on the Family, Coral Ridge Ministries, and others warn people about the coming doom. Let’s be clear: the debt crisis in our nation is a Tier A issue within the evangelical community, right up there with abortion, gay marriage, and Muslim terrorism.
The video is posted on a YouTube account named UncleSamAmerica that was started just yesterday and features only this video.
What does Brody mean when he says “CBN sent out this video”? That they produced it or merely that they simply forwarded it?
Either way, what on earth is going on when Pat Robertson’s CBN “news” organization has begun producing and/or promioting political issue ads?President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE will headline a "get out the vote" rally in Baton Rouge, La., on Friday, one day before the state's Senate runoff election.
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State Treasurer John Kennedy (R) will face Foster Campbell (D) in the runoff. If Kennedy wins, the Republicans will boost their Senate ranks to 52 seats, while Democrats currently hold 48 seats.
Trump won Louisiana by 20 points in the November presidential election, and 60 percent of the state’s electorate voted for one of the Republican Senate candidates in the state’s jungle primary.
Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have endorsed Kennedy’s bid, and Pence stumped with the GOP Senate candidate over the weekend in New Orleans.
Members of Louisiana's congressional delegation, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R), are also expected at the Trump event.Review: Blitzen Trapper, 'Wild And Reckless'
Note: NPR's First Listen audio comes down after the album is released. However, you can still listen with the Spotify or Apple Music playlist at the bottom of the page.
Courtesy of the artist
Tragic love, drug abuse, science fiction, and Americana: Blitzen Trapper managed to squeeze all that, and more, into their rock opera, Wild and Reckless, which was produced for the stage in their hometown of Portland, Ore., earlier this year. But that wasn't enough for frontman Eric Earley and crew. Taking seven of the songs from the play and fleshing them out with five new numbers, they assembled an album of the same name. It's a companion piece of sorts to the group's lauded 2007 album for Sub Pop, Furr. But it stands on its own as a sprawling, sumptuous testament to Weird America.
You can't throw a rock these days without hitting an ambitious concept album, but what sets Wild and Reckless is how it contains that ambition. "Rebel" opens the record with a hushed howl and chiming guitars that feel downright subdued. "The radio is playing low / It's Johnny Cash and June," Earley sings with weary wisdom, sketching a tale of crime and recrimination that evokes vintage Southern rock and Laurel Canyon twang with equal gusto. The album's title track simmers at a more emotional temperature, laced with delicate piano and tremolo-shaken riffs — that is, until the string-fueled chorus kicks up a dust storm and spirals into the heavens. The spirit of the late Tom Petty suffuses Wild and Reckless, and that's no more apparent than on "No Man's Land," an anthem of desperation that eases into an uproar after a long, ghostly intro constructed of sampled voices and looped atmospherics.
There's an eerie undertone of The Byrds' cosmic country-rock, an anachronistic mix of tradition and futurism that dovetails instead of clashes. "Dance With Me" is a stomping power-pop beast, and it's counterbalanced by tracks such as "Baby Won't You Turn Me On," a paean to artistic isolation and romantic redemption draped in ethereal harmony.
Things get even more spacey on "Wind Don't Always Blow." A tinge of Dylan creeps into Earley's cracked voice, not to mention Marty Marquis's Al Kooper-esque organ. But just when the song wanders into a blissfully lonely trance, a guitar solo the size of Neil Young and Crazy Horses slices through it with ragged passion. "Wild and Reckless is about looking back on the crazy days of youth and wondering how you survived those sketchy times with danger eternally nosing at your heels," Earley recently said. "And when you look back now there's this feeling like, 'I'll never be as alive as I was then.' Reality will never seem that vibrant and embraceable. Whether that's true or not isn't important, it's just a feeling, life's intractable ability to hoodwink us into seeing the past as a shining corona, even when there's only darkness at the center."
That darkness looms in "Forever Pt. 1" and "Forever Pt. 2," the most stunning and experimental cuts on the album. Orchestral in scope, the former is an echoing interlude of voices and piano that pivots around a single, mantra-like word — "forever" — which takes on both an ominous and ecstatic tone. "Pt. 2" drifts toward terra firma, but only after a robotic, sci-fi monologue and layers upon layers of reverberating samples and studio manipulation. The result is haunting, heart-halting narrative that's more implied than spelled out, to beautiful effect.Let’s look at an example. You come across the form в ресторане. What’s this one? Mmm.. first of all the noun is ресторан. It’s a masculine noun ending in a consonant – н. Ohhh, hold on a second! This is similar to what I saw yesterday! – в магазине. ресторан – магазин. Both masculine ending in a consonant. What does в ресторане mean? In the restaurant. Where? В ресторане. – In the restaurant. Where? В магазине. – In the shop. Prepositional Case – Masculine noun ending in consonant – Singular. Group в ресторане and в магазине together in your head. Tomorrow, you’ll come across в институте, в университете, в парке etc. Every time you come across a new one, recall as many as possible in the same form and write them down with pen and paper. You put mental effort into making these associations. You push yourself to remember. These are YOUR associations. YOUR rules. You didn’t just read them passively on a textbook. You made them. You can’t forget them.
Put them in Grammar Sacks
You can imagine the Cases as sacks in your memory. Each sack contains nouns or adjectives of the same type expressed in a certain Case.
For example have a look at the picture below:
We have three sacks.
The first (left) contains feminine nouns expressed in the Accusative Case.
The second (right) contains masculine nouns expressed in the Instrumental Case.
The third (centre) contains feminine nouns expressed in the Prepositional Case.
Every time you come across a noun or adjective, try to remember other nouns or adjectives expressed in the same form and put them together into the same sack.
If you come across something completely unseen, put it aside and wait until you see something else that looks similar, so you can group them together in the same memory sack.
You can also have a look at the grammar rule but don’t stress yourself to memorise it. Carry on and when you see something similar it will be much easier to create a pattern and construct the rule yourself. That’s more efficient!
Learn the Grammar Cases in Context
Explore Russian is all about learning in context. Context means songs, films, poems, cartoons, stories etc. (Read here why this is good in the case of songs).
Learning in context means to look at something from different perspectives.
In the previous article, we learned Russian through proverbs. The proverbs were drawn from the most popular Russian comedy. You watched a film. You listened to a dialogue. You remember the characters. We linked the proverbs to culture and history, i.e. Soviet Era. You can see how many perspectives you can have here.
What’s more, those proverbs could even extend a Russian lesson and make it a life lesson for yourself. That’s another perspective. For example, the proverb that we discussed “Терпение и труд всё перетруд – With patience and work you can achieve everything” could help you to carry on in a tough moment in your life. In a case like that, you certainly have made the most of your Russian lesson.
You should learn the Cases in Context as you should with everything else!
Suppose now I tell you that the noun собака ending in -а in the Genitive Case becomes собаки. Here you have only one perspective. The dry grammar perspective.
Suppose I give you the phrase “Если у вас нет собаки, eё не отравит сосед. – If you don’t have a dog, your neighbour will not poison it.” The negation нет requires that the dog be in the Genitive Case and собака becomes собаки. OK, we’re done with the grammar perspective. Let’s go further.
This phrase comes from a very popular song from a very popular film that every Russian knows. The song is full of phrases like that with nouns expressed in Genitive Case. For example:
Если у вас нету дома, пожары ему не страшны. – If you don’t have a house, fires are not a threat to it.
Если у вас нет жены, жена не уйдет к другому. – If you don’t have a wife, your wife will never cheat on you!
The deeper meaning of the song is that the more things you have in life, the more you are stressed about taking care of them and protecting them. Hence, you shouldn’t worry if you are poor. The less, the better.
You see how many perspectives you’ve got here. Song, film, culture, even life wisdom!
It gets more interesting and harder to forget like that.
Let’s now try to find some context for the Genitive Case. That will be some Russian wishes! 🙂
Genitive Case – Basic Phrases
If you are a beginner, you probably already know the following phrases:
До скорой встречи. – See you later.
До свидания. – Goodbye (formal)
До вечера. – Till the evening.
Хорошего дня. – Have a good day.
Хорошего вечера. – Have a good evening.
Приятного аппетита. – Bon appetit.
Всего хорошего. – All the best.
Спокойной ночи. – Have a good night.
Удачи! – Good luck!
What do all these phrases have in common?
Everything in them is expressed in the Genitive Case.
Why?
Because for the first three in the list, до – until is a preposition that takes Genitive Case.
All the rest are wishes in which the verb желаю – I wish you is implied.
For example,
(Я желаю тебе) хорошего дня. – I wish you a good day.
(Я желаю тебе) удачи. – I wish you luck.
Genitive Case – Associations
When we first learn Russian, we see phrases like the ones above only from the vocabulary perspective. There is just a word and a translation there. That’s fine.
But when we advance with our studying, we sometimes fail to look back and find different perspectives in what we already know. The time spent “solidifying” existing knowledge through making associations is time worth spending. Not only does it make stronger memories of the existing information but helps the acquisition of future information.
Let’s try to “reverse engineer” the above phrases and identify patterns.
До скорой встречи looks like спокойной ночи. Same endings. There must be something here.
The initial form is скорая встреча which then becomes скорой встречи in the Genitive Case.
Similarly, the initial form is спокойная ночь becomes спокойной ночи in the Genitive Case.
The nouns are both feminine.
встреча – meeting
ночь – night
In the Genitive Case, they turn -а and -ь to -и.
встреча → встречи
ночь → ночи
Since the nouns are feminine, so must be the adjectives that accompany them.
скорая – feminine form of the adjective скорый – near (like near future)
спокойная – feminine form of the adjective спокойный – quiet
So, feminine adjectives ending in -ая in the Genitive Case change their ending to -ой.
скорая → скорой
спокойная → спокойной
Удачи has the same ending as встречи.
That’s another association! For all the three nouns, the Genitive Case has an ending in -и.
удача → удачи
встреча → встречи
ночь → ночи
Вечера has the same ending as аппетита.
Both are masculine nouns ending in a consonant. The Genitive Case is formed by adding an –a in the end:
вечер → вечера
аппетит → аппетита
The form дня is the Genitive Case of the word день – day.
хороший день → хорошего дня
Just like…
хороший аппетит → хорошего аппетита
Just like…
хороший вечер → хорошего вечера
All the above phrases and associations can serve as a toolkit for working out the Genitive Case of other nouns. For example, if I ask you what’s the Genitive Case of the word друг you may recall the phrase хорошего вечера to find the answer: друга.
Obviously, these associations may not always work as there are exceptions. For example, the Genitive Case of ветер – wind is ветра instead of ветера. Just like the Genitive Case of отец is отца (this is a rule called “the moving vowel rule”).
In any case, these associations can provide some insight and help you work out an answer without having to memorise a million grammar rules.
Genitive Case – More Phrases
As you see, lots of wishes in Russian are expressed in the Genitive Case. Shall we have a look at some more?
(Желаю тебе) счастливого пути – Have a happy journey.
счастливый путь – happy journey
Счастья и здоровья тебе. – I wish you happiness and health.
счастье – happiness
здоровье – health
(Желаю тебе) хорошего настроения. – I wish you to be in a good mood.
хорошее настроение – good moodBy Amelia Bellamy-Royds
Published June 23, 2009 06:48 pm |
VANCOUVER - Today was the last day of the federal Parliament's spring session, and that means a number of bills are now new laws. Not as many new laws, though, as the Conservatives wanted.
Members of the House of Commons took off last Friday after having approved the government spending estimates following an agreement between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.
But as is their custom, the oft-maligned Senators put in a couple extra days' work before the summer recess in order to process the pile of legislation forwarded by the House over the past few weeks.
Today, the Senate approved legislation to update the federal incorporation system for non-profit organizations and to create a new legal framework for laboratories that work with disease-causing organisms or toxins.
Yesterday, the Senate passed laws to update liability standards in marine accidents and to create new Criminal Code offences related to drive-by shootings and other violent offences associated with organized crime.
And, of course, the Senate stamped their approval on the two most essential bills, the Appropriation Acts that will keep money flowing from the federal treasury to government-funded programs and the public service over the next few months.
Other new laws passed in June include amendments to the Customs Act, the Judges Act and the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act; an act to implement a free trade agreement with Peru; an act to increase fines and improve enforcement of offences under federal environmental legislation; and acts to implement agreements with the Maa-Nulth First Nations of B.C. and the Cree-Naskapi of Quebec (among others).
But all that was not enough for the federal Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson. On Monday, he held a press conference to berate the “Liberal-dominated Senate” for not rushing through other government bills recently passed by the House.
In particular, Nicholson highlighted Bill C-15, which would create mandatory minimum sentences for a number of drug crimes. When the bill was introduced in February, following a series of gang-related shootings in the Lower Mainland, Nicholson said it represented the government “fighting back against gangs and other organized criminal groups.”
The alleged purpose of yesterday's press conference was to urge the Senate to pass the bill before today's recess, even though the Conservative Senators who control the chamber's schedule had not brought it up for debate until this week. (The Senate received the bill from the House on June 9.)
However, as Gloria Galloway of The Globe and Mail noted in a column this morning, it was really about kicking off a new effort by the Conservatives to brand the Liberals as “soft on crime,” now that the two parties are apparently in agreement about the economy.
Who says we aren't going to have a summer election campaign?
Amelia Bellamy-Royds reports for The Tyee.It’s 2016, which means the end of cable as we know it is way past due. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to finally cut the cord and be free of those overcharging cable companies forever -- while still being able to enjoy more content than you could ever watch.
There are plenty of reasons to cut the cord, and not all of them having anything to do with money. In fact, most of them don’t -- even if cable and streaming services cost the same amount, it would still be a good idea to make the switch.
Here are some of the top reasons to finally cut the cord and switch to streaming.
Take your TV shows with you
One of the best things about switching to streaming is that you don't need to stick to the living room. In fact, all major streaming services, including the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Sling TV have apps for Android TV and Apple TV, but also for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, and even for your Mac or PC. That means that you can stream while in bed on your iPad, or using your smartphone on the bus while you head to work - which is perfect if you're in the middle of a show you just can't stop watching.
You don't have to give up live TV and sports
One of the main complaints when it comes to streaming seems to be that there isn’t enough for those that still want to watch live TV or live sports. Not so! There are some great streaming services out there that offer all the advantages of streaming services but still offer live TV -- like Sling TV. Sling TV essentially lets you subscribe to a core service of 25-40 channels -- which can includes the likes of CNN, ESPN, and Comedy Central -- as well as add-on packages, like the Sports Extra package, which lets you watch channels like ESPNews and BeIN Sports.
Only pay for what you need
As mentioned, with services like Sling TV, you can customize your entertainment experience by subscribing to Sling Orange or Sling Blue core services, and then add on what you need. Love movies? Subscribe to Hollywood Extra. Watch a lot of football? Add Sports Extra to your subscription. You don’t need to pay for channels that you don’t watch, like 90 percent of the channels you probably have in your cable package. The same is true for streaming services in general. Want to watch the new Marvel show on Netflix? Subscribe to Netflix. Don’t care about it? Don’t subscribe! With services as cheap as they are, you could subscribe to three or more streaming services and still not pay anywhere near the same amount as your cable package.
Not only that, but most services have multiple options -- you’ll pay a different price for the ability to stream on different screens and different resolutions, but if you don’t need or want those options, you don’t have to pay for them.
Cut the cord -- literally
The world is going wireless, and it's about time. With smart TVs and devices like the Google Chromecast, instead of having to deal with set-top boxes and other unruly devices, you can simply download the app for the service you want to stream from, and watch the show over Wi-Fi. Even with a little box like an Apple TV, there's far less mess to deal with than you would have with a set-top box from the likes of Comcast.
No more contracts!
The is perhaps the best part of cutting the cord -- while the likes of Comcast would have you on the hook with a contract for months at a time, with streaming services you can subscribe and cancel at your convenience. No need for binding contracts that end up costing much more than they’re worth.
Plus, streaming services like Sling TV make it easy to turn your account on or off, if you only want it for a limited time, like watching AMC’s The Walking Dead, or football season. Not only that, but some services, like Sling TV and Netflix, offer free trials -- so you can try it out to see how you like it before ever spending a dime.
Conclusions
There’s really no reason to stick with cable TV. There are plenty of streaming solutions for those who still want live TV -- like Sling TV -- and there are services like Netflix, which offer awesome original TV shows you can watch whenever you want.
Sponsored by Sling TV/
MARENGO — Chain-reaction crashes sparked a fireball and injured about 30 people Friday afternoon, bringing traffic to a standstill for hours on a segment of busy Interstate 80.
Despite flames and black smoke that rose into the sky and could be seen for miles, no one was killed in the crashes that happened in Iowa County, about a half-hour west of Iowa City, authorities said.
A dozen of those injured were taken Friday evening to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. where two were in critical care and one was in the burn unit.
“They ran the gamut from mild the somewhat critical,” said Kenneth Rempher, chief nursing officer at UIHC. “The condition of two of the patients is such that they require intense nursing care and intense medical care.”
Officials said 11 others were transported to Marengo Memorial Hospital and six to eight others were taken to Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.
The most serious crash involved a charter bus carrying several employees from the Ryan Companies, a Cedar Rapids commercial real estate company.
“We regret to report that several of our employees were injured in a charter bus accident that occurred this afternoon on I-80,” said a Friday night statement from Marc Gullickson, president of the company's healthcare division. “Those employees have been taken to medical facilities for evaluation and treatment. Family members have been notified, and our thoughts and prayers go to our people and their families, and all of the injured parties.”
Motorists caught by the crashes captured the mayhem as they slowly drove past on cellphone videos and photos, posting them on social media.
Their images show fires erupting from the worst crash, which involved three cars, two semi-trailer trucks and a tour bus. Later images depict the aftermath — charred hulls of the bus and several cars being hauled away.
“It was disgusting,” said Angela White, 28, of Brooklyn, Iowa, who was traveling east with three children and a friend when they came upon the crash in the westbound lanes. ”You had ambulances coming one way and fire trucks going the other way. It was insane.”
The crashes started about 3 p.m. when a semi trailer on the side of the interstate caught fire, said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nate Ludwig.
Crews put it out, but it flared up again and slowed traffic. That caused several cars to crash.
Then as traffic slowed even more, two semi trucks, three cars and a tour bus headed westbound collided, Ludwig said, and caused a fire. Names of those involved, and of the bus company that operated the charter, were not available.
First responders requested all ambulances in the area to assist at the scene.
Traffic backed up in both directions for miles on the interstate, and local roads quickly became snarled as drivers diverted around the site.
That segment of the interstate, near Mile Marker 215, sees around 30,000 vehicles a day, according to Iowa Department of Transportation figures.
UIHC's Rempher said hospital staff were made aware of the crash about 30 minutes before patients began arriving by ambulance.
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Most staff were already on duty when the alert came in, and only burn surgeons and trauma surgeons had to be summoned, he said.
“We did what we typically do in those instances and we activated all appropriate resources and had everybody respond to the emergency department, and they were prepared and ready and waiting,” Rempher said. “It was amazing to see all the troops rallied, what could have been very chaotic was very organized.” he said.
Contributing: Mark Carlson, Mitchell Schmidt, Clare Murphy, Stephen Schmidt, Sarah McCarthy. Mike Wagner and Adam Carros.We will take a look at Schiff from two perspectives shortly. First let's note the massive influx of workers into Chinese cities is now in reverse as Chinese job losses prompt exodus.
Tens of thousands of migrant workers are leaving the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou after losing their jobs, railway officials say. The increase to 130,000 passengers leaving the city's main station daily is being blamed on the credit crunch.
Guangzhou is one of China's largest manufacturing hubs, but many companies who export products have collapsed. Chinese officials are worried that a sudden increase in unemployment could lead to social unrest.
The most badly hit export companies are toy, shoe, and furniture manufacturers. There are already reports of demonstrations and social unrest in the provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong.
Toy Manufacturing Collapses
A total of 3,631 toy exporters or 52.7 percent of the industry's businesses shut down in 2008. They were mainly small-sized toy producers with an export value of less than $100,000.
Workers at a toy factory in Guangdong have become the latest victims of the worldwide financial tsunami.
More than 6,000 employees lost their jobs when Smart Union, a major toy manufacturer in Dongguan, closed earlier this week. "The main reason for the closure is we are too dependent on the US market, which has become sluggish," said Xu Xiaofang, a Smart Union human resource worker.
After losing money for the first half of the year, its cash flow finally dried up.
Machinery normally busy churning out toys for major US toy brands Mattel and Disney now sits idle.
Speaking in an interview with Guangzhou Daily, Wang Zhiguang, vice-chairman of the Dongguan Toy Industry Association, said: "Of the 3,800-odd toy firms in Dongguan, no more than 2,000 are likely to survive the next couple of years."
Xiao Yong, the owner of a Dongguan firm that sells Christmas trees and gifts, is equally worried about what the coming winter might have in store.
"One of the main problems is that many toymakers in Dongguan rely too much on orders from the US and Europe. The financial crises there have led directly to a reduction in orders," he said. The number of orders his firm has received for this Christmas is about half what it reported last year, he said.
Two sub-contract manufacturing factories under one global toy maker in South China's Guangdong Province have collapsed, in the first bankruptcy case for the substantial economy in China, according to today's National Business Daily.
The two factories, located in Zhangmutou Town of Dongguan City, were toymakers for Smart Union Group (Holding) Ltd, one of the world's largest manufacturing and trading companies in toys and recreational products on an original equipment manufacturer basis. All the products were being sold to the United States.
Home Prices Collapse In China
The speedy rise — and speedier fall — of River Dragon is a depressingly familiar story in China these days. Thousands of Chinese factories have shuttered in the past year, done in by:
•An export-killing global slowdown that began with the collapse of the U.S. housing market and the ensuing financial crisis.
•Rising materials costs that have squeezed profit margins.
•A deliberate Chinese government campaign to regulate sweatshop factories out of business.
The Chinese economy is absorbing another blow beyond crumbling exports: collapsing home prices. Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., reckons a slowdown in construction could shave another 1 to 2 percentage points off China's economic growth.
"The property bubble is already starting to burst," says Yan Yu, a business management scholar at Peking University, researching the export center of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province. "House prices here in Dongguan have fallen by up to 50% this year," leaving many homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
"People have worked all their lives and believed the hype and bought overvalued properties, then saw their savings vanish," says independent economist Andy Xie in Shanghai. "That carries more political risk |
By Debarshi Das and Deepankar Basu
1. Introduction
Suicides are extremely tragic events that are triggered by despair and hopelessness caused by material and psychological causes. Every suicide is a preventable death, a tragic event that points towards structural deficiencies of the society where it happens. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has been collecting and publishing data on suicides in the country for many decades (going back at least to 1967). Analyzing these data can provide important clues about the causes and patterns of suicides across the country and can be potentially used in formulating policies for addressing these tragic events.
From 1995, the NCRB started publishing suicide data disaggregated by professions, a key category being “farmers”. Supplementing these data with reports from the ground, journalists and activists started drawing attention of the country to the specific problem of suicides among farmers. By the early 2000s these efforts had borne some fruits: the tragic phenomenon of farmer suicides in India had been recognized in national and international policy circles. Off and on, there have also been efforts by state and central governments in the country to address the issue.
The publication of the NCRB data in 2014 caused lot of surprise because it apparently showed that farmer suicides had declined dramatically in one year. Journalists, analysts and activists were quick to point out that this dramatic decline was more an artifact of definitional changes adopted by the NCRB than anything else. Once the numbers are calculated in a consistent fashion, the number of farmer suicides is seen to increase, rather than decrease, between 2013 and 2014 (as we explain in detail below).
While annual movements in the total number of farmer suicides are useful and should be monitored closely, it is also necessary to supplement this with more detailed analyses. There are at least two dimensions that would be useful to analyze more closely: (a) longer term trends, and (b) variation across states. In this article, we use data from the NCRB and the Indian Censuses to do both. Our analysis suggests that the general and justifiable concern with farmer suicides needs to be nuanced in various respects.
First, the problem of farmer suicides has not disappeared; it is very much still there. Second, although farmers’ suicide is observed all over the country, it is most concentrated in two states, Kerala and Maharashtra. This does not mean that there are no general patterns to the problems facing the agrarian economy all-through the country or that the spates of suicides that have often been reported from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh or West Bengal are unimportant. However, a careful examination of the existing official data reveals that the farmers commit suicide at a far higher intensity in Maharashtra and Kerala compared to the rest of the country. This means that policy intervention to address the troubles affecting the agrarian economy of these two states would be effective in mitigating the problem to a great deal.
Before we present our analysis, a caveat about data sources is in order. The main source of data on suicides, including farmer suicides, which we use in this study is the NCRB. Many activists, journalists, and demographers have pointed out that the NCRB data seriously underestimates the number of suicides because these data are collected on the basis of police reports. Given the stigma attached to suicides and the possible legal problems that surviving family members might face, many suicides are liable to go unreported.
These data problems seem to be operative even in the case of farmer suicides. For instance, the sharp fluctuations in the number of farmer suicides in Chhattisgarh seem problematic. In 2010, Chhattisgarh reported 1126 farmer suicides; in 2010 it had fallen to 0! In 2013, it reported 0 farmer suicides; in 2014, the number had jumped back up to 755. These numbers certainly point towards problems of data collection. To take another example, West Bengal did not report any numbers for 2012 and then reported 0 farmer suicides in 2013. These are perplexing given that the state had been witnessing close to 1000 farmer suicides in the years before 2012.
The point in highlighting these data problems is not to suggest that we jettison NCRB data completely. That cannot be done because, with all its limitations, the NCRB data remains the only national level data source on suicides in India that cover a long time span. The point in highlighting the problems is to keep the caveats in mind while interpreting the results. It might very well be the case that the problem of farmer suicides is much worse than what is captured by the official NCRB data.
2. NCRB and Its Estimation of Farmers’ Suicides
For two decades National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has been publishing yearly data of suicides in India disaggregated by professions (the NCRB has been publishing data on suicides by sex, causes and means adopted since 1967; disaggregation by professions was added in 1995). While classifying the data under different professions, the NCRB reports suicides committed by a category of people called the “self-employed (farming/agriculture)”. The NCRB report does not define the category of a self-employed person. But parsing the report one gets an idea about the meaning of the category. “Self-employed” is one of the many categories of professions used by the NCRB, the others being “housewife”, “service”, “unemployed”, “student”, “retired person”, and “others”. Given these categories, it would be safe to assume that self-employed are those who have not been hired by other people. They would have been in the ‘service’ category if that had been the case. Moreover, they earn their living, unlike the unemployed.
In case of farming/agriculture it stood to reason that the self-employed are cultivators. That is, they earn their living from farming, but with the important qualifier that they own the land, or have leased in the land. Thus, agricultural labourers would not fall in this category because agricultural labourers do not own farm land; moreover, they are hired by others.
Earlier analyses of farmers’ suicides were made on the basis of this reasonable assumption. Although the above assumption regarding who is covered by the “self-employed (farming/agriculture)” category of the NCRB did not have much bearing on the content of the article, it is important to provide this clarification upfront because the publication of the NCRB report in 2014 indicated that this assumption was incorrect.
It now appears that the NCRB had been clubbing the suicides by cultivators and agricultural labourers in the “self-employed (farming/agriculture)” category, instead of taking the former category alone. This becomes clear once the data of 2014 is observed. The 2014 data has a different format than the previous years. It has subdivided the category of “self-employed in agriculture” into agricultural labourers, farmers owning land, and those who leased in land. So, there exists a category called the ‘self-employed persons (farmers)’ in the 2014 report. But if one compares the figures reported here with the figures under ‘self-employed (farming/agriculture)’ of previous reports, one would be surprised to find that suicides by farmers halved between 2013 and 2014.
Since this is clearly implausible, one has to compare data under the category of ‘self-employed (farming/agriculture)’ of 2013 (and earlier years) with the category of ‘self-employed persons [agriculture (total)]’ of 2014. Once that is done, the number of suicides is found to have risen from 11772 in 2013 to 12360 in 2014, an increase by about 5%.
3. Three Measures of Farmers Suicides
Although the number of suicides has risen between 2013 and 2014, once we look at suicides by farmers over the years, we do not find a clear trend. Data plotted in Figure 1 show that for the first ten years from 1995, suicides went on rising year after year. From over 10,000 per year in 1995 it went to over 18,000 per year in 2004. In the last ten years however there has been a reversal of this trend, with farmer suicides declining continuously. As we have just seen, in 2014 the number was a little over 12,000. So, although the total number of suicides in 2014 is more than in 1995, in the intervening years suicides had gone up sharply and then dropped.
Total number of suicides is a blunt measure to capture the severity of suicide deaths. This is because the number of farmers, some of whom were committing suicides, might be changing. Hence the same number of suicides could have a different meaning because the number of farmers is different. In other words, it may very well happen that in two years the same number of farmers has committed suicide but in the second year the total number of farmers is lower than in the first. This should mean that in a relative sense the suicides were higher in the second year, although in absolute sense suicide numbers did not change.
Figure 1: Number of farmer suicides in India, 1995-2014.
In short, one needs a relative measurement to gauge the severity of the problem. That is why researchers estimate number of suicides per 1,00,000 population. This number is called suicide mortality rate (SMR). In table 1 we have reported suicide mortality rate of farmers in India over the last 20 years (column 2).
Table 1: Farmer SMR and the ratio of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR in India, 1995-2014 Year Farmer SMR Non-Farmer SMR Farmer SMR / Non-Farmer SMR 1995 5.42 10.87 0.50 1996 6.75 10.14 0.67 1997 6.52 11.00 0.59 1998 7.45 11.67 0.64 1999 7.32 12.22 0.60 2000 7.34 11.71 0.63 2001 7.17 11.50 0.62 2002 7.76 11.33 0.68 2003 7.37 11.25 0.65 2004 7.70 11.27 0.68 2005 7.15 11.22 0.64 2006 7.04 11.51 0.61 2007 6.77 11.86 0.57 2008 6.60 11.95 0.55 2009 6.60 11.96 0.55 2010 6.39 12.59 0.51 2011 5.57 12.69 0.44 2012 5.41 12.50 0.43 2013 4.58 12.43 0.37 2014 4.76 11.87 0.40 Note: Farmer SMR is the suicides of farmers per 1,00,000 farmers; non-farmer SMR is the suicides of non-farmers per 1,00,000 non-farmers.
It is clear from table 1, column 2 that, like the total number of suicides, SMR also rose during the first ten years, and declined thereafter. We do not have the data of suicides disaggregated by professions before 1995. So, it is not possible to tell if the rising trend of suicide since 1995 was part of a tendency which had started earlier. In any case, the fact that it rose significantly for a decade after 1995 is borne out by the numbers we have reported in table 1.
But from these numbers can we infer that farmers in particular have been in the receiving end? It can very well happen that during the same time, that is, from 1995 to 2004, suicide mortality rate rose for the entire population. This rising tendency to commit suicide in the whole population could be finding expression in terms of rising SMR among farmers as well. If such is the case then it would be incorrect to say that the root of rising farmer SMR lies in any trouble in the agricultural sector particularly. In that case, it would be wrong to infer that the agrarian economy is in distress, as some of us have been doing.
To check if the rising SMR is specific to farmers, one has to compare between the suicide rate of farmers and those who are not farmers. A simple way to do this is to take the SMR of farmer and divide it by the SMR of non-farmers. If this ratio is significantly higher than 1 at any point in time, it would imply that the suicide rate among farmers is much higher than non-farmers at that point in time; on the other hand, if the ratio were rising over time, then it would indicate that over time suicide incidents are affecting the farmers more than the non-farmers.
We have calculated this ratio and the numbers are reported in the column 3 of table 1. A close look at the number confirms that this ratio of SMRs underwent a gradual rise from 1995 till about 2004, after which it fell. Thus, it appears that all the three indicators we have examined – total number of suicides, SMR of farmers, and the ratio of farmers’ SMR to non-farmers’ SMR – have undergone the same pattern of change over the last two decades: a rise in the first ten years (1995 to 2004) and fall in the last ten (2004 to 2014).
Before we discuss the possible reasons responsible for this identifiable pattern a few observation on the data are in order. To interpret the SMR ratio, it is useful to distinguish between levels and trends. If we consider the level of the SMR ratio, we see from column 3 of Table 1 and from (the blue line in) Figure 3, that it was always below unity. At its maximum in 2002 and 2004, the SMR ratio was 0.68. The fact that the SMR ratio has always been below unity at the all-India level suggests that the level of distress (that is a cause for suicides) has been relatively lower among farmers than among non-farmers if we consider the country as a whole. Even in the worst years (2002, 2004), the relative distress among farmers was lower than among non-farmers. This is an important fact that has often been ignored in discussions about farmer suicides.
When we consider the trend, we see the following pattern: the SMR ratio displayed an increasing trend between 1995 and 2004; thereafter, the SMR ratio declined. Thus, for the decade long period between 1995 and 2004, things were going terribly wrong in the agricultural sector at the all-India level so that the relative rate of suicides among farmers was increasing in comparison to non-farmers. The fact that the SMR ratio fell since 2004 is perhaps an indication that those drivers of distress that led to the spurt of farmer suicides between 1995 and 2004 have mitigated to an extent in the subsequent period.
Figure 2: Ratio of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR in Kerala and Maharashtra, 1995-2014. SMR of farmers = suicide mortality rate for farmers (farmer suicides per 1,00,000 farmers) ; SMR of non-farmers = suicide mortality rate for non-farmers (non-farmer suicides per 1,00,000 non-farmers).
Second, although the ratio of farmers’ SMR to non-farmers’ SMR was less than 1 this is true at the all-India level only. If we focus on individual states, we see that two states have defied that trend: Maharashtra and Kerala. In figure 2 we have plotted the SMR ratio for Maharashtra and Kerala. In figure 3, we have plotted the all-India SMR ratio with and without these two states, to show the importance of these two states in driving up the all-India SMR ratio.
Figure 3: Ratio of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR in India with and without Kerala and Maharashtra, 1995-2014. SMR of farmers = suicide mortality rate for farmers (farmer suicides per 1,00,000 farmers); SMR of non-farmers = suicide mortality rate for non-farmers (non-farmer suicides per 1,00,000 non-farmers).
Figure 2 shows that in these two states the SMR ratio has been more than 1 for a number of years. In Kerala the ratio has fluctuated around a value that is greater than 2; in Maharashtra, it has stayed above 1 for most years after 2000. It implies that although Maharashtra occupies more media space on the subject of farmers’ plight – which is justifiable given that far more suicides are committed in Maharashtra than anywhere else – the condition of farmers is grimmer in Kerala in a relative sense. Moreover, one observes a gradual rise in the ratio over the years in both these states. Thus, unlike the all-India picture, the suicide indicators have not come down at all in these two states after 2004.
Figure 3 shows that if Maharashtra and Kerala are taken out, the all-India SMR ratio improves a great deal. The red line (all-India data without these two states) is consistently and appreciably below the blue line (all-India data including these two states). Moreover, once Kerala and Maharashtra are removed, the SMR ratio declines continuously from 1996 onwards. This has important policy implications that we discuss below.
4. Possible Reasons for Suicide
It is a well-known fact that the agricultural sector has been performing badly since the 1990s. It has been found that the annual growth rate of output in agricultural sector has halved between the period 1980-83 to 1990-93, to the period 1990-93 to 2003-06. It is also evident that a major reason for this slowdown has been the deceleration in the use of inputs. In other words, investment in agriculture has been declining which could be leading to slowing down of output growth. As has been argued by one of us, slowdown of public investment has played an important role in the decline of overall agricultural investment.
As output is rising at a slower rate since 1990, profitability of farmers is getting adversely affected: for they are not being able to produce at as fast a rate as they had been doing before. Note, decline in public investment is a conscious government decision. There are other policy changes which aggravated the decline in profitability. As has been argued in the sanhati article these include, less enthusiasm for disbursing rural credit by the government, slackening of procurement operation of crops from farmers, opening the domestic market to cheap imports, etc. All these factors increased the cost of farming while at the same time reduced the revenue which the farmer obtained by selling her crop. In short, profitability fell. Low profitability is a reason for the depressed state of Indian agriculture since the early 1990s. This depressed state might have set the background for the spate of suicides which intermittently kept occurring across the country.
Without denying the role of agricultural stagnation, low investment and declining profitability, we would also like to highlight a puzzling feature of the issue: the problem of farmer suicides seem to be most acute not in the poorest states (like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh), but in relatively prosperous and faster growing states (like Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh). A few case studies and journalistic reports have highlighted problems specific to the growing of cash crops – like cotton or spices – that seem to be important in causing farmer suicides. For instance, factors like high volatility of cash crop prices and lack of crop insurance mechanisms, requirements of relatively large investments (and hence for loans) in the cultivation of cash crops, lack of social and mental health support systems to deal with distress, might also be important to take into account if a proper understanding of the problem of farmer suicides is to be developed.
5. Cultivators and Agricultural Labourers
Low profitability directly affected the farmer, i.e., the person who cultivates and owns the land, for she is the person who earns profit and suffers losses. But it indirectly affects the agricultural labourers as well. Low profitability implies low investments and therefore low job generation, which adversely impacts the employment prospects of agricultural labourers. It is found that while between 1983 to 1993-94 employment in the primary sector grew at an annual rate of 1.35%, the rate subsequently fell to 0.67% (1993-94 to 2004-05) and then became negative, -0.13% (1999-2000 to 2009-10) [agricultural sector is the largest component of the primary sector]. Thus the number of jobs in farming is actually shrinking, instead of rising. Between 2001 and 2011 the total number of farmers (i.e., owner farmers and laboures taken together) went down from 234.1 million to 225.1 million. It is not surprising to find labourers in the ranks of those who committed suicide.
It is true that indebtedness is often found to be a reason for farmer suicides. These loans are often production loans which the owner-farmer took, and which could not be paid due to crop failure. Such suicides would not impact labourers as much as the owner-farmers. But it must be kept in mind that labourers are the poorest section of agrarian economy. Economic desperation which drives people to take their lives would be far more important to agricultural labourers than to owner-farmers.
We have the data of suicides by agricultural labourers categorised separately from owner-farmers for the year 2014. Thus it is possible to gauge the relative severity of suicide deaths among agricultural labourers, as compared to owner-farmers. In table 2 we have reported the SMR of these two categories in different states. It can be seen that at the all India level, SMR of cultivators (owner farmers) is not much different from that of agricultural labourers: it is marginally higher. But there is lot of variation across states.
In Maharashtra, SMR of cultivators is quite high – it is twice the value of the SMR of labourers. In the land deficient Kerala, the opposite is true. SMR of labourers is more than three times as high as the SMR of cultivators. For other high farmer suicide states, we see the following pattern: In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka they are almost similar. In Chhattisgarh, like in Maharashtra, cultivators have a higher SMR. In Tamil Nadu labourers have a higher SMR. In Madhya Pradesh cultivators have the higher figure. West Bengal reports zero suicides for cultivators; this makes the data suspect. In general it appears that land deficient states have higher SMR for labourers compared to cultivators. The fact that labourers are also getting killed in large number, in fact more in absolute number than the cultivators, is an important observation which is easy to lose sight of.
Table 2: Suicide Mortality Rate (suicides per 1,00,000 population) for Agricultural Labourers and Cultivators across Indian States, 2014 Agricultural Labourers Cultivators Andhra Pradesh 2.79 2.75 Arunachal Pradesh 7.83 0.00 Assam 1.92 0.51 Bihar 0.05 0.00 Chhattisgarh 5.72 11.68 Goa Daman and Diu 0.00 0.00 Gujarat 8.01 0.88 Haryana 7.19 0.63 Himachal Pradesh 16.01 1.54 Jammu and Kashmir 4.31 1.13 Jharkhand 0.08 0.00 Karnataka 6.40 5.15 Kerala 73.24 19.28 Madhya Pradesh 2.85 9.08 Maharashtra 10.68 20.69 Manipur 0.00 0.00 Meghalaya 1.00 0.00 Mizoram 22.82 0.00 Nagaland 0.00 0.00 Orissa 1.36 0.13 Punjab 2.67 1.34 Rajasthan 6.88 0.00 Sikkim 0.00 31.21 Tamil Nadu 9.54 1.88 Tripura 8.92 0.00 Uttar Pradesh 0.62 0.36 Uttarakhand 0.00 0.00 West Bengal 2.16 0.00 India 4.54 5.04
6. Decline in Suicides
The points discussed above give us a clue regarding the possible reasons for the decline in the farmer suicide rate after 2004. Although the overall direction of government policies did not change since 2004, some important welfare initiatives were put in place in last 10 years. Two of these could have had a salient impact on the rural living conditions, especially households at the very bottom of the income ladder.
The first is the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which came into effect since 2006. It started in 200 backward districts with assurance of jobs of 100 days a year for a member per household. The coverage was gradually expanded in three phases. By 2009-10 all 618 districts of the country came under its ambit. NREGA is the biggest employment generation programme of its kind in the world. Since 2009-10 annually 50 million households have been getting the benefit of NREGA jobs, with an average of 42 days of work per year per household. In 2013-14, 74 million individuals in 48 million households in rural India were employed under the programme with each household on average finding work for 46 days. Although its implementation has been often criticised, NREGA gave a modicum of assurance of income to the rural population in the areas where it worked. The impact of NREGA on rural poverty has been acknowledged, and this might have been important in reducing the severity of farmer suicides too.
The second is the reform in the public distribution system which has been undertaken by pro-active states since the early 2000s. Universal PDS was discarded in favour of targeted PDS in 1997. It led to a decline in the reach of subsidised food to the rural poor. A few states started to make changes within the targeted PDS system in order to make it work. Some of the states refused to follow the Central Government policy of restricting access of cheap grain to the so called below poverty line (BPL) segment – they themselves incurred the cost of grain which they supplied to the non-BPL sections. The results started to show from the mid-2000s. Per capita consumption of rice gradually rose from 0.7 kilogram in 2001-02 to 1.18 kilogram in 2007-08. Researchers have estimated the positive impact of food distribution through PDS on poverty reduction. By making subsidized food grains available to the poor, a reformed PDS might have disproportionately affected agricultural labourers – the most destitute and numerous section of rural India – and helped in reducing the number of farmer suicides.
7. In Lieu of a Conclusion
There is no scope for complacency from the observation that farmer suicides have declined in the last ten years. We have noted the rise in the number of farmer suicide in the last one year in the beginning of this article. This rise is reflected in the other two indicators as well (farmers’ SMR, SMR ratio).
In this context, policy gestures of the present NDA government are a matter of concern. NREGA works have been derided at the highest level, which does not inspire confidence that the present dispensation is keen to continue funding the programme for long. Indeed allocation for NREGA has stagnated in last few years even before NDA came to power. With PDS also, the long run policy direction seems to be towards folding up distribution of food by the government. In its place a more market-oriented cash transfer scheme could be installed.
It is important to emphasise that the states which have the highest SMR ratio (ratio of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR) and which contribute a large part of total farmer suicides, Maharashtra and Kerala, have not had a decline in the suicide rate. This is a point we have noted before and is worth reiterating because it has enormous policy implications. These are the only two states where the SMR ratio has been generally higher than unity and where this ratio has not declined over time. All other states have seen a decline in the SMR ratio over the years, especially since 2004. Thus, without denying the problem of general agrarian stagnation in other parts of the country, it is important that activists and policy makers focus their energy and attention on these two states to address the problem of farmer suicides. Because of the enormity of the problem in these states, they might require special intervention.
It is also important to understand the meaning of the declining SMR ratio is all states other than Kerala and Maharashtra. Recall that the SMR ratio is the ratio of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR. Thus, when the SMR ratio trends downward, it may mean that distress (that is a cause of suicides) among non-farmers rise relative to distress among farmers. The fact that the SMR ratio has been falling in many states other than Kerala and Maharashtra means that the level of distress among the non-farmer population in many states other than Kerala and Maharashtra has been becoming worse compared to farmers.
We can see this more explicitly in Figure 4, where we have plotted the SMR for farmers and SMR for non-farmers separately at the all-India level. From the figure we can see a clear divergence in the trend movements of farmer SMR and non-farmer SMR from 2004 onwards. While the farmer SMR declined from 7.7 in 2004 to less than 4.8 in 2014, the non-farmer SMR increased from about 11.3 in 2004 to 12.7 in 2011, before falling to 11.9 in 2014.
If we juxtapose this fact to the well-known trend of movement of the workforce out of agriculture, we realize that the declining SMR in most of the country implies a growing distress among an increasing part of the workforce. But who are the non-farmers? In India (and much of the Third World), the vast majority of non-farmers are informal sector workers, workers who work in hazardous conditions, for very low wages, with no legal protections or social security, and hardly any rights of collective bargaining. Thus, while the government should re-double its efforts to address the problem of farmer suicides in Kerala and Maharashtra, it needs to step up its work to address the specific problems of non-farmers in the other states of the country.
Figure 4: Farmer SMR (farmer suicides per 100000 farmers), and non-farmer SMR (non-farmer suicides per 100000 non-farmers) in India, 1995-2014.
Data: Sources and Definitions
We capture the severity of farmer suicides by the ratio of the farmer suicide mortality rate (SMR) and the non-farmer suicide mortality rate. By “farmer” we mean a person who is either a cultivator (someone who works on owned or hired land) or an agricultural labourer (someone who works on others’ land). The SMR for farmers is defined as the number of farmer suicides per 1 lakh farmer population; the SMR for non-farmers is defined in an analogous manner as the number of non-farmer suicides per 1 lakh non-farmer population. We calculate SMRs for farmers and non-farmers at the all-India level and for all major states.
The data on the number of farmer suicides and total suicides have been extracted from various years of Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, an annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau. The difference between total and farmer suicides gives us the number of non-farmer suicides.
The data on the population of cultivators and agricultural labourers have been taken from reports of the Censuses for 1991, 2001 and 2011. The number of farmers is the sum of the number of cultivators and agricultural labourers in rural India.
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Leave a commentA DERELICT farmhouse that was used as a sex fetish dungeon will be auctioned off this week.
The 1.3 acre Orford Farm is up for auction with a guide price of a cool £850,000, but it is a property with something of a chequered past.
It formerly housed a sex fetish club, which boasted specialist rooms including a dungeon, a pigsty, a head teacher’s study, a medical room and a school room.
More than £500,000 of damage was caused to the School Lane property, which neighbours St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School, in March 2012 in a fire that was tackled by 33 fireman.
Two teenagers were later jailed for three-and-a-half years for arson in relation to the incident.
Now bidders will fight to bid for the site in an online auction on Wednesday and Thursday.
The site has planning permission for 33 retirement properties and auctioneer Richard Rees said it was a property with potential.
The head of John Pye Property Auctions said: “This site represents an excellent opportunity to develop a retirement complex in a prime resident area.
“It has planning consent to create a two-storey block of 30 one-bedroom apartments and three one-bedroom bungalows.
“The scheme also allows for landscaping, new road access, bin store and 29 parking spaces – additionally it also benefits from being situated close to other homes and a wealth of local amenities including shops, pubs and restaurants.”What they hell are you doing posting an editorial cartoon on a Sunday again and where is that obnoxious banner begging for votes? Well I made it to week 9 among the top 10 but didn’t make it to the top 5 in the final week. Thank you all so much for the support, votes, sharing and essentially putting up with me. I’ll share my thoughts later in the post but first…
Today’s cartoon was inspired by Mitt Romney choosing his running mate as Congressman Paul Ryan (oh and former Miami University alum – anyone know any other famous MU alums?? ahem ahem). There was some quiet chatter that another presidential candidate, Ron Paul should be considered for the VP spot and a little more outspoken chatter about his son Rand Paul getting the nod. So for those out there who think Romney got the wrong Paul, this cartoon is for you.
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A few comments on the editorial cartoon contest…
What I liked
It forced me to create and post an editorial cartoon 2x a week for the past 9 weeks. Sure I typically post on Sundays and Wednesdays but sometimes I might share a different type of cartoon work.
It allowed me to utilize social media and the power of my readers to have a great showing every week. Until the last week I was consistently in the top 3 in votes and the last week I was number 4. Again voting didn’t account for the entire process of who got picked for the next round.
What I didnt like…
No link love back to the creators. Sure you could link to my twitter or facebook account from their page but why not open it up.
No direct voting links. You had to go to the voting page and then find my picture to vote for it. Several people accidentally voted for the first image that popped up and it wasn’t mine.
No archive of participants who didn’t make it. There were several cartoonists who I loved that didn’t make it to further rounds but there is no way for me to find them because all their posts and info has been hidden. Maybe it will pop back up after the competition.
If you keep voting, I am putting my support behind Al Goodwin. I think he is the best of the rest. Consistently on the mark, timely and a fantastic cartoonist. All in all it was fun…though I doubt I will be participating again as I am looking at what I want the next chapter of my cartooning to be…. I’ll keep you posted.NEW YORK - A measure intended to crack down on drug dealers and would-be terrorists is drawing fire over privacy, access and safety concerns.
The Suffolk County Legislature is considering a requirement that buyers of prepaid cell phones provide two forms of identification before making the purchase, and that local retailers hold onto that information for at least three years.
Jessica Glynn, supervising attorney for the Latino rights group SEPA Mujer, says the proposal violates a number of privacy rights, particularly for victims of domestic violence.
"There are serious safety concerns when a victim's identity is being kept by someone with no training whatsoever on domestic-violence issues, or on how to keep a record."
The measure would have major negative impacts for both documented and undocumented immigrants in the county, says Amol Sinha, director of the Suffolk chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"The concern is that people who don't have credit histories, who are low-income, generally buy prepaid cell phones - and won't have access to those vital lifelines."
Last week, Suffolk County lawmakers shelved a plan that would have required local employers doing business with the county to screen workers through the controversial E-Verify system. Glynn hopes that move signals a change in direction on immigrant issues.
"I hope that some of that momentum really translates to this cell-phone bill, and folks realize that to catch would-be criminals, it is misguided and it has these really terrible unintended consequences."
The measure may come up for a vote next week. Supporters say it will help local police track down criminals. Glynn says domestic abusers often exert control over their victim's personal identification, so the measure could prevent victims from obtaining their own phone while faulty record-keeping could help an abuser locate a victim.
Text of the measure, Suffolk Leg IR 1266, is online at legis.suffolkcountyny.gov.
Mike Clifford, Public News Service - NYThe anatomy of a $53 million architectural masterpiece See what goes into a home that only the top 1 percent of the 1 percent can afford
Sometimes a home is so much more than just a house on a lot. Sometimes it's designed and built with such extravagance that it more closely resembles a castle, a private compound, or even a luxury hotel. The Residence of WT Chen in Malibu, California, is one of those homes.
What |
I’d been in Argentina for a while and it seemed if I didn ’ t leave I might stay there forever, wallowing in the false wealth of the devalued peso, growing fat on meat and wine, tripping through tango variations with genteel old men and then falling into bed, kicking my sheets into damp knots, dreaming sodden, unmemorable dreams. So I bought a ticket for a westbound bus to take me across the Andes and that same night I was gone.
*
The sun rose while we were still in the mountains; a few hours later my bus rolled into Santiago. In the hazy morning light the city glared with power-washed skyscrapers and gleaming plate glass. Of Santiago I would write home: “Apart from all the mountains, it ’ s kind of like New York,” and what I meant was not that it was anything like New York but that it seemed a familiar sort of modern metropolis, busy with traffic and well-heeled pedestrians en route to office jobs.
As we drove toward the hostel where I’d secured a bed, my driver recommended sightseeing activities I could partake of while in Santiago: stroll through the Plaza de Armas; ride the teleférico up Cerro San Cristóbal to see the sculpture of the Virgin Mary at the summit; shop the luxury malls; visit La Chascona, the Santiago residence of the late poet Pablo Neruda.
The driver asked if I knew of Neruda and I said I did: I rarely read poetry but I’d grown up with his verse, brought to me by my mother, who was a hopeless romantic; by my grandfather, who admired his ardent communism; and most specifically by the 1994 film Il Postino: The Postman, in which the poet, in exile in Capri, befriends a young Italian postman. It came out when I was ten and was the first film with subtitles I’d ever successfully sat through, which made me feel sophisticated and gave me a special attachment to the content. As a despondent high school student I ’ d scrawled Neruda ’ s verses onto my bedroom walls between posters of Bob Marley (“Iron Lion Zion”) and Van Gogh (Café Terrace at Night): ¿Por qué no nací misterioso? (Why was I not born mysterious?) Lovesick in early college I’d copied lines from The Captain’s Verses into my notebooks. A month before I got to Chile I’d been in Peru, where I’d bought a little copy of Neruda’s Heights of Macchu Picchu before hiking to the Inca ruins myself. And even that morning, in the back of the taxi weaving through the traffic toward my hostel in Santiago, I was waiting to mail my boyfriend a Valentine’s Day postcard on which I’d written nothing but the opening lines of Neruda ’ s “Soneto XVII”—
No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio
o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego:
te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras, secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.
—lines I left untranslated, thinking that to do so would be more mysterious and therefore more romantic. In those days I often confused one with the other.
“Every Neruda lover must go to see his houses,” the taxi driver told me. I could already tell Chile was too expensive by how fast the cab fare was going up—first world prices, man—but one answer to the question “Why go?” was that it was the homeland of Pablo Neruda. After months of meandering in the company of strangers, it occurred to me that I’d be grateful to encounter an old friend.
Before I got to Chile I’d met a number of Chileans in other parts of the continent. Often upon learning I was American they would ask me if I knew that I wasn’t the only one for whom September 11 was a signifier of disaster on a national scale.
When many Chileans referred to September 11 they meant the day in 1973 when General Augusto Pinochet, recently appointed commander-in-chief of the army by left-wing president Salvador Allende, led the military in a violent coup d’état. By nightfall, Allende was dead, along with many of his cabinet members. The presidential palace La Moneda was bombed out and burning, the radio towers were down, martial law was in place, and at night conscripted soldiers cruised the streets firing machine guns from tanks.
In the days and weeks and months following the coup, the stadiums of Santiago had been converted to makeshift detention camps for political dissidents. Arriving in Chile, I could cite rough figures regarding the number of people tortured (estimated 30,000) and executed (over 3,000), but the disappearances were uncountable. I was particularly disturbed by the transitive form of the verb disappear: its usage in Latin America as an action that could be committed by one person against another, as in if only he had returned those bodies to their relatives instead of disappearing them, or as in the joke Pinochet made to vice admiral Patricio Carvajal on the morning of the coup after Carvajal suggested offering Allende safe passage out of the country: “He can be flown out of the country, but then, old boy, while he’s flying, the airplane falls out of the sky.”
Whenever Chileans had initiated this conversation with me, I wondered whether they did so merely to lay earlier claim to the date September 11, or because they considered me, in my Americanness, complicit in their own malignant history.
“CIA undertook specific covert action projects in Chile,” the National Intelligence Council had reported in 2000, following the declassification of 24,000 documents related to US operations in Chile in the 1970s. “The overwhelming objective—firmly rooted in the policy of the period—was to discredit Marxist-leaning political leaders, especially Dr. Salvador Allende.”
Or as Defense Secretary Melvin Laird put it to President Nixon in a 1970 meeting: “We have to do everything we can to hurt him and bring him down.”
Or as a September 1970 cable from CIA officials to covert operatives in Santiago read, under the heading “Creation of Coup Climate” and subheading “Psychological Warfare”:
... conclusion that military coup is the only answer. This to be carried forward until it takes place... The key is psych war within Chile. We cannot endeavor to ignite the world if Chile itself is a placid lake. The fuel for the fire must come within Chile. Therefore, the station should employ every stratagem, every ploy, however bizarre, to create this internal resistance.
(Although a CIA memo sent three weeks later—“Concur giving tear gas canisters and gas masks... working on obtaining machine guns”—indicated that some of the “fuel for the fire ” would in fact come from the US.)
The US government knew Pinochet’s forces were rounding up civilians, including some American citizens, for torture, execution, or disappearance, but US officials maintained a posture exemplified by an announcement the secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, made to his staff several months after the coup: “I want our policy to be clear: however badly this military government behaves, it is better for our interests than Allende’s was.”
When Pinochet died in Santiago on December 10, 2006, there were more than three hundred unresolved criminal charges against him for tax evasion and embezzlement and passport fraud and human rights violations including torture, kidnapping, and murder.
I was arriving in Santiago on February 10, 2007, exactly two months after his death. Two months after the families of his victims flooded the streets around the capital waving flags and dancing and uncorking bottles of champagne. Two months after President Michelle Bachelet—who had been tortured along with her parents at one of the Junta’s infamous detention facilities—refused to honor Pinochet with a state funeral. Two months after his supporters wept outside the hospital and called him mi general and attended his funeral five thousand strong. Even in 2006 there were many who still believed he had saved the country from sliding into a Marxist nightmare.
“And there is the national stadium,” my taxi driver said, pointing as we rolled beneath the shadow of bleachers and floodlights. I expected it to be somber or menacing but it looked like any stadium. The driver craned his neck to look back at me. “You like to watch fútbol games?” he asked.
*
The hostel was run by a guy named Pato, but it was a young woman named Mariana who opened the door for me. She had matted dark hair pulled into a lopsided topknot and her eyes were half-shut, her cheeks flushed and pillow-creased. “Tiene reserva?” she asked, squinting out at me. I nodded. She turned back into the house without asking for my name, and I followed. We walked down a hallway of yellow tiles toward the dormitories within. “We had too many pisco sours last night,” she said. “Pato’s dead. I’m dead too. We’re all dead here; you should’ve come yesterday.”
“I was on a bus,” I said.
She paused in an open doorway. “Tonight,” she said, raising her eyebrows, “we may be alive again.”
Inside the room, the window shades were drawn and the edges of beds emerged dimly from the gloom. She pointed to an empty bottom bunk in the corner, a starched sheet folded on the mattress. “Yours,” she said. “Now I’m going back to mine.”
*
A guest of the hostel had left a note on the bulletin board about La Chascona— “AMAZING!!!! See the SOUL of NERUDA for only $5!”—so that afternoon I set out to visit the house with Julia, an American girl I’d encountered in the kitchen while everyone else slept off their pisco hangovers. La Chascona was named (we learned in South America on a Shoestring) for the curly hair of Neruda’s mistress-turned-wife Matilde Urrutia, about whom he’d written: Naked you are as blue as a night in Cuba; you have vines and stars in your hair.
The line for La Chasconas ticket window stretched around the block. It was very hot and there was no breeze. We wandered to the end of the line to join the flushed and sweating masses awaiting entry, whereupon we learned from a better-prepared Canadian couple, who fanned each other with their pre-printed tickets, that the only tours one could take were guided tours, and the tickets for the day were sold out.
Julia and I abandoned La Chascona and walked instead to Cerro San Cristóbal. We took a cable car to the summit and stood at the bright white feet of the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción. We looked out over the city and at the mountains beyond the city, then climbed down and bought ice cream cones in the Plaza de Armas. We walked past Estadio Victor Jara, which had been called Estadio Chile until 2003 when it was renamed in honor of the folksinger. He was one of the most prominent people tortured there in the days following the coup.
According to a popular version of the story, the soldiers stationed at Estadio Chile beat Jara so badly he couldn’t stand, then cut off his fingers. They dragged him out to the middle of the field and taunted him by shouting, “Play your guitar for us now!” And since he couldn’t, because he had no fingers left to play with, he began to sing.
“They destroyed his hands, but they say he sang and sang,” Pablo Neruda told Matilde Urrutia as he lay heartbroken and dying in the week following the coup, according to the memoir she later wrote. “The soldiers were furious.” So they dragged him inside and forced him up against a wall, then made his body dance in a riot of machine gun fire. They drove his body to the outskirts of Santiago and dropped it in an alley, where his wife found it several days later. In this sense she was lucky, since many of the disappeared did not get found again. The story of Jara’s torture and execution quickly became legendary and, as with most legends, part of it was untrue. Specifically: The soldiers never cut off Jara’s fingers; they only broke and burned them.
The military had destroyed most of Jara’s master recordings but his wife managed to smuggle a few out of the country when she fled. Bootleg Victor Jara CDs were now spread out for sale on the sidewalk outside Estadio Victor Jara. I bought one.
“Do you want to go inside the stadium and look around?” Julia asked. I said not really.
“Me either,” she said.
The word from the backpackers was that Santiago was boring, too commercial and expensive, whereas Valparaíso had real character, so the next day I caught a bus to the coast. Valparaíso had the look of a place shattered and patched back together helter-skelter. The air was damp and briny. Vertiginous hills hurled themselves down toward the sea and mismatched houses clung cluttered to their sides. The houses of the poor were constructed of scrap wood and corrugated tin, and they were painted with shipyard paint because in a port city shipyard paint is abundant and inexpensive. The houses were therefore the color of ships—red, yellow, green, blue—and they appeared to be in motion. The whole city seemed fashioned of moving parts: Funiculars tracked up the inclines, pedestrians wove through the streets, drying laundry flapped out over alleys. At a street market I ran my hands over dusty clusters of grapes, swollen avocados, knuckled garlic bulbs. I went down to the docks to watch the relentless traffic of wooden crates and steamships, shouting men with sinewy arms loading and unloading, bending and tossing, coiling ropes and smoking and spitting out over the sea.
Neruda had a house in Valparaíso, at the top of Avenida Alemania. He’d named it La Sebastiana after the architect Sebastián Collado, who had constructed the third floor like a bird’s nest of wire and glass. Neruda occupied the third and fourth floors of the house and sometimes joked that he’d bought nothing but “stairs and terraces.” I built the house, Neruda wrote of La Sebastiana. First, I made it of air. Then I raised a flag in the air and left it hanging from the sky, from the stars, from light and darkness. “From there, Pablo could watch the ships coming and going in the harbor,” Matilde would later write in her memoir. “He was very happy in that house.”
Unlike La Chascona in Santiago, there was only a short wait outside La Sebastiana, and visitors were free to wander wherever they liked. I fell into line, unaccountably nervous, blood pulsing in the palms of my hands. I had not intended to become a pilgrim of Neruda but now, finding myself for the second time at his door, I arrived as pilgrims do: seeking proximity to miracles. I suppose I thought if I could occupy the exact space he’d once occupied, I might come away with some more profound understanding of my Neruda—the poet of my mother and grandfather, of my angsty adolescence and the wanderlust that had sent me tripping across an unfamiliar continent these past months with his poems tucked away in my backpack—as much as Chile’s Neruda, the hero-poet and statesman who’d been Allende’s friend and diplomat before Pinochet’s CIA-backed coup, who’d died soon after the government was overthrown. I thought if I understood Neruda better, I could love him better, and that I might then also know how to feel about Chile, how to be an American tourist there.
At the top of the stairs I pushed past a group of tourists through the doorway of his apartment and saw:
A row of commemorative porcelain dishes propped upright on a shelf with hot air balloons painted on their faces.
Framed and faded paintings of the same balloons.
A chipped mug with mustache guard beside a placard reading taza bigotera.
A map of lower Patagonia and Antarctica made of small gray, white, and rose-colored stones, set into the plaster of one whole wall.
A hot pink Coro-Coro bird, embalmed with outstretched wings, suspended from the ceiling inside a giant glass bubble.
An embalmed baby penguin tucked away on a high shelf.
A wooden merry-go-round horse.
Red-and-white striped wallpaper. Pink walls and turquoise walls. Various clocks and plates with seashell motifs and paintings of women in plumed hats and paintings of dour Elizabethans in ruffled collars.
A bar that could be entered by a tiny secret door. (“Pablo, as always, played the bartender,” wrote Matilde in her memoir.) Shelves of colored glass bottles and the recipe for Neruda’s coquetelón:
½ cognac
½ champagne
a few drops of Cointreau and orange juice
It was prohibido to touch anything or take a photograph inside, though we could point our cameras out the windows to take pictures of the port. In one of the only photos I have from the inside of La Sebastiana, you can see a brass bedpost and part of a patchwork quilt. In another, the gruesome pink Coro-Coro bird is splayed out before the west-facing windows.
Amo las cosas loca, locamente, Neruda wrote. I love crazy things, crazily.
There was a portrait of Walt Whitman hanging in the hall. Eavesdropping on a tour guide, I learned the following story: One day a workman came to make some repairs on the house. He spotted the portrait of the bearded old man and asked Neruda if the man was his grandfather. Neruda said yes. “By this,” the tour guide explained, “he meant his grandfather in poetry.” Neruda’s other favorite poets: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Federico García Lorca. Of García Lorca he’d written: If I could weep with fear in a solitary house, if I could take out my eyes and eat them, I would do it for your black-draped orange tree voice and for your poetry that comes forth shouting. Neruda had befriended García Lorca in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. Two years later, the Spanish poet was killed.
The tour guide said that Neruda always wrote in green pen; it was his trademark. “For this reason people often mistake him for the author of the poem ‘Romance Sonámbulo,’ which begins Verde, que te quiero verde,” the tour guide said. “But that poem was actually written by García Lorca.”
I learned that the portrait of Walt Whitman, along with nearly every other item in the house, had been taken from Neruda’s Isla Negra residence. During the coup, the military had plundered his Santiago and Valparaíso homes, burned what was left, and then—in the case of La Chascona—flooded the smoldering remains. Neruda was hospitalized for advanced prostate cancer in the days following the coup and never lived to see his homes reduced to rubble, though Matilde did when she returned to them after his death. “I have witnessed the destruction of all the houses I loved most,” she wrote.
La Sebastiana had been reconstituted for tourists from the materials of another place. It was less a home than an approximate diorama. So when one of the women on the tour touched the shoulder of the man beside her and murmured, “I think I can feel his ghost here,” I thought I could be forgiven for feeling nothing.
*
Isla Negra was the home Neruda loved best, the one for which he’d written: The house... I don’t know when it was born in me... For the first time I felt the prick of the scent of the winter sea—a mixture of laurel and salty sand, seaweed and thistle, struck me. It was here I believed I would finally find Neruda, so I took a Pullman bus two hours south from Valparaíso, through desert towns and seaside towns and along the coast where the ocean rolled in deep blue and purple to break against the rocky black shore.
Midmorning I climbed off the bus at Isla Negra into blustery salt gales. The little town was already ravaged by tour buses and the only way into the house was with a guided tour. I joined one in Spanish, since it was cheaper than the English tour, though Chilean Spanish, with its rapid-fire chains of half-formed words and regional slang, often left me blinking and confused.
We trouped past an antique railroad engine roped off in the yard, about which Neruda had written: I love it because it looks like Walt Whitman. We entered the house and stood inside a room with a wall built like the prow of a ship, rough-hewn wood draped with ropes. Massive figureheads hung suspended from the ceiling. I counted fourteen, some of wood and others of stone, some painted and others scraped clean. A few were over ten feet tall. Where did he get them? How did he bring them home?
And what was cachalote? I should’ve taken the English tour. I guessed whale, from context clues; Neruda collected their teeth. And also: ships in bottles, detective novels, plaster casts of hands, conch shells, rifles and bayonets, butterflies pinned in shadow boxes, an astronomer’s telescope in the hall and a sea captain’s telescope in the bedroom, pipes, carved wooden masks, ivory tusks, colored glass ashtrays. Upon entering his study we learned: Neruda looked out the window one day and caught sight of a plank, a lost ship’s hatch, bobbing on the water. “Here comes my desk,” he said. Here it was.
Referring to his trademark green ink, the Isla Negra tour guide told us Neruda believed green was the color of esperanza, hope, but I was only half listening, so at first I heard espera, waiting, as if green were the color of longing without end.
*
“I do not know whether pilgrimages to the shrines of famous men ought not to be condemned as sentimental journeys,” Virginia Woolf wrote in her essay “Haworth, November 1904,” on the occasion of her visit to a former home of the Brontë sisters.
A pilgrim goes looking for miracles or communion. In the houses of Neruda I found only things, only so much salvage. In each room the poet seemed more foreign, more unknowable, than in the room before. What was it, anyway, I hoped to find? A wrinkled pillowcase with a stray strand of hair caught in its folds? A perfect fingerprint on the windowpane? A broken-spined book left open on the coffee table? A pen uncapped, and green ink gone clotty? I had arrived at each of his houses as if I expected him to open the door and invite me inside. I had welcomed a haunting, but if ever a ghostly presence existed in those rooms, it seemed to have been exorcised by gift shops and exit signs.
Neruda was buried in Santiago in 1973 and reinterred at Isla Negra in 1992 after democracy was restored in Chile. Years after I left Chile, his body would be exhumed and examined by forensic experts in response to allegations that he’d been poisoned in the aftermath of the coup. The experts wouldn’t find any evidence of poison, though some of the poet’s devotees would continue to wonder. On the day I visited Isla Negra, Neruda’s body lay in a plot overlooking the sea alongside Matilde, who died with the Junta still in control. At the end of our tour, many of the visitors walked outside to scatter flowers over their grave.
I had not thought to bring flowers. I walked past the grave to where the hill gave way to the sea. At the shore, waves thrashed the rocks. I took off my shoes and waded out from the land. The water was so cold it burned and I stood there for a while with the ocean biting at my ankles.
In his novel Yellow Rain, the Spanish author Julio Llamazares writes:
Death at least has tangible images: the grave, the words spoken above it, the flowers that refresh the face of memory and, above all, that absolute awareness of the irreversibility of death that makes itself at home in time and makes absence just another familiar habit. Disappearance, however, has no limits; it is the contrary of a fixed state.
Some of the disappeared of Chile were taken up in helicopters and tossed into the sea. Of those, some washed ashore and others remained disappeared. I am surrounded by the sea, invaded by the sea; we are salty, Neruda wrote. We are turning into salt.
All afternoon on the bus back to Santiago I rubbed drying crystals off my skin.
*
On my last night in Santiago, I went to a free film screening in a park. The audience sat on bleachers facing the screen in the open air. When cars passed on the road behind us, their headlights projected our seated shadows so that dark human shapes occasionally appeared on-screen, drifting in rows, warping, and then disappearing again.Nov 11, 2017 at 11:51 // News
Guest Author Author
The token for the live music industry, $VIB, is now available to trade on Bittrex, the world's third biggest exchange according to Coinmarketcap, following the recent listings on Binance, UpBit and HitBTC.
Wednesday was a big day for the Slovenia-based music startup that sold out their ICO in under 5 minutes.
Viberate's CEO and co-founder Matej Gregorcic said:
"Bittrex is of course the logical step for any serious cryptocurrency. Working with them has been a delight and we are happy have their support. Having our token listed on such a big and reputable exchange only proves that the stakeholders in this industry believe in our project and share our vision. Our token holders kept asking us when we'll have the token listed there, because they wanted an exchange with a high volume. With the help of our advisers we are now happy to ring the bell and start trading at Bittrex."
Charlie Shrem, the startup's most well known adviser, played an important role in getting the coin to one of world's top exchanges. He thinks that the two companies working together is something that had to happen: "I’m happy to help use relationships to further more business in benefit of the greater community. Viberate is an amazing project and Bittrex the best exchange, of course they would be together." The company also announced that they are extending their relationship with the Bitcoin Foundation founder, who remains on board as an adviser, helping the team with his wide network as well as with day-to-day operations regarding the Viberate token. The first major upgrade of the token and the platform Viberate.com is due in the coming weeks and will allow anyone to earn VIB tokens by contributing content to the platform.
Landing the VIB token on a big exchange however won't be the payday for founders and the team. Their personal tokens are vested for a 2-year period with monthly cliffs. Gregorcic pointed out that they want to lead by example:
"Personally, I don't think that any of our employees, who have tokens, would dump the whole stash. We have the best team in the world and we all believe we'll truly rock the music world to the very foundation. Holding on to precious coins is in everyone's best interest, so fear of dumping wasn't the reason why we decided to reverse vest them. We wanted to show that this is how it should be done, because we saw one too many bad examples of company's tokens being dumped in the eyes of contributors who trusted the project with their own money. We're even slightly adjusted our smart contract in order to show exactly how many tokens vest each month, so anyone can check on us."
Disclaimer. This article is paid and provided by a third-party source and should not be viewed as an endorsement by CoinIdol. Readers should do their own research before investing funds in any company. CoinIdol shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services mentioned in this article.Owners of electric vehicles have already gone gas-free. Now, a growing number are powering their cars with sunlight.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a home or garage can easily generate enough electricity to power an electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The panels aren't cheap, and neither are the cars. A Ford Fusion Energi plug-in sedan, for example, is $7,200 more than an equivalent gas-powered Fusion even after a $4,007 federal tax credit.
But advocates say the investment pays off over time and is worth it for the thrill of fossil fuel-free driving.
"We think it was one of the best things in the world to do," says Kevin Tofel, who bought a Chevrolet Volt in 2012 to soak up the excess power from his home solar-energy system. "We will never go back to an all-gas car."
No one knows exactly how many electric cars are being powered by solar energy, but the number of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the U.S. is growing. Last year, 97,563 were sold in the U.S., according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, up 83 percent from the year before. Meanwhile, solar installations grew 21 percent in the second quarter of this year, and more than 500,000 homes and businesses now have them, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Tofel, 45, a senior writer for the technology website Gigaom, installed 41 solar panels on the roof of his Telford, Pennsylvania, home in 2011. The solar array — the term for a group of panels — cost $51,865, but after state and federal tax credits, the total cost was $29,205.
In the first year, Tofel found that the panels provided 13.8 megawatt hours of electricity, but his family was using only 7.59 megawatt hours. So in 2012, Tofel traded in an Acura RDX for a Volt plug-in hybrid that could be charged using some of that excess solar energy. In a typical year, with 15,243 miles of driving, the Volt used 5.074 megawatt hours.
Tofel used to spend $250 per month on gas for the Acura; now, he spends just $50, for the times when the Volt isn't near a charging station and he has to fill its backup gas engine. Charging the Volt overnight costs him $1.50, but the family makes that money back during the day when it sends solar power to the electric grid. He estimates that adding the car will cut his break-even point on the solar investment from 11.7 years to six years.
Powering a car with solar energy isn't for everyone. Among things to consider:
Site
A south- or southeast-facing roof is a necessity, and there can't be shady trees around the house. Sam Avery, who installs solar panels in Kentucky through his company, Avery and Sun, says dormers, chimneys and other design features can hamper an installation.
"If people do have a good site, it's usually by chance," he says. "I have to retrofit a lot."
Cost
The cost of installing solar panels has come down, from $8 to $10 per watt eight years ago to $3 a watt or less now. But it's still a huge investment.
Bill Webster, 39, a graphic designer at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., paid $36,740 for his solar array in Frederick, Maryland, three years ago, or around $3.60 per watt. Tax credits reduced his net cost to around $20,000.
Before the installation, his family was paying $1,500 per year for electricity. Now, he pays $5.36 per month, the administrative fee for connecting to the grid. That fuels his home and his all-electric Nissan Leaf, which uses around a third of the energy that his solar panels generate. Webster thinks he'll break even on his investment in six years.
Some solar companies offer leasing programs, which let customers pay a fixed monthly cost for panels. There are also some incentive programs; Honda Motor Co. offers $400 toward the installation of panels through SolarCity, a company that installs them in 15 states.
Buyers also could consider a smaller system just to power a car. A Leaf needs around 4.5 megawatt hours of electricity per year to go 15,000 miles. Eighteen 250-watt panels — a $13,500 investment at $3 per watt — would produce that much electricity.
The car
For Webster, who has a predictable roundtrip commute of less than 50 miles and lives near a lot of electric charging stations, an all-electric car like the Leaf makes sense. But for Avery, who lives in rural Kentucky, the Volt was the better choice because he needs the security of a backup gas engine.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fuel-economy website — www.fueleconomy.gov — lists the number of kilowatt hours that a car uses to travel 100 miles, which can help potential buyers calculate their energy needs.
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In short, people considering powering a car with solar energy have some math to do. Or maybe they don't. For Avery, the environmental benefit outweighs everything.
"The reason to go solar is not to save money," he says. "The real reason to go solar is that we have to do it."Please enable Javascript to watch this video
(KTVI)-- More than 150 years after the Colorado Gold Rush, Colorado is having a Green Rush.
And nowhere is it bigger than in Denver.
Colorado became the first state in the world to begin the legal sale of recreational marijuana on January 1, 2014.
"A lot of them will stop right at the door as soon as they see this wall (of marijuana products)and start taking pictures or drooling at the mouth," said bud tender Deb Thornburg.
'Bud tenders' is the name given to marijuana sales clerks.
So far there are about 50 stores selling recreational marijuana in Denver with about 100 applications pending.
The city has more pot shops, called dispensaries, than Starbucks.
Don Andrews runs the Lodo Wellness Center. He says half his customers have been coming from out of state.
"The genie is out of the bottle," Andrews said.
Some of those marijuana tourists are coming from Missouri.
According to the flight inquiry tracking website Hopper.com, over the past six weeks, internet searches for flights from St. Louis to Denver have jumped by almost 38 percent, ten percent above the national average.
"It`s like going from Russia to America. You`re free," said a college student from St. Louis who recently visited Denver's Green Solution dispensary.
He asked we not use his name.
"People realize this has been a very long time coming and they are being responsible with it as far as I saw."
Charlie Brown, a Denver City Councilman who opposed legalized recreational marijuana says with the whole world watching Denver, he was worried about the first day of sales.
"I was looking at perhaps cannabis chaos and it wasn`t that thank goodness. It was a marijuana milestone," Brown said.
But even though Colorado`s marijuana business has been orderly, some worry about pot getting into the hands of children--- because it already has.
"We have treated 14 kids over the past two years," said Dr. George Wang, a toxicologist at Childrens` Hospital of Colorado.
Wang says ever since 2009, which was the beginning of the boom in Colorado's medical marijuana sales, there has been a spike in the number of little kids being treated for accidentally ingesting packaged food containing marijuana.
Two-year-old Eveylyn Hernadez got sick after eating part of a marijuana cookie she found in the grass.
"We worry when we see these kids," Wang said. "They are so sedated they are not breathing adequately or getting enough oxygen in their body because they are so sleepy."
Colorado is dealing with that problem by requiring edibles now be sold in child resistant packaging.
Those who campaigned for legalization know there are still problems to overcome, but they say it is important to look at the big picture.
"What we have done in Colorado is say listen, people are going to use marijuana, let`s tax it, get it out of the hands of cartels, put it behind the counter and make sure no one under 21 buys it," said attorney Brian Vicente, who co-authored Colorado's marijuana amendment.
"What we have found is that system is very effective," he said.
So far the demand seems endless, even though with a 21 percent sales tax and 15 percent excise tax, the average price for an ounce of recreational marijuana is $400.
Some pot smokers wonder if the high cost might fuel the black market that legalization was supposed to smother.
"You could buy a quarter ounce for $30 to $35 even up to five years ago and today I just got an eighth and paid almost $60," said pot smoker Julie Miller.
Tom Gorman is the director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. He worries growing even more pot in Colorado will lead to even more pot leaving Colorado.
It's called leakage, and a recent RMHIDTA study shows where a lot of that leaked Colorado pot has been going.
"What we found was Missouri was number one," Gorman said. "Thirteen percent of all the seizures were going to Missouri."
Some argue the way to stop the leakage is to legalize pot everywhere.
Tim Cullen owns Evergreen Apothecary.
"When I was a kid my father used to load the back of our car up with Coors beer and drive up to Minnesota to see the family," Cullen said. "He doesn`t do that anymore because you can go to the liquor store in Minnesota and buy Coors beer."
When it comes to pot, Denver has a long history. It was in Denver in 1947 that a man named Samuel Caldwell became the first person to face a federal charge for selling marijuana.
The problem is selling marijuana is still a federal crime, which makes banks leery of doing business with the dispensaries.
In other words, Colorado's newest multi-million dollar industry is cash only.
'The lack of banking is a big problem," Andrews said.
"It is clearly a security issue, it's a safety issue, and its a how to do day-to-day business issue," he added.
Despite those issues, a new Quinnipiac poll shows 58 percent of Coloradans approve of legalized marijuana, but 51 percent worry it is damaging their state's reputation.
"How many conventions have we |
mean more of the same tragedies.”
“Thousands of dedicated professionals and volunteers work so hard to improve the system and save lives, but they’re under a lot of pressure. This Royal Commission will honour their efforts.”
Quotes attributable to Fiona Richardson, Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence
“The Royal Commission will examine our system from the ground up. The problems are well known, the focus of this Commission will be on solutions.”
“Justice Neave is a celebrated judge, academic and lawyer who has devoted so much of her professional life to keeping women safe – on the streets, in the workplace, and now, in their homes.”
Download PDF (128 KB)Vice President Joe Biden speaks about President Barack Obama's signature health care law at the Families USA’s 19th Annual Health Action Conference in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. (Photo: Charles Dharapak)
Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will visit Monroe Community College on Wednesday to discuss education and workforce development.
The college community is honored by the visit, said MCC President Anne M. Kress in a written statement.
More: How Washington can boost NY's economy
"Their visit shines a spotlight on the importance of community colleges and highlights the critical connection of college to career pathways," she said. "We're excited that MCC's leadership in building industry partnerships and using labor market information to drive workforce education is getting such recognition."
The Bidens will visit Rochester a day after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
"We can't wait for the vice president and Dr. Biden to meet our inspiring students and learn more about how their lives are transformed — and our community strengthened — by our outstanding faculty and staff and by the connection between MCC's programs and regional economic development," Kress said.
Details of the visit have not yet been released and as of Saturday afternoon, the visit was not yet listed on the Vice President's offical schedule.
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Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/1mXEvePThe Painter
Diego Velazquez (1599 – 1660) was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV and one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners, culminating in the production of his masterpiece Las Meninas (1656).
The Painting
Christ Crucified is a painting of 1632 by Diego Velázquez depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus. The work, painted in oil on canvas, measures 98″ x 66″ and is owned by the Museo del Prado. Velazquez painted the crucified Christ using the accepted iconography of the period: four nails, feet together and supported against a little wooden brace, in a classic contrapposto posture.
Both arms draw a subtle curve, instead of forming a triangle. The purity cloth is painted rather small, thus showing the nude body as much as possible. The head shows a narrow halo, as if it came from the figure itself; the face is posed on the chest, showing just enough of his characteristics. The long, straight hair, covers a great part of the face, perhaps anticipating the death, already inflicted as shown by the wound on the right side. It lacks the characteristic dramatic qualities of Baroque painting. The influence of Classicist painting is shown by the calm posture of the body, the idealized face and the leaning head. On the other hand, the Caravaggism influence can be seen in the strong Chiaroscuro between the background and the body, and in the strong, artificial lightning over the cross.
It was most likely a commission for the San Plácido Convent sacristy. The painting was among the impounded items of Manuel Godoy, but was returned to María Teresa de Borbón, 15th Countess of Chinchón. After her death, the painting was passed on to his brother-in-law, the Duke of San Fernando de Quiroga, who gave it to King Fernando VII. The king then sent the painting to the Museo del Prado.
New Commission for St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry, N.Ireland
In 2005 I was commissioned to recreate a version of Velasquez’s Christ Crucified for St. Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry. I decided that instead of the full painting I would focus in on a detail of the painting. This then would be the task…
The Detail
I
I began with establishing both the size of the painting and the “canvas”. In this case I decided to use MDF instead of canvas. The MDF (although heavier) once primed, would provide a flat untextured surface suitable for the accurate reproduction of such fine, intricate painting.
STEP 1: The Board/ Size/Priming.
The first step was to cut the standard 8ft x 4ft MDF sheet down to 4ft x 5ft. This would suit the selected detail. Next came priming. The boards were initially primed with three coats of Matt emulsion (same paint as used for home decoration). I allowed for at least two hours between coats. After which I then primed over the top of the emulsion with three more coats of white gesso. Gesso is the standard material used by artists to prime canvas. It is a mixture of chalk and gypsum with a binder. This would create a very smooth surface for painting.
54.996612 -7.308575Hillary Clinton Is Burying Donald Trump On TV In Battleground States
Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Hillary Clinton's campaign has built a massive spending advantage over Donald Trump in critical swing states heading into Election Day — a widening disparity that worries Republicans not just for the presidential race but also in the battle for the Senate.
toggle caption Domenico Montanaro/Republican ad tracking
According to figures provided to NPR by a Republican source tracking ad buys, the GOP presidential nominee is on pace to be heavily outspent in seven presidential and Senate battlegrounds by $127 million to $18 million. Those numbers represent airtime already purchased or reserved from July 26 through Nov. 8. While these numbers could and likely will change, it's an ominous sign for Republicans already growing nervous about the drag Trump could have on down-ballot contests.
Recent polls show Trump trailing in nearly every swing state he needs to get an electoral college majority. And while some GOP Senate incumbents in those states are outperforming their party's nominee, strategists fear that if the gap continues to widen, their candidates will be swamped on air by November, even if they run strong campaigns independent of the top of the ticket. Already aided by a map that favored Democrats this cycle, the minority party only needs to flip five seats, or four if it wins the White House, to win back the majority lost two years ago.
These early ad reservations are critical for any campaign because they can lock in a lower rate by purchasing time in advance; closer to Election Day, the same amount of ad time will cost more. Clinton's campaign has made those investments as any traditional campaign would. But Trump, running a very nontraditional campaign, has not — and if he decides to later on, it would cost him much more to match what Clinton currently has on the airwaves, let alone catch up to the advantage she has built for months.
For example, in Pennsylvania, Clinton has reserved $22.6 million worth of ad time compared with just $2.5 million for Trump through the end of August — a 9-to-1 advantage for the Democrat. Clinton has opened up a polling lead in the Keystone State, as has Democratic Senate nominee Katie McGinty over GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.
toggle caption Domenico Montanaro/Republican ad tracking
In Ohio, Clinton has reserved $29.6 million to Trump's $5.1 million, a nearly 6-to-1 advantage. Polls are tighter in the Buckeye State, but most show Clinton up. Republican Sen. Rob Portman, however, is proving to be an exception this cycle even as Trump trails. Portman's early $13 million war chest helped him build a comfortable lead over his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Ted Strickland, and Democratic groups have begun canceling some of their planned ad buys.
GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump in the primary, is outperforming the Republican nominee in Florida, too. The TV ad time disparity between the two presidential candidates is the smallest in the Sunshine State, though Clinton still has a 5-to-1 on-air advantage.
In North Carolina — an increasingly worrisome Senate contest for national Republicans — Trump is being outspent by more than 8 to 1. The presidential polls are neck and neck in the Tar Heel State, and so is the race to unseat Sen. Richard Burr. The GOP incumbent set off alarm bells when he said in an interview last month he didn't really see himself as a candidate until October.
In New Hampshire and Iowa, Trump's campaign hasn't reserved a dime in TV advertising. Clinton has planned to spend $8.7 million in the Granite State and $11.5 million in the Hawkeye State. New Hampshire features a close Senate clash between GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. But in Iowa, Democratic hopes to unseat popular Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley haven't materialized.
The most problematic state where Clinton's ad spending is dwarfing Trump is Nevada. Her campaign has set down a $13.4 million marker there, while his has reserved just $158,000 — that's a more than 84-to-1 advantage for the Democrat. Nevada is also the GOP's lone Senate pickup hope. The race to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is a close one, and if Clinton widens her lead there, it could have quite an impact down-ballot.From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Bulbasaur (Japanese: フシギダネ Fushigidane) is a dual-type Grass/Poison Pokémon introduced in Generation I.
It evolves into Ivysaur starting at level 16, which evolves into Venusaur starting at level 32.
Along with Charmander and Squirtle, Bulbasaur is one of three starter Pokémon of Kanto available at the beginning of Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, FireRed, and LeafGreen.
Biology
Bulbasaur is a small, quadruped Pokémon that has turquoise skin with darker teal patches. It has red eyes with white pupils and scleras. It also has pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head. Its snout is short and blunt, and it has a wide mouth. A pair of small, pointed teeth are visible in the upper jaw when its mouth is open. Each of its thick legs ends with three sharp claws. On its back is a green plant bulb, which is grown from a seed planted there at birth. The bulb provides it with energy through photosynthesis as well as from the nutrient-rich seeds contained within.
As mentioned in the anime, starter Pokémon are raised by Breeders to be distributed to new Trainers. Having been domesticated from birth, Bulbasaur is regarded as both a rare and well-behaved Pokémon. It is known to be extremely loyal, even after long-term abandonment. Bulbasaur has also shown itself to be an excellent caretaker, even having a special technique called the "Bulba-by." To perform this technique, Bulbasaur uses its vines to pick up a young Pokémon and soothingly rocks it in the air. It is found in grasslands and forests throughout the Kanto region. However, due to Bulbasaur's status as starter Pokémon, it is hard to come by in the wild and generally found under the ownership of a Trainer. It has been observed that a Bulbasaur's bulb will flash blue when it is ready to evolve. If it does not want to evolve, it struggles to resist the transformation. Many Bulbasaur gather every year in a hidden garden in Kanto to evolve into Ivysaur in a ceremony led by a Venusaur.
In the anime
In the main series
Major appearances
Ash's Bulbasaur debuted in Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village as one of the Pokémon in the Hidden Village, thus also marking the species' physical debut. Though initially wary of Ash, the two eventually warmed up to one another, and Bulbasaur challenged him to a battle. Using Pikachu, Ash won the battle, and Bulbasaur was caught. Unlike Charmander and Squirtle, which were caught in the two episodes following that of Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur remained in Ash's party until Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, when Ash sent him to Professor Oak's lab to work as an ambassador between otherwise argumentative groups of Pokémon.
Much later on, when Ash was traveling in the Hoenn region, his companion May caught her own Bulbasaur after being separated from the group in Grass Hysteria!. It remained with her throughout the rest of her journey in Hoenn, helping her to win the Purika Contest and place Top 8 in the regional Grand Festival. When she traveled to Kanto to continue her journey with Ash in The Right Place and the Right Mime, May, too, left her Bulbasaur at Professor Oak's Laboratory to learn from Ash's while she, Ash, Max, and Brock traveled throughout the Kanto region. May retrieved it during her travels in Johto, where it evolved all the way into a Venusaur.
Shauna's starter Pokémon is a Bulbasaur she received from Professor Sycamore. It first appeared in Summer of Discovery!. Shauna's Bulbasaur was revealed to have evolved into Ivysaur by Tag Team Battle Inspiration!
Other
A Bulbasaur that used to belong to the Mayor of Trovitopolis appeared in The Mystery Menace. In his childhood, the mayor abandoned it and sent it into the sewers when it wouldn't evolve into Ivysaur. Since then, it grew to a very large size. Aided by Misty and Tracey, Ash found the abandoned Bulbasaur while searching for his own, which had been taken by the giant Bulbasaur. After defeating the arrogant mayor and his personal SWAT team, Ash and his friends left the Bulbasaur with Nurse Joy.
In Journey to the Starting Line!, Gilbert, the son of the mayor of Pallet Town, was supposed to start his journey as a Pokémon Trainer with one of the three Kanto starter Pokémon, but they were scared off by Ash's Tauros. Professor Oak, Tracey, Delia, and Gilbert set out to find them. The Bulbasaur was the last one to be found and it was stuck in a tree that was surrounded by a group of Primeape. In the end, Bulbasaur was the one that Gilbert decided to start with.
Minor appearances
Bulbasaur was mentioned in the first episode of the anime, Pokémon - I Choose You!, as one of the three starter Pokémon new Trainers in Pallet Town can choose from. Ash dreamed of owning one, and it was his second choice of a starter, after Squirtle. However, when he arrived at Oak's lab, it was too late, as a Trainer who started the same day had already taken it.
Multiple Bulbasaur appeared in Battle Aboard the St. Anne.
A Bulbasaur appeared in Pokémon Fashion Flash as one of the Pokémon seen on Scissor Street.
A Bulbasaur appeared in The Breeding Center Secret.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in Friends to the End, during the closing ceremonies of the Indigo Plateau Conference.
A starter Pokémon Bulbasaur appeared in a flashback in Don't Touch That 'dile.
A Bulbasaur was used by one of the students of the Pokémon Trainers' School in Gonna Rule The School!.
A Bulbasaur appeared in Jirachi: Wish Maker.
A Bulbasaur was one of the starter Pokémon at Professor Oak's Laboratory in The Right Place and the Right Mime.
A Coordinator's Bulbasaur appeared in What I Did for Love!.
A Bulbasaur made a brief appearance in An Old Family Blend!, under the ownership of a Trainer competing in the Lily of the Valley Conference.
A Bulbasaur appeared in Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade as one of the Pokémon watching Meloetta's concert.
A Bulbasaur appeared in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion! alongside Squirtle and Charmander, when Professor Oak showed off the Kanto starters during the Kanto Fair.
A Bulbasaur appeared in Loading the Dex! as a silhouette that Rotom brought up.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in Crystal-Clear Sleuthing!.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in I Choose You!. Another was revealed to have been chosen by Marina as her starter Pokémon in a flashback.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!.
Two Trainers' Bulbasaur appeared in The Power of Us.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in Securing the Future!, where it joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its normal form.
Pokédex entries
Episode Subject Source Entry EP010 Bulbasaur Ash's Pokédex Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild. EP051 Solar Beam Ash's Pokédex Solar Beam, Bulbasaur's strongest attack. Light is collected and formed into a powerful beam with intensive force. This concludes the entries from the original series.
Episode Pokémon Source Entry XY039 Bulbasaur Serena's Pokédex Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. A young Bulbasaur uses the nutrients from its seed for the energy it needs to grow. This concludes the entries from the XY series.
In Pokémon Origins
Bulbasaur was one of the Pokémon that Professor Oak was giving away in File 1: Red.
In Pokémon Generations
A Bulbasaur appeared in The Adventure, under the ownership of Red. It was sent out to battle a wild Pikachu, which Red successfully caught.
In the manga
Ash's Bulbasaur appeared in Do Your Best Bulbasaur!!.
Ash's Bulbasaur appears in The Electric Tale of Pikachu, first appearing in the eighth chapter, You Gotta Have Friends. Bulbasaur's capture is not shown; it is simply stated when it first appears from its Poké Ball that "Ash has been busy since the last comic".
In I'm Your Venusaur, Ash and Misty travel to a town inhabited by many Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur. There is a local legend that a giant Venusaur saved the townsfolk in battle.
In Magical Pokémon Journey, Pistachio's Bulbasaur has a crush on him and is extremely jealous whenever she sees him talking to other females.
In the movie adaptations
Ash's Bulbasaur appears in Mewtwo Strikes Back!, Mirage Pokémon Lugia's Explosive Birth and Emperor of the Crystal Tower: Entei.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Main article: Saur
In Bulbasaur, Come Home!, Red receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak after helping capture all of the Pokémon he accidentally set free. Bulbasaur, now nicknamed Saur, has since evolved into Ivysaur, and then into Venusaur. It has also been shown in the manga that Bulbasaur has the ability to suck in large amounts of air through his bulb, as seen in That Awful Arbok!, where he sucked up the mist in Pokémon Tower, as well as the Gastly that made it.
A Bulbasaur appeared as a silhouette when Green talks about Mew in The Jynx Jinx.
Professor Sycamore owns a Bulbasaur, as seen in They Have a Flare for a Li'l Kanga-Napping.
Bulbasaur appears in the very first chapter as one of the starter Pokémon Professor Oak was giving away.
In the Pokémon Zensho manga
Bulbasaur appeared as one of the starter Pokémon Professor Oak was giving away in the very first chapter.
In the TCG
In the TFG
One Bulbasaur figure has been released.
Other appearances
Bulbasaur appears as a random trophy.
Melee trophy information
Bulbasaur is a cute Pokémon born with a large seed firmly affixed to its back; the seed grows in size as the Pokémon does. Along with Squirtle and Charmander, Bulbasaur is one of the three Pokémon available at the beginning of Pokémon Red and Blue. It evolves into Ivysaur.
Brawl trophy information
"A Seed Pokémon. From birth, Bulbasaur carries a large plant seed on its back. It uses the nutrients from the seed to grow bigger and bigger. Extended exposure to the sun will cause its body and seed to grow in size. Some say that once, when the seed was much lighter, Bulbasaur was able to get around on two legs. Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur."
Multiple Bulbasaur will appear in Detective Pikachu.
Game data
Pokédex entries
Generation I Red A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokémon. Blue Yellow It can go for days without eating a single morsel. In the bulb on its back, it stores energy. Stadium The bulb-like pouch on its back grows larger as it ages. The pouch is filled with numerous seeds. Generation II Gold The seed on its back is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows. Silver It carries a seed on its back right from birth. As it grows older, the seed also grows larger. Crystal While it is young, it uses the nutrients that are stored in the seeds on its back in order to grow. Stadium 2 The seed on its back is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows. Generation III Ruby Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger. Sapphire Emerald FireRed There is a plant seed on its back right from the day this Pokémon is born. The seed slowly grows larger. LeafGreen A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokémon. Generation IV Diamond For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back. Pearl Platinum HeartGold The seed on its back is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows. SoulSilver It carries a seed on its back right from birth. As it grows older, the seed also grows larger. Generation V Black For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back. White Black 2 For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back. White 2 Generation VI X A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokémon. Y For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back. Omega Ruby Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger. Alpha Sapphire Generation VII Let's Go Pikachu It can go for days without eating a single morsel. In the bulb on its back, it stores energy. Let's Go Eevee
Game locations
In side games
In events
In-game events
Pokémon Global Link promotions
Held items
Stats
Base stats
Stat Range At Lv. 50 At Lv. 100 HP : 45 105 - 152 200 - 294 Attack : 49 48 - 111 92 - 216 Defense : 49 48 - 111 92 - 216 Sp.Atk : 65 63 - 128 121 - 251 Sp.Def : 65 63 - 128 121 - 251 Speed : 45 45 - 106 85 - 207 Total: 318 Other Pokémon with this total Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and a hindering nature, if applicable.
Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and a helpful nature, if applicable.
This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was 65.
Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
Learnset
Special moves
Generation VII Other generations: II - III - IV - V - VI Event Move Type Cat. Pwr. Acc. PP Island Scan US UM Grassy Terrain Grass Status — —% 10 A superscript level indicates that Bulbasaur can learn this move normally in Generation VI
Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Bulbasaur
indicates a move that gets when used by Bulbasaur Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Bulbasaur
indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Bulbasaur Click on the generation numbers at the top to see moves from other generations
Side game data
Evolution
Sprites
Trivia
Origin
The Bulbasaur line was confirmed to be based on frogs by Ken Sugimori in a Japanese interview, where he described the line to be "a creature that is something like a frog."
Bulbasaur's large, rounded snout; wide mouth; wide-set eyes; blotch-patterned skin; and quadruped-like movements are vaguely similar to those of certain amphibians, such as the common toad. Since Bulbasaur's "ears" do not in fact have hollows, they may actually be similar to the glands present behind the eyes of many species of frogs and toads.
The bulb on its back may resemble that of a lily or onion.
Name origin
Bulbasaur is a combination of bulb (a rounded underground storage organ present in some plants, notably those of the lily family) and σαῦρος saur (Ancient Greek for lizard).
Fushigidane literally means "isn't it strange?" and is also a pun on 不思議種 fushigidane (mysterious bulb).
In other languages
Related articles
ReferencesFortune-Tellers, Step Aside: Big Data Looks For Future Entrepreneurs
Enlarge this image toggle caption iStockphoto iStockphoto
With predictive analytics, Amazon can figure out what you'll buy next, Netflix knows what you'll watch next and Target can guess if you're pregnant.
In the world of venture capitalism, some firms have used predictive analytics to try to figure out which startups to invest in to make a quick buck.
And one firm is taking things one step further (or, actually, backward) by using an algorithm to try to find entrepreneurs before they even start a company.
Roy Bahat leads the venture capital firm Bloomberg Beta, which launched in June of last year. He says there's a lot of competition to buy up entrepreneurs.
"There are so many companies being started and so many people trying to back those companies that if you don't start earlier, sometimes you feel like you're speaking to somebody after they're already well on their way," he says.
Bahat's firm teamed up with the data research firm Mattermark to conduct a study of 1.5 million professionals in New York and Silicon Valley. An algorithm evaluated work history, educational history — information publicly available online.
From that, Bahat says, you can deduce a lot: "For example, if somebody's ever worked at a startup that's backed by venture capitalist then they're much more likely to start a startup in the future because that's the world they've seen."
They ended up with 350 of these potential future founders. In March, these people received an email saying they'd been identified as likely future startup creators and included an invitation to networking events to learn more. "Honestly, we had to email some people a few times, because several people thought it was a scam," Bahat says.
Omoju Miller is one of the people who received that email. She didn't think it was a scam, but she was caught off guard. "One of my friends emailed me back and said, 'Omoju, I think you ought to read this email a little bit closer. I don't think it's a regular networking event.' "
Once she realized what it was, Miller was intrigued.
"I did a cursory analysis of my own and realized that there several things that I have in common with whoever potentially is the prototype of a startup founder," she says.
She's getting a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Education at the University of California, Berkeley, she works in nonprofit investments for Google.org and she was actually already planning to start a company one day. She says she hopes to found one in the next 36 months.
"It will be something in the ed-tech space," Miller says. "I'm not quite sure the scale of the product I want to solve; that's why I'm not rolling out and creating one now."
Agriculture, industry, human relations, sports, I mean, name an industry — the data are coming.
Bahat says that not everyone was receptive to receiving their email — some never responded. But some have already been successful in the months since. Either way, he thinks they are good contacts to have — especially because many of the future entrepreneurs they identified challenge common stereotypes about entrepreneurs. Forty percent were over the age of 40. Some didn't have any technical experience.
"That's the amazing thing is when you use the data, some of your stereotypes just turn out to be wrong," Bahat says. "And that's great because it means you're talking to people that the tradition system overlooks."
Bahat thinks that we'll see an even greater use of predictive analytics soon. "I am a believer that the things that we see in science fiction will eventually come to pass," he says — think Minority Report and Gattaca.
"That kind of a future is, for better and for worse, coming," Bahat says. "So I think that'll happen in agriculture, industry, human relations, sports, I mean, name an industry — the data are coming."Saudi Council Reportedly Recommends Letting Some Women Drive
Enlarge this image toggle caption Susan Baaghil/Reuters/Landov Susan Baaghil/Reuters/Landov
In an unprecedented move, a Saudi advisory council says it approves of lifting a ban on female drivers. The Shura Council proposes that certain restrictions be applied, however: Women must be at least 30, have permission from their male guardian, not wear makeup and drive only in daylight hours, The Associated Press reports.
For years, the kingdom has refused to review the ban on female drivers, which is unique to Saudi Arabia, where conservative Muslim clerics have expressed concerns that female drivers could spread "licentiousness."
The AP reports:
"The Shura Council's recommendations are not obligatory on the government. But simply making the recommendation was a startling shift after years of the kingdom's staunchly rejecting any review of the ban. "The council member told The Associated Press that the Shura Council made the recommendations in a secret, closed session held in the past month. The member spoke on condition of anonymity because the recommendations had not been made public."
As The Two-Way's Bill Chappell reported last year, there have been a number of bold protests against the ban, with Saudi women getting behind the wheel for a day. Thousands have signed online protests against the ban. The October 2013 protest highlighted by Bill was the third of its kind since 1990.
The AP says that the Shura Council recommended that women 30 and older be allowed to drive until 8 p.m. each day if they have permission from a male guardian. They would be allowed to drive from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday through Wednesday and noon to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
The council is also recommending a "female traffic department" made up of female officers to deal with female drivers, the AP says.In Paris my apartment lies on the fifth floor of my century and a half old building. It’s a typical Parisian apartment, at 24 meters squared (250 feet squared) so it is quite small by American standards, but quite modest for Paris. If you were to ask me my favourite spot inside my place, it wouldn’t be my bed or my couch, nor my kitchen or shower. My most beloved spot would be perched on my windowsill with the windows open and with a cool breeze to contrast the warmth of the sun beaming onto my face. I can tend to my flowers and watch the world go by on the cobbled streets below.
It seems I am not the only one who finds a familiar solace in windows. Clara Abi Nader, a photographer at Aperture Tours in Paris, has created a series with nothing more than her window as a backdrop. “I spent a lot of time by that window, looking at people, looking at that mirror and at myself. I started remembering things from my childhood, my first times, my successes, my failures, my secrets... I've been living in Paris alone and this room has been my home for four years now. Through that series I am letting go of some feelings and making them last forever in an indefinite movement.”A beenade being used. Note the 4 groups of bees.
Beenades are consumable throwing weapons that can be dropped by the Queen Bee boss or crafted on the Desktop version and Console version using Grenades and Bee Wax. They act similarly to the regular Grenade, though do not cause friendly-fire damage. Upon exploding, a swarm of bees are released that home in on enemies. Each bee can attack or ricochet a total of 3 times. Each bee hit inflicts the total Beenade damage.
The bees are the same as those fired from the Bee Gun, so Beenades count as magic damage and trigger the Spectre armor's set bonus.(Note that the bees coming out of the grenade doesn't take effect on magic damage bonus.)
Beenades that explode in water and lava will not spawn bees. Bees instantly despawn on contact with either. Bees do spawn in honey, though they move slower until they exit.
Bees spawned from Beenades act as entities, and therefore there can only be 400 in a world at any given time (likely less if there are other objects/coins floating around somewhere). Since each Beenade spawns 16 bees upon exploding, it would take 25 Beenades to completely exhaust the DPS output limit of Bees, given that no other Bee-spawning items are used, and given that there are no other entities in the world ((400-[number of loose entities])/16=25).
Bees spawned from Beenades do not home in on players in PvP.
Beenades are perhaps best used in large, open spaces. While the lack of friendly-fire damage allows them to be used safely in enclosed spaces, the real damage is caused by the bee swarm. Tight spaces have a higher chance of having bees bouncing off surfaces, thereby reducing potential damage.
Beenades are exceptionally effective against certain bosses. Against the Wall of Flesh, they swarm the Hungries, taking them out very quickly. 15-30 can kill the Wall of Flesh in normal mode. 60-80 will kill the Wall of Flesh in expert mode.
If there are a high number of loose entities in your world (objects/coins/blocks), be aware that spawning many Bees can likely cause the oldest entities to despawn, causing the oldest objects to be lost forever. It may therefore be wise to collect all loose, valuable items before you intend to spam Bee-spawning items.
Equipping the Hive Pack will cause the spawned bees to deal about 15% more damage, in addition to flying noticeably faster.
'Beenade' is a portmanteau of 'bee' and 'grenade'.
Desktop 1.3.0.1 : Can now be crafted. Weapon type changed from Ranged to Throwing.
:
Console 1.0.750.0 : ( ) Can now be crafted. Weapon type changed from Ranged to Throwing.
: ( )Mysterious giant jellyfish found by family on Tasmanian beach, yet to be named
Updated
CSIRO scientists are working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish after one washed up on a beach in southern Tasmania.
The 1.5 metre jellyfish was found by a family walking on a beach at Howden, south of Hobart, last month.
There have been several reported in waters off the state and the research body has also captured specimens.
CSIRO scientist Lisa-ann Gershwin told ABC Local Radio while the species has been seen before, it is technically unclassified and new to science.
"It's a whopper. We do get large jellyfish and this one just happened to be this absolutely enormous specimen," she said.
"I do hear from time to time people tell me 'we found this one that was really big', but this one really is, really big.
"[We] finally got specimens this year of it, so it's new to science, but it's not a brand new thing completely out of left field.
"It's one of these things that really makes us come face-to-face with the fact that there are things we don't know about out there in nature, particularly in the ocean."
"I love that is was found by kids that they stumbled upon on this thing."
Twelve-year-old Xavier Lim was with his family when it was spotted.
"We were at the beach looking for shells and dad was like 'Whoa! Look at that'...I kind of touched it.. it was pretty cool," he said.
Dr Gershwin has been working on jellyfish for 20 years and says it is probably the biggest the state's ever seen, and could rival interstate finds.
"Generally the jellyfish tend to be bigger in the temperate regions rather than in the tropics, so certainly tropical jellyfish would tend to be smaller."
"I've been in Tassie working with jellyfish for a long time here and I've seen a lot of big jellyfish but this one's really big."
The jellyfish is not dangerous, but can sting.
"If you touched it or whacked into when you were swimming it is very painful," Dr Gershwin said.
"It's not life-threatening, but it will sting you, it will wake you up."
Ice can be used to relieve pain from stings.
Dr Gershwin says she has chosen a name for the species and is working to have it classified.
Topics: marine-biology, human-interest, animals, research, howrah-7018
First postedCigarettes, Even Smokeless Ones, Still Outlawed On U.S. Planes
Enlarge this image toggle caption Gerry Broome/AP Gerry Broome/AP
It's been a long time since commercial airlines in this country allowed smoking on board. We still remember those days — |
to be debated next month at the General Synod of the Church of England in York.
The proposals from the archbishops put forward an idea of “co-ordinate jurisdiction” between a woman bishop and a bishop nominated to take care of traditionalist parishes.Researchers in Abu Dhabi are testing a pilot device that can store solar energy in sand to improve the efficiency of power plants and provide energy at night.The technology, developed at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, uses gravity to drain sand from a higher basin into a lower one, heating up the sand grains with solar power during the transition. In the lower basin, the energy can be stored and withdrawn at low cost to provide extra energy if needed, for example during peak hours and at night-time."Two pilot models of the system have been tested in an effort to prove its efficiency and applicability on a large scale in big projects,” says Nicolas Calvet, an assistant professor at the Masdar institute’s department of mechanical engineering.The next step is to test a more sophisticated model in preparation for its commercial marketing, Calvel says.These tests will involve researching the thermal stability of sand and its specific heat-absorption capacity. The results showed a capability of storing thermal energy up to 800-1000 degrees Celsius.Unlike traditional storage media used in thermal energy storage systems, such as synthetic oils and molten salts, sand is abundant in regions with plenty of sunshine, and inexpensive to obtain.Explaining the method used to store energy in sand, Calvet told SciDev.Net that: "The hourglass idea inspired the system, as it uses two reservoirs connected to one another vertically across a narrow passage that allows the movement of 'cold' grains of sand from the upper reservoir to the lower 'hot' one."The sand is heated by running cold sand through a solar heat collector, where it is heated before being stored in a hot reservoir. This hot sand can be used to run electricity-generating turbines.The cycle is completed by returning the cooler sand to the upper cold sand reservoir, Calvet explains.Amin Mubarak, a professor of mechanical power engineering at the engineering faculty at Cairo University in Egypt, says there have been several experiments around this technology in Europe and the United States. However, “until now, they did not render any results that can be made available or capitalised,” he adds."There are challenges facing those experiments, the most important of which are the cost component of economic feasibility, and the method used to recover energy,” Mubarak told SciDev.Net. "Stored energy recovery process requires the presence of a fluid, either a liquid, air, or gas that is injected into the turbine. This process consumes a lot of energy, which raises the cost.”Calvet admits that more research and funding is needed to commercialise the technology. "Securing funding poses a challenge as we need nearly US$300,000 to test the system in the pre-marketing stage," he explains.This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Middle East & North Africa deskJosuel Distak has an opponent in mind for pupil Ronaldo Souza. | Photo: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com
After running up a seven-fight winning streak against the likes of Gegard Mousasi and Yushin Okami, Brazilian middleweight “Jacare” Ronaldo Souza was eyeing a shot at the winner of the title bout between UFC champ Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort That idea was thrown off course, however, when a hand injury postponed Weidman’s title defense to February 2015. Souza is also on the mend from an injury: only a few months after undergoing surgery on his right elbow for cubital tunnel syndrome, the jiu-jitsu ace learned he will require a similar procedure on his left elbow. According to Souza’s manager, Gilberto Faria, the fighter will be recovered and ready to fight around January.On Monday, Sherdog.com spoke with Souza coach Josuel Distak, who discussed the plans for Jacare’s return.“I believe Jacare already proved that he deserves a shot at the middleweight title,” said Distak, “but, once he’s recovered from this second elbow surgery in January, it’s the same time as Chris and Belfort, so what can we do? I like the idea of putting Jacare in a special light heavyweight fight. I truly believe that, with the exception of Rafael ‘Feijao’ and Rogerio ‘Minotouro,’ Jacare can fight anyone in that division as preparation to face the winner of Vitor and Chris. I don’t think it’s fair that Jacare should cut weight to fight in the division where he’s ranked No. 2.”Asked to point out an opponent for Jacare’s hypothetical 205-pound bout, Distak immediately pointed to Souza’s fellow Strikeforce veteran Dan Henderson “Jacare already fought in open-weight matches during his jiu-jitsu career. I would love to see him facing Henderson in February, on the same card that Belfort will face Weidman. Henderson is a legend, and the fans would love to see that matchup. But Ronaldo could face anyone in that division except Rogerio and Feijao. I don’t see any problem with making that test. The world needs to know the potential of Ronaldo Jacare.”The ’80’s were a magical decade for gadgets for kids. Computing power and display technology were evolving and cost effective enough to penetrate the toy market in a big way. Purely mechanical toys evolved into electromechanical toys and gave birth to the digital toy revolution. For example, LED games of the ’70’s were replaced by Tiger LCD games which were replaced by the Nintendo Gameboy and so on.
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Companies also began to innovate on educational toys for kids, whether it was teaching them about electronics, programming, or offering educational games. As a child of the ’80’s, I had many of these toys and played with them much longer than a kid’s attention span would dictate. Below are five that I have the fondest memories of. And hoping to instill that same child-like wonder in my kids, I’ve also included what the modern equivalents are in the market today.
100-in-1 electronics kits
What is was: Arthur C. Clarke has said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. As a kid in the midst of an increasing technological revolution, electronics were at the heart of that. Learning electronics was made easy through the Science Fair Electronic Project Kits found at Radioshack. Through the project guides, kids could construct various ‘experiments’ by attaching wires to terminal springs that make circuits. The terminal springs would wire in components such as LED segment lights, photo sensors, resistors, diodes, etc. While it was fun getting the projects to work, the manuals lacked in depth explanation as to what was happening in the circuit to produce the project’s result.
Why it was awesome: First, it was a simple buy for parents. Everything you needed to get your child interested in electronics was right in the kit. You didn’t need to breadboard or solder. I remember a distinct feeling of accomplishment making a high-water alarm or a light-sensor game with the realization that the bundles of wires springing up from the kit were actually doing something!
Modern equivalent: You can still pick up variations of the 100-in-1 kits, but their popular replacement seem to be Snap Circuits by Elenco. All of the components are mounted on a plastic base with a contact on either end which interconnect with each other and the plastic base that projects can be mounted to. Each component also has the electrical diagram symbol for that component drawn on it so it can help you read schematics. For that reason alone, I like these better.
Pre-Computer 1000
What it was: One of many educational computers hitting the market during the mid-80’s, the VTech Precomputer 1000 wrapped learning in a quasi-game format that taught kids about science, history, geography, math and typing — or as much as quizzes can teach anyone about anything. But at least in two player mode you could school your friends by buzzing in your answer first.
Why it was awesome: The Precomputer 1000 featured a slimmed down version of BASIC called Pre-BASIC, and the wire-bound manual featured several programs and games which could be typed in to RAM. The programs were there to teach you the basics of programming computers and demystified many of the built-in games and quizzes by showing you how to make your own. However, programming was quite challenging as you could only view one line with 20 characters across the LCD display. Debugging was limited, and you lost your program if you replaced the battery.
Modern equivalent: VTech is still making educational laptops for kids that feature similar learning activities as the Precomputer 1000. These are packaged to look like mom and dad’s laptops enticing kids to play on their own. However, none of the current models in their catalog feature access to a programming language.
Also, The XO-1 from the One Laptop Per Child organization is much more advanced in capability but does not seem to have any educational learning software. However there are are plenty of learning tools such as an offline wikipedia, music composition software, and Pippy, a Python Programming Language/environment.
Etch-a-sketch Animator
What it was: Like a traditional Etch-a-Sketch, the Animator featured two knobs and a screen and allowed you to make drawings. But instead of a mechanical stylus removing aluminum powder from the screen, the Animator featured an LCD matrix and the knobs would move a cursor around the screen. Pressing a button would allow you to turn individual pixels on and off. Once a drawing was made, you could save it to memory and make another. Careful planning and ‘flipping’ back to previous drawings (not unlike traditional animation) allowed you to create a sequence of drawings. You could program the sequence to flip to any drawing in any order to create the illusion of animation.
Why it was awesome: It was kind of like a computer and more complex then making a flip book. You really weren’t programming, you couldn’t interact with it like a game, and the metallic sound effects were a really weird choice. But in the ’80’s, you felt like you were creating something amazing.
Modern equivalent: While there is plenty of software available that allow kids to make simple 2-D animation, the killer application for portable animating fun is an upcoming Nintendo DSiWare titled called Inchworm. Planned for a September 2009 release, Inchworm features a wide variety of features including a color pallet, various pen styles, basic shape drawing, layers and onionskin animation. Numerous tutorials are on the Inchworm website, including demonstrations on a web-uploading feature that will allow people to share their animations outside of the Nintendo DSi.
Casio VL-1 Keyboard
What it was: A relatively inexpensive keyboard, sequencer, and calculator (!) that featured 5 built-in sounds, 10 rhythms, recording functionality, and the ability to create your own sound by modifying Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release (ADSR) values. It was a fun toy to play around with as building your own sounds was the highlight of the toy. But it was monophonic (only one note at a time) and the built-in sounds were astonishingly bad. Plus the demo song teased you into thinking you could change sounds on the fly.
Why it was awesome: It was small, portable, and programmable. It didn’t matter that you couldn’t get faithful piano or violin sounds out of the thing. I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect toy for a budding musician, but it is perfect for a music geek. You could spend hours and hours adjusting the ADSR values creating crazy synth sounds. Plus, was your keyboard also a calculator?
Modern equivalent: The Korg microKorg modeling synthesizer is bigger, badder, and while more expensive than the VL-1, it is infinitely more usable, mostly due to the Korg being an actual instrument and not a child’s toy. Featuring multiple waveforms to model, multiple filters, two ADSR envelopes and a vocoder, it’s a great synthesizer for beginners. But is it kid friendly? Hard to say. The more features you throw at the thing, the more difficult it is to program and likely the less fun a younger kid might have, but older kids won’t be limited like we were with the VL-1. Consider this a call for the Casio’s of the world to bring back a programmable synth toy.
Erector Sets
What it was: The classic toy construction set that has been around since 1913, Meccano Erector sets were made of metal containing girders with holes that could be attached with nuts and bolts and other shaped elements. The pieces allowed you to build a variety of models including cars, planes, windmills, bridges, etc. Budding mechanical or civil engineers got a taste of constructing models or building toys in a much more grown-up way.
Why it was awesome: To a kid who mostly played with plastic toys, erector sets represented a graduation of sorts to a more advanced toy. The models were similar to some of the stuff you could build with Legos, but you got to use real tools to assemble your project.
Modern equivalent: Fortunately, Erector sets are still around. Meccano has smartly segmented their product line around age groups, having kits with all plastic parts for the 2-4 year olds, through advanced wifi-controlled robots. But the classic kits are where it’s at, with generic pieces that don’t limit the imagination. Lego’s may be the most popular construction toy, but it’s nice to see options still available.Motorola's effort to impose a ban on the Xbox 360 over a patent dispute with Microsoft has ended in failure.
Despite victories at a German court and the International Trade Commission, Motorola will not be able to enforce a ban on sales of the Xbox 360. U.S. Judge James Robart ruled that the patents at the center of the dispute between Google-owned Motorola and Microsoft, which include technologies related to the H.264 video codec and wifi connectivity, are "Frand-type innovations" and should therefore be licensed on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory - hence "Frand" - terms.
Microsoft doesn't dispute that some sort of licensing fee should be paid, but the two companies are miles apart in what they consider fair and reasonable terms for the technologies in question. Motorola is seeking $4 billion per year in licensing fees, while Microsoft claims they're worth just $1 million. A court case to determine a fair licensing rate is currently underway; the judge also ruled that Microsoft will have to pay any outstanding fees determined by the jury once the case was complete.
Robart had previously criticized both Microsoft and Motorola for using the courts "as a pawn in a global, industry-wide business negotiation," adding, "To an outsider looking at it, it has been arbitrary, it has been arrogant and, frankly, it has been based on hubris."
Source: BBCIn early October, the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) released a report touting the dangers of Chinese military expansion. Chaired by Paul Wolfowitz, the ISAB is part of the US state department, and reports directly to Condoleezza Rice. The report warned of the dangers of Chinese nuclear weapons, and called on the United States to revitalise its nuclear deterrent, continue construction of a missile defence shield, and pursue conventional military programmes designed to ensure dominance over China. In alarmist tones, the report describes a military effort dedicated to making the US vulnerable enough to Chinese nuclear attack to deter the US from intervention in a Taiwan-China war. To call this claim deceptive is an understatement – it depends on ignorance of 40 years of Chinese military history and of the basics of deterrence theory.
Since the 1950s, Chinese nuclear policy has consistently focused on the goal of developing a second strike capability. Initially, the Chinese feared war with the US, but they later included the Soviet Union as a potential foe. The Chinese have never made an effort to match the nuclear arsenals of the US or Russia. In short, Chinese nuclear policy hasn't changed, and the essentials of the deterrent relationship are the same whether China has 20 missiles capable of striking the west coast or 100 missiles capable of striking anywhere on the continental US. As no American president is likely to consider the destruction of major population centres on the west coast an acceptable cost for preventing a Chinese conquest of Taiwan, the deterrent relationship is no different today than it was 30 years ago.
Indeed, the ISAB report overlooks the central purpose of the Chinese nuclear expansion, which is an effort to restore the nuclear balance that existed in the 70s and 80s. Advanced US military capabilities have, it is generally agreed, substantially eroded the deterrent relationship that existed between the US and its nuclear competitors during the cold war.
Daryl Press and Keir Lieber argued in Foreign Affairs that the US holds first-strike dominance over both China and Russia, in large part because due to stealth and precision-guidance capabilities. The development of a credible missile defence system (one that could knock out a high percentage of incoming missiles) would further erode the deterrent relationship. The Chinese are hardly ignorant of these developments. They recognise that the drive for missile defence on the part of the US means that they need to expand their nuclear capabilities in order to stay in the same place. It ends up being a good trade for the Chinese, because additional ballistic missiles (and eventually MIRVs, or multiple independent re-entry vehicles) are considerably cheaper than the missile defence system. Nevertheless, the expansion of the Chinese nuclear programme is an effort to maintain the status quo, and not to shift the military balance in China's favour.
We've been here before. Wolfowitz participated in the infamous Team B project, which was an effort to radically overstate Soviet capabilities and radically misstate Soviet intentions in the 1970s. Like the Team B project, the ISAB report relies on claims about Chinese capabilities that current intelligence cannot verify, such as the existence of tactical nuclear weapons and a vast espionage network inside the US. Also like the Team B project, the report characterises efforts to maintain the status quo as threatening. The alarmism is familiar. Once again, Wolfowitz is claiming that the strategic balance is beginning to tip against the US, and that therefore the US ought to engage in a major effort at revitalising its own capabilities.
President Bush leaves office in two months, and Wolfowitz will be out of a job. In the neoconservative world, however, no one stays unemployed for long. This ISAB report will serve as a template for the neoconservative approach to China and provide the foundation for critiques of Barack Obama's China policy. It is highly unlikely that Obama will pursue the "revitalisation" of the US nuclear force, as he has already logged his opposition to the Reliable Replacement Warhead programme. The report should be understood less as an internal effort to drive policy, and more as the opening shot in an effort to criticise Obama as soft on China.Buy Photo One of the buildings at the Green Meadow Waldorf School (Photo: Seth Harrison/The Journal News)Buy Photo
CHESTNUT RIDGE – Kate Christensen wasn't alone.
An investigation launched last year after the Green Meadow Waldorf School alumna accused a former teacher of molesting her alleges that he sexually assaulted her, 11 other girls and a woman during his decades-long tenure there.
The findings, revealed in a damning report by a private investigative firm hired by Green Meadow, also accuse two other teachers of sex crimes — one of possessing child porn and another of assaulting a girl on a school-sponsored trip. It says the school failed to act when complaints of teachers' alleged criminal behavior surfaced.
Document: Read a letter from the Green Meadow school and an investigation summary
In the case of John Alexandra, the alleged serial offender, the school's lack of response enabled his predatory behavior, the report finds.
"Allowing Mr. Alexandra to freely roam Threefold property resulted in giving him essentially unrestricted access to students and faculty members, and thereby enabled him to continue to victimize others," investigators said.
The seven-month investigation, led by Lisa Friel, former chief of the Manhattan district attorney's Sex Crimes Unit and an executive at T&M Protection Resources, involved interviews with 95 people and reviews of thousands of documents.
The findings have been shared with law enforcement officials, but no arrests have resulted. For a majority of the cases, the five-year statute of limitations for reporting has passed. The alleged assaults took place on school property or the surrounding area and ranged from inappropriate rubbing, touching and hugging to statutory rape, the report says.
Many of the alleged victims didn't report what happened at the time, for fear they wouldn't be believed, investigators said. In some cases, they found, Alexandra's alleged victims felt that other adults at Green Meadow were complicit in his behavior because they observed it yet encouraged students to maintain relationships with him, an esteemed member of the community.
Probe launched
The progressive Green Meadow school opened the investigation about a year ago, after Christensen, 51, revealed a story of abuse at the hands of her high school math teacher in a memoir.
Kate Cristensen (Photo: File)
Christensen, a 1980 graduate and now a PEN/Faulkner award-winning author, refers to the teacher as "Tomcat" in the book. The school identified Alexandra in a letter to the community and banned him from the campus at the outset of the investigation, explaining the decision was "based on credible evidence."
There are disturbing accusations in the report against Alexandra, 72, who enjoyed a distinguished career as a teacher in the 1960s and '70s, and later served as a board member. A Spring Valley resident who is married with grown children, he stayed active at Green Meadow and with affiliated institutions that are part of the Threefold Educational Foundation's campus, located off Hungry Hollow Road, until the allegations surfaced last year.
Investigators say Alexandra committed "a multitude of crimes" over his decades at the school. They also accuse him of stalking, harassment and child endangerment.
Investigators said Alexandra declined to speak with them. He hasn't publicly addressed the allegations.
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"My client hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing, nor am I aware of any contemporaneous reports substantiating any allegations," said Robert Bernstein, Alexandra's lawyer. "These allegations are from decades ago and there were never any contemporaneous documents to substantiate the allegations at the time."
Investigators shared information with Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe's office as allegations arose during the investigation, according to Green Meadow. A spokeswoman for the DA's Special Victims Unit said the office received the report Tuesday and would review it before making any comments.
More teachers
The other two teachers named in the report left the school soon after the events occurred. One was accused of sexually assaulting a middle school student in 1983 during a school-sponsored trip; the other was reportedly found in possession of child pornography in 2005, as well as photographs he took of Green Meadow students in swimwear.
The first teacher left for a new job at another school soon after admitting to a colleague what had happened in 1983, according to the report; the other was forced to leave the school after the child pornography was found in his residence, but the school didn't investigate and didn't turn the information over to police, the report indicates.
A summary of investigators' findings was sent to some 1,700 alumni and parents last week, along with a letter of apology from Co-administrator Eric Silber and board President Jonathan Lynn.
The school says it can't make T&M's full-length report public because of the need to protect the privacy of victims, witnesses and others involved.
Silber, whose two young daughters attend Green Meadow, was hired in 2012 but began the new co-administrator position last July, just before the allegations surfaced. He reflected on the school's difficult year in an interview with The Journal News on Thursday.
"I'm glad that Kate came forward and we were able to do this because the truth is able to come forward," he said. "Having something like this living inside a school, any institution, in the shadow, isn't healthy for the institution at all. And the only way you can heal something is you have to diagnose it, you have to name it and you have to go through the process, which is painful."
Buy Photo Green Meadow Co-administrator Eric Silber (Photo: Seth Harrison)
Silber headed a committee of board members and teachers that signed off on the investigators' report and agreed to identify the two alleged offenders in addition to Alexandra.
Silber said about five teachers, including one who still works at the school, were identified as being in a position to stop the offenders but did not. The school flagged those teachers' files and notified an international Waldorf school accreditation body.
Apology offered
In acknowledging all those who contributed to the investigation, Green Meadow officials credit Christensen for providing the information that prompted it.
Her courage to come forward allowed the school "to fully acknowledge errors and misjudgments of the past," the letter says. "We will emerge a better, stronger school because of her."
Among the "errors" cited by investigators was the lack of a written policy or protocol on sexual misconduct complaints during the years Christensen attended the school.
Christensen said the report laid bare the extent of the damage inflicted by the "pervasive sexually abusive atmosphere at the school at that time."
"Not everyone was abused, but everyone was affected," she wrote in an email. "This kind of school-wide, community-wide abuse goes much deeper than the victims — everyone touched by it is hurt, and this goes very deep and lasts decades."
She praised the school's handling of the probe into its troubling past.
"I know it was painful and difficult for the school to face this, but it was the right — and only — thing to do, and they did it without hesitation," she wrote.
Ann Hunkins' yearbook photo (Photo: File)
After The Journal News carried her story last year, another former student, Ann Hunkins, came forward with a story about Alexandra's conduct.
In its letter, the school offers an apology to victims and pledges its commitment to "the safety and emotional well-being of past, present and future community members."
"We cannot undo what has been done in the past, nor can we ever know the full extent of the pain that has been caused," officials wrote. "We do know that we can disclose what we know now, offer this apology, and do what we can to support healing for all involved."
About 400 students attend Green Meadow's pre-K-12 program and, like Alexandra once did, many educators live on the adjacent Threefold property that encompasses a dynamic anthroposophical community. In addition to the school, Threefold-affiliated institutions include the Fellowship, a home for the elderly; a Waldorf teacher training center; a church; and a natural foods co-op.
The campus was founded in the early 20th century by students of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher who popularized the spiritual science movement known as anthroposophy.
At the recommendation of T&M, Green Meadow is overhauling its response procedure to sexual harassment and abuse complaints. It will enforce a new written anti-harassment policy that details obligations of mandated reporters; stricter background screenings for adults who interact with students; and a better mechanism for anonymous reporting of suspected abuse.
The recommendations for strengthening the school's policies extend to the broader Threefold community, officials said.
Staff writer Shawn Cohen contributed to this report.
Twitter:
@MareesaNicosia
Separate case
The school leadership's efforts to restore the faith of its parents, alumni and students come as the Fellowship has been a focal point this year of another investigation, which is ongoing.
Last month, police charged Lacey Spears, a former Fellowship resident, in the poisoning death of her son, 5-year-old Garnett Spears. The 26-year-old Alabama native has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges. The boy and his mother lived in the community for about 14 months before he died in January at Westchester Medical Center's Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.
Garnett had started kindergarten at Green Meadow in the fall.
Read or Share this story: http://lohud.us/1m1pp3OFeatured image: OxyContin is a derivative of opium from poppies. (Photo: Rach)
First published by Global Research on October 26, 2017
In the October 30 edition of the New Yorker, reporter Patrick Radden Keefe writes a thorough examination of the role of one pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, in abetting the high number of deaths due to opioid overdoses in the United States. The connection is through the firm’s patent on one highly addictive pain killer, OxyContin. Although there are many factors that fuel the opioid crisis in the United States — including social injustice and economic inequality issues — Keefe’s thoroughly researched article is a telling reminder that the biggest drug pushers in the United States are legal ones: our pharmaceutical companies.
Keefe writes,
Since 1999, two hundred thousand Americans have died from overdoses related to OxyContin and other prescription opioids. Many addicts, finding prescription painkillers too expensive or too difficult to obtain, have turned to heroin. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, four out of five people who try heroin today started with prescription painkillers. The most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that a hundred and forty-five Americans now die every day from opioid overdoses. Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative, at Brandeis University, has worked with hundreds of patients addicted to opioids. He told me that, though many fatal overdoses have resulted from opioids other than OxyContin [such as fentanyl and heroin], the crisis was initially precipitated by a shift in the culture of prescribing—a shift carefully engineered by Purdue. “If you look at the prescribing trends for all the different opioids, it’s in 1996 that prescribing really takes off,” Kolodny said. “It’s not a coincidence. That was the year Purdue launched a multifaceted campaign that misinformed the medical community about the risks.”
In fact, Keefe makes the comparison in his article between drug companies that emphasize sales by persuading doctors to prescribe certain medications and heroin dealers. In the case of OxyContin, the pills are legal, while heroin is considered a Class A illegal drug. However, heroin and OxyContin are both opiates, or derivatives of opium, which in its unprocessed form is — of course — illegal. Purdue Pharma, which is privately owned by the Sackler family, according to Keefe, has made billions of dollars off of OxyContin.
Until recently, Purdue Pharma enlisted its hundreds of sales representatives to convince doctors that OxyContin was not addictive. It also sent physicians who advocated for OxyContin on lavish trips to speak at medical conferences, where they would praise the drug, and employed other strategies to try and ensure the continued maximum prescribing of the drug. As Keefe notes:
“Between 2006 and 2015, Purdue and other painkiller producers, along with their associated nonprofits [front groups for advocating for specific drugs], spent nearly nine hundred million dollars on lobbying and political contributions—eight times what the gun lobby spent during that period.”
The importance of the sales force cajoling doctors cannot be overemphasized, as Keefe reports:
Within five years of its introduction, OxyContin was generating a billion dollars a year. “There is no sign of it slowing down,” Richard Sackler told a team of company representatives in 2000. The sales force was heavily incentivized to push the drug. In a memo, a sales manager in Tennessee wrote, “$$$$$$$$$$$$$ It’s Bonus Time in the Neighborhood!” May [a former sales rep for Purdue Pharma], who was assigned to the Virginia area, was astonished to learn that especially skillful colleagues were earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions. One year, May’s own sales were so brisk that Purdue rewarded him with a trip to Hawaii. As prescriptions multiplied, Purdue executives—and the Sackler family members on the company’s board—appeared happy to fund such blandishments. Internal budget plans described the company’s sales force as its “most valuable resource.” In 2001, Purdue Pharma paid forty million dollars in bonuses.
In the preface to a photo essay on opioid overdose deaths that appears in the print edition of the New Yorker, writer Margaret Talbot states,
Opioids, in fact, now kill more than fifty thousand Americans a year, ten thousand more than AIDS did at the peak of that epidemic — more, too, than gun homicides and motor-vehicle accidents. Opioid overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of fifty.
Again, it is important to remember that the surge in opioid overdoses is not solely due to pharmaceutical firms, including Purdue Pharma. The opioid crisis is much too complicated and nuanced to attribute to any single factor. As just one example, the industrial economic collapse of many towns and smaller cities in the Midwest and Appalachia have contributed to that area being particularly hard hit.
However, there is a lesson in the role Purdue Pharma has played in contributing to the crisis. The so-called “war on drugs” allows companies such as Purdue Pharma to make billions of dollars by pushing pills through misrepresentation of the product, while a ruinous “war” is waged on those who sell and use drugs that are classified as illegal. This is one reason that you can expect Donald Trump’s solution to the opioid crisis to be as unenlightened, harmful and feckless as the “war on drugs” itself has been.
Copyright, Truthout. Reprinted with permission.
This article was originally published by BuzzFlash at Truthout.A Chinese tourist whose driving caused "mayhem" on a busy New Zealand road has been ordered to pay $20,000 and forbidden from leaving the country until it's paid.
Peng Liu, 33, was found guilty in Rotorua District Court today on three charges of causing injury by careless driving, relating to an accident on December 30 on State Highway 5 in Taupo.
His passport was confiscated and Judge James Weir ordered him to remain in New Zealand until he paid $20,000 in reparation.
The crash left three German tourists - Petra Lankisch, Mark Lankisch and Jakob Lankisch - with serious injuries, Judge Weir said.
"Those German tourists were lucky to escape with their lives," he said.
"A clear message needs to be sent out to foreign drivers who come into this country and cause this sort of mayhem.
"[There's] no reason at all an accident should happen on that road if someone was paying due care and attention. You were not."
The German family of six were treated at Waikato Hospital with a 15-year-old boy and his 44-year-old mother remaining on a ward.
Liu's defence lawyer, Rachelle Cavanagh, said Liu had offered to pay a $6000 emotional harm payment and that the accident was "his worst nightmare".
Judge Weir disqualified Liu from driving for 18 months, although he acknowledged the driving ban might be meaningless in China, and dismissed the $6000 figure, ordering Liu's passport be confiscated until $20,000 in reparation was paid.
"You are not to leave New Zealand until that is paid," he said.
Speaking through an interpreter outside of the court, Liu described how the accident happened as he and his wife drove from Rotorua to Taupo.
"My wife on the passenger seat realised I was too close to the kerb so I adjusted the steering wheel but over, so I cross over to the wrong side and crash into the German family's car there," he said.
Asked if he had a message for the Lankisch family, Liu said he was "really, really sorry".
He also had some advice for other foreign drivers in New Zealand.
"You have to familiarise yourself with the road code, thought this is not the cause of my case, he said.
"The second thing is rest good before you get in the driving seat and the seatbelt is very important. In my case it saved my life."
Liu said he would pay the $20,000 reparation shortly.
READ MORE: Teen tourist collides with truckThe culture wars wage on. It seems just about everyone has an opinion on Chick-fil-A these days. The “Do you like their chicken sandwiches and waffle fries?” discussion has been traded for asking whether or not you’ll be boycotting the fast-food-chicken chain for their stance on gay marriage.
From the maker of The Muppets to the Mayors of Beantown and the Windy City, the list of folks cutting ties with the chicken chain is growing. The culture wars are in full swing, complete with protests, blog posts, name-calling and threats of glitter bomb violence. As you probably know, a couple weeks ago, Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy made comments in an interview with the Baptist Press that have brought some attention from groups advocating equal rights for same-sex couples. This, on the heels of a report from LGBT equality group Equality Matters, which stated that Chick-fil-A had donated over “$2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010.” Newsy politics picked up on the interview and made this video, and that’s when things started to really heat up. Roughly 6,000 people have signed a pledge to boycott Chick-fil-A, while others rallied behind former Arkansas governor and one-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabees’ declaration of August 1st as “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.” Christian opinions emerged all over social media networks and the blogosphere.
As often happens, these voices led to a flurry of other voices from both sides of the aisle. Some reasonable and well-intentioned. Many not. Unfortunately, the discussion has brought out the worst in American Evangelicalism. Clear, balanced conversation has been traded in for simply shouting past one another. Even the most helpful dialogue starters seem to be inevitably overrun with hate-filled comments slung back and forth across perspectives.
In short, this thing blew up.
If only Jesus had said something specifically regarding how to treat people who think differently than we do.
Untouchables
Imagine the scene. Jesus just finished what is now his best known teaching—the Sermon on the Mount—a practical manifesto for this new Way. He’s just touched on nearly everything, and their heads must have been spinning as they tried to make sense of it all. Key phrases still lingered in the ears of the listeners, now making their way down the rocky path.
“Treat people the same way you would like to be treated.”
“Don’t just love those who look, act and think like you—love your enemies, too.”
As the Great Teacher led the way down the mountain, perhaps in an effort to put skin on his words, Matthew in his gospel describes a leper approaching. One who is |
governor values in his party's political climate.
While he won't address the Republican convention, he will be speaking at another convention in Ohio on Sunday night, the NAACP's annual gathering in Cincinnati.
On Monday, he will meet with Mexico's ambassador to the United States. On Tuesday, he will speak to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (which endorsed him during the primary).
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These events are in addition to engagements with the International Republican Institute, speeches to numerous state delegations, and a reception at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in his honor.
"I think where he sees himself is he's going to continue to do what he thinks is the right thing to do, which has served him well for the first 30 years of public life," spokesman Chris Schrimpf said, pointing to the governor's recent comments to the Washington Post: “I’m more worried about my country than I’m worried about my party right now.”
Kasich's appearance at the NAACP Convention — while delegates from his party touch down in Cleveland — underscores the distance he stands from the Trump nomination. Trump declined the NAACP's invitation to speak, and the real estate mogul's absence marks just the 4th time since 1980 that a presidential candidate did not speak at their convention.
The NAACP convention this year falls as the nation continues to mourn the deaths of two more black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, at the hands of police, and the killing of five police officers in Dallas.
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Over the course of his presidential campaign, Kasich spoke often of his work in Ohio related to police-community relations and criminal justice issues. In December, after a Cleveland police officer was not indicted in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Kasich told reporters that protesters in the wake of the decision "need to be heard."
In a NBC News/WSJ/Marist poll released Wednesday, it was clear that Trump has significant ground to gain among African-Americans in Ohio. The poll found African-Americans in the state favored Clinton at 88 percent to Trump's 0 percent.
The Convention Kasich Couldn't Have Predicted
This is not how Kasich imagined the Republican National Convention would be. A few years ago, he talked very enthusiastically about the prospect of bringing the convention to his home state.
After his chances of clinching the nomination became mathematically impossible this spring, Kasich would speak daily about how "exciting" the convention could be if it were contested, and he and his staff spent months wooing delegates so he could take the nomination away from Trump in Cleveland.
Now that he lost, Kasich and his team are working to walk a delicate line. They are getting hounded with media requests, yet are not planning on breaking any news or making big headlines. "I'm not going there to disrupt," Kasich told MSNBC in June.
But at the same time, the wheels of Kasich's political operation are still in motion as a team around him tries to keep his profile high and his political capital a valuable commodity.
The governor’s team reiterates he wants to do everything he can to keep his options open for what he might do after his term as governor ends in January 2019 — whether that could be a position in business, in the media, or another run at the White House.
In the 2020 Republican presidential field, “I would think he would be in the upper tier almost immediately,” said Tom Rath, one of Kasich’s top advisers in New Hampshire. "Think about how much further ahead we would be. People would know him and know what he stood for."
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Instead of focusing on the top of the ticket this year, Kasich is campaigning and raising money for other down-ballot Republican candidates, something he was not as involved with before he ran for president this year — a lack of action some supporters believe hurt him in while he was trying to raise money and court endorsements this year.
In the two months since Kasich left the race, he has dug in and continued his work as governor of Ohio, generating big headlines when he signed a bill to legalize medical marijuana and took some heat from his own party for vetoing a voting bill that Democrats likened to a poll tax.
Kasich is working on writing a book about his message and his experience over the course of his campaign, and he plans on holding town hall-style meetings across the country to promote the book as soon as this October, his advisers say.
Kasich believes it’s too early talk about 2020. “That’s like asking somebody once they finish a marathon, you know, meet them at the finish line, saying, ‘you going to run another one?’” the governor told WEWS earlier this month.
Confronting the Trump Question
Kasich has still only spoken to Trump once since dropping out of the race on May 4, when he told Trump to read his "two paths" speech and explained why he couldn't back him.
"It's painful. It's painful. People even get divorces, you know?" Kasich told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough last month. "I've been a Republican all my life. How do you think I feel about this? I'm the Republican governor of Ohio. It's difficult."
Kasich said that day that Republican donors and other party leaders courted him heavily to get re-involved in the 2016 race in a number of ways.
"Look, if you saw the people that have contacted me, and want me to run as a third-party candidate, or the number of people that have come to me and say they want, you know, 'Would you run with Donald Trump?' I mean, you would be shocked," he said.
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Meanwhile, a number of Republicans are still urging Kasich to get behind Trump. "It's about time he got on the Trump bandwagon," Newt Gingrich, who vied for Trump's vice presidential nod, said recently in Ohio.
But Kasich's aides say that doesn't bother him. "There's differences between requests and pressure," John Weaver, Kasich's strategist, said. "They have control of that in the way that they conduct themselves and the way that their policy proposals are. They should feel the pressure. You don't win states like Ohio unless you can cobble together coalitions and you can only cobble together coalitions with attractive, positive inclusivity."
This is why Kasich will stay on the outside at the convention. If he gets invited to a party and he can't say anything positive about the host, his advisers say he doesn't want to be a part of it. Weaver continued, "Even if he spoke and just laid out his positive message, critics and pundits would want to contrast that with Trump."
Kasich is well aware of his role.
"I know that as the governor of Ohio, with some people who pound on me — I said, 'I'm not prepared to do it,'" Kasich said in his MSNBC interview last month. "He's going to have to change. Period. End of story."LONDON (Reuters) - Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, a European aristocrat from a bygone age and last survivor of the family that founded the international news agency, died on Sunday aged 96, friends said.
Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, listens to prayers during a service at Saint Brides Church in London, in this June 15, 2005 file photo. Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, a European aristocrat from a bygone age and last survivor of the family that founded the international news agency, died on Sunday aged 96, friends said. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/Files
A patron of the arts, she was the widow of Oliver, 4th Baron de Reuter, whose grandfather Paul Julius Reuter established his news service in London in 1851 after starting out in Aachen, Germany, using telegraph cables and carrier pigeons.
The barony — a German title granted to Paul Julius in 1871 but later confirmed by Queen Victoria as conferring the privileges of the nobility in England — becomes extinct on her death, as she and her husband had no children.
“The name dies with her,” said her friend Michael Nelson, a former general manager of Reuters.
Another close friend, John Fox, said the baroness had suffered successive strokes late last year. She died early on Sunday in a French old people’s home on the border with Monaco.
He said Swiss-born Marguerite, a widow for more than 40 years, was intensely proud of the family link with Reuters, and of the British nationality she acquired through her husband.
Last year Reuters, which had already moved out of its historic headquarters in London’s Fleet Street, the traditional home of the British press, became part of Thomson Reuters Plc.
Thomson Reuters’ chief executive, Tom Glocer, said he was saddened to hear of the baroness’s death, adding:
“Although the founding family of Reuters were no longer significant shareholders in the company, the baroness did notably attend a service at St Bride’s Church, London, to mark Reuters’ historic move from Fleet Street to Canary Wharf in 2OO5.”
Marguerite was born on July 14, 1912, the daughter of George Uehlinger of Neunkirch, Switzerland. Friends remembered her as a generous woman who spoke numerous languages, loved bridge, opera and ballet, and enjoyed skiing until well into her 70s.
Known to her English friends as Daisy, she long divided her time between Monte Carlo and Lausanne.
“She was a very warm-hearted, hospitable person — generous, philanthropic, a great supporter of the arts and music. She was always immaculately turned out: elegant, refined and beautiful, with the most angelic smile,” Fox said.
He said Marguerite would be cremated in Lausanne and her ashes interred there with the remains of her husband, who died in 1968. The couple married in 1937.We’re kidding—kind of.
Elon Musk’s auto company is ripping through cash at a prodigious clip, at times burning through roughly $100 million a month.
Given that the company has strung together 10 straight quarterly—not to mention growing—losses, that’s a recipe for incessant infusions of new capital.
No problem. At the moment the markets seem to more than happy to hand over the money that Elon Musk needs to build out the vertically integrated auto behemoth of the future. (The so-called gigafactory in the Nevada desert where Tesla will build advanced lithium-ion batteries is expected to cost around $5 billion.)
But some, such as Barclays auto analyst Brian Johnson, suggest that the market might not totally appreciate the scope of cash that would be needed to complete the build out of Tesla’s ambitions. In a research note today he wrote:
We believe it cannot be understated how radically retro Tesla is in its approach of vertical integration, an approach which was last embraced by Henry Ford 100 years ago. This approach differs from the current approach of other OEMs, who have a largely outsourced value chain (we suspect Apple may also pursue this strategy when it enters the auto business). Vertical integration comes with very capital intensive machining and engineering costs – e.g., for tooling, forging, casting, and product design functions. While Tesla believes vertical integration is a competitive advantage, it is also unquestionably a significant drain of cash. While Tesla is likely to significantly improve its capital efficiency per unit in the coming years, we suspect the market is under-appreciating how significant the cash burn will be through the end of the decade, and likely for the next ten years
Again, at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be much of a problem.
True, Tesla shares are no longer surging the way they were a couple years ago. They’re even down about 6% so far this year. But that’s far from an indication that investors have serious doubts about Team Elon. Moreover, the company has borrowed in excess of $2 billion since 2013, both in the bond market and through establishing lines of credit with banks. The company also raised more than $700 million by selling new shares in August. Given Tesla’s reception by investors, it’s hard to see why Tesla shouldn’t exploit this new—and seemingly inexhaustible—financial resource.
In fact, if anyone should be worried, perhaps it should be Apple’s shareholders. After all, Tesla is providing pretty compelling proof of just how expensive auto manufacturing would be. And Apple is also weighing entry into the world of capital intensive car production.
It’s one thing if shareholders at Tesla sign onto such industrial adventure. It’s another for Apple investors to watch the the company’s $200 billion pile of of hard-won shareholder capital potentially be eaten up by such an old school manufacturing effort.
Correction: An earlier version of this post said that Tesla’s ”gigafactory” will make both batteries and cars; it is only batteries.Zika virus selectively infects and kills glioblastoma cells in mice
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
WHAT:
The Zika virus (ZIKV) may infect and kill a specific type of brain cancer cells while leaving normal adult brain tissue minimally affected, according to a new study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health. In the paper, published online on September 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers describe the impact of ZIKV on glioblastoma cells in both human tissue samples and mice.
Even with current treatments, patients with glioblastomas — a highly malignant type of brain tumor — tend to have poor survival rates. Glioblastomas grow aggressively from a mass of unspecialized cells; ZIKV is known to infect similar cells in the nervous systems of developing fetuses. A fetus that acquires the virus from its ZIKV-infected mother during pregnancy can develop microcephaly and other serious abnormalities.
In this laboratory study, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic, the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston introduced ZIKV to glioblastoma tissue samples removed from cancer patients as part of their treatment, as well as to healthy human neural tissue cultures. After seven days, the researchers found that ZIKV had replicated in certain glioblastoma cells and prevented them from multiplying, while the ordinary neural tissue cultures remained largely uninfected. The researchers also tested mice with glioblastomas, treating an experimental group with a mouse-adapted strain of ZIKV. Mice who received ZIKV survived longer than mice in the control group, and their tumors were significantly smaller than those in the control mice after one week.
The researchers caution that ZIKV may behave differently when introduced to an active glioblastoma in a living person. Even if further studies continue to yield promising results, any potential treatment derived from ZIKV would need many years of rigorous testing for safety and efficacy.
Additional support for this study was provided in part by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, both part of NIH.
ARTICLE:
Z Zhu et al. Zika virus has oncolytic activity against glioblastoma stem cells. The Journal of Experimental Medicine. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20171093 (2017).
WHO:
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and Mark Challberg, Ph.D., program officer in the Virology Branch of NIAID’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, are available to comment on this study.
CONTACT:
To schedule interviews, please contact Elizabeth Deatrick, (301) 402-1663, elizabeth.deatrick@nih.gov.
NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®About
Cover Art by Ben K. Evans
Inedible Pulp is a collection of 4 short games. They are each a pulpy fantasy or science-fiction Action-Adventure game made with a low-poly 3D aesthetic.
The idea is to take the format of the pulp magazine and adopt it to games.
So far two of the games have playable demos, a third game has a playable prototype, and the final one is still in the early development stages. I've come to Kickstarter looking for funds to pay for development time on this project. The games share a common code-base, which saves time compared to having to make each of the four games from scratch. However, they each have their own unique play-style and mechanics. Based on past experience, I expect total development time for finishing the volume to be somewhere between 8 months and a year.
Reavers of New Rome:
A Science Fantasy Adventure. Among the stars, the colony of New Rome screams out. Emperor Caligula-Reincarnated-As-Caligula sits upon the throne. Under his rule, the empire has grown decadent. Before your ancestors were exiled a century ago, they were Senators of New Rome. Now you return to the city as a Barbarian at the Gates.
Kill the Superweapon:
Weapons Manufacturer Abaddon Inc. is on the cutting edge of super-soldier and cyborg technology. They are gearing up to arm the nations of the world with an army of super-weapons. The only thing that stands in their way is Samantha Kill, a radical anti-war activist who is ready to take them down before they can start World War III.
In each level, Samantha Kill must find batteries to charge up her Assault Beam, a powerful weapon stolen from Abbadon Inc. themselves and the only thing that can damage the powerful man-monsters. But be warned: the Superweapons are not content to sit in a room and wait for you to come to them. Once they become aware that there is an intruder, they will be able to freely roam each level, attempting to hunt down our intrepid hero.
The game is viewed entirely from a diorama-style perspective, allowing for twin-stick shooting as well as jumping in a 3D space.
Space Captain McCallery #1 – Crash Landing:
No sci-fi pulp volume would be complete without a serialized adventure. Enter Space Captain McCallery. He's a Space Pirate in the lawless Renegade Sector. His crew has mutinied and stranded him on an alien world. He must survive and find a way to escape.
It Ain't Enough to Survive; I've Got To Make It!:
A Mad Wizard lives atop a mountain. In his quest for occult power, he has opened a portal to a dimension of monsters. As a villager in a nearby town, your only path to safety is to evacuate: follow the caravan out of the affected region. But there is the path to safety... and then there is the path to glory.
The game features a partial permadeath system: Stay within reach of the refuge camps and, should you be felled by a monster, a medic will be able to revive you. Set out on your own, however, and you take your life in your own hands.
There are a few reasons I decided to make a collection of short games instead of one long game. First of all, I believe in the short-game format as a great way to experiment with new ideas, interesting mechanics, and compelling, self-contained stories. In the same way the science-fiction and fantasy genre were largely built on short stories, I believe short games have the potential to push games forward as a medium.
In addition to that, I believe that a lot of games waste your time. How many games do you have in your library? Many of us have more games than we could possibly play all the way through. Many of those games are full of filler and repetition, just to make the game longer. Short games offer a coherent, self-contained experience that won't clog up your backlog.
The reason I've styled this collection after the pulp magazines is because Pulp Sci-Fi and Fantasy have been very influential to me both in terms of format and content.
For a medium that is so immersed in Science-Fiction and Fantasy, so many games take a by-the-numbers approach to the genres. There's a lot more to fantasy than elves, dwarves and orcs. There's a lot more to Science-Fiction than space marines battling swarms of mindless aliens.
I want to use the short game format to explore these genres much in the ways that the pulp magazines of the golden age ('40s-'50s) and new wave ('60s-'70s) did. Pulp wasn't afraid to be over-the-top and it wasn't afraid to try new ideas. It could be fun, thoughtful and bizarre.
Ace - $1: Receive backer-exclusive updates, your name in the credits, and my thanks!
Amazing - $15: In addition to the above rewards, you will receive a copy of Inedible Pulp Volume 1 upon release, as well as a digital copy of the soundtrack to all four games!
Astounding - $25: In addition to the above rewards, you will receive the "Inedible Pulp Volume 0" collection. This collection contains three of my previous games (currently available on Steam) which are just as pulpy as the game's you're backing here. The collection includes:
-Venusian Vengeance: Top-Down Run 'n' Gun action! In the year 196X, the soviets have won the Space Race and colonized Venus. They've build a top-secret weapons facility there to create a new weapon which could turn the tide of the Cold War. Sgt. Jon Dagger has been sent in a prototype space ship to fight his way to the facility and discover the secret of the Soviet Weapons Program.
-Ninja Outbreak: Low-Fi Ninja Survival Horror! On a remote research facility, a super-soldier program has gone horribly wrong. The serum has turned the test subjects into blood-thirsty Ninja. To make matters worse, some of those attacked by the Ninja become Ninja themselves. You play as a lone scientist who must survive in a locked-down facility in the midst of a full-on Ninja Outbreak!
-Cold Vengeance: One-of-a-kind 3D Run'n'Gun Action. In the year 200X, a totalitarian government has risen to power in Canada. Before long, they had kidnapped the US president, bombed all major American cities, and sent in an army of robots to clean up the scraps. Now Jon Dagger must fight his way through the ruined wasteland of America to the Great White North in his quest for Cold Vengeance.
New - $45: In addition to the above rewards, you get access to early builds and demos of the games
Analog - $75: In addition to the above rewards, you receive an Inedible Pulp Volume 1 Poster.
Astonishing - $150: In addition to the above rewards, you will receive a limited eddition signed physical copy of the game.
Alec Stamos is an independent game developer who, over the last 8 years, has released over 25 games. These games include many freeware projects, such as Temple of the Spear, Famed Explorer of the Robot World and Inheriting the Beast, as well as full commercial games, including Venusian Vengeance, Ninja Outbreak and Cold Vengeance, which are currently available on Steam and the Humble Store.If you fly, you've almost certainly found yourself packed into a Boeing 737. This workhorse of commercial aviation accounts for one of every three commercial flights, and there are around 2,000 of them in the air at any given time.
Every one of those planes rolled out of Boeing’s Renton Production Facility, where workers build a 737 in just nine days. The factory, near Seattle, pump them out at the rate of 42 per month, and Boeing claims the 1.1-million-square-foot facility is most efficient airplane factory in the world.
Boeing faces fierce competition from arch rival Airbus. The 737 is the best-selling jet ever, with more than 9,000 delivered since its introduction in 1967, but the Airbus A320 is no slouch. The company has delivered about 6,700 of them since the airliner entered service in 1984.
Strong demand for single-aisle jets from low cost carriers and domestic airlines in China means both companies are ramping up production. Airbus says it will crank out 60 planes a month by 2019.
Boeing plans to build 47 planes each month next year and ramp up to 57 in 2019. To find out how, WIRED visited the refurbished and enlarged factory in Renton to see just how a 737 goes together.Two 'freedom rider' pensioners protesting against cuts to free OAP travel passes were restrained, handcuffed and arrested at a railway station.
An online video shows one of the two men being detained by up to five officers from British Transport Police during a protest at Sheffield station.
The two men, 65 and 64, had travelled without paying on a train from Barnsley to Sheffield city centre, one of a number of recent 'freedom ride' protests by those opposed to cuts to free rail, tram and bus travel for the elderly and disabled in the city.
An ambulance was called after a protester fell unconscious during scuffles between protesters, who are members of Sheffield Disabled People Against The Cuts and Barnsley Retirees Action Group, and police.
One of the two pensioners being arrested at Sheffield station (Ross Parry)
The two men, George Arthur, 64, and Tony Nuttall, 66, have been charged with failure to pay and obstructing police.
Jen Dunstan, of Sheffield Disabled People Against The Cuts, said: "Dozens of elderly and disabled people have been left with bruising. Some have cuts where their skin has broken from being pushed and shoved.
"A placid and calm gentleman was roughly manhandled. I am angry and shocked. The police are meant to protect elderly people."
Fran Postlethwaite, 62, the wife of another of the campaigners, from Barnsley, said: "My husband was arrested by British Transport Police for absolutely nothing.
"He was completing a peaceful protest and doing nothing at all wrong and he was violently manhandled by police officers.
"We are just peaceful protesters and we are being treated like criminals.
"They pushed a woman over, and an old gentleman nearly fell on the rails when they were pushing.
"They even confiscated my megaphone."
A spokesman for British Transport Police said: "We were called upon to assist rail staff dealing with issues relating to an ongoing protest.
"As a result two people were arrested - on suspicion of travel fraud and obstructing a police officer - and the investigation into these alleged offences is ongoing.
"A number of separate incidents arising from these arrests, and involving police, have been brought to our attention. We are in the process of fully investigating these and will speak to all those involved.
"Clearly, we are still in the very early stages of all investigations and it would be inappropriate to comment further until we have been able to speak to all parties and clearly establish the facts."At a small South Delhi bar, a left-leaning fellow journalist declares his support for the Aam Aadmi Party. His reasoning: "They are doing something different. So why not give them a chance?" AAP pops up again at a meeting with an old friend, a card-carrying member of the Lutyens elite who is mulling a hefty donation. He could never vote for the BJP, but with the AAP, he now has a way to express his disillusionment with the ruling Congress party and its outrageous track record of corruption.
Arvind Kejriwal's party is gaining friends in unexpected places.
This morning, the nation's leading intellectual, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, came as close as he possibly can to open advocacy:
It would be presumptuous for a column to endorse any party; voters do not need to be told what they should do. But to not acknowledge that something new is afoot would also be a mistake. The potential demonstration effect that AAP's success may have on politics in other cities is not negligible. While politics is often local, successful examples are empowering. It will force national parties to raise their game.
That's a whole lot more than what he said in the anti-UPA column which made waves as an indirect endorsement of the BJP.
Mehta's column praises a number of AAP virtues: Arvind Kejriwal's role in "transforming the discourse on corruption"; for advocating decentralisation and "administrative simplicity"; building "a civic political party whose base is not just a social or regional identity" etc. There are caveats aplenty about ideological rigidity and naivete, but in the end he ends up in the exact same space as my journalist friend: "But at least there is something radically fresh in what they are attempting; there is an infusion of new people, ideas and a platform that can evolve."
Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dixit is betting on familiarity carrying the day. She dismisses AAP as "nuisance value" in Open magazine, a marginal party that can at best "cut into our vote share and somewhere into that of the BJP." But if Kejriwal cuts too deep, his party may, as another Congress leader tells Open, "be in a position to decide who forms the government." A position that AAP may find equally difficult since coalition dharma runs contrary to its rabble-rousing 'outsider' brand.
The vaulting rhetoric about swaraj does indeed evoke a nervous giggle in the average urban professional. Policy should be determined behind closed doors by experts not by vote in raucous public assemblies. "All that extreme populism makes me nervous," grumbles high-paid executive at a media firm. But there is no mistaking the chutzpah involved in picking a Muslim woman as a candidate in a constituency where Muslims account for barely 4.5 percent of the population. When Shazia Ilmi declares, "I want to be in politics as a citizen of this country, not as a Muslim," it is difficult for even the most ardent sickularist-hating rightwinger to object.
This willingness to innovate, break rules, and take risks will in the end earn AAP the 'kuch to kar rahein hain' vote. An A for effort may not be a ringing endorsement in any other field, but in the arena of Indian politics — characterised by bad faith and base calculations — sincerity and commitment are rare and compelling virtues. Tired of opting for the lesser devil, many Delhites are leaning toward the aspiring and untested exorcist.
There remains the possibility that the exorcist, possessed himself by the addiction of power, may eventually fall from grace. This would be hardly surprising to an electorate that has been repeatedly let down by good leaders gone wrong. Wondering if, at the time of reckoning, we will opt once again for that familiar devil, Mehta asks, "Deep down, have we reconciled ourselves to the thought that in the final analysis, politics changes people more than people change politics?"
The answer, I suspect, is 'Not yet.'
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.Senators on Thursday frowned upon President Duterte’s insistence on granting absolute pardon to policemen charged with the murder of Albuera, Leyte, Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., saying it could give law enforcers the notion that they had blanket authority to kill drug suspects.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said Mr. Duterte’s attempt to clear the policemen led by Supt. Marvin Marcos was “another proof” that the killings in the President’s brutal war on drugs were state-sponsored.
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“As to the policemen who would be encouraged to follow Duterte’s illegal orders, they are forewarned that they would eventually answer for all these crimes,” Trillanes said in a statement. “Duterte won’t be in power forever.”
Absolute pardon
In a speech to local officials in Socorro, Oriental Mindoro, on Wednesday, Mr. Duterte said policemen charged with killing drug suspects could just plead guilty and he would grant them absolute pardon.
Mr. Duterte said presidential pardon was his “only weapon” against “harassment of government men.”
Marcos and 18 other policemen are detained, facing murder charges for the killing of Espinosa and another inmate during a search warrant raid on the Leyte subprovincial jail last Nov. 5.
Espinosa was detained on drug charges, and a National Bureau of Investigation probe showed that the policemen deliberately killed the mayor to cover up their links to his son, confessed drug boss Kerwin Espinosa.
The policemen claimed they raided the jail to search the cells of Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, for drugs and weapons.
They said Espinosa and Yap fired on them, forcing them to fire back, killing the two men.
The Senate also investigated the death of Espinosa and found that the mayor’s killing was “premeditated.”
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The younger Espinosa testified at the Senate inquiry, affirming that the policemen were on his payroll.
Promise of protection
Mr. Duterte, however, said on Wednesday that he believed the policemen’s version of the story.
“Now they have been charged with murder, I will support them,” he said.
Mr. Duterte said he had instructed the police and the military to arrest drug suspects and shoot them if they resisted arrest and promised them that he would protect them if charges were brought against them.
“Any policeman or military man charged [with] killing those bastards, they will have my protection. You can charge them with anything,” he said.
Constitutional
“I will have an exhibition. You know what that would be, congressman? They go to court and I say no more trial. Plead guilty—guilty. Bring them to the judge, pardon, absolute,” he said.
He said the grant of presidential pardon was provided for in the Constitution.
The 1987 Constitution states: “Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.”
Wrong message
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs that investigated Espinosa’s murder, said on Thursday that he disagreed with Mr. Duterte “announcing [that he would pardon Marcos and his men] to all and sundry and prematurely at that, because it sends a very wrong message to law enforcement people.”
“That could give them the impression of a blanket authority to murder illegal drug suspects and, worse, from somebody who has actually the legal authority to grant [pardons],” Lacson said.
Sen. Grace Poe described as “unfortunate” Mr. Duterte’s persistent defense of the Leyte policemen, “as it counters all our efforts to strengthen our legal institutions to ensure that only the guilty are prosecuted and convicted after a judicial process.”
“It could send a wrong signal to law enforcers that while they may be enforcing legal orders from their superiors, they could altogether ignore the rule of law in properly carrying out such orders knowing that pardon awaits them,” she said.
Sen. Bam Aquino said he found disturbing Mr. Duterte’s remarks, as these appeared to show there were people who were “above the law.”
Aquino said Mr. Duterte should let the judicial process to proceed before promising pardons.
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MOST READMake body language, maritime law, and Iranian regime change great again.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Pensacola, Florida, on Friday night, Donald Trump indicated that, as president, he would attack Iran if their sailors made improper gestures toward the U.S. Navy. After promising to build more ships for the Navy, which has a base in Pensacola, Trump tossed in an aside referencing the recent run-ins that U.S. warships have had with Iranian attack boats in the Persian Gulf. During those encounters, small Iranian speedboats controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which opposes the country’s nuclear deal with the U.S., have harassed U.S. ships in ways the Navy has deemed “unsafe and unprofessional.” Said Trump, to the delight of the crowd, “When [the Iranians] circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats, and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water.”
Some news reports are framing Trump’s statement about Iran as a matter of him once again going off script and ad-libbing some ill-advised bluster on top of the supposedly softened speeches his campaign has prepared for him. That’s undoubtedly what he did in this case, and maybe it was just intended as some kind of macho nationalistic towel-snap to get a quick “U.S.A.” chant out of the crowd. But while it’s indeed worrisome, if not exactly news, that the apparent body-language expert is unable to follow plans, or scripts, or basic political norms — in this case Trump, a major-party’s presidential candidate, indicated that he would be willing to start an armed conflict with another country, not to defend America’s citizens, interests, or allies — but over injured pride. And even if it is just a joke, or something Trump is willing to say to get a buzz off of a specific crowd, there is no reason to believe he wouldn’t continue to offer such asides if elected.
As it happens, Trump also questioned Hillary Clinton’s mental health again on Friday, saying that he thinks she is “an unstable person” and “trigger-happy.”
Earlier in the day, Trump had addressed the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., and criticized Clinton for being “just too quick to intervene, invade, or to push for regime change with people we don’t even know who they are, they take over, and they’re far worse.”
That is an important and completely valid criticism of regime-change thinking, but even putting aside how Trump supported U.S.-instigated regime |
fight to decide who owns the rights to Bandra’s image, but no one has told the village residents that they are part of it.
In Chuim, I am sitting in the verandah of an octogenarian who was born in the house he now lives in. As we chat about the village, he asks some of his neighbours to join the discussion. They all implore me not to use their names in any article I write, their worry based more on a lack of understanding than a distrust of the media. I find this a recurring theme: a member of Ranwar’s ALM even threatens to take legal action against me if I publish his name.
But what bothers Chuim residents most is night-time security. Apparently, young boys from outside the village have been taking advantage of its lack of streetlights to drink, smoke and “bring girls". There have been thefts: An entire washbasin was recently dislodged from outside a bungalow and carried off in the dark. Residents bemoan the lack of spaces for children to play in.
Everyday problems
In Ranwar, the concern about Jude Bakery and Birdsong has little to do with the image they portray. The worry is only that the establishments may litter and add to the number of automobiles that are already using the narrow roads there as thoroughfares. There is an ongoing battle to classify Veronica Street in Ranwar as pedestrian-only and to speed up the process of relaying it.
While I was keen to discuss what an organic café, a venue for pop-up restaurants and a co-working space in old urban villages meant symbolically, the residents seemed more intent on discussing basic infrastructural problems and impediments to everyday life. When I asked about cultural activities in the village, I was told mostly about joint readings of the Stations of the Cross prayers or Christian feasts.
I was surprised by how out of place I felt, how little I could predict their reactions. Although I had never lived in a village, I had grown up listening to stories, from my uncle and other older Bandraites, about uspaoing (a method of collecting stranded fish when the tide went out), country liquor bars, a man named Captain Captain who turned his airgun on people who tried to relieve themselves on the beach, roosters signalling dawn.... I had felt a certain sense of connection.
I once even wrote a short play based on these stories, called The Last Country, which used the dearth of country liquor as an analogy for the loss of some of Bandra’s heritage. It was performed in several villages as part of the biennial cultural event Celebrate Bandra, and was greeted positively by most. Perhaps I should have realized that the only real feedback from a village resident was a wagging finger from an old lady who wanted to know why I was fixated on the tradition of drinking country liquor. The metaphor was lost on her; the damage alcohol had wreaked on her community was a far more important issue.
Then, as now, I had mistakenly thought I belonged to all of Bandra. I had supposed that I was on the same timeline as everyone else, linked to those who came before.
When new entrants speak of places such as the erstwhile pub Zenzi, considered the original haunt of the new creative, trend-conscious population, as if they are Bandra monuments, us long-time residents spew vitriol. But, in a way, we suffer from similar illusions. The strong desire to belong, to call a place ours, leads us to extrapolate our familiarity with one aspect of a place to believe we know its entire story.
The old village folk, the modern Catholics, the crowd that patronizes The Hive and Birdsong—we are all from Bandra. We just belong to different parts of it, not parts necessarily defined by physical boundaries, but by different attitudes and lifestyles.
Ayaz Basrai, co-founder of The Busride Design Studio, a design studio in Ranwar, grew up in the area and is trying, through efforts such as The Bandra Project, to tell the story of Bandra, its villages and its people through design. He is also partnering with his long-time client, Amlani, to transform Jude Bakery. Basrai has suggested in the past that the villages are at the heart of the “Idea of Bandra".
It is impossible, then, to find one idea of Bandra. Community spirit, cosmopolitan and liberal are some of the tags often attached to the suburb.
It is true that Bandra has more than 50 ALMs, many of which regularly fight the municipality on policy and development plans. It is also true that in some neighbourhoods, members of religious communities have found common cause—such as when Catholics, Muslims, Parsis and Hindus joined hands to stop the proposed expansion of Hill Road in 2007.
The presence of these spaces only becomes problematic when you begin to speak of them as a logical conclusion to a one-dimensional Bandra story. The image of a place, even if only a superficial one, can still attract others who buy into it. Already, there are references on blogs to some of Bandra’s graffiti-filled hamlets as bohemian havens. If this idea is propagated, it may not be long before the owners of these first few alternative spaces in Bandra villages turn into people lamenting change, the way the early boutique and gallery owners in Delhi’s Hauz Khas have.
This is where we have to be careful that our romantic ideas of a place we like to think of as our own don’t lead us to believe we can define the whole of its future. While the desire to conserve Bandra’s villages through commercial spaces may be well intended, it is important to ask whose space it is to conserve.
And what do its actual inhabitants want preserved anyway? Merely its aesthetic or the way it functions? Fernandes says the very idea of using cafés and stores as a strategy to conserve urban spaces is a Western one, which “museumizes" neighbourhoods. In India, however, we have a rapidly growing population, so old structures tend to be in constant use in a manner that supports this growth.
Bandra is destined for more change. Every person who lives there has a stake in that change. But while discussing how it will occur, we must remember that while we are all Bandraites, none of us is the Bandraite.Last week, NASA revealed that SpaceX's first commercial resupply mission to the ISS experienced a number of anomalies in addition to the shutdown of a Falcon 9 first-stage engine, including the loss of one of three flight computers on the Dragon cargo vessel due to a suspected radiation hit. Over the weekend I spoke with John Muratore, SpaceX director of vehicle certification, who said the loss of the computer was a function of the radiation-tolerant system design on which Dragon relies, rather than hard-to-come-by "rad-hardened" parts that can be costly and difficult to upgrade.
AWST: So, NASA does not require SpaceX to use radiation-hardened computer systems on the Dragon?
John Muratore: No, as a matter of fact NASA doesn't require it on their own systems, either. I spent 30 years at NASA and in the Air Force doing this kind of work. My last job was chief engineer of the shuttle program at NASA, and before that as shuttle flight director. I managed flight programs and built the mission control center that we use there today.
On the space station, some areas are using rad-hardened parts and other parts use COTS parts. Most of the control of the space station occurs through laptop computers which are not radiation hardened.
The radiation environment is something people have known about for a long time. It's part of the natural environment, and it varies. It matters what kind of mission you're doing. With Dragon we're doing low-Earth orbit, short-duration missions and that drives a lot of the architecture.
So NASA didn't require radiation-hardened parts. It did, however, require us to do a hard analysis of the radiation environment, the effect of the environment on the Dragon systems and how we'd respond to that. We not only produced that analysis, but it was reviewed by an independent panel of experts. So NASA had very strong requirements for us to understand the environment and have planned out our responses to the environment, and we've done that.
Q: So, these flight computers on Dragon – there are three on board, and that's for redundancy?
A: There are actually six computers. They operate in pairs, so there are three computer units, each of which have two computers checking on each other. The reason we have three is when operating in proximity of ISS, we have to always have two computer strings voting on something on critical actions. We have three so we can tolerate a failure and still have two voting on each other. And that has nothing to do with radiation, that has to do with ensuring that we're safe when we're flying our vehicle in the proximity of the space station.
I went into the lab earlier today, and we have 18 different processing units with computers in them. We have three main computers, but 18 units that have a computer of some kind, and all of them are triple computers – everything is three processors. So we have like 54 processors on the spacecraft. It's a highly distributed design and very fault-tolerant and very robust.
Q: But there's nothing on the spacecraft in the way of radiation-hardened parts?
A: The parts aren't hardened, the design as a total system is hardened. What it is is each part does not go through the screening that is typical of radiation hardened parts. Now that doesn't mean that each part can't take the dose that a “rad-hardened” part can, because we've taken all of our designs and we've tested them extensively, we've had contracts with the the [NASA] Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) to consult us, and their the world's experts in it, and we've gone to the University of Indiana and tested all of our parts, and we test them until they fail. We keep bringing the environment up and up and up until they fail. But we test them as a total system, not each part at a time. We've tested lots of our parts to very, very high radiation environments. So we test them as a total system, and by that I mean a unit with three processors in it, we test the entire unit. We take the cover off and we hit it really, really hard with radiation, and we do that so we understand how the parts react in the radiation environment.
Q: So what happened in this situation where one computer on board Dragon had a suspected radiation hit and shut down?
A: Think of a computer as lots of white marbles that are arranged in a specific pattern on a table, and a black marble comes in and knocks one of the white marbles out of place. Now, the memories of our computers are constantly checking for that happening. So if we take a hit in our most dense part of our computer – the memory – the computer detects it and repairs it and there's no harm done. But our other circuits in the computer, places like where we're bringing information in and out of the processor, if we take a hit there it can cause basically a bit to flip from a zero to a one. And that instruction can be wrong, and that is where the two processors in a single computer element voting on each other can detect that, and it can force a reboot. And that's what happened, we rebooted the computer.
Q: You rebooted the computer, but I understand it didn't re-sync, was that intentional?
A: Let's say you're working on something on your PC and you have Internet Explorer up and Word and a whole bunch of things and you take a glitch in the computer and it reboots and you lose all your work. What we do is when we re-sync, the two computers that are still running and have all the latest applications up, they load all that information in the memory so the three memories have all the same information. So when we rebooted, we had the option to re-sync. And we had practiced that on the ground lots. We do it all the time. Matter of fact when we normally bring the computers up we re-sync them. So we'd done this tons of times. But we needed to coordinate that and explain what we were doing to all the partners on the space station, and that just took time. And NASA said rather than distract everybody with going through a long technical explanation of why we do that and convincing everybody it's all ok, can you guys just fly away the way you are? And we were like, yeah. We met every requirement that NASA had, even with one computer down.
Q: So, is there going to be any corrective action in terms of modifications to Dragon for the next cargo resupply mission net year? NASA's ISS Program Manager Michael Suffredini has been quoted suggesting you may replace existing parts with “rad-hardened” parts.
A: I think he was just hypothesizing. The first time you do anything on the space station, you talk about it a lot. And then after you talk about it, the next time it happens it's just like the time before, and they say go ahead, no problem. On our output processors, we took some hits on the last mission [the Falcon 9/Dragon demo flight that delivered Dragon to ISS in June under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program]. And we had to spend a lot of time explaining to people what we were doing. It's an international consortium, it's a $100-billion program, it's a million pounds of hardware, and everybody's systems need to interact, and we need to explain that when we're going to do something. And when we're going to do something the first time, even though we've explained it in safety panels and safety reviews and flight procedures and flight-technique meetings and we had talked about it all before, the first time you actually come up to it, everybody just wants to talk about it again.
So we had similar radiation hits on the output units this time, and we called the flight director and he went “Yeah, go ahead, go reset.” So we reset the input/output units with about a five-minute discussion. It was no big deal. So I think that because of that, he's thinking we spent a lot of time talking about this, maybe you should consider some other kinds of parts. But I think it was just because it was the first time we went through it.
Q: Ok, is there any plan right now to make any changes in the flight computers for the next mission?
A: We might make some slight procedural or software changes so we can get through the re-synching faster. But that's all. We're still talking about that. There's no requirement to make any changes. We met every safety requirement that NASA put on us. Every piece of hardware that had any kind of hit recovered 100%, completely. So the design functioned exactly the way it was intended to function.
Q: Is it possible all three computer units could take a hit and go down at once?
A: So, remember the marbles. Now we've got three tables and the white marbles arranged on all three tables, and the black marble would have to go through so that it hit all three tables at once. And that would be hard to do. But even if it did, we normally power up the vehicle with the computers down. Matter of fact we run with the computers down all the time because each of the input/output units have its own three strings of computers in it. And we can command those directly, we can command them from the station, through the TDRS satellite, we can command them from our own ground station. There was no impact at all. And we would have just rebooted them and come up.
Q: What's the downside to buying radiation-hardened hardware or software? Is it expensive, or just not widely available?
A: It's really not the expense that drives it. We're committed to having the best possible parts in all of our designs. So if it cost a lot and we needed it, we'd go get it. We were already required to have all this redundancy in the computers to meet all the different safety requirements. Then we started looking at what parts do we want to use and what is appropriate for this design. And what really is more important to us than the cost of the parts is the capability of the parts – how much power do they use, how much memory do they hold, how much do they process, and how physically big are they. That's the first thing.
The second thing is what tools they come with. We run the Linux operating system, we program everything in C++, and that enables us to tap into a huge pool of very talented people and find the absolute best people in the computer and software industry to work with us. If you go into the radiation hardened parts, they are very limited in terms of what languages you can work in, what support packages there are for them, who knows how to program in them. It really limits your ability to work with the parts. And the other thing it really does is they all take a little longer time to get and they're a little harder to come by.
I just walked around the factory this morning, just in the office area alone, and we have over 40 of the flight computers sitting on people's desks. And if they were hard-to-come-by items, we wouldn't have that many computers. We've got 54 in a Dragon – and they're all different kinds of computers, different kinds of processors. We've got computers in the Falcon 9, we've got three computers in one unit on each engine in the Falcon 9, so that's 30 computers right there. We have hundreds of flight computers of different capability levels, and we're in multiple generations of design. The radiation parts tend not to have growth and upgrade paths. It's very hard to grow, if you decide you want a little more capability, a little faster, you're really limited – it's that part. And we're already in our third generation of flight computer at SpaceX. In the last two years we've worked through three generations, we've got people working on a fourth generation computer. So we are constantly looking at what's available in the marketplace, moving with the marketplace so we can use the best software tools, the best people the best techniques and achieve the most modern, optimized, efficient design. That's why we don't want to go into these lines, and they are good pieces of equipment, lots of people use them. But they don't open up the kind of possibilities that we want to have. A lot of other programs are one program. At SpaceX our goal is the most reliable, cost effective and safe access to space in the world, and our CEO [Elon Musk] is very clear: We're going to Mars. So building the computer for the Dragon isn't just about building the computer for the Dragon, it's about building a whole suite of tools, techniques, people and processes to then go to the next vehicle, and the next vehicle. And our equipment crosses lines. Falcon designs go into Dragon, we're currently retrofitting the Dragon design into the new Falcon, so our designs constantly keep evolving, and that's why we don't want to get into lines that have limited growth capacity.
Q: Did the space shuttle have rad-hardened computers?
A: They had rad-hardened design, not rad-hardened parts. I was one of the flight directors the first time we went to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and they had the same kind of error-correcting memory approach that we have. And we just watched the errors counting up. I remember sitting on the console with my flight computer officer and we were just watching them crank up while we were up repairing the Hubble, and we were just going bang, bang, bang, taking errors and correcting them. So radiation-tolerant design vs. radiation-tolerant parts is very common and was used in shuttle.
Q; So you're not breaking a mold here.
A: We're taking it to an extent previously not done, but we're operating in a well known set of techniques and capabilities.In his first two seasons as a starter, Mariota accounted for 7,811 yards and 78 touchdowns as the Ducks went 23-3. He set such a torrid pace that he could soon break the team records for total offense and total touchdowns.
Those who know Mariota best say that almost everything he has accomplished at Oregon can be traced to his youth. They tell stories of the way he matured here, and they seem to be saying that he will succeed because of his Hawaiian roots, not in spite of them.
On a recent afternoon, Mariota’s parents, Toa Mariota and Alana Deppe-Mariota, sat in a booth at Zippy’s, their son’s favorite restaurant. Marcus Mariota inherited his competitiveness from his father, Alana Deppe-Mariota said. When Toa Mariota was growing up in American Samoa, he played in village rugby games. He was a wing, meaning he was fast and elusive and his responsibility was to take the last pitch and score.
He met Marcus Mariota’s mother at Chaminade University and is now a supervisor for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security. Toa Mariota declined to offer many details, but his cases have involved drugs, human trafficking and money laundering.
“Just like you see on TV,” he said with his arms folded. He nodded toward his wife. “She doesn’t know half the stuff I did. And the boys, they don’t know anything.”
WHERE ONE GOES to high school, and plays football in particular, is generally important here. Generations of families pledge to play at one school. Honolulu’s residents say their passion for football rivals that of Texas’. When people ask where you are from, they often want to know which high school you attended: Mililani, Punahou or St. Louis.
Mariota chose St. Louis, a blue-collar, all-boys parochial school, mostly for its winning tradition. (His brother, Matt, is now a senior who plays defense for the Crusaders.) In the 1980s and ’90s, St. Louis won 14 consecutive state titles using a run-and-shoot offense similar to Oregon’s, a scheme that attracted some of the island’s best quarterbacks, including Timmy Chang, Darnell Arceneaux and Jason Gesser. Vinnie Passas, St. Louis’s longtime quarterbacks coach, tutored them.Clearly nature is an inspiration for Four Realms, but it also is a gameplay element.
Posted by hugebot on Jul 25th, 2015
Hey Everybody!
One of the key design goals of Four Realms is to celebrate nature. Now obviously, all the characters are based off of real world animals. But I wanted to take a few posts and actual focus on the environmental sub systems to Four Realms.
I wanted the environment in in the animal nations to both feel real and play a part in the game play. This means the day/night cycle that is common in many games isn't just for visual effects. They play a tangible role in the game.
Today is the first of two parts focusing on the environment systems, I call them the soft systems. These systems don't play as critical role in core loop of Four Realms. But a clever player can still use these systems to their advantage and build smart thematic Spell Lists.
Wind (Air Realm)
When the wind is really blowing you will notice trees sway more, sand will blow, clouds will dance, and the grass will rustle. The wind is more present when playing levels in the Strato-Sultanate.
If the wind is really high you will see gust blowing across the screen. This is when the true power of wind is harnessed. Wind Clouds placed through out certain levels be come usable and open new paths in the level. Certain beasts from the Strato-Sultanate gain buff enchantments when in wind. Such as the Cadet Sparrowhawk who gains a health buff if the wind strength is high enough.
Rain (Water Realm)
If you walk through the Fluid Coalition, rain is a common sight. The down pour of water from the sky is only natural in the Water Realm. But this simple site is a source of power. Rain Leaves blossom in the water, creating new areas to explore.
Many beasts of the Fluid Coalition gain bonuses when in water, more so than any other nation. They find themselves at home in their element. This is why Rain is one of the few environment spells. Call down the rain any time you want and power your Fluid Nation army.
Day (Fire) & Night (Earth)
The twin environment systems. It's quite a stunning sight when you see a sun or moon rise. And similar to their cousin systems they too create paths. Sun Flowers bloom in the Day, while Moon Shrooms grow at night.
Press
Four Realms got a shout out form Indie Game Lover: Indiegamelover.blogspot.com
And a very nice write up from Billy D at One Angry Gamer.
"What originally looked like a typical side-scroller eventually turned into something far more unique. "
Blogjob.com
Thanks for reading! As always, let me know your questions and suggestions!
-DelPhoto: Tim Barber
Recently, I was having a conversation about porn with my friend Andrew Richardson, the man behind the smart sex magazine, Richardson, which once featured Stoya as a cover star, shot by Steven Klein. “Millennials are so enlightened,” he said, unironically. “Women my age, when they were in their twenties, their image of a powerful woman was Princess Diana. For your generation, it’s Stoya.”
Stoya in her Brooklyn apartment. Photo: Tim Barber
Stoya is the antithesis of the pornstar cliche: a skinny brunette with milk-white skin, armpit hair, small tits and a big brain. She is a natural beauty in a world that praises the unnatural. But she is a welcome anomaly.
In her eight years in the porn biz, Stoya has become a slutty feminist icon for the educated, sexually liberated masses. And her growing status as a respected, mass media commentator on sexuality and sexual health gives me faith in the world, because even a handful of years ago it would have been hard to envision a pornstar in that role (with all due respect).
Aside from fucking professionally, Stoya is a writer – she’s written on subjects like sex workers’ rights and identity politics for publications like the New York Times, VICE, The Guardian and Refinery29, and she currently has a regular sex-advice column for The Verge. And now she’s an entrepreneur, too – she recently launched a site of curated smut called TRENCHCOATx with fellow adult star Kayden Kross.
Stoya and The Feminist Porn Book. Photo: Tim Barber
On the subway to her Brooklyn apartment, I read The Feminist Porn Book, as foreplay. When I showed up she was in sweatpants with wet hair and no makeup, playing with her beloved cats (they are pretty much the only thing she Instagrams). That morning, she’d been memorising lines for an upcoming (non-porno) film she’s starring in – an indie, sci-fi feature in which she plays a very sophisticated A.I..
She talks fast and frankly, with a cigarette constantly in her mouth. She’s bubbly and laughs a lot, but there’s clearly a dark side. I mean, she dated Marilyn Manson, so there’s that. While chain smoking and drinking black coffee, we talked about casual sex, open relationships, and why being a slut is super fun but can also be stressful.
Are you a Tinder person? I recently got kind of obsessed with it because I like that it allows me to have sex with total randoms – to escape my social scene.
I know that feeling. It’s not for me anymore, but when I was 18 I used to love coming up to New York—because Philly is basically a small town—and meet total strangers and have sex with them in the bathroom of a bar, and we’d just be bodies.
But enjoying being just bodies is unsettling to some people, because the dominant philosophical narrative has been pushing away from bodies – we’re fighting objectification and saying, “No, we’re brains; brains are the things that make humans special.” We’re subverting our physical urges in favour of being in control of everything.
Yeah, there are times when I want to be objectified. Like, if during sex I was always a wholeperson, that would be fucking boring.
Yes! Objectification isn’t necessarily bad. When you wake up and watch one of your sexual partners make coffee in the kitchen, and there’s beautiful light coming through the window and you’re like, “My god, you’re just gorgeous” – that’s objectification. You didn’t think, “My god, you’re gorgeous and smart and caring and your soul is beautiful” or whatever.
Inside Stoyas' apartment. Photo: Tim Barber
Lol, true. So when you were having bar bathroom sex, was it just about the thrill and fulfilling bodily urges, or would you actually be able to have good sex and to cum?
I could cum – I have a hair trigger. Of course if I’m worried about other shit, like “OMG did I forget to feed my cats,” then all bets are off, but if I’m in the moment I’m good. Also if we’re not communicating well, then I’ll just do it myself – it’s fine: I can push my own buttons.
I feel like I’m “good” at sex, but sometimes I still end up having really bad sex with people, and I assume it must be partially my fault, right?
Well, you might just have been with the wrong partner for you. In the sex advice column I write for The Verge—and for Refinery29 before this—so many of the questions I get go something like: “I want X in bed but my partner wants Y.
How do we fix our sex life?” But the truth is, they’re just not matching sexually, and I don’t know if that can be fixed. If you applied the same logic to anything besides sex—to music, for example, or religious beliefs—you would just accept that you have basically nothing in common. But when it’s sex, for some reason, we think: “I need to change who I am as a person so my partner and I can get on the same page.” When maybe the real answer is that you just aren’t sexually compatible.
That’s true. Another thing I learned recently is that you can have really good sex with someone but not be romantically compatible. Like my recent ex-girlfriend and I: she wanted a closed relationship and I wanted to be open, and it was just never going to work out. What do you think of open relationships?
Actually, just yesterday I broke up with this amazing guy. He was such an attentive lover and so considerate. He was the good kind of male feminist – not the “Oh, I’m so sad about women’s issues in the world” kind. Anyway, our relationship was open.
For me they basically have to be open, because every time something slides into monogamy or someone expects monogamy, then invariably it’s trouble when I go to work.
Stoya chain smoking and drinking black coffee. Photo: Tim Barber
Do you prefer “don’t ask don’t tell” or did you discuss your hookups? Did you have rules?
I know a lot of people do the “don’t ask don’t tell” thing, but that’s not for me. I think you need to have expectations and agreements in open relationships, but any rules, in my opinion, seem to eventually not serve people well.
I can’t be in a relationship where I can’t talk about everything I did in my week with my partner. I don’t need to give them a full blow-by-blow report—pun intended—but if the most important thing that happened that week was that I had some crazy sex adventure, then I have to be able to at least mention it.
Are you a relationship person, or do you default to being single?
There were three consecutive years when I was younger when I didn’t have significant other; but now it’s rare for there to be a patch where I could actually be called single. To date, I’ve luckily managed to find a lot of people who are super pro-slutty – but for me the issue is time: I travel a lot.
Do you find it easier to date people inside the porn industry?
I’ve dated one. Other than that, I prefer to keep the professional relationship clean. And then sometimes, after you have sex with someone 10 times or so, you’re like, “Ah, that was a fun fling, but now the spark is gone.”
And I’d rather save those 10 times for work, rather than use them up off-set. Although… I do like to play with fire sometimes. Like I’ll get drunk and be finger-banged on the street outside of a bar, but then I’ll be like, “No, we’re not going to home together, I’ll see you on set tomorrow!
Stoya inside her Brooklyn apartment. Photo: Tim Barber
Do you think it’s possible for a woman today to do sex work and not be perceived, by wider culture, as either desperate or insane?
I do. For instance, with me, people love to say: “We love that you’re making a political statement with your body!” Or “We love how money-motivated you are!” But I’m like… Um, I do porn because it sounded like fun, and a great way to pay rent. And when it’s not fun it’s stuff I can deal with – like how I would evaluate any other job.
It’s often referenced that porn is one of the only industries where women are paid more than men. Is that true?
Well, that’s a cute, girl-power soundbite. But let’s think about this: generally, yes, a female performer will take home a larger paycheck at the end of a day than a man will. However, there’s no direct formula for how long a career is going to last.Generally, women’s careers are a lot shorter, partly because of the gendered implications of ageing.
If we’re talking about hetero-typical focused pornography, as long as the man isn’t too annoying and has an erect penis, then he can work every day for decades. But the women who can do the job well, and resonate with people, don’t get to do the job as often or as long as men do. I would be curious for someone to look at what Rocco Siffredi or James Deen have made in their careers compared to what I’ve made.
You get a lot of anti-porn feminists—particularly in academia—being bitches to you on the regular, realistically because you’re a pretty, smart, sane woman doing porn. You’re the worst enemy to their cause.
Yeah. There are many established academics out there today who truly believe that a woman having a public sexuality keeps us down – that it’s this patriarchal plot. But porn isn’t inherently more oppressive than anything else under capitalism. The problem with this branch of feminism is that, specifically when it comes to sex work, it neglects to consider capitalism.
Like, what about the demonstrable wage disparity, and the fact that you can’t have food and a roof over your head and medical care when you need it without money? And where the fuck is the money supposed to come from? Maybe [anti-porn activist] Gail Dines skips to work at her office in the university, and would do her job even if she wasn’t getting paid – but that’s definitely not most people’s lives.
Stoya inside her Brooklyn apartment. Photo: Tim Barber
I often feel perversely fuelled by slut-shaming because I’m like, “Mwahaha, you’re just jealous because you’re not getting laid.” And of course, it’s just fun to be provocative. But sometimes a comment can get under the skin. How do you deal with slut-shaming?
Every morning I wake up and check the messages on my website, and then I check Twitter. Almost always there’s people telling me that I’m a whore and pretty regularly there’s someone telling me that I should die.
And sometimes they are active threats, like “I’m going to hunt you down and kill you with my dick.” Someone once told me they were going to fuck my spleen. I was like, wow, that’s interesting… but also terrifying. So, slut-shaming is something I deal with every day. I’ve been denied a bank account.
It was a nightmare to find someone who would rent an apartment to be because I had to disclose what I do for a living. But I manage to still be honest about who I am. I don’t have sympathy for people who are like: “Society says that I shouldn’t be sexual, so I’m going to take it out on everyone around me.” No – go find the balls or the ovaries or whatever it is you need that will allow you to be who you are.
One of Stoyas' many beloved cats. Photo: Tim Barber
Read: ‘Andrew Richardson on Porn and Pro-Sex Feminism’
Read: ‘Raya: Digital Dating for the A-List’
Read: ‘Happy Hour With Jeannette Hayes at The Bowery’CLOSE Drugged driving in Michigan and across the country is on the rise. Detroit Free Press
Buy Photo Medical marijuana being grown in Warren. (Photo: William Archie, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
LANSING — The Board of State Canvassers gave approval Thursday to a new proposed ballot effort to amend the state constitution to fully legalize recreational use of marijuana without taxing the drug.
The proposal from Abrogate Prohibition Michigan of Midland would nullify all laws prohibiting or regulating the use of marijuana and impose no fines, taxes or penalties on its use.
"I call it the Second Amendment of cannabis," sponsor Timothy Locke told the Free Press, comparing it to the U.S. constitutional provision granting the right to bear arms.
The Legislature would still have the power to tax and regulate cannabis, but no such measures would be required as part of his constitutional amendment, he said.
The board voted 4-0 to approve only the form — but not the substance — of the petition, and not before one of the four board members questioned the organizers' intent.
Colleen Pero, a Republican appointee to the board, questioned a provision that would make the change retroactive.
More: Michigan's marijuana legalization drive hits signature milestone
More: Three charged in bribe plot tied to pot dispensary in Garden City
"I don't understand what they're trying to do," Pero said. "I don't see how something can be retroactive of this magnitude."
Locke was not able to attend Thursday's meeting and nobody else from the committee was there to address Pero's question.
Locke told the Free Press the measure would be retroactive to about 1970, when he said cannabis was first criminalized at the state level. Anyone imprisoned only for state marijuana crimes would be subject to release and criminal records would be expunged, he said. The proposed amendment would have no effect on federal drug crimes, Locke said.
An earlier marijuana |
terror attacks in Paris carried out by militants, killing at least 130 people.
The first attacks were launched virtually simultaneously, with two explosions close to the Stade de France at just after 9.20pm local time, four miles apart.
The explosions came as a large crowd were enjoying the first half of the international friendly between France and Germany.
The attacks then moved to central Paris, where a separate team of gunmen arrived in a black Seat at the Right Bank area of the city.
The attackers opened fire on the Petit Cambodge Cambodian restaurant in Rue Bichat, and the Le Carillon bar on the other side of the road.
With devastating coolness they gunned down diners and revellers at the two venues, killing 15 as many enjoyed their Friday night out.
The fourth attack came on Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, when the same unit of terrorists drove the 500 yards to the Casa Nostra pizzeria and opened fire on diners, killing at least five.
Photo: AFP
From there, the militants drove around a mile south-east – apparently past the area of the Bataclan concert venue – to then launch another attack, this time on La Belle Equipe bar in Rue de Charonne. At least 19 people died after the terrace was sprayed with bullets at around 9.35pm.
The next attack, at the Bataclan concert venue in Boulevard Voltaire, was the most deadly. There, at least 89 people lost their lives when they were shot by black-clad gunmen wielding AK-47s and wearing suicide vests.
The attackers stormed into the hall and fired calmly and methodically at hundreds of screaming concert-goers, who were watching the US rock group Eagles of Death Metal playing to a full house of 1,500 people.
They began a siege that would last two hours and forty minutes. Two of the militants blew up their explosive belts as heavily armed anti-terror police ended the siege at around 12.30am. A third was shot by officers.
Terrifying details have emerged of the police assault on the Islamist attackers.
The first policeman to get there arrived at 10pm, about 20 minutes after the three gunmen burst into the concert hall last Friday night and began methodically killing fans who had turned out to watch the Eagles of Death Metal group.
At around 10.15 pm a heavily armed Swat team arrived and entered the building. The attackers had by then retreated to an upper floor. The police evacuated all the people they found and then, in two columns, went up the stairs to the right and the left of the auditorium.
As they progressed terrified people emerged from cupboards and other hiding places where they had taken cover.
“They came out like zombies. They were in a terrible state and could hardly walk,” said one officer involved in the raid, named only as Jean.
At 20 minutes past midnight the order was given to start the final assault. The police burst open the door and, protected by a heavy metal shield, being advancing down the corridor that was revealed to be full of about 20 hostages.
The attackers opened fire immediately but the police unit kept advancing, with officers rushing screaming hostages out as they went forward.
When finally they were face to face with the attackers, the police threw a stun grenade as they blasted their guns at the Islamists.
One attacker went down, and then the other detonated his suicide vest, blowing both their bodies to pieces. The assault had lasted three minutes.
Photo: Reuters
Finally, at around 9.50pm a third blast took place near the Stade de France, this time by a McDonald’s restaurant on the fringes of the stadium.
The boom caused terror among spectators who had already been attempting to flee the stadium following the first two explosions.
The match had continued, with many attributing the initial noises to fireworks, but word soon spread of what had taken place outside the stadium, as people read updates on their mobile phones.
Read a full reconstruction of what happened on the night of Friday, November 13 here.
Casualties
Photo: Getty Images
At least 130 people have died, according to city officials, with many still in intensive care.
One Briton - Nick Alexander - has been confirmed by family to have lost his life at the Bataclan.
At least 89 people were killed in the concert hall. Three assailants were also killed after police stormed in - two by activating their suicide vests and a third shot dead.
A little further east at least 19 people died when the terrace of the La Belle Equipe in Rue de Charonne was sprayed with gunfire, while 15 people were killed at Le Carillon bar-cafe in Rues Bichat.
Five people at the Casa Nostra pizzeria and a nearby bar were killed by attackers wielding rifles.
The Belgian connection
The Molenbeek area of Brussels has continued to see a major crackdown with raids continuing overnight and throughout the day yesterday.
On Sunday afternoon, French media reported that three brothers may be involved in the attacks and one may remain at large.
They are said to be:
Ibrahim Abdeslam - suicide bomber
Ibrahim Abdeslam was a suicide bomebr who blew himself up outside the Comptoir Voltaire restaurant in Paris. He rented the Seat Leon which was found abandoned in a Paris suburb with Kalashnikovs inside.
Salah Abdeslam - on the run
There is an international arrest warrant out for Salah Abdeslam - a French national who rented a black VW Polo in Belgium which was found abandoned near the Bataclan concert hall.
He was stopped near the Belgian border on Saturday morning in a grey VW golf also carrying two accomplices, but was not arrested at the time.
The third brother, Mohamed Abdeslam, was arrested on Saturday in Brussels but was released on Monday without charge.
He has since released a statement saying he had no idea that his brothers had been radicalised.
He said: "My parents are truly shocked. I am thinking of the victims. I did not know that they had been radicalised."
On Tuesday, he called for his brother- suspect Salah Abdeslam - to turn himself in.
French media reported on Tuesday Salah Abdeslam that he rented two rooms in Alfortville, near Paris.
According to news channel BFM TV, he used a credit card to rent the flat and police say there is evidence he was not alone.
It is reported at least two others stayed with him.
Le Point claims it has exclusive video inside the rooms which are sparse with pizza boxes and syringes lying around.
There are unconfirmed reports that Abdeslam is also on the run from Isil, fearing that the jihadists will wreak retribution on him for not completing his tasks.
Read more about the various connections to Belgium here.
Who were the other terrorists?
Omar Ismail Mostefai, 29, was identified by his finger, which was found among the rubble of the Bataclan concert hall. Police say he was one of three men who blew himself up killing 89 people in the bloodiest scene of the carnage. His father and brother, who handed himself in, are in custody and police are searching the family's home and the homes of his friends.
His brother told AFP that he had not seen Mostefai for years and said the attacks were "madness".
Photo: BFMTV
Born on November 21 1985, in the poor Paris suburb of Courcouronnes, Mostefai's criminal record shows eight convictions for petty crimes between 2004 and 2010, but no jail time.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Mostefai had been singled out as a high-priority target for radicalisation in 2010 but, before Friday, he had "never been implicated in an investigation or a terrorist association".
Investigators are now probing whether he took a trip to Syria last year, according to police sources.
Bilal Hadfi blew himself up outside gate H of the Stade de France. He is said to have fought with Isil in Syria, and came from Belgium.
A teacher at a school he attended told the Telegraph Hadfi, 20, was an unambitious loner who wanted to be a lorry driver after failing his exams.
Ahmad Al Mohammad died in a suicide bomb at the Stade de France. A Syrian passport bearing his name was found at the scene.
The 25-year-old was born in Idlib, a city in north-west Syria, and the Paris prosecutor's office said fingerprints from the attacker match those of a person who travelled through Greece last month.
Sami Amimour was one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up at the Bataclan music hall, the Paris prosecutor's office said. A 28-year-old Frenchman, he was known to French intelligence services.
He was charged with terror offences in 2012 and was placed under judicial supervision. But he later disappeared and an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
Three of his relatives were arrested early today, prosecutors said.
Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud was named by a French official as the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks. The official said he has been linked to thwarted attacks on a Paris-bound high-speed train and a church in the Paris area.
Raid targeting Abdelhamid Abaaoud
Two terror suspects have been killed and seven arrested in a raid by elite French SWAT forces at Saint Denis, a north-eastern Paris suburb targeting Abaaoud.
An unidentified person blew themself up seconds after police opened fire at around 4.20am local time in du Courbillon in the multi-ethnic working class district that is a stone’s throw from the Stade de France – where three suicide bombers blew themselves up on Friday outside a France-Germany friendly football game attended by president Francois Hollande.
A police sniper shot dead a second suspect later on. A third person, Hasna Aitboulahcen, cousin of Abaaoud, died.
Police arrested three men they found in the apartment but there has no been no confirmation as to who they were. At least one, perhaps two suspects are reportedly still holed up in the apartment.
Police came under heavy Kalashnikov fire when they initially tried to enter the flat. Three officers suffered light injuries in the operation that was still ongoing at 9.30 am local time, six hours after it began.
Police also arrested a man and woman near the location of the raid.
Terrorists plotted second attack at La Defense and Charles de Gaulle airport
The terror suspects killed and arrested on Wednesday were in the final stages of carrying out an "imminent" attack at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, which is near Saint-Denis, and a shopping centre in La Défense, the capital's business district, according to France 2, the main state broadcaster.
Citing police sources, France 2 said investigators believe the Saint-Denis suspects formed part of a "fourth team" on top of the three that took part in Friday's attacks in Paris and the Stade de France, which killed 130.
As well as the airport, the terrorist suspects had intended to strike the Quatre Temps shopping centre in La Défense, to the West of the capital.
On Wednesday morning, police searched two locations at Roissy, including the cargo branch of Air France. However the Paris airport security authority said these had "no direct link to the terror attacks but had other aims, notably the search for elements linked to the phenomenon of radicalisation", without providing more details.
Earlier, bomb threats forced two Air France flights bound from America for Paris to be diverted on Tuesday night.
An Air France jet from Los Angeles International Airport landed in Salt Lake City, while another from Washington Dulles International Airport landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The aircraft were searched after they landed and no explosives were found on either plane, police and airport officials said.
The flights were "subjects of anonymous threats received by phone after takeoff," Air France spokesperson Christophe Paumier said.
Were there 20 attackers?
With seven suicide bombers dead, seven others under arrest and at least one man on the run, 15 men have so far been linked to the Paris attacks.
But CCTV footage suggests that there may have been a ninth attacker, who is still at large.
And Belgian intelligence officials have suggested that up to 20 people may have been part of the terrorist cell that planned the attacks.
Read a full account of what we know about the attackers so far here.
One attacker found with Syrian passport
A passport found near one of the suicide bombers at the Stade de France bore the name of Ahmad al-Mohammad.
It was used to register a refugee on the Greek island of Leros on October 3, and was then traced to Macedonia and an asylum claim in Serbia.
American intelligence officials have reported that the passport was clearly fake, based on the sequence of its serial number, something not apparently picked up on as its holder made his way through Europe.
Read more on this here.
Photo: Sky News
Arrests in France
It is now known that France conducted French police staged 128 raids, 23 arrests and seized 31 weapons in overnight raids on Monday in the wake of the Paris attacks.
Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, announced that police carried out 168 raids and have assigned 104 people to house arrest.
Cazeneuve said: "It's just a start, these operations are going to continue, the response of the Republic will be huge, will be total. The one who targets the Republic, the Republic will catch him, will be implacable."
The investigation into the attack spread to Belgium on Saturday where police arrested several suspects in Brussels.
Belgian police also carried out several raids in Brussels on Monday morning.
Arrests in Germany
Three people have been arrested in Germany in connection with the attacks.
Spiegel magazine has named the man arrested in Germany in connection with the Paris attacks as Kamal A, 29, and his two female companions as Lava M, 28, and Didem A, 32.
They were arrested after an employee at a local supermarket saw the group and believed she recognised the man as Salah Abdeslam, the suspected Paris attacker who is on the run, the magazine reported on its website.
It is not currently clear whether the arrested man is Abdeslam using an alias or the arrests are a case of mistaken identity.
On Tuesday afternoon, police were still questioning the three suspects.
Who has been charged?
Three people have so far been charged in connection with the Paris attacks: two people, Hamza Attou and Mohammed Amri, have been charged for allegedly helping the on-the-run suspect Salah Abdeslam get from Paris to Brussels.
Another man, of Moroccan descent, has been charged for terrorist offences in relation to the attacks. A. Lazez, a 39-year-old from Brussels was on Friday charged with helping organise the Paris attacks, being part of a terrorist organisation, and illegally carrying a weapon.
Turkey has detained a Belgian citizen of Moroccan origin on suspicion of links to the Paris attacks. Ahmet Dahmani, 26, is accused of conducting reconnaissance work to choose the sites for the attacks in Paris, and was caught trying to head into Syria. He has not been charged.
France fights back
On Sunday, France struck back at the heart of Islamic State, launching 20 airstrikes on the Syrian town of Raqqa, the defacto capital of the "caliphate".
In a joint operation with US forces, targets including a command post, a recruitment centre for jihadists, an arms depot and a terrorist training camp were destroyed, according to the French defence ministry.
Overnight on Sunday, anti-terrorism units also launched raids across France, in Toulouse, Grenoble, Calais and Paris. Several arrests were made and weapons have been seized.
On Monday night, French warplanes carried out fresh raids overnight against the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, destroying a command centre and training centre, the defence ministry said.
Ten Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters carried out the raid at 0030 GMT, dropping 16 bombs.
Turkey notified France of suspect almost a year ago
Reuters is reporting that a senior Turkish official twice notified France about a suspect in December 2014 and June 2015.
The official also said that they received a request from France on Omar Ismail Mostefai after the attacks.
"We did, however, not hear back from France on the matter," added the official.
The Turkish official confirmed that Mostefai entered Turkey from the northwestern province of Edirne that borders EU members Greece and Bulgaria in 2013.
"There is no record of him leaving the country," said the Turkish official.
The official said that French authorities had only showed interest in Mostefai after the attacks.
"It was only after the Paris attacks that the Turkish authorities received an information request about Omar Ismail Mostefai from France."
He said that on October 10, 2014, Turkey received an information request regarding four terror suspects from the French authorities, but not for Mostefai even though he had been identified by Turkey as a potential terror suspect.
France in mourning
French people gathered together on Sunday night in Paris to mourn the 130 people who lost their lives in the attacks.
A service was held at Notre Dame Cathedral and hundreds of people congregated at the Place de la Republique.
France held a two-minute silence at midday on Monday (11am GMT).
Photo: AP
Our correspondent Tom Rowley wrote from Paris:
A beautiful, life-affirming scene in the Place de la Sorbonne just now.
Inside, President Hollande marked a minute's silence for Friday's victims, but outside more than a thousand students entirely packed the square, which fell utterly still at midday.
A minute later, the applause rang out. One woman, who was sobbing, still put her hands together, determined to make some noise, to do something amid such helplessness.
Then, someone near the front of the crowd started singing La Marseillaise.
Soon, everyone joined in; some even shouted the words. All knew it by heart, but never before had it felt so potent.
When the singing ceased, there were two more - even louder - rounds of applause.
The students here were the same age as many killed on Friday - but they will not be silenced.
Hollande: France is at war
Francois Hollande gave an historic speech at Versailles on Monday before the upper and lower houses of parliament - only the third time this has happened since 1848.
He said: "France is at war. The acts committed on Friday night in Paris and at the Stade are acts of war, leaving at least 130 dead and many wounded; this constitutes an attack against our country, against its values against its youth, against its way of life." Isil struck France because it is 'free' and 'the nation of human rights'.
"This is not a war of civilisation as these aassisins don't have any. This is a war against the jihadist menace that threatens not just France."
Mr Hollande called on the rest of Europe to control its borders and confirmed his intention to prolong France's state of emergency for three months.
On Wednesday, two Air France flights from the US to Paris were diverted after a security alert. They were en-route to Paris Charles de Gaulle from Washington and Los Angeles respectively.
A statement from Air France said: "As a precautionary measure and to conduct all necessary security checks, Air France, applying their safety regulations in force, decided to request the landings of both aircraft."
EU troops could be sent to France
The EU has opened the door to Britain sending troops or other specialists to France after an emergency mechanism was triggered for the first time in the bloc's history.
France activated Article 42, a distress call that compels other EU states to send military and other support. It is akin to Article 5, the Nato mutual defence pact.
States have already pledged support, which could be military or civil. France will specify the support it needs to each state in the coming days.
Friday 13th Paris attacks Times quoted refer to GMT Spectators gather on the pitch of the Stade de France stadium. Photo: AFP the first explosion went off near the Stade de France, where president Francois Hollande was at a football match between France and Germany. One person was killed in the blast. The body of a terrorist was found at the scene wearing a suicide belt filled with shrapnel. Service personnel working outside the restaurant. Photo: Reuters Shortly after the first explosion at the Stade de France, gunmen with Kalashnikovs launched an attack at Le Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge restaurant on Rue Bichat, in the city's 10th arrondissement, killing 15 people and injuring 10. The attackers drove about 500 yards to the Casa Nostra pizzeria in Rue de la Fontaine au Roi and opened fire on diners on the terrace of the restaurant, killing at least five people and injuring eight. Another explosion went off outside the Stade de France when a second suicide bomber blew himself up. Forensic police search for evidences outside the La Belle Equipe cafe. Photo: Getty Images Militants launch an attack on La Belle Equipe in Rue de Charonne, spraying the terrace bar with bullets and killing 19 people in gunfire which witnesses say lasted "two, three minutes". Wounded people are evacuated outside the Bataclan theatre. Photo: EPA Three black-clad gunmen wielding AK-47s and wearing suicide vests stormed Le Bataclan during a concert by American rock band Eagles Of Death Metal. At least 89 were killed and more than 100 others injured during the shooting. The attackers were heard mentioning Syria and Iraq during the massacre. A third suicide bomber blew himself up on Rue de la Coquerie, near the Stade de France. A woman is evacuated outside the Bataclan. Photo: AP The first reports came in of the Bataclan massacre and within 10 minutes there was confirmation that a hostage crisis had developed at the theatre. Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter: “I am shocked by events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.” An emotional French president Francois Hollande, who was earlier evacuated from the Stade de France, closed the borders and declared a state of national emergency. The French military were called into the centre of Paris. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Twitter: “My thoughts are with the people of Paris tonight. We stand in solidarity with the French. Such acts are heinous and immoral.” Police officers gather outside the Bataclan concert venue in Paris. Photo: EPA French emergency services activate Plan Rouge to tackle the large numbers of casualties. Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France. Photo: EPA Parisians used the #PorteOuverte hashtag to search for or offer safe places for those fleeing the violence. The hashtag was soon trending. A new toll of at least 35 dead. President Obama delivered a speech at the White House, expressing solidarity with the people of Paris and calling the attacks terrorist acts. "Those who think that they can terrorise the people of France or the values that they stand for are wrong."We are reminded in this time of tragedy that the bonds of liberte, egalite, fraternite, are not just the values French people share, but we share."Those go far beyond any act of terrorism or the hateful vision of those who perpetrated the crimes this evening." Reports emerge of French taxi drivers turning off their meters and offering passengers free rides home. A citywide curfew was put in place, the first since 1944. People receive medical attention after being evacuated from the Bataclan theatre. Photo: AP Police storm the Bataclan, ending the siege. Two terrorists die after activating their suicide vests and a third is shot dead by officers. The death toll reached at least 120. Saturday, November 14 French soldiers patrol the area at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Photo: AFP At least 1,500 soldiers have been called upon to patrol the streets of Paris. Schools, markets, museums and major tourist sites in the Paris area are closed and sporting fixtures cancelled. Hollande calls the attacks "an act of war... committed by a terrorist army, the Islamic State, against France, against... what we are, a free country". He declares three days of national mourning. Isil claimed responsibility, saying in a statement issued in Arabic and French that the attackers had targeted "the capital of abominations and perversions and those who carry the crusader banner in Europe". Passengers stand outside Gatwick airport after it was evacuated. Photo: @TimUnwin Gatwick Airport north terminal was evacuated after a suspected firearm was discovered. A 41-year-old French national was taken into custody for questioning. He was later charged with possession of an air rifle and a knife. David Cameron warned the UK "must be prepared for a number of British casualties", and condemned the "brutal and callous murderers. The Queen also sent a message of condolence to Mr Hollande, saying she and the Duke of Edinburgh had been "deeply shocked and saddened by the terrible loss of life in Paris". A victim is wheeled out of the Bataclan concert hall. Photo: REUTERS/Charles Platiau By noon on Saturday French officials had put the provisional death toll at 127 people from the combined attacks, with 180 injured and 99 people in hospital in critical condition. One of the bombers was identified by his fingerprints as a young Frenchman flagged for links with Islamic extremism. He is later named as Ismaël Omar Mostefaï, 29. Belgian policemen search for suspects in Molenbeek area (Brussels). Photo: Isopix/REX Shutterstock A number of people are arrested in Brussels in relation to the Paris attack. Belgian prosecutors later confirmed they have opened an anti-terrorist investigation based on a car that was hired in Belgium and was found near the Bataclan concert hall. Nick Alexander from Colchester was working at Bataclan. One Briton is confirmed to have died and "a handful" of others are feared to have been killed. The British victim was later named as Nick Alexander, who was selling band merchandise at the Bataclan. People gather to lay floral tributes and candles outside La Belle Equipe restaurant. Photo: Reuters Francois Molins, the Paris prosecutor, said 129 people were confirmed dead and 352 people were injured, with 99 in a critical condition. Sunday, November 15 Theresa May Home Secretary Theresa May indicated the British death toll in the Paris attacks may rise as she said the government has concerns about a "handful" of UK citizens. She said that British police and intelligence agencies were "working day and night to keep people secure".
An alleged bomb-maker found
Mohamed Khoualed handed himself in to police on Wednesday, three days after police raided his flat in this town on the Belgian border.
Police found explosives and detonators in the studio behind a drab redbrick house in a suburb of Roubaix, one of France's poorest towns and the one with the country's highest percentage of Muslims.
It is not known whether he is linked to the Paris attacks directly but judicial sources in Belgium said they believe Khoualed had been in contact with Salah Abdeslam, the Belgian fugitive suspected of a leading role in the attacks.
None of the neighbours shown his photo by the Telegraph recognised him.
There were always "dodgy-looking" people coming and going from the house that is split into several flats, said one neighbour, who declined to give her name.
"I thought it was more likely to be drug dealing than Islamists," said another, also asking for her name not be published.
Germany could see armed troops on its streets
The government in Berlin is considering deploying troops on the streets of Germany for the first time since the war because of the terrorist threat.
The move would be controversial in a country which has consciously shunned militarism in an effort to put distance between modern Germany and its Nazi past.
Tension has been raised in the country and on Tuesday night a friendly football Germany and Holland match was cancelled minutes before kick off amid fears that terrorists were planning an outrage at or near the stadium in Hanover.
A five-member cell led by a German citizen was planning a total of five bomb attacks in the city, Hannoverische Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported citing unnamed French security sources.
German authorities called off the match after reciving a tip-off from French intelligence just two hours before the match, the newspaper claimed. Three of the bombs were to be detonated at the stadium, and the other two at a bus stop and at a train station.
The bombs were to be smuggled into the stadium in a vehicle authorised to enter or by a cell member with a ticket.
Isil "threatens White House"
Having already threatened New York City, Isil is reported to have published another video, this time naming the White House as a target.
However, even though security was stepped up in New York earlier this week, James Comey, the FBI director has voiced scepticism over the authenticity of the latest threats.
Hostages taken in Mali hotel
A group of 10 jihadis throwing grenades attacks the Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital city of Bamako and takes 170 hostages. 80 people are 'freed' but three are dead.
Those able to recite verses of the Q'uran are released.
There are 1,000 French troops in Mali, as well as many UN troops.
The Radisson Blu lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony.
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said several Chinese tourists were among those trapped inside the building.
In March masked gunmen shot up a Bamako restaurant popular with foreigners, killing five people.
The Irish prime minister has promised to send troops to replace French soldiers in Mali, to relieve them so they can fight Isil.
Belgium declares state of emergency
The Belgian government has declared a state of emergency, warning of an "imminent" terror threat in Brussels. It has urged people to stay away from venues such as transport hubs and concert halls. One analyst said that the natuion's capital has effectively been shut down.22-year-old Hayley Hyrule knew owning pets would help her deal with anxiety, but she didn’t anticipate her dog and kitten becoming BFF! When Okami the Pomeranian pooch saw Loki the ginger kitten for the first time, he fell in love and decided to adopt the cat as his ‘son’. The two clicked straight away and now Okami won’t stop kissing the kittie, helping him clean himself, and just taking care of him. Their owner who is a pet sitter from Australia couldn’t be happier seeing so much love between her pets.
“We were nervous at first as to how the cat would react to Okami as he is very happy and bounces a lot, but all Okami did was smile and kiss him, and Loki rubbed against and purred,” Hyrule told Bored Panda. “It was great!”
“I have autism so [pets] help me with my anxiety. Okami is always happy and he’s known around town as the smiling dog and Loki is cheeky and loving”. We’re glad the awwwdorable two found each other and are healing the owner with their love!
More info: Facebook (h/t:)
Hayley Hyrule got two pets to help her deal with anxiety and the cute duo became BFF
When Okami the Pomeranian pooch saw Loki he fell in love and decided to adopt the cat as his ‘son’
The two clicked straight away and now Okami won’t stop kissing the kittie
Their owner who is a pet sitter from Australia couldn’t be happier seeing so much love between her pets
“We were nervous at first as to how the cat would react to Okami as he is very happy and bounces a lot…”
“But all Okami did was smile and kiss him, and Loki rubbed against and purred”
“I have autism so [pets] help me with my anxiety”
“Okami is always happy and he’s known around town as the smiling dog and Loki is cheeky and loving”
We’re glad the awwwdorable two found each other and are healing the owner with their love!The timing seemed appropriate last Sunday when NBC blocked all online streaming services from showing the Golden Globe Awards. The broadcaster failed to secure those rights from the producer, so unless you had cable, the only way to watch the broadcast was through an antenna. If you're in the market for an over-the-air antenna, be sure to check out our in-depth coverage.
Just a few days earlier, the over-the-air antenna had become the unsung hero of CES, the tech industry’s annual mega trade show in Las Vegas. Tech companies large and small are now integrating antenna support into their products in fascinating new ways, having realized that even in the age of streaming video, this free source of broadcast TV should not be ignored.
Antenna on your own terms
Most of the antenna tech on display at CES fell into one of three categories.
First, there’s the networked antenna tuner. Instead of plugging an antenna directly into your television, products like the Mohu AirWave (above) and Tablo Live (below) let you set up the antenna wherever reception is best, and then stream the signal over Wi-Fi to apps on your phones, tablets, PCs, and streaming boxes. (The $150 Mohu AirWave includes the antenna and tuner in a single unit, while the $100 Tablo Live is just a tuner that connects with any antenna.)
Jared Newman The Tablo Live is a $100 tuner that streams live TV to connected devices.
Aside from improving reception, a networked tuner can de-clutter your living room, and it spares you from setting up a separate antenna for each television. It also lets you stream on screens that don’t accept antenna input directly, such as phones and tablets.
CES also brought some new broadcast DVR products. With Tablo’s upcoming Droid app and USB tuner, Android TV devices such as Nvidia Shield will be able to store and play recordings from over-the-air channels. Think of it as a simple do-it-yourself DVR and streaming solution, with more apps and cheaper service ($4 per month, or $40 per year) than a TiVo.
Jared Newman When paired with a USB tuner, the Tablo Droid app turns an Android TV set-top box into a DVR.
Tablo is also working on a cloud-based DVR for its Live tuner. This will let users skip the dedicated DVR box and hard drive, and easily access their recordings from anywhere.
Finally, we’re starting to see the integration of over-the-air content with streaming video. Sling TV, for example, is now encouraging streaming-device makers to support antenna input, and it has created a unified guide for streaming cable channels and over-the-air broadcasts. The first device to support this will be AirTV, an Android-based streaming box with an optional USB antenna tuner. (Both AirTV and Sling TV are Dish Network subsidiaries.)
Jared Newman Fire TV Edition televisions can display antenna channels straight from the home screen.
Amazon is also blurring the lines between streaming and broadcast with a slew of Fire TV Edition televisions from Seiki, Element, and Westinghouse. Antenna channels get a dedicated row on the Fire TV home screen, and recently watched channels appear alongside apps and other content in the “recent” menu. The TVs also allow pausing and rewinding live channels using internal storage or a USB thumb drive. Given all the work Amazon put into these integrations, perhaps USB tuner support for Amazon’s Fire TV set-top box won’t be far behind.
Overcoming shortcomings
All of these developments are coming at just the right time, as new services like Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now look to bring online cable channels to streaming devices. So far, all of these services have struggled get support from local affiliate stations, which means local broadcast feeds are unavailable in most markets. And as the Golden Globes illustrated, getting a live broadcast channel through streaming doesn’t guarantee that every program will be available.
The antenna turns out to be a great equalizer for content. It’s not subject to the licensing foibles and access restrictions of streaming, and DVR falls under fair use, just like it does with cable channels. And of course, the broadcasts are free (because they use public airwaves), which is a big deal as major networks demand ever-higher broadcast re-transmission fees from cable and satellite providers.
Jared Newman Sling TV will integrate over-the-air channels on supported devices such as the AirTV streaming box.
Much like cord-cutting itself, antennas are not a magic solution for replacing cable. The channel selection is limited, reception depends on many variables—from the proximity of broadcast towers to the location of the antenna to the weather outside—and setup is more complicated than plugging a single box into your TV.
But as technology companies try to reach a growing audience of cord cutters, using an antenna won’t require giving up modern TV conveniences like DVR and streaming device integration. Despite being decades old, the antenna is starting to feel young again.
Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter to get this column and other cord-cutting news, insights, and deals delivered to your inbox.Allegations of Government Department poaching real jobs for JobBridge internships
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh is calling on the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton to clarify if her department is cold-calling employers to try and get advertised jobs converted to JobBridge internships.
He says:
“I have been contacted by the National One Parent Family Network who tell me that at least two companies where their members work were cold-called by individuals on behalf of the Department of Social Protection on foot of jobs advertised, asking if they would convert them into JobBridge internships.
“Michelle Frawley, Secretary of the Network, told me that the members were shocked by the practice and that a government Department would be acting in such an underhand manner when what the government should be doing is supporting the growth of real jobs in our economy.
“I understand the companies in question are in Galway and in the South East, so this would appear to be a national approach. What is not clear is whether this is being done by staff in the department, or if it is being outsourced to a private company.
“The jobs in question had been advertised on the internet and it would appear that the people involved have been trawling websites, cold-calling the companies and inviting them to turn the real jobs into internships under JobBridge. It is hard to see what benefit the state would gain from such a practice.
“Sinn Féin has been very critical of the JobBridge scheme since it was initiated. We believe that it encourages employers to put off creating real jobs in the economy. If the new allegations are found to be true then that is taking the whole thing a step further and is totally unacceptable and must be stopped.
“It would be incredible if this is happening under the watch of two Labour Ministers, the Tánaiste herself and the newly appointed Junior Minister, Kevin Humphreys, who has specific responsibilities in the area of job activation.
“They need to give a full and frank account of how the department is going about its business in this regard and ensure this underhand practice, if substantiated, is stamped out immediately.”
ENDSIn response to a lawsuit by the Pacific Legal Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) |
ever debt sale in the country, a report said on Tuesday.
Apple is looking to exploit Japan's extremely low interest rates, said local business publication Nikkei, which noted that the company could be in a position to set its rate one percentage point lower than in the U.S., saving on costs even after a conversion back to dollars. Proceeds are expected to go towards funding Apple's cash return program for shareholders, and possibly to grow Japanese operations.The company reportedly started gauging interest in bonds earlier this month by talking to regional banks, life insurance firms, and various other institutional investors. Although the company is thought to be seeking out Japanese investors first and foremost, overseas investors may be able to participate.In the past few years Apple has engaged in bond sales in both the U.S. and Europe to help finance its cash return program, which through dividends and buybacks should see $200 billion delivered to shareholders by the end of March 2017. Although the company could conceivably spend some of its $178 billion in cash reserves, it has preferred to leave most of that stockpile intact.So far, the biggest Japanese bond sale by a foreign company was issued by Citigroup in 2007. The financial firm sold bonds cumulatively worth 270 billion yen, or just under $2.2 billion.Today, NVIDIA released JetPack 3.1, the production Linux software release for Jetson TX1 and TX2. With upgrades to TensorRT 2.1 and cuDNN 6.0, JetPack 3.1 delivers up to a 2x increase in deep learning inference performance for real-time applications like vision-guided navigation and motion control, which benefit from accelerated batch size 1. The improved features allow Jetson to deploy greater intelligence than ever, enabling a generation of autonomous machines including delivery robots, telepresence, and video analytics. To further spur development in robotics, NVIDIA’s recently introduced Isaac Initiative is an end-to-end platform for training and deploying advanced AI to the field.
AI at the Edge
Earlier this spring when NVIDIA launched Jetson TX2, the de-facto platform for edge computing received a significant boost in capabilities. As exemplified by the Wave Glider platform in Figure 1, remote Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices at the edge of the network frequently experience degraded network coverage, latency, and bandwidth. While IoT devices typically serve as gateways for relaying data to the cloud, edge computing reframes the possibilities of IoT with access to secure onboard compute resources. NVIDIA’s Jetson embedded modules deliver server-grade performance with 1 TFLOP/s on Jetson TX1, and double the AI performance on Jetson TX2 in under 10W of power.
JetPack 3.1
JetPack 3.1 with Linux For Tegra (L4T) R28.1 is the production software release for Jetson TX1 and TX2 with long-term support (LTS). The L4T Board Support Packages (BSPs) for TX1 and TX2 are suitable for customer productization, and their shared Linux kernel 4.4 code-base provides compatibility and seamless porting between the two. Starting with JetPack 3.1, developers have access to the same libraries, APIs, and tool versions on both TX1 and TX2.
In addition to upgrading from cuDNN 5.1 to 6.0 and a maintenance update to CUDA 8, JetPack 3.1 includes the latest vision and multimedia APIs for building streaming applications. You can download JetPack 3.1 to your host PC to flash Jetson with the latest BSP and tools.
Low-latency Inference with TensorRT 2.1
The latest version of TensorRT is included in JetPack 3.1 so you can deploy optimized run-time deep learning inference on Jetson. TensorRT increases inference performance with network graph optimizations, kernel fusion, and half-precision FP16 support. TensorRT 2.1 includes key features and enhancements, such as multi-weight batching, that further increase the deep learning performance and efficiency of Jetson TX1 and TX2 and reduce latency.
Performance for batch size 1 has been significantly improved, resulting in reduced latency down to 5ms for GoogLeNet. For latency-sensitive applications, batch size 1 offers the lowest latency, since each frame is processed as soon as it arrives in the system (rather than waiting to batch up multiple frames). As shown in Figure 2 on Jetson TX2, using TensorRT 2.1 achieves double the throughput of TensorRT 1.0 for GoogLeNet and ResNet image recognition inference.
The latencies in Table 2 show a proportional reduction with batch size 1. With TensorRT 2, Jetson TX2 achieves 5ms latency for GoogLeNet In Max-P performance profile, and 7ms latency while running in Max-Q efficiency profile. ResNet-50 has 12.2ms latency in Max-P and 15.6ms latency in Max-Q. ResNet is typically used for improved accuracy in image classification beyond GoogLeNet, which gets more than 2x run-time performance increase using TensorRT 2.1. And with Jetson TX2’s 8GB memory capacity, large batch sizes up to 128 are possible even on complex networks like ResNet.
Table 2: Jetson TX2 deep learning inference latency measurements comparing TensorRT 1.0 and 2.1. (Lower is better.) NETWORK LATENCY SPEEDUP TensorRT 1.0 TensorRT 2.1 GoogLeNet, Max-Q 14.5ms 7.1ms 2.04x GoogLeNet, Max-P 11.4ms 5.6ms 2.04x ResNet-50, Max-Q 31.4ms 15.6ms 2.01x ResNet-50, Max-P 24.7ms 12.2ms 2.03x
The reduced latency allows deep learning inference approaches to be used in applications that demand near-real-time responsiveness, like collision avoidance and autonomous navigation on high-speed drones and surface vehicles.
Custom Layers
With support for custom network layers via a user plugin API, TensorRT 2.1 is able to run the latest networks and features with expanded support including residual networks (ResNet), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), You Only Look Once (YOLO), and Faster-RCNN (Regional Convolutional Neural Network). Custom layers are implemented in user-defined C++ plugins which implement the IPlugin interface as in the following code.
#include "NvInfer.h" using namespace nvinfer1; class MyPlugin : IPlugin { public: int getNbOutputs() const; Dims getOutputDimensions(int index, const Dims* inputs, int nbInputDims); void configure(const Dims* inputDims, int nbInputs, const Dims* outputDims, int nbOutputs, int maxBatchSize); int initialize(); void terminate(); size_t getWorkspaceSize(int maxBatchSize) const; int enqueue(int batchSize, const void* inputs, void** outputs, void* workspace, cudaStream_t stream); size_t getSerializationSize(); void serialize(void* buffer); protected: virtual ~MyPlugin() {} };
You can build your own shared object with a custom-defined IPlugin similar to the code above. Inside the user’s enqueue() function, you can implement custom processing with CUDA kernels. TensorRT 2.1 uses this technique to implement a Faster-RCNN plugin for enhanced object detection. Additionally, TensorRT provides new RNN layers for Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) units and Gated Recurrent Units (GRU) for improved memory-based recognition of time-series sequences. Providing these powerful new layer types out of the box accelerates your deployment of advanced deep learning applications in embedded edge applications.
NVIDIA Isaac Initiative
With AI capabilities at the edge increasing quickly, NVIDIA has introduced the Isaac Initiative for advancing the state of the art in robotics and AI. Isaac is an end-to-end robotics platform for developing and deploying intelligent systems to the field, including simulation, autonomous navigation stack, and embedded Jetson for deployment. To get started with developing autonomous AI, Isaac supports the Robotic Reference Platforms shown in Figure 3. These Jetson-powered platforms include drones, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and human support robots (HSR). The reference platforms provide a Jetson-powered base ready for experimentation in the field, and the program will expand over time to include new platforms and robots.
Get Started Deploying AI
JetPack 3.1 includes cuDNN 6 and TensorRT 2.1. It’s available now for both Jetson TX1 and TX2. With double the low-latency performance for single-batch inference and support for new networks with custom layers, the Jetson platform is more capable than ever for edge computing. To get started developing AI, see our Two Days to a Demo series on training and deploying deep learning vision primitives like image recognition, object detection, and segmentation. JetPack 3.1 substantially improves the performance of these deep vision primitives. For more info, tune into my on-demand webinar, Breaking New Frontiers in Robotics and Edge Computing with AI.In the first three days of accepting applications, the Mars One project has received a whopping 20,000 applications, with more than 600 coming from China alone. The project plans to send a select group of colonists to the Red Planet for permanent settlement — with permanent being the key word.
The Dutch aerospace project, which is aiming to put four humans on Mars by 2023, started accepting applications and audition tapes early last week. Co-founder Bas Lansdorp is hoping to receive anywhere from 500,000 to a million sign-ups — and if the first three days were of any indication, that seems entirely plausible. There is an application fee (the amount varies according to a country's per capita GDP), with the proceeds paying for the ongoing selection process and technology studies.
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The final stage of the process will involve a short-list of 24 to 40 fully-trained candidates, with the final group being selected by a TV audience.
In regards to Chinese enthusiasm, China Daily reports:
Lansdorp said Mars One chose Shanghai as the second stop for the application press conference after New York because he believes many Chinese, including youngsters, are very interested in becoming astronauts, especially as the country already has its own astronauts. Ma Qing, a 39-year-old bookseller, said, "I think the chance to be part of the project is a cool way for me to change a dull daily life. Besides, the air on Mars must be much cleaner and easier to breathe." But Chang Tianxing, a space-lover from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said, "I think such a task is only suitable for senior, experienced astronauts. Exploring life on Mars, with everything starting from scratch, is mission impossible for us."I’ll be honest with you baby girl. I am so not prepared.
I want more than anything to meet you, but whoooo boy am I not prepared for the changes a-coming.
We had our first baby class this past Sunday. The whole day felt like a montage out of a tv series called “Scared Straight”. Only instead of little kids being warned not to fuck up their lives, I was watching videos telling me not to be a fuck up of a husband hahaha. I worry about the amount of pain your mom is about to go through. It’s incredibly hard for me to imagine her being in such pain and not being able to do anything about it. Then again, them’s the breaks when you’re born a girl eh? Speaking of, please don’t rush to experience childbirth too early. Wait a while. Like 30 years or something.
Watching those videos on babies being born was pretty sobering. Each video seemed to tell me “you are SO not ready.” I’m totally not. Tony, one of the cleaning staff at my office assured me there was no way to really be ready. He told me he still remembers the day he first saw his daughter’s head come out. She’s 20 now, but that memory is as clear as the day it happened. I’m ready for that. I’m totally ready to meet you. It’s getting everything else in place that is freaking me out. The idea of letting you and your mother down really just kicks me in the nuts.
Speaking of your mommy, she is being such a trooper. She shifts to her left side and right side whenever you start making her uncomfortable. I catch her making slight faces when you catch her by surprise with some kung fu routine you’re doing inside of her. When you were still a glint in our eyes, we talked about what kind of parents we would be. She worried quite a bit that if you were a girl (ha, and you are) - that you both wouldn’t get along when you hit your teenage years.
It’s funny. Your mother likes to talk about her apathy to everything, but she is so incredibly warm towards me and the boys. Remind me to show you all the pictures of her sleeping next to Cabbie. I tell her all the time that I doubt she has anything to worry about. I know at times it’ll be rough, but don’t ever doubt how much we love you.
I’m a totally different story. The consensus seems to be that I’m in trouble. It’s possible they’re right. Even your mom has no faith in me being able to put my foot down for any length of time. I guess we’ll wait and see.
This week has been a little worrisome for us. Your mommy and I seem to have bonded with your little flutters, kicks and punches. So when you’re all relaxed and sleeping, we have a hard time not being too anxious. Ok, maybe I have a hard time not being too anxious. Your mom is really great at masking her anxiety/worry. I know she does it for my sake because worrying is almost second nature to me. Ha.
Some of my friends have told me to have your mom eat spicy food in the hopes that would jump start your activity. Turns out you must have your mom’s tolerance for spicy food because you didn’t do shit. Hahaha.
Family baby shower tomorrow. That should be interesting. Only 4 items from the registry purchased so far. We’re a little worried that my relatives will have gone rogue and are going to give us a ton of cutesy stuff that might just end up cluttering our place. If you’re reading this, you know how much your mother hates clutter.
Everyone’s excited to meet you baby girl. Every time I hold your mommy’s tummy I whisper a quick prayer hoping that you’re in there growing strong and healthy.
You enjoying my writing? It’s been so long since I’ve written regularly. I used to craft well paced essays like nobody’s business. Then I got into all this tech crap and my ability to string words together suffered terribly. Compared to most of my peers I’m fucking Shakespeare though hahaha. It’s all stream of consciousness though, so at the very least you probably are getting a solid peek at how emotional and chaotic the inside of my head is right now.
If I’ve got the energy, I’ll be back tomorrow night to write about the baby shower. I have a feeling I have baby dresser assembly on my plate tonight/tomorrow night.A North American Belgian-style waffle iron
Professional 180° cast-iron waffle maker
A waffle iron used to make stroopwafels in Nijmegen
In Scandinavia, heart-shaped waffle irons are common.
escutcheon Waffle made with a customized waffle iron, showing the Harvard
A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It usually consists of two hinged metal plates, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dough is placed between the plates, which are then closed to bake a breakfast delicacies with a sweet dessert flavor, very similar to pancakes but lighter and sweeter. The appearance is much harder to achieve than a pancake; hence the waffle iron. [1]
Varieties [ edit ]
Traditional waffle irons are attached to tongs with wooden handles and are held over an open flame, or set on a stove. Most modern waffle irons are self-contained tabletop electrical appliances, heated by an electric heating element controlled by an internal thermostat. There are also two variants of the electric iron: one with removable plates and ones with non-removable plates.[2] Professional waffle makers are usually made of cast iron whereas domestic models are often teflon coated. Many have a light that goes off when the iron is at the set temperature. Most modern waffle irons - particularly cast aluminum ones - are coated with a non-stick coating (e.g. teflon) to prevent the waffles from sticking to them. Cast-iron waffle makers are usually not coated and require seasoning like a cast-iron frying pan.
Modern waffle iron makers offer a large variety of choices. Some waffle irons can make a very thin waffle, capable of making waffle cones or Pizzelle. While there is no set standard of classification for waffle shapes or thicknesses, models that fall within the most common shapes and thicknesses are often labeled as "traditional" or "classic". Models that make thicker and/or larger pocketed waffles are often labeled as "Belgian" waffle makers. In the US, the most commonly used determining factor of whether a waffle is a "Belgian waffle" or not is the thickness and/or pocket size, although the recipes for Belgian waffles and American waffles do differ.
History [ edit ]
The earliest waffle irons originated in the Low Countries around the 14th century.[3] These waffle irons were constructed of two hinged iron plates connected to two long, wooden handles. The plates were often made to imprint elaborate patterns on the waffle, including coat of arms, landscapes, or religious symbols. The waffles would be baked over the hearth fire.
In 1869, American man Cornelius Swartwout patented the stove-top waffle iron. While waffles irons of sorts may have existed since the 1400s, Swarthout intended to perfect the design by adding a handle and a hinge that swivelled in a cast-iron collar.[4][5][6], allowing the waffle-maker to flip the iron without danger of slippage or burns. [7].
In 1891 John Kleimbach, a German immigrant living in Shamokin, Pennsylvania became a traveling salesman of waffles after fashioning an iron for the Mansion House Hotel. Kliembach sold waffles for a penny each or ten cents for a dozen.[8] This was popular at the Chicago World's Fair.
It wasn't until 1911, that General Electric produced a prototype electric waffle iron, although production did not begin until around 1918.[8] Later, as the waffle iron became more prevalent, designers worked on making the appliance more attractive on the countertop.
Other uses [ edit ]
In 1971, Oregon track coach and Nike Co-founder Bill Bowerman used his wife's waffle iron to experiment with the idea of using waffle-ironed rubber to create a new sole for footwear that would grip but be lightweight; hence making easier for individual's to be able to increase their speed. Oregon's Hayward Field, where he worked, was transitioning to an artificial surface and "Bill wanted a sole without spikes that could grip equally well on grass or bark dust." He was talking to his wife about this puzzle over breakfast, when the waffle iron idea came into play. [9] Bowerman's design inspiration led to the introduction of the so-called "Moon Shoe" in 1972, so named because the waffle tread was said to resemble the footprints left by astronauts on the moon. Further refinement resulted in the "Waffle Trainer" in 1974, which helped fuel the explosive growth of Blue Ribbon Sports/Nike.[10][11]
Gallery [ edit ]
1940s ElectraHot (Minneapolis, MN) waffle iron with a Hall China insert
Waffle iron with logo of Country Inns & Suites, advertising the company logo on waffles made by customers
This is a waffle iron of the type commonly found at breakfast counters at motels/hotels in America. Customers pour in batter, close the waffle iron, and a timer begins, then sounds off when the waffle is ready.
A waffle iron in the shape of Texas, commonly found at motels in Texas
See also [ edit ]
Brown Bobby, a triangular American donut made in a waffle iron like machine
Krampouz, a French manufacturer of small cooking appliances
List of cooking appliances
Pancake machine
Sandwich toaster, various machines, often waffle iron sized, that press and cook a filling between two slices of bread, to make a hot filled sandwich, with the edges sealed together
WaffleScott MacArthur TSN 1050 Blue Jays Reporter Follow|Archive
DUNEDIN, Fla. – Marco Estrada had the chance to live the free agent’s life. He’d just had his best big league season; he’d walked off the mound to a raucous ovation after dominating the Royals in the fifth game of the American League Championship Series; a man who’d been inconsistent in his career had found his game.
The world was Estrada’s oyster; until he got hung with a qualifying offer. The “QO,” as it’s called in baseball parlance.
Here’s how it works: Since the start of the last collective bargaining agreement (2012), players who become free agents can be tagged with qualifying offers if they spent the entirety of the previous season with the same team. The value of the QO is determined by averaging the top 125 salaries in the game. If a player accepts the qualifying offer, he plays the next season at that salary. If he rejects the QO, his former team receives a first-round draft pick as compensation if he signs with a new club, which in turn forfeits its first-round pick (unless it’s a top 10 selection, in which case the second-highest pick is forfeited).
Estrada never got there. He re-signed with the Blue Jays for two years and $26-million before having to decide on whether to accept or reject the QO, which was valued last fall at $15.8-million.
The deal seemed low on term. Not long after inking Estrada, the Jays brought in J.A. Happ for three years and $36-million. The difference: Pittsburgh couldn’t qualify Happ because it had acquired him from Seattle in July, meaning the Jays wouldn’t be out a pick for signing him. Teams value first rounders; they don’t want to lose them and that, in turn, drives down the value of a mid-tier free agent like Estrada.
“Once that qualifier was dropped over my head it was either...well, I had three choices: I could have denied it, I could have taken it or hopefully it worked out and it’s what we tried to do and we got two years out of it,” said Estrada. “I do wish (the contract length) would have been a little longer because I like it here.”
Estrada admits he doesn’t pay much attention to Major League Baseball Players’ Association matters. He wonders now if he should start. He didn’t have a great sense of his market, which didn’t help his cause and with free agency scheduled to come up again after next season, which will be played under a new CBA currently being negotiated, Estrada will be ready.
“Even though my head was in to coming back I did want to see what it was like for teams to kind of fight over you but I didn’t really get to experience that,” he said. “It was a different experience; I’m happy I got to go through it somewhat and I’m just glad things worked out and I’m back here.”
MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark pays a visit to each of the 30 teams during spring training and presented with a hypothetical situation, the opportunity to sit down with Clark for 10 minutes, Estrada would press his union’s leader to negotiate changes to the qualifying offer system.
“It’s been said a lot of times and it’s exactly what I thought, there should probably be a Tier A or a Tier B (type of free agent) because it affects some of those guys and it probably would have affected me if I hit free agency; I’ll never know,” said Estrada. “You see guys out there that just signed, like (Yovani) Gallardo (with Baltimore) a couple of days ago. I’m sure that qualifying offer affected him.”
Estrada did the unusual last season when he came to the American League East and got better. Usually a pitcher’s trajectory when entering this division, which contains mostly slugging teams playing in home run-friendly ballparks, is marked with regression. His 3.13 regular season ERA was the best of his career and Estrada’s 200-plus innings, regular season and playoffs combined, were the most he’s thrown in a single year. There are peripheral numbers which suggest he may be in for a downturn but slight regression would be tolerable to the Blue Jays.
The development of a cutter last season gave Estrada the third pitch he needed to compliment his lethal changeup-fastball combination.
“It improved throughout the year last year and now I think it’s got to the point where I’m pretty comfortable throwing it at any time,” he said.
There’s already been a hiccup, although the Blue Jays insist Estrada’s back stiffness, which prevented him from throwing his Tuesday bullpen session, isn’t serious. It may, in fact, be a good thing because it forces both team and player to stick to a pre-determined spring regimen aimed at keeping Estrada fresh for the coming season.
“We’re going to ease him in slowly,” said manager John Gibbons. “His back’s been a little stiff but that was the plan coming down, anyway, because he threw so many innings and then through the playoffs, he’s one guy we’re going to back off a little bit.”
Taken back to his performance in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against Kansas City (7 2/3 innings, one earned run, three hits allowed and five strikeouts in a 7-1 Jays victory), Estrada does something now that he didn’t at the time he walked off the mound to roaring cheers from almost 50,000 fans.
He smiles.
“I don’t know if I remember feeling myself walking off the field but what I do remember is how loud it got,” said Estrada. “I think I was still kind of focused. You have two different types of mindsets. One is when you’re out there pitching, you’re focused on pitching and then when you know you’re done you’re able to breathe and let go a little bit but I don’t think I did. I think I was still really focused.
“I was trying not to look up because I think I would have had the biggest smile on my face so I kept my head down and gave a little nod to the fans to thank them for their support,” said Estrada.COLUMBUS, Ohio – Their long-embattled coach is finally unemployed. They’re fourth in the Hexagonal with three games to play. And their biggest rival is on the docket at a stadium in which their failure is infamous.
This certainly isn’t Mexico’s finest hour, but don’t get the wrong idea about El Tri, goalkeeper Tim Howard emphasized at Sunday's US training session here ahead of Tuesday's USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier (8 pm ET, ESPN and UniMas).
José Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre may have finally been shown the door, but nobody in the American camp interprets Mexico’s struggles as vulnerability.
“Quite the opposite,” Howard told reporters. “Tuesday night they’re going to be a heck of a team to play against. They’re not going to be this wounded animal that everyone thinks they are.
“I think when it comes to this game, we’re fearful of what Mexico brings,” Howard added. “They’re a tough team no matter what anyone says about how they’re playing at the moment or what they’re going through. It doesn’t matter.”
If anything, Mexico have one less distraction to worry about after de la Torre was finally relieved of his duties following months of speculation. In his place ahead of what many see as a must-win match against the US is Olympic gold-medal-winning manager Luis Fernando Tena.
And while the Mexican media may be celebrating the fact that their primary target for criticism has been vanquished, US manager Jurgen Klinsmann isn’t among those happy to see de la Torre out of a job.
“From a coach’s view, you’re always sad when you see a very, very good coach leaving his post,” Klinsmann said Sunday. “I followed that from a distance and I’m a big fan of 'Chepo' de la Torre. But now it’s their decision and Fernando Tena takes over and he’s a very good coach as well. Very experienced. We’re not looking at the Mexican situation too much. We have a lot of respect for that team.”
But, as always, nobody should confuse respect with deference.
The US know they’re one victory and a Honduras result against Panama from qualifying for Brazil, and the fact that they can heap even more misery on their archrivals certainly isn’t too far from their minds this week.
“They’re down now,” midfielder Kyle Beckerman said, “so hopefully we can keep them there.”
A US win, coupled with the same result for Honduras, would leave Mexico five points adrift of the three automatic qualifying spots with two games to play, including a trip to San José to face group leaders Costa Rica.
The Americans aren’t particularly worried about that at this point, though. For now, Mexico are the USA's next obstacle on their path to Brazil, and any desire to pile on El Tri is overridden by the possibility of qualifying for the World Cup with two Hex games to play.
“First of all, we have to take care of business and get ourselves booked to Brazil,” Howard said. “What happens to Mexico happens. It’s not our concern. What will feel really good is to beat them at home and get ourselves qualified.”Martin Kelly will join up with the England squad for the game in Oslo © PA Photos Enlarge
Liverpool right-back Martin Kelly has been added to the England squad for Saturday's friendly against Norway.
Kelly, who has six Under-21 caps to his credit, was drafted into Roy Hodgson's squad on Tuesday, as the new Three Lions manager looks to reinforce his options at full-back for the friendly as his squad prepares for the forthcoming European Championship.
It is the 22-year-old's first call-up for the senior England side.
Hodgson has opted for Kelly over the likes of Manchester City full-back Micah Richards - whose omission from the 23-man squad for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine caused surprise in some quarters.
However, the move may be designed to give Kelly a taste of international football with one eye on increased involvement in the setup after the summer - as the player will only be included for this game before being released back to his club.
"Liverpool's Martin Kelly will join the England squad for Saturday's game with Norway," the FA announced on its Twitter account. "Will return to his club after the game."
With Chelsea's contingent - including John Terry, Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole - not joining up with England until next week following their Champions League success, Kelly will provide much-needed reinforcements to the backline.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.And, oh yeah, at 21, Ohtani is so productive with the bat that his Nippon Professional Baseball team utilizes him as a designated hitter in many of the the games he doesn't start on the mound. That's a first in Japan, where pitchers start only once a week. And it's rarely happened in Major League Baseball, either.
PHOENIX -- Shohei Ohtani is the next heralded player coming out of Japan. He's a 6-foot-4 right-hander for the Nippon Ham Fighters with a 100-mph fastball and four other pitches that dance like darts around the plate.
PHOENIX -- Shohei Ohtani is the next heralded player coming out of Japan. He's a 6-foot-4 right-hander for the Nippon Ham Fighters with a 100-mph fastball and four other pitches that dance like darts around the plate.
And, oh yeah, at 21, Ohtani is so productive with the bat that his Nippon Professional Baseball team utilizes him as a designated hitter in many of the the games he doesn't start on the mound. That's a first in Japan, where pitchers start only once a week. And it's rarely happened in Major League Baseball, either.
In an exclusive interview with MLB.com this week, Ohtani, who could play in the U.S. as early as 2017, was asked a simple question: Hitter or pitcher?
"I don't really have a preference," Ohtani said with a laugh through his interpreter.
No wonder. Last season, Ohtani was 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 160 2/3 innings. Two years ago, he added 10 homers, 31 RBIs and a.274 batting average to his 11-4 record and 2.61 ERA.
Ohtani has been on display all week at the Peoria Sports Complex, where the Fighters have been conducting Spring Training. They have a lend-lease arrangement with the Padres, and they've been playing Korea's Lotte Giants in exhibition games every other day.
On Monday, Ohtani was the DH and batted third. A left-handed hitter, he showed great poise at the plate, lining a two-strike pitch for a single between the shortstop and third baseman into what Tony Gwynn used to call the 5.5 hole.
On Wednesday, Ohtani started, pitched two innings, allowed a base hit and struck out four, including the side in the second inning. Interestingly enough, he didn't hit.
The start was attended by about 50 Major League scouts in a crowded section directly behind the plate. Dan Evans and Ed Lynch of the Blue Jays and Randy Smith of the Padres were among the admirers, many of whom have been following Ohtani religiously during the season in Japan.
The Japanese media was also out in full force, with cameras and digital audio players recording Ohtani's every word and movement. Much like Hideki Matsui in his heyday, Ohtani accommodates the Japanese media daily. And then he graciously found time to speak to a national reporter from this website.
Ohtani has an easy and friendly disposition. No matter what his predilections are, he's aware that with his live right arm and developing tools he will probably go to the Major Leagues as a pitcher, following in the footsteps of countrymen Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka.
"That has always been my dream. To play in the Major Leagues," Ohtani said. "One way or the other."
As a high school player who pitched and played the outfield, Ohtani wanted to make the rare jump into MLB at that point and asked that none of the Japanese League teams draft him. The Fighters chose to ignore that request, and by the rules, Ohtani was not able to sign out of high school in the U.S.
But the folks at Nippon Ham -- which plays its games in Hokkaido, a far northern island in the Japanese chain -- made Ohtani an offer he couldn't refuse. He could pitch and play the field. He knows he may not have that choice when he goes to the Major Leagues.
"It's something I don't have any control of," Ohtani said. "It's something the team that wants me picks. If they want me as a pitcher, I'll go as a pitcher. If they want me as a hitter, I'll go as a hitter. It's really not up to me."
At Ohtani's age and under the recently revised posting rules between NPB and MLB, the Fighters could post him from Nov. 1 to March 1 after any season, giving him the right to sign with one of the 30 Major League teams.
The Fighters would earn up to a $20 million posting fee if Ohtani signs, but he doesn't think that's going to happen anytime soon. Unfettered free agency for Japanese players doesn't commence until any of them have played nine NPB seasons. Ohtani is going into his fourth season.
"There's a lot of ways of going into the Major Leagues," he said. "I would have to ask the Fighters. That would lead to leaving something for the Fighters."
So how many years from now does Ohtani intend to ask the Fighters to post him?
"When I feel like I've done everything here," he said. "I think that would be the time when I would go to my team."
Until then, the Fighters plan to continue using Ohtani as a two-way player. Last year, he suffered from a calf injury and that limited his use as a DH. Ohtani slumped to.202, with five homers and 17 RBIs in 119 plate appearances, down from 234 in 2014. He's a.245 lifetime hitter, 29-9 in 59 pitching appearances.
This year, the plan is to rest Ohtani on the day after he pitches and let him prepare to throw only on the day prior to his next start. For the games in between, he will DH. Ohtani has been used sparingly in left and right field the past three seasons, but that will be rare in 2015. The Fighters are trying to avoid any more nagging injuries, a club spokesman said.
Ohtani said he enjoys preparing to hit and pitch.
"On the days I think I'm going to DH, I take batting practice," he said. "Some days I might throw in some BP after I pitch. But never on the day before I pitch."
Major League scouts are looking at Ohtani as a pitcher, a few said, asking that their names not be attached to any comments. But they also like his flexibility, body type, attitude and approach at the plate.
The next big thing coming out of Japan breaks into a big smile when he's told all that. Ohtani is obviously quite happy doing both.The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Monday 31 May 2010
The story below spoke of papal criticism of a 2007 Portuguese law allowing abortion. To clarify, what the 2007 law introduced was abortion on demand up to the tenth week of pregnancy.
The pope admitted today that the Catholic church was entirely responsible for the child abuse scandal that has spread across Europe, silencing conspiracy theorists in the church as he arrived in Portugal to be met by hundreds of protesters |
year that there were no additional pregnancies in his family. If he was found to break the rules, he, his boss and all his colleagues would forfeit their bonuses and, potentially, chances at promotion. Mr. Feng made plans to have his wife stay with a friend in a village outside the city. Within 48 hours of the first phone call, he had taken the afternoon off work to drive her there.
On the way, his cellphone rang. Another work leader wanted to meet. “Come back quickly,” he said. Mr. Feng stopped at a small public park where his wife could hide, and drove back to work. He was told to pledge in writing that his wife was not pregnant, and that he would have to accept all possible consequences if she was. He signed.
That night Mr. Feng drove his wife and daughter away. More than a week passed, and he started to breathe easy. Then he got another call from a boss at work. This time, they needed proof that his wife was not pregnant. Mr. Feng offered to provide it from afar, then had his sister-in-law pose as his wife for the test.
The ruse didn’t work for long. Ten days later, a colleague came by and said it was imperative that his wife return to Beijing. When Mr. Feng said that wasn’t possible, the colleague revealed he had already booked two tickets to Nanjing, saying: “You and I will go to see your wife and get her tested at a hospital. If it’s negative, okay. But if it’s positive, she has to have an abortion.”
The tickets were booked for that night.
“There was nothing I could do to hide any more. I said it was impossible to take him to Nanjing with me. I said I would accept whatever decisions they made.”
His colleague got up and printed a resignation letter, saying Mr. Feng was leaving for personal reasons. Mr. Feng signed it; they took his security pass, and that same afternoon he was gone.
“I used to be a person who believed we shouldn’t make trouble for the party. But this has made me rethink not only the family-planning policy but also broader issues such as people’s rights and the construction of our civil society. I started rethinking the whole system.” — Mr. Feng, a former senior engineer at a rocket-research institute who lost his job after having a second child
At home, neighbourhood authorities visited daily, pressing for Ms. Feng to obtain an abortion. When their second child, a son, was eventually born, he was told it would cost 370,000 yuan – $75,000 – to buy him proper registration. “We don’t have that kind of money,” he recalls telling them. “I can’t even raise that by selling my house.”
Mr. Feng had spent his life chasing success in the Chinese system, from his days as university student-union chairman onward. But the experience of having a second child was deeply jarring. “Isn’t it natural for humans to have a child,” he asks, “and isn’t it reasonable to do so?”
“I used to be a person who believed we shouldn’t make trouble for the party,” he says, in an interview at a cafeteria outside his new workplace – a private company where he works as a software engineer. Neither the benefits nor the job title match his old status, but at least he has work. “But this has made me rethink not only the family-planning policy but also broader issues such as people’s rights and the construction of our civil society. I started rethinking the whole system.”
His is a common sense of disenfranchisement.
Second children are conceived and born for all sorts of reasons. Some parents want a larger family badly enough that they consciously flout the law. Often, though, second pregnancies are accidental, and carried to term by families that cannot countenance an abortion, and then cannot afford the fine that follows forgoing one. The policy poses little obstacle for the wealthy, some of whom simply skip the system altogether by giving birth in places like Hong Kong, the United States and Britain. It’s the middle and lower classes who find themselves without hukou. Unable to game the system, their experiences often breed a dark cynicism.
A failure on its own terms
China credits the one-child policy with avoiding 400 million births. Without it, family-planning officials have said, the population would be 30 per cent larger than it is today. Outside China, green groups have called it the country’s single greatest environmental contribution to the planet’s health, while economists have suggested it has contributed greatly to the immense wealth the country has amassed in recent decades.
But demographers have been less certain: Some 70 per cent of the decrease in China’s child-bearing rates actually came in the years before the one-child policy was launched, under previous efforts at curbing family size through less-severe restrictions, such as delaying marriage and second children. And although the 1970s-era two-child policy led to unmistakeable human-rights violations, the one-child policy constituted a major increase in birth restrictions and fast accelerated the pace of forced abortions and sterilizations. It also lasted far longer than a single decade – and much longer than needed, according to demographers, who point to China’s Asian neighbours, where a rise in wealth has by itself led to much lower birth rates.
Chinese data show the swift fall in birth rates before the introduction of the one-child policy, a policy that demographers say was an overreach and that has lasted far longer than necessary. SOURCE: CHALLENGING MYTHS ABOUT CHINA¹S ONE-CHILD POLICY - THE CHINA JOURNAL, NO. 74 (Trish McAlaster / The Globe and Mail)
Some of the most striking criticisms of the policy come from Chinese academics who have looked at the whether the policy really did prevent 400 million births; some suggest a more accurate number would be 100 million. “Most of the births averted, if any, were due to the rapid fertility decline of [the 1970s], not to the one-child policy that came afterward,” demographers Wang Feng, Yong Cai and Baochang Gu wrote in a recent paper. History, the demographers concluded, will “likely view this policy as a very costly blunder.”
The only explanation they can conjure for the policy’s continued existence is bureaucratic: Maintaining the one-child regime now employs so many officials – in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps more – that China hasn’t been willing to put them out of work.
A desire to avoid catastrophic population growth initially lay behind China’s strict controls. But after nearly a half-century of artificially altering birth rates, China has created long-term demographic problems that are prompting a rethink of the entire grand experiment. Though estimates vary, the population is expected to peak between 2020 and 2030 at around 1.45 billion. By 2030, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences expects China to be the greyest society on Earth: Today, the country counts almost five taxpayers for each person drawing a pension; by 2030, the ratio will fall to roughly 2:1.
United Nations population projections show the dramatic shifts that will see China’s numbers diminish through much of the coming century, even as they are surpassed by India. Canada, meanwhile, is expected to see growth, albeit on a much smaller scale, through the year 2100. SOURCE: UN POPULATION PROSPECTS (Trish McAlaster / The Globe and Mail)
Academics and blue-collar workers alike fret over China’s growing old before it grows rich; at the same time, the country’s GDP expansion has already slowed to its lowest level in 24 years, and is expected to continue dropping. China has reached a “post-Yinchu era,” Mu Guangzong, who is with the Institute of Population Research at Peking University, recently wrote. The country stands at the “crossroads of history” and needs to depart from “the myths of ‘overpopulation’ and ‘strong family planning’ ” as soon as possible.
As a result, China is reconsidering the one-child policy so seriously that many believe it is only a matter of time before Beijing does away with birth restrictions altogether; in some cities, there is already talk among officials of baby bonuses to spur more children. The country has resisted any explicit concession of wrongdoing, saying in 2013 only that the policy will be “adjusted and improved step by step.” At that time, it was relaxed to allow families two children if even just one parent is a single child (before then, both had to be single children to be allowed a second child).
In publicly grappling with the problems, China’s elites have tacitly acknowledged that the one-child policy has gone too far. What they haven’t done is grandfather in changes that would alleviate the pain felt by the policy’s most acute victims: the ghosts.
‘Social maintenance fees’
Max Wong, 48, was a long-time pastor, a man for whom the notion of abortion was anathema. So when his wife unexpectedly got pregnant a second time, and then a third, there was never a question they would carry through to birth. What he didn’t expect was the upheaval such births would cause.
He was fired after their third child was born. “Since, as a pastor, you have broken the Chinese law, you are not a good example,” he was told by other church leaders. At home, his second son was retreating into himself, telling his family, “Because I have no identification, I don’t want people to know me.” The depression was serious enough that Mr. Wong returned to his old hometown to look into paying the fine – it would be cheaper there. He was told to pay 100,000 yuan, or roughly $20,000, up front for his children’s documentation. He was told “you are going to get it soon.”
That was more than a year ago. He still hasn’t received anything, though he expects to soon. He is critical of the system. The penalties, he believes, are a convenient way for officials to pad their own pockets. For him, that helps explain why the policy has been so persistent. “That money becomes grey income for the local government,” he says.
In response to written questions submitted by The Globe and Mail, China’s Health and Family Planning Commission replied that local officials must make public their rules about one-child-policy fines, as well as information about how much money they collect. The law requires local officials to submit those fines – which China calls a “social maintenance fee” – to the national treasury, although they are then returned to local budgets. As a result, there remains an incentive for neighbourhood officials to use second children as a revenue source. It’s not small change: In 2012, a report that tallied such fees in two-thirds of China’s provinces found that they had brought in $2.6-billion in fines from violators of the policy.
Despite the shifting attitudes in the Chinese government, in its response to the Globe the commission defended the necessity of maintaining family restrictions, writing that “some of the fundamental realities of China are not changing, such as the country’s large population and the heavy pressure it places on economic and social development.” The commission also said that the fine would be assessed at “three times or less” the average per-capita disposable income in a given area, per parent.
“This policy is not fair. Isn’t giving birth a basic right?” — Raine Ma, a 34-year-old accountant, faces a fine for her second child that is nearly 10 times the average salary in her neighbourhood
The Globe and Mail interviewed a half-dozen parents who, together, had eight “ghost” children. Those parents told us the fines were up to 14 times the average annual salary in a given area, and that they rise every year.
Raine Ma, a 34-year-old accountant, has seen the fine for her second child – a daughter who is now 6 – increase from 300,000 yuan ($61,000) in 2012, to 430,000 ($87,000) in 2014. That’s nearly 10 times the 45,052-yuan average annual income last year in her neighbourhood of Beijing.
Paying it would leave her family destitute for years. “This policy is not fair,” she says. “Isn’t giving birth a basic right?” Besides, she points out, neither Bill Gates, Warren Buffett – nor even Mao Zedong or current president Xi Jinping – were first-born children. “How many outstanding people were planned out of existence?” she asks. “I think the policy right now is just to control people like us, living decent and honest lives.”
The Globe also asked the Commission about the prospect for further easing restrictions. There is “no timetable to make it wide open for a second child for every family,” came the reply. And “cancelling the social maintenance system would be unfair to the people who have answered the call of the state and strictly obeyed the family-planning policy.”
A world passing her by
From the small confines of Li Xue’s chilly house in downtown Beijing, talk of reform seems awfully distant. Over her lifetime, a new China has crept up around her, but for Ms. Li little has changed in the 21 years since she was born as a second child. The loosening of China’s one-child policy has done little to give legal standing to the “ghosts.” Officially, she still does not exist.
Ms. Li did not come from wealth. Her father cut leather at a state-owned company, for 100 yuan a month. When her mother became pregnant a second time, with Ms. Li, a cooking injury left her with an infection that, doctors said, prevented her from having an abortion. Her mother, who had polio as a baby, lost her job at a collectively owned neighbourhood company when Ms. Li was born. At the time, her father was told to pay a 5,000-yuan fine for her birth – 50 times his annual salary. “If we pay this penalty, who will pay for my family to live?” he asked them.
Because she was her parents’ second child, Li Xue of Beijing officially does not exist. Now 21, she has never been able to buy basic medicines or attend school, because she lacks proper identification. (Adam Dean for The Globe and Mail)
Ms. Li was never vaccinated, and has no formal education. As a child, she raided neighbours’ old books and gave herself a basic education, teaching herself math, reading and writing. She traces the subsequent years through a sheaf of documents that scrupulously document the attempts she and her parents made to reverse her situation: official notes, letters and petitions that catalogue a lifetime of frustration, with countless trips to police stations, the family-planning office and courts – a grand game of jurisdictional Ping-Pong.
She cannot buy basic medicines, which require an ID card. She cannot board a train or long-distance bus without proper documentation; her life has been confined to just the few kilometres around her house.
Her status, or lack thereof, has also meant social exclusion. “Parents would like to have their kids socialize with people who are well-educated or have good scores, instead of me, who hasn’t studied at all,” she says. Others are nervous to be with her, too, since for years her local neighbourhood committee, seeing her as a troublemaker, has kept watch, making her look suspicious. She knows this because in 2009 her father found a paper in the trash showing the 10 people – a mix of police and neighbours – organized into shifts, 24 hours a day, to monitor the family’s comings and goings. “Basically, I don’t have friends,” she says.
She hasn’t dated, either, because she knows no one would want to marry a “black child,” as the Chinese call ghosts. Besides, dating belongs to talk of a future she tries not to contemplate. “I don’t think too much about dreams,” she says.
More recently, she has spent much of her time caring for her ailing parents – cooking food and accompanying them on doctors’ visits. Her father’s weak health was compounded by the times he was roughed up for advocating for his daughter, and last year he was hospitalized. When Ms. Li spoke with The Globe and Mail in the fall, the hospital called to say others were in greater need of the ventilator that had supported him. It was pulled out, leaving Ms. Li “afraid that without the ventilator, my dad will die.”
A few days later, he passed away. With him went his 1,260 yuan ($255) in monthly state support. In its place was roughly 15,000 yuan ($3,000) in medical debt.
Li Xue, who shares a bedroom with her mother in their Beijing apartment, has never travelled more than a few kilometres from home, because her ‘ghost’ status means she has no official documentation. (Adam Dean for The Globe and Mail)
Sitting on the spartan queen-sized bed she shares with her mother, Ms. Li is largely stoic as she recounts the details of her many indignities. But as she contemplates her father, her voice grows pinched. “He suffered so much for me,” she says. Tears roll down her face. “I feel like I should never have been born.”
Among the papers she has collected are decades-old internal family-planning-commission documents, dog-eared from years of being pored over, including one from 1988 with rules that suggest Ms. Li should have been awarded a hukou, and that her parents should bear the punishment, not her. Ms. Li has poured much of her time into studying law, researching her case and handwriting legal petitions, but has failed to convince a court to side with her. She has lost two lawsuits against the local family- planning office.
Still, she holds on to hope. She plans to file a new appeal in late March. And in January, her life suddenly took a turn upward. A foreigner in Beijing hired her as a waitress at a new restaurant. She didn’t know how to make coffee or mix a drink. It’s an illegal job, and she whispers about it at home, lest her neighbours find out. But for now, she is making money that she can use to buy her mother medicine. “My burden,” she says, “has lifted a little.”The Turkish authorities have also been alarmed by the territorial gains in Syria made by Syrian Kurdish militias that are affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and are considered a national security threat to the Turks.
Those militias have complicated Turkey’s collaboration with the United States in the Syria conflict, because all share a hostility toward the Islamic State extremists there and to President Bashar al-Assad.
But for Mr. Erdogan, the Kurdish militants in Turkey are now the most important enemy.
“You will be annihilated in those houses, those buildings, those ditches which you have dug,” he said recently, speaking about the militants to a crowd of his supporters in the central Anatolian city of Konya. “Our security forces will continue this fight until it has been completely cleansed and a peaceful atmosphere established.”
Photographs and video clips from the region distributed by local officials show chaos and destruction, with black smoke rising above shelled buildings and neighborhoods.
The town of Cizre, in the southeastern province of Sirnak, has been under a curfew for more than two weeks, with mounting civilian casualties. Last Friday, a 3-month-old baby and her grandfather were killed in crossfire between security forces and militants, according to local medics, who said the family was unable to reach help after its house had been shelled.
Three soldiers were killed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Cizre over the weekend, the Turkish military said in a statement. At least 200 members of Turkey’s security forces have been killed since the conflict resumed.
In the district of Silopi, which borders northern Iraq, residents say they are trapped in a war zone.As a result of Japan's languishing economy, a growing population of young adult males is deeming themselves "herbivores" and pursuing a radically different lifestyle than traditionally expected, Reuters reports. Herbivores derive their name from their disinterest in flesh--or the pursuit of women--and, according to a survey cited by Reuters, are a growing population of rebels who have no wish to follow in the corporate footsteps of their fathers.
Forget being a workaholic, corporate salary-man. These men, raised as the economic bubble burst, are turning their backs on Japan's stereotypical male roles in what is seen as a symptom of growing disillusionment in their country's troubled economy. "Since I was a child, I hated people telling me, 'Behave like a man'," said Roshinante, who runs a forum on popular Japanese social network site Mixi for frank discussion about herbivores.
Roshinante, the 'herbivore' whom the Reuters story centers on, rejects the money-driven careers and attention-seeking purchases endemic during economic bubbles, especially during the 1980s in Japan, and his different perspective as a consumer intrigues marketing experts. Due to the herbivores' abstention from material extravagance, though, they will presumably be a tougher market to break into.The Bangladesh government plans to construct a large camp to house some 400,000 Rohingya Muslims who have poured in from neighboring Myanmar over the past three weeks, officials said.
Authorities said 14,000 shelters, each able to accommodate six families, will be built over the next 10 days on an eight square kilometer site near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
The government said the movement of the settlement's refugees would be restricted.
"The Royingya refugees won't be allowed to go outside the camp," Bangladeshi Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan said on September 10. They will also be prohibited from traveling by vehicle in Bangladesh.
The camp, which will be built with the help of the Bangladesh military and international aid groups, is in response to an unprecedented exodus that was sparked by attacks on August 25 carried out by Rohingya militants on a Myanmar army base and police posts.
The Myanmar military responded to the attacks with extrajudicial murders, rapes, village torchings and other acts of violence, according to global rights groups and survivors.
The United Nations recently described Myanmar's actions as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."
Rohingya Muslims have for decades faced persecution and discrimination in majority Buddhist Myanmar. They are not allowed citizenship, although many families have lived there for generations.
The Myanmar government has maintained that hundreds of Rohingya Muslims, mostly "terrorists," have died, and that 176 out of 471 Rohingya villages have been deserted.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other rights groups said evidence shows that Myanmar military forces systematically targeted and torched Rohingya villages over the last three weeks.
Without offering proof, Myanmar has contended that Rohingya insurgents and departing villagers destroyed their own villages.
U.N. agencies are concerned that continued violence in Myanmar may eventually force up to 1 million Rohyngya into Bangladesh, a poor country that is already overpopulated.The NHL family sends heartfelt thoughts of condolence, comfort & courage to those touched by the tragedy in Orlando. pic.twitter.com/LjCuqpNDob — #StanleyCup Final (@NHL) June 13, 2016
It's become an all too familiar tradition to have a customary moment of silence before games following a tragedy.
On Sunday night in San Jose before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, it was no different.
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Perhaps it was the rawness of the shooting in Orlando happening not even 24 hours ago. Perhaps it was the the number of the victims and survivors. Whatever the reason, the normally raucous hockey crowd stayed completely silent for the entirety of the moment of silence.
A moment of silence for the victims and their families of the Orlando tragedy. https://t.co/9fBmdI69YP — NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) June 13, 2016
In the wake of senseless tragedies such as the one in Orlando, we feel so helpless. We look to sports as a distraction for a few hours from the harsh realities of the world around us.
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY:It was recently announced that a collection of unearthed Kurt Cobain tracks would be released on November 13 as Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings. It's coming in conjunction with the DVD/Blu-ray release of the Brett Morgen-directed documentary. Today, Morgen revealed the tracklist in an interview with Rolling Stone. Check it out below, along with the album art.
Morgen said the album is completely composed of solo Cobain recordings, as he decided not to include any unreleased work recorded with Nirvana's Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. It features early demos of Nirvana songs, as well as unreleased tracks like "Letter to Frances", "Aberdeen" (about a suicide attempt), "She Only Lies", and "Do Re Mi".
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Morgen defended the album's release.
"The morality of putting out unfinished work — I know that is a criticism that will be lobbied against the project," he said. "But just like the Bootleg Series furthers your understanding of Bob Dylan's process, I find that Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings furthers not just our understanding of his process but represents yet another angle, another side of Kurt — an artistic outlet that he was not necessarily able to work with in the context of a three-piece band. It's not scraps and discarded, insignificant material. It really is furthering our understanding of one of the most significant artists of our time."
The album will be released on CD, cassette, and digital formats on November 20; the double LP edition is out December 4. It includes "Sappy", which was released earlier this week and will appear on a 7" along with a cover of the Beatles' "And I Love Her". Both a 13-track standard edition and 31-track deluxe edition will be available.
Read our review of Montage of Heck from Sundance, and read our feature "Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, and the Gendering of Martyrdom".
Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings:
01 The Yodel Song
02 Been a Son (Early Demo)
03 What More Can I Say
04 1988 Capitol Lake Jam Commercial
05 The Happy Guitar
06 Montage of Kurt
07 Beans
08 Burn the Rain
09 Clean Up Before She Comes (Early Demo)
10 Reverb Experiment
11 Montage of Kurt II
12 Rehash
13 You Can’t Change Me/Burn My Britches/Something in the Way (Early Demo)
14 Scoff (Early Demo)
15 Aberdeen
16 Bright Smile
17 Underground Celebritism
18 Retreat
19 Desire
20 And I Love Her
21 Sea Monkeys
22 Sappy (Early Demo)
23 Letters to Frances
24 Scream
25 Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle (Demo)
26 Kurt Ambiance
27 She Only Lies
28 Kurt Audio Collage
29 Poison's Gone
30 Rhesus Monkey
31 Do Re Mi (Medley)In the past few months the polls for the Scottish independence referendum have narrowed markedly and what was previously seen by many as a mere formality has become a real competitive contest.
Such a swift transformation has left most of the British political classes and media struggling to catch up with events. But it has also left large parts of pro-union Scotland feeling bewildered and disoriented at the pace of change.
Scotland has unambiguously become another country. This has been a very gradual, quiet revolution, one without obvious leaders, or simple causes, and one which has happened over decades.
Scotland's gathering sense of itself has become interwoven with its changing society. It is a less deferential, ordered, high-bound place. It has become less institutionally dominated and elite-driven, as well as less Protestant, male-dominated and Labour-run.
Traditional authority and key reference points have faced seismic crisis. In the past couple of years, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the fifth largest banking group in the world pre-crash, hit the buffers; Glasgow Rangers FC, Scotland's dominant and most successful club blew up, faced liquidation and is now working its way up through the lower leagues; while the Catholic church in Scotland has been mired in sexual scandals at its most senior levels.
A longer timeframe captures even more profound institutional crisis. The Church of Scotland is but a pale imitation of the once powerful force that ruled the land. It could, on existing trends, disappear in a generation. Similarly, the Labour party, which once held nearly as much unchecked power as the Kirk, has become a sad, sullen voice. At this crucial juncture, it seems bereft of ideas and resources, only sure in its detesting of Alex Salmond and Scottish nationalism.
Then there is the role of institutions such as the BBC, which has found itself for the past 30 years continually behind the curve of the Scottish self-government debate and even the explosion of arts and culture. Not surprisingly, the BBC along with most of Scotland's mainstream media is not having a good referendum.
This is a Scottish expression of trends which are evident across the western world: the decline of deference, the rise of individualism, the crisis of traditional authority, and an emergence of new ways of organising and doing culture and politics.
One result of this has been the emergence of a self-organising, self-determining Scotland. I have called this "the third Scotland" by dint of it differentiating from the two establishment visions of Scotland – the new SNP one and the old declining Labour version. It has rightly regarded such a restricted choice and debate as barely adequate in a diverse, complex, wealthy society.
The third Scotland can be seen as a generational shift, with the emergence of a whole swath of articulate, passionate, thoughtful 20somethings. It signifies a shift in how authority and power is interpreted, with people self-starting initiatives, campaigns and projects through social media and crowdfunding. Often dismissed as being middle-class lefties and luvvies by detractors, the overwhelming social makeup of this group is drawn from what Guy Standing has labelled "the precariat": young, educated, insecure, portfolio workers.
Its main groups include the arts and culture group National Collective, the Radical Independence Campaign, and the Jimmy Reid Foundation.
Sceptics pour scorn on what this third Scotland stands for, but its political agenda is clear. It is for self-government and independence as not an end in itself, but as a means of bringing about social change. It is suspicious of the SNP's rather timid version of independence, always being described as being about "the full powers of the parliament" – which is hardly a language or outlook for transformational change. And they see the old mechanisms of social change such as the Labour party, labour movement and British state as having consistently failed and colluded with inequality, power and privilege.
Beyond this, there is an element of tension in this diverse movement. One part of Scotland's new radicals chooses to emphasise the country's egalitarian, inclusive and progressive credentials, believing that building upon these offers the best prospects of bringing about change.
Another perspective takes the view that the above assumptions are comforting, complacent stories and myths that have consistently been used by Scotland's institutional and establishment voices to maintain their position and close down debate, and that the conversation over independence offers the prospect of reflecting on this and challenging these myths.
The latter position is the view I take in my just-published book, Caledonian Dreaming: The Quest for a Different Scotland, which looks at the wider canvas of social change and the independence debate, the multiple crises of Britain – economic, social and democratic – and the prospects for a different Scotland.
The scale of change in Scotland in recent years has been of historic proportions. One consequence of this has been the sense of incomprehension and even loss in parts of pro-union Scotland along with UK elites, who have seen all this as the work of Salmond and the SNP.
Instead, an ambitious, challenging, confident Scotland has emerged which isn't owned by one party or tradition, and which thinks a narrow constitutional debate between yes and no and Scottish and British nationalisms isn't enough. This third Scotland has arisen from the different country that has emerged, and in so doing, it is further creating a politics and culture of far-reaching change, the consequences of which will far outlive the 18 September independence vote and decision.Columbus, Ohio (CNN) If not for the promise of President Donald Trump's signature, the current Republican effort to shred Obamacare would have ended like so many others over the past seven years -- defeated at the pass.
But this time around, with an approving executive itching to sign their work, Republican leadership is pressing toward a comprehensive overhaul, ignoring pleas from Democrats on Capitol Hill for more open debate, and furiously whipping support from wobbly GOP legislators whose defections could imperil their progress.
Trump, for once, seems to be an afterthought. In conversations with more than two dozen attendees at weekend events headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders to protest the Republican bill -- first in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night and then Columbus, Ohio, early Sunday -- the President's name never came up unprompted.
On the sidewalk outside a small concert venue in its Arena District, Columbus resident Kelly O'Rourke, 55, said the political tab for any potential harm the law might do to a grandson born with health issues or her own costs would come due on Capitol Hill.
"I'm going to blame (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell and the guys who have been there for a million years," she told CNN, dismissing the President's role.
"Donald Trump is not a politician," O'Rourke said. "He has no idea what he is doing. It's not Donald Trump. It's everybody who's in there, laughing at us, thinking, 'Ha-ha, ho-ho, they have to look at this circus going on and let's -- whisper, whisper, whisper -- go do this without anybody knowing.'"
The Senate Republican leadership is pressing for a vote on their overhaul later this week with the goal of passing the bill before lawmakers leave Washington for the July 4 recess. House Republicans passed a similar bill by a narrow margin in May. If the Senate GOP conference can manage 50 votes from their 52 members, the two chambers would likely hash out the differences, then send the paperwork to the Oval Office. So far, a handful of Republicans have said they oppose the bill in its current form.
Outside Washington, the calculus is more complicated. Democrats, along with advocacy and activist groups, have been appealing to the grass roots to flood the offices of Republican elected officials with calls demanding they disown the deeply contentious legislation.
Saturday night in downtown Pittsburgh, Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, rallied more than 1,500 people against the bill on the first leg of a hastily assembled joint barnstorming tour with MoveOn.org.
Passage of the Republican plan, he said, would be "a moral outrage that this nation will never live down."
"This so-called health care bill passed in the House last month is the most anti-working-class piece legislation passed by the House of Representatives in the modern history of this country," Sanders continued, calling the Senate's version worse and again warning that thousands of Americans are at risk to die for lack of care under its provisions. "It is unconscionable, and it must not be allowed to happen."
Sanders has been criticized for painting the potential repercussions in such stark terms. Still, he argued the same on Sunday in Columbus, citing academic assessments and noting he delivered the message "with pain, with anxiety." During a brief conversation with reporters in an Outback Steakhouse off Interstate 70, on the road from Pennsylvania to Ohio late Saturday night, he quietly cycled back through the argument and, not quite throwing his arms up, said again of the numbers, "It's true!"
The Congressional Budget Office could release an assessment of the effects of the Senate legislation as soon as Monday, a Republican congressional aide told CNN. The office released a report in May saying that under the bill House Republicans passed last month, which has much in common with the Senate proposal, 51 million would be uninsured by 2026, 23 million fewer than would be covered under Obamacare.
The rolling protest, which hit three states in less than 24 hours, shipped off to West Virginia for an afternoon event in Charleston on Sunday, giving Sanders and allies another chance to turn the screws on three Republican senators -- Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, Rob Portman in Ohio, and Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia -- whose states are expected to take disproportionate hits from the GOP's Medicaid rollbacks.
In Columbus, Sanders trolled Portman, who has expressed concerns over the Senate GOP legislation that he himself helped craft in a secret Senate working group, with some advice: "If you don't believe what I'm saying, listen to your own governor, John Kasich."
Only a few hours earlier, Kasich, a Republican former presidential candidate in 2016, doubled down on his criticism in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union."
"The total number of dollars that are going to be dedicated to Medicaid are not enough," Kasich said. "It's not enough resources there, and I've been very concerned in my state about treating the mentally ill, the drug addicted, the chronically ill, particularly under Medicaid expansion."There was an interesting product placement in Mad Men’s season 6 finale. It involved Hershey’s, the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America.
Hershey’s is one of the oldest chocolate companies in the United States, and an American icon for its chocolate bar.
Hershey’s had a very interesting and important role in the season finale. Its product placement consisted of spoken words (the brand was mentioned several times) and visual elements (Hershey’s logo was clearly visible in Don’s presentation).
*** ALERT: MASSIVE SPOILERS ***
Hershey’s was mentioned in a conversation between Ken and Don, when Ken asked Don to name a chocolate. Don replied: »What, like Hershey’s?«
During the conversation Don even said »I love Hershey’s.« That was a bit awkward, since that kind of statement is rarely seen in movies and TV shows.
But Hershey’s moment came in one of the main scenes from the episode, if not from the whole season: Don’s presentation in front of Hershey’s people. That scene was in some ways similar to season 1 finale where Don did his famous Kodak pitch that was thoroughly analyzed in the blog post The best product placement in the TV shows.
Don began his pitch with the statement that Hershey’s played and very important part in the lives of the American people and told his story.
Here’s Don’s pitch:
“Every agency you’re going to meet with feels qualified to advertise the Hershey bar because the product itself is one of the most successful billboards of all time.
And its relationship with America is so overwhelmingly positive that everyone in this room has their own story to tell. It |
performance, but a better experience than Xbox 360 overall. Perfect Dark The original Perfect Dark received an accomplished re-release on Xbox 360 with improved assets and a jump to a 1080p60 presentation, looking quite attractive bearing in mind its N64 origins. Unfortunately, this game reveals one unexpected issue with the virtual machine - it doesn't yet support internal resolutions higher than 720p. When running on Xbox One, we see the game render at 720p upscaled to 1080p, while the original Xbox 360 version delivers a full HD experience. The lack of jaggies may suggest that Xbox One is actually rendering internally at 1080p, presenting at 720p via the VM, then upscaling back to the higher resolution. There aren't many full HD capable titles on the platform, but clearly we would like to see this issue corrected in the future. The rest of the game looks and runs as expected, with no additional dips in performance - the slowdown present on Xbox One is also there when the game is played on original hardware. Also noteworthy is that texture filtering quality has taken a hit independent of the loss in resolution, with textures appearing blurrier at oblique angles on Xbox One. If you can look past these issues the game is completely playable. Status: Playable. An analysis showcasing the difference in performance between Xbox One and Xbox 360 with Perfect Dark Zero. Enabling v-sync on Xbox One improves image consistency at the expense of performance.New plan involves limits on benefit payouts to unemployed migrants rather than those in jobs in order to cut UK’s ‘pull factor’
David Cameron is ready to consider a “plan B” to curb EU migration to the UK, which would involve strict new limits on benefit payments to out-of-work migrants rather than those in jobs, as he seeks to cobble together a new deal for Britain in Europe.
The prime minister will take centre stage at a working dinner with European leaders in Brussels on Thursday evening, where he will say that concerns about migration are a major issue for the British people and that they need addressing before an in/out referendum to be held by the end of 2017.
He is expected to abandon his protracted battle for treaty changes – which would ban EU migrants who are in work from receiving benefits until they have been in employment in the UK for four years – and turn his attention to other measures to reduce the “pull factors” that attract EU migrants to the UK.
Government sources confirmed Cameron’s switch to a more flexible approach, saying that “what matters most is to fix the problems, not the precise form of the arrangements”.
The prime minister’s plan to curb in-work benefits has met a wall of opposition from other EU governments, with many saying they would discriminate against workers from other member nations and cut directly across Europe’s commitment to free movement of labour.
But with other European leaders desperate for the UK not to leave the EU, and determined to help Cameron put together a package he can sell at home as substantial, the plan B option, involving curbs on out-of-work migrants, is emerging as a potential deal saver. Successive Polish governments have said that while the four-year ban on in-work benefits is a “red line” for them, there is scope to limit benefits for those who do not have a job, such as first-time EU job-seekers, and those who have lost a job after a short period of employment.
Crucially, say the Poles and other EU governments, such changes would not require treaty change, and would not conflict with the principle of the free movement of labour as they would apply to those out of work. The changes, they say, could be agreed by the 28 member states through the faster, easier process of changing secondary EU legislation.
Government sources said that such ideas – as well as plans to allow an emergency brake on migration where it can be shown that undue pressure is being put on public services – are now in play in the talks with the UK and could be presented as significant reforms.
This week, left-leaning thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) will float detailed proposals for curbing out-of-work benefits in a report to be published on Sunday before the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
Entitled “Unlocking the EU Free Movement Debate”, it accepts that EU migrants’ access to welfare “is one of the main issues driving public dissatisfaction with free movement” and suggests benefits could be curbed both for those who have not previously worked in the UK, and those who have lost their jobs.
The IPPR suggests one model under which anyone who loses their job before they have worked in a host country for three years would have their entitlement to housing benefit, jobseeker’s allowance or universal credit cut from the current six months to three months. Under tougher options, the safety net could be removed altogether.
As part of a deal on benefits, Cameron is hoping for an agreement that would strip EU migrants of the ability to claim child benefit if their children do not live in the country.
After Thursday’s dinner, EU leaders will focus on measures to tackle the terrorist threat, following the Paris attacks in which 130 people died, and Cameron will use the summit to call for an EU-wide ban on high-powered, semi-automatic weapons as part of a joint European effort to prevent terrorists getting hold of deadly arms. Other measures to be discussed will be the need for greater sharing of ballistics data, and improvements to data on firearms in the western Balkans.
British officials stress that Cameron is no longer bent on achieving all of his demands but is determined to get substantial wins within each of the four main areas in which he is pushing for reform. The other three demands – on which agreement is likely – are to exempt the UK from the EU’s commitment to “ever-closer union”, achieve greater protections for non-eurozone countries, such as the UK, to ensure they cannot be outvoted by euro area nations, and give national parliaments greater powers to club together to block EU legislation.
Downing Street sources said that those campaigning for the UK to leave the EU are promoting a “ridiculous caricature” of the renegotiation process by saying that the only area of importance is the four-year benefit ban, and that the rest does not matter. They said hard-line sceptics had always demanded progress on the other three areas, but now claimed they were unimportant because they did not want the prime minister to be seen to have achieved a better deal for the UK inside the EU.
On the welfare issue, government sources did not mention the four-year ban on in-work benefits but said the prime minister would use the summit “to unlock the political will necessary to find a solution, effectively giving the green light to officials to work up a solution that would both deliver on [his] objective of better controlling migration from the EU, while also being acceptable to all.
“This would pave the way for an intense period of technical work early next year with the aim of sealing a package of reforms in all four areas at the February European council.”Exxon Mobil said on Sunday that it had agreed to sell its Japanese subsidiary to TonenGeneral Sekiyu, a major refinery operator in Japan, for about $3.9 billion, as part of a revamping of the oil giant’s operations in that country.
Under the terms of the deal, Exxon will sell a 99 percent stake in the subsidiary, ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha, to TonenGeneral. Exxon will in turn shed most of its controlling stake in TonenGeneral, keeping a 22 percent interest in the Japanese refiner.
The deal represents the latest move by Exxon and other major oil companies to shift their focus from refining operations to higher-margin businesses like exploration and development of new sources of oil and natural gas.
There is surplus refinery capacity in many parts of the world in large part because of the economic downturn, which has sliced into demand for gasoline and other petroleum products.
Meanwhile, high oil prices and relatively low gasoline prices have squeezed refinery profits. Royal Dutch Shell and BP are selling refineries in Western Europe and the United States. Several refiners have closed a handful of refineries on the East Coast in recent years, and a few are up for sale. ConocoPhillips plans to separate its refinery operations from oil and gas exploration and production.
TonenGeneral will also streamline its operations in light of what it says is declining demand for oil in Japan, which has put pressure on the company’s profit margins.
“The company will be able to more effectively execute locally driven investments and other business decisions that will help the company adapt to the challenging operating environment,” TonenGeneral said in a statement.
TonenGeneral will continue to have exclusive use of Exxon brands like Esso, Mobil and General in Japan. Exxon will also provide technology and supply services to TonenGeneral.
The Japanese refiner plans to finance the transaction with some of its 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in cash on hand and with bank debt. The deal is expected to close by June 1.
TonenGeneral was advised by Nomura Securities and the law firm Nishimura & Asahi.Posted by: The Photo Investigator 2 years, 6 months ago
If you upload a picture of your cat, can others pinpoint your location?
When you take a photo with a smartphone, the location where you took the photo is saved inside the photo. In some cases, knowing a photo's location is convenient, but you need to know when others know your location. Some websites remove a photo's GPS location when you upload the photo, and others don't. I was curious to see which websites have photos which can include GPS locations.
To test websites, I uploaded a photo which contained a GPS location, and then downloaded the photo to see if it still had GPS metadata. The chart below shows the results.
Google+, Flickr, and Tumblr's photos retain their GPS locations. Of course, that is if the uploaded photo included a GPS location. Also, Google+ requires you to opt-in to sharing a photo's location, so it is optional.
If you'd like to be able to see the GPS location within a photo, try the Photo Investigator. After installing the Photo Investigator, you can use the share button from other apps like Photos, Messages, Mail, and Safari to quickly see the GPS location (if available in that photo) and other photo information. It can be surprising what you can find out from photo metadata.
You can also remove or edit the GPS location of a photo by using the app, with an in-app purchase. As an indie developer, I really appreciate the support from in-app purchases, and also if you'd please buy the items I posted on Craigslist to research this article XP
Cheers,
The Photo InvestigatorRaelynn Hillhouse, an American security analyst, claims his whereabouts were finally revealed when a Pakistani intelligence officer came forward to claim the $25m (£15 million) bounty on the al-Qaeda leader's head.
Her version, based on evidence from sources in what she calls the "intelligence community", contradicts the official account that bin Laden was tracked down through his trusted courier.
Pakistani officials have always denied that bin Laden was sheltered or that Islamabad had any knowledge of the secret mission that killed him.
But Dr Hillhouse, who is known for her links to private military contractors that work extensively with the CIA, says Pakistan gave permission for a covert mission which would then be covered up by claiming bin Laden had been killed in a drone strike.
"The [Inter-Services Intelligence] officer came forward to claim the substantial reward and to broker US citizenship for his family," she writes on her intelligence blog, The Spy Who Billed Me.
"My sources tell me that the informant claimed that the Saudis were paying off the Pakistani military and intelligence (ISI) to essentially shelter and keep bin Laden under house arrest in Abbottabad, a city with such a high concentration of military that I'm told there's no equivalent in the US." After confirming bin Laden's presence in the military town, the US approached Pakistan's military leaders securing their co-operation in return for cash and a chance to avoid public humiliation.
The theory, if true, would explain how American black hawk helicopters were then able to fly deep into Pakistan territory in May without encountering resistance.
The plan only unravelled when one of the helicopters crash-landed, blowing the cover story.
"The co-operation was why there were no troops in Abottabad," writes Dr Hillhouse. "It had always seemed very far-fetched to me that a helicopter could crash and later be destroyed in an area with such high military concentration without the Pakistanis noticing." In the immediate aftermath of the raid, some residents of Abbottabad, where bin Laden had lived for five years, said they had received mysterious visits a night earlier warning them to stay inside with their lights off.
However, a senior Pakistani security official denied that the ISI had sheltered bin Laden.
"We don't use toilet paper – we wash," he said. "But toilet paper is all this theory is good for."
A spokesman for the US department of defense said: "We have no additional operational details, or comments on operational details, to make at this time."Actor Pamela Anderson, adding fuel to the fire, said that dating WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “would be a little bit difficult” considering he is currently imprisoned, but would be open to exploring options “when he’s free.”
According to Reuters, the Baywatch star said in an interview on a Swedish TV show, “I spend probably more time with him than any other man socially, which is very odd.”
Speculations about a romance between the two emerged when she started visiting Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lives under asylum. Calling him “one of my favourite people,” Anderson wrote in great length about him on her blog.
Pamela Anderson, actor and animals rights defender, attends a news conference at the National Assembly to protest the force-feeding of geese used in the production of foie gras, in Paris, France.
“I am getting more involved with The Courage foundation who helps to defend whistleblowers …like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange,” she wrote on Thursday. “My relationship with Julian – It’s no secret, He is one of my favourite people- and he might be the most famous, most politicized refugee of our time. Famous for being persecuted. Famous for being persecuted is not a position of power but a position of vulnerability. I am concerned.”
Follow @htshowbiz for more
First Published: Apr 02, 2017 12:54 ISTIn the run-up to Earth Day this year, two major reports were released by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the largest such body in the world. On March 31, Working Group II released its report, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, and on April 13, Working Group III released its report, Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Both reports cited substantially more evidence of substantially more global warming and related impacts than past reports have, and they did so more lucidly than in past iterations.
As climate scientist and communicator Katharine Hayhoe told Salon, “This time around, to its credit, the IPCC has gotten a lot more serious about improving its ability to communicate the report’s message, through graphics and other ancillary products.” There was also a greater sophistication in how to conceptualize, measure and compare things, even where substantial uncertainties are involved. And there was a substantial list of more than 90 major impacts already recorded on every part of the planet.
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Yet, one of the most disturbing stories to emerge around the reports was the New York Times report that language about the need for $100 billion in crisis funds to aid poor nations was removed from the Working Group III executive summary for policymakers during the final round of editing. The action neatly encapsulated the yawning gap between the growing danger of climate change -- and growing maturity of climate scientists -- on the one hand, and the utter lack of political will on the other.
But the growing sophistication of the scientific community is a cause for continued hope — if they can accelerate their learning curve, and follow the right path. They no longer mistakenly assume that the facts can “speak for themselves,” and they've gotten much better at developing ways to communicate lucidly about complex challenges and uncertainty. But the entrenched denialist, do-nothing opposition is still winning when it comes to writing the checks. If that's to change, Australian psychologist Stephan Lewandowsky will almost certainty be part of the reason why.
Reframing Uncertainty
One reason global warming opponents still have the upper hand is basic confusion over the nature and significance of uncertainty. “There are numerous instances in which politicians and opinion makers stated that 'there is still so much uncertainty, we shouldn’t invest money to solve the climate problem,'” Lewandowsky explained to Salon. Now he has just co-authored two related articles on scientific uncertainty and climate change -- “Part I. Uncertainty and unabated emissions” and “Part II. Uncertainty and mitigation” -- which show this thinking is completely backwards. “This is shown to be wrong by our analysis, because uncertainty can never be too great for action. On the contrary, uncertainty implies that the problem is more likely to be worse than expected in the absence of that uncertainty.”
It's a simple fact that your typical scientist already knows intuitively: Uncertainty grows with risk, exposure and potential loss, especially with complex nonlinear systems, like the global climate system. In fact, it's not even possible to calculate how much damage could come from worst-case climate scenarios, as Working Group III lead co-author Christopher Field pointed out at the press conference for their report. The relationship between greater uncertainty and risk is both obvious to those in the know and invisible to those who aren't. So it's never been properly talked about — or even rigorously analyzed — until now.
“Basically, we tried a new mathematical approach that is called 'ordinal,'" Lewandowsky said. “An ordinal method allows us to address questions such as: 'What would the consequences be if uncertainty is even greater than we think it is?' That is, ordinal questions refer to the order of things, such as 'greater than' or 'lesser than,' but don’t address absolute questions such as 'how much.'”
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So it doesn't tell you how much worse things will get — which would certainly be nice to know — but it does tell you that they will get worse the more uncertain things are. In short, it gets you oriented in the right direction — 180 degrees away from where so-called “common sense” would take you. It puts you on the right path, asking the right kinds of questions, taking the right kinds of first steps, and avoiding getting lost in the confusion, mistakenly thinking that uncertainty means less to worry about. It's hard to imagine a more basic finding.
“Using that approach we showed that as uncertainty in the temperature increase expected with a doubling of CO2 from pre-industrial levels rises, so do the economic damages of increased climate change,” Lewandowsky continued. “Greater uncertainty also increases the likelihood of exceeding'safe' temperature limits and the probability of failing to reach mitigation targets. Likewise, in the context of sea level rise, larger uncertainty requires greater precautionary action to manage flood risk."
As for the impact on policy, Lewandowsky said, “We show that the adverse effects of uncertainty are 'leveraged' and hence amplified by more emissions. It follows that to reduce the adverse effects of uncertainty, we should curtail emissions. This is a pretty strong imperative, but our papers don’t prescribe an exact target for emissions. As I noted above, we cannot answer 'how much' questions, we can only say 'less (pollution) is better.'”
Acceptance and Rejection of Science
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But these two recent papers are only side of the story of what Lewandowsky has been up to. He's also written a series of papers dealing with how people process information, either rejecting or accepting science. When I asked about the relationship, Lewandowsky replied,”The underlying 'theme' — if there is one — is how people respond to uncertainty or ambiguity. What the uncertainty papers analyze is how people should respond to uncertainty if they were mathematically-optimal. What my rejection-and-acceptance work shows is how people actually respond to things they perceive to be uncertain. So the two streams of research are opposing sides of the coin — what reality actually means and how people interpret it.”
There's also quite a bit more controversy surrounding this work — some of it intellectual, some anti-intellectual. In a 2012 paper, “The pivotal role of perceived scientific consensus in acceptance of science,” Lewandowsky and his co-authors reported on two studies. The first showed that acceptance of several scientific propositions — including the acceptance of HIV causing AIDS, smoking causing lung cancer, and human CO2 emissions causing global warming — were all manifestations of a common factor, which in turn is correlated with a factor reflecting perceived scientific consensus. In short, the more that people perceived scientific consensus, the more they accepted scientific findings.
The second study demonstrated a causal relationship, showing that acceptance of human-caused (anthropogenic) global warming (AGW) increases when the scientific consensus is highlighted. Subjects were divided into two groups, the “control” group subjects “greatly underestimated the AGW consensus” at 67 percent, while the second group, exposed to a graph and text highlighting the 97 percent consensus among climate scientists, still underestimated the consensus, but by much less — placing it at 88 percent. Not only did acceptance of global warming increase, the most dramatic finding was the neutralization of the effect of worldview, which otherwise had a significant impact. While there were significant differences due to worldview in the control group, the differences were "effectively nonexistent" for those exposed to consensus information, even though that information was only partially absorbed.
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The impact of worldview can informally be seen in partisan trend polling data on global warming evidence perception from Pew (graph here), as well as snapshot data showing Tea Party Republicans as significant outliers, with views significantly different from other Republicans, whose views are surprisingly close to average. Academics take a more rigorous approach toward worldviews, though their specific methods may vary. In this case, worldview was measured via five items expressing attitudes about the free market.
Dan Kahan is a leading researcher who's skeptical of the implications of this paper. He's done extensive research into the resilience of perceptions, regardless of contrary information, and finds strong evidence of “identity-protective cognition” among people of all different worldviews. (He uses a two-dimensional model, as opposed to a more common one-dimensional left/right one.) Kahan was the subject of Ezra Klein's first cover story at Vox.com, and I first wrote about his work in a three-part series at Open Left in January 2010. Not only has Kahan shown that people are resistent to information that challenges their identities and the worldviews that support them, he's shown that more information tends to drive people apart in their views, rather than lead to convergence. People use more information to rationalize what they already believe, rather than to question and reformulate it. Kahan doesn't doubt the results Lewandowski reported, he just thinks they won't stand up in the real world, in part because they haven't so far. (Kahan and Lewandowski debated each other on the Inquiring Minds podcast co-hosted by Salon contributor Chris Mooney — write-up and podcast here.)
“The reason 'consensus' has not appeared to work in society at large to date isn’t because it’s ineffective — it’s because there is a well-funded countermovement out there that takes every opportunity to mislead the public into thinking that there isn’t a consensus,” Lewandowsky told me, in response to this argument.
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But Kahan stresses it as an inescapable fact. “The real world has counter-messaging in it That's one reason the experimental studies aren't externally valid, in my view,” he said. “Unless those counseling 'broadcast 97 percent' have a plan for stifling all the culturally grounded cues that real people will be exposed to that motivate them to discount the '97 percent' message — as they've been doing for 10 years — it is bad advice, in my view, to tell communicators that they can expect '97 percent' to work in the world as it does in the lab."
This is clearly the challenge — how to take Lewandowsky's results out of the lab. He doesn't have a plan, per se, but he does have a sense of direction, and a track record, and a growing community of like-minded collaborators to work with. Kahan and Lewandowsky differ most on how to reach conservatives and libertarians, but there's potentially more acheivable progress to be made within the ranks of the reality-based community itself. To get the full picture of what this means, we first need to develop two historical threads — the growing understanding of the scientific process and its interactions with the wider world, which involves a widening circle of other experts, and the growing understanding of what stands in its way, which will bring us back to another emerging aspect of Lewandowky's work.
Establishing Consensus
To begin the first thread, we need to go back to 2004. That's when science historian Naomi Oreskes first published an initial survey of global warming literature, "Beyond The Ivory Tower: The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change." Climate scientists had long known that there was an overwhelming consensus on anthropogenic global warming, but Oreskes was the first to take a scientific approach to studying that consensus — just as Lewandowsky, more recently, has been the first to formalize what scientists informally knew about uncertainty.
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Oreskes analyzed “928 abstracts, published in refereed scientific journals between 1993 and 2003, and listed in the ISI database with the keywords 'climate change.'” She found that 75 percent of papers accepted the consensus view “either explicitly or implicitly,” while “25 percent dealt with methods or paleoclimate,” and took no position on AGW. “Remarkably, none of the papers disagreed with the consensus position,” she found. Later studies have found a small sliver of dissenting views, but the more the consensus has been studied, the sturdier it appears, while the dissenting literature is dogged with repeated problems.
For example, a 2010 paper, “Expert credibility in climate change,” recomfirmed the 97 percent consensus figure, and found that “the relative climate expertise and scientific prominence of the researchers unconvinced of ACC [or AGW] are substantially below that of the convinced researchers." A 2013 paper, “Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature,” examined “11,944 climate abstracts from 1991–2011” and found that “97.1 percent endorsed the consensus position,” while a parallel self-rating survey found that “97.2 percent endorsed the consensus.”
One of the co-authors of the 2013 study, Dana Nuccitelli, co-writes the Guardian's "Climate Consensus -- The 97%" blog. In an April 14 entry, he showed how far the study of climate science itself can take us in understanding the workings of anti-science as well. He detailed "4 ways contrarian papers get published: (1) Flawed paper gets into credible journal, (2) Flawed paper gets into off-topic journal, (3) Contrarian editor gets into journal, (4) Vanity journal created by contrarians." But that wasn't the primary topic of his column. His primary topic was the climate contrarian backlash against Lewandowsky's work on the second thread mentioned above — the growing understanding of what stands in the way of science, which began with worldviews and branched out from there.
Conspiracist Ideation — Better than Science at Playing Its Own Game
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Taking up that second thread, in 2013, Lewandowsky co-authored two papers probing more deeply into the role of what's known as "motivated reasoning" as an obstacle to scientific knowledge. In "The Role of Conspiracist Ideation and Worldviews in Predicting Rejection of Science," he approached the influence of worldviews and conspiratorial thinking (AKA "conspiracist ideation") as related types of motivated reasoning which interfere with scientific truth-seeking. In this instance, worldviews included both liberals vs. conservatives and free market orientation. Conspiracist ideation can be found across the ideological spectrum — even in the center, much to the chagrin of some — but it functions in similar patterns to resist unwanted information, regardless of subject matter.
Lewandowsky and his co-authors took a closer look at conspiracism specifically in the other paper, "NASA Faked the Moon Landing — Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science." The second paper touched a real nerve, producing a great deal of conspiracy theorizing about Lewandowsky himself, his co-authors and others. So, naturally, being a good scientist, Lewandowsky decided to study that as well. The result was a third paper, "Recursive Fury: Conspiracist ideation in the blogosphere in response to research on conspiracist ideation," which was subsequently retracted by the publisher, following sharp attacks from climate contrarians — even though the publisher found nothing scientifically or ethically wrong with the paper. Britain's notoriously lax libel law (changed just this year) was supposedly the reason. Following a further retreat by the publisher, three editors with the journal resigned. Nuccitelli provides a good account in his column (as does Lewandowsky himself, here), where he notes that this is just the latest example of a pattern that's played out before, but we need to go back and unpack the insights into conspiracist ideation that lie at the core of this work.
In the paper on conspiracist ideation and worldviews, the authors wrote, “The prominence of conspiracist ideation in science rejection is not unexpected in light of its cognitive attributes.” For one thing, it provides an out for people who don't like what the consensus says. “If you are faced with agreement among scientists, you have two choices,” Lewandowsky told me. “You either accept that they are on to something or… You think they all conspire to create a hoax for some nefarious reason. There aren’t too many other options, are there?"
“When you look at the history of science denial, there is plenty of evidence that a scientific consensus drives deniers into postulating such a conspiracy — from tobacco to AIDS to climate.”
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A second reason conspiracist ideation crops up in resisting science is that it has greater explanatory reach than science, because it's not constrained by “the criteria of consistency and coherence that characterize scientific reasoning.”
“In the case of climate, this is — humorously -- known as the 'Quantum theory of denial,'” Lewandowsky told me. “Deniers will claim in the same breath (or within a few minutes) that (a) temperatures cannot be measured reliably, (b) there is definitely no warming, (c) the warming isn’t caused by humans, and (d) we are doing ourselves a favor by warming the planet. The four propositions are incoherent because they cannot all be simultaneously true — and yet deniers will utter all those in close succession all the time.”
Finally, conspiracist ideation is also typically immune to falsification, “because contradictory evidence (e.g., climate scientists being exonerated of accusations) can be accommodated by broadening the scope of the conspiracy (exonerations are a whitewash), often with considerable creativity.”
“One good example for this is Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican congressman who called the exonerations of climate scientists after ‘climategate’ a ‘whitewash,’” Lewandowsky said. “This happens all the time, and sometimes takes on rather baroque forms, e.g., when the United Nations is invoked.” Lewandowksy sometimes refers to this as the “self-sealing” property of conspiracist ideation. It can be absolutely maddening to try to argue against.
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When I asked about other aspects of conspiracist ideation, I questioned whether it didn't reflect a quest for meaning, at the expense of information, along the lines of the mythos/logos distinction drawn by Karen Armstrong in "The Battle For God." Lewandowsky agreed.
“One of the aspects of conspiratorial thinking is — paradoxically — that it gives people a sense of control because it gives meaning to apparent randomness. It may be more comforting to some people to think that 9/11 was an “inside job” than accepting that it was a fairly random event triggered by a few fanatics.” Even more in line with Armstrong's thinking, he added, “I also think that there is a lot of identity politics in this, e.g., if Republicans generally think that climate change is a hoax, then it becomes a ‘tribal totem’ for others to pick up on this.”
As a further refinement, I noted that conspiracist ideation thrives on creating specific malicious others as a particuarly powerful form of meaning-making. “Yes, absolutely,” Lewandowsky responded. “There is this tension between ‘victim’ and ‘hero’ within the conspiracist worldview that leads to those contradictory positions. On the one hand (the ‘hero’ frame) it is permissible to accuse scientists of fraud and harass them, but by the same token (‘victim’ frame) scientists must do nothing to cast aspersions on the accusers or to defend themselves. Arthur Koestler has referred to those people as ‘mimophants.’ It is crucial for the public to understand this.”
With these insights in mind, the experience of what happened with “Recursive Fury” becomes a tremendous learning opportunity — though, as Nuccitelli points out, it's an opportunity that's been repeatedly missed in the past.
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Lessons to Learn
But there's a pattern here on the positive side as well. In 2004, Oreskes reframed the informal experience of climate consensus as a subject for formal knowledge — and that has helped climate scientists gain a much better self-understanding of what they're doing, through a succession of further studies. Likewise, just this past month, Lewandowsky's uncertainty papers have taken the informal knowledge that uncertainty means more unkown risk, and reframed uncertainty as the subject for scientific study. It's too soon to know what will happen as a result, but the potential is obvious if we can put an end to knee-jerk do-nothing arguments based on uncertainty.
Likewise, the dysfunctional impact of conspiracist ideation is just one example of how the scientific community itself has an underdeveloped immune system — as does the much broader “reality-based community,” which takes science seriously as a primary source of information. There would be great potential for any project that would take this informally recognized (by some) reality and make it the subject for rigorous scrutiny, just as Oreskes did in 2004 or as Lewandowksy did this year. That's a tall order, but it's possible that the two of them just might do something like that. They are currently working together on a paper on the effects of denial on the scientific community. It's obviously way too soon to say what it will look like, much less what impact it will have. But we do know that bringing “peripheral,” informally known subject matter to light can be an incredibly powerful way of moving human understanding forward. And there's no field of human understanding that needs that more than the science of saving our planet — and, not incidentally, ourselves.Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, no longer receives hospital treatment after ending the course of chemotherapy that he had been given after returning to his homeland last August.
Professor Karol Sikora, the London-based doctor who examined Megrahi and predicted he would be dead by last October, admitted this weekend that the fact the bomber is still alive might be "difficult" for the families of the 270 victims of the attack.
The latest disclosure will incense many of the relatives of those who died in the bomb blast in December 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in mid air over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 people on the ground.
Most did not want Megrahi released and they suspected he would live longer than the predicted three months.
The Sunday Telegraph revealed last September that the Libyan government had paid for the medical evidence which helped Megrahi, 57, to be released. The Libyans had encouraged doctors to say he had only three months to live.
The life expectancy of Megrahi was crucial because, under Scottish rules, prisoners can be freed on compassionate grounds only if they are considered to have this amount of time, or less, to live.
Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, ruled last August that Megrahi should be freed. Megrahi's release came after Libyan leaders warned that lucrative oil and trade deals with Britain would be cancelled if the bomber died in jail.
One leading prostate cancer specialist cast serious doubt yesterday on the wisdom of predicting that Megrahi had only three months to live – when a patient still had to undergo chemotherapy. Dr Chris Parker said it was extremely difficult to give an accurate prognosis for individual patients. "Studies show experts are very poor at trying to predict how long an individual patient will live for," he warned.
Megrahi received the chemotherapy drug Docetaxel – trade name Taxotere – shortly after returning to Libya.
Dr Parker, who is with the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, said: "The average prognosis for survival after Docetaxel would be 12 months.
"It can vary enormously but it would be very unusual to live beyond two years."
Doctors in Libya supply monthly medical reports to Scottish authorities who can speak to Megrahi whenever they want. The conditions of his early release stipulate he must not leave Libya.
Megrahi, is now living in a spacious two-storey villa with his wife and their five grown-up children in a prosperous suburb of Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
The property has a spacious garden and an area where the family erects a large tent to entertain visitors for celebrations.
The property has a security gate and there is often a uniformed police officer sitting on a white chair outside.
The Megrahis, who are part of a prominent tribe, are well off and it is understood that his family was paid substantial compensation by the Libyan Government after he was jailed for life.
They are known to have urged Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, to get Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence agent, freed from his jail.
Prof Sikora, one of the examining doctors who was paid a consultancy fee last July to examine Megrahi, told The Sunday Telegraph this weekend: "My information from Tripoli is that it's not going to be long [before Megrahi dies].
"They stopped any active treatment in December and he has just been going downhill very slowly at home. He is on high doses of morphine [a painkiller] and it's any day now."
Prof Sikora said that he suspected that Megrahi was still alive because he had received a "psychological" boost from returning to his |
also insist UK can have a bright future under Brexit and suggest that Labour could even meet Vote Leave’s much maligned £350million-a-week NHS funding injection pledge.
He will say: “Britain can be better off after Brexit. Tory Brexiteers and their UKIP allies promised Brexit would guarantee funding for the NHS, to the tune of £350million a week.
"The pledge has been ditched. The British people voted to refinance the NHS – and we will deliver it.”February 21, 2013
Water
Blackflies and Mosquitoes
Bears
Shelter
Attitude Fix #1: Don't Go Winter Camping
Attitude Fix #2: It's Just One Night, And You Can Leave Whenever You Want
Attitude Fix #3: Winter Camping Is Not Extreme Or Dangerous.
Sleeping Bag Advice #1: Subtract
Sleeping Bag Advice #2: Buy Warm
Sleeping Bag Advice #3: Light is Stupid
Sleeping Bag Advice #4: Clothes
Tips and Tricks
The worst thing about winter camping is the audience. The people who have never tried it, and irrationally try to discourage you from doing it."You did what?""Isn't it cold?""How do you stay warm?""Isn't that dangerous?""Why?"Skiers and snowboarders don't get asked these questions. And, what is unfortunate is that this type of bullying from the uninformed keeps people from enjoying the great outdoors for a quarter to a third of the year.Winter camping is a blast. There are no bugs. There are no bears. Water is everywhere but doesn't get you wet and finding shelter is relatively straightforward. If you're going out for just a single night winter camping is probably the easiest form of camping there is. Don't believe me? Let's go through a lot of the common camping challenges.In the summer you need to camp next to a body of water or carry it with you.In the winter you find some clean snow and boil it."Alright, we're going to unzip the fly on three, and then RUN into the tent. Are you ready?"Bugs are not an issue in the winter.Don't cook near your tent. Don't eat near your tent. Don't enjoy slices of cheese and summer sausage in your sleeping bag. Not too mention the whole finding a tree to hang your food thing.In the winter you don't need to worry about bears in your campsite.In the summer you need to carry a tent or hammock or what-have-you shelter dealy.In the winter you can bring a lightweight shovel and make your shelter as needed.Alright, rant aside, the two biggest barriers to winter camping are people's attitudes and sleeping bag ratings. Once you have successfully dealt with these two stumbling blocks winter camping is a breeze.For a lot of people camping is an activity. Don't think of winter camping as one. Go skiing or snowshoeing, and make it more fun by skiing out one evening and back the next day. Go night sledding. Go for full moon hikes. I was introduced to winter camping by my father who suggested it as a birthday party. For all of middleschool, every February my friends and I would trek up Vermont's Mt. Mansfield and spend the night in a three sided lean-to. It was awesome. I smile every time I remember running through the woods with our laser-tag vests, jumping off snowbanks, and racing each other in plastic torpedo sleds. We would have a great evening outside, having fun, and then when it was bedtime we would go to bed. The camping was a bonus, not a goal. Think of winter camping as another tool like ski wax, or toe warmers that make your favorite winter activity even more enjoyable.If you're willing to get up early then a night of winter camping is only maybe 8 hours in the dark in a sleeping bag. The same amount of time that you'd spend outside skiing. But as long as you know that you can go home whenever you want it's not a big deal. If at 2 am you're not having fun you can always flip on your headlight and hike back to the car. I've done it before. It happens. As long as you know that is a possibility then the whole idea will feel less daunting.Know this. Believe it. No one get's hypothermia winter camping. Hypothermia happens in 30-40F degree weather when someone dressed in a t-shirt gets rained on. You won't get frostbite winter camping. Frostbite happens to people climbing 8000m peaks, or skiers exposed to windchill. If you're that cold, then utilize Fix #2 and go home. Winter Camping is a vanilla activity based around the non-extreme activity of sleeping. BORING!In the summer, most of us pack for camping by grabbing a sleeping bag and going outside. A 30 degree sleeping bag will work for nights where the temperature ranges between 40F and 70F. In the winter take your sleeping bag and subtract. If the average temperature is 0 bring a 0F bring a -15F sleeping bag. If the temperature is 20F bring a 0 degree bag. Do not bring a 30 degree bag because it could get down to 31 degrees. Always bring a bag rated to a colder temperature than forecasted. Usually you'll be camping at an elevation colder than where the weather forecasting station is located, and those ratings are more like survivability guidelines, not for comfort. You won't die in a 0 degree bag, on a 0 degree night, but it might not be fun.My life changed in 2010. I got a -20F sleeping bag. It weighs well over 3 lbs. and it is my favorite article of outdoor gear. I got the bag for a climb on Denali where the temperatures often drop below zero. When do I use it? I on every trip I go on where the temperatures could go below freezing. On a 30F degree night nothing feels quite as good as jumping into a loftly insulated bag.I get it. You're super into hiking, you've cut the buckles off your pack and hollowed out your toothbrush. If you're only looking to be alive in the morning bring your ultra-light sleeping bag and do jumping jacks every hour. Seriously though a big part of camping is being a smart camper and knowing what worth the weight and what isn't. Warmth is worth the weight. (WiWtW) For six years my only sleeping bag was an EMS 0 degree synthetic bag. It was heavy. It was bulky. When it came to sleeping out under the February sky on just a sleeping pad and a tent fly I was warm. I was warmer than my friends' whose bags weighed half of mine. As you spend more winter nights outside you learn what you need and don't need. But until you get there please don't trade warmth for weight, if so you may never enjoy those winter nights.You're excited. You've always wanted to try winter camping. The attitude tips didn't help because you have dreamed about sleeping in the snow for years. But, you only have a 30F bag and can't get anything warmer. (SHAMELESS PLUG - We do have great deals on great brands of sleeping bags at Sierra Trading Post ) Don't forget about your clothes. Sure in the summer you might strip down to get into your sleeping bag, but in the winter it is okay to bulk-up. Do you have insulated pants? An extra jacket? A wool sweater? You can easily increase your warmth at night by adding more layers, just like you do in the daytime.Urinate before going to bed. Urine acts like a heat sink in your bladder, get it out and you don't have to keep it warm.Designate a place to go to the bathroom. You, or someone else, is relying on the snow as their water source.Set up your camp late, preferably after 9 pm. Sure this goes against the meticulous pre-pepared mantra minded woodsman ethos,but hear me out. You leave the car at 2 pm. Get to the campsite at 4 pm. It gets dark. You cook dinner. It is 5:30, cold, and all you have planned is to sit in your sleeping bag for the next fourteen hours. Ugh. If you roll into camp tired and close to your normal bedtime it will be much easier for you to fall asleep in the wintery nature and wake-up refreshed.More socks and more gloves. People always ask me what the best pair of gloves or socks are. My answer is always "many." Carry a few pairs of each, as one pair gets wet put it into your shirt or jacket to dry and switch to a dry pair. With three pairs you can have one pair on, one pair drying, and one ready to go.No more than one pair of mittens. Mittens are warmer than gloves, but more cases of frostbite are associated with mittens than gloves. The reason is that you can't do anything in mittens. You have to take them off to turn on your campstove, get into the tent, tie your shoe etc. Layer light gloves inside heavier ones and your fingers will be both toasty and functional.Don't take your pants off all the way. Nothing makes fresh 0 degree morning quite as brisk as getting out of your tent in your skivies and putting on your long underwear and snowpants. Wear your insulation layer, or DRY outerlayer, into your sleeping bag and then just push it down to your ankles. In the morning you just have to pull it up and you're already insulated before you leave your bag.More Food, More Hot CoCoa, More FunAccept your heavy pack. Bring more of the fun stuff and make your night outside luxurious and pampered.*This post was written by Keese Lane, the Sierra Trading Post Twitter Master*Check out a trip report from our recent Winter Camping TripA brief introduction of some of the Black Ferns players ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup final.
Black Ferns star Portia Woodman has hit out at the Women's Rugby World Cup scheduling that sees her team playing the final just four days after dispatching the United States.
New Zealand take on England in the title match in Belfast on Sunday (NZ time).
That comes after the two teams won tough semifinals over the United States and France respectively on Wednesday.
GETTY IMAGES Black Ferns try-scoring machine Portia Woodman blasts through the United States defence during New Zealand's semifinal win.
Try-scoring machine Woodman doubts her male counterparts would cope with a tournament schedule that the women have had to deal with.
READ MORE:
* Four more for Woodman in semifinal
* Recap: Black Ferns v USA - semifinal
* Palmer: Ferns will go all the way
* Woodman shy of try scoring record
* NZ rout Hong Kong in 19-try romp
"I'd like to see the men do a tournament like this. They probably wouldn't handle this as well as we do," Woodman told Pundit Arena.
"If possible it would be nice to have a few more days on the end just to get some quality rugby, to get some good recovery days in."
When the All Blacks won the 2015 World Cup in England they got a full week between their semifinal and final. Their opponents Australia had six days after playing their semifinal a day later than the All Blacks.
The Black Ferns got three days between playing their opener against Wales and their second game against Hong Kong. They had four days between their following match against Canada and a six-day break for their semifinal.
Woodman, who has been the star of the tournament with 13 tries in four matches, said their would be no time for any social activities as they concentrated on their rehab and plans to beat arch rivals England.
"A lot of the next couple of days is going to be around recovery because it's such a short turnaround," Woodman said.
"A lot of it is going to be about legs up, compressions on, iced knees... everything you need to do just to get your body right.
"So I don't know if many people are going to get out and about."
Woodman felt the team still had improvement in them as they looked to win the final against defending champions England.
She felt they had lifted their game since playing England in New Zealand in June when the Black Ferns lost 29-21.
"We've definitely stepped it up. Because we have had such a long time together now, we have been able to work on the things that we probably didn't get to in that last June series," she said.
"But we are still not peaking yet, we've still got a lot to work on heading into this final."
Woodman said their was huge motivation in the team to win the final and she felt clarity on the day would be crucial to their chances of achieving that.
Meanwhile England's veteran fullback Danielle Waterman has been ruled out of the final match with concussion.
She left the field during the first half of England's semi-final victory over France for a head injury assessment and did not return.
"Danielle has delivered outstanding performances throughout the tournament and has been a highly-valued member of the squad. However we have a number of strong options available to us as we begin preparing for Saturday's game," England's head coach Simon Middleton said.
Middleton, a 60-test veteran, has started every match of the tournament.BURNS LAKE, B.C. — The steel trusses of a new multimillion-dollar sawmill formed the backdrop for Liberal Leader Christy Clark as she touted her government’s forests strategy during a campaign whistlestop Thursday in Burns Lake, where little more than a year ago an explosion and fire at the previous mill devastated the community.
[np_storybar title=”Did Christy Clark spoil her own ballot?” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/09/christy-clark-wrong-ballot/”%5D
Having trailed in the polls for the entire campaign and faced repeated speculation over her future, embattled B.C. Premier Christy Clark needs every single vote she can get in the upcoming provincial election.
But the one vote Ms. Clark would have thought she could count on might not count at all after the B.C. Premier appeared to spoil her own ballot paper in a mix-up over her own riding and the local candidate.
Continue reading…
[/np_storybar]
Clark offered her condolences to the families of two men killed in the January 2012 explosion, and commended the distance the community has come since then.
“The explosion at the Babine sawmill was a terrible, terrible tragedy,” she said, flanked by hardhat-wearing construction workers who paused for a brief visit from the premier.
“Burns Lake also lost the economic backbone of its community.”
Clark said she remembers the emotion of visiting the burned-out mill in the days after the fire.
“I also, though, am incredibly proud of the courage, the strength and perseverance that this community, the people in this community, have shown to make this historic day possible.”
After signing her name in freshly poured concrete, Clark announced the official start of construction on the new mill.
In December, the Liberal government announced that owner Hampton Affiliates Ltd., had committed to rebuilding the mill after after the province signed deals to guarantee timber supply.
The new mill is expected to be up and running again early next year.
Clark cited the new facility as proof the forestry strategy that forms part of her Liberal government’s jobs plan is working.
“Our forest industry has been through many blows in the past two decades and yet today it stands tall,” she said.
Clark has spent much of her campaign touting her government’s plan for economic growth, with heavy machinery of one type or another forming the backdrop.
But despite the Liberals’ accompanying and persistent warning — that an NDP government would put all that in jeopardy — a newly published study from the University of British Columbia’s business school concludes neither party is significantly better than the other when it comes to managing the province’s debt or spending.
The study looked at the performance of the B.C. economy and fiscal management under the NDP from 1991 to 2001, as well as under the Liberals between 2001 and 2013.
The report found that the NDP actually controlled spending and debt better than the Liberals, relative to other provinces over the same time period.
However, that depended on who was premier, said associate professor Tsur Sommerville, who conducted the study.
“Mike Harcourt did a much better job on the fiscal management side than did Glen Clark,” he said. “So then the Liberals end up doing better after the [Glen] Clark years, but not as well as under the Harcourt years.”
Income growth, however, increased more under the Liberals, but Sommerville noted the Liberals presided over much more favourable economic conditions, such as lower interest rates and rising commodity prices, than was the case with the NDP.
When it came to job creation, neither party actually outdid the other.
“The difference was that the NDP significantly grew employment that depends on the government, while under the Liberals, they had more relative growth in private sector employment,” said Sommerville.
Throughout her campaign, Clark has been telling voters that an NDP government would increase government spending and throw the province into debt. Such was the case in the 1990s, when the NDP were last in government, she says. She also maintains that the NDP would also kill jobs because it is anti-economic development.
New Democrat leader Adrian Dix has fired back, saying that under Clark’s government, more than 30,000 private sector jobs have been lost. Dix has also said that contrary to Clark’s claims that the Liberals have balanced the books, they are in fact running a $800-million budget deficit.
Still, Clark continued with her theme Thursday as the polls show a tightening in the leadup to election day Tuesday, though the NDP remains out front.
From 2003 to 2011, B.C.’s softwood lumber exports to China grew by 1,500 per cent, Clark said.
“That might be investment and opportunity from far away but that means jobs right her at home, right here in Burns Lake.”
The forest industry in B.C. has been hit hard by the mountain pine beetle epidemic and Clark promised the Council of Forest Industries in April that the Liberals would spend $8.4 million to help identify new markets for wood products, and work with the forest industry to find more skilled workers.
But the deal that assured Oregon-based Babine Forest Products that it would be worthwhile to rebuild is, so far, a one-off. In March, the Liberal government withdrew controversial legislation that would have changed the forest licence system to give private companies more control over Crown land.
‘The difference was that the NDP significantly grew employment that depends on the government, while under the Liberals, they had more relative growth in private sector employment’
Clark said in Burns Lake those changes are not off the table, but there will be further consultation if her Liberals are re-elected.
“We did bring in legislation that would allow area-based tenures, which is something the people have asked for for years,” Clark said.
The New Democrats supported the changes in committee and then opposed the legislation, she said.
“We are going to, our aim absolutely remains to make sure we bring in legislation that’s going to allow area-based harvesting.”
Clark said people will be able to air concerns, and there are some, she acknowledged. But there are also benefits.
It encourages more active silviculture investment by private companies, who will reap the rewards of healthier forests.
“We won’t go down that path with every inch of forest in the province by any stretch but I think it’s time we start to think about new ways to govern tenure in the province.”
Dix announced earlier in the campaign a five-point forestry plan that would see $310 million invested by a New Democrat government over five years in areas such as skills training, forest health, and expansion of global markets, while cutting raw log exports.
In Surrey on Thursday, Dix once again stressed the importance of protecting and promoting the forestry sector. After a brief tour of Catalyst Paper’s manufacturing distribution centre, Dix commended the operation for bouncing back after experiencing significant financial trouble and going through restructuring last year. The company emerged from credit protection last September, and was relisted on the Toronto Stock Exchange in January.
“What you see here at Catalyst is a company reborn and it was my honour to be with them at the Toronto Stock Exchange when they were relisted after difficult times,” Dix said. “The people you meet here produce an enormous amount of work and send their products around the world every week, to Australia, New Zealand, and of course to the U.S., and of course Asiaaand the people working here make it happen.”
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Whereas the NDP’s forestry plan would protect the sector, the Liberals “more of the same” approach would ignore the sector’s problems and focus solely on the oil and gas industry, Dix said.
“You compare [our approach] to a government that did not mention forestry more than one sentence in a Throne Speech, that hasn’t proposed anything significant in this campaign to address significant issues in forest industry, that took months and months and months when this important company was having difficulty with the governmenta We have a government that does not treat the forestry sector with the priority it deserves,” Dix said. “When you consider the impact of this operation, that is not the right approach.”
For the Greens, the way forward for economic development in the province lies with development of alternative energy sources and the Liberal government has
Green Party Leader Jane Sterk told a news conference in Vancouver sectors such as wind energy would create jobs faster than the far-off liquefied natural gas industry that Clark has been promoting.
Sterk said investors hankering to fund renewable energy projects are being shut out because of the province’s regulatory barriers.
“We need to address some of these regulatory issues that have made it very difficult to do business in British Columbia,” she said.
“We have this massive investment that people want in wind, we have companies who have talked to us who want to do geothermal projects. They encounter the same kind of regulatory barriers.”Chaos Sedated #160 - Midwinter Night of Eastcoast Folk
In support of the upcoming Midwinter Night of Eastcoast Folk festival this episode features an uninterrupted set of Apocalyptic Folk and Martial/Neoclassical music. Knotwork, Scout Paré-Phillips, Blood and Sun, Lindbergh Baby, David E. Williams, Tesco Jane will be be performing Sunday December 22nd at Saint Vitus Bar in NYC.
Click here for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/440933109344953/
Playlist for this episode:
Artist - Track - Album
Blood Axis - Mâdhu - Born Again
Wardruna - NaudiR - Yggdrasil
Blood and Sun - Keen - White Storms Fall - (New Unreleased)
Rome - Rough Magic - Hell Money
Cult Of Youth - Man and Man's Ruin - Love Will Prevail
The Lindbergh Baby - Media Boss - Hoodwinked
David E. Williams - The Official Picnic Song - Trust No Scaffold Built Of This Bone
Spiritual Front - The Devourment of the Will - Open Wounds
Blood and Sun - Slaughter the Instant - White Storms Fall - (New Unreleased)
Changes - Mountains of Sorrow (In You) (Remix) - Lament
Backworld - The Shadow of Eden - Anthems from the Pleasure Park
Nature & Organisation - Bloodstreamruns - Beauty Reaps The Blood Of Solitude
Dream Into Dust - Age Of Delirium - No Man's Land
The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud - Untitled 2 - The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A CloudGet ready to meet your fave new group of friends. Sweet Home Oklahoma is taking you on a wild ride to the Sooner State to spend time with the most adorable ride-or-die squad around.
In the new series, which premieres Monday, March 20 at 10/9c, you'll meet Jennifer Welch, Angie "Pumps" Sullivan, and Lee Murphy. This terrific trio has become the best of friends over the years while making their home in Oklahoma City. Prepare to fall in love with their hilarious, no-holds-barred approach to life.
Every day might be a blast for these ladies now, but they've had to help each other navigate life's challenges, and they still continue to do so. Jennifer, an interior designer, is divorced from Josh Welch, who practiced law and struggled with substance abuse. Now Jennifer and Josh are trying to make their relationship after marriage work while also raising their two children, Dylan, 14, and Roman, 10. Angie met Josh in law school and eventually went to work for him before meeting Jennifer when she hired her to be her interior designer. Angie practices marriage and family law and is mom to Sam, 16, Emily, 14, and Luke, 11, whom she raises with her ex-husband. Last but certainly not least, Lee has three boys and is a successful medical device sales rep trying to get back into the dating game after going through her own divorce.
This fierce group is here to prove that there's no place like Oklahoma. Be sure to tune in to see all of the shenanigans this squad gets into when Sweet Home Oklahoma premieres on Monday, March 20 at 10/9c.
Until then, check out how the Sweet Home Oklahoma crew's neighbors, The Real Housewives of Dallas, let loose, below.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Caernarvon Ironopolis, Mumbles Albion and the Rechabites... they are just three of the evocative names of some of Wales’ forgotten football teams being commemorated in a new online photograpahic exhibition.
Pictures of teams from more than 120 years ago with players sporting handlebar moustaches, elegant hats and holding old style heavy leather footballs are contained in the new exhibition put together by the People’s Collection Wales, a contemporary, bilingual website dedicated to sharing the history and experience of Wales and its people with the world.
Among the old clubs included in the new collection are:
The Caernarvon Rechabites. Little is known about the side but Rechabites are associated with the temperance movement and the Independent Order of Rechabites was a friendly society formed in the 1830s.
Aberdare Association FC (also known as Aberdare Athletic) are pictured In the 1899/90 season in which they won the Leominster Charity Cup and were Gold Medallists in the South Wales League.
Carnarvon Ironopolis were formed in 1894 after the demise of Caernarvon Athletic football club. They were so-called because the team were employees of De Wintens Iron Works.
Nantlle Vale Football Club are pictured in the 1938-39 season when the won the Lleyn and District Cup and the Cooks Cup.
Mumbles Albion was one of the first clubs formed in South Wales, surviving into the 20th Century winning the Swansea League in 1909.
The University of Wales Abersytwyth Football team is pictured in 1897 with their famous goalkeeping captain, Leigh Richmond Roose, who later played for Stoke, Everton and Aston Villa, winning 24 Welsh caps.
A one-time boyfriend of music hall star Marie Lloyd the Holt, Wrexham-born player won the Military Medal for his bravery in WWI but died on the last day of the Battle of the Somme aged 38.
People’s Collection Wales is a contemporary, bilingual website dedicated to sharing the history and experience of Wales and its people with the world.
The website has recently been re-launched to improve the user experience – and there are now over 47,000 items to discover on the website.
Items range from family photographs to national treasures, with content from the three partner organisations (National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Royal Commission of Ancient and Historical Monuments), local and regional museums, archives and libraries, community groups and, importantly, individuals.
Anybody can submit content to the website which makes People’s Collection Wales a constantly growing resource for the people of Wales to learn about their history.
Visit the People's Collection Wales wesbsite at www.peoplescollectionwales.co.ukFront Mission 4 (フロントミッション フォース, Furonto Misshon Fuoosu) is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix Co., Ltd. as the fourth main entry and sixth entry overall in the Front Mission series. Like other Front Mission titles, Front Mission 4 is part of a serialized storyline that follows the stories of various characters and their struggles involving mecha known as wanzers.[2]
The game takes place in the late 21st century where superstates compete for the world's resources, and two individuals are sent to investigate when five bases of one nation are attacked unprovoked by persons unknown. The game was developed to sound different musically than previous titles, with South American instruments like the pan flute were used to compose a more dynamic musical structure.
The title was the top selling game of Christmas 2003 in Japan and sold over 160,000 copies. It received generally positive reviews, highlighting the high production values and customization of mechs for combat, but also cited the games high level of difficulty and complexity.
Gameplay [ edit ]
Front Mission 4 borrows several of the gameplay mechanics found in Front Mission 2. The video game progresses in a linear manner: watch cut-scene events, complete missions, set up their wanzers during intermissions, and sortie for the next mission. The player travels to locations on a world map. As the player progresses through the plot, new locations are revealed on the world map. Towns and cities act as intermission points where the player can organize and set up their units for the upcoming mission. Battle zones are where the missions take place, though they become inaccessible upon the completion of a mission. Like in Front Mission 2, Front Mission 4 alternates control between the game's two main characters. However, the two scenarios never merge at any point of the game.
The missions in FM4 are traditional tactical RPG fare, ranging from destroying all enemy targets to protecting a certain allied target. There are a number of returning features from Front Mission 2 that are used for mission play, namely Action Points (AP) and Links. Action Points (AP) is a feature that dictates how much actions can be done with each unit. Actions such as moving and attacking require a certain amount of AP to use. At the end of a full turn, which is one Player Phase and Enemy Phase, a set amount of AP is replenished. A unit's AP amount and recharge value depends on how many AP-specific abilities its pilot has learned.
Links is a feature that allows multiple units to provide offensive and defensive support to each other during battles. Unlike in Front Mission 2 and Front Mission 3, players have greater control over Links. Up to four units can be linked together to form one "link"; an offensive link for Player Phase battles, and a defensive link for Enemy Phase battles. Additionally, the player can dictate the degree of support a unit can provide; a linked unit can use battle skills or no battle skills at all. For linked actions, a weapon must be set in order to participate in an offensive or defensive linked battle. Lastly, two special actions can also be set as linked actions: Antilock and Salvage from EMP and radio backpacks, respectively. Antilock causes missiles within range to miss, while Salvage restores any wanzers destroyed in battle.
Returning features aside, Front Mission 4 has a number of new gameplay mechanics. Weapons are now capable of attacking more than once during any battle, provided that the unit initiating the attack has sufficient AP and weapon ammunition. The time of day affects a weapon's chances of hitting its target; for example, accuracy is lowered during night time. Weather conditions affect the effective range of weapons; for example, a blizzard will reduce a machine gun's maximum firing range by one square. Like in Front Mission Alternative, there are new auxiliary backpacks that offer unique features when used on the battlefield. In addition to the item, turbo, and repair backpacks, players can now use jetpacks, sensor backpacks, EMP backpacks, and radio backpacks.
Sensor backpacks are equipped with sonar and radar sensors that extend the firing range of missile launchers. EMP backpacks are armed with electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves that disable various functions on its target. Jetpacks have built-in verniers that allow a wanzer to scale buildings and directly bypass obstacles such as water. Radio backpacks have communications equipment that allows a wanzer to act as a forward air controller by signaling a transport to drop supplies, armor coating, or call in an air strike. Aside from these new additions, turbo backpacks now come with a small amount of item space and repair backpacks can remove EMP-inflicted status damage.
Plot [ edit ]
Note: In the North American release of Front Mission 4, the United States of the New Continent was changed to the Unified Continental States (UCS). This change is only exclusive to this version of Front Mission 4.
Set in 2096, the story of Front Mission 4 takes place in Venezuela and Europe.[3] Since the revelations of the true causes behind the 2nd Huffman Conflict in 2092, the world grew wary of the Republic of Zaftra. Zaftra began losing foreign investments and many businesses withdrew from the union, resulting in major economic losses. Superpowers such as the United States of the New Continent (USN) refused offers from the union to import their natural resources, the major economic driver of their economy. With a failing economy and growing distrust from the world community, the Republic of Zaftra disbanded the Peace Mediation Organization (PMO) in 2094. Meanwhile, the discovery of natural resources in Poland led the European Community (EC) to stop importing raw materials from Zaftra. Consequently, Zaftran citizens began migrating to other countries in search for work. In 2096, the Republic of Zaftra returned to the spotlight after a mysterious blitzkrieg of EC military bases leaves Europe in an imminent resource crisis. Elsewhere in the world, Venezuela suddenly declares independence from the USN.
Story [ edit ]
The plot of Front Mission 4 revolves around two individuals - Durandal recruit Elsa Eliane and USN sergeant Darril Traubel. In 2096, five military bases in Germany are simultaneously attacked by unknown assailants. The EC leadership discuss the attacks and appoint the union's Durandal military research unit to lead the probe. While probing for evidence at a Bundeswehr base, they encounter Rolf Wagner, the leader of the Bundeswehr's Blauer Nebel special forces. The Durandal theorize that the attackers staged out of a small base in Denmark and run into some opposition there, but another set of wanzers ambush the Durandal after they return to Germany with their findings, which includes a wanzer AI microchip. The team delivers the microchip to Niklas Glaeser, a German general leading the investigation. In a news conference, Glaeser's revelations that the attackers were USN puzzle the Durandal, who believe they were of Zaftran origin.
Meanwhile, USN Venezuela secedes from the USN, which the USN sends in the 332nd Mobile Company to force them back into the fold. Darril Traubel and his two of friends are on patrol duty when they witness the crash of a Venezuelan State Army (VSA) transport. Inspecting the remains, they find a crate carrying gold bullion worth $25 million. The three then decide to steal the gold and go AWOL. However, they were discovered by the VSA and are forced to escape north to Cumana, where a businessman named Chang offers to help them escape. However, this fails when they are attacked by unknown wanzers at the harbor, which spills over into the city. Darril captures their leader, Anizka Ivanovna Aleksandrov, and they head for another escape route. Along the way, the deserters find a village being attacked by the VSA. Darril decides to help the villagers and in the process, meets the Alianza de Libertad Venezolana (Venezuelan Liberation Alliance) rebel group. Ivanovna escapes during the skirmish, but keeps a homing beacon on the deserters' truck believing they may be of use to her in the future. As the game's plot thickens, the protagonists discover that Glaeser lied about the investigation and pieces its connections between the base attacks in Germany and the deserters' pursuers in Venezuela.
Characters [ edit ]
Many characters from Front Mission 4 are referenced in Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. The video game takes place in 2096.[4]
Elsa Eliane is a former E.C. French Army master sergeant and a member of the E.C. Armored Tactics Research Corps, otherwise known as the Durandal. Before joining the Durandal, Elsa was in the employ of the French Army and served them for three years from 2093 to 2096. [5] Although Eliane had no actual combat experience with the military, her grasp of combat theory and wanzer piloting impressed her superior officers. As a result, Elsa was accepted into the Durandal upon the recommendation of her superiors. Elsa is also referenced in Front Mission 5: Scars of the War.
Although Eliane had no actual combat experience with the military, her grasp of combat theory and wanzer piloting impressed her superior officers. As a result, Elsa was accepted into the Durandal upon the recommendation of her superiors. Elsa is also referenced in. Darril Traubel is a U.S.N. sergeant and a platoon leader for the U.S.N. Army 332nd Mobile Company. A talented soldier, Darril's achievements on the battlefield made him into a rising star in the U.S.N. Army. However, his sense of justice has led him to disregard orders and eventually, his demotion from captain to sergeant in 2096. Ever since the demotion, Traubel has become a disillusioned soldier and has lost interest in fighting for the U.S.N. [6] Darril also makes appearances in Front Mission First and Front Mission 5: Scars of the War as a playable character. [7]
Darril also makes appearances in and as a playable character. Billy Renges is a U.S.N. corporal in the employ of the 332nd Mobile Company. Billy was born into a poor family struggling to make ends meet. Determined to escape a life of poverty, he enlisted in the U.S.N. Army to live the good life. Renges met and befriended Darril Traubel during the 2nd Huffman Conflict, and the two have formed a strong friendship since then. When Darril was reassigned |
Congress would be a significant expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, paid for with an increase in the federal tobacco tax, and an extension of tax credits for renewable energy sources, financed largely by the repeal of recent tax breaks for oil companies.
"You start small and build confidence," said Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.).CLOSE WCSG manager speaks out on the arrest of Christian radio show host John Balyo on first-degree criminal sex charges involving children. WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, Mich.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — A former host on a Christian radio station who was arrested on first-degree criminal sex charges involving children, admitted to raping a 12-year-old boy, the Calhoun County, Mich., prosecutor said Monday.
John Balyo, 35, of Caledonia, Mich., is accused of paying another man to arrange sex with underage boys.
Balyo was ordered Monday to be held without bond after prosecutor David Gilbert said Balyo made incriminating statements to investigators.
"The defendant did make admissions to count one of the complaint," Gilbert told Calhoun County District Court Magistrate David Heiss during Balyo's arraignment.
STORY: Christian radio host charged in sex probe
In addition to the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge — which is a penetration offense — Balyo also is charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct — a touching offense. Battle Creek, Mich., police have alleged he had a sexual encounter with a 12-year-old boy in Battle Creek on May 17.
Balyo, the former host of a program on WCSG-FM, a Christian radio station associated with Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., was arrested Friday at a Christian music event.
Earlier Monday, WCSG General Manager Chris Lemke addressed the scandal on-air:
"The WCSG family was shocked and saddened to learn WCSG Morning Show host, John Balyo was arrested amid allegations which have since then been much publicized," said Lemke. "On Saturday, WCSG and Cornerstone University ended its affiliation with John."
Immediately after his arrest, WCSG executives placed Balyo on paid administrative leave. But within 24 hours, the station had severed ties with the troubled DJ.
In his comments, Lemke attempted to do more damage control.
"I want you, our radio family, to know that more than ever WCSG exists to serve as a Christ centered influence through compelling content, relevant platforms and passionate relationships," Lemke said. "Our vision is to be an encouraging and engaging media influence for Christ and his church, his kingdom and you here in West Michigan and around the world."
Lemke reminded his Christian audience that "absolutely no one is immune from falling into the darkness of sin." He then prayed that any broken trust be restored.
“The WCSG family was shocked and saddened to learn WCSG Morning Show host, John Balyo was arrested amid allegations which have since then been much publicized.” WCSG General Manager Chris Lemke
Balyo was arrested as part of a joint investigation by the Battle Creek Police Department, the Michigan State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Federal investigators say Balyo's was arrest was part of a larger effort, called "Operation Predator," that has a goal of protecting children from sexual predators.
A spokesman for ICE, Khaalid Walls, said Monday that the federal investigation is continuing but no charges have been sought. Officials searched Balyo's house and car Friday and Walls said Monday additional search warrants were executed, including one for a rented storage facility.
Balyo was questioned for about 2½ hours Friday in Grand Rapids after his arrest and before he was brought to Battle Creek and the county jail.
His arrest is linked to the case against Ronald Moser, 42, of Battle Creek. Moser was arrested in early June and is charged in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids with manufacturing and possessing child pornography.
Walls said Friday the allegation is that Balyo paid Moser to arrange sexual encounters with minor children.
Detective Sgt. Jim Martens said both sexual assault charges against Balyo involved the same boy on the same day. Gilbert declined to comment on whether investigators believe other victims are in the county.
If convicted of the charges, Balyo faces up to life in prison, Heiss said. A preliminary examination of the charges is scheduled for July 7, he said.
Although preliminary bail was set over the weekend at $500,000, the magistrate said after hearing from Gilbert about the admissions, Balyo would be held without bail "because the proof of the defendant's guilt is evident."
Contributing: Angela Cunningham, WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1izNrrIBarack Obama repeatedly promised Americans that Obamacare would lower insurance premiums by $2,500 a year.
It was another lie.
Insurers can expect a double-digit Obamacare price increase next year.
Yahoo reported, via Free Republic:
U.S. consumers eligible for Obamacare health plans could see double-digit price hikes next year in states that fail to draw large numbers of enrollees for 2014, including some states that have been hostile to the healthcare law, according to insurance industry officials and analysts.
The early estimates come as insurance companies set out to design plans they intend to sell in 2015 through the state-based health insurance marketplaces that are a centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement that is widely referred to as Obamacare.
WellPoint Inc, which sells plans on 14 Obamacare exchanges, expects health insurance rates nationwide to be higher. Increases for the Obamacare market that has signed up about 5 million people to date is expected to outpace those in the employer-sponsored market, which serves about 170 million people.
“Looking at the rate increases on a year-over-year basis on our exchanges, and it will vary by carrier, but all of them will probably be in double digit plus,” Ken Goulet, president of WellPoint’s commercial business, told investors in New York on Friday.
The cost of health insurance is already a political hot potato in this year’s election campaign for control of Congress, with Republicans warning of the potential for sky-rocketing rates in their attempt to turn the ballot into a referendum on Obamacare.
Insurers have noted the difficulty of building and pricing plans for 2015, which will mark the second year of the Obamacare exchanges. Enrollment for 2014 closes on March 31, giving them very little time to review the costs of covering their new members before submitting proposed rates to insurance regulators in May and June.Studies show that twenty-somethings are more stressed and over-worked – and in turn, depressed and anxious about the future – than any other generation. As such, it’s not uncommon to find that people in their twenties don’t always treat each other that well. “Women that dominate culture today are pretty unfriendly,” says Sarah Jessica Parker in agreement, during a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “I like to remember that the women in Sex and the City were nice to each other.”Her comments have spurred many to vocalise parallels between Carrie’s original NYC foursome, and the urbanites that populate Lena Dunham’s Girls. As a case in point, a recent episode sees resident wallflower Shoshanna shed her timid demeanour and lash out at her friends, delivering low blows about their mental health issues, stints in rehab and subsequent whiny self-absorption.
These girls may look like adults, but their behaviour echoes schoolyard behaviour. Author Jeffrey Arnett would describe this as “emerging adulthood” – an extended period of “frequent change and exploration" that has emerged between teenaged and adult years due to demographic shifts. Rife with backhanded compliments, rumour-mongering and random bouts of exclusion, development experts say the turbulent friendships so common amongst teens are ‘rehearsals’ for adult intimacy, loyalty, and commitment. When we grow up and settle down, we begin to cut out the ‘frenemies’.Except now, that’s not the case. With the rehearsal for adulthood extended, it seems these ‘toxic’ friendships are coming along for the ride. But while “emerging adults” can be cruel like teenagers, they’re often sophisticated like adults, too. They’re better at maintaining friendships for longer, and four in five feel that the support of their friends is integral to eventual success. Ultimately, the the inoffensive ‘sweetness’ depicted in shows like Sex and the City is no longer top priority: friendship is defined by loyalty, resilience and an understanding that no one’s that nice all the time.The decision to cut the Australian Super Rugby sides from five to four floored me. Based on all previous rhetoric about maintaining a national footprint, I didn’t think the ARU would do it.
I was furious. I took to social media and ranted to anyone who would listen. I threatened to walk away from the game.
As someone said, that is a perfectly understandable response based on emotion. However these decisions can’t be made on emotion. Now that its sunk in, I have been able to view it more rationally.
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While journalists and rugby supporters from other countries have commented about the widening gap between Australian rugby and the Kiwi teams, I have refused to listen.
I have been championing the need to make rugby a national game. I have travelled interstate to many Rebel, Brumby and Force games to lend my support, however its now become quite evident that we expanded too quickly without the correct pathways in place.
I have been refusing to acknowledge it because if I did I would be admitting we failed. In the cold light of day it’s evident we are stretched too thin and the results on the field are reflecting that.
A fellow rugby enthusiast on social media commented that cutting a team is the wrong action and consolidation is what is required. Wayne Smith in The Australian was thinking along similar lines when he said the Brumbies should move to Melbourne.
The idea of the Rebels and Brumbies merging is the right idea, but the Brumbies shouldn’t move to Melbourne.
I believe the answer is the formation of the Southern Brumbies. A team that represents the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. The team is based in Canberra but plays 50 per cent of its home games in Melbourne and 50 per cent in Canberra.
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Where the team’s head office resides shouldn’t matter. All Australian rugby supporters barrack for the Wallabies and the Sevens squads even though they are essentially based in Sydney.
We support them because they represent us and they play their games in our capital cities.
The creation of this mega club should be view as an incredible opportunity for rugby in this country. Canberra needs access to a bigger market, while Melbourne needs to break through the cluttered sporting noise by joining the winners circle.
While building a successful future, this team can leverage the iconic Brumbies brand and bask in the glory of being Australia’s most successful Super Rugby side.
It can be successful because it would have access to a better roster, a broader player pool, more sponsors and more fans. Over eight million people reside in the Southern States.
This new union would have an independent board that includes representation from the ACTRU and VRU.
To ensure the club isn’t slowly engulfed by the larger market, the club’s constitution must stipulate that the team is always head quartered in Canberra and 50 per cent of the home games are played there.
Andrew Cox the current owner of the Melbourne Rebels would become a major shareholder in the new venture.
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All players would be assigned premier clubs in both the ACT and the Melbourne. They would rarely play for these teams but it would ensure there was a connection and engagement into both cities.
The pathway to Super Rugby needs to be kept. The Brumby Runners and the Melbourne Rising would still compete in the NRC.
The Rising would comprise of players essentially from the Dewar Shield competition in Melbourne and would have to be supported by the ARU.
In South Australia and Tasmania the State rugby unions would promote the Southern Brumbies to show the connection and pathway to Super rugby.
The Force would do the same in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and rugby would achieve the national footprint.
The Rebels have said that a cut would not happen on their watch, but what happens if they along with their compatriots in Canberra could create a new Brumbies dynasty on their watch? A new power club with great market potential that would rival the strength of NSW and Queensland.In early 1989, seven weeks after his father moved into the White House, Jeb Bush took a trip to Nigeria.
Nearly 100,000 Nigerians turned out to see him over four days as he accompanied the executives of a Florida company called Moving Water Industries, which had just retained Bush to market the firm’s pumps. Escorted by the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Bush met with the nation’s political and religious leaders as part of an MWI effort to land a deal that would be worth $80 million.
In 1989, Jeb Bush traveled to Nigeria as a private business consultant on behalf of a Florida manufacturing company. In this video of the trip, Jeb Bush was not shy about reminding his hosts that his father, George H.W. Bush, was then president of the United States. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)
“My father is the president of the United States, duly elected by people that have an interest in improving ties everywhere,” he told a group of dignitaries in a private meeting, according to a video documenting the visit. “The fact that you have done this today is something I will report back to him very quickly when I get back to the United States.”
Just days after Jeb Bush returned home, President George H.W. Bush sent a note to Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida, thanking him for hosting his son. “We are grateful to you,” President Bush wrote on White House stationery.
MWI eventually got the deals it was seeking. Former employees said Bush’s participation was crucial. “There’s no question about it: ‘Here is the son of the president of the United States.’ It was a big deal,” Cornelius Lang, MWI’s former controller, told The Washington Post in a recent interview. “He could open doors we couldn’t.”
Today, as he works toward his run at the White House, Bush touts his business experience as a strength that gives him the skills and savvy to serve as the nation’s chief executive. He has said he “worked my tail off” to succeed. As an announced candidate, Bush soon will be making financial disclosures that will reveal recent business successes and show a substantial increase in his wealth since he left office as Florida governor in 2007, individuals close to the candidate told The Post.
But records, lawsuits, interviews and newspaper accounts stretching back more than three decades present a picture of a man who, before he was elected Florida governor in 1998, often benefited from his family connections and repeatedly put himself in situations that raised questions about his judgment and exposed him to reputational risk.
Years after Bush’s visit to Nigeria, MWI was found to have made dozens of false claims to the U.S. government about its dealings in Nigeria, according to a civil jury verdict in a case brought by the Justice Department. MWI has denied the allegations and appealed the verdict. Bush was not a party to the lawsuit.
Five of his business associates have been convicted of crimes; one remains an international fugitive on fraud charges. In each case, Bush said he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing and said some of the people he met as a businessman in Florida took advantage of his naiveté.
Bush, now 62, has said that he has learned to be more careful about vetting his associates, telling the Miami Herald during his first, failed run for Florida governor in 1994 that getting “burned a couple of times” made him “better at deciphering people’s motives.”
He has been involved in myriad business ventures dating back to the early 1980s, taking time out to run for governor three times, winning the first of two terms in 1998. He has brokered real estate deals in Florida, arranged bank loans in Venezuela, marketed industrial pumps in Thailand, wholesaled shoes in Panama, promoted a
building-materials company to Mexican interests and advised transnational financial services firms. He sat on more than a half dozen corporate boards. Since leaving office in 2007, Bush’s income has soared from speeches, service on corporate boards, consulting and managing investments for others.
“Jeb Bush had a successful career in commercial real estate and business before serving as Florida’s governor,” said Kristy Campbell, a Bush spokeswoman. “He has always operated with the highest level of integrity throughout his business career.”
Before he became governor in 1999, he was comfortable but not rich. He did not earn the kind of fortunes that his dad and brother George did as young men. In his late 20s, George H.W. Bush started a successful oil company in Texas. In his 40s, George W. Bush made an investment in the Texas Rangers baseball team that eventually earned him nearly $15 million.
At first glance, Jeb Bush’s dual biography as a businessman-
politician can be hard to reconcile. Bush the politician presents the image of a man who is appealing, well-disciplined, intelligent and moderate. Bush the businessman has sometimes lent his name and credibility to money-making ventures that involved dubious characters.
He and his friends have explained this seeming incongruity by saying that he has been the victim of people who took advantage of his good nature.
“The only documented allegations come down to the fact that he did business with people that later turned out to be deadbeats and crooks,” said Tom Feeney, who was on the ticket as lieutenant governor during Bush’s 1994 campaign.
Bush’s business activities and missteps have been widely covered over the years, by the Miami Herald, the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times, the Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones magazine and other publications, along with books by political scientists and journalists.
Bush declined to be interviewed for this article. Campbell suggested that reporters contact Armando Codina, a real estate developer in Miami and a Bush family friend who helped launch his career.
“I have a very high regard for Jeb and consider him a very insightful and intelligent businessman,” Codina said. “He is a workaholic and in my opinion he was a great governor, and would make a great president.”
One morning in March, Bush framed himself as a businessman for a Chamber of Commerce audience in Greenville, S.C.
“I’ve signed the front side of a paycheck,” Bush said. “I’m proud that I’ve been in business and know how it works.”
During a speech in New Hampshire in April, he underscored his business philosophy.
“Anybody in business knows that it’s not all the way the progressives decide it for us — kind of the top-down, driven approach where we are all supposed to get in line and it’s just going to happen because it’s all planned out,” he said.
“America at its best is an America that is dynamic, that embraces the unforeseen, that takes risks; that when there’s a failure, you dust yourself off and go at it again, and again and again. And the interaction of all of us together creates more prosperity, more potential, more innovation, more creativity than any government program ever created.”
It is the free-market credo that serves as Bush’s guiding light: No reward without risk.
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Family style
John Ellis Bush, the third of six children, has always followed a prescription for success passed on by his father: Make enough money to take care of your family before going into public service.
He graduated from the University of Texas in 1974, in less than three years, with honors and a degree in Latin American studies. Married at 21, he took a job as a loan officer at a bank in Houston founded by the family of James A. Baker III, who later managed George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign and served as his chief of staff.
Bush left banking in 1979, later professing boredom with the work, and moved his young family to Miami, a melting pot of intrigue and economic activity.
Soon after he arrived, he began volunteering on his father’s presidential campaign in the state and met Codina, a Cuban exile who had become a wealthy real estate developer and now managed the Bush campaign in Dade County.
After Ronald Reagan won the election and George H.W. Bush became vice president, Codina offered the 27-year-old Jeb a remarkable opportunity: to partner in a real estate brokerage firm. Bush would receive 40 percent of the fees from what became the Codina Bush Group.
Bush would consider his work with Codina to be the defining experience of his business career.
“I formed a business with my friend Armando Codina in Miami,” he said in his recent New Hampshire appearance. “It started with three people... and we built it into the largest full-service commercial real estate company in South Florida.”
One of his endeavors involved a high-rise office building that Codina was developing on Flagler Street in Miami, called Museum Tower. Starting in 1984, Bush negotiated leases and recruited tenants for the building.
He eventually received about $340,000 in bonuses for his work.
“Jeb played an important role in the success of Museum Tower,” Codina recently told The Post.
Armando Codina speaks at a dinner at a hotel in March 2004 in Coral Gables, Fla. Codina was chosen as South Florida CEO magazine’s Business Leader of the Year. He gave Jeb Bush a key break in the real estate business. (Luis M. Alvarez/Associated Press)
One of Bush’s real estate associates described him as an impatient, driven man who sometimes put in 16-hour days — and then got up to run before dawn.
“Jeb Bush is a gazelle,” Hank Klein told the St. Petersburg Times. “He’s running through life.”
As he came of age in the hothouse Miami real estate market, Bush associated with some people who later ran afoul of the law. One of them was a tenant in Museum Tower, a high-rolling young Colombian named Alberto Duque, who had somehow secured
$124 million in loans to finance a small bank and a coffee company. Duque drove around town in a Rolls-Royce and hosted Bush and other Miami luminaries at a lavish dinner. He once flew Bush to Costa Rica on his private jet to attend the presidential inauguration.
In 1986, Duque was convicted on 60 counts of bank fraud involving up to $100 million in loans. After serving seven of 15 years in prison, he fled from a halfway house and remains a fugitive.
Duque put Bush in an uncomfortable spot. Reporters covering his first campaign for governor in 1994 asked why someone as prominent as Bush would associate with such a person. Bush said Duque had simply fooled him.
“It just goes to show that the hallmark of a great confidence man is effortless deception,” Bush told the Herald.
From 1984 to 1986, as he pursued his career, Bush also served as chairman of the Dade County Republican Party, where he met people who would become business associates.
Among them was Miguel Recarey Jr., a wealthy health-care entrepreneur who had once served time for tax evasion and boasted that he knew Santo Trafficante Jr., a Florida mobster. Recarey owned International Medical Centers, or IMC, a health-maintenance organization in Miami that grew rapidly in the 1980s through hundreds of millions of dollars in payments from the Medicare system.
In 1985, he retained Bush to find office space for IMC, eventually paying him $75,000, though a lease was never signed.
Recarey needed approval from the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to receive new business from Medicare patients. He asked Bush if he would intercede on his behalf with regulators in Washington, according to congressional testimony. At the time, his father was vice president.
C. McClain Haddow, then chief of staff to the HHS secretary, told The Post recently that Bush’s intervention “certainly altered the trajectory of the decision” in Recarey’s favor.
In 1987, IMC was shut down as regulators searched for $200 million in missing federal funds. Recarey fled the country. He remains a fugitive in Spain.
Bush said he was unaware of wrongdoing at IMC and said he was not paid by Recarey to lobby HHS on his behalf. He said he was only doing a favor for a fellow Florida businessman.
“At the time, I didn’t feel I was doing business with a crook,” he later told the Herald. “Unfortunately, I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought.”
Campbell recently told The Post, “As Governor Bush has said multiple times, he only recollects making a call to HHS and simply asking for a fair shake for Mr. Recarey as other Florida leaders did as well. It is unfortunate that he turned out to be a bad actor.”
Matthew Corrigan, a political science professor at the University of North Florida and the author of “Conservative Hurricane: How Jeb Bush Remade Florida,” described Bush’s attitude in these years as “a little bit of damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”
“His judgment on who to associate with is lacking,” Corrigan said.
Bush provided another favor that later raised questions, this time for Camilo Padreda, a Cuban immigrant and real estate developer who was the Republican Party’s finance chairman in Dade County. In 1985, Padreda had landed on the front pages of Miami newspapers for allegedly having a role in a scheme to bribe a city zoning official, but he was never charged.
In 1986, Bush accepted $75,000 from Padreda to work as the leasing agent on an office building Padreda had financed with help from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Padreda asked to reach out to regulators at HUD on behalf of a friend who wanted HUD to provide loan insurance on an apartment building south of Miami.
The friend, Hiram Martinez Jr., obtained the loan but later defaulted. Both Martinez and Padreda were eventually convicted of fraud for inflating the value of the property.
The cavalcade of Florida crooks would be a recurrent irritant as Bush pursued his political career. But in a statement to The Post, Codina said Bush’s “record for having only a few clients who ultimately turned out to be less than truthful is remarkable, and that record would compare favorably with any firm in this business, either in Miami or another city.”
Jeb Bush in Nigeria with Moving Water Industries. (Nigeria State TV)
Jeb Bush speaks in Nigeria on behalf of MWI. (Nigeria State TV)
Using his influence
Bush’s relationship with MWI, the Florida pump-maker, offers insight into his approach to business at the time.
Weeks after George H.W. Bush moved into the White House in early 1989, Jeb Bush teamed up with a Republican donor named J. David Eller to promote the worldwide sale of industrial water pumps. Bush and Eller, the owner of Moving Water Industries of Deerfield Beach, Fla., registered a consulting firm called Bush-El Corp. to promote MWI’s products and split commissions on sales.
In March, Eller, Bush and their wives, along with MWI employees, traveled to Nigeria for the opening of a small factory that MWI was building in the country’s northeast corner. Eller hoped to convince the Nigerians to take on loans from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which would be used to buy MWI’s pumps and agricultural equipment. The Ex-Im Bank, which provided financing to promote U.S. manufacturing sales overseas, had earlier granted loans to Nigeria for that purpose.
The president’s son made for an ideal company representative, according to multiple former MWI employees.
“It always was about the influence of Jeb Bush being the son of the president,” Mike Carcamo, a former MWI sales executive, said in a recent interview with The Post. “Jeb was getting paid for influence, just to be Jeb.”
Three years later, the Ex-Im Bank approved loans worth
$74.3 million for Nigeria.
When news accounts about the trip first appeared that year in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, MWI played down Bush’s role and Bush declined to comment. But the White House weighed in on his behalf.
“The president’s children should not be deprived of career opportunities just because they are members of the first family,” White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said at the time.
In 1994, when Jeb Bush prepared for his first run for Florida governor, he sold his share of Bush-El to Eller and reported earning $648,000.
Four years later, as Bush made his second gubernatorial bid, a former MWI employee alleged in a civil whistleblower lawsuit that MWI had falsified paperwork and paid “irregular” commissions for the Nigeria deals.
Bush said that he was unaware of any wrongdoing. He and the company said he was not paid for making the trip to Nigeria and did not receive any commissions from the deal. Bush said he took precautions to stay out of deals that involved U.S. government agencies, such as the Ex-Im Bank.
“You either trust me or you don’t,” he told reporters in 1998 during his second run for governor. “I’m not involved.”
Bush won the race, but the questions about Nigeria did not stop. The allegations triggered an FBI investigation that included at least 47 interviews over more than two years. The FBI focused on MWI’s payment of more than
$25 million in commissions to its agent in Nigeria and sought to determine whether that money was used to bribe Nigerian officials, according to FBI interview reports obtained by The Post.
Bush was not questioned by the FBI. “We do not now have evidence that Bush had any involvement in the contracts at issue... though this remains a possibility,” said a confidential Justice Department memo from January 2002 cited by the Naples Daily News in a story on the Nigeria trip in February.
His brother, George W. Bush, was president at the time of the investigation. The Justice Department ultimately decided not to pursue a criminal fraud case. Instead, it filed a civil suit against MWI alleging that the company made false claims in certifications to the Ex-Im Bank about the commissions paid to its Nigerian agent. The case dragged on for years. Justice sought Bush’s testimony, but a judge ruled that it was not relevant.
In November 2013, a jury in Washington found that the company made 58 false claims in the certifications, at a cost of $7.5 million in damages to the government. A federal judge ruled last year that the firm should pay $580,000 in civil penalties.
The company is appealing.
Eller did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement to The Post, William E. Bucknam, general counsel for MWI, said that the allegations against MWI were generated by a disgruntled employee and are baseless.
Jeb Bush is sworn in as Florida governor in 1999 in Tallahassee by Florida Chief Justice Major Harding, right, as Bush’s wife, Columba, holds the Bible and their son George P., left, stands behind. (Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)
Changing perspective
In 1998, shortly before he was elected governor, Bush said that he recognized the need to be more discerning in his dealings.
That year, he was named in an investors lawsuit involving Ideon, a credit card services firm that was losing millions. Bush had secured a seat on the board of Ideon through a political ally, Thomas Petway III. As a board member, Bush made $50,000 a year, plus expenses.
“I’m 45 years old,” he told the St. Petersburg Times. “I have to have better radar.”
For the next eight years, Bush presided for two terms over an administration devoted to conservative market-oriented policies. When he entered office, his net worth stood at about $2 million, according to his financial disclosure statements. Eight years later, it dropped to $1.3 million.
In 2007, he leapt back into the private sector, displaying the same energy he had during his real estate days in Florida.
Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said Bush showed a new zeal for making money.
“He was just grabbing at things,” she said. “He is just driven by the free market.”
Weeks out of office, Bush launched Jeb Bush & Associates in a suite at the plush Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla. Those offices would serve as the base of an expanding and more sophisticated constellation of money-making ventures.
For a time, Bush also sat simultaneously on the boards of six corporations, including health industry giant Tenet Healthcare, earning as much as $3 million in fees and grants of stock, according to a Post analysis of financial documents. He also made more than 100 speeches at $50,000 or more per appearance, according to a New York Times report.
In June 2007, Bush signed on as an adviser to Lehman Brothers, the financial services giant. When Lehman was on the verge of collapse during the mortgage-
meltdown crisis the next year, Richard S. Fuld Jr., Lehman’s beleaguered chief executive, asked Bush to use his cachet and reach out to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, then the second-richest man in the world, the New York Times reported.
That effort failed. When the London-based Barclays bank bought Lehman’s North American operations, Bush moved to that firm as a senior financial consultant. He made $1 million a year, the Times said.
Bush was being more careful in his business dealings now, but he still ran into trouble when yet another high-rolling Miami businessman, Claudio Osorio, asked him to join a start-up firm called InnoVida. The firm made prefabricated building panels for emergency housing in disaster areas.
A structure manufactured by InnoVida, which planned to donate some of the homes to those displaced during the earthquake in Haiti. Jeb Bush resigned from its board and returned consulting fees when irregularities were reported. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Before committing, Bush visited factories in Miami and Dubai. He also commissioned a background check on Osorio. When the check came up clean, Bush said, he became an InnoVida consultant, receiving $15,000 a month and stock options for his part-time advice. In 2008, Bush was made a member of the company’s board.
The next year, the head of U.S. operations resigned after telling a board member the company was being mismanaged.
Bush remained on the board until September 2010. By then, another board member, Christopher Korge, became concerned about the company’s unaudited financial reports and inconsistent statements by Osorio. He went to other board members.
“I have to tell you I was impressed with Jeb’s response,” Korge, a prominent Miami Democrat, said. “When I informed him of what I had found and that I thought the CEO was perpetrating a fraud, Jeb Bush became immediately engaged and worked with me to try to stop the continuation of this fraud.”
Bush resigned from the board and returned his most recent $15,000 monthly fee. In 2011, after the company declared bankruptcy, Bush returned $270,000 of the $469,000 he had received in fees. A Bush adviser told The Post that he refunded more than half of his fees to help compensate other creditors.
Osorio eventually was charged with taking $40 million from investors and $10 million from a federal loan program intended to finance construction of homes in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He was sentenced to 12 1/ 2 years in prison and ordered to pay
$24 million in restitution. Craig Toll, InnoVida’s chief financial officer, got a four-year sentence.
“It is now obvious that Mr. Osorio deliberately misled a board of prominent business leaders about his company’s dealings and that is why he is now in jail,” Campbell wrote in a statement.
In 2008, Bush entered into perhaps his most lucrative venture yet. He and a former Lehman banker, Amar Bajpai, formed Britton Hill Partners LLC to make investments for wealthy clients. Five years later, they launched Britton Hill Holdings to make a wider array of investments.
Last year, when the value of investments under Britton Hill Holdings reached more than
$100 million, the firm had to disclose limited details under Securities and Exchange Commission rules. It revealed that it had three funds devoted to oil and gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking; shipping of liquefied natural gas; and aviation services.
A leading investor in each of the three Britton Hill Holdings funds is HNA Corp., a private Chinese holding company. Among other businesses, HNA owns Hainan Airlines — one of China’s largest.
In March, Britton Hill announced that Bush was stepping away from all company business as he considered a run at the White House.
“I have enjoyed the experience,” Bush said in a statement, “of starting and building a business with my talented partners.”
Alice Crites contributed to this report.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time,” but also indicated it could raise borrowing costs faster than expected when it starts moving.
Many economists and traders had expected the U.S. central bank to alter the rate guidance it has provided since March, given generally improving data on the economy’s performance.
But the Fed repeated its assurance that rates would stay ultra-low for a “considerable time” after a bond-buying stimulus program ends. In a statement after a two-day meeting of its policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, it announced a further $10 billion reduction in its monthly purchases, leaving the program on course to be shuttered next month.
The statement was virtually unchanged from July, though new quarterly projections released with it showed the central bank’s view on where interest rates should be in future years is diverging from where financial markets have bet they will be.
“While the much analyzed phrase ‘considerable time’ remained in the FOMC statement, the newly announced scheme for interest rate normalization shows that higher rates are in the cards,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia Fed chief Charles Plosser dissented, arguing the guidance on rates could tie the central bank’s hands if it felt it had to move more quickly to tighten monetary policy.
The Fed has held benchmark overnight rates near zero since December 2008 and has more than quadrupled its balance sheet to $4.4 trillion through a series of large-scale bond purchase programs.
In a further sign the central bank |
chaotic mess of mini-games and sudden gear-shifts.
The reception to the game seems to consist either of either concentrated bile or aggressively defensive praise centred less on the game’s accomplishments and more on why those who don’t love it must surely be humourless cynics determined to punish DNF for taking so long. I don’t fall neatly into either camp, and have no particular feelings about the Duke character or IP one way or another, but my take on DNF is probably best summed up as “I don’t like it.” It’s not the absolute catastrophe some have painted it as, but I don’t like it.
I don’t like the writing, which is tortured and turgid and bland and banal.
I don’t like the shooting, which unevenly strives for the all-out assault of early Dooms and Dukes paired with the restrictive spaces and weapon loadouts of Halos and Gears and ends up being unrewardingly punishing, rather than satisfyingly challenging.
I don’t like the humour, which appears to believe that the only two jokes worth making are people saying that Duke Nukem is awesome and that any random, insensible collection of words can be made into innuendo if it’s said in a braying, sneering tone. Innuendo does and can make me laugh. This isn’t actually innuendo. It’s just a drunk guy shouting whatever pops into his head then cackling.
I don’t like the fondness for jumping puzzles from a cumbersome first-person perspective, like an unwelcome interruption from Half-Life’s Xen inserted at arbitrary points in between the surprisingly infrequent action.
I don’t like the checkpoints and the lack of quicksave, which forces me back far too far whenever I run into an insta-death fall or sadistic boss fight.
I don’t like the map design, which uses back-tracking and arbitrary navigation restriction to create the appearance of far more substantial content than there is.
I don’t like how much time I have to spend waiting, while an NPC jabbers away at me in an incoherent spew of exposition, dated pop-culture references and end-of-the-pier puns, or until a series of scripts play out so a door will unlock and let me through to the next small, closed arena full of pop-up monsters.
I don’t like it. I don’t care whether it’s a Duke Nukem game or a Call of Duty game or a Half-Life game or an Ian McGuns game. I just don’t like it. It’s a dreadful mess, and any amount of good intentions doesn’t redeem it.
All told, there’s a whiff of desperation, that new features from a slow drip-feed of new games have been slapped on top of a wheezing mountain of half-realised ideas as and when someone decides that another title has raised certain expectations. The two-weapon carry limit and recharging health, for instance, seem to have been forced in as a sap to COD and Halo conventions, even though the combat itself is far more in line with early id fare. It throws high-damage enemies at you from pop-up spawn points, but denies you the space, the arsenal or the cover necessary to offset Duke’s relatively limited hit points. A couple more years in development and maybe it would have folded in a Gears of War-style cover system.
Significant love for the character could well, I imagine, mask its severe and fundamental failings to some extent. If that’s a balm that works for you, great. The King’s back, albeit exaggerated from the affectionate action hero parody he was in Duke Nukem 3D to preening sex-pest, and now living in a world where the only conversation topics are testicles and faeces.
It’s the bitty nature I don’t like the most. The sense I get is that a collection of ideas, features and mini-games were devised with no clear overarching objective in mind. “We’ve gotta have driving, we’ve gotta have playable pool tables, we’ve gotta have a crane-moving puzzle, we’ve gotta have a level like Aliens, we’ve got have a minecart bit, we’ve gotta have a wrecking ball…” These candyland delight are, perhaps, noble themselves, but the structure around them is so fragile and unsure.
Of course, “big muscley guy saves the world” is a tale that tells itself, so there isn’t exactly a need for a clever or twist-packed story, but it’s more like wandering around a theme park than embarking on a wild adventure. Complete with the queues. Invariably, progression is a matter of walking into a room, finding all the doors are locked, shooting everything in it, then finding one of the doors has magically unlocked. Even opening said door is often a torturous minigame of repeatedly slapping space to mime Duke prising it apart with his mega-biceps. It has its entertainments and it certainly has gleefully outlandish spectacle, but it makes you work for them by slogging through cheerless busywork.
I can well imagine It doesn’t realise how boring and annoying it is, and with a squint you can well imagine how it became so oblivious. The graphics are fine – hardly 2011 at the top of its game but neither are they a world away from today’s B and C-list fare, with the exception of the diabolical running and jumping animations. There are plenty of weapons, even if they’re mostly old ones, and plenty of enemies, even if they’re mostly old ones. The environments are ambitiously different – a city, a casino, underground slime tunnels, a desert… – but they’re bound to on-rails Find The Door quests peppered with occasional turret sections and visually spectacular but irritating and long-winded boss fights. It accomplishes the singular feat of being highly repetitious and ever-changing – again, clearly determined to entertain even if it’s perhaps lost sight of how to entertain.
“It’s fun!” is the defence I’ve most often heard. Perhaps it is: a torrent of ludicrousness, violence and garbled smut. I can see why people think it’s a much-needed nod back to a lost gaming ethos, and God knows I agree with any sentiment that so many action games these days take themselves and their painfully earnest, overbaked plots far too seriously, but that doesn’t make Duke Nukem Forever good enough.
It’s a misfire as a Duke Nukem project, it’s a misfire as a first-person shooter and it’s certainly a misfire as a legendary game we’ve waited over a decade for. I also agree with any sentiment that argues it was always impossible for any Duke Nukem Forever to live up to its hype and infamy, but that doesn’t give it a free pass to be quite so patchy and thin, to be forgiven for being this irritating, uneven mess.
It means well, I have no doubt of that. It wants to be loved, it wants to make us laugh, it wants to show us big things exploding, it wants us to not get bored, it wants us to have ‘fun.’
Unfortunately, too much of that depends on thinking the presence of Duke is in and of itself ‘fun’ enough. Take him (or at least the vague, fan-fiction-like concept of him, which is what we really have here) away, and what’s left? The trailers for about 30 different games from 1997-2011 stitched awkwardly together and made passingly interactive, with little rhyme or reason. Duke Nukem Forever’s legacy, then, becomes a strangely apt one – a raddled document of the last decade and a half of game design fads, trends and values. Duke Nukem Forever was always going to make history, and history it is.Welcome to the OviOS Linux distribution website.
Click here for the docker image.
OviOS Linux is a specialized Linux distribution aimed at creating the fastest and easiest Linux unified storage server. It requires no knowledge of Linux, NFS, SMB or iSCSI protocols to create a fully functional storage server in less than 10 minutes, simply by following the 4 steps in the Admin Guide
It is built around these principles:
Customizable. OviOS is highly customizable, as new packages can be added easily by building from source. The OS functionality is customizable via the options tool.
Independent. OviOS Linux is not based on or derived from any other Linux Distro, and is fully compatible with the Linux Standard Base.
Simple. OviOS simplicity means no extra software, configurations and sophistications. OviOS uses the minimal amount of applications needed to allow it to function as a storage OS. The modifications to the software included are minimal and only distro-specific.
Lightweight. The Linux Kernel is stripped down of all drivers and modules not required for a server distro. Lightweight also means no GUI. A GUI just makes simple tasks simpler, and complex task impossible. A GUI would also require considerable amount of resources, which can be better used to serve data.
News
Sun Dec 30 15:35:42 EST 2018
OviOS Linux 3.00-Arcturus has been released, with major upgrades, stability improvements and new features.
Download here or here. Get the release notes here
OviOS Linux is an enterprise level storage OS which combines open source technologies to provide an easy to use, performance oriented storage system. The goal is to keep OviOS Linux a pure storage appliance-like OS. It targets users and admins who need a stable out-of-the-box iSCSI, NFS, SMB server, and Linux and storage engineers who want to learn how to build a system from scratch.
Click
to visualize possible use cases.
The OviOS Linux iso image can also be used as a rescue image for ZFS on Linux systems.
After the system starts, disable the skip import option and start zfs-admin:
ovios-shell> options skip.import off
ovios-shell> options force.import on (This option is needed if the pool was previously imported by a system with a different hostid)
ovios-shell> zfs-admin start
See the OviOS Live guide to learn how to use OviOS without installing.
All packages have been built and tested in house. A list of installed packages can be found here
OviOS uses pacman as a package manager. However there is no relation between Arch Linux or any other Linux distro and OviOS Linux.
The system is provided with all needed packages for a stable storage server. Due to the way it's built, storage admins can add more packages, by building from source.
There are 2 ways this can be achieved:
1. Build using the general build method (./configure && make && make install)
2. Build using makepkg and a PKGBUILD. See and example here
or send a request for a specific package via email / contact form.Rasid Tugral won fans in the social media stratosphere for his mesmerizing photos of the night sky over his Turkish homeland. He shared images – such as one of a juniper tree against a glistening Milky Way – on a National Geographic website. He entered a prestigious graduate program in astrophysics in Finland. Smart, handsome, adventurous and outgoing, he seemed destined for a career studying the skies.
But Tugral yearned for something more. An observant Muslim raised in a conservative household, he became drawn to jihadi websites while in college. Tugral took their radical interpretation of Islam to heart. Early in 2015, he slipped away from his family and a comfortable life, joining Islamic State (IS) jihadis fighting inside Syria.
By last August, Tugral was dead, an apparent casualty while fighting for IS against Kurdish forces. He was 27.
Thousands of young Muslims, lured by IS ideology and propaganda, have traveled to join and fight for the terrorists' self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Like Tugral, many abandoned lives of privilege and potential. His story stands out, however, because of the extensive written and photographic record he left documenting his transformation over more than a decade.Semiconductor market to ‘grow slightly’ by 2018, says WSTS
Global sales of semiconductors in 2016 are predicted to amount to $327billion in 2016, slightly down from 2015, with growth returning in 2017 and 2018.
The figures have been released by World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), which sees sales decreasing by 2.4% in 2016, but a return to growth in 2017 and 2018. While there will be growth in demand for optoelectronics, sensors and analogue components in 2016, these gains will be more than offset by a softening in demand for memory (-10.2%) and logic (-2.5%). Sales are expected to decline across all regions in 2016, but the biggest drop will be seen in the Americas. For 2017 and 2018, WSTS sees demand for all major product categories increasing, as well as demand in all regions. Expecting growth of around 2% a year in the next two years, WSTS says sales will reach $341bn in 2018, with the Americas and Asia Pacific leading the way. In Europe, sales are expected to reach $34.23bn in 2016, a 0.1% decrease over 2015. However, sales are forecast to grow by 1.6% per year in 2017 and 2018, reaching $34.78bn and $35.34bn respectively.
AuthorWhy Do We Need It?
Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood has been without accessible bus service for over a decade. The CTA’s 31st st. bus route was eliminated as a ‘cost-cutting measure’ in 1998, leaving schools, businesses, and residents isolated from the city’s expansive transit network. The Little Village community, LVLHS, and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization spent years mounting an unsuccessful campaign to reopen/expand the CTA’s 31st St. route; as of the recent cuts in bus service throughout Chicago, which have resulted in the loss of nine express routes and over 1,000 transit jobs, it has become clear that progress is impossible unless members of the community take control of their transit options.
But How?
The Chicago IWW and LVEJO have been looking into what it would take to form a worker self-managed, community-controlled transit cooperative to run bus service along the 31st St. corridor. We are exploring the possibility of a better service, owned by those who operate it, with union-scale wages and benefits, for less cost. The self-managed system will set an example of workplace democracy and community accountability, both of which are clearly absent from the Daley-controlled CTA.
Our proposed route, shown below, would provide regular service for Little Village Lawndale High School (LVLHS) and Gary Elementary students, connect to the El at the 35th st. Orange line station, provide traffic for local businesses along the route, and drastically reduce transit times for Little Village residents.
The most encouraging aspects of our proposed bus service are found in the financial projections of the potential service.
We calculated ridership estimates for the 31st St. route based upon the CTA’s 35th route, which had an average ridership around 31,000/week in April of 2010.
We expect to provide workers with benefits (~$10/hour worked) and union-scale wages ($20/hour). Given estimates for insurance, financing, maintenance and fuel, we estimate that the 31st St. bus would need less than half the ridership achieved by the CTA at 35th to be financially viable. Additionally, these cost estimates above are based off of a $1.50 a ride fare, as opposed to the $2.00/2.25 fare of the CTA. The 31st St. bus can be run far cheaper by a cooperative than by the CTA. With increased ridership, pay rates for operators and mechanics could be much higher than those listed above.
Why Worker- Owned and Operated?
One of the main problems with operating public transit through traditional business models or government agencies is “overhead.” Our transit cooperative would operate each bus at ~75% of the CTA’s hourly costs. Additional costs cited by the CTA result from unnecessary administrative expenses. In order to avoid this waste, we propose that the operators and mechanics in the transit cooperative elect from among themselves the individuals that will handle administration. This/these workers can handle accounting for revenues and costs, communicating with the public, updating route information as necessary, and scheduling operators/mechanics. Even if we suggest that these administrative positions (for instance a communications officer and a secretary/treasurer) become paid positions on top of general duties, the cost for operating the system only increases by $1.50/bus/hour.
Currently CTA employees work a standard 40 hour shift and make a base rate of $16/hour. Given the recent cuts to the transit system, CTA workers pull longer hours, giving them less time for their families and more stress on the job. By decreasing the work week and increasing the pay rate we allow drivers more time to be well-rested and attentive to personal concerns. The more workers that are able to put time into their personal lives, the healthier our communities will be. Imagine getting on a public transit bus and being welcomed with a smile every time!
How Do We Get There?
At this point we hope that you see the 31st St. bus as a viable option. Now we need your help turning it into reality. Means by which we can start moving forward are:
community investment
donations
school partnerships
business partnerships
operator/mechanic lottery volunteers
Transit and school bus models are widely available for between $10,000 and $20,000 dollars. If we raise from $40-60,000 dollars, the buses will be paid for and the initial costs will lie solely with labor.
An additional source of funding would be selling advertising space on the buses. Unlike advertising on the CTA, emphasis could be placed upon local businesses and social service agencies, improving communities and giving small businesses the exposure they need to thrive. Organizations supporting the drive for a 31st St. bus could gain access to this advertising space through agreements with the cooperative.
Area schools will greatly benefit from having a bus route to service the student population. Arrangements could be made with the local school district to provide transportation along the 31st St. line, increasing the safety of students who might otherwise walk and decreasing the need for parents to organize their work schedules around the school day. Arrangements with schools do not necessarily need to be monetary– during the initial stages buses could be stored on school property, routes could be adjusted to serve the school population, and students could be given reduced fares.
Finally, the operator/mechanic lottery is an essential step to getting this project up and running. Many former employees of the CTA are relying on getting their jobs back through the Amalgamated Transit Union. Unfortunately, the CTA has the ATU cornered and the ATU leadership are very unwilling to fight for the operators/mechanics that were laid-off. At this point, it is more advantageous for this employee pool to look at alternatives, become self-organized, and not rely on the CTA/ATU to solve their employment problems. We propose the lottery system both to find interested employees as well as to ensure fairness in deciding who might take part. Until the system is up and running, there are limited spaces for operators/mechanics and we have to make do with what we can. As the system improves, more operators/mechanics can be brought into the fold and hopefully one day this system will put a serious dent in the unemployed CTA pool.
Union Membership
The proponents of this route are firmly pro-union and will request that the operators/mechanics of the 31st St. bus be a part of a union. As this project is supported by the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), we would request that the workers join the I.W.W. Membership in the I.W.W. requires knowledge of the mission of the organization and paying dues. The dues rate depends upon income and is the most progressive amongst labor organizations. For employees making $0 – $2,000, dues are $9 per month; $2,000 – 3,000, $18; and greater than $3,000, $27. The maximum dues rate is $27 per month, thus any worker making significantly over $3,000 will always pay $27. The I.W.W. is a worker-run organization, thus membership is only allowed to individuals without exclusive hiring or firing power.
——————-A New Year’s Plea, by Edgar Guest
Lord, let me stand in the thick of the fight,
Let me bear what I must without whining;
Grant me the wisdom to do what is right,
Though a thousand false beacons are shining.
Let me be true as the steel of a blade,
Make me bigger than skillful or clever;
Teach me to cling to my best, unafraid,
And harken to false gospels, never.
Let me be brave when the burden is great,
Faithful when wounded by sorrow;
Teach me, when troubled, with patience to wait
The better and brighter to-morrow.
Spare me from hatred and envy and shame,
Open my eyes to life’s beauty;
Let not the glitter of fortune or fame
Blind me to what is my duty.
Let me be true to myself to the end,
Let me stand to my task without whining;
Let me be right as a man, as a friend,
Though a thousand false beacons are shining.
0.000000 0.000000
AdvertisementsLocal authorities were unable to collect up to 40% of council tax due from low-income households that had the charge imposed on them for the first time last year.
Council tax – set on average at £5 a week – has been levied on the poorest households in England since April last year as part of a cut in benefits. But such is the squeeze on household budgets, say campaigners, that the poor cannot afford to pay even these small sums.
The result has been widespread non-payment. Nationally, more than a fifth of council tax charged to working-age claimants was unpaid at the end of 2013-14.
The figures, obtained from responses from 140 councils to Freedom of Information requests by the anti-cuts group False Economy, reveal that some of the biggest towns and cities were left chasing millions of pounds from the poor.
Liverpool collected 61% of council tax due from the poor, leaving the city short by £3.5m. In Birmingham, the non-payment rate among the vulnerable was 30%, leaving the council seeking to recover £3m in lost revenue. Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield were all chasing more than £2m each in tax from those on the lowest incomes.
A report published last month by Child Poverty Action Group and the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust said almost 40% of Londoners affected by the cuts had been sent a court summons for council tax debts in 2013-14, with more than 15,000 claimants' debts referred to bailiffs.
In Haringey, north London, which collected 80% of the council tax due from benefit claimants, hundreds of households have been taken to court to recover unpaid tax – with non-payers threatened with bankruptcy, repossession and ultimately prison.
Last week, sitting in the magistrates court in Tottenham, Dick, 49, said there was "no way" he could afford the £7-a-week council tax his housing association two-bedroom flat was being charged. He has walked with a stick since his Achilles tendon snapped in 2012.
"I don't work. I get employment support allowance which is £70 a week and my son lives with me and he gets a few hours on a market stall. After rent and everything else we have about £140 a month to live on. Food, clothes, the lot. I go down the food bank to eat. Can't afford to heat up food because we cannot put money into the gas meter. How can I afford the council tax too? We never paid this before. It's just getting the poor to pay up. That's all it is."
Dick said he had offered to pay £3 a week towards council tax after working out his finances with the local Citizens Advice bureau, but the local authority did not respond to his offer. Instead the council has asked for the full year's council tax to be paid immediately – £350 – plus the cost of recovering his unpaid tax through a liability order of £125. "It's ridiculous. I worked all my life. Never needed anything. Now I got nothing they want to get that."
A spokesperson for False Economy called for the cuts to be reversed. "These figures show that people on low incomes are struggling to cope with council tax benefit cuts, just as the government was warned they would. Households are left either falling into debt and at risk of legal action, or taking money for food and essentials to plug the shortfall, in what is a government-created personal debt crisis."
Councils said they were caught in an "impossible situation" as ministers had forced local authorities to pass on £500m in cuts when the scheme was introduced – and there would be further reductions in the discounts the poor received as town hall budgets were squeezed in the coming years.
Sharon Taylor, chair of the Local Government Association's finance panel, said: "Councils would need to find £1bn by 2016 to protect discounts for those on low incomes.
"At a time when local government is already tackling £20bn worth of cuts, this is a stretch too far. Many councils have been put in an impossible position. No one wants to ask those on the lowest incomes to pay more. But pressure on funding for local services means many councils have had little choice but to reduce the discount."
Hilary Benn, the shadow cabinet member responsible for local government, said two million of the poorest people were affected by the council tax hikes. "These figures show that many of the people affected, including single parents and disabled people, are finding it very difficult to pay the Tories' tax increase. The government was warned that this was going to be Poll Tax mark two, and so it is proving."
The government defended its changes, saying it had "worked with councils to freeze council tax for the last four years" for most residents.
Kris Hopkins, the local government minister, said: "Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work. We are ending Labour's something-for-nothing culture and making work pay."But the large number of arrests in Boston put a spotlight on the city yesterday.
Yesterday, protesters gathered in New York City, where protesters staged a “Millionaire’s March’’ past the homes of some of the nation’s wealthiest executives, jeering “tax the rich,’’ and in Washington, D.C., several demonstrators were arrested as they entered a Senate office building with banners. Demonstrations were also held in Seattle, Chicago, and on the steps of the state capitol in Oregon.
Among many grievances, protesters in Boston and across the country are decrying what they call vast disparities between rich and poor, lack of economic opportunities, and the influence of corporate money on politics. They describe themselves as representing the “99 percent’’ of ordinary people increasingly left behind by policies that benefit the wealthiest few.
But early in the morning, police carried out the arrests after protesters moved onto a large swath of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and refused to leave.
The Boston demonstration, one of about 100 loosely affiliated similar gatherings in cities across the country, has been largely peaceful since hundreds rallied at Dewey Square and marched on the Boston Federal Reserve Building Sept. 30.
“I think it’s disgusting that Menino said civil disobedience won’t be tolerated,’’ said Andrew Farkas, 29, of Cambridge, who held up a sign that read “Civil disobedience made this country.’’ People here are just going to resort to more drastic actions. And it’s possible that things could turn violent.’’
The protesters’ next move remained unclear, but as news broadcasts and Internet traffic put Boston at the center of the scattered national movement, the crowd in Dewey Square yesterday appeared to have swelled and drawn energy from the arrests. Speakers stood on makeshift platforms and exhorted crowds, referring to the arrests as reasons to come together.
“For every one person arrested, there will be 10 more coming,’’ said Lisa Doherty, a 56-year-old Charlestown resident who lost a job as a mortgage processor three years ago. “We’re growing, even if they don’t want us to.’’
Protesters, including those who spent much of the day in court facing trespassing charges, said the arrests will only galvanize the movement and escalate its presence in Boston.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has expressed sympathy for the movement’s goals of highlighting economic struggles of the middle-class, flatly stated yesterday that “civil disobedience will not be tolerated.’’
Police said the arrest of 141 in the early morning hours was the largest mass detention in recent memory, and it heightened tensions between protesters and city officials trying to walk a narrow line.
As Occupy Boston protesters denounced police yesterday for carrying out a swift overnight raid on their demonstration, city officials defended the crackdown as necessary to preserve public order against a restive grassroots movement.
“We did something we believe is the right thing to do, something that our brothers and sisters all over the country are doing in similar protests,’’ said Khury Petersen-Smith, 29, of Dorchester, who was among protesters arraigned in Boston Municipal Court.
Most accepted a recommendation by prosecutors to have their criminal charges converted to a lesser civil infraction with a $50 fine. At least 9 protesters declined that offer, saying they should never have been arrested at all.
Menino defended the police action, saying protesters crossed a line Monday afternoon when they sought to tie up traffic on the North Washington Street Bridge and then expanded their campground to a newly renovated section of the Greenway that authorities had specifically asked the activists to avoid.
“I understand they have freedom of speech and freedom of expression, but we have a city to manage,’’ he said.
Around 1:20 a.m., more than 200 officers, both in uniforms and riot gear, surrounded the section of the Greenway occupied by the protesters. Police Superintendent William Evans gave the crowd two minutes to disperse, warning that they would be locked up if they did not comply.
The crowd, energized by the sudden appearance of the Boston and Transit Police officers, chanted, “The people united will never be defeated,’’ “This is a peaceful protest,’’ and “The whole world is watching.’’
Ten minutes later, as many recorded them with video cameras, the first officers entered the park and surrounded the group. Evans, using a loudspeaker, gave one more warning and then police began putting protesters on their stomach, restraining their hands behind their backs and dragging them away as other officers tore down tents and arrested and detained people on the fringe of the park.
One police officer was hit in the face. According to police, no protesters or police were seriously injured.
Occupy Boston said in a statement that police had “brutally attacked’’ protesters.
“Today’s reprehensible attack by the Boston Police Department represents a sad and disturbing shift away from dialogue and towards violent repression,’’ the group said on its website.
Philip Anderson, a spokesman for the group, said police threw protesters to the ground and dragged them.
“It got kind of brutal,’’ he said.
Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Boston police, said officers “have a right to protect themselves’’ and acted with restraint.
“We believe all our officers were respectful and proportional,’’ she said. The department had not received any complaints.
“We have been very accommodating to everyone’s right to demonstrate peaceably,’’ she said. “But when unpredictability starts to enter the scenario, we are obligated to maintain public order and protect public safety.’’
A city ordinance forbids sleeping in a local park between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., giving police the authority to arrest protesters on charges of trespassing and unlawful assembly.
Driscoll said the protesters had maintained good communication with police until Monday, when hundreds of college students marched through Boston in a show of support.
The “breakdown in communication added to the level of unpredictability,’’ Driscoll said.
Driscoll said police will monitor the protests closely, but Menino made it clear the demonstrators will only be welcome for a certain amount of time.
Urszula Masny-Latos, a member of a group that provides legal advice to protesters, said she was arrested, even though she was wearing a green hat with the words, “legal observer.’’
“Four officers grabbed me and dragged me,’’ she said.
Andrew Ryan, Brian R. Ballou, John M. Guilfoil, and Martine Powers of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.Twenty years ago, nearly all the world’s nations agreed to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010. (The United States signed the accord but, like other treaties, the Senate has not ratified it.) Well, it’s 2010 and we are nowhere near that goal. While the Convention on Biological Diversity is currently meeting to update its targets for 2020, a new study released by Science says one-fifth of the world’s vertebrate species are threatened with extinction. But the good news is things would be a whole lot worse if we had done nothing at all.
"What our results show is that conservation efforts are not wasted. They are making a noticeable difference," said Ana Rodrigues, a researcher at the Center for Evolutionary and Functional Ecology in Montpelier, France, and one of the authors of the study. The researchers compiled the status of over 25,000 vertebrate species as rated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List. "The rates of decline in the Red List index would have been 18 percent steeper" in the absence of conservation programs.
Preserving biodiversity may seem like a frivolous goal to some, given the current economic recession, but diverse and stable ecosystems provide many services, including clean drinking water, pollination, pest control, pollution abatement, and so on.
"These ecosystem services, as they are called, are estimated to be worth $33 trillion per year, ten times the size of the UK GDP, for example," said Stuart Butchart, an ornithologist with BirdLife International and one of the paper’s authors. "Economists have calculated that not stepping up our efforts on biodiversity loss will cost us seven percent of the global GDP by 2050, and that doesn’t even include the consequences of resource conflicts, refugees, and political instability that will happen when these systems reach tipping points of collapse."
Regardless of the economic costs of lost biodiversity, the study’s raw numbers are disheartening. One in eight birds are threatened with extinction, along with one in four mammals, one in seven bony fish, one in four reptiles, one in three amphibians, and one in three sharks. While the survey found threatened vertebrates on land and in oceans across the globe, most of the imperiled species inhabit tropical regions.
Southeast Asia stands out above other regions as having both the highest concentration of threatened species and the highest rate at which species decline in status. What’s to blame? "It’s a combination of habitat loss and overexploitation," Rodrigues told Ars. Oil palm plantations have gobbled up large swaths of forest in the region, while the bushmeat and cage-bird trades threaten many species in the forests that remain, Butchart added.
In other regions, invasive species and new diseases have been largely responsible for dwindling populations and outright extinctions. Chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease, has been pummeling amphibian populations in California, Central America, Australia, and the Andes Mountains. In fact, the disease has so widely affected amphibian populations that more than 40 percent of amphibian species are classified as threatened on the Red List.
Though a lower percentage of birds and mammals are threatened, many are under constant pressure from invasive species. Species introduced to the Hawaiian Islands have driven many native fauna extinct and many more to the brink, Butchart said. Fortunately, conservationists have become relatively adept at dealing with invasive species, at least compared to other threats like habitat loss. Forty percent of animals threatened by invasive species improve in status once the interlopers are dealt with, the study reports.
There have also been a few remarkable recoveries. The Mauritius kestrel, of which there were only four in 1974, is nearly fully recovered with around 1,000 birds thanks to a successful captive breeding program. The humpback whale is another standout example. Due to the 1955 ban on commercial whaling, one of the world’s largest mammals is now classified as “least concern.”
Conservation’s successes prove extinction threats are not entirely intractable, though many problems like habitat loss will require political, social, and economic cooperation to successfully tackle. More protected areas, both on land and in the ocean, will go a long way, but there is not one answer. "What we need is tailored solution to a particular problem," Rodrigues said. "It’s not just one solution that will work everywhere in the same way."
Science, 2010. DOI: 10.1126/science.1194442 (About DOIs).
Listing image by KRO-Media“Obviously Israel does not respond to language of diplomacy, which has encouraged the lifting of the blockade and so what I am suggesting is that it has to be reinforced by a threat of adverse economic consequences for Israel,” Richard Falk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, told UN Radio.
“That probably is something that is politically unlikely to happen, but unless it happens, it really does suggest that the United States and the Quartet and the EU [European Union] don’t take these calls for lifting the blockade very seriously and are unaffected by Israel’s continuing defiance of those calls,” he said, referring to the diplomatic Quartet of the UN, EU, Russia and US, which have been calling for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the main UN body tending to the needs of some 4 million Palestinian refugees, said today Gaza had been “bombed back, not to the Stone Age, but to the mud age,” because UNRWA was reduced to building houses out of mud after the 22-day offensive Israel said it launched to end rocket attacks against it.
“The Israeli blockade has meant that almost no reconstruction materials have been allowed to move into Gaza even though 60,000 homes were either damaged or completely destroyed. So we in UNRWA have been saying ‘let's lift this senseless blockage,’” UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told UN Radio.
“We are the United Nations and we always hope that diplomacy will prevail, and it will prevail above |
the world.) Obviously, this is contradictory. If I was such a loser, how can I be a part of the group that rules the world? How could I be a virgin? My fellow Jewish overlords would just give me some sex slaves or something.
The Loser Overlord canard is very common among everyone from white vagina worshiping nationalists to feminists. All of anti-semetic thought argues that both the Jews are defective, yet they are so intelligent, capable, and powerful that they run the world. To feminists, men who disagree with them are both losers, yet these losers are a part of the patriarchy that rules the world. It’s all the same contradictory argument that is impossible due to the contradictions.
All this proves is that women and manginas are incapable of rational thought. Otherwise, I would get better attacks that would at least be internally consistent instead of mishmash of contradictions.
AdvertisementsIt’s been pretty quiet in Runes of Magic’s neck of the woods this year, but that doesn’t mean that Runewaker has been coasting. In fact, a new article on the game’s site revealed that the dev team is preparing an entirely new chapter of the fantasy MMO’s saga for next year.
“We will be integrating new maps and instances and we are also ourselves looking forward to seeing some of the first pictures,” the team said. “We would like to keep the question of ‘when’ in the dark for a while longer — in its current status we think a tentative date of the first half of 2016 is close.”
Runes of Magic will also be taking its siege war feature out of beta in the near future, replacing the in-game ship, and implementing the Mirrorworld with mini-dungeons. Server merges are still being worked on as well, with more information on this forthcoming.BY:
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator John McCain said on Thursday that Republicans stood behind a letter to Iran's leaders threatening to undo any nuclear deal despite an outpouring of criticism from the White House, U.S. allies and Democrats.
He said the Republican senators could have taken more time to talk about it, but he had no remorse.
"Maybe we should have had more discussion about it," McCain told Reuters. "I certainly think I should have signed it, and I think that the message needs to be sent."
The letter signed by 47 of the 54 Republican senators warned Iran that any nuclear deal made with President Barack Obama, a Democrat, could last only as long as he remained in office – a highly unusual intervention into U.S. foreign policy-making.
McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham, another frequent critic of Obama's foreign policy, spoke extensively in the Senate on Thursday defending the letter. "We're not going to let you tell us we have no voice in lifting the sanctions we created," Graham said.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton approached his fellow lawmakers and asked them to sign the letter last week.
The letter infuriated the White House and generated many harshly critical newspaper editorials as well as legal questions about whether the senators violated U.S. law by seeking to communicate directly with a foreign government.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that the letter was not useful. Unhelpful is an "understatement," he said.
Iran's Supreme Leader hit out at the letter on Thursday, saying he was worried because the United States was known for "backstabbing," Mehr news agency reported.
The New York Daily News put the banner "Traitors" on its front page, with pictures of some of the signers.
Senator Mark Kirk, another of the Republicans who signed the letter, said he was surprised by some of the reaction. "For Tom Cotton, a decorated military officer, to accuse him of treason is way over the top," he said.
Democrats accused the Republicans of trying to make the Iran nuclear debate partisan after years of two-party work on the issue.
Cotton's staff said he had reached out to "several" Democrats about the letter. But none said they had been contacted, including Senator Robert Menendez, one of the leading Democratic hawks on Iran.
(This story correctscountry in headline to Iran)
(Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Jeff Mason; Editing by Jason Szep and Cynthia Osterman)CLOSE Fifty people have died after a Boeing 737 crashed while trying to land at the international airport of Kazan in Russia. VPC
The plane was trying to make a second landing attempt when it crashed.
A Russian Boeing 737 crashed Sunday, Nov. 17, on a runway near Kazan, the capital of the Tatarstan republic. (Photo: Russian Emergency Situations Ministry via AP) Story Highlights 44 passengers and six crewmembers were on board the flight
Jet touched the surface of the runway near the control tower and caught fire
Authorities launch a criminal investigation into the crash over alleged safety violations
MOSCOW — Authorities are investigating whether human error or technical failure caused a Russian airliner flying from Moscow to Kazan to crash Sunday, killing all 50 people on board.
The Boeing 737 belonging to the Tatarstan airlines crashed on the runway about 7:25 p.m. local time while landing Sunday at Kazan International Airport, about 450 miles east of Moscow. There were 44 passengers and six crewmembers on board, Emergency Ministers spokeswoman Irina Rossius said, according to the Associated Press.
The plane was trying to make a second landing attempt when it touched the surface of the runway near the control tower and was "destroyed and caught fire," said Sergei Izvolky, spokesman for the Russian aviation agency.
Law enforcement officials told news agency Interfax that technical failure and human error may have been responsible for the crash. Preliminary information suggests that pilots may have informed air control that the plane was not ready to land when it was still about 550 yards from the runway, indicating equipment may not have been working properly.
The ITAR-TASS news agency reported Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a special government commission to investigate the cause of the crash. Meanwhile, authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the crash over alleged safety violations, with RIA Novosti reporting that Russia's official transportation watchdog, Rostransnadzor, is looking into the airline.
Investigative committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told ITAR-TASS that investigators "will check all possible causes, including pilot error, technical failure and weather conditions."
Light precipitation with winds of about 18 mph were reported around the time of the crash.
Victims on board the flight include Irek Minnikhanov, 23, son of the president of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, and Alexander Antonov, regional head of the Federal Security Service, the state-run Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported.
Russia has seen a string of deadly crashes in recent years, the most recent of which happened in December when a plane careened off a runway at a Moscow airport and slammed into the slope of a nearby highway, killing five. In 2011, a crash in Yaroslavl killed 44 people, including a professional hockey team.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1bRaHcDMEN'S SOCCER - Marshall Highlights The #19 Cavaliers defeat Marshall behind a first half stroke by Cabrel Happi Kamseu. Tue, Sep 11, 2018
WOMEN'S SOCCER - Penn State Highlights The No. 6 Cavaliers go on the road to down No. 11 Penn State, 2-1. Penn State Mon, Sep 10, 2018
MEN'S SOCCER - Match at Audi Field The men's soccer team recently traveled to Washington, DC to play Maryland at Audi Field. Maryland Sat, Sep 8, 2018
MEN'S SOCCER - Virginia Tech Highlights The No. 10 Cavaliers battle to a draw with the visiting Hokies. Fri, Sep 7, 2018
MEN'S SOCCER - Virginia vs. New Hampshire Highlights Joe Bell fires the No. 15 Cavaliers to a last second 1-0 win against No. 19 New Hampshire. New Hampshire Wildcats Fri, Aug 24, 2018
UNCOMPROMISED EXCELLENCE: Edward Opoku The Uncompromised Excellence special feature on the forwards inspiring journey from Africa to Virginia. Wed, Nov 22, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Fordham NCAA Highlights Virginia's season comes to an early end against Fordham. Fordham Sun, Nov 19, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Wake Forest ACC Championship Highlights UVA and Wake play to a scoreless draw and Wake Forest wins the title in a shootout. Wake Forest Sun, Nov 12, 2017
UNCOMPROMISED EXCELLENCE: Pablo Aguilar The international redshirt senior is leading the way to another championship for the 'Hoos. Fri, Nov 10, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Notre Dame ACC Highlights The 'Hoos advance to the ACC Final with a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame. Notre Dame Wed, Nov 8, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Louisville ACC Highlights Virginia moves on to the semi-finals of the ACC Tournament after advancing past Louisville in a penalty kick shootout. Louisville Sun, Nov 5, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - BC ACC Highlights Virginia powers past BC, 4-0 in the ACC Tournament. Boston College Wed, Nov 1, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Pitt Highlights #10 Virginia walks off with a thrilling 2-1 victory on Koffi's golden goal. Pitt Fri, Oct 20, 2017
UNCOMPROMISED EXCELLENCE: Men's Soccer vs. Lehigh - Sideline Pass The all-access Uncompromised Excellence feature on the 'Hoos 4-2 comeback victory on Tuesday. Fri, Oct 13, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Lehigh Highlights Four second half goals power No. 10 Virginia in comeback win. Lehigh Tue, Oct 10, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - BC Highlights #11 Virginia rides a free kick goal from Sergia Nus to a 1-0 victory. Boston College Fri, Oct 6, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Portland Highlights #10 Virginia notches another golden goal victory downing Portland, 2-1. Portland Mon, Oct 2, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Davidson Highlights Jean_Christophe Koffi's deflected shot with :01 in regulation lifts Virginia to a 2-1 victory over Davidson. Davidson Mon, Sep 25, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - UNC Highlights Virginia falls to UNC, 2-1 in OT. North Carolina Fri, Sep 22, 2017
UNCOMPROMISED EXCELLENCE: Men's Soccer - The Kurtz Brothers The special feature on the brother's who demonstrate the bond and unity of all of their "brothers" in their Cavalier family. Fri, Sep 15, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Virginia Tech Highlights Head Coach George Gelnovatch notches his 300th victory as Virginia downs Virginia Tech, 2-1 in the Commonwealth Clash. Virginia Tech Fri, Sep 15, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Marquette Highlights Virginia downs Marquette, 2-0. Marquette Tue, Sep 12, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - UNCW Highlights Sergi Nus heads in a golden goal to give #12 Virginia a dramatic win over UNCW. UNCW Mon, Sep 4, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Hofstra Highlights Four goals power Virginia past Hofstra. Hofstra Thu, Aug 31, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Villanova Highlights George Gelnovatch becomes the all-time leader in wins for UVA Men's Soccer as Virginia downs Villanova, 3-2 in double overtime. Villanova Fri, Aug 25, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Syracuse Highlights Virginia and Syracuse battle to a 2-2 tie in the ACC opener. Syracuse Sat, Apr 8, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER - Stanford NCAA Full Highlights Stanford's controversial overtime victory over Virginia in the NCAA tournament. Stanford Mon, Nov 28, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Stanford NCAA Quick Highlight Quick highlights of Stanford's controversial overtime victory over Virginia in the NCAA tournament. Stanford Sun, Nov 27, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Vermont NCAA Highlights UVA tops Vermont in NCAA 2nd Round in 2OT, 2-1. Vermont Sun, Nov 20, 2016
CUE: Men's Soccer - NC State Sideline Pass The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on the ACC tournament first-round win. NC State Fri, Nov 4, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - NC State ACC Tournament Highlights UVA advances in ACC Tournament, downs NC State 1-0. NC State Wed, Nov 2, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Duke Highlights Virginia takes down Duke 1-0 on senior night with a late goal from Pablo Aguilar. Duke Fri, Oct 28, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - William & Mary Highlights No. 16 Virginia downs William & Mary, 3-0 to extend unbeaten streak to seven matches. William & Mary Tue, Oct 18, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Notre Dame Highlights No. 21 Virginia tops No. 2 Notre Dame, 1-0 as Caldwell makes seven saves in key win. Notre Dame Fri, Oct 14, 2016
CUE: Men's Soccer - Sergi Nus CUE caught up with the sophomore center back from Spain who isn't afraid to take chances. Thu, Oct 13, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Radford Highlights No. 21 Virginia plays Radford to 1-1 draw. Aguilar equalizes in 86th minute. Radford Tue, Oct 11, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - North Carolina Highlights Virginia wins at No. 4 North Carolina, 2-1. North Carolina Fri, Oct 7, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Hofstra Highlights Opoku goal lifts Virginia to 1-0 win over Hofstra. Hofstra Tue, Oct 4, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Virginia Tech Highlights Virginia plays Virginia Tech to scoreless draw. Virginia Tech Fri, Sep 30, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Cornell Highlights #16 Virginia downs Cornell in midweek tilt. Cornell Tue, Sep 27, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Clemson Highlights No. 17 Virginia rallies to draw No. 6 Clemson, 3-3. Clemson Sat, Sep 17, 2016
CUE: Men's Soccer - High Tech The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on the technological resources that are helping push the Cavaliers to success. Fri, Sep 16, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - VCU Highlights No. 17 Virginia scores 3-0 win over VCU. VCU Wed, Sep 14, 2016
CUE: Men's Soccer - Internationals The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on the new faces and culture of Virginia Men's Soccer. Fri, Sep 9, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - JMU Highlights No. 12 Virginia cruises to 3-1 win at James Madison. JMU Mon, Sep 5, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Xavier Highlights No. 12 Virginia plays Xavier to 1-1 draw. Xavier Tue, Sep 6, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - CCU Highlights
No. 17 Virginia tops No. 21 Coastal Carolina, 2-1. Coastal Carolina Sat, Aug 27, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Georgetown Highlights Quick highlights from the final exhibition against 6th ranked Georgetown. Georgetown Sat, Aug 20, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Liberty Highlights Quick highlights from the Liberty exhibition match. Liberty Tue, Aug 16, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - Longwood Highlights Quick highlights from the Longwood Exhibition. Longwood Sat, Aug 13, 2016
MEN'S SOCCER - NCAA Highlights Rider UVA ousts Rider in NCAA First Round, 2-0. Rider Thu, Nov 19, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - North Carolina Highlights No. 13 Virginia plays No. 5 North Carolina to scoreless draw. North Carolina Fri, Oct 30, 2015
CUE: Men's Soccer - The Freshmen The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on Derrick Etienne and the gifted freshman class. Fri, Oct 30, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Virginia Tech Highlights No. 16 Virginia downs Virginia Tech, 1-0. Virginia Tech Fri, Oct 23, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - PITT Highlights Wesley Wade's 2 goals lead #12 Virginia past Pitt, 3-1. Pitt Fri, Oct 16, 2015
CUE: Men's Soccer - @PaddyFoss ACC Defensive Player of the Week Patrick Foss explains his amazing game-winner against Louisville that sparked a social media frenzy. Thu, Oct 8, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Portland Highlights Okoro last-minute goal sends No. 11 Virginia to 3-2 win over Portland. Portland Mon, Oct 5, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Louisville Highlights Fosss late goal lifts No. 11 Virginia to wild 3-2 win over Louisville. Louisville Fri, Oct 2, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - VCU Highlights Late Etienne Goal Lifts No. 6 Virginia to 1-0 Win at VCU. VCU Mon, Sep 21, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - NC State Highlights Rozhansky Goal Lifts No. 6 Virginia to 1-0 Win Over No. 20 NC State. NC State Fri, Sep 18, 2015
CUE: Men's Soccer - Season of Change The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on the defending champions and the team's ability to adapt. Fri, Sep 18, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - James Madison Highlights Virginia Blanks James Madison, 2-0. JMU Tue, Sep 15, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - George Mason Highlights No. 5 Virginia Defeats George Mason, 2-1. George Mason Tue, Sep 8, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Tulsa Highlights No. 2 Virginia Draws Tulsa, 1-1 Tulsa Fri, Sep 4, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Charlotte Highlights No. 2 Virginia Downs No. 17 Charlotte in Season Opener, 1-0. Charlotte Sat, Aug 29, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Radford Highlights The #2 men's soccer team wraps up their home exhibition matches against Radford. Radford Tue, Aug 18, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Navy Highlights The defending National Champion Men's Soccer team opens the 2015 season with an exhibition against Navy. Navy Sat, Aug 15, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - England Trip The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on the Men's Soccer team recent trip to England. Thu, Mar 19, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - England Trip: Manchester City vs. Burnley Game The men's soccer team spent their final night in England being honored at Turf Moor in Burnley. Sat, Mar 14, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Game Highlights: Burnley FC U21 Men's Soccer played their third and final game in England against the Burnley FC U21 team. Sat, Mar 14, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - England Trip: Manchester United Tour The men's soccer team took a tour of historic Old Trafford Stadium, home to Manchester United. Fri, Mar 13, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - England Football Phrases See who has the best English accent impression on the Men's Soccer Team Thu, Mar 12, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - Game Highlights: Crystal Palace FC & Blackburn Check out highlights from the mens soccer teams' first two games in England. Wed, Mar 11, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - England Trip: London Sightseeing Check out what stops the team made on their tour around London, England. Mon, Mar 9, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER - England Trip: First Days Take a look at how the Men's Soccer team is spending their Spring Break. Sun, Mar 8, 2015
CUE: MEN'S SOCCER - 2014 Season Retrospective Head Coach George Gelnovatch discusses the team that captured Virginia's 7th national title. Fri, Jan 9, 2015
MEN'S SOCCER: UCLA Full Game Story - NCAA UVA Men's Soccer wins their 7th National Championship defeating UCLA 4-2 on penalty kicks. UCLA Mon, Dec 15, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: UCLA Quick Highlight - NCAA See Riggs Lennon's clinching penalty kick and celebration of Virginia Men's Soccer's 7th National Championship. Full game story to follow. UCLA Sun, Dec 14, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: UCLA Press Conference - NCAA Coach Gelnovatch, Eric Bird and Calle Brown comment on tomorrow's National Championship match with UCLA. UCLA Sat, Dec 13, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: UMBC Post Game Comments - NCAA Post game comments from Coach Gelnovatch, Pablo Aguilar, Calle Brown and Darius Madison. UMBC Sat, Dec 13, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: UMBC Quick Highlights - NCAA Virginia's goal and chances against UMBC in the College Cup Semifinal. UMBC Fri, Dec 12, 2014
MUST SEE MONDAY: Dec. 8, 2014 The top three plays in Cavalier athletics for the week leading into Dec. 8, 2014. Mon, Dec 8, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Georgetown Highlights - NCAA Virginia advances on PK's to second straight College Cup. Georgetown Sat, Dec 6, 2014
CUE: SOCCER - Jeff White Podcast Head coaches George Gelnovatch and Steve Swanson sat down with Jeff White to discuss their upcoming NCAA tournament games. Fri, Dec 5, 2014
MUST SEE MONDAY: Dec. 1, 2014 The top three plays in Cavalier athletics during the week leading up to Dec. 1, 2014. Mon, Dec 1, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Notre Dame Highlights - NCAA Virginia Ousts Top-Seeded Notre Dame, 1-0, in NCAA Third Round. Notre Dame Mon, Dec 1, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Quick Highlight - NCAA See Nicko Corriveau's game winner against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame Sun, Nov 30, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: UNCW Highlights The 'Hoos advance in the Men's NCAA Soccer Championship downing UNCW, 3-1. UNCW Sun, Nov 23, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Virginia Tech Highlights - ACC Virginia advances in the ACC Championship by downing Virginia Tech, 1-0. Virginia Tech Wed, Nov 5, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Wake Forest Highlights Virginia drops 2-1 decision to Wake on Senior Night. Wake Forest Fri, Oct 24, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Radford Highlights Virginia snaps the longest unbeaten streak in the nation by blanking Radford, 3-0. Radford Tue, Oct 21, 2014
CUE: MEN'S SOCCER - Analytics with Oliver Gage An All-Access CUE feature on the detailed scouting reports and film analysis utilized by the Cavaliers. Fri, Oct 17, 2014
MUST SEE MONDAY: Oct. 13, 2014 The top three plays of the week in Cavalier Athletics during the week of Oct. 13, 2014. Mon, Oct 13, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Duke Highlights Virginia blanks Duke, 1-0 to pick up their fourth ACC victory on the season. Duke Sat, Oct 11, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: George Mason Highlights No. 14 Virginia Wins at George Mason, 1-0. George Mason Tue, Oct 7, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Pitt Highlights The Cavaliers won at Pitt, 3-0, to push their ACC record to 2-1-1. Pitt Panthers Mon, Oct 6, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: James Madison Highlights Virginia scores in the 89th minute, then wins it in overtime on Darius Madison's golden goal. JMU Tue, Sep 30, 2014
MUST SEE MONDAY: Sept. 29, 2014 The top three plays of the past week in Cavalier athletics for Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, including plays from men's soccer, volleyball, and football.
Mon, Sep 29, 2014
CUE: Men's Soccer - Notre Dame Head Coach George Gelnovatch and senior captain Eric Bird break down the Cavaliers' 2OT draw against the defending national champions. Notre Dame Fri, Sep 26, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Davidson Highlights Virginia drops 2-1 match to Davidson. Davidson Wed, Sep 24, 2014
MUST SEE MONDAY: Sept. 22, 2014 The top three plays of the past week in Cavalier athletics for Monday, Sept. 22, 2014. Mon, Sep 22, 2014
MEN'S SOCCER: Notre Dame Highlights Virginia rallies from a goal and a man down to tie Notre Dame, 1-1. Notre Dame Sun, Sep 21, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - VCU The 'Hoos down VCU 1-0 on Sam Hayward's second career goal. VCU Tue, Sep 16, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - Virginia Tech No. 15 Virginia Opens ACC Play with 1-0 Win over Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech Fri, Sep 12, 2014
In Game Highlight - Virginia 1 Virginia Tech 0 Scott Thomsen scores for Virginia vs. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Fri, Sep 12, 2014
CUE: Men's Soccer - Season Preview Chasing Uncompromised Excellence takes a look at the third-ranked Cavaliers and their new 3-5-2 formation. Fri, Sep 5, 2014
Must See Monday - Sept. 1, 2014 Check out our new feature "Must See Monday", featuring the top three plays of the weekend! Mon, Sep 1, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - Old Dominion Ryan Zinkhan's golden goal in overtime lifts #3 Virginia to a 1-0 victory over ODU. Old Dominion Fri, Aug 29, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - Quick Highlight Ryan Zinkhan nets a golden goal in OT as UVA wins their season opener. Full highlights to follow. Old Dominion Fri, Aug 29, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - Georgetown exhibition Virginia draws with Georgetown in final exhibition match. Georgetown Sat, Aug 23, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - Orange & Blue Scrimmage Blue beats Orange 4-2 in a team scrimmage. Tue, Aug 19, 2014
Men's Soccer Highlights - Rutgers exhibition Virginia and Rutgers square off in the first exhibition game of 2014. Rutgers Sat, Aug 16, 2014
Men's Soccer - Connecticut NCAA Virginia defeats Connecticut in the NCAA Quarterfinals to advance to the College Cup. Fri, Dec 6, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - UConn The Chasing Uncompromised all-access feature on Virginia's 2-1 victory over UConn in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Thu, Dec 12, 2013
Men's Soccer Feature - Gelnovatch post game See Coach George Gelnovatch in his post game press conference. Maryland Sat, Dec 14, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Maryland NCAA Semifinals Virginia Falls 2-1 to Maryland in College Cup Semifinals. Maryland Sat, Dec 14, 2013
Men's Soccer Feature - College Cup Follow the men's team through their first full day in Philadelphia. College Cup Thu, Dec 12, 2013
Men's Soccer - Connecticut Post Game Press Conference Comments from George Gelnovatch, Jordan Allen, and Ryan Zinkhan after the win over UConn. Fri, Dec 6, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - Scott Thomsen The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on Scott Thomsen and Virginia's victory over Marquette. Thu, Dec 5, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Marquette NCAA Virginia advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals, 3-1 over Marquette. Marquette Sun, Dec 1, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Marquette NCAA See Darius Madison's golaso against Marquette. Marquette Sun, Dec 1, 2013
Men's Soccer Preview - NCAA Quarterfinals Head Coach George Gelnovatch comments on the NCAA Quarterfinals and UConn. Connecticut Wed, Dec 4, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Marquette postgame Coach George Gelnovatch's postgame press conference. Marquette Sun, Dec 1, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - St. John's NCAA The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on Virginia's 2nd-round victory over St. John's. Wed, Nov 27, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - St. John's NCAA The Virginia men advance in the NCAA tournament downing St. John's, 2-0. St. John's Sun, Nov 24, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - ACC Tournament The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on the ACC tournament and NCAA selection. Thu, Nov 21, 2013
Men's Soccer - NCAA Selection Press Conference Comments from Head Coach George Gelnovatch following Virginia's selection as the 8-seed in the NCAA tournament. Mon, Nov 18, 2013
Men's Soccer - Notre Dame ACC Highlights from the Cavaliers' win over Notre Dame in the ACC Semi-final match. Notre Dame Mon, Nov 18, 2013
Men's Soccer - ACC Championship Virginia falls to Maryland 1-0 in the ACC Championship game. Sun, Nov 17, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - ACC Quarterfinals The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence all-access feature on Virginia's victory over Wake Forest. Fri, Nov 15, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Wake Forest Virginia Ousts Wake Forest in OT in ACC Quarterfinals, 1-0. Wake Forest Tue, Nov 12, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Boston College Men's soccer wraps up the regular season with a 1-0 OT win over Boston College. Boston College Fri, Nov 8, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - UNC Men's soccer drop 1-0 match to UNC. North Carolina Fri, Nov 1, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - Darius Madison The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on Darius Madison and games against Notre Dame and UNCG. Fri, Nov 1, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Notre Dame Men's soccer knocks off previously unbeaten and second ranked Notre Dame, 2-0. Unbeaten streak stands at 10 matches. Notre Dame Tue, Oct 29, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - UNCG Lennon's golden goal lifts men's soccer to 2-1 victory over UNCG. UNCG Tue, Oct 29, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Virginia Tech Late Goal Nets No. 19 Virginia 1-1 Draw at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech Fri, Oct 18, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - Jeff Gal The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence feature on sophomore keeper Jeff Gal and assistant coach Michael Behonick. Fri, Oct 18, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Maryland No. 23 Virginia ties No. 5 Maryland, 3-3. Maryland Fri, Oct 11, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - Duke The Chasing Uncompromised Excellence story on Virginia's trip to Durham. Duke Fri, Oct 11, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Duke No. 23 Virginia plays Duke to scoreless draw, extends unbeaten streak to seven matches. Duke Wed, Oct 9, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Pittsburgh The Cavaliers roll Pitt, 5-0. Pittsburgh Fri, Oct 4, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - VCU Virginia wins for the third straight game on Eric Bird's golden goal. VCU Tue, Oct 1, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Providence 'Hoos shutout the Friars, 4-0 on two goals from Eric Bird. Providence Tue, Sep 24, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - NC State Virginia rallies twice in the second half to tie NC State, 3-3. NC State Fri, Sep 20, 2013
CUE: Men's Soccer - Wake Forest All Access An all-access look at Virginia's road trip to Winston-Salem. Fri, Sep 20, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - George Mason UVA blanks George Mason, 3-0. GMU Tue, Sep 17, 2013
Men's Soccer - Wake Forest Virginia's comeback falls short in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest Fri, Sep 13, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - St. John's #20 Virginia dominates the match and defeats #19 St. John's, 2-0. St. John's Red Storm Mon, Sep 2, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Louisville Men's soccer drops a tight season opener, 2-1. Louisville Fri, Aug 30, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - Radford The 'Hoos top Radford 2-0 in exhibition play. Radford Tue, Aug 20, 2013
Men's Soccer Highlights - New Mexico NCAA Virginia falls to New Mexico in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico Mon, Nov 19, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Lafayette NCAA Bates scores late as Men's Soccer defeats Lafayette to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Lafayette Thu, Nov 15, 2012
Men's Soccer - Will Bates A look at senior forward Will Bates. Fri, Oct 26, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Virginia Tech Virginia Rallies for Dramatic 3-2 OT Win Over Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech Fri, Oct 19, 2012
Men's Soccer Preview - Virginia Tech Coach Gelnovatch reviews Wright State and talks about Virginia Tech. Wed, Oct 17, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Wright State 'Hoos top Wright State, 3-2. Wright State Tue, Oct 16, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Wake Forest Virginia falls to #18 Wake Forest, 4-1. Wake Forest Fri, Oct 12, 2012
Men's Soccer Preview - Wake Forest Coach Gelnovatch discusses last night's victory and Friday night's match with Wake. Wed, Oct 10, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - High Point Bates Scores Twice to Lead Virginia Over No. 23 High Point, 2-1. High Point Tue, Oct 9, 2012
Men's Soccer - Spencer LaCivita The Sophomore Goalkeeper leads a very young Cavalier defense this season. Thu, Oct 4, 2012
Men's Soccer Preview - Clemson Coach Gelnovatch reviews VCU and talks about the team. Wed, Sep 26, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - VCU Chavira Golden Goal Lifts Virginia to 1-0 Win at VCU in 2OT. VCU Wed, Sep 26, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - VCU game winner See Cameron Chavira's game-winning goal in double OT at VCU. Complete game story to follow. VCU Tue, Sep 25, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - North Carolina Virginia's Second-Half Push Comes Up Short at No. 8 UNC, 1-0. UNC Sat, Sep 22, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Drexel Men's soccer blanks Drexel, 2-0. Drexel Tue, Sep 18, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Xavier 'Hoos go to overtime again and draw #19 Xavier, 1-1. Xavier Fri, Sep 14, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Mt. Saint Mary's Virginia Rides Scoring Barrage to 6-1 Win Over Mount St. Mary's. Mt. Saint Mary's Tue, Sep 11, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - Duke Virginia Opens ACC Play with 1-0 Triumph over Duke. Duke Fri, Sep 7, 2012
Men's Soccer Preview - Duke Coach Gelnovatch reviews the weekend and discusses it's relation to the Duke match. Thu, Sep 6, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - UCLA No. 11 UCLA Sinks Cavaliers in Overtime, 1-0. UCLA Sun, Sep 2, 2012
Men's Soccer Highlights - California Men's Soccer Scores Late to Drop No. 22 California, 2-1. California Fri, Aug 31, 201 |
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If you want to help Linux Mint with a donation, please visit http://www.linuxmint.com/donors.php"I'm a Muslim," said the actor proudly, upon winning the SAG Award for best male actor in a supporting role.
Moonlight's Mahershala Ali took the stage to accept an award and speak out against Donald Trump's immigration ban.
Upon winning the SAG Award for best male actor in a supporting role for Moonlight, he told the crowd, "when we get caught up in the minutiae and the details that make us all different, I think there's two ways of seeing that. There's the opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique, and then there's an opportunity to go to war about it and say that this person is different from me, I don't like you, let's battle."
"I'm a Muslim," said the actor proudly, adding that his mother, an ordained minister, "didn't do backflips when I called her to tell her I converted."
But now, he says, they "put things to the side" and "we love each other."
Ali's speech came amid growing protests against Trump's executive order and travel ban. Trump's executive order bans citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days, while suspending the admission of all refugees for 120 days. The ban includes immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.
As protests grew in airports across the country, the White House defended the executive order with a statement that also took aim at the media's coverage of the ban thus far. “America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border," read the statement. "America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say."
The SAG Awards were handed out Sunday night at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.Welcome to the future!
In the future, you’ll have magic paths for your money to travel through the air so that you never have to place your pretty hands on those filthy dead presidents again! You don’t know where they’ve been!
Ah, we’re living the life, aren’t we? So many easy ways to budget and we still can’t save a dime.
What if there was a simple way to successfully turn around your budget?
First, I’m not suggesting you recite generic mantras like: “know in your heart that you can do it and track all of your expenses penny by penny every day.”
How many times has that approach worked for you? Let’s put it this way: The people with the patience for that approach, you and I wouldn’t have as friends.
I’m not talking about an easy way for busy people to budget, like I did in this piece last week….today I’m focused like a laser on one financial move so simple that it’s been right in front of you forever and I’ll bet you didn’t notice it.
Here it is: do you use direct deposit? Yes? That’s the good news.
The bad news? There’s a big chance you’re using it wrong.
The magic of direct deposit is that money flows in the direction you want it to go. So, why does it always flow to the one place it shouldn’t be? Why does it flow to your checking account?
So, I Was Broke
It was 1999. I was at the ATM machine when I had this a-ha! moment. I couldn’t stop grinning. I’m sure the people behind me thought I was an escaped mental patient.
Standing there, like I had for much of my early career, I was out of money. When I got a few bucks in my checking account, it flowed directly away from me.
My receipt showed that I had three dollars in my account. I was kicking myself when I remembered a cheesy old quote I’d tell clients all the time:
What’s the definition of insanity? …doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.
Putting money into my checking account was the dumbest thing I could ever do. I’d just spend it all. Something would come up….probably something that at the time seemed really important….and then I’d blow all my cash.
Standing there, I had a revelation: What if I never had money in my checking account?
Wealthy People Practice Good Habits
I thought about my rich clients. They always complained during our meetings about never having any money. It blew me away. Sure, they’d take expensive vacations and lived in palatial estates, but if you asked them to open their wallet, they never had any cash on them, and they were frustrated. One client asked me if he could have some money from his account to get something to eat.
Uh. Sure.
Then I realized the truth. Wealthy people forced themselves to save money by not having it on them. Leaving cash where you could spend it was a habit that created spending. Being in the store created purchases.
That’s when I began moving money to my savings account instead.
The Airport Trick
Here’s what I discovered: with money direct deposited into my savings account, I’d be able to better monitor the flow of funds. I’d be like the air traffic controller at the airport–money would fly in and out of my control, but I’d have a good handle on where it was going. No longer would I feel that money was in the wrong spot, or that I just needed to concentrate a little harder on counting pennies to save money.
My new budget success plan worked like this:
1) I redirected pay checks into my savings account. I made sure that the account had online access but no ATM privileges. I couldn’t risk my system to an ATM card. If I was in a tough spot, I’d force myself to find another rescue.
2) Following the advice is this piece, I reworked my goals and set up automatic flights out of the account to meet them into my cash reserve, retirement fund and Upromise accounts.
3) I then worked through the amount of money I’d need to get through a month. If you need a spreadsheet, here’s a great one from the National Endowment on Financial Education: Budget Worksheet.
4) I transferred monthly budget money automatically from my savings into my checking account. I didn’t do this manually, because I might start making “exceptions” to my plan.
5) Any automatic payments that were the same amount each month were automatically sent directly from savings and reduced from the amount we’d send to checking.
This one move–direct deposit into savings instead of checking created my first real budget success. Suddenly:
– Money was accumulating on it’s own.
– I had a specific amount of money to spend each month that was different from what my job paid me. Instead of my job dictating my budget, I was in charge.
– I wasn’t whispering “I can do it” mantras or hoping to do a better job next time. I threw all the “touchy-feely” budget advice from well-meaning broke people out the window. I now was using the same method that rich people were using.
Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy
This time-tested approach to money management is wickedly easy to implement, but shockingly, many clients I’d recommend it to were afraid.
“I can’t do that.”
“What if I have an emergency?”
“It’ll be so hard to change!”
Three points.
– You can do it. Once you take control of your financial future (not hope for better, but change your systems to accomplish more), you’ll reap the benefits of sound money practices.
– If you have a real emergency, the money is in your savings account. Although you don’t have ATM access, there are still multiple ways to retrieve funds from the account.
– Change is never easy. It’s especially hard when you’re following antiquated advice like “write down every penny you spend.” Yawn. Get effective, time saving systems to help you move ahead.
Although motivation isn’t the heart of this plan, I will admit one point: You’ll be far more motivated to save when you practice a system that works. I promise you that once money starts accumulating in your savings account, you’ll look back and laugh about the trips to the empty ATM machine.
I do.
Have You Tried Direct Deposit to Your Savings Account? If so, did it work? If not, are there other tricks you use to automate your process? Let’s talk tactics in the comments.
(photo credit:image of Krishna +
Agra: Following the declaration of the town of Vrindavan as an official "holy pilgrimage site" by the Uttar Pradesh government, police in Mathura may soon be given new uniforms with logos on shoulder badges that have the. The logos will also feature the words ‘Tourism Police’. The cops will be wearing their usual rank insignia as well.“The purpose behind the logos is to make UP Police more tourist-friendly,” said Mathura senior superintendent of police (SSP) Swapnil Mangain. This, some in the department said, has come after the UP Police was severely criticised for the assault on a Swiss couple in Fatehpur Sikri by some local youths and minors.Although the police department, like other organs of the state, in accordance with the secular ideals of the Constitution, is not supposed to carry or display images of religious icons, gods or holy symbols, a proposal has been made to issue these logos, which will be stitched on the new uniforms and will be prominently displayed. The proposal is with the office of the director-general of police (DGP), though the logo that has been designed and selected seems to be final.Many see this logo as part of the “saffronisation” agenda of the UP government, which incidentally is also on a spree to paint the state capital and government buildings across the state in saffron.Talking to TOI, former DGP Brij Lal said, “Such logos should not be allowed as they can dent the secular image of the police.”National spokesperson of Congress, Vivek Bansal said, “India being a secular nation, the government should not patronize and propagate any religion. Vrindavan tourism doesn’t cater only to Hindus, as people of all faiths visit the city. The logo will be a violation of the Constitution.”Haji Jamiluddin Qureshi, president of Agra city unit of Congress, added that such a logo was objectionable. “It doesn’t suit the police. People’s faith in police will be lost. This is against the Constitution. This is a secular country and the picture of a particular religion’s god on the uniform proves that there is a political agenda behind the move,” he added.However, a senior BJP leader, who requested anonymity on the plea that he doesn’t want to get involved in any “controversy”, said that there was nothing wrong with the logo carrying the picture of Krishna. “Everyone knows Mathura and Vrindavan are revered as Krishna’s birthplace and are associated with him, so what is wrong with the logos having the picture of the Lord?” he asked, dubbing the voices of criticism as that of “sickulars”.SSP Mangain said, “Just as Agra is famous for Taj Mahal, Mathura has the Banke Bihari (another name of Krishna) temple, and these logos will provide a distinctive identity to the police. Personnel who are well-versed in English will be deputed in Vrindavan to assist foreign tourists. The process of identifying and interviewing such personnel is on and they should be deputed by the end of December.”The officer added: “We have also sent a proposal for nine new outposts and a new police station for tourists and this is in line with what is prevalent in Agra. The idea behind this is to serve tourists more efficiently.”Here's yet another sign the economy has gone to the dogs: Money-seeking thieves are pilfering pooches and selling them for profit.
For the first seven months of 2011, reports of stolen dogs rose 49%, according to the American Kennel Club. About 224 were snatched, compared with 150 in the same period last year.
In 2008, 71 thefts were recorded by the AKC's database of customer and media reports. That rose to 162 in 2009 and 255 in 2010.
Canines have been taken from homes, pet stores, shelters, cars, parks and city streets, says AKC spokeswoman Lisa Peterson.
"The motivation is money and economics," she says.
Some thieves falsify where they got the dogs, then sell them via the Internet, at flea markets or at roadside stands. Others pretend they "found" the dog after a reward-seeking flier is posted so they can collect the gratuity.
All types of dogs are stolen, but small breeds such as Yorkies and Pomeranians are abducted more often than others. Those pups are "popular in general and easier to steal based on size," says Peterson.
Abductors also know that dog-seekers will pay a bundle for a new best friend.
The average amount spent to buy a dog hit $364 in 2010, up from $221 in 2008, according to the American Pet Products Association.
Some dog thieves want a pet for themselves, a friend or a child but don't want to pay to purchase or adopt it, says Peterson.
"Everyone knows how wonderful it is to have a dog," she says. "That's what makes them a target."
Slightly more than 46 million U.S. households have dogs, according to APPA. Nine out of 10 owners say their dog brings them companionship and love. And 70% say a key benefit of ownership is that the pooch becomes a part of the family.
Peterson mentions one burglary where perpetrators "took not only the 55-inch television, but also Boo Boo the Yorkie." For some criminals, the lap dog can be more valuable than the laptop.
"We've seen car break-ins with the dog taken, but the GPS and laptop left," she says.
To reduce the chance of a dog-napping, keep pets on a leash, and never leave an unattended dog outside of a store, says pet safety specialist Ines de Pablo.
Boastful owners can unintentionally pique the interest of criminals, she says. "Watch the bragging, and don't mention price (paid for the pet) in public."
She and Peterson advise owners to keep a current photo of Fido. The picture can be used for "missing" flyers, as well as distributed to police, neighbors, veterinarians and shelters if a pet goes missing.
Another safety device: pet-identifying microchips that are implanted under the dog's skin. These tiny chips can help a vet or shelter employee identify the true owner if a stolen dog is taken to their facility.
While it's devastating to have a pet disappear, all hope isn't lost. Snatched pups have been recovered, says Peterson.
"A lot of times people will steal a dog, and then realize how difficult it is to keep a live animal until they can sell it," she says. "So sometimes a dog miraculously shows up at a shelter."From 1970s situationist journal, Point Blank! Analysis of the state of the world and the class struggle in 1972. Subtitled "Theses on the end of the Cold War."
I
"Class rule is no longer able to disguise itself in a national form; the national governments are as one against the proletariat."
Karl Marx. The Civil War in France.
1
That banal melodrama, the Cold War, has ended its record run on the stage of history, taking only the naive by surprise. Even before the curtain has finally closed, the protagonists have regrouped their forces; enemies embrace and nations shed their masks to reveal to the world that everybody looks the same. What formerly presented itself as high tragedy now appears as farce; Nixon visits Peking, China supports the quasi-Trotskyist government of Ceylon against a Maoist-style insurrection, the "arch-renegade" Tito is awarded the Lenin prize. Old foes have become reconciled: China and Japan, North and South Korea.
Even characters that once appeared rebellions are now as respectable as the rest; Regis Debray is a public-relations man for Allende - the heroic guerrilla has become a social-democrat. While analysts Left and Right seem dazed by the sudden turn of events, it should be noted that this script had been determined long in advance; behind the ecumenical festivities, we recognize that experienced director, the commodity economy. Though the masters of state power toast each other with celestial platitudes in the banquet halls of the world, a more mundane force has been issuing the invitations. If the Chinese have learned to play the U.S. national anthem, it is because American businessmen have learned how to speak Chinese.
2
The global peace proclaimed by capitalism today is merely another victory in the perpetual war of the commodity a war which has imposed itself everywhere, above and below the surface of political reality. Only a journalist would think that China and the U.S. merely intend to exchange ambassadors. The resolution of former political antagonisms is only the reflection of a convergence of economic interests; this similarity was always implicitly present, but the need for an expansion of advanced capitalism's markets, coinciding with the primitive development of modern industry (lack of consumer goods, etc.) in the bureaucratic states necessitates that such an affinity be openly expressed. The Cold War was an ideological ruse whereby the competing variants of capitalism could present each other as the absolute enemy; in the pseudo-socialist countries this accomplished a social unification in the face of the "enemy," which concealed the class divisions existing in these societies. In the West the spectre of totalitarianism was flung in the face of the proletariat as the meaning of "communism," effectively intimidating much of the working class. But this charade has long since served its purpose, and the prospect of economic gain has consigned it to an irrevocable past.
3
The decline of the spectacular pseudo-conflict between "Eastern" and "Western" forms of capitalism has come as an especially hard blow to all the leftist ideologues who had built a career out of it The movement of history has put an end to all their feeble hopes of a "revolution from the Third World." The "anti-imperialist" ideology, which sought to transpose the concept of "class-struggle" onto a global context where the Third World would represent the "proletariat" has proved bankrupt as the Third World "socialist" bloc disintegrates into an infinity of local nationalisms. Unlike their vicarious imitators in the West, the real Maoists in Peking have had sufficient intelligence to know who their friends are and who their enemies are. The new-found friendship between the U.S. and China, which became a military reality during the India-Pakistan war, may have upset the well-laid plans of all the idiotic leftist sects, but those who have arranged the romance know what they have in common. The imperialism which lies at the heart of commodity production is not the exclusive domain of the Western powers; Russia and China have proved themselves adept at mastering this technique. Capitalism reigns everywhere.
4
The various local pseudo-socialisms in China, Cuba, etc. which once "opposed" capitalism have not escaped the fate of their 'Bolshevik forebears, These peculiar forms of state-capitalism have emerged in countries which had no indigenous bourgeois class capable of maintaining an effective social hegemony, and the bureaucracies have only taken the place of the bourgeoisie in effecting a transition from feudal to capitalist modes of production. This "revolution," which sought to export itself everywhere in the Third World, has now shown its true nature China now demands full partnership in the capitalist.community of nations; Cuba is only an impotent colony of the Soviet Union. Castroism, which once trained its guerrillas for an armed conquest of Latin America, now finds its task much easier; besides recognizing itself in Allende's Chile, it openly flirts with the military regime of Peru. Maoism, having sustained numerous defeats in Africa, Indonesia, and India, has abandoned People's War (Lin Piao) for People's Diplomacy (Chou Enlai); its latest converts to the new line include Greece and Iran. Bureaucratic power makes strange bedfellows.
5
The commodity has indeed succeeded in levelling all the walls of China. But this fact is only a superficial manifestation of a global realignment of power which is presently taking place the Peking and Moscow summits, if nothing else, have established the necessary formalities. The various partners have recognized each other for what they are, masters of state and economy who have a vested interest in maintaining this power. This recognition is only the prelude to the formation of an international counter-revolutionary alliance which has already made itself felt in Ceylon, Poland, and Bangladesh, and which will be heard from again whenever the actions of the world proletariat threaten its continued existence. However, concerted action is only possible if traditional areas of conflict have been neutralized; such a reduction in tension has begun, in the Middle East and Indochina. The Stalinist bureaucracy of North Vietnam and the hyper-national Arab states find themselves isolated even among their "socialist" comrades; like their counterparts in the Western camp (South Vietnam, Israel),these countries have only been the pawns of an international chess-game in which the players sit in Washington, Peking, and Moscow. The deals made there will bring an end to the Vietnam War and at least continue the stalemate in the Mideast. Formerly troublesome elements such as the Palestinian guerrillas have been rendered virtually harmless within the Mideast; the Palestinian movement, which never advanced beyond a militantly primitive nationalism and hardly posed a revolutionary alternative to the institutionalized nationalism of the Arab states, has been reduced to a state of absolute impotence (reflected in terrorism) in the wake of the destruction of its forces in Jordan, 1970. The lesson of nationalism which the West taught all the other areas of the world returned to haunt it in the form of wars of "national liberation." But as the more advanced countries move into an era of internationalism, the nationalist rites of other countries will necessarily be cut short.
6
The global unification of capitalism has proceeded with less pageantry elsewhere in the world. Previous formal power groupings are dissolving: NATO and the Warsaw Pact now only exist in the minds of the two major powers that created them. The European countries may well pride themselves on having met the "American challenge" and turning it into a challenge to American economic predominance. Independent power groupings are emerging in Europe and Japan which can negotiate on an equal economic basis with the U.S. While unable to agree on the exact method of exchanging their currency, the European countries have succeeded in putting their Markets truly in Common. But while the European bloc proclaims its "independence" from the U-S., it acts as proxy for it in foreign affairs. The conciliatory German, Willy Brandt, has managed to demolish the rusting Iron Curtain. Behind the Ostpolitik for which Brandt was awarded the Nobel prize lies the Realpolitik of the commodity. The eventual demolition of the Berlin Wall will only he a physical complement to the destruction of trade barriers that is currently in progress. Brandt is not merely under-taking these policies in order to be a "statesman" - the trump card that he holds is the stability of the German Mark. The new economic order in Europe, which began with the EEC and is now being extended, allows each country to compensate for its individual economic deficiencies; nations that are heavily industrialized (like West Germany) can draw upon other countries' excess labor in order to maintain their position and to compete with the more advanced powers. The Marshall Plan has paid off its dividend in the form of a blitzkrieg of Volkswagens and Toyotas.
7
The developments in the bureaucratic sphere of Eastern Europe under the hegemony of the Soviet Union have been of an entirely different nature. Economic development in the individual countries ha been hindered by the permanent political crisis confronted by the ruling bureaucracies. The events of 1968 (Czechoslovakia) and 1970 (Poland gave the bureaucrats of the Soviet bloc a bad scare- Since the Czech uprising, the USSR has been forced to grant |
fell. In the closing days of the war in Europe, Allied intelligence received reports of a Nazi doomsday plan, codenamed "Der Tag", to be implemented after Hitler's defeat. However, the Allies had no idea what the plan entailed.
Captain America, often with teenage partner Bucky Barnes, fought against, and thwarted, Red Skull and his plans many times during the war. The heroes also fought the Red Skull when they were members of the Invaders. Once they were captured by him and Captain America was placed under Nazi control by a drug and told to assassinate the supreme commander of the Allied armies in Europe, but thanks to Bucky he broke free.[10] During the final days of World War II in Europe, Captain America and Bucky were assigned to England to prevent desperate Nazi efforts at sabotaging Allied supply bases there.[volume & issue needed] Red Skull sent a number of his subordinates who became known as the Exiles, and a large contingent of loyal German soldiers and their wives to a secret island base ("Exile Island"), where they would organize an army for use in the future.[volume & issue needed]
The two counterparts soon clashed for the first time.[11] Red Skull later temporarily brainwashed three of the Invaders into serving him.[12] The Red Skull and Captain America continued to engage in a series of skirmishes throughout the war. On one occasion, Red Skull captured Captain America and told him his origin. He placed Captain America under his control and tried to use him to kill a high-ranking officer but with Bucky's help Captain America broke free.[13] Now that the German defeat was becoming a reality, Red Skull was more determined than ever to obtain vengeance for his numerous personal defeats by Captain America and Bucky. Red Skull assigned Baron Heinrich Zemo to go to England, and, under the cover of stealing an experimental Allied drone plane, to capture or kill Captain America and Bucky. However, Red Skull was unaware that the Allies had just secretly parachuted Captain America into beleaguered Berlin to investigate "Der Tag".[volume & issue needed]
Finally, Captain America tracked Red Skull down to his hidden bunker. Red Skull was about to hurl an armed hand grenade at his nemesis when Captain America threw his shield at him. The grenade exploded, but Red Skull was not killed, due to his body armor. He was, however, seriously hurt and partially buried in debris. Thinking he was dying, Red Skull defiantly told Captain America that the Sleepers would avenge the Nazis' defeat. Then, suddenly, an Allied attack on Berlin began. An Allied plane dropped a huge blockbuster bomb on the bunker, causing a cave-in that Captain America barely escaped. Captain America was picked up by the Allies and returned to England only to fall into Zemo's trap, which led to Bucky's supposed death and Captain America's falling into suspended animation for decades. Support pillars that crisscrossed over Red Skull when the bunker caved in saved him from being struck by tons of rubble when the bomb hit. The cave-in also released an experimental gas from canisters in the bunker which put Red Skull into suspended animation, during which time his wounds slowly healed.[14]
Post-World War II era [ edit ]
Modern era [ edit ]
Johann Schmidt's legacy continues to cause trouble by way of the Sleepers which are activated by his agents as scheduled. Captain America neutralizes all the machines in turn.[volume & issue needed]
Johann Schmidt is eventually rescued and revived from suspended animation in modern times by the terrorist organization A.I.M.. Red Skull quickly subverts a cell to his own ambitions of world conquest and the death of Captain America. He steals the Cosmic Cube after taking control of its Keeper's mind with a device he planted while shaking hands, and reveals that he gave Zemo the order to steal the bomb plane that led to Bucky Barnes' death. He had a rivalry with Zemo, and hoped to set his two foes against each other. Captain America learns, from the dying pilot of a plane that had been following the Keeper's plane, that the Cube had been used to destroy the plane. Schmidt tells another A.I.M. member of his plans after getting a mind control device on him, then causes him to shoot himself. He fights Captain America again for the first time in years after getting the Cube on an island. He begins sending Captain America to another dimension when Captain America offers to become his servant. Red Skull encases himself in a golden suit of armor, and talks of creating a new order of knights. Captain America gets close to him while the Red Skull prepares to knight him. Captain America tries to get the Cube, and in the fight the island splits apart from the Cube's power, and the Skull falls off a cliff while trying to get the Cosmic Cube.[15] When Johann reappears, he and Albert Malik start to antagonize each other while both claiming the identity of Red Skull.[volume & issue needed] Finally Malik is the victim of an assassination organized by Red Skull, through a rogue agent of the Scourges of the Underworld.[16]
Red Skull captures part of Manhattan Island,[17] unleashes the fourth Sleeper, and captures Captain America on Exile Island.[18] The Skull then regains the Cosmic Cube and temporarily switches bodies with Captain America. He also uses the Cube to alter the personality of Sam "Snap" Wilson.[19] Some time later in his first appearance outside of a title featuring Captain America, he fights Doctor Doom.[20] Red Skull then foments racial hatred in New York,[21] and is revealed as the true power behind the Las Vegas-based HYDRA fragment, and clashes with the Kingpin.[22]
Some time later, Red Skull kills Roscoe (another wearer of the Captain America mantle). He also revives the use of his "dust of death".[23] Red Skull later fights Doctor Doom on the moon but is defeated.[24] With Arnim Zola, Red Skull seeks to transplant Hitler's brain into Captain America's body.[25] He transforms a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into his red skull-faced slaves.[26] Red Skull teams with the Hate-Monger, a clone of Hitler, and traps him in a flawed Cosmic Cube.[27] The Skull leads the Nihilist Order for a brief time.[28] Establishing a Nazi colony on a deserted island, Red Skull fathers a daughter who would eventually become known as Mother Superior.[29]
The gas that placed Red Skull in suspended animation wears off and his body rapidly ages to his actual years. Now physically weak and feeble in his mid-80s, Red Skull plans a final showdown with his archrival. Kidnapping Captain America's closest allies, he forces Captain America to surrender himself to a medical treatment that ages his body to its rightful age. The two men, their bodies now ancient, fight a battle to the death. When Captain America refuses to kill him, Red Skull dies cursing Captain America as his elderly body shuts down.[30]
Resurrection [ edit ]
Nazi geneticist Arnim Zola had obtained DNA samples of Captain America years earlier and arranged for Red Skull's mind to be transplanted into a clone body of Captain America at the moment of his death. Assuming the identity of "John Smith" (the English equivalent of his natural German name), Red Skull decides to reinvent himself and his quest for absolute power as a means to celebrate his cheating death. Red Skull abandons his longstanding beliefs in National Socialism and Hitler, on the belief that the Nazi philosophy made him look like a relic of the past, and turns towards American ideology. Red Skull sees much potential in the American dream of capitalism and self-determination and sets about establishing his own foothold inside Washington D.C., culminating in him gaining control over the Commission on Superhuman Activities, a government body in Washington that monitors and regulates superhero activities.[volume & issue needed]
Red Skull also changes his mode of operations: rather than "living from one grand scheme to the next", he begins financing a score of evil organizations that report directly to him, such as the militia group the Watchdogs. He also employs one of the Scourges of the Underworld, an organization dedicated to killing supervillains.[volume & issue needed]
Red Skull has the Commission remove Steve Rogers from the position of Captain America and replace him with jingoist John Walker. Although Walker attempts to live up to his predecessor's ideals, Red Skull arranges for the murders of Walker's parents, driving him insane and into a downward spiral of murder as part of his plan to blacken the name of Captain America.[31]
Red Skull kills his chief pawn in the Commission, right in front of Captain America. About to be exposed, Red Skull tries to manipulate Walker into killing Rogers. When Rogers defeats Walker, Red Skull appears to gloat at what he had done to Rogers, Walker, and the reputation of Captain America. However, Rogers remains openly dubious of his claims to be his dead archenemy. Red Skull tries to kill Rogers with a cigarette holding a lethal dose of the Dust of Death (Red Skull's favorite poison), but Walker hits him from behind with his shield. Red Skull inhales the Dust of Death and his face takes on the appearance of a living red skull; his head loses its hair and its skin shrivels, clinging tightly to his skull, and taking on a red discoloration. Red Skull survives the exposure due to the effects of the Super-Soldier Formula.[32]
After this, Red Skull masterminds a conflict between the United States and Symkaria.[33] He joins the "Acts of Vengeance" conspiracy, but is attacked by the mutant terrorist Magneto, a Holocaust survivor who wants to punish him for his involvement in Hitler's regime. Magneto buries him alive with enough water to last a few months. Red Skull remains imprisoned, close to death and beginning to see the error of his ways, until he is rescued by his henchman Crossbones. Feeling ready to die in peace, Red Skull requests to be taken to his private estate's bed, and for Captain America to come see him. Upon seeing his archenemy's face, Red Skull is surprised to feel a sudden burst of hatred that reignites his will to live.[34]
Red Skull proposes an alliance with the Kingpin to bring a new designer drug to New York, but the Kingpin refuses to ally with the Nazi and the two engage in a drug war. He then defeats the Red Skull in hand-to-hand combat, sparing his life on the condition that he never come near the Kingpin's territory again.[35] After Red Skull's agents allow fellow Nazi Baron Wolfgang von Strucker to be reborn, the grateful Strucker allows Red Skull the use of HYDRA resources.[36]
Red Skull's tenure in Washington comes to an end when he is captured by Hauptmann Deutschland, and taken to Germany to stand trial for crimes against humanity, stemming from his days as an agent of the Third Reich. Red Skull narrowly escapes and is rescued by Arnim Zola, and forced to fake his death and go into hiding in a Rocky Mountain compound. He recruits Viper, a move that alienates his minions and is further rocked when his chief henchman Crossbones kidnaps Captain America's girlfriend Diamondback, resulting in Captain America finding Red Skull's new lair. Red Skull fires Crossbones and goes into hiding while Viper, using funds she plied from Red Skull as part of a scheme to use televisions across America to blind TV viewers, is defeated by Captain America.[37]
Red Skull discovers that he is facing the same permanent paralysis that Captain America was facing due to their exposure to the Super-Soldier Formula.[38] When the evil scientist Superia offers Captain America a cure, Captain America refuses it because Superia said that Captain America would owe her. Red Skull takes the cure and apparently kills Superia, then arranges for Captain America to be kidnapped by his remaining forces and given a blood transfusion that cures him.[39]
Captain America's recovery segues into a reluctant team-up with Red Skull; a Nazi cult that worshiped Hitler as a god had discovered a Cosmic Cube that contained Hitler's soul, put there by Red Skull himself. The two try to stop the cult from fully powering the Hitler Cosmic Cube, but Red Skull opts instead to send Captain America (against his will) into the cube to kill Hitler, imprisoning Captain America in the cube while he uses its power to conquer humanity. Captain America escapes and uses his shield to sever one of Red Skull's arms, causing him to drop the Cube. The Cube becomes unstable, destroying Red Skull.[40]
Trapped in a hellish nightmare dimension and forced to serve as a bellhop to a world of non-European immigrants, Red Skull's will ultimately is so great that he is able to escape his prison. As a result, Red Skull now possesses limited reality-warping powers that make him a cosmic threat. He is further aided by Korvac, posing as Kang the Conqueror. He is sent to Galactus's ship to steal more power (particularly the power of omniscience), which would remove all limits to Red Skull's reality-warping powers. Skull is ambushed by Korvac, who steals his cosmic powers and banishes him back to Earth.[41]
Red Skull later manipulates his way into the position in the form of US Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk (an anagram of "Red Skull") to develop a biological weapon he tested at Mount Rushmore.[42] He is exposed and defeated by the Avengers. The Black Panther beats him so badly that he breaks Red Skull's jaw in half.[43]
Aleksander Lukin [ edit ]
The Red Skull in Alexander Lukin's mind. Art by Steve Epting.
Red Skull was assassinated by the mysterious Winter Soldier, under orders from the renegade former Soviet general Aleksander Lukin wanting to possess the new Cosmic Cube Red Skull had manufactured.[44] When Red Skull was shot, he attempted to use the Cosmic Cube to switch bodies with Lukin to survive, but as the Cosmic Cube was still weak he only managed to transfer his mind into Lukin's body, so that the two enemies are trapped together, waging a constant war for dominance which Red Skull seems to be progressively winning. During a plot to lure out Captain America, Red Skull/Lukin recruited several German skinheads and made them the successors to the Master Man. He then had these soldiers, dubbed the "Master Race", launch an attack on London, which was thwarted by Captain America, Spitfire and Union Jack. Then, Red Skull/Lukin activated a Sleeper, a robot programmed for mass destruction that was presumably created by Doctor Doom. The robot damaged a significant portion of the new London Kronas H.Q., and was ultimately destroyed by Captain America and Bucky. In the aftermath, Red Skull sent a videotape, announcing to the world his return, followed by Lukin holding a press conference condemning the actions of both the Red Skull and Captain America, and supporting the Superhero Registration Act. Then, in his office, Red Skull introduced Lukin to his old/new associates Crossbones and Sin.[volume & issue needed]
With America's superheroes divided over the act, Red Skull manipulates events to his own ends, with the aid of Doctor Faustus, Doctor Doom and Arnim Zola. His plans involved the reunion of Captain America and his former lover Sharon Carter being manipulated by Faustus.[volume & issue needed]
In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, Red Skull puts his plans into action, arranging for Crossbones to shoot Captain America as he enters a courthouse in New York City; in the ensuing chaos, Carter, acting under Faustus's mental directive, assassinates Captain America. This is only the first phase of Red Skull's evil plan. Upon the discovery of his identity as Lukin, Red Skull fakes his death, and initiates the second phase of his plan: using Kronas Corporation's vast holdings to economically cripple the United States, before having S.H.I.E.L.D. agents brainwashed by Doctor Faustus open fire on crowds of protesters in front of the White House. Red Skull continues his assault by engineering a riot by placing Kronas security troops and drugged water in a protest on the Lincoln Monument.[45]
All of this has apparently been to elevate his puppet politician, Gordon Wright, elevated in the public's eye with being credited as "resolving" the situations, as well as surviving a (staged) attack by the Serpent Squad. Once elected, Wright will led the country directly into a police state secretly controlled by Red Skull. Red Skull also plans to transfer his consciousness into Sharon's unborn child, apparently sired by Steve Rogers himself and potentially having inherited his Project: Rebirth enhancements.[46]
Both schemes fail because of the impatience and incompetence of Red Skull's daughter - her near-fatal attack on Sharon causes her to lose the baby, and she intentionally botches her pseudo-assassination of Wright by attempting to kill him for real. As Faustus has surreptitiously tampered with Sharon's programming, she is able to rebel, and before escaping shoots Lukin to death. This is not the end of Red Skull, since Zola had seconds earlier transferred his mind to one of his spare robotic bodies, but after having his current form damaged by the impostor Captain America, he is unable to return to Red Skull, essentially trapping him in his current robotic form for the time being.[47]
Captain America: Reborn [ edit ]
It has been revealed that Red Skull did not actually kill Steve Rogers, but trapped his body in a fixed position in space and time. He was planning on using Sharon Carter and a machine created by Doctor Doom to return his body back to their time, but since Sharon destroyed the machine, his body is now drifting through time and space.[48] Apparently, it is presumed that Red Skull intended to transfer his mind into Rogers' body. Norman Osborn decides to assist in completing his plan, as a figurehead of Captain America leading his team of Avengers would increase his popularity with his Iron Patriot suit.[49] Sin and Crossbones find him and take him to Latveria in order to place Red Skull's mind in a living body.[50] Red Skull, Sin and Crossbones land in Latveria and Doctor Doom confronts them, saying that he would kill them if he was not a man of his word. Doctor Doom and Zola complete the machine and, after Victoria Hand brings Sharon to them, they strap her in. They activate the machine and soon Steve's body returns. When Steve opens his eyes, they are shown to be red, signifying that Red Skull is now in control.[51] Rogers still resides in the body and during Red Skull's invasion of Washington D.C., he and Steve battle in the mind of Steve's body.[52] Steve eventually forces Red Skull out, placing him back into his robot body. To prevent him from escaping the immediate area, Sharon hits Red Skull with a shot of Pym particles, making him a massive robot who cannot elude any pursuer's attention. While Rogers and the Avengers keep Red Skull occupied with a team attack, he is destroyed by a missile barrage fired by Sharon on a hijacked A.I.M. battleship. In the epilogue, it was shown that Sin was too close to the exploding robot and her face was heavily scarred, leaving her looking just like her father.[53]
Clone of Red Skull [ edit ]
Following the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, Red Skull mysteriously returns and assembles a team called the S-Men. Red Skull's S-Men attack Rogue and Scarlet Witch at the grave of Professor X and steal his body. In his hideout, Red Skull is then seen removing Professor X's brain in a plot to "eradicate the mutant menace".[54] This Red Skull is revealed to be a clone of the original, created by Arnim Zola in 1942 and held in cryogenic stasis in the event that Germany lost the war. Fusing part of Professor X's brain with his own, Red Skull brainwashes Scarlet Witch as part of a plot to wipe out the world's mutant population. Rogue attacks the Scarlet Witch and they fight until they both discover the lobotomized body of Professor X. Red Skull arrives and reveals that he has fused his brain with Professor X's brain.[55] Using Professor X's telepathy, Red Skull provokes ordinary citizens of New York into a mass assault against even potential mutants, even managing to take control of Thor. However, his telepathy is still erratic with Red Skull being unable to completely control Captain America and an attack against him by Wolverine cutting off his right hand and disrupting his powers long enough for Rogue and Scarlet Witch to break free.[56] The team ultimately force Red Skull to retreat after Rogue manages to temporarily disrupt his powers, Havok mockingly comparing Red Skull to the jock who beats up gay kids to conceal his own homosexuality.[57]
During the AXIS storyline, Magneto arrives in Genosha to find that Red Skull has turned it into a concentration camp for mutants and still has Professor X's brain in him. Magneto attacks Red Skull, but is quickly stopped by his S-Men.[58] Red Skull mind-tortures Magneto and gives him visions of those closest to him suffering while being unable to do anything to stop it. After being freed by Scarlet Witch, Rogue, and Havok, he bites down on a vial beneath his skin of Mutant Growth Hormone, giving himself enough power to fight.[59] When Scarlet Witch, Rogue, and Havok want to leave the island and alert the rest of the Avengers and X-Men of what Red Skull is doing, Magneto says he is going to stay and fight. Before they can do anything, Red Skull appears.[60] Red Skull now has the group mind-controlled. He plans on using Scarlet Witch's power to shape reality in his image. He tells Magneto to bow if he wants his daughter to remain alive, but Magneto performs a sneak attack enough to break Red Skull's control over the others. After killing the S-Men, Magneto attacks Red Skull who then tells Magneto that Professor X's greatest fear was him leading the X-Men. Magneto kills Red Skull while the others look on in horror. Magneto believes everything is over, only for Red Skull to appear as a giant called Red Onslaught.[61]
In an attempt to defeat the new Red Onslaught and his army of Stark Sentinels — created from information acquired from Tony Stark during the time he was in charge of the Superhuman Registration Act — Magneto gathers a team of villains to try to take the Skull's forces by surprise.[62] Wanda attempts to cast a spell that will 'invert' the Skull and bring out the part of Professor X that still exists in his brain. However, the plan backfires when the resulting spell causes the moral inversion of all heroes and villains in the area.[63] With the villains now the only hope to defeat the corrupted heroes, Captain America is forced to protect the Skull (now calling himself the White Skull) from the evil Avengers while Spider-Man works with the inverted villains to fight off the various corrupted heroes.[64] Doctor Doom is able to summon the spirit of Brother Voodoo to possess Wanda and invert the spell, the Skull sacrificing his heroism and freedom to restore the heroes to normal. Red Skull was later taken away by Doctor Doom.[65]
As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel, it is revealed that the Red Skull is hiding in Avengers Mansion (now a theme hotel as the various Avengers teams have moved on to new bases) in a secret underground room along with Sin (who has been restored to her original appearance) ever since he was defeated. He is nearly discovered when Quicksilver and Deadpool investigate the room, but uses a psychic suggestion to convince them that the room is empty, as well as planting a command in Quicksilver's subconscious that will be triggered later.[66]
During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Red Skull infiltrates the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility Pleasant Hill by disguising himself as a priest named Father Patrick. As Patrick, the Red Skull secretly instigates an uprising of the facility's brainwashed inmates by manipulating Baron Zemo and the Fixer into restoring them to normal.[67] In the aftermath of the battle with the villains at Pleasant Hill, Red Skull founds his own version of HYDRA with Sin and Crossbones.[68] Their first strike occurs when they use Kobik — a sentient Cosmic Cube that once belonged to the Skull, now 'educated' to perceive HYDRA as a great organization — to manipulate Steve Rogers' memories so that he believes that he has been a HYDRA sleeper agent since childhood,[69] although the Skull is unaware that the HYDRA-converted Rogers now intends to stage a coup of the organization for his own ends.[70]
The Skull eventually mounts an assault on the Avengers, using previously-planted commands to take control of the team, but Deadpool is able to resist him long enough to place Magneto's old helmet on Rogue's head, rendering her immune to telepathy long enough to knock the Skull out and take him to be operated on by Beast.[71] The fragment of Xavier's brain is extracted from the Skull, but although Rogers attempts to take custody of the fragment for his own ends, Rogue and Johnny Storm fly up and incinerate the brain fragment, leaving the Skull to be taken into 'custody' by Rogers.[72] Although he is rescued by Sin, Sin and Crossbones subsequently betray the Skull to prove their loyalty to Rogers, who kills the clone for good by pushing him over the cliff outside the Skull's mansion, Rogers revealing that he was never loyal to the Skull from the beginning.[73]
During the Secret Empire storyline, the disheveled man in a torn World War II uniform that introduced himself as Steve Rogers, alongside people claiming to be "Bucky" and "Sam Wilson", encounters Red Skull's clone, who plans to taken them "home".[74] As the other Steve Rogers is hanging from a rope tied to a tree, he finds himself next to a rambling man. As Red Skull's clone takes the rambling man away, he tells the other Steve Rogers that his time will come soon. The other Steve Rogers asks Red Skull's clone where he is and Red Skull's clone claims that they are in "Hell". He also states that they are nothing but ghosts that are remnants fading into death. Red Skull's clone then uses a barbed bat on the other Steve Rogers' chest, stating that the only path to peace is death.[75] Red Skull's clone is torturing the other Steve Rogers with a burning, thorn-wrapped piece of wood. Red Skull's clone claims he is granting the other Steve Rogers "peace" and is about to deliver the killing blow to the other Steve Rogers. Before he can strike, the other Steve Rogers sees the beautiful blond girl he saw at the beginning of the series who was the same one that was poisoned and that he thought had died. He realizes there is still hope and evades the Red Skull's clone's attack. The other Steve Rogers then tackles the Red Skull's clone and they both plummet off the cliff into the water below. The Red Skull's clone calls the other Steve Rogers an idiot for his actions.[76]
Other identity users [ edit ]
There had been other people who passed themselves off as Red Skull:
George John Maxon [ edit ]
Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, George John Maxon appeared as Red Skull in Captain America Comics #1-3 (March–May 1941). Maxon is an American businessman and Nazi agent who leads a ring of spies and saboteurs and serves as an agent of Johann Schmidt (the true Red Skull). He faces Captain America during two of the latter's first missions.[77] Maxon is thought killed during the second encounter, though he would reappear for one last encounter with Captain America.[78]
Albert Malik [ edit ]
With Johann Schmidt's disappearance after 1945, the reputation of Red Skull was still formidable enough to prove useful. In 1953, Soviet Russian KGB agent Albert Malik set up his spy/criminal organization in Algeria and assumed the Red Skull identity, pretending that he was the original, when he was actually serving Soviet interests, in Captain America Comics #61.[79] During the 1950s, he faced the then-active version of Captain America, who was also pretending to be the original. While the Captain and Bucky (Jack Monroe) were placed into suspended animation when his flawed replicate of the Super-Soldier Formula seriously affected his and Bucky's minds, Malik continued his activities, and over time severed his links to the Soviet Union.[80]
He was also responsible for the deaths of Richard Parker and Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker, the parents of Peter Parker, tipped off by the supercriminal Gustav "the Gentleman" Fiers to their spy status.[81][82]
Malik was later killed by a Scourge of the Underworld, operating on behalf of the original Red Skull (Johann Schmidt) disguised as a pilot.[16]
Sinthea Schmidt [ edit ]
Sinthea "Sin" Schmidt is the daughter of Johann Schmidt who briefly adopts the Red Skull moniker after being scarred like her father.
Powers and abilities [ edit ]
Although he has no superhuman abilities, Red Skull possesses a high intellect and inventive genius and is a highly gifted subversive strategist and political operative. At one point, Red Skull's mind inhabited a body cloned from Captain America's, which possessed the mutagenic alterations induced by the Super-Soldier Formula. He was thus endowed with a body that was in perfect physical condition, with strength, speed, durability, agility, dexterity, reflexes, coordination, balance and physical endurance that exceeded that of an Olympic athlete. Despite the scar tissue covering his face and head, his senses were still above-average. He has been shown as a superb martial artist, though he was never on par with Captain America himself; he was originally trained by German athletes appointed by Hitler. He is heavily trained as a skilled marksman with various forms of handguns and well-versed in the use of firearms and explosives.
While sharing Alexander Lukin's body, he lost his superhuman abilities. Since then he resides in one of the android bodies engineered by Arnim Zola, with enhanced endurance and resilience.
He typically armed himself with a trick cigarette that could fire a fatal poison gas — his trademark "dust of death" — toward his victim. The "dust of death" is a red powder which kills a victim within seconds of skin contact. The powder causes the skin of the victim's head to shrivel, tighten and take on a red discoloration, while causing all of his hair to fall out; hence the victim's head resembles a "red skull". He also carries a large arsenal of conventional and advanced firearms and explosives.
After fusing his own brain with that of Charles Xavier, the clone of Red Skull gains powerful telepathic abilities.[55] After being killed in a fight with Magneto, the Red Skull clone temporarily evolved into a psionic entity similar to Onslaught, vastly increasing his original powers while also giving him new ones,[61] ranging from material astral projection, total control over his psionic state producing tendrils, changing size and such, energy projection in the form of optic blasts, on top of greatly enhanced control over his psychic abilities being able to effect minds the world over to initiate worldwide hate.[volume & issue needed] After reverting to his original form, however, he later expressed frustration with this new power as it makes conquest too easy for him, realizing that he wants people to grovel before him of their own free will, rather than just making people mindlessly submit.[69] Red Skull eventually loses these abilities when he is captured by Rogue and taken to Beast, who performs surgery on the Skull to extract the elements of Xavier's brain from his own.[71]
Other versions [ edit ]
Red Skull allied with Doctor Doom, Hulk, Magneto, Namor, and Ultron in order to take over Manhattan.[83]
Heroes Reborn [ edit ]
In the Heroes Reborn universe, Red Skull is revealed to be the banker of the Master Man's World Party. This version references his fights with Captain America during World War II,[84] but is stopped by Nick Fury, Captain America and Falcon.[85]
Red Skull appears briefly as one of the foes defending Krona's stronghold in issue #4, and is defeated by Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash.[86]
Earth X [ edit ]
Johann Schmidt was killed by Captain America some time previous to Earth X. After the Red Skull killed Bernie Rosenthal and then hailed Captain America as the realization of the Nazi dream, Captain America decapitated the Red Skull using his trademark shield. As a result of his disillusionment from taking a life, Captain America retired from the Avengers, only to further spiral into depression after the Avengers were killed in Washington, D.C.[87] Schmidt was later seen in the Land of the Dead and then as one of those in Mar-Vell's Paradise, waiting to live in his own personal version of Heaven.[88]
Despite his death, the Red Skull's legacy lived on in the Earth X universe. Ben Beckley took on the identity of the Skull (not the Red Skull, as he had no idea who the Red Skull was) and set out to conquer the world, starting with a coast-to-coast drive across America. Using his power of control over the cerebrum (and thereby actions) of anyone, he gathered an army of thousands, only to come into conflict with Steve Rogers in his Captain America identity. Insulting Captain America as being old and out of date, the Skull spared him, but took several of Captain America's allies as part of his army.[89] After reaching New York City, the Skull was opposed by Captain America and other heroes, with Captain America breaking the Skull's neck in order to stop him.[90] Beckley would later be seen in the Land of the Dead with his father, Comet Man, and would help the heroes to convince the dead that they were deceased.[91]
Elseworlds [ edit ]
In the 1997 DC/Marvel special Batman & Captain America, Red Skull hires the Joker to steal an atomic bomb during World War II. Joker evades Batman, Cap, Bucky, and Robin and delivers it to Red Skull, but is horrified when he learns that Red Skull is a Nazi (saying "I may be a criminal lunatic but I'm an American criminal lunatic!"). When Red Skull threatens to drop the bomb on Washington D.C., Joker actually fights him in the plane's cargo bay. When Captain America and Batman take over the plane and bring it over the ocean, the two villains are dropped out with the bomb just before it explodes. Both Captain America and Batman are convinced the two are still alive somehow.[92]
Marvel Zombies [ edit ]
In Marvel Zombies, Red Skull is an undead zombie with an unquenchable hunger for the flesh of the living. In issue #5, he finally manages to kill Colonel America, by scooping out the last of the Colonel's exposed brain before being decapitated by a zombified Spider-Man, and his head crushed by Giant Man's boot. His last words were "It was worth it, all of it, just for this", indicating that he had waited for many years to finally kill his longtime enemy and that even his present zombification could not stop his lust for murder.[93]
Old Man Logan [ edit ]
In a possible future where a final battle between the heroes and villains ended with the villains winning, Red Skull is revealed as the mastermind of the villains' conquest and has made himself President of the United States. Living in the Nazi-redecorated White House, Red Skull had taken to wearing Captain America's old bloodstained uniform and collecting gruesome trophies from fallen heroes. When his men bring in a wounded Wolverine, Logan and Red Skull fight in his trophy room. Unwilling to pop his claws during the fight, Wolverine decapitates Red Skull with Captain America's shield, ending his villainous rule.[94]
Ultimate Marvel [ edit ]
Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1. Art by Leinil Yu. Ultimate Red Skull shown on the variant cover to#1. Art by Leinil Yu.
The Ultimate Marvel version of Red Skull appears in Ultimate Comics: Avengers and was created by Mark Millar. This incarnation is the illegitimate son of Steve Rogers and Gail Richards, and wears simple khaki pants and a white tee shirt instead of the Nazi/military costume of the 616 counterpart.[95] After his father's presumed death during World War II, he is taken from his mother and raised on an army base where he appears to be a well-adjusted, physically superior and tactically brilliant young man who greatly resembles his father. However, his easygoing personality is a ruse. Around the age of seventeen, he kills over 200 men on the base and then cuts off his own face in rejection of his father, leaving a "red skull".[95] As a final symbol of his rebellion against the system that created him, he assassinates President John F. Kennedy.[96] During his career, he forces Petra Laskov to choose between killing the woman's husband or infant son. After Petra kills the husband, the Skull kills the child anyway, and then has Petra viciously raped by his henchmen. After decades of working as a professional assassin, Red Skull joins A.I.M. so that he and his men can steal the blueprints of the Cosmic Cube. There he finally meets Captain America and brutally beats him. Before throwing Captain America out of his helicopter, Red Skull reveals his true identity. At A.I.M. headquarters in Alaska, Red Skull kills the lead officer and takes charge of the operation. Now in control of the Cosmic Cube, he gains great power. As a sadistic display of his power, he has the entire Alaskan A.I.M. team cannibalize each other. When the Avengers arrive on the scene, they immediately attack, but the Cube imbues him with nearly unlimited power, making him absolutely invulnerable. Captain America arrives in a stolen Teleporter Jet, but Red Skull forces the jet to crash. Cap survives the crash and teleports the jet to Red Skull's exact coordinates, impaling him on one of the two rods that protrude from its nose.[97] Red Skull is taken to a hospital and kept alive long enough for his mother to say her goodbyes. Red Skull explains to Nick Fury that all he wanted to do with the Cosmic Cube was to turn back time and prevent his father from being lost, so that he could grow up with him and lead a normal life. Petra (disguised as a nurse) enters the room and shoots Red Skull in the head, killing him. Gregory Stark implies that Fury was responsible for calling Red Skull out of retirement in order to regain his position in S.H.I.E.L.D.[97]
In other media [ edit ]
Television [ edit ]
Spider-Man animated series. Red Skull in the 1994animated series.
Film [ edit ]
Video games [ edit ]
Live performance [ edit ]
Red Skull appears in the Marvel Universe Live! arena show, sporting his black armor from Avengers Assemble.[109]If you’ve read thoughtbot’s Git protocol guide, you’ll know that once a branch has been code reviewed, we encourage the branch’s author to use an interactive rebase to squash the branch down into a few commits with great commit messages.
It’s fairly |
the attack from the main army, but that left the warp prism and colossus combo wreaking havoc in his base. Now significantly ahead in both army value and composition, sOs cemented his lead with another expansion, before a final push caught Zest’s whole army trapped in at his natural at the mercy of sOs’ splash damage-heavy composition.
4. sOs vs Curious, Dreamhack Stockholm 2015 - Iron Fortress
While Has may have stolen his status as Starcraft 2’s premier purveyor of flashy cannon rushes, it’s undeniable that sOs still possesses a certain flair for rage-inducing cheese. Curious’ defence here against sOs’ cannon rush is perfect; right up to the point where he decided that sOs’ probes wandering off spelt an end to the rush. Quick as a flash, the probes doubled back, the cannons were walled in, and sOs was left celebrating another dirty victory.
5. sOs vs Solar, Dreamhack Stockholm 2015 – Bridgehead
There’s normally a certain pattern that most games of Starcraft go by; waves of pressure that ebb and flow as armies clash and back off. Here, sOs and Solar gave us none of that. After sOs started things with a proxy gateway / proxy stargate combo, the game quickly spiralled off into insanity. DT and ling runbys were constant threats, while chargelot / archon with storm support was sOs’s choice of tech against Solar’s fast hive. The game rocked back and forth for more than half an hour, featuring constant aggression with neither player willing to back down. PvZ is infamous for its tendency to feature static deathballs, posturing for position, but we saw none of that here, with both players frequently harassing on multiple fronts with packs of units while simultaneously defending at home against an opponent doing the same.
A couple months back, nobody seriously expected sOs to be here at the WCS Global Finals. A strong performance in early December in the Hot6ix Cup gave us one of the most painfully awkward / painful / hilarious finals in Starcraft history (delete as appropriate). sOs’ array of tricks and aggression was far too much for a flummoxed MarineKing to handle, leaving the Blizzcon champion from 2013 flying high in the rankings. Dual failures in the qualifiers for Season 1 changed all that. Suddenly, sOs was up against it, and despite registering his best result in the GSL to date, a defeat in the semifinals to ByuL still left him stranded and in need of a miracle.Well, a miracle is what he certainly got. KT’s decision to block Zest from attending the MSI MGA due to Proleague commitments opened the door for sOs to travel for one last shot at a second trip to California. That his ultimate victory and the 750 WCS points attained in Seattle catapulted him above TY in the WCS rankings was the ultimate display of karmic retribution on the KT Rolster squad. MSI MGA marked the start of a hot streak for sOs. A top 4 finish at Dreamhack Stockholm secured his spot in the top 16, while his unbelievable streak of results in the Proleague off-season was one of the most impressive displays of the year. His run of 8 wins on the trot, including a reverse kill of KT Rolster (the first in SC2 Proleague history) dragged Jin Air to the Grand Finals almost singlehandedly, before INnoVation brought an end to the streak as SKT claimed the trophy.The truly scary thing about sOs is that, at his worst, he’s still able to take games and series off anyone in Korea. At his best though, there are few in the world who can touch him. His game sense is extraordinary, and he frequently spots weaknesses and conceives of plans that everyone else simply can’t see coming. Peaking in form at just the right time, it’ll be a brave man who bets against him going far in Anaheim.One of the tensest scenarios in Starcraft occurs when a player opts for a hidden base. It’s frequently a desperation play—after all, if scouted early enough, losing the base is effectively game ending—and some of the wonkiest scenarios revolve around the need to protect two opposite corners of the map simultaneously. With two locations to defend at either end of Iron Fortress, sOs’ game management here against Bbyong was perfect, having just enough to hold off the terran aggression at both locations, while sniping wayward medivacs left him well in the lead. Bbyong’s own desperation move to hide a command centre in the one remaining corner of the map was a cute touch, but sOs’ game winning push was too strong to hold.Like every tricky protoss in the game, sOs knows exactly when to pray to InCa. Depending on your allegiance, there’s little more amusing / exasperating than seeing a player absolutely bamboozled by dark templars, and with his Blizzcon place seriously under threat at MSI MGA, sOs pulled out all the stops here against INnoVation. While the initial DT attack was fended off rather easily, the follow up warp prism drop caught INnoVation’s troops on the other side of the map. All the turrets now present providing detection for the terran meant little given his complete lack of army units, and dual pronged harassment shredded the mineral lines at both the main and natural. A final, desperate counter by the terran was pushed back, while even more game ending damage was dealt out back home. In all, nearly 50 SCVs would be wiped off the map, as sOs marched triumphantly into the grand finals.Of the three matchups he plays, the one that benefits sOs’ keen sense for mindgames most is the mirror matchup. Time after time, he makes decisions that most of us watching simply had no idea were even options open to him, and one such choice won him this match against Zest in the Proleague Playoffs. Initial commitment to ineffective warp prism harass left him slightly behind going into the midgame, with both players set up on three bases. His next move though opened up the whole game. A colossus drop and full warp in inside Zest’s backdoor base took out the KT protoss’ natural expansion, while a simultaneous push on the third base caught Zest in two minds as to which location to defend. Zest successfully chased off the attack from the main army, but that left the warp prism and colossus combo wreaking havoc in his base. Now significantly ahead in both army value and composition, sOs cemented his lead with another expansion, before a final push caught Zest’s whole army trapped in at his natural at the mercy of sOs’ splash damage-heavy composition.While Has may have stolen his status as Starcraft 2’s premier purveyor of flashy cannon rushes, it’s undeniable that sOs still possesses a certain flair for rage-inducing cheese. Curious’ defence here against sOs’ cannon rush is perfect; right up to the point where he decided that sOs’ probes wandering off spelt an end to the rush. Quick as a flash, the probes doubled back, the cannons were walled in, and sOs was left celebrating another dirty victory.There’s normally a certain pattern that most games of Starcraft go by; waves of pressure that ebb and flow as armies clash and back off. Here, sOs and Solar gave us none of that. After sOs started things with a proxy gateway / proxy stargate combo, the game quickly spiralled off into insanity. DT and ling runbys were constant threats, while chargelot / archon with storm support was sOs’s choice of tech against Solar’s fast hive. The game rocked back and forth for more than half an hour, featuring constant aggression with neither player willing to back down. PvZ is infamous for its tendency to feature static deathballs, posturing for position, but we saw none of that here, with both players frequently harassing on multiple fronts with packs of units while simultaneously defending at home against an opponent doing the same.
sOs vs Zest
SPL 2015 Post Season - Vaani Research Station
by: lichter
There are players that simply see plays that no one else can. In traditional sports, Hall of Famers like Jason Kidd or Andrea Pirlo possess the hallowed trait of vision. They see the game unfolding three of four steps ahead of the present, and they can pull off passes that might have been foolhardy or impossible to the common man. In Starcraft 2, sOs is the visionary that sees the invisible.
In their rematch during the SPL Proleague Post Season, Zest had to have been favored. The KT wonder had just scored a perfect 11-0 round, and his PvP had always been considered one of the best in Korea (unless he faced Creator). On the other hand, sOs' form had fluctuated throughout the season, especially in PvP, though he was on an all-killing hot streak. That they already played a game on Vaani Research Station that saw sOs pull off a crazy gold base early expansion suggested that sOs should have been out of crazy tricks. We were wrong.
It started as a nondescript game, however. Both players elected to play conservative early games, expanding after their cyber cores. sOs had the earlier 2nd gas, and he invested his resources in a twilight council while Zest picked a defensive posture: earlier gates and a robo. It wasn't going to be a blink timing, however, as sOs added his own robotics facility. Instead, he would attempt to draw Zest out with his blink stalkers and do damage with a warp prism carrying zealots (or vice versa). Unfortunately, Zest was prepared and took no damage, resulting in a 5-6 probe lead and a slight tech advantage. After the initial poke had been pushed back, Zest already had his +1 attack churning along with his first colossus in production. sOs did have his own robo bay just finished, but his investment into blink and a warp prism had been for naught.
At that point, sOs had two choices: try to catch up in economy/tech or commit to a big attack. Instead, he inexplicably opted for a middle of the road solution: catch up slowly while investing in more harassment. However, he saw something that most people would not have identified: the lack of mobile anti-air. Zest had gone straight into a robo, which meant that all he had were waddling stalkers. With no blink and no phoenixes, sOs' warp prism had the leisure of going wherever it wished. Both players expanded to their third bases and their paths diverged; Zest continued to crank out colossus while sOs warped in a templar archives in order leapfrog him in tech. sOs then chronoboosted an additional warp prism right after his hallucinated oracle scout, which set him further behind in colossus number.
Just by looking at the supply counts, sOs appeared helplessly behind. He was 25 supply down with fewer colossus and a slightly later third base. Though his +2 was ahead by a small margin, 1 upgrade would not have made a 25 supply difference. His next move, however, did. He picked up a colossus as soon as his 2nd warp prism finished and moved out towards Zest's third. The KT observer spotted the army, and Zest positioned himself to defend his open expansion. Then, a colossus appeared in his natural along with a big warp in of zealots. For the first time in the game Zest appeared rattled, and he had trouble splitting his army in order to deal with both groups of Jin Air units. Before he could decide how much to commit to the defense, his natural had fallen along with a colossus—at the expense of a handful of zealots. sOs still had a smaller standing army though, and he was forced to recall his main force after a small skirmish in the middle of the map.
sOs had somehow gotten himself back in the game by taking two big risks at the same time. Had Zest moved out with his army to contest sOs' third, there would have been no way for him to hold. His army was smaller because he had spent his money on both harassment and additional tech. Yet he understood Zest's one vulnerability and exploited it perfectly. There was hardly any risk in committing a colossus to the drop, and his main army was merely a distraction. Had Zest pounced on the army without a recall, the game would have been over, but sOs made sure there was no opportunity to do so.
From there, sOs used his base advantage to amass a better army over the next few minutes. Though Zest had already transitioned into tempests, he did not have the number necessary to deal with his opponent's massive colossus and archon army. Even with patience and clever positioning, Zest could not take an engagement with a bulk of his supply in zealots and stalkers. sOs' early gamble on his templar archives eventually paid off to the tune of Zest's entire army evaporating in seconds.
click here to watch the game
There are players that simplyplays that no one else can. In traditional sports, Hall of Famers like Jason Kidd or Andrea Pirlo possess the hallowed trait of. They see the game unfolding three of four steps ahead of the present, and they can pull off passes that might have been foolhardy or impossible to the common man. In Starcraft 2, sOs is the visionary that sees the invisible.In their rematch during the SPL Proleague Post Season, Zest had to have been favored. The KT wonder had just scored a perfect 11-0 round, and his PvP had always been considered one of the best in Korea (unless he faced Creator). On the other hand, sOs' form had fluctuated throughout the season, especially in PvP, though he was on an all-killing hot streak. That they already played a game on Vaani Research Station that saw sOs pull off a crazy gold base early expansion suggested that sOs should have been out of crazy tricks. We were wrong.It started as a nondescript game, however. Both players elected to play conservative early games, expanding after their cyber cores. sOs had the earlier 2nd gas, and he invested his resources in a twilight council while Zest picked a defensive posture: earlier gates and a robo. It wasn't going to be a blink timing, however, as sOs added his own robotics facility. Instead, he would attempt to draw Zest out with his blink stalkers and do damage with a warp prism carrying zealots (or vice versa). Unfortunately, Zest was prepared and took no damage, resulting in a 5-6 probe lead and a slight tech advantage. After the initial poke had been pushed back, Zest already had his +1 attack churning along with his first colossus in production. sOs did have his own robo bay just finished, but his investment into blink and a warp prism had been for naught.At that point, sOs had two choices: try to catch up in economy/tech or commit to a big attack. Instead, he inexplicably opted for a middle of the road solution: catch up slowly while investing in more harassment. However, he saw something that most people would not have identified: the lack of mobile anti-air. Zest had gone straight into a robo, which meant that all he had were waddling stalkers. With no blink and no phoenixes, sOs' warp prism had the leisure of going wherever it wished. Both players expanded to their third bases and their paths diverged; Zest continued to crank out colossus while sOs warped in a templar archives in order leapfrog him in tech. sOs then chronoboosted an additional warp prism right after his hallucinated oracle scout, which set him further behind in colossus number.Just by looking at the supply counts, sOs appeared helplessly behind. He was 25 supply down with fewer colossus and a slightly later third base. Though his +2 was ahead by a small margin, 1 upgrade would not have made a 25 supply difference. His next move, however, did. He picked up a colossus as soon as his 2nd warp prism finished and moved out towards Zest's third. The KT observer spotted the army, and Zest positioned himself to defend his open expansion. Then, a colossus appeared in his natural along with a big warp in of zealots. For the first time in the game Zest appeared rattled, and he had trouble splitting his army in order to deal with both groups of Jin Air units. Before he could decide how much to commit to the defense, his natural had fallen along with a colossus—at the expense of a handful of zealots. sOs still had a smaller standing army though, and he was forced to recall his main force after a small skirmish in the middle of the map.sOs had somehow gotten himself back in the game by taking two big risks at the same time. Had Zest moved out with his army to contest sOs' third, there would have been no way for him to hold. His army was smaller because he had spent his money on both harassment and additional tech. Yet he understood Zest's one vulnerability and exploited it perfectly. There was hardly any risk in committing a colossus to the drop, and his main army was merely a distraction. Had Zest pounced on the army without a recall, the game would have been over, but sOs made sure there was no opportunity to do so.From there, sOs used his base advantage to amass a better army over the next few minutes. Though Zest had already transitioned into tempests, he did not have the number necessary to deal with his opponent's massive colossus and archon army. Even with patience and clever positioning, Zest could not take an engagement with a bulk of his supply in zealots and stalkers. sOs' early gamble on his templar archives eventually paid off to the tune of Zest's entire army evaporating in seconds.Elizabeth Renter
Activist Post
It seems as if illness and disease are always in the news, and that degenerative conditions are always rising in the United States. And recent news reflects that eye disease is no different, with serious vision problems rising steadily in the U.S. Is this increase able to be reversed through diet, or is it simply something we must live with?
A new report from the organization Prevent Blindness America says that numerous eye disorders are climbing at alarming rates—many of them with effects including blindness. Macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts are all included and seem to be affecting more and more people each day.
According to their report, which used Census data and new research, scientists compared Americans with vision problems now with those who had vision problems in 2000.
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According to WebMD Health News, there has been:
An 89% increase in diabetic retinopathy, with nearly 8 million people over the age of 40 affected.
A 25% increase in age-related macular degeneration, with about 2 million over the age of 50 affected.
“A 19% increase in cataracts, with more than 24 million people age 40 and older affected”.
“A 22% increase in open angle glaucoma, with nearly 3 million people age 40 and older affected”.
These rates of growth are alarming, to say the least. While some increase would be worthy of note, an 89% increase of diabetic retinopathy, for example, is a sign that something needs to change or we’ll end up a nation of blind diabetics.
The rise in diabetic retinopathy is ”scary,” according to Anne Sumers, MD, a clinical correspondent for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.UPDATE >> Due to inclement weather being forecast for Thursday evening, the Downtown Albany BID's free outdoor movie showing of The Princess Bride in Tricentennial Park (Broadway & Columbia Street), will be shown on September 15 instead of August 25.
Deja View was made possible through a partnership between the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID), Albany Parking Authority (APA), Palace Theatre and funding in part through Capitalize Albany Corporation’s Amplify Albany grant program. All movies are slated to begin at 7:45 PM (changes of a few minutes are possible
Movies in the series were chosen by community members, over 600 of whom completed an online survey. The schedule is as follows:
While in Downtown for the movies, attendees are encouraged to dine at a nearby Downtown restaurant or pick up a meal to enjoy in the park. The following eateries will be offering event-night specials:
Patrons are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to view the movie, and while in Tricentennial Park they can enjoy items from the on-site bar and concession stand run by the Palace Theatre.
With an increase in residential and visitor populations in Downtown, the series was implemented as a way to highlight the adaptive nature of urban parks to go from lunchtime hotspot to hosting unique, pop-up evening events, and also serves to inform the public of free evening (after 5:00 PM) and weekend parking throughout Downtown on-street and in public parking facilities, and the ease with which people can park, including at the Tricentennial Park-adjacent Riverfront Garage.
A grant program made possible by the City of Albany’s Capital Resource Corporation, Capitalize Albany Corporation’s Amplify Albany grant program provides resources to businesses, non-profits and other organizations to strengthen the City of Albany’s various commercial districts through the creation and execution of short and medium term innovative, authentic, unique and buzz-worthy promotional projects, events and programming. Visit www.capitalizealbany.com/grants for a grant application or more information.Canadian energy group TransAlta, which owns gas-fired generators in Western Australia, is moving into the large-scale solar market and is proposing a 150MW solar plant near Parkes in NSW, the first of a number of projects up to 200MW it is pursuing in Australia.
The listed, Calgary-based TransAlta is one of a number of international and local companies looking at large-scale solar in Australia, which is generating significant interest due to its ability to tap into solar resources and its falling costs, which are nearing that of wind energy.
TransAlta, which owns and operates Canada’s largest fleet of wind farms, is teaming up in Australia with Renewable Energy Consultancy, which is responsible for site identification and project development.
“We expect this to be the first of a number of projects, ranging in scale from 10-200MW,” REC director Colin Liebmann said. TransAlta will build, own and operate projects after the development phase has been completed and commercial arrangements are finalised.
The Goonumbla solar project is adjacent to an 80MW solar project being proposed by French group Neoen, and which has made the shortlist of a funding round sponsored by the Australian Renewable Energy, and could be up to 150MW peak.
Liebmann says the planning process has been initiated, as have discussions with transmissions group Transgrid.
TransAlta is just one of a number of local and international groups targeting Australia’s large-scale solar market, attracted by the excellent solar resources, plunging cost of solar technology, and specific incentive schemes such as the ARENA tender and government mandates like Queensland’s upgraded Solar 120 initiative.
More than 70 different projects were submitted to the ARENA tender, with 22 making the shortlist.
Meanwhile, numerous other proposals have emerged, including from the likes of Adani, which has identified 650MW of solar projects in Australia; and Reach Soar, headed up by former Hazelwood boss Tony Concannon, which is looking at a 200MW solar project in Port Augusta and other smaller projects around the country.
TransAlta has around 640MW of gas-fired generators in the Pilbara and goldfields regions of Western Australia, and owns a 275km gas pipeline. It has 1,500MW of wind capacity in the US and Canada, and owns 21MW of small solar projects in the US. It also operates 5GW of coal-fired generation and another 1GW of gas generation in north America.
TransAlta’s business development manager in Perth, Liz Cussans, said the company had been interested in solar for some time, but was just now getting into solar developments.
The first opportunity emerged with its small portfolio in Massachusetts, but “Australia feels like the obvious place to do solar … there is a market out there for renewable energy and Australia is blessed with an excellent solar resource.”
Cussans said the first steps were exploratory, but the company wanted to build up a portfolio in the eastern states and in Western Australia, where its current assets are located.
“We are a long-term owner and operator …. so hopefully we will have a solar fleet to add to our gas fleet and go from there.”
The Parkes Chamber of Commerce told the local ABC that it was optimistic about both potential solar projects in the region.
“The renewable sector is growing. We’re seeing larger operations further west, and if our workers locally can have that training and knowledge, I think it’ll be definitely used down the track,” President Geoff Rice said.TAMPA, Florida — The Republican Party platform will strongly oppose the Obama administration's decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that bars recognition of same-sex couples' marriages, in court and will support "a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman," according to the draft platform language approved by subcommittees today.
The language must still be adopted by the full committee on Tuesday and then by the convention delegates in Tampa next week. According to the draft documents obtained by BuzzFeed from two subcommittees, the Restoring Constitutional Government subcommittee and the Health, Education and Crime subcommittee, the platform will take those two positions, as well as "support[ing] campaigns underway in several other states" to amend their constitutions to recognize only marriages between one man and one woman.
As BuzzFeed first reported, the platform also includes language about "respect and dignity," which a gay Republican group, the Log Cabin Republicans, cast as an olive branch.
But social conservatives ended the day claiming victory.
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins told BuzzFeed: “You should read the entire plank on marriage, which I wrote. I feel very happy about it. I feel pretty optimistic about the outcome here.”
Calling out "an activist judiciary," the draft document blasts "court-ordered redefinition of marriage" before taking on the Obama administration.
"We oppose the Administration's open defiance of this principle [of separation of powers] — in its handling of immigration cases, in federal personnel benefits, in allowing a same-sex marriage at a military base, and in refusing to defend DOMA in the courts," the draft states.
Finally, after praising the benefits of marriage, the draft documents state, "[W]e believe that marriage, the union of one man and one woman must be upheld as the national standard, a goal to stand for, encourage, and promote through laws governing marriage."FORT WORTH — A police pursuit of a father and son led to an exchange of gunfire that killed one and wounded an officer.
“The officer is alive,” said Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald at a news conference. “We are happy for that.”
He asked that the citizens of Fort Worth continue to pray for the officer, who was identified Tuesday evening as Matt Pearce, an officer who has been with the department since 2009.
Wednesday morning Pearce remained in critical condition but is stable after undergoing surgery. Mayor Betsy Price said Wednesday that he was alert and talking when he arrived at the hospital, which is a good sign.
The pursuit began when a fugitive team attempted to pull over an SUV to serve "a stack of warrants" to 42-year-old Ed Russell McIver Sr. in the area of Interstate 30 in Parker County, said Cpl. Tracey Knight, a spokeswoman with Fort Worth police.
McIver Sr. was wanted on two aggravated assault charges and two bail jumping warrants.
Ed Russell McIver Sr. was fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with authorities in Fort Worth on March 15, 2016.
“...He told me they would never take him back,” Linda McIver told the Star-Telegram about her son, McIver Sr. “That if he got in anymore trouble that they would never take him back alive. I believed that with all my heart and soul.”
She said while she could see her son firing the shot at the officer, she couldn't believe her 20-year-old grandson would.
“My son? That’s possible, but not my grandson," she said. "If he’s armed that means he took his dad’s gun. He’s not dangerous. He’s got a heart of gold.”
The team was waiting for marked uniform patrol assistance when McIver Sr. and his son, Ed Russell McIver Jr., fled in the SUV.
A short police chase ensued and ended when the father and son bailed from the SUV after driving onto a gravel driveway that led to a home in the 2800 block of Longvue Avenue, just south of Camp Bowie Boulevard in far west Fort Worth.
"They exited on foot and ran," Knight said. "The area is heavily wooded. There's a big hill and it drops down into a mud area."
Knight said several officers pursued the suspects on foot.
"When they entered... that clearing area, shots rang out," she said. "And our officer was shot."
Knight said officers returned fire, fatally wounding McIver Sr., who was pronounced dead at the scene.
PHOTOS: Fort Worth officer shot <p>Police search suspect Ed R. McIver, Jr. after an officer was shot as authorities attempted to catch McIver and his father, Ed R. McIver, Sr.</p> <p>Police search suspect Ed R. McIver, Jr. after an officer was shot as authorities attempted to catch McIver and his father, Ed R. McIver, Sr.</p> <p>Police search suspect Ed R. McIver, Jr. after an officer was shot as authorities attempted to catch McIver and his father, Ed R. McIver, Sr.</p> <p>Police search suspect Ed R. McIver, Jr. after an officer was shot as authorities attempted to catch McIver and his father, Ed R. McIver, Sr.</p> <p>Father killed, son arrested after officer shot in Fort Worth</p> <p>Emergency crews at scene of shooting in west side of Fort Worth on March 15, 2016.</p> <p>Search for suspect after Fort Worth officer shot on March 15, 2016.</p> <p>Ed Russell McIver Sr. was fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with authorities in Fort Worth on March 15, 2016.</p> <p>Ed Russell McIver Jr. was involved in a chase that led to the shooting of a Fort Worth officer on March 15, 2016. </p> <p>Search for suspect after Fort Worth officer shot on March 15, 2016.</p> <p>Search for suspect after Fort Worth officer shot</p>
Officer Pearce was taken by CareFlite to John Peter Smith Hospital where he underwent surgery.
“He was was awake, alert and very vocal in the emergency room,” said an officer who had been briefed by Fitzgerald on Pearce’s condition. “That’s the fighting spirit we want to see.”
When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2 pic.twitter.com/2gInYUmjMk — Fort Worth Police (@fortworthpd) March 16, 2016
McIver Jr. fled into a wooded area and a search ensued.
"We believe we have him contained to a two-square mile radius area right here," Knight said early Tuesday night.
The police spokeswoman said there were hundreds of officers, including local and federal, at the scene searching for McIver Jr.
Authorities eventually found him hiding in an area of brush, and he was taken into custody at about 6:15 p.m. Police say he's charged with attempted capital murder, evading arrest and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
He's been booked into the Mansfield jail with a bond set at over $2 million.
Knight said one gun was found on the body of McIver Sr.
While authorities were searching for McIver Jr., law enforcement officers began gathering near Howell Garner Road in Weatherford. Investigators rushed to the neighborhood to check out the home of the suspects.
Neighbors say police were outside the home for nearly two hours as the search for McIver Jr. continued. Shortly after law enforcement guarding the home received word that McIver Jr. was located and arrested, they left the suspects’ home.
Two men who identified themselves as the McIvers' relatives said they did not want to comment about the shooting and investigation.
The older of the two began crying as he said the children just lost their father. The younger relative threatened to have his dogs attack if media returned.
Linda McIver said she had been at her Weatherford home Tuesday when she got a phone call alerting her to turn on the news. She said it was through news coverage that she learned about the shooting of the Fort Worth shooting and her son and grandson’s possible involvement.
“When that put my grandson’s picture up there, then we knew for sure,” McIver said.
Linda McIver said her son had moved away from Weatherford four to six months ago, though she didn’t know to where, adding that the mother and son were somewhat estranged.
“We just didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things,” she said.
Linda McIver said she used to have a good relationship with her son, a father of five who remained married but separated from his third wife.
“We were all very close. We got together on the weekends about every other weekend. We’d go out to eat, come here and play cards or dominoes,” she said. “He did things with his children and wife. They were always going camping or doing things together.”
But after serving time in prison, Linda McIver said her son returned home a changed man.
“Once he came home, it was like none of that existed anymore.”
Tarrant County court records show the elder McIver had been sentenced to five years in prison on Sept. 9, 2003, on felony convictions for aggravated assault of a public servant with a deadly weapon and evading arrest with a vehicle out of Tarrant County. He had been accused of displaying a gun and fleeing from a North Richland Hills police officer that March.
A few days after being sentenced to prison, he also also plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of evading arrest for an encounter with Crowley police in October 2002 in exchange for a 120-day jail sentence.
Linda McIver said she had last seen her grandson almost a month ago as he had been out of town working on a welding job.
She said a Fort Worth negotiator called her house Tuesday afternoon, seeking the family’s assistance in locating her grandson who she described as a “gentle and loving boy.”
She said if she could send a message to her grandson, she’d tell him: “Just give yourself up and... come home safe. We’ll go through this together like we always do.”
Mayor Price says there has been a huge outpouring of support from the Fort Worth community, and the police department asked for prayers for its officer.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the officer's family.
Two weeks ago, also on a Tuesday, Euless Officer David Hofer was fatally wounded after responding to a call of shots fired at J.A. Carr Park. The shooter was later identified as 22-year-old Jorge Brian Gonzalez, who had been released from jail just four hours earlier. Gonzalez was killed by police.
Our content partners at the Star-Telegram contributed to this story. Click here to read their full report.
Copyright 2016 WFAADonald Trump claims the NFL agrees with him. | AP Photo Trump accuses Clinton of rigging debate schedule A preliminary schedule for general election debates has been set since September 2015.
Donald Trump says he wants three presidential debates. But he stands by his complaint that their scheduling is rigged to favor Hillary Clinton.
In an interview to be aired Sunday on ABC News' "This Week," Trump said: "Well, I'll tell you what I don't like. It's against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, "This is ridiculous. Why are the debates against--" 'cause the NFL doesn't wanna go against the debates. 'Cause the debates are gonna be pretty massive, from what I understand, okay? And I don't think we should be against the NFL. I don't know how the dates were picked."
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Pressed by host George Stephanopoulos on the dates, he said: "Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL. She doesn't, maybe like she did with Bernie s-- Bernie Sanders, where they were on Saturday nights when nobody's home. But they're against the NFL.
"I saw the dates. Two-- I think two of the three are against the NFL. So I'm not thrilled with that. But I like three debates. I think that's fine. I think it's enough. If somebody said, "one debate," I'd rather have three. I think they'll be very interesting."
An NFL spokesman confirmed the NFL did not send a letter to Trump, but added "obviously we wish they were not scheduled at the same time as two of our games."
Trump late Friday accused Clinton of intentionally stacking debates against primetime programming to “rig” the election process, despite the fact that the schedule has been set since last September.
“As usual, Hillary & the Dems are trying to rig the debates so 2 are up against major NFL games. Same as last time w/ Bernie. Unacceptable!” Trump tweeted late Friday night.
As usual, Hillary & the Dems are trying to rig the debates so 2 are up against major NFL games. Same as last time w/ Bernie. Unacceptable! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2016
The criticism echoes claims made by the Bernie Sanders campaign and its supporters, who openly griped about debate schedules clashing with popular television programming or being buried on weekends.
The preliminary debate schedule for the general election has been set since September, 2015, by the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates. The schedule includes a Monday, Sept. 26 debate, which goes up against a game between Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints, and a Sunday night debate on Oct. 9 that will air concurrently with an NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants.When the Carolina Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin, most people thought they |
more squarely on Fox.
“I walked out of there completely batsh— pissed because Fox promised us that they wouldn’t show shots of an empty arena,” said one adviser to an undercard campaign. “Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews could’ve ran this debate. It would’ve been just the same or maybe even better on MSNBC.”
At the last minute, advisers said, Fox informed the candidates that they would be allowed to invite 10 family members or friends into the arena for the early debate, contributing to a rapidly changing and confusing atmosphere.
“It’s kind of bizarre,” said a source close to one of the undercard participants. “Here they are [the RNC] trying to own the debate process, but my perception was, when a candidate was getting upset about the process they’re saying, ‘Go talk to Fox.’”
Overall, there’s been plenty of finger-pointing in different directions. Though the RNC indicated Fox was primarily responsible for handling event logistics, the network said the Ohio Republican Party did most of the work. The state party told POLITICO that it contracted with Fox and helped distribute tickets — with assistance from the RNC. “The RNC certainly partnered with us — a number of aspects of this debate,” said Ohio GOP executive director Katie Eagan. “They’re going to be the main entity moving forward, so they were helpful in a number of ways.”
But Eagan added that the decision to keep the audience out of the 5 p.m. debate was made well before the party’s involvement.
The seven GOP candidates were selected to participate in the forum based on their rank in an average of the five most recent national political polls. | Getty
“We in no way wanted to slight any campaign or any candidate and in no way did we want to or did we have any aim to embarrass anyone at all,” she said. “If it came off that way, that’s certainly regretful.”
As the debate approached and the candidates’ questions grew, the RNC began to direct more of their complaints to Fox, they said.
“My sense was, that’s when [the RNC] started to abdicate responsibility, to say, ‘it’s not our responsibility, you can’t be mad at us, be mad at the networks,’ even though they set this up from the beginning,” said a source.
Some of the campaign advisers indicated that in Wednesday’s conference call, the RNC signaled that CNN will take a more prominent role in ticketing the next debate.
The event will be held in a relatively small space at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and ground rules about the debate — the seven-guest limit per candidate onstage, for example — are largely coming from those hosts, not the RNC.
“I’m happy that they’ve stepped away, candidly,” said one adviser. “I’ll take my chances with the network. It can’t get any worse.”
Dylan Byers contributed reporting.Surely, the murky misremembrances of Brian Williams, the creative choreography of Left Shark, and a national bondage obsession born of Fifty Shades of Grey ring no more absurd than the hysterical hopping of a hyper-punctual hare, the maudlin musings of a mock turtle and the perpetual upsizing and downsizing of a little girl named Alice.
So, it is with resonating relevance that on the University of Texas campus in Austin, ten blocks north of the chamber in which the state legislature is pondering allowing college students to pack heat in holsters, an exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center invites us all to venture down a rabbit hole in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s famous book.
Had it been written today, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland would certainly be cast as political allegory, considering the current proliferation of Mad Hatters and March Hares, as well as caucus races and trials absolutely as mind-boggling as those in Alice’s alternate universe. Things were weird in Victorian times, too, and some scholars see its characters and story as a reflection of that era.
But whatever rolled through its author’s head during its creation, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland—as this wide-ranging, engaging exhibition points out—was written as entertainment for a little girl named Alice Liddell by family friend and mathematician-logician Charles Dodgson, who used the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Alice is part of the story, as are her sisters Edith (the Eaglet) and Lorina (the Lory).
The fanciful book, filled with parodies and puns, got good reviews back in 1865, although the proper age at which a child should delve into it has eternally been the subject of debate, with one reviewer in 1969 calling it “a horror tale” totally unfit for children. Well, OK, there’s the part where the Duchess’s cook flings pots and pans at a baby, and the Queen of Hearts is overly fond of beheadings. But no heads actually roll in Wonderland. (Perhaps if the queen’s realm had included Texas, executions might have moved along more expeditiously.)
“Relatively few people have read the book,” notes exhibition curator Danielle Sigler. Most, she says, get their impression of Alice from the 1951 Disney movie, which combined material from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with some from its sequel, Through the Looking Glass. Sigler figures people will wander around the Ransom’s exhibition, which opened Tuesday and runs through July 6, searching in vain for Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who show up in the animated Disney movie, as well as a 1933 movie where they are played, respectively, by Roscoe Karns and Jack Oakie. That first movie had a big-name cast, with Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle, W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty and Gary Cooper as the White Knight. Those last two characters were also from Through the Looking Glass.
You won’t find the Tweedles or Humpty here, but you’ll find plenty of renditions of the Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, and Mock Turtle. Did you know that in the 1700s, mock turtle soup was a thing? It was cheaper than real turtle soup, using calves’ heads and feet rather than turtle meat.
Visitors to the exhibition, which is free, can see a rare first edition of the book. There are only about 25 still around. Illustrator John Tenniel didn’t like his illustrations’ reproduction in the edition and demanded that all the books be recalled. There are book covers from the many translated editions—and it was a toughie to translate, with all its nonsense and puns. Along with Tenniel illustrations, the exhibit offers others, including some produced in 1969 by Salvador Dalí—a surrealist illustrating the surreal. You can just imagine him gleefully drawing Alice’s long arm protruding from the White Rabbit’s house during one of her extra-large spells.
The exhibit includes games, puzzles, and other toys modeled after the movie characters, and there are also pre-movie renditions of the Alice story in lantern slides, as well as paper strips that were animated in the ’30s within something called a Movie-Jecktor. Alongside the paper strips, the Ransom has created a digital re-animation that delightfully displays on a flat screen what you’d have seen through a Movie-Jecktor.
Drawing largely from the collections of Alice aficionados Warren Weaver and Byron and Susan Sewell, “we worked very hard to make it an exhibition that works of all ages,” curator Sigler says. Toward that end, the exhibit includes an activity area where children can play games. Carroll, who loved inventing games for children, would have gone nuts over this area. Kids can work puzzles as well as make origami white rabbits
and even write little poems in the shape of a mouse’s tail. Let’s end with that.Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerBrady gun control group gets rebranding Brennan fires back at'selfish' Trump over Harry Reid criticism Trump rips Harry Reid for 'failed career' after ex-Dem leader slams him in interview MORE (D-N.Y.) says Democrats in the new Congress will work to hold President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE accountable "to the values that truly make America great."
“This will be an accountability Congress,” he will say in his first speech as minority leader on Tuesday, according to excerpts obtained by Politico.
“And we will be a caucus that works to make sure the President-elect keeps his commitment to truly make America great, in its finest sense and tradition,” Schumer will add. "We will hold Trump accountable to the values that truly make America great.”
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“But we’ll fight him tooth and nail when he appeals to the baser instincts that diminish America and its greatness — instincts that too often have plagued this country and his campaign.”
Schumer is expected to say that Democrats will ally with Trump “in good faith” on common concerns, citing infrastructure, trade and carried interest as examples.
The New York Democrat will also challenge Trump to showcase more policy depth than the displays he often makes on Twitter.
“These issues are too important for mere words; our challenges are too entrenched for mere tweeting,” he will say. "'Making America Great Again’ requires more than 140 characters per issue.”
“We have real challenges and we need to get real things done,” Schumer will add. "There’s nothing wrong with using Twitter to speak to the American people. It’s a good use of modern technology. But these issues are complex and demand both careful consideration and action. We cannot tweet them away."In A Pro-Assad Stronghold, Security Comes At A Heavy Price
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alice Fordham/NPR Alice Fordham/NPR
You can tell the coastal city of Tartus is on the side of the Syrian government because everything here is intact.
Little waves lap at rocks on a wide, quiet seafront dotted with cafes; boats ferry people back and forth to a nearby island. There are parks with manicured hibiscus shrubs covered in pale pink blossoms, and busy markets.
It stands in vivid contrast to places where protests against Assad morphed into an armed uprising, and in the subsequent fighting, great swaths of ancient cities were destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Many were civilians in opposition-held areas, targeted by the forces of President Bashar Assad and his allies, in brutal tactics which have been widely condemned by Western powers and the United Nations.
But just because civilians in Tartus go about their lives in safety doesn't mean they are unaffected by the war. Syrians staunchly loyal to Assad have also paid a heavy price.
Pasted up on walls are posters commemorating men who have died fighting for Assad. They are young and old, always in uniform, usually carrying a weapon. The posters include images of Assad or his father, Hafez Assad, floating in the background, along with the Syrian flag.
Some posters are faded, with new ones, bright and clear, next to them: a reminder the war is nearly six years old. The city is dotted with print shops. Lammah Jadeed runs one of them.
"Everything has changed," he says, "because of the war."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alice Fordham/NPR Alice Fordham/NPR
He used to make things like signs for cafes. Now most of his work is producing these posters of dead men. One is propped up in his print shop, the young man's eyes gazing into the middle distance amid rolls of paper and ink cartridges. Another dries out on the floor.
"At the beginning of the crisis, we used to publish between 10 and 17 posters every day," Jadeed says. "At the beginning, I felt like I had lost one of my family." He used to cry, watching the posters rolling off the printers.
I ask if most families in Tartus have someone in the military.
"I think yes," he says, guessing 90 percent. "Tartus — because it's the Mother of the Martyrs."
A lot of people here use that grim nickname. Officials in Tartus say proportional to population, more men from Tartus have died fighting for Assad than from any other city.
Some historical context can help explain why. Most people here are from the Alawite Muslim sect, like Assad. For centuries, Alawites have been an embattled minority in Syria.
Bassam Watfa, an archaeologist and expert on the history of the coastal region, explains that around the time of the beginning of Ottoman rule, in the 1500s, most Alawites were living in Aleppo. But Ottoman Sultan Selim I attacked them — a massacre remembered to this day.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alice Fordham/NPR Alice Fordham/NPR
"Sultan Selim exerted pressure on the Alawites and fought them, so those people left to the coastal mountains," says Watfa — to places like Tartus.
During centuries of Ottoman rule, Alawites scratched out a living in harsh mountain conditions, and had to pay a tax because they were not considered Muslims. This has not been forgotten.
"This hatred still exists to this day," says Watfa. Many Alawites are still hostile to modern Turkey. And, in today's war, Turkey sides with Syrian rebels.
Although conditions improved somewhat for Alawites under French control of Syria in the first half of the 20th century, they continued to feel marginalized.
Then, in the 1940s, a new political party was formed — the Baath Party, with leaders drawn from various strands of Syrian society. One man who joined the party and became an Air Force officer, Hafez Assad, played a key role in helping to bring the party to power in a 1970 coup. Then he ruled as president for three decades until his death in 2000.
Finally, the Alawite minority felt incorporated into Syria.
"The situation improved greatly," says Watfa. "Roads were made, schools were opened and all basic services came to this area."
A man who joins us for the interview, whom I presume is a security officer, discourages Watfa from saying anything about today's war. The man, like others here, is keen to stress that the mentality in Tartus is not sectarian. They point out that the city has taken in hundreds of thousands of people from all over Syria, people displaced by the war.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alice Fordham/NPR Alice Fordham/NPR
Watfa also says many people here join the army not just to protect the government, but because poverty is still high in comparison with Syria's larger cities.
But certainly, many here are keen to say that Tartus will fight to the last man or woman.
One mother and father, who lost two sons to fighting in the space of four months earlier this year, welcome us into their sparse, immaculate living room, where the photographs of their sons take pride of place. They are not alone in their agony.
"Our neighbor over here, our neighbor over there," says the father, Hussein al-Ibrahim, gesticulating. He indicates a building down the street, another one, the apartment downstairs. "All of them have a martyr," he says. "Every house."
And yet, he adds, the numbers of dead and injured here are dwindling, for which he thanks Assad's allies — which include Russia and Iran.
Syria's war could be lurching painfully toward a close. Assad's forces are now battling toward victory in the city of Aleppo, and negotiating surrenders with rebels they've besieged outside Damascus, the capital.
The end can't come soon enough for the people in Tartus. Even in this bastion of Assad support, it is reported sometimes people hold demonstrations at military funerals, protesting the numbers of men they've had to sacrifice.
I don't know if that's true: my request to attend a funeral was denied.The First thing you’ll notice about Rome is that it is a has a very busy center, with so many places how do you know what’s good?
We are going to take you through some of its gems.
Campo di’fiori
First on our list is Campo di’fiori. It’s a busy market square with plenty to do. Go shopping around here to your hearts desire, and experience the specialties Italy is known for. Also, come back at night to see a beautifully lit piazza and an exciting bar scene.
Trevi fountain
Second comes Trevi which is a must see. The Trevi fountain is a magnificent piece of Romes center and a great way to start and end the day. It’s surrounded by piazzas with delicious food and sometimes you’ll catch some live music around the area. and if you are walking through the streets at night the fountain lights up and is absolutely breathtaking. You can’t help but feel the romance gleaming from this beautiful sculpture. Afterwards you can end the night at any of the bars just feet away from the fountain.
Salumeria
Once you arrive at the center, you’ll find this colorful lunch shop located right next to the pantheon. It doesn’t just hold some of the best prosciutto and focaccia you’ll ever have, it also has a wine and cheese tasting room and authentic jarred goodies made by the shop. It’s a great place to stop for lunch on your busy day.
Trastevere
After your visit to Trevi, on the west side of the Tibur river lies a little area named Trastevere. Here you’ll find some really gorgeous pieces of Romes architecture, and the best food in Rome. Any of the restaurants in this section of Rome will make your evening really special. They’re smaller restaurants that will make you feel like your right at home. This is food you must try when in Rome!
Piazza di’spagna
Finally, one of the most gorgeous gems in Rome is the Spanish steps which lies in the Piazza di’spagna. Climb to the top to see one of the best views in Rome. It’s also a great place to take a break and have an espresso and some gelato.i find myself becoming nauseous. again. i’m tired and nauseous with those in my local women’s and transgender communities who gloss over, disregard, and/or intentionally exclude trans women and transfeminine issues. and for pathetic reasons at that.
i really like the chicago women’s health center (CWHC). i like the staff. i like the atmosphere. i like what they do. and yeah – i’m actually a client. but, really, i’m not a client for their Trans Greater Access Project (TGAP), and i’ll tell you why.
chicago women’s does not provide medical services, besides counseling, to trans women / transfeminine folks. i want to spell this out c-l-e-a-r-l-y so no one get’s frustrated that i’ve misinformed anyone.
TGAP provides the following things according to their website:
– Masculinizing hormone replacement therapy
– Trans gynecology
…and then the ones that they’ve had in place that can be like “well yeah this includes trans people”
– Counseling and Therapy
– Artificial Insemination (AI)
they do not provide feminizing hormone replacement therapy. they intend to start a pilot program for this “soon.” they’ve done the masculinizing hormone replacement therapy for one year now. AI and trans gynecology for transmasculine folks have existed longer at CWHC – so we can see that transfeminine exclusion isn’t entirely new.
but going to hormone replacement therapy, which is very important to many transgender people. why would they make such a decision to include transmasculine before transfeminine folks? the answer given to me from TGAP was, “they didn’t see a need for it [feminizing hormone replacement therapy] in the community.” really? like. really?
the specifics are: apparently (i have not confirmed this) transmasculine folks stopped being able to get hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for those without insurance before transfeminine folks at another local chicago clinic, howard brown. chicago women’s decided to step in and say there is a need for uninsured transmasculine folks who desire HRT. apparently there was a group of transgender (female / feminine and male / masculine) folks who got together with CWHC to assess the needs of the trans community.
chicago women’s, i call bullshit. there’s ALWAYS a need for HRT accessibility, and y’all know that. if this was an honest error of trying to assess needs then i call complicity in forgetting the deep wedge between cis women and trans women and the ugly legacy of transphobic “feminism.” how would you expect transfeminine people at-large to agree with serving transmasculine people and simply nodding at our exclusion (however temporary) at a women’s health center.
let’s just call it what it is, shall we? TGAP is female-assigned at birth health. trans health in the context of feminist health has meant transmasculine health.
so why am i getting in a tussle about this right now? because i’m so dreadfully torn between supporting transmasculine friends and the services that i DO enjoy at chicago women’s.
there’s a benefit coming up at the burlington (one of my fave bars when i used to live in logan square) for TGAP and, you’d never guess, all of the hosts for this fundraiser are masculine-identified! i’m expecting a low low low turnout from transfeminine people.
not only is it seriously tearing at my nerves that this fundraiser exists, but these organizers that i like and respect are brushing aside transfeminine folks just like CWHC softly covers up their exclusion of trans women from their trans services. the event has even been billed by one of the organizers as “a program promoting trans-affirming health care for everyone on the transgender spectrum.” THAT’S MESSED.
the burden of changing this b.s. is on women’s health centers, including the CWHC.
so far they haven’t taken any action besides my private call outs. maybe this will help.“When the Protestant work ethic was being developed here, many people who were in the country weren’t even considered people and that continues to inform how we think about work,” said Jennifer Harvey, a professor of religion at Drake University whose research includes the intersection of morality in the context of white supremacy. “It cannot see certain kinds of work and labor as real and therefore virtuous,” she continued. It’s easy to be outraged when something as tangible as a video of a man being executed by police surfaces, but more insidious forms of racism still permeate our views of what does and does not constitute valid work—even among those who don’t subscribe to Protestant ethics.
A survey of millennials conducted by MTV showed that only 30 percent of whites reported being raised in families that talked about race at all. A different survey from PRRI in 2014 found that “[W]hile more than three-quarters (76 percent) of black Americans, and roughly six-in-ten Hispanics (62 percent) and Asian Americans (58 percent), say that one of the big problems facing the country is that not everyone is given an equal chance in life, only half (50 percent) of white Americans agree.” An even more comprehensive study of young Americans in 2012 showed that 56 percent of white millennials believe the government “paid too much attention to the problems of blacks and other minorities.” Considering the fact that so many white people were raised in families that erased race by not talking about it at all, it’s not hard to see how the government’s attention to other races could seem excessive.
Dr. Ray Winbush is the director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University, and he said that his work in Baltimore has recently increased his exposure to racial conceptions of work and goodness. “White people will say, ‘Why don’t you black people pull yourselves up by your bootstraps. This is America, everyone is free to do what they want,’” Winbush told me. “But what was the civil rights struggle of the 1960s if not the greatest self-help movement in American history?” Through the old lens of work as an act that contributes to building God’s kingdom on Earth in a very physical way, the work of political organizing can’t be recognized as a legitimate form of labor. Denying the labor of black Americans reinforces white supremacy.
“The Protestant work ethic that influenced the founding of this country included a belief that the more material wealth you have, the closer you are to God,” said Robin DiAngelo, a professor whose research focuses on how white people are socialized to collude with institutional racism. “So during slavery, we said, ‘You must do all the work but we will never allow that to pay off.’ Now we don't give black people access to work. Then and now they have not been allowed to participate in wealth building or granted the morality we attach to wealth.” This historical entanglement of property and virtue continues to inform racial views. “Property among white Americans is seen as something to be treasured and revered,” said Winbush. “Black Americans do not view themselves as truly owning anything in America.”
DiAngelo noted that we sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at sporting events and don’t even flinch at “the land of the free” lyric written in 1814, a time when the country was home to millions of slaves. Winbush pointed to the black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that was burned to the ground in 1921 by white mobs enraged by the incredible prosperity blacks had created there. Black attempts to participate in the promise of America are met consistently with this kind of violence. Ethicist Katie Geneva Cannon has written at length about how the institutional denial of citizenship and freedom to black people essentially wrote out the possibility of them ever being seen as virtuous in white society. “The ‘rightness of whiteness’ counted more than the basic political and civil rights of any Black person… Institutional slavery ended, but the virulent and intractable hatred that supported it did not,” Cannon wrote in The Emergence of Black Feminist Consciousness. Through both erasure and ignorance, we continue to deny the virtue and legitimacy of black citizenship and labor.Diamond recently showed off their stats to retailers for Free Comic Book Day which took place at the beginning of the month. And all the numbers were up. $4 million in free publicity (up 35%), 1.4 million in attendance, 5.6 million comics given away (up 20%) in 2,340 different locations during Free Comic Book Day.
But what did the retailers think? According to surveys of participants, 76% of retailers rated their event as “Extremely Successful”, 46% had 500 customers or more, while 21% has a 1000 people visit.
67% said that sales receipts for Free Comic Book Day was their best sales day of the year.
And 71% of retailers surveyed said that they think FCBD brings their store new “regular” customers.
Here are the survey stats in handy pie chart form…
About Rich Johnston Chief writer and founder of Bleeding Cool. Father of two. Comic book clairvoyant. Political cartoonist.
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None foundThe moment Texas’ recruiting rivals have been fearing has arrived.
Despite all of his success on the recruiting trail and a top-10 finish this past February, Charlie Strong’s 2017 class had been stuck in the mud for months because prospects weren’t sure whether he would return to the sideline in Austin next season. That question has now been answered, as the University of Texas fired Strong on Saturday and announced the hiring of former Houston coach Tom Herman.
"If you thought H-Town Takeover was big, just wait until Tom gets to Austin,” a Big 12 assistant said. “It's going to be an entire state of Texas takeover. He's recruited at such a high level everywhere that he's been, so it's realistic to expect immediate success. You saw what he did at Houston without half the resources he will have at Texas. It's kind of scary to think how well he might do."
Texas currently has seven commitments, including five ESPN 300 recruits: QB Sam Ehlinger, defensive ends Ta'quon Graham and Lagaryonn Carson, and receivers Damion Miller and Montrell Estell. As another Big 12 recruiter said when he first heard the news about Strong’s departure, the move could be the best thing to happen for the Longhorns’ recruiting effort in years.
“I was rooting for Charlie to stick around because he’s a good guy, but also selfishly because I didn’t want to see the beast awoken again,” the Big 12 recruiter said. “We knew what we were recruiting against with Charlie Strong. With all of the uncertainly that surrounded him, it was easy for us to do damage going head-to-head against them. They weren’t going to beat anybody, but I’m afraid we’re going to get caught up in a wave of excitement that nobody will be able to stop.
“They just hit the reset button on the all of the recruiting wars in Texas.”
A Big Ten assistant who recruits in Texas agreed. He said few schools in the country can match what UT brings to the table from a tradition, facility, academic support and fan support standpoint. The only thing that has been missing from the Longhorns’ recruiting efforts for 2017 has been excitement, but he believes that’s going to quickly change with a new coach on board.
The top defensive tackle in the class, Marvin Wilson could be a big win for Herman. Erik McKinney
“We’re going to get steamrolled by that momentum,” he said. “… Texas already has so many advantages over every school it recruits against, other than maybe Ohio State and Alabama. But now they’re going to have all those advantages, a fired-up fan base, and high school coaches throughout the state that will likely be willing to bend over backwards to help the new guy bring the Longhorns back to the top.
“I told our coaches in a staff meeting on Monday, the best way to look at it, is that no commitment is safe in Texas if the Longhorns’ new coach comes knocking on their door.”
Don’t be shocked if several of Texas’ top recruits initially rule out the Longhorns, because Strong was very popular with prospects and their families. But one SEC recruiting coordinator said even the best players will get caught up with the hype around Herman and the Horns and will eventually give Texas a strong look.
“Experience tells me there will be a handful of top prospects that will drop Texas because of this,” the SEC coach said. “But they almost always come back around once the new guy gets into the living room. Players are drawn to a place like Texas, not just because of who the coach was, but because of so many other reasons. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull of some shockers in late December and January.”
That’s where Herman comes in. The 41-year-old’s ties to the Lone Star State are extensive. He was an assistant at five different schools in the state and coached in the Big 12 at Iowa State.
And Herman’s success recruiting the state has proved how much those connections matter. As an assistant at Ohio State, Herman landed Dontre Wilson and J.T. Barrett out of Texas in the 2013 class. At Houston, the #HTownTakeover energized the Cougars’ recruiting and impressed recruits. That energy helped Houston land its best-ever recruiting class, including Ed Oliver, the only five-star prospect to ever sign with a Group of 5 school.
Now it’s up to Herman to bring all that together and unleash it in Austin.
"If there ever was anybody that was ready to recruit at this level and under the microscope that you're under when you're the coach at Texas, it's Tom Herman,” an SEC assistant said. “He showed me when he was in Ohio State that he was not only a very good coach, but a dynamite recruiter. He pulled some guys at Houston they had no business getting.
"He so charismatic and full of energy. He's going to get a lot of prospects and moms and dads fired up about the Texas program in a way that we never saw under Charlie Strong."Email Address Close
Like this stuff? Get it delivered to your email inbox daily! Sign up below! I was in Amsterdam earlier this year, and because you go through security at the gate, my hosts advised that I get to the airport at least 3 hours early. Suffice it to say that I noticed the flies, below. It was not until a few day ago that I learned why they where there, and honestly, I would have never guessed. Makes sense (I guess), though. -- Dan\
A Fly on the Urinal
Fly into Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and, if you do what most people do after a long flight, you are probably headed to the lavatory. If you're a guy, you'll see that Schiphol's bathrooms sports a feature many do not -- urinals, with flies on them, as pictured right. Stare for a minute and you'll notice that the fly doesn't move. Look around, and you'll note that the flies are everywhere -- one per urinal, all the way down the row.
The fly is a peel-and-paste decal, and it's not there for decoration or, even, to keep real flies away. It's a target, plain and simple. Something for customers to aim at as they urinate.
Professor Mary Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology (the study of insects) at the University of Illinois told NPR that apparently, men have "a deep-seated instinct to aim at targets". The fly decal fulfills that need, and men spend more of their attention making sure they hit the target, so to speak. Schilphol's manager claimed that "spillage" was down 80% once the flies were added. That, of course, saves a lot of money on bathroom maintenance costs.
And you don't have to save a lot of money to make it worthwhile. Fly decals are available online at reasonable prices -- $9.99 for a dozen or, if you run an airport and need the volume discount, $49.99 for 100. Have toddlers? The same company makes child-oriented targets as well, at the same prices.
Bonus fact : Airports and insects seem to go together quite often. Dusseldorf International Airport, in Germany, uses bees as a complement to their traditional methods of measuring air quality. Beekeepers collect honey from bees at and around airports, and turn it over to chemists who check the honey for instances of toxins.In an appearance on conservative talk radio host Mike Gallagher’s show this morning, Donald Trump continued the recent escalation of his bogus claims that the upcoming presidential election will be “rigged” against him, absurdly claiming that Mitt Romney and John McCain “got zero votes” in Philadelphia in the last two elections and arguing that GOP officials who reject his election-rigging conspiracy theory are “naïve” or “maybe something worse than that.”
Trump told Gallagher:
When I talk about the election being rigged, it was just reported there are almost 2 million dead people that are registered to vote. And Paul Ryan gets up and he issues a memo that he disagrees that the election’s rigged. Why doesn’t he walk over to Philadelphia and St. Louis, Chicago, and some of these cities. And how could he say the election is—look, nothing’s perfect, but this process is unbelievable, and it’s certainly rigged with the press. So why would he issue a memo that the election’s—is he naïve? Because that’s naiveté or maybe something worse than that. I don’t know what it is, but you know, when you go to Philadelphia, where Romney got zero votes, where McCain got zero votes, so they’re very disappointing.
While it is true that Romney received no votes in some heavily Democratic Philadelphia precincts in 2008, there was no evidence that these totals were fraudulent—rather, they were just the result of a heavily lopsided electorate. Similarly, Obama received zero votes in several precincts in Utah where Romney won in a landslide.NEW ORLEANS—The oil has stopped. For now. After 85 days and up to 184 million gallons, BP finally gained control over one of America's biggest environmental catastrophes Thursday by placing a carefully fitted cap over a runaway geyser that has been gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico since early spring.
Though a temporary fix, the accomplishment was greeted with hope, high expectations -- and, in many cases along the beleaguered coastline, disbelief. From one Gulf Coast resident came this: "Hallelujah." And from another: "I got to see it to believe it."
If the cap holds, if the sea floor doesn't crack and if the relief wells being prepared are completed successfully, this could be the beginning of the end for the spill. But that's a lot of ifs, and no one was declaring any sort of victory beyond the moment.
The oil stopped flowing at 3:25 p.m. EDT when the last of three valves in the 75-ton cap was slowly throttled shut. That set off a 48-hour watch period in which -- much like the hours immediately after a surgery -- the patient was in stable, guarded condition and being watched closely for complications.
"It's a great sight," said BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles, who immediately urged caution. The flow, he said, could resume. "It's far from the finish line.... It's not the time to celebrate."
Nevertheless, one comforting fact stood out: For the first time since an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 workers April 20 and unleashed the spill 5,000 feet beneath the water's surface, no oil was flowing into the Gulf.
President Barack Obama, who has encouraged, cajoled and outright ordered BP to stop the leak, called Thursday's development "a positive sign." But Obama, whose political standing has taken a hit because of the spill and accusations of government inaction, cautioned that "we're still in the testing phase."
The worst-case scenario would be if the oil forced down into the bedrock ruptured the seafloor irreparably. Leaks deep in the well bore might also be found, which would mean that oil would continue to flow into the Gulf. And there's always the possiblity of another explosion, either from too much pressure or from a previously unknown unstable piece of piping.
The drama that unfolded quietly in the darkness of deep water Thursday was a combination of trial, error, technology and luck. It came after weeks of repeated attempts to stop the oil -- everything from robotics to different capping techniques to stuffing the hole with mud and golf balls.
The week leading up to the moment where the oil stopped was a series of fitful starts and setbacks.Lana dedicates a match to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but her character and that of WWE fighter Rusev may be short-lived.
TWO Russian-themed World Wrestling Entertainment characters have sparked outrage by using the MH17 tragedy as part of their act.
During a televised show in the US on the weekend, WWE star Rusev |
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A group of local archaeology experts are pushing for new legislation in Savannah to improve the protection of the city’s history.The Savannah Archaeological Advocacy Group is currently working to get city officials to craft an ordinance that requires private developers to pay for an archaeological dig on a plot of land before construction can begin. The advocacy group is made up of about a dozen members.Laura Seifert is an Instructor of Anthropology at Armstrong State University and a member of the Savannah Archaeological Advocacy Group. She says this ordinance is needed because whenever developers begin construction without looking for historical items, those items are destroyed. “It’s not just that we have some cool artifacts or some cool trinkets, it’s what we’re learning about the people who used to live there, it’s learning the stories of the people who lived there, it’s getting the history behind it and not just something cool to put on display. So it’s the peoples’ stories that you lose when you lose the archaeology site,” said Seifert.Group members say if the City of Savannah approves an ordinance like this, they’ll then work for similar regulations to be imposed throughout Chatham County. Group members ask that anyone who supports their mission contact their local elected officials to let them know this ordinance is needed.Right now all developments which include federal funding must contain a plan for archaeology.
A group of local archaeology experts are pushing for new legislation in Savannah to improve the protection of the city’s history.
The Savannah Archaeological Advocacy Group is currently working to get city officials to craft an ordinance that requires private developers to pay for an archaeological dig on a plot of land before construction can begin. The advocacy group is made up of about a dozen members.
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Laura Seifert is an Instructor of Anthropology at Armstrong State University and a member of the Savannah Archaeological Advocacy Group. She says this ordinance is needed because whenever developers begin construction without looking for historical items, those items are destroyed.
“It’s not just that we have some cool artifacts or some cool trinkets, it’s what we’re learning about the people who used to live there, it’s learning the stories of the people who lived there, it’s getting the history behind it and not just something cool to put on display. So it’s the peoples’ stories that you lose when you lose the archaeology site,” said Seifert.
Group members say if the City of Savannah approves an ordinance like this, they’ll then work for similar regulations to be imposed throughout Chatham County. Group members ask that anyone who supports their mission contact their local elected officials to let them know this ordinance is needed.
Right now all developments which include federal funding must contain a plan for archaeology.
AlertMeLast week, The New York Times published the sad story of an imprisoned woman who rehabilitated herself to become a great historian and author. According to the Times, this woman, Michelle Jones, became “a published scholar of American history while behind bars, and presented her work by videoconference to historians’ conclaves and the Indiana General Assembly. … Ms. Jones also wrote several dance compositions and historical plays, one of which is slated to open at an Indianapolis theater in December.”
After two decades in prison, Jones was released and selected as a potential candidate for a history doctorate at Harvard. But sadly, the intolerant administrators at Harvard overturned her candidacy. Why? Because she allegedly “played down her crime” in her application. It wasn’t Harvard’s fault, mind you — it was the fault of benighted conservatives, the Times reports:
While top Harvard officials typically rubber-stamp departmental admissions decisions, in this case the university’s leadership — including the president, provost, and deans of the graduate school — reversed one, according to the emails and interviews, out of concern that her background would cause a backlash among rejected applicants, conservative news outlets or parents of students.
Jones, says the Times, is a victim: she was impregnated at 14 “after what she called non-consensual sex with a high-school senior.” Her mother viciously beat her, and she ended up in group homes.
Then she murdered her four-year-old.
The details of this unpleasant crime are buried some 13 paragraphs into the story. Here’s what Jones did: she beat her son and then abandoned him for days, returning to her apartment to find him dead. She then buried him. Jones received 50 years in prison, but got out after 20. In her application to Harvard, she reportedly only stated that as a teenager she left her son at home and he died, and that she grieves for him. At no point, the Times says, did she “detail her involvement in the crime.”
Nonetheless, the rest of the Times article is dedicated to telling us about this rare, gifted genius’ history projects. Not the rest of Jones’ story. That was left for John Sexton of Hot Air to do:
According to court documents, Jones left her 4-year-old son alone to attend a weekend-long “theater network conference” in Detroit with a friend. She told the friend she had placed a babysitter in charge of her son. But after that weekend no one ever saw the boy again. A few weeks later her landlord noticed “hundreds of flies covering the inside front bedroom window.” He went inside and discovered an empty child’s bedroom with a strong smell of urine. Jones told the landlord her son was wetting the bed. But after she moved out the landlord discovered a “brown stain” on the floor. Around this time, Jones was also seen repeatedly cleaning the inside and outside of her car. She told friends her son was living with his father. More than a year and a half later, Jones admitted to a friend that she had returned after the theater conference, found her son dead and taken his body to a wooded area to bury it. A month later she checked into a mental health center where she confessed to finding Brandon dead. Police investigated but were never able to find his body. Jones later admitted she had misled the police about the location of the body. Months later Jones returned to work and changed her insurance coverage to show she had no dependents. More than a year passed before she admitted to another friend that she had beaten Brandon before leaving him alone in the apartment. At this point, it had been more than three years since the boy’s death. Finally in late 1996, more than four years after Brandon’s death, Jones was charged with murder. As mentioned above, she was found guilty and given a 50-year sentence. But the story actually gets worse. Approximately two years into her sentence, Jones filed an appeal which argued that her conviction should be overturned on the grounds that Brandon’s body had never been recovered. …
You won’t find any of those details in the Times report, and for good reason: most people think that people who apparently beat the hell out of four-year-olds and then leave them to die in puddles of their own urine shouldn’t be given scholarships at Harvard.
And herein lies the problem. There’s not a lot of remorse in Jones’ words regarding her son. And that does raise questions of honesty generally, and questions of morality as well. The Times did its readers a disservice in going after Harvard for exercising basic care and judgment with regard to a child-murderer who reportedly tacitly fibbed on her application.For sheer stupidity and incompetence, this incident involving the TSA and a disabled teenage girl suffering from brain cancer who was savagely thrown to the floor when she became confused about a metal detector going off can't be beat.
Why these bullies weren't thrown in jail is a mystery.
Seventeen-year-old Hannah Cohen was preparing to fly from Memphis to her home in Chattanooga with her parents last year. Hannah was going home following her annual treatments at St. Jude hospital for brain cancer.
She passed through the metal detectors, setting off an alarm -- and what happened next will make your blood boil.
Hit and Run:
Her years of treatment left the teenager partially deaf, blind in one eye, and limited in her abilities to walk and talk. She also, according to her mother, can become easily confused. When Hannah went through the metal detector at the airport, an alarm went off. Disoriented by the noise, she did not immediately cooperate with TSA agents who asked to conduct further screening. Shirley Cohen tried to inform the agents about her daughter's disabilities, she told television station WREG, but airport police kept her away. That's when the situation between Hannah and the TSA officials became violent: "She's trying to get away from them but in the next instant, one of them had her down on the ground and hit her head on the floor. There was blood everywhere," said [Shirley]. Security personnel arrested Hannah (though all charges against her were later dropped), and what should have been a night of celebration with family and friends because a night of terror and confusion in a jail cell. A year later, the family is suing the airport, its police, and the TSA for damages, including medical expenses and emotional injuries. According to the lawsuit, they are asking for a "reasonable sum not exceeding $100,000 and costs."
Next page: The systemic dysfunction at the TSA.Across the state, midsize farms are being stamped out by economic and social pressure. The apple industry highlights some of the reasons for an increasingly consolidated industry.
CHELAN, Chelan County — On a rainy day in the hills above Lake Chelan, Dave Robison is checking his blossoming apple trees.
Days earlier he had sprayed the trees across his 120-acre orchard to cull some blossoms, leaving only the hardiest.
It’s a job Robison remembers doing with his dad. Before that, it was a job his grandfather first started doing in the Chelan area in the late 1950s. Now, it’s a task he carries out with his 27-year-old son.
But midsize apple orchards like the Robisons’ are disappearing.
About a decade ago, there were 4,000 independent apple growers in Washington. Today there’s 1,450, according to Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission.
That trend isn’t unique to apple growers.
Across the state, midsize farms are being stamped out by economic and social pressure. Apples, the state’s top crop, highlight some of the reasons for an increasingly consolidated industry.
“I know more than one farmer who is still farming real hard and they’re 80 years old,” Robison said. “There are too many parts of it that are outside our control.”
“You can be the best farmer in the world and still go broke,” he said.
In early May, thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Wenatchee to watch the Stemilt Growers 98th Washington State Apple Blossom Festival Grand Parade.
A pink and silver, tinsel-covered, Apple-shaped structure sat on the lead float. Two teenagers, the apple blossom queen and princess, waved as spectators clapped.
“Someone in your world is involved in the apple industry. That’s how it is here,” said Darci Christoferson, Apple Blossom Festival organizer and a former queen. “You’re somehow committed to the apple industry.”
Wenatchee’s moniker? Apple Capital of the World.
A day before the parade, Bob Bossen drove along the outskirts of Wenatchee. Stopping his truck in the middle of the road, he pointed toward a half-built subdivision. The sprouting houses are being built on former orchard land.
Bossen has been a horticulturist for 45 years. His grandfather owned apple orchards, as did his father. But Bossen sold his land — about 15 acres — to a larger grower when his children weren’t interested in continuing the business.
Now he works for the Northern Fruit Company, helping to keep the orchards healthy. The industry has changed, he said. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in getting into an increasingly competitive and difficult business.
“There has been a lot of consolidation in our industry,” said Fryhover, of the commission. “It is continuing to happen, and I think you see that in all agriculture.”
Higher yields, fewer farmers
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show a decrease in midsize farms in Washington. In 1997, there were 8,446 farms between 50 and 219 acres in size. In 15 years that number fell by nearly 15 percent.
It’s the same story across the nation. Meanwhile, the size of commercial farms has more than doubled in the last 20 years. And those farms, writes Daniel Sumner, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis, “continue to become larger and fewer.”
The Washington apple industry is no different. In the past 10 years, the number of independent growers has dropped from 4,000 to 1,450, a 63 percent decrease even though the overall acreage is about the same.
Dave Robison said that decrease is due to the unique nature of the apple business. While on average, apple farmers might get 40 bins per acre, some growers are producing more and others produce less.
“You take wheat, everybody basically produces the same,” Robison said. “But in tree fruit some guys can be making three or four times more than the others.”
Part of what makes the increased productivity possible is new technology and orchard-planting systems. However, the cost of implementing those systems can be prohibitive for small operations.
Once those systems are in place and orchardists become more efficient, the gap widens between large and small.
“It’s never been like it is right now, never,” Robison said.
Karina Gallardo, a professor at Washington State University who studies the economics of tree fruit, said several factors are leading to consolidation.
The first, she said, is the rising costs of starting an orchard or breaking into the business. There’s also the time element: It can take a long time for farmers to get paid for their crop.
She’s also seen an increase in the cost of storing, packing, shipping and marketing fruit. And at the end of the tree-to-table process, it is difficult for midsize farmers to negotiate with consolidated retailing.
Robison also attributes the consolidation to increasing government regulations.
“It’s just mind-boggling the regulations that come up. When a big company comes across a new regulation, if they have to, they can hire somebody who can (navigate) it,” Robison said. “But as small farmers, we just have to deal with it all.”
Mark Powers, the president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, said increased oversight usually means increased costs.
“All of that drives costs,” he said. “If you’re a small grower, it’s very difficult to pay for the expertise, basically the full-time attention that is required to be in compliance to all of these requirements.”
Fryhover is quick to point out that Washington’s apple industry remains dominated by family-owned enterprises, from the orchards to the packing plants. However, those family operations are becoming large businesses.
“These people have been around a long time, and they are vertically integrated,” he said.
When one family company owns the orchards, packing plant, and distribution and sales organization, they can absorb costs more easily, Robison said. That increases the speed with which the industry evolves.
When considering his son’s future as a farmer, Robison is realistic.
“I think there is a 50-50 chance (he’ll retire as a farmer),” he said. “We’ve talked about that.”
Although technology and manufacturing jobs may dominate the west side of the state, Fryhover said, the apple industry continues to play a vital role in the state’s economy.
In 2015, the state’s apple industry was worth $2.04 billion. That’s 22 percent of the state’s total agricultural value, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Nationally, that Washington crop represented 60 percent of the country’s apple production.
Across the lake from Robison’s home near the small town of Manson, Phylis Gleasman has been growing apples since 1981. That’s when she moved with her husband back to the Chelan area and jumped into the apple business. Her husband died in 2005, and Gleasman farms her 60 or so acres with the help of her son, who also works as a schoolteacher.
Her orchards are high in the hills above the long, narrow lake, right at the edge of where apples can grow, she said. Nowadays those hills are increasingly dotted with housing developments.
“As the rural area disappears and becomes more urban, there are challenges.”
Neighbors expect rural peace and quiet, and are unhappy when farm machinery makes noise, she said. One neighbor recently sued her, claiming that when she sprayed her orchards, the chemicals drifted onto their property. To appease them, she built a 30-foot-tall barrier between the orchard and their property.
With the increased price and complexity of the apple business, Gleasman isn’t sure she could start out in the same manner today.
“You can’t look at this (like it’s) 20 years ago,” she said. “You have to look at this strictly as a business. You can’t just go out there and sit on a tractor with a piece of straw in your mouth.”
Now she’s constantly looking ahead, figuring out ways she can make her business more efficient, while simultaneously planting the kinds of apples consumers want. It’s a tricky balancing act.
When Gleasman and Robison started farming, the Washington apple industry was dominated by one variety, Red Delicious. Consumers’ tastes changed, however, fueled by the introduction of new, tastier varieties: Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp, to name only a few.
The varieties are good for discerning consumers, but it makes the farmers’ jobs harder. Instead of relying on one, homogeneous crop, they have to plant multiple varieties, hoping that one or two will be popular when they start producing.
Trees have to be ordered three years in advance. And once planted, they take about five years to reach full yield, Gleasman said.
“You just hope that dart hits the target, that you’re getting something profitable,” she said.
In addition to planting new varieties, farmers are also planting narrower rows to accommodate shorter, denser orchards. In the past there would be 300 to 400 apple trees per acre.
Now, with changes in technology and horticulture, farmers can get 1,500 to 2,000 trees per acre, Fryhover said. And those trees are shorter, with fruit hanging just 8 feet off the ground.
Already, many orchards are harvesting fruit using motorized platforms, removing the need for tall and dangerous ladders.
The next big thing? Automated harvest.
The technology is still in development, but many orchardists hope it will have widespread use in Washington within 10 years. Automating harvest would remove one of the industry’s biggest and most persistent challenges — labor costs.
“Yes, there is a lot of interest in it (automation),” Fryhover said. “The labor is just the tough, tough part.”
But, as with all innovations in the industry, automated harvest will cost money and take time to implement. For a robot to accurately and efficiently pick fruit, the orchard has to be uniform.
“So you have to have the orchard structure first, when you talk about automation,” Fryhover said. “And that’s not cheap. You’re talking about $40,000 to $50,000 an acre to plant an orchard like this.”- In this Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, file photo, people watch a TV screen showing an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a statement in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to the United Nations, in Pyongyang, North Korea.
A leaked document from a Chinese telecommunications company hints that Beijing is anticipating an influx of war refugees.
The Chinese government may be preparing for an influx of refugees from North Korea — if, say, war breaks out on the Peninsula, according to a document obtained by Radio Free Asia.
The document, dated July 7, was produced by China Mobile, the giant state-owned telecommunications company — specifically, by the branch that serves Changbai County on the North Korean border. It says the company was conducting “pre-communications security work for North Korean refugee camps” in the region — specifically, testing signal strength at five potential “refugee settlements,” Radio Free Asia’s Huang Xiaoshan and Lin Guoli write in their Dec. 7 report.
When Huang and Lin asked officials with China Mobile and the local government about the document, they denied that the work was related to the construction of refugee camps. But the RFA reporters wrote in a subsequent Dec. 7 report that they had confirmed the plan’s existence.
Four days later, a China Mobile spokesman appeared to confirm the reports. Contacted by The Express, a UK-based newspaper, the spokesman said, “The government has ordered these settlement points. But don’t worry, no one is panicking here.”Advertisement
Russia-based Kalashnikov announced plans to super-size its 7-ton combat vehicle.
The gunmaker is developing an unmanned 20-ton ‘robot’ tank capable of carrying both machine guns and anti-tank missiles.
The vehicle's predecessor, BAS-01G Soratnik, is designed to support a 30mm gun or eight anti-tank missiles – all while traveling at top speeds of 25 miles per hour.
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Kalashnikov announced plans to super-size its 7-ton combat vehicle. The firm is developing an unmanned 20-ton ‘robot’ tank capable of carrying both machine guns and anti-tank missiles. The vehicle's predecessor, BAS-01G Soratnik (pictured), is designed to support a 30mm gun or eight anti-tank missiles – all while traveling at top speeds of 25 miles per hour
SORATNIK TANK Russian debuted its first battle robot, the BAS-01G Soratnik, last year. The 7-ton tank was built to assist human soldier in combat. Soldiers can operate the machine within six miles remotely, but it can also operate on its own with varying degrees of autonomy. Soratnik is fitted with a 7.62mm Kalashnikov PKTM machine gun that can be swapped out for a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, grenade launchers and up to eight Kornet guided missiles with a range of three miles. Kalashnikov next robot tank is a super-sized version of Soratnik that will boast similar features and functions but on a larger scale.
Kalashnikov, which is named after the inventor of the AK-47 rifle, has made a name for itself in assault rifles.
It has also expanded into vodka, souvenirs, fashion and video games– but its main focus is military weapons.
At Russia’s Army 2016 Expo, which took place in September, the firm unveiled its first battle bot - the BAS-01G Soratnik, which means ‘Comrade-in-arms’.
The 7-ton tank is a result of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s need for a vehicle that could assist human soldier in combat.
Soldiers can operate the machine remotely within six miles, but it can also operate on its own with varying degrees of autonomy, reports Popular Mechanics.
And it is able to support the necessary weapons to support its fellow soldiers.
Soratnik is fitted with a 7.62mm Kalashnikov PKTM machine gun that can be swapped out for a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, grenade launchers and up to eight Kornet guided missiles with a range of three miles.
Kalashnikov has yet to share details about its 20-ton robotic tank, but the it is said to be about three times the weight of Soratnik or on par with a U.S. Army M1126 Stryker ICV.
The firm’s CEO first revealed plans for the massive machine in an interview with TACC, a Russian news site.
After being asked if the firm had plans for other combat automated systems besides Soratnik.
At Russia’s Army 2016 Expo, which took place in September, the firm unveiled its first battle bot - the BAS-01G Soratnik (middle), which means ‘Comrade-in-arms’
‘Yes, these works are underway,’ said Kalashnikov Concern CEO Alexei Krivoruchko.
‘It will be a reconnaissance-strike complex weighing about 20 tons.’
The Ak-47 is one of the most popular assault rifles and it is believed that some 100 million Kalashnikov rifles have been manufactured worldwide.
In 2015, a firearms company based out of Pennsylvania started selling the first American-made Kalashnikov AK-47s after sanctions against Russia had stopped the flow of the guns into the US.
Kalashnikov has yet to share details about its 20-ton robotic tank, but the it is said to be about three times the weight of Soratnik (pictured) or on par with a U.S. Army M1126 Stryker ICV. Soratnik was recently taken for a spin around in the snow to show off its tricks and features
Soratnik (pictured) is fitted with a 7.62mm Kalashnikov PKTM machine gun that can be swapped out for a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, grenade launchers and up to eight Kornet guided missiles with a range of three miles. Soldiers can operate the machine remotely within six miles, but it can also operate on its own with varying degrees of autonomy
The company said it would start manufacturing AK-47s in January after President Barack Obama's trade sanctions because of President Vladmir Putin's war in Ukraine were put in place.
The USA-made models have new features like nitrocarburized case hardening on their barrels and chambers as well as an enhanced bolt and bolt carrier to provide smoother action.
'The new US models are built on the classic AK 47 rifle and shotgun platforms with a focus on designing firearms for the American shooter using the latest manufacturing technologies,' according to the company.This election season has seen a great deal of negativity about the state of the US economy. And it’s true that economic growth since 2008 has been slower than some earlier periods in US history.
But this chart from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development helps to put the performance of the US economy in perspective:
The US economy has grown by a bit more than 10 percent, adjusted for inflation, in the eight years since the financial crisis began. In contrast, the euro area grew by less than 1 percent, and Japan’s economy is essentially the same size it was in early 2008.
This partly reflects a difference in population growth — the US population has grown by about 6 percent since 2008, while the eurozone grew about 2 percent and Japan’s population actually fell. But even adjusting for population, the US economy has been outperforming the economies of Japan and the euro area.
The euro area only includes countries that have adopted the EU’s common currency, the euro. It doesn’t include Great Britain, and so this slow growth doesn’t directly explain why so many Brits were anxious to leave the EU. However, this kind of anemic growth certainly didn’t help British supporters of EU membership make their case.
What explains this anemic growth? Monetary policy, in large part. The European Central Bank has made a series of blunders over the past eight years that have prolonged and deepened the eurozone’s depression. Meanwhile, Japan has been struggling with an aging population. With fewer and fewer working-age people, it’s hard to keep economic growth going.Baby-faced statist and United States Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters today that his colleagues in Congress need to get behind Obama's targeted killing program, and protect the president from "libertarians and the left." Politico reports:
“Every member of Congress needs to get on board,” Graham said. “It’s not fair to the president to let him, leave him out there alone quite frankly. He’s getting hit from libertarians and the left.
“I think the middle of America understands why you would want a drone program to go after a person like Anwar al-Awlaki,” Graham added.
“The process of being targeted I think is legal, quite frankly laborious and should reside in the commander in chief to determine who an enemy combatant is and what kind of force to use.”
“If this ever goes to court I guarantee you it will be a slam dunk support of what the administration is doing. I think one of the highlights of President Obama’s first time and the beginning of his second term is the way he’s been able to use drones against terrorists."Cairo – President George W. Bush kept it simple in his short television address the evening of March 19, 2003: U.S. forces had begun their campaign to unseat Saddam Hussein, he said. The goals, he outlined in his first sentence, were straightforward: “to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.” Some 522 words later he promised the result: “We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail.”
As he spoke, members of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were already crossing from Kuwait, where they’d been preparing for weeks, into southern Iraq. In those sands, it was Thursday, March 20, the dawn of a new day.
Ten years later, the era that dawn ushered in looks anything but simple. After tens of thousands of deaths, not just of Americans, but also of Iraqis – many, if not most, at the hands of other Iraqis – that country is still in turmoil. American troops are gone and a democratically elected government rules. But bombings and massacres continue, and the country remains mired in sectarian feuding between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Elsewhere, conflict rules – in some cases, coincidentally, with anniversaries that fall also around this weekend:
– In Libya, French planes under NATO command opened the campaign to topple Moammar Gadhafi on March 19 two years ago. Today, a democratic government is in place, though it controls little in the face of Islamist militias whose unchecked presence frequently forces the national assembly to cancel sessions. Libyan weapons, taken from Gadhafi’s unguarded stores, were crucial to the advance of Islamist fighters in Mali.
– In Syria, the civil war marks its second year on Friday, with most observers calling the conflict a stalemate and the death toll likely to have passed 70,000 – and rising every day. The Obama administration has called for the defeat of President Bashar Assad even as it denounces as a terrorist group the most effective anti-Assad rebel military faction, the Nusra Front – a branch of al Qaida in Iraq, the same radical Islamist group that the U.S. fought in that country and that the current Iraqi government also is battling.
– Even the relatively peaceful January revolutions that ushered in what came to be known as the Arab spring two years ago are unsettled. In Egypt, the world’s most populous Arab country, a religiously affiliated political party fights to establish its pre-eminence against a group of revolutionaries who demand a share of political power but seem incapable of organizing for upcoming parliamentary elections. Anti-government demonstrations have become so frequent that they hardly deserve news coverage, and the economy is in free fall.
Never has the region seen so much change in the nine decades since the end of World War I, when Western powers carved up the territories of the defeated Ottomans by drawing lines across a map.
The role in that turmoil of U.S. intervention – direct, in the cases of Iraq and Libya, and through rhetoric, in Syria and Egypt – remains an open question.
In Iraq, the people think their security situation is better since American troops left the country at the end of 2011. A Gallup poll released earlier this month found that 42 percent think that, despite the occasional car bomb, the security situation has improved since U.S. troops withdrew. But they have doubts about their government. Only 11 percent said there was less corruption and only 9 percent said there was less unemployment.
Sunnis, who’d enjoyed privileges under Saddam, were particularly negative about Iraq. For 69 percent of them, corruption has gotten worse, compared with 39 percent of Shiites, whom Saddam’s regime had repressed, though they’re a majority in the country. In a clear reference to Iran, a Shiite-ruled theocracy, 39 percent of Sunnis said there’d been worse foreign intervention since U.S. troops had left. Only 27 percent of Shiites felt that way.
Iraq’s leaders openly express alarm at what’s going on in nearby Syria. That worry was particularly strong earlier this month, after gunmen deep inside Iraq killed at least 50 Syrian civilians and soldiers who’d fled their country during a rebel offensive and were being escorted by Iraqi troops to another border crossing for repatriation. Days later, the Islamic State of Iraq, the al Qaida in Iraq umbrella group, claimed the attack, which also had killed Iraqi troops, and Iraqi officials conceded that after a dozen years of training alongside American troops and billions of dollars worth of U.S. equipment, they’d been unable to defend themselves. The attack was the most sophisticated they’d seen in years, Iraqi officials said.
“We need equipment. We need electronic surveillance. We need an air force,” Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told McClatchy earlier this month. “We need a border control system. Definitely. We don’t have it. We have only the concrete blocks that the Americans left for us, lined up along the borders.”
No one knows how long the conflict in Syria will go on. President Barack Obama first called for Assad to step down 19 months ago. U.S. officials no longer say Assad’s days are numbered, and the United Nations published a report this past week that says neither side may claim the military upper hand, though rebel advances seem to outnumber those of the Syrian military.
The United States agreed earlier this month to provide the anti-Assad opposition coalition with $60 million to help it get organized, and the European Union agreed to ease its arms embargo to allow some direct aid to the rebels, including armored personnel carriers.
But with Russia and China firmly on Assad’s side and blocking a series of anti-Assad U.N. resolutions, there’s no legal basis for broader international intervention – and no consensus that such intervention would end the bloodshed.
Perhaps most surprising is how much the tone of the effort in Syria has changed. Though it once was presented as an attempt to bring democracy to the country, the Islamist militant groups that dominate the rebel fighting oppose the very idea. Unable to win on their own, democracy proponents have aligned with those groups, with the head of the U.S.-supported Syrian Opposition Coalition, Mouaz al Khatib, openly denouncing the State Department’s designation of the Nusra Front as an al Qaida-linked terrorist group.
Earlier this month, as anti-Assad fighters moved through Raqqa province – first capturing a strategic dam, then the provincial capital and then the government building itself – they distributed fliers calling democracy un-Islamic.
“Beware of democracy,” they read.
That’s a lesson that in a different way might resonate in Egypt and Libya, where free elections have yet to mean stability.
Indeed, security worsened in the months after Libyans went to the polls to pick a national assembly last July in voting that was widely proclaimed as free and fair. Americans became sharply aware of that in September, when, on the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Islamist extremists overran U.S. diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, an eastern city that had been the capital of the anti-Gadhafi uprising. Four Americans were killed, including the U.S. ambassador, Christopher Stevens.
U.S. officials acknowledge that the way the anti-Gadhafi campaign unfolded, with no American or European forces on the ground to establish order after the government fell, is in part responsible for the uncertainty in that country now.
“When the Gadhafi regime collapsed, and there was, essentially, for a period of time no governmental control, it was in that environment that extremist organizations and criminal organizations took advantage of that situation to establish themselves and in some cases re-establish themselves,” said Army Gen. Carter Ham, the head of Africa Command, the U.S. military group that’s responsible for that continent.
Those groups remain unchallenged by Libya’s inexperienced police and security forces and have spread across North Africa, Ham said. Collecting intelligence on them is one reason the United States has asked neighboring Niger for permission to open a base for pilotless drone aircraft.
In its latest travel warning, issued Monday, the State Department warned Americans to stay away, describing the country as unpredictable.
Egypt has been spared the kind of widespread insurgent violence that’s plagued its neighbor but it’s still beset by political and social upheaval, despite elections that everyone agrees were the first honest ones in its history.
The Obama administration had endorsed the removal of leader Hosni Mubarak when it became clear that he’d lost the support of his people and the military. Now analysts wonder whether Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, isn’t slowly doing the same.
Unemployment levels grow monthly, the official inflation rate is 9.3 percent and the value of the Egyptian pound is falling. Crime and general mayhem seem out of control. Soccer fans routinely defy police, shut down bridges and set fire to rival clubs’ headquarters, simply because they can. Police able to respond to more routine matters are difficult to find. Rape is common at public demonstrations. Dissatisfaction is palpable in the streets.
In a nation where $200 a month is a bounteous wage, fruit is a luxury for a huge swath of the population. So are tomatoes.
Morsi’s approval rating has plummeted, according to the polling firm Baseera. Immediately after his election last summer, it stood at 75 percent; last month it was 49 percent. Yet Morsi’s political opposition remains divided going into parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.
In May 2011, Obama spelled out lofty goals in a speech that’s considered his defining remarks on the Arab spring.
“There’s no straight line to progress, and hardship always accompanies a season of hope,” he said. “But the United States of America was founded on the belief that people should govern themselves. And now we cannot hesitate to stand squarely on the side of those who are reaching for their rights, knowing that their success will bring about a world that is more peaceful, more stable and more just.”
Those goals aren’t much different from what Bush articulated from the White House 10 years ago this Tuesday. But they may be just as far off.NSA Officials Hate Ed Snowden With A Passion
from the yes,-emotional-response-is-what-we |
mixed.
Up to this point, most children dressed in gender-neutral clothing and typically wore white because it was easy to bleach and keep clean. It wasn't until the 1950s that the color pink became a "girly" color.
Many historians point to Dwight Eisenhower's presidential inauguration as a pivotal moment in the history of pink. Mamie Eisenhower, the new first lady, arrived at the inaugural ball in a stunning pink ball gown studded with 2,000 rhinestones. Mrs. Eisenhower's favorite color was pink, and newspapers and fashion designers across the country quickly latched on to her colorful style and charming domesticity. It was a welcome reprieve from the last decade of war, when women typically wore much simpler styles and were hard at work in factories.
As you'll see in the video above, the color pink has evolved beyond a hue associated with traditional women. In fact, many women since Mrs. Eisenhower have used pink in more calculated ways, including current presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.We Sent You to Stop the War: Angry Voters Try In Vain to Remind McCain That His Job Is to Represent Them
Here's the infuriating spectacle of John 'Never-Met-A-War-I-Didn't-Like' McCain at town meetings in Arizona, ostensibly set up for the people who elected him to tell him how they feel, except when they really don't want to go to war with Syria, at which discomforting impasse he pointedly fails to hear what they're saying. The most rage-inducing moment is a tough call: When his eyebrows lift in patronizing dismissal of a woman's fervent call for diplomacy, or when a Vietnam veteran notes the U.S. has likewise used chemical weapons - ie: napalm - and McCain explains how that's different, except it isn't, except in the alternate reality where he lives and seeks, unfathomably, to wage yet more war. "Why are you not listening to the people and staying out of Syria? It’s not our fight.”
Read moreHey Americans and Indians, Read And Watch and Ponder…
Greetings my American Brothers and Sisters,
This is crucial information. It is TRUE.
Share it far and wide so you may under-stand why your “Country” and You seem to be so far apart in terms of how a/your country should be run.
You will be shocked if you are unaware.
And to my Indian brothers and sisters, imagine if this is the State of the most powerful nation on earth, what our condition is in India. The Brutish left us our constitution, our central bank and nation that has only slid downward on every conceivable metric ever since.
The truth is out there. Rajeev Dixit was murdered in India for trying to bring this knowledge to the Indian population.
There is no excuse anymore. We are all begin collectively pulled into a hell-hole of serfdom…look at how corporations own and run India. Urjit Patel, the new RBI governor is a part of the Ambani family and worked for Reliance as a President for 11 years. We have a fully compromised and sold out press…criminal body politic, lazy assed and probably largely corrupt administrative service at every level…
This is no legacy to leave and no way to live either…
WAKE UP!
If you want to do something, get in touch… chaturv@gmail.com
Read on, and watch…
Virginia Trust Holding Company Incorporated, founded by King James I, of England in 1606, laid claim to all land in America, and on planet earth for the Holy Roman Empire in the Treaty of 1213, under a Papal Bull and Divine Right of Kings. This treaty proclaimed the British Crown as protectors and land-stewarts for the Holy Roman Empire which is the oldest, richest and largest corporation on earth forever. Here’s a very interesting bit of history that you were never taught in school; Virginia Trust Holding Company Inc., never waged war for its independence from the British Crown. That would be like waging war against yourself. All land was conquered by the British Crown for the Holy Roman Empire in America and only leases the land under “Fee Simple Title”. If you purchased land then, you are merely “tenants” on the land under Fee Simple Title, and have no actual sovereign rights or ownership. All sovereign ownership and alloidal title still belongs to Virginia Trust Holding Company now known as USA Inc. Did you know that Washington District of Columbia Incorporated was first legally documented and called “New Rome” in the early 16th century? Few people understand the meaning behind all the symbols displayed in Washington District of Columbia Incorporated. There are many symbols that openly proclaim who controls America but, the American People are ignorant and clueless to the true meaning of these overt symbols. Ignorance of the law and its symbols is no excuse. You are expected to know who and what rules you. The fault resides with We The People not with the de facto usurpers of what was once our Constitutional Republic. There are two very important symbols that give away who is actually in full control of our once Constitutional Republic blatantly displayed for all the world to see behind the Speaker of the House. These two large symbols are ancient Etruscan/Roman symbols and are called “Fasces”. This is where we get the term “Fascism”. The symbols proclaim legalist and banking/military rulership and authority under Caesarian Papal Pontifex Maximus of the Holy Roman Empire. What is the meaning of Fascism? Corporate power in control of government. Socialism is the government in control of corporations and everything else. Both are known as Collectivism as both create a form of centralized authoritarian dictatorship. What is America? A private foreign owned off-shore corporation subjugated and being destroyed by a witch’s brew of techno-feudal marxist/fascist Collectivism.
In bitter, liberating sovereign truth,
vivekAl Franken talks health care at Shubert in New Haven; says Trump ‘lies all the time’ Jokes aside, he urges truth over president’s ‘lies’
(Peter Hvizdak - Hearst Connecticut Media) New Haven, Connecticut: July 28, 2017. U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, satirist, comedian, and author of the book “Giant of the Senate” Sunday at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven during a discussion about his book with WNPR radio personality Colin McEnroe. The event was sponsored by R.J. Julia Booksellers of Madison. less (Peter Hvizdak - Hearst Connecticut Media) New Haven, Connecticut: July 28, 2017. U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, satirist, comedian, and author of the book “Giant of the Senate” Sunday at... more Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Al Franken talks health care at Shubert in New Haven; says Trump ‘lies all the time’ 1 / 7 Back to Gallery
NEW HAVEN >> Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota tried to be serious when he spoke Sunday at the Shubert Theatre about topics such as health care, but as a former comedian, he couldn’t stop himself from cracking jokes and drawing belly laughs from the partisan crowd.
Franken, who is touring to support his book, the satirically titled “Al Franken, Giant of the Senate,” attracted several thousand left-leaning people on a summer afternoon. The event was sponsored by R.J. Julia Booksellers of Madison.
During the hour-long, on-stage conversation with Colin McEnroe, who hosts a talk show on WNPR Connecticut Public Radio, Franken said he is sometimes frustrated by the need to be taken seriously by colleagues and the public. That means not telling a lot of jokes.
He recalled his first U.S. Senate campaign in 2008 against Republican Norm Coleman, which Franken eventually won by only 312 votes after a lengthy recount. Coleman’s campaign had dredged up Franken’s sexual comments in a January 2000 Playboy parody by airing an ad that called him “depraved.”
“My mother-in-law cried when she saw that ad,” Franken said, “So when I got into office I decided not to be funny at all.”
But still he couldn’t help himself; he had been a successful writer and performer on “Saturday Night Live” and spent more than 30 years in the comedy business.
And so the first note he wrote on Senate stationery, to a constituent named Ruth Anderson who was about to celebrate her 110th birthday, said this: “Dear Ruth: You have a bright future.”
Franken recalled his chief of staff running into his office two minutes later, yelling, “What is this?”
“It’s a joke,” Franken replied. “I thought she might enjoy it.”
“Oh yeah,” the staffer said. “You think her family will enjoy it?”
Franken remembered another letter he dashed off, a birthday note to Sen. John McCain of Arizona: “Dear John: Hope you have a great year. Of course, any year would be better than the five you spent in the Hanoi Hilton.”
Franken said that even when he was re-elected by a wide margin in 2014, “after not being funny for 5 1/2 years,” his staff still had to watch him carefully. They often used this advice: “That’s a good joke for inside the car.”
In addition to being a humorist, Franken told the audience, “I’m a crier. I’m very sentimental. If McDonald’s does a commercial about a disabled person on a job, I’ll cry every time.”
“I care about this stuff,” he said, “I care about the vote we had last Friday morning because I know how much that means to families and people.”
The crowd applauded, knowing immediately Franken was referring to the narrow tally that defeated Republican leaders’ latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Franken added, “It just drives me nuts that (President) Trump says: ‘Nobody knew this was complicated.’ That’s hilarious. But it also makes you angry because it makes such a difference to people.”
He said he saw this up close in 2008 when he first campaigned for the Senate and listened to Minnesota residents talk about their health care worries and how medical bills were driving them into bankruptcy. “When you see one flyer after another for a (benefit) dinner for a family that’s gone bankrupt, then it becomes personal.”
Franken said he hopes Democrats and Republicans “can now work in a bipartisan way” to improve the ACA.
He joked that the number of Americans in polls who said they liked the Republicans’ health care plan was 17 percent, “which is also the number of Americans who claim they have seen a ghost.”
When McEnroe asked Franken about reports Trump might fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election, and whether Trump or his representatives might have been involved in it, Franken said such a firing could lead to “a constitutional crisis.”
The crowd cheered when McEnroe asked Franken if he might consider running for president. But Franken shook his head. “I’m 66. I don’t want to be president. It’s an unbelievably high-pressure job. You really need somebody there who wants to be president.”
Franken also answered a question posed from someone in the audience, a teacher who bemoaned the escalating number of lies being told in Washington and asked: “What should I tell my students about the need to tell the truth?”
“This is one of the sad parts about this election,” Franken replied. “Because this president lies all the time. And it seems to not matter. Everybody’s parents, except perhaps Trump’s, say: ‘Don’t lie. Tell the truth.’ It offends me when people lie.”
Franken concluded: “I don’t know what you should tell your kids other than it’s the right thing to do: tell the truth!”
Call Randall Beach at 203-680-9345.The couple are entwined on a small bed in a dormitory room in New York City. Young and inexperienced, they fumble at each other’s clothes, his hands all over her. The camera draws in nearer, almost uncomfortably stark and intimate in the way of all mumblecore movies about the awkward first stages of a new relationship. But this is not an independent film. This is a video game, and the woman on the bed is played by its designer, Nina Freeman. It’s a long way from Call of Duty.
Video games to get you through Valentine's Day Read more
For the last five years, Freeman has been working with small teams of artists and programmers, making intensely personal games about sex and relationships. She came to prominence with the acclaimed How Do You Do It, an interactive skit about a little girl exploring the idea of sex by bashing a Barbie doll and Action Man together. In Ladylike, you control a conversation between a teenage girl and her mother during a drive to the mall. No matter what you say about school, boyfriends or clothes through a series of conversation options, the mum always disapproves. You literally can’t win.
Earlier this month Freeman released her latest project, a multilayered narrative game named Cibele. Developed with small studio Star Maid Games, it’s about the designer’s brief relationship with a man she met in the multiplayer adventure game, Final Fantasy XI, where hundreds of players gather and form online clans to slay monsters and discover treasure.
When you start Cibele, you find yourself accessing a simulation of Nina’s own computer desktop from the time of the affair, complete with folders full of her real photos, poems and live journal entries; but if you click on a specific icon you enter a role-playing game called Valtameri, a fictitious take on Final Fantasy, where you meet Blake, who leads his own in-game clan of fellow players. As you fight monsters in this synthetic adventure, you hear Nina talking with Blake on the phone and see short film sequences, showing her taking selfies and emailing them to him.
It’s a short but complex and self-reflexive experience; a game-within-a-game about the ways in which multiplayer role-playing adventures like Final Fantasy XI double as social arenas where players meet, flirt and gossip. “I wanted to explore the journey that these two went on together in the digital space,” says Freeman, who refers to the Nina of the game in the third-person. “It’s about what it’s like to have these intimate interactions through an online game; what it’s like to be the girl who is sending pictures to her lover over the internet and talking to him on the phone and longing for this physical interaction that feels almost out of reach.”
Although the character of Blake is fictitious, he represents the man Nina met, but is no longer in contact with. “He does know the game exists,” she says. “He got in touch with me and he was like, ‘It’s cool that you’re making this.’” To make things even more complex, his role in the game is played by Freeman’s partner, Emmett Butler, who also worked on the project. Did she find this strange?
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nina Freeman acts out a scene in Cibele
“Emmett has worked with me on a number of personal games in the past,” she says. “So he had a good idea of what he was getting into. Filming the intimate scene at the end was a lot easier for both of us, since we know each other so well. Our roommate at the time actually filmed it – it was nice to be able to create that portion of the game with people I feel comfortable around. The voice actor for Blake was actually not Emmett, but a young man named Justin Briner who we worked with remotely. He was really great, too.”
For Freeman, video games have never been the solitary, isolating pastime of common stereotype. As a child in the sleepy coastal town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, her favourite thing was to visit her friends Melanie and Brittany, hide out in their basement and play on a Nintendo console all day, until their parents kicked her out for the evening. Together they devoured games like Super Mario 64 and Legend of Zelda, sharing the stories as they unfolded on screen. When she discovered Final Fantasy XI at the age of 14, it was a way of meeting up with friends – but also forging new relationships. In Cibele, the player can swap between playing Valtameri and chatting with other characters via simulated instant messaging, email and chat forums. It’s a clever approximation of how we now socially multitask online, seamlessly moving from one window to the next.
Freeman says that in our era of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, this idea of the internet as just another romantic space is prevalent and natural. “For my generation online relationships are basically a normal part of life. A lot of people have contacted me after completing Cibele, saying: ‘Oh wow, this happened to me when I was playing World of Warcraft as a teenager. I was that young girl on the internet, trying to negotiate a relationship with someone I’d never met.’”
For some, the way Freeman explores her own experiences so personally through her games is extraordinary. But she sees many parallels with poetry, which she studied at New York’s Pace University under Charles North. He introduced her to the New York School: Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Frank O’Hara. She worked for a while at legendary East Village live poetry venue the Poetry Project.
Later, two things happened: she started hanging out with a bunch of independent game developers who introduced her to offbeat, experimental titles like Anna Anthropy’s Dys4ia, about the transgender designer’s own transition, and Gone Home, about a burgeoning romance between two teenage girls. She also came down with a chronic illness. “I was suddenly surrounded by game makers,” she remembers, “and I thought, these games are poetry. So while I was sick I had a bunch of free time and taught myself how to program.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Inspiration: screengrabs from the games Gone Home, left, and Dys4ia
Has she ever been concerned about the implications of putting herself out there so honestly? “Putting myself into these stories in a vulnerable way has definitely taken practice. I’m more and more comfortable with each project. I have learned to separate my present personal life from them, because it could be uncomfortable to feel like critics are talking about me when they talk about the game. Yes, they are talking about me, in a sense, but they are really talking about the character I created based on me. That distinction is important.”
Freeman and her collaborators Emmett Butler and Diego Garcia are now part of a vibrant new era of independent game design. The explosion of broadband internet access, together with the arrival of cheap development tools like GameMaker and Twine, has meant that almost anyone can make a game now, put it online and find a global audience. Whereas big PlayStation titles require teams of hundreds and budgets of millions, a downloadable indie title can be built by one or two people on a cheap PC.
The result has been an explosion of idiosyncratic titles – but also the emergence of indie gaming scenes and venues. Games have effectively become the new punk rock – or, as Nina sees it, the new poetry: “I saw a lot of parallels with the Beats,” she says. “I was excited because what I found so inspiring in poetry was starting to happen in games.”
With Cibele now finished, Freeman is concentrating fully on her current project, Tacoma, the latest title from Gone Home creator the Fullbright Company. Nine months ago, she moved to Portland, Oregon, where the team is based. Set on a lunar research station, this eerie adventure is an ambitious move for her. “I’ve never made a 3D game before,” she says. “Fullbright is one of the few studios that’s really exploring this idea of games as character-focused narrative spaces; it’s very much about letting the players explore stories rather than being controlled by them.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A desktop view from Cibele
But what of our rookie couple in Cibele? Is there a happy ever after to their hook-up? Not exactly. While Blake is confident and seductive online, he shies away from anything more than a single physical meeting: “I don’t think relationships are comfortable,” he tells Nina. It’s not hard to see this as a reflection on the alienation of online relationships but maybe it’s actually just about kids finding new ways to deal with social anxieties.
“Cibele is about the two characters negotiating their boundaries,” says Freeman. “In the end it may not really work out for them – but at least they were honest with each other. That’s important to me because as a developer and a person, I want to be as honest as possible. I want to write characters that feel really raw and real; I want to show my flaws and the good things and the bad all at once – because that’s what people are.”The Oculus Rift may seem like a gadget snatched straight out of science fiction, but for some virtual reality fans the VR headset still doesn’t go far enough. Now, one company is pushing the limits even further with a Kickstarter project that promises to include all five of your senses in every virtual experience.
FeelReal promises to take virtual reality to the next level using smells, wind, heat, water mist and vibrations to make the experience as realistic as possible. The company even sells a variety of scent capsules online, ranging from cookies and strawberries to fire and rain.
There are two ways to experience FeelReal. You can combine the company’s VR mask, which covers the bottom half of your face, with a headset like Oculus Rift. But for the full experience you’ll want the Nirvana helmet, which covers your entire head while using a smartphone as the display.
The mask, which comes in black and white options, still offers plenty of functionality. It can vibrate, release water mist, create odors, blow cool air on your face and heat you up. It also packs a Bluetooth microphone and a battery that should last four hours per charge. You can pre-order the mask for as little as $250 and receive the developer kit in July, or pay $300 for a more polished version that ships in September.
Meanwhile, Nirvana offers everything that comes with the mask, while adding a broader field of view and better 3D audio. It also means the device’s other VR effects can be felt on your entire face, and not just the lower half. The helmet features magnetic clip design for adding extra effects, along with comfortable padding and built-in ventilation.
It’s available in three different sizes and packs a 6-hour rechargeable battery. You can order an early prototype of Nirvana for $500, which should ship in August. The first consumer model is available on Kickstarter for $600, though it won’t arrive until October.
FeelReal isn’t just hardware. The company also plans to offer its own software with a FeelReal Player and an open SDK. That should make it easy for any game developer to add in smells, temperatures and everything else with just a few clicks.
There are always risks backing a project on Kickstarter, and delays are certainly possible with FeelReal. This is a real product though, and the company’s already proven its concept works with live demonstrations at the Game Developers Conference earlier this year.
There’s something very alluring about FeelReal, though at the same time it comes across as a bit of a gimmick. Will this be the next Smell-O-Vision or an actual game changer? It’s too soon to tell, but if you’re not afraid to find out here’s your chance.Written by Dave Gardner on February 23, 2017. Posted in Wall Of Shame
This Facebook post caught my eye recently:
“A new report shows that economic growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of the planet.”
This earth-shaking statement was apparently on the Facebook page of the Environmental Defense Fund earlier this month, though I cannot find it there today. It linked to this piece at Forbes.com:
As Trump Signals Rollback On Environmental Regulations, New Jobs Report Indicates That’s A Bad Idea
Here EDF’s Liz Delaney rightly points out that the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations can be considered anti-jobs.
“…businesses are accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy while hiring the next generation of talented, motivated leaders – which is a good thing, because they’re needed.”
She is also correct when she writes:
“Our new report, Now Hiring: The Growth of America’s Clean Energy & Sustainability Jobs, underscores this trend. As the economy becomes more sustainable and energy efficient, a new market for clean energy and sustainability jobs is created. This market is large, growing and intrinsically local.”
But I was curious. Is the EDF seriously touting economic growth as sustainable and not in conflict with long-term stewardship of the planet? If so, this reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how pursuit of economic growth is currently liquidating the planet’s natural capital, impairing life-supporting ecosystems and reducing Earth’s carrying capacity. You can learn more about this here. I searched for this report, to see what it has to say about economic growth. The report’s page at http://edfclimatecorps.org/nowhiringreport offered these gems:
“This report highlights the role of this transition in boosting the American economy….”
“Boosting” could be subject to interpretation.
“In many cases, these sectors are vastly outpacing the rest of the U.S. economy in growth and job creation….”
Also inconclusive. They could just be taking advantage of our obsession with economic growth and job creation to push the transition to clean energy. Perhaps no harm there.
I didn’t find any indication the report concludes or claims “economic growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of the planet.” “Economic growth,” used this way, typically means aggregate growth of the overall economy. It’s safe to say we have not discovered a way to grow the global or any national economy without also increasing our liquidation of resources and disruption of the climate.
That doesn’t mean, however, that growth of certain sectors of the economy is bad. We can have a steady state or contracting economy even while increasing some good things – like renewable energy and energy conservation work, for example. But that can only happen if other sectors concurrently shrink (I can suggest things like mining and burning coal, and drilling, refining and burning oil). That can make for a dynamic, improving economy, but a sustainable one. Replacing dirty jobs with clean ones is good. Replacing mechanized work (fueled by oil, natural gas or coal) with manual labor, creating more jobs, can also be good.
But just adding jobs without simultaneously eliminating the load elsewhere in the economy is not sustainable. I’m sure EDF can see which way the wind is blowing and is taking advantage of interest in job creation to promote the switch to cleaner jobs. I hope they realize this only works if we’re REPLACING dirty jobs with clean ones, not just adding cleaner jobs on top of an already unsustainable economy.
It’s likely Liz Delaney didn’t write that Facebook post claiming we’ve found the miraculous secret to growing the economy without killing the planet. Whoever did write that ought to be a little more careful. As it stands, aggregate economic growth moves us closer to the cliff, and the more people are educated about this, the better.
We publish 50 posts like this every year. Would you be willing to offer a tax-deductible “tip” of $1.68 for each post? That earns you a GrowthBusters Sustaining Membership, providing free access to webinars (including Joy of a Steady State Economy on Feb. 15) and other perks. Join here and keep the bias busting going:Hacker group Anonymous begins releasing personal information on Donald Trump
Anonymous attacks through the years
The loosely affiliated hacking collective Anonymous is well known for their "ops" and "raids" on government, corporate and religious websites. Some believe them to be malicious trolls and others call them digital Robin Hoods. See some of the notable attacks Anonymous has conducted over the years. less Anonymous attacks through the years
The loosely affiliated hacking collective Anonymous is well known for their "ops" and "raids" on government, corporate and religious websites. Some believe them to be... more Photo: DANIEL ROLAND Photo: DANIEL ROLAND Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Hacker group Anonymous begins releasing personal information on Donald Trump 1 / 13 Back to Gallery
Hacker group Anonymous declared war on Donald Trump this week. On Thursday, they started releasing personal information on the Republican front-runner for president.
The group allegedly has posted Trump’s Social Security number and his phone number on the site Pastebin. The cyber-attack also claims to have published the phone numbers his agent and attorney. They also published the full names of his family members, although most of those names have already been made public.
READ THIS: PostSecret, the web's anonymous tell-all site
Anonymous is calling the hacking tactic #OpWhiteRose in a reference to a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. When the hackers announced the operation, they said the purpose was “to unite to fight fascim.”
The group would have to find something really spectacular to do any damage to Trump’s presidential campaign. Attacks on the Republican candidate – including comparisons between Trump’s rhetoric and that of Adolf Hitler – have fallen by the wayside.
UPDATE: NBC News reports that all of the information released by the hackers had been "floating around online for awhile." Even the Social Security number for Trump had been online since at least 2013, though it was not possible confirm the number was actually Trump's own.
Wrote NBC News: "It is a common tactic among online pranksters to publish information that is already available on the Internet and act as though it is new."
See the gallery above for Anonymous attacks through the years.0 Shares Email
The Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark Hotel in Garden Grove opens this week after more than a decade of planning by city officials, who hope the Wisconsin-based chain resort will draw Disneyland Resort visitors out of nearby Anaheim and into Garden Grove.
It is arguably the city’s biggest bet ever, with $100 million in public funds going toward a $250 million resort that includes a 603-room hotel with a 105,000-square foot indoor waterpark, the first of its kind in Southern California.
Thy Vo for Voice of OC
If it’s successful, officials say the waterpark hotel will more than pay for itself over the next decade, by bringing in more than $8 million in tax revenue a year and creating 700 new jobs.
And that revenue would be crucial to Garden Grove, which is banking on the success of the resort to help pull the city out of the ongoing budget crisis it has been experiencing since Gov. Jerry Brown ended redevelopment in 2011.
“When the hotel is fully operational it will bring in millions to the general fund to help maintain and expand city services to citizens,” said city councilman Kris Beard. “So, it’s fair to say the anticipated success of this project will be a long term ‘win-win’ for the community and the Great Wolf Lodge.”
Some residents, meanwhile, have questioned whether the benefits of the millions spent subsidizing the hotel will trickle back down to taxpayers for citywide services and improvements.
As part of the city’s deal with Great Wolf Resorts and developer McWhinney Enterprises, the city’s redevelopment agency swallowed the $20.8 million cost of acquiring and preparing 10.3 acres of property for the Waterpark Hotel, then transferring it to the developer at no cost.
They later paid at least $1.9 million to settle the cost of relocating 30 low-income families living in a trailer park on the property into affordable housing, not including the cost of legal fees for the five-year court battle over the relocation payments.
The developer also received a $47 million lump sum from city redevelopment funds, $5 million of which was paid after the completion of the parking structure and the remaining $42 million to be paid 30 days after the resort opens for business.
Interest payments on the 20-year bond financing that lump sum will likely add another $23 million to the total, said city finance director Kingsley Okereke. Annually, the redevelopment agency will pay an average of $3.2 million in debt service payments on those bonds.
The city was also required to make $5.2 million in improvements to the sidewalk and streets around the property as part of their agreement.
The development agreement also includes the possibility of a 200-room expansion to the hotel, which would include a 10-year, 50 percent tax rebate on bed taxes and another 12-year, 50 percent tax rebate on sales and property tax for the expanded portion of the hotel.
A Controversial Topic
The subsidy package in itself is not unusual — cities routinely use generous tax subsidies to build stadiums, convention centers and other tourism magnets. It’s a smaller subsidy compared to a controversial $158-million subsidy the city of Anaheim gave to a luxury hotel developer a few years back.
Great Wolf Lodge
But there are plenty of critics of subsidy strategies who say that any public money spent on subsidies for private projects could always be going somewhere else, such as road or neighborhood improvements.
And Garden Grove is certainly taking a chance by betting so much on an indoor waterpark in Southern California.
David Sangree, a hotel and waterpark consultant and president of the consulting firm Hotel and Leisure Advisors, said the subsidy from Garden Grove is among the largest public subsidies for a waterpark resort of this type in the country.
A proposed $260 million indoor waterpark hotel and convention center by Kalahari Resorts in Fredericksburg, VA was also on track to receive a generous public subsidy deal; the city of Fredericksburg offered the developer a $61 million subsidy through tax breaks and fee waivers, while the state of Virginia said it would kick in a $25 million cash bond. The project stalled and ultimately never materialized after the developer failed to get financing for construction.
Mayor Bao Nguyen is the only member of the current city council who has criticized the city’s focus on big development projects and hotels along Harbor Boulevard.
During his last election against former mayor Bruce Broadwater, who spearheaded the Waterpark deal, Nguyen described the strategy as “riding Mickey Mouse’s coattails” and catering to tourists, at the expense of potential improvements that would more directly affect residents.
He also criticized the low-wage economy produced by hotel and theme parks, and argued the city should invest in sectors like technology in order to attract recent college graduates.
Nguyen, who is running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Loretta Sanchez, didn’t return requests for comment.
City officials generally dispute that criticism, pointing to the fact that the subsidies will be financed entirely by a trust fund of the former redevelopment agency. And because the subsidies will be paid back out of the redevelopment trust fund and not the city’s general fund, there’s zero risk for the city, argued senior project manager Greg Blodgett.
Okereke says that, even though the state has since eliminated redevelopment agencies as a tool for local governments, he would still consider offering subsidies to hotel projects out of the city’s general fund.
“Frankly, if we get a good deal on the city side, I would still recommend the city do these kinds of deals,” Okereke said. “At the end of the day, it expands the revenue base of the city, and then we can do more roads and cops and those kind of stuff.”
Sunny Southern California: A New Market
If this deal pans out, it will be a first for a Southern California locale.
Although there were 858 waterparks in the U.S. as of March 2015, the majority of waterparks are concentrated in the Midwest and Southern United States, according to a 2015 industry report by the consulting firm Hotel and Leisure Advisors.
Of the 192 indoor waterparks, just 29 were located in the Western United States and 24 in the South. Most of the existing indoor waterpark market is located in the Midwest and Northeast, where cold climates encourage visitors year-round.
“Most indoor resorts are clustered in the northern states. The only [one] comparable to it is the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. It gets colder in Dallas than in California. So this will be a test case for the concept,” Sangree said. “There is one in Albuquerque that has not done so well – but the climate is similar.”
The resort in Garden Grove will be the largest ever constructed by Great Wolf and among one of the most expensive indoor parks so far. The two largest indoor waterpark resorts in the country — the Camelback Lodge at 125,000 square feet and Kalahari Resort at 106,000 square feet — opened last year in Pennsylvania.
Furthermore, there are a number of outdoor waterparks in the region, including Knott’s Soak City, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor and Raging Waters San Dimas, are outdoors and operate seasonally.
Nonetheless, Sangree, who has done consulting work for Great Wolf projects in the past, said the resort’s concept is a good one, especially for families.
“If you have children, a hotel like this is so much fun. You don’t have to drive to the beach and deal with parking. The Great Wolf Lodge concept allows for entertainment venues and themed characters and different types of games that’s really fun for kids,” Sangree said.
Still, the room rates may be expensive for many families who might want to split their time between the waterpark and Disneyland.
Rooms at Great Wolf range from $250 to $600 a night, compared to an average price of $168 a night for Anaheim-Garden Grove hotels.
On the high end of the price scale, Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel, a 948-room, lodge-style hotel that includes three pools and a full service spa, ranges from $475 to $980 a night depending on the season.
“From a parent’s point of view, they are really expensive, and that will be the challenge,” Sangree said. “The room rates at this hotel are higher than the rates at other hotels…but there are also a lot of affluent families in Orange County for which it might not be so expensive.”
Another barrier may be that, unlike some resorts, the waterpark will be restricted to hotel patrons only, although hotel guests can buy a $40 day pass for a limited number of guests.
Although Great Wolf spokeswoman Susie Storey declined comment on what percent of the hotel’s rooms are currently booked, Okereke said the resort has reported high demand and plans to operate 80 percent of the hotel.
Sangree says maintaining that level of occupancy will require a strong marketing plan.
“It’s 603 rooms, that’s a big hotel to fill every day. The biggest challenge is marketing and informing the public you’re there,” Sangree said.
Contact Thy Vo at tvo@voiceofoc.org or follow her on Twitter @thyanhvo.House Speaker Mark Eves filed a civil lawsuit against Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday, alleging that LePage used taxpayer money and the power of his office to prevent Eves from being hired by a private school in Fairfield.
That action violated several of Eves’ constitutional and other rights, according to the 27-page complaint. Those include his First Amendment rights of free speech, free association and political affiliation, as well as his 14th Amendment right to due process. The suit cited Eves’ “liberty and property interests in being free from unreasonable government |
Teachers who have consensual sex with pupils should not face prosecution, says union
Child protection experts last night condemned a teachers' leader for saying that staff who have affairs with pupils over 16 should escape prosecution.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said teachers should not face jail for having sex with pupils who are over the age of consent.
Her comments, due to be broadcast tonight, have outraged child protection and parenting experts who accused her of disregarding the protection of children.
Miss Keates said: 'There is a real anomaly in the law that we are concerned about.
'If a teacher has a relationship with a pupil at the school at which they teach - it could be an 18-year-old pupil in the sixth form - then the teacher can be prosecuted and end up on the sex offenders' register.'
Teachers who have sex with sixth form pupils are only guilty of an 'error of professional judgement' and it is unfair to put them on the sex offenders' register, she insists.
Affair: Dean Dainty, left, was 15 when he was seduced by dance teacher Nicola Prentice, right. He says the affair, which resulted in her walking free from court having been handed a 12-month suspended sentence, ruined his life
Miss Keates told the ITV Tonight programme: 'Clearly there has to be appropriate disciplinary sanctions in the school where a teacher works to make sure that inappropriate relationships don’t develop, but it does seem a step too far - when there has been a consensual relationship - to put that person on a sex offenders' register when in fact, they could have a perfectly legitimate relationship with an 18-year-old still enrolled at another school.'
Her criticism of the abuse of trust law, contained in the Sexual Offences Act, which makes it illegal for teachers to have sexual relationships with children in their care, was condemned last night by child safety organisations.
Zoe Hilton, policy advisor at the NSPCC, said 'The law is very clear that if a teacher abuses his or her position of trust by forming a sexual relationship with a pupil they could be prosecuted and this remains the case even if the child gives their consent. The law is, quite rightly, there to protect children.'
Author on parenting and children's rights, Lynette Burrows said: 'Where is her moral compass?
'Teachers who take advantage of a young girl or boy in their care should certainly face dismissal and prosecution.
'If there is no penalty what is there to stop teachers taking advantage of children and young people?
'This also sends out a message that this is ok for teachers to have a relationship with pupils.'
The mother of six, who is a former teacher, added: 'Children deserve our protection and we should expect a standard of behaviour in that position of responsibility that should be rigorously enforced in law.'
In 2001 the law was changed to make it illegal for teachers to have affairs with their pupils under the age of 18.
But a study by Sheffield University published in 2005 estimated that as many as 1,500 intimate relationships develop every year.
Dean Dainty, who was 16 when he had a sexual relationship with his 22-year-old drama teacher Nicola Prentice, says the teacher's abuse of her position wrecked his life.
In an interview for the programme he said: ‘Looking back now, I wish it had never all happened. It affected me in a big way, my personality and things, and I started to do stupid things after it and not be myself.
'It took me a long time to get myself back together – I suppose it took a piece of my life away really.’
Prentice received a suspended sentence and was made to sign the sex offenders register.
Yesterday Margaret Morrissey, from the campaign group Parents Outloud, said: 'It is wrong for a teacher to have a relationship with a student in their school, even one over the age of consent.
'I would have been less than impressed if a male teacher had started a relationship with my daughter while she was at school. However, there is a question as to whether they should be classed as a paedophiles and a risk that labelling them as such devalues the term.'
To Sir With Love is to be broadcast tonight on ITV1 at 8pmBarack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid are being controlled by trial lawyers who want to blindfold the nation's terror fighters and they plan to let the Protect America Act expire, according to a new Republican National Committee YouTube attack ad.
The senators foot-dragging in handing President Bush unchecked power to install permanent spying outposts inside American telecom facilities will "open a critical gap in our nation's intelligence capabilities."
The ad features a shaking countdown timer, shots of a Humvee against the backdrop of an American flag, and the silhouette of a Muslim with an AK-47 in front of what looks to be a statehouse. The ad closes by noting that "The terrorist threat to America never expires."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=&rel=1
THREAT LEVEL hates to nitpick, so we won't point out that using satellite dishes to intercept international radio waves isn't affected by the Protect America Act.
Nor that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) –also targeted in the ad – continues to make it legislatively easy for the Administration-friendly bill to pass. Nor that none of the lawsuits against the telecoms were filed by the traditional plaintiff lawyers. And while the vid accuses Democrats of responding to special interests (Al Qaida?), the real special interest lobbying behind the bill comes from telecoms that knew they were breaking the law.
Also, FISA only really became important after 9/11 after the New York Times revealed that Bush had lied to the nation about warrantless wiretapping and had been sidestepping FISA for four years by 2005. And if the NSA wanted to spy on a known terrorist suspect in Pakistan who was calling someone in D.C., shouldn't the NSA be using some of its multi-billion dollar budget to place the wiretap near the phone in Pakistan, rather than inside a telephone switch in New York City? That way the NSA might catch all the phone calls from a terrorism suspect, not just the ones to people in America.
Instead of nit-picking, THREAT LEVEL instead would like to dedicate the following clip as a chaser to the RNC's stiff shot.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=&rel=1
Remember, Don't Suspect a Friend. Report Him.
See Also:With Jeremy Lin back in town for the first time since the Rockets dealt him to the Lakers, the Rockets are eager to cash in the trade chip they picked up in that deal.
The Rockets have been actively seeking to deal the $8.34 million trade exception that came with the Lin trade in a change to their original strategy, according to a person familiar with their trade talks around the league.
The Rockets have talked to teams about 10 to 12 players, the individual familiar with the trade talks said. They had been expected to wait until more players were eligible to be traded, either after Dec. 15 when players signed in the off-season can be dealt or more likely at the February trade deadline.
The Rockets, however, determined that there might not be a large enough increase in potential trade targets in December and that a deal now could actually strengthen their options in February, particularly if seeking a larger deal for a more coveted player.
The Rockets have been in talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves about Corey Brewer, long a Rockets trade target. ESPN.com initially reported on Sunday that the Rockets and Cavaliers have pursued Brewer, who has two years remaining on his contract.
By using their trade exception from the Lin deal, the Rockets would technically be completing that trade, potentially offering only draft picks rather than players in a deal.
The Rockets’ strategy in current trade talks would be to add any player that could help strengthen the rotation, rather than to seek a player at a specific position.
Power forward Terrence Jones is out indefinitely with a bruised nerve in his right leg, forcing the Rockets to use rookies Tarik Black, a center, and Kostas Papanikolaou, generally a small forward, as backup power forwards.
Deals for top frontcourt players that will be free agents next off-season such as Atlanta’s Paul Millsap or Detroit’s Greg Monroe are expected to be much more difficult to acquire so early in the season.
The Rockets, however, would rather bolster the rotation as quickly as possible, even with their 9-2 start to the season, with the Lin trade exception increasingly likely to be used long before the NBA trade market heats up.Goal.com profiles Germany's top division to show why it's the competition to follow over the 2011-12 campaign
It's unpredictable
More goals, more fans
You can watch tomorrow's superstars today
No diving
The past holds little currency
Follow Clark Whitney on
By Clark WhitneyExactly 83 days have passed since the final round of the 2010-11 Bundesliga season and on Friday, at long last, the German top flight is set to resume. With the league having overtaken Serie A for superior performance in Europe over the last five years, four Bundesliga teams will compete for Champions League spots in the upcoming campaign.With the addition of an extra slot in Europe's elite tournament, there will surely be an added impetus for clubs to reach the upper levels of the German league, and based on results from pre-season, the title race may be wide open.Ahead of the restart,profiles the Bundesliga, giving the top five reasons why it's one to follow in 2011-12.It may be a cliche, but in Germany there is reason to expect the unexpected. With four different champions in the last five years and seven unique top three finishers in the last three years, the Bundesliga is either a paradise or a nightmare for gamblers.Almost every year, a darkhorse team (or more) emerge to disrupt the status quo. Consider Hertha BSC, who finished fourth in 2009, then were relegated a year later. And now, having won the 2. Bundesliga, they are back in the top flight once more. Just another typical example of the league’s tempestuous volatility.With an average attendance of 42,653, the German top flight was far and away the most watched European league last year. The audiences, almost always packed to capacity, witnessed an average of 2.92 goals per game, also a high among the top European leagues.In goals scored and attendance, the Bundesliga has for years been ahead of the competition in England, Spain and Italy. The atmosphere at games is unparalleled, with good reason given the energetic and attractive style of play that characterises German teams.Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger … these are just a few of the superstar figures to have emerged in Germany over the last few years. With the continued success of young teams, players are being blooded at an increasingly early age. And due to the league’s strict rules regulating youth development, these athletes are proving to be as proficient and capable as those a decade their senior.Indeed, nearly a third of all Bundesliga players last year were 21 or younger before the beginning of the campaign, and the eldest member of Goal.com's team of the season was just 25. If there is one sporting area in which the German top flight by far exceeds the competition, it is in the quality of its youth.Hate it or love it, refereeing culture in Germany is decidedly laissez-faire. Officials tend to be very lenient with physical defending in the penalty box, and are reluctant to send off players without offering a second chance.While these refereeing tendencies come with some undesirable side effects - that defenders will push the limits and often get away with penalty-worthy offences - a bonus is that there is little incentive to play-act. Accordingly, rare is it that a player will go to ground without good reason.As German coaching legend Sepp Herberger once put it, "after the game is before the game." As soon as one match ends, preparation for another begins.Herberger’s famous words have become engrained in German football culture, and are at the very foundation of the Bundesliga’s dynamic state. There, the past does not matter: a historically inferior team will not view a match against top opponents as a lost cause, but instead as a chance for glory. There is neither a "losers' complex" nor a sense of entitlement, making for an uncommonly competitive league.Republicans can breathe a sigh of relief in Georgia's sixth confessional district. The Ossoff insurgency is over. It’s finished. Republican Karen Handel has defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff 52/48 in the most expensive congressional race in history. Early results were pretty good for Handel, with many observers bracing for a deluge of mailed absentee ballots that could erase Ossoff's five-point deficit that later developed. A little over 27,000 absentee mail ballots were submitted, with David Wasserman of Cook Political Report noting that Ossoff needed to win at least 80 percent of those. When Dekalb County came in with him only winning 73 percent of those mailed ballots—Nate Cohn of The New York Times had him at 71 percent—it was pretty clear that Ossoff would not be able to win.
Turns out, after a $50 million race, there is such a thing as Ossoff Fatigue. #GA06 — Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) June 21, 2017
BREAKING: Republican Karen Handel wins Georgia special election, avoiding major upset in most expensive House race in US history. — The Associated Press (@AP) June 21, 2017
CNN projects Republican Karen Handel has won Georgia's high-stakes special election. https://t.co/enHjPixCzS pic.twitter.com/qv5wxclMSP — CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 21, 2017
BIG news here. This is just not good enough for Ossoff. #GA06 https://t.co/fL44Lwwjru — Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) June 21, 2017
Ossoff will probably need 80%+ of these. https://t.co/ixHFjqpjPi — Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) June 21, 2017
Ace of Spades Decision Desk called it for Handel, followed by CNN, and then the Associated Press made it official. As the polls closed, Wasserman added the high turnout could help Handel and it did. Then again, he also tossed in some history, where Democrats held PA-12 after the death of Rep. John Murtha in 2010, only to be obliterated in the midterms. It will be interesting to see if Ossoff did get 15 percent of GOP voters, while tallying how many voters who sat out the April 18 election only to show up and vote tonight. On paper, they number in the tens of thousands. Those voters reportedly trended conservative on the issues. Overall, it was a depressing night for Democrats. They lost this race and the special election in SC-05, which was held to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Rick Mulvaney, who is now The Director Of The Office of Budget and Management. The Left got an upper cut in South Carolina, followed by a haymaker in Georgia. Still, we have a long way to go until the 2018 midterms, but it seems the GOP base in GA-06 came home, despite not being the most enthusiastic Trump supporters. It was a good night for the GOP.
What’s the practical effect of the historic turnout in Georgia? At first, Democrats might be tempted to believe it’s a great sign for Ossoff, because activists flooded his campaign with cash. But, ironically, high turnout could be helping Handel. That’s because low-turnout elections tend to benefit the more fired-up party, and that’s the Democrats. In April’s Kansas special election, Democrat James Thompson came within 7 points of a shocking upset in a district that President Trump won by 27 points, in part because the race got so little attention and so many Republicans didn’t vote. Voters cast a measly 121,000 votes there, compared with 276,000 last fall. But I’d estimate that about three-quarters of the 331,000 voters who went to the polls last November are likely to cast ballots in today’s special election. If Handel pulls this out, a big reason will be that fewer Republicans skipped the race. The downside for Republicans is that turnout won’t be that high everywhere in November 2018, and the enthusiasm gap could be wider.Mejrem Hamzaj lost five family members on April 1, 1999. On that day, Serbian paramilitaries attacked Lubeniq (Ljubenic in Serbian), a Kosovan village near the north-western city of Peja (Pec in Serbian). The Kosovo war was raging at the time. Mejrem remembered one of the Serbian paramilitaries entering their house – with two bombs in his hands. She remembered that she had turned her head to her husband. He had waved his hand gesturing her to go and to save the children. After she finished this sentence, she couldn’t bring herself to say any further word, and started crying.
The 2015 documentary The Unidentified, directed by Marija Ristic and Nemanja Babic, reveals the war criminals of the Lubeniq massacre and other mass murders in the Peja area during the Kosovo war. The perpetrator was the 177th Yugoslav Army Unit known as the Jackals, commanded by Nebosoja Minic, alias “Dead” (“Mrtvi” in Serbian). Furthermore, The Unidentified names Serbian officials responsible for transferring killed Kosovar-Albanians to mass graves all over Serbia.
A laudable step in reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo
The two film directors are Marija Ristic, a Serbian journalist, and Nemanja Babic, a Serbian film producer. They had the courage to spend two years critically investigating some of the worst mass killings committed by their fellow countrymen during the war in Kosovo. From a reconciliation perspective, it is very laudable that two Serbians directed such a nuanced and questioning documentary. Another notable achievement of The Unidentified is that victims and perpetrators of the same war crimes both have their say.
From a gender perspective, the documentary reveals the usual image – only male soldiers and paramilitaries are interviewed: men are perpetrators of war, whereas women are mainly victims. Yet, Mejrem’s perseverance to continue her life – after this traumatizing war – is considerable. Also laudable are the women of Krusha, a village in the south-west of Kosovo. The war left eighty-two women of Krusha as widows – in the aftermath of the war, they reconstructed their village on their own.
Peja: a place of horror during the war
Peja and its surroundings was a region of horror during the Kosovo war. The Unidentified vividly renders its painful history, as all the massacres investigated in the documentary – Lubeniq, Qyshk (Cuska in Serbian), Pavlan (Plavljane in Serbian), Zahaq (Zahac in Serbian) – took place in that area. According to Zoran Raskovic, a former member of the Jackals, these were not the only massacres that took place: “All the villages on the right hand side of the Peja-Gjakova road were cleansed,” Raskovic, who is currently a protected witness, claims in the documentary.
The Jackals were not created in the course of the war in Kosovo; they had already committed massacres in the wars in Bosnia and Croatia during the 90s. Their leader in Kosovo was Nebosoja Minic, alias “Mrtvi”, who died, apparently of AIDS, in 2005 in Mendoza, Argentina. Yet, there is still a lack of clarity over whether he is really dead. His nickname “Dead” resulted from a report that he was killed in the war in Bosnia. After that he appeared at his own vigil, which was held in was in Peja, his hometown.
Goran Petronijevic, lawyer of the former commander of the 177th Army Unit in Peja,Toplica Miladinovic, says in The Unidentified that there was a lack of Serbian soldiers in the Kosovo war. Hence, according to him, there was no alternative to recruiting prisoners and psychologically unwell people. The directors of the documentary deserve some criticism for letting this doubtful statement pass without comment: for a totalitarian dictator like Slobodan Milosevic nothing better could happen than employing people who represent public danger in his armies.
Miracles in wartime
Ristic and Babic, however, do not repeat this mistake. Petronijevic states that it is not clear whether the massacres committed by the Jackals, in the villages around Peja, were planned or spontaneously perpetrated. Yet the two directors deliver strong evidence that the mass murders were structured and coordinated. They quote an official Serbian document, signed by the not-indicted Dragan Zivanovic, with the following sentence: “Although the army was aware of the massacre in Ljubenic, the same unit was sent to the neighbouring village of Cuska.”
After Mejrem witnessed the murder of five of her relatives, she had to flee Lubeniq: she walked with survivors of the massacre around 100 kilometres to Albania. When they reached Gjakova (Djakovica in Serbian), 35 kilometres from Peja, they were tired – they had not eaten or drunk anything during their march – and looked for a place to rest.
In the city entrance, they passed a café full of celebrating policemen and soldiers, obviously Serbs. One man wearing a police uniform told them in Albanian: “If you try to stay over tonight in Gjakova, a big massacre will be waiting for you tomorrow.” This man, maybe a Kosovo-Serbian, saved the life of Merjem and the other exiles. Even though an overwhelming majority of events in a war are horrific, miracles like that of Merjem’s nonetheless still occur. The Unidentified is mindful of such moments.
“Someone has to tell the other Albanians what happened here”
Another story, which dumbfounds the spectator, is the story of Erzen Ljushi, a villager of Qyshk. Erzen lost nine family members on May 14, 1999. He was 16 years old at the time. One of the Jackals’ paramilitaries charged the teenager with collecting money in the houses. After he finished this task, the Serbians decided not to kill Erzen. “Someone has to tell the other Albanians what happened here,” said “Dead”, as the former paramilitary Zoran Raskovic remembers in the documentary.
Mejrem Hamzaj returned with her brother to Lubeniq on June 13, one day after NATO armed forces arrived in Kosovo. Her village was unrecognizable. She went to the mosque and yelled: “is anyone alive?” And after she walked through Lubeniq, she came to understand that the Serbians did not leave a single corpse in her village.
Serbia, headed at that time by Milosevic, wanted to hide these massacres in the Peja district: instructed by the Serbian interior ministry, bodies were then brought from Kosovo to different places all over Serbia. Mustafa Radoniqi, a lawyer representing Kosovo-Albanian victims’ families, says in the documentary: “from March until May 1999 the corpses were exhumed by night loaded onto trucks and transported to secret locations in Serbia.”
The unwitting digging up of a Serbian cover-up attempt
A Serbian fisherman in the eastern Serbian village of Tekija has unwittingly dug the planned Serbian state secret up: he found a refrigerator truck, raised to the surface of the Danube. The truck, with no license plates, was full of dismembered human corpses. These failed cover-up attempts were called “Dubina 2”, “Depth I” or “Depth II”. The Unidentified reveals that “more than 1000 bodies of Kosovo-Albanians have been found in mass graves in Serbia in the following locations: the police training center ‘13. maj’ Batajnica, Rudnica Quarry, Perucac Lake, the police training centre in Petrovo Selo.
The documentary also points clearly criminals out who are involved in the hush-up try by Serbia. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) identified Obrad Stefanovic, former assistant interior minister, as participant in the cover-up plans. He who wrote during that period in his diary: “no body, no crime.” Others involved in this undertaking include Dragan Ilic, former head of Serbia’s criminal investigation unit, or Petar Zekovic, a former assistant interior minister. None of them, or anybody directly involved in removing and reburying the corpses, has ever been brought to court.
The legal situation is humiliating for the victims of the war in Kosovo. Only 11 out of 150 to 200 paramilitary Jackals – plus unidentified criminals – have been indicted for the massacres, says Ranko Momic, a former member of the Yugoslav Army, in the documentary. 11 years passed before the indictments started. Momic himself is charged with war crimes in the villages around Peja.
A documentary without tchotchke
The Unidentified is a documentary without tchotchke, based on investigated facts. But it is not a clinical film to watch: the recordings and photos during the war in Kosovo, in particular, provide an appropriate from of alternation.
In front of Prishtina’s parliament, photos of people who have been missing since 1999 are still displayed today: the war in Kosovo ended 16 years ago, but it is a war full of lingering obscurities. As a result of this, one should watch this documentary with critical eyes; the cover-up attempts by Serb officials revealed in the film are maybe not the only hush-ups. At the same time, my proposition should not hide the fact that the Ristic’ and Babic’ journalistic work is considerable, and represents a crucial step in unveiling the truths of the war in Kosovo.Veteran News Journal reporter and Lewes resident Molly Murray died July 17, because of pancreatitis. She was 61.
Chuck Snyder, longtime News Journal photographer and Rehoboth resident, said he had been getting updates through most of the night. He said when he went to bed, the last he knew, she was in stable condition. When he woke up July 17, there was a text saying she had died.
"I was like, 'Oh my God.' We lost a great newspaper person, and I lost a dear friend," he said. "Molly was always so upbeat. She was such a likable person."
Murray was a Delaware native best known for her stories on beaches, the environment and conservation.
Murray started with the News Journal in 1980 as a government and court reporter covering Cecil County, Md. During her tenure, she also covered Dover and Kent County, downstate schools, and local and county government in Sussex County.
A 1974 graduate of Dover High School, Murray had a bachelor's degree in English from Arcadia University and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University.
Snyder said he was always happy to hear he'd been assigned to a story Murray was working on. She knew the area and the people, he said. Nothing really troubled her, he said.
Snyder is a member of the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company. He said he and Murray covered many storms together over the years.
"She'd hop in the fire truck, and we'd go down to see the flooding at the inlet," he said. "On our way, we'd talk about our kids."
Tony Pratt, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's administrator of the Shoreline and Waterways Management Section, said most of his experience with Murray was during coastal storms. She loved being out in the storms, in the wind and the rain, he said.
"She might have had a body weight of 97 pounds, but during storms she'd be out there in the wind and rain," he said. "She had the tenacity of a sailor. She'd head straight for the wave and wasn't afraid to get hit in the face. She was energized by it."
Pratt said he grew to look forward to calls from Murray. The number one thing, said Pratt, was her inquisitiveness.
"Her thinking was deep, and we'd really get into subjects she was interested in," he said.
Suzanne Thurman, Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute executive director, said she had known Murray since the 1990s and was heartbroken to hear the news. Describing Murray as a pioneer, Thurman said Murray worked in a field, journalism, and reported on another, environmental issues, that are predominantly male – especially, she continued, when Murray would have started her career.
Thurman said Murray was always paying attention to what being said, and had a knack for picking up on the smallest comment and pursuing that information.
“She was so savvy,” Thurman said.
Thurman praised Murray for her accuracy on stories and for wanting to educate people on environmental issues that affect them.
As an educator, Thurman said it meant so much that Murray was trying tell people the issues as they were happening. “She had such integrity in her writing,” Thurman said.
Chris Bason, Center for the Inland Bays executive director, said Murray was so knowledgeable on subjects that he considered her a fellow scientist.
“She kept abreast of issues as much as I did, oftentimes more,” he said, with a small self-deprecating chuckle. “I always knew I was talking to a professional.”
Bason said beyond the environment and conservation issues, the two shared a connection because their families had neighboring farms near Dover.
“It always felt like I was talking to a friend,” he said.
Reporting on the environment often means getting dirty, wet or both, and, said Bason, Murray loved every minute of it.
“I don’t think she ever got tired of being out in the field,” he said. “She was always in awe of all that was nature, and its power never escaped her.”
Murray is survived by her daughter, Halie Emerson Murray-Davis of Lewes; longtime partner, Glenn Robert "Rob" Davis, of Lewes; parents, Thomas and Nancy Murray of Dover; and brother, John Murray and his wife Debbie of Dover.
Funeral services will be held 12:30 p.m., Saturday, July 22, at the Presbyterian Church of Dover, 54 S. State Street, Dover, DE 19901. Friends may call from 11 a.m. to service time. Interment will be in the Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Dover, to follow the service.Following Sunday’s match against Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter summed up his feelings about midfielder Wil Trapp succinctly.
“I don't think there's a like-for-like replacement in the whole league for Wil Trapp,” said the Crew boss.
Consensus opinion has lauded Trapp’s influence in the midfield, allowing fullbacks Waylon Francis and Josh Williams to pressure up the flanks. But what do the numbers say?
As you might expect, Opta metrics equally praise Trapp’s presence and dynamics as a holding midfielder. Pick any statistic describing what a reliable, complete midfielder does, and Trapp ranks near the top of the league.
Few MLS players are as involved as Trapp on a minute-by-minute basis. He is one of just five players with more than 700 total touches (his 703 ranks fifth in MLS; Vincent Nogueira’s 799 leads the pack). His 593 total passes ranks fourth among all MLS players and his 518 successful passes rank just one behind Philadelphia’s Nogueira for the league lead.
Those totals make for an 87.35% passing accuracy rate, which ranks fourth among all players with at least 600 minutes played, regardless of position. Teammate Michael Parkhurst is second in this regard, illustrating how strong the pair has been in the middle of the pitch for Columbus.
What makes Trapp even more valuable is how balanced his contributions are. In attack, among all midfielders, Trapp is tied for eighth in chances created from open play, and ranks 14th in final third passes. On defense, also among all midfielders, Trapp ranks sixth in tackles and is tied for eighth in interceptions.
Trapp’s heatmap from Sunday is representative of these contributions. Consistently active in defensive midfield, but able to get forward when needed, Trapp is a force from box-to-box for the Crew.
The bottom line: it’s difficult to find a player in MLS as involved as the Gahanna native.
Perhaps the most impressive element of these numbers shines through when comparing Trapp to his company. Some names consistently appearing in the same rarified air alongside the Columbus midfielder in the categories above are recognizable: Nogueira, Dax McCarty, Kyle Beckerman, and Osvaldo Alonso, to name a few. The combined average age of those four players? 28 years old. Trapp, of course, is just 21, suggesting he can only continue to develop and get better.
That’s a scary thought for Crew opponents over the next few seasons. In the interim, it makes for a difficult choice on how to replace him Wednesday against Houston.
All statistics and images courtesy of Opta Sportsdata.Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform may not be a huge hit with consumers just yet, but according to a new report by market analysis and strategy firm VisionMobile, it’s definitely catching on with developers. Almost 60% of the developers who responded to this survey say that they plan to develop for the Windows Phone platform. Those are just ‘plans,’ though, and those don’t have to turn into reality. Windows phone, say the survey’s authors, “is indeed the new cool,” but “to turn the buzz into developer buy-in at the levels of iOS and Android, actual adoption must follow soon or fall flat.”
One area that’s especially attractive to developers, it seems, is the ease of coding and prototyping apps for Microsoft’s mobile platform, as well as the relatively low cost of development and low learning curve.
As for other platforms, about 28% of the developers surveyed in this study say they plan to develop for iOS, 25% say they’ll target Android and another 25% plan to develop for Chrome.
As tablets become increasingly popular, developers are also jumping on the bandwagon. Almost half of the mobile developers surveyed for its study now target tablets and almost 75% of iOS developers do so. That’s up from just 34.5% a year ago. Smartphones, of course, remain the most popular mobile devices targeted by developers, with 85% of them developing for one of the leading smartphone platforms.
When it comes to making money from their apps, though, mobile app developer clearly still remains a bit of a hit-driven business. The average revenue per app developers can expect to make is somewhere between $1,200 and $3,900 depending on the platform they are targeting. According to this study, BlackBerry developers currently make the most per app ($3,853), followed by iOS developers ($3,693) and those writing apps for Android ($2,735). While many developers may be expressing interest in developing for Windows Phone, the reality is that those who currently do so say they only make around $1,200 per app. These numbers only take into account the bottom 95% of developer by per-app-revenue, so there are obviously some developers who make significantly more.
It’s worth noting that only 4% of respondents said they developed for BlackBerry, though. This relatively small sample size likely influenced the average income per app (maybe only those who are still making good money from their BlackBerry apps actually still support the platform?).
Another caveat: the majority of developers who responded to this survey were from Europe (41%) and Asia (28%). Only 18% were from North America. It’s worth keeping this in mind as you look at the data, as the differences between these markets surely colors the developers’ experiences.Local student earns Girl Scouting's highest award Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Video
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - A local student's work to empower girls has earned her a prestigious honor.
Asrielle Allen has achieved the Gold Award, the highest awards in Girl Scouts, through Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois by empowering girls in the Rock Island-Milan School District to become leaders.
Asreille has always been passionate about leadership and knew that she wanted to share her skills with other girls. She created Girls Leading the Way, a student organization for girls at Rock Island High School.
Through the student organization, girls learned to become aware of their talents, utilize them in leadership positions, and then teach other girls to do the same. To share their message, Girls Leading the Way members organized a conference for younger girls at Rock Island elementary schools.
“I feel as though a lesson is truly solidified when the girls are confident enough to not just share what they learned, but to lead and teach others to do the same,” says Asrielle. “The leadership and self-awareness skills instilled in girls will travel with them wherever they go in life.”
“The Gold Award represents a girls’ dedication to making the world a better place by beginning to make improvements in her own community,” says Claudia Reich, manager of age level support at Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.
The steps to earning the Gold Award are rooted in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. To earn a Gold Award, a girl must:
• Choose an issue she cares about.
• Investigate everything she can about the issue.
• Get help by inviting others to support and take action with her.
• Create a plan that achieves sustainable and measurable impact.
• Present her plan and get feedback from the Girl Scout council.
• Take action to carry out her plan.
• Educate and inspire others with what she experienced.
• Complete at least 80 hours working on the project.Canned Hunting
Find out more about Blood Lions at https://bigcatrescue.org/blood-lions/
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Killing Tamed Wild Animals in Fenced Areas for Sport
Petting Cubs in Africa Supports the Canned Hunting Industry
In this episode we investigate the so-called “green con”, where volunteers are paying exorbitant amounts to come to South Africa to hand raise lion cubs under the impression that they are doing it for conservation. Activists allege that most of these cubs end up in a “canned” hunt or as breeding robots for farms.
We also focus on the alleged abuse of the permit system for the breeding and hunting of lion and ask whether the country needs to have standardised regulations across all provinces.
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Part 2 looks at the lion bone trade which has grown hugely over the past few years. Many people know about how the rhino is being poached for its horn, which is used in traditional medicines in Asia, but few know that lion bones are |
in an airport-related bribery charge, to which he pleaded guilty.
The latest dust-up at the Port of Seattle is even tame compared to some of its own recent history.
For example, in 2007 Port police officers were caught using work email to send pornographic and racist emails. An independent investigation not only cited leadership problems at the Port but also said the probe into the emails was itself poorly handled.
A year later, an investigation documented 10 cases of fraud in Port contracting. Among them: A Port employee leaked sensitive documents to a contractor who later made a jaw-dropping 30 percent profit as part of building the third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. An earlier audit had warned of lax contracting practices.
This time, the auditor focused on one-time bonuses for 642 nonunion employees. Commissioners approved the payment because the nonunion workers’ schedules were being increased — to 40 hours a week, from 37.5 — but the auditor said the bonuses violated the state constitution because they weren’t tied to any specific performance goals. This arcane finding, which the Port is correcting, is hardly the stuff of corruption. Unless more damaging details come out.
Still, L’Affaire Fick should lead to some soul searching by commissioners. They answer to taxpayers who partly fund the Port’s $385 million operating budget.
Commissioners complain, rightly, that most of the region doesn’t appreciate the economic importance of the Port and maritime sector, and even takes the airport for granted.
They also led the battle to prevent the City Council from vacating part of Occidental Avenue to further hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen’s bid to build a Sodo arena. Again, I think they are correct in seeking to protect logistics movement in the area. But it made them plenty of enemies among sports fans.
With so much at stake, commissioners took a risk in hiring a man with zero public-service background. Tay Yoshitani, the previous chief executive, was a West Point graduate with extensive Port experience, working in both the public and private sectors (and even he faced some controversies).
It might have worked out. Early in his tenure, in 2015, I wrote:
“Meet Fick and he comes off as whip-smart, gregarious, intense and quick to describe himself as demanding. He has that special confidence of a hired management gun, and I mean that in a good way. He will seek to lead, not be a mere timeserver.”
Fick made an excellent hire in Lance Lyttle as managing director of Sea-Tac airport. Lyttle’s improvements are striking and welcome. Fick also reformed an ossified Port bureaucracy.
On the other hand, Fick was uncomfortable reporting to a public commission. He gained a reputation among the staff for being pompous and driving down morale.
But the Port commission owns this mess.
When Fick took the outside board position, it should have discharged him. Port counsel should have flagged the raises as a potential problem. Commissioners should have told Fick explicitly the raise didn’t apply to him.
The Port CEO position today is very different from that held by Yoshitani. The seaport is largely the mission of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, overseen by a separate chief and the commissions of both the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma. The CEO today oversees business units that are their own financial centers, yet do critical public work.
Fick’s successor needs a deep commitment to the core missions of a public port. This one’s on the commission, too.Theca-interstitial (T-I) cells synthesize androgens that are converted to estrogen by the granulosa cells. In rat ovary, T-I cells primarily utilize HDL-derived cholesteryl esters (CE) as a precursor for androgen synthesis. The HDL-CE is delivered to steroidogenic cells by a process termed "selective" uptake in which CE is internalized without the simultaneous uptake of apolipoprotein(s). This process is mediated by an HDL receptor, scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI) and is stimulated by trophic hormone (LH/hCG), which also activates the cAMP cascade. In this study, we tested whether the adenoviral (Ad)-mediated introduction of a dominant-negative analog of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (A-CREB) inhibits the stimulatory effect of LH/hCG on the selective uptake of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and androgen production in primary cultures of rat T-I cells. Androstenedione production by cultured T-I cells was stimulated by hCG and by the adenoviral overexpression of wtCREB. Additionally, the stimulatory effect observed with hCG was amplified in the presence of HDL. Androgen synthesis was increased 17-fold in the presence of HDL and hCG but the stimulatory effect of hCG was inhibited by Ad A-CREB by approx 70%. In the selective up-take studies, cell-surface association of the labeled HDL was significantly enhanced by hCG treatment, and this effect was inhibited by Ad A-CREB. The selective uptake of HDL-cholesterol was also enhanced by hCG but exposure to Ad A-CREB also abrogated this effect. It is concluded that CREB plays an intermediary role in the stimulatory action of LH/hCG on androgen synthesis and the selective uptake of HDL-cholesterol in T-I cells.When all of Formula E’s cars share the same energy source (the Williams-provided battery), the same limit on peak permitted power (200kW in qualifying; 170kW in the race) and the same chassis, how do some cars appear to be more glued to the surface than others? The answer is complex but can be summed up in one often-used phrase: set-up.
“Set-up” encompasses a wide range of adjustments. Physical settings range from the angle the wheels are set at to meet the road surface, how far the car is positioned off the ground and the amount and rate of travel in the suspension to the angle of aerodynamic surfaces and brake balance.
On the software and electronic side of things, Formula E cars can run different power maps, which tell the powertrain how to behave in different situations and which can deliver differing amounts of power and torque to suit different requirements. Regenerative braking can also be varied and, as energy is only captured from the rear axle, the brake bias has to be adjusted when regen levels change.
The functions operated by the various buttons and paddles on the Formula E steering wheel can be altered to produce different reactions, giving the drivers far more control over what they want their car to do.
All of these factors are fine-tuned by the engineers to accomplish a specific set of goals and in light of the characteristics of a particular track. Ultimate straight line speed may require a different set of parameters to ultimate efficiency, for example, depending on the location, nature of the circuit, surface, ambient temperature and a host of other variables. Keeping the driver happy by delivering a car that he or she feels comfortable with is also vital.
In conventional top-level motorsports, teams may have two or three days to play with set-up adjustments, and they may take a completely different approach to qualifying than to the race. In Formula E, there is such limited track time on race day that, when it comes to set-up changes, less is often more.
“Set-up changes between qualifying and race really depend on where you get to on the grid,” notes Vin Patel, chief engineer at Mahindra Racing. “If you are happy with your 170kW race laps and your 200kW qualifying laps with the same set-up, you wouldn’t touch it. At some circuits however (Buenos Aires is the stand out example), you might trade some downforce for drag reduction and straight line speed. You may also go for a lower drag set-up in the race to help your efficiency and to get a better toe behind other cars.”
Once the set-up has been honed for a particular track over the course of the morning’s two free practice sessions, the solution settled on for qualifying will largely remain the same for the race, Patel says: “Other than aero, nothing else usually changes except regen tuning. This is affected by driver preference, too: some might prefer a lot of regen when qualifying so the braking system feels consistent all day while others prefer to just rely on the brake pedal alone for their flying quali lap.”
Teams are free to choose whichever car they like to start the race with – they don’t have bring the car they qualified with to the grid.
“The driver is allowed to complete up to two laps in 170kw power mode before his single 200kW quali lap,” Patel explains. “One 170kW lap is mandatory (ie the out lap to get from pit exit to timing line), which is used to bring the brakes and tyres up to temperature and get the hang of any tiny set-up tweaks that may have been introduced after the second free practice session. Warming the brakes and tyres, even with the relatively robust low profile rubber worn by the Formula E cars, is crucial to yield maximum grip and corner entry attack. At tracks with a longer laps, some prefer to hang back and preserve the life of the tyre slightly more for their flying lap.”
The number of tyres permitted for use by teams is limited in Formula E, to help both reduce waste and cut carbon emissions in logistics by reducing the amount of freight required. While the treaded tyres are remarkably consistent over a race distance, there is still some strategy involved in choosing how to use them.
“Everyone will try to save new (or nearly new) tyres for qualifying,” Patel says. “On a track like Beijing, a brand new set of tyres could cut the lap time by as much as 0.8s compared with a nearly-new set. That means that drivers and their engineers have to account for this in FP2, knowing that there will be extra grip and pace in qualifying just through a tyre change. Sometimes, this means a small set-up tweak; at other times, it’s just down to the driver to anticipate where the increased grip will be.”
When it comes to qualifying, although the car has been already been set up, the engineer’s job isn’t over. “Before the 200kW qualifying lap, the engineer will remind the driver he or she is permitted to complete the last sector of the slow lap in 200kW mode, as well as providing reminders to switch settings for power maps, brakes and regen,” Patel goes on. “With very limited telemetry available to teams, however, once the set-up has been determined, it’s up to the driver to ensure he presses all the right buttons – in qualifying and in the race.”Don’t let all the talk of tropical islands, foreign dictators and plutocrats distract you from this one fact: the Panama Papers document a very British scandal.
And it’s not just the Prime Minister’s late father in the frame.
Time after time, the names and addresses on the documents of shell companies set up through Mossack Fonseca are of businessmen based in Britain, luxury properties based in London and banks operating out of the City or, in Coutts’ case, the Strand.
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The leaks show UK “intermediaries” – that’s largely bankers, accountants and lawyers – commissioned more offshore shell companies from the firm than any other country bar Hong Kong, that favoured secrecy route for cash to be funnelled out of Asia. A mindboggling 2,000 British firms instructed Mossack to create companies for their clients – more than Switzerland and Luxembourg combined. A total of 32,000 shells were created for British clients.
It’s early days yet in the bumper data leak, but it’s a fair bet that the identities of plenty of Brits keen on keeping their cash away from the gaze of the UK authorities will soon emerge. A Londoner laundering money from the 1983 Brinks Mat robbery has already been named as a beneficiary of its services.
More links may be revealed with the British establishment, beyond the former Tory MPs, Lords and Ian Cameron.
Meanwhile, you can be assured that the thousands of shell companies ordered by HSBC, Rothschild and Coutts will have included many UK executives and tycoons, not to mention dodgy foreign billionaires and bureaucrats hiding wealth in London property purchases.
Given that most offshore structures are created to avoid tax, it won’t be lost on the public that the division of Coutts in question is owned by the taxpayer via RBS and thus benefited from the billions of pounds we ploughed into its parent.
Political capital will be made from the fact we bailed out a foolish bank which helped wealthy Brits to avoid tax, but are queasy about offering state aid to steel.
What is less clear is how much unpaid tax HMRC will be able to extract from the names which do emerge. Its track record is hardly stellar: remember the HSBC Geneva data leak? Then, the taxman took an age to take the list seriously (although it disputes that) and extracted little more than £130m from the tax dodgers mentioned — less than France, despite Brits holding twice as much cash in their accounts.
Shape Created with Sketch. World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' Show all 15 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. World leaders linked to 'Panama Papers' 1/15 Petro Poroshenko President of Ukraine 2/15 Ayad Allawi Allawi Iraq’s Vice-President between 2014 and 2015, and the country’s interim prime minister from 2004 to 2005 3/15 Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia 4/15 Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates, Emir of Abu Dhabi 5/15 Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson Prime Minister of Iceland 6/15 Sergey Roldugin Close friend of Vladimir Putin 7/15 Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Emir of Qatar 1995-2013 8/15 Li Xiaolin Daughter of Li Peng, the former Premier of China (The current vice-president of state-owned power company China Datang Gorporation and former CEO of China Power International Development, she has been nicknamed China’s “Power Queen” 9/15 Rami Makhlouf Cousin of Bashar Assad, the President of Syria 10/15 Hafez Makhlouf Cousin of Bashar Assad, the President of Syria 11/15 Clive Khulubuse Zuma Nephew of Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa 12/15 Maryam Nawaz Sharif Safdar Daughter of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan 13/15 Hasan Nawaz Sharif Son of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan 14/15 Hussain Nawaz Sharif Son of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan 15/15 Alaa Mubarak The eldest son of ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Read more here 1/15 Petro Poroshenko President of Ukraine 2/15 Ayad Allawi Allawi Iraq’s Vice-President between 2014 and 2015, and the country’s interim prime minister from 2004 to 2005 3/15 Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia 4/15 Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates, Emir of Abu Dhabi 5/15 Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson Prime Minister of Iceland 6/15 Sergey Roldugin Close friend of Vladimir Putin 7/15 Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Emir of Qatar 1995-2013 8/15 Li Xiaolin Daughter of Li Peng, the former Premier of China (The current vice-president of state-owned power company China Datang Gorporation and former CEO of China Power International Development, she has been nicknamed China’s “Power Queen” 9/15 Rami Makhlouf Cousin of Bashar Assad, the President of Syria 10/15 Hafez Makhlouf Cousin of Bashar Assad, the President of Syria 11/15 Clive Khulubuse Zuma Nephew of Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa 12/15 Maryam Nawaz Sharif Safdar Daughter of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan 13/15 Hasan Nawaz Sharif Son of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan 14/15 Hussain Nawaz Sharif Son of Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan 15/15 Alaa Mubarak The eldest son of ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Read more here
Worse still, in that case, despite the apparently blatant tax evasion going on, only one criminal conviction resulted.
The fact that big City firms are in the spotlight from a major tax-shelter data leak again gives the impression to the public that there’s one rule for them, and another for the Square Mile and its wealthy clients.
HMRC must learn from its mistakes last time and act tough and fast on any tax evaders whose names emerge. If that means the Chancellor increasing the taxman’s meagre budget, so be it. Otherwise, his claim last month that we’re all in austerity together rings ever more hollow.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
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A TORY politician who boasted of being an army colonel, an earl, a viscount, a baron and a member of MI5 has been exposed as a fantasist who lives with his aunt in a high-rise council flat.
Robert Kerr-Ardis was deputy chairman of Falkirk Conservative and Unionist Association and an election candidate until colleagues rumbled his web of deceit.
Suspicions were raised about the 28-year-old – also known as the Rt Hon Robert Edward Kerr-Ardis, the Earl Ardis, Viscount Wexford and Baron Elmbridge – at a posh Tory dinner in Edinburgh last month.
Ardis turned up in ill-fitting military mess dress with campaign medals, posing as an Irish Guards colonel.
It’s understood that when quizzed by guests, including former leader of the Lords Lord Strathclyde, he moved on quickly or changed the subject.
Ardis’s Facebook profile picture shows him at a war memorial in an Irish Guards tie, beret and blazer.
But when fellow Tories asked why his Army career was not recorded on Google, he said he was under special protection from his time in Ireland.
And a party source revealed that when constituency bosses confronted him, he allegedly said: “Shut up. You’re blowing my cover. I’m MI5.”
Ardis has now been kicked out of the party by red-faced bosses. And when the Record checked his credentials, they fell apart.
A senior Ministry of Defence source told us: “There has never been an Irish Guards officer called Ardis. He’s far too young to do the things he’s claimed.
“There aren’t many Guards colonels. It’s a pretty small club, so he was never going to get away with it.”
Colonel Tim Purdon OBE, the Irish Guards Adjutant, added: “He’s definitely not one of ours. You have to feel sorry for characters like this who make things up. I hope he hasn’t conned many people in Scotland.”
Experts also dismissed Ardis’s claims to be an aristocrat. David White at the College of Arms in London said: “There has never been a title of Elmbridge, nor has a family of that name held a peerage.”
It’s understood Ardis joined the local party in Falkirk in 2008. He contested Falkirk North in last year’s council elections but got only 346 first preference votes.
However, he remained a major presence in the local party, and was appointed their deputy chairman earlier this year. Chairwoman Lynn Munro asked Ardis to head the local European election campaign, and he helped man a Tory Better Together tent at the Edinburgh Mela festival.
In a CV Ardis sent to a non-profit organisation, he said he was a former “field officer at HM Armed Forces” who served in north Africa, Belize, Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya.
He also claimed to have advised the Foreign Office and MoD.
It’s understood Ardis lives with his elderly aunt, Irene, in a Falkirk high rise. She told us she hadn’t seen him for a couple of days and knew nothing about his fantasies, and he failed to respond to messages on his phone.Image copyright Goh Wei Choon
Nomophobia - or no mobile phone phobia - the onset of severe anxiety on losing access to your smartphone has been talked about for years. But in Asia, the birthplace of the selfie stick and the emoji, psychologists say smartphone addiction is fast on the rise and the addicts are getting younger.
A recent study surveyed almost 1,000 students in South Korea, where 72% of children own a smartphone by the age of 11 or 12 and spend on average 5.4 hours a day on them - as a result about 25% of children were considered addicted to smartphones. The study, to be published in 2016 found that stress was an important indicator of your likelihood to get addicted.
Smartphones are central to many societies but they have been integrated into Asian cultures in many ways: there is the obligatory "food porn" photograph at the beginning of any meal; in Japan it is an entire subculture with its own name - keitai culture.
Image copyright Getty Images
Asia and its 2.5bn smartphone users provides a stream of phone-related "mishap news", such as the Taiwanese tourist who had to be rescued after she walked off a pier while checking Facebook on her phone. Or the woman from China's Sichuan province rescued by fire fighters after falling into a drain while looking at her phone.
They may make for slapstick headlines but in Singapore too the concern is that those most vulnerable are getting younger. With its population of just 6 million, it has one of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates. It also has specialists in digital addiction, a cyber wellness clinic and a campaign to see digital addiction be formally recognised.
"Youths lack that level of maturity, making it harder for them to manage smartphone usage as they don't have self-control," said Chong Ee-Jay, manager of Touch Cyber Wellness Centre in Singapore.
He has serious concerns about how young children behave when they get phones.
"They are readily available to very young children here as part of their school curriculum," he said. In Singapore it is not uncommon for homework assignments to be set via WhatsApp.
In South Korea, 19-year-old student Emma Yoon (not her real name) has been undergoing treatment for nomophobia since April 2013.
"My phone became my world. It became an extension of me.
"My heart would race and my palms grew sweaty if I thought I lost my phone. So I never went anywhere without it."
Ms Yoon's parents also said that their daughter's smartphone usage amplified other behavioural problems she was exhibiting. She began to retreat from hobbies and school activities.
Image copyright Goh Wei Choon Image caption Eat, shoot, post - Many smartphone users in Asia actively make use of Instagram to document their meals
Image copyright AFP Image caption More young children regularly use smartphones around Asia
Many people will recognise the feeling of anxiety when the pocket feels strangely light but the difference here is that the phone becomes the focus of other problems and anxieties. The South Korean study also found that people who used their smartphones for social media purposes were more likely to get addicted.
The device is seen as the sole key to wider human contact. Vulnerable children and young adults can feel adrift and unable to connect to others without it. In some Asian societies, where students are set heavy and time-consuming homework tasks to complete on their own, the phone is the only connection to to friends, humour and sharing. So it can assume a disproportionate importance.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Here in Hong Kong - protesters hold up their smartphones to light up the night skies
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Selfie king? Political leaders like India's Narendra Modi have been reaching new audiences using social media and smartphones
Are you addicted to your smartphone? Experts say these are some early warning signs:
Constantly checking your phone for no reason
Feeling anxious or restless at the thought of being without your phone
Avoiding social interaction in favour of spending time on your phone
Waking up in the middle of the night to check your smartphone
A decline in academic or work performance as a result of prolonged phone activity
Easily distracted by emails or smart apps
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Experts told the BBC that younger smartphone users lacked the "maturity" needed in curbing everyday usage
Several countries have started imposing regulations on smartphone usage.
A controversial government app to monitor smartphone usage among teenagers sparked heated debate in South Korea. Officials also imposed a series of measures in 2011 banning children from accessing online games after midnight.
China, one of the first countries to label internet addictions as clinical disorders, set up military-style clinics to stamp out new media addictions.
Consultant psychiatrist Thomas Lee argues that other countries in Asia should follow suit and classify smartphone addictions as "official mental disorders" in the way sex and gambling have been designated.
"Using a smartphone to benefit one's mood is almost similar to how drugs are able to affect a person's behaviour," said Mr Lee.
"Like drug addicts, smartphone addicts will also display withdrawal symptoms like restlessness, anxiety and even anger."
Image copyright AP Image caption Watch your step - This smartphone sidewalk appeared in the Chinese city of Chongqing
But there is a strong counter-argument that this is all overblown and simply part of modern society's tendency to overthink itself. Singapore-based Clinical psychologist Professor Marlene Lee says technology disorders are not a new phenomenon.
"Research is still preliminary so there are still many unanswered questions at this point. Technology addictions actually share the same underlying mechanisms as other addictions; they just have new 'faces'," she said.
Her argument has support from psychiatrist Adrian Wang who says he is reluctant to diagnose such addictions to avoid "medicalising social problems, as they are simply "part of larger social problems like family and self-esteem issues".
There will doubtless be another smartphone-related innovation born in Asia, which will catch on just like the selfie stick, the animated avatar and the emoji. Psychologists across this vast and varied continent hope that what will be shared is something positive and creative and not just anxiety.Share
Scientific cameras to record processes in physics, chemistry and other disciplines traditionally topped out at 100,000 images per second — though recent research has upped that to 100 billion — making some processes simply impossible to document in detail. But, researchers at Lund University in Sweeden have broken the speed record with a camera capable of creating videos at 5 trillion images per second.
Unlike a traditional camera, the shutter does not open and close 5 trillion times in one second. Instead, the camera, called FRAME (Frequency Recognition Algorithm for Multiple Exposures), uses a laser beam, multiple exposures, and a computer. As the laser hits the image, it uses a unique code. A single frame will have several encoded laser beams inside the image. A computer can then split that frame into several images using the encoded data in the laser. Those split frames can then be assembled into a movie boasting that top frame rate.
By encoding several images in one, the researchers were able to push beyond what is physically possible with current camera technology. The new camera is designed to record rapid processes, from how light travels to even brain activity in animals. The researchers behind the new camera, Elias Kristensson and Andreas Ehn, typically study combustion — their plan is to use the camera to visualize combustion on a molecular level, which they hope in turn will lead to the creation of more fuel-efficient engines, turbines, and boilers.
“Today, the only way to visualize such rapid events is to photograph still images of the process,” Kristensson said. “You then have to attempt to repeat identical experiments to provide several still images which can later be edited into a movie. The problem with this approach is that it is highly unlikely that a process will be identical if you repeat the experiment.”
Researchers estimate the new camera system could be available — to other scientists — in about two years.NEM and LuxTag attended the event with a dedicated booth
We made lots of connections and convinced new parties consisting of developers and businesses to look into Blockchain, especially NEM and develop products like the showcased application LuxTag powered by NEM.
Also, we made people aware of the features the NEM platform offers, e.g. Apostille, Namespaces, Mosaics and Multisig.
The target audience consisted of 400-500 youngsters & 20 mentors, including industry leaders from Southeast Asia, who were participating at the NASA Space Apps Hackathon. Rene, CEO of LuxTag was invited as one of the mentors, and gave a 20min talk about Blockchain Technology, NEM and LuxTag, too.
20 min dedicated talk session for NEM & LuxTag
Rene’s talk was titled “Blockchain Technology. What? How? Why?” It touched on ideas for startups, the need for innovative approaches, ways to develop own solutions and why Blockchain technology should not be neglected when creating modern technology-related solutions.
Further Q&A and discussions concerned the benefits which Blockchains offer and how startups can leverage on it.
Without doubt, the most important topic was the introduction of the NEM’s ease of use and a presentation of LuxTag as a sample project created only recently – powered by NEM Blockchain technology.
NEM and LuxTag are grateful for the opportunity to raise awareness throughout this event. We spent a truly meaningful weekend.
Thanks go to the supporters of NEM and LuxTag at this event:
Faeez, Stephen, Yafi, Nabil, Adam, Julian, Ira, Rene
About NASA Space Apps Hackathon
Space Apps is an international hackathon that occurs over 48 hours in cities around the world. Because of citizens like you, we continue to grow each year. If you haven’t already, join us to share ideas and engage with open data to address real-world problems, on Earth and in space. Work alone or with a team to solve challenges that could help change the world. Check back here to find a Space Apps event near you, or sign up to participate virtually.
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Orgies for profit are coming to the Hamptons.
Killing Kittens, the London-based club for swingers, is holding its first East End party June 18 at an undisclosed private estate.
Member couples shell out $400, while single women pay $150. Paying partiers are allowed to bring a single girlfriend for free and, of course, single men are forbidden. Private rooms can be had for $600.
The kinky club, which started in London and arrived in New York a year ago, was started by Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton’s friend Emma Sayle, who found existing sex clubs too patriarchal.
The first rule of Killing Kittens: Men aren’t allowed to approach women first.
Hamptonites — who stress over traffic, helicopters and nightclub noise — aren’t worried about the impact of orgies on their property values. One said, “As long as they don’t frighten the horses.”9 random CSS Templates for free.com
Below are 9 random CSS templates that you can download for free. Use them to design your website. You can also browse all CSS templates.
about us
Here you'll find a lot of free CSS templates that you can download in zip file format, all of which are:
Released for FREE under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license
Very lightweight in terms of images
Tables-free (ie. they use no tables for layout purposes)
W3C standards compliant and valid (XHTML Strict)
Provided with public domain photos, generously provided by PDPhoto.org and Wikimedia Commons
All of this templates are free for any type of personal or commercial use (provided you follow the license).
cheap website hosting, as well as any other expenses that might come up as we develop and promote css templates we all love.
What is a website template?
Building a website usually requires you to have a host, a design and then code your own layout, which can be a tedious task if you're not artistically inclined or familiar with HTML. Website templates take care of this for you by providing you with a fully designed and coded layout, which you can then use to build your website.
What is a CSS website template?
In the past layouts were put together with the HTML TABLE tag, which was originally meant more for holding tabulated information than showing parts of a page's actual design. However, with more standards-friendly browsers in use (such as Firefox, Opera, Safari, and IE7), more and more people are moving away from the TABLE tag and using strictly CSS for their layouts instead.
CSS makes design and overall site maintenance a lot simpler because it splits the design of your site (the stylesheet or.CSS file) from the actual content (the.HTML file) instead of mixing the two as is common with tables-based layouts. This makes your content very simple, lean, and easy to edit, with only the bare minimum markup to define logical things like paragraphs and headings. The design information is then stored in the stylesheet file, which can be edited on your host to make site-wide design changes. You can even replace it with a different stylesheet to change the design of your site -- all while keeping your content intact and unchanged!
So in short, a CSS website template serves as a starting point for building a standards-compliant, CSS-based website.If you are looking for help making the transition to CSS layout (that's Cascading Style Sheets), you've come to the right place. �CSS Templates For Free� designs don�t have to be unattractive, inaccurate and boring. Some web-sites offer high quality css templates for the best price you would ever get - for free. You can download CSS-based layouts absolutely free; furthermore, you can use them for your personal and commercial projects without any restrictions whatsoever.
What can I use to edit a CSS website template?
If you know some HTML or CSS, a text editor should do the trick.
Can I build php or asp.net websites using css templates
Yes, You Can! PHP and Asp.Net can be used of course. Css templates include pure HTML code, css files and images.
You can find free developer tools for both PHP and ASP.Net technologies.Unity has been used to develop numerous high quality 2D games over the years. This article, which is based on a talk I gave at three of our regional Unite developer conferences in Korea, Japan and China, gives in-depth instruction for a solid, real-life 2D production workflow. I hope this post can be helpful for any of our readers that are creating 2D games and interactive content with Unity. Due to the length of the tutorial, I’ve split it into two blog posts. Today you can read about authoring and exporting and tomorrow I’ll post the section on importing. You can find a link to download all the files at the end of the post.
The benefits of a good 2D content workflow
This tutorial takes you through the implementation of a real production workflow. When we talk about workflow it means the steps and processes used all the way from the initial authoring until the content is actually running in the game. Regardless of the number of applications needed in the chain from beginning to end, at a high-level a workflow consists of 3 major steps: authoring, exporting and importing.
For some it may seem odd that we need both an exporter and an importer since tools like Unity are able to import data directly. The reason we need both is because we’re essentially creating our own intermediate file format that acts as the glue between any two applications in your workflow, in this case between Photoshop and Unity. This eliminates the need for an external application to be able to read and parse an application’s native file format, and allows chaining of applications to process the content as it moves from one application to the next.
Authoring
It all starts with great content, and the first workflow we’ll look at is using the industry standard workhorse Photoshop. One of the great things about Photoshop is it’s simplicity to get started. Creating and editing imagery and graphics is painless and easy, and as your needs grow there’s an arsenal of tools and techniques at your disposal. The problem is that image files by themselves don’t have much ability to express useful meta-data for games in the same way that 3D models are able to do. What’s more, 2D is inherently in need of more meta-data given it’s limited nature of just being pixels.
So what we want to do is imbue the image with useful information so that ultimately we know how to use the image in a game. To do that, we can use groups and layers to organize and tag them with what we need.
We also need an example of 2D content that is useful and represents a realistic use. One of the last games I worked on before joining Unity was a simple 2D hidden-object game called Goddess Chronicles, and so we’ll use that as an example. In a hidden-object game the general idea is to find certain items that are hidden in plain sight in a scene such as the example shown below.
Depending upon the game you’re making, the meta-data you need to capture will be different. For this game the design called for 2 basic kinds of imagery: “scenery” and “items”.
The importance of layers
Scenery is the non-interactive content that’s there to provide the bulk of what’s seen, communicate a theme and support the gameplay by providing an environment where items can be hidden. So scenery will be placed into a group named “scenery” and we don’t need to care about the art layers in that group because they’re non-interactive. The items are the things you’ll actually be searching for within the scene and comprise the core gameplay. These are placed in groups that are named “item” and, unlike scenery, the art layers are important and each item can have up to 4 unique layers associated with them.
“Whole” layers are required for all items. Usually once an item is found there will be some effect such as zooming the item up, or placing it |
including triple-murderer Douglas Garland, convicted in Calgary earlier this year.
Balfour Der, a Calgary-based criminal defence lawyer and former Crown prosecutor, spoke with CBC Calgary News at 6 about the case and when the appropriateness of handing out the maximum sentence.
Q: What's your reaction to this sentence?
Not surprised, I certainly don't agree with it but I'm not surprised at the outcome.
Q: Why don't you agree with it?
I take issues not with the fact that there's a life sentence or even an extended period of parole ineligibility.
I take issue with such a long period of parole ineligibility because he's too young a man at this point in time… and it allows no hope for him whatsoever.
Two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was found dead in a rural area near Blairmore on Sept. 15, 2015. (Amanda Blanchette)
It takes all hope away from him. I believe it should be left to the parole board in 25, 30 years to take a look at this fellow again to see whether he could be released on parole.
He could become a productive member of society. But today, to sort of forecast the future by saying 75 years, you can't ask for parole until you're 99, forecloses everything for him.
Q: People might ask why should he have hope, he killed three people including a little girl — what would you say to them?
I say to that, our system of justice in Canada has a number of principles that it's based on, and two of them are that we extend mercy and we use restraint.
It's a hard concept with most people because the accused didn't do that with his victim. He didn't extend that mercy or restraint.
But still, we don't in our system stoop to the lowest common denominator… We have a standard that we like to uphold and our system is to give people a chance.
Q: What about deterrence? Isn't a true life sentence more of a deterrence?
Studies shave shown over time... that jail doesn't really deter anyone. How long ago was it Garland was sentenced in his crime?
Defence lawyer Balfour Der, a former Crown prosecutor, argues Derek Saretzky's sentence was too harsh. (CBC)
Q: We saw in the Douglas Garland case he was attacked in prison — do you think the same will happen with Saretzky?
I think it would be almost inevitable, it's probably only just a matter of time before that happens. Whether it's at one prison or another, once word gets out he's a child killer, he'll have a target on him for sure.
Q: Sarekzky's lawyer has said he thinks the law allowing for these consecutive sentences will be challenged at the Supreme Court. If it is do you think it will stand?
I expect it'll go up there.
It may not go up on a constitutional challenge that you cannot have consecutive sentences because I think it's fair that you can up the ante, you know, up the penalty if there are multiple convictions or multiple murders.
Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was 'a little water baby' according to her aunt, and her dad took her on lots of adventures to rivers, streams and lakes in the area around Crowsnest Pass, Alta. (Amanda Blanchette)
But I think it could go to the Supreme Court of Canada on the issue of when is it appropriate to start handing out these maximum sentences like this? When is it the right time to do that?
Because here, you have a fellow who is 24 at the time. If his parole and eligibility were 25 years or 30 years, he's a completely different person 30 years from now.
When hes 54-years-old, he's got maturity, hes got some life experience — as much as you can get in a jail.
Q: Will he really be a completely different person though?
Well, that would be up to the parole authorities to determine. That's their job.
Q: What did the judge have to consider in deciding his sentence?
Well it's part of the Criminal Code that the judge in this type of sentencing will ask for a recommendation from the jury. Sometimes juries make no recommendation, some say this amount, some say that amount.
But the judge has to consider that as part of his calculation on parole and eligibility, but he doesn't have to follow it.
The jury's recommendation is just one factor for a judge to put into the mix.
With files from CBC Calgary News at 6:00An image used by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain in a social media campaign (Wikimedia Commons)
Former Muslims have expressed outrage after a columnist compared them to Nazis.
Who the fuck is this guy how fucking dare you equate ex-muslims who are murdered by governments for their beliefs to fucking Nazis https://t.co/C5dPO3Mdfs — مريم (@mariamjxde) August 15, 2017
On August 12, Middle East Eye (MEE) columnist CJ Werleman tweeted that “‘Ex-Muslims’ not only adopt the same tactics as Nazis, they're also supported by Nazis and white supremacists.”
The claims, for which no evidence or justification was given, were strongly criticized by ex-Muslims and others on Twitter.
@RonanCharnock wrote “Absolutely disgraceful comparison that's bereft of reason or morality. Comparing all those who've left a religion to genocidal maniacs? Low.”
While @Geemme, a “gay ex-Muslim” according to his profile, responded “Gay Pakistani exmuslims marching in a gay pride march for LGBT rights (especially in Islamic communities). Sounds exactly like Nazis. Genius.”
Werleman made the comment as he shared an MEE piece by a colleague about the ongoing row between the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) and the East London Mosque.
The dispute centers on placards held by members of the CEMB at the LGBT Pride Parade in London on July 8.
The mosque made a formal complaint to Pride in London over the banners reading "East London Mosque incites murder of LGBT", "F*** Islam(ophobic) Muslims" and "Islamophobia is an oxymoron".
Pride in London is now carrying out an investigation into the incident, and if it is found that CEMB has breached its code of conduct, they could be barred from marching next year.
In the replies to Werleman’s tweet, @zandaqa, another ex-Muslim, demanded “show us evidence that CEMB is being backed and supported by Nazi's and "white supremacists". I DARE you. That, or shut the fuck up.”
Another reply from @DanielF01521143 added “CEMB "supported by Nazis & White Supremacists", would you like to back up your accusation with hard evidence?”
@Roadboy1989_Alt wrote in response: “‘I left a faith where in certain nations I could legally be beheaded for this, I want reformation of the faith’ You - ‘islamaphobic Nazi’”
East London Mosque (ELM) executive director Dilowar Khan claimed that CEMB’s banners were intended to "alienate all Muslims from Pride in London, including LGBT Muslims".
In a letter to CEMB, Pride in London wrote that while "groups are able to use our platform to protest" this did not "give people in our parade the freedom to ostracise, discriminate against or humiliate anyone else taking part".
Meanwhile, CEMB spokesperson Maryam Namazie suggested that Pride was only taking the complaints "seriously because of a cultural relativism and tone policing that is only applicable to critics of Islam and never [to] critics of Christianity".
The organization says it targeted the ELM because of its hosting of homophobic speakers in previous years, although the mosque has "condemned without reservation" those instances of homophobia.
CEMB has received support over the incident from Peter Tatchell, human and LGBT rights campaigner.
In an annual report by the International Humanist and Ethical Union, all but one of the 13 countries identified as punishing apostacy by the death penalty were majority-Muslim countries.
Ten of these countries that execute atheists also have the death penalty for homosexuality.
The CEMB "manifesto" on is website writes "Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered ‘apostates’ – punishable by death in countries under Islamic law."PCB agrees stadium bookings in UAE for February to avoid clash with MCL
KARACHI: Preparations for the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have already begun, with a tentative window of February 2017 already discussed with the Emirates Cricket Board to reserve the venues.
PSL Governing Council Chairman Najam Sethi, Marketing Director Naila Bhatti and Director International Cricket Usman Wahla recently visited the UAE to meet the local authorities and express their interest in order to avoid any hiccups in booking of the grounds.
PSL will revive Pakistan’s T20 fortunes, says Misbah
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had faced problems during the inaugural edition as the PSL’s dates clashed with the Masters Champions League. While that did little to dent the PSL, it seems the PCB have learned their lesson this time around.
“PSL officials have met with UAE’s local authorities to discuss the booking of venues for the second edition of PSL, which will be tentatively played in February 2017,” Sethi told The Express Tribune. “The letters of agreement on the grounds’ reservations would be exchanged shortly but a verbal agreement has already taken place between both parties.”
Sethi is understandably looking to build on the league’s initial momentum. “The first edition of the PSL was a huge success financially as well as in terms of audience, and we’re hopeful that the second edition will be bigger and better,” he said. “Preparations for the second edition have begun and we’ll deliver something even more exciting this time around.”
Five things we learnt from PSL
Meanwhile, PSL accounts will be presented during the next Board of Governors meeting, scheduled to be called in the first week of May.
All credit and debit notes have been sent to the five franchises, while payments to players and staff have already been made.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2016.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
Read full storyDarrin Reaves is living a catch-22.
NFL rosters are teeming with former undrafted free agent playmakers. While undrafted running backs such as Willie Parker and Fred Jackson became valuable fantasy options over time, undrafted rookie running backs are rarely given every-down opportunities. In 2013, a handful of drafted rookies, such as Zac Stacy and Le’Veon Bell, were quickly thrust into every-down roles in their inaugural seasons. However, Arian Foster circa 2009 was the last undrafted free agent running back to accumulate 25-plus carries in a game.
The unheralded, undrafted rookie’s path to fantasy relevance is typically less direct than the heir apparent early round draft pick. Given this, it was both surprising and encouraging when the Carolina Panthers’ recently endorsed undrafted rookie, Darrin Reaves, as their week 5 starting running back vs. the Chicago Bears.
“The one nice thing about Reaves is he’s terrific with pass protection,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. “[Reaves] did a nice job. Had only one [mental error] for the number of plays he played. Had two technique errors, but he did a nice job. He’s a tough little guy, and he works very hard at it and deserves the opportunity to play.” Rivera when on to say that the starting job is “not too big for Reaves.”
I don’t believe you, Ron.
Less than a year ago, the New York Giants running back corps was similarly ravaged by injuries. Heading into a week 6 match-up with the Minnesota Vikings, Tom Coughlin announced that seventh round rookie, Michael Cox, would be the Giants’ starting running back for the game. Fantasy hipster streamers naturally pounced.
To their horror, street free agent Peyton Hillis proceeded to out-touch Michael Cox 23 to 13 and post 18 fantasy points to Cox’s 4 fantasy points. Michael Cox did not exceed ten touches in a game for the rest of the season.
The problem was not Michael Cox’s athleticism. His workout metrics on PlayerProfiler.com are impressive:
40-time: 4.63 (30th percentile)
Burst Score: 133.2 (95th percentile)
Agility Score: 10.95 (89th percentile)
Bench Press: 24 reps (77th percentile)
Darrin Reaves workout metrics on PlayerProfiler.com illuminate his athleticism:
40-time: 4.59 (41st percentile)
Burst Score: 128.7 (89th percentile)
Agility Score: 11.61 (13th percentile)
Bench Press: 20 reps (47th percentile)
Michael Cox appears to be the superior athlete, but his 100.6 (59th percentile) PlayerProfiler Athleticism Score is dwarfed by Darrin Reaves’ 107.9 (97th percentile), because PlayerProfiler‘s Athleticism Score is BMI-adjusted for running backs. As Jonathan Bales discovered, high BMI running backs are generally more productive and durable. At 5-foot-10, 220-pounds, Reaves comes at you like a bowling ball, meanwhile, the 6′ 1″, 214-pound Cox’s lanky frame is easier to tackle both head-on and in the open field.
Reaves’ athleticism was on full display during a productive college career. His pre-draft highlight reel features every advanced tackle eluding move on the Madden controller. I’m not a certified tape-watching expert, but I know most effective running backs share one trait: low center of gravity. Reaves’ extraordinary BMI and ultra-low pad level running styler enhances balance and enables his efficient, make-you-miss running style. Though his YouTube highlights are overlaid with some outdated rap music with explicit lyrics, jump to the 0:40 mark to see Reaves’ fabled 360-degree horizontal spin touchdown dive. Then, jump to to the 3:15 mark to see Reaves’ pull off the physically improbable zero-momentum-loss spin move. Reaves’ low center of gravity and lower-body burst enables him to avoid tackles while simultaneously pushing the ball upfield, a special feat.
Darrin Reaves is a faster, more dynamic runner than Michael Cox, but like Cox, he is short on experience. Do the Panthers’ have a Peyton Hillis or an Andre Brown-type veteran in the running back pipeline who could conceivably cannibalize Reaves’ opportunities this season?
1. DeAngelo Williams
DeAngelo Williams suffered a high-severity high ankle sprain and will not return until later in the season. Now 31, the years have been kinder to Williams to most. Coming off a severe lower leg injury and already missing the extraordinary agility of his early twenties, he will not offer the Panthers the playmaking ability they desperately need to compensate for shortcomings elsewhere on offense.
2. Jonathan Stewart
Jonathan Stewart suffered a medium-severity knee sprain in week 3 but seems determined to play through the injury in hopes of maintaining his place on the depth chart. While Stewart’s utterly dominant 110.1 PlayerProfiler Athleticism Score is without equal, a litany of major leg injuries throughout his seven-year career have reduced him to a more powerful, yet more fragile, Darren McFadden. Let that sink in. A 235-pound Jonathan Stewart cutting and juking on a sprained knee may represent the most blatant injury risk in NFL history. Given his current health status and injury track record, Stewart is unlikely to impede Darrin Reaves’ path to a significant workload.
3. Fozzy Whittaker
Before we speculate whether or not Fozzy Whittaker will play a meaningful offensive role for the Panthers in 2014, let’s review his last plum opportunity. In week 15 of the 2013 season, the Cleveland Browns faced the Chicago Bears, which at the time, featured the league’s worst run defense. As the default starter, Fozzy Whitaker was given one early-game carry, which went for one yard. The Browns quickly benched Whittaker for Edwin Baker, who ran for 38 yards on 8 carries, a 4.8 yard average. Edwin Baker is no Darrin Reaves, and Fozzy Whitaker is a minimal threat.
4. Chris Ogbonnaya
Once the Panthers’ fully understood the extent of DeAngelo Williams’ high ankle sprain, the team signed another former Brown, Chris Ogbonnaya. Ogbonnaya played wide receiver the at the University of Texas and was a productive situational player with the Browns. He offers above average hands out of the backfield and has the necessary size to handle goal line situations.
Ogbonnaya’s skill set indicates that he could play the Peyton Hillis touch-villain role conspiring to limit our hero’s fantasy point-scoring opportunities. On the positive side, Chris Ogbonnaya’s signing likely locks Reaves into a lead back role between the 20’s with Ogbonnaya handling the hurry-up offense and 3rd down duties. With goal line work will be up for grabs this Sunday, I expect Ogbonnaya to be a panhandling Fred Jackson to Darrin Reaves’ homeless C.J. Spiller.
Ogbonnaya’s precise role aside, if given 60-percent of running back touches, a typical running back with Darrin Reaves’ athleticism would be an instant RB2 in fantasy football. However, the lineman in front of Reaves, not the fellow running backs behind him, are the biggest threat to his productivity. Here are the Carolina Panthers offensive line run blocking metrics per Football Outsiders:
Power-run Success Rate: 40-percent (30th)
Stuffed Rate: 25-percent (28th)
2nd Level Yards Per Carry: 0.72 (30th)
Extending the Michael Cox comparison further, Panthers running backs are getting stuffed at a similar rate to the 2013 New York Giants. Worse yet, Carolina’s offensive line has been league-bottom in all run blocking categories in 2014.
Darrin Reaves is a living catch-22, because his touches will be limited until the coaching staff is able to fully appreciate his ability, but Reaves will not be able to fully showcase his ability until the coaching staff trusts him in a variety of high-touch situations. This undrafted rookie catch-22 is compounded by the Panthers’ 25-percent stuffed rate, which contributed to Reaves’ anemic 2.6 yards per carry last week.
I would be higher on Darrin Reaves if the Panthers thought enough of him to draft him. I would be higher on Darrin Reaves if the Panthers had not signed Chris Ogbonnaya. I would be higher on Darrin Reaves if the Panthers had a better offensive line.
Regardless, Darrin Reaves’ athletic profile and rapid march up the depth chart has significantly enhanced his dynasty league value. Though Reaves is the healthiest, most explosive running back on the Carolina Panthers’ roster, surrounding forces reduce him to a speculative weekly flex play in re-draft fantasy leagues.
Matt Kelley (@fantasy_mansion) is an XN Sports contributor and founder of RotoUnderworld (@rotounderworld) and PlayerProfiler.com, which distills a wide range of advanced metrics into a single player snapshot.In a move welcomed by many fans (well this fan at least) The Wand Company have released the 10th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver as a universal remote control. Last year’s 11th Doctor sonic was an impressive release, giving you not just a programmable IR remote, but also a solid feeling replica of Matt Smith’s sonic screwdriver. This year sees the release of David Tennant’s Sonic, a replica based on 3D scanning the actual sonic used in the TV show.
Unpacking the Sonic
If there’s one thing The Wand Company gets spot on it’s the presentation. The 10th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver comes well packaged in a simple cardboard box, the perfect shape for wrapping up as a gift. Open the outer box and you’re presented with a nice plastic case with a Sonic icon etched into the plastic.
This case opens in half to reveal the Sonic screwdriver and a USB charging cable. These sit in rubber which, when removed from the case, reveal the instruction booklet and presentation stand (which until I read the instructions I took to be a small coaster!).
Normally when you get instructions with some electronic device you immediately ignore them for the dull booklet they are; not so with the Sonic, The Wand Company attention to detail strikes again and they unfold into a large sheet with clearly written instructions on how to use the Sonic on one side and a blueprint style poster on the other.
Sonic Modes
The Sonic Screwdriver offers a number of different modes:
Control mode – Fires out IR commands when you perform a gesture. Also plays sound effects when a gesture is performed. The Sonic
Quiet control mode – Same as the control mode but without the sounds being played. If you plan on using this as a remote for your TV this is likely to be the mode you’ll leave the Sonic on.
Practice mode – Allows you to practice the 13 gestures and says the gesture you’ve just performed so you know you’ve done it correctly. Very handy when you first get the remote and want to perfect your clockwise/anticlockwise movements.
FX Mode – Doesn’t fire out any IR commands but does play sounds when gestures are made. Useful for showing off the Sonic or if you’re using the remote as part of a fancy dress costume.
Sonic Screwdriver Power
The Sonic is easily charged via a USB port on the bottom. This is normally concealed by a magnetic cap (more on that later) and it makes sense to use USB charging as if you’re anything like me you’ve got a phone charger in the living room.
The button is also a light, when plugged it it shows red for charging and green for charged. The Sonic can be powered down when not in use and it’s quickly powered up by the press of the button.
Sonic Screwdriver Build Quality
The Sonic certainly looks the business, you can extend and retract the top section with a simple slide. However, if there is one area that lets down the overall package it’s in the materials used. Give the price this feels too light, it feels more like a toy than a replica and it’s somewhat disappointing when you first lift it out of the case to find it so lightweight. The primary material used is plastic, and it seems like an usual decision when last years 11th Doctor Sonic felt well weighted and like you were holding the actual Sonic prop from the show.
Included with the Sonic is a display stand. Looking like a small coaster you might not initially realise what this is until you read the manual. The display stand has a magnetic sweet spot which allows you to stand the Sonic vertically upright, and it looks brilliant. Being vertical is not only eye catching, it also means the Sonic takes up very little space to put on display.
Conclusion
If you like Doctor Who and want a cool replica to pop on display then this ticks almost all the boxes. In some ways this improves on the previous Sonic, for example the USB charging and display case are both excellent. However, in some ways this feels like it was made before the previous model, the weight and toy like feel stop this feeling like a premium device worth the asking price. One things for sure, I’ll be very interested to see how The Wand Company follow this up.
Ultimately this is a fantastic and unique way to control all manner of infra red devices around your home, it also happens to triple up as cosplay prop and interesting display item, making this a brilliant present any fan will be very happy to unwrap.
Available now from Firebox: http://tidd.ly/707b9902Cops book 60-year-old for punching fellow senior citizen who beat his wife to a chair in the game.The Maharashtra government declared musical chairs as a sport in April. On Wednesday, a60-year-old man elevated it to a contact sport, punching his wife’s victorious opponent, also 60, during a school event.The Kashmira police have registered a first information report against Mira Road resident, Santosh Shukla, a retired ONGC employee, for assaulting, insulting and intimidating Rajendra Prasad Tiwari after the latter was adjudged the winner of a musical chairs competition in their grandsons’ school. The police said Shukla has alleged that Tiwari also abused him and that they will call both senior citizens for their statements soon.Tiwari, whose family said he was a heart patient, had to be hospitalised after Shukla punched him in the face. NL Dalmia School had organised the competition as part of its Grandparents’ Day celebrations.The school had organized several games for grandparents. In musical chairs, Shukla, his wife and Tiwari were among those in the contention before Shukla was eliminated. His wife and Tiwari were the last two standing.As the music began, Shukla started accusing Tiwari of going slow when in front of the chair. As the music stopped, Tiwari got to the chair and was declared the winner. A furious Shukla started abusing Tiwari, saying he was a cheat. He allegedly punched Tiwari in the face, leaving him with a bleeding nose and broken spectacles.Tiwari called his family over to the school, after which they decided to lodge a police complaint. Mirror could not reach Shukla for a comment. Mirror has a copy of the FIR.“I won the competition,” Tiwari told Mirror over phone. “But Shukla started alleging that I cheated and that his wife was the rightful winner. He started arguing with me and the organisers. He could not accept that his wife was beaten. Suddenly he lunged forward and punched me.”Tiwari said he fell down and started bleeding from the nose, adding that he was lucky no glass pieces went into his eyes as his spectacles shattered.“Even after that, Shukla did not stop abusing me so I called my son Ashutosh.”Ashutosh, who was at work, called his sister. She rushed to the school and took Tiwari to Thunga Hospital.“Doctors at Thunga said my father’s blood pressure had shot up and he had to be kept under observation,” said Ashutosh. “I am still shocked. The event was organised to have fun and grandparents were called so that children could learn good values. But this is what we are teaching our children.”He said Tiwari was recently diagnosed with artery blockages. “He has to undergo an angioplasty. Thankfully, he did not have a heart attack,” said Ashutosh who, besides the FIR, has lodged a formal complaint with the school also.The FIR said Shukla has been booked under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) 504 (intentionally insulting) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.“We have taken the complaint and registered an FIR,” said BR Patil, subinspector, Kashimira police. “Shukla’s side is alleging that Tiwari also abused him. We will get in touch with the school and also call both sides to record their statements.”Doctors treating Tiwari in Thunga Hospital said he is stable and has been kept under observation for 24 hours.Labellio is the world’s easiest deep learning web service for computer vision. It aims to provide a deep learning environment for image data where non-experts in deep learning can experiment with their ideas for image classification applications. Watch our video embedded here to see how easy it is.
The challenges in deep learning today are not just in configuring hyperparameters or designing a suitable neural network structure; they are also in knowing how to prepare good training data to fine-tune a well-known working classification model, and in knowing how to set up a computing environment without hassle. Labellio aims to address these problems by supporting the deep learning workflow from beginning to end.
The Labellio training data collector lets users upload images, or downloads images from the internet from specified URL lists or keyword searches on external services like Flickr and Bing. While some users have their own domain-specific training data in hand already, others don’t. Labellio’s data ingestion capabilities help both types of users start building their own deep learning models immediately. It is extremely important to assign the correct class to each training image to build a more accurate classification model, so Labellio’s labelling capability helps users cleanse input training data.
Labellio helps users build and manage multiple classification models. Creating a classification model is typically not just a one-time operation; you need trial and error to develop the most accurate model by replacing some of the training data.
When it comes to using the models you train with Labellio, users have varying requirements, ranging from tight integration in a local data center to a loosely coupled web API architecture. Therefore Labellio does not provide a prediction API; instead, we provide an Amazon Web Services AMI, Docker containers, and a python library that enable using trained models anywhere you want from day one (see more details in our blog posts about how to use the AMI and Docker images to load Labellio’s model data).
These features make Labellio the easiest deep learning environment because it lets you focus on your application problem rather than spending unnecessary time and money to figure out how to run deep learning.
While there is a lot of deep learning software available, Labellio had more than 350 new users signed up and created nearly 400 models during the first week after its beta release on June 30th. This indicates many people are still looking for better deep learning environments. Almost half of the new users uploaded their own datasets, and the other half used available online datasets. While most users created models with less than 10 classes, some created models with hundreds of classes. Example user applications include a model to classify a tiny difference among various types of mushrooms, and models to recognize anime characters’ faces.
Labeling Images with Labellio
The most interesting aspect of Labellio is its labelling capability, which uses real-time AI support to make it easy for users to sort and label training data (Figure 1).
A correct dataset is crucial to training an artificial intelligence model, so you need to prepare the right dataset to express your problem. Before Labellio, there was not a good tool available to help with this task, besides using your OS file browser to look at images and drag and drop them one by one into category folders. Labellio’s labelling system helps you label efficiently by learning how you label data and immediately suggesting how to label the rest of the unlabelled data.
This is made possible by the combination of an online classifier and deep-learning-based feature extraction. Because deep learning model training takes some time to iteratively adjust neural network parameters, we defer it until it is really necessary; instead, to respond to users’ labelling work interactively, we employ another approach with multiclass Adaptive Regularization of Weights (AROW), an online training algorithm, by feeding high-dimensional feature vectors extracted from a prebuilt deep learning model. This improves not just CPU/GPU resource usage, but also interactivity reduces the human user’s burden of labelling each one of the images. This would not have been possible without Labellio’s highly scalable architecture (described next) that allows us to utilize different computing resources from CPU image preprocessing to batch-style GPU deep learning. This approach works very well, and the benchmark in Figure 2 shows the accuracy of our system over the Caltech 101 dataset.
Labellio Architecture
Deep learning requires dense numerical computing resources, and GPUs make our system an order of magnitude faster. But it is very hard to support many users running different deep learning training and prediction tasks in one place. Let me share some key points of Labellio’s architecture that maximizes the use of the GPU for as many users as possible.
The Labellio architecture is based on the modern distributed computing architectural concept of microservices, with some modification to achieve maximal utilization of GPU resources. At the core of Labellio is a messaging bus for deep learning training and classification tasks, which launches GPU cloud instances on demand. Running behind the web interface and API layer are a number of components including data collectors, dataset builders, model trainer controllers, metadata databases, image preprocessors, online classifiers and GPU-based trainers and predictors. These components all run inside docker containers. Each component communicates with the others mainly through the messaging bus to maximize the computing resources of CPU, GPU and network, and share data using object storage as well as RDBMS.
Because the components are stateless, share data via shared storage, and communicate via the messaging bus, the Labellio system is fairly scalable and fault tolerant. We have experienced some critical problems such as failure of individual machines (e.g. AWS instances), but the service kept running thanks to this architecture. The architecture also maintains service during large usage spikes, such as on the service release date, when more than a hundred users immediately signed up and started using the service.
GPU tasks such as training and prediction are queued in the bus, and the first available GPU container receives and processes the message. Especially when it comes to prediction, since it is best to keep using the same prediction model to perform feature extraction and classification over multiple data instead of switching between models, the messages are sent to separate queues per prediction model and GPU containers buffer messages instead of
consuming each single message immediately. This improves the system’s throughput by an order of magnitude compared to switching back and forth between prediction models on every prediction request.
Try Labellio Today
This blog post briefly introduced Labellio’s scalable architecture for efficient GPU deep learning. After working with many enterprise customers, it became clear to us that deep learning technology should be provided in the cloud space to deliver the latest technology to as many users as possible. Labellio enabled more people to develop new ideas for deep learning applications, from mushroom classification to content moderation on social media sites.
Without Labellio’s scalable architecture, we could not have served the latest AI technology to hundreds of users in a week. We know there is still a lot of room to improve on this architecture, from speeding up model training using multiple GPUs in parallel, or even running on multiple machines by updating parameters loosely, to reducing the prediction latency and increasing prediction throughput. Beyond the computing resource utilization, the web service could serve not just as a deep learning training environment, but also enable the community to exchange ideas, share models and training datasets as well as even learning results for academic purposes. Labellio has a strong future for everyone who benefits from deep learning technology. Try Labellio today!Perhaps the branding industry should consider branding games rather than gamifying brands instead, if only for the reason that it’s more likely to work.
The vast majority of these projects are utter failures because they end up creating vapid digital services with no soul. The ones that do succeed often do so accidentally (for example, because they were unexpectedly fun). Games are a cultural product, and like any other culture there is a line where commercial relationships become nakedly self-serving, and no customer finds that sexy.
My sense is that brand managers are approaching games in the wrong way. A few years ago they were all into creating virtual worlds but that didn’t really work out. More recently they went through a phase of creating social games, but again no luck. Now they’re keen to commission digital agencies or game developers to create gamified sites or software for brands, which will inevitably become coupon schemes, badges and leader boards.
Four Tactics
The idea of having an engaged relationship with a brand is normal. We all do it in many ways every day. Brand managers always want their relationship to be of the highest quality engagement and for users to become more than customers, but participants and even evangelists.
One tactic is to achieve awareness. If potential customers have never heard of you then there is no chance of a relationship. So the brand works to be visible. They run TV ads, sponsor sports events and otherwise seek to get markets to know their name.
Another is endorsement such as by celebrities, team sponsorship, product placement and so on. The brand owner tries to get some of David Beckham’s cool to rub off, get Keanu Reeves to use their phone, be seen as a supporter of a worthy cause like environmentalism.
Yet another tactic is the creation of something cool. An ad campaign like The Most Interesting Man in the World (for Dos Equis, a beer) is an example, where the gift of humour offsets the fact that it is an advertisement.
Then there is a fourth tactic, where the brand wants to have a conversation. This is where social media marketing and tribe building all try to pitch their tent. Authenticity plays a crucial role at this level, as does permission. The brands that get it right become significant forces.
Level Five?
The four tactics above keep the relationship between customer and vendor pretty clear. Whether it’s a poster campaign, a mild product placement in a favoured TV show or a short film like some of the epic Guinness commercials of the 90s, the viewer understands that the vendor is paying for your attention, and in return offering something neat.
When brand managers decide to get some of that game stuff, however, they seem to become bewitched by some notion of a fifth tactic: the one where they can transport the player into their world.
Virtual worlds, meta-games, games and gamified applications want players to come into their cool world, play in it, and have a conversation closely related to the brand. So they create places in Second Life, alternate reality games, browser based massive multiplayer games and educational social games.
Interaction, education, inspiring players to think of the brand well and even desire it are all a part of the ideas that drive this sort of thinking. Brands fall in love with projects which are supposed to inspire an idea, or align with customers, or give them that extra layer of positive relationship.
It all sounds amazing, but in practise it’s duplicitous. Not only does it have no soul, it’s obvious that it has no soul. So players show up but they’re only really there for the reward. They don’t actually want to socialise in Burger King World, but they do want free burger vouchers. So they might play along for a little while, but nobody’s really fooled.
Go Back One Step
No brand tries to make a movie set in its world (unless you count movies of books), nor albums for its product because the brand manager knows it would become a laughing stock. Even when you hear a character in a TV show utter what is obviously a paid-for line (“I’ll upload this to my SkyDrive!” is one that I heard recently in an episode of Chuck), eyes collectively roll all around the world.
There’s |
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It is a festival in the Iranian culture and part of the Nowruz new year celebration rituals, held on the 13th of Farvardin (the 1st month of the Iranian calendar), during which people spend time picnicking outdoors.
Sizdah Bedar is the day Tir (The Blessed day) of the month Farvardin from ancient Persian (Iranian) calendar, which was the first day of agricultural activity in ancient Persia. Be-dar in Persian means going out. Nowadays, Iranians go out to have fun with their families all the day long.
Sizdeh Bedar is celebrated in Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, and elsewhere. An increasing number of participants are taking part in the holiday. In cities like Los Angeles with large populations of Iranians, a growing number of parks are set up by the city to accommodate the large number of people.
Sources:
Wikipedia | Sizdah Be-dar, Mehr News Agency | Photos 1, Mehr News Agency | Photos 2, IRNA | Photos 1, IRNA | Photos 2, IRNA | Photos 3, IRNA | Photos 4In autumn this year, hackers sent out emails with malware to state institutions and agencies, regional bodies of local government, state enterprises of critical infrastructure. The wrongdoers used Russian servers to carry out the attacks, the Kyiv Post wrote, citing the SBU press service.
Each “phishing” email contained an attachment with malware that infected computers as soon as it was downloaded. It encrypted hard-drives and placed an announcement on the desktop to pay a ransom to anonymous electronic accounts to decrypt them.
Apart from that, the virus connected to servers with Russian IP addresses and received commands from there; they could be controlled remotely and transfer collected information on demand.
“Virtually, Kremlin-controlled Russian hackers could have had an opportunity to covertly and remotely administer Ukrainian web resources and tap them to get information,” SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine on Dec. 29.
The malware was dubbed DarkTrack. It is a development of a computer virus called PSCrypt, known for hitting Ukraine in the past.
The SBU’s counterintelligence department sent its recommendations to all the parties that received emails.
Ukraine has been a frequent target for hackers in the past.
The largest cyberattack happened this summer: some of the biggest state-owned and private companies in Ukraine stopped functioning on the afternoon of June 27 due to the massive NotPetya ransomware attack that spread across the world, but hit Ukraine the most.
The NotPetya virus attacked around 12,500 machines across Ukraine. It is now reckoned to be the biggest cyberattack in country’s history.
The virus’ name derives from the Petya virus, which has been active since spring 2016, but NotPetya used stronger encryption, which enabled it to seize the systems of high-profile companies, including Danish shipping giant Maersk, U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck and numerous Ukrainian government offices.
It paralyzed the work of the Cabinet and derailed the document system at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Among others affected were state-owned savings bank Oschadbank, private bank Ukrgazbank, energy companies Kyivenergo and Ukrenergo, national telecommunications operator Ukrtelecom, mobile carrier Lifecell, postal companies Ukrposhta and Nova Poshta, Kyiv Boryspil International Airport and several media organizations.
In December 2015, power company Prykarpattyaoblenergo suffered a major attack that led to blackouts across western Ukraine. In that attack, about 230,000 Ukrainians were plunged into darkness for six hours after hackers inserted malware into control systems of part of the oblast grid. Ukraine has blamed Russia for the attacks, and the malware used, BlackEnergy, has its origins in Russia, according to experts. However, there is no definitive link between the cyberattack and the Russian government, according to U.S. officials.I will be the first to accept that homosexual people have suffered discrimination and sometimes worse through the decades and that the churches have, at times, been complicit in this. There is much penance to be done before we can look our homosexual brothers and sisters in the eye. But that baleful history does not diminish the need to speak the truth in love.
I firmly believe that redefining marriage to embrace same-sex relationships would mean diminishing the meaning of marriage for most people, with very little if anything gained for homosexual people. If I am right, in the long term we would all be losers.
Of course, if someone should ask, "how will my marriage be affected if couples of the same sex can marry?", the answer is: not at all. But let me put the question another way: what sort of a society would we have if we came to see all family relationships primarily in terms of equal rights? The family is designed to meet the different needs of its different members in different ways. It is the model of the just society that responds intelligently to differences rather than treating everyone the same.
While I am a strong supporter of justice and equality of opportunity for all people, I want to insist that with those rights go our responsibilities to one another. These are enshrined, I believe, in our legal definition of marriage. Would we be a better society if we made marriage simply a private contract between two individuals, with no wider implications of kinship and family? I do not believe that we would. The issue is not the implication for any existing marriage, but the implication for people in the future, when the social meaning of marriage has been changed and, in my view, diminished.
Drawing parallels between the proposed the proposed same-sex marriage and inter-racial marriage ignores the fact that there is more than one paradigm of equality. For me, racial equality rests on the doctrine that there is only one race – the human race – and any difference of treatment on ethnic grounds is therefore unjustifiable. But there is another view, based on the complementary nature of men and women. In short, should there be equality between the sexes because a woman can do anything a man can do or because a good society needs the different perspectives of women and men equally?
As far back as Mary Wollstonecraft we find that second view pressed very firmly. We see it today in the welcome insistence that all-male committees, clubs and so on are not fit for purpose. Unless one believes that every difference between the sexes is a mere social construct, the question of equality between the sexes cannot be completely addressed by the paradigm of racial equality. Defining marriage as between a man and a woman is not discriminatory against same-sex couples. What I am pressing for is a kind of social pluralism that does not degenerate into a fancy-free individualism.
Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to marriage. There is a formal process for dissolving civil partnerships akin to divorce. This similarity does not turn them into marriage. They are different from marriage. They are in every respect in ethical terms an honourable contract of a committed relationship. This difference does not imply that they lack protection in law, economics and social standing. To change the law and smooth out this difference on grounds of equality would force unjustified change on the rest of the nation.
It is important for the understanding both of marriage and of civil partnership that the categories are not confused. The retention of the current understanding of marriage should not prevent gay and lesbian couples from being able to affirm and honour their relationship without being obliged to fit into another category.
The question for me is one of justice, and not equality. Justice is the primary category. It does not mean not treating everyone the same way,but giving everyone what they need or deserve: education to the young, homecare to the old, opportunity to the enterprising, protection to the threatened. Equality follows justice, and secures its consistent administration: not just some young people, but all, not just some threatened people but all. A clear picture of the just order is what makes equality objective. Without it, equality claims are liable to be subjective and contradictory.
If it was a question of justice, what injustice would result from not turning civil partners into married couples? I suggest: no injustice.
It is a great mistake to use the statute to give comfort and assurance. The rule of law exists to address injustices. The current difference between marriage and civil partnerships does not involve injustice, but the proposed changes arguably would, by creating two new varieties of marriage.
The virtue of the civil partnerships scheme lay in the attempt to treat the needs of gay and lesbian couples as what they are, not to bundle them into some other category. Marriage is built around complementarity of the sexes, and therefore the institution of marriage is a support for stable families and societies.
Those civil partners who consider that their partnership is still inadequately recognised should give the civil partnership legislation time to establish itself and gain increasing public understanding.
This is an edited extract of a paper that can be read in full at http://j.mp/JjgEpv
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Dylan Hartley has missed training to place a question mark over him leading England in Saturday's Grand Slam decider.
Captain and hooker Hartley watched from the sidelines as his team-mates prepared without him for their French test under the watchful eye of head coach Eddie Jones.
The official line is that the Northampton Saints forward was resting, having trained earlier in the day, and that England are managing his workload. But they later took the unusual step of adding an extra hooker to their Paris-bound squad, making three in all.
Of those, only Hartley has started a Test match. Next in line is Luke Cowan-Dickie, whose two caps have come off the bench. Tommy Taylor, the third man, is uncapped.
England are already champions but want their first Grand Slam since 2003. The last time they completed a clean sweep on French soil was in 1923.
In pictures — England beat Wales:
Joe Marler did take part in training but lining up with the Possibles rather than Probables ahead of his disciplinary hearing on Wednesday night.
The Harlequins prop is expected to be banned from the Paris match, either for what appeared to be a forearm smash on Wales prop Rob Evans, or for alleged verbal use in calling Samson Lee ‘gypsy boy’.
Marler must wait longer to discover his fate in the latter, as Six Nations chiefs will not disclose their verdict until after his foul play hearing.
So he would have appreciated the intervention of Warren Gatland, who dismissed the episode during England's 25-21 win on Saturday as “a bit of banter as far as I’m concerned - and that’s what Samson said.”
The Wales boss added: “Joe said at half-time that it was just a bit of fun and Samson has no issue with it. It was the sort of banter on a rugby pitch that 20 years ago would have been sorted out with a few fists and forgotten.
“We don’t want to make much of that. I’m more concerned with the forearm smash on Rob Evans.”
Asked if there was a risk of sanitising rugby with microphones, cameras and social media, Gatland replied: “I think every aspect of life is like that.
“It’s becoming so PC that a massive issue is made over things. It was banter and we accepted the apology. But in modern-day sport, players have to be aware there are microphones and cameras everywhere and they have to act accordingly.”
One man sure to be in the thick of the action in France is Billy Vunipola, who insists England’s chumps-to-champs transformation has not been fuelled by a need to avenge their World Cup flop.
Read more:
The No.8 revealed: “Not one person came back into camp and said, ‘We are here to gain revenge’ or to try to reinvent ourselves. We never really talked about the World Cup.
“It was gone. I think it was something that happened for a reason so that other things could fall in line and here we are now.”BREAKING UPDATE: RNC FIRES FIRM - PAID $3M IN 2 MONTHS - AFTER DEAD PEOPLE FOUND REGISTERED AS NEW VOTERS IN FL
LATER UPDATE: Officials confirm 'possibly fraudulent' forms from RNC in 10 FL counties...
Brad Friedman Byon 9/27/2012, 3:33pm PT
[See BREAKING UPDATE at bottom of story. NBC News now reports the RNC has also cut ties with Strategic Allied Consulting.]
The North Carolina Republican Party has fired the shady voter registration firm owned by Mitt Romney's paid political consultant and longtime GOP operative, Nathan Sproul. The firing came as Democrats in the state were on the brink of denouncing the Republicans' tie to the operative's firm.
The state GOP joins the Republican Party of Florida, which also fired Sproul's company (who accounted for the party's largest 2012 expenditure, some $1.3 million over the last two months) after more than 100 apparently fraudulent voter registration forms were turned over to the FL State Attorney in Palm Beach County on Monday for investigation. The BRAD BLOG first reported the emerging story in detail on Tuesday.
The firm, Strategic Allied Consulting, is the latest creation of Sproul, a longtime, high-level GOP operative whose companies --- including Sproul & Associates and Lincoln Strategy Group --- have been accused of destroying Democratic voter registration forms and changing information on them in election after election, in state after state, year after year. He was hired for similar operations by Bush/Cheney in '04, by McCain/Palin in '08 and by Mitt Romney's campaign late last year.
When the FL GOP fired Strategic Allied on Tuesday night, they noted that the firm had been hired "at the request of" the Republican National Committee. On Wednesday, during our exclusive interview with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Election Susan Bucher, she described some of the "similarities in the signatures and certain characteristics in the applications that were very disturbing" on registration applications collected by Sproul's firm and turned in to her office. Among the "disturbing" defects on the forms, addresses of existing registered voters changed "to commercial buildings or addresses" and, "in some places, they were changing political parties."
Bucher stressed her concern that voters were likely to be disenfranchised by the effort when showing up at the polls on Election Day, only to find their address has been changed, removed or moved to another precinct entirely.
The firm is still said to be operating in key battleground states like Virginia, Nevada and Colorado, where a young lady who may have been working for the contractor was caught on a disturbing viral video tape published over the weekend. The young lady, who was hired by "a third-party contractor" retained by the Colorado State Republican Party, as their Communications Director confirmed to The BRAD BLOG on Wednesday, is seen on the tape asking a potential registrant whether she would vote for Obama or Romney before she would allow her to fill out a voter registration form.
When Gregg Flynn of BlueNC reported on Sproul's Strategic Allied Consulting in his state late last month, he reported the NC GOP had paid some $333,000 to the firm in July alone. He also discovered the company had taken steps to hide its ownership by Sproul's firm, Sproul & Associates, shortly after first publication of his initial exposé...
Mark Binker at North Carolina's WRAL is reporting today that NC GOP spokesman Rob Lockwood says, "The NCGOP takes any threat to the voting process very seriously. We have terminated our relationship with Strategic Allied Consultants." The spokesman also added that the state GOP claims to have no other vendor doing similar work in the state.
According to Binker, before the NC GOP fired Strategic Allied today, Democrats were preparing to release a statement decrying their involvement with the disreputable firm of Romney's paid political consultant, Sproul. The statement from Rep. Larry Hall was to have included:
North Carolina Republicans have spared no time or expense in their efforts to limit democracy and keep North Carolinians out of the democratic process. North Carolina is fortunate that Democrats fought against GOP efforts to pass discriminatory voter ID laws. Now Republicans are using this unethical and shady firm to try to get a leg up in this election... I am calling on the North Carolina Republican Party to denounce this group and their shameful tactics and to immediately fire this firm.
On Tuesday night, The Nation's Lee Fang confirmed the company's operations on behalf of Republicans in Colorado, and unearthed a photo of Sproul and his wife taken at the George W. Bush White House during a Christmas party in 2006. Moreover, a Twitter user directed us to evidence that the firm is also operating in San Diego. Earlier this year, thousands of fraudulent voter registrations were turned into the Sacramento County, GOP in a $50,000 bounty scheme for Republican-only voter registrations. We have not yet been able to tie that scheme to Sproul's efforts.
Finally, for those who are just coming to this story, before you bother to equate Sproul's dirty work to anything a handful of ACORN's voter registration were accused (by ACORN!) of doing over the years, please read our original report on this matter which details how there is absolutely no comparison between those incidents and the explicit attempts to defraud the electoral system which Sproul's firms have been accused of doing in election after election. As Republican Congressman Chris Cannon noted, he when highlighted just some of the differences in the organizations during a 2009 hearing on voter suppression: "The difference between ACORN and Sproul is that ACORN doesn't throw away or change registration documents after they have been filled out."
Though Republicans in FL and NC have now disavowed their relationships to Sproul, the GOP in VA, NV, CO and CA have not. Neither has the Republican National Committee or the Romney Campaign.
We suspect there will be still more to come on this story...
* * *
BREAKING UPDATE: Just after publishing, word comes that the RNC has also now reportedly "cut ties" with Strategic Allied Consulting, as evidence of fraudulent registrations emerge in four six ten counties in FL, including "dead people being registered as new voters" by the GOP firm.
According to Michael Isikoff at NBC News:
The Republican National Committee has fired a controversial consulting firm it was paying millions of dollars to conduct voter registration in five battleground states, NBC News has learned. The move came after the Palm Beach County, Fla., elections supervisor discovered 108 potentially fraudulent registration forms submitted by the GOP consulting firm, including suspected phony signatures and home addresses that matched those of a gas station, a medical building, and a Land Rover automotive dealership. NBC News has learned that four other Florida counties have also reported hundreds of possible fraudulent registration forms submitted by the firm, including apparent dead people being registered as new voters.
An updated version of Iskioff's article, at the same URL, now says the FL Secretary of State's confirms problems with apparently fraudulent registration applications in six, not just four counties:
"We have heard from supervisors in six counties that they have irregularities in voter registration," said Chris Cate, spokesman for the Florida Department of State, which oversees the state's division of elections.
[UPDATE 9/28/11, 12:09pm PT: LA Times is now reporting that the number of counties where "suspicious and possibly fraudulent voter registration forms" were turned in by the Republican Party and Sproul is "at least 10".]
Isikoff reports that the RNC has paid $2.9 million to Strategic Allied Consulting so far this year, according to FEC records. [UPDATE: LA Times, which is also now running a similar report, pegs the number at $3.1 million over the past two months, since the firm was formed in June under a new name to hide Sproul's involvement.]
He also received a response from the Romney Campaign who claims: " "We used this vendor for signature gathering services during the primary but have not used them since 2011."
Moreover, a statement posted to Strategic Allied Consulting's website late today claims the company has "a zero tolerance policy for breaking the law" and says "all questionable cards" were traced "to one individual" who was fired.
But Sproul subsequently told Isikoff during a phone interview that "possible fraud in other Florida counties were isolated acts by individuals hired by the firm".
See Isikoff's report for more, including details on the dead voters signed up as new registrants by the company.
But one note to Isikoff who repeatedly refers to "voter fraud" in his article: There is no known "voter fraud" related to this scandal. This is a form of election fraud known as "voter registration fraud". There are no actual voters involved in this scandal. The voters have been, and are, doing just fine. Please leave them alone. Inappropriate attacks on voters are best left to members of the Republican Party. Thanks.
* * *
Please support The BRAD BLOG's fiercely independent, award-winning coverage of your electoral system, as available from no other media outlet in the nation, with a donation to help us keep going (Snail mail, more options here). If you like, we'll send you some great, award-winning election integrity documentary films in return! Details right here...ECMAScript 4 M2 has been released and Francis Cheng has posted about the new version. M2 fully implements:
classes and interfaces
namespaces
pragmas
let, const, let-const
iterators
enumerability control
type expressions / definitions / annotations
runtime type checks (“standard mode”)
nullability
destructuring assignment
slice syntax
hashcode
catchalls
map & vector
date & time improvements
meta objects
static generics
string trim
typeof
globals
expression closures
name objects
type operators (is / to / cast / wrap)
Francis also posted about Vectors:
A new built-in class named Vector is proposed for ECMAScript edition 4. This class is similar to the Array class, but is designed for better performance, efficiency and error checking. Some interesting aspects of the Vector class: vectors are dense;
vectors do bounds checking;
vectors can be fixed length;
vectors have type parameters;
vectors have the same methods as arrays.
David Tucker has posted about Colin Moock and his new lecture notes on the language changes that include:
Generic Functions : This functionality will add Java-style method overloading to ActionScript. A function must be defined with the keyword generic, but then mutliple methods (with different method signatures) can be used.
: This functionality will add Java-style method overloading to ActionScript. A function must be defined with the keyword, but then mutliple methods (with different method signatures) can be used |
longshot.
I don’t know what it was recently. Perhaps I’m finally letting the last vestiges of the stress from the last five years fade away. Perhaps she has inspired me. Perhaps my son’s budding musical journey has inspired me (he’s been writing ditties on the piano lately,) but something, something sparked my musical engine.
The other day I visited Music Man’s website and started looking at Stingrays. I’ve decided that while having a beautiful 5-string and an epic 6-string around are quite the treat, the tightness of a 4-string and the more focused possibilities it offers are enticing me more and more. I decided that I would start socking away a few bucks every month until I could buy the bass of my dreams. It may take a year, it may take two years, whatever… But I will own a Music Man.
I started visiting local shops again. I went to my old local indie stand-by, Huber and Breese. I took my Ibanez to get it re-strung and set up again, and while I was there dropping it off I started doodling on a few basses. I realized that the Stingray is actually kind of heavy; it’s kind of old-fashioned looking; it’s kind of not my style. Maybe I’ve grown up a bit, or maybe I just want something wacky and weird to fit my personality.
I started researching more basses by Music Man, and found their Bongo line, which came out in 2004. Now here was something that electrified me; a weird looking bass with very modern design and very versatile electronics. I started doing a lot of reading and research on the Bongos. A stage tech had mentioned to the bass player in a band, “The Bongo is the most musical bass you’ve ever played, man.” That did it, that’s what I was looking for.
I posted a query on a huge bass player forum and got lots of positive responses. People who owned them loved them, and everybody kept talking about the versatility and range of possible tones. The dual humbuckers and 4-band active pre-amp, the unique satin neck finish, the 24 frets with the unique cutaway for access to the highest notes. It’s like Wayne said: You will be mine.
So I called the music store today. These babies are about $1500 and must be special ordered. They take a couple of months to arrive. That’s fine. I’ll bide my time. I’ll sock away a few bucks every paycheck until I can go in there with cash, plunk it down, and finally be able to buy my dream bass.
In the meantime
Of course, I don’t need a new bass. I have two healthy and beautiful instruments, but nobody to play with and nothing to do. So I decided, I’m going to start jamming with my son. I decided I want to be able to record as well. Recently, at Icrontic New Years 2011, DJ Meph came by with some of his gear and we had a bit of a jam session with Myrmidon. Being that I hadn’t picked up a bass in several years, and we had never played together before, it pretty much sucked, but it was invigorating and inspiring. I want to play so badly. I want to make music and record it and share it with my friends. Now that I have a high-powered mobile workstation, all I needed was a way to plug my bass into my EliteBook. So for the last couple of days I’ve been researching PC audio interfaces, and finally settled on a Focusrite Saffire. This is an 8-in, 6-out Firewire recording interface that comes bundled with Ableton Live Lite. I am going to plug this stuff together and start playing again.
When I’m on my deathbed, I don’t want to have any regrets. I don’t want to look back on my life and say, “I wish I had followed my dreams and played music.” I feel like passion can drive anything. Yes, I have a very busy life. I have a busy job, two kids to raise, a wonderful partner, a couple of websites to run, and two roommates in addition to all my other goings-on. There is always something to distract me, but none of that matters. When I reach down deep into my soul, there is music. It needs out.The Bombay high court recently granted bail to three men who were charged with allegedly murdering a Muslim man after attending a meeting of the fringe right-wing group Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) in Pune in 2014.
The high court said the accused did not kill the man over a personal enmity and that they had been provoked “in the name of religion”.
The prosecution said that on June 2, 2014, HRS organised a meeting at Hadaspar in Pune following violent protests after morphed images of Maratha warrior king Shivaji and late Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray were uploaded on Facebook by unidentified persons.
During the meeting, the group’s leader Dhananjay Desai made a ‘provocative’ speech that allegedly instigated the audience to go on a rampage.
The accused went out on the road wielding hockey sticks and spotted Mohsin and Riyaz Shaikh on a bike and started assaulting them. Mohsin and Riyaz, young Muslim IT professionals, were on their way to dinner. Mohsin succumbed to his injuries but Riyaz escaped.
“The meeting was held prior to the assault. The accused had no other motives, such as any personal enmity, against the innocent victim. The fact that the victim belonged to another religion is in favour of the accused, who were clearly provoked in the name of the religion, and thus committed the murder.
Eyewitnesses identified the three accused as Vijay Gambhire, Ranjeet Yadav, and Ajay Lalge. The three men were arrested and charged with murder and rioting under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Their bail plea was rejected by the sessions court in Pune. They then approached the high court.
Justice Mridula Bhatkar dismissed the defence that the three had been wrongly implicated in the case. However, she held that a transcript of Desai’s speech and the sessions court order made it clear that the accused had been provoked.
“The meeting was held prior to the assault. The accused had no other motives, such as any personal enmity, against the innocent victim. The fact that the victim belonged to another religion is in favour of the accused, who were clearly provoked in the name of the religion, and thus committed the murder,” justice Bhatkar said.
Police arrested at least 25 HRS members, including its chief Desai, in the case on charges of murder, rioting, arson and inciting violence, among others. Of the 25 arrested, 17 were charged with murdering Shaikh.
Read:
11 years on, Bombay high court acquits 4 of rape, murder of 3-year-old girl
Bombay high court refuses to let man born in Pak stay in India
First Published: Jan 15, 2017 00:20 ISTTrain traveling on Athens-Thessaloniki route when it went off rails by the village of Adendro
An intercity train derailed in northern Greece, leaving four passengers dead and five seriously injured, including the driver, the state railway said in a statement early Sunday.
The train, with 70 passengers, was traveling on the Athens-Thessaloniki route when it went off the rails and crashed through a house by the village of Adendro, 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Thessaloniki, on Saturday night.
“I was sitting on my porch. I saw a flash and immediately heard a terrible explosion,” Giorgos Mylonas, 78, said. “Then I saw the train enter [a nearby] house and heard the two Albanians who live there scream for help.”
India train crash: 36 killed in Andhra Pradesh derailment Read more
One of the three-story house’s two tenants said he and his friend jumped from the balcony. “We heard a terrible explosion and we were very scared,” said Mir, 26, who only gave his first name.
The train’s engine went through the house, whose bottom floor is storage space. The house is now tilting.
A local official, Mavroudis Mintsioudis, said “the whole house is now leaning on the train, which shows you how severe the crash was”.
Emergency workers, along with two dozen fire trucks and many ambulances, are on the scene. Police would not let anyone get close, but a dog sniffing through the wreck could be seen alongside firefighters.The writer Caleb Crain is unhappy about “the intrusion of counting into the life of literature”. He believes that big data and predictive-taste algorithms are cutting humans “out of the loop”, and that social media are undermining our faith in “the mental states of other people” when those inner states aren’t acknowledged in tweets and likes.
It seems we are mired in “a new kind of disenchantment”, he says, which is devolving our sense of literary merit. As big data blurs personal opinion into preference aggregates, and as Twitter-propelled article-surfing destroys reviewing communities and the authority of critics alike, Crain contends, we have no choice but to “declare war on counting”. So that, you know, “literature will survive”.
As readers, but perhaps more so as independent publishers working at the shamelessly literary end of the scale, we are wary of any argument that assumes the new digital age will sweep away everything that matters to intelligent readers. Readers are not, as Crain might believe, more likely to equate long-term value with popularity now that Goodreads uses star ratings, and Amazon rankings have come along; nor are they likely to permit the literary canon to be shaped by sales data.
However much Crain might rhapsodise about the old days, in which a “freemasonry” of critics, academics, booksellers, librarians, and publishers transcended time and space to distil, as if from the ether, their ages’ gold standards of literary excellence – however Crain might, by contrast, bewail the “illusion of certainty” through which consumer behaviour or social-media stats purport to concretise our likes and dislikes – does anyone really believe that the same type of value is being assessed in both cases? Or that Amazon is anything more than a shopping site? No.
Computer says no: Amazon uses AI to combat fake reviews Read more
We’ve met many a writer who has expressed frustration because a bad review on Amazon was kinking their online sales, but not one who was convinced that posterity had damned them as a result. Readers of literary fiction still defer by and large to the judgment of themselves, their trusted friends, their favourite critics, to prize judges, and, in the long-term, to academics.
And for every publisher or media outlet that makes choices based primarily on numbers, there’s another making decisions primarily on aesthetics, and twice as many making decisions based on some combination of the two, as well as a host of intelligent critics ready to scrutinise their choices. To say otherwise is to parade a straw dog.
Crain justifies his gloomy prognostications about the future of reading by means of the even gloomier aspersions he levels against contemporary criticism. “Reviews today,” he argues, “cut off from the communities that once fostered and disciplined them, have no authority.” He asserts that in an internet age of shrinking print coverage, “readers arrive at online reviews by way of Twitter and Facebook” instead of by subscribing to print periodicals, and as a result, there is little loyalty to particular literary sites, journals or newspapers.
Because of this, Crain contends that reviews forums have lost both their identities and their standards. Bad times for books coverage! In his view, the times are worse for the poor critic, however, who – formerly policed by editors to ensure her work did not “drift so far” from the taste of the periodical’s readership “that her reviews no longer helped” – is left, on her own, to backfill cyberspace with reams of undisciplined rubbish.
And times are worse yet for the reader, who in the old days voted with her feet, Crain suggests, buying the periodicals whose standards she shared and cancelling subscriptions when those standards diverged. Nowadays, that same reader doesn’t cancel her internet services when she finds a review unhelpful; Crain argues that online readers have no way of registering their dissatisfaction with a critic’s point of view.
Which part of this is most naive? Most critics wrote, in print, for multiple publications, and were noted for their own personal slant and standards before they set pen to paper; to say that the prestige of their print outlets constituted the better part of their authority is to deny critics their individual opinions and skills. To say that readers have no influence online is to forget that digital reviews editors work to please their communities, too (readership size equals ad revenue, at least at most major sites.) And to say that, nowadays, it’s rare to find an “online literary review [with] a coherent sensibility” is nonsensical. Every site is struggling fiercely to define itself. Neither the proliferation of online literary reviews, nor the use of social media to discover and discuss them, is destroying the “coherence of [the] system”.
Bad criticism in public is a nuisance. Does it spell the end of days? Hardly
No more, at any rate, than the rise of cheap newspapers in the 18th century and the emergence of even cheaper Grub Street hacks – the anonymous critics whom Alexander Pope so famously decried as “fools” who “rush in where angels fear to tread” – spelled the end of poetry. In Pope’s time, the hacks outnumbered the so-called “real writers” to a substantial degree, much as Amazon avatars now vastly outnumber trained critics. But while he was annoyed, and encouraged critics to improve themselves, Pope wasn’t afraid; nor should we be. Bad criticism in public places is certainly a nuisance. It can be more influential than we in the business of literary publishing might like. But does it spell the end of days? Hardly.
There is perhaps a larger point, however. Crain wishes to protect the individual’s experience of reading: an act at once “sensuous, invisible, soulful”, in which the reader is alone, yet in imagined communion with her fellow book-lovers.
Is that so different from the communion that people are seeking online? Whether on Twitter or deep in the recesses of one’s imagination, it’s still extraordinary that a book can show us – each and every one of us, unique, secretive, solitary – how connected we are. As Claire Messud puts it in The Woman Upstairs:The Washington Post reports: “The United States conducted a series of airstrikes on Al-Qaeda targets in Yemen on Thursday, the Pentagon said, in another sign of the Trump administration’s expanding counterterrorism campaign there.”
See from Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations: “The (Not-So) Peaceful Transition of Power: Trump’s Drone Strikes Outpace Obama.”
JAMES RICKS, chavoc32 [at] gmail.com
ED KINANE, edkinane [at] verizon.net
BRIAN HYNES, brianhynes [at] verizon.net
The group UpstateDroneAction.org released a statement Friday morning: “Four drone resisters, James Ricks, Daniel Burns, Brian Hynes, and Ed Kinane, from the 2015 big books action were found innocent of all charges at 11 p.m. at the Dewitt Town Court. After deliberating for only about a half hour, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on all charges. Applause erupted in the courtroom upon the jurors’ announcement of the verdict. The four were charged with obstruction of government administration, disorderly conduct, and trespass and faced a year in jail. Following the rendering of the verdict, a juror approached Brian Hynes and said ‘I really support what you are doing. Keep doing it.’
“During the trial, Brian Hynes told the jury, “This is not a case about contested facts, this is a case about contested meanings.” Hynes went on to explain to the jury that they could, in the words of the 4th Circuit of Appeals, acquit for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion. In powerful testimony, James Ricks told the jury about meeting the families of drone victims and seeing the wreckage of hellfire missiles. Jurors were brought to tears several times. Daniel Joseph Burns said, ‘Would any of us deem it acceptable for our precious loved ones to be sacrificed for another nation’s anticipatory self defense. Of course not! Moreover, if drones were being aimed at my children by another country, I would hope with all my might that the citizens of that country might try and stop their country’s illegal and immoral actions.’ Ed Kinane told the jury in clear and powerful language about his time living in Iraq during the war and about the terror sown by drones. …
“The trail resulted from an action on March 19, 2015. On the 12th anniversary of the U.S.’ illegal invasion of Iraq, seven members of the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars shut the main gate of the Hancock Drone Base (near Syracuse, NY) with a giant copy of the UN Charter and three other giant books – Dirty Wars (Jeremy Scahill), ‘Living Under Drones’ (NYU and Stanford Law Schools), and ‘You Never Die Twice’ (Reprieve).
“The nonviolent activists also held a banner quoting Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution, stating that every treaty signed becomes the supreme law of the land. They brought the books to Hancock to remind everyone at the base of the signed treaties that prohibit the killing of civilians and assassinations of human beings. The group attempted yet again to deliver a citizens’ indictment for war crimes to the Hancock Air base chain of command.”The field of astronomy has been revolutionized by hardware that performs surveys, comprehensive catalogs of everything out there that emits light in a given chunk of the spectrum. Instead of looking at individual objects, astronomers can now examine hundreds or thousands of objects of a given type, and get a sense of what the typical population is like.
This week, NASA announced some results of its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a space-based telescope that has scanned the entire heavens since its launch at the end of 2009, obtaining at least five images of 95 percent of the sky at four infrared wavelengths. The WISE mission has identified plenty of cool objects that are close to home, like asteroids in our Solar System and brown dwarfs in our galaxy. But now, its data has been combed for objects beyond the Milky Way, and the search has turned up millions of supermassive black holes, along with the most luminous galaxies we've ever detected, including a new class of what are called "hot DOGs."
WISE was able to spot so many objects because the Universe is a very dusty place, and that dust obscures objects that might otherwise be visible in optical wavelengths. But infrared tends to pass through the dust unhindered, while the dust itself can glow in these wavelengths when heated.
Hunting black holes
Most—if not all—galaxies appear to host a supermassive black hole at their center. Early in the galaxy's history, or following collisions with other galaxies, these black holes would be fed with lots of gas, forming an active galactic nucleus that emits copious amounts of light. The ones we've detected are the most luminous objects in the Universe. But we can't detect the ones that are buried in dust very easily without imaging in the infrared or searching for very high energy photons.
In the past, a series of space-based observatories (Spitzer, Chandra, and Hubble) have imaged a specific area of the sky called the COSMOS field, identifying dozens of black hole candidates in the region. In one of the preprints released in conjunction with the announcement, a team has looked at the same spot in the WISE data. By testing various ways of looking at the different wavelengths imaged by WISE, the researchers were able to find a set of properties that uniquely identified dust-obscured black holes. Their technique could identify about 80 percent of the objects found in the previous study, with a reliability of over 90 percent.
NASA's press release indicates they then applied the same criteria to the complete body of the WISE data, which covers the entire sky. That produced a truly staggering number: 2.5 million active black holes at the center of galaxies, about two-thirds of them obscured by dust.
Finding hot DOGs
Dust and active black holes aren't a stable combination. As a black hole feeds, it starts to blast away the surrounding gas and dust with the energetic light and particles it emits. That clears away the dust, making the active galactic nucleus apparent in visible wavelengths. It also puts an end to the star formation that occurs in the clouds of gas and dust, limiting the size of galaxies.
But that process doesn't happen overnight, and the WISE survey may have identified a set of galaxies that are undergoing this transition.
These galaxies belong to a class called "ULIRGs," for ultra-luminous infrared galaxies. Normally, there are two ways of getting a galaxy this bright in the infrared: either the dust is being heated by a rapid burst of star formation, or when lit up by a supermassive black hole. But WISE has spotted a thousand objects that may be experiencing both.
The objects were identified based on the fact that they are visible in only some of the wavelengths imaged by WISE. Follow-up observations in visible light show that these galaxies have an active central black hole that's largely obscured by dust, making them DOGs—dust-obscured galaxies. A detailed measuring of their infrared spectrum suggests, however, that their dust is heated to a temperature of about 100K, or twice that of the normal dust temperature (this is the "hot" in "hot DOGs"). This high temperature suggests a major burst of star formation is happening.
The authors of that study can't tell if these 1,000 or so hot DOGs are the extreme tail end of a collection of galaxies that are otherwise unremarkable—perhaps mergers between large galaxies?—or simply a very brief period in the normal evolution of most galaxies. The answer could help us learn about the process by which a black hole brings an end to star formation.
But they are certain they've spotted a monster. One of the hot DOGs, WISE 1814+3412, is apparently forming stars that add up to about 300 times the mass of the Sun each year, even as it hosts a feeding supermassive black hole. Observations suggest its total luminosity across all wavelengths is nearly 1014 times that of our Sun, making it "ultraluminous," and placing it among the most luminous galaxies ever spotted in the visual wavelengths.Whether choosing a dinner, a car, a spouse or an investment, experts now know what part of the brain our likes and dislikes are encoded, how we represent alternatives, and even how we choose.
This has been possible because of the increased collaboration of researchers from three disciplines: economics, neuroscience and psychology. This interdisciplinary collaboration has become so successful that it led to a creation of a new scientific field called neuroeconomics, with several centres around the world.
Decision-making is perhaps the most crucial and defining part of our lives. We spend every awake minute of our lives deciding. Some decisions may seem basic but are necessary for survival, such as what to eat or drink. Other decisions are more sophisticated - our finances, retirement, education, and voting. It is no wonder that understanding how exactly people make these decisions absorbed scientists in different fields for decades now.
Economists have been interested in decision-making to the extent that it would allow them to improve well-being. The idea is that once we can predict people’s behaviour, we ought to be able to design economies with a set of rules that makes everybody better off.
The brain as a black box
For years, while building their mathematical predictive models of choice, economists treated the brain as a “black box”. The economic models of choice were thus mathematically very elegant; but have been shown to systematically fail under numerous circumstances.
In the last two decades the approach to modelling choice in economics has begun to change quite dramatically. We now understand the basic architecture of the brain and how it actually makes choices. This allows us to begin to open the black box and build realistic models of choice. Many people believe that as a result of that new ability, this will be the beginning of a new era in economics.
Opening the “Black Box” of the brain has been considered off-limits by many classical economists - so how do traditionalists view neuroeconomics? Professor Paul Glimcher from New York University explains.
Perhaps some of the most important things that we learned from neuroeconomics are in the area of aging. Scientists in many disciplines documented that decision-making over the life span changes in a systematic way. From carefully designed experimental studies, we learned that children and adolescents seem to be more impatient than adults. They are also more tolerant of unknown, which makes them appear as risk-takers.
Towards the end of their lives though, people appear to lose their decision-making abilities. Studies have shown that even highly functioning older adults have trouble choosing the retirement and health plans that would meet their needs. They make errors when voting and can lose substantial amounts of money by making very simple mistakes.
Fortunately, the multidisciplinary approach combining techniques from economics, neuroscience, and psychology, allowed us to understand the biological roots of the differences in economic behaviours over a person’s life span. We have learned from neuroscience how the brain ages and what implications this has for the changes in decision-making over the lifespan. This new insights now present new methods of dealing with age-related choice inefficiencies.
‘Curse of choice’
For instance, we have known for a decade or so that people have trouble making efficient choices when they face more than just a few options, which has been often called the “curse of choice”. Trying to choose the best option from a set of 12 different superannuation funds, cars, or even breakfast cereals is notoriously difficult. Policymakers have long tried to design the choice situations in such a way as to elevate these difficulties, for example by pre-selecting defaults.
Neuroeconomists now understand exactly what feature of the brain causes errors in these situations. Knowing how that feature works mechanically, we can prescribe different ways of choosing that play to the strengths, rather than the weaknesses, of our brains.
Overall, what these discoveries mean is we no longer have to blindly rely on trial and error approaches to policy design. We can instead start designing policy based on economic models of choice rooted in the biology of our brains. We can only hope that policymakers will be equally enthusiastic about this unique and new opportunity.
Professor Paul Glimcher, currently visiting Australia from New York University, is one of the world’s leading neuroeconomists. Listen to Prof Glimcher explain more about the curse of choice.Theaters raise revenue and tensions by charging to show trailers
Movie studio executives are grumbling about the growing practice in which they have to pay to run coming attractions before feature films.
But now theater owners, realizing the value of having Hollywood's target audience already in the theater, have begun charging movie companies to run their trailers. Although some trailers still run for free, movie distributors complain that they're increasingly being asked to pay to get their trailers played — or get shut out.
Traditionally, theater owners were happy to run the advertisements for upcoming movies on the understanding that they drove box-office receipts and concession-stand sales. Studios paid to make the trailers and cinemas screened them. Each movie came with two coming attractions attached, while others ran at the discretion of the theater, often as a result of lobbying by Hollywood marketers.
Theater owners are squeezing extra coin out of film companies by charging them to play the trailers for their upcoming movies.
OSCARS 2013: Defining scenes | Oscar Watch
"We've reached the tipping point," said Jeffrey Neuman, chief executive of Verites, a Burbank company paid by studios to check theaters to see that trailers are being shown and that marketing materials such as lobby cards and standees are in place. "If you're not one of the ones paying for trailers, you're left struggling for placement."
In one controversial move, the nation's largest cinema chain, Regal Entertainment Group, recently cut the number of trailers that studios can run with their own movies for free from two to one. Some studio executives are privately grumbling about the practice, upset that they are being asked to pay still more to a supposed partner that typically keeps half the box-office receipts.
"It's logical a theater operator has an obligation to market studios' movies, when we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on [making] each one," said one studio executive who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the topic. "But they have gone all the way around to wanting to be paid."
Four of the major studios — 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. — reportedly have made annual marketing deals worth several million dollars with theater chains such as Regal and AMC Entertainment. In exchange, the studios are exempt from the one-free-trailer-only rule and get the best possible placement.
Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures don't have such deals, while smaller studios may pay as much as $100,000 to play a trailer for one film.
Some coming attractions still make it on the screen through studio executives lobbying and cajoling contacts at theaters with whom they have long-standing relationships. But such old-fashioned methods that don't involve payments are increasingly rare.
Large theater chains won't publicly acknowledge that they charge for trailers, nor will the studios that pay them. Spokespeople for Regal and AMC declined to comment, as did representatives of Cinemark Holdings Inc. and Carmike Cinemas Inc., the next largest national cinema chains.
MOVIE TRAILERS: What's opening soon
But within the film and exhibition industries, it's common knowledge — and a growing source of resentment.
"Everybody says, 'No, no, there's no money ever paid to show trailers,' but we know that's not the case for some of the big boys," said Rafe Cohen, president of Galaxy Theatres, a Sherman Oaks chain that operates 115 screens. "For us little guys, we'd love to charge for trailers, but we don't have the leverage."
There are no official stats on how many trailers make it to the big screen thanks to a payment, but the practice has become increasingly common. Verites checked on about 100 trailers in 2012, compared with 30 in 2009, Neuman said.Story highlights "It is critical we seize this momentum," the letter said
Lawmakers are encouraging other elected officials to participate in protests
(CNN) Sens. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bernie Sanders called on constituents and their fellow senators from across the country to lead rallies protesting President Donald Trump's plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act later this month.
"The Republican Party's plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act is in chaos," the two lawmakers said in a joint statement Saturday. "The American people increasingly understand that throwing 20 million people off health insurance, privatizing Medicare, raising prescription drug costs for seniors and doing away with life-and-death patient protection provisions is not acceptable."
Schumer recently spoke at a rally advocating for exanding LGBT rights, and Sanders is reaching out to other senators encouraging them to protest.
"We are encouraging Democratic senators to lead rallies in their states. This is not a Democratic issue, a Republican issue or an Independent issue," they wrote. "The overwhelming majority of Americans, regardless of political persuasion, understand that we have to go forward on health care, not backwards."
A CNN/ORC poll from last month found more people viewed the law favorably as opposed to unfavorably, 49%-47%. In that poll, a majority would prefer the GOP to repeal parts of the law only if replacements can be enacted at the same time (55%). Fewer overall say they ought to repeal parts of the law as they can, regardless of their ability to replace those pieces (21%) and another 1-in-5 (22%) say they'd prefer the Republicans to abandon their plans to repeal the law entirely.
Read MoreEU proposal on a free trade deal with the US could curb energy saving measures and a planned switch to clean energy, say MEPs
The latest draft version of the TTIP agreement could sabotage European efforts to save energy and switch to clean power, according to MEPs.
A 14th round of the troubled negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal between the EU and US is due to begin on Monday in Brussels.
A leak obtained by the Guardian shows that the EU will propose a rollback of mandatory energy savings measures, and major obstacles to any future pricing schemes designed to encourage the uptake of renewable energies.
Environmental protections against fossil fuel extraction, logging and mining in the developing world would also come under pressure from articles in the proposed energy chapter.
Paul de Clerck, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth Europe, said the leaked document: “is in complete contradiction with Europe’s commitments to tackle climate change. It will flood the EU market with inefficient appliances, and consumers and the climate will foot the bill. The proposal will also discourage measures to promote renewable electricity production from wind and solar.”
The European commission says that the free trade deal is intended to: “promote renewable energy and energy efficiency – areas that are crucial in terms of sustainability”.
The bloc has also promised that any agreement would support its climate targets. In the period to 2020, these are binding for clean power and partly binding for energy efficiency, in the home appliance and building standards sectors.
But the draft chapter obliges the two trade blocs to: “foster industry self-regulation of energy efficiency requirements for goods where such self-regulation is likely to deliver the policy objectives faster or in a less costly manner than mandatory requirements”.
Campaigners fear that this could tip the balance in future policy debates and setback efforts to tackle climate change.
Jack Hunter, a spokesman for the European Environmental Bureau said: “Legally-binding energy standards have done wonders to lower energy bills for homes and offices, so much so that energy use has dropped even as the British economy has grown and appliances have become more power-hungry.
“Voluntary agreements have a place, but are generally ‘business as usual’ and no substitute for the real thing. If they became the norm, it would seriously harm our fight against climate change.”
Another passage in the draft text mandates that operators of energy networks grant access to gas and electricity “on commercial terms that are reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory, including as between types of energy”.
This could create an avenue for preventing the imposition of feed-in tariffs and other support schemes to encourage the uptake of clean energy, according to lawmakers in Brussels.
The Green MEP Claude Turmes said: “These proposals are completely unacceptable. They would sabotage EU legislators’ ability to privilege renewables and energy efficiency over unsustainable fossil fuels. This is an attempt to undermine democracy in Europe.”
The environmental law consultancy, ClientEarth, was concerned that the new proposal effectively derogated responsibility for urgent climate change actions agreed at COP21 to the business sector.
“Industry is not the right entity to lead the fight against climate change,” said ClientEarth’s lawyer, Laurens Ankersmit. “It is madness for the EU and the US to rely on it in this way.”
The energy chapter negotiations began as part of an EU push for unlimited access to exports of the US’s relatively cheap liquefied natural gas, much of it derived from shale.
The EU is committed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 80% by 2050, as measured against 1990 levels – and pledged a 40% CO2 cut by 2030 at the Paris climate conference, last December.
But the new text says that: “the Parties must agree on a legally binding commitment to eliminate all existing restrictions on the export of natural gas in trade between them as of the date of entry into force of the Agreement”.
Other countries wanting to trade with the EU or US would also find themselves up against requirements that they remove trade barriers.
The draft says: “The Parties shall cooperate to reduce or eliminate trade and investment distorting measures in third countries affecting energy and raw materials.”
In 2013, the EU’s trade commissioner Karel de Gucht promised the multinational oil giant Exxon that the energy chapter would remove obstacles to its expansion plans in Africa and South America.PISCATAWAY — Jeff Towers, the booster who is on the verge of being hired by Rutgers coach Kyle Flood to a prominent role on his staff, pledged a $1 million gift to support the Scarlet Knights football program last year, two people with knowledge of the contribution told NJ Advance Media.
The two people with knowledge of the financial commitment and a third person intimately familiar with the deal have identified Towers and his wife, Amy, as the anonymous donors who guaranteed the additional compensation in Flood's contract extension last September.
The people, who are not authorized to comment on the matter, spoke on the condition of anonymity a day after NJ Advance Media reported that Towers was on the verge of being hired as Rutgers football recruiting coordinator. In the report, Flood said "nobody has been hired as of yet,'' but confirmed that Towers had interviewed for a position in the recruiting department.
If Towers is added to the staff as recruiting coordinator or to another position, it would create an awkward situation: The booster identified as the source of part of Flood's salary would work under the Scarlet Knights' fourth-year head coach.
Flood declined to be interviewed by NJ Advance Media on Friday when asked directly whether Towers is the anonymous booster who pledged financial support for his extension. Towers didn't respond to two messages from NJ Advance Media.
Multiple other Rutgers officials, including Board of Governors chair Greg Brown and university President Robert Barchi and Athletic Director Julie Hermann, declined interview requests to talk about Towers' financial commitments to the football program.
A Rutgers official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NJ Advance Media that top school administrators planned to discuss whether the Towers hiring is going to continue to go forward.
The official declined to confirm that Towers is the anonymous donor, but said: "I can't tell you how much he's donated, but it's a significant amount.''
Flood agreed to a two-year extension on Sept. 11, a deal that increased his salary from $1.05 million to $1.25 million for 2015 and resulted in a guaranteed increase of $3.4 million for the lifetime of the contract.
The deal stipulates that if Flood is fired at any point before the contract expires Feb. 28, 2019, he will receive a $1.4 million severance from the university. Before the addendum was executed, his contract called for a $500,000 buyout if he had been fired before the end of the upcoming season.
In ratifying the extension, the university Board of Governors on Oct. 9 passed a resolution that read: "Generous donors, who wish to remain |
name of RobertPeale...he designed an organization of law enforcement thatwould protect people from other people doing them harm. When you institute a prohibition like we have with drugs in thiscountry what you are doing is not protecting people from otherpeople, you are attempting to use law enforcement to protectpeople from themselves. Protecting you from yourself is afunction of family, church, education, and the health caresystem, it never is and never should have been intended to bea law enforcement function. We are out there enforcing morality when we enforce drug laws and that is not our job, we were not trained to do it, we are not capable of doing it, and if anything else you see the failure of it. We've been doing this for over forty years since Nixon kicked it off and the drugs are more available, purer quality, and cheaper than they've ever been before on the streets of America.""If prohibition is such a good idea why don't we bring backalcohol prohibition and prohibit tobacco? If it's a good idealet's do it with all the things we don't like. And the reality is when I say that to people they look at me and say 'well that doesn't work', and that's absolutely right, prohibition doesn't work.""The first attempt at prohibition we have any historical record of started with these words 'Do not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil'". It was in the Garden of Eden and the reason why it didn't work was told to you in Genesis and it's because the Creator after creating the two people granted them free will, and that's what we're trying to outlaw."The link to a YouTube video of this interview is below..The video will start in 8 Cancel
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Boxing legend Frank Bruno is aiming to be a knockout at the cinema box office and he's hoping that fellow great Brit Idris Elba could help him do it.
The former world heavyweight champion is helping to adapt his life story for the big screen in a bid to be a real life Rocky Balboa.
The film will chart his rise from a young kid with dreams of being the best in the world to superstardom in a 14-year career that included 38 knockouts in 45 fights.
(Image: Getty)
(Image: Discovery Communications)
Frank, 54, posted a photo of the front cover of the script for “The Frank Bruno Story: Draft One” on his Instagram account.
His agent Dave Davies said: “It’s a real great British feel good story and Frank is one of our great icons.
“It would be great to get someone like Idris Elba on board, but they need the right physique and, more importantly, be able to recreate his laugh."
(Image: Getty)
(Image: Instagram @idriselba)
With his catchphrase “You know what I mean ’Arry” – from interviews with boxing commentator Harry Carpenter – Bruno won the nation’s hearts and received an MBE.
However, in 2003 he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed as biopolar.
(Image: Instagram @idriselba)
If the former world champ could get Oscar nominee Idris involved, the film would have a much greater chance of success thanks to the Londoner's huge fan base.
Idris has been seen topless a lot recently as he's been preparing for a real life fight as a kick boxer, so he'd already have the right amount of stamina for the role.As American s celebrate July 4th with barbecues and fireworks, many don't know much about the history behind the holiday, a new Marist poll shows.
According to Marist, "Only 58 percent of residents know that the United States declared its independence in 1776. Twenty-six percent are unsure, and 16 percent mentioned another date."
And the younger the respondent, the less likely he or she was to know
Not only that but, says Marist, "About one in four Americans doesn't know from which country the United States declared its independence. While 76 percent correctly cite Great Britain, 19 percent are unsure, and 5 percent mention another country."
Again, the younger the person answering, the less likely he or she was to be correct.
For complete details on the sobering results, click here.by
Contact: Diana Kenney, Marine Biological Laboratory
508-685-3525 or 508-289-7139; dkenney@mbl.edu
WOODS HOLE, Mass.—For the octopus and cuttlefish, instantaneously changing their skin color and pattern to disappear into the environment is just part of their camouflage prowess. These animals can also swiftly and reversibly morph their skin into a textured, 3D surface, giving the animal a ragged outline that mimics seaweed, coral, or other objects it detects and uses for camouflage.
This week, engineers at Cornell University report on their invention of stretchable surfaces with programmable 3D texture morphing, a synthetic “camouflaging skin” inspired by studying and modeling the real thing in octopus and cuttlefish. The engineers, along with collaborator and cephalopod biologist Roger Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, report on their controllable soft actuator in the October 13 issue of Science.
Led by James Pikul and Rob Shepherd, the team’s pneumatically activated material takes a cue from the 3D bumps, or papillae, that cephalopods can express in one-fifth of a second for camouflage, and then retract to swim away with minimal hydrodynamic drag. (See video below of live Octopus rebescens expressing its skin papillae.)
“Lots of animals have papillae, but they can’t extend and retract them instantaneously as octopus and cuttlefish do,” says Hanlon, who is the leading expert on cephalopod dynamic camouflage. “These are soft-bodied molluscs without a shell; their primary defense is their morphing skin.”
Papillae are examples of a muscular hydrostat, biological structures consisting of muscle with no skeletal support (such as the human tongue). Hanlon and members of his laboratory, including Justine Allen, now at Brown University, were the first to describe the structure, function, and biomechanics of these morphing 3D papillae in detail (see references, below).
“The development of this material is an excellent example of the applications that can derive from studying the fundamental biology of marine organisms,” says MBL Director of Research David Mark Welch.
“The degrees of freedom in the papillae system are really beautiful,” Hanlon says. “In the European cuttlefish, at least nine sets of papillae are independently controlled by the brain. And each papilla goes from a flat, 2D surface through a continuum of shapes until it reaches its final shape, which can be conical or one of a dozen possible shapes. It depends on how the muscles in the hydrostat are arranged.”
“Engineers have developed a lot of sophisticated ways to control the shape of soft, stretchable materials, but we wanted to do it in a simple way that was fast, strong, and easy to control,” says lead author James Pikul, currently an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. “We were drawn by how successful cephalopods are at changing their skin texture, so we studied and drew inspiration from the muscles that allow cephalopods to control their texture, and implemented these ideas into a method for controlling the shape of soft, stretchable materials.”
“This is a classic example of bio-inspired engineering” with a range of potential applications, Hanlon says. For example, the material could be controllably morphed to reflect light in its 2D spaces and absorb light in its 3D shapes. “That would have applications in any situation where you want to manipulate the temperature of a material,” he says.
Octopus and cuttlefish only express papillae for camouflage purposes, Hanlon says, and not for locomotion, sexual signaling, or aggression. “For fast swimming, the animal would benefit from smooth skin. For sexual signaling, it wouldn’t want to look like a big old wart; it wants to look attractive, like a cool-looking mate. Or if it wanted to conduct a fight, the papillae would not be a good visual to put into the fight. Signaling, by definition, has to be highly conspicuous, unambiguous signals. The papillae would only make it the opposite!”
Citation:
J.H. Pikul, S. Li, H. Bai, R.T. Hanlon, I. Cohen and R.F. Shepherd (2017) Stretchable surfaces with programmable 3D texture morphing for synthetic camouflage skins. Science DOI: 10.1126/science.aan5627
References:
Allen JJ, Bell GRR, Kuzirian AM, Hanlon RT (2013). Cuttlefish skin papilla morphology suggests a muscular hydrostatic function for rapid changeability. J. Morphology 274: 645-656.
Allen JJ, Bell GRR, Kuzirian AM, Velankar SS, Hanlon RT (2014). Comparative morphology of changeable skin papillae in octopus and cuttlefish. J. Morphology 275: 371-390.
Panetta, D., Buresch, K., Hanlon, R.T. (2017). Dynamic masquerade with morphing 3D skin in cuttlefish. Biology Letters 13, 20170070 (featured in Nature Vol 544 Research Highlights).
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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery – exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.Honouring the Aussie Rules legend who rests in an unmarked Adelaide grave
Updated
An anonymous football fan is hoping to acknowledge one of Australia's greatest footballers by placing a commemorative plaque on his unmarked grave in an Adelaide cemetery.
Known only to his family, a few visitors and researchers of the Nailsworth Cemetery, triple Brownlow Medallist and triple Sandover Medallist Haydn William Bunton Senior rests in a family plot with his wife Lylia and mother-in-law Annie Austin.
The grave, in the south-western corner of the cemetery, bears no markings to reveal it as the final resting place of the football legend.
Upon discovering the location of the unmarked grave, a 77-year-old long-time fan of Bunton named Arnold approached the remaining members of the family with a request to place a commemorative plaque on the site.
"I found it quite upsetting that his grave was unmarked," Arnold said.
Arnold had worked with Bunton in 1954 at Foy and Gibson department store in Melbourne.
An apprentice carpet-layer at the time, Arnold recalled the large crowds that filled the store to gain a glimpse of Bunton as he worked.
Arnold fondly recalled the phrase that was commonly used to describe Bunton's on-field demeanour.
"He was a thoroughbred in a field of Clydesdales.
"He was my childhood hero," Arnold said.
Triple-winner of Brownlow and Sandover medals
Bunton is the only footballer in the game's history to have won both the Brownlow and Sandover Medals three times.
He is one of only four players to be awarded the Brownlow more than twice.
Born in Albury, NSW, Bunton's abilities as a footballer were evident in his appearances for the Albury Football Club in the local Ovens and Murray League.
Recruitment offers quickly came from all 12 Victorian Football League clubs, with Fitzroy securing the player for £222.
Bunton was banned for a season in 1930 for a move deemed illegal by the VFL, but the ban did little to tarnish his career.
Excelling in the midfield, Bunton won Brownlow Medals in his first two seasons with the Fitzroy Football Club in 1931 and 1932.
He captained the side from 1932, was runner-up in the Brownlow count of 1934 and won his third medal in 1935.
Although he remained the club's leading goal kicker in 1936 and 1937, he was unsuccessful in matching previous accomplishments.
With a stint as the captain and senior coach for Fitzroy in 1936, Bunton accepted a similar role in 1938 with Subiaco and relocated to Western Australia.
He collected the Sandover Award in 1938, 1939 and 1941 and returned to Fitzroy for a few games before enlisting in the Australian Army in 1942.
Bunton settled in Adelaide after World War II, played one season in the SANFL for Port Adelaide, before field umpiring in 1946.
He turned his hand back to coaching for North Adelaide in 1947 and 1948.
He played a total of 11 seasons of football in the VFL, WAFL and SANFL and averaged one Brownlow vote per game in his VFL career.
Inaugural 'Legend' in Hall of Fame
Bunton died Monday September 5, 1955, five days after he sustained injuries in a single-vehicle accident near Gawler.
In 1996 the talented football player was honoured by being named the inaugural Legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame and was nominated as left-forward-pocket in the AFL Team of the Century.
Arnold has honoured the gravesites of several boxers in the past with commemorative plaques.
The plaque Arnold hopes to place on the grave would honour Bunton and his wife.
The Bunton family has approved the request.
A commemorative plaque will be placed on the grave after applications to update the custodianship of the site are complete.
Arnold's surname has been left out from publication by request.
Topics: australian-football-league, victorian-football-league-vfl, wafl, sanfl, 20th-century, nailsworth-5083, adelaide-5000
First postedDynasty Warriors developer and publisher Koei officially announced Hokuto Musou for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 today, a lucrative blend of the popular Fist of the North Star manga and proven Musou gameplay.
That announcement leaked a bit early, as Famitsu exclusives are wont to do, but Koei was generous enough to offer a clear, non-scanned, non-crap footage look at Hokuto Musou today. Most of what you'll see are stills from the game's opening cinematic, but two shots of in-game action also await you.
First Footage of Tecmo Koei's New Game The manga (Hokuto no Ken) debuted in 1983 and went on to spin off two animated series and motion… Read more Read
According to official word, gamers will "unleash a myriad of devastating fighting techniques and finishing moves powerful enough to bring down whole buildings," cause enemies to "violently explode on screen" and trigger "the instantaneous breakdown of internal organs."
Hokuto no Ken will be produced by Hisashi Koinuma of Samurai Warriors fame and feature the voices of Katsuyuki Konishi and Fumihiko Tachiki.
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As someone who has unusually fond memories of Fist of the North Star's brand of fisticuffs and exploding bodies—mostly born from playing Last Battle on the Sega Genesis—I'm looking forward to the game's release in 2010.
AdvertisementSource: via Pixabay
Married people do masturbate. Let’s just get that out of the way at the front. The idea that fulfills all sexual needs, and that married people have no need to masturbate, has been pretty thoroughly destroyed by modern society. Married people do, in general, end up having more than single people, on average. And numerous studies do show that being single or newly divorced often predicts an increase in both -watching and masturbation (mostly in men).
But, being married isn’t a “cure” for masturbation. Historically, masturbation by married people was seen as taking something away from marriage (here, it's called "The secret that ruins great sex"), and often was seen as an indication that something was wrong in the relationship, especially if it involves fantasy about people other than one's partner. Either the wife was not giving her husband what he “needed” or the husband’s desires were out of proportion for the marriage.
People masturbate for a variety of reasons, including desire for sexual pleasure, release, and to experience private, self-focused sensations without the distraction of a partner. But when people masturbate within the context of an intimate relationship, it can be valuable to understand the motivations behind it.
Source: via Pixabay
Two main theories have been promoted about the relationship between masturbation and partnered sex. The complementary theory proposes that people masturbate within a relationship in order to enhance their partnered sex. So, masturbation might increase and improve the partnered sex. In contrast, the compensatory model suggests that people in masturbate as a means to substitute for sexual desires (whether in quantity, quality or type) that go unmet within the relationship. Alternatively, it has also been suggested that masturbation and partnered sex are two separate, perhaps even parallel behaviors, meeting different needs.
Men and women appear to approach the issue of masturbation and marriage differently, and it has been suggested that men use masturbation in compensatory ways, and women use it in complementary ways. But, as with many things, the reality turns out to be more nuanced.
A recently published study by Regnerus, Price and Gordon examined this issue, with a very large sample of Americans (7648 men and 8090 women). This was a nonclinical sample, and was drawn by probability methods, so these data are the best estimate of how this issue is reflected in the general population, allowing us to generalize these results. The study controlled traits such as age and, which correlate with masturbatory frequency, and included an important, highly revealing third factor.
This study, for the first time, also considered the question of how sexually contented/satisfied a person is within their relationship. Though this seems pretty intuitive, this variable had not been considered in the past.
Source: via Pixabay
Overall results indicated that the frequency of recent sex within the relationship had little connection to the frequency of masturbation. But, when the variable of sexual contentment was considered, strong relationships started to show up in the results. Notably, People who reported being sexually content within their relationship were thirty percent less likely to report masturbating in the last two weeks. In a probability sample of this size, a thirty percent difference like this is indicative of a large effect.
Gender differences emerged in the results as well, showing that women who were more sexually content with the amount of sex in their relationship were actually more likely to report masturbation. Women who were sexually content, but reported no sex in the last two weeks disclosed masturbation at rates of 21%, compared to other women who were sexually content, reporting sex four or more times, 33% of whom reported masturbation.
In men, these relationships were even stronger. Men who were sexually discontented reported the highest rates of masturbation, and showed the strongest relationship between frequency of partnered sex and masturbation. Sexually discontented men who had no sex recently reported high rates of masturbation (79%), compared to only 60% in men who had had sex four or more times. But, sexual discontentment was less predictive of masturbation in women, with much less relationship to sexual frequency. Women who are sexually unsatisfied, but have an active sex life are more likely to masturbate, compared to unsatisfied women who weren’t having much sex. Interestingly, sexually contented men who had sex once in the last two weeks were more likely to report masturbation, whereas sexually contented men who reported no sex were much less likely to have masturbated.
What these results suggest is that the variable of sexual contentment works as a mediating variable between the frequency of sex and frequency of masturbation, but appears to work differently for men and women.
The authors suggest that the different theories explaining masturbation and marriage fit men and women, based on the issue of sexual contentment. Sexually satisfied women’s masturbation fits a complementary model, suggesting that these women’s masturbation is working to enhance partnered sex, essentially “priming the pump.” But for men, the compensatory model fits, but only for sexually dissatisfied, discontent men. If the man is unhappy with the frequency of sex in the relationship, he’s more likely to masturbate more frequently when he has less frequent sex. But, if the man is sexually content with the frequency of sex, he doesn’t masturbate more often when he has less sex. Interestingly, sexually discontented women masturbate about as frequently as sexually contented men.
Source: via Pixabay
An important result emerged, which helps to understand the importance of the sexual contentment variable. 57% of women in this sample reported feeling sexually content, compared to only 42% of men. This means there are a LOT more men out there in relationships, feeling unsatisfied, and masturbating to meet their needs. In both men and women, feeling dissatisfied with sex in the relationship predicted more masturbation (64% vs 35%). Masturbatory frequency is often used as an indicator of libido and sexual desire, and so in these results, the level of dissatisfaction and masturbation frequency likely indicates couples with mismatched libido, where one partner wants sex more frequently than the other.
But, masturbation was strongly tied to sexual discontentment, and not as much to sexual frequency. So, the mental state of being sexually dissatisfied is not likely to be met or changed just by increased sexual frequency. Instead, people masturbate more when they are sexually unsatisfied, to meet needs other than just frequency of orgasms. It’s not about the number of orgasms, but more about the mental state and qualitative factors involved.
People who are content having little to no sex masturbate very infrequently. Women who are having lots of sex, and feel sexually content, masturbate more, whereas men who feel sexually dissatisfied and are having less sex masturbate more.
This research is critically important to begin to understand the nuanced, varying relationships between porn use and marriage. Men who watch porn in secret often experience negative relationship outcomes. Why are these men watching porn in secret? Because they are sexually unsatisfied, can’t talk about it or negotiate it within the marriage, and are masturbating to porn to compensate. In men, around 95% of porn use involves masturbation. So, we must begin to consider the question of sexual contentment as we examine the effects of porn use. It’s likely that women who watch porn are more sexually content, and watching it in a complementary manner, whereas male use reflects a level of sexual dissatisfaction. The feelings of sexual contentment are the important issue to examine, and frequency of porn use or masturbation appear to be an indicator that sexual satisfaction. Therapists can best help couples by assisting them to discuss their sexual needs, negotiate around sexual frequency, and develop win-win approaches to sex.for a friendly battle; causing much hot attention in the pop industry.They areand. According to many music industry representatives, the two members releasing a solo album next month Wooyoung's solo debut has been aamongst fans since the start of this year. This was especially so, when Wooyoung tweeted a comment of "We will play a little later" as well as leaving a picture ofwith another 2PM member, Junsu, causing an even hotter response between the fans. 2PM's main vocal, Junsu, released a solo song entitled 'Alive' for the first time last October, and has been composing songs as Jun.K, leading many to wonder if Wooyoung and Junsu were writing a solo album or forming a unit group.Wooyoung is the second solo unit from 2PM to be announced after Junsu, and has been chosen as one who has the capability to be a solo artist. Pop industry representatives have said that in 2PM, Wooyoung is the member with the strongest fandom. The pillar of JYP Entertainment,raising the prospects of his solo album succeeding.Jo Kwon released a solo song at the beginning of July in 2010. At that time, with his appearance on MBC's 'We Got Married Season 2' with Brown Eyed Girls member Gain as a foothold,It has been 23 months since the release of Jo Kwon's solo song. Previously, Jo Kwon also received popularity during his activities with 2AM for the March-released mini album title song 'I Wonder if You Are Like Me'.Wooyoung and Jo Kwon who are both born in 1989 trained together for a long time at JYP Entertainment, and show a. Last December, pictures of Jo Kwon and Wooyoungwere released on twitter, catching much attention. source kim sangho, sports seoul trans/edit khy127 & empired, w2dFollowing a disappointing 34-26 loss to the Tigers in Round 1, Warriors coach Andrew McFadden is demanding more aggression from his men on Friday night against the Broncos.
After heading into half-time trailing 22-4 the Warriors staged a big second-half comeback in what McFadden labelled as a 'passive' performance at Campbelltown Stadium.
The catalyst for the turnaround was a half-time talk about the mindset of the team, and speaking mid-week McFadden was confident the issue had been addressed ahead of the meeting with last year's beaten grand finalists.
"Obviously starts are important, we didn’t come out as aggressive as we would have liked and we paid for that," McFadden said.
"We just felt like we were waiting for it to happen, and when you are in that mindset it generally doesn’t.
"We talked [at half-time] about being more aggressive with the way we play and having commitment to our plan, and that's what we got in the second half.
"I think if you asked all the losing teams from the weekend where they sat in the physical battle they would probably say they lost it.
"It's not going to be the first time it happens this year, or the last, that a team is going to win the ruck, and when they win the ruck it's hard to stop."
Prop Ben Matulino, who was moved from the starting to 13 to the bench just prior to kick-off, said a heated video session exposed some of the areas where the Kiwi side fell glaringly short.
Despite finishing with equal possession and a superior completion rate compared to that of their opposition, the Warriors couldn't avoid falling to an opening-round loss for a sixth year straight.
"It wasn’t until we watched the video after the game and worked a few things out. We were a little bit off and some of the contact was a bit loose," Matulino said.
"The stuff we worked on over the pre-season, things like getting bodies in front, sometimes that wasn’t there.
"Guys from the Tigers were sticking their head through and bending the line. That's something we need to work on for a team like Brisbane.
"It is frustrating because that's the main thing we have been working on all off-season."
Meanwhile McFadden addressed the explosive rant from former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe, in which he claimed that the "Warriors are going backwards" and suggested the presence of a "bro culture" at the club.
"You would have to ask Graham [what "bro culture" is], I have no idea what he is talking about," McFadden said.
"Graham has obviously been around the game for a long time, he has got ideas on the way things should be done and I have got some other ideas.
"He is obviously very keen to get back into the game and we will just leave it at that. He has made comments, that's for other people to judge.
"It is Round 1 and he has obviously been a little reactive in his comments, but internally we have addressed it and that is what we will focus on."Website | Twitter: @RAGameSound
IN FIVES
1) Starting with the word “one” and increasing by increments of one thereafter, list 5 points that describe yourself. One person on a project gets awful lonesome. Two years is not such a long time. Three hours is a great length for a game – more single sitting games please! Four trips to New York every year would make me a happy chappy if I could squeeze ‘em all in. Five+ Senses boil down to one synesthetic experience zOMG mind aSPLODE! 2) If you could have a five-finger discount on any piece of software, what would it be? Native Instruments Komplete – but mostly just Kontakt and Reaktor. I’ve been spending a lot of time with the Gl33k folks – they rock a super musical approach to sound design that I’m finding really inspiring. 3) Describe what the number 5 would sound like if it were in human form. Pink!
IN FOURS
1) If you were to replace one of the Beatles, who would it be? Who would you put in his place? Replace John Lennon with Trent Reznor… I just really wanna know what that would sound like. 2) What are your four favorite sound design tools? My cheap Zoom H4 – MAN has that thing given me some mileage. Equally important – a comfortable belt-bag for it. Otherwise I’d never bring it anywhere. 3) Finish the countdown: 4…3…2…1… [pregnant silence]
IN THREES
1) What are three reasons you’re working with sound? It’s subversive in the way it affects people. We’re visual creatures, so we’re less critical of what we hear – even though it has just as large an impact on our perception, than we are of what we see. If I could be a smell designer for games I might have done that. Speaking of perception… I’m really interested in sensation and the mind/body relationship (not to imply that they’re separate things…). Sound has a fascinating role in that. The tools are THE MOST FUN to work with!!! 2) Of the following, what would you buy if you had a spare $100 and why? 3-piece suit, 3 super cheap mics, 3 blind mice? A three piece suit… I really need to do my laundry, and that’d give me an extra day. 3) What are three games that are your go-to examples for great sound design? Limbo, Journey, Proteus
IN TWOS
1) Two issues that invariably come up when working are…
Communication. It’s really important to design how the design happens.
Why are we doing this, aside from just to make something cool? The best projects I’ve worked on have cultural or personal ambitions that reach beyond being fun.
2) What are two pieces of advice you would give to someone eager to get into sound design?
Don’t stay too focused! Game Design, Art Design, Sound Design, it’s all the same thing.
Don’t stay too focused! You never know where inspiration will come from.
3) Finish the line: “Two sound designers walk into a bar…”
Says the bartender, “Another pitcher with your breakfast, gentlemen?” **(see footnote)
IN ONESIn a new book due to hit shelves later this month, John Nixon, a former CIA officer who was responsible for interrogating Saddam Hussein after he was captured in 2003, admits being convinced by the fallen dictator that he was best suited to rule Iraq. Per an excerpt published in Time Magazine, Nixon recalls an encounter with Hussein in which he warned that America would fail in Iraq because "you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind."
When I interrogated Saddam, he told me: “You are going to fail. You are going to find that it is not so easy to govern Iraq.” When I told him I was curious why he felt that way, he replied: “You are going to fail in Iraq because you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind.”
While Nixon found Hussein "thoroughly unlikeable," he admits to walking away with a "grudging respect" for the fallen dictator's ability maintain the Iraqi nation through forced consensus.
Although I found Saddam to be thoroughly unlikeable, I came away with a grudging respect for how he was able to maintain the Iraqi nation as a whole for as long as he did. He told me once, “Before me, there was only bickering and arguing. I ended all that and made people agree!” Saddam used every tool in his repertoire to maintain Iraq’s multi-ethnic state. Such tools included murder, blackmail, imprisonment, threats, and these were to be used to cow his enemies. For his friends, Saddam would dole out patronage to tribal leaders and supporters in the form of cash, elaborate gifts, land, and other largesse that was the lifeblood of an oil rich state. Today’s Iraq has been riven by deepening sectarianism that always seems to be only a step away from igniting again, as it did after Saddam’s overthrow. Saddam also would have inevitably maintained a hostile stance toward Iran; he was very proud of his opposition to the Islamic Republic and reserved special contempt for the Shia in Iraq who would follow Iran’s guidance over his. Iraq is now very much the junior partner to a much emboldened Iranian regime that has expanded its military and security influence in the chaotic aftermath of Saddam’s overthrow and the aborted Arab Spring.
Of course, Trump has made similar comments about Hussein, comments that have drawn a lot of heat from the mainstream media.
"Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? He was a bad guy. Really bad guy. But, you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were a terrorist it was over." "Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq."
Finally, Nixon concludes that Trump has the opportunity to help shape a new regional order in the Middle East, though it will "require making tough decisions and, ultimately, recognizing that we may have to deal with people and leaders that we abhor if we want to help bring stability back to the region and limit the scope of terrorism’s reach."
Our incoming president has the opportunity to play a very large role in shaping a new regional order in the Middle East. This will require making tough decisions and, ultimately, recognizing that we may have to deal with people and leaders that we abhor if we want to help bring stability back to the region and limit the scope of terrorism’s reach. Most of all, it will require placing diplomacy back into our foreign policy. President-elect Trump has shown with his election victory that he is a believer in “the art of the deal.” Maybe his administration can use this negotiating skill and end our involvement in the forever war.
Without opining on the merits of the strategy, certainly if there's one thing we know for sure about Trump, it's that he's never shy to make the difficult decisions that will draw endless criticism from the mainstream media.Author's Note: This story is inspired by history but will contain historical inaccuracies and anachronisms for plot reasons. At the end of each chapter, I'll be pointing out the inspirations and inaccuracies.
Chapter 1
12 Years Ago
With only two races remaining in the Formula 1 championship only two drivers still had a shot at the title. Beacon GP Racing had dominated the season, winning all but one of the races contested so far, with their drivers sweeping the top two spots four times. Summer Rose sat second in points, just one point behind. Taiyang Xiao-Long, her husband, led the championship. A married couple, teammates and best friends, it was as friendly a rivalry as possible in the cutthroat world of Grand Prix racing.
The final race would take place in Atlas, but now the championship was in Vale. The Forever Fall Forest Circuit was the fastest in the world. Roughly boot-shaped with fast, sweeping turns, it cut through a scene of natural beauty, surrounded by the ancient forest. The circuit had varying reputations. Fans loved it because of the fast close racing and often unpredictable winners that emerged. Mechanics loved it because it made their lives easier. Handling counted for almost nothing compared to engine power. As a result, engine builders dreaded it. The drivers dreaded it as well. Speed was dangerous, and over the years many had succumbed to it.
Thirty-three laps into the fifty lap distance saw Summer Rose in the lead. Taiyang Xiao-Long ran a close second, the pair drafting around the circuit. By working together they set a blistering pace the rest of the field could not match. They would fight it out at the end but for now they were content to ride line astern to continue gapping the field.
Thundering down the back straight, Summer checked her mirrors. Taiyang was tucked in just behind her, a big smile on his face. She was smiling too. This was what she lived for, leading a race with the love of her life just behind. The final turn was just ahead, a sharp, unwinding 180° turn that was subtly chambered to the benefit of the cars. Summer pressed down on the brake pedal. It went straight to the floor. She released it and tried again. Nothing. She closed her eyes and prayed as the car barrelled into the turn going far too fast.
Taiyang could immediately tell something was wrong. As soon as he touched the brakes Summer's car shot ahead. He thought at first she had misjudged the corner, but her car never slowed. Her gleaming silver car shot off the track, sent airborne by the slight banking of the corner. It bounced once in the grass before striking the armco barrier beyond. The car disintegrated and burst into flames as it launched into the sky. Summer was thrown from the car, sailed through the air like a rag doll, then landed somewhere out of view beyond the barrier.
Present Day
The crowd roared as the cigar-shaped cars screamed past the grandstands to begin the final lap of the Grand Patch F2 Grand Prix. In her sleek silver car, hometown driver Yang Xiao-Long ran third in only her first F2 race. For Yang the day had not started nearly as well. In time trials she had suffered engine trouble and only managed a 17th place starting position. Though she had successfully repaired the damage for the race and was far more skilled than most of the drivers that deep in the field, the circuit layout made passing difficult and halfway through the race she sat 12th.
Then everything changed. It began to rain, the downpour steadily increasing to monsoon-like intensity. It was just what Yang needed. Her car was ideally suited to the conditions and her skill on a wet track was unmatched by any other driver in the race. Before she knew it she was third with five laps remaining, the two leaders having gapped the rest of the field by a comfortable margin. Despite the lead, the top two were |
10 and lower must use Direct Delivery May 16, 2012: Magic Boxes no longer allowed for any Marketplace listing
Magic Boxes no longer allowed for any Marketplace listing ANS is currently NOT supported with Direct Delivery – it will be “turned on in the next couple of weeks”.
Receiving Goods via Direct Delivery
Until the launch of Direct Delivery, items from the Marketplace would require that you manually accept them (via an in-world pop-up) before they would be delivered to the OBJECTS folder in your inventory.
With the launch of Direct Delivery, this now changes:
Any items you purchase from the Marketplace – or which are bought for you as a gift – will automatically be received; there is no need for you to be on-line when they arrive
Items will be received into a new panel, called RECEIVED ITEMS, which is either a panel that will become visible at the bottom of your inventory floater when you have received one or more items from the Marketplace (most V3-based Viewers), or which will appear as a folder in your inventory (V1-style Viewers – see image above).
You can then drag and drop folders from the Received Items area into your inventory, from where you can rez items in-world as usual.
Notes:
If you don’t see Received Items ether as a panel in your Inventory floater or as a folder, then try following this link and obtaining your Direct Delivery Linden Bear (limited time offer from LL) – note you may have to log-in to SLM to get to the page. This will trigger a delivery to your Received Items panel / floater. Until the 16th May, merchants can continue to use Magic Boxes if they wish, and some may opt to do so while Direct Delivery “beds in”. Where this is the case, please note that items purchased from the Marketplace will continue to arrive in the OBJECTS folder of your inventory.
Converting Magic Box Contents to Folders for Direct Delivery
Note that boxed items can still be delivered via Direct Delivery, if required – boxes will be delivered within their own folder.
You can convert your current Magic Box items ready for Direct Delivery as follows:
OPEN the magic box and COPY TO INVENTORY. This will create a folder of all the items in your magic box – including the Magic Box’s own scripts
Delete the Magic Box scripts, as they are not required
Drag the first item from the Magic Box folder in your inventory to the ground and: EDIT it Copy the name of the item from the General tab (highlight & CTRL-C) Create a new folder in the Magic Box folder in your inventory and re-name it the same as your item (CTRL-V) Open the Contents tab of the item in EDIT, and select / drag the contents from the item into the newly created folder in your Magic Box folder.
Make any required adjustments to the contents of the folder itself (i.e. if you have additional boxed items, these can be placed in suitably named sub-folders and the additional boxes themselves deleted)
Delete the original item from in-world and your Magic Box folder
Repeat for the next item.
This process is summarised in the diagram below.
Notes:
In order for your items to be automatically linked with your existing Magic Box listings, it is important that the folder is given the same name as the original item (hence the advised use of copy/paste above when creating the folder). If a folder is named differently to the original item, it can still be linked to an existing listing, but this must be done manually. Once you have converted your Magic Box items and uploaded them to the Marketplace (see below), there is no need to keep the Magic Box folder – you can upload to the Marketplace from anywhere in your inventory.
Direct Delivery – Uploading Merchandise via the Merchant’s Outbox
Notes:
If your Merchant Outbox fails to recognise you have a store, try the following: log out of SL; log out of the Marketplace; log back into the Marketplace, log back into SL. Your Merchant Outbox should now be active, although it may take time to initialise (with thanks to Sera Lok). Viewers that present the Merchant’s Outbox as a folder may not currently work and require a code port. This section currently refers only to V3-based Viewers.
Under Direct Delivery, goods are promoted to the SL Marketplace via the Merchant’s Outbox. Depending on your Viewer, this can either be a folder within Inventory, or exist as a separately accessible floater panel.
The Merchant’s Outbox can be found as a folder within the INVENTORY floater, or under ME / AVATAR (V3-based Viewers). If your current Viewer does not display it the Viewer may need updating – although it might be worth checking through your menus just in case it has been moved elsewhere.
When you are ready to upload goods to the Marketplace, you will need to drag-and-drop folders from your inventory to the Merchant’s Outbox in your Viewer. You can do this on a per folder basis, or via SHIFT-select. People using V3-based Viewers may also be able to right-click on individual folders and COPY TO MERCHANT OUTBOX.
Those of a cautious disposition may want to try one or two folders first to test both the upload process and the automatic association of listings with folders.
When you are ready to go, click the SEND TO MARKETPLACE button.
Points to Note When Using the Merchant’s Outbox
There are some important points to note when using Direct Delivery and the Merchant’s Outbox. For full details, it is best to refer to the official Direct Delivery FAQ. Key points are:
The Merchant Outbox will only handle uploading the first 100 folders it contains. Individual folders can contain up to 200 items and 20 sub-folders 3 levels deep. If you update the contents of a folder subsequent to an initial upload, you will have to manually re-associate it with your SLM Listing, even if the folder name remains unchanged.
Associating Folders and Listings
Folders that have the same name as the original item should, when uploaded via the Merchant Outbox, be automatically associated with the existing Marketplace listing. However, there may be exceptions.
To confirm the success of automatic association, log-in to the Marketplace and:
Choose MY MARKETPLACE > MERCHANT HOME from the top menu
Click INVENTORY on the left side of your Merchant Home page
Check the DELIVERY column under the MANAGE LISTINGS section of the Inventory page; all successfully associated listings should read “Direct”, and the ACTIVE tick should be green
and the ACTIVE tick should be green If any listings still read “Magic Box”, or the ACTIVE tick is greyed-out, you may manually associate them with a new Direct Delivery item by using the manual association method below.
Manually Associating Folders and Listings
If you have any items you’ve renamed or otherwise altered, and which haven’t been associated with any listing, They will be displayed in the UNASSOCIATED INVENTORY ITEMS panel of your Inventory page (see below).
To associate an item with an existing listing:
Click on ACTIONS->EDIT for the active listing (i.e. the one still associated with the Magic Box)
Click the EDIT ASSOCIATED ITEM button on the Edit Item Listing page
A pop-up is displayed, listing your unassociated items
Select the item you wish to associate with the listing by clicking on the relevant CHOOSE button
Update any other information in the listing which may require changing
Click on UPDATE at the bottom of the page
The item will have been updated.
Repeat this process for each of your unassociated items which need to be linked to an existing listing.
The original Magic Box item will now be listed as unassociated, and can be deleted (or retained in case you have to re-link Magic Box items for any reason prior to Magic Boxes being discontinued on the 16th May).
Once items have been automatically / manually associated, you can test delivery through your store.
Video
Torley has also produced a video on both converting items and uploading / associating them with listings.
Related Links
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AdvertisementsUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko shows the Ukraine-E.U. association agreement to lawmakers after its signing in Kiev on Tuesday. (Mykola Lazarenko/AP)
Ukraine on Tuesday ratified a landmark deal to move closer to the European Union, while also making painful concessions to Russia in a sign that the nation is far from escaping its neighbor’s powerful orbit.
In a ceremony filled with pomp and patriotism, Ukraine’s parliament ratified the E.U. deal, which had been rejected in November by the country’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych, setting off months of pro-European street protests that deposed him and unleashed a grinding conflict in Ukraine’s east that has claimed more than 3,000 lives.
But the ratification took place after an unusual closed-door session in which the parliament granted sweeping amnesty to the pro-Russian rebels who have seized portions of eastern Ukraine. Those territories were also given significant new powers to rule themselves. Both measures were attempts to sustain a tenuous Sept. 5 cease-fire whose terms were largely dictated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The dueling decisions were a testament to how much Ukraine remains trapped in the orbit of Russia, which shares centuries of cultural, political and linguistic history with its smaller neighbor. Many Ukrainians want to join the European Union, but Russia has shown that it is willing to sustain steep costs to retain influence over a country that until 23 years ago was part of the Soviet Union.
E.U. nations, by contrast, are far from united about whether they want to accept Ukraine as a full member.
The ratification of the E.U. deal was coordinated with E.U. lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, and staged amid great fanfare in Kiev. It prompted a standing ovation from legislators, who leapt to their feet to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. President Petro Poroshenko told lawmakers that the vote was a “first but very decisive step” toward integrating Ukraine with the European Union.
“Since World War II, not a single nation has paid such a high price for their right to be European,” Poroshenko said.
But the E.U. agreement was throttled back by a significant olive branch to Russia, after Poroshenko last week delayed key economic provisions of the pact until the end of 2015, temporarily soothing the Kremlin’s concerns that low-tariff European products could flood the Russian market via Ukraine.
Many Ukrainians have pinned their hopes for the future of their country on the measures enshrined in the E.U. deal, which commits Ukraine to taking steps to combat corruption, open its economy and strengthen the rule of law. But the delay in implementing the full deal has disappointed some of Poroshenko’s supporters, and a deputy foreign minister, Danilo Lubkivsky, resigned last week in protest.
The decision Tuesday to enshrine in law an amnesty and a framework for self-rule in the east was a major concession to Russia that in many ways gave the Kremlin and pro-Russian rebels what they have been seeking since early in the conflict, long before the violence broadened and thousands died.
Early local elections will be held in December, and local governments will have broad oversight powers over judicial and prosecutorial appointments and will create local control over police forces. The use of the Russian language will be guaranteed. Most of the measures will be in force for three years, after which the constitution will have been modified to permanently devolve power to the regions.
But after five months of violence, it is unclear whether the measures will be enough to assuage Russia or the rebels, nor whether the law can hold off an end to the increasingly tenuous cease-fire. Donetsk’s city administration said Tuesday that three people died and five were wounded in shelling, while Ukrainian military spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said three Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the previous 24 hours.
Rebels have said they want full independence from Ukraine. Still, some of their leaders sounded more conciliatory Tuesday than they had in the past, stopping short of full rejection of the measures.
“We cannot accept any political union with present-day Ukraine,” said a top rebel leader in Donetsk, Andrei Purgin, in an appearance on state-run Russia 24 television. But he said the rebels planned to study the legislation.
“We must be realists. We must understand that politics is the art of the possible,” he said.
Any loss of sovereignty in the east hurts Ukraine’s chances to join NATO — a complication that Russia would welcome.
The measures were met with mixed reactions Tuesday from the pro-European activists who were the driving force behind the winter protests in Kiev and who form an influential part of Poroshenko’s base.
“At the initiative of the president and the hands of the parliament, Donbas has been surrendered,” legislator Andriy Shevchenko wrote on Twitter, referring to the region that is at the heart of the rebellion.
Others were more cautious.
“It is a real step toward implementing peace and stopping bloodshed,” said Marianna Shimanovich, a volunteer with an organization that provides aid to Ukrainian soldiers. “But there is a recognition of losing sovereignty in these territories.”
William Branigin in Washington and Natalie Gryvnyak in Kiev contributed to this report.Yosemite overhaul may hit troubles NATIONAL PARKS Goal is to upgrade facilities and protect environment
Photographer Lance Trott of San Jose records the Yosemite Valley winter. The National Park Service plans to restore habitat, increase campsites and parking places and cut some recreational activities. Photographer Lance Trott of San Jose records the Yosemite Valley winter. The National Park Service plans to restore habitat, increase campsites and parking places and cut some recreational activities. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Yosemite overhaul may hit troubles 1 / 12 Back to Gallery
National Park Service officials released blueprints for the future of Yosemite on Tuesday, after more than a decade of courtroom brawling over river and infrastructure improvements that opponents dismissed as attempts to build a theme park in what should be a wilderness.
The long-awaited Merced and Tuolumne river plans outline an array of projects to improve the river ecosystem, add campsites, upgrade roadways and parking, and balance the desire to enhance the visitor experience with the need to protect the environment.
The Merced River plan outlines six alternatives for protecting the river ecosystem in Yosemite Valley from the tires and feet of motoring, rubbernecking tourists.
The preferred alternative, which would cost $235 million over the next 15 years, proposes restoring more than 200 acres of meadow and riparian habitat, fixing social trails, eliminating roadway bottlenecks, moving all development away from the river, and increasing the number of campsites and parking spots. It would also eliminate several popular commercial activities in the valley, including bicycle, horse and raft rentals and ice skating.
20-year overhaul
The Tuolumne River plan would spend $65 million over the next 20 years to improve river habitat and infrastructure, mostly around Tuolumne Meadows. It would replace roadside parking with designated parking lots, fix trails, improve camp facilities and eliminate day-use horse rentals around the Tuolumne Meadows campground. The Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp would be reduced from 32 to 20 beds.
The two plans, which are required by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, "retain the essence of Yosemite," said Kathleen Morse, the chief of planning for Yosemite National Park. "It ensures that the experience enjoyed by generations of families will continue over time."
The Merced River, which wends 81 miles through the park, is the focus of everyone's attention. The restoration first became an issue in 1997 when the Merced River flooded, ripping up roads, washing out bridges, knocking down trees, swamping campgrounds and washing away tent cabins. Although devastating, the disaster was seen by many as a unique opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the valley's environment and infrastructure and make changes based on scientific analysis.
The Park Service completed its first plan for the Merced in 2000, prompting a lawsuit by the environmental groups Friends of Yosemite Valley and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth. The groups said the plan would commercialize the park and turn it into a playground for wealthy folk in recreational vehicles and tour buses.
False start
The plan was tied up in court until 2009, when the park, smarting from a series of court rulings that blocked the restoration plan, started over.
The park spent more than $1 million on studies of the river, meadow and bank conditions, carrying capacity, facilities, and transportation. The new 2,500-page draft plan and environmental report was prepared after more than 40 public workshops, presentations and science forums. Morse said the public overwhelmingly urged the park to maintain the family-oriented experience, retain private vehicle access and provide more camping in Yosemite Valley.
Besides the river restoration work, the preferred alternative for the Merced would move 34 campsites at Housekeeping Camp and about 21 other spaces 100 feet away from the river and mandate that all new development be set back 150 feet from the river, Morse said.
In exchange, she said, Camp 4, the historic grounds where rock climbers congregate, would be doubled in size, and dozens more campsites would be built around the valley. When completed, there would be 640 campsites compared with 466 now, a 37 percent increase, Morse said.
Infrastructure improvements would be a big part of the plan, she said. The Sugar Pine Bridge, behind the Ahwahnee Hotel, would be removed, and a pedestrian underpass would be built next to Yosemite Lodge so that people visiting Yosemite Falls would no longer have to cross the roadway.
Traffic management
The main road through Yosemite would be rerouted in sections to avoid pedestrian crossings and remove summertime bottlenecks. A 10,000-square-foot building used by the park concessionaire, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite Inc., would be removed, and the mishmash of employee cabins, tents, huts and trailers would be replaced.
Parking would be increased in the valley by about 5 percent, including 300 new parking spaces behind Yosemite Lodge and 200 spaces in nearby El Portal, where shuttle buses could take people into the valley, she said.
Greg Adair, the executive director of Friends of Yosemite Valley, said he has not had time to fully digest the new plan, but he is not overly optimistic given the park's track record.
"They have done a poor job over time of preserving nature in Yosemite," Adair said. "One of the questions for us is whether they have connected the dots between environmental protection and what their capacity and infrastructure studies have shown."Posted by
David Monsalve,
June 19, 2014 Email
David Monsalve
On Twitter:
@davidamonsalve
With the World Cup now in high gear, it isn’t only a special time for those in Brazil. It is also a very a unique and special time for a very large number of Canadians.
Even though I’m watching this current World Cup in Finland, it is not hard to imagine the electric atmosphere back in Toronto.
While the World Cup is undoubtedly a big deal in many places in North America, I can only speak for the city I grew up in when describing its insane love for the beautiful game.
If I was to approach any European and say to them that “Toronto is a bigger soccer city than your whole country is”, many would laugh and call me crazy. But in most cases I would be right.
There are 11 European countries that get to support their teams, stay up late to catch the games and have an excuse to show up for work late(if at all) the day following their team’s game.
Who do the rest of the 42 countries cheer for? For countries such Latvia, Albania, Norway and Finland there’s not much passion behind cheering for a team. Sure, they have their favourite players they’d like to see succeed or a favourite team that may be a reflection of the club team they support. But if “their” team was to lose, would they really be upset?
“Football in Canada does not exist” would likely be a common response from many Europeans and, in some ways, rightfully so. Canada has only been to one World Cup and it was 28 years ago. So for a football nation in the same position of not going to the world cup, it is hard to see why a city in Canada would have more World Cup passion than most of the European continent. But if you are like me, a Torontonian who's experienced at least one major football tournament in the city, you would easily see the insanity that hits every four years.
Flags on cars, mini world cup tournaments, festivals and viewing parties that have all the bars at capacity are all things you see during the World Cup in Toronto. With most countries in the World Cup being represented by huge communities, it would be very hard to name teams that won’t be well supported. With areas like the Danforth for the Greeks, Woodbridge for Italians and St.Clair being the central area for all communities to unite and show their colours, Toronto becomes a football infested city with passion like no other. It is something that I miss when I can’t be home during the World Cup.
Every day in the city it is a day of celebration and mourning depending on what area you find yourself in.
The city of Toronto has always had and will always have an insane love affair with the beautiful game.
Toronto-born David Monsalve is a professional goalkeeper with Finnish football club AC Oulu. In addition to representing Canada at the U17, U18, U20, U23 and Senior Men’s levels, he has also played for Canadian clubs Toronto FC and FC Edmonton. When he isn’t training and playing professional matches, David also coaches in the Toronto area and is up for discussing anything and everything football-related via his Twitter account, @davidamonsalve.Beyond the Nail. It actually changes colour from purple to pink! The picture on the left is actually right after I put my hand under hot water! My nails turned bright pink!! I stuck my hand under and when I walked over to the window to take a picture, my hand started to get cold and my nails were turning back to purple! I've been wearing this polish for 2 days now and I don't think I'll ever get used to the colours changing! It's also weird because I have long nails, so sometimes my nails will be pink and the tips will be purple because it's not getting the heat transferred from my fingers.
I painted my nails with 3 coats (I could've gotten away with 2, but I wanted it to be super opaque) and then topped it off with a top coat.
Hi everyone, I just have to show everyone this awesome nail polish from my line -It actually changes colour fromto! The picture on the left is actually right after I put my hand under hot water! My nails turned bright pink!! I stuck my hand under and when I walked over to the window to take a picture, my hand started to get cold and my nails were turning back to purple! I've been wearing this polish for 2 days now and I don't think I'll ever get used to the colours changing! It's also weird because I have long nails, so sometimes my nails will be pink and the tips will be purple because it's not getting the heat transferred from my fingers.I painted my nails with 3 coats () and then topped it off with a top coat.
I put my hands under the warm water so my nails would start off being pink.
I turned the cold water on and you can see how fast they turned to purple!
Here you can see them fully purple!
Here you can see my nails slowly turning back pink since my hands are warm.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Watch the nail polish change colour in this video!
This nail polish can be found on my Etsy shop, along with other thermal polishes:
Beyond the Nail
Labels: beyond the nail, thermalComing Soon
The Witcher
The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.
Seis Manos (Working Title)
Three orphaned martial arts warriors join forces with a DEA agent and a Mexican Federale to avenge the death of their beloved mentor.
Raising Dion
A single mom must hide her young son's superpowers to protect him from exploitation while investigating their origins and her husband's death.
My Father's Dragon
Based on the Newbery-winning children's books, this animated film follows a young boy who runs away to an island to rescue and befriend a baby dragon.
Yankee
A young man from Texas crosses the border into Mexico and becomes an infamous drug lord.
Your Son
After his son is brutally beaten outside a nightclub, a surgeon takes the law into his own hands and seeks vengeance against the perpetrators.
Triple Frontier
Loyalties are tested when five former special forces operatives reunite to steal a drug lord's fortune, unleashing a chain of unintended consequences.
KAOS
This genre-bending series puts a modern twist on Greek and Roman mythology, exploring themes of gender politics, power and life in the underworld.A girl was beaten with a chair leg in the diplomatic residence of Equatorial Guinea last night, police said Tuesday, but no arrest has been made because the alleged attacker is a diplomat.
The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. Monday on the 4000 block of 27th Road N., in Arlington’s tony Dover-Crystal neighborhood. Police were called to the home of Ambassador Ruben Maye Nsue Mangue after a female 911 caller reported that “there’s someone going crazy at her house” and a man “hit her in the head with a chair,” according to scanner traffic.
“I’ve been there before,” said a responding officer. “There have been previous calls from this address.”
The female victim was struck “several times,” police said. Paramedics transported her to Virginia Hospital Center with a head wound, but no arrests were made.
“The subject has full diplomatic immunity and was not arrested,” Arlington County Police said in a crime report today. Police said the assault was “domestic” in nature but declined to reveal the identity of the suspect.
“We won’t go in to those details at this time,” ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told ARLnow.com. “The State Department was notified by our officers and it’s in their hands at this point.”
An anonymous tipster who contacted ARLnow.com this morning, before news of the attack was made public, claimed that the ambassador — who was appointed last year after serving on the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union — was the attacker and that his teenager daughter was the victim.
Reached at the Equatorial Guinea embassy in D.C., Rebeca Maye, who identified herself as Ambassador Nsue’s secretary, said his 16-year-old daughter was brought to Virginia Hospital Center with a head injury, but added that it was “not very big.” Maye declined to answer questions about the alleged assault and said the ambassador would not be available for comment until later Tuesday night.
Equatorial Guinea is a small nation on the west coast of Africa. It has a population of just 650,000, but it’s one of sub-Sahara Africa’s largest oil producers, according to Wikipedia.
Neighbors of the diplomatic residence on 27th Street, who did not wish to be identified by name, said the family that lives there mostly “keeps to themselves” — but there have been some recent disturbances.
“A girl can sometimes be heard screaming foul language” from the home, one neighbor said. Another said police were called to the house a couple months ago when a man and a woman had a shouting match outside.
Andrea Swalec, Ethan Rothstein and Scott Brodbeck contributed to this reportA man stands with anti-racism posters ahead of a vigil, close to the scene of a van attack in Finsbury Park, north London on June 19, 2017 (AFP Photo/Isabel INFANTES)
The US government and Ivanka Trump on Monday expressed sympathy with worshippers attacked while leaving a London mosque — while the president himself remained silent.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert issued an official condemnation of the deadly assault but Donald Trump — often quick to comment on Twitter after extremist violence — kept his counsel.
“The United States strongly condemns last night’s attack that appears to have targeted Muslim worshippers in London,” Nauert said.
“We extend our sympathies to the families and community of the victims and our hopes for the quick recovery of those wounded.”
Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka also reacted to the attack.
“Sending love and prayers to the victims in #FinsburyPark London. We must stand united against hatred and extremism in all it’s ugly forms,” she tweeted.
President Trump has taken to Twitter during previous terror attacks to make the case for tighter restrictions on travel from predominantly Muslim countries.
He has also yet to offer public comment on the deaths of seven US sailors, killed during a collision between their navy destroyer and a Philippine-flagged cargo ship.
In London, a van ploughed into a crowd near a mosque early on Monday, leaving one person dead and injuring 10 others in the second terror attack this month in the city.
Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the “sickening” incident, reaffirming Britain’s determination to fight “terrorism, extremism and hatred.”On Wednesday, President Obama issued an executive order which gives the government a dangerous new way to override our constitutional right to due process. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.
The order targets cyber criminals who operate overseas but have assets or money within U.S. jurisdiction, allowing the government to freeze suspected hackers’ resources in an effort to combat cyber attacks.
While Obama argued that these “sanctions are meant to protect our national security, personal privacy and civil liberties” in a blog post accompanying the order, civil libertarians should be concerned for two big reasons.
First, the order anticipates instant action, with no apparent reference to due process to determine little details like—oh, I don’t know—whether someone is actually guilty of the crime he’s been accused of committing.
Here’s the relevant section from the order:
For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order. (Emphasis added.)
The second reason for concern is the way the order could allow the government to seize money from people who aren’t themselves accused of any cyber-crimes but have had dealings with those who are:
The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include but are not limited to: (a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Did you catch that? If you sell or give anything to someone suspected of criminal hacking activity, or if they sell or give anything to you, the government can go after your stuff without due process, too.
Looks like civil asset forfeiture has a new rival for the title of “biggest threat to private property most people have never heard of.”So high are the Brexit stakes that divorce talks were always likely to go to the line. After yesterday’s “deadlock”, this appears to be the case. There must surely be an urgent heads of government session, at least involving Britain, France and Germany, to cut a deal on cash and talks on trade. It is time to bring on the grownups.
Another month, further deadlock – this isn’t what the Brexiters promised | Hugo Dixon Read more
But all politics is local, especially Brexit politics. It is impossible for Theresa May to embark on this next stage with a divided cabinet, party and parliament. The kindest analysis of her tactics so far is that she has played cunning. She has kept her Brexit backwoodsmen inside the cabinet tent, and has resolutely refused to seem partisan herself. That has not worked – witness the latest fierce backwoods demand for the chancellor to be sacked. There is now a serious risk of Tory right/Labour left collusion. As Brexit legislation enters parliament, paralysis by amendment will see May fighting on two fronts at once, at home and abroad. This is unsustainable.
All involved in this mess should keep one fact in mind. Britain has agreed to leave the EU, but it has not agreed how. Every opinion poll, every interest group, every sensible bit of evidence is tilted towards “soft” Brexit, towards workable, feasible, sane Brexit. Even polls on immigration specifically among leavers – by YouGov, the Economist and King’s College London – indicate majority acceptance of free movement for EU workers, given restrictions on benefits similar to those operating in many other EU states.
There is no consensus for a “cliff edge” departure from the EU, for customs barriers, trade quotas, passport restrictions and no transition. There is no majority for hard Brexit in parliament, even among Conservative MPs. Enthusiasm for the World Trade Organisation option is limited to a few newspapers and the Tory right. To any bank, business, travel organisation or university, hard Brexit is flat-Earthism.
Some compromise with the EU will have to come. It has already been hinted at over the budget and the European court. But the next “compromise phase” will collapse if May has to be looking over her shoulder every hour of the day in the House of Commons. This will especially be the case should Labour and the Liberal Democrats cynically use Brexit as a manoeuvre to bring her down.
The Brexiteers’ trade fantasies are crashing down around their ears | Molly Scott Cato Read more
May’s primary task of leadership is to contrive a parliamentary “coalition of the sane” on Europe for the duration of the talks. It may run against her nature to get the party leaders and their whips to agree on how best to monitor and support the negotiations. But there is a clear public interest, indeed public demand, for this to happen. Britons clearly wish to retain their open market status within Europe. Parliament should reflect that wish, and not let a minority drive negotiations to a crash.
• Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnistA Coalition split over a planned free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States has emerged after the Liberal Democrats demanded tough new safeguards for British jobs and industry to be written into the deal.
The call by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, during a cabinet meeting today threatens to put the party on a collision course with David Cameron who has trumpeted the deal’s potential benefits.
Campaigners in Britain and other EU countries have warned the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could cost jobs and undermine consumer rights and environmental protection. Opponents also claim the deal would transfer power from elected politicians to unelected multinationals.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
Mr Cameron has argued it would give a £10bn boost to the UK economy and has promised to put “rocket boosters” behind efforts to clinch agreement. But the Lib Dem minister called for special protections to be written in to stop multinationals overriding the will of governments and for an explicit statement that the NHS is exempt from any deal.
Mr Cable urged action to tackle concerns that the TTIP could be used by large US companies to bypass laws protecting the environment, consumer rights and food standards. He told the Cabinet he believed Britain should only support the deal if reforms are agreed to guarantee it is in the national interest. Mr Cable’s call follows claims that foreign companies that were not awarded NHS work could sue the Government.
Tonight Mr Cable’s private aide quit after voting against the Government on fracking. Tessa Munt, the MP for Wells, initially said she intended to stay on in her role despite backing a rebel amendment calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas. But a spokeswoman later confirmed her resignation.
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 nowJuly 31, 2067 7:35 p.m.
Tampa Bay, FL
Fifty years ago today, the Tampa Bay Rays made a seemingly innocuous move at the 2017 trade deadline. The team sent the recently-knighted Sir Tim Beckham to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tobias Myers, a name that now lives in infamy.
The Rays broke the age-old mantra of not trading within their division, but little did they know what they were trading away at the time. Tim Beckham had been a productive hitter with the Rays (career OPS+ of 97 with Tampa Bay), and the fanbase was mostly upset with the trade even in the hours after it was announced. Little did they know what they would come to miss.
* * *
On January 6, 1920, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold George Herman “Babe” Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Over the years since, the apocrypha have spread as wide as to claim Frazee sold Ruth to fund a play of his own, but the decision came down to not believing the hard-partying Ruth would age well, and the sum from the Yankees being too much to turn down. A hundred grand doesn’t sound like much now, but it was the most a baseball player had ever been moved for at the time.
The move was eventually declared the namesake of a curse that haunted the Red Sox for nearly a century and brought the Yankees more rings and riches than they could have even dreamed. It was a move that was unrivaled throughout all baseball history in its impact on two distinct franchises.
That is, it was unrivaled until that fateful 2017 trade deadline.
* * *
When Tim Beckham started off with Baltimore Orioles career with a two-week stretch in which he slashed.484/.500/.855 with four homers in 15 games, folks thought it was just a hot streak. He was sporting a.553 BABIP for goodness sake. (He had a.571 average on ground balls!) He obviously couldn’t be worth 17.3 WAR/162 games — the incredible pace at which he had started off his Baltimore career, right?
Wrong!
He could.
* * *
Fans today, in the year 2067, obviously know the name Tim Beckham. Beckham has gone down with Tiger, Messi, and Turvey Jr. as the one-name legends whose faces will be carved into next year’s upcoming sports Mount Rushmore in Custer, South Dakota. People remember him for his 45 home runs and 170 runs scored in 2018, the first of ten straight MVPs for |
brains before they can start spying on you. By Patrick Tucker
The Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency put out a broad agency announcement this week seeking software solutions to help small drones fly better in tight enclosed environments. The Fast Lightweight Autonomy program, the agency said, “focuses on creating a new class of algorithms to enable small, unmanned aerial vehicles to quickly navigate a labyrinth of rooms, stairways and corridors or other obstacle-filled environments without a remote pilot.”
The solicitation doesn’t focus on new drone designs so much as helping very small drones — able to fit through an open window and fly at 45 miles per hour — navigate tight and chaotic indoor spaces without having to communicate with operators, get GPS directions, or receive data from external sensors. All the thinking, steering and landing would be in the drone.
“Goshawks, for example, can fly very fast through a dense forest without smacking into a tree. Many insects, too, can dart and hover with incredible speed and precision. The goal of the FLA program is to explore non-traditional perception and autonomy methods that would give small UAVs the capacity to perform in a similar way, including an ability to easily navigate tight spaces at high speed and quickly recognize if it had already been in a room before,” Mark Micire, DARPA program manager, said in a press release.
The agency put out this video to demonstrate what they’re looking for.
Urban disaster relief is an “obvious” application for tiny, self-guided insect robots according to the agency. An equally obvious application, left out of the announcement, is spy drones that can fly independently into rooms, find a perch, and serve as a fly on the wall in a very real (but robotic) sense of the world.
As new materials come online, researchers are quickly getter better at miniaturizing flying machines. Supposedly, the world’s smallest drone is this robofly from Harvard (DARPA funded) at 60 milligrams and 3 centimeters.
The military is working on a version that’s three times smaller. On Dec. 16, the Army Research Laboratory announced that they had created a tiny fly drone of comparable size to the robofly with wings made of lead zirconium titanate.
But creating a miniature flying machine isn’t as simple as creating something that can take off and land while attached to a wire. There’s more that goes into flight than pure mechanics. It takes brains. Ron Polcawich, head of the Army Research Lab’s piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems, or PiezoMEMS team, says it may take another 15 years of research before fly drones can move through the air, land and behave like real bugs.
Supposedly, the world’s smallest drone comes from Harvard at 60 milligrams and 3 centimeters. The military is working on a version that’s three times smaller.
In this paper titled Towards Autonomous Navigation of Miniature UAV, a group of researchers from NASA, IEEE and other outfits describe the high level of difficulty in getting a machine that’s the size of an insect to actually think like one, much less think like a bird.
“A major algorithmic challenge is to process sensor information at a high rate to provide vehicle control and higher level tasks with real-time position information and vehicle states.”
Why is it such a challenge to make a tiny drone locate itself in space and decide on a destination? Because a flying machine that size doesn’t have much room to carry a computer capable of crunching all the visual data (from a camera) that it needs for flight, especially if it’s also going to carry a battery as well. “Since micro rotorcrafts can only carry a few grams of payload including batteries, this has to be accomplished with a very small weight and power budget… Additionally, novel algorithmic implementations with minimal computational complexity, such as presented in this paper, are required,” they write.
The paper demonstrates an autonomous algorithmic flying solution for a quadcopter of a much more bird-sized 12 grams. No, it doesn’t solve the problem of teaching a computer the size of a golf ball to see, dodge obstacles in the air and land on a dime, but it does provide an idea of where research is headed.
“The implementation on an ultra-light weight platform of only 12g is a huge step towards ultimately having a fully capable avionics package (flight computer, camera, and IMU) under 15g. It will enable fully autonomous control of ultrasmall quadrotor systems (as e.g. the 15cm, 25g Bitcraze miniature quadrotor system) that can be deployed for indoor and outdoor [intelligence search and reconaissance] missions in confined spaces while maintaining stealth.”
If progress in machine vision algorithms continues at its current rate that 15-year forecast until the flight of the flying robot insects may be conservative.PROVO — A Provo woman will serve 36 months of probation on a GPS monitor for the death of her baby, who died after the woman was involved in a DUI crash with the child unbuckled on her lap.
A jail sentence for Susanne McClellan, 39, was suspended Tuesday so long as the woman serves 240 days probation as part of the GPS monitoring program, according to court documents. She was given credit for three days already served.
McClellan pleaded guilty last month to negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, in the death of her daughter, 4-month-old Brylee McClellan. In exchange for her plea, an additional charge of obstructing justice, a third-degree felony, was dismissed.
Early on the morning of Aug. 4, McClellan got a ride home with Chelsea Fuller, 30, police said, and held her daughter on her lap while the other woman drove. Both women had been drinking, charges state, and Fuller had taken citalpram, alprazolam and Ambien, charging documents state.
Fuller was attempting to turn at 820 N. Oakmont Lane in Provo when her SUV went off the road, struck a tree and tipped onto the driver's side, police said.
No one in the car was properly restrained, police said.
Brylee suffered massive head trauma, neck and spinal cord trauma, and broken bones in her skull, neck and ribs, charges state. The infant was taken to Primary Children's Hospital where she died.
McClellan, who hit the windshield when the car rolled, experienced skull fractures as well as cuts and broken bones in her face.
Brylee McClellan, 4 months, was killed Aug. 4, 2016, in a car crash in Provo. Police said her mother, Susanne McClellan, was holding her unrestrained in the back seat and the driver, Chelsea Fuller, had consumed alcohol and prescription medication. (Photo: Provo Police Department)
When police arrived, McClellan told them Brylee had been in a car seat and she wasn't sure who was driving, charges state. When she learned the baby had died, however, she told police she knew she and Fuller were both drunk when they got into the car, and that Fuller was the driver.
Fuller's blood-alcohol content was.233 percent, more than double the legal limit, according to charging documents.
A witness who arrived at the scene told police he had offered McClellan a car seat and a ride home, charges state.
Fuller pleaded guilty in January to automobile homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, both third-degree felonies. She was sentenced in the same hearing to consecutive terms of zero to five years in prison.
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Related StoriesI promise to write this many months ago, and finally I found some time to do it. Even when a VPN is not really a hacker tool, it is commonly used to make tracing more difficult and to increase privacy and anonymity. We have talked a lot about VPNs from a user point of view but not much about how they really work.
VPNs and proxy servers are many times mentioned together because both of them can be used for similar purposes. Some people get confused at the beginning about the difference. If that is your case, then, please first read this other post, before continuing.
How do those hackers' tools work? Proxychains Programming Welcome to this new series intended to explain the guts of all those hacker's tools out there you use or want to use... Basically, we are going to explain you how does they work and how do you can build your own... Keep reading if you do not want to be a Skid :wink:. We will start the series with Proxychains. Before, keeping on reading, make sure you had read the 0x00sec introduction from @OilSlick to () ProxyChains. To understand how ProxyChains works we first need to understand how does a…
Hope that, after reading these two post you will get a better idea of the difference between this two tools, how they roughly work and what can and cannot be done with each one.
What’s a VPN?
You probably already know what a VPN is, but in case somebody does not know and, for the sake of completeness of this post, let’s introduce the concept.
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Conceptually it is a virtual net that you deploy above a real network. Physically it uses some real network (usually the Internet), but logically, it is presented to your computer like a local network. All computers connected to the same VPN behaves like if they were all connected to a private network… in other words is like taking all those computers and connecting them to a switch all together… but that connection to that switch is actually going through a different physical network. This is the V in VPN means.
The P on the VPN acronym, specially when you use a public physical network to set up your link, comes from the encryption of the link, as well as, for the fact that all the connected machines seems to be in a private local network. That way, even when anybody in between your computer and your VPN server could capture the data (it is being transfer through a public network), such a data will be encrypted and therefore protected.
This is the general concept, and this idea can be implemented in many different ways. For you reading this post, a VPN is something that allows you to protect your privacy hiding your IP to the services you access in the Internet and also hiding your traffic to everybody else in your local network… including your ISP administrators.
In this configuration, your VPN is just composed of two nodes. In one end is your computer, and in the other end is your VPN server, the one you are paying for the service. The VPN server will run some VPN SW, for instance, OpenVPN, and your computer will run some client SW in order to connect to that specific VPN server. The VPN server is at the same time configured as a gateway. It gets the encrypted data you send to it, it decrypts it, and send it to the Internet to let you reach your destination. Whenever a response for your computer is received, the server does the reverse operation. It encrypts the data and send it back to you.
The other common configuration is the access to corporate networks. The VPN logically connected your computer to a private network somewhere else and everything looks like if your computer were physically connected to that remote network.
In any case, the technology behind is the same. Using one or another configuration is a matter of setting up the different machines in a way or another.
So, what is the difference between a proxy and a VPN?
Good question, the difference is basically the access you get. A proxy is usually a program that accepts connections in some specific ports and forwards that connections to some other machine you want. Using a proxy you can only transmit data once you get a connection to the proxy and that can only be done at specific ports. That is why you cannot run a stealth port scan through a proxy.
But the VPN works different. Usually it makes use of a tunnel, or more specifically, it makes use of a virtual network device. A virtual network device is, roughly, a network card that only exists in the kernel, it does not exists physically. Other than that, it behaves as a normal network interface and therefore you can transmit through it any kind of packets you want.
There are different options to do this, but maybe the more common are the PPP (Point-to-Point protocol) and the tun/tap.
PPP was the protocol used many years ago when people got connected to the Internet using analog modems. The same protocol was reused later on to enable VPN technologies like PPTP (popular in the Windows world) or L2TP.
was the protocol used many years ago when people got connected to the Internet using analog modems. The same protocol was reused later on to enable VPN technologies like PPTP (popular in the Windows world) or L2TP. tun/tap devices are more recent and are the option selected by SW like OpenVPN. We will dig further in these ones to learn more about how those VPNs work.
tun/tap devices
If your kernel was compiled with support for them you should have them available, and nowadays that is the case for most GNU/Linux distributions. These devices are pretty cool. Once created, they allow to connect a user space application to the virtual network interface they represent. Let’s elaborate this a bit.
Once you create one of these interfaces (we will come to that in a sec), you get a new network interface that you can manipulate with ifconfig or ip. You can assign it and IP, a netmask, you can route it… But the cool thing is that, if you write a program that opens the file /dev/tunX or /dev/tapX, that program will read/write everything that is sent through the tun or tap network interfaces.
I think some of you have already got the idea. The VPN SW is just an application that read data from one of those devices, encrypts it and sends it to the VPN server using a normal socket. And in the server side you do the reverse again. Decrypt the data, and write it to the /dev/tunX or /dev/tapX device and that data will be automatically available in the tunX or tapX interface. Then you just need a route rule to send that traffic to the Internet. That part is right now out of scope and it is up to the VPN provider to decide how to make your data get to the Internet and back to you.
OK fine!.. but what is the difference between tun and tap?. Again a very good question.
A tun interface provides a layer 3 entry point to the net. In other words, the tun interface will expect IP packets
interface provides a layer 3 entry point to the net. In other words, the interface will expect IP packets A tap interface provides a layer 2 entry point to the net. In other words, the tap interface will expect ethernet frames
Depending on your application you may want to select one or another. But to roughly get the idea of what is the difference… when your VPN runs on a tap interface you can send ARP packets on your virtual network (layer 2), but you cannot do that on a tun interface… just you cannot add the ethernet header to your packet… the kernel will not understand what you are sending and will just drop it.
Coding
OK, it is time to get into the code. I will, again, reuse the code from the Remote Shell series. Specifically the code from the Part II (Remote Shells. Part II. Crypt your link). You can get the code from my github repo
github.com 0x00pf/0x00sec_code/blob/master/remote_shell/rss.c /* Remote Shells Copyright (c) 2016 picoFlamingo This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. */ /************************************************************* Read the post at 0x00sec.org This file has been truncated. show original
We will indeed remove all the code related to the remote shell (well you may keep it if you want) and do some little modifications here and there to get our VPN working.
Just to be clear. We’re only covering the coding part. In other words, we will learn how to setup a tunnel and send and receive data through it. To make this into a VPN you may need to tweak the routing tables on both ends of the tunnel to get into the internet. That is left as an exercise for the reader
Finally I will also mention the following resource I consulted during the preparation of this paper and that I strongly recommend to read:
http://backreference.org/2010/03/26/tuntap-interface-tutorial/
Creating the device
The first thing to do is to create the tun/tap device. For that we will write a function that will return a file descriptor to the user space end of the virtual device. I took the code from the kernel documentation. Get the kernel sources and look into Documentation/networking/tuntap.txt. This is the function and the additional headers required by the new functions.
#include <sys/stat.h> #include <fcntl.h> #include <sys/ioctl.h> #include <linux/if.h> #include <linux/if_tun.h> /* From Kernel Documentation/networking/tuntap.txt*/ #define BUF_SIZE 1800 // Default MTU is 1500 int tun_alloc (char *dev) { struct ifreq ifr; int fd, err; if( (fd = open("/dev/net/tun", O_RDWR)) < 0 ) { perror ("open(tun):"); return -1; } memset(&ifr, 0, sizeof(ifr)); /* Flags: IFF_TUN - TUN device (no Ethernet headers) * IFF_TAP - TAP device * * IFF_NO_PI - Do not provide packet information */ ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_TUN; if( *dev ) strncpy(ifr.ifr_name, dev, IFNAMSIZ); if( (err = ioctl(fd, TUNSETIFF, (void *) &ifr)) < 0 ){ close(fd); return err; } strcpy(dev, ifr.ifr_name); return fd; }
The creation of a virtual tun/tap interface is straightforward:
Open the cloning device /dev/net/tun
Chose a name for your device (usually tunX, where X is an integer)
, where is an integer) Use the TUNSETIFF ioctrl to configure the interface. This call will configure the name and also the type of virtual network interface we want tun or tap. Just check the comment in the code.
Sending and receiving data
For an application as simple as the one we are going to write, you may just send the data as you get it, but, in the general case, you may want to do something with the data. Normally you will encrypt it and also compress it.
For properly do that, we may need to add some metadata to the packets sent through the tunnel. We will have to add our own header to the packets in order to be able to reconstruct the data in the other end.
In this example we will use the simplest header ever. Out header is just a 16bits number indicating the size of the packet sent. You can easily add additional information with small modifications to the functions below.
So, we will write two helper functions to build our packet with this new format. The new format will contain, at the very beginning, the size of the real packet that follows next in the data stream:
First the write function.
int write_pkt (int fd, char *buf, uint16_t len) { uint16_t n; // Write Packet size n = htons (len); if ((write (fd, &n, sizeof(n))) < 0) { perror ("write_pkt(size):"); exit (1); } if ((write (fd, buf, len)) < 0) { perror ("write_pkt(size):"); exit (1); } return 0; }
This one is very easy. We first convert the size of the packet to network format (in order to deal with endianess) with a call to htons and then we send the packet size followed by the packet itself. Easy.
The read function will look like this:
int read_pkt (int fd, char *buf) { uint16_t len; int n, pending; // Read Pkt size if ((read (fd, &len, sizeof (len))) < 0) { perror ("read_pkt(size):"); exit (1); } len = ntohs (len); pending = len; while (pending > 0) { if ((n = read (fd, buf, pending)) < 0) { perror ("read_pkt(data):"); return 0; } pending -= n; buf += n; } return len; }
If you had take a look to the resource I mentioned above you will be the similarities with the approach followed in that post.
For the read process we want to read a complete packet when we call the function. The read system call may return less data that the amount requested in the third parameter, so we just need to run a loop to get all the data we want before giving back the control.
In a real application this is not the best approach as we are blocking our application until all data is read. For this tutorial that is good enough and it allows us to keep the code easy to understand and short.
You can see the use of the ntohs function to convert back the packet size (that is a S hort -16bits- number) from N etwork format to H ost format.
Our new main loop
Now we can re-write our main loop to actually make the data flow between the virtual network interface and the user space application. Let’s look at the code at once first:
void async_read (int s, int s1) { fd_set rfds; struct timeval tv; int max = s > s1? s : s1; int len, r; char buffer[BUF_SIZE]; max++; while (1) { FD_ZERO(&rfds); FD_SET(s,&rfds); FD_SET(s1,&rfds); /* Time out. */ tv.tv_sec = 1; tv.tv_usec = 0; if ((r = select (max, &rfds, NULL, NULL, &tv)) < 0) { perror ("select:"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } else if (r > 0) /* If there is data to process */ { if (FD_ISSET(s, &rfds)) { len = read_pkt (s, buffer); if ((write (s1, buffer, len)) < 0) { perror ("write(net):"); exit (1); } } if (FD_ISSET(s1, &rfds)) { if ((len = read (s1, buffer, BUF_SIZE)) < 0) { perror ("read(tun):"); exit (1); } if ((write_pkt (s, buffer, len)) < 0) exit (1); } } } }
As you can see this is a pretty standard select call. As we will see in a sec, the first parameter is the file descriptor of the socket connecting both ends of our tunnel, and the second parameter is the file descriptor to the /dev/tunX file we will use to received the data sent through the virtual network interface.
So, when we get data from the network interface we do:
if (FD_ISSET(s, &rfds)) { len = read_pkt (s, buffer); if ((write (s1, buffer, len)) < 0) { perror ("write(net):"); exit (1); } }
In other words. We read a packet from the network (processing our minimal header as described above) and then we send the data to the /dev/tunX device. Doing that, any application using the virttual network interface will receive that data. Note that we are actually removing our header (the packet size) of the data before writing it to the tun device.
Similarly, when we receive data from the /dev/tunX, meaning that some program have sent data through the tunX virtual network interface, we will read that data end send it through the real network connection to the other end of the tunnel, after pre-pending (the write_pkt function will do that for us) our header.
if (FD_ISSET(s1, &rfds)) { if ((len = read (s1, buffer, BUF_SIZE)) < 0) { perror ("read(tun):"); exit (1); } if ((write_pkt (s, buffer, len)) < 0) exit (1); } }
The main function
Now that we have all the pieces ready, we just need to write a main function to use them. If you had followed the Remote Shells series, this will look very familiar to you. Otherwise, do not panic, we will explain it anyway.
int main (int argc, char *argv[]) { int fd; /* FIXME: Check command-line arguments */ if (argv[1][0] == 'c') { if ((fd = tun_alloc (argv[2])) < 0) exit (1); async_read (client_init (argv[3], atoi(argv[4])), fd); } else if (argv[1][0] =='s') { if ((fd = tun_alloc (argv[2])) < 0) exit (1); async_read (server_init (atoi(argv[3])), fd); } return 0; }
The first thing you need to know is that, the same application can act as client or server. If the first parameter passed to the program is a c the program will behave as a client. If it is a s, it will behave as a server.
You can see the two code blocks for each case. Both blocks are conceptually the same. First we create our virtual network interface executing the tun_alloc function passing as parameter the second command-line parameter (the name we want to use for the device).
Then we call our select loop with the file descriptor of the virtual device and a socket. In one case the socket is a client socket (we call connect … see the full source code to find that call) or a server socket (we call bind, listen, accept ). And that is really it regarding the SW. Let’s see how to use the program
Testing it
Let’s compile the program. Either use the Makefile from the github repository or just type:
$ make vpn
Now, we have to start both, client and server. You can run both in the same machine if you do not have a second network accessible computer. However having both, client and server in the same machine makes testing more tricky as a ping will always work because both virtual interface are always accessible from the machine.
Let’s start launching the server.
$ sudo./vpn s tun1 5000
This will create a virtual network device named tun1 and will wait for network connections on port 5000. Yes, you have to run it as root in order to create the virtual device. The program creates the virtual device but does not configure it. Let’s take a look.
$ ifconfig tun1 tun1 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00 POINTOPOINT NOARP MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:500 RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Want to make the program configure the interface?.. strace ifconfig to figure out what to do.
As you can see there is no IP associated. Let’s give it one. Use a completely different one to actually check that the tunnel is working. If your normal network is one of those 192.168.... set your tunnel IPs to one of those 10.8..... Something like this:
$ sudo ifconfig tun1 10.8,0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0
Now, let’s launch the client. If you are using two different machines you can pass the same network device ( tun1 in our example). When running both in the same machine you have to use a different name:
$ sudo./vpn c tun2 IP 5000 $ sudo ifconfig tun2 10.8.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0
where IP is the IP of the machine running the server, or 127.0.0.1 if you are running both on the same machine.
So now you can try to ping the tunnel
$ ping 10.8.0.1
When doing that, you are running all those ECHO packets throughout our vpn program and you can reach the other end of the tunnel using the assigned IP addresses.
Some final comments
This is it for the coding of a tunnel… the core element of a VPN. There are a couple of things we have to say.
Usually, when using an VPN you have to adjust the MTU value of your interface. The MTU is the Maximum Transfer Unit and for an Ethernet network it is set, by default, to 1500. This means that the packet you send through your wire will be 1500 bytes maximum.
Now, think about the header we added to our VPN channel. We were just using 2 bytes for the size of the packets… but that means that our effective MTU is actually reduced to 1498 instead of 1500. For normal VPN SW like OpenVPN the headers are bigger and usually the MTU in the virtual interface is set to 1300. That basically means that we can have a header as big as 200 bytes.
The second things to comment about is the VPN server logging capabilities. You may have an idea by know of what a VPN server can log… basically all your traffic. Absolutely all. The first thing they know is your IP, your client server has to “connect” (you will usually use UDP, but your IP will be logged anyway) to the VPN server and there you go your IP.
Then, every single packet you send will pass through the server. You can think about it as a sniffer without RAW sockets. It just get all the packets. Actually it also see all the traffic that is sent to you and can even modify it at will. The VPN server is effectively a Man-In-The-Middle and any MITM attack can trivially be implemented there.
Conclusions
So, this is the very gory details of how a VPN like OpenVPN works. OpenVPN does a lot more things. Let’s say that, what we have seen is the core technology it uses. On top of that you have to add a lot more things to get a product, but we haven’t just learn how to create a VPN, we have learned the basics of how to create tunnels.
So, for those of you always looking for projects to sharp your C coding skills. These are some things you can try from this point on.
Use UDP or even better ICMP as a transport for your tunnel data. UDP is straight forward. For ICMP you can take a look to this: Remote Shells Part IV. The Invisible Remote Shell
Add proper encryption. Grab a nice crypt library and crypt your data (what about nettle?). This paper my help a bit: Remote Shells. Part II. Crypt your link
Compress your stream and get more bandwidth. This way you can fit more data in your tunnel. If your server has more bandwidth than you (and allows you to use it), you are, effectively, increasing your bandwidth
Tunnels can actually be used for more things… Share your ideas!
Get the code at:Digital Tradition Mirror
The Hedgehog Song
(This score available as ABC, SongWright, PostScript, PNG, or PMW, or a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available
The Hedgehog Song (Heather Wood) You can bugger the bear, if you do it with care, In the winter, when he is asleep in his lair, Though I would not advise it in spring or in fall-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. If you're feeling quite coarse, you can bugger the horse, Or the palfrey, the jennet, the stallion (with force), You can bugger the donkey, the mare, or the mule, Though to bugger the pony is needlessly cruel. You can bugger the ox (if you stand on a box) And vulpologists say you can bugger the fox, You can bugger the shrew, though it's awfully small-- But the hedgehog cvan never be buggered at all. Herptologists gasp you can bugger the asp, Entymologists claim you can bugger the wasp. If an insects your thing, man, then just have a ball-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. And the elephant too, that you meet in the zoo, Can be buggered if you are sure just what to do, You will need a large mattress upon which to fall-- But the hedgehog cvan never be buggered at all. You can bugger the bees if your down on your knees, You can bugger the termites with terminal ease You can bugger the beetle, the ladybug (bird!) too, There's no end to the buggering that you can do. You can bugger the cat if it isn't too fat You can bugger the rabbit you draw from your hat You can bugger the shark that you've chased in your yawl-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. You can bugger the ermine, and all other vermine, Like rats, mice, and roaches, if you're not discernin'. You can bugger the dog, it will come when you call-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. Although Mr. Tiggy is not very big, he Avoids with great ease those who fancy his arse. He just curls in a ball, shows his prickles and all-- And the would-be seducer leaves him in the grass If you're that kind of fool, and you have a long tool, Do it with a giraffe, if you stand on a stool, Catch a yeti, who lives in the snows of Nepal-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. For the hedgehog escapes the posterior rapes Performed upon others of different shapes Those who run, swim, or slither, they get it withal-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. It is said, if you try, you can bugger the fly, Or the swallow as it skims so skillfully by, Use a noose or a net, or lime (if you've the gall)-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all You can bugger the cow (I will not tell you how), Or the boar, or the piglet, the shoat or the sow, You can bugger the ass as it stands in the stall-- But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. You can order or shoo 'im, or run a knife through 'im The one thing you cannot do is stick it to 'im. If you try to seduce 'im, you'll end in a fix, His prickles defend him against rampant pricks. You can bugger the ram, you can bugger the lamb, You can bugger the ewe, though the wether's a sham, You can bugger the tiger (it may caterwaul) But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. You can bugger the seal, you can bugger the eel, You can bugger the crab, though they say it can't feel, You can bugger the bat as the night casts its pall, But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. You can bugger the snake (hold it down with a rake), Though to bugger the quetzal may be a mistake. You can bugger the billy, the nanny, the kid, But to bugger the hedeghog just cannot be did. You can bugger the slug, though it messes the rug, You can bugger the different species of bug, Or do it with a snail, if you slow to a crawl, But the hedgehog can never be buggered at all. At the end of the day, when you've had your rough way With all of those creatures, you'll just have to say "That damned Erinaceous has been my downfall--" For the hedgehog can never be buggered at all! Words - Heather Wood, copyright 1993. From the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. HW apr97
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!CLOSE Here's what you need to remember when it comes time to use a fire extinguisher. USA Today Network
Firefighters respond to a building fire Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, in the Bronx borough of New York. (Photo11: Frank Franklin II, AP)
NEW YORK — Twelve people were dead and four more were fighting for their lives late Thursday after a fire swept through a Bronx apartment building on one of the coldest nights so far this winter, city officials said.
The victims included a child around a year old, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a briefing outside the building.
"We may lose others as well," he said.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro called the fire, "historic in its magnitude," because of the number of lives lost. Excluding the Sept. 11 attacks, it was the worst fire in the city since 87 people were killed at a social club fire in the Bronx in 1990.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation, Nigro said.
More: Boats on fire in Jersey City marina
More: New fire chief for Paterson, Posterino retires
More: Two fires break out in Paterson Wednesday morning
"Our hearts go out to every person who lost a loved one here and everyone who is fighting for their lives," he added.
The blaze broke out on the first floor of a five-story building just before 7 p.m. and quickly ripped through the structure, a block from the grounds of the Bronx Zoo.
About 170 firefighters worked in bone-chilling cold, just 15 degrees, to rescue people from the building. Water sprayed from hoses froze into ice on the street.
Thierno Diallo, 59, a security guard originally from Conakry, Guinea, who lives in |
desires to have sex in the real world, it leads to impotence and diminished hormone levels. But what about morality? Forget about religion, that’s not where I’m headed. We, as a society, and as a group of honorable men, need to have certain morals of goodness and honor and justice.
But articles on the interwebz shy away from the morality issue with porn because morals just aren’t cool to talk about. However, it’s maybe the most important issue to talk about.
Why?
Thus far we’ve covered personal reasons as to why we shouldn’t watch porn. And that’s what guys typically care about, or that’s what people typically care about: themselves, their journey, the effects on their body and their future. But we are not necessarily what’s most important. A man who simply lives for himself will live an empty life.
Enter, morality.
Is porn good?
Of course not. But who’s effected most by this evil? Is it you or I? Well, yes, we’re effected greatly by it, but what about your daughter or your sister or your niece or even your nephew or son? What about them? How will they grow up having been educated about sex through porn? Will there be more rape? Will there be more abuse?
Will your daughter go through life never experiencing the beauty of sex as we’ve known it for thousands of years and only as it’s shown in pornographic videos? Even by watching porn we’re perpetuating and enabling a market to thrive, and where porn thrives, prostitution soon follows, and where tastes in pornography develop, those tastes are brought into the real world of prostitution. So as you start watching younger girls have sex in videos, some guy out there is renting a young girl to fulfill this desire in the flesh. Where you start watching bondage, some innocent young lady is being convinced by her porn-addicted boyfriend to get tied up and punished in the name of pleasure.
Don’t think about yourself for a second, think about your daughter or your friend’s daughter. Think about your son. Will he go through life not knowing the sensuality and passion of real sex?
So where others say “I have nothing morally wrong with porn, but it’s just not good for you”, I say think for yourself and think as a man of honor, there is something morally wrong with porn, and it may have nothing to do with you but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it or do something about it.
“Morals” have become a faux pas word that people want to shy away from. But where would our society be without morals? What great men would exist if they weren’t centered and grounded by a good set of morals? So YES, porn is morally wrong, it is not “good”, and if something is not “good”, it needs to be defeated by strong men who are good.
Ease and Women
With that discussion about porn and morality, let’s cover an aspect of porn that I haven’t come across in the research I’ve done for this article. It’s something that isn’t talked about because it’s so integrated in our society and in our lives, and that thing is ease, and it has no place in the life of a guy who’s trying to become better.
Ease is creeping its nasty head into our lives in more ways that we can imagine. We don’t have to get up to turn the channel, or off the couch to buy a shirt, or out of our bedroom to ejaculate. It’s this ease that’s destructive. It’s lazy. Instead of having to get out into the real world and meet a lot of women, a lot of women, before we find that one that we may want to spend the rest of our lives with, we can just open up the computer and have at it.
You become a better man when you have sex with an even better woman, when you love that woman, cherish her, treat her like a princess and actually care for her. She’ll teach you how to love, and how to make love. Sex isn’t always an aggressive thing where the guy lasts for 45 minutes and the woman always asks for it harder. Sex, when done properly, should look like there’s some love in it. There should be touching, caressing, and some damn kissing! You can go slow or go fast, whatever, you can role play and use your imagination, of course, but the object isn’t to inflict pain but to perform something that your words can’t describe, something that can only be conveyed through the act of sex.
Sex with someone you truly love is indescribably better than the nonsense they show in porn. It doesn’t even come close. But that incredible form of sex is something you have to work for. You have to get off your ass and out into the world and meet women and put yourself out there, extending yourself, getting uncomfortable, looking and feeling like an idiot, but learning and fighting and failing and growing until you meet the right girl.
It takes work to have sex in the real world and you become better because of it. Porn takes nothing and gives you nothing, actually, it takes away a whole lot.
It’s also changing the way we look at women.
I have a buddy and he has a brother who’s 4 or 5 years younger than us, or something like that. Anyhow, he and his pals grew up watching porn. They learned about sex from porn, not from dating and figuring things out on their own and naturally, and it’s greatly effected the way they see women. To hear these guys talk about women isn’t so abhorrent as it is sad. They don’t see a potential wife or mate or someone they’d actually love and die for – which should be all of our goals one day to wed one of these women and to feel this way about one of them.
They see a number, again, a physical being that exists only to help them get off. Their relationships reflect this. Rather than being about growth and love and experience, their relationships are an exchange of goods. I pay for this and treat you like this, you stick around and let me do that when I want it done. They’re incapable of deep conversation or of meaningful sex. And they’re not alone.
Porn isn’t just making guys lazy, stopping them from venturing outside and finding a real, beautiful woman to bed, it’s changing the way they look at women and it’s changing the way they look at sex. It’s also changing the way women look at women, but we’ll leave that for another article. So porn is standing between you and the life you once wanted, do want, or will want one day. But what if you’re already married?
Porn for Married Guys
No matter how ludicrous it seems for a married guy who has a woman he can have sex with living in his house, I can see some reasons for married guys wanting to watch porn and yerk it. It’s convenient. As we’ve already discussed, it takes no work. No matter how tired you are, if you’re a tad horny, or if you’re down in the dumps and you need that little dopamine boost, you can open your laptop and wham, boobs, bums, and babes.
Porn, for married guys, however, is just as dangerous as it is for the single guys. The more porn you watch and the more you become dependent on more and more grotesque acts and “elevated” degrees of porn, you begin to become less attracted to that stunningly beautiful woman you married and are – hopefully still – in love with.
By watching porn you’re slowly training your brain to need that same visual stimulation which will lead to the following…
Porn and Impotence and a Lack of self Confidence
There are greater things here at stake than you realize. The way you see yourself, your happiness, the man you’re trying to become, they’re all at jeopardy when you turn on that computer and watch porn. It isn’t a debate whether it’s good for you or not or whether or not you should have it in your life.
If you want to be a great man porn has no place in your life, whatsoever. Your friends may say otherwise, the forums may as well, and this isn’t a religious condemnation of porn, it’s merely looking at what it does to the brain and your desires and your view of women and sex and your development as a man and your view of yourself, and a conclusion that porn is incredibly destructive and also addictive.
There are reasons why porn is so closely linked to depression and feelings of worthlessness. It makes you feel good in the moment, but that moment soon passes and as time goes on you realize that you’re not wanting to get out in the real world and after real women any longer, you realize that you’re spending just a bit too much time with your right hand as your only companion, but it’s hard to quit, damn hard to quit.
So what do you do?
How to Stop Watching Porn and Stop Masterbating.
Many of you, after reading this article, will want to stop watching porn. But it’s not that simple. You’re programmed to want it and you’ve become dependent on it. This is also where the fun begins. This is where you have an opportunity to become tougher, stronger, grittier, and more resilient. The battle lines are drawn, now we can do as men are supposed to do, fight.
1. Identify the triggers.
Figure out what typically leads you to watching porn. Is it seeing a beautiful lady on TV? Is it sitting alone in your room with your computer? Identify what the triggers are, then fight those. Some you won’t be able to remove, and you shouldn’t, you just have to be aware of where they can lead. Other’s, you’re going to want to remove, like getting your computer out of your room. Know where the urge starts so you can start your battle there.
2. When you get the urge, do something!
Get up, go for a run, push-ups are awesome. A cold shower is another great option. It is, however, a battle in and of itself to do this thing rather than the easy thing: watching porn. Find one thing that takes the place of porn and do it every time you get the urge.
3. They say it takes 60 days to form a habit and just as long to break one, but let’s simplify.
Set a goal of one week and take it 1 day at a time. Tomorrow doesn’t exist, just today. Get through one day at a time and mark the week off your calendar, but the bigger focus should be re-forming this habit, which is where the new act or replacement comes in. Replace porn with something beneficial, like push-ups or reading or a cold shower (which will increase your T levels).
Can we do something more?
Yes.
There’s another great article on the effects of porn over at High Existence. At the end of his article he introduces his members to the 30-day no porn and no masterbation challenge. I think it’s a great idea, and I’ll take it and run with it. We have a different crew here, different topics, different guys, so I figured why not start our very own 30-day challenge?
Let’s use this article as the base. This comments section as the identifier.
30 Day No Porn No Masterbation Challenge
To add some accountability, in the comments section simply say you’re on board and you’re going to give this a go. Put it out there in the world and be held accountable. Or, head to the Fan Page and make it known there (I’ll put up a section to do this). Just say you’re there, identify the date, then by all means come back and tell us your struggle or your triumphs. Let it be known how it’s going.
What else:
We touched briefly on testosterone, but it really is an important hormone for men and becoming optimal or better. As an upgrade to the Man Diet I’ve also included the Man’s Guide to an Epic Sex Drive which you can only buy along with the Man Diet. In it, I cover porn but also different ways to boost your libido and get your johnson working at full capacity.
Check that out here: Man Diet + Man’s Guide to an Epic Sex Drive
With that. What’s next? Are you going to join the challenge?Resize
The fee rise of 50 cents an hour will affect the area bounded by Bunny Street, Lambton Quay, Bowen Street, The Terrace, Boulcott Street, Willis Street, Dixon Street, Cuba Street, Jervois Quay and Waterloo Quay.
See a map of the fee increase area (428KB PDF).
Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, Wellington City Council’s Transport Strategy and Operations Portfolio Leader, says the Council has responded to feedback that parking is oversubscribed in the central city.
“We’ve been told by residents, retailers and businesses that there’s a lack of parking availability in the high-occupancy areas of the CBD. To maintain a healthy retail and commercial sector in the central city we have to be smarter and more effective in how we make the maximum use of limited parking spaces. Increasing fees in the central city will help us do that.”
The fee increase proposal was part of the Council’s Annual Plan consultation. Residents also had an opportunity to provide feedback through the traffic resolution process earlier in May. Only one submission was received, which was in favour of the fee increase.
Councillor Iona Pannett, Chair of the Council’s City Strategy Committee, which recommended the increase, says parking fees haven’t risen in 13 years.
“Inflation, fees in other major centres, increased demand and traffic management flows were all considered in the officers’ report we considered. They’ve calculated that the 50-cents-an-hour rise will create just over half a million dollars in revenue a year, which will be used to contribute to the cost of road maintenance, which will benefit motorists in the future. Alternatively, rates would have needed to increase by 0.2% to come up with this amount.”
Meters have had stickers on them informing motorists of the increases, and posters have been displayed in the area for the past month.The Wall Street Journal reports that the FDIC will pay Utah bank's depositors after it was unable to find an acquirer for the financial institution.
(emphasis mine) version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?
JANUARY 31, 2009
FDIC to Pay Utah Bank's Depositors
By DAMIAN PALETTA
WASHINGTON -- Three banks failed Friday as the credit crisis continues to punish the financial-services industry, with federal banking regulators bracing for dozens of more lenders to collapse in the coming months.
In the case of one failure, that of Utah's MagnetBank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreed to write checks to the bank's depositors after it wasn't able to find a buyer for the bank's deposits or assets, a rare event and an ominous sign for regulators.
The other banks that failed were Ocala National Bank in Florida and Suburban Federal Savings Bank in Maryland. The FDIC was able to sell those banks' deposits to other lenders. Combined, the failures are expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund close to $350 million.
Typically, the FDIC can find other banks to buy the deposits and some of the assets of banks that fail. The regulator tried to market the assets of Salt Lake City-based MagnetBank but couldn't. That forced the regulator to send out checks that will likely cover the entire $282.8 million the lender had in deposits. The agency expects the failure will cost it $119.4 million, further depleting the government's deposit insurance fund.
All the deposits at failed Ocala National Bank, which had four branches and $223.6 million in assets, were acquired by CenterState Bank of Florida in Winter Haven.
The FDIC was able to sell all of the deposits of seven-branch Suburban Federal Savings Bank to Bank of Essex in Tappahannock, Va. It marked the first bank failure in Maryland since 1992. Bank of Essex agreed to buy $348 million of Suburban Federal's $360 million of assets.
The same story from MarketWatch, which reports that regulators close three more banks as failure list grows.
Utah's MagnetBank closed without an acquirer
FDIC shuts down three banks in one day amid ongoing credit crisis
By John Letzing, MarketWatch
Jan. 30, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Federal regulators closed three banks in a single day Friday, as the ongoing credit crisis showed no signs of abating.
Utah's MagnetBank became the fourth bank failure of the year, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was forced to directly refund depositors after being unable to find another institution willing to take over its operations.
That marked the first time the FDIC has been unable to find an acquirer for a failed bank in nearly five years, according to FDIC spokesman David Barr. "This bank did not have an attractive franchise value, and not many retail deposits or core deposits," Barr said. The FDIC had conducted an extensive marketing process for the bank's assets, he said.
Salt Lake City-based MagnetBank had total assets of $292.9 million as of Dec. 2, and $282.8 million in total deposits. "It is estimated that the bank did not have any uninsured funds," the FDIC said in a statement.
The FDIC later said it has also closed Maryland-based Suburban Federal Savings Bank, and Florida's Ocala National Bank.
Suburban Federal had total assets of roughly $360 million as of Sep. 30, and total deposits of $302 million, the FDIC said in a statement. Tappahannock, Va.-based Bank of Essex agreed to assume all of the failed bank's deposits, the FDIC said.
Ocala National had $223.5 million in total assets as of Dec. 31, and $205.2 million in total deposits, the FDIC said. Winter Haven, Fla.-based CenterState Bank has agreed to assume all of the failed bank's deposits.
The closures mark the fourth, fifth and sixth bank failures of 2009, bringing the total to 31 since the start of the credit crisis.
My reaction: Once the FDIC runs out of funds, it will have to borrow from the fed (fed prints money and FDIC borrows it). That means the checks being send out by the FDIC will soon be funded by printed cash. The important points to note from these two articles are:
1) Three banks failed Friday.
2) The failures are expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund close to $350 million.
3) For the first time in nearly five years, the FDIC was unable to find an acquirer for a failed bank, which is an ominous sign for regulators
4) 6 banks have failed in 2009, and 31 have failed since the start of the credit crisis.
Conclusion: The FDIC was a bad idea:
1) FDIC insurance has created a false sense of security. Right now, millions of Americans believe their checking and saving accounts are safe. They don' t realize that if there are widespread bank failures, even if they get their dollars back, those dollars won' t be worth much anymore because of all the money the government will have to print.
2) FDIC insurance encourages risk taking by banks. Today, bankers aren' t concerned about the moral consequences of their actions in the way they would be without the FDIC. Even if a banker drives his bank into the ground, he doesn' t need to worry about the deposit of his friends and family, because they are guaranteed. In other words, the FDIC has freed bankers from the worry of losing their depositor' s life savings, allowing them to freely concentrate on profit motives (ie: creating wonderful inventions like subprime CDOs squared)
4) FDIC insurance distorts interest rates by allowing failing institutions to survive to long. For example, banks that get into serious trouble can raise interest rates on their CD deposits, instead of failing like they normally should. The investors flock to these high yielding CD knowing that they are fully insured by the FDIC, and this allows insolvent banks to stay afloat. Meanwhile, healthy banks have to pay higher interests rates on their deposits,
While it is true that FDIC insurance provides stability and peace of mind during the good times, it also creates systematic risks which are a root cause of today' s once in a generation financial collapse.When we learned earlier this month that Leighton Meester was born behind bars, we knew it was only a matter of time before the actress turned the whole story into a positive by using the skills she learned over the last year playing Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl. And lo and behold, it took less than a month to achieve. Us Weekly talked to her briefly at a charity event and did the background research, pulling together a glamorous cover package.
The story is partially online, but to get the whole thing we had to pick up an issue. Here’s the skinny: Leighton’s mom, Connie, was arrested for helping to smuggle 1,200-pound shipments of marijuana out of Jamaica in 1983. She was involved in the smuggling ring with her then-boyfriend Doug (Leighton’s dad), her father, and her sister Judy. After they were arrested, her sister (Leighton’s aunt) broke out of prison and became the first woman in the United States to get on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted List. Leighton herself was born in a hospital, but Connie had to serve sixteen months in prison afterward.
They were eventually all reunited in Marco Island, Florida, where Leighton spent her childhood before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. “She’s very gifted, she’s very talented, she’s very intelligent,” Connie now says of her daughter. “I love her dearly.” “Anything that her mother and I did that was questionable occurred before she was born,” Doug says (he and Connie are now divorced). Even Matthew Settle, who barely shares screen time with her on Gossip Girl, weighed in for Us: “She’s proof that the dream can be had by all.”
Look what she’s done: By giving a few precious quotes to Us Weekly at a party, she landed herself the cover of a popular newsstand magazine and a winning personal narrative. She overcame! America loves overcomers. Blair would be so proud — take that, Blake Lively. Who’s the most marketable star of the show now?
Leighton Meester Born in Prison but Mom Was “Always There For Me” [Us]
Earlier: Blair Waldorf Was Born Behind BarsThe heat wave of 2013 continues. This week it's coming to the East Coast, where temperatures are expected to soar into the mid-to-high 90s (degrees Farenheit). And there's no relief at night: Lows are expected to hover in the low 80s. The West will see temperatures in the 90s.
That's relatively bearable compared with the triple-digit sizzlers of late June, when temperatures hit 119 in Phoenix. And this week, the 108-degree temperature in Las Vegas will still be high enough to cause second-degree burns for anyone attempting a barefoot walk across a parking lot.
These brutally high temperatures have spread beyond the nation's well-known summer ovens, with the heat wave—technically defined as three days in a row with temperatures topping 90 degrees—hitting traditionally cooler parts of the country, like the Northwest, and baking the northeast well into Canada.
From Arizona to Montana, from the Great Lakes to Maine, people are hearing heat advisories and warnings.
They do well to heed those warnings, says Claude Piantadosi, director of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology in Durham, North Carolina. Human beings aren't built to spend long periods of time in temperatures that top the body's own approximate 98.6 degrees.
Cooling Mechanisms
Normally, people stay cool when the body sheds unused energy in the form of heat flowing from the body into the environment, first by conduction, or the transfer of heat energy to the skin's surface; then by convection, the transfer of heat energy to the air. The hotter it gets, the more difficult it becomes to shed that heat. At temperatures topping 100 degrees, the system reverses and heat flows from the environment into the body, says Piantadosi.
At that point, humans depend on a second cooling mechanism: perspiration. As the liquid sweat heats up, molecules become more active until they transform into water vapor and break free, removing heat from the body and reducing our internal core temperature. But high humidity defeats the system, because sweat won't evaporate when the air is already saturated with humidity. "The combination of heat and high humidity is really quite deadly," Piantadosi says. "It defeats our heat dissipation mechanism."
Dry desert heat can be more forgiving because low humidity allows for quick evaporation of sweat—but only if people drink enough water to make up for the loss of body fluids. "The only reason you can survive at 119 degrees is that high heat makes people sweat more," Piantadosi says. But people also lose salt when they sweat. And it's not always easy to tell how much your individual body needs to replace the loss. "My simple formula is to drink enough that you pee like you normally do," says Mark Morocco, a professor of emergency medicine at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. That means that you urinate as often as usual, and the color of urine is normal—a dark hue is a sign of dehydration.
"Eat some salty snacks to augment the water. Or put a dash of salt and a teaspoon of sugar in a liter of water," Morocco says. The salt replaces salt lost through sweat, and sugar helps transport salt through the intestinal walls.
Worst-Case Scenario
When people can't drink enough water, dehydration sets in. Blood flow to the skin decreases, along with the ability to sweat. Body heat builds up. A body temperature of 104 degrees indicates danger; 105 degrees is the definition of heat stroke; and a temperature of 107 degrees could result in irreversible organ damage or even death.
A normal, healthy person who is not used to the heat can, in heat wave conditions, sweat as much as 1.5 quarts of liquid in an hour. Someone acclimated to the hot weather, say a Phoenix telephone lineman, develops the ability to sweat (and thus cool off) at a more intense rate, losing up to two quarts of sweat in an hour. "So he'd have to drink two quarts of water an hour just to stay even," says Piantidosi.
High heat and lack of water are prime conditions for multiple organ damage. Internal temperature soars, heart rate goes up, blood flow slows down, and organs begin to shut down. "The body begins to parcel out where the water should go," says Morocco. "There's a contraction of blood flow to the gut, the liver, and the kidneys. People begin to feel really bad." The kidneys shut down, and the heart has to work harder to pump a lower volume of blood through the body. Other organs begin to shut down, then fail.
Under extreme heat conditions, it can all happen very quickly—in an hour or even less. The brain, too, is affected by reduced blood flow. That's why people in the throes of heat illness begin to make poor, often life-threatening, decisions.
Beware the Heat
Younger, healthy people can get in trouble mostly from a foolish disregard of conditions, like hiking into a shaded canyon in the morning, only to find the heat unbearable for the hike out.
Unfortunately, more and more people—largely people crossing the border from Mexico to the United States in the Arizona desert—are taking a huge risk because of desperation. "The most common individual to die a heat death in Arizona is young and healthy—not frail and elderly," says Sam Keim, head of the University of Arizona's department of emergency medicine, who has published research on heat deaths among border crossers. "They just happen to be undocumented border crossers. Heat waves are not new to Arizona. We consistently see temperatures over 100 for 30 days in a row in midsummer. People are dying because they're putting themselves at increased risk and exposure. Heat deaths in undocumented border crossers reach into the hundreds every year." (Related: "Documenting the Undocumented.")
Healthy people in big cities can also be at increased risk from heat illness. On June 30, when temperatures reached 97 degrees, six runners in the Pasadena half-marathon were hospitalized for heat-related illness.Last January, I was broke. I lived in a car, and that month I had to choose between paying my cell phone bill or buying food. Two years before that I was a freelance photographer in Chicago, but walked away from that life to travel around the country. My travels had given me a collection of stories and photos I was proud of, and more than 9,000 people were following me on Instagram. I loved what I was doing, but I didn’t make a dime doing it. I’d hit bottom at the worst time, mid-winter, far away from my comfortable network of jobs and connections back in the city. I decided to take a shot at Patreon, a crowdfunding site that encourages artists to “regain creative freedom” by raising money directly from fans. I knew friends had made Patreon accounts over the years, selling their art and music, funding their writing and podcasts, and figured if I could make $400 to $500 a month, I could continue doing photography full time.
Patreon is basically a payments processor designed like a social network. Every creator sets up a profile where they fill out a prompt about what they’re making: “Oliver Babish is creating cooking videos,” or “Hannah Alexander is creating Art and Costume Designs inspired by pop culture and Art Nouveau.” Patreon encourages creators to provide a description of themselves and their work and strongly suggests uploading a video — “This combo is incredibly motivating for fans — it shows how real this is to you and how much you value their participation in your journey,” the site says. Next, you set up “rewards” — these are the tiers that your patrons can choose from. You can set these up so that patrons get something for their money, like an update only for patrons or some patron-only content, or you can set them up to reflect what your patrons are paying for (for example, Naomi Wu, a DIY technologist in Shenzhen, says patrons who support her at the $1 tier are paying for a bag of screws, and those who donate at the $5 tier are paying for her lunch). Then you set goals, which are actions tied to monetary benchmarks, such as being able to quit your job in order to pursue your creative passion full time.
I wrote my bio and added a short story about a sunset, a mountain, and the bandits who hid out there a century ago. I set up tiers so my Patreon subscribers could get stories published to Patreon or stories accompanied by a photo every week in an automated text, depending on how much they donated. I’d used a similar format on Instagram, where hundreds of people liked my photos and story captions, so I was eager to see who all would drop $5 to support my work. After an hour, my page was set up. I added a picture of me with my dog. My dog is very cute, so I figured I should capitalize on that. I was thrilled when 24 of my friends and family signed up to be my “patrons” and I made $120 in the first month.
When Jack Conte, a former YouTube musician, and Sam Yam, a co-founder of the mobile ad platform AdWhirl, launched Patreon in 2013, Conte posted a video he had made for an original song called “Pedals.” The video cost him $10,000 and three months to make and got nearly 2 million views, he said, but he made just $963 through YouTube’s ad network. “This devaluing of art and creators is happening at a global scale,” Conte wrote in a blog post on Patreon. “It actually makes my heart sink when I think of the magnitude of the web’s systemic abuse of creative people.”
Today, successful Patreon creators include Chapo Trap House, a lefty podcast with 19,837 patrons at the time of writing paying $88,074 a month; the news commentator and YouTuber Philip DeFranco (13,823 patrons paying an amount that is undisclosed, but is enough to put him in the top 20 creators on the site); and the gaming YouTuber Nerd³ (4,494 patrons, $8,003 per month). It’s enabled many more indie creators, including members of communities at risk of poverty such as the trans community, to support themselves and each other. Ayla Arthur, an artist and trans woman in Chicago, has been funding the comic she writes on Patreon for two years now. Arthur works in a pop-up store part time, making $15 an hour, but she spends between 20-25 hours a week updating her comic and on Patreon she currently earns $200 a month. That was enough to let her buy a tablet for illustrating. “It's a way of keeping people most at risk of unemployment afloat while they do what they love,” she told me.
But despite the revolutionary rhetoric, the success stories, and the goodwill that Patreon has generated, the numbers tell a different story.
Patreon now has 79,420 creators, according to Tom Boruta, a developer who tracks Patreon statistics under the name Graphtreon. (He has his own Patreon — “Graphtreon is creating Patreon graphs, statistics, and history” — which earns more than $500 a month.) Patreon lets creators hide the amount of money they are actually making, although the number of patrons is still public. Boruta’s numbers are based on the roughly 80 percent of creators who publicly share what they earn. Of those creators, only 1,393 — 2 percent — make the equivalent of federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $1,160 a month, in October 2017. Worse, if we change it to $15 per hour, a minimum wage slowly being adopted by states, that’s only.8 percent of all creators. In this small network designed to save struggling creatives, the money has still concentrated at the top.
“Finally, ‘starving’ and ‘artist’ no longer need to be joined at the hip,” according to Patreon, in one of its many positive blog posts about its successful creators. But Patreon seems to know that most of its creators are actually making a pittance. In 2016, Patreon boasted that 7,960 users were now making over $100 a month, which struck me as such an insignificant monthly income to brag about. Around the same time, the company reportedly had 25,000 creators, meaning only 31 percent of Patreon’s users were making over a hundred bucks.
Traditionally, patronage depended on the benevolence of aristocrats, who would donate money to the artists whose works they enjoyed. Patronage has existed anywhere a rich, upper class controls most of the wealth and resources, from feudal Japan to Europe’s Renaissance. But while Patreon invokes figures like Shakespeare and Mozart as models for the company’s vision of patron-supported creators, those dudes weren’t raising cash from family and friends — and they weren’t having to work at Whole Foods to pay rent.
“We’re seeing new creators flock to Patreon faster than ever to create a sustainable salary for their art,” Maura Church, data science manager at Patreon, told Fast Company earlier this year. Yet none of the creators I spoke to for this story have managed to make a living exclusively on Patreon.
Patreon had all these great selling points and stats. I could get “meaningful revenue” from my fans, and finally find the “creative freedom” I’d heard so much about. Patreon’s about page said creator’s incomes “doubled annually.” Their blog has story after story after story of their users making thousands a month. Of course I was grateful for everyone who contributed to mine, but none of the site’s promises were coming true.
After launching my Patreon, I struggled for months to find work. Patreon filled my downtime, and became a full time job itself. I’d spend hours combing through photos, looking back on notes I’d taken on the road, researching where I’d been. I’d post on Twitter and Instagram with teasers, free stories, anything to attract my followers to my Patreon page. I made friends on the site, I shared their projects on my own social media, and kept up with all my subscribers’ projects. It was a lot of work for little pay, but I was determined. A year later my monthly earnings on Patreon have grown from $120 to $163.
It’s easy to feel like the failure of my Patreon is entirely on me. It’s an anxiety most artists feel acutely: Am I actually any good? This paranoia is bolstered by the presence of wildly successful creators on the site, and there is a nascent market for Patreon advice in the way that Kickstarter birthed an industry of professional crowdfunding consultants. In a post on the official Patreon blog, 30 creators shared their secrets to success. Mike McHargue, who makes $3,402 a month to make the Ask Science Mike podcast, offered this: “Stop waiting to make the perfect thing — what you can release this week will always beat what you dream of releasing next year.” Tabletop Audio, a composer and sound designer who earns $1,107 a month making ambient music to accompany tabletop games, said folks should “try to convey the pure sense of joy you get from creating. Let people know there’s always room on your team. Encourage interaction, suggestions, and feedback.” YouTuber Amanda Lee, who makes over $4,000 a month, said, “Channel your creativity into something you’re passionate about — don’t just create something to please others or to gain views.” Patreon started an invite-only annual convention last year named PatreCon. In 2016 it was held it the Patreon office in San Francisco, where 40 Patreon creators attended talks by other creators, including a keynote by Jack Conte in which he passionately advocated for “the importance of making great stuff.”
Derrick Tarrance, an illustrator and games developer in Chicago, joined Patreon in October 2016, giving patrons access to weekly illustrations, behind the scenes footage, and letting them vote on what he’d illustrate next. Patreon enforced a bad habit of “comparing your works to others and asking a million questions about how they got where they are,” he said. “Things like ‘how do they have so much time?’ or ‘how do I get exposure without DYING from working too much?’ would come to mind.” Between raising a family and having a full time job, Tarrance was discouraged by how he rushed through making art to meet the weekly deadlines of his Patreon. “It often had me stressed, instead of inspired, because I continued to feel like this isn't enough.” When he ended his Patreon in May 2017, it had nine supporters, and he made just $59 a month.
Even if creators are struggling to make money, investors see Patreon as a goldmine. In September, Patreon announced a $60 million dollar investment from venture capital firms, |
from ecosystems around the world. Like the fabled canaries that miners once thrust into coal mines to check for poisonous gases, birds provide the starkest clues in the animal kingdom about whether humans, too, may be harmed by toxic substances. And they prophesy what might happen to us as the load of carbon-based, planet-warming gases in the atmosphere and oceans climbs ever higher.
And yet I would not call this a fundamentally gloomy report, in part because it works so hard to understand and demonstrate the human fascination with birds — which we have long observed more closely than any species except our own — on every level, from the instinctive to the aesthetic, from the scientific to the spiritual.
Some favorite excerpts from the series so far:
Disappearing puffins
From Part 3, which focuses on the problems of puffins, Arctic terns and other birds in the far North Atlantic:
On the Westman Islands off Iceland’s south coast – home to the world’s largest Atlantic puffin colony – breeding has been a “total failure” since 2005, according to the South Iceland Nature Center. The impacts are being felt throughout the country, where these clown-faced birds have been both a legally-hunted delicacy and a national mascot. “Puffin watch” – news on how things are going in the burrows each summer – is as popular here as “volcano watch.” Rising ocean temperatures are squeezing out the birds’ main prey, pencil-shaped fish called sandeel. For hundreds of years, sandeel were abundant in these waters, providing the intense nutrition chicks need for quick growth in the short northern summer. Warmer waters seem to disrupt the sandeels’ growth by speeding up their metabolism, Hansen says. Plus, more southerly fish, like voracious mackerels, are moving in. Puffin parents must forage farther and come back with less – or less-nourishing – fish for their young. These days, chicks starve, nests are abandoned, and increasingly, birds don’t even bother to breed.
Translating of birdsong
From Part 4, on chemical-induced changes in birdsong, which is pretty to us but a survival need to them:
Cristol and Hallinger aren’t the only ones who have shown that contaminants are changing the songs that have inspired poets and musicians like Shakespeare and Handel. Around a smelter in northern Europe with a lot of heavy metal pollution, a study of birds found that they knew fewer songs and sang less at sunrise than birds at two less-polluted sites. One small study of Nelson’s sparrows at sites with high and low mercury in Maine found that their songs were measurably different, although they weren’t the same differences that Cristol’s group found. Last year another study showed that chickadees along the Hudson River exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls sing strange songs.
And from Part 7, on how “loss of night” is affecting birds in a growing portion of the urbanized world by suppressing sex hormones, among other impacts:
Around the world, scientists seeking to answer that question have gathered mounting evidence that city lights are altering the basic physiology of urban birds, suppressing their estrogen and testosterone and changing their singing, mating and feeding behaviors. One lab experiment showed that male blackbirds did not develop reproductive organs during the second year of exposure to continuous light at night. People can suffer an array of health problems when they work night shifts that alter their circadian, or daily, cycles governed by a biological clock. In the wild, light pollution causes hatchling sea turtles to lose their way from beach to the ocean, and disorients Monarch butterflies searching for migration routes. In field experiments, Atlantic salmon swim at odd times, and frogs stop mating under skies glowing from stadium lights at football games. Millions of birds die from collisions with brightly lit communication towers, and migratory flocks are confused by signals gone awry.
Today’s installment was Part 11 in the series, with five more to come in September. Tell your friends.Saudi Arabia has lifted its controversial ban on women driving in the kingdom, state media announced on Tuesday evening.
From June 2018, Saudi women should be able to obtain driving licenses and take to the kingdom's roads, Saudi Press Agency said on Twitter.
While many have rejoiced at the news, others have opened up many other issues that still plague the kingdom.
Some have said the news makes it an opportune time to address inherent racism in the campaign behind the movement to advance women's rights in Saudi Arabia.
The reform does not mean women in Saudi Arabia are now emancipated from the clutches of patriarchy.
Here are five things that Saudi women still cannot do in the kingdom:
1. Wear whatever they want
Women in Saudi Arabia must wear long, loose robes known as abayas in public. Many also cover their hair and face with a black veil, although exceptions are made for visiting dignitaries.
In July, a model briefly arrested by Saudi authorities after a video went viral showing her walking through Saudi Arabia wearing a miniskirt in a public place.
2. Interact with men
What is often referred to as "free mixing" between the sexes is not allowed in Saudi Arabia. The restrictions, however, fall most heavily on women.
Women have separate entrances for public buildings - including universities, offices and banks - making matters more tedious and endorsing the hyper-sexualisation of their presence.
3. Travel without permission of a male guardian
In May, Saudi King Salman al-Saudi was at the centre of praise when guardianship laws were relaxed.
But restrictions remain in place that severely restrict Saudi women's rights to leave their home county. This is especially problematic in matters of domestic abuse, where the Saudi embassy have collaborated with foreign governments to force runaway women back into the kingdom.
4. Walk freely without being harassed by morality police
Street harassment is a universal problem for women, but for women in Saudi Arabia it reaches to new levels.
So-called morality police - otherwise referred to as religious police - in Saudi Arabia are quick to probe women on what they are wearing and how they act in public.
The restrictions are designed to enforce "modest" behaviour in the public sphere.
In 2014, the morality police, questioned women on a beauty pageant being organised. Saudi authorities banned the event. Yet since then, some reforms have been implemented to curb their powers.
5. Treat a male patient
Women doctors are not allowed to treat male patients. Despite this, male doctors are allowed to treat female patients depending on the consensus of the woman's guardian.
Needing guardian permission before saving lives has actually cost lives. In 2002, 15 schoolgirls died in a fire at their dormitory after religious police prevented male fire-fighters from rescuing them from the building.Like many Americans my age, I grew up with a positive association to fluoride. Toothpaste commercials told me that fluoride helped prevent tooth decay and that I should brush my teeth with fluoride toothpaste, so I used it every day. The dentist gave me fluoride treatments for my teeth. Fluoride was also added to municipal water supplies, so drinking tap water (and anything made with it) gave me a daily dose of fluoride too. Like most other people, I assumed it must be healthy. Otherwise, why would people add it to toothpaste and water?
Many years ago though, I started hearing rumors about fluoride being potentially unhealthy. I realized I’d never looked into fluoride and didn’t really even know what it was and why I should be consuming it. I had to admit that all my knowledge of fluoride ultimately came from the people who were marketing it. People market plenty of other products that aren’t healthy (cigarettes, junk food, etc.), so why should I assume fluoride was healthy just because the marketers said it was?
So way back in 1997, I got curious and started taking a deeper look into fluoride. Today this is very easy to do because there’s plenty of info available online. I’ll share some of that info with you and provide some links so you can look into it further if you so choose. My goal is to help you consciously decide whether you wish to continue using fluoride.
What is fluoride?
The substance fluoride is technically a fluorine ion. Fluorine is a gas, and in nature it will be found bonded with other substances, forming compounds such as calcium fluoride.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring substance found abundantly in the earth’s crust. Consequently, it is found in natural water supplies, usually in very low levels (well below 1 part per million). Plants naturally absorb fluoride from the soil, so small amounts of fluoride compounds are present in all our food. Fluoride is also commonly used in pesticides, so plant foods grown with pesticides will have a higher concentration of fluoride.
The highest dietary concentration of fluoride occurs in animal foods and in processed foods, especially fish. Fluoride builds up in the tissues of animals. And whenever fluoridated water is used in food production, fluoride will be concentrated in the final product. The same goes for cooking with fluoridated water.
Although it is a natural substance, fluoride is highly toxic to human beings, even more so than lead. If you were to ingest a mere 2-5 grams of sodium fluoride (a common ingredient in toothpaste), you would probably die. The amount of fluoride in a typical tube of fluoride toothpaste is sufficient to kill a small child if it were consumed all at once. Fluoride toothpaste contains a much higher concentration of fluoride than what is found in nature.
In the USA the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates fluoride usage.
Is fluoride necessary for health?
Not remotely. Unlike calcium or magnesium, fluoride is not an essential nutrient for your body. If you were to consume zero fluoride your entire life, you wouldn’t suffer for it. There’s no such thing as fluoride deficiency.
What is fluoride’s purported role in tooth decay?
Fluoride acts as an enzyme inhibitor. For this reason it is believed to help prevent cavities by literally poisoning the bacteria in your mouth. Unfortunately, because fluoride is so toxic, you’re taking a big risk by using it to try to prevent cavities. You not only poison the bacteria in your mouth but your other cells as well.
“Fluoride inhibits enzymes that breed acid-producing oral bacteria whose acid eats away tooth enamel. This observation is valid, but some scientists now believe that the harmful impact of fluoride on other useful enzymes far outweighs the beneficial effect on caries prevention.”
– UNICEF, Dec 1999
Fluoride only works topically. If you swallow fluoride, it won’t help your teeth at all except to the extent it touches them. So fluoride supplements are utterly worthless.
What are the risks of fluoride consumption?
Aside from the risk of death, fluoride can cause serious problems even at low levels of ingestion that come from using toothpaste or mouthwash or drinking fluoridated water.
One risk is a condition known as fluorosis, caused by excessive exposure to fluoride. This comes in two kinds: dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. Dental fluorosis occurs at a young age, and the main symptom is discolored and/or pitted teeth, but the outward signs on the teeth are believed to be linked with a deeper neurological impairment.
Skeletal fluorosis is an arthritic disease caused by a build-up of fluoride in the bones that can cause the bones to become brittle. Studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that hip fractures are more common in communities that fluoridate their water supply.
Drinking fluoridated water is linked with reduced cognitive ability in children. There are also over 30 animal studies showing that fluoride is a neurotoxin which reduces learning and memory. Essentially, fluoride makes you a bit less intelligent.
If you wish to look into this further, you can find a lengthy list of health problems associated with fluoride and links to some of the research here:
Fluoride Health Effects Database
There are many more health problems than the few I’ve listed above, including kidney damage and cancer. Fluoride problems are an active area of research. A lot of new information has come out in just the past decade.
Why did people start adding fluoride to toothpaste and water?
You don’t want to know. Really you don’t.
But if you do, you can start by reading these articles:
Industry and Fluoridation
Fluoride, Teeth, and the Atomic Bomb
And if you really want to hurt yourself, you can read all about the fluoride fraud here:
Suppression of Scientific Dissent on Fluoride’s Risks and Benefits
If you don’t want to read the above, the bottom line is that fluoride is an industrial pollutant which became a serious problem several decades ago, and this problem was essentially solved by devising ways to feed the stuff to humans. Today it’s become a difficult issue that involves big business, large sums of money, the ADA, the FDA, and somewhere near the bottom of the political food chain… health.
What about water fluoridation?
Water fluoridation is common practice in the USA. About 60% of the U.S. water supply is now fluoridated. My city of Las Vegas started fluoridating its water supply a few years ago (in what was apparently something of a political fiasco).
The last time I checked, water fluoridation was banned in Japan, China, India, and most European countries. What’s interesting though is that in Europe the levels of tooth decay are no worse than in the USA. In both the U.S. and Europe, the levels of tooth decay have been falling at about the same rate for decades. Fortunately for non-U.S. residents, the politics of fluoride which have infected the U.S. have not similarly infected the rest of world.
The theoretical reason for water fluoridation is that it supposedly helps prevent tooth decay. The problem, however, is that the theory just doesn’t hold true. There’s no evidence that water fluoridation helps prevent tooth decay at all. The evidence in fact shows that fluoridation has no effect whatsoever on tooth decay, but fluoridation does cause other health problems such as fluorosis.
“All of the recent large-scale studies on fluoridation and tooth decay show that fluoridation does not reduce tooth decay. Studies from New Zealand, Canada, Europe, and the US have confirmed no difference in decay rates for permanent teeth of residents of fluoridated vs. non-fluoridated communities.” (source)
“In summary, we hold that fluoridation is an unreasonable risk. That is, the toxicity of fluoride is so great and the purported benefits associated with it are so small – if there are any at all – that requiring every man, woman and child in America to ingest it borders on criminal behavior on the part of governments.”
– Dr. J. William Hirzy, Senior Vice-President, Headquarters Union, US Environmental Protection Agency, March 26, 2001
“I am quite convinced that water fluoridation, in a not-too-distant future, will be consigned to medical history.”
– Dr. Arvid Carlsson, Winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine
So what are the health reasons for water fluoridation? There aren’t any. The real reason for fluoridation is a combination of business and politics. The health claims are largely used to draw attention away from the real reason. In the USA it isn’t so hard to get fluoridation policies passed in new cities simply by leveraging the previous marketing work that has been done in favor of fluoride. Communities will vote in favor of fluoridation because most of the people doing the voting don’t know any better. People will emotionally defend something as true which deep down they never understood.
What about bottled water?
It depends on the source. Most water from natural springs will have on the order of 0.1 ppm fluoride, which is about 10% of the level found in fluoridated municipal water supplies. So with bottled water your exposure to this toxin is greatly reduced.
Be aware that some bottled water delivery companies do fluoridate their water. I called two of them to ask: Sparkletts and Arrowhead. Sparkletts told me they do fluoridate their water. Of course I let them know that I would never be a customer of theirs as long as they do so. Arrowhead told me they do NOT deliver fluoridated water unless the customer specifically requests it. Consequently, I have been an Arrowhead customer for many years. If I find out that they’ve started fluoridating their water, they will lose my family as a customer.
If you want to know whether or not your water contains fluoride, call the company and ask them how much fluoride is in their water and whether or not they add fluoride to it. They will be able to tell you how many parts per million of fluoride their water contains.
One fluoride-related web site suggested specifically avoiding Trinity Springs water because it contains a very high concentration of fluoride, on the order of 4 ppm. That’s about 4x the level you’ll get from fluoridated tap water.
You can also use a water filter to reduce fluoride from tap water. In this case you will need a reverse-osmosis filter, which will remove 90%+ of the fluoride. Distillation will also remove fluoride from water.
Is there such a thing as non-fluoride toothpaste?
Yes, absolutely.
Fluoride is not the ingredient in toothpaste that cleans your teeth. It is the abrasive calcium carbonate that does most of the cleaning. Fluoride’s only role is to poison the bacteria (and of course the rest of you gets poisoned in the process). Additionally, commercial toothpastes often contain sweeteners that can actually promote tooth decay.
I can recommend a couple brands of fluoride-free toothpaste which I’ve been using for years: Nature’s Gate and Tom’s of Maine. You should be able to find these at any health food store. I buy them at Whole Foods and Wild Oats.
My personal favorite is Nature’s Gate Herbal Creme de Peppermint. My wife prefers Tom’s of Maine. Tom’s of Maine also has children’s fluoride-free toothpaste available, which our 5-year old daughter uses. Both of these companies are cruelty-free as well, meaning they don’t test any of their products on animals.
These toothpastes are made from all-natural ingredients, and they don’t contain extra sweeteners. One thing I like about Tom’s of Maine is that they list all the ingredients on the box along with a description of what each thing is and why it’s there.
Because of the lack of sugar, it may take you a few days to get used to these toothpastes. But after that you’ll never look back.
What about dentists?
I challenge you to ask your own dentist for detailed information on fluoride. Test his/her knowledge of this subject, and see if the answers you get make you more confident or more doubtful.
Ask your dentist to tell you exactly what fluoride is and what the lethal dosage is. Ask your dentist where the fluoride in their toothpaste and fluoride treatments originally comes from (trust me — you really don’t want to know). Ask your dentist how s/he came to believe that fluoride helps prevent tooth decay. Ask your dentist to tell you about the dangers of fluoride exposure. Ask your dentist to tell you where you can obtain the proof that fluoride usage is safe and effective.
Wouldn’t you expect your dentist to know this information?
Personally I have never met a dentist who knew even the most basic facts about fluoride. Dentists apparently learn about fluoride from the same people that market it to consumers. Most likely your dentist doesn’t know much more about fluoride than you do aside from the information that’s been provided to them by marketers. In fact, simply by reading this article, you probably know a lot more about fluoride than your dentist does, unless your dentist happens to be exceptional.
What should you do?
I think you should look into this for yourself and make your own conscious decision.
Look beyond the fluoride marketing hype and decide if fluoride is something you want to put into your body on a regular basis. Common sense suggests that you shouldn’t ingest such a toxic substance unless you fully understand what you’re doing. Remember that you have no dietary need for fluoride, so if you have any doubt, leave it out. In my opinion that’s the safest bet.
Fluoride is not addictive, so I think you’ll find it easy to do without. You may even notice some health benefits in doing so. Who knows? Maybe your IQ will even go up a few points — that effect is certainly conceivable given that fluoride is a neurotoxin and has been linked to reduced IQ in children.
At the very least, doctors recommend not using fluoridated water to make infant formula. Don’t give young children any fluoridated water if you can avoid it. Fluoride’s toxicity is relative to body mass. So the smaller the person, the more toxic a particular dose will be. Consider nature’s example — the level of fluoride found in human breast milk is about 100 times lower than in fluoridated water (i.e. 0.01 ppm vs. 1.0 ppm).
My viewpoint is that if you want to convince me to ingest a toxic substance on a regular basis, the burden of proof is all yours. By default I’m not going to take poison, so if you can’t provide rock-solid evidence that your substance is worth consuming, you won’t convince me. And fluoride is a substance where the mountain of evidence has convinced me I’m better off without it.
You don’t need to poison yourself just to try to prevent cavities. I hope you can begin to see the insanity in that approach. If you have excessive bacteria eating away your tooth enamel, realize that it’s a sign of a greater imbalance in your body. Don’t try to correct the imbalance by poisoning the symptoms (i.e. the bacterial growth). Address the root cause. By reducing the acidity of your diet, you can safely prevent your teeth from dissolving. Especially cut out refined sugar and coffee if you can, and eat more raw fruits and vegetables.
If you aren’t going to change your diet, at least acknowledge that tooth decay is not the worst health problem in the world. Even if you do get cavities, it’s a fixable problem, and in my opinion, it’s not worth taking poison to try to prevent one problem and cause yourself far greater grief in the long run. You might miss your teeth, but I think you’ll miss your brain, bones, and kidneys even more.
I want to look into this further. Hook me up.
First, you can start with a simple Google search on fluoride or on such terms as “fluoride toxic poison” (without the quotes), and you’ll find plenty of sites to look through.
Here are a couple of my favorite fluoride sites with loads of articles, information, and research references:
The Fluoride Debate
Fluoride Action Network
At the very least, I recommend you read the home page of The Fluoride Debate site to give yourself a nice overview. But you will certainly learn a lot by diving deeply into both of these sites.
There are also some books on the subject (you can find both at Amazon):
The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson and Theo Colborn
Fluoride: Drinking Ourselves to Death by Barry Groves
I just can’t believe any of this. It’s too unbelievable.
I’m sorry to be the one to shatter your blissful fluoride fantasy. Really, I am. I know you’ll probably curse me the next time you pick up your toothpaste and see a tube of IQ-lowering poison instead of sugary cavity-fighting bliss.
I’m just the messenger though. I didn’t invent any of this information. And my goal isn’t to convince you not to use fluoride. My goal is far more insidious — it is to encourage you to think for yourself and make decisions more consciously, whether you agree with me or not.Incompetent AND Criminal: Obama’s Wiretapping of President Trump Icing on the Cake of Worst President Ever
Guest post by Joe Hoft
With President Obama’s actions disclosed over the weekend by President Donald Trump, there is no longer any argument that Obama was the Worst President Ever.
President Donald Trump shared in a series of tweets yesterday that President Barack Obama had him wire tapped during the election.
President Trump tweeted:
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
He next tweeted:
Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Next the President tweeted:
I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!
I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
The final for four tweets concerning the wire tapping:
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Not surprising after the shock of what was presented by the current President to the public, the left wing media, their Democrat allies and the few #NeverTrump Republicans who align in their opposition to President Trump went all in for former President Obama. Their responses no longer surprise America. Americans would be shocked if they criticized former President Obama. As a result of the recent Presidential campaign, Americans are used to seeing the corrupt media and Democrats (including #NeverTrumpers) react as they do. Their extreme bias is why President Trump is trusted more than the media.
The truth will come out and former President Obama will go down in history as the Worst President Ever. This is the nail in the Obama coffin. What a mess and what a mistake he was.
Former President Obama lied to the American people more times than anyone could possibly count. He lied about Obamacare resulting in lower premiums. He lied and said the US did not pay a $400 million ransom in cash to Iran for hostages. He lied and said illegal aliens wouldn’t receive Obamacare subsidies. He lied about Benghazi. He lied repeatedly about global warming. He lied about Obamacare allowing you to keep your doctor. He lied about the IRS targeting conservatives. He lied and blamed Bush for his historical debt and deficits. He lied and told Jewish donors that his Administration had done more to support Israel security than any administration in 25 years. He even lied at the National Prayer Breakfast about his father’s Muslim faith.
Now America is supposed to believe that the narcissist President Obama was looking out for America when he tapped President Trump at Trump Tower during the election? This former President who chose not to investigate his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, for known abuses with foreign entities in her Clinton Foundation, felt the need to wire tap her competitor during the election for no known reason?
Based on his deceiving track record, it is clear that President Obama wanted to gain information against future President Trump that he could use against him. This is Obamagate. Hopefully, the final chapter in Obama’s failed Presidency.
Unlike the media that is still cheerleading for serial liar Obama, most Americans stand by the side of their current President Trump, and rightly so.
See the Following for More Reasons Why Obama is the ‘Worst. President. Ever’:
Worst. President. Ever: Obama Fi rst President Ever Not to Reach 3% GDP Growth
Worst. President. Ever: Obama’s the Most Racist President in 50 Years – Since Democrat LBJ
Worst. President. Ever: Obama’s Failed Stimulus
Worst. President. Ever: Barack Hussein Obama’s Disdain for Christians and Jews
Worst. President. Ever: Obama’s Involvement in Hillary’s Criminal Email Activities
Worst. President. Ever: Obama’s Open Borders and Anti-US Immigration Actions
Worst. President. Ever: Obama’s Contempt of US Military Might
Worst. President. Ever. Will Obama Ever Be Charged in Court for His Many Lies to American People?
WORST. PRESIDENT. EVER: Obama’s Many Lies about the Benghazi Terror Attack
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s Historically Low Home Ownership Rates
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama Created ISIS – And Now the Killer Group Is Active in 17 Countries
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s Libyan Catastrophe Unleashed Hell on Middle East and Europe
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s $20 Trillion Debt an Unprecedented Disaster
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s Actions and Inaction Created the Current Nightmare in Syria
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s Signature Bill – Obamacare – Is a Complete Disaster
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama Gave Billions to the World’s Leading Terrorist State Iran
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s Food Stamp Nation
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama Ignited Riots in Ferguson Over ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Lie
WORST PRESIDENT EVER: Obama Released Taliban 5 for Deserter Bergdahl- Current Whereabouts Unknown
WORST JOBS PRESIDENT EVER: Obama’s 94 Million Jobless Americans
Worst President Ever…GDP Growth Shrinks by 0.7% in First Quarter
Alan Dershowitz GOES OFF on Obama: Worst Foreign Policy President Ever
Worst President Ever… Obama’s Legacy – Destruction of US Middle Class
TRUMP HITS OBAMA: His Ignorance Is Why He’s “Worst President in US History”
Voters Rate Obama Worst President in 70 Years
Donald Trump Slams “Make-Believe” Obama “Most Certainly the Worst President in US History” at FL Tea Party Rally
Dick Cheney Slams Obama: Carter no Longer Worst President of Our Lifetime (Video)
MUST SEE VIDEO>>> Chicago Inner City Blacks GO OFF on Obama Over Illegal Immigration “Worst President Ever”
It’s Official – Obama Is Worst President in History on Job Creation; Worse Than Hoover on Job Losses
Rep. Michele Bachmann: Obama Is Worst President Ever… “No Question” (Video)Interim Ban Placed On Importation And Interstate Transport Of 201 Salamander Species
January 14, 2016
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has instituted an interim ban on the importation of 201 salamanders for the pet trade. The restriction is in response to the fungal disease Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), which is affecting salamanders in other parts of the world. This disease, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, has devastated wild fire salamander populations in the Netherlands and Belgium, and the USFWS is trying to prevent the spread of the disease into the wild populations of salamanders in the United States. One-third of the 655 known species of salamander are found in North America.
gary powell/Shutterstock Eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens).
Bsal has spread to Germany and three species of European salamanders imported into the United Kingdom were discovered to be infected with the fungus. The fungus has not yet been detected in any salamander species in they Untied States. The interim rule takes effect January 28, 2016. Those who currently own any of the salamanders on the list will be allowed to keep them, as the rule only restricts the interstate transportation of these species. A 60-day comment period has commenced and anyone can submit public comments by going to www.regulations.gov and entering the docket number FWS-HQ-FAC-2015-0005.
The following species are restricted. You cannot import them into the United States or transport them across state lines.
(1) Chioglossa lusitanica (golden striped salamander).
(2) Cynops chenggongensis (Chenggong fire-bellied newt).
(3) Cynops cyanurus (blue-tailed firebellied newt).
(4) Cynops ensicauda (sword-tailed newt).
(5) Cynops fudingensis (Fuding firebellied newt).
(6) Cynops glaucus (bluish grey newt, Huilan Rongyuan).
(7) Cynops orientalis (Oriental fire belly newt, Oriental fire-bellied newt).
(8) Cynops orphicus (no common name).
(9) Cynops pyrrhogaster (Japanese newt, Japanese fire-bellied newt).
(10) Cynops wolterstorffi (Kunming Lake newt).
(11) Euproctus montanus (Corsican brook salamander).
(12) Euproctus platycephalus (Sardinian brook salamander).
(13) Hydromantes ambrosii (Ambrosi salamander).
(14) Hydromantes brunus (limestone salamander).
(15) Hydromantes flavus (Mount Albo cave salamander).
(16) Hydromantes genei (Sardinian cave salamander).
(17) Hydromantes imperialis (imperial cave salamander).
(18) Hydromantes italicus (Italian cave salamander).
(19) Hydromantes platycephalus (Mount Lyell salamander).
(20) Hydromantes sarrabusensis (no common name).
(21) Hydromantes shastae (Shasta salamander).
(22) Hydromantes strinatii or Speleomantes strinatii (French cave salamander, Strinati’s cave salamander).
(23) Hydromantes supramontis (Supramonte cave salamander).
(24) Hynobius abei (Abe’s salamander).
(25) Hynobius amakusaensis (Amakusa-sanshouo).
(26) Hynobius amjiensis (Anji salamander).
(27) Hynobius arisanensis (Arisan hynobid).
(28) Hynobius boulengeri (Odaigahara salamander).
(29) Hynobius chinensis (Chinese salamander).
(30) Hynobius dunni (Oita salamander).
(31) Hynobius formosanus (Taiwan salamander).
(32) Hynobius fucus or Hynobius fuca (Taiwan lesser salamander).
(33) Hynobius glacialis (Nanhu salamander).
(34) Hynobius guabangshanensis (no
common name).
(35) Hynobius hidamontanus (Hakuba
salamander).
(36) Hynobius hirosei (no common
name).
(37) Hynobius katoi (Akaishi sanshouo).
(38) Hynobius kimurae (Hida
salamander).
(39) Hynobius leechii (northeastern
China hynobiid salamander).
(40) Hynobius lichenatus (northeast
salamander).
(41) Hynobius maoershanensis (no
common name).
(42) Hynobius naevius (blotched
salamander).
(43) Hynobius nebulosus (misty
salamander).
(44) Hynobius nigrescens (black
salamander).
(45) Hynobius okiensis (Oki
salamander).
(46) Hynobius osumiensis (Osumisanshouo).
(47) Hynobius quelpaertensis (no
common name).
(48) Hynobius retardatus (Hokkaido
salamander).
(49) Hynobius shinichisatoi (Sobosanshouo).
(50) Hynobius sonani (Sonan’s
hynobiid).
(51) Hynobius stejnegeri (Bekko
Sansho-uo).
(52) Hynobius takedai (Hokuriku
Sansho-uo).
(53) Hynobius tokyoensis (Tokyo
salamander).
(54) Hynobius tsuensis (Tsushima
Sansho-uo).
(55) Hynobius turkestanicus
(Turkestanian salamander).
(56) Hynobius yangi (no common
name).
(57) Hynobius yatsui (no common
name).
(58) Hynobius yiwuensis (Yiwu
hynobiid).
(59) Ichthyosaura alpestris (alpine
newt).
(60) Lissotriton boscai (Bosca’s newt).
(61) Lissotriton helveticus (palmate
newt).
(62) Lissotriton italicus (Italian newt).
(63) Lissotriton kosswigi (Triton
pontue de Kosswig).
(64) Lissotriton lantzi (no common
name).
(65) Lissotriton montandoni
(Carpathian newt).
(66) Lissotriton vulgaris (smooth
newt).
(67) Neurergus crocatus (no common
name).
(68) Neurergus derjugini or Neurergus
microspilotus (Kurdistan newt).
(69) Neurergus kaiseri (Lorestan newt,
Luristan newt, emperor spotted newt,
Zagros newt, Iranian harlequin newt,
kaiser newt).
(70) Neurergus strauchii (no common
name).
(71) Notophthalmus meridionalis
(black-spotted newt).
(72) Notophthalmus perstriatus
(striped newt).
(73) Notophthalmus viridescens
(eastern newt).
(74) Onychodactylus fischeri (longtailed
clawed salamander).
(75) Onychodactylus f |
help a car see through fog or rain, detect hazardous and hard-to-see road conditions such as black ice, or tell us if there is some object up ahead and its distance and size. Cognitive computing technologies will reason about this data and recognize what might be a tipped over garbage can versus a deer crossing the road, or a pot hole that could result in a flat tire.
Embedded in our phones, these same technologies could take images of our food to show its nutritional value or whether it’s safe to eat. A hyperimage of a pharmaceutical drug or a bank check could tell us what’s fraudulent and what’s not. What was once beyond human perception will come into view.
IBM scientists are today building a compact hyperimaging platform that “sees” across separate portions of the electromagnetic spectrum in one platform to potentially enable a host of practical and affordable devices and applications.
Macroscopes will help us understand Earth’s complexity in infinite detail
Today, the physical world only gives us a glimpse into our interconnected and complex ecosystem. We collect exabytes of data — but most of it is unorganized. In fact, an estimated 80 percent of a data scientist’s time is spent scrubbing data instead of analyzing and understanding what that data is trying to tell us.
Thanks to the Internet of Things, new sources of data are pouring in from millions of connected objects — from refrigerators, light bulbs and your heart rate monitor to remote sensors such as drones, cameras, weather stations, satellites and telescope arrays. There are already more than six billion connected devices generating tens of exabytes of data per month, with a growth rate of more than 30 percent per year. After successfully digitizing information, business transactions and social interactions, we are now in the process of digitizing the physical world.
In five years, we will use machine-learning algorithms and software to help us organize the information about the physical world to help bring the vast and complex data gathered by billions of devices within the range of our vision and understanding. We call this a “macroscope” — but unlike the microscope to see the very small, or the telescope that can see far away, it is a system of software and algorithms to bring all of Earth’s complex data together to analyze it for meaning.
By aggregating, organizing and analyzing data on climate, soil conditions, water levels and their relationship to irrigation practices, for example, a new generation of farmers will have insights that help them determine the right crop choices, where to plant them and how to produce optimal yields while conserving precious water supplies.
In 2012, IBM Research began investigating this concept at Gallo Winery, integrating irrigation, soil and weather data with satellite images and other sensor data to predict the specific irrigation needed to produce an optimal grape yield and quality. In the future, macroscope technologies will help us scale this concept to anywhere in the world. Beyond our own planet, macroscope technologies could handle, for example, the complicated indexing and correlation of various layers and volumes of data collected by telescopes to predict asteroid collisions with one another and learn more about their composition.
Medical labs ‘on a chip’ will serve as health detectives for tracing disease at the nanoscale
Early detection of disease is crucial. In most cases, the earlier the disease is diagnosed, the more likely it is to be cured or well controlled. However, diseases like cancer or Parkinson’s can be hard to detect — hiding in our bodies before symptoms appear. Information about the state of our health can be extracted from tiny bioparticles in bodily fluids such as saliva, tears, blood, urine and sweat. Existing scientific techniques face challenges for capturing and analyzing these bioparticles, which are thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a strand of human hair.
In the next five years, new medical labs on a chip will serve as nanotechnology health detectives — tracing invisible clues in our bodily fluids and letting us know immediately if we have reason to see a doctor. The goal is to shrink down to a single silicon chip all of the processes necessary to analyze a disease that would normally be carried out in a full-scale biochemistry lab.
The lab-on-a-chip technology could ultimately be packaged in a convenient handheld device to allow people to quickly and regularly measure the presence of biomarkers found in small amounts of bodily fluids, sending this information streaming into the cloud from the convenience of their home. There it could be combined with data from other IoT-enabled devices, like sleep monitors and smart watches, and analyzed by AI systems for insights. When taken together, this data set will give us an in depth view of our health and alert us to the first signs of trouble, helping to stop disease before it progresses.
At IBM Research, scientists are developing lab-on-a-chip nanotechnology that can separate and isolate bioparticles down to 20 nanometers in diameter, a scale that gives access to DNA, viruses, and exosomes. These particles could be analyzed to potentially reveal presence of disease even before we have symptoms.
Smart sensors will detect environmental pollution at the speed of light
Image Credit: IBM
Most pollutants are invisible to the human eye, until their effects make them impossible to ignore. Methane, for example, is the primary component of natural gas, commonly considered a clean energy source. But if methane leaks into the air before being used, it can warm the Earth’s atmosphere. Methane is estimated to be the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide (CO2).In the United States, emissions from oil and gas systems are the largest industrial source of methane gas in the atmosphere. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than nine million metric tons of methane leaked from natural gas systems in 2014.
Measured as CO2-equivalent over 100 years, that’s more greenhouse gases than were emitted by all U.S. iron and steel, cement and aluminum manufacturing facilities combined. In five years, new, affordable sensing technologies deployed near natural gas extraction wells, around storage facilities, and along distribution pipelines will enable the industry to pinpoint invisible leaks in real time. Networks of IoT sensors wirelessly connected to the cloud will provide continuous monitoring of the vast natural gas infrastructure, allowing leaks to be found in a matter of minutes instead of weeks, reducing pollution and waste and the likelihood of catastrophic events. Scientists at IBM are tackling this vision, working with natural gas producers such as Southwestern Energy to explore the development of an intelligent methane monitoring system and as part of the ARPA-E Methane Observation Networks with Innovative Technology to Obtain Reductions (MONITOR) program.
At the heart of IBM’s research is silicon photonics, an evolving technology that transfers data by light, allowing computing literally at the speed of light. These chips could be embedded in a network of sensors on the ground or within infrastructure, or even fly on autonomous drones; generating insights that, when combined with real-time wind data, satellite data, and other historical sources, can be used to build complex environmental models to detect the origin and quantity of pollutants as they occur.Top 5 iPad Apps For Preschoolers
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox has bright colours and engaging activities for younger kids
More fruity fun on Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
Tozzle - drag the picture in the top right hand of the screen onto the correct spot in the puzzle
Toca Builders - this robot builds from his backpack or knocks them down with his hammers
Toca Builders - this robot has extendable legs to place blocks in the vertical plane
Toca Builders - this robot paints the floor on a roller ball
Elmo Loves ABCs - find the item starting with 'O'. There is a video about an octopus after the child touches the correct item
Hard level on Eric Carle's Matching Pairs
IPads are a great way to keep kids busy on long journeys or while waiting for appointments. There are loads of great iPad Apps around which can help build skills, such as problem solving or creativity, as well as being fun. Here are five of the best I have found for 3 to 5 year olds, road-tested by my almost 4 year old.1. Monkey Preschool LunchboxThis fun App has a series of short fruit-themed activities to complete. These include simple jigsaws, simple matching pairs and picking the odd one out. At the end of each section the child can pick a'sticker' to put onto their sticker board. The App is incredibly intuitive and engaging so kids can work out how to play without any help. There is some catchy background music too.2. TozzleThis App is packed with drag and drop jigsaw puzzles which get more complex as you progress through. This is a great one for problem solving and developing fine motor coordination.3. Toca Builders (by Toca Boca)Perfect for budding engineers! Build a 3D city out of coloured bricks on a grid floor. There are six robot avatars to use which can manipulate the bricks in different ways, for example laying in 3D with a crane, adding flat squares with a paint blow pipe, or laying bricks in 2D from a backpack. This game is challenging but still manageable for preschoolers and great to develop 3D awareness, planning and logical thinking.4. Elmo Loves ABCsThis App features Elmo from Sesame Street. Kids can practice tracing letter shapes with their fingers and finding items starting with that letter. There are also mini videos about words starting with the letter they have just traced. There is also a great music video library with several ABC songs. Overall this is a good learning letters App with enough variety and fun features to keep kids engaged.5. Eric Carle's Matching PairsThis App has several matching pairs games at different levels of difficulty, all featuring pretty drawings by Eric Carle. I like the variation on the standard matching pairs game, where instead of finding identical images you need to find associated images, for example a bat and a cave, or a penguin and an iceberg.For Top 5 Creative Apps, check out my article on MyKidCraft here What are your favourite Apps for preschoolers? Please share your suggestions via the comments forum.Thousands of left-wing protesters took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to denounce the European Union fiscal pact forcing governments to stick to tough deficit limits.
Chanting “Resistance!”, protesters marched through central Paris in a rally organisers said was aimed at fighting EU-imposed austerity, not at criticising the government of Socialist President Francois Hollande.
“This day is the day the French people launch a movement against the policy of austerity,” one-time presidential contender and Left Front leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said at the march.
Melenchon denied the protest was aimed at Hollande, saying: “This is a left-wing demonstration under a left-wing government.”
Organisers said 80,000 people took part in the rally. “It was very successful, beyond our expectations,” said Annick Coupe, a spokeswoman for the Solidaires union.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is to open what is expected to be a long and difficult debate on the fiscal pact in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The pact, agreed by EU leaders in March, requires its signatories to write into law a commitment to limit structural deficits to within 0.5 percent of gross domestic product under normal circumstances.
Many on the French left — including within the Socialists and their Green Party allies — have said they will vote against the measure, but with right-wing deputies backing the pact it is expected to be approved.
Speaking to deputies from the left-wing PRG party on Sunday, Ayrault said approving the pact would be an “essential step” in resolving the debt crisis threatening the eurozone and its single currency.
“Francois Hollande and I will never take the responsibility … of making the euro disappear,” he said. “The future of the eurozone is at stake.”
Hollande’s government on Friday unveiled a 2013 budget aimed at plugging the 37-billion-euro hole in France’s public finances through tax rises and spending cuts.
About 1,500 people also protested against austerity measures in Brussels, police said, in a demonstration called by left-wing groups and unions.
The protest was aimed at pushing for measures in Belgium and Europe “to fight against poverty and share prosperity equally,” the CSC union said.
The Paris march came the day after tens of thousands of people massed on the streets of Portugal’s and Spain’s capitals to protest austerity cuts.
In Madrid, demonstrators faced off with riot police and denounced the conservative government’s deep budget cuts, while in Lisbon, protesters rallied against an austerity programme that is expected to get even tougher to meet pledges made to the country’s international creditors.We’re now through a whirlwind first week under President Trump’s administration. It’s an excellent time to evaluate – just how has this been going? We’ll break down Trump’s performance along three lines: policy, rhetoric, and what we’ll call the in-between.
Policy. Trump’s policies thus far have been largely terrific. Trump’s executive order reinstating the so-called “Mexico City policy” on banning federal funding for overseas abortion is first rate; so is his executive order re-examining the role of the federal government in immigration enforcement, as well as pushing forward the building of the wall. Trump has reopened the Keystone XL pipeline process, and he’s reviewing regulations as well as freezing new regulations; he’s purged the State Department of Obama appointees and instituted a federal hiring freeze; he’s attempted to stop President Obama’s last-minute funding of Palestinian terrorism. On the negative side, he’s killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership without a suitable plan for replacement, opening the door wide to Chinese influence in the Pacific and pleasing the very labor unions that have helped make American business less competitive; he’s required that the government use only “American-made materials,” passing the cost on to taxpayers; he’s backed off his promise to move the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. But the pros far outweigh the cons.
Rhetoric. Trump’s rhetoric, by contrast, has been largely counterproductive. He’s had his moments – his inaugural address was brilliant (but not conservative), his attacks on the media for failures to cover the March for Life were wonderful (so was his endorsement of the March for Life). But for the most part, Trump has spent the week fulminating over inaugural crowd size, mysterious voter fraud that cost him the popular vote, and attacks on free trade that would make an Economics 101 student blush. He never invokes the notion of small government, he never talks about individual freedom, and he never ignores a slight to his ego when he can instead spend all day talking about it with sycophants. He deploys his spokespeople to fib to the American people, then pretend they’ve never fibbed. He’s an ego machine, and he's busily converting conservatism into big government nationalist populism in his rhetoric.
The In-Between. This category consists of Trump’s statements about policy that have not yet materialized as policy. Trump’s been less-than-stellar in this regard. His talk of massive tariffs and his blustering regarding Mexico is foolhardy, and doesn’t actually forward the cause of preventing illegal immigration. His spokespeople’s insistence that sanctions may be removed against Russia without Russia changing its behavior is pusillanimous. His tweets about sending the feds into Chicago without a legal mandate are disquieting. But we’ll have to see whether all of this talk actually means something.
So, what’s the overall grade? Trump’s rhetoric matters a lot less than his policy – and Trump’s not going to stop being Trump, which means we have to discount even his rhetorical flubs, which will keep coming. That means Trump gets a B+ for his first week, an excellent grade only diluted by the fact that he can’t get out of his own way publicly. Trump’s been extremely active, which is the most important aspect of his presidency so far: he came in pledging to be a businessman who will get things done. So far, he’s fulfilled that pledge in spades.Hillary Clinton. AP
For the first time in nearly three months, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken the lead in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.
A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of the state found Clinton with a narrow, two-point lead over insurgent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) in the state. Clinton grabbed the support of about 37% of likely Democratic primary voters in the state, compared to about 35% who chose Sanders.
The results are within the poll's 4.4% margin of error.
Sanders had surged in the state throughout the summer, and he has led every public poll in the state since one that was conducted from July 22 to July 30. Sanders had broken away to double-digit leads in the Granite State in two polls conducted late last month.
But Clinton's strong performance in the first Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night appears to have given her a boost.
All of the 500 likely Democratic voters included in the poll were surveyed after the debate. And, according to the poll, 54% of the survey's respondents thought Clinton "won" the debate. Sanders lagged behind, as about 24% chose him as the winner.
The poll also suggested that a key moment in the debate played to Clinton's favor in the Granite State. Clinton challenged Sanders on the topic of gun control, arguing that he has not gone far enough to promote gun-safety measures. The resulting back and forth also highlighted his support of a controversial measure that bars victims of gun violence or their family members from filing lawsuits against gun-shop owners.
"Clinton's willingness to engage Sanders on gun control established her progressive credentials," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. "And her debate performance solidified her standing with New Hampshire Democratic voters, who have her leading her closest rival for the first time since July."
According to the poll, 41% of New Hampshire Democrats said Clinton's position on gun control "most closely reflects" their own position on the topic. Just 24% chose Sanders.
The poll provided an indication, however, of the extent to which Clinton's standing has fallen in the state over the past few months. The last time Suffolk surveyed the Democratic field there in June, Clinton was up by 10 points.
Granite State Democrats said in Friday's poll, however, that they believe Clinton has the best chance of winning a general-election matchup against the Republican nominee next year. A majority (52%) chose her as the Democratic candidate with the "best chance" of defeating a Republican challenger, while 16% picked Sanders and 14% favored Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden, who is still mulling whether to mount a late challenge to Clinton, was the pick of about 11% of New Hampshire Democratic voters overall. But 49% of New Hampshire Democrats said they do not believe he should run for president, compared with 36% who said he should.To say it's been a bit of a PR nightmare for Apple this week is totally fair. Video surfaced on Tuesday showing Apple Retail Store employees in Melbourne, Australia giving three black teenagers the boot, preemptively worried that the group "might steal something," as one employee phrased it.
Apple has since apologized for its employees' actions and issued a statement reaffirming the company's stance on diversity and inclusion:
"We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions," reads Apple's statement.
"We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated the way they should be."
Apple also invited the three students, and their principal, to revisit the store in question. And while it might seem that the entire ordeal is now over and done with, the Melbourne employees' actions are likely going to leave a more lasting impact on Apple as a whole.
Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email out to every Apple employee earlier this week, reiterating the company's values and highlighting some additional steps Apple will take to ensure that this kind of a situation doesn't happen again.
"Apple is open," Cook wrote.
"Our stores and our hearts are open to people from all walks of life, regardless of race or religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, disability, income, language or point of view. All across our company, being inclusive and embracing our differences makes our products better and our stores stronger."
Going forward, all Apple Retail Store leadership teams will be refreshing their training on "inclusion" and "customer engagement," Cook noted. Even though he believes the Melbourne incident was isolated, and not indicative of a typical Apple Retail Store experience, "these are concepts and practices they know well, but can always stand to reinforce."
"Respect for our customers is the foundation of everything we do at Apple. It's the reason we put so much care into the design of our products. It's the reason we make our stores beautiful and inviting, and extend their reach to benefit the communities around them. It's the reason we commit ourselves to enriching people's lives," Cook wrote.Petri Artturi Asikainen would regularly accost strangers in Tokyo, on the streets, in parks or bars and on trains. With a high-end Nikon D3 digital SLR in his hands, the lanky and bespectacled Finn would ask — somewhat timidly summoning one of the few Japanese phrases he had memorized: “Can I take a picture of you?” If the answer was in the affirmative, he’d then fire off another, even more personal inquiry: “How old are you?”
On and off, the freelance photographer kept on making such rather sudden contact with Tokyoites, day and night, for about three years. In all, he reckons he approached around 2,500 people — and succeeded in taking pictures of nearly 500 of them.
Finally, in 2012, he put together a series of 202 portraits — presented as 101 man-and-woman pairs — of people in the city aged right the way through from newborns to centenarians. And, in December last year, the fruits of his three-year project revealing an amazing diversity of life in this city of some 13 million people finally became available in a photobook titled “100 Years in Tokyo.”
For Asikainen, who has worked as a freelancer for 20 years, shooting mostly for magazines and corporate publications, this was his first long-term personal project — and one he says he greatly enjoyed.
“I wanted to do some (extended) project, then I wanted to do something in Tokyo,” he said at a cafe in Minato Ward last week, noting that he had been struck by the city’s “visual abundance” ever since he first visited as a tourist in 2005. In fact, in the foreword of his 216-page book, penned in Finnish, English and Japanese, he sums up the city, saying: “It feels familiar like any Western metropolis, yet completely strange and different.”
Asikainen, who lives in Shibuya Ward, said that when he embarked on the project in 2009, he didn’t know whether his idea of photographing people across such a diverse range of ages would really be possible, and he admits he has chosen his subjects “more or less randomly.”
“Somebody who knows the (Japanese) culture very well told me in the beginning, ‘You’re never going to make it. Japanese are far too shy for that,’ ” he said. “But I was surprised to find it was easier than I’d thought.”
He attributes the success of his project partly to the city’s renowned safety, saying he never felt threatened approaching strangers anywhere in Tokyo at any time of the day.
So, from the neon-lit streets of Shinjuku to the so-called oldies hip mecca of Sugamo, known for its small shops selling quaint clothes and knickknacks, to the upscale Ginza shopping and business district, Asikainen never hesitated to cover an astonishing variety of locations.
In the process, he captured images of a similarly astonishing range of people, including students, shopkeepers, business types, old residents of nursing homes, a cyclist, a roadworks laborer and even a homeless man lying on the ground. Through introductions, he was also able to picture some people in arranged settings such as in their homes and at their offices. The book even features a handful of people he got to know in the course of daily life, including 33-year-old Minami Aoki, who works in the shop in Nakano Ward where he bought his first bike in this country, and Yoko Toyama, 23, a real estate agent in Gotanda, where he signed the contract for his rented apartment.
Interestingly, too, although Asikainen took most of the portraits within minutes of meeting people who had little or no relation to one another, when the results are reviewed between the covers of a book, they start to assume a quality greater than the sum of the parts.
Indeed, just browsing those pages feels akin to being shown a slideshow depicting the course of a Tokyoite’s life, witnessing how a baby with its adorable newborn freshness grows, through vulnerable and turbulent teenage years, into the prime of life which morphs into increasing old age.
One interesting skill Asikainen says he has acquired along the way is the ability to guess the ages of Japanese people accurately. “The funny thing is, for Western people, it’s difficult to tell someone’s age here because Japanese people look much younger than they are,” he observes. “But then, when I was doing it I got very good at it. Actually, when I needed, say, someone aged 56, I very seldom missed by more than two years.”
Feeling an irresistable desire to test his newfound ability, I asked him to guess my age, stressing that I didn’t need any gesture of politeness from him. I asked for a brutally honest assessment of how old I looked — something I must say I’m reluctant to ask anyone at all these days.
“Hmm … ” he mused — then opted for a number that was five years shy of my true vintage.
I rejoiced with excitement, though Asikainen looked as if he had just lost a game of poker. Then he burst out laughing. “I don’t get it any more — I’ve lost it,” he announced, seemingly crestfallen.
As well, he confesses, with “100 Years in Tokyo” now in bookstores, he’s at something of a loose end as he scouts around for another fun and thought-provoking project to tackle.
At present, he says, he is toying with the idea of searching out and photographing all kinds of “niche businesses” that could only survive in a city like Tokyo, where the daily influx of workers from the suburbs rockets the population to some 36 million.
“That means there can be, for example, services or shops targeting very specific groups of people,” he notes. “And in a city this size, I guess it’s possible to focus on relatively small groups of people. If you take one person from 1,000, it’s still a group of 36,000 in Tokyo.”
“100 Years in Tokyo” (Aalto Arts Books, ¥3,675) is available in Tokyo at Aoyama Book Center stores, the Junkudo Ikebukuro store and others. A flip-through video of the book can be viewed at pa.artturi.com/books. For more information, contact books@artturi.com.An elderly farmer, who allegedly consumed poison over two weeks back apparently due to crop failure and non-waiver of farm loan, has died, officials said on Tuesday.
Pundlikrao Bapurao Supalkar, a resident of Dabha Pahur village in Babhulgaon tehsil of Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region, breathed his last in Government Medical College in Yavatmal on Monday.
The 65-year-old had been admitted to the hospital on June 29 when he consumed poison to end his life since he was distressed over crop failure and non-waiver of farm loan under the Government's restructuring scheme, his family said.
Supalkar has four acres of rain-fed land on which he had sown soyabean which failed due to non-arrival of monsoon. He had obtained loan from money lenders and attempted a second sowing which also failed due to lack of rain, they said.
He had also taken a loan from the Yavatmal District Central Co-Operative Bank which he could not repay. Though the Government has declared a scheme for restructuring of loan dues in order to enable farmers to get fresh credit, Supalkar did not get any relief under the programme, the sources said.
Resident Deputy Collector (RDC) Rajesh Kawle confirmed the death of Supalkar but did not provide further details, saying he is waiting for details from local officials which will be available in a week. Supalkar's death is the latest in a series of farmers' deaths reported from Vidarbha.A 5-year-old girl in the UK was taken into custody due to weighing 145 pounds, three times as much as a normal girl her age. According to a story from The Sunday Times, the girl was seized in Newport, South Wales, in August last year after breaking the record for fattest 5-year-old previously set in 2008.
Childhood obesity has been an increasingly prevalent issue in the UK, particularly since the National Child Measurement Programme began investigating the subject in 2006, showing about 22% of children age 4-12 in the UK qualify as overweight or obese.
"Since that child was one year old, she would have been putting on weight, year after year after year. She must have been visible at nursery. Who didn't raise their hand and say, 'Look, something is going tragically wrong here'," says Tam Fry, Honorary Chairman of the Child Growth Foundation and spokesperson for National Obesity Forum, who spoke to the Times.
Identifying blame in the case of childhood obesity often falls squarely on the parents. After all, she’s a five-year-old, not exactly capable of making independent nutritional choices, but Fry tells the BBC that parents are only part of the problem. "When trained health workers find it hard to pick out an average-weight child then you have to start to think we've got a problem and it's bigger than just what parents do."
Wales reports 57% of adults as overweight or obese, second only to the United States (USA! USA! USA!), and it’s not much better in neighboring England, where according to government statistics, over half of the population and 30% of children between ages 2 and 15 are also reported as overweight.
So when you have a prevalence of obesity among adults, it’s easy to see lifestyle and nutritional habits transferring to children, as well as a growing acceptance for bodies with excessive weight. It’s not surprising to see the extreme examples of obese children from the same NCMP study, revealing an 11-year-old boy weighing 322 pounds and an 11-year-old girl at 308 pounds.
The most recent study once again draws a connection between obesity and deprivation, indicating that a huge factor in obesity is simply not having access to healthier choices.
Dr. Mark Temple, co-chair of the British Medical Association’s public health medicine committee and public health consultant in Cardiff, impressed the severity of the issue when talking to Wales Online.
“Obesity is a major health threat and we ought to be doing something about it,” he said. “We all know what ‘junk’ food means. It’s a great tragedy that the food standards in the UK are worse now than they were during the rationing during the war. That’s a strong indictment of the food industry.”
The health consequences for such unhealthy bodies are obvious. In 2009, nearly 4,000 young people needed hospital treatment for problems complicated by being overweight and another recent study found that 400,000 deaths each year are directly related to excessive weight.
Professor Mitch Blair, of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, warned Express of the repercussions. “Being severely overweight at such a young age has clear physical health implications including a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and joint problems," he said. "In addition, there can be serious psychological repercussions – teenage years are tough enough without the extra burden of being obese.”
The government sponsored Change4Life program has been working to improve nutritional awareness in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. And activists like Jamie Oliver and his Food Program seek to educate school children on food awareness and its impact on their health and energy.
As for the record-breaking fattest 5-year-old in the UK, she has since been weighed again, about a year since being taken in. While the girl's weight had dropped to below 115 pounds, her body mass index remains about double the normal level for a child her age.
Thankfully obesity is only a considered a “problem” in the UK, whereas in the US it’s called “part of the development process for TLC.”
@grantpaBENGHAZI, LIBYA - Mehdi Mohammed Zeyo was the most unlikely of revolutionary heroes. The bespectacled 49-year-old worked in the supplies department of the state-owned oil company. He was a diabetic with two teenage daughters.
But something snapped inside him as a youth-led uprising in Libya against the government of Moammar Gaddafi quickly turned bloody.
For days Zeyo had carried the bodies of teenage boys from outside a security base in the center of the city where Gaddafi's militiamen fired on young protesters. Every day he went with hundreds of others to the cemeteries to bury the boys. His outrage grew, until Zeyo quietly made a decision, according to his family, friends and witnesses to his fiery death.
On the morning of Feb. 20, he walked down the stairs of his apartment building with a gas canister hoisted on his shoulder, witnesses said. He put two canisters inside his trunk of his car, along with a tin can full of gunpowder. Driving toward the base, he flashed the victory sign to the young men protesting outside and hit the gas pedal.
Gaddafi's security forces sprayed his black car with bullets, setting off a powerful explosion, witnesses said. The blast tore a hole in the base's front gate, allowing scores of young protesters and soldiers who had defected to stream inside. That night, the opposition won the battle for the base, and for Benghazi, as Gaddafi's forces retreated.
More than a week later, Benghazi remains the center of resistance to Gaddafi as Libya's leader of 41 years clings to power in the capital, Tripoli. Here, Zeyo's face has become the symbol of courage for this youth-led rebellion. A video of the explosion has spread across the city, passed from one cellphone to the next.
"What he did helped a lot of people live," Yousef Salah said as he stood outside Zeyo's apartment building, which has been labeled "the building of the martyr."
Salah said he was imprisoned inside the base that day. He had been protesting and throwing stones when security forces detained him. Every hour, Salah said, he was kicked, punched and threatened with death.
If Zeyo had not used himself and his car as a weapon, "I would have died. One more day and I would have died," the 21-year-old Salah said. He said that his father was killed at Abu Selim prison and that he had joined the demonstrations to protest his father's death.
Inside Zeyo's home, his widow, Samira Awad Nobous, 44, was still in shock Monday. She spoke stoically about the "beautiful" 21 years she spent with her husband. His face is on posters labeling him a martyr, and yet she cannot fathom that he's gone.
"Until now I don't believe it. He's just a regular person who loved life," Nobous said while sitting on pink couches in her home. "I'm so proud, and I'm so sad. But this is what was written for him by God."
As she spoke, her daughters returned home holding a large poster of their father. Since his death, they have gone to the courthouse, the main center of continued demonstrations, to tell the world of their father's sacrifice. It helps them deal with the grief.Like his predecessor, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is reluctant to talk about coalitions. The polls suggest he might not have a choice. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
More from Paul Adams available More fromavailable here
There are two misleading memes about the next federal election that lurk just beneath the surface, barely acknowledged — but confusing our understanding of what lies ahead.
The first is that the Conservatives, even though they are down in the polls, have a hidden strength: a lock on the 30 seats that will be added to the House of Commons in 2015 through redistribution.
The second is that the emergence of Justin Trudeau, and the surge his party has enjoyed in the polls, mean that the possibility of cooperation between the Liberals and the NDP is dead.
These two memes are contradictory to a degree, but since they’re seldom acknowledged explicitly anyway, that doesn’t seem to trouble anyone.
Let me take them each in turn.
In 2015, the House of Commons will grow from its current 308 members to 338 to accommodate areas where the population is growing. Six of those seats are in Alberta, 15 in Ontario, six in British Columbia and three in Quebec.
If you follow federal politics, then you’ve heard this story about redistribution: Not only are the six new Alberta seats an undisputed gift to the Conservatives, but most of the rest actually appear in rapidly growing suburban areas where the party does well.
The Globe and Mail did its calculations and reported that “no matter how the parties are doing in the polls, Prime Minister Stephen Harper may be starting the next campaign with an electoral advantage.”
According to the Globe, if Canadians voted in the same patterns in 2015 as they did in 2011, the Conservatives would pick up 22 of the 30 new seats.
Have you spotted the logic problem? The Globe tells us that the Conservatives likely would have an edge in the new seats no matter how the parties are doing in the polls. But it uses the 2011 election results for its projections.
As everyone knows, the Conservatives are not doing as well in the polls today as they did at the ballot box in 2011. Moreover, as we all should remember, our first-past-the-post electoral system tends to reward frontrunners with extra seats. That’s how Stephen Harper won a majority with just 40 per cent of the vote. (Is this a bug or a feature of first-past-the-post? A question for another day.)
Bryan Breguet, a Ph.D. candidate at UBC, took the trouble to test the proposition that the Conservative redistribution bonus is sturdy even in the face of changing polls. Turns out it isn’t.
He used two recent, fairly typical polls, one from EKOS and another from Abacus, showing the Liberals ahead nationally, followed by the Conservatives and the NDP fairly close behind. He then deployed a seat projection model.
The fact that cooperation between the parties and their leaders is not imminent seems to have obscured the possibility — the likelihood, even — that there will be a minority government after 2015, as there was after three of the four last elections.
Essentially, what the model found was that the Liberals were slight beneficiaries from redistribution at these levels of popular support, in part because many of the new seats are in areas of southern Ontario and the lower |
deeper cuts than Democrats were willing to offer, such as reductions in welfare and senior assistance programs, greater flexibility to reduce school spending, and the elimination of two of 14 state employee holidays.
Democratic leaders and environmental advocates questioned why the governor would toss aside the only deficit-cutting legislation to reach his desk since he declared a fiscal emergency on Nov. 5.
Paul Mason, deputy director of the Sierra Club in California, suggested that by demanding environmental exemptions, the governor was betraying his public image as a crusader against global warming.
"It's inconsistent with the media image he likes to present with how green he is," Mason said. "They really should be focused on how we deal with the fiscal crisis in California. Weakening environmental protections is not the answer."
Democrats sent the Republican governor a package of bills Thursday that would make more than $7 billion in cuts to education, health care and prisons, and increased taxes and fees by $9.3 billion. It proposed about $1.5 billion in other budget changes.
Their plan would raise the levies Californians pay on gasoline by about 13 cents, replacing an 18-cent-a-gallon excise tax and a fluctuating sales tax with a 39-cent-per-gallon fee.
It also would raise the state sales tax by 3/4 of a percent, boost personal income taxes by 2.5 percent, tax oil produced in California and collect taxes from independent contractors upfront.The Wii U might not have much media functionality out of the box, but Nintendo would like you to think that it's a "living, breathing system" — and Amazon's just breathed a little life into it with the launch of its Instant Video app. This opens up the Wii U to Amazon's huge library of over 140,000 TV episodes and movies, with more than 30,000 available for unlimited streaming to Prime members. These can all be browsed and watched on either the TV screen or the Wii U GamePad. Following the post-launch additions of Netflix and Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video completes the trifecta of video subscription services previously announced for Nintendo's new console.
Update: The YouTube app is also available. While you can't watch video with the GamePad you can use it to search and display details.Xiaomi Technology * Xiaomi's Lei Jun dismisses notion of copying Apple
* Xiaomi sees $2 bln revenue in 2012 on 7 million smartphone sales
* Xiaomi not considering IPO in next 5 years
* Analysts say Xiaomi faces tough road to a becoming a big brand
BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - China's Xiaomi Technology is a fairy tale for nerdy entrepreneurs.
Less than three years after its founding, the smartphone maker is valued at $4 billion and evokes Apple-like adoration from its fans, some of whom are desperate enough to skip work for a shot at buying the latest product the day it goes on sale.
Founder Lei Jun dresses like the late Steve Jobs, in jeans and a black top. He has created a fervent fan base for Xiaomi's moderately priced high-end smartphones by mimicking Apple Inc's marketing tactic of attaching an aura of exclusivity around its products.
Before Xiaomi, the 42-year-old Lei was a key investor in China's early Internet scene, co-founding startups including Joyo.cn, which was eventually sold to Amazon.com Inc, and the recently listed YY Inc.
Born in Xiantao, a small city in China's central Hubei province better known for breeding Olympic gymnasts than billionaire technocrats, Lei brushes off comparisons to Jobs but concedes that the Apple visionary was an inspiration.
"China's media say I am China's Steve Jobs," Lei told Reuters in an interview.
"I will take this as a compliment but such kind of comparison brings us huge pressure," said Lei, who grew up assembling radios as a hobby. "Xiaomi and Apple are two totally different companies. Xiaomi's based on the Internet. We are not doing the same thing as Apple."
HOT SALES AND FANS
Xiaomi has already sold 300,000 of its latest phone model, launched in October. The Xiaomi phone 2 has specifications similar to those of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S3 and Apple's iPhone5 but a top-of-the-line model sells for about $370, half the price of an iPhone5.
Unlike the big domestic smartphone players, such as Lenovo Group, ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies, which work with telecom carriers to sell a large volume of smartphones, Xiaomi sells most of its phones online and in small batches.
This small volume strategy creates pent-up demand that gives Xiaomi free marketing buzz. The first batch of 50,000 phones released on Oct. 30 sold out in less than two minutes. Subsequent larger batches have also sold out in minutes.
Lei, who has nearly 4 million followers on China's popular microblogging platform, Weibo, feeds the buzz by dangling teasers about new products and launch dates.
"We're not a company that chases sales volume. We chase customer satisfaction. We look for ways to give the customer a great surprise," Lei said.
His vision for an exclusive mid-tier brand that builds up incrementally, rather than swamping the market, has found financial backers. In June, Xiaomi raised $216 million from Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, and a few of Lei's friends, local media reported, giving it a valuation of $4 billion.
"China is ripe for its own Apple, HTC or Samsung," said Hans Tung, managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners, a venture firm backing Xiaomi. "The country is big enough, there are enough mobile Internet users and mobile phone consumers. Therefore having its own mobile ecosystem built up by a domestic brand makes sense."
Xiaomi, which was founded in April 2010 and only started selling smartphones in October 2011, is on track to sell 7 million units this year, exceeding its target of 2 million.
Xiaomi is already profitable and is expected to rake in sales of up to 13 billion yuan ($2 billion) this year.
"Our product only sold for a year and hit sales of $2 billion. That is pretty impressive," Lei said, adding Xiaomi was not considering an initial public offering within the next five years.
Tung said Xiaomi's net margins were 10 percent. This suggests its net profit could hit $200 million this year.
Mo Xiaohua, a 24-year-old accountant, is a proud Xiaomi fan who only recently bought her first Xiaomi phone. For many who use Xiaomi phones, the customisable themes and the weekly updates are a big draw.
"I like Xiaomi because among China's brand smartphones, its value is the best," Mo said. "Now that we have such a good China branded phone, we need to support it."
'FLAT BLACK SLABS'
Xiaomi has its fair share of detractors who doubt it will have a happy ending. They say the smartphone game in China can only be won with wide distribution and high volume or a big brand with distinctive designs.
Xiaomi, whose attraction is its price and high technical specifications, does not win points for cutting-edge design.
"This is a world where people are now cranking out 'flat black slabs', that's what all these phones are when you put 10 on the table... Xiaomi is not going to stick out," said Michael Clendenin, managing director at RedTech Advisors. "In this world, the market is driven by two things: one is massive volume and two huge brands."
ZTE and Huawei have set smartphone sales targets for this year at about 30 million and 60 million respectively. The firms have traditionally dominated the cheap low-end smartphone segment but have been pushing into the mid-price range.
ZTE said it launched 11 types of smartphones in the mid-price range of 1,500-2,500 yuan this year, up from six last year. Apple released its mid-range tablet, the iPad Mini, in China on Friday.
"Xiaomi had great headline appeal a year ago... but the problem is now you have got guys like ZTE and Huawei and Meizu with phones that are priced in a similar range," Clendenin said.
China is expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest smartphone market this year with 165-170 million unit sales, up from 78 million last year, Gartner said.
Analysts said Xiaomi had to ramp up volume and address technical problems and a shortage of customer service centres if it wanted a shot at the big league.
"One of the challenges of being in the middle is that you can get squeezed," said Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based consultancy BDA.
Lei is resolute that he will prove the naysayers wrong.
"In this industry, I think the most important thing is to get love from your customers," he said. "If you are popular with your customers, you succeed." ($1 = 6.2253 yuan) (Additional reporting by Jane Lee and the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Emily Kaiser and Nick Macfie)One of the hardest presentations I've ever given was at a conference on treating sexual assault. My presentation set the stage, inviting people to consider the broad range of sexual behaviors, which fall under the concept of normal. In the content, I explored the issue of the female rape fantasy, how it presents in, and its relation to the effects of assault. During the presentation, I recall looking cautiously towards several women in the audience, who I knew were there as advocates for rape victims.
My hesitance was because I was presenting that the rape fantasy is exceedingly common among women, with as many as 25-40% of women endorsing some form of this fantasy, at least once in their lives. (Fellow PT blogger Michael Castleman has a wonderful article with further statistics and research on the prevalence of this fantasy.)
Some women who have experienced the tragedy of sexual assault go on to be tormented by tremendous psychological turmoil over sexual fantasies of rape and forceful sex. They describe being angry and upset with themselves, confused that they and their bodies are responding with sexual arousal to a fantasy similar to an event that was so and devastating.
Many women (and not a few men) I've spoken to over the years have disclosed to me their personal fantasies of being forced to have sex, usually with, shame, and. They struggle over what this fantasy means, about them as a person, as a woman or a man, as a victim. Women have told me that they struggle with being a feminist, and yet still getting aroused at the idea of being taken by a man, against their will.
There is a general assumption, among people, advocates and therapists, that for a victim of sexual assault to about being violated, there must be something wrong. This fantasy must reflect some pathological process. I disagree. First, I will point out the prevalence of the fantasy of rape among women and men who have never experienced such events. The rape fantasy may very well occur independent of a traumatic event.
Does this fantasy of forced sex reflect the concept of "eroticization of fear," that people manage by unconsciously turning it into a sexual situation? Perhaps, but I don't think so. The situation was already sexual in the first place, during the rape. Though rape and sexual assault do contain much violence, there is sex there already, in the mind and body of both victim and offender. In child victims I treat, there is often a struggle as they enter and sexual development, because the "model" for that they have encountered was often one based upon assault. Perhaps, if anything, this fantasy reflects the recovery of eroticism FROM the effects of fear.
Does this fantasy by a victim represent "identification with the aggressor," and the idea that a victim is identifying with her offender in this fantasy? Again, I don't think so. In such fantasies, victims are rarely, in my experience, putting themselves in the mind or place of the aggressor. Instead, they are playing the role of the victim, but in a manner in which they are in charge - it's happening in their head, in their control, under the power of their imagination.
What does the rape fantasy mean? Lots of things. And perhaps in that, it means nothing. Our society romanticizes rape and violence, in complex and disturbing ways, from the Beast pounding on's door in the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, to the contents of thousands of romance novels, where women "swoon" and "succumb" to male passions and dominance. Fantasies of forced eroticism may, in some cases, be the result of social programming. Evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill argues convincingly that rape is something that has occurred throughout human history, and thus, following his argument, these fantasies may reflect evolutionary adaptations. Psychologist Roy Baumeister has proposed that the fantasy of submission reflects a desire to escape from the burden of self, from the chore of being responsible, and in charge of your own existence.
I don't believe that women in general, or sexual assault victims specifically, are retraumatizing themselves by revisiting these experiences and fantasies. For many, I believe that, like any fantasy or daydream, it is a way for a person to mentally control over a situation in which they were powerless. We must remember that the great majority of sexual assaults go unreported, that the majority of victims move forward in their lives, and that it is the label of "powerlessness" and "traumatized" that may actually harm more than help. People do better when they move forward after a trauma, maintaining a sense of personal autonomy and power, developing a narrative that they, not the event and situation, nor the perpetrator, are in charge of their lives and actions.
I suggest that sometimes, we as clinicians have to pull back, and give up our disease model thinking. We should not automatically characterize this fantasy as a symptom of an illness, resulting from a history of rape or sexual assault. Instead, we may need to consider the possibility that this fantasy represents a normal, even a healthy, attempt by a person to regain some control over their sexuality, and the way in which their traumatic history affects them. When such fantasies are distressing, we should help people to recognize that the more energy and they give this fantasy, the harder they resist it, like a Chinese finger trap, the harder it fights back and the more power it gains. Ignore such fantasies. Dismiss them. When they occur, if it is distressing to you, change your fantasy to something else, or get up and drink a glass of milk, and try again later. Take a time-out.
After my presentation, one of the women I had been cautiously watching came up to me. She had presented that day, on her own experience as a victim of rape. She hugged me, and thanked me for my presentation. She shared that she also had experienced such fantasies, and had struggled with them and her own reaction to them. She left, saying that my thoughts had helped her, and had given her permission to free her mind, her body and her sexuality, and to stop tearing herself up over her fantasies. It was nice that I was able to give her one less thing to worry about.
You can follow David Ley on Twitter, @DrDavidLeyGrandfather Stabbed Grandson in Fight Over Doughnut Video
RAYTOWN, Mo.--A northern Missouri child was stabbed after police say he and his grandfather got in an argument over a doughnut.
It happened in Raytown, Mo. Tuesday morning.
Neighbors say the 12-year-old came running out of the house-- screaming, bleeding, and holding his right arm.
The woman who called 9-1-1 said the boy told her his grandfather stabbed him.
"I opened the door, saw a little boy there with his arm wrapped up and saying his grandpa tried to kill him and stabbed him in the arm, and he needed help," said Dana Payne, the 911 caller. "And then he kept going 'Why'd my grandpa try to kill me? Why'd my grandpa do it?'"
Raytown police confirmed the grandfather was involved, and that he had left the scene before they arrived.
He is now charged with first degree assault and armed criminal action.Now playing: Watch this: Old Nokia phones double as adult toys, says survey
Nokia
Why invest in an expensive vibrator when you might have one sitting on your pile of old gadgets?
Because of their strong vibration function, old Nokia "dumb" phones are getting new life as vibrators, according to a survey on female masturbation in India.
One hundred woman responded to the poll by Agents of Ishq, a project focused on sex, love and desire in India. And they had some surprising answers about how they achieve maximum satisfaction.
"The old Nokia vibrating phone made several appearances on this survey," Agents of Ishq wrote earlier this month in a post about the survey, which was originally brought to our attention by Vocativ. "We have no idea why that company is not the market leader after this."
While a survey of just 100 women hardly suggests old Nokia phones are going to show up in sex shops anytime soon, it's nonetheless, well, buzz-worthy that women are getting smart about dumb phones.
Nokia did not respond immediately to a request for a comment regarding the secret sensual lives of its phones.
While using a phone's vibrate function for sexual gratification might sound bizarre, keep in mind that sex toys like vibrators aren't as readily available to women in some countries as they are in others.
Nokia phones aren't the only products to offer sexual satisfaction. According to the Homemade Sex Toys website, there are ways to use any cell phone as a vibrator.
The best option seems to be the alarm method. Just program your alarm to go off every minute on vibrate for as long as you think you'll need to get the job done.
The website suggests keeping your old cell phone when you upgrade to a new one. That way you can have a device just for your sexy-time needs.
"Having a sex-only cell phone vibrator also means you can keep your everyday cell phone pristine," Homemade Sex Toys website suggests. "You won't have to worry that it smells funky, or feel weird if you let a friend talk on it."
And a bonus for those who care about the environment: by using your old cell phone as a vibrator instead of throwing it in a trash bin headed for the landfill, you'll help save the environment one orgasm at a time.
Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here's your place for the lighter side of tech.
Solving for XX: The industry seeks to overcome outdated ideas about "women in tech."Churches merge, close: 'We no longer live in Christendom. We really have to accept that it's a thing of the past'
For a decade and more, Govans Presbyterian Church and Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church have labored in the manner of many mainline Protestant congregations: Working ever harder to provide spiritual resources for dwindling number of congregants.
Govans, on York Road in North Baltimore, has been hosting its Sunday night dinners for the poor and helping lead GEDCO, the social service organization it co-founded in 1984.
Brown Memorial Woodbrook, about two miles from Govans on North Charles Street, has been running its busy Sunday school and community garden and working on LGBT equality and other social justice issues.
But with attendance stagnating, maintenance costs rising and the population of Christians from which to draw shrinking, the two have decided to join forces. If the Baltimore Presbytery gives its approval next month, they’ll become one congregation before the end of the year, bringing more than 280 worshippers and 230 years of history together under one roof.
94901586 The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has closed a net eight churches since 2007 and will shutter one more — 174-year-old St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charles Village — if the congregation can’t present a feasible financial plan by January. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
The merger would be the latest example of an increasingly common phenomenon: faith leaders closing or consolidating houses of worship as a way of adjusting to a culture that has grown less hospitable to their mission.
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has closed a net eight churches since 2007 and plans to shutter one more — 174-year-old St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charles Village — if the congregation can’t present a feasible financial plan by January.
Worshippers at the 10:30 am service at St. John's Episcopal Church in the Village. The congregation and the community, are fighting the proposed closure by the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, due to finances and declining attendance. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
The Delaware-Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church has consolidated eight of its smaller churches into three.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has launched a long-term plan to reallocate resources over several years, including folding parishes into a smaller number of worship centers called pastorates.
Two historic Reform Jewish synagogues — Temple Oheb Shalom in Park Heights and Har Sinai Congregation in Owings Mills — have announced they will likely combine.
And Bishop James L. Davis, presiding prelate of the second district of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which includes Maryland, has directed all 411 congregations in the jurisdiction to spend six months taking a “hard, possibly painful” look at their own operations.
Each church is to address a set of questions — How much has your congregation grown? how many visitors have you had? would you attend your church if you weren’t a member? — and weigh a range of options, from staying on course to shutting down.
It’s set to begin in February.
“Our first step will be trying to get people to converse one with another, and come to some understanding themselves about what might need to be done, before our rules and regulations have to move in and do what may be inevitable and necessary,” Davis says.
The driving force behind the trend is the well-documented decline in Americans’ commitment to organized Judeo-Christian religion.
Denominations large and small report falling membership numbers, decreased attendance and faltering financial support. The decline began accelerating in the 1990s.
Membership at churches and synagogues has fallen by nearly 20 percentage points since World War II, according to Gallup.The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church USA have lost nearly half their members since 1967. More than a thousand Catholic parishes have closed since 1995.The number of Jews who call themselves culturally but not religiously Jewish is rising sharply among millennials.
A few faith traditions have fared better. The Muslim and Orthodox Jewish populations are growing, and evangelical Christianity’s numbers are holding steady. But more than 20 percent of Americans say they’re unaffiliated with any religion. That’s the highest number ever.
One influential Christian author has said such changes are nothing new. In works such as The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why, Phyllis Tickle argued that the Christian church has undergone a clarifying shakeup every 500 years.
The Rev. Daniel Webster, canon for evangelism and media for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, has studied and written about the current trend for nearly two decades.
While it’s hard to pinpoint a single most important factor, Webster says, it’s impossible to ignore the repeal of most of the old state blue laws, regulations that had long placed restrictions on commercial activity on Sundays, starting in the mid-20th century.
Today’s faith leaders must compete with everything from youth soccer and pro football games to shopping at the mall.
“When I was growing up in what I call the salad days of the 1950s and early 1960s, the question in the neighborhood was ‘What church do you go to?’” Webster says.
“Now it’s, ‘Why do you go to church?’”
“We no longer live in Christendom. We really have to accept that it's a thing of the past.”
Detail of one of many stained glass windows in the historic St. John's Episcopal Church in the Village. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
The larger question, faith leaders say, is what they should do about it.
More and more often, the answer seems to be: shed your baggage, move more nimbly and sharpen your sense of mission.
That can mean merging two or more congregations into one, closing a congregation, sharing clergy across parish or even denominational lines, or bringing neighboring congregations together on ministry efforts, whether it’s feeding the poor or helping promote entrepreneurship.
The Rev. Kati Kluckman-Ault is senior pastor of Rejoice Fellowship. The Lutheran church in Glen Burnie came into being in 2016 when three smaller congregations merged.
In her previous role as director of evangelical mission for the Maryland-Delaware Synod, Kluckman-Ault oversaw two previous mergers, combining three congregations into one in Dundalk and two others into a single unit in Windsor Mill.
It can be difficult for long-time parishioners to give up the idea of continuing as a congregation, she says, whether it’s because the building, worship practices and faces are familiar or their loved ones were baptized or married there.
But in an era of declining numbers, she says, faith leaders must lead worshippers to consider sacrificing those comforts for the larger goal of sharing the gospel as efficiently as possible.
An example: Each year, the Anne Arundel House of Hope organizes Winter Relief, a program in which religious congregations take turns providing shelter to homeless people.
Eighteen months ago, Glen Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, both in Glen Burnie, and Peace Lutheran Church in Ferndale — congregations of 25, 60 and 25 people — were all too small to serve as hosts. But after combining into Rejoice Fellowship, a church of about 150 that averages 90 worshippers per Sunday, the group hosted the program for a week last winter, and plans to do so again this year.
Kluckman-Ault shed many familiar trappings as part of the merger, introducing wheat-free bread to the Eucharist, omitting the word “Lutheran” in the new church’s name and eschewing formal vestments as pastor.
“At the heart of our discernment is a question: What is God’s purpose for you being here?” she says. “We’re not here trying to maintain an institution just because we’ve always had an institution. Our goal is to use the resources we have to create a place where they can meet God and bring that to their daily lives. And we want to bring efficiency to that purpose.”
Episcopal Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton had similar thoughts last month when he met with the leadership of Saint John’s Church in the Village — a historic congregation in Charles Village — to discuss its future.
Rev. Jeffrey C. Hual, known as Father Hual, during the Sunday service at St. John's Episcopal Church in the Village. The congregation and the community are fighting the proposed closure by the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, due to finances and declining attendance. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
With diocesan membership numbers in decline over the past half-century, the diocese has closed a net 34 churches from its mid-1960s peak and merged five more, leaving a total of about 100.
It has also helped two congregations blend with counterparts from the Evangelical Lutheran church and another to partner with an Evangelical congregation.
Webster, the canon for evangelism, says the forces impinging on churches today are little different from those affecting business owners on a changing economic landscape.
Operating churches within a few blocks of each other has become a luxury, as the maintenance costs for older buildings and health insurance costs for employees have climbed.
The situation has forced leaders to adopt an adapt-or-die ethos, Webster says, and some congregations fare better than others.
Nine years ago, for example, the members of St. John’s Mt. Washington, an Episcopal congregation founded in the mid-1800s, faced a choice: spend $220,000 for a new roof or reassess its priorities.
They voted to put the building up for sale and move services to a chapel at nearby Springwell Retirement Living. They still meet there every Sunday. A group of retirees who don’t attend the services helps make sandwiches for the congregation’s “feeding the poor” project.
“It’s a different way of doing church,” Webster says.
Until the arrival of a new pastor last year, Saint John’s in the Village, founded in 1843, was slower to change.
The congregation, which employs a paid choir and practices an unusually formal high Anglican liturgy, spends a sizable portion of its $300,000 budget on maintaining its 159-year-old English Gothic church building.
The present building of St. John's Episcopal Church in the Village was built in 1858. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
When a major donor died, it became clear to the incoming priest-in-charge, the Rev. Jeffrey Hual, that other forms of stewardship had badly declined in the congregation. The diocese concluded that shrinking outreach into the community had led to a membership slide.
In his 14 months at the helm, Hual has helped raise more than $220,000, added 18 new members and increased neighborhood efforts, but his efforts may have come too late.
When Sutton met with church leaders in September, he gave them until early November to present him with a feasible financial plan or accept closure.
After a series of rallies by church members and neighbors, the diocese extended the deadline to January.
Rev. Jeffrey C. Hual, known as Father Hual, offers blessings during communion at St. John's Episcopal Church in the Village. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
That’s a month before Catholic Archbishop William E. Lori is to sign off on a key phase of the long-term consolidation plan the Archdiocese of Baltimore has been working on for several years.
Lori is spiritual leader of the area’s half million Catholics. Among his first priorities when he came to Baltimore in 2012, he says, was to consider how to address declining attendance figures and the effects of rapid demographic change.
He decided neither to close parishes nor to maintain the status quo, but rather to seek a way forward based on Pope Francis’ call for Catholics to go beyond “mere administration” and bring evangelization to the people.
He laid out the foundational principles that would guide pastoral planning in the Archdiocese in 2014. In the time since, Catholics from the parish level on up took part in formulating a pastoral plan.
A draft of the plan, called “Be Missionary Disciples,” calls for a reorganization of the Archdiocese around pastorates — centers of worship and service that will, in many cases, combine the efforts of two or more parishes under the leadership of a single pastor.
“This is not a reactive plan but a proactive one, designed to better position the Church to meet the changing needs of the communities where we serve and the changing needs of our people and others who rely on the Church for spiritual, educational, medical and other support,” says Sean Caine, vice chancellor of the archdiocese.
Processional at the close of the Sunday service at St. John's Episcopal Church in the Village. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church is no stranger to reorganization.
The local presbytery of the Presbyterian Church USA asked its leaders last year to embark on a period of self-assessment.
Established in 1980 as an offshoot of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill, the congregation once boasted more than 500 members — healthy for a church whose sanctuary holds about 300.
Membership has declined steadily since then to about 100.
Sunday services draw an average of 45. A discernment team concluded in 2016 that the congregation could no longer afford to maintain its 40,000-square-foot building and seven acres.
“We realized that doing nothing was not an option,” says the Rev. Randy Clayton, the senior pastor.
Over the next several months, the team “entered into a long and very intense period of discernment,” Clayton says. They considered a range of options, from moving to another site to quitting altogether.
They saw their best option when Govans Presbyterian suggested a merger. The congregations agreed on Oct. 1.
If the Baltimore Presbytery gives its approval next month, the two will begin worshipping as one body — Govans Presbyterian Church — at the Govans site Dec. 3.
The blended congregation will continue Govans’ long tradition of service to its neighbors, join forces on social justice issues, and field a fresh version of Brown Memorial Woodbrook’s successful community theater program, the Woodbrook Players.
Kluckman-Ault, the Rejoice Fellowship pastor, says such mergers can bring grief at first. But if done right, they lead to a new body that’s stronger than the old ones ever were.
“Jesus didn’t look like a winner when he went to the cross,” she says. “But he was resurrected, and we have faith in that.
“Twelve guys were so changed by that experience that they spread that news around the known world.”
jonpitts@baltsun.com
twitter.com/jonpitts77Mexico City: Police harassment of members of Anarchist Black Cross Mexico
In the last few years, we have seen how the escalation of repression has intensified around the libertarian and anarchist movement through the strategies used here in Mexico City: Setting very high bond amounts, and applying the same package of charges, always aggravated, without giving much importance to the specific situation, but rather to what the State dictates.
Persecution and finger-pointing in the media as a basic element of their set-up: Noting the names of groups of people or spaces (whether they exist or not), making up relationships that really don’t exist, comparing everyone and everything from a vertical point of view, trying fit us into a schematic of leadership. Of course, this demonstrates a deep ignorance and/or contempt for anarchist ideas, which have nothing to do with this kind of hierarchical logic.
On the other hand, we have the government’s efforts to qualify anarchism or “anarchic conduct” under the judicial classification of terrorism, applying severe charges and operating under maximum security parameters, only to withdraw the charges, with the argument that they lack sufficient evidence – but always leaving the open threat that “investigations continue.” Nonsensical investigations, plagued with arbitrary references to groups and individuals that exist in very different spaces.
This is all paralleled by police monitoring and surveillance of certain individuals in an attempt to intimidate them, as well as provocations against certain autonomous spaces.
Framed by this strategy, and alongside many other comrades, groups, and collectives, the name of Cruz Negra Anarquista México [Anarchist Black Cross–Mexico] has come to stand out among the notes, “investigations” and political or police declarations.
We believe it is important to make it publicly known that in the past few weeks, individuals who seem to be part of the Mexico City police “investigation” have shown up outside of some of our houses and workplaces, threatening our neighbors and family members and arguing that they are doing security and surveillance work.
Beyond calling for an end to this persecution, we are making this public report as a wake-up call: We know that repression is intrinsic to the state that we have declared as our enemy. We know that its jails and its police are the foundation of its power and its domination. And we know that our work around anti-prison thinking, support, and accompaniment of imprisoned comrades is directly contradictory to this power and domination.
But we also know that SOLIDARITY BETWEEN ANARCHISTS IS NOT JUST WORDS ON PAPER!
In this context, we ask individuals, collectives, and affinity groups, the comrades we have worked with in the last few years, to be attentive, and to continue to provide the same solidarity that we have received up to this point.
Down with prison walls!
Freedom for everyone!
Anarchist Black Cross–Mexico
original in Spanish (June 16, 2015); in Greek – ContraInfo
Tags: ABC Mexico, Mexico, Mexico City, Repression
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2015 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Social Control.The war of words between Google and Twitter escalated Wednesday, as Google responded to Twitter's accusation that plans to further integrate Google+ into its regular search results is "bad for people."
"We are a bit surprised by Twitter's comments, because they chose not to renew their agreement with us last summer," read a post on Google's Google+ page on Wednesday, which Google confirmed to Mashable was its official statement on the matter. "Since then we have observed their rel=nofollow instructions."
Rel=nofollow is code that prevents search engines from following links.
Google's agreement with Twitter gave the search engine access to public tweets. The agreement expired in July and was not renewed. Now Google is implying it was Twitter that chose not to renew the deal.
Twitter had criticized Google's new social search feature, which it calls Search plus Your World, on Tuesday. "As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter," its statement said. "We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone.”
But if Twitter had made it difficult for Google to include Tweet links in its results, which is what Google seems to be implying, it would be just as much to blame as the search engine for making its breaking news with social context hard to find.
Reporter Danny Sullivan cornered Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt at CES on Wednesday and asked him about Google's relationship with Twitter.
Sullivan told Schmidt he thought one feature of Search plus Your World, which recommends relevant people to follow on Google+ but not other networks, is "the equivalent of saying 'hey, you can only find information about finance on Google finance. You cannot find information about finance anywhere else.'"
"Let me remind you that to do the 'everywhere else' with Google finance — we had permission," responded Schmidt.
When Sullivan said he thought Google had enough permission to include links from networks like Twitter in its search results, Schmidt said: "That's your opinion. If you could arrange a letter from Facebook and Twitter to us, that would be helpful."
Highlights from the Marketing Land interview are posted in the YouTube video below. We've reached out to Twitter spokespeople for comment and will update this article when we hear from them.
Do you think that Twitter was right to complain when Google integrated Google+ more closely with its search engine? Does it matter whether they refused Google access to public tweets in the first place? Let us know in the comments.Nintendo Switch players will soon enjoy the unforgettable and heartfelt story of I AM SETSUNA, the debut title from Tokyo RPG Factory, SQUARE ENIX’s newest studio. It will be available as a digital day one launch title, and will include exclusive new features such as the “Temporal Battle Arena,” where players can enjoy thrilling battles against other players’ parties.
I AM SETSUNA follows the story of Setsuna, a young woman of incredible power and inner strength, and the sacrifice she must undertake to save the people of her land as she leaves her hometown. Featuring simple turn-based controls and unique gameplay mechanics inspired by the golden age of JRPGs, I AM SETSUNA merges nostalgic elements with modern current-gen technology. Tokyo RPG Factory’s debut title delivers an emotional story of bravery and sacrifice along with powerful character development.
I AM SETSUNA is |
a pretty high level,” Sparano said. “He probably doesn’t care (about individual accolades), but me as his coach, I have a hard time, watching as much as film as I do, seeing people play at a better level.’’
Reiff rarely talks to the media. He said his policy is to speak only after games.
Perhaps Reiff will have something to talk about after Sunday’s game. Keenum, who will face his former team, is optimistic the line again will step up.
“I feel confident in my offensive line,’’ Keenum said. “With the run game and the pass game, those guys are really playing well.’’
For their latest effort, they have a box of ribs to show for it.
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View more on TwinCities.comWired868, with the help of six people closely involved with the case in the playing, administrative and legal camps, will tell the untold story of the 2006 World Cup bonus dispute. This is Part Four (Warning: Some graphic language included).
On 8 February 2012, World Cup 2006 footballers Brent Sancho, Cyd Gray, David Atiba Charles and Anthony Wolfe turned up at the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation’s Dundonald Street headquarters with a court-appointed marshall and 15 policemen and seized almost everything that was not bolted down.
Four months had passed since the deadline for a second interim payment of $4.6 million (US$724,000) and the 13 “Soca Warriors” decided it was time to show serious intent.
Sancho tipped off the media about the raid but someone passed word on to the TTFF. Inside the building, as players supervised the removal of computers, desks, chairs, trophies and other items, Wolfe noticed a locked door.
“Miss Sharon, the room in the back is locked,” Wolfe told TTFF official Sharon O’Brien. “Can we get it opened please?”
“The girl with the key for that room didn’t come to work today,” O’Brien replied.
Wolfe turned to a burly gentleman who was part of the moving crew.
“Do you have a chisel and hammer or something to open the door?” asked Wolfe.
“How you mean,” he said. “I have everything for that in the truck.”
“Just now,” said O’Brien, as she scurried off, “let me see if I can find the key.”
O’Brien returned and slapped a key on the desk.
Inside the rooms were boxes of documents with accounting statements. There were boxes of unsold Jack Warner biographies too. The players only took the accounting documents. Some of those statements eventually ended up in a Trinidad Express investigative series into Warner and the 2013 CONCACAF Integrity Commission report.
“Allyuh too fucking greedy!” O’Brien shouted at Wolfe. “You will never make a next national team as long as I’m in this Federation!”
Wolfe responded in kind.
“You getting on like is allyuh have to pay from allyuh pocket!” he yelled back. “Allyuh so studying to lick bottom. We worked for we thing. If I don’t make a national team then so be it; God hearing allyuh yes.”
O’Brien had a slightly different recollection.
“I told him that I hope he has a secure job at North East Stars or something to that effect,” she told Wired868. “It was said in a joking manner and not in any tone. They are the ones who came in with an attitude.”
O’Brien claimed that the players offered their share of “verbal jousting” too.
“They even took towels and clothing meant for the national under-16 team,” she said. “I asked them why they were taking the towels since it had no resale value. They said they would donate it to a car wash.
“I asked them what about the under-16 team. They said let them play bareback.”
Six years earlier, players and officials celebrated together as Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest nation ever to participate in a senior FIFA World Cup tournament. Now, the bitterness was so deep that communication was generally done through lawyers, a visit was supervised by more than a dozen policemen and a 28-year-old footballer was having an open cuss out with a female official nearly twice his age in the middle of the TTFF’s headquarters.
O’Brien is not a member of the TTFF’s Technical Committee and, in theory, has no obvious ability to influence team selection. Still, whether by coincidence or not, Wolfe never represented his country again.
The TTFF blacklist ostensibly ran from late 2006 to early 2008. Trinidad and Tobago’s FIFA ranking plummeted during that time and talented young players like goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams, midfielders Khaleem Hyland and Ataullah Guerra and attacker Lester Peltier were denied work permits in Britain as a result. World Cup players like Stern John, Cornell Glen and Kenwyne Jones eventually returned to the international side. Others swore that their bans never ended or were reinstated.
Sancho and goalkeeper Kelvin Jack never played after the World Cup despite being 29 and 30 years old respectively in Germany. Scotland-based winger Collin Samuel scored in a 3-2 World Cup qualifying loss against Costa Rica in 2009. He was 27 at the time. Then coach Russell Latapy never recalled him and neither did anyone else.
Samuel told his teammates that an official told him to choose between the case and his international career. Then team manager David Muhammad denied the allegations. The atmosphere of distrust and loathing between the players and officials made every accusation seem believable.
Such passionate exchanges were rare, though. By then, the bonus dispute was generally a tedious and emotionally draining affair. After Francis Joseph’s article in the Trinidad Guardian, it took the Warriors two years to defeat a TTFF application in the local Appeal Court to have the Sport Dispute Resolution Panel’s verdict voided owing to a confidentiality clause breach. And it was another year before the Trinidad and Tobago High Court awarded its first interim payment to the players.
It was a remarkable test of the players’ endurance and nerves.
In November 2008, TTFF special advisor and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner made what he insisted was his final offer to the World Cup players. It was US$30,000 ($186,000) per player, which was 30 times the initial TTFF offer but barely one tenth of what the players were owed, according to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) report. Townley retorted that the offer was “not sufficiently generous.” Not everyone agreed.
Marvin Andrews had lost his taste for the battle. He had been out of contract for the past seven months since he left Raith Rovers. The players knew their former teammate, Dennis Lawrence, had been asking teammates to give up the court case and had heard that Andrews broke ranks.
Townley tested Andrews’ resolve by calling to ask him about fees.
“What did you ever get for me?” asked Andrews.
Within weeks, England-born players Chris Birchall and Ian Cox followed Andrews.
Birchall had just been released by Coventry and now had the additional responsibility of a nine month old son, Ashley. Much of his savings were lost in an ill-fated investment at a nightclub in the English midlands, which he named Zen after the Port of Spain disco. Birchall told Jack that he had to take the money.
Cox was also a free agent and was having a hard time as he was also dealing with some personal issues. He telephoned Townley and explained his decision for withdrawing from the court action.
Wolfe too was tempted by Warner’s offer. He had used up the Government’s million-dollar gift to build his own four-bedroom dream house in Manzanilla and pay off outstanding loans.
“You should focus on the football,” Lawrence allegedly told Wolfe. “Sancho and them already looking to retire. You’re much younger than them and this case will keep you from moving forward.”
So, by 2010, everyone involved in the case was frustrated. Sancho returned to Trinidad to cut his expenses while Jack tightened his belt and stayed in England with his family. Hislop landed a good job as an ESPN analyst but it was a far cry from his earnings as a player.
The case had shifted back to Trinidad and Hislop hired local attorney Farid Scoon to do the legwork and filing. Hislop wired $110,000 to Trinidad to cover legal costs but was stunned to get an email which accused him of dishonesty. He sent Scoon details of the money transfer and the lawyer apologised and said he had not checked that account.
“Who the hell gets $110,000 and doesn’t notice?” Hislop asked his wife, Desha.
The TTFF had applied for an extension to the case and Townley told Scoon to offer the football body no more than six weeks. On 7 January 2009, Scoon agreed to a six-month adjournment instead. Neither Hislop nor Townley ever heard from Scoon again.
Two years after their arbitration triumph in London, the Warriors had not received a cent from the TTFF and had spent around $1 million in fees. Financially spent, they needed an attorney who would agree to defer receipt of the majority of his or her fees until the conclusion of the case.
The options were few but the elder Hislop got them the services of Dave De Peiza.
The TTFF’s legal team ensured that Townley and his team were always on their toes. In August 2009, the TTFF asked Parliament to repeal the 1982 Act, which incorporated the TTFA. The players’ suit was against the TTFA as it was the recognised football body, although it had called itself the TTFF for nearly two decades.
Townley feared a name change was an attempt to duck its responsibilities and requested that the players be allowed to address Parliament to explain their case. The elder Hislop went to see United National Congress (UNC) political leader Basdeo Panday who sat on the committee that would deal with the TTFF’s request.
“Listen, Jack is trying to sneak in this thing in Parliament to get off,” said Hislop.
“That son of a bitch,” Panday replied. “He owes me $30 million you know.”
When the matter was due to come before Parliament, the TTFF twice requested adjournments and then let the application lapse. The football body did not want to face the players in Parliament.
As the case dragged on, the players took to letter writing.
On 10 May 2010, they wrote to Chief Justice Ivor Archie: “I am writing to you with some reluctance to complain about the lengthy, even inordinate delay… the Honourable Judge has taken six months and still has not ruled on this important matter.”
The players received only an acknowledgment of receipt from the High Court.
Elections were in the air too and Warner routinely attacked the players on the UNC platform. The Warriors tried to respond with a full page advertisement that used excerpts from the various court verdicts. But the Trinidad Express called it libellous and refused to publish it while the Guardian never called back once they saw the contents of the ad.
In the end, only the Newsday ran the advertisement at a cost of roughly $7,000.
On 24 May 2010, the UNC-led coalition, headed by Kamla Persad-Bissessar ousted the PNM and Warner regained his Chaguanas West seat with a record majority. The players consoled themselves with the thought that Warner would not want the potential embarrassment of this court case following him around. It proved to be wishful thinking.
The Warriors pleaded for Warner’s Cabinet colleagues to intercede instead.
“They cannot possibly have a high ranked official involved in a case like this,” Hislop told Sancho.
On 16 July 2010, they wrote to Attorney General Anand Ramlogan: “Our case and its delays have been gaining negative international headlines and football in Trinidad and Tobago has been adversely affected. What have we done wrong to warrant us being treated in this way?
“We represented our country with pride and honour; we believed in our justice system but it seems as though our justice system is failing us.”
Ramlogan neither responded nor granted the Warriors the hearing they requested.
The players sent hand-delivered letters to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar on 16 June 2010 and 15 July 2010 and then on 14 March 2012, after the High Court’s ruling: “Madame PM, we are your fellow countrymen, Chaconia Gold Medal holders, where is your support for us? …We have all the supporting documentary evidence and would be pleased to hand it over to the appropriate regulatory, investigatory and law enforcement agencies.
“As a Senior Council, it must be your wish to see justice served. As Prime Minister, it must be your wish to see your cabinet minister absolved of any wrongdoing. As a taxpayer, it must be your wish to see government funds used for the purposes that they were given…”
The Prime Minister never answered.
But, on 25 February 2011, Justice Devindra Rampersad finally delivered his judgment and ordered the TTFF to pay just over $7 million (US$1.2 million) as an interim payment while the High Court tried to determine the amount owed to the players.
In April 2011, right after the interim payment, Warner sent word that he wanted to settle and the two parties agreed on a $22.5 million payment. Their meeting took place within the same week as Mohamed Bin Hammam’s infamous visit to Port of Spain.
Was the Qatari businessman and aspiring FIFA president the source of the TTFF’s funding?
As the players waited for confirmation of payment from the TTFF, they instead heard that FIFA had suspended Warner and Bin Hammam for trying to fix the FIFA presidential election through bribery.
“This is a disaster,” Townley told the players. “If his world in football is going to collapse anyway, what would be his motivation to make things right with us?”
In June 2011, Warner quit all his football posts. Townley’s wife, Davina, told him that he should resign too. Just cut his losses and go. The Trinidad and Tobago Government would never take action against Warner if they hadn’t done so by now. And Townley seriously considered doing just that.
Jack poured out his frustration in a Wired868 blog on 10 April 2012.
“I have no interest in politics but the injustice of our case and the lack of support from the Prime Minister make me sick,” he stated. “It defies belief that the Prime Minister, herself a lawyer, would ignore something as serious as this.”
Outside the courtroom one afternoon, the elder Hislop snapped too. A retired magistrate, Hislop once headed a supporters group called the Association of Football Supporters of Trinidad and Tobago (AFSOTT), which was formed in response to the perceived ill-treatment of national players in the 1980s.
In 1992, the TTFA tried to change its name officially to the TTFF in what was also viewed as an effort to defraud creditors. AFSOTT blocked it and Warner was furious. A year later, Warner struck back.
The younger Hislop was at England Second Division club, Reading, and chasing a clean sheet record. Camps visited the 24-year-old goalkeeper and invited him to join the national team. But Reading had just one senior goalkeeper and was not keen to lose his services while Hislop was only in his second season as a professional and unwilling to risk his career.
Hislop and Camps agreed that he would only represent Trinidad and Tobago in competitive fixtures and would leave friendlies for the off-season. But Warner insisted that the younger Hislop play in a friendly against the United States and invoked a FIFA ban when the young man objected.
A tearful Hislop called his father who flew to England to supervise his successful appeal against the FIFA ruling. The fact that Hislop was born in England and had not represented Trinidad and Tobago saved him from Warner’s vengeance. But, as that case played out in London, Hislop’s form fell and he conceded six goals in three matches.
The elder Hislop’s wife, Gina, insisted that he pull out of AFSOTT immediately. And his son vowed he would never wear red, black and white gear. It was not until six years later that Dwight Yorke and coach Bertille St Clair changed his mind.
On one wild afternoon in 2012, the elder Hislop lost his cool about a 20-year-old incident. Throughout the case thus far, Camps had walked in and out the courtroom with his girlfriend and Hislop held his tongue. On that day, Camp’s girlfriend had already turned the corner and was out of sight when he greeted Hislop. The response was stinging.
“You are the fucker who fucked up Shaka’s career,” said the 76-year-old Hislop, poking fellow pensioner Camps in the chest.
“Me?” asked Camps, as the colour drained from his face.
“Yes, you,” replied Hislop, adding another push before Sancho rushed over to intervene.
Tempers frayed too on Dundonald Street as the Warriors swooped in on the TTFF headquarters with over a dozen lawmen. The players raised only $25,000 from the auction of seized assets but they considered the move to be a show of strength. It did not immediately reap dividends either way.
By mid-2012, the High Court was firmly on the players’ side. But TTFF general secretary Richard Groden and Camps remained defiant, even in the face of contempt charges. The TTFF was broke and Camps and Groden insisted that only Warner knew the whereabouts of millions in revenue. But they refused to take action against him to recover the money.
It was a high-stakes battle that threatened to destroy both sides. But, months later, an unlikely source finally helped the Warriors to break the stalemate.
Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for the conclusion of the Bonus-gate series. Click here to read part one, here for part two or here for part three.ROCHELLE PARK, N.J. -- Rochelle Park police smashed a drug crew operating from a local hotel, arresting four men and seizing nearly six pounds of black tar heroin, $22,000 in cash, a loaded gun and two sedans with electronically controlled stash traps.
A fifth crew member was still at large ( see photo above ), authorities said.
As Lt. Dean Pinto and Officer Jared Shatkin watched, several men transported bags to and from what a source with knowledge of the investigation said was the Ramada Inn on West Passaic Street on Wednesday.
They approached two men in the lot -- identified as Alejandro Burgos, 36, of Asbury Park, and Adrian Ponce, 25, of Santa Ana, CA, Detective Sergeant James M. DePreta told Daily Voice.
Looking into a Honda Accord, the officers spotted a large bag of cash on the floor, DePreta said.
"In addition, an electronically controlled hidden compartment was [seen] in the open position," he said.
Ponce and Burgos were taken into custody and backups were called.
A man identified as 26-year-old Raul Guadalupe Corrales-Sarmiento of Senoloa, Mexico, opened the hotel room door, and in plain view on a night stand was a.45-caliber Glock handgun that turned out to be loaded with hollow-point bullets, DePreta said.
Detectives obtained search warrants for the hotel room and both the Honda and a Toyota Camry parked in the lot outside, the sergeant said.
They later seized the drugs, cash and vehicles, he said.
A fourth man was arrested: Jose Dela-Torre, 24, of Riverside, CA, DePreta said.
A fifth alleged member of the crew fled during the flurry of activity, he said.
Police tentatively identified him as Carlos Ayala, a Mexican national.
Ayala was described as 25, about 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, with a medium build and wearing a light blue hoodie and blue jeans.
The other four were committed to the Bergen County Jail pending bail hearings on major drug and weapons charges.
Ponce and Burgos also were charged with possession of property derived from a crime.
Police Chief Robert Flannelly praised the "outstanding" work of his detectives and officers and thanked the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, New Jersey State Police and police from Fair Lawn, Maywood and Paramus for their assistance.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.LONDON (Reuters) - Refugees fleeing war, violence and persecution have a much higher risk of developing psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia than people who migrate for economic or social reasons, according to research published on Tuesday.
Refugees and migrants cross a river near the Greek-Macedonian border to return to Greece, after an unsuccessful attempt to enter Macedonia, west of the village of Idomeni, Greece, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Researchers writing in the BMJ British medical journal said their findings suggest government healthcare officials in countries taking in refugees should plan to be able to help higher numbers of mental health patients.
Humanitarian crises in Europe, the Middle East, north Africa, and central Asia mean there are currently more displaced people, asylum seekers and refugees worldwide than at any time since Word War Two.
Refugees have a raised risk of mental conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - which brings flashbacks and panic attacks and can render patients emotionally volatile - but until now little has been known about the risk of psychosis.
So a team from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet and Britain’s University College London used national register data to look at more than 1.3 million people in Sweden, and tracked diagnoses of non-affective psychotic disorders among the population.
On a per capita basis, Sweden has granted more refugee applications than any other high-income country, the researchers said, and in 2011 refugees constituted 12 percent of the immigrant population.
Those studied included people born to two Swedish-born parents, refugees, and non-refugee migrants from the four major refugee generating regions: the Middle East and north Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia.
Their results showed a total of 3,704 cases of psychotic disorders, with refugees given asylum some 66 percent more likely to develop schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder than non-refugee migrants. Refugees were also up to 3.6 times more likely suffer psychosis than the Swedish-born population.
The researchers said health officials in receiving countries should recognize the “need to take the early signs and symptoms of psychosis into account in refugee populations as part of any clinical mental health service response to current global humanitarian crises.”
In a commentary about the study, also published in the BMJ, Cornelius Katona, medical director at the Helen Bamber Foundation human rights charity, said Europe needed “a robust mental health response to the refugee crisis” and should try its best to reduce extra stresses imposed when migrants arrive.
“Consideration also needs to be given to the challenges that asylum seekers face during what is often a prolonged and distressing process,” he said. “These factors may include institutional detention, inability to work (and resultant deskilling and loss of self esteem), destitution and difficulty in accessing health and social care.”By: Jon Chambers and Stephon Devereux
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Advertisementsclick to enlarge THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH: That's what Shannon Brumley says a change in the hours of in-home care he receives through Medicaid could mean.
Some 4,000 disabled and elderly Arkansans who rely on a Medicaid waiver program to receive in-home services have seen their benefits cut by the state Department of Human Services due to an unannounced rule change.
The waiver provides attendant care, where someone helps a patient dress, bathe, eat and take medication. This in-home care allows elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients to avoid going to a nursing home for care.
"You will continue to have the same services," Craig Cloud, director of the DHS' Division of Aging and Adult Services, had written in a letter sent to beneficiaries of two Medicaid waiver programs near the end of 2015 announcing their combination into a single new one named ARChoices.
For some elderly and disabled Arkansans, that has proved true. But many others have seen their hours of in-home care reduced significantly.
Legal Aid of Arkansas filed state and federal lawsuits on behalf of waiver recipients who object to the change from DHS. Legal Aid prevailed in one suit. In a judgment entered last November, U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall agreed that recipients were not given proper notice from the DHS that a change in allocation of Medicaid hours would occur, nor the reason for that change.
Marshall said in a ruling from the bench that the DHS did not give enough information "to allow a man on the street or a woman on the street to understand why the benefits were changing."
However, Marshall did not rule that the new method that the DHS is using to allocate hours is itself illegal. He simply said that the DHS needed to provide more information and notice before making the change.
Because Marshall stopped short of blocking the implementation of the new program more broadly, Legal Aid, on behalf of seven recipients, sued in state court in January 2017. On Feb. 6, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen issued a temporary injunction, halting the hour changes for only the seven recipients involved in the lawsuit. The DHS appealed that ruling and the Arkansas Supreme Court is set to hear the appeal Oct. 26. A full trial in Griffen's court will follow.
Medicaid waivers that allow for in-home care save Arkansas a lot of money and, experts say, could save the state a lot more. The DHS estimates that it spends on average about $8,500 on waiver services vs. about $47,500 on nursing homes per patient per year. Seventy percent of the funds for Medicaid comes from the federal government and 30 percent from the state of Arkansas. Still, the gaping disparity in costs is why The Stephen Group, when conducting a review for the Health Reform Legislative Task Force in Arkansas, said the state's spending of Medicaid money on long-term care was too weighted toward nursing homes. Arkansas currently spends 35 percent of its Medicaid funding on patients who receive long-term in-home care, whereas the national average is 50 percent.
"If the Arkansas Medicaid program were to shift its expenditures on [long-term service care] such that expenditures on community-based represented 50 percent... the Arkansas Medicaid program could recognize almost $200 million in annual, all-funds savings by 2021," The Stephen Group concluded in its report.
The DHS agrees that a shift toward in-home care is necessary.
"It is less costly, but it is also just better generally for individuals to be in a familiar home-like setting," Amy Webb, a spokeswoman for the DHS, said. "[In] an environment that makes them feel comfortable, they seem to do better, have a better quality of life, and are more likely to live longer and to live healthier."
ARChoices was created in this light as a way to save money and provide better care. Per recipient, it's estimated to cost $18,170 vs. $50,100 cost for a nursing home, according to the DHS.
Because of the assurance of the "same services" in Cloud's letter, Shannon Brumley, 44, a quadriplegic who had been receiving in-home care via Medicaid for six years, did not expect a change when he was notified about ARChoices in 2015.
Not announced in Cloud's letter was a substantial, if seemingly technical, change in how the DHS calculates the number of hours of care that waiver recipients receive on ARChoices.
Before ARChoices, a nurse would administer a long survey — called the ARPath assessment tool — that would estimate the numbers of hours that a waiver recipient should receive based on physical needs. Then, the nurse would have discretion to assign hours based on her experience in providing care.
For example, under the old rules, if Brumley answered the survey about his health and was allocated five hours a day, but the nurse knew he needed more, the nurse would be able to bump it up to eight hours.
Under ARChoices, a nurse has no discretion. After taking the survey about health, a patient is put into a tier of care by an assessment algorithm. The new algorithm compares the needs of all ARChoices recepients and assigns each one to a tier based on who needs the most and least attention considering the resources available to the DHS.
With the change, Brumley's hours were slated to drop considerably.
"They were going to cut my hours from 56 hours a week to 32 hours a week," Brumley said. "It's the difference between staying in soiled clothes and staying in fresh clothes. Getting a shower or not getting a shower. Getting fed or not getting fed. I mean it's the difference between, really, life and death."
Brumley is not a plaintiff in Legal Aid's state lawsuit, but he did seek help from Legal Aid in appealing the change in hours. So far his hours have not been cut.
Since the DHS relied solely on the algorithm, Legal Aid's suit asked the DHS to provide the data on how it determined hours for each tier. The DHS said it lost that data. Kevin De Liban, a Legal Aid staff attorney, also sought internal memos that would address the decision to do away with nurses' discretion — giving a motivation for the action — but he was told there were none. In response to that request, the DHS said some nurses had complained about certain patients getting too many hours. De Liban also asked if there was a study run by the DHS to see what would happen when the implementation took place. There were "absolutely zero metrics to measure how many people it's going to impact," De Liban said.
The DHS contends that a large number of beneficiaries had their hours go up, too — an estimated 42 percent compared to 47 percent who had their hours cut.
But, there is no data to indicate the magnitude of the change in either direction. The DHS has not tracked the degree to which hours increased or decreased.
There should have been notice given and time to comment on the changes before they were made, De Liban said.
"They can't just decide, 'OK, one day, people are going to be decided according to nurse discretion and another day according to an algorithm.'... If the state does something, but they adopted it without using the proper procedures, what they're doing is invalid," he said. The DHS has conceded that its notification effort was flawed, but says the new rule is proper.
"The [federal Marshall ruling] on this issue found the algorithm itself is valid [as] a tool. The court took exception to the notice we provided to beneficiaries," Webb said. "We have made improvements to our notices based on that case and are confident that the ARChoices tool is working appropriately and people are being assigned the level of care that best meets their needs."
The DHS has argued that the efforts were about standardization, and that, despite the lack of notice, it helps people on the program.
"We knew there would be changes for some individuals because, again, this assessment is much more objective," Webb said. "Before you had mostly nurses who were providing the assessments, and based on their personal experience and knowledge with similar patients they might say, 'Oh this individual needs 10 hours.' For the same patient, another nurse might say, 'This person needs 15 hours for the week.' Because we use an algorithm that assigns people based on similarities with others in a group, it's just, again, much less subjective."
Beneficiaries can also appeal the change in their waivers to the DHS administration. But such an appeal, De Liban points out, does not challenge the use of the algorithm as a method, only if it was properly applied.
"We've had, in the last few months, a dozen or maybe more hearings for individuals who are not part of the seven plaintiffs who are having to fight those cuts through the administrative process. The vast majority are losing," he said.
Brumley — who describes himself as a "44-year-old country boy" on his blog — has been able to hold off cuts by appealing his decision within the DHS's appeal process. In-home care, Brumley said, has been essential to his progress after a devastating motorcycle accident in 2001.
He did not die in the wreck, but it was close: He broke his neck and spine in 10 places, his lungs and brain were badly damaged, and his limbs were paralyzed. "The first two years, all we worried about was, 'Is he going to make it?' " Lana Brumley, his mother, told the Arkansas Times. The family shuttled Brumley to over 30 doctors in Memphis, and Brumley moved back in with his family on their farm in Lawrence County near Walnut Ridge. "If he needs anything, I'm right there all the time for him," she said. "If he was in a nursing home [during the first two years], he would have died."
The accident altered Shannon Brumley's life in profound ways. "I had to go from independent to totally dependent," he said. "Can't brush my teeth, can't brush my hair. I can't bathe myself. I can't use the bathroom myself. I can't feed myself." But, someone needed to. "His life totally changed and so did ours, our whole family," Lana Brumley said. Her job became making sure her son could live. And not just survive but live a full life.
The family rigged the entire house to accommodate him and his wheelchair. He writes poems on his computer, updating his blog by using a mouth stick to hit the keys. So Brumley won't develop bed sores, his family adapted their schedules to ensure that he's turned every few hours — an intricate process that must be done delicately, so as not to cause Brumley any pain. Lana even set up a baby monitor to hear Brumley from another room. And Brumley's father adapted the wheelchair to hold a gun — "I bite and it pulls the trigger," Brumley said — allowing the Brumley boys, including Shannon Brumley's now 17-year-old son, to go hunting together.
But this care is expensive. Lana Brumley pointed this reporter toward the cushion on his wheelchair: $2,500 and not covered by insurance. "You go buy stuff for him, and the price is going to increase by four times [a normal item]," she said. "You're so worried about, 'Am I going to have the money for this? Am I going to have the money for that?' "
And new problems have occurred: a brain hemorrhage led to paralysis on the right side of Brumley's body, an antibiotic proved toxic, and there have been infections.
"It's a never-ending thing," Lana Brumley said of the subsequent health challenges and costs that grow from a single tragedy like her son's motorcycle accident.
After the accident, days became complex dives into the heart of American medicine, Lana Brumley said. They would go to a doctor and have to learn new phrases and terms and diseases. Then, she'd learn about the intricacies of health insurance, looking for some way to pay for it all. "You just love him, you just take care of him," Lana Brumley said. "You're trying to get the necessities that they need."
Six years ago, the costs became too high. "Financially, he couldn't afford it," Lana said, "That enabled him to be able to get Medicaid." Before that, he had been paying through his own insurance.
The Legal Aid state lawsuit hinges, mostly, on the idea of notice: Were waiver recipients properly informed of a changed?
But for Lana Brumley that issue is secondary. The new rules are unfair, she says. "Somebody like Shannon requires around-the-clock care, but if eight [hours per day] is the most you can get — for somebody in that bad of shape — give it to them," Lana Brumley said, referencing the eight hours per day her son receives vs. the approximately five hours per day the ARChoices algorithm says he should receive. "Why wouldn't you give it to them? Our government can do so much more, our state can do so much more by providing for the family members to take care at home, or allow them to hire somebody to come in."Last time Alo Looke and his university buddies got together over coffee, they spoke of little else but the Russian annexation of Crimea and Russia's moves into eastern Ukraine. "Then we thought, what do we do if |
residual support in sections of the mainstream media, the prime minister appears to have weathered the initial storm and, unless new tapes bring more damaging revelations, the government does not face an immediate threat to its survival.
However, it is difficult to see the ruling party emerging from this crisis completely unscathed and fully recovering its severely damaged reputation. Although Mr Tusk tried to dismiss the unsavoury language used by ministers and public officials as a side-issue, and even though most Poles hold their political class in fairly low esteem anyway, the dissonance between their public image and how they conduct themselves and what policies they argue in private may still be shocking to many citizens. Although this may be a gradual process of unravelling that will take some time to become fully apparent, the long-term effect of the ‘tape crisis’ could still be to seriously undermine what remaining trust many voters have in the Tusk government.
AdvertisementsThe progressive predicament in Bristol West
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In the upcoming UK general election it’s pretty clear that the number one priority for all of us should be to stop the Tories in their quest for continued domination of Westminster. Unfortunately, in our broken First-Past-The-Post electoral system, this usually means a need for tactical voting with Labour or the Liberal Democrats being the typical beneficiaries. This is necessary because there are more parties on the left than there are on the right. This is especially true now that the Tories have lurched to the euro-sceptic side of things. They’re in a good position to mop up former UKIP voters — the so-called #bluekip phenomenon — which is part of the reason they called this election in the first place. For most seats in the country the choice is clear: vote for whatever progressive candidate has the best chance in your area. That said, I feel really lucky because my constituency is Bristol West which holds the distinction of being one of only a handful of seats in the entire country where the tories have no chance, even combined with former UKIP voters. The first, second and third place candidates in the last election are all from progressive parties, and they’re all incredibly qualified. So I’d like to explore who would make the best progressive choice for Bristol West.
Our next MP will be one of the following three people:
Thangam Debonnaire (Labour), Stephen Williams (LibDem) & Molly Scott Cato (Green)
Stephen Williams
Stephen Williams was our MP from 2005–2015. While I generally agree with the LibDems on several issues I’ve never had much confidence in Stephen as an MP and to see why you need to simply look at his voting record. For example, I applaud his support for equality legislation, but his voting record indicates that he’s pro-austerity, supports regressive taxation (VAT), supports privatisation, voted to sell off our forests, and voted for going to war whenever he was given a chance. So I think even calling him progressive is a bit of a stretch. Voters abandoned him in droves at the last election and he certainly won’t be getting my vote this time.
Thangam Debonnaire
Newly elected just two years ago, I have tremendous respect for Thangam. Shortly after being elected to parliament she was diagnosed with cancer. I can’t imagine how challenging it must have been to try and juggle new parliamentary responsibilities with getting treatment for her illness and I think she has performed admirably in the circumstances. Due to this absense, her voting record is fairly sparse, but I’ve been generally impressed by her progressive views and willingness to respond on the occasions when I’ve contacted her. The problem for me is that a large reason I feel I’m able to support today’s Labour party is due to the vision and character of Jeremy Corbyn, and Thangam has been extremely critical of him. For her to be campaigning on a wave of support for him and the manifesto Labour has produced just a matter of months after voting and publicly stating that she has no confidence in his leadership strikes me as a bit hypocritical. If Labour doesn’t win an outright majority in this election (which is almost certain) I’m really concerned that we will see a repeat of what happened after the EU referendum — with renewed efforts to oust Corbyn and another bout of party in-fighting when what we really need is for our MPs to work on addressing the needs of our country. It’s made me sick to see Labour lose the confidence of the electorate over the past few years through their own internal party squabbling. So while I’d be content with her as my respresentative, I find it difficult to be a true supporter.
Molly Scott Cato
Molly Scott Cato is currently one of the South West’s 6 MEPs, and has been since 2014. She is a former economics professor and much of her work in the EU has been around tax justice — ensuring that the rich and companies pay their fair share. She’s as far as it is possible to be from the “hippie” charicature that Greens are often portrayed as. She’s economically literate, serious about sustainability, and she’s ideally placed to challenge whatever government we end up with on Friday. She will fight for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, for the halting of the privatisation of the NHS, and for real action on climate change. Finally, it’s pretty clear that for the next 5 years the primary focus nationally will be Brexit — who better to represent what’s best for us than somebody with such a thorough understanding of how EU law relates to the laws of the UK. How will having a Green MP affect Labour’s prospects? In many ways, Molly’s policy positions are even more in line with Jeremy Corbyn than Thangam’s, and in every scenario, a Green MP will do more good than just one more Labour MP. Green party policy is formed from the ground up and is incredibly popular. Based on policies alone, if we had a fair voting system the Greens would likely be the second largest party in parliament. The only reason we don’t is this endemic fear that a Green vote is a “wasted vote”. Despite this, people still vote for them in nearly every seat in the country. The difference is, in Bristol West it’s not a wasted vote.
To hear the three candidates defend their policies in person, here is an excellent head-to-head video put out by the Bristol Cable.
Our ideal representative
When you think about it, general elections in the UK are quite peculiar. All of the media coverage during election campaigns is about who will make the best Prime Minister. But none of us choose who that is, and unless you live in Maidenhead or Islington, you’ll never have a chance to vote for Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn. The only choice you have is for your own MP, your representative in Westminster. So I’d like to you to ignore for a moment what your vote might mean in the context of the country as a whole and consider what characteristics might make a person best at representing you. I recently heard a story of a voter who confronted a prospective candidate with a simple question. “If there was a vote in parliament where you knew that your constituency wanted you to vote one way and the party whip wanted you to vote the opposite way, which way would you vote?” If they say they’d vote with the whip, then they’re not the ideal representative for you. The Green party doesn’t have whips (except locally as a titular role), whereas Thangam Debonnaire is a whip. Overall it’s clear to me that Labour would be much preferrable to a Tory government, but there are still things I don’t like about Labour policy — support for Trident and Brexit come to mind, but most of all, their efforts to block changes to make our voting system more representative. You know that tactical thing that we’re stuggling with? Labour implicitly supports that. And why not, when they benefit from it? If we had a Green MP I have confidence that she would vote with Labour when it’s in our interest, but not be ordered by the party to support things that we don’t, and she would always support efforts to make our country more democratically representative.
We have a real chance here in Bristol West to make history by doubling Green representation in parliament. We have the opportunity to vote for exactly who we believe in without wasting our vote. Even if you disagree with my choice in candidate, I invite you to join me in voting with your heart and head and leave tactics behind.SunPower, the solar panel maker and project developer majority-owned by oil giant Total, announced Monday that it has acquired SolarBridge, a venture capital-backed startup that makes microinverters for solar panels. Microinverters are miniature versions of conventional central solar inverters that are necessary for converting the direct current generated by solar panels into alternating current that feeds into the grid or is used by the building or onsite.
Microinverters emerged as a new, and disruptive, form of solar inverter several years ago. Instead of matching a central inverter to a dozen panels at a time, a much smaller microinverter can serve, and be embedded on, just one panel. This design allows the microinverters to calculate and adjust the optimal energy output of each solar panel and can prevent poor-performing panels from affecting the power output of the best-performing ones. Another startup called Enphase Energy, which went public in early 2012, is a competitor to SolarBridge.
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SunPower didn’t disclose the terms of the deal or the price it paid for the Austin, Texas–based startup, which started selling its microinverters in any kind of volume at the beginning of 2011. SolarBridge has raised at least $105 million to date, from investors including Shea Ventures, Battery Ventures, Rho Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, and Osage University Partners. (Disclosure: Shea Ventures is an investor in Gigaom).
SunPower has been working with SolarBridge since late 2011, when it started reselling a microinverter and panel combo with them. SolarBridge also had various other partners before the deal.
SunPower sees boom times ahead for its solar cell manufacturing and the company said last week in its earnings call that it plans to boost its solar panel production by as much as 46 percent in 2015. The U.S. market has been among the top three big-growth solar markets worldwide, and solar panel installments domestically will likely grow 36 percent to reach 6.5 gigawatts in 2014, according to GTM Research.
But with a big ramp-up, SunPower needs to make sure it’s offering some of the most efficient, cost-effective and best solar products out there — hence its investment in bringing in the microgrid technology in house. By taking over microgrid manufacturing it can use its economies of scale to reduce the cost and make the production process more efficient.
SunPower can also be more vertically integrated, which is something that competitor SolarCity has been doing aggressively lately. After some twists and turns, SolarCity and SunPower have emerged as some hefty competitors.
Since SunPower didn’t disclose the terms, it’s unclear whether or not the price exceeded the amount SolarBridge has raised over the years. It’s difficult not just to exist and grow as a solar manufacturing startup but also to find the same type of multiple that an internet or software company would get in an acquisition.With Purpose, much of the infrastructure is already in place, as the company existed before as 1933. How important was having that when you were thinking about your next step and starting a new venture?
When I researched and decided I wanted to go smaller, I started talking to smaller breweries, looking at different types of ventures. Then suddenly, I had a chance to talk to the owner of 1933, and he wanted to get out. At that point I was talking to Zach and Laura already [who bought 1933, where they worked, from the previous owner], and it was like, “Wow, maybe we should do this.” As we kept on talking, having a location, having equipment from the get-go, it suddenly felt like something that was beneficial.
You’re the latest reputable brewer to leave a larger, established company to start a smaller, upstart venture, joining the likes of Mitch Steele (Stone to New Realm), John Harris (Deschutes to Ecliptic), Jeremy Warren (Knee Deep to Revision), and Garrett Crowell (Jester King to an as-yet-unnamed startup). What went into the decision?
It was kind of a big thing for me having taken New Belgium national. It took 25 years to get to that moment. For me, it was a big moment to be like, “Wow, look what we’ve been able to do.” Then, from there, you look back to yourself and ask, “What else do you want to do now? What would you like to do?” That occurred to me during my sabbatical. Talking to smaller breweries, it made my heart beat and I was like, “Whoa, what’s happening here?” The more I started talking with people about their lives and how their breweries are going, I thought, "This is what I want to do next."
Obviously you can’t speak for the others, but why do you think that broader trend seems to be emerging now, where brewers are opting to leave their posts to start new ventures? Why is now the right time for that?
That’s a funny question. I think it’s actually the wrong moment to do this right now, with so many breweries coming into play and having such a saturated market. I cannot speak for Mitch [or the others]. For me, I’ve always been searching, and I said that from the moment I came out for my ownership in New Belgium, I’m only going to stay as long as I can learn. New Belgium has been amazing, what I’ve been able to learn in different fields and different areas. For me, that’s my drive. There is so much to be learned again that is completely new.
You mentioned the ownership aspect at New Belgium. Is the financing and ambition behind the Purpose plan at all influenced by the value of your ESOP investment?
No, because the ESOP is a retirement plan. To pull money out of it at this point, you get penalized for it because it’s really something meant to be a retirement plan. That money is really not accessible.
So what can people look forward to from Purpose?
We stay purposefully vague for now. We want to open I hope within two months, but what we want to do is bring out creative, small batches. It’s a four-barrel system. It’s something I’ve done for now for the second time in my life, coming from New Belgium. It’s one of those moments, it’s exciting, scary, and challenging.This is a rather disturbing turn of events. Federal Magistrate Joseph Spero has approved a request by Sony to subpoena the hacker GeoHot’s web host, as well as YouTube, Google, and Twitter, for identifying information on anyone who has accessed, commented, or viewed information relating to the hack. At best this is lazy on Sony’s part and irresponsible on Magistrate Spero’s, and at worst it is a deliberate and malicious wholesale violation of privacy.
The pretense for this wildly overreaching action is that Sony needs this information to prove the case should be tried in San Francisco, in federal court and close to Sony’s headquarters. And why do they feel it should be? Because that’s in Sony’s terms of service. This after another judge noted that by Sony’s standards, “the entire universe would be subject to [her] jurisdiction.”
Sony contends that the subpoenas are “narrowly tailored for jurisdictional discovery.” Yet their subpoena for Bluehost, GeoHot’s host, requires “all server logs, IP address logs, account information, account access records and application or registration forms” and “any other identifying information corresponding to persons or computers who have accessed or downloaded files hosted using your service and associated with the www.geohot.com website, including but not limited to the geohot.com/jailbreak.zip file.” Essentially, everyone who visited GeoHot’s site (or his blog at Blogspot) is subject to involvement in this case.
They also will subpoena YouTube and Google requiring identifying information for anyone who watched GeoHot’s video showing a PS3 hack.
Every viewer. Every visitor. No matter how they came there, whether or not they downloaded the contested information. Whether they used that information illegally or not. I’m on that list. Are you? How do you like the idea of Sony subpoenaing your personal browsing data from when you followed a link from Reddit or CrunchGear out of curiosity?
Sony contests that everything is proper, and that the non-parties (which is to say, you and I) will have a chance to contest involvement. Really? Sony is asking that the court knowingly involve potentially hundreds of thousands of individuals, because those individuals aren’t legally restricted from saying they’re not involved. They may as well accuse the whole world and then let the 6.9 billion of us not concerned each send a letter to Magistrate Spero saying there’s been a minor mistake.
The EFF has responded in a letter to the Magistrate, saying “the discovery seeks information about non-parties and… the relationship to the narrow jurisdictional question at issue [i.e. where the case should be tried] seem tenuous at best” and citing a previous decision in which it was found that “Nonparty disclosure is only appropriate in the exceptional case where the compelling need for the discovery sought outweighs the First Amendment rights of the anonymous speaker.”
The DMCA forbids devices that circumvent copyright or other protections, and the idea behind it is similar to the laws preventing you from modifying, say, your bumper height beyond a certain level, or building a house without the proper permits. But cases like this one clearly are not analogous, as has been pointed out thousands of times over the last few years (TechDirt is a reliable source on this topic). Being able to do what you like with your own property is somewhere between a right and a privilege, but at the very least if it is done in private and no ill effect can be shown to result, you should be free to hack. It’s not legal yet, but neither is crossing the street against the light.
Whether Sony or the Magistrate is more at fault here, I don’t know. It’s clear that this request by Sony is either lazy or malicious: they could have made it more specific, but didn’t bother. And the Magistrate should have demanded, as the EFF points out, that Sony meet higher standards for discovery limitations. Is anyone else worried that our judges and legislators are unable to comprehend the issues they are forced to judge and legislate? Magistrate Spero for one clearly does not understand the scope or gravity of the request he just granted.
Meanwhile, of course, the master signing key for the PS3 is widely available to anyone who looks. What Sony thinks it will accomplish by suing GeoHot and anyone else who posts the key (including their own Kevin Butler, I expect) is beyond me. Hacks are like the hydra, and while Sony is suing the head it has already cut off, two more, or two thousand, will grow in its place.
[edited for clarity]The film is being restored and will air on British TV in 2015.
Director Alfred Hitchcock collaborated on a rarely seen Holocaust documentary. (Photo11: 1972 AFP/Getty Images photo)
An incomplete Alfred Hitchcock documentary on the Holocaust that includes some "truly shocking footage" is being finished and restored by London's Imperial War Museum and will air on British TV in 2015, The New Zealand Herald reports.
The release will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Europe at the end of World War II. A making-of documentary, Night Will Fall, is being produced in conjunction with the film, and both will be released in theaters as well.
The original documentary is titled Memory of the Camps. It was filmed in 1945 but was never released because of production problems and political pressures, according to PBS' Frontline, which aired an unedited, incomplete version in 1985 after a researcher found it in the Imperial War Museum's vaults. The new version, which doesn't yet have a title, is being digitally restored and will include footage that was missing from the 1985 version.
Hitchcock collaborated on the documentary with friend and future business partner Sidney Bernstein, who said the famed director refused to be paid for his work. PBS says Hitchcock's role was to "shape the way the documentary was presented." Later, while reviewing the footage shot by British Army cameramen, the master of the macabre was so traumatized that he "stayed away from Pinewood Studio for a week," according to The New Zealand Herald.
The finished documentary could be equally shocking for today's audiences.
"Judging by the two test screenings we have had for colleagues, experts and film historians, what struck me was that they found it extremely disturbing," Imperial War Museum curator Toby Haggith tells The New Zealand Herald. However, Haggith also says it's "both an alienating film in terms of its subject matter but also one that has a deep humanity and empathy about it."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1czUCJRHUD Secretary Julián Castro Endorses Hillary Clinton
Enlarge this image toggle caption Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Clinton-Castro 2016?
Julián Castro endorsed Hillary Clinton on Thursday. The secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the second Obama Cabinet official to endorse Clinton — even as Vice President Biden is still considering getting in the race. (Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also endorsed Clinton earlier this year.)
Castro would likely be on the vice-presidential short lists for whomever wins the Democratic nomination.
"I am really going to look hard at him for anything, because that is how good he is," Clinton said in Texas when asked by Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, if Castro would make a good vice president.
This summer, Castro said he was flattered by talk that he could be vice president. On MSNBC Thursday, he demurred, "Oh, I doubt that will happen."
The endorsement comes the same day as a "Latinos for Hillary" rally in San Antonio, Texas, the city where Castro launched his political career and was a popular mayor until joining the Obama administration.
The Castro endorsement is significant, though not necessarily surprising. His twin brother, Congressman Joaquin Castro, recently campaigned for Clinton in Iowa.
Castro said on MSNBC that his endorsement of Clinton, despite Biden waiting in the wings, has more to do with his long relationship with the Clintons.
"I have tremendous respect for Vice President Biden, and I know that he's going to make a decision about whether to enter the race," Castro said. "I believe that he would also make a fantastic president. My support of Secretary Clinton is based on a long relationship that Joaquin, and I have had with her as well as with former President Clinton.... This is not something that's against another person. This is really an endorsement of her."Velocity Mozilla is exploring ways of building a multi-threaded browser DOM for Firefox, so that a single web page can be rendered using multiple processor cores.
"We think it's possible," Mozilla open source evangelist Chris Blizzard said on Thursday at the O'Reilly Velocity conference in Santa Clara, California. "This is an active area of research, and we invite anyone to join us."
Speaking with The Register, Blizzard said that the project is very much in the early stages, but it involves Rust, a new low-level programming language built at Mozilla. Mozilla man Graydon Hoare began Rust as a side project in 2006, but he's now working on it full-time, according to Blizzard. The language is built from the ground up for concurrency and safety. "It's a C++-like languages designed to let you build in parallelism and security," Blizzard said.
Today, Firefox and other browser offer various forms of parallelism. Separate tabs can be run on multiple cores, though they do share some processes. Plug-ins are now run as separate processes. And things like http transactions and video and audio decoding are multi-threaded.
WebGL provides parallelism via GPU hardware acceleration. And with a browser like mobile Firefox, Blizzard said, Mozilla uses separate processes for the browser chrome and the content.
But with Firefox, the DOM (Document Object Model) interface used to render things like HTML and JavaScript is still single-threaded. "The DOM and the way we do layout and the expectations and promises for the way the internal APIs behave are all single-threaded," Blizzard said. "It's very difficult to make the DOM multi-core."
With more and more applications moving to the browser, it only makes sense to break up the DOM's tasks onto multiple cores. This applies to both desktop and mobile devices, which are beginning to see multi-core chips.
In essence, Mozilla is working to rebuild the DOM with Rust. "The idea is to take chunks of the DOM, take chunks of the rendering, and break them into their own tasks and actually be able to take advantage of multi-core machines in a single web page," Blizzard said.
But Blizzard stresses that Mozilla has not deployed any code and has no real schedule for the project. "It's basically research at this point," he said. ®The Author – Hi peolpe!!!! Another story here...this time...the POWERPUFF GIRLKS!!!! I always loved then, maybe the best Carttonn Network show. Sad that it is cancelled isn't it? This is sotyr is the darkest I did till this day, please, don't condemn me, I just wanted to test new kinds of stories. Okay, and, I think next week, I'll publish somethnig very different. I was thinking about an horror story or somethnig like that. What do you think? Let me see how that unfolds. Enjoy!
Naked Heart: In Soul of the Sun
Blossom was flying in the air, smelling the marmalade sky of ther Townvile's skies. Her sisters where flying along her over the city, shoving maelstrom pleasant kisses to pitifully sad birds.
"Blossom!" utter the blondie blondie greild, Bumbles.
"What is it dear pleasantry sista?"
"Oh, I have contispation."
"Oh sista, come to my bossom, I'll cover you with love!" and Bluubles goes, and hugs the little red headed horny girl.
Buttercup wasn't confortable with that situation. She don't likes transference of love to the hearts of unhappy couples. She is alonely, she haves a dark heart of destruction. And it's doomed to plummet down to the skies of unholy lactation.
As the girls flew in the heavens, Blossom huuged the Bubbles, and they got wet. Buttercup them coundln't have it anymore. She shouts:
"Nopes!!! You can't touch yourselves without my self approval condolences!!" and she punches heavly in the face Buuble to the air, who flies like the lightining stairs of Andfromeda to the outer space screaming like a raped middle aged wapanese kangaroo.
"Godmmanit Buggercup!!! You took my love away from my bully breasts and sent her astray to the final doom of the vaccumm filled innocent space!!!!"
And Buttercup felt the pain…the pain that rages in the hearts of warriors, of milk dressed amozons. That cannot be right…she must does somethnigs…it's her sista, the only pilgrim that lasts from Doctor Utonium promised utopia.
After the professor Utonium got dead, the girls went a downhill slope of self fish behavior and utterly destructive massacres. "That unfair!!!" tohught Blossom when her father death hisself. Mojo Mojo was his antagonist, the one that took his life, without a unique blood of mercy in his bones. Utonium last words to his daughters was:
"My dears, please, never touch others girls vaginal liquids, you can get Ebola." And he died. This event was so traumatic to Blossom that she killed Mojo Jojo with her teeth, and he exploded in a thousand of bananas shells. All got worse. Buttecup turned Emo and cut her waists, Bubbles got genital herpes through contact with deceased roadkill pussies…and Blossom…oh Blossom…she never recovered from that disgrace. But she maintained a more or less faithful position to her ideals. But she turned into an empity sheel of what she was.
Buttercup is now thinking about what to do, when Blossom gaves idea:
"Buttercup, we must go after her!" and Buttercup agree. It's a good plan.
So, they follow Buubles blue trail of love to the outer space. They went fast, passing thru Jupiter, Mars, Venus and then Saturn, when the trail was not more presence. Buttefercup looked the next near planet, Mercurio, and said:
"Blossom, she could have fallen on that one!"
"No, it is not possible." And Buttercup got sad. It was cold there, because it was far from the Sun. Sheets of ice where forming on her clothes and frosting the leaking milk from ger lactating titties.
"Buttcup" said Bolssom "I know where Buubles whent."
"Yeah? Where?"
"To the future."
"How?"
"When you punched her, she flew to the space. She then acquired speed passing on the tangent of the planets, acquiring acceleration from the gravitation speed. This cause her to go over the spped of light, and she transported to future!"
"Oh no! What have I DONES!!!!!" and Buttercup emo suicidal tendencies took over her platinum soul, suffocating her new will to alive one more day. She go sad, and picked a screwdriver and then…punctured her belly with it, perforating the stomach, the kidneys and the BOWELS!!! Blood sprayied on the space and tears flowed from her saponaceous bitter eyes.
"My sista!!!! Noes!!!!" cried loud Blossom, who got totally terrified by that unravel of self torment. "Buttcup, I will no let you die!!!!!" and Blossom caught Buttercup with her shoulders and flew towards the Sun.
They went there direction, and it got heater and heater. The fire balls from King Star Sun got throwed at the grils, but Blosoom avoid. Sahe got near and near, and their clothes started to go burn. Fire and lust emerged from their skins as the foreskin of Sun got a Boner. Sun looked to their eye and said:
"Youy shall not PASS!!!" and the bruissed Buttercup cried as their magnificantifous Solar Star got angry at then. But Blossom is a hard one, so she fights against the supernova waves of high level x ray lust radiation.
"Nope girls, you will DIE!!!!" cries the Sun with a thunderous voice of castrated deer rapists.
Sun put his hand at his junk, and started to masturbate. The girls are near, they must avoid the fiery lava cumshot. Sun gets next to the climax, the fluid core of the Sun produces more and more pleasantfully agony filled addicted sperm. Yes, he goes, he is going…my God…nOOOO!!!!!
Sun spurts a giganticful mass of destructive plasmoidic veneral diseases, cointained with the most dangerous species of moss and hornyful bacteria. That brimstonic storm of fiery liquid semen unleashes his Sun AIDS to the most maidenly comets and asteroids of the Solar System, breaking the hymens of the very reality itself. Time and space starts to dissolve and ejaculate.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" cries Blossom with a flirtative desperated pain as she feels and sees the universe as we know it turning into a self folded tampax origami of saccharose.
"Yes PowerPudd Girls!!!!!" utter the moistenized Sun "I shall dominate the seven laws of phisycs!!! No more I will be slave to Betelgeuse sexual deviances!!!! MUUHAHAHAH!!!!!" and Sun opens its carnicerous mouth to eat the heroic girls that fought with justice.
Blossom, still with Buttercup on her shoulders, starts to flew to the oposite direction of the Sun, to escape its mouthbreath of prognosys. But it's hard to get away, the reality is collapsing and she must avoid colliding with the self interlacing planes of dimension and other parallel existences. The Sun comes near and nearer every second. Buttercup weight is just too much, and she knows it:
"Blooson" moans Buyyercup, with a frail voice as her bowels hangs out of her scarred and drilled stomach "you must let go off me...or else...we both die..."
"No!! I canno't let you die here...you my sista!!! We toghter must save Biibles!!"
"No...you must save her...I shall die here...cause all this is my faultness...my emophillic tendencies condemned all the galaxie. So long sista..." and Buttercup let go of Bloossoom caressful care...she is starting to fall...getting pulled by the gravitational phield of the Sun...Blossom screams...but her voice can't be heard...it just evaporates before reaching the ears of a falling green clothes clad girl.
Buttercup clothers are burning, and she gets nude with the temperature. All the sheets of ice that where covering her skin are now gone with the heat and her boobies now expell dozens of pounds of boiling blooated milk.
Sun laughs withh his open mouth...the Sun doesn't care...he molds the reality at his pleasure...he just can't understand the love...between...sistas...........
Bloosomas eyes get teary. Her sista body is engulfed by the maddening flames of hate at the core of our, 'till this moment, most beloved light donor benefactor. The Sun swallows the dying girl, and she is no more seen.
"BUTTERRRRRRRRRCUP!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" cries with lungs allmost asploding the Blossom girl. She can't belief this exorcism...first...her father...then...Buubles....and now....BUTTCU!!!! She is alone...in the middle of a space-time collapse...no one can helps her...no one is at her side. So far, she managed to be the stoic girl, fighting agaist the sadness and decay of mind and soul her sistas had fallen. The only thing that managed to not let her lose her mind was her own family...but now...it's gones. She...is.......lone...
Sun is at his most appex. He looks to Bloosm, some few light years from his position, and brags:
"HA! You girl...is puny. Cxome one! You think you can fight me?! No...YOU CAN'T!!! You are just a jealos piece of immature unsexxed pussycat!! Go away and live the rest of your existance in a bottom line retardant asteroid. I let you live...I let...because...I'm a GOD!!!!!!"
Bloosm crying eyes are exploding with fear, with unceartaintly. She doesn't know what to do. Without a friend, without reason. But the rage tooks her body all of a suddem. She remembers her parent, her sistas, even the enemies that the life she took away in a momnet of uncontrolable rageness. The memories are all tht remains...and she must fight for then...because...it's all that's legt.
"SUN!!!!!" utter with discrepanceticous flaccid abhorrence the red hornied missy child "you...never...be...PARDONED!!!!!!" and she flies to his direction with coconuts in her belly, urging for a blood, urging for the retalaiation she sworn to avange.
"Comnes on!!!! I'll put you to a fetus filled black holed graveyrard...you floozy WENCH!!!!!" and Sun clenchs his fists and races toward the elimination of that humanly pityful threat. But Blossom is not a minimal threat...she is...a GIRL!!!!!
As Blossom aproaches the Sun corona, her senses start to fade. First...her eyes melt in a peaceful sad condor. But she don't care. Them...her hearing feeling is expurgated from her carnal vessel. But it's useless...she doesn't need it anymore...not to where she is going. Then...her tongue unleashes blood from it's papillae...turning the battle of her life into a sour memento of the universal destruction unfolding before her lovely mute skin.
"Quit it sultry girl..." telephaticaly transmiths the Sun to his Antagonist "you are dead...go away and I'll let you lives...in a disabledful way!!!! HAHAHA!!" mutters with bragshful utterrance the self uncontious Sun. But Blossom don't care anymore. With the last energies that last in her body, she is miles away from the Sun. Her skin turnend into roasted eyebrown coal, and her bones are collapsing in a dust of cadaveric pulsar. But the energy of love for the humanity permits the continuation of her quest.
Bloosm, without her senses, nor her touch feeling, nor her carnal sensory senses, doesn't know where to go. But she lets the passion guides her...the passion...for a better world. Sun is only a mile away...her hair is catching fire and fumes are exhalating from her internal organs. Her teeth exploded into a thosandful pieces o bloody dust and her heart only beats for a miracle of love. She have only one chances...only one. Love guides...it tells her where to go...to the dick...to the dick...to the dick...and she ENTERS!!!! Bloossom infiltrates Sun engorged urethra, and he is totally consterned with abomination. "No...she cannot do it!!!!" and Sun starts to masturbate furiosly again, to extrincate Blossom from his precious solar dong.
The ret-hot steaming blobs of reality warping semen are ejaculating from Sun's ball sacks, and, as they pass thru the urethra, the very lasts pieces of flesh and mortal cells dwelling over Blossom's body gets stripped way from realitty to a void in time space continuum. But Blosom heart is stronger, and even without a mortal vessel to carry it, it continues on it's jouney to the Center of the Testicle.
"No!!!! This cannot be!!! You can't rape the penis...of a GOD!!!!!" but Blossom already did it. Her last remaining piece of flesh, her heart, reaches the centre of Sun's semen generating gonad. It |
Snowden’s documents calls the “final phase” of their end plan for total assimilation and world rule.
All this is being overseen by President Barack Obama because of course it is. Faal warns that the Tall Whites, under Obama’s leadership, may have aligned with other, more dangerous extraterrestrials, so it’s a good thing FARS made this one of the most visited stories on their English-language website.
[h/t Ali Haider]
[Image via Guardian]
——
>> Follow Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) on Twitter
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comAs efforts like After The Buzz, the Pocketnow U-Review, and Empty Nest demonstrate, we’re constantly searching for fresh ways to review mobile technology. The newest product of those efforts is Pocketnow’s “Review Rebuttal” series, in which a member of our team is assigned to test a smartphone or tablet that’s already gone through our standard review process. While the resulting video or editorial doesn’t affect the “official” Pocketnow review score, we hope it provides added context by showcasing an editor’s personal opinion, rather than a team-wide consensus.
We call it the “rebuttal” because the new opinion sometimes differs significantly from the thrust of the original review. Rather than reject or bury that, we think the dissenting opinion is valuable – and we present it for your evaluation alongside select product reviews.
•
Hearing the name “HTC Desire EYE” doesn’t mean much to most people. For the smartphone savvy, it’d likely be brushed off by something along the lines of “Oh, it’s a Desire. It’s a midranger. You don’t want something higher-end?” Actually, that’s how I felt before Joe Levi mailed the device to me. I thought it was gimmicky (who actually needs a 13MP front-facing camera?) and I thought it served no purpose.
But I was wrong. The second I handled it myself, I saw the point, and it turned out to be a sweet little device. To understand what triggered the change of heart, I present my HTC Desire EYE review rebuttal.
A striking and comfortable design
It may not have the curvaceous metal HTC’s One M8 brings, but the Desire EYE is every bit a looker.The Coral Reef review unit furnished by HTC features a white front and a matte back of the same color, with an orange-red band across the sides that’ll catch your attention. Buying the EYE almost ensures that someone will ask you about your phone, given just how striking and appealing it can look.
A common problem with gorgeous designs is a toll on usability, but I’ve found that there’s no such thing with the Desire. The curvy edges sit well in the palm of my hand, while the backside is gentle and comfortable to rest your fingers on. Really, I have no gripes whatsoever with how the Desire EYE is designed and constructed. Props to HTC on that.
Sense 6 is a gorgeous refinement of Android
Some people are just fine with stock (or “vanilla”) Android, while others prefer the added features of a custom skin. Sense 6 is difficult to place on that spectrum; I feel it offers a clean and simple experience, while allowing for a greater level of customizability. It’s a neat middle ground, one that’s both visually pleasing and versatile as far as usability is concerned.
In general, I can’t deal with skins –I loathe Samsung’s TouchWiz at times– but what HTC has done with Sense feels substantially different. The features that are included (Motion Launch, BlinkFeed, the regularly-updated apps, the UI, and so on) morph into an experience that works for a broad range of smartphone users.
HTC has also thrown in a bunch of camera-related features for the release of the EYE –dubbed the “EYE Experience”– which includes photo modes like Crop Me In and Split Capture. I’ll dive more into this in the camera section, but here I’d simply like to draw attention to how refined Sense is as a skin, and how much HTC pays attention to the details.
A solid day and more
There’s nothing particularly special about the battery embedded within the Desire EYE’s non-removable backside. It’s a 2,400 mAh pack, but Sense does a good job making the most of it. In my testing, which included moderate to heavy use (think text messaging, email, a quick game of Leo’s Fortune, and some YouTube throughout the day), I was able to comfortably make it from my 6:30 AM wakeup to my 11:00 PM bedtime with about 20% of battery remaining on average, with about 3 to 4 hours of screen-on time on these days.
What’s ridiculous about this metric is that it’s only a little bit under what I got out of the DROID Turbo, the latter being a phone with a massive 3,900 mAh battery. Whether that’s HTC optimizing its battery ridiculously well, or Motorola failing to do so, it’s still a win for HTC.
Should you find yourself running low on battery, there are two power saving modes on-board: a normal mode (Saver), and a particularly broad-encompassing mode that you probably know as Extreme Power Saving Mode (EXT Saver). The former switches on once the phone hits a low battery threshold, though you can toggle it yourself anytime or disable it entirely, and the latter is reserved for when you need to make the most out of what you have remaining. EXT Saver literally disables all data communications, and turns the screen into a launchpad for only a few critical apps. We went hands-on with the mode, albeit on the HTC One M8 and in an earlier version of Sense, last year in video form.
The upshot with the battery is, it’s good enough to last you a day and then some if you really need it. Don’t expect it to be a miracle, but it’s most definitely passable for the everyday user.
Performance is in line with the best of the best
The problem with calling the Desire EYE a midrange smartphone is that the device screams performance-wise. Apart from very occasional lag (not nearly major enough to be a dealbreaker), performance on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset has been on par with even the Snapdragon 805-powered devices I compared it against.
Games I tested the phone with such as One More Line, The Room Two, and Leo’s Fortune played well at decent frame rates, and the hardware handled them well enough to give me an enjoyable experience. The matte backside of the EYE didn’t get hot at all, even during extended test periods.
Day-to-day performance jumping in and out of apps is good enough to let me get through life without having to give the handset a second thought. It fades right in with my routine and doesn’t hamper it whatsoever – that’s something that I didn’t expect from a supposedly midrange smartphone (I really don’t think the EYE is a midranger now that I’ve used it), and one area in which HTC has shined through.
The cameras aren’t bad, but don’t get your hopes up
When you name your phone “Desire EYE,” its camera better live up to the hype. And on the spec sheet, the phone delivers really well, with 13MP BSI sensors with dual LED flash modules on both the front and back-sides. In practice, however, don’t expect to be blown away; while the cameras aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, they certainly aren’t the best you can find, and they do have their flaws.
In well-lit scenarios the phone’s rear camera performed admirably, with blurry pictures fairly rare, but in low-light I started seeing some issues. The front-facing camera blows away most of the Desire EYE’s competitors on megapixels alone (and how about that front-facing flash?), so you’ll have trouble finding better selfie phones, but some of the issues I saw with the rear camera persist on the front-facer.
Video looked crisp in my testing, but I did notice that on occasion the phone would struggle to maintain focus (it continually drifted). It’s certainly passable by smartphone standards.
A picture’s worth a thousand words, though, so it’s better that I let the following stills we captured do the explaining here:
Rear Camera Sample Stills
Front-facing Camera Sample Stills
Rear Camera Sample Videos
BoomSound is as useful as ever
One of the best parts of owning an HTC phone –at least one manufactured in recent years– is BoomSound. While the front-facing stereo speakers are hidden away on the Desire EYE, they’re still present, and they remain solid. Sure, the cans on the Desire EYE can’t quite match what the One M8 brought to the table early last year, but they’re plenty loud and they produce accurate, rich sounds.
It’s on AT&T, but AT&T only
The upside of being exclusive to one of the US’s largest carriers is that you get a solid, reliable network. In my testing in Southern California, where LTE is abundant and my signal strength remained high, I had a breezy experience with voice calls, text messages, and data usage. Your mileage will of course vary by where you’re situated.
If AT&T isn’t your cup of tea, you won’t be able to buy the Desire EYE from any other carrier in the US. It doesn’t seem as though there are plans for the EYE to head to any other US operators, but you are able to purchase it unlocked outside of the States. If you’re an AT&T customer, you have nothing to worry about, but this is where customers of Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, or other wireless services will have to do some serious contemplating before deciding whether or not to purchase the EYE.
The bottom line
So what’s the deal with the Desire EYE? A month into 2015, is it still a phone worth recommending? The short answer is yes. It’s a solid phone that’ll last you through the coming months with ease, and it has the specs to carry it at least through the year.
It may be worth waiting for the flagships March is sure to bring, however. For the $150 on-contract price AT&T quotes for the phone, waiting for the 2015 HTC flagship seems as if it could be the better option.
But if you need a phone now, by all means, spring for the Desire EYE. In a market that includes entrants like the 2014 Moto X, the Galaxy Note 4, and Nexus 6, the Desire EYE manages to offer standout features and a reliable experience. Perhaps all three offer the same in a way, but there exists a segment of buyers out there who would be best suited with the Desire EYE over the other two options mentioned. Especially for the very real selfie-obsessed crowd out there (despite what some may say, this just doesn’t seem like a niche audience anymore) who don’t want to go all out with a Lenovo selfie flash and a DSLR, or just anyone who could use a powerful front-facing camera, the Desire EYE is without a doubt the best option possible.
But don’t let that be all you take away from the Desire EYE. The selfie cam, great as it is, is just one small part of the story, and on the whole the Desire EYE works out to be a great phone – and one that you won’t regret buying anytime soon.Allegations of 33 cases of sexual abuse involving children in detention centres in Australia have emerged.
Immigration department figures obtained by Fairfax Media show that there were 33 cases of alleged sexual assault involving children in Australian detention centres and Christmas Island between January 2013 and March 2014. The figures do not extend to Nauru or Manus.
Asylum seekers at Nauru detention centre. A worker at the controversial centre told Fairfax Media that she often saw children sitting on guards' laps late at night. Credit:Angela Wylie
The figures follow allegations of sexual abuse of women and children on Nauru, including underage asylum seekers being forced to perform sexual acts in front of guards; female asylum seekers being told to strip naked in front of guards if they wanted a shower longer than two minutes; and one woman being told she would be raped if she was resettled in the Nauruan community.
On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison broke his silence on the Nauru allegations, saying they were of a "generalised nature" and that he had referred them to his department.Prescribe More Narcotics (So the Pain Specialists Don’t)
[brid video=”112843″ player=”3893″ title=”Prescribe More Narcotics! So the pain specialists don.”]
I’m really tired of pain specialists. They don’t like medical marijuana and are slow to approve of it. Why though? As specialists of pain management, they should see the results cannabis has on opiate use and pain control. Yet, despite being so positive for pain treatment and getting people off of narcotics, they fail to embrace this new medication.
Cognitive Dissonance
So many times I’ve seen pain specialists throw a patient out of theirclinic for a positive drug test for marijuana. No matter the length of time they had been under their care or their openness and honesty about trying it, they are left on their own. Even when addicted to high doses of opiates, they are left to go cold turkey. What better time to seek dope? The only other options are their local emergency department or walk-in urgent care clinic. Those will usually work but not at the levels Dr. Pain Specialist prescribed them.
Perhaps this causes them cognitive dissonance. Or, they just don’t care and make an example out of that patient.
Financial Incentive to Prescribe
These doctors have a financial incentive to prescribe. If medical marijuana became a substitute for opiates and other addicting drugs, pain specialists would no longer have such a lucrative career. They would lose the power they hold over patients and the patients could pick and choose if and when to see them. That is the nightmare of a pain specialist.
Family Doctors, Prescribe More Narcotics
So we take away the awful work the field of pain management and its specialists have done. These consultants have driven our country into a full out pandemic of dope use and narcotic addiction. Look at how many of our close ones die from overdoses. I bet you, reading this right now, know someone who has died from pain medications or heroin, to which pain medications were a gateway drug to.
Marijuana is a Gateway Drug
I said it before and I’ll say it again. Marijuana is a gateway drug. It is our GATEWAY OUT of narcotic addiction. Now, more than ever, do we need a miracle. That miracle is medical marijuana. Physicians, please! Please start adopting medical marijuana into your practices. How many patients do you know that have died from marijuana? How many are dying from long term side effects of cannabis? If that answer is zero, it’s time to reconsider your pain management practices. Just like I did.
Join me. Walk through that gateway and show your patients a new quality of life that they deserve.
Follow the blog and youtube channel and check us out on facebook to be the first to get more informational content from America’s Medical Marijuana Doctor, Dr. Roman.Mainz have been soaring high above where people expected them to be at this point of the season. Having flirted with the Champions League spots and now strongly in contention for a Europa League spot, Mainz have been one of the biggest surprises in a league that has thrown many.
At the heart of it all has been their rugged defensive midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger. Boasting the best tackling stats in the first half of the season, the Austrian has been a hugely influential figure in an immensely impressive Mainz midfield. Behind the curtains theyai??i??ve had manager Christian Heidel, running the club and ensuring this well oiled machine never faltered.
TheHardTackle’s Bundesliga editor, Aditya Balaram, caught up with both these important figures at Mainz, discussing the clubai??i??s aspirations, their youth and also more jovial matters.
AB: Mainz 05 are heavily involved in the intense battle for European spots at the moment. Given the club’s upcoming fixtures, do you (Heidel) fancy Mainz to qualify for the Champions Leauge?
Christian Heidel: At this point, no one in our club is dreaming about the Champions League, which is reserved only for the top three in the league. At least not yet. But it would be great for all of us in Mainz if we could qualify for the Europa League a third time around after 2005 and 2009. This would also support the extraordinary development the club underwent in the last years. The way we plan the season would not be affected by qualifying for the Europa League ai??i?? an adventure like this can end pretty quickly.
AB: Matching up to the quality in the Europa League is an intimidating task. If Mainz do qualify for it, do you (Heidel) fancy a place in the group stages next season? Even further, maybe?
Christian Heidel: First of all, we would just try to enjoy it as much as possible, but we would not formulate a specific goal. Playing well in the Bundesliga is our primary concern, playing in the Europa League would just be the icing on the cake. We have to always keep in mind how wonderful it is just to have the possibility to play internationally now ai??i?? ten years ago, Mainz 05ai??i??s main goal was to stay in the second division league of Germany.
AB: You (Baumgartlinger) have a reputation for being well-spoken in interviews. How important is it, do you think, for professional footballers to communicate with the media and with the fans?
Julian Baumgartlinger: I believe it is very important, especially since there are so many media outlets out there. It is part of the job of a football player to do interviews with the media, and I think it is of the essence that you think carefully about what you are saying and how you are going to say it, because it will be on air and on the record for quite some time. As for the communication with the fans, I believe that especially Social Media opens up a whole new way to communicate with the followers. I do have my own Facebook page and try to update the fans on certain things that are going on in my life as a professional football player, for instance snapshots from the Training camp or from the National team. They can leave their feedback in return. It is a pretty cool way to stay in touch.
AB: Eugen Polanski and yourself (Baumgartlinger) had formed a delightful central midfield partnership but his departure in the winter brought an end to it. Was it difficult for you to get used to linking up with another player? How does the three man midfield with Elkin Soto and Niki Zimling feel in comparison to earlier?
Julian Baumgartlinger: It is always sad to see a good player leave the club, but I think Niki Zimling is doing a real good job taking his place. But position-wise, our team is pretty flexible. Our coach Thomas Tuchel does switch up the tactics according to the opponent, so it was not only Eugen and I playing in central midfield, Elkin Soto and I also played together quite often. Depending on the strategy, I have even played in the right side midfield a few times. Just like in the last game against Nuremberg, where we were playing 4-4-2 diamond. I actually think it is a strong point of our team that we do not need to play in the same tactical structure all the time, but can be more flexible depending on what the match against the next opponent calls for.
AB: What do you (Baumgartlinger) think of numbers and statistics in football? Are they useful for measuring a player’s ability and contribution to the team?
Julian Baumgartlinger: Yes and No. Statistics may be measured much more accurately these days, and now you can read all kinds of numbers from how many kilometers a player ran in a game to a percentage of how many tackles he won. But statistics donai??i??t always tell the real story of the game. Our game against Nuernberg is a prime example ai??i?? we had 68 % ball possession and won 55 % of all the tackles, had twice as many shots to the goal and twice as many corner kicks as the opponent, but still lost the game. In the end, it is important to score the goals, and if you donai??i??t do that, possessing the ball during 68 % of the game is not going to help you at all. Also, it is quite tricky to interpret the numbers correctly. Bottom line ai??i?? I think the stats are a merely a reference point as to how the game was. Nothing more and nothing less.
AB: Jan Kirchhoff and Andreas Ivanschitz are set to leave the club, so will we see any new arrivals in the summer? Invest in youth or bring in more established players?
Christian Heidel: We will try to slowly lead our young talents to professional football. But we will also present new, experienced players to be able to solidify our spot in the Bundesliga.
AB: Have you (Heidel) been impressed enough by any youth players that you could see them earn a spot in the senior team next season?
Christian Heidel: In Germany, the Deutsche FuAYball Liga (DFL ai??i?? the German Football League) is testing the youth academies of the clubs on a regular basis. The youth academy of Mainz 05 has received top ratings and rave reviews in the last years and was able to establish a position as one of the top academies in the nation. At this moment, 15 of the youth national players are from Mainz and I am sure that we will be seeing some of them in the Bundesliga soon. But I donai??i??t want to throw out any names, as we donai??i??t want to put extra pressure on them by throwing their hat into the media ring.
AB: On a more jovial note, when you (Baumgartlinger) score your first goal for Mainz, what kind of celebration can we look forward to?
Julian Baumgartlinger: I donai??i??t now ai??i?? I am not exactly a defensive midfielder who is known to be dangerous in front of the goal (laughs). But we will see. I think if I should score my first Bundesliga goal, I will come up with something spontaneously and let you guys know.
AB: What has been your (Baumgartlinger) most cherished Bundesliga memory so far?
Julian Baumgartlinger: Just playing in the Bundesliga. Every single game is memorable. Especially since the level of quality is so high and gets better with every year. Seeing how well the German teams are doing in the international cups like the Europa League and the Champions League, where two of the four half finalists are German teams, is a good indication as to how strong the Bundesliga has become.
AB: Is there a possibility that you (Baumgartlinger) will leave Mainz for another club in the future? Do you have any specific destinations in mind?
Julian Baumgartlinger: Well, contractually I do have two more years here. And I actually feel no rush to leave Mainz at all. I think Mainz 05 is a wonderful club that really helps develop young players and helps me as a player to make the most of myself. Plus I like the city and the atmosphere here very much. I think Iai??i??ll stick around a little longer. (laughs)
TheHardTackle thanks Julian Baumgartlinger and Christian Heidel for taking their time off and answering our questions, and also Mainz’s assistant media director, Silke Bannick, for helping conduct the interview.
For more information on Mainz 05, visit their website and their Facebook page
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ME, and Windows XP). [7]
1996, Illustrated, updated and expanded edition: This hardcover edition contained full-color illustrations and photographs to help further explain the text, as well as the addition of topics that were not included in the original book.
1998, Tenth-anniversary edition: It features the same text as the one published in 1996, but was also released in paperback and has only a few diagrams included. ISBN 0553109537
ISBN 0553109537 2005, A Briefer History of Time: a collaboration with Leonard Mlodinow of an abridged version of the original book. It was updated again to address new issues that had arisen due to further scientific development. ISBN 0-553-80436-7
Film [ edit ]
In 1991, Errol Morris directed a documentary film about Hawking, but although they share a title, the film is a biographical study of Hawking, and not a filmed version of the book.
Opera [ edit ]
The New York's Metropolitan Opera had commissioned an opera to premiere in 2015–16 based on Hawking's book. It was to be composed by Osvaldo Golijov with a libretto by Alberto Manguel in a production by Robert Lepage.[8] The planned opera was changed to be about a different subject and eventually canceled completely.[9]
See also [ edit ]
Turtles all the way down, a jocular expression of the infinite regress problem in cosmology that appears in Hawking's book.The United Arab Emirates' government collaborated with coup plotters in Turkey before the unsuccessful attempt was launched, using exiled Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan as a go-between with the US-based cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating the plot, sources close to one of Turkey’s intelligence services told Middle East Eye.
Dahlan is alleged to have transferred money to the plotters in Turkey in the weeks before the coup attempt and to have communicated with Fethullah Gulen, the cleric alleged by Turkey to have masterminded the plot, via a Palestinian businessman based in the US.
The identity of this man, who is close to Dahlan, is known to a Turkish intelligence service.
Throughout the night of the coup on 15 July, pan-Arab media based in Dubai including Sky News Arabic and Al Arabiya reported that the coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party had been successful.
At one point, media outlets influenced by the Emirates claimed that Erdogan had fled the country. Still, there is no suggestion that the media outlets were involved in the coup.
It took the government of the UAE 16 hours - one hour after a statement by Saudi Arabia - to condemn the coup and to support Erdogan as the legitimate president of Turkey.
According to sources who spoke to MEE, the UAE then launched an operation to distance itself from Dahlan.
UAE indicated on social media that there was “anger with Dahlan”. Shortly afterwards, he was forced to leave the UAE and is understood to be in Egypt.
Dahlan is a former leader of the Palestinian political party Fatah who was exiled from Gaza and the West Bank and is thought to have close ties to Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
He is alleged to have been used as a conduit for UAE funds and communications in various operations throughout the Middle East.
MEE reported in May that the UAE, Jordan and Egypt had identified Dahlan as a favoured successor to the current Fatah leader, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Dahlan is also linked to attempts to stoke the civil war in Libya. In a secret recording of Abbas Kamel, then-office manager of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Kamel revealed that Dahlan, accompanied by three people, would secretly visit Libya on a private jet.
Kamel recommended that a military official allow Dahlan to leave the Libyan airport in secret. Kamel said Dahlan had already caused a problem for the Egyptian authorities because he travels “upon orders from the UAE, which monitors all of his movements”.
Since the failure of the coup, the Emiratis have tried to mend fences with Ankara. They detained two Turkish generals at Dubai international airport on suspicion of having links to the coup.
Mehmet Cahit Bakir, a major general in command of the Afghanistan Turkish Task Force, and Sener Topuc, a brigadier general in command of the Train, Advise and Assist Command in Kabul, were deported back to Ankara.
The UAE are even more fearful of a backlash that may come after the purge of the Turkish army that Erdogan is conducting.
An informed source told MEE: “They now feel that Erdogan is in full power. They do not like him personally and think of him as a man who will seek to take revenge. Once Erdogan has cleaned out the stables, they think he will then turn on those outside the country who supported the coup.”
A total of 126 army generals have been arrested in connection with the attempted coup. This represents about one-third of all the generals in the Turkish armed forces.
Revelations about Dahlan’s conversations with the Palestinian businessman in the US before the coup could also increase pressure on Washington to consider Turkey’s request for Gulen to be extradited.
Turkey’s foreign and justice ministers are set to travel in person to the US to demand the extradition of Gulen, but for that to succeed they must present a US judge with prima facie evidence to back the list of criminal charges, and proof that similar charges exist under US law.
If the charges clear that hurdle, Gulen would still be open to the defence that the charges are political in nature and that he could not be guaranteed of a fair trial in Turkey. About 2,700 judges were removed from their posts after the coup.
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.This article is about the language spoken by the Mohawk people. For other uses, see Mohawk
Mohawk (;[4] Kanienʼkéha, "[language] of the Flint Place") is an Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk nation, located primarily in Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec), the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and to a lesser extent in the United States (western and northern New York).
Name [ edit ]
The word "Mohawk" is an exonym. In the Mohawk language, the people say that they are from Kanienʼkehá꞉ka or "Flint Stone Place" or "People of the Flint Nation".[5] The Mohawks were extremely wealthy traders, as other nations in their confederacy needed their flint for tool-making. Their Algonquian-speaking neighbors (and competitors), the People of Muh-heck Heek Ing ("food-area place"), a people called by the Dutch "Mohicans" or "Mahicans", called the People of Ka-nee-en Ka "Maw Unk Lin" or Bear People. The Dutch heard and wrote that as "Mohawks" and so the People of Kan-ee-en Ka are often referred to as Mohawks. The Dutch also referred to the Mohawk as Egils or Maquas. The French adapted those terms as Aigniers or Maquis, or called them by the generic Iroquois.[citation needed]
History [ edit ]
The Mohawks comprised the largest and most powerful of the original Five Nations, controlling a vast area of land on the eastern frontier of the Iroquois Confederacy. The North Country and Adirondack region of present-day Upstate New York would have constituted the greater part of the Mohawk-speaking area lasting until the end of the 18th century.
Alexander Graham Bell [ edit ]
The Scottish-American scientist Alexander Graham Bell, one of the inventors of the telephone, was greatly interested in the human voice: when he came across the Six Nations Reserve across the river at Onondaga, he learned the Mohawk language and translated its then unwritten vocabulary into Visible Speech symbols for the first time. For his work, Bell was awarded the title of Honorary Chief and participated in a ceremony where he donned a Mohawk headdress and danced traditional dances.[6]
Current status [ edit ]
Mohawk language stop sign.
The Mohawk language is currently classified as threatened, and the number of native speakers has continually declined over the past several years.[7]
Mohawk has the largest number of speakers among the Northern Iroquoian languages, and today it is the only one with more than a thousand remaining speakers. At Akwesasne, residents have begun a language immersion school (pre-K to grade 8) in Kanienʼkéha to revive the language. With their children learning it, parents and other family members are taking language classes, too.
A Mohawk language immersion school was established.[8] Mohawk parents, concerned with the lack of culture-based education in public and parochial schools, founded the Akwesasne Freedom School in 1979. Six years later, the school implemented a Mohawk language immersion curriculum based on a traditional cycle of fifteen seasonal ceremonies, and on the Mohawk Thanksgiving Address, or Ohén꞉ton Karihwatékwen, "The words before all else." Every morning, teachers and students gather in the hallway to recite the Thanksgiving Address in Mohawk.[9]
An adult immersion program was also created in 1985 to address the issue of intergenerational fluency decline of the Mohawk language.[10]
Kanatsiohareke (Gah-nah-jo-ha-lay-gay) is a small Mohawk/Kanienkahaka community on the north bank of the Mohawk River, west of Fonda, New York. The name means "Place of the clean pot."[1] Kanatsiohareke was created to be a "Carlisle Indian Boarding School in Reverse", teaching Mohawk language and culture.[2] Located at the ancient homeland of the Kanienkehaka (Mohawk), it was re-established in September 1993 under the leadership of Thomas R. Porter (Sakokwenionkwas-"The One Who Wins").[3] The community must raise their own revenue and frequently hold cultural presentations, workshops, and academic events, including an annual Strawberry Festival.[4] A craft shop on site features genuine handmade Native crafts from all over North America.
The primary mission of the community is to try to preserve traditional values, culture, language and lifestyles in the guidance of the Kaienerekowa (Great Law of Peace).[5] Kanatsiohareke, Inc. is a non-profit organization under IRS code 501c3.
In 2006, over 600 people were reported to speak the language in Canada, many of them elderly.[11]
Kahnawake is located at a metropolitan location, near central Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As Kahnawake is located near Montreal, many individuals speak both English and French, and this has contributed to a decline in the use of Mohawk language over the past century. The Mohawk Survival School, the first immersion program was established in 1979. The school's mission was to revitalize Mohawk language. To examine how successful the program had been, questionnaire was given to the Kahnawake residents following the first year. The results indicated that teaching towards younger generation have been successful and showed an increase in the ability to speak the language in private settings, as well as an increase in the mixing of Mohawk in English conversations were found.[12]
Current number of speakers [ edit ]
In 2011, there were approximately 3,500 speakers of Mohawk, primarily in Quebec, Ontario and western New York.[13][14] Immersion (monolingual) classes for young children at Akwesasne and other reserves are helping to train new first-language speakers. The importance of immersion classes among parents grew after the passage of Bill 101, and in 1979 the Mohawk Survival School was established to facilitate language training at the high school level.[15] [16] Kahnawake and Kanatsiohareke offer immersion classes for adults.[17][18] In the 2016 Canadian census, 875 people said Mohawk was their only mother tongue.[2]
Usage in popular culture [ edit ]
Mohawk dialogue features prominently in Ubisoft Montreal's 2012 action-adventure open world video game Assassin's Creed III, through the game's main character, the half-Mohawk, half-English Ratonhnhaké꞉ton, also called Connor, and members of his native Kanièn꞉ke village around the times of the American revolution. Ratonhnhaké꞉ton was voiced and modelled by Crow actor Noah Bulaagawish Watts. Hiawatha, the leader of the Iroquoian civilization in Sid Meier's Civilization V, voiced by Kanentokon Hemlock, speaks modern Mohawk.
The stories of Mohawk language learners are also chronicled in 'Raising The Words', a short documentary film that explores personal experiences with Mohawk language revitalization in Tyendinaga, a Mohawk community roughly 200 kilometres east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[19] The film is set to be shown at the 4th annual Ethnografilm festival in Paris, France.
Dialects [ edit ]
Mohawk has three major dialects: Western (Ohswé:ken and Kenhté:ke), Central (Ahkwesáhsne), and Eastern (Kahnawà꞉ke and Kanehsatà꞉ke); the differences between them are largely phonological. These are related to the major Mohawk territories since the eighteenth century. The pronunciation of /r/ and several consonant clusters may differ in the dialects.
Underlying phonology Western Central Eastern seven /tsjáːta/ [ˈd͡ʒaːda] [ˈd͡ʒaːda] [ˈd͡zaːda] nine /tjóhton/ [ˈdjɔhdũ] [ˈɡjɔhdũ] [ˈd͡ʒɔhdũ] I fall /kjaʔtʌʔs/ [ˈɡjàːdʌ̃ʔs] [ˈɡjàːdʌ̃ʔs] [ˈd͡ʒàːdʌ̃ʔs] dog /érhar/ [ˈɛrhar] [ˈɛlhal] [ˈɛːɽhaɽ]
Phonology [ edit ]
The phoneme inventory of Mohawk is as follows (using the International Phonetic Alphabet). Phonological representation (underlying forms) are in /slashes/, and the standard Mohawk orthography is in bold.
Consonants [ edit ]
An interesting feature of Mohawk (and Iroquoian) phonology is that there are no labials (m, p, b, f, v), except in a few adoptions from French and English, where [m] and [p] appear (e.g., mátsis matches and aplám Abraham); these sounds are late additions to Mohawk phonology and were introduced after widespread European contact.
Dental Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal n Plosive t k ʔ Affricate d͡ʒ Fricative s h Approximant l j w Rhotic r
The Central (Ahkwesáhsne) dialect has the following consonant clusters:
1st↓ · 2nd→ t k s h l n d͡ʒ j w t tt tk ts th k kt kk ks kh kw ʔ ʔt ʔk ʔs ʔl ʔn ʔd͡ʒ ʔj ʔw s st sk ss sh sl sn sj sw h ht hk hs hl hn hd͡ʒ hj hw l lh lj n nh nl nj d͡ʒ d͡ʒj w wh
All clusters can occur word-medially; those on a red background can also occur word-initially.
The consonants /k/, /t/ and the clusters /ts kw/ are pronounced voiced before any voiced sound (i.e. a vowel or /j/). They are voiceless at the end of a word or before a voiceless sound. /s/ is voiced word initially and between vowels.
car – kà꞉sere [ˈɡàːzɛrɛ] that – thí꞉ken [ˈthiːɡʌ̃] hello, still – shé꞉kon [ˈshɛːɡũ]
Note that th and sh are pronounced as consonant clusters, not single sounds like in English thing and she.
Vowels [ edit ]
Front Central Back High i ũ Mid e ʌ̃ o Low a
i, e, a, and o are oral vowels, while ʌ̃ and ũ (see help:IPA) are nasalized; oral versions of ʌ̃ and ũ do not occur in the language.
Grammar [ edit ]
A warning sign in Mohawk
Mohawk words tend to be longer on average than words in English, primarily because they consist of a large amount of morphemes, or'meaningful parts'.
Mohawk expresses a number of distinctions on its pronominal elements: person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, dual, plural), gender (masculine, feminine/indefinite, feminine/neuter) and inclusivity/exclusivity on the first person dual and plural. Pronominal information is encoded in prefixes on the verbs; separate pronoun words are used for emphasis. There are three main paradigms of pronominal prefixes: subjective (with dynamic verbs), objective (with stative verbs), and transitive.
There are three core components to the Mohawk proposition: the noun, the predicate, and the particle.[20]
Mohawk words can be composed of many morphemes. What is expressed in English in many words can often be expressed by just one Mohawk word, a phenomenon known as polysynthesis.
Nouns [ edit ]
Nouns are given the following form in Mohawk:[20][21][22]
Nominal Prefix Noun Stem Nominal Suffix
Noun prefixes give information relating to gender, animacy, number and person, and identify the word as a noun.
For example:
1) oʼnenste "corn"
2) oienʼkwa "tobacco"
Here, the prefix o- is generally found on nouns found in natural environments. Another prefix exists which marks objects that are made by humans.
3) kanhoha "door"
4) kaʼkhare "slip, skirt"
Here, the prefix ka- is generally found on manmade things. Phonological variation amongst the Mohawk dialects also gives rise to the prefix ga- to generally denote human made objects.
Noun roots are similar to nouns in English in that the noun root in Mohawk and the noun in English have similar meanings.
(Caughnawaha)
5) –eri- "heart"
6) –hi- "river"
7) –itshat- "cloud"
These noun roots are bare. There is no information other than the noun root itself. It should be noted that morphemes can not occur individually. That is, to be well-formed and grammatical, -eri- needs pronominal prefixes, or the root can be incorporated into a predicate phrase.
Nominal suffixes aren't necessary for a well-formed noun phrase. The suffixes give information relating to location and attributes. For example:
Locative Suffix:
8) i. onuʼtaʼ "hill"
ii. onutaʼke "on the hill"
9) i. onekwvhsaʼ "blood"
ii. onekwvhsaʼke "in the blood"
Here the suffix < -ke > denotes location.
Attributive Suffix:
10) kvjyʼ "fish"
11) kvjaʼkoʼwa "sturgeon" or "big fish"
Here, the suffix -koʼwa denotes an augmentative suffix, which increases the attribute of the noun in question.
Verbs [20][21]
Mohawk verbs are one of the more complex parts of the language, composed of many morphemes that describe grammatical relations. The verb takes the following structure:
Pre-Pronominal Prefix Pronominal Prefix Reflexive And Reciprocal Particle Incorporated Noun Root Verb Root Suffixes
Mohawk grammar allows for whole propositions to be expressed by one word, which we classify as a verb. The other core elements (subjects, objects, etc.) can be incorporated into the verb. Well-formed verb phrases contain at the bare minimum a verb root and a pronominal prefix. The rest of the elements are not necessary.
Tense, aspect and modality are expressed via suffixes on the verb phrase as well.
Some examples:
12) katorats "I hunt"
k-atorat-s
I-hunt-habitual ASP
This is composed of three parts; the pronominal prefix, the verb root and a suffix which marks aspect. Mohawk seems to prefer aspect markers to tense to express grammaticalisation in time.
13) nyaʼtsvshayayaʼkeʼ "…where he will cross over again from here to there…"
n-yaʼ-t-v-s-ha-yahyaʼk-eʼ
partitive-translocative-dualic-future-iterative-noun-verb root-suffix
"Where over here to there will again he cross."
This example shows multiple prefixes that can be affixed to the verb root, but certain affixes are forbidden from coexisting together. For example, the aorist and the future tense affix will not be found on the same well-formed sentence.
14) vsenataraʼ "You will make a visit"
v-se-natahr-aʼ
future tense+ nominative pronoun + verb root + momentary ASP suffix
15) asenataraʼ "You should make a visit"
a-se-natahr-aʼ
conditional mood prefix + nominative pronoun + verb root + momentary suffix
16) sanatahruneʼ "You were visiting"
sa-natahr-u-hneʼ
Accusative Pronoun + verb root + stative suffix + momentary suffix
Here, different prefixes and suffixes are used that mark tense, aspect and modality.
Most grammatical relations in Mohawk are expressed through various different affixes onto a verb. Subjects, objects, and relationships between subjects and objects are given their own affixes. In Mohawk, each transitive relationship between subjects and objects are given their own prefix. For example:
17) a: ku-noruhkwa
I-you + love
"I love you"
b: ri-noruhkwa
I-him + love
"I love him"
c: ke-noruhkwa
I-it/her + love
"I love it/her"
Each of these affixes are denoting a transitive relationship between two things There are more affixes for denoting transitive relationships like "we-they", they-us (inclusive/exclusive), etc.
Noun incorporation[20][21]
One of the features of Mohawk called noun incorporation allows a verb to absorb a noun into it. When incorporation happens, an epenthetic a can appear between the noun root and the verb root. For example:
18) Owiraʼa wahrakeʼ ne oʼwahru
Baby ate the meat
With noun incorporation:
19) Owiraʼa wahaʼwahrakeʼ
Baby meat-ate
20) Waʼeksohareʼ "She dish-washed" ks = dish, ohare=wash
21) Waʼkenaktahninuʼ "I bed-bought" nakt = bed + a (increment) + hninu=buy
22) Wahanaʼtarakwetareʼ "He bread-cut" naʼtar = bread + a (increment) + kwetar=cut
Most of these examples take the epenthetic vowel a; it can be omitted if the incorporated noun doesn't give rise a complex consonant cluster in the middle of the word.
Orthography [ edit ]
Plaque in English, Mohawk, and French describing the Grand River. Plaque located in Galt, Cambridge, Ontario
The Mohawk alphabet consists of these letters: a e h i k n o r s t w y along with ʼ and ꞉ (see modifier letter apostrophe and modifier letter colon). The orthography was standardized in 1993.[23] The standard allows for some variation of how the language is represented, and the clusters /ts(i)/, /tj/, and /ky/ are written as pronounced in each community. The orthography matches the phonological analysis as above except:
The glottal stop /ʔ/ is written with an apostrophe ʼ, it is often omitted at the end of words, especially in Eastern dialect where it is typically not pronounced.
is written with an apostrophe, it is often omitted at the end of words, especially in Eastern dialect where it is typically not pronounced. /dʒ/ /dʒ/ is written ts in the Eastern dialect (reflecting pronunciation). Seven is tsá꞉ta [dzaːda]. /dʒ/ is written tsi in the Central dialect. Seven is tsiá꞉ta [dʒaːda]. /dʒ/ is written tsy in the Western dialect. Seven is tsyá꞉ta [dʒaːda].
/j/ /j/ is typically written i in the Central and Eastern dialects. Six is ià꞉iaʼk [jàːjaʔk]. /j/ is usually written y in the Western dialect. Six is yà꞉yaʼk [jàːjaʔk].
The vowel /ʌ̃/ is written en, as in one énska [ʌ̃ska].
is written, as in. The vowel /ũ/ is written on, as in eight shaʼté꞉kon [shaʔdɛːɡũ].
is written, as in. In cases where the vowel /e/ or /o/ is followed by an /n/ in the same syllable, the /n/ is written with an under-macron diacritic: keṉhó꞉tons (I am closing a door). If the ṉ did not have the diacritic, the sequence ⟨en⟩ would be pronounced [ʌ̃]. Another convention is to write the nasal vowel with an ogonek, e.g. ⟨ę⟩.[24]
The low-macron accent is not a part of standard orthography and isn't used by the Central or Eastern dialects. In standard orthography, /h/ is written before /n/ to create the [en] or [on]: kehnhó꞉tons 'I am closing it'.
Stress, length, and tone [ edit ]
Stress, vowel length and tone are linked together in Mohawk. There are three kinds of stressed vowels: short-high tone, long-high tone, and long-falling tone. Stress is always written and occurs only once per word.
Short-high tone usually (but not always) appears in closed syllables or before /h/. It is written with an acute accent: fruit káhi, road oháha.
,. Long-rising tone generally occurs in open syllables. It is written with a combination acute accent and colon: town kaná꞉ta, man rón꞉kwe. Notice that when it is one of the nasal vowels which is long, the colon appears after the n.
,. Notice that when it is one of the nasal vowels which is long, the colon appears after the. Long-falling tone is the result of the word stress falling on a vowel which comes before a /ʔ/ or /h/ + a consonant (there may be, of course, exceptions to this and other rules). The underlying /ʔ/ or /h/ reappears when stress is placed elsewhere. It is written with a grave accent and colon: stomach onekwèn꞉ta (from /onekwʌ̃ʔta/ ).
Education [ edit ]
Six Nations Polytechnic in Ohsweken, Ontario, offers Ogwehoweh language Diploma and Degree Programs in Mohawk or Cayuga.[25]
Starting in September 2017, the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario will offer a credit course in Mohawk; the classes are to be given at Renison University College in collaboration with the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre, St. Paul's University College.[26]
Resources are available for self-study of Mohawk by a person with no or limited access to native speakers of Mohawk. Here is a collection of some resources currently available:
Keyboards [ edit ]
There are software packages available for both the Microsoft Windows and Mac operating systems to enable typing of the Mohawk language electronically. Both packages are available through FirstVoices, a web-based project to support Aboriginal peoples' teaching and archiving of language and culture.[28]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]And I’m back in New York City.
By the time you read this, I’ve already checked into my new… and hopefully improved… Airbnb.
This is similar to how I like to imagine the Big Apple before I arrive…
Source: ABVH
Why? I have no idea. I’m not a psychologist.
Alas, it’s nothing like that here. It’s too cold for that much fun.
No surprise. It’s no Bangkok.
One thing’s for sure: I clearly have trouble sitting still these days…
You might’ve noticed.
But my travels, you must know, are all for good reasons.
I’m in NYC this time to take a weekend training course. A course that your fellow LFT readers recommended a while back.
Readers with exceptional memories will remember what I’m talking about. Those who don’t, well…
They’ll just have to wait until Monday.
That’s when I’ll be a mean, lean, fighting machine. (hint, hint.)
[Think you know what I’m up to? Email it: Chris@lfb.org.]
Before I dive any further into that, let’s rewind back to a meeting I attended last week…
This meeting was all about your favorite digital currency. Yep. It was about bitcoin.
Today, you’ll learn why bitcoin isn’t just set to be the future of money… but the future of EVERYTHING.
Everything, you ask?
Come on…
Everything?!
One more time…
I think you get the point.
(It’s going to change everything.)
“You know,” Judd Bagley, director of communications at Overstock.com said, “frequently in business, you will make decisions and then go on to encounter hidden costs that you hadn’t anticipated.
“We found quite the opposite with bitcoin…
“What we’re finding are hidden savings.”
Overstock.com, if you don’t know, is one of the world’s largest online retailers.
On Jan. 9, 2014, the company became the first major retailer to start accepting bitcoin.
That year, it brought in a total of three million dollars in bitcoin transactions. And compared to its conventional transactions, it saved boatloads of money on them too.
“Due to the nature of the bitcoin technology,” Bagley explains, “you cannot have fraudulent transactions. Whereas when you’re operating online retail, we spend an inordinate amount of time and money dealing with fraudulent purchases.
“And this is one of those things where we have zero risk of that with bitcoin.
“Not only that, but we don’t have to pay credit card transaction fees.
“Not only that, but those three million dollars we brought in cost us almost nothing to get.
“And, as it turns out, these are very loyal customers. Not only that, they tend to buy higher margin products…
“Which is not what we were expecting.”
Actually, Bagley explained, they weren’t expecting much. So why, then, did Overstock.com decide to take the bitcoin plunge?
“Our CEO Patrick Byrne,” said Bagley, “is kind of a classical liberal… or you might call him a libertarian…
“And he is a big fan of inflation-proof stores of value, like gold. Gold, of course, is something that’s difficult to transact business with.
“But bitcoin has many of the virtues of gold, in the sense that the addition of new bitcoin into the marketplace takes place in a mathematical constrained manner.
“The same with gold.
“The supply of gold increases at about the rate of 3% per year. And it’s been doing that for hundreds of years.
“So it was initially kind of a philosophical decision. We wanted to support this thing, which seemed worthy. But it’s gone on to be a flat out business decision. And it’s very useful.
“And, yeah, it’s been a great success.”
[A man sitting on Bagley’s left pipes up.]
“Bitcoin was created to be the global digital currency for the Internet,” Sonny Singh, chief commercial officer of Bitpay said.
Bitpay is a payment processor for merchants. Over 50,000 businesses and organizations use its service to process bitcoin payments.
“Last year,” Singh went on, “a lot of speculators got involved.
“And that pushed the price up to $1,200.
“And a lot of our customer merchants were selling Lamborghinis and Virgin Galactic spaceships… and it was great, and everyone was making a lot of money.
“But now a lot of the speculators have been pushed out of the market. They’re just more in the sidelines.
“But yet, when the price still dropped 80%, we’re seeing a record number of transactions now than we ever have before.
“No longer are people buying Lamborghinis… they’re actually buying medium-sized ticket items, which is the value that bitcoin provides.”
[And another voice, to Singh’s left, weighs in.]
“In order for bitcoin to really take off,” Ryan Selkis of Digital Currency Group said, “we need three things.
Digital Currency Group is an investment/innovation hub for startups in the bitcoin space.
Here are the three things Selkis said bitcoin needs…
1] We need exchanges to move bitcoin in and out of the dollar, yen, euro, etc.
2] We need merchant processors, that will allow companies to accept bitcoin for payment.
3] And we need wallets that are safe, insured and easy to use.
All three of these things are in place. But they’re not at the level that bitcoin needs to roll it out for mainstream use…
Yet.
“In the past 18 months or so,” Selkis goes on, “we’ve seen an explosion of investment in those three core areas of infrastructure investment.”
Bitcoin is in the “deceptive” stage you learned about yesterday. Meaning, while bitcoin’s growth seems linear from the outside look in, behind the screen it’s growth is exponential.
And the majority of investors won’t realize this growth until it’s too late.
OK. We know what you might be wondering…
What about the price? How will all of this affect the price of bitcoin?
Well, Selkis says, when it comes to the price of bitcoin, one just needs to have perspective…
“There have been three or four boom-bust cycles,” Selkis points out.
“The currency was created in 2009, the technology was released in 2009… [and] it went up to a dollar… from zero.”
And, then, it crashed down to about a quarter.
After that, Selkis recalled, it went from about a quarter to $32.
And then… boom… crash.
But it went down to $3, instead of a quarter. Progress.
“And then, finally,” Selkis said, “we went up to $1,200.
“And now it’s down to $250.”
So, looking at it from that perspective, we can see that in less than six years, we have an idea that went from zero — having no value at all — to being more than 250 times more valuable than one U.S. dollar. (272 times, upon writing, to be exact.)
Not bad.
But here’s the thing…
The one thing that all the speakers agreed on was this: If you’re paying too much attention to the price of bitcoin, you’re missing the big picture.
The technology behind bitcoin — called the blockchain — is what’s going to change everything.
(Yes… everything.)
Not bitcoin. Bitcoin is a challenge to today’s central-banked currencies, sure. Due to its decentralized nature, bitcoin could, hypothetically, take money out of government’s control.
But the blockchain is capable of so much more.
Allow me to explain…
Let’s first take the Internet as an example.
The Internet is a communications protocol that governs the rules and regulations for information exchange. It’s successful because it’s fast, public, open, cheap, easy to use, transparent, and customizable.
The blockchain is similar. But instead of information, the blockchain is a protocol for value exchange. It’s the Internet of value.
Put simply, it’s a “financial network” of sorts that’s fast, public, open to anyone, cheap, easy to use (once it’s optimized), transparent and customizable. Like the Internet.
And it’s decentralized. So it takes the financial network out of monopolist’s and government’s hands and gives it back to the people.
Bitcoin, you see, is just a product of the amazing technology provided by the blockchain. And bitcoin is only a small part of its capabilities.
“At some point,” Selkis said, “I would say that there’s 99% chance that this blockchain technology — in some way, shape or form — becomes as big, or bigger than the Internet in terms of value creation and in terms of innovation.”
That’s huge.
So what is the blockchain capable of? Here are just a few things…
Smart contracts written into the blockchain have the potential to make the lawyer and the banker obsolete.
It gives anyone the ability to become a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). As a DAO, all “white collar” jobs become autonomous with no central control. This lowers overhead and gives anyone the power to grow a business quickly and affordably.
Micropayments become possible. Which has the potential to change the way we interact with our money and pay for services. Without transaction fees, it’s clear to see how small entrepreneurs benefit here too. With both of these factors, small businesses can compete more effectively by charging less for their services, thus attracting more consumers.
All the things that currently need centralized control |
the speed of his contract renovation. The Argentine player, far from rejecting the idea of signing a contract extension as has been published, is delaying his decision. Barcelona are renewing the contracts of key players and discussions with Messi will start from January.
Taking on the leadership that he needs to at the club, Messi wants to be the last to renew so his negotiations do not affect those of his team-mates who are doing the same.
This is not a question of money but of hierarchy in the group. Messi is not afraid he will not be able to stay at the club and the board are convinced they have to renew his deal. Thus, it will become so in the not too distant future.
The club see this as a show of maturity from the player and there is no rush to race to an agreement. He has been at Barcelona since 13 and his relationship with them is good. The turbulences of the Rosell era have been left behind.
Marca's front page about Messi rejecting Barcelona's offer to renew is an act of revenge against the club because they did not attend the newspaper's awards ceremony, as explained here.ATLANTA, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States and results in one death every 19 minutes, federal health officials say.
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found approximately 27,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in 2007.
The increase in unintentional drug overdose death rates in recent years has been driven by increased use of a class of prescription drugs opioid analgesics, such as Vicodin or OxyContin. Since 2003, more overdose deaths have involved opioid analgesics than heroin and cocaine combined.
In addition, for every unintentional overdose death related to an opioid analgesic, nine people are admitted for substance abuse treatment, 35 visit emergency departments, 161 report drug abuse or dependence and 461 report non-medical uses of opioid analgesics, the researchers say.
Overall, rates of opioid analgesic misuse and overdose death are highest among men ages 20-64, non-Hispanic whites, and poor and rural populations.
The report, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, said the two main populations in the United States at risk for prescription drug overdose are the approximately 9 million people who report long-term medical use of opioids and the roughly 5 million who report non-medical use -- use without a prescription or medical need -- in the past month, the report said.White House press secretary Josh Earnest stopped just short of criticizing states whose policies on potential Ebola patients go beyond the Centers for Disease Control recommendations during the daily briefing on Monday. (AP)
White House press secretary Josh Earnest stopped just short of criticizing states whose policies on potential Ebola patients go beyond the Centers for Disease Control recommendations during the daily briefing on Monday. (AP)
The Ebola quarantine controversy has become a chaotic brawl involving politics, science and the law. The rules on quarantining health-care workers returning from West Africa are changing almost daily and varying according to geography and political climate.
The Pentagon announced Monday that Army personnel returning to their home base in Italy from Liberia will be held in quarantine for 21 days — even though none have symptoms of Ebola or were exposed to patients infected with the virus.
The military’s policy does not appear to track new guidelines announced Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which called for “high-risk” individuals and health-care workers without any symptoms to be directly monitored by state and local health authorities.
Nor do the states have to follow the CDC’s recommendations. For example, Georgia’s new rules, announced Monday, are more restrictive in some respects than the ones unveiled the same day in Maryland and Virginia.
Much of the Ebola drama is in New Jersey, where nurse Kaci Hickox, who had been kept under a mandatory quarantine in a tent at a hospital, was released Monday by order of Gov. Chris Christie (R). He defiantly declared that his aggressive treatment of the nurse, who does not have Ebola, will become the national norm.
But critics of mandatory quarantining of the type imposed in New Jersey say it is an example of politics trumping science because asymptomatic health-care workers can’t spread the Ebola virus. The virus spreads only through the bodily fluids of someone who has symptoms, such as fever, vomiting or diarrhea.
“This doesn’t make medical sense,” said Kristi L. Koenig, spokeswoman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, which represents about 34,000 emergency department doctors across the country.
The issue boiled over after Craig Spencer, a doctor in New York City who had returned from Guinea, tested positive Thursday for the virus after a night on the town, and then Hickox, a nurse who had worked with Doctors Without Borders in a clinic in Sierra Leone, was detained against her will at the Newark airport and then at the hospital. She was on her way to Maine on Monday by a private means that would not expose her to the public, New Jersey officials said.
“I understand she didn’t want to be there. She made that very clear from the beginning. But my obligation is to all the people of New Jersey, and we’re just going to continue to do that,” Christie told reporters Monday.
“That’s a common-sense approach that the federal government wasn’t taking. That we took first in New Jersey and New York. That’s now been adopted by Chicago,” he said. “This will become national policy because it’s smart, tough, common-sense policy.”
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) held separate news conferences Monday announcing their plans for Ebola containment. Travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be assessed by health workers and asked to agree to a 21-day monitoring protocol.
Higher-risk travelers will be visited at home by health workers and asked to stay there. Individuals refusing to sign the protocol agreement or not following the rules could be involuntarily quarantined, officials said.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) on Monday announced a more aggressive Ebola-containment policy. Travelers from West Africa who don’t show symptoms, but who are considered high risk because of “known direct exposure” to Ebola patients, will be subject to quarantine at a designated facility, Deal’s office said.
The White House this weekend pressured New York and New Jersey officials to ease their quarantine rules, and New York complied with a revised policy Sunday. Press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday, “We want to make sure that whatever policies are put in place in this country to protect the American public do not serve as a disincentive to doctors and nurses from this country volunteering to travel to West Africa to treat Ebola patients.”
Earnest made it clear that the administration opposed the decision to forcibly isolate Hickox.
“She didn’t travel over there because she was getting a big paycheck,” he said. Earnest said work such as hers should be honored and respected, and “I don’t think we do that by making her live in a tent for two or three days.”
Michael J. Klag, the dean of Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, of which Hickox is a graduate, wrote a letter to Christie objecting to his 21-day quarantine policy:
“While I applaud your concern for the health of the citizens of New Jersey and recognize your responsibility to protect their health, I do not think that this policy does so. Instead, it increases paranoia without materially protecting health.”
An editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday called the mandatory quarantines put in place by New York and New Jersey “not scientifically based,” “unfair” and “unwise,” saying the measures will impede much-needed efforts to get aid to Ebola-ravaged areas of West Africa.
“The governors’ action is like driving a carpet tack with a sledgehammer: it gets the job done but overall is more destructive than beneficial,” the editors wrote.
Under the new CDC guidelines, state and local health authorities would directly monitor and observe high-risk individuals and others with some risk. Depending on the individual circumstance, a person could be prevented from boarding flights, using public transportation, or venturing into public places such as shopping malls and movie theaters. But someone who had contact with an Ebola patient before that patient was showing symptoms — and therefore was not infectious — would not be monitored or face public or travel restrictions.
The CDC also issued new guidance for workers in U.S. hospitals who care for Ebola patients. Even when they follow all recommended guidelines for wearing personal protective gear, they “might not realize they have been exposed,” according to the CDC. Therefore, all health-care workers in the nation caring for Ebola patients must also be directly monitored by state and local health authorities.
The Pentagon said Monday that about a dozen U.S. military personnel were in quarantine in Vicenza, Italy, after returning from West Africa. Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the personnel include Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, who headed the U.S. military effort on the ground against Ebola in West Africa until he handed over command this past weekend.
Warren said the Army had decided to implement the monitoring “out of an abundance of caution” and not because any of the individuals are believed to be infected.
Several dozen more U.S. Army personnel rotating out of West Africa will be put into the 21-day quarantine in coming days, Warren said. It’s not clear whether other U.S. military branches will adopt the same precautions for service members who have worked in West Africa.
Juliet Eilperin, Dana Hedgpeth, Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan, Abby Ohlheiser and Rachel Weiner contributed to this report.In the same week that Justin Trudeau gave $10.5 million (Cdn) to a former al-Qaida terrorist who confessed to killing a U.S. Army medic, President Donald Trump praised the Canadian prime minister for doing such a “spectacular” job.
At the G-20 Summit on Saturday at an event that initiated a $200 million fund for female entrepreneuers, Trump was effusive in his praise of Trudeau, who had just told reporters that all Canadians needed to see the necessity of “compensating” Omar Khadr.
“We have a great neighbour in Canada and Justin is doing a spectacular job in Canada,” Trump said as he began his speech in support of the women’s entrepreneur fund. “Everybody loves him and they love him for a reason. So congratulations on the job you are doing.”
If Trump’s salute to the terrorist-coddling Trudeau wasn’t enough, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim went even further: “For the Canadians, you are all so lucky to have this man as prime minister. He has brought an incredible breath of fresh air, directness, commitment to the issues.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel couldn’t contain her admiration for Trudeau either, suggesting to her G-20 counterparts that if they required any assistance with their microphones and headset, they should “just ask Justin, Justin can show you,” she told the room.
Follow David on TwitterConspiracy theories have something for everyone. For some, these theories, disturbing as they are, are almost comforting in that they seem to show that, however chaotic things get, there’s actually an order to the madness and, even if the people in control have sinister intentions, we can stop them if we just pay close enough attention to the clues. For others, these theories are great because they’re hilarious and sometimes involve reptile people! A new theory gaining traction and being reported by the New York Observer certainly fits into both categories. It proposes that The Simpsons predicted the 9/11 attacks and not just because the show began to get terrible right around the time of that terrible event.
The theory centers around the 1997 episode “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,” which has a scene in which Lisa holds up a magazine ad in which the number “9” is prominently displayed next to the World Trade Center towers which look like the number “11.” Spooky, right? That’s not it! The Observer also explains how some believe that the popular cartoon saved us from another attack:
“According to Nicholas West, of activistpost.com, ‘The Simpsons’ May 2 episode, entitled ‘To Surveil With Love,’ appears to contain a warning of a “false flag” attack—a covert operation in which a nation attacks itself to manipulate public opinion (in this case, presumably as a prelude to martial law, one-world government and the End Times). The planned attack, a nuclear explosion, was apparently set to happen last weekend, on Saturday, November 6. Fortunately, it was discovered in time and publicized on the web, which caused the chastened plotters to call it off…for now. (Next time maybe they’ll wise up and stop planting clues?)”
Now, this isn’t as crazy as it sounds! As we all know, The Simpsons is written by mostly Ivy League students and the Ivy League is filled with the rich sons of the Shadow Government’s most powerful men. Even the comedy writers at Ivy League schools are actually involved in secretly manipulating the country (for more info on this, see my extensive data that proves the National Lampoon’s 1964 Yearbook totally warned about Waco). But really, if the Simpsons has been trying to tell us of coming atrocities, it only follows that Conan O’Brien, former Simpsons writer (and Harvard student!) is trying to warn us as well. No wonder NBC tried to get him off the air. Especially when the opening sketch from his new show was obviously only a coded message to us explaining how the time machine was already invented by Larry King who was actually assassinated years ago only to be replaced by a clone. Trust me, it’s all there.
Really though, all this conspiracy talk is tiring me out. Below I’ll leave the video of the two Simpsons scenes in question (explained in the only way our nation’s truth seekers know how; through text narration and spooky music) and let you debate them as well as some other chilling clips that predicted other disasters. Me, I’ll just be relaxing and waiting for some rational conversations.
Oh! This afternoon is the next Glenn Beck puppetmaster episode!
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com“A principal fruit of friendship,” Francis Bacon wrote in his timeless meditation on the subject, “is the ease and discharge of the fulness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do cause and induce.” For Thoreau, friendship was one of life’s great rewards. But in today’s cultural landscape of muddled relationships scattered across various platforms for connecting, amidst constant debates about whether our Facebook “friendships” are making us more or less happy, it pays to consider what friendship actually is. That’s precisely what CUNY philosophy professor Massimo Pigliucci explores in Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life (public library), which also gave us this provocative read on the science of what we call “intuition.”
Philosophers and cognitive scientists agree that friendship is an essential ingredient of human happiness. But beyond the dry academic definitions — like, say, “voluntary interdependence between two persons over time, which is intended to facilitate socio-emotional goals of the participants, and may involve varying types and degrees of companionship, intimacy, affection and mutual assistance” — lies a body of compelling research that sheds light on how, precisely, friendship augments happiness. Pigliucci writes:
Happiness is influenced, as one might expect, by all of the “big five” personality traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness. … As research conducted by Meliksah Demir and Lesley Weitekamp also clearly shows, however, friendship augments happiness above and beyond the basic effect of personality.
The way friendship enhances well-being, it turns out, has nothing to do with quantity and everything to do with quality — researchers confirm that it isn’t the number of friends (or, in the case of Facebook, “friends”) we have, but the nature of those relationships:
In particular, what makes for a good happiness-enhancing friendship is the degree of companionship (when you do things together with your friends) and of self-validation (when your friends reassure you that you are a good, worthy individual).
This is where Aristotle comes in: He recognized three types of love — agape, eros, and philia — which endure as an insightful model for illuminating the nature of our relationships. Pigliucci describes the taxonomy:
Agape is a broad kind of love, the kind that religious people feel that God has for us, or that a secular person may have for humanity at large. Eros, naturally, is more concerned with the type of love we have for sexual partners, though the Greeks meant it more broadly than we do. Philia is the type of love that concerns us here because it includes the sort of feelings we have for friends, family, and even business partners.
But this poses the obvious question of what separates love, or eros (itself a complex phenomenon nearly impossible to define, despite history’s ample attempts) from friendship, or philia — a conundrum young E. B. White and James Thurber famously considered and Sartre ultimately failed at resolving. Pigliucci explains:
The obvious answer is that typically (though certainly not necessarily) you have sex with your eros partner but not with your philia friends. More subtly, however, philosophers have pointed out that love is an evaluative attitude, while friendship is a relational one. It makes perfect sense that you could be in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate your feeling, but it is incoherent to say that one has a nonreciprocal friendship.
Aristotle further classified friendships into three distinct categories: of pleasure, of utility, and of virtue:
In friendships of pleasure, you and another person are friends because of the direct pleasure your friendship brings — for instance, you like and befriend people who are good conversationalists, or with whom you can go to concerts, and so on. Friendships of utility are those in which you gain a tangible benefit, either economic or political, from the relationship. Exploitation of other people is not necessarily implied by the idea of utility friendships — first, because the advantage can be reciprocal, and second, because a business or political relation doesn’t preclude having genuine feelings of affection for each other. For Aristotle, however, the highest kind of friendship was one of virtue: you are friends with someone because of the kind of person he is, that is, because of his virtues (understood in the ancient Greek sense of virtue ethics [and] not in the much more narrow modern sense, which is largely derived from the influence of Christianity.)
But what it really boils down to is that friendship affords us a more dimensional way of looking at ourselves and at the world, thus enhancing our understanding of the meaning of life. Once again, Pigliucci takes us back to Aristotle:
Aristotle’s opinion was that friends hold a mirror up to each other; through that mirror they can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible to them, and it is this (reciprocal) mirroring that helps them improve themselves as persons. Friends, then, share a similar concept of eudaimonia [Greek for “having a good demon,” often translated as “happiness”] and help each other achieve it. So it is not just that friends are instrumentally good because they enrich our lives, but that they are an integral part of what it means to live the good life, according to Aristotle and other ancient Greek philosophers (like Epicurus). Of course, another reason to value the idea of friendship is its social dimension. In the words of philosopher Elizabeth Telfer, friendship provides “a degree and kind of consideration for others’ welfare which cannot exist outside
Answers for Aristotle is excellent in its entirety. Complement it with some heartening famous friendships, like those between Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Julia Child and Avis DeVoto, Ursula Nordstrom and Maurice Sendak, and Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.The Newport Beach Ghost Ship Halloween Haunt Is Incredibly Bad.
I've been going to Halloween haunts for as long as I can remember, and no matter how cheesy or low budget they can be, I always enjoy myself a lot. That all changed last weekend when I went to a brand new haunt that I was more excited about than any other event (aside from Halloween itself) this October. So come with me on a tour of something that should have been absolutely amazing, but instead, turned out to be absolutely disappointing. Come with me for a full review of the awful Ghost Ship of Newport Beach. We begin with the promotional ad that drew us all in:
Looks great doesn't it? I thought so too. They certainly put more money into advertising the Ghost Ship than on the Ghost Ship itself. When I saw this ad and found out it was a haunt that actually takes you out to sea, I was instantly sold on it. Sure, it had a whopping $60 price tag, but the chance to go on a completely unique haunted ship with a bunch of friends is something I wasn't about to pass up. We bought our tickets early and were anticipating our ghostly voyage for over a month. October 15th finally rolled around and we couldn't wait to see what the ship was going to look like in person.
Wow. None of us could believe how normal it looked on the outside. Look, I didn't expect this thing to be rusty and have holes on the sides 'n all... the thing obviously needed to be seaworthy, but no decorations on the outside whatsoever? Come on! Spray it with some fake blood and cobwebs; drape it with some old torn black netting; hang a few skeletons off the side to use as boat fenders... anything! It was even docked next to some other luxury yachts that had big yuppie cocktail parties going on, and frankly, the only thing on the outside of the ship that distinguished it from them was a banner hanging off the back with the Ghost Ship logo on it. Of course, the banner itself was partially covered up by an American flag... I mean... a spoooooky American flag. The ghost pirate LeChuck would have their heads for such an offense.
None of us thought this was a good sign, but we bit our tongues and boarded the ship, hoping that the inside experience would make up for our completely lackluster introduction to the Ghost Ship.
When we boarded the ship, we were directed to the top floor, where we entered a dimly lit room filled with chairs facing a stage area with a spotlight on it as we felt the vessel pull away from the dock. Once we were all seated, a man with a welding helmet walked into the spotlight and began introducing three prisoners whose executions we would witness aboard this "floating asylum" that we were on. One guy was rolled out on a dolly cart and you could clearly see that he was sitting on top of a skeleton. Then they shut the lights off and pretended to melt his bones off with acid, but it wasn't even that dark, so you could easily see the guy running off to the side of the stage as the audience collectively groaned. Then, when the lights came back on, only the bones remained on the cart. We're talking total amateur hour here, folks. The welding helmet guy even struggled to remember his lines, so we were left wondering whether he was an actor or an actual welder who they handed a few lines to read at the last minute. To conclude the show, they had a few guys run down the aisles with cans of compressed air that they shot into people's faces - one audience member even complained that it was shot into his ear saying it hurt. And no, it wasn't scary, cuz you could see them coming with cans in their hands... it was just plain stupid and I heard lots of people in the crowd saying the same thing.
After the painfully bad stage show ended after a whopping six minutes, we were then free to head downwards to one of the two remaining levels. The middle level was a bar area and the bottom level was a haunted maze you walked through. We went straight for the maze, but much of it was pitch black with very little to see, you just kind of felt your way through some inflated walls... nothing particularly memorable. It didn't last long at all either; we made it through the whole thing in under five minutes and it felt like a neighborhood yard haunted attraction at best. The longest part of the maze was waiting in a small hallway that had virtually no air being pumped into it until we were allowed to enter.
And that's when it hit us: in roughly ten minutes, we had already experienced all the major attractions the ship had to offer. Now we were all starting to feel a bit seasick, but it sure as hell wasn't because we were out on the ocean, it was because we were duped into believing this would be a scary, professional, and fun haunted attraction.
We headed up to the middle floor to check out the bar / lounge area, hoping that there would be something of interest. See that white sheet haphazardly tossed onto the couch there? Yeah, that's about as far as they went with decorations... a fog machine and a few sheets on couches. I could make a trip to any local Halloween shop, spend 20 bux on some fake cobwebs and other decorations, and I could make that ship look a hundred times better than it did. That's no exaggeration... it was that bad.
What was really sad is that the actual crew members didn't even dress up for the event. Sure, there were some paid actors wandering around in cheap costumes they bought at Target or something (I saw one guy in a Leatherface mask and a hospital gown, I shit you not), but the actual crew was dressed in standard sailor attire. Kinda kills the effect of being on some haunted ship when the members of its crew didn't even dress up for the part. The best thing in the lounge area was a skeleton-butterfly hybrid woman doing a quick burlesque performance followed by a corny magician who had almost as much confetti on hand as Rip Taylor. I don't really drink, but they didn't even have good names for the libations at the bar (which, I might add were not complimentary, despite the high ticket price). You're on a Ghost Ship for chrissakes... call one of the drinks "Ghoulish Grog" and toss a few skull-shaped ice cubes in the cup! It's not rocket science.
So there we were, with an hour left to go on our Ghost Ship voyage, we all sat around in the lounge area, bored to tears and wondering how anybody could screw up such a great concept so badly. Oh yeah... they only cared about taking people's money, that's how. A lot of customers started leaving negative reviews for the Ghost Ship on its official Facebook page too, but the organizers of the ship quickly started deleting them. On top of that, they're claiming that other local haunts were responsible for the negative reviews. Nice business, eh? I'm pretty sure I'm not a local haunt, nor were any of the other disappointed customers that night.
But at least we were out in the ocean, right? That had to be kinda creepy, right? WRONG.
This was our view the entire night on both sides of the ship. The ship puttered around the local harbor area which had plenty of shops and homes lit up along the shoreline which we were only a few hundred yards from at best most of the time. We didn't have any feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere with no land in sight... we hardly traveled anywhere that night. "The only haunted attraction in the country that sets sail into the dark, open ocean at night for a seventy-five minute ride of horror." That's a direct quote from the official Ghost Ship web site. Open ocean my ass. Talk about false advertising...
You know what else would be a good idea for the Ghost Ship? How about not having white Christmas holiday rope lights lining the entire thing. It's really not hard to find orange Halloween rope lights and they cost the same. It's a sad day when Ghost Ship the movie is better than Ghost Ship the haunted attraction.
I've been to countless haunts and reviewed many of them on this site over the past 13 years or so, and I've never been to a haunted attraction that had put so little effort into it to where I had to give it such a negative review. It felt so incredibly lazy that we all believed it was blatant, and by the end of the night, everybody couldn't wait to abandon ship. Keep in mind, none of this is the fault of the actors aboard the ship, they were just working with what little material they were given, so I applaud them for trying. The fault here lies completely with the people who run the Ghost Ship and here's hoping they're held accountable, because they sure aren't offering any refunds or real apologies. When the captain is a moron, it's time to mutiny, and some people have. Some unhappy customers have already started reporting them to the BBB, so I guess that's another first for a floating haunted attraction.
I really wish I ran this haunt myself, cuz I could easily do so much more with it it... I certainly have the experience. But hey, even though I don't work for the Ghost Ship, I decided to be a good sport and lend them a hand by parodying their promotional ad to reflect the experience more accurately:
Much better.
If you're anywhere in our around Southern California, please do yourself and your wallet a favor and do not take a ride on the Ghost Ship. The sad, simple truth is that it's an absolute waste of a great idea and your money. For that kind of cash, you can enjoy a wide variety of other professional haunts all over the state who actually care about giving people the scares and fun they're looking for.
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Next post: Boo Berry Is Back Again For Halloween!Donald Trump's campaign has been relying on the support of Carl Gallups, a Florida-based pastor and radio host, ahead of the state's March 15 Republican primary; the campaign invited Gallups to speak at a rally and touted his endorsement as a "great honor" from a "prominent" leader. Gallups is a fringe conspiracy host who believes the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT, was a "staged" "hoax" and that the father of one of the victims was an "actor employed by the Obama administration to take away your guns."
Trump Says It's A "Great Honor" To Be Endorsed By Carl Gallups
Carl Gallups Is A Pastor And Radio Host. According to his biography, Gallups is the senior pastor of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Milton, FL. He founded the PNN News and Ministry Network (ppsimmons.com) and hosts Freedom Friday Radio on the Milton station WEBY. [Amazon.com, accessed 3/7/16, via CarlGallups.com; CarlGallups.com, accessed 3/7/16]
Trump: "Great Honor" To Be Endorsed By "Prominent" Leader Carl Gallups. A January 13 press release on Trump's website touted Gallups as "incredible" and one of several "prominent community leaders in Florida" to endorse him. Trump stated in the release that it's a "great honor" to receive Gallups' endorsement. [DonaldJTrump.com, 1/13/16]
Gallups Gave Invocation At January 13 Trump Rally. Gallups gave an invocation at the Trump campaign's January 13 Pensacola, FL, rally. Gallups told a radio program that a representative of the Trump campaign asked him to do the event. [YouTube.com, 1/14/16, 1/19/16]
AP On March 7: Gallups Has Been Having "Conversations With Fellow Conservative Christians About Making A Pragmatic Choice In Favor Of Trump." In an article about conservative Christian support for Trump, the Associated Press reported that Gallups has been trying to convince Christians to make a "pragmatic" vote for Trump:
The Rev. Carl Gallups, a Southern Baptist pastor from Milton, Florida, who gave the invocation at Trump's Pensacola rally last January, said he has had many conversations with fellow conservative Christians about making a pragmatic choice in favor of Trump. "I tell them, if you are not thoroughly satisfied with what you might interpret the depth of his faith might be, then the next thing we must look at is the candidate who will best preserve your First Amendment rights and allow you to express your Christian faith," Gallups said. "We're not electing a priest, a pope or a pastor. We're electing a president, a CEO, a commander in chief. I'm not perfectly happy with Donald Trump either, but I'm a realist." [The Associated Press, 3/7/16]
Gallups Is A Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theorist: "No Denying" Evidence That Sandy Hook Is A "Hoax"
Gallups' Website Posted Evidence That Purportedly "Proves Newtown Was A Gun-Grab HOAX." Gallups' web-based PPSIMMONS News and Ministry Network has posted conspiracy theory articles about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT, by someone with the nom de plume "Barry Soetoro" (a reference to the last name of President Obama's stepfather, Lolo Soetoro). The posts call the shooting "fake" and "a gun-grab HOAX." The website also attacks Francine and David Wheeler, who lost their 6-year-old son Benjamin in the shooting, as actors who played the part of grieving parents in the staging of the shooting. [PPSIMMONS News and Ministry Network, 1/31/16; 2/8/16; 3/5/16, via CarlGallups.com; New York Daily News, 11/18/14]
Gallups: "There Is No Denying" That Sandy Hook Victim's Parents Are Fakes. Gallups hosted "Barry Soetoro" on his February 5 radio program and unveiled an elaborate conspiracy theory purporting to show that Sandy Hook was staged. As evidence, Gallups claimed David Wheeler and "his so-called wife" are fakes and David Wheeler "played the part" of "an FBI SWAT team member who was at Sandy Hook, and a grieving father":
CARL GALLUPS: But the bottom line, folks, is if you go look at this article, and look at the pictures and watch the television clips, here's what Barry [Soetoro] has uncovered. This guy named David Wheeler, who was drugged before -- dragged before the nation by -- maybe drugged, too. He was dragged before -- BARRY SOETORO (pseudonym): That's Obama's department. Go ahead. GALLUPS: Yeah, he was dragged before the nation by Obama after the Newtown school shooting, supposedly, Sandy Hook, and was -- played the part of a grieving father with a woman standing beside him crying, slinging snot, carrying on -- of course, right before he went to the podium, he was laughing and carrying on. But anyway -- SOETORO: No, no, no, that's Robbie -- GALLUPS: -- that was another guy. SOETORO: Now that's Robbie Parker -- GALLUPS: That's right. SOETORO: That's a different fake father. GALLUPS: That's right. SOETORO: A different fake dead child. GALLUPS: That's right. You know, you're absolutely right, thank you for correcting me. But this guy, this guy -- he and his so-called wife, they're standing up there and they're grieving and, you know, "My child, my child." And this and that. And, "We gotta take guns, you gotta get guns." And that was what the whole thing is about. But in the meantime, Barry has uncovered the fact that this dude is a Hollywood actor, his so-called wife is a Hollywood actor, and then he found footage, television footage of this guy at Sandy Hook in an FBI SWAT team outfit -- it's the same dude, folks. When you look at -- there is no denying it. Every facial feature, and it's the same guy. And then he's got pictures, he's got video of, showing this guy. So how can he be a Hollywood actor, and an FBI SWAT team member who was at Sandy Hook, and a grieving father who's flying around on Air Force One with Obama, and a advocate for gun control. I mean, how can that be? [...] SOETORO: It's not possible to get any more busted than he is. GALLUPS: Yeah, it's just not. It is not possible to be any more busted than this David Wheeler is. [WEBY, Freedom Friday with Carl Gallups, 2/5/16]
Gallups Referred To The Sandy Hook Shooting As The "Sandy Hook Hoax." [WEBY, Freedom Friday with Carl Gallups, 2/5/16]
Gallups: Sandy Hook Father Is "A Sloppy, Sloppy, Sniper Actor Employed By The Obama Administration To Take Away Your Guns." Gallups asked Soetoro, "Why do you think the regime staged what you were calling the Sandy Hook hoax?" Soetoro responded that they did it to implement gun laws. Gallups added that the evidence showing Sandy Hook was staged is "indisputable" and a "smoking gun." [WEBY, Freedom Friday with Carl Gallups, 2/5/16]
Gallups On Sandy Hook: "Folks, Something Stinks To High Heaven." After claiming that David Wheeler acted as an FBI agent during "the supposed shooting," Gallups said that the whole thing "stinks to high heaven." [WEBY, Freedom Friday with Carl Gallups, 12/18/15]
Gallups Is A Source Of Conspiracy Theories And Fringe Rhetoric
Gallups: Obama Is "An Anti-Christ." Gallups said that Obama "is an anti-Christ, he is a depiction of some of the characteristics of the anti-Christ who is to come," according to Raw Story. [Raw Story, 12/3/13; Media Matters, 5/20/11]
Gallups: Evidence Shows "Barack Obama Was Born In Kenya." Gallups narrated a YouTube video purporting to prove that "Barack Obama was born in Kenya. The evidence is condemning. In a court of law, the evidence would be practically overwhelming." He added that Obama's birth certificate appears to be "a fabricated forgery." [YouTube.com, 9/25/14]
Gallups Suggested Obama Is "An Anti-American And Saudi-Sponsored Muslim" Plant. Gallups narrated a video, asking: "Could it be that Obama's handlers have pulled off the greatest stunt and scam in history? Could it be that they have put an anti-American and Saudi-sponsored Muslim in the White House thanks to a brain-dead American public and news media both obsessed |
on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 2.99 (EPUB)
Nights with a Panther (EPUB, in Russian) 2015-06-25 Nights with a Panther by Nikolay Bredikhin, a story of one betrayal and one love. ISBN: 978-0-9919778-6-4 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 2.99 (EPUB)
Hetaira (EPUB, in Russian) 2015-03-08 The adventures of Russian Angelique Anya Ledneva in "Hetaira", the sequel of Nikolay Bredikhin's novel "Crucified", not only continue, but become truly vertiginous: a psychiatric hospital, an European modeling tour, torture chambers of the Russian mafia, and more. ISBN: 978-0-9919778-5-7 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 4.99 (EPUB)
Bagheera (EPUB, in Russian) 2014-12-05 When his sister suddenly dies in a car accident, he got so distraught that decided to make her life continued in another body. His own one. ISBN: 978-0-9919778-4-0 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 4.99 (EPUB)
September Readings 2014 2014-09-01 ePressario Publishing is proud to invite you to September Readings 2014, a meeting with readers and authors which will take place on Saturday, September 13, 2014, at 3pm EDT, in front of Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Program of the event includes company announcements, extracts from published and upcoming books read by the authors and some time for your questions that will be answered by our editors. Tea and coffee will be offered. All the authors and readers are welcome.
Galaxy Man (EPUB, in Russian) 2014-08-14 Galaxy Man by Nikolay Bredikhin is one of his most famous novels. The main character, who has lost a job and is already desperate to find a new one receives an offer to structure some notes of an unknown prophet for a very decent reward. Interestingly, the four employers who made this proposal are representatives of various religions. What united them all at once? ISBN: 978-0-9919778-3-3 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 9.99 (EPUB)
The Book of Eternal Life (EPUB, in Russian) 2014-04-14 The Book of Eternal Life by Nikolay Bredikhin is the ideological base for Galaxy Man, one of his most famous novels. Here you will find more than three hundreds of the best aphorisms from a vast creative heritage of the Russian writer and philosopher. ISBN: 978-0-9919778-2-6 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 1.99 (EPUB)
Crucified (EPUB, in Russian) 2014-02-17 Crucified by Nikolay Bredikhin is the first book of series about Russian Angelique, Anya Ledneva. It tells the story of a girl who had been sexually abused by four men. In order to stay alive, Anya had to satisfy their wildest fantasies. But now that she is free, and the rapists are in prison, she is constantly haunted by the visions from the past and cannot return to her normal life. ISBN: 978-0-9919778-1-9 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 2.99 (EPUB)
Midnight Sun (EPUB, in Russian) 2013-06-12 Midnight Sun is a sequel to the already famous Paper Tears by Nikolay Bredikhin. Crazy 1990s are over, but the start of the third millennium does not please the main characters. Under the pale and cold sun, they wander once again. Everything they were fighting against suddenly became the standard with the new authorities. ISBN: 978-0-9919778-0-2 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 2.99 (EPUB)
Paper Tears (EPUB, in Russian) 2012-12-27 The heroine of the new novel Paper Tears by Nikolay Bredikhin is a girl in the wheelchair, rehabilitating after a car accident and insanely bored. In order to entertain her, a ghost writer has been hired. No one takes seriously their studies, but a fictitious love story they decided to write eventually develops into a real one. And, surprisingly, the real life gets a plot that is actually a lot more sophisticated than any fiction. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-9-9 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 1.99 (EPUB)
Love in Verona (EPUB, in Russian) 2012-09-11 He and She, the heroes of the story Love in Verona by Nikolay Bredikhin, are travelling to Italy as a part of a tour group. Quickly they become lovers and seem to have it all to spend this trip together, but after Milan, in Verona, he suddenly decides to interrupt his journey without any explanation. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-8-2 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 0.99 (EPUB)
Small Loch Ness (EPUB, in Russian) 2012-06-25 Small Loch Ness by Nikolay Bredikhin incudes two novellas, two short stories and a modern fairy tale. The book is dedicated to “the mad ’90s”, the first decade after the collapse of the USSR, one of the hardest times in the history of Russia. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-7-5 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 4.99 (EPUB)
Muddy Waters, Doubt River (EPUB, in Russian) 2012-01-25 The novel Muddy Waters, Doubt river by Nikolay Bredikhin is an attempt to understand the circumstances of the death of the great USSR superpower, of turning it on at some point in a second-rate and even third-rate country that allowed itself shamelessly defame and plunder. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-6-8 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 0.99 (EPUB)
The Last Empire: Smashwords Edition, multiple formats 2011-12-22 One of the most shocking political thrillers of the year, The Last Empire, is now available in various formats as Smashwords edition. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-3-7 (Smashwords Edition) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/105738
The Last Empire: Kindle Edition 2011-12-07 Out now: The Last Empire, Kindle Edition. Select your local Amazon site or buy it from Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Empire-ebook/dp/B00696HXNQ/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Last-Empire-ebook/dp/B00696HXNQ/ http://www.amazon.fr/The-Last-Empire-ebook/dp/B00696HXNQ/ http://www.amazon.es/The-Last-Empire-ebook/dp/B00696HXNQ/ http://www.amazon.it/The-Last-Empire-ebook/dp/B00696HXNQ/ ISBN: 978-0-9869345-5-1 (Kindle Edition) ASIN: B00696HXNQ
The Last Empire (EPUB, in English) 2011-11-24 Paris, 2011. Roland Ogier, a famous sports journalist, defected from the Soviet Union shortly before perestroika and has lived in France ever since. For thirty years he has not seen his son Sergey, who he left behind. All of Roland’s attempts to mend relations with his son have failed. That is why now, upon suddenly receiving a letter from Sergey asking for help, Ogier takes a flight to Moscow without delay. However, having got his son back, Roland also discovers him in the middle of the Russian power struggle—the intensity of which is pushed to the limit by the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Ogier decides to help Sergey, no matter what it takes. Yet he is still oblivious to how insignificant a human life may be when the stakes involve a vast country’s assets running in the billions of dollars. This is a story of human love and inhuman greed. A story of money vested with absolute power. A story of the Last Empire. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-5-1 (Original ePressario EPUB Edition) Download a free sample » Buy at XinXii.com (Original ePressario EPUB Edition)
Lady Embodiment (EPUB, in Russian) 2011-11-09 The action of the story Lady Embodiment by Nikolay Bredikhin takes place in Russia, the Middle Ages. When the young monk Fyodor transferred the consecrated relics of his monastery to another one, evil forces had come with him and turned everything upside down in his own abode. So now Fedor had to leave his monastery to find a way to defeat this evil. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-1-3 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 0.99 (EPUB)
Secret Chronicles (EPUB, in Russian) 2011-11-02 Sergey Kalabukhin is a staunch supporter of science fiction (SF) as a literary genre. His book Secret Chronicles contains works from different years, representing various forms of SF, such as ‘first contact’, ‘horror’, ‘cyberpunk’, ‘detective’ and, of course, ‘time travelling’. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-2-0 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 0.99 (EPUB)
The Colonel of the Universe (EPUB, in Russian) 2011-06-10 Russia, the late eighties of the last century, the beginning of Perestroika. Russian historian Aleksandr Krupeynikov has been asked to write an internal review of a novel by a young author Constantin Rodimtsev on the political psycho wards of Brezhnev’s era. The subject is no longer considered forbidden, but the publisher still does not want to risk, so the review must be negative. But when Krupeynikov tries to find Rodimtsev, it appears that he is already dead. ISBN: 978-0-9869345-0-6 Download a free sample » To purchase this book as an EPUB file using a secure payment system PayPal click on the button Buy Now below. After submitting your payment, you will receive by e-mail your personal link to download the e-book. EPUB files can be read on most of the modern e-reading devices (e-readers) or on your PC using a free software like Adobe Digital Editions or other programs. CAD 1.99 (EPUB)My organization, the human rights advocacy group the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) has unveiled a new advertising campaign that boldly tells truths that the U.S. government and the mainstream media seem determined to obfuscate.
The series of six ads will run on 100 New York City buses beginning next week. One key new ad points up the uselessness of the distinction between “moderate” and “extremist” Muslims, depicting two photos of Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, a London-based Muslim who pursued a career as a rap artist until he turned to jihad and went to the Islamic State. The first photo shows Abdel Bary as a rapper; the second just before he beheaded American journalist James Foley. Abdel Bary’s face is masked in the second photo, but British intelligence has identified him as the murderer of Foley. The ad bears the legend, “Yesterday’s moderate is today’s headline.”
The United States and other Western nations have paid insufficient attention to the fact that Muslim communities in the West have not made any concerted effort to expel supporters of jihad terror from their midst, and have done nothing at all to teach against the jihadist understanding of Islam, even though they ostensibly reject it. This has the effect that we see illustrated by the trajectory of Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary: people taken as “moderate” turn out to be “extremist.”
Another new ad paraphrases and expands upon another statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to emphasize the sameness of the beliefs and goals of various jihad groups – and one of their chief U.S. enablers: “Hamas is ISIS. Hamas is al-Qaeda. Hamas is Boko Haram. Hamas is CAIR in America. Jihad is jihad.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has had several of its officials convicted of jihad terror activity, and has opposed every counter-terror measure ever proposed or enacted. It also has been shown to have abundant links to Hamas. This is not the “moderate” group of media myth.
The third ad quotes Netanyahu stating another unpopular truth: “Hamas is using civilians as human shields. We use missiles to protect our people. They use their people to protect their missiles.”
The fourth ad points out that “Christians are becoming extinct everywhere in the Middle East except Israel” and calls for an end to U.S. aid to Islamic countries in light of the ongoing and increasing Muslim persecution of Christians.
Two of the ads have run before, including the ad that became the focus of a landmark freedom of speech court case that AFDI won against politically correct attempts to silence resistance to jihad terror. It reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”
Controversial during its first run for calling jihadis “savages,” now this ad has been abundantly vindicated by the savagery of the Islamic State. As numerous political leaders, including Barack Obama, call the ISIS jihadis “savages” or “barbarians,” AFDI has been shown to have been right all along.
Another controversial AFDI ad making a repeat appearance is the one depicting Adolf Hitler with Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, and stating: “Islamic Jew-Hatred. It’s in the Qur’an.” Here again, with Muslim anti-Semitism rising and becoming increasingly violent worldwide, AFDI has been shown to be right.
AFDI plans to roll out these ads across the country on buses and train stations in major cities.
AFDI stands for:
The freedom of speech – as opposed to Islamic prohibitions of “blasphemy” and “slander,” which are used effectively to quash honest discussion of jihad and Islamic supremacism;
The freedom of conscience – as opposed to the Islamic death penalty for apostasy;
The equality of rights of all people before the law – as opposed to Sharia’s institutionalized discrimination against women and non-Muslims.
Pamela Geller is the President of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), publisher of PamelaGeller.com and author of The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. Follow her on Twitter here. Like her on Facebook here.This story is about Published Dec. 2016
Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence (back) hopes to return this week Share This Story On... Twitter
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Staff Photographer Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence (90) pressures New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) uring the Dallas Cowboys vs. the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, December 11, 2016. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)
By Jon Machota, Staff Writer Contact Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
ARLINGTON -- Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was inactive Sunday night because of a back injury he's been dealing with throughout the season. Lawrence only played 13 snaps last week against the New York Giants. "After the game was hell for me," he said.
Jerry Jones: NFL told Cowboys Randy Gregory eligible to play against Lions; 'He can give us some zip'
He wasn't able to practice last week but hopes he's able to return for next Monday night's game against Detroit. "I'm just working with the trainers, working with the chiropractors and the massage therapists," Lawrence said. "Hopefully I'll be back next week.... They wanted to sit me down this game and let the inflammation calm down." Sunday night's game was the first Lawrence, who had back surgery in January, missed this season due to injury. He was suspended the first four games of the season for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. Lawrence led the Cowboys in sacks last season with eight. He has one sack, 13 QB pressures and three tackles for loss in nine games.
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This Topic is Missing Your Voice.(Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday permanently blocked parts of a Florida law that aimed to cut off state funding for preventive health services at clinics that also provide abortions.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle had issued a preliminary order in June after state Planned Parenthood affiliates challenged provisions as unconstitutional. The June order had come just before the restrictions were to take effect.
“The preliminary injunction is made permanent with this order,” Hinkle wrote in a three-page decision.
The judge had found the clinics were unacceptably targeted by state efforts to eliminate funding for other healthcare services they also provided, such as birth control and screening for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases.
The Planned Parenthood lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, focused on the funding cuts. It said they jeopardized about $500,000 annually.
Planned Parenthood also challenged state inspections seeking to review 50 percent of patient medical records at abortion clinics.
Lillian Tamayo, chief executive of Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida, said the organization was grateful the court had halted part of the law signed by Republican Governor Rick Scott.
“If this law had gone into effect, it would have made a bad situation even worse,” she said in a statement.
Planned Parenthood did not challenge a related provision requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, a type of formal affiliation that can be difficult to obtain.
A spokeswoman for Scott said of the ruling, “We are reviewing it.”
Florida was among many states adopting new abortion laws as conservatives seek to chip away at the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.Kerala Elections 2016
Many a time, Mani termed VS a rogue while at other times VS was apparently the in-house traitor who would poison even the drinking water
Thursday saw veteran CPI(M) leader VS Achuthanandan arrive at Udumbanchola constituency in Idukki to campaign for his fellow-firebrand leader M.M. Mani. The visit held special significance as both leaders have not been on good terms since the past few years.
Mani had once upon a time been a close aide of VS, but in 2007 when the latter’s Munnar operation against land grabs began to target party offices too, things had changed between them.
To Mani’s public threat to chop off VS’ hands if he attempted to carry out the operation in Munnar, VS had then retorted: “Mani should first check whether he himself will be able to retain his own hands and legs while leaving Munnar.”
This very public spat went on to trigger a war of words between the duo that mostly involved quite colourful verbal abuses. Many a time, Mani termed VS a rogue while at other times VS was apparently the in-house traitor who would poison even the drinking water.
This did not however stop VS from visiting Mani at the Peerumedu sub-jail, spending almost twenty whole minutes in his company. Mani incidentally was in jail for his fiery speech that boasted of how his party had literally wiped out his opponents in the 80s and how the party had even prepared a list of those who ought to be murdered.
But that just proved to be red herring and swords remained drawn till Thursday saw both share a venue as part of the LDF’s election campaign.
VS went on to praise Mani as a great leader who had fought for the downtrodden in Idukki and even asked the audience to vote for Mani.
A section of the media went on to label this as a sign of a patch-up between the two. But somehow VS himself did not seem happy at the turn of events and was clearly uneasy all throughout the function.Earlier this month, Southern Living Travel & Features Editor Jennifer V. Cole offered her “100 Places to Eat Now,” and Houston landed five spots on the list: Barbecue Inn, Oxheart, Provisions, Reef and Underbelly.
Of the city’s food scene, Cole wrote:
Without a doubt, Houston is the most interesting, far-ranging, delightful food city in the South—strike that, in America—right now. There’s a confluence of a post-Katrina Creole population, traditional Southern staples (biscuits, barbecue, pimiento cheese), multinationals (Vietnamese, Korean, Pakistani, Mexican), fertile farmland, easy access to the Gulf, and a general yearning to make a culinary mark.
On Thursday the magazine announced it has ranked Underbelly, chef Chris Shepherd’s critical darling on Westheimer, No. 2 on its list of the South’s Best New Restaurants. Cole calls Shepherd the city’s pied piper, “leading diners deeper into the flavors of the city.” Among her favorites from the always-evolving menu were the biscuits and chicken gravy, a fried whole vermilion snapper and the crispy whole Gulf bycatch. She named the Korean Braised Goat & Dumplings as the restaurant’s “Best Bite.”
The Ordinary in Charleston, S.C., topped the list, which was rounded out by Cardamom Hill in Atlanta at No. 3, Hog & Hominy in Memphis at No. 4 and Mateo Tapas in Durham, N.C., at No. 5.The following featured photographs, colorized by Allan White, Benjamin Thomas, Doug Banks, Jared Enos, Johhny Sirlande, Tom Thounaojam, Olga Shirnina, Paul Reynolds and Royston Leonard, capture in vivid detail the Allied Troops on the battlefields of World War II.
Their photos are also featured among the hundreds of colored photos on the WW1 Colourised Photos and WW2 Colourised Photos
Editor’s note: Photos and photo captions are courtesy of artists’ Facebook pages, but may be edited for brevity. Photos featured are from Defense of Department (includes U.S. Navy, Marines, Army, Coast Guard and Air Force) and military service pages, National Archives, Library of Congress, newspapers or donated by third parties. Permission was granted to feature the colorized photographs on Argunners.
United States Marines climbing down the nets into landing craft during the Battle of Peleliu, September-November 1944. [Colorized by Benjamin Thomas]
‘Dog Beach Patrol’, (possibly on Parramore Beach, Virginia, US October 1943) A Coast Guard and his Alsatian dog poses with a M1928A1 Thompson SMG with 50-round drum magazine –.45 ACP. [Colorized by Royston Leonard]
Flying Officer Leonard Haines of No. 19 Squadron RAF sits by the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia (QV-?) at Fowlmere, near Duxford. September 1940. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
A paratrooper from the American 17th Airborne Division gets a light from a Churchill tank crewman of 6th Guards Armoured Brigade near Dorsten in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 29th of March 1945. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
F/L J. F. Thomas and the crew of Avro Lancaster Bomber ‘B’ MkI ‘Victorious Virgin’ RF128 QB-V of RCAF 424 Squadron “Tiger” Squadron on the 21st of March 1945. (probably taken at the Skipton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire airfield). [Colorized by Tom Thounaojam]
US Air Force pilot 2nd Lieutenant Robert Wade Biesecker with his crew of the 569th Bombardment Squadron, 390th Bomb Group, US Eighth Air Force, standing by ‘Honey Chile’, their B-17 Flying Fortress bomber (serial 42-31027), at RAF Framlingham, a US Eighth Air Force Bomber Command station in England, 18 October 1943. [Colorized by Benjamin Thomas]
‘Operation Husky’ A Sherman tank of ‘A’ Squadron, 50th Royal Tank Regiment, 23rd Armoured Brigade is silhouetted by the setting sun. 1st of August 1943, in Sicily. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
An American Medic and a GI of the US. 80th Infantry Division reading a comic at Reisdorf in Luxembourg near the German Border. 12th of February 1945. Left to right : Pfc Reynold H. Bush Middletown, Ohio, and Pfc Aurelio Maltese, New York. [Colorized by Johhny Sirlande]
Soviet Air Force officers, Rufina Gasheva (848 night combat missions) and Nataly Meklin (980 night combat missions) decorated as ‘Heroes of the Soviet Union’ for their service with the famed ‘Night Witches’ unit during World War II. They stand in front of their Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. [Colorized by Olga Shirnina]
A Supermarine Spitfire Vc ‘Tropical’ JK707 MX-P serving with 307th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group operated by 12th USAAF. The regular pilot was 1st.Lt. Carroll A. Prybylo, but when lost it was flown by Capt. Virgil Cephus Fields, Jr. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
This photo was on the cover of ‘YANK’ Magazine, Continental Edition of January 14, 1945, entitled “PRESENT ARMS” it featured Pfc. Robert Leigh and his collection of enemy weapons taken by the 83rd Infantry Division during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest. (MP.38 and MP.40’s, an MG.34 and an MG42). [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
Alex Vraciu, who was just 25 when he reigned as the US Navy’s top World War II fighter ace after downing 19 Japanese aircraft and destroying 21 more on the ground in only eight months in 1944, died on January the 29th 2015 in West Sacramento, Calif. He was 96. [Colorized by Johhny Sirlande]
On the 11th of June 1944, F/O H.G. Garwood of 412 Squadron was flying VZ-S (MJ 255) MK IXc Spitfire when it suffered an engine failure* near Tilly-sur-Seulles, France, during the allied invasion. He was forced to execute a wheels-up landing which tore the port wing off as it looped in the grass. Fortunately Garwood was able to make it back to his base unharmed. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
General Bernard Montgomery stands beside an M3 Grant command tank near Tripoli, Libya.
27th of January 1943. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
Major John W. Forth, Chaplain of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (right), Canadian 3rd Infantry Division, helping the unit’s Regimental Aid Party treat a wounded comrade during the Battle of Caen, France, 15 July 1944. [Colorized by Benjamin Thomas]
Regimental Sergeant Major Evans of the 12th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment examines captured German helmets in Hamminkeln, Germany, 25th March 1945. [Colorized by Paul Reynolds]
A US 7th Armored Division 3-inch M5 towed antitank gun covers the approach road near the Railroad crossing at Vielsalm, Belgium. 23rd of December 1944. [Colorized by Jared Enos]
G.I.’s from (possibly) the 1st Btn, 314th Inf. Rgt. of the US 79th Inf. Div., during an attack on the Bolleville road, just north west of La Haye Du Puis in Normandy. c. 8th July 1944. [Colorized by Allan White]
An American G.I. (possibly of the 79th US Infantry Division) runs past a German Sd.Kfz 251 Ausf D (SonderKratfahrzeug 251) – it’s probably one of many SPW (Schützenpanzerwagen) belonging to 2.Panzer Aufklärer (recon.), knocked out near St Aubin d’Appenai in Normandy during mid-August 1944. [Colorized by Royston Leonard]
US 3AD soldiers, Cpl. James L. Gregory and T/5 Omer G. Taylor of ‘C’ Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division seek shelter behind a M-4 Sherman tank while under German Artillery bombardment at Geich, near Düren, Germany, on the 11th of December 1944. [Colorized by Jared Enos]A quick sketch on paper that was colored and shaded digitally.
[[Spoilers for Undertale's True Pacifist Route]]
When seeing Snowdrake's mom in the True Lab my first Pacifist run, I wasn't terrified like how some people were; I was deeply saddened. She was in so much pain that she could barely attack you. All I wanted to do was comfort her and give her a blanket because she kept saying "it's so cold". There was even the option to heckle her (since she's a partial Snowdrake), but I'm not messed up enough in the head to do such a thing without feeling so fucking depressed from reading the shit Frisk didn't say (thank God).
She's probably the only amalgamate you could "kill". I didn't know that until a friend told me because I didn't bother attacking the amalgamates after the first few took no damage and gave me weird dialogue in place of damage. If she was never going to see her family again, I would've cheated my stats so I could put the poor thing out of her misery in one swift hit. ;_;Enlarge Image Starship
Pizza delivery could be the next job to be replaced by machines, as self-driving robots begin delivering meals and packages in Europe.
Estonian company Starship, started by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, are behind the robotic delivery drones. The cutesy wheeled carts will deliver packages from courier Hermes, shopping from retailer Metro Group, and food from Just Eat and Pronto. Trials start this month in London, followed by Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Bern.
The six-wheeled robots drive autonomously while being monitored by human operators back in a control centre. The robots detect and dodge pedestrians on the way, and when they arrive you unlock the tasty cargo by tapping on your phone.
Earlier this year pizza chain Dominos showed off prototype pizza delivery robots, while Amazon is planning deliveries by flying drones. It's not yet clear how you tip this new generation of delivery droids. Maybe with a glob of axle grease?Why Bradley Cooper Doesn't Play Rocket On The Set Of Guardians Of The Galaxy By Adam Holmes Random Article Blend We have two actors to thank for Rocket Raccoon's appearances in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The first is Bradley Cooper, who voices the wisecracking, mutated mammal. The second is Sean Gunn, who, in addition to his duties as Ravager member Kraglin, performs Rocket during principal photography. While some fans might wonder Cooper doesn't just play Rocket on-set when the cameras are rolling, director James Gunn recently explained why his brother Sean is the right man for that particular job, mainly attributing it to the physicality necessary to properly portray Rocket. As Gunn put it: Sean Gunn is not a stand-in. He is a motion reference actor. That means we film everything Sean does on set as Rocket. We film it. I don't stop doing takes of him until we get the performance right and then we use that performance as a basis for much of Rocket's acting. And he does a fantastic job in that role. He knows it. He understands it. And also very important, Sean is able to physically do something most actors aren't able to do, which is waddle around on all fours. He's always been an incredibly limber guy that can to do a lot of strange physical things. And the fact that he's able to waddle around on his legs all day long at the exact height of Rocket is quite a feat and quite quite difficult. James Gunn was asked by a fan during his most recent Facebook Live stream if he would ever consider using Bradley Cooper as the "stand-in" for Rocket Raccoon in if the actor were available. Gunn quickly reminded those watching that Sean Gunn is a "motion reference actor." So not only is he used as a frame of reference for the other actors when performing scenes, but he's also delivering the lines that will later be spouted off by Cooper. More importantly, Sean Gunn is especially talented at handing the Rocket movements that not a lot of other actors may be able to pull off. So even if there was an opening in Cooper's schedule, Gunn will be sticking with Sean when it comes to the main Guardians of the Galaxy shoots. Sean has also acknowledged how difficult it is playing Rocket, |
2012, the European Union toughened sanctions against Belarus, adding a dozen names to a 200-strong "black list" of individuals banned from traveling to the EU, as well as freezing accounts of 20 Belarusian companies
In response to the move, Lukashenko kicked out ambassadors from Poland and the European Union, prompting a harsh rebuke from Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt.
“He has tried to manipulate and threaten us in different ways and now he attempts to do something that he believes is some sort of pressure on us. We perceive that as weakness and desperation,” Carl Bildt told Sveriges Radio in March.
“He is in a very troublesome position, but now he is burning bridges and that will have negative consequences for him in the long run."
Despite the dangers involved in flying an aircraft into Belarus without authorization and then flying over the capital at low altitudes, one of the pilots emphasized that the Belarusian citizens living under Lukashenko's regime must deal with much greater dangers on a daily basis.
"Using an airplane may seem brave, but living in Belarus takes even more courage," he told The Local.
"Think of living in a country where your family and friends could be arrested or it could happen to you at any time.
According to Studio Total, the action was carried out as an independent show of support for Charter 97, which is also a pro-human rights Belarusian news website.
Studio Total was the same agency responsible for a famous publicity stunt carried out at the Almedalen political meet up in 2010 when politician Gudrun Schyman set fire to 100,000 kronor in cash.
More recently, the agency orchestrated a campaign in autumn 2011 involving a fictional "school of sex" in Austria supposedly run by a Swedish artist.
While the school of sex was eventually proven to be a hoax, the revelations didn't occur until the story had made headlines across the globe.
David Landes
Follow David Landes on TwitterPresident Francois Hollande announced on Wednesday that France would be reducing its force in Mali, which currently stands at approximately twenty-five hundred personnel. France had deployed thousands of troops at the peak of its intervention, Operation Serval, which began in January 2013. France is now looking to reduce its contribution in the country down to some sixteen hundred individuals by the middle of next month.
The French are hoping to shift some of the burden onto other nations contributing forces to the UN mission in the country, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Among these contributors are the Dutch, who announced in November that they were planning on sending a contingent to the country. In December, the Dutch parliament approved the deployment of a force of almost four hundred individuals and associated equipment in support of the MINUSMA mission. The Dutch had previously assisted in the rapid deployment of French forces in the open phases of Operation Serval, along with other nations like the United States. The US effort, codenamed Operation Juniper Micron, lasted well into last fall.
What is interesting about the Dutch deployment, which is scheduled to be completed by April, is its focus on improving intelligence capabilities. MINUSMA has itself established an All Sources Information Fusion Unit (ASIFU) in the capital Bamako, to manage the flow of intelligence information to and from peacekeepers. A need for greater intelligence has been a continuing issue for peacekeepers in Mali. While international forces provide security in most large population centers and patrol Mali’s limited highway network, militants have continue to operate with a certain impunity outside of those areas, notably in the country’s sprawling and sparsely populated northern regions. The lack of government presence in these areas has led them to have been referred to as ungoverned or under-governed spaces by the US in the past.
To combat this, the French have recently begun deploying MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles to neighboring Niger, where the US also has a drone operation. The French deployment is specifically focused on operations in Mali, while it is likely the US operation involved overflights there as well. The US has been conducting intelligence overflights in the region for some time as part of operations like Creek Wind and Creek Sand.
In this same vein, the Dutch contribution is centered around contingents from the Korps Commandotroepen (Commando Corps) and the Korps Mariniers (Marine Corps), with the primary mission of conducting long-range reconnaissance type missions. These special operations forces type units will also look to seize and destroy arms caches and apprehend militants hiding in remote areas. These units will be equipped with numerous light vehicles to support their mission, including the Fennek reconnaissance vehicle. Also, the force will include four AH-64D Apache helicopters, again primarily to support reconnaissance efforts, but also capable of conducting show of force and fire support missions. To help coordinate these efforts with the rest of MINUSMA, the Dutch will provide personnel to the ASIFU in Bamako. A small contingent of military police to train Malian police and promote rule of law in the country round out the contingent.
Since the French intervention and subsequent establishment of MINUSMA last year, a certain calm has returned to Mali. However, it remains to be seen whether the government and Tuareg rebels can reach an agreement on how to end their dispute. The Tuareg insurgency is a significant part of the current crisis. The other significant factor is Islamist militants, said to be linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The leader of one of these groups, Mokhtar Belmokthar, who’s al-Mulathamun Battalion was recently declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US, released a new threat yesterday against the French in North Africa specifically over operations in Mali. The Tuaregs and the Islamists have their own on-again off-again relationship, further complicating matters. International forces have primarily focused on controlling Islamist groups rather than the Tuaregs.
AdvertisementsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern would not confirm reports of US President Donald Trump mistaking her for Canada's First Lady Sophie Trudeau at the ASEAN summit, today.
It came after comedian Tom Sainsbury told Newshub he was told "Donald Trump was confused for a good amount of time, thinking that she was [Canadian Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau's wife".
On TVNZ1's Breakfast today Ms Ardern was asked by host Jack Tame if the incident happened, after claims she told two people about the possible incident.
"Second-hand, someone observed that they thought that it had happened, but in all my interactions certainly President Trump didn't seem to confuse me when I interacted with him," Ms Ardern said.
"Someone else believed they had observed some confusion."
She would not reveal who the person was that made the observations.
"It's quite complicated Jack," Ms Ardern said when pressed by Mr Tame on the matter.
"They observed what they believed to be a mistaken identity. I then had interactions that suggested he knew who I was, that was the point that I had been properly introduced so that probably cleared it up."
Ms Ardern said she told Sainsbury the "shortened version" of the story behind the scenes at the New Zealand Music Awards.
Ms Ardern told Newsroom at the summit Mr Trump joked, "This lady caused a lot of upset in her country".India is at war with its wildlife.
Over the past few months, authorities have declared, or sought to declare, as vermin an entire bunch of wild animals that are apparently in conflict with humans, particularly farmers.
According to new rules laid out by India’s environment ministry, headed by minister Prakash Javadekar, three wild animals—the nilgai, the wild boar, and the rhesus monkey—can now be killed in a few states. This is simply because these “vermin” damage crops. When an animal is declared vermin, its culling is allowed for a certain period.
The Indian government first issued a notification in Dec 2014 asking state governments for a list of animals they consider vermin. A year later, the ministry issued another notification that allowed wild boars and nilgai—or blue bull, Asia’s largest antelope—to be killed in the eastern state of Bihar. The state government claim that nilgais, whose numbers have grown exponentially of late, damage crops.
In February this year, it allowed Uttarakhand in India’s north to cull wild boars. A similar permission was given to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh in May for getting rid of monkeys. Two other states, Maharashtra and Gujarat are currently awaiting permission to kill nilgais.
Meanwhile, the western Indian state of Goa is studying a proposal to make the peacock a vermin, while West Bengal is seeking the environment ministry’s permission to capture wild elephants because they kill humans.
“When state governments write to us about farmers suffering due to crop damage by animals, then such permissions are given,” Javadekar said on June 10. “It is on the recommendation of state governments; also it’s an old law.”
India has faced man-animal conflict for decades. But the culling of these animals only reinforces the lack of a mechanism to address the issue.
“This is a ridiculous way of dealing with wildlife,” said Sreedhar Ramamurthi, an earth scientist and management trustee at Environics Trust, a non-profit in New Delhi. “There have been no scientific studies to understand their population growth or on how they are a hindrance to farmers or human life.”
The environment ministry’s plans have also come for strong criticism from the country’s child and women welfare minister, Maneka Gandhi, who is a vocal animal rights advocate.
“The environment ministry, suo motu, issued a letter asking states to come forward with proposals (to kill wild animals),” Gandhi said. “They then gave the go-ahead for killing elephants in West Bengal, wild boars in Uttarakhand, peacocks in Goa, nilgai in Bihar. I don’t understand this lust for killing.”
However, animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi has taken the environment ministry to court, arguing that the culling could create ecological imbalance. India’s supreme court is likely to hear the plea later this week.Not even five months into a new year, legendary Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo has already received a rare athletic daily-double.
In March, Calvillo, who retired after the 2013 season as professional football’s career passing leader, learned he was being inducted this September into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Then in early April, while attending the English Montreal School Board’s volunteer appreciation evening, Calvillo was told by Montreal restaurant entrepreneur Jonathan Dresner there would be a burger for the month of May named after him at Dresner’s three Notre-Boeuf-de-Grâce locations.
“It’s an honour. It’s one of those things you don’t expect. Even when they told me, I didn’t know what to expect. They asked me what I liked and we went from there,” said Calvillo, who spent two decades playing in the Canadian Football League — including the final 16 seasons with Montreal — and now serves as the Als’ quarterbacks coach.
“Man, this is pretty cool. It’s not everyday you have a burger named after you,” added Calvillo, who learned of Dresner’s idea while receiving the EMSB’s first volunteer ambassador of the year award at a dinner last month at which both were in attendance.
The six-ounce burger, made of fresh ground beef, is topped with chorizo, a Mexican sausage, roasted corn relish, Nappa Jicama coleslaw and is served with a side of Chicharron, a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or pork rinds. It was a staple of the Calvillo family while he was being raised in east Los Angeles.
Calvillo and his wife, Alexia, both are cancer survivors who work actively with the Cedar’s Cancer Research department. Dresner is donating a portion of the proceeds from each burger sold to the Cedar’s Cancer Research Foundation. The burger is only available this month at Dresner’s three locations, including one on Côte-Vertu Blvd., not far from Calvillo’s St-Laurent home. At that location alone, according to Dresner, about 200 Calvillo burgers have been sold.
Dresner and his chef, Blair Hardiman, met with Calvillo after the EMSB event, getting to know his personality so they could produce something that represented Calvillo, who won three Grey Cups with the Als and was the league’s most outstanding player another three times. His team jersey was retired during a ceremony in October 2014.
“He’s an extremely nice guy … too nice,” Dresner said of Calvillo. “He says yes to everything and volunteers everywhere. I can’t imagine him saying he’s too busy for an autograph or a picture. He came here to eat, people were taking pictures of him. He’s just a really, really nice guy.
“He’s a super-cool guy who would sit and talk sports forever. He’s just a regular guy.”
Dresner, 37, is a former captain of the Concordia Stingers’ basketball team. He graduated with a business degree, concentrating on management marketing. He dabbled in restaurant franchising before opening the first of his upscale burger joints in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in April 2015. He has another one downtown, while the St-Laurent location is four months old.
It was Dresner’s concept to launch a burger of the month, created to honour a local hero. One recipient was Corey Fleischer, who gained publicity for removing hateful graffiti for free in Montreal.
Dresner said customers have embraced the idea. “People like a little bit of fun and change to the menu. Everyone’s a hero in some way,” he said. “It became popular and we realized there was more we could do with it … promote what someone’s doing while raising money. Some of the people you work with are bigger than others, or just different.
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“It’s only here potentially for a limited time. That makes it exciting.”
The 44-year-old Calvillo, forced to retire after suffering a concussion, played at 205 pounds and now weighs 220. He said he enjoyed the occasional burger while playing and before changing his diet, with the assistance of former Als athletic therapist Scott Suter, following the 2008 season. Blood taken from Calvillo discovered his digestive system had difficulty breaking down gluten, dairy and refined sugar.
Calvillo said he monitors his diet carefully in retirement, but isn’t as strict as when he played. He said anyone who orders the Calvillo burger will come away feeling satisfied.
“It’s a unique burger,” he said. “It has a great flavour that goes well with the burger. We didn’t want it too spicy for people. Then you have this cabbage coleslaw mix. The whole combination tastes delicious.”
Note — The Als on Monday announced TSN Radio-690 will remain its English-language rightsholder through 2019. Former Montreal cornerback Davis Sanchez replaces Paul Lambert to provide analysis, while Rick Moffat continues handling play-by-play.
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1During his March 28 comments on “gun violence,” President Obama once again claimed that 40% of gun purchases take place without a background check.
The claim is meant to apply to new gun sales and is patently false, as Breitbart News demonstrated when Obama first used the 40% figure during a speech on Jan. 16.
As Breitbart News explained then, many gun grabbers get the “40%” figure from a 2011 study by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, titled: “Point, Click, Fire: An Investigation Into Illegal Online Gun Sales.”
The study claims “40% of guns are sold through private sellers.” It also claims that “the sales–which take place in many venues, including gun shows, and, increasingly, on the internet…fuel the black market for illegal guns.”
This is simply false, and it is as misleading as it is untrue.
For starters, the “40%” figure does not even refer to new guns but guns already in circulation, which are being resold on a secondary basis. This could be a neighbor who sells his hunting rifle to another neighbor, a father who sells his handgun to a daughter who is living by herself, or a mother who sells her late father’s shotgun to a trap shooter or duck hunter.
Yet gun grabbers like Bloomberg and Obama have seized on this figure because they estimate about 40% of all guns in circulation were sold before background checks were in place, thus there is no paper trail on them–i.e., there is no way for the government to find, register, or confiscate them.
They frame it in a way that makes it sound like 40% of all guns being sold right now–in 2013–are being sold without a background check being performed. And they do so in hopes of fueling more support for universal background checks to be implemented.
Universal background checks will ban secondary gun sales and eventually allow the government to know where every gun is sitting and where every gun owner lives. That is the end game.
This is why Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) says, “The proposals the president is calling for Congress to pass would primarily serve to reduce the constitutionally protected rights of law-abiding citizens while having little or no effect on violent crime.”While many athletes are rolling straight from spring lacrosse to summer club ball, others will have the next few months away from structured sport. Off-seasons are critical to long-term success as valuable time to lay a foundation of strength, size, speed, and athletic fundamentals. Year-round structured sports can lead to overuse injuries, burnout, and failure to maximize potential by depriving athletes of off-season training.
I’ve written many times over the last year about the value of an off-season and how to train during off-seasons to maximize success and potential. Rather than write this all again, here is the collection of off-season resources and links all in one place. A few notes:
I highly recommend taking a couple weeks off after the season to enjoy unstructured physical activity. Don’t worry about jumping straight into an off-season program of structured training. Take a couple weeks to enjoy recreational activity (hiking, biking, pickup games, etc.) to decompress from the season. After a hard 12-16 weeks, you earned it and this rest will set you up for a great off-season block. In my ideal world, lacrosse players would all play another fall or winter sport, only playing lacrosse in spring and at most ONE of summer, fall, or winter. Lacrosse really benefits from other sports, with either strategy or physical skills all having carryover back to lacrosse in the spring. A perfect year could look like: Spring: Lacrosse
Summer: Off-Season 1
Fall: Football/soccer/track/rowing or Off-Season 2
Winter: Wrestling/basketball/swim or Off-Season 2
Six Fundamental Physical Skills for Lacrosse (links and videos)
Putting it all together: The BWL Off-Season GuideDeep in the heart of the Amazon, legends tell of a river so hot that it boils from below. As a geoscientist, Andrés Ruzo’s training told him the stories couldn’t be true. But that was before he saw the river with his own eyes.
It’s incredible to think there are natural wonders on this planet not yet known to science, but such was the case for the river at Mayantuyacu, publicized for the first time in The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon. The book is an engrossing, true story of discovery, adventure, science, and mysticism, told by a man who was driven to explain something impossible, and is now on a quest to preserve it.
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When he was twelve years old growing up in Peru, Ruzo’s grandfather told him a strange story. After Spanish conquistadors killed the last Inca emperor, they headed deep into the Amazon rainforest in search of gold. Few of these men would ever return, but those who did spoke of a waking nightmare—poisoned water, man-eating snakes, starvation, disease, and a river that boils from below, as if lit by a great fire.
“The planet’s gotten small, and natural wonders like this are few and far between “
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The image of that boiling river seared itself into Ruzo’s mind. But it wasn’t until years later, as a PhD student in geophysics at Southern Methodist University, that he started to wonder if the legend could be true. This wasn’t just idle curiosity: Ruzo’s thesis project was initially focused on creating the first detailed geothermal map of Peru, including parts of the Amazon. If a boiling river existed, it would surely merit recognition.
But his senior colleagues dismissed the idea as preposterous. It would take a tremendous amount of geothermal heat to boil even a small section of a river—and the Amazon basin lies hundreds of miles from any active volcanoes. One advisor even suggested that Ruzo stop asking “stupid questions” if he wanted to finish his PhD.
But Ruzo didn’t stop asking. And eventually, he found someone who took his questions about a boiling river seriously: his aunt. That’s because she’d been to one.
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The river turned out to be no legend at all, but the sacred geothermal healing site of Mayantuyacu, nestled deep in the Peruvian rainforest and protected by a powerful shaman. Ruzo couldn’t quite believe it until he saw it for himself, but once he did, his life changed.
Up to 82 feet (25 meters) wide and 20 feet (six meters) deep, the river surges for nearly 4 miles at temperatures hot enough to brew tea or cook any animals unfortunate enough to fall in. And yes, a small portion of it is so hot that it actually boils. There are documented hot springs in the Amazon, but nothing nearly as large as this river.
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“You’re surrounded by the sounds of the rainforest,” Ruzo told Gizmodo. “You feel this water surging past you and plumes of vapor coming up. It’s truly a spectacular place.”
Mayantuyacu is visited each year by a handful of tourists, who come to experience the traditional medicinal practices of the Asháninka people. Save several obscure references in petroleum journals from the 1930s, scientific documentation of the river is non-existent. Somehow, this natural wonder has managed to elude widespread notice for over seventy five years.
Many of us turn to fiction to escape the mundanity of the real world. But as The Boiling River so poignantly illustrates, fantastical discoveries are lurking all around us. It takes a special type of persistence, and a little bit of crazy, to pull the clues out of the white noise of everyday routine. When Ruzo did, he was rewarded with the biggest adventure of his life.
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And it’s an adventure that’s just beginning. Having forged a strong relationship with the local community, Ruzo is now conducting detailed geothermal studies of the boiling river, attempting to place it in the context of the Amazon basin. He’s also collaborating with microbial ecologists to investigate the extremophile organisms living in its scalding waters. Anything that survives here could offer insights into how life got its start billions of years ago, when the Earth was a much harsher planet.
But most importantly, Ruzo’s trying to save the boiling river. “In the middle of my PhD, I realized, this river is a natural wonder,” Ruzo said. “And it’s not going to be around unless we do something about it.”
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Since Ruzo first visited Mayantuyacu in 2011, the surrounding forest has been decimated by illegal logging. If action isn’t taken, the site—held sacred by generations of Asháninka cultural practitioners—could soon vanish.
Ruzo hopes that by putting a spotlight on the boiling river, he can garner the public interest and financial support needed to ensure its long-term survival. While Mayantuyacu faces many threats, from loggers to would-be energy developers, the coalition to protect its unique natural and cultural heritage grows stronger every day.
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Ruzo recently received a grant from National Geographic, part of which will go toward using technology—drones, satellites, and the like—to learn which regions of the surrounding forest are the most vulnerable. To strengthen the conservation effort on the ground, he’s teamed up with Peruvian environmental organizations, and local community leaders.
Ultimately, if the boiling river is to survive, it’ll be because people came together and recognized its intrinsic value. After reading Ruzo’s captivating, real-life adventure story, you might be inclined to agree.
“I don’t like the concept of one person leading this charge—I think it’s about building a community on an international scale,” Ruzo said. “The planet’s gotten small, and natural wonders like this are few and far between.”
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Top image via Devlin GandyAll the way with Max Moore-Wilton The fledgling O'Farrell government did have a crack at its dysfunctional predecessor's solar power rort but backed off quickly enough – and unfortunately seems to have learned a political lesson. As for the Sydney Airport gouge, well it's all the way with Max Moore-Wilton and stuff the rest of the state – never mind the favour being lined up for James Packer's Sydney casino ambitions. Such are the sad realities of state government. What Sydney Airport, taxi plates and over-the-top solar feed-in prices have in common is that they represent intrinsically bad policies that benefit the few at the expense of the many, but the few cling to the gossamer of a government imprimatur to claim something like the divine right of kings to rip and rort. On a scale of failures by NSW's Labor governments, the $759 million blow out in over-the-top solar feed-in payments was small beer indeed, but it illustrates a broader point. It was a deal that was simply too good to be true – the government paying people more than it was worth to whack not-particularly-efficient solar panels on their roofs, a way to make money at the expense of other electricity consumers. It clearly wasn't "fair" to the broader population, but that didn't worry the 110,000 or so solar panel owners who had signed up before O'Farrell moved to curtail it – they had their collective hand in the lolly jar and wanted to keep it there. They were entitled to it.
Free rein to rort the system The artificial limiting of taxi plate numbers is much like that. Assisted by key players' assiduous courting of both sides of politics, the industry has had pretty much free rein to rort the system to achieve steady appreciation of the plates. There is no relationship now between half-million-dollar plates and someone driving a cab, picking up and delivering passengers for not much money. The artificial inflating of plate values has made the taxi industry bad for the workers and bad for the customers – but the owners' hands are in the lolly jar and they want to keep them there. They are entitled to it. It's been an open wound for decades, but a straight politician might as well have taken on the Obeids as dared to cauterise it. The industry's skilful PR campaign trots out stories of battlers mortgaged to the hilt to buy a licence, but the reality is more about a relatively limited number of rich individuals whose ultimate expression can be seen in the dominance and arrogant demeanour of CabCharge. Watch the Baillieu government flail about in coming months for a way to maintain the racket instead of ending it. Every year of postponing just makes the eventual solution more expensive. At the bigger end of town, it is interesting to compare and contrast Barry O'Farrell's stand on the solar panels blowout and his refusal to countenance a second airport for Sydney.
When asked about the second airport, the NSW Premier shuts down discussion with the statement that he had gone to the electorate with the policy that there would not be one and so there won't be. It also had been his policy to maintain the solar feed-in payments. The question not asked of the premier on his airport stance is whether that was a bad policy in the first place. For the vast majority of people, the answer is clearly "yes", especially the people of western Sydney. Grubby reality The grubby reality of various federal governments is no better than O'Farrell's performance, but Macquarie Street is in the front line for suspicions about being close to the one party that profits from the existing policy: Sydney Airport Corporation. As the parent of what became SAC, Macquarie Bank realised better than anyone just how rich a government-granted monopoly could be and bid accordingly. Now SAC believes it is entitled to every penny of rent it seeks.
The lesson politicians of all stripes refuse to acknowledge is that bad policy leads to worse policy and bad government. Most new governments start with good intent, but it doesn't take long for the decay to set in, for the political compromises to start adding up, for the limited abilities of party hacks to take their toll. While there are many aspects of the American political system we wouldn't want to copy, there could be something healthy in an administration being limited to two terms – it provides less time for corruption to fester and the guaranteed limit just might empower a leader to have a go, knowing that he or she had nothing much to lose in the second term. Well, that would be the hope. Michael Pascoe is a BusinessDay contributing editor.The latest item to top our 'things we'll buy with our lottery winnings' list is a US$20,000 arcade cabinet which can play almost any videogame released since the first pixels escaped from the primordial gaming ooze aeons ago.
The custom built gaming haven includes a handmade cabinet housing a 55in Samsung LED TV as well as a 37in LG display at the top of the unit which shows off images during gaming sessions.
Controls are also in abundance, with colourful LED buttons, joysticks and trackballs as well as steering wheels, flight sticks and light guns. Console controllers can also be used, which will come in handy when firing up the included PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles.
With MAME and MESS software emulators and a custom UI to easily switch between games, it's a good job there's a powerful Alienware Aurora R4 with a 3.9GHz i7 CPU, 16GB RAM and an AMD 7950 GPU under the hood.
A Blu-ray player and 232W speaker and sub round off the package – and with 50,000 games at your disposal, the hardest decision will be what to play first. Once you round up enough money to actually buy the thing, that is.
[eBay via DVICE]
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Stuff Office Cat's Diary 12/01/13Exit Right: The People Who Left the Left and Reshaped the American Century by Daniel Oppenheimer Simon & Schuster
A paradox of 20th-century American politics is that its most sustained ideological movement, modern conservatism, was the brainchild of ex-Communists who had been disillusioned by the crimes of the Soviet revolution or caught on the wrong side of factional disputes. Estranged and unhappy, they went in search of a new god and helped create it—in the mirror image, it has often seemed, of the one that failed them the first time. Together they were “Stalin’s gift to the American Right,” John Patrick Diggins wrote in Up From Communism (1975), his account of four writers who exiled themselves from the left and then wandered like restless spirits before finding refuge in the pages of William F. Buckley Jr.’s National Review in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Simon & Schuster
In Exit Right: The People Who Left the Left and Reshaped the American Century, Daniel Oppenheimer, a writer and a director of communications at the University of Texas at Austin who was born the year after Diggins’s book came out, reprises and updates the history of political defectors. To Oppenheimer’s credit, his own politics, which seem somewhere on the left, don’t intrude on the absorbing stories he tells. He begins with the ex-Communists Whittaker Chambers and James Burnham, then discusses two renouncers of liberalism, Ronald Reagan and Norman Podhoretz, and closes the circle with two casualties of the ’60s–’70s radical left, David Horowitz and Christopher Hitchens. “The ex-believers—the heretics, the apostates—are the problem children of any politics, in any time,” Oppenheimer writes. But the problem, he suggests, isn’t theirs. It’s ours. So quick to denounce or praise, and to demand to be told which side everyone is on, we forget that politics also offers parables of second thoughts and transformation. Ideological changelings, if we catch them mid-flight, remind us that “belief is complicated, contingent, multi-determined.” They can show us, too, “how hard it is to be a person in the world, period, and how much more confusing that task can become when you take on responsibility for repairing or redeeming it.”
Repairing and redeeming set the bar awfully high, and imply a religious mission. This was true enough for Chambers, the Soviet spy turned impassioned anti-Communist, who really did think of himself as Jonah spat out of the whale: He wrote of his exemplary role, as the accuser in the Alger Hiss spy trial (“the Great Case”), that he had miraculously prevailed “against the powers of the world arrayed almost solidly against” him. But what of the bon vivant Hitchens, who didn’t ever quite leave the left and whose ideological arabesques came in the pages of The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and The Nation and in what he once described as “the guilty companionship of the green room, where rivals forgather to remove makeup and more or less behave as if they all know they’ll be back sometime next week”?By, 55
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A startup founded by two teenagers is designing a parallel processor that it hopes delivers a 10x leap in performance per watt for high-end systems. Rex Computing will make open source its instruction set architecture in hopes of rallying supporters around it.
The startup's ambitions are high, as explained by chief executive Thomas Sohmers, who recently became old enough to sign the company's contracts. He aims to create an alternative to today's processors and accelerators, which are too expensive (mainly in power consumption) to scale to the exaflop performance researchers hope to deliver in the next decade.
We've got a long and difficult road ahead of us as an industry. It's pretty well accepted, going down the current path with Intel and Nvidia processors following Moore's Law, that there's a pretty good chance we won't get to exascale systems by the current time estimates. So we need something new, and we're trying to deliver that, but it's a tough sell. There's a lot of reluctance to go for something new.
Sohmers was recently elected co-chairman of the high-performance working group under the Open Compute Project (OCP) started by Facebook. He hopes Rex can finish the design of its neo core as early as January and make it open source through the group.
"The idea is for this to be a base architecture others can build on for future systems," he said. "It would be the first OCP project to go all the way to silicon. Other members would contribute on-chip interconnects and actual Verilog and RTL."
The 3W Neo chip packs into 80 mm2 256 cores (one of which is shown above), each consisting of a 64-bit ALU, IEEE floating point unit, and 128 KBytes of SRAM scratch pad memory. Each core has a 16 Gbyte/s link to its neighbors with about 384 Gbytes/s of aggregate bandwidth between chips.
Sohmers was inspired by Adapteva's Epiphany chip, on which he based his first prototypes. But the chip lacked the memory bandwidth and double precision support he wanted.
Next page: A new metric for top supercomputersMissile crews work 24-hour shifts in the U.S. Air Force's missile-launch command posts, which are buried 60 feet underground. The areas are getting a major cleaning as part of the push to improve the morale of missileers. (Photo11: U.S. Air Force)
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. — First Lt. Dawn Sanderson, a 25-year-old nuclear officer who works 24-hour shifts in the Air Force's underground missile-launch command posts, admits that there is a funny smell down there.
"It's not even a bad smell, it's just a different smell," she says.
"My wife says she can smell it on my clothes," said Capt. Derek Arnholtz, another Air Force launch officer at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
"It's a brine smell," said Maj. John Hundley, who said he believes the faint odor derives from the salt solution used in the antiquated climate-control system.
The cleanliness, air quality and general quality of life inside the launch facilities buried 60-feet underground are getting new attention from the U.S. Air Force.
To start, each of the 45 launch control centers is conducting the "deep clean" for the first time since their construction began in 1962, Air Force officials say.
Civilian cleaning crews are dragging high-powered vacuum tubes down the shafts leading to the highly classified subterranean work stations, suctioning dust and debris and scrubbing grime from every corner of the facilities that have been in 24-hour-a-day use for decades.
The launch centers that control the nation's arsenal of 450 Minutemen 3 missiles and their nuclear-tipped warheads are apparently so filthy that the junior officers working the shifts during the cleaning process are wearing respirators and expressing dismay about how truly dirty their workplaces have become over the years, Air Force officials say.
"They're like, 'There was just gobs of dust falling on me'" said Sanderson, a launch crew officer who's helping to oversee the cleaning that began in October. "And also, like, cleaning out the chairs, I've heard some stuff about that — they don't like seeing what is coming out of the chairs … the griminess of the daily living in the chairs … we sit in them 24 hours a day."
Some of the chair cushions may soon be replaced, Sanderson said.
The unprecedented cleaning effort is emblematic of the Air Force's broader effort to fix the community that operates the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile after a crisis in morale and cheating scandal that shocked military and civilian leaders across Washington.
Once a Cold War-era pillar of the national security apparatus, the ICBMs |
precise measurements.
The seismometers sit within a sphere about nine inches in diameter. Bruce Banerdt, InSight’s principal investigator, said that during tests of the instrument, still in France, air was pumped out to a pressure of about one ten-millionth of a millibar, or less than a billionth of the Earth’s atmospheric pressure of about 1,000 millibars.
Over the course of the mission, the vacuum would gradually rise by a factor of 10,000, to about a thousandth of a millibar, because of gases released within the instrument. Dr. Banerdt said the instrument would still function if the pressure were 100 times higher, at a tenth of a millibar.Words: Oliver Geddes
Every instructor has their own individual way of running classes at their academy. Some prefer drilling, some prefer as much hard sparring as possible. What I aim to do in this article is outline a little of how I like to run a typical class, and why I choose to run it in the way that I do.
Timeline for a 90 minute class
Warm-up and mobilisation – 15 minutes
First rolling period – 10 minutes
Technique – 25 minutes
Technique sparring – 10 minutes
Sparring – 30 minutes
Warm-up and Mobilisation
No one likes lining up and doing jumping jacks and squats. No one. Although having a familiar and non-taxing warm-up every session does have its advantages (and in warmer climates, may be more than sufficient to get somebody prepared for a class), in general I prefer a very mobile warm up. I line everyone up on the wall, and then send them off to run around the edges of the mats, clapping hands with every member of the class individually as they pass, to welcome them to the class. The movements here are fairly typical – shoulder rotations, high knees and heels, sideways skipping, sprints, forward rolls, backward rolls and shrimping. These allows students to warm up their joints whilst raising their core body temperature and getting their heart rate up.
Finally, mobilisation concludes with some movement drilling. My favourite sequence for this is passing the open guard (usually with a bullfight variation, but any open guard pass is fine) to knee on belly. Your partner turns in and you step over the head and switch to the other side, blocking their hips with your elbow to turn into side control. If you want to, you can increase the difficulty by adding a back take or Ezekiel choke on at the end for the more advanced students.
This is usually drilled for a minute and a half per person. The reason I like this movement in particular is because it’s one of the movements in jiu jitsu that you just have to have on tap – you can’t really set it up, and if you have to think about it, the moment is gone. As it’s all movement based with no real partner resistance, there’s a much lower risk of anyone who might have arrived late hurting themselves. Other good alternatives are open guard passing movements and chains or guard retention drills.
The First Rolling Period
A lot of people come into class looking to spar, and the longer you make them wait the more antsy they get, so their attention can end up wandering. By introducing sparring early you can burn off some of their excess energy and get them calmed down and ready to listen when the technique begins afterwards. It gives people who are less fit two sparring sections in the class with more recovery time in between, so newer students don’t have to sit out as much.
The basic structure is ‘King of the Hill’ guard passing, with preferably just under half the class on their backs and the other half waiting on the wall. If it’s possible to do it so there’s just one person spare, so much the better. This sets a very fast pace; it stops people from getting cold in between rolls and it makes students less likely to be stubborn about losing. When there’s a 20-person line along the wall, people fight much harder to avoid having to go back to the line and this can slightly increase the likelihood of injury.
Finally, it is incredibly frustrating to watch people spar for five minutes, go in, get swept in ten seconds and then head back to the wall to watch again. I also introduce a few other elements to keep everyone tested and working throughout to the best of their ability: the person who is playing guard can only close their guard for three seconds at a time – this prevents things from getting too bogged down with someone just staying stuck in closed guard for five minutes at a time. It makes things happen, and ultimately the more you get done in a roll the more you learn, whether it succeeds or not. Related to the above point, I ban the lockdown from half guard. Great technique, but it makes it too easy to slow the action down. No leglocks of any kind – this is primarily because most people’s feet and knees may not be entirely warmed up yet, but it also encourages people to make clean sweeps and passes without having to second guess the threat of leglocks.
It’s a little unfair not to allow people to close their guards whilst exposing them to footlocks. If you win, you stay in – this means that the more experienced students will train for longer rounds, dealing with fresh opponents and testing and improving their stamina and fitness that way. Newer students will get the chance to work with a lot of different people and experience a lot of different rolling styles over the same time period. The person who comes off the wall gets to choose top or bottom – by allowing the person coming in to choose to be positioned wherever their game is stronger, it makes it harder for the person in the middle to stay in the middle. Additionally, it prevents guard players from staying in forever whilst only utilising the more developed part of their game.
Technique
This is simple and traditional. I show two or three related movements from a position, trying to cover the most common possible reactions to the situation. Obviously it is important to choose the correct techniques in building a structured syllabus for your students, but that’s beyond the scope of this article.
Technique Sparring
Once again, this is a 10-minute round of King of the Hill, this time from the position of the day. I prefer King of the Hill for this because it gives you the opportunity to try the technique when faced with many different body types and many different reactions. One person is generally going to react one way so just drilling with one partner can be limiting. This method allows you to work the technique on someone of different levels, so you can try it on people you are better than as well as those who are better than you.
The two primary rules this time: everyone should hit the position of the day once – if this means you stack the deck in their favour or that you have to give them the final power grips out of the gate, that’s what you have to do. The important thing here is that for someone to retain a technique and work it into their game they need to both have it cemented into their memory and to have confidence in it. Using it in sparring achieves both aims. If the technique has multiple stages or the class is longer in duration, it is possible to devote time to several different sparring setups with the attacker getting less and less controlling grips each time.
If you win three times, you are out – this stops students who are either overall more experienced or who are particularly skilled with the technique of the day from just camping out and taking up all the relevant mat time. By cycling through these people who keep winning, you give the newer or less familiar students more time and opportunity to successfully hit the move of the day.
Sparring
To finish the class, we move on to regular sparring. I usually favour six minute rounds but if time is limited I will decrease the length of the rounds rather than the number of them. I believe that in general there is more to be learned from diversity of training partners than extra time with one individual. I will often begin the sparring from the position of the day to give further opportunity to hit some of the techniques live. Pairs start in that position and then spar normally, changing positions as appropriate. Should someone be submitted, they will switch top and bottom and start again. If I feel that there hasn’t been appropriate specific training this is an opportunity to get a little more in whilst not stifling the students’ games too much.
Overall, this structure means that students will get 45 to 50 minutes of live training in a 90 minute class, which is a lot, whilst steering them down a path that allows them to expand and utilise the techniques of the day. There’s nothing worse than being taught a new technique and then spending all the sparring rounds of the day in a completely different position with no possibility of employing the technique you’ve just learned. I hope you can work some of these concepts into how you run your classes and that it brings the benefits I have seen when using it with my own students.
Want to receive every issue of JJS straight to your door before it hits newsstands? Click HERE and sign up now!Thanksgiving nicely focuses our attention on things of lasting importance: family, friends, community, a rich harvest. None of these blessings come without cost or sacrifice. Today, then, we might consider what we must give of ourselves to preserve such abundance in the face of increasing climatic instability.
One needn't ponder this question in a vacuum. Several best-sellers offer advice about what we must ask of ourselves and one another. Their titles suggest that we needn't break much of a sweat: "It's Easy Being Green," "The Lazy Environmentalist," or even "The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time."
Although each offers familiar advice ("reuse scrap paper before recycling" or "take shorter showers"), it's what's left unsaid by these books that's intriguing. Three assertions permeate the pages: (1) We should look for easy, cost-effective things to do in our private lives as consumers, since that's where we have the most power and control; these are the best things to do because (2) if we all do them the cumulative effect of these individual choices will be a safe planet; which is fortunate indeed because (3) we, by nature, aren't terribly interested in doing anything that isn't private, individualistic, cost-effective and, above all, easy.
This glorification of easy isn't limited to the newest environmental self-help books. The Web sites of the big U.S. environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency and even the American Association for the Advancement of Science offer markedly similar lists of actions that tell us we can change the world through our consumer choices, choices that are economic, simple, even stylish. Al Gore himself isn't immune. His recent Live Earth concert featured a who's-who lineup of celebrities who said that if we all do our little bit to recycle and conserve -- the simple things, mind you, because that's all we'll need (translation: that's all they think we'll go for) -- we can together rescue the world for our children and grandchildren.
Never has so little been asked of so many at such a critical moment.
The hard facts are these: If we sum up the easy, cost-effective, eco-efficiency measures we should all embrace, the best we get is a slowing of the growth of environmental damage. That's hardly enough: Avoiding the worst risks of climate change, for instance, may require reducing U.S. carbon emissions by 80 percent in the next 30 years while invoking the moral authority such reductions would confer to persuade China, India and other booming nations to embrace similar restraint. Obsessing over recycling and installing a few special light bulbs won't cut it. We need to be looking at fundamental change in our energy, transportation and agricultural systems rather than technological tweaking on the margins, and this means changes and costs that our current and would-be leaders seem afraid to discuss. Which is a pity, since Americans are at their best when they're struggling together, and sometimes with one another, toward difficult goals.
Throughout our history it has been the knotty, vexing challenges, and leaders who speak frankly about them, that have fired our individual and communal imagination, creativity and commitment. Paul Revere didn't race through the streets of Middlesex County hawking a book on "The Lazy Revolutionary." Franklin Roosevelt didn't mobilize the country's energies by listing 10 easy ways to oppose fascism. And it's unlikely that Martin Luther King Jr.'s drafts of his "I Have a Dream" speech or his "Letter From Birmingham Jail" imagined a practical politics of change rooted in individualistic, consumer-centered actions.
This Thanksgiving, the greatest environmental problem confronting us isn't melting ice, faltering rain, or flattening oil supplies and rising gasoline prices. Rather, it's that when Americans ask, "What can I do to make a difference?" we're treated like children by environmental elites and political leaders too timid to call forth the best in us or too blind to that which has made us a great nation.
Surely we must do the easy things: They slow the damage and themselves become enabling symbols of empathy for future generations. But we cannot permit our leaders to sell us short. To stop at "easy" is to say that the best we can do is accept an uninspired politics of guilt around a parade of uncoordinated individual action. What of the power and exhilaration that comes from working with others toward bold possibilities for the future? What of present sacrifice for future gain?
The time for easy is over. We're grown-ups who understand the necessity of hard work and difficult choices. We're ready for frank talk about how we best confront -- in ways rewarding, confusing, creative and hard -- the planetary emergency before us.
The writer is a professor of political science and environmental science atAllegheny Collegein Meadville, Pa.How much does it costs to set up a new country?
Prof Dunleavy, from the London School of Economics, said an independent Scotland could have to spend between £150m to £200m on new administrative structures to replace existing UK bodies.
You can read his full report here.
A spokesman for the First Minister said the UK Treasury’s previous £2.7bn figure had been “blown out the water”.
Professor Dunlveay had previously branded the Treasury’s figures as “crude misinformation”.
The report offers a massive blow to the latest effort to spread disinformation about the most basic transfer costs and processes and leaves the Better Together campaign again, reeling with their need to over-reach in this public debate where people require and deserve simple facts.
My problem with this report is that it assumes ‘business as usual’. As a means of calculating it’s basically asking what would it cost to continue as we are doing things now? A far more interesting approach would be to say about each and every inherited institution or structure: does this work? Can we afford it? Can we do it better?
A simplified tax system that enforced payment and closed loopholes could not just be a saving in the way it worked but a massive generator by creating more equality and transparency in the way we collect dues.
We want to transform Scotland not replicate existing ways.
Nevertheless, the report by the independent figure seems reasonable but it’s interesting to put next to some other big ticket items that we’d be able to do immediately do without on independence.
NUCLEAR POWER
Given our renewable energy, we have no need for nuclear power. The incredible decommissioning costs of Sellafield, are currently budgeted at an ‘astonishing’ £70 billion. See details here.
WEAPONS of MASS DESTRUCTION
A replacement for Cold War dinosaur Trident, estimated at £17 billion. Trident’s 11,000 jobs for £17bn come at £1.5m each! The combined cost of replacing Trident and maintaining the current system is £3.7 billion per year for the next 15 years. See details here.
HIGH SPEED RAIL
The extraordinary costs of HS2 – a transport system we can’t afford that won’t come anywhere near Scotland, yet we have to pay for? This is estimated at £64 billion. See details here.
£200 million is loose change in the backpocket of an independent nation unshackled from these monstrous white elephants and able to take a reasoned look at how it structures its affairs. We have just saved our share of £151 billion, let’s go crazy and do things properly?
What would some of that money look like invested in Passivhaus as a minimum requirement in a national house-building programme?
Or invested in a massive low-carbon shipbuilding investment scheme to transfer jobs out of the old military-obsessed programmes?
Or how many teachers could you employ and how many schools could you transform for that amount of money?About a year ago, I discovered the world of drone racing. I had been into RC aircraft since I was a kid but when I learned about FPV, or First Person View, I was immediately hooked.
With FPV, you put a camera on your aircraft and wear goggles that display the camera’s image to give you the feeling you’re flying. Much like the Oculus Rift, the low latency video stream creates an experience so immersive that spectators have been known to take Dramamine to combat motion sickness. Almost everyone agrees it’s the perfect mix of virtual reality and physical reality: you get all the thrill of cliff-diving without the safety risks or cost of sky-diving.
First-Person-View (FPV) Drone Racing
FPV pilots typically fly multirotors – aircraft with anywhere from three to ten propellers in a variety of different configurations. These drones can be used for everything from aerial photography and mapping to autonomous package delivery. These rigs are like the Cadillacs in the world of drones. With every amenity available, pilots can let go of the controls and let the autopilot do all the work.
Racing drones, on the other hand, are like Mustangs or Corvettes. Sheer power allows them to reach speeds of up to 90+ miles per hour. Racing pilots need quick reflexes and accurate judgment to pilot their aircraft through a three-dimensional maze of obstacles as quickly as possible. Crash your quad and you’re likely out for good, as races are won by the thinnest of margins. With prize pots of up to $1,000,000, pilots have been working hard to push the limits of their racing rigs and skills.
FPV pilots also perform dizzying acrobatics, as seen in the sudden growth of YouTube videos demonstrating everyone’s latest trick or devastating crash. Go ahead, run a quick search. You’ll find a plethora of drones flying through small holes in buildings and abandoned warehouses or even through dense forests like the speeder bike chase from “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” Many of these vehicles carry GoPros and wear strips of bright LEDs to help others find and chase them.
A High Barrier of Entry
The explosion in popularity of FPV aircraft has led to an equally explosive growth in product development. Buy something now and it will likely be outdated by the end of the next month. High demand coupled with relatively low prices often lead to product outages as retailers and manufacturers struggle to provide the latest and greatest before the next big thing comes along. Naturally, not all products that are made are designed well; even fewer prioritize user experience.
One thing I’ve noticed about building multirotors is that a good understanding of electronics and mechanics is paramount. Anyone who builds or fixes his own quad needs to know how to solder, how to program the little computers called flight controllers, and how to adjust error correction algorithms and PID (proportional-integral-derivative) control loops. It’s a very complicated and delicate system.
One thing I’ve noticed about building multirotors is that a good understanding of electronics and mechanics is paramount.
Just like cars, one out-of-spec part can mean the difference between a smooth ride and breaking down on the side of the road. Almost everyone I know has accumulated a box of broken parts, and for good reason: the process of assembling a working multirotor is wrought with easy-to-make mistakes if you’re not paying attention or don’t have experience.
Designing the Über Design Ü180
Working at Bresslergroup has taught me the importance of usability. Not everyone is an engineer, so designing something with the end user in mind – while not compromising on performance – seemed like a good side project and the next logical step for the multirotor space. l like the idea of leveraging intuitive design to address the sport’s relatively high barrier of entry, to let more people in on the fun and into the multirotor community.
After many hours of CAD, FEAs (finite element analysis), and prototyping with parts printed by my friends’ 3D printers, the Über Design Ü180 was born. Weighing in at an AUW (all up weight) of 370g, it’s one of the lightest, smallest, and least expensive frames you can get on the market. Having a thrust-to-weight ratio of 11:1 also means it’s a real-life jetpack – I point the quad where I want to go and before I know it, I’m there.
The design strays from typical planar carbon fiber and capitalizes on the natural strength and weight savings of tubular carbon fiber. All the parts fit together without conventional fasteners and emulate (I hope) the intuitive spirit of Tinker Toys. Being able to pop the parts together in two minutes without tools is a huge improvement over other frames that require Allen keys, nuts, and screws. Repairs no longer become headaches if disassembly is as easy as 1-2-3. (Literally: 1. Remove tube 2. Replace tube 3. Assemble zip ties.)
All the parts fit together without conventional fasteners and emulate (I hope) the intuitive spirit of Tinker Toys.
To design the Über Design Ü180, I drew on my own experiences as well as on user research data obtained from my racing team, Safety Third. I identified the biggest headaches associated with assembling a quad, such as dropping fasteners in the field, replacing expensive carbon fiber parts, and not having easy access to critical components. Then I sketched a quick layout that would address most of these problems. Making the design work required multiple rounds of prototypes and gathering feedback from a few beta testers. Breaking the frame during testing was always a little disappointing, but on the other hand it afforded me the opportunity to improve the design even more.
Go Fly a Drone!
Earlier this month I launched the Ü180 and today it’s freely available to anyone who wants to build one. Just head over to RCGroups, download the parts, and print them out with your own printer or online printing services like Shapeways or MakeXYZ. Or you can buy the kit here: http://uberdesign.us.
When people tell me this is their favorite frame to fly and build, it’s confirmation that prioritizing usability pays off. Running with something tried and true to make a quick buck would have required considerably less effort, but seeing the user research and human factors folks at Bresslergroup work their magic put me in the mindset that good design doesn’t have to be hard to use.
Happy Flying!
(Our #sideproject series is an occasional show and tell of non-client work. Check out all of our #sideprojects!)Armed with a high-speed explosive bullet and powered by an ion engine, a Japanese space explorer blasted off Wednesday on a six-year hunt for an asteroid. Launched by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Hayabusa2 detached from its space rocket at 1:09 a.m. EST Wednesday morning and will rendezvous with its target, asteroid 1999 JU3, in 2018. After excavating the space rock’s surface for 18 months, the predator probe will return with its expected bounty—organic materials believed to be the building blocks of the solar system–in 2020, according to the AP.
The spacecraft is a beefed-up version of its predecessor, Hayabusa, which returned the first-ever pristine samples of an asteroid in 2010. Hayabusa was intended to bring back large chunks of asteroid 25143 Itokawa, according to Vox, but due to mechanical failures and the asteroid's terrain, it only managed to grab a few microscopic dust particles. With Hayabusa2, JAXA decided to up its chances for a successful haul by sending the probe to an asteroid suspected of holding water and organic material. JAXA also fitted the craft with new weaponry: a bullet capable of creating an impact crater. Hayabusa2 will then deploy three rovers and a German and French-made lander called MASCOT into the blast zone, according to Al Jazeera.
“It's going to produce a puff of material, ejecting material out into space, which is going to be collected by this instrument, and part of that cloud is going to be brought back,” said Francisco Diego, from University College London, to Al Jazeera.Type of Belgian Shepherd
Dog breed
The Malinois is a medium-to-large[2] breed of dog, sometimes classified as a variety of the Belgian Shepherd dog rather than as a separate breed. The name "Malinois" is derived from Malines, the French name for the breed's Flemish city of origin, Mechelen.[3]
The breed is used as a working dog for tasks including detection of odors such as explosives, accelerants (for arson investigation), and narcotics; tracking humans for suspect apprehension in police work; and search and rescue missions. The U.S. Secret Service uses Belgian Malinois to guard the grounds of the White House.[4]
Appearance [ edit ]
The Malinois is a medium-to-large and square-proportioned dog in the sheepdog family. The Malinois has a short mahogany coat with black markings. It has black erect ears and a black muzzle. It has a square build in comparison to the German Shepherd.[2]
Coat and color [ edit ]
Due to its history as a working dog (i.e., being bred for function over form), the Malinois can vary greatly in appearance. The acceptable colors of pure-bred Malinois are a base color fawn to mahogany and tan with a black mask and black ears with some degree of black tipping on the hairs, giving an overlay appearance. The color tends to be lighter with less black agouti or overlay on the dog's underside, breeching, and inner leg. White markings are also allowed on the tips of the toes and the chest. A Belgian malinois may have a longer and darker hair coat than the typical malinois, but may still be referred to as a Belgian malinois.
The other varieties of Belgian Shepherd are distinguished by their coats and colors: the Tervuren is the same color as the Malinois but has long hair, the wire-coated Laekenois is fawn and lacks the black mask and ears, and the Groenendael (registered as Belgian Sheepdog by the American Kennel Club) has long hair and is solid black. When the Malinois was first bred, the four breeds would usually be cross bred, this would result in Malinois with longer hair, or even a darker coat. Today the four breeds are considered different breeds.
Size [ edit ]
Males are about 61–66 cm (24–26 in), while females are about 56–61 cm (22–24 in) at the withers.[5] Female Malinois average 20–25 kg (44–55 lb); males are heavier at 25–30 kg (55–66 lb).[1]
A Malinois with a black mask
A Malinois puppy
A ten-week-old Belgian Malinois
Temperament [ edit ]
A Malinois in the ring competing in dog agility
Well-raised and trained Malinois are usually active, intelligent,[6][7][8] friendly,[6] protective,[7] alert and hard-working. Belgian Malinois exhibit energy levels that are among the highest of all dog breeds. A typical Malinois will have puppy-like energy until the age of three, though it is not uncommon for them to exhibit this energy level until the age of five. Many have excessively high prey drive. Some may be excessively exuberant or playful, especially when young.[6][7]
They can be destructive or develop neurotic behaviors if not provided enough stimulation and exercise. This often causes problems for owners who are unfamiliar with the breed and are not prepared to provide the exercise they require or a job for them to do. They are medium-sized, strong dogs that require consistent obedience training, and enjoy being challenged with new tasks. They are known to be very easy to train, due to their high drive for rewards.[6][7]
Working dog [ edit ]
A Belgian Malinois working with US Naval Security
In Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, the Malinois is bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sport work like Schutzhund.[9] The United States Secret Service and Royal Australian Air Force[10] use the breed along with other working lines such as Dutch Shepherd, and also GSD.[11][12][13] In the United States Armed Forces, German shepherds lead the way, but close behind follows the Belgian Malinois.[14]
In India, the ITBP and National Security Guard (NSG) commando unit have inducted Malinois breed into its K-9 unit.[15]
Malinois dogs are used by the Oketz, the K-9 unit of the Israel Defense Forces. Malinois are a suitable size to be picked up by their handlers when required, while still being large enough to control human aggressors. Compared to previously used breeds (such as German Shepherds and Rottweilers), the shorter coats and fair and neutral colors of Malinois are better adapted to natural conditions and less prone to induce heatstroke.[citation needed]
United States Navy SEALs used a Belgian Malinois war dog named Cairo in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed.[16][17][18]
Belgian Malinois have also been called a "game changer" in the fight against rhino poaching in South Africa's Kruger National Park, where one dog, K9 Killer, has been responsible for more than 100 arrests.[19]
Activities [ edit ]
A U.S. Air Force Belgian Malinois atop an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Iraq in 2007
Malinois can compete in dog agility trials and in dock diving, flyball, herding, obedience, showmanship, and tracking events, and are one of the most popular breeds used in protection sports such as the Schutzhund. In America, herding is a popular activity.
Herding instincts can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. In 2011 alone, the AKC awarded 39 new herding titles to Belgian Malinois.[20][21]
Health [ edit ]
The average lifespan of the Belgian Malinois is 10–12 years.[7] Notable health problems prevalent to the Malinois include cataracts,[8] epilepsy,[8][22] thyroid disease, progressive retinal atrophy, hip dysplasia,[7][8] and pannus, although these problems have been minimized[citation needed] through selective breeding.
In popular culture [ edit ]
Literature [ edit ]
Kane, the co-star of James Rollins and Grant Blackwood's Tucker Wayne series, is a Belgian Malinois. [23]
Billie, the four-year-old black Belgian Malinois partner of Detective Reed Mattox in the "Reed and Billie" series by Dustin Stevens.[24]
Television [ edit ]
The American science fiction crime drama television series Person of Interest features a Malinois named Bear as a regular cast member. [25]
features a Malinois named Bear as a regular cast member. The military drama SEAL Team includes a Malinois named Dita the Hairmissile who plays 'Cerberus the detection dog'.
includes a Malinois named Dita the Hairmissile who plays 'Cerberus the detection dog'. Daryl Dixon's companion Dog is a Malinois from Season 9 onwards of The Walking Dead.
Film [ edit ]
The titular character of the 2015 feature film Max is a Malinois, returning from service with the US Marine Corps
is a Malinois, returning from service with the US Marine Corps It was also used in Naaigal Jaakirathai (English: Beware of Dogs ), a Tamil-language Indian film
(English: ), a Tamil-language Indian film Three different Malinois played the role of "Tracker", the faithful but vicious companion of Sam, the merciless rifle-toting vigilante of Mexican film Desierto
Notable dogs [ edit ]
Dickin Medal recipients [ edit ]
Awarded the Dickin Medal for conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving in military conflict
PDSA Gold medal recipients [ edit ]
Awarded the PDSA Gold Medal for animal bravery:
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]MANHATTAN — A woman lying in the middle of a bus lane near Stuyvesant Town early Saturday was killed by a yellow cab driver who briefly dragged her body down the street as he fled the scene, according to police and reports.
Kenya Flores, 44, was laying down in the bus lane on First Avenue between East 16th and 17th streets shortly before 3:30 a.m. Saturday when yellow cab driver John Bangura, 68, ran her over, according to NYPD officials and reports.
A witness told police they noticed Flores lying in the bus lane before seeing the taxi swerve into the bus lane, hit Flores and drag her body before fleeing, according to a criminal complaint.
Bangura confirmed to investigators that he was driving at the time and at the location in question, according to a criminal complaint, but his lawyer said Bangura thought he had hit a pothole, according to the Daily News.
Flores, who lived in Parkchester, was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital, police said.
Investigators found debris at the scene that they were able to match to the front bumper of Bangura's taxi, and marks on the car matches the clothing worn by Flores when she was hit, according to a criminal complaint.
Bangura, of Washington Heights, was later arrested and arraigned on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, according to police. He was ordered held at Manhattan Detention Complex on $5,000 bail and is due back in court on Friday, according to prosecutors and Department of Corrections records online.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission has suspended Bangura's license pending the outcome of the charges against him, according to an agency spokesman.The lead singer of popular American rock band Evanescence, Amy Lee, now owns an ancient Russian musical instrument called gusli. The stunning custom-made folk instrument was presented to her by fans while the band was on tour in Russia.
Regina Konstantinova — The vocalist immediately shared her joy on Instagram and published a video of her trying out the new instrument.
"Am I dreaming or did I really get a custom gusli from our fans in Moscow today!? (A Russian harp!) I love it!!! Thank you!" she wrote.
Публикация от Amy (@amylee) Июн 24 2017 в 1:01 PDT
Evanescence performed just two concerts in Russia: one took place in St. Petersburg on June 23 and another was held in Moscow the next day. Fans from all parts of the country had been waiting for the band to return to Russia for five long years, so they decided to unite their efforts and make an outstanding gift to please the artists.
© Photo: Evanescence fan club in Russia Russian gusli presented to the lead singer of popular American rock band Evanescence, Amy Lee
The idea to make the gusli appeared in January when the concerts were just announced, Kristina Kravets, a Moscow-based member of the band's official Russian fan club told Sputnik. The power of social media did its work: the money was fundraised by members of the nation-wide fan club on vk.com, and soon enough another fan from the Russian city of Perm, Natasha Kostenko, offered her help to find a master who could make thetraditional Russian instrument.
Aleksandr Krasovsky, the diligent master from the "Pustelga" ("Kestrel") workshop in Perm who worked on this instrument, paid close attention to all the details.
"This gusli is absolutely unique: it is made from an old Soviet piano and its sound hole is cut out in a form of the band's logo," Kristina said. It kind of looks like a lyre and has 22 strings.
© Photo: Evanescence fan club in Russia Russian gusli presented to the lead singer of popular American rock band Evanescence, Amy Lee
Besides a huge case with the instrument and a box with spare strings, Russian fans also prepared a special video tutorial for Amy Lee, offering a guide on how to play the gusli, which was recorded by Russian virtuoso of gusli music Olga Glazova.
"When she realized what we were presenting her, Amy was stunned! I am a musician myself and I understand what a delight it is to get a musical instrument as a gift. It opens new horizons and allows one to play around with new sound," Kristina explained. Now, fans are hoping there is a chance to hear Russian gusli tunes in the band's upcoming album, "Synthesis."Image caption The Ceylon Tea label is thought unlikely to change as the industry believes it's a brand of quality
Sri Lanka's government has decided to change the names of all state institutions still bearing the nation's former British colonial name, Ceylon.
The government wants the country's modern name to be used instead. The decision comes 39 years after the country was renamed Sri Lanka.
The change will be made as early as possible in 2011.
Reaction has been mixed to the new year's resolution that gets rid of what some see as a vestige of colonialism.
The minister of energy submitted a cabinet memo this week to change the name of the Ceylon Electricity Board, whereupon the president suggested the name Ceylon be removed entirely.
'Long overdue'
The island's British colonial name, derived from an earlier Portuguese one, was dropped in 1972 when the country became a republic and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state.
The adopted name, Lanka, to which an honorific "Sri" was added, is much older and is close to both the Sinhalese and Tamil names for the island.
But the name Ceylon has persisted in many institutions, including the Bank of Ceylon and the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation.
One ministry now has the job of ensuring that names and signboards are altered.
The Ceylon Tea label, however, is unlikely to change, as the industry believes it's a brand of quality for the country's most famous export.
Some will be sad at the name change.
One young Sri Lankan told the BBC that the word Ceylon had historic meaning and added value to some institutions.
A blogger wrote that the post-colonial name was associated with "terrorism, war and [the late Tamil Tiger leader Velup |
take anything from it.” Thus are libertarian originalists either legal positivists, disdainful of natural law ideas, or strict adherents of natural law regardless of what the Constitution dictates, in which case their constitutional arguments end up looking more than a bit convenient. After all, if your Constitution invariably just happens to demand the natural law libertarian result in every case (or close), then the project you are in fact engaged in is not constitutional interpretation but philosophy. And really that’s just fine. Though in that case, originalism ends up being quite as Posner describes it, merely “a mask for deciding cases on ideological grounds, using history as a mirror.”
But perhaps one can decide according to his ideology—that is, aiming at a desired result—and still be a constitutionalist in good standing. If one sincerely believes that the Constitution ought to evolve with the society to which it applies, then there really is no reason to deny that he wants a particular result in a given case before the Supreme Court, quite without reference to complicated and contorted interpretive systems. Maybe Posner is right that “outcome should be the focus,” that judges would do well to dispense with the grandiosity and pretense that surround their job (emphasis in original). Judges should simply and honestly use the best available reasoning and evidence, from wherever they come, to arrive at good results, affected originalist poses be damned. What is so very wrong, one wonders, with admitting that courts ought to decide cases on the basis of “pragmatic, ethical, or if one will political values”?6 Do we really prefer an internally contradictory and incoherent system that (supposedly by pure coincidence) makes the nation’s supreme law a bastion of radical libertarianism? As we have now seen, the entire project of interpretation no matter what is laden with normative judgments, inescapably immersed in the world of politics and philosophy.
The New Originalists never really explain why it is that Posner is wrong, why—if objectivity and libertarian results are really our goals (and don’t they admit as much?)—we shouldn’t look to, for example, empirical evidence rather than the antiquated and less than clear words of a late-nineteenth century legal document. In principle, libertarians have no reason to prefer the constitutional text (rather than its spirit of justice) and perhaps even less reason to believe that the text is libertarian in our contemporary sense. Consider the constitutionality of statutes whose terms forbid abortion. Most of today’s libertarians are pro-choice and would argue in favor of a woman’s legal right to terminate her pregnancy using a substantive due process theory, appealing to fundamental individual rights generally and the penumbral right of privacy in particular. But no less an originalist than Justice Scalia cogently (and repeatedly) argued that the Constitution—in its original public meaning—guarantees no such right to an abortion, the requirements of libertarian social philosophy notwithstanding. Rights of this kind, Scalia maintained, are rather to be determined through popular will, filtered through debate and adopted only if they could pass through the sieve of the democratic process. Justice Scalia, it turns out, believed that originalism would yield the Democratic Constitution Barnett opposes. So what if one happens to be convinced by Scalia’s theory of the Constitution yet nonetheless believes in an absolute, natural right to an abortion? Can a libertarian be an originalist of the Scalia sort? Something would have to give—such a libertarian originalist would be compelled to choose, in a given case, which result he preferred, the one demanded by his philosophical commitments or the one ostensibly required by the nation’s supreme law. The New Originalists either think this just can’t happen—the Constitution always wants the libertarian end product—or else assumedly adjure the judge to legislate from the bench. For his part, Posner suggests that this is what the Supreme Court (and, to a large extent, the federal courts of appeals) is actually doing anyway, which fact he describes as “the legislative role of the federal judiciary.”
Posner is right about something else, too: the Constitution is vague, cast in terms so broad and general as to leave room for an infinite number of political visions; one imagines that Senator Bernie Sanders regards his dreams of a socialist America as entirely consistent with the Constitution. For Americans, unmindful, reflexive veneration of the Constitution might as well be a holy sacrament; everyone must say he is a constitutionalist, just as everyone must pledge allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem at ball games. But to further borrow religious language, libertarians cannot serve two masters. We ought to serve liberty and justice, and in cases where those apparently cannot be reconciled with an eighteenth century legal document, we must nevertheless choose them, the Constitution giving way and adapting to serve the needs of a free society. What’s more, if originalism is itself likewise vague and amorphous, susceptible to appropriation by every point along the political spectrum, then it does not actually aid us in bringing about the ultimate end, a free society or, as Benjamin Tucker put it, “the possession of liberty by libertarians.” Widespread respect for the natural rights that Barnett reveres depends on education in and acceptance of the principles of freedom, without which efforts at legal and political reform must fail. The ideas of liberty are the important thing, the condition precedent for a free society. For Barnett and the libertarian New Originalists, though, the Constitution’s words (well, their peculiar interpretation of them) seem to be bathed in a certain spellbinding, lambent glow, the document’s many flaws notwithstanding. Paradoxically, the libertarian originalists readily acknowledge many of these flaws, even while the legitimacy of the whole enterprise is said to rest on its fundamental agreement with natural law.
The strength of Our Republican Constitution is its remarkably clear and compelling case for a government that is limited strictly to protecting the individual in his life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, an argument that necessarily rejects the destructive collectivist thinking that has dominated both the legal profession and popular political debate. In his introduction to the book, George Will observes that it explicitly places Barnett in the role of political philosopher, adding that “constitutional lawyers like Barnett are America’s practitioners of political philosophy.” This is also an accurate statement of the position of Posner and others, who see no need to avoid the truth that constitutional law just is normative philosophy and therefore no need to concoct elaborate pretexts of interpretative theory. Reading the constitutionalist Barnett of recent vintage is likely to make more radical libertarians miss the Barnett of The Structure of Liberty, who set forth bold arguments for a polycentric legal order. Yet that Barnett remains conspicuously present in Our Republican Constitution, if only somewhat obscured by the curious idea that the Constitution of the United States has something to do with a thoroughgoing—and, truth be told, rather extreme—libertarian theory of natural rights. Originalists like Barnett speak true enough when, resigned to reality, they argue that since the Constitution is, after all, what we have for better or worse inherited, we ought to at least try to improve it (meaning, make it more libertarian). With this, few libertarians could disagree. But we could accomplish this more straightforwardly by adopting the approach recommended by Posner. A form of living constitutionalism, then, seems to be the only worthwhile interpretive posture, which is to say, the only one ready to admit what everyone already knows to be true—that the Supreme Court really is a super-legislature, performing an essentially political function. If it is the Constitution’s underlying spirit of justice that should guide us, as the New Originalists contend, then let us simply and forthrightly, without pretense, pursue just outcomes.The following is a summary of notable incidents at any of the amusement parks and water parks operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. In some cases, these incidents occurred while the park was under different management or ownership.
This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly noteworthy. The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:
Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules. The result of a guest's known, or unknown, health issues. Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules. Act of God or a generic accident (e.g., lightning strike, slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.
Great Escape [ edit ]
Sky Ride [ edit ]
On June 24th, 2017, a 14-year-old girl from Greenwood, Delaware fell approximately 25 feet (8 m) from her gondola, striking a tree before falling to the ground. The girl had slipped under the chair's safety bar while the ride was in motion. The ride was stopped when park visitors alerted the operators to the incident, while other visitors gathered underneath the girl to prepare to catch her. She ultimately fell into the group of visitors below her, with an unidentified 47-year-old man receiving a back injury from the attempt. The passenger received no serious injuries, and was taken to a local hospital. Park officials stated there did not appear to be a malfunction of the ride, but closed the ride pending review.[1]
La Ronde [ edit ]
Le Vampire [ edit ]
On July 6, 2012, a 67-year-old employee of the park was killed at Le Vampire. The employee was reportedly found underneath the attraction in a restricted area, appearing to have suffered head trauma. Park officials stated that the employee had been struck by the roller coaster. The employee was pronounced dead at the scene; another individual was taken to a hospital to be treated for shock. Officials with the park did not know why the employee entered the restricted area of the ride while it was operational, but they did state that the ride was operating normally and that procedures for entering restricted ride areas, including notification of ride staff, had not been followed.[2]
Six Flags America [ edit ]
The Joker's Jinx [ edit ]
On August 10, 2014, at about 3pm, 24 people were trapped on the roller coaster when the train stalled along the course. The train was upright on a curve near one of the highest points on the ride. The local fire department used an aerial fire apparatus to bring down riders one at a time. By 7:30pm local time, all riders had been removed from the ride, which was immediately closed for investigation. Investigators claim that the stalled train was caused by debris on the track. No riders were injured, and all were evaluated by emergency personnel. [3]
On April 13, 2017, at a little before 6pm, the ride stalled along the same length as the 2014 incident. 24 riders were stuck on the train, and firefighters rescued all the riders with the use of an aerial fire apparatus by 9:20 PM, more than two hours after the park's closing and almost four hours after the train got stuck.[4]
Renegade Rapids [ edit ]
On June 28, 2000, eight people were trapped when their raft fell off during the ride. All riders escaped but two were injured.[5]
Superman: Ride of Steel [ edit ]
On June 18, 2018, 24 passengers were helped off the ride's lift hill after sensors automatically stopped the ride. No injuries were reported.[6]
Wave Pool [ edit ]
On June 13, 2018, a 14-year-old boy was admitted to the hospital in critical condition after he was rescued from the Wave Pool. Park staff and paramedics treated the boy before he was transported to the hospital. [7]
Park Bomb Scare [ edit ]
On July 13, 2016, a bomb threat was called in right before the park opened. The Prince George's County Fire Department bomb squad and security personnel were deployed around the park and found two unattended backpacks that were determined not to be explosive. The all-clear was announced after a search of the park around 2:45 p.m. Six Flags announced that the park would be open until 8 p.m. that evening.[8]
Six Flags AstroWorld [ edit ]
Excalibur [ edit ]
On August 9, 1997, a 51-year old maintenance worker was killed after being struck by a roller coaster train. The man was working on a section of track when the train was sent out for a test run and struck him along its way. A signal had indicated to the man that the track was clear.[9]
Texas Cyclone [ edit ]
On October 19, 2003, seven people were treated and released from a local hospital after a wooden board fell into the middle of a roller coaster train while the ride was running.[10]
Mayan Mindbender [ edit ]
In 2001, a 13-year-old boy was ejected from the ride due to a faulty lap bar and suffered broken bones in his head, pelvis and legs.[11]
Darien Lake [ edit ]
On September 6, 2009, the body of a Pennsylvania man, William Sutherland, who had been reported missing the day before was found in one of the small lakes inside the parking lot. The cause of death was not determined.[12]
Mind Eraser [ edit ]
On May 13, 2018, an arm rest broke off one of the chairs while the ride was moving. No injuries were reported to any of the guests who were using it. Since then, it has been replaced with a new one.[13]
Ride of Steel [ edit ]
On May 16, 1999, a 37-year-old, 5-foot-6, 365 lb (165 kg) male guest was unable to close his lap bar properly and was ejected and fell approximately 9 feet (3 m) from the Ride of Steel roller coaster as the ride went over a "camel hump" hill, suffering serious injuries. The victim sued the park and the ride manufacturer Intamin for negligence, and was awarded US$3.95 million.[14]
On July 8, 2011, a 29-year-old guest was killed when he was ejected from the Ride of Steel roller coaster. The rider, an Iraq War veteran whose legs had been amputated, was on the front row of the roller coaster when he was thrown from the train during the course of the ride. Park officials stated that the ride was in proper mechanical order and that the various safety restraints were also working normally at the time of the incident, but that the attraction would remain closed pending an investigation.[15]
Silver Bullet [ edit ]
On October 1, 2017, a malfunction left cars swinging, injuring a few guests.[16]
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom [ edit ]
Animal attacks [ edit ]
On January 5, 1996, two trainers were attacked by cougars during an exercise session. One trainer was in the cougar enclosure to take one of the animals for a walk. The cougars, Zuni and Tonto, had been playing among themselves and began aggressively playing with him, causing severe cuts on his face and upper torso. The backup trainer suffered minor cuts and bruises in his attempt to free the other. [17]
On July 31, 1998, Kuma, a two-year-old Bengal tiger, attacked and seriously injured a guest from San Jose, California, and slightly injured the trainer. The incident happened in a secluded area of the park set up to do private photo sessions with the big cats. The tiger was apparently startled when the guest fell off the photo platform and landed on top of her. The trainer suffered a clawing while trying to free the guest who had received serious injuries to her head and upper torso. [18]
On June 2, 2004, a 23-year-old African elephant named Misha gored her trainer while in her enclosure as the trainer walked beside her. This was Misha's second aggressive act following a previous swipe at a trainer two years prior.[19]
Boomerang [ edit ]
On August 25, 1999, 28 passengers were stranded on the Boomerang ride for several hours. The shuttle that pulled the train up an incline failed to release the train. Employees were eventually able to fix the problem and started the coaster. It successfully went around both loops on its first run, but stalled upside down at the peak of one of the loops on its way back and idled there for many hours. Riders, suffered from cases of severe dehydration and sunburn, were rescued by firefighters in an aerial fire apparatus.[20]
Guest altercations [ edit ]
On August 25, 2018, a fight broke out inside the park between five people, who were all arrested for causing a disturbance while a police officer suffered minor injuries.[21]
Monkey Business [ edit ]
On August 15, 2001, a 42-year-old woman suffered brain hemorrhage after riding the attraction and died at a hospital two days later from her injuries.[22]
On September 4, 1999, a nine-year-old boy was injured when he slipped below the restraining bar on the Scat-a-bout, a twister ride. The boy was thrown from the ride and landed in a nearby planter, receiving cuts on his legs.[23] The park later stated that the accident was the result of the boy intentionally sliding beneath the safety restraint.[24]
Starfish [ edit ]
In May 2001, a 41-year-old woman from Antioch, California was thrown from the ride when a restraining bar failed as the result of a pneumatic valve being incorrectly installed. She landed on the pavement and suffered head and knee injuries. Her later lawsuit named both the park and ride manufacturer Chance Rides as responsible parties. [25]
On June 8, 2002, a 4-year-old girl was critically injured when she slipped beneath the restraining bar and fell from the Starfish ride while riding with her mother, receiving critical head injuries.[26] Investigators later blamed park employees for incorrectly seating the girl and not having proper signage indicating the proper seating arrangement for a larger and smaller rider.[27]
Superman: Ultimate Flight [ edit ]
On July 28, 2012, 12 passengers were stuck on the ride 150 feet in the air for 2 hours. No injuries were reported.[28]
Six Flags Elitch Gardens [ edit ]
Six Flags Fiesta Texas [ edit ]
On July 8, 2000, seven people were injured after a chlorine spill. They were all taken to local hospitals and released without any serious injuries.[29]
Batman: The Ride [ edit ]
On March 13, 2018, passengers were stuck on the ride for 45 minutes when one of the sensors accidentally triggered. No injuries were reported.[30]
Guest altercations [ edit ]
On July 11, 2007, a 37-year-old man was charged with improper photography and recording after allegedly acting suspiciously with a video camera by secretly filming young girls in the water park section. Reports have said he was trying to film someone without permission in an attempt to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of a person.[31]
Boomerang: Coast To Coaster [ edit ]
On June 4, 2008, passengers had to evacuate when the ride got stuck mid-ride for one hour.[ citation needed ]
Poltergeist [ edit ]
On June 12, 2007, a 14-year-old girl was paralyzed after she fell into a gap between the roller coaster's cars, landing on a concrete floor about 10 feet (3 m) below the platform. Family members stated that she may have fainted due to the heat of the day. [32]
On August 28, 2010, two people were stuck on the Poltergeist for two hours.[33]
Six Flags Great Adventure [ edit ]
The Chiller [ edit ]
In May 2004, the ride malfunctioned when one of the ride's 200 electric motors began smoking. The ride was shut down for 45 minutes [34]
On August 18, 2004, lightning struck a power substation near the park, causing a power cut to the park. Twenty passengers on The Chiller were left stranded on the ride, approximately 75 feet (23 m) above ground, for 40 minutes. The train's angle was such that eight passengers were upside-down. No injuries were reported. Only the Robin side was operational at the time of the incident. [34]
El Diablo [ edit ]
On September 13, 2015, a girl from Gibbstown, New Jersey was injured when her safety restraints came undone as the ride started. As she exited the ride, it was shut down for technical difficulties. Two years later in 2017, her family filed a lawsuit to the park claiming that the staff didn't check them before they were secure.[35]
Guest altercations [ edit ]
On April 19, 1987, an unidentified gunman fired several shots into a crowd on the plaza inside the main gate, wounding one man and sending panicked guests running for safety. It was the third violent incident of the day, following two earlier unrelated stabbings. The park was evacuated a few minutes after the shooting, about an hour earlier than its scheduled 8:00 p.m. closing time. [36] Park officials modified security after the incident, including adding metal detectors at the park's entrance. [37]
Park officials modified security after the incident, including adding metal detectors at the park's entrance. On September 1, 2017, a 19-year-old male worker was struck by a lift truck as he was stringing lights near a park fountain. He was taken to the hospital and later died from his injuries.[38]
Haunted Castle [ edit ]
On May 11, 1984, eight teenage visitors were trapped in the Haunted Castle attraction, and died when it was destroyed by fire. Six Flags Great Adventure and its parent company Six Flags were subsequently indicted for aggravated manslaughter, accused of recklessly causing the deaths by taking inadequate precautions against a fire. In the subsequent trial, the prosecution argued that repeated warnings by safety consultants to install sprinklers or smoke alarms had been ignored. The defendants denied any culpability, and contended that the fire was arson and that no precautions would have saved lives. The trial jury found the defendants not guilty.[39] A light bulb had burned out in one of the rooms of the attraction, and a 14-year-old boy lit a cigarette lighter to find his way through the darkness. The flame ignited some foam rubber padding which was used to protect people from bumping into a wall. A fire resulted, which quickly spread throughout the 17-trailer structure with the help of extremely flammable building materials. The fire eventually engulfed and totally destroyed the attraction.[40]
Hurricane Harbor [ edit ]
In August 2015, a woman broke her ankle while riding the King Cobra water slide with a friend using a double tube, which was prohibited from riding. They both exceeded the 200-pound weight limit and slammed into the snake's mouth. She sued the park for $3 million for negligence in 2016. The water slide was closed in 2017, later being dismantled in 2018 and never re-opened afterwards.[41]
The Joker [ edit ]
In June 2016, a Philadelphia man received multiple injuries to his foot and knee while riding, when his leg struck a bar attached to the coaster. The victim sued the park for negligence in May 2018. [42]
On November 15, 2018, a girl's mother from Camden, New York filed another lawsuit from the same ride at the park. She claimed that her daughter who was on a class trip to the park was waiting in line to ride the coaster when a wayward washer which weighed 10 pounds and measured 10 inches fell from the ride by one of the guests, injuring her left shoulder.[43]
Kingda Ka [ edit ]
On June 8, 2005, a bolt failed inside a trough that the launch cable travels through. This caused the liner to come loose, creating friction on the cable and preventing the train from accelerating the correct speed. The rubbing of the cable against the inside of the metal trough caused sparks and shards of metal to fly out from the bottom of the train. The ride was closed for almost two months following the incident, but later reopened on August 4. [44]
On August 27, 2011, at the same time when the park was closed during Hurricane Irene, a storm which occurred in late August of 2011, the ride was almost completely damaged due to the storm's strong gust of winds. It remained closed for more than 8 months until being reopen again to the public on April 5, 2012 during the start of the 2012 operating season. [45]
On July 26, 2012, a 12-year-old boy from Howell Township, New Jersey was struck in the face by a bird while riding the roller coaster. He was taken to a nearby hospital and suffered minor injuries.[46]
Lightnin' Loops [ edit ]
On June 17, 1987, a 19-year-old woman was killed after falling from the Lightnin' Loops shuttle loop roller coaster.[47] An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but that the ride operator started the ride without checking that all of the passengers were securely fastened by the safety harnesses. The Department's Office of Safety Compliance further concluded that the accident would not have occurred if proper procedures had been followed. The park was found to be in violation of the Carnival/Amusement Ride Safety Act and was subsequently charged with the maximum state fine of $1,000.
Rolling Thunder [ edit ]
On August 16, 1981, a 20-year-old park employee from Middletown Township, New Jersey fell to his death from the Rolling Thunder roller coaster during a routine test run. An investigation by the New Jersey Labor Department concluded that the man may not have secured himself with the safety bar. A park representative later confirmed this conclusion, saying that the employee "may have assumed an unauthorized riding position that did not make use of safety restraints." The ride was inspected, and the Labor Department concluded that the ride was "operationally and mechanically sound."[48]
Sky Screamer [ edit ]
On June 3, 2018, 32 passengers were stuck on the ride for 15 minutes when the attraction stopped at about its mid-point due to safety sensors detecting an error and applying an emergency brake. No injuries were reported. [49]
On November 11, 2018, guests were stranded about 120 feet in the air for nine minutes when safety sensors detected an error and shut the ride down. No injuries were reported.[50]
Six Flags Great America [ edit ]
From 2004 to September 2007, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspected Six Flags parks five different times and found a total of four violations. On September 10, 2007, OSHA cited Great America with 38 safety violations, alleging "multiple serious and repeat violations at the amusement park, ranging from defective emergency brakes on an industrial truck to a lack of labeling procedures for preventing inadvertent machine start-ups." OSHA fined the park US$117,700.[51]
Cajun Cliffhanger [ edit ]
On July 19, 2000, a 12-year-old girl from McHenry, Illinois suffered two crushed toes after the floor of the ride was improperly raised prior to the ride coming to a complete stop. A second guest also had her foot trapped in this accident. The ride was permanently shut down as part of an out-of-court settlement. In the ten years prior to this accident, there were thirteen other reported incidents involving the Cajun Cliffhanger ride, at least six of which involved injuries.[52]
Demon [ edit ]
On April 18, 1998, 23 riders on the Demon roller coaster were stranded upside-down in the middle of the ride's second vertical loop. Firefighters used an aerial fire apparatus to bring riders to safety, although some were on the ride for as long as three hours. The incident was the result of a mechanical failure. [53]
On September 1, 2018, riders had to be evacuated at the top of the lift hill when one of the safety sensors activated. No injuries were reported and the ride remained closed for inspection before reopening again.[54]
The Edge [ edit ]
On May 22, 1984, three teenage boys were seriously injured when the ride vehicle fell back down the lift shaft.[55]
Hurricane Harbor [ edit ]
On June 29, 2005, a 68-year-old guest from Chicago, Illinois, had a heart attack and died in the wave pool. [56]
On June 2, 2017, a woman filed a lawsuit to the park saying that she was injured while riding the Wahoo Racer waterslide back in July 2011. She suffered cuts and torn ligaments to her wrist and hands after riding and was taken to a nearby hospital to have surgery on her left hand. A court upheld $1.5 million for the case.[57]
Ragin' Cajun [ edit ]
On May 29, 2004, a 52-year-old ride mechanic from Zion, Illinois, was killed by a roller-coaster car as he attempted to cross the tracks. Suffering from a traumatic head injury, he died at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.[58]
Raging Bull [ edit ]
On May 3, 2003, an 11-year-old girl from Gary, Indiana, collapsed after riding the Raging Bull coaster while on a trip with her sisters, cousins and aunt. She died after being taken to the hospital. While initial reports said that she died from choking on chewing gum she had been chewing while on the ride, the coroner's report later stated that she died due to cardiomegaly, and had been seeing a cardiologist for treatment.[59]
Sky Trek Tower [ edit ]
On June 21, 2015, the ride stopped in the middle of the tower. Guests were stranded for two hours and had to be evacuated down a staircase. No injuries occurred.[60]
Spacely's Sprocket Rockets [ edit ]
On August 16, 2006, a 10-year-old girl from Arlington Heights, Illinois, collapsed and died after riding the Spacely's Sprocket Rockets roller coaster in the Camp Cartoon Network area. An autopsy showed that she died of a congenital heart anomaly. Her family said that she had a history of the anomaly.[61]
Superman: Ultimate Flight [ edit ]
On September 9th, 2017, a 50-year-old man from Andersonville, Indiana died after riding the flying roller coaster. Exiting the attraction, the man complained of feeling sick, then collapsed on the ramp. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died from what was termed a "natural death".[62]
Viper [ edit ]
On June 25, 1997, a 14-year-old Waukegan boy injured his arm while dangling it outside the car. His limb got caught between the car and the platform as the ride reentered the station and slowed to a stop.[63]
Whizzer [ edit ]
During a 1980 investigation of an accident at the Great America park in California of their Willard's Whizzer coaster, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission discovered two incidents at the Illinois park that had not been previously reported: on July 24, 1976, 13 guests were injured; and on August 18, 1976, 18 guests were injured. The CPSC report does not list injury or accident details for either incident.[64]
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom [ edit ]
Six Flags Magic Mountain [ edit ]
In 2006, there were 109 complaints by Magic Mountain guests due to various incidents, according to an annual report from the Amusement Safety Organization. Reports ranged from nosebleeds and heat exhaustion, to neck and back injuries from various rides. Included in those 109 complaints were 18 reports of people blacking out on the Goliath roller coaster. Other complaints were safety-related, such as notices of ride operators talking on cell phones while operating rides. The report stated that the state of California received notice of 80 injuries at Magic Mountain between January 2001 and December 2006.[65]
Colossus [ edit ]
In 1978, a 20-year-old woman died after falling out of the ride. [66] The lap bar was locked in place but it proved to be ineffective, due to the woman's obesity. [67] One of the old cars has been sent to the Sky Tower. [68] This incident prompted Colossus to be closed for a year while the trains were switched out and other adjustments were made.
The lap bar was locked in place but it proved to be ineffective, due to the woman's obesity. One of the old cars has been sent to the Sky Tower. This incident prompted Colossus to be closed for a year while the trains were switched out and other adjustments were made. On September 8, 2014, a fire broke out atop Colossus's lift hill. The ride had already been closed down for conversion into Twisted Colossus, and no injuries or deaths were reported. The fire was caused by welders working on removing track. The fire was an accident, and no one was taken to court.[69]
Eagle's Flight [ edit ]
On February 5, 1978, a gondola car on Eagle's Flight traveling the Galaxy course fell 50 feet (15 m) to the ground. A pair of newlyweds were violently rocking the car back and forth, causing it to detach from the cable. The husband was killed, and his wife suffered serious injuries, including losing her legs.[70][71]
Goliath [ edit ]
On June 2, 2001, a 28-year-old woman died of a brain aneurysm while riding Goliath. Her family sued the park, claiming that managers were aware of other complaints from Goliath riders and continued to operate the coaster anyway. [72]
On April 4, 2015, one of Goliath's trains got stuck on the lift hill during a test run due to a chain malfunction which needed an entire chain replacement. The train was eventually brought down and the ride remained closed until the lift hill was fixed. The ride eventually reopened on July 18, 2015.
Hurricane Harbor [ edit ]
On September 30, 2012, a 19-year-old man fell from the Venom Drop water slide. According to a spokesperson for the water park, the man cut in line at the slide, fought through the lifeguards, and jumped onto the slide head-first. The man tumbled onto the slide and slipped over the edge, falling 60 feet (18 m) onto a fence below the slide tower. The local sheriff's office reported that the man was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.[73]
Ninja [ edit ]
On August 30, 2008, a 20-year-old man was hospitalized after being hit by the train and knocked unconscious when he allegedly climbed multiple security fences to retrieve a hat. Airlifted to the UCLA Medical Center, he was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. on the following day, due to blunt force trauma. [74]
On July 7, 2014, 22 guests were stranded for over two hours after a tree branch fell onto the coaster track. Four of the 22 guests were injured, but none serious enough to require a hospital visit.[75]
Revolution [ edit ]
On May 30, 1996, an employee was killed while crossing the tracks in the roller coaster's station. She slipped and fell into a shallow pit beneath the tracks and was struck by a train that was pulling into the station. [76] [77]
On June 13, 2015, a 10-year-old girl was found unconscious but breathing after returning to the roller coaster's station. She died the following day at a nearby hospital. A coroner's report said the girl died from natural causes.[78]
Scream [ edit ]
On April 9, 2004, a 21-year-old ride operator died after being struck by the roller coaster while underneath the track during a test run prior to the park's opening that day. The roller coaster was allowed to be re-opened the next week after an OSHA inspection found no mechanical issues.[79]
Six Flags Mexico [ edit ]
On June 8, 2014, around 10 a.m., a fire broke out in a warehouse of stuffed animals. Injured men and women were evacuated, leaving a 500-meter area affected. It has been established that the cause of the fire was due to a short circuit. At the time of the fire the park was closed.[ citation needed ]
Six Flags New England [ edit ]
Houdini's Great Escape [ edit ]
On October 9, 2010, Houdini's Great Escape (which was being used as a haunted house called Midnight Mansion), which was available during Fright Fest, suspiciously caught on fire. Firefighters were called to extinguish the flames, but the ride was closed for the rest of the night and the following day. Investigations showed that a flammable cobweb hanging on the top of the building was the cause of the fire after coming in close contact with a light fixture. Nearly 20 feet (6 m) of cobweb burned up, and the building only suffered minor damages to the roof and exterior. No one was injured, but damages were estimated at $5,000.[80]
Superman: The Ride [ edit ]
On August 6, 2001, one of the trains failed to stop at the ride's brake run, colliding with the other train in the loading station. 22 people were taken to hospitals, without any major injuries. The ride would reopen twelve days later on August 18, 2001. [81]
On May 1, 2004, a 55-year-old, 5-foot-2, 230 lb (104.5 kg) man from Bloomfield, Connecticut fell out of his coaster seat during the last turn and was killed. Reports show that the ride attendant had not checked that the guest's ride restraint was secure[82] as his girth was too large for the T-bar-shaped ride restraint to close properly. The victim's family said that due to his various medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy, he shouldn't have been allowed to ride. The park stated that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act forbids them from denying a ride to a person with a disability as long as the person can get on the ride by themselves.[83]
Blizzard River [ edit ]
On August 7th, 1999, a raft carrying six people flipped, trapping some riders under water. All six riders were injured.[84]
Six Flags New Orleans [ edit ]
Joker's Jukebox [ edit ]
On July 10, 2003, a 52-year-old grandmother was strapping her 4-year-old grandson in when the ride started up. She died from blunt-force internal injuries after being struck by a |
et in unmarked cars, as well as young Republicans with unmarked tennis shoes. If those are the kind of “sources” upon which the police, FBI, etc. have been relying…well, that would be like having Shia reporting on Sunni, or vice versa. The organs of public safety are probably not quite so dumb as to be unaware that one cannot expect valid “intelligence” from such amateurish antics. More likely, the attitude is that any kind of “intelligence” will do for the purposes of local law enforcement and timid public officials cowed by the Feds. Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He is a member of the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). To comment at Consortiumblog, click here. (To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) To comment to us by e-mail, click here. To donate so we can continue reporting and publishing stories like the one you just read, click here. Back to Home PageThe good news is developers are looking very closely at Linux's core code for possible security holes. The bad news is they're finding them.
At least the best news is that they're fixing them as soon as they're uncovered.
The latest three kernel vulnerabilities are designated CVE-2016-8655, CVE-2016-6480, and CVE-2016-6828. Of these, CVE-2016-8655 is the worst of the bunch. It enables local users, which can include remote users with virtual and cloud-based Linux instances, to crash the system or run arbitrary code as root.
In short, it's nasty.
Philip Pettersson, a hacker and security researcher, found this bug. With it, a user can create a race condition in the Linux kernel's packet_set_ring function. A race condition happens when a system attempts to perform two or more operations simultaneously instead of one following the successful completion of the other.
To exploit this, a local user must first be able to create AF_PACKET sockets with CAP_NET_RAW in the network namespace. On many Linux distributions, but not all, an attacker can give themselves this ability by using unprivileged namespaces. Pettersson believes, with reason, unprivileged namespaces "should be off by default in all Linux distributions given its history of security vulnerabilities."
Operating systems that can be attacked by this include most newer versions of Debian, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, and Ubuntu.
Pettersson has demonstrated that he can use this hole to create a root shell on Ubuntu 16.04 even when Supervisor Mode Execution Protection (SMEP) and Supervisor Mode Access Prevention (SMAP) have been deployed to protect the system.
The second security issue, CVE-2016-6480, also involves a race condition but it's not as serious. In this one, Adaptec AAC RAID controller driver can be used by a local attacker to crash a system.
Finally, CVE-2016-6828 can be used to break the Linux kernel's TCP retransmit queue handling code. This can be used to crash a vulnerable server or execute arbitrary code. It is, however, harder to use than Pettersson's discovery, so it's not as dangerous.
Be that as it may, you should patch your Linux system as soon as possible to avoid running into troubles. Patches are now available on all major Linux distributions.
Related Stories:Josh Wise waves after being announced as the winner of the fan vote, earning him a slot in Saturday's All-Star Race. (Photo11: Chuck Burton, AP)
CONCORD, N.C. – Josh Wise finished Friday's Sprint Showdown in 18th place, but he scored a big win at the ballot box.
In voting by fans, Wise was picked to join the field for Saturday's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Clint Bowyer and A.J. Allmendinger, the top two finishers in the Showdown qualifying race, also advance to the All-Star Race, one of the featured events of the Sprint Cup season.
Wise, a 31-year-old native of Riverside, Calif., drives for Phil Parsons Racing. The No. 98 Chevrolet is sponsored in part by digital currency Dogecoin and Reddit.com, a fact that generated many web-based votes in the fan balloting.
Wise's fan-vote win is an upset. Among the drivers he defeated in the fan vote are Danica Patrick (last year's fan-vote winner), Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson.
SHOWDOWN: Bowyer, Allmendinger earn spots in All-Star Race
Wise is 36th in the Sprint Cup points standings with no top-10 finishes in 10 races.
"This is huge for me and our team," Wise said. "This started with a 16-year-old kid posting something on reddit.com about some good runs we had. For some reason, this awesome [Internet] community got behind us. I'm just super-thankful to be a part of it. It's been a pretty cool experience."
Wise, who will be participating in his first All-Star race, said the Dogecoin-Reddit connection is bringing new fans to NASCAR.
"This is kind of a big deal for our sport because it's a lot of young kids and people from around the world," Wise said. "I've had the chance to interact with a lot of them. It's a lot of people who've never watched a NASCAR race. They're tuning in. It's a big deal. About 110 million people regularly use Reddit. A large portion of them knew about this and were a part of it."
GLUCK: Four drivers who could win their first All-Star Race
Race winner Bowyer said he was impressed.
"For you and your community to beat out Danica Patrick is something," Bowyer told Wise.
"We would have liked to have raced our way into the All-Star Race tonight, but it just didn't happen," Patrick said in a statement. "The guys gave a good effort, and we'll learn from this and hopefully, it will help us next week in the Coca-Cola 600.
"Last year, we were lucky enough to get the Sprint Fan Vote, and that didn't happen this year. It's my understanding that I had more votes than I did last year, but you know, it is what it is. I don't doubt my fans at all. I know they voted, and I'm grateful for all they did to try and get me in the race."
Patrick tweeted a thank-you to her fan base a few minutes after the vote was announced.
"Thank u to my AMAZING fans for ur votes! Y'all helped me have even more votes than last year! Your support blows me away! On to the 600!"
"No more sorry's guys! You rocked it! Everything happens for a reason!"
Thank u to my AMAZING fans for ur votes! Y'all helped me have even more votes than last year! Your support blows me away! On to the 600! — Danica Patrick (@DanicaPatrick) May 17, 2014
No more sorry's guys! You rocked it! Everything happens for a reason! 😉 — Danica Patrick (@DanicaPatrick) May 17, 2014
Bowyer, Allmendinger and Wise will be part of Saturday's 7:10 p.m. ET qualifying session for the All-Star Race.
The qualifying segment, which is on Saturday instead of Friday this year, will set the All-Star Race lineup. It consists of three laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop — but there's no pit road speed limit, which makes things interesting. Cars go out individually.
Here are the drivers who have qualified for the All-Star Race:
Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Bowyer, Allmendinger and Wise.
Follow Hembree on Twitter @mikehembreeCooper Neill/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
Jon "Bones" Jones has been out of MMA for more than a year, last earning a unanimous-decision victory against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 on April 23, 2016. That was for the organization's interim light heavyweight championship belt after Cormier was injured.
Jones (22-1) had previously been stripped of the title following his involvement in a hit-and-run accident almost exactly a year earlier, and he would lose his interim title after a failed drug test before UFC 200.
Regardless, the former 205-pound champ is listed as a big -250 favorite (bet $250 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark for his title fight rematch versus Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 this Saturday in Anaheim, California.
Cormier (19-1) is the current light heavyweight champ, and he will be looking to avenge a unanimous-decision loss to Jones for the title at UFC 182 back on January 3, 2015. The two have feuded on and off since then, and they were originally supposed to headline UFC 200 in Las Vegas last summer before Jones was pulled due to the failed test.
Cormier ended up fighting Anderson Silva in a non-title bout and later defended his championship belt for a second time against Anthony "Rumble" Johnson with another rear-naked choke submission victory at UFC 210 on April 8. The former Olympic wrestler is again an underdog opposite Jones at +195 (bet $100 to win $195).
Stylistically, Cormier needs to take Jones to the ground in order to be successful and pull off the upset. Johnson was arguably the most feared striker in the UFC before losing to Cormier twice, and he had no answers from the mat. Jones has five-inch height and 12-inch reach advantages to lean on and should be able to keep Cormier at a distance if they stay on their feet in a stand-up battle like the first bout.
There are two other championship fights featured on the UFC 214 main card, with the welterweight and women's featherweight titles also on the line. Tyron Woodley (17-3-1) will face Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Demian Maia (25-6) as a -205 favorite at online betting sites after going 4-0-1 in his past five bouts. Maia is a +165 underdog and has won seven in a row.
Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino (17-1, 1 no-contest) will finally get a chance to win UFC gold too when she takes on Invicta FC bantamweight champ Tonya Evinger (19-5, 1 NC). Justino is the former Invicta FC featherweight champ, and she is a massive -1100 chalk on the UFC 214 odds as the biggest favorite on the card. Evinger is a +650 underdog and earned the Invicta title in 2015, last defending the belt on March 25 with a RNC submission of Yana Kunitskaya.GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- An eight-page report summarizing the findings of Rep. Roy Schmidt and House Speaker Jase Bolger’s plot for the Grand Rapids legislator’s transfer to the GOP lays bare an attempt to undermine an election and perpetuate fraud, according to Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth. Some of the most revealing details – outside of the players recounting potential cash payments and concerns of a state police investigation – come from text messages. Exchanges between Schmidt and Bolger as well as Schmidt’s son, Ryan; nephew, A.J., and fill-in candidate Matt Mojzak illustrate of the lengths the men went to try and pull off the plan. Phil Browne, Bolger's deputy chief of staff, also played a role. Forsyth said he believes Mojzak was duped into the plot and “is the least culpable of anyone involved in this fiasco,” even though he is arguably the one who came closest to committing a crime. Take a look at some of the text messages that Forsyth included as part of his Tuesday decision. Misspellings in the texts have not been corrected. After Schmidt's son contacted Mojzak about running on May 13, the following text messages were exchanged between Representative Schmidt and Speaker of the House Bolger on May 14:
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8:30-8:32 a.m.
Speaker: “Any luck finding ur Dem in ur district? That’s the last piece we need.” Schmidt: “I believe we do. Wii know this afternoon.”
8:50-9:07 a.m.
Speaker: “Can they get the paperwork to u and u get to me so we can get it in our hands, show the GOP we’re all set … then we’ll file tomorrow.” Schmidt: “For the Dem candidate. Yes!” Speaker: “Exactly, for the Dem candidate … we already have the paperwork for our R candidate!” Schmidt: “I know. I am so nervous at this point- just want it to go perfect!” Speaker: “Me too. I don’t like leaving anything to chance, thus my anxiousness to get this last piece wrapped up. All will then b perfect!”
9:31 a.m.
Schmidt: “We have our man.”
9:59 a.m.
Speaker: “Name?”
10:01 a.m.
Phone call from Speaker to Representative Schmidt [4.9 minutes]
10:14-10:18 a.m.
Schmidt: “Matthew Mojak
He will be at the sec. Of state with a new address this afternoon.” Speaker: “Have this completed, double checked, and notarized. Bring tomorrow and we’ll b all set. This will block any games anyone could try to play and u will b..clear:” Schmidt: “OK” Speaker: “Is Matthew the same as u had before? He has to b able to say he’s been living at the address in the district for 30 days before filing deadline.” Schmidt: “No- this new one- and he has!” [Rep. Schmidt’s response to the question suggests that Mr. Mojak was not the only person he had attempted to recruit] Speaker: “Y does he need to change his address?”
10:26 a.m.
Speaker: “Plz send me the new address ASAP.” Schmidt: “Ok.”
11:02-11:10 a.m.
Schmidt:
Jase he has not moved
Yet. Roy
FWD: My old address is 1351 Logan street SE. Grand Rapids, MI 59506
New address is 2758 woodpath. Grand rapids, mi 49504.” [Rep.Schmidt forwarded to Speaker Bolger a text message sent from Mr. Mojak to Ryan Schmidt at 10:44 AM in which Mr. Mojak has listed his old and new address} Speaker: “Which address has he been living in for the last 30 days?” Schmidt: “Logan street” Speaker: “Sorry, I’m not familiar enough with the district. Does this mean he is ur guy, or not?” Schmidt: “I am going to check his address in 20 minutes to make sure he is in my district-I will text you soon.”
12:22 p.m.
Schmidt: “Not good news dang it. 1351 Logan SE is just outside the district. Keep looking correct?”
1:08 p.m.
Speaker: “Yes, please.” Speaker: “Bcz he hasn’t been living on Woodpath, right?”
1:31 – 1:33 p.m.
Speaker: “Can u talk?” Schmidt: “Yes I will call from home …”
1:34 p.m.
Phone call from Representative Schmidt to Speaker [1 minutes 42 seconds] Following the aforementioned exchanges, additional messages indicate that Representative Schmidt drove to Marshall and met with Speaker Bolger on the evening of May 14th.
The next day, May 15th, additional text messages and phone calls were exchanged:
6:34-6:36 a.m.
Speaker: "Glad u made it home safe. Have a great morning. Plz txt me when u have Matthew's paperwork complete…..From our atty: there is no requirement for a phone # or email on an affidavit of identity. So, leave those two blank on Matthew's form." Schmidt: "Me also-slept great and ready to go!
Yes I will call as soon as his form is notorized!"
9:14 a.m.
Representative Schmidt sent the following text message to Phil Browne. "Phil it's Roy-please call me." At 9:17 a.m., Phil Browne called Representative Schmidt [the call lasted 98 seconds.]
10:09 a.m.
Schmidt: "Done! Cand. Is signed-notorized-I will call Phil on the way end"
10:15 a.m.
Speaker: "Fantastic! Drive carefully."
11:26 a.m.
Phone call from Phil Browne to Representative Schmidt [87 seconds]
2:12 p.m.
Speaker: "How u doing"
2:27-2:33 p.m.
Speaker: "Phil is in the right building. All systems go!" Schmidt: "Super!"
3:59 p.m.
Phil Browne called Roy Schmidt [39 seconds].
On May 17th, after Mojzak withdrew from the race, he sent Ryan a text.
Mojzak: "If you go to court for this we care going to have some serious issues." Ryan: "I just spoke with my dad. You have nothing to worry about matt. You can't say anything, if aanybody threatens you, it's a false scam at getting u worried that ur gonna get in trouble. If you want to talk to my dad, shoot him a call.
A.J. then sent the Mojzak this text on the May 18
A.J.: "Ok so my uncle wanted me to reassure you that if you get called into county clerks then you have an attourny provided, and you made the mistake about 22" (22 is in reference to "Resident of County for 22 years" that appeared on Mojzak's Affidavit of Identity. Mojzak: "I have my own attorney. I don't want anymore connections with your uncle." A.J.: "_____, one of the best attornys in mi, all paid for The only investigation they have to go on is the fact you put the 22 yr things Mojzak: "Yea I talked to him. My parents neighbor and family friend is a criminal lawyer. I just don't want there to be any connections A.J.: "otherwise u or your family will have to pay, which is uneeded." Mojzak: "It's a criminal investigation by the attorney generals office. I'm not chancing anything. And we don't have to pay for it" The text messages between A.J., Ryan and Mojzak continue with both A.J. and Ryan attempting to get Mojzak to accept "free" legal representation and to remind Mojzak should claim the 22 years on the affidavit was either a "mistake" or "accidental" on his part.Associated Press
An NFL coach outlined a scenario after the league officially passed a rule Wednesday that two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on a player will now lead to ejection. He called it "the goon scenario."
Early in a game, a star player gets a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. Say it's the Bengals' Vontaze Burfict. One more unsportsmanlike and he's done. So the opposing team, sensing a chance to get a good player kicked out of the game, sends in a backup player to act as an agitator. Or has a starter with no unsportsmanlike penalties do it.
Burfict makes a tackle. Under the pile, he's elbowed in the face by the agitator. The refs don't see it. A few plays later, the same thing happens. A purposeful elbow to the face. Burfict ignores it. Later comes another cheap shot. This time, Burfict responds, and the refs see it. Poof. Burfict's gone. Second unsportsmanlike penalty is called, and Burfict is kicked out.
Other coaches I spoke to had the same angst over the unintended consequences of this new rule. I spoke to one head coach and several assistants, and Fox Sports' Jay Glazer tweeted the same concerns from coaches he was speaking to:
To me, it seems almost impossible that such a thing could really happen. It would be far too obvious. Everyone watching for "the goon scenario" would know that's what was unfolding if it happened. Any team that did this would be instantly busted. This ain't hockey.
Besides, if a player can just keep his cool in the first place, he'll be fine.
But that, coaches tell me, is a magnificent, galaxy-sized "if." This is where the coaches might know more than me.
One coach believes there are anywhere from 10 to 15 players on each NFL roster who are always on the edge, and it wouldn't take much to push them off that edge. He imagines opponents identifying those hotheads and subsequently using goons and their goony moves to agitate those players and get them kicked out.
I asked a current offensive player in the league, and he told me this: "Of course guys will try baiting someone into a [second] flag, but who cares? They should have control to not get a second dead-ball flag."
He added: "There are many times where I've tried to get a [defensive lineman] to punch me in front of a ref. That's a personal foul, but still. The baiting happens often."
So if the baiting already occurs a lot, wouldn't this new rule increase it?
The rule has other flaws, outside of the possibility of games becoming all goony.
One of the big problems is that it really doesn't go far enough. When Odell Beckham Jr. lost his mind against Carolina last year, he was called for unnecessary roughness, not unsportsmanlike conduct. Burfict was called for unnecessary roughness when he smacked Antonio Brown in the head. Again, not unsportsmanlike conduct.
When NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino was asked by the MMQB if the rule went far enough, he said it did:
We think that this will put the player on notice if he has one of these unsportsmanlike conduct fouls that if he doesn't modify the behavior then it will lead to ejection. This, in conjunction with us reaffirming with our game officials that the flagrant acts are subject to disqualification even on the first instance…the combination of the two is enough to deter some of this behavior. We aren't talking about a lot of instances; this is not something that is widespread, but it is something that we are concerned about.
Robert Duyos-USA TODAY Sports
Another of the unintended consequences (there are those words again): the additional pressure it puts on the game officials.
We still don't know what the hell a catch is, and now the league is going to saddle them with this?
The league will disagree with what I'm about to say, but it's true: Game officials are already overwhelmed by dizzying rules and the scrutiny of everything they do being second-guessed by replays and Twitter. Now they have to deal with various machinations of differing points of emphasis for when a player should be thrown out or not? Next NFL ask for game officials: Build a ship that travels faster than light. Actually, that's easier than figuring out what a catch is.
What happens in the NFL (hell, in life) is that there are rules. Most people will follow them, and a select few find ways to circumvent them. This happens in football every hour of every day.
The coaches I spoke to fear the same will happen with this new rule. It could perhaps lead to more trouble on the field, not less.
It could lead to the goon scenario.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.Fluffy and rich vegan chocolate strawberry pancakes for breakfast? Yes! These pancakes are stuffed with thinly sliced strawberries, spiced with Mexican cinnamon, and drizzled with maple syrup. They are one of our favorite pancakes in our house, and they are vegan and refined sugar-free.
My 7 yr. old asked me, very seriously the other day, if I could teach him how to cook. I replied with an enthusiastic: ” Sure!”, but the truth is I’m not sure. Of course he needs to learn how to cook, it’s an invaluable life skill that will serve him well his whole life, but does he really need to learn now? What if he loves cooking? What if he loves cooking so much that he wants to be a chef? No!!!
The life of a chef is anything but easy. There’s long hours of physically demanding work, and an incredible amount of pressure and stress. Not to mention the high cost of culinary school and the low pay. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, if I had to do it over again I would probably choose to go to culinary school once more, but sometimes I wonder if I should’ve chosen a career in tech or anything else for that matter. At the end of the day though, what career he chooses is not up to me.
So I decided to let him do something easy, like pancakes. I gathered all the ingredients for him, but he had to measure them out and do the hard work of mixing the batter. Pouring the batter into than pan and flipping the pancake was his favorite part, and after wiping down all the flour and cocoa powder that was sprinkled on the counter, he ran off to play legos like making pancakes in the morning was the most natural thing in the world. Before leaving though, he turned around and said, ” Can we put the pancakes on Dora’s Table?” So here they are, Tommy’s vegan chocolate strawberry pancakes.
The Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes
I have used a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, but you can do use just one of them without a problem. If you are doing no-oil, substitute it for unsweetened apple sauce. Enjoy!— A 15-year-old Hawthorne boy suffered a broken leg after he attempted to slide down a zip line using a T-shirt and fell 30 feet, according to police. According to Glen Rock Police Capt. Jonathan Miller, the 15-year-old went to the borough's high school sports complex at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday and scaled a tree. With his friends filming the display, the boy climbed onto a platform, draped the shirt over the zip line and slid down. He didn't make it very far, according to Miller. "It got stuck... he was not able to slide down the line. He couldnt go any further and he had to let go." The boy suffered a broken femur and a foot injury. He was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson and is expected to be released on Tuesday. The zip line, which was secured, has been up at the high school for years without incident, the captain said. Police have not filed charges against the boy and are reviewing the matter with school officials and the boy's parents, Miller said. Superintendent Paula Valenti told CBS 2 that the district will be reviewing its practices in light of the incident, but stressed that the boy was not allowed to use the zip line and "all security enhancements were in place."
James Kleimann may be reached at jkleiman@nj.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskleimann. Find NJ.com on Facebook.The left’s war on cops reached a new low this week when administrators from a prominent Jesuit college supported a student protest in which cops were labeled as “pigs,” and the police was referred to as the “Blue Klux Klan.”
Last week, the Department of Campus Ministry at Loyola University Chicago, a private Jesuit Catholic College in Illinois, sent out the following tweet in support of students engaging in the anti-police protest:
“Proud and humbled by the die-in some of our black students did today. #BlackLivesMatter #livingthemission.”
Proud and humbled by the die-in some of our black students did today. #BlackLivesMatter #livingthemission pic.twitter.com/2EFg1c0DVf September 26, 2016
The hashtag #livingthemission is likely in reference to the school’s mission statement and the religious values and identity that it seeks to instill in all students during their time at the school. Apparently, administrators feel that referring to those who protect and serve American citizens every day as “pigs” and the “Blue Klux Klan” is in line with the school’s values.
The rally, titled “#blackoutchi,” featured students and others marching around the college’s Lake Shore campus, with traffic being temporarily shut down as protestors stood in the road.
Protestors at the rally also voiced their displeasure over Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pledge to hire 1,000 new police officers in response to recent increases in violent crime that have plagued Chicago. One sign read: “AmeriKKKa is not welcome #blackoutchi #1000pigs #leavemethefuckalone.”
Chicago remains one of the most violent cities in America, with a record 3,200 shootings and 568 homicides so far in 2016.
One can only wonder what these protestors would say if the police in Chicago decided to not come to work anymore.
Latest VideosArtificial intelligence promises to fundamentally change the way humans live. By replicating intelligence on any level, we can begin to automate all kinds of jobs and otherwise human tasks, shifting the economy and potentially eliminating the need for a flesh-and-blood workforce.
Turns out that idea perks up some ears at the White House.
The National Science and Technology Council subcommittee on machine learning and artificial intelligence will start to meet next week, for the purpose of "monitor state-of-the-art advances and technology milestones in artificial intelligence and machine learning within the Federal Government, in the private sector, and internationally; and help coordinate Federal activity in this space."
Additionally the White House will be holding four events in Summer 2016, to create more dialogue on how A.I. could change the United States. The events partner with research programs like Carnegie Mellon and University of Washington School of Law, that focus on either the ethics or mechanics of A.I.
While government A.I. seems like the bad idea at the start of a sci-fi movie (and I'm sure it has been), this is actually a good thing. It's even a good thing that the outlines provided for the subcommittee are vague—knowledge about this technology should be gathered and understood by the federal government before decisions need to be made.
Tickets to the four events will be free and open to the public. Registration starts "soon."SHARE
JMU AthleticsJames Madison running back Khalid Abdullah rushed for 101 yards and two of his team's TDs as the Dukes clinched the CAA title against Villanova. Brian McLaughlin @BrianMacWriter
It's hard to believe we're through Week 11 of the FCS regular season with Selection Sunday just one week away, but here we are. Let's break down all of the FCS action from Week 11.
Three More Teams Punch Playoff Tickets
James Madison, San Diego, St. Francis (Pa.)--The Ciitadel and Lehigh welcome you an exclusive party.
Don't worry, your fingernails won't be ground down to the nub a week from now, because you'll know the 'if'question is already answered. You'll just be tuning in to find out the who, where and when parts. Other schools may have to deal with that horrible 'why?' question, but you won't.
RELATED: St. Francis head coach Chris Villarrial talks to HERO Sports' Brian McLaughlin about building the program
The Dukes, Toreros and Red Flash all sealed up their conference titles this weekend, and the automatic playoff berth comes with it. James Madison is pretty used to being in the postseason, and San Diego made the FCS Playoffs two years ago and fell to Montana in the first round. St. Francis, on the other hand, is having its best season since winning eight games in 1992 and has qualified for the FCS postseason for the first time in school history.
It's a final: St. Francis 31, Central Connecticut State 21. This is an NEC title for the Red Flash. pic.twitter.com/eTdFbyLtFL — Shawn Curtis (@shawncurtis430) November 12, 2016
So five are in, folks--19 more schools are to be determined next Sunday. There are some solid scenarios for automatic berths, too. Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas will be playing a de facto Southland title game next weekend, as will Jacksonville State and Tennessee-Martin in the Ohio Valley Conference. South Dakota State can also clinch the Valley with a win at Northern Iowa this weekend--not that this is an easy task. Some of the other pictures are fuzzier and have a lot of 'this and that have to happen'.
Charleston Southern Was Apparently Ticked
Charleston Southern has had a unique year, that much is for certain. The Bucs nearly knocked off the five-time champs in Fargo in August, then had suspensions and a blowout loss at Florida State, then had an easily winnable game canceled because of a hurricane and then wedged a nice winning streak in the middle of all of this before having a head-scratching loss to Gardner-Webb last week.
RELATED: Charleston Southern head coach Jamey Chadwell talks to HERO Sports' Brian McLaughlin
So going into this weekend's game against Liberty, the question was obvious: How will the Bucs respond to what happened last week and has happened all year?
Well, the answer is... they were ready to respond. They pounded Liberty from the get-go on its own field and resembled the team that took North Dakota State to overtime on its own field.
Wofford Makes SoCon a 4-Teamer?
With all the usual talk about the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Big Sky and Colonial being the dominant conferences of the FCS, there's been one conference that may just beg to differ this year--the Southern Conference. And Wofford's win over a very talented Chattanooga team this weekend sums it up.
Congrats to @Wofford_FB for getting their 7th win of season on legs of RB @Z0_L0NG who had 29 carries 123 yards 1TD rushing. #CPOY16Finalist — SCFootballHOF (@SCFootballHOF) November 13, 2016
So the questioning becomes: Should the SoCon get that fourth playoff team? And the case is getting stronger every week that the answer is 'yes'. The Citadel is one of only two undefeated teams in the FCS and is already in, while Chattanooga, Samford and Wofford have all chopped each other up. All three are strong and could very well all finish 8-3.
This might be one of those years where four conferences can have valid arguments for four (or more) teams making the playoffs, leaving several of the others just holding their automatic berth.
HBCU Still Has Four Undefeated League Teams
As mentioned last week, there is a collision course forming as we check out the SWAC and MEAC going into the final stretch. The good thing is... they'll be settling it on the gridiron directly over the next two weeks. The Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern on Thanksgiving weekend and the younger Aggie-Eagle Classic (N.C. Central vs. N.C. A&T) this weekend will break up this block of undefeateds all ultimately vying for a chance to play in the Celebration Bowl in mid December.
RELATED: North Carolina Central head coach Jerry Mack talks to HERO Sports' Brian McLaughlin
Not one of these four programs has lost to an FCS program this year, but that's about to change. All of their losses have been to FBS programs.
Resolution is coming though--soon.For a lot of people on the periphery of this technology, the extraordinary rise in bitcoin’s value has become cause for alarm. The Web is littered with news articles, blog posts, and white papers warning that bitcoin and its sibling currencies are worth nothing, and the rise and fall of the currencies’ worth, which can fluctuate by billions of dollars a minute, certainly backs that up. But while Jamie Dimon and other bankers might scoff at these digital currencies, Silicon Valley is extremely bullish. There’s a reason, too: if Dimon had invested in bitcoin when he first called it a joke, in 2015, he would have received a tenfold return on his investment.
I usually respond with the story of Laszlo Hanyecz. If you’ve come within 500 feet of bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency, over the past few years, the name alone will make you cringe. Back in 2010, when the currency was in its infancy, Hanyecz went “mining” for bitcoins for a few months and collected 10,000 of them; he subsequently traded them, in what would be the first cryptocurrency transaction in history, to a guy who bought him two Papa John’s pizzas with a couple sides of that tasty, buttery garlic sauce. Back then, Hanyecz’s bitcoins had no value, and the $30 value of two pies and an accoutrement made his individual bitcoin units worth 0.003 cents apiece. Today, at their current market valuation, bitcoin units are worth around $5,800 each, which means Hanyecz’s 10,000 bitcoins would be worth around $58 million. “It wasn’t like bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” Hanyecz told me in 2013, when bitcoin was already valued at $1,242 each. “No one knew it was going to get so big.”
Should I buy bitcoin? As a technology reporter, the questions I receive from random people at birthday parties, say, or seatmates on a plane, are usually emblematic of what is going on in the digital world. (And, increasingly, the real one, too, for that matter.) Not too long ago, the predominant question was Should I buy the new iPhone? Then it became Do I need to be on Twitter? or Do I need to be on Facebook? or Do I need to be on Snapchat? (That question has since come full circle to Should I quit Twitter and Facebook?) These days, the question I hear the most—well, besides whether Twitter should ban Trump—is Should |
, Shale, and Sky versions are still available. Google plans to end its Glass sale on Wednesday, April 16 at 6 a.m. PT. The devices will be shipped to consumers within five to seven business days.
When CNET contacted Google for more specifics on the Glass sales, the company declined to comment.
Update April 16 at 9:57 a.m. PT: Clarified the likely number of Google Glass units that have been distributed to date.We're over the goal line! Lots of excitement and a whirlwind of activity at Modbook HQ as the Modbook Pro X moves one step closer to reality.
But don't forget: the Kickstarter campaign for the Pro X still has 72 hours to go. We are looking for more backers! These last three days are critical for a number of reasons:
We could still miss the goal (really)
Although it's unlikely, fluctuations in pledge amounts can drop the total raised below the goal amount, resulting in an unsuccessful campaign. It happens! So there's no room for complacency. Additional backers are needed to get us well past the goal and ensure the project goes forward.
Any contribution is a vote for the Modbook Pro X
We are looking for more backers as a vote of confidence in this project. Any contribution, no matter the size, is a vote in favor of the Pro X's future availability on our Online Store. Every pledge counts.
A higher total means more leverage
Raising more funds increases our leverage with suppliers and partners who are always looking for evidence of enthusiasm in a product and for the potential of higher unit volumes. The more units we build, the more leverage we get with our suppliers, allowing us to build other cool stuff!
There could be additional features and options
Some campaigns add "stretch goals" as a tactic to push their total higher. We could have done this (for example, making the Keyboard Stand a stretch goal), but decided early on to skip the gimmicks and to present a complete product right from the start. That said, the more backers we get, the easier it is to justify adding more resources into this project, which could mean incorporating more hardware and software features into the Pro X and offering other options and accessories.
Kickstarter is the only way to get the Modbook Pro X
72 hours remain to become a Pro X backer. As we've said repeatedly, the only way to get the Pro X is through this campaign. The Pro X does not exist at our online store at http://store.modbook.com, and there is no other 15.4-inch Mac-based tablet on the planet. Make a pledge by Sunday if you want one.
Spread the word to family, friends, coworkers, everybody. Make your pledge. Keep the momentum going for the final 72 hours!
Andreas and the Modbook teamAfter weeks – or months? – of ARG shenanigans, it looks like Hello Games is gearing up to unveil the next major No Man's Sky update. Today they lifted the curtain just a tad, enough to reveal that update 1.3 is called Atlas Rises and that it will release some time this week.
Announced via email to the game's followers (via NeoGAF), Atlas Rises "focuses on improving the central story of No Man's Sky and adds the ability to quick travel between locations using portals".
Patch notes are forthcoming, so there may well be more to it than that. On the topic of the ARG itself, that was studio Hello Games' attempt to "reach out and celebrate the devoted community that means so much to us". Which, well, if you enjoyed it – great. But it might well have stoked a level of hype that this expansion might not be able to live up to.
"When we posted those cassettes we didn't know what to expect. In the last eight weeks a quarter of a million players from across the globe (174 countries, to be precise!) have come together - united by a shared love of mystery and science fiction - to form the Citizen Science Division. You’ve travelled great distances both real and virtual, undertaken complex tasks, and explored the depths of simulation theory. New friendships have been forged, and a tight-knit community has been created. Most importantly a cute hamster has a new home."
Whatever other secrets the patch notes may hold, I'm looking forward to finding out later this week, because I still play this beautiful and frustrating space adventure game a lot.Most smokers put on a couple of kilos when they quit smoking. This is not due to an increased calorie intake, but to a change in the composition of the intestinal flora after quitting smoking, as a study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) suggests.
When smokers wave goodbye to their cigarettes, eighty per cent of them put on seven kilos on average. Their weight increases even if their calorie intake remains the same or even falls compared to the level before quitting smoking. What is the reason for this weight gain?
Researchers working with Gerhard Rogler of Zurich University Hospital attribute the cause to a changed composition of the bacterial diversity in the intestine. As they recently showed in a study in PLoS One, the bacterial strains that also prevail in the intestinal flora of obese persons take the upper hand in people giving up smoking.
Comparison of stool samples
Rogler and his colleagues of the Swiss IBD cohort study examined the genetic material of intestinal bacteria found in the faeces and studied stool samples which they had received from twenty different persons over a period of nine weeks -- four samples per person. The test persons included five non-smokers, five smokers and ten persons who had quit smoking one week after the start of the study.
While the bacterial diversity in the faeces of smokers and non-smokers changed only little over time, giving up smoking resulted in the biggest shift in the composition of the microbial inhabitants of the intestines. The Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes fractions increased at the expense of representatives of the Firmicutes and Actinobacteria phyla. At the same time, the test subjects who had quit smoking gained an average of 2.2 kilos in weight although their eating and drinking habits remained the same (with the exception that, towards the end of the study, they drank on average a little more alcohol than before quitting smoking).
More efficient utilisation
Their results reflected those seen in previous studies conducted with mice, says Rogler. When other scientists transplanted the faeces of obese mice into the intestines of normal-weight mice some years ago, they saw that both the fractions of the Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes in the gut flora as well as the weight of the mice treated increased. The new gut flora apparently used the energy contained in the nutrition more efficiently.
Rogler and his colleagues assume that the same effect also manifests itself in their test subjects. The composition of the diverse bacteria in the intestinal flora, which changes after giving up smoking, probably provides the body with more energy, resulting in new non-smokers gaining weight.
Swiss IBD cohort study
With the aim of gaining a better understanding of inflammatory bow-el diseases or IBD, specialist hospitals, private practice physicians and university institutions have come together to pool their knowledge. They are collecting the medical data of now nearly 2,000 affected persons who are participating in this long-term study.On Nov. 18, news broke that a Indian man returning from Liberia had been quarantined inside Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport health facility. According to an official report, the man, a 26-year-old had arrived in Delhi on Nov. 10, and tested positive for the virus.
Ebola wasn’t found in his blood, which is the condition the World Health Organization requires for recovery—but it was still present in his semen, the report said.
During the mandatory screening, the man reported having a “febrile illness” and being admitted to a health facility in Liberia from Sept. 11 to 30. The official Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) release on the case (see Nov. 18 releases) says:
carried a certificate of medical clearance from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Liberia mentioning that ‘he has successfully undergone care and treatment related to Ebola Virus Disease and after post treatment assessment he has been declared free of any clinical signs and symptoms and confirmed negative by laboratory analysis.’
Men who have successfully recovered from Ebola are advised to use condoms for up to six months, as the virus remains sexually transmittable through their semen even after traces are absent from the blood. This hasn’t stopped other countries from declaring former patients Ebola-free, including the US, where public concern about Ebola is high:
Goldsby, Oklahoma, tops Google search for “Ebola symptoms.”
While the measures put in place in India may seem excessively strict, they were justified by the ministry as “abundant caution” in the face of the devastating effects an Ebola outbreak in India could have in the country. India’s response certainly seems stricter than the rest of the world’s—although what the official policy is, and what is happening inside the Airport Health Organization’s Quarantine Centre remain mysterious.
The only person who is “allowed” to speak on the matter, according to 15 different officials from the MOHFW, Airport Health Organization, and Ebola help line that Quartz has spoken to, is Manisha Varma, the Director of Media at the MOHFW. In the past 24 hours, Quartz has called her office and mobile numbers over a dozen times (both numbers were readily provided in the name of transparency) as well as texted her, but there has been no response at all.
Even doctors working at the Airport “Control Room” aren’t entirely sure of what measures India has in place—one doctor who spoke to Scroll India said he wasn’t sure whether the patient would be fully quarantined or simply be monitored daily.
What we can tell you for sure is this—when people land in Delhi from flights that may have originated from countries currently affected by the Ebola outbreak, they are given a form in which they must declare whether or not they have been exposed to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
A sign in the airport also instructs travelers about the risks of Ebola:
After that, there is a counter attended to by surgery mask wearing employees:
It is unclear what people are meant to do at that counter, since the forms are actually collected at immigration:
Presumably, the physical screening happens at some point after this. Blood samples are collected, and then semen.
This brings up a few questions, like—how exactly does this happen? Are men warned that this might happen when they board a flight to India from a EVD country? Do women also undergo a similar kind of screening? Are any exceptions put in place—for people like priests who made vows of celibacy, for instance?
According to the Hindustan Times, the man returning from Liberia is not the first person to be quarantined:
The government has screened 21,799 people at airports since it began screening for Ebola two months ago, but nobody has tested positive for the disease in India. So far, 1,200 travelers have been identified as suspected cases and 485 passengers have been quarantined at a Delhi facility.
Which just raises more questions, like: How big is the capacity of the isolation ward? Is anyone else in there now?
India is probably doing a remarkable job preventing Ebola from spreading in the country—it would be helpful, however, if someone could just explain how.
This article is part of Quartz Ideas, our home for bold arguments and big thinkers.Coalition statistics stealth winning the numbers game
Posted
Certain statistics underpin every federal election. Typically, the most important relate to the economy.
The unemployment figure, the inflation rate and the level of interest rates are always significant.
But you can add a couple from left field to the next contest, whenever it is held - the number of boats that arrive carrying asylum seekers, and the price of electricity.
And as it happens, Tony Abbott is engineering an increase in both numbers from Opposition, a remarkable achievement.
Abbott and the Coalition impacted on boat arrivals through its numbers in the Parliament, together with the Greens. Their implied strength caused the Government to abandon legislation that would have allowed for offshore processing and the adoption of the Malaysian agreement. All sorts of factors will ultimately determine how many boats arrive. But undoubtedly there will be more than otherwise would have been the case had it not been for the Government's failure to legislate.
To virtually guarantee electricity price rises, Abbott and the Coalition needed no parliamentary strength, real or implied.
They simply warned businesses not to buy forward permits under an emissions trading scheme. Given the likelihood of a Coalition government beyond the next election, many will heed that advice. They will recognise that implicit in the warning is the prospect that compensation will be hard to get if they commit, and then the taxation regime is ended.
Now any number of experts and business representatives are saying that power bills will go up even more than they otherwise would have because of the uncertainty created. Much of the energy industry will hesitate before investing and the practice of buying future-dated carbon purchases to second guess fluctuations down the track, will not be as popular. All that will come at a cost to the industry, and they will pass on the costs to consumers.
Of course, the Opposition will deny responsibility in both cases, and given its track record, the Government will be hard pressed to make the argument stick.
That simply underlines how politically clever Abbott has been.
The one glimmer of hope for the Government on the carbon issue is that the new arrangements will be in place from July next year, potentially 15 months or so before the next election is called.
Strategists hope that by then, the sky will not have fallen in and most people will have a different perspective.
But that may not be the perspective the Government is counting on. An article in Europe's leading newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, this week, quoted today on the Crikey website, is ominous for the Government.
The article, under the heading "Death of the Kyoto Process," insists there is little prospect that next month's climate summit in Durban, South Africa, will produce an emissions reduction agreement.
The current CO2-reduction agreement expires at the end of 2012 and the magazine judges there is "enormous resistance to new targets".
It says climate change ministers around the world are a long way from breathing new life into the Kyoto process.
That's the real danger. That the ambivalence now obvious in the Australian community will be reflected at the most important forum on the planet.
If that happens, then Tony Abbott might be getting a lot more support and advice as he tries to find a way to unscramble the carbon tax egg.
Barrie Cassidy is the presenter of ABC programs Insiders and Offsiders.
Topics: federal-government, community-and-society, immigration, refugees, climate-change, environment, government-and-politicsRIVIERE-DU-LOUP, Que. — Stephen Harper is rejecting the notion of working with the other parties to come up with a compromise that would save a Conservative government from defeat if his party wins another minority.
"I don't accept the question," Harper said Wednesday when asked if he'd be willing to work with the other parties in a minority setting.
Meanwhile, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff blasted his Tory rival for suggesting there was no need to compromise on the budget tabled last month, in another minority situation.
And Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe said his party would not join a coalition of political parties in a minority Parliament, no matter how the vote shakes out on May 2. He added that he and his MPs would be willing to co-operate with other parties on a case-by-case basis, depending on what the Bloc believes to be in the best interests of Quebecers.
Earlier this week, Ignatieff said in an interview that he'd be willing to work with leaders of the other parties — "even Mr. Harper" — if Canada once again, finds itself with a minority Parliament.
But Harper shot down that possibility Wednesday, saying he believes the Liberals, NDP and Bloc have already decided to team up to defeat the Conservatives soon after the election, to form a coalition government.
"If you look at what they're saying in this campaign, it is very clear. They're saying that even if we receive a mandate from the people, they will defeat us on our budget if they can. They will get together and form another alternative of some other kind of government."
Harper has explicitly asked voters for the first time to give his party a majority, which will require the Conservatives to add at least 12 seats to the 143 the party held at dissolution.
Results of recent polls suggest a majority is far from assured.
The Conservative leader said Wednesday he would be "honoured with any mandate" his party receives from voters on May 2. But he refused to discuss what changes to the party's platform he would be willing to accept to keep the Conservatives in power if they win another minority.
Instead, Harper ratcheted up his rhetoric about the prospect of a coalition, calling it a "black hole" that would stall the economic recovery, provoke more constitutional squabbling and trigger a "national-unity crisis." He was likely referring to comments by Jack Layton in the English-language debate, in which the NDP leader said he was open to another debate on how to get Quebec to sign the Constitution.
Harper also declared that an opposition coalition would lead to another referendum on whether Quebec should separate from Canada, even though it would be up to the provincial government to put forward such a vote.
"We don't know what that government will stand for," Harper said, of a possible coalition. "But we do know the general outlines. There's no focus on the economy. There are tax hikes, and, of course, these parties have very dangerous and conflicting views on national unity and constitutional matters.By Noah Lieberman
Ballotcraft is a fantasy politics game (think fantasy football, but for politics). Play against your friends and win by best predicting what’s going to happen in upcoming elections. Sign up and play here: www.ballotcraft.com.
With two debates coming up in the next week, it’d be easy to get overwhelmed by all of the things happening in the political world when forming your Ballotcraft strategy. So to break it down a bit for you, we’ll be looking at the storylines you should be following to succeed on Tuesday night’s Republican debate. We’ll have a candidate-by-candidate analysis for you Tuesday afternoon, but for now, here are the four biggest questions leading up to the Republican debate.
Will Rubio and Fiorina carry momentum?
First off, let’s deal with the only two candidates to walk away with wins in our previous debate games, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina. Not only are these two the only competitors to have ever gone the distance, they were also the only two candidates to pull away from the pack in last week’s CNBC debate. The big question you have to consider isn’t whether these two will do well on Tuesday, because it’s pretty obvious that they will. The question is whether, on a less crowded stage with more capable moderators, these two will be able to so quickly and effectively separate themselves from the six other Republicans. The utter chaos of the CNBC debate allowed for Rubio and Fiorina to appear poised and presidential without much effort: Fiorina had to tie her responses only tangentially to the questions asked before embarking on one of her trademark speeches, and Rubio didn’t have to try hard to appear more fit for office than the other establishment candidates, who gave in to the pandemonium of the debate rather than take Rubio on rhetorically. But with new hosts, fewer competitors, and a different format, more will be required to rise to the top and, if Rubio and Fiorina aren’t expecting stiffer competition, that might take some time.
The other thing keeping these two from continuing to plow through the competition is that neither one has seen their poll numbers rise all too dramatically since the last debate (granted, it’s only been a week, but still the four polls released since then have shown almost no change for either candidate). So even though they are impressing the traders and focus groups, they haven’t been resonating with the voters. This could mean they change tactics Tuesday night, or it could mean they receive difficult questions on why they think they are struggling in the polls. Either way, the lack of newfound support cannot make their path to repeating victory any easier.
Currently, Rubio is trading near 50%, a price which will almost certainly come down in the coming days. Fiorina is at a much more reasonably priced 9%, which is probably going to rise up to the mid-teens before she takes the stage in a few days. Given the hurdles these two candidates will face in the debate, I recommend shorting Rubio and putting a small investment in Fiorina until the prices become a bit more stable.
How will the dynamic change with fewer candidates?
One of the biggest changes for the debate Tuesday was announced just two days ago: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will not be joining the other candidates on the primetime debate stage. For the first time, there will be less than 10 Republicans debating together in the main debate, a move which is sure to have some interesting ripple effects in the market. The first assumption you might make is that this is going to give every candidate a boost, and let candidates who have been hurting for time (Senator Paul and Governor Kasich come to mind) get more of a chance to prove their mettle. But this assumes that Fox Business will split the time that would have been taken up by the two governors among all candidates equally, which may not be the case. If Fox instead decides to reward the candidates in the center of stage who are leading the polls, this move may only further consolidate the market to three or four candidates.
Personally, I think Fox will take the hint from the RNC and try to whittle the field down even further in their debate. That means we probably won’t see much more time for low-polling candidates like Kasich and Paul, and those on the cusp like Cruz and Bush will probably see more scrutiny if they do get more time. While I think the prices will even out a bit more before the debate, once they start on Tuesday night you should only invest in the tried and true.
Will Carson and Trump finally live up to their poll numbers?
If Fox is trying to create a clearer picture of which candidates are actually poised to win the nomination, then it stands to reason they’d give a bigger share of the questions to the polling leaders. In this case that means Donald Trump and Ben Carson, the two Republicans whose middling performances in the past three debates have done seemingly nothing to slow their momentum in the polls. Again, the two candidates have relatively high prices compared to their past finishes, with Trump at 17% and Carson at 7%.
Trump comes into the debate having released his latest book “Crippled America” earlier this week. The book detailed many of Trump’s policy positions for the first time and will give the real estate mogul plenty of chances to separate himself from Carson by appearing more fit for the actual job of governing. Carson, on the other hand, comes in after another week of terrible press following the poorly managed Mannatech scandal and awkward statements claiming the pyramids were built by Joseph to store grain. Doubling down on these statements may help Carson hold on to his base, but will likely alienate undecided voters like those in our focus group. However, we have not seen Carson take a more moderate approach in these debates, and a reversal or admission of wrongdoing here could backfire immensely if done improperly. His interviews on the Sunday talk shows this week and his opening statements Tuesday will give you a good idea of how he plans to tackle these issues on the stage.
Will the moderators change course or give us more of the same?
However, none of this matters if the moderators for the Fox Business debate do as poor a job as their CNBC counterparts. The trio of Gerard Baker, Neil Cavuto, and Maria Bartiromo, while better than the untested moderators of last week, still have very little experience in political interviews and even less in moderating debates. Fox News’ debate is unquestionably the best debate of the three we’ve seen, but they had anchors headlining the event who wouldn’t back down from the candidates. Will that strong-willed spirit trickle down to the lesser anchors on Fox’s lesser channel, or will this just be a rerun of the uncontrollable mess we saw on CNBC?
If it’s the former, then this might not be the best time for Fiorina and Carson to be going through scandals due to questionable statements. Megyn Kelly famously called Trump out on his perceived sexism during the first debate, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for one of these moderators to do the same to Carson for the plethora of dubious facts he’s been spreading on the campaign trail. This would also mean we get what we were promised last week: a debate on the economy and business. That would be a big blow to Cruz, Carson, and Paul, who resonate more for their foreign or social policy than fiscal. Meanwhile, Bush would benefit from being able to bring up his strong economic record as governor of Florida.
If the latter holds more true, and candidates talk over each other (or the moderators) without any semblance of punishment again, expect results similar to last time. Rubio will once again become the establishment candidate of choice while Fiorina leads the outsiders with her strong oratorical skills. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it’d be pretty predictable.
AdvertisementsImage caption The guidance looks at how the NHS can help people manage their weight
Doctors treating obese or overweight patients should be "respectful" and "non-blaming", advice to the NHS says.
The draft guidance is published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
It also suggests obese patients be referred to weight-loss programmes, including those run by commercial companies, to help them lose weight.
Obesity increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes and costs the NHS more than £5bn each year.
Just over a quarter of adults in England are classed as obese and a further 41% of men and 33% of women as overweight.
'Meet the needs'
The NICE document, which is subject to a three-month consultation, suggests all health professionals dealing with overweight or obese people should monitor their tone in order to "minimise harm".
The abrupt style that many have taken so far has only made matters worse Tam Fry, National Obesity Forum, What are the health risks of obesity?
It states all healthcare professionals should "be aware of the effort needed to lose weight and avoid further weight gain and the stigma adults who are overweight or obese may feel or experience".
It adds: "Ensure the tone and content of all communications or dialogue is respectful and non-blaming.
"The terminology used to describe the person's condition should respect individual preferences."
NHS care providers should also ensure equipment and facilities "meet the needs of most adults who are overweight or obese".
Those overseeing NHS weight management programmes should tell patients how much weight they can "realistically" expect to lose, and that no programme is a "magic bullet", the document says.
Instead, stress should be put on the "importance of making gradual, long-term changes to their eating habits and physical activity and how much weight they might realistically expect to lose in total and on a weekly basis if they adhere to the programme".
Prof Mike Kelly, director of the Centre for Public Health at NICE, said: "Being overweight or obese can have serious consequences for an individual's health, not only physically with increased risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, but it can also affect their mental health as a result of stigma and bullying or discrimination."
'Consequences'
He added: "This draft guidance isn't about quick fixes, it is about ensuring lifestyle weight management services support people in the long-term.
"Programmes that address diet, activity and behaviour change can help people who are obese lose weight, but they are only cost-effective if the weight is kept off."
Tam Fry, a spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, said most health professionals were not trained in how to raise weight issues effectively.
"The abrupt style that many have taken so far has only made matters worse," he said.
"NICE is correct to say they should be moderate in their tone. But once they've got the tone right and the confidence of the patient, they should really think about tough love.
"It's essential that patients realise that the consequences of putting on weight are very serious."
Thembi Nkala, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Being overweight or obese can have serious consequences for your heart health.
"However, taking control of your weight can be a daunting task because changing the habits of a lifetime is often a challenge.
"That's why it's a good idea to get support throughout your weight loss journey, which could include joining a support group."Getty Images
Warren Sapp was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year. He doesn’t think Michael Strahan deserves to join him this year.
Sapp said at Super Bowl Media Day that Strahan simply wasn’t good enough to make it.
“I don’t think his résumé stacks up,” Sapp said, via Neil Best of Newsday. “He only has four straight Pro Bowls and a mythical sack record. When you really measure him up he comes up short.”
Sapp has been complaining for years about Strahan’s sack record of 22.5, which Strahan set in the last game of the 2001 season when Brett Favre appeared to slide down in front of him intentionally to hand him the record. Sapp said while they were both still playing that there should be an asterisk next to his record because it wasn’t a real record; Strahan responded that there should be a McDonald’s next to Sapp’s house because Sapp is fat.
But Sapp is wrong about Strahan’s Pro Bowls. In fact, Sapp and Strahan were chosen to the same number of Pro Bowls (seven) and to the same number of first-team All-Pro teams (four).
Fortunately for Strahan, Sapp doesn’t get a Hall of Fame vote. The members of the media who do get a vote will determine on Saturday whether Strahan will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2014.President Trump sits next to British Prime Minister Theresa May and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as they participate in a working dinner meeting during the NATO summit of heads of state and government Thursday. (Thierry Charlier/Pool Photo via AP)
President Trump on Sunday evening called for more spending on health care and said his plan to overhaul the tax code “is actually ahead of schedule” — two statements that are at odds with the budget proposal he unveiled just last week.
The statements came as part of a blizzard of Twitter posts the president made after he returned from his first foreign trip.
While he was gone, Trump’s top advisers rolled out his first comprehensive budget plan. They spent days explaining the plan to the media and to Congress, but Trump did not weigh in last week. This was unusual, as the budgets submitted by presidents in their first year in office tend to represent the most complete portrait of their agenda and legislative priorities.
Trump’s budget plan, assembled by Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, called for cuts of between $800 billion and $1.4 trillion in future spending on Medicaid, the health-care program for low-income Americans. It also called for cuts in future spending on a health-care program for low-income children. It did not propose new health-care spending, as Trump alluded to in one of his Twitter posts Sunday evening.
I suggest that we add more dollars to Healthcare and make it the best anywhere. ObamaCare is dead - the Republicans will do much better! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
In the Twitter post, Trump does not differentiate whether the new “dollars” should be added to private health programs or public-health programs. His budget did not propose significant changes or cuts to Medicare, the large, government-run health-care program for Americans who are older than 65. During the campaign, Trump promised not to pursue cuts to Medicare or Medicaid if he became president.
By calling for more health spending in a Twitter post, Trump could be distancing himself from the substantial blowback that his budget proposal received. Many Democrats expressed outrage at the proposed cuts to Medicaid, and several Republicans said they planned to ignore his call for cuts to the health plan for children from low-income homes, known by the acronym CHIP.
Trump's Twitter post about his tax plan being ahead of schedule comes just days after Mulvaney and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave much different descriptions of the plan to Congress. Trump has offered a one-page blueprint for how he wants an overhaul of the tax code to look. He wants a major cut in tax rates and a simplification of the system.
The massive TAX CUTS/REFORM that I have submitted is moving along in the process very well, actually ahead of schedule. Big benefits to all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2017
Mnuchin, Trump and Vice President Pence have described their tax agenda as a huge tax cut, but Mulvaney has said the lower tax rates would be offset by eliminating tax breaks and deductions. This differentiation suggests they still have major work to do — and issues to settle — before they can try to cut a deal with lawmakers. They also have not decided whether they want to pursue a long-term overhaul of the tax code or a temporary cut.
Trump's tweet may overstate what he has achieved in other ways, too. White House officials were not prepared to make any tax outline public until he prodded them to do so as he neared his 100th day in office. What’s more, the plan wasn’t formally “submitted” to Congress. It was released on a single sheet of paper and included only a handful of numbers, leaving lawmakers and congressional aides to question in which direction the White House wanted the tax plan to go.
Mnuchin had set an initial goal of completing an overhaul of the tax code by August, but the White House has backed away from that time frame. Most recently, Trump’s top advisers have said they want the changes to pass Congress sometime in 2017, while some congressional Republicans have said a more realistic timetable would shoot for an agreement by sometime next year.
Still, the White House has not proposed a comprehensive tax plan, and Trump did not include any new details of a tax overhaul in last week’s budget proposal. The House and Senate have also not completed a tax plan, or even proposed one that has passed through committee.
Trump’s top advisers are meeting frequently with lawmakers about ways to overhaul the tax code, however, and it seems to be one area where the White House is most engaged with lawmakers from both parties. Democrats have publicly chided the Trump administration for the scant details it has offered on tax changes, but they have agreed to meet with Mnuchin and others behind closed doors to hear their thoughts.
Trump has said there are many different paths for changing the tax code. He could try to do it with only GOP support, or he could try to lure Democrats into a bargain by pairing changes with major spending on infrastructure projects.Over the last month, we’ve announced multiple phases of our SwiftKey for Android beta – including a brand new look in the form of SwiftKey Hub, the next stage of our partnership with password management experts Dashlane, and new adaptive layouts and languages for speakers of Indian languages, among other changes. Today, this latest big update to SwiftKey Keyboard for Android is officially available to everyone on Google Play.
Download now, free
INTRODUCING THE SWIFTKEY HUB
SwiftKey Hub is designed to be the home for all of the content and features you use most often. The Hub replaces the subset of settings previously accessible via long-pressing the ‘123’ key; you can tap or slide on the ‘hamburger’ menu on the far left of the prediction bar for quick access to Personalize, the SwiftKey Store, and Settings.
Inspired by Google’s Material Design language, the Hub makes it easy for you to configure SwiftKey exactly the way you want it. Since the beta, the Hub has undergone a few changes, for example the color scheme has been updated with a lighter look.
In addition to being a faster and easier way to access the SwiftKey Store, the Hub features a carousel of themes you’ve already downloaded as well as built-in free themes for quick and easy browsing. In here you’ll also notice ‘Carbon’ – a brand new default theme! From the Hub, you can tap through to the Store in the SwiftKey app to check out new themes, both free and premium.
CARBON – NEW DEFAULT THEME
Carbon’s design is a combination of the Minimal and Material themes, and aims to visually capture the sleekness and speed of SwiftKey. The base color of this theme was inspired by the element Carbon. Check it out – and read more about this brand new theme here!
LAYOUTS FOR INDIAN LANGUAGES
We’ve also introduced adaptive new layouts to our Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi and Nepali languages. The innovative layouts will enable you to write more quickly and easily in the languages that you want to type in. You can read a full rundown of these new layouts and languages here.
DASHLANE PASSWORD MANAGER
Last but not least, the second phase of our Dashlane integration is now available to all SwiftKey users. If you’re already a Dashlane user, you’ll find it now works with SwiftKey to securely predict exactly when you need your passwords, and make them instantly accessible. You can find more about how to use this feature here.
We can’t wait to hear what you think of this latest update, so head to the Google Play Store to get updated and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter, or via our VIP forum!
Cheers,
Eric & the Community TeamNo team wants to start the season 0-2. By now you’ve heard the statistic that since 1990, only 12% of teams to start 0-2 have made the playoffs. While that’s true, that’s just one way — and not the only way — to examine the Saints start. That analysis is based on the following idea:
Look at group of teams with the same start –> see how they finish the year
But there’s another way to consider New Orleans’ early season woes. The Saints lost both games on the road. So while New Orleans is 0-2, the team still has 8 home games remaining. Based on the Saints history under Sean Payton, projecting a a 7-1 home record doesn’t seem unreasonable. And while the team lost both games so far, note that Saints opponents have already kicked three game-winning or game-tying field goals at the end of regulation or overtime already. That’s an amazing feat to have occurred after just two games; from a predictive standpoint, the Saints could just as easily be 2-0. And from a predictive standpoint, a 3-3 finish in road games the rest of the way doesn’t seem unreasonable, either. That would give the team a 10-6 record, and probably a playoff berth.
Now, attack this problem from a different perspective: if you assumed before the season that the Saints would be a playoff team, how likely would you be to revise your prediction if you |
migration of a large number of people from villages near LoC in Nowshera sector.
The loss of lives on the LoC comes when the mother and wife of retired Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav are travelling to Pakistan on Monday to meet him after Pakistan foreign office granted them permission. Jadhav has been in Pakistan’s custody since March 2016 when Pakistan army claims to have arrested him from Balochistan. India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after he took premature retirement from the Navy.
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Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April, following which India moved the International Court of Justice in May. The International Court of Justice halted his execution on India’s appeal pending the final verdict by it.— WITH ENS, JammuCLEVELAND -- A new study shows that NASA's Glenn Research Center helps drive Northeast Ohio's economy. Pare back research at GRC, as the center is called for shorthand, and the region hurts -- as do its builders, restaurants, retailers, tax coffers and numerous Glenn suppliers.
There's no current threat of that, however. Even when President Donald Trump released a budget that sought cuts in many major areas of government, GRC escaped intact, thanks to its research on space propulsion.
Trump wants to send astronauts to Mars. GRC wants to propel them there.
Congressional appropriators are working on spending bills to turn funding requests into reality. "So far, so good," says Marty McGann, senior vice president for advocacy for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which looks out for the community's business interests.
He and others in the community are nevertheless pleased to see their high regard for GRC affirmed by this study, the latest in an annual series conducted by Cleveland State University. While parts of the analysis are worded in economist-speak, here are six highlights that not only are noteworthy but that also don't take a rocket scientist to understand.
1. Glenn is an economic engine.
The center generates over $700 million annually in economic activity, including wages, and supports over 7,000 jobs, according to the analysis, conducted by CSU's Center for Economic Development. NASA Glenn also generates nearly $500 million in labor income and over $125 million in tax revenue per year.
Some of those jobs and their spinoff economic benefit are created indirectly; not every restaurant server or real estate agent who interacts with GRC employees can say NASA is solely responsible for his or her job. The CSU analysis used economic multipliers, or what the authors described as a chain of spending triggered by wages, contracts and purchasing.
But GRC directly spent $639.3 million in 2016, for everything from pay, scientific and professional services, supplies, equipment, even waste services. That triggered spending of another $760.6 million across the region, for a combined total of $1.4 billion, the analysis says.
"For example, NASA Glenn's spending caused a $212.1 million increase in total sales by the professional, scientific, and technical services industry and a $42.1 million increase in sales -- direct, indirect, and induced -- by the construction industry," the study says. "If NASA Glenn did not exist in Northeast Ohio, the regional output in the administrative and waste services industry would drop by $86.5 million."
2. GRC jobs depend on Washington's whims.
Every federal budget and every spending bill in Congress is watched closely by GRC and the broader Cleveland business community. NASA's mission and the goals of manned spaceflight and space science can change with each president, and federal spending fluctuates anyway.
NASA's 1,572 civil service workforce is lower than it was not long ago, as is the number of contractors working with GRC, 1,625. But the numbers improved slightly -- by nine employees for GRC itself -- in 2016.
3. Want to work for NASA? Go to college.
This is one smart workforce. Seventy-one percent of the jobs are held by scientists and engineers, professions that require a degree.
Thirty-one percent of GRC employees have bachelor's degrees. Another 37 percent have master's degrees.
And 17 percent hold doctoral degrees.
4. Wages are good, though flat.
GRC's payroll in 2016 was $175.6 million. Average pay was $111,726.
That was actually down from 2015. But a slight bump in employee benefits counteracted the cut, the CSU study says.
Since 2012, wage growth has been low. From the study: "Between FY 2012 and FY 2016, there was a slight increase of 0.6% in the total average wage per civil service employee."
Bear in mind that for the study's purposes, the comparisons over the years were inflation-adjusted. In nominal terms -- that is, not adjusting fully for the fact that inflation eroded a bit of buying power -- average wages increased 3.5 percent between 2012 and 2016, according to the study's footnotes.
5. Lots of GRC spending stays in Ohio.
GRC spends a lot money on goods and services. Most of it goes to vendors and contractors in Cuyahoga County.
6. GRC gets universities to help with research. California benefits the most.
Of $12.9 million GRC spent last year on academic grants and contracts for research and development, California universities -- no slouches in R &D -- got the most. Then came Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Of Ohio's nearly $1.1 million share, 35.9 percent went to Case Western Reserve University and 33.7 percent went to Ohio State University. Cuyahoga Community College got $158,014.Getty Images
Amid allegations and counterallegations of tampering between his former team and his current/former team, cornerback Darrelle Revis has broken his silence with a mini media tour in his new/old home market of New York City.
Appearing on SNY’s Loudmouths, Revis made the matter-of-fact observation that, if the Patriots had wanted to keep him, the Patriots could have done so easily — by picking up his option for 2015 at $20 million guaranteed.
He’s right, technically. But Revis failed to point out that he wouldn’t have been happy with that outcome, because the contract he negotiated with the Patriots in 2014 was intended by both sides to be a one-year deal, with a second season added only for salary-cap purposes. Sure, he would have sucked it up and accepted New England’s $20 million for a second season with the Patriots, but it was well known before the Patriots didn’t pick up the option that Revis didn’t want them to do it.
Other teams that wanted Revis, according to Revis, included the Browns, Packers, Steelers, Chiefs, and Ravens. Ultimately, it came down to the Jets and the Patriots. In the end, it wasn’t close, particularly on the issue of fully-guaranteed money.CTVNews.ca Staff
The Prime Minister’s Office has been withholding from the RCMP an email about the $90,000 cheque Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff wrote to Sen. Mike Duffy, CTV News has learned.
RCMP investigators have been trying to obtain the email ever since CTV News first revealed its existence two months ago.
The prime minister’s communications director, Andrew MacDougall, confirmed that the email exists.
“My understanding is it is a paraphrase of conversations that happened,” he told CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife. “I’ve had them described to me from someone who is no longer here.”
The Feb. 20 email describes a secret deal to have Harper’s then-chief of staff Nigel Wright personally bail out Duffy, a Conservative senator who improperly claimed $90,172 in living expenses and faced the public release of an audit of his spending.
In the email, Duffy tells his lawyer that Wright worked out a “scenario” where all of his invalid expenses would be covered, including “cash for the repayment.”
Under the arrangement, Duffy would claim that he personally repaid his debt to taxpayers and the government would use its influence to blunt the outcome of the external audit.
A Conservative-dominated Senate committee subsequently whitewashed a damning audit report on Duffy’s expenses, which highlighted problems with his residency claims and per diems collected when he wasn’t in Ottawa on Senate business.
After CTV News broke the story, Wright resigned and Duffy left the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent.
The Mounties subsequently launched an investigation into Wright’s payment to Duffy. The lead investigator has contacted CTV News twice to ask about the Feb. 20 email. In order to protect his sources, Fife told the Mounties to ask the PMO for the information they need to conduct their investigation.
But insiders say the Prime Minister’s Office has been withholding that information.
Asked if Wright himself has the email in question, MacDougall said: “I can’t speak for Nigel.”
RCMP affidavits allege that three other senior PMO staffers, including Harper’s former legal counsel Benjamin Perrin, knew of the deal between Wright and Duffy.
Perrin said he was never consulted on, or participated in, the deal. The Mounties say they have not yet been able to arrange an interview with Perrin.
Harper has maintained that Wright acted alone when he wrote a personal cheque to Duffy.
But NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus said PMO staff “clearly” knew about the email.
“So we are being told: ‘Well, we don’t really know what happened to it. Oh well, it’s not around anymore.”
Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner said the RCMP should obtain warrants to get the email about the Wright-Duffy deal from the PMO.
Fife reported Tuesday that the Mounties would prefer to see the PMO voluntarily provide all of the relevant information and require anyone with knowledge of the Wright-Duffy deal to come forward.The oil and gas industry plans to massively expand a labyrinth of pipelines to market natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale and other rock formations using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. But allowing the industry to build out its sprawling pipeline infrastructure and to lock-in decades more of U.S. dependence on natural gas would be a colossal mistake. The industry’s pipeline projects must be stopped.
Drilling and fracking shale to produce natural gas, or shale gas, result in local air pollution problems, degrade water quality in rivers and streams and create short- and long-term risks to underground sources of drinking water. In part because of such environmental impacts, communities with shale gas development can be made worse off as the boom-and-bust cycle of extraction runs its course. More pipelines simply mean more environmental and public health problems for these local communities.– photo by Mitch Waxman
A magnificent and somewhat unique example of mortuary sculpture found at First Calvary Cemetery here in Queens is the Lynch monument. The screeds engraved on it indicate the presence of several generations of the family, and the quality of the stone work indicates that the Lynches were notable figures during their time. As mentioned in the past, however, when one is searching for information on individuals with a “common” name (particularly a common Irish surname) – things get a little hazy. There have been a lot of folks, both famous and infamous, named “James Lynch”.
Here’s what I’ve been able to positively attribute to this James Lynch, and a promising (tantalizing actually) but false lead…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When James Lynch’s will was read, it caused quite a stir- it seems that the inheritance he left for his widow and children was in excess of 1.5 million dollars (in 1873, mind you), or so says the NYTimes.com archives. Now, 1.5 million in 1873 was a heck of a lot more money then than now- which means that this fellow was “somebody”. But who?
The archive article denoting the disposition of his will puts the family residence at 129 East 21st street in Manhattan- a tony and somewhat aristocratic address in 1873 (and today) located near Gramercy Park. Teddy Roosevelt, for instance, was born around the corner in 1858 and other neighbors included Samuel Tilden, Peter Cooper, and George Templeton Strong.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The false lead– I suspected that this might be the same James Lynch (of Tammany) who aroused the ire of the future “paper of record” with a controversial order to the Warden of Bellevue Hospital in 1860 that remanded the bodies of the poor to scientific study (medical schools) and the inquiry of the vivisectionists (coroners).
quoth from the nytimes.com archives
All non-professional men who have ever had occasion to visit a dissecting-room, can well understand the intense loathing and horror with which even condemned malefactors shrink from that portion of the death-sentence which delivers over their bodies after execution to be dissected for the instruction of medical students. No sight can be imagined more revoltingly hideous and horrible than the scientific shambles in which human carcases are cut up, disemboweled, torn limb from limb, dissected and tossed from hand to hand by the young acolytes of surgical science. Half a dozen bodies in this way come to be mingled together in one disgusting mass of flesh, bone, tissues, hair and bowels. Different students carry off particular limbs or organs for home dissection; and then the mingled remains are placed in sacks and carted away at midnight, to be dumped out of sight in whatever sinks or holes the surgeons may have selected for this purpose.
But, alas, I was incorrect.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
click image for a larger and more detailed incarnation
The illustration above, as well as the following text originate in John J. Foster’s “Visitor’s Guide to Calvary Cemetery” published in 1873
Plot O, Range 9, which is a little to the north of the resident clergyman’s dwelling, (and of which we give an illustration).
It is in the classic style, and consists of a superstructure of solid Quincy granite, in the form of a tomb, with polished columns supporting its entablature, surmounted by a draped sarcophagus, in one entire piece, of the finest Carrara marble. At each end of the base of the tomb, seated on clouds, is an angel, one with a trumpet, to call to judgment; the other emblematic of immortality. These figures are separate memorials. The former having been erected to the memory of the late Miss Katie Lynch, and the latter to the late Miss Agnes Lynci, his two daughters.
The whole work rests on a vault constructed after the style of the old Roman catacombs.
Mr. James Lynch was born December 23, 1805, and died December 14, I873. For nearly thirty years he devoted his attention to the grocery business on an extensive scale, in the city of New York, and retired with a competency in the year 1853. He was a favorite with all who enjoyed his acquaintance, and was well known to the public through his good offices and his manifold services in the advancement of all wise and charitable undertakings that came to his notice. The lively interest he excited in all who knew him secured for him many constant friends who now mourn his loss. His good deeds still survive him. The name of such men should be preserved.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Clicking on the 1873 illustration, one observes that the only name on this monument when it was drawn was that of the sire of the clan. Scrutiny of the image also reveals an extensive series of footing stones, rails, and decorative plot demarkations which have not survived the century. Additionally, the entire family seems to be accounted for on the monument, with the last interment (Mary Ann) listed as 1922.
I was able to find a scant mention of Emily F. Lynch in the obituaries of the NYTimes.com archives. She lived at 405 Park Avenue, and died there as well.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In addition to the remarkable centerpiece of the monument, one observes the presence of two weeping angels at the tomb, the presence of which are described in the quoted text as having been installed as separate monuments to Mr. Lynch’s daughters.
Like many of the fine marbles and ornate carvings extant at Calvary Cemetery, long exposure to the toxic atmospheres produced by the industries of the nearby Newtown Creek has badly damaged these sculptural elements, imparting an impression that the stone is melted or rotting away.
This isn’t far from the truth- the nearby Phelps Dodge (then called General Chemical) was actually sued by Calvary’s Board of Trustees in the late 19th century regarding the airborne exhaust of their brimstone based acid manufacturing business and its noxious effluents, and the concept of petrochemical pollution creating “acid rain” is well known to modernity.
from queenslibrary.org
On the plant grounds, General Chemical erected the tallest chimney in the United States to blow the smoke and gases from its furnace away from the neighborhood. For the past number of years neighbor surrounding the plant complained vociferously about the pollution from the factory. Only after a study found that nitric, muriatic, and sulphuric acids from the plant were destroying local cemeteries’ tombstones did the company try and alleviate the problem by building the chimney. This same year the company filed plans with the New York City’s Department of Buildings in Queens to build another 150 foot chimney, an ore breaker, a storage tank, a boiler house, and a stable.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The NYTimes archives also present a short death notice for Peter W. Lynch, of 253 west 62nd street, whose death corresponds with the date ascribed to Peter W. Lynch on the stone. I have no way of determining if this is the same man, however.
I could find nothing on Katie, but this is not uncommon for the era, as women seldom received mention if they weren’t scandalous, married to, or the mother of a famous man.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
James D. Lynch died at a 120 West 21st street address in 1917, just down the block from the patriarch’s house. Mary Ann and E. Louise seem to have escaped notice when they passed.
Like many of the older plots at Calvary, which once sat long avenues and lanes which were meant to remain as such, the Lynch monument is surrounded by more modern graves. Such is the lot of older cemeteries, whose financial realities demand that new interments must be made in order to maintain the ongoing operations of the enterprise.
A plot purchased in the 1860’s, after all, hardly figured in the cost of 150 years of groundskeeping. This created no small amount of controversy in the past amongst the descendants of those who lie here, but in the end, Calvary prevailed. This is why you’ll often observe modern grave markers peppering around the edges of grandly august Mausolea.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey, you never know what you’re going to find at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.
AdvertisementsAbout This Game
Story Neighbours from Hell 1
Key Features Neighbours from Hell 1
14 hugely varied episodes of anarchy
Use stealth, skill and style to perform the perfect ambush
Easy to use interface and controls
Superb cartoon-style graphics
Excellent soundtrack
Story Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation
Key Features Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation
14 new tricky and highly detailed episodes of anarchy of the popular "NEIGHBOURS FROM HELL SHOW"
6 different locations in China, India, Mexico and on the cruise liner
More than 5 new characters and numerous animals
New cool soundtrack reflecting the countries our characters visit
INTRODUCING THE GAME OF NEIGHBOURHOOD NASTINESS AND COMMUNITY COMMOTION! Living next door to you is a real Neighbour From Hell and it's now time to have your revenge! This compilation includes the original Neighbours From Hell and it's sequel Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation.Creep around your neighbour ’s house performing ever more elaborate tricks upon the unsuspecting resident.As the star of a fantastic new TV show, cameras will track your every move as you set your fiendish traps. Your objectives are to create more and more disarray, increase ratings and maybe even winning prestigious awards. But beware of watchful neighbors and alert guard dogs; if they catch you then the show will be taken off air.The reality TV show of neighbourly nastiness and community commotion moves on to the next round.The Neighbour from Hell wants to enjoy an undeserved holiday – reason enough for Woody and the camera team to sneak along onto the cruise liner to make the nasty neighbour's holiday a living hell. This time, the neighbour's mum has joined him, and she is taking good care of her baby.Get the Neighbour from Hell into his mum's and fellow travellers' bad books, play tricks on him and give free reign to your vengeance.Terry Peck performs his highly questionable 'rap' song titled 'Let's Get Drunk Let's Get F***ed Up'. Peck recently made headlines for eating $600 worth of Lobster on the Gold Coast before jumping into the ocean without paying. Courtesy: Youtube/Terry Peck
A WANNABE rapper who allegedly downed plates of expensive seafood before jumping into the ocean at Main Beach has said he ‘wouldn’t go back’ to the restaurant because the lobster was ‘overpriced’.
Terry Peck, 33, was today granted bail after he allegedly chowed down on two lobsters, a baby octopus, 17 oyster shots and drank a number of Coronas at Omeros Bros Seafood Restaurant at Main Beach on Sunday evening to the tune of $620 before fleeing the restaurant.
He then swam into the ocean and ducked underwater to avoid police.
When asked if he wanted to apologise for doing a runner without paying the bill he said the top-end seafood joint should be saying sorry to him because the quality of the food was similar to what was being served in the Southport Watchhouse.
“There was oyster shell in the oyster and he (a staff member) said he was going to take care of the bill...,” Peck said outside court.
“They should be apologising to me for the shell in the overpriced food.
“He said he was going to get the bill... I told them to tell the chef it was overcooked.”
Peck said he had been drinking on the beach with a friend before he decided to dine at Omeros Bros but had to leave before paying the bill because his friend phoned and said she was in labour.
“My friend was over the beach and she was having a baby on the beach,” Peck said.
“Eventually police came and I went for a swim.
“I couldn’t find her and I was going to pay the bill if I found my wallet but I lost everything.”
Peck then told reporters he had invited the famous musician Eminem to come to Australia for a rap battle before performing for the cameras after hearing he would be on the nightly news.
“I’m trying to rap battle Eminem at the moment but he won’t come down to Australia to have a go,” Peck said.
During his court appearance, Magistrate Joan White was incredulous when she heard how much he had eaten.
“Oh God, by himself?”, she asked.
Peck faced Southport Magistrate’s Court this morning on two counts of obstructing police and one count of stealing.
After finishing his meal, Peck allegedly ran from the restaurant and was chased by staff before swimming 50m into the ocean near the lifeguard tower at Main Beach, the court heard.
After lifeguards were unable to retrieve Peck from the ocean, water police arrived.
However, Peck had to be retrieved by two police on a jetski after water police were unable to pull him from the sea about 5.30pm yesterday.
The court was told Peck then refused to get on the jetski and dived underwater to evade police.
The court heard Peck, who has a number of rap videos on his social media profile, was on parole at the time he allegedly committed the offences.
The duty lawyer also told the court Peck had been volunteering at a children’s charity.
He was granted bail on the condition he reside at a property in Labrador and not attend Omeros Bros Seafood Restaurant while on bail.
Peck will return to court on May 4.With just hours to go before a planned megadeal that would send Kevin Love to Cleveland, the Phoenix Suns reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday to ask once more about the possibility of acquiring Love in a sign-and-trade for guard Eric Bledsoe, sources told ESPN.com.
The Cavaliers and Wolves have had an agreement in place on Love for weeks, and it remains intact, sources said. That trade, which morphed into a three-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers that will send Thaddeus Young to Minnesota, is expected to be completed on Saturday.
Talks between the Suns and Bledsoe, who is a restricted free agent, have been fractured for weeks, and the team is now vetting all options. That includes sign-and-trade talks with teams besides the Wolves.
Bledsoe has made it clear he is seeking a five-year, $85 million maximum contract from the Suns. He would consider only a max deal in a sign-and-trade, which would be four years and $64 million, with any other team, sources said.
If Bledsoe, who has remained firm in his salary position all summer, does not get a max deal this summer, he intends to sign the Suns' one-year qualifying offer for $3.7 million and become an unrestricted free agent next year.
The Suns have offered Bledsoe a four-year, $48 million deal that is similar to the contract that point guard Kyle Lowry signed with the Toronto Raptors this summer. Bledsoe rejected that offer, and the sides haven't made any progress in talks for weeks.
Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists in 43 games, 40 of them starts, for the Suns last season. He missed 39 games because of a knee injury that required surgery.Andrew Puzder, President Trump’s labor secretary nominee, withdrew from consideration Wednesday amid growing resistance from Senate Republicans centered primarily on Puzder’s past employment of an undocumented housekeeper.
The collapse of Puzder’s nomination threw the White House into further turmoil just two days after the resignation of Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, amid revelations that Flynn had spoken repeatedly, and possibly illegally, with the Russian ambassador last year about lifting U.S. sanctions.
Puzder’s fate amplified the deteriorating relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill, where bipartisan support grew Wednesday for expanded investigations into ties between Trump, his presidential campaign and Russian officials.
The White House, including Trump, offered no comment on Puzder’s withdrawal nor any indication of whom the president would nominate in the restaurant executive’s place. Puzder issued a statement saying he was “honored” to have been nominated. “While I won’t be serving in the administration, I fully support the President and his highly qualified team,” he said.
A top Trump campaign supporter, Puzder had attracted widespread criticism regarding his business record and personal background. He was set to testify Thursday at a confirmation hearing that had been delayed for weeks to allow for the completion of an ethics review of his vast personal wealth.
Donald Trump with labor secretary-designate Andrew Puzder at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)
Critics have railed against Puzder’s positions against minimum-wage increases and more generous overtime benefits. Some have also accused him of sexism, pointed to a rancorous divorce that involved later-recanted allegations of domestic abuse as well as racy TV ads run by his restaurant chains that featured scantily clad women eating hamburgers.
But it was Puzder’s hiring of an undocumented worker for domestic work — as well as his support for more liberalized immigration policies — that pushed several Senate Republicans away, they said.
Puzder had told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions this month that he had been unaware of the housekeeper’s immigration status when he hired her and that he paid federal and state back taxes after terminating her employment.
Similar revelations have forced Cabinet nominees to withdraw dating to at least Bill Clinton’s presidency, but it was less clear this year, in the unpredictable, rule-breaking era of Trump, whether that norm would apply. In the end, the revelation was particularly troubling to lawmakers because of the job Puzder was seeking: running the Labor Department.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate health committee, said Wednesday that revelations about Puzder’s personal employment practices gave him “serious concerns” that he had conveyed to Senate leaders. Three other GOP senators on the committee, Susan Collins (Maine), Johnny Isakson (Ga.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), had also publicly voiced doubts.
In the hours before Puzder withdrew, 12 Republican senators “at a minimum” were withholding support, according to a senior Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid political retribution. The quick erosion of support compelled Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to tell the White House on Wednesday that Puzder lacked the support needed to survive, according to two senior Senate aides who requested anonymity. Shortly after that, Puzder withdrew.
Senators may yet face another contentious confirmation vote Thursday, when Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, is scheduled for a final vote on the Senate floor. On Wednesday, Mulvaney lost the backing of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who objects to Mulvaney’s support for military spending cuts.
[Trump’s pick for budget director just lost a crucial backer in the Senate]
Puzder has spent much of his career in the restaurant industry speaking out against wage and labor regulations. The former commercial trial lawyer has been a staunch opponent of rules finalized by the Labor Department last year — and since put on hold — that would have expanded the number of people eligible for overtime pay. He also has been critical of substantially increasing the minimum wage, arguing that it could push companies to cut jobs and encourage businesses to invest more money in automation.
As a result, Puzder’s nomination immediately came under intense scrutiny from unions, labor groups and consumer advocates who worried the executive would prioritize businesses over workers. As recently as this week, workers from his fast-food chain and advocates for a higher minimum wage marched outside of CKE’s restaurants to protest the nomination. Worker advocates had also hand-delivered petitions to senators’ local offices and organized trips for CKE employees to travel to Capitol Hill and share their grievances with senators.
[Watchdog group working to unseal Puzder’s divorce records before his confirmation hearing ]
Democrats cheered Puzder’s withdrawal and sought to take credit for helping pressure Republicans to withdraw support.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Puzder’s decision “a victory for the American worker. Puzder should never have even been nominated to lead the Labor Department, and Senate Republicans clearly recognized this, too.” He called on Trump to nominate someone who “champions workers’ rights rather than suppresses them.”
Progressives and Democrats said they hoped Trump’s next pick for labor secretary would be someone with a clear willingness to speak up for disadvantaged workers.
“We need a labor secretary in the mainstream who supports the workplace protections that he or she would be charged with enforcing — and who cares about workers,” said Emily Martin, general counsel for the National Women’s Law Center, which opposed Puzder’s nomination because of “sexist” advertising run by Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s — two of Puzder’s restaurant chains — and reports of harassment from employees working for the chain.
Several names that had emerged on Trump’s shortlist for labor secretary late last year began recirculating Wednesday. Among them: Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. After Puzder’s withdrawal Wednesday, Walker tweeted: “The future is too bright in WI for me to do anything other than being Governor.”
Puzder would have been the first labor secretary since the Reagan era to take the job without some experience in public service. He made a minor foray into politics in 2011, when he served as an economic adviser and spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who recently endorsed his nomination.
In 2016, Puzder was an avid Trump supporter. In addition to serving as an economic adviser to his campaign, he and his wife, Deanna Puzder, contributed a total of $332,000 to Trump’s bid, joint fundraising committees and to the Republican National Committee, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Senators often do not weigh in on a nominee publicly until after a confirmation hearing, but Republicans have been mostly in lockstep to support Trump’s top Cabinet nominees. Only one other pick — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — drew as much public wavering among Republicans before his hearing, when five GOP senators expressed doubts. Ultimately, all of them voted for Tillerson.
Beyond the committee where Puzder was scheduled to appear Thursday, three other Republicans — John Thune (S.D.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) — publicly expressed concerns about his nomination.
Thune’s hesitancy was notable because he is the third-ranking Senate Republican and responsible for helping to build support for big-ticket GOP causes. He told reporters Wednesday that he wanted to know more about why Puzder employed an undocumented housekeeper and how he paid her. Tillis cited the same concerns to reporters.
Collins and Murkowski also voted against Betsy DeVos, Trump’s choice for education secretary, forcing Vice President Pence to become the first vice president to cast a tiebreaking confirmation vote for a Cabinet member. Both senators are among several who had seen footage of a 1990 “Oprah Winfrey Show” episode in which Puzder’s former wife appeared in disguise to describe allegations of domestic violence.
The health committee requested that Winfrey’s production company provide copies of the episode for senators to review. Puzder has always denied the allegations, and his ex-wife recanted the accusations in 1990 when the couple reached a child-custody agreement at the time of their divorce and again in a letter to senators last month.
Aides said before Puzder’s withdrawal that Portman was still reviewing his history and did not want to weigh in yet, but the senator represents a state where labor unions were building support against the nomination. Portman won reelection last year with the endorsement of several labor unions, a rare feat these days for a Republican.
[Oprah Winfrey’s TV network provided footage of interview tied to Andrew Puzder’s labor secretary nomination]
Another blow to Puzder’s chances came on Wednesday morning when the conservative National Review announced its opposition. The publication cited Puzder’s past support for increased levels of legal immigration for high-skilled or seasonal workers — a position at odds with Trump’s calls for limited legal immigration.
The magazine’s editors acknowledged “the impulse of the White House and the Senate to try to bulldog through rather than to give obstructionist Democrats a scalp.” But, they wrote, “The country, and the administration, can weather a redo on this one.”
The National Restaurant Association — which had marshaled members across the country to help Puzder — called his withdrawal “extremely unfortunate.”
“Andy Puzder would have made a great labor secretary,” said Cicely Simpson, the group’s executive vice president. “We hope that President Trump’s next labor secretary nominee, like Andy, has experience creating jobs and a deep understanding how to get business and government to work together to grow the economy.”
Paul Kane and Ashley Parker contributed to this report.
Read more at PowerPostHeat advisory issued for parts of Bay Area as temps soar
2-year-old Emelia Kekki plays at the South Sunset Playground in San Francisco this weekend. Temperatures are expected to soar again today throughout the Bay Area before a cool down starts on Tuesday.
2-year-old Emelia Kekki plays at the South Sunset Playground in San Francisco this weekend. Temperatures are expected to soar again today throughout the Bay Area before a cool down starts on Tuesday. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Heat advisory issued for parts of Bay Area as temps soar 1 / 7 Back to Gallery
For the second day in a row, a heat advisory was issued for parts of the Bay Area as temperatures were expected to soar close to triple digits in some inland areas, forecasters said.
In the East Bay, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Livermore and Dublin were forecast to push into the high 90s and possibly hit the century mark as hot weather persists around the region.
On Sunday, temperatures in San Francisco hit 90 degrees. The heat is expected to subside on Monday in the city, cooling down to the low 80s, forecasters said.
Sunday saw record-breaking heat in Richmond and Gilroy, which hit 96 and 104 respectively. The previous records for the date were 101 set in Gilroy in 2000 and 96 degrees set in Richmond in 1967,
Sweltering heat at the San Francisco International Airport tied its 1990 record for the date at 93 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued the heat advisory for non-coastal areas of the Bay Area, including the inland East Bay.
Video: Monday Morning Forecast With Julie Watts
Air-quality officials issued a “Spare the Air” day for Monday, warning residents of unhealthy levels of pollution due to stagnant air around the region.
Clear skies, hot temperatures and light winds typically contribute to higher levels of ozone in the air. Commuters are urged to avoid driving and to take public transportation if possible.
Monday’s hot weather will drop Tuesday to more comfortable seasonal normals that will continue through the week, according to the weather service.'Damascus a Ruinous Heap?' Christians Point to Isaiah 17:1 as Syria Conflict Rages
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On the heels of one of the bloodiest days Syria has experienced since fighting broke out last March, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has drawn the line in the sand in the city of Damascus, vowing to wipe out once and for all "terrorist" forces challenging the government. With residents getting a 48-hour warning to flee the capital and state forces promising to use all weapons at its disposal, many are wondering if the world is watching biblical prophecy unfold.
"See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins," reads the first verse of the 17th chapter of the prophetic book of Isaiah, believed by scholars to have been written between the late 8th and 7th centuries B.C |
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