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to take burst photos Press on lockscreen to show weather animation Various functions when pressed in a particular app: Toggle surround sound mode (???) while watching videos (unclear if this is only in Alcatel's content app Littlestar) Boost the loudness and bass of speakers while listening to music (presumably only stock apps, again) Increase clarity and loudness while on a call Create a photo collage while viewing moments in gallery (what) Apply video effects when watching a video (also what) Start a live stream video from the camera app (via an app called TiZR or something, which, alright) As a boost button in Asphalt Overdrive (really) Some of the key's functions are a bit strange. You can also customize the button to do one of the following, though that disables the above app effects (the sub-bullets). Tap to launch camera at any time Take an instant screenshot Start any app Do nothing Is this going to revolutionize the way you use your smartphone? Even be something you're likely to use regularly outside a camera quick-launch key? Let's be real: probably not. But Alcatel did put in some effort here, and none of this stuff really hurts anything, so it might appeal to somebody. It's nice sometimes to have a function key, I think we can all agree. The 4S also supports gestures like double-tap to wake, "drawing" gestures (think OnePlus) to launch any app you desire, flip to mute, some sort of "hover" gesture a la Samsung's Air View (but much more limited), and a glove mode toggle. Aside from that? It really is just kind of regular Android. Which is what I liked about the Idol 3. The questions come in regard to what "regular Android" looks like six months from now: will it be Marshmallow or Nougat? The Idol 3 took ages to be upgraded from Android 5.0 to 6.0 (5.1 was never released for it) - well over six months. If the Idol 4S takes as long to get Nougat, this phone really is only recommendable to those who don't feel much concern over their phone's current OS version. As to security updates, only time will tell if Alcatel plans to take them seriously (i.e., monthly). So, Alcatel's software is inoffensive, fairly close to a "Google" Android, and not loaded down with excessive bloat. In this area, the Idol 4S does quite well, it's just a matter of those pesky updates. Conclusion In short, there is nothing so terribly wrong with the Idol 4S. It has a great screen, solid performance, relatively bloat-free software with few unnecessary alterations, an OK camera, a robust set of speakers, and most of the major features you look for in a modern smartphone. The problem is that the game has changed: Alcatel's competition at this price point for unlocked smartphone buyers in the US is unquestionably fierce. And when placed against that competition, it's clear that the Idol 4S is an inferior value in most respects. It's slower, its camera isn't as good, its battery life is no better, its "quality" and design are nothing to get excited over, and it comes with OS update baggage that'd make Samsung blush. It's not that the Idol 4S is a bad phone, it's that other phones are better. And areas where the Idol 4S stumbles - a camera that sucks in low light, a bad fingerprint scanner, an exceptionally slippery design, and a lame VR experience meant to justify a price - are simply not acceptable in 2016. Not when other companies are offering better experiences for the same money. So, Alcatel, here's the rub: your phone is too expensive. Knock the price back to $300, and we'll talk. Not $350, not $329.99 - $300. When I can get a Nexus 5X that stomps this phone in most respects for less money - with the guarantee of proper OS update support - I'm not really interested, as an enthusiast. But for a casual consumer, $300 seems like an MSRP that fits the bill for the package this phone offers. Heck, ditch the gimmicky VR, unbundle the surprisingly decent headphones, get rid of the unnecessary glass cover panel and replace it with plastic and call it the 4S Lite or something. Until then, this phone's MSRP exists in a reality more virtual than that headset's. Pin Pinterest ⋆ Rec Recommend this Post 3 PART I: This Is Their Home Thirty concrete miles north of Detroit along Interstate 75, beyond the city bustle, before Flint and Saginaw and the intermittently wild offerings of all points "Up North," you find Auburn Hills -- population 20,000, Chrysler’s headquarters and, since 1988, home of the three-time world champion Pistons. In less than three decades, this once quiet hamlet has been transformed, from wood-knolled afterthought to critical economic engine amidst the chassis of suburban enclaves about the Detroit River's urban epicenter. To be sure, part of the town's bucolic past remains, in the two-lane streets of quaint developments and churches and the rolling woodlands hinting at a one-time namesake. But such pockets are becoming increasingly isolated, as the humbled but still humming auto industry, buttressed by an attendant cadre of increasingly global suppliers, unfolds apace. What compelled William Davidson, late and lauded former owner, to bring the Pistons here? William Davidson with his '04 title-winning team. (Getty Images) Driving through Auburn Hills -- the scores of hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers brightly lit buoys astride an asphalt sea -- it's hard not to wonder: What exactly compelled William Davidson, late and lauded former owner, to bring the Pistons here? What about this town, suspended above the tumult of Motown, might a franchise find worth nailing down stakes? Was it simply a matter of cheap land, low taxes, and a small town eager for recognition? Were Davidson and the Auburn Hills brass simply ahead of the curve, privy to a changing ownership landscape where professional franchises needed no longer depend upon a built-in urban infrastructure and public largesse? To help me answer these and other questions, I'm invited on a tour of Auburn Hills by City Manager Pete Auger -- Michigan native, ex-cop, 6'5" stock Midwest-common as smiles and nasally vowels. We meet at Auger's City Hall office, situated within a stately municipal campus of charmingly incongruous buildings alongside winding brick paths. From here, he invites me on a 45-minute traipse through the miles of warehouses and two-story factories, tawny housing developments and newly brick-buttressed downtown that pepper the townscape. Five years ago, right before Auger would assume his current role, the city's prospects -- like those of many of its neighbors -- were shaky. Few regions had been more thoroughly devastated by the collapse of the housing market and subsequent economic meltdown than Metro Detroit, and not even the sturdiest of suburban outposts were immune to the ripple effects. By the time the city had narrowed down its list of candidates, Auger's platform was unmistakable. "My position was you can do one of two things at this point," Auger recalls. "You can batten the hatches, manage your decline and ride out the storm. Or you can take this opportunity to build the next evolution of the city. And the City Council chose the latter." Auger's pro-growth perspective encapsulates the Auburn Hills experience -- from incorporation to critical hub in less than three decades, a daytime workforce population four times that of the permanent residency; and a commitment to what Auger calls "radical hospitality." That might sound like boilerplate Chamber-speak, but the implications, vis-à-vis the Pistons in particular, are profound: By targeting the upper management of Chrysler, AT&T, or any of the dozens of other companies that call Auburn Hills home, the team avoids relying too heavily on fans making the haul up from Detroit and points south and west. And as that business base assumes -- like the game itself -- an increasingly international makeup, the prospects for a more consistent attendance base are only heightened. Not surprisingly, Auger is quick to praise the bygone tenure of Bill Davidson, attributing the late owner's intimate involvement with the team and its adopted city to the proximity of his financial cornerstone, Guardian Glass. He commends Davidson for "not being one of those absentee owners you see so often with other teams." More specifically, Auger touts his city's commitment to private enterprise and business-friendly policies for first wooing Davidson in the first place, while taking a gentle jab at the whole notion of publicly-financed stadiums. "I think ownership has value. When you own something, you take care of it and maintain it," he says. "When an authority or a public entity owns it, who takes care of it? Who's responsible for long-term growth, versus short-term gratification? That aspect of [ownership] having control over their own destiny, and over their own success and failure, plays into the American work ethic, where their skin's on the line every day." you'd be hard-pressed to conjure a near-future scenario where the Pistons tuck tail back to the big city. In Tom Gores, CEO of Platinum Equity, Auger sees an owner committed to bolstering "the Piston brand" -- shorthand for the seemingly symbiotic public-private relationship fostered over the last quarter-century. Indeed, with millions in renovations recently completed and a slew still slated, you'd be hard-pressed to conjure a near-future scenario where the Pistons tuck tail back to the big city. Even the simple suggestion that the team has somehow found itself in a kind of permanent exile -- plucked up like a helpless cub from a den -- raises Auger's bristles. "This has been the Pistons' home longer than anywhere else in their history. When people say it has to go home, well, this is home. This is their home." And, if the city's renaissance becomes a reality, why would the Pistons eschew their Detroit roots? "Exactly why they're here now: Because it makes sense for their business model," Auger says. "It has to make sense to be profitable as a business. Otherwise it won't work. And that's our largest challenge with subsidized stadiums: You're competing with one of our taxpayers, and you have an advantage, because you're using other people's money. Red Wings, you want to build a new stadium? That's great -- it's a great game. So build a stadium!" Toward the end of our sojourn, Auger wheels the Jeep into one of the Palace's principal entrances, closed off today by a large yellow gate. A full 27 years after the first shovel split soil, the Palace still cuts quite the view, its diamond-patterned brick and gleaming glass atrium -- part of the most recent string of renovations -- standing in handsome relief against the slate gray sky. Less elegant is the Auburn Hills landfill, located directly to the north behind the Palace. Even from a marginal distance, the mound, with tiny bulldozers rolling up its embankments like a toddler's toys, is hard to miss. I didn't ask about the landfill, mostly because I didn't think it was all that important. But there's certainly a poeticism to it all: This tremendous totem to one man's vision -- a butte of basketball brains and business balls -- flanked by a constant olfactory reminder that, even out where times are good and the streets are safe, you can't outrun all the city's dead debris. PART II: The Laws of Flight Eighty-two. A number that rings friendly to fans of the NBA -- the set, serotonin-surging signifier for campaigns just around the corner, and the trusty in-season check on emotions to either extreme. In this respect, the Detroit Pistons are like any other NBA team: Saddled with equal parts doubt and hope and set in the knowledge that, whatever shores the ship steers toward, they'll have 82 tries to right it. But in the pre-dawn dark of July 23, 1967, no one expected 82. Meaning none among the Detroit Police detail bent on busting the speakeasy still running strong at just shy of 4 a.m. above a nondescript printing shop on the Corner of Clairmount and 12th. A few hours earlier, the then-sober doorman had denied entry to a small, suspicious looking undercover contingent. But they soon returned, this time managing to mix in with a late-arriving group. On the other side of the door, 82 people gathered to welcome home a pair of GIs on leave from Vietnam -- a few cold ones after a sweltering summer day. Rather than shut the party down and arrest the proprietors, police chose instead to apprehend all in attendance, filing them out piecemeal and in full view of a fast-growing crowd. A fleet of paddy wagons, conscripted from neighboring precincts, arrived to transport the detained down to central booking. Accounts of what happened next -- or anyway, the events' degrees -- depend largely upon what witness you ask. But a few facts appear historically cemented: A broken bottle, hurled at the cops by the club owner's son; a frenzy whipped; pockets of looting centered principally around the predominantly black neighborhood near West Grand Boulevard; countless storefronts shattered, 2,000 buildings burned, a governor-decreed "state of insurrection"; the state police and National Guard; tens of millions of dollars in damages; 7,000 arrested; 189 injured; and 43 dead -- 33 of them African-American. Riot prisoners in 1967. ( Courtesy Wystan, Flickr Creative Commons) Detroit's four-day rage became the largest, most destructive, and costliest in U.S. history. Eight months before the slaying of Martin Luther King ignited a string of conflagrations across the country, Detroit's four-day rage became the largest, most destructive, and costliest in U.S. history -- in, bodies, bounty and social breadth --rivaled only by the New York City Draft Riots more than a century earlier. Upon taking stock of the damage, Mayor Jerome Cavanagh lamented, "Today we stand amidst the ashes of our hopes. We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was enough to prevent a riot. It was not enough." In the decades that followed, Detroit would see its population more than halved -- from a 1.8 million in 1950 to a hamlet over 700,000 in 2012 -- by a heady combination of corruption, fast-fading industrial might and festering racial tensions. One could almost be forgiven fingers pointed, whatever the target, upon hearing the more macabre details of the city's demise: The record-breaking bankruptcy, hour-long 911 waits, roving throngs of abandoned dogs, morgues where the bodies go unclaimed and only the smell escapes. As with many of the urban flare-ups that peppered 1960s, what happened in the four hellish days and nights between July 23 and 27th, 1967 has become something of a convenient rhetorical crutch; a way to both peg responsibility for Detroit's woes to a singular incendiary incident and, more cynical still, rationalize the resulting socioeconomic chasms as all but insurmountable. Really, the seeds of suburban migration had been sown long before. A recent investigation by the Detroit Free Press proves just how consistent the demographic shifts had been: All cities spread out postwar into the farmland at their perimeters. Automakers and road builders eager to sell cars, home builders eager to sell new houses, village mayors eager for new taxes -- all promoted suburban growth. So did the federal government with its subsidies and tax incentives. Eager for elbow room, families in crowded cities like Detroit and Cleveland and St. Louis began moving to the new communities. The process of spreading out hasn't stopped yet. Discriminatory practices, such as redlining -- denying minority buyers mortgages and access to homes in white neighborhoods -- made the process in Detroit and many other cities an ugly one. Unscrupulous real estate agents encouraged white flight by stoking some whites' fears of black people moving in next door. Rancor ran deep... Even by the late 1950s, the signs of strain were showing in industrial cities. Population and housing values peaked in Detroit in the 1950s and began their long and seemingly unstoppable decline. The urban riots of the 1960s, including Detroit's, accelerated the process. Historical nuance aside, it's difficult to discount the racial and generational gashes exacted by the riot's aftermath. For far too many, 1967 represents the moment when trust -- between black and white, young and old, capital and labor -- was broken for good. That discrimination existed well before one late night raid on a minority-run speakeasy; that the city's well-documented role as a place of relative racial harmony amounted to a lesser among evils; that it's difficult to build a tax base where pensioned manufacturing becomes usurped by a low-paying service; that healing only begins when "back then" becomes "wasn't that long ago" -- these are just a few of the difficult discursive threads that Detroit has yet to tease out. Of 122 professional teams that make up North America's major sports, none are further afield from their namesake city than the Pistons. For now, "rebuild" has replaced "reconcile" as the prevailing mantra. Over the last decade-and-a-half, sweeping efforts to resurrect Detroit's once mighty downtown have continued in fits and starts. Central to the controversial plan has been the building of two new stadiums, Ford Field and Comerica Park -- both largely publicly financed -- closer to Joe Louis Arena and the Detroit River waterfront. Ditto the construction of the Motor City and Greektown Casinos, two hotly contested mega-projects launched under the auspices of an economic jumpstart. The logic, though debatable, was enticingly simple: Jobs where jobs were needed most, wages notwithstanding. All the while, after decades of fortunes ranging from futility to plucky failure, the Detroit Pistons were busy building their own legacy free from the complex politics and tumult of Motown's madding crowds. This much is known: Of the 122 professional teams that make up North America's four major sports, none are further afield from their namesake city than the Pistons. Another fact: Bill Davidson remains the only owner in NBA history to finance a new arena entirely with private funds -- $70 million for a facility that proved a sports-entertainment game-changer, and one which most laud as state-of-the-art even today. Far murkier is how such a legendary basketball breeding ground could have its team spirited away, first as a high-rent tenant, then to a city incorporated just six years before. Was Davidson's decision to one predicated on simple economics? Politics? Shifting demographics? Some combination of the three? Now that the team is under new ownership -- sold following Davidson's death in 2009 -- what prospects, if any, are there for an eventual return to Detroit? Should there be any? Finally, and perhaps most complex of all: What does the team's exurban exodus, unfurled in a marketing mash of Bad Boys black and "Motor City" alternates, reveal about the identity politics of sports in the 21st century? For a city decades deep in loss and repeatedly unjustly left for dead, answers -- any answers -- can only help. PART III: The Rising Son More hoops from SB Nation • Team-by-team NBA preview • VIDEO: Welcome back, NBA • Can KD catch LeBron? • Who should you watch this year? • Full Pistons coverage: Detroit Bad Boys If Auburn Hills represents the new-moneyed flashpoint of Detroit's capital flight, Birmingham is the old gilt guard -- a totem to decades of industrial muscle-flexing mobility and a popular haven for the Big Three's white collared gentry. In a region where subdivided development has long been the order, Birmingham maintains an unmistakably East Coast aura: Well-worn brick buildings, winding downtown roads and a preponderance of restaurants, bars and boutique shops that make the town's motto -- "A Walkable Community" -- sound overly coy. Here, in one of the city's tony pocket neighborhoods, lives Ethan Davidson, son of the late William Davidson and current treasurer of his father's eponymous foundation. After years spent in the service of his second passion -- a blues-roots musical career that begat a series of albums and a staggering 900 live shows in six years -- Ethan returned to Michigan in 2005 to help spearhead the new organization, launched posthumously at the elder Davidson's request. He also took on the additional, largely ceremonial position of team historian, in the process putting a forgotten era more squarely into the franchise spotlight. "At the time we were right in the middle of expanding the practice facility, and I remember thinking: Why not delve a little deeper into the team history?" Davidson recalls. "I thought there should be a Pistons Hall of Fame. Now, my Dad had done a Greatest Players of the Detroit Era, but we'd never really brought the Fort Wayne Era into the picture." Though his father would pass away before the Pistons Hall of Fame was completed, Davidson's stately 1920s stone manor includes a miniature rendering of the exhibit, complete with a wood-paneled half court, scaled-down banners and player portraits spanning the entirety of the team's history, from George Yardley to Rasheed Wallace. From our perch one-half flight up from the court, it's hard not to appreciate the room's intergenerational air: The father's Springfield-enshrined legacy, the son's totemic homage, and the grandkids' Playskool universe packed into the floor's gleaming corners. Isiah Thomas. (Getty Images) "In a way it was the secret weapon behind the two championships and that whole incredible run." If anyone can be said to have "grown up with" a team, it's Ethan Davidson. He was just five years old when William first purchased the Pistons in 1974. The price? Six million dollars, all for a team that, in the estimation of former owner Fred Zollner, hadn't turned a profit in 17 years (the team sold for $325 million in 2011). He remembers hearing his dad talk about the resistance he'd met when he moved the team out of the city. "Davidson's Folly," they called it. He recalls the decade they spent playing second fiddle at the Pontiac Silverdome, the hulking 82,000-seat former home of the Lions, where for years the Piston locker room doubled as storage for parking lot snowplows. Most of all, Ethan Davidson remembers the thrill of watching a young contender, thwarted first by the Celtics and then by the Lakers, finally put it all together. And in year one of the new digs, no less. "I think the team really felt like they had their own private space that really belonged to them," Davidson says. "And I think it did help, no question about it. In a way it was the secret weapon behind the two championships and that whole incredible run." An on-site practice facility, cutting-edge training equipment, private jetliner (a first), lower-level suites, locker room mercifully free of enormous maintenance equipment -- whether the Palace's groundbreaking amenities played a quantifiable role in the team's success is difficult to say. But it certainly didn't hurt. Whatever's said about his motivations for moving the Pistons in the first place, few owners have been as committed to investing in creature comforts -- for fan and player both -- as Bill Davidson. "In a lot of ways, he changed the way basketball -- and to a similar extent hockey -- is presented," Ethan Davidson says. "Even arenas being built today have been influenced by what he did 25 years ago." It was that kind of visionary acumen that helped Davidson amass a lifetime net worth of over $3 billion, enough to buy not only the Pistons, but the WNBA's Detroit Shock and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning as well. Still, despite the vast family fortune, Karen Davidson -- without the kind of leverage that Guardian Glass had afforded her late husband -- sold the team in 2011 to the investment group headed by Tom Gores. For his part, and despite unsubstantiated rumblings of an eventual move back to Detroit, Ethan Davidson, who says he still occasionally travels with the team, surmises the franchise remains in capable hands. "Tom and his team have treated me like family," he says. "Whatever they decide to do, I'm sure it will be a decision that makes sense for the future of the team." The Pistons' Davidson Era might be over, but his foundation is picking up where William -- renowned for philanthropic efforts ranging from poverty in Detroit to ancient architectural renovations in Israel -- left off. According to a court filing submitted by the family earlier this year, the foundation awarded close to $46 million in philanthropic grants in 2012, many of them for projects and partnerships based in Detroit. A recent Free Press feature highlights just how ambitious the Davidson Foundation, now with more than $1 billion at its disposal, intends to be: They've already allocated $1 million apiece to the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theater. And that's just the start, thanks to a law requiring that five percent of the foundation's assets be spent annually. Meaning upwards of $50 million a year in forthcoming grants, projects, and initiatives, much of which the foundation has said will be spent on Detroit's educational and cultural revitalization. "if you told me we could have basketball and hockey in a new downtown arena, I think that would be phenomenal." When it comes to the future of the Pistons, Davidson admits the foundation can't "do anything to make a sporting reality happen [in Detroit]." Still, Davidson's inherent fondness for his home state's most iconic city suggests even he, the son of the man who risked all to free a struggling team from the pitfalls and the pressures of its city's painful decay, wouldn't mind seeing a prodigal return. "Look," he says, "I love the Palace. I was working there when we were building the place, you know? I've slept in that building. I have a special affinity for it. But 20 years from now, who knows? The more activity you have down there, the better. So sure, if you told me we could have basketball and hockey in a new downtown arena -- especially if we didn't have to have the taxpayers pay for it -- I think that would be phenomenal." PART IV: From Broadway to Spaceship It was the quaint, little ritual for many a Michigan kid: Trying to spot the Silverdome's bulbous white roof out in the middle distance driving in either direction down I-75. But for whatever reason, safety or sheer lack of practice, probably, I couldn't spot the stadium while making my way up to Auburn Hills to meet with Pete Auger. Only when we approached the intersection of Opdyke and Featherstone, on the Pontiac-Auburn Hills border, did it hit me: The Silverdome's trademark cap was no longer, taken down following a brutal January snowstorm heavy with whipping winds. "Do they still use it for anything, even occasionally?" I asked Auger. "Occasionally," he said. True, the Detroit Mechanix, one of the eight teams that make up the American Ultimate Disc League, had called the Silverdome home for their 2012 season. During the preceding 10 years, following the Lions' move downtown and into the brand new, publicly-financed Ford Field, the stadium's temporary inhabitants were as infrequent as they were culturally far-flung: Minor-league hockey teams and Jehovah's Witnesses, motor sports and marching bands. Despite receiving an $18 million offer from United Assurance Company Ltd. earlier that year, the city of Pontiac chose instead to put the stadium -- by then costing the municipality upwards of $1.5 million in annual maintenance -- up for auction in 2008, with no minimum bid. The Silverdome. ( Courtesy Dave Hogg, Flickr Creative Commons) this wasn't supposed to be the fate: Sold for the price of a McMansion to a guy from Toronto. The stadium was eventually sold to a Canadian real estate developer. The winning bid: $550,000, or about one percent of the Silverdome's initial 1975 construction cost (0.002 percent, if you take the inflation-adjusted construction costs of $238 million). Naturally, national news outlets swarmed the story, advancing it as a microcosm of the jarring market tumult that had befallen the region. For a stadium that hosted a Super Bowl, college bowl games and high school state championships, countless monster truck rallies, concerts and trade shows, four World Cup teams, and one 23-year attendance record -- 93,000-plus for Wrestlemania III in 1987 -- this wasn't supposed to be the fate: Sold for the price of a McMansion to a guy from Toronto. That's not how John Salley cares to remember it. Salley, the Pistons' first-round pick in 1986 and a formidable reserve for the back-to-back Championship-winning Bad Boys of the late ‘80s, arrived in Detroit just weeks after Bill Davidson had broken ground on the soon-to-be Palace. And while most retrospectives will point to the Silverdome's awkward basketball setup and barebones accommodations as potholes on the road to smoother cruising, Salley's is a recollection steeped in something sweeter. "Playing inside the Silverdome was amazing," he says, over the phone and with his trademark, bone-dry wit. "It was cold. But stepping up on that stage, in an arena where everyone can afford a ticket, in the corner of a football stadium, it was all about getting on that stage. Remember Dennis [Rodman] getting sued for diving after the ball? It was like being on Broadway, man. You can't explain it." Salley, now six years into a vegan lifestyle that has spawned a second career of sorts -- "Wellness Advocate," PETA champion and the face behind Vegan Vine Wines -- likened the Silverdome's fervor to Michigan Stadium, that vaunted Mecca of 110,000-plus 50 miles to the south in Ann Arbor. "it was this roar, like being right next to an airplane." John Salley. (Getty Images) "All [the fans] had to do was buy a coffee can, not even a $5 ticket," he recalls, before citing one, especially rancorous playoff encounter. "And it was this roar, like being right next to an airplane. And to play in that game, to beat the Celtics, and to watch them walk off the court, the great Larry Bird with Danny Ainge in tow, the defeated giants. I'll never forget that." The Pistons would go on to lose to the Lakers in the Finals, a punishing seven-game series remembered as much for L.A.'s fifth ‘80s title as Isiah Thomas' mesmerizing 25-point ankle-shredded fourth quarter in a 103-102 Game 6 loss. The next year, the Pistons would officially christen its sparkling new digs -- five short miles and three turns down the road from the Silverdome -- by bringing home the franchise's first championship hardware since winning the World Professional Basketball tournament in 1946. That the Pistons were able to exorcise decades of demons by virtue of improved day-to-day amenities might sound like an oversimplification, particularly in light of the team's already blossoming chemistry. But for Salley, the advantages of home -- theirs and only theirs, and the best and brightest ever built -- were paramount. "The Silverdome has those memories for me," Salley says. "But then, being ahead of the game the next year, having the private jet so we didn't have to spend the night in places, didn't have to go through all the different energies of the airport, the delayed flights -- that was the difference." As with others, Salley's recollection of Davidson was one an owner as concerned with bells and whistles as bottom lines. In Salley's words, "He owned the basketball team, and he treated it as such." Even today, the hallmarks of Davidson's crown jewel remain industry exemplars: 22,076 seats (still the most in the NBA); nearly 200 luxury suites, consistently leased even in lean times; and more than $10 million in upgrades, tweaks, and amenities designed to maintain relevance even when buildings of a similar vintage -- Joe Louis Arena being one -- stall to aesthetic stale. Even 20 years on, Salley recalls a venue a cut above the competition, and a tough, swarming team to match. "At the time, there was no arena that could touch the Palace," he says. "Eighty million dollars, man. I remember we were putting speakers under the stands. I mean, even the ability to do that was amazing. It was just a great facility. Even when you walk in, you feel like a champion. It felt like it was a place that was just waiting for us to win, and that's exactly what it did." That's not to say Salley's was a solely suburban existence, however. He and Rick Mahorn, arguably the baddest of the Bad Boys, were two of the only Pistons to make their home within Detroit's City limits. Even after being traded to the Heat ahead of the '92-'93 season, Salley would make the occasional visit back to Motown, marveling always at the town's top-tier sports moxie. "I love the city," he says. "I went down to Ford Field for the Super Bowl. I went to a Red Wings game, and it's always unbelievable to see how the city responds, and how it is downtown when the money's actually coming into downtown. And I think if we'd had that, it would've been an unbelievable look." Still, Salley is fast to couple his fondness for Detroit with a string of caveats: That it doesn't really matter where you play if you're a professional athlete -- "In Sacramento, you were basically in a cow pasture" -- because, at the end of the day, "you're there to put on a show." That, for as earnest as Detroit's rebuilding efforts have been, "if the people don't have jobs and the city can't afford to keep the lights on, how are you going to light up an arena? Just having the people down there doesn't guarantee attendance." "It looked like a spaceship, powerful and pretty." Outside of The Palace. (USA Today Images) That the Palace's persistent beauty -- "It looked like a spaceship, coming up 75, powerful and pretty" -- has earned it the inside track. That there was and remains something admirable in Bill Davidson's batshit-crazy gambit: "Just to think about that being built out there, building where you have space. It was that whole build it and they will come mentality, and he did." And yet, that leap of faith, from the tragic facts etched about the bones of a city both bankrupt and bereft of real second chances, to a recognition of redemption, was one that Salley couldn't help but conjure, albeit in heroic hindsight: "If we'd been lucky enough to be a part of that growth that's been happening, that building, maybe the city wouldn't be in the financial state it's in." PART V: A Hassle-Free Revolution Of all things Michigan I miss most, mornings like this might top the list: Chronically gray, threatening rain, but in a way that secures and warms rather than chills. On this especially cloudy Sunday, I decide to head into Detroit by way of Woodward Avenue, an iconic artery extending from downtown north through a series of stately suburbs and ending in Pontiac, another once proud automotive hub now ensconced in similar struggles with its fast-shifting postindustrial identity. Just weeks before, the road had played host to the Woodward Dream Cruise, an annual showcase of Big Three classics, muscle cars, hot rods and other four-wheeled ephemera drawing upwards of 1.5 million visitors and 40,000 cars annually. Where once rose the brick and concrete molars of America's sturdiest postwar jaw, now stand myriad bombed-out pockets. Woodward has been the site of street races, sanctioned and unsanctioned, since the mid 19th century, but today the lanes are quiet, with most of the traffic nestled against church and storefront curbs. You get your first glimpse of Detroit's sparse Spartan skyline as you crest 8 Mile Road, one of the many east-west numbered byways running sequentially south to north throughout the metro corridor. Past the old Michigan State Fairgrounds, once hopping, now a mesa of cracked concrete and sprouting weeds. Through Highland Park, now a dozen years removed from a crippling economic breakdown that resulted in a state takeover -- Detroit's precursor in miniature -- and the home of Ford's now derelict flagship auto plant. Here the blight becomes more noticeable: The liquor stores and check-cashing joints minor measles masking the tumors of destruction and neglect out in the city's vast interior. Where once rose the brick and concrete molars of America's sturdiest postwar jaw, now stand myriad bombed-out pockets, strings of broken British teeth strewn atop a metro moonscape large enough to fit all of Manhattan, Boston, and San Francisco. Literally tens of thousands of one-time homes, now tombs for squatters and murder victims either left to rot or burned with the building itself. Corktown. ( Courtesy Sam Beebe, Flickr Creative Commons) Into Midtown, where the Detroit Institute of Arts -- lately the subject of its own financial saga -- stands gleaming and stately in architectural pride against the ennui. Around Comerica Park and the teems of fans arrived early for the 1 p.m. first pitch, taking a right past Hockeytown Café and the vaunted Fox Theatre, cornerstones of the city's new entertainment hub. A couple quick rights to double back northwest, you're in Corktown, Detroit's oldest official neighborhood and a more clandestine magnet for the city's rehabilitation efforts. Through long stretches of chain-link fences, the grounds of old Tiger Stadium -- that classic steel bandbox of so many legendary players and teams -- sleep empty, waiting now only for the next winter's freeze. I'm here to meet PJ Ryder, proprietor of PJ's Lager House, a near century-old Corktown staple, first a bakery and restaurant, then a beer garden the instant Prohibition was repealed, now trafficking in loud music, local food and a quintessentially Motown verve. The house calendar is perpetually packed with acts local, regional and national alike (The White Stripes were once observant fixtures), but right now the
$220 million on-campus stadium will have a capacity of 41,000, and is located in the heart of campus, at the intersection of Pitkin and Meridian (Hughes Stadium is located approximately three miles west of campus). The state-of-the-art, multi-purpose stadium will have the ability to be used by multiple sports teams and will have an alumni center and academic space built in. Site prep began in May, and a groundbreaking ceremony took place prior to the Rams' contest against Minnesota in September. More information, including a webcam on the construction site and photos and video, can be found at stadium.colostate.edu. 2015 HIGHLIGHTSBEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a new digital restoration of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary on Thursday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will feature a post-screening onstage discussion with director Robert Zemeckis and members of the cast and crew, including actress Joanna Cassidy, voice actor Charles Fleischer, supervising animator Andreas Deja, screenwriter Peter S. Seaman and associate producers Don Hahn and Steve Starkey. The panel will be moderated by director Rich Moore, who received an Oscar® nomination for Animated Feature Film for “Wreck-It Ralph” this past year. A masterful blend of live-action filmmaking and classic animation, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” boldly announced the rebirth of the Disney animation studio. The film endures as an inventive tribute to animation’s golden age that also set a new standard for what the medium could achieve. “‘Roger Rabbit’ brought together the greatest animators, the most skilled technicians, and the finest talent of the day,” said Zemeckis. “It’s good to have this chance to show our work to both those who remember the film as well as to a new audience.” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988) received Oscars® for Film Editing, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects, and a Special Achievement Award for Richard Williams’s animation direction. It also was nominated for Art Direction, Cinematography and Sound. This digital restoration is provided courtesy of the Walt Disney Studios. The Disney restoration team used the original 35mm picture, VistaVision optical work and original sound elements to create this pristine digital version. Tickets for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased online at oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office, or by mail. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit oscars.org.Activists say fighters belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have captured a major military air base in northeastern Syria, eliminating the last government-held outpost in an area dominated by the extremist group, the Associated Press reported. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the militants broke through the Tabqa air field’s defenses Sunday and routed the government forces. Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman says some army troops also withdrew from the base, and the ISIS group is now in full control of the facility. The SANA state news agency confirmed that the government had lost the air base, saying troops "are successfully reassembling after evacuating the airport." Clashes kill 500 Syrian soldiers, militants Meanwhile, more than 500 Syrian soldiers and ISIS fighters died in Raqa after clashes, the Observatory said. The Observatory said 346 militants and 25 Syrian troops had been killed in the fighting at the airport since last Tuesday, with another 170 soldiers dying during fierce fighting on Sunday. “One hundred and seventy Syrian soldiers were killed on Sunday in the offensive which led to the ISIS militants seizing Tabqa airport,” the Observatory said in an email to AFP. Syrian state television said troops had staged an “evacuation” of the airport. “After heavy fighting by the forces defending the Tabqa airport, our forces implemented a regrouping operation after the evacuation of the airport,” the broadcaster said in a breaking news alert. The airport was the last military position under army control in Raqa, after jihadists captured Brigade 93 and Division 17, killing dozens of soldiers, many of whom were beheaded. Last Update: Sunday, 24 August 2014 KSA 21:33 - GMT 18:33The Drivers Of Tropical Deforestation Are Changing The United Nations estimates that some 13 million hectares (33 million acres) of tropical forest are destroyed each year; but these numbers mask a transition from mostly subsistence-driven to mostly corporate-driven forest destruction, say Butler and Laurance. by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Aug 08, 2008 A shift from poverty-driven to industry-driven deforestation threatens the world's tropical forests but offers new opportunities for conservation, according to an article coauthored by William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. "New Strategies for Conserving Tropical Forests" will be featured in the September issue of the leading journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Rhett Butler of Mongabay.com, a leading tropical-forest Web site, and Laurance argue that the sharp increase in deforestation by big corporations provides environmental lobby groups with clear, identifiable targets that can be pressured to be more responsive to environmental concerns. "Rather than being dominated by rural farmers, tropical deforestation is increasingly driven by major industries-especially large-scale farming, mining, and logging," said Laurance. "Although this trend is pretty scary, it's also much easier to target a handful of global corporations than many millions of poor farmers." The United Nations estimates that some 13 million hectares (33 million acres) of tropical forest are destroyed each year; but these numbers mask a transition from mostly subsistence-driven to mostly corporate-driven forest destruction, say Butler and Laurance. According to the authors, a global financial market and a worldwide commodity boom are creating conditions ripe for corporate exploitation of the environment. Surging demand for grain, driven by the thirst for biofuels and rising standards of living in developing countries, is also fueling this trend. "Green groups are learning to use public boycotts and embarrassment to target the corporate bad guys," said Butler. "And it works-we're already seeing the global soy, palm oil, and timber industries beginning to change their approach. They're realizing they can't run roughshod over the environment-it's just too risky for them." "In addition, some massive financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America, have altered their lending practices after coming under fire from environmentalists," said Butler. "Environmental groups are using carrots as well as sticks," said Laurance. "Many multinational corporations are developing greener products because they're more profitable. For example, the market for eco-friendly timber products is expected to be worth tens of billions of dollars in the U.S. by 2010." "We argue that the public and green groups need to send a loud, clear message to the corporate sector," said Laurance. "There's just no profit in destroying the natural world."It is once again that season when you ask yourself and others: “How to prepare a turkey this time?” We always hope to learn some new tricks and surprise our family with new and tastier Thanksgiving feast this year! The whole process starts when we make decision of what to buy. The best thing would be to order from a butcher but not all of us can afford that luxury. Turkey is always tastier if it is not frozen, but do not worry, if you have to go with the frozen one, it is still O.K. Just buy it ahead of the time and let it thaw. Wash the inside of the bird with cold running water, drain well, and blot dry with a few kitchen towels. Now you should season the turkey inside and outside. There is endless combination of spices that you can use. I prefer seasoning salt with black paper and minced garlic. It is good to rub it onto skin. Leave turkey in the refrigerator overnight. Part of that process of “how to prepare a turkey” is to decide how long to bake it. Next time table may be of help to you as a guidelines but keep in mind it is very important that you take the turkey out of the fridge a good hour before you want to start cooking it, so that turkey is at room temperature when you begin. Weight is given in kilos as well as in pounds and temperature is given in Celsius as well es Fahrenheit degrees. TURKEY COOKING TIMES Weight of bird Cooking time 2.25kg/5lb 1 ½ hours 3.5kg/8lb 1 ¾ hours 4.5kg/10lb 2 hours 5.5kg/12lb 2 ½ hours 6.75kg/15lb 2 ¾ hours 7.5kg/17lb 3 hours 9kg/20lb 3 ½ hours 11.5kg/25lb 4 ½ hours If this timing looks too short to you, do not worry you are going to have perfectly cooked and juicy meat. Just make sure that the turkey is at room temperature before you put it in the oven, it is very important! People have tendency to overcook turkey which results in dryness of the meat. Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Rub the turkey breast with a little butter. Put the turkey breast-down in the roasting tray, because the only fat deposits in a turkey are in the back and this allows them to pass through the breast meat as it cooks. This way the breast squishes down a bit, but you get more tender and succulent meat. You sacrifice little bit of aesthetic for higher quality. Keep the oven at 200C/400F for the first 30 minutes, and then turn it down to 180C/350F. Continue to bake and turn the turkey the right way up for the last half hour of cooking to brown. To check if the turkey is ready, poke a skewer or fork where the meat is thickest – behind the knee joint of the thigh – and if it is cooked, the juices will run clear. Cover turkey with the foil and let it seat for an hour away from an open window. It will be easier to carve. Next time when you want to find out how to prepare a turkey, please bookmark this page. Turkey feast is good not only for Thanksgiving, but for Christmas, Easter or any other time you have family and friends for a nice diner!SHARE Lowe's recently began notifying an undisclosed number of current and former employees that their personal information may have been disclosed when a third-party vendor mistakenly backed up Lowe's employee data to an unsecured server. The vendor, SafetyFirst, manages an online database called E-DriverFile, which stores compliance information related to current and former drivers of Lowe's vehicles, as well as information about current and former employees who administer the system. The data stored in E-DriverFile includes names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, sales IDs, and other driving record information. "Promptly after learning of the potential issue, SafetyFirst blocked access to the unsecured backup server and retained data security experts to conduct an investigation of the incident," Lowe's vice president of human resources Scott Purvis wrote in the notification letter [PDF]. "That investigation determined that personal information from the backup server may have been accessed between July 2013 and April 2014." https://o1.qnsr.com/log/p.gif?;n=203;c=204660766;s=9477;x=7936;f=201812281312070;u=j;z=TIMESTAMP;a=20392931;e=i All those whose Social Security numbers and/or driver's license numbers may have been exposed are being offered one free year of credit protection services from AllClear ID.The production of solar energy in cities is clearly a way to diminish our dependency to fossil fuels, and is a good way to mitigate global warming by lowering the emission of greenhouse gases. However, what are the impacts of solar panels locally? To evaluate their influence on urban weather, it is necessary to parameterize their effects within the surface schemes that are coupled to atmospheric models. The present paper presents a way to implement solar panels in the Town Energy Balance scheme, taking account of the energy production (for thermal and photovoltaic panels), the impact on the building below and feedback toward the urban micro-climate through radiative and convective fluxes. A scenario of large but realistic deployment of solar panels on the Paris metropolitan area is then simulated. It is shown that solar panels, by shading the roofs, slightly increases the need for domestic heating (3%). In summer, however, the solar panels reduce the energy needed for air-conditioning (by 12%) and also the Urban Heat Island (UHI): 0.2 K by day and up to 0.3 K at night. These impacts are larger than those found in previous works, because of the use of thermal panels (that are more efficient than photovoltaic panels) and the geographical position of Paris, which is relatively far from the sea. This means that it is not influenced by sea breezes, and hence that its UHI is stronger than for a coastal city of the same size. But this also means that local adaptation strategies aiming to decrease the UHI will have more potent effects. In summary, the deployment of solar panels is good both globally, to produce renewable energy (and hence to limit the warming of the climate) and locally, to decrease the UHI, especially in summer, when it can constitute a health threat. 1. Introduction Renewable energy is seen as a necessary step toward sustainable energy development, diminution of the use of fossil fuels and mitigation of climate change, as stated for example by Elliott (2000): “With concerns about Climate Change growing, the rapid development of renewable energy technologies looks increasingly important.” However, the recent analysis of Nugent and Sovacool (2014) showed that, when their complete life-cycle is considered, renewable energies are not CO 2 sinks yet. Nevertheless their greenhouses gas emission rate per unit of energy produced is much less than for energy sources based on fossil fuels and slightly less than for nuclear power. They also “uncover best practices in wind and solar design and deployment that can better inform climate change mitigation efforts in the electricity sector.” Elliott (2000) underlines that renewable energy deployment requires a new paradigm, of decentralized energy production and small production systems. The implementation of renewable energy will need social and institutional changes, even if technology for these systems already exists (Gross et al., 2003, while still needing improvements and further research Jader-Waldau, 2007). Funding, incentive policies and statutory obligations on electricity suppliers may be needed to develop renewable energy faster. Lund (2007) demonstrates that, in Denmark, a transition toward 100% of renewable energy production is possible. Sovacool and Ratan (2012) conclude that nine factors linked to policy, social and market aspects favor or limit the development of wind turbines and solar energy, and explain why renewable energy is growing fast in Denmark and Germany compared to India and the USA. Sims et al. (2003) show that most renewable energies can, in certain circumstances, reduce cost as well as CO 2 emissions, except for solar power, which remains expensive. However, Hernandez et al. (2014) review the environmental impacts of utility-scale solar energy installations (solar farms), which are typically implemented in rural areas, and show that they have low environmental impacts relative to other energy systems, including other renewables. Furthermore, solar power is also one of the few renewable energy sources that can be implemented on a large scale within cities themselves. Arnette (2013) shows that, compared to solar farms, individual rooftop solar panels are a very cost-effective means of increasing renewable energy generation and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. So they conclude that solar panel implementation on roofs should be part of a balanced approach to energy production. Here, we aim to evaluate the environmental impacts on the local climate, of implementing such a strategy at city scale. The main impact of cities on the local weather is the Urban Heat Island (UHI). Cities are warmer than the surrounding countryside, and this can lead to a health crisis during heat waves, as was the case in Paris in 2003 with 15,000 premature deaths (Fouillet et al., 2006) or in Moscow with 11,000 premature deaths in 2010 (Porfiriev, 2014). It also has to be considered that, due to climate warming, the UHI impacts will become even larger than they are now (Lemonsu et al., 2013). Therefore, several strategies are being studied to reduce the UHI in summer. Gago et al. (2013) have reviewed several research works analyzing strategies to mitigate the UHI, including changes in green spaces, trees, albedo, pavement surfaces, vegetation, and building types and materials. Santamouris et al. (2011) have reviewed of several advanced cool materials systems usable to reduce the UHI. Such materials could be implemented on roofs in order to reflect more energy to the sky (high albedo, high emissivity) or to delay the heat transfer toward the inside the building (phase change materials). Masson et al. (2013) showed that changes in agricultural practices in the vicinity of Paris and the use of cool materials for roofs and pavement would decrease the UHI by 2 K and 1 K, respectively. However, the question of the ability of solar panels to contribute to the same goal is not addressed in these papers, and extremely few studies focus on, or even take into account, the effect of solar panels on the UHI. It is thus necessary to analyze whether the two objectives of mitigating the global climate warming by increasing renewable energy production in cities, especially through solar panels, and of attenuating the UHI are compatible. Solar panels modify the nature of the rooftop and may thus influence the energy transfers to the atmosphere and the resulting UHI. The aim of this paper is then to evaluate the impact of solar panels, known to be good for global warming mitigation, on the local climate, especially the UHI. 2. Solar Panels into the Urban Canopy Model TEB The objective of this section is to present how solar panels can be included in the Town Energy Balance (TEB, Masson, 2000) scheme, in terms of both energy production and interactions with the roofs below (shading, modification of the roof energy balance, etc.). The solar panels themselves can be either photovoltaic panels or thermal panels that heat water. 2.1. Modeling Strategy The solar panel exchanges energy with the other components of the system. Very few parameterizations taking these exchanges into account exist in the literature. The level of detail depends strongly on the objectives of the authors. On the one hand, when looking at the building scale, it is possible to consider some implementation characteristics of the panels, as in Scherba et al. (2011), who modified the Energy+ software (software dedicated to building energetics) to improve its previous solar panel model (which only computed the energy production). Their solar panel model considers the tilting of the panels and associated sky-view factors. They then perform an analysis of the impact of several types of roofs on sensible heat fluxes toward the atmosphere, but are unable to link these fluxes to the UHI, which needs to take all the buildings of the entire city into account. On the other hand, Taha (2013) studies the impact of solar panels on the whole urban area of Los Angeles. To do this, he uses the very simplified approach of effective albedo, which accounts for both the albedo and the solar conversion efficiency (linked to the energy produced). This approach estimates the impact on the UHI, but does not take account of the interactions with the urban canopy below (solar panel shadowing may lead to less cooling energy being used in buildings for example, leading to less waste heat outside). In order to study the impact of solar panels implementations on the urban atmosphere and on the population and buildings, we need an approach that looks at both spatial scales: buildings and city. The TEB scheme is able to simulate the energy, water and momentum exchanges between cities and the atmosphere at a resolution as high as the urban block (say down to 100 m by 100 m). The energetics of buildings have also been included in TEB by Bueno et al. (2012) and Pigeon et al. (2014), to simulate the energy behavior of a typical building representative of the block. The focus is to keep the maximum of key processes, while making some approximations in the geometry that are pertinent at block scale (building shapes are averaged into road canyons, only one thermal zone is kept in the buildings, individual windows are averaged into a glazing fraction, etc.). Gardens and greenroofs modules have also been implemented (Lemonsu et al., 2012; DeMunck et al., 2013a). The modeling strategy chosen here for the implementation of solar panels is similar: key processes are kept while some geometrical assumptions are made to avoid unnecessary details of individual buildings. In TEB, it is necessary to take account not only of the production of energy by the panels but also the influence of the panels on the underlying roofs. We must therefore calculate the complete energy balance of the panel to determine what is exchanged with the roof or the atmosphere. The TEB model will then be able to estimate the impact of solar panel implementation on the UHI at city scale, as well as the production of energy. 2.2. Energy Balance of the Solar Panel Geometrically, the solar panels are assumed to be horizontal when calculating the radiative heat exchange with the other elements: exchanges between the roof, the solar panels and the sky above are considered to be purely vertical (Figure 1). Note that we take the inclination of the panel into account to calculate the irradiance for power production. FIGURE 1 Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the energy balance of the solar panel and its impact on radiation received by the roof (dashed arrows: solar fluxes; plain arrows: long-waves fluxes; dotted arrow: sensible heat flux; dotted-dashed arrow: energy produced). The energy balance equation of the solar panel is written: S W s k y ↓ + L W s k y ↓ + L W r o o f ↑ = S W p a n e l ↑ + L W p a n e l ↑ + L W p a n e l ↓ + H + E p r o d ( 1 ) The terms on the left hand side are incoming energy to the solar panel: SW↓ sky is the incoming Short-Wave radiation from the sun. It can be diffuse or direct, and is considered as forcing data for TEB. LW↓ sky is the incoming Long-Wave radiation from the atmosphere. It is diffuse and is also used as forcing data for TEB. LW↑ roof is the Long-Wave radiation coming up from the roof and being intercepted by the solar panel. It is computed by TEB from the roof emissivity and surface temperature and the long-wave radiation received by the roof: L W r o o f ↑ = ϵ r o o f σ T r o o f 4 + ( 1 − ϵ r o o f ) L W r o o f ↓ ( 2 ) The terms on the right hand side of Equation (1) are outgoing energy from the panel: SW↑ panel is the solar radiation reflected by the solar panel. It is classically parameterized using the albedo of the solar panel (α panel ): SW↑ panel = α panel SW↓ panel. It is also assumed to go back to the sky (we neglect the effect of the inclination of the solar panel on the direction of the reflected light). According to Taha (2013), the value of the albedo of the solar panel ranges from 0.06 to 0.1. We performed measurements of the albedo for a sample of solar panel (under several inclinations) by integrating the hemispheric directional reflectance measured with a goniometer (see section 2.4 for details). From our measurements, the value of 0.11 is used for α panel in the present paper. LW↑ panel is the long-wave radiation emitted (and reflected) by the solar panel to the sky. It depends on the surface temperature of the solar panel, which is estimated following the ISPRA center method: T p a n e l = T a i r + k T I r r ( 3 ) where T air is the air temperature, Irr is the irradiance received by the solar panel (cf section 2.5) and k T is a constant coefficient equal to 0.05 K/(Wm−2). In this formulation, the nocturnal dependency of the panel surface temperature on the sky temperature proposed by Scherba et al. (2011) is not used. It would be an improvement to be considered in the future. Also using the emissivity of the solar panel ϵ panel, equal to 0.93 in our measurements (cf section 2.4), the upward long-wave radiation from the solar panel can be written: L W p a n e l ↑ = ϵ p a n e l σ T p a n e l 4 + ( 1 − ϵ p a n e l ) L W s k y ↓ ( 4 ) LW↓ panel is the long-wave radiation emitted by the solar panel to the roof (downwards). It is computed under the hypothesis that the temperature of the downward face of the solar panel is always approximately equal to the air temperature. This is probably a limitation of our model during daytime. However, even if the temperature of the downwards face of the solar panel is underestimated (due to the warming of the solar panel and the heat diffusion inside it), this temperature will still be higher than the sky temperature. So, from the point of view of the roof below the solar panel, the incoming radiation will be higher. This captures at least the first order of an effect of the solar panel on the roof. Given the uncertainties, we also neglect the dependency in emissivity for this face of the panel. This gives: L W p a n e l ↓ = σ T a i r 4 ( 5 ) E prod is the energy produced by the panel. It depends of the nature (thermal or photovoltaic) and characteristics of the panel, the irradiance on the panel, the inclination of the panel (not taken into account in the other terms), and the air temperature. Details are given in sections 2.5, 2.6 for PV and thermal panels, respectively. H is the sensible heat flux from the solar panel to the atmosphere. We assume that the solar panel is thin, has no significant thermal mass and hence is in quasi-equilibrium. This means that the sensible heat flux, the only term that is not parameterized, is taken to be equal to the residue of the solar panel energy budget. Besides the fact that it is difficult to have a parameterization of this term, this ensures conservation of energy balance. 2.3. Modification of the Energy Balance of the Roof For the energy balance of the roof, the most important key parameter will, of course, be the proportion of roof area occupied by the solar panels. As mentioned above, we only consider the projection of the panels onto the horizontal surface (it would be absurd to make accurate calculations taking the inclination of the panels into account—except as noted above for production—when it is already assumed in TEB that all roofs are flat). The fraction of the roof covered by solar panels is noted f panel. The following simplifying assumptions are made: • An average temperature is still calculated for the roof, without distinguishing between the parts of the roof under or beside the panel. This is reasonable, in particular for flat roofs with inclined panels, because the shadows cast by the panels can modify the radiative contribution to the roof beside as well as below the panels. • The coefficient for heat transfer from the roof to the sensible heat flux is not changed (it is already in a heterogeneous environment with a roughness length of 5 cm). • The effect of humidity on panels is neglected: the water interception reservoir treating rainwater and evaporation concerns the whole surface of the roof. • The effect of solar panels on snow is neglected. The snow mantel, if any, accumulates uniformly on the roof. Note that snow might change the energy produced by the solar panel (but this is not taken into account yet). These assumptions allow us to change only the radiative contributions to the energy balance of the roof. Assuming that the surface area of the shadows is equal to the surface area of the solar panels, the incoming solar radiation on the roof is: S W r o o f ↓ = ( 1 − f p a n e l ) S W s k y ↓ ( 6 ) The long-wave incoming radiation on the roof is modified by the long-wave radiation emitted downwards by the solar panels: L W r o o f ↓ = ( 1 − f p a n e l ) L W s k y ↓ + f p a n e l L W p a n e l ↓ ( 7 ) This way of implementing the interactions between solar panels and the roof below allows the considerations of the way the roof is built to be separated from the question of whether there are solar panels on it or not. For example, although it is not the case in this paper, it is possible to have greenroofs with or without solar panels. If there are solar panels, the vegetation of the greenroof will simply be more in the shade and receive slightly more infrared radiation. 2.4. Radiative Characteristics of Solar Panels To establish the energy balance of the equivalent urban canyon, the TEB model needs the albedo (integrated between 0.4 and 2.5 μm) and the emissivity in the thermal infrared (integrated between 5 and 12 μm) for the following main areas: road, roofs, facades, glazing. The French Center for Aerospace Research (ONERA) laboratory maintains a current database of optical properties of urban materials. Specific measurements were made for emerging materials: rough white paints, photovoltaic solar panels, metal cladding, and glass (including low emissivity). The measurements for large samples of materials, e.g., for solar panels, were made using a goniometer (Figure 2, left). FIGURE 2 Figure 2. Left: Goniometer used for albedo measurements. Right: Instrument used for emissivity measurements. The measurement process is fully automated in the 0.4–2.5 μm spectral domain. The position measurements acquired by the detector are regular in azimuth (0–180° range) and zenith (0–60° range) with an angular accuracy of 1°, except for the region of specular reflection, which is meshed more precisely. The reflectance is measured with reference to a reflectance reference (Spectralon). Thereafter, the reflectance of the solar panel placed in the center of the goniometer is acquired for all recorded positions of the detector and the light source. The reference measurement is repeated at the end of the process. The albedo of the solar panels is then computed by integrating the radiance in all directions over the entire spectral range. It typically varies from 11 to 16% depending on the position of the sun and the sensor inclination. When the panel is favorably oriented relative to the sun (and hence when the incoming radiation per square meter of panel is the largest), as is usually implemented, the albedo is in the low range, and equal to about 11%. The emissivity was measured using a SOC 400T apparatus (Figure 2, right). It measures the directional hemispheric reflectance for wavelengths between 2.5 and 20 μm. The resulting emissivity was 0.93 for solar panels. 2.5. Energy Produced by Photovoltaic Panels In TEB, two different types of solar panels: thermal and photovoltaic (PV) are considered. The aim of thermal solar panels is to warm the water necessary for the occupants of the building. They are much more efficient (in terms of energy produced) than photovolatic panels, but only produce heat, not electricity. For PV panels, the energy produced is usually parameterized as: E P V p r o d = E f f P V × I r r × R ( T p a n e l ) ( W / m 2 of solar panel ) ( 8 ) where Eff PV is the conversion efficiency of the PV panel and R(T panel ) a coefficient to reproduce the fact that solar panels are most efficient at 25°C and present a decrease in efficiency for warmer panel temperatures. The efficiency coefficient varies from 5% to 19% (Taha, 2013), with values as high as 30% possible in the far future (Nemet, 2009). In France, most PV panels use the usual crystalline silicon (xSi) technology (Leloux et al., 2012), for which the efficiency is approximately Eff PV = 14%. To relate the irradiance received by the panel (possibly tilted) to the incident radiation on a horizontal surface (SW↓ sky ), it is possible either to perform geometric calculations on the relative position of the sun and panels or to apply a priori correction factors. This second, simpler approach is chosen here, and the coefficient of the French thermal Regulations of 2005 is used: I r r = F T × S W s k y ↓ ( W / m 2 of solar panel ) ( 9 ) The correction factor FT is typically 1.11 on annual average for a South facing panel in Paris. Assuming that solar panels are placed fairly optimally, i.e., with an approximately 30° tilt and oriented between South-East and South-West (as is usually the case in France, Leloux et al., 2012), we can estimate that the coefficient FT is equal to FT = 1.10 in France. The temperature dependent coefficient can be written as: R ( T p a n e l ) = min { 1 ; 1 − 0.005 × ( T p a n e l − 298.15 ) } ( 10 ) Finally, the production of the PV panels is parameterized, also using the relationship between panel temperature and irradiance, as: E P V p r o d = E f f P V × F T × S W s k y ↓ × min { 1 ; 1 − 0.005 × ( T a i r + k T F T × S W s k y ↓ − 298.15 ) } ( W/m 2 of solar panel ) ( 11 ) 2.6. Energy Produced by Thermal Solar Panels The amount of energy produced by solar thermal panels is usually defined on an annual basis (Philibert, 2006). This can partly be justified by the fact that the limitation of energy production is not linked solely to the available sunlight but also to the objective in terms of quantity of water heated (there is no point in heating water beyond the set-point, typically 60°C for hot water, nor for more people than those actually occupying the building, 32l per person). From French regulations, for one person, the annual production with thermal solar panels is: ∫ y e a r E t h e r p r o d = 1 2 × 1.16 × 32 Δ T ( kWh/year/person ) ( 12 ) where ΔT is the temperature difference between cold and hot water (typically 45 K in France). The factor 1 2 comes from an adjustment to account for the fact that only a part of the need for warm water can be covered by solar energy. This factor can vary depending on location, climate (frequency of presence of clouds), seasonality (less sun radiation in winter) and technical features of the installation (ADEME, 2002). A typical value of 1 2 is taken here. Furthermore, it is considered that this per capita energy requirement can be satisfied by 1 m2 of thermal panel. So, the power averaged over the year would be: < E t h e r p r o d > = 1 2 × 1.16 × 32 Δ T × 1000 / 24 / 365 ( W/m 2 of solar panel ) ( 13 ) Here, in order to better take the variability in production due to solar irradiation into account, instead of an annual mean computation, instantaneous production is considered in connection with the daily need for warm water. This mimics the fact that the water is heated during the day and stored until it is used during the next 24 h. So, using the regulation information above, the target energy production for 1 day can be defined as: E t h e r t a r g e t = 1.16 × 32 Δ T × 1000 / 365 × 3600 ( J/m 2 of solar panel ) ( 14 ) The 1 2 factor has disappeared here because we consider ideal heating (i.e., sunny) conditions for the definition of the target. The production of the thermal panel is then computed in three steps: 1. The instantaneous production is defined as E ther prod = Eff ther × Irr (W/m2 of solar panel) where Eff ther is the efficiency coefficient of the thermal panel and Irr the irradiance received by the panel. The efficiency of new thermal solar panels typically ranges between 0.70 and 0.80. However, in real conditions of use, especially in cities, dirt and dust on the panel reduce its energy production. Elminir et al. (2006) found a decrease of between 6% and 20% in the output power due to dust (17.4% for a 45° tilt angle of the solar panel). A similar effect of dirt had already been found by Garg (1974), with attenuation of 10–20% for tilt angles between 45° and 30°. Therefore, in the present study Eff ther was set to 0.60. 2. The total amount of energy produced is summed from midnight the previous night to the current time t: ∫t midnight E ther prod dt (J/m2 of panel). 3. If the quantity of energy produced since midnight reaches the target E ther target, then any additional production during the same day is wasted and further energy production is set to zero. To summarize, for solar thermal panels, the production is parameterized as: { if ∫ m i d n i g h t t E t h e r p r o d d t < E t h e r t a r g e t then E t h e r p r o d = E f f t h e r × I r r if ∫ m i d n i g h t t E t h e r p r o d d t = E t h
didn't ask for an antidepressant. "Patients' requests have a profound effect on physician prescribing in major depression and adjustment disorders," concluded the study's authors. But Posner's concern is about under-prescribing, not over-prescribing. "Fifty percent of African-Americans who have depression don't seek treatment for it," she said. "Not enough people are getting the treatment they need." E-mail to a friend Elizabeth Cohen is a correspondent for CNN Medical News. Senior producer Jennifer Pifer and intern Rachel Zelkowitz contributed to this report. All About DepressionA measure that supporters say would have saved Douglas County Libraries failed to pass in Tuesday’s election. Measure 10-145 would have created a special funding district to finance the library system. The Board of Commissioners says it can’t afford to run Douglas County’s 10 libraries. Gary Waugaman is Chair of Save Our Libraries, which backed the measure. He says it asked voters to pay 44 cents per one thousand dollars in property taxes. “The single moms or the young parents starting out, it was alleged that they could not afford the 44 cents per thousand. And we kind of felt that that’s exactly the group that needs a free library because we don’t know where they’re going to get the books for their children other than buying them.” Waugaman says opponents of the measure argued there are other options to keep libraries open besides the tax measure. But he says he hasn’t seen any evidence of an effort to do so. Douglas County will stop funding its library system in the new year.Quentin Tarantino shot his latest movie, The Hateful Eight, in Ultra Panavision, a format that had been dead for decades. But while shooting the movie was a challenge, showing it in 70mm was an entirely different struggle. Tarantino set up a cross-country roadshow in order to screen the movie in the correct (and massive) format, and the process of resurrecting Ultra Panavision wound up being both extremely expensive and fraught with problems. That still didn't deter the film geeks, or even those casually interested in watching an essentially dead format; fans lined up around the block in major cities for the 70mm showings. I even had someone tell me he was thankful to get stuck in the back of the theater for his showing, if only because he was able to peer into the projection room and watch the hired gun projectionist sling massive reels of the 70mm film. The 70mm showings were a struggle, but the time lapse makes them look easy Andrew Walker, a cinematographer based in Los Angeles, was one of those skilled few hired to run the Hateful Eight roadshow, and luckily for us he decided to bring his Nikon D810 and some time-lapse equipment along for the trip. Walker edited together some beautiful footage of the special film, reels, and projectors required to show Tarantino's latest movie, and you can see the results above. Thanks to Netflix's liberal use of time-lapse photography in the opening sequences of a number of recent original series (House of Cards, Chef's Table), it's hard not to watch Walker's video and imagine it preceding a beautiful and thorough documentary about the death of the film projectionist. Make it happen, Netflix.How ‘The Sims 3’ works according to Missouri politicians. We thought Southington, Connecticut’s plan to burn “violent” games in a pit of toxic fumes was the dumbest proposal lately, but since they came to their senses and cancelled it someone else had to step up to claim the Dumbass Of The Month award. Oh, hello there, Missouri Representative Diane Franklin. You’re just in time. To fight the nonexistent scourge of video game induced violence, Representative Diane Franklin (R, MO) introduced a bill to tax violent video games. But wait, it gets even sillier. Guess how the bill defines violent. If you said “in a way that could be struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court on a void for vagueness ruling”, you are correct. From the proposed bill: “the term ‘violent video game’ means a video or computer game that has received a rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board of Teen, Mature, or Adult Only” That means that, if successfully passed, Teen-rated games like The Sims 3, Starcraft 2, EVE Online and Tropico 4 would all be taxed in Missouri on account of how unrepentantly violent they are. [PC Gamer] The bill, if passed, would impose an additional 1% sales tax on all games rated Teen, Mature, or Adult, which is damn near all of them. The bill designates the money be used “for the treatment of mental health conditions associated with exposure to violent video games”. And those mental health conditions are what exactly? Here are a couple of photos from her Facebook page, by the way. Yep. Selfies and guns. That’s who’s leading the charge. Fortunately, similar bills proposed in Oklahoma and New Mexico recently were struck down. The sad thing about all this is that, besides being foolish and ineffective, Representative Franklin will probably get reelected on the claim of being “tough on crime”. Won’t somebody think of the children? By that I mean my kids in The Sims. I deleted the pool ladder again. Next thing you know, I’ll be deleting pool ladders in real life.Photo by the author. Yesterday, the Montgomery County Planning Board unanimously voted to approve the controversial Chelsea Court townhouse development near downtown Silver Spring. The vote ends a 3-year fight between local builder EYA and a group of neighbors who said the project was too dense and would harm the environment. The vote allows EYA to build 63 townhouses, including 8 Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units for low-income households. It will restore a historic house on the site of the Chelsea School, located on Pershing Drive one block north of downtown Silver Spring. The private, special-needs school first announced their plans to close and sell their 5-acre campus in May 2010. Most of the school’s students live in the District or Prince George’s County, and administrators want to focus on teaching them at public schools closer to home. History of neighborhood opposition Site plan of Chelsea Court. Neighbors in the surrounding Seven Oaks-Evanswood Citizens Association, or SOECA, have strongly opposed Chelsea Court from the beginning. They worried about traffic and density and said that townhouses didn’t belong in a “single-family neighborhood”, especially when the property was only zoned for single-family homes. The Planning Board approved rezoning the land for townhouses in 2011, but it was rejected by the County Council, who said EYA’s proposal for 77 homes was too dense. The Council eventually granted the rezoning for a reduced number of houses last year. Neighbor Thomas DeCaro filed a suit against the county saying they acted illegally, but the case was dismissed. More recently, SOECA argued that Chelsea Court violates state and county environmental laws. A consultant hired by the neighborhood says EYA ignored Environmental Site Design requirements to preserve natural features. Opponents say cutting down the property’s mature trees and removing its steep slopes will cause runoff into a stream buried below Ellsworth Drive. In a letter to County Councilmember Valerie Ervin, SOECA president Jean Cavanaugh urged her to “take all steps necessary” to ensure that Chelsea Court incorporated ESD “without regard to the possible loss of development intensity.” However, officials from the county’s Department of Permitting Services say the site’s natural slope was already removed to create sports fields for the school decades ago. “I understand that you may not agree and that you have expressed significant opposition to the project,” replied DPS director Diane Schwartz-Jones. “In our opinion, the applicant has complied with the standards spelled out in the Montgomery County Code and with [Maryland Department of the Environment] standards.” EYA willingly makes changes The townhouses will be designed to blend in with surrounding homes. According to this planning staff report, EYA’s latest design includes several changes in response to neighbor concerns. They’ve agreed to provide more parking than required, move a private road serving the new houses and restrict turns to or from it to discourage through traffic in a neighborhood where most streets are already blocked off. In keeping with existing houses in the neighborhood, EYA’s townhomes will be only 2 or 3 stories tall, as opposed to the 4-story homes they normally build elsewhere. Townhouses facing Springvale Road will be designed to look like single-family homes in order to blend in with existing homes across the street, while a double row of trees will shield them from sight. Meanwhile, 51% of the property will be preserved as open space, including small courtyards between the rows of houses and two pocket parks. This figure also includes the private yard of the 150-year-old Riggs-Thompson House, which the school is currently using. EYA will turn it back into a single-family house. Planners say this counts because the house’s yard contributes to “a general appearance of openness.” At yesterday’s meeting, 18 residents gave testimony about the project, including several supporters who noted EYA’s responsiveness to their suggestions. “I’m pleased to see what EYA has crafted and look forward to the development coming to fruition,” said Robert Bacon, who lives a few blocks away. More density in Silver Spring is environmentally and economically sustainable Allowing more people to live near downtown Silver Spring is the “green” solution. It’s not surprising that neighbors don’t want to see trees cut down to build Chelsea Court, but this property isn’t a virgin forest. It’s a school campus that’s already been cleared and built on. Building here is the environmentally responsible thing to do because it reduces the pressure to build in actual environmentally-sensitive areas. Chelsea Court is also located in an urban area a short walk from one of the region’s biggest jobs, shopping and transit hubs. 60% of downtown Silver Spring residents already get to work without a car. Meanwhile, an independent study of EYA developments, including ones in Silver Spring, found that their residents walk more and drive less. Building more homes here means more people get to do the same, reducing their energy use. But for all of the environmental benefits of being here, Silver Spring is an increasingly expensive place to live, due to the high cost of land and the expense of a 3-year-long permitting process. At an Urban Land Institute talk last summer, EYA partner AJ Jackson said that the time and money they’ve spent trying to get Chelsea Court built could add $50,000 to the price of each home. Neighbors might say that maximizing density means bigger profits for EYA, but in reality, it means EYA can spread the cost of land and permitting over more homes, making them less expensive. $50,000 may not seem like a lot, but it means fewer people can afford to live in Silver Spring. While people deserve a say in what happens in their community, the bitter and vitriolic fight over Chelsea Court sets a bad example for future projects. Not only does it create bad blood, but it encourages destructive suburban sprawl and makes Silver Spring a less affordable place to live. We have to find a way to have a constructive dialogue about development, because this community’s going to grow and change whether we like it or not. In the meantime, Chelsea Court has been approved. Not everyone will be happy with the Planning Board’s decision, but they made the right one. Now it’s time to get this project built.A while back I wrote about healthcare reform noting: No issue incurs the wrath of these modern-day Red hunters more than health-care reform. For more than 75 years, conservatives have smeared progressive attempts to reform our faltering health-care system as "socialized medicine." [...] Since the 1930s, conservatives have assailed at least 16 different progressive health-care reform initiatives as "socialized medicine" or as a step that would inevitably lead in that direction. What exactly has constituted "socialized medicine" to conservatives over the past seven-plus decades? How about Franklin Roosevelt's consideration of government health insurance when crafting the 1935 bill that created Social Security, or Lyndon Johnson's 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act establishing Medicare? Both raised the ire of conservatives, who were quick to run with the "socialized medicine" smear. In fact, back in 1964, Ronald Reagan, then stumping for GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, said of Medicare, "Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor's fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can't socialize the doctors without socializing the patients." Like Roosevelt and Johnson decades before him, Bill Clinton's health-care initiative in 1993 and 1994 and his work to create the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997 were attacked time and again as "socialized medicine." Pick a progressive president. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton, and now Obama -- they've all faced the stale "socialized medicine" routine from the right.CNN anchor Jake Tapper pushed back on President Trump's Twitter habits on Saturday, arguing that the president uses the platform more for maintaining his personal feuds with the media than for advancing his policy goals. The tweets came after Trump launched a barrage of attacks on major U.S. news networks and television personalities, including CNN and MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. In a succession of tweets on Saturday, Trump accused MSNBC's parent company of firing anchor Greta Van Susteren because she refused to cover the president and his administration negatively. He also blasted CNN, asserting that the network had been caught promulgating "fake news" and accusing it of "garbage journalism." Trump has been criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle of using his Twitter account to distract from important policy matters and legislative efforts, including the current healthcare fight in Congress. Trump has for years been a vocal presence on the social media site, and frequently used the platform on the campaign trail to attack critics and political opponents. That habit hasn't subsided since he took office in January. But Tapper argued Saturday that by using Twitter to launch personal attacks, Trump is doing little to help the voters that sent him to the White House.Channels… not any more So the pipelines library started life as “channels” a repo on github under David Fowlers personal account. By the time I came to look at it, it was up and running, buggy sure, API unbaked but it was functional. To look at how it was and a good kick starter (plus a blog always worth reading) take a look at Marc Gravell’s early post on the subject. Marc’s post on channels His final comment about what to call it has now been answered by Microsoft, and that is Pipelines. If you want an overview of how it is hoped it will improve asp.net you can take a look at this performance overview here it outlines what is going on to make things faster. You might say so what? I don’t care about the web, or http I use raw sockets and some custom binary protocol well don’t worry, pipelines is down at the “stream” level of the stack, it’s in no way tied to asp.net and it could be used for all sorts of scenarios, sockets, files you name it. Get to the security already! Onto the SSL/TLS story, when I first started to look at this I probably knew as much as the average developer. A server has a certificate that is certified by a known certificate authority. It has a public/private key and it is used by the client to make sure the server is who they say they are. This is also then used to perform some sort of “handshake” to agree on a key (well actually a set of keys) used to then do all communication from then on. This enables authentication of the server (and the client if using client certs although that is less common) and to secure further communications… easy right? Well yes and no, my basic assumptions were correct, but I figured lets get some background before I just off and port SslStream. I thought SslStream has been around for sometime, had Xplat added to it and made in another time. Ben Adams seemed to hint well more than that at the “allocaty” nature and maybe a fresh look was needed. So then where to start? I always find that it’s best if you want to deep-dive something then you go to the source and work up, that way you are less likely to build assumptions into your thinking before you have some grounding in the topic. That left one source…. IETF specs SSL3 - mostly for some historical background I figured I didn’t need to go back further than that TLS 1.0 - now we are starting to get somewhere TLS 1.2 - the good stuff Let’s just say they don’t make for the most exciting reading, but I was armed with just enough knowledge to be dangerous, time to getting started writing a security library how hard could it be? SSPI Pretty quickly I realised why no one wanted to touch this stuff. SSPI was my starting point, and unlike say.net core is certainly isn’t open source and the API documentation that is on MSDN is very very old which was a bit of an issue. The upside was that SslStream is opensource so I decided that it was time to take a look. What I found (and is the pattern for OpenSsl as well) is that you have a set of security credentials or a context and this contains information like a certificate and your settings. This is then used to generate a set of session keys etc and then that session is essentially detached and not reliant on the initial credentials. This is important and one of the reasons that I still believe that SslStream is not the way forward for server side TLS (I am going to stop refering to SSL from now on, it’s broken). Sslstream has the concept of making a stream, passing in the upchannel or wrapped stream and the certificate etc and carrying on. This leads to a major inefficency, making a authorization context for every connection. Even if you could pool and reset the SslStream you would still have the authorization per connection. There is really no way around this but changing the API heavily. As SslStream is used in a lot of places and needs to maintain backwards compatiblity these changes to the API really aren’t feasible. So in summary this is how things are, and where I thought they should be So with that in mind I produced a first cut, and after a few reviews of the PR, I was close to having the correct spacing spelling and code layout :) I ended with code that looked something like this var cert = new X509Certificate ( _certificatePath, _certificatePassword ); var serverContext = new SecurityContext ( pipelineFactory : factory, hostname : host, isServer : true, certificate : cert ); private async Task < IPipelineConnection > CreateWrapper ( IPipelineConnection connection ) { var session = serverContext. CreateSecureChannel ( connection ); await session. HandShakeAsync (); return session ; } That obviously is psuedo code but the concept is that you declare the SecurityContext once for your server application and then it is only the session that is created per connection. This should reduce the overhead per connection, and allocations both in the GC code space, but also the hidden cost of unmanaged memory (either by OpenSsl or SSPI), cracking open an PKI is by no means free, in memory or compute space. So using SSPI I had some code that looked like the following for building the credentials for SSPI var creds = new SecureCredential () { rootStore = IntPtr. Zero, phMappers = IntPtr. Zero, palgSupportedAlgs = IntPtr. Zero, cMappers = 0, cSupportedAlgs = 0, dwSessionLifespan = 0, reserved = 0, dwMinimumCipherStrength = 0, //this is required to force encryption dwMaximumCipherStrength = 0, version = SecureCredential. CurrentVersion, dwFlags = flags, certContextArray = IntPtr. Zero, cCreds = 0 }; Which pretty much says, go with what the OS recommends. Overriding an admins settings for their computers is often not a nice thing to do. It generally just annoys people. I was very concious of not allocating it had been drummed into me that it was evil and so for the next bit I used a little hack, the secure credentials expects an array of pointers to certificates, seeing as at this point I only support one this //pointer to the pointer IntPtr certPointerPointer = new IntPtr (& certPointer ); creds. certContextArray = certPointerPointer ; got me a pointer to a pointer… basically an array of 1 without allocating anything at all. So that is basically all the SecurityContext does, cracks the certificate (if it is needed) sets up some credentials and stores the basic settings for each connection. The real meat of the code The real meat of the code starts in the SecureContext. When a new connection or Pipeline needs to be wrapped in a secure TLS blanket you simple call securityContext.CreateSecurePipeline(pipeline); this will return an ISecurePipeline. This implements IPipelineConnection allowing you to then chain it down a tree (eg an HTTP, Websockets or your protocol next). Internally what this call does is create a new SecurePipeline. This class is a generic with SecurePipeline where T : ISecureContext. So the SecurePipeline is common to OpenSsl, SSPI, and maybe SecureTransport(Osx) and others in the future. This class does most of the Pipelines handling, the byte reading loop etc. The most important public methods are public Task < ApplicationProtocols. ProtocolIds > HandShakeAsync (); public IPipelineReader Input => _outputChannel ; public IPipelineWriter Output => _inputChannel ; I have to agree with others here “HandShake” isn’t really a verb, so thinking about it ShakeHandsAsync() seems better here. API design is part art, part.. nah it’s an art This is something I have learned working on this, API design is hard. It doesn’t just happen, it is thought over and discussed the number of hours I have seen being burnt by very smart people from midnight -> 3am on the naming and layout of just the API. The implementation is often agreed on, maybe with tweaks to come but the semantics, should this method throw an error in situation x, or should it just return an empty result? What do other parts of.net do? What would the end user expect? It has given me a new found respect for all those BCL’s that I just start using and 9/10 times never needing to look for more documentation than the intellisense tool-tips. Anyway I digress, we have those methods and a few others that don’t really matter at this point. They are the normal pipeline methods (although you can still see the channels lineage at this point) the consumer of the SecurePipeline writes to the Output and consumes from the input (Pipelines is written so that the consumer of your Pipeline reads those two properties from their perspective, another homage to the usability for the API consumer). As a consumer you call HandShakeAsync or just start writing, internally if the handshake hasn’t been performed it will be on the first write. That is for convenience, however if you are writing an upper library that has a lot of initialization cost or you want to redirect your user depending on the handshake results you may await the handshake directly. Internally the handshake method simply does return _handShakeCompleted?. Task?? DoHandShake (); which will return straight away if the handshake has been done before, using a cached task (via a task completion source) or it will call the DoHandShake method. That method is where the real work starts with both Pipelines and the TLS libraries. _handShakeCompleted = new TaskCompletionSource < ApplicationProtocols. ProtocolIds >(); if (! _contextToDispose. IsServer ) { //If it is a client we need to start by sending a client hello straight away await _contextToDispose. ProcessContextMessageAsync ( _lowerChannel. Output ); } This checks to see if we are running in client mode, if we are we should initiate the handshake by calling the underlying library with no input data in SSPI this is a call to InitializeSecurityContextW and in OpenSsl this is a call to SSL__do__handshake (for some versions more on that in a future post). All of these differences are hidden behind the ProcessContextMessage so in reality the SecurePipeline doesn’t care. There are a few things that need to be done at this point (and of course they are done in totally different ways on SSPI than OpenSsl). There is something that some of you may know of and some may not ALPN - Application Layer Protocol Negotiation This is an extension to TLS, so maybe I have got ahead of myself a little here lets go back to how a handshake works with TLS. In a full handshake (something we will revisit later) you have the following flow Now with Http/2 Google and others realised that there was a lot of back and forward going on there, and then the first thing the client does once they have connected is say “hey upgrade me to http/2” and they have to wait for a response before any real work can be done. In order to streamline this (we are already doing a TCP handshake under the hood as well, although that can be reduced but that is another topic) the idea is that the client can send along a list of protocols it supports during the TLS handshake and that can be negotiated while we negotiate ciphers, key strength and all of the other details. Now the problems come … My problem with getting this to work for SSPI, the documentation basically didn’t mention it (not the on-line stuff anyway) other than a couple of announcements saying “hey SSPI and SecureChannel support this!” of course SslStream didn’t support it so that was no help either. But after much digging, hacking and reading obscure websites I found the answer to my problems when you call AcceptSecurityContext (for the server side) or InitializeSecurityContextW(for the client side) you have to pass in buffers with your data you want to send to be processed. In the case of a client normally you would send a null pointer for the first request, however with ALPN you need to send in a single buffer with your Extension information. On the server side you would normally send in two buffers, one being the data from the client and the second an empty token, used for messages to send to the client regarding issues with the connection, however in this case we use what would normally be an empty buffer as the second buffer to pass in the ALPN information again. In order to build the ALPN information SSPI has no real information or help. So it was back to the IETF RCF. So from looking at that I found the data structure that was needed, it’s a struct with a extension id, then a length of the following list and then a list of size prefixed strings for the supported protocols. Once again this was a win for the design of having a single “context” that creates each collection as it allows a single fixed buffer to be built at the context level and then there are no allocations per connection as we reuse that buffer. Phew.. all of that just to kick off the first handshake message! The rest of the handshake was a little more straight forward. It basically was a loop that looked something like while ( true ) { var result = await _lowerChannel. Input. ReadAsync (); var buffer = result. Buffer ; try { if ( result. IsCompleted ) { new InvalidOperationException ( "Connection closed before the handshake completed" ); } ReadableBuffer messageBuffer ; TlsFrameType frameType ; while ( TryGetFrameType ( ref buffer, out messageBuffer, out frameType )) { if ( frameType!= TlsFrameType. Handshake && frameType!= TlsFrameType. ChangeCipherSpec ) { throw new InvalidOperationException ( "Received a token that was invalid during the handshake" ); } await _contextToDispose. ProcessContextMessageAsync ( messageBuffer, _lowerChannel. Output ); if ( _contextToDispose. ReadyToSend ) { _handShakeCompleted. SetResult ( _contextToDispose. NegotiatedProtocol ); return await _handShakeCompleted. Task ; } } } finally { _lowerChannel. Input. Advance ( buffer. Start, buffer. End ); } } Bre… break it down There might seem like a lot going on there but if we break it down it’s pretty simple… First we await the underlying connection for some data, once we have the data we check that it’s not empty and completed, if so the connection has finished so it’s time to exit the loop, we will fail the handshake higher up and clean up anything we have created so far. Next I made my own TLS Frame handler, I could have cheated here and just passed the data straight into the underlying library, however on partial frames which happen often we would have just had to do a series of interop calls, and in the worst case an allocation and a copy. The TLS frame format is pretty simple to follow and not encrypted only the contents are so it makes sense to do that as close to the data with the smallest overhead possible. At the same time make our handling of bad frames and data a lot more straight forward because we would now know that any error back from the underlying libraries would not be a “false” error saying we just need the rest of the frame. In a security library it’s always best to fail fast (but not too fast, I will explain that also later). The rest of the code goes like this. If we have an incomplete frame, that is okay we will loop back around (and if it is incomplete and the connection has “completed” eg closed we will throw an exception and exit out). Otherwise we check to make sure it is one of the valid handshake messages, an actual handshake or a ChangeCipherSpec (used at the end of the handshake to say anything from now on must be encrypted with our cool new keys). We send the frames into the underlying libraries and they will return either “handshake done”, “I am waiting for more data” or throw an exception. Once we are done, we set the result of the task completion source to the protocols we negotiated (which will be zero if there was no ALPN) and return back to the main program. It feels like that was a long winded explination, but believe me it was an even longer journey and many late nights from me… but now we had a working handshake and to confirm it, I opened 443 on my firewall, punched it through to my laptop and fired up a CDN Http/2 test page Next time, if you aren’t bored out of your mind I will discuss the interesting world of telling security people you wrote a new security library as a no-one on the internet, learning about threats, and of course Xplat-OpenSsl and some benchmarks thrown in for good measure.Clusterfuck Nation Now appearing Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page! One way or another, I’m gonna find you I’m gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya — Blondie Perhaps the presidency has been an overly solemn office since, oh, the days of Millard Fillmore, the dreary weight of all that mortal responsibility — slavery, war, more war, depression, yet more war, nukes, we shall overcome, terror, Lehman Brothers, Ferguson, Russia here, there, and everywhere…uccchhh…. And so, at last: a little comic relief. I mean, imagine Grover Cleveland putting the choke-slam on Thomas Nast. Dwight Eisenhower punching out Edward R. Murrow. Jack Kennedy applying the Macumba Death Grip to Walter Lippman. Nahhhh. But Donald (“The Golden Golem of Greatness”) Trump versus CNN! Now that’s a matchup worthy of the WWF Hall of Fame. I just kind of wish the big fella had gone all the way and put in Anderson Cooper’s mug instead of the CNN logo box. Make it truly up front and personal since, let’s face it, Andy has been the most visible conduit of Jeff Zucker’s animadversions. At least The New York Times seemed to take the prank in stride, calling it, “an unorthodox way for a sitting president to express himself.” Well, yes! Nicely put. They didn’t call for the Commander-in-Chief to be stripped down to his silk small-clothes and be run through a gantlet of aggrieved trannies. Well, I dunno, maybe that’s next…. But who says a president has to merely sit behind a desk and utter platitudes about bringing us together? Nobody really falls for that anymore. But a body-slam — whoa, now that’s some change you can believe in! At least the GGOG didn’t send in some NSA black box contractors to smoke the CNN board of directors and that miserable fucker Zucker — though it does lead one to wonder how Mr. Trump intends to orchestrate his upcoming confab with Vlad (“The Impaler”) Putin. I’d like to see the president at least put on a cape for that one. I suppose Mr. Trump was reacting to the fire-hose of objurgation aimed at him over the weekend on CNN by Carl Bernstein, reporter extraordinaire of Watergate fame, who referred to Trump’s sojourn in the Oval Office as “a malignant presidency.” Isn’t comparing a person to cancer about as low as you can go? (You talkin’ to me???) That should technically entitle Mr. Trump to an inverted stomp face-breaker followed by a fall-away moonsault slam, topped off by a final gorilla drop. Hell, get the referee to sit on Bernstein’s face for the count. Bernstein went a little further, even, into the dark slough of disrespect, intimating that all the occult powers of the Deep State should be mobilized to remove the golden tumor from America’s body politic: “That malignancy is known to the military leaders of the country, it’s known to the Republican leadership in Congress who recognize it, and it’s known to the intelligence community…. This president is not in control of the presidency in a way that it is functioning. That has got our leaders worried, they are worried about his character, they are worried about his temperament,” Bernstein said. “We are in foreign territory. We have never been in a malignant presidency like this before.” Perhaps Mr. Bernstein is just the messenger appointed by the Deep State to flop it all out on the table, so to speak, like so much Fourth of July pulled smoked pork: You’ve gone too far, you suppurating mass of rogue protoplasm! We’re coming to get ya now, with the deadliest move of all: the 25th amendment. Let Mike Pence be the reincarnation of Herbert Hoover. This shit is not funny anymore. Great Summer Reading… JHK’s new book! “Simply the best novel about the 1960s.” Read the first chapter here (click) on Patreon Buy the book at Amazon or click on the cover below or get autographed copies from Battenkill Books Other Books by JHK The World Made By Hand Series: Book 1: Book 2: Book 3: Book 4: Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon PageOn the first night of Hanukah, religious and community groups march in solidarity against the recent deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and others This year, when the first night of Hanukah came to Brooklyn, Jewish, Arab, and Muslim demonstrators commemorated the holiday with an evening of protest against police brutality. Three New York activist groups — Jews For Racial and Economic Justice, the Arab American Association of New York, and Bend the Arc — were taking part in #ChanukahAction, a planned night of national protest by the Jewish community against police violence and the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and others at the hands of law enforcement. Similar protests were held by Jewish groups in cities across the country, including Albany, Boston, and San Francisco. Ophir Bruck (@OphirBruck) Tonight Jews across the nation march in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter, SF's Market St shut down. #ChanukahAction pic.twitter.com/IGvmzAs2wV The New York protest was also part of #ThisStopsToday’s 11 Days of Action, so named because of the 11 times Eric Garner pleaded “I can’t breathe” while officers restrained him. The event drew a crowd diverse in race, age, and faith, religious and community leaders, as well as politicians and local activists. In total, well over 100 attended, including members of the New York City council. In attendance was city councilman or Robert Cornegy Jr, who represents Bedford Stuyvesant and northern Crown Heights in Brooklyn, and serves as secretary of the city council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus. “Last night was pretty special because you see a demographic of people who don’t necessarily have to put themselves out in that way,” he told the Guardian after the protest. “This is the civil rights issue of our time. What I know about the civil rights movement is that [...] any modicum of success that was gained through those movements and through those actions were based on solidarity across racial lines, across socioeconomic lines. That’s when change happened.” The protest joined members of New York diverse religious community. Protesters carrying giant hamsas with the names of police violence victims marched in step with those holding elaborate paper-mache lanterns aloft. Men with kippot followed the lead of women in hijabs. “Seeing religious groups coming together sends a powerful message that this is something that affect all of us. And that we want to stand side by side together … to demand justice,” said Aslan Rahman, 23. Led by a phalanx of protesters carrying a sign that declared “Jews and Arabs say: Black Lives Matter” and tiki torches (left unlit in the rain) to form a giant menorah, the march travelled from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center — which has been no stranger to protests against police tactics in recent weeks — to the nearby headquarters of the NYPD’s 78th precinct. The group of protesters formed a close circle, and used the “People’s Mic” — a call and repeat tactic used by Occupy Wall Street — to address the nearly two dozen officers standing guard at the precinct’s doors. “We dedicate ourselves as Jews and Muslims, as Arabs and Asians, Latinos and African Americans, to building an alliance that will light our way and let us say: black lives matter!” said 29-year-old Cris Hilo, an Arab American Association of New York member who led most of the speeches. Another protester shouted, even louder: “Together we celebrate the miracle of resistance that we will not let die!” Hilo read the names of people who had been killed by police: Malcolm Ferguson, Shantel Davis, Amadou Diallo, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Margaret L
, and Lou Engle, founder of The Call events including the November 1, 2008 San Diego stadium event in support of California's Prop Eight at which Engle demonized homosexuality and called for Christian martyrs for the cause. Engle hosted Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee in "Rediscovering God in America" broadcast on GodTV in June and was a featured leader at the December 16 Prayer Cast event in D.C. against healthcare reform which included Jim DeMint, Sam Brownback, and Michelle Bachmann. Spiritual Warfare Networks Market Apostles ISDM International Society of Deliverance Ministries This international network of deliverance ministries is headed by Bill and Janet Sudduth and developed from the ADRM roundtable. These ministries are for the purpose of expelling and repelling demons which are claimed to cause both physical and emotional problems. Apostle Chris Hayworth heads an international network of deliverance ministries called Cleansing Streams Ministries which originated at Jack Hayford's Church on the Way. Hayford maintains apostolic authority over that network. EVAT The Eagle Vision Apostolic Team This is a more secretive inner circle group whose membership is not advertised, although sometimes apostles will list their participation in this group in their ministry resumes. For instance Apostle Naomi Dowdy is the Resident Apostle of Singapore and lists her EVAT membership in her ministry resume. Dowdy spoke at Wasilla Assembly of God on November 4, 2009. ACEA The Apostolic Council for Educational Accountability The ACEA is Wagner's "creative alternative to accreditation" and is under the apostolic covering (or authority) of Leo Lawson. The ACEA has no interest in secular accreditation which they see as a hindrance to their mission. An ICA "honorary apostle for life," Ret. Col. Jim Ammerman, serves as a commissioner for the Transworld Accrediting Commission International (TACI) and as VP of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools. Ammerman is also head of the Full Gospel Chaplaincy which is one of the largest endorsing agencies for U.S. Military chaplains, and at the center of recent controversy due to his anti-government conspiracy theories and aggressive proselytizing within the military. WLI Wagner Leadership Institute WLI includes over a dozen regional U.S. divisions and Wagner Leadership Institute Canada, UK, Asia, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Kenya, Mexico, and Rwanda. The institutes issue diplomas including doctoral and feature courses on prophecy, faith healing, demon deliverance, and a division on finance and foreign exchange. WLI is now under the apostolic authority of Che Ahn. Wagner has recently announced that the WLI headquarters in Colorado Springs will be moving into the Jericho Center of Apostle Dick Eastman's Colorado branch of Every Home for Christ. International Society of Healing Rooms ICA Apostle Cal Pierce heads the International Society of Healing Rooms, an international network of faith-healing centers. Link to the article Generational Curses, Deliverance Centers, and the "Kingdom" Health Care System. Julius Oyet, who was recognized by the Parliament when the anti-gay legislation in Uganda was first introduced, heads the Uganda Healing Rooms under the apostolic covering of Cal Pierce. Oyet can be seen in Bruce Wilson's Transforming Uganda documenting the New Apostolics role in Uganda's anti-gay bill and in the report by the New Apostolic Reformation Research Team. 7-M or Seven Mountains Mandate The mandate for bringing the Kingdom of God to earth includes the "7-M" or Reclaiming the Seven Mountains of Culture initiative. This campaign involves the taking of "dominion over seven key spheres of society which are government, arts and entertainment, media, education, family, religion, and business. The mountain of business is considered key to taking dominion over the others and much of the promotion of the 7-M is done by Market Apostles. Os Hillman in Atlanta oversees this important segment of the movement and Lance Wallnau is one of its major motivational speakers, but Market Apostles are now also active in Africa, Asia, and South America, and Europe. Julius Oyet, one of the major figures in the Ugandan anti-gay bill is a regular speaker at 7-M and "Church in the Workplace Conferences." Lance Wallnau stresses stealth evangelism as seen in a June 7, 2009 speech at Wasilla Assembly of God in which he explains that infiltration is necessary before evangelization. (Scroll down through the list of internationally known New Apostolic speakers who have recently visited the Wasilla Assembly of God until you get to Lance Wallnau.) He gives the example of Guatemala prison ministries where a toned down version of "Kingdom" worldview is taught for a full year before any attempt to convert the prisoners. Thomas Muthee, star of the first "Transformations" movie (see next section on the "Transformations,") talked about the 7-M campaign at Wasilla Assembly of God just prior to his anointing of Sarah Palin in 2005. Wagner's 2008 book Dominion!, How Kingdom Action Can Change the World emphasizes the use of workplace apostles as the current crucial component to taking control over the other six mountains of culture. Transformations Movie Series and Transformation Organizations Christian Zionist Events and Organizations Christian Zionism is another area increasingly dominated by by the apostles and prophets, particularly at the international level. The largest single Christian Zionists event in the world, the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem (DPPJ), was co-founded by Jack Hayford (mentioned previously under the International Society of Deliverance Ministries) and Robert Stearns, and is endorsed by the Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus. Stearns heads Eagles Wing's Ministry which manages the DPPJ, and he is also editor of Kairos, a popular apostolic and prophetic magazine which features top NAR apostles, although Stearns himself is not listed in the NAR's ICA directory. Stearns' ministry events often include Chuck Pierce, the heir apparent to C. Peter Wagner's Global Harvest Ministries. Hayford, Stearns, and ICA apostles including Don Finto and Messianic Rabbi Dan Juster, provide coordination of support for the Messianic movement (Jews who convert but retain Jewish identity) in Israel and worldwide. Hayford is founder of The King's Seminary which now has a charismatic Messianic division. Stearns is also a director of John Hagee's Christians United for Israel, and although Hagee still teaches a dispensational theology, many of the other leaders of CUFI are major figures in the New Apostolic Reformation including Stephen Strang of Stang Communications and publisher of Charisma, who is an ICA apostle. Don Finto led the prayer for Israel at Gov. Rick Perry's stadium prayer rally on August 6, 2011. Talk2action.org Articles on the New Apostolic Reformation The following is a selection of the more than 150 articles on the New Apostolic Reformation posted at Talk2action in the last three years. They are in chronological order starting with the most recent: http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/11/1448/56498 Why Have the Apostles Behind Rick Perry's Prayer Rally Been Invisible To Most Americans? http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/8/114844/0135 Five Points About Rick Perry's Prayer Rally Not Yet in Mainstream Press http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/7/16/115221/583 Rachel Maddow, There is Much, Much More to the Story of Rick Perry's Apostles http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/7/13/03334/8216 New Apostolic Reformation's Apostles Receiving Long Overdue National Coverage http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/7/6/135459/2202 From the 2009 Prayercast Against Healthcare Reform to Rick Perry's Upcoming Stadium Prayer Event http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/6/6/112828/5087 Texas Governor Rick Perry Partnering With New Apostolic Groups for Call to Prayer http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/5/3/91235/90609 Newark's Prayer Based Crime-Fighting Effort Isn't Working http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/4/22/154444/590 Kim Daniels is Not You Average "gay demon" Exorcist for City Council http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/4/5/141110/1743 The NAR Apostles and Manifest Sons of God: Training the Army of the Lord http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/4/3/94532/19039 Quotes from the Apostles on Social Transformation in Context of the 7M Campaign http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/30/134253/237 Who are the Apostles? What is the Reformation? Seven Mountains Campaign? http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/24/153323/148 Harvard Social Transformation Conference to Feature Avowed Witch Hunters http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/24/142629/678 NAR's Brand of Transformation to be Promoted at Conference at Harvard http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/1/3/122613/0240 The Rise of Charismatic Dominionism http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/30/125847/61 The Apostles and Transformation - Why They Are a Threat to Pluralism in Hawaii http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/29/1521/6485 Quotes From Ed Silvoso and Other NAR Apostles About Transformation http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/22/182349/92 Link to Two Years of Articles on the NAR, Including Aiona, ITN and Transformation Hawaii http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/21/9445/8568 Witchcraft Again - Aiona, Hawaii Candidate for Governor, Tied to Witch-Fighting Evangelicals http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/19/131422/38 Hawaii Candidate for Governor Claimed Membership in Group That Burns Native Art http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/19/8306/2124 New Apostolic Reformation Leaders Burn Native Art http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/17/11135/471 Lou Engle Only One of Many of Sen. Sam Brownback's NAR Apostle Problems http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/14/213822/52 Bios of Americans and Ugandans in Transforming Uganda http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/14/154827/99 Six Reasons Why Americans Should Care About What is Happening in Uganda http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/10/12/192218/65 Sam Brownback Under Fire for Ties to Controversial Evangelist Lou Engle http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/9/13/11834/9878 The Head and Not the Tail, Battlecry for the Seven Mountains Campaign http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/9/12/172231/428 Will Hawaii Be the Next Transformation Conquest For the Apostles and Their Prayer Warriors? http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/8/27/204514/016 When Politics Means the End of the World (As We Know It) http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/8/14/184346/958 Demons Cause Influenza, Suggested Peer Reviewed Medical Journal Paper. But It Get's Worse. http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/7/31/81431/8680 Evangelical Right Politically Organizes in Newark, NJ http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/7/17/13358/4325 They Cast Out Demons, Burn Witchcraft Items, and Field Gubernatorial Candidates http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/8/6/135752/1937 Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare Glossary (SLSW) http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/7/5/162721/8544 Anti-Gay Movement Pastor Leads Graduation for 54 Newark Cops http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/5/17/151130/395 Lou Engle’s Exploitation of Rifqa Bary http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/5/5/135840/9115 Video Exposes Anti-Gay Preacher’s Relationship With Sam Brownback http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/5/5/85049/41272 Lou Engle’s The Call Uganda Reported but NAR Remains Under the Radar http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/4/28/03149/7356 Hijacking the National Day of Prayer http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/4/24/133020/140 GOP’s Prayer Guru Helped Incite Near Genocidal Hatred in Uganda http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/4/22/11739/6689 Christian Right Claims Both 2010 Gubernatorial Candidates http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/4/17/112159/323 Transforming Hawaii http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/3/18/15237/9318 The New Apostolic Movement Uncovered... And Uncovered http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/3/2/95618/77621 Prayer Warriors of the New Apostolic Reformation Getting Some Exposure http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/1/21/15336/6128 Movement Behind the Kill the Gays Bill Organizing in Newark http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/1/15/134445/911 Video Exposes Antigay Western Theocratic Effort “Transforming" Uganda http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/1/14/224614/769 Pat Robertson Not Alone in Demonizing Haiti http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/12/17/17722/757 GOP Senators Appear on TV with Anti-gay, Anti-abortion Martyrdom Advocate http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/12/9/113914/328 Group Behind Uganda Anti Homosexuality Bill Expanding North American Effort http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/12/4/134435/084 Rick Warren’s Dissertation Advisor Leads Network Promoting Uganda Anti-Gay Bill http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/11/23/2349/5841 Generational Curses, Deliverance Centers, and the Kingdom Health Care System http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/6/22/115820/165 Col. Jim Ammerman, Apostle and New World Order Conspiracy Theorist http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/6/18/204932/377 Jack Hayford Introduces Peter Wagner Talk on Spiritual Mapping http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/6/7/144847/9340 Christian Martyr Movement Leader Blesses Gingrich, Lays Hands on Huckabee http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/6/2/83943/72096 Anti-Gay Marriage, Pro-Prop 8 Leader Calls for Martyrs http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/5/28/19033/8502 C. Peter Wagner Explains the New Apostolic Reformation http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/4/4/192333/9543 Proposition 8: A Proving Ground for a New Rainbow Right http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/4/2/123441/1124 Religious Dispatches Spotlights Palin’s Bold New Form of Christianity http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/3/25/94025/1154 77: Pray http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/3/25/94025/1154 Ted Haggard and the New Apostolic Reformation http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/12/28/13255/764 Peter Wagner Fights the “Religious Spirit" http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/12/28/13255/764 Salvation Army Moves Toward New Apostolic Reformation http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/12/28/13255/764 Sarah Pallin, Katherine Harris Linked to Same Prayer Warrior Network http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/12/28/13255/764 Palin’s Movement Urges Godly to Plunder Wealth of Godless http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/12/28/13255/764 Sarah Palin and the New Apostolic Reformation "http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/25/141724/14 Discussion of Palin’s Beliefs Goes Mainstream http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/20/195730/89 Killing Mother Teresa With Their Prayers http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/10/19356/295 Seven Questions U.S. Media Has Neglected To Ask About Sarah Palin http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/10/152645/73 Cross Left Published Press Release on Palin’s Ongoing Association with Anti-Catholic NAR Clergy http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/8/121647/107 Palin in My Prayer Group, Says Witch-Fighting Spiritual Warfare Leader http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/8/121647/107 Palin and the Apostles http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/6/192836/025 The Questions Catholics Must Ask Sarah Palin http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/10/2/115153/281 Fishers and Hunters - The Continuing Saga http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/25/93553/3296 A Hearbeat Away or Why Palin’s Churches Matter http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/25/93553/3296 In Video, Pastor Anoints Palin, Urges Infiltration of Schools, Government, Business http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/24/82239/9750 The Lions in the Pews http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/20/171755/145 Palin, Muthee and the Witch - Journalists Miss the Major Story http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/13/1538/09770 Youtube Censors Viral Video Documentary on Palin’s Churches http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/11/113733/968 Palin’s Churches and the Holy Laugher Anointing http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/8/114332/7479 Sarah Palin’s Demon-Haunted Churches http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/5/0244/84583 Palin’s Churches and the Third WaveAs fresh clashes erupted in Saharanpur on Tuesday and one more person lost his life, the focus is on the Bheem Army, a Dalit organisation, and not Mayawati who visited the Shabbirpur village where Rajputs had set fire to Dalit homes about a week ago. Rajputs and Dalits in the district have been fighting one another for several years. For Rajputs it is a question of dominance, for Dalits, it is a fight against oppression. Led by its founder Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, a young Saharanpur lawyer, and national president Vinay Ratan Singh, Bheem Army has been fighting for the rights of Dalits and a life of dignity for the community, refusing to be cowed down by the upper castes. Advertisement Chandrashekhar belongs to Chhutmalpur village adjoining Shabbirpur, the epicentre of recent troubles. He and Vinay Ratna Singh formed the Bheem Army Ekta Mission on 21 July 2015 to serve the interests of Dalits. The mission’s main aim was to educate the community’s children free of cost. Their first school came up two years ago at Saharanpur’s Bhado village. The Bheem Army now runs over 300 schools in and around Saharanpur proving the seriousness of its intent. At the same time, the Bheem Army has also been at the vanguard of recent Dalit agitations, including the one in April when an Ambedkar Jayanti procession was stopped by Rajputs. Advertisement Chandrashekhar, who dreamed of pursuing higher studies, chucked the idea as he got involved in the hurly burly of Dalit politics. The Bheem Army made its appearance last year when some Dalits wanted to put up a board at Ghadkoli village proclaiming Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar as the Great Chamar. The move was objected to by the Rajputs. Intervening on behalf of Dalits, Chandrashekhar is said to have defended the move arguing that since their certificates identified them as Chamars, there was nothing wrong in calling Ambedkar as the Great Chamar. After the Bheem Army’s intervention, the board was allowed to be put up. It now stands as a symbol of Dalit victory. Advertisement Chandrashekhar’s strength became visible when thousands of Dalits staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the partisan behaviour of the police and atrocities by the upper castes. Even while remaining underground, the two leaders of the Bheem Army were able to mobilise thousands of Dalits for the Delhi protest. With sizeable presence, said to have around 40,000 members, and growing appeal in western Uttar Pradesh, Bheem Sena is emerging as the new champion of Dalits’ cause and, perhaps, a churning in Dalit politics is on the cards. As of now, however, Chandrashekhar and Vinay Ratan Singh have not given any indication of their political ambitions. It is the Bheem Army’s strength which must have prompted Mayawati to visit Saharanpur. Without naming the army, she said on Tuesday that small organisations working for Dalit’s cause should join forces with the Bahujan Samaj Party. Advertisement Bheem Army’s national president Vinay Ratan has said that the army was meant to fight Dalit oppression and was ready to take the oppressors head on. The police claim that Chandrashekhar was using social media to galvanise his army and enlist support. To tie down the Bheem Army, the Saharanpur police were investigating if it had links with the Naxals. Violence broke out in Shabbirpur on 5 May after Dalits objected to loud music being played by Rajputs. A Rajput was killed in the fight and the community retaliated by burning down 25 Dalit homes. Advertisement The state police chief Sulkhan Singh visited the area, and two police officials were suspended for laxity, but tension simmered. Tuesday’s incident in Saharanpur, a third in the recent past, occurred when a truck carrying Dalits back from Mayawati’s rally was attacked allegedly by Rajputs. Earlier, Dalits allegedly threw stones at Rajput homes while they were going to the rally venue. Explaining the caste situation in Saharanpur, Rajesh Mishra, former head of Lucknow University’s Sociology department warned, “As Rajputs were the dominant caste in Saharanpur and Bulandshahr and Jatav presence was also significant, clashes between them could become a problem, now that the former symbolise power.”OTTAWA — On his his just-completed nine-city town hall tour of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got sharp and sometimes angry questions about aboriginal affairs — a sign of the growing impatience and frustration many indigenous people and their leaders have with his government. And the reviews, in some cases, have been less than kind. Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas, who was at Trudeau’s Wednesday night town hall forum in Saskatoon, characterized one of Trudeau’s answers on indigenous youth centre as “dismissive.” Trudeau told the crowd in Saskatoon that First Nations chiefs who told him that money was needed for TVs and sofas in indigenous youth centres had not been listening to their own youth. “When a chief says that to me, I pretty much know that they haven’t actually talked to their young people,” Trudeau said in Saskatoon. “Because most of the young people I’ve talked to are asking for a place to store their canoes and paddles so they can connect back out on the land and a place with Internet access so they can do their homework in a meaningful way because their homes are often too crowded and they need a place to work and study.” Trudeau offered an almost identical answer — that chiefs were out of touch with their own youth — when challenged the next night in Winnipeg by Eric Redhead of Shamattawa First Nation, a community of about 1,500 located about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg near Hudson Bay. Shamattawa had pointedly asked Trudeau why the federal government was slow to respond to the suicide crisis on many First Nations reserves. Redhead singled out the Jan. 8 deaths, by suicide, of two 12-year-old girls, Jolyn Winter and Chantell Fox, from Wapakeka First Nation, in northwestern Ontario, about 200 kilometres from the Manitoba border. One of the girls was the granddaughter of Wapakeka Chief Brennan Sainnawap who, in a letter to Health Canada last July, begged for more funds to deal with a mental health crisis among youth in his community. His request was turned down. A senior Health Canada bureaucrat explained that the request came “at an awkward time” in the federal government’s budget cycle. This week, an anonymous donor, moved by the deaths of the two girls and the plight of the Wapakeka community, pledged $380,000 which the community believes can pay for four mental health workers. “Now we have a private donor who stepped up — this is not the Conservative government, this is your government — who said it was an awkward time,” Redhead said. “We didn’t vote you in for that. Is this the new government now where the private sector is funding the First Nation suicide prevention program?” In response, Trudeau agreed with Redhead’s assessment. “We have seen far too many tragedies ongoing in indigenous communities and we need to more. Absolutely.” But then Trudeau largely repeated his answer from the night before in Saskatoon, saying, indigenous leaders who ask for sofas and TVs for their youth centre “haven’t done a very good job of listening.” “‎The Prime Minister was reflecting on countless conversations he has had – over many years – regarding challenges facing Indigenous youth,” Trudeau’s press secretary said in an e-mailed statement late Friday night. “It is important for him to hear the perspectives and ideas from everyone – including leaders, young people, parents, and elders – in order to better understand the issues they are facing, and how best they can be addressed from community to community.” As for the comments about canoe storage and wi-fi, Ahmad said, “During these conversations, First Nations youth often raise the need for greater investments in youth programming and services, and we will continue listening to youth in Indigenous communities across the country while working in partnership with them to develop new solutions and opportunities.” But even as heard much during thse town hall meetings, Trudeau was challenged time and again by indigenous people. It happened in Kingston, Ont., in Peterborough, Ont., in Halifax as well as Saskatoon and Winnipeg. “The conditions on our reserves our horrible! Horrible!,” said a woman in Winnipeg who said she was a member of the Ebb and Flow First Nation, a community of about 2,000 near the northern edge of Lake Manitoba. “We live in third world conditions in our First Nations communities and that has to change. How is your government is going to help our communities? ” In Fredericton, Trudeau was told his government had not put in place appropriate measures to consult First Nations on the Energy East pipeline project. In Kingston, an indigenous woman broke down in tears begging him to “protect our water.” In Peterborough, he was introduced by Curve Lake First Nation Chief Phyliss Williams who reminded the prime minister that her community had no potable water and was living under a boil water advisory. At more than one, he was criticized for failing to implement the United Nations Declaration of Rights and Indigenous Peoples. Two Dalhousie University students, Alex Ayt and Kathleen Olds, asked Trudeau for a selfie during a photo opp at a Halifax coffee shop. They then used the occasion of being up close and personal with the PM to press him on UNDRIP. Before Christmas, at events like the Assembly of First Nations annual special assembly in Gatineau, Que., many chiefs spoke about how the Trudeau government was slow to keep commitments, such as lifting a freeze on operating transfers to First Nations governments. And they spoke of how the current government began with high hopes and high expectations among indigenous Canadians. “During the election campaign (Trudeau) and his party convinced a lot of our people who normally don’t vote in elections to step forward and come to vote with the hope that change would come about. But change has been very slow in coming,” Jean Guy Whiteduck, chief of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, an Algonquin band based in Maniwaki, Que., said at that December AFN meeting. “At this stage I don’t know if he gets a passing mark.” During the series of town hall meetings, Trudeau heard from only a handful of chiefs but heard plenty from angry everyday citizens of First Nations communities. But his response in each case was similar usually. First, he would acknowledge the grievance put to him, often agreeing that the complaint is a valid one, before promising to do better. But that promise would frequently be followed by a recitation of of some of things his government has done. “We invested historic amounts of money in budget 2016 and [we will] continue to invest,” Trudeau said in Winnipeg in response to the woman from Ebb and Flow. “I think that we are starting on a path that is going to change the future for your daughter and the present for yourself. We’re not moving as fast as I’d like on that path — I absolutely agree — but it’s a difficult path to walk.” — with files from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix • Email: dakin@postmedia.com \| Twitter: davidakinBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Feb. 23, 2017, 6:25 PM GMT / Updated Feb. 23, 2017, 6:25 PM GMT By Alex Seitz-Wald ATLANTA - Jaime Harrison, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, dropped out of the race for Democratic National Committee chairman to endorse front-runner Tom Perez Thursday, potentially putting victory within the former labor secretary's reach. Harrison announced his move on MSNBC and in an email to DNC members. “Tom and I have dedicated our careers to helping people through public service,” Harrison said in the email. “With so much at stake, our next Chair will lead the fight of a generation. We must all fight side by side. I’m standing by Tom Perez’s side, and I hope you will join me in doing the same.” Harrison was said to have had the third largest number of votes committed to him in a crowded field of eight candidates, and he could bring as many as 20 votes into Perez’ column, according to a source familiar with the situation. That might be enough to put Perez over the top on the first round of voting Saturday in his struggle against his closest rival, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison. Related: DNC Race: How the Democratic Party Picks Its New Leader The DNC has 447 members and a simple majority of them is needed to win. Perez and Ellison were thought to be roughly evenly matched, so neither had been expected to win in the first round of voting. "Every person who knows Jaime Harrison will say he is one of the smartest, most dedicated, and genuine leaders we know," Perez said in a statement. “If elected chair, I will work with Jaime and others who are running for chair to bring our party together because it will take every one of us to unite a party that is suffering from a crisis of confidence and relevance. I hope you will join Jaime and I as we stand united to make the Democratic Party the strongest it has ever been." Rep. Keith Ellison meets supporters after a town hall meeting at the Church of the New Covenant-Baptist on Dec. 22, 2016 in Detroit. Sarah Rice / Getty Images, file Last week, Ellison picked up the endorsement of another former candidate, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, who also leads the association of state party chairs. Endorsement deals between candidates are common in internal party races like this one, and it’s possible more candidates will exit before voting begins Saturday morning. In his email to DNC members, Harrison, a former top congressional aide, said he didn’t see a way him to win. “In a former job, I whipped votes for House Democrats. I know what a path to victory looks like. Despite strong performances at the debate and DNC regional forums, the votes are simply not there for me to secure victory on Saturday,” he said. Harrison, a charismatic young chairman from a red state, was in a battle for third place with South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttiegieg. Both candidates’ paths to victory depended on a deadlock between Perez and Ellison, which might then lead DNC members to rally behind an alternative. Harrison had a larger constituency inside the DNC, but Buttiegieg built a national following. On Wednesday, former DNC Chairman Howard Dean became the fifth former party chair to endorse Buttiegig, after saying he was deciding between Harrison and Buttiegieg. “Jaime and I are very very close. I’ve known him since he was in his twenties,” Dean said on a conference call with reporters. “We had more conversations than I had probably with any other candidate.” “I came to the concussions that Pete was the best chance for an outside-the-beltway candidate to win,” Dean continued. Perez said he and Harrison have grown close during the race and before. The former labor secretary campaigned for Democrats in South Carolina last year and participated in an interview with Harrison. Harrison took part in a televised debate between the candidates on CNN Wednesday night, earning boisterous applause from Democrats gathered to watch a hotel bar. “I will be probably the only chair that has been on food stamps; the only chair that has lost their home, not once, but twice; the only chair that knows what the hardship that working people have to go through in this country,” Harrison said during his closing remarks.Starting tonight, Odessa code enforcement officers will walk the streets until midnight, searching for water violations. As the new, tighter water restrictions go into effect today, the city plans to ramp up enforcement to 24 hours a day in the next few weeks. “It’s coming,” Community Development Director Merita Sandoval said. The city hopes to move to 24-hour surveillance either next week or the week after, she said. They expect to hire four seasonal enforcement officers to work only on water code enforcement. The department is short-staffed and some places are lacking attention, she said. Code officers are targeting the areas where most complaints are coming from, Sandoval said. Two code enforcement officers also work a 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. shift. Adding seasonal staff will help cover all of Odessa and educate more residents about the rules, Sandoval said. “The more educated people are, the more compliance we see,” she said. Numbers from the city shows that code enforcement officers have handed out more than 1,100 notices of violations and 21 tickets since water restrictions went into effect in April. Odessa Water Restrictions, effective Friday Even numbered address: Allowed to water beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesdays to 10 a.m. Wednesdays, and 6 p.m. Saturdays to 10 a.m. Sundays. Odd numbered addresses: Allowed to water beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesdays until 10 a.m. Thursdays, and 6 p.m. Sundays to 10 a.m. Mondays. Vehicle washing is limited to commercial and mobile car washes only. Washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, streets and gutters is prohibited. Washing down of buildings is prohibited unless for fire protection. All water leaks must be repaired within a reasonable time frame. No irrigation of landscaped areas between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any days. These restrictions do not apply to effluent water or well waters. Penalty for violation: Class C misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Nuisance water ordinance violations, effective year-round Failure to repair a controllable leak. Failure to repair a leaking valve, leaking or broken pipes or a leaking faucet. Operating a permanently installed irrigation system with a broken sprinkler head or a sprinkler head that is spraying over a street or a parking lot. Watering lawns, trees, plants and other foliage so water runs off on or into a public street, alley, curb or gutter for more than 50 feet from property line or into a street intersection. The nuisance water ordinance applies all to water sources
, are anathema to the best traditions of his office and to the examples set by the presidents we served. And in his failure, he exposes not just Jews but all Americans to greater danger. If we were working in the White House today, we hope we would have had the courage, honesty and integrity to call upon President Trump to demonstrate moral leadership – and to resign in response to a failure to do so. If we had a successor in the current White House — there is no liaison to the Jewish community in the Trump White House — we hope he or she would have done so, too. We need that leadership more than ever. The reason is not just because we have witnessed violence in our streets. We need moral leadership to respond to the rise of hatred we are witnessing in the nation we love – hatred motivated by the things we cannot change such as the color of our skin, the faith we practice, the land of our birth, the language we spoke as toddlers. We former Jewish liaisons know that the Jews in America feel hate and reject it, whether it’s directed at them or someone else. We are commanded by our faith to welcome the stranger, to comfort the oppressed, to reach out to the weak and dispossessed. We Jews have always been targeted and called out because of our differences from the majority. And even when we’re not called out and targeted, we know that those who use hate as a political tool will eventually turn their sights on us. We hear today the chants against the Jews or the “Zios.” We hear in an American city the “alt-right” protesters chant “Jews will not replace us” and the Nazi marching trope of “blood and soil.” We see in some academic and media circles the casual lumping together of Jews as enemies of the state, incapable of loyalty to America. We see the use of the language and the imagery of anti-Semitism – the hooked noses and the bloody hands — resurrected in modern digital media to deny to Jews our humanity, our individuality and our agency. We see the rough language of Brownshirts casually tweeted by young Americans – “toss them in the ovens,” “throw rocks at the yahood [Jews].” We see the resuscitation of the blood libel. And we know, the experience of Jews in America may be different from our historical experience as a religious minority elsewhere in the world, but this anti-Semitism is not different. We’ve see this hatred before. So we say to the president: “Mr. President, this nation has a problem. People think they can say and do hateful things with impunity. You have a responsibility. Not to weigh hatred against hatred. Not to divide blame equally among ‘both sides.’ Not to excuse those among you who hate by pointing out others who hate worse. “There are among your supporters and your appointees people who are anti-Semitic. Do not treat them as a cost of doing your political business. Cast them out – not only from your political tent, but from the conversation about America’s future. They don’t have a place in either. “You must stand on this nation’s strongest moral foundations and principled aspirations and against the violence and hatred. And you must recognize that whenever the Jew is attacked, there is a deeper hatred at work. Anti-Semitism serves as a gateway to other forms of group-based bigotry and hatred. “The language of anti-Semitism is the language of national suicide – it is, sadly, a mother tongue to discredited and extinct ideologies known throughout human history. If anti-Semitism takes root in America, it will be America’s ruin. Because whoever gives voice to the ancient and tired tropes of anti-Semitism, his mouth goes dry with ashes. “Mr. President, you must call out and stand against any creeping normalization of anti-Semitism —without obfuscation, hesitation or equivocation – not only because anti-Semitism is odious, but also because it will invariably lead to other forms of hatred and bigotry that divide and destroy our nation.” Matt Nosanchuk (Barack Obama) Noam Neusner (George W. Bush) Jarrod Bernstein (Barack Obama) Adam Goldman (George W. Bush) Jay S. Zeidman (George W. Bush) Scott Arogeti (George W. Bush) Deborah Mohile Goldberg (Bill Clinton) Jay K. Footlik (Bill Clinton) Jeanne Ellinport (Bill Clinton) Amy Zisook (Bill Clinton) Marshall J. Breger (Ronald Reagan) (The authors each served in the White House as the president’s liaison to the American Jewish community in Democratic or Republican administrations.) The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.Chris Herhalt, CP24.com Toronto police have charged a 49-year-old Toronto man with aggravated assault after another man was pushed into the side of a subway train as it was departing Bloor station on Sunday. The victim was found lying unconscious on the eastbound platform of the Bloor-Danforth line by police and paramedics at about 4 p.m. The man was suffering from serious head injuries and was rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital for treatment. He remains in serious condition. Police said Sunday that there was some kind of altercation between the victim and the suspect that ended when the victim was pushed into the side of a departing train. Authorities are still trying to determine if the victim and suspect knew each other Const. Victor Kwong said a suspect identified as Kirk Platten is to appear in court at College Park sometime on Monday for a bail hearing.A self-explanatory list of eleven starters, and eleven substitutes. Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United A disappointing performance in the Champions League final was a cruel way for an outstanding career to end. The Dutchman’s 21st and final season of professional football was arguably his best, and it’s difficult to remember a footballer in modern times going out at such a high level – Zinedine Zidane may come to mind, but he wouldn’t have been considered Europe’s top midfielder in 2005/06, his final campaign, whereas van der Sar was the best goalkeeper around in 2010/11. His main quality was not his shot-stopping skills, his command of the box or his ability with his feet, but his ability to inspire calmness and confidence in the Manchester United back four. — Daniel Alves, Barcelona In a team full of technical quality, Alves’ main threat comes from his physical ability. Opponents know exactly what he’s going to do – scamper up and down the right touchline all game, but if they can’t compete with his speed or stamina, the Brazilian is almost impossible to stop. His energy levels are quite extraordinary, and he provides the attacking width that lets Barcelona’s right-sided forward coming inside without losing the width the club has always loved to play with. Defensively he is occasionally suspect but nothing like the weak link some make out, and his defensive work has often been done preemptively, by pushing the opposing left-winger back into his own third of the pitch, like in the game against Sevilla. — Mats Hummels, Dortmund Hummels’ partnership with Neven Subotic was Europe’s best this season, but there was no doubt who the main man was. Hummels went from ‘promising’ to ‘world class’ within the space of a few months, consistently turning in superb displays and attracting attention even in a side full of star performers in 2010/11. Hummels is an intelligent, composed defender who is positionally excellent and has great anticipation skills – he rarely dives into tackles, demonstrated by the fact he only picked up two bookings in the league all season, and has a great leap for aerial contests. He’s also useful on the ball, and scored four times with headers, including the clicher in the crucial away win at Bayern. — Thiago Silva, Milan Serie A’s best defender has an even more enviable disciplinary record than Hummels, having collected just a single booking in 2010/11, proving that the best defenders spent as little time as possible sliding around on their backsides. Being the star performer in a backline also containing Alessandro Nesta shows what a fine defender Silva has become – cool on the ground, dominant in the air, he’s been Milan’s most reliable player by a long way. He even tried his hand at playing in midfield with some success, but it’s at centre-back where he will come to be regarded as one of the best in the world. — Marcelo, Real Madrid For the second season in succession, left-back has been a little lacking in quality across the continent. In all probability, Marcelo will not be Real Madrid’s first-choice left-back next season, with Fabio Coentrao seemingly on the brink of joining from Benfica – but that’s extremely harsh on Marcelo, who is one of three Brazilians to make this side’s back four. Like Alves, he is at his best going forward – and his runs were so crucial in Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-breaking season – when Marcelo provides width, Ronaldo can come inside and shoot – when Marcelo isn’t playing, such as against Lyon, Ronaldo is much less effective. — Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona At the start of the season in which he became Barcelona’s record appearance holder, there were reports that Xavi’s troublesome Achilles injury would cause him to miss a significant number of minutes this season. Until Christmas, he only completed three league games. Being nursed through the first few months of the season helped him stay fit for the second half of the season, and he ended up excelling yet again – breaking more passing records and coming up with some crucial goals – the opener in the 5-0 against Real Madrid and and ‘equaliser’ (over two legs) against Arsenal. The consistency of his performance over the past three years is astonishing. — Nuri Sahin, Dortmund Playing as part of a fashionable double pivot in midfielder, Sahin was frequently the driving force in Dortmund’s excellent displays. A busy player but also technically superb, the Turkey international is a complete midfielder – you could ask him to hold, to play a box-to-box role or work as a playmaker, and you’d still be sure of a good performance. Sahin plays clever passes rather than spectacular ones – he moves forward and looks to slide the ball through the defence with his stronger left foot, and his quick thinking has been crucial in Dortmund’s transitions on the break. He also came up with some important goals, notably excellent strikes home and away against Bayern. — Theo Janssen, Twente It’s often tough to assess the true ability of players in the Eredivisie, such is the difference in quality between top and bottom. Janssen earns his place on this list, however, by his frequent star performances in the biggest games. He scored two in the first league meeting against Ajax, another two (including a superb run from his own half) in the crucial 2-0 win over PSV, and also netted a belting, if ultimately futile, long-range effort in the final day title decider against Ajax. In the four games against two title rivals, five goals is pretty good for a midfielder, and his displays across the season have seen many name him the Eredivisie player of the year. — Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid Ronaldo’s goalscoring heroics have become so routine that it’s worth considering again what he achieved this campaign – the first La Liga player in history to score 40 goals in a season (from only 32 starts) as well as becoming the first player to win the European Golden Shoe in two different leagues, a record which shouldn’t be overlooked considering how many players have excelled in one country, then looked poor in another. He has the ability to completely dominate a game – see the 4-2 win over Villarreal, when he scored a hattrick and set up the other – despite the fact that Real were second best for much of the contest. He also won the Copa del Rey final with a brilliant header that would be regarded as ‘classic Ronaldo’ if it wasn’t for his supreme talent in other aspects of the game. — Edinson Cavani, Napoli Cavani opened his Napoli account just eight minutes into his debut against Fiorentina, and went onto have his best season by some distance. He turned in some magnificent individual performances – his hattrick of headers against Juventus, his double against Roma and his hattrick in possibly the most entertaining game of the season in the crazy 4-3 win over Lazio spring to mind. Able to play wide or through the middle according to how Walter Mazzarri wanted to set up tactically, Cavani was more often than not outstanding in his all-round game, not just in front of goal. Napoli were one of the season’s success stories, a side most neutrals loved to watch, and Cavani was the main reason. — Lionel Messi, Barcelona Messi scored in ten consecutive games earlier this season. The game that broke that spell would generally be considered a low point – expect for the fact that it was the 5-0 win over Real Madrid in the Clasico, where Messi picked up two assists and caused havoc with his deep positioning. His role as a false nine has gone from Barcelona’s ‘alternative’ to being their standard shape, and at the heart of a side Messi’s influence is at its greatest. Some of the goals he has scored have been phenomenal, and he has the knack of providing moments of genius at crucial times – the brilliant ‘three-four’ with Pedro Rodriguez against Villarreal in the best technical game of the season, the flick and finish over Manuel Almunia when Arsenal were set to keep a first half clean sheet in Barcelona, the ridiculous run in the last minute of the ugly Clasico first leg, and then the thump past van der Sar in the Champions League final. Substitutes Victor Valdes, Barcelona He often only has to make one save a game – but he generally does so excellently, and also sweeps out of his goal to great effect to enable Barca’s high line to work. Mathieu Debuchy, Lille Probably not Lille’s star performer in their run to the French double, but consistently excellent at right-back – fearsome tackling, powerful running from deep, and composure on the ball too. Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United The best penalty box defender on the continent in Europe this season. Supreme in the air, and only failed to make the XI because of a few dodgy displays against pace – notably away at Aston Villa and West Ham – tricky moments Hummels and Silva didn’t encounter. Vincent Kompany, Manchester City Powerful and pacey, but also good at reading the game and making decisions, and probably City’s true leader despite Carlos Tevez wearing the armband. Fabio Coentrao, Benfica After a breakthrough season in 2009/10, Coentrao has become established as a key player in the past twelve months – sometimes used as a left winger, but will spend most of his career at left-back, almost certainly away from Benfica. Arturo Vidal, Leverkusen Primarily an energetic player but also one with great ability on the ball, and an ability to score good goals. Andres Iniesta, Barcelona Injury disrupted his previous two campaigns, but this was his best for Barca, featuring some crucial, brilliant through-balls, for Xavi v Real Madrid (5-0), for Messi v Arsenal (3-1) and Pedro v Real Madrid (1-1). Mesut Ozil, Real Madrid A great debut season in La Liga for one of the most intelligent players around. Ozil has the ability to hurt teams both on the counter-attack and when opponents sit deep, and his movement off the ball is extraordinarily good. Alexis Sanchez, Udinese Started the season playing poorly on the wing as Udinese lost their first four games – then became a top-class player when played in a new role as a trequartista. Giuseppe Rossi, Villarreal Brilliant movement, excellent link-up play, and some goals from ludicrous positions. Falcao, Porto A fantastic finisher, particularly adept in the air. Won the Europa League with a trademark header, and consistently scored throughout the season, including five in four games against Benfica and Sporting, and a hattrick in the semi against Villarreal. These choices are discussed on the first European Football Show, a season review If you’d be kind enough to vote for ZM here it would be much appreciated! Just three clicks… Related articles on Zonal Marking:Major League Lacrosse announced today that Florida Launch attackman Casey Powell has been named the 2014 Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player, as voted on by MLL coaches and general managers. In his 10th MLL season, Powell dominated the field leading the League in points all season and ending with a total of 63, as well as became the MLL’s all-time leader for points with ta total of 468. “I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to play for the Florida Launch this season. Being named MVP is an honor that I share with my teammates, coaches and loyal fans,” said Powell. “I tried to give my greatest effort 14 nights this summer and did my best to try and win games. I look forward to helping this organization gain great success in the future. Thank you to the coaching staff, my teammates and all the fans in Florida, as well as the MLL Coaches and GMs who voted for me.” Powell played in all 14 games during the Launch’s inaugural season, scoring 30 goals and 33 assists for a total of 63 points, leading the Launch in points and assists. Powell, scoring in every game this season for the Launch, boasts the second best shooting percentage in the League for an attackman (.524). “I think you can now officially put Casey Powell’s face on the Mount Rushmore of lacrosse. What Casey has accomplished this season is truly amazing! Not only to win Offensive Player of the Year but to add MVP is truly an incredible accomplishment at any age, let alone 38,” said Launch Head Coach Stan Ross. “He competed and produced in every game for the Launch this season and left everything he had on the field after each game. But one thing I know to be true is Casey would trade these awards in to still be competing with the Launch in the Championship this weekend because he always strives to be the best. He is a true inspiration to everyone in the lacrosse world and we are glad to have him on the field for us.” Powell is no a stranger to MLL success – Powell, who was named 2014 Warrior Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week for the second time in his career, was named Coca-Cola Player of the Game three times during the season and Warrior Offensive Player of the Week twice. Powell boasted 10 multi-goal games and averaged 4.5 points per game, including a season-high of eight points at Boston where he scored four goals and four assists. At age 38, Powell has become the oldest player to win MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. Not only does Powell have one MLL MVP and two OPOY awards under his belt but also two MLL Championships from 2008 (Rochester) and 2013 (Chesapeake). Powell, who received the most first place votes, won with a total of 31 points from the MLL coaches and general managers followed by Denver’s John Grant Jr. with 25 points and Rochester’s John Galloway with 21 points.In his speech Wednesday evening, Rep. Paul Ryan referenced a Janesville, Wis. GM plant that was shut down, linking its closure to President Obama, who gave a speech there in 2008. But it turns out the last GM vehicle produced at the plant was in late 2008 when George W. Bush was still president. "My home state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory," Ryan said in his convention speech Wednesday night. "A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: 'I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.' That's what he said in 2008." "Well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that's how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight," Ryan continued. The plant Ryan referenced, which he also brought up at an event earlier this month, made its last GM automobile in December 2008 while President George W. Bush was still in office. The announcement to close the Janesville plant came in June of 2008, after then-candidate Obama spoke there, and the initial projected date for its closing was 2010, according to an AP article from the time. The plant remained open for a few months in 2009 to complete orders on Isuzu vehicles, a company with which GM had a partnership. In February 2008, Obama told employees at the plant "if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years," according to USA Today. The Romney/Ryan campaign noted the plant did not close but went into"standby" in 2008 and remains in that status today, as is noted in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. The campaign also pointed to a statement released in 2008 by Obama's campaign that said it would help "retool" plants like the one scheduled to shut down in Janesville. "I will lead an effort to retool plants like the GM facility in Janesville so we can build the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow and create good-paying jobs in Wisconsin and all across America," an Obama campaign statement from 2008 reads. The AP reported Ryan joined with other Wisconsin legislators to lobby GM to keep the plant open, but they were unsuccessful. This post was updated.Obama’s Delay Cost James Foley His Life A new article from the Sunday Times claims President Obama delayed a rescue mission for James Foley and others for 30 days. Obama spent that time “fretting over his image”, playing golf and worrying his administration would be “Carterized” if the mission failed. Sunday Times reported “Pentagon sources said Foley and the others might well have been rescued but Obama, concerned about the ramifications of US troops being killed or captured in Syria, took too long to authorise the mission.” The Sunday Times also claimed President Obama spent his 30 day rescue mission delay “agonizing over his decision” but Breitbart.com pointed out how many times he played golf during that time. Via Breitbart: However, it also seems worth noting that the eventual timing of the mission may have made for a nice July 4th weekend announcement for Obama had the mission succeeded. Instead, Obama played golf on July 5th, as well as an additional six times in the month he is said to have spent agonizing over his decision, the delay of which may have cost journalist Foley his life. Anthony Shaffer, a former lieutenant-colonel in US military intelligence who worked on covert operations, said: “I’m told it was almost a 30-day delay from when they said they wanted to go to when he finally gave the green light. They were ready togo in June to grab the guy [Foley] and they weren’t permitted.” During that “agonizing” time, the President and First Lady planned a 15 day vacation to Martha’s Vineyard.C.T. Wilson gathered his courage, told his colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates about how he was sexually abused as a child and urged them to allow child victims more time to file lawsuits against their attackers. The first two times he did that, the Charles County Democrat saw his proposal die in a House committee without even being called for a vote. But this year, he may have prevailed. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved legislation to let victims file lawsuits until they're 38 years old — 13 years later than current law allows. And Thursday morning, the full House advanced Wilson's bill to a final vote. "I had no idea it was going to pass" out of committee, Wilson said. "I figured I would fight every year." He said it was a relief after repeatedly giving painful testimony. "It's a huge accomplishment. Also a huge weight," Wilson said. "To expose yourself like that is so painful." For the bill to advance, two powerful opponents had to be won over: the Catholic Church and Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr., chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Their concerns were satisfied when the bill was amended to make it more for difficult for victims older than 25 to win damages in civil lawsuits. "We think this is a fair compromise," said Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference. The state Senate unanimously approved a similar proposal Wednesday. Either the Senate bill or House bill must be approved by the other chamber before April 10 for the legislation to advance to the desk of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. C.T. Wilson, a Charles County state delegate, on his testimony about being repeatedly beaten and raped by his adopted father. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun video) C.T. Wilson, a Charles County state delegate, on his testimony about being repeatedly beaten and raped by his adopted father. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun video) SEE MORE VIDEOS Wilson, 45, has told colleagues for the past three years about how he was beaten and raped by his adoptive father as a child, and how the effects of the abuse linger decades later. Wilson’s adopted father is now dead. While the bill is "not a silver bullet," Wilson hopes that it will offer one measure of legal help to child abuse victims. Often, he said, it takes years for people who were abused as children to come to terms with what happened — sometimes when they have children of their own. Those victims would then find out that Maryland law only allows civil lawsuits against alleged attackers until the victim is 25 years old. Wilson's bill extends that deadline to 20 years after becoming a legal adult at age 18. The Catholic Church had fought versions of the bill for years, even before Wilson became the legislation's chief champion. On Wednesday afternoon, two representatives from the Maryland Catholic Conference sat alongside Wilson in support of the bill. "This is a fair way of allowing these people to have their time in court," Russell said. For victims up to age 25, the bill allows courts to award damages against institutions that employ or supervise abusers if negligence is proven. For older victims, the bill requires gross negligence — a tougher legal standard — in order to award damages. Vallario, who is Catholic, said the change in liability for the older cases satisfied his concerns and led him to allow the committee vote after preventing it for years. Vallario said it can be difficult for institutions such as churches to defend cases decades after abuse is alleged to have occurred. "Sometimes these priests are dead, and it's very hard for the church to defend," the Prince George's County Democrat said in an interview. The Maryland Catholic Conference had previously objected to the bill because churches that employed abusers would be held to a different standard than government institutions. State law prohibits child sex abuse lawsuits from being filed against state and local governments — including school districts, foster care services and other public institutions — once the alleged victim turns 21. The Wilson bill would not change that. The church dropped its objection when the bill was amended to make it more difficult for a plaintiff over 25 to win damages. The Catholic Church has been enmeshed in controversy for years over sexual abuse of children at the hands of priests. The Archdiocese of Baltimore has paid millions of dollars in claims lodged by dozens of people. The diocese's policy is to offer voluntary settlements regardless of the amount of time that passed since the abuse took place. The church's earlier opposition to letting older victims press lawsuits wore on Del. Eric Bromwell, a Baltimore County Democrat who had sponsored the bill before Wilson became involved. Bromwell withdrew the bill after just one year, having been inundated with criticism. He said the effort had been started by the late Del. Pauline Menes, a Democrat who represented Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. On Wednesday, Bromwell rushed from another committee hearing to meet Wilson at the Judiciary Committee. He embraced Wilson and told him he was proud of his work. "It should have happened 10 years ago," Bromwell said after the committee vote. Bromwell said it was tough when he gave up sponsoring the bill, unable to take pressure from the church. "It was the hardest thing I have done in my life," Bromwell said. "I had to call people who had been abused and tell them I couldn't be their bill sponsor anymore." Then he befriended Wilson, a burly former bouncer who said he had been abused as a child. Bromwell watched Wilson tell his colleagues of the abuse one year, and then another, and then another. Each time, Bromwell said, it weighed on Wilson for days before the testimony and even longer afterward. It was Wilson's personal story, Bromwell said, that eventually forced the issue to a vote. "Because it was one of our own, it was inevitable that it would come to a vote," Bromwell said. "And when it finally did, it sailed out." Perhaps even more important than the expanded legal rights for child abuse victims, Wilson said, is the message that the legislature is sending to them. He said that even if victims don't end up filing more lawsuits, they'll know that their representatives in Annapolis care about them. "You want them to know they're not ignored," Wilson said. pwood@baltsun.com ecox@baltsun.com twitter.com/pwoodreporter twitter.com/ErinatTheSunLet's imagine for a moment an aging writer of a conservative political bent mentioning the murder of Europe's Jews and the liquidation of German soldiers in the same context in an interview with an Israeli newspaper as well as mixing up the relevant numbers. Instead of discussing the 1 million German soldiers who died in Soviet POW camps, he suddenly puts the figure at 6 million, the figure more commonly given for the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. One doesn't need much imagination to envision how the enlightened public would react to this writer's math. Under normal circumstances, the man's career as someone with political statements to be taken seriously would be over. But, in this case, the man behind the strange Holocaust math was none other than legendary German writer and Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass, who made the statements in an interview published by Haaretz on Aug. 26 on the eve of the publication of the Hebrew translation of his autobiographical book "Peeling the Onion," which had been published five years ago in Germany and sparked a massive debate here because of Grass' revelations he had been a member of the Nazi Waffen-SS. Grass' stature as a leading figure in modern world literature has clearly led him to be treated differently. Instead of finding decisive rebukes in the feature pages of German newspapers in the days since the publication of the interview, one can mostly find convoluted excuses mentioning Grass' many achievements. In fact, even the historian who returned to the subject of the Holocaust with Grass went on to defend him. "I believe that in the heat of the argument he mentioned an incorrect figure," Tom Segev said. "Actually I should have corrected him and I apologize for not having done so." That's magnanimous, to say the least. Of course, one could let the matter go at that -- but not when one is talking about Grass, the man who strives to be viewed as the ultimate authority on issues of conscience, the man who continues to always be invoked by those in Germany who like to resort to moral judgements in their discourse with political opponents. In fact, for some time now, it seems the better Grass' reputation has gotten for being a person who can make clear statements about current events, the lower the quality of his literary output has been. This just begs the question of why people continue to stubbornly believe that novelists have something special to contribute to political discussions. A Lack of Political Judgment It must have been some misunderstanding that turned writers who come up with pleasant stories into major political thinkers, into people who should give their advice on everything and anything possible -- whether it's climate change, the dark sides of globalization, world hunger or the Middle East conflict. Indeed, no one would ever think of asking a weightlifter about the crisis in Greece just because he had worked out in Athens once, or of asking a pole-vaulter about the future of the financial markets just because she had bought a couple stocks at a certain point. One would justifiably expect their responses to be naïve, on average or inadvertently funny, at best. When it comes to political judgment, Grass has demonstrated with amazing regularity that he doesn't have any. Over the years, he has begotten the most outrageous nonsense. But that still hasn't kept his admirers from regularly offering him a podium from which he can rage against "turbo capitalism" or the European Union policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It would be hard to forget what Grass said in a television discussion with the influential journalist and SPIEGEL founder Rudolf Augstein in 1990, the year of German reunification. Grass cited the Holocaust as a reason why Germany had to remain divided in two states, saying: "The scene of the horror rules out having a future unified state." Augstein coolly countered this by saying only: "That's not a political viewpoint; that's religion." "He just might be the one writer who has proclaimed the most errors about German politics," said Jens Hacker, a historian who has already been cataloguing Grass' political statements for years. What's more, it goes without saying that Grass' slipups haven't stopped him for a second from having a high opinion -- indeed, the highest opinion -- of himself and his ilk. As such, he is a typical example of a species of person who has already rid oneself of the ability to deal with irony or self-doubt before getting a bit thicker around the waist. A Failed Entry into the Political Limelight Since 1965, when Grass intoned his "song of praise" election speech to then-Berlin mayor and future Chancellor Willy Brandt and then founded the Election Office of German Writers to help Brandt's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). Grass has subscribed to a belief widely held among Germany's cultural elite, one that prompts him to emerge from the dark recesses where he does his writing to make political appeals and to attest to his political "engagement." What's more, it's obvious that his involvement isn't quite as selfless as those involved like to pretend. In the part of the memoirs of Klaus Harpprecht where he speaks about his years as a speechwriter and adviser to Chancellor Willy Brandt, one can read about how a small group of people debated whether to set up a national artists' foundation after the SPD's 1972 election victory. Doing so would create a position for Grass, who had been expecting some sort of official recognition for his efforts in support of the SPD during the election campaign. Willy Brandt was clearly rather skeptical about the idea. In the part of his records discussing the highly developed sense of self worth that Grass already had at that time, Harpprecht quotes Brandt as saying that Grass continued to be obsessed "with the illusion that he represented the electorate more directly than the party." In a note from March 9, 1973, Harpprecht writes that Brandt "is also not completely sure that G.G. won't advance another one of his absurd ideas, like the one he floated when the Wall was being built, suggesting that all of Europe's Gypsies should be summoned to Berlin because Gypsies are generally known for making any border porous." Not long thereafter, while Harpprecht was visiting Grass at his home in northern Germany, he noted that Grass had a "certain bitterness" about apparently not being as needed by those in government as he thought he would be. "He appeared to have expected (and to continue to expect) to be offered a concrete position," Harpprecht wrote to Brandt after speaking with Grass. "It distresses him that he sees the chancellor so little. He doesn't want to content himself with one-hour meetings every now and then." As a general rule, writers are people with a lot of imagination who have a tremendously favorable opinion of themselves. Without these traits, they would also never be able to get through the hardship-riddled initial phase in which their success appears anything but guaranteed. That's good for art. But, as one can easily see from Grass' example, that's also disastrous when it comes to making judgments about real-world issues.Monogatari fans have a lot to celebrate in 2016 with the long awaited Kizumonogatari anime adaptation finally getting released, starting with Part1: Tekketsu hitting Japanese theaters January 8th and select American ones February 26th. For fans looking to visit 2015's Owarimonogatari, the series' anime site has posted a gallery of the diverse tribute art pieces featured as 12 episode's end cards. Epsidoe 1 - VOFAN (light novel illustrator) Episode 2 - Yo Asami (Maoyu, Ishin Nishio's The Memorandum of Kyoko Okitegami) Episode 3 - Chomoran (Shinigami o Tabeta Shoujo/The Girl Who Ate Death) Episode 4 - Kinako (Gatchaman Crowds) Episode 5 - Yaokin / Masenbo (Umaibo tasty sticks) Episode 6 - Kira Imai (Lolita illustrator for "Gothic & Lolita Bible", "Shojo Beat", and for the Angelic Pretty ) Episode 7 - Yuu (The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki manga, Gojikanme no Sensou) Episode 8 - Sappan Episode 9 - Sankaku Head (Umaru-chan author) Episode 10 - Tsubasu Izumi (Re: Stage!) Episode 11 - Kenshi Hirokane (Human Crossing) Episode 12 - Akio Watanabe (anime character designer) Akio Watanabe also did New Year's art for the Koyomimonogatari (Calendar Story) app And a Year of the Monkey tribute by manga author Seiman Douman ------ Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.RALEIGH, N.C. — Last June, state employees in charge of stopping water pollution were given updated marching orders on behalf of North Carolina’s new Republican governor and conservative lawmakers. “The General Assembly doesn’t like
approve of the Rockets' decision to trade for Harden in this blockbuster deal? Yes No View Results Loading... Loading... After a long, frustrating series of near misses, the Rockets on Saturday hit their trade target with a blockbuster trade that will go a long way to defining them for several years. The Rockets acquired James Harden, last season’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year, from the Oklahoma City Thunder with the hopes he can be a much-needed, long-term star for their retooled roster. “James is the foundational, franchise type player we have been seeking the past few seasons,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “He makes us better from day one and will play a big part in helping get us back to a championship level.” The Rockets intend to sign Harden, 23, to a contract extension before the start of the season on Wednesday with plans to build around him, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. To get Harden, the Rockets will send Kevin Martin, first-round pick Jeremy Lamb and two first-round picks to Oklahoma City. “We are very excited with tonight’s trade,” Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “While I never like having to send out quality players like Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, this trade gives us a chance to make an immediate impact on the future of our franchise moving forward. James Harden was part of Team USA’s gold medal team at the London Olympics and is one of the most skilled shooting guards in the NBA. James, along with the mix of young players we already have in place such as Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik give us a very solid group of young, talented players who will form the core of our team.” The Thunder will receive the first-round pick the Rockets acquired from the Toronto Raptors for Kyle Lowry. The Rockets had acquired that pick to facilitate a blockbuster trade, initially hoping it could be the key to a deal for Dwight Howard. With the deal, the Rockets have in effect traded Lowry, Martin, their first of three 2012 first-round selections and other assets for Harden. Oklahoma City would get the Raptors’ pick if it falls between four and 14 next season. If it doesn’t, it would get it if it’s between three and 14 the following two seasons. If they still have not gotten the pick, the Thunder would get it if it is between the second and 14th picks. If the Raptors make the playoffs for the next five seasons, Oklahoma City would get their pick the following season. The Thunder will also receive the Dallas Mavericks pick, if it is not in the top 20, that the Rockets received from the Lakers for Jordan Hill. The Rockets are also sending Oklahoma City a second-round pick from Oklahoma City. The Rockets will also receive center Cole Aldrich and forwards Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook in the deal. They made the move to acquire Harden, whom they considered a top free agent target for next summer if he could not reach agreement on a contract extension with the Thunder by Wednesday’s deadline and were budgeting to offer the sort of max contract they will now offer to sign Westbrook to an extension. When the Thunder’s negotiations with Harden reached an impasse, trade talks with the Rockets picked up, with the Rockets willing to give Harden the contract the Thunder would not with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant already in place as their foundation. Harden averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season, his third out of Arizona State, making 49.1 percent of his shots. Martin has been the Rockets’ leading scoring in each of the past three seasons and in the preseason and has career averages of 18.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists, Lamb was the 12th player taken in the 2012 draft, with the Rockets sending Samuel Dalembert to the Bucks several days before the draft to position themselves to take Lamb. Martin said he was “very happy” but that the news was still “bitter sweet. “Sometimes you just can’t describe how you feel in words,” Martin said. “Very surreal feeling.” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said the deal was made because of the inability to reach agreement on a contract extension with Harden. “We wanted to sign James to an extension, but at the end of the day, these situations have to work for all those involved,” Presti said in a statement. “Our ownership group again showed their commitment to the organization with several significant offers. We were unable to reach a mutual agreement, and therefore executed a trade that capitalized on the opportunity to bring in a player of Kevin’s caliber, a young talent like Jeremy and draft picks, which will be important to our organizational goal of a sustainable team.”YouTube is expected to release a subscription service that will get rid of ads; there is no secret there. The rumors have been going strong about it. The issue is so far all we have gotten is a general sense of the idea. Needless to say we have been itching for more details, and today we might be getting the best YouTube murmurs around the inter webs. Sources have been told that a launch is to be expected by the end of October, but that is merely words. Those who need a bit more proof can now turn to look at an email YouTube content creators have been getting. This message (posted at the bottom of this article) asks that YouTube channel owners agree to a new set of terms of service, or else their videos “will no longer be available for public display or monetization in the USA”. This action must be taken care of by October 22nd, which strongly suggests this may be the same day Google launches the new YouTube subscription service. This evidence is accompanied by other rumors coming from “video industry sources”, who claim this service is to be bundled with YouTube Music Key, the company’s music streaming paid subscription. But most of you are probably more worried about how much subscribers will pocket out to get an ad-free YouTube and Music Key, a due that is rumored to be named YouTube Red. The details are actually a bit weird, as it’s said Google will charge only $10 a month for this. This would be the same amount of cash Music Key was expected to cost on its own, leaving much of the industry scratching heads. Is this a good decision, financially, with music labels likely getting most of the money? We are sure Google wouldn’t go ahead and lose money doing this. Right? Maybe YouTube Music Key simply needed more to offer than its own music streaming capabilities, and the promise of no ads will simply entice more users to sign up. Where do you stand on this? Would you pay $10 a month to get rid of ads and gain access to Music Key? Letter to YouTube content owners:For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, John Bapst High School in Bangor is planning to expand. The plans include razing the former Jewish Community Center next to the school on Somerset Street and replacing it with a two-story, 15,000 square-foot gymnasium and fitness center that will cost $3.5 million. The school has owned the building since the 1990s and uses it primarily for storage. But the new gym will only be used for practice, Head of School Mel MacKay said, because the tight residential area cannot accommodate more than 25 parking spaces. Basketball games will continue to be held at the Cross Insurance Center. The current gym on the bottom floor of the six-story school, which has been virtually untouched since the original construction of the building, will be renovated and turned into a new dining hall and kitchen for $950,000. The adjacent locker rooms will be converted into a $500,000 robotics and engineering classroom. The entire endeavor will cost $7.5 million — $1 million of which will be added to the school’s existing $1.3 million endowment, which pays for student scholarships and other operating costs. Because the school is private, it must use its own money and raise funds to pay for the project. $3.4 million already has been raised for the campaign, mostly in the form of donations from John Bapst alumni, MacKay said. The plans for renovation, which have been in the works since 2015, are long overdue, he said. “We are eager to give students 21st-century facilities,” he said. John Bapst was built in 1928 on the edge of downtown on Broadway and served for about 60 years as a co-ed Catholic parochial school. In 1980, the school re-opened as a secular, private college-prep high school. Today, John Bapst has 470 students from Maine and other countries, including China, South Korea and Vietnam. Enrollment fluctuates year to year, MacKay said. At most, the school has had 515 students. In 2011, the school began boarding international students and some in-staters who lived outside commuting distance. Today, the school boards about 50 of its students — 90 percent of which are from other countries — housing them in seven nearby residential buildings on Broadway and French Street that the school owns. Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was a Democratic, and later independent, politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C.[1] He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence. Traficant died on September 27, 2014, as the result of injuries sustained in an accident that had occurred several days earlier when his tractor flipped over as he was driving it into his barn. Early life, education, and career [ edit ] Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr.[2][3] He was of mostly Italian and Slovak ancestry.[4] Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 and the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka.[5] Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally.[6][7] He later obtained a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1973) and another from Youngstown State University (1976).[8] At the start of his career, Traficant worked as consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.[9] He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work by the recent closures of steel mills. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses.[10] In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself.[11][12] Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition. U.S. House of Representatives [ edit ] While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction,[13] and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held. Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment.[14] Defense of John Demjanjuk [ edit ] Traficant championed the unpopular cause of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible.[15] For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan)[16] insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction.[17]. Defense of Arthur Rudolph [ edit ] Following Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama.[18] He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress.[18] He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless.[18] Additionally, he "introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case."[18] Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred.[18] Trial and expulsion [ edit ] In 2002, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering and tax evasion.[1] Per House rules, he lost his right to vote on legislation pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics. Eventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24 the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote.[19] The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary.[20] Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal. After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood.[21] He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan.[22] Prison and later life [ edit ] Incarceration [ edit ] Traficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood, on August 6, 2002,[23] with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060.[24] He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. Shortly after his arrival, he was put in solitary confinement for incitement to riot after he told a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up."[25] During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation.[26] While in prison, Traficant received support from David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about "Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that "There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now," and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke.[27] Release [ edit ] Traficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009.[24] On September 6, 2009, 1200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. "Welcome home Jimbo" was printed on T-shirts. "I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America," he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office.[28] On November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk.[29] Michael Collins Piper an AFP writer—who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story[30] – previously defended Traficant against his accusers. 2010 congressional campaign [ edit ] In September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[31] Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell.[22] Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%. Post-prison life [ edit ] After his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with conservatism.[32][33] Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, "Project Freedom USA",[34] to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve.[35] Accident and death [ edit ] Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as "sedated and not doing well."[36] By September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident.[37] A text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that "the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying." On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73.[38][39] By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him.[40] A subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident.[41] The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor, under which he had been trapped after the accident.[41] Publications [ edit ] Traficant, James (2011). America's Last Minuteman. New York: Sports Calendar International. ISBN 978-1-889036-01-4. Target: Traficant, The Untold Story, Michael Collins Piper, American Free Press; (2005); ISBN 978-0981808611 See also [ edit ] References [ edit ]A brand new, highly-anticipated exhibition has recently opened at the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, offering a ground-breaking and comprehensive history of British tattooing. Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed delves into the rich history of tattooing in Britain and aims to challenge preconceptions and long-standing myths about the practice when it comes to class, gender and age. The exhibition is the largest of its kind to take place in the UK and features cutting-edge designers, leading academics and major private collectors. Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed will also showcase the work of major British tattoo artists, including the legendary ‘King of Tattooists’ George Burchett and Killer Ink sponsored artist Lal Hardy. Among the private collections is a previously unseen archive relating to Britain’s first female tattoo artist, Jessie Knight. One of the most spectacular installations at the exhibition is the ‘100 Hands Project’, curated by Alice Snape of Things and Ink magazine. The project is based around 100 silicone arms, each tattooed with an original design by 100 of the best artists working in the UK. Our sponsored artist Chris Jones (who we filmed a Stranger Things video with last year) tattooed a Red Dwarf-inspired piece on A Pound of Flesh arm for the exhibition. Other displays we recommend you take in at Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed include a recreation of Lal Hardy’s first tattoo room (which was based in his Beaconsfield Road, London flat in 1979), a sculpture of The Great Omi and examples of preserved tattooed human skin. Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed will be shown at the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall from 17th March 2017 to 7th January 2018. (Bottom images taken by @lalhardy.)As vinyl records make a global comeback, so do turntables. LITOVEL, Czech Republic (AP) — The biggest maker of quality turntables, a company in the Czech Republic called SEV Litovel, has increased its production fourfold between 2009 and 2016, when it made 124,825 units. "I really can't see the end (of the growth)," said Managing Director Jiri Mencl, who estimates production of 150,000 in three years. His firm has opened a new production site worth 180 million koruna ($7.2 million) this year to meet the demand for turntables, which has been rising globally. Established in 1999 as a successor of the Communist era, state-owned electronics maker, SEV bet on a combination of quality and a reasonable cost. Starting with its own design, the company makes almost all parts that are carefully assembled by hand, piece by piece. The turntables are belt-driven, meaning they are used to listen to records, not for DJ mixing. Some 400 employees — a workforce that has doubled in size in the last five years — make a number of types of turntables, with prices ranging from as low as $200 to $10,000. Under a commercial deal, Austria's Pro-Ject Audio Systems distributes the turntables globally under its Pro-Ject brand. They are a regular receiver of awards in the hi-fi category by the European Imaging and Sound Association, or EISA. Pro-Ject Audio Systems director Heinz Lichtenegger said part of the secret behind the turntables' return is that "people search for things that make their life more enjoyable, more slow." "Turntable means you have to listen to the music relaxed" he said. "You have to take time for your music. You don't click for the next song. You have to listen to the whole record. You have to clean the record. You have to care about your record. It's like a good wine." He said the United States, European countries like Britain, and Australia are among the biggest markets, with the best sellers in the $300-$400 bracket. "It's a piece of art that people are buying, which is not too expensive," Lichtenegger said. "It's affordable luxury." Ludek Motlicek from the Acoustique Quality, a firm that sells the Pro-Ject turntables in the Czech Republic, said the reason for the comeback is the analog sound that "the digital sound cannot match."A- A+ By Rick Kogan Chicago Tribune Tom Hanks is one of the executive producers of a stunning, revelatory, exciting and surprisingly provocative 10-part television series titled “The Sixties.” And there he is on camera at the start of Episode 1, saying, “The TV was the center of our house. I don’t remember a time without TV.” For those of us of a certain age — Hanks was born in 1956 — television defined our view and understanding of the world and the events that took place during the 1960s, that most disorderly decade, in which Chicago plays a prominent role. The whole world (or at least those in the United States with TV sets, which was almost everyone) was watching, and thus did TV dominate our lives then and remain in our heads. One TV critic in the first episode, “Television Comes of Age,” suggests, rightly, that the more benign offerings of the time made television for many, as another voice says, “a willful respite from things going on in real life.” Yes, but it was also our connection to that real life in visceral, enlightening and often disturbing ways. “The Sixties,” which begins tonight at 6 p.m. and runs through Aug. 7, comes to us on CNN. Many of us have been bombarded for decades by the images and sounds and personalities (and personal memories) of the 1960s. Here, what is familiar is made fresh. The so-called “talking heads” that populate most documentaries are, in this series, the cream of the crop. Historians, journalists, former soldiers, eye witnesses to and participants in events — all offer pointed insight and / or first-hand knowledge. These voices, combined with rare and rarely seen film footage, a thoughtful soundtrack and perfectly orchestrated editing are able to give the series (I have screened the first four episodes available at press time) an impactful relevance. The first episode is a feast of old TV clips that are pleasing in their ability to evoke memories. It might be a little much to hear that “The Andy Griffith Show” was marked by “emotional honesty” and “unexpected depth” and that “The Fugitive” was a “somber character study,” but these analyses are examples of how the series attempts to get beyond the obvious. It all begins with Hanks and his few words, and then we are in Chicago, at the first televised presidential debate (Kennedy vs. Nixon) in September 1960, in Studio One at Chicago’s WBBM-TV. That hour-long live broadcast changed politics forever, as candidates realized that rhetoric and ideas were less important than physical style and sound bites. TV’s power was henceforth accepted, as was its ability to transport viewers to places as ludicrously gentle as “Gilligan’s Island” or as horrific as the killing fields of Vietnam. Episode 2, “The World on the Brink,” focuses on the “perfect failure” and “calamity” that was the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, the escalating nuclear tensions between the USSR and the U.S. that had people building bomb shelters in their yards and schoolchildren hiding under desks (a lot of good that would have done) in safety drills. We watch the Berlin Wall go up and faith in our politicians erode as they try to spin facts to their liking. Chilling and fascinating is Episode 3, “The Assassination of President Kennedy.” One of two episodes (the other is No. 5, “The Long March to Freedom”) that extend to two hours, this one details the assassination and explores in depth the conspiracy industry born of the murders (Kennedy’s and Lee Harvey Oswald’s). We are taken behind the scenes of Dallas newsrooms scrambling to tell the tragic story, hear from members of the Warren Commission and watch Oswald’s Dallas funeral — the same day as the president’s — where his six pallbearers had to be recruited from the press corps. “The War in Vietnam,” Episode 4, is filled with film clips of soldiers fighting in jungles and protesters doing battle in our nation’s streets. Morley Safer, now the grizzled old man of “60 Minutes,” is shown giving courageously frank reports from the ground in Vietnam and now recalling the “war” as an “absurd situation.” Generals and politicians are heard lying, LBJ is seen tormented, mothers weep. Much of what happens in this hour echoes in our country’s current conflicts: Do we never learn from the past? Future episodes will focus on such matters as civil rights, the space race, cultural upheaval, feminism, environmentalism, gay rights, moon landings, sex, drugs and rock and roll. As one who was witness to so much of what the series contains, or at least the TV images, I was grabbed with surprising effectiveness. Those of a younger vintage should find “The Sixties” a rewarding time trip. This is history told in a most intelligent, visceral and effective fashion. 6877748HOWARD KURTZ (HOST): The labor nominee withdrew, Andy Puzder. There were a lot of allegations about his business practices, an undocumented nanny, but he withdrew the day after Politico posted a 1990 Oprah video involving his ex-wife Linda (sic) Fierstein saying this. [...] KURTZ: Is that fair? 27 years ago, ugly divorce, she later retracted those words. Is it fair to throw that out? ERIN MCPIKE: It had to do with him. It is not that he once worked for a law firm that, prior to him joining the law firm, that particular firm represented some company that did business in China and there were human rights abuses. When you cover politicians, and when you cover Senate campaigns, you will get all kinds of very random pieces of opposition research. This concerned him, and that's why it was fair game. And, here's a cliche for you, if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen, and that's what he did. KURTZ: All right, I still think it was a bit unfair. It was so long ago, and in an ugly divorce.COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The lone U.S. county still at risk of leaving shoppers with no choices next year on the federal health law’s insurance marketplace has landed an insurer. Ohio-based insurer CareSource will step up to provide coverage in Paulding County, Ohio, in 2018, the company and the state Department of Insurance announced Thursday. The most recent national analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation identified Paulding, just south of Toledo, as the final county still at risk of lacking an insurer when 2018 signups begin Nov. 1. About 10 million people, including 11,000 Ohio residents, currently are served through HealthCare.gov and its state counterparts, a system created under the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this year, well over 40 mostly rural counties faced the prospect of having no options for their exchanges next year, but insurers have gradually come forward to fill the gaps. Insurers have been pulling back from the exchanges for a few years now, after getting stung by heavy losses and struggling to attract enough young, healthy customers to balance all the claims they get from people who use their coverage. Many also cited uncertainty over the future of former President Barack Obama’s health care law, which Congress is revisiting — though, so far, without success. Coverage choices have grown particularly thin in rural areas. Those markets are uninviting for insurers because they usually have a smaller, older customer base and a care provider like a hospital system with a dominant market position. That can make it difficult to negotiate payment rates. Despite those challenges, insurers are expanding to fill holes in these markets because they’re getting a nudge from state regulators who don’t want to leave their constituents without options. These exchanges offer the only way for customers to buy individual insurance with help from income-based tax credit created by the ACA. “Good, long-term relationships with the insurance commissioner are very important to an insurance company,” said health care consultant Robert Laszewski, a former insurance executive. Some insurers also have figured out they can make money on exchanges by targeting low-income customers, who receive big tax credits to help cover their insurance bills that can both insulate consumers and provide steady revenue to insurers. In Ohio, 20 of 88 counties were threatened with a lack of coverage as insurers withdrew. State officials had previously announced coverage was restored to the other 19. Ohio State Insurance Director Jillian Froment said working through the challenge of covering affected counties has been a priority of her staff in recent weeks. “There is a lot of uncertainty facing consumers when it comes to health insurance and these announcements will provide important relief,” she said. Republican Gov. John Kasich has been part of a bipartisan governors’ group calling for action in Washington to strike a compromise on the embattled health care law, which many Republicans revile as “Obamacare,” in order to stabilize insurance markets. While insurers now have made preliminary plans to sell coverage on the exchanges in every county next year, they still have about a month to back out. They are worried about the fate of billions of dollars in payments from the government to cover cost-sharing reductions for customers with modest incomes. These payments reimburse insurers for lowering deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses for customers. They are separate from the income-based tax credits that help people buy coverage. The federal government announced last week that it will make these payments for this month, but their future is unclear. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to end them, and insurers say premiums could soar for some of their plans if this happens. Even so, CareSource President and CEO Pamela Morris expressed her company’s commitment to the exchange. The company had been one of the insurers to cover some other counties that lost their exchange options. “The Marketplace provides vital health care coverage to more than 10.3 million Americans and we want to be a resource for consumers left without options,” she said in a statement issued Thursday. “Our decision to offer coverage in the bare counties speaks to our mission and commitment to the Marketplace and serving those who are in need of health care coverage.” ___ AP Health Writer Tom Murphy reported from Indianapolis. Data editor Meghan Hoyer contributed from Washington, D.C.So there he was, Steven Stamkos, taking swings in the batting cage in Toronto’s massive retractable domed stadium before a recent Toronto Blue Jays game, and it spawned an interesting thought. This is a unique form of tampering. Not really, of course. But Rogers Communications owns the Jays, and it also shares with Bell majority control of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a franchise that has been plotting possible ways to lure Stamkos to town for, oh, three years now. Tampering? No. But if you’re Rogers, and you want to demonstrate to Stamkos how the world could be his oyster if he were ultimately to skate his way north from Tampa, getting on the field with the Jays was just one more little way to show the man a little love. “It’s a dream come true for me,” a beaming Stamkos said afterwards, during an appearance on-set with Jamie Campbell and Gregg Zaun. Stamkos has been right smack dab in the middle of Jays fever this summer, something he didn’t really get to experience as a very young boy in the World Series
trial but later had a change of heart. Juror: I feel sorry for both Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman When they started looking at the law, the person who initially wanted second-degree murder changed her vote to manslaughter, the juror said. Then they asked for clarification from the judge and went over it again and again. B37 said some jurors wanted to find Zimmerman guilty of something, but there was just no place to go based on the law. CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford said Florida's rules on finding someone guilty of manslaughter are "confusing." He also stated that the Zimmerman jury's initial split vote is quite normal. "All jurors approach things differently," Ford said. B37 said jurors cried when they gave their final vote to the bailiff. "I want people to know that we put everything into everything to get this verdict," said the juror, whose face was blacked out during the televised interview but who appeared to become choked up. Juror B37 also claimed that the jury did not believe race played a factor in the situation, something Ford said could have wider implications for Zimmerman. "If the Department of Justice is going to jump in here and charge him, it's not going to be for murder or manslaughter," Ford said. "It's going to be for a criminal civil rights violation, and what they have to prove then is that indeed George Zimmerman attacked Trayvon Martin and it was all done as a consequence of racial animosity." Ford said earlier investigations into the case concluded as well that race did not play a factor, something activists across the country disagree with. Either way, the jurors admission on race could give potential prosecutors pause. The interview came two days after the jury acquitted Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch activist, of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Martin was black, and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic. Zimmerman was not arrested for 44 days, and the delay in charging him led to protests from those who believed race was a factor in the handling of the case. While prosecutors accused Zimmerman of profiling Martin, Zimmerman maintained he acted in self-defense. Juror B37, the only juror to speak publicly about the case so far, said Monday that the actions of Zimmerman and Martin both led to the teenager's fatal shooting, but that Zimmerman didn't actually break the law. While Zimmerman made some poor decisions leading up to the shooting, including leaving his car when police told him not to, Martin wasn't innocent either, the juror said. "I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into," said the juror. "I think they both could have walked away." The juror said Sanford Police Detective Chris Serino made a big impression on her, because he would have been accustomed to dealing with murders and similar cases. He would have known how to spot a liar, and yet he testified that he believed Zimmerman, the juror said. Legal analysts agreed that Serino's testimony was a blow to the state's case. The Sanford police were criticized last year for not arresting Zimmerman, and Gov. Rick Scott later appointed a special prosecutor, who brought charges against the neighborhood watch volunteer. The juror said she didn't think Martin's race was the reason that Zimmerman followed him on a dark, rainy night. She said she also believed Martin threw the first punch and that Zimmerman, whom she referred to as "George," had a right to defend himself. "I have no doubt George feared for his life in the situation he was in at the time," the juror said. The juror said she was not impressed by the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, who was talking with Martin by cell phone moments before he was fatally shot by Zimmerman. "I didn't think it was very credible, but I felt very sorry for her," the juror said. "She didn't want to be there." The juror also commented on defense attorney Don West's knock-knock joke about knowing who Zimmerman was during opening statements. "The joke was horrible. Nobody got it," she said. Juror B37 outlined to CNN the process she and the other five jurors went through in their deliberations. She said they spent the first day electing a foreman and getting organized. She said the jury instructions weren't immediately clear and the evidence was in no order whatsoever. She said it was a difficult process. "We thought about it for hours and cried over it afterwards," she said. "I don't think any of us could ever do anything like that ever again." Martin Literary Management announced Monday that it was representing B37 and her husband, who is an attorney. The names of the jurors have not been released, but during jury selection it was disclosed that B37 works in an unspecified management position and has two adult children. But agency head Sharlene Martin released a statement late Monday saying she was no longer representing the juror and that the juror had dropped the book idea. It included a statement that she said was crafted in conjunction with the agency in which the juror explained that being sequestered had kept her shielded "from the depth of pain that exists among the general public over every aspect of the case." The juror said that the book was meant to show that our justice system "can get so complicated that it creates a conflict with our'spirit' of justice." The Associated Press was unable to reach the juror. Jeantel told CBS Miami station WFOR-TV it wasn't until she walked into the courtroom to take the stand and was face-to-face with Zimmerman that the loss of her friend began to seep in along with the possibility Zimmerman might not be convicted. "He looked like someone who didn't really care, like, 'Yep, I did it,"' Jeantel said. In another interview, Jeantel was asked by CNN's Piers Morgan whether she thought race was a factor in Zimmerman's decision to follow Martin prior to their fight. "It was racial," she said. "Let's be honest. Racial. If he were white, if Trayvon was white and he had a hoodie on, what would happen?" She noted that the altercation happened in the early evening, when many people are out walking their dogs or doing other things. Morgan played back a recording of the juror's comments to CNN about Jeantel's education level and speech, and the witness said it made her sad and angry. Jeantel, who is black, said she also had a feeling that the jury would return a not-guilty verdict. "They're white," she said of the jury at one point. "Well, one Hispanic. But she's stuck in the middle. I had a feeling it was going to be a 'not guilty."' While the court did not release the racial makeup of the jury, the panel appeared to reporters covering jury selection to be made up of five white women and a sixth who may be Hispanic.BOWIE, Md. — Under the clinical white lights of a Maryland conservation center on Tuesday, Mansour Omari carefully laid out five scraps of worn material that had traveled within the collar of his shirt — past Syrian government forces and across oceans — covered in blood and rust, and in the fading names of the disappeared. A human-rights activist fighting for freedom of speech and chronicling the missing, Mr. Omari was arrested in February 2012 in his Damascus office and went on to spend about a year in a series of prisons, including nine months in a brutal facility under the supervision of Maher al-Assad, the brother of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. It was in that fetid underground jail that Mr. Omari and four of his fellow inmates set out to record the names of all 82 prisoners there, in the hope of informing their families and documenting the atrocities. “When I was inside, I saw myself, what I was documenting,” he said. “I saw it firsthand. I felt it was my duty, actually.”Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) is briefed by military officials as he visits the tomb of revered Ottoman figure Suleyman Shah inside Syria, near the northern Syrian village of Esme, on the Syrian-Turkish border, in this May 10, 2015 Turkey's Prime Minister's Press Office handout photo. REUTERS/Hakan Goktepe/Turkey's Prime Minister's Press Office/Handout via Reuters By Ercan Gurses and Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu briefly crossed into Syria on Sunday to visit the tomb of a revered Ottoman figure and vowed Turkey's flag would fly there forever, prompting Damascus to accuse him of aggression. The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, had originally been situated further inside Syria but was relocated to within a few hundred meters of the border in February in a Turkish military operation. Davutoglu made the brief foray over the border shortly before addressing campaign rallies for a June general election in the southern cities of Sanliurfa and Adana. "I bring you the salutations of Suleyman Shah, the leader of our revival," he told the Sanliurfa rally. "Our red flag will fly over Suleyman Shah forever." The Syrian government condemned what it described as Davutoglu's "infiltration" without its permission. "(It) is a clear aggression on a country with sovereignty and a breach of laws and international accords," said a government statement released on the state news agency SANA. The relocation of the tomb, which involved tanks, drones and reconnaissance planes as well as several hundred ground troops, was the first incursion by Turkish troops into Syria since the start of the civil war there four years ago. No clashes took place during that operation, although one soldier was killed in an accident. Turkey, a NATO member with a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria, wants President Bashar al-Assad removed from power but has refused to take a frontline military role in a U.S.-led coalition, arguing that fighting Assad's forces, not just bombing Islamic State militants, should be the aim. The tomb had been on a site within Syria that Ankara considers sovereign territory as agreed in a 1921 treaty. The Turkish government informed the Syrian consulate in Istanbul about the February operation but did not await Syria's agreement, which Damascus said violated the treaty. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Tom Heneghan)Springtails are little leaping insects far too small to catch the notice of the naked human eye. But with a little magnification, some of them turn out to be adorable beyond belief. Take this clip from the BBC’s David Attenborough classic Life in the Undergrowth: Life In The Undergrowth – Springtail Dance (music by David Poore) from David Poore on Vimeo. So it is with some dismay that I must relate a little story I came across when researching my last post. Because these little guys are the victims. And here are their vicious killers. A fungal perp walk. “2012-09-22 Laccaria bicolor (Maire) P.D. Orton 270921 crop” by Alan Rockefeller (Alan Rockefeller) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images. You can contact this user here. derivative work: Ak ccm – This file was derived from: 2012-09-22 Laccaria bicolor (Maire) P.D. Orton 270921.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. This is Laccaria bicolor, a common and edible forest mushroom. The mushrooms you see above are only one tiny and ephemeral reproductive portion of a mycorrhizal fungal body that also surrounds tree roots and sends out filaments into the soil in search of water, minerals — and apparently, springtails. I wrote last time about the amazing connective powers mycorrhizae also confer — to my surprise — on their plant partners. They enable trees to communicate and share resources below ground, even if those trees are from radically different species. But I also discovered that these root fungi can confer some darker powers on their plant hosts. This was discovered by accident by John Klironomos and Miranda Hat at the University of Guelph in Canada about 15 years ago. They were working with a springtail called Folsomia candida, a distinctly less-cute cousin of the cover-model species the BBC chose to film. “Folsomia candida – Soil Fauna Diversity” by Cristina Menta – Cristina Menta (2012). Soil Fauna Diversity – Function, Soil Degradation, Biological Indices, Soil Restoration, Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization in a Diverse World, Dr. Gbolagade Akeem Lameed (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-51-0719-4, InTech, DOI: 10.5772/51091. Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/biodiversity-conservation-and-utilization-in-a-diverse-world/soil-fauna-diversity-function-soil-degradation-biological-indices-soil-restoration. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Little soil dwellers like springtails and mites eat fungi, and during a “routine” feeding experiment the scientists discovered that less than 5% of the springtails in one dish had survived their fungus grazing experience. That fungus was Laccaria bicolor. Incriminatingly, all the dead springtails had fungus fibers riddling their little corpses. Instead of springtails eating the fungus, the reverse appeared to have happened. By contrast, the other test cultures were little springtail Club Meds, where all the insects were not only still alive, they had “actively reproduced”. Red=alive sprintails, blue=dead springtails. Lb= Laccaria bicolor, Cg=Cenococcum geophilum (another ectomycorrhizal fungus), Ch= Cladosporium herbarum, Ep= Epicoccum purpurascens, control=no fungus. Fig. 1 from lironomos and Hart 2001. Click image for source. When they repeated the experiment and watched closely, they were able to recreate the carnage. By staining springtails with a dye that indicates aliveness, they found several were somewhat gruesomely still alive even though they could no longer move. They hypothesized the helpful mycorrhizal fungus that helps pine trees grow is also a sinister fungus that produces a toxin that paralyzes springtails so the fungus can take its sweet time about eating them. Next, they wanted to find out what happened to the nitrogen from springtail bodies. Nitrogen, as you’ll recall, is perhaps the most precious currency in the forest because it is so difficult to extract from the air and so few creatures can do it, but every organism on Earth needs it to make protein. They labeled their springtails with radioactive (and hence traceable) nitrogen-15 and placed them — some alive, some pre-killed — in a culture with an eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) infected with L. bicolor, carefully ensuring only fungi, not roots, had access to the springtails. They they watched for two months. “Pinus strobus Syvania” by Joseph O’Brien, USDA Forest Service – This image is Image Number 1397002 at Forestry Images, a source for forest health, natural resources and silviculture images operated by The Bugwood Network at the University of Georgia and the USDA Forest Service.. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 us via Wikimedia Commons. Lo, up to 25% of the nitrogen in plant tissue ultimately came from springtails, whether provided alive or dead. And the plants grew better too when fertilized by hapless springtails, weighing more at the end of the experiment than their control counterparts. Less than 10% of springtails placed at the experiment at the beginning were alive at the end … an average of just 47 wily survivors out of the 500-strong starting team. “Predatory plants” as traditionally defined have been found in small groups in nitrogen-starved environments — typically swamps, but sometimes also deserts. Think Venus fly-trap, sundew, and pitcher plant. And there can be no question, however you look at it, that those cute pink mushrooms at the top of this post are “predatory fungi”. But are the pine trees in this experiment “predatory plants”? In my judgment, distinctly un-sexy Eastern white pine — a common tree in the vast northern forests of this planet — might just belong on that sexy list of deadly plants too, at least with an asterisk. This example also raises the possibility that trees harnessing fungi to harvest nitrogen from tiny forest animals might be much more common — and ecologically significant — than we ever understood or believed, especially if Laccaria bicolor and Pinus strobus are not an isolated case. Laccaria, in particular, is known to partner with many tree species. A cute little springtail on the lookout for a bit of nookie and a bite of fungus may have just as much to fear from the placid, graceful tree towering overhead as from the crafty spider waiting patiently nearby. Reference Klironomos J.N. & Hart M.M. Food-web dynamics. Animal nitrogen swap for plant carbon., Nature, PMID: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11287942CNN had a great arrangement set up with the Empire State Building during their coverage of the New York primary Tuesday night. The majestic edifice would be lit in a pre-arranged color depending on who won the state’s electoral contest. Deadline points out that host Jake Tapper explained how the light show would unfold, depending on the potential victor for the Democrats and Republicans: Clinton: Dark blue. Sanders: Light blue. Trump: Deep red. Cruz: Coral pink. Kasich: Purple. Coral pink for Cruz, really? Nevertheless, it seemed like a simple plan as the iconic building would serve as the perfect TV backdrop for the network’s primary coverage. But, when the Empire State turned red to indicate Donald Trump’s victory, social media interpreted the image as a deep and foreboding omen signifying eminent evil in our future. Mediaite has found some of the better reactions: MUST SEE: The Empire State Building lit up for Trump pic.twitter.com/nwMt0gJNt5 — RINO Pundit (@RINOPundit) April 20, 2016 "We are turning the Empire State Building a dark, crimson red to signify Trump's victory. Blood red. Satanic. A warning, if you will" — Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 20, 2016 https://twitter.com/Gwynwins/status/722595532489814016 CNN also noticed the instant Twitter reaction of their light show and collected their own favorites: The Empire State Building looks like the headquarters of a supervillain right now #NYPrimary pic.twitter.com/aYnuOsf2Ji — Mic (@mic) April 20, 2016 Empire State Building is blood red! Quick someone call them…! pic.twitter.com/fH6cvFdCUC — engineer_nerd (@engineer_nerd) April 20, 2016 Empire State Building goes red for Trump with the blood of primary opponents past pic.twitter.com/BoqN3ASwW7 — andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) April 20, 2016 Setting aside concerns over the rise of Sauron (or more terrifying, Gozer the Destroyer) at least one keen observer had a suggestion for a more apt color combo for the Trump victory:Knack includes a local co-op mode that should, according to game creator and system architect Mark Cerny, help kids around 5 to 7 years old play the PS4 launch game. At Gamescom, Cerny showed us a brief demonstration of the same-screen mode, in which a second player controls a robot version of Knack who provides support for the first player. Like Knack himself, the silver robo-Knack can combat and defeat enemies to grab their parts and grow bigger. The difference is that when Knack gets hurt and becomes smaller and weaker, robot Knack can donate his parts to the damaged Knack. Cerny noted that the two-player mode allows a parent to jump in and help his seven-year old child playing as the main Knack, and for a younger player like a five-year old to play as robot Knack without harming the overall experience. "Progress is gated by what Knack does," said Cerny, indicating the second player won't hinder the first player as he or she progresses through the campaign. Cerny wants Knack to be an inclusive, family-orientated game; he previously showed how developer Japan Studio built a giant DualShock to help its developers see how it would be to be an 8-year-old holding the controller. Knack will be one of the games available on the PS4's launch day, November 15 in North America and November 29 in Europe.Rust Intro Felix and the Rust Team (caveat: above is using unstable thread::scoped API) See also Fearless Concurrency blog post. // the backing storage for `v`) (when compiled in "release mode") // sums all the positive values in `v` The below loop demo compiles down to tight code: Rust: What? Why? (How?) All linked from top of http://www.rust-lang.org/ // (p.s. where is `return`?) // \| At scope end, initialized variables are cleaned up Once initialized, local owns its data (vector's backing store) Borrowing Moves insufficient on their own Imagine programming without reuse #[ test ] fn moves_insufficient() { let vec = expensive_vector_computation(); let result1 = some_vec_calculation(vec); // <-- `vec` moved here let result2 = other_calculation(vec); // oops, `vec` is gone combine(result1, result2); } error: use of moved value: `vec` [E0382] let result2 = other_calculation(vec); // oops ^~~ note: `vec` moved here because it has type `collections::vec::Vec<i32>`, which is non-copyable let result1 = some_vec_calculation(vec); // <-- `vec` moved here ^~~ Want: access to owned data without consuming it Thus, "borrowing" #[ test ] fn moves_insufficient() { let vec = expensive_vector_computation(); let result1 = some_vec_calculation(&vec); // <-- lend out `vec` let result2 = other_calculation(&vec); // <-- lend again, no prob combine(result1, result2); } // (`vec` is destroyed/freed aka "dropped" here) &vec ~~~~ \| a borrow expression ("mo' features, mo' problems") Big Question Why are safety violations generally hard to detect? It is due to aliasing Borrows reintroduce aliasing Q: How to ensure safety in presence of aliasing? A: Restrict the aliasing Simple metaphor: RW lock Read-only operations do not require exclusive access Exclusive access requires there are no other readers Rust uses analogous model (at compile-time) for borrows Borrowing: Basic Mental Model Base types T e.g. char, Vec < i32 > If type copyable, then you can always copy it You can move it only if no borrow active Immutable borrows: &T "Read-only." Freely aliasable; copyable (i.e. "many readers") Mutable borrows: & mut T Read/Write. Exclusive access; non-copy (i.e. "at most one writer") Immutable borrows Borrowing (immutably) #[ test ] fn show_some_borrows() { let v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; let v2 = vec! [ 4, 5, 6 ]; let r1 = &v1; let r2 = &v2; foo(r1); foo(r2); } fn foo< 'a >(v: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { println! ( "v[1]: {}", v[ 1 ]); } &v1 and &v2 are borrowing v1 and v2. Scopes and Lifetimes #[ test ] fn show_some_lifetimes() { let v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; // + let v2 = vec! [ 4, 5, 6 ]; // + \| // \| \| let r1 = &v1; // + \| \| let r2 = &v2; // + \| \| \| foo(r1); // \| \| \| \| foo(r2); // 'r2 'r1 'v2 'v1 // \| \| \| \| } // + + + + fn foo< 'a >(v: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { println! ( "v[1]: {}", v[ 1 ]); } Each borrow selects "appropriate" lifetime 'a. Borrow Checking Prevents Errors fn borrow_checking_prevents_errors() { let v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; // + // \| let r1 = &v1; // + 'v1 // \| \| consume(v1); // 'r1 (moved) foo(r1); // \| } // + fn foo< 'a >(v: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { println! ( "v[1]: {}", v[ 1 ]); } fn consume(v: Vec < i32 >) { /* `v` dropped at scope end / } foo(r1) attempts an indirect read of v1 error: cannot move out of `v1` because it is borrowed consume(v1); ^~ note: borrow of `v1` occurs here let r1 = &v1; ^~ Lifetimes and Lexical Scope fn borrow_checking_may_seem_simple_minded() { let v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; // + // \| let r1 = &v1; // + 'v1 // \| \| consume(v1); // 'r1 (moved) // (no call to read) // \| } // + fn foo< 'a >(v: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { println! ( "v[1]: {}", v[ 1 ]); } fn consume(v: Vec < i32 >) { } error: cannot move out of `v1` because it is borrowed consume(v1); ^~ note: borrow of `v1` occurs here let r1 = &v1; ^~ (artifact of lexical-scope based implementation) Built on lexical scopes, but non-trivial #[ test ] fn copying_can_extend_a_borrows_lifetime_1() { fn foo< 'a >(v: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { println! ( "v[1]: {}", v[ 1 ]); } let v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; // + let v2 = vec! [ 4, 5, 6 ]; // \| + let r2 = { // \| \| let r1 = &v1; // + \| \| // ~~~ <--- A // \| \| \| foo(r1); // 'r1 \| \| &v2 // \| 'v1 'v2 }; // + + \| \| // (maybe mutate `v1` // \| \| \| // here someday?) // \| \| \| // 'r2 \| \| foo(r2); // \| \| \| } // + + + How long should the borrow &v1 last? In this case, the borrow marked "A" only needs to last long enough for the call to foo(r1) ; after that point, the borrow is never needed. Built on lexical scopes, but non-trivial #[ test ] fn copying_can_extend_a_borrows_lifetime_2() { fn foo< 'a >(v: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { println! ( "v[1]: {}", v[ 1 ]); } let v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; // + let v2 = vec! [ 4, 5, 6 ]; // \| + let r2 = { // \| \| let r1 = &v1; // + \| \| // ~~~ <--- A // \| \| \| foo(r1); // 'r1 \| \| r1 // <--------- B // \| 'v1 'v2 }; // + + \| \| // (maybe mutate `v1` // \| \| \| // here someday?) // \| \| \| // 'r2 \| \| foo(r2); // \| \| \| } // + + + How long should the borrow &v1 last now? In this case, the borrow marked "A" needs to last longer! The value of r1 is being copied into r2 on the line marked "B", so the borrow marked "A" needs to include the scope of both 'r1 and 'r2. imm-borrows: can be copied freely (super super useful to be able to share readable data!) imm-borrows: can be copied freely Implications: must assume aliased (perhaps by another thread) therefore not safe to mutate in general #[ test ] fn demo_cannot_mutate_imm_borrow() { let mut v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; let b = &v1; let (b1, b2, b3) = (b, b, b); try_modify(b); println! ( "v1: {:?}", v1); } fn try_modify(v: & Vec < i32 >) { v.push( 4 ); } error: cannot borrow immutable borrowed content `v` as mutable v.push(4); ^ imm-borrows: can be copied freely Implications: must assume aliased (perhaps by another thread) therefore not safe to mutate in general #[ test ] fn demo_cannot_mutate_imm_borrow() { let mut v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; let b = &v1; let (b1, b2, b3) = (b, b, b); try_modify(b); println! ( "v1: {:?}", v1); } fn try_modify(v: & Vec < i32 >) { v.push( 4 ); } WHAT A BUMMER!!! "... I want my imperative algorthms!..." & mut borrows #[ test ] fn demo_can_mutate_mut_borrow() { let mut v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; modify(& mut v1); println! ( "v1: {:?}", v1); } fn modify(v: & mut Vec < i32 >) { v.push( 4 ); } v1: [1, 2, 3, 4] What does & mut mean (crucial) &mut is not about "being the only way to mutate" It is about exclusive access An operation requiring exclusive access should either: take ownership, or, take an &mut -reference & mut is about exclusive access " mut means'mutate'..." is a fiction For many types, safe mutation does require exclusive access vec.push( 4 ); // requires `vec: &mut Vec<_>`, for safe manipulation of backing store " mut means'mutate'..." is a convenient fiction (For related naming drama, do a search for: "mutpocalypse") & mut safety enforcement Data has at most one & mut borrow fn take2< 'a >(v1: & 'a mut Vec < i32 >, v2: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { } #[ test ] fn demo_cannot_mut_borrow_multiple_times() { let mut v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; let mut v2 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; take2(& mut v1, & mut v2); // <-- this is okay take2(& mut v1, & mut v1); } error: cannot borrow `v1` as mutable more than once at a time take2(&mut v1, &mut v1); ^~ note: previous borrow of `v1` occurs here; the mutable borrow prevents subsequent moves, borrows, or modification of `v1` until the borrow ends take2(&mut v1, &mut v1); ^~ Cannot alias & mut -borrowed data fn take2< 'a >(v1: & 'a mut Vec < i32 >, v2: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { } #[ test ] fn demo_cannot_alias_mut_borrowed_data() { let mut v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; let mut v2 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; take2(& mut v1, &v2); // <-- this is okay take2(& mut v1, &v1); } error: cannot borrow `v1` as immutable because it is also borrowed as mutable take2(&mut v1, &v1); ^~ note: previous borrow of `v1` occurs here; the mutable borrow prevents subsequent moves, borrows, or modification of `v1` until the borrow ends take2(&mut v1, &v1); ^~ & mut T is non-copy fn take2< 'a >(v1: & 'a mut Vec < i32 >, v2: & 'a Vec < i32 >) { } #[ test ] fn demo_cannot_copy_mut_borrows() { let mut v1 = vec! [ 1, 2, 3 ]; let b = & mut v1; let c = b; take2(b, c); } error: use of moved value: `*b` [E0382] take2(b, c); ^ note: `b` moved here because it has type `&mut collections::vec::Vec<i32>`, which is moved by default let c = b; ^ (ensures exclusive access)Chinese tourists empty fruit plate in six seconds flat Just a few days after a shrimp feeding frenzy at a buffet restaurant in Thailand hit the news, another episode of misbehavior by a group of mainland Chinese tourists was captured on video and has gone viral since. The 27-second video clip was recorded at the poolside bar of a hotel in Vietnam, Stand News reports, although the date and other details of the incident were not available. It shows a group of Chinese tourists jostling each other with their hands out, hoping to be the first to get to a bunch of lychees about to be distributed by a waitress in blue T-shirt. The waitress, however, cannot do her job because everyone is closing in on her, apparently worried that nothing will be left. So the waitress, irritated by all the shoving and shouting, decides to put the plate on the table and leaves. The tourists swarm on the plate of lychees, and in six seconds flat, it is wiped out. Many of the netizens who viewed the footage, while embarrassed by the shameful behavior of their compatriots, wondered if anything could be done about it. Government officials have threatened to blacklist tourists who behave improperly abroad, but it seems their warning has fallen on deaf ears. Just days ago, a video clip that also went viral showed tourists using their plates to shovel prawns at a buffet table in Thailand, and then leaving much of the food on their plates. “This is what happens when you feed pigs,” says one. Another says the tourists’ behavior provides entertainment to Westerners. If only this were a parlor game … Alas, there are no prizes to be won, but shame. – Contact us at [email protected] BT/AC/CG"Forgotten but not gone" was the way in which the supremo of Boston politics, Billy Bulger, liked to dismiss the human irritants he had crushed beneath his trim boot. The same could now be said for the hapless 43rd President of the United States as the daylight draws mercifully in on his reign of misfortune and calamity. How is he bearing up, one wonders, as the candidate from his own party treats him as the carrier of some sort of infectious political disease? How telling was it that the most impassioned moment in John McCain's performance in the final debate was when he declared: "I am not George Bush." Where, O where are you, Dubya, as the action passes you by like a jet skirting dirty weather? Are you roaming the lonely corridors of the White House in search of a friendly shoulder around which to clap your affable arm? Are you sweating it out on the treadmill, hurt and confused as to why the man everyone wanted to have a beer (or Coke) with, who swept to re-election four years ago, has been downgraded to all-time loser in presidential history, stuck there in the bush leagues along with the likes of James Buchanan and Warren Harding? Or are you whacking brush in Crawford, where the locals now make a point of telling visitors that George W never really was from hereabouts anyroad. Whatever else his legacy, the man who called himself "the decider" has left some gripping history. The last eight years have been so rich in epic imperial hubris that it would take a reborn Gibbon to do justice to the fall. It should be said right away that amid the landscape of smoking craters there are one or two sprigs of decency that have been planted: record amounts of financial help given to Aids-blighted countries of Africa; immigration reform that would have offered an amnesty to illegals and given them a secure path to citizenship, had not those efforts hit the reef of intransigence in Bush's own party. And no one can argue with the fact that since 9/11 the United States has not been attacked on its home territory by jihadi terrorists; though whether or not that security is more illusory than real is, to put it mildly, open to debate. Bet against that there is the matter of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian casualties, more than 4,000 American troops dead, many times that gravely injured, not to mention the puncture wounds and mutilations inflicted on internationally agreed standards of humane conduct for prisoners - and on the protection of domestic liberties enshrined in the American constitution. If the Statue of Liberty were alive, she would be weeping tears of blood. If Bush himself has been largely kept out of sight, his baleful legacy has been visible in the McCain campaign. McCain has made much of his credentials for independence of mind, a claim which once was credible given his support for immigration reform and opposition to Bush's tax cuts. But somewhere along the road to the Republican nomination, all of this became less important than the lessons of the Reagan-Bush-Rove political playbook which, with the exception of the Clinton election of 1992, seemed
witnesses, who each confirmed that he was 30 miles away at the time, but none of them were asked to testify at his trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death - a penalty that was later reduced to life in prison. According to a motion filed in January by Maharaj's attorneys, a "Colombian drug cartel member confirmed that the Moo Young murders were committed at the behest of Pablo Escobar." The defence motion alleged that the Moo Youngs were laundering money for the Colombian cartels, and that this is what caused them to become embroiled with Escobar. As part of the new court proceedings, Maharaj's lawyers will present affidavit from Jhon Jairo Velasquez Vasquez (known as "Popeye"), one of Escobar's lieutenants at the time of the murders, explaining that Escobar ordered the Moo Young murders. According to Popeye, Escobar had the Moo Youngs killed because they were stealing from him. Additionally they will present previously unexamined evidence showing that Jaime Vallejo Mejia – a guest in the hotel on the night of the murders – was a Colombian cartel operative. “We still have a long way to go, as we need to force disclosure of the rest of the evidence the government has held all these years," Mr Stafford Smith said in a statement. "But it is a great day for Kris, and I hope now we will finally get him the justice he has long been denied."The new Type C maximum security prisons Greece is about to introduce will inaugurate a new model for Europe in which our understanding of “crime” and “punishment” means little. There’s hardly a good time in history for being incarcerated. Stories around human rights violations, crowded cells, unfair treatment, sexual assault and much more that’s happening around the world, are constantly in the news. But a mix of already crumbling infrastructure, laws around parole and pre-trial detentions becoming ever more punitive, a shifting ideological landscape and austerity, make 2014 Greece a particularly dire place for criminal justice. Looking at Greece’s overpopulated prison system (12500 are currently in a system designed for a maximum 9800) one would think it to be a particularly dangerous country. But this goes against reality: With the exception of a brief spike in muggings and break-ins between 2011 and 2013, Greece is a safe country and crime is on the decline. Looking at the type of crime committed, there’s little change there as well. Only begging has shot up, 250% in the past two years. In this context, it makes little sense that the New Democracy/Pasok coalition government pushed through during summer recess, a law that allows for the creation of Type C prisons in the country. These maximum security institutions, sometimes self-contained and sometimes housed in separate wings of regular prisons, will host only those condemned for the most dangerous crimes: terrorism, organised crime and engaging in “disruptive activity” while incarcerated. The Ministry claims this is because it has to deal with rising crime and more dangerous criminals. Looking at the stats they themselves provided, their claims fall short. In a newsletter sent out by the Ministry of Citizen Protection, it’s made abundantly clear that crime is indeed on the decline. It’s worth asking: if this is so, why are Greece’s prisons packed to the brims and what is the need for these new maximum security establishments that NGOs have labeled “Guantanamo-lite”? The reactions it has caused are telling. The radical left opposition party SYRIZA has condemned the government’s plans, calling them inhumane and completely unjustified. Ex-coalition partner DIMAR, has taken a similar stance, noting that “it essentially signals the creation of ‘white cells’ that promote disciplinary action, complete immobilisation and conditions akin to torture”. Apart from the two ruling parties, no NGO, union or professional body supports Type C prisons. 4500 inmates across the country went on hunger strike for 10 days to protest their opening, to no avail. In this climate, the government is facing accusations of politicising incarceration. They have repeatedly blocked reports on the condition of Greek prisons and instead brought forward this proposal that will drain much-needed funds away from the “conventional” justice system, while contributing next to nothing to the decongestion of existing infrastructure. The creation of detention camps for immigrants (that are now also overflowing with inmates held for little reason other than finding themselves in Greece) was a clear sign that the Greek justice system was entering a new phase, one that only concerns itself with the crimes du jour, in a brutal and indiscriminate way that aims only to detain and hide the problem, rather than rehabilitate. Now, along with Type A, B and C prisons, they will make up the new model of incarceration, tailored for these times of politicised austerity: one that goes after political dissent and terrorism, indebtedness and immigration. Crime and punishment With Greece’s GDP down a quarter from where it stood in 2008, debts towards the state from unpaid taxes and bills have gradually risen and are now in the billions. New punitive laws have been introduced, that can see private individuals sent to prison for owing as little as $6700. The creation of minimum security Type A prisons, alongside Type C, aims to aid this pursuit of debtors, in a thinly-veiled re-introduction of the abominable Debtors’ Prison. Rumours of such institutions were floated in 2013 as well, but the reactions had forced the ministry to deny the existence of such plans, before introducing them a year later. While Type B prisons are essentially conventional institutions, Type C prisons come with a variety of innovations. The ministry will decide if one is to be sent there, taking powers away from the court of law. Inmates will get no leaves of absence and won’t be able to undertake community service time. Since these are dangerous criminals, extra security measures might be justified. But the state’s track record with applying the “terrorism” and “organised crime” labels is too spotty. Attending a demonstration with a covered face can get you charged under counter-terrorism legislation. For months, the government has been trying to paint an anti-gold mining group in Northern Greece as a criminal organisation. Two anarchists arrested for armed robbery, were sentenced under the counter-terrorism law despite the fact they had committed no act of terrorism, based solely on their ideology. It should go without saying that for those who did commit terrorist acts, even if they caused no more than property damage, the sentences are draconian. All these people are candidates for Type C prisons and the power to send them there lies with the Ministry and not the courts. Another terrifying aspect of Type C prisons, is that you can also be sent there even if you’re in pre-trial detention for these charges. We contacted DIMAR’s MP Maria Yiannakaki, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of the government’s plans and increasingly political agenda, and asked what this means for prisoners. She said “Its aim is the physical and moral annihilation of these people and conflates the criminal with the crime. It essentially brings back the death penalty through the back door. It promotes something unheard of in our legal discourse: the penalty on top of a penalty. You get a sentence issued by the courts and then the minister of justice can top it up”. “It completely negates any chance of rehabilitation”, she concluded. Yiannakaki seems to have a point. Part of the government’s plan is to have the police guard these new prisons, rather than correction officers. This is already happening to a certain extent, because of how dramatically understaffed most institutions are and it has already resulted in alleged brutality against prisoners in at least one occasion. It should be no surprise considering the Greek police’s track record of torturing arrestees, colluding with the neo-nazi Golden Dawn and exercising brutal force against demonstrators. It’s beyond worrying that they are now asked to perform an extra function, one that they are not trained for. Clio Papapantoleon, a lawyer and vice-chair of the Greek Association for Human Rights, noted in a piece for Enthemata “ Opening maximum security prisons to ‘lock-up the bad guys once and for all’ is an obsession. If we wanted to be honest, we would admit that no one will be sleeping better because this law [went through]. If the state wants to be serious and if it really wants security,[…] they need to look again at what “crime” and “sentence” mean”. For Greece, the definition of these two words, the very foundations of legal science, has never been so blurry. A new “model” for Austerity Europe Not only is it impossible for Greece to live up to the standards of incarceration set by other European countries, but this model of tailoring the justice system around perceived threats that only serve the promotion of the austerity agenda, seems to be ripe for export. In fact, Spain has been paving the road towards this for some time and, according to Belen Fernandez writing on the perceived Muslim terrorist threat in the country for AJE, they have legislated “a law [that] prescribes fines of up to 600,000 euros ($809,307) for unauthorised gatherings and protests in certain locations and of up to 30,000 euros ($40,465) for “obstructing authority in the carrying out of administrative or judicial decisions, such as evictions”.” The countries of southern Europe, the continent’s new Borderlands, are providing their justice systems with the tools to crackdown on dissent, coupled with increasing militarisation of the police. Greece is already thinking about bringing in drones to use during demonstrations, counter-terrorism operations and to patrol the country’s borders. The Ministry of Citizen Protection has promised the police heavier equipment too. But it should be obvious that the rationale of confrontation that New Democracy is following serves no one in the long term and the fact it’s becoming the norm across Europe, is a chilling prospect. But it’s only logical, as austerity was always about more than just belt-tightening. As citizens have to adjust to their new, precarious existence, so the state must change in order to keep them in line.... Tourmaline stood leaning back against the cool granite boulder in the crisp morning light. Peridot had been right, this pile of massive rocks near the top of gentle ridge was a suitable choice. The intervening conifer trees blocked line of sight to the ruins of the research stations over a mile in the distance. Tourmaline looked towards the gap between two cone-like tree-tops which had once framed a view of the paired towers at the top of each building. The sky there was empty; both of home and rescue. Both Peridots were back amid the boulders. After the brief round of introductions last night, during which Tourmaline had eventually gotten the other Peridot to stop compulsively chewing on the end of her ponytail in overwhelming generalized anxiety. The two little green Gems had then found a slim gap between a few of the boulders and squeezed themselves inside. Officially they declared that it was a safety precaution in case of a rebel attack, but Tourmaline saw how closely they held onto each other as they murmured speculations through the night. There was comfort in touching another one of yourself; a grounding assurance of order in the universe. Neither Tourmaline nor Ruby had made any comment. Back in the present, Tourmaline frowned at the little wisp of white cloud that populated the pale blue sky. Peridot hadn't seen the other household's Tourmaline. Peridot's Berryl had also vanished in the fighting, captured or shattered, much like Tourmaline's own Sapphires. Tourmaline absently drummed her fingers against the facets in her left shoulder as a brief breeze carried the scent of pine sap and faint forest sounds. Then she stopped as she realized she had copied that gesture from green Sapphire. Tourmaline's world had been torn apart and she was just barely holding onto her programing now. Then with a jerk she realized she had heard the crunching sound of footsteps approaching. Tourmaline dropped down to fumble with the little mound of pine needles she had piled on top of Amethyst's pole-arm to hide it across the entrance to their make-shift home. She had known that the rebels were probably still lurking in the forest, but she had been desperate to see help arriving from that sky that had brought so much destruction. Tourmaline's fingers gripped down on the weapon's haft as she grunted in her effort to lift it to manage some form of defense. That was when Ruby strolled around the boulder to her right, her little feet scrunching through the gravel and needles. "Ruby? What were you doing-?" Tourmaline said before she cut herself off, feeling embarrassed that she had just failed in protecting her tiny household from what had turned out to be itself. "And where did you come from?!" "Uh, I just went out the other side and walked around?" Ruby pointed uncertainly behind herself. "It's a couple big rocks we're hiding in, not exactly a fortress. The Peridots have been so high strung for long enough that they're mostly just staring at the dirt right now." Then Ruby looked at the heavy weapon Tourmaline was just barely holding up with trembling arms. "I take it you haven't exactly figured your power out yet." Tourmaline sighed and leaned the weapon back down on the dirt. It slipped out of her fingers with a heavy thud. "I thought I was never made to have any. I can't remember anything about how to use it, or even exactly what it was I did. I could barely lift this. Then, suddenly, I could." "Probably some version of manipulating the associational gravitational relationship of objects." That voice came from behind her and Tourmaline turned to see the Peridots creeping out of the boulder pile, squinting at the sunlight. Apparently, it was the unfamiliar One who had spoken and she now continued, "I can't imagine the effect could be very great if it was generated by a Tourmaline; that's not exactly design intent." She was about to say something else when she noticed that Tourmaline was inspecting her thoughtfully while Ruby was staring with the wide eyes stasis of someone waiting patiently for a wave to wash over them. "Er, she made the weapon lighter. I think." "Huh," Tourmaline said to herself. She looked down at the pole-arm lying on the ground. The main blade was with a semicircle arc who's slicing edge abruptly turned concave at each end, creating a broad spade shape. The haft was long and thick, sized for hands much larger than hers, and led down to the far end where a small bladed crescent capped the counterweight knob. It was a tool of destruction, the property of a mighty warrior. But Amethyst was missing and Tourmaline was here, with three other common Gems and no orders. The Peridots were talking together again and appeared to have once more forgotten the presence of the other two Gems. "Limiting factors? I'm thinking proximity?" "Obviously. But I would also wager on contact; the effect conducted through her body so that touch is required." "Possibly. Or maybe only one target at a time? She was tugging me along like she wanted to rip my arm off but I never felt any lighter." "Erg, this is frustrating! A proper analyzer would sing out the results in an instant but all Beryl's equipment got smashed by the Rebels! At least I think it got smashed. I wonder if..." Tourmaline looked back to see the other household's Peridot looking back at the site of the research stations with a wistful expression. That needed to be nipped in the bud. "No way," she declared, using her most 'authoritative Tourmaline' tone. "Everyone is staying right here until the recovery team arrives. The rebels could still be about in this forest so we are all going to go back into the rocks now. Do you hear me?" Peridot looked down, embarrassed and mumbled something that sounded like "Y'stourm" which Tourmaline took as agreement. Tourmaline's own Peridot started making teasing faces at her type-sister as soon as Tourmaline turned away slightly but she did not have the energy to deal with that too. It appeared that groups of Peridots were even harder to handle than Rubies. On the subject of Ruby, she was staring off towards the site of their wrecked home as well, shading her eyes against the sun. "Hey," Tourmaline pointed. "That goes for everyone. No leaving." "Huh? Oh, right, yeah." Ruby paused but did not change her pose. "Hey, Tourmaline? How will we know when the Recovery comes?" "I imagine it'll be very hard to miss. An attack like this will ensure a thorough response from the Diamonds." "Oh." Ruby stopped shading her eyes and pointed instead. "So, something like that?" Tourmaline spun around just as the huge shadow slid across the landscape and their hiding spot. She looked up over the trees and saw a massive ship hanging in the air, perfectly above the site of the research stations, blocking the mourning sun. It was an inverted pyramid that rose to a squat rectangular body. Whatever was on top was hidden in the bloom of of the sun behind it. Tourmaline realized that despite the little bits of knowledge she had been made with, she had only ever seen one ship before with her own eyes. That was the one that had destroyed her home. Perhaps that was why she felt so uneasy. Peridot came running back out of the rock fort. "Yes! Oh, thank you Diamonds! We aren't going to be trapped in the wilderness forever!" Tourmaline leaned down to collect Amethyst's weapon. She would need to return it. Her fingers gripped around the haft and suddenly it felt like some of her strength flowed out of her self and filled the weapon with some lighter-than-air force. She was getting the hang of this. The pole-arm easily swung up to rest on her shoulder and Tourmaline turned back to the distant ship that defied gravity in its own way, now motionless over the research site that it dwarfed. The Peridots were celebrating and Ruby was grinning up at her. Tourmaline began to smile just as large red dots began to glow on each face of the pyramid. Peridot was in the middle of speaking, "I mean it's kind of weird that they sent this type of craft, but I guess they were worried that the rebels might still be around and...huh. What's it doing?" Tourmaline held out her arm to her side with the palm back towards the others. "Go back in the boulders." Ruby was confused. "Why?" Tourmaline didn't know. Small bits of information and treasonous suspicions were clicking together in her mind. The red circles on the side of the ship were glowing brighter. "Just do what I say right now. We need to-" Blinding beams of light blinked into existence from the sides of the ship to the ground below. The world turned monochromatic as for an instant only shadows and white existed. Then orange joined the searing medley, jumping up from the forest in dancing spasms as the ship began to slowly rotate. At those temperatures even the dirt was burning. Tourmaline dropped the weapon and grabbed her Gems, throwing them back into the gap between the two huge boulders. Then the fiery heat washed over them with the impact of splintering trees. The only sound was the roar of the inferno wind. ... Much later, the four of them staggered out of their crude, blackened refuge into a snow of ash. Amazingly, no one had lost their bodies. Ruby had summoned her helmet to protect her and lay against one Peridot as a sort of shield. Tourmaline was worse for the wear. The back edges of her body, decorations and, all had been worn away by the wave of fire that swept across the forest. As she sat in between the boulders in a meditative stupor, feeling the hot flakes white ash slowly rain down on her, she considered that it might have actually been easier to lose and reform her body. Executing repairs on an existing manifestation was extraordinarily difficult. But she couldn't leave her household alone. Not again. The sky was empty once more. Peridot was talking to her other self. "They must have executed a sensor sweep that came back negative for any Gems. That's the only explanation." "What kind of sweep would that be, magic?! And how could they possibly find any bodiless gems that could have been lying in the rubble without leaving the ship? They burned it all to slag!" "Well, obviously we don't know everything because that has to have been what happened! Or maybe the rebels sent some broadcast saying they'd captured us all! I don't know but they clearly thought we were out of range." Tourmaline slowly turned her head towards Ruby over in the corner, knowing that she herself was operating at far below standards. Ruby seemed better. The small red Gem stood in the v-shaped gap that had served as the entrance to their odd jumble of a shelter. She wasn't a wreak like Tourmaline, or in hysterics like Peridot. Rubies were soldiers; they might not be the best problem solvers, and dealt with boredom poorly, but they did not flinch from physical threats. The household needed that now, because Peridot was wrong. That ship had not cared if they were beneath it or not. Tourmaline took in a breath to speak and immediately regretted it. The ash coated and irritated the inside of her body, but she ignored that sensation as she said: "Ruby." "Tourmaline!" Ruby turned and relief flashed into her face as she saw Tourmaline active again. "Oh, I'm so glad. You weren't responding before. I was worried you had micro-fractures or something on the part of you thats inside your body. If you hadn't come out of it I was thinking of popping your body to take a look." Worry still edged at the corner of her voice. Tourmaline couldn't remember how much time had passed, it seemed like only a moment, but she supposed that she must have experienced some stress related failure of operation. That must be possible. Her fingers crept up to her shoulder on their own volition and once more felt mercifully smooth facets. It wasn't possible that she'd been heat-damaged, was it? "Don't worry, I'm fine." She was not in the position to worry about herself. She needed to protect her Gems. Tourmaline rose to her feet, unsteady, with her hand reaching out to touch the boulder beside her for support. The granite was still cool. For some reason her mind objected and insisted that it should at least be warm after having all that terrible fire wash over it, but the stillness of its vast interior cold reservoir not be influenced by such a paltry application of heat. That unchanging core gave it strength. The other Gems were looking at her. Tourmaline stopped pressing her fingertips into the rough grains of the granite slab and turned towards them. She could feel the last remaining hole in her body's decorations slowly close up on her back, leaving her vest and pants whole once more. "The diamonds made a good decision. Those alien plant servitors of the rebellion were extremely dangerous, but they'll all be gone now. Unfortunately, our superiors mistakenly believed we were gone." Or they had written them off as acceptable losses. "That means that the recovery team is not coming to collect us, and our warp pad was destroyed in the attack." "So we're stuck here?" Ruby looked up with plaintive eyes. "No, we're going to deliver ourselves for collection. It's just going to take us a little bit longer." She turned. "Peridot!" Both Peridots jumped slightly. "Er, yes? "You spent all that time looking at geographic maps of the Earth, right?" She addressed both but she kept her eyes on her own curly haired one. Tourmaline didn't know if that odd obsession with maps was a quirk of one Gem or just an unimportant characteristic of the type. Peridot smiled triumphantly. "Oh, I see! Yes, I know all about this area and...oh." The impact of what Tourmaline was about to say suddenly sank in past her pride. "Oh no." "So you know where the closest warp pad is." The other Peridot joined in, trying to avoid the certain conclusion that was making her tug on her pony-tail our of stress again. "I mean, yes, but that's over five percent of the way around the planet!" "Then we'd better start walking." Tourmaline strode out of the group of boulders that had been their camp. The rear bade of Amethyst's weapon stuck slightly out of the ash that covered the ground. Tourmaline grabbed the haft of the weapon with one hand. She felt her shoulder pulse as she allowed herself to lift it. She set it across her shoulders, held it with both hands, and then let go of her new power before the energy expenditure made her collapse. The sudden onset of many times her body weight almost brought her down anyway, but she managed to compose herself before turning back to the others who uncertainly filed out of the feeble protection of the rocks. "Peridot, point the way." The landscape around them was stripped of color. In every direction was a vast expanse of black charcoal, white ash, and grey rock decorating undulating ridges scoured free of trees, all under a wide blue sky. The only sound was their footsteps and the faint crackle of the remaining fragments of carbonized wood periodically collapsing under its own weight. Peridot indicated off towards the horizon and they started walking. It felt good to have a task and purpose again. It was five minutes before Ruby started asking if they were there yet. ... Traveling was a new experience; one that contained innumerable other sub-nested novelties. In Tourmaline's previous thousand years of existence the furthest she had ever walked was from her hole in the kindergarden to the warp pad. In that first hour of memory she had been surrounded by others of herself, also newly harvested, and had only needed to follow the direction that the overseeing Peridot was pointing. It was simple. Though, in a way, Tourmaline supposed was still doing that. The untamed Earth was a strange place. Tourmaline had long known this but she was now continually assailed by examples. The local aliens existed in innumerable shapes, the sessile plants and the mobile animals both existed in a constant violent war. A dead-end quirk of creation, they could only exist by ripping the bodies of others apart for matter to convert into sustaining energy. And when they fell there was no evidence of reformation, only exposed white structural supports and slowly crumbling fibrous trunks. It was almost as sad as it was horrifying. Somewhere out there in the wilderness, the rebels were still lurking. From time to time as Tourmaline and her friends walked through endless forests or rolling plains they could see small streams of smoke rising in the distance. Once they came to a river under a bright moon and saw saw lights gleaming in the distance down its course. They found rutted dirt paths sometimes, but avoided them. Who knew what manner of device or creature might have made those tracks? The mountains were safer. Tourmaline shifted the pole-arm's haft that lay across her shoulders. Her feet splashed through the clear stream, the flowing cold water bulging up above her left knee to brush her thigh. One of the smooth, rounded stones that covered the stream-bed clacked as it rocked under her foot, forcing Tourmaline to briefly adjust her balance. Then she was was across and pushed through the mud-silt at the edge to climb up past the crumbling grass ledge that formed an overly large step onto dry land. She looked down. All this water made her leg decorations cling to her calves even more and attracted dirt like an adhesive but that would dry quickly enough. She tried to not smile at Peridot's incessant low pitch grumbling as the smaller gem sat on a rock curled into an angry, soaked, dirt and grass covered ball. Peridot had lost her balance during her own crossing. Turning upstream, Tourmaline watched the other Peridot slowly inching her way by hands and knees across a thin bridge of tree fragments that had collected against a few rocks. That left Ruby alone on the far bank. "Ruby, do you want me to come back across for you?" "No, no! I got this! Just..." Ruby growled as she stamped and paced, staring down the flowing water. "Just give me a moment!" Tourmaline checked that Peridot had finished her inch by inch crossing before turning back to Ruby. By then Ruby had given up on her apprehension and simply marched straight forward, her hands clenched in fists at her sides. "Oh, Ruby, it's actually much shallower if you cross on the other side of those boulders or...Well, I guess she's fine. Her body's dense." The top of Ruby's hair disappeared under the surface for a few moments as Tourmaline spoke. An exodus of flashing shadows scattered from the center of the stream, swimming in every direction to flee this invasion of their favored space under those rocks. Then Ruby emerged up the far side, streaming water down every inch of her body. Ruby was excited now and pointed back. "Glur blegh ish ba urglurgugik!" More water came pouring out of her mouth. Apparently she had not thought to close it while in the stream. Tourmaline sighed. "Speak with air, not water." Ruby blinked then opened her mouth wide to eject a small sparkling waterfall. "Oops. Thanks, Tour! I saw a fish!" "Yeah, yeah, great." Peridot was not as enthusiastic for their impromptu surveying mission. The grit and pine needles that suck to her soaked body looked like a very odd set of manifested decorations. Now both of the green gems were back together again so they could chide in unison. "Come on! We're almost there!" Ruby glanced at Tourmaline then back at the Peridots. "You said that before." "Well, I'll admit we may have taken a slight detour for a while back there." "We were on a frozen ocean and you insisted we were still heading south!" "Like I said, detour. We've only been walking for one hundred and seventy two days," a Peridot said. Ruby mumbled something about the initial estimation being thirty-eight days. "Hey, I'd like to see you try and plot a course across the planet from memory without any technology whatsoever! It was our genius that concocted the plan of observing the polar oriented star quadrant as a navigation technique! But look, we've got to be in the right area now. You saw the cliffs we've been passing. That's totally the right geology for the shaping yard! Civilization is right around here somewhere!" To Tourmaline's eyes all that was around them were more mountain ridges and behind them undoubtably more valleys that led to more mountains; mountains, trees, and dust. Tourmaline missed when they had been striding across the plains of tall grass. She at least had been tall enough to see over the plants and there had been no trees to get Amethyst's pole-arm stuck between. Of course a giant herd of shaggy horned aliens had almost trampled one of the Peridots down into shards and then Ruby had accidentally started a grass-fire that was still raging across the entire horizon behind them last time they had seen it. Still, the land, when it was not on fire, had been relatively flat. Now they were climbing yet another seemingly endless mountain ridge-line. Each time Tourmaline thought she saw the blue sky through the trees that signaled they had reached the top they crested a slight fold to reveal another interminable slope. Her mind fell into a trance, constantly looking down at her feet crunching into the dirt, following the winding trails that might be dry watercourses or the paths of native creatures. She and the Peridots were flagging, only Ruby seemed to be keeping up a constant level of pep and energy. Then Tourmaline looked uphill once more and just saw blue between the pine trunks. This time the blue didn't vanish and slowly the ridge finally gave up its fight. "Ha ha! Yes!" Peridot crawled across the last bit of flat ground on the top of the slope before collapsing on an overlook. "Oh thank the Diamonds we made it! We finally made it!" Her other self was also grinning ear to ear as she fell over to topple into into the first's lap. Tourmaline had to admit that there might have been a similar grin on her own face. For months they had been wandering the eerily empty wilderness. From time to time they had sought shelter from a storm in a cave or rock overhang only to find mysterious scratches or lines of pigment adorning the walls. They were no manner of writing or symbol code that even the Peridots could understand. Once, the middle of in a vast plain they had summited a round hill to find a single standing stone. When they approached it they saw what seemed to be strange creatures carved or frozen forever in the process of emerging from the obelisk. Never before had Tourmaline considered that the world she was made in from was so very alien. Now they once more looked down on the glory and magnificence of Gem civilization and it was as if the invisible watching eyes that had followed them were now drawn away. Below their vantage point, vast miles wide pits had been opened in the solid grey rock of the mountain range. The land had been scraped clean of plants and dirt leaving only the hard core, and in places entire ridge-lines were gone, sheered down to flat bottom depressions by the extraction of raw construction material. Elsewhere the needs had been more targeted and whole mountain peaks here sat suspended like tables, held up by massive irregular columns left over from a desired material being extracted from the mountain roots. This was one of the Earth's shaping yards for the Diamond's construction projects. "Awesome!" said Ruby. "How do we get down?" The answer turned out to be: carefully. In most places the overlapping rectangular pits were sheer walled for thousands of feet to their bottoms. The little group eventually made their way along the ridge-line until they found an excavated area old enough that water and temperature effects had weathered cracks into its side. Tourmaline summoned up her ribbon to help lower them down in places. For almost a thousand feet of the decent she struggled under the oppressive handicap of the massive weapon she carried. Then, in the middle of a nearly sheer section she suddenly had an embarrassingly obvious epiphany. Tourmaline swung her arm and threw the weapon out over the side. "Ahh!" Peridot screamed up from a crack few paces below. "What the heck, Tourmaline!" "I'll find it at the bottom. It's a quartz's forged weapon. It's not like it's going to break." "That's not..." Peridot lapsed into a moment of silence. "Then why didn't you do that from the beginning?" Tourmaline sighed. Fortunately, Ruby managed to shush the green Gem by briefly using her curly haired head as a foothold. Tourmaline mostly resisted returning Ruby's grin. They made it to the bottom relatively safely, even if Ruby did accidentally end up taking the last two hundred feet the same way as the weapon had. Fortunately, she landed with her self up facing up so only her body took the hit. Then it was just a matter of dusting off and gathering the group to apply the proper leverage to extract the weapon's blade from where it had sunk deep into the solid rock. After that, the little party turned and faced the uneven landscape that led to the newer quarries. Grey clouds were moving in to cover the sky and filter the sunlight into cooler colors. It was easy enough to see where the more established parts of the Shaping Yard were. Even at this distance the giant, many-legged shells of the excavators could hardly be mistaken for anything native to this planet. The shelved expanse of right angles artificial canyons, pits, and sheer cliffs began to be dotted with other bits of technology as they drew closer. These machine nodes were connected by thick paths of elemental gold, tracing angular untarnished circuitry across the stone walls. Tourmaline was still looking forward as they walked, sensitive of the many sudden drops in this artificial landscape, when one of the Peridots spoke behind her. "Wow, that's incredibly crude. Actually using gold for electrical conductivity? Well, I guess in the early days on the planet they might have had to make do. And if the element's a byproduct of the other extraction then their doing it could make sense?" No matter what she said it still sounded like she wanted to find whoever had designed this place and shake for making such a choice. Then Tourmaline's own Peridot spoke up. "But nothing seems to be online. Where are all the Bismuths?" Tourmaline was briefly surprised that she had recognized something about that voice as distinct from her type fellow's without seeing the yellow curls. Then she processed what Peridot had actually said. She was right, something was wrong. The machines were quiet. They walked and climbed across a barren rock landscape and saw absolutely no other movement. None of the massive excavators had budged since they first came into sight. There was only gusts of wind and a dim haze creeping up from the lower elevations to spill over the walls into the massive excavation site. Ruby shivered and Tourmaline found herself walking a little closer to the other gems. But there was something in the distance; a glow. Tourmaline pointed. "Look, under that space. Is there a light down there?" The'space' she was gesturing to existed under one of the moth-eaten mountains. High above them, three thousand feet of mountain peak and snow sat on a base that had been excavated down to the barest supports. The archways between those irregular bedrock columns could have welcomed a capital ship flying underneath into the shadows of that gem-made sunless land. But somewhere within those depths was a faint orange glow. "Hey, you're right!" With a concrete target in sight, Ruby's anxiety instantly vanished. "That must be where everyone is!" Tourmaline just wished that her own gem type had not been designed in part to predict potential problems. In this chaos of their new unhinged existence that quality was becoming a hindrance. However, the Peridots were still looking to her so Tourmaline nodded and began to march forward towards the hollow mountain. She'd just have to try and hide the fact that she kept pulsing her power into the weapon she carried every time she heard a small rock fall in the distance. Her suddenly lashing out with a massive bladed pole-arm against an attack from a slight breeze would not be good for household moral. After half an hour of walking they stepped into the shadow. There was now half a dead mountain hanging over
They don’t want pragmatic Scala programmers. The “Scala is too complex for the average programmer” movement is disturbing. It conspires that Scala is too difficult for the average programmer to learn and that it is too academic. Scala is a hybrid programming language that is object oriented and functional. Java is a programming language that is object oriented and imperative. This means that Java programmers have no functional programming power. This year I read Programming in Scala and practiced some functional programming. I converted some Java code I had lying around to Scala and gained some hands on experience with case classes, pattern matching, lazy evaluation, implicit conversions, lambdas, and closures. I also reduced and folded lists and wrote curried functions. I was pleasantly shocked and surprised! It is true that moving from object oriented to functional programming requires a shift in mindset. It is true also that many Java programmers are already thinking functionally but are unaware of it. In Java we use immutable objects when programming for concurrency. We use anonymous inner classes to simulate lambdas and closures. We use iterators and predicates to simulate list comprehensions. We recognize these and other functional concepts but implement them in roundabout ways because there is no direct support for them in the Java language. Fortunately Java 7 is looking to add lambda support to the language so we will soon no longer have to write anonymous inner classes wherever single method interfaces and abstract classes (SAM types) are expected. In the meantime Scala has emerged as a functional language that Java programmers can learn and transition to without sacrificing their object oriented skills and without leaving the JVM platform. For any programmer who has not looked at Scala or who has been deterred by a “too complex” conspirator, here are some code samples.. Case classes Lets create a class named Path that accepts a source and destination city as two separate characters and exposes them as public read only properties. case class Path (origin: Char, destination: Char) Prefixing a class definition with the “case” keyword automatically exposes constructor arguments as public read only properties. It also adds a factory method to your class so you don’t have to instantiate it with new, so Path(‘A’, ‘B’) will suffice for example. It also provides a toString method that returns a string literal like Path(A,B). You also get a natural implementation of the hashCode and equals methods. You get constructor pattern matching support too. All this for free with a one liner case class. Factory method with pattern matching Now lets create a factory method that accepts a string, parses it, and returns a Path instance. For example, passing the string “AB” should return a Path(‘A’, ‘B’) instance whereas passing the string “ABC” should fail. object Path { val PathRE = "^([A-Z]{1})([A-Z]{1})$".r def apply(pathStr: String): Path = pathStr match { case PathRE(origin, destination) => Path(origin(0), destination(0)) case _ => throw new IllegalArgumentException(pathStr) } } Now we can instantiate a Path as Path(“AB”) in addition to Path(‘A’, ‘B’). Any string that does not contain exactly two characters that are not between A and Z will result in an IllegalArgumentException. So the strings “a”, “1”, “A1”, and “ABC” will all fail construction. As a safeguard we can add an assert statement to the Path constructor to ensure that the source and destination cities are never equal like this: case class Path (origin: Char, destination: Char) { assert (origin!= destination, "origin and destination are same") } Implicit conversion Now lets make it possible to assign the string literal “AB” directly to any Path type anywhere so that we don’t have to call the factory method explicitly. We do this by prefixing our apply(String) factory method with the keyword implicit as shown below: implicit def apply(pathStr: String): Path Now the string literal “AB” can be accepted anywhere where a Path instance is expected. Folding Lists Now suppose we want to write an application that accepts a list of Path string literals from the command line. We can convert the incoming list of Path strings to a Set of Path instances by using a fold left operation. The following creates a new empty Set and adds to it every Path in the incoming list. Each string in the list is automatically converted to a Path instance through implicit conversion. def main(args: Array[String]) { val pathSet = (Set[Path]() /: args) (_+_) } Lambda expressions Now lets say we have already written a function named find, that finds all the routes from one city to another based on some route condition. This function accepts two arguments, a Path containing the from and to cities, and a predicate lambda expression. The signature looks like this: def find(path: Path, predicate: Route => Boolean): List[Route] We can invoke this function to find (for example) all the routes from city ‘A’ to city ‘E’ having less than 3 stops like this: val routes = find("AE", route => route.stops < 3) Currying We can curry the find function by splitting its two argument parameter list into two one argument parameter lists like this: def find(path: Path)(predicate: Route => Boolean): List[Route] Now when we invoke the find function with a Path argument we get a second function that we can then invoke with the predicate argument to get the result. We can invoke our curried function like this: val routes = find("AE")(route => route.stops < 3) Scala allows us to optionally wrap the sole argument to a single argument function in curly braces instead of parenthesis. So we can also invoke our curried function like this: val routes = find("AE") { route => route.stops < 3 } Now our call to the find function looks like a built in Scala construct. Is Scala too Complex? If you think that the above Scala code is too complex then I urge you to try and achieve the same in Java with less complexity. AdvertisementsVaping shops are opening at a rate of more than two a day despite major concerns about the effects of e-cigarettes on health. There are now more than 1,700 shops across the country, half of them opening in the last year alone, figures show. The highest concentration of the shops, which sell only electronic cigarettes, liquid nicotine for use with them and accessories, are in the North of England, Scotland and London, industry body ECigIntelligence found. Scroll down for video Vaping shops are opening at a rate of more than two a day despite major concerns about the effects of e-cigarettes on health. Pictured is a vaping shop in Covent Garden, London The battery-powered devices heat up the liquid so it can be inhaled as a vapour. Their popularity has soared over the last ten years and there are now more than three million ‘vapers’ in Britain after e-cigarettes were billed as a healthier alternative to smoking. The Royal College of GPs has told its 52,000 members to advise patients who are trying to give up smoking to switch to e-cigarettes, as they give a nicotine hit without many noxious chemicals found in cigarettes. Public Health England has said e-cigarette use carries ‘a fraction of the risk of smoking’. But the British Medical Association called earlier this year for a ban on vaping in public places and critics argue the effect on health over the long term is not yet known as they have not been around long enough. And earlier this month, the US government issued a stark warning that electronic cigarettes could leave children hooked on nicotine for life. America’s top doctor, Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy, said the devices were a ‘major public health concern’ and said vaping was a ‘gateway’ to smoking for teenagers, who can become hooked on nicotine after as little as one to three days of it a month. Scientists at the world-renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm have also raised concerns, claiming just ten puffs on an e-cigarette are enough to trigger physiological changes which could lead to heart disease. Nearly three million people in Britain use e-cigarettes after they were billed as a healthier alternative to smoking And the EU banned TV advertising of e-cigarettes earlier this year because of concerns about the risk to children. It said: ‘Electronic cigarettes can develop into a gateway to nicotine addiction and ultimately traditional tobacco consumption, as they mimic and normalise the action of smoking.’ Other studies have found e-cigarettes raise blood pressure and promote a hardening of the arteries just like normal cigarettes. But traders are cashing in on the trend. More than 800 new shops stocking the devices opened in the last 12 months, according to the latest research. Barnaby Page from ECigIntelligence said this was because vape stores offer customers more detailed knowledge than they could get from other retailers, and a wider selection of stock. The stores are opening in central locations, though often not on prime High Street sites.March 29, 2009 — jao I’m back from ILC 09, slowly digesting all i lived there. This was my first Lisp conference and my first visit to MIT, a place marked with red big letters in the atlas of my private mythology. And it wasn’t only about places: suddenly realizing that you’re sitting next to Richard Greenblatt, or enjoying Gerry Sussman’s talks in the flesh, was quite an experience, with an almost eerie feeling attached to it. There’s a problem in meeting your myths: real life is almost never up to the task of meeting one’s idealizations. But this was not the case; i enjoyed every minute, not a tinge of disappointment to be felt. Lisp has been around for quite a while and its history is an important part of computer science’s history. That history comes life in the ILC, and you get a chance to share with the people that were there back in the day, the people you read about in books… i’ve wished many times i was there, and these days in Cambridge i’ve been as close to those halcyon days as i can expect to ever be. Living history, what a feeling. Had i to single out just one speaker, that’d have to be Gerry Sussman. I just kept finding myself resonating in a deep way with his thoughts. For instance, during the panel on the future of Lisp, conversation revolved around how to keep the language popular and apt for commercial applications. Gerry stepped out to point that that was all very well, but that we shouldn’t forget that one of the key aspects of programming languages is to what extent they allow us to extend our problem-solving abilities by providing new ways of expressing and talking about problems (as Dijkstra once said: Lisp has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts). Dead on, if you ask me, although unfortunately nobody seemed to have anything else to add, and the debate returned to the far less interesting popularity issues (well, yes, the conference wasn’t perfect after all). Next day we were in a kind of tongue-in-check debate provocatively entitled Are macros a menace?. Richard Gabriel was on the wrong side, and arguing along the lines that macros were akin to language design and that he’d rather not suffer the consequences of letting your average software engineer undertake such a complex task. Gerry’s intervention at this point made me nod again: if we cannot trust our software enginneers to proficiently use the tools of our trade, there must be something wrong in the way we educate them; only those able to judiciously use them should get a diploma, to begin with. That’s exactly how i felt during my period as a CS teacher, as i tried, rather clumsily, to explain in one of my first rants in this blog. It feels great to be in such a good company. Then there was this unplanned mini-talk on why MIT has replaced the SICP-based introduction to programming with something about robots using Python. You can read a nice synopsis of the reasons Sussman gave in Andy’s blog (together with summaries and comments of many other talks). It was nice in a kind of sad way: at the end, while answering a question, Gerry mentioned that this new computing world was not his, and it wasn’t one that he liked [0]. ‘But’, he said, ‘that’s because we’re old farts’. Although i’m younger than him, i like much better the kind of world that gave rise to SICP, and spent the rest of the evening feeling like a sad, old fart. I must say, however, that the ideas SICP grew upon, that simple world where you built up complexity out of small pieces and system that you understood completely, have much to offer to new generations. We should not dismiss them in the name of modernity. Besides those cameos, Gerry had two official appearances in the regular conference programme, namely, one invited speech on robust systems design and a lightning talk. (The latter were 5-minutes long presentations–with Guy Steele and his chronometer strictly ensuring that that was actually the case–followed by a 2 minutes Q&A part, while the next speaker was setting up her laptop. This formula worked great most of the time, forcing the presenters to squeeze their brains in order to capture as much content, sense and, in most cases, fun as possible in such a short time. We had a living confirmation that working under severe constraints is a great creativity boost.) In the invited speech, we had the opportunity of hearing more about Gerry’s ideas on what makes a system robust. I say ‘more’ because he made public a paper on the subject some time ago, and, actually, his ideas on these issues can be traced back to, for instance, the SICP video lectures, where he already exposes the general strategy to tackle the problem: in order to make a system robust, you don’t want to solve a strict, narrowly specified problem, but a whole family of them (or, if you have a very crisp specification, a class of problems in its neighbourhood). That way, when the problem to be solved varies in small ways, your whole solution accommodates to the new situation by small variations. The solution is not brittle. To attain such a flexible behaviour, we need to build our system upon components that are lenient on the inputs they accept and as sharp as possible in the outputs they produce. Ways to attain the above goals include metalinguistic abstraction (creating a language tailored to the problem domain), use of generic interfaces, degeneracy or non-deterministic search in the solution space. Generic functions were nicely demonstrated with examples from the library used in SICM (and the delicious Functional Differential Geometry). We got the warning that using generics this way is dangerous. But they’re powerful, and one needs powerful methods to solve challenging problems; one needs to know what one’s doing, but that’s part of what we’re supposed to be good at, right? Sussman kept smiling and saying ‘beware, this is a very dangerous thing to do’. There was also an almost off-the-record comment to the effect that one of the missed opportunities in Lisp’s design was its not defining all its primitive forms as generics (converting it definitely in the most dangerous language around). Degeneracy (using completely different ways for computing the same result) was illustrated, as much of Sussman’s thinking on robust programming, by examples drawn from biological systems (in this talk, it was frogs most of the time). You can find many other examples of this sort of parallelism between computing and biological systems in the paper linked above, a line of thought that i find mixes well with the handful of metaphors i use to reason about my job as a programmer. In particular, it sort of connects with my bias towards living systems such as Lisp or Smalltalk’s, where one is evolving more than designing and implementing the program; which in turn mixes well with the ideas of latent typing and late binding, present in those highly dynamic environments (Self, Factor, and APL (as demonstrated in this game of life video (unintended pun intended)) are in the same league). Much more than with beautiful but extremely rigid ones based on static typing, such as Haskell’s. (That’s why i keep coming back to Lisp after my Haskell excursions, or why i find R6RS so disappointing. Or, if you’ll pardon my keeping on mixing methaphors, why i prefer healing rather than practising autopsies.) Another venue to flexibility mentioned in the talk are constraint propagation networks in which multiple sources contribute to defining the values of each state variable. You get that way the possibility of partially defined values, that can be nonetheless useful by themselves, depending on the computation you’re performing. Propagator networks also work as additive computation machines able to refine coarse inputs into correct solutions for problems specified as a set of constraints. One of Sussman’s students, Alexey Radu, is actively working on propagators, building on work inititated back in the day by Guy Steele. You can find an extensive report and nice, working Scheme code here. Finally, Gerry gave a lightning talk with yet another piece of food for thought. The rub of it was drawing our attention to the possibility of exploiting a posited parallelism between the theory and methods to solve differential equations on the one hand, and programs on the other. There’s a way of approaching solving a differential equation that is, if you will, algebraic in nature: one manipulates algebraically expressions to simplify and eventually obtain a closed form solution, or, if that’s not possible, creates numerical approximations to evolve the boundary conditions in the state space as a function of discrete time steps. You end up that way with something that works as a solution, but, most of the time, without a deep understanding of the traits that make it a solution: in the spirit of the robust design ideas sketched before, we should probably be asking for more qualitative information about how solutions behave as we change the boundary or initial conditions of our problem. As it happens, matematicians have a way of analyzing the behaviour of solutions to differential equations by studying their Poincaré maps and sections, which are views into the orbits followed by the solutions in their state space. Many times, you don’t have to solve exactly the differential equation to predict its qualitative behaviour (e.g., is it bounded? is it periodic?) in state space, and get insight on how it changes in presence of perturbations. The analogy with computing processes is clear: most of the time, we narrow our efforts in finding, so to speak, algebraic solutions to our computing problems: the program-as-text is the analog to the process of finding an exact formula for the solution of a differential equation. What we’re missing, according to Sussman, is a way or reasoning about the qualitative features of our programs à la Poincaré, i.e., a way or reasoning about programs in the state space of their outputs, beyond the mechanistic algorithmical details. Gerry admitted that he didn’t know how or in what form this kind of reasoning would proceed, only that his hunch is that it must possible, and exhorted us to find the way. ILC09 would have been worth it only for those talks, but there was much more: don’t miss the next one! – [0] As rightly pointed out by Dan Weinreb in his comment below, Sussman endorses the changes in the new curriculum, though. His post on this issue is worth reading too.In a harsh environment with very little water and intense ultraviolet radiation, most life in the extreme Atacama Desert in Chile exists as microbial colonies underground or inside rocks. Researchers at NASA hypothesize that the same may be true if life exists on Mars. Image: Mary Beth Wilhelm (in white cleanroom suit) carefully samples ground-truth material obtained from the 2.2 meter depth science excavation pit, assisted by Jonathan Araya (Univ. de Antofagasta) and watched by ARADS co-investigators Jocelyn DiRuggiero (Johns Hopkins) and the SOLID instrument lead, Victor Parro (Centro de Astrobiologia, Spain). Credits: NASA The cold and dry conditions on Mars open the possibility that evidence for life may be found below the surface where negative effects of radiation are mitigated, in the form of organic molecules known as biomarkers. But until humans set foot on the Red Planet, obtaining samples from below the surface of Mars will require the ability to identify a location of high probability for current or ancient life, place a drill, and control the operation robotically. ARADS test on dry salt lake (halite flats), feeding sample from the drill to the Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) instrument (box on right) and the Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) prototype (box on left). WCL is a version of the 2007 Phoenix Mars instrument. Credits: NASA The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project has just completed its first deployment after one month of fieldwork in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, the "driest place on Earth." Despite being considerably warmer than Mars, the extreme dryness the soil chemistry in this region are remarkably similar to that of the Red Planet. This provides scientists with a Mars-like laboratory where they can study the limits of life and test drilling and life-detection technologies that might be sent to Mars in the future. "Putting life-detection instruments in a difficult, Mars-analog environment will help us figure out the best ways of looking for past or current life on Mars, if it existed," said Dr. Brian Glass, a NASA Ames space scientist and the principal investigator of the ARADS project. "Having both subsurface reach and surface mobility should greatly increase the number of biomarker and life-target sites we can sample in the Atacama," Glass added. More than 20 scientists from the United States, Chile, Spain, and France camped together miles from civilization and worked in extremely dry, 100+ degree heat with high winds during the first ARADS field deployment. Their work was primarily at Yungay Station, a mining ghost town at one of the driest places in the Atacama, owned by the University of Antofagasta in Chile. Yungay has been a focal point for astrobiology studies in the last two decades. ARADS field scientists also evaluated two other Atacama sites Salar Grande, an ancient dried-up lake composed of thick beds of salt, and Maria Elena, a similarly extremely dry region to be considered along with Yungay as the host location for the future ARADS tests in 2017-19. During this initial deployment, scientists put several technologies through the paces under harsh and unpredictable field conditions: a Mars-prototype drill; a sample transfer arm; the Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) created by Spain's Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB); and a prototype version of the Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL), which flew on the Phoenix Mars mission in 2007. Engineers and scientists were successful in accomplishing their primary technology goal of this seasonto use the ARADS drill and sample transfer robot arm at Yungay to acquire and feed sample material to the SOLID and WCL instruments under challenging environmental conditions. The in situ analyses of the drilled samples help set a yardstick for interpreting future results from these two instruments, and will be compared to results obtained from the same samples in some of the best laboratories. Additionally, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and NASA Ames collected samples for laboratory investigations of the extreme microorganisms living inside salt habitats in the Atacama. These salt habitats could be the last refuge for life in this extremely dry region that is otherwise devoid of plants, animals, and most types of microorganisms. "We are excited to learn as much as we can about these distinctive, resilient microorganisms, and hope that our studies will improve life-detection technology and strategies for Mars," said Mary Beth Wilhelm, a NASA Ames researcher and member of the ARADS science team. Over the next four years, the ARADS project will return to the Atacama to demonstrate the feasibility of integrated roving, drilling and life-detection, with the goal of demonstrating the technical feasibility and scientific value of a mission that searches for evidence of life on Mars. Please follow Astrobiology on Twitter.Disaffected voters often claim there is little difference between the two major parties. In this case, they may be right. Although negotiations have been less than transparent, it is becoming apparent to a majority of Americans that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a great deal for the global corporatocracy aspiring to rule the world – but not so great to the workers who actually produce goods and services, carrying out the day-to-day functions of society. According to analyses of leaked information, the TPP also poses a threat to democracy itself. It raises the question of why a President who ran on “Hope and Change” is so adamant in his support for a secret trade deal that promises to be worse that everything that has been shoved down our collective throats for the past quarter century. Could it be about payback? It was back in February 2011 that journalist and former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough described the relationship between President Obama and Wall Street in a guest column for Politico as “a beautiful friendship.” According to Scarborough, Obama “raised more money from Wall Street …than any politician in American history.” It now appears that Wall Street wants Obama to return the favor. It is true that White House economic policy have helped create the largest profits and returns on investment in the history of capitalism – but as the last few decades have clearly demonstrated, it’s never enough for Wall Street. In December 2014, its nemesis, Elizabeth Warren, began sounding alarms about how the TTP would severely weaken regulatory reform efforts (among other disasters). And that’s just how Wall Street, with its addictions to gambling and theft, would like it. It’s not the first time Wall Street has bribed a candidate. Republicans have rightfully earned a reputation as the party of Wall Street – but Wall Street likes to hedge its bets. In January of 1996, a Los Angeles Times article reported that former President Clinton’s largest campaign contributor was Goldman, Sachs & Company – a firm that would later reap large profits from the 2007-08 subprime mortgage crisis. That company also had a large stake in Mexican stocks and bonds. Is it coincidence that Clinton was a champion of the North American Free Trade Agreement? Over the course of the 1990s, NAFTA policies increased foreign investment in Mexico by well over 400%. It was good for the investor class – but it didn’t work out so well for labor in either country. Neither did its expansion, the Central American Free Trade Agreement. In fact, President Clinton negotiated some 300 trade agreements that lowered, and even eliminated tariffs – allowing Fortune 500 companies to ship jobs and factories abroad, ignoring those pesky environmental regulations in the process. Today, Hillary Clinton faces opposition from her base over the whole issue of “free trade.” Acknowledging that NAFTA “failed to live up to its promises,” she is distancing herself from the President, telling the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. should reject any trade agreement that “that fails to protect U.S. workers.” Yet Ms. Clinton chooses her words carefully. She appears to be playing both ends – the liberal base whose votes and support she needs, and her corporatist Wall Street donors, whose cash is paying her campaign bills. In the meantime, President Obama continues to say, “Just trust me on this.” Maybe he’s sincere in his belief that the TPP is ultimately a good thing – but given his relationship with Wall Street and the secrecy surrounding the agreement, we have to wonder what he’s trying to hide.Chuck Blazer in a 2005 photo. (Bernd Kammerer / AP) Whenever the Justice Department’s case against FIFA executives reaches a courtroom, one of its main witnesses will be Chuck Blazer, a high-ranking former FIFA and CONCACAF official who will likely detail just how freely money was flying around. Details about Blazer were published last fall in a New York Daily News story with the memorable headline: “Soccer rat! The inside story of how Chuck Blazer, ex-U.S. soccer executive and FIFA bigwig, became a confidential informant for the FBI.” There are a number of outrageous nuggets in the exposé, but the wildest concerns Blazer’s lifestyle and the Trump Tower apartment occupied by his cats. From the News: It’s an unexpected end for Blazer, who operated with high-flying impunity for decades, inhabiting a world of private jets, famous friends, secret island getaways, offshore bank accounts and two Trump Tower apartments with sweeping views of Central Park and the crenellations of The Plaza hotel. CONCACAF’s offices took up the entire 17th floor, but Blazer often worked from two apartments where he lived on the 49th floor in $18,000-per-month digs for himself and an adjoining $6,000 retreat largely for his unruly cats, according to a source. “He lived like there was no tomorrow,” said one source. “He ate and drank whatever he pleased. He probably thought he’d be gone before anybody noticed what he had helped himself to.” Blazer, 69 and suffering from colon cancer, is one of four men who pleaded guilty in the Justice Department’s corruption investigation. The News reports that the 450-pound “Falstaffian” man had other income and perks, too. He allegedly brought in much more through a tangled web of income from commissions, offshore companies and massive expenses paid for by CONCACAF. According to evidence in CONCACAF’s 2013 Integrity Report, Blazer and other senior CONCACAF employees used credit cards linked to Blazer’s personal American Express card to rack up a staggering $29 million in charges over a period of seven years, resulting in a maze of CONCACAF expenses and his personal charges. Blazer misappropriated at least $15 million in compensation payments from CONCACAF, including unauthorized payments of more than $11 million in commissions, $3.5 million in fees, and more than $837,000 in rent expenses, the report charged. When the IRS and FBI caught up with him, he became an informant.Helsinki electronic rock three-piece K-X-P have followed a year-long studio hiatus with a new EP, 'The History of Techno'. The EP title should be taken literally – rather than being a straight-up techno record, it takes its influence from the music that was foundational to techno, from krautrock to early electronic music to minimalism. In keeping with the theme of that record, the trio's ringleader (and the "K" in their name) Timo Kaukolampi has plotted his own history of techno – but focusing exclusively on the techno born in his own country, Finland. Finland isn't a country that's synonymous with techno and rave music in the same way that other regions and cities are, something that Timo puts down to the scarcity of equipment and import records in the early days, the lack of easy-to-come-by drugs, and the length of its harsh winters. Nevertheless, it's still a country with a vibrant if little-known history of electronic music, and has even birthed recognisable name exports like Mika Vainio and Jori Hulkkonen. Beginning in 1968 and ending in 2013, Timo's compiled a guide to Finland's techno history that takes in DIY modular synthesizers, gabba, acid, pop music, and anything else with a pulse that might fit in between. 01. Erkki Kurenniemi Antropoidien tanssi, 1968 Timo Kaukolampi: "Finnish electronic music as it first started to lift its head; still wet behind the ears. Erkki Kurenniemi was an inventor, film director, and artist – he built this synth and called it Dimi. There was also a synth that you controlled by dancing, and one that used touch and sex as its interface." 02. Oiling Boiling Cyclops Dance, 1977 Timo Kaukolampi: "Proto-techno with huge 'P'. This obscure track was hidden as the last track of a jazz-funk record, making that vinyl a collector's item, and super expensive. Sähkö Records re-reased this in 2001." 03. Pekka Airaksinen Sukirti [edit], 1984 Timo Kaukolampi: "Another proto classic, or divine accident. Pekka Airaksinen started to program the TR-808 with some mathematical formula that he found in some old Buddhist art. Hi-hats were the air, bass drums the earth, all other elements in between. This record is like no other. This was partly re-released on Skweee master Randy Barracuda's label, Harmönia." 04. Ektroverde Inauguration of a Spacebank, 1998 Timo Kaukolampi: "Ektroverde is Mika Rintala – or, actually, his DIY modular synth, which he built in his bookshelf. Proto from prototype. This track is from the documentary film Futuro, by Mika Taanila." 05. Panasonic Untitled, 1994 Timo Kaukolampi: “There is one name in Finnish electronic music that's stronger than no other: Mika Vainio. He is still creating to most beautiful, abstract, scientific, and violent music ever to come out of this small country. Here he is with Ilpo Väisänen as Panasonic – or Pan Sonic, before they skipped that 'a'." 06. Melody Boy 2000 Monotone Fantastique, 1994 Timo Kaukolampi: "It’s not easy to make this kind of list – so many tracks, so little time. I asked many very, very influential people what is the true Finnish techno classic, and three out of four said this track! Melody Boy 2000, aka Monojunk. Chapeau!" 07. Jimi Tenor Take Me Baby, 1994 Timo Kaukolampi: "Too pop to be techno, to techno to be pop. Jimi Tenor, the esoteric mastermind, with his first real solo record, 'Sähkömies' – which translates directly translated as 'electric man' or 'electrician'. A hugely influential track, which still gives you shivers with its deep electric sound and raw, dirty sexuality." 08. Marko Laine Read & Write, 1996 Timo Kaukolampi: "Marko Laine banging it away with his dark techno 909! Ron Trent would be thrilled with those snare fills. He also ran the most amazing record store, Mind Records." 09. Jori Hulkkonen Heights, 1996 Timo Kaukolampi: "Would be pure ignorance to leave Jori Hulkkonen out of this playlist. I could also post Tiga & Zyntherius, but this suits the list better. Enjoy!" 10. Freestyle Man Cyberchrist (feat. Irwin Berg), 1998 Timo Kaukolampi: "When those evil robot words come out from the speakers, you believe this dude Irvin is the Cyberchrist. Totally nihilistic record. Not sure if this video recording is on -8, but I have to say that some tracks just have a fucked mood. If I make an electro mix in the future, I’ll also add Mr. Velcro Fastener – electro Finlandese was strong at the turn of the millenium." 11. Philus Acidophilus, 1998 Timo Kaukolampi: "Acidophilus is just an amazing classic! Mika Vainio is also Philus, Saab 96, and Ø (this has nothing to do with the UK Ø). Mika does many different styles of music, but everything has that most amazing sonic quality. Tracks on this playlist just present one thin slice of his musical spectrum and genius." 12. Uni Latch, 1998 Timo Kaukolampi: "Released on Ectomorph's Detroit label, these brave Finns do half of the track with rimshots and another half with claves. Brilliant raw drive and mood from the more electro side of techno Finlandese." 13. Aavikko Viitostie, 1999 Timo Kaukolampi: "Purists will say that this track has nothing to do with techno, but I think that, behind the robust sound, is something unique and phuturistic. They come from Siilinjärvi – that is near where my grandmother lived. Winter lasts nine months there – maybe that explains things." 14. Motiivi:Tuntematon 1939, 2005 Timo Kaukolampi: "I must put one of my own tracks here. Still blows my mind. I have no idea what we were doing with Antti and Veikka. There was no drugs (as I remember). Our next 12" was released on Kompakt. Soon after that, Wolfgang [Voigt] stopped answering my emails." 15. Acid Kings Live @ Acidtron, 2008 Timo Kaukolampi: “Acid Kings. The name says it all, and this rare live clip kinda says it all about techno Filandese. Not fuelled by disco biscuits like the international chic Gucci crowds – these acid lovers believe in hootch and cheap government-controlled beer. But what can you say? We crawled out of the mud pit less than hundred years ago. Their acid is hot and rare. I saw them playing naked once, some years ago. Gave me a blister." 16. Teersom Orbital Rotation, 2013 Timo Kaukolampi: "Fresh track that has one leg in tradition and another in the future. Perfect mixture of heritage and a modern enough style. Music must move forward. Teersom, you prodigal son; may the 4/4 carry you far!" Öm released 'The History of Techno' on November 15th 2014 (buy). The K-X-P play a free show at The Shacklewell Arms in London on December 10th 2014 (more information and tickets).HARRISON, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls will start their CONCACAF Champions League campaign on Tuesday night and, through no fault of their own, are already behind the eight ball. The Red Bulls are entering their tournament opener against CD FAS (8 pm ET; Fox Sports 2, UDN) six points behind Group 3 leaders Montreal Impact, who have already swept the El Salvador outfit to collect six points through two matches. That scenario does not leave New York in must-win territory, but there is a sense that the club needs to defeat and eliminate CD FAS at Red Bull Arena in order to avoid having to play catch-up to Montreal. It is expected Mike Petke will field an experimental team full of seldom-used reserves and youth players, but the second-year head coach – who is getting his first taste of the continental tournament – told MLSsoccer.com on Monday that he plans to field a seasoned lineup. Not because there’s pressure, but because the Red Bulls are taking this tournament seriously. “We understand
. Bush’s office would later claim that the memo referred to “another George Bush” — but his close friendship and connections with active CIA officers in 1963 and evidence that he himself was an active CIA asset that year must be taken into account. Furthermore that “other” George Bush (a low-level trainee brought into the agency shortly before the assassination and let go not long afterwards) swore in a deposition that he did not receive any communications from any government agency relating to the Kennedy assassination, and could not have been the one mentioned in the memo. Coming back to the current circumstances: While there is nothing necessarily odd about a Democratic political dynasty socializing with a Republican one, in this instance the image of a Kennedy daughter hanging out with the 11/22 mystery man was jarring for more than a few. Especially because of evidence that her own father. Robert Kennedy, may have been victim of an organized plot — perhaps involving the same constellation of intelligence-connected figures. One can hope that the backstory will emerge of how a Kennedy, in particular, ended up being the carrier of this potent Bush message. Related front page panorama photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Facebook post) Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Please help us do more. Make a tax-deductible contribution now. Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary. Related printIt’s getting harder and harder to be truly original these days, and nothing much seems to surprise anymore. And then something like Curry Shop Shimizu opens in Tokyo. This is a real curry restaurant that specializes in poo-flavored curry. The very notion of that is sure to send a flurry of questions up to the old cranium, the biggest one no doubt being “How do they know what poo tastes like?” Well, they actually have a good explanation for that, along with answers to other questions you may be pondering… ■ “For the love of god, why?” The answer to that is simple: Curry Shop Shimizu had set out from the start to be “the world’s first” something. After extensive brainstorming it appeared that curry which tasted like literal crap probably isn’t being sold anywhere else in the world. So, they decided to do just that. ■ “How do they know what shit tastes like?” Curry Shop Shimizu is founded by Ken Shimizu, who also goes by the name Shimiken in some of his adult video roles, which total well into the 1,000s and include such outings as T.A.B.U. Blonde Hair Girl’s Hi-School 2 and the award-winning Shimiken’s Private 7 F*K. Being so prolific in such a line of work the collateral damage of tasting dookie is bound to occur from time to time. And so, Shimizu has put these years of experience into his recipes which he feels captures the taste and consistency of poop impeccably. According to a press release, this flavor is apparently a combination of the extreme bitterness of its two main ingredients goya (bitter gourd) and senburi (swertia japonica) tea. The texture is achieved by blending cocoa powder and water in just the right balance. Despite the horrid taste and feel of Shimizu curry, it’s actually some healthy sht. ■ “Are they insane?” That’s a hard question to answer since insanity is a concept relative to the status quo of a society. Luckily, Curry Shop Shimizu conducted a marketing survey of 400 young adults to find out. Of those surveyed, 75 percent said this was a bat-sht crazy idea and that they would never go there…ever. A further 10.5 percent said that, while they didn’t feel Shimizu was insane per se, they would still never go. From a business standpoint, those aren’t promising figures. However Curry Shop Shimizu is confident they can win people over with their many amenities. ■ “Alright, I’ll bite. What amenities are these?” For starters, how does a dart board float your boat? Sure it’s the kind where you have to pay to play, but it’s there. Shimizu also has some pretty cool wall paper and AV memorabilia adorning the cabinets. In addition, they promise that although the food tastes like poo, great consideration went into making sure the entire place was well ventilated so it doesn’t end up smelling that way, and nether will you as long as you bring plenty of mints. You can also get all-you-can-drink of the painfully bitter senburi tea completely free of charge. Not water, though; that’ll cost you 1,000 yen (US$8) per glass. There’s also a range of alcoholic drinks available to compliment Shimizu’s two menu items: Pooh Flavored Curry and Plain Rice. Both are available in three sizes and if you can eat the entire largest Japanese toilet bowl-shaped dish of curry, you’ll get a free commemorative sticker. There’s also other merchanidse for sale such as Curry Shop Shimizu T-shirts and official Ken Shimizu dildos. And to top it all off, they have a loyalty card program! Yes, there’s too many reasons for you not to want to taste Shimizu’s crappy curry. So what are you waiting for? Eat sht and live! Store Information Curry Shop Shimizu カレーショップ志み津 B1-A Joy Park Chitose Funabashi, 1-1-17 Funabashi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 東京都世田谷区船橋1-1-17 ジョイパーク千歳船橋B1-A Hours Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm Dinner: 6:00pm – 11:00pm Holidays: Fridays and any day that the curry accidentally tastes good Phone Number: Unlisted Website: http://curryshopshimizu.com Twitter: @unkocurryshop Images: xfsValkyrie Profile, Star Ocean, And Tohou Crossover In Square Enix Arcade Game By Spencer. September 27, 2012. 1:24am Square Enix’s card game Lord of Vermilion Re: 2 already has Noel from BlazBlue, fighters from The King of Fighters series, and the protagonist from Persona 4. The October 31 update adds a cameos from tri-Ace developed games Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. The biggest surprise is Reimu Hakurei and Yuyuko Saigyouji from the Tohou Project will be in Lord of Vermilion Re: 2 too. Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria Alicia Rufus Star Ocean: The Last Hope Gabriel Celesta Iseria Queen Tohou Project Yuyuko Saigyouji Reimu Hakurei Classic creatures are getting new cards for this version of Lord of Vermilion Re: 2 too. Oz Mad Hatter Vivienne Ouranos SuccubusCal might be looking for a new coach soon. Pierre Ingram is in deep trouble. Harry Harris of Bay Area News Group with the story. Pierre Ingram, the Golden Bears' recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach, was arrested after he allegedly solicited an undercover officer online and then showed up at the Motel 6 on Embarcadero. Ingram was hired by Sonny Dykes as part of his initial staff, was moved to receivers coach and primary recruiting coordinator after the departure of several assistants, and was an up-and-comer on the West Coast trails; he had proven to be a strong recruiter the past several seasons and landed some of our best offensive recruits. His future with the Cal program has to be very much in doubt. At the moment, he is not with the program. (At least we have an idea why the spring game was so weird!) Cal athletics says Pierre Ingram placed on administrative leave and did not participate in Saturday's spring game. — Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) April 20, 2015 Cal athletic department still gathering information on Pierre Ingram arrest. Will await further comment until situation is "fully assessed." — Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) April 20, 2015 Ingram's contract at Cal is set to expire on April 30. If terminated before then, he has to repay $20k signing bonus. Made $200K last year. — Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) April 20, 2015 If Ingram was relieved of his duties, it would leave only Tony Franklin and Sonny as the two remaining real offensive minds on our offensive coaching staff, with Rob Likens and Zach Yenser departing to Kansas this past season. Cal can probably get by with the stacks of offensive talent during the season and upgrade someone like Burl Toler III to help out with our wide receiver coaching. However, Sonny will need to find someone long-term to ensure the Bears retain their upward recruiting momentum. Who knows what the next step is. Discuss.Water that once flowed across the surface of Mars was hot enough for alien life to survive, scientists have discovered. Asteroid impacts created craters surrounded by water-filled vents where temperatures reached between 50 C and 150 C, their new research shows. Martian bugs could have thrived in such conditions. On Earth, microbes have been discovered living in similar waters, such as in the volcanic thermal springs at Yellowstone Park in the USA. On Mars, which is covered with craters, the energy from the impacts was what heated the water in hydrothermal fractures, the scientists believe. Researchers from the University of Leicester and the Open University, both in the UK, came to their conclusions after studying meteorites from Mars that fell to Earth. One type, which has samples in London’s Natural History Museum, is called a nakhlite. They were found to have veins running through them that are filled with minerals which are produced by water. By examining pieces of nakhlites under highly powerful microscopes, scientists at Leicester’s Department of Physics and Astronomy were able to discover more about the conditions under which the minerals formed. Their results were then run through computers at the Open University in Milton Keynes to test what processes might have occurred on Mars. This showed them that in martian history the water was initially at a temperature of around 150 C and contained a lot of carbon dioxide from which carbonates formed. It then cooled to around 50 C forming the clays. Planetary scientist Dr John Bridges, of Leicester, said: “Rovers on Mars – the Mars Exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity – are studying rocks to find out about the geologic history of the Red Planet. “While the orbiters and rovers are studying the minerals on Mars, we also have meteorites from Mars here on Earth. They come in three different groups, the shergottites, the nakhlites and the chassignites. Of most interest for the question of water on Mars are the nakhlites, because this group of Martian meteorites contains small veins, which are filled with minerals formed by the action of water near the surface of Mars.” Dr Bridges added: “The mineralogical details we see tell us that there had been high carbon dioxide pressure in the veins to form the carbonates. Conditions then changed to less carbon dioxide in the fluid and clay minerals formed. We have a good understanding of the conditions minerals form in, but to get to the details, chemical models are needed.” Dr Susanne Schwenzer, of the Open University’s Department of Physical Sciences, said: “Until John’s study was finished, I used the findings from orbiters around Mars, and modelled each of the new minerals individually. Before we had the detailed study of the nakhlite meteorites, we did not know that carbonates are forming first, followed by the clays. Therefore I was very excited to see the details of the new mineralogical study.” She added: “The driving force heating the water might have been an impact into the Martian surface. And you only have to look at a map of Mars to see how numerous those are on the martian surface.” Results from the research has been published this week in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.The driver was spotted near the ninth hole (Picture: Twitter/ @DJMagsi) We’ve all had days when our navigational skills have failed us. But for one off-duty Uber driver, a nightmare journey led him to the middle of a golf course, much to the amusement of several players. 'Healer' raids cemeteries and steals corpses' knee caps for'spiritual protection' The driver was filmed trundling up the buggy lane through the South Essex golf centre’s course last week, according to The Sun. The hapless motorist then told bemused golfers he had lost his way while driving to a barbecue. Stephen Maguire, 28, took his phone out to film the Toyota Prius as soon as he saw it approaching the ninth hole. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He said: ‘I was playing golf with my dad and he suddenly said – ‘is that a car?’ Advertisement Advertisement ‘I turned and saw a normal car driving up the hills on the buggy path. I’ve never seen a car up there so high.’ Naked man rescued from 'bijoux parlour' after fire broke out Mr Maguire spotted the driver trying to do a ’15 point turn’ in between bushes as he tried to make his way off the course. He said: ‘He drove towards me and I said ‘you all right? You’re on a golf course!’ ‘He said he was trying to get to a barbecue.’ The car was spotted doing a ‘fifteen point turn’ (Picture: Twitter/ @DJMagsi) Golfer laughed at the hapless driver (Picture: Twitter/ @DJMagsi) The golfer from Basildon, Essex, said he did not know how the motorist had got onto the course. He said: ‘He must have been spiralling up those hills somehow, I’ve never seen a car up there. Poor puppy got stuck in watering can after watching owner tend to plants 🙁 ‘We just started laughing.’ The video has since amassed hundreds of comments and retweets on Twitter. Let’s hope the driver managed to find his way off the course. The driver said he had lost his way (Picture: Twitter/ @DJMagsi) Nobody knows how he got there (Picture: Twitter/ @DJMagsi) A spokesperson from Uber declined to comment. MORE: Andy Murray opens up on the hardships of being a dad on the ATP Tour MORE: Student missed graduation due to train delays – so passengers held ceremony for himPhysical activity reorganizes the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function, according to a research team based at Princeton University. The researchers report in the Journal of Neuroscience that when mice allowed to exercise regularly experienced a stressor — exposure to cold water — their brains exhibited a spike in the activity of neurons that shut off excitement in the ventral hippocampus, a brain region shown to regulate anxiety. A research team based at Princeton University found that physical activity reorganizes the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function. Running produced a large increase in the number of new neurons in the hippocampus — a brain region shown to regulate anxiety — of a mouse that ran for six weeks (above). The brown cells are new neurons, which are more numerous in active mice than sedentary mice, and the blue cells are mature neurons. (Photo courtesy of the Gould laboratory) These findings potentially resolve a discrepancy in research related to the effect of exercise on the brain — namely that exercise reduces anxiety while also promoting the growth of new neurons in the ventral hippocampus. Because these young neurons are typically more excitable than their more mature counterparts, exercise should result in more anxiety, not less. The Princeton-led researchers, however, found that exercise also strengthens the mechanisms that prevent these brain cells from firing. The impact of physical activity on the ventral hippocampus specifically has not been deeply explored, said senior author Elizabeth Gould, Princeton's Dorman T. Warren Professor of Psychology. By doing so, members of Gould's laboratory pinpointed brain cells and regions important to anxiety regulation that may help scientists better understand and treat human anxiety disorders, she said. From an evolutionary standpoint, the research also shows that the brain can be extremely adaptive and tailor its own processes to an organism's lifestyle or surroundings, Gould said. A higher likelihood of anxious behavior may have an adaptive advantage for less physically fit creatures. Anxiety often manifests itself in avoidant behavior and avoiding potentially dangerous situations would increase the likelihood of survival, particularly for those less capable of responding with a "fight or flight" reaction, she said. "Understanding how the brain regulates anxious behavior gives us potential clues about helping people with anxiety disorders. It also tells us something about how the brain modifies itself to respond optimally to its own environment," said Gould, who also is a professor in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. The researchers found that running prevents the activation of new neurons in response to stress. In sedentary mice, stress activated new neurons in the hippocampus (red and green cell above), but after 6 weeks of running, the stress-induced activation of both new and mature neurons disappeared. The red cells are new neurons and the green cells are activated mature neurons. (Photo courtesy of the Gould laboratory) The research was part of the graduate dissertation for first author Timothy Schoenfeld, now a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as part of the senior thesis project of co-author Brian Hsueh, now an MD/Ph.D. student at Stanford University. The project also included co-authors Pedro Rada and Pedro Pieruzzini, both from the University of Los Andes in Venezuela. For the experiments, one group of mice was given unlimited access to a running wheel and a second group had no running wheel. Natural runners, mice will dash up to 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) a night when given access to a running wheel, Gould said. After six weeks, the mice were exposed to cold water for a brief period of time. The brains of active and sedentary mice behaved differently almost as soon as the stressor occurred, an analysis showed. In the neurons of sedentary mice only, the cold water spurred an increase in "immediate early genes," or short-lived genes that are rapidly turned on when a neuron fires. The lack of these genes in the neurons of active mice suggested that their brain cells did not immediately leap into an excited state in response to the stressor. Instead, the brain in a runner mouse showed every sign of controlling its reaction to an extent not observed in the brain of a sedentary mouse. There was a boost of activity in inhibitory neurons that are known to keep excitable neurons in check. At the same time, neurons in these mice released more of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, which tamps down neural excitement. The protein that packages GABA into little travel pods known as vesicles for release into the synapse also was present in higher amounts in runners. The anxiety-reducing effect of exercise was canceled out when the researchers blocked the GABA receptor that calms neuron activity in the ventral hippocampus. The researchers used the chemical bicuculine, which is used in medical research to block GABA receptors and simulate the cellular activity underlying epilepsy. In this case, when applied to the ventral hippocampus, the chemical blocked the mollifying effects of GABA in active mice. The paper, "Physical Exercise Prevents Stress-Induced Activation of Granule Neurons and Enhances Local Inhibitory Mechanisms in the Dentate Gyrus," was published May 1 in the Journal of Neuroscience. This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH091567.(CNN) The U.S. presidential race isn't only drawing attention and controversy in the United States -- it's being closely watched across the globe. But what does the rest of the world think about a campaign that has already thrown up one surprise after another? CNN asked 10 journalists for their take on the race so far, and what their country might be hoping for in America' s next president. (We'll also be checking in again with some of them as the campaign continues). The views expressed are the writers' own. Canada: Nervous laughter over U.S. campaign There was a time when we Canadians experienced U.S. election campaigns in the same way that a grandmother experienced bingo: The only reason we watched was to hear our numbers called out. Free trade, acid rain, softwood lumber, NORAD, border security. These were the entries on our game sheet -- the only ones we cared about. All that has changed over the last decade: Thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other free trade mechanisms, most of the bilateral issues between Canada and the United States have been resolved. Fear of the American colossus, once the great neurosis of Canadian public life, is now very much in decline. In fact, the sense of intimidation that we once felt has been turned on its head: Many Canadians now observe America's political spectacle with a sense of smugness. The unhinged rhetorical fusillades and open conspiracism of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, in particular, have become a form of ironic reality show entertainment. "I would build a great wall" and all the rest are laugh lines in the Canadian media. But it is nervous laughter they elicit. We wonder: How could this great nation to our south -- a beacon of liberty, and the West's great protector -- have become a place where popular presidential candidates jabber about banning Muslims, or casually propose " carpet bombing " Middle Eastern population centers? Dig beneath the spasms of insecurity, fear and smugness that Canada's intellectual class has exhibited toward the United States, and you find an underlying attitude of warmth among ordinary people. Most of us travel to America, at least occasionally, for vacations and work. We talk to Americans every day on Facebook and Twitter, watch the same TV shows, follow the same sports. America is a friend, in other words. Even left-leaning Canadians politicians such as Justin Trudeau will tell you as much. But the face that this friend has shown us during the current presidential campaign -- of naked religious bigotry, of race paranoia, of curdled nostalgia for mythologized "greatness" -- is not a face we recognize or appreciate. And once the voting is done on November 8, we hope it is a face that Americans never show to the world again. Jonathan Kay is editor of The Walrus magazine magazine. South Africa: It's Trump this and Trump that Ferial Haffajee Donald Trump? After Barack Obama? For those South Africans paying attention at this point in the U.S. presidential race, the primary campaign has prompted furrowed eyebrows. Indeed, the word "incredulous" best describes the response here to Trump's howl-a-minute, holler-a-minute, horror-a-minute bid to become the Republican nominee. When Obama was running for the White House, it felt like a home race -- and then a home run -- for many South Africans. We were transfixed, as was most of sub-Saharan Africa, at the sight of this young, lanky, beautiful, clever, black man stepping up to take one of the most powerful jobs in the world. And then there was Michelle Obama. And Malia. And Sasha. It was black can-do in a perfect package. Obama's campaign of hope and change energized us, and biographies flew up the bestseller lists here. Of course, Obama's message of hope and change have grayed at the temples, just like his hair has. True, he has managed to put in place a system that is transforming health care, and under his administration's watch, sexual orientation is now just that -- a sexual orientation, not some kind of abomination in the eyes of the law. True, he didn't manage to close Gitmo, or end the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, but his presidency has still been transformative. Now the same country that elected Obama seems to be toying with the idea of electing a comb-over king who doesn't seem to like Muslims and Mexicans very much, leaving some here to wonder what he feels about black Americans and Africans. I realize that Trump isn't the only one running for president, but as in the United States, he has dominated the coverage of the race, and the other candidates have simply not found space in South Africa's coverage of the primaries, outside of small, intellectual circles. It is Trump this and Trump that, outdoing himself again and again with his bigotry. Even the fact that the United States might elect its first woman president in the shape of Hillary Clinton has not yet become a talking point, although here sub-Saharan Africa has already bested the United States -- Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been president of Liberia since 2006. So the focus has been on Trump, who unfortunately has run an insular campaign. If asked about his African foreign policy, I fear it would sound something like this: "Kenya? Isn't that the place where Obama was born?" Ferial Haffajee is editor of City Press newspaper. Britain: America should elect a Brit Timothy Stanley British understanding of the U.S. election is, as always, prejudiced. Sympathy is overwhelmingly with Hillary Clinton because we know very little about her, she isn't a Republican, she's a woman, and we like Bill Clinton. Sexual misdemeanor rarely kills a political reputation in Britain. We're obsessed with money: Overcharge the taxpayers for official use of stationery and you risk assassination. News coverage is dominated by Donald Trump. He reminds us of Gordon Gekko, but without the sex appeal. Britons find having money embarrassing and boasting about it nauseating -- and The Donald makes matters worse by challenging our multicultural sensitivities. Trump has been criticized by the Prime Minister, and members of Parliament debated banning him from Britain The debate was widely mocked. It was an illiberal excuse to virtue signal, and some MPs appeared to forget that Trump has invested generously in our country. A lone, brave MP admitted that many of his constituents share Trump's views. No one pointed out that Britain might just as easily ban President Barack Obama on the grounds that his administration has deported record numbers of illegal immigrants, or that UK citizens have been denied entry to the United States apparently on the basis that they are Muslim. The ideal president for the Brits would be religiously agnostic, Keynesian and wary of intervention in foreign wars. In other words, we'd like America to elect a Brit. Assuming this does not happen, attention is falling on Bernie Sanders. Britain's Labour Party, the official opposition, last year elected a radical socialist in a grassroots democratic revolution -- and we see parallels with Sanders. (Although Sanders is, by comparison, a centrist). Finally, the big issues for Britain are the war in Syria, the problem of integrating Muslim migrants and a promised referendum on our membership of the EU. The Brits would most like to know what the U.S. plan is for the Middle East. Across Europe, the lack of American leadership on foreign affairs is noted and regretted. Our own leaders have failed to fill the vacuum. The result: the bodies of refugee children washing up on European beaches. America desperately needs to talk about this. Tim Stanley is a columnist with The Daily Telegraph. Venezuela: Time for a thaw in ties Mary Aviles So, here we are in the midst of the U.S. presidential campaign. Meanwhile, relations between Venezuela and the United States have been on hold, with neither country having appointed an ambassador to the other since 2010. Yet despite the "anti-Yankee" narrative of the late former President Hugo Chavez, this is by no means a relationship of equal weight. While the United States seems to be in the headlines in Venezuela every other day, Venezuela hasn't been discussed in the current presidential campaign, not even after the country's opposition took control of the country's National Assembly after 16 years in the wilderness. (Of course it's not just Venezuela that has been overlooked -- Mauricio Macri's election in Argentina hasn't been talked about, either -- so much for the influence of Latin America's misnamed "progressive left"). And maybe it's better that way. Everybody -- even The Donald -- knows current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is not Chavez. But what is remaining of "Chavismo" should be left to focus on domestic affairs. Indeed, judging by the very real problems facing the country, the U.S. candidates shouldn't give Venezuela's government an opportunity to distract the attention from these problems. So, please, don't mention Venezuela. What are the problems that Venezuela should be left alone to wrestle with? Well, this oil-rich country is experiencing the worst crisis in its modern history -- the IMF expects the country's inflation rate to hit 720% this year, even as it grapples with food and medicine shortages. Meanwhile, the price of oil -- the government's main source of income -- has tumbled to below $30 a barrel. With this in mind, Venezuelans aren't currently worried or even thinking about the American presidential race at this point -- they have bigger problems right now, problems that are closer and feel much more real. This doesn't stop some elements of Chavismo from still blaming the United States -- Democrats and Republicans -- for their misfortune. And the Venezuelan government has accused Washington of inciting conflict so it can take control of the largest oil reserves in the world. This even as at it continues to sell oil to the United States, which means by its own logic it is filling the tank of its imagined invader. The truth is, though, that while oil imports from Venezuela represent only about 9% of American needs, the United States remains the biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil exports. Do the math and you can see why the government's rhetoric is divorced from economic reality. Cuba, which blames the infamous U.S. embargo for all its problems, has managed to restore diplomatic relations with the United States after some 50 years. I can only hope that whoever is elected in November, relations between Washington and Caracas improve -- and that we don't risk our own five decades of estrangement. Mary Aviles is a journalist and co-founder of Venezuela Decoded Israel: Will next president protect 'unbreakable bond'? Steve Linde In my Jerusalem neighborhood café one cold morning in January, a colleague and I randomly asked three Israelis who they would like to be the next president of the United States. As you might expect, we got three very different answers. "I like Bernie Sanders," said the young man as he made my coffee. "The things he says make sense." The proprietor, preparing a cheese sandwich, disagreed. "Donald Trump is not afraid to say what a lot of people are thinking." A woman sitting in the café said she had no strong feelings about the subject. "I don't support any candidate," she said. "It's not our election." I don't pretend to speak for all or even some Israelis. My gut feeling, though, is that many have a visceral mistrust of U.S. President Barack Obama, especially after he focused his energy on a deal with Iran, Israel's archenemy. At the same time, no one really knows if Trump or Sanders or Hillary Clinton, for that matter, would be any better for Israel than Obama, who maintained a high level of U.S. aid to Israel and even quipped that he had been called America's first Jewish president. As Israel reels from a tsunami of terrorism amid a moribund peace process with the Palestinians, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carsen and Jeb Bush have been much more outspoken in their support for the Jewish state, but this has not resonated with the Israeli public or in the media. Israelis want a U.S. president who will both say and do the right things, while not allowing any "daylight" in Jerusalem's "unbreakable bond" with Washington. In this respect, they might deep down hope for the victory of either one of the frontrunners, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, because they might ultimately have Israel's back. For better or worse, Clinton and Trump may also be the only two candidates that most Israelis can easily identify. Except perhaps for Sanders or Michael Bloomberg, one of whom really could be America's first Jewish president. Steve Linde is editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post Iran: Why Iranians want a Democrat Camelia Entekhabifard It's probably too early for the Iranian public to decide on its preferred U.S. presidential candidate. At this point most Iranians just don't know enough about the individual contenders. But they do know the differences between the parties -- and what that could mean for ties between the two nations. Iranians are hoping to see relations improve based on recent diplomatic achievements, while the implementation of the nuclear deal and the recent prisoner swap raised hopes that a Democratic president will follow in President Barack Obama's footsteps. "The continuation of Obama's policy is what Iranians are interested to continue," one prominent Iranian political figure told me. She also told me that she believes reformists and ordinary Iranians want a Democrat to win in November, no matter who comes out on top in the primaries. This isn't surprising -- the majority of Iranians view the diplomacy pursued by President Obama and the moderate government of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with approval, and they support the continuing progress. Direct contacts between Tehran and the United States after more than three decades of being on hold are a unique experience for many Iranians, who believe the Democrats offer the best chance of this continuing. In contrast, the idea of a Republican victory in November conjures images of George W. Bush's presidency and his "Axis of Evil" speech. The hostility such rhetoric stoked against the Islamic Republic empowered Iran's conservatives, troubled reformists and journalists, and helped undermine the reform-minded presidency of Mohammad Khatami a decade ago. As a result, many Iranians see conservative Republicans much like they do extremists in Iran -- as determined to shatter current progress if they take power. One need only look at the disdain they have shown for the nuclear deal -- and the threats by some to tear up the agreement. But there is a certain irony in the tough line being taken by the Republican candidates -- electing a conservative Republican could also have an impact on the next presidential election in Iran, and not in the way they might be hoping. The fact is that extreme talk fuels animosity in Iran -- and increases the chances of Tehran's hardliners seizing power. And that is presumably not what they intend. Camelia Entekhabifard is an Iranian-American journalist and author of "Save Yourself By Telling the Truth." Japan: Candidates should drop fear-mongering Koya Ozeki Last week, I was covering a Bernie Sanders rally in Iowa, and asked a 77-year-old man for his thoughts on the presidential race. After an initial visible look of panic passed over his face, we started talking, and I explained that I am a correspondent for a Japanese newspaper. When he heard that, he gave me a big a smile and started telling me how much he loved his Toyota, which he said he had been driving for decades. That sort of warm reaction was a big contrast from the mood during my days as a student around 25 years ago, when I lived in Des Moines, Iowa. Back then, a trade dispute defined relations between the United States and Japan -- and not in a good way. Just consider a New York Times article from July 1990, which cited a recent poll asking about potential threats to the United States. It found 58% of Americans saw Japan's economic power as a bigger threat to the United States than the Soviet Union's military power. That's quite a statistic. Of course, fast forward to today, and the idea that Japanese economic might somehow endangers Americans is almost laughable after two decades of deflation in Japan. But that earlier poll came at a time when Japanese-manufactured cars were being vandalized on the streets of Detroit, and anti-Japanese rhetoric was seen as a vote-winner. Indeed, "Japan-bashing" was a central theme of Dick Gephardt's presidential bid in 1988. Few people remember such details in this forward-looking great nation. But I have been reminded of these types of attitudes -- and how divisive they can be -- when I hear Republican candidate Donald Trump on the campaign trail. As he launched his campaign last summer, Trump said countries like China, Japan and Mexico are "killing us" economically. "Our country is in serious trouble," he said. "We don't have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don't have them." I'm not going to argue with this diagnosis -- plenty of people already have. But what is troubling is the way Trump and other candidates have tried to stoke people's fears about other nations and their people as a way of collecting votes. Trump may be the most explicit and controversial in doing so, but he is by no means the only one, at either end of the political spectrum, to suggest that America should be scared. If I am back in Iowa in another 25 years, I am pretty confident that many of the fears expressed by the public -- and being preyed upon by candidates -- will seem like a distant memory. But in the meantime, I wonder how much damage is being done. Koya Ozeki is the Washington correspondent for the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper. Russia: Why the Kremlin wants Trump Mikhail Fishman If you ask the average Russian who is running for president in America, you'll most likely get raised eyebrows instead of an answer. But one does not have to be a prophet to predict that if Donald Trump wins Iowa, Russian TV will be overjoyed. The once seemingly endless debate among the Russian establishment over whether a Democratic or Republican president would be better has long seemed pointless. After all, Russia seemed to be getting along with George W. Bush -- who once saw Vladimir Putin's soul in his eyes -- before an awkward confrontation as Russia invaded the Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in August 2008. And although Barack Obama "reset" ties with Russia, his administration's policy was thwarted with the annexation of Crimea and Russian military engagement in Ukraine. President Putin likely knows he will never be regarded as a legitimate partner by any mainstream president of the United States. So it's now all about Trump, who challenges not a political camp, but the core of the U.S. system itself. It was not by accident that Putin endorsed him last December, and the official Russian media has taken the same line since then. Edouard Limonov, once a rebellious Russian writer, put it bluntly in the pro-Kremlin Izvestia daily: "We prefer Trump because he accepts Russia as the state of the tough men." Ultimately, the
of a State Resilience Officer to deal with earthquake preparedness; · A drought package funding proposal to help local communities plan for and address persistent drought; and · A wildfire funding proposal to cover costs incurred during the 2015 wildfire season. House Republican Leader Mike McLane issued a response to the Governor’s priorities, which you can find here. University Priorities for the 2016 session Not included on the Governor’s list of priorities are a number of legislative initiatives supported by OSU and the other public universities in Oregon, including OHSU. Chief among them is the renewal of theUniversity Venture Development Fund (UVDF) tax credit. Reps. Andy Olson (R-Albany) and Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) have joined to introduce HB 4072, which would renew the credit for a six-year term. For information on the bill, see our UVDF Fact Sheet. Universities are also seeking $15 million in increased funding to continue progress made last session to increase student completion rates. While the legislature’s Ways & Means leadership appear to believe that additional funding will be scarce, universities and students contend additional funding is needed to maintain improvements attained during the 2015 session. Other university priorities include support for a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to enable universities to invest in equities. The original bill that established university governing boards in 2013 included a provision that enabled universities to invest their funds in equities (stocks). The intention was to provide universities with more investment options that could result in both higher yields and greater stability. Subsequent legal opinions indicate that this change cannot be accomplished through statutory changes; the state constitution has to be amended. As a result, the universities are seeking a legislatively approved ballot referral to put the matter on the November 2016 ballot. Universities are also seeking an equitable approach for developing the 2017-19 budget. Legislation that established universities as independent public entities resulted in state budget writers recommending future budgets that do not include an accurate calculation of Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and public employee health insurance – Public Employees Benefit Board (PEBB) – costs. During the 2015 legislative session, budget writers determined that a 3.3% increase would be needed to provide the same level of services in the 2015-17 biennium – the “Continuing Service Level” (CSL). Universities claim an accurate calculation of the state-mandated PERS and PEBB costs for the current biennium would have involved at least an 8% CSL increase. Because uncompensated PERS and PEBB costs will be borne by students and will erode current state investments in student success, universities are seeking a legislatively endorsed process by which a more accurate and equitable methodology is used to calculate the CSL for 2017-19. OSU-Specific Bills State matching funds for a $5 million Federal Marine Energy Grant. In December, Congress appropriated $5 million to the US Department of Energy to fund a competitive grant to further develop a wave energy test facility. This initial funding could grow over the next three to five years to a federal investment totaling $40 million, with the expectation that successful competitors for the grant will provide at least a 25% match, or $10 million. The total project — including federal and non-federal funding — is expected to be $50 million. Oregon will be competing with other states that are developing their own matching proposals for this long-term funding opportunity. Coastal legislators are pursuing state legislation for 2016 that would appropriate the first installment of $1.25 million in state matching funds to enable OSU to compete for the initial $5 million grant. Last week, the House Energy & Environment Committee agreed to carry the proposal as a committee bill. The Session Ahead University Lobby Day: Mark your calendars! All seven universities will be holding a unified lobbying day on Thursday, February 11. Activities for the day will include individual meetings with legislators seeking support for the higher education agenda, as well as a reception. Register to participate here. More detailed information will be forthcoming in the next week. If you have questions, please contact Karli Olsen. Bill Tracking: The OSU Government Relations Office will be tracking legislation throughout the month-long session. While the volume of bills will not be nearly as great as during the six-month session, timelines will be extremely fast. For example, legislative committees have about ten days to approve bills before the bills become ineligible for consideration. If you are aware of issues that you’d like us to track, please contactKarli Olsen. Legislative town halls with local legislators: · Thursday, January 27, 3:30-5:30, Memorial Union, Journey Room, sponsored by ASOSU. State Sen. Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis/Albany) and State Rep. Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) will participate. · Saturday, January 30, 10:00-noon, Corvallis/Benton County Library, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. This forum will also include local state legislators. If you have questions or would like additional information about any of the items above, don’t hesitate to contact us. Jock Mills, Director, jock.mills@oregonstate.edu Karli Olsen, Coordinator, karli.olsen@oregonstate.edu For Federal matters: Gabrielle Serra, Federal Relations Director, gabrielle.serra@oregonstate.eduIn the first part of our Living with Chromebook series, I outlined the initial hardware and account setup required to use a laptop running Google's Chrome OS. In this second installment, the focus is on productivity. For my long-form Chromebook test-drive, I'm spending most of my computing time with the HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook. Like the smaller 11- and 12-inch Chromebooks we've reviewed, it operates almost entirely within the Chrome Web browser, which looks and feels the same as the Chrome Web browser you may be using right now on your Windows or Mac OS computer. That makes for a familiar experience in some ways, as many of us have already moved large swaths of our lives online, into Web-based tools such as Gmail, Facebook, and Netflix. More than most, I've embraced cloud services for as many things as possible, primarily because reviewing laptops means moving into a brand-new, fresh-from-the-box PC at least once or twice a week. Working in the cloud If you're anywhere near as invested in cloud services as I am, then the transition to a Chromebook should hypothetically be fairly painless. Most of the things you want to do -- send e-mail, share via social-networking services, stream online video -- are available on a Chrome OS device, and largely work the same way as on a traditional OS. That said, there's still a natural resistance to this type of Web-only setup. Maybe the idea that in a traditional PC there's a desktop lying underneath it all is a comforting one. Perhaps traditional folders-and-file systems are a security blanket, because despite having used Chromebooks before this, I found being locked into a browser-only world still felt confining, especially for office work -- documents, spreadsheets, and folders of files nestled within each other. Most of the things you want to do -- send e-mail, share via social-networking services, stream online video -- are available on a Chrome OS device. That's no doubt why the Chrome OS now has a more pronounced (if still rudimentary) file system than the very first Chromebooks did, making it possible to save and easily access files. This Hewlett-Packard model only includes 16GB of solid-state drive (SSD) storage, but Acer's C7 Chromebook includes a standard 320GB platter hard drive. In either case, photo, music, and video files can all be stored and sorted there, by downloading online or sideloading from a USB drive or SD card. Consider it all to be backups for the versions "in the cloud," for those times when you can't get online. Do you need always-on Internet? While the original pitch for the Chromebook was that this would be an always-on device, connected to either Wi-Fi or mobile broadband, that idea seems to have fallen by the wayside. The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook, for example, does not include a 3G antenna, something found in the original Google Chromebook, as well as the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550. Google's high-end Pixel model even offers a 4G LTE version. But the bundled wireless service always comes with an asterisk; in the case of the 4G Pixel -- which is $250 more than the Wi-Fi-only version -- it's this: 100MB per month for two years of mobile broadband from Verizon Wireless. In other words, it's way too paltry to do anything substantive. Perhaps sensing that always-on broadband isn't going to always work for sub-$400 laptops, Google now emphasizes the offline capabilities of Chrome, which are largely tied in to the offline modes that have been built into Google's various tools, such as Google Docs, over the years. A few other Chrome-compatible Web tools also work offline, and Google has set aside a section of its Chrome Web Store (really just a dressed-up set of links to Chrome OS versions of web sites) to make them easier to find. Google Drive as office suite I'll let you in on a little secret. I've been using Google Drive (nee "Google Docs") as my main word processor for a few years now, and it's such a useful, well-maintained online tool that the benefits far outweigh a few significant shortcomings. For that reason, using Google Drive on a Chromebook was a natural transition for me, and one of the elements of Chromebook use that felt the most comparable to using a non-Chrome OS laptop. Like nearly all writers, I spent years using Microsoft Word on both Windows and OS X systems. It's still the default for word processing, and DOC and DOCX are still universal file formats (fortunately, Google Drive allows you to open and export these formats). But, reviewing new laptops all the time, I was setting up a new system once or twice a week at least, which often made using these new laptops for writing a pain. Microsoft now has an ad-supported "free" version of Word that comes preinstalled on some (but not all) laptops, but previously, if you were lucky you had a trial version, or else nothing at all. Very often, I ended up either installing OpenOffice (a free, if clunky, office suite), or digging up an old install disc for Office 2003. Even under the best of circumstances, I had to remember to e-mail myself the latest version of my Word doc, or sneakernet it around on a USB stick. (Nowadays, I'd store the documents on Dropbox, Amazon Cloud Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, or the like, but I'd still be stuck installing the word processing software itself.) So many of the work tools we use now are online and collaborative that it's hard to remember when that wasn't the norm, but when I started using Google Drive in earnest in 2009 it was a major change to my workflow. Even now, on the HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook, I can open any document I've been working on from another laptop, add some text, and then seamlessly switch back to the first laptop at any point. It's also easy to share docs with anyone else via a few button clicks -- and multiple authorized users can access and edit a document in real time (which is something you may or may not want). Google Drive works best for simple text-based documents with minimal formatting. You can add images, tables, and other design elements, but these are not as full-featured as in Microsoft Office, and don't always translate as one might expect when exporting to a DOC file. Another thing that drives me crazy about Google Drive is the lack of a "show hidden characters" command in its word processor. That's not something everyone uses, but for writers, especially those who got their start in print publishing, being able to see every tab, paragraph break, and even the spaces between characters is important. I've learned to live without it, but it's still my least favorite part of the Google Drive experience. The presentation and spreadsheet apps included with Google Drive are somewhat less successful. My needs for XLS files are limited, but even then I've run out of available columns and been forced to start a new tab in a spreadsheet. In fact, all the Google Drive apps have size and complexity limitations, and you can find more details about that here. Those are limitations to the actual Google Drive platform, not something specific to Chrome OS or the Chromebook. Another option for Microsoft Office purists is Office 365, the cloud-based version of Office. It's a paid service, not all features work in Chrome OS, and it doesn't facilitate the easy sharing that Google Docs does with anyone who has a free Gmail account. It may be something you'll need to use every day, but I've had good luck exporting Google Docs files into the PDF format (it's a setting built right in to Google Docs under File > Download as), and the file browser in Chrome OS can open PDF files for easy reading. One handy thing to keep in mind is that most Google Drive files can be accessed even when your Chromebook (or other PC) is offline. But, you have to set up the offline mode for your account first by following the instructions here. Gmail also has an offline mode, and you can find more apps and features that work on an offline Chromebook in this special section of the Chrome Web Store (of course, you'll have to be online to see this list). Using a mouse, printer, and other peripherals One of the big problems I had with the less-expensive Chromebooks from Samsung and Acer has been the terrible touch pads built into those systems. I don't care if your laptop cost less than $200, if the touch pad is unusable, you're just not going to be productive on it. The touch pad on the $329 HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook is a bit better, but still not even as good as the touch pads found on budget Windows laptops. It was passable for basic Web surfing, but if you plan on using your Chromebook for more than a couple of hours at a time, an external mouse is recommended. Fortunately, despite not having any way to install drivers or dive into the deeper functions of pointing devices, I had good luck getting external devices to work. Both the wireless Microsoft mouse and the external Logitech touch pad I tried worked instantly, both via USB dongle (a second wireless mouse, from Targus, did not work). Setting up Cloud Print is about as far from the simple, stripped-down appeal of Chromebooks and the Chrome OS as one could imagine. Printing is a little more complicated. You'll need to use a service Google calls Cloud Print. That works one of two ways. The less likely scenario is that you already own one of a handful of Cloud-Print-ready printers, in which case you should be able to connect easily if you're on the same network. More likely, you have what Google generously refers to as a "classic printer," in which case, you have to run a Cloud Print app on a separate Windows or OS X machine, and from there, connect to your Chromebook. This is about as far from the simple, stripped-down appeal of Chromebooks and the Chrome OS as one could imagine. That said, when I followed the steps outlined in this support doc from Google, the Cloud Print feature worked the first time I tried it. Workaround apps If your job involves only e-mail, text documents, and simple spreadsheets, moving to a Chromebook may well be a very simple transition for you, especially if you already make use of Google's online tools. If, however, you have occasional need for programs such as Photoshop, you're going to have to find a workaround. There actually are a few basic image-editing features built into Chrome OS, but if you need to do more than adjust the rotation or brightness and contrast of an image, you'll hit a wall very quickly. I've always used a Web-based tool named Pixlr for emergency photo edits. It's a cloud-based image editor that looks and feels a lot like Photoshop. You upload an image, edit it, then download the resulting file. It works well enough in a pinch, although if you're a heavy Photoshop user, a Chromebook just isn't for you. I found Pixlr listed in the Chrome Web Store, but "installing" the app really just takes you to the Pixlr Web site. Similar online tools, including some basic video editors, can be found in the Creative Tools section of the Chrome Web Store. One caveat, especially if you're working with big images: remember that you'll have to both upload and redownload the image file, so make sure you have the time and bandwidth to work that way before you count on an online app such as Pixlr. You can be productive on a Chromebook, sometimes As an on-the-go system for catching up on e-mail (especially if you use Gmail or Google's corporate e-mail services), and creating or editing basic office documents, a Chromebook works, and works well considering the less-than-$250 investment (for the Samsung Chromebook Series 3, the most affordable Chromebook CNET can recommend). That said, it does not excel in any particular area, and even a budget Windows laptop offers more flexibility and the ability to run more software. Even if you only need a particular app once in a great while, unless there's an online version that works in the Chrome browser, you're out of luck. Here's what worked: Google Drive/Google Docs works the same as it does on non-Chrome PCs Having cloud-based documents makes it easy to share and access documents on multiple PCs Many mice and other accessories are plug-and-play Offline access to some features helps the Chromebook be more universally useful Here's what didn't: You're stuck with second-rate online alternatives to programs such as Photoshop Setting up a printer is a hassle Google Docs lacks many of the bells and whistles of Microsoft Office In the next Living with Chromebook installment, we'll look at entertainment options in Chrome OS, from streaming video to games.The Exelon nuclear power plant in Byron, Ill. paid $1.2 million to settle complaints about tritium leaks here and at two other sites. Exelon is the country’s largest nuclear plant operator, with six facilities. (Photo: Robert Ray / AP) Tritium is one of those elements that just sounds bad. There’s something about the name that simply feels radioactive even before you know what the stuff is. That’s one of the reasons people have been so spooked by a new investigation the Associated Press conducted of Nuclear Regulatory Commission records, revealing that tritium has leaked from power plants at a disturbing 48 of 65 sites studied. According to the AP story: Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping. The number and severity of the leaks has been escalating, even as federal regulators extend the licenses of more and more reactors across the nation. Leaks from at least 37 … facilities contained concentrations exceeding the federal drinking water standard — sometimes at hundreds of times the limit. So, be afraid, be very afraid, right? Well, maybe — but maintain some perspective too. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen with a half-life of 12.3 years. There’s a little bit of it everywhere, a background level that has nothing to do with human activity. That level rose significantly during the 1950s and 1960s, when the U.S. and other countries freely tested nuclear weapons above ground. The concentration has come back down with the enforcement of various test ban treaties, though emissions from weapons manfacturers and nuclear power plants do still keep it artificially elevated. No amount of tritium is entirely safe, since any radioactive element can raise the risk of cancer — even if only slightly. But tritium is not considered one of the most dangerous of those elements, and indeed, is on the lower end of the risk spectrum. According to the EPA: Tritium primarily enters the body when people swallow tritiated water. People may also inhale tritium as a gas in the air, and absorb it through their skin. [B]ecause it emits very low energy radiation and leaves the body relatively quickly, for a given amount of activity ingested, tritium is one of the least dangerous radionucleides. That’s the sort of good news; the worse news is that since water is the typical vehicle for tritium ingestion, the element disperses easily throughout the body and can settle in all soft tissues. It takes about a month before it’s excreted via the urinary system, though tritium that becomes chemically bound to tissues will stay put. The AP study focused principally on tritium leaking from plants via corroded piping or other flaws in safety systems and settling, disturbingly, into the water table. At one plant in new Jersey, tritium leaked into an aquifer and from there into Barnegat Bay off the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout the AP’s lengthy exposé, there are numbers to turn your hair white: The Vermont Yankee reactor, which has leaked tritium at a level 125 times what the EPA considers safe for drinking water; the Browns Ferry reactor in Alabama where the limit was exceeded 100-fold during a spill in 2010; the Quad Cities plant in Illinois that topped out at a shocking 375 times the limit during one leak in 2008. There’s no putting a good face on that, but hysteria is not wise either. For one thing, the EPA puts the safe limit for tritium exposure at 20,000 picocuries per liter of drinking water. A picocurie is one trillionth of a curie—which is itself a measure of nuclear decay, a concept that is not entirely illuminating when all you want to know is whether your tap water is safe. Suffice to say that even 20,000 picocuries in a liter of water is hardly certain death: If 200,000 people drank contaminated water over the course of decades, only seven of them would develop cancer as a result. That’s hardly reassuring if you’re one of the seven — but the odds are undeniably greater that you’ll be one of the other 199,993. None of this means that the leaking tritium poses no risk at all, especially with the advancing age of many U.S. nuke plants — some of which have been on the job for 40 years. But it does mean we shouldn’t ignore the elephant in the living room either. Worrying too much about the small risk of tritium-triggered cancer from nuclear reactors while ignoring the far more immediate danger posed by coal-fired plants, which pour massive amounts of sulfur dioxide, particulates, mercury and CO2 into the air everyday is a little like sweating the mad cow pathogen that could be in your burger and thinking nothing of the cholesterol that’s definitely there. Nearly all conventional methods of producing energy are dirty and — potentially — deadly. Only a true conversion to clean renewables will change that hard fact of environmental life.This page is incomplete and/or lacking flavor. Reason: In progress You can help D&D Wiki by finishing and/or adding flavor to this page. When the flavor has been changed so that this template is no longer applicable please remove this template. If you do not understand the idea behind this page please leave comments on this page's talk page before making any edits. Edit this Page \| All stubs Inventor [ edit ] Inventors are essentially Sorcerers who can build tools and objects, and enhance the equipment of themselves and their allies if they have the time, tools, and the right materials. Playing a Inventor can be difficult. This class can become easily seen as overpowered if played incorrectly, so you must know the game and your character well enough to impose realistic boundaries. If you can do that well, then there is virtually no limit to what an Inventor can do for the party. Creating a Inventor [ edit ] Quick Build You can make an Inventor quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence and Constitution are your main stats. Next, choose the Guild Artisan background. Class Features As a Inventor you gain the following class features. Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d10 per Inventor level Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Inventor level after 1st Proficiencies Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons Tools: Choose one tool from Alchemist's supplies, Glassblower's tools, Smith's tools, Tinker's tools, or Woodcarver's tools Saving Throws: Intelligence, Constitution. Skills: Choose two from Religion, History, Insight, Investigation and Perception. Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: ( a ) scale mail or ( b ) leather armor ) scale mail or ( ) leather armor ( a ) any martial melee weapon or ( b ) light hammer or large wrench (2d4) ) any martial melee weapon or ( ) light hammer or large wrench (2d4) ( a ) a martial weapon or ( b ) a longbow and 20 arrows ) a martial weapon or ( ) a longbow and 20 arrows (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack Spellcasting An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing you with arcane magic. This font of magic, whatever its origin, fuels your spells. Cantrips At 1st level, you know four cantrips of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. You learn additional Inventor cantrips of your choice at higher levels. Spell Slots The Inventor table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these Inventor spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot. Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. The Spells Known column of the Inventor table shows when you learn more sorcerer spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the sorcerer spells you know and replace it with another spell from the sorcerer spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots. Spellcasting Ability Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your sorcerer spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to project your will into the world. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a sorcerer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Spellcasting Focus You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your sorcerer spells. Fighting Style [ edit ] Starting at 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again. Archery You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons. Dueling When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. Great Weapon Fighting When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit. Two-Weapon Fighting When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. Inventor's Mark [ edit ] At 3rd level, you dedicate yourself to leaving a mark on the world. You can either leave a Mark of the Craftsman or a Mark of the Battlesmith. Your archetype choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level. Ability Score Increase [ edit ] When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of you choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Extra Attack [ edit ] Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn. Improved Engineering [ edit ] At 7th level, you become more efficient at improving weapons. You can apply up to two improvements to a single weapon, provided they are not antirequisite or the same improvement. The improvements cannot be activated or active simultaneously unless a class feature specifies otherwise. At 11th level, the number of improvements each weapon can hold increases to three. At 15th level, the number increases to four. Scavenge [ edit ] At 7th level when looking for tinkering materials (clockwork material, steam components, rope, fabric, lenses, wooden material, and black powder) you can add your proficiency bonus to whatever skill check your DM requires. Greater Scavenge When looking for tinkering materials you can add your intelligence modifier in addition to your proficiency bonus to whatever skill check your DM requires. Magical Smithing [ edit ] At 9th level, you can improve magical weapons without losing any magical property. Additionally you can select one artisan's tool to gain advantage in checks involving this tool. Dismantle [ edit ] At 10th Level Using a full round a Inventor, may put their knowledge of machines to take an action to interact with a trap, lock, or construct within 5ft of you. A construct takes a wisdom saving throw against your intelligence. On a failure, the construct is destroyed, falling to pieces under your hand. On a success, deal 1d(6) x your tinkerling level damage to the construct, ignoring invulnerabilities and resistances. If you are attempting to dismantle a lock or a trap, you must make an intelligence check based on GM discretion. Greater Dismantle When taking the dismantling action, the target has disadvantage or you have advantage depending on the situation. Quick Activation [ edit ] At 13th level, you can make a single regular attack as a bonus action during your action that turn. 17 [ edit ] 20 [ edit ] Inventor's Mark [ edit ] Mark of the Craftsman [ edit ] Craftsman Expertise [ edit ] At 3rd level, you gain proficiency with two Artisan's tools of your choice. If you are already proficient with a tool that you select, you gain advantage with any ability check made with that tool. At 10th level and again at 14th level, you can choose two more Artisan's tools. Efficient Workmanship [ edit ] At 3rd level, when you attempt an improvement using a tool you are proficient with and successfully pass the ability check, the time and cost needed to complete the improvement is reduced by 1/2. On a critical success, the time and cost is reduced to 1/4. Share the Talent [ edit ] At 6th level, as an action or a bonus action, you can gift one improved weapon to a friendly creature within 5 feet of you. If they are proficient with the weapon type, they can activate the weapon improvement on their turn. No Mistakes [ edit ] At 10th level, once per day when you fail an ability check using an Artisan's tool with which you are proficient, you can choose to succeed instead. Flawless Craftmanship [ edit ] At 14th level, any weapons you craft or improve gain a permanent +1 nonmagical bonus to attack and damage rolls. On a critical success ability check when making or improving a weapon, the weapon instead has a permanent +2 nonmagical bonus. At 18th level, this bonus increases to +2 for a regular success and a +3 for a critical success. The bonuses are not applied retroactively. A weapon's passive bonus to attack and damage rolls cannot exceed +3 in this way. Quartermaster Officer [ edit ] At 18th level, your Share the Talent becomes a free action and the range is extended to 15 feet. Mark of the Battlesmith [ edit ] Battlesmith Expertise [ edit ] At 3rd level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor and one Artisan's tool of your choice. If you are already proficient with the tool that you select, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check made with that tool. Favored Weapon [ edit ] At 3rd level, you can select one weapon of a type that you're adept at improving. This weapon is favored and can receive one additional improvement. At 10th level and again at 14th level, you can select an additional favored weapon. If a favored weapon is lost or destroyed, you may select another favored weapon. Dual Activation [ edit ] At 6th level, you can activate two improvements simultaneously during the same action or attack provided they are not antirequisite and have the same action cost to activate. Alternatively, you can activate a second improvement on a weapon that already has one improvement effect active. Quickdraw [ edit ] At 10th level, you can draw/stow/switch up to two weapons or load a ranged weapon with the loading property as a free action on your turn. Free Activation [ edit ] At 14th level, improvements of 3rd level or lower are free action's. At 18th level, improvements of 5th level or lower are free action's Relentless Mechanics [ edit ] At 18th level, you can activate up to three improvements simultaneously. Weapon Improvements [ edit ] With your Weapons Engineering feature, you can apply the improvements listed in this section to any number of weapons or ammunition of a type that you are adept at improving, provided the prerequisites are satisfied and your Weaponsmith level is not less than the improvement level. Each weapon or ammunition can only have one improvement implemented at a time unless a class feature specifies otherwise or the improvement requires the existing one. If the improvement requires a tool to complete, an ability check using that tool must be made against a DC equal to twice the improvement level. This ability check is made half-way through the time spent working on the improvement. If the improvement requires multiple tools, an ability check must be made for each tool. If any ability checks are failed, the improvement is not completed but half the cost is recovered. The DC for an improvement is halved for every past successful or unsuccessful attempt at making the improvement. Any weapon improvements that do not expire can be removed during a long rest, unless otherwise stated. All ammunition improvements are permanent. When activated, some improvements require your target to make a saving throw to resist the effect. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows: Effect save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier The Battlesmith is all about creativity and customization. Your DM might allow other weapon improvements that are not listed here, provided they are fair. Masterful Honing: 1st Level You diligently sharpen your blade in a way that is perfectly tailored to your fighting technique. You can spend 30 minutes during a short or long rest to dutifully care for a blade. For the next 24 hours, if a creature is hit with this weapon, you must spend one activation point. You then add your Intelligence modifier to the damage roll in addition to other damage modifiers. If you have no remaining activation points, the attack becomes a regular attack. Prerequisites: A whetstone, oil, and a melee weapon that deals slashing or piercing damage, provided it can be sharpened. Counterweight: 1st Level You understand the mechanics behind accelerating large masses quickly and accurately. You can spend 1d4 + 1 hours and 10 gp during a long or a short rest perfectly balancing a heavy weapon or a weapon that deals bludgeoning damage. When making an attack with a balanced weapon, you can choose to spend one activation point to attempt to knock the target prone. If the attack hits, the target must make a successful Strength saving throw against your effect DC or be knocked prone, taking an extra 1d4 bludgeoning damage. Prerequisites: Counterweight material such as lead, a weapon that deals bludgeoning damage or that has the heavy property. Barrel Tapered Arrow: 1st Level You can spend 10 minutes during a short or a long rest carving an arrow or wooden bolt shaft into a barrelled shape with a taper towards the arrowhead, improving the spine strength and aerodynamics. When making a ranged attack with a barrel tapered arrow, you must spend one activation point. The effective range of the weapon increases by 25% for that attack. If the attack hits, you add your Intelligence modifier to the damage roll in addition to other damage modifiers. Prerequisites: A knife and one arrow/bolt ammunition. Balanced Flight: 2nd Level You understand how subtleties in the balance of a thrown weapon can affect its flight. You can spend 2d4 + 2 hours near a blacksmith's furnace and 18 gp carefully reshaping a weapon specifically for throwing. The throwing range of the improved weapon is doubled. When making a ranged attack with this weapon, you must spend one activation point and then add your Intelligence modifier to the attack roll. If the improved weapon is used for a melee attack, it does not require an activation point but inflicts half the damage the normal weapon would cause. Prerequisites: Blacksmith's tools and a weapon with the thrown property. Hilt Blade: 3rd Level You can spend 3d4 + 3 hours and 31 gp constructing a hidden blade in the hilt or handle of your weapon. When a creature in range of your weapon misses a melee attack against you or when a creature within 5 feet of you attacks an ally, you can spend one activation point and use your reaction to
deranged and killing her first husband, and (our favorite story) identified as the mother of George Washington’s illegitimate son. Spoiler alert: She wasn’t. In 1907, her former home became a museum. Named the Morris-Jumel Mansion, commemorating Roger and Mary Morris, who built the original house, and Eliza Jumel, its most famous resident, it boasts man of the furnishings bought by Eliza and Stephen Jumel. It is Manhattan’s oldest home, and its furnishings have been restored to their former glory. Alas, concludes Dr. Oppenheimer, the same cannot be said for Eliza’s reputation. Eliza was buried in Trinity Cemetery in upper Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River. (Aaron Burr was buried in New Jersey, the site of his birth, Princeton school days, dueling and trysting. Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza are buried in Trinity Cemetery downtown.) She seems to prefer the eastern side of upper Manhattan overlooking the Harlem River and her old estate. Her ghost is said to walk the rooms of the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Like any New York woman worth her salt, Eliza Jumel is determined to have the final word. And she might just be able to do that. Columnist Liz Smith has proposed the story of Eliza Jumel as the perfect material for a television miniseries. Her suggestion is to have the story of Eliza “goosed up” a bit, specifying “more cleavage and sex.” But perhaps Eliza would be happy with a run on Broadway instead. Next read about 13 Historic Houses Converted into Museums on Manhattan and New York City’s Presidential Haunts from Washington to Lincoln. Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Jumel, george washington, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Liz Smith, Margaret Oppenheimer, Morris-Jumel Mansion, Stephen Jumel, Trinity Cemetery, washington heightsYOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (WVEC) -- Search teams continue to look for a sailor from Jacksonville, Fla. who disappeared while hiking in Yosemite National Park. Hospitalman Alexander Joseph Sevier, 24, is stationed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. Sevier arrived Yosemite Naitonal Park on May 1 and was staying the Housekeeping Camp. Neighbors told National Park Rangers that Sevier would go out for hikes alone every day and return every night. Someone reported him missing on May 3 when he didn't come back from a hike. Rangers' preliminary search found that Sevier had been hiking days later during the weekend of May 6 and 7. Sevier was declared a missing person on May 7. Representatives of the national park said that a ground search with four, two-member teams began on May 8. A California Highway Patrol helicopter helped search areas inaccessible by on foot. Park rangers said the search would resume May 9 using ground teams which included search and rescue dogs. Christina Johnson, Public Affairs Officer for Naval Medical Center Portsmouth provided 13News Now with this statement: We ask that everyone in the Hampton Roads area keep HN Sevier in their thoughts and prayers to bring him home, safe and sound. Our thanks go out to Yosemite National Park for their efforts to find our Sailor. Description of Sevier: 5'6" tall 128 lbs. Black hair Brown eyes Sevier may have been wearing Aeropostale, Abercrombie, or Hollister clothing while he was hiking. Anyone who was on the trails in Yosemite National Park between May 3 and now, and who saw Sevier, can contact (888) 653-0009 with information. PHOTOS: Authorities search for missing Navy man in YosemiteEgypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament is set to introduce a law allowing husbands to have sex with their dead wives up to six hours after death. Critics fear that the controversial law highlights a trend of increasingly anti-women legislation since the so-called Arab Spring. The proposed law has sparked much controversy, specifically within Egypt's National Council for Women, which has been campaigning against the law, saying that it "marginalizes and undermines the status of women and would negatively affect the country's human development." Related stories: Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, appealed against the law to the Egyptian People's Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni on behalf of Egyptian women. The "Farewell Intercourse" law is just one of many new laws being introduced to Egyptians recently by the Islamist-dominated parliament. Other laws call for the legal marriage age to be lowered to 14 and abolish women's rights to education and employment. The controversial law further evoked criticism among Egyptian media personas. Prominent journalist and TV host Jaber al-Qarmouty used his program to lash out at the proposed law. “This is unbelievable. It is a catastrophe to give the husband such a right. Has the Islamic trend reached that far? Is there really a draft law in this regard? Are there people thinking in this manner?” he asked. Yet, this was not the first time Egyptians caught wind of the "Farewell Intercourse" law. The law was first introduced in a fatwa (Islamic law) issued by a Moroccan cleric last year. Zamzami Abdul Bari said marriage remains valid even after death. He also said that women have the right to have sex with their dead husbands. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and TwitterIndia’s Cabinet Committee on Security has agreed to proceed with the creation of a new mountain strike corps of nearly 40,000 troops to be deployed along the disputed China border region by the end of 2016. The decision to set up the new corps has been long debated by India’s security planners and final approval came in the wake of the three-week long Depsung Valley confrontations with Chinese forces earlier this year. Over the last two decades, India has gradually increased its military presence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in response to aggressive Chinese patrolling in the disputed region. The 4,100 km long LAC between the two countries is geographically divided into three sectors. The western sector in Ladakh, the central sector along the Uttarakhand-Tibet border, and the eastern sector in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where China claims 90,000 square kilometers of Indian-administered territory. Earlier in 2009, the Indian Army deployed two similar mountain divisions in the Arunachal Pradesh region to boost its defenses in the eastern sector. The new mountain strike corps, however, is expected to take the fight into Tibet and capture the Chinese territory there, should the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invade Indian territory. India’s overall land warfare strategy vis-à-vis China is determined by its deterrence posture, layered at both conventional and nuclear levels. Maintaining credible nuclear and conventional capabilities is therefore essential, not only for deterring the Chinese military threat but also for improving India’s overall bargaining position in border settlement talks with China. The massive conventional force modernization that the PLA has undertaken together with a double-digit increase in its defense budget has intensified the existing conventional asymmetry between India and China. The decision to raise a new mountain strike corps has thus come in the wake of a growing realization in New Delhi of its steadily declining conventional deterrence. More importantly, three important strategic prerequisites explain India’s decision to raise the new corps. First, at the nuclear level, India’s no first use (NFU) policy significantly undermines the primary function of the country’s credible minimum deterrence posture, which is to prevent the outbreak of war itself. India seeks to deter its nuclear neighbors through a doctrine of credible minimum deterrence, premised on the assured retaliation strategy and towards that end seeks to acquire a reliable second-strike capability. In recent years, India has tested and deployed several long-range land- and sea-based missiles to acquire a credible second-strike capability. Still, the NFU policy removes the threat of nuclear escalation in the event of conventional outbreak, leaving the nuclear doctrine bereft of any ability to deter Chinese forces from undertaking limited conventional attacks. The policy not only delinks nuclear weapons from conventional conflict but also places the burden of deterrence largely on conventional forces. A formidable conventional capability requires significant troop reinforcements.West Ham are bidding to sign both Ayew brothers, with Aston Villa's Jordan on their radar. Aston Villa's Jordan Ayew in action with Watford's Ben Watson West Ham have opened talks with Aston Villa over the signature of Jordan Ayew, The Sun report. The paper claim Villa are hopeful of agreeing a £8 million deal for the forward, who would join his brother Andre Ayew at the Olympic Stadium. Andre Ayew is close to joining from Swansea City, with Gianluca di Marzio reporting a deal is done pending a medical. Andre Ayew celebrates after scoring the first goal for Swansea It is not the first time West Ham have been linked to Jordan Ayew, but this report suggests negotiations are active and a deal could be close. Aston Villa have just signed £14 million Ross McCormack, which could make them more open to letting Ayew leave, even though the prospects of them playing together is an enticing one. Villa begin the Championship season on Sunday away to Sheffield Wednesday, and would surely prefer to have the situation sorted one way or another. Arsenal's Hector Bellerin in action with Aston Villa's Jordan Ayew As well as playing together at international level for Ghana, Andre and Jordan Ayew previously played together for Marseille. The Hammers will hope that signing the pair together will get the best out of each other, while both attackers have previously played alongside star man Dimitri Payet. Swansea's Andre Ayew in action with Aston Villa's Jordan AyewThey did not believe he could win. Even after he already had. As Silicon Valley’s cosseted ranks of tech workers awoke Wednesday to news that real estate mogul and reality television personality Donald Trump had really been elected the 45th president of the United States, many — seemingly most, if you spent enough time online — began moving through phases of grief. To those in an industry that stood nearly united against the Republican nominee — at times willing to disparage and renounce some of their own who supported Trump — it didn’t seem possible that Trump’s campaign of isolationism, fear-mongering and sexism had succeeded. They were in denial. They were angry. They were ready to propose that California secede from the union. This wasn’t the America they knew, some people prominent in the industry said. Their reaction and confusion also pointed to a much bigger truth: that Silicon Valley is far more divorced from the public, the people who use the software and devices that the tech industry creates, than they could have imagined. Few tech workers have friends — in real life or on social networks — in rural parts of the U.S., whose roads aren’t testing grounds for driverless cars or drone deliveries and where more people have high school diplomas than college degrees. “This is a wake-up call,” said Amit Kumar, CEO of Trimian, a startup that builds online communities for college alumni and other job seekers. “The election is teaching us that the economics have not trickled down to a large part of the country.” Though the tech industry has had its own struggles with diversifying its ranks and increasing equity for women and people of color, it has accepted diversity as an ideal worth striving for. Immigrants, who Trump assailed and blamed for crime and job loss in America, aren’t just a fixture in tech operations — they have founded some of the best-known tech companies, from Alphabet to WhatsApp. Industry executives and venture capitalists have long pushed for immigration reform that would loosen restrictions on foreign workers’ ability to get U.S. work permits. Under President Obama, a self-proclaimed Trekkie who mastered Facebook and YouTube in his first national campaign and adopted new tools like Snapchat to communicate with the electorate, the tech industry felt comfortable with, even embraced by, the administration. Though Trump routinely used Twitter to broadcast his message and fire up his base, the president-elect referred to hacking problems as “the cyber” in one debate, proposed “shutting down” parts of the Internet as a response to security challenges and reportedly does not know how to use a computer. It has left many in tech wondering: How will Silicon Valley and the tech giants of the Bay Area fit into Trump’s America? “We just live in this bubble that is different than the rest of the country,” Cisco program manager Fei Ouyang said. “I don’t know how much influence we can play to the future democratic system.” Several Bay Area workers took to social media Wednesday to complain that their fellow techies hadn’t put in enough effort or time canvassing and volunteering for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, even though the industry collectively donated tens of millions of dollars to support her White House bid. Tech companies and workers donated more than $96.5 million to candidates and political parties this election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks spending in politics. PayPal co-founder and renowned venture capitalist Peter Thiel, a Trump supporter who spoke at the Republican National Convention over the summer, may be the most famous political donor in Silicon Valley, as his support of Trump was denounced by his colleagues. But his contributions of $1.25 million to Trump's campaign and pro-Trump super PACs. were far outmatched by Democratic donors. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz pledged $20 million to various pro-Clinton organizations. An Alphabet political action committee that pooled money from employees gave about $4.12 million to Democrats and about $1.48 million to Republicans. Democrats also received the bulk of Facebook employees’ $3.9 million in political cash and the $747,000 from Twitter. Nearly all of the $510,000 given by LinkedIn employees went to the Party of Jefferson. In August, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham contributed about $50,000 to Democratic groups and the Clinton campaign. He said almost everyone he knew in the tech world supported Clinton. “In retrospect, I wonder if any amount of money would have made a difference,” Graham wrote in an email to the Chronicle on Wednesday. “The main thing I hope we all do … is not get demoralized. This is one step back, but maybe if we don’t give up it will be followed by two steps forward. That’s about as much as you can hope for in politics.” From what little is known of Trump’s plan of governance, experts have said at least one aspect would benefit large tech giants like Apple and Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Trump wrote in his 100-day plan that “trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.” Under current policies, a 30 percent tax would be applied to the total amount brought back to the U.S. after foreign tax credits, a tax expert told The Chronicle earlier this year. The lower tax rate could cause companies like Apple to bring back its stockpile of cash overseas. In its fourth quarter, Apple had about $237.6 billion in cash and equivalents, with 91 percent of that outside the U.S. On Tuesday night, the average tech worker was not focused on the minutiae of tax breaks, though. Most were reeling. Several recalled the moment, in crowded bars and ballrooms where left-leaning election night parties throughout the Bay Area were held, when they realized it was all over. Facebook product marketing manager Lawrence Mak, 38, said he was on edge as Trump gained more states across television screens at Beaux in the Castro. As he sat watching state after state go to the GOP nominee, the crowd around him booed and swore. Ouyang, the Cisco worker, moved to the U.S. 10 years ago and became a citizen this year. She said she’s now reconsidering her decision to make the United States her home. “It’s shocking to me that there are so many people that value his side,” said Ouyang, who has two young daughters with her husband, an Arizona native. “This process reveals what this country is about, and it’s quite different from what I thought it was about.” Beyond her personal concerns, Ouyang wonders how Trump’s presidency will affect her company’s culture. Many of Cisco’s employees are immigrants, she said. “We know that we live in a bubble,” said state Sen.-elect Scott Wiener on Tuesday night, referring to San Franciscans. “None of us saw this coming.” Thiel, who has long extolled the benefits that Silicon Valley would reap from a Trump presidency, doubled down on his support of the Republican candidate Wednesday. “He has an awesomely difficult task, since it is long past time for us to face up to our country's problems,” Thiel said in a statement. “We're going to need all hands on deck.”THANK GOD FOR ANOTHER YEAR Phewww. Another year passed by. Bye 2013. We’re now going to take it to another level, and yes that is 2014. But before that of course we have to thank God and take a look back on the memories that we’ve made. Maybe lots of us are really promised to make this year better. Of course everyone is looking for that. But what else are we dying for? Well that’s the implementation. Nobody wants to make the same mistakes before. That’s always the whole thought. There are lots of resolutions that we’re going to make again so here goes on how to make it a reality, for the benefit of you and even myself. tumblr MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION (and probably yours too) I’m just a typical girl that’s why I also have a common mew year’s resolution. tumblr And the always number one on the list. Maybe others will say that I won’t eat lots of chocolate or unhealthy foods, but it’ll be the same as this one. Everyone wants to get skinny. Not over skinny but the sexy thing. No one can blame you for that cuz everyone wants it. I, also have the same thing on mind. I really want to lose pounds. It is because I’m not gaining lots of self-confidence. I’m always insecure about my body. So now that I’m going to college, I will try my very best to keep my body healthy. I’m going to admit that I really can’t choose what food I want to eat in the house because they are solid rice lovers. Well I really don’t like eating rice anymore because it is actually unhealthy especially the white one. But this time that I’m going to be more independent. I’m going to choose healthy foods as much as possible. I’m not saying not to eat junks or chocolates and other sugars. You can have that if course but it always needs moderation. Another thing is my height. I’ve always been insecure with my height. In my family’s generation, I’m the smallest. I only stand at 5”3 for 15 years old unlike them who’re actually 5”9, 6”0. It makes me feel so short, so now drinking milk will be my top priority. It cannot be only good for your body, but it can also boost your confidence since you can gain height. I hope I can reach 5”7 at least. tumblr There is always this thing that we always expect a lot. This time I won’t expect anything because it always brings me lots of disappointments. I’m just going to do it. I’ll always encourage myself to do it. I’m not going to be that rubbish girl who always turns her back to her promises. I will make this now. To get have a little bit of motivation, find a friend that will join you. There’s nothing wrong if you want to be sexy with someone. Don’t be selfish and make yourself a self-proclaimed. You had enough for that. tumblr So for those who already done or actually got started keep it up. But remember, don’t leave us! Haha. Just kidding! I’m hoping you guys can maintain that kind of body that you always wanted. tumblr I’m a bookworm actually. I don’t really like going to a mall and watch a movie. See me. I would rather go to a bookstore and find a perfect book that suits my taste. I promise that I would buy lots of books and actually find more time for it. I would save a lot to buy the books that I always wanted. Admit it or not, books are a little bit pricey, considering that you’re going to read it once. And the books I like are also quite expensive because they came from good authors. In contrary, it can help you a lot. It can widen your imagination, your vocabulary and can change your wrong way of outlook. Well books are great and I think it can help me a lot, especially in my surge for going back studying, since I really do regret not studying at high school. Well, books can motivate you as well. I hope you too. Spend less I know that college life will be a little bit tough when it comes to money and I’m not willing to take credit cards cuz I don’t want to jeopardize myself. But this time I’m going to spend less. I’m actually very concern with money. I’m making my groceries on my own right now and I guess I have to make a little bit more budgeting. But I want to spend less. I’m just planning to buy all the clothes that are plain, even the shoes, which can last longer to make the money I invest worthy. I’m not yet earning on my own so as much as possible, I want to make my bank account a little bit positive (because now it is in total negative). tumblr I don’t really like taking pictures a lot. If I’m going to check my Facebook account, the only photos that I have are those that my classmates got. This time I want to change it. I want to be the one to take photos. I promise myself that I will be more active on Tumblr, Facebook or Instagram. I have a little bit of shame on my Instagram because it doesn’t have any photos yet! My gosh! I want to share people what the things that I’m doing and what are the valuable things I got from it. I really want to travel places and I want to capture every moment with it. But in order to do those, I need an SLR-camera. So I need to spend less. Haha! I never thought that I’m going to want to take an SLR because I never really liked taking photos. But this time I will. And I really want to do that. tumblr I consider this blog as a book. I know that I’m going to be very busy in college but I always wanted to go continue what I started here. I’m going to spill out every idea I have in my mind. I actually had a hard time in the past months but I swear that I will do my best to at least have 10 entries a month. tumblr There will be nothing more exciting if I will be happy. This time I want to do the same thing, happiness + studies. I really want to be happy this time, although I know the stresses that I’m going to get in Manila. It’s unlike here in Cavite where I can still smell the fresh air every morning and I really hope this time I can do both. Everyone wants to be happy so be brave and don’t be afraid in taking risks because that can actually pull you to the happiness that you’ve been waiting for. TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT IS GOING TO COME This still belongs to my regret of quitting at journalism. Well this time I’m going to take every chances and I’m not going to give up. This time I’m going to make right decisions for those organizations that I’m going to join. I will be delighted. Don’t waste anything. If you’re selected to compete for a contest, well take it, if there is nothing wrong. You’re not just going to take the knowledge but also the experience that is worth an extra mile. tumblr It is a little bit crazy to think that you’re still going to want struggles, but that will make you a better person. Others who select to live a comfortable will never grow up. They should always take themselves outside the shell. Challenges can bring out the best in you, and so happiness will also be. tumblr Don’t just simply say. MAKE IT!! There will be nothing wrong if you’re going to do it. We’re living in a democratic country, as the others say. Make this year your best because this is your another opportunity. If you failed to do things last year, well now make it better. You’re going to be happier. Whatever happens. WELCOME 2014Share. Yo-Kai Watch’s combat is lackluster, but its world is full of spirit. Yo-Kai Watch’s combat is lackluster, but its world is full of spirit. The more I played Yo-Kai Watch, the more I wanted to play. I wasn't convinced at first — the RPG has a weird and sometimes frustrating battle system, it relies too much on fetch quests, and it's not super challenging. However, I very quickly realized that the draw of Yo-Kai Watch is in its fascinating world. It remains fun and charming even when dealing with sort of dark ideas, so I was ultimately happy not to meet too many challenges and instead just exist in its world for a while. Exit Theatre Mode Watch the first 16 minutes of Yo-Kai Watch! Yo-kai are basically meddlesome spirits — some are mischievous, some are malicious, and others are just looking for a friend. Basically any strange phenomenon can be attributed to unseen yo-kai, and Yo-Kai Watch revolves around solving the mysteries and problems they cause. For example, freak car accidents in town are actually the work of Jibanyan, who’s been trying to fight trucks because he was hit by one before he became a yo-kai. Most yo-kai fit into and affect the world in their own individual ways, and I immediately became interested in learning more about them. Spirit Animals The first yo-kai you meet is Whisper, who serves as your guide to the yo-kai realm (and quests). As far as companion NPCs go, he’s one of my favorites. He’s helpful without being too obvious or interrupting too often, and his quips can actually be pretty funny. He also sometimes gives information about the different yo-kai you encounter, most of which are entertaining and charming in their own right. (The only one I really dislike is Cheeksqueek, who looks like a butt. Not a fan.) Exit Theatre Mode Jibanyan looks like he needs help fighting those trucks... My favorite thing about Yo-Kai Watch is the sense of adventure and imagination it encouraged in me. I didn’t mind breezing through basic quests, because it meant getting to explore. For example, in order to go out at night, I had to befriend the yo-kai Baku so she could pretend to be me asleep in my bed. But then something called “Terror Time” happened. I learned that it has to do with kids’ nightmares and that I’d have to run to safety, and then I actually had to start running. It wasn’t challenging, but it was really cool — I loved everyday problems and kids’ issues in particular could all be explained with yo-kai. “ I immediately became interested in learning more about yo-kai. I spent hours just doing random side quests around town, getting information about yo-kai and people a bit at a time. Because most activities in Yo-Kai Watch involve helping those people, it was rewarding to do easy or even tedious things... at least for a little while. A lot of quests, story included, require you to fetch items, and I found that really tiresome after the first few times. Still, I adored exploring and talking to the funny, charming NPCs. Exit Theatre Mode Baku just wants a friend. I was especially impressed that Yo-Kai Watch didn’t shy away from more serious problems. One of your first tasks is to defeat the yo-kai Dismarelda, who’s causing your parents to fight. Solving a common issue right away — one that a lot of kids can relate to — gives the world of Yo-Kai Watch depth and meaning. I wanted to continue playing to see what else it had to offer. A Fighting Chance Yo-Kai Watch’s combat is a weird but interesting hybrid of real-time and turn-based elements. Yo-kai take turns attacking but do so on their own, and I handled healing them and rotating three of my six yo-kai in at a time. I very often felt like a manager or a coach instead of a player. My team could take down low-level opponents with little to no input from me, so I’d just hit the fast forward button and wait it out. The strategy lies in organizing your team well beforehand, which I liked, but it was frustrating to watch my yo-kai use status moves instead of dealing obvious final blows. Exit Theatre Mode Whisper, one of the most helpful companion NPCs ever, gets informative. This unique battle style works way better on more difficult bosses. Instead of just sitting back, I often had to coordinate which yo-kai were out in combination with each other. Bosses deal a lot of damage, so healing in time was critical. “ I very often felt like a manager or a coach instead of a player There’s also a special move called a Soultimate that’s more powerful than yo-kai’s regular attacks, and it’s not passive like those attacks. You have to play a short minigame on the touch screen while the battle rages on up top. That combined with keeping yo-kai healthy and handling both screens made boss battles frenetic and fun. Multiplayer battles are unfortunately not very notable. They’re local wireless only, which is a misstep — Yo-Kai Watch doesn’t particularly lend itself to competitive play, but keeping multiplayer local severely impedes the possibility. Playing with friends can be fun, but it’s subject to the same limitations as regular battles.A team of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich has identified the first fossil specimens of a major group of killifishes that is widely distributed in freshwater habitats today. The 6-million-year-old material sheds new light on the evolution of the bony fishes. Killifish are true survivors. These colorful little fish are perfectly adapted to the demands of their ephemeral habitats. They spend their short lives in temporary freshwater pools that form during the rainy season, and owe their long-term survival to the fact that their eggs are resistant to desiccation. Although they are a species-rich group, and are widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics, their fossil record is sparse. But now LMU palaeontologists Professor Bettina Reichenbacher and Melanie Altner have identified the first fossil representatives of one of the two extant suborders of killifish. "The specimens are exceptionally well preserved, date from about 6 million years ago, and were discovered in Kenya by French palaeoanthropologists," says Reichenbacher. "Our studies have now shown that they are members of a previously unknown genus that is now extinct, which we have named Kenyaichthys -- the fish from Kenya." A cache that includes 77 complete specimens The fossils originate from a site located in the Tugen Hills, which lie in the Eastern arm of the East African Rift Valley. During the Late Miocene -- about six million years ago -- the site formed part of a lake, and the newly described specimens, each 2 to 4 cm long, were preserved in the sediment beds that accumulated on the lake bottom. "The sample comprises a total of 169 individuals, and 77 of these are complete," says Altner. The anatomical details discernible in the impressions left in the sediments enabled the two researchers to conclusively identify all of these individuals as killifishes. "Analysis of the structures of the tailfin, the pelvic fins and the bones in the skull, in particular, yielded crucial information that convinced us that this material constituted the first fossils attributable to the killifish Suborder Aplocheiloidei. This group also encompasses modern African killifishes, such as Pachypanchax from Madagascar, the striped panchaxes of Southeast Asia and the rivulids of South America," Altner explains. In addition to the fossil aplocheiloids, only a few other freshwater forms were found at the site. Reichenbacher and Altner assume that the prevailing environmental conditions were too extreme for less specialized species. During the Late Miocene, the climate got drier and extensive areas of savannah developed. "We believe that, like modern killifish species, Kenyaichthys was well equipped to survive long periods of drought, and could cope better with such conditions than other species of fish," says Reichenbacher. A unique combination of traits Since many killifish species are short-lived they are used to study aging processes. But the group is also of interest to evolutionary biologists because they offer useful models for the study of speciation -- and in this context some of the characters displayed by Kenyaichthys are especially intriguing: "Our fossils exhibit morphological traits that are found in extant African species of killifish. But they also possess one specific trait that is typical for contemporary rivulids from South America. This combination is very unusual, and may indicate that Kenyaichthys is closely related to forms that are now restricted to South America. Alternatively, this particular character may have been lost in the lineage that gave rise to modern African aprocheiloids," Altner explains. Furthermore, many features of the new fossils -- including elements of the tailfin and the dorsal fins, and the relative sizes of the different body parts -- vary markedly from one individual to the next. As the closest surviving relatives of Kenyaichthys do not display such a wide range of variability, the fossil material from the Tugen Hills appears to document a particularly fascinating evolutionary process -- the diversification of a so-called species flock. The term'species flock' refers to a group of closely related species that have evolved from a single progenitor species in an isolated population and developed distinct specializations that enable them to coexist. Darwin's finches, which occupy different ecological niches on the Galapagos, are perhaps the best known example of a species flock. "So, this is an exciting find in many respects, which provides wholly new insights into the evolutionary history of the killifishes and their relatives," says Reichenbacher.WHEN Donald Trump, then America’s president-elect, said on December 11th that “I don’t know why we have to be bound by a one-China policy” he ripped aside one of the oldest sticking-plasters in the world of diplomacy. That he stuck it back on again two months later, telling Xi Jinping, China’s president, that he would honour the one-China policy “at President Xi’s request”, does not alter the fact that an American leader had questioned a basic feature of Asian security. Nor does Mr Trump’s reversal solve problems with the one-China formula, on which peace between Taiwan and China has depended, that were evident well before his election. If they worsen, the two sides’ frozen conflict could heat up. The one-China formula is not so much fraught with ambiguities as composed of them. China itself does not actually have a one-China policy. It has what it calls a one-China principle, which is that there is only one China, with its government in Beijing. It regards Taiwan as a renegade Chinese province and refuses diplomatic recognition to any country that recognises Taiwan as a state. Yet this rigid principle can be bent. In 2015 President Xi met the island’s then-president, Ma Ying-jeou, for what would have looked to innocent eyes very much like a bilateral summit of heads of state. And China looks the other way, albeit with some fulmination, when America sells arms to Taiwan—a traffic which, in 1982, America said it would phase out, but continues to this day. Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. America does not accept the one-China principle. Instead it has the one-China policy, which acknowledges that China has such a principle—not quite the same thing. America does not recognise Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, nor does it recognise Taiwan as an independent state. It does plenty of trade with it, though. Small as it is, Taiwan is the ninth-largest buyer of American exports, outstripping Italy and India. America’s unofficial ties with the island are closer than many countries’ diplomatic links. The American Institute in Taiwan, a private not-for-profit institution with headquarters in Washington, DC, looks like an embassy and acts like one, too. The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 commits America to helping Taiwan defend itself against invasion and embargoes, deeming any coercion of the island to be “of grave concern to the United States”. In Taiwan itself the one-China formula has an even stranger history. It is rooted in the fiction that the island’s first president, Chiang Kai-shek, who fled there in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists, would one day recapture the whole of China. Hence Taiwan’s official name, the Republic of China. Thus the party that Chiang led, the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Chinese government can both subscribe to an agreement called the “1992 consensus”, which says that there is only one China but recognises that the two sides disagree about what that means in practice, thus piling fudge upon ambiguity. Taiwan’s other major political party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), rejects both the 1992 consensus and the one-China principle more generally. But its leader, Tsai Ing-wen, who succeeded the KMT’s Mr Ma as president last year, prefers not to do so openly. In most areas of politics this surfeit of uncertainty would be worrying. Yet the agreement not to look too closely at the contradiction of “one China” has kept an uneasy peace across the Taiwan Strait. There have been political crises—most recently in the mid 2000s—and in 1996 China fired missiles towards the island while Chinese leaders scowled for the cameras. But by and large it has worked well enough for all three sides to want to maintain it. Their reasons differ, just as their reading of the formula does. China believes that time is on its side. As the motherland becomes ever wealthier and more powerful, its leaders seem genuinely to hope that Taiwan’s people will want to rejoin it. Taiwan’s leaders think the opposite; that with time the island’s people will see themselves as having less and less in common with the mainland. Since the 1992 consensus, the proportion of people on the island who identify themselves simply as Taiwanese has more than tripled to almost 60%; the share of those who call themselves Chinese has plunged to just 3% (see chart). Among people between 20 and 30, 85% say they are Taiwanese. In America the attitude is a simpler ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it one. The status quo enables the country to have diplomatic ties with China without breaking off links with Taiwan, and that is good enough. But this equilibrium of incommensurable
This device recorded certain parameters such as speed, brake and power applications and WSL activations. However, unlike the TMS, it only recorded WSL activations for the train as a whole and provided no information on which carriage the WSL activated. The data logger was successfully downloaded and the information analysed as part of the safety investigation. The analysis identified that the axle most likely failed between Sutherland and Jannali where the wheel slip indication light activations began to occur. Bogie The bogie, MKA0379, was a two-axle rigid framed bogie with traction motors mounted in the frame (Figure 14). This bogie arrangement has been used on electric passenger trains in NSW since 1972. Source: Sydney Trains Metallurgical investigation Following the accident, bogie MKA0379 was removed from N5222 and was transported to UGL Unipart’s maintenance facility at Maintrain, Auburn. There the bogie was examined and it was noted that the gearbox casing attached to axle 881228 exhibited evidence of overheating (Figure 15). Source: OTSI The axle, with gearbox, was removed and stripped down under the supervision of OTSI investigators. The axle was found to have broken within the gearbox between an oil flinger and a bearing (Figure 16). Source: Sydney Trains Sections from either side of the defect were cut out of the axle and transported to the ATSB’s laboratories in Canberra for detailed analysis. Due to their relative differential rotational speeds as they rotated against each other after the axle broke, much of the evidence of the defect initiation on the axle fracture surfaces had been destroyed. However, it was determined that a stress fracture had developed over time (see Appendix A: Technical examination of a fractured rail axle from passenger train 602M). Of particular note was the discovery of a laminated layer on the axle’s surface with machining marks visible beneath (Figure 17). Source: ATSB It was determined that a metal spraying process had been used to repair the axle and that this rendered the axle susceptible to the initiation of fatigue cracking. Axle, axle maintenance, inspections and tests The incident axle was a motor carriage driven axle. That is, it was an axle fitted through a gearbox that transferred the drive from an electric motor to the driving wheels. It was manufactured in 1988 and went into service in July of that year. The axle’s last overhaul was performed between 6 September 2011 and 12 March 2012. Ultrasonic Testing (UT) was performed with the low speed gear wheel in place. On this occasion, a defect (crack) was discovered in the gear and the oil flingers, bearings and gear were pressed off. The axle passed various dimensional and surface finish checks and magnetic particle inspection. It was then reassembled with a new gear and low speed gear box bearings. Including this occasion, the axle had been overhauled a total of eight times during its service life. In 1998, during a routine overhaul, it was discovered that damage had been sustained to the surfaces on the axle that accepted the interference fit low speed bearings and oil flingers that were located on either side of the crown wheel. These low speed bearings supported the gearbox on the axle. On inspection, it was determined that the axle could be repaired. Repair methods During the routine overhaul of axles, it was sometimes found that the axle surface at the axle ends, where the bogie axle box bearings were pressed on, were undersize. This was due to the repeated pushing on and off of the bearings removing material and so compromising the interference fit of the bearings to the axle. It was an approved repair to build up the surface using Electro Chemical Metal Deposition (ECMD). The ECMD method is an electrolytic process where new material is deposited onto the cleaned parent metal. ECMD was not generally viable if the deposition required exceeded a depth of 0.25 mm. In the case of axle 881228 (and any others which were subsequently repaired using metal spraying), a grooved defect was likely to have been present which exceeded 0.25 mm. Thermal Metal Spraying therefore became an option as it is suitable for greater cover thicknesses. Thermal Metal Spraying requires machining of the parent metal on a lathe such that a depth of at least 0.5 mm new material can be achieved. The machining produces a grooved surface with a pitch of between 0.25 mm and 0.35 mm and a depth of 0.5 mm. The job is then pre-heated to between 100°C and 140°C and a bonding coat (depth 0.1 to 0.15 mm) of nickel/molybdenum/aluminium alloy is applied. This is closely followed by the application of 420 grade stainless steel. Application is by using twin electric arcs to heat the wire fed material such that it can be sprayed onto the surface to be repaired (Figure 18). Build up and adhesion of the material is a mechanical rather than fusion process: the material is not heated to a molten state but, being both heated and given velocity, has the malleability and kinetic energy to flatten as it hits the repair, joining with and building up the surface progressively as the job is rotated, at approximately 80 RPM on the lathe. Once material has been built up to a depth such that the diameter is 2 mm oversize, it is ground to produce the final surface finish and specified dimension. Source: A1 Metallising Services Pty Ltd Authorisation There was no standard repair method for this location on these axles. Authorisation for a non-standard ECMD repair was provided for by raising an Application for Deviation from Specification form (the deviation). This form, dated December 1998, was signed by the requesting engineer at Maintrain (UGL Unipart’s predecessor organisation) and approved by the State Rail Authority (SRA), a predecessor organisation to Sydney Trains. The deviation was marked as ‘Applies Indefinitely’, that is, it gave ongoing approval for further axles to be reclaimed in a like way. However, the contractor, A1 Metallising Services Pty Ltd (A1 Metallising), determined that a repair could not be carried out using an ECMD technique as specified in the deviation. A1 Metallising reported this was probably due to the depth of the defect. A1 Metallising quoted to repair the axle, and another one with similar damage, using a thermal metal spraying technique. No evidence was available as to how, or if, this change was approved by Maintrain. However, A1 Metallising stated that any job would always require a written quote to be accepted by the customer before they would proceed. The final invoice, issued on 31 January 1999, identified that the axles had had the following work: ‘metallise and grind on 2 positions each (that is, on both low speed bearing / oil thrower positions, one on each side of the crown wheel)’. The invoice was therefore non-specific and did not identify the actual process applied. Other axles It was found, through A1 Metallising’s archive search, that a total of 7 axles were recorded as having had a metal spray repair, including axle 881228. Two had been scrapped or were in the process of being scrapped while 4 were examined for defects. No further defective axles were identified. All these axles were quarantined to ensure that they were not returned to service after the incident and will be scrapped. Operational staff All operational staff involved in the incident were employed by Sydney Trains. A number of operational employees had a significant part in the build up to the incident, the incident and/or the response to it. Train drivers, including trainee and driver trainers Five driving staff were directly involved with Run 602 during the incident sequence, plus a driver who was travelling as a passenger on the train and who assisted post incident. The train was under the control of a trainee supervised by a driver trainer at the likely time of the axle breaking. Neither of them, nor the other driver travelling as a passenger, were aware of anything amiss nor did they observe any WSP indications en route to Central station. From Central to Bondi Junction, a single driver was in the cab. He became aware of the issues with the train when informed by the guard, between Martin Place and Kings Cross, of the reports of an odour and smoke coupled with WSP indications and a TMS fault. The driver reported this to the TCLO and requested that ‘someone check it at Bondi or somewhere’. He also instructed the guard to pass on a message regarding the train’s condition to the new driver at Bondi Junction. On arrival at Bondi Junction, the guard passed on the message to the trainee driver while the driver spoke directly to the new driver (a driver trainer) on the platform. However, apparently the message was not fully received or heard by the new driver. The driver trainer, in consultation with a TCSM, instructed his trainee to blow down the brakes and decided to continue the train in service. Between Bondi Junction and Edgecliff the driver trainer instructed the trainee to switch from EP to automatic brakes and back again in an attempt to clear an assumed sticking brakes problem. Neither trainer nor trainee noticed anything wrong, nor did they notice any WSP warning light activity. After Edgecliff, when the train derailed, the driver trainer responded by applying emergency brakes. He stopped a train on the other (Down) line, 603L, by using emergency hand signals and then initiated an emergency call to Network Control. After speaking to the train controller, he elected to try to proceed to Kings Cross. When it became apparent that there was a serious problem with the train he immediately stopped the train once more. Train guard The guard of 602M had qualified in September 2013 with 12 months previous experience as a customer service assistant (CSA). The guard was first alerted to a problem with the train by a CSA at Town Hall. He informed the driver of the problem after departure from Martin Place. Under instruction from the driver he had a look at the train at Kings Cross but could find nothing wrong (other than a smell). He passed on a message about the train to the trainee driver at Bondi Junction but took no part in the decision to continue in service. At Edgecliff he was approached by the CSA who expressed his view that the train should not proceed. The guard, who was reportedly talking on his personal mobile phone at the time, did not act on the CSA’s concerns or pass it on to the driver trainer. In the lead-up to the incident, the guard had his work supplied mobile phone switched off, only turning it on after the derailment. After the derailment, the guard contacted the RMC SM to ask if there was anything that the RMC SM wanted him to do. The guard of service 603L that stopped adjacent to the incident train also made contact with the RMC SM by phone and was proactive in planning for the evacuation of 602M to 603L. Train crewing shift managers The Train Crewing Shift Manager (TCSM) is a relatively new position introduced with the inception of Sydney Trains on 1 July 2013. The TCSMs replaced the previous Operations Standards Managers (OSM). While an OSM was required to have had driving experience and to maintain safeworking qualifications, the new TCSM position has been defined more as a personnel management role. There is no requirement for train driving experience or indeed any rail experience at all. The current TCSM personnel were recruited for Sydney Trains and comprises a mix of previously employed OSMs, other ex-RailCorp employees and people recruited from outside the industry. A TCSM, who was an ex-OSM, located at Central was the first employee to notice something amiss with Run 602L. He looked at the rear carriage of the train as it was alongside the platform. He reported the issues of smoke and burning smell to the TCLO and, on the TCLO’s advice, allowed the train to proceed. Two TCSMs were on duty at Bondi Junction. One was relatively inexperienced with no previous rail industry experience while the other had formerly been an OSM. The former had limited input into the discussions and decision making at Bondi Junction but expressed a view, after the derailment, that he was surprised that the train had continued in service. The other, experienced, TCSM had been contacted by the TCLO before 602L arrived and warned that the train might have sticking brakes. When the train did arrive, the TCSM in communication with the TCLO by phone and the driver trainer on the platform proceeded on the assumption that the train did have sticking brakes and volunteered to go with the train to Central. Under instruction from the TCLO he rode in the passenger area to be alert for any tell-tale signs of an issue, especially in carriage N5222. The TCSM did notice what he thought was the sound of a wheel flat spot and reported this to the TCLO. On departure from Edgecliff station the TCSM entered the driver’s compartment. He noticed a parking brake failure warning after the incident and reported this to the TCLO. The TCSM, closely coordinating with the TCLO, took an active part in establishing the state of the derailed train and assisting with the response. Train crewing liaison officer The TCLO received the initial report of a problem with 602L from the TCSM at Central station. He did not notify operational staff within the RMC nor did he notify the responsible fleet operations controller. Hence an opportunity was lost to (i) create an awareness with responsible operations staff to a train with an issue and (ii) to have the train checked by a qualified train technician (present on ground level at Central). The train technicians are under the control of fleet operations controllers. The TCLO was seated in close proximity to the relevant train controller and overheard him talking to the shift supervisor about reports of smoke at a subsequent station. He checked and ascertained that these reports coincided with the passage of Run 602. He did mention this to the TC but, because the report from Martin Place was of a smell like burning tyres, he did not pass on any further information about Run 602. Subsequently, the TCLO alerted the TCSM at Bondi Junctionto the imminent arrival of run 602L and asked for his involvement. During this conversation he introduced the idea to the TCSM that the problem was sticking brakes. The TCSM was known by the TCLO to be experienced in fault finding as an ex driver and OSM although this function was no longer within his remit as the TCSM’s role did not include such operational involvement. The TCLO and the TCSM remained constantly in communication, by mobile phone, for much of the time that the train was alongside the platform. The TCLO’s direction of the TCSM was done without any reference to other RMC staff who had responsibilities in relation to train defect management and operational decisions. The TCLO could have passed further information about the train and/or coordinated with RMC operational staff, but did not. RMC staff The RMC is a purpose built control centre which, in one space, accommodates all Sydney Trains’ train controllers, a shift supervisor, the shift manager (SM), fleet operations controllers (3), the TCLO, security (SCC) staff and passenger information employees. The relevant train controller (TC), TCLO and the fleet operations controller are allsituated in close proximity to one another. Three operations staff in the RMC were directly involved: the TC, the Shift Supervisor and the SM. The Illawarra TC reports, through the shift supervisor, to the SM. Staff were aware of different pieces of information about the train as it travelled to and changed direction at Bondi Junction but none had full information. The SM was unaware of there being an issue until the train was ready to depart from Bondi Junction. He then walked over to speak to the SCC supervisor within RMC and on being updated as to the extent of the problem made the decision, on operational grounds, to terminate the train. This decision came too late to prevent 602M from leaving Bondi Junction. The next station at which it could practicably be terminated (other than in an emergency) was Central, where a train technician was to meet it. After the derailment, the SM was involved with incident response to and on the site, arranging for the IRC to make his way there and, in the IRC’s absence, coordinating on site activities with the train guards. The TC and shift supervisor were closely involved in managing trains on the remaining available network to minimise passenger disruption. The SM assumed a coordination role after the incident, communicating with the guards of the trains (in the absence of an IRC). Station staff A number of station staff were involved. Of particular relevance was the involvement of station staff at Martin Place, Bondi Junction and Edgecliff stations. At Martin Place, the DM was sufficiently concerned by the burning smell that he made a direct request to STERU to attend as he thought, by the nature of the smell, that there could have been something burning on the station premises. The DM did not channel the request through the RMC as required by Sydney Trains Incident Management Framework (IMF). The CSA at Bondi Junction noted the vibration, smell and smoke from Run 602L and immediately informed his superior (the DM) via a hand-held radio. Later the CSA took action to inform all station staff of the emergency via a further radio call. He used the prefix “emergency emergency emergency” to alert staff to the seriousness of the situation. He also took the initiative to prevent a wheelchair passenger from boarding as he expected that the train was not going to depart. The DM was sufficiently alarmed by the quantity of smoke and the smell of burning to request (through the SCC) the attendance of STERU and the emergency services and to prepare for the evacuation of the station and the trains alongside the platforms. When the TCSM then told him that they were going to take the train out, the DM told the TCSM and the driver trainer that the emergency services had been called but train crewing staff made the decision for the train to continue in service. The CSA at Edgecliff, who met the train expecting the wheelchair passenger to disembark, saw the smoke and smelt the odour emanating from the train and went straight to the guard’s compartment. He expressed his concern to the guard along with his opinion that the train should not proceed and informed the DM of the situation by radio. No station staff member at any of the locations reported the issues with the train to the network control staff as required by the IMF. Fleet operations controllers The fleet operations controllers manage the disposition of electric traction rolling-stock across the network and are the contact for drivers for any technical difficulties that arise. The controller who should have received the notification of the problem with run 602 was absent from his desk and the call from the driver of 602L when travelling between Kings Cross and Edgecliff on the outbound leg of the journey was taken by a second controller. This controller acknowledged the call in a conversational manner and noted down details but did not notify anyone else or take any further action. The first controller, on his return, was aware of the note, but as it appeared to be routine in nature, did not call the driver back. A train technician was detailed to meet the train on its return to Central and was subsequently sent to the derailed train at Edgecliff. The fleet operations controllers did not take any further part in the incident. Fatigue The investigation reviewed the fatigue scores of employees involved in the incident. Only one was identified as being of possible concern. The fleet operations controller who received the report from the driver of 602L, while the other fleet operations controller was absent, was approaching the end of a 12 hour shift. He had no scheduled breaks during the shift and had a Fatigue Score [3] for the shift of 108. He returned to work the next day with a score for the shift of 118. Both scores are well above industry norms for employees who are expected to process safety critical information. However, a fatigue score is only an indicator of the possible existence of fatigue. No other supporting evidence was identified in the case of the fleet operations controller so no definitive conclusion can be drawn as to his level of fatigue. Incident and Emergency Response Unit The Sydney Trains Incident and Emergency Response Unit (IERU) includes the Security Communications Centre (SCC), within the RMC, STERU and IRC staff. The SCC directed the STERU before and during the incident and remained the team leader’s contact in the RMC when on site. Sydney Trains Emergency Response Unit The STERU team has training and equipment akin to that of NSW Fire and Rescue, but with a specialised railway focus. The primary purpose of STERU is to provide a fire fighting response for Sydney Trains’ stations and trains, especially in Sydney’s city centre area. It falls under the control of the SCC and is a ‘first responder’ especially to fires or suspected thermal incidents. Depending on circumstances STERU might respond alone or it might respond alongside NSW Fire and Rescue. On arrival at the derailment site the STERU team leader coordinated with the emergency services and train crew. The team leader’s plan to use emergency evacuation ladders at the ends of the trains, rather than the vertical ladders at the guards’ compartment doors, was adopted. The STERU team leader obtained and fitted the ladders with his team and train crew. Operations at Bondi Junction During peak periods, trains arrive and depart frequently from the two platforms at Bondi Junction, platforms 1 and 2. Between 1700 and 1800 eighteen trains depart from these platforms and head towards the city centre, one train every 3 minutes 20 seconds on average. Since the introduction of this high frequency service with the new timetable in October 2013, a procedure has been introduced at this location only, known as ‘step back’. This procedure provides for a relief driver to be at the Sydney end of the platform ready to take charge of the train on its arrival. The driver who brought the train into the platform cuts out his control and leaves the train while the relief driver steps into the cab at the opposite end and prepares to depart. The guard does not change. Generally there will not be the opportunity for the drivers to talk to one another as happens at every other location where the driver of a train changes while in service. Any messages for the relief driver from the original driver may be relayed through the guard. There is a train crewing shift manager (TCSM) stationed at Bondi Junction. During peak times there are two: one is on the platform to ensure that drivers are in position on the correct platform and at the right time, the other is likely to be performing administrative duties in their office. The office is located on the platform level adjacent to a room where train crew can rest in between operating train services. The second TCSM is available to assist the first should the need arise. Rules and Procedures A number of rules and procedures are relevant to this incident. These include: NGE 206 Reporting and responding to a Condition Affecting the Network (CAN):This rule stated ‘Conditions that can or do affect the safety of operations must be reported promptly to the Network Control Officer responsible for the affected portions of line’. The Network Control Officer was the area’s signaller. The signaller was not informed until after 602M had derailed. All prior communications had been with various RMC personnel. The Incident Management Framework (IMF): The IMF provides a detailed framework in 3 parts, providing guidance on how incidents from Level 1 ‘Routine’ through to level 4 ‘Emergency’ are to be reported, assessed, escalated and managed. IMF part 1, section 4.3 shows that all incidents are to be reported to and managed by the train controller. This requirement was not met. The emerging incident was not reported to the train controller either promptly or directly: he received incomplete and second hand information only. NGE 204 Network Communication:This rule prescribes the rules for spoken communication in the Sydney Trains network. This rule states that communication must be: ‘clear, brief and unambiguous’ and that senders and receivers ‘must start the communication with identification of the receiver first and the sender second’. In these respects, NGE204 was generally observed by exception only, with the majority of the communication being conversational. Train Operations Manual, Operation and Management of Electric Trains (OMET) 220 ‘Wheel slip Light Indications’: This Sydney Trains procedure ‘details the instructions to be followed when a wheel slip, locked axle or slipped pinion (gear wheel) fault occurs’. For Tangara trains, intermittent or continuous activation of the WSL could mean wheel-slip, a slipping pinion or a locked axle. For activation due to wheel-slip, no action is necessary as the on-board system will respond automatically to resolve the issue. For a slipping pinion, normally indicated by a high pitched whine, a maximum speed of 25 km/h is mandated. When a locked axle is suspected, the train should be inspected from the ground to identify the locked axle (utilising the guard to watch the suspected axle(s) as the train is moved slowly). If a locked axle is confirmed, the train may be moved to the ‘nearest suitable siding’ if it is safe to do so, again at a maximum 25km/h. Recurring intermittent wheel slip indications can also indicate a faulty axle speed sensor. Train Working Procedure (TWP) 136 ‘Defective Wheels’: this procedure directed that ‘When a wheel defect is suspected or has been detected, stop and secure the train at the first suitable location and examine the wheels’. The Procedure then has detailed guidance on how to proceed dependent on the type and severity of a defect. The procedure also mentioned pony bogies, ‘designed to enable trains with broken or bent axles……to be moved’. There was no requirement to ensure that traction motors were cut out when using a pony bogie. NGE 404 Using brakes: ‘If, during travel, there is abnormal application of airbrakes…the Train Crew must: bring the train to a complete stop, and…if possible, determine the cause of the application or the extent of the defect…’ Beyond bringing his train to a ‘complete stop’, the driver of 602M did not attempt to comply with this part of NTR 404 beyond looking out of his cab. NGE 412 Defective running gear (including damaged wheels): In the event of wheel damage being suspected this rule directs that train crew tell the Network Control Officer and ‘determine the nature and extent of the defect’. A noise indicating a possible wheel flat was detected by the TCSM between Bondi Junction and Edgecliff but no action or reporting ensued. RMC General Order 11/13 dated 22 January 2013 ‘Added Responsibilities When Incidents of Skidded Wheels or Sticking Brakes Are Reported’. This order directed that train controllers are to ensure ‘that any reports of skidded wheels and / or sticking brakes are fully investigated’. This order was not complied with. Emergency response management Sydney Trains has an Incident Management Framework (IMF). The IMF has four classifications from Level 1 ‘Routine’ through Level 2 ‘Significant’ and Level 3 ‘Major’ to Level 4 ‘Emergency’. Network Control staff classified the incident as a Level 3 incident. A Level 3 incident requires that the General Manager Operations appoints an Incident Manager (IM) ‘to take overall responsibility for incident response management from the Shift Manager RMC’. However, the IM’s role in relation to the incident site itself is reliant on there being a ‘Rail Commander’ on site to take charge, coordinate with external agencies and report back through the RMC SM. A Rail Commander is: ‘A person qualified as Rail Commander that has been appointed by the Shift Manager RMC to liaise with emergency services and manage the rail industry response at an incident site’. At the time of the incident, Sydney Trains had 17 Incident Rail Commanders (IRC) who were qualified to take on the role of a Rail Commander. This contrasts with the situation prior to Sydney Trains’ formation on 1 July 2013 when there were 46 positions (Network Operations Superintendents, Station Operations Superintendents and Incident Response Officers) who were qualified and designated to adopt the position of Rail Commander when required. Also on 1 July 2013, NSW Trains took over the running of Interurban and country services but this did not significantly reduce the incident response task for Sydney Trains as it was still responsible for the operation of the full extent of the network previously operated by RailCorp. When the incident happened only two IRC were on duty in the metropolitan area. One was located on the NSW Central Coast, too far away to respond, while the other had been deployed to an incident at Glenfield. This led to a significant delay (over an hour) in the arrival of an IRC on site. Prior to the IRC arriving on site the IMF requires an Officer in Charge (OIC) to assume the role of the IRC. The Officer in Charge (OIC) ‘is responsible for first response activities and informs/liaises with the Train Controller…”. The OIC is a ‘default appointment’ and it falls to the appropriate person on site, such as the driver or station manager to adopt the role until the IRC arrives. Sydney Trains were asked to confirm who should have been in charge of the incident site before the IRC attended. Sydney Trains’ answer was, according to the IMF, ‘the train driver’. However, this view was not borne out by events on 15 January 2014, with no one being in effective control on site prior to the IRC arriving. The RMC SM communicated with the guards, the TCLO acted in parallel through the TCSM and the signaller communicated with the drivers. The STERU team leader, who communicated with the SCC took charge of aspects of the incident, such as coordinating with the Police. Communications A number of lines of communication were available between RMC staff and personnel on site and also Edgecliff Station. The train controller communicated with the drivers via train radio. The RMC SM talked to the two train guards by mobile phone. The TCLO was in contact with the TCSM again by mobile phone while the SCC was in radio contact with the STERU team leader. The signaller communicated with drivers via train radio as required. Due to the multiplicity of the communications channels there was a lack of clarity in regard to directing actions on site. At Edgecliff Station, train destination boards did not reflect the reality of the line being closed for traffic, advertising train destinations as per timetable. Station staff were not informed of the nature and extent of the problem by RMC staff but were informed by emergency services when they arrived. Sydney Trains post incident debrief The IMF states that, for Level 2, 3 & 4 incidents, debriefs should be held as soon as practicable afterwards. Such a debrief, termed an Operational Review, was undertaken by Sydney Trains on 24 January 2014. The review was chaired by the Signal Box Operations Manager. Of the 22 Sydney Trains employees who participated only one, the IRC, had responded to the incident site. None of the participants were involved in the incident reporting or initial response phases. While this process did produce a list of recommendations (22) for change within the organisation, it may have benefited from the inclusion of more ‘front line’ staff who had been involved in the incident. The debrief identified a number of key concerns; of note were the following: That staff frequently failed to identify themselves (contrary to Network Rules) and that safety communication was very informal Multiple staff (station staff and train crew staff) made multiple calls to different staff members within the RMC: ‘Too many calls were made relaying similar information with no central party linking the information’ That there was a culture of prioritising on time running over safety and that train crew ignore particular alarms and indications. Rail resource management / risk based training needs analysis Sydney Trains was asked to provide details of Risk Based Training Needs Analysis (RBTNA) and corresponding training in Rail Resource Management (RRM) for their staff. RBTNA documents were supplied that related to train crew (drivers and guards). No RBTNA documents were supplied in relation to any other categories of employee. There was also an initiative sponsored by the rail regulation agencies (at the time) of New South Wales (ITSRR) and Victoria (PTSV) which led to the Rail Safety Regulators Panel (RSRP) [4] endorsing a comprehensive document entitled Guidelines for Rail Resource Management in 2007. The guidelines were intended to represent best practice at the time, being modelled on/adapted from Crew Resource Management (CRM) as successfully employed by the aviation industry. However, neither Sydney Trains nor its predecessor RailCorp had introduced Rail Resource Management (RRM), other than in a rudimentary form to train crew. Indeed, during interviews with 19 Sydney Trains employees as part of this investigation, not one (including train crew) were able to identify what RRM was. The exception to this was the RMC SM who was aware of RRM/CRM but that was due to his parallel qualification as a commercial pilot in the aviation industry. Immediate safety actions Once it was established that an axle had broken on N5222, a programme was immediately established, by Sydney Trains and its contractor UGL Unipart, to identify and withdraw from service all Tangara axles manufactured in the same batch of steel. However, once it was established that the issue was not of a batch related metallurgical type but a maintenance issue, this programme was discontinued. An archival search was conducted with the active assistance of the contractor, A1 Metallising, who had repaired the axle and who still held the records. Six other axles which had been similarly repaired using a metal spraying technique were identified. All axles that were still in service or available for service were withdrawn from service and / or quarantined. To give better guidance to drivers, the Train Operations Manual (OMET 220) has had the following note added: ‘NOTE: If the wheelslip indications persist and are inconsistent with the prevailing conditions (that is dry weather, level grade) Train Crews should be vigilant for signs of a locked axle or slipped pinion and carry out the following instruction.’ Also, a network wide search for access pads such as the one at Edgecliff where a potential for lengths of angle iron to be caught up under a train was completed. Only one such location was identified, also on the ESR. The angle iron lengths have been reduced on the edge of that pad. The Train Working Procedure (TWP) 136 Defective wheels has been amended directing that power is isolated on a bogie when a pony bogie is fitted. As well as initiating two internal (track and rolling stock) technical reports and engaging the services of a metallurgist, Sydney Trains contracted an external investigator to investigate the incident in its entirety. This report suggested 15 further safety actions which included some in the areas of RRM, safety critical communications and incident reporting. The ONRSR is taking a direct interest in Sydney Trains’ management of these safety actions. A new emergency number has been installed for staff to report incidents and unsafe conditions directly to operational staff at the RMC. When the number is called, a red light flashes and an alarm sounds to announce the emergency call. Other incidents Searches for comparable incidents were made on the internet including Australian jurisdictions, the UK Rail Accident Investigation Bureau and the US National Transport Safety Bureau. While there have been instances of axles breaking (for example, on freight wagons and the regional, diesel powered XPT rolling stock, currently operated by NSW Trains) there were no comparable incidents of an axle failure on a passenger EMU. However, the rail industry has many examples of incidents that have either occurred or been exacerbated due to poor communications and / or failures to follow communication protocols. Glenbrook 1999 On 2 December 1999 a passenger train collided with the rear of the Indian Pacific near the town of Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. Seven passengers were killed and 51 injured. A Special Commission of Inquiry was established to examine the circumstances of the accident and make recommendations. The Final Report [5] was issued in April 2001. Communications were identified as a major issue during the incident: ‘…evidence from witnesses….indicated that (communication) protocol was being ignored. The result of loose, informal or casual communication can only lead to a lack of clarity and possible misunderstandings which in turn can produce tragic consequences...’ [6] The inquiry also examined previous rail incidents and it was recorded that: ‘In the Glenbrook rail accident and the reports of eight other rail accidents which I have been asked to consider, deficiencies in communication played a significant causal role in most of these incidents.’ [7] The inquiry with Communications, Risk Analysis and Training / Competency represented the largest groupings of the 63 contributing factors identified (Figure 19) with 8 instances each. Source: Glenbrook Inquiry Final Report p107 The report made a number of wide ranging recommendations; two have particular relevance to the Edgecliff incident: Recommendation 2: ‘The training of railway employees should include (vi) ‘Emphasis on the importance of team work in rail operations including ensuring that operational employees have a clear understanding of the duties, roles and pressures involved in the work of other operational occupational groups.’ Recommendation 33: ‘All communications protocols should be strictly enforced by accredited rail organisations.’ Evidence would suggest that either these recommendations were not adequately addressed in the first place or that the required standards have not been subsequently maintained. Waterfall 2003 On 31 January 2003 a passenger train derailed on a curve at high speed and overturned near Waterfall station, south of Sydney. The driver and 6 passengers were killed while the guard and the remaining 41 passengers were injured. While communications were not identified as being causal, the Special Commission of inquiry report [8] states on page 139: ‘Although the Waterfall incident was not caused by communications failures as such, the evidence that caused concern was that there were deficiencies in the communication procedures after the incident, which could have had the effect of causing greater casualties.’ Relevant recommendations from this inquiry included: Recommendation 40: ‘All communications related staff should be selected upon the basis of the ability to convey information clearly, accurately and concisely and to follow strict communication protocols’; Recommendation 41: ‘All communications protocols must be strictly enforced by all accredited rail organisations’; Recommendation 68: ‘Train driver and guard training should encourage teamwork and discourage authority gradients’; and Recommendation 83: ‘RailCorp should develop a plan…to address deficiencies in the safety culture of RailCorp, including (9th item): the means whereby RailCorp proposes to ensure that communications protocols are followed by the employees of the RMC and all other employees engaged in safety critical work’. These recommendations were tracked by the rail regulator and assessed as satisfactorily implemented by RailCorp. A review was also undertaken of RailCorp’s (and the regulator’s) safety management systems and a further report was published in January 2005 as the Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfall Rail Accident Volume 2. In relation to RailCorp (and so Sydney Trains), it was concluded that
to initially assume that these are the Williams we last saw in The God Complex, but it makes more sense that this is Amy and Rory from the time they were waiting for the Doctor to return at the start of this season. Otherwise it means the Doctor left them in their own past causing them to overlap their own timeline. It’s never stated that the episode takes place on April 21st, but the Doctor does hand Craig a copy of the Colchester Evening News dated April 19th, 2011. The Doctor hasn’t yet sent the invitations seen in The Impossible Astronaut by the episode’s end, and I’m left wondering how Amy and Rory would get to Utah for the 22nd. I’m not a seasoned international traveller, but I don’t think that works. More confusing is the fact that their scene at the store also reveals that Amy was apparently a fragrance model appearing in print advertising. If this is the Amy and Rory that were at the lake, that means she had this modeling career all along and we just didn’t know. Further confusing the issue is the fragrance being called Petrichor. That word was prominently mentioned in this season’s The Doctor’s Wife, and it seemed like a new term to everyone involved (of course as I type that it comes to mind that Neil Gaiman originally wrote that episode for last season). Looking past that, the ad would go right along with their crop circle in Let’s Kill Hitler as an attempt to get the Doctor’s attention and bring him back to Earth. It’s a shame to spend so much time discussing Amy and Rory’s brief appearance here when Craig’s struggles to cope with being a father are what I felt more connected to. Corden’s return as Craig is excellent and his actions reaffirm the Doctor’s belief in both humanity and himself that we can assume were shaken right along with everyone else’s faith (except Rory of course) last week. The Doctor seemed to have come to terms with going to his death, but perhaps his encounter with Craig will set him on a different course as things wrap up next week. This episode ended with a teaser scene that revealed River Song hasn’t truly been free as she pursued her study of archaeology at the Lunar University since we last saw her. The Silence has returned to use, the now “doctor,” River Song as their impossible astronaut assassin at Lake Silencio. It was somewhat satisfying to see that it is indeed a younger version of River in the spacesuit (although not a child as I had initially presumed), and while I’m sure we’ll get a lot of answers in this season’s finale, The Wedding of River Song, I honestly don’t expect everything to be resolved. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_325887&v=VLiJHDnE5oY&src_vid=fcukGKj-nsY] Read more Doctor Who on MyLatestDistraction, including reactions to each new episode on BBCAmerica and iTunes. The God Complex / The Wedding of River Song (coming next week) Distract others: Facebook Twitter Reddit Google PinterestMoringa oleifera is popularly known in many countries as a “miracle plant” because of its nutritional and medical properties. Moringa oleifera is the most cultivated plant from Moringaceae family. Primarily it grows in tropical, subtropical and semi-arid climate. It is used in traditional Indian medicine for centuries. This plant is overflowing with vitamins A, B, C, D, E and minerals including potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, and magnesium. Moringa leaves are rich in essential amino acids which are not commonly found in plants, and it is extremely rich in proteins. It is good source of good cholesterol which is known to protect against cardiovascular diseases. It is well known as a stimulant for milk production for breastfeeding mothers. Moringa leaves can be dried at low temperature and made into powder using a mortar and pestle. Click to learn moreThis site does not have the requested function. City of Toronto Job Opportunities Please read these important notes before submitting an application. 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Click here to Register Login Log in below if you have already created a TalentFlow profile. Username or E-mail Address Password Forgot your password? Register Register and create a profile to apply for job opportunities.Environment News: For Tel Aviv-Jaffa residents and workers sick of skyrocketing gasoline prices and incessant traffic jams, the introduction of a new pilot bike-rental project this month couldn’t have come at a better time. Like some 200 other cities across the globe, Israel’s commercial and cultural center was looking for ways to encourage fitness and discourage fossil-fuel consumption. The launch of Tel-Ofan (ofanayim is Hebrew for bicycle) synchs with the municipality’s mutimillion-shekel investment in additional bike lanes to serve about 400,000 residents and many thousands more who commute in for work. Get our weekly newsletter directly in your inbox! Sign up Tel Aviv-Jaffa Economic Development Authority CEO Sharon Kenan tells ISRAEL21c that Tel-Ofan began with 40 stations and 450 subscribers, expanding daily to reach an eventual goal of 150 stations with up to 20 German-made bicycles each. Using an electronic key fob, the subscriber picks up a bike and then parks it at the destination station. There’s no charge for the first half hour, and if the bike is docked for at least 10 minutes, the user’s “clock” restarts from zero. “The purpose is that we want people to share the bikes,” explains Kenan, who heads the project on behalf of Mayor Ron Huldai. “While you’re doing whatever you’re doing, someone else will ride the bike you docked.” … To continue reading the whole story click here Via www.israeli21c.org Photo By Tel Aviv-Yafo MunicipalityWant to see what you can do with the MōVI in Solo mode? The hardest thing for me over the past two weeks has been to hold back on my enthusiasm regarding the true potential that I believe the MōVI has, and the potential it has to alter the way we shoot video/films. To that end I’ll share two anecdotes with you that I experienced recently that have helped confirm that this technology might just be worthy of the dreaded term "Game Changer." 1. We had a meeting to demo the MōVI last week. Director/Producer/Writer JJ Abrams came to see the unit and was clearly enthusiastic. The word "Genius" may have been uttered at one point. But there are two specific details from that meeting that I will never forget: First, when Abrams came to see the MōVI for the second time, he asked his staff to help him execute a shot that had taken him 5 takes to accomplish with what is presumably one of the best crews and gear that one can find in Hollywood… His staff (who had all of 5 minutes of time w/ the MōVI) nailed the shot on the first take. Abrams had them repeat it and possibly perfect it on the second shot. The second memory I have, began when Abrams picked up his cell phone and called Alfonso Cuarón who was in town, and suggesting that he rush over to see the MōVI. Cuarón is the modern master of the "one shot" – he directed "Children of Men" a modern masterpiece on many levels. Cuarón showed up within the hour, and I have to say that having the two of them there was a special moment to say the least. After all, I had spent the night prior to shooting with the MōVI for the very first time looking through a behind the scenes look (check it out here it’s AWESOME) at his long takes from Children of men. Having him there in person three weeks later was a bit surreal to say the least. But even better somehow, was his reaction. When he saw the MōVI in action… he was simply: speechless. He literally cupped his hands around his eyes and mouth. Twice. Later he said he’d been waiting for something like this for "20-30 years." It’s a day I’ll never forget – not because of the two key directors who were there and who I admire – but because of their genuine reaction of discovery and excitement that was palpable to all. One, let alone both of those things seldom happen. 2. As you watch the video below, keep in mind it was shot by a Solo operator. The original MōVI film you saw 2 weeks ago was shot with both a person holding the MōVI and a second operator on the remote control Joystick. The video below was shot by one person – all alone. Truth be told, we all deep down want to grab a camera and run out and shoot – unencumbered by anyone else at times… The MōVI can operate in either dual mode (operator + joystick operator) or "Majestic" or solo mode. The MōVI knows to pan or tilt based on input from the solo operator – and distinguishes that input from a bump or roll as you run down stairs for example. You can also customize the speed of a pan to be slow on a 100mm lens pan, or to do a whip pan … and when you think of that, keep in mind that "Majestic" mode had yet to be fully implemented (the unit was still in the prototype stages) when the video was shot below by Henning Sandström – who also co-edited the MōVI short. So as you watch the video below, consider the following: it was shot with a single operator (no joystick or remote control), with a Panasonic GH3 – in a much more basic configuration than what will be released this fall… HOOD from Henning Sandström on Vimeo. Also – for those of you on the East Coast… The MōVI will be use in the Reducation classes May 13th to the 17th at Steiner Studios in New York, and will be available at the Reducation Open House on Wednesday evening May 15, 2013. I plan on being there as well as I have a shoot in NYC during that time. You can go ahead and register for classes or the open house by clicking on the following LINK. Lastly if you have more questions or want to pre-order a MōVI you can do so here. The deposit is fully refundable (ergo it saves your place in line) and Freefly is aiming to ship the first batch of units in the 3rd Quarter of this year (July/September range) – and yes: orders are already starting to stack up… And there’s still a chance to win the 2nd of the giveaway MōVIs by following both @freeflycinema and @vincentlaforet on twitter – read more here.THE Harry Kewell to Melbourne Victory rumours gathered pace today, with Eddie McGuire saying a deal had been done to see the Socceroo join the club for the next A-League season. McGuire, the Collingwood Football Club president, Triple M broadcaster and sport insider, said Kewell would be officially presented with his Victory shirt when the Melbourne side meets Scottish giants Celtic in a friendly at AAMI Park on July 13. Kewell has played in the English Premier League for Leeds United and Liverpool and has recently finished a stint with Turkish club Galatasaray. Kewell, 31, has reportedly been courted by several A-League sides, as well as newly-promoted EPL side Queens Park Rangers. A Victory spokesman said today that the club was one of several still in the running to sign Kewell and were still 'hopeful'. He said Kewell was on holiday in Mexico and nothing had changed in the past few days. Managing director Richard Wilson told SEN :"There's nothing in writing that I can confirm today."Join the 30,000 people making better decisions with our data newsletter Newspapers are the New Startups Traditional publishing is changing. We’ve seen for a while that print publications are figuring out the proper transition to digital and we see another case today with Newsweek abandoning print to go fully digital in 2013. At Parse.ly, we’ve had the privilege of experiencing this transition period first hand and have even helped publishers work toward a successful digital future. One such example is Press Enterprise, a daily newspaper in California that was actually the inspiration for this post. Andrew McFadden, Manager of Innovation & Business Development at PE.com, recently published an article on INMA.org (International Newsmedia Marketing Association) leading with the idea that traditional newspapers must, in a sense, become startups if they are to take advantage of the opportunity digital publishing presents. But this means a complete culture change which is not exactly easy. Regardless, it’s a challenge that PE and many others have embraced. McFadden speaks of the difference between reporting and analysis which hits quite close to home with us here at Parse.ly. In the days of print, reporters would research a story, write it, submit it to their editor, and their story would show up at the doorstep of millions of readers the next day. There was no real data to analyze. The only significant metrics to be aware of is total circulation of the paper and revenue. But this does nothing to inform them of how their audience responded to their content. Reporting on digital distribution goes deeper, but the flaw with traditional “reporting” is that it tends to be an end of month look back at “how we did.” What’s missing from this is the analysis to answer the what, why, and how of it all. So this is where news organizations need to innovate. Lucky for PE.com, they happen to have a Manager of Innovation to take a top down approach in implementing new technologies, processes, etc. Most other organizations are not this lucky. In these cases, where does the innovation come from? Well, it has to come from everyone. Journalists need to understand that the distribution model has changed for digital and there is work to do after the story it written. There are innovative ways to research, publish, market, and optimize. This is where analysis over reporting is truly powerful. To illustrate, here’s a quote from Andrew McFadden’s article that appeared on INMA.org on October 1, 2012. So, about a year ago, we began looking at analysis level solutions to help our news editors create journalist-level dashboards. We joined ArsTechnica.com, The Atlantic Monthly, and Mashable in a Parse.ly private beta. During that year, our newsroom has shifted from looking at pages viewed per month to assessing referral traffic, and then timing posts based on what we know will maximise our success. By bringing the data to an incremental level where action can be taken, we’ve been able to take advantage of what users are currently doing on-site so that we can build what we call a “leading indicator advantage.” The result is that we’re guessing less, working from real data more, and yes, seeing better overall monthly results on those monthly reports. The key here is that anyone in the organization can access Parse.ly Dash analytics. We were quite careful not to create another analytics product that requires an analyst to make sense of the data. From our perspective, we think of each journalist as building their own startup / brand. The publishing process has evolved from simply researching and writing an article that goes to print to now add in basic performance analysis, marketing, social media, and general content optimization based on historical and realtime metrics. With analytics technologies like Parse.ly hard data is easily transformed to actionable insights that ultimately allow media companies to have a more integrated approach to the entire publishing process. Integrated approach to publishing = Success in the digital age What type of innovation is coming next you ask? Deeper integration between staffs and less segmentation More forecasting and predictive analytics Constant innovations around consumption, delivery, & measurement Audience building at the author level, not just corporate level We’re starting to see a lot of great changes as technologies improve and cultures change. But to get back to why newspapers should operate with a startup mentality…startups are fun. The opportunity to take full ownership, learn new ways of doing things, succeeding, failing, persevering, leading, and everything else that comes with the territory is absolutely an amazing experience and fully gratifying. – John Levitt, Director of Sales & Marketing RelatedA new poll finds President Obama opening up a commanding 11-point lead in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. A Philadelphia Inquirer poll released on Saturday shows Obama with 50 percent support to Romney’s 39 among likely voters in the state. Obama has expanded his 8-point lead in the same poll taken last month, where he topped Romney with 51 percent to 42. ADVERTISEMENT Among independent voters, Obama leads the GOP Nominee by 47 percent to 36. He also holds a sizeable lead among female voters 52 to 39 and is ahead among men 46 to 40. Obama still holds a net positive rating with 56 percent surveyed holding a favorable view to 40 unfavorable. Romney is underwater, with 48 percent favorable to 46 unfavorable. With under two months left before the election, the poll’s results show an uphill climb for the Romney campaign in Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, the Romney team began rolling out a series of ads in key battleground states but have dropped earlier ad campaigns in Pennsylvania. A report from the AP said the campaign last advertised in the state in early April, when Romney was competing in the GOP primaries against former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Santorum has since endorsed Romney. In a report in USA Today last week, a spokesman for Crossroads GPS, a conservative outside spending group led by former President Bush strategist Karl Rove, also said that Pennsylvania was “not part” of the PACs campaign strategy. The poll also asked voters for the first time for their views on the candidates’ religion. While more than two-thirds of respondents at 68 percent knew Romney was a Mormon, there was wider confusion about the president’s religion. Twenty-nine percent correctly identified Obama as a protestant and 12 percent saying he was a Muslim. The poll was conducted from Sept. 9 to 12 and has a 4 point margin of error.TORONTO — Ontarians will start paying for the Liberal government's ambitious cap-and-trade program almost immediately after it comes into effect Jan. 1 with higher prices for gasoline and natural gas. The plan, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 15 per cent below 1990 levels within four years, will drive the price of gasoline up 4.3 cents per litre and increase the cost of home heating by up to $6.70 a month. In her 2016 annual report, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said households will pay an average of $156 next year in added costs because of cap and trade, rising to $210 in 2019 plus another $75 that year in indirect costs on goods and services. Under the plan, businesses will have limits — or caps — on the amount of pollution they can emit. Companies that exceed those limits — which will be reduced each year — can buy permits or allowances through government-run auctions or from other companies that come in under their limits. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk speaks during a news conference at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on June 8, 2016. However, there will be major exemptions in the first four years, with some of Ontario's largest companies — such as Essar Steel Algoma Inc. in Sault Ste. Marie, Vale Canada's nickel refinery in Sudbury, Petro-Canada Lubricants in Mississauga and Imperial Oil's chemical plant in Sarnia — given free allocations. The New Democrats said giving big industry "a four-year holiday'' creates the perception of unfairness, but Environment and Climate Change Minister Glen Murray defended the exemptions. "The free allocations are to protect Ontario jobs in industries that are competing with jurisdictions without a carbon pricing system, and to recognize industries that have made significant emission reductions already and need time to invest in new technology,'' said Murray. "That $8 billion will be going back into the lives and pockets of Ontarians." Ontario hopes to raise $1.9 billion a year from cap-and-trade — $8 billion by the end of 2020 — and promises to spend all of it on programs that reduce emissions and help businesses and consumers adapt to a low-carbon economy. There will be subsidies to make homes and industries more energy efficient with solar electric systems, insulation, heat pumps and new windows, plus an existing $277-million program that provides generous rebates for electric vehicles. "That $8 billion will be going back into the lives and pockets of Ontarians,'' said Murray. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne looks on with Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray, after she made a climate change policy announcement at Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto on June 8, 2016. The Progressive Conservatives want a "revenue-neutral'' carbon tax, but leader Patrick Brown says they're still developing the policy and will have it released as part of their campaign platform for the 2018 election. "If it's really about the environment, it shouldn't be a revenue grab for government,'' said Brown. Murray said a carbon tax would cost consumers a lot more than an extra $13 a month for gasoline and home heating. "That would see gasoline spike by dollars,'' he warned. Murray said a carbon tax would also leave homeowners and businesses paying the entire cost of fighting climate change without financial help from the cap-and-trade revenues. The government insists "there will be no net increase to electricity prices because of cap and trade,'' but plans to use $1.32 billion of the revenues it generates to offset its impact on electricity bills, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the process. Bills to rise 23 per cent by 2020 The auditor general, however, said residential electricity bills will still rise by 23 per cent and industrial bills by 14 per cent by 2020, just slightly less than they would have risen without the $1.32 billion from cap and trade. "The plan claims that the pricing subsidy will result in a three mega tonne estimated GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) reductions in 2020, but without specifying any credible mechanism to achieve these results,'' wrote Lysyk. "The proposed subsidy will not meet any of the key policy objectives for effective emission reductions.'' Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announces Ontario's Five Year Climate Action Plan in Toronto on June 8, 2016. In 2017, only companies operating in Ontario will be able to participate in the quarterly cap-and-trade auctions — the first one is expected in March. Starting in 2018, Ontario will join the existing Quebec and California cap-and-trade market. Lysyk predicted Ontario would reduce its emissions by only 20 per cent of its 2020 target, with the other 80 per cent being reduced in California and Quebec, which have been holding joint cap-and-trade auctions since 2014. She said businesses in the province would be more likely to buy allowances rather than pay for the more expensive equipment needed to actually reduce their emissions. "Ontario businesses will pay approximately $466 million for Quebec and California allowances by the end of 2020, money that will leave the Ontario economy,'' she said. "This could rise to $2.2 billion in 2030.'' However, Murray said the plan includes other ways to reduce greenhouse gases, such as increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road and giving financial help to the home-building, forestry and cement sectors to adopt more energy-efficient practices and materials. "Cap and trade will achieve nothing, at enormous cost.'' "If you didn't spend the $8 billion and you didn't do it along the kind of program lines we're doing, most of those emissions (reductions) would be outside of Ontario,'' he said. The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, which calls the plan a "cap-and-trade tax,'' said the auditor's report was proof the program is a failure before it even starts. "Kathleen Wynne is claiming political credit for emission reductions in California and Quebec and counting those reductions towards her goal because she linked the province into a carbon market,'' said CTF Ontario director Christine Van Geyn."Cap and trade will achieve nothing, at enormous cost.'' Also on HuffPostPavel Grigorievich Sheremet (Russian: Павел Григорьевич Шеремет, Belarusian: Павел Рыгоравіч Шарамет, 28 November 1971 – 20 July 2016) was a Belarusian-born Russian and Ukrainian journalist who was imprisoned by the government of Belarus in 1997, sparking an international incident between Belarus and Russia. The New York Times has described him as "known for his crusading reports about political abuses in Belarus"[1] and "a thorn in the side of Lukashenko's autocratic government".[2] He was awarded the Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award in 1999 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Prize for Journalism and Democracy in 2002. Pavel Sheremet died in Kyiv on 20 July 2016 in a car explosion.[3][4] The Ukraine Prosecutor's Office have said the explosion was caused by a bomb and labelled the death of Sheremet a murder.[5] Biography [ edit ] Early career [ edit ] From 1994 to April 1995, Sheremet was the anchor and producer of Prospekt, a weekly news and analysis program on Belarus state television. The program was banned by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko one week before a referendum to increase the president's powers.[6] Sheremet then became editor-in-chief of the Belarusian newspaper Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta. The same year, he also began working for the Russian public television company ORT, and was named its Minsk bureau chief in 1996.[6] Because of increasing control of Belarusian media by the Lukashenko government, Russian television was often the primary resource of Belarusian citizens for alternative news.[6] Border-crossing incident [ edit ] On 22 July 1997, Sheremet, along with an ORT cameraman and their drivers, filmed himself crossing illegally from Belarus to Lithuania and back again to show the ease with which smugglers could cross the border. Lukashenko's government was in the midst of an anti-smuggling initiative, and had only recently ordered new troops to the borders. Sheremet and his companions were detained by a border patrol after jumping a fence to film unguarded areas.[6] Sheremet and one crew member, Dmitry Zavadsky, were later charged with illegal border crossing, "exceeding their professional rights as journalists", and participating in a conspiracy.[6] Russian authorities protested the arrests, which led to what BBC News called a "public row" between the two nations.[7] Yeltsin canceled a planned trip for Lukashenko to visit Moscow after he was already on his way; his plane was denied entry into Russian airspace.[2][8] On 18 January 1998, Sheremet and Zavadsky were sentenced to two years' imprisonment and 18 months' imprisonment, respectively,[8] but given suspended sentences and a "nominal" fine of $15 USD.[9] Further journalistic career [ edit ] In November 1997, Sheremet was one of the signatories of Charter Ninety-Seven, a pro-democracy manifesto demanding an end to "the infringement of basic human rights and liberties by the administration of President Alexander Lukashenko". Sheremet also acted as the movement's spokesman.[10] In 1999, he conducted a rare television interview with Naina Yeltsina, which The New York Times criticized as "indulgent" and "[doing] its best to present Mrs. Yeltsin in a sympathetic light"; Sheremet's station ORT was largely controlled by oligarch Boris A. Berezovsky, a Yeltsin ally.[1] Sheremet's partner and former co-defendant Dmitry Zavadsky disappeared on 7 July 2000, failing to arrive for a meeting at the Minsk airport with Sheremet. Sheremet accused the Belarusian authorities of having arranged his forced disappearance in retaliation for his reporting,[11] later alleging that he had been informed of government "death squads" by former Belarusian General Prosecutor Oleg Bazhelko.[12] Zavadsky was declared legally dead in 2003.[13] In 2012 Sheremet started working at the Internet newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth), where he launched a journalistis blog. In 2015 he led a programme Ukrainian radio programme "Radio "Visti" [uk], first on weekends in the program "Show of Pavel Sheremet»,[14] and then on weekdays in the "Morning of Pavel Sheremet".[15] Sheremet resigned from the Public Television of Russia (OTR) in July 2014, saying that journalists who didn't follow the "style of Kremlin propaganda" while covering the ongoing crisis in Ukraine were "hounded".[16] He was a critic of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, of Russian President Vladimir Putin and, later, of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, as well as a personal friend of assassinated Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.[5][17][18] He publicly criticized the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.[5] In his last blog post, on 17 July 2016, he worried that today's Ukrainian politicians who are former members of Ukrainian volunteer battalions could attempt a coup in Ukraine, and accused them of being above the law and having alliances with crime syndicates.[19] Personal life [ edit ] Sheremet was married with two children, a son and a daughter.[5] In his final years he lived with Olena Prytula in Kyiv. Death [ edit ] Sheremet died in a car explosion in downtown of Kyiv (Shevchenko Raion), on 20 July 2016. Several reports refer to the explosion as a car bomb, and Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko described it as a murder.[3][20][21][22] He was in a red Subaru XV[20] that belonged to his common-law wife [23][24] and partner, the former editor-in-chief of Ukrayinska Pravda, Olena Prytula. She was not in the car at the time.[25] According to Novaya Gazeta, Sheremet and Prytula had recently told friends they were under surveillance.[5] Immediately following his death, an official from Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs said "We cannot rule out the possible participation of the Russian special services in this crime".[5] Sheremet was buried in Minsk on 23 July 2016.[26] The day before a procession through Kyiv was held for him attended by friends, colleagues, lawmakers, and government officials—among them President Petro Poroshenko.[26] External video "Killing Pavel", a documentary produced by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and its Ukrainian partner, Slidstvo.Info, YouTube video An independent investigation by journalists which was published as online documentary has revealed severe shortcomings in the official investigation and has implicated involvement of the Security Service of Ukraine.[27] Reaction [ edit ] The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called Sheremet's death a "terrible tragedy".[28] The Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called the death of Sheremet "terrible news" in a statement on Facebook.[20] Awards and recognition [ edit ] In 1995, the Belarus PEN Center gave Sheremet its Adamovich Prize, naming him the best television reporter in Belarus.[6] In November 1998, Sheremet was awarded the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists,[6] "an annual recognition of courageous journalism".[29] Because Sheremet was denied permission to travel to New York City to attend the scheduled ceremony with fellow winners Ruth Simon, Goenawan Mohamad, Gustavo Gorriti, and Grémah Boucar, the CPJ held a special ceremony in Minsk on 8 December to present his award.[30] On 22 April 2002, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly announced Sheremet as the winner of its 2002 Prize for Journalism and Democracy, which he would share with Austrian television journalist Friedrich Orter, cited for his human rights reporting in the Balkans and Afghanistan. The award cited the pair as having "promoted OSCE principles on human rights, democracy and the unimpeded flow of information". The two split a $20,000 USD prize.[31] Bibliography [ edit ] Piterskie tayny Vladimira Yakovleva (Russian), Hardcover – 2005, Biography of Vladimir Anatolyevich Yakovlev Sluchaynyy prezident (Politicheskiy portret) (Russian) Hardcover – 2003, Biography of Alexander Lukashenko See also [ edit ]James Scott, senior fellow, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology http://federalnewsradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/072716_James_Scott_web.mp3 Social media might be the best innovation of the century. But anyone can use it, including terrorists groups. A phenomenon called the “cyber caliphate” is producing ever-rising levels of cyber-attacks and real-world violence as it attracts would-be terrorists and rapidly radicalizes them. “The weaponization of social media offers wound collectors and these psychologically fractured social outcasts an invitation to self-radicalize that almost expedites their path to jihadization,” said James Scott, senior fellow at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. “The thing that’s unique about cyber space is it offers a platform through this virtual, subliminal jihadization, and its a process. This is an ideological battle just as much about hearts and minds as it is to expand the Islamic State.” Advertisement Scott co-wrote “The Anatomy of Cyber-Jihad” which analyses how extremist terror groups, like al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Islamic State are teaching themselves how to hack to get the one-up on their enemies. Scott said “self-radicalization” through the internet happens in two stages: first when unstable individuals come into contact with jihadist rhetoric through social media, and then later delve into the deep web for full-on terrorist activity. “On the surface web, you have twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo—and these are solid entry points for someone that’s currently in a self-radicalizing stage, but ready to zero in on something. That’s when the jihadis get them,” he said. “The deep web is really where everything happens.” Critical infrastructure is one of the assets at risk for cyber attacks, and agencies and organizations need to start using the cyber tools available available to them to secure it. Scott said resources like the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s SP 800-160, which layers security design principles and concepts into systems of a cyber-physical world like car GPS and power grids. “We worked with them [NIST] to do an overview of those guidelines so we took 300-plus pages and consolidated to around 40 pages. The month that came out we received over 40,000 downloads, so CISOs are definitely looking for new standards,” he said. While Scott’s paper focuses on how the government can prevent hack-attacks from cyber jihadists, it also mentions how the government can actively combat terrorist groups online. “They [agencies] are going after their money, they’re going after their physical assets, taking over territory, but the thing is, for each of these actions there’s a reaction from their [terrorists] sides,” said Scott. “While cyber command will be in there shutting down or locking up…bank accounts, they [terrorist groups] are migrating over to crypto-currencies. As their surface web accounts are being shut down and monitored, they are moving towards dark web forums.” It’s a constant game of cat and mouse, and Scott stressed it’ll only get harder as terrorist groups use more sophisticated hacking methods like spear-phishing. “Phishing is the new fundraising mechanism substituting the 419 for ransomware,” he said. They’re not the type of spear phishing attacks with spelling errors. These are spear phishing attacks where they’ll send maybe three of four to an agency, and they’re just completely right-on.” Scott said agency employees and managers who fall for these attacks can use primitive methods like key logging to get access to everything from personal identifying information to proprietary plans for initiatives. “The human element will unfortunately continue to be the weakest element in cybersecurity,” he said. According to Scott, the most important aspect for agencies fighting cyber-jihadists is developing a long-term strategy where they’ll constantly need to adapt, since what worked today likely won’t work tomorrow. “The rules of engagement have changed. Cyberspace is definitely the new great equalizer. The internet of things is a new battlefield. Anonymizing tools are the new weapons of stealth. Malvertizing, malware, all these things are being used,” he said. “Zero day arsenals, that’s the new arms race
you want to do is to release your resistance against it. Basically, when you think of your current reality, it holds an emotional charge for you. The bigger that emotional charge, the bigger a player it is in creating your future reality. So, what you must do is to remove the emotional charge. Get to a place so that when you look at current reality, you simply feel at peace. You might think that is impossible, but I’ve demonstrated it over and over again. Check out last weekend’s Practical LOA webinar, where the client was able to remove a great deal of resistance from her current situation. When you use the techniques I’ve been writing about, your resistance will be released, and current reality will not have such a pull on you anymore. In particular, work on simply accepting what is, including your feelings about what is. Make everything just be okay right here in the moment, even your resistance against it. The more you simply allow, the more you’ll let go of the subconscious beliefs that have kept this active in your outer reality. Don’t Be Afraid of Your Thoughts Your thoughts hold no power over you, unless you resist them. Thoughts, once allowed, have no power to create in your reality. In a state of complete allowing, you are God over your universe. Your intentions are made manifest very quickly. But, if your resist your thoughts and feelings, then you have made them master over you. You then have no power, except to allow. As LOA practitioners, we tend to give a lot of power to our thoughts. But they really have none, when fully allowed to flow through your awareness. What has power is your intention. Your intention sets universal forces into motion that will quickly bring your manifestation to you, so long as you do not hold resistance against it. So, take time and purposely remind yourself that there is no need to fear your thoughts. Having a thought about being poor will not condemn you to a life of poverty. It’s just energy. And if you fully allow it, it’ll simply flow through. And the more you allow it, the weaker the underlying belief becomes, too. So the next time the thought comes up, it won’t hold so much trepidation for you. Just allow, and let go. This is the best and most beneficial thing you can do for yourself. Just allow and let go. Then, gently set the intention of the reality you want to create. Don’t Obsess Over Your Problem I also don’t want your ego to use this advice as an opportunity to now obsess over your problem, and think about it all day long. See, the common advice of LOA teachers is partially true, as I said above. The part where it is true is that once you release the resistance, you really won’t think about this “problem” anymore. You’ll simply let it go from your conscious awareness. But, there is a difference between simply letting something go, and pushing it away so you can pretend it doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, most people do the latter. They refuse to think about the issue, but meanwhile it is getting bigger and bigger in their subconscious. So the common advice of “ignore what is”, is more of an end-result than an actionable step. How can you possibly ignore what is unless you have released your resistance against it? I’ll demonstrate this principle for you now: Let’s take your computer as an example. Notice that you really don’t think about the computer itself very often. You might think about going on the computer, checking your email, surfing the web, etc. But how often do you think about the computer itself? Now, if you started to have a fear that any day now, your computer was going to fail in some way—maybe get a virus, the hard drive become corrupted, or something else—now how often would you think about it? Likely, every waking moment. You’d think about all the possibilities. What would you do if it didn’t work anymore? You’d think about how much you rely on it. You’d get angry for it not lasting. You might be anxious about finding the money to repair it, or get a new computer. And, the more you think about it, with this resistance in place, the bigger that subconscious belief becomes. But, if somehow that fear was dispelled, you’d return back to barely ever thinking about your computer. Now transfer this example to your problem of choice. Maybe it’s money for you. Think about how much time you spend fearing the worst. But if that resistance were released, how much would you then think about it? Probably barely ever, and if you did, it would be in a light, positive way. Now, coming back to the computer example, how useful would it be if I came up to you and said, “Just ignore your computer problem.” You might try, but that fear would still be in the back of your mind, festering. That’s exactly how every other issue is, too. So, release the resistance. But, don’t tell your mind what it should or shouldn’t focus on. That’s just adding more resistance to the mix. Just fully allow everything that comes, whether that’s a thought of poverty, or endless riches. All thoughts should be allowed to simply pass through, with neither grasping nor pushing away. Neither cling to the thought of wealth, nor push away the thought of poverty. Neither cling to the thought of a happy relationship, nor push away the thought of loneliness or an unhappy relationship. Neither cling to the thought of health, nor push away the thought of sickness. This is Peace. And in this state, you can manifest anything. So, face reality head-on. Let it be an opportunity to dig up those old subconscious beliefs, and simply allow them fully. Thank your current reality for the opportunity to do some clean-up in your subconscious mind, because it’s only by letting go of these beliefs that you can hope to make room for better. Free Help for Manifesting Your Desires If you’d like help with releasing resistance, or understanding how the law of attraction works, I am now beginning a free weekly support call. It is for anyone who wants to debug their manifestations, release their resistance, seek spiritual freedom, develop their intuition, or anything related. The first one is being held tomorrow evening (Tuesday, August 16) at 8:30 PM US Eastern. Just click below to learn more and sign up: Click Here to Register for the Weekly Spiritual Freedom Support Call How About You? Now it’s your turn. What’s your approach to dealing with apparent problems? Are you able to face reality as-is, or do you have a case of what-is-itis? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. [mbr_form form_id=”1″ exclude_tags=”1″] What Lies Beyond the Law of Attraction? What if the LOA isn't enough? Enter your info to get my free e-course, What Lies Beyond the Law of Attraction? Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Like this: Like Loading...The Andalucians led up until the final minute when Sergio Ramos forced extra time, and their debutant trainer believed that they needed to make their superiority count Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli said his side failed to consolidate their second-half dominance before going down 3-2 to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup. Dani Carvajal struck the winning goal in extra time against a 10-man Sevilla, who were just seconds away from sealing a 2-1 win in regulation time on Tuesday. Marco Asensio gave Madrid the lead midway through the first period but Sevilla struck back thanks to Franco Vazquez, before Yevhen Konoplyanka put Sampaoli's side ahead via the penalty spot in the 72nd minute. But, just like he did against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in 2014, Ramos struck in stoppage time to send the game into an extra 30 minutes, where Carvajal produced a moment of brilliance to seal Madrid's first silverware of the season. Sampaoli was left proud of his side's effort in the end, but lamented their inability to add to their dominance in the second period of the clash at the Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim, Norway. "We lacked the ability to consolidate the large dominance of the second half, to transform any chances we had into more and be more forceful," the Argentine said after his first competitive game as Sevilla boss. "When you're not able to score, the opponent with the players it has can damage you, and they made the most of their virtues." He added: "I am proud of the game, in the short time working together we showed bravery, and the way we played against the European champions was exciting for me, I appreciate it a lot." Despite missing out on silverware in the first game of the season, Sevilla have the chance to hit back in the two-legged Supercopa de Espana against Barcelona, which begins at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday. "We had to cut short [pre-season] to prepare for this game, but now we have another two to win a trophy before the [LaLiga] season starts," Sampaoli concluded.UPDATE, 7.07 p.m. W. Kamau Bell says he is committed to attending the open meeting on race, and happy that BUSD stepped up to organize it. “I will be there. And my wife and kids will be there. This is about our families,” he said. Bell, who was out of town working when he spoke to Berkeleyside, said that as “a black comedian who talks about race,” his schedule is very busy this month, but that he is determined to be present at the forum. He added: “We never called for anyone to be fired.” He said he was aware of many of the new details reported by Berkeleyside today, and had talked to Elmwood Café owner Michael Pearce today to stress that he would be at the forum. ORIGINAL STORY: The Elmwood Café employee who was fired after making a remark that was construed as racist did not just tell the comedian W. Kamau Bell to “scram,” or words to that effect. A customer had approached her to report that a man outside was harassing customers, which prompted her to tap on the window and indicate to Bell to “stop selling.” But even though her words, which were likely not heard by Bell, were less inflammatory than the comedian recounted on his website, the employee was fired because she did not try to solve the problem or report it to management, according to Michael Pearce, the owner of the café. The new details of the Jan. 26 encounter between Bell and the Elmwood Café employee came to light just as Pearce was making arrangements for a community forum on race in response to the incident. The Berkeley Unified School District has offered to host the open meeting, which will discuss race issues. BUSD reached out to Pearce and said they would be happy to organize the meeting that Pearce had suggested to Bell be held. They spoke after Bell wrote on his blog about his experience of being asked to leave the Berkeley coffee shop. In his Jan. 29 post, which went viral, Bell described how an employee of the Elmwood Café at 2900 College Ave. told him to “scram,” or words to that effect while he was talking to his white wife and her friends at one of its outdoor tables. W. Kamau Bell, a Berkeley resident who performs regularly in Bay Area comedy clubs, said he was shocked when the employee tapped on the window from inside the café and indicated that he should leave the area. The employee apparently thought Bell might be trying to sell something. Bell said he was holding a laptop and showing a newly purchased book to one of his wife’s friends at the time. “It is the definition of prejudice,” Bell told Berkeleyside. “They looked at me, they judged me against other people, an idea they had in their head about what a person like me is going to do, and then they acted in stupidity and ignorance.” Pearce, who first heard about the incident when he read Bell’s blog post, reached out to the comedian and they agreed a public forum to address issues of race would be an appropriate step. At Bell’s suggestion, Pearce has also recently met with Race Forward, an organization devoted to advancing racial justice. BUSD Superintendent Donald Evans, after hearing about what happened, and observing the significant online debate about the incident (which includes more than 670 comments on Berkeleyside’s story), saw the value of a discussion being held at a Berkeley school, according to BUSD spokesperson Mark Coplan. “This is an important issue and we can provide a neutral place for a discussion which can be educational for our students,” said Coplan. Planning for the meeting is in the preliminary stages, but it will likely take place at Willard Middle School this month, Coplan said. It will be modeled on the BUSD-organized Black Lives Matter forum held on Dec. 17, 2014 which saw a panel of experts, including Pastor Michael McBride of The Way Christian Center, Berkeley Technology Academy principal Sheila Quintana, and Berkeley High Black Student Union President Kadijah Means discuss the local community response to the Ferguson and New York police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Pearce said he welcomed BUSD’s offer, and that the forum would be a great learning experience for him and the café, as well as the students and others who attend. “As a small business owner we want to listen and learn,” he said. “I’m not an expert.” Pearce said he expected Bell to participate. On Wednesday, Pearce spoke more about what he understood happened on Monday Jan. 26 that triggered Bell’s blog post and the subsequent outcry. Pearce was not at the café at the time. Neither was the restaurant’s manager, Kara Hammond, who was dealing with a family crisis. Both were made aware of the incident only after Bell wrote about it three days later. A customer approached a cafe employee and told her somebody was harassing customers at the café’s outdoor tables, said Pearce. That led the employee to look through the window, see Bell, and tap on the window. The employee then motioned to Bell through the window and said “no selling.” (Bell described this as being asked to “scram,” “git” or words to that effect.) It was another employee who then went outside to deliver food to customers and, on seeing that the Bell group was upset, engaged with Bell and his wife. The employee said she didn’t believe the action of her colleague was race-related. That employee was on a three-hour try-out, a customary practice for all potential new hires at the Elmwood Café, Pearce said. She was not hired. Asked why he had fired the first employee who gestured at Bell, Pearce said there were several reasons. “First, if a customer who comes to our café feels truly unwelcome, then that’s a problem,” he said. Secondly, he continued, the employee did not make any effort to solve the problem. The third reason, he said, was because it was her responsibility to report the incident and she did not do so. Pearce decided the employee should not continue working at the Elmwood Café. Berkeleyside will provide details of the BUSD-organized open meeting when they are available. Related: Comedian W. Kamau Bell reports being victim of racism at Berkeley’s Elmwood Café (01.29.15) Berkeley Unified holds Black Lives Matter forum (12.22.14) Follow Berkeleyside on Twitter and on Facebook where we often break news. Email us at tips@berkeleyside.com. Would you like the latest Berkeley news sent to your email inbox once a day? Click here to subscribe to Berkeleyside’s free Daily Briefing.This article is over 6 years old Activist accuses police of racism after they injured two teenagers in stolen car that mounted pavement and hit two women Civil liberties groups have called for an independent inquiry into the shooting of two Aboriginal teenagers in Sydney's busy Kings Cross nightlife area at the weekend. Police shot the teenagers, aged 14 and 18, when the stolen vehicle they were driving mounted a crowded pavement in the early hours of Saturday morning, hitting two women. Four other males, aged 13, 14, 16 and 24, were in the back seat and not hurt. Graphic mobile phone footage showed the violent arrest of one of the teenagers. He was dragged out of the car, handcuffed and held face down on the pavement, while bleeding heavily. The incident sparked protests at a rally outside the New South Wales state parliament on Tuesday. At the rally, Aboriginal activist Graham Merrit accused the police of racism over the shooting. "It's time to stand up all you young fellas and be counted. Don't let this happen to you any more," he told the ABC. Another well-known Aboriginal figure, Anthony Mundine, also at the rally, condemned the shooting. "I feel that it's brutality at its best. Who shoots teenage kids, unarmed, cornered, trapped, ready to be arrested?" he said. Police have launched an internal investigation into the shooting, which will look at whether officers were right to open fire on the car. The New South Wales police minister, Mike Gallacher, defended the action. "Cops had seconds to make a decision. If someone's not going to stop the car … and you've got a young woman on the front of the vehicle, you know, until such times as shown otherwise, I'm going to back the cops," he said. Gallacher said he was confident the matter would be properly investigated. But David Bernie, the vice-president of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, said an independent inquiry must take place. "Otherwise this is really just the police investigating the police and we don't think that's satisfactory when there's a real issue of public safety involved," he said. "My main concern is the discharge of firearms in such a public place." Bernie said the incident called into question police training and why officers did not shoot at the wheels of the car instead of its occupants. He also said the shooting risked inflaming already tense relations between police and the city's Aboriginal community. Both teenagers shot in the incident remain in hospital. The incident followed the death of a 21-year-old Brazilian last month after police shot him with a stun gun.Wine Poached Pears with Goat Cheese and Endive It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a recipe. Life’s been throwing a bunch of busy-fying things my way (good things!), and I’ve fallen behind on the blogging front. I’ll tell you more about it soon, but in the meantime I hope you’ll bear with me as I try to reconfigure my juggling strategy. 😉 Anyway, wine poached pears! The first time I encountered wine poached pears was in dessert form. I never put any thought into different applications for it until earlier this year when I encountered wine poached pears in a savory hors d’oeuvre at The Village Pub. Mind blown. I knew I had to do my own take on it. I love the mix of savory and sweet that I ended up with. The pears are poached in red wine with a bit of clove, giving them a hint of mulled wine flavor. No added sugar, of course, because the pears themselves are plenty sweet enough for this application. Next came the hand to mouth delivery vehicle – endive. Fresh and crunchy with just a hint of bitterness to counter the sweet pears. And finally, the cheese. I experimented with different kinds and finally settled on herbed goat cheese (chevre) as my favorite. The herbs played well with the mulled wine-like pears while the chevre helped anchor the savory aspect of the dish. Such a winning combo. If you can’t get your hands on herbed chevre, go for the plain stuff and top with your favorite fresh herbs. Wine Poached Pears with Goat Cheese and Endive Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 25 mins Author: Joy @ The Joyful Foodie Serves: serves 6-8 Ingredients 1 cup red wine 2-4 bay leaves 8-10 whole cloves 3 pears ¼ lb soft goat cheese 2 small heads of endive Instructions Peel and dice pears. Place pears, wine, bay leaves and cloves in a small saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Cut the bottom off the endive heads and separate the leaves. Spoon a couple teaspoons of pears into each leaf and top with goat cheese. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.3.3077 Have you ever had wine poached pears in a savory dish? So you’re a fellow foodie? Come connect with me! Facebook \| Pinterest \| Twitter \| Instagram \| Google+ Feeling fruity? 😉[JURIST] A US military judge ruled Tuesday that the pre-trial punishment of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning [advocacy website; JURIST news archive], who is accused of leaking confidential documents to WikiLeaks [website; JURIST news archive], was illegal and excessive. Army Colonel Denise Lind, who is overseeing the pre-trial hearing, determined that the extended solitary confinement and suicide restraints used on Manning during his detention at a Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va. were “more rigorous than necessary” and that any sentence levied upon Manning will be reduced by 112 days [AP report] to reflect the abuses of his detention. Lind ruled that though the punishment was illegal it did not warrant having the charges against him thrown out of court. During his detention Manning was kept alone in a windowless cell for 23 hours per day and that was bound within a “suicide smock” to restrict his physical movement. Lawyers for the government had conceded that Manning had been held seven days too long in suicide watch status and recommended that any sentence be mitigated by seven days to reflect that abuse. Thus far Manning has spent 959 days in pretrial detention. Manning’s case has engendered a great deal of controversy. In November the judge overseeing the case accepted a partial guilty plea offered by Manning [JURIST reports] earlier in the month. In August JURIST guest columnist Philip Cave argued that the lack of transparency [JURIST comment] in Manning’s case undermines the validity of the eventual verdict. In June Lind ordered the prosecution to submit to her a number of files that were allegedly withheld from the defense during discovery [JURIST report]. Earlier in June Lind denied a motion [JURIST report] to dismiss eight of the 22 charges against Manning after his defense had argued they were unconstitutionally vague. In May UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez accused the US government of cruel and inhuman treatment [JURIST report] of Manning. The US military court referred Manning’s case for court-martial in February after a US Army panel of experts declared Manning competent to stand trial [JURIST reports] last April.A pair of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria, in this U.S. Air Force handout photo taken early in the morning of September 23, 2014. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Matthew Bruch/Handout WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted two dozen strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Thursday in the U.S.-backed coalition's latest daily assault on the militant group, according to a U.S. military statement. Nineteen strikes near nine Iraqi cities hit numerous IS tactical units and fighting positions, as well as a headquarters and improvised explosive device factory, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations said in the statement released on Friday. In Syria, five strikes near three cities hit an Islamic State gas and oil separation plant, among other targets, the statement said. (Reporting by Washington newsroom; Editing by Alan Crosby)The Crows have completed their final competitive hit-out before the NAB Challenge. The Adelaide squad was split into two even teams for match simulation at training on Friday. A number of young players impressed during the hit-out in warm conditions at AAMI Stadium. Second-year forward Mitch McGovern finished with four goals to be the leading scorer. Captain Taylor Walker and his lookalike Keenan Ramsey each kicked two goals on opposing teams, while midfielders Richard Douglas and Rory Atkins also slotted two goals apiece. Rookie Jono Beech presented strongly in the attacking half, while Kyle Cheney and Jake Lever were strong in defence. Midfielders Scott Thompson, Brad Crouch, Matt Crouch and Cam Ellis-Yolmen won some nice clearances, working at the feet of Sam Jacobs, Reilly O’Brien, Luke Lowden and also rookie Paul Hunter. Recruits Paul Seedsman and Troy Menzel, and untried left-footer Harrison Wigg also showed off their neat kicking skills. See all the photos from Friday's session Crows Head of Football David Noble said the coaching staff were happy with the session. “It was good for the boys to have another solid hit-out before the start of the NAB Challenge next week,” Noble said. “It’s always a bit hard to judge when you’re playing against yourselves, but we saw some things we really liked as well as some areas we still need to improve on over the coming month. “It was especially pleasing to see some of our first and second-year players perform well today.” The Crows will kick off their NAB Challenge campaign against West Coast at Unley Oval on Sunday, February 21. Ticketing information is available here.Shirtless lucha libre Mexican wrestlers diving into bed are part of a colorful new print ad campaign promoting “health and sex” for Gilead Sciences, the pharma maker of HIV prevention drug Truvada. “The imagery is intended to be inclusive of our key audiences and to communicate, playfully, the idea of aspiring to have a healthy sexual relationship. Young Black and Latino men, as well as trans women, are among the populations we are trying to reach, as HIV disproportionately impacts these communities,” Gilead’s Ryan McKeel tells Queerty. Although the unbranded ads from Digitas Health Life Brands don’t mention Truvada — the only approved HIV preventative drug used in Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) — they advocate knowing your “prevention options” and encourage a visit to HealthySexuals.com, which links to Tumblr “for easy sharing, engagement and commenting,” McKeel says. Meanwhile, in January the Los Angeles LGBT Center plastered billboards with a more bluntly worded message, “Fk w/out Fear. PrEP here.” The billboard follows a similar 2015 poster campaign in Australia from Melbourne activists with the message, “You can fk raw. PrEP works. No more HIV.” Launched in the US in August 2004, Truvada is now a blockbuster drug with annual domestic sales of $2.4 billion, but it has had little branded advertising support. Gilead started supporting Truvada with advertising late last year, but print ads contained little imagery other than the blue pill. A new, branded “Truvada for PrEP” campaign is expected to launch this summer, McKeel adds. After the Centers for Disease Control endorsed PrEP in 2014, PrEP therapy has been marketed by state, city and county health departments because the drug has proven effective in driving down the rate of HIV infections dramatically. Last year, New York City’s health department introduced its second PrEP and condoms campaign, called “We Stay Sure” and featuring diverse couples. Ads still appear prominently in Times Square, on city buses and elsewhere. NYC’s first PrEP ads were introduced in 2014 under the theme “We share everything but HIV.” Earlier, Gilead supported a 2015 video campaign from Public Health Solutions called Time2PrEP that included a young man who proudly proclaims his adherence to PrEP and his passion for gay sex (Truvada is not mentioned). Another 2015 awareness campaign from Gilead emphasized 50,000 people every year contract HIV and dramatically illustrated the number with a baseball stadium, 150 jumbo jets and 500 Ferris wheels. It included a male couple holding hands and mentions that “treatment can help stop the virus” or that “you can protect yourself from the virus” if you don’t have it. Michael Wilke has covered LGBT issues in advertising since 1992. He is the founder of Commercial Closet/AdRespect.org, and Senior US Consultant for LGBT marketing and diversity firm Out Now.That’s right kids, it’s APZDTISA time again! Better known within more informal circles as ‘Ask Project Zomboid Developers The Indie Stone – Anything! First though, we have exciting developments afoot. So… Multiplayer! In case you didn’t spot it, over the weekend, we’ve finally put out the first ever online version of Project Zomboid out to the public! We snuck it out to get the worst of the issues resolved before the Mondoid, and early indications are really promising! There’s people running Roleplay servers, PVP servers, public and private. Mostly everything is functional, from farming to carpentry (though there are likely bugs still) and people are having a great time! In the short term until we add trapping, hunting and some other late game features (that are on their way!) it can become a little difficult when joining a server that’s already had 100 people in the past 2 days stripping Muldraugh clean, so server ops may be tempted to reset the world fairly regularly until then. There’s plenty of balancing and bugfixing still to do but what’s there feels pretty complete! The multiplayer version is currently in its own Steam branch, so if you want a try then you’ll need to follow the instructions here! Remember you will need to have access to a server, which you can either set up yourself, or look around in the Servers forum for public ones you can join, or private ones you can apply for a user/pass for. Build 23 Released! We also released Build 23 proper this weekend to the stable Steam branch! This update is immense and fixes a ton of issues, as well as providing a significant FPS boost. You can read details on the build here. And so onto, APZDTISA 3! Q. Are mods supported in multiplayer? (vesainen) A. Not currently, but they will be. We need to work out a good system for syncing clients / servers mods and it is currently still up in the air as to the best way to do this. It’s certainly a must have feature though so we’ll make sure it gets there sooner rather than later. (Lemmy) Q. Hello! My question is: why LWJGL? I am an aspiring game developer, and I love java! Are their any reasons I should devote some of my time to learning how to use the library? (DuhbleB) A. We wanted to make the game in java to increase its portability, and LWJGL seemed like the best choice. We are very impressed with it and for all Lemmy’s java misgivings not one of them have been LWJGL related. Highly recommended! (Lemmy) Q. Have you tossed around the idea of some real survival tools recently? It’d be nice to see a machete, hatchet, and a combat knife/pocket knife since those are really the true basis of wilderness survival and still found commonly in or around the home. Curious to know if we’ll see anything like that soon. (Rathlord) Expanding the range of weapons/tools is definitely high up on the task list, if for no other reason than to make certain ‘essential’ survival items a bit less ludicrously scarce, particularly now we have MP servers where everything good gets immediately looted! In other words, having multiple objects which have the same function although with differing levels of effectiveness and endurance will not only open up gameplay, but will also provide variety. A hacksaw should not be your only method of turning a log into a plank, for example. (Andy) The survivalist stuff is something we’re planning on massively expanding going forward, especially due to the situation with food scarcity on multiplayer servers. First on the list is trapping. (Lemmy) As Lemmy say, more survival stuff is on our list, first the trapping. In a next update Trapping will be added, I already started to code it, but we have to focus on bugs! So, how it’ll work? You’ll have a new skill, trapping, you have to create different traps, using different skills (trapping and wood work), then place the trap somewhere, the zone is very important, you won’t catch a lot of rabbit in town zone, try to put your trap in forest, and then find the correct bait. Oh, and don’t forget to check every day if you caught something! Also the bait won’t be fresh forever! On a note, we can’t add Raccoon as animal… Really, who want to kill a Spiffo?! (Romain) Q) Romain, when will your fishing mod be incorporated into the game? (EnigmaGrey) We already talked about this with the team, and Mash already made some of the fishes and fishing equipement icons, so I need to re-code it to fit with this version, also add the multiplayer sync on top of it. But we probably need new animation for this, don’t expect it right now (trapping should be out sooner!). (Romain) Q. Are there any current gameplay mechanics/features that you intend to overhaul or modify significantly to make them different to how they are now? (Pintlasher) A. One that springs to mind is the health system. At the moment people are either scratched or bitten on a body part. We need to add stuff like infected wounds, broken bones, bullet wounds and other types of injury that behave differently. There’s a whole lot of depth we would like to add to the health system to make medical skills much more relevant to the game. (Lemmy) Q. Are NPC survivors in a nice-ish enough state that we could see some action of them? If they are, could we see it sometime soon? (Footmuffin) A. NPC work is always going on in the background, and we are gearing up with it all the time. But now these builds have gone out, we’ll be able to look into more focused development and get it out as soon as we can. Not going to lie though, it’s still not imminent. A big reason for this multiplayer push is ironically multiplayer has become a stop gap while the much more involved NPCs are implemented, despite us once thinking multiplayer would be the steepest hill to climb. NPCs have been tough, but one of the reasons people are looking forward to them so much is we’re trying to do something we’ve not seen done to this level so far, and it’s going to be a challenge until we get there. That said, people have seen the videos, and we know we’ll get it finished off. The problem with showing more videos of them in action is they get people hyped up, and unless they are around the corner (like MP was, once we finally came clean and announced it) just end up frustrating people when it is delayed. We’d rather try and keep the hype down until they are really close. (Lemmy) Q. Will there be new craftable items appearing soon? For example, traps, electric/electronic gadgets,wiring, carpentry items, and the like. (Rorschach) A. It’s not imminent, but we have big plans for all these. We want to ultimately end up with a circuit board like advanced crafting that you could connect different items with wire, making noise makers, security systems and so on. (Lemmy) Q. What wildlife can we eventually expect to encounter in the forests? Will we ever see birds and will they be huntable? (Viceroy) We’ve got a bunny being prepped for the game right now – the plan is to have as much of the wildlife you’d expect to see in the rural woods of Kentucky present in Zomboid. My cursory Google investigations in this area result in things like, the American Black Bear (woo!) and Red Bear, deer (multiple types), squirrel (roasted), elk, stuff like that. Birds are (slightly) problematic in-so-far as they fly, and sky isn’t something you tend to see in a top-down isometric game. That said, you could feasibly show ground shadows from overhead birds and birds have to land from time to time, so there are plenty of ways they could be added too. (Andy) Q. I know there are no vehicles, but why are there no garages? Where I’m from, every house has a garage. Is Kentucky different? (Mightylsis) A. To be entirely realistic, yes there should probably be more garages in Muldraugh (West Point has loads). However, due to the size of tiles, having a garage built into the house makes the houses look quite large, which didn’t fit the Muldraugh look we wanted and would also create less of a visual difference from other areas of the map. (Mash) Q. Are there any current mods that are being looked at to be brought into the game? (sfy) A. We have no immediate plans, these things just sometimes happen in certain circumstances, if its right for the game and right for the modder. It is something we’ve done before and would be open to it in the right circumstances. The erosion mod has certainly caught our eye! But it’s nice to have a mod scene and not just swallow up mods, so at the same time we don’t want to trample over other people’s pieces of Zomboid. (Lemmy) Q. The map tools for modders are amazing. It sounds like the upcoming NPC and metagame behavior will be somewhat map dependent (for example designating rooms in buildings, storylines, etc). Will there be map independent features of NPCs like AI behavior, canned dialogue, relationship status, etc.? Has Indie Stone considered releasing NPC tools for modders to create original NPCs or will these all function within the map tools? (Jatta Pake) Q. Also how complicated will it be for modders to add in custom npc content once their system is in place? A. Anything (apart from source code, decompiling aside) The Indie Stone have at their disposal, we would like for the modders to have! As far as NPCs there is only really one addition people will need to make to their maps (assuming the rooms etc in buildings are correct and the modders use tbx files, not tmx, for their buildings) and that is to ‘zone off’ parts of the map into ‘group of houses’ or ‘road’ segments, to give NPCs and zombie behaviours the concept of areas to allow for more intelligent AI and realistic zombie migrations. When the time comes though, it was only an hour or two work to do the entire of West Point. Mul
These tactics don’t just hurt men. They hurt the children and families of these men. They also create widespread corrosive cynicism about the family court and the efficacy of the justice system. Making men the default scapegoat for society’s ills is no different than making a minority or immigrant group the default scapegoat. It’s over broad, it’s unfair, it’s dishonest and it’s discrimination. It’s incredibly damaging to boys and young men, gender relations, relationships, families and “the best interests of the children.” And it gives predatory women a free pass. It’s necessary to recognize that male abuse exists. Such abuse happens every day, but this is not a conversation America is ready to have. As a result of that silence, we have an invisible epidemic. As a culture we lack the language to describe it, we can’t recognize it and we’re unwilling to confront the implications of it. This isn’t just a matter of a few women who manipulate the legal system in a family law case. There are two huge industries, the Family Law industry and the Domestic Violence industry, who have a strong financial motivation to perpetuate the myth that women are the only victims of abuse to the tune of well over $4 billion dollars a year (the $4 billion is just for the DV industry — I don’t know how much Family Courts and family law attorneys amass each year). When you combine our natural tendency to feel empathy for the suffering of women, society’s tendency to make women default victims and men default scapegoats, the double standards and gender biases of family court and the judiciary system, the financial incentives of individual divorce and custody cases and the enormous financial incentives of both the divorce and domestic violence industries, you get the mess we have today in which female predators masquerading as victims are rewarded while the real male victims and their children are being destroyed. To the “victim” go the spoils. Counseling with Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, PsyD Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, PsyD helps individuals work through their relationship and codependency issues via telephone or Skype. She specializes in helping men and women trying to break free of an abusive relationship, cope with the stress of an abusive relationship or heal from an abusive relationship. Coaching individuals through high-conflict divorce and custody cases is also an area of expertise. She combines practical advice, emotional support and goal-oriented outcomes. Please visit the Schedule a Session page for more information. Want to Say Goodbye to Crazy? Buy it HERE. Photo credits: image 1 image 2 image 3Over the weekend, Shohei Otani’s agent sent a memo to all 30 MLB teams requesting they write an explanatory letter detailing why their club is a fit for the Japanese superstar. It should include the following specifics: “An evaluation of Shohei’s talent as a pitcher and/or a hitter; “Player development, medical, training and player performance philosophies and capabilities; “Major League, Minor League, and Spring Training facilities; “Resources for Shohei’s cultural assimilation; “A detailed plan for integrating Shohei into the organization; “Why the city and franchise are a desirable place to play; “Relevant marketplace characteristics.” If we were writing the letter from the Blue Jays’ organization, this is what it would look like: Dear Shohei, We have been watching you play for the Nippon Ham Fighters for the past two years, sending a rotating group of 8-10 scouts and executives over to Japan to view your 26 starts during that time period. Over the course of our time watching you, we have fallen in love with your seemingly endless talent. Our scouts have said they have never seen anything like you on the diamond and that if you were a free agent on the open market, we’d feel comfortable giving you a contract matching the likes of Giancarlo Stanton – You’re worth it. Since overhauling our front office after the 2015 season, we have made a concerted effort to change how our organization handles player development and the off-field ways we can improve player performance. We have a dedicated staff that includes sports psychologists, nutritionists, and High Performance personnel, focused on squeezing every drop of talent out of our players and helping them take full advantage of their capabilities. Our medical staff is collecting new data every day to study how our players breakdown and recover and we believe that full integration and streamlining of our services will allow us to service our player’s health much better going forward, ensuring everybody stays on the field playing at the top of their game for as long as possible. In the 2016 amateur draft, one of our current top prospects told other teams not to draft him, for he would not sign with them, as he, Bo Bichette, was only interested in playing for the Blue Jays. When asked why, he said it was because the Blue Jays would allow him to be himself – without forcing him to change his quirky swing – and our player development philosophy was the best he could see in the league. Our facilities in Toronto are as good as they get across baseball. Our clubhouse is spacious, our training facilities have recently been upgraded or are in the process of being renovated to feature everything our high performance department requests, and our artificial turf playing surface at the Rogers Centre will allow you to play your home games on the same surface you are used to playing on at the Sapporo Domo in Hokkaido. Our minor league facilities are also top-notch, though because you will be coming straight to Toronto to play with the big league club, they are not as much as a concern. What will matter to you is our facilities in Dunedin, Florida, our Spring Training home since our inception. We have just entered an agreement with the City of Dunedin to renovate both of our properties in the city, which will be ready for the Spring of 2019. We are planning to make our Dunedin complex a year-round base for our club, and thus we will be designing and renovating the buildings to fit with all the newest technological advances in baseball conditioning and training as our high performance department requests. We feel you are a franchise talent and will be with us for many years to come, and thus if you would like anything particular in our new Spring Training home, you are invited to request we add it to our renovation plans. When it comes to your cultural assimilation, there is no organization better positioned to help you than the Blue Jays. Toronto is a diverse, cultural mosaic, composed of many different groups that come together to help each other live the best lives possible. The Japanese community in Toronto is rich and flourishing, with more than 20,000 Japanese-Canadians living in Toronto as of 2010. One of our fanbases’ most beloved icons is Munenori Kawasaki, who had a child in Toronto during his time with the club and will forever be in our Canadian hearts. If you haven’t yet spoken to him about his time in Toronto, we strongly suggest you reach out to him – He will only have words of praise for our city and franchise. As for how you’d fit on the roster, at the current moment we could use help at the front of the rotation and in the corner outfield spots and believe you are the perfect talent to help us get back to the playoffs like we did in 2015 and 2016. If you sign here, we will give you the Opening Day start as our ace, and will work with you to develop a healthy plan that allows you to play as a batter, both in the field and as a designated hitter, on days which you are not starting on the mound. We believe you have the talent to become the first successful two-way player in America in a very long time and we are committed to seeing your dream become a reality. The city is also a cultural beacon, with night life that is unrivaled in North America, featuring great restaurants, bars, museums, theaters, sporting events, and parks. You will feel right at home with us, and will never lack for an activity in one of the world’s most vibrant cities. However, the greatest thing about playing for the Blue Jays is that you are not just playing for a city, but as all of our alumni can attest to, you are playing for an entire country. All of Canada will have your back when you get on the mound and you step into the batter’s box. In 2016 and 2017 we led the American League in attendance and all of baseball in TV viewership, averaging over 900,000 and 700,000 viewers per game respectively, and your arrival will only further fan interest in the team. Toronto loves baseball when the product is enjoyable and you will be the most important figure in the city for six to seven months a year if you join our organization. As a foreigner coming to a new country, we cannot promise there will not be challenges. There always are when it comes to moving across the world to start a new job with new faces and new people, but we will provide help for you in every way imaginable to make your transition as smooth as possible. We want the best for you and feel that Toronto, and Canada, is the place where you will be able to have the brightest baseball career in the future and the happiest life when you’re not playing baseball. You will have every available option you could possibly want, and we will work tirelessly to make sure you are happy. Lastly, Donald Trump is President of the United States of America, but we are based in Canada. Sincerely, The Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club Lead photo via Prayitno and licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.Tom Gores built a private equity empire that made him rich enough to buy professional basketball’s Detroit Pistons and become a civic leader in Michigan. Now the billionaire’s firm has struck a deal to buy Securus Technologies Inc., a company that provides telephone services to Michigan prison inmates at rates of up to $22.56 for a 15-minute call. Critics say the lucrative venture could tarnish the image of the team owner who has won plaudits for returning the National Basketball Association Pistons to downtown Detroit and for helping to raise $10 million to help Flint, his boyhood home poisoned by lead in tap water. “It would fundamentally seem at odds with his and the Pistons’ best interests to be affiliated with a company like Securus,” said Aleks Kajstura, legal director of the Prison Policy Initiative that works to expose harms of mass incarceration. “Securus preys on the very community that the Pistons and Gores support.” Gores’ Platinum Equity asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve its purchase of closely held Securus for a reported $1.6 billion. The Dallas-based company provides phone service to 1.2 million inmates at facilities across the United States and Canada. Objections from the Prison Policy Initiative and other activists knocked the deal off a quick track for approval at the FCC. There’s no deadline for the agency act. The purchase “is a microcosm for everything that is wrong with the prison-industrial complex,” groups objecting to the sale told the FCC in a filing. The sale would bring the current owner, private equity firm Abry Partners, about $960 million more than it paid four years ago when it bought Securus for $640 million from yet another private equity firm. “They built it on the back of inmates and their families,” Lee Petro, a Washington-based attorney representing inmates’ families that object to the sale and other groups, said in an interview. “All of that money came from charging inmates and their families excessive rates.” The objections have nothing to do with the transaction, but are “simply part of petitioners’ broader campaign to change correctional policies they oppose,” Securus and Platinum said in a filing to the FCC. Dan Whelan, a spokesman for Platinum, and Kostas Sofronas, a spokesman for Boston-based Abry, didn’t return multiple telephone calls seeking comment. Nor did Russell Roberts for Securus. A message left on Gores’s voicemail was not returned. Neil Grace, an FCC spokesman, declined to comment. Gores, 52, founded Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Platinum Equity in 1995. He’s worth $3.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Platinum Equity now has more than $11 billion of assets under management and has a portfolio of about 30 operating companies that serve customers around the world, according to its FCC application. Gores was born in Israel and his family moved to Flint when he was a child. He graduated from Michigan State University. In 2011, he bought the Pistons and last year announced they would move back to downtown Detroit after leaving for the suburbs in 1988. He also pledged to raise $10 million to help Flint recover from having lead in its drinking water. Platinum and Securus say in filings one reason for the FCC to approve the deal is that the sale won’t change much. The same officers will run the company, and Securus “will continue to provide high-quality services to the same extent and at the same rate,” according to a May 11 application for deal approval. Securus has sidestepped a ban on charging to connect a call by setting a high rate for the first minute, according to the objecting groups represented by Petro. They include the Wright petitioners, named for a mother who sought lower rates to stay in touch with her incarcerated son, and seven other groups. Securus rejected the assertion. “Nowhere in the rules is there a requirement that all per-minute charges be equal,” the company said in their FCC filing. First-minute rate Securus and another firm, Global Tel*Link Corp., also owned by private equity, lead the inmate-calling industry. Prisoners are charged as much as $14 per minute, or 31 times the rate for calling Antarctica, according to a 2015 FCC order. Costs for families to stay in contact with imprisoned loved ones can mount to hundreds of dollars monthly. Companies bid to gain control of calls at a jail or prison, and then operate as “unchecked monopolists” that pay commissions back to the institutions, according to the FCC order. Prison officials have defended the commissions as paying for needed programs such as inmate recreation, jail maintenance and victim compensation funds. In 2015, the FCC, then led by Democrats, voted to limit rates on intrastate calls -- those that don’t cross a state line. Last month inmate-calling companies won a U.S. appeals court ruling voiding the limits. Judges acted after the new Republican majority at the FCC declined to defend the restrictions, saying the agency lacked authority. ‘Market failure’ The decision to stand aside drew congressional attention. What is the the logic "behind the FCC abandoning its defense of capping the cost of these calls, which often are dollars for minutes?” Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, asked Brendan Carr, the agency’s general counsel and a Republican nominee to a vacant commission seat, at a July 19 confirmation hearing. “There is a market failure,” Carr said. “The question is, how to go about solving that?” Republican FCC chairman Ajit Pai said at the hearing that he would welcome additional authority from Congress to address inmate phone rates. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said she wanted to “to rein in the often ridiculous prices prisoners and their families are forced to pay.” She introduced a bill days later to bolster FCC authority over prison calls, saying it would reduce recidivism by helping families keep in touch with imprisoned relatives. Duckworth’s bill gives the agency a framework for taking action, Yosef Getachew, a fellow at the Public Knowledge policy group, said in an email. “Without clear rules in place capping intrastate rates, families will continue to bear the high burden of staying connected with loved ones serving prison sentences,” Getachew said.This post continues a typology of Community of Christ historians currently working in the field. Continuing with the Biblical theme, this post considers historians running in different directions?the Jonahs running away from the tradition and the Pauls who have had their road to Damascus experience and changed allegiances. The Jonahs: Disillusioned Prophets These historians have typically been members born into the movement but have become burned out on the CofC for personal and professional reasons. Their scholarship on CofC history typically wanes with their inactivity, though, like the prophet in the Old Testament, they may end up doing more work even as they run away. Robert Bruce Flanders, author of the pathbreaking 1965 Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi left the movement in the 1970s and stopped publishing in the area of Mormon history until recently (2001 and beyond) giving some retrospective articles and talks about his journey as a scholar. Roger Launius has been the most visible national Community of Christ historian, and by far the most productive. He is also the best current representative of a?disillusioned historian.? The number of articles and books he has written is staggering?and in fields as diverse as Mormon history, space history (his day job as curator of the National Air and Space Museum), and baseball history. Launius was once called affectionately by Louis Midgley as?the only real historian the RLDS have.? (Gotta love Midgley!) While working on his PhD at LSU, Launius directed the RLDS summer guide program in Kirtland and was a guide at both Nauvoo and Kirtland as a student himself. Launius wrote the standard work on Joseph Smith III, co-edited two books on Nauvoo (Kingdom on the Mississippi Revisited and Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois), and a volume on Mormon dissenters, all of which I regularly use in teaching or scholarship. Launius displays an RLDS tendency to be far more critical of Joseph Smith, Jr. than many LDS authors, and he has no bones about showing the disastrous, nightmarish side of Nauvoo. Some LDS scholars that I know think he even strikes an anti-Mormon tone in his Cultures in Conflict. Personally, I see Launius?s tone as simply arising from a different set of faith presuppositions and commitments. It is totally fine for a CofC scholar to pitch all Nauvoo theology out the door without blinking while it would be disastrous for an active LDS scholar who must ultimately walk very carefully around some very controversial practices (for instance, see Bushman?s treatment of polygamy in Rough Stone Rolling). As I have read Launius, though, I am convinced that he has tried to fit in a bit of redemption in the Nauvoo story through his narration of Joseph Smith III?s life. In Launius?s rendering, Joseph III is a person that any Community of Christ member can be proud of as a prophet. If there is a general late twentieth-century CofC historiographical approach to early Latter Day Saint church history, it is a story of blessing in Kirtland, followed by confusion and disaster in late Kirtland and Missouri, finished by doctrinal confusion and corruption in Nauvoo. The restoration of the movement to a fuller Christianity happens in the man of Joseph Smith III. (Yup?I know what that sounds like to LDS folks.) After the mid 1990s, Launius himself became a critic of general direction of the CofC?s programs (see his 1996 article?The Reorganized Church, the Decade of Decision, and the Abeliene Paradox? in Dialogue ) and largely became inactive. His work in Mormon history has largely abated as he has moved on to other subjects. Personally, I wish he would return! I love reading his stuff. Perhaps those of us living in Nineveh will hear his voice again. Pauls, not Sauls: Converts to the Tradition Another group of CofC historians are those who are converts to the movement. Many are former LDS members (some are returned missionaries). These scholars usually carry with them a strong grounding in?classical? Restoration history themes (Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, etc.), and may venture into territory that few?natural-born? CofC historians would be interested in (such as Western history or Orson Pratt?s scientific musings). (Sorry, but that stuff does not get me up in the morning!) Convert scholars include Steven Shields (author of Divergent Paths of the Restoration), Seth Bryant (a newly accepted PhD student at Vanderbilt), and the French scholar, Chrystal Vanel (PhD student in religious studies at the Sorbonne). There is a group of admirers who are practically CofC (they may even attend CofC congregations on more than a casual basis), but I don?t think it is appropriate for me to call them out if they have not publicly identified as such. (Imagine the rumors that could be spread?a kind of reverse Mormon urban legend of who is a?member of the church.?) A relatively unnoticed, but important Community of Christ scholar is Graham St. John Stott, chair of the Department of Modern Language at the Arab American University, Jenin in the West Bank. An LDS convert in England and a BYU PhD in English and American literature, he converted to the CofC in 1978 as he finished his dissertation. For most of his career, he has worked at universities or in corporations located in North Africa or the Middle East. Stott has published, in my opinion, some of the most innovative and creative work on the Book of Mormon of any current scholar anywhere. His little noted “The Seer Stone Controversy: Writing the Book of Mormon,” Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 19, no. 3 (1986): 36-53, is a fantastic account of how we can conceptualize the act of creating the Book of Mormon. Those interested in perusing his work should see his latest essay,?Sacred Spaces, Imagined Geographies, Invisible Cities? in the latest Restoration Studies X. In this essay, Stott asks what good is it to have a sacred space like the Book of Mormon?s Land of Bountiful when we cannot identify an actual physical place to it. His answer is that imagined spaces can be just as powerful as physical ones (the two are, obviously, related). The reader of a text like the Book of Mormon, is invited to “build” Bountiful–a place where Jesus visits–in their present world, opening up the possibility for personal transformation by aid of a text. Okay?so there was a lot more to his argument than this. He is certainly not a light-weight scholar. Stott is currently working on a book on?how the theology of the Book of Mormon would most probably have been understood in 1830,? according to his bio blurb in Restoration Studies. Personally, I can?t wait to see it. In these posts, I have highlighted a few CofC scholars doing some significant work in the field of Mormon history that may or may not be familiar with many of you. Who do you think are some equivalent LDS scholars working in the field that are often overlooked at the moment? On a different note, I have been really curious lately (okay, meaning I checked out one book) on how professional communities shape the values of their members and how this might be a factor in explaining some of the changes that occurred in the late twentieth-century Community of Christ (and LDS church for that matter). How does who we see as our peers shape what we write about? How does it affect our church activity rates and the chages we seek within our churches? Okay, so those are huge, untheorized, imprecise questions. Have a go at anything here.Today, we’d like for you to meet LauderAle. It’s in Fort Lauderdale. You see what they’ve done there. Anyway, it’s a 3,200-square-foot warehouse dedicated to the art of the ale, and they’re opening their doors tomorrow. Below: the essentials.Warehouse industrialness. As in six fermenters, four picnic tables and a wood bar. It’s a no-frills situation. But hey—you’re here for the beer.You’ve got a former real estate broker and a naval architect brewing the beer here. Makes total sense.Currently, three. An American IPA, a porter and a saison.See above. But also, three rotating guest taps from some local guys like Due South and Funky Buddha. Love thy neighbor and all.You’ll find a couple of food trucks parked outside.Well, all three. Because you won’t find their beers outside of this warehouse. Even if you squint really hard.Therapy Group Launches Web Resource of Practical Helps for Same-Sex Attracted LDS Members, Leaders, Family and Friends Contact: David Matheson, Center for Gender Wholeness, 801-272-3200 SALT LAKE CITY, March 29, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- What counsel does a Mormon bishop give a man or woman with same-sex attraction? How can LDS parents with gay or lesbian children really help? Or what hope does the wife of a man with same-sex attraction have for her marriage? Building on the breakthrough mormonsandgays.org Web site launched by the LDS Church in December 2012, a Salt Lake City-based therapy clinic has launched a new Web-based resource, www.genderwholeness.com/lds, to address these kinds of concerns for LDS leaders, family and friends of those with same-sex attraction. The new Web site is sponsored by the Center for Gender Wholeness (CGW), a clinic whose therapists work worldwide with those who have unwanted same-sex attraction. Their past clients include hundreds of men who have reported substantial shifts, not only in sexual behavior, but also in sexual attractions. They report their success seems to come from resolving underlying issues that led to the homosexual attractions. CGW Clinical Director David Matheson, a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and lifelong LDS Church member, said that, within the church he is noticing more acceptance of homosexuality as an unchangeable condition to be managed, at best, and less discussion about the possibility of shifting sexual desires by addressing underlying causes. "We are extremely encouraged by the church's new Web site and the outpouring of love and support it represents," Matheson said. "I believe it fosters understanding and compassion among the general membership and hope for those with same-sex attraction." At the same time, Matheson said, "there appears to be very little practical information to help people who want to make effective and lasting changes in their lives." Matheson expressed concern that "hope only lasts so long if real help isn't available." The new genderwholeness.com/lds Web site includes:PNN/ Ramallah/ Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Mrs. Rula Maa’yaa condemned the Israeli government’s approval of an Israeli tourist route in the West Bank (a pedestrian route and a tourist route in the West Bank) in an attempt to impose a de facto policy on the West Bank. In an interview with PNN, the minister said that these Israeli measures in trying to take over the tourism in the Palestine, exploiting Palestinian land and sites in order to develop their tourism in the occupation state, in addition to accompanying these delegations by Israeli tour guides are working to change the real narrative of these Palestinian sites and mislead the tourist by manipulating reality. The Minister stressed that this Israeli policy comes after the great success achieved by the Palestinian tourism by obtaining the first place as the highest tourist destination in the world during the first half of this year, according to statistics of the World Tourism Organization. Also after Palestinian adopted a variety of tourist patterns such as the walking trials, which has become a source of attraction and a key factor in increasing the number of traditional tourist delegations coming to Palestine, thus forming an important part of the tourist activities that Palestine shows in front of the world. The tourist patterns adopted by Palestine contributed to the emphasis that the Palestinian cities, tourist sites, archaeological and historical sites are open to receive tourists from all over the world. It also led to giving a true and realistic image of Palestine and the nature of its hospitable people. It works on conveying a beautiful and wonderful picture about the reality of the Palestinian people and the reality of the cities and tourist sites that Palestine is singing, and it contributes to elevating Palestine and all Palestinian tourism facilities. The Palestinian position came one day after the Israeli government approved its weekly session on Sunday to change the pedestrian route, a tourist route that focuses on history, nature and the environment in the West Bank, for the first time since its occupation in 1976. This is another violation of international law that is added to the series of Israeli violations. The Israeli government approved the proposal by the Israeli tourism minister to include areas in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as part of Israel’s national tourism route. An Israeli newspaper, reported that the current route does not pass through the West Bank, but Israeli Tourism Minister, Yariv Levin approved the change of the rout to go through the West Bank from its north to its south, while the government has so far refrained from changing the route for fear of international criticism. Israel’s Channel 7 said the decision was a landmark decision that would change the route known as the Israel Trail, which would pass through the Golan Heights, Jerusalem and the West Bank from north to south, something that has not happened in 22 years. Israeli Right-wing parties have repeatedly criticized Israel’s failure to include Jerusalem and the West Bank, which they claim include Jewish historical and religious sites.BJP MP’s resort wrecked by violence during DYFI protest Express News Service \| Published: 24th November 2017 01:27 AM Police trying to block the DYFI activists who took out a protest march to Niraamaya Resort in Kumarakom on Thursday KOTTAYAM: A DYFI protest march to Niraamaya Resorts, Kumarakom, on Thursday, alleging encroachment by the resort owned by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, turned violent resulting in widespread damage to the property. The violence unleashed allegedly by the protesters led to the destruction of as many as five cottages at the resort. The trouble began around 11 am when the DYFI activists took out a march to the resort demanding the authorities concerned should evict the land allegedly encroached upon by the resort. As stones were thrown at the resort building, several glass panes were shattered. Amid the chaos, a group of protesters reached the rear side of the resort and destroyed the cottages there. They also took away the damaged doors and windows of the cottages and dumped them in the rivulet nearby. Besides, furniture, roof tiles, glasses, bathrooms, surveillance cameras, office furniture and computers were vandalised, with the resort authorities putting the extent of the losses suffered at a staggering `5 crore.According to the police, a 20 member-strong group led by Ambily alias Mithun, Mathew, Praveen and Kannan had unleashed violence at the resort. A case was also registered against them. However, no one has so far been arrested in connection with the incident. To prevent the eruption of further violence in the area, a police team is camping in the area. Later the protesters hoisted their flag on the land which they claimed was illegally occupied by the resort authorities. Earlier, DYFI district secretary P N Binu inaugurated the protest meeting in front of the resort. CPI area secretary B Sasikumar, DYFI district president Sajesh Sasi, K R Ajay, K S Animon and others spoke. Niraamaya to pull out from state Kottayam: In the wake of the attack on Niraamaya Resorts at Kumarakom on Thursday, the company has decided to back out from the move to invest `200 crore in Kerala. Manu Rishi Gupta, CEO, said in a release Niraamaya had decided to suspend its proposed `200 crore investment in two new properties. Gupta said Niraamaya will also pursue all legal options to identify and prosecute those who were involved in the incident, besides seeking financial compensation and restitution for the damages caused. “Niraamaya emphasises we have been victimised for no fault of ours. The police and state machinery remained mere onlookers while criminal acts of dacoity, trespass and violence were being unleashed on a responsible law abiding investor in the state. However, our resolve to continue being a tourism partner in ‘Gods Own Country’ is stronger than ever before and we will complete the tasks we have set for ourselves. This incident can slow us but not stop us,” he said. He said as per the preliminary estimate, the extent of damage has been put at `4-5 crore. This is besides the loss of business, brand and goodwill amounting to `15-20 crore.The Editorial Team at Ledger is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from Bitcoin Unlimited to help improve the research journal's publication process. As described in the proposal for funding, we intend to "(1) decrease the average turnaround time (from submission to the first round of reviewer of feedback) to 6 weeks from its current time of 12+ weeks, (2) increase the average number of reviewers per article from 2.5 to 3.5, and (3) to publish 12-15 articles in 2017." The bulk of this grant will be used to fund Richard Ford Burley as a part-time editor, and Ledger's only paid member of the otherwise-all-volunteer Editorial Team. Richard has a degree in English and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Boston College. He has extensive writing/editing/publishing experience and is broadly knowledgeable about Bitcoin.From August's inaugural adult sleepover. (Photo by Amy Finkel/Gothamist) In August, we were lucky enough to spend the night at the Museum of Natural History. This was the first time they were hosting an adult sleepover, and if the whole thing ran pretty smoothly, they promised more to come. Pleased with the results, they've now announced their next adult sleepovers will be held on December 13th, February 13th, April 18th, and June 19th. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday, November 12th. It looks like they're keeping the same layout for the event, with a champagne reception, a jazz trio in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, flashlight tours, and special presentations like a live animal demonstration. One difference we see is that the dinner this time around will be buffet-style (when we attended, there was a waitstaff serving courses). The big draw, however, is that participants can roam through the nearly empty halls of the Museum, at night. Tickets cost $300 for members, and $350 for non-members. Hopefully they've upgraded the cots for the next round.The Latest Discovery In November 2014, a joint archaeological expedition led by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program brought back the first-ever 3-D images of the City of Rio de Janeiro, considered by many historians as the "Titanic of the Golden Gate." In this episode, we hear about this and many other shipwrecks from NOAA's Robert Schwemmer, co-leader of a two-year study to locate and document shipwrecks in Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the surrounding area. Listen to our latest podcast Download this podcast. Transcript HOST: This is Making Waves from NOAA's National Ocean Service. I'm Troy Kitch. On Feb. 22, 1901, a steamship arriving from Hong Kong named the SS City of Rio de Janeiro struck rocks and sank in minutes. It was one of the worst maritime disasters in San Francisco history. It happened near San Francisco, close to where the Golden Gate Bridge is today. And yet, we only confirmed the location of this wreck in November 2014. Today's guest, NOAA's Robert Schwemmer, picks up the story from here. ROBERT SCHWEMMER: These people are so close to land. They were an hour away from the dock, safety. They travelled all the way from Hong Kong and Japan. Immigrants. America was their new home. They were at the doorstep. So close. And they would go down … in sight of San Francisco. And their bodies were strewn. The one's that actually went in the water were all the way up Raccoon Straights near Berkeley all the way out to the heads of San Francisco, but many were in their berths down below. Never had a chance to get up on the deck, because as the ship struck Fort Point, it broke its back, slid off, the ebbing tide pushed the ship back to sea, and it went to the bottom in ten minutes. HOST: Robert Schwemmer is the West Coast Regional Maritime Heritage Coordinator for NOAA's Office National Marine Sanctuaries. He's co-leading a two-year effort of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program to locate and document shipwrecks in and around California's Gulf of the Farallones sanctuary. Robert, for so many of us - me included - shipwrecks seem full of mystery and adventure … but the story of this shipwreck is a reminder that these are real life-and-death events in history. Could you tell us a bit more about the Rio de Janeiro? ROBERT SCHWEMMER: I'd love to go down and see this beautiful iron hull, but she's at the bottom of a slope of mud and sediment has been coming down for 113 years and she's being covered, she's entombed. You can see the symmetrical lines of the bow of the ship, which is great, but over time the ship will be totally covered. And, you know, being a gravesite…that's OK. When you think about, you know, 128 lives were lost that day. The Chinese crewmen were having difficulty because even though they had these lifeboat drills over the years, they never actually launched a lifeboat. They deployed to the lifeboat in part of the drills. And there were only two of the Chinese crewmen who spoke English and could translate, which worked just fine in their normal course of their day to day duties of putting coal in the boilers or doing whatever chores, everything was hand gestures. It all worked fine until disaster struck. And they didn't have the knowledge to launch the lifeboats. And the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was held liable. And, yeah, of 210 on board, 128 were lost. HOST: Many think of shipwrecks based on what we've seen in the movies, but of course that's not the case here since this wreck is covered in sediment. So since you can't get to it with divers or a remotely operated vehicle, you used three-dimensional sonar to map it. Can you talk a bit about this tool? ROBERT SCHWEMMER: We have that Hollywood vision of what a shipwreck looks like, but in reality out here — especially in the Pacific where we have a lot of turbulent water, currents, and so on, and not always the best visibility, you know using this multibeam 3D sonar imagery really gives people the big picture, because if we were to go down there with the traditional ROV and map these sites, especially around the Golden Gate, where the visibility is very low and the currents are strong, all you would see would be like using a flashlight going into a cave, what
joining the Photoshop team in 1999. Making his debut as a Quality Engineer, Bryan contributed by doing his best to destroy Photoshop internally with intensive testing. Besides, if you have tasted the juiciness of Liquify feature before, that also came from Bryan. (Image Source: YouTube) Bryan cares about users. During Photoshop’s 20th anniversary he did a survey with both Photoshop users and NAPP members to discover specific new features, or current user interface issues that were bugging them. Based on the data, they improved Photoshop CS5 and make it dominate the world of digital imaging again. #10. John Nack John Nack a.k.a Tiny Elvis, is the true composer of Photoshop. His role, Adobe Photoshop Senior Product Manager, ensured that he oversees the development of many distinctive features such as Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, Vanishing Point, and Smart Object which I use every day on my graphics and shapes. (Image Source: PhotoshopNews) He is inducted by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals in 2008, which is one of the highest honors you could ever receive in the industry. Nonetheless, his humility still shines on top of his achievements, with his friendly and informative Adobe’s blog as solid proof of his down-to-earth nature. Clearly humility is the core culture for Photoshop team members. Reflection In my search for information, the most common word I caught in the interviews was ‘teamwork’. And what’s even more amusing is, most of the time the interviewee pushes the credit to someone else in the team! I believe it’s that humble nature and cooperative spirit that keeps both Photoshop and its innovation going for more than 20 years and probably a lot more in the future. Also if you’re reading this article, there’s a great chance that you’re a Photoshop addict like me! What would you like to say to these Photoshop pioneers and engineers? For me, a simple thank you is probably not enough! Let us know your words then, and tell us how Photoshop transformed your life!New pic supposedly reveals Xperia Z3 specs A picture of the Xperia Z3 with a spec-sheet on the back has leaked. We can’t verify the authenticity of the picture, but what the specs reveal tally with what we have seen so far. It appears that the leak was taken at some kind of training session for the device. The spec list reveals new info on the handset including the addition of a Copper colour, for the first time on a Sony Xperia device. It looks like the Xperia Z3 will feature Sony’s advanced Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE HX), which upscales the existing sound source to near High-Resolution sound quality. In terms of battery, it looks like it will be slightly lower than the Xperia Z2 at 3100mAh but enhancements mean Sony has confidence of a 2-day battery. The dimensions are listed as 146.5mm x 72.4mm x 7.5mm with a weight of 154 grams. We have listed the full specifications from the leaked picture below. Xperia Z3 specifications according to picture above Display 5.2” 1080p FHD IPS display sRBG 130% TRILUMINOS Display, X-Reality for mobile 600cd brightness Camera and video 4K video capture and output 1/2.3” 20MP Exmor RS ISO: 12800 photo / 3200 video 2MP Exmor R front camera Audio Stereo Speakers Digital Noise Cancelling HP (HeadPhone) support Hi-Res Audio Dual Output Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE HX) Performance MSM8974AC 2.5GHz Quad Core 3GB RAM 16GB eMMC internal storage Micro SD card slot Charging pin with magnet Colours Black, White, Copper Size 146.5mm x 72.4mm x 7.5mm Weight 154 grams Battery 3100mAh battery Sony STAMINA mode with 2.0 day stamina Durability & Design IP55/IP58 dust proof & water proof Connectivity NFC MHL 3.0 Network LTE Thanks Ben and Sony Xperia Ailesi!“Fears of an impending liquidity crunch in that asset class.” “What is happening in this space today reminds me of what happened in mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the crisis,” U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry warned in October about the auto loan bubble. And his warning is now becoming reality. Subprime auto loans aren’t big enough to take down our megabanks, the way subprime mortgages had done. But they’re big enough to take down specialized auto lenders and cause a lot of tears among investors that bought the highly rated structured securities backed by subprime and deep-subprime auto loans that are now defaulting at a rate last seen during the days of the Financial Crisis. And they’re big enough to knock the auto industry, one of the few booming sectors in the otherwise lackadaisical economy, off its record perch. An auto-loan implosion would start at subprime and work its way up, just like mortgages had done. The business of “repackaging” these loans, including subprime and deep-subprime loans, into asset backed securities has also been booming. These ABS are structured with different tranches, so that the highest tranches – the last ones to absorb any losses – can be stamped with high credit ratings and offloaded to bond mutual funds designed for retail investors. Deep-subprime borrowers are high-risk. Typically they have credit scores below 550. To make it worth everyone’s while, they get stuffed into loans often with interest rates above 20%. To make payments even remotely possible at these rates, terms are often stretched to 84 months. Borrowers are typically upside down in their vehicle: the negative equity of their trade-in, along with title, taxes, and license fees, and a hefty dealer profit are rolled into the loan. When the lender repossesses the vehicle, losses add up in a hurry. Auto loans in general have been in a huge boom that reached $1.04 trillion in the fourth quarter 2015: Equifax reported last year that 23.5% of all new auto loans where to subprime borrowers. So unlike the mortgage crisis, subprime auto loans aren’t in the trillions, but in the neighborhood of $200 billion. Many of them have been repackaged into asset backed securities. And these securities are starting to implode. Auto loan ABS delinquencies reached 4.7% in January, the highest since February 2010, according to data from Wells Fargo, cited by Bloomberg. During the Financial Crisis, delinquencies topped out at 5.4%. During normal times, they range from 2% to 3%. John McElravey, head of Consumer ABS Research at Wells Fargo Securities, warned that these delinquencies would entail a wave of defaults. The default rate is already skyrocketing. It hit 12.3% in January, up from 11.3% in December, the highest since 2010. He pointed a several factors, including initial jobless claims in oil states like Texas. The data are worth watching closely, he said, “especially against the backdrop of sub-par economic growth.” Skopos Financial in Texas is a master at securitizing subprime auto loans. Private Equity firm Lee Equity Partners owns a 97% stake. When Skopos “opened its doors” in 2011, it had “one goal in mind,” as it says on its website, namely, “making tough, deep subprime auto loans easier to finance for dealers.” In November, it securitized $154 million of subprime and deep-subprime auto loans. Citigroup was the lead underwriter. Over three-quarters of the loans are to borrowers with credit scores under 600. And another 14% have no credit score at all. The highest tranche was awarded lofty ratings of A from DBRS and AA from Kroll Bond Rating Agency. In this manner, thinly capitalized lenders that came out of nowhere, like Skopos, are offloading the risks to institutional investors, such as your bond mutual fund. But now, only three months later, Asset-Backed Alert reported that the securities have already “experienced enough collateral defaults to approach a ‘cumulative net loss ratio trigger event’ set by Kroll. Should losses reach that level, Skopos would have to stop collecting excess cash flows and redirect the money to bondholders.” This would make it “difficult” for the company to keep “doing business as usual” and “virtually impossible” to raise more capital through securitization of its subprime loans. Sources said other deep-subprime lenders including Go Financial and United Auto Credit face similar pressures due to rising losses among the loans underpinning their securitizations. And this lightning-fast deterioration of the collateral for these securities is “feeding fears of an impending liquidity crunch in the asset class.” “For these smaller firms, securitization is their only source of funding in this space,” one source said. “It only takes one deal of theirs to go sideways in terms of performance and they can impact the whole subprime-ABS market.” The point of building a net-loss-ratio trigger into a deal is to protect bondholders, so investors holding Skopos’ paper aren’t likely to be affected by weakening collateral. But increasing delinquencies and losses among deep subprime borrowers across the board are adding to concerns that the industry is vulnerable to a “perfect storm” of market forces including deteriorating credit quality, declining vehicle-resale values, and rising interest rates. Hedge funds are already smelling the next “Big Short.” And they’re trying to figure out – though it won’t be easy – how to bet against these securities and against those bond mutual funds that hold them, and that may eventually be forced to dump them into an illiquid market. “The views expressed are those of the speaker and should not be attributed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System,” it says on the front page of the presentation. Institutional CYA. We get that. Read… “Prelude to Recession”: the Dallas Fed’s Unsettling Charts Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? Using ad blockers – I totally get why – but want to support the site? You can donate “beer money.” I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer mug to find out how: Would you like to be notified via email when WOLF STREET publishes a new article? Sign up here.Image copyright Science Photo Library Image caption The Department of Health says a universal 1% rise would cost £450m - the equivalent of 14,000 new nurses Doctors feel a "deep sense of outrage" at the failure to grant them a 1% increase in basic pay, the head of the British Medical Association has said. In a letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Dr Mark Porter urged the government to reconsider the decision. Many NHS staff in England will get a 1% rise, but those receiving "progression-in-job" increases, "typically worth over 3%", will not get the 1% as well. The government said a 1% across-the-board rise would cost jobs. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation is currently at 2%, and the NHS pay review body had recommended that all NHS staff should get a 1% pay rise - whether they were also entitled to progression pay increases or not. 'Misplaced' In the letter, Dr Porter said it was "frustrating" that Mr Hunt had chosen to ignore that recommendation. "Your deliberate conflation of pay progression and cost-of-living uplift is particularly misplaced," he wrote. NHS pay facts Senior managers' average pay is £78,513 Doctors' average earnings: £74,167 Managers' average earnings £49,475 Nurses' and midwives' average earnings is £30,854 55% of staff get incremental pay increases 45% don't get incremental pay increases because they are at top of their pay band "Leaving aside the fact that a 1% uplift would in no way keep pace with the increases in the cost of living, incremental pay progression is designed to address a very different set of issues. "Pay progression is required to recognise learning and development in a role. "Doctors gain more experience and responsibility over time and incremental progression arrangements for consultants, in particular, is a measure to control costs, building in a series of extended periods before they reach the full rate for the job." The Unite union said last week that the pay decision was "the straw that breaks the camel's back" and its members now wanted to consider industrial action. Unison's national officer Christina McAnea said the government had shown "complete contempt" for NHS staff, who were "on average, 10% worse off than when the coalition came to power". But a Department of Health spokesman said implementing the review body recommendation would cost £450m. "That's the equivalent of 14,000 new nurses, and would put at risk the safe, compassionate care that we are committed to. "The health secretary has made it clear that his door is open to agree alternative proposals on pay providing we can continue to protect the front line." The Scottish government has said it will adopt the NHS pay review body's recommendations in full, meaning that all NHS staff in Scotland will receive the 1% pay rise.Mid-season last year, I penned an article titled "Springer's K-Rate Not the Whole Story", in which I explored data provided by Chris St.John at Beyond the Box Score related to minor league strikeout and walk rates and how they translate to the major leagues. The thrust of my article intended to allevaiate fears by fans that Springer's high strikeout rate (close to 30% in Double-A at the time of publication) need not forebode struggles in the Major Leagues. My words, and particularly my charts that showed an improving trend as Springer adjusted to each level of the Minor Leagues, proved nostradomic when Springer finished 2013 with a strikeout rate of just 24.4% in Triple-A over 131 Plate Appearances. Yes, I am aware that is a small sample from which to draw conclusions. Yet, we plow on. Since St. John's original article, he has expanded on his research by going more in-depth into level-specific strikeout and walk rates. Today, he published his data for the Triple-A level. Please read it, as I have no wish to reduce BTB's web hit count by rehashing his methods. The post caught my notice because the author chose to adorn the article's crown with a photograph of George Springer taking batting practice, tacitly implying that Springer is just the type of player for which his research intended to provide some context. Taking the hint, I shall now apply St. John's data to Springer, with the important caveat that Springer's rates are based on a sample size of plate appearances that have not had time to statistically find their level. So take the below "projections" (note: NOT predictions!) with a grain of salt, or maybe with an entire salt mine, or even the Bonneville salt flats. During his tenure at AAA, Springer posted a 15.4% walk rate and a 24.4% strikeout rate. These are noted improvements over those stats at every level of his development so far, and I would be remiss if I did not point that out. For the pool of twenty nine 23-year-old AAA players with walk rates higher than 13% in this sample, 21% of them failed to reach 500 plate appearances in the major leagues. If you look at St. John's tables, you'll see that 21% is actually an excellent number, and one of the lower "bust rates" (for lack of a better term) for players who played in AAA at an age older than 20 years. For those 23-year-olds in the sample who reached the 500+ plate appearance threshold, 18 (62%) of them had Major League walk rates higher than 10%. That bodes extremely well for Springer's walk-drawing ability to translate to the highest level and provide a strong foundation for his On-Base Percentage. For 23-year-olds who posted strikeout rates between 20% to 25%, almost half of the 41 players in that sample failed to reach 500 plate appearances in the majors. However, only 4 of the 21 successful players posted a strikeout rate higher than 25% in the major leagues. The numbers do not change too alarmingly if the sample of 25% K-Rate AAA players is used instead of 20%-25%. Playing "what-if" now, If Springer reaches 500 Plate Appearances in the major leagues (which seems likely, barring something unforeseen, such as Grant Desme's decision to enter the priesthood) and follows the highest-percentage likelihood for performance, he could be projected to produce a strikeout rate between 20% and 25%, with a walk rate well over 10%. Here is the entire list of qualified Major League batters who had strikeout and walk rates in these ranges during the 2013 Season:There were growing signs Tuesday that city officials were moving to bring the Occupy L.A. encampment to an end. Los Angeles officials have given Occupy LA protesters a Nov. 28 deadline to get off the City Hall lawn, according to protesters who have been in negotiations with the city. At a meeting on the west steps of City Hall Tuesday afternoon, the negotiators told their fellow protesters that they have asked for an extension of that deadline as they decide how to respond to the city’s recent proposal to give them a work space in a city-owned building nearby. PHOTOS: Occupy protests around the nation Neither L.A. officials near Los Angeles Police Department commanders could immediately confirm the deadline. A top LAPD source said there were no imminent plans to remove people from the camp. According to Scott Shuster, a protester who said he has been present in all of the meetings with the city, city officials on Tuesday backed down from their proposal for work space, blaming political difficulties within City Hall. He and others said officials said those difficulties include getting the necessary permission from various agencies and possible pushback by council members. City Councilwoman Jan Perry’s downtown district takes in the Los Angeles Mall, a city-owned shopping center adjacent to City Hall where protesters said they were offered work space by city officials. On Tuesday, she said had not been approached about the proposal by the city officials in charge of the negotiations, who include representatives from the mayor’s office. “I have not been approached,” she said. “I have not been contacted about it.” She also said she had not complained about not being asked, and said she would refrain from commenting on the matter until a formal proposal was made. ALSO: Boy asks for job, then shoplifts from same store City offers Occupy L.A. office space near camp for $1 a year FULL COVERAGE: Occupy Wall Street protests around the nation --Kate Linthicum Photo: Jim Lafferty, who has been negotiating with city officials on behalf of Occupy L.A., addresses protesters. (Robert Lachman, Los Angeles Times / November 21, 2011)Police discovered a hand-painted Islamic State flag in the room of the Afghan teen who attacked passengers on a train in Germany. The group claimed responsibility, releasing a video in which the alleged perpetrator promises to conduct an attack. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has said the attacker was one of its fighters, according to IS-affiliated Amaq news agency. The agency later released a video, allegedly showing the ax attacker. Identifying him as Muhammad Riyad, IS called him a "soldier of the Caliphate." In the video, the alleged perpetrator reportedly called on Muslims who couldn't reach IS strongholds in Syria and Iraq to conduct attacks in their own countries. The young man, whose identity cannot be immediately verified, is seen wielding a knife in a screenshot from a video which is circulating on social media. He reportedly claimed he would use the weapon in a slaughter to avenge the killings of people in Muslim countries. Police have also found documents suggesting the Afghan teen who attacked passengers on the train in Wurzburg had links with IS. “It is clear that apart from Islamic State terror group’s flag, several documents that indicate of the suspect's links to IS have been discovered in the suspect’s room,” N24 reported, adding that the documents have been taken by police for further analysis. Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said Tuesday that a note was found in the teen’s room indicating he may have been self-radicalized. In the note the attacker wrote of Islam and a “need to resist.” Warning: graphic video “We also discovered a text in Pashto written partly in Arabic and partly in Latin, which indicates that this could be someone who has self-radicalized recently,” Herrmann said, noting that this had yet to be proven. Herrmann also said that people who had been close to the attacker told investigators he had an appearance of a calm, not expressly religious person. The official stressed that the attack is no reason for generalized suspicion of refugees. He added that attacks like the one in Wurzburg would not stop Germans from riding in trains and that people must not let “such attackers” ruin their lives. Read more According to initial findings the attacker was a 17-year-old Afghan refugee who arrived in Germany two years ago as an unaccompanied minor. He lived in the district of Würzburg for some time, in a town of Ochsenfurt. For two weeks prior to the incident, he was living with a foster family. They will now have to be questioned, Herrman said. In an interview to public broadcaster ARD, Herrmann earlier said it was too early to speculate about the motives of the 17-year-old. He added that police are currently trying to figure out whether the teen was a member of an Islamist group or a self-radicalized lone wolf. The minister confirmed earlier reports by German media that the teenager shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) as he charged at his victims with an ax. On Monday night, the Afghan teenager, whose name has not yet been officially disclosed, attacked passengers in a train car in Wurzburg, going at them with an ax and a knife. After the passengers stopped the train, the attacker fled the scene, but was later shot by police. The attack left five people injured and 14 more in shock. The minister said two of the victims were in a critical condition. Four of the injured were members of a Chinese family from Hong Kong. This was confirmed by Hong Kong Governor Leung Chun-Ying. He condemned the attack and sent the victims and their families his condolences. He also said representatives of the Hong Kong Economic Representation in Berlin would visit the victims in hospital. Herrmann said that so far the investigation has found no indication the Chinese tourists were deliberately targeted. The attack comes just over two weeks after Germany’s spy chief Hans Georg Maassen announced that his domestic intelligence agency had obtained information on 17 IS militants who had entered Europe under the guise of refugees. “There is strong evidence that… 17 people have arrived under Islamic State instructions,” Maassen said. Ricardo Baretzky, president of the European Centre for Information Policy and Security, has slammed as precarious the way authorities seem to ignore migrants' involvement in situations like the one in Wurzburg. Read more “This [attack] came exactly as expected, seeing that the risk [of terror attacks] has been increasing. It is a dangerous situation which is not been taken to grips and I will be very surprised if they [still] don’t get it [after Wurzburg incident],” Baretzky told RT. “[One] can’t wait until the fire engulfs the house, [one] has to act when there is smoke. And the problem is nothing has been done when there was smoke,” he pointed out. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel, who’s been extensively criticized by a significant section of the German population for her open-door policy towards refugees, recently publicly acknowledged that some extremists could be taking advantage of the migrant influx to enter Germany and the European Union, saying that “in part, the refugee flow was even used to smuggle terrorists.” The attack in Wurzburg is the second IS-linked act of violence within the European Union in less than a week, after the tragedy in France, in which a Tunisian truck driver ran down 84 people during celebrations in Nice. IS claimed that attack as well, and although the personality of the driver has its controversies, authorities acknowledged the fact he was a radical Islamist, recently radicalized. READ MORE: Violent, obsessed with sex, dated 73yo man: Phone records, witnesses expose Nice attacker Both attacks mirror the warning that recently came from FBI Director James Comey, who predicted that IS will spread worldwide as it prepares for the potential fall of its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria, growing ever more “desperate” to launch attacks elsewhere.Tjaronn Chery is undergoing a medical at QPR after the club triggered a release clause in his FC Groningen contract. Chery, 27, was on Rangers’ list of targets after the end of last season and a move to sign him was sanctioned following confirmation of Raheem Sterling’s transfer. A sell-on clause agreed when Liverpool signed Sterling in 2010 means Rangers will get 20% of the fee paid by Manchester City for the England international. An attacking midfielder with an impressive goalscoring record, Chery’s previous clubs include FC Twente and Den Haag. A number of Premier League clubs have been monitoring him and Aston Villa recently approached Groningen but were unable to agree a deal. Dutch media had claimed that QPR had a bid for him rejected and that he is keen to play for a top-flight team. However, Rangers have been confident of a deal and hope to wrap up the signing in the coming days. See also: Dutch midfielder Chery set for QPR medical QPR confirm arrival of Dutchman Chery Follow West London Sport on Twitter Find us on FacebookStanley Armour Dunham (March 23, 1918 – February 8, 1992) was the maternal grandfather of the 44th U.S. President Barack Obama. He and his wife Madelyn Payne Dunham raised Obama from the age of 10 in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1][2] Early life and education [ edit ] Dunham was born in Wichita, Kansas, the younger of two sons to Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham, Sr. (December 25, 1894, Sumner County, Kansas – October 4, 1970, Wichita, Kansas) and Ruth Lucille Armour (September 1, 1900, Illinois – November 25, 1926, Wichita, Kansas).[3] His father's ancestors settled in Kempton, Indiana, in the 1840s, before relocating to Kansas.[4] His parents were married on October 3, 1915, at a home on South Saint Francis St. in Wichita, and opened The Travelers' Cafe on William Street situated between the old firehouse and the old Wichita City Hall.[5][6] On November 25, 1926, at age 8, Dunham discovered his mother's body after she had committed suicide. Subsequently, Dunham's father placed him and his older brother Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham, Jr. in the care of their maternal grandparents in El Dorado, Kansas.[6] A rebellious teenager, Dunham allegedly punched his high school principal and spent some time drifting, hopping rail cars to Chicago, California, and back again.[7] He married Madelyn Lee Payne on May 5, 1940, the night of her senior prom.[8] Later life [ edit ] World War II [ edit ] Dunham enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army on January 18, 1942, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and served in the European Theatre of World War II with the 1830th Ordnance Supply and Maintenance Company, Aviation. During D-Day, this unit helped to support the 9th Air Force. Dunham and his brother were deployed to France six weeks after D-Day. Before the Invasion of Normandy, the brothers once met accidentally as Stanley Dunham went in search of rations at a hotel in London, where his brother Ralph Dunham happened to be staying.[9] Madelyn Dunham gave birth to their daughter Stanley Ann Dunham, who was later known as Ann, at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita on November 29, 1942. During the war, Madelyn Dunham worked on a Boeing B-29 assembly line in Wichita.[10][11] Post-World War II [ edit ] After two years of military service in Europe (1943–1945), Dunham was discharged from the U.S. Army on August 30, 1945. After the war, the family moved to Berkeley, California and then eventually back to El Dorado, Kansas, where Dunham managed a furniture store. In 1955, after the Dunhams moved to Seattle, Washington, Dunham worked as a salesman for the Standard-Grunbaum Furniture Company, and his daughter Ann attended middle school. The family lived in an apartment in the Wedgwood Estates in the Wedgwood, Seattle neighborhood. In 1956 they moved to the Shorewood Apartments on Mercer Island, a Seattle suburb. Ann attended high school there, and they stayed until she graduated in 1960. In 1957, Dunham started working for the Doces Majestic Furniture Company.[12][13][14] Hawaii [ edit ] The family then moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where Dunham found a better furniture store opportunity. Madelyn Dunham started working at the Bank of Hawaii in 1960, and was promoted as one of the bank's first female vice presidents in 1970.[15][16] In Barack Obama's memoir, Dreams From My Father, he wrote, "One of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's shoulders as the astronauts from one of the Apollo missions arrived at Hickam Air Force Base after a successful splashdown". At 10 years old, Barack Obama moved in with the Dunhams in Honolulu to attend school in the U.S. while his mother and stepfather Lolo Soetoro were living in Jakarta, Indonesia. His mother later came back to Hawaii to pursue graduate studies, but when she returned to Indonesia in 1977 for her master's fieldwork, Obama stayed in the United States with his grandparents. Obama wrote in his memoir, Dreams From My Father, "I’d arrived at an unspoken pact with my grandparents: I could live with them and they'd leave me alone so long as I kept my trouble out of sight".[17][18] Death [ edit ] Dunham died in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 8, 1992 and is interred in the Punchbowl National Cemetery.[17] Ancestry [ edit ] Dunham's heritage consists of English and Irish and other European ancestors who settled in the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. Dunham is a direct descendant of Jonathan Singletary Dunham, a prominent early American settler who left the Plymouth Colony to build the first gristmill in New Jersey. The most recent native European ancestor was Falmouth Kearney, a farmer who emigrated from Moneygall, County Offaly, Ireland, during the Great Irish Famine and settled in Jefferson Township, Tipton County, Indiana, United States. Kearney's youngest daughter, Mary Ann (Kearney) Dunham, was Stanley Dunham's paternal grandmother.[19] Stanley Dunham’s distant cousins include six U.S. presidents: James Madison, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.[20] Through a common ancestor, Mareen Duvall, a wealthy Huguenot merchant who emigrated to Maryland in the 1650s, Dunham is related to former Vice-President Dick Cheney (an eighth cousin once removed).[6] Through another common ancestor, Hans Gutknecht, a German Swiss from Bischwiller, Alsace whose three sons resettled in Germantown, Pennsylvania as well as the Kentucky frontier in the mid-18th century, Dunham is President Harry S. Truman's fourth cousin, twice removed.[21][22][23] Dunham and Wild Bill Hickock are sixth cousins, four times removed, through Jacob Dunham.[24] Jacob Mackey Dunham (1824–1907) Jacob William Dunham (1863–1930) Louise Eliza Stroup (1837–1901) Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham, Sr. (1894–1970) Falmouth Kearney (b. Moneygall, Ireland 1832–1878) Mary Ann Kearney (1869–1936) Charlotte Holloway (1834–1877) Stanley Armour Dunham (1918–1992) George W Armour (1849–1889) Harry Ellington Armour (1874–1953) Nancy Ann Childress (1848–1924) Ruth Lucille Armour (1900–1926) Christopher Columbus Clark (1845–1937) Gabriella Clark (1876–1966) Susan Catherine Overall (1849–1906) Stanley Ann Dunham (1942–1995) Benjamin F Payne (1839–1878) Charles Thomas Payne (1861–1940) Eliza C Black (1837–1921) Rolla Charles Payne (1892–1968) Robert Wolfley (1834–1895) Della L Wolfley (1863–1906) Rachel Abbott (1835–1911) Madelyn Lee Payne (1922–2008) Harbin Wilburn McCurry (1823–1899) Thomas Creekmore McCurry (1850–1939) Elizabeth Edna Creekmore (1827–1918) Leona Belle McCurry (1897–1968) Joseph Samuel Wright (1834–1918) Margaret Belle Wright (1869–1935) Frances Ann Allred (1834–1918) Ancestry chart source: New England Historic Genealogical Society. [25]Tax day in the United States is fast approaching: Under most circumstances, everyone must file their tax forms no later than April 15th. It's definitely not a fun process to go through, but nearly 50% of citizens file their tax returns online, a number that's sure to quickly grow as time goes on. Your tax forms contain a lot of confidential data about your life, so security is an important facet if you're filing online. Unfortunately, the same report indicates that 65% of people who file online are doing so using an open Wi-Fi connection, meaning they're opening themselves up to potential attacks. Looking at TaxAct as an example, the login page does not automatically redirect to an HTTPS page. This gives a bad guy at the coffee shop or library a chance to hijack your session and provide their own SSL certificate in order to see all of your data. The rogue cert would provide an error, but most users will probably click "accept" anyway. Overall, this is an industry problem. Companies push ease of use over security because the old adage of "as security increases usability decreases" still holds true today. Users are told not to click on certain links and are getting better at identifying phishing emails, but most people don't think about or understand network security. Unfortunately, it's a difficult problem to solve and will require both education on the topic, as well as people eschewing some of the ease of use they've become accustomed to. Source: Protect Your Bubble via SC Magazine \| Open Wi-Fi picture courtesy of ShutterstockMuch to our surprise, the next-generation Audi A5 and S5 Sportback have finally made their media debut tonight, however, it is the styling that arrives as expected. With the speculation coming from spy photos and artist renderings since October last year, the visual revisions are on a subtle level, as already foreshadowed by the A5 Coupe. Seven years in the making, and just ahead of its public debut in Paris next month, this second generation five-door coupe features a stretched wheelbase, short overhangs, wraparound domed hood, and a singleframe grille that is flatter and wider than the previous model. The shoulder line is deeply accentuated with a protruding double crease traveling just above the door handles. The rear end is a bit more shapely with the focal point being the arched luggage lid with its almost spoiler like lip edge. The new Audi A5 Sportback interior, which has carried over from the new A4 sedan, has grown significantly. Length has increased by 17 millimeters (0.7 inch), driver and passenger's shoulder room is up 11 mm (0.4 in), and rear knee room has 24 mm (0.9 in) more. Judging by the photos, the interior is typical Audi sophistication with premium materials, precision of fit, and luxurious color blends. The instrument panel features a large 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit while the MMI comes with an 8.3-inch screen, touch-sensitive, and rotary control buttons for versatile operation of the infotainment system. At market launch two TFSI and three TDI engine versions will be available. They will produce between 190 horsepower (140 kilowatts) and 286 hp (210 kW) of power. The most powerful version at launch is going to be the S5 with its turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine that produces 354 hp (260 kW). This is 21 hp (15 kW) more than the outgoing S5. The sprint from standstill to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) arrives in just 4.7 seconds and continues on up to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h). Transmissions include six-speed manual, seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch, and eight-speed tiptronic. New to the range is a bivalent A5 Sportback g-tron which includes a 170 hp (125 kW) 2.0 TFSI engine and can run on Audi e-gas, natural gas as well as gasoline. Somehow, the new Audi A5 Sportback is the lightest in the segment as the overall weight of this new generation riding on the MLB Evo platform has fallen by as much as 187.4 pounds (85 kilograms) to just 3,240.8 lb (1,470 kg) despite its larger size. The new Audi A5 and S5 Sportback arrives in Germany and Europe in early 2017. The A5 Sportback starts from EUR 37,800 ($42,500). The price for the S5 is EUR 62,500 ($70,285).ALBANY — A suspected prostitute and a 15-year-old girl
that he and her other son had given her for Mother’s Day. Morley then allegedly dragged his mother by the arm into the living room, pushed her down, and drew a cat’s face on her face. “Witch burn in hell,” he chanted, according to court records. After she fled into a bathroom, she said, her son attacked Bloss, who had been sleeping. In April, Duckworth told investigators she was shocked to hear her son’s response after she told him about the Marathon bombings. “What’s the big deal, people are dying all over the place,” he said, according to the sworn statement. She also told investigators the family had no idea Morley had stockpiled weapons and bomb-making materials, saying he would become furious if she or her boyfriend entered his room. Morley is due back in Ipswich District Court Thursday for a pretrial hearing. David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.comNote: This story contains a graphic image that may be disturbing to some readers. In 2013, Ottawa's Algonquin College opened a satellite campus in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. The school probably expected to draw heat at home for opening a male-only school, and it did. What it wasn't bargaining on was having five headless bodies strung up on the streets of the city. Saudi authorities had executed five Yemenis for murder, and put their corpses on display on a pole strung between two cranes as a warning to others. Standard practice in the desert kingdom. Last year alone there were 151 executions in Saudi Arabia, the highest number in 20 years. About half died for non-violent offences, and about half were foreigners. This year began on an even bloodier note, with 47 executions on Jan. 2, including that of a prominent Shia cleric who had spoken against the royal family. "We've very clearly concluded that the situation has deteriorated significantly over the past year," says Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada. Rooted in religion In fact, Saudi Arabia puts fewer people to death than either China or Iran. But Saudi Arabia's grim tally attracts attention for three main reasons. One is that many of those put to death are foreigners (mostly poor migrant workers); another is that it executes people for "crimes" (like adultery or even sorcery) that are not considered offences in other countries; and the third is that its punishments — beheading, whipping, crucifying and stoning — are so shocking to Western sensibilities. These actions make it difficult for Western allies to defend the kingdom, particularly because similar punishments are often cited as part of the justification for waging war on groups like ISIS and the Taliban. A photo that circulated on social media in Saudi Arabia shows five Yemenis who were beheaded for murder and then put on public display. (Twitter) And yet Saudi Arabia also appears uniquely impervious to outside pressure to change its ways, which are rooted in religion. "Saudi Arabia has always been a very difficult country to push human rights change in," says Neve. "It's very resistant to external pressure, and it's been ruthless in crushing internal reform efforts." One of the West's leading experts on the country, Gregory Gause, the head of the international affairs department at Texas A&M University, agrees that the Saudis are not feeling the heat. "The more power a country has in the international system, the less they have to worry about human rights reports," he says. "And the Saudis have leverage because of oil." But Gause says there is one area where the Saudis are very touchy, and that may have influenced the methods it used in the recent mass execution. "They're extremely sensitive to the comparison to the Islamic State. Not many of the 47 were beheaded. Most of them were stood up in front of firing squads," a decision, Gause says, that was "probably" influenced by a desire to differentiate the kingdom from the self-declared Islamic State. The kingdom's only law book The vagaries of the Saudi justice system, however, can be seen in any number of cases, including that of Ali Hussain Sibat, a Lebanese TV personality who had his own call-in show where he wore a turban and peered into a crystal ball. Along with his psychic routine, he dispensed homely advice. In 2008, Sibat visited Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage, and was unfortunate enough to be recognized by a member of Saudi Arabia's Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, known colloquially as the religious police. He was hauled before a sharia court and sentenced to death for "predicting the future." No such crime exists in the Saudi criminal code, because there is no Saudi criminal code. The ulama, the Saudi religious establishment, insists that no codified law is required because all that needs to be said about law and punishment can be found in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the oral tenets of Islam that have been handed down over the centuries. Consequently, Islamic court judges are free to improvise charges such as "predicting the future," "breaking allegiance with the ruler" or, in the case of the recently executed Shia cleric, "seeking foreign meddling." Those charges are typically linked back to a broader category of offence that appears in the Qur'an. In Sibat's case, it was "sorcery." What has happened to him since his death sentence is unknown, but Saudi Arabia continues to behead men and women, mostly foreigners, whom it accuses of casting spells and making magic potions. Rule by fatwa Islam has no established clergy, and yet senior religious figures can issue edicts or fatwas that have legal force in Saudi Arabia. Among them are about 700 qadis or religious justices who can decide individual cases. Former U.S. president George Bush, shares a laugh with then Saudi Crown Prince, now King Salman while watching a traditional sword dance at a museum in Al Janadriyah, Saudi Arabia in 2008. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press) These judges are known for their conservative world views. In 2008, for example, one of the most influential of these Saudi qadis issued a fatwa against Mickey Mouse, warning that mice and other rodents were "soldiers of Satan." Other Saudi fatwas ban Pokemon cards, Barbie dolls, marking Valentine's Day or bringing flowers to a sick person in hospital. How rigorously a fatwa is enforced can depend on the personal religious authority of the man who issued it. While the Al-Saud family holds the throne, it is the Al ash-Shaykh family that sits atop the kingdom's religious, and therefore judicial, hierarchy as grand muftis. They are the direct descendents of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who founded the kingdom's official creed of Wahhabi Islam in the 18th century. Bonds of marriage and mutual interest have joined the two families together for 270 years. The ash-Shaykh family, more than the Sauds, are generally considered the true guardians of Saudi conservatism. The last grand mufti, Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz, issued a fatwa that the sun rotated around the Earth, deeming it "lawful to kill whoever claims that the sun is static." Bin Baz only changed his mind in 1985 after Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman went into space on the shuttle Discovery and returned to Earth to say that he had seen the planet rotating. The prince also succeeded in persuading Bin Baz to drop his long-standing insistence that the world was flat. Reform a long way off Still, it would be a mistake to imagine that removing the current establishment would lead to a more liberal regime, says Gause. "The central parts of Saudi Arabia are extremely conservative, socially. And if you had a true democratic system, I think you'd have a lot of people who are more socially conservative than the royal family coming to power." The practices that shock Westerners, including the public beheadings and the public display of bodies all seem likely to continue. Advocates of more democracy will remain targets. "I think that the current regime feels itself to be in a threatened regional environment," says Gause. "They're also going to have to confront the domestic issues of falling oil prices, and what that means for government spending, and I think their impulse is not going to be to loosen up. I think it's going to be to tighten up."Tim Tebow writes in his new book, titled Shaken, that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick once talked him out of accepting a $1 million endorsement deal. In the book, which was published in October, Tebow recounts how he tried hard to fit in with the team when he joined the Patriots in 2013. After being selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Broncos, Tebow had experienced varying degrees of success in the NFL. He signed on with the Patriots in 2013 after being released by the Jets after the 2012 season, and writes in the book that he and Belichick had discussed what he would have to do to succeed on the team. Article continues below... I remembered when I had signed with the team in June. Then I’d had an offer on the table to make a one-day appearance endorsing a product for a million-dollar paycheck. I’m sure you’d agree that a million bucks is a lot to make in just twenty-four hours. But I wasn’t quick to say yes. When I came on the team, Coach and I had a long and deep talk. “I want to make you one of the guys,” he told me. “This is not going to be a media circus. I'll control it if you do your part. You're part of a team, Timmy. We're in this together. So when the offer for the one-day commercial turned up, I was sure to discuss the opportunity with him. “I want to know what you think, Coach,” I said. “I respect you and I want to fit in. I want to be one of the guys. Should I do it?” He thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Timmy, I would really appreciate it if you didn’t.” Highly respecting the man, I turned down the deal. I didn’t even think twice about it. I wanted the chance to impress Coach Belichick more than I wanted the money. I’ll say that if I were on any other team, I would have probably said yes to the offer. But the thoughts he offered in our initial conversation mattered to me — even more than a million dollars. Two months later, Tebow again found himself in a conference room with Belichick, only this time Belichick was explaining that he didn't fit with the team, rather than discussing how to make him blend in. I thought of the endorsement deal I had turned down two months earlier, questioning and maybe even regretting my decision. Was it the wrong choice? If I had said yes, would that have put me in a better situation than where I am right now—sitting in front of two coaches who are firing me without telling me exactly why? Then, the meeting was over. Tebow said this week in an interview with Fox & Friends that he does not regret his decision today. “That’s not something that I look back and regret at all,” Tebow said. “It was me trying to honor the team, and if I could do it again, I would’ve done the same thing.” Tebow has not played in the NFL since he spent the preseason with the Eagles in 2015 and is now playing baseball in the New York Mets farm system. This article originally appeared onGolf waited 112 years to make it back to the Olympics. With Rory McIlroy suggesting the Zika virus may keep him from making the trip to Rio to compete in the summer games, it can surely wait another four. McIlroy, following Sunday’s Irish Open victory, conceded that what experts are predicting could be a "full-blown global health disaster" due to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil have him "monitoring" the risks associated with the epidemic. The winner of four major championships has been looking forward to representing Ireland in Rio, but his engagement to Erica Stoll, in light of a quickly spreading virus with links to birth defects and other diseases, has him reassessing his position. "There’s going to be a point in time over the next couple of years where we’re going to have to start thinking about starting a family," McIlroy told the BBC on Monday. "Right now I’m ready to go but I don’t want anything to affect that." Apparently Rory McIlroy may miss the Olympics due to the Zika virus. I wish the whole of golf would. — Mark Staniforth (@markstani1) May 23, 2016 McIlroy continued to relish the notion of "going down there and competing for an Olympic medal," but said he was concerned about what he was learning about the virus. "I have been reading a lot of reports about Zika and there have been some articles that have come out saying that it might be worse than they are saying," he noted. "So, I have to monitor that situation." Recent alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and other health authorities make it clear that Rio in August is not the place to be for golfers, other athletes, spectators, or anyone who has a choice in the matter. Pregnant women and newborns have been most publicly connected to Zika, but scientists have uncovered connections between the virus and brain and autoimmune disorders in adults like acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome. In addition, men can carry and transmit the mosquito-borne illness to their sexual partners. Such potentially catastrophic health issues have caused some public health experts to advocate delaying, moving, or canceling the games altogether. But with the games just three months away, there is no way the International Olympic Committee will change its plans, which places the onus on athletes and fans to take whatever precautions they can. Rory McIlroy and others in a ridiculous position re Zika and Olympics. Should be clear and regular direction from IOC. — Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) May 23, 2016 For U.S. women’s soccer team goalie Hope Solo, that means going to Rio "begrudgingly" and perhaps not leaving her hotel room but for practice, according to CNBC. Alena Sharp, a Canadian golfer with Olympic hopes, was far more certain about her choice. "I don’t plan on having any kids," Sharp told Yahoo! Canada. "That’s not part of my life plan. I’m not too concerned about it. If I did get bit by a mosquito that had it, I would think, we will have the medicine to treat it." Sharp’s is a rather cavalier reaction to such a serious threat and one that McIlroy may choose not to adopt. Indeed, he acknowledged he may eventually opt out of the games -- a decision that Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Marc Leishman have already made. "I mean, yeah," he said. "I am actually going to get my injections on Wednesday. At least I will be immunized for whatever, if I do get bitten by a mosquito down there." Except there is no vaccine or medical treatment for Zika, a predicament that may mean a Rory-free Olympics.Brisbane is usually unbearably hot at this time of year – even the locals will admit that – but a gentle coastal breeze has taken the edge off the heat and left it merely at a balmy "really, really hot". Well it turns out "Really, really hot" is perfect weather for Brisbanites to get out of their houses and head downtown to the Brisbane Convention Centre in Southbank for a spot of Magic between friends, which meant we more than doubled previous attendance record of 466 from 2013 with a whopping 966 players. More players than you can shake a knife at. Or a spoon. We can tell the difference, you know. A Metagame as Wide Open as the Outback Itself The Grand Prix Trials held yesterday painted quite a varied picture of the Modern Metagame. Of the thirteen players who won byes playing Modern, there were ten distinct archetypes, and that trend continued throughout Day 1. Noted New Zealand player Zen Takahashi tweeted this out during Round 8: Going into Round 9, the last round of Day 1, the top tables were: 3 Eldrazi Tron, 2 Elves, 2 Esper Control, Jund, Abzan, 4-Color Scapeshift Combo, Red-Green Tron, Goryo's Vengeance Combo, Bant Company, Sram'O's Combo, Lantern Control, and Dredge. Whether this trend continues through Day 2 towards the Top 8 is anyone's guess, of course, but right now it's looking very promising for a diverse Top 8 and Top 32. A Glimpse at a Rogue Brew "Sven Restel says you should feature his Blue-Black Mill deck," the Scorekeeper called out to me. "Sorry man, I only cover decks that are winning," I replied. "He's 7-1 with it so far." "I'll get my pen." Sven Restel has been a long time member of the Australian competitive Magic Community, I know I've seen him at countless events in the last ten years or so I've been attending them. I asked Sven where he got the idea for this deck. "Back before the last Grand Prix Brisbane in 2013, I saw someone playing a Blue-Black Mill deck in a casual tournament. They kept losing with it, but only just, so I thought the deck could work with some tuning. I took it to the Grand Prix and I finished 41st, and that was in a metagame much more hostile towards it than it is now because people could still play with Deathrite Shaman. The deck used to be Esper, but I kept developing it and it gradually became just Blue-Black. It plays a lot of under-appreciated cards. Things like Visions of Beyond are very good. I hear drawing 3 cards for 1 blue mana is considered very good," he laughed. Sven Restel has been grinding out his opponents this weekend. Will Sven keep winning with it? I know I'll be interested in finding out. His only loss so far has been to an Esper Delve deck. "If they just have Tasigur, the Golden Fang it can be ok, but he had Gurmag Angler as well and that made it tough. It made me wish I still had Path to Exile in the deck." Sven managed to finish 8-1 on Day 1 with his Mill deck, and graciously allowed us to publish it early. "It's not a great deck in a smaller tournament where everyone sees it coming, but when you sit down against someone in a tournament of this size, they have no idea what they're in for." Pro Team Series? Get the Sleeve for MTG Mint Card After Pro Tour Aether Revolt in Dublin a couple of weeks ago, Team MTG Mint Card are perched on top of the leaderboard tied for first place with the Japanese powerhouse Team Musashi. No. 11 Lee Shi Tian leads MTG Mint Card, so I asked him if he imagined they would be in this spot so early in the season. "The plan was to use the Pro Team Series to get Nam Sung Wook back on the Pro Tour again. He missed Gold by 1 point last season, so he was qualified for Dublin but nothing else. I had to ask everyone else in the team if they were ok with me including him in the roster. "I didn't think we'd be on top of the leaderboard. I had hoped we could aim for Top 4 by the end of the season, but there are some great rosters competing. Japan's team (Musashi) is crazy, Channel Fireball's teams are crazy, Pantheon..." Team MTG Mint Card: Yam Wing Chun (non-roster), Huang Hao-Shan, Lee Shi Tian, Kelvin Chew, Zen Takahashi (non-roster), and Jason Chung. With four of their six roster members competing in Brisbane this weekend, along with some of their non-roster team members and playtest partners, Team MTG Mint Card are looking to further their lead in the Series. None of Team Musashi's roster are here this weekend – which is unusual, as the Japanese often traverse the Pacific Rim to compete – so they're either flying to Vancouver, or they're looking to solidify second place on the leaderboard. Can MTG Mint Card hold their lead for the rest of the year? Can they get Nam Sung Wook back on the Pro Tour? They're off to a good start, at least! The Round 9 Shakedown Coming into the last round of the day, six players remained undefeated. On table one Akito Shinoda squared off against Albern Catan, with Shinoda's Esper Delve deck beating Catan's Elves 2-1 to be the first match on the scoreboard. Over in the feature match area, Taufik Indrakesuma's Sram'O's Combo deck looked to be in a tight spot against Jonathan Asquith's Elves deck. "You're about to watch me get beaten," Indrakesuma said, "and badly. This is not good for me," as he passed the turn back to Asquith. I walked to off to watch the remaining match, but found out not long after that Indrakesuma won the match anyway, and 2-0. "He attacked me for 11 that turn, but I drew Puresteel Paladin off the top and started playing equipment after equipment and he died," he said with a less-than-modest shrug. On the other Feature Match table, Oliver Oks was piloting his trusty Lantern Control deck against Lee Shi Tian's Dredge deck. In Game 3, Oks was sheltering behind an Ensnaring Bridge while Lee endeavoured to Dredge away the bulk of his library. Time was called in the round. "I don't think we're going to need the additional turns," Oks admitted to the gathered audience. Lee finally flipped over an Ancient Grudge with just two cards left in his library. The Bridge collapsed and Lee sent in his team, eliciting a chuckle and a handshake from Oks. Oliver Oks can only watch as Lee Shi Tian Dredges up his entire library. "They banned Golgari Grave-Troll, but I guess that wasn't enough," Lee laughed. Going into Day 2 As the dust settled across the play area, and the cleaning staff took to the floor with their brooms to sweep up said dust, the original 966 players were now cut down to just 285. No doubt they would all be heading back to their homes and hotels to get a good night's rest before play resumes tomorrow. I can't imagine anything else they'd do in downtown Brisbane on a lovely summer's night like this, no sir. Also making the cut to Day 2 are Zen Takahashi, Anthony Lee, Kelvin Chew, John-Paul Kelly, James Zhang, Jay Kinkade, Timothy Nolan, Huang Hao-Shan, Luke Mulcahy, David Mines, Matt Rogers, Maitland Cameron, Tomoharu Saito and look, it's a lot of people, ok? Great people. The best people! For everyone else, there's an endless supply of side events and things to see and do here at Grand Prix Brisbane, including a PTQ for Pro Tour Amonkhet and an Australian Highlander tournament where first prize is the much coveted Mox Emerald! Day 1 Undefeated Decklists Come on now, it'd be unfair to publish their decklists before Day 2 starts, wouldn't it? I know, I know, you want to see Indrakesuma's cool Sram'O's Combo deck, or Lee's Dredge deck, and even Shinoda's Esper Delve list, but so do all of their Day 2 opponents, so bear with us and we promise to post them as the last round starts tomorrow, ok? I promise. Pinky promise, even. Lee Shi Tian, Akito Shinoda, and Taufik Indrakesuma are five plus four plus zero... The math checks out. See? I told you I wouldn’t let you down. Here are the 9-0 decklists from Day 1. As I type this, I have no idea whether they’ll also be in the Top 8, but this post will at least be updated around an hour before the Top 8 is announced, so if they do, you can consider it a sneak peek.Polish President Andrzej Duda voiced hope after meeting US leader Donald Trump in Warsaw on Thursday that a long-term contract would soon be signed for the supply of American LNG to Poland. Trump said: “There’ll be many more [LNG shipments] coming.” Last month Poland received its first one-off consignment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the US and is eyeing a contract for more deliveries as it looks to diversify its supplies, reduce dependence on Russia and become a hub for the region. Duda said after face-to-face talks with Trump on Thursday that the first delivery of gas had proved a success. “That opens the way to new contracts," Duda added. “I hope that a long-term contract will be signed soon.” Trump told a press conference: “America stands ready to help Poland and other European nations diversify their energy supplies so you can never be held hostage to a single supplier.” He added: “We look forward to making the economic ties between the US and Poland even stronger,” adding that trade relationships should be “reciprocal.” (pk)645X363 - No Companion - Full Sharing - Additional videos are suggested - Policy/Regulation/Blogs The White House and Senate Republicans are scrambling to win enough support for a key procedural vote Tuesday to move forward with President Obama’s trade agenda. The vote is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic roll calls of this Congress and could be a stinging rebuke of the president by members of his own party. It may also doom a sweeping Pacific trade agreement that is a top priority for the Obama administration. ADVERTISEMENT Trade bills traditionally pass the Senate with ease and face stiffer winds in the House. But this time around, there are major hurdles in both chambers. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Harry Mason ReidSenate confirms Trump court pick despite missing two 'blue slips' Can Lindsey Graham take the politics out of judicial battles? Bottom Line MORE (Nev.) is trying to block the pending “fast-track” trade bill and has asked his conference to demand that three other measures be included in the legislative package. The Wall Street Journal reported late last week that Sen. Ron Wyden Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenTreasury official: Tax withholding guidance wasn't manipulated for political reasons Cohen grilled by Senate Intelligence panel Senate confirms Trump court pick despite missing two 'blue slips' MORE (Ore.), the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, told colleagues in a lunch meeting that fast-track should be combined with the other bills, including a measure with controversial language cracking down on currency manipulation. Republicans on Monday accused Wyden of backing out of a deal they assert he made with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant HatchThe FDA crackdown on dietary supplements is inadequate Orrin Hatch Foundation seeking million in taxpayer money to fund new center in his honor Mitch McConnell has shown the nation his version of power grab MORE (R-Utah) to pair fast-track with Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), but not the two other measures the Democrats are now demanding. A Wyden staffer disputed The Wall Street Journal story. The aide said his boss has said since the beginning of the negotiations that all four bills need to make it to the president’s desk. And while he has not insisted on putting them into a single bill, Wyden has asked for a guarantee that they all become law, the aide said. But with most Democrats now demanding that all four trade bills — fast-track, TAA, a customs enforcement bill and a package of trade preferences for African countries — move in a single package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellWhite House pleads with Senate GOP on emergency declaration Senate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Pence meets with Senate GOP for 'robust' discussion on Trump declaration MORE (R-Ky.) will have trouble rounding up enough votes. It’s unclear if the White House and GOP leaders can get the necessary 60 votes to advance the legislation. Senate aides on both sides of the debate anticipate a close vote. Florida Sen. Bill Nelson Clarence (Bill) William Nelson2020 party politics in Puerto Rico There is no winning without Latinos as part of your coalition Dem 2020 candidates court Puerto Rico as long nomination contest looms MORE, one of seven Democrats to vote for fast-track in the Finance Committee last month, said Monday afternoon he would not vote to end debate on the motion to proceed to trade legislation unless all four bills are combined. He said the Democratic caucus is unified on the question, kicking the ball back into McConnell’s court. Hatch and other Republicans do not want to tie the customs enforcement bill to fast-track because it includes controversial language penalizing trading partners that engage in currency manipulation. Democrats say the customs bill includes other important trade enforcement provisions such as language intended to combat child labor. They say the fourth bill, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, is less important. McConnell had not told colleagues how he would package the trade bills as of 5 p.m. Monday. He merely urged senators to allow the debate to proceed and offered them the chance to mold the trade legislation on the floor. “Some talk about preventing the Senate from even debating the bill. I would tell you, Mr. President, I think that would be a big mistake,” McConnell said, addressing the chamber’s presiding chairman. Hatch, walking into a meeting in McConnell’s office Monday, said he expected to move only fast-track and TAA simultaneously. He said the other two bills would move separately. “The first two, TPA and TAA, will be together and then we’ll call up the other ones later. That’s the best I can do,” he told The Hill. McConnell showed no signs of conceding to Reid’s demands on Monday and may seize on a failure to begin the trade debate Tuesday as an opportunity to bash Democrats for obstructionism. The GOP leader has played up his partnership with Obama on the issue in recent days and could argue that Democrats are stubbornly opposing their own president to please liberal interest groups. Obama has recently lashed out at critics of his trade agenda, most notably Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenWoman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid Raising taxes on the wealthy is 'extremely popular,' says Dem pollster 64 percent say Democratic Party supports socialism, says poll MORE (D-Mass.). McConnell last week praised the president’s handling of the trade debate and revealed over the weekend that he received a handwritten note from Obama thanking him for supporting Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Reid disputed McConnell’s comments on the floor Monday by arguing that Democrats have helped Republicans pass several bills this year. “We have been able to accomplish a few things during this work period and the reason that we have been able to is that we, the minority, have cooperated,” he said. With Reid pressing his colleagues to hold ranks, Republican leaders say it’s now up to Obama to persuade enough Democrats to cross the aisle to get the debate started Tuesday and give the trade legislation a chance of passing before Memorial Day. White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Obama’s conversations with lawmakers, mostly with Democrats but also with some Republicans, have “yielded some votes.” He said the White House would continue to make its case to members of Congress “right up until the vote, and we’re not going to take any of those votes for granted.” Earnest said the administration does not believe currency manipulation language should be attached to the trade package, but he stopped short of issuing a veto threat in response to the possibility. “What we have indicated is that we believe that there’s a better way for us to resolve concerns related to currency,” he said. “The concern that we have about some of the approaches that are currently being discussed on Capitol Hill is that they could be used to effectively undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve.” Jordan Fabian and Vicki Needham contributed. Read more from The Hill: Senate deals stinging defeat to Obama trade agendaStory highlights Democratic Republic of Congo defender Chancel Mbemba Mangulu has "four birthdays" Mbemba case raises issue of age fabrication in football Defender's birth date registered at Congolese E.S. La Grace and Mputu as August 8, 1988, according to documents given to CNN Now an Anderlecht player, Mbemba's date of birth is listed as August 8, 1994 Everyone has a birthday. A joyful day for receiving presents from family and friends, for blowing out candles on a cake as you celebrate your arrival on this earth. Some people even have two, such as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II -- one to mark the date of her birth, and one to celebrate the anniversary of her coronation. But soccer player Chancel Mbemba Mangulu can top that. He appears to have four "birthdays" -- and it has caused him a lot of problems. So much so that football's world governing body FIFA has now started an investigation. "We are currently analysing all the documents at our disposal and investigations against the relevant entities are on-going," FIFA told CNN on Thursday. "In view of this, we cannot comment any further." Mbemba was part of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) squad for the Africa Cup of Nations -- considered one of the toughest tournaments in world soccer -- but, before that, confusion over his date of birth almost put an end to his dreams of a career with a top European club. Mbemba was registered by his two first Congolese clubs as being born in 1988, according to documents obtained by CNN. Yet for a Cup of Nations qualifier in June 2011, his year of birth was listed as November 30, 1991. JUST WATCHED Tiny island makes football history Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Tiny island makes football history 03:42 JUST WATCHED Footballing maverick on giving back Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Footballing maverick on giving back 08:29 JUST WATCHED Zambia Cup victory unites country Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Zambia Cup victory unites country 01:10 Meanwhile, the birth date recorded by his Belgian club Anderlecht is August 8, 1994. Just to complicate matters, Mbemba himself, thinks he was born in 1990. Father Time European clubs generally regard African players as athletically and technically gifted. Arguably just as importantly they are relatively cheap to buy, with the added potential that clubs can make a large profit if they are sold in the future. For the players, the idea of becoming of a professional footballer in Europe holds the promise of a better life for themselves abroad and their families back home. But the issue of age is no trivial matter in football's high-stakes world. Key tournaments involving national teams, such as the Olympics and the Under-20 and Under-17 World Cups, have age limits for participating players. An over-age player brings the advantage of having increased physical development as well as more tactical training and experience at a high level on the pitch. In professional leagues, as a player ages, Father Time becomes the enemy. A player who is older is perceived as closer to being past his prime -- and clubs tend to be less willing to invest in him by offering them a lucrative contract. Bureaucratic nightmare Born in the Congolese capital of Kinshasha, Mbemba had more reasons than most to try and play in Europe. Despite the nation's wealth in natural resources, the country's citizens are among the poorest in the world, and it has seen more than its fair share of violence over the decades. Civil wars -- most recently in the 1990s through 2003 -- have left millions dead across the country and displaced entire generations. "I want to go there," Mbemba kept repeating as he dreamed of following in the footsteps in one of Kinshasa's most famous sons -- former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Claude Makelele. "Our family was very, very poor," he added in an April interview. Recent attempts to contact Mbemba to shed light on his unusual story have gone unanswered. While Mbemba's dream has become something of a bureaucratic nightmare, his story also highlights the continuing issue of age fabrication in football. In 2009, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was embarrassed in the run-up to the Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria when FIFA introduced MRI scans to ensure teams were not fielding overage players. Wary of the tests, Africa's competitors ran their own tests to discover a handful of The Gambia's African championship-winning side were overage, while Nigeria was forced to drop over a dozen players from its proposed squad. 'We needed him' Age fabrication allows nations to field stronger teams in youth tournaments. The age of player is also important for the buying and selling club as it has implications for their salary and future sell-on value. "Most of the age cheating is intentional and aimed at securing victories in international youth competitions, or overseas contracts, especially in Europe," African historian Peter Alegi, author of "African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World's Game," told CNN. "Almost everyone up and down the commodity chain is involved -- from coaches and recruiters to family and the players themselves." A technically gifted defender, Mbemba played for three clubs in the Congo beginning in 2006,with his birth date registered at E.S. La Grace and Mputu as August 8, 1988 -- according to copies of official Congolese player photocards given to CNN -- before he joined MK Étanchéité. JUST WATCHED Eaton talks match fixing in January Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Eaton talks match fixing in January 02:36 JUST WATCHED Can AC Milan rebuild this season? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Can AC Milan rebuild this season? 02:54 The documents showing Mbemba's various ages were provided by the Brazilian agent Paulo Teixeira, who says he was called in by E.S. La Grace to obtain money they claimed was owed to them by Anderlecht for training the player in his formative years. In attempting to verify these documents -- from FIFA, the various federations and clubs involved -- only the world governing body and the Belgian FA responded directly to CNN's request to confirm their authenticity, while a professional Belgian referee confirmed that the Anderlecht team sheet was the type of paperwork used in Belgian football. "It goes by itself that it is impossible for the Belgian FA to control manually whether every player taking part in a game organized by our federation is also a member of our federation," said the Belgian FA in a statement. "Weekly, the Belgian FA organizes more than 10,000 games
were not expecting to be recognised.” He added that although his religion has been in existence for some time, he and his followers previously operated underground for fear of prejudice. Mr Carberry said although his religion did not require a building, as “generally we can use ancient stone circles and are involved closely with nature,” he has been offered the use of a building in Londonderry by a sympathetic supporter. Since becoming an officially recognised religion, he said that the support had been overwhelming, admitting that he had jokingly queried: “what have I let myself in for?” The Order of the Golden River aims to further the social acceptance of other belief systems, promote the benefits of holistic treatments, and to assist people suffering from terminal illness. Additional reporting by The Independent Read more: Theft of Celtic sea god statue 'hate crime against pagans' Meet the locals who believe in alternative forms of healing Independent News ServiceBaghdad: Kurdish fighters on Monday recaptured three villages near Kirkuk from Islamic State (IS) militants, a Kurdish security source told Xinhua news agency. About 20 IS militants and three Kurdish fighters were killed in the battles to seize the villages of Wihda, Saad and Khalid, near the town of Daquoq, some 40 km south of Kirkuk, capital city of the province with the same name, the source said on condition of anonymity. US-led coalition aircraft provided air support for the Kurdish fighters, also known as Peshmerga. Kirkuk, home to mixed ethnicities of Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans and others, is part of the areas being contested. The Kurds want to expand their autonomous region in northern Iraq to include the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and other areas in the provinces of Nineveh, Salahudin and Diyala, a demand fiercely opposed by the Iraqi government. IS militants in August captured Gwer and a nearby town as part of their June 10 blitzkrieg, posing an imminent threat to the Kurdish capital Erbil, but the militants have been pushed back by Peshmerga fighters with international air support.This originally appeared on LinkedIn. You can follow Adam Grant here. In 1776, Adam Smith famously wrote: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” Economists have run with this insight for hundreds of years, and some experts think they’ve run a bit too far. Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell, believes that his profession is squashing cooperation and generosity. And he believes he has the evidence to prove it. Consider these data points: Less charitable giving: in the US, economics professors gave less money to charity than professors in other fields—including history, philosophy, education, psychology, sociology, anthropology, literature, physics, chemistry, and biology. More than twice as many economics professors gave zero dollars to charity than professors from the other fields. More deception for personal gain: economics students in Germany were more likely than students from other majors to recommend an overpriced plumber when they were paid to do it. Greater acceptance of greed: Economics majors and students who had taken at least three economics courses were more likely than their peers to rate greed as “generally good,” “correct,” and “moral.” Less concern for fairness: Students were given $10 and had to make a proposal about how to divide the money with a peer. If the peer accepted, they had a deal, but if the peer declined, both sides got nothing. On average, economics students proposed to keep 13% more money for themselves than students from other majors. In another experiment, students received money, and could either keep it or donate it to the common pool, where it would be multiplied and divided equally between all participants. On average, students contributed 49% of their money, but economics students contributed only 20%. When asked what a “fair” contribution was, the non-economists were clear: 100% of them said “half or more” (a full 25% said “all”). The economists struggled with this question. Over a third of them refused to answer it or gave unintelligible responses. The researchers wrote that the “meaning of ‘fairness’… was somewhat alien for this group.” Hearts of darkness But maybe studying economics doesn’t change people. It could be self-selection: students who already believe in self-interest are drawn to economics. There is evidence for selection. In a study of over 28,000 students in Switzerland, 62% of economics students gave money at least once to help students in need, compared with 69% of non-economics students. These differences were already present before the students took a single economics course: students with lower giving rates were drawn to economics. As freshmen, before their first lectures, 71% of the students who chose economics contributed, compared with 75% of non-economists. But this doesn’t rule out the possibility that studying economics pushes people further toward the selfish extreme. Along with directly learning about self-interest in the classroom, because selfish people are attracted to economics, students end up surrounded by people who believe in and act on the principle of self-interest. Extensive research shows that when people gather in groups, they develop even more extreme beliefs than where they started. Social psychologists call this group polarization. By spending time with like-minded people, economics students may become convinced that selfishness is widespread and rational―or at least that giving is rare and foolish. To figure out whether economics education can shift people in the selfish direction, we need to track beliefs and behaviors over time—or randomly assign them to economics exposure. Here’s what the evidence shows: 1. Altruistic values drop among economics majors At the very beginning of their freshman year, Israeli college students who planned to study economics rated helpfulness, honesty, loyalty, and responsibility (pdf) as just as important as students who were studying communications, political science, and sociology. But third-year economics students rated these values as significantly less important than first-year economics students. 2. Economics students stay selfish, even though their peers become more cooperative When faced with choices between cooperating and defecting, overall, 60% of economics majors defected, compared with only 39% of non-economics majors. For non-economists, 54% of freshmen and sophomores defected, while only 40% of juniors and seniors did. The economists, on the other hand, did not decrease in defection significantly over time. Roughly 70% defected across the board. Non-economists became less selfish as they matured; economists didn’t. 3. After taking economics, students become more selfish and expect worse of others Frank and his colleagues studied college students in astronomy, economic game theory, and economic development classes. Self-interest was a fundamental assumption in the game theory class, but had little role in the economic development class. In all three classes, students answered questions about benefiting from a billing error where they received 10 computers but only paid for nine and finding a lost envelope with $100. They reported how likely they would be to report the billing error and return the envelope, and predicted the odds that other people would do the same. When the students answered these questions in September at the start of the semester, the estimates were similar across the three classes. When they answered the questions again in December at the end of the semester, Frank’s team tracked how many students decreased their estimates. After taking the game theory course, students came to expect more selfish behavior from others, and they became less willing to report the error and return the envelope themselves: “The pernicious effects of the self-interest theory have been most disturbing,” Frank writes in Passions Within Reason. “By encouraging us to expect the worst in others it brings out the worst in us: dreading the role of the chump, we are often loath to heed our nobler instincts.” 4. Just thinking about economics can make us less caring Exposure to economic words might be enough to inhibit compassion and concern for others, even among experienced executives. In one experiment, Andy Molinsky, Joshua Margolis, and I recruited presidents, CEOs, partners, VPs, directors, and managers who supervised an average of 140 employees. We randomly assigned them to unscramble 30 sentences, with either neutral phrases like [green tree was a] or economic words like [continues economy growing our]. Then, the executives wrote letters conveying bad news to an employee who was transferred to an undesirable city and disciplining a highly competent employee for being late to meetings because she lacked a car. Independent coders rated their letters for compassion. Executives who unscrambled sentences with economic words expressed significantly less compassion. There were two factors at play: empathy and unprofessionalism. After thinking about economics, executives felt less empathy—and even when they did empathize, they worried that expressing concern and offering help would be inappropriate. Changing economics and business education As a business school professor, these effects worry me. Economics is taught widely in business schools, providing a foundation for courses in management, finance, and accounting. Business is now the most popular undergraduate major in the US, and it’s growing in market share. From 1997-1998 to 2007-2008, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in the US grew by 32%. In the same time period, the number of business degrees grew by roughly 45%. It’s true at the graduate level, too: business degrees are right behind education as the most common graduate degrees conferred in the US. Business economics may be more devastating than other brands. When comparing students in political economics and business economics, economists found that “the willingness to contribute decreases dramatically for business students.” This may be why the late Stanford professor Hal Leavitt lamented that business education distorts students into “critters with lopsided brains, icy hearts, and shrunken souls.” If economics can discourage prosocial behavior, what should we do about it? I’m not suggesting that we stop teaching economics. An understanding of economics has vital importance to individuals and society. Instead, I recommend three steps for reducing the odds that economics will corrupt students: Require economics majors to take courses in behavioral economics, which considers the role of “social preferences” like fairness, altruism, cooperation, and even being rationally altruistic. Require economics majors to take breadth courses in social sciences like biological anthropology, sociology (pdf), and psychology, which place substantial emphasis on how people are concerned about others, not only themselves. Within economics courses, do a better job defining the principle of self-interest around utility, which involves anything a person values—including helping others. This might mean covering evidence that natural selection can favor unselfish behavior, and that pure selfishness is less common than being “groupish” (willing to put group interests ahead of their own personal interests) and “otherish” (often motivated to help others and themselves at the same time). Until then, we may be dooming students and society to a fate foreshadowed by Nobel Prize-winning economist and philosopher Amartya Sen. Calling economists “rational fools,” Sen observed: “The purely economic man is indeed close to being a social moron.” This article is part of Quartz Ideas, our home for bold arguments and big thinkers.Seattle police investigate a shooting on the night of Friday, July 14, 2017, near 37th Avenue South and South Oregon Street. (Photo: KOMO News) SEATTLE -- A man in his early 20s was shot and killed Friday night in South Seattle as he visited a memorial to a man shot to death on Sunday, The shooting took place at 37th Avenue South and South Oregon Street. The victim was with a group of people at the memorial just before 7 p.m. when a dark-colored sedan and possibly a second car drove by, said Detective Mark Jamieson, a police spokesman. Someone opened fire from one of the cars, shooting one man. The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died. The cars fled after the shooting. On Sunday night, a 32-year-old man was shot several times in the 3700 block of South Oregon Street. He later died at Harborview Medical Center. A second man was wounded.When one of Emily Whitgob ’s interns was subjected to anti-Semitic comments from the parents of a child she was treating, the Stanford researcher brought the incident up at a meeting. She learned that many residents in the room had also faced discrimination by patients on the basis of gender, religion, race, and a host of other factors. The experience led her to explore ways to prepare doctors in training to handle such incidents. We asked her about her about her findings.I was inspired by an event of discrimination when I was a supervising resident, and my intern presented a case to me. After giving me the details of the child’s injury she told me that the parent pointed to her name tag and asked, “Is that a Jewish last name? I don’t want a Jewish doctor; I’m from Palestine.” I realized that I wasn’t fully equipped to help the first-year doctor deal with this event, nor was our faculty attending.When I presented the case to a morning meeting of my co-residents, several of the people in the room were in tears as they discussed discrimination they had faced throughout their education. They were upset to think that physicians face discrimination at this point in time.While we did not gather this information in our study, we know from a separate study that 40 percent of disruptive behavior that first-year residents experienced came from patients.The three scenarios we used in our study were based on real events in pediatric care settings. The first scenario involved an African American junior resident whose path to an infant patient was blocked by the child’s mother. The mother made racist comments and stated she did not want her child treated by a “diversity quota doctor,” demanding another physician “who is actually smart” enough to treat her daughter’s illness. In the second scenario, the mother of a teenage girl in an OB/GYN clinic takes a male medical student aside and says she doesn’t want a man examining her daughter. The third scenario depicts religious discrimination and is similar to the interaction my intern experienced.We interviewed pediatric faculty leaders at Stanford who have clinical, research, and teaching responsibilities. They were purposefully selected from the pediatric residency Program Evaluation Committee, because they would be able to discuss both their own experiences and how they would react if their medical students and residents were discriminated against.Based on our results, there are a few things a physician can do personally. First, it’s important to focus on patient care, and ensure that remains the priority. Physicians should also think in advance about the boundaries of what they are willing to tolerate. From there, they should aim to cultivate a therapeutic alliance with patients and their families, asking about their concerns and emphasizing the importance of the patient’s health above all else. And finally, physicians should try to protect learners and staff from patients’ prejudice.Institutions also have a role to play in equipping providers with ways to deal with discrimination from patients and their families. They should open the discussion about discrimination at the beginning of all training stages, including medical school, clerkships, and intern years. Faculty and staff should be provided with training to better equip them to advise those they are educating. There should be an institutional response for all levels of providers that makes it very clear that the institution does not tolerate discrimination of any type. Along with individual providers, the institution is responsible for creating a safe learning environment.Age, most definitely. Younger doctors can be considered inexperienced, and older doctors can be considered out of date with current research. There is also discrimination based on immigrant status and foreign accent, sexual orientation, and other factors.The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I don’t think people have thought about discrimination in this direction as much as discrimination toward providers coming from within the institution. There is certainly much more written about that type of discrimination. Fostering the conversation is one of the main objectives of this study, and it is also a satisfying reward. Interview subjects seemed pleased to engage in their interviews, and workshop participants had the opportunity to process discriminatory events they had experienced years prior and had not discussed.The pediatric setting introduces an added layer of complexity, because the patients are minors, and it is typically their caregivers who make the discriminatory comments. We go back to the top priority of caring for the patient. These findings do help providers of all disciplines think about how they might respond in similar situations, and opens the dialogue we all need to be having regarding these events.We want to continue this conversation throughout the institution and outside of it. Next steps also include creating faculty and resident development, to better prepare them for these events. This study highlights the prevalence of racism, sexism, and other bigotry and the importance of the conversation that needs to continue in this country. It is impossible to fully prevent discrimination from patients and families; we cannot predict who walks through the door of the hospital. We need to prepare faculty, staff, and trainees to respond to discrimination. No amount of preparation will make an event of discrimination less shocking in the moment, but it will give providers tools they can use to respond.Featured image courtesy of Andrew MaloneBy David Amoruso Talk about not giving a fuck. Genovese crime family mobster Bradford Wedra (photo above) was in court on Monday where prosecutors asked the judge to revoke his bail after the 61-year-old wiseguy failed six drug tests – twice for cocaine and six times for marijuana. The failed drug tests are in violation with his bail terms, prosecutors argued. They made a pretty good case and were helped by Wedra who told the court he has “no intention of stopping” his drug use, the New York Daily News reported. Disregarding the fact that it might not be smart to say such things in court, what will Wedra’s colleagues in the Mafia think? Wedra was scooped up several months ago in a nationwide mob bust netting 46 members and associates of New York’s Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, and Bonanno families and Philadelphia’s Bruno family. He is charged with racketeering conspiracy charges related to his suspected role in smuggling $3 million worth’ of untaxed cigarettes. Wedra pleaded not guilty. He already served a 25-year-sentence for a 1980 murder. As a member of Genovese mob family capo Pasquale Parrello’s crew Wedra was allegedly in the know about a lot of crimes, including an alleged murder conspiracy. Though Parrello and his crew probably already knew about Wedra’s drug use, they might’ve thought it was recreational. Failing drug tests you know are coming due to the fact you are out on bail in a major racketeering case involving five La Cosa Nostra families is anything but recreational. It’s the behavior of an addict, a junkie. No it isn’t, Wedra’s lawyer claimed. “Mr. Wedra has some developmental disabilities. He has some learning deficits. This has plagued him his entire life. It has been documented by psychiatrists that he has borderline mental retardation. The fact of the matter is, he cannot read and is very limited in his ability to write,” the lawyer explained, according to the New York Daily News. It’s an explanation the Genovese mob can get behind! Vincent “Chin” Gigante, one of its longtime bosses, evaded prison for decades by acting like a crazy person. He took showers in his robe while being sheltered by an umbrella and talked to parking meters while walking the streets of New York, but behind closed doors he ran the most powerful Mafia family in the nation. For some reason, the crazy act works. The retard act apparently did as well. The judge accepted Wedra’s lawyer’s explanation and gave the drug-abusing mobster another chance, telling him “This leash is going to be very, very short. We are not going to do this charade all over again, okay.” Wedra was ordered to attend a drug-treatment program, the New York Post reported. The New York tabloid offers a different account of Wedra’s reaction in court than the New York Daily News. They quoted Wedra as saying, “Your Honor’s 100 percent right. Everything you said I did. But I haven’t smoked in — six days is today. I am going to stop. And I give you my word that I will go to any services they send me to, any treatment.” Whatever. Party up! Freedoooooom!! Woohooo!! Get the latest on organized crime and the Mafia at Gangsters Inc.'s news section. Follow Gangsters Inc. on Twitter and Facebook If you enjoyed this article you might also enjoy reading: Copyright © Gangsters Inc.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared poised to expand religious rights and potentially narrow the separation of church and state after liberal and conservative justices alike signalled support for a church denied Missouri taxpayer funds for a playground project. The Supreme Court is seen ahead of the Senate voting to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Justice in Washington, DC, U.S. April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/Files A ruling in favour of Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Missouri in the case, one of the most important of the court’s current term, could pave the way for more public money to go to religious entities. Justices across the nine-member court’s ideological spectrum indicated that Trinity Lutheran should be allowed to apply for the Missouri grant programme that helps nonprofit groups buy rubber playground surfaces made from recycled tires. The church runs a preschool and daycare centre. “It does seem as though this is a clear burden on a constitutional right,” liberal Justice Elena Kagan said during a one-hour argument, referring to Missouri’s prohibition. A ruling is due by the end of June. It is unclear how far the justices will go in setting a precedent that would give states more leeway to fund religious entities directly. The dispute pits two provisions of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment against each other: the guarantee of the free exercise of religion and the Establishment Clause, which requires the separation of church and state. A broad ruling favouring the church could bolster religious conservatives who favour weakening the wall between church and state, including using taxpayer money to pay for children to attend private religious schools rather than public schools. President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is a prominent supporter of such “school choice” plans. Trinity Lutheran, whose legal effort was spearheaded by the Alliance Defending Freedom conservative Christian activist group, could be headed for a lopsided win, with liberals Kagan and Stephen Breyer joining conservative justices in signalling support. Missouri’s constitution bars “any church, sect or denomination of religion” from receiving state money, language that goes further than the U.S. Constitution’s separation of church and state. Breyer questioned whether denying churches access to the playground grant money would be akin to refusing to provide police or fire services. “What’s the difference?” Breyer said. FEDERAL GRANTS Conservative Justice Samuel Alito said several federal grant programs are open to religious entities, including one that provides money to enhance security at buildings where there is a risk of terrorist attack. Synagogues, mosques and religious schools have received funding under that programme, according to a brief filed by a Jewish group supporting the church’s position. Alito asked Missouri’s lawyer, James Layton, if religious entities would be barred from applying if Missouri had a similar programme. Layton said they would be prohibited. Trinity Lutheran argued that Missouri’s policy violates its right to exercise religion as well as the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equal protection under the law. Missouri has said there is nothing unconstitutional about its grant programme, noting that Trinity Lutheran remains free to practice any aspect of its faith however it wishes despite being denied state funds. The court’s newest justice, Trump’s conservative appointee Neil Gorsuch, is known for an expansive view of religious rights. Gorsuch asked Layton why it is acceptable for Missouri to ban religious entities in some instances, such as with the playground programme, but not in others, including safety and health services. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the most outspoken in backing Missouri’s ban, noting the difficulty states could face determining whether funds going to a religious entity are being used for a secular purposes. “How do you separate out its secular function from its religious function?” Sotomayor asked. Three-quarters of the U.S. states have provisions similar to Missouri’s barring funding for religious entities. Missouri’s Republican governor, Eric Greitens, last Thursday reversed the state policy that had banned religious entities from applying for the grant money, saying it was wrong for “government bureaucrats” to deny grants to “people of faith who wanted to do things like make community playgrounds for kids.” Missouri and the church both urged the justices to decide the case anyway because of the important issues at play and because the governor’s action was not irreversible. The issue was discussed only briefly during Wednesday’s argument, suggesting the justices are eager to decide the case on the merits. A Trinity Lutheran victory could help religious organizations nationwide win public dollars for certain purposes, such as health and safety. It also could buttress the case for using publicly funded vouchers to send children to religious schools. A challenge to a 2015 court decision invalidating a Colorado voucher programme is pending before the justices, awaiting the Trinity Lutheran case’s outcome. Trinity Lutheran sued Missouri in federal court in 2012. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015 upheld a trial court’s dismissal of the suit, and the church appealed to the Supreme Court.Autism is a mysterious and puzzling disease, and children who suffer from having been diagnosed with autism are equally puzzling and mysterious. But the remarkable actions of Joe Autie can give us valuable insight into the mind with autism. Autie, 32, is a person who experiences a label of autism, but has overcome his disability and managed to do something.Emily Expert, who has never met Autie but has met other people with autism, and knows countless people who know people with autism, runs an organization for family members of children with autism. According to Expert, “This really remarkable thing that Autie has done can help us all to understand what goes on inside the mind of a child with autism.”Many people who make their living talking about autism agreed that it is extraordinary that Joe Autie has done something in spite of his handicaps. Experts also agreed that it was definitely Autie’s autism which caused him to do this particular thing. “We can assume that because one person with autism did this thing, all people with autism are also drawn to do this thing,” said Dr. Scientist, an autism researcher. “The question is – why?”Of course, because autism is such a mysterious affliction, we may never know truly know why.How does Joe Autie feel about his achievement? “We’re very proud of him,” said his mother.Emily Expert agrees, but she also cautioned that even though Autie’s actions do, of course, give us universal insight into the inner worlds of people with autism, we must be careful that none of those insights are positive in nature.“This is a very inspiring story and has a lot to teach us about people with autism,” said Expert, “but it’s important to bear in mind that the very fact that Autie managed to do something is evidence of how high-functioning he is. Many children with autism never manage to do anything.Autie’s actions are extraordinary and praiseworthy, but they are the exception, and they definitely don’t reflect well on autism or people with autism as a group.”----------So yeah, that was my best shot at writing an article about autism! How do you think I did?Here's why I'm attempting satire: this last week William LeFever, an autistic hiker who'd gotten lost in the desert, was found by a rescue team. Articles about this occurrence all featured a sentence like this: "Authorities credited autism training at least in part for helping them locate LeFever. One of the rescuers suggested searching near the river because he learned that those with autism are often drawn to water, reports The Salt Lake Tribune."We can all spot the flaws in that logic, right? We all know that there's not actually any evidence that autistic people are "drawn to water," right? Everyone understands that LeFever was by the water not because he's autistic but because humans need water to survive, right?Right?The problem is that autistic people are considered so exotic and mysterious that you can say pretty much anything about autism in a news article and get away with it.× Greensboro man accused of stealing burritos, threatening officers with paring knife GREENSBORO, N.C. — A man is accused of stealing two burritos and a Fanta Orange drink from a Greensboro supermarket and then threatening two police officers with a paring knife when they tried to stop him, according to the Greensboro News & Record. Michael George Hider, 62, of Greensboro, faces two charges of assault with a deadly weapon and charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest in today’s incident, according to arrest warrants. Hider took the 16-ounce drink, a Tina’s spicy bean and cheese burrito and a Tina’s bean and cheese burrito, valued at $2.40 from Compare Foods Supermarket, according to the warrants. When officers tried to stop him, he pulled the paring knife out of a pocket and threatened a female officer with it, the warrants state. He then threw the knife at a male officer. The officer dodged the knife, according to the warrant. Read full story: The Greensboro News & RecordSEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has laid landmines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, as tension rose on the divided peninsula after the start of annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises. A North Korean flag is seen on top of a tower near the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating North Korea from South Korea, about 55 km (34 miles) north of Seoul, September 25, 2013. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won North Korea, which conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a string of rocket tests since then, regards the joint exercises as akin to war and has threatened to launch a military strike in retaliation. North Korea had laid the mines near the DMZ “truce village” of Panmunjom, which is controlled by both of the Koreas and the U.S. military. “North Korean’s military was seen laying several landmines last week on the North’s side of the Bridge of No Return,” Yonhap quoted an unidentified South Korean government source as saying. The bridge crosses over a river along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) border, near the scene of a 1976 attack by ax-wielding North Korean soldiers in which two U.S. soldiers were killed. Yonhap said the mines were laid on the North’s side of the MDL border. The DMZ is littered with mines planted over the years but neither side is meant to lay new ones. Last year, two South Korean soldiers were wounded by what the South said were mines laid by the North. The North expressed regret for the incident, without directly admitting to planting them. South Korea’s defense ministry declined to comment on the Yonhap report of new mines saying the area was under the control of the U.N. Command. The U.N. Command, headed by the U.S. military, which jointly supervises security in Panmunjom with the North, expressed concern about activities by the North’s military but did not confirm the report about mines. “The presence of any device or munition on or near the bridge seriously jeopardizes the safety” of people near the border, the U.N. Command said in a statement. It declined to speculate on the reason for recent unspecified activity by the North’s military. Yonhap cited the government source as saying the mines may have been laid to prevent North Korean soldiers from defecting to the South. On Monday, the North’s military said it was prepared to launch a retaliatory strike against the South and the United States in response to the annual drills called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, in which about 25,000 U.S. troops are participating. Tension has been inflamed in recent days by the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat to the South in an embarrassing blow to the North.The average amount a typical student at a four-year public university spends on textbooks is about $47 less than it was four years ago, $655 as opposed to $702. The National Association of College Stores (NACS) credits the decline to used book and book rental programs1. Barnes & Noble at UNC Charlotte has had both for years. In fact, our campus bookstore was among the first in the UNC system to offer a textbook rental program. Publishers set textbook prices. This limits what university bookstores can do to impact textbook affordability for students. But there are actions we can take together to help control costs. How faculty can help control the cost of textbooks Inform the bookstore about adoption decisions on or before adoption deadlines 2, to allow enough time to plan for rental rents (as books adopted for the following term will be shelved as used books to save students up to 80% of the original price), buy-back (as books adopted for the following term are bought back at 50% of the original price), and to source used books in order to increase the likelihood of offering more used books (at a 25% discount) to students. , to allow enough time to plan for rental rents (as books adopted for the following term will be shelved as used books to save students up to 80% of the original price), buy-back (as books adopted for the following term are bought back at 50% of the original price), and to source used books in order to increase the likelihood of offering more used books (at a 25% discount) to students. Consider costs of books and packages before making an adoption decision. Be aware that you may be able to negotiate prices with publishers. Ask the publisher how much the bookstore will be charged, and then make sure that price is honored. Consider adopting stand-alone texts instead of “bundles” so students can rent up to an 80% savings or sell back at 50% and buy used at a savings of 25%. When adopting a “value format” from a publisher (e-book, loose-leaf version, etc.), consider the impact on students not being able to rent (saving them up to 80%), or sell back a book at 50%, and not being able to buy used books (saving 25%). The bookstore can help you run the numbers to determine which version is most cost-effective for students. Inform students on the first day of class about their textbooks; or better yet, send an email prior to start of class. Let them know when a book is “required” vs. “recommended” and tell them how the book will be used. Will it be used in class, for homework or testing only? This helps students understand the value of their investment, and reduces the dissatisfaction many of them feel when they purchase an expensive book but do not use it in class. If enrollments are large enough to make it cost-effective, consider a “customized” version of a text that may eliminate chapters not covered and may reduce costs. Avoid “bundles” that contain items such as access codes, readers, etc., that you do not plan to use in class. While often billed as “free,” these items may add costs and may add to student frustration over being required to purchase items that they do not use, or being prohibited from choosing a used book. What Barnes & Noble at UNC Charlotte bookstore currently does to help control textbook costs: Your campus store offers a comprehensive textbook program that includes a variety of formats and processes aimed at affordability. We leverage relationships with more than 7,000 publishers to help faculty select from an extensive catalog of affordable textbooks and reference books – including rental, digital, and used formats – to help students save up to 60% on textbooks and achieve success in the classroom. Textbook Rental Program: With more than 80 percent of titles typically available to rent, our students will have access to the industry’s leading textbook rental program. Our rental marketplace pricing and buyout programs offer a great opportunity for students to save money without compromising their educational experience. Students can purchase textbook rentals in-store or online; highlight text and make notes on pages; keep books until finals are over; and return books at the bookstore or through the mail. Digital Textbook Program: We offer a robust, academically relevant digital library. Digital offerings are designed with convenience in mind, allowing students to purchase and access books immediately. And, to optimize the digital textbook experience, we offer an exciting new digital reading experience, YUZU. Used Textbooks and Cash for Books: We obtain a large percentage of used book inventory for our students through our multi-channel buyback option known as Cash for Books. At the end of each semester, Cash for Books allows students to return their unwanted textbooks back to the bookstore for up to 50% cash back off the new textbook price. We closely review our school’s course information to identify those materials that may be used again.. Unbundled Textbooks and Custom Texts: We also offer several alternative textbook options that can help our students save even more money, such as bundled, unbundled and custom texts. While some bundled textbook packages include print and technology options that enhance the student’s learning experience like DVDs, study guides, online access and workbooks, others include additional course materials that may not be used in the classroom. When possible, we carry both bundled packages and the individual components, so that students can choose the option that works best for them. Many faculty members choose to create custom texts using select content and other materials. Custom texts address course-specific needs and objectives, allowing students more flexibility in their course material options. Lower Margin on New Textbooks: Back in 2009, Barnes & Noble at UNC Charlotte agreed to lower their margin from 23% to 18%. This is the lowest in the state and among the lowest in the country. Price Match Guarantee: Barnes & Noble at UNC Charlotte offers a 100% price-match guarantee vs. local competitors. How students help control the cost of textbooks: Be informed and know what you’re getting. When price shopping, make sure you’re comparing “apples to apples.” For example, is the used book you’re about to buy online the correct edition? Did your professor order a book with a bundled code? Have more questions? Just ask! Send questions via this contact form, and we’we will make sure it gets to the person who can best answer. ---- http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/why-are-college-textbooks-so-absurdly-expensive/266801/ Fall, Summer 1, Summer 2 due date is in March and Spring adoption due date is in October Thanks to Cheri Griffith, manager of Barnes & Noble at UNC Charlotte and Greg McCambridge, Auxiliary Services Licensing and Bookstore contract manager, for providing content for this article.ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a
SMRU) also contributed to the study. SMRU director Ailsa Hall said: “My assistance was required to provide advice in relation to how assessing the damage to the bottlenose dolphins and large whales that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico and that were exposed to the oil should be tackled. “My research expertise as a marine mammal epidemiologist and toxicologist was sought to provide independent critical review of the proposed work. “The challenges faced by the NOAA scientists in determining whether the oil had caused significant effects on the health and survival of the dolphins and whales in the Gulf of Mexico was immense.”61-year-old DIY enthusiast and stuntman “Mad” Mike Hughes is planning his first manned launch of a homemade, $20,000 steam-powered rocket with “RESEARCH FLAT EARTH” written on the side on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. According to the AP, Hughes says he expects his new rocket to hurl him through the skies above the Mojave Desert ghost town of Amboy at up to 500 miles per hour for roughly one mile, attaining a peak altitude of 1,800 feet before it deploys two parachutes. Hughes is a proponent of the Flat Earth theory; the Research Flat Earth group is his main sponsor. Hughes does not “believe in science,” which he told the AP has “no difference” from science fiction. Advertisement “I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust,” he added. “But that’s not science, that’s just a formula. There’s no difference between science and science fiction.” “If you’re not scared to death, you’re an idiot,” Hughes, who once reassured Ars Technica that he has a high I.Q., told the AP. “It’s scary as hell, but none of us are getting out of this world alive.” Advertisement Adding to the already somewhat troubling nature of the launch, the event will simultaneously serve as the launch of Hughes’ California gubernatorial campaign (because sure, whatever). Though the AP said the event would be live-streamed on Hughes’ YouTube channel, his website says it will be “Available on Internet PPV.” As Ars Technica noted, Hughes has done a lot of this kind of thing, winning a Guinness World Record in 2002 for jumping “102 feet in a Lincoln Town Car stretch limo.” He also survived a manned steam rocket flight in 2014, traveling 1,374 feet and earning himself three days of recovery from extreme g-forces and a rough descent, the AP wrote. Videos of his prior test flights showed that the rockets did not explode in a cloud of steam in mid-air, which is good, but also did not exactly appear to be equipped with the latest-generation parachute technology. Hughes certainly seems to be aware that blasting yourself into the sky is not something that most people would consider a particularly good idea, given possible outcomes like being scalded by red-hot steam or smashing into the ground at lethal speeds. But he also seems pretty determined to do this, so I guess we all owe it to him to hope for the best possible outcome. Advertisement [AP]Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa Foto: Istimewa - Mungkin ini jawaban paling tepat dari semua pertanyaan tentang ekonomi Indonesia. Banyak orang bingung melihat satu persatu ritel tutup. Mulai 7-Eleven hingga Lotus dan Debenhams semua ditutup.Muncul kecemasan masyarakat hingga jeritan pengusaha. Analisa dari pemerintah juga belum tuntas."Biarin saja dulu sampai nanti jelas semuanya," kata Menko Perekonomian, Darmin Nasution, yang secara tidak langsung menegaskan dirinya juga belum tahu pasti apa yang terjadi dengan negara ini. Demikian juga solusi yang harus ditempuh.Ada benarnya dari yang dilakukan Darmin. Dibandingkan harus menambah bahan nyinyiran banyak orang, maka lebih baik menunggu hasil analisa yang lebih akurat. Lengkap dengan kebijakannya.Sekarang mari lihat dari lingkup yang lebih luas. Tak harus perjalanan ekonomi dari zaman sebelum merdeka. Cukup satu dekade terakhir.Indonesia sejak akhir 2006 menikmati kemewahan harga komoditas. Sederhananya, Indonesia saat itu negara yang kaya dengan harga batu bara dan kelapa sawit serta mineral yang tinggi, dan diekspor ke negara lain. Masyarakat bisa hidup foya-foya, membeli segala macam barang dan jasa. Akibatnya ekonomi tumbuh melejit sampai di atas 6%.Tingkat konsumsi masyarakat jika ditotal secara keseluruhan, rata-rata di kisaran 5,3-5,5%. Saking tingginya konsumsi, barang impor masuk secara sporadis.Bahkan ketika krisis keuangan melanda dunia pada 2008, Indonesia masih cukup aman-aman saja. Selain stabilitas sistem keuangan yang semakin baik, banyak komponen lain yang ikut menopang dari hantaman krisis.Nah, cerita indah itu selesai pada akhir 2012. Harga komoditas anjlok. Orang-orang kaya baru pelan-pelan tertekan. Bayangkan, pada 2010 harga batu bara mencapai US$ 100/ton, kemudian turun jadi sekitar US$ 70/ton.Ini merambat ke semua sektor. Apalagi ekonomi Indonesia sangat bergantung kepada komoditas, lebih tepatnya komoditas mentah. Konsumsi masyarakat secara keseluruhan juga turun ke level 5%. Belum terlalu buruk memang, tapi sudah mulai waspada (seharusnya).Apalagi pada 2013, ada sedikit guncangan pasar keuangan yang bersumber dari Amerika Serikat (AS). Saat Bank Sentral AS, Federal Reserve (The Fed), mengumumkan penghentian stimulus dan memberikan sinyal akan adanya kenaikan suku bunga acuan secara agresif. Ini membuat dana asing di negara berkembang kembali ke AS.Nilai tukar rupiah jadi korban. Investor bawa kembali kabur uangnya dari Indonesia, sehingga rupiah anjlok. Dolar AS pada 2010 masih di kisaran Rp 8.000, lalu berubah jadi Rp 11.000 pada 2013, dan sampai di level Rp 14.000 di tahun berikutnya. Tingkat fluktuasinya juga tinggi.Konsumsi masyarakat kembali jadi sasarannya. Pelemahan nilai tukar paling terasa bagi masyarakat yang ingin membeli barang elektronik, seperti komputer, laptop dan telepon seluler (ponsel) karena harganya makin mahal. Kemudian juga makanan sehari-hari seperti tempe, karena kedelainya 90% impor.Dari gambaran di atas terlihat asal muasal penurunan konsumsi masyarakat atau yang bisa juga disebut daya beli. Bila hanya melihat data tiga tahun terakhir, konsumsi masyarakat stagnan di level 4,9-5%."Jadi kalau orang bilang daya beli turun, dari 10 tahun lalu iya. Tapi kalau cuma tiga tahun terakhir saya sebut itu stagnan di kisaran 5%," ungkap Mantan Menteri Keuangan, Chatib Basri, kepadaAnalisa tersebut masih sangat umum. Belum dapat menjelaskan kenapa pusat perbelanjaan glodok dan WTC Mangga Dua sepi, Lotus dan Debenhams yang tutup serta Hero dan Ramayana yang mulai efisiensi habis-habisan.Apa iya beralih ke ekonomi digital alias e-commerce?Chatib Basri memberikan penjelasan sederhana, namun tetap kuat sebagai indikator.Pertama, orang yang mampu terlibat e-commerce atau belanja dengan cara online hanya yang mampu memiliki smartphone alias ponsel pintar. Harganya paling murah berkisar Rp 1.000.000/unit.Sangat kecil kemungkinan masyarakat dengan pendapatan rendah membeli smartphone demi belanja online. Apalagi untuk kebutuhan pokok saja belum bisa terpenuhi."Hanya orang pendapatan kelas menengah ke atas yang mampu terlibat," ujar Chatib.Kedua, belanja online mayoritas menggunakan produk perbankan sebagai alat pembayaran. Baik itu transaksi lewat Anjungan Tunai Mandiri (ATM) maupun kartu kredit.Data menunjukkan, baru sekitar 36% masyarakat yang bankable artinya memanfaatkan fasilitas perbankan. Kelompok ini mayoritas berada di perkotaan. Maka dapat diartikan fenomena peralihan ke belanja online tidak bisa menjelaskan nasib 64% masyarakat Indonesia lainnya.Ketiga, belanja online adalah ranahnya anak muda. "Generasi tua itu susah mengerti aplikasi itu, pasti minta tolong anaknya kalau dia mau belanja juga," terangnya.Kesimpulan selanjutnya, hanya kelompok menengah ke atas, orang yang tinggal di perkotaan dan berusia muda yang beralih ke belanja online. Makanya dari total ekonomi Indonesia, porsi dari sektor ini tak lebih 2%.Mantan Kepala Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM) ini melanjutkan analisanya. Kelas menengah ke atas, khususnya profesional, menurut Chatib masih tetap bisa bertahan meskipun kondisi ekonomi agak goyang.Pendapatan terus mengalami peningkatan, apalagi yang terlibat investasi di pasar modal. Sekarang saja Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) melaju kencang sampai ke level 6.000."Gaji profesional, pegawai kantoran itu kan naik terus. Jadi income mereka naik," kata Chatib.Kelompok ini mengalami perubahan gaya hidup. Tadinya belanja pakaian, kendaraan hingga ponsel setiap saat kemudian beralih menjadi rekreasi dan liburan. Makanya dalam beberapa kuartal terakhir, berdasarkan laporan Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), sektor informasi dan komunikasi, transportasi dan pergudangan dan jasa mengalami pertumbuhan cukup tinggi.Sayangnya perubahan gaya hidup juga tidak merata. Ada kelompok kelas menengah atas yang juga mengalami kekhawatiran berlebihan yang disebabkan oleh gejolak sosial dan politik dalam beberapa waktu terakhir. Juga kekhawatiran dengan pajak.Rujukan datanya adalah data Statistik Perbankan Indonesia (SPI). Total dana pihak ketiga (DPK) perbankan nasional per Mei 2017 tercatat Rp 5.012 triliun atau tumbuh 11,18% dibandingkan periode yang sama tahun sebelumnya Rp 4.508 triliun.Peningkatan ini terjadi sejak 2014 dari Rp 4.114 triliun naik 7,27% menjadi Rp. 4.143 triliun pada 2015. Kemudian tumbuh 9,59% menjadi Rp 4.836 triliun pada akhir 2016. Kenaikan tertinggi adalah untuk simpanan di atas Rp 2 miliar."Mereka enggak berani spending (belanja), makanya saving (tabungan) naik tajam," papar Chatib.Simpanan yang tinggi merupakan bagian dari antisipasi bila ada kondisi buruk datang tiba-tiba, misalnya pemutusan hubungan kerja (PHK). Kelas menengah juga tak mau ambil risiko terlalu besar untuk berinvestasi di sektor rill, seperti properti.Saat kelompok menengah atas terus mendapatkan peningkatan pendapatan, kelompok menengah ke bawah alias masyarakat miskin dan rentan miskin justru makin terpuruk. Kondisi yang tidak sesuai dengan keinginan pemerintah yang selalu gencar akan pemerataan ekonomi.Berdasarkan data Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) yang dikutip, upah rill buruh bangunan turun dari Rp 65.211 per hari pada Januari 2017 menjadi Rp 64.867 per hari di September 2017.Begitu juga dengan pembantu rumah tangga pada periode yang sama, dari awalnya Rp 380.968 per bulan menjadi Rp 360.968.Untuk buruh tani memang ada kenaikan dari Rp 37.064 menjadi Rp 37.711. Namun bila dibandingkan pertumbuhannya dibandingkan periode yang sama di tahun-tahun sebelumnya, periode sekarang sangat rendah."Jadi upah pekerja itu makin lama makin turun. Mereka yang terkena imbas dari perlambatan ekonomi," ungkap Chatib.Ditambah lagi ada persoalan keterlambatan penyaluran beras untuk masyarakat sejahtera (rastra) pada pertengahan tahun lalu.Ada sebuah konsep yang berbeda dalam dua kelompok ini. Menurut Chatib pada kelompok menengah atas, meskipun ada gejolak ekonomi, penghasilannya tetap akan naik minimal pada batas inflasi. Sementara kelompok menengah ke bawah tidak.Chatib juga mengungkit soal jawaban pemerintah yang selalu mengatasnamakan pertumbuhan Pajak Pertambahan Nilai (PPN) sebagai gambaran konsumsi masyarakat masih tinggi. Patut diakui pertumbuhan 14% memang cukup tinggi. Akan tetapi itu tak berlaku bagi kelompok menengah ke bawah."Lah orang-orang ini kan makan di warteg, itu warteg enggak narik PPN. Jadi enggak mutlak jadi gambaran daya beli keseluruhan," paparnya.Kesimpulan dari Chatib, fenomena sekarang tidak bisa diukur dari satu komponen saja. Ada masyarakat yang masih memiliki daya beli bagus, namun tak sedikit juga terpuruk."Kalau hanya melihat dari satu komponen maka tidak akan ketemu persoalannya. Semua memiliki keterkaitan sehingga menimbulkan fenomena seperti sekarang," tutupnya. [Gambas:Video 20detik]Without question, Iran’s decision to continue testing ballistic missiles is unhelpful and inconsistent with the spirit of a key 2015 UN Security Council resolution. But the Trump administration and the Congress should measure their response to Iran’s missile test and refrain from actions that will provoke escalation or unnecessarily endanger the nuclear deal. Implementation of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom) and Iran blocks Tehran from building nuclear weapons for more than a decade. Keeping the deal in place radically reduces the potential threat from Iranian ballistic missiles. by eliminating their potential to deliver nuclear weapons. While Iran’s ballistic missile tests are clearly not a violation of the nuclear deal, these activities are inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the agreement and lifted some UN sanctions, but kept in place restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile activities. Resolution 2231 “calls upon” Iran not to test any ballistic missiles that are “designed to be nuclear capable.” This language is less restrictive than the prior prohibition on missile testing contained in UN Security Council Resolution 1929 (2010), which said that Iran “shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.” This restriction was replaced by 2231. Unhelpfully, Iran has chosen to continue testing ballistic missiles after implementation of the Iran deal. These past ballistic missile tests were deemed to be “not consistent with the constructive spirit” of 2231, not violations, according to a report on implementation of 2231 by the UN secretary-general. Similar language was used by France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault January 31, in response to Iran’s most recent test. Ayrault said, "France has expressed its concern at Iran's continuation of its ballistic missile tests on several occasions” and the continued tests are "contrary to the spirit" of UN Security Council resolution 2231 and "hamper the process of restoring the confidence established by the Vienna agreement." Given that the missile restrictions are put in place by UN Security Council 2231, the Security Council can and should pursue the matter. According to the British Ambassador to the UN, the Security Council directed the committee to investigate the test. That is a prudent and appropriate response. How Should Washington Respond? Today, following reports that Iran recently conducted a ballistic missile test and continues to support Houthi rebels in Yemen who are fighting Saudi forces, the Donald Trump administration said they were putting Iran “on notice.” In a briefing for reporters by an unnamed senior administration official said the administration is undertaking a review on how to respond, calling it "a deliberative process.” As for next steps he said that the administration wants to "get their attention” and make it clear that "Iranian behavior in support of the Houthis … could not be ignored.” The official said “this is separate and apart from the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA,” but would not comment on whether Trump wants to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal. “Just because there is a nuclear deal, that doesn’t mean we will be shy on other issues, ballistic or others,” he said. Some Republican senators have argued in the past that the United States should respond to the missile tests by suspending U.S. sanctions relief as called for under the terms of the nuclear deal. Such a move would be highly counterproductive. It would be a violation of U.S. commitments under the nuclear deal, provide Iran with an excuse to stop implementation of its obligations under the deal, and would in the long term increase, not reduce the risks posed by Tehran’s ballistic missiles. U.S. policymakers should put the risks posed by the missile tests in perspective and pursue effective actions that address Iran’s behavior, but do not undermine progress toward reducing Iran’s nuclear potential. Furthermore, further sanctions of Iranian entities tied to missile development or production will not likely succeed in reducing, or even slowing Iran ballistic missile program, and such moves may actually strengthen the hand of hard liners who want to accelerate the program in response to U.S. pressure. Iran missile program is reasonably self-sufficient and likely has most of the imported items it needs to continue developing new systems, and improving the performance and reliability of existing missiles. Rather than pursuing additional unilateral sanctions at this time or taking the draconian step of suspending the sanctions relief as outlined in the 2015 P5+1 and Iran nuclear agreement, the United States, our allies and partners should consider other effective means to curb Iran’s missile development: Strengthening multilateral interdiction efforts: Iran has skirted sanctions to procure technologies and materials for its ballistic missile program. Existing UN sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program will remain in place for eight years, so it would not come as a surprise if Tehran continues to try to find ways to use illicit procurement networks to keep working on its ballistic missiles. Strengthening interdiction capacity, through mechanisms like the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), will assist states in identifying and inspecting illicit cargo. In several cases in the past, PSI is credited with preventing ballistic missile materials from reaching Iran. In 2013, the United States and the United Arab Emirates co-hosted a PSI exercise to focus on weapons of mass destruction interdictions. Additional exercises and workshops in the Middle East could help countries in the region develop tactics, techniques and procedures to enhance interdiction capacities. Iran has skirted sanctions to procure technologies and materials for its ballistic missile program. Existing UN sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program will remain in place for eight years, so it would not come as a surprise if Tehran continues to try to find ways to use illicit procurement networks to keep working on its ballistic missiles. Strengthening interdiction capacity, through mechanisms like the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), will assist states in identifying and inspecting illicit cargo. In several cases in the past, PSI is credited with preventing ballistic missile materials from reaching Iran. In 2013, the United States and the United Arab Emirates co-hosted a PSI exercise to focus on weapons of mass destruction interdictions. Additional exercises and workshops in the Middle East could help countries in the region develop tactics, techniques and procedures to enhance interdiction capacities. Expand and strengthen the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR): The MTCR is a voluntary, multilateral initiative designed to stem the spread of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. The 34 member states of the regime commit to establishing export control policies and sets out criteria for evaluating the sale of materials and technologies relevant to such systems. It is credited with stemming the spread of ballistic missiles in several countries. However, over 10 countries are seeking to join the MTCR and its control lists could be reviewed and updated to reflect new technologies. The MTCR is a voluntary, multilateral initiative designed to stem the spread of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. The 34 member states of the regime commit to establishing export control policies and sets out criteria for evaluating the sale of materials and technologies relevant to such systems. It is credited with stemming the spread of ballistic missiles in several countries. However, over 10 countries are seeking to join the MTCR and its control lists could be reviewed and updated to reflect new technologies. Support efforts to negotiate regional ballistic missile limits: No other country in the Middle East is subject to ballistic missile limits. Given the tensions between Tehran and its neighbors, it is extremely unlikely that Iran will stop developing its ballistic missile capabilities when countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel field ballistic missiles capable of targeting Iran. However, Iran might be willing to abide by missile limits as part of a region wide effort to ban longer-range ballistic missile systems. The United States could encourage, and support, a regionwide effort to negotiate a ban on missiles capable of carrying WMD. No other country in the Middle East is subject to ballistic missile limits. Given the tensions between Tehran and its neighbors, it is extremely unlikely that Iran will stop developing its ballistic missile capabilities when countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel field ballistic missiles capable of targeting Iran. However, Iran might be willing to abide by missile limits as part of a region wide effort to ban longer-range ballistic missile systems. The United States could encourage, and support, a regionwide effort to negotiate a ban on missiles capable of carrying WMD. Request an updated assessment of Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities: The intelligence community long asserted that Tehran was capable of testing an intercontinental ballistic missile, with sufficient foreign assistance, by 2015. U.S. officials have recently said that an ICBM is at least a decade away and Iranian officials have emphasized that they intend to focus on medium-range systems. Instead of provoking a confrontation with Tehran, Washington should focus its efforts on strengthening enforcement of the extensive ballistic missile sanctions on the books to continue to slow Tehran’s missile program and pursue regionwide restrictions on ballistic missiles in the Middle East.The Great Game or the Geo Strategic power play, in Afghanistan, started somewhere in 1813, post Russo-Persian treaty. Since then over the two centuries, this region has witnessed varied players; however centrality of this area to their changing interest has remained unaffected. The great powers of their times, The British Empire, Czar Russia and Soviet Union have jostled over supremacy in pre WW II era. Even in the post WW II in the periods of cold war and there on, this quest has continued. The region has seen conflict between the Soviet Union, NATO and allies, The United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and India from the late 1970s till date. They have all contributed directly or indirectly towards gaining control of the Central Asian region. The end game to the existing phase of dominance of Afghanistan by the western powers has begun; simultaneously the new rules and new players are set to enter the fray. The Americans are working hard on their planned exit from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and Pakistan is playing real politic by trying to establish its hegemony behind the shield of its all-weather friend China. The strategic wisdom reflected by the rulers of Pakistan in handing over Gawadar port to the Chinese has not augured well in its neighbourhood. This development may not prove good to long term stability in the region which will not go unchallenged by both India and the US. With the Chinese feet getting washed by the warm waters of Arabian Sea, they are likely to be seen as posing a threat to the American and Indian interests and upset the strategic balance of the region … Post American withdrawal from Afghanistan, The Chinese want to establish strong influence in this region as it is important for them in achieving long term energy security that they are aggressively pursuing. China wants to transport oil and gas imported from Africa, Middle East and Iran through transnational pipeline, rail and road network that it proposes to construct from Baluchistan in Pakistan and connect to the existing network running from Russia into China through Kazakistan. With the Chinese feet getting washed by the warm waters of Arabian Sea, they are likely to be seen as posing a threat to the American and Indian interests and upset the strategic balance of the region who will not relent it so easily and are likely to leave no stone unturned to up stick the Chinese. Baluchistan’s insurgency which Pakistan always alleges to be aided and supported by the Indians is likely to come in the forefront with USA actively supporting it, thus riding the popular Baluchi sentiment of hatred towards the colonial attitude of Pakistan as referred by their leaders, thus challenging the Chinese dreams. The issue of energy security is of utmost importance to China, considering the fact that majority of its oil reserves and upstream infrastructure is located in vicinity to, or on the Eastern sea board, leaving them highly vulnerable to Taiwanese missiles. In order to secure and diversify energy supplies, the Chinese have launched an offensive oil acquisition programme. Today China’s import from the Middle East and Africa accounts for 51% and 24% respectively of their total oil import. Gawadar port and Myanmar-China oil and gas pipeline are being developed to transport this very oil to avoid the choke point of the Strait of Malacca and a potential flash point in the South China Sea (SCS), considerably reducing the risk of supply disruptions. China is the world’s most populous country that has a rapidly growing economy. This has driven the country’s energy demand steeply upwards and hence its quest for securing more and more energy resources is being perused on a war footing. The Chinese assertive claims in SCS are part of this policy. Today China accounts for a total of 10% of the total world consumption of crude oil. According to estimates China holds 20.4 billion barrels of proven reserves which is highest in the Asia Pacific region and it is estimated that SCS by itself holds anywhere from 27 billion barrels to 210 billion barrels making it potentially the largest known oil reserve in the world. Though China has objected to India’s co-operation with Vietnam in SCS however on its part it continues to meddle in POK despite Indian protests and concerns. ASEAN countries, India and the United States have very large stakes in the region. India’s ONGC is exploring off shore oil along with the Vietnamese which is very important in securing a long term energy security. Beijing has indirectly warned India to refrain from dealing with Vietnam and stop exploration activities in SCS. It has cautioned the concerned parties not to “play with fire”. Indian Naval Chief on its part has reassured the country that the Indian Navy is capable of defending its strategic assets in the region without directly naming China. Though China has objected to India’s co-operation with Vietnam in SCS however on its part it continues to meddle in POK despite Indian protests and concerns. The Chinese in the name of development in POK have stationed their troops which deciphered as threat the other side. For India SCS is of strategic importance not only in terms of oil exploration but also by the fact that 50–60% of its trade passes through this vital shipping Gate Way, into the Asia Pacific region. Indian security is challenged by assertive China posing risk to its shipping, mining, and trade apart from threatening security of the friendly littoral countries. This has drawn in the USA into this regional arena resulting in a heightened global confrontation and has succeeded in creating two poles namely pro-China and pro-USA. To maintain economic growth and regional supremacy, India has to aggressively venture into conflict zones of East Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and the South China Sea If, these are the initial signatures of a Great Game, that will be played over the next century in SCS. Then it mandatory for India to take lessons from the Afghanistan, a country that is in its near neighbourhood, having close cultural and historical links, yet India has failed to influence the turn of event standing as a mere spectator despite its size and potential. This role has been attributed to it by its weak strategic vision, impractical economic and foreign policy. The result is a slower economic growth rate, poor international standing and wavering national will to meet up various challenges. This has adversely impacted in management of internal security as well as the external security environment. If India wants to defend its energy interests, that are necessary for meeting its large and growing requirements, it has no other option but to largely depend upon fossil fuels to propel the GDP of some US $ 1.85 trillion dollars in the years ahead. To maintain economic growth and regional supremacy, India has to aggressively venture into conflict zones of East Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and the South China Sea. It can be easily be said that the Indian establishment has no strategic roll-on plan which is evident from the reduced Defence Budget 2013-14. In order to be a country in reckoning, India has to undergo transformation, starting from a strong and stable leadership, capable of taking harsh decisions in the national interest. Only the strong economic fundamentals, complimented by visionary and a strong leadership will enable the countries strategists to lay the foundation for radical changes that are needed in the overall security revamp. It is the right time to restructure and realign the Indian Armed Forces from being Pakistan centric, in to a more assertive and a potent expeditionary force, desired by an aspiring super power in defending its strategic interests. Crystal ball gazing tells that the next India Pakistan round will be played in Baluchistan and not in the plains of Punjab and deserts of Rajasthan. General Sunderji’s vision to dissect Pakistan into two, by driving a wedge through the Cholistan desert is no more a possibility in the present nuclear backdrop of India and Pakistan. The space to manoeuvre by Indian conventional forces is highly restricted before a radicalised Pakistan triggers the nuclear button. Crystal ball gazing tells that the next India Pakistan round will be played in Baluchistan and not in the plains of Punjab and deserts of Rajasthan. India along with the USA and the UAE should support the Baluchistan Liberation army in defeating the Pakistani and Chinese alliance in the region. If this is going to be the future conflict scenario between the two neighbours, than there is a strong case for Indian Army to rethink on maintaining mammoth Strike Corps formations, an out dated concept of the 60s and 70s which have been rendered impotent by the turn of events over the past decades. Out of India’s five combat capable commands i.e. Northern, Western, South Western, Southern and the Eastern Command, four are biased towards Pakistan whereas the next century conflicts are destined to take place with the Chinese, fought over securing trade and energy supply. To step out of the stereo type, India needs to free its Infantry formations and battalions embroiled in the internal armed conflict as well as Line of Control (LOC) management in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. To step out of the stereo type, India needs to free its Infantry formations and battalions embroiled in the internal armed conflict as well as Line of Control (LOC) management in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. A competent border management force on the lines of Border Security Force or the Indo Tibetan Border Police be raised and enshrined with the task to maintain the sanctity of the LOC under the overall control of the army. The relieved Army units should be reorganised into strong Mountain Strike reserves positioned accordingly to cater for contingencies and threats emanating from the Chinese or the Pakistanis. The counter insurgency could well be handed over to the state and the paramilitary forces. A similar model would be needed in the India’s troubled North East and in any case mountain strike corps is proposed to be raised in near future to counter the looming Chinese threat from across the Himalayas. In countering the threat of Pakistan in the plains of Punjab, Rajasthan and the Thar desert, Indian Army’s strike corps need to be downsized both in task and capability and in turn enhance the capability of defensive formations providing them with inherent ability to undertake limited offensive across the IB against Pakistan if need arises. By carrying out these changes India will be able to prune its army and equip the lean and mean force with high end technologies capable of enforcing quick resolution on the adversary. The Southern Command which largely looks at Pakistan also needs to be realigned and restructured in giving India an expeditionary capability by converting it into a tri services command. For such futuristic roles on both, the Eastern as well as the Western sea board of India, this command will have to be provided with strong blue water naval assets complimented with an Air Force with strategic reach. There may be a necessity of raising, training and equipping two corps size forces on the lines of US marines that are trained in undertaking joint operations in India’s Strategic arc stretching from the Eastern Africa to South China Sea. If India wants to realise the dream of becoming an economic super power, the military powers need to be enhanced and realigned. When the lines are still being drawn for the great game on the high seas of South China, India has to rise and measure up or else the next century may be lost to another hundred years an opportunity that India cannot afford to slip.Just as a camera flash illuminates unseen objects hidden in darkness, a sequence of laser pulses can be used to study the elusive quantum behavior of a large "macroscopic" object. This method provides a novel tool of unprecedented performance for current experiments that push the boundaries of the quantum world to larger and larger scales. A collaboration of scientists led by researchers from the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) at the University of Vienna report this new scheme in the forthcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. One of the most fascinating and still open questions in physics is how far quantum phenomena extend into our everyday world. To answer that, experiments need to peer into the quantum world at a completely new scale of mass and size. This is a bumpy road: it becomes increasingly difficult to detect the genuine quantum features as mass and size are increased. Overcoming the "blur" The research team proposes a method that uses flashes of light to observe quantum features of large objects with unprecedented resolution. The main idea is based on the fact that quantum objects, in contrast to classical objects, behave differently when they are being watched. "In current approaches, objects are constantly monitored and the possible quantum features are being washed out. This is in many ways analogous to the blurring of a photograph of a fast moving object," says Michael R. Vanner, lead author of the paper and member of the Vienna Doctoral School Complex Quantum Systems (CoQuS). "Loosely speaking, the flashes freeze the motion and create a sharp image of the quantum behavior." How macroscopic can "quantum" be? With this new tool, experiments will be able to peer into the quantum world at a completely new scale of mass and size. In particular, the scheme can be directly applied to the ongoing experiments that attempt to prepare quantum phenomena in micro-mechanical resonators, i.e. mechanically vibrating massive objects. "By analyzing the dynamics of such behavior, pulsed quantum optomechanics provides a path for investigating whether macroscopic mechanical objects can be used in future quantum technologies. It will also help shed light on nature's apparent division between the quantum and the classical worlds."North Market Expanding Hours of Operation Photo provided by The North Market. Starting in April, shoppers will be able to spend a little bit more time at The North Market with expanded hours throughout the week. The market will remain open until 7pm on Saturdays and Monday will no longer be an “optional” day for merchants, which in the past has meant a partially-open scenario where half the vendors remained closed. “When I opened 25 years ago we were a three day per week market in a somewhat desolate area of the city,” said Market Blooms owner Marty McGreevy. “Times have changed and our city has cherished and preserved this treasure. Providing additional service to Columbus and its guests is a responsibility and privilege of all North Market Merchants.” Beginning on April 1st, the North Market will officially be open Sunday and Monday from 10am to 5pm and Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 7pm. North Market Executive Director Rick Harrison Wolfe says that the expansion of building hours has long been something requested by shoppers. To encourage customers to visit the North Market on Mondays, a special promotion for an hour of free parking will be honored throughout the month of April with validation of your parking pass at any merchant booth inside the building. Specific merchants are planning to offer Monday-only specials throughout the month as well. For more information, visit www.northmarket.com. Related Articles: No related articles. About the Author Walker is the co-founder of ColumbusUnderground.com and TheMetropreneur
et al. (2011b). VLp = posterior VL. To identify the dopaminergic mechanisms underlying these changes, we compared striato-pallidal DAT binding between tremor-dominant and non-tremor patients with Parkinson's disease, using [123I]FP-CIT SPECT (Helmich et al., 2011,b). This revealed that pallidal, but not striatal, dopamine depletion correlates with the severity of resting tremor. This finding could solve the dopaminergic paradox of Parkinson's disease resting tremor. Specifically, the pallidum receives distinct dopaminergic projections from the substantia nigra pars compacta (Smith et al., 1989) and the retrorubral area (Jan et al., 2000), but these same mesencephalic areas also send separate projections to the striatum [substantia nigra pars compacta (Anden et al., 1964); retrorubral area (Francois et al., 1999)]. This pattern of divergence and convergence makes it unlikely that midbrain pathology can produce either pure striatal or pure pallidal dopamine depletion although the degree of dopamine depletion in each area may vary between patients. Thus, patients with Parkinson's disease with resting tremor will generally have some degree of striatal dopamine depletion, explaining why the presence of striatal dopamine depletion appears required for developing resting tremor (Deuschl et al., 2000). Indeed, if pallidal (but not striatal) dopamine depletion is involved in tremor genesis, this could also explain why striatal DAT signal is not correlated with tremor severity. The dimmer-switch model combines several features of the previous hypotheses into a larger explanatory framework. First, loss of segregation in the dopamine-depleted pallidum may be a mechanism that explains both the emergence of pathological activity in the basal ganglia, and the increased connectivity between basal ganglia and motor cortex (Rivlin-Etzion et al., 2008). Second, altered basal ganglia output may influence neurons in the cerebellar thalamus (posterior VL) via the motor cortex. That is, excitatory cortico-thalamic projections from motor cortex to ventrolateral thalamus (Fonnum et al., 1981; Rouiller et al., 1998; Kultas-Ilinsky et al., 2003) can activate inhibitory intra-thalamic circuits (Ando et al., 1995; Landisman and Connors, 2007; Cruikshank et al., 2010), leading to low-frequency oscillations within the thalamo-cortical network (Blumenfeld and McCormick, 2000). This model would explain why basal ganglia oscillations are only transient and inconsistent, why thalamic oscillations are highly synchronous with the tremor, and thus why both basal ganglia and the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit are causally related to tremor. It remains to be shown why posterior VL neurons are more prone to develop tremor oscillations than anterior VL neurons, since both regions receive cortico-thalamic projections from the motor cortex. Hypothetically, the connections between the posterior VL and the cerebellum are a prerequisite for the development of tremor oscillations. Limitations of the model and future research Role of the subthalamic nucleus With the methods (functional MRI) employed in our previous paper (Helmich et al., 2011,b), we were not able to reliably detect cerebral activity in a small nucleus such as the STN. The presence of tremor oscillations in the STN that are coherent with peripheral tremor activity (Levy et al., 2000) and the ability of STN-DBS to reduce tremor (Kumar et al., 1998; Krack et al., 2003; Kim et al., 2010) suggest that this nucleus has an important pathophysiological role in tremor. In contrast to the pallidum, the STN receives direct anatomical projections from the motor cortex (Nambu et al., 2000), and functional connectivity between the motor cortex and the STN is increased in Parkinson's disease (Baudrexel et al., 2011; Moran et al., 2011). The STN also sends disynaptic anatomical projections to the cerebellar cortex (Bostan et al., 2010). Therefore, the STN has both afferent and efferent connections with the cerebello-thalamo-cortical tremor circuit. Whether the STN is part of the basal ganglia trigger, or whether the STN is involved in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit producing the tremor, remains to be investigated in future studies using high-resolution MRI in combination with connectivity analyses. Tremor oscillator Although our methods (functional MRI) enabled a systems-level view on tremor, we could not detect oscillatory activity at tremor frequency. Therefore, it remains an open question which brain region(s) determine the tremor frequency. The cerebello-thalamo-cortical tremor network we identified matches closely the network identified in studies that have directly tracked cerebral changes occurring at resting-tremor frequency (using magneto-encephalography; Fig. 3). Thus, in our view, it is the cerebello-thalamo-cortical network that is the ultimate tremor generator, but as influenced and triggered by the coupled basal ganglia network. Accordingly, a novel DBS paradigm that takes these network properties into account was found to be more successful than standard DBS in reducing both Parkinson's disease symptoms and tremor oscillations in the internal globus pallidus (Rosin et al., 2011). This new paradigm, termed closed-loop DBS, uses a trigger detected in a reference structure (M1) as the input to deliver DBS trains to the stimulated structure (internal globus pallidus). These data show that the interconnectivity between various participating brain areas plays a crucial role in the emergence of pathological oscillations and clinical symptoms. Relationship between metabolic and oscillatory activity Based on our model, we suspect that the intermittent oscillations in the basal ganglia (Fig. 1) could be related to tremor dynamics such as abrupt changes in amplitude, but this remains to be tested. Most previous studies did not take tremor amplitude fluctuations into account, but focused on cycle-by-cycle coherence between neural and muscular activity, i.e. signals occurring at ∼4 Hz. These approaches are blind to neural changes at the onset of high-amplitude tremor episodes, because neuromuscular coherence at 4 Hz is similar across low- and high-tremor amplitude (Reck et al., 2009). In a preliminary study in one patient with Parkinson's disease, the authors recorded local field potentials from the STN and related them to changes in tremor amplitude, as measured with EMG (Wang et al., 2005). They found that beta suppression in the STN preceded the onset of tremor episodes and made way for oscillations at tremor frequency in the STN. If activity in the beta band is a way by which the sensorimotor system maintains the status quo (Gilbertson et al., 2005; Engel and Fries, 2010; Jenkinson and Brown, 2011), then beta suppression in the STN before tremor onset could indicate a removal of neural inhibition to establish tremor onset-related activity (trigger). On the other hand, since beta suppression in the cortex (Crone et al., 1998) and STN (Kuhn et al., 2004) is known to precede voluntary movements, the finding of beta suppression prior to tremor could just reflect a more general phenomenon preceding any movement. Role of dopamine in tremor dynamics In our model, pallidal activity was related to changes in tremor amplitude, rather than the amplitude of the tremor itself (Fig. 5). This raises the question how the severity of pallidal dopamine depletion could predict clinical tremor severity (Fig. 1C). This likely depends on the effect of dopamine depletion on pallidal activity. For example, dopamine depletion may increase the amplitude of tremor onset-related activity in the pallidum. This should lead to more abrupt tremor changes, but not to increased tremor amplitude. Second, dopamine depletion may increase the rate of onset-related activity in the pallidum. More frequent episodes of pallidal activity could lead to more frequent tremor episodes, but also, if the bursts of pallidal activity occur shortly after each other, to amplified activity in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit (and hence to increased tremor amplitude). Finally, more severe pallidal dopamine depletion may lead to enhanced connectivity between the basal ganglia and the cerebello-thalamo-cortical systems. This would make the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit more susceptible to perturbing signals from the basal ganglia, and the increased input–output relationship may lead to more severe tremor. To investigate these possibilities, we are currently testing tremor-dominant Parkinson patients ON and OFF dopaminergic medication using functional MRI. Causality Using metabolic imaging, several groups have found a correlation between tremor amplitude and cerebral activity in the cerebellum, motor cortex and posterior VL (e.g. Deiber et al., 1993; Helmich et al., 2011,b; Mure et al., 2011). One interpretational problem is that the limited temporal resolution of these techniques makes it difficult to determine whether the cerebral effects are causal or reactive to the tremor. Electrophysiological studies, which have a much higher temporal resolution, partly suffer from the same problem. That is, single-cell recordings in the thalamus, STN and internal globus pallidus of patients with Parkinson's disease show that many neurons with tremor-related activity also respond to somatosensory stimulation (Lenz et al., 1994; Magnin et al., 2000). Therefore, neural activity that leads peripheral tremor activity might also relate to the preceding tremor beat. Conduction times are not helpful to disentangle cause from effect, given the diverse pathways through which afferent input can reach the basal ganglia and thalamus. Nevertheless, there are also thalamic cells that do not respond to somatosensory stimulation, and that show tremulous activity preceding muscular activity (Lenz et al., 1994). This suggests that the thalamus has a causal role in tremor. Other electrophysiological studies have calculated the oscillatory activity (at tremor or double tremor frequency) of single neurons or larger groups of neurons, for example using subcortical DBS electrodes or cortical magnetoencephalography recordings (Levy et al., 2000; Timmermann et al., 2003). Since oscillations are defined over longer temporal windows, this procedure makes it difficult to determine whether neural oscillations drive the tremor or vice versa. Analytical methods including the phase of coherence or Granger causality might help to solve this problem (Timmermann et al., 2003; Van Quyen and Bragin, 2007) although these methods are susceptible to noise contamination and volume conduction (Albo et al., 2004; Rivlin-Etzion et al., 2006). To reliably disentangle cause from effect, interference studies are helpful. Lesion studies provide strong evidence that activity in the posterior VL is causally linked to tremor: thalamotomy, posterior VL-DBS and thalamic stroke lead to immediate tremor arrest (Benabid et al., 1991; Atkinson et al., 2002; Probst-Cousin et al., 2003; Choi et al., 2008). The motor cortex is the only region of the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit that has a direct access to the spinal cord, and therefore it seems plausible that activity in this area drives the tremor. Accordingly, interference with M1 activity using transcranial magnetic stimulation can reset resting tremor in Parkinson's disease (Ni et al., 2010). In contrast, transcranial magnetic stimulation over the cerebellum did not reset tremor, suggesting that this region does not directly drive the tremor. Lesion studies support this idea: cerebellar stroke (Kim et al., 2009) and cerebellectomy (Deuschl et al., 1999) did not remove ipsilateral resting tremor, but transformed it into a Holmes tremor (i.e. a slow-frequency and combined resting, intention and postural tremor). Therefore, the role of the cerebellum in tremor may be modulatory rather than causal. Accordingly, a previous magnetoencephalography study showed that oscillatory activity in the cerebellum is coherent with thalamic and motor activity, but not with the tremor itself (Timmermann et al., 2003). This suggests that the cerebellum does not have a direct efferent or afferent relationship with peripheral tremor. This relationship could be different for other tremor pathologies. For example, other than in Parkinson's disease, cerebellar stroke can ameliorate ipsilateral essential tremor (Dupuis et al., 2010). Finally, an approach to gain mechanistic insights into the role of altered oscillations in Parkinson's disease has been to stimulate the basal ganglia or thalamus at precisely these frequencies, using implanted DBS electrodes. For example, 5–40 Hz stimulation of the STN, zona incerta and ventrolateral thalamus induced tremor in patients with Parkinson's disease (Plaha et al., 2008), suggesting that oscillatory activity in these regions is causally linked to tremor. Why does resting tremor stop during voluntary movements? A characteristic feature of Parkinson's disease resting tremor is its decrease during voluntary movements (Deuschl et al., 2000). This feature is routinely used in clinical practice to distinguish resting tremor from other tremor forms (Deuschl et al., 1998), for example from dystonic tremor where a decrease with movement is typically absent (Schneider et al., 2007). However, the neural mechanisms underlying the interaction between voluntary movements and resting tremor remain unclear. As outlined above, parkinsonian tremor results from altered responses in both the basal ganglia and the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit. This indicates that voluntary movements may interact with resting tremor in either or both of these circuits. Movement–tremor interactions in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit We recently investigated the cerebral interactions between motor planning and Parkinson's disease resting tremor. To this end, we used a motor imagery paradigm (as a quantifiable proxy of motor planning) while measuring tremor-related activity during functional MRI scanning. This procedure avoids the confounding effects of somatosensory reafference associated with the production of voluntary movements. There were two main findings: (i) planning- and tremor-related responses overlapped in the posterior VL, but not in the cerebellum or in the motor cortex and (ii) tremor amplitude was unaffected by motor imagery (Helmich et al., 2011,a). This indicates that motor planning-related activity in the posterior VL does not remove tremor-related responses in this region, possibly because both processes involve (partly) different neuronal populations (Lenz et al., 1994; Magnin et al., 2000). Another study directly assessed the electrophysiological interactions between motor execution and Parkinson's disease resting tremor (Hallett et al., 1977). The pattern of alternating activity in agonist and antagonist muscles seen during Parkinson's disease resting tremor strongly resembled the activity seen during voluntary flexion of the arm. Furthermore, in many patients with Parkinson's disease, a single ‘beat of tremor’ preceded voluntary movements, even when there was no clinically noticeable tremor (Fig. 7). This suggests that resting tremor and voluntary movement execution arise from similar oscillations in the motor cortex, which may explain why they do not occur simultaneously. Finally, the observation that resting tremor at movement onset is no longer inhibited when the cerebellum is absent (Deuschl et al., 1999) or malfunctioning (Kim et al., 2009) suggests that the cortico-cerebellar activation during voluntary movements suppresses the tremor rhythm. Re-emergent tremor can then be explained by reinitiating the cerebello-thalamo-cortical tremor circuit through the basal ganglia. Figure 7 View largeDownload slide A beat of tremor preceding movement in Parkinson's disease. Fast flexion patterns in patients with Parkinson's disease. In many patients with Parkinson's disease (17 arms of 15 patients), although resting tremor was not continuously present, a single ‘beat of tremor’ occasionally occurred before the pattern that moved the limb. This is illustrated for one patient. Adapted from Hallett et al. (1977) with permission from BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. Figure 7 View largeDownload slide A beat of tremor preceding movement in Parkinson's disease. Fast flexion patterns in patients with Parkinson's disease. In many patients with Parkinson's disease (17 arms of 15 patients), although resting tremor was not continuously present, a single ‘beat of tremor’ occasionally occurred before the pattern that moved the limb. This is illustrated for one patient. Adapted from Hallett et al. (1977) with permission from BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. Movement–tremor interactions in the basal ganglia According to our model, transient activity in the pallidum and putamen can trigger tremor-related activity in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit. The pallidum is also activated during voluntary movement planning (Owen et al., 1998; Helmich et al., 2009). Movement-related activity may replace tremor-related activity in the pallidum, and this could interfere with tremor in two ways. First, the absence of intermittent ‘triggers’ from the pallidum could cause the tremor to fade out. However, this mechanism does not explain why tremor is immediately reduced at the onset of voluntary movements, which suggests an active (instead of a passive) disturbance of the cerebello-thalamo-cortical tremor circuit. Second, the pallidum may actively inhibit the motor cortex during voluntary movements. The pallidum supports action selection by exciting desired motor programmes, while inhibiting all others [centre-surround inhibition (Mink, 1996; Beck and Hallett, 2011)]. Inhibition of motor representations in the motor cortex during voluntary movement selection could actively interfere with tremor-related firing in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit, causing an immediate arrest of the tremor. This concept may also explain why resting tremor re-emerges during fixed postural holding (Jankovic et al., 1999). That is, while the basal ganglia are strongly involved in changing movement set, they are not involved in maintaining a fixed posture (Cools et al., 1984; Hayes et al., 1998; Helmich et al., 2009). Thus, Parkinson's disease tremor may emerge not necessarily in the absence of movement (rest), but rather in the absence of selection demands (including maintaining a posture when no other posture needs to be selected to satisfy the current task context). Why does tremor have a variable response to dopaminergic treatment? Previous work has extensively reviewed the response of tremor to different pharmacological preparations (Elble, 2002; Fishman, 2008), and we will not repeat this here. Levodopa and other dopaminergic drugs are generally less efficacious against tremor than other key features of Parkinson's disease (Fishman, 2008; Rodriguez-Oroz et al., 2009). This failure to respond to dopaminergic treatment is difficult to reconcile with most models, which assume that tremor is triggered by dopamine depletion. One possibility is that non-dopaminergic neurotransmitters play a role. For example, patients with Parkinson's disease have 27% lower serotonin binding in the raphe than controls, and tremor was the only symptom that correlated with the amount of serotonin depletion (Doder et al., 2003). In humans, there are serotonergic projections from the raphe to the basal ganglia, including the pallidum (Wallman et al., 2011). If both serotonergic and dopaminergic changes can produce tremor, then this may explain why some patients fail to respond to dopaminergic therapy. Another speculative possibility is that there are crucial temporal windows during disease progression in which the tremor is responsive to dopaminergic treatment. For example, basal ganglia signals might be required for driving the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit into tremor only during the early phases of the disease. Later in the disease, perhaps due to depletion of inhibitory neurotransmitters in the tremor circuit, oscillations in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit might not need to be triggered by basal ganglia signals. This would predict that the response of tremor to dopaminergic therapy is modulated by disease duration. Finally, one report investigated the effect of dopaminergic treatment on the oscillatory tremor network in Parkinson's disease (Pollok et al., 2009). They found that levodopa specifically reduced thalamo-cortical coupling. This suggests that the thalamo-cortical axis has a central role in tremor genesis, but that dopaminergic areas (such as the basal ganglia) control the emergence of tremor-related oscillations in this circuit. Why does tremor indicate a benign Parkinson's disease subtype? We have reviewed and discussed several clinical and pathophysiological differences between tremor-dominant and non-tremor Parkinson's disease subtypes. We suggest that pallidal dopamine depletion is related to tremor, while other pathophysiological markers could explain a more benign disease course. First, there is converging evidence from post-mortem and nuclear imaging studies that patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease have relatively benign nigrostriatal degeneration. This may explain why other features of Parkinson's disease also take a more benign course in tremor-dominant patients. Second, there is post-mortem evidence that patients with non-tremor Parkinson's disease have more cortical lesions than patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease, and this may explain the worse cognitive dysfunction of patients with non-tremor Parkinson's disease. Appearance of such cortical lesions with advancing disease may also explain why tremor can diminish or even disappear after several years in some patients, because the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit now becomes damaged. Finally, resting tremor may emerge as a collateral effect of cerebral mechanisms that compensate for pathophysiological changes producing akinesia (Hallett and Khoshbin, 1980; Rivlin-Etzion et al., 2006). Voluntary movement arises in phase with the tremor, suggesting that the tremor may facilitate the ability to initiate movement in the face of akinesia (Hallett et al., 1977). This possibility finds support in the fact that—in MPTP primate models of Parkinson's disease—tremor usually appears several days after akinesia and rigidity (Zaidel et al., 2009), i.e. its appearance coincides with the time when compensatory mechanisms are presumably being activated. This does not yet prove any causal relationship, but one possibility is that such compensatory changes—for example in the motor cortex and cerebellum—may render these regions more susceptible to pathological influences (tremor triggers) from the basal ganglia. For example, a study that used transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses to probe the excitability of the primary motor cortex showed that, when tested at rest, the slope of the input–output relationship between stimulus intensity and response size is steeper in patients with Parkinson's disease than in controls (Valls-Sole et al., 1994). Although this could be the result of a primary basal ganglia deficit (loss of normal inhibition), it could also reflect an attempt to cortically compensate for the slow recruitment of commands to move, by making it easier to recruit activity from a resting state (Berardelli et al., 2001). Similarly, increased activity of the cerebellum during movements has been observed frequently in Parkinson's disease—perhaps to compensate for dysfunction of dopamine-dependent circuits (Rascol et al., 1997; Yu et al., 2007; Wu et al., 2010b). The increased cerebellar activity may sensitize the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit to perturbing influences from the basal ganglia, resulting in tremor. This suggests that a combination of basal ganglia pathology (i.e. pallidal dopamine depletion) and compensation in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit leads to tremor, explaining why tremor and a benign disease course are seen in the same patients. Why does resting tremor decrease with disease progression? Parkinsonian resting tremor has a puzzling feature that distinguishes it from other Parkinson's disease symptoms: in some patients, tremor severity tends to decrease instead of worsen during disease progression (Toth et al., 2004; Lees, 2007). One study found that tremor was lost in 9% of patients late in the disease (Hughes et al., 1993). Accordingly, patients with Parkinson's disease of tremor-dominant subtype in the early phases of their disease can convert to a non-tremor subtype later on, with PIGD symptoms replacing the tremor (Alves et al., 2006). This suggests that the progression of cerebral dysfunction in Parkinson's disease may at some point disrupt the ability of brain regions to produce tremor. Post-mortem work has shown that the primary motor cortex becomes affected in later stages of Parkinson's disease (Braak et al., 2003). Furthermore, post-mortem work revealed an association between a non-tremor Parkinson's disease phenotype, cognitive disability and pathological lesions including cortical Lewy bodies, cortical amyloid-beta plaques, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (Selikhova et al., 2009). Also, the cognitive deterioration occurring in non-tremor Parkinson's disease [i.e. in the PIGD subtype (Williams-Gray et al., 2007)] was associated with cortical Lewy body pathology instead of cortico-striatal dysfunction (Williams-Gray et al., 2009). These studies indicate that progressing cortical Lewy body pathology may stop tremor and introduce dementia-like cognitive dysfunction. Genetic variations between patients, for instance in the tau gene (microtubule-associated protein tau; MAPT), may determine whether patients develop these pathologies or not (Williams-Gray et al., 2009). Finally, as outlined in the previous paragraph, patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease might have increased cerebral compensation. This concept would offer an explanation how failure of compensatory mechanisms in later stages of the disease will lead to gradual disappearance of tremor, possibly because the (previously healthy) brain areas involved in compensation now become affected by neurodegeneration as well. Conclusion We propose that Parkinson's disease resting tremor involves both the basal ganglia and the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit. Previous models of tremor have largely focused on localizing the tremor pacemaker in either one of these two distinct circuits. These models have provided valuable information about the neural mechanisms underlying tremor oscillations in these circuits, but they were unable to solve one crucial paradox of Parkinson's disease resting tremor: why is tremor produced by the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit, but only in the presence of striato-pallidal dopaminergic dysfunction? A systems-level view on tremor is necessary to answer this question. We have suggested a new ‘dimmer-switch model’ of parkinsonian tremor (Helmich et al., 2011b): depletion of pallidal dopamine (and possibly serotonin) causes pathological activity in the striato-pallidal circuit that triggers—through the motor cortex—tremor-related activity in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit. This striato-pallidal activity can only emerge under motorically static conditions when the basal ganglia are not involved in voluntary motor behaviour, explaining why classical Parkinson's disease tremor is seen both at rest and during fixed postural holding (re-emergent tremor). Future electrophysiological studies may validate this model by focusing on oscillatory phenomena time-locked to changes in tremor amplitude. Our model may have clinical implications for the treatment of tremor: if the basal ganglia are only transiently involved at the onset of tremor episodes, then DBS of the STN or pallidum may be applied more selectively in an ‘event-related’ manner, interrupting activity in these regions only when required. For this approach to work, one has to be able to accurately predict the onset of tremor episodes. This may be done by using the DBS electrodes to identify tremor-related signals that typically precede tremor episodes (Wu et al., 2010a), for example, desynchronization in the beta band (Wang et al., 2005). Demand-based DBS may also prolong the life span of implanted batteries. Finally, a similar systems-level approach as adopted here could be used to investigate other tremors occurring in Parkinson's disease, as well as different tremor pathologies such as essential tremor. Funding The Alkemade-Keuls Foundation (to B.R.B.); the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO; VIDI grant No. 016.076.352 to B.R.B.; VIDI grant No. 452-03-339 to I.T.; Brain & Cognition grant No. 433-09-248 to I.T.); the German Research Council (SFB 855 to G.D.) and the NIH Intramural Program (to M.H.). 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You don’t know what the state is going to do,” he said. “I mean, are they going to sell if they get into a little bit of trouble? And I don’t think it’s something that should be sold.” But will the commander in chief stick to his word? We certainly hope so. —J.R.S. Donald M. Jones (elk); Alamy (turbines) Game Over What could hunting and fishing look like should our public lands fall under state control? Turn to Europe Our country is at a crossroads moment. If we let federal public lands be transferred to the states, most of them will be sold; there is just too much evidence to believe otherwise. But as it stands, every American hunter and fisherman can dream of someday adventuring West to experience the magnificence of our country, and do it on a shoestring if necessary, with kids in sleeping bags and ramen noodles on the campfire. This dream exists only because our public lands belong to every American, whether you live on a thousand acres or in a rented room. We are all—every U.S. citizen—invested in this, the very dirt of our nation. These lands are a bedrock institution of our country, as crucial as the Bill of Rights. The enemies of our public lands have focused tirelessly on the conflicts over their management, never admitting that we who live in this country hold the greatest gift ever bestowed upon a people. We can decide whether to keep the last, most powerful bastion of public hunting and fishing in the world, or to take the well-beaten path to make our country more like the nations of Europe, where hunting and fishing are reserved for the wealthy and the well connected. The time for deciding is now, before it’s too late. —H.H.Ron Duwell \| Gaming Reviews & News by Sony is also going to be including pacifiers in every subsequent retail shipment. In the latest news to show how times are changing, Sony Santa Monica is caving into fan demand to make a challenging part of their video game God of War: Ascension easier. Closer towards the climax of the game, the “Trial of Archimedes” has been reportedly too difficult for gamers, with some complaining that the lack of checkpoints and few health drops have made them take up to three hours to complete the level. In response, game director Todd Papy has taken to Twitter to announce that a patch will be reducing the difficultly level. “I personally tuned it. I didn’t mean for it to be so hard. We are looking into patching it…” In other words, some gamers got upset because “hard” mode proved to be “hard,” and demanded a change, only this time the development team agreed. Anyone remember when Final Fantasy XI had to be nerfed because gamers were passing out because of 24+ hour boss fights? That’s a legitimate complaint. And that’s the most extreme example. I remember dedicating entire nights to running through my favorite NES games, sometimes coming up empty with little or no progress to show. What did I do? I tried again the next night, and another night if that’s what it took to finally get past that part. There are games nearly 25 years later I still love but can’t beat. 3 hours for a climactic fight in the game is piddlesticks and actually a refreshing notion in a series that has never been known to push the difficulty factor. You are playing a video game entitled “God of War,” not “Candy Land”. What do you expect? Listen, if you can’t handle “hard mode,” then don’t play it. If you expect developers to just hand you achievement points and trophies, then what’s the point in earning them? You should not be rewarded based on simply putting “time” into a game and expecting to beat it. Games take skill. Games take patience. Games take practice. Streamlining and gutting a solid experience cheapens the overall package, and that doesn’t ring truer for any genre moreso than action. Demon’s Souls, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising, and Ninja Gaiden II have all been met with criticism for being “too hard,” which might be read by others as “delivering a pure unadulterated fair challenge.” What these misguided complaints fail to mention is that overcoming their adversity grants a far greater sense of satisfaction than a victory which is simply dropped on your doorstep or phoned in. Putting the final nail in each of those brutal games made me walk away far more pleased than any of the gimmie-gimmie experiences that have been turning up in recent years. Developers, if you feel the need to make your games easier, don’t do it at the expense of those of us who still enjoy a challenge. Do so in a way that keeps your original vision intact and far from the watered down dolldrums the kids are asking for these days. Order This From AmazonKotaku East East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. According to respected Korean site iNews24, multiple sources say Blizzard will announce an HD version of the original StarCraft this September. It will reportedly play the same, but have a better resolution and UI. iNews24, the country’s first online newspaper, is reporting (via tipster Sang) the following: Today, multiple sources with knowledge of Blizzard internal plans said that Blizzard will reveal StarCraft HD to the public this September. The StarCraft HD remastered version will retain the original gameplay and is said to have improved graphics resolution and user interface (UI). According to the iNews24, more details to follow in November during BlizzCon. It’s not known if the rumored HD remastered with feature 2D or 3D graphics. Why September? As tipster Sang points out, the StarCraft II World Championship Series wraps up then in Mexico, so, if true, a reveal during that month would make sense. Advertisement The original StarCraft is still in the top ten Korean net cafe rankings, and an HD version certainly does seem overdue, if not inevitable. Still, Blizzard has not yet confirmed this report, and it could be false. Kotaku reached out to the company prior to publication, but hasn’t yet heard back. August 8 Update - 5:00am: Blizzard tells Kotaku it doesn’t have any announcements to make at this point. Advertisementby Max Slowik Guns.com Previously by Max Slowik: Official Appleseed u2018Liberty Training Rifle' byMarlin Firearms 3D printer Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed and the Wiki Weapon project has been making wave after wave with every one of his statements, updates, videos and blog posts. He’s been making the circles, with an interview with Vice Magazine and now CNN. His most recent proclamation is will alarm many, bring hope to a few, but leaves us with our heads scratching. Wilson has said that they will have the technology to 3D print a firearm by “the end of April.” “Well to have a printable gun it's my intention to have that done by the end of this month and we're at the end of March now so it's my intention to have it done by April,” he said. This would, in theory, prompt a new era in personal firearm manufacturing and a new paradigm for gun control. “The assumption is one day the technology will become more ubiquitous and widespread,” Wilson said on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” “It will fall in price, and materials will be developed in a better place than they are now, so yes, if you were to have one in your home and you have the gun file, you can just click print and have the gun.” Here’s where we’re stumped. Defense Distributed has already printed a gun. Technically, that is. They have developed a design that can be used to make AR-15 lowers that are tough enough to use with standard centerfire upper receivers. By legal definition, this one part is a firearm in the U.S. All the other parts of their gun were commercially-produced and bought separately, and the technology to 3D-print their equivalents is still over the horizon. Wilson’s statement that they’ve 3D-printed a gun is true on a technicality, but what they’ve printed, by itself, could only hurt something if you threw it, and you don’t need a 3D printer to make a rock. So there are a few things Wilson might be getting at. It’s conceivable that they have developed a more complete lower receiver. Something with a buttstock, pistol grip and all the parts of the action 3D printed. Some of the parts cannot be 3D printed, like the springs, pins, and a handful of other small parts, but that alone would represent a big step in the project’s history. Read the rest of the article The Best of Max SlowikFrom 1d4chan The following article is a /tg/ related story or fanfic. Should you continue, expect to find tl;dr and an occasional amount of awesome. An awesome piece of writefaggotry from /tg/ - showing that on /tg/ the magic still happens. Inspired by a derivative of the copypasta that gave rise to the 4chan Archipelago, and written by /tg/ writefag 008, Stranded in Fantasy started on the January 18th, 2012, and completed on January 31st, 2012. The story is copied here, but you can read it on the sup/tg/ archives, which are listed at the bottom of this page. Brief summary [ edit ] It's about a group of humans from our world who get hypno-suckered into some plot-device portals that land them in a city in a world where D&D is reality. It is not glorified in any way - its eleven humans in a world of elves, dwarves, orcs and other humans, and they have no money, no powers (to begin with...) and are shit out of luck. Some of them get killed, some enslaved, with a few lucky ones--including the narrator--just barely surviving. Then shit gets awesome. Later the iPod is accidentally turned into a tiny golem that blasts random music everywhere. All anons agreed: the tomb of that artificer will be guarded by similar golems that will leap out at looters and rickroll them. Players: Terrans: Alex: Wild Magic Sorcerer Marcus: Bard Jason: Rogue Journal Writer: Psion Mike: Warlock Avery: Cleric Ian: Duskblade or Arcane fighter Max: Wizard Austin: Artificer Dan: Dead Amanda: Dead Non-Terran Party Members: Raina: Silver dragon, Marcus's wife. Nathan Ka'tzakon: Marcus's son, Half dragon. Marika Hajna: Airship Pilot. Cherri Carnett: Warlock, Mike's girlfriend. Map [ edit ] Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination A fully formated archive of the story is not currently available. A partially formatted word doc is available here: https://mega.nz/#!l1cGQKyL!vKT6n6W7MLeJUMZrqL-u2RC2lKd7dOCYRnlWH6yVQ7k Part 1 [ edit ] Journal Entry 1 [ edit ] Well, here I am. I don't know why I'm bothering to keep this journal, only a handful of people in this place will be able to read it when I'm gone. For peace of mind I suppose. Where to start. It was another typical day of doing nothing, trying to get work and keeping myself entertained. I'm not sure what happened, but suddenly there was a voice in my head telling me I had to prepare. Before I knew what was going on, a doorway, a portal opened up in my living room. Round, glowing and beyond, a city of some sort. It looked positively medieval. Stone and wood buildings, strange people, some not human. A fantasy world. Somehow I knew I had 30 minutes before it closed. It felt like a dream and perhaps that's why I went through. I thought it was a dream, it seemed the logical thing to do at the time. I don't know why. At least I had the presence of mind to grab what I could and not just hop through. What a catastrophe that would have been. So here I am, where ever here is. I guess I should find out and see what's going on. Journal Entry 2 [ edit ] What the fuck was I thinking? So here I am. In some fucking fantasy world. Magic and everything. Shortly after I arrived, that dreamy feeling fell off and the reality of the situation has hit. I'm stuck here and I don't know why. I'm not alone though, there are a handful of others in the same situation. We're all foreigners here, stranded and effectively homeless in this place with no idea why. Speaking of this place, It's called Rosenbridge. I have no trouble communicating with the locals, but I can't read their language. They use some squiggly shit that makes no sense to me. I think spoken language is just being translated for us at this point. Rosenbridge is apparently a town in a trade hub connecting several larger cities. Kind of a place were the different races of this world pass through. I've seen Elves, Dwarves or Gnomes, some lizard... thing and some others that I'm not entirely sure of outside of the more common humans. I'm kind of creeped out to be honest. Anyways, we're all camped out in some alleyway near the outer wall of the city. Journal Entry 3 [ edit ] Well, I just witnessed some magic. It was pretty spectacular, but I guess it's a common thing as the locals didn't seem to give mind. Some guy in robes doing some display in the town square. Burst of light, movement of hands and mumbling and boom. I'm not entirely sure what happened. Alex, one of the people that's in the same situation as me, was going to see if he knew anything about why we're here. Fucking wizards man. There's what I estimate to be several thousand people milling about the markets. I don't know why, but for the first time I feel intimidated by a crowd. I get an odd overwhelming feeling. I think it's stress. I may be starting to lose it. God knows Avery hasn't fucking stopped crying since we found her and gathered up in the alleyway. Journal Entry 4 [ edit ] Well, Alex's wizard friend had no ideas and didn't seem the least interested according to him. Fucking wizards. Anyways, caught some kid groping at my ass, I think he was looking for a coin purse. The local's don't seem to actually have pockets on their clothes, everything is carried in little pouches. Anyways, pistol whipped the little fucker off his feet and took off. I wish I had money, I'm starving and none of us have anything worth trading. Thieving or begging may be in our future, or prostitution if things get desperate. What the fuck is going on. Journal Entry 5 [ edit ] So Rosenbridge. It's apparently mostly built on some massive ancient bridge that's over a river leading to the ocean. Part of the trade routes coming through are by boat, this is apparently the stopping point as it gets too shallow or rapids or something beyond this. Spent some time at the waterfront. Managed to swipe some bread. It was rock hard and tasted terrible but fuck was I hungry. This is the first time I've come to know real starvation. It looks like the others have found something to eat. Someone, I think Max, said that there was a church that gave donations to the poor. We'll have to check that out. Journal Entry 6 [ edit ] There's some carnival in town today. Strange foods, acrobatics displays and showy wizards. Alex has been hanging around the wizards and observing. I think he's going to try and figure out this magic stuff. Best of luck to him. Anyways, checked out that church, it's a bunch of sun worshipers. They give some kind of oatmeal slop once a day to the poor. It had no taste but it was filling at least. The chick giving the handouts seemed surprised at the sudden influx of hobos in town. Namely us. We've decided to stay tight lipped about our origins for now. Don't need any more trouble. Hung around the carnival for most of the day but didn't have any coin for the real shows. Entertainment's been slim. My mp3 player battery has been dead more than it's been charged. The solar charger I brought with me is slow as hell. Journal Entry 7 [ edit ] Jason got mugged today while he was pissing behind some tavern. Lost everything. Luckily we found most of it in a heap by the waterfront. Unfortunately the screen on his Kindle is cracked now. Alex has been gathering up some stuff from just outside town. Grass, leaves, some kind of flower. He says he wants to try one of those carny wizard spells he spent all day watching. Some kind of ingredients along with vocal and hand motions are involved. We're not sure if the hand motions and vocal parts are required or just something for the show. I guess he'll figure out in experimentation. He has some hardon for learning the local's magic. I don't think we can, we're not from this world. Journal Entry 8 [ edit ] So some guard comes around our alley and starts bullying us around. Turns out he wants some people to work on the docks for a few copper coins. Most of us went for it. Money. I did as well. Backbreaking work moving crates and sacks and shit to and from boats and on to carts. My arms hurt and will probably hurt more tomorrow, but we've got money and it's not illicit money either. I think Amanda was just another day from whoring herself out to the locals. I think she's a bit too chubby for that to work out though. The locals are all malnutrition thin (peasants) aside from the rich/nobles/merchants which are a bit pudgy Journal Entry 9 [ edit ] Oh god what am I doing here? I've been working my ass off at the fucking docks all week just for a pittance and it's barely enough to survive. Plus I'm dodging thieves and guards looking for a beatdown all day and night. I hate this place. What the fuck was I thinking?! Journal Entry 10 [ edit ] So while I'm writing, sitting on the edge of the fountain in town, some guy comes up and seems incredibly fascinated in my pen. It's a bic ballpoint, blue. He said he was some kind of artificer and wanted to know all about it, so I gave him the basics. Ink in the tube drains out and on to the little ball. I'm not sure how they work beyond that. I sold one of my least chewed on spares to him for two gold coins. I think that's a lot. Journal Entry 11 [ edit ] Alex is in a coma. He tried doing that magic shit today. We sat down to watch.. at a safe distance and he did the hands thing and said the words, had the materials and then.. he grunted and fell over. He was out for a few hours before we realized he didn't just faint. We dragged him to the sun worshipers temple and they're taking care of him for now, they have some sort of clinic going on. I don't know the details. I spilled the beans to the priest, that we're from offworld. He got this weird look in his eyes and put his hand on my head and yelled Smite. I felt something but I don't know what. He apologized profusely afterwords, saying it was some kind of misunderstanding. Is he a paladin? Anyways, Avery is staying to keep watch on him over the night. Journal Entry 12 [ edit ] We're in hiding now. Apparently word got out about us. The local magistrate or vizier decided we should be rounded up. Ian, Max and Austin were nabbed and taken to the prison or dungeon or whatever they have here. I stole some clothes off a clothesline and we're going dressed as locals and hanging out in an old abandoned house on the other end of town. The locals think it's haunted and it does have a creepy vibe. It's a temporary solution though. Journal Entry 13 [ edit ] Amanda says she was up all night talking to a ghost that resides here. Some girl that was murdered by a cult of some kind long ago. In other news, Amanda isn't the only one losing it. I robbed someone today in an alleyway. I ran out of money and old starvation hit. Snuck up behind them and taser to the back. Ended up with a handful of silver coinage. That should keep us fed for a few days. Journal Entry 14 [ edit ] I haven’t heard from Avery in a few days so I went to see what was going on at that church. Alex is up and moving around, but he's still kind of out of it, having trouble speaking and whatnot. It's like he suffered a stroke. The priest person said they could heal it in time using their divine power, but that there would be a price for it, and not the kind of price you can pocket. The only explanation as to what happened that they gave was that magic was a dangerous thing to the untrained. So much for Alex's dream of becoming a wizard. At least the church is keeping him out of the hands of the guards. Journal Entry 15 [ edit ] Ran into that artificer guy today. He wanted to know more of the land I came from. Have to be careful about anyone overhearing what with the guards on the lookout for us. I didn't tell him much but I did sketch out a bicycle and the basics of how they work. He was fascinated and ran off with the page after giving me a few silvers. Bicycles, here. Imagine that. I don't think they know what rubber is though. I could be wrong though. Journal Entry 16 [ edit ] That artificer showed up again. He is running a caravan over to the next stop in the trade circle, some place called Wildlake and invited us all to come along as caravan guards. He knows the guards are looking for us and this is the best he can do to assist I guess. Most of us couldn't even defend ourselves but it gives us a chance to get out of this place. Avery and Alex are staying behind at that sun church. Journal Entry 17 [ edit ] Well, we've been given some shitty used leather armor and a spear and we're off on this caravan job. We're getting paid too, a handful of gold to boot, so as long as nothing horrible happens, we should be okay. We're with 5 other guards who are locals. I had no idea how to put on the armor, it was all straps and leather so I watched the locals put theirs on and imitated. I know I fucked up at some point, it doesn’t feel right. Anyways, this trip should be about 5 days at cart speed. There are 6 carts in the caravan and 10 of us on guard duty total, 5 of us foreigners and 5 locals, plus some 10 merchants, cart drivers and so on. There's several beast people things with us and one rowdy dwarf, but otherwise all human. Journal Entry 18 [ edit ] What the fuck am I doing here?! Why?! Why won't I wake up?! Journal Entry 19 [ edit ] So much walking. My legs ache, my arms ache, my feet hurt. Almost twisted my ankle. Hate this place. Us Terrans have been having an entirely different experience from the locals on this trip. The locals are enjoying the walk, chatting and spending the nights around the campfire telling silly stories of drunken bravery and local heroes. Us Terrans are around the fire, all cramped up, in pain, dealing with blisters and mumbling about all the things we miss of home. I can feel the emotional difference between both our groups. It's the oddest sensation. Bah, I'm just tired. Journal Entry 20 [ edit ] Dan's dead. He was one of us. I don't know much about him other than he liked to sing to his mp3 collection during the run. We couldn't even bury him. So we're wandering along when these green things come rushing out of the underbrush. Goblins. Panic. Everything goes to shit. Dan gets a gut full of sword before he can do anything. I manage to get out my gun and I don't know, I was panic firing I guess? I hit at least 3 of the little fuckers. I'm down 8 bullets. I have to be more careful. The goblins were driven off but there are other injured. We had time to loot the bodies but not bury Dan. Left at the side of the fucking road, stripped of everything, to be eaten by the fucking wolves or whatever. Journal Entry 21 [ edit ] We, the Terrans, held a small memorial for Dan. The locals didn't quite get why we were bothering for someone we barely knew. We divided his belongings amongst the rest of us. We should make it to Wildlake in two days. I hope we made the right decision, joining this caravan. The next town may be worse. It may be better. I don't know. Journal Entry 22 [ edit ] Had a bit of a scare today. Ran into a group of elven rangers on some hunt today. Almost mistook them for bandits, we're all a little jumpy. They seemed alright people I suppose, unless they really are bandits and just waiting for the rest of their guys. Anyways, we were going opposite directions from us. During all of this, I managed to get my tablet charged up with my solar charger and taught the artificer how to play Angry Birds during camp. He was entranced by it. I think he's starting to understand just how foreign we are. In the meantime, we practiced with some of the weapons we picked off the goblin corpses. The locals had a good laugh at us as we flailed around with blunted short swords. Journal Entry 23 [ edit ] Well, I figure we've been here a month now. I'm not entirely sure, I haven’t been keeping an accurate count and since I'm not writing every day, it's hard to estimate. We made it to Wildlake around midday. Contrary to my expectations, there is no lake involved. Apparently there was one here way back, but it drained out in some dungeon or mine collapse. It's slightly larger the Rosenbridge with a wooden outter wall. I saw my first airship today. A flying boat, parked in eastern portion of town. According to the locals, it regularly shows up every few weeks to pick up and deliver shipments from another kingdom. That's not all either. We passed a slave market on the way in. This is the first time any of us have seen anything like this. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's perfectly legal according to the locals. Journal Entry 24 [ edit ] We got paid today. 5 gold. We're all staying in a local hostel/tavern for traders and their crews. We're bunked up with some odd people. They're all red and some of them look like they have a coral reef growing out of their chin covered in skin. Tieflings I suppose? Where the hell are we? As creepy as they look, they seem to be okay, and I'm not getting any bad vibes off them. One of them was a musician and played some tunes. Marcus got his hands on one of their instruments and started playing Stairway to Heaven. The musician took interest and the two of them spent the rest of the night exchanging ideas. On the other hand, the artificer kept asking me for new tech ideas. I think I'll show him the wonders of safety razor. God knows I'll need to get a replacement from somewhere when mine wears out. Journal Entry 25 [ edit ] Nope, still here, not a dream. Why isn't it a dream? I was in the tavern today when some bald elf chick covered in tatoos sits down next to me and says in the most serious tone ever, that my mind was like a locked treasure chest and that she must get inside. That's the weirdest pickup line I've ever heard. I quickly left. Too much weird for me. I can only take so much, the headache that showed up just before she did didn't help either. So more information about Wildlake. There is a flooded dungeon under the town, that ran under a lake that was once a burial mound of some so and so king from centuries past. Parts of it are unflooded and the adventurous raid it on a regular basis. You'd think there wouldn't be anything left to steal after all this time. It's also used as a shelter for the a-typical races that aren't welcome in town. The little inhuman ones like those fucking goblins. Journal Entry 26 [ edit ] With the trade run done, we're kind of out of work. Our money isn't going to last for very long. I poked around town looking for opportunities for awhile. What do I have training in that works here? Nothing. Marcus picked up a guitar at the market and is working as a bard in the cheap tavern and making a silver or two a night, and that's at least something. Amanda keeps wanting to go with him to sing, but she can't hold a note to save her life. I guess we're stuck doing remedial jobs any bumfuck shit farmer can do. We can't even read the damn writing, we're illiterate here. Maybe I'll be a professional thief. Ha, that'll be the day. Journal Entry 27 [ edit ] Well, I got a job sweeping up at the fucking slave market. Wonderful. Nothing like mournful stares and whispered pleas of help from dirty, barely clothed captives to keep the spirits up. I don't know what to think. At least I'm making some money, the pittance that it is. Did I mention they randomly get whipped? They use some whip that doesn't leave marks but apparently hurts them like hell. Who makes up this shit? Mike on the other hand, has caught on and captured the attention of some girl who agreed to teach him to read in exchange for...something. I don't want to know. He is trying to teach us what he learns. Handed down knowledge. Journal Entry 28 [ edit ] Airship is in town. Watched that for awhile. They couldn't come up with a better design than a flying boat. It apparently isn't sea worthy either so why bother? Maybe I could teach them aerodynamics. You'd think it would be obvious. Anyways, I'm starting to see slaves beaten in my dreams and it's only my third day. It's time for an occupation change. Anything else. I heard there's some call some help with one of the dungeon areas I might look in to. Why not? Maybe the guards will leave me alone. I made the mistake of showing them my drivers license when they asked for identification last night. Weirded them all out. Speaking of which, why the hell did I bring my wallet and car keys with me?! Journal Entry 29 [ edit ] Well, I got sucked in to some adventure thing going on. Hired with some locals to check out and clear a lizard creature, kobold, infestation of one of the dungeons. We're to head in within a few hours and see what's going on down there. Also on the team is a big burly guy who is also illiterate, a bored dwarf and a highly excitable elven wizard or sorcerer. I can't tell the difference yet. Luckily we didn't meet in a tavern because that would be too cliché. No, we met around the town fountain and got our “mission objectives.” I at least have the leather armor and shortsword from the caravan trip. That and my big knife from home and my Sig. I need more ammo. I need a source of ammo. I have 7 more magazines worth of ammo, 8 bullets each. Apparently there's going to be another guy joining us at the dungeon entrance. I guess we'll see what that's about. Anyways, I did ask the wizard about what happened with Alex. He just gave me the dangers of magic speech the sun priest did. Also of note, caught sight of that bald chick following me again. Kind of hard to miss her. She's good at causing headaches. Journal Entry 30 [ edit ] So we met up with a Paladin of some warrior god and hit the dungeon. He was a very...boisterous fellow. Lots of bragging. So this was my first dungeon. Everyone brought torches. I brought a flashlight. It's a camping thing, green power and all that. Solar battery and all. It should last a good 3 hours. So we go in and sure enough, kobolds. Ugly, filthy looking things, making weird lizard noises when they weren't speaking pidgin english or common or whatever. The dungeon was more or less just burial ruins, pretty straight forward. Looking back now, it was pretty dangerous, these things were out to kill us and we were out to kill them. What the fuck was I thinking? Wasted two bullets and learned that my big stainless steel knife was a piece of shit when it snapped in half upon hitting bone. The short sword did better but I'll be damned if I'm not clumsy as hell with it. The paladin gave me some hints and tips in the middle of a fucking fight because this is nothing for him. Anyways, I didn't get any injuries except some scrapes. I'm still fast on my feet and my reaction time is good. Found some stuff, some kind of silver chain necklace I found in the mud and some coinage the kobolds were hoarding. Do people actually sell them stuff? They seemed a little feral for trade. Also got paid 15 gold for the job. I don't know if I can do something like that again. Such stress, I can't describe it properly. Terror and thrill combined together Journal Entry 31 [ edit ] So I spent the last few days in the tavern, possibly getting lead or mercury poisoning. I'm surprised none of us have caught anything yet. I'm the only one who brought medical supplies, and all I had time for was a bottle penicillin. Stupid portal. Why did I ever listen to you? Anyways, Marcus got some apprentice deal under a Bard to try and learn Bard magic. As long as he doesn't suffer a stroke like Alex did, if it will even work. Who knows how different we are from the locals. Aside from that, I'm starting to learn to read the store signs from Mike's hand-me down teachings. It's a bit more complicated though, there's a simplified written language and a standard. We're apparently learning the simplified. I guess that's a good enough start. Journal Entry 32 [ edit ] That bitch got to me and I think I had an epileptic seizure. She showed up suddenly and grabbed me from behind. I know it was her, I felt it. I made for my taser and suddenly I couldn't think straight and went into convulsions. Next thing I know I wake up in the local temple. Some love and peace worshiper temple. Nothing was missing but I've got the headache to end all headaches and random nose bleeds. She fucking mind raped me and then dumped me off at the temple. What the fuck? Fucking psions. I'll get her. I know exactly where she is, why the fuck do I know exactly where she is, what did she do to me? Journal Entry 33 [ edit ] I got cleaned and rested up. Still got the headache. Paid a visit to Ms Psion. Brought my gun but in hindsight, I don't think I could have used it if I wanted to. We had a nice talk, not sure how much, if any of it, was real or manufactured. I'm pretty paranoid about it. I don't know what they can fully do. Going there was a bad idea. There was more than one. It's all kind of a blur. I do know a lot of talking was done but not a word was said. From what I can recall and managed to put together, they're part of some back door manipulators of the local guilds, manipulating towards their profits. I think the ideas I leaked to the artificer got out and that brought me to their attention and then they found something. Something I didn't know was there. Now I think I need them to learn to control it or go insane from increasing mental stress. Or at least that's what they want me to think. None of this makes sense. Journal Entry 34 [ edit ] It's not a headache, it's feedback. So much but no solitude to be found in the city borders. I slipped outside for a bit and the volume lowered to acceptable levels. I will have to return, maybe Marcus can play that song that puts me to sleep. He learned how. It was a mental ingredient that Alex was missing, he couldn't observe the state of mind he needed and the training was missing. I wonder how he and Avery are doing, or the others that were captured. I have to go back to her, she will teach me. I will make her. Journal Entry 35 [ edit ] It's been a few weeks I think. I learned to block it. The noise. Them. From then on, it's mostly intuitive. The advanced tricks come later, so they say. Having a logical mental grasp of things has certainly helped. They said I was their first otherplanar “wild talent.” Already I learned to decipher the feelings. Empathy I guess. It's created other side effects. I have trouble nearing the slave market, it's a literal pit of despair, so thick it's almost physical. Luckily the effect doesn't spread. Uh, while I was coming and going out of sanity during the week, Marcus picked up some magical Bard music. Just some simple stuff. Between my experience and his, I guess we can learn. There's hope for Alex yet if he ever regained full functionality. The others, Amanda, Jason and Mike have been poking around and found out about some academy or university quite a distance away that may have some answers for us. They apparently have some info on extra-planar travel. Might be a long shot but it's all we got. Journal Entry 36 [ edit ] We need quite a bit of gold for travel expenses. Much more than we have. I signed up on another dungeoneering expedition. Jason signed up as well. We joined up with a sorcerer and what I'm pretty sure was half
. He’s gone, and he didn’t leave an imprint. * Dan Bylsma – The former Sabres coach held the same job with the Penguins. Did it work out? Nope. The Sabres improved during his first year (which was also Jack Eichel’s first year), but the team was such a mess this season that there’s another GM and coaching seach. * Gold Carpet Experience – Formerly known as the VIP Rope Line, the Sabres let fans congregate outside the dressing room and watch the players head to the ice. The Penguins started it with Suite 66, a window-laden suite located across from the Penguins’ dressing room. Did it work out? Yes. Fans definitely have smiles on their faces as they snap photos and give high-fives. The players seem to like it, too, based on pictures of their interactions. Still, the Sabres often come out flat. Maybe a profanity-laced rallying cry on the way to the ice would get them moving, but it’s tough to swear and show emotion with a bunch of kids watching. * Season-ticket delivery – The Penguins made a splash by having their stars show up at fans’ houses or businesses and personally deliver season tickets. The Sabres followed suit. Did it work out? Yes, the Buffalo fans enjoyed having Pegula and players arrive at their door.Iran is also planning to increase its military presence through the Shi’ite official and lead the Mosul operation LONDON — As the Iraqi government forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga and international coalition forces are preparing for a major assault to liberate Mosul, the former Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki is believed to be behind plots to delay the operation until his plan to return to power succeeds. According to an anonymous source, interviewed by Asharq al- Awsat, Maliki is delaying the liberation operation of Mosul because he does not want the liberation to be done during current PM Haidar Abadi’s reign. "Maliki wants Mosul liberated during his time so that it appears as if he’s the only one who can liberate it,” the source said in the interview, noting that Maliki has the support of Iran and a number of Arab and Kurdish political blocs, and is planning on returning as the prime minister of Iraq. By withdrawing confidence from his ministers, Maliki aimed to start a coup over the Abadi government. Nonetheless, he is hoping that after the Abadi government is off power, he will be able to form a government with his new allies in the face of most Shiite and a number of Sunni politicians. The source claims that Maliki also has the support of some Kurdish political parties, including the Change Movement (Gorran) and part of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The main reason for his intentions lies in the fact that if the liberation is done under Maliki's presidency, then it will give the opportunity to the Iranian forces and Shiite militias to lead the operation, which will benefit Iran. Nevertheless, Iran insists on Qassem Soleimani to be the one leading the Mosul operation, which will empower the role of the Peshmerga forces, Iraqi Army, Sunni Arabs and International Alliances. It will furthermore, enable the movement of the Iranian soldiers and the transportation of the weapons through Iraq to the Syrian border. The spokesperson of the international coalition in Iraq, John Dorian, stated that about 35,000 soldiers in Iraq are now ready for the battle, after completing their training led by the US. He also mentioned that there are about 6,000 Peshmerga and Iraqi soldiers set as reserve. Halkourt Ahmad, the Director General of Media and Culture in Peshmerga Ministry told Asharq al- Awsat that the Peshmerga forces and the National Mobilization forces, a Sunni militia group better known as Hashd al-Watani, will participate together with the Iraqi Army in the operation in Mosul. However, officials from Iraq, US and Kurdistan Region have previously several times asserted that Mosul will be liberated before the end of the year.If you were go into a Christian church in America, the congregation would probably be speaking English, maybe Spanish, maybe another modern language. But they almost definitely would not be speaking Aramaic or Greek, the languages that the Christian Bible was written in. So why do we not read the Bible in Greek? And how many languages has the Bible been translated into? The story of translating the Bible actually starts before Christianity. 200 years before the Common Era (C.E.), the Old Testament (the part of the text that is sacred to Jews) was translated into Ancient Greek by a group of rabbinic scholars. This Greek version is called the Septuagint. The Christian Bible was written in Koine Greek. Even though Jesus primarily spoke Aramaic, Greek was the common language of the era and the most widely spoken language of the region. Aramaic is related to Biblical Hebrew. (Languages from the World of the Bible, a new academic book, explores the linguistic diversity of the first century, from Old and Imperial Aramaic to Phoenician and others.) A few portions of the Old Testament that are also in the Christian Bible, such as the Book of Daniel, were originally written in Aramaic. Since we don’t still read the Bible in Koine Greek, how has the language of Bible changed since the founding of the Christian Church? Well the language that the Bible was written in cannot change, but the languages spoken in churches and by everyday people change all the time. (English alone has changed significantly in the past six hundred years.) As with any translation, there are things you cannot say in one language that you can in others. For example, in Aramaic, there is a suffix that denotes “servant of.” In the Book of Daniel, one person’s name is Abednego. Technically, in the Aramaic that name means “servant of Nego,” but this meaning does not carry over into the Greek translation, so readers of the Greek (and subsequently the Latin and English) do not understand that this man is also a servant. A much more dramatic and theologically relevant example of translation problems lies in the Hebrew word, “almah.” In the Old Testament, a young woman, or maiden, was called “almah.” However, in the Septuagint, this word is translated into the Greek as “parthenos” which means, more precisely, “a virgin.” This is complicated because the Book of Matthew, in the New Testament, quotes this Greek translation and describes Jesus as being “born of a virgin.” However, in the Hebrew, the direct translation would have been “born of a young woman.” This linguistic nuance between Hebrew and Greek can be very contentious, as you might imagine. In the late 300s, Saint Jerome (along with other scholars) translated the Bible into Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. Rather than translating from the Septuagint, St. Jerome used the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament and the Koine Greek of the New Testament as the basis for his translation into Latin, called the Vulgate. When there were contradictions between the Septuagint and the original Hebrew (as in the case of “almah”) St. Jerome followed the Septuagint’s interpretation. When did the standard English translation come about? Though there had been earlier English translations of the Bible, the King James Bible (commissioned by the King of England in 1604) became the standard bearer for the new branches of Christianity that were splitting from the Catholic Church. The King James Bible was primarily translated from the original languages, so the Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew and the New Testament from the Greek (rather than the later Latin versions). However, where there was dispute about specific translation decisions, the Septuagint and the Vulgate were used as references. Of course, in addition to Latin and English, the Bible has been translated into at least hundreds of other languages, possibly as many as 3,000. The United Bible Societies widely translates and distributes Bibles. Recently, an American president’s own multilingual dictionary came to light. Jefferson’s Bible, which the 3rd President spent decades working on, features different versions of the Bible side-by-side, including Latin, Greek, French, and English selections. Officially titled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Jefferson’s Bible is now on view at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C, and the museum has made the entire book available online here. What do you think about the translation details of the Bible? Are you interested in Jefferson’s multilingual Bible?cuddles ❮❮ Newer Download \| Full View Older ❯❯ Submission © 2016 JakeTheHare Main Gallery 142 submissions cuddles - by JakeTheHare Submission information: Posted: Category: Artwork (Digital) Theme: Portraits Species: Unspecified / Any Gender: Multiple characters Favorites: 6 Comments: 0 Views: 628 Image Specifications: Resolution: 1148x1279 Keywords: rabbit doe rimlight cuddles love here's a gift for /u/Tekki_Gaming on Reddit, and his partner. this has to be one of my most complex pieces. i wanted the two characters to have roughly the same impact on the viewer, but one of them was grey, and the other one was brown. i chose to make the shadows ble-purple-y so that both the characters would be desaturated the more you move away from the center, to give the faces more emphasys. i also wanted to make the light warmet the closer it gets to the faces, to give it more emphasys. i also wanted the warmer colors at the center to contrast with the background, so i moved more towards the cool colors the more i got to the center, at the end i also added some purple rimlight to make everything more interesting. oh, and the eyes are the only place in the composition to have red color. total estimated time: around 8 hours, from sketch to finish. i am really proud of this one! X3ALEC is highly successful because legislators are human (yes, really). As humans they are both inclined to do the minimum amount of work and constantly overwhelmed by the picayune details of life. Presented with Options A: do your own research, craft your own language, develop your own supporting arguments, and put yourself on the line for something that may turn out to be a disaster or Option B: sign a pre-digested bill that comes with its own glossy brochure and the promise of monetary support from a cadre of well-heeled backers, it’s not surprising that there are plenty of people ready to go with B. Besides, conservatives really hate the whole business of government, including the business of governing. How many times have you heard a conservative congressman or senator complain that a bill is too long, that no one can understand those things they pass, that actually doing their job is just too hard? On any given day, Mitch McConnell can be counted on to tell you the page count on some bill he didn’t like, because sneaking a peak at the page number is all the effort Mitch is willing to put in. Ted Cruz won’t go that far. He’ll just make up a number. With ALEC, conservatives don’t have to read. ALEC writes the bills and hands them over ready to go. They can eliminate that two percent of a congressman’s time that was still wasted on governing the country, and allow them to go back to the fundraising and networking that takes up the other 98 percent. In fact, ALEC lets them do both at once. It’s a sad fact that doing the wrong thing is often easier than doing the right thing. ALEC makes it stupidly easy to do the wrong thing—and get paid handsomely. So how do we—and by we, I don’t mean just the readers of Daily Kos, or just those even slightly left of Attila the Hun, but we as in everybody not having their pre-scripted interests hand delivered to congress on a silver platter—how to we fight back? Well, we can and should continue to expose ALEC for what it is. We should also work to embarrass those legislators who abrogate their responsibilities by slurping up ALEC’s droppings and spewing them out under their own names. But we have to do more. We have to make doing the right thing as easy as doing the wrong thing. We need to do more than just expressing our desires to Congress. We need to pick up quill, sit down at keyboard, grab a tablet, and fight model legislation with model legislation. We need to be the Anti-ALEC. We have to tap into that original crowdsourcing idea, democracy, to craft model legislation that’s designed by the people, for the benefit of the people. And yes, I know that statement sounds as if it should accompanied by a cheesy blare of trumpets, or panned across the screen a la Ken Burns, but that doesn’t make it any less true. If we are not willing to provide legislators with an easy route to passing good bills, you can be sure they will pass bad ones. No one is going to show up tomorrow with $21 million to create model legislation that truly protects workers, shields consumers, upholds rights, safeguards education and promotes the environment. We can’t wait on Superman to protect the weak. We have to be superman. To fight against ALEC and its smoky backroom (and with big tobacco as a major sponsor, you just know that room is smoky enough to cure hams), let’s build legislation out in the open. In the electronic town square. Instead of having each bill shaped by callous lobbyists who work for the interest of the few, let’s use the hands of the many. I know what you’re thinking. It’s too hard, it requires too much legal knowledge, and in the word’s of Otto von Bismark "laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them made." Only I’m asking you not just to see the sausage made, but to get your hands dirty making it. Is it hard? Eh, sometimes, but every bill doesn’t have to be encyclopedic. Look, here’s a bill. One of my favorites, in fact. Clean Water Protection Act A BILL To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify that fill material cannot be comprised of waste. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Clean Water Protection Act'. SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FILL MATERIAL. Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end the following: `(26) FILL MATERIAL- The term `fill material' means any pollutant which replaces portions of the waters of the United States with dry land or which changes the bottom elevation of a water body for any purpose. The term does not include any pollutant discharged into the water primarily to dispose of waste. That doesn’t seem too long, does it? You know what this bill would do if passed? This bill would outlaw “mountaintop removal” mining, the kind of mining that’s leveling 400 million year old mountains and clogging scenic rivers with sludge. This bill could save the environment, preserve communities and positively affect lives across dozens of states, and it's just 137 words. Including titles. Granted, there's more to this bill than getting some words on paper. It took people with insight into how mountaintop removal works, and the background expertise to know that the whole viability of this vile process hinges on being able to dump shattered rock into streams based on a weasel-word interpretation of the term "fill." You know what we have here? A lot of experts, with detailed background knowledge on almost any subject and a willingness to share that knowledge. Let's use it. We have practical knowledge from members who have worked on campaigns, in congressional offices, and offices in every state. Let's use it. We have the access that comes with years of contributing, in every sense, to getting candidates elected to office. Let's use it. What we have here is a resource that is a lot bigger than just the dollars in our pockets. Let's use it to craft our own legislation, with our own open process, and work to get that legislation into the hands of actual lawmakers at every level. Just think of it as Bill Starter—the kickstarter of democracy. A place to go from "that's a good idea" to "Excuse me, Senator, I have something here I think might interest you." How is this going to work? I think we have all the tools we need: diaries and groups to showcase ideas, messages and comments to offer suggestions, polls and votes to gather opinion. I'm imagining that we can begin with raw ideas, gather in those interested in moving that idea forward, then reshape, rewrite and use every channel available to make it so. Then again... maybe I'm imagining too much. You tell me. Tell me how you think it should work. Better still, tell us all about your ideas, the things that pop into your head alongside the phrase "there ought to be a law." Because I not only think we can beat ALEC at their own game and do a lot of good in the process, I think it can be fun simply to try.Gunmen in Pakistan have shot dead six health workers associated with an anti-polio campaign in a string of attacks. It was not clear who was behind the shootings in the southern city of Karachi and northern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, but Taliban fighters have repeatedly denounced the anti-polio campaign as a "Western plot". The government's immunisation campaign against the crippling disease was suspended in Karachi following the attacks. Five women were killed and two men wounded in two separate attacks on health workers in Karachi on Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera sources. The team had received telephone calls warning workers they would regret helping the "infidel" campaign against polio, said Gul Naz, a health official who oversees the project in the area where the women were shot. Senior police officer Shahid Hayat blamed "militants who issued a fatwa against polio vaccination in the past" for the killings. He said one attack happened in the neighbourhood of Gulshan-e-Buner. "They were fired upon by unidentified gunmen who rode away on motorcycles. Two women members suffered multiple gunshots and died on the spot," he said. Authorities said the attacks were co-ordinated and occurred at the same time in different parts of the city. Peshawar attacks In Peshawar on Tuesday, gunmen on a motorcycle shot a 17-year-old woman supervising an anti-polio campaign, said Javed Marwar, a government official. She later died of her wounds. "We're concerned for the safety of front-line workers. They are the true heroes." - Matthew Coleman, UNICEF All of the victims were Pakistanis who were working with a UN-backed programme to eradicate polio, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause permanent paralysis within hours of infection. The disease has been wiped out in all but a handful of countries. At least 35 children in Pakistan have been infected this year. In Karachi, Sagheer Ahmed, the provincial health minister, said that the government had told 24,000 polio workers it was suspending the anti-polio drive in the province. Officials could not confirm if all the attacks were linked to the health campaign, said Matthew Coleman, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund. "We're concerned for the safety of front-line workers. They are the true heroes," he said. Government campaign There have been at least three other shootings involving polio eradication workers this year. Speaking to Al Jazeera from Islamabad, Zafar Jaspal, a professor at Quaid-e-Azam University, said in big cities like Karachi the health workers become "very easy targets", making it much more difficult for the government to protect them from threats. The government, in conjunction with UN agencies, is on a nationwide campaign to give oral polio drops to 34 million children under the age of five. In a joint statement condemning the killings, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF said such attacks "deprive Pakistan’s most vulnerable populations – especially children - of basic life-saving health interventions". Vaccination programmes, especially those with international links, however, have been branded "conspiracies" by many religious leaders for years. Matters were not helped when a Pakistani doctor ran a fake vaccination programme last year to help the CIA track down al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Jaspal said some groups suspect the polio campaigns "have been exploited or misused for data collection" in areas with suspected Taliban presence. Launching the polio drive on Monday, Pakistani authorities threatened to punish tribesmen in the country's tribal areas who refuse to allow their children to be inoculated. Siraj Ahmad Khan, the top official in the North Waziristan tribal area, said the punishments would include a ban on monthly stipends to tribal elders, development work, civil service recruitment and issuing ID cards and passports.The Premier League is now so wealthy that all 20 clubs from England’s top flight last season are among the richest 40 clubs in the world by income — even relegated Norwich City. There are five English clubs in the top 10 of the football ‘Rich List’, published on Thursday by accountants Deloitte. Manchester United are back up to No 2 behind Real Madrid. Half of the top 40 wealthiest football clubs are from the Premier League, according to a new survey Champions League winners Real Madrid are the wealthiest club in the world United’s income of £433million in 2013-14 left them behind the Spanish giants, who brought in £459m, but ahead of third-placed Bayern Munich (£407.7m), Barcelona in fourth (£405.3m) and Paris Saint-Germain in fifth (£396.6m). Real Madrid have now been the richest club by earnings for 10 years in a row. Manchester City (£346.5m), Chelsea (£324.4m), Arsenal (£300m) and Liverpool (£255.8m) are next in the top 10. Newcastle and Everton squeeze into the top 20, with West Ham and Aston Villa just below them. Southampton are the 25th richest club in the world (on £106.1m), with Sunderland, Swansea and Stoke inside the top 30. The rest of last season’s Premier League teams earned more than the £80m necessary for a top-40 place. This was largely down to lucrative new 2013-16 TV deals which began to pour into club coffers last season. Austin Houlihan, senior manager at Deloitte, said: ‘This is testament to the huge appeal of the Premier League globally and the equality of distribution the clubs enjoy relative to their European counterparts.’ TOP 30 WEALTHIEST FOOTBALL CLUBS BY REVENUE (FOR 2013-14) 1. Real Madrid - £459.5m 2. Manchester United - £433.2m 3. Bayern Munich - £407.7m 4. Barcelona - £405.2m 5. Paris Saint-Germain - £396.5m 6. Manchester City - £346.5m 7. Chelsea - £324.4m 8. Arsenal - £300.5m 9. Liverpool - £255.8m 10. Juventus - £233.6m 11. Borussia Dortmund - £218.7m 12. AC Milan - £208.8m 13. Tottenham - £180.5m 14. Schalke 04 - £178.9m 15. Atletico Madrid - £142.1m 16. Napoli £137.8m 17. Inter Milan - £137.1m 18. Galatasaray - £135.4m 19. Newcastle United - £129.7m 20. Everton £120.5m 21. West Ham United - £105.3m 22. Aston Villa - £101.9m 23. Marseille - £100m 24. Roma - £97.7m 25. Southampton - £97.3 26. Benfica - £96.6 27. Sunderland - £95.7m 28. Hamburg - £92.2m 29. Swansea City - £90.5m 30. Stoke City - £90.1m Manchester United have moved up to second on the list despite not even being in the Champions LeagueUpdate Disgruntled former employees of domain-name registrar Go Daddy have filed a class action lawsuit against the company, claiming potentially millions of dollar in "stolen" bonuses and overtime. The suit claims that the domain-name market leader broke the law by using a "subjective and arbitrary" process to withhold commissions from its call centre techies, and then fired one when he blew the whistle. It also alleges that by treating sales commissions as discretionary bonuses, Go Daddy has avoided paying its staff overtime at the proper rate. One plaintiff told us that he believes the company is using these tricks to wipe $5m to $20m a year from its cost of labour. "In my first 30 days, they pulled about $1,300 in bonuses from me, that was about half my income," said Toby Harris, one of three named plaintiffs. According to Harris, call centre staff have 12 minutes to run through a check-list of updates and up-sells with each customer. A score below 80 per cent means no bonus. Harris scored 78 per cent in his first month, despite being the top-selling employee. Harris was fired earlier this year, after only a couple of months at the company. His termination letter says he was fired for not sufficiently validating a customer's identity, but he claims to be a "whistleblower" who was wrongfully dismissed. Go Daddy is believed to have about a thousand Inbound Technical Sales and Support Specialists, who handle all sales and tech support calls to the company. Most are based in Arizona. The case could cover all of Go Daddy's call centre staff going back five years. Go Daddy did not immediately provide comment on the suit, which was filed earlier today. ® Update After this story was published, a Go Daddy spokesperson provided the following statement: "We have not yet received the complaint and, as a matter of protocol, do not comment on pending litigation. We will say we intend to vigorously defend this lawsuit. Go Daddy employs more than 2600 people. We stand by our well-established reputation as a top-notch employer. We are proud to have been honored year after year by numerous third-party organizations, and our own employees, as an ethical, generous employer."Get the biggest politics 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 Next week it'll be 100 days since David Cameron stormed back into Number 10 - and he's already broken a string of promises. Now some of the worst have been drawn up in a dossier by Yvette Cooper as part of her bid to lead the Labour party. She accuses the Prime Minister directly of lying to voters with a string of misty-eyed promises he made before polling day. And she was set to tell Labour activists to pull together and stop being distracted by the unexpected drama of the leadership contest. "David Cameron to get away with this and carry on like nothing has happened - he is taking the British public for fools," she was set to add. So what are the nine lies she's accusing him of? Here's the full list - with the evidence to show whether she's right. 1. Protecting child tax credit Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now Mr Cameron made his promise in the BBC Question Time election special on April 30. An audience member asked Mr Cameron to 'put to bed' rumours he'd cut child tax credit, or restrict child benefit to two children. He replied: "No, I don't want to do that. This report that's out today is something I rejected at the time as Prime Minister and I reject it again today." Host David Dimbleby then pushed him on the detail, saying some people were clearly worried. The PM replied: "Child tax credit we increased by £450. It's not going to fall." REALITY: The Budget made sweeping cuts to child tax credit hitting women harder than men. 2. Only freezing child benefit for 2 years Child benefit was already going to be frozen at £20.70 / £13.70 a week for two more years, alongside benefits like jobseekers' allowance and income support. That means it's continually losing value as it's overtaken by inflation. The PM vowed in May: "We've made our reform. "We've frozen it in this parliament and we’ve said we’ll have to freeze it for two years in the next parliament. "We’ve said child benefit stays because it’s so important." REALITY: George Osborne's Budget said the benefit will stay frozen for 4 more years. His own independent experts say it will have fallen 24% relative to average earnings between 2010 and 2021. 3. Electrifying the North's railways (Image: PA) The Tories vowed to turn the north into a powerhouse, led partly by better rail links. Their manifesto declared: "Electrification of the railways is a key part of our investment programme. "With work already underway across the North, the Midlands, and South Wales, there are plans to go further in the rest of the country, including East Anglia and the South West." REALITY: Two flagship electrification plans which take in Derby, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield were scrapped soon after the election. 4. Building more affordable houses Mr Cameron's manifesto vowed to build more affordable homes. "The chance to own your own home should be able everyone who works hard," it declared. "We will deliver more homes that people can afford" - including 200,000 starter homes exclusively under for first-time buyers under 40. REALITY: The government's 1% yearly social rent reduction will cripple housing associations, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. That'll mean 14,000 fewer homes being built than would've been otherwise. 5. Vowing not to dither on Heathrow Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now In March 2014 the PM promised to make a decision by this summer. "We’ve got the Davies Review that is looking at our airport capacity, and he’s said there are really 3 options," he said. "He says that it has to be addressed. "We don’t have to do it tomorrow, but we do need to make a decision in good time and we will in the summer of next year." REALITY: It's already August. The PM dithered over the report in the Commons after Boris Johnson broke ranks to say he'd block a third Heathrow runway. 6. Launching tax-free childcare this year (Image: Getty) Last year the government promised to introduce tax-free childcare by autumn 2015. The changes would hand an extra £2,000 a year per child to 'up to 1.8 million families' across Britain with a new online system, the Tories pledged. REALITY: The policy has now been delayed until 2017. However, the government insists this was only because it had to fight a legal battle at the Supreme Court (which it won). 7. Giving workers 3 days' volunteer leave (Image: AFP/Getty Images) A grand election pledge offered workers three days off a year to do volunteer work. It'd be used by up to 15 million workers, including all of those in the public sector and companies with more than 250 employees. REALITY: Eric Pickles bumbled through a car crash interview where he struggled to explain the policy. It didn't appear in the Queen's Speech and while it's not been ruled out, the Financial Times quoted a government source saying it's likely to be dropped. 8. Launching a social care cap next year (Image: Getty) It was one of the big promises of the election - pensioners would no longer have to sell their lives down the river if they get dementia. The Tories promised a cap of £72,000 for residential care, with the government paying any amount over that in an over-65 patient's lifetime. The Conservative manifesto pledged: "We will cap charges for residential social care from April 2016." REALITY: The policy was delayed until 2020 barely two months after the election. The government claimed it was feared councils won't be able to afford it. 9. Opening up government (Image: PA) The Conservative manifesto vowed to "continue to make government more transparent". And ministers have always insisted they're more open than the government of Tony Blair, who despite launching the Freedom of Information Act said he later regretted it. REALITY: The Tories have launched a consultation to restrict FOI which could carve out new areas of secrecy - called'safe space' - when ministers draw up policies that affect millions.Robert Mueller has a serious conflict of interest that should disqualify him from serving as special counsel. He has had a long and close relationship with someone who will surely become a pivotal witness –James Comey. No one doubts Mueller’s sterling credentials. That is not the issue. He is eminently qualified. The problem arises in his duty to fairly and objectively evaluate the evidence he gathers. How can Americans have confidence in the results if they know the special counsel may harbor a conspicuous bias? They cannot. The conflict inevitably discredits whatever conclusion is reached. It renders the entire investigatory exercise suspect, and it only elevates the controversy surrounding it. For this reason, Mueller should not serve as special counsel. Conflict Defined The law governing the special counsel (28 CFR 600.7) specifically prohibits him from serving if he has a conflict of interest in the case. The rule has been interpreted to mean that even the appearance of a conflict is sufficient for disqualification. A conflict of interest is a situation in which an individual has competing interests or loyalties. The conflict itself creates a clash between that individual’s self-interest or bias and his professional or public interest. It calls into question whether he can discharge his responsibilities in a fair, objective and impartial manner. Identical rules govern prosecutors who, for example, must recuse themselves from handling a case against a person with whom they have worked or had a personal relationship. The same would be true if a prosecutor had a close relationship with a witness in the case. The prior association raises the real or perceived possibility of prejudice or favoritism which is contrary to the fair administration of justice. So what exactly is Mueller’s conflict? He and Comey are good friends and former colleagues who worked hand-in-hand at the FBI and Department of Justice. Agents will tell you they were joined at the hip. They stood together in solidarity, both threatening to resign over the warrantless wiretapping fiasco involving then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004. Comey regards his predecessor as a mentor, while Mueller considers Comey his protégé. When Comey was appointed to succeed Mueller as FBI Director, both men appeared together and were effusive in their praise of one another. Their relationship is not merely a casual one. It is precisely the kind of association which ethical rules are designed to guard against. The Investigation Pursuant to his appointment, Mueller has been directed to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.” But that’s not all. He is empowered to investigate “ any related matters ”. Those last three words are important because they allow the special counsel unfettered discretion to expand his probe in almost limitless directions. Mueller’s investigation of alleged campaign collusion with the Russians will inexorably involve President Trump’s former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, who was fired after his controversial meeting with the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. The FBI interviewed Flynn about his meeting and there have been questions raised about Flynn’s other Russian contacts. This is likely what prompted President Trump’s private meeting in February with then-FBI Director James Comey in which the president is alleged to have asked Comey to end the Flynn investigation. The words reportedly used by Mr. Trump hardly constitute an attempt to obstruction of justice, but that has not stopped Democrats and the media from declaring it a crime. So it is clear where all of this is headed. Mueller’s probe will morph into an investigation of the Trump-Comey meeting to determine whether the president tried to obstruct justice. It will become a case of “he said…he said”. Which man will the special counsel believe? His good friend or the man who fired his good friend? How can Mueller fairly and impartially assess Comey’s credibility versus Trump’s? There is also the fairness of the broader investigation to consider. It is reasonable to assume Mueller was not pleased to see Comey canned. Any animosity which the special counsel may bear could influence the course of his overall investigation into potential wrongdoing by President Trump and his associates. He may be tempted to conjure criminality where none really exists. Even if Mueller takes pains to avoid partiality, how can anyone be assured he will succeed? Even impeccably honest people can be subject to influence in ways they don’t even recognize themselves. It is the human condition. Which is precisely why there are legal and ethical rules which demand recusal based on prior relationships. If Robert Mueller truly embraces a fidelity to the law and all its attendant principles of ethics, then he should disqualify himself from serving as Special Counsel. Anything less threatens to subvert the rule of law and the trust Americans must have in their system of justice.There's no such possibility, because of simple reason: including JavaScript to HTML doc should not be done in custom order. Often just foo.js need to be included before bar.js and you can't force correct order using asterisk. If you've got typical set of scripts to include in many view/layouts and don't want to traverse each view everytime when ie. version of some js changes (ie. foo.1.0.0.js -> foo.1.2.3.js, you can just create a tag, which you can later use in any view/layout. ie: file: views/tags/typicalSetOfScripts.scala.html <script src='@routes.Assets.at("foo.js")'></script> <script src='@routes.Assets.at("bar.js")'></script> <script src='@routes.Assets.at("etc.js")'></script> So you will be able to use it later in any layout like: @(title: String)(content: Html) <!doctype html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>@title</title> <!-- My typical set of scripts --> @tags.typicalSetOfScripts() </head> Of couurse you will need still add manually changes to the tag file.The Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors voted Thursday morning to cease nuclear operations and begin decommissioning the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. The move was proposed earlier this year.
step up,” he said. “We haven’t had enough consistent play to say, ‘Hey, thi is the guy, and I want him to lead this football team for the 2016 season.’ “… I want somebody to step up and say, ‘It’s my football team.’ And you do that with your play and you do that with how you make other guys better around you. It could be a check in the run game, protection. It could be just putting balls in tough, tough situations or not forcing a ball downfield. There’s a lot of things that go into that.” CSU FOOTBALL: Can receivers emerge from Higgins' shadow? Stevens was the Rams’ starter last season, throwing for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns with 12 interceptions while leading Colorado State University to a 7-6 season and third consecutive bowl game. Bauta, a senior, spent the past four years as a backup QB at Georgia, serving as the holder for point-after touchdowns and field goals last season but playing quarterback for just one game, a 24-3 loss to Florida. He completed 15 of 33 passes for 154 yards with four interceptions. Hill put himself into the competition by graduating a semester early from Dorman High School in Moore, South Carolina, so he could take classes at CSU last spring and participate in spring drills. He was a two-time all-state, all-area and all-region selection. MORE WALK-ONS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS: Bobo awarded scholarships for the 2015-16 school year to two more walk-ons, senior safety Eric Williams and senior receiver Robert Ruiz. Williams was a special-teams standout, playing on the kickoff, kickoff return, punt and punt return teams in 2014 but missed most of last season with a knee injury. Bobo expects Williams, a former running back, to play a key role on special teams again this season. Ruiz suffered a season-ending knee injury during fall camp a year ago and missed the entire season. He was getting a lot of work at the slot receiver position with the Nos. 1 and 2 offenses when he was hurt. Ruiz could be the Rams’ top punt returner this season, Bobo said. Bobo told players Monday night that he was putting junior defensive lineman Jakob Buys on scholarship. “You want to reward guys that, like I said earlier about Jakob, are going to play a key role on your team,” Bobo said. ON THE MEND: Bobo hopes to have two of the team’s four injured noseguards practicing again next week. Redshirt freshman O’Shea Jackson is recovering from a sprained ankle but could be back in time to participate in Saturday’s scrimmage, Bobo said. And true freshman Christian Colon, who has yet to practice because of a stress fracture in his right foot, might be good to go by Monday, the coach said. DAY OFF: The Rams will have a day off Thursday to join other CSU student-athletes in helping freshmen move into their dorm rooms. They’ll be back on the practice field for two sessions Friday and a scrimmage Saturday, then get another day off Sunday. Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.newsOn what he felt after scoring a goal in front of family and friends: Relief and excitement – I think I’ve never scored here, and I probably haven’t played the best games here, but nice to score here. Probably just as excited as a lot of the people that were here came in from Kenora. [Reporter: How many were here?] I’m not sure, but I had to get like 24 tickets, 23 tickets. So that’s alright – worth it. On his line with Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter: We played well the first two [periods]. I thought the third, we kind of slowed down a little bit and maybe sat back a bit. But I thought we played well and didn’t really do much with it other than just kept it simple and got pucks to the net. On his goal: I don’t know, we were passing the whole time and it didn’t seem to work. So I decided to close my eyes and rip it. On being reunited on a line with Jeff Carter: We have good chemistry. It’s been there for a while and it seems that we have success when we play with each other.EMT cleared in May Day clash claims SPD officer lied about assault Attorney: Officer’s statement ‘a complete fabrication’ A Seattle woman who lost her job and home after she was wrongly charged with attacking a police officer now claims officers lied in an effort to cover up excessive force during last spring's May Day demonstration. Maria Morales was among the first demonstrators charged after the riotous protest swept through downtown Seattle on May 1. A Seattle police officer claimed she was punched by Morales, a 30-year-old emergency medical technician. King County prosecutors followed up with an assault charge. Those allegations – publicized on seattlepi.com and elsewhere – cost Morales her job and apartment, as well as thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees. They were also baseless; video of the scene, included above, refuted the police account and prompted prosecutors to drop the case. “It’s a complete fabrication, and the reason that we know that is because it was on video,” said Darryl Parker, who is representing Morales in a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court. “The statement of probable cause that led to her arrest is completely false.” Parker claims Seattle police violated his client’s civil rights, assaulted her and lied to prosecutors to ensure that charges would be filed against her. A spokeswoman for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office declined to discuss the case. The city has not yet responded in court to the civil suit, which was filed earlier in December. Morales was accused of attacking two officers during the May Day violence, which investigators now contend was prompted by a small group of anarchists operating within the massive, annual May Day demonstration. Having spent the day laying groundwork she hoped might lead to a new job, Morales at 3:30 p.m. joined a march against police brutality that was part of the larger May Day demonstration. That march turned violent as the column reached the intersection of First Avenue and Pine Street. Some marchers began throwing items as they clashed with police dressed in riot gear and armed with batons. Morales soon found herself penned in between a wall and a police bicycle belonging to Seattle Police Officer Sonya Fry. According to her attorney’s statements to the court, Morales touched the bicycle’s handlebar so that she could leave the area, and was immediately pulled into a battery of police bicycles by Fry. “Morales was swarmed as Fry and other officers flipped her over onto her stomach, pepper sprayed the left side of her face and arm, and put her in two sets of handcuffs,” Parker told the court. Morales was then arrested on suspicion of assault. Having suffered an injury to her hand during the arrest, Morales was booked into King County Jail and held overnight. Staff at a Veterans Affairs clinic later noted her thumb was swollen and that her body, arms and legs were bruised. Two days after the incident, a Seattle police detective filed a statement with prosecutors recounting Officer Fry’s version of events. In it, the detective contended Fry claimed Morales punched her in the chest, kicked another officer and disobeyed police orders. “Morales got right up to Officer Fry and said, ‘Okay bitch’ then punched Officer Fry in the chest with a closed fist,” the detective told the court in a one-page statement outlining the allegations against Morales. The detective went on to assert that Morales kicked a second officer. Video of the incident shows Morales' feet were secured by officers immediately after she hit the ground. None of those allegations was true, and video of the scene shows them to be lies, Parker said by phone Wednesday. “That police officer overreacted,” Parker said. “Usually the truth lies somewhere in between” what police and an arrestee claim, the attorney continued. “Not in this case.” Accused alongside three other participants in the May Day demonstration, Morales was charged with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. That charge was later dismissed with prejudice, as were similar charges against videographer Joshua Garland. King County prosecutors have since leveled more serious charges against five other demonstrators. They are alleged to have been part of a group of anarchists responsible for much of the vandalism that occurred during the protest. A federal investigation is also ongoing. Charged three days after the May 1 protest, Morales wasn’t cleared until mid-August. The charge against her was dismissed with prejudice at the request of the prosecution; such a move means the charge can’t be filed again at a later date. The allegations left Morales publicly shamed, without work and broke from legal expenses she incurred to fight the unsubstantiated charges. As a result of her arrest, she lost her job as an emergency medical technician, Parker told the court. She subsequently lost her apartment. Claiming his client’s constitutional rights were violated, Parker filed a lawsuit late last week in U.S. District Court at Seattle. In the suit, Parker contends Morales was the victim of a malicious prosecution pushed forward by false information provided by police. Writing the court, Parker faulted the City of Seattle for failing to train and manage its police force, which was sanctioned after Department of Justice investigators found a “pattern of excessive force” within the department. “The need to train officers in the constitutional limitation on the arrest of citizens and the amount of force to apply when doing so can be said to be ‘so obvious’ that the failure to do so could properly be characterized as ‘deliberate indifference’ to constitutional rights,” Parker told the court. Speaking Wednesday, Parker also said the city has refused to release documents related to his client’s arrest. Morales requested the documents shortly after she was charged but, following a series of delays by the Seattle Police Department, still does not have them. Parker said he and Morales have been told those with the records have simply been too busy to provide them. “It’s become a convenient excuse,” the Bellevue attorney said. “I have no way of knowing what’s true or not true, but I think it’s bizarre. Most cities get you the same information in five days." Parker said he expects to serve the lawsuit on the City of Seattle in coming days. No amount of damages is specified in the civil lawsuit, which Parker filed Friday. Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news. Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.(Kitco News) - The Federal Reserve will not be able to revive the economy under the leadership of Janet Yellen, said Dr. Ron Paul. The former U.S. congressman, and former Republican presidential candidate spoke with Kitco News during the Metals & Minerals Conference in San Francisco and said he does not expect Yellen to change the monetary policy that is currently in place. In fact he expects that she could be even more aggressive than current chairman Ben Bernanke. Former U.S. congressman Ron Paul Spoke to Kitco News' Daniela Cambone at the Metals & Minerals Conference in San Francisco. “She is a very aggressive inflator. She really believes in quantitative easing and that is the only thing they know,” Paul said. “I think she is very dangerous. I think she will be dangerous to the U.S. dollar.” On Thursday the U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved the nomination of Janet Yellen as the next chief of the central bank; it was approved by a vote of 14 to eight. Her nomination will now be sent to the full Senate for a final vote, which according to some media reports will take place in December. Although Paul was critical of Yellen’s policies, he said that the leadership of the central bank is secondary to the entire system. He added the last four or five years has demonstrated that the entire monetary system is not helping the economy grow. Paul explained that although the Fed has managed to keep interest rates artificially low, it has done nothing to help build the economy and has only created an asset bubble that continues to grow. Paul added the Fed should not have started its quantitative easing measures but instead let the market naturally correct. “We have not had a correction and are determined not to allow the markets to correct the errors of the market officials,” he said. “We should have allowed the liquidation of all debt and let the bankruptcies occur, pick up the good pieces and people would go back to growth again. It would have been all over in a year,” he said. The Fed is now locked into its bond-buying program and Paul pointed out any hint from the Fed that it will stop sends markets into a panic. Looking at the gold market, Paul said that people should not be concentrating on the price of the yellow metal so much but instead they should be asking themselves if they have enough. “I am more for making sure that I’m prepared for really bad times,” he said. “Do I have enough ounces to take care of my needs or my family’s?” Paul added that he sees the current correction in gold prices as a good buying opportunity and it’s only a matter of time before prices start to move higher. “They cannot print this kind of money and think that it will never be discounted by the dollar price of gold and I think we are fast approaching that time where it will turn around,” he said. Read the latest news in gold and precious metals markets at Kitco News. By Neils Christensen and Daniela Cambone of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com, dcambone@kitco.com“The Moments” Musician and actress Choi Sooyoung says “Life is existing continuously within ‘moments’”. Many moments of the past creates the present, and the present continues into a different now. It means that within any theme – people, work, health, skin – you have to try your best in every moment. It has been a year. It feels like your mood has somewhat changed. I got a bit tanned in Bali. I had a beauty shoot scheduled so I tried to put care into it so I feel apologetic. Not at all! What’s important to us is gloss and texture. It’s good as you brought your shining marble skin. We know you take very good care of yourself, but this is the most we’ve ever seen it. The busier I am, the more I tend to take care of myself. When I film dramas, there are frequent all night shoots, and when I stand on stage, I wear thick makeup so my skin condition becomes less stable. This is also the reason why I’m picky when choosing makeup products. Do you tend to be sensitive about your appearance? I’m in a career where I’m continuously shown on camera, so if my skin is not good, I become sensitive. I don’t want it to become detrimental to my work. When I work, I’m affected by my mood, so in order to be able to focus, I become diligent about skin care. What is visible is not everything, but it’s true that what is visible has an impact on what is not visible. When we said you looked different earlier, it was a compliment that you became prettier in a more womanly way. We can’t believe what difference 1 year makes. I think that’s what time is. I didn’t know as each day passes, but when that stacks up, I’ve become quite different. SNSD activities and drama have overlapped. Is it difficult to do two lines of work that’s completely different in tempo, energy and personality at the same time? When I film a drama, the most important thing is to assimilate entirely into the character, so I need to start by emptying out my own character. I am thinking about how SNSD Sooyoung who has a strong presence can coexist with the role that I’ve taken on. This must be a very important moment for you. Words can’t describe it. When SKII suggested the Pitera one bottle campaign with the theme of ‘Big Moments’, I wondered if it could be any more fitting than this. We heard the mission was ‘30 day record for the important moment’. Thanks to the campaign, I took a lot of selfies. While filming the beauty film, you said “I don’t have any moments of regret in life”. As you learn from every experience. What did you earn from this challenge? I learned how I can care for my skin going forward. It was luck to be able to find a lifetime solution for my skin after investing for one month. It’s reliable as if I’ve gotten insurance. As you said your skin condition has an effect on your work, we’re looking even more forward to your future career. Big moments attract other big moments, so I believe that good skin will add to luck when it comes to work. Truthfully, ‘big moment’ is both an opportunity and a source of anxiety. That’s why you need preparation. I’m living as diligently as I can. Now that you say that, we have to ask about your daily life. On days when I don’t have schedules, I wake up in the morning and do exercises like yoga or golf, and afterwards, I learn or practice various things that I will need for work. Of course, beauty care is included in that. Since it’s linked to confidence. What does beauty mean to you? It’s comfort. I strongly believe that you need to be comfortable to appear pretty to others. So in my daily life, and when I act, I ensure I prioritize that. Truthfully, I’m a fan of actress Choi Sooyoung. When I first watched tvN, your subtle appearance was memorable. You didn’t seem like a rookie. It’s because I’d been continuously preparing. When you started life as a trainee, you were just twelve years old. These days, people tend to debut young but 12 years old is a young age. Were you okay? Truthfully, I was barely able to go to school. When I thought that I wasn’t able to experience things that all girls my age experienced, it was upsetting. But without that time, I won’t be here right now. When I accepted that truth, all of my past moments and the present become even more precious. What does SNSD mean to you? They are dependable colleagues, friends who I will be with for life and family. They’re mom-like, and also dad-like. Sometimes they are like my lovers. Members are people who will have a huge impact on me, regardless of what I will experience going forward or what path I will walk. I believe that we will be dependable reinforcements for each other going forward. How was 10 years with SNSD? On stage, I was not alone. Since I was always with members, I think the spotlight and the weight of worries were equally divided among the eight of us. Do you consider Sooyoung on stage to be 1/8? That’s right. But I definitely don’t take it lightly. Living as an entertainer, I’ve realized that my words and actions have a huge influence on others and I’ve learned that the responsibility that accompanies that falls completely on me and I can’t share that with anyone else. Is it burdensome? It’s a responsibility. It’s a token that makes me aware of the reasons that I receive love, and it’s a weight that a person who is in the spotlight has to withstand. Are you always this resolute? Is it tacky to ask you about hardships, as you’ve been adult-like since you were young? If I’m speaking honestly, I think that up to now, both personally and as SNSD, I think I’ve done well without big hardships. It’s upsetting when I’m treated as just one member of a girl group, I think of the love I’ve received as SNSD, and I think ‘This is homework that I’m grateful for that I will need to figure out going forward’. What is enjoyable is that now that I have a new task, I’ve started gaining a different kind of strength. Even though it’s difficult homework? There are a lot that I will need to overcome, but I’m thankful that there is still a lot that I haven’t shown as an actress. My style is to use hardships as a driving force of life, so I’ve received strength to be able to forge ahead until an exclamation mark follows actress Choi Sooyoung, rather than a question mark. You entered the entertainment world at a young age and it took 16 long years to get here. Your sentiments must be unlike others. I didn’t know I would get to this point. The time that I spent with members were precious and fun, and I can’t believe I’ve been given so much, it’s more than I deserve. But you’re only just twenty eight now, and you’ll experience a lot more going forward. With what heart will you greet the moments that will come? As ‘that time’ has reached the present, the present will continue into a different now. The work I’ll do is always the same. It’s patience and hard work. This is what I’ve learned from my life as an entertainer in the days that have passed. Source: Vogue KoreaGet ready to rumble and claim the FFTCG crown this year with our Opus Championship 2017! Participate in one of the numerous events across Europe to try and qualify yourself for the European final at the Square Enix London Office this October! (Date TBC) *Open to residents of the EU only That's right, 24 players will battle it out in London for a chance to fly to TOKYO and face the ultimate skills test in our first ever World Final, at the Square Enix Headquarters on November 18th and 19th!!! EU FINAL QUALIFIERS There will be various types of events taking place until October, some on a regional level granting access to a National Final and some larger scale tournaments granting direct qualification to the European Final, please take a look at the details below and make sure to contact the organizers to register and/or if you have any questions! Also, this post will be updated as more dates are confirmed so don't forget to check it regularly! UK Event type: National Final Qualifier Store Name & Tournament Date Store Adress Email Contact Phone Contact Website IQ Games Huddersfield 20/05/2017 23 Byram St, Huddersfield HD1 1DR info@iqgaming.co.uk 01484 511019 http://www.iqgaming.co.uk/ Firestorm Games Wales 20/05/2017 15 Trade St, Cardiff CF10 5DT rob@firestormgames.co.uk 029 2022 7117 http://www.firestormgames.co.uk/ Big Orbit Shrewsbury 20/05/2017 Unit 1. Thornes Hall, 28 Castle Street, Shrewsbury, SY1 2BQ shrewsbury@bigorbitgames.co.uk 01743 247748 https://www.bigorbitcards.co.uk/ Athena Norwich 06/05/2017 9 St Gregory's Alley, Norwich NR2 1ER contact@athenagames.co.uk 01603 460910 www.athenagames.com Patriot Games Sheffield 13/05/2017 36-42 Union St, Sheffield S1 2JP info@patriotgames.ltd.uk 0114 273 1762 http://www.patriotgames.ltd.uk/ Dark Sphere London 13/05/2017 186 Hercules Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 7LD support@darksphere.co.uk 020 7928 1373 http://www.darksphere.co.uk/ Gamers World Dublin 06/05/2017 1 Jervis Street, Dublin 1, Dublin, Ireland gamersworlddublin@gmail.com 353 1 804 4540 www.gamersworlddublin.com MAX XP Glasgow 07/05/2017 29-31 Duke St, Glasgow G4 0UL maxxpglasgow@gmail.com 0141 548 1097 http://www.maxxpgaming.co.uk/ Each store will send their top 2 champions for a 16-player National Final hosted at: on 27th and 28th May! And don't worry if you can't attend as there will be a livestream so that no one misses a bit! The top 4 players of the National Final will win a ticket for the European Final. 2 more players will be selected throughout the course of the year for the UK region so stay tuned! FRANCE & BELGIUM Event type: National Final Qualifier Store Name & Tournament Date Store Adress Email Contact Phone Contact Website Bazar du bizarre 27/05/2017 24 rue du Pont des Comines 59000 lille France lille@bazardubizarre.com 03 20 55 56 65 http://www.bazardubizarre.com/ Noctambulle 11/06/2017 1 rue du quai 27400 louviers France christoff.hebert@yahoo.fr 02 32 50 46 77 https://www.facebook.com/Le-Noctambulle-330455375161/ Le temple du jeu 20/05/2017 8 rue de l'Héronnière 44000 nantes France antonin@letempledujeu.fr 02 51 84 05 05 https://www.letempledujeu.fr/ Les armes de légendes 11/06/2017 107 cours Victor Hugo 33130 begles France willysane@gmx.fr 05 56 85 85 42 http://www.lesadl.fr/ Fantasy sphere 04/06/2017 61 GRANDE RUE ST MICHEL 31400 toulouse France fournisseur.fantasysphere@fantasysphere.net 09 81 75 12 78 https://www.facebook.com/Fantasy-Sphere-886031261407640/ Ludik 10/06/2017 180 rue Victor Hugo 69400 Villefranche France ludik69@wanadoo.fr 04 74 65 58 30 http://ludik.blog4ever.com/ Magic bazar 10/06/2017 13 rue Edouard Jacques oliviermtg@gmail.com 09 50 24 65 46 https://www.magicbazar.fr/ Parkage 17/06/2017 25 rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire 75005 Paris France cecile.gosset@parkage.com 09 83 68 31 07 https://www.parkage.com/ Magic bazar 13/05/2017 39 RUE SOMMEILLER 74000 annecy France l.jacquet@magicbazar.fr 09 50 50 82 89 https://www.magicbazar.fr/ La malle d'apolline 25/06/2017 15, boulevard Paul Doumer 51100 Reims France lamalledapolline@gmail.com 09 83 87 43 17 http://lamalledapolline.fr/lamalledapolline/Bienvenue.html L'alchimiste 27/05/2017 RUE MAURICE HOLLANDE 51100 Reims France contact@alchimiste-games.fr 03 26 09 44 34 http://www.alchimiste-games.fr/ La caverne du gobelin 11/06/2017 11 rue des Clercs 57000 Metz France thibault@caverne-du-gobelin.fr 03 87 18 42 08 http://www.caverne-du-gobelin.fr/ Link 25/06/2017 10 Rue Emile Jamais, 30000 Nîmes, France saslink@hotmail.fr 09 66 92 36 72 https://www.facebook.com/link.salledejeux Comic Book SAS 10/06/2017 6 place Jerusalem 84000 Avignon France comicbook@orange.fr 04 90 85 23 05 N/A La Crypte du jeu 11/06/2017 7 Cours lieutaud 13006 Marseille France lacryptedujeu@yahoo.fr 04 91 48 25 43 https://www.facebook.com/Lacryptedujeu Temple du jeu 10/06/2017 22 Rue du capitaine dreyfus 35000 Rennes France rennes@letempledujeu.fr 02 99 79 18 45 https://www.letempledujeu.fr/ Double 6 21/05/2017 110 - 112, rue de Geôle 14000 Caen France contact@double6.fr 09 81 00 24 30 https://www.facebook.com/pg/magasindouble6/about/?ref=page_internal Cartes sur table 11/06/2017 28 rue fécauderie 89000 Auxerre France cartessurtable@hotmail.fr 03 86 32 16 54 http://www.cst89.com/ La forge d'audren 18/06/2017 6 RUE VINCENT DE BEAUVAIS 60000 Beauvais France audren.forge@sfr.fr 03 60 29 94 89 http://laforgedaudren.fr/ Le repaire du dragon 13/05/2017 44 boulevard de Magenta 75010 Paris France marc.duciel@lerepairedudragon.com 01 44 84 70 69 http://www.lerepairedudragon.fr/ Les jeux de la comté 03/06/2017 26 rue battant 25000 Besançon France lesjeuxdelacomte@orange.fr 03 81 81 32 11 http://www.jeux-comte.fr/ Carta'jeux 27/05/2017 297 rue Garibaldi 69007 Lyon France https://www.facebook.com/Cartajeu 09 52 61 11 78 http://www.cartes-jeux-lyon.com/ Outpost 28/05/2017 8 rue de la Tribune, 1000 Bruxelles bernardo@outpost.be 0032(0)22180400 http://www.outpost.be/ Ludotrotter 10/06/2017 RUE EMILE TUMELAIRE 6 6000 CHARLEROI Belgique info@ludotrotter.be +32 71 50 07 71 https://jeux-de-societe.be/ Each store will send their champion for a 24-player National Final hosted at: on 8th and 9th July! Once again the final will be streamed live so remember to tune in! The top 4 players of the National Final will win a ticket for the European Final. GERMANY Event type: National Final Qualifier Store Name & Tournament Date Store Adress Email Contact Website Highlander Games 13/05/2017 Bremen fftcg@highlander-bremen.de http://www.highlander-bremen.de/ Spielzeit 11/06/2017 Krefeld krefeld@spielzeit.de http://www.spielzeit.de/krefeld Mage Store 24/06/2017 Düsseldorf info@magestore.de http://www.magestore.de/ Funtainment 01/07/2017 München funtainment@funtainment.de http://www.funtainment.de/ Funtainment 22/07/2017 Berlin berlin@funtainment.de http://www.funtainment-berlin.de/ DotALan 05/08/2017 Volkmarsen t.schilder@asmodee.com http://dota-lan.de/ S-Games 29/07/2017 Wiener Neustadt info@sgames.at http://www.s-games.at/ Ultracomix 15/07/2017 Nürnberg info@ultracomix.de http://ultra-comix.de/ Each store will send their top 2 champions for a 16-player National Final hosted at: on 25th and 26th August! This will also be streamed live so that everyone can enjoy the show! The top 4 players of the National Final will win a ticket for the European Final. ITALY Event type: European Final Qualifier Italy will run a slightly different format with 4 larger scale tournaments throughout the year and starting with a bang at the beautiful Museum of contemporary art in Rome, yes sir! Venue Name & Tournament Date Venue Adress Facebook Contact Email Contact Website MACRO 06/05/2017 Via Nizza 136a Rome https://www.facebook.com/finalfantasytcgitalia/ op@finalfantasytcg.it http://en.museomacro.org/presentazione/editoriale UESM 11/06/2017 via S.Uguzzone 8 Milan https://www.facebook.com/finalfantasytcgitalia/ op@finalfantasytcg.it http://www.uniesm.it/ TBC Naples https://www.facebook.com/finalfantasytcgitalia/ op@finalfantasytcg.it TBC TBC Bologna https://www.facebook.com/finalfantasytcgitalia/ op@finalfantasytcg.it TBC The winner of each tournament will qualify for the European Final. This post will be updated with more information regarding the above territories so make sure you check it regularly! We hope you have fun participating in thhe qualifiers, rumor has it there are some pretty neat prizes up for grabs! ;-) GOOD LUCK and may the force of deck-building be with you!!!Think President Trump couldn't ratchet up his attacks on the news media any more than he already has? Think again. At a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday, the President called journalists "liars" and "sick people" who are fomenting "division" in the country and "trying to take away our history and our heritage." And he repeatedly portrayed the news media as an enemy of the American people, recalling his claims to that effect from February. "I really think they don't like our country. I really believe that," Trump said. Afterward, several prominent members of the media said the President's anti-press rhetoric was downright dangerous, because it could lead individuals to try to harm journalists. While the President complaints about "fake news" on an almost daily basis, Tuesday seemed especially severe. ABC's Cecilia Vega, who was at the rally, said on "GMA" that "this was incitement, plain and simple." Vega, who has covered many of Trump's rallies, showed video of rallygoers scolding the press corps while saying "this one felt different." "It really feels like a matter of time, frankly, before someone gets hurt," she said. The President encouraged his audience to boo and chant anti-media slogans, knowing the rally was being broadcast live on cable television. At one point he said of the press, "You would think they want to make our country great again. And I honestly believe they don't." The Society of Professional Journalists, an advocacy and education group, was compelled to respond: "Despite what President Trump says, journalists love the USA. We go to work each day to inform people about OUR country." On Wednesday morning, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, a veteran of the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, wrote a series of tweets to "family/friends who support Trump: what he said last night about reporters was despicable, extremely deceptive, dangerous." In a tweetstorm, CNN's Sara Murray said her experience is that "most of the people at these rallies -- even ones booing -- treat it as a joke," but "there are some who treat Trump's 'fake news' diatribes seriously." "They believe it when Trump lies about the cameras being turned off. They harass reporters and photographers," Murray wrote. "Trump knows what he's saying is false. People close to him know it puts journalists at risk just for doing their jobs. He does it anyway." Indeed, media bashing was a major theme throughout the president's 77-minute speech. Republican pollster Frank Luntz remarked during the rally: "Trump doesn't just criticize media more than he criticizes neo-Nazis -- he criticizes them more than radical Islamic terrorists." Trump doesnt just criticize media more than he criticizes neo-Nazis -- he criticizes them more than radical Islamic terrorists. #PhoenixRally — Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 23, 2017 Trump's anger about news coverage of his response to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, was apparent from the start. He claimed his words about Charlottesville were "perfect" but the "damned dishonest" media didn't hear him. Trump also got personal, calling ABC's chief anchor George Stephanopoulos "little George." And he described the Washington Post as a "lobbying tool for Amazon." (The Post is owned by Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos.) Several of the president's statements about the press were incorrect. Trump repeated past claims that journalists routinely make up sources and create stories out of whole cloth. He also said several times that the television cameras in the arena weren't showing his remarks live. "The live red lights, they're turning those suckers off fast!" he said at one point, claiming that CNN was cutting away from his speech because he was being critical of the network. CNN aired the speech in its entirety, including the chants of "CNN sucks" from rallygoers. Trump also brought up Jeffrey Lord, the former CNN commentator who was outspoken in his support for the President. "They fired Jeffrey Lord. Poor Jeffrey," Trump lamented. CNN severed ties with Lord after he tweeted a Nazi salute to a liberal activist. Lord said he was mocking the activist. Fox News also carried the rally live. Trump praised Fox at length, and gave specific shout-outs to the show "Fox & Friends" and anchor Sean Hannity. "How good is Hannity?" Trump asked as the crowd cheered. Trump's fans, not surprisingly, savored his attacks against other media. According to The New York Times, "members of the audience shouted epithets at reporters, some demanding that they stop tormenting the president with questions about his ties to Russia." Eliza Collins, a reporter for USA Today, tweeted during the speech that "a man with a little boy on his shoulders is screaming 'rat!' at reporters in the press risers." After Trump's speech ended, journalists outside the arena dodged rocks and tear gas while covering chaotic protests. -- A version of this story first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter. Sign up here!The political winds continue to shift, and the Democrat Party seems to be growing ever more confident about their immediate future because they are getting ever more aggressive about infringing on our rights. Whether it’s about forcing us into genderless bathrooms
it made profits and started paying dividends. "Obviously Kiwibank has been told to make a profit and give a dividend to the Government, so there's not much pressure from Government to be more competitive," he said. "By increasing Kiwibank's capital that would allow it more leeway to be more competitive," he said, adding however this was not Labour's formal policy. NZ Bankers' Association responds New Zealand Bankers' Association CEO Kirk Hope said bank profits were not high compared to other major companies operating in New Zealand and that returns on assets of 1.1% were the lowest of any industry. "Bank returns on equity fall in the middle of the pack when compared to major companies listed on the NZX," Hope said, adding banks invested heavily in New Zealand and shareholder returns were needed to finance that investment. Hope pointed to NZ$6.6 billion contributed to the New Zealand economy in 2014 in wages to 25,000 employees and other spending, along with NZ$1.8 billion paid in taxes. "As businesses supporting our economy, banks needs to make a profit to stay strong and keep investing in New Zealand. Most New Zealanders welcome the fact our banks are strong," Hope said. "The alternative, if you look at the banking sector in countries like Greece, is pretty catastrophic. We had no bank failures or bailouts during the GFC. That’s down to our banks’ strength and good management," he said. Hope said banks were working closely with their farming customers to provide options including funding working capital in times of financial stress. "Ask most farmers about how banks are supporting their business and you’re likely to hear a good story. It’s easy to take pot shots from afar but the reality is that banks and farmers are working together closely to get through what is going to be a challenging season or two," he said. Responding to the criticism of credit card margins, Hope said the lending was unsecured and the higher risk was reflected in the higher interest rate. He said between 1% and 3% of New Zealand credit card customers paid just the minimum each month, which was significantly lower than in the United States and Britain, and over 50% of customers paid off their balance in full every month. In the United States only a third of customers paid off their balances in full. Hope rejected the idea that banks had a 'cosy' agreement. "Our banks operate in an intensely competitive environment, not least because of the requirements of the Commerce Act, but also because of the business they’re in," he said. "We see that in practice with mortgage rates falling recently and the way in which banks have moved quickly to retain and build their market share," he said, pointing to higher customer satisfaction ratings for banks than other service industries. Moody's points to strong 'pricing power' Earlier this week Moody's Investors Service pointed to the strong profitability and pricing power of New Zealand's biggest banks as a factor supporting its stable outlook for the sector. "The banks' strong market positions have supported their pricing power, allowing them to achieve strong returns compared to the relatively low risk profile of their business models," Moody's said, adding however that competitive pressures remained high, particularly in housing lending in Auckland. "On the other hand, competition for deposits has softened as deposit growth remains strong, while banks have met all regulatory liquidity and funding requirements," it said. Moody's said it expected profitability to remain strong as efficiency gains and lower funding costs would offset pressure on loan margins and credit costs. "We expect profitability to remain strong, but to stabilize after recent improvements. The profitability of New Zealand banks improved steadily from 2011-14 and compares strongly to their peers," it said, referring to the charts below. "New Zealand banks boast above-peer margins and operating efficiency which reflect the industry’s concentrated structure and banks' considerable pricing power." (Updated with NZBA response, Moody's comment and charts)Gunmen stormed two homes and massacred 13 young partygoers in the latest large-scale attack in this violent border city, even as a new government strategy seeks to restore order with social programs and massive police deployments. Attackers in two vehicles pulled up to the houses in a lower-middle-class neighborhood late Friday and opened fire on about three dozen youths attending a party. The dead identified so far were 16 to 25 years old, the Chihuahua state attorney general's office said Saturday in a statement. Fifteen were wounded, including a 9-year-old boy. Police found 70 bullet casings from assault weapons typically used by drug gangs whose bloody turf battles have killed more than 2,000 people this year in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. The attackers escaped, and police said they had no immediate information on any suspects or possible motive. Ciudad Juarez has become one of the world's deadliest cities amid a turf war between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels, which frequently go after each other in mass attacks on bars, drug rehab centers and parties. Some have resulted in apparently innocent people being killed, either because someone else at a gathering was the target or gunmen simply had the wrong address. Most recently, attackers stormed two homes on Oct. 17, killing seven at a party and two more in another house nearby. And in January, gunmen massacred 15 people at a party in a house not far from the site of Friday's killings. Most of the victims were teenagers, students and athletes. Investigators later said the attack was apparently carried out by Juarez cartel gunmen looking to kill allies of the Sinaloa cartel. There is no evidence the youths were the targets, and police said the killers may have hit the wrong house. The city was outraged by the January massacre, leading President Felipe Calderon's government to vow to implement a new strategy for restoring order in Ciudad Juarez, where the army had by then had replaced the disorganized, outgunned local police. In April, federal police took over public security duties from the army, and about 5,000 federal officers were deployed in Ciudad Juarez. The federal government also stepped up social programs to try to break the cycle of poverty, broken homes and lack of opportunities that make the city's youths a fertile recruiting ground for the gangs. Cash aid programs, neighborhood improvement initiatives, educational and job-training programs were part of the new strategy, together with ubiquitous convoys of blue federal police trucks patrolling "safe corridors" throughout the city. But in light of the recent mass attacks, it is unclear whether the new strategy for the city is having an effect so far. While the bustling industrial hub was known mainly throughout the 1990s for the grisly series of murders of more than 100 young women, the city's youths now bear the brunt of the violence. In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, President Felipe Calderon said the Juarez strategy is a long-term policy. "We cannot think that all the ground lost regarding opportunities for these young people can be recovered in a few weeks," Calderon said. "If we are building five new high schools and two universities, don't tell me it's not working if classes started a month ago."Gov. McAuliffe delivers State of the Commonwealth address Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved Video WAVY Web Staff \| The Associated Press - RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY/AP) -- Governor Terry McAuliffe delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth address to lawmakers Wednesday night, kicking of the the start of the 2017 legislative session. McAuliffe is entering his fourth and final year in office. In his address, the governor touted his record at growing and diversifying the state's economy. McAuliffe said in 2016, there were 149,000 new jobs in the technology sector alone. Another 36,000 jobs opened up in cyber security, the governor said. "We returned the Port of Virginia to financial solvency and made record investments to position our Commonwealth as a leader in global trade for generations to come," McAuliffe said. The governor said Virginia has also secured a $120 million federal resiliency grant for Norfolk and other communities in Hampton Roads. .@GovernorVA: "In total, #Virginia has created 167,100 net new jobs over the past three years." Unemployment rate at 4.2% @WAVY_News #VA - Joe Fisher (@JoeFisherTV) January 12, 2017 McAuliffe touched on the restoration of voting rights for felons. "Thanks to those efforts, we have given more than 127,000 Virginians a second chance at citizenship," the governor said. In June of 2014, McAuliffe committed Virginia to First Lady Michelle Obama's "Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness." "I can still remember the look on Secretary John Harvey's face when I suggested that we take that challenge, not just for Virginia cities but for our entire Commonwealth," the governor said. "But he and the fantastic teams at the Department of Veterans Services, Social Services and Housing and Community Development got to work finding safe, affordable and permanent housing for our homeless veterans." On Veterans Day in 2015, McAuliffe announced that the state of Virginia had become the first state in the nation to functionally end veteran homelessness. "That accomplishment should be a source of pride for all of us - particularly when you meet the men and women who have benefited the most," McAuliffe said. Governor McAuliffe then introduced, Deotis Roberts, of Chesapeake. Roberts served in the Army Airborne in several missions, including Operation Desert Storm. He faced challenges when he returned, the governor said, and lived without a reliable roof over his head for nearly 11 years. Now, he's finally received permanent housing, McAuliffe said. "These Virginians, and their stories, are an uplifting reminder of the impact we can have on people's lives when we work together," the governor said. "As I have traveled Virginia and met the families we serve, I have taken great pride in the progress we have made for them. But despite our enormous strides, we still have problems to solve." McAuliffe is predicting a productive working relationship with Republican lawmakers during this year's legislative session, which he said will focus on improving mental health services and stemming opioid abuse. .@GovernorVA: In 2015, >800 #Virginia died from opioid addiction & overdose. In 2016, #'s expected to exceed 1,000 deaths. @WAVY_News #hrva - Joe Fisher (@JoeFisherTV) January 12, 2017 McAuliffe says his budget includes $5.3 million for increased substance abuse disorder services and new tools to prevent overdose deaths. "The men and women affected by this crisis are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives," the governor said. "If we act together boldly, we can fight this epidemic and keep these Virginians, their families and their communities healthy." McAuliffe, a Democrat, faces long odds on getting key parts of his agenda through a GOP-controlled General Assembly. In his speech Wednesday, McAuliffe warned lawmakers that progress could be undermined by socially conservative legislation on abortion and transgender issues. He mentioned North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2, and said, "The Commonwealth will not tolerate discrimination... including our friends and neighbors in the LGBT community." McAuliffe told the media ahead of his address that he expects to work well with Republican lawmakers on issues such as reforming the state's economic development agency and addressing an estimated $1.26 billion shortfall. The governor says the budget he has submitted does not make any program cuts to K-12 education. He says the budget also requires fewer reductions from Virginia's higher education system than were originally anticipated. "I am proud of the work we have done together to strengthen Virginia's education system from Pre-K through higher-ed and mid-career workforce training. This session we can build on those accomplishments together." .@GovernorVA: "#Virginia is a place where leaders come together to get things done, no matter their political points of view." @WAVY_News - Joe Fisher (@JoeFisherTV) January 12, 2017 .@GovernorVA: "I hope you will join with me for 1 more session to strengthen the foundation we have laid for a new #Virginia economy..." - Joe Fisher (@JoeFisherTV) January 12, 2017 Read the full transcript of McAuliffe's address here. WATCH: Governor Terry McAuliffe delivers the State of the Commonwealth address. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption 'I lost all my fingers': Earlier this year these migrants told the BBC about making a dangerous border crossing Montreal is temporarily opening its Olympic Stadium as a shelter to host a sudden increase in asylum seekers arriving from the US. More than 4,300 people have crossed into Canada seeking refugee status since January. The majority have crossed into the province of Quebec, straining government and community resources. Many of them have been denied asylum in the US and are hoping for a second chance on the other side of the border. The stadium received the request for space last Friday. Asylum seekers began to be moved into the building, one of Montreal's most well-known landmarks, on Wednesday morning. More than 3,300 people crossed into Quebec between 1 January and 30 June. Francine Dupuis, of Praida, a provincial programme for the reception and integration of asylum seekers, told the BBC that another 1,200 people crossed into the province in July, about 90% of them from Haiti. She is worried the numbers will not level off. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Montreal's Olympic Stadium She said the province has experienced waves of people seeking refugee status before - most recently Syrians crossing in the spring - but that last month's numbers are unprecedented. "Usually it comes and goes and it stabilises quite fast," she said. "In this case what we are fearing is it might not stabilise." Now, relevant agencies in Quebec responsible for the welfare of migrants when they first arrive are scrambling to find beds and other resources. Praida takes care of housing and the other immediate needs of refugee claimants for around two weeks after they arrive in the province and then continue to offer mental and physical health services for a few months. The Olympic Stadium will be used as needed until autumn. Other centres have also been opened across the city. Manitoba and British Columbia have also both seen an influx of hundreds of asylum seekers. Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Over 3,000 asylum seekers have crossed in to Quebec from the US since January Most of those who crossed the border in unofficial places have been quickly apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other law enforcement agencies. Once in custody, they are identified, searched and screened. If they are eligible to make an asylum claim, they are allowed entry and referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been under pressure to do more to secure the border amid concerns about the influx. Calls have been made to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement, under which refugee claimants are required to request protection in the first safe country they arrive in. It is a policy meant to better manage refugee claims and to avoid so-called "asylum shopping" between countries. But it is also among the reasons the asylum seekers are avoiding trying to come to Canada at official ports of entry. So far, Ottawa is standing behind the agreement, which came into effect in 2004. Quebec officials will be holding a press conference on Thursday.No one noticed the kid at first, and why would they? On the morning before Christmas, folks grabbing breakfast in the cafeteria at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite surely had other things on their minds. Then, a patron stepped to the register to pay for a meal. The black-clad kid — some said he looked like a ninja, but others said, no, he was dressed for church — slipped from behind a counter. His hand was full of cash; his face, full of smile. “Merry Christmas!” he said. “It’s on me!” The startled diner didn’t know what to say, but finally managed a thanks. The kid slipped behind the counter again. Moments later, someone else readied to pay for breakfast. The kid was a lightning bolt, striking fast. “Merry Christmas! It’s on me!” More people brought their food to the register. It was the same: a small fist waving cash, a young face beaming. Each diner got an early present, courtesy of the kid in black. When pressed, the kid said the money was supposed to have bought him a PlayStation 4, but that was OK: He already had a version of the game system. Word spread. A physician whose own child was in the hospital wept when the kid bought her meal. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged the kid. Then she hugged him some more. The guys who fly the life-flight helicopter trooped down to the cafeteria and made the kid an offer: Hey, buddy, want to see our chopper? The kid thought about it. No, he told them, I have things to do here. A child who’d had brain surgery came down. At the sight of the kid, his face lit like a star. For a moment, they shared that bond that only children know, that secret link that fades as we grow older. And so it went. When the kid ran out of cash, his dad ponied up additional money; others dug into their pockets, or hit the ATM, then gave their money to the kid. By 12:30, the kid had spent about $500, fed maybe 100 people. Then he was gone, a walking reminder that not all gifts come colorfully wrapped. The kid in black is Jerry Hatcher Jr., 8, of Kennesaw, a third grader at Blackwell Elementary in Cobb County. Jerry apparently likes to stay busy. Earlier this week, he visited a retirement home in Smyrna and gave residents plants to brighten their rooms. But that wasn’t enough. “He said, ‘I want to do something bigger,’” said his mom, Jenny Hatcher. Then he remembered Scottish Rite. Jerry had spent time there this summer, visiting his younger brother, Javier, who had undergone a serious lung operation. Maybe he could buy meals for people at the hospital? His dad, Jerry Sr., answered with a question of his own: Do you want to give up a PlayStation to buy meals for strangers? The kid didn’t hesitate. Jerry Jr. wasn’t available for an interview Tuesday afternoon. He had a role in his church’s Christmas play that evening — he was a shepherd, watching over his flock by night — and didn’t have time to talk. But Jerry had already made his point: The best gifts are those you give. Two thousand years ago, three men bearing gifts shared that message. On Christmas Eve in Atlanta, so did the kid in black.Exclusivity vol. 2. In addition to being able to stream the sophomore effort from Swedish doomsters Anguish this week, Sputnikmusic also has a chance to host an exclusive pre-listening of the new album from Australian prog rockers Opus of a Machine. Another new band on the rise, Opus of a Machine was formed in 2012, and Simulacra is their debut album, slated for release on November 16. Soaring verses, delicate instrumental breaks, catchy choruses and heartfelt ambition is what would best describe the first offering from these guys. An airy, shimmering affair, it’s a debut worth notice – which is also why I strived to bring it to Sputnik’s attention – possessing traits to accumulate some hype on the modern prog scene, with the right amount of promotion. Simulacra will be streaming on Sputnikmusic until the midnight of the 16th. Come on, stop by, give this album a good listen and discover some great new music! NB! Here’s a good, recent interview with the band’s guitarist Zachary Greensill, which further introduces Opus of a Machine and their approach regarding the creation of music: http://progarchy.com/2014/11/11/opus-of-a-machine-following-progressive-ideologies/The Man Booker International Prize has revealed the shortlist of six books in contention for the 2017 prize, which celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. Each shortlisted author and translator receives £1,000. The £50,000 prize for the winning book will also be divided equally between its author and translator. The 2017 shortlist is as follows: Author (nationality), Translator, Title (imprint) The list includes one writer who was previously a finalist for the prize in 2007, Amos Oz. He is one of two writers from Israel (the other is David Grossman) who have been shortlisted, along with a writer from South America, Samanta Schweblin, and three from Europe: two Scandinavians, Roy Jacobsen and Dorthe Nors and a Prix Goncourt winner, Mathias Enard from France. The settings range from an Israeli comedy club to contemporary Copenhagen, from a sleepless night in Vienna to a troubled delirium in Argentina. The list is dominated by contemporary settings but also features a divided Jerusalem of 1959 and a remote island in Norway in the early 20th century. The translators are all established practitioners of their craft: this is the 17th novel by Oz that Nicholas de Lange has translated and Roy Jacobsen’s co-translators Don Bartlett and Don Shaw have worked together many times before. The shortlist includes three independent publishers, Pushkin, Oneworld and Fitzcarraldo. Penguin Random House has two novels through the imprints Chatto & Windus and Jonathan Cape, while Quercus’s imprint Maclehose has the final place on the list. Nick Barley, chair of the 2017 Man Booker International Prize judging panel, comments: ‘Our shortlist spans the epic and the everyday. From fevered dreams to sleepless nights, from remote islands to overwhelming cities, these wonderful novels shine a light on compelling individuals struggling to make sense of their place in a complex world.’ Luke Ellis, CEO of Man Group, comments: ‘Many congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and translators. We are very proud to sponsor the Man Booker International Prize as it continues to celebrate talent from all over the world. The prize plays a very important role in promoting literary excellence on a global scale, as well as underscoring Man Group’s charitable focus on literacy and education, and our commitment to creativity and excellence.’ The shortlist was selected by a panel of five judges, chaired by Nick Barley, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and consisting of: Daniel Hahn, an award-winning writer, editor and translator; Elif Shafak, a prize-winning novelist and one of the most widely read writers in Turkey; Chika Unigwe, author of four novels including On Black Sisters’ Street; and Helen Mort, a poet who has been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Costa Prize, and has won a Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award five times. The winner of the 2017 Prize will be announced on 14 June at a formal dinner at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, with the £50,000 prize being divided equally between the author and the translator of the winning entry. Leading up to the winner announcement, there will be a number of public events featuring some of the judges, authors and translators: 27 May - The Man Booker International Prize for 1988 with Fiammetta Rocco, Boyd Tonkin, Daniel Hahn and Gaby Wood Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye 27 May - The Man Booker International Prize for 1988 with Fiammetta Rocco, Boyd Tonkin, Daniel Hahn and Gaby Wood Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye 12 June - ‘Translation at its Finest’ event in partnership with Foyles and English PEN Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London 12 June - ‘Translation at its Finest’ event in partnership with Foyles and English PEN Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London 13 June - Man Booker International Prize event chaired by James Naughtie with Waterstones at St James’s Church Piccadilly, London The Man Booker International Prize and the Man Booker Prize for Fiction together reward the best books from around the globe that are published in the UK and are available in English. The prize is sponsored by Man Group, an active investment management firm that also sponsors the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Both prizes strive to recognise and reward the finest in contemporary literature.Researchers at Facebook, Inc., the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Cornell University teamed up to study whether manipulating the News Feeds of Facebook users would affect the emotional content of the users’ status updates or postings. They recently published their findings in the PNAS paper “Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks” and suggest that they have found evidence of an “emotional contagion”, i.e. the idea that emotions can spread via Facebook. The size of the study is quite impressive: The researchers analyzed the postings of 689,003 Facebook users (randomly selected based on their user ID) during the week of January 11-18, 2012! This probably makes it the largest study of its kind in which social media feeds of individual users were manipulated. Other large-scale social media research studies have relied on observing correlations but have not used actual interventions on such a massive scale. The users’ postings (over three million of them) were directly analyzed by a software which evaluated the emotional content of each posting. The researchers did not see the actual postings of the Facebook users, which is why they felt that their research was covered by Facebook’s Data Use Policy and did not require individual informed consent. This means that the individual Facebook users were probably unaware of the fact that their News Feeds were manipulated and that their postings were being analyzed for emotional content. The researchers selectively removed items with either “positive” or “negative” emotional content from the News Feeds of individual users. The emotional content of News Feed items was categorized using the LIWC software, which defines words such as “ugly” or “hurt” as negative and “nice” or “”sweet” as positive. Each emotional post had a 10%-90% chance (assigned based on their User ID) of being removed from the News Feed. Since removal of News Feed items could have a non-specific, general effect on users being exposed to lesser updates, the researchers also ensured that they studied control groups in whom the same number of News Feed items were randomly removed, independent of their emotional content. Importantly, 22.4% of posts contained “negative” words, whereas 46.8% of posts contained “positive” words, suggesting that there is roughly a 2:1 ratio of “positive” to “negative” posts on Facebook. This bias towards positivity is compatible with prior research which has shown that sharing of “negative” emotions via Facebook is not always welcome. The difference in total number of “positive” and “negative” posts forced the researchers to use two distinct control groups. For example, users for whom 20% of News Feed posts containing “positive” content were removed required a control group in which 20% of 46.8% (i.e., 9.36%) of News Feed items were randomly removed (regardless of the emotional content). On the other hand, users for whom 20% of News Feed items containing “negative” content were removed had to be matched with control groups in which 20% of 22.4% (i.e., 4.48%) of posts were randomly removed. The researchers only manipulated the News Feeds but did not remove any posts from the timeline or “wall” of any Facebook user. The tweaking of the users’ News Feeds had a statistically significant impact on what the users posted. Removing “positive” items from the News Feed decreased the “positive” word usage in the users’ own postings from roughly 5.25% to 5.1%. Similarly, removal of “negative” News Feed items resulted in a reduction of “negative” word usage in the posts of the negativity-deprived users.The overall effects were statistically significant but still minuscule (changes of merely 0.05% to 0.15% in the various groups). However, one has to bear in mind that the interventions were also rather subtle: Some of the positivity- or negativity-deprived subjects only had 10% of their positive News Feed items removed. Perhaps the results would have been more impressive if the researchers had focused on severe deprivation of “positivity” or “negativity” (i.e. 90% or even 100% removal of “negative”/”positive” items). The study shows that emotions expressed by others on Facebook can indeed influence our own emotions. However, in light of the small effect size, it is probably premature to call the observed effect a “massive-scale emotional contagion”, as the title of the PNAS paper claims. The study also raises important questions about the ethics of conducting such large-scale analysis of postings without informing individual users and obtaining their individual consent. The fact that the researchers relied on the general Facebook Data Use Policy as sufficient permission to conduct this research (manipulating News Feeds and analyzing emotional content) should serve as a reminder that when we sign up for “free” accounts with Facebook or other social media platforms, we give corporate social media providers access to highly personal data. Kramer, A., Guillory, J., & Hancock, J. (2014). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1320040111 AdvertisementsBroadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Wednesday, May 4, 2016 The numbers for Wednesday, which feature series lows for a pair of NBC shows and a slight decline for the night’s No. 1 show: Time Show Adults 18-49 Rating/Share Viewers (millions) 8 p.m. Survivor (CBS) 2.1/8 9.39 The Middle (ABC) 1.7/6 6.90 Rosewood (FOX) 1.2/4 4.26 Heartbeat (NBC) 0.7/3 4.14 Arrow (The CW) 0.7/3 2.08 8:30 p.m. The Goldbergs (ABC) 1.9/7 6.58 9 p.m. Empire (FOX) 3.6/12 9.35 Modern Family (ABC) 2.2/8 7.38 Criminal Minds (CBS) – F 1.8/6 8.83 Law & Order: SVU (NBC) 1.1/4 5.21 Supernatural (The CW) 0.6/2 1.54 9:30 p.m. Black-ish (ABC) 1.6/5 5.60 10 p.m. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (CBS) 1.2/4 6.81 Chicago PD (NBC) 1.2/4 6.24 Nashville (ABC) 0.9/3 3.92 NBC had a rough night Wednesday, as both “Law & Order: SVU” (1.1 rating in adults 18-49) and “Chicago PD” (1.2) fell to series lows. They were each down three tenths of a point from their last original episodes. “Heartbeat” was even with last week at 0.7. “Empire” (3.6) was down 0.1 from last week’s fast nationals (it adjusted up in the finals) but still led the night easily. “Rosewood” was steady at 1.2 for FOX. ABC’s “The Middle,” “The Goldbergs” and “Modern Family” all held even with their last regular episodes, and “Black-ish” rose 0.1 to a 1.6. The season finale of CBS’ “Criminal Minds” (1.8) was up a tenth vs. its last episode, and both “Survivor” (2.1) and “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” (1.2) were even with last week. The CW’s “Arrow” (0.7) and “Supernatural” (0.6) fell 0.2 and 0.1, respectively. Network averages: FOX CBS ABC NBC CW Adults 18-49 rating/share 2.4/8 1.7/6 1.5/5 1.0/4 0.6/2 Total Viewers (millions) 6.80 8.34 5.72 5.20 1.81 Late-night metered market ratings (adults 18-49, households): 11:35 p.m. “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”: 0.8/5, 2.5/7 “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”: 0.5/2, 2.2/6 “Jimmy Kimmel Live”: 0.5/2, 1.8/5 12:35 a.m. “Late Night with Seth Meyers”: 0.4/3, 1.1/4 “Nightline”: 0.3/2, 1.3/4 “The Late Late Show with James Corden”: 0.2/2, 1.1/4 Definitions: Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent. Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings are available at approximately 11 a.m. ET the day after telecast. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. Time Shifted Viewing: Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live +Same-Day and Live +7 Day. Time-shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+SD includes viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3 a.m. local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live +7 ratings include viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast. Source: The Nielsen Company.The coal buckles are extremely rare. Courtesy of Marina Kilunovskaya In a remote part of Russia, near the border with Mongolia, an archaeological investigation has been excavating the graves of Xiongnu people, a nomadic group who lived in what’s now the Tuva Republic from about the 3rd century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. Some of the most striking finds have been in the graves of Xiongnu women, who were buried with fantastic belt buckles made of coal, jewels, and bronze, The Siberian Times reports. The belt buckles are decorated with depictions of animals from fictional dragons to panthers, yaks, camels, and snakes. A burial with the belt buckle. Courtesy of Marina Kilunovskaya The coal buckles in particular are very rare. Marina Kilunovskaya, the archaeologist leading the project for the of theRussian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for the History of Material Culture, told The Siberian Times that there are only 10 known examples of these types of belt buckles. Kilunovskaya worked with the archaeologist Pavel Leus, a specialist of the Xiongnu period. Xiongnu is a Chinese term from that period for nomadic, invading groups seen as a threat to China. In the period that these burials date to, a coalition of nomadic tribes from Central Asia were encroaching on Chinese territory. Chinese sources note that Xiongnu women fought alongside men, and the archaeological evidence backs that up. As Foreign Affairs reports, in at least 300 burials found across Asia, the remains of women show signs that they fought in battle. At least a quarter of the women found buried with weapons were active warriors. Both men and women wore elaborate belt buckles, decorated with animals both imaginary and real. The bronze buckles have elaborate decorations. Courtesy of Marina Kilunovskaya Excavations at this site, supported by The Society for the Exploration of Eurasia, began in 2015 and are still ongoing. The same area has many burials from the Scythian era, starting in the 2nd century B.C., through the Middle Ages.In 1953, a nine-year-old black girl named Linda Brown was blocked from enrolling in all-white Sumner Elementary School in Topeka, Kan. Her family sued the Topeka Board of Education, and 60 years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote those now famous words: “In the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.” Warren and the other eight justices didn’t mandate a timeline for desegregation, but they probably didn’t envision that six decades later it would still be the norm in many schools across America. Here are six shocking facts about modern segregation that should spur us into taking a hard look at what’s happening in our public schools. 1. Schools today are so racially segregated, you’d think Brown v. Board of Education never happened. According to a recent ProPublica report, “In 1963, about 1 percent of black children in the South attended school with white children.” However, the report notes, “by the early 1970s, the South had been remade—fully 90 percent of black children attended desegregated schools.” That kind of progress has ground to a halt and, in many places, has been rolled back. Because of lax enforcement or outright removal of federal desegregation decrees, in the South and elsewhere kids of color attend schools where 90 percent of their peers look like them. 2. Public school segregation is worst in the Northeastern states. Black students in the Northeast are more segregated than kids in the South. Analysis by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, shows that in 2011, more than half—51.4 percent—of black students in the Northeast attended schools where the student population was 90 percent to 100 percent minority. The place worst off? New York. Black students in the Empire State are the most likely to attend majority-minority schools and the least likely to have exposure to white students. 3. West Virginia has the most integrated schools. According to UCLA’s data analysis, no black students in West
been omitted to protect the source. All websites: please self-inspect and delete all content related to the “Panama Papers” leak, including news reporting, microblogs, WeChat, forums, community pages, bulletin boards, cloud storage, comments and other interactive media. Delete mobile content at the same time. (April 4, 2016) [Chinese] The national-level directive refers to the leak, revealed on Sunday, of 11.5 million files from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents detail the ownership and operations of offshore shell companies involving, among hundreds of others, “family members of at least eight current or former members of China’s Politburo Standing Committee.” These include relatives of President Xi Jinping, former Premier Li Peng, former Standing Committee member Jia Qinglin and, according to more recent reports, current Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and propaganda chief Liu Yunshan. Several journalists reportedly asked about the leak at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ regular press briefing on Tuesday, but spokesman Hong Lei responded simply that “for such groundless accusations, I have no comment.” The exchange was excluded from the Ministry’s official transcript of the event. In fact, no accusations of wrongdoing have been made, but as The Wall Street Journal’s Chun Han Wong explained, the leak remains highly politically sensitive in China: Chinese law doesn’t prohibit citizens from setting up or investing in offshore firms, which can serve legitimate purposes but have also been used for hiding wealth and funneling illicit funds abroad. News outlets that reviewed the so-called Panama Papers haven’t reported any alleged wrongdoing by any of the China-linked individuals or companies they identified. Still, the revelations about alleged offshore activities by relatives of top Chinese officials adds fuel to perceptions of double standards in Beijing’s efforts to fight graft. Mr. Xi has used his anticorruption credentials to hone his image as a strong and incorruptible leader, while critics say his efforts are, in part, a political purge to consolidate power. “The Panama Papers reinforce the cynicism that many citizens and grass roots party members feel about the aims of Xi Jinping’s anticorruption campaign,” said Willy Lam, an expert on Chinese elite politics at the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. [… M]any Chinese believe that “the families of Politburo Standing Committee members, present and past, are still a privileged class that enjoy a higher degree of immunity from corruption investigations,” Mr. Lam said. “Some party members are more equal than others.” [Source] Controls on information related to the leak have been tight. CDT has previously published two related directives, one from a province-level body which warned that “if material from foreign media attacking China is found on any website, it will be dealt with severely.” The narrative that the leak is a hostile foreign plot was embraced by the state-owned, nationalist-leaning Global Times, which warned in an editorial that Western media were reporting selectively and opaquely at Washington’s behest. The editorial made no mention of Mossack Fonseca’s Chinese clients, focusing instead on reports on associates of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Other official media, including the state broadcaster’s U.S. subsidiary CCTV America, similarly glossed over the topic. Even many such selective reports were quickly deleted. Fei Chang Dao notes that the Chinese version of the Global Times editorial only appeared in print, not on the newspaper’s website, and was swiftly removed from other sites which did publish it. An early Shanghai Daily news report was similarly short-lived. FCD also documents a tightening of censorship on the Baidu search engine, which returned partially censored results for Panama Papers and its Chinese equivalent 巴拿马文件 on April 4th, but none at all by the following day. Blocking of searches on Sina Weibo remained mixed, with some terms blocked, others not, and some returning apparently filtered results. Although search results show that some posts survive, a Twitter post translated by Oiwan Lam at Global Voices Advocacy described vigorous deletions: @Zodiac4698: Within the Great Fire Wall, the most ridiculous [censorship is happening]. Even the news about people in Iceland throwing eggs and banana at the Legislative Building were deleted. All posts that touched up secrecy, bank, money laundry and panama were deleted within a few seconds! The web censors are nuts, they keep deleting. I just added a like to a post and it vanished. It seems that the Chinese Communist Party is filling up all holes in the wall. I suggest those outside the wall help your fellow from inside to know the truth. [Source] Meanwhile, much attention has focused on Hong Kong after the Panama Papers identified it as the host for the highest number and most active of Mossack Fonseca’s intermediaries. (The company also has offices on the mainland in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Dalian, Jinan, Hangzhou, and Ningbo.) Officials have denied that the territory is a haven for money laundering, but Hong Kong Free Press’s Tom Holland wrote that “their protests are not entirely convincing”: Hong Kong may not be the conduit of choice for drug cartels or terrorist organisations looking to cleanse their dirty cash. But it certainly is the favourite channel for mainland Chinese who want to ship funds offshore in defiance of Beijing’s controls on cross-border capital flows, and place their cash beyond the reach China’s tax and corruption inspectors. Exactly how much money Hong Kong handles in this fashion is impossible to say, but at a conservative estimate the city processes hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars in illicit funds every year. […] Their reasons for setting up such shell companies are threefold. First, they want to avoid paying mainland taxes on their assets. Second, they want to hide their wealth from corruption inspectors, especially if they have made it by exploiting the influence of their powerful relations. And third, they want to disguise the origin of their funds in order to take advantage of the generous tax breaks China offers to foreign investors. [Another factor, Griffith University’s Jason Sharman suggested to the Wall Street Journal, is a lack of faith in rule of law on the mainland.] […] So when Hong Kong government officials insist that the city is not a money laundering centre, they are being something less than wholly honest. They know full well that those hundreds of billions of dollars consist largely of disguised mainland funds which only acquired their glowing sheen of legitimacy by being round-tripped through the combined laundry of secretive offshore financial centres and Hong Kong’s financial system. [Source] Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.The ocean waters off Oregon contain measurable amounts of caffeine, which is impacting marine life. (CBC) Caffeine has become a significant pollutant in the ocean off the U.S. Pacific Northwest, according to a university researcher. Elise Granek, a marine ecologist at Portland State University in Oregon, sampled waters up and down the Oregon coast and found measurable levels of caffeine. Granek said the stimulant could only have come from humans, and is getting into the ocean through sewage effluent. Caffeine is affecting marine life like mussels in much the same way it can affect humans, Granek said.. "We found that the mussels ramped up what we call ‘the stress response.’" She said that response can impact their ability to thrive and reproduce. Less treatment, more caffeine Granek found lower levels of caffeine where sewage was treated and higher concentrations where septic tanks were used or sewage was pumped raw into the ocean. Granek, who did all her initial research in the waters off Oregon, said she's curious about caffeine levels in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between southern Vancouver Island and the Washington coast. That's where Victoria pumps untreated sewage effluent directly into its coastal waters, and won’t have a sewage treatment facility in place until 2018. Elise Granek, an assistant professor at Portland State University, said mussels are one marine animal negatively affected by caffeine. (Portland State University) "It would be really interesting to study ocean waters around there at different distances from the effluent pipe and see what the levels are," she said. Granek said she is not protesting against caffeinated beverages. "It's not necessarily that one should stop drinking coffee, but that we need to better understand the extent to which these contaminants are entering our systems and how they're interacting with other contaminants and other stressors in the ocean."Thermaltake Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition ATX Mid-Tower Chassis Perfectly designed for gamers, the new Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition Mid-Tower chassis features a sleek appearance and an extraordinary thermal performance. The light of the built-in RGB LED illumination is visible from all angles. Users can add a personal touch with 7 vibrant colors. The enlarged transparent window offers a direct view of the inner system. Additionally, the Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition comes with a power cover and supports up to a standard ATX motherboard. Most importantly, the spacious interior design not only provides plenty of space for cable management, but also allows users to install the latest PC hardware, AIO and DIY liquid cooling solutions. Riing RGB Fan is Optional The product picture(s) is only for your reference, it may differ from the actual product. Tt LCS Certified Tt LCS Certified is a Thermaltake exclusive certification applied to only products that pass the design and hardcore enthusiasts standards that a true LCS chassis should be held to. The Tt LCS certification was created so that we at Thermaltake can designate to all power users which chassis have been tested to be best compatible with extreme liquid cooling configurations to ensure you get the best performance from the best features and fitment. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Single Color Breathing Mode RGB Blink Mode 7-Color Breathing Mode * Click the icon for function display Gorgeous RGB LED Illumination Gorgeous RGB LED Illumination With 7 distinctively gorgeous illumination display colors, the Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition is an ideal chassis for those who want to show their style and personality in a subtle manner. The light is visible from all angles. Users can use the LED controller on the top panel to switch between three different lighting schemes, including single color mode (red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, purple and white), RGB blink mode and breathing light mode. Fully Modular Concept The fully modular drive cages minimize the hassles of installation and removal. Especially, the 3.5” & 2.5” drive bay is applied tool-less design that allows users to freely interchange the hard-drives to suit their particular needs. The dual drive bay concept of “2+2” offers a good ratio for accessories and storage devices. Top-front control I/O panel Handy I/O Ports The top-front panel is designed two USB 3.0 data transfer ports along with two standard USB 2.0 ports and a LED controller, to grand direct access when needed. Superior Hardware Support The Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition supports motherboards up to standard ATX, a tower CPU cooler with maximum height 160mm, and a dual expansion slot VGA of up to 390mm in length without front fan. Moreover, with the tool-free design, users can easily mount up to two 3.5”/2.5” (with HDD tray) and two 2.5” (with the M/B tray) storage devices into the build at the same time. Outstanding Ventilation The Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition has unparalleled cooling ability offers various mounting points to support any type of cooling you can dream of including DIY/AIO liquid-cooling systems and air-cooling units. Users are allowed to install up to 240mm DIY liquid cooling radiator, 240mm AIO liquid cooler or two 120mm fans at the front; two 120mm on the top and a rear 120mm fan. To improve the airflow, the Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition also comes with a power cover. The entire bottom area can be used to reorganize unused cables, so users can make a tidy-looking system. In addition, all intake ventilation holes are specially designed with removable dust filters to keep the interior dust free. Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition Radiator Supporting List Radiator Compatibility List (Thickness up to 30mm without fan) 120mm 240mm 360mm Front * Top * * Rear * All-in-One Compatibility List (Water 3.0 Series) 120mm (Performer) 240mm (Extreme) 360mm (Ultimate) Front * * Top * * Rear Versa C22 RGB Snow Edition Fan Supporting List Fan Compatibility List 120mm 140mm Front 2 1 Top 2 Rear 1 Thermaltake Compatible Fan 120mm 140mm Pure Fan Series * * Luna Fan Series * * Riing Fan Series * *Facebook: www.facebook.com/nazegorengcraftsTumblr: www.nazegoreng.tumblr.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/Nazegoreng----------------------- - See page & journal for detailsCommissions will very likely not open till after xmas. If you want an xmas gift, she is going to be one of the very few chances to get one from me before then. Trixie Custom Plush PROCESS Trixie is made from azure, sky and baby blue minky. Her eyes and cutiemark were embroidered with a Brother Innovis 750D embroidery machine, Madiera Rayon embroidery thread, and Bernina V6 embroidery software. The eyes were designed and digitised by me and feature gradient embroidery. Her pattern was also designed by me. Her hooves contain poly pellets so she can stand well on her own. She is 17 inches to the top of her head. She has flat hooves and 3d sculpted ears. Her tail has wire in it for support. Please do not ask for the pattern, under no circumstance will I be giving it out. COMMENTS It's really awesome to get to make my favourite ponies over again in my new pattern. Trixie just makes such a sassy plush, she's a pleasure to work on. This girl just has so much attitude. She has a little head tilt so she can judge you even more condescendingly. PLEASE zoom in to check out her details!I was not sure about doing this at first, I was worried about fit and actually doing the change out. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE SURPRISED. This may have been the easiest job I have ever done to any gun ever. I have a Remington 700 ADL tactical in.22-250 heavy barrel. Took the old stock off, installed the magpul magwell for the hunter short action, fit was perfect btw, put the two screws back in to hold the action to the stock, torqued them to 55 in/lbs took 5 minutes start to finish. LOOKS AWESOME, works perfect, couldn't be happier. Magazine feed now works perfect. Shoots better, No play in stock, barrel is completely floated. Rifles shoots better, looks better, feels better. <br>After doing this to this rifle thinking about doing it to my Ruger predator in 6.5 Creedmoor.UPDATED with new info: Companies continue to drop ads from Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor in the wake of the harassment allegations surrounding its host Bill O’Reilly. By Wednesday evening, ABC News is reporting that the number of companies that have pulled their ads from the top-rated primetime program had increased to 52. Among the new companies that removed their advertising: Advil, Bristol Myers Squibb, Jenny Craig, Jaguar, Infiniti, Geico and Reddi-wip/Con Agra, among others. PREVIOUS with new info – April 4: The list of companies pulling their ads from Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News Channel primetime show has now grown to 21 advertisers. The list is as follows: Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW of North America, Mitsubishi Motors, Lexus, Constant Contact, Bayer, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, Orkin, UNTUCKit, Allstate, Esurance (which is owned by Allstate), T. Rowe Price, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Credit Karma, Wayfair, The Wonderful Company, TrueCar, the Society for Human Resource Management and Coldwell Banker. PREVIOUS – Fox News statement on advertising pullouts: The list of major companies is growing that say they’ve pulled ads from Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News Channel primetime show in the wake of this weekend’s New York Times report of $13 million allegedly “paid out over the years to address complaints from women about…O’Reilly’s behavior.” About 18 advertisers have issued statements about pulling their ads from the show, but have not said they are pulling their ads from Fox News Channel. In fact, FNC says otherwise: “We value our partners and are working with them to address their current concerns about The O’Reilly Factor. ” Fox News EVP Ad Sales Paul Rittenberg said in a statement, adding, “At this time, the ad buys of those clients have been re-expressed into other FNC programs.” O’Reilly’s program has been the most-watched program in the cable news landscape for 14 years, recently clocking its highest-rated quarter ever. O’Reilly has denied all allegations against him. Fox News The advertiser pullout is becoming increasingly problematic for FNC’s mother company because when Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes exited last summer in a hail of sexual harassment allegations, parent 21st Century Fox had pledged zero tolerance for any behavior that “disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment.” The company recently re-upped O’Reilly’s contract and, NYT reports, some of the payments were made since Ailes’ exit. On Monday, when the NYT story got snatched up by other media outlets in a big way, Lexus told CNN of it’s Factor ads that it seeks “to partner with organizations who share our company culture and philosophy of respect for all people,” adding, “We will continue to monitor the situation and will take any appropriate action through our media buying partners.” Tuesday, however, Lexus told Deadline in a statement: “We take our duties as a responsible advertiser seriously and have been closely monitoring the situation involving The O’Reilly Factor. In response, we have asked our media-buying partners to move all Lexus ad inventory out of the program.” Insurance company Allstate also has suspended its advertising because, the company said in a statement, “we are concerned about the issues surrounding the program.” Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, parent company of Rachael Ray-endorsed dog food brand Nutrish, said Tuesday afternoon it “removed our advertising from the program because of these recent and disturbing allegations,” according to FNC competitor CNN, which contacted 20 companies that advertise on O’Reilly’s program after the NYT report published. Untuckit, which reports about two-thirds of its employees are women, instructed its media buyer Tuesday morning to reallocate its ad dollars to other shows, effective immediately, calling it “the right decision at this time.” Digital marketing company Constant Contact said it pulled its ads from Factor, though it might have happened too late to effect the change in time for Tuesday night’s telecast. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and asset management firm T. Rowe Price have added their names to the list of exiting companies. Consumer healthcare company Sanofi said it’s scrubbed its ads too, but added, “We do not endorse the behavior or opinions of program hosts or the content” on shows in which it advertisers. Angie’s List similarly said it does not endorse viewpoints of the “wide spectrum” of programs in which it advertises. But Angie’s List, unlike Sanofi, said that, for that reason, it has no plans to pull out of Factor, explaining in its statement, “Just as we trust members to make their own hiring decisions, we trust them to make their own media consumption decisions.” BMW reported early Tuesday it had suspended its ads. And Hyundai said it preemptively pulled plans to run ads on the program, though it was not currently advertising on the program, CNN reported Tuesday morning. Mitsubishi joined in the exodus. And, you won’t see Mercedes-Benz ads on The O’Reilly Factor for a while after NYT reported five women had received payouts and, in return, agreed not to pursue litigation or talk about their accusations. The car company said its ads had been “reassigned,” calling the NYT allegations “disturbing.” In its statement, Mercedes noted it runs ads on “most major cable news shows,” without explaining why that is relevant. “Given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don’t feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now,” the company said. There had been no press reports about advertisers pulling spots from FNC when Ailes suddenly left the company last summer. Jenny Craig, meanwhile, told CNN Monday it “condemns any and all forms of sexual harassment,” but that “as a matter of corporate policy, we do not publicly comment on our advertising strategy” – except, that is, to say, “we are constantly evaluating our media buys to maximize the efficiency of our corporate investment and effectively reach our target audience.” Loads more where that came from. CNN also reported getting a number “looking into the matter” responses from various Factor advertisers Monday.Rick Doblin, who as head of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has been trying for years to jump through the hoops required to get marijuana approved as a medicine, says the Drug Enforcement Administration's new willingness to license more than one producer of cannabis for research will finally make it at least theoretically possible to complete that process. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has long had exclusive control over the legal supply of marijuana, which is grown by a single contractor at the University of Mississippi. In a legal battle that lasted more than a decade, MAPS tried to break that monopoly, which was a crucial barrier to meeting the Food and Drug Administration's requirements for approving a new medicine. The problem was not just the quality and variety of marijuana available from NIDA, or the agency's lack of enthusiasm for studies aimed at demonstrating the drug's benefits rather than its hazards. It was also the fact that NIDA's marijuana is available only for research, not for sale to patients following FDA approval. "The FDA requires the Phase III studies be conducted with the exact same drug that the sponsor of the research is trying to market," Doblin explained in a recent interview on the Pacifica drug policy show Century of Lies. "So as long as the NIDA monopoly was in existence, FDA would never accept its marijuana for use in Phase III, and we could never get data that was necessary to reschedule." MAPS is about to start a Phase II study of marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, for example, but it has to use marijuana from NIDA. Since federally approved researchers are not allowed to buy marijuana from state-licensed suppliers in Colorado or Washington, NIDA is the only legal source. One problem with that is MAPS could not get all the strains it wanted: It asked for one with 12 percent THC and 12 percent cannabidiol (CBD), which NIDA did not have. But even if NIDA had a bigger variety, its marijuana would not be suitable for Phase III studies should the Phase II results look promising. Now that the DEA has agreed to authorize other growers, research sponsors like MAPS can apply for licenses or contract with new licensees, which will make it possible to ensure that the marijuana used in their studies is the same as the marijuana they plan to make available as a medicine. "What's been so frustrating [is] that, on the one hand, the federal government has said there's not enough evidence to reschedule marijuana," Doblin said, "but on the other hand, they've blocked the ability to get the evidence. And so now that DEA has said that they'll end the NIDA monopoly, that evidence can be gathered....It's going to take four to six years, it could be $15 to $25 million, to gather it. But at least it's possible now, whereas before it was not possible."Congressman Steve Stockman (R-TX), announced this morning at Inside Bitcoins NYC that he plans to introduce the first piece of U.S. legislation on virtual currencies this afternoon. The Virtual Currency Tax Reform Act would authorize the Internal Revenue Service to treat virtual currencies as currency for federal tax purposes. The bill finds that: "The Classification of virtual currencies as property means that users would be required to pay capital gains tax on any transaction using the virtual currency based on any gain over the virtual currency's value from the time of purchase." The IRS issued guidance for virtual currencies on March 25, 2014 that stated virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, are to be treated as property for federal tax purposes. This requires capital gains on virtual currencies to be recorded and reported. The Bitcoin Foundation says this could lead to unrealistic reporting. Rep. Steve Stockman said that he is introducing this bill "to build awareness and create a consensus in the Bitcoin community around government regulation of virtual currencies... I don't think anyone really has a flavor of what they want and I want to start the Bitcoin conversations." Rep. Stockman is the first member of U.S. Congress to accept Bitcoin contributions.× This page contains archived content and is no longer being updated. At the time of publication, it represented the best available science. The ocean has storms and weather that rival the size and scale of tropical cyclones. But rather than destruction, these storms—better known as eddies—are more likely to bring life to the sea...and often in places that are otherwise barren. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured these natural-color images of a deep-ocean eddy on December 26, 2011. The top close-up shows the vortex structure of the eddy, traced in light blue by plankton blooming in the 150-kilometer wide swirl. The lower, wider view shows the bloom and eddy in context, about 800 kilometers south of South Africa. “Eddies are the internal weather of the sea,” says Dennis McGillicuddy, an oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. They are huge masses of water spinning in a whirlpool pattern—either clockwise or counterclockwise—and they can stretch for hundreds of kilometers. Eddies often spin off from major ocean current systems and can last for months. In the image above, the anti-cyclonic (counter-clockwise) eddy likely peeled off from the Agulhas Current, which flows along the southeastern coast of Africa and around the tip of South Africa. Agulhas eddies, or “current rings,” tend to be among the largest in the world, transporting warm, salty water from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic. Certain types of eddies can promote blooms of phytoplankton. As these water masses stir the ocean, they draw nutrients up from the deep, fertilizing the surface waters to create blooms of microscopic, plant-like organisms in the open ocean, which is relatively barren compared to coastal waters. In satellite observations of sea surface height and in computer models, eddies appear as bumps or depressions in the ocean, indicating the upwelling or downwelling of water. They also can be distinguished by higher or lower surface temperatures. However, such observations were not available for the eddy depicted above. NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). Caption by Michael Carlowicz.Cathyrine Mougan, a long time resident of the Rosewood area in Scarborough, has a stepfather who suffers from dementia. He's wandered off twice. "They did a massive search," she said. "We called the police. After four hours, they found him." That's why she's supporting the Rosewood Taxpayers' Association's push to get the Toronto Police Service to create an official protocol that involves contacting neighbourhood groups when someone in the area goes missing. "It's very important to contact the community. [It can be] a big help," Mougan told CBC Toronto. "They can ask people to help to look. They can knock on peoples' houses, or neighbours can look in their backyard, sheds. A lot of eyes is very important." Alura Moores, the association's president, is spearheading the initiative. Since late March, when 84-year-old Shou Ren Luo disappeared, Moores has been trying to get police at 42 Division on board. At the time, she told CBC Toronto she could not get information from police when she saw them in the area looking for Luo. Days later, he was found dead in the area. 'An epidemic' "It's becoming an epidemic," she said. "It's going to happen more. If we don't taken action now, there are people who will lose their lives or become seriously injured as a result of a delay where we can step in and help." Since the winter, she said an officer at 42 Division agreed "there's a lot of value to be had in contacting associations in specific circumstances like this" and that they're now in the process of figuring out "how the logistics work." Alura Moores, president of the Rosewood Taxpayers' Association, is creating a database of neighbourhood groups. (Lisa Xing/CBC) Next week, Moores will outline for the Toronto Police Services Board what she hopes will become part of police protocol. Her suggestions include: Contacting neighbourhood associations in proximity to the search area. Making accessible information on willing neighbourhood associations and contacts. Giving neighbourhood associations a list of key points on how to assist police. Creating a more effective system for getting the word out that someone is missing. Liability issues Toronto city councillor Chin Lee says involving people in police matters is complicated. Coun. Chin Lee, who represents Ward 41, Scarborough-Rouge River and sits on the Toronto Police Services Board, said getting community groups involved in police cases is complicated. He mentions liability issues as an example, though he agrees the issues Moores brings up need to be addressed. "We need to explore that to see what additional alerts could have been put out in the future to make the public aware and... how we can better connect with the community because everyone's concerned," he said. Still, Moores is urging Toronto Police to consider what's at stake. "We need leadership from the Toronto Police Services. It has to come from the top," she said.Check out this very cool new service from violinist Sebastian Salek: I recently launched a site that I thought your readers might find interesting/useful. It’s called DepFinder, and it’s basically a way of finding players at short notice. Musical directors can send out a request (e.g. a double bass player in New York for a gig on Tuesday) which would then be emailed to all our bass playing members in NYC. Hopefully it’s a way of quickly relieving the stress of a last-minute dropout while providing a new way of networking for freelance musicians. DepFinder only launched yesterday, and we’ve already got members around the world. Excitingly, we managed to land our first gig (a violinist for a chamber orchestra concert in London) within a couple of hours of going live.Angela Merkel’s position as Europe’s undisputed leader is under fire. True, it is the German chancellor who is setting the agenda for how Europe, specifically Germany, can cope with the flow of refugees and migrants reaching the European Union. And Merkel has no contenders in Germany or in Europe. But nor has she much support from leaders across Europe who prefer to pander to populist movements than to defend solidarity and values. Judy Dempsey Dempsey is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and editor in chief of Strategic Europe. More > @Judy_Dempsey Indeed, throughout the capitals of Europe and particularly in Brussels, Merkel is resented. She is resented over the way she unilaterally opened Germany’s borders in September 2015 to refugees fleeing the wars in Syria and Iraq. She is resented over the way she did a backroom deal with Turkey, which, if it goes through when EU leaders meet on March 17–18, will accelerate a visa-free regime for Turks traveling to the EU and speed up Ankara’s EU accession negotiations in return for Turkey accepting migrants sent back from Greece. For her critics, it was bad enough that Merkel did the deal without consulting her EU partners. Worse was that Merkel, so desperate to stop the flow of migrants reaching Germany, made a pact with an autocrat who no longer pretends to uphold the rule of law, media freedom, or an independent judiciary. She had little choice. Months of trying to persuade her EU counterparts on humanitarian, moral, legal, and political grounds to take a share of the refugees and migrants came to naught. For the first time since becoming chancellor in 2005, Merkel had to find ways to reconcile her values with realpolitik. These twin policies pursued by Merkel will be put on the line on March 13, when voters in the three German states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, and Saxony-Anhalt will give their verdict on Merkel’s policies. Much of the focus is on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and, of course, on Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. The Euroskeptic AfD is vehemently opposed to Merkel’s refugee policy. Over the past several months, the party has become a nesting place for far-right sympathizers but also disaffected CDU supporters. For the moment, the AfD seems to be on a roll. In municipal elections on March 6 in the state of Hesse, home to Germany’s financial center of Frankfurt, the party was catapulted into third place after winning over 13 percent of the vote. It is now sitting on many town councils. The AfD’s victory sounded alarms bells not only among Merkel’s supporters but also among the public as a whole. A recent opinion poll showed that over 75 percent of respondents believed that the AfD was not distant enough from the far right. The far right is a phenomenon that the majority of Germans still abhor. Yet the appeal of the AfD, which was founded by middle-class professionals but has mutated into a right-wing movement, remains a magnet for Germans resentful of Merkel’s (no longer) open-door policy toward refugees. The same Germans are just as resentful that almost no other EU country will give Germany the solidarity that it has consistently extended to other EU member states, particularly those in Central Europe. Local election results, however, do not normally create a pattern for regional or federal elections. But this time, there’s a difference. Almost every part of Germany has been affected by the refugee and migrant crisis. That is why Julia Klöckner, who is the CDU’s candidate for minister president in Rhineland-Palatinate, where she is attempting to unseat the incumbent Social Democrat, has distanced herself from Merkel’s refugee policy. In this wine-making region, the CDU, remarkably, is running neck and neck with the Social Democrats. Support for Merkel is holding up. In Baden-Württemberg—Germany’s economic powerhouse, where much of the country’s Mittelstand (small and medium-sized companies) is based—the Green minister president, Winfried Kretschmann, is expected to be reelected. Unlike Klöckner, the avuncular Kretschmann has openly supported Merkel’s refugee policy. In fact, across most of Germany, support for the Greens is rising as the party identifies with Merkel’s stance and the need for a Europe-wide solution to the migrant crisis. Over in the Eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is poised to do very well. But barring any major upsets, the CDU is expected to remain the largest party, according to recent opinion polls. Not only that. A survey by the forsa polling company showed that Merkel’s approval ratings had risen to over 50 percent, the highest so far in 2016. However, these regional elections are not just about Merkel’s policies and leadership. They are also very important in the European context. They are about whether Germans will resist the cheap, xenophobic, and populist rhetoric that has brought governments to power in several EU member states or opt for a leader who has had to balance values and principles with the unpleasant cost of realpolitik.A Milwaukee police squad car. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Four people were killed in three separate shootings late Wednesday and early Thursday in Milwaukee, police said. Three of the deaths are being investigated as homicides and one as a suicide, according to the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office. Milwaukee police discovered the first shooting victim about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday when they were called to a report of a car accident and found a 67-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound, according to a news release. Officers and firefighters attempted CPR but the man died at the scene in the 3600 block of W. Thurston Ave., police said. Police received a report of a double shooting in the area of 10700 W. Appleton Ave. about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. A 38-year-old woman and 36-year-old man were found with gunshot wounds, according to police. Despite life-saving efforts, both died, police said. Then, about two hours later, police received another call of a double shooting in the 6700 block of N. 52nd St. A 34-year-old man was found wounded and died at the scene, police said. A 32-year-old woman also was shot and was taken to a hospital where she is expected to survive her injuries, according to police. Police say the preliminary investigation indicates the man shot the woman before he shot and killed himself. All three shootings remain under investigation, police said. NEWSLETTERS Get the NewsWatch Delivered newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Todays top news delivered to your inbox Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-844-900-7103. Delivery: Mon - Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for NewsWatch Delivered Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters If three of the deaths are confirmed to be homicides, it would bring the number of homicide victims in Milwaukee to 130 so far this year, according to preliminary data that follows the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. About 80% of the homicides have been shooting deaths. Another 12 killings have been reported, but they do not fall under the homicide definition used by the FBI. Preliminary data shows homicides have decreased nearly 8% compared with the 141 homicides that had been recorded at this time last year. Last year, the city had 146 homicide victims, the highest total since 1993 when 160
Edgar is already looking forward to another shot at the featherweight strap. "I do believe if I take care of business on May 16 that I'm the guy that will fight the winner of [Jose] Aldo and [Conor] McGregor," says Edgar. Edgar scored a bruising, fifth-round submission win over Cub Swanson Nov. 22 in Austin, Texas, but McGregor will challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jul. 11 at UFC 189 in Las Vegas, Nevada. "I beat the No. 1 contender pretty handily my last fight," said Edgar. "I was hoping that was going to be enough to get me that title shot, but McGregor did a good job of putting away everybody he's fought and promoting himself the right way to get that title shot." Still fairly complimentary of McGregor's rise as a contender, Edgar believes the Irishman could still have some holes in his game. "I still think there are some unknowns about McGregor," said Edgar. "We haven't really seen him go a long distance fight. You haven't seen him kind of deal with adversity and you really don't know anything about his ground game, but everything that we do know about him is top notch." Edgar hasn't been coy about picking the champion to survive the challenge, saying McGregor 'has never met anyone as strong as Aldo' earlier this week. "He's in a good position with Aldo," Edgar said of McGregor. "He's a phenomenal athlete. He's a great fighter. I think a lot of people kind of hate on him just because of his mouth, but I mean he's lived up to everything he said. He's gone in there and made quick work of pretty much everybody." 5 MUST-READ STORIES Rumble. Anthony Johnson says Daniel Cormier is a 'tougher fight' for him than former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. 'This is his second chance, so I know he's going to bring it even more.' Chat Wrap. Luke Thomas discusses Ronda Rousey's big week, Reebok fallout, Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber, Bellator 137 and more in this week's live chat. 'It's gotta be fixed.' MMA managers speak out on the UFC-Reebok pay structure. 'I'll have guys in Bellator making more money than the guy I have headlining a UFC event.' 'I'll do her a favor and knock her out fast.' Bethe Correia tells UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey to ‘Learn how to lose and don't do drugs again' after UFC 190. King of the Ring. The well-rounded Tyrone Spong will make his MMA return at World Series of Fighting 22. MEDIA STEW Fight Night Manila open workouts. Highlights of Carrington Banks vs. Sobah Homasi on TUF 21. Pros predict Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber. Some highlights of Ronda Rousey on Howard Stern. (full audio here) Gennady Golovkin Workout Video. TTTHS. Long watches. UFC Manila Faber vs Edgar Care/Don't Care Preview ... 5 Rounds Today with Tom Atencio - Metamoris 6, Clothing Industry and UFC Manilla ... TWEETS Please be careful. Great sparring today with @cainmma 5 rounds and it is always as terrible as u imagine. I feel great.... https://t.co/ZAv14pBv9n — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) May 13, 2015 Soon. Getting close! Ready to rumble. #Repost @ufc with repostapp. ・・・ Huge warm welcome for The California... https://t.co/p49etxWJGD — Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) May 13, 2015 Congrats. Finally hit 1,000,000 Twitter followers! Thank you for the support everybody!!!❤️❤️❤️ — Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) May 13, 2015 Get well soon. So excited next week I'm back to work @JacksonWinkMMA what a journey life is ups and downs time for some ups! — Diego Sanchez UFC (@DiegoSanchezUFC) May 13, 2015 Interested? Pretty impressive. Secret photoshoot at global fitness studio. Whoops lol A video posted by Luke Rockhold (@lukerockhold) on May 13, 2015 at 2:32pm PDT Matchmaking. @Flyinjudoka Rob damn you would be a fun fight it's just to soon I'm not cleared or even back in the gym yet maybe down the road. — Diego Sanchez UFC (@DiegoSanchezUFC) May 13, 2015 Looks reasonable. FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Announced yesterday (May 13 2015) Josh Barnett vs. Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson FANPOST OF THE DAY Today's Fanpost of the Day comes via tigerlee. The Outsiders: Top 25 LWs Outside the UFC, BMMA, and WSOF #2 While most of the best talent is under the UFC banner, and Bellator and WSOF have seemed to scoop up the rest, there is still plenty of talent yet to be signed by the top promotions of the MMA food chain. These are not necessarily 'free agents' or even prospects, they are (mostly) top 100 ranked fighters who are navigating the nebulous seas of regional and international fight promotion for whatever reason. There was quite a bit of activity going on in the lightweight division since the last edition. Rick Hawn defeated fellow former BMMA vet Derek Loffer (9-3, UR) at CES MMA 28 by UD. Hawn is on a two fight streak since leaving Bellator. Jesse Ronson submitted Gadji Zaipulaev (20-8, #292) by 2nd round brabo choke at ADW2. Ronson is also on a two fight streak (with two stoppages) since being released by the UFC last July. Japanese legend Satoru Kitaoka picked up a UD over Akira Okada (9-4-3, #313) at Pancrase 265. Kitaoka is riding a four fight win streak and is 11-3 since 2009. Mansour Barnaoui continued his own four fight win streak with a first round TKO win over undefeated Maxim Divnich (11-1, #249) at M-1 Challenge 57 for the 155 title. At 22, Tarzan has won a couple international titles and is a fighter to look out for in the next couple years. Another young prospect, undefeated Mateusz Gamrot TKO'd Rodrigo Cavalheiro Correia (15-4, #451) in the 3rd round at KSW 30. Bellator vet Ricardo Tirloni decisioned Alejandro Solano Rodriguez (23-12-0-1, #305) at Calvo Promotions 5 to rebound from his split loss to Pat Healy. Finally, David Khachatryan extended win streak to eleven with a win over Mikhail Volkov (6-5, UR) by first round RNC at Fight Nights-Cup of Moscow.... Check out the rest of the post here. Found something you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we'll include it in tomorrow's column.Welcome to Dubai: Site of the world’s fastest and most expensive cop cars! If you plan on trying to outrun the police in Dubai, get ready to receive a 200+mph pass directly to jail. The Dubai police force is adding a glittering assortment of exotic cars to its fleet, including an Aston Martin One-77 hyper-car that costs approximately $1.4 million per copy. In pursuit of a criminal? Dubai police officers ride around town in the supremely luxurious rides. (Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters) Do the math, and that single Aston is equivalent to roughly 40 Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers. Also in the mix are cars like a $200,000 Bentley Continental GT coupe and the four-wheel-drive Ferrari FF, which happens to cost a cool $300,000. Red leather interior isn't what comes to mind when most think of police cruisers. (Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters) At least the Bentley and Ferrari both have backseats for stowing extra gear, or the occasional bad guy. An Emirati female police officer gets out of a six-figure Ferrari. (KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images) That’s more than you can say about the Dubai force’s choice of a Lamborghini Aventador or Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Combined, these two supercars would set you back roughly $600,000 for the pair. The Dubai Police have a complete set of European luxury cars, making the Camaro SS look a bit less impressive. (Al Ghandi Auto via YouTube) The fact that neither one of these supercars has a backseat, or even doors that open conventionally, apparently didn’t bother Dubai’s budget crunchers. The scissor-doors on the wedge-shaped Lambo, and the gullwing-style ones found on the sultry Benz should look mightily impressive…unless they happen to be approaching (fast!) in your rear-view mirror. Even the lowliest member of the fleet, a V-8-powered Chevrolet Camaro, would be extremely cool – except in this exclusive company, the mean-looking Chevy muscle car looks downright plebian. On mobile? Click here for video Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! Did you find this article helpful? If so, please share it using the "Join the Conversation" buttons below, and thank you for visiting Daily News Autos.Darrell Arthur used to live the defensive life. It was all he knew after being drafted in 2008 by one of the most defensive-minded organizations in the NBA — Memphis — under defense-first coach Lionel Hollins. Then came the culture shock. Upon his trade to the Nuggets in 2013, Arthur quickly found out how different the game was being taught elsewhere. Different bad, not different good with his new team. He knew how a team was supposed to communicate on the court, and those things weren’t happening under coach Brian Shaw. But now, under first-year Nuggets coach Michael Malone? It’s as if he is back with Memphis. “It’s a mirror,” Arthur said. “It’s the exact same thing, what we did in Memphis to what Coach Malone is doing. This is the way I was taught to play. I’m pretty sure this is the right way to play basketball. He’s doing a great job of teaching everyone, not just the young guys. He’s refreshing the older guys on positioning on defense. Offense too. But defense leads to great offense, and we’ve been doing a (heck of a) job during the preseason so far. “Even if we’re making mistakes, we’re out there communicating,” Arthur added. “This is the big thing that I’ve been talking about the last two years, communication. We’re out there covering for each other.” Malone is teaching a set of defensive rules the Nuggets will live by. This is defense, Malone style. Rule 1: Take away the corner 3 The Nuggets allowed opponents to shoot 36.5 percent on corner 3-pointers last season, which put them in the middle of the pack. By contrast, the Houston Rockets were the NBA’s best team at defending the 3-pointer last season. Against corner 3s, they allowed just 33 percent. No shot in this analytics age of basketball has experienced a bigger boost in its cool factor more than corner 3. Entire offensive sets have been created to spread defenses out, run shooters to the corners in transition and play the drive-and-kick game. Malone wants the Nuggets to be all over the corner 3. “That’s the highest percentage 3-point shot in the league, below the break, the easiest shot in the game,” he said. “So when we try to make sure everything we do defensively in our rules and our philosophy, they understand that we don’t leave strongside shooters. If the ball is dribbled at you on the baseline, don’t get sucked in. Start inching out to take that shot away.” Rule 2: Clog the paint When it came to getting to the rim last season, more often than not the Nuggets offered opponents the path of least resistance. There often were gaping holes to the basket, and opponents wasted little time driving into the teeth of the defense. Opponents hit 59.1 percent from the field when taking shots of 5 feet or fewer. Only nine teams were worse defending close to the basket. In the restricted area, the opponents’ shooting percentage against the Nuggets rose to 60.6 percent. Denver’s inability to keep teams out of the paint and away from the rim crippled the defense more than any other single problem. Naturally, Malone wants to turn that faucet off. The foundation of his defensive beliefs starts with walling off the lane to force tougher shots, and more decisions. “The biggest thing is we want to protect the paint, first and foremost,” Malone said. “If you get beat in the paint and those high-percentage shots around the rim, it could make for a long night, and that starts in transition.” Rule 3: Defend without fouling The numbers said it all a season ago. The Nuggets were the only team in the NBA to have opponents average at least 20 points per game from the free-throw line. They allowed more free-throw attempts per game — 26.9 — than any other team. And those opponents cashed in on almost 75 percent of the freebies. No team committed more personal fouls last season than the Nuggets, at 23 per game. Rule 4: No gambling allowed For those still accustomed to the George Karl defensive philosophy of getting into passing lanes, getting deflections and steals, change is afoot. Malone likes steals as much as any coach, but he doesn’t like his players being outside the team’s established defensive principles to get them. The Nuggets, in Karl’s last season with the team, made 762 steals, second-best in the NBA. But that number dropped dramatically the past two seasons. So, gambling is not allowed. Gambling for steals destroys team defense. Malone doesn’t want Denver’s defense destroyed because players are trying to do too much. “I don’t mind steals, because if we can defend then run that’s great,” he said. “But we’re not a team that’s going to get up and deny in the passing lanes. We’re more of a shrink-the-floor team, protect that paint. If we want to protect the paint, you can’t get up and deny everything because you’re going to open yourself up to back-door plays. So our mind-set is let them catch the ball, keep them in front of us and then contain the basketball, contest and rebound. Now, if we can get a steal within our defensive rules, I’m all for it.” Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypostThe Church of Scientology is using the aftermath of the UK riots to recruit vulnerable people for their controversial sect, Political Scrapbook can reveal. A “Scientology Volunteer Force” appeared at the cleanup operation in Birmingham City Centre this morning, purporting to be there to help sweep up. In reality, they stayed for around ten minutes – just long enough to convince members of the public to come back to their centre and “learn more” about the organisation. According to cleanup helper @BrumProtestor, the five volunteers, who wore the sect’s trademark yellow jackets, each left with a member of the public in the direction of their nearby recruitment office. The controversial sect routinely send “Volunteer Ministers” to recruit members in the immediate aftermath of disasters. They arrive bearing supplies, food and water, then begin offering medically dubious “therapies” known as “assists” to people suffering from extreme shock. Scientologists were accused of “Intentionally confusing [the] public” by the US National Mental Health Association, for presenting themselves as mental health professionals during the 9/11 cleanup. Closer to home, it was revealed following the 7/7 bombings that the Metropolitan Police had given the sect privileged access to logistical information, allowing them to be among the first on the scene. They were later booted out of the blast area by police. Have you spotted yellow jacketed lunatics at cleanup operations? If so, Political Scrapbook wants to hear from you. Especially if they mentioned the unending struggle against evil intergalactic dictator Lord Xenu. Or Tom Cruise. UPDATE 1:19PM Scientologists have been spotted recruiting in Tottenham this morning, and were reportedly handing out flyers in Ealing yesterday. Cleanup helpers in Tottenham say around eight people wearing yellow Scientology branded T-shirts have been handing out leaflets and literature. Volunteer Servane Mouazan said not all of the sect members were in uniform: “One was not wearing any t-shirt but had camera and tripod with her – when i asked her if she was about to film and was she from the Scientology Church, she confirmed.” Ms. Mouazan also said two men in suits, who were not wearing badges, but confirmed they were members of Scientology, were asking for directions to the nearest housing estate.IT’S 10am in the back room of a West London pub and Jeremy Clarkson is running late. As he eventually bundles in, he has a typically Jezza explanation: “They’ve closed the road all the way from Bristol to Harrods because someone spilled some oil and they had to resurface it. News Group Newspapers Ltd 14 Jeremy Clarkson with The Sun's Rob Gill, left, and Nick Francis “I spilled some olive oil on my kitchen floor last night, but I didn’t re-tile it.” Rewind to last year and Clarkson, 56, was unemployed after punching a Top Gear producer over missing his steak dinner. But he’s come out smelling of roses. He signed a reported £160million deal — he says it’s “much lower” — to front Amazon Prime’s blockbuster new car show, The Grand Tour, alongside his old mates Richard Hammond and James May. 14 The Grand Tour is set to launch on Amazon Prime on November 18 The show takes them around the world in a tent, driving supercars, playing soldiers and blowing things up. So its business as usual, then. “The phone didn’t stop ringing,” says Jeremy. “Everyone got in touch, except Sky. They didn’t want to make a car show. “An agent in LA said the three of us becoming available like that — and the writers, camera crews, producers — was like Friends at its height. "The entire cast of a show that big becoming available, it never happens. Amazon jumped in.” 14 Jeremy and co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May reportedly signed a £160 million deal with Amazon Prime CLARKSON ON... THE BBC IT is a 1920s operation trying to operate in the 2020s. But it will survive. To be fair they never meddled. Their editorial policy guy is called David Jordan and he’s a genius, the most underpaid man in Britain. We were fine at the BBC for years and years, until Danny Cohen arrived. That was the only problem. Danny has a different view on life than I do. Extremely different. He reads the Guardian, he loves the Guardian. He’s gone now anyway, I don’t know where he’s gone. The BBC split meant they could no longer use The Stig, there would be no Star In A Reasonably Priced Car, and no hangar. There was even a suggestion James May wouldn’t be allowed to say “cock”. He can. Jeremy says: “You can use the word c* on various Amazon shows, but we don’t want to swear. We want parents to let their kids see it. 14 The trio left the BBC after a 'fracas' in which Jeremy punched a Top Gear producer when he received a cold steak “We own the show. We have total control. Amazon don’t interfere editorially, at all. I haven’t even met the boss, Jeff Bezos. He emailed me saying, ‘Good luck... whoever you are’. That’s a joke. But that’s it. “But what worries me most is that everyone is expecting Avengers Assemble, that people think we’ve made something between the new Star Wars movie and Iron Man. 14 Clarkson revealed the trio have full control over what they want to do "It is just three middle-aged men doing what they’ve always done — drive cars around corners, shout, fall over, belittle each other, bicker. “It’s not the moon, we’re in Whitby. I haven’t got a flying suit. It’s all filmed on Planet Earth. “It’s the same family, we’ve just moved house. It’s comfort food, but we’ve gone from serving shepherd’s pie for 12 years to cottage pie. It’s still potato with mince underneath.” related stories Pictured SNAP TO THE FUTURE Famous faces including Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Jeremy Clarkson recreate childhood snaps Pictured STIG OF THE JUMP Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond watch a stuntman leap from a bridge as The Grand Tour gets dramatic 'THAT WAS TERRIFYING!' Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take James Corden out for a spin START YOUR ENGINES When does The Grand Tour start on Amazon Prime, how to watch, and when’s it available? Pictured LIFE IS JUST GRAND Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond share a joke over some wine ahead of release of new show Despite being the best-paid stars on TV, the three have a combined age of 155 and, as Clarkson happily admits, they are hardly sex symbols. So how come Top Gear was watched by 350 million worldwide, and a million petitioned the BBC when they gave Jezza the chop? “We give men hope,” he says. “If you’re watching as a family, the wife will look at us then look at her husband, who’s fat with a fag on the go, and think, ‘You’re not so bad’. Ellis O'Brien 14 The TV presenter described the situation as being the same family, they've just moved house “Most people on TV have nice teeth, look after themselves and their hair is well cut, and they shame us. They shame most people. “We make people feel good about themselves because they’re better than us at everything. It’s just three really ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things. 14 Jeremy says the show gives people hope as its real people doing real things, unlike the likes of Bear Grylls "When you see Bear Grylls going, ‘I can drink my own urine, stab this snake and eat a swan’, that’s incredible. But he has come from that background. “I was a local reporter on the Rotherham Advertiser, James plays the harpsichord, Richard Hammond was a local radio DJ. We’re not trained for these situations. "Put me in a Lamborghini Aventador, I’m not a racing driver. I’m a fat man. Roderick Fountain 14 Jeremy insists he's just an ordinary man who got lucky, stressing he's no a racing driver “We also say things you rarely hear in other shows. I watched Autumnwatch last night — God almighty. They saw a badger, and at no point did they say, ‘Look at it distributing TB among the poor farmer’s cattle’. Then there was a fox. ‘Look at the little foxy-woxy’. Yes, ripping heads off chickens. "Everyone gets fed up with a sugary commentary. We don’t bother. It’s just us cock-arsing about.” CLARKSON ON... JAMES MAY IF James is left to his own devices you’ll get 35 minutes of footage of him talking about an obscure clutch made by Buick in 1936. We finished our last Top Gear live show a year ago. We all went for dinner. It wasn’t a particularly piy night as we had an early start next day. It was a shame, that you ended ten years of touring, then have a 6am start to get to the Eurostar for the Grand Tour. Richard and I made it, then we got a call from James: (In May’s voice) “While walking last night to my car I had a bit of a tumble”. That’s what old people call it. He broke his arm. (May’s voice): “Well, it was very slippery.” It’s like working with a little old lady, who breaks every time he has a “tumble”. Some say he is partial to a glass of organic rosé, but today it’s black coffee with a “thousand sugars”. Which is a pity as he clammed up when we brought up the “fracas”. “You guys talk away, you won’t get any answers,” he says. “I’ll have a cigarette and when you’ve finished.. ” 14 Jeremy refuses to talk about the incident which lost him his BBC contract, although every thing worked out But everyone involved seems to have done well out of it. Even the hotel has a blue plaque marking the spot. His punchbag Oisin Tymon — who he allegedly called a “lazy, Irish c*” — is said to have got £100,000 in a private settlement. Jeremy paces round the room to study the paintings on the wall. “That bird up there, is that a nightjar?” he asks. But he does eventually admit he’s in a good place. PA:Press Association 14 The trio are signed up to make 12 shows a year on a three year contract “If we’d stayed, we’d have done the same thing week in, week out. ‘Thank you for watching, good night.’ We’ve been forced to reinvent it. It’s a good thing.” The three signed a three-year deal to make 12 shows a year. The first goes out on November 18, and only five are completed. “We don’t finish filming this series until December 13, and we start on the second series on December 14,” he says. 14 Despite airing in a little over a fortnight, only five episodes from the first season are complete “I went to the dentist and I need two fillings and a crown replaced. I just won’t have time so I’ll have toothache until after Christmas.” But Jeremy’s not complaining. He never loses sight of the fact he’s got a job most people would kill for. “That man in PC World is my motivation,” he says, explaining: “I once sat in a traffic jam in Liverpool. It was raining, about half five on a Tuesday, one of those horrible nights. CLARKSON ON... RICHARD HAMMOND RICHARD is genuinely one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, he’s up there with any great comedian. The speed at which his mind works, he is outrageously funny. So when you see him ask James in the trailer: “Which arm did you break” when James’ arm was in a sling, it wasn’t scripted. "And I looked in and saw this lad in PC World — he was a kid, about 17 — and I thought, ‘That could be me’. Purple shirt. If he works really hard, in three or four years he could make store manager. "Then, if he puts in a really strong shift for the next ten, area manager. Then you get to go on an away-day weekend in North Wales. And that’s it. Holy s, how f**ing lucky am I? "There’s people who chisel the fat away on London’s sewers. And we get paid to drive a Lamborghini around a corner and shout.” EPA 14 Clarkson worries about ending up like Mourinho, who was at the top of his game at Chelsea but is struggling having moved to Manchester United As a Chelsea fan, the chat turns to Jose Mourinho and his humiliating 4-0 defeat on his Stamford Bridge return. “Well, here’s the danger of being at the top of your game and going somewhere else,” he says, laughing at the irony. “Look at me, I’m absolutely brilliant, I’ll be fine at Manchester United... oh God.” How can I watch The Grand Tour? Firstly, to watch the new motoring show you'll have to be an Amazon Prime customer which means you'll have to pay a subscription fee. Amazon Prime members can enjoy exclusive access to movies, TV shows, ad-free music, unlimited photo storage, kindle books and discounts on new-release video games. Amazon 14 The show sees the return of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond Amazon 14 A car is pitted against a chopper in explosive scenes The Grand Tour starts on Friday November 18th and each episode will be an hour long. The trio have signed up to present three 12-episode series, a total of 36 episodes. How much does Amazon Prime cost? Prices for the service range from £5.99 per month for the cheapest option to £7.99 for the premium package or if you want to pay an annual membership it'll set you back £79. If you haven't used Amazon before and you're a new customer you can get a 30-day free trial by visiting Amazon's website - www.amazon.co.uk/prime. Amazon customers who are not already Prime members can also start a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime by visiting www.amazon.co.uk/prime. Getty Images Only customers of Amazon Prime will be able the watch the new motoring show Do you need any other hardware? Once you've become a member, you can watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on smart TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, on Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and Wii U, and through the web at www.amazon.co.uk/primevideo." Most smart TVs, including those from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and LG, will come pre-installed with the app - but older models, Sky and Apple TVs won't. Amazon If you don't have a modern smartphone TV you'll have to purchase an Amazon Fire TV stick or a Fire TV box If yours doesn't, you'll need to purchase an Amazon device, such as an Amazon Fire Stick which will cost you £34.99 or a Fire TV box for £79.99. The app can also be downloaded to any Android or iOS device such as an iPhone and iPad and Sony's PS4, PS3 and Xbox consoles. Anything else? It's important to bear in mind that to be able to watch The Grand Tour, you'll need a fairly strong and unlimited internet connection. And if you're planning on watching The Grand Tour on your smartphone and you're not connected to Wi-Fi it'll drain your data. READ MORE Jeremy Clarkson thrashes Top Gear with new show The Grand Tour after booking a glittering line-up of A-list guests James May banned from saying rude catchphrase on new Amazon motor show, The Grand Tour, after ‘string of BBC legal threats’ Watch Jeremy Clarkson and James May’s ridiculous teaser for The Grand TourAn 18-year-old is dead after he reportedly took his own life outside Mission Friday night. Family of Joaquin Luna told Action 4 News the teen left behind suicide letters explaining he took his own life, because he was an illegal immigrant and would never be able to attend college because of it. Family said Friday night the teen dressed up in a suit and tie, kissed them, then went into the restroom and shot himself in the head. Luna was a senior at Juarez Lincoln High School in Mission. His family said he was a dedicated student, had good grades and wanted to be an engineer. They said he even designed and built ceilings in several of the rooms at their home. One of Luna TMs older brothers said the teen would often get frustrated when filling out the immigration status section in college applications. He said Luna was also frustrated when the Dream Act didn't pass. Luna's family said they haven't read the entirety of the suicide letters since the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department took them as evidence. Action 4 TMs Daisy Martinez also spoke with the teen TMs mother. Hear from her on Action 4 News at 10 pm.I’m no genius, but Elon Musk certainly is. After all, the 46-year-old inventor and investor shoots rockets into space, talks confidently of colonizing Mars, and has built in Tesla a car and solar energy company that the market values at tens of billions of dollars despite it having yet to turn a profit. But I believe I know something that Musk doesn’t: Transportation systems don’t just get us from point A to point B. They shape the entire way cities look and feel and grow. Let me back up a bit. One of Musk’s current big ideas is to build a vast network of tunnels underneath greater Los Angeles. Cars riding on wheeled platforms called “electric skates” would speed along at more than 120 miles per hour. “You should be able to get from, say, Westwood to LAX in five or six minutes,” Musk said in a TED Talk interview earlier this year. That drew great applause from the audience: Interstate 405, the highway that now carries most traffic the 10 miles between the Los Angeles neighborhood and the airport, is the nation’s most congested. This vision is not just a pipe dream. His tunnel-boring company -- called the Boring Company, of course -- has already been given permission to dig a 1.6-mile test tunnel underneath Hawthorne, Calif., where the company is headquartered. It’s now under construction. (The Boring Company was also recently given permission to dig a 10.1-mile tunnel in Maryland as part of Musk’s proposed “hyperloop” transportation system.) Crucial to Musk’s idea is that he envisions developing cheaper tunnel-boring technology -- so cheap that one could essentially build an infinite number of tunnels underground. “You can alleviate any arbitrary level of urban congestion with a 3D tunnel network,” Musk has said. But while the engineering vision is incredible, Musk doesn’t seem to know much about how transportation affects what is around it. Musk, like many people, apparently thinks of transportation simply as getting from one place to another. But as I wrote in my first book, How Cities Work: Suburbs, Sprawl and the Roads Not Taken, if you create a well-used new way of moving, you create a new way of living. Subways created subway cities. Streetcars created streetcar suburbs. The postwar interstates created linear cities along the superhighways’ spines. And Los Angeles’ elevated freeways and limited-access roads created sprawling neighborhoods below that, to this day, people both love and love to hate. With this in mind, you can see where Musk goes wrong. He talks of the built environment as if it were static -- as if you could have all of these tunnels going between places and nothing would change up on the ground. But of course if you had high-speed tunnels under Los Angeles, developers would build to dovetail with them: things like apartments, office buildings and retail. Churches and schools would spring up in new places. Musk envisions his tunnels as helping get people to Pasadena in minutes. But if these tunnels really work, then Pasadena would have new residents living there, and it and wouldn’t be like present-day Pasadena anymore. Giant parking garages might develop above tunnel stations. Or if some driverless car scenario minimizes the need for parking, even-denser collections of apartments and shopping and office centers would come. Sure, Musk’s envisioned L.A. tunnel system looks pretty cool. An animated video on the Boring Company website shows what looks like a Tesla sports car in torturously slow regular traffic on a city street. Then, like some Q-designed vehicle in a James Bond movie, the car rolls onto an electric skate in the parking lane. The skate drops down beneath the surface and is ferried off to the tunnel system. The skate-carried car rockets along at a breathtaking speed until it is delivered back up to a surface street, where the driver continues on his or her journey. But you can see the shallowness (forgive the pun) of Musk’s thinking in that in the videos these deep tunnels have only a light amount of traffic in them. In the real world, of course, they would fill up very quickly. I was reminded of the influential Swiss architect and planner Le Corbusier from the 1920s, whose sketches of his proposed new cities of towers showed only a few cars on their highways. We all know how that worked out. I was curious as to what Musk or an associate would say about my criticisms, but I couldn’t get anyone to talk to me. I did reach a Boring Company spokesperson, who referred me to their website’s FAQ section. There, I found a very interesting discussion about the engineering aspects of the tunnels, but nothing about land use. So how could a new layer of cheaper tunnels be put to more beneficial use than what Musk envisions? Well, it may not sell many Teslas, but one answer might be a more complete subway or bus system, combined with bicycling and walking networks aboveground. The nice thing about those is that we have a history of pleasant urban spaces being built around them and some models to work with. Whatever is done, one should always remember that transportation determines land use, either by design or in unintended ways. Another lesson is that one should be wary of geniuses bearing gifts. They may be well-intentioned, but they may not know everything about what their packages contain.Newsletter: The Corruption Of Money This week, the discussion about money in politics and the reality that the US is an oligarchy has been elevated in the midst of presidential primaries. Many political leaders are stating what is obvious and is symbolized by protesters in the “We are the 99%” meme. Former President Jimmy Carter said the US political system: “Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over. … The incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody’s who’s already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who’s just a challenger.” How the Oligarchs Benefit from US Economic Policy As tax day approaches, there will be numerous reports about how US oligarchs – wealthy individuals and major corporations – do not pay their fair share in taxes. A GAO report released this week found “at least two-thirds of active U.S. corporations paid zero federal income taxes between 2006 and 2012. The report also found that large, profitable corporations only paid 14% of their profits in federal income taxes on average from 2008 through 2012, while approximately one-fifth of them paid nothing at all.” This is not only due to tax laws
band found Lillywhite to be very encouraging and creative; Bono called him "such a breath of fresh air", while the Edge said he "had a great way of pulling the best out of everybody".[26] The album's lead single, "A Day Without Me", was released in August. Although it did not chart,[27] the song was the impetus for the Edge's purchase of a delay effect unit, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, which came to define his guitar playing style and had a significant impact on the group's creative output.[25] Released in October 1980,[30] Boy received generally positive reviews.[31] Paul Morley of NME called it "touching, precocious, full of archaic and modernist conviction",[32] while Declan Lynch of Hot Press said he found it "almost impossible to react negatively to U2's music".[33] Bono's lyrics reflected on adolescence, innocence, and the passage into adulthood,[34] themes represented on the album cover through the photo of a young boy's face.[26] Boy peaked at number 52 in the United Kingdom and number 63 in the United States.[30][35] The album included the band's first song to receive airplay on US radio, the single "I Will Follow",[36] which reached number 20 on the Top Tracks rock chart.[37] Boy's release was followed by the Boy Tour, U2's first tour of continental Europe and the US.[38] Despite being unpolished, these early live performances demonstrated the band's potential, as critics complimented their ambition and Bono's exuberance.[39] Bono and the Edge performing on the Boy Tour in May 1981 The band faced several challenges in writing their second album, October. On an otherwise successful American leg of the Boy Tour, Bono's briefcase containing in-progress lyrics and musical ideas was lost backstage during a March 1981 performance at a nightclub in Portland, Oregon.[40][41] The band had limited time to write new music on tour and in July began a two-month recording session at Windmill Lane Studios largely unprepared,[42] forcing Bono to quickly improvise lyrics.[40] Lillywhite, reprising his role as producer, called the sessions "completely chaotic and mad".[43] October's lead single, "Fire", was released in July and was U2's first song to chart in the UK.[42][44] Despite garnering the band an appearance on UK television programme Top of the Pops, the single fell in the charts afterwards.[40] On 16 August 1981, the group opened for Thin Lizzy at the inaugural Slane Concert, but the Edge called it "one of the worst shows [U2] ever played in [their] lives".[42] Adding to this period of self-doubt, Bono's, the Edge's, and Mullen's involvement in a Charismatic Christian group in Dublin called the "Shalom Fellowship" led them to question the relationship between their religious faith and the lifestyle of a rock band.[40][45] Bono and the Edge considered quitting U2 due to their perceived spiritual conflicts before deciding to leave Shalom instead.[40][46] October was released in October 1981 and contained overtly spiritual themes.[47] The album received mixed reviews and limited radio play,[48] and although it debuted at number 11 in the UK,[47] it sold poorly elsewhere.[49] The single "Gloria" was U2's first song to have its music video played on MTV, generating excitement for the band during the October Tour of 1981–1982 in markets where the television channel was available.[50] During the tour, U2 met Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn,[51] who became their principal photographer and has had a major influence on their vision and public image.[52] In March 1982, the band played 14 dates as the opening act for the J. Geils Band, increasing their exposure.[53] Still, U2 were disappointed by their lack of progress by the end of the October Tour. Having run out of money and feeling unsupported by their record label, the group committed to improving; Clayton recalled that "there was a firm resolve to come out of the box fighting with the next record".[49] War (1982–1983) [ edit ] After the October Tour, U2 decamped to a rented cottage in Howth, where they lived, wrote new songs, and rehearsed for their third album, War. Significant musical breakthroughs were achieved by the Edge in August 1982 during a two-week period of independent songwriting, while the other band members vacationed and Bono honeymooned with his wife Ali.[54][55] From September to November, the group recorded War at Windmill Lane Studios. Lillywhite, who had a policy of not working with an artist more than twice, was convinced by the group to return as their producer for a third time.[56][57] The recording sessions featured contributions from violinist Steve Wickham and the female singers of Kid Creole and the Coconuts.[56] For the first time, Mullen agreed to play drums to a click track to keep time.[54] After completing the album, U2 undertook a short tour of Western Europe in December.[58] "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1983) "Sunday Bloody Sunday" features a martial drumbeat, raw guitar, and lyrically, a bleak emotionally charged response to violence. Problems playing this file? See media help. War's lead single, "New Year's Day", was released on 1 January 1983.[59] It reached number 10 in the UK and became the group's first hit outside of Europe; in the US, it received extensive radio coverage and peaked at number 53.[60] Resolving their doubts of the October period,[61] U2 released War in February.[60] Critically, the album received favourable reviews, although a few UK reviewers were critical of it.[62] Nonetheless, it was the band's first commercial success, debuting at number one in the UK, while reaching number 12 in the US.[60] War's sincerity and "rugged" guitar were intentionally at odds with the trendier synthpop of the time.[63] A record on which the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade",[64] War was lyrically more political than their first two records,[65] focusing on the physical and emotional effects of warfare.[56] The album included the protest song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", in which Bono lyrically tried to contrast the events of the 1972 Bloody Sunday shooting with Easter Sunday.[54] Other songs from the record addressed topics such as nuclear proliferation ("Seconds") and the Polish Solidarity movement ("New Year's Day").[66] War was U2's first record to feature Corbijn's photography.[67] The album cover depicted the same young child who had appeared on the cover of their debut album, albeit with his previously innocent expression replaced by a fearful one.[60] U2 performing at the US Festival in May 1983 On the subsequent 1983 War Tour of Europe, the US, and Japan,[60] the band began to play progressively larger venues, moving from clubs to halls to arenas.[68] Bono attempted to engage the growing audiences with theatrical, often dangerous antics, climbing scaffoldings and lighting rigs and jumping into the audience.[69] The sight of Bono waving a white flag during performances of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" became the tour's iconic image.[70] The band played several dates at large European and American music festivals,[59] including a performance at the US Festival on Memorial Day weekend for an audience of 125,000 people.[71] The group's 5 June 1983 concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on a rain-soaked evening was singled out by Rolling Stone as one "50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll".[72] The show was recorded for the concert video Live at Red Rocks and was one of several concerts from the tour captured on their live album Under a Blood Red Sky.[73] Both releases received extensive play on the radio and MTV, expanding the band's audience and showcasing their prowess as a live act.[72] During the tour, the group established a new tradition by closing concerts with the War track "40", during which the Edge and Clayton would switch instruments and the band members would leave the stage one-by-one as the crowd continued to sing the refrain "How long to sing this song?".[74][75] The War Tour was U2's first profitable tour, grossing about US$2 million.[76] The Unforgettable Fire and Live Aid (1984–1985) [ edit ] With their record deal with Island Records coming to an end, the band signed a more lucrative extension in 1984. They negotiated the return of the copyrights of their songs, an increase in their royalty rate, and a general improvement in terms, at the expense of a larger initial payment.[77] The band feared that following the overt rock of the War album and tour, they were in danger of becoming another "shrill", "sloganeering arena-rock band".[78] The group were confident that fans would embrace them as successors to the Who and Led Zeppelin, but according to Bono: "something just didn't feel right. We felt we had more dimension than just the next big anything, we had something unique to offer."[79] Thus, they sought experimentation for their fourth studio album, The Unforgettable Fire.[80] Clayton said, "We were looking for something that was a bit more serious, more arty."[79] The Edge admired the ambient and "weird works" of Brian Eno, who, along with his engineer Daniel Lanois, eventually agreed to produce the record. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell initially tried to discourage them from their choice of producers, believing that just when the band were about to achieve the highest levels of success, Eno would "bury them under a layer of avant-garde nonsense".[81] Partly recorded in Slane Castle, The Unforgettable Fire was released in October 1984 and was at the time the band's most marked change in direction.[83] It was ambient and abstract, and featured a rich, orchestrated sound. Under Lanois' direction, Mullen's drumming became looser, funkier, and more subtle, and Clayton's bass became more subliminal.[84] Complementing the album's atmospheric sound, the lyrics are open to interpretation, providing what the band called a "very visual feel".[83] Due to a tight recording schedule, Bono felt songs like "Bad" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were incomplete "sketches".[81] The album reached number one in Britain,[85] and was successful in the US.[86] The lead single "Pride (In the Name of Love)", written about Martin Luther King, Jr., was the band's biggest hit to that point and was their first song to chart in the US top 40.[87] Much of the Unforgettable Fire Tour moved into indoor arenas as U2 began to win their long battle to build their audience.[88] The complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks, such as "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Bad", posed a challenge in translating to live performances.[83] One solution was programming music sequencers, which the band had previously been reluctant to use but now incorporate into the majority of their performances.[83] Songs on the album had been criticised as being "unfinished", "fuzzy", and "unfocused", but were better received by critics when played on stage. Rolling Stone, which was critical of the album version of "Bad", described its live performance as a "show stopper".[89] U2 participated in the Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief at Wembley Stadium in July 1985.[90] Their performance in front of 72,000 fans and for a worldwide television audience of two billion people was a pivotal point in the band's career.[91] During a 12-minute performance of the song "Bad", Bono leapt down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan, showing a television audience the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.[92] In 1985, Rolling Stone called U2 the "Band of the '80s", saying that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters".[77] The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum (1986–1990) [ edit ] The wild beauty, cultural richness, spiritual vacancy and ferocious violence of America are explored to compelling effect in virtually every aspect of The Joshua Tree—in the title and the cover art, the blues and country borrowings evident in the music... Indeed, Bono says that 'dismantling the mythology of America' is an important part of The Joshua Tree's artistic objective. —Anthony DeCurtis[93] For their fifth album, The Joshua Tree,[94] the band wanted to build on The Unforgettable Fire's textures, but instead of out-of-focus experimentation, they sought a harder-hitting sound within the limitation of conventional song structures.[95] Realising that "U2 had no tradition" and that their knowledge of music from before their childhood was limited, the group delved into American and Irish roots music.[96] Friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Keith Richards motivated Bono to explore blues, folk, and gospel music and focused him on his skills as a songwriter and lyricist.[97] U2 halted the album sessions in June 1986 to serve as a headline act on the Conspiracy of Hope benefit concert tour for Amnesty International. Rather than distract the band, the tour invigorated their new material.[98] The following month, Bono travelled to Nicaragua and El Salvador and saw first-hand the distress of peasants affected by political conflicts and US military intervention. The experience became a central influence on their new music.[99] The Joshua Tree was released in March 1987. The album juxtaposes antipathy towards US foreign policy against the group's deep fascination with the country, its open spaces, freedom, and ideals.[101] The band wanted music with a sense of location and a "cinematic" quality, and the record's music and lyrics draw on imagery created by American writers whose works the band had been reading.[102] The Joshua Tree was critically acclaimed; Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said the album "confirms on record what this band has been slowly asserting for three years now on stage: U2 is what the Rolling Stones ceased being years ago—the greatest rock and roll band in the world".[103] The record went to number one in over 20 countries, including the UK where it received a platinum certification in 48 hours, making it the fastest seller in British chart history.[104] In the US, it spent nine consecutive weeks at number one.[105] The album included the hit singles "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Where the Streets Have No Name", the first two of which became the group's only number-one hits in the US. U2 became the fourth rock band to be featured on the cover of Time magazine,[106] which called them "Rock's Hottest Ticket".[107] The album won U2 their first two Grammy Awards,[108] and it brought them a new level of success. Many publications, including Rolling Stone, have cited it as one of rock's greatest.[109] The Joshua Tree Tour was the first tour on which the band played shows in stadiums alongside smaller arena shows.[110] It grossed US$40 million[111] and drew 3 million attendees.[99] In October 1988, the group released Rattle and Hum, a double album and theatrically released documentary film that captured the band's experiences with American roots music on the Joshua Tree Tour. The record featured nine studio tracks and six live U2 performances, including recordings at Sun Studios in Memphis and collaborations with Dylan and B.B. King. Intended as a tribute to American music,[112] the project received mixed reviews from both film and music critics; one Rolling Stone editor spoke of the album's "excitement", another described it as "misguided and bombastic".[113] The film's director, Phil Joanou, described it as "an overly pretentious look at U2".[114] Despite the criticism, the album sold 14 million copies and reached number one worldwide.[115] Lead single "Desire" became the band's first number-one song in the UK while reaching number three in the US.[116] Most of the album's new material was played on 1989–1990's Lovetown Tour, which only visited Australasia, Japan, and Europe, so as to avoid the critical backlash the group faced in the US. In addition, they had grown dissatisfied with their live performances; Mullen recalled, "We were the biggest, but we weren't the best".[117] With a sense of musical stagnation, Bono said to fans on one of the last dates of the tour that it was "the end of something for U2" and that they had to "go away and... just dream it all up again".[118] Achtung Baby, Zoo TV, and Zooropa (1990–1993) [ edit ] Buzzwords on this record were trashy, throwaway, dark, sexy, and industrial (all good) and earnest, polite, sweet, righteous, rockist and linear (all bad). It was good if a song took you on a journey or made you think your hifi was broken, bad if it reminded you of recording studios or U2... —Brian Eno, on the recording of Achtung Baby[119] Stung by the criticism of Rattle and Hum, the band sought to transform themselves musically.[120] Seeking inspiration from German reunification, they began work on their seventh studio album, Achtung Baby, at Berlin's Hansa Studios in October 1990 with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno.[121] The sessions were fraught with conflict, as the band argued over their musical direction and the quality of their material. While Clayton and Mullen preferred a sound similar to U2's previous work, Bono and the Edge were inspired by European industrial music and electronic dance music and advocated a change. Weeks of tension and slow progress nearly prompted the group to break up until they made a breakthrough with the improvised writing of the song "One".[122] They returned to Dublin in 1991, where morale improved and the majority of the album was completed. Achtung Baby was released in November 1991. The album represented a calculated change in musical and thematic direction for the group; the shift was one of their most dramatic since The Unforgettable Fire.[124] Sonically, the record incorporated influences from alternative rock, dance, and industrial music of the time, and Bono referred to its musical departure as "four men chopping down the Joshua Tree".[125] Thematically, it was a more introspective and personal record; it was darker, yet at times more flippant than the band's previous work. Commercially and critically, it has been one of the band's most successful albums. It produced five hit singles, including "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways", and "One", and it was a crucial part of the band's early 1990s reinvention.[126] In 1993, Achtung Baby won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[127] Like The Joshua Tree, many publications have cited the record as one of rock's greatest.[109] Like Achtung Baby, the 1992–1993 Zoo TV Tour was an unequivocal break with the band's past. In contrast to the austere stage setups of previous U2 tours, Zoo TV was an elaborate multimedia event. It satirised the pervasive nature of television and its blurring of news, entertainment, and home shopping by attempting to instill "sensory overload" in its audience.[125][128][129] The stage featured large video screens that showed visual effects, random video clips from pop culture, and flashing text phrases, along with a lighting system partially made of Trabant automobiles.[130] Whereas U2 were known for their earnest performances in the 1980s, the group's Zoo TV performances were intentionally ironic and self-deprecating.[125] On stage, Bono performed as several over-the-top characters, including the leather-clad egomaniac "The Fly",[131] the greedy televangelist "Mirror Ball Man", and the devilish "MacPhisto".[132] Prank phone calls were made to President Bush, the United Nations, and others. Live satellite link-ups to war-torn Sarajevo caused controversy.[133] Zoo TV was the highest-grossing North American tour of 1992, earning US$67 million.[134] In June 1993, U2 signed a long-term, six-album deal to remain with Island Records/PolyGram.[135] The Los Angeles Times estimated that the deal was worth US$60 million to the band,[136] making them the highest-paid rock group ever.[137] The following month, the group released a new album, Zooropa. Quickly recorded during a break in the Zoo TV Tour in early 1993, it expanded on many of the themes from Achtung Baby and the Zoo TV Tour. Initially intended to be an EP, Zooropa ultimately evolved into a full-length LP album. It was an even greater musical departure for the group, delving further into electronic, industrial, and dance music.[138] Country musician Johnny Cash sang the lead vocals on the closing track "The Wanderer". Most of the songs were played at least once during the 1993 legs of the tour, which visited Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; half the album's tracks became permanent fixtures in the setlist.[139] Although the commercially successful Zooropa won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1994, the band regard it with mixed feelings, as they felt it was more of "an interlude". On the final leg of the Zoo TV Tour, Clayton was unable to perform for the group's 26 November 1993 show in Sydney due to a hangover, causing him to miss the dress rehearsal for filming Zoo TV: Live from Sydney. Bass guitar technician Stuart Morgan filled in for him, marking the first time any member of U2 had missed a show. After the incident, Clayton gave up drinking alcohol.[140] The tour concluded the following month in Japan, having sold 5.3 million tickets overall.[141] Q's Tom Doyle called Zoo TV "the most spectacular rock tour staged by any band".[142] Passengers, Pop, and PopMart (1994–1998) [ edit ] In 1995, following a long break, U2 contributed "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the soundtrack album of the film Batman Forever.[143] The song was a hit, reaching number one in Australia and Ireland, number two in the UK, and number 16 in the US.[144] In November, the band released an experimental album called Original Soundtracks 1, a collaboration with Brian Eno, who contributed as a full songwriting partner and performer. Due to his participation and the record's highly experimental nature, the band chose to release it under the moniker "Passengers" to distinguish it from U2's conventional albums.[145] Mullen said of the release: "There's a thin line between interesting music and self-indulgence. We crossed it on the Passengers record."[146] It was commercially unnoticed by U2 standards and it received generally mixed reviews.[147] The single "Miss Sarajevo" (featuring Luciano Pavarotti) was among Bono's favourite U2 songs.[148] U2 began work on their next studio album, Pop, in mid-1995, holding recording sessions with Nellee Hooper, Flood, and Howie B. The band mixed the contrasting influences of each producer into their music, in particular Howie B's experiences with electronica and dance music.[149] Mullen was sidelined due to back surgery in November,[150] prompting the other band members to take different approaches to songwriting, such as programming drum loops and playing to samples provided by Howie B.[149] Upon Mullen's return in February 1996, the group began re-working much of their material but struggled to complete songs, causing them to miss their mid-year deadline to complete the record.[151] Further complicating matters, the band allowed manager Paul McGuinness to book their 1997–1998 PopMart Tour with the album still in progress;[152] Bono called it "the worst decision U2 ever made". Rushed to complete the album, the band delayed its release date a second time from the 1996 holiday season to March 1997,[151][154] cutting into tour rehearsal time.[23][155] Even with the additional recording time, U2 worked up to the last minute to complete songs.[149][152] The PopMart Tour stage featured a golden arch, mirrorball lemon, and 150-foot-long LED screen. The band emerged from the lemon during encores, although it occasionally malfunctioned. In February 1997,[156] the group released Pop's lead single, "Discotheque", a dance-heavy song with a music video in which the band wore Village People costumes.[157] The song reached number one in the UK, Japan, and Canada, but did not chart for long in the US despite debuting at number 10.[156] Within days of the single's release, the group announced the PopMart Tour with a press conference in the lingerie section of a Kmart department store.[156] Tickets went on sale shortly after, but Pop would not be released until March.[158] The album represented U2's further exploration of nightclub culture, featuring heavy, funky dance rhythms.[159] The record drew favourable reviews.[160] Rolling Stone stated that U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives".[161] Other critics, though, felt that the album was a major disappointment.[162] Despite debuting at number one in over 30 countries, Pop dropped off the charts quickly.[156] Bono admitted that the album "didn't communicate the way it was intended to", while the Edge called it a "compromise project by the end".[152] The PopMart Tour commenced in April 1997 and was intended as a satire of consumerism.[158] The stage included a 100-foot-tall (30 m) golden yellow arch reminiscent of the McDonald's logo, a 40-foot-tall (12 m) mirrorball lemon, and a 150-foot-long (46 m) LED video screen, at the time the world's largest.[163] U2's "big shtick" failed to satisfy many who were seemingly confused by the band's new kitsch image and the tour's elaborate set.[164] The reduced rehearsal time for the tour affected the quality of early shows,[165] and in some US markets, the band played to half-empty stadiums.[166][167] On several occasions, the mirrorball lemon from which the band emerged for the encores malfunctioned, trapping them inside.[168] Despite the mixed reviews and difficulties of the tour, Bono considered PopMart to be "better than Zoo TV aesthetically, and as an art project it is a clearer thought."[169] He later explained, "When that show worked, it was mindblowing."[170] The European leg of the tour featured two highlights. The group's 20 September 1997 show in Reggio Emilia was attended by over 150,000 people, setting a world record for the largest paying audience for a one-act show.[171] U2 also performed in Sarajevo on 23 September, making them the first major group to stage a concert there following the Bosnian War.[172] Mullen described the show as "an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and if I had to spend 20 years in the band just to play that show, and have done that, I think it would have been worthwhile."[173] Bono called the show "one of the toughest and one of the sweetest nights of my life".[174] The tour concluded in March 1998 with gross revenues of US$171.7 million and 3.9 million tickets sold.[175] The following month, U2 appeared on the 200th episode of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, in which Homer Simpson disrupts the band on stage during a PopMart concert.[176] In November 1998, U2 released their first compilation album, The Best of 1980–1990,[177] which featured a re-recording of a 1987 B-side, "Sweetest Thing", as its single.[178] The album broke a first-week sales record in the US for a greatest hits collection by a group,[179] while "Sweetest Thing" topped the singles charts in Ireland and Canada.[177] All That You Can't Leave Behind and Elevation Tour (1998–2002) [ edit ] Following the mixed success of their musical pursuits in the 1990s, U2 sought to simplify their sound; the Edge said that with Pop, the group had "taken the deconstruction of the rock 'n' roll band format to its absolute 'nth degree".[180] For their tenth album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, the group wanted to return to their old recording ethos of "the band in a room playing together".[180] Reuniting with Eno and Lanois, U2 began working on the album in late 1998.[180][181] After their experiences with being pressured to complete Pop, the band were content to work without deadlines.[180] With Bono's schedule limited by his commitments to debt relief for Jubilee 2000 and the other band members spending time with their families, the recording sessions stretched through August 2000.[180][182] Released in October of that year, All That You Can't Leave Behind was seen by critics as a "back to basics" album,[183] on which the group returned to a more mainstream, conventional rock sound.[180][184] For many of those not won over by the band's forays into dance music, it was considered a return to grace;[185][186] Rolling Stone called it U2's "third masterpiece" alongside The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.[187] The album debuted at number one in 32 countries[188] and sold 12 million copies.[189] Its lead single, "Beautiful Day", was a worldwide hit, reaching number one in Ireland, the UK, Australia, and Canada, while peaking at number 21 in the US.[190] The song earned Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and Record of the Year.[191] At the awards ceremony, Bono declared that U2 were "reapplying for the job... [of] the best band in the world".[192] The album's other singles were worldwide hits as well; "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Elevation", and "Walk On" reached number one in Canada,[193] while charting in the top five in the UK and top ten in Australia.[44][194] Contrasting with the elaborate stadium productions of the band's previous two tours, the Elevation Tour was a scaled-down affair, featuring a heart-shaped ramp around the stage. The band's 2001 Elevation Tour commenced in March, visiting North America and Europe across three legs.[195] For the tour, U2 performed on a scaled-down stage, returning to arenas after nearly a decade of stadium productions.[186] Mirroring the album's themes of "emotional contact, connection, and communication", the tour's set was designed to afford the group greater proximity to their fans;[196] a heart-shaped ramp around the stage extended into the audience, encapsulating some concertgoers,[197] and festival seating was offered in the US for the first time in the group's history.[198] During the tour, U2 headlined a pair of Slane Concerts in Ireland, playing to crowds of 80,000.[199][200] Following the September 11 attacks in the US, All That You Can't Leave Behind found added resonance with American audiences,[109][201] as the album climbed in the charts and songs such as "Walk On" and "Peace on Earth" garnered radio airplay.[202] In October, U2 performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the first time since the attacks. Bono and the Edge said these shows were among their most memorable and emotional performances.[201][203] The Elevation Tour was the year's top-earning North American tour, grossing US$109.7 million, the second-highest figure ever for a North American tour at the time;[204] in total, the tour grossed US$143.5 million globally from 2.18 million tickets sold.[205] Spin named U2 the "Band of the Year" for 2001, saying they had "schooled bands half their age about what a rock show could really accomplish".[186] U2 perform during the Elevation Tour in Kansas City in 2001 On 3 February 2002, U2 performed during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVI. In a tribute to those who died in the September 11 attacks, the victims' names were displayed on a backdrop, and at the end, Bono opened his jacket to reveal an American flag in the lining.[206] SI.com, Rolling Stone, and USA Today ranked the band's performance as the best halftime show in Super Bowl history.[207] Later that month, U2 received four additional Grammy Awards; All That You Can't Leave Behind won Best Rock Album, while "Walk On" was named Record of the Year, marking the first time an artist had won the latter award in consecutive years for songs from the same album.[208] In November 2002, the band released its second compilation, The Best of 1990–2000, which featured several remixed 1990s songs and two new tracks, including the single "Electrical Storm".[209] How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Vertigo Tour (2003–2006) [ edit ] Looking for a harder-hitting rock sound than that of All That You Can't Leave Behind,[210] U2 began recording their eleventh studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, in February 2003 with producer Chris Thomas.[211] After nine months of work, the band had an album's worth of material ready for release, but they were not satisfied with the results; Mullen said that the songs "had no magic".[210] The group subsequently enlisted Steve Lillywhite to take over as producer in Dublin in January 2004.[212] Lillywhite, along with his assistant Jacknife Lee, spent six months with the band reworking songs and encouraging better performances.[210] Several other producers received credits on the album, including Lanois, Eno, Flood, Carl Glanville, and Nellee Hooper;[213] Bono acknowledged that the involvement of multiple producers affected the record's "sonic cohesion".[214] "Vertigo" (2004) [210] became a hit worldwide and was used in a cross-promotion with Vertigo ", which the Edge described as "visceral rock 'n' roll",became a hit worldwide and was used in a cross-promotion with Apple Released in November 2004, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb received favourable reviews from critics.[215] The album featured lyrics touching on life, death, love, war, faith, and family.[216] It reached number one in 30 countries,[215] including the US, where first-week sales of 840,000 copies nearly doubled those of All That You Can't Leave Behind, setting a personal best for the band.[217] Overall, it sold 9 million copies globally.[218] For the album's release, U2 partnered with Apple for several cross-promotions: the first single, "Vertigo", was featured in a television advertisement for the company's iPod music player, while a U2-branded iPod and digital box set exclusive to the iTunes Store were released.[219] "Vertigo" was an international hit, topping the charts in Ireland and the UK,[220] while reaching number two in Canada, number five in Australia,[221] and number 31 in the US.[222] The song won three Grammy Awards, including one for Best Rock Song.[223] Other singles from the album were also hits; "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", written as a tribute to Bono's late father, went to number one in the UK and Canada, while "City of Blinding Lights" reached number two in both regions.[224] In March 2005, U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bruce Springsteen in their first year of eligibility.[225][226] During his speech, Springsteen said the band had "beaten [the odds] by continuing to do their finest work and remaining at the top of their game and the charts for 25 years".[227] The outdoor stage of the Vertigo Tour, pictured in June 2005, featured a massive LED screen. U2's 2005–2006 Vertigo Tour was preceded by several complications. A sudden illness afflicting the Edge's daughter nearly resulted in the tour's cancellation, before the group decided to adjust the tour schedule to accommodate her treatment.[228] Additionally, ticket presales on the band's website were plagued with issues, as subscribing members encountered technical glitches and limited ticket availability, partially due to scalpers exploiting the system.[229] Commencing in March 2005,[227] the Vertigo Tour consisted of arena shows in North America and stadium shows internationally across five legs.[230] The indoor stage replaced the heart-shaped ramp of the Elevation Tour with an elliptical one and featured retractable video curtains around the stage,[231] while the stadium stage used a massive LED video screen.[232] Setlists on tour varied more than in the group's past and included songs they had not played in decades.[233] Like its predecessor, the Vertigo Tour was a commercial success, ranking as the top-earning tour of 2005 with US$260 million grossed.[234] In February 2006, U2 received five additional Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", and Best Rock Album and Album of the Year for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb;[235] the awards made the album and its singles winners in all eight categories in which U2 were nominated, spanning two separate Grammy ceremonies.[236] The
Los Angeles.[47][48][49] On May 5, 2014, XXL revealed Bennett was included in their annual freshman class, alongside fellow up-and-comers Isaiah Rashad, Ty Dolla $ign, Rich Homie Quan, Vic Mensa, August Alsina, Troy Ave, Kevin Gates, Lil Bibby, Jon Connor, Lil Durk and Jarren Benton.[50] During Fall 2014, Bennett and other artists participated in Verge Campus tour.[51] In November 2014, Bennett was presented Chicago's "Outstanding Youth of the Year Award" by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.[52] In January 2015, Bennett was listed number 7 on the "Forbes 30 Under 30" 2015 music list.[53] In March 2015, Bennett released a short film called Mr. Happy, which was directed by Colin Tilley. Mr. Happy centers around the main character, named Victor, who is struggling from depression and was attempting to commit suicide. After many failed attempts to kill himself, he discovers Mr. Happy.[54][55] On April 30, 2015, Bennett gave a lecture at Harvard University's Hiphop Archive & Research Institute.[56] Just before midnight on May 28, 2015, Surf was released for free on the American iTunes store as an iTunes Exclusive. The album received high acclaim from music critics, receiving an aggregate score of 86 on review site Metacritic, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 17 reviews. In June 2015, Bennett performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in the superjam concert collection. He also made a guest performance with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, on stage with Earth, Wind & Fire. On July 19, 2015, Bennett and Lil B announced that they recorded a collaborative mixtape. The two rappers released it on August 5, titled Free (Based Freestyles Mixtape).[57] On October 13, 2015, Bennett released a video for a new song, titled "Family Matters", on his website. The song, which shares the same name as his fall 2015 tour with D.R.A.M., Metro Boomin, Towkio (and Hiatus Kaiyote on select dates), is a rework of the Kanye West song "Family Business" from his 2004 album The College Dropout.[58][59][60] A few days before this, a video surfaced online of Bennett performing a new song live, ending the song by saying the words "third mixtape", leading many to believe the wait might be coming to a close for his next release.[61] On October 27, 2015, Bennett premiered a new song, titled "Angels" featuring Saba, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On December 12, 2015, Bennett performed on Saturday Night Live, on a new song, titled "Somewhere in Paradise".[62] 2016–present: Coloring Book and debut album [ edit ] In 2016, Bennett was a prominent figure on Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo, co-writing and appearing on several tracks, including "Ultralight Beam", "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1", "Famous", "Feedback", and "Waves". According to West, the album's release was delayed due to Bennett's desire for "Waves" to make the album's final cut.[63][64] Bennett was also featured on a track titled "Need To Know" on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's album This Unruly Mess I've Made. The following March, Bennett was featured on Skrillex's remix of Hundred Waters' "Show Me Love".[65] On April 16, 2016, Chance and other musicians, including Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Janelle Monáe, and J. Cole, met with President Obama at the White House to discuss the My Brother's Keeper Challenge initiative.[66] On May 12, 2016, Chance's third mixtape, Coloring Book (promoted as Chance 3), was released, streaming exclusively on Apple Music.[67] In the first week, the mixtape was streamed over 57.3 million times, which was equivalent to 38,000 units sold, debuting at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart. It became the first release to chart solely on streams.[68] The mixtape was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, and on review aggregator site Metacritic, received an average score of 89, based on 21 critics, which indicates "universal acclaim". On July 13, at the 2016 ESPY Awards show, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he performed a tribute song titled "I Was A Rock" for the late Muhammad Ali.[69] On August 16, 2016, Chance wrote the single "We the People" paired in a Nike commercial titled "Unlimited Together", a film directed by Hiro Murai. A second commercial was released on October 4 by Nestlé to promote the Kit Kat bar, starring Chance in costume remixing their jingle. On September 15, 2016, Chance began his Magnificent Coloring World Tour in San Diego. Bennett announced the Magnificent Coloring Tour with an event called Magnificent Coloring Day Festival at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field, with a line up including Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Skrillex, Tyler, the Creator and Lil Uzi Vert, taking place on September 24, 2016, being the first-ever music festival at U.S. Cellular Field.[70] This one day festival event also featured a surprise appearance by Kanye West.[71] Bennett launched a campaign in conjunction with rapperradio.com to get his music on the radio on August 17, 2016.[72] Chance the Rapper performing at Red Rocks in 2017 In September 2016, H&M solicited Bennett to headline their new campaign.[73] In November 2016, he continued on the Magnificent Coloring World Tour, but cancelled the rest of his shows on the European leg due to personal reasons.[74] In November 2016, Bennett announced during an interview with DJ Semtex that he was working on his debut album.[75] Bennett was offered a chance to sign with Kanye West's GOOD Music in December 2016, though he refused due to his popularity as an independent artist and the freedom of not being attached to a label.[76] In an August interview about his debut album, Bennett said he may sell the album, a departure from his previous projects' free distribution format.[77] After a report was leaked claiming that audio distribution platform SoundCloud was close to bankruptcy and had laid off most of its workers,[78] Bennett had a phone call with SoundCloud CEO Alex Ljung.[79] Following the phone call, Bennett went onto Twitter, posting that SoundCloud is "here to stay".[80] It was later reported that Bennett was just reflecting on what Ljung had previously published in a press release following the leak.[81] Soon after, Bennett released a SoundCloud exclusive track with Young Thug called "Big B's" to benefit the platform, a surprise move that was planned in response to the SoundCloud bankruptcy leak.[82] In February 2017, Bennett performed at the 59th annual Grammy Awards, receiving 7 nominations and winning 3 Grammys.[83] His performance featured Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann, along with a gospel choir and orchestra conducted by Tom Brooks. In July 2017, Bennett was nominated for an Emmy Award for his song "Last Christmas" that was performed on Saturday Night Live. He shares the nomination with Kenan Thompson, Eli Brueggemann, and Will Stephen in the category for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In August 2017, Bennett headlined day three of Lollapalooza at Grant Park in his hometown of Chicago.[84][85] His performance drew record crowds with some estimates making it the largest attended performance in the event's history.[86] In November 2017, Bennett curated and headlined the Obama Foundation community event at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.[87] The event capstoned the inaugural Obama Summit event which featured special guests including former President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Andra Day, Gloria Estefan, Aziz Ansari, Lena Waithe, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more.[88] In 2018, he featured on "Logout", a song from Saba's album Care for Me[89] and "Best Life" from Cardi B's debut album Invasion of Privacy. On July 18, 2018, Bennett released 4 new songs.[90] Bennett performed at Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life on October 31, 2018, a tribute concert celebrating the recently-passed rapper Mac Miller.[91][92] On November 29, 2018, Bennett released 2 new songs, "My Own Thing" and "The Man Who Has Everything."[93] On February 11, 2019, Bennett revealed that his debut album would be released sometime in July of that same year. [94] Artistry [ edit ] Musical style [ edit ] Bennett has stated in interviews with XXL and Complex that Kanye West, James Brown, MC Hammer, Prince, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Esham, Eminem, Souls of Mischief and Freestyle Fellowship have influenced him.[95] When asked about the gospel influences in his music, he also has stated that Kirk Franklin is one of his favorite artists, and his favorite composer.[56] Bennett's music has been described as versatile[96] and uplifting.[97] His music generally contains jazz-inspired melodies and gospel influences.[98] Bennett's lyrics usually have references to Christian theology,[99] his struggles with his faith[100] and his upbringing.[101] Chance incorporates choirs into his music to attempt to maximize the gospel undertones.[102] Sharde' Chapman at HuffPost has described Bennett's lyrics as "creative" and "colorful".[103] Bennett often does traditional singing songs,[104] and possesses a light-lyric tenor voice with an expansive vocal range that spans three octaves. Bennett's vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F♯ (F♯2), and rises to its peak high at the tenor high F (F5).[105] Fashion [ edit ] Bennett's fashion style is a large part of his public image, and he has taken interest in the industry. Bennett has designed hats for the Chicago White Sox.[106] The Hollywood Reporter has said that Bennett is "redefining fashion" with his style of generally wearing overalls and contesting traditional hip-hop fashion norms.[107] Bennett wore a suit that was meant to imitate Michael Jackson at the 2017 BET Awards.[108] Bennett was seen wearing Thom Browne clothing at the 2017 Grammys.[109] Personal life [ edit ] Bennett lives in his hometown, Chicago, Illinois. Bennett once shared a house in North Hollywood with James Blake.[110] Describing his time in North Hollywood, Bennett called it "ungodly".[111] After graduating from high school, Bennett attended a community college for a week before dropping out.[112][8] Bennett has taken numerous recreational drugs during his lifetime, including LSD[113] and Xanax, but has since stepped away from them.[114] Family [ edit ] His younger brother, Taylor Bennett, is also a rapper.[115] Both brothers began rapping at the same time and have a similar style.[116] Both the rappers also draw inspiration from Chicago native Kanye West.[117] In July 2015, Bennett announced that he was expecting his first child with his girlfriend Kirsten Corley, whom he began to date in 2013.[118][119] In September 2015, Corley gave birth to their daughter, Kensli.[120][121] Kensli was kept out of social media until December 31, 2016, when Bennett posted a picture of her on Instagram.[122] In May 2016, after they had stopped living together, Corley wanted the courts to declare Bennett as the father of their daughter, requiring him to pay child support.[123][124] In February 2017, Bennett's child support case reopened in an attempt to work out child support terms and a parenting schedule as Bennett and Corley moved to separate residences.[125] The Chicago Sun-Times published an article about a dispute between the two in March 2017.[126] Bennett replied to the article saying "Y'all better do y'all jobs and stop worrying about how good my family is. Just a friendly reminder. Don't let anybody get between you and your family."[127] On March 21, 2017, the dispute was settled out of court.[128][129] On July 4, 2018, Bennett became engaged to Corley, his girlfriend of 5 years.[130] Bennett spends much of his free time with his daughter, and frequently takes her on outings. These have included a Chicago Bulls basketball game,[131] meeting the Obamas[132][133] and working out.[134][131] Christianity [ edit ] Bennett is a Christian and refers to Jesus Christ in many of his songs.[135] Bennett was raised as a Christian by his grandmother but later fell out of the faith.[136] He rediscovered his faith when his daughter was born with atrial flutter.[137] Speaking about the situation, Bennett said "[I just] pray a whole lot, you know, and need a lot of angels and just see shit in a very, like, direct way. And…you know, God bless everything, it worked out well."[138] Bennett wrote on Twitter following the situation on January 31, 2016, "Today's the last day my old life, last day smoking cigs. Headed to church for help. All things are possible thru Christ who strengthens me."[139] Bennett has labelled himself as a Christian rapper following the release of his mixtape Coloring Book.[140] Bennett believes that God is to thank for his blessings and his career being successful.[141] Activism and politics [ edit ] Bennett is an independent voter who leans left.[142] His father worked for Barack Obama as a presidential appointee[9] and as an aide.[5] His father also worked on the Barack Obama presidential campaign in 2008[9] and is an aide to Rahm Emanuel.[143] Despite his family's ties to the Democratic Party, Bennett is an independent voter, though he has a history of supporting Democrats.[144][145] Bennett volunteered with Barack Obama's reelection campaign by phonebanking in Hyde Park, Chicago[142] and has given speeches at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.[146] In November 2014, Bennett was named Chicago's Outstanding Youth of the Year by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.[147][148] Bennett hosted open mic nights in collaboration with Chicago Public Library, twenty two open mic nights were hosted, one of which drew the attendance of Vic Mensa and Kanye West.[149] In December 2015, Bennett joined with nonprofit "Warmest Winter 2016" in giving coats and other clothing to homeless citizens of Chicago. Bennett was able to raise $117,571.[150][151] Bennett also started a new nonprofit called "Socialworks" in September 2016, which aims to give Chicago elementary school students "the opportunity to learn through music and showcase that knowledge at the end of the summer."[152] A few months earlier in June 2016, Bennett had hosted the first ever Teens in the Park, a free festival that drew an attendance of 3,300.[153] Bennett has actively fought to combat gun violence in his hometown of Chicago and in 2014, along with his father, promoted the "#SaveChicago" campaign. The campaign sought to stop gun violence over Memorial Day Weekend, and saw Chicago go 42 straight hours without a shooting.[154] Bennett met with President Obama at the White House on April 16, 2016, to discuss My Brother's Keeper Challenge, an initiative of the United States Federal Government to promote intervention by civic leaders in the lives of young men of color to address their unique challenges and to promote racial justice, with other musicians, including Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Janelle Monáe, J. Cole, and others.[66] Bennett started a Twitter campaign for May 23, 2016 using #May23 to stop gun violence for 42 hours.[155] On March 6, 2017, after a meeting with Governor Bruce Rauner that did not go well only days before,[156] Bennett announced his intention to donate $1,000,000 to Chicago Public Schools[157] in order to help offset the lack of government funding provided. Following this, a movement arose to try and inspire Bennett to run for mayor of Chicago.[158][159][19] This was backed by fellow media personalities including musician Drake.[160] Bennett is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, having criticised him numerous times and drawn comparisons to former President Barack Obama.[161] During the 2016 Presidential election, Bennett said he was not scared of a Trump presidency.[162] When asked why by GQ, Bennett said "You gotta just understand, like, shit has been fucked-up, right? Like, 'Make America Great Again', that's not a real thing because shit ain't really switched up for [white middle class]".[163] Bennett endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton on October 6, 2016, expressing concerns about the way she was treated in the media and also expressing that she could "fix Chicago"[164] and led a "march" to numerous polling stations with thousands of Chicagoans.[165] Following the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, Bennett said "Trump was going to win, anybody in the world who's surprised by the election of Donald Trump has been ignorant of racism, and the tides and patterns of American history and world history."[166] In February 2017, Bennett posted publicly on Twitter that he was worried President Trump was going to change constitutional term limits.[167] Bennett has compared Trump's fascination with Chicago to "going to war".[168] In August 2017, Bennett claimed to have a "bigger voice than Donald Trump".[169] After the Weinstein scandals, Bennett tweeted in reply to an article titled "In Wake of Weinstein, Men Wonder If Hugging Women Still OK" in which Bennett said "Gross. Don't."[170] In March 2018, Bennett spoke against a Heineken advertisement which he called "Terribly racist."[171] Following Kanye West's tweets defending Donald Trump and announcing his support in April 2018, Bennett tweeted "Black People Don’t Have to Be Democrats."[172] The tweet gathered controversy from Bennett's fanbase.[173] Trump later tweeted thanking Bennett though Bennett rejected Trump's praise.[174] In July 2018, Bennett purchased the Chicago journalism website Chicagoist from WNYC.[175] The website had been inactive since it was abruptly shut down by former owner Joe Ricketts in November 2017, and Bennett planned to relaunch the website later in 2018.[175] In October 2018, Bennett endorsed Amara Enyia in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election.[176] Discography [ edit ] Awards and nominations [ edit ] BET Awards Year Recipient Category Result Ref. 2017 Chance the Rapper Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Nominated [177] Best New Artist Won Coloring Book Album of the Year Nominated "No Problem" (with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz) Best Collaboration Won BET Hip Hop Awards Year Recipient Category Result Ref. 2013 Acid Rap Best Mixtape Nominated [37] 2016 Coloring Book Won [178] Chance the Rapper Best New Hip Hop Artist Won Lyricist of the Year Nominated 2017 Nominated Hot Ticket Performer Nominated MVP of the Year Nominated Hustler of the Year Nominated "I'm the One" Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse Nominated Grammy Awards iHeartRadio Music Awards Year Recipient Category Result Ref 2017 Chance the Rapper Best New Hip-Hop Artist Won [180] Best New Artist Nominated 2018 Innovator Award Won [181] MOBO Awards Year Recipient Category Result Ref. 2016 Chance the Rapper Best International Act Nominated [182] MTV Video Music Awards MTV Video Music Awards Japan NAACP Image Awards Soul Train Music Awards Teen Choice Awards Filmography [ edit ] Film Year Film Role Notes 2018 Slice Dax Lycander [190] 2020 Trolls World Tour (voice) In production[191] Short films Year Film Role Notes 2013 Clapping for the Wrong Reasons Marcus 2015 Mr. Happy Victor Concert tours [ edit ]Memories in Prague There are certain places in the world that hold traces of the past. These locations, though few and far between, are like time machines that give you a glimpse of the old world. One such place is Prague, in the Czech Republic. On a spur of the moment decision, I visited there in 2003. It was my first time traveling across the Atlantic Ocean and after the 17-hour plane trip, I took a cab to the heart of Prague. The very first thing I noticed, aside from all the cobblestone streets, was that the majority of the architecture of the buildings have laid virtually untouched since the Middle Ages. I crossed the bridge over the Vltava River and located my four-star hotel, which cost me, at that time, less than $150.00 for my eight-day trip. After I checked in, I decided to sample Prague’s nightlife and along the way discovered ‘Club Lucerna,’ with its 80’s hits and techno. Much to my surprise I found out that Absinthe, the licorice-flavored alcohol produced from wormwood, is legal in the Czech Republic. I heard a lot about the drink from the experiences of several writers and figured I’d try it. It was very strong to say the least, and not being much of a liquor drinker, I spent the majority of the rest of the night trying to find my way back to my hotel. The next morning, disoriented, I woke up and found the closest eatery to enjoy a very hearty Czech breakfast, which cost me roughly $3.00. I kept myself busy that day by touring several castles and learning about how Nazi atrocities and Communist oppression marred modern Czech history. Later on, I decided to travel the 80 or so kilometers and visit the Bone Church in Kutná Hora. As urban myth has it, a monk went insane and created everything in the church from furniture to a large chandelier using human bones. As I made my way back to central Prague, I stopped at one of the many street vendors for a hot dog that was out of this world and cost a little over $.75. That night, I had the pleasure of taking one of Prague’s ghost tours. The tour started by a centuries-old church in the heart of the city, and I was astonished to hear my guide spend less time talking about actual haunted places than telling all of us about how Prague was a major location for those wanting to practice the dark arts in the Middle Ages. I thought it was very interesting, indeed. The next day, I spent exploring parts of the Bohemian Forest, or Sumava. While I was there, it was ironic to me that I had taken a ghost tour and felt essentially nothing of note, but in the dense forest I felt what most would consider strange. Yet, considering the history of the region, maybe it wasn’t so strange after all. While every vacation has its ups and downs, its memorable moments and forgettable ones, I can honestly say that my trip to Prague was as close to a perfect one as I have ever had. With its beautiful scenery, friendly people, low prices and interesting history, it was difficult for me to finally leave.Canada is no stranger to state-based hacking. A VICE News report revealed earlier this year that Canada faces 25 sophisticated attacks per day, likely launched by state-backed hackers. Cyber defense is obviously top-of mind right now, as the American intelligence community stands behind the fact that the results of the presidential election were directly affected by Russian hacking, and with revelations that Russia had targeted the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Under the Defensive Cyber Operations Decision Project, which will ultimately culminate in a plan that will be submitted to the federal government, the Department of National Defense will be looking at capabilities that will allow the military to “operate effectively in cyberspace on government-authorized military missions, to support our federal partners in national cyber security efforts, and to work with international allies,” according to a departmental spokesperson. In a pair of documents published Friday, the Canadian military is asking industry to submit ideas on how they can assess and respond to cyber threats in real-time. The Canadian Armed Forces is finally upping its game in the realm of cybersecurity — bolstering its shields against nation-state actors like Russia and China, malicious hacker groups, and “insider threats” that may be looking to follow in Edward Snowden’s footsteps. Read more The Canadian Armed Forces is finally upping its game in the realm of cybersecurity — bolstering its shields against nation-state actors like Russia and China, malicious hacker groups, and “insider threats” that may be looking to follow in Edward Snowden’s footsteps. In a pair of documents published Friday, the Canadian military is asking industry to submit ideas on how they can assess and respond to cyber threats in real-time. Under the Defensive Cyber Operations Decision Project, which will ultimately culminate in a plan that will be submitted to the federal government, the Department of National Defense will be looking at capabilities that will allow the military to “operate effectively in cyberspace on government-authorized military missions, to support our federal partners in national cyber security efforts, and to work with international allies,” according to a departmental spokesperson. Cyber defense is obviously top-of mind right now, as the American intelligence community stands behind the fact that the results of the presidential election were directly affected by Russian hacking, and with revelations that Russia had targeted the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Canada is no stranger to state-based hacking. A VICE News report revealed earlier this year that Canada faces 25 sophisticated attacks per day, likely launched by state-backed hackers. “The future security environment will require a level of domestic integration among agencies that does not exist at the present time.” The request for information published Friday does ask industry to propose technology that can “hunt for APTs” — referring to Advanced Persistent Threat hacks, which are often complex hacks organized by nation-state hackers. The documents also ask for technology that can help identify “insider threats,” seemingly an allusion to those with access to government systems who might be looking to either sell or publish sensitive data from within military systems. The project will bring in software, hardware, and training that will help the military collect and store data about domestic and international cyber threats, run forensic analysis of that information, and to create predictive systems that can analyze and alert to possible incoming threats. Those systems will largely boost the already-growing cyber operations centres run by the department. “Cyber threats are increasing in both numbers and sophistication, and a growing number of state and non-state actors of concern have already developed and employed cyber capabilities that can be used for intrusive, disruptive or offensive purposes. Our key priorities are to continue to develop [Department of National Defense/Canadian Armed Forces] cyber capabilities and workforce,” the spokesperson added. The new cyber defense plan will be able to operate abroad, to ensure that foreign militaries or governments won’t be able to access Canadian systems during battle. “The [Canadian Armed Forces] of the future must be a multi-role, combat capable force that can perform a broad range of tasks and operate in all engagement spaces (land, maritime, air, space, and cyber),” the documents read. It’s how the plan might work in Canada that is particularly interesting. “Domestic (routine and contingency) operations might involve assisting civil authorities in responding to natural disasters, cyber-attacks, terrorist attacks, crises in urban centres, threats to critical infrastructure, risks to health and food systems, or Chemical, Biological Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) attack,” the document reads. “Owing to the potential for an increase in domestic threats, [the Department of National Defense/Canadian Armed Forces] as a whole needs to become more integrated within the domestic response community — in particular, the security and intelligence sectors. In particular, the future security environment will require a level of domestic integration among agencies that does not exist at the present time.” Canadian intelligence-watchers have, for years, noted an uptick in domestic activity amongst Canadian military intelligence units — which, traditionally, do not run national intelligence-gathering. This journalist reported in 2014 that military counter-intelligence kept tabs on Indigenous protesters, perhaps countering their own mandate. More recently, the Ottawa Citizen reported that military intelligence conscripted the Communication Security Establishment to track a Canadian within the country. The Communication Security Establishment, the signals intelligence agency that works hand-in-hand with the American NSA, does not appear to be covered by this cyber defense strategy. That agency does not have authority to do surveillance inside Canada, unless specifically mandated to by another department. A guide to planned spending for the Department of National Defense says the Cyber Operations Decision Support Project is expected to cost between $50 million and $99 million.The Chasterus Foundation, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity, seeks to maintain and expand the vision of the late Charles Stephen Russell in Slab City, California. Please contribute to our Land Purchase Fund, and protect East Jesus! We have the opportunity to purchase the land East Jesus sits on. We must raise $90,000, or we risk having the land leased out from under us. Help us preserve and protect East Jesus with a tax-deductible gift. Together, the inhabitants of East Jesus and offsite members provide a refuge for artists, musicians, survivalists, writers, scientists, laymen and other wandering geniuses. We are dedicated to providing a working model of an improbable improvised community at the edge of the world. We are most interested in low-tech solutions, unresolved theories, non-linear advancement, and creative reuse. We strive to document the results of these endeavors, sometimes simply by their existence. Our documents are sometimes nails, concrete, and sweat. We are partially an exhibition space for those problematic projects taking up your warehouse space, partially a build space for those problematic projects taking up the desert. One of our guiding philosophies is “do as thou wilt”; another is “do no harm”. East Jesus is a member of the California Museum Association. The Chasterus Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization for public benefit that operates an experimental, sustainable, educational art installation called East Jesus. East Jesus lies less than a mile past the legendary bastion of southern California folk art, Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain. Charlie Russell, the founder of East Jesus, initially came to the area to work alongside Knight, and quickly became enamoured with the idea of “The Last Free Place.” In early 2007, Charlie left his tech job, packed all his belongings into a shipping container, and began to surround his two art cars with the sculptures that would become the foundation works of East Jesus. The labyrinthian central complex he constructed houses administrative, operations, and hospitality facilities, as well as a musical performance space with a studio grand piano, PA, and stage lighting system. Since his passing in 2011, a board of directors has guided the curation and expansion of East Jesus, honoring his vision of a sustainable, habitable, ever-changing art installation. That board of directors was formalized with the creation of the Chasterus Foundation, in order to protect and continue his vision. The installation includes pieces from artists of note including Royce Carlson, Mirabelle Jones, Joe Holliday, Angelina Christina, Ben Wolf, The Hive Collective, Christian Hernandez, and Shing Yin Khor. We provide a permanent home following temporary installations for gallery shows and art festivals, allowing large-scale works that might otherwise be lost to continue to be viewed by the public. The name East Jesus is a colloquialism for the middle of nowhere beyond the edge of services; there is no religious connotation. Located a few hours east of Los Angeles near the Salton Sea, our off-grid facility operates with no municipal utility services. The Imperial Valley, which has no museum for the arts, has scarce few arts facilities of any kind; the majority of those handful are attached to educational institutions. An art installation made from discarded material that has been reused, recycled, or repurposed, East Jesus encourages visitors to imagine a world without waste in which every action is an opportunity for self-expression. Assemblage and mixed-media art covers nearly every inch of the interior and exterior of the operations and hospitality facilities. Sculptures and installations are constantly in development throughout the campus. Photography, multi-media arts, performance art, writing, and music are an integral part of the larger fabric which the collective artists in residence are continually weaving. East Jesus is a living, growing, and ever-changing artwork that embraces the varied voices of the thousands of contributing artists who have added to the installation in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The primary purpose of the curators and the artists in residence is to maintain and protect this unique collaborative canvas for the enjoyment, expression, and inspiration of artists of all mediums. As part of the Chasterus Foundation’s core mission to protect, preserve, and grow East Jesus, we welcome visitors and artists daily for guided tours showcasing not only our sustainability initiatives and the art on display, but encourage them to participate. We welcome overnight guests from as close as a few miles away to as far away as the other side of the globe to stay with us and experience creative sustainable living; short-term artist residencies can span from a weekend to a season. The Chasterus Foundation strives to provide a safe space at East Eesus where artists can freely explore, learn, and create, whether by themselves or in collaboration with others in an environment of mutual respect. By creating a safe space, we take away any stigma attached to failure, as failing is how we learn. We create a place where women can express themselves in any way without the stigmatizations, expectations and attacks of modern culture. We create a microcosm where those who fall through the cracks of the modern world may thrive. The Chasterus Foundation is actively engaged in various creative re-use explorations; our vision of a world without waste extends from artistic re-imagining to “Re-use Before Recycle” for large stationary industrial back-up batteries, which are recycled with up to 80% of their usable capacity. Battery recycling is fundamentally inefficient, consuming scarce resources in the disposal and re-manufacturing processes. While no longer useful for commercial applications, the remaining reserve capacity has immense potential for providing green power to traditionally under-funded and under-served communities. Re-use Before Recycle has the potential to provide reliable power and immense cost savings to organizations typically unable to raise the capital funding to convert to renewable energy, such as NGOs, community service providers, and rural villages in developing nations. Re-use Before Recycle ensures that batteries provide the maximum possible benefit prior to recycling. Additionally, dozens of megawatts of usable solar panels are removed from service every year due to commercial and residential redevelopment, upgrading, and minor or cosmetic damage. We are currently gathering data on a bank of 85 panels scrapped from a solar farm due to minor damage and diminished capacity in order to be able to assess the usefulness of panels that are at commercial end-of-life. Much like batteries, photovoltaic solar panels experience degradation over time and use and are retired from service despite their ability to produce power, albeit at a lower voltage than at the time of initial manufacture. Additionally, thousands of solar panels are cracked in transportation or installation every year, and typically discarded even though they still produce as much as 90% of their rated power. By exploring the edge of usefulness, The Chasterus Foundation seeks to reduce consumption of scarce resources while simultaneously enabling quality of life improvements for underserved populations. The experimentation that we engage is in not limited to batteries and PV panels. We have developed a combined system for simultaneously composting food waste and curing and breaking down human waste into rich soil. This soil is then mixed with native earth to provide nourishment for our organic garden, that flourishes in an environment that was previously considered barren without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and GMOs. Our waste nourishes our gardens, which in turn nourish residents and guests. Water conservation measures include using shower water and laundry wash water to irrigate fruit trees, while drip irrigation allows us to grow vegetables with less water than conventional irrigation methods, even in extreme summer heat. Scraps of wood, Strawbales, and styrofoam are transformed into stable, insulated living spaces, which are sheathed in cobb (an ancient building material made of clay, sand and straw), and sealed from the environment. We then rigorously test these structures in order to create a repeatable blueprint for safe building practices with scrap materials. We are testing concepts such as filling tires with a cobb mixture to sun dry into an abode brick, which sidesteps the preventative amount of intensive labor that rammed earth filled tires require. Then creating walls, foundations, and soil stabilization out of these bricks, comparing them to the data availible on rammed earth filled tires. These low technology solutions synergize with high technology ones, but only when you look at the system creativity. We are looking to experiment with wood gassification, a 19th century technology, as another link in the power chain that has an ancillary usefulness when considered systemically. The waste gas from a gasifier is mostly water, with some carbon dioxide, but by running this waste gas through a condensing coil, we can condense pure water for potable and agricultural uses, as well as enrich the air around our organic garden with cool carbon dioxide. Using out composting and humanure techniques, we can ensure that the soil in which the garden is planted is rich with nitrogen compounds. With enriched soil, enriched air, and a new water source, we have a system that can make our plants grow 3 times as large and as fast and whose only waste product is energy. This is the synergy of art and technology that the Chasterus Foundation engages in at East Jesus. We push our concepts of what is possible with art installations, then use those concepts to develop safe, energy efficient building practices. We combine modern, low technology sanitation with organic farming and power generation deemed obsolete to push the boundaries of the possibilities of food and water production, without relying on synthetic fertilizers or copyrighted genetically modified organisms. We look at what industry and companies throw away as not worth their time to create power solutions for long-term food storage, light, and connectivity. All these things create a system that is greater than the sum of its parts, just as our art is greater than the sum of the tires, rusted metal and other flotsam and jetsam that was used to create it. If we are successful, we can spread this system around the world, to communities in
at five Orange County, California locations and will be opened up to a larger group of consumers within the next few weeks. Beyond that, Taco Bell’s corporate management is interested in launching the application for all locations before the end of the year. When customers arrive at the selected Taco Bell location, they will have the option of using the drive-through or simply walk up a cashier within the fast food restaurant to pick up their order. Ideal for frequent visitors to Taco Bell, the application will save information about your latest orders in order to repeat those orders at a later time. There’s also an interesting twist to the mobile app that has to do with location. The application will track your distance from the selected store using GPS and trigger an alert to Taco Bell employees to start preparing the order once you are within a few minutes of the location. If this process works correctly, food will be served up piping hot rather than getting cold while sitting in a bag for a long period of time. Speaking about the new mobile app, Taco Bell mobile lead Jeff Jenkins said “With the popularity of millennials and smart phones, we saw this coming, and decided to build the ground work a couple of years ago for mobile. Mobile is going to be the biggest sort of innovator, shake-up in the quick service industry since the drive-thru.” Jenkins also indicated that many people will prefer using the mobile app over the drive-through menu due the unlimited amount of time the app provides to customize your order as opposed to feeling rushed while scanning the menu board.Jameis Winston Cements Himself In NFL History Jameis Winston has had quite the impressive career up to this point. After throwing for 4,042 yards as a rookie, the second-most in Buccaneers history behind only Josh Freeman’s 4,065 in 2012 and the third-most by a rookie in NFL history, he has continued to show promise in his sophomore campaign. It hasn’t always been pretty, but with his first touchdown completion to Cameron Brate Sunday vs. Chicago, Winston reached 40 in his young career. At 22 years and 312 days old, he is the youngest player in NFL history to reach 40 touchdowns. That was Jameis Winston’s 40th career TD pass. He is the youngest player in NFL history to throw 40 touchdowns.??? pic.twitter.com/eSJGkqmS4b — Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@TBBuccaneers) November 13, 2016 According to Pro Football Reference, he is just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw 40 combined touchdowns in his age 22 or younger seasons, joining for New England Patriot Drew Bledsoe (1993-94) and former Minnesota Viking Fran Tarkenton (1961-62). He now has 41 career touchdowns, the ninth-most in league history through a player’s first two seasons. The full list of players he trails is below: 1. Dan Marino (Miami, 1983-84) – 68 2. Derek Carr (Oakland, 2014-15) – 53 3. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis, 1998-99) – 52 3. Russell Wilson (Seattle, 2012-13) – 52 5. Andy Dalton (Cincinnati, 2011-12) – 47 6. Blake Bortles (Jacksonville, 2014-15) – 46 6. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis, 2012-13) – 46 8. Ottoo Graham (Cleveland, 1946-47) – 42 Winston wound up finishing Sunday’s contest against Chicago by completing 23-of-33 pass attempts for 312 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 19 touchdown passes and 2,349 passing yards through nine games, both news Buccaneers records. He also now has at least two touchdown passes in four consecutive contests, the longest streak by a Tampa Bay quarterback since Josh Freeman did so in six straight games in the 2012 season.WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 08: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) speaks at a press conference where members of Congress discussed a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections outside the U.S. Capitol September 8, 2014 in Washington, DC. More than 3 million people signed petitions in support of the amendment. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) WASHINGTON -- A handful of Senate Democrats are pushing back against a letter Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sent to all 50 governors urging them to not comply with the administration's signature climate rule. Last month, McConnell pressed states to ignore the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed regulation on pollution from existing power plants, which seeks to decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. McConnell criticized the proposal as "illegal" and told governors to "think twice before submitting a state plan -- which could lock you in to federal enforcement and expose you to lawsuits -- when the administration is standing on shaky legal ground." Now, some members of the Democratic Conference are sending all 50 governors their own message, according to a letter provided first to The Huffington Post. That message: Don't listen to McConnell but pay attention to other Kentuckians. "Before you take advice about climate change from Senator McConnell please consider first what so many knowledgeable voices from the Bluegrass State are saying about climate change, and second how failing to act gives up your state's right to set its own course of action toward a clean energy future," states the letter spearheaded by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and signed by four other senators in the Democratic Conference. "His is not the voice from ahead saying the trail is not safe; his is the voice obstinately staying behind saying, 'Let's not even try,'" the letter continues. The senators argue that Kentucky is "already crafting its plan for complying" with President Barack Obama's carbon pollution rule. "The Commonwealth of Kentucky's decision to work with the EPA and prepare a plan was based, according to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, on what 'the overwhelming majority of our stakeholders are telling us,'" says the letter, which is also signed by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The five senators list a variety of government departments in Kentucky that have praised the controversial regulation, including Columbia Gas of Kentucky, which serves over 130,000 customers in the state. According to the letter, Columbia Gas has agreed to "meet the climate challenge" and is working to comply with new environmental policies. Additionally, the senators cite universities across Kentucky that are hosting conversations on climate change. For example, Kentucky State University is participating in a climate change fellowship to engage students. "Senator McConnell's own alma mater, the University of Louisville, has sponsored talks about 'how climate change is a measurable reality and how people have contributed to the trends,'" the letter says. The EPA is working to finalize the rule by this summer, but court challenges have already popped up. A dozen states filed a lawsuit against the carbon rule last August, shortly after coal company Murray Energy also sued the administration over it. Since then, nine states have joined the Murray lawsuit. Republicans argue the proposal would kill energy jobs, shutter coal plants across the country and hurt the economy. A main point of contention is the way in which the EPA is allowing states to meet emission reduction targets. The rule lets states "go beyond the fence" of a given power plant to craft energy efficiency programs, or build up renewable energy sources like wind and solar power in their state to meet the requirements. EPA chief Gina McCarthy contends the rule is legally sound and will withstand any challenge in court.The 2013 College World Series is almost upon us. Eight teams will enter, each with its own action-packed path to Omaha, but only one can be crowned champion. UCLA comes into the tournament on a hot streak, winning five straight postseason games to punch its ticket, but every other team has had its share of success too. The Bruins will likely be underdogs in their first game against No. 4 LSU, and could be facing ACC powers NC State or top-seeded North Carolina shortly thereafter. To get a better idea of what UCLA is up against in Omaha, read on for a complete, team-by-team preview of the 2013 CWS field. Best case scenario, the Bruins would only face one of the four teams from the top bracket, and that would be in the championship series. But just for your edification—and to help you fill out your bracket challenge entry—each of UCLA’s seven CWS counterparts is broken down below. And just in case any of you readers aren’t UCLA fans, I threw in a breakdown of the Bruins as well. Here we go! No. 1 North Carolina Overall Record: 57-10 Postseason Record: 9-2 Standings: ACC Regular Season and Tournament Champion RPI: 1 Key Player(s): DH Colin Moran, LHP Kent Emanuel Notes: For most of the season, North Carolina hovered around the top of the rankings, competing with Vanderbilt for the top spot. But after sweeping the ACC regular season and tourney titles, the Tar Heels were rewarded with the No. 1 overall seed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. However, after barely surviving Florida Atlantic in the Chapel Hill Regional, UNC was again brought to the brink of elimination in the Supers. And yet, the Heels kept calm and carried on, eliminating rival South Carolina to advance to Omaha. The calling card for UNC this season has been offense, and no one is more menacing than designated hitter Colin Moran. The First Team All-American was named ACC Player of the Year after batting.348 with 13 home runs, 88 RBIs and 60 walks drawn. However, as strong as their offense is, the Heels have a very valuable weapon on the pitching mound too. Junior lefty Kent Emanuel was named Third Team All-American by the NCBWA after setting a school record with 28 career wins. He was also tabbed ACC Pitcher of the Year for his efforts in 2013. If Emanuel and the UNC pitching staff can hold serve, the Heels’ offense has the firepower to take them to the top. No. 3 Oregon State Overall Record: 50-11 Postseason Record: 5-1 Standings: Pac-12 Regular Season Champion RPI: 5 Key Player(s): RHP Andrew Moore, LHP Matt Boyd Notes: Oregon State is the only other Pac-12 team to make the CWS, and one of three national seeds to get through the Super Regionals. The Beavers won the regular season Pac-12 title before sweeping their Regional and hosting Kansas State in the Supers. And though the Wildcats stole the opener, OSU wasn’t going to go down that easily—the Beavs rallied back to win the next two and get to Omaha for the fourth time in nine seasons. The 2013 Oregon State squad is all about pitching, headlined by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and First Team All-American Andrew Moore. The right-hander is tied for first in the nation with 14 wins, and boasts an ERA of 1.36 through 119 innings pitched. But Moore isn’t the only big arm for the Beavers, as senior southpaw Matt Boyd earned All-American honors from Baseball America as well. Boyd has thrown 122.2 innings with an ERA of 2.13, and has only dropped three decisions (one of which came against UCLA in April). OSU will be favored in its opening bracket, and should have a good chance to get to the championship series. Once there, Moore, Boyd and the Beavs could easily find themselves hosting the program’s third national title in history. No. 4 Louisiana State Overall Record: 57-9 Postseason Record: 9-1 Standings: First in SEC West (2nd overall), SEC Tournament Champion RPI: 4 Key Player(s): SS Alex Bregman, RHP Aaron Nola Notes: The SEC got nine teams into the NCAA Tournament, but LSU is one of only two to make it to the CWS. The Tigers punched their ticket to Omaha after an impressive run through the Regional rounds that included a 2-0 sweep of Oklahoma in the Supers. The SEC Tournament champions were the only team to land two players on the All-American first team (Baseball America). Shortstop Alex Bregman and RHP Aaron Nola nabbed the honors, also collecting SEC Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Nola will likely take the mound against the Bruins on Sunday to open the Tigers’ CWS run, and he’s got some nasty stuff. Nola has recorded 111 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched for an ERA of 1.82, while opponents have batted just.195 against him. Nola will present a major challenge to UCLA’s inconsistent offense, especially if Bregman can get his bat going. The 6’0″ slugger has posted a batting average of.385 to go with 52 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. If Adam Plutko can’t find a way to slow down Bregman, it could be another big day for the Purple and Gold as they chase a seventh CWS title. UCLA Overall Record: 44-17 Postseason Record: 5-0 Standings: 3rd in Pac-12 RPI: 15 Key Player(s): RHP David Berg, SS Pat Valaika Notes: After faltering the final series of the regular season, UCLA bounced back in a big way by sweeping through the LA Regional and Fullerton Super Regional. The Bruins bested No. 5-seed Cal State Fullerton to earn their third trip to the CWS in four years, despite an average showing from the offense. The unquestioned UCLA star, at least in terms of national recognition, is relief pitcher David Berg. The scintillating sophomore throws a sick side-armed slider, part of the reason he was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-American. When Berg takes the mound, it’s lights-out the rest of the way, and usually ends with a W for the Bruins. His 21 saves to date are a school record, and his 0.88 ERA is good for second in the country. Berg is only one piece of a stacked pitching staff, and his skills should be on full display in Omaha. But if the Bruins are going to make some noise this year, the offense will have to step up. Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Pat Valaika will be key here. The junior shortstop is not a dominant at the plate, but he is one of the main threats in the UCLA order (a lineup that doesn’t feature a single.300 hitter). If Valaika and the UCLA offense can support its pitchers, the Bruins have more to bring to the table than most think as they pursue the program’s first CWS title. North Carolina State Overall Record: 49-14 Postseason Record: 7-1 Standings: 2nd in ACC Atlantic (4th overall) RPI: 7 Key Player(s): SS Trea Turner, LHP Carlos Rodon Notes: UNC isn’t the only team from the Old North State going for it all, as North Carolina State also played its way into the CWS field this year. The Wolfpack clawed its way through an upset-minded Rice squad fresh off eliminating No.8-seed Oregon. It took two ninth-inning comebacks for NC State to take down the Owls, with the clinching victory requiring 17 innings to complete. It wasn’t pretty for the Wolfpack, but winning grind-it-out games is a valuable asset in the postseason. Unfortunately for NCSU and All-American shortstop Trea Turner, they drew in-state rival North Carolina to kick off the CWS. The Pack has gone 1-2 against the Tar Heels this season, most recently falling in 18 innings in the ACC Tournament semifinals. However, if there was a time for Turner and Co. to break out, why not in Omaha? Turner boasts a.377 batting average with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and a healthy mark of 27 stolen bases. If he can bring his hot hitting on the road, NC State has a chance to put itself in prime position on Sunday. Mississippi State Overall Record: 48-18 Postseason Record: 8-2 Standings: 3rd in SEC West (5th overall) RPI: 10 Key Player(s): RF Hunter Renfroe, RHP Jonathan Holder Notes: Mississippi State is one of a few teams to knock off national seeds in the Super Regional, taking down No. 6-seed Virginia in Charlottesville in two games. The Bulldogs were nearly perfect in the NCAA Tournament, aside from dropping one game to upstart Central Arkansas in the Starkville Regional. MSU is led by superstar right fielder and First Team All-American Hunter Renfroe. With a career average of.242 coming into 2013, Renfroe put on a show as a junior this year, hitting.352 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs. Couple those numbers with his speed on the base paths and his rocket from the outfield, and Renfroe easily separates himself as the MSU player to watch. But if there were another, it’s right-hander Jonathan Holder, a sophomore reliever with a tiny ERA of 1.17. Holder earned Second Team All-American honors after striking out 81 batters in 46 innings pitched. Let that sink in for a minute. This kid is an absolute monster on the bump, and could be a key reason the Bulldogs find success in their ninth trip to Omaha. Indiana Overall Record: 48-14 Postseason Record: 8-1 Standings: Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Champion RPI: 12 Key Player(s): C Kyle Schwarber, 3B Dustin DeMuth Notes: Indiana is the first Big Ten team to make it to Omaha since Michigan in 1984, ending a nearly 30-year drought for the storied conference. The Hoosiers finished with a.708 winning percentage in B1G play, losing only one three-game series all year (sweep at Michigan State that included two extra-inning losses). But IU really didn’t catch the eye of the nation until sweeping through its Regional and taking down No. 7-seed Florida State in the Supers. The trip to Omaha will be the Hoosiers’ first in program history, but they aren’t stopping there. Led by All-Americans Kyle Schwarber and Dustin DeMuth, Indiana is looking to make a splash next week. Schwarber is a hard-hitting sophomore with a batting average of.372, 17 home runs, 50 RBIs and 38 walks drawn. His impressive production from the catcher position earned him second-team honors from Baseball America. Just 90 feet away from Schwarber at the hot corner is DeMuth, a third-team selection who also swings a strong bat. The junior third baseman is batting.396 with 40 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. With those two in the lineup, the Indiana offense could be a serious factor in Omaha, so long as the pitching holds up. Louisville Overall Record: 51-12 Postseason Record: 5-2 Standings: Big East Regular Season Champion RPI: 16 Key Player(s): RHP Jeff Thompson, RHP Kyle Funkhouser, RHP Anthony Kidston Notes: After claiming the regular season conference title, Louisville made a quick 0-2 exit from the Big East Tournament, raising questions about the team’s resilience. But the Cardinals silenced the doubters by sweeping their Regional, and then going into Nashville to topple the No. 2-seed Vanderbilt Commodores in two games. Louisville is led by All-American starter Jeff Thompson, who has put together an 11-1 campaign with an ERA of 2.00. The Big East Pitcher of the Year anchors a rotation that also includes two Freshman All-Americans in Kyle Funkhouser and Anthony Kidston. The two right-handed pitchers have combined to go 10-1 this season, though they were little used in the Super Regional versus Vandy. Louisville is making its first CWS appearance since 2007, so the Cards should be psyched up to get going on Saturday against the Hoosiers. The complete interactive 2013 College World Series bracket can be seen on NCAA.com. Enjoy Omaha!Keep your eyes peeled for major changes to the Photos app and experience this week. A little birdie tells us that Google is preparing to shake things up, and all could be revealed in a few days. The changes will reportedly involve Photos and the associated auto-backup features currently built into Google+. What could it be? We recently uncovered some evidence in an APK Teardown that the auto-backup functionality could be moving into the Google Drive app. That would certainly qualify as a major change. As for the Photos app itself, it might be split off from Google+ and become its own app, possibly with a listing in the Play Store. The upcoming change could also be something completely different, though. We'll have to wait and see what materializes, but it should be an interesting week.We sat down with tattoo artist Tyler B Murphy to learn what the Sins of Style are and what it’s like to tattoo Die Antwoord’s Ninja. With Die Antwoord’s Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er spotted hanging in Los Angeles recently, interest has sparked in Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming project Chappie. The film is inspired by Blomkamp’s short, Tetra Vaal, and is co-written by Blomkamp’s wife, Terri Tachell. Media Right Capital and Sony have teamed up to finance the project, but perhaps the most anticipated aspect of the film is Blomkamp’s casting of the South African hip-hop group. With this in mind we reached out to Tyler B Murphy, the artist responsible for Ninja’s tattoos, to find out more about his shop Sins of Style and the visual aesthetic of the Zef trio. Working by your slogan “richly finished tattoos” and offering uniquely tailored tattoos, Sins of Style has become much more than just a tattoo parlor, how did it all start and what drew you towards tattooing? I started working at Wildfire Tattoos in 1995 initially just to make money for spray paint as I was young and wanted to paint every second of the day. I was 15 and still at school so I just worked holidays and weekends. I fetched and cleaned for years and eventually started apprenticing, then started tattooing full time in 2001. The more time I spent working in the tattoo shop, the more I could see similarities between tattooing and graffiti. It is a natural progression that many graffiti writers make. Lee Herbert, Warren Peterson and Kaptain Cade all work at Sins of Style and still paint graffiti. In 2006, I moved on to do my own thing, traveling and working at different spots until I opened Sins of Style in 2008. What does “Sins of Style” mean? It basically means “separation of style.” There are six tattoo artists currently working in my shop and each of us specialize in different styles. We always steer the client towards the artist that will best satisfy their needs. We aim to create well-referenced, solid tattoos that fit the body well. Each tattoo is placed with consideration for both existing and future tattoos. All tattoos are created with a good understanding of the style that the client has chosen. Is a certain medium or style more rewarding or do they offer their own dynamic experiences? I find it is good to practice a variety of styles. Whether it is big Asian tattoos, hand-poked portraits or small first-timer pieces. It gives you the opportunity to try new things and it humbles you daily. I have started to tattoo some of the woodcut-style illustrations that I have been working on. It is important to branch out. For my next project, I feel drawn to the process of painting letters with a brush. My son’s art pseudonym is Jack Fox and he skipped using spray paint and just uses brushes. I see it as an appealing, antiquated approach to art. The same thing is happening with my skateboarding. I just started riding a Rodney Mullen freestyle board, a reissue of his 1982 shape. I have wanted to ride a freestyle board since 1992. All these things require the patience of an apprentice. With your background in graffiti, do you practice in any other mediums? I’m thinking about those incredible prints you did of Ninja. How do you feel when switching between these mediums? I do illustrations. I am busy with a pair of pen-on-paper pieces that are going to be screen printed and distributed by 1xRUN. Faith 47, my son’s mother put me onto them. The modern artistic processes have a simple history. I find it interesting researching how art was made centuries ago and integrating those processes into my own practice. Old woodcut prints, sign writing and hand-poked tattoos are all the predecessors to graffiti and electromagnetic tattooing. It is good to look back and see how it all started. There is an intriguing challenge in recreating antiquated processes. Sins of Style has, through your refusal to pursue the mainstream, developed an underground following. Why do you think tattooing is so important to people? Tattooing is not important, it is a luxury. No one needs a tattoo. If you are not drawn to it, it is not for you. Tattooing is a sort of calling. It is a way to create an illusion of consistency in your thoughts and actions. The images you get tattooed serve equally well in helping you maintain a mindset or to remind you how much you have changed. It is a kind of timeline. Often, we reach out for permanence and find change. Why do you think permanence is so highly sought after? In tattooing, it is ultimately about how you feel. At first glance it would seem that surface appearance is important but truthfully it is all done to achieve a desired state of mind. Permanent marks translate in thought to a consistent mindset. Tattoos are, in essence, wishes made physical. Speaking of permanence, Die Antwoord’s visual aesthetic – in which you have played a significant role in developing through your signature hand-poked tattoo style – is well known. How did you meet Ninja and begin working with him? I used to be in a graffiti crew with SIBOT, Ninja’s DJ from an early band, and I got to know Ninja through hanging with SIBOT at shows. Over the years, he spoke about getting tattooed by me but I only ended up tattooing him after he had tattooed himself a few times at my shop. After that, he was keen on me doing a few South African prison-inspired tattoos. To date, every tattoo except for two I’ve done on Ninja is hand-poked. At first when I started tattooing Ninja, I was interested in making the tattoos rough like they look in prison. Later, I started pushing the style to make it neat and I started experimenting with both color and shading. This change of process became what I term “Stoeka Style.” The definition of “stoeka” is steez or big tattoo. Having referenced South African prison imagery, do you think Ninja’s tattoos have any cultural significance? Ninja has managed to encompass so much of the hidden aesthetics that make up the real essence of South African males. His tattoos address things that most of us are either oblivious to or not proud of. Culturally, we were close to being drowned by “Americanisms” but Die Antwoord helped reveal the Zef that has always existed. Ultimately, they gave us something we can all relate to. It is these ideas that are made physical through Ninja’s tattoos. Finally, what has drawn both you and Ninja to these South African prison-style tattoos? Why do they spark so much interest? As a modern man, there are very few rights of passage rituals that we can indulge in. As a result, we are forced to create new ones. Artists in a city environment often choose to write their names on trains to prove their worth, just as I did. This act in turn makes you aware of its consequences; essentially, the possibility of being incarcerated. At an early age, I researched as much as I could about life behind bars. This ultimate and realistic outcome to criminal behavior had to be understood in order to be survived. Most poignantly, the poor criminal classes have organized the South African prisons in ways as secret and intricate as Free Masonry. The tattoos that these men wear are so ugly and yet so fascinating. These are the men whose bodies Ninja examined and pondered over while working out his answer to being South African. Tyler B Murphy is the owner of Sins of Style in the heart of Cape Town’s CBD. Blomkamp’s Chappie is in theaters March 27, 2015 This article was written by Houghton Kinsman for Highsnobiety.com To see Ninja sporting his ink, check out his latest release with Die Antwoord – “Ugly Boy”. Subscribe 1232 Shares Share Tweet Email WhatsAppHistory Edit Available price data Edit The lack of consistently recorded price data from the 1630s makes the extent of the tulip mania difficult to discern. The bulk of available data comes from anti-speculative pamphlets by "Gaergoedt and Warmondt" (GW) written just after the bubble. Economist Peter Garber collected data on the sales of 161 bulbs of 39 varieties between 1633 and 1637, with 53 being recorded by GW. Ninety-eight sales were recorded for the last date of the bubble, February 5, 1637, at wildly varying prices. The sales were made using several market mechanisms: futures trading at the colleges, spot sales by growers, notarized futures sales by growers, and estate sales. "To a great extent, the available price data are a blend of apples and oranges", according to Garber.[39] Mackay's Madness of Crowds Edit Modern views Edit Mackay's account of inexplicable mania was unchallenged, and mostly unexamined, until the 1980s.[43] Research into tulip mania since then, especially by proponents of the efficient-market hypothesis,[17] suggests that his story was incomplete and inaccurate. In her 2007 scholarly analysis Tulipmania, Anne Goldgar states that the phenomenon was limited to "a fairly small group", and that most accounts from the period "are based on one or two contemporary pieces of propaganda and a prodigious amount of plagiarism".[11] Peter Garber argues that the trade in common bulbs "was no more than a meaningless winter drinking game, played by a plague-ridden population that made use of the vibrant tulip market."[44] While Mackay's account held that a wide array of society was involved in the tulip trade, Goldgar's study of archived contracts found that even at its peak the trade in tulips was conducted almost exclusively by merchants and skilled craftsmen who were wealthy, but not members of the nobility.[45] Any economic fallout from the bubble was very limited. Goldgar, who identified many prominent buyers and sellers in the market, found fewer than half a dozen who experienced financial troubles in the time period, and even of these cases it is not clear that tulips were to blame.[46] This is not altogether surprising. Although prices had risen, money had not changed hands between buyers and sellers. Thus profits were never realized for sellers; unless sellers had made other purchases on credit in expectation of the profits, the collapse in prices did not cause anyone to lose money.[47] Rational explanations Edit There is no dispute that prices for tulip bulb contracts rose and then fell in 1636–37, but even a dramatic rise and fall in prices does not necessarily mean that an economic or speculative bubble developed and then burst. For tulip mania to have qualified as an economic bubble, the price of tulip bulbs would need to have become unhinged from the intrinsic value of the bulbs. Modern economists have advanced several possible reasons for why the rise and fall in prices may not have constituted a bubble, even though a Viceroy Tulip was worth upwards of five times the cost of an average house at the time.[48] The increases of the 1630s corresponded with a lull in the Thirty Years' War.[49] In 1634/5 the German and Swedish armies lost ground in the South of Germany; then Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria moved north. After the Peace of Prague the French (and the Dutch) decided to support the Swedish and German protestants with money and arms against the Habsburg empire, and to occupy the Spanish Netherlands in 1636. Hence market prices (at least initially) were responding rationally to a rise in demand. The fall in prices was faster and more dramatic than the rise. Data on sales largely disappeared after the February 1637 collapse in prices, but a few other data points on bulb prices after tulip mania show that bulbs continued to lose value for decades thereafter. Natural volatility in flower prices Edit Garber compared the available price data on tulips to hyacinth prices at the beginning of the 19th century—when the hyacinth replaced the tulip as the fashionable flower—and found a similar pattern. When hyacinths were introduced florists strove with one another to grow beautiful hyacinth flowers, as demand was strong. As people became more accustomed to hyacinths the prices began to fall. The most expensive bulbs fell to 1 to 2 percent of their peak value within 30 years.[50] Garber also notes that, "a small quantity of prototype lily bulbs recently was sold for 1 million guilders ($US480,000 at 1987 exchange rates)", demonstrating that even in the modern world, flowers can command extremely high prices.[51] Because the rise in prices occurred after bulbs were planted for the year, growers would not have had an opportunity to increase production in response to price.[52] Critiques Edit Other economists believe that these elements cannot completely explain the dramatic rise and fall in tulip prices.[53] Garber's theory has also been challenged for failing to explain a similar dramatic rise and fall in prices for regular tulip bulb contracts.[8] Some economists also point to other factors associated with speculative bubbles, such as a growth in the supply of money, demonstrated by an increase in deposits at the Bank of Amsterdam during that period.[54] Legal changes Edit Admirael van der Eijck from the 1637 catalog of P.Cos., sold for 1045 guilders on February 5, 1637 Earl Thompson argued in a 2007 paper that Garber's explanation cannot account for the extremely swift drop in tulip bulb contract prices. The annualized rate of price decline was 99.999%, instead of the average 40% for other flowers.[48] He provided another explanation for Dutch tulip mania. The Dutch parliament had, since late 1636, been considering a decree (originally sponsored by Dutch tulip investors who had lost money because of a German setback in the Thirty Years' War[55]) that changed the way tulip contracts functioned: On February 24, 1637, the self-regulating guild of Dutch florists, in a decision that was later ratified by the Dutch Parliament, announced that all futures contracts written after November 30, 1636, and before the re-opening of the cash market in the early Spring, were to be interpreted as option contracts. They did this by simply relieving the futures buyers of the obligation to buy the future tulips, forcing them merely to compensate the sellers with a small fixed percentage of the contract price.[56] Before this parliamentary decree, the purchaser of a tulip contract—known in modern finance as a forward contract—was legally obliged to buy the bulbs. The decree changed the nature of these contracts, so that if the current market price fell, the purchaser could opt to pay a penalty and forgo receipt of the bulb, rather than pay the full contracted price. This change in law meant that, in modern terminology, the futures contracts had been transformed into options contracts—contracts which were extremely favorable to the buyers. Thompson argues that the "bubble" in the price of tulip bulb futures prior to the February 1637 decree was due primarily to buyers' awareness of what was coming. Although the final 3.5% strike price was not actually settled until February 24, Thompson writes, "as information... entered the market in late November, contract prices soared to reflect the expectation that the contract price was now a call-option exercise, or strike, price rather than a price committed to be paid."[56] Thompson concludes that "the real victims of the contractual conversion" were the investors who had bought futures contracts prior to November 30, 1636, on the incorrect assumption that their contracts would benefit from the February 1637 decree.[56] In other words, many investors were making an "additional gamble with respect to the prices the buyers would eventually have to pay for their options"[57]—a factor unrelated to the intrinsic value of the tulip bulbs themselves. Using data about the specific payoffs present in the futures and options contracts, Thompson argued that tulip bulb contract prices hewed closely to what a rational economic model would dictate: "Tulip contract prices before, during, and after the 'tulipmania' appear to provide a remarkable illustration of efficient market prices."[57] Social mania and legacy Edit See also Edit Notes EditSome drivers in Dublin could end up paying more when renewing their motor tax if recommendations in a Dublin City Council report are implemented. The report, which examined ways of making the collection of the tax more efficient, says a levy should be considered on customers who choose to pay over-the-counter at the motor tax office. Currently, if a motorist wants to pay their motor tax in person in Dublin, the office in Smithfield is the only place to go and while 85% of people renew online, 12,000 use the office every month. A report by the council into making the system more efficient says a levy - the amount unspecified - should be considered on those who wish to call to the motor tax office in person. It says consideration should also be given also to abolishing the quarterly payment option as well as ending cash payments at the office. It also says eliminating the need for tax discs, similar to the UK, should also be explored. Some of the recommendations have been criticised by Age Action and by some councillors who say the less well-off will be most affected. The report will be discussed at the council's finance committee meeting tomorrow.Nick Fry has resigned from the board of Mercedes Grand Prix which is now dominated by directors representing the team's 45% shareholder Daimler including its motorsport boss Norbert Haug. Pitpass' business editor, Chris Sylt, discovered the
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To know more about the GPEL Galaxy Note 8 products and to pre-order the glass protector and cases, go to: https://goo.gl/1snoxr Media Contact Company Name: GPEL Contact Person: Kevin J Email: kevin@gpelstore.com Phone: 82-2-865-5140 Address:7875 Highlands Village Place Suite B102-345 City: San Diego State: California Country: United States Website: www.gpelstore.comThe following story contains major spoilers about Sunday’s Penny Dreadful — proceed at your own peril. What could be worse than Penny Dreadful creator John Logan killing off leading lady Eva Green? Logan killing off the show altogether. Read it and weep: The Showtime drama will not be returning for a fourth season, meaning that Sunday’s Season 3 finale — which concluded with the death of Green’s long-suffering, demonically tortured heroine — was actually the series finale. In the following Q&A with TVLine, Logan and Showtime president David Nevins reveal why and when they made the call to bring down the curtain, defend their decision not to give viewers more of a heads-up that the end was nigh, and answer this doozy of a question: Was there a contingency plan in place to continue the series without Vanessa Ives? TVLINE \| When did you make the decision that this would, in fact, be the final season? DAVID NEVINS \| I will let John handle that because it was, ultimately, his decision. It was a creative decision about the trajectory of this character. JOHN LOGAN \| [The decision] was made a while ago. The show, to me, has always been about Vanessa Ives and her struggle with faith. I knew, sooner or later, it would get to a point of apotheosis, where she would either accept her God or deny her God. Midway through [Season 2] – so, two years ago — as I was planning a third season, I realized, “Oh, I see exactly where this is heading. She’s going to have that moment, and the only way she can truly have it is at the moment of her death.” So, in my mind, I began shaping the third season thinking about all the characters and how I could lead them to a place that felt like a fitting conclusion. And it was very difficult to do as a writer. I’m deeply attached to these characters. I feel like I created them, even the ones I didn’t, like Victor Frankenstein and the Creature; they’re real parts of me. That’s particularly the case with Vanessa Ives. I felt like it was the graceful, perfect way to end her story and therefore the story of all the characters. TVLINE \| So you knew going into Season 3 that this was the final season? NEVINS \| That’s when I found out. I always knew this was not going to be a six- or seven-year show, but it was working really well for us. It was getting richer and deeper with each season. But when John came in to lay out Season 3, he said, “I think I have to end the season with the death of Vanessa Ives.” Then I went through a period of like, “Do I try to talk John out of it? And is there a show beyond her?” It just felt like the creative elements of this show are dependent on John Logan writing [for the character of] Vanessa Ives, and Eva Green playing Vanessa Ives. And I didn’t want to make the show without the creative elements that made it great. So after trying to talk John out of it for a little while, I said, “It’s OK. We can do it this way.” Then the question is, do we sort of warn the audience that this is the end? But, given the trajectory, that would have been really unfair, because people want to be surprised. TVLINE \| So you never considered promoting this as “the final season of Penny Dreadful“? NEVINS \| I considered it. But it seemed like the wrong way to do it. It wasn’t in the spirit of Penny Dreadful. I’m sensitive about it, because I think the show has a really passionate fan base. And [they’re] going to be very emotional. TVLINE \| John, did you consider doing a fourth season without Eva? Because it certainly seemed like Perdita Weeks’ Catriona was being groomed as her successor. LOGAN \| To me, the show was always going to achieve closure with the death of Vanessa. And all the storylines this season were meant to be leaving characters at a place of appropriate and beautiful stasis. So, in the last episode, Dorian Gray is left alone staring at his portrait; Sir Malcolm finds the family he lost with Ethan; Ethan finds the surrogate father he lost with Sir Malcolm; the Creature realizes that he can’t be part of the human family or the human community and he’s left kneeling on a grave, which is, poetically, where he belongs. So it was apparent that this season was leading toward the ending… And along the way, what makes a show interesting is vibrant characters. I loved [Weeks’ character] Catriona. TVLINE \| So Mr. Lyle going off to Egypt wasn’t setting up the arrival of the Mummy in a potential Season 4? LOGAN \| [Laughs] No, that was really just to give that character a beautiful ending for a homosexual man in 1892. I love these characters so much. I wanted to give them all fitting endings. TVLINE \| I think fans are going to be bummed that Vanessa was so scarce a presence in these last two episodes. Since you knew going in that this would be the end, why not give us more Eva Green? LOGAN \| It’s akin to the decision of not announcing [Season 3 as the final season]. I believe in the coup de théâtre. I believe audiences want to be surprised. They want to have their breath taken away. I wanted to do a major reveal when you saw Vanessa as the Mother of Evil, per se, when she’s living with Dracula and you see what she’s become. Because she is responsible for this horrible plague that’s killing London. I thought less of her was better to make her appearances much more powerful. And she becomes the Maltese Falcon — that thing they’re all striving toward. It was purely a dramatic decision. TVLINE \| Maybe I’m just having a tough time letting go, but I feel like there is still so much life left in this franchise. I love Eva Green, but I could see the show potentially carrying on without her. John, why weren’t you more eager to keep the show going? LOGAN \| Because Eva Green is my muse for this show. And Vanessa Ives is my muse for this show. Her story had to end exactly as it ended for me. Would I have loved to keep telling her story for 10 years? Yes. But that would’ve been an act of bad faith. Vanessa’s struggle had to end, and it had to end in peace. That’s what the series was about for me. And as much as I love the other characters and the other actors and running this show, the central ticking clock of it was always Vanessa Ives. TVLINE \| When did you tell Eva that this was the end? LOGAN \| Eva and I talked every day on the set. First thing I would do is go sit in her trailer, and we would talk, sometimes for 10 minutes and sometimes for three hours. So she was aware of every permutation of my thought [process]. NEVINS \| I can tell you that she knew before I did. [Laughs] LOGAN \| And I continue to have that relationship with her. Of all the Dreadfuls, she is the one I’m most kin to. From the first episode that I wrote, when I begged her to do the show for six months, she has been embedded in my DNA. TVLINE \| Was her reaction, “No, I want to keep going” or was it, “Thank God, I’m exhausted from playing this character”? LOGAN \| It was closer to the latter. [Laughs] Eva’s a true heavyweight. She’d go into the ring as often as I would send her in. But she knew as well as I did that it was the right ending for the character. She just wanted a beautiful ending. NEVINS \| I think her performance will go down in history as one of the magnificent performances on television. Ultimately, the thought of trying to continue this iteration of Penny Dreadful without Eva seemed definitely wrong to John and fairly quickly seemed wrong to me, too. I think this is a part that, during the six months of the year that she’s doing it, takes a huge toll on Eva. She lives in it. She is haunted by the devil, and it’s not an easy way to get through life. So it was a relief to her soul that it was going to come to an end. But I think it’s great that we got 27 episodes. TVLINE \| Did Eva’s exhaustion influence the decision to end the series? LOGAN \| No. She has always been incredibly respectful of me and the character. NEVINS \| I think it’s pretty clear that Eva would crawl across broken glass for John Logan. TVLINE \| John, favorite moment from the series? LOGAN \| My personal favorite episode is Eva and Patti LuPone, when they’re off in the cottage in the second season. My relationship with Eva is such that being on the set with her when she was creating this incredible character with that kind of commitment was one of the most flattering and amazing experiences of my life. TVLINE \| What do you think the reaction will be when fans see the “The End” card? NEVINS \| I think they’ll be emotional. And maybe even devastated. But I hope, when they get past that, they’re going to feel satisfied. I think John has done a brilliant job of creating closure. Nobody can say he didn’t end the story on his terms.A 16-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency began a weeklong mission on Monday to assist in efforts to manage toxic waste caused by the radiation-leaking Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The team, headed by Juan Carlos Lentijo, will remain until next Monday and present a set of proposals to the Japanese government at the end of its mission on issues that need to be addressed and how to make further progress in the decontamination work after inspecting decontamination sites. It is the second time for an IAEA team to visit Japan since October 2011, several months after the Fukushima plant was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo a day after the team arrived in Japan, Lentijo — an expert on nuclear fuel cycles and waste technology — expressed hope it can provide advice on how to control nuclear-contaminated waste. The team’s trip to Japan, made at the request of the Japanese government, comes at a time the central and local governments are trying to make headway in plans to construct temporary storage facilities for such waste in Fukushima Prefecture, where the Fukushima No. 1 plant is located.A scene from a video designed to induce ASMR, "Space Travel Agent" The barber turns on his trimmers. Click. Bzzzzzzzzz. He brings them closer and closer to my ears. He moves from one side of my head to the other. The gentle buzzing sound slowly pans from my left ear... behind my head... and then on to my right ear. BZZzzzzzzz.............zzzzzzzZZZ. I notice an odd, tingly sensation in the back of my head. It feels good. The sound of the buzzing approaching my ear and the personal attention from the barber cause the back of my scalp to explode in tingles. It’s a distinct feeling, but until recently I never thought much of it. Then, last year, I discovered it had a name, and that there was a large community dedicated to eliciting this exact response. Preliminary research has even started exploring the obscure phenomenon. The crackling sounds in this video, depicting the assembly of a miniature fast food meal, trigger ASMR for some In 2010, a Facebook group dedicated to the sensation dubbed it Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR for short. The name is somewhat awkward, but it’s also preferable to other, more blunt proposals — "head orgasms" among them — and has been largely embraced by the community. Head orgasms are, however, a decent analogy for the experience itself: a certain buildup and then a quick, pleasurable release. The internet essentially discovered ASMR. Slate traces the origins of the community back to a forum post created in 2008 on SteadyHealth.com. The explosive growth in ASMR awareness can be attributed to online communities that have emerged on Facebook, Reddit, and, importantly, YouTube, where people discuss their experiences and compile videos meant to trigger the sensation via whispers, crinkles, and interactions. Because it was only recently identified, there is essentially no peer-reviewed research on the subject Many of these videos feature a host playing a role, emulating situations or "triggers" that might elicit ASMR in real life — getting a haircut, having makeup applied, or even a lice check. Some videos drop the pretense of feigning normal situations and attempt to hit on raw ASMR triggers without any role play. And then there are the "unintentional" videos — clips made for other purposes, but popular in the ASMR community because they cause cascades of tingles in the viewer. Often, these videos feature someone quietly showing off a collection of trinkets or gently demonstrating a certain skill that requires a deal of precision. For this reason, Bob Ross is very popular among ASMRers: the combination of meekness, personal attention, and careful technique — along with the sounds of paint brushes — creates for many a sort of perfect storm of tingles. Because it was only recently identified, there is essentially no peer-reviewed research on the subject. In fact, ASMR is so controversial that Wikipedia had refused to keep an article on the phenomenon. And most investigations into ASMR remain firmly on the fringe: one small group of amateur researchers, who run a website called asmr-research.org, are currently creating general questionnaires to identify and study ASMR, but they’re hampered by a lack of expertise and funding. So many with ASMR were thrilled by an announcement from Reddit user Bryson Lochte — an undergraduate at Dartmouth College — that he planned to perform brain scans to study it. Another popular ASMR video, "Psionic Initiation" These brain scans are a part of an honors thesis Lochte is doing in the university’s Brain Imaging Lab. The lab uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to track changes in brain activity in response to various stimuli. The experimental setup is to image the brains of people who experience ASMR while they watch videos designed to trigger the sensation. Lochte hopes to see what areas of the brain "light up" in response, and from there create a hypothesis about why ASMR is linked to certain brain regions. This research might be preliminary, but it’s also a significant step towards defining what, exactly, ASMR really is. Lochte hopes that one day those YouTube videos might yield research-backed relief for ailing patients Lochte, who plans to reveal early research results within a few months, says he was stunned by the response to his Reddit post. "I didn’t realize I’d get this huge feedback about the research I was doing," he said, adding that the post also elicited several brain scan volunteers and interesting fodder for future research. "Something I didn’t realize coming into studying this topic is just how helpful ASMR has been for certain people." Some shared stories about using ASMR to cope with depression, while others found that it relieved insomnia or even mitigated the symptoms of PTSD. In other words, while ASMR seems like little more than a strange quirk, Lochte hopes that one day those YouTube videos might yield research-backed relief for ailing patients.A lot of mainstream MMA fans may not be aware of UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy. The semi-active sniper/observer with the US Special Forces is actually a pretty funny guy, but the most that have ever been seen was in the advertisements for his Strikeforce Middleweight Title challenge against Luke Rockhold. Well, today we’re going to share his comedic genius and trash-talking fails with the world. Since his scheduled opponent for UFC Fight For the Troops 3, Lyoto Machida, had to be moved to the UFC Fight Night 30 card in Manchester to replace an injured Michael Bisping, Kennedy has taken to Twitter to find himself a new opponent in what may be one of the few laugh-out-loud worthy series of tweets from an MMA fighter. Here’s his challenges, taunts, and responses, grouped by target. The collected challenges of Tim Kennedy (Volume 1) Rich Franklin Mr. @RichFranklin I’m not sure if you have plans Nov 6th? I just got stood up on for a date, and now need someone else to step in… 😉 — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Hey @RichFranklin aka “American Fighter” I want your nickname. It’s cool & clever. I’ll fight you for it! Tim (aka future American Fighter) — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 @RichFranklin this obviously is my week for heart breaks and let downs. (Typed while crying) — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 29, 2013 Chris Camozzi @TimKennedyMMA how dare you talk about my hair!!! That’s crossing the line bro! I’m always available — Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) September 28, 2013 So @danawhite this is what happened. I made fun of @ChrisCamozzi ‘s hair. He got mad… So to settle things we decided to fight! — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 @ChrisCamozzi I have never had pen jealously before, but I do now. That pen if bad ass. I will fight you for ownership of that bullet pen! — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 @TimKennedyMMA done. I’ll bring my pen in its proper case and have @danawhite hold it during the fight — Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) September 28, 2013 Cung Le Hey @CungLe185 You vs me main-event at @ufc Fight For The Troops 3. I would also like to point out that you are old. Tk — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 “@TimKennedyMMA: I have serious doubts that Cung is a good driver.” You might be right Tim. Good thing I won’t be the worse driver in China — Cung Le (@CungLe185) September 28, 2013 Nick Diaz News flash!!! @nickdiaz209 I stole your pot, and bicycle. If you want them back you have to come out of retirement and fight me @ufc Nov 6th — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Mr @ShogunRua Australia is a long flight how bout you/me in kentucky & we go at 195lbs. You don’t need training camp since you don’t train — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 I think @ShogunRua dresses like a Brooklyn pimp (not the classy kind). I should give him a lesson in style and fighting. @ufc FFTT 3 Nov 6th — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Thales Leites I wanted to point out to Mr. @thalesleites that my last 3 opponents were from Brazil & they “fell through”perhaps you would actually show up — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Gegard Mousasi Yo @mousasi_mma I’m not exactly sure where Leiden is, but I want to put you in a “Dutch oven”. (See what I did there). Let’s fight over it. — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Wanderlei Silva Mr. @wandfc Don’t fight Chael Sonnen. He has better wrestling than me, and a better chin. I am a way easier fight. You vs Me Nov 6th @ufc — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 You need to know Mr. @wandfc that one of my secret agents poised your food yesterday. You have to fight me if you want the antidote. #life — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Costa Philippou Screw it…. Hey @Philippou185UFC want to get back in there asap? I promise not to wrestle if you promise not to punch me?!?! — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Rafael Natal Opportunity knocks @rafaelsaponatal you always win, but no one knows who you are. When I’m done with you, neither will you(Tough guy voice) — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Loretta Hunt @lorettahuntmma I am straight weapons free right now. Fire for effect at everything. No one is safe! Hell I’d fight you. You free Nov 6? — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 @lorettahuntmma 🙂 oh Loretta you are a funny/clever girl. — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013 Dan Stupp @MMAjunkieDann you wanna fight BRO? (Yes I totally just dropped the “bro” card) — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013Date confirmed for recording new Ghost album, The Great Discord release new single and book, NIN announce 2 EPs and Iron Monkey reveal new album details Ghost It’s a very busy time in the Ghost camp with the band relocating from Linkoping to Stockholm, touring with Iron Maiden, the lawsuit and now it is confirmed that recording on the new Ghost album will begin on August 14th! The album will be darker in theme than Meliora, with it’s theme being about the fall of civilisation and the end of the world while introducing new frontman Papa Emeritus IV. Ghost also revealed in an interview with Krone future plans for a grand classical production: “I can not talk about it in detail, but we are also working on integrating Ghost into a kind of classical musical concept. This of course involves a lot of effort and it’s all about the songs and riffs. “You need a production company that’s already networked to do the work for you. This takes at least until 2019 and you have to write a story and design the music. “This cannot be underestimated, and in the end it takes five to six years to implement it. However, I have arranged these things well in my head and we are looking for partners with whom we can implement this. “I do not know where we’ll end up, but we’re already networking. West End or Broadway shows are not unrealistic. Hopefully at least, we’ll know more in five years. [Laughs] We are only in the starting phase, but I have a rather solid idea for the next five years. You have to go baby steps. [Laughs]” A substantial number of documents were filed last week in relation to the Ghost lawsuit including a lengthy email exchange between the band and their management in 2012 which outlines the difficulties that resulted in the lawsuit. Our policy at Gear4Geeks is to respect the mystique of Ghost so we will not cover details here but the email transcription can be found on Reddit and we include it here as a insight to the difficulties many bands face when it comes to finances. Former Nameless Ghoul Air has started an online shop for his merch. You can purchase Ghost merchandise from our store. A new Facebook group has been set up for the discussion of Ghost, its members, former members and their new bands – Ghost Uncensored The Great Discord The Great Discord have released new single The Red Rabbit which features an incredibly bizarre video including blood waterboarding amongst other things. The single is a return to their usual style rather than the more straightforward approach that previous single Darkest Day featured. Also The Great Discord have announced a limited release of new album The Rabbit Hole which will include a book written by front woman Fia Kempe. The track listing for The Rabbit Hole is as follows: Dimman Noire Gadget Darkest Day The Tell Tale Heart The Red Rabbit Neon Dreaming Cadence Omen Persona Priest Priest have released their first t-shirt exclusively through former Ghost member Air’s webshop and have posted the official video for single The Cross. Martin Persner/Magna Carta Cartel Martin Persner of Magna Carta Cartel, TiD and ex-Ghost recently gave a lengthy interview with Radio Metal which gave a huge insight into his projects Magna Carta Cartel and TiD while also discussing the projects of former Ghost members. It’s a fascinating read which reveals that while he sings lead vocals he doesn’t like the idea of singing live so don’t expect a MCC tour anytime soon! There’s way too much in the article to repost here but this Google Translate link should do the job for non French speakers. Nine Inch Nails After releasing Not the Actual Events in December and sending out art cards to buyers with a black powder that deliberately created a mess, Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor further surprised fans by sending out an email revealing that Not the Actual Events is the first part of a trilogy of EPs that will see release about 6-8 months apart. The new EP is set to be released before their tour begins on the 23rd of July. Iron Monkey Legendary UK Sludge Core act Iron Monkey have reformed with new album 9-13 on the way. Iron Monkey were only active between 1996 and 1999 but had a huge impact on the UK metal scene before they split following huge issues with their label Earache. Former members went on to form Murder One, Sigiriya, The Capricorns, Dukes of Nothing, Armour of God and Black Eye Riot amongst other bands with front man Johnny Morrow suddenly passing away in 2002. The current line up is a three piece and consists of original members Steve Watson and Jim Rushby who are joined by new member Briggs with the blessing of the former members who aren’t returning. 9-13 is currently being mixed but will feature 9 tracks: Crown of Electrodes Omegamangler 9-13 Toadcrucifier/R.I.P.PER Destroyer Mortarhex The Rope Doomsday Impulse Multiplier Moreland St Hammervortex The album will be released through Relapse Records. gear4geeks Posts by the Gear4Geeks account are by authors who don't wish to have their own identity on the blog or are being trialled as writers by us. More Posts Share this: Facebook Reddit Twitter Pinterest Tumblr LinkedIn Email Print Like this: Like Loading...Tuesday on The Chad Hasty Show, Derek Wills from Lone Star Gun Rights joined the show to discuss the topic of constitutional carry and Texas HB-375, the "Texas Constitutional Carry Act of 2017", which was introduced to the 85th Texas Legislature by State Rep. Jonathan Stickland. HB-375 would allow all Texans the right to carry a firearm openly or concealed with or without a permit, with the licensing process and classes to obtain a permit becoming optional. When asked by Hasty if there is any momentum in Austin for the act, Wills replied, There is. Last session we didn't get we didn't get a hearing at all for constitutional carry. It was filed, but the focus was more on licensed open carry. This session we've already been assured...HB-375 will get a hearing this session. Listen to the entire interview with Derek Wills in the video above. For more information on the Lone Star Gun Rights organization, visit their website. The Chad Hasty Show airs weekday mornings live from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM, online at KFYO.com, and on the free RadioPup app. Follow Chad on Twitter via @ChadHastyRadio & KFYO Radio at @KFYO!Mercedes plans to release a diesel-hybrid SUV capable of 40 miles per gallon, with cleaner emissions than your standard car. Demo’d at the 2008 Geneva Auto show, the SUV is built on Mercedes’ relatively new BlueTec emissions control technology—a combination of catalytic converters and advanced chemical processing that scrubs out the worst pollutants produced by the diesel engine. The 4-cylinder, 214 horsepower engine will also break the world’s record for lowest carbon emissions (157 g/km) in an SUV. The new Vision GLK BlueTec hybrid sports a standard hybrid-electric system: An electric motor seamlessly supplements the 2.2 liter diesel engine during fuel-intensive acceleration. Regenerative braking repowers the lithium-ion batteries, and start-stop technology shuts the motor off when the car is at a dead stop. What isn’t standard is the 40 MPG fuel economy, which beats many passenger cars but still gives SUV-hungry consumers the option. I’ve never been that impressed by sub-30 MPG hybrids (or straight 30, like the original Ford Escape Hybrid SUV) even if the industry claims the hybrid drivetrain boosts fuel economy on any model by 25%. It isn’t clear from the story when we might expect to see this model released, but if I had to guess I would say 2010—which seems to be the year for big changes in green car technology. Will Mercedes support a 40 MPG biodiesel SUV? Don’t count on it. At this point Mercedes only supports a B5 biodiesel blend in their common-rail (CDI) diesel engines. Via: Ecogeek [social_buttons] Related Posts: A Biodiesel Prius? VW To Release 69.9 MPG Diesel Hybrid Toyota to Pioneer Hybrid Racing Technology? Tesla’s First Electric Vehicle, 2008 Roadster, Now Under Production 100 MPG+ Plug-In Hybrids Already Available (Check ‘em Out)We might malign the high door sills and ballooning curb weights, but cars are getting safer. Since 1994, road deaths per million miles have dropped by 60 percent. The number of fatalities per 100,000 vehicles has nearly been halved. Credit computer-designed crumple zones and advanced materials, or government-mandated airbags and stability control. Whatever. Generally speaking, you’ve got a better chance of surviving a car crash today than at any other time in history. But some cars still offer better chances than others. Are high-performance cars are more dangerous than ordinary sedans and crossovers? Yes and no, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In a special test, the nonprofit company spent an afternoon wrecking three modern Detroit muscle cars, the Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang, and Dodge Challenger. Spoiler alert: None of them could manage top safety ratings. The new Mustang earned “good” scores in roof strength, side impact, and head restraint, but struggled with the small overlap (read: front three-quarter) crash test. The Camaro, the most recent of the bunch, fared best here, but lost marks for its merely “acceptable” roof strength. And the eight-year old Challenger? Woof. That small overlap crash pushed the front wheel through the fender, an “extensive intrusion” that collapsed the driver footwell. Testers actually had to unbolt the seat in order to remove the crash test dummy. No bueno. Check out the video evidence below.When I started college at Tufts University 30 years ago this fall, my active sex life was a mere two months old and included just two partners. Early in my first semester, in the tiny library in our campus gay group’s cramped office on the third floor of an unmarked clapboard house, I found The Joy of Gay Sex, which Edmund White co-authored with Dr. Charles Silverstein a decade earlier, in 1977. Too nervous to take it back to my dorm, I sat on a rump-sprung sofa behind the office’s closed doors and nervously flipped through the pages. Although the book was only 10 years old, it already seemed like a document from a distant age. Harper Collins/Amazon AIDS had hit the headlines several years earlier, when I was starting junior high, so I’d never thought or even fantasized about sex in a way that didn’t involve risk—constantly looming, often unknowable, potentially fatal. But because The Joy of Gay Sex was published before the epidemic began, it didn’t contain any of the specific information about HIV or condoms or safe sex I urgently needed to overcome my ignorance and anxiety in such a toxic time. Despite such unavoidable omissions, the book nonetheless communicated a simple message that made an enormous impact on me as a horny but terrified teenager: that sex, including (or perhaps especially) gay sex, was about joy. This theme—daring in the seventies, downright revolutionary in the eighties—flows implicitly through the book’s frank and shame-free prose, and surfaces explicitly at several points in case readers might otherwise miss it. For instance, from the introduction: “Sex is one of life’s chief pleasures.” As a 16-year old who’d followed my first, quite tame sexual experience that summer by dragging my then-boyfriend to a clinic for an HIV test—the two-week waiting period for results turning into an extended panic attack—I had never framed my desires in such unambiguously upbeat terms. It took a while to get past the fear, the second-guessing, the sense of doom with every encounter; but reading The Joy of Gay Sex helped me focus on the sheer bliss of it all, the ecstatic thrill of sex. And that allowed me to grow into the safer, saner, happier gay man I am today. * * * Rereading the first edition of the book now, 40 years after its publication, I am still impressed by its sex-positive tone—no less radical today. But now that my active sex life stretches back decades and includes, well, far more than two partners, I’m surprised to find that while the book deeply influenced how I continue to feel about my sexuality broadly speaking, it doesn’t particularly connect to the actual sex I’ve had since I read it in college. “The gay sexual repertoire may thrill you or repel you or just bewilder you,” White and Silverstein explain. And true enough, the acts that they catalogued in alphabetical order in The Joy of Gay Sex seem reasonably wide-ranging. Some are things the authors clearly enjoyed, like rimming (“a prime taste treat”) and threesomes (“a way for lovers to add spice to home cooking”); others they included despite apparent disdain, such as fisting (“extremely dangerous”) or watersports (“what is the appeal of piss?”). But it’s immediately clear that these menu items are thrown in as optional sides for the single main dish of gay male sex—fucking. White and Silverstein can’t stop waxing lyrical about the many positions in which one man can fuck another, each getting its own rapturous section with a catchy name: Bottoms Up, Crab, Doggy Style, Face to Face, Scissors, Side by Side, Stand Up and Take a Bow, Topping It Off. Even the vaguely titled First Time is not about the first time a man has any kind of sex with another man, but specifically the first time a man gets fucked—as if bottoming were the thing that defines a gay man’s “first time,” the only act that really counts. Considering how frequently gay men’s sex lives
Justice Statistics found that in 2015, victims of property crime only filed police reports about 35 percent of the time. Some types of crime do have a higher reporting rate, though. Motor vehicle theft is reported 69 percent of the time, more than any other crime. There are other complications. Garth Green says that the way practices vary among police departments might have an effect on how many property crime reports they receive. “There’s a large number of agencies that don’t report to car prowls. You can go online to file the report, but the police will not come out,” he said. “I think what happens a lot of times is that discourages people from reporting … nothing’s going to get done about it, so why bother?” If Garth Green is right, that could help explain the high rate of property crime in Seattle, where the department is still willing to send officers to investigate car prowls. They are, in fact, the No. 1 reported property crime in the city. Last year, there were about 13,000, which is one-third of all property-crime complaints. Repeat offenders targeted There is some good news about property crime: It’s been going down. Since a peak of about 41,000 in 2014, the number of reported crimes has declined, even as the city’s population has grown. Last year, property-crime reports totaled about 39,000. Vehicle theft, residential burglary and, to a lesser degree, car prowls, have declined. That’s not a fluke, Garth Green says. In the past few years, the Seattle Police Department has ramped up its efforts to combat the high level of property crime, and it’s paying off, he said. One strategy is a new focus on tracking prolific offenders, who are identified through analysis of crime data and other sources. “We’ve had people who’ve committed burglaries or car prowls in the hundreds,” Garth Green said. He added that many of these prolific offenders have been willing to cooperate with investigators, and turned out to be great sources of information. Not every type of property crime has declined. Reports of nonresidential burglary, burglary from secure parking garages, and shoplifting have gone up. Why bother calling the cops? Whether crime is up or down, statistics don’t matter much when you become the victim. And I’ve certainly heard from readers about this topic, and their frustration with reporting property crimes. Many say the wait time is unacceptable, or that they felt that the police wouldn’t do anything about it. I asked Garth Green about that. “It’s not that we don’t care — we do. We worry about all crimes within the city. And I understand people’s frustrations when we can’t get there as quickly as they would like,” he said. “We respond to violent crime first … for the safety of citizens. [Property crimes] may get pushed down to the bottom, but we’re still working to get out there as quickly as we can.” He added that property crimes are particularly frustrating because they so rarely have closure. There are often no witnesses to the crime, no DNA or other evidence, and so the crime goes unsolved. But he says it’s still important to report property crimes, because the police look for patterns. That one bit of information from your car prowl might link to 30 or 40 other cases. “We need all that information,” Garth Green said.New research has found that humans possess at least two unique networks in their cerebral cortex that are not seen in rhesus monkeys. The rhesus monkeys, though, do have one network that seems to be unique to them that humans do not have. The researchers theorize that these networks were probably ‘added’ sometime in the last few million years. The discoveries were made by analyzing the functional brain scans of humans and of rhesus monkeys, and comparing the two during different activities. According to currently accepted theory, the ancestors of modern humans “evolutionarily split from those of rhesus monkeys about 25 million years ago. Since then, brain areas have been added, have disappeared or have changed in function. This raises the question, ‘Has evolution given humans unique brain structures?’.” The idea has been popular amongst many scientists, but until now there there hasn’t been any evidence. (Author’s note: Focusing on the things that make humans ‘unique’ amongst other animals seems to be a very common bias amongst those in the scientific community. Previously things such as complex “language”, culture, use of tools, mathematics, empathy, etc, have been considered to be unique to humans. But now it’s known that these are present in many animals. In my opinion, this current research should be read with that in mind.) Professor Vanduffel explains: “We did functional brain scans in humans and rhesus monkeys at rest and while watching a movie to compare both the place and the function of cortical brain networks. Even at rest, the brain is very active. Different brain areas that are active simultaneously during rest form so-called ‘resting state’ networks. For the most part, these resting state networks in humans and monkeys are surprisingly similar, but we found two networks unique to humans and one unique network in the monkey.” “When watching a movie, the cortex processes an enormous amount of visual and auditory information. The human-specific resting state networks react to this stimulation in a totally different way than any part of the monkey brain. This means that they also have a different function than any of the resting state networks found in the monkey. In other words, brain structures that are unique in humans are anatomically absent in the monkey and there no other brain structures in the monkey that have an analogous function. Our unique brain areas are primarily located high at the back and at the front of the cortex and are probably related to specific human cognitive abilities, such as human-specific intelligence.” The researchers utilized fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans to observe activity in the brain. “fMRI scans map functional activity in the brain by detecting changes in blood flow. The oxygen content and the amount of blood in a given brain area vary according to a particular task, thus allowing activity to be tracked.” It’s not surprising that animals in very different environmental niches and subject to very different conditions would have brains that function differently. And it’s also worth keeping in mind, that within the controlled conditions of the lab, the behavior and brain activity of most animals, especially intelligent ones (and ones that have been raised in captivity at that), is greatly modified. Brains are relatively plastic things, regions and networks can completely change in function in response to injury, learning, and other environmental conditions. Source: KU Leuven Image Credits: Brain via Wikimedia CommonsComedian Brody Stevens has seen all his hard work pay off recently, his web series Enjoy It has been picked up for a 12 half hour episode series on Comedy Central. The six part HBO Digital series was shown last summer, the documentary style show charts the emotional ups and downs of the life of a stand up comedian (Stevens) as he attempts to gets his life back on track following a public nervous breakdown. The new longer incarnation will consist of 6 brand new episodes and the existing six will be extended with unused footage to meet the half hour running time. Executive produced by Hangover funny-man Zach Galifianakis as well as Stevens Enjoy It! should be broadcast over the summer. After he filmed an episode for Comedy Central’s ‘The Half Hour’ he was approached to front a new web companion series called Push and Believe. Produced by Comedy Central’s CC: Studios each of the planned 17 episodes focuses on a comedian prior to their performance on The Half Hour and Stevens gets to put his notorious positive energy to good use. New instalments are uploaded every Monday and Wednesday, episode one features Dan Soder and the two guys shoot the breeze while occasionally feeding each other doughnuts on a hotel bed. Parkinson this isn’t. Speaking about the new series Stevens said; “I’m as excited as I can be while on 300 milligrams of Lamictal. My life has always been about POSITIVE ENERGY and I’m looking forward to all of COMEDY CENTRAL’s fans following me on Twitter at @BrodyismeFriend. America — get ready to PUSH AND BELIEVE!” I’m not hugely familiar with the all the offerings on Comedy Central but as Stevens is referred to as “a comedian’s comedian,” or “the greatest comedian you’ve never heard of” I don’t feel too bad for only just discovering his brand of comedy. Whilst I warmed to Enjoy It! quite swiftly I’m not entirely sure what to make of Push and Believe but I’m oddly compelled to continue watching. ♦ EndPhoto credit: Edric De Jour \| Dreamstime.com WikiLeaks had everyone speculating on the context of the mysterious Vault 7 tweet. However, that’s no longer the case, the context of the mysterious Vault 7 tweets from WikiLeaks has been confirmed. Revelations dealt a blow to the US after WikiLeaks unveiled CIA documents detailing how the French political parties were targeted for infiltrations by the CIA’s human human (“HUMINT”) and electronic (“SIGINT”) spies in the seven months leading up to France’s 2012 presidential election. Reports from EV pointed out that the US intelligence departments justified their intrusions into the theatre of European politics to assist in assessing and preparing key US policymakers for the post-election landscape in France, with special emphasis on US-France relationship. Anon covered a report revolving around cryptic messaged of WikiLeaks Vault 7 tweets, this has led to the speculation that it was a potential new release of documents that would potentially shake the world. However, it was anyone’s guess at the time. However, WikiLeaks has stated that the latest document purge is in context for its forth coming CIA Vault 7 series. A WikiLeaks press release pointed out that all major French political parties were targeted for the infiltration by the CIA’s human (“HUMINT”) and electronic (“SIGINT”) spies in the seven months leading up to France’s 2012 presidential election. The revelations are contained within three CIA tasking orders published today by WikiLeaks as context for its forth coming CIA Vault 7 series. Named specifically as targets are the French Socialist Party (PS), the National Front (FN) and Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) together with current President Francois Hollande, then President Nicolas Sarkozy, current round one presidential front runner Marine Le Pen, and former presidential candidates Martine Aubry and Dominique Strauss-Khan. WikiLeaks also indicated that this also coincided with an economic espionage against the French alongside another order dedicated to surveying and obtaining details of French companies and policies that included the decisions made by the French government. The only uncertainty that remains is how exactly does this tie in with the upcoming Vault 7 Series, and what explosive release will follow that will most probably incriminate the US government? SOURCE: http://anonhq.com/wikileaks-the-context-of-vault-7-released/Alleged IS sympathizer Aprimul stands trial in a Jakarta Court over terrorism-related charges including helping some Indonesians travel to Syria to join Islamic State, Feb. 9, 2016. Turkey has deported 149 Indonesians since the start of the year on suspicion of trying to cross into Syria to join Islamic State, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The figure includes 12 citizens who were sent home by Turkish authorities last week. As many as 221 Indonesians were expelled from Turkey over similar allegations during 2015 and 2016. This year’s expulsions have taken place as IS strongholds in Syria and Iraq have come under siege by military offensives mounted by the local governments and anti-IS coalition forces. “The total number of Indonesian citizens deported since 2015 until March 26, 2017 was 370 people, including 149 citizens who were deported since Jan. 1,” Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, who directs the ministry’s Department for the Protection of Citizens and Legal Entities, told BenarNews. ‘Children still need their mothers’ Last week, Indonesian police released 12 newly arrived deportees – four women and eight children aged between 2 and 6 years old – and handed them over to a shelter in East Jakarta run by the Social Ministry. “It is still under police investigation regarding their motives and the illegal route they tried to take to Syria. This case is handled by BNPT,” Directorate General of Immigration spokesman Agung Sampurno told BenarNews on Friday, referring to Indonesia’s counter-terrorism agency. “Because BNPT does not have a facility for children, they were sent to the Social Ministry while the investigation is under way. The children still need their mothers and they cannot be separated,” he said. The women are to receive guidance on the country’s ideology of Pancasila, Indonesia’s state philosophy emphasizing national unity and pluralism, and how to integrate themselves back into their communities. “The social ministry will conduct a trauma healing and trauma counseling process, especially for the children, before they go back to their respective regions,” Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said in a statement issued Friday. The rehabilitation process is scheduled to last a month. According to records from the social ministry, the shelter received 75 deportees from Turkey in February, including one identified as the wife of Bahrumsyah (alias Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman) an Indonesian citizen believed to be a founder of an IS combat unit made up exclusively of fighters from Southeast Asia. On March 13, Amaq, the IS-affiliated news agency, reported that Bahrumsyah died in a suicide bombing in Syria, but the Indonesian government has not confirmed his death. Some well-educated Indonesians are among those who have been deported from Turkey this year. Among those expelled in mid-January was a former economist from the Ministry of Finance, who received his college education in Australia and left for the Middle East with his wife and three children. The ex-economist and Bahrumsyah’s wife were also sent to the Social Ministry’s Bambu Apus facility in East Jakarta to receive guidance and training on Pancasila, after they were released over a lack of evidence needed to press terror-related charges against them, officials said. Under Indonesian current anti-terror laws, it is not a crime for citizens to travel abroad to join extremist groups such as IS. Reasons for going Several things inspire people to abandon their lives in Indonesia in their quest to travel to and build new lives in IS-controlled territories in Syria and Iraq, according to Al Chaidar, a terrorism expert at Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh. They are inspired by theology as well as political, economic and social reasons, even though IS appears to be cornered in the two neighboring Middle Eastern countries, he said. “Many of them are jobless in Indonesia. They want to try their luck by doing business while living under Islamic law. Don’t be surprised, products of Indonesia are very salable there,” Chaider told BenarNews.As Oma rises, a handful of plots - some in place for centuries - come to fruition. Lilia is a young girl, born in a remote village. When invaders destroy her home, Lilia is cast through a portal to a different land, to be raised in a temple - a simple, innocuous kitchen drudge (as if). The Kai - the ruler of her people - dies under mysterious circumstances, and her brother, an untrained and ill-suited teacher named Ahkio, is called upon to take her place. Meanwhile, Roh, a student at Lilia's temple, is determined to be more than his destiny. He desperately throws himself into one scheme after another, keen to become a hero of some sort. The new Kai attaches him to a curious diplomatic mission, taken to a far-off - and not entirely friendly - kingdom. On a world rich with predatory vegetation, magic comes from the stars themselves. Each heavenly body comes complete with a package of powers. People born with a connection to a star (or, more rarely, stars), can be trained in their magic. But now a new - or very old - star is ascendent. Oma arrives every few thousand years, and with it, destruction. Every ascension of Oma is timed to coincide with the descent of the other stars, and, historically, a cataclysmic invasion. Meanwhile, Taigan is on a search for an omajista, someone who can draw on the power of the rising star. And Zezili, the leading general in a neighbouring empire, is called upon by her Empress to begin a campaign of genocidal destruction. Behind all these threads are the agents of a parallel world, one brought close by the ascension of Oma, and one that is much better prepared for the cosmic events to come. (Honestly, that's probably a spoiler, but what did you expect from a book called The Mirror Empire? Plus, it is in the Amazon blurb, so I'm not tagging it. Sorry.) The Mirror Empire is a beast of a book, with the density of a neutron star. It comes complete with its own language, a new cosmology and ecology, a half-dozen societies and a magic system elaborate enough to border on the science fictional. A handful of POV characters and a theme of total relativism only add to the complexity, as the reader is dipped and dunked between narrators, perspectives, cultures and worlds. That said, the core plot is: "inter-dimensional invasion a-comin', what are you going to do about it?". So let's skip straight to the criteria, so we can discuss the important stuff. Is it fantastic? Yes. Hugely. Star-powered magic and colliding dimensions and ambulatory, carnivorous plants (they're mentioned a lot - The Mirror Empire is rightfully proud of its plants) and gigantic magic mirrors and WAR-BEARS and and and... Is it entertaining? Yes. As well as being a neutron-star-dense beast, The Mirror Empire is sort of a... big rusty camper van. It takes a lot time for the engine to turn over and a longer time to get up to speed. But if you put with it for that long, you'll be comfortably settled in for a long journey. With a lot of momentum. Bring snacks. That said, there's a difference between 'engaged with the narrative' (yup) and 'enjoying where it takes you' (argh). But we'll get to that. Is it immersive? Not so much, but I suspect that is by design. This is a really weird book, and whenever you start getting comfortable with how weird it is, you get slapped in the face with something even weirder. Blood magic, local ecology, incestuous cousins, ritual cannibalism... there's a lot in here that's off-putting, and there are very few points in the story where the reader isn't being pushed or challenged in some way. Constantly being challenged to extend your mind and understand new things: that's literature. Constantly being challenged to accept the horrifying as the norm: that's grimdark. And The Mirror Empire sits somewhere between the two... or, hell, maybe it does both. Either way, despite the copious amounts of detail, this isn't a world that suspends disbelief as much as it challenges your preconceptions. Everything is very precisely strange, and as soon as the reader is close to acclimatised, it scootches even stranger. Is it emotionally engaging? No. I could not care less about any of the POV characters. Actually, to be completely frank, I did care - mostly because they were all aggressively unlikeable. Zezili is, of course, a genocidal serial killer. Lilia is impossibly stupid, with her one (rather unconvincing) motivation of 'find mom' leading her to make one ridiculous decision after the other. Roh is annoying, and is persistently unfiltered and smugly righteous in a world that he doesn't understand. Taigan is a dick. Ahkio is the one nominal 'good guy', but, by contrast to the others - and the world he lives in - comes across as a wet blanket. He is an academic playing politics, philosophically and theoretically qualified, and, in practice, completely ill-suited and worse than useless. There are two major caveats to the above. The first is, of course, that emotional engagement is the most subjective of all the subjective criteria. And overpowering distaste is, I guess, an emotional response. But that's semantics. Some folks might find Roh's propensity for annoying questions in the middle of state dinners charming. Or empathise with Lilia's shtick for abandoning useful people who might be able to answer questions in favour of wandering randomly in the wilderness. So be it. The second caveat is that these character traits aren't - and apologies for the intent-ascribing language - accidental. These are all well-crafted variations on the traditional epic fantasy roles. The Chosen One is quest-obsessed to the point of stupidity. Taigan, the 'wise old man' tutor, would need to be a sociopath to operate in this world - desperate times, so either find the messiah or move on, but make that decision quickly. Ahkio is an example of ivory tower uselessness, but that shows exactly how difficult idealism can be in a ruthless and pragmatic world. These are fun-house mirror distortions of the traditional epic fantasy roles, all helping build the greater themes of the book. As The Mirror Empire tells us,'sacrifices must be made' - and in this case, it is character empathy. It is embarrassing? No. There's a lot of diversity in the protagonists, across gender, sexuality, race and cultural background. Granted, it also contains sexual violence, incest, graphic self-harm, cannibalism and genocide, so I wouldn't recommend this without serious recommendations, but The Mirror Empire is progressive in the sense that everyone and everything is equally awful. Nor is it awful for awful's sake. It is provocative with a mission to challenge; not pandering to a misguided sense of reader titillation. I think much has been made about The Mirror Empire's fluid approach to gender. It is a combination of both clever obfuscation and a great deal of complexity. As the narrative expands, The Mirror Empire describes cultures with fixed gender and unfixed gender and transitive gender, cultures where it is anathema to touch without permission and cultures where sexual slavery is the norm, and, well, everything in-between/around/otherwise/etc. It is cleverly done, and supports the book's premise that all things are relative and socially-constructed. You can stop and puzzle over the meaning of every pronoun and try to impose your own system upon it,... or accept the relative, individual viewpoint and move forward. And that's a decent lesson for life: let people choose for themselves and get on with the story. /moral? Building on the premise that all things are relative, The Mirror Empire also presents the corollary "...and terrible". And that's putting it nicely. From a post-colonial standpoint, The Mirror Empire presents a world where nice people are being oppressed by mean people. And then an opposite world, where, given the opportunity, the nice people have become seriously shitty. A society where there's an established matriarchy, and they're just as ravenously, rapaciously terrible as any traditional patriarchy. A series of heroic quests where every character firmly believes that the ends justify the means - and, generally speaking, are shown that's correct, from chucking a kid off a cliff to abandoning your friends in the clutches of predators). Arguably the book's true-est 'hero' is Zezili, who not only does the most to'save the world' (her world), but does so from the motivation of unenlightened self-interest and from a position of power and privilege within her society. This is not a book that rewards rebellion, consideration or self-sacrifice. In the recent past, 'grimdark' narratives have been largely confined to traditional, patriarchal, white-dominated epic fantasies - and, I suppose, the element of 'hope' they bring is that, well, yes - these are the slippery-slope worlds that result from that worldview going unchecked. The Mirror Empire goes a step further, and largely posits that, actually, everyone and everything is equally shitty, and given a chance, today's oppressed would be tomorrow's oppressor. Which, although egalitarian, isn't particularly cheery. Is it different? Yes. The Weirdness of the world, of course - complete with the oft-referred-to ambulatory plants (seriously, they come up a lot), bear-riders, and a magic system that's half the biological squickiness of God's War and half the hand-wavey schools of zorchiness of Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series. Plus the whole parallel universes colliding thing.* But probably most different for the thematic notion of relativity - illustrated in everything from gender to cannibalism. Epic fantasy especially is a genre largely predicated on absolute Right and Wrong; world with destined heroes and inexplicable, inarguable villains. The total relativity of The Mirror Empire is, as noted above, the most extreme grimdark I've read yet - not just for the splatterpunk violence, but because there's no capital-g-Good for the reader to cling to. Every year it seems that there's a book I slap the "respect, but didn't like" tag on (see: Prince, King and Emperor of Thorns). This year, it looks like the mantle is passed to The Mirror Empire. It is philosophically intriguing, but the conclusion is neither pleasant nor inspiring. Nor is The Mirror Empire an easy read in the traditional sense: it is dense, long, awash in new words, and prone to orgiastic descriptions of off-putting scenes. It deliberately challenges the reader on almost every conceivable level. I appreciate what it tries to do - even succeeds in doing, perhaps. But that doesn't mean I enjoyed it. But then, maybe that's the point. --- Hurley is also the author of one of my favourite books, God's War - a feisty, progressive, gloriously grim and gooey, 'hard SF' novel - one of my favourites. I mention this for two reasons. The first is, I have absolutely no idea why The Mirror Empire counts as a 'debut'. Even by the standards of the DGLA 'epic fantasy debut', definition it is hard to say why this book is any more 'fantasy' than the trilogy that preceded it. But again, and as with The Godless, once you're in, you're in, so that shouldn't factor into the judging. The other reason I mention this is that I really like God's War, and if, for some reason, I come down The Mirror Empire rather hard (spoiler: I do), it is worth noting that Hurley already did write the best epic fantasy debut of the year, it just came out in 2011.↩ This is slightly contradicted by the character that actually physically changes gender with the rise and fall of the stars. But Taigan is, I believe, presented as the exception that proves the rule. I think. ↩ **I'm footnoting this because it is comparing apples and pears. But there are fascinating parallels (pun?) between the core concept of The Mirror Empire and Jonathan Hickman's Avengers/Illuminati writing - the latter being the long build-up to this year's Secret Wars event. In a nutshell, the greatest Marvel heroes have united behind the scenes to protect their universe from 'incursions' by parallel dimensions: invasions that occur with quasi-random, cosmically-defined frequency and always result in the destruction of one world or the other. (In a further bit of coincidence, the worlds are often shown with one being red and the other blue.) Where the interpretations differ is that Hickman has a heritage of heroism to build upon. When, say, Iron Man is in a position where he's forced to destroy a world to save his own, there's more emotional resonance with the reader, as we've had... generations... of knowing 'right' and 'wrong', and that Iron Man is a 'good guy' in the absolute sense. The Mirror Empire, as a new universe, doesn't have that cultural heritage to draw upon, which makes it tougher for us to a) understand the stakes and b) care about the people making the decision. On the other hand, the difference in format means that The Mirror Empire has 700 pages of text to explore the concept in detail, as well as what it means to the non-protagonist members of society, while the Marvel version is hand-wavey 'LOOKIT! CRISIS!'. This isn't a 'one is better than the other' sort of thing - more an interesting contrast between formats and approaches.↩How would you anthropomorphize craft beer? Imagine it just showing up at your house one day unexpectedly. What do you see? Would you imagine a bearded bro with a beer belly, dressed in flannel, carrying a misfit six pack? Well, that image is officially a stereotype. Increasingly, women are embracing the craft beer movement both as customers and as a career path, and it should be no secret that women are the underutilized demographic that can take craft beer to new levels of popularity and credibility. It’s a fact that struck me when visiting Georgia’s traffic jam (also called Atlanta) to see SweetWater Brewing Co. SweetWater was kind enough to invite CBB on a private tour of its facilities. During the walk-around, Tucker Berta Sarkisian (one of the many charismatic women in marketing and PR roles working in the beer industry) mentioned that SweetWater had the only two female two of only a few female brewers in Georgia working for them (Lindsey Kingry and Sarah Green); correction via Miranda Dohrman, brewer at Georgia’s Orpheus Brewing. As a historically male-centric beverage industry, I wondered what attracted these leading ladies to the world of beer. As you might expect, it’s the same thing that attracts almost everyone else. “Like a lot of brewers, my interest in the industry began with a healthy love of beer,” Kingry explained. “While it’s traditionally been a male-dominated industry, especially on the production side, it’s a demographic that’s rapidly changing as the craft brewing industry evolves as in any other industry. It’s not surprising that more women are becoming involved in the craft brewing scene because the pattern jibes with new societal norms as the traditional gender roles evolve.” Today, it’s not hard to find female leaders running the brewhouse, running the marketing squad, working the packaging line or drinking craft beer at the bar, but how do you start to get involved in the industry and how hard is it to get those jobs in brewing? As a career, the first step toward brewing can be the most difficult. Luckily, work ethic is gender neutral. “The craft brewing industry is open when it comes to successes and failures, and yes, there are several of both. It’s all about learning from those failures, and the successes will follow,” said Emily Parker, director of brewery operators at Schlafly Beer. “This is an industry where you’re constantly learning from whatever you run into from day to day, and it’s filled with innovative people that are trying things that haven’t been done before, which makes it exciting.” Build your network Not a news flash: In 2016, beer is big business. You’ve probably heard the brewing market has exploded with more than 4,000 breweries in the United States (the most ever). That means there are a growing number of jobs in the brewing industry for women and anyone else. Even outside of the breweries themselves, opportunities abound with distributors, suppliers, retailers, media members and community groups that provide fulfilling career paths or even just camaraderie for women who like beer. The beer industry is not unlike a family, and the people who work in the industry often have an impressive web of relationships with beer makers, sellers and servers. So first off, build those beer friendships. “The way that I got myself into the beer industry was solely based on networking and building relationships,” said Emily Erler, retail sales manager in Chicago for the Global Beer Network, which imports nearly 60 award-winning Belgian Beer labels to America. “In my opinion, it was easy because beer became such a passion for me at a young age. The tie-in with my father, a homebrewer, was one that allowed beer brewing and sampling to be something we spent time doing together, a hobby and a love. I took that passion and allowed it to show in many service industry jobs I held. I felt a sense of pride being the go-to source for my co-workers for tasting notes and recommendations to pass along to guests. You could say I made friends fast that way and became recognizable in the Milwaukee craft beer crowd. I am, and never was, afraid to ask questions — lots of them if you ask my co-workers — and was always very curious and enthusiastic to try new things.” Sometimes making friends can be tough. Erler noted that the Milwaukee beer scene in particular is very much still a male-dominated market, so sometimes the ladies stick out. “I have found myself very frustrated at times feeling as though I just wanted to be taken seriously and seen as one of the guys,” she explained. “During my time in Milwaukee, I became a member of several all-women homebrewing clubs [like Barley’s Angels] and attended girl-centric happy hours with other beer gals like me. That helped a lot to boost my confidence and spend time with peers.” There is power and knowledge in numbers, so don’t be hesitant to seek out the great organizations for women in the beer industry to network. One of our favorites is the Pink Boots Society, a group of more than 2,000 members and counting, created to empower women beer professionals, advance women brewing careers and make damn good beer along the way. Headed by award-winning Portland, Ore., craft brewer Teri Fahrendorf, the Pink Boots Society has been supporting women in brewing since 2008. The society has two main tenants: Support Pink Boots Society members to advance their beer careers through education. Teach women beer professionals the judging skills necessary to become beer judges at the Great American Beer Festival and other competitions. For women just looking to get into beer, we suggest Girls Pint Out, which started in early 2010 in Indianapolis as an informal group for women who love craft beer. There is no membership process to be involved, and it’s a nonprofit with 86 chapters in 40 states. Check out its chapter directory right over here. “Men don’t care if you are a woman working in the beer industry as long as you know beer,” said Amanda Wishin, president of Girls Pint Out. “The same goes for brewing — brew good beer and no one cares that you are a woman, just that you make good beer. Our goal and the goal of Girls Pint Out is to be a welcoming place that plans events geared toward women. Our attendees span from novices who don’t know anything about beer to brewers and brewery owners. Our events are charitable, social or educational and run the gamut from homebrewing sessions to coloring and craft beer nights. Each chapter has its own personality, and I encourage them to plan events that suit them.” Get schooled If you want to be successful in the increasingly competitive beer industry, knowledge can be your advantage. Luckily, education programs that cover everything from brewing chemistry and brewery ownership to sales and marketing and restaurant management are popular all over the country (check some out here). Whether you’re a new brewer with a dream or just a beer fan wanting to expand your horizons, there’s probably a local or national educational institution ready to teach you more. Parker from Schlafly took the traditional college route. “After researching more about what the degree in the food and science space entailed, it felt like a great fit for me,” she explained. “I had been really into science more than other subjects. I took a course called Intro to Brewing and Viticulture, and I must say the brewing aspect won me over. Charlie Bamforth, the Professor of Brewing Science at UC Davis, was in my opinion the best professor I had during my time at UC Davis. He is the reason I went on to pursue my career in brewing, and it was truly an honor to learn from him. With my education in food science, with an emphasis in brewing, I knew the industry was a fit for me from the beginning. I completed internships at Shiner and Stone. Once I completed my degree, I landed an internship at Schlafly which turned into a full-time position. I have been at Schlafly now for almost six years.” Of course, not everyone wants to or needs to go to college to find a successful career in the beer industry. If you are a woman with enough passion, you’ll usually find your way. SweetWater brewer Sarah Green is a great example. For almost three years after college, she was a paralegal with absolutely zero passion for a future as an attorney. Out of boredom and at the suggestion of her best friend who already worked there, she started hostessing at Goose Island Brewing Co.’s Clybourn Brewpub. Ever since, she’s been learning her way through the industry. “As for my education, I am almost entirely self-taught with the exception of a few brewing courses I took at AB-InBev’s online university,” Green said. “Even though I went to college for anthropology and don’t have a brewing or science degree, I don’t believe it has held me back in any way. It can absolutely help, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary.” But what is necessary (degree or not) is an obsessive attitude toward the job and industry. While Green does not have a degree, she is the epitome of a beer geek. “A few months into hostessing, I asked if I could give brewery tours on the weekends,” she explained. “I had little to no knowledge of the brewing process, but it seemed like a fun gig, drinking and talking about beer. With the blessing and encouragement of the then GM Reggie Snead, I dove headfirst into studying beer. The world of beer fascinated me — its history from the dawn of civilization to now, biology, chemistry, food and cultures. I would come home from work on Fridays, go for a run, study, not drink beer for a few hours, then go to bed excited and ready for my tours the following day. Each week, I learned a new way that beer had shaped the world and eagerly told everyone who would listen.” She eventually quit the law firm to work as a brand ambassador for Goose Island’s production brewery (at the time a separate entity from the brewpub). After a year of that, she took a brewing internship. “After my first shift, I was drenched in sweat, covered in beer, exhausted mentally and physically but absolutely exhilarated,” Green remembered. After the six month brewing internship ended, she moved to Atlanta for a position with SweetWater where “I have been happily brewing away the days.” Click Next below or you’ll never learn about average salaries in professional brewing, and you want to get paid fairly, right?Today, the six living species
, the rights group released a a 114-page report which examines "police disregard for arrest regulations, custodial deaths from torture, and impunity for those responsible". The report draws on "in-depth investigations" into 17 deaths in custody that occurred between 2009 and 2015, including more than 70 interviews with victims' family members, witnesses, justice experts and police officials. In each of the 17 cases, the report says, the police did not follow proper arrest procedures, making the suspect more vulnerable to abuse. "Police in India will learn that beating suspects to confess is unacceptable only after officers are prosecuted for torture," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Our research shows that too often, the police officers investigating deaths in custody are more concerned about shielding their colleagues than bringing those responsible to justice." By law, every person taken into custody must be medically examined and produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Human Rights Watch said the government data revealed that in 67 of 97 deaths in custody in 2015, the police either failed to produce the suspect before a magistrate within 24 hours or the suspect died within 24 hours of being arrested. The rights group said official investigations to examine wrongdoing rarely find police culpable, and the police also delay or resist filing complaints against implicated police officers.OKLAHOMA CITY (KSTU) -- A battle between Mother Nature and two pilots trying to land a plane in Oklahoma City was captured on video. The footage was shot Wednesday by KFOR in Oklahoma and shows strong winds creating some frightening conditions as an aircraft landed. KFOR reports the video has been viewed millions of times since it was posted. A KFOR helicopter pilot noticed a United Airlines plane preparing to land at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The pilots were up against some seriously strong cross winds. As the plane reached the runway, it started to sway with the wind, and, in the video above, it appears to almost stop and hover as the wind catches the aircraft. Related: Horrifying plane crash kills all on board in Russia: 15 PHOTOS Plane Crash lands at Russian airport See Gallery Footage of terrifying airplane landing in Oklahoma goes viral The crash site of the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 at the Rostov-on-Don airport. The plane crashed during a second attempt to land in bad weather conditions killing all 55 passengers and 7 crew members aboard. Rostov-on-Don Region Branch of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations/TASS. (Photo by TASS\TASS via Getty Images) An ambulance at the Rostov-on-Don airport where the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 crashed during a second attempt to land in bad weather conditions. All 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard the plane were killed in the crash. (Photo by Valery Matytsin\TASS via Getty Images) A list of passengers aboard the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 that crashed during a second attempt to land in bad weather conditions at the Rostov-on-Don airport. All 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard the plane were killed in the crash. (Photo by Valery Matytsin\TASS via Getty Images) Russian police forces stand guard the airport aftr a flydubai passenger jet crashed, killing all 62 people on board in Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. The plane, which came from Dubai, was making its second attempt to land when it missed the runway, erupting in a huge fireball as it crashed, leaving debris scattered across a wide area. The ministry said more than 700 rescuers and 100 vehicles were combing the area in driving wind and snow where the wreckage was strewn, with investigators confirming one of the plane's black boxes had been retrieved. (SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP/Getty Images) Russian emergency rescuers and forensic investigators work on the wreckage of the flydubai passenger jet which crashed, killing all 62 people on board as it tried to land in bad weather in the city of Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. The plane, which came from Dubai, was making its second attempt to land when it missed the runway, erupting in a huge fireball as it crashed, leaving debris scattered across a wide area. The ministry said more than 700 rescuers and 100 vehicles were combing the area in driving wind and snow where the wreckage was strewn, with investigators confirming one of the plane's black boxes had been retrieved. (AFP/Getty Images) TOPSHOT - Russian emergency rescuer walks through wreckage of the flydubai passenger jet which crashed, killing all 62 people on board as it tried to land in bad weather in the city of Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. The plane, which came from Dubai, was making its second attempt to land when it missed the runway, erupting in a huge fireball as it crashed, leaving debris scattered across a wide area. The ministry said more than 700 rescuers and 100 vehicles were combing the area in driving wind and snow where the wreckage was strewn, with investigators confirming one of the plane's black boxes had been retrieved. (AFP/Getty Images) Relatives of the victims of the airplane crash mourn at the airport in Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. All sixty-two people on board a flydubai Boeing 737 were killed when the plane crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in Southern Russia, on Saturday morning, officials said. The plane was making its second attempt to land in bad weather when it missed the runway, erupting in a huge fireball as it crashed and leaving debris scattered across a wide area. (SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP/Getty Images) Rostov-on-Don Region Governor Vasily Golubev (C) talks to journalists at the Rostov-on-Don airport where the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 crashed during a second attempt to land in bad weather conditions. All 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard the plane were killed in the crash. (Photo by Valery Matytsin\TASS via Getty Images) Flowers lie on a desk inside of the airport building in Rostov-on-Don where a plane crashed killing all 62 people onboard on March 19, 2016. The plane, which came from Dubai, was making its second attempt to land when it missed the runway, erupting in a huge fireball as it crashed, leaving debris scattered across a wide area. The ministry said more than 700 rescuers and 100 vehicles were combing the area in driving wind and snow where the wreckage was strewn, with investigators confirming one of the plane's black boxes had been retrieved. (SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP/Getty Images) Ambulances are seen outside the airport entrance following the crash of a flydubai Boeing 737 aircraft in the city of Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. All sixty-one people on board a flydubai Boeing 737 were killed when their plane crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in Southern Russia, on March 19 morning, a local official said. (SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP/Getty Images) Ambulance cars are parked near the airport building in the city of Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. All sixty-one people on board a flydubai Boeing 737 were killed when their plane crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in Southern Russia, on March 19 morning, a local official said. (SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP/Getty Images) People enter the door as an ambulance car parks near the airport building following the crash of a flydubai Boeing 737 aircraft in the city of Rostov-on-Don on March 19, 2016. All sixty-one people on board a flydubai Boeing 737 were killed when their plane crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in Southern Russia, on March 19 morning, a local official said. (SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP/Getty Images) We're aware of reports coming out of Russia and our team is currently gathering more details. BREAKING: All 55 people killed in plane crash at airport in western Russia - TASS https://t.co/TUZ0zlMWUl https://t.co/R5KlLBm3rs FlyDubai says its "aware of an incident" after reports of plane crash in Russia. https://t.co/c62xDBvDHE https://t.co/Q1U7ilGn8u Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE A group of students and teachers on board said it was a flight they won't forget. "It felt like going back and forth and up and down, a little like a roller coaster," Erica Carey said. "...When you looked out the window, you could tell we were coming in sideways a little bit." Lisa Toepfer added, "I looked out the window, I could see we were fixing to land, and we were still doing this." The plane landed safely. While it appears unusual, other pilots said this type of landing is actually fairly common. United Airlines said in a statement to KFOR that their pilot did a great job "executing his training and landing the aircraft safely, and we are confident that any of our well-trained pilots would have done the same." More from : Delta, United reroute flights from Brussels after blasts The best cities for first-time homebuyers There is nothing quite like America's amphibious Marine CorpsA star witness in the upcoming Peter Charleton Inquiry has been served with disciplinary action by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan in a move that has caused deep concern among the force. A star witness in the upcoming Peter Charleton Inquiry has been served with disciplinary action by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan in a move that has caused deep concern among the force. Superintendent David Taylor was yesterday informed he is to face an internal investigation into allegations he leaked information to the media. The news emerged during a tumultuous week for the garda force, which is now frantically preparing for potential serious reputational damage as a result of the evidence set to be heard at the inquiry. As revealed by the Irish Independent yesterday, Mrs O'Sullivan is to appoint some of her close associates - two of whom are retired from the force - to an internal unit tasked with being the liaison with Judge Charleton. Her associates include retired assistant commissioner Mick O'Sullivan, former chief superintendent Brendan Mangan and Detective Superintendent Tony Howard, who is a senior member of the Organised Crime Unit and the right-hand man of Det Chief Supt, Jim McGowan, the Commissioner's husband. Despite the unrest caused by the appointments, Mrs O'Sullivan was last night showing no signs of backing down. There is, however, major question marks over how she could secure the appointments without first consulting the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). Superintendent David Taylor Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins The wage bills incurred by the two retired officers could be substantial - a tab that will be picked up by the taxpayer. It's understood, however, that justice officials did inform garda management in recent days they could put in the appropriate preparations for the Charleton Inquiry. But whether Mrs O'Sullivan will survive until the outcome of that inquiry is another matter entirely. For this newspaper can today reveal Sergeant Maurice McCabe - the key whistleblower at the centre of the inquiry - has written to Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Policing Authority to demand the Commissioner steps aside. Sgt McCabe, who was allegedly subjected to a smear campaign by senior garda management, has already told Tánaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald that Mrs O'Sullivan's departure from the post is a necessity. Sources say he has yet to receive any meaningful reply from any of the aforementioned players. But now, as the inquiry steps up a gear, the man who admitted involvement in the McCabe smear campaign has been put under yet another investigation. It must have been a case of déjà vu for Supt David Taylor, given that he faced the same allegation in 2015 - before being cleared by the DPP last month. Read More: 'Ring of steel' to protect Garda chief in inquiry Garda management claims it was merely following protocol by initiating an internal probe after the DPP found there wasn't sufficient evidence to prosecute Supt Taylor, who was recently re-appointed to his position following a 23-month suspension. Chief Superintendent Jim McGowan Photo: Damien Eagers Supt Taylor's evidence is arguably the most important Judge Charleton will hear. When Supt Taylor decided to make a protected disclosure, he took the biggest gamble of his life. Who knows whether it will pay off. One man who has staked his political reputation on the garda issue is Independent TD Mick Wallace. He is in no doubt what the Government should do now if, as he says, "justice has any chance of prevailing". "If the Government has any appetite for the truth, it doesn't make any sense for them to leave the Commissioner in position." Irish IndependentCarly Fiorina is most well known for her role as Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard aka HP from 1999-2005. Carly Fiorina is the first woman to be CEO of a Top 20 Ranked Company. Carly Fiorina is also one of the only women in history to run for president as well (against real estate developer Donald Trump for the Republican Party ticket). Here are 5 famous business quotes from Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP: 1) "The highest calling of leadership is to unlock the potential of others." 2) "Love what you do, or don't do it. Don't make a choice of any kind, whether in career or in life, just because it pleases others or because it ranks high on someone else's scale of achievement...Make the choice to do something because it engages your heart as well as your mind." 3) "Whatever the consequences of staying true to yourself, they're much less than the consequences of selling your soul." 4) "The data is clear: If you give a woman an opportunity, she will make a huge difference." 5) "Leadership comes in small acts as well as bold strokes." Thanks for the inspirational business quotes Carly Fiorina! I hope you enjoyed these famous business quotes from one of the most powerful women in business and tech. Interested in more quotes from influential women in tech Read My Quote Posts:By amazing coincidence, T-Swift's economic incentives are exactly aligned with Apple's! Larry Busacca / Getty Apple appears to be planning a new music-streaming service that will compete against apps such as Spotify and Pandora, which let listeners hear music for no charge (as long as they listen to ads). We don't know exactly how this is going to work, so I asked a source who is an employee at Apple what was going on. My source told me to look at Taylor Swift. "Loads of big names left Spotify last year, and we all wondered why," my source says. Though Swift got all the headlines, my source points out that a bunch of other less famous artists did the same thing. You can find a list of them here on Rolling Stone. The source also notes that while Apple rolled out a streaming product, iTunes Radio, last year, that rollout was restricted to the US. It hasn't reached Europe, probably because of music-licensing issues. That's why at Apple "we didn't get too excited" about the upgrade to iPhone's Music app to include iTunes Radio, my source says. Music-licensing expenses and revenues are the key to the big streaming deal that Apple appears to be planning. Business Insider recently reported that music-industry execs are sick of the pitiful license fees they get from streaming music, and they're tired of the idea that it is OK for consumers to pay nothing to listen to music. Swift has had a lot to say on the topic of licensing and Apple's relationship to it. Last year, Swift pulled her music catalogue from Spotify, complaining that it was giving her music away free. At the time, she told Time: [People] can still listen to my music if they get it on iTunes. I'm always up for trying something. And I tried it and I didn't like the way it felt. I think there should be an inherent value placed on art. I didn't see that happening, perception-wise, when I put my music on Spotify. Everybody's complaining about how music sales are shrinking, but nobody's changing the way they're doing things. They keep running towards streaming, which is, for the most part, what has been shrinking the numbers of paid album sales. With Beats Music and Rhapsody you have to pay for a premium package in order to access my albums. And that places a perception of value on what I've created. On Spotify, they don't have any settings, or any kind of qualifications for who gets what music. I think that people should feel that there is a value to what musicians have created, and that's that. Swift called out Apple's products by name in that quote, and slammed Spotify specifically, too. Lo and behold! Nearly a year later, Apple is planning some sort of iTunes/Beats streaming product that will hurt Spotify's provision of free streamed music. We don't know what Apple is planning specifically, but the fact that it is able to wrangle the biggest names in music to fight its cause — Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine, T-Swift, Zane Lowe — gives you an idea of just how much the music industry wants this to happen, and how much of a threat it will be to Spotify and Pandora.You know when you used to have no choice but to use Windows XP, either because you couldn’t afford a Mac or you had to use a PC at work? Well, you must remember, then, how annoying it was to have the same bugs and weird glitches happen over and over again; those endless days and nights trying to work on something important when, no matter how many fingers you crossed and cracks in the pavement you avoided, you knew once error message X appeared, crash Y and endless pop-up Z would inevitably follow and there was nothing you or anyone else could do to avoid the inevitable restart / reinstall / dance on one leg chanting, “I’m a little teapot short and stout”. No amount of closing that self-opening “Something has gone horribly wrong” error box would save all that work you’re still able to look at, but not save. At first you threw tantrums and screamed expletives at the top of your voice, about how Bill Gates was going to “pay for this”, but eventually you just resigned yourself to the fact that it was happening and decided life’s too short to care. “One day”, you said to yourself, “I will own a Mac and all of this will be in the past”. At one point, when Windows Vista was announced, you hoped beyond hope that all, or at least most of these nightmares would end. But that day came and went with no change. Sure, Vista wore a different perfume to cover the stench and yes, the ‘aero’ interface wasn’t so bad after all. But, underneath it all, was the same pustulating tripe that had ruined your life for the past millennia and, to make it worse, you knew for a fact no-one at Microsoft lost any sleep over it. “This wouldn’t happen if I owned a Mac”, you said. “Just you wait, Steve Ballmer, me and my mate Steve Jobs will show you good and proper, one day… one day!” And then, it arrived. You magic’d that pay rise at work into Cupertino’s finest export quicker than you could say, “I need it for work” to your wife and “I don’t play games anyway” to your kids. “It’s here!”, you exclaimed. “I can’t believe an actual Apple Mac is in my house and it’s all MINE!!” You unboxed it like a kid at Christmas, pealing back each layer of the delicious packaging; smelling the inside of the box like a wine expert on a major four week bender around the French vineyards. But wait! What’s this? Four years have passed in the blink of an eye! “Ohh! A new Mac Operating System, OS X Lion is coming out! Yummy, I’ll have me some of that!” you gushed! Well, how stupid do you feel now? You drank the Kool-Aid and, for a while it refreshed the parts other sugar water can’t reach. But then, like realising in the middle of a stage hypnotist’s comedy act, that while you thought you were eating an Apple, you were really munching an onion, this happened: Control + Scroll screen zooming randomly turns itself off. Even basic Spotlight Searches in a window (Command + Shift + F) crash Finder. Mail crashes all the time. Safari has been replaced by a pile of turds. When it isn’t refreshing inactive tabs from the network instead of cache, so you lose everything you’re uploading, it’s secretly closing windows for no rhyme or reason when you’re not looking. iTunes boot time is measured in aeons. The “Something has crashed, send a report to Apple” window might as well be your Desktop Picture. Finder periodically decides you don’t need to see all your windows any more. The list of applications that no longer work, if printed out, would stretch from here to the moon. Launchpad is pointless. Utterly and completely pointless. Opening Mission Control is like walking through molasses with cream cheese in your socks. It doesn’t support a second display and the graphics layer tears through the UI like a hammer through porridge. Fullscreen apps have a habit of just vanishing. They’re running, but they’re not showing. Video playback in iTunes defaults to fullscreen but the playback controls go missing if you switch to another app without coming out of fullscreen first. Handy. Command + Control + D pop-over dictionary takes a week to load and mysteriously insists on spinning up all your USB hard drives—as does unmounting all your USB hard drives. Garage Band now hates you. So does Steam. And Pages. And Photoshop. And Automator. And Call of Duty. And Tweetdeck. Oh and you know how half the reason you put your Mac in your spare room was so you could use FrontRow as a media centre? Yeah, that’s gone now. You can’t do that any more. Sorry. You have to buy an Apple TV. Question: Most of us would agree, without sounding sycophantic, that the MacCast is one of the premier Mac podcast anywhere on-line, yes? So, in the last, say, two years, how many Mac users who comment here, e-mail Adam and otherwise engage in the extended Apple community on a regular basis, have you heard say something like, “I hope Apple subtly change all the things that are already perfectly fine, before they fix all the things that have been broken since OS X Tiger”? By way of example: Drag and drop a selection of JPEG files you want to upload to your image hosting service of choice, from the Finder into the Open box in Safari. If the wind is blowing from the North and it’s the second Tuesday of the month, the destination path will change to the location you’re dragging the files from and the selection you want to upload will be highlighted, so all you have to do is click Send and await for the transfer to complete. But, if it’s half past 4 and your second cousin twice removed is called Jennifer, they spring back into Finder and Safari looks at you like, “Pfft, since when have I been able to do that?” So you try again. Same thing. You try a third time. “Oh!”, says Safari. “THAT kind of drag and drop! I thought you were losing your mind, you silly user! Sure, I’ll do that for you!” It’s just a litany of silly little frustrations, which have always been there, but are now ten times worse. The most frustrating part being, someone, somewhere at the world’s largest computer maker; the richest company in America, if not the world, has signed off on each and every one of these things as if they’re ready for prime time. Senior department heads and top management—Jobs, Ive and Schiller included—the very people who RUN the company with more cash in the bank than the US government—has looked at each of these pointless tweaks and decided they’re good to go! It beggars belief. They should be paying us to beta test this for them, but because they were so afraid of having to delay it, because it just isn’t ready, we’re expected to tow the party line, nod politely and ramble on about having a slightly different User Interface, as if that somehow makes up for the fact iPhoto still sucks. I mean, why on earth do I still have to open a music player to sync photos to my phone? And why couldn’t they have done something about that, before they changed the way TextEdit Finds and Replaces text, so it’s now harder to use than it was before? Goofy scrolling, by default? Really? Let’s put it like this. How many Windows users, with their sloping brows and their smug determination never to switch to Mac, have walked into an Apple retail store, in the last month, idled up to a spare machine and had all their preconceptions about the Mac being esoteric and “weird” confirmed in ONE touch of the upside down mouse? Why do I now have to click three times to autofill my information on a form in Safari, when before I clicked once? Why can’t I Command + Shift + L any highlighted text to search for it on Google anymore? Which “genius” thought turning that feature off was a wise move? Yes, I know I can redefine my own shortcut key in System Preferences. No, I don’t think that makes it OK. What does my Dad do when that no longer works? I tell you what he does, he rings me and says, “That bloody Mac you told us to buy keeps going funny! It won’t search Yoogle anymore!” Simply put, who, at Apple, in the full knowledge of their line manager, went into the source code for Finder and thought, “You know, I really should spend this month figuring out why Finder has been crashing every time you create more than 50 shortcut files at once, ever since OS X Panther, but I think what I’ll do instead is disable the shortcut key that turns the volume up and down by single units instead of ten at a time.” How is turning features OFF an ‘upgrade’? In what reality is OS X Lion worthy of the Apple name? IT’S A DOWNGRADE! Apple have become the thing they fear the most. They are the new Microsoft and Lion is their Vista. There, I said it. Oh, sure, you’ll come back at me with some pithy retort about Versions and Autosave and how “awesome” it is to swipe your fingers across a £60-a-pop mouse. But the fact remains, they’ve tinkered with things that weren’t broken and ignored or made worse things that have needed fixing for nearly 10 years. You know it. I know it. We all know it. I think it’s about time we started staying as much out-loud and force Apple to put this thing right as soon as possible. UPDATE: Since writing this article OS X Lion 10.7.1 has been released and it does address some of the stability issues with Safari and Mail. I also note that Boxee for Mac is a vast improvement on FrontRow and works well with the Apple Remote Control. I’d also like to thank whoever submitted this to Hacker News, but for the record I do not carry Google ads on this blog.Archival Neglect: Flooding of FBI Archives Destroyed Hundreds of Thousands of Pages of Files Related to Civil Rights Movement History Special to Unredacted by Trevor Griffey, PhD This September 2nd marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) only major counterintelligence program (or COINTELPRO) to “to expose, disrupt and otherwise neutralize” right-wing organizations. The FBI is often known for its opposition to the left rather than its opposition to the right. Ten of the its eleven COINTELPRO operations between 1956 and 1971 illegally sought to destroy the personal and professional lives of those who participated in left wing and anti-racist organizations— from the Communist Party to the Black Panther Party, from American supporters of Fidel Castro to proponents of Puerto Rican independence, from the Nation of Islam to Martin Luther King. But the FBI’s COINTELPRO against “various Klans and hate organizations” marked an exception. Following years of criticism by civil rights activists who claimed that the FBI was not doing enough to prevent racial terrorism in the South, amidst the revival of the Third Ku Klux Klan, and at the height of the FBI’s investigation of the murder of three civil rights activists in Mississippi in June of 1964, the FBI initiated a campaign to destroy 19 different offshoots of the Third Ku Klux Klan, as well as nine other white nationalist organizations, including the American Nazi Party. Within a year of first launching its COINTELPRO, the FBI estimated later that roughly 600 of the Klan’s 10,000 members were FBI informants. By 1967, according to a report first disclosed by the Church Committee, the FBI had “set up an entire klavern of the Klan composed of Bureau informants, and that they paid the expenses of setting up the organization” in order to produce a rivalry between an authentic Klan chapter and one under the FBI’s control.[i] The counterintelligence program’s architect, FBI Domestic Intelligence Director William Sullivan, claimed in his posthumously published memoir that “the counterintelligence techniques we brought to our fight against the Klan have been thoroughly damned by the press and the public, but our successful use of these techniques is what finally broke them up.”[ii] A few scholars— most notably John Drabble and David Cunningham—have written about the FBI’s campaign to destroy the white nationalist movement in the 1960s. But popular memory of it remains low, with most scholarship and popular discussion about COINTELPRO focused on the FBI’s campaigns to disrupt the left. To what degree were FBI agents and undercover informants in the Klan complicit in hate speech and hate crimes in the 1960s? What effect did FBI repression of the Klan during the 1960s have on the history of the right and on American politics more generally? These and other questions related to the history of the FBI’s COINTELPRO against the Klan deserve further investigation. But unfortunately, valuable documents through which these and other questions could be investigated were destroyed last year during Hurricane Sandy. In a huge loss from a one-of-a-kind archive that had never been released to the public, somewhere between one fifth and one third of the FBI’s 62,000 page Birmingham, Alabama field office file on the United Klans of America (UKA) was destroyed by flooding of FBI archives in Alexandria, Virginia, according to documents that the FBI released last month to the web site Muckrock.org. The UKA was a major target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO against white nationalist organizations. And as the “office of origin” for the FBI’s investigation of the UKA, the Birmingham field office played an essential role in the campaign. The Birmingham file on the UKA (file number 105-BH-722) likely contained voluminous materials that cannot be found in other FBI files— including transcripts of conversations recorded using wiretaps and bugs, informant reports, handwritten agent notes, and documentation of the secret society’s membership throughout the United States. I submitted a FOIA request for a copy of the Birmingham file four years ago. In response, the FBI claimed that it could not locate the file. When I appealed, the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy forced the FBI to acknowledge the existence of the 62,000 page file, but the FBI then asked me to pay $2,000 for its declassification. Unable to afford the cost, I passed information about the file to a non-profit that specializes in researching white nationalist organizations. That organization submitted a FOIA request, but was denied a fee waiver. During the subsequent debate over whether to declassify the file for free, the archive containing the file flooded, and a significant part of the file is now lost to historians forever. Millions of Pages of Files Destroyed The FBI’s file on the UKA was just one of the thousands of FBI files damaged by flooding during Hurricane Sandy. The FBI provided Muckrock.org with an incomplete list of more than 76,000 volumes of files destroyed by flooding at its Alexandria archive last year, and plans to release more lists in the future. Each volume contained between 1-250 pages of documents, making it likely that millions of pages of documents were lost. And this doesn’t even include the 3,000+ cubic feet of files destroyed in the FBI’s Moonachie, New Jersey facility during the hurricane. Though it’s difficult to assess the full scope of the damage based on the limited information released so far by the FBI, it’s clear that thousands of pages of files of significance for the study of civil rights movement history were damaged, including: Forty-one volumes (likely over 8,000 pages) from the FBI’s main headquarters file on the National Negro Labor Council (file number 100-HQ-367632)— one of the most important civil rights organizations of the early 1950s, which was driven out of existence by anticommunist pressure. Twenty-four volumes (almost 5,000 pages) from the FBI’s Chicago field office file on Claude Lightfoot (file number 61-CG-867), a prominent black communist for almost 60 years. Nineteen volumes (almost 4,000 pages) from the FBI’s Memphis field office file on the Nation of Islam (file number 105-ME-160). Eight volumes (roughly 1,500 pages) from the FBI’s massive Detroit field office general file on civil rights issues from the 1940s through the mid-1960s (file number 44-DE-00). Some other files of significance to the study of the left include almost 3,000 pages from the FBI’s main headquarters file on peace activist David Dellinger (100-HQ-384411), and 1,500 pages from the FBI’s Chicago field office on the National Labor Federation (100-CG-55510). The list also documents damage to 300 volumes of Chicago field office files on illegal gambling (182 series), and the destruction of an astonishingly large file (perhaps 300,000 pages) on an unknown topic related to foreign counterintelligence or anti-racist nationalism produced by the FBI’s San Francisco field office (105-SF-16284). Archival Neglect The destruction of such historically significant files raises a number of serious questions about the FBI’s archival practices. One obvious question is why FBI archives were susceptible to flooding, and whether the flooding has exposed weaknesses in the FBI’s records management practices more broadly. A more important question, however, is: why are these archives in the possession of the FBI at all? Why does the FBI continue to retain millions of pages of historically significant files, many of which are over 50 years old, that have no relevance to its contemporary law enforcement mission? Why have these files not already been transferred to the National Archives? Many of the historically significant files destroyed in the Virginia flooding included a series of files that were supposed to have been transferred to the National Archives during George W. Bush’s second term— “44 series” files on the civil rights movement. Almost ten years later, these files should not still be in the FBI’s possession. Other files of major significance to the study of racial justice, the left, and U.S. foreign policy— particularly the FBI’s 105 series files, which include hundreds of thousands of pages of files on the Black Panther Party— remain in the FBI’s possession and decades away from ever being declassified or transferred to the National Archives. These and other historically significant files that sit in secret FBI warehouses are vulnerable to more than just flooding. Decades-old standards for determining historical significance that tend to treat local history as unimportant, combined with wide latitude granted to FBI records management staff, have resulted in tragic and reckless destruction of many historically significant files. Field office files are especially vulnerable to being destroyed. For example, there is almost no collection of FBI files of greater popular interest than the FBI’s files on its counterintelligence program against the black freedom movement in the late 1960s. But instead of preserving its field office files on this illegal program in their entirety, the FBI has been profoundly inconsistent. When the FBI assessed 29 field office files from this COINTELPRO for transfer to the National Archives between 2005 and 2008, it only transferred 14 files. It destroyed 12 others files, and withheld 3 from the National Archives. Such reckless and inconsistent file implementation of records management standards, resulting in tragic and unnecessary destruction, demonstrates that the FBI is not the proper custodian of its own historic archive. This is probably unsurprising. After all, the FBI is led by law enforcement officers with an investment in secrecy, not librarians committed to transparency. But the recent massive archival losses from flooding, combined with the FBI’s inconsistent approach to archival preservation, suggests the need for much greater oversight by the National Archives before more historically valuable files are destroyed. Trevor Griffey is a Lecturer in U.S. History and Labor Studies at the University of Washington’s Bothell and Seattle campuses. A co-founder of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, he is currently working on publishing an online archive of FBI files on the black freedom movement in the 20th century. [i] Church Committee Hearings, Volume 6 (1976), p. 144 http://archive.org/details/Church-Committee-Hearings-Volume6-FBI [ii] William C. Sullivan and Bill Brown, The Bureau: My Thirty Years in Hoover’s FBI (New York: Norton, 1979), p. 1280 Teen breaks into home, confronted by owner NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga - A Sandy Springs teen arrested by police for burglarizing a home told officers he wanted to apologize to the victim for breaking into his home. Wayne Milner told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik he was working in his home office on Granite Ridge Place Thursday when he heard a commotion coming from his master bedroom. “I get up, walk into the hall, and I see a male sitting on the floor going through my wife’s jewelry box,” Milner said. Milner said he immediately grabbed his gun and confronted the strange man. “I said, ‘If you make one move I’m gonna blow your head off’,” Milner recounted. “He was shaking, he
's movement function, call the function at the bottom of the love.update loop: automove(fish,1,0,fish.img:getWidth(),fish.img:getHeight() ) If you test the script, you'll notice that the fish goes all the way off the screen when it hits the right edge. It's doing this because a sprite's x value is based on its upper left pixel. I'll leave it as an exercise for you to figure out what variable you should subtract from cwide when checking for the fish's position. Collision detection Video games are all about collisions. It's when things bump into each other, whether those things are an unfortunate hero taking a dive into a lava pit, or a bad guy getting blasted with a mana bolt, stuff is supposed to happen. Before detecting a collision, let's decide what we want to have happen when a collision occurs. Because you already know how to change a sprite's appearance, we'll create two functions: one to change the fish into the bones left over after the penguin has caught it, and the other to change the fish back to life any time the penguin isn't around. function falive() fish.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/fish.png') end function fdead() fish.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/fishbones.png') end With these functions set up, it's time to calculate collisions. In Scratch, there are code blocks to check whether two sprites are touching. Scratch collision The same concept, in principle, applies in LÖVE. There are several different ways to detect collisions, including external libraries like HC and love.physics, but a good compromise between the two is a custom function to detect an overlap in sprite boundaries. function CheckCollision(x1,y1,w1,h1, x2,y2,w2,h2) return x1 < x2+w2 and x2 < x1+w1 and y1 < y2+h2 and y2 < y1+h1 end The math is complex, but it makes sense if you take a moment to think about it. The goal is detect whether two images are overlapping. If the images are overlapping, they can be said to have collided. Here's an illustration of two boxes not* overlapping, with sample y values to keep things simple: Two boxes Take a line from the function and crunch the numbers: y2 < y1 + h1 110 < 0 + 100 That's obviously a false statement, so the function must return false. In other words, the boxes have not collided. Now look at the same logic with two overlapping boxes: y2 < y1 + h1 50 < 0 + 100 This one is clearly true. Assuming all statements in the function are also true (and they would be, had I bothered adding x values), then the function returns true. To leverage the collision check, evaluate it with an if statement. You know now that if the CheckCollision function returns true, then there is a collision. The CheckCollision function has been written generically, so when calling it, you need to feed it the appropriate values so it knows which object is which. Most of the values are intuitive. You need LÖVE to use the x and y positions of each object being checked for collision, and the size of the object. The only values that are special in this case is the one that gets swapped out depending on the collision state. For those, hard code the size of the dead fish rather than the live fish, or else the state of the collision will get changed in the middle of the collision detection. In fact, if you want to see it glitch, you can do it the wrong way first: if CheckCollision(fish.x,fish.y,fish.img:getWidth(),fish.img:getHeight(), player.x,player.y,player.img:getWidth(),player.img:getHeight() ) then fdead() else falive() end The right way is to get the size of the smaller sprite image. You can do this with ImageMagick: $ identify images/fishbones.png images/fishbones.png PNG 150x61 [...] Then hard code the "hot spot" with the appropriate dimensions: if CheckCollision(fish.x,fish.y,150,61, player.x,player.y,player.img:getWidth(),player.img:getHeight() ) then fdead() else falive() end The side effect of hard coding the collision detection area is that when the penguin touches the edge of the fish, the fish doesn't get gobbled up. For more precise collision detection, explore the HC library or love.physics. Final code It's not much of a game, but it demonstrates the important elements of video games: player = {} fish = {} cwide = 520 chigh = 333 love.window.setTitle(' Hello Game Wörld ') love.window.setMode(cwide, chigh) function love.load() fish.x = 0 fish.y = 0 fish.img = love.graphics.newImage( 'images/fish.png' ) player.x = 150 player.y = 150 player.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/tux.png') player.speed = 10 end function love.update(dt) if love.keyboard.isDown("right") then player.x = player.x+player.speed elseif love.keyboard.isDown("left") then player.x = player.x-player.speed elseif love.keyboard.isDown("up") then player.y = player.y-player.speed elseif love.keyboard.isDown("down") then player.y = player.y+player.speed end if CheckCollision(fish.x,fish.y,151,61, player.x,player.y,player.img:getWidth(),player.img:getHeight() ) then fdead() else falive() end automove(fish,1,0,fish.wide,fish.high) end function love.draw() love.graphics.draw(player.img,player.x,player.y,0,1,1,0, 0) love.graphics.draw(fish.img, fish.x, fish.y, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0) end function automove(obj,x,y,ox,oy) if obj.x == cwide-fish.img:getWidth() then edgeright = 0 elseif obj.x == 0 then edgeright = 1 end if edgeright == 1 then obj.x = obj.x + x else obj.x = obj.x - x end end function CheckCollision(x1,y1,w1,h1, x2,y2,w2,h2) return x1 < x2+w2 and x2 < x1+w1 and y1 < y2+h2 and y2 < y1+h1 end function rotate_left() player.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/tuxleft.png') end function rotate_right() player.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/tux.png' ) end function falive() fish.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/fish.png') end function fdead() fish.img = love.graphics.newImage('images/fishbones.png') end From here you can use the principles you've learned to create more exciting work. Collisions are the basis for most interactions in video games, whether it's to trigger a conversation with an NPC, manage combat, pick up items, set off traps, or almost anything else, so if you master that, the rest is repetition and elbow grease. So go and make a video game! Share it with friends, play it on mobile, and, as always, keep leveling up.Lt. Gov. Duffy Helps Young Man with His Last Request Video - Rochester, N.Y. (WROC)- All his life he wanted to become a firefighter, but cancer has got in the way. "It's a family affair. Ever since he was old enough to know what a firetruck was I think that's what he was planning on being," said Laurie Davis, Johnathan's mother. 21-year-old Johnathan Davis has an inoperable brain tumor and one request. He wants a fire department patch from every department in New York State. At first, the idea may have seemed unrealistic, but Johnathan's mother happened to run into Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy at Strong Hospital Monday night. Through social media, the word spread. Now as he fights for his life, Johnathan's dream may soon become a reality. "He's always been my hero from the moment this all started. I couldn't be more proud of him," said Laurie Davis. "It's a lofty goal and I'm sure he will get there. We encourage anybody that happens to see this to contact their neighboring departments and their own departments certainly and send patches to Johnathan at Strong," said Asst. Chief John Nolan of the Barnard Fire Department. Four generations of Johnathan's family have called the Barnard Fire Department their home. Last week, he received an honorary membership with the department. "Now that he's unable to do it then presenting him with the honorary membership, it's just all we could ask for," said Michael Davis, Johnathan's father. Volunteers from the Barnard Fire Department visit Johnathan every night at the hospital. He also wanted to be an EMT. He was presented with an honorary EMT certification from the New York State Department of EMS Tuesday night. You can send fire department patches to: Johnathan Davis c/o Room 4-1200 Palliative Care Unit Strong Memorial Hospital 601 Elmwood Ave. Rochester, NY 146421 of 64 Full Screen Autoplay Close July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 Skip Ad × West Africa struggles to contain Ebola outbreak View Photos Countries around the world work to help patients and take precautions to prevent the disease from spreading. Caption Countries around the world work to help patients and take precautions to prevent the disease from spreading. Aug. 16, 2014 People watch as a crowd protests before entering the grounds of an Ebola isolation center in Monrovia, Liberia. A mob of several hundred people chanting, “No Ebola in West Point,” opened the gates and took out the patients, many saying that the epidemic is a hoax. Just moments before, they drove away a burial team that had tried to take away the bodies of four deceased residents. The isolation center, a closed primary school originally built by USAID, was being used by the Liberian Health Ministry to temporarily isolate people suspected of carrying the virus. John Moore/Getty Images Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Update: 5:15: Kent Brantly, one of the two Americans infected by the Ebola virus in Liberia, said in an open letter Friday that "I am growing stronger every day and I want to thank God for his mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease." In the letter posted by Samaritan's Purse, the Christian relief organization that sent him to Liberia, Brantly recalled that "I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror firsthand, and I can still remember every face and name. "When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later," he continued. "When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him." Brantly is recovering at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where he was airlifted after falling gravely ill with the disease that is spreading out of control in West Africa. Another missionary from the group, Nancy Writebol, is also in that hospital. Update: 3:40 p.m.: Nigeria's president declared containment of the Ebola virus a national emergency Friday after the health ministry announced two more confirmed cases, according to the Associated Press. President Goodluck Jonathan also approved the release of $11.7 million to establish more isolation centers, beef up screening at borders and deploy more personnel. The president asked the public not to spread false information that could lead to "mass hysteria, panic and misdirection," including unsubstantiated suggestions about the "prevention, treatment, cure and spread of the virus," a spokesman said. The World Health Organization reported four new cases of Ebola in Nigeria Friday, all of them among health care workers and others who had contact with American consultant Patrick Sawyer, a spokesman said. "They're all contacts of Patrick Sawyer," said Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the WHO in Geneva. He said all are health care workers, cleaners or others at the hospital where Sawyer was taken after he collapsed in the airport following a flight from Liberia to Nigeria. "We know that he had contact with very few people at the airport," Hartl said. The images and reports from Liberia, hard hit by a historic Ebola outbreak, are starting to recall scenes from post-apocalyptic films such as "Contagion" and "World War Z." Sawyer and a nurse two people involved in treating him have died. The new cases bring the total number of probable or suspected cases in Nigeria to 13, according to the new WHO statistics released Friday. Any spread beyond the transmission chain started by Sawyer in Lagos, a city of 21 million, or Nigeria, a country of perhaps 175 million, would be cause for great concern, but officials are hopeful that has not occurred. Contacts of the people who have fallen ill also are being traced, Hartl said, but Ebola is not contagious until its victims begin to show symptoms, such as high fever. The new Nigerian cases were reported on Aug. 5 and 6, according to the WHO, when a total of 68 new cases and 29 deaths occurred in the four affected West African countries. The Nigerian ambassador to the United States, Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, said that there have been no Ebola cases outside Lagos. He said that committees of doctors and experts have been set up by the government to respond, and those suspected of having the virus will be quarantined. “It’s natural to be worried, but we’re confident that the measures being taken by the government will contain it,” Adefuye said Friday, urging Nigerians not to be panicked by rumors. According to the WHO, there are now 1,779 cases of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, including 961 deaths. In other developments: • The WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa an international public health emergency Friday, recommending strict monitoring of travelers in the four stricken countries. It said emergency efforts should be put under the direct command of heads of state. In nations that do not border the affected area, the WHO recommended no general travel ban, but said governments should be prepared to "detect, investigate, and manage Ebola cases," including "the capacity to manage travelers originating from known Ebola-infected areas who arrive at international airports or major land crossing points with unexplained febrile illness." It also urged countries to be prepared to evacuate their citizens, mainly health care workers, who have been exposed to the virus. • Canadian drugmaker Tekmira Pharmaceuticals said Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had removed a “clinical hold” it had placed on the company’s experimental Ebola drug, potentially clearing the way for its use in patients battling the lethal virus. The company has a $140 million contract with the U.S. government to develop its TKM-Ebola drug, which had shown promising results in treating non-human primates. The drug had been progressing through the FDA approval process until last month, when the agency halted a trial of the drug to seek more information about its safety. During a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing Thursday, CDC Director Dr.Thomas Frieden said the agency has activated its emergency operations center at the highest response level, but said he is confident there will not be a large Ebola outbreak in the U.S. (Reuters) Another experimental drug, ZMapp, manufactured by a San Diego company, was given to U.S. missionaries Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol who contracted the virus while aiding victims in Liberia. It is too early to determine whether the cocktail of antibodies, never tested on humans, may have helped the pair survive. Both have been brought back to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta where they continue to improve slowly, according to reports. The government and private companies have said they are ramping up efforts to produce more than the handful of doses currently available, but that effort could take months. The WHO is convening a panel of medical ethicists next week to discuss use of untested treatments in the outbreak, the worst ever. Brady Dennis contributed to this report. Read more: 'Even if they don't believe officials, please call your people in the villages. Ebola is real.' Can we give that experimental Ebola drug to dying West Africans? Why you're not going to get Ebola in the U.S.Group Tolerance Linked to Perceptions of Fairness and Harm March 07, 2017 By Michael Wereschagin Look for the fault line in any modern conflict and it likely follows a familiar division between the opposing groups. Whether that divide is sectarian, ethnic or ideological, people's devotion to the values that define their communities can make it seem as if violence along their boundaries is inevitable. But a new study of groups in tension or conflict found evidence that people are willing to share a society with those of differing beliefs as long as they believe that those groups share a commitment to universal moral values such as fairness and harm. Published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Carnegie Mellon University’s Nichole Argo and The New School for Social Research’s Nadine Obeid and Jeremy Ginges interviewed hundreds of members of sectarian groups in Lebanon, ethnic groups in Morocco and ideological factions in the United States. Their findings undermine political claims that conflicts arise because of differences in what they call “binding” values, such as beliefs about God, purity or deference to authority. Members of groups may believe in these things, but they don't necessarily expect others to share those beliefs. "In essence, I can eat dinner with, date, marry or live close to you even if you don’t believe in the same God or eat the same foods. But I will distance myself from you and your group in these ways if I perceive that you don’t play fair or that you don’t care about others," said Argo, a research scientist in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at CMU with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences. In Lebanon, the authors asked 376 undergraduates from the Lebanese American University – a mix of Christian, Sunni and Shiite students from middle-class backgrounds – how comfortable they'd be living near and socializing with members of the other sectarian groups. The answer, they found, depended on how much the individual thought the other group prioritized universal “autonomy” values such as harm and fairness. The same was true in Morocco, where they hired local researchers to survey 100 Arabs and Berbers in six districts around Greater Casablanca. The authors then asked if a desire to change intergroup relations would motivate increased perceptions of moral difference between groups. If so, would this occur primarily on the basis of universal values of fairness and harm? To find out, they interviewed 362 New Yorkers about abortion and same-sex marriage. They found that for participants who espoused either the liberal or the conservative view, thinking about an issue around which they desired a change in the status quo led to a perception of greater distance between self and other in autonomy values, but not binding ones. In other words, on issues where participants wanted a status change in an issue that currently favored the other group, they perceived greater differences in autonomy values. "This study provides insights about others, but also ourselves," Argo said. "Do we really distance ourselves from others because of the religious garb they wear, or what they eat? No. We distance ourselves when we don’t trust them to treat us well. Given this, it becomes essential to care about how others perceive our own group’s behavior." She added, "Since people do not usually hate because of differences in ways of life, they may be thinking that our actions disregard them, or worse, constitute attacks against them. Sometimes those perceptions can be prevented or corrected. It’s the golden rule: how we treat others matters."A House panel approved legislation Wednesday imposing tough new restrictions on the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to enact regulations seen as hurting the economy. ADVERTISEMENT The GOP-backed Energy Consumer Relief Act cruised through the Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Energy and Power, despite opposition from Democrats, who derided the bill as an attack on the environment. Under the legislation, the EPA would be required to submit a report to Congress detailing the estimated costs and job impacts of any proposed energy-related rules that would cost more than $1 billion to implement. Further, the bill would empower the Department of Energy to conduct its own review of those draft rules — and block them if the agency determines they would cause economic damage. “We know EPA rules are unusually expensive,” Rep. Ed Whitfield Wayne (Ed) Edward WhitfieldWhy Republicans took aim at an ethics watchdog What Azerbaijan wants from Israel? Overnight Energy: Green group sues Exxon over climate science MORE (R-Ky.), the subcommittee's chairman, said during consideration of the measure. “We are trying to focus on the effect on the economy and the loss of jobs.” Critics of the bill say it is designed to kill important environmental protections, just as the EPA is considering major new limits on emissions from new and existing power plants, among other actions aimed at reducing the effects of climate change. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) described the bill as “yet another science-denying attack on the EPA.” “At some point, we need to stop acting like members of the flat earth society and start listening to the scientists,” Waxman said, borrowing a line from President Obama’s speech last month announcing his global warming initiative. Waxman and other Democrats criticized the bill for containing no mention of benefits generated by EPA regulations, or any requirement that they be factored in to agency analyses. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) offered an amendment that that would have required the Department of Energy to consider benefits of EPA rules — including estimated healthcare cost cuts linked to reduced pollution. The amendment, which failed by a tally of 11-16, would have limited the powerful sway over EPA rules that the Energy Department would gain under the bill. “I disagree with giving DOE a de facto veto,” Rush said. Ultimately, the legislation was approved 17-10, sending it to the full committee. The oil and gas industry, which has complained about the emissions regulations, as well as proposed measures to limit pollution from vehicles and improve air quality, lauded the bill’s passage. “President Obama has promised transparency from his administration and the American people deserve to receive a complete and accurate accounting of the impact of EPA actions on the economic recovery and their pocketbooks,” the American Petroleum Institute said in a written statement. Public interest groups meanwhile blasted the legislation, saying the Environmental Protection Agency is already hamstrung by strict requirements that it measure costs of rules whose benefits are often difficult to quantify. “This Act would effectively kneecap the Agency's remaining ability to protect citizens against damaging pollutants,” said Rena Steinzor, a law professor who serves as president of the Center for Progressive Reform. Steinzor said a rule that raised energy costs for American households by as little as $0.87 a year over 10 years would trigger the DOE’s veto authority, under the legislation.Taoiseach Leo Varadkar didn't get a warm reception from American rock band LCD Soundsystem after appearing backstage following their Dublin show. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar didn't get a warm reception from American rock band LCD Soundsystem after appearing backstage following their Dublin show. The band's guitarist Al Doyle took to Twitter to brand him a 'tosser' after a brief interaction between the two in the Olympia Theatre last night. "Irish PM Leo Varadkar came backstage. Wore a "repeal" tote bag around my neck in front of him; he walked away. Tosser," he wrote. Irish PM Leo Varadkar came backstage. Wore a "repeal" tote bag around my neck in front of him; he walked away. Tosser. — al doyle (@aldoyletweets) September 29, 2017 He said that the band's synthesizer Nancy Whang "took him to task" on Ireland's abortion law. "It was uncomfortable and awesome," he added. The Taoiseach had been enjoying the show with fellow Fine Gael members, including Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee, who defended their party leader on Twitter. "Wow! You do realise he's the one actually raising the repeal issue when other wouldn't," Ms McEntee wrote. "#GreatGigByTheWay #PityAboutTheBitterness" The All My Friends hitmakers played three nights in the Olympia Theatre, all of which sold out in record time. Thousands of people are expected on the streets of Dublin later to call for change to Ireland's abortion laws. Online EditorsMinnie Driver: 1; body critics: 0. Just weeks after she quit Twitter because of cruel comments made about her body in a bikini, Driver delivered an epic shutdown to those very critics by tweeting a photo of her nude spread in Allure magazine. If you want people to stop taking about how you look in a bikini, let them see you naked. It tends to shut them up:) pic.twitter.com/D5WkmRqE1Z — Minnie Driver (@driverminnie) April 22, 2014 The 44-year-old appears naked in the May 2014 issue of Allure magazine. "I never could have done this when I was 25 -- no way," she said of mustering the gusto to strip down for the shoot. "All I saw then were the flaws. I still see the flaws, but I see what's great more -- and I've got a banging body." On April 8, Driver slammed people who had hateful things to say about photos of her wearing a swimsuit taken by paparazzi while she was on vacation with her 5-year-old son, Henry.One of the charming, yet perplexing, Australian qualities is that most of the time we pay little to no attention to what politicians say or do. Even though enormous screeds are written about what goes on in the nation’s capitals, generally speaking they are of supreme disinterest to people who decide the outcomes of elections. Maybe, this is natural for a country that for a couple of hundred years has largely been populated by sheep. Even when legislation affects us directly and profoundly, barely a squeak is raised – unless it is a new tax. So it is with the data retention bill that nearly six weeks ago landed with a thud in parliament and has lain fallow while committees pick and poke at it. The profound interference that this legislation proposes for the lives of everyone requires a supreme feat of detachment for it to progress without a mass uprising. Special interests groups invariably get excited about laws that affect their patch. So it is that we’ve seen media people campaigning against national security laws that criminalise journalists reporting on information that forms part of a “special intelligence operation”. This is the notorious clause 35P in the first clump of this year’s Isis-related anti-terror laws. You’ll remember attorney general George Brandis got himself into one of his famous prolix tangles when he tried to falsely suggest on the ABC’s Q&A program that the penalty for disclosing state secrets wouldn’t apply to journalists if a whistleblower, like Edward Snowden, disclosed it first. His copy of the legislation must have been quite different to the one everyone else was reading. Journalists kicked up such a racket that the attorney general had to produce some soothing balm - like only he could approve prosecutions against reporters for reporting what security agencies deemed out-of-bounds. The only thing in living memory that has energised protests by the media against national security legislation is the very law that affects their territorial freedom. Yet, here we are with the data retention bill, which puts the entire population under surveillance, monitors and stores details of our phone calls, our email traffic and inevitably our viewing on the web, and the national outcry is non-existent. It’s as though the liberty of all the citizens is nothing when set against the prospect of a few journalists ending up in the clink. Bret Walker, the Sydney barrister who was previously the independent national security legislation monitor, describes this as the “malaise of the citizenry”. There is simply not enough “push back”. The disproportionate overreach of the data retention amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act extend beyond invasions of citizens’ personal privacy and information. They go to reconfiguring the implied social compact between the state and its citizens. Professor Roger Bradbury from the strategy and statecraft in cyberspace research program at the ANU’s National Security College mentioned this shift during a panel discussion on cyber security last week at the Law Society of NSW. The theory of the state, at least in the quasi-democracy model that we have, is that it is there to protect citizens and apply taxation for the betterment of society, based on a broad consensus. The tables are turned if the state takes on the Stasi-like function of mass surveillance with the regime having the capacity to spy on us, constantly and permanently. If the state is riffling through our thoughts, passions and speech - for ends that are not entirely clear - the relationship between the governed and the government changes. Walker told last week’s discussion at the Law Society that there’s not nearly enough rational talk about privacy. With invasive technologies at the disposal of government agencies, “much less is private than we think”. “There is a porous barrier, though which information about our private life is merrily flowing.” The former independent monitor queried whether everything kept as part of the data retention regime can possibly be kept entirely secret. A swelling repository is likely, inevitably, to be subject a major attack. Curiously, the government has not advanced anything to show it is thinking about how to protect this information about its citizens from such a cyber assault. “Secrecy is far more engaged when it comes to matters concerning big money.” As a person who has been involved in litigation for 35 years, Walker sees this characteristic quite frequently. What he thinks would be a good idea is legislation prescribing what should be private, things like your mother’s medical records or the code for the US nuclear arsenal. Everything that is not prescribed would be in the public domain, so information that will embarrass people who exercise sovereign powers improperly can be widely known. What Walker does see as crucial is the need for warrants to be granted judicially before agencies can access personal data held by telcos. Access should “all be done under warrants granted by courts, because that provides another level of someone’s thinking about the issue”. The security agencies say judicial warrants would make their lives too difficult, which is exactly the reason they are essential. Last financial year Australian telcos made over half a million data disclosures to law enforcement authorities. That excludes Asio, which is not required to report its figures, but it is saying that a lot of its work would “grind to a halt” if warrants were required. This gives us some idea of the dimension of the agency’s wholesale warrantless access to personal communications information. Edward Snowden’s revelations shocked Americans about the extent to which they were under surveillance, leading to moves in Congress to attempt to ameliorate the remit of the eavesdroppers. Yet, here we are in Australia, going at it with our warrantless ears back. The Europeans have grappled with the same issues and some countries have taken steps to address the concerns. In April this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the union’s data retention directive to be invalid, on two main grounds: interference “in a particularly serious manner” with private life and the protection of personal data, and that the directive was disproportionate to the aim of combating serious criminal activity. The EU data retention directive failed to lay down objective criteria which defined the use to which the information could be put, the conditions which must apply before access should be permitted and the fact that access is not dependent on prior review by a court or tribunal. Precisely the same issues that blight Australia’s proposed data retention regime. The European data directive imposed a retention period of at least six months and a maximum of 24 months. Our bill opts for 24 months, flat, yet as the cross party parliamentary committee on human rights points out, the submissions made by law enforcement agencies indicate that data held for longer than six months is rarely the subject of access. It is not only lawyers, journalists and whistleblowers who should be on the battlements about this proposed law, it is anyone who deals in volumes of confidential data and the creators or generators of that information. A non-exhaustive list would include, doctors, hospitals, accountants, local councils, insurance companies, and financial institutions. The legislation is simply not rigorous enough, leaving vast tracts of discretion to be the subject of regulations. It’s back before parliament for consideration early next year, after the joint security and intelligence committee has reported. Undoubtedly, there’ll be some tweaks yet this is not a matter purely for vested interests. All citizens have an interest in this outcome. The minister who introduced these amendments to the Telecommunications Act, Malcolm Turnbull, two years ago in his Alfred Deakin lecture flayed the previous government’s efforts to try and introduce similar legislation. He complained that, “The most striking proposed expansion of government power over private data is the least clearly explained... This data retention proposal is only the latest effort by the Gillard government to restrain freedom of speech.” His own bill does precisely the same. As we know, the minister who has carriage of the bill in the Senate, attorney general George Brandis, doesn’t understand a thing about metadata or data. Between the two of them it is little wonder that their proffered privacy protections consist of rapidly decomposing fig leaves. The editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, Alan Rusbridger, will address the state of global press freedom and surveillance - including the potential impact of these new laws - at Sydney’s Carriageworks on Tuesday 9 December. Find out more here.SNc Channels: Search About Salem-News.com Mar-26-2009 15:02 TweetFollow @OregonNews Vigilante DEA Thwarts Obama & Holder: Have They Really Become a Rogue Agency? The DEA is no longer taking orders from the President. Salem-News.com (SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) - It's a simple fact that governments don't always have control of their military agencies. This seems to be the case with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency in the United States. The agency, in spite of strong and direct words from both the President and the Attorney General, Eric Holder, is literally ignoring and dismissing a directive to back off from its incessant drive to bust legal medical marijuana dispensaries. Holder told reporters just days ago, on March 18th 2009, that the DEA would only raid medical marijuana providers if it found violations of both state and federal laws. But it appears that this agency, the DEA, is nothing more than a bunch of armed criminals operating as rogue vigilantes. We have received unconfirmed reports that the leaders of the pharmaceutical industry, with cash bursting through its bank accounts, are actually paying off the DEA to conduct this unauthorized activity. And if this agency that is literally and seriously out of control is telling the President and the public that they aren't part of the system, then it is time to dismantle the DEA and put the money into real police agencies that take care of fighting crime in this country. Bruce Mirken with the Marijuana Policy Project says Wednesday's Drug Enforcement Administration raid on Emmalyn's California Cannabis Clinic, a licensed medical marijuana collective in San Francisco, has raised serious questions among medical marijuana supporters about implementation of the new policy announced by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder last week. According to the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Emmalyn's had obtained a temporary city permit and was actively working with the city to meet all the requirements for a permanent license. "It is disturbing that, despite the DEA's vague claims about violations of state and federal laws, they apparently made no effort to contact the local authorities who monitor and license medical marijuana providers," said Marijuana Policy Project California policy director Aaron Smith. "For an agency that for eight years said it couldn't care less about state law to suddenly justify raids as an effort to uphold state law simply doesn't pass the smell test." "Because so little information has been released thus far, we have more questions than answers," added Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations. "But with an actual shooting war along our Mexican border, not to mention federal law enforcement there being so overwhelmed that traffickers coming through the border with up to 500 pounds of marijuana are let go, it's very hard to believe that this is the best use of DEA resources, especially in a city with an active program to license and regulate medical marijuana providers." ----------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan with Oregon troops. Tim recently returned from Iraq where he covered the war there while embedded with an Oregon Guard aviation unit. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com Marijuana \| Medical marijuana \| California \| Most Commented on Articles for March 25, 2009 \| Articles for March 26, 2009 \| Articles for March 27, 2009OTTAWA — Canada may have to pare back some of its more protectionist trade policies in order to successfully navigate negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement, a report released Tuesday says. Analysts at policy think tank Fraser Institute said Canada may encounter resistance on issues such as protecting the dairy industry, limits on foreign investment in the finance and telecommunications sectors, and certain intellectual property (IP) provisions. Such snags could cause delays in broader negotiations, the report said. Steven Globerman, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute who wrote the report, said officials may be overly optimistic about the U.S. government’s willingness to ignore some of its main concerns with the current deal. NAFTA negotiations are scheduled to begin Wednesday. “I think there’s almost a feeling of complacency that somehow the three parties are going to find a way,” said Steven Globerman, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute who wrote the report. The ramifications of failing to come to a deal likely means that Canada and the United States would go back to the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, signed in 1987. Many provisions under the earlier trade deal are very similar to NAFTA, Globerman writes, meaning that under a certain scenario the two countries would have to fall back on trade agreements established years before the initial Canada-U.S. trade agreement. “The Canadian government needs to be thinking about what the implications are of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement in fact going away, and falling back to the World Trade Organization [rules],” Globerman said in an interview. He said a fall back to WTO terms “would not
, McCutcheon himself spoke most pointedly about the decision that bears his name. “We can’t punish rich people just because they have money … we have the right to make reasonable contributions to as many people as we choose,” McCutcheon, an Alabama businessman, told FEC commissioners. The McCutcheon decision allowed citizens to make the maximum campaign contribution to as many candidates and political parties as they want. Such contributions were previously capped under the so-called “aggregate limit” rule. Political contributions made after McCutcheon remain subject to standing federal disclosure rules, which generally require political committees to report the name, address, employer and occupation of donors who give more than $200 during an election cycle. Today’s hearing alone was an achievement for the FEC, which has been rendered largely non-functional in recent years because of partisan bickering. Ravel struck a deal last fall with Republican commissioners in which she agreed to create long-awaited agency rules addressing the Citizens United decision. In exchange, the agency’s GOP commissioners agreed invite public comment on the McCutcheon decision, and conduct today’s hearing on potential ways to regulate it. Ravel’s compromise angered some Democrats, who’d like to see the Citizens United decision overturned or watered down, not formally accepted by the FEC. Whether today’s hearing will change any of the commissioners’ minds on campaign money issues great or small is unclear. Commissioners at least appeared ready to look for ways to work together despite ideological differences. Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen, a Republican, told the Center for Public Integrity that while some election law issues raised are “clearly in Congress’ court,” not that of the FEC, “hopefully we will use today to see where we can find consensus on some issues before us.” Republican Commissioner Lee Goodman, meanwhile, said he’ll “reserve judgment” on what actions, if any, today’s hearing will prompt the commission to take. “I hope this starts the year off on good footing for us working together where we can,” Goodman added. But Commissioner Caroline Hunter, also a Republican, expressed frustration with the affair when describing spending money on politics as a right protected by the U.S. Constitution’s 1st Amendment. “A theme to me for the day is ‘it’s OK for some people to speak, but not others. It’s crazy to me, it’s favoring some speakers over others,” Hunter said. Democratic Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, who frequently took to Twitter during the hearing, has long advocated for strict rules limiting the influence of big money in politics and requiring comprehensive disclosure of contributions and expenditures. “Public commenter rightly asks: Whose side are you/we on? Who will we stand up for?” Weintraub tweeted during a late morning period when the commission invited several students, businesspeople and other people never seen at FEC proceedings to offer testimony. She later called the hearing a “landmark” affair that took advantage of the agency’s ability to “take the public’ temperature on issues like corruption and transparency in political spending.” Among the hearing’s more recognizable speakers were Don McGahn, a former FEC chairman who today represented the Koch brothers-connected Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and Freedom Partners Action Fund; former FEC Chairman Dave Mason; former FEC Chairman Brad Smith; Zephyr Teachout, a law professor and 2014 New York gubernatorial candidate; Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters and former Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla.Anthony Scaramucci’s new media organization is sparking outrage for asking readers how many Jews they thought had been murdered during the Holocaust. Twitter users accused The Scaramucci Post, which President Donald Trump’s former communications director launched in September, of pandering to Holocaust deniers by asking its 24,000-plus Twitter followers this question on Tuesday morning: Twitter Around 6 millions Jews were systematically murdered during the genocide instigated under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany before and during World War II. But The Scaramucci Post question appears to suggest with its multiple-choice options that the total number of Jews killed may have been fewer than 1 million. Here’s how the first 4,577 respondents voted: Twitter The poll question was taken down after around 90 minutes. The Scaramucci Post’s Twitter account, according to its bio page, is run by hedge fund manager Lance Laifer. A subsequent tweet on Tuesday said that Laifer was behind the Holocaust question, and that Scaramucci was not aware of it. This poll was put up by @lancelaifer without consulting @Scaramucci who is traveling in London. The poll has been taken down. pic.twitter.com/SKaaPZAPow — ScaramucciPost (@ScaramucciPost) October 17, 2017 That failed to dampen the outrage expressed by tweeters: Everyone who did the "ha ha it's all a big joke" welcome back Scaramucci into fancy elite society has to answer for this. https://t.co/6aCOfie1Ll — Michael Caley (@MC_of_A) October 17, 2017 Reported and blocked Scaramucci Post. — Tony Renner (@TonyRenner) October 17, 2017 Nice to know that the Scaramucci acorn hasn't fallen far from the Trump Tree. https://t.co/W7QFPcVw5A — LL (@laura_lrnzo) October 17, 2017 Insane. Anthony @Scaramucci's "cute" little social media project appears to have gone full David Irving. https://t.co/icQhCW0ZBA — (((Morgan Finnsiö))) (@Morgan_Finnsio) October 17, 2017 I was under the impression Scaramucci creating his own media outlet was going to be an amusingly dumb thing, so this is an abrupt dark turn. — 🦗New Free Soil Party (@FreeSoilAndrew) October 17, 2017 What in the actual fuck @Scaramucci? Likable goof to Holocaust denier? — Jeremy Newberger (@jeremynewberger) October 17, 2017 Anytime you worry that you really fucked up your life, remember you aren't Anthony Scaramucci, who somehow keeps managing to find new ways. — Diana Joy 🛋 (@DianaJoy23) October 17, 2017 The Shoah is not for Twitter polls, @Scaramucci and @ScaramucciPost, do not make light of that evil and loss. DO BETTER. — Just ZK 4 Now (@ZombieCheney) October 17, 2017 Scaramucci tweeted late Tuesday afternoon that he would make a $25,000 donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which is named after a Nazi hunter. He said he was out of the country when the poll went live on Twitter. “I was not aware of [Laifer’s] actions and as soon as I found out, I had it removed immediately,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter. “I am pained imagining that my post led anyone to believe I am giving comfort to Holocaust deniers. Nothing can be further from the truth. I have publicly criticized the white supremacy movement and understand that the Holocaust was one of the most abhorrent moments in world history.” “I don’t fire people for making mistakes,” Scaramucci said in a later tweet. “Besides, [Laifer] is my partner. I fire people for not trying.”Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. May 12, 2016, 2:56 PM GMT / Updated May 12, 2016, 8:18 PM GMT By Elizabeth Chuck Poultry workers are routinely denied basic needs such as bathroom breaks to the point of being forced to wear diapers while on the line, a new report claims. The processing plant workers are mocked or ignored by supervisors when they ask to go to the bathroom, says Oxfam America, the U.S. arm of the global organization dedicated to solving poverty and social injustice. As a result, employees "restrict intake of liquids and fluids to dangerous degrees; they endure pain and discomfort while they worry about their health and job security," the report said. The conditions are particularly trying for women who are menstruating or pregnant, the report added, citing unnamed workers who it interviewed over a period of three years. The scathing report, released Wednesday, also alleges that employees wait for an hour or more in long lines to use the bathroom and risk getting punished or fired if they don't accomplish their work within a certain time frame. "What would be shocking in most workplaces happens far too often in poultry plants: Workers relieving themselves while standing at their work station," the report said. "Too many workers tell stories about urinating on themselves, or witnessing coworkers urinating on themselves." Some have "made the uncomfortable decision to wear adult diapers to work" to avoid having to ask to leave the line and risk being punished, it continued. The group named Tyson Foods Inc., Perdue Farms Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., and Sanderson Farms Inc., quoting workers there using pseudonyms. "Jean, from a Tyson plant in Virginia, says that even though she’s diabetic, 'I don’t drink any water so I won’t have to go,'" the report said. When contacted by NBC News, all of the companies named in the report, except for Sanderson Farms, replied with statements denying the allegations. Sanderson Farms' Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Mike Cockrell said the company had no statement. Tyson Foods rejected the notion that employees' requests for bathroom breaks are denied. "We’re concerned about these anonymous claims and while we currently have no evidence they’re true, are checking to make sure our position on restroom breaks is being followed and our Team Members’ needs are being met," it said. Perdue Farms said employees receive two 30-minute breaks during each eight-hour shift. "If an associate has a health or other reason why they need more frequent restroom breaks, they can visit the onsite Wellness Center for support services or talk with Human Resources to request an accommodation for their condition," it said. Pilgrim's Pride called the health and safety of its employees "core to who we are as a company" and said the Oxfam claims, if true, would be "clear violations of company policy." The National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association also responded, questioning whether the Oxfam report was blowing the allegations out of proportion. "We’re troubled by these claims but also question this group’s efforts to paint the whole industry with a broad brush based on a handful of anonymous claims. We believe such instances are extremely rare and that U.S. poultry companies work hard to prevent them," it said. Conditions of the poultry industry have come under fire before — such as in the 2008 documentary "Food Inc.," which examined factory farming and big corporations' influence in the food industry. After releasing its report, Oxfam America called on poultry companies to change their policies using the hashtag "#GiveThemABreak" on social media. Animal rights nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has documented abuse in the meat industry, used the Oxfam report to push consumers to stop eating meat. "Like the workers, these animals are stripped of their dignity and their inherent worth as living beings, all so others can have a fleeting, low-cost meal. The only conscionable move anyone can make in the face of such cruelty to workers and to animals is to go vegan," PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien said.The St. Louis Rams invested a third-round pick on running back Tre Mason. Could the former Auburn star become an immediate fixture on offense? Mason said Thursday that Rams coaches told him he will compete for the starting job in the team's backfield this season, according to Ryan Van Bibber of SBNation.com. This is probably news to Zac Stacy, who played like a rising star during his rookie season in St. Louis. In all likelihood, Mason is parroting a variation of the competition mantra that's gotten John Idzik into some trouble in New York lately. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said in March he believed Stacy will become that "70-percent of the carries guy." If Stacy is allowed that type of workload in 2014, Mason is more likely ticketed for a change-of-pace role to start his NFL career. Mason should get his opportunities, but Stacy should carry the show. The latest "Around The League Podcast" breaks down the news discusses players who could be summertime trade targets.Three-dimensional (3D) solids can be printed quickly and continuously from puddles of liquid resin, researchers report in the 20 March issue of the journal Science. Their approach applies a careful balance of oxygen and light to print solid objects from a liquid pool in minutes instead of hours — rates far faster than traditional printing can achieve. "Our technology promises to advance the [3D printing] industry beyond basic prototyping to 3D manufacturing," explained senior author Joseph DeSimone, a professor of chemistry at University of North Carolina and North Carolina State. Although 3D printing is now possible using relatively small and low-cost machines, it is still a fairly slow process that involves several steps for each printed layer, including the need to reposition the object before adding the next layer of material. "Essentially," DeSimone said, "it's two-dimensional printing over and over." Using such methods, an object just several centimeters in height can take hours to construct, relegating 3D printing to the development of models that guide manufacturing, but do not produce the actual manufactured goods. The technology developed by DeSimone and his team looks to advance 3D printing beyond basic prototyping in three important ways: It offers game-changing speeds up to 100 times faster than conventional 3D printers, it grows solid objects with consistent and predictable mechanical properties (like smoothness), and it enables creation of a broad range of materials. The technology works by putting a bath of resin on top of a digital light projection system. A special window, rather like a contact lens, sits between the bath and projector. Ultraviolet light is projected in bursts through the window. Typically, ultraviolet light triggers resin to harden, but the key to DeSimone's process is the interaction of light with oxygen, which allows the resin to maintain its liquid state. By carefully coordinating bursts of light and oxygen to firm up the resin where desired, the system makes complex, 3D shapes. And critically, instead of growing objects as a series of two-dimensional layers that are stacked together, this process grows objects continuously, allowing them to be made in one piece. This means they are smoother, a desirable trait in manufacturing. "We are excited to see what designers and engineers will be able to do with this technology," DeSimone said. "We are able to throw the entire polymer chemistry textbook at it and make parts like hard prototyping resins and elastomers. This technology can also make materials with high elasticity for athletic shoes or high dampening for applications like engine motor mounts for vibrational control...The process lends itself to the entire range of properties that people want in their parts." DeSimone is CEO and cofounder of Carbon3D, the company that developed this printing technology, which he and his colleagues call "continuous liquid interface production technology" or CLIP. He demonstrated the technology at a TED Talk this week that coincided with the publication of his report in Science.A 40-year-old man was stabbed in the face and torso outside the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Tuesday evening, according to police. The stabbing was reported at 6:13 p.m. outside the popular venue on Grove Street. Police said the victim and suspect, described as a man in his 30s, had gotten into an argument the previous night, and when the suspect approached the victim Tuesday night they engaged in another argument. The suspect then pulled out knives and stabbed the victim before fleeing the area south on Polk Street. Oakland resident Lamont Brown, who witnessed the stabbing, said it appeared to happen out of nowhere. “I don’t know why. I turned around, and he was stabbing, stabbing, stabbing. I was like, ‘Oh, God,'” Brown said. “It’s really crazy.” The victim was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive. Read more criminal justice news on the Crime Ink page in print. Follow us on Twitter: @sfcrimeink Click here or scroll down to commentWhere you spend your time online can reveal a lot about you, and many people prefer to keep that part of their online behaviour private. So how would you feel if a stranger sat down at your computer and started to explore your web browser history? As CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains, a new research project from MIT called "Eyebrowse" wants you to make your web browser history public. What is Eyebrowse? Eyebrowse is a tool that runs inside your web browser. Basically, it keeps track of all the websites you visit, and optionally allows you to share parts of your web history with others. CBC Forum on online browser privacy "I think your online browsing history should be very private. Only for you to see and not for anybody else to see." — a comment from Dohn Pratt on the CBC Forum chat on online browser privacy. Read the full discussion here. So, for instance, if you look at my Eyebrowse profile, you'll see a big long list of the websites I visited recently. You'll see that I visited Techmeme a few times, and that I visited Hacker News throughout the day. You'll also see that I read a few articles on CBC.ca, and you can see exactly which articles I viewed. As well, you can also see how much time I spent on each site. If you've ever sat down at someone else's computer, and snooped around in their browser history, it's kind of like that, except that Eyebrowse doesn't publish everything. It's not supposed to. You can choose which sites you share information about, and which ones you don't — I could exclude all visits to my bank's website, for instance. Why would anyone want to make their browsing public? Amy Zhang, one of the MIT researchers who created Eyebrowse, explains that one of the project's goals is to make online spaces a bit more like the world around us. MIT researcher Amy Zhang is one of the people who created the Eyebrowse project. (mit.edu) "In real life, you have places that are private and places that are public. My home is private." she said. "So when I go outside, I can see where a crowd is gathering.. In those public spaces, you can see who else is around, and see where people are going, and see what's interesting." Eyebrowse suggests we might start to think of certain places online as public — the sort of places you wouldn't mind people knowing you go, in the same way I wouldn't mind someone running into me on the street me on the street, or bumping into me at the library. Besides tracking history, what does Eyebrowse let users do? It has a few other interesting features. Because Eyebrows knows who's visiting which sites and at what times, and because all of that information is public, it allows you to connect with other people who visit the same sites as you. Let's say you and I both visit the same obscure website, dedicated to our shared passion — ukulele music. Eyebrowse lets us chat right on the site. Or we can leave notes for other Eyebrows users who visit the site. So there's a social function. There's also a really interesting self-monitoring aspect to this.When your behaviour is tracked and quantified by a service like Eyebrowse, it's easy to look and see how much time you're spending on Twitter, or Wikipedia, or news sites or wherever you visit frequently. Are there privacy concerns with sharing this much data? Absolutely. And part of what Eyebrowse is trying to do is remind people that whether they know it or not, most of their online activity is already tracked — by ad networks, large social networking sites, and third-party analytics companies, for example. Pretty much anywhere you go online, you're being tracked — and creating a sort of data exhaust, which is often used for advertising purposes. "We know that this data is very useful, because these companies obviously spend a lot of time and effort to get that data," said Zhang. "However, the people that actually create the data don't get to see their own data, and they don't get to see the benefits of their own data, or build or learn on top of that for themselves." The point is that if you're going to be tracked and followed around online, you might as well have access to the data trail you produce — or at least have the choice to access it. Eyebrowse is exploring what that might look like. Will people want to use Eyebrowse long-term? I've only been using Eyebrowse for the past day or so. And I've been pretty selective about which sites I allow Eyebrowse to report on. Zhang also said there are certain sites that it simply won't report on, like Facebook or your Google search results. But the thing that struck me most about using Eyebrowse was the feeling that someone was looking over my shoulder, virtually. And personally, it was difficult to mentally shift out of a private mindset, into a more public mindset. But again, that's part of the point. Even if you think your web browsing is an inherently private activity, it's not. There's always someone virtually looking over your shoulder. When I first heard about Eyebrowse, it seemed like a type of radical transparency — sharing your browser history online. But the more I learned about it, the more I realized this is just taking the shadowy world of web tracking, and shining some light on it.News emerges as part of watchdog report saying force is failing in way it handles racism complaints against officers from public Six Metropolitan police officers are facing the sack for sending each other racist jokes, it has emerged on the day that the police watchdog said the force was letting down the public in the way it handled racist complaints. The officers, from the borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, are alleged to have sent a total of 31 text messages described as being of a "highly offensive nature" in the summer of 2012. They are due to face a gross misconduct hearing in November, where the maximum sanction is dismissal without notice if they are found guilty of the discreditable conduct alleged. Of the six officers, one is a sergeant with nine years service and five are constables. Two of the six, the sergeant and a PC, have been suspended, while the rest are now on restricted duties. Eight other officers were sent messages, one of whom reported the offensive nature of the texts to his bosses in July 2012. Those eight officers have been dealt with by management action, such as words of advice. The case is being investigated by the Met's directorate of professional standards, which believe the texts were sent when the officers were off-duty. The incident was not made public by the Met. Instead it is contained in a report released by the police watchdog, finding the Met is failing in the way it handles complaints of racism against officers, over a decade after the force vowed to stamp out prejudice in the ranks. The report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission led the Met to admit it was letting down the public in the way it handled racism complaints. The report followed allegations of police racism in 2012 in a series of incidents, some of which were revealed by the Guardian. Those allegations led to IPCC to investigate. The IPCC said it was "crucial to public confidence" that racism complaints were handled fairly. It found that 511 racism complaints were made against officers in April 2011 to May 2012. In some the Met investigation comprised of asking the officers to respond by email, than accepting their denial and finding against the complainant. The watchdog also found the Met issued a "standard, generic apology" regardless of what the investigation found which of "very little value". IPCC commissioner Jennifer Izekor said: "This report shows that, though there are some examples of good practice, in general there is an unwillingness or inability to deal with these complaints robustly and effectively. "Too often, complaints are dismissed without proper investigation or resolution, complainants are not properly engaged with, and lessons are not learned." The IPCC report is the latest dent to the Met's claims to have done all it can to clean up racism. It has recently faced criticism over stop and search, and to have attempted to smear the family of Stephen Lawrence, murdered in a racist attack, whose killers were left free in part because of institutional racism, according to the 1999 Macpherson report. Izekor said: "We know that there is less confidence both in policing and in the complaints system among BME [black and minority ethnic] communities. If the Metropolitan police service is serious about building that confidence, there will need to be a cultural change to complaints handling." The IPCC called for "a cultural change in the way the MPS deals with such complaints, supported by training, monitoring and community feedback". The IPCC paid special attention to 20 cases where the Met was left to investigate racism cases itself. It found in the majority, 13 cases, "the investigating officer made no effort to obtain additional evidence that could have supported the allegation of racism". In its response, the Met vowed to reform and learn. The assistant commissioner, Simon Byrne welcomed the report's critical findings and said: "It is powerful, showing the way we deal with complaints involving racism is letting down the public." He added the force was determined to "be less defensive and accept when we are not performing as well as we should be". Byrne said the force favoured an independent ethics panel to oversee misconduct proceedings for the Met, and wanted senior officers to meet those who felt let down to humanise complainants and improve their negative experiences of complaining about police racism.Back in June, I showed off some Yandere Simulator t-shirts that I wore to Anime Expo. I explained that the shirts weren’t for sale because I felt like I should make further progress with the game before selling any merchandise. I made a poll asking whether or not fans would disapprove if I started selling merch. The majority of people voted that they would be okay with it, and the people I met at Anime Expo expressed a lot of interest in buying the shirts I was wearing, too! However, I remained committed to my decision to not sell merchandise until I felt like I had hit an important milestone with the game’s progress. After the Unity 5 conversion, a rapid-fire string of updates in July and August, and the first truly significant update in a long time, I feel like I’ve finally made enough progress to justify selling some merch…and that leads us to this video! You can check out the merchandise right here: https://crowdmade.com/yandere I hope you like it!People protesting the violent white supremacist rally that occurred on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., plan to gather outside of the U.S. consulate in Toronto on Monday morning. The gathering, called “Toronto in Solidarity with Charlottesville,” calls for Canadians to “register our dissent” towards the “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville, where a rally of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other far-right Americans fighting the removal of a Confederate monument descended into scenes of violence Saturday. Clashes at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday. ( Evelyn Hockstein / For The Washington Post ) A 32-year-old woman, counter protester Heather D. Heyer, was killed when by a car driven by James Fields Jr., a 20-year-old Ohio man who was earlier photographed among white nationalists at the rally, plowed into a crowd. The Monday event is being organized by two Toronto-area American history professors. “We all have been horror-struck by this weekend's events in Charlottesville, Virginia — the white supremacists … the President's ‘both sides do it’ response and the failure of law enforcement to keep the peace,” Anne Rubenstein, a co-organizer and professor at York University, wrote in an email to potential attendees. Article Continued Below “As a historian I see these events as part of a long history of white violence,” said Rubenstein. “White people protecting their place in a racial hierarchy by killing people and terrorizing people.” “We white people who disagree — to put it mildly — should come collect our people.” Article Continued Below Rubenstein believes that Canadians have an important role to play in challenging discrimination and violence. “Canada is far from perfect,” she said, but added that “a lot of people in the U.S. look to Canada as the place where everything is better.” “One thing Canadians can do is continue to provide an example of how to be better.” On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump offered a vague condemnation of bigotry and violence “on many sides,” drawing criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers for showing reluctance to being explicitly critical of white supremacist movements. The Trump administration in July cut funding to a group that fights white supremacy. The Toronto rally is scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday. Read more about:I don't own Harry Potter or Ginny Weasley. This one-shot contains content from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which does belong to J.K. Rowling. I may not have the time to expand any of these vignettes into full stories, but I invite anyone else to give them a shot. So long as you credit me for the idea, any and all of these one-shots are officially up for adoption. Why I Like You "Ginny, listen…" he said very quietly, as the buzz of conversation grew louder around them and people began to get to their feet, "I can't be involved with you anymore. We've got to stop seeing each other. We can't be together." She said, with an oddly twisted smile, "It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?" "It's been like… like something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with you," said Harry. "But I can't… we can't… I've got things to do alone now." She did not cry, she simply looked at him. "Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. He's already used you as bait once, and that was just because you're my best friend's sister. Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try to get to me through you." "What if I don't care?" said Ginny fiercely. "I care," said Harry. "How do you think I'd feel if this was your funeral… and it was my fault…" She looked away from him, over the lake. "I never really gave up on you," she said. "Not really. I always hoped…. Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more – myself." "Smart girl, that Hermione," said Harry, trying to smile. "I just wish I'd asked you sooner. We could've had ages… months, years maybe…." "But you've been too busy saving the Wizarding world," said Ginny, half laughing. "Well… I can't say I'm surprised. I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort. Maybe that's why I like you so much." "Wait, what? You… because… you think this makes me happy? Happy to hunt the man who killed my parents, happy to save everyone over and over? "No, I didn't… not like that, I didn't mean that." Ginny's hair shook from side to side. "Then what did you mean? Because you must've picked the worst possible way to express it, whatever it was." Harry scowled deeply. "I just… I just meant that you weren't the sort of person to do nothing, to just keep living without a care when there was something to be doing, something to fight for. You do understand, don't you? You must." "Of course I wouldn't just… stand around," Harry dismissed the thought with scorn. "But why would you think that made me happy?" "Because… because it's true, it's what defines you." At his look of protest she continued. "You think you'd be happy to let others fight this war in your stead? You said it yourself: what we had, together, it was like something out of someone else's life. Now you're going back to the life you feel belongs to you, and you tell me I can't follow." For a second Harry looked as torn as he felt. "But… happy?" "How else would you describe it? Satisfied, fulfilled, like it fills a hole in your heart to fight Voldemort? Harry, you don't think I know? He was in my head for almost my whole first year, and by the time he took me to the Chamber, I'd lost all hope, I knew he would win. And then you fought him. You were twelve years old, armed only with a wand, and you took on the worst Dark Lord in history and a monster only seen in nightmares and storybooks. You didn't have to, you know; even Dumbledore didn't, but sent his phoenix in his stead. But you did, you fought. You lost your wand and still you fought him. You drew the legendary Sword of Gryffindor, and you beat him! Harry, I was in his head just as long as he was in mine. I knew when you saved me, that you were the only one who could, could save me, could beat him. You gave me my life back, gave me hope back, and that's when I saw the truth." "The truth?" Harry's mouth suddenly felt very dry. "That you would fight him, fight him for as long as it took, and that it'd be my privilege to help you however I could until you beat him in the end." Her gaze pierced him. Harry tried to swallow the lump in his throat, overwhelmed by her faith in him. "Why didn't you… why didn't you say anything?" "Harry, until last year it was a struggle to stay in the same room as you. It took even longer to talk to you like a normal person. And, let's be honest, it's not like we did much talking this year." They blushed in unison. Ginny continued as she recovered. "But Harry, please believe me when I say... I haven't had a crush on you since you rescued me in first year. Not just a crush." She drew closer. "You're going to beat him – you're the only one who can – and I'm going to be standing by your side when you do. There's a reason they call you the Chosen One. My Chosen One." He drew near her as well, though a part of him rebelled against the title. "I don't… I don't want to be defined by Voldemort." "I know," she nodded solemnly. "But you are, we both are, until you beat him. Then we'll be free, free from him, free to be whoever we want to be, together." "You'll fight for me?" From within his heart a tiny little boy made his presence known. "Always." Her arms went around him, and she tucked her head beside his neck, her breath warming him. "Please don't push me away." "Never." "You'll let me fight with you?" Harry didn't respond. His mind was suddenly teeming with imagined horrors and anticipated nightmares. "Harry." Her voice caressed his name. "Don't push me away. Our family has always supported you, and if he doesn't already know we've been dating, then Draco or Snape or someone will tell him soon enough. I chose this – I chose you. Let me fight for you." He couldn't speak – he tried – he couldn't. He settled for nodding mutely against her shoulder. "Thank you, Harry. Thank you." She withdrew partially to meet his gaze, the relief she felt clearly visible. "I know Dumbledore gave you a mission, and I know Ron and Hermione plan on following you wherever it takes you. Ron will object, but I will be coming with you. I'm coming with you, to fight for you. I need you to fight for me, all right?" He nodded again, "Yes. I can do that." His voice cracked. "You said I was only happy when I was fighting Voldemort, but I don't think I know what happiness means." "Oh Harry." She tightened her grip and pecked his cheek. "Happiness will be when you beat him. Happiness will be when you're free of him, and if you still haven't found it, we'll figure it out together, because I'll still be fighting for you, fighting by your side." A/N: I don't view this one-shot as particularly romantic. I don't know how well it came across, but the intended subtext was the broken nature of Ginny's love for Harry. I am (as my previous one-shots should make clear) an unabashed advocate of Harry/Hermione, to the extent that I have on rare occasion consciously thought of myself as a 'Harmonian' (sighs heavily). But for all that, I do believe in giving canon!Ginny a fair shake. Many other writers treat the Half-Blood Prince conversation I quote at the top of this chapter as a blunt instrument with which to bash her, but I can't find it in me to agree. Certainly, the hardest part of writing this one-shot was typing out the cringe-worthy text from my hard copy of Half-Blood Prince without fixing things or interjecting my own comments – for instance, when Ginny doesn't object to Harry's assumption that her funeral would be his fault (that was particularly infuriating). But however poorly Rowling expressed it, and it was very poorly indeed, the sentiment is real. Harry would not be satisfied unless he were fighting Voldemort, and Ginny has long had time to come to terms with that. The fact is, that the canon relationship between Harry and Ginny in the books is astonishingly shallow, and it didn't need to be. Ginny faced true horrors in his first year at Hogwarts – manipulated, isolated, controlled, possessed; forced to confront, on her own and in a battlefield of her own mind, the shade of a Dark Lord so terrifying even most adults feared to speak his name; used by the same Dark Lord to control a thousand-year-old monster whose origin is shrouded by myth and legend, whose very gaze can kill. And when she was rescued, after a full year of such experiences, she seems to have been encouraged to forget the experience. She never speaks of it but once, years later, and never received counseling. Ginny is damaged, just as much as Harry is: she must recover from the trauma of the diary, as he must recover from the trauma of the Dursleys. While it is easy to bash her as a
, was held overnight before being released to US officials, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said. Russia has declared him "persona non grata" and ordered his expulsion, the foreign ministry said on its website. The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, had been summoned, it added. Analysis This is a sensitive time for US-Russian relations. The two countries are currently involved in delicate diplomacy over Syria. At the same time, Moscow and Washington have been taking cautious steps towards defrosting relations. But the FSB's claims to have unearthed a CIA agent are unlikely to have any long-term political consequences. Both countries know that espionage did not end with the conclusion of the Cold War. Spying happens, and so do spy scandals. The FSB has alleged that America recently made "several" attempts to recruit Russian law enforcement officers, and security officials and that the Russians have monitored such attempts. That sends a message to the United States: despite recent diplomacy and talk of co-operation, Moscow is not prepared to trust Washington completely. Mr Fogle is said to have worked as third political secretary at the US embassy in Moscow, which has issued no comment on the matter so far. Photos have emerged of his alleged detention. The agent was reportedly arrested with a large sum of money, technical devices and written instructions for the agent he had tried to recruit. While it is a sensitive time for US-Russian relations because of the crisis in Syria, the FSB's claims to have unearthed a CIA agent are unlikely to have any long-term political consequences, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports from Moscow. Both countries recently said they wished to step up security co-operation after the Boston Marathon bombing. 'Dear friend' FSB photos purporting to show Mr Fogle during and after his detention appeared on Russian online media, such as these published by broadcaster RT. Wearing a blue checked shirt and a plain baseball cap, he is shown being held on the ground with his hands bound, then being escorted away. Another photo shows him sitting at desk, his hat removed. Possessions said to be Mr Fogle's are laid out on a table. They include a sum of money in 500-euro banknotes and two wigs, one of which he was apparently wearing at the time of his detention. Also on the table are a compass, map, knife, dark glasses and small mobile phone. "FSB counter-intelligence agents detained a CIA staff member who had been working under the cover of third political secretary of the US embassy in Moscow," the FSB said. "At the moment of detention, special technical equipment was discovered, written instructions for the Russian citizen being recruited, as well as a large sum of money and means for altering appearance." Image caption Russian officials said they had confiscated a large sum of money, wigs and technical equipment Russian state TV has displayed a piece of paper, which it said was Mr Fogle's letter to the Russian officer. Addressing the recipient as "Dear friend", the letter offers $100,000 (£65,400) "to discuss your experience, expertise and co-operation". It goes on to say: "We can offer up to $1m a year for long-term co-operation, with extra bonuses if we receive some helpful information. "This is a down-payment from someone who is very impressed with your professionalism and who would greatly appreciate your co-operation in the future." The letter is simply signed "Your friends".A NATO flag flies at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels during a NATO ambassadors meeting on the situation in Ukraine and the Crimea region, March 2, 2014. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Files BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO members will likely agree during a summit meeting in Warsaw next month to designate cyber as an official operational domain of warfare, along with air, sea, land and space, a senior German defense ministry official said Wednesday. Major General Ludwig Leinhos, who heads the German military’s effort to build up a separate cyber command, told a conference at the Berlin air show that he expected all 28 NATO members to agree to the change during the coming Warsaw summit. Leinhos, who previously held a senior job at NATO headquarters, said he also expected NATO members to agree to intensify their efforts in the cyber security arena. The United States announced in 2011 that it viewed cyberspace as an operational domain of war, and said it would respond to hostile attacks in cyberspace as it would to any other threat. Evert Dudok, a senior official with Europe’s largest aerospace company Airbus Group SE, called for adoption of Europe-wide or global standards in the cyber arena.Computer simulations help ASU researchers see what works and what doesn’t for farming and ranching in the Mediterranean — and apply that to other regions in the future Humans have been working the land for millennia, cultivating plants or herding animals. Now researchers from Arizona State University are reporting on a 10-year project that studies the long-term effects humans have had on the land — and the consequences for the communities whose livelihoods depend on the land. Their research has led to some surprising reasons why communities survive or fail. The Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project, led by Michael Barton, a professor ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social ChangeThe School of Human Evolution and Social Change is an academic unit of ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences., studied human interaction with the land in the Mediterranean region since 2004 to understand how human and natural forces, like climate, began to interact to create socio-ecological landscapes, like the terraced fields, orchards and pastures found throughout the region today. The focus of the research was on small-holder farmers or herders, who still make up more than 70 percent of the world’s food producers, and how they transform landscapes over long periods of time. “Our work focuses on how human action, even the kind of farming and herding that is not industrial scale, can have really big effects,” Barton said. “The research helps us to understand the delicate balance between working the land successfully and altering the land to the point where it can no longer support us.” Among the findings, Barton said, was the idea that there are thresholds that separate success from failure. Farmers and herders can find a balance in working the land that keeps it productive. But as communities grow, they may pass unforeseen thresholds where the land-use practices that once allowed them to thrive begin to destroy the productivity of the land that supports them. “Go beyond the threshold and everything goes south,” Barton said. “Continuing to do the same things that were successful in grandfather’s day produces increasing problems today.” Another finding may explain why most people who produce our food either put most of their effort into cultivating crops or into herding animals. Modeling experiments show that while farmers or herders can be successful, those who try to do an equal amount of both eventually fail. “What happens is when the population starts to grow, the people who are 50/50 expand operations, but then they have dramatic crashes and sometimes never recover,” Barton explained. “It looks like people who are half and half farming and herding are not practicing a sustainable way of life over the long term. It also explains why the world is divided into people who produce our food by mostly farming and who do it mostly by herding.” The image on the left is a computer-generated landscape with the colors indicating the meters of soil lost or deposited in different places at the end of a simulation of 300 years of farming and herding. On the right are images of modern Mediterranean landscapes: (from top) wheat farming in Jordan, an olive grove at the edge of an eroded barranco (ravine) in eastern Spain and goat herding in Jordan. Graphic by Michael Barton/ASU and Isaac Ullah/MedLand Project The research also showed how long-term small-scale farming practices affect large-scale environmental change in the Mediterranean. “This work has helped us differentiate between environmental changes driven by climate and environmental changes driven by human land use,” Barton said. “We are finding that there may be really strong signatures where the impact of landscape change occurs and they seem to be affected differently by human activity or by climate change.” Barton and his colleagues, who come from a variety of scientific disciplines and several institutions, combined computer modeling with field research — an approach called experimental socio-ecology. “Using computational modeling gives us a way to carry out experiments on human environmental interactions over a long period of time,” Barton explained. “More importantly, it can give us insight into the future.” He explained that the researchers compile data on farming practices, as well as soils, plant cover, climate and other aspects of the environment. They use these to create complex computer models of the impacts of different practices on landscapes. They then tune these models by seeing if they can replicate past human impacts and their consequences. A model that can “predict the past” will be more reliable at showing the potential future consequences of different farming practices in use today. “We can run a whole series of variations on this to better understand the effects of small-holder farming on the landscape at any time and at any place. We focused on the Mediterranean, but it’s applicable to any semi-arid landscapes,” he said. This, for Barton, is the future of understanding how humans interact with the land. “The idea of doing these controlled experiments and contra-factual histories both of the past and of the future is, I think, a really important new way to do socio-ecological science,’” he said. The findings were presented in the paper, “Experimental socioecology: Integrative science for Anthropocene landscape dynamics,” published in early online issue of Anthropocene. The Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project was supported by the National Science Foundation.Fatah officials made repeated statements in recent weeks praising deadly terror attacks on Israelis, and calling for “blood” to “purify” Jerusalem of Jews. The calls for violence came amid a series of terror attacks over the last month that left six Israelis dead and dozens injured. According to Palestinian Media Watch, in a message broadcast November 7 on the Palestinian Authority’s official television channel PA TV, the head of the Media Department for Fatah in Lebanon Muhammad al-Biqa’i praised the Palestinians who carried out three recent terror attacks that killed four Israelis and left a rabbi in critical condition. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up Al-Biqa’i sent a blessing of “praise and esteem” to Abdelrahman al-Shaludi, Ibrahim al-Akary, and Mu’taz Hijazi, according to a translation provided by PMW. “They are the ones who heard the call of Yasser Arafat, while the Arab and Islamic nation ignored his call: ‘Millions of martyrs (shahids) are marching to Jerusalem,'” al-Biqa’i said. “They came out with their weapons, with their true belief that Jerusalem needs blood to purify itself of Jews.” Last week, a representative of the PA Ministry of Religious Affairs called on Palestinians to “rush to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and blood.” In a speech reported in al-Hayat al-Jadidah on Friday, official Hassan al-Saifi said that “Jerusalem has no need of declarations or religious rulings, but rather needs the religious scholars in particular to fulfill their duty, rush to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and blood.” Anti-Jewish sentiments were also expressed by the host of a popular game show broadcast on PA TV on November 9. The host praised the same three terrorists for their attacks, referring to them as “heroic martyrs of Jerusalem” and also recalled Kheir Hamdan, an Israeli-Arab man shot dead by police after he attacked a squad car with a knife. “Greetings and honor to our heroic martyrs, the martyrs of Jerusalem — Hijazi, al-Shaludi, al-Akary, and lately also Kheir Hamdan from Kafr Kanna,” the host said. “Our greetings to the martyrs’ families. We stand submissive and humbled in view of what you gave and sacrificed. You are confronting the ever-aggressive settler herds in the streets of Jerusalem.” On October 22, al-Shaludi drove his car into a Jerusalem Light Rail station, killing three-month-old Israeli-American Chaya Zissel Braun and Karen Yemima Muscara, 22, of Ecuador. Seven other were also injured in the attack. Al-Shaloudi was shot by police as he tried to flee the scene and died of his wounds in hospital. A week later, Mu’taz Hijazi, a member of Islamic Jihad and a formerly released prisoner, shot Rabbi Yehudah Glick — a prominent activist who campaigns for Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount — outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. Glick was seriously wounded, but survived the attack. Hijazi was killed by police during a gunfight hours after the attack. On November 5, al-Akari drove his car into a different light rail stop, killing two people and injuring another 13. He was shot and killed by police during the attack. Last week, two Israelis were killed in stabbing attacks by Palestinians on the same day. Israel Defense Forces soldier Almog Shiloni was stabbed to death in Tel Aviv; and 26-year-old Dalia Lemkus was killed outside the Alon Shvut settlement in the West Bank last Monday. Israel has deployed hundreds of police reinforcements to the capital in recent weeks in response to the unrest in East Jerusalem, which has also spread to the West Bank and Arab communities across Israel, raising fears of a new Palestinian uprising. The Temple Mount — known to Muslims as the al-Aqsa compound — which is the holiest site in Judaism, and the third-holiest in Islam, has also been the source of increased tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.Image caption The suspects allegedly planned to derail a train in the greater Toronto area Iran has denied any links to two men arrested in Canada on suspicion of planning an attack on a train. Canadian officials said an attack had been planned with support from al-Qaeda elements in Iran, although there was no evidence of state sponsorship. Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35, are due to appear in court on Tuesday for a bail hearing. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said to suggest a link between al-Qaeda and Iran was "ridiculous". "This is the most hilarious thing I've heard in my 64 years," Mr Salehi told the Iranian Isna news agency. Canada train 'terror plot' Plot to derail train on VIA Rail network, which carries nearly four million passengers annually Suspects not Canadian nationals but were in Canada legally Chiheb Esseghaier studying for doctorate at National Institute for Scientific Research near Montreal Reports say Raed Jaser is a customer service representative at a removal firm "It is really ridiculous to link al-Qaeda to Iran. I hope that the Canadian authorities think a bit more rationally and pay attention to the consciousness of the people and world public opinion." Al-Qaeda - a militant Salafist Islamic movement - preaches a radical anti-Shia ideology that places it firmly at odds with Shia Iran. However, analysts say that despite this enmity, al-Qaeda and Iran have tolerated one another where it suits them. Last September Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran, closing its embassy in Tehran and expelling all remaining Iranian diplomats from Canada. At the time Foreign Minister John Baird said Canada viewed Iran "as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today". Canadian authorities said the two suspects were arrested in Montreal and Toronto on Monday. They are not Canadian citizens but their nationalities have not yet been officially confirmed. According to Canadian media reports, Mr Esseghaier is a Tunisian national while Mr Jaser is thought to be a Palestinian with citizenship in the United Arab Emirates. Canada's Globe and Mail reported that the pair had been under investigation since last year following a tip-off by a concerned imam in the Toronto Muslim community. The imam was worried that young people in his community were being corrupted by an extremist, the report said. FBI involved It is alleged that the two had planned to derail a passenger train in the greater Toronto area, but it is not clear when. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said the surveillance operation leading to the arrests was "a result of extensive collaborative efforts". It said FBI agents from the US were involved in helping to foil the attack, although a US justice department official said there was no connection between the plot and last week's Boston Marathon bombings. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Assistant Commissioner James Malizia: "Innocent people would have been killed or seriously injured" The RCMP said the two men, who were not Canadian citizens, had planned to derail a train operated by VIA Rail and "kill and hurt people". RCMP Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said the attack was "definitely in the planning stage but not imminent". "We are alleging that these two individuals took steps and conducted activities to initiate a terrorist attack," she said. "They watched trains and railways in the Greater Toronto area." Chief Supt Strachan did not say if the route being targeted was a cross-border route with the US. However, the Globe and Mail, citing sources, said it involved a Toronto-New York City train, and New York Republican Representative Peter King said the attack was intended "to cause significant loss of human life including New Yorkers". VIA Rail, which operates passenger rail services across Canada, said that "at no time" were passengers or members of the public in imminent danger. Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the arrests showed that terrorism continued to be a real threat to Canada. "Canada will not tolerate terrorist activity and we will not be used as a safe haven for terrorists or those who support terrorist activity," he said in parliament. 'Fled to Iran' Analysts say Iran's links with al-Qaeda are shadowy and complex. Some of the group's senior figures - including Osama Bin Laden's son, Saad Bin Laden, and former security chief Saif al-Adel - are said to have fled to Iran after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. They were allegedly held under house arrest by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, although Tehran never acknowledged their presence. According to the US, Saif al-Adel's father-in-law, Mustafa Hamid, is the link between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government. After the fall of the Taliban, he is said to have negotiated the safe relocation of several senior al-Qaeda members and their families to Iran. In mid-2003, he was arrested by the Iranian authorities.Dan Terry, a humanitarian aid worker, spent nearly 40 years living in Afghanistan both devoted to the people and the culture. Dan was one of nine aid workers tragically murdered August 8, 2010, doing what he loved in the place he loved. Weaving Life is a student made and produced film documenting Dan’s life and work in Afghanistan as told through interviews, video diaries, photo essays and after effects. Eastern Mennonite University film students embark on a journey to understand what made Dan the lovable and trusted man he is known as. Survived by his wife and three daughters, Dan’s legacy continues through the telling of stories by his family members and childhood friend, Jonathan Larson. Through his gift of storytelling, Jonathan Larson captivates audiences by his telling of inspirational stories of Dan’s life as evidenced in the film and Jonathan’s book, “Making Friends Among The Taliban: A Peacemaker’s Journey in Afghanistan,” which is now available. _____________________________________________________________________________ Weaving Life will air on ABC television stations from Oct. 21-Dec. 16, 2012. To order a copy of the DVD, visit Weaving Life.The Los Angeles Conservancy submitted an application Monday for historic-cultural monument status for CBS’s Television City, which is being shopped around the market. “A historic property is often at risk when it changes out of long-time stewardship,” says Adrian Scott Fine, the conversancy’s director of advocacy. Television City played a huge role in television history as “the first large-scale, all-new facility in the nation designed to meet the mass-production of television programming.” One of the studios was where Elvis Presley’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was filmed; the studios figured prominently in the careers of comedians Jack Benny and Carol Burnett, according to the conservancy. It’s also a stellar example of the International Style in Los Angeles as well as a master work by midcentury modern architecture firm Pereira and Luckman. The team included the late architect Gin Wong as project coordinator. Its exterior remains “largely intact,” says the conservancy. In September, The Real Deal reported that CBS was planning to put the 25-acre property up for sale. Located at Beverly and Fairfax, the studio complex is home now to shows like The Price Is Right and The Late Late Show with James Corden. At the time, at least two big-time developers were reportedly interested in the property, which is close to The Grove and the original Farmers Market. Experts weighed in that it could fetch anywhere from $500 million to $900 million. Any developer who paid that much would need to increase the the amount of building space on the site, likely by 200 percent, a Sunday op-ed by former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky argued. “Los Angeles should not let developers turn the historic studio complex into a mini Century City,” Yaroslavsky wrote. Television City wouldn’t be the first former CBS facility that had been transformed for new uses. CBS’s old headquarters in Hollywood were reborn last year as Kilroy Realty’s Columbia Square, a mixed-use development that holds office space, the Hollywood Proper extended-stay residences, and a NeueHouse coworking space. Scott Fine says if Television City were awarded landmark designation, “any potential redevelopment and adaptive reuse of the campus in the future” would have to be vetted by the city’s historic resources office. Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the percentage by which Zev Yaroslavsky estimated the buildings would need to be expanded. It is 200 percent, not 20 percent.Trump’s legacy nearly complete No matter what else transpires during president Trump's remaining term, short of WWIII, his job is almost done. Trump needed only to defeat Hillary Clinton – frustrating the progressive state – and now to nominate and secure U.S. Senate consent for a conservative U.S. Supreme Court justice – filling the vacancy occasioned by the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia – to all but lock down his legacy. The U.S. Senate confirmation, via simple majority rule, of Trump's pick of Neil Gorsuch is a penultimate triumph setting the stage for Trump's capstone. Nominating conservatives to fill more than 100 open judgeships in federal trial and appellate courts is as compelling as SCOTUS picks. Economic growth, jobs, Obamacare repeal, tax cuts, immigration enforcement, and defeating ISIS, while vital, for sure, are still only icing on the cake. In our nation's crippling litigious climate, where sympathetic jurists now side predominantly with progressive liberal agendas, remaking the federal judiciary is a prerequisite to implementing a sweeping dismantling of the regulatory state and achieving both legislative and executive victories that will stick and endure. There were many noble, pragmatic, and even impetuous reasons to vote for Donald Trump. At the same time, many Donald Trump voters had to overlook their unease with, if not outright disapprobation for, Donald Trump's personal style while pulling the lever. Whatever the Trump voters' motivations and nagging doubts, Donald Trump closed off any anxiety about keeping his end of the most important part of the bargain. And make no mistake: the Republican Senate did its part, despite many of its members' personal feuds with and distaste for the president.An ongoing John Doe investigation into possible illegal activity by aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) expanded when Walker's spokesperson, Cullen Werwie, was given prosecutorial immunity. Speculation as to the reasons for the immunity, which authorities haven't revealed, don't signal good news for Walker: What about the possibility that Milwaukee County resources (or man hours) were used for the benefit of Walker’s gubernatorial campaign? Could there have been “pay to play” going on within the campaign? So what could Cullen Werwie have knowledge of? Were there more widespread campaign finance violations beyond those that have already been exposed and prosecuted? During the 2010 Republican Lt. Governor race, Werwie worked for the campaign of former Republican State Rep. Brett Davis. After Davis was defeated in the September 2010 Republican Lt. Governor primary, Werwie went to work as the traveling press person for Scott Walker’s gubernatorial campaign. In that role, Werwie would have traveled everywhere Scott Walker went, working in close proximity to Walker, no doubt leaving Werwie privy to most – if not all – of Scott Walker’s communications while on the campaign trail. Despite conservative pundits' claims that the investigation is a witch-hunt, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm says the investigation is ongoing and it has already produced one conviction and numerous charges against Walker aides. Among the charges so far: Due to the highly secret nature of John Doe investigations, few solid facts are publicly known. But what is known indicates that this is a very large investigation, which has expanded to include many people and many possible problems for Walker and his attempt to remain in office. In May 2010, it was found that one of Walker's county executive staff members, Darlene Wink, was leaving political comments on JSOnline.com and other blogs to promote Walker and his gubernatorial bid while at work. When this information was discovered, she immediately resigned from her taxpayer-funded county post. Since then, investigators have confiscated her work computer and have executed a search warrant of her home. The revelation of Wink's activities led Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan to contact the district attorney's office, inquiring about this as well as an obstruction in an open-records request he had filed with the Walker administration. At about the same time, Walker took his annual Harley-Davidson ride around the state, purportedly to promote tourism for Milwaukee County. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin sent people to follow Walker and his entourage. During this bike ride, the Democrats shot footage of Tim Russell, then Walker's director of housing and a longtime campaign worker and close friend, traveling with Walker and—as the Democratic Party of Wisconsin alleged—performing campaign-related activities, even though he was traveling as a county employee. In August 2010, Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies executed a search warrant on Russell's office, confiscating his computer; witnesses say his BlackBerry phone and boxes of documents were also seized. News regarding Walkergate became scarce for more than a year, but exploded in September 2011, when the home of Walker's trusted aide and top staffer in Milwaukee County, Cynthia Archer, was searched by FBI agents and Dane County sheriff's deputies. The agents removed boxes of items from her home and took the hard drive from a computer that she had just sold to a neighbor a few weeks earlier. After Walker was elected governor, Archer took a top position at the state Department of Administration and, later, the Department of Children and Families. Just prior to this, Tom Nardelli, who was Walker's chief of staff in Milwaukee County and like Archer had also followed Walker to the state, suddenly resigned from his position at the state Division of Environmental and Regulatory Services. Another departure, which wasn't revealed until the fall, is that of John Hiller, who suddenly left his position as Walker's campaign treasurer, a job he's held for 18 years. In the same month, it was learned that several people were granted immunity in the investigation. One of the people granted immunity was Rose Ann Dieck, a ranking member of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County and an acquaintance of Wink's. ... William E. Gardner, president and CEO of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions, in the amount of $53,800, to Walker's campaign and others. Gardner used company money, laundered through employees and family members, to make these contributions. Gardner ultimately had to plead guilty to two felonies and pay $166,900 in fines. Also showing that the investigation has taken on different turns is the recent development that Milwaukee-based commercial real estate mogul and former head of the Commercial Association of Realtors-Wisconsin, Andrew P. Jensen Jr., was incarcerated for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Prosecutors had wanted to offer Jensen immunity, but Jensen would only take the offer if he could keep that information from being made public. In a recent interview, Walker admitted to having met with Jensen on occasion, even though he has tried to downplay these meetings. These developments have given fuel to allegations leveled by Walker opponents that Walker and his staff have regularly done pay-for-play in which Walker would use his office to reward campaign donors with contracts, government loans and grants and tax breaks, among other political favors. Supporting these accusations, opponents have cited Walker giving contracts to Wackenhut and to Edward Aprahamian—both have donated to Walker's campaign and had received millions of dollars in contracts with Milwaukee County while he was county executive. The questions continue. In December, five Assembly Democrats asked federal regulators to delay the sale of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad to a Kansas-based company, questioning whether it's "political payback" for illegal campaign contributions to the governor.What followed has included reports of grand jury subpoenas, a parade of members of the commission and its staff to Mr. Bharara’s office to be interviewed about the panel’s work and its shutdown, suggestions that the governor’s office has not moved fast enough in having subpoenaed documents turned over by the commission and the hiring of criminal defense lawyers by witnesses and potential targets, the governor’s office itself included. But Mr. Bharara’s investigation into the disbanding of the panel, known as the Moreland Commission, took on a new and more volatile dimension on Wednesday, when his office warned that attempts by Mr. Cuomo or his allies to line up public statements supporting the governor from members of the defunct commission — the sort of coordinated political response for which Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, is well known — could constitute criminal witness tampering or obstruction of justice. The very public collision between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Bharara, which comes a little over three months before the governor seeks re-election, is unlike any that Mr. Cuomo has faced in his political career. As state attorney general, he led an investigation into then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, damaging Mr. Spitzer’s reputation in advance of his later undoing in a prostitution scandal. Mr. Cuomo’s disdain for his fellow Democrats Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general, and Thomas P. DiNapoli, the comptroller, has been widely documented, but neither has publicly taken him on. This year, he outmaneuvered another Democrat, Mayor Bill de Blasio, over taxes and charter schools, but inflicted only glancing blows, and Mr. de Blasio this week felt compelled to defend Mr. Cuomo as “a person of high integrity” and “an agent of reform.” No countermove in Mr. Cuomo’s extensive political playbook seemed to apply to his latest rival, Mr. Bharara: a federal prosecutor free of the co-dependencies that often lead Albany lawmakers to shy away from conflict with the state’s most powerful politician.From Nevroz Algiç's restaurant one can taste the spicy local food while enjoying the best views over the front line, literally across the street. The fighting is so close that gunfire can still be heard over the arabesque music blaring out of the loudspeakers. Located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southeast of Ankara, Ceylanpinar was once known for its gigantic agricultural complex. However, this city with a population of 40,000 is now yet another victim of the Syrian war. Since October 2012, four residents have been killed and dozens have been wounded by stray bullets, mortars and rockets. "Before the new teachers would eat here and stay in this guesthouse but none of them wants to come here now. No one knows when the shooting will start or when will it finish," Algiç tells DW. The bullet holes on these walls are a stark reminder of what's happening round the corner. Still, material losses are not that important. "My husband was wounded by shrapnel, my 10-year-old son is traumatized by the explosions and the older one quit university," adds Algiç, sitting next to one of the broken windows. Behind her, a cargo train slowly moves across the no-man's land between Turkey and Syria. It was actually the Orient Express railway, built in 1911, that would help draw the borders of Syria and Turkey 10 years later. Berlin and Baghdad were finally connected but the Kurdish town of Serekaniye was cut in two: the one in Turkey was called Ceylanpinar, its Syrian counterpart was named Ras al Ayn. On the road to Paradise Like most others here, Mehmet also has cross-border family ties. The civil servant, who prefers not to disclose his full name, claims that the situation started worsening on a particular night last October. "That night I saw armed people getting out a caravan of buses. I immediately called the police but they told me not to worry and said that everything was under control," he told DW. Other residents also spotted armed men crossing the border into Syria. Apparently, they all got the same answer from the local security forces: 'everything is under control.'" "We often see buses around with all their curtains drawn. I have no doubt that their passengers are Islamists on the road to Paradise," says Mehmet with a sad smile. He criticizes the "silence of the Turkish media on Ankara's dark moves," as he puts it. "Here it's not about rebels fighting [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, it's Jabhat al-Nusra - an armed group close to al Qaeda - and Syrian Kurdish fighters engaging in brutal clashes." Many believe that Turkey is providing a haven to al- Qaeda-affiliated fighters From the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, Syria's Kurds vowed a "third way" - neither with Assad, nor with the insurgents. Theirs is a neutral position that has led to clashes with both sides, but in July 2012 they took over their stronghold areas, in the north of the country. The YPG - the main Kurdish militia group - and the Free Syrian Army signed a ceasefire on July 12 in Ras al Ayn but Jabhat al-Nusra distanced iself from the truce. Many local residents told DW that Ankara is hosting Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in a camp near an unchecked border crossing west of Ceylanpinar. Ibrahim Polat, a local journalist for the Dicle News Agency, says the allegations are true and adds that Ankara's alleged backing of Islamists goes even further: "During the last months hundreds of fighters have been taken by Turkish ambulances from Syria to Ceylanpinar hospital and those with more serious injuries were taken to Balikdigol hospital in Sanliurfa, the provincial capital. Kurdish militiaman are systematically rejected in the local hospitals so they are taken to Qamishlo, Syria's main Kurdish city," he told DW. Anonymous sources from both medical centers told DW that there are no wounded fighters in Ceylanpinar, but that several of them are still being treated in Sanliurfa. "Dirty War" From his office, Musa Çeri, District Governor and member of the AKP, the ruling party in Turkey, dismisses such claims as "false rumors." "It is ridiculous to believe that Turkey could possibly back terrorist groups of any kind. My government would never do such a thing," he told DW, adding that the government of Ankara is "only" struggling to address the ever-growing number of Syrian refugees on Turkish soil - over 200,000 according to UN figures. "Our religion, Islam, compels us to meet the people's needs," he says. Nonetheless, he doesn't hide his concern for what he considers to be Turkey's "most pressing terrorist threat." "The Syrian Kurdish fighters are nothing but a branch of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party. If they finally get strong in their areas, they can easily conduct terrorists attacks against us across the border," he explains. One of Ankara's biggest fears, he says, is a Kurdish autonomous region similar to that in northern Iraq on Syrian soil. Arslan fears the social fabric of his town is falling apart Meanwhile, Ismail Arslan, Ceylanpinar's mayor, says his town is paying a high price for the war. "There have been dead and wounded but people also move elsewhere, shops and business fold, property prices collapse." And there is another price to pay, he says. "In Ceylanpinar, 60 percent are Kurds and 30 percent Arabs while Assyrians, Turks and members of other nationalities comprise the remaining 10 percent. The nature of the conflict is fuelling mistrust among us and causing a split between our people." Arslan says he prefers not to comment on the alleged camp nearby, but denounces Ankara's role in the area. "Turkey claims to be a democratic country but it is involved in a very dirty war," he says. "I'm afraid our problems won't end until Ankara stops supporting al-Qaeda-affiliated groups inside Syria."The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers and other thinkers on issues both timely and timeless. One of the most provocative tactics used by opponents of animal exploitation is to draw an analogy between human and animal suffering. Marjorie Spiegel’s “The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery” finds parallels between white oppression of African slaves in America and human exploitation of nonhumans. Spiegel asserts that like human slaves, nonhuman animals are subjected to branding, restraints, beatings, auctions, the separation of offspring from their parents and forced voyages. We dominate and slaughter plants, but few people care because it is assumed that our plant victims don’t perceive any of it. Charles Patterson’s “Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust” mines another human tragedy for comparisons to animal husbandry. The “eternal” of the title hints at one difference between the Nazis’ attempted eradication of Europe’s Jews and the raising of animals for food — the latter is an ongoing cycle of breeding and killing and not a hate-fueled extermination campaign — but genocide and animal farming can both involve objectification and efficient mass killing. Some animal rights activists also compare dairy production with sexual assault, because cows are often artificially inseminated to get them pregnant and continuously lactating. Such analogies are shocking. But are they sound? Our perception of the external, of disturbing images or scenes, is sometimes a projection of our own feelings as observers; it does not match what the subjects of such treatment actually experience. Animal slaughter, for instance, looks gory and disturbing, but when the animals are knocked insensible first, the discomfort is our own — not theirs. For human analogies to animal farming to have force, the experience of being a farmed animal should be equivalent to the human experience in superficially similar circumstances. Is it safe to assume that a cow raised for food suffers the same general humiliations, agonies and frustrated drive for freedom that a human slave or victim of sexual assault
Allah, the real carpenter, said things in a way that shows a basic misunderstanding of brightness, darkness, surfaces, tables, light bulbs, and the relations of those objects to each other. Which of the two theories explains better what we read in all the verses that I quoted? Which theory would you choose if you were a scientist, trained to look at the data first, without pre-selecting the theory that you’d emotionally wish to be true? 1.5.3 The confusion about stars and shooting stars On one hand, in section §1.1 we saw that the “heaven” is a nonexistent entity, an illusion caused by the dust particles when those are lit by sunlight at daytime, scattering the blue light of the rainbow more than the other colors, thus giving to the sky the appearance of a blue dome. We can see that “dome” in the second of the pictures of this document (here). It is the atmosphere, a spherical “shell” that surrounds the Earth, only a few hundreds of miles high. Please take a note of this phrase: “only a few hundreds of miles high.” Specifically, the outer layer of the atmosphere where matter still behaves like a gas is called the “thermosphere”, and reaches only up to 700 km high (440 miles). On the other hand, we also learned about the vast distances at which the stars are from the Earth. We saw that even the closest star — other than the Sun — which is called “Proxima Centauri” (“closest of the [constellation of] Centaurus”) in the skies of the southern hemisphere, is astonishingly far away, at a distance of 40,519,553,200,000 km. Here is a useful comparison: if the farthest layers of the Earth’s atmosphere were at a hair’s width away (at 0.08 of a millimeter), and this hair was located at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, then the closest star (Proxima Centauri) would be at London, UK! Such is the enormous difference between the one distance and the other. And yet, in the Qur’an these two vastly different distances are confused and merged into one: the distance to the “nearest of the seven heavens”. Worse, the stars themselves — which, by human standards, are extremely large fire-balls made mostly of hydrogen and helium — are confused with the “shooting stars”, which are specks of dust (often as large as a grain of sand) that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and are ignited due to friction, leaving a fiery trail behind them that lasts no more than a few tenths of a second on the night sky. (See the picture that follows.) A “shooting star” against the background of real stars in the night sky. The bright line (“shooting star”) that exists for a split-second happens right here, in our atmosphere. The bright dots (real stars) exist “forever”, and are unbelievably far away from us. Here is the “wisdom” by which those vastly different distances and objects are confused: 37:6 Indeed, we have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars, 37:7 and as protection against every rebellious devil, 37:8 who may not listen to the exalted assembly [of angels] and are pelted from every side. As usual, ideas are repeated ad nauseam in the Qur’an, and the above is no exception. So there is another chapter and verse where the same idea is repeated — just in case we didn’t digest it completely in Chapter 37. Here it is again, in Chapter 67: 67:5 And certainly we have beautified the nearest heaven with lamps, and we have made them as missiles for the devils, and we have prepared for them the punishment of the Flame. What do we learn from the above verses? That the “nearest heaven”, the one closest to the Earth, is adorned with stars. (In §1.1 we saw that this implies that the Moon is at least as far away as the stars, so let’s not repeat this problem here.) The stars are there as mere ornamentation of the sky, but also to protect us against “every rebellious devil”! How do the stars protect us? By being “pelted from every side” against the rebellious devils! In other words, the shooting stars — those specks of dust that enter the Earth’s atmosphere as our planet orbits the Sun — are confused in the Qur’an with real stars, which lie at truly “astronomical” distances away! Please note: The shooting stars are as little as grains of sand, fire up for only a split-second (or a bit more than a second if they are somewhat larger), producing a line of light on the night sky, and do this “right here”, just above our heads, where the author of the Qur’an thought that the (real) stars are. Real stars, however, are a lot larger than the Earth (the smallest star has to be larger than planet Jupiter, otherwise it cannot produce nuclear reactions and thus shine), remain immobile on the night sky (we cannot perceive their motions during our lifetimes with bare eye), and are so far away from here that their distance, compared to the distance of the shooting stars, is at least like the distance from Mecca to London compared to a hair’s breadth! Who could have confused the two, vastly different objects, just because, to the Earth-bound observer, the shooting stars look like stars that are suddenly pelted in one direction? Theory #1: Allah, the all-knowing, confused stars with shooting stars. Why? To impress Bedouins, again? This explanation has become really boring, you know. Theory #2: Muhammad, a person living in times when there was zero knowledge about the fact that stars and shooting stars cannot be more different and that they exist at vastly different distances from us, confused the two, because it looks like some stars are shot on the sky at unexpected times. Which theory makes more sense? You be the judge. And, as an aside, think a bit of the humorous side of all this: the “rebellious devils” are trying, night after night, by the dozens, to come and cause harm to us. But we are protected by the “stars”. In spite of the huge number of failed attempts of those devils to harm us (because a fairly large number of shooting stars can be seen every night, as Muhammad for sure could notice), those bedeviled devils keep trying, again and again! The imagined devils cannot have more intelligence than that of in insect! How robotic, how plainly dumb can such “rebellious devils” be, to be trying and failing, night after night, learning nothing at all from a vast number of failures? Well, the right question actually is: how plainly dumb could a person be, who imagined that the supposed rebellious devils try and fail dozens of times every night, without seeing any problem with the logic of this idea of his (or of his culture)? 1.5.3.1 Stars are “little lights” More evidence that the author of the Qur’an thinks of the stars as “little lights” (which are up there “for decoration” — see §1.5.3) exists in 81:2, in a sura that starts by describing events that will happen on Judgment Day: 81:1 When the sun is folded, 81:2 and when the stars fall, losing their luster, 81:3 and when the mountains are moved away,...etc. So, the stars will “fall”, and will be dimmed, losing their luster, like decorative Christmas lights that are turned off when the celebratory season is over. They will “fall” where, exactly? Objects fall on the surface of our planet Earth. How can stars, which are fireballs of enormous sizes (almost all the ones visible by the naked eye are larger than the Sun) fall on Earth, or anywhere else for that matter? The statement of 81:2 is of a magnitude of stupidity analogous to that of 18:86, which says that the Sun sets into a muddy spring. The only difference is that the reader needs just a little bit more of astronomical knowledge to understand the idiocy of 81:2. 1.5.4 Look Mo! No Planets! In an exchange of messages that I had with a Muslim who had read parts of this document, I was trying to convey to him the idea that the Qur’an does not distinguish between stars and planets. The author of the Qur’an talks only about “stars”, giving the impression that he doesn’t know that those little lights on the night sky (which he thinks are there “for decoration” — see 37:6, 67:5) are of two very different kinds: stars, and planets. In the ensuing discussion I realized that my Muslim interlocutor, too, — just like the Qur’anic author — did not have a clue about what planets are! When I told him that the Qur’an does not refer at all to the concept of “planet”, he told me that, no, the Qur’an mentions planets in many verses, because it talks about the Sun and the Moon! He knew that the Sun is a star (note that the author of the Qur’an doesn’t give us the slightest indication that he knows this), but he thought the Moon is a planet! From the words that he used I concluded that this was not simply an English language problem (that he didn’t know what the word “planet” refers to), but that he genuinely had no idea what the planets are. Hard to believe, but true; such can be the ignorance of the person who relies on a religious book to know about the natural world. Now, the problem here is that by being ignorant, people like my Muslim interlocutor agree with what they read in the Qur’an! Think about it: one ignorance meets another; the ignorant reader agrees with the ignorant author, and even admires him for his wisdom! Thus, after I became aware of the fact that to talk about the distinction between stars and planets I must assume that the reader knows what the planets are, and considering that the Muslim I just mentioned might represent my average Muslim reader, I thought it is necessary to explain here what a planet is. I ask those readers who already have this elementary knowledge to bear with me, considering that other readers, who lack this knowledge and for whom this text is mostly written, cannot otherwise appreciate the inadequacy and emptiness of the Qur’anic information. So: today we say there are the following eight (8) planets orbiting the Sun: Mercury (عطارد) Venus (الزهرة) Earth (الأرض) Mars (المريخ) Jupiter (المشتري) Saturn (زحل) Uranus (أورانوس) Neptune (نبتون) Here are the eight planets placed next to each other, as if they are balls on a table, so as to understand how they differ in size: (Source: "Size planets comparison" by Lsmpascal - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.) The two large balls at the back, left-to-right, are Jupiter (المشتري) and Saturn (زحل). Next in size, the two blue balls in front of them, also left-to-right, are Uranus (أورانوس) and Neptune (نبتون). Finally, the last four planets in decreasing size are: our Earth (الأرض), Venus (الزهرة), Mars (المريخ), and Mercury (عطارد). Note that, up to 2006, Pluto (بلوتو) was considered to be the 9th planet. But in that year the International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto must be called a “dwarf planet”, because it doesn’t satisfy the definition of a planet. But although we can arrange the planets and show them like balls on a table as in the previous figure, when we look at them with the unaided eye (as the observer of the 7th century would see them, without the help of a telescope or even binoculars), they look just like stars! See the picture that follows: planets can be easily confused with stars. (Credit: photo by Mike Weasner, taken on Aug. 10, 2012, at ~19:00 MST; used by owner’s kind permission.) Not all dots in this picture are stars. Of the three “stars” that form the right triangle at the center, two are planets: Saturn (زحل) up, and Mars (المريخ) at the right angle, whereas the third one is a true star: Spica, or α Virginis (its scientific name) at left. The unaided eye cannot easily tell stars from planets apart. However, the ancient observers who had enough patience, and watched the night sky throughout the year, and even over several years, could see that the planets change their positions on the sky (contrary to stars). And that’s why they are called “planets”: from the Greek word “planétes” (πλανήτης), meaning “wanderer”; because they wander (move) on the sky. Also, stars twinkle due to small-scale irregularities in the Earth’s upper atmosphere; (*) whereas planets don’t twinkle, because they are extremely close to us compared to the stars, and their shapes are like tiny disks, not point-like as stars appear to us from the Earth. But it looks like at least one ancient observer of the 7th century AD, preoccupied as he was with his wars against neighboring tribes, did not have enough patience to observe the sky and notice that some “stars” move from day to day, month to month, year to year, and that they don’t twinkle; nor did he have the ability to read about all this, as it was well-known: many ancient peoples (much more ancient than him) in the vicinity of Arabia, knew about the planets and their motions on the sky, including the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and many more. Other peoples at different parts of the world, such as the Chinese, Indians, various tribes of American Indians, and many more, had all the necessary knowledge and could tell the difference between a planet and a star. The author of the Qur’an, however, probably couldn’t; what is certain is that he didn’t give us the slightest indication that he could, since he used only one word: “star”. In fact, the “ontology” (the set of objects) of the Qur’anic astronomy recognizes only three kinds of entities in the sky: the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. (Plus, as I already mentioned, it doesn’t seem to know that the Sun is a star.) But reality is much more complex than that. Today we have the following, much richer ontology of objects that are (or can be) in the sky and belong to our solar system: The Sun (the star of our solar system) Planets (one of which is Earth) Satellites (of planets; the Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite) Asteroids (the bulk of them exist between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter) Comets (they visit our neighborhood from time to time) Dwarf planets (like Pluto, Eris, and others) Debris, “dust” (making up the rings of Saturn and of the other giant planets, but also responsible for the “shooting stars” — those that the author of the Qur’an thought they are stars thrown against “rebellious devils” — see §1.5.3). The above list seems just too sophisticated for a book like the Qur’an. Incidentally, it is interesting to remember that, before the destruction of the Library of Alexandria by the Muslim army of Amr ibn al `Aas in 642 AD, it is said that Amr asked Caliph Omar whether the books of the library should be preserved or destroyed. Omar answered thus: “If those books are in agreement with the Qur’an, we have no need of them; and if they are opposed to the Qur’an, [they are wrong, so] destroy them.” Thus, following Caliph Omar, the world could stay at this astoundingly “deep” level of astronomical knowledge : “Sun, Moon, and stars”. One wonders who the author of the Qur’an could be, who could speak only of Sun, Moon, and stars: the All-Wise Allah, or someone illiterate, lacking even the knowledge of other peoples of his time? 1.5.4.1 Modern speakers of Arabic can be confused with today’s meaning of كواكب (planet) and نجم (star) A reader of this text (different from the one mentioned above) wrote: “Verse 37:6 has been mistranslated, ‘We have indeed decked the lowest heaven with an adornment, the stars.’ the word كواكب in the verse means planets and not stars as translated here.” No my dear, you are wrong. The word كواكب means “planets” today, but not in ancient Arabic. Today, the word كواكب is used for planet, and the word نجم is used for star. But in classic Arabic, in the language of the Qur’an, no distinction is made between stars and planets. The word كواكب is used in the Qur’an to refer to either stars, or planets. How do we know this? There is evidence from other ancient Arabic literature. The pre-Islamic Arab poet Al-Nabigha (c. 535 – c. 604), who composed his poems just a few decades before Muhammad, wrote: “فإنكَ شمسٌ، والملوكُ كواكبٌ... إذا طلعتْ لم يبدُ منهنّ كوكبُ” Meaning: “You (the king) are the sun and the other kings are كواكب stars... when you (the king) shines, the others (kings – stars) disappear.” Obviously, Al-Nabigha did not use كواكب to compare the king with planets. However, in modern Arabic the two words are never mixed as they are in the Qur’an and in old Arabic literature. Now, the Earth is كوكب (a planet) and the Sun is نجم (a star). In any case, if modern speakers of Arabic are in doubt, all they have to do is locate a single Qur’anic verse in which كواكب clearly refers to planets and not to stars. 1.6 Wrong Order, Wrong Duration of Creation The most detailed Qur’anic verses that tell us how Allah created the world, and what he created first, what next, and so on, are in Chapter 41 (“Fusilat”, or “Explained in detail”). In 41:9–12 we read the following (translation by Pickthal, with my emphasis, and with a few archaic words turned into more common and understandable ones [e.g.: “loth” → “unwillingly”]): 41:9 “Say (O Muhammad, unto the idolaters): Disbelieve ye verily in Him Who created the earth in two Days, and ascribe ye unto Him rivals? He (and none else) is the Lord of the Worlds.” 41:10 “He placed therein firm hills rising above it, and blessed it and measured therein its sustenance in four Days, alike for (all) who ask;” 41:11 “Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly. They said: We come, obedient.” 41:12 “Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower.” I will refrain from complaining about the arithmetic, which sums up to 2+4+2=8 days (contrary to the 6 days of creation mentioned in several other verses in the Qur’an), because I want to grant the “benefit of doubt” to those Muslims who claim that the first 2 days must be merged into the next 4, thus yielding the sum of 4+2=6 days. All right, all right... we know Muhammad was illiterate, but it’s hard to believe he was worse than a first grader, who knows that two-plus-four-plus-two doesn’t add up to six. Of course, if it is really Allah speaking in verses 41:9–12, this is still a question: Why did Allah choose to speak in such a way so as to allow non-Muslims today to exclaim: “The author of the Qur’an didn’t even know basic arithmetic!”? Couldn’t Allah, being so wise, predict this and make the arithmetic in 41:9–12 sound more accurate and less like that of an illiterate person? But, anyway, let’s skip this moot point. Nor will I insist in commenting much about the really-really childish: “Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly ”, which Allah said to heaven and earth, and the equally childish: “They said: We come, obedient.” Can you imagine that you are, for example, an ironsmith, and that you speak to your hammer and anvil, giving them orders? And also imagine that the hammer and the anvil answer back to you, expressing their obedience? How old do you think a child can be today and still imagine talking to inanimate objects, and that those objects answer back? 10 years old? 11 years old, at most? I think that by 12 years of age, today, the children that I know find that talking to objects is just silly. And if you answer that the anthropomorphic view of heaven and earth in 41:9–12 is there by “poetic license”, then I’d reply that poems for grown-ups are one thing, and poems for children are quite another. A Western poem for children, for example, has the child talking to a star: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star / how I wonder what you are!” That’s how 41:11 sounds. Now, we grown-ups find that the “Twinkle, twinkle...” poem is cute, because we know it’s a poem for children only, and only children sing it. But the verse in 41:11 is — unfortunately — taken seriously by you, grown-up Muslims. Do you understand that by taking the “poem” of 41:11 seriously it makes you appear as if you have the mentality of a 10 year old (or less)? But the above are mere details. What I really want to comment on is the total mess in the order in which Allah says he created things, an order that comes to a headlong collision with modern scientific knowledge; and about the duration of Allah’s creation, which also contradicts modern knowledge, in two ways. So, let’s see: In verse 41:9 we learn that Allah created the Earth in two days. In verse 41:10 we receive confirmation that the finishing-up of the creation of the Earth took some time, as it took Allah a total of four days to adorn the Earth with mountains, etc. So, let’s say that in the first four days of creation Allah was concerned with the Earth, no matter what other things he might be doing at the same time. That’s an unassailable conclusion from 41:9–10. Verse 41:11 tells us that Allah “turned to the heaven”. Translators Pickthal and Shakir say “Then He turned to the heaven”, whereas Yusuf Ali says “Moreover He...” Whether the meaning is “then” or “moreover”, our datum is that the Earth was the first object that Allah created. If the meaning is “then”, then of course Allah finished with the Earth (in 4 days) and then turned to the heaven. But even if the meaning is “moreover”, still it cannot be that Allah created the heaven before the Earth, because in 41:11 he speaks to the heaven “when it was smoke”, i.e., unformed yet. Allah converts the unformed heaven into a formed structure of seven heavens in 41:12, in the next two days. Let’s write our datum down again, so that it is fully appreciated: the Earth was the first object that Allah created. No matter how much the imagination is stretched and logic is twisted, we cannot conclude something different from the chronology given in 41:9-12. Beyond any doubt is that the heaven acquired its structure (of seven layers) in the last 2 of the total 6 days of creation, whereas the Earth with its mountains was already ready in the first 4 of the 6 days. Any objection to that? Yes, modern science objects to that — completely, absolutely, and as certainly as an objection can be made. It is beyond any scientific doubt that the Earth is no older than around 4.5 billion years. The Sun is a little older than the Earth, as it was already partly formed at around 5 billion years ago. And, more important, much before that time, stars existed, both in our galaxy (the Milky Way) and in the many other galaxies of the universe. The universe itself has an age of around 13.7 billion years. So, the Earth was clearly not the first object that was created, and “heaven” (if we interpret that word to mean “everything else except the Earth” — although we saw what “heaven” really meant for the author of the Quran in §1.5.1) existed long before the Earth was formed; specifically, for around 9 billion years. To argue against the above scientific knowledge today is as silly as to argue that the Earth is flat. We know that the age of the Earth cannot be greater than the age of the Sun, because when our solar system was in the process of formation the Sun gradually formed first at the center of the turning and swirling dust. (How do we know this? By seeing other planetary systems while they are being formed, with our telescopes.) That the age of the Sun is around 5 billion years is inferred by — among other ways — the percent of hydrogen that has been “burnt” (fused) into helium. Finally, the age of distant stars, and in particular of those that belong to other galaxies, is calculated by the time their light has been travelling through space. (The longer light travels, the more the wavelength of its photons is increased, and thus the color is shifted toward red.) Thus we know that the most distant objects of the universe that we can see (the “quasars”) have an age of around 13 billion years. That’s a long-long time before the Earth was formed. To sum it up: Qur’an: the Earth was the first object that Allah created; the heaven was formed later. Science: the universe is 13.7 billion years old. The Earth is only 4.5 billion years old. That sounds like a blatant difference of opinions, doesn’t it? But there is more. The second problem concerns the durations reported in the Qur’an. They conflict with modern scientific knowledge both absolutely and relatively. First, here’s what the absolute conflict is: The Qur’an tells us that Allah created the world in six days (in several verses, and I said I am not going to argue that the verses in 41:9-12 describe a creation in eight days). The Jewish Bible has essentially the same duration of six days in its creation story (and the Bible is much older than the Qur’an, a datum that’s merely pointed out here), but the difference is that the Bible doesn’t explain what it means when it says “day”. (Of course, the simplest interpretation is that it means literally one period of time during which the sky is bright, because the Bible exhibits the same dissociation between the notion of “day” and the Sun as that of the author of the Qur’an, which was pointed out in §1.5.2; but let’s be generous and assume that a “day” is not just that, otherwise the two “holy books”, Qur’an and Bible, drop to the level of comics books for children.) Contrary to the Bible, in the Qur’an Allah attempts to tell to Muhammad how long an “Allah’s day” lasts, although Allah gives two different estimates. In verses 22:47 and 32:5 Allah says that a “day” for him is like 1000 years for people: 22:47 “And they ask you to hasten on the punishment, and Allah will by no means fail in His promise, and surely a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of what you number.” 32:5 “He regulates the affair from the heaven to the earth; then shall it ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is a thousand years of what you count.” Notice that although 32:5 talks about a specific day, in contrast, 22:47 talks about “Allah’s day” in the abstract. So, from 22:47 we may conclude that when Allah says “day” in general he means a span of 1000 years. However, in verse 70:4 Allah muddles the issue a bit, as he talks about a specific type of day (the day it takes for angels and the spirit to ascend to him), which is equal to 50,000 years for people: 70:4 “To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years.” There is no other verse in the Qur’an that tells us how long an “Allah’s day” is besides the verses listed above. The problem is that even if we take the longer duration of 50,000 years for a day, then six days will add up to no more than 300,000 years. Of those, 4 x 50,000 = 200,000 years should be the time that Allah was creating the Earth and placing mountains on it. That, as an absolute number, is almost nothing compared to the around 4,500,000,000 years, which is the scientific estimate of Earth’s age. Given that mountains keep forming (they always do, they never stopped being formed), we should compare this large number, 4,500,000,000, against Qur’an’s 200,000 to see the magnitude of error. But even if we want to be generous and consider the initial period of Earth’s formation (withA screengrab from a video posted by Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee shows Democrats leaving a committee session last week. Towns locks Republicans out, literally Government Reform Chairman Ed Towns has figured out a novel way to lock Republicans out in a bitter dispute over a committee hearing. He’s locking them out. Literally. Story Continued Below Towns (D-N.Y.) is seething mad that the top Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) tried to force a subpoena vote in the committee regarding a Countrwide Financial investigation, without Towns’ consent. Towns got even angrier when Republicans posted a video of Democrats slipping out the side door to avoid that vote last week. That left leave Republicans without the proper committee quorum, but the video did give the GOP fodder to portray Democrats as avoiding a tough vote on documents related Countrywide, which offered VIP mortgages to Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad. Asked why the Democrats changed the locks on committee doors, Towns fessed up. “Because they [Republicans] don’t know how to behave,” Towns said in a statement to POLITICO. And was this retaliation for posting a video of Democrats scooting out the side door? “Yes,” Towns added. Issa, who has fashioned himself as a good-government agitator on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, seems both amused and annoyed by Towns’ antics. “It's not surprising that they would choose to retaliate given the embarrassment we caused by catching them in a lie on tape,” said Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella. “If only they would use their creative energy to do some actual oversight rather than resorting to immature tactics, but I guess we're getting some insight into what lengths they'll go to avoid addressing the Countrywide VIP issue.”IDEAS Achim Steiner is the Executive Director of the U.N. Environment Program. Among the many happy challenges of raising children is the surprising effort it takes to keep a toddler hydrated. Any parent knows the dribble-to-drink ratio is alarmingly high, even with special cups to contain spillage. As children grow, they become more coordinated with their consumption, and fewer and fewer mealtimes result in a load of laundry. It’s a simple analogy, but humanity is much like the young toddler when it comes to our own collective water consumption. We are grossly inefficient and wasteful. As our population grows to 9 or 10 billion by mid-century and our economies develop, will we grow up and become more efficient with what resources we have? Or will we face ever more severe water crises around the world? Two recently released U.N.-backed studies point to both perils and progress with our current habits. First, the problems. Up to one-third of the global population is already subject to water stress, which means that they suffer a gap between supply of and demand for clean water. If current trends continue, this disparity could stretch to half the global population fewer than 10 years out. In isolation, this is troubling, but there are many associated issues. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now Those who are forced to consume polluted water—usually for lack of other options—are exposed to disease and illness. The recent tap water crisis in Flint, Mich., is a vivid reminder for developed countries of the consequences of poor sanitation and water treatment, but water-borne illnesses are a fact of life in many parts of the world. In West Africa, water-borne diarrhea is the third most common cause of child mortality. Financial costs are also incurred: inadequate sanitation has cost Indonesia up to $6.3 billion and the Philippines $4.1 billion annually. The opposite is also true, however. In South Africa, estimates show the country could save $150 million per year by 2030 by improving water productivity. Water pollution and over-withdrawal accelerate the degradation of bodies of water by impeding the proper functioning of the ecosystem. Climate change, which is already affecting the water cycle, will only compound these problems. The world stands to lose livelihoods as well. New U.N. figures show that nearly 1.5 billion people—half of all workers—have jobs in water-related sectors. Availability of freshwater is critical to virtually every single job on the planet. Poor water management at work can yield unemployment, but it can also yield casualties. Almost 400,000 work-related deaths are caused by communicable diseases, for which the main contributing factors are poor quality drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. There is evidence now, though, that we are becoming more mature in how we consume our lifeblood. Between 1900 and 2000, the global economy expanded 30-fold. Global water consumption only grew six-fold. The distribution of this efficiency is inconsistent, however. In the developed world, the ratio of domestic water use to GDP has been declining. Australia realized 30% GDP growth as total water consumption declined by 40% between 2001 and 2009. Some developing countries have realized progress, too. Chinese regulations leveled out the rate of water consumption in the 1980s while GDP boomed. Many countries have more mixed track records. Despite global progress, governments have often prioritized gaining access to more supply. This is akin to a child taking a sip of water, purposely spilling the rest, and then asking for another cup. Investments in better and more efficient water resource management systems have been less popular. Our marginal gains are masked by increasing populations, urbanization and economic activities that exacerbate water scarcity and pollution. We will have to mature together for true gains to be made. With this in mind, governments can take steps to “decouple” economic growth from water use and pollution. Understanding is key. Investments can be directed to research and development of technology that improves water use efficiency. Research also needs to be strengthened to demonstrate the value of healthy ecosystems. That is, we need to better realize how healthy ecosystems serve economies and societies upstream and downstream, both literally and figuratively. Governments can also remove disincentives to good water management. If fines for polluting water resources are too low, for example, this will likely discourage efforts at water resource protection. Perhaps one of the more intriguing solutions involves setting up markets for “virtual water.” Virtual water refers to the amount of water required to produce a product, and is deemed “virtual” because most of the water is not contained in the final product. While enabling trade would not itself lead to reduced water use, it would help to determine imbalances and international patterns of water usage, and help identify countries where decoupling water use from economic growth is most needed. Water is a shared resource and a shared responsibility. While governments can play a major role, individual and corporate decisions will have a large impact on both its availability and quality. As our population and economies grow, demand for limited water resources will inevitably increase. We will need to mature and become water-wise together as we grow. If we don’t, we may go back to the tap one day to find we’ve wasted the last drop. Contact us at editors@time.com.Note:These pages make extensive use of the latest XHTML and CSS Standards. They ought to look great in any standards-compliant modern browser. Unfortunately, they will probably look horrible in older browsers, like Netscape 4.x and IE 4.x. Moreover, many posts use MathML, which is, currently only supported in Mozilla. My best suggestion (and you will thank me when surfing an ever-increasing number of sites on the web which have been crafted to use the new standards) is to upgrade to the latest version of your browser. If that's not possible, consider moving to the Standards-compliant and open-source Mozilla browser. Tychonoffication Posted by John Baez Joshua Meyers is a grad student in my real analysis class. We had an interesting conversation about topology and came up with some conjectures. Maybe someone has already proved them. I just want to write them down somewhere. Continue reading “Tychonoffication” … Followups (26) Posted at 5:17 PM UTC \| Permalink Sporadic SICs and Exceptional Lie Algebras I Posted by John Baez guest post by Blake C. Stacey Sometimes, mathematical oddities crowd in upon one another, and the exceptions to one classification scheme reveal themselves as fellow-travelers with the exceptions to a quite different taxonomy. I am grateful to John for giving me the opportunity to discuss one such confluence, where quantum information theory comes together with geometry, root systems and even the octonions. In what follows, I
31 Frags – + yeah this guy changed his name to FROYO b4nny and was using hacks on b4nny's mge server, seems to love attention. yeah this guy changed his name to FROYO b4nny and was using hacks on b4nny's mge server, seems to love attention. 15 #15 Pete 26 Frags – + Lol I think this guy is asking people in the group to post on his page giving him rep: Show Content http://puu.sh/m4BZ7/25a524242f.png http://puu.sh/m4BZw/ddf56d4c10.png http://puu.sh/m4BZM/5f6c5d71df.png Unless he did a lot of trading, during his trade probation. Delta. Real talk here. Deceitfulness and manipulation like this are primary facets of Antisocial Personality disorder. I'm not your therapist, but if doing things like this is how you find happiness, you may have further deep seeded issues. Lol I think this guy is asking people in the group to post on his page giving him rep: [spoiler] [img]http://puu.sh/m4BZ7/25a524242f.png[/img] [img]http://puu.sh/m4BZw/ddf56d4c10.png[/img] [img]http://puu.sh/m4BZM/5f6c5d71df.png[/img][/spoiler] Unless he did a lot of trading, during his trade probation. Delta. Real talk here. Deceitfulness and manipulation like this are primary facets of Antisocial Personality disorder. I'm not your therapist, but if doing things like this is how you find happiness, you may have further deep seeded issues. 16 #16 biskuu -63 Frags – + gotta love the white knights of tf.tv always downfragging the 'bad guy' of the thread hahaha gotta love the white knights of tf.tv always downfragging the 'bad guy' of the thread hahaha 17 #17 purevermin 3 Frags – + Wow, I played a center with him yesterday. Small world EDIT: Lobby I played with him http://logs.tf/1165799?highlight=76561198087494895 Wow, I played a center with him yesterday. Small world EDIT: Lobby I played with him http://logs.tf/1165799?highlight=76561198087494895 18 #18 Thickney 5 Frags – + http://logs.tf/1165724?highlight=76561198254328724 Pretty sure was hacking in a lobby I played with him. Painfully obnoxious dude. http://logs.tf/1165724?highlight=76561198254328724 Pretty sure was hacking in a lobby I played with him. Painfully obnoxious dude. 19 #19 DoctorMiggy 5 Frags – + Thickney http://logs.tf/1165724?highlight=76561198254328724 Pretty sure was hacking in a lobby I played with him. Painfully obnoxious dude. what a cool and edgy kid, he must get all the pussy [quote=Thickney]http://logs.tf/1165724?highlight=76561198254328724 Pretty sure was hacking in a lobby I played with him. Painfully obnoxious dude.[/quote] what a cool and edgy kid, he must get all the pussy 20 #20 konr 27 Frags – + Bisquit gotta love the white knights of tf.tv always downfragging the 'bad guy' of the thread hahaha I don't think you know what "white knight" means and in this case people are downfragging a guy that is trying to blag that he didn't scam people..? [quote=Bisquit]gotta love the white knights of tf.tv always downfragging the 'bad guy' of the thread hahaha[/quote] I don't think you know what "white knight" means and in this case people are downfragging a guy that is trying to blag that he didn't scam people..? 21 #21 Bonafide 18 Frags – + Bisquit gotta love the white knights of tf.tv always downfragging the 'bad guy' of the thread hahaha white knight noun noun: white knight; plural noun: white knights - a person or thing that comes to someone's aid.?? [quote=Bisquit]gotta love the white knights of tf.tv always downfragging the 'bad guy' of the thread hahaha[/quote] white knight noun noun: white knight; plural noun: white knights - a person or thing that comes to someone's aid. ?? 22 #22 dollarlayer 15 Frags – + A scammer and a hacker? What a trash can. Thanks for giving us a heads up about this filthy individual. A scammer and a hacker? What a trash can. Thanks for giving us a heads up about this filthy individual. 23 #23 sildeezy 55 Frags – + Sad part is when he was hacking in MGE he was getting served. Here's a screenshot of Jdawg giving it to him on spire. http://puu.sh/m4NO6/91acbc6735.png Sad part is when he was hacking in MGE he was getting served. Here's a screenshot of Jdawg giving it to him on spire. http://puu.sh/m4NO6/91acbc6735.png 24 #24 deetr 17 Frags – + I played a lobby against him yesterday where he rage switched from demo to sniper and started blatantly hacking http://logs.tf/1165486 Next game he was on my team and in Mumble, was toxic as fuck and afkd when he wasn't getting enough heals. Also when we called him out on hacking he said "it's called 4000 hours on sniper" and got even more mad. edit: STV of the game when I am pretty sure he was hacking (didn't watch the demo yet but I mean this dude was hitting the most insane shots with ridiculous consistency, would be very surprised if he was legit) https://demos.tf/8206 tl;dr toxic retard hacker I played a lobby against him yesterday where he rage switched from demo to sniper and started blatantly hacking http://logs.tf/1165486 Next game he was on my team and in Mumble, was toxic as fuck and afkd when he wasn't getting enough heals. Also when we called him out on hacking he said "it's called 4000 hours on sniper" and got even more mad. edit: STV of the game when I am pretty sure he was hacking (didn't watch the demo yet but I mean this dude was hitting the most insane shots with ridiculous consistency, would be very surprised if he was legit) https://demos.tf/8206 tl;dr toxic retard hacker 25 #25 rezgar 4 Frags – + Why the fuck hasn't he been banned from tf2center by now (if he's really been hacking in all those lobbies)? Why the fuck hasn't he been banned from tf2center by now (if he's really been hacking in all those lobbies)? 26 #26 Woogiebug 25 Frags – + when ur poor like me u dont have to worry about these kinds of lads when ur poor like me u dont have to worry about these kinds of lads 27 #27 deetr 7 Frags – + rezgar Why the fuck hasn't he been banned from tf2center by now (if he's really been hacking in all those lobbies)? You have to be reported on the forums to be banned from tf2center [quote=rezgar]Why the fuck hasn't he been banned from tf2center by now (if he's really been hacking in all those lobbies)?[/quote] You have to be reported on the forums to be banned from tf2center 28 #28 Daijou 36 Frags – + also this guy went to esqapade's profile after he told him to pay up for the logo he designed for the group, and posted this http://i.imgur.com/QGeGl56.png yeah I suppose demanding someone to keep true to their word and committing to their end of the deal is being greedy as fuck lol also this guy went to esqapade's profile after he told him to pay up for the logo he designed for the group, and posted this [img]http://i.imgur.com/QGeGl56.png[/img] yeah I suppose demanding someone to keep true to their word and committing to their end of the deal is being greedy as fuck lol 29 #29 Pert 4 Frags – + what a sad individual what a sad individualOn Wednesday former Congresswoman from Minnesota, Republican Michele Bachmann told Rusty Humphries, in an interview on the “Trending Today USA” radio program that she expects a very broad last minute pardon to be issued by Hussein Obama to the Clinton crime family and their mobster associates. She said, “We had the worst intelligence failures ever, in the history of the United States, by Bradley Manning, by Edward Snowden and none other than our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who because of her selfishness in having an unsecured server set up in her home, had America’s most vital secrets intercepted, most likely by our enemies, and then released to the world.” Rep Bachmann says, “Barack Obama should be ashamed, Bradley Manning should be in jail, and Hillary Clinton, in my opinion, should be there with him.” Humphries interjects, “And there’s absolutely nothing we can do, a president’s pardon is..” Bachmann responds, “Oh, it is secure, that’s clear in our nation’s Constitution and the history and tradition, what Barack Obama does he will – I would look for a pardon coming for Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton Foundation before noon on Friday.” Bachmann reminds Humphries, “A person does not have to be charged or in jail to receive a pardon. A person can be pre-pardoned. I would not be surprised if we don’t see Barack Obama issue a blank pardon for anything Bill, Hillary, Chelsea or the Clinton Foundation has done.” If that is the case, as it was with Gerald Ford pardoning Richard Nixon with no charges ever having been filed the outrage and the presumed guilt of the Clintons in their dealings will be intense. It’s important to remember that just because Hussein Obama declares a pardon for federal crimes, he has no authority to act on behalf of the Clinton cartel in matters of state crimes or in regards to international law and crimes committed in other countries. There currently are investigations underway in other nations on a variety of charges related to the Clinton Foundation, including bribery and financial crimes. Just because Obama gets them off of our hook doesn’t mean they’re going to get off Scot-free. Dependent upon which nation might find them guilty, a US prison might seem like a country club by comparison. He may not be doing them a favor and he may also find himself under similar scrutiny. The whole area of pardon law may be about to get a serious, intensive review. Please like Rick on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RickRWells/ and on my website http://RickWells.US – Please SUBSCRIBE in the right sidebar I’m also at Stop The Takeover, https://www.facebook.com/StopTheTakeover/ and please follow on Twitter @RickRWells. RelatedThe Arctic will likely never return to its former frigid days because of the effects of climate change, according to the 2017 Arctic Report Card. The report card is an evolving study started in 2006 and updated annually that looks at the current state of the Arctic's environment. In 2017, it included contributions from 85 researchers in 12 countries. This year it determined the climate in the Arctic has reached a new, warmer normal, and the effects of climate change on the region are virtually irreversible. "What we used to call a really warm year in the Arctic or a really warm summer is pretty much normal now," said Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and a contributor to the report card. Walt Meier, senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, contributed to the study. (Submitted by Walt Meier) "What we have now when it's warm, when we get a really, relatively speaking, warm year, it's something that we didn't used to see ever. We are breaking records." The report card found some of the biggest changes to the Arctic's environment are thawing permafrost, low volumes of sea ice and snow cover, and warming temperatures. In fact, the Arctic's temperature is increasing at twice the rate of the global temperature. According to David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Arctic's climate is warming to such a degree that ice-free summers are predicted for the future. "It's not about to change," Phillips said. "And I think the best guess is the forecast that what you see is really just a dress rehearsal, the opening act of what we are going to see even greater in the years to come," he said. Phillips said a warming climate in the North can affect the traditional Northern way of life: it would mean people have to go out further to hunt; it will become more difficult to maintain ice roads; and vegetation can be impacted. Reversal not impossible, but unlikely Chris Derksen, a research scientist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said though it is unlikely to reverse the effects of climate change in the Arctic, it is not impossible. He said because the rate of warming is tied to increased greenhouse gas emissions, a decrease in emissions could reverse climate changes. "It would take a sustained and long-lasting effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions before we would see temperatures in the Arctic return to traditional levels we've seen in the past," he said. The Government of the Northwest Territories' Department of Environment and Natural Resources has developed a draft Climate Change Strategic Framework to deal with climate change in the territory. The goals of the strategy are to create an economy that reduces reliance on fossil fuels 20 per cent by 2030, compared to rates of use in 2015, and to develop knowledge and understanding of climate change in the territory and how Northerners can adapt to it. Meier said although climate change is more prominent in the North, the warming climate is a sign for what's to come in the south.After the mass murder at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, an openly gay Toronto city councillor made a simple gesture in defiance of both homophobes and Islamophobes. “I want to introduce you to someone,” Kristyn Wong-Tam told the hundreds of people who had gathered at Barbara Hall Park for a vigil. “This is Farrah Khan. Farrah is my queer Muslim fiancée,” she said, bringing her on stage. (Nick Lachance/Daily Xtra) This was the first time that Wong-Tam had publicly spoken about her engagement. Wong-Tam is introducing the crowd to Farrah Khan, “my queer Muslim fiance.” pic.twitter.com/78skvX9oOY — Daily Xtra (@dailyxtra) June 13, 2016 Khan is the sexual violence education and support coordinator at Ryerson University. “When people hate queers, they hate us. When people hate Muslims, they hate us,” she said. (Nick Lachance/Daily Xtra) Wong-Tam, the councillor for Toronto’s Ward 27, which includes the Church-Wellesley Village, is the only openly gay member of Toronto’s city council. She’s often the leading voice for LGBT issues in city politics. “My heart is so heavy,” said Wong-Tam, with tears welling up in her eyes. “We have lost so many people through the years, to hatred, to homophobia, to transphobia." But she urged the crowd to never give in to apathy. “We can never be by-standers. When we see something, we will speak up, we will take action,” she said. “We will never ever be silent or silenced.”China is continuing to cut down its use of technology from foreign providers as part of a cyber cold war with the US and other Western nations. According to reports China has put Symantec and Kaspersky on its blacklist of companies that it does not want to do business in the country. Local paper the People's Daily reported on the block through Twitter. "Govt procurement agency has excluded Symantec & Kaspersky fm a security software supplier list, all 5 in are fm China," it said, explaining that all five likely providers are now local. A spokesperson for the Russian security firm Kaspersky told V3 that it is talking to the Chinese authorities about the situation. "We are investigating and engaging in conversations with Chinese authorities about this matter," said a spokesperson. "It is too premature to go into any additional details at this time." Symantec had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication. China has been cracking down on the use of technology from overseas vendors ever since the Snowden revelations first hit the headlines. Since then the US and China have come to numerous blows in cyber space. The US has accused military men of snooping on business such as utility firms and hacking into their networks, and in return China has accused the US of installing backdoors into kit that is exported to the East. People's Daily added that the five firms on the official list are the local: Qihoo 360, Venustech, CAJinchen, Beijing Jiangmin and Rising. In May V3 reported that Chinese authorities want to ban overseas software from its banks and financial institutions. Commenting after Edward Snowden's PRISM revelations come to light, China accused the US of underhand surveillance. "The United States' spying operations have gone far beyond the legal rationale of ‘anti-terrorism' and have exposed its ugly face of pursuing self-interest in complete disregard of moral integrity," said Chinese authorities. "These operations have flagrantly breached international laws, seriously infringed upon human rights and put global cyber security under threat. They deserve to be rejected and condemned by the whole world."One of the most popular English-language novels of the 20th Century is almost unknown in the English-speaking world – a global phenomenon in translation, now neglected in its original form. The Gadfly, by Irish writer Ethel Voynich, was a sensation on the other side of the Iron Curtain – it sold over 5 million copies in 107 editions in the 22 languages spoken in the Soviet Union. The book inspired seven musical adaptations, including an opera by Prokofiev, five theatre adaptations, including an ‘official’ version by George Bernard Shaw, and five film adaptations, one of which featured a famous score by Shostakovich. One of the most exciting novels I have read – Bertrand Russell Voynich’s novel is a thrilling saga of revolutionary zeal, religious devotion, clerical betrayal and romantic love – the philosopher Bertrand Russell called it “one of the most exciting novels I have read”. It was published in New York in 1897, two years after its completion, as its English publisher feared an adverse reaction – one reviewer denounced the book’s “outrageous and horrible character”. A translation appeared the following year in Russia, where the tsarist authorities’ disapproval only enhanced its popularity. The Gadfly is set in Italy during the revolutionary ferment of the 1830s and ‘40s. The protagonist is a young Englishman, Arthur Burton, who moves to a Catholic seminary after the death of his mother. There he becomes devoted to his guardian and mentor Montanelli, who, unknown to him, is also his biological father. In the company of his childhood sweetheart Gemma, Arthur becomes involved in the Young Italy movement fighting Austrian imperial rule. But he unwittingly betrays his comrades, after his private confession is relayed to the police. He then discovers his family secret, and loses all faith in the church. Arthur feigns his suicide and escapes to South America, where he endures years of torture and degradation. He returns to Italy in the guise of ‘The Gadfly’, a fearless and revered revolutionary whose true identity is masked. After his capture, he is visited by Montanelli, now a cardinal, who offers him a lifeline. But Arthur, unforgiving and uncompromising, demands that his father renounce the church. Montanelli refuses and condemns his son to death. Arthur, now a Christ-like figure, commands his own execution and forgives the firing squad. At the Corpus Christi mass, Montanelli denounces God’s sacrifice, then dies of a broken heart. Cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova credited its influence The novel gained popularity initially in Ireland with socialists and nationalists fighting for independence, and it remains the bestselling Irish novel of all time. Yet it was in the newly-created Communist states of the Soviet Union and China that the book found its most dedicated readership. Arthur, the embodiment of a Romantic tragic hero, was repeatedly voted Russia’s most popular literary figure, and cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova, the first man and woman in space, credited its influence. Back in the USSR In the 1930s, The Gadfly inspired another bestseller, Nikolai Ostrovsky’s How the Steel Was Tempered, which sold 35 million copies in the Soviet Union. Ostrovsky’s socialist realist novel features a fearless young communist who suffers dreadfully for his sacrifices, but finds perpetual sustenance in the example of The Gadfly, which he reads to his fellow comrades. Voynich’s novel was bolstered further by a 1955 Sovcolor film adaptation directed by Aleksandr Faintsimmer. It sold 39 million tickets and featured Shostakovich’s score, which became celebrated in its own right as The Gadfly Suite. The Gadfly was popular in the early stages of China’s Cultural Revolution The Gadfly found its largest audience in China – where Montanelli had been a missionary, and where suspicion of the Catholic Church was high. According to Carma Hinton, director of the documentary Morning Sun, “the novel enjoyed an unrivalled place in the hearts and minds of the young participants in the Cultural Revolution”. Arthur offers a “careful balance of sentiment with steely resolve” – he is a lover and a fighter, in the vein of the ‘knight-errant’ of traditional Chinese folklore. This passage of Voynich’s novel captures why the book was so popular in the early stages of China’s Cultural Revolution, with its veneration of youth and its anti-clerical celebration of iconoclasm: “Padre, come away with us! What have you to do with this dead world of priests and idols? They are full of the dust of bygone ages; they are rotten; they are pestilent and foul! Come out of this plague-stricken Church – come away with us into the light! Padre, it is we that are life and youth; it is we that are the everlasting springtime; it is we that are the future! Padre, the dawn is close upon us – will you miss your part in the sunrise?” Yet as the Cultural Revolution progressed, and the cult of Mao deepened, the rebellious Gadfly was suppressed, for fear it would be turned against the father figure of modern China. When the novel was re-released in the late 1970s, after Mao’s death, it resonated with those whose faith in China’s ‘Cardinal’ had waned. Fly in the ointment The melodrama of Voynich’s novel is matched by the extraordinary story of her own life. Ethel was born in Cork to parents George Boole, an eminent mathematician, and the philosopher Mary Everest, whose uncle gave his name to the world’s highest mountain. At the age of 15, Ethel read about the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini. She longed for his “melancholy beauty and distinction”, and until the day she married, dressed in black to “mourn the state of the world”. In 1889, Ethel met, and later married, the Polish radical Wilfred Michał Voynich, who had escaped a prison camp in Siberia. In London, she learned Russian from an émigré who had assassinated the head of the Tsar’s secret police, and with her husband travelled to Russia to aid the revolutionary cause. US politician Adlai Stevenson visited Moscow to arrange for payment of her long-overdue royalties On returning to London, she met a true gadfly, Sidney Reilly, described by his autobiographer as “the greatest spy in history… who was said to possess eleven passports and a wife to go with each”. Reilly and Voynich travelled to Italy, where he claims to have told Ethel his life story, elements of which bear striking similarities to the Gadfly. Reilly, a British secret agent and a model for James Bond, then travelled to Russia, where he tried to assassinate Lenin and was killed in 1925. Voynich never acknowledged Reilly’s role, and it remains a source of controversy, although she confirmed that the character of Gemma was drawn from the life of Charlotte Wilson, mistress of the anarchist Prince Peter Kropotkin. Gemma is perhaps Voynich’s most enduring legacy: “one of the most impressive attempts to present an emancipated woman”, wrote the critic Arnold Kettle. Voynich’s life story has a strange final twist. In 1955, a Soviet delegation of writers learned that the author, long presumed dead, was alive in New York – the newspaper Pravda proclaimed her resurrection, much like that of her protagonist. Ethel had been living in obscurity, and due to Soviet copyright laws, she was unaware of her legendary status in Russia. The following year, Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson visited Moscow to arrange for payment of her long-overdue royalties. When Ethel died in 1960, she was mourned in Russia as a national hero. In 2011, Chinese-born writer Yiyun Li visited Cork, and requested to pay homage at the birthplace of Ethel Voynich. In the UK, The Gadfly remains out of print and almost unknown, yet around the world readers and writers still revere its author, just as DH Lawrence, Rebecca West and Friedrich Engels once did. With its rich religious imagery and stirring revolutionary themes, The Gadfly has an abiding appeal for lovers of historical fiction, and deserves to be rediscovered in its original language. If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, Travel and Autos, delivered to your inbox every Friday.An independent conservative group went on the air with a new ad on Monday to be followed by a full-length documentary film that attempts to portray Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as an over-hyped media darling. The group, Citizens United, which also produced a film earlier this year critical of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, is spending $250,000 to run the ad on Fox News through the end of the week. The 30-second spot features a mix of conservative voices – former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Rev. Joe Watkins, and commentators Tucker Carlson and Dick Morris. They accuse the press of harboring a pro-Obama bias, or as Mr. Carlson puts it in the ad, “The press loves Obama. I mean not just love but sort of like an early teenage crush.” The ad is a prelude to the film, “Hype: The Obama Effect,” which Citizens United plans to release in early September. According to the film’s Web site it will ask — and answer — a few questions about Mr. Obama, including whether he is “the uniter the country begs for, or a liberal divider.” Will Holley, a spokesman for the group, said the film will be released in theaters in select markets across the country and offered for sale on DVD. The Obama campaign declined to comment on the film. Independent groups like Citizens United are increasingly inserting themselves into the contest between Mr. Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain. Another advocacy organization, Let Freedom Ring, plans to begin broadcasting a commercial accusing Mr. Obama of being a flip-flopper on Tuesday. The group, Vets for Freedom, is spending $1.5 million on an advertising and grassroots effort trumpeting what they say is the success of the troop buildup in Iraq. Here’s the ad: And here’s the film’s trailer: The full script of the ad, “Hype”: Barack Obama: “We are the change that we seek.” Mr. Blackwell: “It is only when you begin to peel back the layers that you begin to see a disturbing pattern.” Mr. Carlson: “Well, the press loves Obama. I mean, not just love, but an early teenage crush.” Mr. Morris: “He is representative of the ultimate left of the Democratic party. Vast increases in taxes.” Mr. Watkins: “Big government doesn’t help people. And it certainly hasn’t helped the people in my congregation.” Mr. Obama: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”An exhibition showcasing movie poster designs rejected by Hollywood studios over the years features two rare Exorcist posters. It’s hard to imagine The Exorcist being promoted without the iconic image of Father Merrin stepping out of that Georgetown cab and walking into the beam of light from Regan’s window, but Warner Brothers almost went in a different direction. Designed by graphic artist Bill Gold, who began working for Warner Brothers art department in 1942, the two posters are part of a gallery at Daybees.com which also includes rejected designs for movies such as Unforgiven, A Clockwork Orange, Batman, and Pulp Fiction. The first (my favourite, as seen above) depicts Regan’s bedroom door cracked open from a low angle, hinting at the evil that lurks within. The other, a much simpler composition (see below), shows a smiling Linda Blair in a wholesome photo album picture with the caption “Deliver her from evil.” I find the most glaring deterrent for these rejected posters is the unusual choice of typeface used for “The Exorcist” title. It’s more wholesome than eerie and doesn’t reflect the film well. Of course, it’s easy to say after the film’s success and being so used to seeing the “Merrin arrives” designs.If you have ears and enjoy music going into said ears (you’re on Reverb.com so I think we’re on the same page), there’s an astronomical chance you’ve heard a C&C Custom Drum kit played. These sought-after drums have been embraced by artists covering the entire spectrums of genres, with a huge array of noted players representing the signature “C&C” logo on their bass drum head. For an institution with this much clout, C&C remains as grassroots as their hometown of Gladstone, Missouri. The entire operation was started by one man with a love for drums: Bill Cardwell. We recently got to pick the brains of the incredibly humble founder of one of the most respected names in music. Read on for what he had to say about making C&C drums and his influences as a percussion craftsman. You founded C&C at a time when the industry and players heavily invested in brand name and recognition. What was it like functioning at that time and drawing support for your company? Frankly, the drummers we dealt with were not heavily vested in brand names. They were vested in wanting drums that looked and sounded like they wanted. It was a very slow progression. Our company was built on word of mouth and the backs of our artist roster, which I think totaled four when C&C began as a full time endeavor. Building kits for artists is not a money-making process. We were outsiders in the "industry". The real abalone finished drums were what gave us initial recognition. Then having the opportunity to build an abalone kit for Ringo helped in lending credibility in the industry. It was tough functioning, but I believed we were bringing something to the table unique from what the big companies were bringing. We can change on a dime what we are building. We talked talk to players all the time. Big companies were locked into what they were doing. It takes them two or three years to incorporate what drummers are saying into drum kits. Support for our work came from the player. My motto in the beginning was "Lead, follow, or get out of the way". My desire was to lead, and do so by fulfilling the needs of the player. I was struck by your sentiment that “vintage” drums of the 60’s weren’t “vintage” at the time but modern ideas of how drums should sound. How do you think your company provided the music world with a definition of how drums should sound? Having our own drum shell molds has been a major factor in giving the player what they want. I did years of restoration of old drums before I ever built a drum. Old drums were not even called “vintage” yet when I started restoring. I bought a router, built a table, and put it in a small room in the back of my drum shop. Any drums that have extra holes I would put on the table and play with the edges. I had no idea I was educating myself for my future occupation. I am not sure we have defined the sound of drums. I choose to shut up and listen to how players wanted their drums to look and sound. Try and get inside their heads and provide the best tools possible to produce those tones. You’ve been at the vanguard of the drum world for the past 30 plus years. How have you seen drummers change in what they want from a kit? You don't ask “yes” and “no” questions do you? We were marketed by how drums should sound in the late '80s and early '90s: more resonance, more resonance, more resonance. Then you look at the drums and they are gaffe taped to death, triggered, or distorted when played at high volumes. Most drummers I speak with want a drum that speaks when played. Then that goes away. They have moved on to the next drum in the kit or lose articulation of the note played when playing multiples on one drum. Everything gets muddy-sounding at that point. The beauty of these marketing campaigns by larger companies is it made us all think, “Which is the greatest service [muted or resonant drums] that could be done?” For those who enjoy those tones perfect! For those who don't, there was a gap left. Most custom companies were using 6-ply Keller which had gotten extremely thin per ply. I opted, as a standard, for a slightly thicker shell. One that was the same thickness of a Keller shell per ply as an early 1980s 6-ply shell. With the edges cut properly these drums made a great rock kit. Guys want variety now. We are here to provide that variety. How did the relationship between C&C and Gladstone Shells begin and develop? I started Gladstone shells because it was not possible for me to obtain the sound varieties I wanted from the options available to custom builders. I reached the point it was either acquire our own shell molds or quit. It was a tedious process, but we were able to have molds created that would build the wide variety of shell constructions I desired. Initially, I planned on making these shells available to all builders who wished to purchase them. After the demand grew to the point it required all of our time building shells for C&C, it became impossible to meet the demands of selling shells to other companies. We have taken the most popular shells we built over the past five years and developed four different drum lines with six different shell constructions to sell through retail stores throughout the country. We avoided the “big box” and cast our lot with the independent stores who believe in what we are doing. In some aspect or another all of our shells are based off shells created from the 1950s to the early 1980s. As someone who’s constructed drums for years, what are your favorite eras of drum making and favorite kits throughout history? See, this is my problem. I love a wide range of drums: The Ludwig brass shells from the 1920s and 1930s. The Ludwig Acrolite shell made between 1966 and 1968. These are different for a reason told to me by Wm Ludwig Jr. He was right. They are the best. 1950s WFL drums 1960s Rogers drums 1960s Camco drums The thicker Luan shells coming out of japan in the late '60s. the Apollos, Whitehalls, etc. Some of these shells were great. Inconsistent, but the good ones are great. Early 1970s Ludwig shells After that era there is mentally a cut-off for me. The next era of drums were: Tama Superstar shells of the '80s. The LA Camco's and very early DW. About anything Yamaha was making up to and including the early recording customs. By the 1990's nothing was really being built that was of any interest to me. All of this is personal opinion. Not facts. Your drums are used by a huge range of players. Why do you believe such a diverse roster of artists gravitate toward C&C? First let me say C&C is not just Bill Cardwell, it is not Jake Cardwell. We have a crew here that love drums and take ownership of this company through their work and dedication. At least four other people have a hand in every C&C drum built and shipped out this door. They all take it personally. That to me is the main reason we have such a range of players. Although I or Jake cut the edges, guys who have been taught to build here take great pride in what they do. Even if there name is not on the badge. Brian Anderson, a guy I have been friends with for 40 years, is in my opinion the greatest drum shell builder in the country. You do not teach his talent. It is a gift. Thank God we survived the 1970s, ha. I don't really know how to answer this question… We want guys who are career players. We do not solicit artists. They come to us. We NEVER try and take another company's artist. I guess like-minded people just find each other. I do know the feedback I love to hear that pleases me: When a guitar player from a pretty famous band says, “Your drums made a difference in the sound of our record”. You can only be humbled. A sound man says, “Look at the EQ on the kit, it is all set flat”.19274 Die StA
of mine when I was back living in Winnipeg. The campaign didn’t last long as he found my duo too scary to deal with. So, my motivation for playing these two was simply for entertainment value. I’ve done this before: in an SF campaign run by my old friend David Keck, I played a caretaker in a tenement block called the Charles Mansions, and that guy was the creepiest character imaginable. It’s just my twisted nature, I guess, but I always saw comedic possibility in odious characters. For the novellas, I don’t give much thought to it, to be honest. That said, employing a character like Bauchelain can give me the opportunity to defend the indefensible via his particular world-view, and that’s fun. TCD: I can’t help but notice that in Crack’d Pot Trail there was a certain … emmm… I was going to say undercurrent, but let’s face it, it was fairly blatant, criticism of critics and scholars of literature. SE: What an outrageous suggestion. In any case, I wasn’t being strictly critical, I was simply deconstructing some of the characteristics that exist in the relationship between author/artist and audience. You’ll note that artists don’t fare much better, do they? I try not to laugh at anybody else unless I can first laugh at myself. It remains one of my favourite works of mine, particularly for that voice, which seemed to come out of nowhere, full-grown, only to dance off into the sunset again once the book was done. It’d be nice to find that voice again but I don’t know if I ever will. TCD: Out of interest, what is it about fantasy that attracts you as an author? SE: As a genre, it is the most unencumbered form for storytelling. So it lets the imagination cut loose without the mimetic restraints so common to other genres. Internal consistency is all that matters, and that comes as a consequence of the inventive exercise in world-building. Of all the genres, I think, it is most like archaeology. TCD: But with Willful Child and also Revolvo you clearly enjoy writing SF as well. SE: I do. So you’d call Revolvo SF? Sure you don’t mean The Devil Delivered? I read SF mostly; it’s a rare thing these days for me to read fantasy, to be honest. I find it more relaxing, and more in keeping where my thinking is right now. TCD: Let’s take another break here and pick this up another time to finish up, if that suits you? SE: Sure, and thanks for the bread and water. [The final part of the interview is here. Part 1 can be found here] AdvertisementsA little more than a year ago, no-longer-teen heartthrob Cole Sprouse, who starred on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alongside his twin brother Dylan, caused an uproar by pulling the plug on his Tumblr and announcing it had been some ill-conceived, data-mining, sociological experiment (or head game) all along. Now it’s Dylan who finds himself on the wrong side of the social media platform, for a different reason: A young lady posted his nude selfies on her blog. (NSFW, clearly.) Despite the amateurish photos—sexts really ought to feature a setting other than “depressing NYU dorm bathroom,” and a visible erection might be preferable to clutching your genitals like you’re defending a free kick in soccer—Sprouse took the doxing with good cheer, both on Twitter and his own Tumblr account. He even reblogged a popular list of the best social media reactions thus far. Whoops, guess I’m not 14 and fat anymore — Dylan Sprouse (@dylansprouse) December 16, 2013 I messed up… but I’d be a fool not to own up to it. Got to move past it I suppose — Dylan Sprouse (@dylansprouse) December 16, 2013 move past it in a sexy way tho ~~ pic.twitter.com/rG7mgjyvZM — Dylan Sprouse (@dylansprouse) December 16, 2013 At least you can’t see my third testicle — Dylan Sprouse (@dylansprouse) December 16, 2013 Sprouse’s diehard followers found a lot to love in his self-deprecation but weren’t quick to forgive the girl who had betrayed his trust. Fan site Sprouseable posted a photoset of the supposed culprit with the caption “I believe this is the girl that leaked Dylan’s nudes. Her tumblr is distinctpromises.tumblr.com. I’m normally very respectful of people’s privacy but I think she already crossed that line.” The URL, of course, led to a deleted blog, though as the Sprouses have both discovered, rejecting fame doesn’t mean that fame is done with you. H/T Gawker \| Photo via Oh No They Didn’t/LivejournalLast month, we illustrated just how much millionaires get from unfair, upside down tax programs. The answer was simple: a boatload. More than $10,000 in tax benefits per year for every millionaire tax filer! This unequal distribution didn't happen by accident; it's the direct result of unfair federal policies that leave millions of working families behind. Today, we're taking a closer look at just how much Congress is spending on these programs. The answer, again, is simple: a boatload. More than $660 billion just last year. In one year, the federal cost of these unfair tax programs increased $40 billion. That's roughly the entire annual budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development! That's enough to wipe out the credit card debt of about 2.5 million Americans. That's enough to add about $1,500 to the tax refunds of every single EITC recipient in the country. And that $40 billion is only the increase from the previous year. Just try to wrap your head around the total $660 billion. $660 billion could have paid for a Chipotle burrito every day for every single American for nearly the entire year. If you think that sounds unhealthy, just think about the impact of spending those billions to actively make wealth inequality worse. You just might opt for the burritos. This spending is growing. During an age of supposed budget austerity and proposed massive cuts for essential programs that help lower-income Americans get ahead, one thing has remained constant: Congress is spending more and more on unfair tax programs to expand wealth inequality. That upward trajectory is scheduled to continue for the foreseeable future. This means more and more resources devoted to helping those at the top buy houses, build retirement nest eggs, pay for college and put away savings. It means less and less available to ensure all Americans can get ahead. This is upside down. This is simple. It's about fairness. It's about making sure all Americans have a shot at economic security. It's about fighting inequality and expanding opportunity. So what are you going to do about it? One of the main problems we face is that people just don't know what's at stake here. Here's one easy thing you can do to change that: help spread the message. Click here to share the simple graphic on Facebook. Click here to share it on Twitter. Forward this email to your family and friends. Building awareness is the first step towards affecting real change in this campaign. Keep engaged and together we will turn these upside down tax programs right-side up.Attention, Channing Tatum: The men of MTV’s Teen Wolf have put together their collective audition tape for the next installment in the Magic Mike saga. Just kidding! (Sort of.) The above video, literally titled “Shirtless Montage,” is actually a special feature on the Season 4 DVD, which officially hits shelves Tuesday. And while the added dance music puts the memorable scenes in a totally different context — like when Parrish was set on fire, or when that wendigo kid heard his parents killed in the next room — something tells me the fans won’t be complaining. Of course, this skin-tastic DVD extra does have a bittersweet undertone, as it’s probably the last time we’ll see the great Derek Hale in various states of undress. Tyler Hoechlin not being a series regular in Season 5 means no more Derek-on-Braeden action in the foreseeable future, though newcomer Cody Christian does an admirable job of picking up the torch. Hit PLAY on the video above, then drop a comment below: If you had to be stranded on a deserted island with one Teen Wolf character (and zero shirts), who would it be?We are delighted to announce that Jimmy Greaves and Steve Perryman will be inducted into the Club's Hall of Fame on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Two of the greatest players in the history of Tottenham Hotspur, Jimmy and Steve’s respective contributions to the Club will be honoured on what is sure to be an incredibly special evening at White Hart Lane. The duo had been set for induction into the Hall of Fame on separate occasions previously but unfortunately both suffered an illness. Jimmy (pictured, above, celebrating our FA Cup victory in 1967) is our all-time top goalscorer, having netted 266 goals in 379 appearances in the league, FA and League Cups and Europe during his nine-year stint at White Hart Lane. Signed from AC Milan in December, 1961, he was influential as we retained the FA Cup in 1962 and lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup the following year – notably scoring in both finals. Renowned for his calm finishes in front of goal, he won the FA Cup with us once more in 1967 before leaving to join West Ham United. He remains fourth in England's all-time goalscoring list with 44 goals in his 57 appearances, 42 of those caps coming as a Spurs player. Inspirational former captain Steve (pictured, above, holding the FA Cup in 1982) played for us between 1969 and 1986, making a Club record 854 first team appearances in all competitions. Playing initially in midfield and latterly as part of our defence at right-back, he helped us to victory in the UEFA Cup in 1972 and 1984, the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the League Cup in 1971 and 1973 during his glittering career. He left us for Oxford United in 1986 but later returned to White Hart Lane in a coaching role during the 1990s and currently serves Exeter City as Director of Football. Please note that Jimmy Greaves will not be attending this event in person. Proceeds will be made available through the Tottenham Tribute Trust to the Greaves family. Since Jimmy suffered a stroke last May, the Club and the Tottenham Tribute Trust have been working closely with Jimmy and his family to ensure his needs have been met during his period of recuperation. Limited places are available for supporters to attend this special induction event – click here for details and to reserve your place now.The Earth may not be flat, but the web certainly is. “There is no ‘top’ to the World-Wide Web,” declared a 1992 foundational document from the World Wide Web Consortium—meaning that there is no central server or organizational authority to determine what does or does not get published. It is, like Borges’ famous Library of Babel, theoretically infinite, stitched together with hyperlinks rather than top-down, Dewey Decimal-style categories.1 It is also famously open—built atop a set of publicly available industry standards. While these features have connected untold millions and created new forms of social organization, they also come at a cost. Material seems to vanish almost as quickly as it is created, disappearing amid broken links or into the constant flow of the social media “stream.” It can be hard to distinguish fact from falsehood. Corporations have stepped into this confusion, organizing our browsing and data in decidedly closed, non-transparent ways. Did it really have to turn out this way? The web has played such a powerful role in shaping our world that it can sometimes seem like a fait accompli—the inevitable result of progress and enlightened thinking. A deeper look into the historical record, though, reveals a different story: The web in its current state was by no means inevitable. Not only were there competing visions for how a global knowledge network might work, divided along cultural and philosophical lines, but some of those discarded hypotheses are coming back into focus as researchers start to envision the possibilities of a more structured, less volatile web. Also in The Web Are Fantasy Sports Really Gambling? By Nikhil Swaminathan Early one Saturday morning in Las Vegas, I sat down at a Texas Hold ‘em poker table with seven or eight other men, all middle-aged. Being 30 at the time, I was the youngest player by about a decade. A...READ MORE By the late 19th century, the modern information age had already begun. The industrialization of the printing press, coupled with the introduction of cheap rag paper, had dramatically altered the economics of publishing. Much of Europe and North America was awash in data. Daily newspapers, cheap magazines, and mass-market novels all emerged during this period, along with a flurry of institutional reports, memos, and all kinds of other printed ephemera. Meanwhile, new communications technologies like the telegraph and telephone were cropping up. Tram and railway lines were proliferating. An increasingly internationalized postal service sped the flow of data around the globe. By 1900, a global information network had already started to take shape. The industrial information explosion triggered waves of concern about how to manage all that data. Accomplished librarians like Melvil Dewey (of Decimal System fame), Sir Anthony Panizzi of the British Library, and Charles Cutter of the Boston Athenaeum all began devising new systems to cope with the complexity of their burgeoning collections. In the fast-growing corporate world, company archivists started to develop complex filing systems to accommodate the sudden deluge of typewritten documents. The dream of organizing the world’s information stemmed not from an authoritarian impulse, but from a deeply utopian one. Among these efforts, one stood out. In 1893, a young Belgian lawyer named Paul Otlet wrote an essay expressing his concern over the rapid proliferation of books, pamphlets, and periodicals. The problem, he argued, should be “alarming to those who are concerned about quality rather than quantity,” and he worried about how anyone would ever make sense of it all. An ardent bibliophile with an entrepreneurial streak, he began working on a solution with his partner, a fellow lawyer named Henri La Fontaine (who would later go on to join the Belgian Senate and win the Nobel Peace Prize): a “Universal Bibliography” (Repertoire bibliographique universel) that would catalog all the world’s published information and make it freely accessible. The project won Otlet and La Fontaine a Grand Prize at the Paris World Expo of 1900, and attracted funding from the Belgian government. It would eventually encompass more than 16 million entries ranging from books and periodicals to newspapers, photographs, posters, and audio and video recordings, all painstakingly recorded on individual index cards. Otlet even established an international network of associations and a vast museum called the World Palace (Palais Mondial) or Mundaneum, which at one point occupied more than 100 rooms in a government building. Otlet’s Mundaneum presented an alternative vision to today’s (nominally) flat and open web by relying on a high degree of bibliographical control. He envisioned a group of trained indexers managing the flow of information in and out of the system, making sure that every incoming piece of data would be properly categorized and synthesized into a coherent body of knowledge. To this end, he and La Fontaine developed a sophisticated cataloging system that they dubbed the Universal Decimal Classification. Using the Dewey Decimal System as its starting point, it started with a few top-level domains (like Philosophy, Social Sciences, and The Arts), which could then be further divided into a theoretically infinite number of sub-topics. This in itself was nothing new, but Otlet introduced an important new twist: a set of so-called “auxiliary tables” that allowed indexers to connect one topic to another by using a combination of numeric codes and familiar marks like the equal sign, plus sign, colon, and quotation marks. So, for example, the code 339.5 (410/44) denoted “Trade relations between the United Kingdom and France,” while 311:[622+669](485) meant “Statistics of mining and metallurgy in Sweden.” Otlet hoped that this new system would allow for a grand unification of human knowledge, and entirely new forms of information. But neither he nor his Mundaneum survived the ravages of World War II. After invading Brussels, the Nazis destroyed much of his life’s work, removing more than 70 tons worth of material and repurposing the World Palace site for an exhibition of Third Reich art. Otlet died in 1944, and has remained largely forgotten ever since. Otlet was not alone in his grand vision for a carefully cataloged global network. The English novelist H.G. Wells—a devout socialist, pacifist, and feminist (not to mention ardent promoter of free love)—wrote a series of popular essays that he eventually published in 1938 under the title World Brain. With Europe standing on the brink of war, he called for a new, deeply ontological approach to managing conflict. “All the distresses and horrors of the present time are fundamentally intellectual,” he wrote. “The world has to pull its mind together.”2 Like Otlet, he saw this undertaking as a central component of a grander, utopian scheme. He envisioned a vast new “encyclopedia” as the distributed brain of a new world order, in which a centralized global information agency would employ an army of technocrats (or “samurai,” as he called them) to curate, classify, and disseminate humanity’s collective knowledge store around the globe. Other important European thinkers like the German chemist and Nobel laureate Wilhelm Ostwald—who envisioned an Otlet-like universal knowledge repository called “The Bridge” (Die Brücke)—and his protégé Emanuel Goldberg—who invented an early microfilm indexing tool—also explored the possibilities of new, index-driven methods for organizing and distributing the world’s information. All of these proposals were, first and foremost, managed systems, closely curated collections of knowledge that would have required a high degree of systematic control. And for the most part, they were situated squarely in the public sector, with little role for private enterprise. They emerged in an era of industrialization, when many writers saw great hope in the possibilities of scientific management to improve the human condition; and in a time of war, when many thinkers hoped that a more orderly system would serve as a bulwark against the possibility of international conflict. In other words, the dream of organizing the world’s information stemmed not from an authoritarian impulse, but from a deeply utopian one. In the United States, though, a very different kind of utopia was being imagined. Republished by permission of the Mundaneum Across the Atlantic, an alternative vision of computing was taking shape, driven by a deeply humanistic, individualistic, and American impulse. That vision found its earliest expression in an essay published by Vannevar Bush, a prolific inventor and sometime advisor to President Roosevelt during WWII. In “As We May Think,” first published in The Atlantic in 1945, Bush proposed a purely hypothetical machine called the Memex: a kind of souped-up microfilm reader that has since become one of the platonic objects of the networked age. The Memex would allow its user to search across a large body of documents stored on film, then create associations—“links”—between them. Like Otlet and the others before him, Bush recognized the urgent problem of information overload. “The investigator is staggered by the findings and conclusions of thousands of other workers,” he wrote, “conclusions which he cannot find time to grasp, much less to remember, as they appear.” Unlike Otlet, however, Bush saw no need for an army of indexers to keep track of the world’s information. He pointed out what he called “the artificiality of systems of indexing.”3 Bush argued that the human mind operates “by association,” not indexing. And so he proposed a system that would not impose any particular classification system, but would instead allow the user to create “associative trails” that would ultimately be made visible to other users. The essay proved wildly popular, especially after it was reprinted in Life magazine. That version of the essay found its way into the hands of a young Navy officer named Douglas Engelbart, then stationed in the Philippines, who found Bush’s vision so inspiring that he chose to devote much of the rest of his life to realizing it. Engelbart eventually landed a position at the Stanford Research Institute, where he attracted the attention of J.C.R. Licklider, professor at the Massachucetts Institute of Technology and then-new head of the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, later renamed DARPA). Engelbart worked in the 1960s San Francisco Bay Area, where an anti-institutionalist counterculture was then reaching its zenith (at one point he even experimented with LSD). The culture stood in stark contrast to the orderly, institutional tendencies of Otlet and Wells. Where Europeans were turning to their institutions in a time of crisis, many Americans were growing up in a value system that emphasized individualism and personal liberation. It was in this milieu that Licklider, Engelbart, and others began laying the foundations for the web we know today. With Licklider’s support, Engelbart began work on a proto-hypertext tool that eventually came to be known as the oN-Line System. In 1968, he gave a demonstration of the system at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, an event that has since gone down in computer history lore as The Mother of All Demos. Engelbart presented a startlingly far-sighted concept, complete with a word processor, a method for creating hyperlinks between documents, and live video conferencing, all operated by a keyboard and a rudimentary mouse (another Engelbart invention). Where Otlet and Wells envisioned publicly funded, trans-national organizations, we now have an oligarchy of public corporations. The 1960s novelist and Merry Prankster Ken Kesey later dubbed the system “the next thing after acid.” By the early 1970s, a “People’s Computer Center” had appeared in Menlo Park, California, providing access to rudimentary computer tools. Personal liberation, empowerment, and revolutionary rhetoric—all deeply American traits—shaped the attitudes of many early personal computer hobbyists, and have persisted ever since in the cultural fabric of the modern technology industry.4 The utopianism of that era found a particularly colorful expression in the work of Ted Nelson, a decidedly unconventional computing entrepreneur who promoted his own alternative vision of hypertext (a word he coined in 1963). A former filmmaker turned Harvard sociology student, Nelson developed a fascination with computers in the 1960s that led him to self-publish a series of visionary, over-the-top manifestos like Computer Lib and Dream Machines. These presented startlingly original concepts, with names like “Thinkertoys,” “Indexing Vortexes,” and “Window Sandwiches,” that pointed the way toward a radically personalized form of networked computing. In his masterwork Literary Machines, published in 1981, Nelson proposed something called Xanadu. Taking its name from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s opium-fueled depiction of Kublai Khan’s “pleasure dome,” Xanadu was a “universal data structure to which all other data structures will be mapped,” enabling millions of users to create and share their original written and graphical material.5 Though Nelson never realized his ambitions for Xanadu, it would provide direct inspiration for Tim Berners-Lee’s eventual creation of the World Wide Web. Like many of his kindred spirits from the 1960s, Nelson took a strong dislike to centrally managed systems. “From earliest youth I was suspicious of categories and hierarchies,” he wrote. He was suspicious, too, of large institutions, and especially the university system, which “imbues in everyone the attitude that the world is divided into ‘subjects’; that these subjects are well-defined and well-understood; and that there are ‘basics,’ that is, a hierarchy of understandings.” The explosive growth of the web that would come 30 years later would have the unmistakable stamp of Nelson’s democratic computing ideal. Today’s web seems to exist in a state of perpetual discord. There is a constant publishing and unpublishing, amid which we sometimes seem to be teetering on the brink of mass cultural amnesia. The lack of intellectual property controls has created massive—and avoidable—disruption for authors, musicians, and other members of the creative trades (although it’s worth noting that Nelson’s Xanadu proposed solutions for intellectual property concerns). The lack of stable identity management controls has ushered in the age of spam, phishing, and all manner of malware. As a result, most of us rely on for-profit companies to make the web safe, useful, and usable. Today, Google and a handful of other major Internet corporations like Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon fulfill much the same role that Otlet envisioned for the Mundaneum—channeling the world’s intellectual output. Google freely excludes sites from its index for reasons that it is under no obligation to disclose—the secrets of the Googlebot are Delphic mysteries known only to its inner circle of engineers. An increasing number of web users rely on keyword searching and timelines, like Facebook’s, as their primary interfaces. Where Otlet and Wells envisioned publicly funded, trans-national organizations, we now have an oligarchy of public corporations. While the web may be flat and open in both the public imagination and in the founding rhetoric of the World Wide Web Consortium, a truly flat web may have been just as much of an unreachable utopia as Otlet’s universal bibliography. More than a century after Otlet began work on his Mundaneum, the Consortium has begun to consider a new hierarchy that is remarkably Otlet-like in spirit. In May 2001, Tim Berners-Lee, the Consortium’s director, published a paper in Scientific American, along with two co-authors, proposing a so-called “web of data,” called the Semantic Web. The Semantic Web uses metadata, marked-up descriptions of content that follow a consistent set of rules (something like a library classification scheme). By allowing for the consistent use of ontologies, or standardized definitions of topics, content types, and relationships, the Semantic Web promises to make it easier to combine data from disparate sources.6 The Semantic Web uses a data model known as the Resource Description Framework (RDF) to encode subject-predicate-object relationships—in much the same way that Otlet’s Universal Decimal Classificiation used auxiliary tables to allow for the encoding of links between topics, as the historian of science Charles van den Heuvel has pointed out. Just as Otlet’s ideas of centralized hierarchy encountered stiff opposition in his day, so too has the Semantic Web. Some have argued that the Semantic Web amounts to a betrayal of the principles that made the web successful in the first place. In a widely circulated 2005 essay, “Ontologies are Overrated,” technology pundit Clay Shirky argued that the Semantic Web was doomed to failure. “The more you push in the direction of scale, spread, fluidity, flexibility,” he wrote, “the harder it becomes to handle the expense of starting a cataloging system and the hassle of maintaining it, to say nothing of the amount of force you have to get to exert over users to get them to drop their own world view in favor of yours.” Shirky’s solution? Crowdsourcing. “The only group that can categorize everything,” he wrote, “is everybody.”7 Web pundit David Weinberger has also given eloquent voice to the anti-hierarchical ethos of the web, arguing that we “have to get rid of the idea that there’s a best way of organizing the world.” Rather than rely on institutional controls, he believes that the web’s messiness is an inherent virtue. “Filter on the way out, not on the way in,” he writes, predicting the emergence of what he calls a “third order” of knowledge, one not constrained by the physical limitations of paper, nor encumbered by layers of institutional gatekeepers.8 Shirky and Weinberger’s critiques point toward important practical challenges that are not easily solved. The question of who might “own” the Semantic Web is a thorny problem. Protocols and standards need an administrative infrastructure to be sustained—as Otlet learned through bitter experience. But there may be a third way. A burgeoning “Linked Data movement” is exploring how to automate the classification process by having computers crawl the web and create machine-generated ontologies, rather than relying on the manual curation of experts. The army of catalogers that Otlet and Wells envisioned may never materialize, but they may not need to: An army of searchbots and algorithms may just do the job instead. Should the web remain free, flat, and open? Or would a more controlled and curated environment lead, paradoxically, to greater intellectual freedom? These questions can only be completely understood in a historical context, as the latest installment in centuries-old debates about hierarchy and access, efficiency and freedom, institutions and the individual. While it’s easy to give in to the temptations of historical exceptionalism and view today’s web as the pinnacle of humanity’s inexorable march towards liberation, variations on this dialogue have been swirling since before the dawn of the industrial revolution. At 25 years old, the web has plenty of growing up to do. Alex Wright is the author of Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age. References 1. Borges, J.L. The library of babel. https://archive.org/stream/TheLibraryOfBabel/babel_djvu.txt (1941). 2. Wells, H.G. Today’s distress and horrors basically intellectual: Wells. Science News Letter 32, 229 (1937). 3. Bush, V. As We May Think. The Atlantic Monthly 176, 641–649 (1945). 4. Markoff, J. What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry Penguin Books, New York, NY (2006). 5. Nelson, T.H. Literary Machines Mindful Press, Sausolito, CA (1993). 6. Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J., & Lassila, O. The semantic web. Scientific American 284, 29-37 (2001). 7.Shirky, C. Ontology Is Overrated. http://www.shirky.com/writings/ontology_overrated.html 8. Weinberger, D. Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder Times Books, New York, NY (2007).Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has issued operating licenses to 11 bitcoin exchanges. In an announcement today, the regulator confirmed the action, one that follows an amendment to the payment services law that mandated all cryptocurrency exchanges register with authorities by the end of September. Passed in April, the new law established bitcoin as a legal payment method and extrapolated security guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges. The licensing enforces certain operational requirements for the exchanges, including high standards for cybersecurity, the segregation of customer accounts and the verification of customer identities. Seventeen applications are still in review, while 12 firms have closed their doors in light of the new regulations. Local cryptocurrency exchange Quoine – one of the 11 firms to receive a license – said in a press release that it will work alongside regulators “towards the healthy development of the cryptocurrency industry within Japan and on a global scale.” An FSA executive said earlier this week that it intended to foster “sound market development” by working with the exchanges. Japan is uniquely proactive in its cryptocurrency regulations. Lawmakers have previously stated that this was driven by the now-notorious collapse of local bitcoin exchange Mt Gox in 2014, which led to the loss of millions of dollars in customer funds. The news comes at a time of regulatory shifts in the broader cryptocurrency landscape. Earlier this month, China issued a blanket ban on fundraising methods involving token sales, or initial coin offerings (ICOs), and local cryptocurrency exchanges have indicated they will cease domestic trading following the ban. South Korea has also stated ICOs are illegal as of today, as well as tightening the rules for exchanges. Coins image via ShutterstockScale Descriptions Domain-Level Scales Honesty-Humility: Persons with very high scores on the Honesty-Humility scale avoid manipulating others for personal gain, feel little temptation to break rules, are uninterested in lavish wealth and luxuries, and feel no special entitlement to elevated social status. Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale will flatter others to get what they want, are inclined to break rules for personal profit, are motivated by material gain, and feel a strong sense of self-importance. Emotionality: Persons with very high scores on the Emotionality scale experience fear of physical dangers, experience anxiety in response to life's stresses, feel a need for emotional support from others, and feel empathy and sentimental attachments with others. Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale are not deterred by the prospect of physical harm, feel little worry even in stressful situations, have little need to share their concerns with others, and feel emotionally detached from others. eXtraversion: Persons with very high scores on the Extraversion scale feel positively about themselves, feel confident when leading or addressing groups of people, enjoy social gatherings and interactions, and experience positive feelings of enthusiasm and energy. Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale consider themselves unpopular, feel awkward when they are the center of social attention, are indifferent to social activities, and feel less lively and optimistic than others do. Agreeableness (versus Anger): Persons with very high scores on the Agreeableness scale forgive the wrongs that they suffered, are lenient in judging others, are willing to compromise and cooperate with others, and can easily control their temper. Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale hold grudges against those who have harmed them, are rather critical of others' shortcomings, are stubborn in defending their point of view, and feel anger readily in response to mistreatment. Conscientiousness: Persons with very high scores on the Conscientiousness scale organize their time and their physical surroundings, work in a disciplined way toward their goals, strive for accuracy and perfection in their tasks, and deliberate carefully when making decisions. Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale tend to be unconcerned with orderly surroundings or schedules, avoid difficult tasks or challenging goals, are satisfied with work that contains some errors, and make decisions on impulse or with little reflection. Openness to Experience: Persons with very high scores on the Openness to Experience scale become absorbed in the beauty of art and nature, are inquisitive about various domains of knowledge, use their imagination freely in everyday life, and take an interest in unusual ideas or people. Conversely, persons with very low scores on this scale are rather unimpressed by most works of art, feel little intellectual curiosity, avoid creative pursuits, and feel little attraction toward ideas that may seem radical or unconventional. Facet-Level Scales Honesty-Humility Domain The Sincerity scale assesses a tendency to be genuine in interpersonal relations. Low scorers will flatter others or pretend to like them in order to obtain favors, whereas high scorers are unwilling to manipulate others. The Fairness scale assesses a tendency to avoid fraud and corruption. Low scorers are willing to gain by cheating or stealing, whereas high scorers are unwilling to take advantage of other individuals or of society at large. The Greed Avoidance scale assesses a tendency to be uninterested in possessing lavish wealth, luxury goods, and signs of high social status. Low scorers want to enjoy and to display wealth and privilege, whereas high scorers are not especially motivated by monetary or social-status considerations. The Modesty scale assesses a tendency to be modest and unassuming. Low scorers consider themselves as superior and as entitled to privileges that others do not have, whereas high scorers view themselves as ordinary people without any claim to special treatment. Emotionality Domain The Fearfulness scale assesses a tendency to experience fear. Low scorers feel little fear of injury and are relatively tough, brave, and insensitive to physical pain, whereas high scorers are strongly inclined to avoid physical harm. The Anxiety scale assesses a tendency to worry in a variety of contexts. Low scorers feel little stress in response to difficulties, whereas high scorers tend to become preoccupied even by relatively minor problems. The Dependence scale assesses one's need for emotional support from others. Low scorers feel self-assured and able to deal with problems without any help or advice, whereas high scorers want to share their difficulties with those who will provide encouragement and comfort. The Sentimentality scale assesses a tendency to feel strong emotional bonds with others. Low scorers feel little emotion when saying good-bye or in reaction to the concerns of others, whereas high scorers feel strong emotional attachments and an empathic sensitivity to the feelings of others. Extraversion Domain The Social Self-Esteem scale assesses a tendency to have positive self-regard, particularly in social contexts. High scorers are generally satisfied with themselves and consider themselves to have likable qualities, whereas low scorers tend to have a sense of personal worthlessness and to see themselves as unpopular. The Social Boldness scale assesses one's comfort or confidence within a variety of social situations. Low scorers feel shy or awkward in positions of leadership or when speaking in public, whereas high scorers are willing to approach strangers and are willing to speak up within group settings. The Sociability scale assesses a tendency to enjoy conversation, social interaction, and parties. Low scorers generally prefer solitary activities and do not seek out conversation, whereas high scorers enjoy talking, visiting, and celebrating with others. The Liveliness scale assesses one's typical enthusiasm and energy. Low scorers tend not to feel especially cheerful or dynamic, whereas high scorers usually experience a sense of optimism and high spirits. Agreeableness Domain The Forgivingness scale assesses one's willingness to feel trust and liking toward those who may have caused one harm. Low scorers tend "hold a grudge" against those who have offended them, whereas high scorers are usually ready to trust others again and to re-establish friendly relations after having been treated badly. The Gentleness scale assesses a tendency to be mild and lenient in dealings with other people. Low scorers tend to be critical in their evaluations of others, whereas high scorers are reluctant to judge others harshly. The Flexibility scale assesses one's willingness to compromise and cooperate with others. Low scorers are seen as stubborn and are willing to argue, whereas high scorers avoid arguments and accommodate others' suggestions, even when these may be unreasonable. The Pat
King’s) birthday, but also for the things that he stood for,” said Jim Glaser, a retired teacher from suburban Nyack, New York, at the march. “We have to have a government that’s responsive to people,... a government that people can have some influence on,” he said. At New York’s African Burial Grounds, schoolchildren played “We Shall Overcome” on violins before protesters marched to the Federal Reserve in downtown Manhattan. “What Occupy Wall Street is trying to do is exactly what (King) was trying to — focus on economic injustice and to inform and educate the American public,” said Norman Siegel, former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “I think (King) would be very pleased because Occupy Wall Street is the children of Dr King’s dream,” Siegel said at the 18th century burial ground, part of the National Park Service. Protesters in the Occupy movement complain that billions of dollars in bailouts were given to banks while many Americans still suffer with joblessness and housing foreclosures. They say minorities were disproportionately affected by predatory lending practices. The movement has influenced the national political conversation, with President Barack Obama echoing some of its themes in calling for a “fair shot” and “fair share” for all. Community and civil rights leaders urged Americans to honor King’s crusade for nonviolence and racial brotherhood by doing volunteer work. The president, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughter Malia marked the day by helping spruce up the library at a school in a predominantly African-American community in northeast Washington. “At a time when the country has been going through some difficult economic times, for us to be able to come together as a community, people from all different walks of life, and make sure that we’re giving back, that’s ultimately what makes us the strongest, most extraordinary country on earth,” Obama said. This year’s King holiday came as officials in more than a dozen states implement new laws requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls. Critics say the restriction violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — one of the key accomplishments of the movement King led. Slideshow (2 Images) Across the nation, formal events such as prayer services, performances and parades were staged for King’s birthday, which became a federal holiday in 1986. Post offices, government buildings and most public schools were closed. King, a Baptist pastor who advocated for nonviolence, racial brotherhood and equal rights and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, was assassinated in 1968 as he stood outside his motel room in Memphis, where he had gone to support striking sanitation workers. The convicted assassin, a segregationist and drifter named James Earl Ray, confessed to the killing but later recanted. He died in prison in 1998.Earlier today, we covered the announcement and fallout over the cancelling of “the Alley”, the designated student tailgating area for Rutgers football games. Many students are upset with the decision and rightly so. However, I didn’t like the idea of boycotting football games due to the administration’s decision, which students were proposing through a petition on change.org. Supporting this football team is far more important than any tailgate, regardless of whether it’s a bad decision by the administration or not. Of course, this negative and somewhat perplexing news story has taken another turn, this time a positive one. The reason is because our athletic director is Pat Hobbs. He issued the below statement late this afternoon. He explains efforts and discussions are underway to attempt to resurrect “the Alley” in a way that works for all departments within the University. The main message though, as it should be, is we all need to stick together and support our athletic teams and programs, regardless of decisions made that are upsetting to any portion of the fan base. If there were any doubt that Hobbs is the right man to lead Rutgers Athletics into a better place than ever before reached, the way in which he has handled adversity in his short time on the banks should give all of us the utmost confidence that he is that person. Simply put, he acts “like a boss”. Rather than fold his hand in the face of defeat, Hobbs doubles down and fights the good fight. He is the right leader for Rutgers Athletics and we are damn lucky to have him! Statement from AD Pat Hobbs on The Alley being shut down pic.twitter.com/0KZxHNOHWv — Targum Sports (@TargumSports) September 21, 2016 In Hobbs We Trust!Photo Credit: Eric Hartline/USA TODAY SPORTS We all see that scripted warning (more a statement of fact) etched on top of the glass in a car’s rear-view mirrors: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR. We notice it, probably, for the first time, as a little kid, and we think we know what it truly means, but we’re not sure. So we ask one of our parents, and they explain the concept, and why it’s written on the mirrors, anyway. More than likely, we get told it’s to “prevent accidents”, whether the driver is changing lanes, backing up in a parking lot, or in case, one of those “objects” is getting way too close (closer than it appears!) and the driver needs to take evasive action. So, the metaphor in itself may just work for the 2016-17 Toronto Maple Leafs. And the object is “success”. Is success closer that it appears for the Leafs, based on their pre-All Star Break performance. Or, are there some illusory things about not just how they have played, but how their rivals around them have. I spoke to two people on the weekend, one in the broadcasting business, and one in the hockey business (though he has dabbled in broadcasting and should do more of it!), both are, shall we say, closely knit to two of the Leafs’ Atlantic Division rivals. Without me sharing too many details of the conversation, which was 80 percent hockey, and 20 percent other stuff going on in our various so-called lives, it was uncanny how similar the conversations went when it came to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was as though the two people I talked to, had spoken beforehand, gathered talking points together, and decided in two distinct, random conversations, to present a united front of opinions. They include the following five major points: 1. Toronto is the absolute talk of the league, with their young talent. 2. Mike Babcock is having as good a “coaching season” as perhaps he’s had since he was with Anaheim, in 2003, when the Ducks improved from 69 to 95 points, and won fifteen playoff games, starting each and every series on the road. 3. Toronto is getting the best goaltending from Frederik Anderson the franchise has received since Ed Belfour’s second Leafs’ season in 2003-04. 4. Toronto shouldn’t do a damn thing at the Trade Deadline, regardless of standings. Trading a younger player or a future first or second round pick would be asinine, and disrupt this swiftly-moving process of rebuilding, really only underway since February 2015, in the aftermath of the Randy Carlyle firing as head coach, and prior to the drafting of Mitch Marner. 5. Toronto will be as strong a Stanley Cup contender in 4-5 years as any team in the Eastern Conference will be. So…..that’s pretty high praise, I figured. It tells me that every single time this season I’ve considered any of those five points to be gospel (or three out of five, or even four), I’ve wondered whether I’m just seeing things from inside the bubble. We all know the bubble that Toronto can be with regards to hockey. We’re too quick to judge trades, evaluate players, overrate prospects, and in most cases, either defend or castigate whoever the general managers and head coaches are. Mike Babcock is no miracle worker, he can’t heal the sick and poor, and rumour has it he drives to work and doesn’t levitate and fly there. But, in the same breath, Ron Wilson and Paul Maurice didn’t possess far below-average IQs and could barely put left foot in front of right and walk behind the Maple Leafs’ bench each evening. But let’s examine point #4. I’ve even been in on the concept of being a “minor purchaser” before the Deadline, specifically because it’s an inarguably very wide-open Atlantic Division this season. We all saw the signs it would be from the first ten games forward, and it’s held true now for almost fifty of them. Or are the Leafs overachieving by riding a lot of youthful exuberance (and of course, talent) and also not being hamstrung by any significant player having what we’d call a down season? Talk amongst your buddies about that next time you’re watching this team — who is having a bad season? Is Leo Komarov the closest? Of course, Komarov wasn’t going to match his offensive numbers from last year (19-17-36 in 67 games). First, there’s more talent on the roster that limits the offensive opportunities and power play time Komarov received last year. Second, Komarov’s second half was like a car going into the ditch compared to his first half offensively in 2015-16. After 31 points (16 goals) in 48 games from October-January, he settled for a mere 5 points (3 goals) in 19 games from February-April. What about Morgan Rielly? Where’s the offensive flair? Well, I’m in the middle on Rielly. He’s not going to be a perennial all-star like many claim and he isn’t regressing to a level where he isn’t the Maple Leafs best defenceman. Rielly, to me, won’t ever play on a Team Canada in a best-on-best tournament but that’s quite ok. But I didn’t expect a big leap offensively in the NHL from his WHL numbers. That simply doesn’t happen with players. and it never will, especially defencemen. Rielly played about 30 minutes a night for Moose Jaw, the season after he was drafted by the Leafs, and averaged below a point per game (though not far below, with 54 points in 60 games — just the 12 goals, though). Anyone expecting Rielly to emerge someday as a guy who puts up offensive numbers like Duncan Keith or Shea Weber are absolutely dreaming. He may never have a 50-point NHL season, but being around 10 goals and 30-35 assists are fine for a player of his calibre and current situation. He’s underachieved offensively this year, no question. But we all agree, the team’s notably better with him than without. Not an earth-shattering conclusion there. So add up the health of the team, an elite head coach, a legitimate #1 goalie, potent and improving young forwards, a better-than-expected blueline, and as importantly, a real mash-up of inconsistent Atlantic Division opponents. Florida regressed, and regressed badly from last season. Buffalo isn’t sure what they are just yet, and are behind schedule after back-to-back last-place finishes prior to last season. Boston is a very confusing team — still with productive yet aging veterans, and some young talent found in the early-to-mid Draft rounds, yet unbelievably inconsistent, leading many to point the finger at head coach Claude Julien as perhaps being unable to be productive with the same messages anymore. Tampa Bay isn’t surviving nearly as well in a year without Steven Stamkos, for the most part, as they were two seasons ago when he shattered his leg in Boston. No one really believes Ottawa isn’t playing above their head to some extent, the question is how much. And then there’s a lousy Detroit team, 6-0 in shootouts, yet only 14 regulation wins in 49 games, despite above-average goaltending much of the first half of the season (that’s changed considerably since mid-December). So with some element of inconsistency, lack of depth, dysfunction, or just plain lousy hockey a factor in every other division rival, except the Montreal Canadiens, isn’t there a window for the Maple Leafs to make a push this season. To add a piece, maybe two. Get a scoring winger to play in the Top 9, add a rental D-man that is comfortable in the Top 4 and on any special teams unit. Remember, the Leafs still owe Anaheim a second-round pick this summer. The Ducks will get the “middle pick” in order of the three picks Toronto owns (their own, the Senators’ pick from the Phaneuf trade, and the Sharks pick from the Polak/Spaling trade. The Leafs also might see this summer as the best option to “make good” on the compensation owed to Detroit for the signing of Mike Babcock as head coach, and to the Devils for the signing of Lou Lamoriello as their GM. A third-rounder is the price for each capture, but it’s up to the Leafs to decide if they want to pay out the third-rounder this year or next. The standings will give a lot more clarity to what the Leafs should or should not do by the Trade Deadline, I mean, of course, that’s the case. The deadline is February 28th (the Leafs begin their three-game California trip that evening in San Jose) and will have played 61 of their 82 games before the puck drops that night. That’s 14 more games for them to ride up or down the Atlantic standings, and as importantly for clarity’s sake, make up most of the five games in hand on Boston, and the three they have in hand on both Florida-based teams. But the overwhelming thought from both gentlemen I spoke to on the weekend was the Maple Leafs would be messing with a good thing by adding veteran pieces on or before the deadline hits. And that’s the case either for rental pieces, or even players who have another year of term who a lousy team may want to unload to plan ahead for rocky waters (Mike Green in Detroit, or (gulp!) Luke Schenn in Arizona, as examples — and, yes, the former commands a steeper asking price and much higher cap hit next season). I see the argument for “running to stand still” as it were for Toronto. They’re the envy of a lot of markets right now. Look at the reaction to their visit to Joe Louis Arena last week. Leafs fans had to watch their counterparts who support the Winged Wheel cheer on their team in six Stanley Cup Finals since 1995, winning four of them. Now, just maybe, a new era of homegrown success is upon them in Toronto, while Detroit is moving into a sparkling new building downtown, maybe just in time for another Dead Things era. That’s what most logical people are bracing for in Detroit, anyway. How much of Toronto’s “all-in” mentality at deadlines from 1999-2004 are a stark reminder that the goal at the end of the day is indeed a Stanley Cup, period, end of story? In fact, just play in the Final — and as we all know, strange things can happen when you arrive there. That’s been the heartbreak for Maple Leafs fans, in reality. It hasn’t been this awful run of affairs for closing in on 13 calendar years now, or the horrific hockey on display by the Ballard-owned Leafs throughout nearly every waking moment of the 1980s, it’s been the close shaves and near misses. Winning 11 playoff games in 1993, 9 in 1994, 9 again in 1999, and 10 in 2002. 39 playoff wins over four different playoff campaigns and none ended up earning the Maple Leafs or their passionate fans a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The Leafs have actually lost 20 of their past 27 games in the semi-finals over the span of five different series, meaning if you take the Kings’ series out, they’re 4-16 in their past 20. So Toronto fans are a little gun-shy to be pushing out this year’s first-round pick to add a rental, in hopes that there’s a fit, that player is productive, and all other circumstances go the Maple Leafs’ way in drawing the first-round opponent they want in their division, and winning that series. Never mind the fact, that a playoff spot is far from a certainty. It’s more likely than unlikely, yes, but though the frame of reference is very, very different, it was quite likely as February began in 2014 that the Leafs would make the playoffs a second straight season, despite the warnings from many (yes, I was one – sometimes I’m right about things!) that the team was treading on dangerous ground with how they were playing, and how they were winning hockey games (losing the shots battle, the puck possession battle, and relying on far above-average goaltending and shooting percentage to do so). Add to all that how much more important drafting is to continue any type of plan, for contenders or rebuilders. When the Maple Leafs were firing first-rounders-to-be and other prospects through a cannon to various other NHL homes, for the likes of Ron Francis, Brian Leetch, Owen Nolan, and others, there was no salary cap, and it was far easier to re-load the chamber than it is now. July 1st free agency is far more about adding complimentary pieces than it is stars. The exception to the rule is now years like 2010 where Ilya Kovalchuk goes to market, or 2012 when both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise did. Stars rarely get there anymore, and often when they do (Brad Richards, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, several others), their best hockey is behind them and there’s considerable buyers’ remorse, so the Draft itself serves as the springboard to being great again, and the Leafs are proving that to be true. So moving along this year’s first-rounder, or a Carrick, Soshnikov, or Brown to maybe even minutely impact your chances in the first-round series against a Boston or Ottawa or Tampa might be quite short-sighted. Besides, just qualifying for the playoffs after grabbing the #1 pick the prior summer is enough to brag about in some way. 24 of the last 27 teams to draft first overall missed the playoffs the following season. McDavid missed last year, by a lot. Crosby, Stamkos, Tavares all did. The only two #1 overall picks since Mats Sundin went 1st in 1989 to play in a playoff game their rookie year are Joe Thornton in 1998 for Boston and Nathan MacKinnon for Colorado in 2013. Amazing feat for Auston Matthews and company if the Leafs can pull it off, but spending extra just because of how close that object in the mirror looks is something that may stray from the plan, and actually benefit all the teams who are staring at what the Leafs have done and are doing the past 24 months quite enviously, believe it or not.As a Jew, I am extremely comfortable with self-loathing. Now, me hating myself does not always have to do with my Judaism. And the Cal-Grambling State game today reminded me of this classic scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm (embedding inexplicably disabled). So, why am I hating myself this week? It's very simple: I'm a self-loathing woodwind (i.e piccolo, sax, or clarinet). Hating myself because I am a woodwind? Dear Penthouse, I never thought it would happen to me. When Ohio State rolled through with its combined total of zero woodwinds, I yawned and said "Wake me when you have a clarinet." I said this: The first thing that I noticed regarding the OSU band is that they have no woodwinds. They have solely brass and percussion (AND LOTS OF IT!). This is immediately alarming to me. Sure, my brass friends would crack a few jokes when I would bring this up, but the reality of it is that woodwinds are, in my humble opinion, a key part of any marching band blend. Not to include woodwinds is to restrict your musicality. You'll have a strong brassy sound at the expense of having the lighter touch. The best example is when OSU plays Fight For California. Here is a video of the pre-game show from Saturday thanks to valued reader CalBear81: Their version sounds exceedingly weird as they do not have a single woodwind. When it came down to it, I felt that the Cal band that day was superior to the Ohio State band. The Cal band is the best damn band in the land, right? But this last weekend, we had the Grambling State band come to town and they were clearly superior to the Cal band. I am here to report why that is and the main reason why I think they were better was an interesting mixture of woodwinds to brass/percussion. That instrumentation (i.e. the different numbers of instruments) seemed key to me. Why did the GSU blow the Cal band out of the water on Saturday? Let's get into this deeper. I base this off of my view of their halftime show, during game songs, and post-game show. Apparently, they played a pre-game show at noon at Memorial Glade, but I did not see it (despite being fairly close by). To assist, here are some videos of their performances thanks to valued readers CalBear81, Avi, and, were I to read this site, me. Halftime: Grambling St. took the L in football but the band was A1 #hitthequan pic.twitter.com/UvFWHi7OPA — Gavin Hill (@xcrunner1999) September 6, 2015 Postgame: More grambling band post game show pic.twitter.com/McOUPgSamw — TwistNHook (@TwistNHook) September 6, 2015 Dude grbling state post game dance party!!! pic.twitter.com/76xFCCFsmH — TwistNHook (@TwistNHook) September 6, 2015 The first thing that jumped out at me was their volume. I actually watched the halftime show from behind (since they faced the west side and I was on the east side). I watched the Cal halftime show from the front and even then, the GSU band was louder. That volume can sometimes just be meaningless noise, but in this case it was not. It meant energy and it meant enthusiasm. It meant fun. The Cal band could never match their volume and it could never match their energy. I really think the reason behind that was GSU's mixture of instrumentation. I do not know their specific numbers, but based on how they were in the stands, the GSU band had like 2 rows of woodwinds. They then had like 4,000 rows of brass/percussion. It truly to the deepest point of my heart pains me to say this, but the sad, sad, sad reality is that woodwinds are musically less important than brass/percussion. An individual brass player is more likely to be heard than an individual clarinet or sax out there on the field. So, they had the woodwinds to ensure complete musical flexibility. No weird half-songs like OSU trying to do our fight song. But they really focused their instrumentation on the brass, which can bring both the noise and funk. When I discussed the Cal and Stanford bands, I really focused on the instrumentation. Here, GSU's instrumentation seemed light years better than Cal's instrumentation. Compared to GSU, Cal's halftime show seemed like a milquetoast approach to entertainment. This is not fair to the Cal band, because their halftime show was pretty good. But the GSU band produced a shiningly perfect sound and thrilling dance moves that had the fans joining them in their seats. Then, we put a galaxy on the field and had various characters from Guardians of the Galaxy fighting with Oski and the Tree. Now, Cal has found a winning recipe with these type of shows, best reflected in their 1.5+ million viewed Video Game show from 2007: This storyline gameplan has replaced the "dance block" mainstay, which was popular during my time in the band lo those many eons ago. I cannot remember a single storyline show during my 4 years in the band (spanning the Clinton and Bush administrations). Well, guess what? This new recipe was "pants yourself, newman"ed by the GSU band today. The Cal band's show today was significantly more creative than the GSU's show, which had a lot of park and play. But was it more entertaining? Not even closer and the missive of any halftime entertainment organization is to bring happiness and joy to the fans. To entertain. Period. Exclamation Point. Question Mark. Interrobang. I knew that Bob and the Cal Band saw this coming and tried to put their best face forward. In the post-game show, the Cal band hit the "funk" button hard. We even threw down with Everybody's Everything, which has a trombone front line solo and that is both musically and physically fun (a lot of horn flashes, including one potentially decapitating one). Their attempt to push the brass could not compare with the GSU band. This was also apparent in their in game song playing. At one point late in the fourth quarter, completely well into the DGAF portion of the game, the GSU band just played for like 10 minutes straight. Oh, were you paying attention to the game still? Why? Their brass/percussion just dropped various beats, the woodwinds added the sprinkles on top, and everybody danced. I never thought I'd dance for 10 minutes straight smack dab in the middle of a Cal game. It was honestly perfect. Another fun aspect to the energy was their announcer. If you watch the full halftime video above, you can hear him talking about how amazing the GSU band is. In some situations, that may come off as arrogant or unjustified hubris, but it just came off as a fun part of the show. It seemed very "walk the walk" to me. The GSU band on Saturday basically showed up, said "we are the best, fuck you, get out of our way," and then threw a beautiful wall of sound at us. It was a musical right hook in the face and the Cal band, despite our best effort, could only weakly jab back. Conclusion Asking the question "Should the Cal band have fewer woodwinds" is a tough question. I was a woodwind and had so much fun in the band. Why would I want to take that option away from people in the future? And maybe there aren't tons of other brass out there, who cannot get in because of the current instrumentation (I suspect that is the case). But the GSU formula seems fairly easy to introduce to the Cal band. This would not be the first time that we looked at other bands for inspiration. We essentially stole everything Ohio State was doing back in the day. Remix the instrumentation a bit and we can as much do the Whip and the NaeNae as any other band out there. If RichRod can do it, we can, too! Mix the instrumentation of the GSU band with the creative storylines and you have a great show. Sorry, pics, phonez, tenors, and nets. But don't hate me, I do that enough as is!Republican presidential candidate John Kasich speaks at the NHGOP First in The Nation Town Hall on Jan. 23, 2016 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Darren McCollester/Getty Images Ohio Gov. John Kasich is apparently the only contender from the Republican field that the New York Times editorial board can stomach. That may not do much for his already slim chances in the GOP field. But as far as the Times editorial board is concerned, he “is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race.” The two front-runners in the Republican contest are a disgrace, the board essentially implies. Donald Trump “invents his positions as he goes along” and is surprisingly candid about how he underestimates his supporters. What they may not know is how deliberately he is currying their favor. At a meeting with the Times’s editorial writers, Mr. Trump talked about the art of applause lines. “You know,” he said of his events, “if it gets a little boring, if I see people starting to sort of, maybe thinking about leaving, I can sort of tell the audience, I just say, ‘We will build the wall!’ and they go nuts.” Ted Cruz, meanwhile, “will say anything to win” and what’s more concerning is that he could actually follow his “words with action.” Kasich may not be a moderate, but at least “he has been capable of compromise and believes in the ability of government to improve lives.” In the Democratic race, the editorial board surprises no one by endorsing Hillary Clinton, just as it did in 2008 when she was running against Barack Obama. Just as it did in 2008, the board praised Clinton’s experience over her opponent’s. Bernie Sanders has “proved to be more formidable” than most would have anticipated and has managed to bring some key issues, including income inequality, to the forefront. In the end though he “does not have the breadth of experience or policy ideas that Mrs. Clinton offers.” Clinton gives Democrats a chance to “present a vision for America that is radically different from the one that leading Republican candidates offer,” writes the board. The paper made its endorsement as Iowa gets ready to hold the first nominating contest for the general election that will take place on Nov. 8. Last week, the Des Moines Register endorsed Clinton and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Read more of Slate’s coverage of the 2016 campaign.Kim McKinney Cohen was a Democratic Party precinct captain who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primaries, but on election day she voted for Donald Trump instead of her party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton. “It was my primal scream,” Cohen told Politico Magazine about her protest vote. “I wasn’t gonna take it anymore.” Cohen should have been a reliable Clinton voter, but, like thousands of other liberals across the country, she decided it was better to bring down her party than hand it over to the former secretary of state solely in the name of having a woman in the oval office. “I need a job more than I need a woman in the White House,” said Cohen, who Politico described as a “proud feminist.” Trump’s victory shocked the political establishment, most of whom thought Clinton was a shoe-in for president. Most assumed the Obama coalition would turn out in droves to support Clinton. That didn’t happen. Cohen’s home state of Colorado went for Clinton in November, but she was one of thousands of traditional Democrats who got so fed up with their own party that they pulled the lever for Trump, a Republican. Democrats are now frantically trying to explain how Clinton lost so many voters in key states, like Michigan, and Cohen’s story may give them an insight into how even party loyalists can turn against them. Politico notes Cohen is “African-American, environmentally conscious, pro-choice, pro-labor, pro-gun control,” but this year “she was angrier at her own party’s leaders than she was appalled by a man who cozied up to white nationalist and anti-Semitic groups. She wanted to throw it back in the face of her party.” Her son even got her to watch Fox News. It’s when Trump appeared on Fox and asked black voters what they had to lose by voting for him. That got her thinking. The final straw came, according to Politico, when Clinton called Trump supporters a “basket of deplorables.” “I went all in for Bernie,” Cohen told Politico. “But the DNC burned him, so I went off the plantation to become a deplorable.” “I hope I never have to vote for a Republican ever again,” said Cohen, who’s never been a fan of Clinton — going back all the way to the 1990s when her husband, Bill, was president. Cohen was among the 8 percent of blacks who voted for Trump. She voted for President Obama twice, but couldn’t bring herself to support a party that trashed Sanders so badly in the primaries. Trump actually outperformed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign among minority voters. Cohen doesn’t even like Trump. Politico reports she’s “sickened, too, by the hate-mongering she has seen surrounding the Trump campaign.” Though Cohen “doubts things will get much worse than they are already for people of color just because Trump is in the White House,” Politico reports. Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.Photo — Two earthquakes struck within two hours of each other in southeast Spain on Wednesday, killing at least eight people, injuring scores more and severely damaging some buildings. Spain is hit by hundreds of quakes a year, but most are too small to be felt. The deadliest recent quake struck in 1956, killing 12 people. The first quake hit Wednesday afternoon and had a magnitude of 4.5; it was followed by one with a magnitude of 5.1, according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenters of the quakes were a few kilometers outside the town of Lorca, according to the Spanish National Geographic Institute. The regional government of Murcia said late Wednesday night that eight people had died and 40 people were taken to the hospital. Thousands of people had also left their homes because of the risk of additional tremors, according to the local government; many spent the night in emergency shelters. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The army sent about 350 troops to Lorca to help local rescue teams search for possible victims. Many people were driving home from work or doing their evening shopping by the time the second quake hit. A large church bell and part of the building’s facade fell to the ground a few yards from a reporter from the Spanish national television as he was broadcasting live about the damage in Lorca. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. A resident of Lorca, who provided only his first name, Mario, told the Cope radio station that drivers were speeding away, trying to avoid falling rubble. “The traffic lights were down, and it was total chaos on the streets,” he said.For other people named James Bedford, see James Bedford (disambiguation) James Hiram Bedford (April 20, 1893 – January 12, 1967) was an American psychology professor at the University of California who wrote several books on occupational counseling.[1] He is the first person whose body was cryopreserved after legal death, and who remains preserved at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.[2][3][4] Cryonic preservation [ edit ] In June 1965, Ev Cooper’s Life Extension Society (LES) offered the opportunity to preserve one person free of charge, stating that "the Life Extension Society now has primitive facilities for emergency short term freezing and storing our friend the large homeotherm (man). LES offers to freeze free of charge the first person desirous and in need of cryogenic suspension." Bedford did not take this opportunity, however, but later used his own funds. Bedford suffered from kidney cancer that had later metastasized into his lungs, a condition that was untreatable at the time.[5] Bedford left $100,000 to cryonics research in his will, but more than this amount was utilized by Bedford's wife and son in court, having to defend his will and his cryopreservation due to arguments created by other relatives.[5] Bedford's body was frozen a few hours after his death due to natural causes related to his cancer.[5] His body was preserved by Robert Prehoda (author of the 1969 book Suspended Animation), Dr. Dante Brunol (physician and biophysicist) and Robert Nelson (President of the Cryonics Society of California). Nelson then wrote a book about the subject titled We Froze the First Man. Compared to those employed by modern cryonics organizations, the use of cryoprotectants in Bedford's case was primitive. He was injected with dimethyl sulfoxide, a compound once thought to be useful for long-term cryogenics, so it is unlikely that his brain was protected. Vitrification was not yet possible, further limiting the possibility of Bedford's eventual recovery. In his first suspended animation stages, his body was stored at Edward Hope's Cryo-Care facility in Phoenix, Arizona, for two years, then in 1969 moved to the Galiso facility in California. Bedford's body was moved from Galiso in 1973 to Trans Time near Berkeley, California, until 1977, before being stored by his son for many years.[5] Bedford's body was maintained in liquid nitrogen by his family in southern California until 1982, when it was then moved to Alcor Life Extension Foundation, and has remained in Alcor's care to the present day.[6] In May 1991, his body's condition was evaluated when he was moved to a new storage dewar. The examiners concluded that "it seems likely that his external temperature has remained at relatively low subzero temperatures throughout the storage interval."[7] The date of Bedford's cryopreservation, January 12th, is now known as "James Bedford Day", and is celebrated every year.[8] Personal life [ edit ] Bedford married twice. His first wife, Anna Chandler Rice, died in 1917, the same year she and Bedford were married. Bedford married his second wife, Ruby McLagan, in 1920. Bedford and McLagan had five children: Doris, Donald, Frances, Barbara and Norman. James Bedford enjoyed photography and extensive traveling.[5] Bibliography [ edit ] Vocational interests of high-school students. University of California School of education, Division of vocational education. 1930. Youth and the world's work: Vocational adjustment of youth in the modern world. Society for Occupational Research. 1938. Vocational interests of secondary school students. Society for Occupational Research, University of California Station. 1938. Occupational exploration: A guide to personal and occupational adjustment. Society for Occupational Research. 1941. The veteran and his future job: A guide-book for the veteran. Society for Occupational Research. 1946. Your future job: A guide to personal and occupational orientation of youth. Society for Occupational
In India, even to admit to being raped is taboo, yet dozens of Yadav's victims reported the crime. But the 32-year-old was never charged with rape. Instead, the women say, the police would tell him who had made the reports and he would come after them. According to residents, the police were hand-in-glove with Yadav: he fed the local officers bribes and drink, and they protected him. When one 22-year-old reported being raped by Yadav, the police accused her of having an affair with him and sent her away. Several others were sent away after being told: "You're a loose woman. That's why he raped you." Nagpur is counted among India's fastest-growing cities. Yet the experience of the women of Kasturba Nagar is a parallel tale of how everyday life in India's back streets is stuck in the past. Splashed across the country's news- papers, the gory image of Yadav's blood on the courtroom floor was a lesson in the consequences of a state unable to protect the weak and the vulnerable. After Yadav's murder, powerful voices were raised supporting the lynch mob. Prominent lawyers issued a statement saying the women should not be treated as the accused, but as the victims. One retired high court judge even congratulated the women. "In the circumstances they underwent, they were left with no alternative but to finish Akku. The women repeatedly pleaded with the police for their security. But the police failed to protect them," said Justice Bhau Vahane. Two weeks before the lynching, Yadav came to Narayane's house on several successive days, threatening to throw acid on her and rape her. He targeted her, she says, because she was outspoken and her brother-in-law, a lawyer, had verbally stood up to Yadav. "He raped only poor people whom he thought wouldn't go and tell, or if they did, wouldn't be listened to. But he made a big mistake in threatening me. People felt that if I were attacked, no woman would ever be safe." Although Narayane has been charged with Yadav's murder, she claims she was not at the court when it took place but in the slum collecting signatures for a mass complaint against him. Among the charges levelled against her are some of India's most serious offences, including "anti- nationalist" crimes amounting to treason. "The cops say I planned the murder; that I started it. They have to make someone a scapegoat," she says. She believes she has been singled out because she has been the police's most vociferous critic. Her education gave her the confidence that inspired the community to act, she says. In the week before the lynching, people started to talk about taking action against Yadav. He disappeared, sensing boiling anger. Narayane and her brother-in-law bypassed the local officers and went straight to the deputy commissioner. He gave the family a safe house for a night and promised to search for him. On August 6, hundreds of residents smashed his empty house to rubble. By evening they heard Yadav had "surrendered" and was in custody. "The police had said he would be in danger if he came back. They suggested he surrender into their care for his own safety." The next day he was due to appear at the city's district court and 500 slum residents gathered. As Yadav arrived, one of his henchmen tried to pass him knives wrapped in a blanket under the noses of the police. After the women protested, the accomplice was arrested and Yadav taken back into custody, but not before he threatened to return and teach every woman in the slum a lesson. Hearing that Yadav was likely to get bail yet again, when he returned to court, the women decided to act. "It was not calculated," Narayane says. "It was not a case that we all sat down and calmly planned what would happen. It was an emotional outburst. The women decided that, if necessary, they'd go to prison, but that this man would never come back and terrorise them." On the day of Yadav's hearing, 200 women came to the court armed with vegetable knives and chilli powder. As he walked in, Yadav spotted one of the women he had raped. He called her a prostitute and threatened to repeat the crime against her. The police laughed. She took off her sandal and began to hit him, shouting, "We can't both live on this Earth together. It's you or me." It was a rallying cry to an incensed mob. Soon, he was being attacked on all sides. Knives were drawn and the two terrified officers guarding him ran away. Within 15 minutes, Yadav was dead on the courthouse floor. But his death has not brought the women peace. Five were immediately arrested, then released following a demonstration across the city. Now every woman living in the slum has claimed responsibility for the murder. They say no one person can take the blame: they have told the police to arrest them all. But it is Narayane who is in limbo as she waits for her case to be heard. "After the murder, society's eyes opened: the police's failings came to light. That has irritated them. The police see me as a catalyst for the exposure and want to nip it in the bud." They face a fight. Narayane is loudly unrepentant. "I'm not scared. I'm not ashamed," she says. "We've done a good thing for society. We will see whether society repays us".30th September 2009 Some months ago I wrote about a reference I found in an official intelligence report, written by a British officer in Berlin soon after the end of the Second World War, that another war was likely and this time German soldiers and airmen would fight on the side of the British and Americans against the Russians: “The war between the Russians and the democracies is approaching and indeed has already begun, and Germany will of course be invited to participate. An International Air Brigade is to be formed for use in the war against Japan. Volunteers are invited and will be trained in England. Several offers have been received.” (See: More on Goronwy Rees and his six day tour of Germany in July 1945) I was surprised by this, and since then I’ve looked out for other references to people believing that war between Britain, America and Russia was likely, well before relations between the four victorious Allies broke down, the start of Berlin airlift in 1948 and the division of Germany. While researching a different subject – the way ‘communism’ or ‘Bolshevism’ was described as a ‘disease’, rather than as a set of ideas or a political doctrine, by people in Britain between the wars and after and by Winston Churchill in particular – I came across a reference to Operation Unthinkable. Apparently documents released by The National Archives in 1998 showed that in May 1945, immediately after the end of the war in Europe, Churchill instructed his staff to prepare top secret plans for a surprise Anglo-American attack on the Soviet Union, with the assistance of 10 German divisions, under the codename “Operation Unthinkable: Russia: Threat to Western Civilisation.” The aim of the plan was to get “a square deal for Poland” with free and fair elections based on secret ballots and the participation of democratic leaders from all parties, not just the communists, in the government of the country. For planning purposes, the attack was scheduled to be launched on 1st July 1945. The military planners soon discovered that the idea was hazardous, to say the least, as the Soviet Union had four times as many soldiers and twice as many tanks in Western Europe, as the British and Americans combined, and recommended it was not taken any further. Churchill gave way and modified the terms of reference to defence rather than attack: covering the “hypothetical” case that US troops would go home, and the island of Britain needed to be defended against an attack from Russia. But the question remains whether “Operation Unthinkable” was just an isolated example of military planning for all contingencies, and how close Britain, the US and the Soviet Union really were to war in 1945. Here are four pieces of evidence I’ve come across in my research which could have some bearing on this: Firstly, the curious incident of the missing telegram. In 1954 Churchill said, in a speech in his constituency at Woodford in Essex that, even before the war was over, he had “telegraphed to Lord Montgomery directing him to be careful in collecting the German arms, to stack them so they could easily be issued again to the German soldiers whom we should have to work with if the Soviet advance continued.” This caused a furore in the British press, and rather spoilt the celebrations for Churchill’s 80th birthday, as a number of Labour MPs, including Barbara Castle, refused to sign a Birthday Book in his honour because he had been willing to “use Nazi soldiers against our war allies.” Montgomery, when asked about this, at first said he had received the telegram, but then could not find it in his papers. Churchill withdrew the remark saying he must have confused one telegram with another and the matter died down. However, as David Reynolds and other historians have found, in Montgomery’s papers at the Imperial War Museum archives there is a handwritten note, dated June 1959, entitled “The Truth about the Telegram”, in which Montgomery confirms he received a verbal, but not written, order from Churchill to ‘stack’ German weapons, in case they might be needed to fight the Russians. “On 14th May 1945 I flew to London from Germany to see the Prime Minister to tell him that the problems of government in Germany were so terrific that he must at once appoint a C-in-C and Military Governor…. The announcement was made on 22nd May. At our meeting in Downing Street the P.M. got very steamed up about the Russians and about the zones of occupation – which would entail a large scale withdrawal on our part. He ordered that I was not to destroy the weapons of the 2 million Germans who had surrendered on Luneburg Heath on the 4th May. All must be kept, we might have to fight the Russians with German help.” A month later no further instructions had been received, so according to Montgomery: “On 14 June I got fed up with guarding the weapons. We had signed the surrender in Berlin on 5th June and agreed to set up the Control Commission for 4-Power Government of Germany. So I sent the attached telegram to the War Office on 14 June 1945. Things were pretty hectic in Whitehall in those days, the Coalition government was coming to an end; a general election was announced; it was impossible to get a decision, a firm one, on anything. I got no answer. I waited for one week. I then gave orders for all the personal weapons and equipment to be destroyed!! Then in November 1954, Winston Churchill in a speech at Woodford referred, unwisely to the order he had given. He said he had sent me a telegram. It could not be found. There was no telegram.” Secondly, despite official denials by British officials that there were differences between them and their Soviet allies, rumours abounded that things were not as they seemed. For example in his book ‘Berlin Twilight’ (published in 1947) Lt-Colonel Byford-Jones described the lack of cooperation between the Russians and other victorious allies immediately after the end of the war, writing that: “If a man builds a high wall round his house, locks his gates, refuses to admit his neighbours, he should not be surprised if the building becomes the centre of morbid curiosity….This illustrates the situation in which the Russian zone of Germany found itself in the eight months after the war’s end….Officers of the Allied forces, with whom Russia had been co-operating in the world’s greatest war, were suddenly treated as would be saboteurs or spies, and were refused admittance into the Russian zone, the frontiers of which, adjoining those of the American and British, were closely guarded day and night….Journalists and broadcasters belonging to Allied and neutral countries were forbidden to enter. It was not surprising in these circumstances that a new Crusade seemed imminent, that officers talked of little else at one time in their British and American messes over strong Schnaps and Steinhaiger [beer] than ‘the coming conflict’. There was something too ‘cloak and dagger’ about these conversations. One did not mention the words Soviets or Russia or even the Red terror; one spoke of ‘they’ and ‘it’ in appropriately lowered tones, and everyone had the key to the code.” Thirdly, a key element of Nazi propaganda in the closing months of the war was the attempt to persuade the Western allies that they should join with them in forming a “Bulwark against Bolshevism.” For example in a speech on 2nd May 1945, after Hitler had committed suicide, but before the end of the war on May 8th, Count Schwerin von Krosigk, foreign secretary in the interim German government headed by Admiral Dönitz, said: “But the more German territory in the east, which ought to form a basis for food supplies for the starving people in the west, falls into the hands of the Bolsheviks, the most speedily and terribly will famine sweep over Europe. Nurtured by this distress, Bolshevism flourishes. A Bolshevised Europe constitutes the first phase on the path towards a world revolution which the Soviets have been persistently pursuing for over twenty-five years.” Incidentally, this speech, by Schwerin von Krosigk contains one of the first references I have found to the existence of an “iron curtain” separating East and West: “In the east, the iron curtain is advancing even further, behind which the work of annihilation proceeds hidden from the eyes of the world.” This was well before Churchill used the phrase at his speech at Fulton Missouri, on March 5th 1946, to say: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” Please note I am not claiming that Churchill or other British politicians or soldiers were influenced by Nazi propaganda – if anything this made them take extra care to emphasise the unity of the Allies – but it is still interesting that plans were made to attack Russia, Britain’s wartime ally, despite the enemy they had both defeated saying this was exactly what they should do. (In war you don’t normally do what your enemy says you should!) Fourthly, how much did Stalin and other Soviet Union leaders know about “Operation Unthinkable? It seems they were, justifiably, very suspicious of British intentions at the end of the war and for several months afterwards. At the Four Power Control Council in Berlin, the Russians claimed, on several occasions, that the British were not meeting their obligations under the Potsdam Agreement to disband the German army. At the meeting on 20th November 1945, Marshal Zhukov, the Russian representative, tabled a formal notice objecting to the “presence of organised units of the former German Army in the British Zone of Occupation.” Montgomery was incensed by this, writing in a telegram to Arthur Street, the Permanent Secretary of the British “Control Office for Germany and Austria” in London that: “… it is a mystery to me why it should be thought that we do not want to carry out the POTSDAM agreement in disbanding the German armed forces. We have fought them in two bloody wars and our very existence as a nation has been threatened by them. That we should retain any affection for them or should desire their continued existence is a matter beyond my comprehension.” Perhaps Montgomery was sincere when he wrote this, or perhaps he was being disingenuous. I don’t know. In any case, by now, in the autumn of 1945, the situation seems to have become very messy. Of the roughly two million German soldiers who had surrendered into British custody at the end of the war, over half a million had been released to work on the land or in the coal mines (under operations codenamed “Barleycorn” and “Coalscuttle”). Others had been sent to the US zone, but around 700,000 were still detained. Whatever British intentions were immediately after the end of the war in May and June 1945, there were now other reasons for not fully disbanding the German army, as Montgomery explained in the “Notes on the Occupation of Germany” held with his papers at the Imperial War Museum: “There were two main reasons for the presence of the 700,000 ex-Wehrmacht personnel in concentration areas awaiting disbandment … first, we had nowhere to put them if they were disbanded and we could not guard them if they were dispersed in prison camps over our area; second, His Majesty’s Government required 225,000 Germans as reparations labour for the United Kingdom.” As Montgomery explained in a statement at the subsequent Control Council on 20th November, German soldiers who surrendered at the end of the war were not formally designated as prisoners of war because if they were so described “we should have to accord them certain privileges in conformity with the Geneva Convention. We should be debarred from using them for certain tasks. We should have to feed them on a relatively high scale of rations.” In addition, the British army in Germany were using some German soldiers, still under the command of their own officers, as so-called ‘Dienstgruppen’ (or service units) to carry out general labouring tasks. As Noel Annan explained in his book ‘Changing Enemies’ “The labour for these schemes was provided by keeping the German army in being and renaming them DienstGruppen, although these had shortly to be dissolved following Russian complaints…” Somewhat reluctantly, in response to Russian pressure, the remaining captured German soldiers were released, in a process given the intriguing name of “Operation Clobber”, which, according to an army conference held on 4th December was due to start on 10th December 1945 and finish on 20th January 1946 – so you could say this blog post traces British ideas on what to do with the two million German soldiers who surrendered and were interned at the end of the war: from Operation “Unthinkable”, via “Barleycorn” and “Coalscuttle” to “Clobber.” References Some of the original “Operation Unthinkable” documents have been digitised and can be viewed on the web: On Churchill’s use of medical imagery to describe the “disease of Bolshevism”: Antoine Capet, ‘“The Creeds of the Devil’ Churchill between the Two Totalitarianisms, 1917 – 1945”, Finest Hour Online, 31 August 2009 On Churchill writing his memoirs and his interpretation of the history of the War, including references to “Operation Unthinkable” see the chapter on "The Unnecessary Cold War” pp 464-486 in: David Reynolds, In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War (London: Allen Lane, 2004) Montgomery’s handwritten note on the “Truth about the Telegram” is held at the Imperial War Museum archives: BLM 162: “The Woodford Speech of Nov 1954 and the famous Telegram” For a description of rumours circulating in the feverish atmosphere of post-war Berlin: W. Byford-Jones, Berlin Twilight (London: Hutchinson, 1947) The speech by Count Schwerin von Krosigk is reprinted in Ulrike Jordan (ed), Conditions of Surrender, Britons and Germans witness the end of the war (London & New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1997) The references to Soviet objections to “organised units of the German army in the British Zone”, the Dienstgruppen and the disbandment of the German army are from: Montgomery’s Notes on the Occupation of Germany, Part 3 (Imperial War Museum, BLM 87) and M.E. Pelly and H.J.Yasamee (eds) assisted by G.Bennett, Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series 1, Volume 5, Germany and Western Europe 11 August – 31 December 1945 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1990)The SEO plan is the document that youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll use to stay on track as you try to implement SEO strategies on your site.For many people, the thought of implementing SEO on a web site that includes dozens or even hundreds of pages is overwhelming. It doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have to be, though. Prioritizing pages Look at SEO in small, bite-size pieces. For example, instead of looking at your site as a whole, look at each page on the site. Prioritize those pages, and then plan your SEO around each pageÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s priority. Taking a single page into consideration helps to eliminate the Ã¢â‚¬Å“everything has to happen right nowÃ¢â‚¬Â issue and makes it possible for you to create an SEO plan that will maximize your web siteÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s potential in the minimum amount of time. Top priority pages should be the ones that your visitors will most naturally gravitate to, such as your home page, or pages that will generate the most in terms of traffic or revenue. When prioritizing pages, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re also creating a road map for your marketing efforts. If three of the pages on your site are your top priority, those three will have the lionÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s share of time, capital, and effort when it comes to SEO and marketing. Site assessment After you have prioritized your site, you should assess where you stand and where you need to be with your current SEO efforts. Again, assess each page individually, rather than the site as a whole. In SEO, individual pages are equally important (if not more so) than the entire site. All of your efforts are designed to rank one page above all others in search results. Which page is the most important should be determined by your business needs. Your SEO assessment should be a document that outlines the current standing of the main SEO elements of each page. It should contain columns for the element of the site youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re assessing, the current status of that element, what needs to be improved in that element, and the deadline for improvement. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s also helpful if you have a check box next to each item that can be marked when improvements are completed and a column for follow-up, because SEO is a never-ending process. The elements that should be considered during an assessment include: Site/page tagging: The meta tags that are included in the coding of your web site are essential to having that site listed properly in a search engine. Tags to which you should pay specific attention are the title tags and description tags, because these are the most important to a search engine. The meta tags that are included in the coding of your web site are essential to having that site listed properly in a search engine. Tags to which you should pay specific attention are the title tags and description tags, because these are the most important to a search engine. Page content: How fresh is your content? How relevant is it? How often is it updated? And how much content is there? Content is still important when it comes to search results. After all, most people are looking for a specific piece of content, whether itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢sÃ‚Â information or a product. If your content is stale, search engines could eventually begin to ignore your site in favor of a site that has fresher content. There are exceptions to this generalization, however. And one exception is if your content is, by nature, very rich but not very dynamic. Because of the usefulness of the content, your site will probably continue to rank well. But itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a difficult case to determine. In most cases, fresh content is better. How fresh is your content? How relevant is it? How often is it updated? And how much content is there? Content is still important when it comes to search results. After all, most people are looking for a specific piece of content, whether itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢sÃ‚Â information or a product. If your content is stale, search engines could eventually begin to ignore your site in favor of a site that has fresher content. There are exceptions to this generalization, however. And one exception is if your content is, by nature, very rich but not very dynamic. Because of the usefulness of the content, your site will probably continue to rank well. But itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a difficult case to determine. In most cases, fresh content is better. Site links: Site links are essential in SEO. Crawlers and spiders look for the links into and out of your site in order to traverse your site and collect data on each URL. However, they also look for those links to be in-context, meaning the link must come from or lead to a site that is relevant to the page that is being indexed. Broken links tend to be a large problem when it comes to search engine ranking, so be sure to check that links are still working during the assessment process. Site links are essential in SEO. Crawlers and spiders look for the links into and out of your site in order to traverse your site and collect data on each URL. However, they also look for those links to be in-context, meaning the link must come from or lead to a site that is relevant to the page that is being indexed. Broken links tend to be a large problem when it comes to search engine ranking, so be sure to check that links are still working during the assessment process. Site map: Believe it or not, a site map will help your web site be more accurately linked. But this is not the ordinary site map that you include to help users quickly navigate through your site. This site map is an XML-based document, at the root of your HTML, that contains information (URL, last updated, relevance to surrounding pages, and so on) about each of the pages within a site. Using this XML site map will help to ensure that even the deep pages within your site are indexed by search engines. If you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have a site map, you should create one. If you do have one, make sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s accurate and up to date. Finishing the plan With the site assessment out of the way, you should have a good idea of what areas need work and what areas are in good shape. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t assume the areas that donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t currently need work will always be perfect, however. ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not how it works. At the least, changes to the pages will require changes to the SEO efforts that youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re putting forth; at most they may require that you begin SEO efforts for that page all over again. You can now take the time to put together all of the information that youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve gathered into a cohe-sive picture of the SEO efforts you should be making. Your SEO plan is more than just a picture of whatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s there and whatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not, however. This is the document that you use to tie everything together: current standing, marketing efforts, capital expenditures, time frames Ã¢â‚¬â€ all of it. The document should look much like any other plan that youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll create, for instance your business plan. In this plan, you should have an area for background information, marketing information, plans for growing the business, and plans for managing problems that may arise. An SEO plan is very similar. YouÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll have your current standings, the goals that you plan to hit, and the marketing efforts that you plan to make for each page (or for the site as a whole). YouÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll even have the capital expenditures that you plan to encounter as you implement your SEO plan. YouÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll also want to include the strategies you plan to use. Those strategies can be efforts such as submitting your site or pages from your site to directories manually and planning the content youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll use to draw search crawlers, or they can be keyword marketing plans or pay-per-click programs you plan to use. Also be sure to include a time line for the testing and implementation of those efforts as well as for regular follow-ups. Follow-up Follow-up is also an essential part of your SEO plan. Many people believe they can develop and implement an SEO plan and then just walk away from it. The truth is, however, that SEO is not just a one-time event. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ongoing process that requires testing, monitoring, and often re-building. A good plan for conducting follow-ups is to plan for them quarterly. Some companies will choose to follow up and reassess their SEO bi-annually, but to be truly effective quarterly is much better. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that following up on your SEO efforts too soon is non-productive. In many cases, it takes at least three months to get a clear picture of how successful your efforts are. Conducting an evaluation before that three-month mark could have you chasing after an elusive SEO goal that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really exist. Or worse, it could lead you away from a successful strategy. Give your plan at least three months but no more than six between checkups. Once you create the habit of re-evaluating your SEO efforts on that time schedule, it will be much less time consuming than you assume.HARARE, Zimbabwe — The rapid fall of Zimbabwe’s president, whose legendary guile and ruthlessness helped him outmaneuver countless adversaries over nearly four decades, probably has surprised no one more than Robert Mugabe himself. For years, he was so confident of his safety — and his potency — that he took monthlong vacations away from Zimbabwe after Christmas, never facing any threat during his long, predictable absences. Even at 93, his tight grip on the country’s ruling party and his control over the military made his power seem impervious to question. But in just a matter of days, Mr. Mugabe, who ruled his nation since independence in 1980, was largely stripped of his authority, even as he still clung to the presidency. In a much-anticipated speech on Sunday night, Mr. Mugabe, instead of announcing his resignation as most of the country had expected, stunned Zimbabwe by refusing to say he was stepping down. While he conceded that his country was “going through a difficult patch,” he gave no sign that he recognized, or accepted, how severely the ground had shifted under him in such a short time.Following Lewis Hamilton at McLaren almost ruined Sergio Perez’s career. They have had a habit of hastening a driver’s demise, according to the Mexican ahead of his home race, one which coincides with his star shining brighter than ever before. In a short break from his frantic schedule, giving Bernie Ecclestone and the Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto, a tour of his Force India garage, Perez says he harbours no bad feelings towards McLaren but boy is he prepared to put the boot in. Perez had a so-so season with McLaren in 2013, struggling to make his mark amid a tumultuous year for the team, preceding Ron Dennis’s return to full control. It was dogged by political infighting between Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh, the then team principal, according to the Mexican. Not the sort of team you want to walk into when you need to impress. “That year was very political,” Perez tells Telegraph Sport. “It was very difficult for the people. With Martin and Ron, there were big fights. Very political. Martin was blaming the engineers, the engineers were blaming Ron. It was just a big hole going around.” While Perez has fortunately enjoyed a rebirth at Force India, comprehensively outperforming his highly-rated team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, of late, the 25-year-old blames McLaren for killing Kevin Magnussen’s dream of succeeding in Formula One (the young Dane was dropped at the end of 2014). “You saw with Kevin. He came in and they ruined his career unfortunately. It’s not like McLaren does that on purpose it’s just very political. Especially when I arrived in McLaren. “I don’t have bad feelings. I look back and feel proud I drove for such a historic team. I really hope in the future I can get my big chance with a top team, because it’s what I’m here for. I’m very confident I’ll get the chance. I’m getting better and better through the experience, and I see no reason why I cannot do that.” The dark days being dropped from McLaren are a far cry from Perez’s heroic status this weekend. He is on billboards around Mexico City, all over local television, acting as the lightning bearer for the first race here in 23 years. Perez hails from Guadalajara, just over 300 miles away from the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the west of Mexico. The traffic there is not as bad as in Mexico City, where it has been taking most of the paddock an age to get to this lively, well-renovated circuit. But there is deep poverty and violence too in this city of around 20 million people. Perez has a foundation which works across the country, housing children, helping them with their education. Every time he is in Mexico he tries to do an event to raise its profile. “It means a lot to me, the world to me, if I can promote Mexico, if I can give them everything I can,” he says. “It’s something great. I want to show the world how good Mexico is. I have my foundation and I’m aware of the issues in my country, and we have issues like any other, but it’s just such a great country. This weekend we have a big opportunity to show that.” The excitement at the prospect of racing in front of well over 100,000 home fans, particularly through the unique stadium section, is palpable. So too is the evident frustration at often being overlooked while the paddock and the sport’s fans wax lyrical about his team-mate. Hulkenberg is always linked with a move to a top team, prompting cries of anger online when he is not. But the statistics from this year show how significantly Perez has had the upper hand. He has the team’s one podium, in Russia, and has scored 64 points to Hulkenberg’s 38. The team rate Perez highly, his retention sweetened by a handy lump of sponsorship money from Mexico and the magnate behind this race, Carlos Slim. “People rate him very highly, which is good for me,” Perez points out. “If they rate him as high as they do, I should be right there or better, because as you say, things are going well. And not only this year. I know I’m against one of the best drivers on the grid, and I know if I can beat Nico I can beat anyone on the grid.” He is not doing his chances of getting another go at a top team again any harm, even if it seems a long shot. The man he replaced at McLaren might be riding high after a third world championship, but it would be a dream come true for Perez simply to join him on the podium again. “Who knows what can happen. I’m looking forward to going out there and giving 1000% to my people. I want to give them the very best of me.”Despite the Paragon v27 changes being less than enjoyable, I have persevered to see if I am missing something. Sadly I am not. I talked about the draft system in my recent article and today Epic has revealed the penalties applied to players and they are just bizarre. When in the draft, if a player doesn’t pick a hero, all players are kicked out and a new queue has to be entered. I was starting to wonder why it was taking so long to find matches after failed drafts. Here’s why. If a player fails to pick, ALL players who were in the draft lobby are penalised, not just the player that failed to pick. The penalties are as follows: Draft Lobby Dodge Penalty: 1st Dodge – 5 min 2nd Dodge – 20 min 3rd Dodge – 60 min etc. So even if you have picked a hero and another player failed to pick, you would get penalised for the above times. This is just insane because this is happening a lot because players can’t play the hero they want. Epic explains why it’s like this: “We implemented it this way to avoid scenarios where players can dodge unfavorable comps with a ‘back up’ player or account that is not penalized and can hop in. While this may not happen all the time, we wanted to go forward with the design to reduce dodged lobbies and provide more matches for players. “Our goal with implementing the Draft Lobby was to assist players in coordinating team compositions, there is an understanding that people may still be inclined to leave lobby maybe for malicious reasons or not. I am happy to explicitly state our penalty times, we will be releasing a more comprehensive blog post regarding our tools for dealing with AFK/Leavers/Toxicity in the future. The initial dodge will prompt players with a warning and then the penalties that are listed below will follow with each additional dodge.” It is getting to the point that it’s not even worth attempting to find a match just in case some idiot pulls out of the draft. All in all, I have spent about 30+minutes trying to even get into a draft this evening. When I eventually did get in one of the team abandoned the game after 20 minutes even though we were winning. If Epic want to deal with Toxicity then perhaps address this now because it’s making the game rather toxic. The free Paragon beta weekend is about to start and I have feeling there’s going to be a lot of frustrated players that simply won’t give Paragon a second chance. It’s a shame, the game was shaping up so well until v27. Update: Epic got in touch to make sure everyone is clear on how this is working and wanted to share the following: “This is only correct for players who are in a party; “random” players paired with a player who leaves will not be affected. This shouldn’t have an impact on a player unless someone they know makes the decision to bail.” I will point out that while testing this last night, this appeared not to be the case. I appeared to have been penalised for five
But hear this rallying cry: get on board with The Expanse, because if you like immersive, unapologetically science-based science fiction, it’s too good to miss. One of the most slept-on sci-fi delights, The Expanse is Syfy’s tragically under-watched space opera set in the far-flung future of the human race when we have mastered space exploration, colonized the planets, and lived there long enough to develop new national identities and the warring conflict of interests that come with them. The Expanse emerged as part of the first leg of a marked programming shift at the network best know in recent years for the raucous absurdity of Sharknado and its ilk. As such, it is the flagship series in Syfy’s redirection toward becoming the home of premium adult science fiction in the tradition of Battlestar Galactica, and it’s up to the task. Indeed, The Expanse is the best show to grace their lineup since our dearly departed BSG, and it’s got the genre cred to back it it. Based on the hit book series of the same name by James S. A. Corey (the pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck), The Expanse was developed by the writing duo behind Children of Men and boasts Star Trek: The Next Generation and Farscape alum Naren Shankarm as showrunner. It’s reportedly the most expensive series the network has ever produced, and the payoff is evident in the production value and commitment to vision. (Be aware there are Season 1 spoilers below.) Returning for Season 2, The Expanse picks up directly after the events of the first season, with the human race on the brink of war after the targeted destruction of industrial and military spaceships by a shadow organization with a clandestine agenda. Manipulated on the basis of their existing prejudice, Belters, Earthers, and Martians are at each other’s throats, brimming with nationalism and threatening extinction at their own hand, unaware of the even greater threat waiting at the remains of Eros station where an entire population was wiped out by an alien virus. This is where we find our heroes, Joe Miller (Thomas Jane) and James Holden (Steven Straight), whose paths finally united at the end of last season when they discovered the truth about Julie Mao and witnessed first-hand the atrocities committed on Eros (and picked up a small case of cancer). In short, Mao’s father Jules Pierre-Mao orchestrated the attacks as a means of protecting and transporting an alien virus dubbed the protomolecule before intentionally releasing it on the helpless people of Eros. Season 2 finds Miller, Holden and the crew of The Rocinante on a mission to find out just what the creepy blue virus is, what it does, and why Mao was willing to sacrifice his daughter and an entire population to foster it. The crew is tighter than ever, but always at odds – Holden doesn’t understand the complicated and fascinating relationship between Naomi (Dominique Tipper) and Amos (Wes Chatham), and now that he finally has the chance to live out his dream as a pilot, Alex (Cas Anvar) is obsessive about becoming the best pilot he can be. And of course, no one gets along with Miller, who continues to drink, grimace, pick fights he can’t win, and generally piss everyone off in his mission to do what’s right. Miller’s dutiful love for Julie Mao never fully clicked, and it feels even stranger now that he knows his guiding light was really the spark of a potentially apocalyptic plague, but Jane is impeccably cast in the role, and he’s as unreasonably charming as he is off-putting. Chatham also continues to shine as an unexpected standout – a stone cold killer you can’t help but love. But The Expanse has admirably never prioritized “likability” over compelling character portraits, which leads us to Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), the Earth loyalist and UN figurehead who we first saw torturing a Belter with gravity. Since then, Avarsarala has been one of the few to pick up on the hints of corruption and conspiracy among her peers, and she is caught full center in the midst of all the political fallout; picking up traces of the truth and spinning her machinations to ensure the survival of the human race. A veteran politician, she knows interplanetary war could mean the end of mankind, and we find her with a newfound restraint and humility in the face of an impossible situation she knows doesn’t fully yet understand. Elsewhere, Mars gets an upgrade from a guest spot in the first season to a recurring role in Season 2 thanks to the introduction of Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams), a die-hard Martian patriot and militarist true believer who is itching to lash out at Earth. She’s a real hardcore hard-ass; leader of her young military troop with “dust in her blood”. She takes shots in the chest during combat training and carries on. She arm wrestles her robotic exoskeleton and wins. Through Bobbie, we finally head to surface of Mars where we get a better understanding of the military-minded people we met in the first season. The Expanse paints a fascinating portrait of Mars; desperate to become a self-sustaining terraformed plane, a goal which has been delayed by political bargaining at the expense of the people. That narrative growth and expansion gives Season 2 a different feel than it’s predecessor. While Season 1 was naturally focused on establishing characters and the rules of the world they live in, it was also structured as a noir-tinged thriller centered on the mystery of Julie Mao. With the mystery solved and the stakes established, Season 2 is free to expand the world and color in the details, leading to a story that feels like it’s blossoming outward rather than circling inward to a single revelation. Essentially, now that the micro story of the conspiracy has been solved, The Expanse has turned its focus to the macro story that comes in its wake. The crux of that story is the protomolecule. For all of humanity’s high-tech advancements, they have just now arrived at their first encounter with an alien species. The Expanse shines as an example of science fiction rooted in actual science. It’s a grand, political space opera to be sure, but there is little in the way of space fantasy as the writers populate the action with bits of informed, science-driven detail. Naturally, the first encounter is rife with an opportunity to play in that sphere and the series continues to put its record budget to excellent use with striking visuals and futuristic design. At the same time, The Expanse continues to match its most far-reaching concepts with deeply human stories rooted in a politically torn culture on the brink of war. It’s some of the most compelling, intelligent and immersive genre fiction on television, and it’s back in peak form. ★★★★ Very good — Damn fine televisionMy caliper is one of my most beloved tools. If you’re into 3D-printing and 3D-design or any other type of engineering that requires accurate measurements, you know you can’t live without it. But unfortunately, mine is flawed. Time for some fixing. The caliper I have isn’t a €900,- piece of equipement. But they are very valuable for me. Especially since I got them as a present from my soon to be wife. Unfortunatly, it has some problems with the battery. Even if I don’t forget to turn it off, the battery is always out of juice. It turns out the power off state draws 90% of the current of the power on state. So adding bigger batteries won’t help. And even if it did, it would make the caliper way to bulky to use. The solution? Adding a REAL power switch! This adventure starts by removing the sticker on the back and taking out the 5 screws that mount the digital part on the analog part of the caliper. This leaves you with the two important parts. Good to know, If anything goes wrong, I still have a nice analog caliper. Since I’ll be flipping the battery upside down, I need to remove the spring loaded battery connector that connects to the battery’s negative side. Desoldering is a piece of cake. And since the iron is hot anyway, this is the time to add a piece of wire that will connect to the switch. Now, don’t throw away that spring loaded battery connector. I’ll need it later on! To make absolutely sure I can’t short cuircuit the battery, I added some insulating tape. The switch I’ll be using is this 6 pin 8mm thru hole slider switch. I won’t be using 3 of the 6 pins. They are easy to remove, bending them a few times snap them right of. The spring loaded connector will be soldered to the bottom of the switch. After making the photo above, a little dab of solder fused it in place. The switch still has the both the bottom pins, but not for long, I only need one. To make sure I can feed the wire I soldered to the PCB thru the casing. I drill a small 2mm hole using my miniature Proxxon drill press. After feeding the wire thru the hole, soldering it to the switch and adding some heat shrink. I could put everything together again and give it a test spin using my power supply. It all worked and everything fitted together nicely. Of course, the original lid would not fit anymore, so I need to design a replacement lid. Using Fusion 360 I designed a lid which keeps the switch in place while pressing it firmly against the battery. This is probably one of the smallest objects I have every designed, but my Lulzbot Mini justified it’s name by delivering a perfect print. The end result is a caliper with a real power switch! It’s still lightweight and compact. Because of the red Colorfabb XT CoPolyester, it has an exciting look. Now, let’s see how long this battery will last …It’s time for Market Trends, where we take a weekly look at North Korea’s economic situation. Marketization has rapidly expanded in the past couple decades in North Korea. In this context, a new development has begun to take place. It seems that even the cadres in North Korea are unable to shake off the influences of marketization and are responding by forming complex relationships with business owners in order to secure their own power base. To find out more, we talked with reporter Seol Song Ah. What’s your view on the matter, Ms. Seol? Yes, thank you for having me. Although North Korean propaganda touts that the country is a monolithic structure, the cadres have begun to create an “all-ssam” culture. “All-ssam” is a cuisine that involves wrapping a custom mix of one’s favorite foods – such as samgyeopsal (roast pork belly), pepper, and garlic – in lettuce leaves. The all-ssam culture of the cadres refers to the fact that the cadres pick and choose their own supporters. While it may seem unusual that the cadres are looking to buttress their power base outside of official circles, these supporters are by no means being used to form anti-government networks. In fact, the cadres are looking for supporters who understand their motives and have some connections with legal authorities and Party members; the cadres and their supporters help one another. In the case that Party cadres make a mistake and get subject to investigation, having a familiar face at the prosecution office can be quite helpful. But the “all-ssam” relationship goes both ways. If the friend at the prosecutor’s office wants to get his children into university, the Party cadre should help him get that done. After these connections are created, word gets around. People say things like: “The secretary of the Propaganda and Agitation Department and the head the Ministry of People’s Security are in all-ssam with one another.” It seems like cadres are quite accustomed to watching each other’s backs like this. I’m curious now if there are any other arrangements that follow this pattern. Absolutely. Cadres don’t engage in this kind of relationship exclusively with one another. The current trend is for cadres to engage in all-ssam with the donju (North Korea’s rising entrepreneurial class). But North Koreans don’t refer to close relations between ordinary people as all-ssam relationships. That being said, I’d like to explore the all-ssam culture that links cadres and the donju a bit more deeply. In South Korea we’d call these kind of relations between government officials and business leaders as either unhealthy or flat-out collusion. I’m curious how the all-ssam relationships in North Korea break the standard political mold to create new power sharing arrangements. One example of how this relationship gets put into action concerns the state factories. The donju rent this space out from the cadres to make their products. But leasing the space requires more than money. To get the space, it’s also necessary to have a relationship with the managing cadres. The donju in South Pyongan Province have gotten quite cozy with the cadres there. The monthly building rental fee issued to the cadres becomes a form of profit for them. Although this may seem like an illicit affair, the Party secretary affiliated with the factory knows about this. In fact, the secretary encourages ‘extra earnings’ through official orders. ‘Extra earnings’ refers to any profits made by the state factories that do not come from the use of raw materials and labor for the productions of goods for sale. Moreover, the donju do not merely contribute some of the profits. They also issue a per diem including living expenses to the manager. This is a voluntary donation, and the manager usually responds by scratching the donju’s back in the form of providing extra factory facilities or making things more convenient for them. For example, in return for a per diem, a factory manager might issue an order to let the donju use a state vehicle to transport products to the market. Seeing this, the Party secretary began to fear that his authority was becoming eclipsed by that of the managing cadres. He became worried that his title was strictly nominal and that he wielded little actual power. That’s why he began to grab up donju and bring them into all-ssam relationships with him. Those that didn’t enter into the relationship were cast out of his good graces. The more prosperous the donju, the bigger the problem for the cadres. So it seems like the donju really have to have a sixth sense and keep their ears to the ground when it comes to managing these relationships. It is apparent that the Party cadres are using these all-ssam relationships to build up their own power base. Is that right? Yes, that is correct. The Party cadres have the ability to enter into all-ssam relationships. However, the important thing to remember is that all-ssam ties need some connection to the market. The donju become attached to the hip of cadres when they receive some form of assistance from them, perhaps being forgiven for an illegal move. The donju in South Pyongan Province say that the Party secretary of the prosecutor’s office is smarter than the head of the prosecutor’s office. Their criteria for judging is market sensibility. The head followed the rules strictly. He worked from itemized lists, allowed no exceptions, and was generally considered to be incorruptible. The cadres, who rely on favors and flexibility to form the basis of their all-ssam relationships, are turned off by this kind of stubborn attitude. The Party secretary of the state factory that I told you about earlier was in a similar situation. He didn’t have any all-ssam relationships with donju. He was envious of the factory managers – who received everything including a per diem from the donju – and so he started a quarrel with the donju. And so the donju were forced to begin giving bribes to the Party secretary. From this turn of events, a veiled enmity emerged between the Party secretary and the factory managers. They competed with one another for the sponsorship of the donju. So, I’m wondering how the donju work this out. It must be difficult to manage all these relationships at the same time: they have to pay rent, issue bribes, and cozy up to the cadres. That’s right. There’s a limit to how many people they are able to satisfy. The repercussions can be serious. They might get a notice, for example, that one of their workers has been apprehended after the donju was unable to bribe or cozy up to the right cadre. To use a more specific example, the Party secretary might find some legal fault in the operations of a donju who is engaged in an all-ssam relationship with a competing cadre, such as a factory manager. To get revenge – or to elicit future bribes – the secretary could document the legal infractions and pass them on to the appropriate legal authority. The goal is to get rid of the donju and managers that oppose their plans. But remember that a lot of the managers have all-ssam relations with cadres in the prosecutor’s office, so they get notice that the Party secretary is making moves against them. The managers respond by seeking revenge. They can prepare their own paperwork alleging that the secretary is corrupt. This can be done by accusing the secretary of using bribe money to enter the Party or of embezzling Party money gained through foreign currency earning operations. Since the secretary and the manager have competing claims against one another, the winner will not be the person with the superior legal argument, but the person who has the most all-ssam in the prosecutor’s office. Party cadres, donju, factory managers, and the head of the prosecutor’s office are all entangled in a complicated web of relations. Can you explain a bit more about how most of these disputes involving all-ssam and power get resolved? The prosecution office cadres usually give the donju a chance to give them a bribe when the investigation is being conducted and when the results are handed out. Now to address the issue involving the managers. If the managers have an all-ssam relationship with the cadres in the prosecutor’s office, the fact that the managers accepted bribes from the donju and exceeded the bounds of their authority will be excused. This is because the money they had received from the donju has already been partly handed over in the form of bribes to the cadres at the prosecutor’s office. The managers do this as a sort of insurance in case an emergency should arise and they need all-ssam in judicial institutions. Cadres who have the power to issue a not guilty verdict to donju during the preliminary stage of investigations often become quite wealthy. There’s a saying in Korean: “When whales fight, the shrimp’s back is broken.” It means that when titans engage in battle, the collateral damage often extends to innocent victims. For instance, when the donju who rented the factory are declared guilty, they are sent to prison. When the cadre and donju are engaged in all-ssam and a guilty verdict is handed down, the donju is tragically punished but the cadre often gets off scot-free. In the competitive and violent sphere of North Korean politics – where the justice system is a superficial mechanism – the donju often become sacrificial lambs. When the cadres get concerned that the donju have amassed too much influence, they blame them for being anti-socialist elements. After that, the cadres simply collude with other donju in order to maintain their power. We need to deeply consider who is responsible for creating the conditions that force the cadres to perpetuate this inhumane spiral of interactions.Ovipositor Shirts ONLY $11!!! Last Chance Probably Forever!!! “The Doctor Is In” shirt based off the “You’re The Last of The Time Lords, Charlie Brown” comic is here! Alternate Title: Look, Up In The Sky. It’s A Flightless, Tightless Bird! Alternate Mad Magazine Title: The Red-Blue BLECH! Ten years later and all I have to say is, “Fuck you Smallville. Fuck you right in the eye.” I posted something on Twitter about how watching the series finale of Smallville was like taking your last, tar-filled drag on the day they stopped making cigarettes. I think that about sums it up. I’ve always know it was bad for me, and no good could come from it. I knew that I was hurting myself and, more importantly, the ones I loved by indulging in such a self-destructive habit week after week. The only way I was able to break free of its toxic hold on my life was to surrender the choice to a higher power. Namely the CW executives that cancelled the show. They have cut off the supply chain for this particular brand of poison and relieved me of the need for personal courage or strength. I am still a broken shell of a man, but at least I can’t continue to feed the monkey on my back. His banana boat has sailed… Ok, that metaphor was pretty weak, but you get the point. I was going to write something about how you shouldn’t mourn Smallville (even for the guilty pleasure) in the same way you don’t mourn the passing of someone who’s been ravaged by cancer for a decade. When the end comes you are just happy they aren’t suffering any more. Then I realized Smallville wasn’t the patient… I was. Smallville was the disease. Then I got sad. Then I ate some cookies. There was a whole shame-spiral thing. Regarding the above comic: The timeline is pretty weird right? I mean I know it’s a total coincidence, by damn. Two great evils, two pock marks on our nation, filling our hearts and minds with fear, existing side by side for almost exactly the same ten year span. That shit is bizarre. Another thing: My friend Sam revealed his next, groundbreaking project in this blog post, which I had a small part in creating at TCAF. It is both terrifying and your new favorite internet thing. COMMENTERS: We are talking about doing an All-Smallville podcast this week. Sort of a soul-colonic to rid our bodies of the toxins left by a decade of exposure to radioactive sadness. If you have topics or questions you would like addressed in the comments, feel free to post them there. Otherwise, feel free to post anything you like about Smallville in general or the finale. Finale spoilers are fine. This is a safe place. !!!COMMENTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE SMALLVILLE SERIES FINALE!!!Girls creator and star Lena Dunham ripped Donald Trump during TheWrap’s Power Women Breakfast in New York on Thursday, calling the presumptive GOP presidential nominee a “megalomaniacal, misogynist, racist, Islamophobic, ableist, transphobic hellhound.” The 30-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress was a featured speaker at the entertainment publication’s annual breakfast, which honors female trailblazers in the entertainment industry. “I didn’t think we’d be having a real serious conversation about Donald Trump’s candidacy,” Dunham told TheWrap editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman. “I still laugh when I see him on TV. It’s not funny, it just makes me laugh.” “I’m trying to connect to the idea that he has appealed to something very deep and very primal, and so we have to look at what that is, and what that wound is, and what that wound is that he seems to be promising to heal,” she added. “And how can we handle that without inviting a megalomaniacal, misogynist, racist, Islamophobic, ableist, transphobic hellhound into the White House.” Dunham has not shied away from expressing her political opinions during this year’s election cycle. The writer-actress is a vocal supporter of presumptive Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton; she stumped for Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of those state’s primary contests, and even took over the candidate’s Instagram account for a short time in January. Dunham has also been particularly outspoken about her disdain for Trump. In April, the actress said she would “100 percent” move to Canada if Trump is elected president. “I know everyone’s always idly threatening this, but I’d be 100 percent moving to Canada,” Dunham said then of the possibility of a Trump presidency. “I love Canada. I think that it’s a great place, and there’s an area in Vancouver that I find beautiful and appealing, and I can conduct business from there.” For his part, Trump is apparently unfazed by Dunham and other celebrities’ threats to leave the country; during an April interview on Fox and Friends, the candidate said he would be doing “a great service to our country” if she the other celebrities followed through on their promises and left. In an earlier interview on Fox and Friends, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., offered to buy the celebrities’ plane tickets. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaumBi-directional charging or vehicle-to-grid (V2G), the capacity to send power from an electric car to the grid or another battery, has been under development and in pilot programs with several different automakers, but it has yet to be widely implemented. Now Honda is the latest automaker to get on board with a new bi-directional charging station at its European headquarters as it considers the technology for its upcoming series of electric cars. The technology enables the use of an electric car’s battery pack as a portable energy storage system to power a home or anything really. Honda describes its new installation at its Offenbach headquarters, where they also have a 150 kW charging station: “Through bi-directional energy transfer, electricity is drawn from the grid or is generated by photovoltaic solar panels, and is used to charge EVs plugged in to the system. While an EV is plugged in, the energy held in its battery can be transferred back to help stabilize the grid at times of short or surplus supply.” Jörg Böttcher, Vice President of Honda R&D Europe, added: “With the installation of the latest bi-directional charging technology at our R&D site in Germany, we are adding the next technology to our Smart Company project, which will further enhance our research activity in the field of zero-emission society and future mobility.” The automaker currently sells its only all-electric vehicle, the Clarity Electric, a compliance car, but it plans to bring a new retro-looking urban EV to market in 2019 and other EVs based on the same platform. Recently, they have been gradually revealing more information about their EV plans, like 15-minute charging, and now apparently V2G. Electrek’s Take Vehicle-to-grid is a very attractive additional feature to have on an electric vehicle, but it has some drawbacks. For example, if someone is actually looking for a permanent home energy storage solution, it’s just not it. You can’t count on your car being available with enough energy capacity to serve as home energy storage all the time. Long range electric vehicle battery packs are optimized, or at least they should be, for weekly cycling. You can top the car off every night, but generally speaking, a full charge lasts a few days to a week for regular commuting. Therefore, it’s not optimized for energy storage aimed at grid service, which is the only way stationary energy storage systems make financial sense at this point. For backup power though, especially in prolonged power outages, it’s an interesting solution. Either way, it’s an option that can’t hurt to have if you end up needing it. Nissan added it to all new Leaf and they plan to make it an important part of their EV ecosystem. It looks like we might see more of that feature in the EV industry soon.Oiwi TV in Hawai'i has reported that protestors against the construction of one of the world's largest telescopes on top of Mauna Kea in Hilo Hawai'i are being arrested by Police. One of the protestors who spoke to Te Kāea yesterday, Kaho'okahi was arrested along with another community member. Further reports from Oiwi TV say the situation is getting very heated and emotions are high. Native Hawaiians are angry with the construction of the telescope which will cost $1.4 billion on top of their scared mountain. There are already telescopes on the mountain but the brand new telescope is expected to be one of the worlds tallest. Reporter Wepiha Te Kanawa spoke to Kaho'okahi who is protesting on Mauna Kea. Kaho’okahu Kanuha says, "This is a desecration of the mountain and the indigenous people." But Mauna Kea isn't the only place where protesting is happening, students from the University of Hawaii are also showing their support. The call goes out to their sacred mountain Mauna Kea Kaho'okahi Kanuha says, “They are attempting to build a very high telescope that goes 2 stories underground digging into and desecrating our Mauna, our sacred aina and again the home of our akua, so what we are attempting to do is to put a stop to that. They don’t understand the significances of the mauna. They don’t understand the traditions of it. They don’t understand the cultural, spiritual and genealogical connections that we have to it and they don’t understand what the TMT (Thirty Metre Telescope) is for.” Japan, China, Canada and India hope to use the telescope for astrological research. Kaho'okahi Kanuha says, “At this point there are already 13 telescopes on Mauna Kea and this will be the 14th one and to get an idea of how big this is you could combine every telescope on the mountain right now and it still wouldn't be as big as the telescope that they wish to build.”KSNW-TV - WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- The City of Wichita announced Thursday that it is now offering free paint for Wichita homeowners who meet income guidelines. The City says that qualified homeowners are eligible for up to $250 in paint. Paint/labor grants in an amount not exceeding $5,000, including paint, will also be offered to income-eligible senior citizens, age 62 and above. Federal income limits apply. The income limit for a single person household is $36,550, the two-person household limit is $41,750, the three-person household limit is $46,950, and the four-person household limit is $52,150. "The program makes such a big difference in keeping neighborhoods looking good and maintaining the appearance of homes", John Hall, Director of the Housing and Community Services Department, said. "This year the grade of paint has been improved and a new vendor has been retained. I'm asking neighborhood associations to spread the word to members and to consider organizing paint parties." The program is available on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are spent or until the program ends on October 1, 2016. The program is funded with Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To learn more about the free paint program or eligibility, please contact the Home Improvement Program at (316) 462-3713.The Blue Angel defamation case was a famous 1989 Australian court case that saw a Sydney food writer and newspaper lose $100,000 plus interest for defaming a restaurant. On 21 May 1984, Sydney Morning Herald food critic Leo Schofield and a companion, David Spode, ate at the Blue Angel Restaurant in Sydney, New South Wales. They ate lobster, garlic prawns, and lemon sole. When they departed Schofield left a tip and his business card. Schofield's review appeared in The Herald on 29 May 1984, under the headline 'High drama where lobsters have no privacy'.[1] The review was highly unfavourable. It began: I have never really understood about live fish in tanks in restaurants. If they are seen as a way to guarantee freshness, then surely we ought also to have live pigs in pens in the middle of restaurants, ready for slaughter to ensure the freshest possible loin of pork and the odd steer waiting patiently to be zapped by the electric hammer before transformation.[2] The review "was written in Schofield’s satirical and flamboyant style, prefaced with a reworded version of Lewis Carroll’s Lobster Quadrille".[1] Schofield wrote there was a 45-minute wait for grilled lobster: That should have really sent the balloon up for us. Even Godzilla boiled for 45 minutes would be appallingly overcooked. Which is what our grilled lobster most certainly was, cooked until every drop of juice and joy in the thing had been successfully eliminated, leaving a charred husk of a shell containing meat that might have been albino walrus.[2] The "carbonised claws" of the lobster "contained only a kind of white powder" and the treatment of the $25 a kilo meat was "close to culinary crime". The prawns and sole "suffered from the same exposure to heat, the former converted into chewy little shapes without a lot of flavour and the latter a slab of overcooked fish slimy with oil.".[2] The restaurant owner, Marcello Marcobello, sued Schofield and the publisher, John Fairfax and Sons Ltd, in New South Wales for defamation. The case was heard before Justice Enderby and a jury of four in 1989.[1] Marcobello claimed Schofield imputed he was a cruel and inhumane restaurateur because the restaurant killed live lobsters by boiling them alive and cooked lobsters for 45 minutes, which was contrary to standard cooking; he charged prices that didn’t reflect good value; he served charred lobster and severely overcooked garlic prawns and lemon sole.[1] Schofield and Fairfax claimed fair comment and truth as their defences. Witnesses (including Spode) claimed to have eaten overcooked meals at the Blue Angel, and Marcello Marcobello's own father, Frank Marcobello, said he had reservations about chef Antonnella Cortese. There had also been an error in the review: ‘broiled’ was typeset as ‘boiled’. Marcello Marcobello pointed out that no correction of errors had been printed, his witnesses claimed the food in question was very good and not overcooked, and Ms Cortese offered detailed explanations of her cooking methods. Marcobello also cast doubt on his father’s testimony, and claimed their ongoing feud was the reason he testified for the respondents.[1] Schofield and Fairfax lost and were ordered to pay $78,000 to Marcobello and $22,000 to the restaurant. More than $50,000 interest was added. “There was nothing else in the news for days”, John Newton recalled 15 years later.[3] The key reason the defence of fair comment failed was that they did not satisfy some of the basic requirements of the court. Most importantly, the respondents were unable to prove the truth of the facts on which the opinion had been based. They had eaten the evidence.[2]The Project We are building Chain Gang Chase, a 1-8 player couch co-op game for OUYA and PC/Linux/Mac (and potentially Android, iOS, and Web!). Each player in the game is one member of a chain gang that escapes and runs in search of a timely train to cut their chains. On the way to the tracks, they must work together to avoid trees, solve puzzles, evade detection and capture, and just not get stuck. Once there, it is a race to stretch the chains over the tracks while not getting so close as to be hit by the train (and thereby killed to death). In addition to the game, anyone may register for a free account at http://www.chaingangchase.com/ and use our map editor to create levels to be downloaded and played in the game! The History Joe Pietruch is a professor with the School of Interactive Games and Media at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He was an OUYA backer, and Chain Gang Chase started as his idea for a game to create for that platform. Joe built the current prototype and companion website over a 25-day sprint in June of 2013, but had to stop because his other obligations caught up with him. Fast-forward to August 2013, when OUYA announced its #FreeTheGames Fund. Joe saw this as an opportunity to continue working on his game and provide an educational experience for his students. RIT requires that students complete co-ops (think internships) as part of the degree requirements for certain majors. A successful Kickstarter campaign, with the added help of OUYA's #FreeTheGames Fund, would provide Joe a way of funding a team of students on co-op. Here's a quick blurb about the #FreeTheGames Fund: Double Our Fun(ds)! We're participating in OUYA's #FreeTheGames Fund, created by OUYA to support developers making new and creative console games. OUYA will match your pledge dollar-for-dollar up to your goal amount (and a max of $250,000), so help us get there and make a great game for everyone! To be eligible for this match, we commit that this game will be an OUYA exclusive for a period of time. To learn more about OUYA, go to www.OUYA.tv. With your generous support we can form a team of students and faculty to make a great game for you to enjoy! Plans for the Future As you can see in our campaign video, the prototype does a great job of proving that the main mechanic of the game works… but the rest of the game needs to be fleshed out! The game still needs to go through a more thorough design process, with added elements and play-testing. We have plans for gates and fences and puzzles, different types of terrain, and even a line-of-sight / spotlight sneaking component. Beyond what's shown in the prototype, each match will eventually take place across multiple map-track sprints, so players will have multiple chances to cut their chains (or die trying). Prisoners that are killed by the train will re-spawn as Rookie Cops (see the limited reward tiers) and be able to chase the surviving Prisoners. After a selected number of map-track-map-track-map-track segments, the surviving Prisoners will face an end-level boss in the form of The Law (see the limited reward tiers). They fight The Law... but who will win? The MAGIC Center at RIT This project will be managed through the brand new Center of Excellence in Media Arts Games Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC) at RIT, and published through MAGIC Spell Studios. You can find out more about MAGIC at http://magic.rit.edu/. The People You've already heard from Joe Pietruch in the video, so we'd like to introduce you to some other people who are currently putting time towards the project: Alberto Camacho, a Game Design and Development student, is working 10 hours per week helping Joe with the process of launching and maintaining this Kickstarter campaign. Elouise Oyzon, a Professor with the School of Interactive Games and Media, has created concept art and in
Chickens and pigs scratched around in the ubiquitous poppy fields around the huts. Smoke filtered through the thatched ceiling, indicating that someone was home. We called out and a friendly face popped out of the door. The man quickly recovered from his initial surprise and invited us in. We kicked off our shoes and stumbled into the gloomy smoke-filled interior. We were seated by the fire on bear skins and over sweet cups of tea we quizzed the locals about the route beyond the village. All the people in these parts speak Hindi fluently. The Indian government has gone to great length to ‘Indianise’ the people of Arunachal to counter China’s claim of the state. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zàngnán or ‘South Tibet’ and regard it as Indian-occupied Chinese territory. The borders of this frontier state have never been officially demarcated. In 1962 India and China went to war and the Lohit valley was the scene of some bloody battles. The area remains heavily militarised and special permits are required to travel here. We were assured that there was indeed a route for the next four days till the Kamjung Pass that leads into the jungles of Burma. The Indian military runs a couple of patrols up till the pass every year. We made our way back down the valley to the roadhead, satisfied with the knowledge that this section of the route could be done. Now to find out about the route up the Sar Di river which would be the descent route for the expedition. It took us two days to cover the 40km to the village of Dong as the early rains had washed away the road. We camped by some hot springs on the banks of the Lohit and put the word out on the bush telegraph that we were looking to hire the services of a local guide and porters. Just before dark three guys from the Meyor tribe showed up. Their leader Ajo, a quietly confident man, was an experienced hunter and knew the valley very well. He had bought two of his nephews along. They were just teenagers but Ajo assured us that they were very capable. We needn’t have worried as they turned out to be seasoned bushmen and could put the best of us to shame. We paired our belongings down to a few bare essentials necessary for a two-day recce. The locals stood around as we repacked and shook their heads in disbelief at the amount of useless paraphernalia that we were carting along. All they packed for the trip was a blanket, a bush knife, matches, a cooking pot and a small bundle of food. These guys were hard as nails. We set out before dawn and crossed the sparkling clear waters on a small suspension bridge at first light. The jungle began on the far side of the river and that’s where the path abruptly ended. We were now on a game trail that snaked it’s way up along the Sar Di river. The trail climbed up and down along the precariously steep sides of the valley, which echoed with the roar of the rapids. Thick sub tropical jungle, thickets of bamboo, tangles of vines and dense undergrowth covered the hillsides. These jungles are teeming with wildlife; leopards, bears, monkeys and deer; Snow Leopard and Yak inhabit the higher reaches above the tree line. We had to keep within a few feet of each other otherwise we would loose our way in the dense undergrowth of the jungle. Ajo and his merry gang laughed and whistled their way while we stumbled behind them. We had to cross the river on a number of occasions and the bridges didn’t inspire any confidence. They consisted of a single bamboo pole to walk on with a flimsy handrail lashed together with vines. There would be little hope if you fell into the frigid waters with a loaded rucksack strapped onto your back. As I was crossing one of these heinous constructions I noticed a fresh leopard turd balanced on the log. I smiled and took solace from the fact that the king of this jungle had to empty his bowels before making the precarious crossing. We trekked for hours though the jungle, traversing steep slopes and crossing and recrossing the river. Ajo wove his way between boulders, up and down gullies, and across steep rocky terrain like he was strolling in his backyard. There was no real path anymore; he was just picking the line of least resistance. I am glad we had him with us, without him we would have been floundering around in the jungle. It was starting to get late and we had been going all day. We had covered only around 16 km of challenging terrain. The valley was very steep and there weren’t many suitable campsites. Ajo guided us to a clearing by the river. This was as far as we planned to go on this recce. It had given us a good idea of the kind of terrain we would encounter when we would return to venture deeper into the valley. Ajo unsheathed his bushknife and got to work clearing the shrubs and undergrowth while his companions dropped their loads and disappeared into the forest to collect wood for the fire. They had been carrying heavy loads but didn’t show any sign of fatigue. We pitched our tents and laid out our sleeping bags while the others made a bivi in a cave under a large boulder. The fire was lit and we began preparing an evening meal of rice and vegetables. Once comfortable, we climbed a large boulder that gave us a good view up and down the valley. The sun was setting and the jungle was turning dark. Unnamed snow-clad mountains on the Burmese border glowed tantalisingly in the fading light. I smiled to myself as I sipped a hot cup of sweet tea for I knew the adventure had only just begun. I would be back next year to venture deeper into the depths of these remote valleys.About My dream is to expose my story throughout local states at different anime conventions in 2014, such as Animenext, Anime Boston, Otakon and possibly New York Comic Con! I have been working on this remade story from 2008 for two years. I reworked the plot and gave character development that I worked on for hours and hours brainstorming to make it flow. I have it self-published on Lulu.com and only sold a few copies. By using that website to print my books, it would only be sold online and without me personally shipping it out. After my experience in the Artist Alley, I really want to physically sell these copies in person so the book can be read right in front of you! Meaning, I would have to order all these copies myself to have on my person. That can only happen if I have the funds to be able to order copies to be made from the site! WHERE'S THE MONEY GOING TO? - HALF of the money will go to printing the books. (via, myself personally ordering copies to be made). - OTHER HALF will go to convention tickets, hotels, and supplies. Also, with this reprinting, I'll put up a fanart section from my fans as a thanks to them as well and they would be credited for their work! :D (You can also check out http://kickingitforward.org for a great community of people willing to help your kickstarter!) My story can also be read on Tapastic and MangaMagazine for free! Also, my MangaMagazine: http://www.mangamagazine.net/manga-and-comics/Remote-Angel/detail-page/595?lang=en REMOTE ANGEL GENRES: ROMANCE - DRAMA - SUPERNATURAL - ACTION With a side of comic relief and seems like a dark, magical girl type. PLOT Alice Desangi has had some haunting dreams lately. She can't stop thinking about them, but her friends tell her not to worry - until her dreams come true! A mysterious woman, along with these demonic beings, appear and set out to kill her! Alice is called to fight alongside with heaven against hell! SAMPLE PAGES ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ARTIST "Yennie Fer" is a pen name I go by. I'm 24 years old and an entrepreneur. The picture above shows my first ever time (hopefully not last) in the Artist Alley. I've been pursuing art for 13 years and found myself really drawn to making comics. I was always into cartoons, anime, manga and comics that it really inspired me to drawn my own (even though it wasn't pretty at first). Remote Angel became my inspiration back in 2008. I based it off dreams I've had and life events. The old draft of Remote Angel was a bit rough and didn't have a plot. I then put it on hiatus and began to get serious about it in 2011. PLEDGE INFORMATION Here are awesome things for you if you decide to pledge! :D -Chibi Phone Charms -Prints -T-shirts (Can become customizable) -Digital Commisions (Can become prints) -The printed book itself! With an autograph included! -30 sketch requests OR MORE! - Character profile sheets not available online yet! HI-RES -Polymer Clay Figurines! (Can either be Remote Angel characters or characters of your own request!) - Personalized tutorial! (Either image or video) - YOUR OWN COMIC 10 paged preview in all the books that will be able to give you exposure for your work! (Only one pledge reward offers that) PHONE CHARMS Here are the choices of characters to choose from! ALICE - ZERO - ROSE - FIONA - MILK - BECKY - DARIUS The keychains will be laminated and durable! PRINTS Choose between these few prints that are listed below! (Your commission can also become a print! Depending on which pledge you choose). T-SHIRTS Here are the choices of t-shirts to choose from! (Just tell me your size and what color you would want it in!) If you don't want any of these t-shirt styles, your commission can be used as one of the t-shirts! DIGITAL COMMISSIONS Here are examples of the digital commission I have to offer. (Chibi and half body portrait) PUSH GOALS 06/15 8% funded! Hello, everyone! In less than 24 hours, I want to give a big thanks to how fast I was just funded! I am super thankful that you all share my post too! 06/19 I posted up new pledges! :D There are more goodies in store for you! Such as getting 30 or more sketches! THANK YOU FOR READING! I APPRECIATE EVERY HELP I CAN GET! ^_^Newport News City Manager Jim Bourey resigned Tuesday at the end of a two-and-a-half-hour special closed session of the City Council. The council unanimously accepted Bourey’s immediate resignation. Assistant City Manager Cindy Rohlf, who has been with the city since 2008, was appointed acting city manager. The council voted to give Bourey the same severance package he would receive had he been fired, which is $116,258, or half of his base salary plus his $625-a-month car allowance. His contract states that he is not to receive a severance package if he resigns of his own volition. (Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press) Bourey’s resignation comes in the wake of a state audit prompted by Daily Press stories about the Peninsula Airport Commission agreeing two years ago to pay off a $4.5 million loan for People Express airlines, a startup that failed after flying for three months. Bourey was on the commission at the time and defended its actions, but resigned last week to give the commission “a fresh start.” The airport commission also voted to put its executive director, Ken Spirito, on administrative leave and cut ties with its attorney, Herbert V. Kelly Jr. The airport commission has scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday morning. Hours before Bourey’s resignation from the airport commission, the city distributed a notice for Tuesday’s special meeting, signed by council members Pat Woodbury, Sharon Scott, Saundra Cherry, Marcellus Harris and Vice Mayor Tina Vick. Vick said Bourey’s resignation was “disappointing, but we have to get this city back on track and get the public’s trust back.” She declined to comment further when asked why he resigned or if was connected to the fallout over the People Express loan. Woodbury confirmed that the loan was one of several things discussed in the two-and-a-half hour meeting. She declined to elaborate. Mayor McKinley Price said he was “disappointed with the outcome,” and is “very proud of what (Bourey) has done and accomplished.” Price said the discussion and Bourey’s resignation had nothing to do with the People Express loan. “I just want to say thank you,” Bourey said after the vote. “I obviously am disappointed that it’s coming to an end at this point in time but I think we’re ready to move on.” The Newport News City Council is meeting in closed session today to discuss a matter dealing with of its three appointees. The Newport News City Council is meeting in closed session today to discuss a matter dealing with of its three appointees. SEE MORE VIDEOS Bourey declined to say why he was resigning. He will be allowed to keep his city-issued phone, Microsoft Surface tablet and laptop for the next 30 days. Bourey was on the airport commission when it agreed to guarantee the $5 million line of credit and chairman when it repaid the $4.5 million that People Express had drawn on the loan. The Daily Press has reported that the airport commission agreed in 2014 to guarantee a line of credit of up to $5 million for People Express. The guarantee was discussed in a closed meeting, and the vote taken to approve it said nothing about a loan — it merely authorized the commission chairwoman to take any action she deemed necessary to provide air service at the airport. Newport News City Manager Jim Bourey today resigned from the Peninsula Airport Commission and Newport News/ Williamsburg Airport Executive Director Ken Spirito was placed on administrative Leave. Newport News City Manager Jim Bourey today resigned from the Peninsula Airport Commission and Newport News/ Williamsburg Airport Executive Director Ken Spirito was placed on administrative Leave. SEE MORE VIDEOS In the 12 days that followed, People Express drew about $3.5 million on the loan. It drew an additional million in the three months it was in service. When the airline ended its service in September 2014, the airport commission was on the hook. It used $3.5 million in state money, $700,000 in local funds and $300,000 from the federal government to repay the loan. In response to the Daily Press reports, state Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne launched an audit into the commission’s use of the money. He has called it the largest unauthorized use of those state funds, which he says are reserved for capital improvements. In his letter of resignation from the airport commission, Bourey said the panel’s actions were justified at the time it agreed to the loan guarantee. He said he is “tremendously disappointed with the level of misinformation.” Bourey, Spirito and Kelly have all asserted that, according to the state airport manual, the state money could be used for “air service development,” which they say includes the loan guarantee. Layne has said, and airport officials from around the state have agreed, that the policy governing use of the money has been clear for 30 years. James City County, York County and Hampton have since frozen their payments to the Regional Air Service Enhancement Committee, known as the RAISE committee, which supports airport efforts to improve local service. CAPTION Amazon reveals new long-term energy plan for shipping by 2030, the online retail giant says it wants to cut carbon emissions in half. Amazon is calling this new initiative, "Shipment Zero." Amazon, via statement In the long run, Amazon adds that it wants to run 100% on renewable energy. Amazon reveals new long-term energy plan for shipping by 2030, the online retail giant says it wants to cut carbon emissions in half. Amazon is calling this new initiative, "Shipment Zero." Amazon, via statement In the long run, Amazon adds that it wants to run 100% on renewable energy. CAPTION Amazon reveals new long-term energy plan for shipping by 2030, the online retail giant says it wants to cut carbon emissions in half. Amazon is calling this new initiative, "Shipment Zero." Amazon, via statement In the long run, Amazon adds that it wants to run 100% on renewable energy. Amazon reveals new long-term energy plan for shipping by 2030, the online retail giant says it wants to cut carbon emissions in half. Amazon is calling this new initiative, "Shipment Zero." Amazon, via statement In the long run, Amazon adds that it wants to run 100% on renewable energy. CAPTION Payless to shut down all of its stores in the US and Canada. It is the latest in-person retailer to fall victim to the rise of Amazon and online shopping. Payless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week and will start shut downs next month. Payless to shut down all of its stores in the US and Canada. It is the latest in-person retailer to fall victim to the rise of Amazon and online shopping. Payless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week and will start shut downs next month. CAPTION The Pizza Shop in York County is an institution that is now owned by Brandon Triolet who started as a dish-washer at the restaurant while he was a student at Grafton High. The Pizza Shop in York County is an institution that is now owned by Brandon Triolet who started as a dish-washer at the restaurant while he was a student at Grafton High. CAPTION The old Kmart on Warwick Boulevard in the Denbigh section of Newport News has been purchased by the economic development authority. The old Kmart on Warwick Boulevard in the Denbigh section of Newport News has been purchased by the economic development authority. CAPTION CBS Refuses to air caannabis company's Super Bowl Ad Acreage Holdings, a U.S. marijuana company, says CBS rejected its 30-second commercial. George Allen, president of Acreage Holdings, said the ad doesn't focus on its products but shows how medical marijuana has helped people deal with pain. CBS Refuses to air caannabis company's Super Bowl Ad Acreage Holdings, a U.S. marijuana company, says CBS rejected its 30-second commercial. George Allen, president of Acreage Holdings, said the ad doesn't focus on its products but shows how medical marijuana has helped people deal with pain. Vice Mayor Vick told the Daily Press that she didn’t want to rely on the newspaper when governing the city and wondered why Bourey didn’t tell the council members about the loan guarantee sooner. Bourey began as city manager in July 2013 and immediately began leaving his imprint on the city. He was instrumental in bringing the Tech Center Marketplace to the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Oyster Point Road. In 2015, he organized the One City Marathon, which is scheduled to be run for the third time this coming Sunday. The Southeast Community got relief from its standing as a “food desert” when Jim’s Local Market opened last year, greatly aided by city financing. Brooks Crossing, the shopping center where Jim’s Local Market is located, was resuscitated after languishing for years when Bourey agreed to the city building a police precinct station to kickstart the project. But Bourey also quickly began having some friction with members of the City Council and Newport News residents. The announcement of the Tech Center generated dispute because of a comment from the developer, the W.M. Jordan Company, that no city money would be used for the project. It was later clarified that no city money was to be used for the marketplace portion of the project, but that the city was agreeing to spend up to some $34 million on roads and infrastructure and to move a Newport News Public Schools school bus facility, which is still under negotiation. In February 2015, Bourey announced the closing of the City Farm jail facility, after telling at least one council member hours before. He later said the council “broadly” supported it, but Woodbury told the Daily Press at the time that “I didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t told about it until the last minute.” “No disrespect, Mr. Manager, but this is a council-manager form of government... and we give direction to the manager,” Councilwoman Scott said during a heated discussion over authorizing city staff to draft a plan for closing the correctional facility. The council later signed off on the decision. Some Newport News citizens are still unhappy with this decision. Andrew Shannon, vice president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Virginia Chapter, has been calling for Bourey’s removal for months. “We want to thank the council for listening to the voices of the citizens,” Shannon said outside of City Hall on Tuesday. “Today is a day of victory for the citizens of Newport News.”Tripping at the Oscars has become JLaw's signature move but the Code Red team applaud the American Hustle actress for managing to do it with style. JENNIFER Lawrence has labelled herself “annoying”, declaring she totally gets why the public is just bit over her. “Nobody can stay beloved forever. I never believed it, the whole time. I was like, just wait: People are going to get sick of me. My picture is everywhere, my interviews are everywhere,” she told Marie Claire in a new interview. “I’m way too annoying because I get on red carpets and I’m really hyper, most likely because I’ve been franking, and I can’t not photobomb somebody if it’s a good opportunity. But it’s something I always tell myself: ‘You need to calm the f*** down. You don’t want to constantly be a GIF.’” Asked if her two monumental stumbles at the past two Oscars were a publicity stunt, Lawrence said, “Trust me, if I was going to plan it, I would have done it at the Golden Globes or the SAGS,” she said. “I would have never done it at two Oscars in a row. I watch Homeland — I’m craftier than that!” Next up, Lawrence will be seen alongside boyfriend Nicholas Hoult in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Speaking of their long-distance relationship (Hoult is based in London), Lawrence said the couple embrace it. “When we’re busy, we agree to mutually ignore each other. Not completely, but neither of us gets mad when the other doesn’t text back or call,” she said. “Life’s super busy. Obviously you know what they’re doing, and you trust them.” At just 23, Lawrence also said there was no need to rush her relationship with the 24-year-old Brit. “We’re so young that it would almost be like if we lived in the same city, what would happen? We’d be living together,” she said. “At least this way he’s in the same boat as I am: We can go out and have our own lives and know that we have each other.” As for persistent rumours that she’s got a problem with Kristen Stewart, who’s appearing alongside Hoult in the upcoming movie Equals, Lawrence laughed. “There was something in a magazine, and I was like ‘Oh, my God, that’s hilarious,’ because Kristen and I are friends,” she said. “I actually texted her a picture of it and was like, ‘Just so you know, this is absolutely true.’”Very often, this blog is criticized for being “too negative” or “always on the server’s side.” Well, not today because I got wind of a shifty server trying to pull some wool over the eyes of her customer and it makes my blood boil. According to Bamboozled, a man named Joe Lentini went to a business dinner at Bobby Flay Steak at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City. La di da, la di da, everything was fine and dandy for this party of 10 until Joe decided to share a bottle of wine with a couple of his friends. He told the waitress he didn’t know a lot about wine and so he asked her to suggest a bottle. She pointed to Screaming Eagle Cabernet, Oakville 2011 and when he asked her much it was she told him it was “thirty-seven fifty.” He agreed to the wine, the sommelier presented it, he tasted it, approved it and went on with his meal. When the check came, he had to pick his face up off the floor because the bottle was $3,750 and not $37.50. All together now: awwww, hell no! He disputed the way the wine had been sold to him and the restaurant was ever so fucking kind enough to lower the cost of the bottle to $2,200. I never have wine that comes out of something other than a cardboard box, a screw-capped bottle or was leftover in a customer’s glass, so $3,750 wine must taste much better than the ass I am used to. I looked up Screaming Eagle on the Internet and found it for $1,498. It is described as a “sexy, upfront, precociously styled wine exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color as well as lots of licorice, camphor, black currant jam, new oak and spice box characteristics.” Ummm, okay, but does it do my laundry and give back massages because at that price, it needs to. Joe paid the bill with his friends and then probably went home crying and refused to pee for five days to make sure he kept the wine with him for as long as possible. Now let’s get to the server and the way the restaurant handled it. We all know this waitress was trying to be a sneaky bitch. If someone tells you that they don’t know anything about wine, why in the fuck would you offer them one of the most expensive bottles on the menu? I’ll tell you why: she wanted a bigger tip, that’s why. And when he asked her how much it cost, we all know that she said “thirty-seven fifty” to imply that it was under $50. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong. It’s worse than when the server tries to make you feel like an unsophisticated slob because you refuse the bottled water and settle for “just tap.” Of course the restaurant feels that “the proper practices were followed” and they say that because they very often serve bottles of wine at this price, they didn’t see anything different with this particular transaction. But it was different, Borgata, it was. This particular diner freely admitted he knew nothing about wine and was lead to believe that the bottle he ordered was 100 times less than it was. Had she told him that bottle cost $3,750, he would have dropped that menu and asked for a refill on his tap water. You really think the waitress didn’t know what she was doing? I call total bullshit. I have a feeling that once this story makes the rounds, Bobby Flay will crawl out from behind his grill, step over a basket of poblano peppers and offer to reimburse the man for the “misunderstanding.” We know that he can certainly afford to do that and it would only make this public relations nightmare fade away. (I hope you will share this so we can see if we can make that happen.) But what about the waitress? I think she intentionally inflated this check all for the sake of a tip. I can’t believe I am saying this, but she needs to be held partially responsible; if not monetarily, then at least fucking own up to it. Tell us your rent was due and you thought you could get some extra bucks by taking advantage of Average Joe Lentini. Tell us that you truly believed a man who was ordering a $45 rib eye was cool with drinking a $3,750 bottle of wine. Tell us you are a dishonest lying piece of shit who makes servers look bad. Just don’t tell us you thought you were doing the right thing, because anyone who has waited tables for for more than ten minutes knows the truth: you’re shifty. As usual, this is just my opinion and if you don’t like it, there are plenty of other places to waste your time on the Internet.The ambassador has been given 48 hours to leave the country. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has expelled its North Korean ambassador over the death of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Malaysian authorities on Saturday (Mar 4) declared him persona non grata, expelling him over the diplomatic handling of Kim's death. Advertisement "He is expected to leave Malaysia within 48 hours from the scheduled time of the meeting, namely 6pm, Mar 4, 2017,” Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a press release. According to the release, Kang had been summoned at 6pm on Saturday to Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but failed to turn up. "He (Kang Chol) was to have met with Ambassador Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, the Deputy Secretary General for Bilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, today at 6pm. However, neither the Ambassador nor senior officials of the Embassy was in a position to be present at the Ministry," said Anifah. The ministry then sent a diplomatic note to the North Korean embassy, informing him of the expulsion. Advertisement Advertisement This comes after Kang accused Malaysia of colluding with South Korea to blame North Korea for the death and that the investigation by the Malaysian police was “politically motivated” and he could not trust it. Kang said that North Korea would not accept the result of the autopsy conducted by Malaysian authorities because it had been done without the presence of North Korean officials. He had also demanded that Malaysia hand over his body to the embassy. The Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Mr Kang on Tuesday to demand a written apology for the accusations made against Malaysia by the ambassador. Mr Kang was told that if no response was received by 10pm that day, “the Malaysian government would take measures that would best protect its interests”. “Almost four days have passed since the deadline lapsed. No such apology has been made, neither has there been any indication that one is forthcoming. For this reason, the Ambassador has been declared persona non grata,” said Anifah. “It should be made clear – Malaysia will react strongly against any insults made against it or any attempt to tarnish its reputation.” “It should be recalled that the Ambassador had alleged that the conduct of the investigation into the death of a DPRK citizen on Feb 13, 2017 indicates that the Malaysian government had something to hide and that Malaysia has colluded with outside powers to defame his country," Anifah added. “Recent events, including the release of Mr Ri Jong Chol, a DPRK national, from police custody for the lack of evidence to charge him, is proof that the investigation is conducted in an impartial, fair and transparent manner, as befits a country that practices the rule of law." "THEY WILL PAY A HEAVY PRICE" On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi warned the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur to cease its hard-hitting statements against Malaysia. "If the rebukes keep coming from the relevant embassy, they will pay a heavy price,” Zahid told reporters. The expulsion comes following the revocation of visa-free entry for North Koreans. “The expulsion of the DPRK Ambassador comes at the heels of the decision of the Malaysian government... that effective on Monday, citizens of the DPRK require visas to enter Malaysia," said Anifah. “This is an indication of the government’s concern that Malaysia may have been used for illegal activities. These measures are part of the process by the Malaysian government to review its relations with the DPRK. Investigations have revealed that Kim, 45, was poisoned by two women using a deadly VX nerve agent on Feb 13. While Malaysia has not held the North Korean government responsible for the death, its authorities have identified and named four North Korean men as the mastermind of Kim’s death, as well as the ones who recruited the two assassins.Oddon3 / Getty Images Earlier this month, a 27-year-old from Ranchi allegedly committed suicide after writing a letter to the Prime Minister alleging police torture. Earlier this week, in Hyderabad, a 28-year-old woman killed herself by consuming pesticide after being harassed by her husband and in-laws. A day later, a 30-year-old mother of two from Mysore hanged herself, again due to domestic abuse. None of these cases have become national news. What has caught the nation's attention is the Blue Whale Challenge. There is no credible evidence that proves that the Blue Whale Challenge actually exists. Have Indians — children and teenagers in particular — been committing suicide and attempting to commit suicide recently? Yes, in droves. According to a study published in The Lancet in 2013, suicide is the leading cause of death among those aged 10-24 in India, with 62,960 such deaths reported in 2013. Have these suicides been linked to a underground cultish game called the "Blue Whale Challenge" whose supposed Russian creators — multiple people have claimed credit — are currently awaiting trial? Yes. However, these links are merely the creation of a sensationalist media. There is in fact, no credible evidence that proves that such a game exists. It's easy enough to go online and find various neatly formatted, standardised list of the supposed tasks involved in the challenge that always starts off with the carving of "F57" on your forearm and eventually concludes with suicide as the 50th task. And searching for the hashtags #i_am_whale and #f57 and #f58 does turn up messages related to the challenge on a number of social networks. But how does Rajiv Makhni, writing in the Hindustan Times, know that the responses to these hashtags aren't coming from trolls or bots (as has been found to be the case in Russia), or that they aren't just instances of catfishing? (Hint: He doesn't.) How does Ekta Handa of India Today know that they are establishing private chats with Indian kids and leading them to commit suicide? (Hint: She doesn't.) Have reporters found evidence of any of these supposed tasks having been administered in any of the suicide cases reported in India? (Hint: They haven't, nor have the police.) Yet, writers like Rajiv Makhni and Ekta Handa have dangerously declared that this is not a hoax, rather than merely presenting the known facts. A common thread that underpins most of the Blue Whale-related press reports is that they rely on unnamed sources (when they mention sources at all). Only a handful of reports have engaged in actual journalism and sought sources and evidence for the claims being bandied about. A common thread that underpins most of the Blue Whale-related press reports is that they rely on unnamed sources An alarming trend has emerged in recent times, with every suicide or suicide attempt reported as a Blue Whale Challenge, despite there being no evidence in most of these cases. A thorough investigation by Scroll.in found little credibility or actual evidence beyond hearsay in any of the cases reported in India. There are entire websites on the Internet dedicated to videos of people getting killed (in traffic accidents, police shootings, suicides, etc.). Teens have even started live-streaming their suicides as a way to memorialize themselves, to gain attention and sympathy, or to "get back" at bullies. And just as in the offline world, online bullying and suicide encouragement — sometimes by strangers on pro-suicide forums, and sometimes by people they know, have led to actual deaths. However, such deaths aren't exactly new and there are no cult-like qualities to them: thus the media doesn't spend weeks talking about vulnerable teens and children being driven to suicide by bullying or due to pressure from parents or teachers — it is simply too common. On the other hand, they are happy to make the most of this narrative of a cult-like game that takes "ordinary" (as though mental health issues are an aberration) children and converts them into mindless zombies that commit suicide. As a result the Internet and 'games' are demonized and the real issues remain ignored. This state of affairs is best illustrated by the case of M.K. Sawant, a 22-year-old from Kerala who killed himself in May. Three months later, his mother told police that she suspected it was due to the Blue Whale Challenge — after hearing of another suicide with an alleged link to the game. Lost among all the talk of fictitious whales was Sawant's history of mental illness — he had been receiving treatment for depression for four years and had already attempted suicide twice. Clearly, it seems even parents find it necessary to externalise depression and mental health issues in order to deal with the tragedy of a son's suicide. As Amulya Gopalakrishnan writes in the Times of India, "Our protective posture towards young people, our sense of their suggestibility, guilt about not having given them enough attention, our discomfort with their growing autonomy, all combine to let us readily believe such ‘trends among the youth’ stories." Not only has the media's sensationalist reporting led to the Blue Whale Challenge being blamed for unrelated suicides, it has also resulted in the Werther Effect — copycat instances of self-harm. A boy in West Midnapore, who was depressed, said he started playing the Blue Whale Challenge via an app called "Timi-rer Dak" ("Whale's Call" in Bengali), and said he'd received phone calls. He had even carved "F57" into his arm using a knife (a photo carried in newspapers). But upon interrogation by the police, his story ran into contradictions: no traces of phone calls were found, and he was found to have faked the story for attention. The media has initiated a misinformation campaign that has created a nationwide panic and led to a focus on the wrong targets. And it's not just ordinary citizens who have been drawn into this web of half-truths and whole lies spun by the media. The Department of Electronics and IT is asking Internet companies "to ensure that any such link of this deadly game in it's own name or similar game is immediately removed". A PIL has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a ban on the Blue Whale game and lawyers are arguing that searches for "blue whale" should also be banned. India accounted for the highest estimated number of suicides in the world in 2012, according to a WHO report published in 2014. And almost 7.5% of India's population suffers from some form of mental illness according to a 2017 WHO report. But instead of discussing mental health issues, the effects of bullying and ragging, the pressures applied by teachers and parents, and educating parents and teachers on improving trust with their children and students, the media has initiated a misinformation campaign that has created a nationwide panic and led to a focus on the wrong targets. If the mass media sensationally blame a bogeyman for the suicides, people are apt to go after the bogeyman rather than the real causes. As Gopalakrishnan writes
is covering up her mouth creating a bit of a different feeling! ≡Σ((( つ•̀ω•́)つ Even Rabbit Yukine’s hat looks rather warm and fuzzy! △The Yukine with the Nednoroid is quite puffy like a plushie, but the figma version is a little more slimmed down! ② Snowboard The joints of the figma allow for some awesome jump poses! The twintails are also fitted with joints to really create a dynamic feeling to the figure that makes it look like she could jump to life at any second! (σ・∀・)σ Plus, as mentioned during the live broadcast, her goggles can also be removed! Σ(･ω･ﾉ)ﾉ！ An alternate hair part for the goggles is included! This expression together with the way she is holding the goggles… this figma allows for so many stories to be told!! ♪ figma Miku Snow Owl Ver. After sales at WonFes, she will be on sale at the GOODSMILE ONLINE SHOP from the 7th February at 16:00JST! ⇒ More details available on this page! Enjoy Winter with these two sporty Snow Mikus!! Make sure you don’t miss out!! (੭ु ›ω‹ )੭ु⁾⁾♡ ☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;: The WONDERFUL HOBBY LIFE FOR YOU!! 23 website is open! ★ Last week included updates to the stage information as well as booth information and new product information! ♪ Be sure to take a look at what you can expect from this Winter’s Wonder Festival! (●´ω｀●) ⇒ http://whl4u.jp/ A summary English page has also been uploaded with product information and more, so be sure to take a look: http://whl4u.jp/en/ There is also a Twitter campaign being run for fans outside of Japan! Check this page for more info: http://whl4u.jp/en/campaign/ ☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;:☆:;;;: ∧＿∧ （・∀・）.｡oO（Ehohohoho!) oノ∧つ⊂） (（・∀・）.｡oO（Ehomaki!!) （ ∪ ∪ と_）_）） Planning Team / Kahotan / Twitter ID：@gsc_kahotan English Updates: @gsc_kevin Snow Miku & Rabbit Yukine Design (2016): Kotatsu Otogi Rabbit Yukine Original Idea: nekosumi © Crypton Future Media, INC. www.piapro.netNone of the Bible's Writers Believed that Jesus is God Christians and Muslims both believe in Jesus, love him, and honour him. They are, however, divided over the question of his divinity. Fortunately, this difference can be resolved if we refer the question to both the Bible and the Qur’an, because, both the Bible and the Qur’an teach that Jesus is not God. It is clear enough to everyone that the Qur’an denies the divinity of Jesus, so we do not need to spend much time explaining that. On the other hand, many people misunderstand the Bible; they feel that the belief in Jesus as God is so widespread that it must have come from the Bible. In this and the next six messages, we will show quite conclusively that the Bible does not teach that. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is not God. In the Bible God is always someone other than Jesus. Some will say that something Jesus said or something he did while on the earth proves that he is God. We will show that the disciples never came to the conclusion that Jesus is God. And these are people who lived and walked with Jesus and thus knew first hand what he said and did. Furthermore, we are told in the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible that the disciples were being guided by the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is God, surely they should know it. But they did not. They kept worshipping the one true God who was worshipped by Abraham, Moses and Jesus (see Acts ch. 3, v. 13). All of the writers of the Bible believed that God was not Jesus. The idea that Jesus is God did not become part of Christian belief until after the Bible was written, and took many centuries to become part of the faith of Christians. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, authors of the first three Gospels, believed that Jesus was not God (see Mark 10:18 and Matthew 19:17). They believed that he was the son of God in the sense of a righteous person. Many others too, are similarly called sons of God (see Matthew ch.23, vv. 1,9). Paul, believed to be the author of some thirteen or fourteen letters in the Bible, also believed that Jesus is not God. For Paul, God first created Jesus, then used Jesus as the agent by which to create the rest of creation (see Colossians ch. 1, v. 15 and 1Corinthians ch. 8, v. 6). Similar ideas are found in the letter to the Hebrews, and also in the Gospel and Letters of John composed some seventy years after Jesus. In all of these writings, however, Jesus is still a creature of God and is therefore forever subservient to God (see 1 Corinthians 15, v.28). Now, because Paul, John, and the author of Hebrews believed that Jesus was God’s first creature, some of what they wrote clearly show that Jesus was a pre-existent powerful being. This is often misunderstood to mean that he must have been God. But to say that Jesus was God is to go against what these very authors wrote. Although these authors had this later belief that Jesus is greater than all creatures, they also believed that he was still lesser than God. In fact, John quotes Jesus as saying: The Father is greater than I (John ch. 14, v. 28). And Paul declares that the head of every woman is her husband, the head of every man is Christ, and the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians ch.11, v. 3). Therefore, to find something in these writings and claim that these teach that Jesus is God is to misuse and misquote what those authors are saying. What they wrote must be understood in the context of their belief that Jesus is a creature of God as they have already clearly said. So we see then, that some of the later writers had a higher view of Jesus, but none of the writers of the Bible believed that Jesus is God. The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one true God, the one whom Jesus worshipped (see John ch. 17, v. 3). In the next six messages we will explore the Bible in more depth, and deal with the passages which are most often misquoted as proof of Jesus’ divinity. We will show, with God’s help, that these do not mean what they are so often used to prove. May God guide all of us to the truth which leads to eternal life in Paradise.0 0 0 4 0 Introduction There are lots of great materials on optimization of virtualized environments that I think many of you will enjoy reading about. Such topics are all over the IT community and they cover a wide range of the technical questions. This article will focus on the matter which is not quite clear yet, especially when it comes from theory to practice. It’s about Windows Disk write cache feature and its implications for data consistency and performance of the virtual hard drives. Problem Disk write caching is designed to speed up system processes and applications by allowing them to proceed without waiting for data to be written to the disk. In other words, it enables them to continue operating, while in fact the data are still sitting in the cache and waiting until the underlying storage can accommodate it. That is, write request is getting acknowledged once the actual data is placed on cache instead of the targeted device. However, at the same time, there is a risk associated with this feature. Disk write caching may lead to the loss of cached data You have to be careful keeping it enabled since it may cause losing cached data in case of a software crash, equipment failure or sudden disconnection of the device. Microsoft therefore highly recommends acquiring UPS for the system to prevent any data integrity issues. It is also noteworthy that Windows itself controls these settings in some scenarios: Write cache is always disabled for all servers with the Domain controller role installed and it is set to “enabled” mode for such apps as Microsoft Exchange. There are some applications that use FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH and/or FILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING by default, so write cache can never be applied to them. Research Well, but how do we configure write caching policies in Windows environment? This can be done via Device Manager or Disk Management Wizard. You select a disk, click Properties and move on to Policies tab. You then will be given a choice: Better Performance (enable write cache) or Quick removal policy (disable cache). In this article, we’ll mostly address performance aspect of Windows disk cache and see how it affects write and read speed of the virtual hard drives. But the reason to write about that is another article I stumbled across not long ago. It contains the authors’ analysis of the virtual disk performance using different write caching policies. Briefly, he has found a modest improvement of write and read operations after disabling write cache (quick removal policy). And that was what really got me puzzled as well. So, it was agreed to deploy a test environment where one might reproduce that behavior. In reality, I needed a single hypervisor host and some disk array acting as physical storage for my test VM. To bring the whole configuration to the similar form, I’ve decided to start with VMware ESXi and small RAID 0 array with only 3 flash drives. StarWind HyperConverged Appliance is a turnkey, entirely software-defined hyperconverged platform purpose-built for intensive virtualization workloads. Bringing the desired performance and reducing downtime, the solution can be deployed by organizations with limited budgets and IT team resources. Also, it requires only one onsite node to deliver HA for your applications that make the solution even more cost-efficient. Find out more about ➡ StarWind HyperConverged Appliance Lab specifications: Test VM settings: All benchmarks were performed using Microsoft DiskSpd (https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/DiskSpd-a-robust-storage-6cd2f223) tool. Our test process consists of two random patterns that would help us to collect the basic performance metrics. We are using the corresponding DiskSpd parameters: 4K 100% RANDOM WRITE: diskspd.exe -t8 -b4K -r -w100 -o40 -d30 -h -L -c20G 1 diskspd. exe - t8 - b4K - r - w100 - o40 - d30 - h - L - c20G 4K 100% RANDOM READ: diskspd.exe -t8 -b4K -r -w0 -o40 -d30 -h -L -c20G 1 diskspd. exe - t8 - b4K - r - w0 - o40 - d30 - h - L - c20G Test results 100% Random Write (single drive) 100% Random Read (single drive) We also decided to run the additional test against 5 targets to check if the trend is set to continue. In our case, it was 5 similar virtual disks attached to the same VM. 100% Random Write (5 drives) Conclusion We haven’t seen any performance boost after disabling write cache on virtual hard drives in our test lab. On the contrary, the results of the research study point in the opposite direction. But that minor difference in IOPS numbers you might have noticed is more like measurement deviation. I also had to run much benchmarking to get more-or-less consistent results that varied from test to test. In summary, though, I must agree that switching to Quick Removal policy is still a good idea, especially in virtualized environments. Just because of disk write cache doesn’t significantly affect the performance as it has been shown in practice, but by an accident, it may lead to very unpleasant experience with the losing data or data corruption issues. To complete the picture, I am going to benchmark that further on other hypervisors and on Azure VM. Also, it would be nice to test fast NVMe cards. And it’s really good excuse to continue the series of articles on Windows Disk write cache and its impact on performance. Related materials: Views All Time Views All Time 1 Views Today Views Today 21 Appreciate how useful this article was to you? 5 out of 5, based on 1 review 5 out of 5, based on 1 reviewVia Ali Watkins’ story on Dianne Feinstein’s vindication by the Senate parliamentarian, Ron Wyden has written Eric Holder a letter listing all the unfinished business he’d like the Attorney General to finish before going off to his sinecure defending banks (my assessment, not Wyden’s). Three of the requests are familiar: A request to know the limits of using deadly force against Americans outside of declared war zones A request for the withdrawal and declassification of an OLC opinion on common commercial service agreements A request that Holder share the Torture Report widely so it can be useful (or maybe even just open it) But a fourth is, as far as I know, new: I have asked repeatedly over the past several years for the Department of Justice’s opinion on the lawfulness of particular conduct that involved an Executive Branch agency. I finally received a response to these inquiries in June 2014; however the response simply stated that the Department of Justice was not statutorily obligated to respond to my question. I suppose there my not be a particular law that requires the Department to answer this question, but this response is nonetheless clearly troubling. My question was not hypothetical, and I did not ask to see any pre-decisional legal advice — I simply asked whether the Justice Department believed that the specific actions taken in this case were legal. It would be reasonable for the Department to say “Yes, this conduct was lawful” and explain why, or to say “No, this appears to have been unlawful” and take appropriate follow-up action. Refusing to answer at all is highly problematic and clearly undermines effective oversight of government agencies, especially since the actions in question were carried out in secret. For these reasons, I renew my request for an answer to the question, and I hope that you can help provide one. Uh, with all due respect, Senator, I believe Holder has given you an answer: While I don’t know what the actions in question are, it seems the answer is, “Yes, those actions were illegal, but since we’re not going to do anything about it, we’re not going to tell you that.” Or perhaps, “Yes, those actions were illegal. But if the President orders them, we don’t consider them illegal.” Wyden has apparently been asking this for “several years.” While that doesn’t entirely rule out CIA spying on SSCI (which, after all, DOJ has answered by not prosecuting), it seems it is some other action he learned about under Obama’s tenure. So is DOJ refusing to prosecute some clearly illegal action that happened under Obama?What If Yoda Were An Academic Advisor? "Down to General, you go." "STAT 231, you must confront STAT 231 again" "Political Science, heh, Geography, heh, a Mathie craves not these things." [Student]"I won't fail Graphics, I'm not afraid" [Yoda]"Oh, you will be, you will be." "Pass or do not, there is no bell." "Concurrency is the path to the dark side, Concurrency leads to OS, OS leads to Real-time, Real-time leads to Suffering." [Student] "MATH 135 is so much different from high school." [Yoda]"You must un-learn what you have learned" "He is too old, yes, too old to begin a Bachelors degree" "Yes, yes, to Shirley you must listen." [Student] "I only got 20 on Descartes" [Yoda] "That is why you fail." "Always two there are in a Masters program, a supervisor, and a grad student." "A Mathie`s strength flows from caffeine, but beware of the dark side, laziness, partying, procrastination, the dark side of the force they are." [Student] "Is the Faculty of Arts stronger?" [Yoda] "No, no, no, quicker, easier, more seductive." "Sterile!, Humid!, My office this is!" "Only a fully trained Mathie with the force as his ally will conquer the Professor and his Dean." "Do not underestimate the power of CS 134, or suffer Snuggles' fate you will." [Student]"I finally passed STAT 230" [Yoda] "There..is..another..STAT..course" "When 400 level you reach, look as good you will not, hmmmmm?" (From mathNews, Volume 90, Issue 2 October 4 2002.)Story highlights U.S. reducing embassy personnel because of security concerns, State Department official says President, prime minister, Cabinet resign, Yemeni officials say Minister says rebels still hold kidnapped presidential aide despite agreeing to free him Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) Yemen's President resigned Thursday night shortly after his prime minister and the Cabinet stepped down: seismic changes in the country's political scene that come just one day after the government and Houthi rebels struck a tentative peace deal meant to end days of turmoil. The resignations of Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and other officials are the latest fallout from the Houthis' move in recent days to gain power in the capital, which included kidnapping Hadi's chief of staff on Saturday and taking over the presidential palace on Tuesday. The chaos in Yemen is cause for concern far beyond the country's borders. For the United States and its allies, Yemen's government has been a key ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based group linked to attacks such as the recent slaughter at French magazine Charlie Hebdo. JUST WATCHED Why chaos in Yemen worries Western nations Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Why chaos in Yemen worries Western nations 02:39 The United States responded by reducing embassy personnel in the capital because of security concerns, a senior State Department official said Thursday night. "While the embassy remains open and is continuing to operate, we may continue to re-align resources based on the situation on the ground," the official said. The Cabinet and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah resigned before Hadi did on Thursday night, with Bahah telling Hadi in a letter that they essentially wanted to wash their hands of "destructive political chaos," an apparent reference to the deal that was to give Houthis more power.Necropolis is both a single player and multiplayer game focused on trying to survive long enough to escape the dark depths of a devious dungeon that changes itself after every death you suffer. Within this dungeon you’ll meet the Brazen Head, a callous god that doesn’t care whether you live or die to the dangerous monsters lurking around every corner. Brazen Head callousness might be due to the fact that you will be dying quite a bit in this game and every time you do you’ll have to start over from the very beginning of the game. This doesn’t mean that you are utterly helpless though. As you clear floor after floor in your attempt to escape, the Brazen Head will give you missions to complete. These missions could be anything from clear a certain amount of enemies per floor, to removing a specific type of enemy from the floor. As you complete these missions the Brazen Head will take pity on you and grant you a coin which you can use to learn magical attacks that you’ll be able to use in future playthroughs or outfits that will increase your survivability. Even though it seems unlikely that you’ll survive long enough to learn much magic, there are other methods of surviving the Necropolis. As you fight, many enemies will drop items such as pieces of cloth, or meat that you can use to craft interesting equipment or food from. In the demo I played I crafted meat from the flesh of my enemies, rotten meat that wasn’t fit for consumption, but it still managed to give me a chance to heal up and keep going. I can’t say that my mission to get to the bottom floor of the Necropolis was a success. After meeting the Brazen Head and getting a brief description of the controls I was sent on my way to a lower level, where massive monsters lurked. Having only a weak sword and shield at my disposal I tried hacking and slashing my way through the hoard of enemies. Sometimes I felt like I was just flailing about trying to get the sword to actually connect with the enemy, but I also didn’t realize that there was a targeting button. Some of the weaker enemies looked similar to the player character being smaller and having a more humanoid shape. These didn’t take long for me to take care of, but the larger the enemies did end up getting the best of me right as I started to understand the crafting mechanic. Not only did I not complete any of The Brazen Heads objectives, but he laughed at me during the loading screen for dying like a little wimp. I tried to take it on the demo again, this time in multiplayer mode to make sure that I at least had a chance to get to the second floor of the dungeon. Multiplayer plays very similarly to the single player experience as the overall objective remains the same. You’re trying to get to the bottom floor while helping your allies do the same. There are a few issues with this though as Brazen Head wouldn’t make it that easy on you. The first difficulty involves the fact that you can hurt your allies, so picking strong allies that know what they’re doing is key to getting lower and lower in the game. The other major difference is that you’ll be able to revive your allies when they fall in battle. For the smart players keeping an eye on enemies and allies will be tantamount to your own survival. With a better understanding of the game I set off for the second time down the floors of the Necropolis with the developers in tow. I managed to pick up some stronger equipment from the enemies we dispatched and I made sure to utilize the targeting system as to not hurt my fellow adventures. Brazen head gave us the order to clear the floor of a certain type of monster, and I was ready for it this time. Even though I died two times I was helped back up and the three of us continued towards our assured destruction. After several areas full of humanoid monsters, I had false sense of security feeling that I wouldn’t face anything stranger than this on the first floor. That was a big mistake. We got separated from each other due to our drive to explore and as soon as I was far enough out of reach strange shield like monsters with an ability to shoot fire appeared and made short work of my inexperience. My allies didn’t last long either as Brazen Head insulted us during the loading screen after our death. With my demo over I couldn’t help feel that it would take much longer for me to get used to the game. I still have an itch to go just one more round and beat at least 1 floor of that dungeon, just to get back my pride. Whether you play alone, or play with friends is up to you. It makes no difference to the Brazen Head. Working in groups has its clear advantages and disadvantages. Playing alone will allow you to pick each and every dropped item, while multiplayer will force you to share with your allies. You’ll be able to let loose in single player without having to worry about hurting your friends, but at the same time, when you die you’ll die. Make no mistake though, even with these advantages and disadvantages you will die, and you’ll die a lot. The weak will give up on this game thinking it’s too hard and stop trying while the stronger will prevail. This is the world of Necropolis. Your will to carry on is the key to your own personal survival. Supposedly this game will be coming out during the summer for PC/Mac, Playstation 4, and Xbox One. If you’re looking for something to do with your friends this game might be for you.[BREAKING NEWS] Dada Life’s Miami Dada Compound Shut Down Tonight Tritonal, Dada Life and Henry Fong were set to take to Mana Production Village as one of Dada Life’s signature style shows. Just as Tritonal’s set was ending, before Dada Life or Henry Fong could play, the show was shut down by fire marshals, with no reason yet made public. The show was an 18+ show, but as of now there are no reported cases of underage drinking, or any overdoses, so it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if this event was overcapacity. More details to follow. If you were in attendance, please contact alistair@thissongslaps.com via email, or leave details in the comments! UPDATE AS OF NOV 24 12:58am EST: Multiple sources have reached out to us, telling us that the event promoter has most likely oversold tickets for this event, and that the venue was over capacity. This lets us know that no blame should be put towards the Miami police, but instead that the venue was over capacity, and created a safety hazard. The venue’s floor plan for the room they were playing in was just under 2200, and we’ve been told by multiple fans that the crowd was well over this cap by hundreds. Before the fire marshal even arrived to the venue, a long line of people waited outside with their tickets in hand, complaining that they could not get in. UPDATE AS OF NOV 24 1:33am EST: After having talked with people that were backstage at the time, we have been informed that after the staff of the venue realized that the event may have been over capacity, they stopped letting people in. After this, the waiting crowd outside began trying to charge through the gates, at which point riot police took to the streets to try and disperse the angry and now violent crowd. It’s a shame that the police and the venue are being blamed here, as it seems as this may have stemmed from promoters putting the show, and the fans at risk by overselling the event. Apparently fire marshall locked the gates since it's pretty much chaos here in Dada Land. We have to let him know the rules of Dada! — Dada Life (@dadalife) November 24, 2013 Riot squad is here in Dada Land… They're shutting us down. It's out of our hands! So sad we can't play. We know you were born to rage! — Dada Life (@dadalife) November 24, 2013 As we’re reading from twitter, it seems as though the venue clearly hadn’t been briefed on the rules (or lack thereof) of the Dada, and the venue has been closed by the local fire marshal. Full riot police are out on the streets, and it seems like Miami is up for a long night ahead. Things got wild in Dada Land!! Miami police shut down the Compound as our set was ending, @dadalife fans are unreal!! — Tritonal (@Tritonal) November 24, 2013 UPDATE AS OF NOV 24 7:23pm EST: Earlier this afternoon, Dada Life announced that a full refund will be given to all ticket holders, and a new show date will be announced soon. Getting more details on what happened but 2 things will happen: 1) EVERYONE will be getting a refund. 2) we’ll be doing a make up show — Dada Life (@dadalife) November 24, 2013 TOP TRENDING MUSIC Comments commentsOr: Four Stats I Have Dug Up and Polished Before Deciding it Was Bedtime and They Would Have to Do For the Stats of the Year Out, vile stick: wicketkeepers were severely stumping-happy in 2015 © Getty Images Stats correct up to the start of the Hamilton Test STAT 1. In their recent tweak-aggravated demolition by India, South Africa were bowled out in less than 50 overs on three occasions - as many less-than-50-over skittlings as they had suffered away from home in the previous 83 years, in a total of 152 Tests. After being demolished at the MCG in February 1932 - bowled out for 36 and 45 in a total of 54.5 overs - the South Africans had been bowled out in fewer than 300 balls only at Lord's and Nottingham in 1960, and in Ahmedabad in November 1996. Then they went to India. And India saw them coming. In the space of five weeks of remorseless slow-bowling cross-examination on pitches that must have made Hedley Verity and Clarrie Grimmett contemplate comebacks from their long-occupied graves, the Proteas added Mohali, Nagpur and Delhi to that list. They lasted a comparatively heroically long-winded 59 overs in their one innings in Bangalore before the merciful rains denied them the opportunity to subside again. Furthermore, South Africa had not posted a sub-150 score in 33 Tests over four years, since November 2011. They failed to reach the 150 mark in four innings in the four Tests in India. Away from home, they had been bowled out for under 150 only once in 57 Tests since August 2003. Overall it has been a good year for collapse fans. In the 40 Tests played this year, teams have been bowled out for under 150 on 15 occasions, ranging in length from Australia's 111-ball, Ashes-surrendering, Broad-immortalising 60 all out at Trent Bridge, to South Africa's epically ineffective, Boycott-shaming 143.1-over 143 all out in Delhi. Seventeen times in 40 Tests has a team been dismissed in under 50 overs, the most in a year since 2005, and a rate of 2.35 Tests per sub-50-over blast-out. From 2000 to 2014, teams had been bowled out in under 300 balls once every 3.56 Tests. In all Tests played from 1920 to 1999, the rate was once every 7.05 Tests. Stat conclusions: a) Modern batsmen possess many skills that previous generations did not have. Disappearing down a collective plughole in an array of technically questionable shots is one of the less useful of those skills. b) There have been some silly pitches this year, and even sillier batting, and not just in the recent Indian triumph. c) Bring back Kallis. And Gary Kirsten. And Jackie McGlew. And Bruce Mitchell. Will there ever be a true South African grinder again? STAT 2. West Indies have completed a 21st consecutive year in which they have failed to win more Tests than they have lost. The last time West Indies had a "winning year" was 1994, with four wins and two losses. They had the same number of wins and losses in both 1995 and 1996, then 15 consecutive losing years from 1997 to 2011. Wins over Bangladesh helped them achieve results parity in 2012 and 2014, either side of a dismal 2013, when they were thoroughly clouted in India and New Zealand. In 21 consecutive years from 1976 to 1996, West Indies never lost more Tests than they won, and posted 17 winning years out of 19, up to and including 1994. Watching their "display" in Hobart, it was possible to conclude that some of the current side would have struggled to get in as spectators in the 1980s, let alone as players. A loss in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG would be West Indies' eighth Test defeat in 2015, equalling their record number of defeats in a year, set in 2004 and 2005. It would also make them only the second team in Test history to play 10 or more Tests in a year and lose at least 80% of them, after England in 1993 (played 10, lost eight). Stat conclusions: a) I really don't want to think about it. b) Cricket doesn't really want to think about it. c) Someone should really think about it. STAT 3: Test stumpings have occurred at their highest rate since 1956. If you like seeing bails whipped off by grinning wicketkeepers, this has been a fun year for you. There were 37 stumpings in the first 40 Tests of the year this year. With three Tests remaining (including the Hamilton Test now underway), that is already the second most stumpings in a year, behind the 41 sets of bails whipped off by glovemen in 2004 (in 51 Tests). Even if there are no more Test stumpings, and the current figure of 0.92 stumpings per Test drops to 0.86, it will remain the highest rate since 1956, when 16 batsmen were caught out of their ground in 15 Tests (although only two of Jim Laker's 46 Ashes wickets was a stumping). Before Hamilton, there had been one stumping every 338 overs of Test cricket this year, again the highest rate since 1956 regardless of whether or not there are any more such dismissals before the end of December. This decade as a whole has seen the highest rate of Test stumpings since the 1950s. Up to the end of the 1950s, 3.46% of all Test dismissals were stumpings. Since then, that figure has fallen to 1.61%, suggesting that as the world became more sexually liberated in the Swinging Sixties, batting became considerably more prim and less willing to be caught with its metaphorical trousers down. Hedley Verity: said to be contemplating a resurrection-induced comeback in the wake of the pitches for the recent India-South Africa series © Getty Images The least stumpedous decade was the 1980s, when there was on average only one stumping every two and a half Tests, or one every 808 overs, making stumping less than half as frequent as in the 1950s. Of the years in which more than five Tests have been played, the stumpiest was 1921 - 20 stumpings in 11 Tests, one every 178 overs, suggesting that, having survived the world's most devastating conflict, batsmen were not too fussed at the prospect of being stranded a yard or two down the wicket having a swing at a cricket ball. Perspective is a wonderful thing. Stat conclusions: a) Perhaps, T20 has made batsmen more willing to come down the pitch, but not necessarily better at it. b) There have been some silly pitches this year, and even sillier batting, and not just in the recent Indian triumph. c) I love stumpings. STAT 4: 2015 was, comfortably, the best year for ODI batsmen, with record scoring rates (5.51 per over), the highest collective batting average (31.40) (excluding 1974, when only six ODIs were played), the highest strike rate (87.1), and the most centuries (106, smashing the previous bests of 77 in 2013 and 79 in 2014). The 2013-2015 ODI fielding regulations unsurprisingly resulted in a deluge of run-scoring, such that even England, who began their ODI year apparently trying to bat their way back to the 1980s, found themselves scoring 400 without being unduly surprised or even slightly disappointed. There were six 400-plus scores in total this year; there had been only one between March 2010 and October 2014, and 11 in all ODIs played up to the end of last year. There have been a year-record ten individual scores of 150 or more. Those 106 centuries have been scored at a rate of one every 1.33 ODIs, comfortably a record, and down from 1.55 in 2014 and 1.77 in 2013. From 2000 to 2012, ODI hundreds were scored at one every 2.42 matches; up to 1999, it was one hundred per 3.24 games. Furthermore, in 2015 the conversion rate of ODI fifties into hundreds hit a record high of 24.8%. It was 21.5% in 2013 and 2014 combined; in the 2000-2012 period, it was 16.2%, and in the 20th century, it was 13.5%. Stat conclusions: a) It is easier to score hundreds when there aren't so many fielders on the boundary. And when the ball never gets more than 25 overs old. b) Modern batsmen possess many skills that previous generations did not have. c) If things keep progressing at this rate, by the year 2143, every single ODI innings will be a triple-century. Andy Zaltzman is a stand-up comedian, a regular on BBC Radio 4, and a writer © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.FARC Rebels, Colombian Government Sign Historic Peace Treaty Enlarge this image toggle caption Guillermo Legaria/AFP/Getty Images Guillermo Legaria/AFP/Getty Images Marxist rebels and the Colombian government met in Havana on Wednesday night to sign a historic peace accord, marking the end to a guerrilla war that has seethed for more than half a century. The brutal conflict has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions. Peace talks began in 2012 between the rebels (known as the FARC) and the government. A tentative outline for a deal was reached last year, and a cease-fire signed earlier this summer. After last-minute bargaining on the details, the final accord marked the end of the intense four-year negotiations. "The best way to win the war was to sit down and negotiate peace," Humberto de la Calle, the government's top representative at the talks, said. The next step is up to the Colombian people: President Juan Manuel Santos says he'll be holding a referendum on Oct. 2, with a yes-or-no vote on the agreement. "It's in your hands, of all Colombians, to decide with your vote to support this historic accord that puts an end to
your country's games are f------ terrible nowadays."This has to be one of the single strangest stories I've ever heard in the Porsche world. Allegedly, this Porsche was purchased by the current owner (his name is Jay) in 1984, and the car was already a bodge-job of some wacky elements. It had wide RSR-esque fenders, some weird tack on rocker panel covers, a ducktail engine lid, and some IROC bumpers on a short wheelbase Porsche. Not to mention, the drivetrain had been dropped at some point, and the original 2-liter power plant was replaced by a CIS-fueled 2.7 liter engine and a 915 gearbox out of a 1974 911. It had a roll bar, and there was plenty of evidence that the car had been raced at one point. Back in 1984, Jay was just a casual enthusiast who picked up a second job in order to afford a really cool Porsche to drive. In his words, "back then I beat [the car] like it owed me money". After driving it for quite a while, the Porsche was parked and he shuffled it around in storage for a couple of decades. It had sentimental value, I'm sure. Older, perhaps wiser, and with the recent surge in interest in early 911s, Jay thought it was about time to drag his out of storage and give it a thorough going over. That was when the discoveries began. Being a short-wheelbase 911, that already limits it to a four-year production window in the mid-to-late 1960s. The weirdness began when Jay started to notice odd pieces of the car that didn't jibe with other 911s he'd seen. The chrome exterior door handles had a unique shape. The front horn grilles were held on with four screws instead of just two. The window frames used two screws at a joint instead of three. Most tellingly, the engine lid closing panel was missing the six little indents that indicate engine information decal placement (depicted in the blurry photo below). After doing a little digging, Jay seems to have found out that his Porsche is a very early build number. Chassis number 300 005, in actuality. If you look at this Porsche's internal build sheet excerpt (below) from the very earliest of 911 production, you'll see just what we're talking about. I've cropped the page to include the information about only the first 6 cars. #005 is the final car shown, and has a build date of September 21, 1964. It's been said in a number of places that "production" didn't officially begin until November of 1964, so it is possible that these would be considered "vorserie" pre-production cars. 005 and 004 were built on the same day, so it's difficult to say if 005 would be the 5th or 6th car completed. Either way, 007, 003, 001, 002, and 004 are nowhere to be found and completely unaccounted for, making 005 the earliest production (or pre-production) 911 out there. There are, of course, two 1963 911 prototypes still out there that are older; Chassis 13327 known as Barbarossa, and Chassis 13360 the proto-cabriolet. We've reached out to Jay for further comment, and he has gotten back to us. Obviously there is a lot of data to process and stories to review, but we'll be sure to update you with what we can as soon as we have it. Personally, I'm hopeful that this will all play out in future posts and a complete restoration build is carried out on the car. Even Porsche doesn't own a car this old, and a piece of history like this deserves to be returned to its former glory. [Photos taken by Jay via the Early911SRegistry.org forum]There was a fairly wide and suspicious gap between our final match of the Premier League season (May 24) and subsequent trophy parade (May 25), and the post-season friendly in Sydney (June 2). I say 'was,' because it appears, according to local sources, that we've filled this gap with another post-season friendly. Chelsea to play a friendly with Thailand all stars on May 30: Newly Crowned Premier League champion Chelsea is... http://t.co/ETwC9jYQVj — The Nation Thailand (@nationnews) May 6, 2015 I had been expecting a game in Japan instead of Thailand, but Chelsea got a very nice reception last time we played in Bangkok — the 2nd home of Chelsea FC, as the banner reads — and it should be no different this time either. That game in July 2013 marked the return of Jose Mourinho to the Chelsea dugout, and we were also introduced to the promise that is Bertrand Traoré. That we "only" won 1-0 (Romelu Lukaku scored from the penalty spot) in the sticky heat hardly mattered then, and it certainly does not matter now. Rejoice, Chelsea fans in Thailand! UPDATE: Now confirmed, officially, by Chelsea.The UC Board of Regents convened Wednesday in Sacramento to discuss updates to the 2016-17 state budget caused by growth in enrollment and extended retirement benefits for UC employees. Before discussion began on the budget, UC President Janet Napolitano announced a three-year commitment of $8.4 million per year for systemwide undocumented student support. Of this annual fund, $5 million will go toward the university’s DREAM Loan Program, $2.5 million will go toward student services and $900,000 will go toward legal services. Incoming ASUC senator and campus undocumented student Benyamin Mohd Yusof expressed appreciation toward this initiative and said it would greatly aid the development of undocumented student resources throughout the UC system. Yusof added, however, that he was concerned about the allocation of $5 million to the DREAM Loan Program. According to Yusof, many undocumented students are not guaranteed the resources to pay back loans after graduating because of the uncertainty surrounding the employment of undocumented youth. “I think it’s really essential for the university to prioritize financial resources through grants, rather than loans,” Yusof said. Updates on the 2016-17 state budget were presented to the regents by Debora Obley, the university’s associate vice president for budget analysis and planning. The university has met conditions for the release of $96 million in state funding to cover unfunded liabilities in the new UC retirement plan, as well as $25 million in funding to facilitate enrollment growth, according to Obley. At the meeting, Obley announced a new proposal from Assemblymember Kevin McCarty that emerged during Tuesday’s state assembly budget subcommittee hearing. McCarty’s plan calls for an enrollment increase of 30,000 undergraduates over six years, as well as for an enrollment decrease of 1,700 nonresident undergraduates for each year. Additionally, the proposal appropriates $3 million toward the establishment of an office to oversee university budget. Obley emphasized the university’s opposition to this proposal and said she would collaborate with McCarty in the next few weeks to express university concerns. State Legislature will meet by June 15 to adopt a final version of the budget, after which it will go to Gov. Jerry Brown to sign by June 30, Obley said. Regent Eloy Oakley said he was glad that the state was considering enrollment growth from a serious perspective. Regent John Perez, however, said the proposal represented a strong stance from the budget subcommittee on tension and distrust between the state and university. “We have really less than three weeks to get from the position of talking past each other to getting some resolution here,” Perez said. At the meeting, the regents also heard a breakdown of the 2015 accountability subreport on UC diversity and preliminarily approved the establishment of a policy to enhance student-athlete welfare. The regents will reconvene Thursday to discuss a board governance restructure, among other items. Harini Shyamsundar is the lead higher education reporter. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @hshyamsundar.Monday was a surreal day to be a follower of the White Sox. Come SoxFest time, a panel memorializing the 2005 World Series winners seems like a mandate, and if anything, recent Sox history is challenged to provide anything as relevant as their now 11-year-old triumph. But on Monday, every paranoid suspicion about the Sox’ national irrelevance got enough validation to power us for decades. Wrigley Field is prepping this morning for an event Chicago hasn’t seen in 71 years: the World Series. pic.twitter.com/MordBAiILj — CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) October 24, 2016 CBS tweeted a clarification a full three hours later, perhaps only to give weight to the idea that Twitter accounts for large, national programs really are manned by the mythical underpaid social media intern. But at least they can claim unfamiliarity with the topic. ESPN was still doing this by the end of the night. Optimistically, the basic sin is that the Sox could simply never hope to compare to the notoriety of the Cubs’ World Series drought, and the 2005 series has simply fallen victim to everyone’s rush to communicate the enormity of this moment in the most extreme terms. Those who have decided to commit to memory the graphics that FOX aired during the ’05 series will recall they had to put up notices to remind viewers the Sox had a World Series drought of their own, albeit one still not as long as the Cubs. All of these stories are essentially trying to report on that drought, because it’s simply the most notable of its kind in sports. For another week or so, the Sox and their fans can still be glad that this is not them. Less optimistically, this is just a reiteration of what we already know. The Sox have almost nothing in the way of a national footprint. A combination of lack of sustained success, their own self-isolating moves, the fact that baseball teams transcending their local markets are rare, and they just so happen to share a city with one that has, means the first Chicago baseball association is with the Cubs, and the casual out-of-towner — or morning news producer — might not go beyond that. It’s frustrating but also fitting for the isolated, South Side identity the Sox have made for themselves, and I can’t imagine any Sox fan furiously filling Twitter mentions of ESPN would never have imagined previously that they would need to remind others of 2005. Finally, while the 2005 World Series was exciting, while it had signature moments and represented the career peaks of relevant baseball figures such as Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, even Jose Contreras, and probably put Juan Uribe on the national stage for the first time, it was kind of there and gone. The White Sox quietly went from irrelevant to dominant overnight, and before the baseball world could get used to knowing their names, they were a third place team in 2006, and then a doormat the year after. While the Sox had their standouts, they were more without flaws than they were powered by stars. The roster’s only Hall of Famer, Frank Thomas, watched from the bench with a broken foot. Maybe if the Astros had won, it would have served as the career culmination for Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte (who both had separate championship legacies already), but instead they all had forgettable series, and being dependent on such a veteran-laden roster lent itself to a 10-year playoff absence. A year or two later, remembering the 2005 series was pretty non-essential for understanding the baseball world, and given the forces of anonymity the Sox were already fighting, a hard-fought but swift steamrolling of the 89-win NL Wild Card team was not the magic bullet for long-term relevance for which we might have hoped. Might have. Striving to see the Sox grab the biggest share of the spotlight all the time must feel like a losing battle, pushing for something that is never meant to be. While the franchise cannot be absolved of their hand in what has made them easier to ignore, national acknowledgement has never been the appropriate lens through which to judge and appreciate them. Closing on 30 years of watching, the Sox being a South Side secret has been a much a part of their identity for so long that it feels sort of right, even if it means outsiders will always get them wrong. Lead Image Credit: Adam Hunger // USA Today Sports ImagesFRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) {}A mother and her 6-year-old son are now recovering in a hospital after a fire ripped through their Fresno apartment early Tuesday morning. It happened just before 3 a.m. on Cedar, just south of Bullard Avenue. Fresno firefighters say the mother and son were able to get out through a back window, but they were taken to a hospital after breathing in some of the smoke. KMPH photojournalist Ryan Hudgins was at the scene when he was approached by Robert Wright, a resident at the apartment complex. Wright says he was barbecuing ribs at the time when he saw the fire next door. "I got my kids first and then I thought about my ribs and I didn't want to let my ribs burn," said Wright. KMPH posted the video of Wright on YouTube Tuesday and it had more than 88,000 views 24 hours later.Ridiculously Photogenic Guy has a name: Zeddie Little. The 25-year-old Charleston, S.C., native and current New York City resident achieved fame earlier this week when a meme featuring his likeness made the rounds on the Internet. According to the Charleston City Paper, the photo was taken by Will King, a computer programmer at the Medical University of South Carolina while Little was running a 10K race called the Cooper River Bridge Run in South Carolina. After uploading the photo to Facebook, King's friend left a comment dubbing Little "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy," according to the Charleston City Paper. The name stuck. The rest is meme history. In other meme news, the college student — whose 2007 photo of himself as a freshman catapulted into meme territory last year — made an unexpected and triumphant return to web stardom as a senior this February. Successful College Senior Meme Image courtesy of LiveMeme.comPin +1 0 Shares Some women, though not many, have reported that they can achieve an orgasm simply by having their breasts and nipples stimulated.1 The idea of a woman experiencing orgasm without any genital touching whatsoever might seem perplexing, but new research suggests that there is actually a sound biological basis for it.2 The goal of this study was to see what areas of the brain are active in response to stimulation of different parts of the female body. Female participants were asked to lie inside an fMRI machine and alternate between stimulating the clitoris, vagina, cervix, and nipple. An experimenter instructed the women to “comfortably” stimulate one of those body parts for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds before repeating the process with a different part of the body. All participants were asked to simulate themselves in the exact same way to keep the results as constant as possible (e.g., when it came to nipple stimulation, women were asked to use their right hand to “tap the left nipple rhythmically”). The researchers discovered that stimulation of the nipple activated an area of the brain known as the genital sensory cortex. This is the same brain region activated by stimulation of the clitoris, vagina, and cervix. What this means is that women’s brains seem to process nipple and genital stimulation in the same way. In light of this, it is not at all surprising that many women are aroused by having their nipples touched and that, for some, this may be enough to lead to orgasm. If I may offer one note of caution, please keep in mind that when it comes to nipple stimulation, there is good touching and bad touching. The nipple can be a highly sensitive part of the body, which means that more aggressive handling (e.g., twisting) can actually be quite unpleasant. As always, it’s best to communicate with your partner about what is and is not pleasurable. On a side note, the researchers responsible for this fMRI study recently produced a video of what a complete orgasm looks like inside the female brain (see here). As you can see in the video, the orgasmic experience depends upon a complex interplay of multiple regions of the brain (a “symphony” of activity, if you will). Understanding all of these connections could help us to one day understand why some women seem to have more difficultly achieving orgasm than others. For our other articles on female orgasm, see here and here. Interested in learning more about relationships? Click here for other topics on our site. Like us on Facebook to get our articles delivered directly to your NewsFeed. 1Levin, R. J. (2006). The breast/nipple/areola complex and human sexuality. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 21, 237-249. 2Komisaruk, B. R., Wise, N., Frangos, E., Liu, W. C., Allen, K., & Brody, S. (2011). Women’s clitoris, vagina, and cervix mapped on the sensory cortex: fMRI evidence. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8, 2822-2830. Dr. Justin Lehmiller – Science of Relationships articles \| Website/CV Dr. Lehmiller’s research program focuses on how secrecy and stigmatization impact relationship quality and physical and psychological health. He also conducts research on commitment, sexuality, and safer-sex practices.Beano for Cows Reduces Greenhouse Burps Let’s get this out of the way first: Cow burps are a real problem. To get enough nutrition from the plants they survive on, the livestock have evolved a four-compartment stomach that acts as a bioreactor. When a cow eats grass or hay, billions of microbes living in the big, complex organ get to work digesting the partially chewed plants. Through this process of fermentation, otherwise indigestible roughage is broken down into nourishing food for the animal. But other byproducts of fermentation are methane and carbon dioxide, two gases known to contribute to global warming. The collective belching of all the world’s 1.43 billion beef and dairy cows contributes a significant amount of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. Livestock, for instance, produce around 25 percent of all methane emissions that come from human activities in the U.S. And the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that ruminant livestock digestion produces the equivalent of almost 2.5 billion metric tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide every year. Now researchers say they are working on an antigas inhibitor that can be put in cow feed to significantly reduce climate-changing burps. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University and Dutch life and materials sciences company DSM have found that an enzyme inhibitor called 3-nitrooxypropanol reduced methane emissions in cows by 30 percent. Learn more below. Photo: Dairy cow feeding at Shelburne Farms, Vermont. Photo copyright Michael Keller. They tested their powdered compound supplement on 48 Holstein dairy cows, and it continued to reduce methane formation over the course of 12 weeks. In an additional beneficial side effect, the energy that is normally lost in the ejected gas was used instead by the animal to build mass and produce milk. The inhibitor “decreased methane emissions from high-producing dairy cows by 30 percent and increased body weight gain without negatively affecting feed intake or milk production and composition,” write the study authors in the journal PNAS. “If adopted, this mitigation practice could lead to a substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the ruminant livestock sector.” Study coauthor Alexander Hristov told the Washington Post that 3-nitrooxypropanol appears to work by blocking a step in the metabolic process that produces methane from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. In the study, the group writes that the inhibitor stops the enzymatic process leading to methane formation inside rumen bacteria and archaea. While the work is promising, scientists not involved in it say more studies need to be done before 3-nitrooxypropanol can be deployed throughout the livestock industry. Ermias Kebreab, a professor at the University of California, Davis, who studies agricultural greenhouse gas emissions told the Post, “I think it has a real potential to reduce enteric methane emissions. However, before it can be recommended for wide use, the mode of action should be explained well and the long term impact on the animal should be studied.” Photo copyright Michael Keller.Pryor acknowledges that the president 'doesn’t connect well' with Arkansans. Lone Arkansas Democrat hangs on ROGERS, Ark. — Sen. Mark Pryor might be the most vulnerable Democrat running for reelection in 2014, but he doesn’t think the “D” by his name stands for “death knell.” Now that’s being bullish. Story Continued Below Since Pryor skated to reelection to his second term in 2008, he’s watched the political landscape here rapidly slide to the right: His Democratic colleague, Blanche Lincoln, was trounced in the 2010 midterms; Republicans in 2012 took over the state Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction; and he’s now, suddenly, the lone Democrat in Arkansas’ increasingly conservative congressional delegation. The Democratic giants who once ruled the state — Bill Clinton, Dale Bumpers and his father, David Pryor — seem like relics. ( PHOTOS: Senators up for election in 2014) And antipathy toward President Barack Obama — and Obamacare — is running extraordinarily high. All the while, Pryor shrugs it off: “The Democratic Party, it’s not dead like some people think it is.” Democrats are nervous about his chances as a resurgent Arkansas Republican Party unites behind a conservative upstart, freshman Rep. Tom Cotton, throwing the race into a dead heat. It’s a reality that not only threatens Pryor’s family political dynasty, the fragile Democratic Senate majority, but also shows the larger challenge faced by moderate Democratic candidates in the South. In a wide-ranging series of interviews as he traveled through Northwest Arkansas, a GOP stronghold in this conservative state, Pryor argued that his path to victory rests on making the case that he’s not a party line Obama loyalist, but the kind of conservative Democrat that has long thrived in Arkansas, even as the breed disappeared across the South. ( PHOTOS: 12 Democratic underdogs who could be the 2016 nominee) But that Arkansas tradition changed when Obama entered the Oval Office in 2009. Critics here cite the president’s failure to visit the state since taking office; his defeat of former Arkansas first lady Hillary Clinton in the bitter 2008 primary; and the president’s liberal social and domestic policy leanings, which have even prompted a spate of local Democratic officeholders to switch to the GOP. Indeed, Obama’s presence in the White House could very well be the biggest hurdle Pryor has to clear to win a third term, replicating obstacles red state Democrats face in Senate races in Louisiana, Alaska and Kentucky and imperiling the 55-45 majority the party expects to hold next year. The mild-mannered Arkansas Democrat is projecting himself as an independent voice and a bipartisan consensus-builder — despite voting for Obamacare, the economic stimulus package and other controversial elements of the president’s domestic agenda. Asked if he approved or disapproved of the president’s performance in office, Pryor took a long pause and said, “I would say, ‘Is there another option there?’” But Pryor acknowledges that Obama “doesn’t connect well” with Arkansans. “I think that President Obama has in some ways what you would think of as a hard-left agenda in various ways, and that agenda is not popular in our state,” Pryor said, riding in the backseat of an aide’s pickup. “And a lot of that agenda I don’t support.” But Pryor is not backing away from areas of the president’s agenda that he does support, even as polls show the senator’s support takes a hit once voters know he backs Obamacare. “It has been a success,” Pryor says of Obamacare, citing a number of health insurance reforms and other benefits taking effect. “Probably we did get 80 percent [right], we have to go in and work on the 20 percent.” In the interviews, Pryor pushed back on attacks from the left over his opposition to tightening background checks on gun sales, listing the dozen or so firearms he owns, and he said he’s returned to New York for fundraising despite Michael Bloomberg’s threats to dry up his money. And the evangelical Christian opened up about his religious faith and his views on evolution — as well as his survival of a deadly form of cancer two decades ago that nearly led to his left leg being amputated. “Only like one in 40 million people get it,” Pryor said of the clear-cell sarcoma he suffered at the age of 33. “I feel like I won the lottery.” Despite the GOP gains here, Pryor views them as a short-term blip in the Razorback State: He sees a resurgence of the Democratic brand, starting with the 2014 governor’s race behind Democratic candidate Mike Ross; state House elections where the party has a chance of taking back the chamber; the possibility of Democrats picking up one or two U.S. House seats; and the prospects of a Hillary Clinton 2016 bid putting the state back into play on the presidential level. And, naturally, he’s optimistic about his own chances next year. “Our state just doesn’t fit the national paradigm,” Pryor said. “It’s stubbornly independent.” To win another six years in the Capitol, the low-key and amiable Pryor is trying to sell himself as a man willing to work with the other party at a time of political paralysis in Washington, something he says would only worsen with the election of a hard-line conservative and bomb-thrower like Cotton. “What has [Cotton] done to earn a promotion, if you will, to the Senate? Has he passed a bill? I don’t know of anything that he’s passed,” Pryor said, listing off a series of compromise bills that Cotton has opposed, including the farm bill, the Violence Against Women Act and a student loan deal. “You know me, you look at my record, I’ve passed dozens and dozens of bills in gridlock city.” Driving past an airport in Conway, Ark., where the runway and freeway nearly collide, Pryor boasts he worked with the administration to help the city rapidly relocate its airport because of safety concerns. Such a task, he said, Cotton wouldn’t be “capable” of replicating because he “refuses” to work with the administration or try to earmark federal dollars as Pryor has. Speaking to voters at a Rotary Club lunch here in Rogers, within spitting distance of Wal-Mart headquarters, Pryor takes a subtle jab at Cotton, saying “almost everybody” in the congressional delegation has agreed that separating out food stamp provisions from a larger farm bill would make it “unpassable.” Cotton was the lone member of the delegation to vote against the broader farm bill, an issue that has the agriculture industry here fearful will go unresolved before a critical deadline this fall. The 36-year-old House freshman was on official travel in Israel last week and unavailable for an interview, Cotton aides said. Justin Brasell, Cotton’s campaign manager, called Pryor’s deciding vote for Obamacare “strident and extreme,” and rejected the senator’s contention that the first-term congressman wouldn’t be capable of dealing with constituent needs. “It is the height of arrogance and a little desperate for Mark Pryor to suggest that a man who voluntarily put his life on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan to defend our freedom hasn’t served enough to dare run against him,” Brasell said. “Does he really want to compare their records?”Gunfire from Israeli forces has killed a Palestinian boy in the besieged Gaza Strip, local medics have said, during border clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters. The Popular Resistance Committees said its fighters had confronted an Israeli force of four tanks and a bulldozer involved in a short-range incursion beyond Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip. "Terrorists opened fire at IDF soldiers while they were performing routine activity adjacent to the security fence," an Israeli military spokeswoman said in Jerusalem. An Israeli military official said the soldiers responded by firing at "suspicious locations". Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for Gaza's health ministry, said the boy had been killed near the border. "Thirteen-year-old Hmeid Yunes Abu Daqqa was killed by bullets fired from an Israeli helicopter during an incursion in Abasan and Al-Qarara," he said, referring to two neighbourhoods east of Khan Yunis. Witnesses confirmed that Israeli helicopters had opened fire as Israeli tanks carried out an incursion east of the city. Palestinian gunmen fired mortar shells at the tanks, sparking a brief exchange of fire, they said. The incident broke nearly two weeks of a lull in violence between Gaza gunmen and Israeli forces since the last wave of fighting that killed several fighters, mostly from Hamas.Californians Kamala Harris and Eric Garcetti could benefit greatly from a much earlier Golden State primary, but so could anyone with a lot of money and name ID. Yes, it’s far too early to speculate with any accuracy about the 2020 presidential election. But one very large shoe may be about to drop, which could have a significant impact on the nomination contest among Democrats and perhaps even Republicans. California is likely this very week to move its primary election in 2020 and beyond from early June until early March. That would place the state’s giant delegate haul in line to be awarded immediately after the “protected” four early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. Immediately there was talk that the move (engineered by California’s Democratic legislative supermajority) was designed to help California’s junior senator Kamala Harris. But Harris isn’t the only Californian thinking about a 2020 run: there’s Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and billionaire climate-change activist Tom Steyer, too. And for that matter, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is a California native. Favorite daughters and sons aside, an early California primary would help candidates who either have vast resources or very strong prior name identification. The aging Big Three of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren would all qualify as beneficiaries on those grounds. Contrarians will note that California tried the same stunt in 2008 and wound up being carried by Hillary Clinton rather than ultimate nominee Barack Obama. Perhaps more significantly, California’s 2008 move pulled many other states to emulate it, creating a front-loading phenomenon that diluted the Golden State’s specific clout. The change would affect the Republican as well as the Democratic presidential primary in 2020, which could spell trouble for any potential challenger to Donald Trump. The president is not very popular in California generally, but has a strong following among Republicans, and under current party rules, the GOP presidential primary in California is closed to independents. The bill, likely to become law in California, applies to down-ballot races as well as presidential primaries, but does not become effective until 2019, so it will not affect next year’s midterms. But all things being equal, it will probably help prevent a huge 2020 presidential field, particularly among potential candidates who would normally plan on a gradual ascent through retail campaigning in small and relatively inexpensive states.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email A beachcomber who thought he had found a huge lump of ambergris - an expensive perfume additive which comes from whale vomit - has been told his find is worthless. Andrew Hughes came across the unusual yellow and black lump while searching for fishing bait on the Anglesey coastline in North Wales earlier this month. He was convinced it was ambergris - a rare substance expelled by whales from their gut and which he claimed could be worth tens of thousands of US dollars a kilo. It was originally prized by perfumiers because, although it smells horrible at first, it acquires a sweet, earthy scent as it ages. But now Dr Vera Thoss, an expert at Bangor University, has told Mr Hughes that what he found was "basically a lump of rubber". Although unable to say exactly what the substance was, Dr Thoss said it was probably a latex or runny rubber, which showed characteristics of being burned - possibly on a ship which caught fire. Mr Hughes, who found the substance while looking for fishing bait with a friend at Porth Dafarch, near Trearddur Bay, earlier this month is not overly disappointed. He laughed: "We weren't getting our hopes too high anyway because we're down to earth." Internet reports at the time of the find claimed it was an essential perfume additive but experts say perfumiers now prefer to use synthetic substances for their products instead.Ted S. Warren / AP To produce the words for text or speech, British physicist Stephen Hawking currently uses an infrared sensor mounted on his eyeglasses, visible here during an appearance this month in Seattle. The sensor picks up twitches from his cheek, which are translated into the desired letters or words. Hawking and neuroscientist Philip Low are experimenting with a system that can translate brain waves directly into text and speech. After months of tweaking, researchers are finally ready to show off a high-tech headband that can translate Stephen Hawking's brain waves into speech — providing what could eventually become an easier avenue for the paralyzed British physicist and many others to share their deep thoughts. The system, developed by San Diego-based NeuroVigil and known as iBrain, uses a head-mounted receiver the size of a matchbox to pick up different types of brain waves. iBrain employs a computer algorithm called SPEARS to analyze the brain emanations and encode them for a text-based speech reader. Philip Low, NeuroVigil's founder, chairman and CEO, is to present the latest results from his work with Hawking on July 7 at a Cambridge conference on consciousness. "I haven't discussed doing a demonstration with Stephen, but we could do that, of course," Low told me today. During the conference, Low will be showing video clips of Hawking using the iBrain to communicate. For decades, Hawking has been coping with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative nerve disease that has left the theoretical physicist confined to a wheelchair and unable to move even his fingers. To write or speak, he currently uses an infrared sensor system mounted on his eyeglasses: His cheek twitches are read by the sensor to control a wheelchair-mounted computer system that slowly encodes the patterns of those twitches. It can take a half-hour for Hawking to twitch out a couple of sentences in response to a question. In an abstract prepared for next month's presentation, Low and Hawking describe how they worked out their technique for the iBrain system. Hawking (who is described as a "high-functioning 70-year-old ALS patient" in the abstract) was told to try moving one of his hands or feet — for example, flexing his foot or scrunching his hand into a ball. The limbs didn't move, of course, but just thinking about trying to move them generated readable brain-wave patterns. "The subject's brain activity demonstrated distinct broad-spectrum pulses extending to the gamma and ultra-high gamma ranges," the researchers wrote. "Such pulses were present in the absence of actual movement, and absent when the subject was not attempting motion." The abstract said Hawking's brain also buzzed with alpha brain waves when he closed his eyes, as expected. Alpha waves are associated with wakeful relaxation, and are probably familiar to anyone who's undergone biofeedback training. Gamma waves, in contrast, are associated with increased attention — and in the past have been linked to activities ranging from running to learning. Lots of possibilities The fact that Hawking's brain signals could be read reliably is a good sign, not only for one of the world's best-known scientists but for hundreds of thousands of others around the world. Low and Hawking say their work "opens the possibility to link intended movements to a library of words and convert them into speech, thus providing ALS sufferers with communication tools more dependent on the brain than on the body." Low told me that the brainwave-reading device could be used to control prosthetic devices "to give ALS sufferers mobility" — sort of like a real-life version of the Stephen Hawking robotic exoskeleton proposed in an Onion parody 15 years ago. The iBrain device could have other applications, such as diagnosing sleep apnea, studying autism and monitoring other brain conditions. It's already been used in a clinical trial to monitor the effects of experimental drugs on brain activity. The U.S. military is also looking into how the device can help treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, which are big issues for combat veterans. Direct brain-to-speech communication, however, represents the highest-profile application, particularly when Stephen Hawking is involved. "We'd like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain," The Telegraph quoted Low as saying. The key question for Hawking is whether iBrain represents an improvement over the system he currently has. Back in April, the professor told The New York Times that the project hadn't quite reached that point. "At the moment I think my cheek switch is faster... but should the position change I will try Philip Low's system," he wrote in an email sent by an assistant. In that quote, Low said Hawking was talking about brain-computer interfaces in general, rather than specifically about iBrain. "What we are seeing is in fact an immediate response, so the question is going to be to productize this, so that he can communicate reliably should he lose control of his cheek muscles," he said. TEDMED via YouTube Neuroscientist Philip Low (at right) demonstrates how the iBrain device can send brain-wave readings to a cellphone with an subject who's wearing the headband (at left) during a TEDMED 2009 presentation. Click on the image to watch the YouTube clip. Personal quest Low said the iBrain project was already moving on to Version 2.0, and the iBrain 3 device is due to be built next year. "That will be about the size of a U.S. quarter," he told me. "People will be able to check their brain activity much like you or I can check our blood pressure." The 32-year-old, Vienna-born researcher's company has come a long way since its founding, which Low says he initially financed by putting $240,000 on his credit card. Someday, he hopes brain-monitoring systems will be used to pick up the signs of neurological problems early enough to do something about them. For Low, this is not just business. It's personal. "I would have loved to see this 20 years ago, when my father suffered from a side effect of a commonly used
restrained enough to never cross over into Ballistic Kiss territory. Proceedings get complicated though when the latest town he’s in gets attacked by rebels, which plays out onscreen as a frantically shot city siege, providing the first of many bombastically lengthy set pieces. Jing attempts to navigate a group of civilians through the besieged streets amongst gunfire, RPG’s, and murderous attackers, in a thrilling sequence that’s right up there with the type of combat on display in the likes of Black Hawk Down. Of course though, this is Asian action cinema, so there are some entertainingly OTT moments, such as Jing stopping an RPG mid-flight with just his bare hands and some wire mesh. A close quarters combat scene that takes place in the confines of a grocery store also gives a strong indication that, if ever a Wolf Warrior vs John Wick crossover movie were to be announced, I’d be first in line to see it. What’s perhaps most refreshing about the action scenes though, is that the vast majority of them are performed with practical effects. While it’s true to say that CGI blood and the occasional CGI explosion both rear their ugly heads more than once, all in all it’s fair to say they’re kept to a minimum. The sequel also learns its lesson in regards to the gunplay. While Jing’s intentions with the Wolf Warrior series are clear, in terms of them being heroic tales of the Chinese military, his calibre as a martial artist was disappointingly cast to one side in the original and barely utilised. Wolf Warrior 2 rectifies this, while still realistically acknowledging that the threat of a gunshot is always present, allowing Jing to get into various brief but intense hand-to-hand showdowns. His fights against both Moneymaker and Toney are suitably brutal, and special mention should go to the casting of former WWE star Oleg Prudius. Known in WWE under the name of Vladamir Kozlov, Prudius is a man mountain whose presence is handled much more effectively than the similarly built Jiang Bao-Cheng, who Jing utilised in his directorial debut, Legendary Assassin. For those who balked at the rather awkward use of wires during the fights in both Legendary Assassin and Wolf Warrior, here they’ve also been done away with, which sees a much welcome grounded approach to the fisticuffs that take place. It’s a wise decision by action directors Hargrave and Jack Wong, who most recently worked on Operation Mekong, and brings a distinctly different flavour to the action than Jing’s frequent collaborator Nicky Li. When the Chinese military decide to evacuate the city, Jing ultimately decides to stay behind to rescue a group of Chinese medical staff, holed up in a hospital several kilometres away. The hospital is home to a doctor played by Celina Jade, whose acting career was kicked off thanks to Jing casting her in Legendary Assassin, and another former military man played by Wu Gang. Jing’s arrival at the hospital is the real indicator that the action is only going to get more and more ludicrous from here on in, and that’s not a detriment. Despite it being physically impossible based on the architecture of the building, Jing makes his entrance into the hospital by driving his jeep through the second floor, in an automotive display that wouldn’t look out of place in a Fast and Furious movie. Gravity be damned. While Wolf Warrior 2 is clearly all about the action, it’s worth mentioning that for the most part, the African cast are given respectful roles that steer clear of racial stereotypes. If a similar movie was made in Hong Kong during the 80’s or 90’s, there’s little doubt that it would have been a completely different story. Jing himself has also improved as an actor, and his chemistry with both Celina Jade and Wu Gang is effective despite the simplistic script (one line has him declare “Once a Wolf Warrior, always a Wolf Warrior”). The only weak link is the casting of Mainland singer Hans Zhang Han, playing another member of the military holed up in the hospital, who likely appears only to appeal to his fan-base demographic. Speaking of the script, it’s a relief to hear that the overly nationalistic tones from the original have been dialled back considerably for the sequel. It still feels like the word ‘Chinese’ is spoken in almost every other line (and I think it could be), but it’s nowhere near as prelevant as the frequently threatening tone that Wolf Warrior took on. Here it’s more entertaining than anything else, as you have such lines as “Dr Chen is at the St Francis Chinese invested hospital.” Was it really necessary to include the words ‘Chinese invested’? Of course not, but it does make it kind of funny. It’s ironic then that the closing scene of Wolf Warrior 2 contains a literal example of Chinese flag waving, although to Jing’s credit, there’s a context for why it’s there, making it a smart but sly example of a clip that will no doubt help to bring in the Chinese audience. Thankfully the promise of a Wu Jing vs Frank Grillo fight isn’t broken, and for those checking in for their confrontation, they’ll definitely be rewarded more than those that checked in for Adkins appearance in the original. It’s a 4 minute knock down drag out affair, that initially has them going at each other while air strikes rain down all around them, providing a visually striking backdrop. It also gets surprisingly bloody, and while some may complain about the quick editing, overall it doesn’t detract from the fight, still allowing the flow to be appreciated. Grillo’s character is thin at best, with no backstory other than he’s an evil mercenary (who at one point is also hinted at liking kids), however he brings an undeniably menacing presence, and proves to be a worthy foe. In many ways it feels like the review I’m writing for Wolf Warrior 2 is the one that I wanted to write for Wolf Warrior, and while it’s still far from perfect, it delivers where it counts. There’s no need to question if a third one is on the way, as a slightly bewildering post-credits sequence (that’s clearly indicative of Jing still not being a fully rounded director) ends with Wolf Warrior 3 being splattered across the screen. Regardless of the sequences confusing nature, it does its part in preventing the final shot from being of a Chinese passport (you’ll understand once watched). While 2 years ago I grimaced at the prospect of a sequel, Jing has proven with his latest directorial effort that the third time really is a charm, so if we’re going to go for another round of Wolf Warrior action, count me in. Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10This post is primarily about how I was able to remove the rust in my tank with almost no work. I was planning on coating the inside of the tank with an epoxy fro Caswell Plating, and I still might, but since I was able to get ALL the rust out of the tank, I figure I might as well see if it comes back with normal use before I get around to sealing it like that. If it doesn’t, great! If it does, well it was a cheap attempt. In either case, it gets my bike on the road that much sooner because I don’t have to wait until I get a 65+°F day to do it. The epoxy should be applied at 70°F or more. The key to this endeavor was oxalic acid. It’s basically a low-level acid that is pretty safe for paint and your skin (I accidentally got a few drops on some exposed skin, despite wearing gloves and it didn’t hurt or have any detrimental effect) but it attacks rust aggressively. This is how I did it. As with anything chemical, do this at your own risk. Use proper protection (at the very least, heavy rubber gloves and safety glasses; this stuff didn’t hurt my skin but it will sure as hell hurt your eyes)! Always add acid to water, not water to acid. Beware of fumes. All the usual things that you shouldn’t do unless you’re stupid. I am in no way responsible for anything bad that might happen, even if you follow these directions precisely. This is what you’ll need: Oxalic acid (this is the one I used, Ace is the best place to find it locally, or you can order it online; any oxalic acid will do) Two 5 gallon buckets A funnel Baking soda Acetylene (or methylated spirits) Something to block your tank openings (I followed these directions; Home Depot did not have the stopper I needed, but Lowe’s did. I got some aluminum flat stock for the petcock hole there as well) Rubber mallet (any soft, heavy thing you can hit with will be fine) Flat head screwdriver (any flat, sturdy thing you can pry with will be fine) Heat gun or hair dryer A few hours of your time I did the whole thing in a Sunday, starting around 3 PM and finishing up around 7 or 8. It could easily have been done quicker if I’d planned it better. Preparation I put about a gallon of hot water in one of the buckets and added half the 12 oz tub of oxalic acid to it. I later realized I needed about 3 gallons. You could easily get away with 3 gallons and the whole tub of acid. It did the job even after being diluted to 3 gallons with no extra acid, just slowed it down some. I mixed up the acid with a dowel I had hanging around, being careful to spill as little as possible. It will mix clear, then turn yellow and get darker with use. I used a short piece of aluminum flat stock with two layers of Gorilla Tape on it as my seal for the petcock area. It worked almost flawlessly (see the end for where it failed slightly). I measured and drilled two 1/4″ holes 1 3/8″ center to center for the bolts. It’s easiest just to use the bolts that were used with your petcock. Chances are that, like mine, they have rust on them too, which will get cleaned off in this process. I used the largest stopper Lowe’s carries (1 3/16″ x 1 1/2″ x 1″) to stop up the fuel filler hole. Obviously, you’ll want to take off the fuel door too. I did stop up the small hole near the fuel filler and the fuel overflow exit, but I found out later that was entirely unnecessary. They’re connected by a tube that doesn’t connect to the rest of the gas tank and are for any kind of overflow or spill you might have in that area. Make sure the tank itself is dry and free of fuel. Once your acid is mixed and your petcock hole is plugged, you’re ready to move on. Treatment This is what my tank looked like to start with: Place the tank somewhere it will be level-ish. Insert the funnel into the filler hole and dump all the acid in. Put the stopper in and seat it by whacking it a few times with a rubber mallet. Every 15 minutes for an hour, rotate the tank 1/4 turn and agitate it. At the end of an hour, if you mixed it at 1 tub/3 gallons, you’ll likely be done. This is where I realized I had a problem. One gallon of acid doesn’t cover the center hump in my tank. So I got all the sides, but there was still plenty of rust on the center hump. This is where I poured in an extra 1.5-2 gallons of hot water. That got it above the center hump. I let it sit for a couple hours that way. That picture was taken about halfway through the 2 hours. It’s nearly rust-free, though there was some rust where I couldn’t really get a good picture. I used a small steel brush that I dipped in the acid to clean the rust around the rim. Took the rust out in about 3 minutes. This is really effective stuff, even very diluted. You can use the screwdriver to pry out the stopper for checks and then whack it back in so nothing spills. Cleanup Once the rust is gone, it’s time to clean up. You have a couple options for the acid. You can keep it and continue to re-use it until it becomes quite black, or you can dump it and dilute the area. It won’t harm the environment (several people reported dumping it into the grass with no ill effects, but I wouldn’t want to do that). I am planning to dump it, but it’s still cold and my hose is frozen, so I’m saving it for now and will dump it when it gets warmer. Fill the other bucket with 3 gallons of warm water and add a bunch of baking soda to it (I put 5 or 6 good shakes out of a medium sized box). Mix it up. Baking soda is basic (the opposite of acidic) and will neutralize the acid left in your tank when you dump it out. Dump the acid wherever you are dumping it (in my case, back into the bucket I mixed it in) through the filler hole first. When the flow begins to die down, remove the plate from the petcock and dump the rest from there. You’ll have to turn the tank so that all the acid flows over the center hump to the petcock side in order to get it out. Replace the plate over the petcock area and fill it up with your baking soda mix. Put in the stopper and shake the tank around until you’re sure you’ve hit every area with the baking soda mix. Dump this stuff anywhere you like, no danger to the environment. Use the same procedure as last time and replace the plate over the petcock area one more time. Pour about 1/4 – 1/2 gallon of acetylene or methylated spirits into the tank, replace the stopper, and vigorously shake it for a good 5 minutes or more. What you’re trying to do is get all the water to mix with this stuff and evaporate MUCH faster, giving less opportunity for re-rusting. This is where my petcock plate failed. It let a small amount of acetylene through. I’m not really surprised, to be honest. Dump the acetylene out into a container for disposing (it’s almost certainly not good for anything else now). Use the heat gun to dry out as much of the tank as possible. If you have an air compressor, that will really help as well as you can direct air to the corners of the tank the gun can’t reach. Once the tank is dry, you’re good to go! You may want to mist it with WD-40 if you’re going to be storing it for a long time. This is how my tank looks now: This gets my bike that much closer to being ready to get on the road! The next big thing is to do the tires, and then after that the chain (slack check, clean, lube). Once that’s done, it’s just a bunch of minor things until I can get it outside and do the carb work. I got a mount for my phone from RAM mounts (this ball, this link, and this holder). The ball screws into an unused side mirror socket on the left handlebar. Presumably there is one on the right as well, but it’s under the brake fluid reservoir. I got a weather resistant USB charger that I plan to attach to the front accessory wires. At 2.1 amps, it’s more than powerful enough to charge any phone I might put in there. I plan to convert my accessory wires to switched as well so that I don’t passively drain my battery when I might not use it for a while. You can see the USB charger in the gallery below, along with any other pictures I didn’t post in the main body of this post. Advertisements Share this: Facebook Twitter Like this: Like Loading... Related Posted in Uncategorized Tags: EX250F, Motorcycle, Ninja 250R, Oxalic Acid, Project, RustMoreover, the love dolls and the plastic women have especially taken the final trend these days. One of the companies that creates realistic love dolls is “Real Doll”. It is definite that they are starting with the creation of the male love dolls as well. Oh, and don’t worry, you can use these male love dolls as long as you want; you just need to be sure their battery is fully charged. Using the high-tech tools, the creators of the male love dolls decided to make them as real as your living partner. They are capable of responding to verbal communication. Unbelievable, but true! This product is also known as an “ultimate pleasure experience”, but, where all this eventually goes? The replacement of the real men will be so drastic that you, in fact, may loose the desire for them. The latest technology has made us introverts and the question is-do we need another ‘toy’ to lead us to a total isolation? Speaking of their ability to enhance a conversation, the male love dolls are assumed to become boyfriends to many females in the world. They will even be programmed with their own stories. Women won’t need to make effort into tricking the male love dolls to like them. They will have their needs fulfilled as many times as they want. Do these dolls catch your eye? Source > nifymag.comOur neotoma package is part of the ROpenSci network of packages. Wrangling data structures and learning some of the tricks we’ve implemented wouldn’t have been possible without help from them throughout the coding process. Recently Scott Chamberlain posted some code for an R package to interface with ORCiD, the rORCiD package. To digress for a second, the neotoma package started out as rNeotoma, but I ditched the ‘r’ because, well, just because. I’ve been second guessing myself ever since, especially as it became more and more apparent that, in writing proposals and talking about the package and the database I’ve basically created a muddle. Who knows, maybe we’ll go back to rNeotoma when we push up to CRAN. Point being, stick an R in it so that you don’t have to keep clarifying the differences. So, back on point. A little while ago I posted a network diagram culled from my cv using a bibtex parser in R (the bibtex package by Roman François). That’s kind of fun – obviously worth blogging about – and I stuck a newer version into a job application, but I’ve really been curious about what it would look like if I went out to the second order, what does it look like when we combine my publication network with the networks of my collaborators. Enter ORCiD. For those of you not familiar, ORCiD provides a unique identity code to an individual researcher. The researcher can then identify all the research products they may have published and link these to their ID. It’s effectively a DOI for the individual. Sign up and you are part of the Internet of Things. In a lot of ways this is very exciting. The extent to which the ORCiDs can be linked to other objects will be the real test for their staying power. And even there, it’s not so much whether the IDs can be linked, they’re unique identifiers so they’re easy to use, it’s whether other projects, institutions and data repositories will create a space for ORCiDs so that the can be linked across a web of research products. Given the number of times I’ve been asked to add an ORCiD to an online profile or account it seems like people are prepared to invest in ORCiD for the long haul, which is exciting, and provides new opportunities for data analysis and for building research networks. So, lets see what we can do with ORCiD and Scott’s rorcid package. This code is all available in a GitHub repository so you can modify it, fork, push or pull as you like: The idea is to start with a single ORCiD, mine in this case (0000-0002-2700-4605). With the ORCiD we then discover all of the research products associated with the ID. Each research product with a DOI can be linked back to each of the ORCiDs registered for coauthors using the ORCiD API. It is possible to find all co-authors by parsing some of the bibtex files associated with the structured data, but for this exercise I’m just going to stick with co-authors with ORCiDs. So, for each published article we get the DOI, find all co-authors on each work who has an ORCiD, and then track down each of their publications and co-authors. If you’re interested you can go further down the wormhole by coding this as a recursive function. I thought about it but since this was basically a lark I figured I’d think about it later, or leave it up to someone to add to the existing repository (feel free to fork & modify). In the end I coded this all up and plotted using the igraph package (I used network for my last graph, but wanted to try out igraph because it’s got some fun interactive tools: library(devtools) install_github('ropensci/rorcid') You need devtools to be able to install the rOrcid package from the rOpenSci GitHub repository library(rorcid) library(igraph) # The idea is to go into a user and get all their papers, # and all the papers of people they've published with: simon.record <- orcid_id(orcid = '0000-0002-2700-4605', profile="works") This gives us an ‘orcid’ object, returned using the ORCiD Public API. Once we ave the object we can go in and pull out all the DOIs for each of my research products that are registered with ORCID. get_doi <- function(x){ # This pulls the DOIs out of the ORCiD record: list.x <- x$'work-external-identifiers.work-external-identifier' # We have to catch a few objects with NULL DOI information: do.call(rbind.data.frame,lapply(list.x, function(x){ if(length(x) == 0 \| (!'DOI' %in% x[,1])){ data.frame(value=NA) } else{ data.frame(value = x[which(x[,1] %in% 'DOI'),2]) } })) } get_papers <- function(x){ all.papers <- x[[1]]$works # this is where the papers are. papers <- data.frame(title = all.papers$'work-title.title.value', doi = get_doi(all.papers)) paper.doi <- lapply(1:nrow(papers), function(x){ if(!is.na(papers[x,2]))return(orcid_doi(dois = papers[x,2], fuzzy = FALSE)) # sometimes there's no DOI # if that's the case then just return NA: return(NA) }) your.papers <- lapply(1:length(paper.doi), function(x){ if(is.na(paper.doi[[x]])){ data.frame(doi=NA, orcid=NA, name=NA) } else { data.frame(doi = papers[x,2], orcid = paper.doi[[x]][[1]]$data$'orcid-identifier.path', name = paste(paper.doi[[x]][[1]]$data$'personal-details.given-names.value', paper.doi[[x]][[1]]$data$'personal-details.family-name.value', sep =''), stringsAsFactors = FALSE) }}) do.call(rbind.data.frame, your.papers) } So now we’ve got the functions, we’re going to get all my papers, make a list of the unique ORCIDs of my colleagues and then get all of their papers using the same ‘get_papers’ function. It’s a bit sloppy I think, but I wanted to try to avoid duplicate calls to the API since my internet connection was kind of crummy. simons <- get_papers(simon.record) unique.orcids <- unique(simons$orcid) all.colleagues <- list() for(i in 1:length(unique.orcids)){ all.colleagues[[i]] <- get_papers(orcid_id(orcid = unique.orcids[i], profile="works")) } So now we’ve got a list with a data.frame for each author that has three columns, the DOI, the ORCID and their name. We want to reduce this to a single data.frame and then fill a square matrix (each row and column represents an author) where each row x column intersection represents co-authorship. all.df <- do.call(rbind.data.frame, all.colleagues) all.df <- na.omit(all.df[!duplicated(all.df),]) all.pairs <- matrix(ncol = length(unique(all.df$name)), nrow = length(unique(all.df$name)), dimnames = list(unique(all.df$name),unique(all.df$name)), 0) unique.dois <- unique(as.character(all.df$doi)) for(i in 1:length(unique.dois)){ doi <- unique.dois[i] all.pairs[all.df$name[all.df$doi %in% doi],all.df$name[all.df$doi %in% doi]] <- all.pairs[all.df$name[all.df$doi %in% doi],all.df$name[all.df$doi %in% doi]] + 1 } all.pairs <- all.pairs[rowSums(all.pairs)>0, colSums(all.pairs)>0] diag(all.pairs) <- 0 Again, probably some lazy coding in the ‘for’ loop, but the point is that each row and column has a dimname representing each author, so row 1 is ‘Simon Goring’ and column 1 is also ‘Simon Goring’. All we’re doing is incrementing the value for the cell that intersects co-authors, where names are pulled from all individuals associated with each unique DOI. We end by plotting the whole thing out: author.adj <- graph.adjacency(all.pairs, mode = 'undirected', weighted = TRUE) # Plot so that the width of the lines connecting the nodes reflects the # number of papers co-authored by both individuals. # This is Figure 1 of this blog post. plot(author.adj, vertex.label.cex = 0.8, edge.width = E(author.adj)$weight) AdvertisementsLego Train Automation This is a special post because it was the main driver for building this blog! I could not find any way to control the Lego infrared power functions using NodeJs. There are libraries available for Arduino sketches and Python for Raspberry Pi, but neither worked well with my environment. Today we will discuss how the IR power functions work, various resources and how I eventually got it to work. I hope that this is beneficial to somebody and that you share your experiences and other ideas. Ideally, somebody could take the time to write a nice NodeJS NPM to simply include into a project and share with the group 😉 Goal: Detect train at the City Station, stop it for 5 seconds and then resume moving. Challenges: Use the Lego infrared signals to control the train Detect the train Send infrared commands to the train Components: Raspberry Pi Arduino 1.8v LED Infrared LED Circuit: The circuit for controlling infrared Lego power functions is not that complicated. We basically just need to attach an infrared LED and a standard LED to the Raspberry Pi GPIO pin 22. The standard LED will be used for visual feedback that the infrared LED is transmitting. This is extremely helpful while troubleshooting. I’ve chosen to use the Keyes KY005 infrared transmitter, as it was part of this awesome sensor kit I purchased. There will also be an infrared proximity (reflective distance) sensor to detect when the train has arrived at the station. This is attached to an Arduino because of a larger project, but could easily be connect to the Raspberry Pi instead. Schematic: Pin 22: LED and IR Transmitter GPIO 6: IR Sensor Power Infrared Sensor and transmitter from 5v source Code: This code was created from searching the Internet and reading forums that only got me half way there. The only NodeJS infrared module was called lego-ir but was designed for the (expensive) Tessel transmitter module. There is also an Arduino sketch library that I imagine would work very well, but that’s not the language I am working with. But then I found the answer! I used the following code/guide from Diomidis Spinellis who was kind enough to post this on GitHub. Click here for the complete work. Ultimately, the answer is to use the LIRC infrared linux driver. By using NodeJS to call a native Linux command, I was able to easily send signals to my Lego power functions. We will first follow the steps outlined in Diomidis’s GitHub post to get the Raspberry pi using the IR transmitter. LIRC installation and configuration Install LIRC sudo apt-get install lirc Configure LIRC by editing /etc/lirc/hardware.conf to be #Try to load appropriate kernel modules LOAD_MODULES=true # Run "lircd --driver=help" for a list of supported drivers. DRIVER="default" # usually /dev/lirc0 is the correct setting for systems using udev DEVICE="/dev/lirc0" MODULES="lirc_rpi" Add in /etc/modules the following line lirc_dev For kernels before 3.18 lacking a “device tree” also add in /etc/modules the following line lirc_rpi gpio_in_pin=23 gpio_out_pin=22 For a 3.18 kernel (or newer), which has a device tree, uncomment and adjust the following line in the file /boot/config.txt ; you can find full instructions here dtoverlay=lirc-rpi,gpio_out_pin=22,gpio_in_pin=23 Copy the PWM command configurations generated by this modified PWM generation program file to the Raspberry Pi’s LIRC configuration directory. sudo mkdir -p /etc/lirc/lircd.conf.d/ for i in Single_Output Combo_PWM Combo_Direct ; do curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dspinellis/lego-lirc/master/$i \| sudo dd of=/etc/lirc/lircd.conf.d/Lego-$i.conf done sudo dd of=/etc/lirc/lircd.conf <<\EOF # This file is not required in modern versions of LIRC # but seems to be required for lircd 0.9.0-pre1 that currently # comes with Raspberry Pi's Debian GNU/Linux 7.8 (wheezy) include "/etc/lirc/lircd.conf.d/Lego-Single_Output.conf" include "/etc/lirc/lircd.conf.d/Lego-Combo_Direct.conf" include "/etc/lirc/lircd.conf.d/Lego-Combo_PWM.conf" EOF Reboot your pi Test the sending of Lego commands from the command line. irsend SEND_ONCE LEGO_Single_Output 1B_5 sleep 1 irsend SEND_ONCE LEGO_Single_Output 1B_M1 sleep 1 irsend SEND_ONCE LEGO_Single_Output 1B_BRAKE Now we can work easily with Infrared using the Raspberry Pi!! Basic Flow Create a function to utilize the LIRC infrared commands Detect train at station Stop train for 5 seconds Start train Wait for an additional 5 seconds before detecting a train again Source Download Source Code: citystation.js Now save and close your file. Note: If this is your first project, you will need to initialize the folder and add the johhny-five module. Run the following two commands before launching your new app. npm init npm install johnny-five --save If you have been following along with previous projects, we will need to still add support for external commands with NodeJs and to use the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi (more info about using Raspberry Pi with Johnny-five here ). npm install exec raspi-io --save Now run the code and test! node citystation.js The train is running on schedule! Special thanks to the “rasp-io” and “Johnny-Five.io” development team!APE FORGETS MEDICATION In April 2016 Meades held a one-man show of treyfs and artknacks at the Londonewcastle Project in Shoreditch. Treyfs? Artknacks? Treyf's literal meaning is that which is not kosher. Figuratively it signifies impurity - and Meades's work in every medium is deliberately impure. The title of his box of postcards Pidgin Snaps was explicit. He combines contradictory elements, he fuses opposing idioms, he conjures a rapprochement between his antagonistic precursors. 'Does he want to be Geoffrey Hill or Benny Hill?' 'He wants to be both - at the same time.' Artknack evidently suggests: art; nicknack - a probably worthless trinket; knack - a tricksy, meretricious facility; arnaque - French for a con, a scam. Meades's methods are several and rigorously inauthentic. Painting with numerous tools, froissage, hyper-realist photography, digital manipulation, collage and, above all, chance. When a work is begun there is seldom any conception of where it will lead: the aleatory is all. The works range from the stubbornly monochrome to the tartily gaudy, from myth to abstraction, from the gutter to the dodgily numinous, from domestic proportions to XXXXXL. APE FORGETS MEDICATION: Treyfs and Artknacks All works are for sale including those featured below. Contact meades.website@gmail.com for further details. Adieu, Francis Le Belge (inkjet on canvas, 170cm x 130cm) IKB Struggles (131cm x 174cm) Asterion Recalls Mother (131cm x 182cm) As If It Were Yesterday (131cm x 174cm) Vanity (In Ruins) (131cm x 147cm) Pignight: The Screenplay (131cm x 160cm) Cotchford: Final Memory (131cm x 151cm) PIDGIN SNAPS AND GALLERY Unbound has published a collection of Jonathan Meades's photos in the form of a box of 100 postcards entitled Pidgin Snaps. Unbound has published a collection of Jonathan Meades's photos in the form of a box of 100 postcards entitled The photos shown below do not form part of the Pidgin Snaps CollectionTM. Self-portraits in different states of decomposition. Waldringfield, Suffolk, autumn 1974. L-r: Snoo Wilson, Ann McFerran, Dusty Hughes, JM . 'Expect them to become the literati's stocking filler of choice this holiday season.' Rachel Cooke, The ObserverThe photos shown below do not form part of theCollectionSelf-portraits in different states of decomposition.Waldringfield, Suffolk, autumn 1974. L-r: Snoo Wilson, Ann McFerran, Dusty Hughes, JMNadia al-Sakkaf went back to being a reporter rather than an official when the Houthis stormed the presidential palace and issued a media blackout Nadia al-Sakkaf will never forget the night the rebels took the capital: their first move was to occupy the TV and radio stations and the newspaper offices to issue orders and control the news. So Yemen’s minister of information – an experienced journalist in her previous life – did the obvious thing: she took to Twitter. It was 20 January when Houthi fighters stormed the seat of government in Sana’a, triggering the latest crisis convulsing the Middle East. Yemen had already seen its veteran president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, toppled in the wake of Arab spring protests. But the transition had gone badly wrong – largely because Saleh was still active – talks on a new constitution collapsed, and now outright civil war loomed. Nadia Sakkaf (@NadiaSakkaf) The more I dig into why #Yemen is miserable,the sadder & angrier I become. Knowing so much isn't good for health, nor is being a politician “It was around four in the morning,” Sakkaf told the Guardian in Doha, the Qatari capital. “Suddenly we heard bombs and gunfire and people were very scared. There was no news. Everyone was speculating. I started making calls and I found out the truth. The presidential palace had been attacked. “I called the media institutions and I said: ‘Report this’ and they said: ‘We can’t because the Houthis are here. If we resist we’ll die’. They started playing their anthems and showing pictures of their leader. It was literally at gunpoint. “The women journalists especially were very inhibited because the Houthis are very conservative. They said: ‘You should cover your faces and not wear makeup.’ They said: ‘There’s a new regime in town.’ “I ran to my computer and logged into my Twitter account. My first tweet said: ‘It’s a coup. The presidential palace has been attacked.’ It was very stressful. My husband kept the children out of the way. I felt more like a reporter than the minister of information. I wasn’t scared at the time but I was afterwards when I realised the implications. My name was everywhere. I had 20,000 more followers on Twitter in one day.” Yemen: Saudi-led air strikes resume as five-day ceasefire ends Read more Nearly six months on, Sakkaf is living in exile at a Riyadh hotel, trying with other members of the internationally recognised Yemeni government to continue the fight against the Houthis and backing the Saudi-led military intervention to defeat them and to restore President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. Sakkaf’s media instincts were well honed: she was the editor-in-chief of the respected Yemen Times newspaper and a champion of women’s empowerment until the day before she was appointed information minister in late 2014. Now, after a short humanitarian ceasefire, 1,850 people dead and half a million people homeless, she argues that the war is the result of decades of neglect of the Arab world’s poorest country and its 24 million people and that – however and whenever the conflict ends – it will urgently need greater regional support. “I look at what is going on and my heart sinks. It’s not just about politics. It’s about the social texture of the country falling apart. Best friends are now enemies because they are affiliated with different factions. It’s not just about sects. It is geographic but it’s not just north and south. It’s as if the Yemeni people are resurrecting all their grievances from centuries ago and putting them all on the table today.” Saudi air strikes, Sakkaf argues, are a means to an end and were necessary to avoid having a “dictatorship worse than before”, with Saleh working with his old enemies, the Houthis, amid attempts at secession by southern separatists and al-Qaida taking advantage of the chaos to pursue its own destructive agenda. Sakkaf and
where they could donate, I thought that ok, let’s go ahead with this, there’s nothing I have to lose.” The funding effort is being run via GoFundMe, and aims to raise $4,389.00 for the development and upkeep of the game, with some $1,500 of that target having been achieved at the time of writing. People are free to donate whatever they are comfortable with giving, but pay $50.00 and you’ll receive an exclusive UNIA outfit for your avatar; pay $500, and you’ll receive an exclusive tour of UNIA by Kiana, early access to the game, a free HUD, weapons and outfits. If the fundraiser is successful, and UNIA does open to the public, then there is the potential for even more, “This is only part ONE,” Kiana said during my tour, “Part two is [going to be] taking place all over the grid.” Having spent two hours in UNIA with Kiana and RAG, I can say that this is something that could be very unique in SL, and offer an astonishing level of immersion and engagement. If you’ve experienced past MadPea activities and events, you’ll know just how inventive and imaginative they can be. So why not hop over to the funding page and offer a payment? In doing so, you’ll be helping to open the door to even more fun you can enjoy. AdvertisementsAfter Congress failed to pass gun reform last year, the debate over gun violence and Second Amendment rights has largely moved from Washington DC to state capitals. That debate heated up after the December 2012 shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Last year, lawmakers in Connecticut and Colorado – another state rocked by a mass shooting in 2012 – passed sweeping new gun-control measures. In January 2013, New York enacted a law banning high-capacity magazines and the sale of so-called assault weapons, although gun owners and retailers have found a very simple workaround to make their weapons legal. New research published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research found that in the year following the Newtown school shooting, 15 states and the District of Columbia (the site of the navy yard mass shooting in September 2013) strengthened their gun laws, accounting for 44% of the US population. But that same year many states moved in the opposite direction, adopting laws that expanded gun owners’ rights and ensured more protections under the Second Amendment. To a degree, such debates have carried over into the 2014 legislative sessions. And as those legislative sessions wind down, a few notable gun bills have made their way to the desks of governors around the country. Here is a snapshot of how the multimillion-dollar debate over gun legislation has played out this year. Georgia The Georgia governor, Nathan Deal, gave the National Rifle Association (NRA) a reason to celebrate, days ahead of its annual conference this weekend in Indianapolis. On Wednesday Deal, a Republican, signed into law what critics dubbed the “guns everywhere” bill, and which the NRA labelled “the most comprehensive pro-gun legislation in state history”. Under the law, holders of concealed carry permits can bring their firearms into a wide range of public places, including bars, churches and government buildings, under certain circumstances. The law, set to take effect on 1 July, also allows hunters to use silencers and authorises schools to allow staff to carry weapons on campus. The bill sparked a heated and high-profile debate, drawing criticism from the former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a mass shooting in 2011. Giffords's group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, wrote on its website: "The bill is extremism in action; it moves Georgia out of the mainstream.” The bill was originally broader in scope, and was scaled back to ensure passage. Initially, it included a controversial “campus carry” provision that would have legalised carrying guns on campuses. Another provision would have permitted guns in places of worship unless religious leaders specifically barred them. Instead, the new law gives religious leaders the option to “opt-in” to allowing guns into their churches. Deal – who touts a grade-A approval rating from the NRA – told a crowd of pro-gun advocates who gathered to watch him sign the bill into law: "The Second Amendment should never be an afterthought. It should be at the forefront of our minds." Arizona In Arizona, the conservative governor, Jan Brewer, again revealed a moderate streak when she vetoed NRA-backed legislation that would have allowed gun owners to carry firearms into some public buildings. This is the third time in four years Brewer has vetoed such legislation. In her veto statement, Brewer said: "I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, and I have signed into law numerous pieces of legislation to advance and protect gun rights. However, I cannot support this measure in its proposed form." Brewer’s veto record on such legislation has caused some gun-rights supporters to question her commitment to protecting the Second Amendment. Co-founder of Arizona Citizens Defense League Charles Heller told Reuters his group "expected better from someone who was rumoured to be an ally of freedom". Brewer also vetoed a bill that would have punished local officials for enacting gun statutes that are more strict than state law, and another bill that would make it an aggravated assault crime to take a gun away from another person with the intent to cause harm with that gun. Still on the table is a technical bill that would modify the definition of a firearm to exclude air rifles. Kansas Kansas passed a new law on Wednesday, stripping local governments of their ability to restrict the state’s open-carry law. This law, which goes into effect in July, awards the state sole power over regulating firearms. It pre-empts counties, cities and municipalities from restricting firearm sales or regulating how guns are stored and transported. Cities and counties, however, will still be allowed to prevent people from carrying weapons in public buildings. “Kansans have long believed the right to bear arms is a constitutional right,” Kansas's governor, Sam Brownback, said in a statement after signing the bill, the Wichita Eagle reported. The law is meant to ensure Kansas’s open-carry law is upheld in every corner of the state, a priority of gun-rights proponents. The NRA promoted the new Kansas law as a model for how other states should restrict local governments' gun-regulating authority. Similar legislation has been introduced and debated in several states. The law also bars people from carrying and firing a gun while intoxicated – a provision that was modelled after laws against drunk-driving. But the measure does not apply to someone who uses a gun in self-defence or to protect another person, even if that person is impaired. This exemption and the law’s vague language have some critics worried it could actually protect people who fire a weapon while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Last year, Kansas made waves by passing laws that expanded the list of public places in which concealed carry permit holders can pack heat, which included a provision authorising schools to allow employees to arm themselves. Colorado A police officer stands in front of an Aurora, Colorado, home in which four people were killed, including the gunman, in 2012. Photograph: Marc Piscotty/Getty Images Colorado found itself in the crosshairs of gun rights groups last year when the Democratic governor, John Hickenlooper, signed into law sweeping new gun restrictions. For this reason, advocates from all sides of the gun debate kept a close eye on gun bills introduced during the 2014 legislative session. Last year’s controversial gun package put in place tough new restrictions that expanded background checks on private sales and limits on ammunition magazines, among other provisions. Fallout from the law saw two Democratic lawmakers ousted from office in a recall election and another resign to avoid the possibility of a similar fate. It also prompted one of the nation’s largest gun manufacturers to move its operations from Colorado to Wyoming and Texas. The law has been challenged in court, and a federal judge will determine if it violates Colorado residents' constitutional right to bear arms. This year, Republican state lawmakers introduced a slew of bills aimed at rolling back or repealing last year’s law. But it was to no avail. Their efforts were blocked repeatedly by Democrats who still control the legislature. One bill would have repealed the law’s requirement that non-licensed gun dealers must obtain a background check and receive approval from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation before transferring a firearm, among other provisions. So far, the state has approved only one relatively minor change to the state’s gun laws. Hickenlooper signed a bipartisan measure that tweaks existing law to allow gun owners to renew their carry permits at any sheriff’s office, as opposed to the office where the permit was issued. South Dakota The Republican-controlled legislature passed a rare gun-related bill that found support among groups typically in fierce opposition. In March, South Dakota’s governor, Dennis Daugaard, signed into law a bill that will add the names of certain people who are mentally ill to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, in an effort to keep them from buying guns. The bill, signed just weeks before the killings at Fort Hood that reignited a national debate about mental health and gun control, was backed by the NRA as well as other groups that aim to prevent gun violence. The NRA has taken the stance that mental illness, as opposed to lax gun laws, is the root cause of America’s mass shootings. The NRA has supported similar legislation around the country. The bill also lays out a channel for individuals to have certain rights to bear arms restored by a court. Best practices on how to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill individuals is likely to remain a topic of discussion at the state and national level. Just this year, the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearms Policy crafted policy recommendations that, among other things, calls for temporary restrictions of up to five years on the purchase and possession of firearms by people who have been convicted of violent misdemeanours, domestic violence or more than one drug or alcohol conviction within a certain period. “A data-driven approach should also extend to the way we think about mental illness and gun violence,” said Jeffrey Swanson, a professor in psychiatry and behavioural sciences in a statement from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.Filip Forsberg has garnered national attention for his natural hat tricks. The Nashville Predators forward was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on Monday after recording six goals and one assist in four games, including two natural hat tricks, for the week ending Feb. 28. Forsberg’s first natural hat trick of the week came last Tuesday during a 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. The 21-year-old Swede then tallied his second natural hat trick in a span of three games on Saturday, as the Preds topped the St. Louis Blues by a 5-0 final. Forsberg’s lone assist for the week also came against the Blues, giving him his first-career, four-point game. Forsberg became the first player from any club to register multiple natural hat tricks in three or fewer games since 1986-87. It also marks the first time a Preds player has recorded two hat tricks in the same season. “It’s certainly up there with some of the best hockey that he’s played,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Forsberg after Saturday’s win. “He’s consistent right now. When he plays with pace and he does things fast with the puck, it becomes really difficult to defend. He plays the off-wing so he moves it in and out of the ice surface and just creates things. He gets his shot off and makes a play to somebody else. He’s got a lot of confidence; he’s in a stretch right now where he is playing really good hockey.” This is the second ‘Star of the Week’ honor for Forsberg in his career; he was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week last season from Nov. 9 through Nov. 16. Forsberg also earned NHL Rookie of the Month honors in November of 2014.Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he will never visit the United States while he is in office, and adds that he has'seen America and it's lousy.' Duterte delivered his latest verbal attack on the United States after he was asked in a news conference Friday to react to a threat by a U.S. congressman, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, to lead a protest if Duterte accepts President Donald Trump's invitation to visit the White House. 'There will never be a time that I will go to America during my term, or even thereafter,' Duterte said to reporters on Friday. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he will never visit the United States while he is in office, and adds that he has'seen America and it's lousy' 'So what makes that guy think I'll go to America? I've seen America, and it's lousy.' McGovern held a hearing in Congress on Thursday criticizing Duterte's drug war that has resulted in a mass killing of more than 7,000 suspected addicts and dealers in the Philippines. The death have been carried out by both the Philippine National Police and unknown vigilantes. Many human right groups have criticized the leader's tendency to target poor areas and lack of due process. Duterte delivered his latest verbal attack on the United States after he was asked in a news conference Friday to react to a threat by a U.S. congressman, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern (right), to lead a protest if Duterte accepts President Donald Trump's invitation to visit the White House Back in April, United States president Donald Trump invited Duterte to the country for a visit In his opening remarks, McGovern said: 'We should be clear what an extrajudicial killing or execution is: It is the purposeful killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding. 'No arrest. No warrant. No judge. No jury. Simply, murder.' McGovern was most pressed to bring up the Filipino president's human rights violations. He added: 'If he comes, I will lead the protest. We ought to be on the side of advocating for human rights, not explaining them away.' Duterte retorted that he too could investigate the United States. 'You're investigating me and the internal affairs of my country? I'm investigating you, and I will investigate you, and I will expose it to the world what you did to the Filipino, especially to the Moro Filipino,' Duterte said Duterte retorted that he too could investigate the United States. 'You're investigating me and the internal affairs of my country? I'm investigating you, and I will investigate you, and I will expose it to the world what you did to the Filipino, especially to the Moro Filipino,' Duterte said. He was most likely referring to the Battle of Bud Dajo in 1906 in the island of Jolo where American troops killed more than 600 Moro people. Duterte's remark's indicate he may not be accepting the invitation from President Trump.He was a 15-year-old kid with all the usual teenage sexual passions. She was his neighbor--a 34-year-old mom, later convicted of statutory rape for engaging him in a romantic tryst that resulted in her getting pregnant. But in a case that sets the term "deadbeat dad" on its ear, a California appeals court has ruled that the young man from San Luis Obispo, identified only as "Nathaniel J." in court records, is responsible for paying child support for the baby born of the illegal union. The ruling by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles--the first decision of its kind in California--leads to a number of sticky societal questions, ranging from whether girls and boys should be treated differently in cases of statutory rape to the fairness of government's increasingly aggressive pursuit of child-support payments. "This is a really bizarre case," said Mary Ann Mason, a social-welfare professor at the University of California at Berkeley who specializes in societal legal issues. "It seems unfair that he was taken advantage of, and then he gets prosecuted for child support. He's considered a victim on one hand and a perpetrator on the other." County and state authorities, rather than the mother, have pursued the case, seeking compensation for welfare payments the infant girl has been receiving since her birth in January 1995. Attorneys from the state attorney general's office, which represented the state in the appeal, say the teenager should be responsible for the child because he indicated he was a willing sexual partner. "Our point of view is that the newborn is the victim in these matters," said Carol Ann White, a lawyer who heads the attorney general's child-support-enforcement unit. "No matter what the circumstances of their conception, babies deserve to have two parents. "And this was a consensual relationship," she added. The youth, now 18, won't be required to pay until he has income, said Deputy Atty. Gen. Mary Roth, who handled the case. "Say he makes $800 a month working at Burger King," Roth said. "He'll probably be expected to pay $200 a month to reimburse" the welfare program. Under state law, the boy's parents are not responsible for child support for their granddaughter. The case began in 1994, with a two-week affair between the boy and the unmarried woman, listed in court records as Ricci Jones. According to court records, Jones and the teenager discussed having sex in advance and made a clear decision to do it. They had intercourse approximately five times, in what the boy later told police investigators was "a mutually agreeable act." Neither Jones nor the teenager could be reached for comment. The matter did not become a court case until after their daughter was born on Jan. 20, 1995, and Jones began receiving welfare on the daughter's behalf. Under federal guidelines, counties must make an effort to determine the identity of the father of any child on welfare and collect child support from him to offset the welfare payments. That's exactly what San Luis Obispo County did. As soon as county officials realized the baby's father was a minor, they filed statutory-rape charges against Jones, which resulted in a conviction but no jail time. Almost simultaneously, they sought to have the young father registered as being responsible for child support. After being ordered to pay by Superior Court, "Nathaniel J." and his parents appealed the decision, arguing that a child who was the victim of sexual exploitation by an adult should not be penalized for the consequences of the exploitation. But the appeals court disagreed. "Victims have rights. Here, the victim also has responsibilities," said the opinion, written by Judge Arthur Gilbert. He cited cases from other states in which minors were deemed responsible for child support if they had consented to sex with an adult. "We conclude he is liable for child support." Clearly, said Roth, if a teenage boy got a teenage girl pregnant, no one would question the state for holding him responsible. She said the teenager's testimony made it clear he had known what he was doing and agreed to it. "I guess he thought he was a man then," she said. "Now, he prefers to be considered a child." But Fred Hayward, founder of the Sacramento-based group Men's Rights Inc., said the court was setting a horrible double standard. "This is victimizing the victim," he said. "The law is based on the premise that a 15-year-old is too young to give his consent to anything. Yet he gets a 34-year-old woman pregnant, and suddenly he's old enough to be responsible." Professor Mason said the case adds several twists to traditional family law. "This shows two new directions in the law that are just now coming into play," she said. "One is that the state is going after young dads--and it isn't necessarily using much discretion. The other is that women are being prosecuted for statutory rape, which never would have happened two or three years ago." Until 1994, the state's statutory-rape law didn't even apply to boys; only adults who had sex with young girls could be prosecuted. The legislature changed the law two years ago, but prosecutions of women are rare, Mason said.Tomahawk is a free is a free and open-source music player that allows you to connect your other machines and friends via Jabber, Google Chat and Twitter. You can browse and play their libraries, playlists and stations. It also features a mood based smart playlist system, support for importing m etadata from playlists from all over the web and other media players and a nice extension system to add more functionality. Tomahawk 0.5 has been released recently bringing in many new features and improvements. Changes: Better detection of local networks for the Local Network connector. Don't prompt for access permission for your own accounts. SOCKS5 proxy support improvements for resolvers and more. Initial Access Control support, allowing users to define who is able to access and stream from their collection. Priortize resolution of a track on double-click. Spotify Resolver can now be easily installed on-demand from the settings. You can now sync selected playlists (and updates) with Spotify. Support.aiff (AIFF mimetype) files. Cleaned up Diagnostics window. You can tell Tomahawk to stop playback after a certain track finished. Double-clicking a playlist name (in the sidebar) will start the playlist. You can now import your entire Last.fm playback history into Tomahawk. Fixed sorting of related artists. Support for multimedia keys (Play, Pause, Next etc.) on Windows & Linux. When listening privately scrobbling to Last.fm and Adium is now disabled. Added a toolbar with page back / forward buttons and the global search. New grid-like view with direct playback controls. You can now browse new releases (by genre). Added social sharing widget, which allows you to tweet about a song. Added a track page showing a song's similar tracks and statistics. Separate Loved Tracks and Recently Played views per source. Combine an artist's albums into a single aggregated view. Added translations for Arabic, French, Bulgarian, Spanish and more. Fixed XSPF auto-updating. New Tomahawk logo and icon. Toma.hk web experience has been completely revamped. When you share a link to a song on Toma.hk, anyone can easily listen to it directly in their browser. This is done by supporting multiple services that are available all over the world, including: SoundCloud, YouTube, Official.fm, Deezer, Rdio, Last.fm, Ex.fm, Spotify and Jamendo. When you click play, it will playback directly in page using the best available source (with the exception of Spotify links which will open the Spotify application). If you use Rdio and your friends use Spotify, you now have a way to share tastes without being tied to the same service provider. Download Tomahawk in Ubuntu by running commands below (Ubuntu 12.10): sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tomahawk/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install tomahawk Unfortunately Tomahawk packages have not been updated for Ubuntu 12.04 yet. You can either wait for couple of days for the packages to be updated or install them manually by following instructions below. here. You can ignore files ending with dev or dbg. Once you have downloaded all the files (total 9), CD to the directory where these files are located via terminal and run the command below. Make sure that the folder have only these deb files and no other. Download 32bit or 64bit deb packages of all the files. You can ignore files ending withor. Once you have downloaded all the files (total 9), CD to the directory where these files are located via terminal and run the command below. Make sure that the folder have only these deb files and no other. sudo dpkg -i --force-all *.debSome preppers may start out thinking they can go it alone, and some may even have a “lone wolf” complex where they believe isolating themselves is the best way to survive because after all other humans can be dangerous. While it is true, a significant threat during any crisis is other people and usually those in your own community, but isolation from others can be just as dangerous in some cases. If you have not already figured it out there are some things you cannot do yourself. Self-sufficiency is important, it is the bedrock of the Prepper movement, but communities and towns do not rise by the efforts of one. Having a network or group of friends with various talents ensures that regardless of situation someone has the skills in your group to handle it. Your survival is not just on your shoulders, it is a group effort. 1.) Community Groups There are community groups where people who live in the same area have decided to maintain a sense of community regardless of the crisis. Those in the group have decided they will not leave their homes or community during a disaster. Some Preppers adhere to the philosophy that getting a community back on its feet after a crisis is the most logical way for everyone to survive. Community groups are essentially a network of people who can provide assets or apply their skills during a crisis to help others. Ideally, the network or group would have a medical professional that is willing to help as well as active or retired law enforcement along with retired military personnel that can help with security. Engineers are needed, as well as carpenters, mechanics, people who can cook and the list goes on. The groups may meet on a regular basis and may have a leader or organizer and everyone likely has a way during a crisis to communicate with others so help can be directed to where it is needed. There is usually a pre-determined gathering place, where the group may marshal during a crisis and then direct their efforts to the hardest hit areas. The goals of a community group would be to maintain the integrity of the community and to help all in need. The group must be diversified and reflect the needs of all people in the community and/or group. One persons’ need may vary greatly from another but all needs must be taken into account. One of the greatest challenges for any group is cohesion, a common goal, and the path to take to reach those goals must be relatively the same. 2.) Loosely Organized Groups This type of group is set up to communicate information back and forth and some of the members may not even live in the same community but may gather occasionally to discuss plans. The group uses the Internet mainly to convey information. The group may have a plan to meet up in the event of a major crisis. Their goal would be to gather in a group after a disaster strikes. The group may not have trained as a group and this would be problematic. Without knowing, the capabilities of all those in the group would mean you do not have a plan at all. These groups are common because of the ability to communicate around the clock using the Internet. While their intentions are good and valuable information is disseminated, this type group would not likely ever band together during a crisis. 3.) Organized and Trains Together The people in this group live close to each other and meet on a regular basis. Preparing and training for when the SHTF is their focus. The group will likely have a leader, medical professional and a communications expert. In this type of group, you can expect cross training so if one member is incapacitated another can take over their duties. All those in the group share the same philosophy, goals and everyone knows the path to achieve those goals. They plan to meet up during a crisis because they realize there is safety in numbers. The group most likely was started by people who have had military or law enforcement training and the unit operates similar to a military unit. Expect regular training and drills if you join this type of group. Each person in the group is expected to be well equipped and a state of readiness is maintained at all times. The group trains together and each member likely will have a specific task they are expected to perform once a situation occurs. Drills are conducted on a regular basis and the leader may choose various scenarios to train for such as withdrawal from a building/compound under siege or leaning how to set up a field of fire to defend a position. The group may hunt, trap and fish together so everyone knows how to obtain food during a crisis. Everyone will be expected to know or will be trained in certain survival skills. The group will train to protect themselves against a nuclear, biological or chemical attack. Drills would include getting into a protective posture and performing tasks and duties while in a protective posture. There would be several pre-determined areas for gathering once a crisis unfolds. Once the group is formed with its core members, getting into the group would be difficult and you must bring something to the table. The mindset of the group would be at this point you had better come to the group with a certain level of training and skill sets and then see if you are compatible with the group. Considerations One of the biggest problems any Prepper group will encounter is the unknown, very few people if any at all in most groups would not have been through a “SHTF” situation. This means you do not know for sure how anyone will react. Some may step up and others may falter. Often times the leader of a group is the leader because they have the loudest voice and essentially came up with the idea to form the group and in the beginning people may have naturally assumed the talkers are, the best trained. Many have found out in the past however this is not usually the case. If a group offers you protection and proclaims as a group to have certain skills that would help all in the group to survive then you should ask hard questions of the leader and of others in the group because after all you are essentially putting your life in the hands of the group. You expect them to have your back when it goes down. First question would be what type of actual real life training the leader and others have. You want to avoid groups that consider a day of training is sitting around watching videos on the Internet of how other people do it. However on the other hand you have to expect that people, just as you, would never have experienced certain situations so do not let that be a deterrent in and of itself. You may find groups that are in the process of gaining the needed training and knowledge and are serious about what they doing. If you join, you can benefit from this type of situation. Keep the basic premise in mind that as a group regardless of their level of training your chances of survival are greater than if you were not a part of a group in some cases. The premise of any group should be bringing people together that have certain skills that benefit all in the group and that can benefit others outside of the group as well. Is the group firearm obsessed and if it is you have to decide what your tactics would be in a survival situation and do they align with the groups. Groups that are training to repel United Nations troops and to scan for black helicopters and believe the government is the greatest enemy may not have the same goals as you in mind. Start Your Own Group Define your goals and be realistic. Do you believe in the local authorities? If you want to survive long enough, for disaster relief agencies to arrive then start a group with this in mind. You may have decided that the government is mostly in the way during a crisis so the group goal would be complete self-sufficiency. The goal in any situation is survival and the ways to go about it can be as numerous as the number of groups you will encounter out there.My favorite superhero in comic books is Wonder Woman. Yeah. Not Batman, not Superman, not Spider-Man, not the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, not Spawn or Hellboy or the Incredible Hulk. Wonder Woman. Now, when a man says that Wonder Woman is his favorite superhero, I imagine most people will automatically assume that man’s interest in the character is rather shallow, for some obvious reasons. And yes, it doesn’t hurt that Diana is usually (depending on the artist) an extremely attractive, athletic woman with in a star-spangled bathing suit. Or that her most famous weapons is a golden lasso that, combined with Diana’s strength and commanding presence, makes her a rather effective dominatrix archetype. Neither of those are unintentional, by the way. Diana’s sexuality is a major part of her character, from the initial inception to the current version of the character. But if I were to get into that subject, I would start going on a tangent that I don’t really feel like going on today. The short version is: Wonder Woman’s image and values promote healthy sexuality in all of its forms, which for the most part is actually a good thing. The thing is, if you’re sitting here wondering if my attraction to Diana is simply because of her physical attributes and inherent sexuality, let me assure you that I’m not the type of person who drools as he reads his comic books. Er, most of the time… Like I said, that’s a topic for another day. Today we’re talking about Wonder Woman and why she’s awesome and why she became my favorite. Because, like Diana herself, that answer is a lot more complicated than it may seem at first. And it’s a discussion worth having. First and foremost is that I do have a couple of biases that make me inclined to enjoy Wonder Woman on a very basic level, more than some other people who may not have these interests. #1: I am a fan of mythology and fantasy genres. What non-fans may not realize about Diana is that she and her books are often very steeped in Greek mythology, with the war god Ares serving as her primary antagonist and the other Greek gods making significant guest appearances more often than not. So in many ways she is DC’s version of Thor, bringing elements of a rich culture to the DC universe that is primarily science fiction (Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern) and street level crime stories (Batman, Green Arrow). This sort of epic fantasy setting is just fun for me to get lost in, and I enjoy characters like Aquaman and Thor for similar reasons. If you’re a fan of this sort of thing, I highly recommend picking up Wonder Woman comics because you are likely to become a fan. I recommend checking out George Perez’s Gods and Mortals as your starting point for comic reading, or its respectably adapted animated feature film Wonder Woman if that’s more your cup of tea. #2: I am drawn to strong female characters. And I don’t mean physically strong or “capable” characters, although that definitely plays a factor, especially in the superhero genre. This tendency has made me a fan of everyone from Lois Lane to She-Hulk to Mystique. I would say some of this is just the fact that I do consider myself a feminist, in that I believe women should be treated equally to men and also have equal opportunity and representation. Real life (of a sort) has proven this in the purest sense, as you look to Rhonda Rousey in MMA or Sasha Banks in WWE, or powerhouse actresses like Brie Larson, Scarlet Johanssen, Jennifer Lawrence and others who have great talent and box office appeal. I believe this should be reflected in comic books. So when I see female characters that are really interesting, I tend to gravitate towards them. I also happen to be an older brother to three wonderful sisters and an uncle to two beautiful nieces. Because of this, I’ve always been inclined to pay attention to how women are portrayed in various media, because it reflects on how the people I love most perceive themselves and what they are able to do in the world. And I’d much rather young women have positive, capable, interesting role models to live up to than, well… Yeah, I think you get the picture. And really, it’s that same sort of social awareness that led to Wonder Woman’s creation. Diana has been adopted as a feminist icon for generations, but this isn’t just because a handful of comic reading girls happened to connect with the character. Wonder Woman is a symbol of feminine strength and even superiority because she was intended to be that by her creator William Moulton Marston. Marston was a psychologist with extremely progressive views on women’s roles in society (especially for the time). In addition to Wonder Women, Marston and his wife Elizabeth Hollowell Marston also helped to develop the systolic blood pressure test, a precursor to the polygraph test. Which of course, is a funny little coincidence given Diana’s iconic Lasso of Truth. The important thing to note is that Wonder Woman was intended to be a positive role model for girls. Marston was even more direct, calling her “propaganda” for the type of woman he believed was destined to rule the world. Again, more on that in a minute. But the important thing to note is that this is what Marston understood about female characters and how they connect with both female and male readers. “Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don’t want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.” So, there you have it. Diana is intended to back up the positive values Marston associated with women (love, compassion, peace, patience and intelligence) with the strengths most people associate with men (power, physical strength, athletic ability, authority and competitive drive). It’s this combination of positive traits that makes Diana so appealing, and helps her stand out as a positive role model for young girls. Marston’s personal belief was that women are more honest, efficient, and suited for leadership than men are. They were destined to take over the world, and for the better. Which is a little too extreme for my personal philosophy, but it is a fascinating subject to me because of how Marston’s politics and ideas informed his creation of the character. That influence can range from mostly tame to some pretty crazy ideas that make you understand why Wonder Woman comics were banned by the Catholic Church at one point. Which I may get into at some point, but isn’t really the focus of this article. For today, let’s focus on the tame side of things. You probably know that Diana is an Amazon, but if you don’t know anything about the Amazons, then it would probably help to have some context about them. After all, our culture shapes who we are, right? 1. The Amazons were a race of powerful women who trained as warriors but also believe in preserving the “feminine” values of truth and love. 2. They were tricked into serving as Hercules’ slaves, but eventually their leader Hippolyte (or Hippolyta for those who don’t get Greek phonics) managed to overthrow him with the help of goddesses. 3. The Amazons fled Greece and went to Paradise Island, a virtual utopia, but were always supposed to wear their “Bracelets of Submission” as a reminder not to fall victim to men in the future. Hmm. A race of powerful women overthrowing the bonds of patriarchal oppression and then creating a paradise on earth, proving that women are superior to men? I wonder what Charles Moulton Marston was trying to say? Hmmmm… Okay, so Marston isn’t exactly subtle. But the important thing to get from this is that the Amazons embody a paradox about the nature of war and peace. They are a culture that promotes the art of combat, training the women of
more highly educated (master's or doctoral degree). Among nurses with BSN degrees, 49% answered correctly. Question #5 Testing pH of gastric tube aspirate is a reliable way to ensure proper feeding tube placement before initiating enteral nutrition. False. Incorrect responses: 51%. Similar to the profile for responses about Trendelenburg positioning, nurses answering correctly were older, more experienced, and more highly educated. Among nurses with 1 to 5 years' experience, only 38% answered correctly. Among LPNs/LVNs, 42% answered correctly. Question #6 Continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions helps prevent VAP. True. Incorrect responses: 71%. Nursing students made up less than 2% of survey respondents (n=29), but they scored the best among all levels of education with 45% answering correctly. Fewer than 30% of respondents with an RN diploma, associate's degree, or bachelor's degree answered correctly. Thirty-three percent of respondents with a master's degree answered correctly. Question #7 Checking gastric residual volume before initiating enteral feeding is necessary to assess gastric emptying and reduce aspiration risk. False. Incorrect responses: 78%. A high percentage of all respondents got this wrong, regardless of age, years of experience, or level of education. Question #8 Continuous enteral nutrition should be stopped before a patient is turned or repositioned. False. Incorrect answers: 59%. Percentages of respondents answering incorrectly were higher for younger respondents (between ages 21 and 40) than for respondents over age 40. Percentages of correct answers were comparable at most levels of education (40% or less), although 52% of master's-prepared nurses answered correctly. Question #13 To reduce aspiration risk, healthy preoperative adults who are undergoing elective procedures should be N.P.O. after midnight. False. Incorrect answers: 67%. Current guidelines on perioperative fasting were issued in 2011. Less than 20% of newer nurses (5 years' experience or less) answered correctly; among age groups, scores were similar for younger nurses (ages 21 to 30). However, among educational levels, the percentage of correct answers increased as the level of education rose. About 65% of respondents with a doctoral degree in nursing answered correctly, but this group comprised only about 3% of all respondents (n=49).Metaphysics is the attempt to understand how existence works by examining the building blocks of reality, the distinctions between mental and physical entities, and the fundamental questions of being and reality. But metaphysics is not only an arcane branch of philosophy: human beings use metaphysical assumptions to navigate the world. Assumptions about what exists and what is fundamental exert a powerful influence on our lives. Indeed, the less aware we are of our metaphysical assumptions, the more we are subject to them. Western metaphysics tends to rely on the paradigm of substances. We often see the world as a world of things, composed of atomic molecules, natural kinds, galaxies. Objects are the paradigmatic mode of existence, the basic building blocks of the Universe. What exists exists as an object. That is to say, things are of a certain kind, they have some specific qualities and well-defined spatial and temporal limits. For instance: Fido is my dog, he is grey, and was born one year ago. (It’s worth noting that such a simple statement will give rise to a litany of metaphysical disputes within substance metaphysics: realists believe that universals, such as the natural kind ‘dogs’, exist while nominalists believe them to be only intellectual abstractions.) Though substance metaphysics seems to undergird Western ‘common sense’, I think it is wrong. To see this, consider the cliché about the glass of water: is it half-empty or half-full? The question assumes a static arrangement of things serving as a basis for either an optimistic or a pessimistic interpretation. One can engage in interminable disputes about the correct description of the physical set-up, or about the legitimacy of the psychological evaluations. But what if the isolated frame ‘a glass of water’ fails to give the relevant information? Anyone would prefer an emptier glass that is getting full to a fuller one getting empty. Any analysis lacking information about change misses the point, which is just what substance metaphysics is missing. Process philosophers, meanwhile, think we should go beyond looking at the world as a set of static unrelated items, and instead examine the processes that make up the world. Processes, not objects, are fundamental. The pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus provides the most famous image of process metaphysics. ‘It is not possible,’ he says, ‘to step twice into the same river’ – because existence depends on change; the river you step into a second time is changed from the river you stepped into originally (and you have changed in the interval, too). And while substance philosophers will tend to search for the smallest constituent objects in order to locate reality’s most fundamental building blocks, process philosophers think this is insufficient. So do modern physicists. Electrons are now understood as bundles of energy in a field, and quantum vacuum fluctuations prove that there are fields without bundles but no bundles without fields. Things seem to be reducible to processes – and not the reverse. (As the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead put it, we should think about ‘occurrences’ instead of ‘things’.) Change poses a recurring problem for substance metaphysics. Universals have traditionally been a popular way to circumvent it. These static entities are difficult to define precisely, but can be thought of as ‘hyper-things’ that are instantiated in many different particular things. A universal is the thing that particulars have in common, such as types, kinds and relations. Universals are essentially different from particulars: Aristotle, for instance, argued that particulars – such as Fido my dog – are subject to generation and corruption, while species – the universal – are eternal. This particular example provides another instance in which science seems to favour process metaphysics. Thanks to the theory of evolution, the Aristotelian view that species are unchanging and eternal was proven wrong. Species evolve. They change. Dogs, after all, evolved from wolves to constitute a whole different kind. Once again, we’re better off using the paradigm of change rather than substance. Process metaphysics leads to a re-evaluation of other important philosophical notions. Consider identity. To explain why things change without losing their identity, substance philosophers need to posit some underlying core – an essence –that remains the same throughout change. It is not easy to pin down what this core might be, as the paradox of Theseus’ ship illustrates. A ship goes on a long voyage and requires significant repairs: new planks to replace the old, fresh oars to replace the decayed, and so on, until, by the time the ship returns to port, there is not one single piece that belonged to the ship when it departed. Is this the same ship, even though materially it is completely different? For substance philosophers, this is something of a paradox; for process philosophers, this is a necessary part of identity. Of course it is the same ship. Identity ceases to be a static equivalence of a thing with itself. After all, without the repairs, the ship would have lost its functionality. Instead, as the German philosopher Nicholas Rescher argues in Ideas in Process (2009), identity just is a programmatic development. That is, the identity of a process is the structural identity of its programme. Other things being equal, every puppy will turn out to be a dog. (This programme need not be thought of as deterministic. The interactions between processes, Rescher argues, open room for variations.) Processes are not the mere intervals between two different states of affairs or two objects, as the paradox of the heap exemplifies: take a heap of sand and remove one grain. It remains a heap; one grain doesn’t make a difference. But if you repeat the subtraction enough times, eventually there will be just one grain. Clearly, this isn’t a heap. Where did it become a non-heap? By looking at the process, and not the end-states of affairs, you’ll realise the impossibility of pinpointing the boundary between heap and non-heap. (Similarly, no individual was the exact turning point between wolves and dogs.) At the very least, this gives us a warning about the unnoticed abstraction operating on our division of natural kinds. Process philosophers such as Henri Bergson stop at this negative conclusion, believing that processes cannot be known but only experienced. Regardless, as the Danish philosopher Johanna Seibt notes, it might just be the case that focusing on the process requires a whole new perspective. Looking at the world as a manifold of interconnected processes has scientific and philosophical advantages, but there are more prosaic benefits too. Process philosophy invites us to look at longer stretches of time, blurred boundaries and connected relations. Identity as a programmatic – but not deterministic – process welcomes innovation through small, recurring changes. Under these metaphysical assumptions, a meaningful life is less about finding your ‘real’ self than expanding its boundaries.KOCHI: India should invoke provisions of Bio-diversity Convention (CBD) to fight the patent issued by European Patent Office (EPO) to Monsanto on virus resistance traits of melons allegedly taken from indigenous varieties in India, according to ecologist S Faizi.Faizi, a member of CBD Expert Group on Biodiversity and Poverty and Board Member of the CBD Alliance, said Monsanto had misappropriated the viral resistance trait of Indian melons and introduced it into Western variety of melons, through conventional breeding techniques.The patent obtained by the Munich office of the EPO to Monsanto for Closterovirus-resistant melon plants has no legal validity as it was not an invention but a case of "bio-piracy," Faizy said."India may win the rights if we file a case in any court which has jurisdiction over the Munich office of the EPO, by invoking the CBD provisions," he said.Faizi said he had written to minister for environment and forests Jayanti Natarajan with this suggestion.He said the fight against this patent might not be effective if India was invoking patent laws alone. Patent laws do not recognise sovereign national rights over biodiversity, as they treat biodiversity as global resource.In recent weeks, A's co-owner Lew Wolff has indicated a renewed interest in keeping the team in Oakland rather than moving it to San Jose. Specifically, Wolff has begun to focus on the possibility of building a new ballpark within Coliseum City — a massive mixed-use development to be erected on public land currently occupied by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Arena. But while Wolff's apparent change of heart is good news for A's fans who don't want the team to leave, a rival proposal to build a waterfront ballpark near Jack London Square likely would be a better idea for the city. The waterfront ballpark plan, which is being pushed by a group of Oakland business leaders and team boosters, involves building a privately financed 38,000-seat stadium at Howard Terminal on Port of Oakland property. The site is close to downtown and is readily accessible. It's not far from the 12th Street BART station and is only a few blocks from AC Transit lines and the free Broadway Shuttle. It's also right next to the Oakland ferry terminal and is just a short walk from the Amtrak station. Plus, the surrounding neighborhood features plenty of parking on weeknights and weekends. But, more importantly, its proximity to downtown would help the continued revitalization of Oakland's urban core. In fact, privately financed baseball stadiums — and basketball arenas — make financial sense for downtown areas because of the large number of events they host each year. A new A's ballpark would feature at least 81 home games, plus other events at the site, that promise to draw a total of about 3 million fans every year. And many of those fans are people who may not otherwise visit downtown Oakland. (The port is interested in providing the property for the ballpark because Howard Terminal is being phased out as a shipping operation, and a stadium would help revitalize the port's real estate properties in Jack London Square.) As such, ballpark patrons would provide a financial shot in the arm for bars, restaurants, and retail throughout Oakland's downtown and waterfront areas. And since many of the establishments that stand to benefit are small, independently owned businesses, a waterfront ballpark also would fit better with the city's shop-local ethos. The Coliseum City project, by contrast, is being fashioned after LA Live in Los Angeles, and thus will likely attract chain retailers owned and operated by large corporations. A new privately financed basketball arena at Howard Terminal also makes sense for the same reasons. At fifty-plus acres, the site is large enough to accommodate both a baseball stadium and a new basketball facility for the Golden State Warriors. Plus, an arena would host at least 41 professional basketball games a year, along with concerts and other events. So it, too, would help revitalize the area. A new football stadium in downtown, by contrast, wouldn't have as much impact because it would host so few events: The Raiders play only eight regular-season home games a year. Although the Warriors' owners seem intent on moving the team to a waterfront site near downtown San Francisco, Oakland city leaders would be smart to begin talks with the team about a new arena at Howard Terminal. After all, at least one of the Warriors' owners, Joe Lacob, is reportedly interested in being part of an effort to buy the A's and build a new ballpark on Oakland's waterfront, according to knowledgeable sources. (Lacob declined to talk about the issue with the Express. Warriors co-owner Peter Guber told the Los Angeles Times that he's not interested in buying the A's, but declined to comment as to whether Lacob is.) According to sources, Lacob is part of one of at least three groups that have expressed interest in purchasing the A's and building a ballpark at Howard Terminal, as the Express first reported on its website last week. Wolff responded by telling the Oakland Tribune that the team is not for sale. He also dismissed the Howard Terminal proposal as being unfeasible, but then hinted that he and his partners might be interested in keeping the A's in Oakland after all, at Coliseum City. In short, the revelation that other wealthy investors are interested in buying the A's and building a new ballpark in Oakland seems to have forced Wolff's hand. Over the past several years, he has repeatedly told Major League Baseball (MLB) — and the rest of the world — that there are no viable locations for a new A's stadium in Oakland. But it's now obvious he can no longer make that claim. Moreover, his plan to move the A's to the South Bay is dead in the water. A judge recently short-circuited a lawsuit filed by the City of San Jose against MLB that sought to allow the team to move. In addition, court documents in the case revealed that Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig rejected Wolff's proposal for a new ballpark in San Jose last June. The league has repeatedly refused to okay the proposed move because the San Francisco Giants own the territorial rights to the South Bay. Wolff seems to finally understand that his team is going nowhere — hence, his renewed interest in Coliseum City. And while a downtown ballpark makes more sense for Oakland, the Coliseum City development would also provide positive outcomes for the city. The huge project will generate thousands of jobs and produce millions in tax revenues for Oakland. As a result, it would help the cash-strapped city pay for much-needed services and social programs that endured devastating cuts during the recession. Plus, the project is much farther along than Howard Terminal: It already has deep-pocketed investors who have publicly come forward to say that they're interested in financing it. In other words, Coliseum City is a worthy project. It just won't do much for Oakland's downtown.The Jazz announced that they have cut Brian Cook, Dominic McGuire, Justin Holiday, Lester Hudson and Scott Machado. Utah’s roster is now down to 15, including the injured Brandon Rush and Marvin Williams. Today’s news means that Mike Harris and Jamaal Tinsley have both made the cut for the Jazz. Tinsley’s signing, necessitated when rookie point guard Trey Burke broke his hand earlier this month, likely cost one of today’s camp cuts a spot on the team. All five were on fully non-guaranteed deals, so the Jazz aren’t on the hook for their salaries. Everyone the Jazz brought to camp has NBA experience, and that includes Harris, who’ll begin his fourth NBA season on opening night. The power forward has played sparingly, totaling just 34 games across stints with the Rockets and Wizards, but coach Tyrone Corbin values the mobility of his 6’6″, 235-pound frame, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News points out (on Twitter). Chuck Myron contributed to this post.New Delhi, Dec. 19: The RBI has said deposits of demonetised notes with a value of over Rs 5,000 would be allowed just once in a bank account between now and December 30. The announcement not only lengthened the list of abrupt changes enforced since the note recall was announced on November 8 but also fuelled suspicion that the government is trying to dissuade people from depositing demonetised notes. The value of such deposits is said to have touched Rs 14 lakh crore, a tad shy of the original estimate of Rs 15.44 lakh crore worth of the demonetised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. A high percentage of such deposits would suggest only an insignificant amount of black money was being kept as high-value notes and/or dodgers found some way to beat the system. Another possibility is that a sizeable chunk of counterfeit notes may have entered the banking system, taking advantage of the chaos that followed demonetisation. However, there seemed to be an attempt to shift the goalposts once again with the RBI apparently suggesting in a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query that the total number of demonetised notes was actually more than Rs 20 lakh crore -- a surprising 30 per cent increase, compared with what the government had said earlier. Today, while announcing the Rs 5,000 rule, the RBI said two bank officials would grill customers to determine whether they had valid reasons for "not depositing the notes earlier". But finance minister Arun Jaitley said tonight: "If they (bank customers) go and deposit with the bank any amount of currency, no questions are going to be asked and, therefore, the 5,000-rupee limit does not apply to them if they go and deposit it once. "But if they are going to go everyday and deposit some currency, same person, that gives rise to suspicion that where is he acquiring this currency from. In that event a person may have something to worry about. Therefore, everyone is advised whatever old currency you have, please go and deposit it now." The RBI notice today flies in the face of earlier assertions by Jaitley that people ought not to rush to banks to deposit their cash hoards as they had adequate time till December 30 to do so. Earlier, the government had made it clear that no questions would be asked if customers made deposits of old notes up to Rs 2.5 lakh. At that time, Jaitley had said: "My appeal is that you have time till December 30. So, there is no need to come in the first few days (to deposit your old notes). Take your time, this will ease pressure (on banks)." The government had moved a gazette notification on Saturday that effected the rule change, stating that "the deposit of an amount exceeding Rs 5,000 shall be made only once per account until 30th December, 2016." But the finance ministry didn't put up the notification in the public domain until Monday. The notification added "that the deposit up to the amount of Rs 5,000 shall be made directly into such account and the rest of the amount, if any, shall be subject to such conditions as the Reserve Bank of India may specify." The banks have been asked to stop customers from trying to sidestep the new rules by making smaller deposits in their accounts. If the cumulative deposits top Rs 5,000, the customers will be subject to the same strictures that apply to those who make a single deposit of more than Rs 5,000. The RBI said deposits of over Rs 5,000 worth of demonetised notes would be credited only into KYC-compliant accounts. "If the accounts are not KYC-compliant, credits may be restricted up to Rs 50,000 subject to the conditions governing the conduct of such accounts," the RBI notification said. These restrictions will not, however, apply to those who make income disclosures under the second amnesty scheme with deposits made into the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. PTI reported that in response to a question posed by Mumbai-based activist Anil Galgali, the RBI said that on November 8, it had Rs 9.13 lakh crore in Rs 1,000 notes while Rs 11.38 lakh crore in Rs 500 notes -- adding up to Rs 20.51 lakh crore. If true, this will raise the headroom for the government that has become increasingly uncomfortable with the avalanche of deposits that banks have received since the demonetisation announcement. Economist Pronab Sen said: "There has already been a significant erosion of people's confidence in our currency, given the regulatory flip-flops and rumours about the quality of new notes which have been printed... and this rule merely adds to that uncertainty." Analysts speculated the latest restriction was prompted by the possible failure of its second Income Declaration Scheme which provides for a tax and penalty of up to 50 per cent of declarations. Finance Ministry officials, however, contended that the move was meant to stall any further money laundering. They believe that many people have been using all kinds of devices to dodge taxes.0 Flares Twitter 0 Facebook 0 Google+ 0 Buffer 0 0 Flares × When someone is released from jail, it's natural to want to get out of Dodge as quickly as possible. Some inmates call family members, others call friends. Twenty one year-old Qais Yoeisi, however, thought the best course of action involved stealing a parked cab... or maybe he had seen this employment ad. The man was released from the San Diego Central Jail on Wednesday morning. From there, he spotted an unoccupied Yellow Cab and decided he'd grab the vehicle to drive himself home. SDPD officers were quick to follow. Yoeisi reportedly tried to evade capture by hopping onto Interstate 15, and led police on a brief highway chase. He eventually pulled over about 5 miles later, stepped out of the cab and surrendered peacefully. He is currently being held on a "no-bail hold" pending arraignment. He is being charged with committing a felony while out on bail, grand theft auto and receiving stolen property. It's not immediately clear when the defendant was first arrest, or how long he had been in custody prior to his joy ride. This, however, is not the first incident of someone being released from the San Diego Central Jail only to find themselves back behind bars that same day. Earlier this summer, an unnamed man was released after hours. Jail staff said a short time later, the man found a large concrete rock, carried it back to the facility and used it to shatter one of their front doors. Sheriff's deputies said the man said he didn't have anywhere to go and wanted to be booked back into custody.While publicly claiming neutrality between Argentina and the U.K. during the 1982 Falklands War, President Ronald Reagan’s administration had developed plans to loan a ship to the Royal Navy if it lost one of its aircraft carriers in the war, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman, told the U.S. Naval Institute on June 26. Lehman and then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger agreed to support U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with the loan of the amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima, he said. “We agreed that [Weinberger] would tell the President that we planned to handle all these requests routinely without going outside existing Navy channels,” Lehman said in a speech provided to the U.S. Naval Institute he made in Portsmouth, U.K. “We would ‘leave the State Department, except for [Secretary of State Al] Haig, out of it.’” Reagan approved the request without hesitation and his instructions to Weinberger had been simple, “Give Maggie everything she needs to get on with it,” Lehman said in the speech. At the time, the Royal Navy had deployed HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes to the Falklands. Each carrier fielded five vertical takeoff Sea Harriers armed with American Sidewinder missiles — all major components of the U.K.’s air war in the Falklands. The contingency plan to provide a replacement carrier was developed at the Royal Navy’s request. “As in most of the requests from the Brits at the time, it was an informal request on a ‘what if’ basis, Navy to Navy,” Lehman said. Retired U.S. Navy Admiral James “Ace” Lyons, commander of the U.S. Second Fleet at the time of the conflict, helped develop the plan to supply the Royal Navy with Iwo Jima if the Hermes or Invincible were lost. Though primarily a helicopter carrier, at least one Iwo Jima-class ship was qualified to operate the American version of the Sea Harrier, according to the 1982 edition of Combat Fleets of the World. “We decided that the USS Iwo Jima would be the ship that would be the easiest for the British to operate and would make for a smooth transfer,” Lyons told the U.S. Naval Institute on June 26. “We also identified ‘contract advisors’ who would be on board to help the British with some of the systems.” The contract advisors needed to help operate the USS Iwo Jima would have likely been retired sailors with knowledge of the ship’s systems, said current Combat Fleets editor, Eric Wertheim on June 26. “The arrangement would have probably been a similar operation to The Flying Tigers, when the U.S. sent surplus aircraft to China and then recruited former pilots to fly the planes,” Wertheim said. “Once the British took over the ship, the crew would have likely been supplemented by privately contracted Americans familiar with the systems.” Iwo Jima would have functioned well as a replacement for the Invincible as both ships were close in size and function. “Even though the Hermes was a larger ship with more capabilities, Iwo Jima could have filled the gap,” Wertheim said. Currently, tensions over the Falklands remain high since the U.K.’s 1982 victory. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received backlash from the British media in 2010 after she offered to mediate the dispute. Many British observers thought her offer indicated that the U.S. position of recognizing British sovereignty over the islands was fading.If you classify yourself as a Social Justice Warrior and a male feminist, you may want to rethink those labels. Multiple cases of sexual assault, abuse and rape have surfaced involving individuals who classified themselves as male feminists, this includes Devin Faraci – an anti-#GamerGate critic – who turned out to have sexual assault allegations thrown his way, forcing him to step down from Birth.Movies.Death as editor-in-chief. And Matt Hickey, a games journalist, was charged on multiple counts of second-degree rape by a county prosecutor in Washington state. Hickey was also a male feminist and staunchly anti-#GamerGate. This follows on a recent media blitz by various self-proclaimed Progressive websites promoting and advocating the glorification of an admitted pedophile, Sarah Butts. New York Magazine and Daily Dot did fluff pieces to promote Butts, despite the fact that it’s been widely spread that Butts was into pedophilia, as reported by Breitbart. All of this follows-up on previous reports of a member of Crash Override Network – another Progressive stack in the tech sector – coming under fire for sexually harassing multiple women. One thing is clear, the Social Justice Warrior circles are quickly being recognized as a breeding ground for creating a culture of rape and sexual assault amongst some of their most vocal members. These horrifying stories and more in this October 15th, 2016 edition of the Weekly Recap. Devin Faraci Admits To Sexual Assault It’s almost become like clockwork for the anti-#GamerGate crowd to get outed as being abusers, harassers, pedophiles and sexual abuse deviants. Well, you can add another one to the list in the form of Devin Faraci, who admitted to and begged forgiveness for sexual assault. Even the anti-GG groups are giving Faraci a lot of well-deserved venom for supposedly being a beacon of feminism while doing some rather unsavory things to women. Two members of the Lizard Squad have been charged with cyber terrorism, one from the U.S., and the other from the Netherlands. Sweet justice is finally coming to the group that terrorized gamers for so long. And it turns out that Donald Trump’s campaign being as ridiculous as it is was all part of the Democratic National Committee’s “Pied Piper” plan to make Hillary Clinton look more palatable as a candidate. Star Citizen’s Squadron 42 Gets Delayed Most people expected that Squadron 42 would be delayed, but CIG made it official at this year’s CitizenCon. There’s no official date stamp on when Squadron 42 would be made available but the first chapter will arrive first for Star Citizen backers. A new sci-fi MMO called Project Genom has a release date set for October 12th where it will arrive on Steam’s Early Access platform and it’s promising some huge features. And the developers of Astroneer are desperately trying to avoid launching their game with the same level of scrutiny that befell No Man’s Sky, so they’re trying to temper the hype. Something tells me that they won’t have to worry much about that. Devin Faraci Steps Down As Editor-In-Chief After being accused of sexually assaulting a woman a decade ago, Devin Faraci begged for forgiveness and then got a tongue lashing by his boss. The editor-in-chief of Birth.Movies.Death has had to forfeit his job and apologize for his “vile” behavior. A new game called Dystoria is scheduled to arrive at the end of the month, and the game sounds like it is very ambitious. Two other members of the Crash Override Network actually confirmed the authenticity of the Crash Override Network leaks, destroying the Wikipedia narrative that Randi Harper denied their authenticity. And surprisingly enough, the PC version of the special edition of Skyrim actually takes up less space than the PS4 and Xbox One version of the game. Wikileaks Reveal Media Collusion With HRC Campaign It turns out that CNN, the Associated Press and the Huffington Post, amongst other media outlets, have all been linked to Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign. It turns out that the DNC were colluding with media outlets to ensure that they had positive press for the Democratic hopeful. Throughout October Ubisoft will be giving away free digital copies of the original Beyond Good & Evil for PC gamers through the Uplay Ubisoft Club. It turns out that 76% of e-sports fans actually forfeit watching major NBA, NFL, and NHL matches in place of watching e-sports matches. Curious about the World of Final Fantasy? Well, there’s a demo that’s currently available that you can check out to get a taste of the game. And if you’re curious about the endings for Mafia III then you can check out the ending explanations. Anti-#GamerGate Journalist Turns Out To Be Rapist Let’s just throw hyperbole to the wind, there’s no need for it around these parts. Social Justice Warriors, anti-#Gamergate individuals and male feminists have been caught up in a series of sexual assault scandals, the latest being MovieBob Chipman admitting to complicity covering up the sexual assaults by Devin Faraci by dismissing claims by someone he claims he loved. In a separate case, tech journalist Matt Hickey has been charged on three counts of second degree rape by a county prosecutor in Washington state. The journalist has denied wrongdoing but the prosecution isn’t buying it. The game Exile’s End is set to arrive on PS4 and PS Vita at the end of the month. And Gears of War 4‘s promotional campaign may have used stolen assets, prompting Microsoft to launch an investigation into the situation. FIDE Gets Butt-Slammed By Regional Chess Federations Forcing women to wear hijabs at the chess World Championships in Tehran, Iran caught the ire of several regional chess federations, who came forward to chide FIDE for being anti-feminist with their progressive leniency towards Iran’s backwards gender politics. YouTube has also been either automatically or systematically labeling certain kinds of content as “Objectionable”, having it removed from listings, playlists and search results… some of this content included videos from the Factual Feminist, Christina Hoff Summers. And if you’re in the mood for a new pair of sleek looking headsets, Psyko is giving away a pre-production model of their newest gaming headsets for the Xbox One and PS4.Congress can still act decisively this year to right a wrong that is hurting both small American farmers and the poorest people on the planet. A long-overdue debate is taking place on reform of the 1933 farm bill, passed during the Great Depression to alleviate the suffering of America's family farmers. I was a farm boy then, and the primary cash crops on my father's farm were peanuts and cotton. My first paying job was working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, measuring farmers' fields to ensure that they limited their acreage and total production in order to qualify for the life-sustaining farm subsidy prices. Tragically, in its current form this legislation does not fulfill its original purposes but instead encourages excess production while channeling enormous government payments to the biggest producers. This product of powerful lobbyists now punishes small-scale farmers in the United States and is devastating to families in many of the world's least affluent countries. It is embarrassing to note that, from 1995 to 2005, the richest 10 percent of cotton growers received more than 80 percent of total subsidies. The wealthiest 1 percent of American cotton farmers continues to receive over 25 percent of payouts for cotton, while more than half of America's cotton farmers receive no subsidies at all. American farmers are not dependent on the global market because they are guaranteed a minimum selling price by the federal government. American producers of cotton received more than $18 billion in subsidies between 1999 and 2005, while market value of the cotton was $23 billion. That's a subsidy of 86 percent! The Carter Center works primarily among the world's poorest people, including those in West Africa whose scant livelihood depends on cotton production. For instance, in 2002 Burkina Faso received 57 percent of its total export revenue from cotton, while Benin depended on cotton exports for more than 75 percent of its national export revenue. Overproduction in the United States leads to the dumping of U.S. cotton on global markets, which drives prices down. In recent years, cotton exported from the United States has been sold 61 percent below its cost of production. Fragile African economies that depend on agricultural exports, especially cotton, are sometimes devastated by these practices. A 2002 report by Oxfam International estimates that in 2001 sub-Saharan Africa lost $302 million as a direct result of U.S. cotton subsidies, with two-thirds of the loss sustained in eight countries -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Chad and Togo. Compared with American humanitarian assistance, the subsidies to U.S. cotton farmers amount to more than the U.S. Agency for International Development's total annual budget for all of sub-Saharan Africa. Two amendments being proposed in the Senate represent the best hopes for fixing what's wrong with the system of crop subsidies. Sens. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) have proposed the Farm, Ranch, Equity, Stewardship and Health Act of 2007 as an amendment to the farm bill; it would replace the subsidies with an insurance program protecting farmers from excessive losses and catastrophes such as flooding or drought. This approach would correct many of the flaws I've noted in the current farm bill. An amendment being circulated by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) would place a $250,000 cap on annual subsidy payments to a farmer. Various schemes under the present law allow these limits to be grossly exceeded, with some big farmers receiving several million dollars annually. Both amendments would go a long way toward making the farm bill fair for farmers at home and abroad. I am still a cotton farmer, and I have been in the fields in Mali, where all the work is done by families with small land holdings. Cotton production costs 73 cents per pound in the United States and only 21 cents per pound in West Africa, so American farmers do need protection in the international marketplace. But Congress has a moral obligation to protect American agriculture with legislation that will serve our national interests, that will feed hungry people and that does not suppress the ability of the poor to work their way out of poverty. Former president Jimmy Carter founded the not-for-profit Carter Center, an international nongovernmental organization based in Atlanta.During the last Democratic presidential primary, now over half a decade behind us, the leading candidates heeded the wishes of party activists, boxed Fox News out of the debate process, and went on to win the general election in a landslide. If correlation implied causation this would be excellent news for the GOP, which is planning to box "liberal media" -- so far, this means CNN and NBC -- out of the debates in the 2016 primary. Advertisement: But correlation does not imply causation. So here's some unsolicited advice, for which I'll await a thank you note from RNC chairman Reince Priebus: You're making a mistake. In 2007 and 2008, Democrats didn't have a "gaffe" problem, or, more precisely, an "extraordinarily unpopular agenda" problem. They weren't hiding from Fox News because they feared that the network's anchors might trip Democratic candidates into revealing the dark underbelly of the party platform. They just didn't like or trust Fox News, and didn't want to lend the network's claims to neutrality any legitimacy. And if that were the GOP's genuine concern about CNN and NBC, I'd say more power to them. But it's not. Republicans have actually been pretty candid about the fact that the CNN and NBC boycotts are really about controlling the primary debates -- to avoid repeating the politically damaging clown show the party toured the country with in 2012. They want fewer debates and not just neutral but ideally "friendly" hosts. In other words, they're letting the GOP autopsy's warning about primary debates come into conflict with its warning against epistemic closure, and instead of reducing the number of debates indiscriminately, they're now for reducing them by trying to limit them to conservative venues. I think this is
it did not have enough numbers in the electoral college to prop up someone of its choice. After Kalam, Pratibha Patil of the Congress occupied Rashtrapati Bhavan as India's first woman President. Then came Pranab Mukherjee in 2012. 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.The official website for the television anime of Satsuki Yoshino's Handa-kun manga revealed additional cast for the show last Friday. The cast includes: Kenichi Suzumura as Asahi Ichimiya Daisuke Hirakawa as Sōichi Nagamasa Shouta Aoi as Sōsuke Kojika Toshiki Masuda as Tsukasa Komichi The anime premiered on TBS and CBC on July 7, on MBS on July 8, on BS-TBS on July 9, and on TBS Channel 1 on July 17. Funimation is streaming the series with English subtitles as it airs in Japan, and premiered an English broadcast dub on August 7. Funimation describes the series: Sei Handa leads a very interesting life for a high school student. He is admired by his peers as a calligraphy genius and held in the highest respect. Unfortunately, Handa is under the impression that they hate him! He just wants a quiet life, but instead he'll face countless challenges for his school idol position. Can he handle all the pressure and “bullying”? It's hard being so clueless! Yoshitaka Koyama ( Rune Soldier, Noramimi, Kero Kero Chime ) is directing the anime at diomedea, while Michiko Yokote ( Shirobako, Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Dagashikashi ) is supervising and penning the series' scripts alongside scriptwriters Mariko Kunisawa ( Hatsukoi Limited, Magimoji Rurumo ) and Miharu Hirami ( Cookin' Idol Ai! Mai! Main!, Blue Spring Ride ). Mayuko Matsumoto ( Gingitsune, KanColle ) is designing the characters. Hanyū is credited for prop design. Kaori Kikuna ( Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Star Blazers 2199, Kancolle ) is credited as art director, while Yoko Matsuhara ( Lovely Complex, Arakawa under the Bridge × Bridge ) is credited for color design. Yasuyuki Itou ( Gingitsune, Kancolle, The Lost Village ) is director of photography, while Yuuji Oka ( Fairy Tail, KanColle, Looking Up At The Half-Moon ) is the editor. Ken Ito ( High School DxD New ) is composing the music at Lantis. Kengo Kawazoe ( Diabolik Lovers, Re-Kan!, Komori-san Can't Decline ) is the sound director. Fo'xTails is performing the opening theme song "The LiBERTY," while Kenichi Suzumura is performing the ending theme song "HIDE-AND-SEEK." The manga is a spinoff of Yoshino's Barakamon manga. Yen Press has licensed Handa-kun and is releasing it digitally and in print. Yoshino launched the prequel manga in Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine in October 2013, and Square Enix published the sixth compiled volume in Japan on July 12. [Via Ota-suke]WAYNE — A young couple who went missing late last month were found dead in a garage at a home in Wayne this morning, prosecutors said. Jorge Rodriguez and his girlfriend Melissa Pereira were last seen leaving Pereira's home in Wayne on Dec. 27, supposedly headed for a Pennsylvania bed and breakfast where they made New Year's Eve reservations. But Pereira, a 25-year-old Wayne resident, and Rodriguez, of Garfield, were found dead around 11:15 a.m. today, said Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Michael DeMarco. DeMarco said investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine a cause and manner of death, and declined to comment further. The couple was reported missing on Dec. 30, according to DeMarco, and both were registered in the national missing person's database. While he would not disclose their manner of death, DeMarco said there was "no reason for the public to be concerned." He would not say where the bodies were found. A man who identified himself as Pereira's uncle told the Record the bodies were found in a Lancaster Court garage behind the apartment Pereira and her mother shared. Earlier this month, Garfield Police Captain Darren Sucorowski said there was no reason to believe Rodriguez and Pereira were victims of a crime. Calls to Wayne and Garfield Police seeking comment today were not immediately returned. Pereira worked on several shows for the Fox News Channel, including "Your World" with Neil Cavuto, and had also worked as a photographer, according to her profile on LinkedIn. Attempts to contact the Rodriguez family were unsuccessful. A man who answered the phone at Pereira's home and identified himself as the victim's uncle said right now, the family is simply waiting for answers. "At this point we're just still in shock and we're just trying to wait for what the medical examiners are going to say," he said. "Just in shock." NJ.com reporter Myles Ma contributed to this report. RELATED COVERAGE: • Young couple from Garfield, Wayne missing for nearly two weeksLook at that epic intro page! This is absolutely amazing! This thing is off to a good start. Dang it, Soos! Why would you do this?! Oh well, at least he lived, He’s too cool to die. Dude, Soos survived being a ZOMBIE! I’m pretty sure he’s immortal at this point. Also, flipping the lights on and off isn’t that bad. Bionic eyes would still be pretty fricking sweet though. You wouldn’t need glasses ever again. 1) No, whales haven’t made it on land and I am really glad they haven’t. Whales are ENORMOUS! Also, fax machines HA HA HA HA HA HA! 2) Ford, how are you alive still? Not getting enough of/getting too much of any of those things sounds really dangerous! 3) Everything suddenly makes sense. 4) EURYTHMICS HA HA HA HA HA HA! Who wants to tell him? I really want to see his reaction to the latest music now. 5) I would like one of each, thank you very much sir! (As long as the cthulhu doesn’t bite and is housetrained) 6) Cipher solution: “Figure out what a “silver fox” is and why everyone keeps calling me one.“ Stanford, you DON’T want to know (or maybe you do. It’s a compliment). WAIT, is that all the invisible ink? Soos didn’t drink that much, did he? Man, this one’s going to be short! Nevermind, there’s a little more. Apparently, I’m supposed to hold my hand on the page and shine the blacklight on it. Also, I’m an honorary Pines now? Thank you, book! :D Gotta wait for the glowing to stop, I shone my blacklight on the whole thing by mistake. Gonna go see if I missed anything while I wait. Didn’t miss something here but I wanted to revisit my favourite page and decided to try and get a better shot. I think this is a little better. :O Nearly missed this! It was in the back of the book. This looks beautiful! It kinda reminded me of the finale and Cipher Hunt, which made me both happy (Cipher Hunt) and sad (the finale). I’m going to really miss this show! And here it is! My hand ended up looking weird because it was sitting kind of weird. Oh well, not like the mark is permanent or anything. Made it look cooler.:) And here it is, back in the packaging. Not planning to keep it in there forever but I figure it’ll make a nice dust protector for the book itself. I also didn’t manage to capture the nice packaging job at the beginning so I hope this will suffice. If there’s anything else you’re dying to see, feel free to send me a message either here or on reddit (I’m /u/everlastingsnow (which explains the profile pic)) and I’ll send you a picture. My overall thoughts on the book are as follows: I FRICKING LOVED IT! I thought that a lot of the pages were really well designed and it was nice to get more info about the world and characters. I also liked the smaller details. From what I wrote about them ‘not being mind blowing’, one may think that I didn’t like the small extra things thrown in (ex. the portal potty or the hand x-ray lighting up) but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Those small things were a nice touch and when I said they weren’t ‘mind blowing’, I meant that in a factual sense only, not an artistic one. The only real complaint I have is that there isn’t more content after Ford gets back. I’d have loved to see more of his thoughts on the Pines family, Dipper’s adventures or the other dimensions he traveled to. Oh well, even without that, this book gets 5 stars from me.NEW DELHI: An additional 1,000 paramilitary personnel have been rushed to Andhra Pradesh by the Union home ministry to deal with any situation arising out of a decision on Telangana The additional forces, along with the existing 1,200 paramilitary personnel, are expected to be deployed in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, where protests may erupt if the Centre takes a decision in favour of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh for creation of Telangana state.Sources said apart from the central forces, 200 personnel of Karnataka Armed Police and 100 personnel of Tamil Nadu Armed Police are stationed in Hyderabad and its adjoining areas to assist the state police in maintaining the law and order.Besides, there are around 4,000 paramilitary personnel currently engaged in anti-Naxal operations in Andhra Pradesh.Home ministry officials are in regular touch with state government officials and have asked them to ensure peace in the state as the Centre is inching closer to a decision on Telangana.Last week, Andhra Pradesh chief secretary P K Mohanty and DGP V Dinesh Reddy were summoned to the capital where home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and home secretary Anil Goswami held an hour-long closed door meeting with them and reviewed the situation there.Shinde and Goswami had assured the state government officials all possible central help to maintain peace in Andhra Pradesh.Every homecoming dance has a king and queen. To wrap up this event, I want to draw a picture of the King and Queen of the Midtown Homecoming Dance. We just need to actually vote on who they should be. During this week, I will be taking nominations and votes from here and on Reddit for two people to be in the picture. I’ll close the vote once I put up the next episode, and get to work. Only rule I’d like to insist on is that, since this is Midtown’s dance, at least one person who goes to the school should be voted in. Because we’re not actually sure who goes to that school besides Parker, just consider that as anyone you can recruit this event. But aside from that, you can vote anyone in. Have fun!Share The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as state, and international authorities have arrested eight individuals linked to an online illegal drug store, known as the “The Farmer’s Market.” The online marketplace, which sold a variety of narcotics, including LSD, Ecstasy, mescaline, and marijuana, to about 3,000 people in 35 countries around the globe, used TOR software to hide the IP addresses of those involved. A 66-page indictment, released this week, shows that the operators of The Farmer’s Market processed around 5,000 orders, collectively valued at more than $1 million, between 2007 and 2009 alone. Buyers used a variety of payment services, including cash, PayPal and WesterUnion, to pay for the illegal drugs. The bust, led by the DEA, was the result of “Operation Adam Bomb,” which was conducted over two years with assistance from internationa authorities in the Netherlands, Columbia, and Scotland; and federal, state, and local U.S. authorities in New York, Iowa, Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey. “The drug trafficking organization targeted in Operation Adam Bomb was distributing dangerous and addictive drugs to every corner of the world, and trying to hide their activities through the use of advanced anonymizing on-line technology,” said Briane M. Grey, DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge, in a statement. “Today’s action should send a clear message to organizations that are using technology to conduct criminal activity that the DEA and our law enforcement partners will track them down and bring them to justice.” The operators of The Farmer’s Market “provided a controlled substances storefront, order forms, online forums, customer service, and payment methods for the different sources of supply,” according to the indictment. Marc Willem, 42, the lead defendant in the case, was arrested on Monday at his home in Lelystad, Netherlands. Authorities seized Michael Evron, 42, a U.S. citizen living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sunday, as he was attempting to leave Columbia, reports Ars Technica. The remaining defendants include Jonathan Colbeck, 51, of Urbana, Iowa; Brian Colbeck, 47, of Coldwater, Michigan; Ryan Rawls, 31, of Alpharetta, Georgia; Jonathan Dugan, 27, of North Babylon, New York; George Matzek, 20, of Secaucus, New Jersey; and Charles Bigras, 37, of Melbourne, Florida. Each of these men were arrested at their homes. The 12-count indictment charges each of the eight men arrested with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. If convicted, each man faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. In addition to the eight arrested for operating The Farmer’s Market, authorities also arrested seven other individuals: two in the Netherlands, and five in the United States. Those individuals were not named, and were presumably patrons of The Farmer’s Market. Despite the operators’ use of TOR, which makes it impossible to track a user’s IP address, the authorities say they were able to “infiltrate” the drug ring, which led to the arrests. The takedown of The Farmer’s Market appears to have no connection to the “Silk Road” drug ring, which Gawker exposed last year. View the full indictment below: Willemsindictment Filed.045 Image via Aaron Amat/ShutterstockPaul Reville, the former secretary of education for Massachusetts, recently said “the children belong to all of us” at a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress when discussing those who oppose Common Core. “To be sure, there’s always a small voice – and I think these voices get amplified in the midst of these arguments – of people who were never in favor of standards in the first place and never wanted to have any kind of testing or accountability and those voices get amplified,” Reville said, according to CNS News. Reville’s language is reminiscent of MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry in April of last year, when she said, “We have to break through that private idea that kids belong to their parents… kids belong to whole communities.” Lindsey Burke, a Will Skillman Fellow in Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, is opposed to this idea. “Common Core removes the ability of parents and teachers to direct academic content and will have a homogenizing effect on the educational choices available to families,” Burke remarks. Sandra Stotsky, a professor at the University of Arkansas, also has concerns about Common Core, writing that “Common Core’s standards not only present a serious threat to state and local education authority, but also put academic quality at risk. Pushing fatally flawed education standards into America’s schools is not the way to improve education for America’s students.” Forty-six states have adopted the Common Core curriculum since its creation in 2009. This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.VIENNA (Reuters) - Two senior Austrian educators will step down over a scandal in which a test administered to school-leavers featured an essay by a Nazi apologist, the latest in a series of missteps in awarding high school diplomas. Following a high-profile data leak and a failure to communicate new grading scales, the final straw came when this year’s German test included a 1947 text by German author Manfred Hausmann, who had worked for Nazi propaganda magazine Das Reich. Students were asked to reflect on how “The Snail” - in which a gardener decides the pest has to die to protect his plants - dealt with questions about nature and life. The test omitted to mention the broader context of the author’s Nazi past. The case has caused embarrassment and anger in Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany into the Third Reich in 1938 and has been struggling for decades to escape a reputation for brushing its history under the carpet. Salzburg educator Wolfgang Muehlbacher, part of a group of critical authors who exposed the incident, said a 15-member advisory panel of literature experts who picked the text had clearly missed its significance. “I assume the people simply were not exact enough, took too little time for this so that they did not see what was going on,” he said. “Former Nazis who were involved in this whole machinery of crime have to read the text as absolving them.” Hausmann died in 1986. Education Minister Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek said the co-directors of the independent BIFIE institute in charge of overseeing educational quality and testing would go in July. She convened an advisory panel to report back in a month on how the Alpine Republic can avoid such mishaps in future under a new leadership of the BIFIE. The case has also raised renewed concerns that Austria’s education system - while praised for its effective vocational training - is failing to equip young people with the academic skills they need to thrive in the modern world. Unemployment is the lowest in the European Union but organizations including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development group of wealthy countries have highlighted issues with Austrian schools. “Austria’s well-being model has largely drawn on the quality of its vocational education system, but the education system as a whole faces important challenges,” the OECD found in its latest national survey of Austria. It noted the proportion of students below minimum proficiency levels in international tests had risen while the share of those reaching the highest proficiency had fallen. Heinisch-Hosek promised a shake-up of BIFIE to ensure “less heads in the clouds and more feet firmly on the ground, less ivory tower and more suitability for practical use”.In an attempt to recover money on the defaulted loans, the Education Department paid more than $1.4 billion last fiscal year to collection agencies and other groups to hunt down defaulters. Hiding from the government is not easy. “I keep changing my phone number,” said Amanda Cordeiro, 29, from Clermont, Fla., who dropped out of college in 2010 and has fielded as many as seven calls a day from debt collectors trying to recover her $55,000 in overdue loans. “In a year, this is probably my fourth phone number.” Unlike private lenders, the federal government has extraordinary tools for collection that it has extended to the collection firms. Ms. Cordeiro has already had two tax refunds seized, and other debtors have had their paychecks or Social Security payments garnisheed. Over all, the government recoups about 80 cents for every dollar that goes into default — an astounding rate, considering most lenders are lucky to recover 20 cents on the dollar on defaulted credit cards. While the recovery rate is impressive, critics say it has left the government with little incentive to try to prevent defaults in the first place. Though there are programs in place to help struggling borrowers, the companies hired to administer federal student loans are not paid enough for lengthy conversations to walk borrowers through the payment options, critics say. One consequence is that a government program called income-based repayment has fallen short of expectations. Under the program, borrowers pay 15 percent of their discretionary income for up to 25 years, after which the rest of their loan is forgiven. But participation has lagged because borrowers are either not aware of the program or are turned off by its complexity. “If people were well informed, how many defaults could be averted?” asked Paul C. Combe, president of American Student Assistance, a loan guarantee agency based in Boston. “We are hurting people here.” For borrowers, the decision to default can be disastrous, ruining their credit and increasing the amount they owe, with penalties up to 25 percent of the balance. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Ms. Cordeiro, a single mother, dropped out of Everest College, a profit-making school, 16 credits shy of a bachelor’s degree. She said she could not get any more loans to finish. “I get these letters about defaulting, and I get them and throw them in the bin,” she said. Jake Brock, who graduated in 2008 from Keuka College, a private liberal arts school in upstate New York, defaulted in May on a federally guaranteed loan of $8,000. With penalties and accumulated interest, the loan balance is now $13,000, he said. “I just fell behind and couldn’t dig myself out,” said Mr. Brock, who is 29 and owes a total of $100,000 in student loans. There is no statute of limitations on collecting federally guaranteed student loans, unlike credit cards and mortgages, and Congress has made it difficult for borrowers to wipe out the debt through bankruptcy. Only a small fraction of defaulters even tries. “You are going to pay it, or you are going to die with it,” said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com, a credit monitoring service. The New Oil Well? Business is booming at ConServe, a debt collection agency in suburban Rochester. The company recently expanded into a neighboring building. The payroll of 420 is expected to double in three years. “There is great opportunity,” said Mark E. Davitt, the company’s president and founder. Where some debt collection firms have made their fortunes collecting on delinquent credit cards or hospital bills, ConServe is thriving because of overdue student loans, a large majority of its business. With an outstanding balance of more than $1 trillion, student loans have become a silver lining for the debt collection industry at a time when its once-thriving business of credit card collection has diminished and the unemployment rate has made collection a challenge. To recoup unpaid loans, the federal government, private lenders and others have turned to collection agencies like ConServe. Mark Russell, a mergers and acquisition specialist, writing in the same trade publication as Mr. Ashton, the consultant at the N.Y.U. protest, suggested student loans might be a “new oil well” for the accounts receivable management industry, or ARM, as the industry is known. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “While the Department of Education debt collection contract has been one of the most highly sought-after contracts within the ARM industry for years, I believe it is now THE most sought-after contract within this industry, centered within the most sought-after market — student loans,” Mr. Russell wrote last October. In 2010, Congress revamped the student loan program so that federal loans were made directly by the government. Before that, most loans were made by private lenders and guaranteed by the government through so-called guarantee agencies. Of the $1.4 billion paid out last year by the federal government to collect on defaulted student loans, about $355 million went to 23 private debt collectors. The remaining $1.06 billion was paid to the guarantee agencies to collect on defaulted loans made under the old loan system. That job is often outsourced to private collectors as well. The average default amount was $17,005 in the 2011 fiscal year. Borrowers who attended profit-making colleges — about 11 percent of all students — account for nearly half of defaults, while dropouts were four times as likely as graduates to default. A loan is declared in default by the Department of Education when it is delinquent for 360 days. Borrowers are most often declared in default when they cannot be found. That is when the collection agencies take over. While some in the industry, like Mr. Ashton, worry about public revolt over aggressive collection tactics, there is no holding back at this point. At ConServe, in a room of cubicles with college pennants lining the walls, collectors comb through databases and public records hunting for contact information for borrowers. If ConServe reaches a borrower who refuses to cooperate, the company considers garnisheeing wages or withholding a government check, which requires approval from the Department of Education. Dwight Vigna, director of the department’s default division, says the government does not give up easily. If a vendor like ConServe has not found a borrower in six months, the department turns the case over to another collection agency. In fiscal 2011, the department wrote off less than 1 percent of its loan balance, for such things as death or disability of a borrower. Photo “We never throw anything away,” Mr. Vigna said. Lying in Wait Arthur Chaskin, a disabled carpenter, can attest to the government’s long memory. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Since he left college in the late 1970s, Mr. Chaskin has largely ignored his student loans — until June, when a federal judge ordered him to turn over $8,200. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr. Chaskin had borrowed $3,500 in federally guaranteed student loans to attend Northwestern Michigan College, a community college. He did not graduate. The federal government sued him in 1997, but over the next 15 years he made only five payments. Last January, a lawyer in Michigan working on contract for the government was alerted to a credit check for Mr. Chaskin. The lawyer filed a garnishment order and discovered a brokerage account with nearly $20,000 that Mr. Chaskin said he had opened with disability checks. By the time the government caught up with him, Mr. Chaskin owed more than $19,000 in accumulated interest and penalties, but the judge reduced the amount to $8,200 after Mr. Chaskin pleaded for a break. “If you wait long enough, you catch people when their guard’s down,” said the lawyer, Charles J. Holzman, who was rewarded with more than 25 percent of Mr. Chaskin’s payment. Government officials estimate they will collect 76 to 82 cents on every dollar of loans made in fiscal 2013 that end up in default. That does not include collection costs that are billed to the borrowers and paid to the collection agencies. While the government’s estimates take into account the uncertainty of collecting money over long periods, some critics say they don’t go far enough. A 2007 academic study, for instance, estimated that the recovery rate was closer to 50 cents on the dollar. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The reporting standards that the government imposes on themselves are far weaker than what they require of private institutions,” said Deborah J. Lucas, a finance professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an author of the study. Over all, collections on federally backed student loans were $12 billion in the last fiscal year, 18 percent higher than the previous year. Of that, $1.65 billion came from seizures of government checks like tax returns and $1.01 billion was collected by garnisheeing borrowers’ wages. More than $8 billion of defaulted loans, however, were consolidated or rehabilitated. Some borrowers say they do not see a path out of default, because they are sick, unemployed or facing so much debt they cannot imagine any way to pay it off. Some have defaulted on private student loans, too. Patrick Writer of Redding, Calif., received a certificate in computer programming in 2008 from Shasta College, a community college. But he graduated in the midst of the financial crisis and has not been able to find a job as a programmer. He defaulted on $12,000 in federally backed loans in 2009. “If you can’t make your utilities and your rent, your student loan payments are almost goofy, inconsequential,” said Mr. Writer, who is 57. But Mr. Writer said he had come to realize what it meant to have a student loan that was guaranteed by the federal government. “It’s the closest thing to debtor prison that there is on this earth,” he said. A Bias Toward Default Jill Shockley, 36, of Rockford, Ill., owes more than $50,000 in federally guaranteed and private student loans, some of which are in default. A nursing school dropout, she said her loan servicer, Sallie Mae, asked her to come up with $600 a month to keep three of her federal loans from going into default. But she said she did not have enough money. “I barely clear $30,000 a year,” she said. “I have rent, a car payment, insurance. They say maybe I should borrow from relatives.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story On paper, there are few good reasons struggling borrowers should go into default, or stay there, since there are many programs to help them keep up with payments. In addition to income-based repayment, there is forbearance for temporary financial woes and different types of deferment for issues like unemployment, military service and economic hardship. But the challenge of creating the right incentives — and getting collectors and debtors to embrace them — has bedeviled Congress and the Department of Education. Critics say the result has often been contradictory incentives that provide little help to struggling borrowers. For instance, loan servicers are paid $2.11 a month for each borrower in good standing, but only 50 cents a month for borrowers who are seriously delinquent, too little to devote much time to them. Guarantee agencies are paid a default aversion fee, equal to 1 percent of the loan balance, if they prevent a borrower from going into default. But the same agencies get paid much higher fees for collecting or rehabilitating a defaulted loan. And debt collectors are rewarded primarily for collecting as much as possible, not for making sure a borrower can afford the payments, critics say. Introduced in 2009, income-based repayment was supposed to help change that by allowing borrowers with high levels of debt but modest incomes to make relatively small payments over a long term. But many borrowers were never told about the income-based option, and many others have been frustrated by the onerous requirements. So far, 1.6 million borrowers have applied for income-based repayment; 920,000 are active participants and another 412,000 applications are pending. In a June memo, President Obama wrote that “too few borrowers are aware of the options available to them to help manage their student loan debt.” Education officials say there are changes in the works that could help struggling borrowers and perhaps reduce the default rate, which they attribute to the sluggish economy and dismal results among profit-making colleges. Under proposed regulations, debt collectors would be required to offer borrowers an affordable payment plan. And, the department vows to do a better job of publicizing income-based repayment, including telling borrowers about the plan before they leave college. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In addition, borrowers will be able to apply for income-based repayment online rather than going through their loan servicer. Monthly payments will be reduced to 10 percent of discretionary income, down from 15 percent. But efforts to change the incentive structure for guarantee agencies have stalled. And the Obama administration’s efforts to impose new regulations on profit-making colleges were initially watered down and then significantly weakened by a federal court judge. “We’re trying to balance two priorities, working with students who have fallen on hard times while trying to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollar,” said Justin Hamilton, a Department of Education spokesman. “We’re always going to be in a process of continuous improvement.” Lindsay Franke, of Naugatuck, Conn., is among the borrowers taking advantage of income-based repayment. While her monthly payment is now lower, Ms. Franke, who is 28 and has a master’s degree in business administration from Albertus Magnus College, said the program had not changed a crushing reality: she still owes too much money and makes too little to pay it off. A marketing coordinator for a law firm, she filed for bankruptcy last year because she could not afford her mortgage, car payment and student loans. She lost the house, but still owes $115,000 in student loans, both private and federal. Under income-based repayment, she pays $325 a month on her federal loans; she also pays $250 a month on her private loans. “I will never have my head above water,” Ms. Franke said.From RationalWiki Globally researching, globally wrong. Globalresearch is an "anti-Western" website that can't distinguish between serious analysis and discreditable junk — and so publishes both. It's basically the moonbat equivalent to Infowars or WND. While some of GlobalResearch's articles discuss legitimate humanitarian concerns, its view of science, economics, and geopolitics is conspiracist — if something goes wrong, the Jews West didit! The site has long been a crank magnet: If you disagree with "Western" sources on 9/11, or HAARP, or vaccines, or H1N1, or climate change, or anything published by the "mainstream" media, then GlobalResearch is guaranteed to have a page you will love. The website (under the domain names globalresearch.ca( ), globalresearch.org( ), globalresearch.com( ), and sister site mondialisation.ca( )) is run by the Montreal-based non-profit The Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) founded by Michel Chossudovsky,[2][3] a former professor of economics at the University of Ottawa, Canada.[4] Whenever someone makes a remarkable claim and cites GlobalResearch, they are almost certainly wrong. Do not confuse Globalresearch with globalnews.ca, which is a perfectly ordinary news site. What it thinks it is [ edit ] “ ” In an era of media disinformation, our focus has essentially been to center on the "unspoken truth". —True only if "unspoken" means "so embarassingly false that nobody else will say it"[2] GlobalResearch describes itself as "one of the leading alternative news media in North America" and believes it is a repository for "news articles, in-depth reports and analysis on issues which are barely covered by the mainstream media".[2] GlobalResearch is strongly anti-capitalist,[5][6] "anti-imperialist" (read: knee-jerk opposition to the US and European countries),[7] and "anti-globalist" (read: same as before).[8] Scope [ edit ] Because many of its articles are reposts from other sites (and in turn other sites repost from GlobalResearch), it is hard to tell how popular GlobalResearch is. As of February 2016, GlobalResearch itself asserts that it has more than 6.92 million page views and more than 2.7 million unique visitors per month.[2] Its YouTube had over 23,000 subscribers and 3.4 million views[9] and its Facebook had over 190k likes.[10] Alexa ranked globalresearch.ca at 12,000th worldwide (a lot of traffic),[11] while globalresearch.org[12] globalresearch.com,[13] and mondialisation.ca[14] had virtually no traffic. Noted sources [ edit ] Globalresearch appears to be largely a news clearinghouse, as very few of the stories on their homepage are attributed to "Global Research News"[15] or "Global Research"[16]. Globalresearch contributors are happy to source information from anyone who seems vaguely aligned with their ideology, even if said contributors are full of horseshit: Conspiracy theories [ edit ] [28] Chossudovsky, giving a lecture titled "9-11: Pretext for War". “ ” We've seen it with the treasonous US We've seen it with the treasonous US crime cabal government that engineered the murder of 3000 Americans on 9/11 to establish a fake war on terror with fake enemies acting as mercenary Islamic stooges that conveniently facilitated the dismantling of the US Constitution —Joachim Hagopian promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories on Globalresearch[29] Despite presenting itself as a source of scholarly analysis, Global Research mostly consists of polemicists. The prevalent strand is that a New World Order is being implemented by global elites (primarily governments and corporations).[30][31] Many of the articles accept conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and propaganda in order to further this narrative. Specific conspiracy theories include: Big Pharma forced Australia to silence pro-homeopathy and anti-vaccination proponents; [32] Big Pharma forced the FDA to destroy homeopathy; [29] Big Pharma is covering up the "horrors" of "Western Medicine".[33] Vaccines in general are a depopulation tactic. [34] Vaccines cause autism. [35] [36] Vaccines in Kenya have been laced with sterility compounds by the WHO and UNICEF. [37] [38] [39] Bullshit, by the way. [40] Bullshit, by the way. Vaccines are toxic. [41] Vaccines don't work. [42] [43] Vaccines are highly profitable. [43] All of the above is being covered up by Monsanto and "the West".[32][44] The US did 9/11 to start a war. [29] [28] Most Americans do know the US did it, but are unwilling to push for change. [45] know the US did it, but are unwilling to push for change. Most Americans don't know the US did it, because their government hides the truth. [46] know the US did it, because their government hides the truth. The media is suppressing the TRUTH.[47] The Middle East: The USA used nukes in both Iraq and Afghanistan. [48] The USA and the CIA created ISIS [49] [
of the details, which it hopes will inspire further investigations and research, was in the interests of bringing accountability to the notoriously impenetrable offshore world. “Secrecy creates an environment where fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and other forms of corruption thrive. The Offshore Leaks Database helps remove this secrecy,” said the ICIJ director, Gerard Ryle. “Opening up the records serves the public interest by bringing accountability to an industry that has long operated in the shadows.” On Wednesday, a spokesman for Beijing’s foreign ministry suggested readers would suspect the intentions behind “unconvincing” reports on the offshore assets. Some guarded references to the story could still be seen on the Sina Weibo microblog on Thursday, but many more comments and links had been deleted and the Free Weibo site, which allows people to search censored posts, said “ICIJ” had been blocked as a keyword. Some users appeared to have deleted related posts themselves. Recent months have seen an intensification of China’s controls on the internet, including the targeting of opinion formers and the announcement of a judicial interpretation allowing internet users to be tried for defamation if untrue posts online are visited by 5,000 internet users or reposted more than 500 times. The authorities have said the measure is necessary to prevent online rumours hurting individuals and damaging society. Zhang Lifan, an independent scholar, told the Associated Press that the use of offshore holdings by those with ties to officials gave a strong impression of privilege and impunity. Wen Yunchao, a well-known internet activist who now lives outside the mainland, said that while ordinary people might not fully understand the story, it was "a major blow to the prestige of the authorities", pointing to the contrast with Xi's recent visit to a budget restaurant where he mingled with ordinary citizens. The use of offshore structures can facilitate the avoidance of tax or the moving of money overseas. However, offshore companies can also be an important tool for legitimate Chinese businesses, especially when operating overseas, due to restrictions and legislation in the country.Andre Brown got a ring. Now he's got a suspension to go with it. Brown, the Giants' fourth-string running back who may be best known for his "I Got a Ring" song he performed at the Giants' championship parade, has been suspended for the first four games of the 2012 season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Neither the Giants nor the NFL would reveal what substance Brown tested positive for, or when he was caught. Neither Brown nor his agent could immediately be reached for comment. Brown is the second Giants player to be suspended for PEDs in the last six months, joining defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy who was suspended for four games last October. Brown, 25, is a former fourth-round pick (2009), who returned to the Giants last summer and spent the season on their practice squad. After the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI, he was video-taped singing his "I Got A Ring" song on the charter flight home, and later performed it after the Giants' ticker tape parade in New York city. He had a chance this coming season to become something more than a sideshow, though, especially after veteran running back Brandon Jacobs left for San Francisco. Brown had a shot to compete for playing time behind starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw with D.J. Ware and Da'Rel Scott. The Giants always had high hopes for Brown, but he ruptured his Achilles as a rookie in 2009 and spent that season on injured reserve. He was cut after training camp in 2010 and ended up bouncing around to four different teams that season – the Panthers, Colts, Broncos and Redskins. The Giants brought him back in August and it was clear he didn't have the same explosion and speed he did before he was injured, but the Giants kept him around anyway. If they choose to keep him, he is eligible to participate in the offseason workout program, spring practices, training camp and preseason games. His suspension will begin with Week 1 of the NFL season. If Brown makes the Giants' final 53-man roster out of training camp – which wasn't a certainty before and obviously isn't now -- he'll lose $109,411.76 in pay during his suspension. His salary for 2012 is scheduled to be $465,000.Mini-Time Skip Sam's POV Wednesday Morning. Going to the office, Maude in my passenger seat. Today we officially tell our friends. I don't know why I was nervous. Every one already technically knew, but we just wanted them to hear it from us. I look over at Maude. God she's beautiful. She must of caught me glancing because she looked over at me and smiled. "You should be watching the road not me," She smirked. "Can't help it," I laughed, "and the traffic is literally not moving." She blushed, "Well that's LA for ya." She laid her head on my shoulder while I drove, just enjoying the content silence of the morning. I have never felt more peaceful then right now. We pulled into the parking lot about 20 minutes later and began to walk into the office. "Is is weird that I'm a little nervous?" I asked. "No, I am too," she answered, "I mean it's one thing to tell a bunch of random people over the internet but this is our friend and in person." "That sums it up," I said, grabbing her hand. "Alright. Let's do this," she smiled I nodded, and open the door. Holding it open for the both of us. We were greeted by Dani. "Oh hey guys," Dani smiled. "Hi." We answered in unison. We all laughed and Maude hugged Dani. The same greeting went of for about another 15 people, but now we were sitting around the couch and some beanbag just catching up Bree out of the blue changes the subject, "So what's officially going on with you too," motioning to Maude and I. "We're officially official," Maude smiled at me. "It's been the best relationship of my life," I said, probably sounding like a love sick puppy. Maude leaned into me, everyone mention how cute we were. Maude's POV "Okay who won the pool of when the would start dating," Steve joked, and everyone laughed. The rest of the day was normal. Sam, Bree, and I filmed a table talk. It was weird being introduced as a guest. "Welcome Back to table talk," Bree introduced, "Today I'm joined with Smaude. Also know as Sam Bashor and Maude Garrett, who's visiting the office today." The episode went great, it ran a little long but the fans love that. I stayed the rest, just hanging around with everyone. Watching them film nerd news and meeting Filup. They really had a great team going, but it just made realize how much I miss this job. I know I'm doing some bigger now, and I love that too. Sourcefed will alway be my home though. The day ended and we we're heading to my house, Sam had been spending most his time there, He even was keeping clothes there so we wouldn't have any accident like last week were we woke up late. We pulled in the driveway and I could already hear Dwight and Zelda barking at are return. Sam and I strolled up to the door and I unlocked the door. The little dogs attacked us, jumping and licking our face when we bent down to pet them. "Isn't Zelda the cutest?" I said, petting her behind the ear. "But Dwight is cuter," Sam teased. "We've had this discussion multiple times, and my dogs way cuter," I smirked. "No way," he laughed. "Let's just agree that they're both adorable," I giggled, and he nodded. We both got up, deciding to make some dinner. We cooked up some steaks and made a salad. It was probably the most home cook meal I've had in a week or so, but it was very nice. We sat at the table just eating, talking, and joking. It was one of those moments where it just feels perfect. "Today was great," I commented. "Well our friends are great," Sam added. "Yes they are, and so are you!" I smiled, grabbing is hand. "I mean I've got this smoking hot girlfriend that I love so I got to treat her right so she doesn't leave," He said, making me blush. "We she's really lucky to have and awesome guy like you in her life to love," I told him. He leaned over kissing me over the table, almost spilling food all over himself and causing me to laugh. We then settled on the couch, and started up Netflix. We picked some random movie to watch, and I curled into his side. His warmth enveloped me and I felt at home. People say home is where the heart is. Well my heart is right here with are unconventional family. Sam and I and are two little pups. What more could you ask for? _______________________________ My Twitter: @ mindylou1234 (With out the space at the beginning tho that's just it won't tag anyone on her) SO THATS IT. THATS THE END OF MY FANFIC. I WILL TRY TO WRITE SOMETHING ELSE BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEAS RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU FOR READING. AND LET ME KNOW FIR YOU SEE ANY TYPOS SO I CAN FIX THEM. -MINDY ❤️Cannabis is used for first time in hospitals to relieve pain of terminal cancer patients Patients are being treated with medication derived from marijuana plants i n hospitals for the first time as part of a trial. Patients at North Manchester General and Fairfield in Bury were prescribed the drug, Sativex, which experts say can relieve pain by numbing muscles The medication which is sprayed under the tongue up to 10 times a day does not give users a 'high'. World first: Research nurse Sam Jole said studies into the new drug are groundbreaking. It is being tested on patients at North Manchester General Hospital and Fairfield Hospital in Bury People who are terminally ill with cancer will initially take part in the trial but if successful, its use could be extended across the country and be used as a painkiller for other conditions. Eight people have already been signed up, and 32 others will be recruited over the next two years. The drug has been available on prescription in Britain as a treatment for multiple sclerosis since last summer - but it has not been used in hospitals before. Sam Jole, senior research nurse at Pennine, the trust which runs North Manchester and Fairfield, has been involved in setting up the trials and identifying, recruiting and monitoring patients. On trial: Sativex is derived from marijuana, numbing the muscles to relieve pain without a 'high' He said: 'The majority of cancer research is focused on curing disease. 'Palliative care is an under-researched medical specialty and the studies are genuinely ground-breaking. 'I've been a research nurse for years and have never come across anything like it. 'It is very important to point out that patients using the spray do not experience the euphoria associated with the illegal recreational use of cannabis. 'It has passed strict tests for quality, safety and efficacy and doctors are already prescribing it for multiple sclerosis patients.' Patients involved in the study will visit either North Manchester or Fairfield General for check-ups four times over a five-week period. They will also be required to to report their pain scores and usage of painkillers every evening over the phone. Around half of them will be prescribed the active drug and the rest will receive a placebo. The drug, created by GW Pharmaceuticals, is made from two substances found in the marijuana plant, THC and CBD. North Manchester General Hospital: One of the hospitals testing the cannabis-derived drug in hospitals for the first time THC produces a high, but CBD counteracts it, and because Sativex is an oral spray, the drug is absorbed more slowly than if it was smoked so scientists say it is impossible to 'get high' from the treatment. Dr Iain Lawrie, consultant and honorary clinical senior lecturer in palliative medicine at North Manchester, said: 'This study is an exciting development in the field of cancer pain management.I'm glad it's getting a series 3 but they seriously need to work on their treatment of female characters and POC, Anne and Constance haven't done much this series at all and Milady can do better than just being a mistress. Reply Thread Link The fact that they've martyred two POC in a row is so uncomfortable. I don't know how they thought that wouldn't look pointed. I was hopeful that pairing up Anne and Constance would mean they'd get their own story, but instead it just seems like they're both getting more ignored as a result. Not sure how that worked. That said, I do think the show is much better about women than any other adaptation of the book has been. Reply Parent Thread Link Hopefully all this boring ass Aramis baby angst bullshit will be resolved before then. I need it to end already. Reply Thread Link I'm so happy that this episode is basically sending him on a road trip away from the castle and his baby drama. The whole BS of him missing the crucial shot in the last episode because a baby cried made me nearly throw my remote at the TV. Reply Parent Thread Link I think I'm just surprised that Tom actually speaks. Reply Thread Link The weird thing is that he's just as mumbly and low-voiced irl, but seems to dominate any and all interviews. And... bless, but he is kind of boring. Although maybe the other guys just don't like doing the promo stuff. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol, I caught a few bts videos last week and uh, yea.. XD There were parts when he displayed that low key British wit, but still came across as boring. But it's not like the other guys are jumping in to say things so I guess he had to step up to the plate. Reply Parent Thread Link Will we get to see Antonia again? :( Reply Thread Link FUCK YAS SERIES 3!!! But yeah... I am tired of the baby drama. Reply Thread Link End the baby drama, end constagnan, and then we'll be in business Reply Thread Link I'm excited for a series 3 mainly because the cast is great. On the other hand, the only thing great about this season is the overall plot. Like idk what the point of 50% of this season is so far. I hope S3 can do a better balance of overall and sub plots. Of course, Santiago looking flawless as usual ♥ Reply Thread LinkNilay Patel, the well-known and highly regarded managing editor of The Verge, which he founded with editor-in-chief Josh Topolsky, has left that high-profile job, according to several sources. But, in the move, he’s not leaving Vox Media, the well-funded company that owns the popular tech news and reviews site and others. Instead, sources said, Patel will become acting managing editor of the new effort by former Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein, which has been called “Project X,” but apparently will now be called Vox.com. It is the latest expansion of Vox Media — which also owns the SB Nation sports site, the Polygon gaming site and others — and is expected to launch this spring (as in soon). The job at the Klein endeavor, though, is only temporary for Patel. Sources said he will later move on to work on the site related to Vox Media’s purchase last November of the Curbed Network of sites that focus on real estate and restaurants, with its founder Lockhart Steele. Those include Curbed, Racked and Eater, which will be relaunched on Vox’s publishing platform. While it’s not clear what caused the departure from the tech site Patel was so strongly associated with, sources said there was some amount of tension with Topolsky, with whom he also worked at AOL-owned Engadget, while others said the job had shifted. Regardless, the sudden change surprised many of the Verge staff after it took place, only weeks ago. Patel is still listed on the site as managing editor, though he is no longer in that role. Patel and Topolsky have worked together a long time. They and others left Engadget to start The Verge in 2011. No comments all around. But, to give you an idea of what’s up next for Patel, here’s a slickster video that Vox.com has up about itself and what it’s going to do — make us love our spinach, that’s what!. (Note to self: Why didn’t we do a slickster video about our sugar-addled efforts here? Dang.):The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) has spent some time putting together contact information for the CPRC’s academic board of advisors and the deans of their schools (see here and here). The notion is that they think that they can intimidate all these prestigious academics into hiding. Media Matters and other gun control media have tried getting others to join in getting people to contact the deans of our academic advisors. However, as one of our academic board members wrote back to us: “I don’t think they can intimidate any of us at this point. It won’t work.” George Mason University Professor Tim Groseclose posted these tweets in response to the CSGV: The CSGV relies on recent false information provided by Buzzfeed, Mother Jones, and others (these last three links provide responses to the CSGV false claims). Of course, the very notion that Lott is the very last academic researcher whose work has provided support for gun ownership is absurd. Most economists who have done research on gun control find large net benefits from guns. A survey of academic research on concealed handgun laws shows that most find a benefit from these laws. The hope by gun control groups is simply to silence those that they disagree with so that there is only one academic left. As some have pointed out to us, all these recent attacks on Lott, the CPRC, and our board of academic advisors and our board show we must be doing something. Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn attacks by gun control advocates, Response to criticsKARS, Turkey — The history of this city, about 30 miles from the border with Armenia, may best be told through its former Armenian cathedral, the Church of the Holy Apostles, poised at the base of an imposing fortress. Built in the 10th century by an Armenian king, it was turned into a mosque three times and once into a Russian Orthodox church. It was briefly resurrected as an Armenian church in 1919 before the modern secular Turkish state expropriated it in 1921, eventually turning it into a petroleum depot, then into a museum, then again into a mosque. Now, it is mostly closed: Many Muslims go instead to a holier shrine next door. According to Armenian news reports, it might be converted into either a cultural center or even a church, but it is unclear who would come, given that virtually no Armenian Christians are left in Kars. The city has experienced even more violent turnover than its cathedral. The Ottomans and the Russians were here — but also the Byzantines, the Seljuk Turks, the Georgians, the Persians and the Mongols. Populations were imported, expelled and massacred.Trying once again to make progress on the diplomatic front on Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his outgoing US counterpart have met in Rome, with talk of “new ideas” being put forward. Without elaborating, John Kerry said both countries saw the situation as urgent and were not waiting for the change of US administration. Lavrov told a news conference the road to eastern Aleppo was now safe for humanitarian convoys. “We informed the UN in New York and Geneva that there is no problem with delivering aid to eastern Aleppo, and all that needs to happen is for an agreement to be made with the Syrian government for these convoys to travel through the area. They are in no danger now,” the Russian foreign minister said. Russia has criticised the UN for dragging its feet on delivering aid. The UN’s special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, also present in Rome, has called for the group formerly known as the Nusra Front to leave Aleppo’s besieged zone. The United Nations has food for 150,000 people ready in western Aleppo but has said it can’t reach those trapped in the eastern enclave. Syria and Russia declined a UN request for a pause in the fighting to evacuate sick and wounded people.Capitol Hill’s own gourmet hot dog purveyor Po Dog announced today that they will establish a second location at 4736 University Way NE, taking over the space formerly occupied by Sunney’s Cafe. This second location will be in business mid-April. Here are the details from the press release: Po Dog, a gourmet-chic wiener eatery known for unique creations and fresh toppings, announced plans to open a second location today. The Seattle based restaurant will now have a home in the University District (4736 University Way NE). Laura Olson, 26, founder of Po Dog on Capitol Hill announced today plans to open the second location. Po Dog is a unique Gourmet Hot Dog restaurant known for their over the top creations. These include a deep fried wasabi egg-roll dog, a homemade macaroni & Cheese dog and the deep fried danger dog (a hot dog wrapped in pepper bacon, deep fried, covered in chili sauce and sauteed onions). All offerings available in 100% all beef, Field Roast Veggie, or a rotating selection of locally made sausages. The new location will open mid-April on “the Ave” in the University District. Po Dog will carve out a 635 sqft space adjacent to Rudy’s barbershop. When asked why her restaurants are in such small storefronts (the Capitol Hill location is just over 900 sqft) Olson had this to say with a grin; “Our wieners just fit better in tight spaces”. Besides being know for her delicious dogs, Po Dog has received much admiration for their tongue and cheek advertising. There seems to be an endless supply of wiener jokes constantly being exchange via Twitter between Ms. Olson and her cult following. “We are lucky to have such a wonderful and diverse clientele which has made Po Dog fun and exciting not only for our customers but for all of us working here” Po Dog University District will feature her signature 12 dogs as well as a monthly rotating special. The recent addition of Uli’s famous sausages to Po Dogs’ menu has added a new dimension to their irresistible offerings. So set your calendar to grab a cold beer and hot dog at Po Dog!A First Hill church is planning a massive undertaking: a 30-story condo tower with 200-plus units. Trinity Episcopal Parish owns several buildings adjacent to the 1892 church, but maintaining them has started to not be worth the money and effort. So they made the decision to sell development rights to the land to Australia-based Caydon Property Group while maintaining ownership rights. The church itself will stay intact. Church operations will continue on the first three floors of the new building, and they hope to continue providing space to nonprofits and service providers. In a press release, Trinity said the project “will allow Trinity and Caydon to make a substantial financial contribution to the City of Seattle for new affordable housing.” A spokesperson for Trinity confirmed that they plan to pay an in-lieu fee. (Current draft zoning changes for the area, which have not yet gone through City Council, would require $21 per square foot.) The buildings currently on the site currently provide 10,000 square feet of space to service providers, and they hope to bring the same folks into the new, upgraded space. Northwest Harvest runs an office out of the space, but they recently moved their executive offices to Belltown. They still operate the Cherry Street Food Bank out of the space, though. They’re searching for a new location. When they find their new space, they hope to expand their services. Diana Axness, Northwest Harvest Board Chair, said in a statement that “a new home and realize the vision for our next-generation Food Bank and Community Engagement Hub,” including wraparound services for food bank clients. A thrift store they operate with First Baptist is also currently on-site. Trinity also hosts arts nonprofits in the space, who “will be accommodated as possible during construction,” according to representatives of the church. In their release, Trinity acknowledges that some service providers “may not choose to move twice,” but says all that currently occupy the space will be offered a new home in the new building. Chicago-based SCB Architects will design the project with architect Clint Pehrson Architect. Caydon says they’ll have more details closer to early design guidance later this year. The project is Caydon’s first on the west coast of the United States. Construction could start in about a year; Caydon estimates the project will be completed in 2019 or 2020. This article has been updated since its original publication with additional information and to reflect that Cherry Street Food Bank has decided to not take a spot in the new building.Police officers and rescue workers stand near a van that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice on July 14, 2016. (Agence France-Presse/Valery Hache) A truck ploughed into a crowd in the French Riviera resort of Nice, killing at least 77 and injuring scores in what President Francois Hollande Friday called a “terrorist” attack on revellers watching a Bastille Day fireworks display. The driver was shot dead after barrelling the truck two kilometres (1.3 miles) through the festive crowd on the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais, sending hundreds fleeing in terror and leaving the area strewn with bodies. Authorities said they found identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen in the truck, as well as “guns” and “larger weapons.” The attack was of an “undeniable terrorist nature,” a sombre Hollande said in a televised national address, confirming that “several children” were among the dead as families came together to celebrate France’s national day. The bloodshed came on Bastille Day, a celebration of everything France holds dear, its secular republic and the values of “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity). The attacker struck after a day of military pomp and ceremony in Paris — where armed forces, tanks and fighter jets swooped down the Champs Elysees avenue — and spectacular firework displays. “France was struck on its national day … the symbol of freedom,” said Hollande. A photograph showed the front of the truck riddled with bullet holes and badly damaged, with burst tyres, while a lone doll lay abandoned on the promenade where families celebrated the holiday just hours earlier. Robert Holloway, an AFP reporter who witnessed the white truck driving at speed onto the seaside road, described scenes of “absolute chaos”. “We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around. I had to protect my face from flying debris,” he said. – ‘Horrific terrorist attack’ – The attack is the third major strike against France in less than 18 months and prosecutors said anti-terrorist investigators would handle the probe. It comes eight months after Islamic State attacks on Paris nightspots left 130 people dead, dealing a hard blow to tourism in one of the world’s top destinations. US President Barack Obama condemned “what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack”, although no group had yet claimed responsibility. Hollande announced he would extend France’s state of emergency for three months in the wake of this latest attack and “step up” the government’s action against jihadists in Syria and Iraq. He also called up army reservists to bolster the country’s security services that are stretched to the limit. France has been under a state of emergency ever since the November 13 Paris carnage, which came after 17 were killed in another attack in January at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket. The Islamic State group has repeatedly singled out France as a prime target for its military actions against the group in Iraq and Syria, and hundreds of jihadists have left France to go and fight in its ranks. – ‘People were tripping over’ – The Mediterranean city of Nice, with its pebble beaches and clear blue water, has been a magnet for sun-seekers and the jet-set since the 19th century. A concert by popstar Rihanna due Friday was cancelled in the wake of the attack, as well as the Nice Jazz festival. An Australian caught up in the chaos, Emily Watkins, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that while she saw the truck she did not realise what had happened. “There was a lot of screams coming from ahead of us where the truck was,” she said. “People were tripping over and trying to get into hotel lobbies and restaurants or car parks or anywhere they could to get away from the street.” The Promenade des Anglais was sealed off, crawling with police and ambulances as authorities from the local Alpes-Maritimes prefecture urged residents to stay indoors. Over the past week, France had been breathing a sigh of relief after successfully hosting the month-long Euro 2016 football championship, which passed off without incident despite fears of attacks. The tournament brought an all-too-brief burst of joy to a gloomy France, bogged down after the two attacks in 2015, violent anti-government protests, strikes and floods. The attack sent shockwaves across the globe with China offering “condolences” and US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump postponing the announcement of his pick for running mate because of the attack. European Council President Donald Tusk said: “It’s a sad day for France, for Europe, for all of us.” “The subjects of the attack were people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity.” Update: According to AFP, the city’s mayor said “dozens [were] likely dead” after the incident. Update, 6:03 p.m. EST: France24 reported that at least 30 people were killed in the attack. Update, 6:15 p.m. EST: France24 reported that the driver of the vehicle is dead. Update, 6:50 p.m. EST: Both France24 and The Telegraph reported that the death toll has been raised to 60 people. A witness estimated that the truck involved in the incident was “going quickly at 60-70 kilometers an hour,” or roughly between 37 and 44 miles per hour. Update, 8:14 p.m. EST: CNN reported that the death toll has risen to 73 victims. Update, 9:58 p.m. EST: The Associated Press reported that according to French President Francois Hollande, 77 people — including several children — were killed in the attack, with another 20 critically wounded. France24 will be airing live coverage, which can be seen here.Image copyright AFP Image caption Mass graves were discovered near Camp Speicher after Iraqi forces recaptured the area in 2015 An Iraqi court has sentenced to death 27 men for their involvement in the massacre of up to 1,700 soldiers by so-called Islamic State (IS) in June 2014. Twenty-five suspects were released because of a lack of evidence. It is the latest batch of death sentences passed in connection with the killings - 36 men were hanged a year ago for their part in the massacre. IS filmed the killings, at the former US base of Camp Speicher, near Tikrit, in an early piece of shock propaganda. Most of the victims are believed to have been young Shia recruits who were based at the camp when Tikrit was overrun by IS. Photos and videos published by IS at the time showed soldiers being lined up and shot at various locations. Some bodies were pushed into the River Tigris, while others were buried in mass graves that were found after government forces recaptured the city a year later. The condemned men have the right to appeal against the sentences.Via Steve Benen, some pretty interesting news that probably will not shock you. So we're not the only ones feeling less than enthusiastic about Democratic performance, huh: The latest Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos included the usual question on the generic congressional ballot, with Dems still enjoying a modest edge over Republicans, 37% to 32%, with 31% unsure. Democratic numbers were strongest in the Northeast (53% Dems, 7% GOP), and Republican numbers were strongest in the South (51% GOP, 21% Dems). But this poll added a new question to the mix to measure voter enthusiasm: "In the 2010 Congressional elections will you definitely vote, probably vote, not likely vote, or definitely will not vote?" The overall results aren't nearly as interesting as the partisan breakdown. Among self-identified Republican voters, 81% are either "definitely" voting next year or "probably" voting, while 14% are "not likely" to vote or will "definitely" not vote. Among self-identified Independent voters, 65% are either "definitely" voting next year or "probably" voting, while 23% are "not likely" to vote or will "definitely" not vote. And among self-identified Democratic voters, 56% are either "definitely" voting next year or "probably" voting, while 40% are "not likely" to vote or will "definitely" not vote. Markos, who called the results "shocking," explained: Two in five Democratic voters either consider themselves unlikely to vote at this point in time, or have already made the firm decision to remove themselves from the 2010 electorate pool. Indeed, Democrats were three times more likely to say that they will "definitely not vote" in 2010 than are Republicans. This enormous enthusiasm gap... seems to make passing legitimate health care reform an absolute political necessity for Democrats. This polling data certainly should be something for Congressional leadership to consider, as they move along the legislative path. The notion of an enthusiasm gap this year is not exactly new, but we haven't seen numbers quite this stark until now.Test h1 hi. this is a test file. h2 blockquote with italic and bold and a link h3 italic and bold and bolditalic. what about underscores and super^script? h4 let’s link curi blog and Fallible Ideas h5 an unordered list h6 an ordered list hr next: now nested quote!? three levels two levels one level plain text block quote with two paragraphs (space on paragraph break line) second block quote no space on the paragraph break third block quote to test margins btwn blockquotes more text Solutions To Your Problems All problems can be solved by knowing how. I tell you how. I figure out your problems and their solutions. I help you learn anything you’d like to learn. The most important philosophy is about reason: how to think and how to learn. Because reason applies to all topics, I can help with virtually anything (just ask). I have a track record of successfully applying philosophy to solve problems outside of philosophy. Reason is needed in every field. If you think the wrong way, you’ll make mistakes, no matter how much you study your field. And a specialist who doesn’t know the best methods of learning can easily spend five years learning what could have been learned in one year. Philosophy is the most important field because it’s necessary for every other field. So people should stop paying lip service to “critical thinking” and neglecting philosophy. One consequence is I’ve often used philosophy knowledge to find mistakes in academic papers and specialist books. As fallible human beings, we all make mistakes. Mistakes cost time and money. Mistakes lead to failures, fights and regrets. And you’re not aware of over half the mistakes you make! Philosophy is the field which covers the topic of mistakes. It’s a huge risk not to use the latest and most advanced knowledge about reducing, identifying and fixing mistakes. But you don’t have to learn all about philosophy yourself. I can apply my expertise to your situation. You may know that I participate in free, public discussions and I post free writing online because I enjoy it. Paid consulting is different. It means I do only my best work and personalize it for you. And I organize it more than blog posts and discussions. Plus, consulting offers privacy for your personal issues. Do you have difficulty applying philosophy concepts to your personal problems? Are you stuck in your own unique way? Would you benefit from a different style of help than my normal writing? Is your life passing you by and you need an energetic wakeup call? Do you waste your time and don’t do the things you think you want to do? Personalization can help you. Normally I write for my benefit; you’ll find custom work for your benefit is more helpful. Your life could be better. I can help. Email me at elliot@fallibleideas.com Who Am I? I’m Elliot Temple. I love thinking and have sought out and studied great philosophy. I’ve especially studied the philosophy of ideas (epistemology), moral philosophy and liberalism. I have broad interests including economics, science, relationships and education. Thinkers I’ve studied extra extensively include Ayn Rand, Karl Popper, William Godwin, Edmund Burke, Thomas Szasz, Ludwig von Mises, Xenophanes, Ann Coulter, David Horowitz and Richard Feynman. I learned a great deal from over 5,000 hours of discussions with physicist, philosopher and author David Deutsch. He was the leading Popperian philosopher at the time. I’ve written over 50,000 discussion contributions. (Watch me write!) I’ve already considered many obscure issues. You’ll be surprised by what I’m familiar with. Many philosophers try to impress people by writing confusing ideas. I’ve worked to discuss in a clear, simple way. Good ideas make sense. Don’t buy into the myth that some genius philosophers can understand super advanced ideas which are beyond you. I apply philosophy concepts to learn new things quickly and effectively. Learning things well is what I like to do. I do professional computer programming. I ranked top 10 nationally, and first in California, in scholastic chess tournaments. I’ve been world class at several computer games and my guides have two million views. I have expert knowledge in parenting/education, physics, economics, evolution, psychiatry, social dynamics, relationships, business, politics, and some parts of history. My Fallible Ideas philosophy offers unique value that isn’t available anywhere else. I think and write fast. I can explain anything in a way that you can understand. I have tons of energy and can always brainstorm plenty of criticisms and ways for you to make progress. Nothing offends me and I have extreme patience. Rates are low (compared to expertise and value) because the world doesn’t want to think (low demand). Rate I work in 2-hour time blocks. That lets me produce substantial work in an uninterrupted sitting. My rate is $400
to handheld camera, which we’d held back on throughout the entire season until one moment with her, and one moment with Dolores, when Teddy comes to rescue her. We get Maeve off the train with a handheld camera. And I remember watching the dailies and almost being shocked at how effective a cinematic technique can be if you hold off on it for long enough. If you dial it in at just the right moment, that suggests she’s literally like a train coming off the tracks. We’re no longer in programmatic or prescribed behaviors. She’s improvising, and we’re right there with her. But at the end of the day, does anyone really have free will? Think about it, man. Listen to the full Vulture TV Podcast interview with Nolan and Joy below, and read an edited transcript here:Video Game High School (VGHS) is the best television show to never air on cable or Netflix. The first 2 seasons are on Netflix in the US. This web series comprising of 3 seasons is out on YouTube thanks to the people who donated through Kickstarter and the creators on RocketJump. The 3rd and final season, unfortunately, will be coming to a close this Monday. I actually purchased the entire season a month ago on RocketJump.com after the first episode came out, but waited a month before writing this piece. Laziness! This show is perfect for bingewatching, here’s the link to get started. If you have actual work that needs to get done then don’t click on the link! This show is addicting. Video Game High School is set in a world where the gamer mentality has been embellished to the extreme. What if gamers were the stars? What if everyone watched video games as much as they watched football, television, and movies combined? So like StarCraft in South Korea, but everywhere. Professional video games are the most popular form of entertainment in the world, there’s vending machine pizza, people drink sodas out of wine glasses and the most promising students get to attend the prestigious VGHS, where kids learn to play video games instead of history or math. Pretty much every kids dream. The pilot for the first season starts with an announcement from the President, only to be cut off to show us a “Frag Highlight,” aka video game highlights. It’s silly, it’s great, and it’s how the final season starts as well. There’s a monster energy drink corporation high school because that’s how the world works here apparently. This show regularly goes from high school wackiness to intense military operations and has lines like this – “I’ve seen these 2 cats meow, and it’s about to be a fancy feast tonight. “ This is one of my favorite lines ever, touché person who wrote this. Have I demonstrated the atmosphere this show gives off yet? It’s crazy, it’s exciting, it’s fun. This may have some of the best special effects and editing I’ve seen and it’s better than many shows on cable. It’s amazing what they can do with their budget and that’s mainly why I purchased the season, I could have waited, but it was outta respect. Most of the stuff I see on YouTube, at least professional channels, have HD quality videos, but this has 2160p. I didn’t even know quality went this high. It may be better than real life, it’s definitely better than my terrible vision. Por qué mi visión tan malo?! The video quality is a million times better than my Spanish and grammar. I’ve had a post production job before and I appreciate how much effort goes into video editing, these guys do a ton of work. And it’s all free on YouTube! This show reminds me of The Office, it’s ironic because The Office was located in one of the most mundane settings in the real world while VGHS is the exact opposite with flashy video game scenes and a beautiful high school campus. The Office was a character driven story with silly character designs that bounced nicely off each other with moments of seriousness mixed in. VGHS works like that as well, specifically during this 3rd season when the show becomes more dramatic, but with better CGI and cuter girls. Everything in VGHS is really bright and inviting, which works great juxtaposed with the gritty Call of Duty like environment. I can feel the energy from the actors and everyone involved in production having fun. There are behind the scenes clips of every episode that I would recommend watching to understand what I’m talking about. The video game graphics are great, but it’s shown throughout the series that the amazing game graphics are generally in the characters head, but that’s how the players perceive themselves in the game. There are some sweet car races that could just as easily fit into the Fast and Furious franchise and no one would blink an eye. Tokyo Drift was a bad movie, I’m just going to lay that out here, but it could be improved if we splice the footage from this show into that movie. The costume designs are great, I loved what all the kids were wearing. I would love to wear Ted’s clothes in real life, the dude is a classy dresser. The Characters The story follows Brain D, the straight man in a sea of ridiculous characters, and his adventure through VGHS. I think he was the kid that played the little brother in Freaks and Geeks (it’s not him), another great show to watch. He has chipmunk cheeks and his hair style changes every season, but does a solid job as the lead. I love the good natured and naivety of Asian sidekick Ted Wong, but this character explores a wider range of emotions during the final season and I think the actor did a great job. Thanks to Ted’s character we get of bunch of racing scenes, so thanks Ted! This made me realize that there aren’t many Asian actors in Hollywood. Not including martial art Asian actors, I can think of Ken Jeong, Harold from Harlod and Kumar, and Ken Watabi, who may only have a career thanks to Christopher Nolan. George Takei is somehow still relevant, but he hasn’t been in anything for years. Does Keanu Reeves count? The Avengers has a whole bunch of diversity, but I don’t think there was a single Asian character in there. We really need more Asian actors out there, get on that Hollywood. Then again I can’t name a single Native American actor. Jenny Matrix may have been the reason I first got hooked on this show. She’s a total babe, don’t worry the actress is older than the high school character she portrays so it’s not creepy at all! Her character is so cool, she plays video games and she’s a girl!, and she’s a million times hotter in her army gear, in her normal clothes she’s only stunning. Thanks to this show I’ve discovered girls holding guns is pretty hot. It’s refreshing to see a strong unique female character that’s the leader of her team and not just some love interest for the protagonist – also the two actors are married in real life. That’s crazy. I love Ki Swan’s mannerisms. I was watching the Addams Family, not the best movie out there, and realized she acts a lot like Mrs. Addams. I have no idea if the actress watches the Addams family or was trying to act quirky, but I would bet anything she loved that show growing up. Her eccentric attitude grew on me and she reminds me of Luna Lovegood, I think these two would have been great pals if they met. Now I can’t decide which character I like better, her or Matrix. I’m just saying that’s the cutest Abe Lincoln I’ve ever seen, 4 score and 7 years ago she’d still be a cutie. Ki shines in the final episode as a team leader and her fast thinking helps the group get out of a ton of tough situations. It’s interesting how important the parents are to each character, except protagonist Brian D whose parents are nonexistent. Calhoun acts like a father figure sparingly, but he’s mostly there for comedic purposes. We see Jenny’s complicated relationship with her mom as a coach. I think her speech during her mom’s award wonderfully gave us insight on that relationship. It was a great piece of written dialogue and acting. That relationship evolves a little more during the 3rd season, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Ted’s one way relationship with his father made him constantly seek attention and love. Freddie’s washed up douchebag persona as a legendary Guitar Hero player was ridiculous every second he was on scene and I loved it. Ted finds much better companions in his friends at VGHS. Ki’s father always pushed her to be a great game designer and I think her weird persona could derive from her parent doting on her. 5 Second Film star Brian Firenzi stars in this show as the Law.They have some weird funny videos and here’s 20 of them. He’s ridiculous and doesn’t look a bit like a high schooler, but every character in this show looks old for high school. It’s sad how much of a diminished role he had in the final season as I thought he had some of the funniest lines and antics. He’s one of the writers and producers for the show as well, so I’m not sure why he did this! He has an amazingly funny scene in the season finale, which helps ease the pain of his diminished role, but I missed his Season 1 elitist persona and Season 2 insanity. The guy who plays DK is an amazing side character. He’s the most over the top character in an already ridiculous world, he’s like the mad hatter in Alice in Wonderland. I almost fell off my chair when I heard this actor’s normal voice. I knew he was hamming it up for the character, but there’s a huge difference. Great job by him. Epic Meal Time star joins this show as tough Dean Calhoun. I’m not sure if he’s a more toned down version of his Epic Meal Time persona or if it’s the other way around, but I love the character. Heck I love all the characters. His facial hair gets more insane each season, but the actor becomes more comfortable on screen and is able to become funnier. In his office he has this plaque that says “it’s all about the game.” Hey that’s the title of this article! I probably should have named this Video Game High School Review, but this just sounds so much cooler. Here’s a clip of him from Epic Meal Time, don’t watch if you’re hungry. Video games, cute girls, funny lines, great visuals, just binge watch this show and thank me later. Support RocketJump’s future projects, but the chapter on VGHS is closed, there are rumors of an animated series but I don’t think anything is confirmed yet. This was a great series, but at the end of the day, it’s not all about the game. It’s about the people who play them. And the people who watch them. Thanks for the smiles. Spoilers for the Finale I loved the Napalm Bowl. Yeah it was a contrived way to get all the characters to play in a FPS finale, but it was a perfect ending for this show, although I wish it never ended! Video Game College anyone? I liked how they all didn’t suddenly become good at the FPS game and instead used their strengths in their games to contribute. We got to see Calhoun be a total badass, Ki and Ted got to show their chops in FPS, and we even got more Duchess scenes. Why wasn’t she used more?! I only wish we got to see more badass Law in this final battle, but comic relief Law was pretty good. The Barnstormer brother meltdown when they lost the match may have been the silliest thing in the entire show, but okay, glad to see VGHS didn’t get turned into a mall. Season 1 ended with the 3 together. So it’s fitting that it ended with them together in Brian’s room. The bullies from the first episode also have a cameo that was nice to see. I’m a little upset that Jenny and Brian D didn’t end up together, but I think the ending is open-ended enough that they’ll meet again in the pros. I like to think that the 3 stayed best friends forever playing video games in Brian’s house, with Jenny stopping by to join them. AdvertisementsComcast reached a deal with CBS to offer subscribers more of the Eye’s shows on video-on-demand and they cut a separate pact to offer all past seasons of two shows through its multiscreen Streampix service — giving the cable giant a bit more ammunition to fight over-the-top services like Netflix. Comcast, under an update to its previous VOD agreement with CBS, will offer more of the Eye’s current primetime TV shows for free through Xfinity On Demand and online at Xfinity.com. That includes an expanded selection of CBS’ returning shows such as “The Good Wife,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Person of Interest” and “The Mentalist,” plus new premiering series such as “The Crazy Ones” and “Mom.” Under a separate pact, Comcast will offer the four previous seasons of CBS’ “The Good Wife” on its Xfinity Streampix subscription VOD service (while every episode of the current season will be available on the standard Xfinity On Demand service) as well as all eight seasons of The WB’s “Charmed.” Terms of the deals were not disclosed. CBS agreed to provide additional VOD of current-season shows to Comcast because that viewing will now be counted toward Nielsen C3 ratings, according to a source familiar with the deal; in addition, fast-forward functions on CBS VOD content will now be disabled on Comcast. The deal for the full seasons of “The Good Wife” and “Charmed” for the Streampix SVOD service involved compensation to CBS, according to the source. Related Jo Ann Ross on Innovation in Measurement & Ad Formats Live+7 Ratings for Week of Feb. 4: 'Big Bang Theory' Tops Scripted Competition Scott Koondel, chief corporate content licensing officer for CBS, noted in a statement that the deal “provides CBS with yet another way to monetize our content.” Another benefit to CBS, according to Koondel: Adding Streampix as a subscription VOD partner “will enable more fans to catch up on past episodes and in turn support in-season viewership.” CBS plans to make additional episodes of select series available throughout the season to let Comcast subscribers catch up. Comcast’s Streampix, which provides several thousand TV shows and movies available across multiple devices, costs $4.99 per month extra beyond basic cable but the service is included for no additional charge with certain double- and triple-play bundles. In the recent retransmission-consent negotiations between Time Warner Cable and CBS, Internet-streaming video rights became a point of contention. The cable operator wanted to get expanded online video content rights as part of paying a higher retrans fee, while CBS wanted to get paid separately for SVOD rights.The Air Combat Tutorial Library (Updated 9 Feb 2019) By Requiem I am a real life airline pilot and flight instructor who creates tutorials covering general flight and air combat. They show these concepts in an easy way to improve your knowledge and skills, so you can subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/RequiemBoS in order to get the latest updates from me directly.I am always trying to add to these tutorials to cover everything you need to know. This way they not only help you get you started with flying, but as you progress in skill level you can begin learning beyond that into some of the more advanced air combat concepts. I've broken down the topics of my tutorials into the following:1) Principles of Flight2) Complex Engine Management3) Air to Air Gunnery4) Basic Fighter Maneuvering (BFM)5) Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM)6) Ground Attack Techniques7) Multiplayer LivestreamsI hope you enjoy the guide and look forward to seeing you in the multiplayer skies. If this guide helped you please use the rate button below, or if there is something you want a tutorial on please don't hesitate to contact me.Calif. Gov. Brown Vetoes Bill Giving Non-Citizens Jury Duty Enlarge this image toggle caption Max Whittaker/Getty Images Max Whittaker/Getty Images Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill today that would have made California the first state in the country to allow non-citizens to serve on juries. "Jury service, like voting, is quintessentially a prerogative and responsibility of citizenship," Brown wrote in a veto message. "This bill would permit lawful permanent residents who are not citizens to serve on a jury. I don't think that's right." Brown drew that line, just days after he signed two other bills that allowed undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses and practice law. The Los Angeles Times reports: "Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), said he was disappointed that the governor vetoed the jury bill. 'Lawful permanent immigrants are part of the fabric of our communities, and they benefit from the protections of our laws, so it is fair and just that they be asked to share in the obligation to do jury duty, just as they serve in our courts, schools, police departments and armed forces,' Wieckowski said. 'I don't see anything wrong with imposing this civic obligation on immigrants who can spend the rest of their lives in the United States.' "The jury bill had been one of the most controversial measures put on the governor's desk, with Democratic lawmakers saying it would diversify the jury pool and allow noncitizens facing trial to have a jury that includes their peers. "'I believe that allowing noncitizens who are lawfully present in the United States is a desirable reform for California,' said Ingrid Eagly, an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Law. 'I do not see any legal obstacles to the inclusion of noncitizens on juries in California.'" The AP reports that the bill would have still required jurors to be at least 18, live in the county making the summons and be proficient in English. Over at The Atlantic, they take up the intellectual conversation over this question. They point to three reasons why jury duty should be a privilege of citizens. This is most thought-provoking:THERE’S an old Italian saying, “A tavola non si invecchia,” which means: At the table, you don’t grow old. All of us, of whatever age, need to socialize in public places to feel connected and alive. That sense of shared conviviality was notably absent recently when police officers removed loiterers, many of them elderly Korean-Americans, from a McDonald’s restaurant in Queens. The slew of comments that followed a report of the dispute were unsympathetic to those who whiled away their hours there. One New York Times reader commented, “It is only in the inner city that McDonald’s and Starbucks are the gathering places for the unwashed, elderly, incompetent and infirm. I suppose this is the price for being a city dweller. These people ruin everything!” Others offered proposals to “solve” the problem by making the seating uncomfortable or removing it altogether, suing the elderly customers or playing blaring rap music to drive them away. Older patrons may test the limits of public dawdling, but this phenomenon — call it loitering or community building — is essential for the survival of many people 65 and older. According to the last census, seniors constitute 12 percent of New York City’s population. Many of them are single, sometimes far from family, and have lived in their localities for decades, their entire lives even. For the past four years, I have studied how neighborhood public places help older Manhattan residents avoid isolation and develop social ties that offer support, ranging from a sympathetic ear to a small emergency loan.50 Cent appeared on an episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live yesterday (June 18). During the episode, 50 Cent participated in a segment titled “Plead The Fifth.” He was asked three questions and could only plead the fifth to one. 50, who did not plead the fifth, addressed host Andy Cohen’s questions. One of Cohen’s questions was about Beyonce. “What is it like to be yelled at in the face by Beyonce?” Cohen asked. “It’s not really bad,” 50 Cent said. “Her breath does not smell. It’s one of those things where the paparazzi people are taking pictures of us at the same time. So, how do you respond? There’s no right way to respond. You just have to accept it…If you do something back…It’s like if you’re in an elevator and you get attacked, you can’t do nothing.” When discussing the elevator, 50 Cent is likely referencing Jay Z’s altercation with Solange Knowles, which took place in an elevator. Following the Solange/Jay Z incident, 50 Cent released a video mocking the matter. In June, 50 Cent spoke about being yelled at by Beyonce. “One time [Beyoncé] jumped off of a ledge and came running over cause she thought me and Jay had issues,” 50 Cent said. “And I’m like, ‘What the fuck? Did she really just jump and run up on me like that?’ We was at the Cosmopolitan. She jumped out and was like this, ‘What?! That Bonnie and Clyde forreal! You try this or what, boy?! I’m here!’ She bugged out at me. I looked and Jay starts laughing. He’s like, ‘Yo, you know what it is.’ I said, ‘Oh sh-t! What the f-ck y’all got going on, man?’ Bey jumped down off of that joint like, ‘What?! Wassup?!’ Matter of fact, Floyd [Mayweather] was there. We were in the Cosmopolitan in Vegas and I was bringing him to say wassup to Jay because Jay don’t really like him.” 50 Cent Calls Jay Z Most Overrated Hip Hop Star Ever Jay Z was also brought up by 50 Cent when he was asked who he thinks is the “most overrated Hip Hop star of all time.” “Overrated?” 50 said. “Jay Z. He would say he’s overrated. ‘Rather be overrated than underpaid.'” In his response, 50 Cent is likely referencing Jay Z’s verse on Kanye West’s “So Appalled.” On the track, Jay says, “I went from the favorite to the most hated, But would you rather be underpaid or overrated?” 50 Cent Denies Having Sex With Kim Kardashian 50 Cent’s rumored relations with Kim Kardashian were the subject of another “Plead The Fifth” question. When asked what sex with Kardashian is like, 50 Cent denied ever having sex with her. “I never…Nah,” he said. He also denied dating her. “I just took pictures,” he said. “We took pictures with each other in Australia at the MTV Awards. I posted the picture on the social network and people say all kinds of [things].” When asked how his relationship with Kanye West is, 50 Cent replied: “Cool.” 50 Cent Says Floyd Mayweather Was Wrong In T.I. Feud Later on the show, 50 Cent was asked about whose side he is on in the Floyd Mayweather/T.I. feud. “Floyd’s my brother, but he was wrong,” 50 Cent said. “He always…He do what he wanna do. He’s crazier than me.” Following T.I.’s alleged fight with Floyd Mayweather, 50 Cent made a video mocking the situation. He also advised Mayweather in the clip. “Your uppercut ain’t gon’ mean shit when niggas start shootin’,” he said in the clip he released following reports of the T.I./Mayweather altercation. (June 19, 2014) UPDATE: The video of 50 Cent on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live is as follows: RELATED: 50 Cent Addresses Jay Z Being Attacked By Solange Knowles, Releases Voiceover Of FootageStop war threats: Peace treaty with Korea now! By Deirdre Griswold “No first use” of nuclear weapons. It is a pledge never to attack another country with nuclear bombs or missiles, unless that country has attacked you first with such weapons. The world would be a much safer place if the U.S. and the other countries in NATO that possess nuclear weapons were to make such a pledge. But these imperialist states refuse to do so. In fact, only three of the world’s nuclear powers have pledged “no first use.” They are China, India and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. But you wouldn’t know it if all you read and heard came from the politicians and major media in the U.S. They are drumming it into the heads of the people here that north Korea — the DPRK — is a major threat to the world because it has now built half a dozen nuclear warheads. The U.S. has almost 7,000 such doomsday weapons. It has many military bases in south Korea. Several times a year it conducts huge war exercises directed against the DPRK. The last was held in August and involved 80,000 troops from the U.S. and south Korea. Other U.S. war “games” directed at north Korea have included troops from Japan — the hated colonial ruler over Korea from 1910 to 1945.From this day onward, Li Yao assumed the identity of “Ou Yeming“. And the miserable life of a low-level Hundred Smelting Guild worker unfolded for him. This strange dream was completely different from a typical dream in the sense that it seemed even more real than the uncanny dreams that Li Yao had experienced since childhood. Even the passage of time appeared to be abnormally slow. No matter what Li Yao tried, there wasn’t even a single trace of indication that he would awaken from this dream. It was as if he had truly become “Ou Yeming”, carrying out an entirely different chapter of life. Being a low grade worker in the Hundred Smelting Guild was not easy. Along with the slow passage of time, every day the burden that was pressed upon their shoulders grew greater and greater. In the beginning, they carried 3,000 pounds of water and cut down 50 giant trees. Then it turned to carrying 10,000 pounds of boiling molten iron and cutting down 100 of the metal-like orichalcum trees. Additionally, they had to swing the 1,020 pound ‘Heaven Forging Hammers’ down 30,000 times! And the Instructor of the Low Level Workers, the Titan, seemed to have Li Yao firmly marked in his mind as a thorn in his flesh. Everyday he would come to bring Li Yao trouble during the three daily meals. If Li Yao made the smallest mistake, he would unavoidably be hit with a series of the One-Hundred-And-Eight-Hands Chaos-Gale Hammer Techniques, beating him into a state between life and death, a state so painful one wishes they were dead. Day after day. Year after year. Time passed in the dreamworld like flickering light and passing shadows. It was as if 10 years had passed. Day in and day out, the grueling and mundane drudgery of work was of inhumane torment and slowly extinguished Li Yao’s sense of self. The name “Li Yao” was a thing that was already far distant. Even his past memories became mere grains of sand within the deepest depths of his mind. They had sunk into the hidden depths of the ocean floor and not a single ripple emerged on the surface. He was completely “Ou Yeming.” The Ou Yeming who was the most outstanding of the Hundred Smelting Guild’s low level workers! 30 years of blood, sweat, and tears. He forged himself a majestic body of steel muscles and iron bones. And much to the bitterness of the Titan, he also completely comprehended the essence of the One-Hundred-And-Eight-Hands Chaos-Gale Hammer Technique to the extent that his proficiency surpassed several inner members of the Hundred Smelting Guild. Other than the Titan, people no long called him “Ou Yeming.” All the low level workers called him “Elder Brother Ou Ye!” Year 11. He finally became the number 2 ranked Metal-Forge Worker of the Hundred Smelting Guild and received the qualifications to enter the “Metal Forging Room”!. The following years passed by at flying speed. Year 14. He became an outer member of the Hundred Smelting Guild and received the title of “Blacksmith.” He was now qualified to assist in casting and forging the low-grade flying swords for use by the outer guild members. Year 21. He became a “Master Craftsman” and possessed his own Crafting Furnace. He could now cast and forge low-grade flying swords all by himself. Year 29. He became a “Grandmaster Craftsman.” He was the number one crafter amongst the outer guild members. Year 31. The demonic cultivators invaded. Ou Yeming took charge in resisting against Seven Great Demonic Guilds on the battlefield. He smashed and killed 24 foundation-stage members of the demonic cultivators. It was at the time that the Hundred Smelting Guild discovered that he’d taken the most basic technique, the One-Hundred-And-Eight-Hands Chaos-Gale Hammer Technique, pushed forward an evolution, and transformed it into One Hundred and Eighty-Nine Hands! Year 33, Ou Yeming sat and paid respects to the Hundred Smelting Guild’s Elder ‘Daoist Yu Chang.” He became an inner guild member of the Hundred Smelting Guild. Another three years later, he rose into becoming a core guild member and was the Metal Forging Room’s attendant. Year 38. Ou Yeming distinguished himself amongst the Hundred Smelting Guild’s countless number of youths by becoming the first to reach the peak boundary of the Foundation Stage. Also, deriving from “Ou Ye Elder Brother,” other people began addressing him as “Senior Master Ou Ye!” In the same year, he took the Hundred Smelting Guild’s thirty-fifth supreme guild leader’s only daughter as his wife. At the wedding festivities beautiful women lined the walls. Ou Ye Ming was like the rising sun. His future looked boundless. He thought back to the days when his identity was a low-level worker, when he had declared in jest, “Eventually there will be a day, when I will become the Hundred Smelting Guild’s Guild Leader!” It seemed that this was no longer an impossibility. At present, he held great power. He sat upon endless resources and advanced peacefully down the road of cultivation, making tremendous progress. Numerous elders of the guild watched over him from above and countless blood-brothers aided him from below. His future landscape was truly boundless. He was at the apex of life! Only… When he thought back to when he had said those words in jest dozens of years ago. He could faintly recall memories of some sort. Inevitably a ripple of recollection would churn from the depths of his mind, letting him feel somewhat uneasy. “My husband, you will certainly make and build our Hundred Smelting Guild to become the most powerful crafting guild within the three-thousands worlds….” His darling wife lay upon the bed gazing at him with a smile. Her blurry eyes were as tender and soft as water. Ou Yeming deeply, deeply deeply, deeply deeply deeply deeply felt a cold shiver. A strange vision rippled suddenly, surfacing. It was as if there was something distorting space and time, ripping a hole in the world. The face of his wife lying on the bed became fuzzy, unclear and hazy. It changed to a another face that was clean to the point of pureness. ““Promise me, don’t go street racing any longer. Become an honest car mechanic, no one will look down on you. There will be a day when we will have our own Auto 4S Shop!”” “Promise me! Dear Yao!” He subconsciously nodded his head. He blinked his eyes once and suddenly woke up. It was a feeling that was completely bizarre. Something similar to a spirit had disengaged from the body. It changed into a transparent empty shadow, and floated in midair. It looked with absolute calmness in the bridal room at Ou Yeming and his wife. It had once shared Ou Yeming’s personal experiences, but now it turned into a complete spectator. “I am not Ou Yeming, I am not Ou Yeming! Who am I? I am… I AM —- LI YAO!” It was like a rush of clear spring water had flushed his heart. His mind awakened to a bright comprehension that was incomparably clear. In a flash, he found his sense of self once more and the seventy two years of past memories also shattered into multi-colored shards, a transient dream. “Too close. Too close. If I’d kept on wallowing in this dream and was unable to free myself, then I fear that the day I woke from this dream, the one who would awaken would be only Ou Yeming, not the real me!” Li Yao thought back to his various moments in the past and he could not help but to be drenched in sweat as he let out a shout of luck. From this day forward, he assumed the role of a spectator and continued to participate in the dreamland’s development. Even though he still had not broken free, he knew clearly that this was a dream. Within the dream were countless things that caused him to be perplexed. In psychological terms, this was called a “lucid dream.” The rate at which the dreamland unfolded grew faster and faster. It was like the blurred lightning speed of a crystal rail train. Only during important moments did the speed slow down, allowing Li Yao to clearly see their details. Year 41. Li Yao saw Ou Yeming become the Hundred Smelting Guild’s youngest Elder in history. In that same year he crafted a secret sword, Profound Spark and beheaded a demonic cultivator tyrant, True Monarch Dulong who’d seized the Orachalcum stage. Year 43. Li Yao saw Ou Yeming, representing the Hundred Smelting Guild, in the “10 Worlds on Sword Theory” competition. He used the might of the one of a kind tyrannic greatsword “Hundred-Meter Swallowing Dragon” to suppress the other outstanding competitors. He cut through, breaking 92 of his opponents weapons in succession, seizing the title “Blade Saint of 10 Worlds,” becoming a master swordsmith that could shake this dozen of worlds. Year 52. Li Yao saw the demonic cultivators invade once more. Their most important target was the Hundred Smelting Guild. Dozens of necessary core members: the Guild Leader, highest level members, Elders, fell one by one. The situation was dire. Ou Yeming was elected to act as the Hundred Smelting Guild’s 36th generation Guild Leader. Under his leadership, the Hundred Smelting Guild transformed into a gigantic weapons manufacturing plant, steadily providing Masterwork Weapons to guilds on the path of good. Year 68. The final disciples of Nine Great Demonic Guilds were exterminated and slayed by the Masterwork Weapons crafted by Ou Ye Ming! At this time, there were no longer any people who called him “Senior Master Ou Ye” or “Guild Leader Ou Ye.” Every person addressed him with absolute veneration as ——Ou Yezi! Year 109. The name Ou Yezi had already spread through to the several hundreds of surrounding worlds. Even people on the other shore of the sea of the stars from unknown worlds, even people from close distances of millions and millions of kilometers, braved the danger of being consumed by the raging maelstrom of primordial chaos. They crossed over using ancient transmission arrays, arriving at the Grand Foreworld, all for the sake of acquiring a Masterwork Weapon crafted by Ou Yezi. Year 130……. Year 250…… Year 320…… At last —— “Supreme Guildmaster! Elder Forebearer! Please sir, think twice, think twice about this! Tunneling through time is fundamentally impossible! You sir are the great pillar of heavens that supports our Hundred Smelting Guild. You absolutely cannot undertake such a risk yourself!” Li Yao looked on within the giant palace hall that was incomparably majestic and upon which clouds and mist curled around. Over ten thousand cultivators were kneeling simultaneously on the ground. They were facing towards Ou Yezi and were kowtowing repeatedly. The knocking called the entire hall to echo with “bang bang” sounds while blood flowed to fill the earth. Ou Yezi, who’s hair and beard were completely white, was standing magnificently in the center of a grand and mysterious transmission array. With a flick of his sleeve he said indifferently: “There are a great number of worlds in the universe. There are a great number of eras in eternity. The true meaning of cultivation is… to explore the endless mysteries of the cosmos. This old man has happened to coincide with destiny and has accidentally crafted something that could possibly traverse time, the “Great Time Array.” Even if the possibility is uncertain, I need to test it out. To find out if it can truly traverse to the ends of time.” He stopped for a moment. Slowly he swept his eyes across the people within the great palace hall. Ou Yezi face was written full of melancholy. He murmured: “My disciples, you need not speak any further. All the artifacts in this world have already been studied fully by this old man. I have no regrets. I just hope that at the distant era on the other shore, this new world several tens of thousands of years in the future, there would be new artifacts capable of making people somewhat happy.” His tone left nothing out. Ou Yezi had already ignited the Great Time Array. A pillar of blinding light came from the depths of the bizarre transmission array and enveloped him within. This pillar of light flooded with an incomparably violent surge of essence energy. It was just like a flood rushing and spreading in all directions. All those at the great palace cowered and shivered in front of the surge of essence energy. All the cultivators were forced to throw up essence shields of protection. The cultivators closest to Ou Yezi were directly caught in the wave of essence energy and were overturned. And that essence energy seemed to be infinite. It continued to gather unceasingly… increasing, expanding. It was like the essence became a mythical beast which beared its fangs. “No. Not good. Right now this transmission array is assimilating the surrounding essence energy in an unending stream, transforming into a chaotic flow of essence energy. It can explode at any time!” “Something has gone wrong with the transmission array. Everyone quickly evacuate, RUN!” “No, we can’t escape in time. Hurry, put up the essence shields. Use the most powerful artifacts to withstand it!” “AHHH——” The last scene Li Yao saw in his eyes was an expanding ball of milky white bright light that was like a roaring sea. The entire palace, and the hundreds of floating mountains outside and even the entire sea below all
# frames the eye must be below the threshold for to set off the # alarm EYE_AR_THRESH = 0.3 EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES = 48 # initialize the frame counter as well as a boolean used to # indicate if the alarm is going off COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False # initialize dlib's face detector (HOG-based) and then create # the facial landmark predictor print("[INFO] loading facial landmark predictor...") detector = dlib.get_frontal_face_detector() predictor = dlib.shape_predictor(args["shape_predictor"]) # grab the indexes of the facial landmarks for the left and # right eye, respectively (lStart, lEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["left_eye"] (rStart, rEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["right_eye"] # start the video stream thread print("[INFO] starting video stream thread...") vs = VideoStream(src=args["webcam"]).start() time.sleep(1.0) # loop over frames from the video stream while True: # grab the frame from the threaded video file stream, resize # it, and convert it to grayscale # channels) frame = vs.read() frame = imutils.resize(frame, width=450) gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) # detect faces in the grayscale frame rects = detector(gray, 0) 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 # start the video stream thread print ( "[INFO] starting video stream thread..." ) vs = VideoStream ( src = args [ "webcam" ] ). start ( ) time. sleep ( 1.0 ) # loop over frames from the video stream while True : # grab the frame from the threaded video file stream, resize # it, and convert it to grayscale # channels) frame = vs. read ( ) frame = imutils. resize ( frame, width = 450 ) gray = cv2. cvtColor ( frame, cv2. COLOR_BGR2GRAY ) # detect faces in the grayscale frame rects = detector ( gray, 0 ) On Line 69 we instantiate our VideoStream using the supplied --webcam index. We then pause for a second to allow the camera sensor to warm up (Line 70). On Line 73 we start looping over frames in our video stream. Line 77 reads the next frame, which we then preprocess by resizing it to have a width of 450 pixels and converting it to grayscale (Lines 78 and 79). Line 82 applies dlib’s face detector to find and locate the face(s) in the image. The next step is to apply facial landmark detection to localize each of the important regions of the face: Drowsiness detection with OpenCV # import the necessary packages from scipy.spatial import distance as dist from imutils.video import VideoStream from imutils import face_utils from threading import Thread import numpy as np import playsound import argparse import imutils import time import dlib import cv2 def sound_alarm(path): # play an alarm sound playsound.playsound(path) def eye_aspect_ratio(eye): # compute the euclidean distances between the two sets of # vertical eye landmarks (x, y)-coordinates A = dist.euclidean(eye[1], eye[5]) B = dist.euclidean(eye[2], eye[4]) # compute the euclidean distance between the horizontal # eye landmark (x, y)-coordinates C = dist.euclidean(eye[0], eye[3]) # compute the eye aspect ratio ear = (A + B) / (2.0 * C) # return the eye aspect ratio return ear # construct the argument parse and parse the arguments ap = argparse.ArgumentParser() ap.add_argument("-p", "--shape-predictor", required=True, help="path to facial landmark predictor") ap.add_argument("-a", "--alarm", type=str, default="", help="path alarm.WAV file") ap.add_argument("-w", "--webcam", type=int, default=0, help="index of webcam on system") args = vars(ap.parse_args()) # define two constants, one for the eye aspect ratio to indicate # blink and then a second constant for the number of consecutive # frames the eye must be below the threshold for to set off the # alarm EYE_AR_THRESH = 0.3 EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES = 48 # initialize the frame counter as well as a boolean used to # indicate if the alarm is going off COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False # initialize dlib's face detector (HOG-based) and then create # the facial landmark predictor print("[INFO] loading facial landmark predictor...") detector = dlib.get_frontal_face_detector() predictor = dlib.shape_predictor(args["shape_predictor"]) # grab the indexes of the facial landmarks for the left and # right eye, respectively (lStart, lEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["left_eye"] (rStart, rEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["right_eye"] # start the video stream thread print("[INFO] starting video stream thread...") vs = VideoStream(src=args["webcam"]).start() time.sleep(1.0) # loop over frames from the video stream while True: # grab the frame from the threaded video file stream, resize # it, and convert it to grayscale # channels) frame = vs.read() frame = imutils.resize(frame, width=450) gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) # detect faces in the grayscale frame rects = detector(gray, 0) # loop over the face detections for rect in rects: # determine the facial landmarks for the face region, then # convert the facial landmark (x, y)-coordinates to a NumPy # array shape = predictor(gray, rect) shape = face_utils.shape_to_np(shape) # extract the left and right eye coordinates, then use the # coordinates to compute the eye aspect ratio for both eyes leftEye = shape[lStart:lEnd] rightEye = shape[rStart:rEnd] leftEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(leftEye) rightEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(rightEye) # average the eye aspect ratio together for both eyes ear = (leftEAR + rightEAR) / 2.0 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 # loop over the face detections for rect in rects : # determine the facial landmarks for the face region, then # convert the facial landmark (x, y)-coordinates to a NumPy # array shape = predictor ( gray, rect ) shape = face_utils. shape_to_np ( shape ) # extract the left and right eye coordinates, then use the # coordinates to compute the eye aspect ratio for both eyes leftEye = shape [ lStart : lEnd ] rightEye = shape [ rStart : rEnd ] leftEAR = eye_aspect_ratio ( leftEye ) rightEAR = eye_aspect_ratio ( rightEye ) # average the eye aspect ratio together for both eyes ear = ( leftEAR + rightEAR ) / 2.0 We loop over each of the detected faces on Line 85 — in our implementation (specifically related to driver drowsiness), we assume there is only one face — the driver — but I left this for loop in here just in case you want to apply the technique to videos with more than one face. For each of the detected faces, we apply dlib’s facial landmark detector (Line 89) and convert the result to a NumPy array (Line 90). Using NumPy array slicing we can extract the (x, y)-coordinates of the left and right eye, respectively (Lines 94 and 95). Given the (x, y)-coordinates for both eyes, we then compute their eye aspect ratios on Line 96 and 97. Soukupová and Čech recommend averaging both eye aspect ratios together to obtain a better estimation (Line 100). We can then visualize each of the eye regions on our frame by using the cv2.drawContours function below — this is often helpful when we are trying to debug our script and want to ensure that the eyes are being correctly detected and localized: Drowsiness detection with OpenCV # import the necessary packages from scipy.spatial import distance as dist from imutils.video import VideoStream from imutils import face_utils from threading import Thread import numpy as np import playsound import argparse import imutils import time import dlib import cv2 def sound_alarm(path): # play an alarm sound playsound.playsound(path) def eye_aspect_ratio(eye): # compute the euclidean distances between the two sets of # vertical eye landmarks (x, y)-coordinates A = dist.euclidean(eye[1], eye[5]) B = dist.euclidean(eye[2], eye[4]) # compute the euclidean distance between the horizontal # eye landmark (x, y)-coordinates C = dist.euclidean(eye[0], eye[3]) # compute the eye aspect ratio ear = (A + B) / (2.0 * C) # return the eye aspect ratio return ear # construct the argument parse and parse the arguments ap = argparse.ArgumentParser() ap.add_argument("-p", "--shape-predictor", required=True, help="path to facial landmark predictor") ap.add_argument("-a", "--alarm", type=str, default="", help="path alarm.WAV file") ap.add_argument("-w", "--webcam", type=int, default=0, help="index of webcam on system") args = vars(ap.parse_args()) # define two constants, one for the eye aspect ratio to indicate # blink and then a second constant for the number of consecutive # frames the eye must be below the threshold for to set off the # alarm EYE_AR_THRESH = 0.3 EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES = 48 # initialize the frame counter as well as a boolean used to # indicate if the alarm is going off COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False # initialize dlib's face detector (HOG-based) and then create # the facial landmark predictor print("[INFO] loading facial landmark predictor...") detector = dlib.get_frontal_face_detector() predictor = dlib.shape_predictor(args["shape_predictor"]) # grab the indexes of the facial landmarks for the left and # right eye, respectively (lStart, lEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["left_eye"] (rStart, rEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["right_eye"] # start the video stream thread print("[INFO] starting video stream thread...") vs = VideoStream(src=args["webcam"]).start() time.sleep(1.0) # loop over frames from the video stream while True: # grab the frame from the threaded video file stream, resize # it, and convert it to grayscale # channels) frame = vs.read() frame = imutils.resize(frame, width=450) gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) # detect faces in the grayscale frame rects = detector(gray, 0) # loop over the face detections for rect in rects: # determine the facial landmarks for the face region, then # convert the facial landmark (x, y)-coordinates to a NumPy # array shape = predictor(gray, rect) shape = face_utils.shape_to_np(shape) # extract the left and right eye coordinates, then use the # coordinates to compute the eye aspect ratio for both eyes leftEye = shape[lStart:lEnd] rightEye = shape[rStart:rEnd] leftEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(leftEye) rightEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(rightEye) # average the eye aspect ratio together for both eyes ear = (leftEAR + rightEAR) / 2.0 # compute the convex hull for the left and right eye, then # visualize each of the eyes leftEyeHull = cv2.convexHull(leftEye) rightEyeHull = cv2.convexHull(rightEye) cv2.drawContours(frame, [leftEyeHull], -1, (0, 255, 0), 1) cv2.drawContours(frame, [rightEyeHull], -1, (0, 255, 0), 1) 102 103 104 105 106 107 # compute the convex hull for the left and right eye, then # visualize each of the eyes leftEyeHull = cv2. convexHull ( leftEye ) rightEyeHull = cv2. convexHull ( rightEye ) cv2. drawContours ( frame, [ leftEyeHull ], - 1, ( 0, 255, 0 ), 1 ) cv2. drawContours ( frame, [ rightEyeHull ], - 1, ( 0, 255, 0 ), 1 ) Finally, we are now ready to check to see if the person in our video stream is starting to show symptoms of drowsiness: Drowsiness detection with OpenCV # import the necessary packages from scipy.spatial import distance as dist from imutils.video import VideoStream from imutils import face_utils from threading import Thread import numpy as np import playsound import argparse import imutils import time import dlib import cv2 def sound_alarm(path): # play an alarm sound playsound.playsound(path) def eye_aspect_ratio(eye): # compute the euclidean distances between the two sets of # vertical eye landmarks (x, y)-coordinates A = dist.euclidean(eye[1], eye[5]) B = dist.euclidean(eye[2], eye[4]) # compute the euclidean distance between the horizontal # eye landmark (x, y)-coordinates C = dist.euclidean(eye[0], eye[3]) # compute the eye aspect ratio ear = (A + B) / (2.0 * C) # return the eye aspect ratio return ear # construct the argument parse and parse the arguments ap = argparse.ArgumentParser() ap.add_argument("-p", "--shape-predictor", required=True, help="path to facial landmark predictor") ap.add_argument("-a", "--alarm", type=str, default="", help="path alarm.WAV file") ap.add_argument("-w", "--webcam", type=int, default=0, help="index of webcam on system") args = vars(ap.parse_args()) # define two constants, one for the eye aspect ratio to indicate # blink and then a second constant for the number of consecutive # frames the eye must be below the threshold for to set off the # alarm EYE_AR_THRESH = 0.3 EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES = 48 # initialize the frame counter as well as a boolean used to # indicate if the alarm is going off COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False # initialize dlib's face detector (HOG-based) and then create # the facial landmark predictor print("[INFO] loading facial landmark predictor...") detector = dlib.get_frontal_face_detector() predictor = dlib.shape_predictor(args["shape_predictor"]) # grab the indexes of the facial landmarks for the left and # right eye, respectively (lStart, lEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["left_eye"] (rStart, rEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["right_eye"] # start the video stream thread print("[INFO] starting video stream thread...") vs = VideoStream(src=args["webcam"]).start() time.sleep(1.0) # loop over frames from the video stream while True: # grab the frame from the threaded video file stream, resize # it, and convert it to grayscale # channels) frame = vs.read() frame = imutils.resize(frame, width=450) gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) # detect faces in the grayscale frame rects = detector(gray, 0) # loop over the face detections for rect in rects: # determine the facial landmarks for the face region, then # convert the facial landmark (x, y)-coordinates to a NumPy # array shape = predictor(gray, rect) shape = face_utils.shape_to_np(shape) # extract the left and right eye coordinates, then use the # coordinates to compute the eye aspect ratio for both eyes leftEye = shape[lStart:lEnd] rightEye = shape[rStart:rEnd] leftEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(leftEye) rightEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(rightEye) # average the eye aspect ratio together for both eyes ear = (leftEAR + rightEAR) / 2.0 # compute the convex hull for the left and right eye, then # visualize each of the eyes leftEyeHull = cv2.convexHull(leftEye) rightEyeHull = cv2.convexHull(rightEye) cv2.drawContours(frame, [leftEyeHull], -1, (0, 255, 0), 1) cv2.drawContours(frame, [rightEyeHull], -1, (0, 255, 0), 1) # check to see if the eye aspect ratio is below the blink # threshold, and if so, increment the blink frame counter if ear < EYE_AR_THRESH: COUNTER += 1 # if the eyes were closed for a sufficient number of # then sound the alarm if COUNTER >= EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES: # if the alarm is not on, turn it on if not ALARM_ON: ALARM_ON = True # check to see if an alarm file was supplied, # and if so, start a thread to have the alarm # sound played in the background if args["alarm"]!= "": t = Thread(target=sound_alarm, args=(args["alarm"],)) t.deamon = True t.start() # draw an alarm on the frame cv2.putText(frame, "DROWSINESS ALERT!", (10, 30), cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 0.7, (0, 0, 255), 2) # otherwise, the eye aspect ratio is not below the blink # threshold, so reset the counter and alarm else: COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 # check to see if the eye aspect ratio is below the blink # threshold, and if so, increment the blink frame counter if ear < EYE_AR_THRESH : COUNTER += 1 # if the eyes were closed for a sufficient number of # then sound the alarm if COUNTER >= EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES : # if the alarm is not on, turn it on if not ALARM_ON : ALARM_ON = True # check to see if an alarm file was supplied, # and if so, start a thread to have the alarm # sound played in the background if args [ "alarm" ]!= "" : t = Thread ( target = sound_alarm, args = ( args [ "alarm" ], ) ) t. deamon = True t. start ( ) # draw an alarm on the frame cv2. putText ( frame, "DROWSINESS ALERT!", ( 10, 30 ), cv2. FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 0.7, ( 0, 0, 255 ), 2 ) # otherwise, the eye aspect ratio is not below the blink # threshold, so reset the counter and alarm else : COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False On Line 111 we make a check to see if the eye aspect ratio is below the “blink/closed” eye threshold, EYE_AR_THRESH. If it is, we increment COUNTER, the total number of consecutive frames where the person has had their eyes closed. If COUNTER exceeds EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES (Line 116), then we assume the person is starting to doze off. Another check is made, this time on Line 118 and 119 to see if the alarm is on — if it’s not, we turn it on. Lines 124-128 handle playing the alarm sound, provided an --alarm path was supplied when the script was executed. We take special care to create a separate thread responsible for calling sound_alarm to ensure that our main program isn’t blocked until the sound finishes playing. Lines 131 and 132 draw the text DROWSINESS ALERT! on our frame — again, this is often helpful for debugging, especially if you are not using the playsound library. Finally, Lines 136-138 handle the case where the eye aspect ratio is larger than EYE_AR_THRESH, indicating the eyes are open. If the eyes are open, we reset COUNTER and ensure the alarm is off. The final code block in our drowsiness detector handles displaying the output frame to our screen: Drowsiness detection with OpenCV # import the necessary packages from scipy.spatial import distance as dist from imutils.video import VideoStream from imutils import face_utils from threading import Thread import numpy as np import playsound import argparse import imutils import time import dlib import cv2 def sound_alarm(path): # play an alarm sound playsound.playsound(path) def eye_aspect_ratio(eye): # compute the euclidean distances between the two sets of # vertical eye landmarks (x, y)-coordinates A = dist.euclidean(eye[1], eye[5]) B = dist.euclidean(eye[2], eye[4]) # compute the euclidean distance between the horizontal # eye landmark (x, y)-coordinates C = dist.euclidean(eye[0], eye[3]) # compute the eye aspect ratio ear = (A + B) / (2.0 * C) # return the eye aspect ratio return ear # construct the argument parse and parse the arguments ap = argparse.ArgumentParser() ap.add_argument("-p", "--shape-predictor", required=True, help="path to facial landmark predictor") ap.add_argument("-a", "--alarm", type=str, default="", help="path alarm.WAV file") ap.add_argument("-w", "--webcam", type=int, default=0, help="index of webcam on system") args = vars(ap.parse_args()) # define two constants, one for the eye aspect ratio to indicate # blink and then a second constant for the number of consecutive # frames the eye must be below the threshold for to set off the # alarm EYE_AR_THRESH = 0.3 EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES = 48 # initialize the frame counter as well as a boolean used to # indicate if the alarm is going off COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False # initialize dlib's face detector (HOG-based) and then create # the facial landmark predictor print("[INFO] loading facial landmark predictor...") detector = dlib.get_frontal_face_detector() predictor = dlib.shape_predictor(args["shape_predictor"]) # grab the indexes of the facial landmarks for the left and # right eye, respectively (lStart, lEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["left_eye"] (rStart, rEnd) = face_utils.FACIAL_LANDMARKS_IDXS["right_eye"] # start the video stream thread print("[INFO] starting video stream thread...") vs = VideoStream(src=args["webcam"]).start() time.sleep(1.0) # loop over frames from the video stream while True: # grab the frame from the threaded video file stream, resize # it, and convert it to grayscale # channels) frame = vs.read() frame = imutils.resize(frame, width=450) gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY) # detect faces in the grayscale frame rects = detector(gray, 0) # loop over the face detections for rect in rects: # determine the facial landmarks for the face region, then # convert the facial landmark (x, y)-coordinates to a NumPy # array shape = predictor(gray, rect) shape = face_utils.shape_to_np(shape) # extract the left and right eye coordinates, then use the # coordinates to compute the eye aspect ratio for both eyes leftEye = shape[lStart:lEnd] rightEye = shape[rStart:rEnd] leftEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(leftEye) rightEAR = eye_aspect_ratio(rightEye) # average the eye aspect ratio together for both eyes ear = (leftEAR + rightEAR) / 2.0 # compute the convex hull for the left and right eye, then # visualize each of the eyes leftEyeHull = cv2.convexHull(leftEye) rightEyeHull = cv2.convexHull(rightEye) cv2.drawContours(frame, [leftEyeHull], -1, (0, 255, 0), 1) cv2.drawContours(frame, [rightEyeHull], -1, (0, 255, 0), 1) # check to see if the eye aspect ratio is below the blink # threshold, and if so, increment the blink frame counter if ear < EYE_AR_THRESH: COUNTER += 1 # if the eyes were closed for a sufficient number of # then sound the alarm if COUNTER >= EYE_AR_CONSEC_FRAMES: # if the alarm is not on, turn it on if not ALARM_ON: ALARM_ON = True # check to see if an alarm file was supplied, # and if so, start a thread to have the alarm # sound played in the background if args["alarm"]!= "": t = Thread(target=sound_alarm, args=(args["alarm"],)) t.deamon = True t.start() # draw an alarm on the frame cv2.putText(frame, "DROWSINESS ALERT!", (10, 30), cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 0.7, (0, 0, 255), 2) # otherwise, the eye aspect ratio is not below the blink # threshold, so reset the counter and alarm else: COUNTER = 0 ALARM_ON = False # draw the computed eye aspect ratio on the frame to help # with debugging and setting the correct eye aspect ratio # thresholds and frame counters cv2.putText(frame, "EAR: {:.2f}".format(ear), (300, 30), cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 0.7, (0, 0, 255), 2) # show the frame cv2.imshow("Frame", frame) key = cv2.waitKey(1) & 0xFF # if the `q` key was pressed, break from the loop if key == ord("q"): break # do a bit of cleanup cv2.destroyAllWindows() vs.stop() 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 # draw the computed eye aspect ratio on the frame to help # with debugging and setting the correct eye aspect ratio # thresholds and frame counters cv2. putText ( frame, "EAR: {:.2f}". format ( ear ), ( 300, 30 ), cv2. FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 0.7, ( 0, 0, 255 ), 2 ) # show the frame cv2. imshow ( "Frame", frame ) key = cv2. waitKey ( 1 ) & 0xFF # if the `q` key was pressed, break from the loop if key == ord ( "q" ) : break # do a bit of cleanup cv2. destroyAllWindows ( ) vs. stop ( ) To see our drowsiness detector in action, proceed to the next section. Testing the OpenCV drowsiness detector To start, make sure you use the “Downloads” section below to download the source code + dlib’s pre-trained facial landmark predictor + example audio alarm file utilized in today’s blog post. I would then suggest testing the detect_drowsiness.py script on your local system in the comfort of your home/office before you start to wire up your car for driver drowsiness detection. In my case, once I was sufficiently happy with my implementation, I moved my laptop + webcam out to my car (as detailed in the “Rigging my car with a drowsiness detector” section above), and then executed the following command: Drowsiness detection with OpenCV $ python detect_drowsiness.py \ --shape-predictor shape_predictor_68_face_landmarks.dat \ --alarm alarm.wav 1 2 3 $ python detect_drowsiness.py \ -- shape - predictor shape_predictor_68_face_landmarks.dat \ -- alarm alarm.wav I have recorded my entire drive session to share with you — you can find the results of the drowsiness detection implementation below: Note: The actual alarm.wav file came from this website, credited to Matt Koenig. As you can see from the screencast, once the video stream was up and running, I carefully started testing the drowsiness detector in the parking garage by my apartment to ensure it was indeed working properly. After a few tests, I then moved on to some back roads and parking lots were there was very little traffic (it was a major holiday in the United States, so there were very few cars on the road) to continue testing the drowsiness detector. Remember, driving with your eyes closed, even for a second, is dangerous, so I took extra special precautions to ensure that the only person who could be harmed during the experiment was myself. As the results show, our drowsiness detector is able to detect when I’m at risk of dozing off and then plays a loud alarm to grab my attention. The drowsiness detector is even able to work in a variety of conditions, including direct sunlight when driving on the road and low/artificial lighting while in the concrete parking garage. Summary In today’s blog post I demonstrated how to build a drowsiness detector using OpenCV, dlib, and Python. Our drowsiness detector hinged on two important computer vision techniques: Facial landmark detection Eye aspect ratio Facial landmark prediction is the process of localizing key facial structures on a face, including the eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, and jawline. Specifically, in the context of drowsiness detection, we only needed the eye regions (I provide more detail on how to extract each facial structure from a face here). Once we have our eye regions, we can apply the eye aspect ratio to determine if the eyes are closed. If the eyes have been closed for a sufficiently long enough period of time, we can assume the user is at risk of falling asleep and sound an alarm to grab their attention. More details on the eye aspect ratio and how it was derived can be found in my previous tutorial on blink detection. If you’ve enjoyed this blog post on drowsiness detection with OpenCV (and want to learn more about computer vision techniques applied to faces), be sure to enter your email address in the form below — I’ll be sure to notify you when new content is published here on the PyImageSearch blog. Downloads:Indeed, the F.T.C.’s move against Vemma has caused both sides in the Herbalife battle to claim vindication. Although the F.T.C. has been investigating Herbalife for some 17 months, Timothy S. Ramey, a stock analyst and Herbalife bull, raised his price target for the company, saying Vemma’s business model was clearly different from Herbalife’s. Meanwhile, Ackman prepared a 29-slide deck with side-by-side comparisons of all the ways, in his view at least, Herbalife’s business model was exactly like Vemma’s. So which is it? As Parloff notes in his article, “The Siege of Herbalife,” there is no law defining a pyramid scheme, nor are there even any regulations on the books. The simple common-sense definition is that a pyramid scheme is a business in which recruits make a payment for the right to recruit others into the network, and whose revenues are more dependent on recruitment than on selling a product. But it turns out to be so much more complicated. In 1979, the F.T.C., after investigating Amway, a multilevel marketing company with a vast product line, decided that the company’s business model passed muster — even though recruitment was at the heart of it — because it claimed to take certain steps that (among other things) supposedly showed that its recruits were selling the company’s products to real customers, not just to other recruits. Very quickly, other multilevel marketing companies adopted the “Amway rules” to stay on the right side of the F.T.C. Yet the Amway rules have never been codified into regulation — they’re really more like suggestions — nor have they ever been proved to mitigate the harm pyramid schemes do in taking advantage of recruits or lying to them about the potential to get rich. (A vast majority of those who sign up for pyramid schemes lose money, sometimes lots of money.) For a while, the courts and the F.T.C. seemed to say that a truer test of a pyramid scheme was how much of its products was bought outside its recruitment network (meaning they had real customers who were not involved in the pyramid) versus how much was bought by those inside the network, who were buying precisely to remain part of the network.Immune modulation of pancreatic inflammation induces recovery from type 1 diabetes (T1D), but remission was not durable, perhaps because of an inability to sustain the formation and function of new pancreatic β-cells. We have previously shown that Ig-GAD2, carrying GAD 206-220 peptide, induced in hyperglycemic mice immune modulation that was able to control pancreatic inflammation, stimulate β-cell regeneration, and prevent T1D progression. Herein, we show that the same Ig-GAD2 regimen given to mice with overt T1D was unable to reverse the course of disease despite eradication of Th1 and Th17 cells from the pancreas. However, the regimen was able to sustain recovery from T1D when Ig-GAD2 was accompanied with transfer of bone marrow (BM) cells from healthy donors. Interestingly, alongside immune modulation, there was concomitant formation of new β-cells and endothelial cells (ECs) in the pancreas. The new β-cells were of host origin while the donor BM cells gave rise to the ECs. Moreover, transfer of purified BM endothelial progenitors instead of whole BM cells sustained both β-cell and EC formation and reversal of diabetes. Thus, overcoming T1D requires both immune modulation and repair of the islet vascular niche to preserve newly formed β-cells.England's state religion is an accident sustained by apathy: lacking any logical existence at the heart of the nation, it survives because it is already there. No one would campaign to create an official Church of England, if we had not inherited one; other parts of the country do without it. Non-believers, when they think of the English church at all, tend to see a benign relic, the keeper of country churchyards, a modest, often helpful and mostly inoffensive part of the national fabric. Its rituals involve a declining number of citizens and its tortured internal politics are a mystery, but it is still an important – and often profound – part of many English lives. The fact that the monarch is also its supreme governor, that some of its bishops sit in parliament, and that its senior clerics are appointed by the prime minister is both indefensible and profoundly unexciting. This tolerant indulgence, though, is being strained. The Church of England now expects both the benefits of establishment and the cultural freedom of private religion. At the very least, a national church should not become disconnected from the best values of the country it serves. But as the general synod, which begins tonight, will again confirm, the Church of England is strangely unwilling to do this. It devotes a shocking amount of energy to debating the supposed inferiority of women, gay men and lesbians. These issues matter intensely to some believers inside the church, but they make it look intolerant to the much larger number of people outside it. The church's position on these issues is now out of line with both the law and the mood of the times. Rowan Williams, whose support for the established church flowered only after he became the archbishop of Canterbury, once noted: "We have a special relationship with the cultural life of our country and we must not fall out of step with it if we are not to become absurd and incredible." He said it. But the truth is that his church fell out of step long ago. This week a gay but celibate cleric, Jeffrey John, the dean of St Albans and a man of the highest intellectual and moral standing, was rejected as a candidate for the diocese of Southwark because of his sexuality. No other private or state institution would have been allowed to do this. No institution, either, would be allowed to bar women from applying for the job, allowing them to be ordained but not promoted. The internal agonies of a church caught between its Protestant and Catholic, and its liberal and conservative, tendencies cannot excuse this official institutionalisation of intolerance. It is true that disestablishing the church would require a huge amount of constitutional unpicking – much of it beneficial, such as the removal of anti-Catholic discrimination from the Act of Settlement. No government is likely to devote parliamentary time to the cause. It is true, too, that the established part of the church tends to be the more liberal, and that pulling back state involvement may do little to advance the cause of men such as Jeffrey John. Any mechanism that allows dialogue and change between the hard core of the committed and the penumbra of the vaguely supportive has something to be said for it. Religions that are entirely cut off from the surrounding culture neither die nor fade away, but turn crazy and dangerous. But formal disestablishment need not mean isolation, only the end of an unhealthy pretence that one church above all others can speak for a diverse nation. David Hume once argued: "The union of the civil and ecclesiastical power... prevents those gross impostures and bigoted persecutions which in all false religions are the chief foundation of clerical authority." The Church of England can obey his advice and accept the tolerant norms of modern society, as defined by the state. Or it can decide, privately, what it believes. Caught between the two, it risks becoming, as its archbishop feared, absurdCongress was in no rush to reform itself in the early 2000s, even as more and more of its members decamped for the lobbying world and started collecting fat paychecks. But the 2005 arrest of “super lobbyist” Jack Abramoff shamed Congress into action. Abramoff bared the worst excesses of the capital’s influence industry, brazenly feting lawmakers with golf trips to Scotland, sushi dinners and campaign contributions, opening the door for lobbyists to write legislation themselves. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) resigned, and Ohio Rep. Bob Ney went to prison. Democrats seized on the chaos to retake both chambers, promising voters they’d change what they called a “culture of corruption.” Their attempt
zer Corps (under Guderian).[29][30] Kleist pressed for the main point to come at Flize, further west than Sedan. Kleist argued that the blow would avoid a double river crossing at the Meuse (at Sedan) and Ardennes canal (to the west of Sedan). Moreover, the blow would strike at the dividing line between the French Ninth Army and the French Second Army. Guderian saw things differently, and pointed out that a thrust along the lines of Kleist's plan would put the flank of the advance within range of the fortress artillery at Charleville-Mézières, some 25 kilometres (16 mi) north west of Sedan. The shift of operations further north would also disperse concentration (or Schwerpunkt) and disrupt the intense planning of the German tactical units, who had been in training for the Sedan attack and an advance north-west, for months. He also felt that a regrouping period in front of Sedan would delay the assault for 24 hours and allow the French to bring up reinforcements. Kleist agreed that such a delay was unacceptable, so he agreed to Guderian's plan.[18] Nevertheless, while Kleist accepted the folly of the Flize detour, he insisted the offensive concentration point should be made west of the Ardennes Canal. Kleist reaffirmed this in a letter to Guderian on 18 April, but when operations began Guderian ignored this completely. Guderian had wanted a large, 20-kilometre (12 mi) bridgehead at Sedan and the rapid occupation of Stonne and the high ground surrounding Sedan.[31] Guderian's plan for 13 May was straightforward. The 2nd Panzer Division in the north was to form the right flank of the assaulting force when it reached the Meuse near Donchery. The 1st Panzer Division, reinforced by the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland, a battalion of assault engineers, and divisional artillery of the 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions, was to make the main attack by crossing the Meuse just north of Sedan and seizing the Heights of la Marfee overlooking the city. The 10th Panzer Division was to cross the Meuse south of Sedan and protect the southern flank of the corps. Throughout the day, large masses of troops and equipment assembled north of the Meuse in preparation for the river crossing.[32] Forces involved [ edit ] German forces [ edit ] The German forces consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions. The 1st Panzer Division under the command of General-Major (Major General) Friedrich Kirchner, had on strength 52 Panzer IIs, 98 Panzer III, 58 Panzer IV, 40 Panzer 35(t) and eight Sd.Kfz. 265 Panzerbefehlswagens.[8] The 2nd Panzer Division, under the command of Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) Rudolf Veiel, had to hand 45 Panzer I, 115 Panzer II, 59 Panzer III and 32 Panzer IVs.[8] It also had 16 Sd.Kfz. 265.[8] The 10th Panzer Division, under the command of Generalleutnant Ferdinand Schaal, had 44 Panzer I, 113 Panzer II, 58 Panzer III, 32 Panzer IV and 18 Sd.Kfz. 265.[8] In total Guderian could muster 60,000 men, 22,000 vehicles, 771 tanks and 141 artillery pieces.[8] He could also call upon 1,470 aircraft.[3] Part of Guderian's problem was the lack of mobile artillery. He had no intention of halting the breakout in order to wait for additional artillery units to be moved into place to assault Sedan. Instead, Guderian requested maximum support from the Luftwaffe. For the first few days the German air arm would be used mostly in support of Army Group B.[33] Most of the air support over Sedan was to be provided by Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3). Initially, only limited numbers of air units were to be used, but the Luftwaffe's workload was greatly increased nearer the time of the battle.[33] The Luftwaffe was to commit I. Fliegerkorps (1st Air Corps under Ulrich Grauert), II. Fliegerkorps (under Bruno Loerzer), V. Fliegerkorps (under Robert Ritter von Greim), and VIII. Fliegerkorps (under Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen). These units came from Luftflotte 2 and Jagdfliegerführer 3 (Fighter Leader 3).[3] The most significant unit was VIII. Fliegerkorps, nicknamed the Nahkampf-Fliegerkorps (Close Support Air Corps), which contained Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (Dive bomber Wing 77), a powerful concentration of dive-bomber units equipped with the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka precision ground attack aircraft.[3] This powerful air concentration numbered some 1,470 aircraft; 600 Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers and Dornier Do 17 light bombers, 250 Ju 87s, 500 Messerschmitt Bf 109s and 120 Messerschmitt Bf 110s.[3] French forces [ edit ] In the sector of Longwy, Sedan and Namur, where the Ardennes and the River Meuse meet, the French Ninth Army and French Second Army were made up chiefly of poor quality divisions. Reinforcements were minimal, and those units were equipped with obsolete weapons. The resources at the disposal of the two Series B divisions, the 55th and later 71s Infantry Divisions, who were to bear the brunt of the attack, were weak. They had almost no Regular officers and they had not been broken-in to war conditions by being in contact with the enemy.[34] The 55th Infantry Division guarding Sedan had little time for combat training, as its time had been spent in construction work. The division consisted mainly of reservists, most of who were over the age of 30. Little attempt was made to improve the poor combat quality of the division. One officer, First Lieutenant Delas of the 1st Battalion 147th Fortress Infantry Regiment was arrested and confined for 15 days for ordering firing practice with a 25mm anti-tank gun in a nearby quarry.[35] The division's commanding officer, General Lafontaine, put more faith into fortifications than training, as he believed it would compensate for the weakness of the division. The men of the division lacked the confidence and will to fight when the battle took place.[35] The organisation of the French 55th Infantry Division was chaotic. Most units had been involved in construction work and were constantly moved to different tactical positions. Of the nine companies in position by 10 May, only a few had been holding their respective positions for even a few days and were not familiar with them. One of the premier infantry regiments, the 213th Infantry Regiment, was removed from the line altogether and was replaced with the 331st Regiment. In some cases, Infantry regiments were made up of several different companies from several different battalions from different regiments. For example, the 295th Infantry Regiment's 6th Company, 2nd Battalion, was made up of four different companies which were drawn from three different battalions belonging to three different regiments.[36] Such actions damaged the cohesion of the units that were initially strong. The 147th Fortress Regiment was the backbone of the 55th Infantry Division and was to occupy the bunker positions on the Meuse. At the start of mobilisation, the unit had high morale and very good cohesion. Because of the constant changes in organisation, however, the unit's battalions were "torn apart again and again".[37] To relieve the 55th Infantry Division, the French 71st Infantry Division was ordered out of reserve and into the frontline. The presence of the 71st Infantry shortened the front from 20 to 14 kilometres (12.4 to 8.7 mi) along the Meuse. This would increase the density of fighting strength in the immediate area, but such a move was only partially complete by 10 May, as it was scheduled to be completed on 13–14 May, three days after the German attack.[38] Although the two divisions had 174 artillery pieces, more than the German forces opposing them, they had to share that force between them. Both divisions were short of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, a critical short-coming.[39] Crossing the Meuse [ edit ] Capture of Sedan [ edit ] The main problem confronting Guderian and his Sedan method was inadequate artillery support. Several batteries were stuck in traffic in the Ardennes and he could not rely on the artillery batteries of his Panzer Divisions only. Everything depended on the support of the Luftwaffe. General der Flieger Hugo Sperrle, commander of Luftflotte 3, had planned a conventional method of a brief bombardment before the ground forces moved in. After preparatory raids, the medium and dive-bombers were to smash the French defences in a concentrated blow lasting 20 minutes. The raid was planned for 16:00 before the infantry crossed the Meuse. In collaboration, Bruno Loerzer's II. Fliegerkorps had developed the concept of the rolling raid with Guderian. The idea of a single massed strike was abandoned, and the German air units were to attack in small formations but constantly, through the day. It was deemed the effect would be threefold; the French artillery would be eliminated, the effect of continuous raids would damage enemy morale, and smaller formations would be more systematic and accurate against targets such as bunkers.[40] Unknown to Guderian, von Kleist, his immediate superior, had contacted Loerzer and banned Guderian's proposed long systematic approach in favour of one big assault. Guderian complained. Kleist ignored him. Yet, the following morning, Loerzer rejected Kleist's method and went ahead with the agreed rolling bombing as discussed with Guderian. Loerzer would later say that the official order from Hugo Sperrle had arrived too late to make changes.[41] By nightfall on 12 May, Guderian's XIX. Panzerkorps rolled into Sedan. Guderian reported there was no sign of the enemy.[42] With the city itself secured, Guderian would now have to strike south, across the defended rear behind Sedan, which in turn was protected by a large bunker complex located on Marfee ridge, a piece of high ground covering the Sedan-Meuse river to the south. But there were three fundamental choices. He could obey tactical necessity and protect the bridgeheads against a French counter-attack from the south; he could strike west towards Paris with his Corps; or he could carry out the dash to the Channel. Remembering the Chief of Operations, 1st Panzer Division, Walther Wenck's saying, "Hit with your fists, don't feel with your fingers!", Guderian decided on the last option.[43] In the early hours of 13 May, the 10th Panzer Division slipped into position upstream to the north-east of Sedan, ready to strike at its designated crossing point near the town of Wadelincourt. Downstream, the 2nd Panzer Division moved into position to cross at Donchery. The 1st Panzer Division prepared to strike at the Gaulier bridgehead, near Floing, in the centre of Sedan's tactical front. It was on the northern bend of the Sedan Meuse loop that the Luftwaffe was to make its maximum effort, between Gaulier and Wadelincourt. To supplement his air support, Guderian stripped most of his Panzer Divisions of their artillery, which he then positioned directly opposite Gaulier.[33] However, the artillery regiments lacked ammunition. Sustained and damaging bombardment through shelling was impossible. The Luftwaffe was going to have to do most of the work.[33] Guderian reported that his Corps had only 141 artillery pieces against the French 174.[6] To the north and south of Sedan, the French X Corps and French XXXXI Corps (at the artillery fortress at Charleville-Mézières) could also add their artillery and shell Guderian's Panzer units as they crossed the bridgeheads.[6] The slow advance of artillery units to the front added to the German numerical inferiority, which was now 1:3 against.[6] Only in the afternoon did the German artillery make an appearance, but with little effect. The 2nd Panzer Division was forced to attack without artillery support. For these reasons, Guderian had decided the outcome depended on the quality of air support, acting as flying artillery.[6] Luftwaffe assault [ edit ] Luftflotte 3 (commanded by Hugo Sperrle), supported by Luftflotte 2 (commanded by Albert Kesselring), executed the heaviest air bombardment the world had yet witnessed and the most intense by the Luftwaffe during the war.[44] The Luftwaffe committed two Sturzkampfgeschwader (dive bomber wings) to the assault, flying 300 sorties against French positions, with Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 alone flying 201 individual missions.[45] A total of 3,940 sorties were flown by nine Kampfgeschwader (Bomber Wing) units often in Gruppe strength.[46] The planned aerial assault would last for eight hours, from 08:00-16:00.[47] Loerzer and Richthofen committed two Stuka units to the attack. Loerzer's Ju 87s flew some 180 missions against Sedan's bunkers whilst Richthofen's managed 90. The nine Kampfgruppen (bomber wings) of Bruno Loerzer's II. Fliegerkorps flew 900 missions against the 360 of Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's VIII. Fliegerkorps. VIII. Fliegerkorps's total mission count on the Meuse front was 910 compared to II. Fliegerkorps 1,770 missions.[48] The Luftwaffe's target was the Marfee heights which lay behind Sedan to the south east. They contained the fortified artillery positions and dominated the approaches to the strategic and operational depths beyond Sedan and the Meuse.[41] The Luftwaffe was two hours late in appearing but the effort made was considerable. The attacks were made in Gruppe (group) strength and against the line of maximum resistance along the enemy gun line. To restrict enemy movements and communications, German fighters swept the area to cut land-lines and strafe fortifications, with some shooting of radio antennae off command posts. The attacks isolated the forward defence lines.[46] Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 struck first in the morning of 13 May. In just five hours, 500 Ju 87 sorties had been flown.[49] The Luftwaffe cowed the defenders, breaking them psychologically. The gunners, the backbone of the defences, had abandoned their positions by the time the German ground assault had begun. The cost to the Luftwaffe was just six aircraft, three of which were Ju 87s.[46] The French 55th Infantry Division was not prepared for such an attack. French soldiers had commented on the massive psychological effect of the bombardment, in particular the siren of the Ju 87. However, after the war, it was discovered that none of the bunkers had been destroyed by direct hits.[50] Moreover, just 56 French casualties were suffered.[50] It was the indirect effect that did the damage. The telecommunication cables were destroyed (most had been laid out in the open) through bombing, paralysing the division's communications, and the psychological damage crippled its defensive capacity.[50] The ensuing psychological damage contributed to "the panic of Bulson". At about 19:00 on 13 May, a report by a French artillery observer was passed on incorrectly. There was a rumour that German tanks were approaching the town of Bulson. The false reports spread and the French 55th Infantry Division deserted their positions. German sources say that the first German tank crossed the Meuse River 12 hours later.[51] By the time the error was realised, most of the artillerymen and infantrymen had abandoned their heavy equipment.[52] 1st Panzer at Gaulier [ edit ] German advance by 14 May 1940. The central ground assault was to be conducted by the 1st Panzer Division and supported by the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland and the Sturmpionier-Battalion 43 (43rd Assault Engineer Battalion) as the 1st Panzer only had a single rifle regiment.[50] The Großdeutschland would be attached to the 1st Panzer Division for the remainder of the campaign[53] and it was the first unit to breach the defences on Hill 247, the high ground dominating Gaulier. The regiment, much to their surprise, discovered the Luftwaffe had failed to destroy the enemy bunkers. Enemy small arms fire ensured that crossing the river at Pont Neuf bridge could not be done in rubber assault boats as intended. The Regiment retreated. Reconnaissance found an enemy Bunker, No. 211, was still active. Its location guarded the bridgehead, making it dangerous for German infantry attempting a crossing. A platoon of infantry guns (75 mm short barrel artillery) failed to knock it out. An 8.8 cm FlaK dual purpose gun (88 mm) was brought in to do the job. It succeeded, but the following crossing failed as machine gun fire came from another flanking position that had not been spotted. Once this was dealt with by the 2nd Battalion, the remainder of the regiment crossed the river.[50] Throughout the rest of the day, the regiment moved up and into the French defences, the 2nd Battalion's 6th, 7th and 8th Companies gradually knocking out each bunker. Despite the other two battalions being held up further south, by 20:00 the central Hill 247 had been taken.[54] The Großdeutschland Regiment had now penetrated 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) into the French defences.[53] On Hill 301, further west, the First Rifle Regiment under Col. Hermann Balck had helped take the position by nightfall. With help from two platoons of the 3rd Company of the 34th Assault Engineer Battalion, it had succeeded in knocking out the bunker positions. The regiment inched westward and was able to see the 2nd Panzer Division on the extreme west flank of the 1st Panzer, attacking the bunker position near Donchery. Several Panzers were knocked out. The First Rifle Regiment, 1st Panzer, had crossed the boundary into the 2nd Panzer's territory. They eased the 2nd Panzer's passage by knocking out several bunkers on their eastern flank and succeeded in cutting the Donchery-Sedan road. The infantry also succeeded in knocking out most of the casemates in the area using flamethrower teams to destroy the bunkers whose infantry failed to surrender quickly.[55] The last bunker to surrender did so at 22:40 hours on 13 May. By that time, elements of the 1st and 2nd Panzer Divisions had negotiated the Meuse river.[55] 2nd Panzer at Donchery [ edit ] The 2nd Panzer had been given the most difficult job. Its advance through the Ardennes trapped and delayed it in nearly 250 kilometres (160 mi) of traffic. Consequently, it arrived late at Donchery, after the 1st and 10th Panzer Divisions had initiated their assaults across the Meuse. Due to a combination of its being late and the attacks of its sister units, the enemy defences were alerted in advance of the 2nd Panzer's offensive. Crossing at the extreme western end of the Sedan sector on the Donchery axis, it was forced to advance across open terrain for the last 3 km before reaching the bridgehead. This subjected the division to fire from Donchery and the Bellevue Castle's 75mm artillery casemates, located slightly to the east of the town. Several boats were tied to the Panzers and dragged across, but the tanks were knocked out.[56] The bulk of the 174 artillery pieces available to the French at Sedan were concentrated on the 2nd Panzer Division's front. Most were located in the bunkers on the south side of the river Meuse-Donchery sector. Some of the French 102nd Infantry division's batteries also joined in from the north west, at Charleville. The only way to respond was with howitzers but the 2nd Panzer Division had handed its heavy howitzers over to the 1st Panzer. Only 24 guns remained and they did not arrive on the battlefield until 17:00. When they arrived, they had only had a couple of shells per gun owing to the logistical tailback in the Ardennes.[57] All attempts to land on the southern side of the Meuse failed. Fortunately for Guderian, the 1st Panzer Division succeeded in crossing the Meuse in the centre (see above). Once completed, it headed into the right (eastern) flank of the French at Donchery. Some of its units cleared the Meuse bend. Assault Engineers and 1st Panzer Division neutralised the guns at Bellevue Castle, and cleared the bunker positions along the Meuse River from the rear. The artillery falling on the 2nd Panzer Division's eastern flank was stopped.[57] With the threat of artillery fire on its right flank removed, the units on the 2nd Panzer's left flank crossed the river and infiltrated the French positions opposite Donchery at 20:00. Heavy French fire continued from the bunkers in front of Donchery on the south side of the Meuse. It was not until 22:20, in darkness, that regular ferrying missions enabled the reinforcement of the German bridgehead.[57] 10th Panzer at Wadelincourt [ edit ] The 10th Panzer Division, like the 2nd Panzer Division, had detached its heavy artillery batteries to support neighbouring units. It was left with just 24 light 105 mm howitzers.[12] Moreover, the batteries were short of ammunition. The Luftwaffe had not helped the 10th Panzer Division as most of the air attacks were in support of the 1st Panzer Division in the central sector. This meant all of the French artillery and machine gun positions in the area of Wadelincourt were undisturbed.[12] Added to this, the newly inserted 71st Infantry Division and French X Corps in the Rémilly area prevented the 10th Panzer Division making any quick progress. The Division also had to advance down to the river on open flat terrain of some 600–800 metres (2,000–2,600 ft).[12] Near the town of Bazeilles, the Engineers and assault infantry had gathered to prepare the boats for the crossing of the Meuse at Wadelincourt when an artillery barrage from the French positions destroyed 81 out of 96 rubber boats.[12] The plan of attack had included an assault by both the 69th and 89th Infantry Regiments, but the loss of so many boats meant that only the 86th Infantry Regiment was able to conduct the crossing. The 69th Infantry Regiment was kept in reserve to follow the 86th as reinforcements.[12] The 10th Panzer Division's assaults failed all along the Meuse front. The only success came from a small 11-man team (five engineers and six infantrymen) of the 2nd Company, Panzerpionier-Batailion 49 (49th Panzer Engineer Battalion) placed under the 1st Battalion, 86th Infantry Regiment. Unsupported and acting on their own initiative, this small force led by Feldwebel Walter Rubarth opened a decisive breach by knocking out seven bunker positions. Follow-up units from the 1st Battalion 86th Rifle Regiment had crossed over by 21:00 and stormed the remaining bunkers on Hill 246, where the main French defence positions were located. By the end of the day, the bridgehead had been consolidated and the objective taken.[58] Allied air strikes [ edit ] The RAF Fairey Battle suffered heavy losses over the bridgehead In the central sector, at Gaulier, the Germans began moving 3.7 cm Pak 36 light infantry field artillery across the Meuse to provide support to infantry across the river. By 01:00 on 14 May, a pontoon bridge had been erected over which Sd.Kfz. 222, Sd.Kfz. 232 and Sd.Kfz. 264 armoured cars began to dismount in the bridgeheads. French reports spoke of German tanks crossing the bridges. Such reports were in error, as the first Panzers only crossed at 07:20 on 14 May. Prior to this masses of lorries, armoured cars and other traffic had passed through but not tanks.[53] The capture of Sedan and the expansion of the bridgeheads alarmed the French who called for a total effort against the bridgeheads at Sedan, to isolate the three Panzer Divisions. General Gaston-Henri Billotte, commander of the First French Army Group, whose right flank pivoted on Sedan, urged that the bridges across the Meuse be destroyed by air attack, convinced that "over them will pass either victory or defeat!".[46][53] General Marcel Têtu, commander of the Allied Tactical Air Forces ordered: "Concentrate everything on Sedan. Priority between Sedan and Houx is at 1,000,000 to 1".[4] No. 103 Squadron and No. 150 Squadron RAF of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) flew 10 sorties against the targets in the early morning. In the process they suffered only one loss in a forced landing. Between 15:00–16:00, 71 RAF bombers took off escorted by Allied fighters. The impressive escort was offset by the presence of German fighter units that outnumbered the Allied escort fighters by 3:1.[59] No. 71 Wing RAF lost 10 Fairey Battles and five Bristol Blenheims. No. 75 Wing RAF lost 14–18 Battles and No. 76 Wing RAF lost 11 Battles.[59] Out of 71 bombers dispatched, 40–44 bombers were lost, meaning a loss rate of 56–62 percent.[59] The AASF lost a further five Hawker Hurricanes.[59] The AASF flew 81 sorties and lost 52 percent of its strength. No 2 Group RAF also contributed with 28 sorties.[60] The bombing results were poor, with three bridges damaged and one possibly destroyed.[59] French Air Forces under the command of Commandant des Forces (Commander of Forces) Marcel Têtu Aeriennes de Cooperation du Front Nord-Est (Ardennes Cooperation Front North East, or FACNE)[61] rarely supported the British efforts despite substantial reinforcements. They flew only an average of one sortie per day, including strategic defensive missions.[62] One reason for this was heavy French bomber losses on the previous two days. During the Battle of Maastricht in the Netherlands, the Groupement de Bombardement (Bomber Groups, or GB) had its squadrons reduced. GB I/12 and II/12 had only 13 LeO 451s between them. Groupement de Bombardement d'Assaut 18 (GBA 18) had only 12 of 25 Breguet 693s left.[63] GB I/34 and II/34 could muster eight aircraft out of 22 Amiot 143s, I/38 seven out of 12, and II/38 six out of 11.[64] All of these groups were sent to Sedan on 14 May. Escort was given from Groupement de Chasse (Fighter Groups, or GC). GC III/7 with 12 Morane 406s, 12 Bloch 152s of I/8 and nine Dewoitine D.520s of I/3 took part. GBA 18 was escorted by 15 Bloch 152s of GC I/8. The missions cost the French five bombers, two from ground fire.[9][65] After this date, the French bomber forces were eliminated from the fight over Sedan. The major efforts were now made by the AASF.[66] The Allied bombers received mostly poor protection. Only 93 fighter sorties, (60 by the French) were flown.[46] The French lost 21 fighters in the operation.[46] The German air defence was soon reinforced by Jagdgeschwader 26 and Jagdgeschwader 27 (Fighter Wings 26 and 27).[60] One of the premier German fighter units responsible for the heavy loss rate was Jagdgeschwader 53 (Fighter Wing 53), who later engaged French bombers who tried to succeed where the AASF failed. The attacks failed as they were uncoordinated. Along with fighter aircraft, the Germans had assembled powerful flak concentrations in Sedan. The FlaK battalions of the 1st, 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions numbered 303 anti-aircraft guns.[67] This force was built around the 102nd FlaK Regiment with its 88 mm, 37 mm, and rapid fire 20 mm weapons.[5] So heavy was the defensive fire that the Allied bombers could not concentrate over the target. Allied bomber pilots called it "hell along the Meuse".[67] On 14 May, the Allies flew 250 sorties, the French losing 30 (another source states 21)[46] and the RAF losing 20 fighter aircraft.[9] Another 65 were heavily damaged.[9] Out of 109 RAF bombers dispatched, 47 were shot down.[9] This meant 167 aircraft had been lost against one target.[9] Bruno Loerzer called 14 May "the day of the fighter".[46] The German Generals, in particular Guderian, were relieved that the Luftwaffe had prevented the Allied bombers from knocking out their supply bridges. By nightfall, at least 600 tanks, including those of the 2nd Panzer Division which had to use the 1st Panzer Division's bridge at Gaulier (owing to theirs not having yet been constructed), were across the Meuse. The German victory in the air battle had been decisive.[68] French counter-offensive [ edit ] Charles Huntziger, commanding the Second Army was unconcerned by the capture of Sedan, or of the collapse of French defences in the face of air attack. He expected considerable French reserves, particularly X Corps, to stabilise the front. The forces at the French commander's disposal were formidable. Guderian's decision to strike north west left the 10th Panzer Division protecting the bridgehead alone. Against this force was the XXI Corps (3d Armoured Division, 3d Motorised Infantry Division, 5th Light Cavalry Division, 1st Cavalry Brigade) under Flavigny. A second group, consisting of the 2d Light Cavalry Division and 3d Tank Division reinforced Flavigny. X Corps, with the 12th and 64th Reconnaissance Battalions, elements of the 71st Infantry Division, 205th Infantry Regiment, the 4th Tank Battalion were also to join the attack. The French had nearly 300 tanks, with 138 main battle tanks consisting of Hotchkiss and Char B1-Bis.[69] The French tanks had heavier armour and armament than the Panzers. The Panzer IV had 30 mm of armour, while the Hotchkiss had 45 mm, and the Char B1 had 60 mm of protection. Moreover, its main armament, one 47 mm and one 75 mm gun, outmatched all the German tanks. In an open field engagement, Guderian's armour stood little chance. Two-thirds of his units were equipped with Panzer I and IIs. Just 30 of the Panzer IVs were on his order of battle. However, one crucial disadvantage of the French tanks, considered as a very broad whole, was their low endurance. They needed refuelling after just two hours. They were also slow in speed, complicating high tempo operations.[70] Missed chance [ edit ] During 14 May, General Lafontaine had moved the 55th Infantry Division's command post from its position on the Marfee heights to Bulson, 10–11 kilometres (6–7 mi) south of Sedan. The French had prepared, to an extent, for a German breakthrough at Sedan, and accordingly placed X Corps available for a counter-attack. It was to occupy the Bulson position on the Chéhéry–Bulson–Haraucourt axis and strike at the Meuse bridgeheads. The terrain included heavily wooded areas, and the units left behind convinced General Charles Huntziger, commander of the French Second Army, that they would be able to hold Bulson, and the Germans would not be able to exploit their tactical victory at Sedan on 14 May.[71] The Germans suffered a seven-hour delay in getting their armour across the bridge from 01:20-07:30, which could have been disastrous for the Panzer divisions. The French had already initiated plans for counter-attacks with armour on the German-held bridgehead during the night but delays in bringing up forces, procrastination (inclined towards momentary adaptation towards defensive stancing and posturing), and hesitation on the part of local overall French command at large, made worse by the resulting confusion from the panic and retreat of the infantry who had also abandoned their positions and artillery as part of the "panic of Bulson",[72] made an attack possible only in the morning of 14 May. The commander of X Corps' artillery, Colonel Poncelet, had tried to keep his units where they were, but had reluctantly ordered a retreat.[72] This decision resulted in the Corps artillery battalions abandoning many heavy artillery pieces and caused the collapse of the 55th Infantry Division ("panic of Bulson") and a partial collapse of the 71st Infantry Division.[72] Poncelet killed himself a few days later.[72] On 13–14 May, the Germans were vulnerable. A strong attack at this point by the French armoured units could have prevented Guderian from breaking out of the Meuse bridgeheads and changed the outcome of the campaign. However, the French commanders, already deeply schooled and versed in the rather staunchly defensively-focused broad, generalized doctrine of methodological warfare, were located far to the rear, which meant they lacked a real-time and up-to-date picture of the battle. When intelligence did filter through, it was out-of-date. This was to prove fatal, especially coupled with the case of the matter that the French generalship at large was expecting a considerably more prolonged process of initial German assault phase and overall attack effort as a whole.[73] Race to Bulson [ edit ] The race to Bulson ridge began at 16:00 on 13 May. At 07:30 on 14 May, French armour advanced to Bulson ridge with a view to seizing the high ground vacated by the infantry of the 55th Infantry Division on 13 May.[68] But the main, primary objective was to destroy the German bridgeheads. While that may have been possible on 13 May, the odds had shifted against the French.[68] The X Corps attack involved a strike on the left flank by the 213th Infantry Regiment and 7th Tank Battalion, and on the right flank by the 205th Infantry Regiment and 4th Tank Battalion.[71][74] The right flanking force arrived late, so the 213th Infantry and the 7th Tank Battalion advanced alone on the north axis. It was thought that the 213th could reach an area in between Chéhéry and Bulson in one hour fifty minutes and the 7th Tank Battalion in two hours.[71] Yet it was not until 17 hours after the original order to advance to Bulson that the lead French tanks reached the Bulson ridge. They found the Germans had beaten them there by a few minutes.[71] Lafontaine had hesitated over the 24 hours since the afternoon of 13 May. He spent hours reconnoitring the terrain, sometimes trying to contain and reason with fleeing, routing scores of French infantrymen and artillerymen of the 55th and 71st Infantry Divisions, and travelling around the area to various regimental headquarters, looking for his Corps commander, General Gransard (whom was deliberately reconnoitring the terrain, for some time, at that relative point in time), for an order to attack, and, in the meantime, extemporarily assessing and conferring with some local command personnel. Owing to this Lafontaine also delayed issuing orders to the tactical attack units until 05:00 on 14 May, by which time the Germans had consolidated their bridgehead and the Panzer divisions' combined arms infantry teams were already advancing inland to Bulson. Lafontaine had had a mission plan since 20:00 on 13 May to defeat the Germans and retake the Meuse bridgeheads, but he waited for an order to proceed. Lafontaine's need for an order was contrary to the unit actions of the Germans, who operated the tactically more efficient Auftragstaktik (Mission Command) system. Ultimately, Lafontaine had squandered valuable hours essential for a prompt, perhaps opportune and timely, perhaps potentially decisive counter-attack effort.[75] The French had an opportunity to throw the Germans back into the Meuse but they missed their chance owing to poor staff-work. The 1st Panzer Division had struggled to advance as quickly as it would have liked, and was jammed on the roads leading out of Gaulier and Sedan. Moreover, the German soldiers were exhausted after a five-day advance. A quick counter thrust by just two infantry regiments and two tank battalions would have "plunged the Germans into crisis".[76]
of Money and Credit, came out in 1912. It was a technical book on monetary theory, but it also contained a strong political warning against central banks. Mises squarely saw the potential for massive abuse by governments in three areas: creating inflation, which distorts business calculation and discourages saving; generating cycles of booms and busts through manipulating interest rates; and increasing the size and scope of government power. All three predictions came true. Following the First World War, his next and most underappreciated work appeared: Nation, State, and Economy (1919). Here is where he began to reveal the fullness of his political vision. Riffing on the popular notion of self-determination, Mises saw the cause of human liberty as bound up with people’s rights to choose the form of government under which they lived. Nations, he wrote, were more enduring than governments, and it makes sense that people will organize themselves politically according to nationhood. Democracy was part of the idea of liberty itself, the application of the market principle to the institution of government. Even after such a terrible war, he was optimistic that the next crisis could be avoided through a consistent application of the idea of self-determination. If this idea could be brought down to the individual level, so that every person could choose his or her own form of government, it would have to be done. Later in the work, he provided a broadside against socialist economic planning. Then he issued a firm directive to Germany in particular to move toward liberalism rather than plot political acts of vengeance for the country’s war losses. His next three works dealt with political systems. Socialism could not work in any form, he wrote in 1922 in Socialism, because it creates nothing, violently attacks the core institutions of civilization, and disables the capacity of people to cooperate to their mutual advantage. This book offers a theory of ownership and social order that looks completely different from the English tradition of laissez-faire thought — but in a way that is remarkably compelling. His next book remains the best single tract for the free society ever written: Liberalism (1927). The final book in the trilogy, Critique of Interventionism (1929), was on the failings of mixed economic systems such as fascism. In the following decade, his academic work was focused on business-cycle studies and ending the global depression, but he was also in the midst of personal upheaval. The rise of Nazi ideology in Austria and the growing power of Germany led to a diaspora of his circle. As a Jew and a liberal, he was in danger. He found sanctuary in Switzerland, where he stayed until he emigrated to the United States in 1940. These were his darkest days. None of his warnings had moved history in the direction of liberty. His early faith in the idea of nationhood as a principle of political organization had entirely waned. Even his faith in democracy had been shattered. The world had been devoured in anti-liberal frenzies: war, inflation, immigration controls, socialism, and ever-growing government. His anger and loss of faith were incredibly evident in his 1944 work Omnipotent Government (which is probably the most anti-Nazi book ever written, no exaggeration). Here he declared liberalism a failure because it had overestimated the capacity of people to think rationally. Even so, his masterwork, Human Action, was released at the end of that decade. It became a surprise hit and very quickly. He went from being just another intellectual émigré struggling to save a legacy to being an intellectual rock star in American political and intellectual life. It lifted his spirits and inspired his incredible work, Theory and History (1954). Here we begin to see the light, and he works his way toward seeing how a future of liberty could work itself out. For Mises, it was no longer about the possibility of political reform from the top down. Mises’s hope was in the creativity of the human spirit against all attempts to suppress it. There have always been attempts to curb the individual’s initiative, but the power of the persecutors and inquisitors has not been absolute. It could not prevent the rise of Greek philosophy and its Roman offshoot or the development of modern science and philosophy. Driven by their inborn genius, pioneers have accomplished their work in spite of all hostility and opposition. The innovator did not have to wait for an invitation or order from anybody. Mises did not wait. Neither are today’s entrepreneurs who are developing disruptive technologies. They are challenging the authority of the regulators, looters, and rulers. Mises wrote one last work in 1962. It was The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science. Here was his final plea for a scientific understanding of the logic of human choice — a plea to release society from the bad science of political imposition to the good science of freedom. It’s remarkable to consider how Mises’s legacy stretches over the course of a century. His literary output made enormous contributions, but he also became the narrator of decline. In the end, he found hope in the genius of the human person against all attempts at control. Note: A version of this post appeared at Liberty.me.click to enlarge Claire Danes stars in Showtime's "Homeland," which is filming this fall and winter in Richmond. Showtime’s hit drama "Homeland" starts filming in Richmond later this year and the email application process for some of the extra gigs has already begun. Extras casting director Kendall Cooper, who also handled the casting for AMC’s "Turn" series, sent out a press release today. It details the production's need for various characters throughout the season. The call for supporting cast also mentions a need for “Business Professional/Political types and Military Personnel/Law Enforcement types.” In a phone call with Style, Cooper says that while some might ask for ways to stand out as an extra, she suggests otherwise. “If you want to get called back, make a point to blend in the background,” she says. “If we see your face on film we might not be able to have you back again.” It might seem counterintuitive, she says, "but it's how it works." Will Young, a local aspiring actor and frequent extra under Cooper on season four of "Turn," is familiar with the role as an extra on big-budget productions. Young got involved after a friend of his from military school, who was already working on the show, said the production was looking to cast folks who had a military background. “They wanted continental soldiers and red coats, and I was in the army and did acting in high school, and sure enough Cooper got back to me,” Young says. He applied through the open email application, sent in a few photos and his physical information, and found himself on set months later. Young's production days started with dressing in costume, followed by a trip to hair and makeup before he was finally bused out to the filming location. “They have this area for extras to hang out when they’re not on set,” he says. “And they’ll walk up and say they need so many people, and we’d get a director who would give us instructions.” Young made a point to obscure his face when possible, in keeping with Cooper’s advice. “They take continuity very seriously, so if I’m in a cafe or tavern in New York City, I can’t show up in a battlefield in Virginia the second half of the episode,” he says. “It kind of pulls the more avid viewer out of the experience.” But Young was excited to get the screen time he did. “Sometimes the director will do a line up and just point and say, 'We want you to talk to Benedict Arnold.'” Young says he really loved the entire experience: “Going to get my fitting, from then onward, I knew this is what I want to be doing,” he says. The time on set helped him decide to make a go at acting full time. And you can bet he plans to apply for a role with "Homeland" as well. “There were some long, difficult days, but as someone who is into acting, I loved it,” Young says. Email questions to HomelandExtrasCasting@gmail.com and keep up with casting calls on its Facebook page.View Full Version : The Guardian of tax evasion Paul Rigby Private Eye 1242, (7 August 2009), p7 Street of Shame: Grauning Wallets Guardian Media Group continues to tie itself in knots over tax. �The board believes it is the group�s corporate and social responsibility to pay the appropriate amount of taxes in accordance with UK and overseas tax legislation,� says the annual report. �The board also believes that it has a commercial responsibility to manage the group�s affairs in a tax-efficient manner within those rules as well as to manage the group�s exposure to tax. The group adopts a conservative tax strategy and is transparent in its dealings with tax.� Despite all this earnest wittering, transparency is in short supply. Buried on page 86 is the admission that two of GMG�s holding companies in magazine publisher Emap (which it jointly owns with a private equity firm Apax), Eden Acquisition 2 Ltd and Eden Acquisition 4 Ltd, are registered in the Cayman Islands. There is also mention of a third company, called Eden 2 & Cie SCA. Where is this registered? The report doesn�t say. But a trawl of international company records gives an address on 41 Boulevard Prince Henri in that well-known haven of tax transparency and non-avoidance, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg! David Guyatt [QUOTE]�The board believes it is the group�s corporate and social responsibility to pay the appropriate amount of taxes in accordance with UK and overseas tax legislation,� says the annual report. �The board also believes that it has a commercial responsibility to manage the group�s affairs in a tax-efficient manner within those rules as well as to manage the group�s exposure to tax. Ah, nice to see that the Mephistopheles approach to business morality (snigger) is extant. Paul Rigby Kindly stop sniggering, DG, and remove that Toynbee clothes peg from your nose while you're at it: This isn't your everyday tax evasion, I'll have you know, this is ethical tax evasion - with the CIA, doubtless, at the end of the tangled knot of fronts and havens. God bless the SS Grauniad, says I, and all the liberal rubes who sail with her. Right on to the rocks. PS I wonder what offence the paper had caused to the spooks at Private Eye? Any ideas? Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.2 Copyright © 2019 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.Latin America to Push for Food Security Laws as a Bloc LIMA, Nov 17 2015 (IPS) - Lawmakers in the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean decided at a regional meeting to work as a bloc for the passage of laws on food security – an area in which countries in the region have show uneven progress. The Nov. 15-17 Sixth Forum of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger (PFH) in Lima, Peru drew more than 60 legislators from 17 countries in the region and guest delegations from parliaments in Africa, Asia and Europe. The coordinator of the regional Front, Ecuadorean legislator María Augusta Calle, told IPS that the challenge is to “harmonise” the region’s laws to combat poverty and hunger in the world’s most unequal region. Calle added that a number of laws on food security and sovereignty have been passed in Latin America, and the challenge now is to standardise the legislation in all of the countries participating in the PFH to strengthen policies that bolster family farming. “We have reduced hunger by 50 percent (since 1990), but this is still insufficient. We cannot continue to live in a world where food is a business and not a right. It cannot be possible that 80 percent of those who produce the food themselves suffer from hunger.” -- María Augusta Calle In Latin America, 81 percent of domestically consumed food products come from small farmers, who guarantee food security in the region, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which has advised the PFH since its creation in 2009. Twelve of the 17 Latin American countries participating in the PFH already have food security and sovereignty laws, Calle said. But it has not been an easy task, she added, pointing out that several of the laws were approved only after long delays. During the inauguration of the Sixth Forum, she said the region has reduced hunger “by 50 percent (since 1990), but this is still insufficient. We cannot continue to live in a world where food is a business and not a right. It cannot be possible that 80 percent of those who produce the food themselves suffer from hunger.” The fight against hunger is an uphill task, and the forum’s host country is a clear illustration of this. In Peru, the draft law on food security was only approved by Congress on Nov. 12, after two years of debate. The legislature finally reacted, just three days before the Sixth Forum began in the country’s capital. But the bill still has to be signed into law and codified by the executive branch, in order to be put into effect. “How can it be possible for a government to put forth objections to a law on food security?” Peruvian Vice President Marisol Espinoza asked during the opening of the Sixth Forum. Espinoza, who left the governing Peruvian Nationalist Party in October, took the place of President Ollanta Humala, who had been invited to inaugurate the Sixth Forum. The coordinator of the Peruvian chapter of the PFH, Jaime Delgado, told IPS that he hopes the government will sign the new food security bill into law without setting forth observations. Indigenous leader Ruth Buendía, who took part in the Sixth Forum in representation of rural communities in Peru, said the government should pass laws to protect peasant farmers because they are paid very little for their crops, even though they supply the markets in the cities. “What the government has to do is regulate this, for the citizens,” Buendía, who belongs to the Asháninka people, told IPS. “Why do we have a government that is not going to defend us? As we say in our community: ‘why do I have a father (the government)?’ If they want investment, ok, but they have to regulate.” Another controversial question in the case of Peru is the more than two-year delay in the codification and implementation of the law on healthy food for children and adolescents, passed in May 2013, which requires that companies that produce food targeting this age group accurately label the ingredients. Congressman Delgado said food companies are lobbying against the law, which cannot be put into effect until it is codified. “It would be pathetic if after so much sacrifice to get this law passed, the government failed to codify it because of the pressure from business interests,” said Delgado. He said that in Peru, over 200 million dollars are invested in advertising for junk food every year, according to a 2012 study by the Radio and Television Consultative Council. Calle, from Ecuador, said the members of the PFH decided to call for the entrance into effect of the Peruvian law, in the Sixth Forum’s final declaration. “The 17 countries (that belong to the PFH) are determined to see the law on healthy food codified in Peru. We believe it is indispensable. It is a wonderful law,” said the legislator. She explained that in her country food and beverage companies have been required to use labels showing the ingredients, despite the opposition from the business sector. “In Ecuador we have had a fabulous experience (regarding labels for junk food) which we would like businesses here in Peru to understand and not be afraid of,” Calle said. The regional coordinator of the PFH said that to address the problem of food being seen as business rather than a right, “we need governments and parliaments committed to the public, rather than to transnational corporations.” Another country that has made progress is Brazil, where laws in favour of the right to food include one that requires that at least 30 percent of the food that goes into school meals is purchased from local small farmers, Nazareno Fonseca, a member of the PFH regional consultative council, told IPS. Calle said Brazil’s efforts to boost food security, in the context of its “Zero Hunger” programme, marked a watershed in Latin America. The PFH regional coordinator noted that the person responsible for implementing the programme in the crucial first two years (2003-2004) as extraordinary food security minister was José Graziano da Silva, director general of FAO since 2011. Spanish Senator José Miguel Camacho said it is important for legislators from Latin America and the Caribbean to act as a bloc because “there is still a long way to go, but these forums contribute to that goal.” The commitments in the Sixth Forum’s final declaration will focus on three main areas: food security, where the PFH is working on a single unified framework law; school feeding; and efforts to fight overnutrition, obesity and junk food. Peru’s health minister, Aníbal Velásquez, said the hope is that “the commitments approved at the Sixth Forum will translate into laws.” And the president of the Peruvian Congress, Luis Iberico, said people did not enjoy true citizenship if basic rights were not guaranteed and hunger and poverty still existed. The indigenous leader Buendía, for her part, asked the PFH legislators for a greater presence of the authorities in rural areas, in order for political declarations to produce tangible results. Edited by Estrella Gutiérrez/Translated by Stephanie WildesA Star Trek podcast by two guys who are a bit embarrassed to have a Star Trek podcast. After reviewing all of Star Trek: The Next Generation, we're reviewing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from beginning to end! New episodes on Mondays. Also check out The Greatest Discovery! Worf’s honor and civil war hang in the balance when Captain Picard is called back to Qo’nos to be a witness on Gowron’s ketubah. But there’s a not-so-sneaky Romulan sneaking around, and the Duras Sisters are eager to ruin the big jacket-putting-on ceremony. Is that Klingon Jake? Is Guinan the best marksman on the Entrepreneur? Does ‘Romyarlan’ work? How does it affect the monitors if you sharpen a pencil on a Klingon ship? It’s Part One of a two episode arc about how close to death Ben can be and still record a podcast.Gabe Rogel/Aurora/Corbis An experiment to test the limits of human vision has provided the strongest evidence yet that our eyes can sense flashes of light as feeble as three photons. The study, which involves firing photons into the eyes of people sitting in a dark room, could ultimately show whether people can sense single photons, according to Rebecca Holmes, a physicist from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She presented her team's results at a meeting of the American Physical Society on 10 June in Columbus, Ohio. Holmes also hopes to test whether the human eye can register quantum effects, such as a photon being in two places at the same time. Researchers have been trying since the 1940s to establish the smallest number of photons necessary for human perception. Rod cells in the retina — those that specialize in seeing shades of grey in dark conditions — are known to be exquisitely sensitive to light. Experiments on single rod cells taken from frogs1 have shown that the rods fire in response to single photons. But because the retina processes information to reduce noise from false alarms, the firing of one cell does not necessarily translate into a signal being sent to the brain, let alone to a person becoming aware of a flash of light. And more than 90% — perhaps as many as 97% — of photons that enter the eye never even reach a rod cell. They are absorbed or reflected by other parts of the eye, such as the cornea, so would not be detected. Experiments have put the limits of human vision at between two and seven photons, Holmes says. But those conclusions were tentative as researchers never knew how many photons each flash of light contained: they could only estimate a range. Holmes, however, took advantage of technology used in quantum-optics laboratories that can count exactly how many photons are in a flash of laser light. The method had never been used to test human vision before. Holmes and her collaborators fired flashes containing various numbers of photons into the eyes of volunteers sitting in a dark room and staring at a cross-hairs target. They asked the participants to state whether the flash seemed to come from the left or from the right — even if they thought they saw nothing. “I’ve done it myself many times,” says Holmes, “and if you sit in the dark you can come out after an hour and say, ‘I’m not sure if I saw anything'.” Eye to eye To test whether people could detect as few as three photons, the researchers sent flashes of 30 photons into the eye, expecting at most 10% of the photons, on average, to make it through to the retina. The volunteers guessed the flashes’ location more often than would have been expected by chance, making a statistically convincing case that they saw at least some three-photon flashes, Holmes says. The results are the best evidence yet that humans can detect three photons, says Nicolas Gisin, a quantum-optics researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland who has seen the preliminary data, which have not yet been peer-reviewed. Holmes adds that her team has not yet gathered enough data to say whether humans can see single photons. To test quantum effects, typically only seen at microscopic scales, the team also wants to try sending one photon at a time into the eye, rather than 30, which could dramatically lower the odds of detection. To improve those odds, Holmes says, it might help to time the photons based on the volunteer's brainwaves, which are known to correlate with brief windows of increased attention, recurring around ten times per second. Holmes says she is practising using an electroencephalography (EEG) machine. Gisin has pioneered experiments1 to see how the human eye responds to ‘quantum-weirdness’ effects. Although effects such as photons being in multiple places at once are well known, making humans part of the experiment “brings us closer to the quantum phenomenon”, he says. Anthony Leggett, a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist who is also at Urbana-Champaign and who inspired Holmes’s work, says that quantum weirdness should disappear somewhere between the scale of atoms and that of human bodies. “We don’t know at what stage it’s going to break down — or how." Holmes's study will probably validate standard interpretations of quantum physics, he says, which assume that a photon that is in a ‘superposition’ of two states will essentially choose one option when it comes into contact with a detector — whether that is an artificial photon counter or a rod cell. But in principle, says physicist Angelo Bassi at the University of Trieste in Italy, each of the photon's personas could hit a rod cell, and that superposition could persist up to the brain. If so, there could even be “something like a superposition of two different perceptions, even if just for an instant”.ES News Email Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in or register with your social account An extra 540 buses will be on the streets of London by the end of the decade as part of a £500 million investment plan announced today to cope with soaring demand. Services will be boosted to carry an extra 2.9 million passengers a week on the fleet of 7,500 vehicles. Buses already carry 2.4 billion passengers a year, but many routes are overcrowded at peak times. The extra buses will serve shifting populations in Bexley and Newham, as well as hotspots for growth, such as Elephant and Castle and the 11,000-home Barking Riverside development, which is expected to be given the go-ahead by Chancellor George Osborne in tomorrow’s Autumn Statement. There will be more frequent services and some single-deckers will be switched to double. Changes will be financed in part from fares at a time of record ridership. Deputy mayor for transport Isabel Dedring said: “We are giving similar attention to buses as we have to the Tube. In recent years there has been a rise in ridership but no major increase in the total number of buses. “It is important to ensure the growth is focused in the right areas, such as Newham and Bexley, where there is a lot of change in where people are living and working.” Ms Dedring said the capacity increase was in addition to an ongoing review of routes, such as altering the network because of Crossrail and changing night buses after the introduction next September of the weekend Night Tube. New bus lanes, longer hours for bus lanes, and priority turns will be added under a £200 million “bus priority scheme”. The spending proposals are included in Transport for London’s business plan, covering spending until 2021, which is subject to approval by the board tomorrow. It includes a £30 million plan to increase the capacity of London Tramlink on the existing Wimbledon to Croydon line by 50 per cent, and provide funds for an extension to Crystal Palace or Sutton, with businesses and local authorities also contributing. Boris Johnson said: “London buses carry more than 2.4 billion passengers a year — twice as many as the Tube. “They are the backbone and workhorses of our transport network, playing an undeniably important role in London’s economy. “This major new investment in our bus services will help meet the demand of the city’s rapidly growing population. It will also support regeneration of key growth areas.” Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, said: “While today’s announcement of 500 extra buses is a step in the right direction, I fear the current plans will not keep up with the increased demand across the capital.”By Frank Luba New Westminster police has issued a public warning about counterfeit Canadian $100 bills after the fake money showed up twice in the last few weeks. The new $100 bill issued in 2011 with great fanfare was the first Canada bank note made of polymer and featured “leading-edge security features that make them difficult to counterfeit but easy to verify” according to a news release from the Bank of Canada. But that hasn’t stopped someone from creating their own versions. In the first instance, a customer tried to pay for a purchase with two of the fake $100s but fled before he could be apprehended. In the second instance, a customer tried to deposit five of the bogus bills at a bank, which suspected the notes were not real. The customer co-operated and police believe it was a mistake, although they are trying to trace the origin of the money. In genuine $100s, there is a line of 100s visible above a rooftop in the transparent strip on the note. The fake bills don’t have those 100s or the rooftop and flag flying from it. Sgt. Diana McDaniel of the New Westminster police said the fakes are “very well done.” “It’s not obvious,” she said. The Bank of Canada referred comment on the issue to the RCMP. Sergeant Greg Cox, a media relations officer with the RCMP’s National Communication Service in Ottawa, did not respond to a request about how many other counterfeit $100s have surfaced. “A small number of counterfeit $100 polymer bills have recently been detected in the Lower Mainland,” said Cox in an email. He advised people to protect themselves by checking the security features on the notes. “Training materials on counterfeit detection are available by calling the Bank of Canada’s toll-free number at 1-888-513-8212,” said Cox. “They can also be accessed or ordered from their website at http://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes.com.” But this is not the first case of bogus $100s in B.C. In August of 2012, the Bank of Canada trumpeted the successful dismantling of counterfeiting operation in Richmond the previous year that resulted in the seizure of nearly $1.2 million in partially completed $100 bills, along with the arrest of four individuals. The investigation was carried out by the RCMP Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement Team, which is based in Surrey. The team earned the 2012 Law Enforcement Award for Excellence for Counterfeit Deterrence and were honoured for the second consecutive year by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police for their efforts. –with a file from Wendy McLellan fluba@theprovince.com twitter.com/frankluba 05/15/13 20:09 2013Remarks at the funeral of Daniel Holland (+Sunday of All Saints, 2017), from his father. His deep heart, and how and why we pray for the dead, and how we should remember him. It is with actions, not words. Transcript In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I’ve written out only two sermons in my life. This is the second one, and the reason why is because I wanted to be able to say things and be able to get through them. The first sermon I ever said, where I had written almost all of it out, was for a wedding, of my daughter and Matthias, and it was a joyous occasion, and I had things I wanted to tell them. This, too, is a joyous occasion. There’s tears of sadness, but there’s been great blessing. This past week, after my—what is this, his 14th day? 15th day? 13th day—that there’s been miracles that have occurred in human hearts. That’s the most important thing. And so it would be inappropriate to be sad. Now, to cry, to miss him—that’s human. Our Lord cried. But to be sad—that would be inappropriate. That would not be Christian: to mourn as if we have no hope. We can’t do that; that’s not Christian. So I want to tell you sort of the traditional things you say—a eulogy—a little bit about my son, but mostly I want to tell you some things about how we pray, because most people in this church are not Orthodox, and ever since I became a priest all I want to do is tell people about what is true. My son and I actually sort of had ongoing conflict about this, to be honest with you, in that he always had these solutions to things, to world problems. Everybody says that he wanted to change the world, and he did. So did I, when I was his age. And he had much of the same ideas to do something political or economic or social, and I was always religious. That was the only way I knew how to relate to anything, so we had a little conflict about that, but I think he understands me now. So I want to tell you: Daniel had a deep heart. That’s a scriptural term from the psalms. It means that a man has a heart that is deep enough for God. That’s pretty deep. And the reason he had a deep heart was because he was kind. Those who knew him well will agree with me emphatically. My son was kind, to anyone: a two-year-old baby, an 85-year-old man, a street beggar, a musician, someone having trouble. He was kind. He was also 20, so that’s a dangerous age. I’m going to tell you the best way to mourn him, to remember him, to honor his memory. First a little bit about his faith, our faith. We don’t say, when someone dies, that he’s in heaven, or he’s in glory now. We don’t say that, and the reason we don’t say that is because of humility, because we recognize that within us is the potential—not only the potential but the actual—of the great and the terrible. Sometimes in the same day, in the same moment, in the same breath, we can do something great and something profane. All of us have this capacity in us for greatness, for holiness, for purity, and also for depravity. So we’re humble when we approach our God, not that we think that we’re condemned, but that we’re humble so we don’t presume upon God. God is merciful, but it’s his business how he gives himself to us, not our business. And it’s not our business to know his ways. It’s inappropriate to question God as to why my son died at 20 years old. It’s inappropriate. It’s human to wonder, it’s human to be confused, but it’s inappropriate at the depth of your being to question God. So we don’t say, “He’s just with the angels now,” although some of us believe it. We recognize that since he is a man and has sins as well as virtues, that we must approach God with a sense of humility, so we quietly and not brazenly hope for his blessed repose and reach such reception in the light of God. And this word, “hope”—people in America don’t know what hope means. They say, “I hope I get a good grade on a test.” That’s incorrect. That’s not the biblical, Christian understanding of hope. The Christian understanding of hope is to know something’s going to happen and to wait for it and to yearn for it. So hope is not where you are not sure or you don’t know; hope is where you are waiting, and it’s something you want with all of you heart. That’s what hope is. So we have that hope, but we’re quiet about it; we’re not brazen about it. That’s why we pray for our loved ones. So all the prayers for the dead, if you listen carefully, pretty much every single one had this basic form: “I am a sinner. I am unworthy, but thou art merciful.” Basically, every single prayer is basically that. “I am a sinner. I am unworthy”—or if we’re praying in his name, where we say, “He is a sinner. He is unworthy. And yet thou art merciful.” Every single one of our prayers. And if it doesn’t say it exactly, the spirit is there. That’s how we pray. We pray with humility when we approach God, because there’s so much that we don’t know. We don’t know things about ourselves or about others or about God, so we’re humble. Now, I know this is a hard saying—Scripture has that term—for some of you who were raised [with] the idea that a person dies [and] automatically you say, “They’re in glory. They’re saved.” We don’t say that. It’s not that we believe that our loved one is not saved, but we have the common sense, the humility, to know that we have sins, and he has sins, and therefore we should approach God in a quiet way, not in a brazen way as if we deserve anything. We deserve nothing. We deserve death. But God loves us; he made us for life. He didn’t make us to die, but we have to have the humility to know that the things that we do are deserving of death. So we pray for the dead, really, for one reason. My children know this answer and people in my church know this answer, and there’s only one reason why we pray for the dead: because we love them. God is love, and therefore we do things because of love. Period. Not because we think our prayers do a certain thing or alleviate a certain problem. We pray because of love. It’s the same for any prayer. You pray for someone who has cancer; you pray because of love. Maybe God will bring that person to healing. Maybe not, and maybe the best thing would be for that person to suffer a little and die. It’s a hard thing to understand, but God knows these things. So we pray because of love, not really so much because we’re trying to get a particular outcome, as if we’re saying, “God, if I can give you enough of this stuff, will you trade with me the thing that I want?” We pray because of love, and we don’t stop loving somebody because they’re dead. What a crazy idea! We don’t forget them. We can’t forget Daniel. So we haven’t stopped loving him. We haven’t forgotten him. We prayed for him before, and we pray for him even more after. We just pray. We give alms. We try to live righteously, because of love. The Scripture says, “Love is patient; love is kind.” So therefore we pray, we give alms in his name, because of love, because we want what is good for him, not really understanding exactly how things work out and all the exact stuff that’s going on in the afterlife and everything. You can’t make a PowerPoint slide out of it. It’s not possible. We can’t understand what happens. We only have sort of a little glimpse in, sort of like looking through a little hole in a fence and you’re watching something: you see only a little bit. But we pray because we love, and we’re patient because part of love is patience, and we don’t expect God to give us all this information, give us a special audience and tell us exactly what’s going on and how things are shaping up. We don’t deserve to know that, and even if God told us, we would not understand, because these are things way too high for our limited intellect, that is, if our intellect is limited by sin. I’m not talking about brainpower here; I’m talking about the soul, and very few of us have the capacity to understand, when God visits us with information of this kind of nature, about the next life. I want to give you some examples of our prayer, and the reason I want to do that is because, although this is a funeral for my son who lies in the grave now—or I suppose almost in the grave—what really… My heart goes out that some of you would see that these prayers, they ring true. And if they ring true, then there’s implications to [their] ringing true. These are actually mostly from what we call an akathist. It’s really even not an official prayer, but I’ll tell you: it reflects these things in the akathist which we read several times last night for him, akathist for the reposed. They reflect our prayers in the funeral service very well. One line says, “Jesus, may good deeds be multiplied in his name.” So we should multiply good deeds now in his name. That’s a fundamental principle of praying for the dead and loving the dead. You do good deeds in his name. Daniel was kind and would go to any beggar and talk to him as well as give him money. So don’t pass by a beggar. Daniel was very patient in talking with people. He had an incredible capacity to listen
have that nice feel. I use an industrial adhesive callad Evonik Acrifix 116 and 192, especially for acrylics. Acrifix 116 is a fast curing solution and it bonds in 90 sec when exposed to acrylics. It is a thin solution and not very gap filling. Good for T-bonding. Acrifix 192 cures when it is exposed to ultra violet light. Then it transforms to being acrylic itself. Sunlight is just fine. I use this for reinforcing and filling gaps. You will find it at http://plexiglas-shop.com/ if you cannot find it in your country. Here I have reinforced the inside of the control panel with the 192 solution after bonding it with the 116 solution. I tried to brake this bond with all the strength I had, and I couldn't do it. Now you probably know I'm using the heat-bend control panel ;) If you live in USA, Weld-On will probably have some similar or better products for this type of work. Please don't make your own solution with acrylic shreds and acetone, it's not nearly strong enough. Use chloroform instead if you can get it. This is the bottom of the cabinet. It's made of two sheets. The holes is for mounting the mini-ITX mainboard. It made of two sheets to cover the screw heads. You'll see how later. PCB mounting feet in the holes. These are bonded with epoxy glue (Araldite) because the feet are made of nylon and not acrylics. Maybe I could just have glued on some nuts instead, that would have been much cheaper. Also check out: Upgrading the Nanocade (2013) (9.7" iPad 2 screen, new motherboard, speakers etc.) Join our Facebook group and receive updates and discuss MAME cabinets with fellow retro gamers: Page 1 / 7 - Design & Construction If you decide to make your own MAME cabinet using my drawings, please feel free to make a donation, as I'm trying to raise enough money to make a new up-right cabinet, that's hard to do as a student.Listen Feed Genre Listeners Player Selection Links Status Southern Ontario Counties OPP, Ambulance, Road and Wildlife (((Stereo Feed w/ metadata))) Left = Analog (MOH - Ambulance Dispatch, MTO), *** Right = Digital (OPP, MTO, MNR, etc.) Public Safety 21 Windows Media Player Real Player iTunes Winamp HTML5 Web Player Flash Web Player Java Web Player Static URL ($$) Online Feed Notes Update 2017-03: Apologies for the recent downtime, had some hardware failure and now running on some backup gear. The digital audio quality is not up to par, I'm sorry but it's the reality for the time being. Metadata includes both left and right channels as well as the Radio ID for all transmissions. Audio left is analog (MOH - Ambulance Dispatch) Audio right is digital (OPP, MTO, MNR, etc) If you do not pan, you'll receive both volumes equally, it will sound like people are talking over one another. If you pan left or right, you'll hear more of what you want to hear! Thanks for listening! If you hear any major events happening live, please email me (ldnontscanner@gmail.com) so I can post an alert for everyone to see. If you hear any major audio issues (eg. consistant digital glitching), please report it or email me (ldnontscanner@gmail.com). For more information, please scroll down further. Happy listening! Primary agencies being monitored include Ontario Provincial Police (Police Dispatch), Ministry of Health (Ambulance Dispatch), Ministry of Transportation (Road Conditions & Maintenance) and Ministry of Nature Resources (Wildlife & Environmental Management). You will hear any talkgroups currently broadcasting from the Byron Ontario Fleetnet Tower (excluding disallowed talkgroups). If you're not familiar with the Fleetnet system, you will hear whatever talkgroups are currently being used by radios associated with the Byron tower. If an out of area radio passes by the tower tuned to its 'home' talkgroup, you'll hear that talkgroup until the radio passes out of the Byron tower area. Top ten talkgroups are: 35280 - MOH London - City 1 35328 - MOH London - West 8336 - OPP West - Middlesex County 6J 8256 - OPP West - Elgin County 6P 8240 - OPP West - Chatham-Kent 6D 35312 - MOH London - East 3840 - MTO London - Operations This talkgroup is often patched to multiple OPP tg's, especially overnight 8320 - OPP West - Lambton County - 6M 34976 - MOH Interop - Southwest Zone Common 2768 - MNR Owen Sound - Operations 1 - London Dispatch Equipment Used:Posted on: January 19, 2015 Arcane Wonders® is pleased to announce the Official Mage Wars® Companion App for both iOS and Android tablet devices will be launching this Thursday, January 22, 2015! The Companion app is the perfect addition to any Mage Wars® player’s toolbox, offering your stat tracking as you play and spellbook building on the go! The app will be available from both the Google Play and the Apple iOS store this Thursday, the 22nd, and will be $4.99 USD. Included is a full stat tracker, keeping track of both you and your opponent’s mana, channeling, health, damage, and initiative! Choose any of the available mages, including the newest mages from the Spell Tome Expansion, Forged in Fire! Also included is a full spellbook builder, that allows you to choose your mage, search for cards with live text, and it even calculates your points spent for all the spells you’ve included! This too will come with cards up to and including the Forged in Fire cards as well! Get ready to Enter the Arena in a whole new way this Thursday!A former Republican senator said President Trump “has a personality disorder” in comments following follows harsh rebukes of Trump this week from two retiring GOP senators. “We have a leader who has a personality disorder,” former Sen. Tom Coburn Thomas (Tom) Allen CoburnThe Hill's Morning Report — Presented by PhRMA — Worries grow about political violence as midterms approach President Trump’s war on federal waste American patients face too many hurdles in regard to health-care access MORE (R-Okla.) told The New York Times. ADVERTISEMENT “But he’s done what he actually told the people he was going to do, and they’re not going to abandon him,” he added. Coburn, a medical doctor, server in the upper chamber from 2005 to 2015. Coburn’s remark follows a blistering Tuesday speech from Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Poll: 33% of Kentucky voters approve of McConnell Trump suggests Heller lost reelection bid because he was 'hostile' during 2016 presidential campaign MORE (R-Ariz.) on the Senate floor following his announcement that he would not seek reelection in 2018. “It's also clear to me, for the moment, that we have given in or given up on our core principles in favor of a more viscerally satisfying anger and resentment," Flake said. "But anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.” Sen. Bob Corker Robert (Bob) Phillips CorkerBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Sasse’s jabs at Trump spark talk of primary challenger RNC votes to give Trump 'undivided support' ahead of 2020 MORE (R-Tenn.), who is also retiring once his term ends in January of 2019, engaged in another public feud with the president that same day, arguing Trump is “debasing” the United States.The Real Reason I Made My Phone Passcode Insanely Long (And Why You Should Too). By Michael Sitver, Curator/CEO of The Morning Short Michael Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 24, 2016 There’s a reason that you should make your phone’s passcode really long, and it has nothing to do with security… I realized recently that I had no idea how often I looked at my phone. It was practically subconscious; I could type my 4-digit passcode in without even looking, and I did, quite frequently. This was problematic, because whenever I got uncomfortable or bored, I just turned to unlocking my phone…It was a crutch. It also made it really easy for me to get distracted by my phone. I recently changed my passcode from four to ten digits (they’re semi-random digits too). I also disabled touch-id for unlocking (I still use it for Applepay, etc.). This isn’t just more secure from theft. It’s more secure from me. My passcode is now impossible to type in without looking or thinking. It requires my full/undivided attention to get right. I used to snooze my iPhone alarm without waking up. That doesn’t happen anymore. I used to check my email upwards of 30 times in a day. I do get a lot of email, but that was excessive. That doesn’t happen anymore. Now, whenever I reach for my phone, I need to consciously decide “This is worth the effort of unlocking my phone”. Sometimes this can be super-annoying (when I actually need to look at something) but it’s helped me to overcome my smartphone addiction, at least a little bit. For the other ways I lessened my smartphone addiction, scroll to the bottom. After about a week of this, I’m already starting to check my phone (as a crutch) much less. I’m becoming more conscious to my usage habits, and I’m getting more productive. You don’t have to do this forever, but if you’re addicted to your phone, you really should try this for a few weeks. Michael Sitver runs Morning Short, a tool for helping busy people read more fiction. Sign up for the Morning Short daily story, or listen to our daily podcast here. Tweet me here. Email me here. P.S. Some other strategies I used for lessening my addiction:How much are your vintage Levi's worth? Rare denim jeans from the Fifties are selling for up to $8,000 on eBay Vintage Levi’s, the pair your parents may have worn, are being snapped up by denim collectors for thousands of dollars - regardless of their condition. Denim jeans or jackets manufactured before 1980, especially Levi's 501s, are a hot ticket for collectors, and one pair of 1950 Anniversary Levi Jeans is currently listed on eBay for $8,000. But instead of hanging these jeans on the wall to be admired like a piece of valuable art, the expensive denim is meant to be worn; stains, holes, rips and all. Denim collector's dream: This pair of 1950 anniversary Levi jeans is currently listed on eBay for $8,000 One pair of 1947 Levi’s 501XX jeans are listed at $5,750, with 11 offers made so far, and another stained pair of 'rare vintage Levi's' which feature a 'big letter "e" and hidden rivets' are listed for $899. The seller notes: 'The Jeans are in vintage condition, they feel very old and brittle, I’m not sure if they could be worn without falling apart, but they are a great piece of Americana.' SO far four offers have been made. According to San Francisco-based Denim Traders, which has specialized in vintage Levi's for two decades, there are several factors which determine the value vintage Levi's. Investment pieces: This pair of 1947 Levi's 501 jeans with concealed rivets are listed at $5,750 on eBay, and so far 11 offers have been made so far Condition is an important factor, and unworn pair with tags is 'always considered the best,' the website states. A dark wash is worth more than faded denim, regardless of the condition, and sizing also plays a big role in a piece of denim's worth. HOW MUCH IS YOUR PAIR OF LEVI'S WORTH? A VALUATION CHECKLIST: Dark denim is worth more than a faded denim A big 'E' on the Levis' tab is more valuable than a little 'e' Selvage edges on a jean's inside cuff is also a high-value indicator A leather patch is worth more than a paper patch on the back of the jeans Collectors also look for concealed copper rivets Sizing is important - a 30-inch waist will garner more interest than a 44-inch waist 'People want to collect the size that they actually wear,' explains the website. Jeans with a waist measurement of 32-inches to 36-inches, and a length measurement of 30-inches to 32-inches 'are going to be worth the most money.' Thanks to the popularity of the Western movie and stars like John Wayne, blue jeans, which were originally designed as prospectors working britches, have gained the irresistible aura of romance and adventure. For the baby boomers it was Marlon Brando and James Dean during the Fifties that established blue jeans as the ultimate uniform. While the first Levi's, which featured only one pocket at the back, buttons for suspenders and copper rivets, are worth the most, a pair of original 501s can also pull a pretty penny. The red tab on a pair of 501s’ right-back pocket is one way of dating a pair of Levi’s. These tabs first appeared in 1936, with the word 'LEVI’S' stitched in capital letters - but by 1971, only the letter 'L' was capitalized. 'If your jeans are sporting a big E, they're going to be worth more than the jeans that have a little e. The same is true for the jackets,' explains Denim Traders Selvage edges on a jean's inside cuff is also a value indicator. Called'redlines,' Levi Strauss began manufacturing 501s in the 19th century, and every pair up until 1980 will have a selvage edge. Comparing value: A big 'E' on the Levis' tab (left) is more valuable than a little 'e' (right); from 1971 onwards, only the letter 'L' was capitalized Spot the stitching: Selvage edges on a jean's inside cuff (left), instead of a stitched edge (right) is also a value indicator; every pair of Levi's up until 1980 will have a selvage edge Double X: In 1936 Levi's introduced concealed rivets, known as 'double X,' where they are only visible inside the seat (pictured); in 1965, the rivets were reconfigured to be seen on the back pockets Well patched: A leather patch (pictured) is worth more than a paper patch on the back of the jeans Adjustable: If the jeans have a small belt, or cinch on the back to adjust the waist size, they're worth more still If a pair is 'double X' - like the $5,750 pair currently on eBay - the jean will also go up in value. In 1936 Levi's introduced concealed rivets, known as 'double X,' where they are only visible inside the seat. In 1965, the rivets were reconfigured to be seen on the back pockets. 'These rivets are a good thing when it comes to value. Collectors love them,' states Denim Traders.GETTY Stefan Lofven pledged to change Sweden’s liberal attitudes to immigratio During 2015 alone, Sweden received more than 160,000 asylum applications, resulting in the country closing its internal borders in an attempt to stagger the levels of migration into the country. And more than 3,000 migrants are still living illegally in the Swedish capital alone. But now Stefan Löfven has pledged to change Sweden’s liberal attitudes to immigration, and insisted the massive influx would never be allowed to happen again. It comes after migrant Rakhmat Akilov from Uzbekistan drove a stolen 30-tonne truck into pedestrians at a busy department store in Stockholm on Friday. STOCKHOLM TERROR SUSPECT NAMED AS OFFICIALS REVEALED THEY TRIED TO DEPORT HIM IN 2014 REUTERS Four people were killed in the Stockholm attack on Friday REUTERS At lest 15 were injured when the truck ploughed into the department store Four were killed, including Britton and father-of-two Chris Bevinton, and 15 injured in the harrowing attack, which showed clear similarities to the London terror attack last month. Akilov is believed to have carried out a reconnaissance of his route just days earlier. The failed asylum seeker had been given four weeks to leave Sweden in December after his final appeal failed. But he managed to evade detection simply by giving the authorities a fake address. Now Mr Löfven has pledged to crackdown on illegal immigration - vowing to deport migrants who’s asylum applications fail immediately. Stockholm terror attack in pictures Fri, April 7, 2017 The vehicle drove into crowds on Drottninggatan (Queen Street) - one of the city's major pedestrian streets, just before 3pm local time, before crashing into Åhlens Mall Play slideshow Twitter 1 of 33 Truck rams into crowds in central Stockholm Speaking at the Social Democrats party conference in Gothenburg on Sunday, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said: "The situation in autumn 2015 was unsustainable. We must stand up for the right of asylum but if we don't handle this situation so that people feel safe we will end up in a situation where people do not want to receive refugees at all. "The immigration legislation we had in autumn 2015 (was the result of the previous government)." He said the Swedish government bit off more than it could chew, and "we cannot make the same mistake again". The fact the terror suspect should have been deported made the Prime Minister "frustrated". GETTY Sweden opened their borders to migrants at first REUTERS Rakhmat Akilov from Uzbekistan drove a stolen 30-tonne truck into pedestrians He added: "If you are rejected you have to return home - otherwise we have no orderly migration. "We need to improve the ability to deport in an orderly way." Akilov, 39, had previously expressed support for Islamic State - telling police he carried out the attack on their orders. GETTY Swden had to close its borders to prevent illegal immigrationCourtesy of Jamie Kapp This is Jamie Kapp, a 19-year-old artist who posted a very viral comic on white privilege and institutionalized racism. Jamie first made the comic "White Privilege" because she was angry and she wanted to vent. "I was mad that I had to explain such a simple issue as white privilege in a comic because it's something that people should read for themselves," she said. After seeing posts on Tumblr, where the comic was originally posted, and other places on the internet, she wanted to create something accessible that explained the concepts of white privilege and institutionalized racism. She put it on Tumblr, instead of her DeviantArt account or Facebook, because the community there is particularly dedicated to social justice. But for every social justice blog Jamie saw, there was a blog mocking it. She had never made a comic centered around race or anything remotely political before, the most popular comic of hers prior to this work being about relationships on the internet. The first feedback she received was mostly positive, comments like "this is how we white ally" or "this is how you do it." Her first negative message came in around the time the post had hit approximately 20,000 notes on Tumblr. That was also around the time BuzzFeed contacted her asking for her permission to share the comic. "I looked and said 'oh wait, there's a Facebook comment section [on BuzzFeed]. Oh no, this is not going to be good for me,'" Jamie said. A short time later, Jamie shut down her blog in reaction to the sheer number of hate mail and death threats she was receiving. This is what Jamie's Tumblr looks like right now. Jamie has a history of suffering from anxiety and other mental health issues like depression. "I took pills, I got medicated, I went to therapy," she said. "I kind of worked past the worst of it. But it's still kind of there in the back of my head. I do suffer from really bad self-esteem issues so I do tend to focus on the negative reviews rather than the positive, which is something a lot of people told me is bizarre." In an attempt to deter people from leaving hate messages and death threats, Jamie shut down her blog, calling it a hiatus, and now only gets online to check her email, websites for her schoolwork, and check in on her inbox on Tumblr. "People have flooded my inbox and basically signal boosted the comic more because I might be dead," Jamie said. "Which is kind of unfortunate for me because I'm not dead." Jamie's withdrawal from Tumblr galvanized people into sharing the comic more and promoting it more, but she would really just like to try and put the whole incident behind her. "I would like my message to be heard, but I would really like to come back and post on Tumblr some more."The woman is sick. In her twisted mind, this is yet another chance to do an “I gotcha!” on people upset about the assassination attempt against Congresswoman Giffords, and the assassination of a federal judge, a nine year old girl, and several others last Saturday in Tucson. The woman is sick. She knows that announcing a keynote at a gun-related event, in the middle of the firestorm over her incendiary “targeting” of the congresswoman who would end up with a bullet through her brain, will be perceived as totally inappropriate by everyone but the violence/eliminationist-fetishing wing of the GOP she represents. So in Palin’s world, it’s a win-win, with absolutely no consideration whatsoever for the dead, the overall problem of violence in our culture, or the consequences. The woman is sick. And she’s the most popular woman in the Republican party.Daily Events Under Feature Hillary Clinton is going to be the Democrat presidential nominee. (Sorry, Bernie Sanders fans. You too, Martin O’Malley fans – both of you.) Unless – and likely even if – she is indicted for her latest foray into self-defined ethics. She has in her past more than a quarter century of…questionable statements, decisions and actions – so it would appear nothing else in this vein will matter to the Democrat rank and file. Mrs. Clinton is vying to lead the government that lords over our $17+ trillion economy. Which – given just one article she recently penned – is more than a mite disturbing. Behold: “Being Pro-Business Doesn’t Mean Hanging Consumers Out to Dry.” What Mrs. Clinton does mean to do, apparently, is hang out to dry the facts and Reality. Her column is chock full of Leftist bromide talking points – which have time and again been totally disproven. But because the Left dominates the media – they live on. Fake Leftist “facts” are like zombies. They are repeatedly slain – but again and again shamble away from their graves. Happy Halloween, All. Let us examine just some of what the looming Democrat nominee has to offer. Steady yourselves – she actually starts out…quite well. American capitalism built the greatest middle class in history. When it works the way it should, our system is defined by innovators constantly sparking new ideas, workers sharing in the profits they help produce, consumers enjoying ever-greater choices, and small business owners like my father, working hard to give their families a better life. But that’s the general election, “I’m a moderate” throwaway. (Though while in the Senate Mrs. Clinton was but 0.1% less Left than avowed Socialist Sanders.) Having done her electoral due diligence, she then predictably leaves the rails. But sometimes, the system doesn’t work the way it should and we need to fix it. But WHY does “the system sometimes…not work the way it should,” Mrs. Clinton? It doesn’t work – when government sticks its enormous proboscis into businesses’ business. Government is inherently a drag on the private sector. It drains away money, time and effort – all of which would be much better spent doing all of the great things Mrs. Clinton just listed (and then some). At the root of just about every financial hiccup – let alone crisis – is government action. To cite but one: the 2008 global financial meltdown. Which was caused by our government mandating for decades that more and more home loans be given to people everyone knew couldn’t pay them back. When the pile of bad paper was sky high – and the housing market dipped ever so slightly – everything collapsed. Does Mrs. Clinton acknowledge even the possibility that government might be the problem? Of course not. Some pharmaceutical companies recently have raised the price of medications that have been in use for decades by up to 5,000% overnight—gouging patients on drugs that should be getting cheaper over time, not more expensive. But that’s because of ObamaCare, Mrs. Clinton. A huge government imposition – and thus a huge wound inflicted upon the private sector. Which you wholeheartedly support – and in fact want to make even worse by allowing illegal aliens to pile on. Mrs. Clinton then swerves into the Internet Sector. She is here so wrong in so many directions – it is simply staggering. Monthly prices for high-speed broadband are far higher on average in some major American cities than in Toronto, London, and Tokyo. In part, that’s because most of our communities are subject to local monopolies for service. Mrs. Clinton – it is local U.S. governments that create these monopolies and inflate these prices. Local governments and their public utilities charge ISPs far more (for building rights) than these things actually cost. For example, rights of way and pole attachments fees can double the cost of network construction…. These (government) incumbents – the real monopolists – also have the final say on whether an ISP can build a network. They determine what hoops an ISP must jump through to get approval. This reduces the number of potential competitors who can profitably deploy service.… The lack of competition makes it easier for local governments and utilities to charge more for rights of way and pole attachments. It’s a vicious circle…(A) system of forced kickbacks….(also) includ(ing) ISPs…building out service where it isn’t demanded, donating equipment, and delivering free broadband to government buildings.… Video franchises are the revenue-sharing agreements that cable TV companies sign with local governments in return for the exclusive right to offer video services to customers. Mrs. Clinton continues: Three-quarters of US households have at most one option…. Again, that would be government’s fault – if it were true. Shocker – it’s not. Mrs. Clinton only counts as access – hardline wired broadband. She doesn’t count satellite service – or cellular. Cellular wireless service is now so fast, you can watch seamless, streaming HD video – on your phone. Which is frigging amazing – and should certainly count as having access. Mrs. Clinton bizarrely doesn’t think so. She in fact ignores these other options – so as to warp the numbers and thus trump up the case for more government. But Pew Research this year found: Nearly two-thirds of Americans are now smartphone owners, and for many these devices are a key entry point to the online world….(And only) 7% of Americans own a smartphone but have neither traditional broadband service at home, nor easily available alternatives for going online other than their cell phone. So two-thirds of Americans have an Internet-accessing smartphone. And thus just about all of them have at least two access options – again putting the lie to Mrs. Clinton’s absurd assertions. And many if not most of that mere 7% actually have access to home broadband – but choose not to avail themselves. In large part because their wireless service is so frigging amazing. Mrs. Clinton goes on (and ON) – but by now we know not to waste any more of our time. She has nothing of value to say. She is the Government Candidate – thus she will ignore the government-induced origin of our problems. And prescribe as their “solutions” – ever more government. Here’s hoping next year we know – and do – better.Cofound.it, the platform for nurturing and incubating blockchain startups planning crowdsales has today announced that its CFI tokens have sold out in a pre-sale held before its public crowdsale was due to start. The pre-sale, which commenced on June 4, 2017, raised a total of 56,565 ETH, the equivalent of $14,859,059 USD, and drew 1,521 investors from across the globe. Within 3 hours of the pre-sale opening, 1,200 supporters had invested $5 million USD. Cofound.it offered pre-sale access exclusively to its most engaged supporters via its innovative Priority Pass mechanism. The exceedingly successful pre-sale means the token crowdsale scheduled to commence today will not take place. Cofound.it CEO and Co-founder Jan Isakovic said: “Cofound.it is proud to have made history today as the first crowdsale to completely sell out before its public token sale begins. This momentous achievement is testament to our revolutionary Priority Pass mechanism which rewards highly-engaged company supporters. We believe Priority Pass represents the future for startups planning crowdsales.” “As Cofound.it moves into the next phase of developing its distributed venture capital platform that connects exceptional startups with world-leading experts and investors, we would like to humbly thank our supporters and investors for helping us close out our pre-sale in such grand fashion. Together, we have set a new benchmark and set of best practices for startups to launch high-volume crowdsales. This strong community support shows that the community shares our vision of a distributed Silicon Valley and our belief that the blockchain space must build it.” The Cofound.it Priority Pass feature is available to companies that pass through the rigorous evaluation process and will give projects the opportunity to appeal to Cofound.it’s established network of supporters. The first projects launching through Cofound.it acceleration program, Santiment, Musiconomi, and X8currency will each use Cofound.it Priority Pass to kickstart their crowdsales. Cofound.it has already connected with more than 50 hopeful crowdsale projects, with six currently accepted to the program. The company plans to launch at least 10 startup projects this year, with an additional 30 projects expected to launch in 2018. CFI tokens will be issued to investors within 7 days after Cofound.it has audited the sale. CFI are expected to trade on major exchanges, which will be announced in the coming weeks. Cofound.it was spun off as an ICO startup advisory from digital asset platform ICONOMI back in April, ICONOMI still remains a 10% shareholder in the newly formed advisory.It’s been two years since Josh Duggar’s secret past was exposed to the public. He reportedly sexually abused five minors, four of whom were his own sisters, when he was a teenager. This bombshell news was soon followed by more recent scandals. He checked into a Christian counseling and rehab center after it was revealed he was cheating on his wife Anna with the help of affair website Ashley Madison. Now there are reports that he’s person-non-gratis no longer with his family and their reality shows. He’s reportedly coming back to television to open up about his indiscretions. The report also claims that he won’t be apologizing, though, because he feels like “outside” forces made him do the things he did. “Josh will appear on the next season of his sisters’ series,” an insider told InTouch. “The plan is for him to address everything he’s done. What he has to say will be ratings gold, and TLC — and the Duggars — know it.” 28-year-old Duggar had to step down from his lobbying job with the anti-LGBT Family Research Council over his scandals, and ever since he’s been struggling to find work. Earlier this year there were reports that he got a job selling cars, but “wasn’t doing well at it.” Stepping back into reality television could be a way for Josh to avoid working a 9-5. “Josh will cover everything and he will maintain the family line that God has saved his soul and guided him back to the right path,” the source said. “But one thing you probably won’t hear is that he’s actually sorry, as he believes that external forces were to blame for his behavior.” If it’s true that he’s not sorry and doesn’t feel at all to blame for molesting his sisters and cheating on his wife, that definitely leaves an outlet for future transgressions. The belief that outside “devilish” forces make us do bad things is a convenient way to not feel responsible for our own actions.1 / 15 Abolishing The Death Penalty In Colorado use of the death penalty is rare, though its use overall has been <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/us/use-of-death-sentences-continues-to-fall-numbers-show.html?_r=0">falling nationally</a>. According to the <a href="http://www.doc.state.co.us/death-row">Colorado Department of Corrections</a> website, only one person -- Gary Lee Davis -- has been executed since capital punishment was reinstated in 1984. Colorado currently has three inmates on death row, and it has been widely speculated whether <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/therapist-declined-tempor_n_2248980.html">prosecutors in Arapahoe County will seek the death penalty</a> for James Holmes, who is currently awaiting trial for the Aurora movie theater shooting. Earlier in the month <a href="http://www.dailycamera.com/guest-opinions/ci_22194910/da-death-penalty-not-practical-colorado">Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett wrote an Op-ed in The Daily Camera</a> arguing that while he is “not morally or philosophically opposed” to the death penalty, there are factors that make it impractical in practice. Prosecuting a death penalty case through a verdict in the trial court can cost the prosecution well over $ 1 million dollars (not to mention the expense incurred by the judiciary and the cost of defense counsel, which is almost always funded with taxpayer funds in a death penalty case). To put this in context, my total operating budget for this office is $4.6 million and with that budget we prosecute 1,900 felonies, per year (and my office tried nearly 50 felony jury trials, including six homicides in calendar 2012). Last month too, State Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder) announced she is writing a bill to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/rep-claire-levy-drafts-bi_n_2347844.html">eliminate the death penalty in Colorado</a>, calling it a failed policy that has "outlived its time." Following Levy's lead, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_22263173/why-colorado-should-end-death-penalty">The Denver Post's editorial board</a> joined in, arguing that the state should end the death penalty, saying that it is "unevenly applied" and is hardly ever sought in Colorado anyway. The notable glitch, so to speak, in this largely Democratically-backed debate will be Democratic Rep. Rhonda Fields. Two of the three men on Colorado's death row are there after being <a href="http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/12/rep_rhonda_fields_on_push_to_r.php">convicted of killing her son and his fiance</a> to prevent them from testifying, and she has said that she will oppose repeal of the death penalty. APShare 0 SHARES AS THE American people are forced yet again to reckon with the tragic aftermath of another mass shooting, there has been some relief as authorities have been able to unequivocally downgrade the incident from ‘terrorism’ to ‘oh wait, he’s white’. “Oh boy, what a relief,” confirmed a leading Republican speaking to WWN, who asked for some time and space during such a colossal loss of life so as to allow him and his colleagues to figure out how to spin this against Muslims. The news that the man who has killed at least 59 people and injured 500 cannot be categorised as having committed terrorism will come as a relief to America’s political class who have confessed to having no interest in losing campaign contributions from the NRA. “The whole gun thing, thank God above this isn’t something American people actually have to worry about day in, day out, like we do with Syrian refugees or Mexicans,” added the Republican, pointing to a chart which shows ‘oh wait, he’s white’ as the least offensive and troublesome form of mass shooter America has to offer. Some media outlets also expressed their relief as the ethnicity of the shooter was revealed. “If this guy was a Muslim, heck if he was black, we’d have to hire 30 freelancers just to delve into his every move and background, but since the incident has been downgraded, we can get back to focusing why kneeling during the national anthem is killing this country,” explained one editor we spoke to. A number of countries seeking to offer advice on how to avoid mass shootings after experiencing similar tragedies have been told to mind their own business. “The answer is more guns,” leading lobbyists are expected to say behind closed doors in Washington in the coming days and weeks. However, a strong willed President Trump, who received $30 million for his election campaign from the NRA, is expected to put safer gun laws in place almost immediately.A large part of Parliament was evacuated today after a bomb scare sparked by suspicions over an iPad belonging to a minister's aide. People trying to access offices in Portcullis House, which houses MPs' offices, committee rooms and restaurants, were turned away. Police said the reason was a "suspect package" but declined to give more information, or say where the package was. It emerged later that the bomb scare was inadvertently caused by an iPad belonging to an apprentice who was starting work for Coalition minister Nick Boles. Mr Boles, the construction minister, wrote on Twitter : "An exciting start to my apprentice's first day at Parliament: the whole of Portcullis House evacuated cos of security scare over his iPad!" Mr Boles stressed that he was not cross with the apprentice and recognised that the police were just doing their job. He told The Telegraph that he would "strongly recommend every MP to have an apprentice - I can't think why it has taken me so long". It is understood that the iPad in the
Franklin collected a bunch of red coloured flowers and waved it at the approaching train. Seeing the bunch of red flowers, the loco pilot stopped the train a few meters away from the gap. The accident was averted. Also Read: Mumbai Local Train Hits Dead End The loco pilot then informed the concerned authorities about the crack. The train again started its journey 50 minutes later, after the repair works were completed. Later, it was learnt that the gap was developed following a separation between welded tracks.Mike and Chris are joined by Simon Berman, Community Coordinator and Staff Writer for Privateer Press. In this Darkling we discuss the recent release from Privateer Press, the new edition of the Iron Kingdoms RPG. We look at what the setting has to offer, the similarity the game rules have with the wargames Warmachine and Hordes, and briefly discuss what we can look forward to in the future for this exciting new edition. Send any feedback or questions send us an email at darkerdaysradio@gmail.com For more information on all the products discussed in the show go to http://privateerpress.com/ Alternatively you can get more news and information by searching for Privateer Press on Google +, Facebook and Twitter, and you can also go looking for Simon Berman on there if you are interested in all his other work. Be sure to check us out at http://www.facebook.com/DarkerDaysRadio or our Posterous forum at http://darkerdaysradio.posterous.com/#!/. Be sure to subscribe through iTunes! Our new domain name is http://darker-days.org Interested in the console game for Warmachine being developed by White Moon Games? Check out the fantastic trailer from E3 Interested in getting hold of Iron Kingdoms products digitally (D20 material but hey still a great read) follow the links Drivethrurpg. Interested in painting lessons for your new Iron Kingdoms, Warmachine and Hordes minis and you're in the UK, check out http://www.golempaintingstudio.co.uk/ Below are some examples of their excellent Warmachine figures they have painted.Bioshock kindly arriving on iOS tonight The game will retail for $14.99, but will only run on newer iOS devices. Earlier this month, we had some hands-on impressions for 2K Games' iOS port of Bioshock, which is a pretty close translation of the original Xbox 360 game, despite being transferred to a touch-screen. Players won't have to wait long for the game to arrive on the App Store, because it's happening tonight. The game will be available starting at 9 PM PDT in Apple's devoted store, going for the price of $14.99. A word of warning: the game will only run on newer Apple devices, such as the iPad Air, the iPad Mini 2, the iPad 4, the iPhone 5S, the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5. Trying to run it on previously released devices simply won't work. So make sure you have one of these devices before you download the game.The South Korean Coast Guard on Monday released footage from the early stages of its effort to save the ferry Sewol, and the video confirms just how quickly the captain abandoned ship. About half a minute into the video (below), Lee Joon-seok climbs into the arms of orange-clad rescue workers whose boats had pulled alongside the tilting ferry. He left behind a ship of 469 others, only 174 of whom are confirmed alive after the ferry began to sink on April 16. Another 188 passengers—many of whom were students at a high school to the south of Seoul—are dead and 114 others are missing. “I am really sorry and deeply ashamed,” Lee told reporters the day after the incident. “And I don’t know what to say.” Government officials in the country are conducting a criminal inquiry into how the ship's crew handled itself as the vessel began to sink. It is illegal for a captain to abandon his or her ship in South Korea, and Lee has since been arrested, along with 14 other members of Sewol's crew. They are charged with causing death by abandoning ship. South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the crew's actions "tantamount to murder," and the nation's prime minister resigned after the incident. Though executive authority in South Korea comes from the president's office, the New York Times reports that South Korea often fires prime ministers when the government feels the need to take responsibility for a catastrophe. Despite the passenger death toll, 22 people from the 29-member crew are survived.By Adam Taylor Having now gotten the ZedBoard running OpenCV, I want to spend some time developing some embedded vision applications and demonstrating how these function before moving on to the looking at how we can accelerate these within the programmable logic (PL) in the Zynq-7000 SoC. After getting the ZedBoard functioning as a single board computer and having installed OpenCV, my next step is to demonstrate how we can develop an algorithm that tracks objects within a frame and draw a box around objects being tracked. Initial object-detecting algorithm To do this I need a camera, so I connected a webcam to the SBC. The webcam I used is supported by the UVC, which is USB Video Class. We can check that the kernel we are using supports this class by performing the following commands with our webcam connected: lsusb - This will list all of the connected USB devices, the results with on my system are shown below. The next command is: usb-devices – This will list all of the drivers for the USB devices connected, again the results are below. I installed the following programs on the ZedBoard SBC to ease development: Open SSH server – to enable me to transfer files between the Zed SBC and my laptop GUVCView – to enable me to test the webcam is working correctly prior to development I have also installed Python support for OpenCV so that we can develop applications using Python if we want (using Python-opencv, Python-dev, and Python-numpy) although, as an interpreted language, Python runs slower than a C executable. However, there are cases where we might want to use Python instead of C. Coming back to the task at hand, there are a number of different methods we can use for object detection: Blob Detection Background Subtraction Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) with appropriate Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier Cascade Classifier using a Haar or Local Binary Pattern classifier Because we are developing an embedded vision application, I am going to use a background subtraction detection method for the first example because that will allow me to introduce a number of concepts that we will use across a number of applications to follow. I promise come back to the other algorithms in subsequent blogs because we can use them for a number of different applications. The algorithm we will use will be very simple. The first image taken from the web camera will be used as the reference image. We will assume that this image contains only the background, we will then calculate the difference between this background and the image just captured to detect new objects in the frame. While the world we see and capture via the camera is imaged in full color, a number of the image-processing techniques we will use to implement this algorithm use grey-scale or even binary black-and-white images (0 or 1), which reduces the processing required and makes image processing more efficient for embedded applications. The main concepts we need to understand when generating a background subtraction system are: Color-Space Conversion – Converting from color to grey scale reduces processing requirements. Thresholding – This is a commonly used image-segmentation technique we can use to create binary images. Image segmentation covers a number of techniques that segment an image into multiple segments often called super pixels. Segmentation allows for easier analysis of the segment contents. In our application, we will use thresholding to segment the background from the foreground. This will produce a binary image. Morphological Operations – A group of image-processing techniques used on binary images to help determine structure. Within an image there are four basic morphological operations: Erosion – Every non-background pixel that touches a background pixel is converted into a background pixel. This technique makes an object smaller or may even fracture it into a number of parts. Dilation – Every background pixel that touches a non-background pixel is converted into a non-background pixel. This has the opposite effect of erosion and makes the object larger. Opening – Opening an image performs an erosion operation followed by a dilation operation and is used to remove elements of the object. Closing – Closing an image performs a dilation followed by an erosion. We use this morphological operation when we want to remove small elements of the background. Within the background detection algorithm, we will use dilation on the result of the threshold operation. Structure detection – One we have the binary image created by the thresholding and morphological operations, we can look for structured elements like contours to identify the difference between the foreground and the background. Identifying the object – This operation uses the results of structure detection to draw a colored box around the detected objects. This box is applied to the original color frame so that we can see the object the algorithm has detected. Output Image and Thresholding output post dilation, with no change to background reference Output Image and thresholding image post dilation, with the camera moved slightly to register a large change to the reference background Having introduced these concepts, I will explain in detail how we implement the algorithm using OpenCV in both C++ and Python in the next blog. If you want to follow along and do not have the time to generate your own SBC build, the Xilinx University Programme provides an SBC design that supports a web camera. It’s available here. The code is available on Github as always. If you want E book or hardback versions of previous MicroZed chronicle blogs, you can get them below. First Year E Book here First Year Hardback hereStony Brook has hired longtime Ohio State assistant Jeff Boals as its men's basketball coach, the school announced Saturday. "My focus during this search was to find the right person who could lead Stony Brook men's basketball to new heights, and Jeff Boals is the right guy at the right time," athletic director Shawn Heilbron said in a statement. Boals had been at Ohio State for the past seven seasons, helping the Buckeyes win three Big Ten titles and reach the Final Four in 2012. He was tasked with coaching the defense and played a major role in the development of D'Angelo Russell. Prior to Ohio State, Boals also spent time at Akron, Robert Morris and Marshall. Boals replaces Steve Pikiell, who left Stony Brook last month to become the head coach at Rutgers. Pikiell led the Seawolves to the NCAA tournament this past season; he won at least 20 games six of the past seven seasons. "I look forward to working with the team, building upon the success of last season and continuing it into the future," Boals said in a statement. "I can't wait to get started."Holy smokes, my cookbook will be out in one month! That is pretty crazy. I figure that some of you would like to see a little more about the book before committing to buy – I don’t blame you, I’d want the same thing – so here is a list of every recipe in the book, as well as some pretty pictures to look at. Some longtime readers may notice recipes that I’ve already published here on the site; don’t worry – every dish in the book has been redeveloped from scratch, so every taste you encounter will be new! SAUCES, CONDIMENTS, AND OTHER BASICS RENDERED FAT BASICS STOCK AND BROTH BASICS GRAVY BASICS BARBECUE RUBS BARBECUE SAUCE MAYONNAISE BASIC RED SAUCE SIMPLE BASIL PESTO GUACAMOLE HARISSA PRESERVED LEMONS SATAY SAUCE TERIYAKI SAUCE RENDERED FAT BASICSSTOCK AND BROTH BASICSGRAVY BASICSBARBECUE RUBSBARBECUE SAUCEMAYONNAISEBASIC RED SAUCESIMPLE BASIL PESTOGUACAMOLEHARISSAPRESERVED LEMONSSATAY SAUCETERIYAKI SAUCE VEGETABLES GARLIC DILL PICKLES KABEES EL LIFT (PICKLED TURNIPS) DO CHUA (VIETNAMESE PICKLED DAIKON AND CARROTS) KIMCHI WEDGE SALAD BEET SALAD (VINEGRET) CAULIFLOWER RICE BIBIMBAP CHINESE GREENS ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES ONION RINGS SAAG PANEER CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP FRENCH ONION SOUP STARCHES BASIC RICE RECIPES STICKY RICE DIRTY RICE MEXICAN RICE FRIED RICE CONGEE GARLIC MASHED POTATOES COLCANNON GNOCCHI SWEET POTATO POI (POI ‘UALA) PARSNIP PUREE TOSTONES PÃO DE QUEIJO (BRAZILIAN CHEESE BUNS) PIZZA RED MEATS HEARTY STEW EYE OF ROUND ROAST SHEPHERD’S PIE SALISBURY STEAK CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK CHILI CON CARNE BARBECUE BRISKET STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS BORSCHT SWEDISH MEATBALLS (KÖTTBULLAR) KALBI (KOREAN SHORT RIBS) JAPCHAE JAPANESE BEEF CURRY LOCO MOCO BEEF RENDANG PHO SUKUMA WIKI LAMB TAGINE ROGAN JOSH (KASHMIRI LAMB CURRY) SHASHLIK (RUSSIAN SHISH KABOBS) PORK BARBECUE PULLED PORK BARBECUE RIBS MEATY COLLARD GREENS PORK ADOBO SIU YUK (ROASTED PORK BELLY) LEMONGRASS PORK CHOPS KALUA PIG GAMJATANG (PORK NECK SOUP) LECHON ASADO (CUBAN ROASTED PORK) JERK PORK POULTRY AND EGGS ROASTED CHICKEN COQ AU VIN SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN TANDOORI CHICKEN BUTTER CHICKEN (MURGH MAKHANI) CHICKEN PAD SEE EW CHICKEN PANANG CHICKEN SATAY TERIYAKI CHICKEN YAKITORI ROASTED DUCK AND POTATOES SMOKED TURKEY LEGS SEPHARDIC JEWISH-STYLE ROASTED EGGS (HUEVOS HAMINADOS) SHAKSHOUKA STEAMED EGGS (GAERAN JIM) SON-IN-LAW EGGS SEAFOOD PESCE AL SALE (SALT-CRUSTED FISH) CHINESE STEAMED SEA BASS SOLE MEUNIÈRE BLACKENED FISH FISH PIE LOMI LOMI SALMON CALDO DE CAMARÓN (MEXICAN SHRIMP SOUP) SHRIMP CEVICHE SEAFOOD PAELLA CRAWFISH ÉTOUFÉE GRILLED LOBSTER CHILI MUSSELS CLAMS IN WHITE WINE SAUCE (PALOURDES AU VIN BLANC) NEW ENGLAND CLAMBAKE NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER CHESAPEAKE BAY CRAB CAKES NABEMONO FRUITS AND DESSERTS BANANA ICE CREAM STRAWBERRY GRANITA ALMOND PANNA COTTA CHOCOLATE PUDDING RICE PUDDING BANANA CREAM PIE BIRTHDAY CAKE The recipes in my book will be aligned with my belief that safe starches (white rice, tapioca, potatoes) and some forms of dairy have a place in the modern interpretation of the Paleo diet. If you follow a more strict interpretation of Paleo, never fear! The Ancestral Table is mostly filled with strictly Paleo offerings, and the book will also include a substitution guide for anyone wanting to convert the other recipes to a more conventional version of Paleo while maintaining maximum taste. The Ancestral Table: Traditional Recipes for a Paleo Lifestyle will be out in all major bookstores on February 11th, 2014, and is available for pre-order now:GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) says it's worried about adequate regulation for e-cigarettes, and it's pushing Europe to require more. After all, more red tape to cut through for e-cigarette makers can't hurt the British pharma giant, which competes against them directly with its Nicorette gum and other quit-smoking products. As Bloomberg reports, emails from the GSK healthcare division's VP of European public affairs, Sophie Crousse, urge the European Commission (EC) to follow in the U.K.'s footsteps by requiring that e-cigarettes be licensed as medicines. The EC is currently revising its Tobacco Products Directive to regulate products, like e-cigarettes, that are linked to tobacco use but don't actually contain tobacco. "We believe in responsible and proportionate regulation for all nicotine-containing products as medicinal products," Crousse said in an Oct. 30 email seen by Bloomberg. As the news service notes, EU government reps and the European Parliament concurred last December that the strongest e-cigarettes, containing a nicotine strength of more than 20 milligrams per milliliter, would need authorization as medicines. The European Parliament will vote next week on the agreement. Glaxo, as well as fellow smoking-cessation product makers Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and Novartis ($NVS), have good reason to care about the regulatory details, with e-cigarettes predicted to bring in $7 billion in sales by the end of this year. According to comments seen by Bloomberg, Glaxo also sought assurances that the amended directive would apply to e-cigarettes already on the market and put the kibosh on e-cigarette advertising. GSK has backed other regulatory action in the past that would boost its product line; in 2011, it supported a move to nix recommendations against long-term use of nicotine gum, lozenges and patches. Still, the company insists its No. 1 priority is safety. "We support the smoker's right to choose from a selection of products that have well established safety and efficacy profiles in helping them quit smoking," GSK spokesman Simon Steel told Bloomberg in a statement. "All nicotine-containing products including e-cigarettes should be reviewed and regulated to the same standard of safety." - get more from BloombergIf you're anything like me, you've used Excel to plot data, then used the built-in “add fitted line” feature to overlay a fitted line to show the trend, and displayed the “goodness of fit,” the r-squared (R2) value, on the chart by checking the provided box in the chart dialog. The R2 calculated in Excel is often used as a measure of how well a model explains a response variable, so that “R2 = 0.8” is interpreted as “80% of the variation in the 'y' variable is explained by my model.” I think that the ease with which the R2 value can be calculated and added to a plot is one of the reasons for its popularity. There's a hidden trap, though. R2 will increase as you add terms to a model, even if those terms offer no real explanatory power. By using the R2 that Excel so helpfully provides, we can fool ourselves into believing that a model is better than it is. Below I'll demonstrate this and show an alternative that can be implemented easily in R. Some data to work with First, let's create a simple, random data set, with factors a, b, c and response variable y. head(my.df) ## y a b c ## 1 2.189 1 -1.2935 -0.126 ## 2 3.912 2 -0.4662 1.623 ## 3 4.886 3 0.1338 2.865 ## 4 5.121 4 1.2945 4.692 ## 5 4.917 5 0.1178 5.102 ## 6 4.745 6 0.4045 5.936 Here is what this data looks like: Calculating R-squared What Excel does when it displays the R2 is create a linear least-squares model, which in R looks something like: my.lm <- lm(y ~ a + b + c, data = my.df) Excel also does this when we call RSQ() in a worksheet. In fact, we can do this explicitly in Excel using the Regression analysis option in the Analysis Pack add-on, but I don't know many people who use this, and Excel isn't known for its reliability in producing good output from the Analysis Pack. In R, we can obtain R2 via the summary() function on a linear model. summary(my.lm) ## ## Call: ## lm(formula = y ~ a + b + c, data = my.df) ## ## Residuals: ## Min 1Q Median 3Q Max ## -1.2790 -0.6006 0.0473 0.5177 1.5299 ## ## Coefficients: ## Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>\|t\|) ## (Intercept) 2.080 0.763 2.72 0.034 * ## a -0.337 0.776 -0.43 0.679 ## b -0.489 0.707 -0.69 0.515 ## c 1.038 0.817 1.27 0.250 ## --- ## Signif. codes: 0 '*' 0.001 '' 0.01 '*' 0.05 '.' 0.1'' 1 ## ## Residual standard error: 1.1 on 6 degrees of freedom ## Multiple R-squared: 0.833, Adjusted R-squared: 0.75 ## F-statistic: 10 on 3 and 6 DF, p-value: 0.00948 Since summary() produces a list object as output, we can grab just the R2 value. summary(my.lm)$r.squared ## [1] 0.8333 Normally, we would (somewhat loosely) interpret this as telling us that about 83% of the variation in the response y is explained by the model. Notice that there is also an "adjusted r-squared” value given by summary(). This tells us that only 75% of the variation is explained by the model. Which is right? The problem with R-squared Models that have many terms will always give higher R2 values, just because more terms will slightly improve the model fit to the given data. The unadjusted R2 is wrong. The calculation for adjusted R2 is intended to partially compensate for that “overfit,” so it's better. It's nice that R shows us both values, and a pity that Excel won't show the adjusted value. The only way to get an adjusted R2 in Excel is to run the Regression analysis; otherwise, we have to calculate adjusted R2 manually. Both R2 and adjusted R2 are measures of how well the model explains the given data. However, in industry we usually want to know something a little different. We don't build regression models to explain only the data we have; we build them to think about future results. We want R2 to tell us how well the model predicts the future. That is, we want a predictive R2. Minitab has added the ability to calculate predictive R2 in Minitab 17, and has a nice blog post explaining this statistic. Calcuting predictive R-squared Neither R nor Excel provide a means of calculating the predictive R2 within the default functions. While some free R add-on packages provide this ability (DAAG, at least), we can easily do it ourselves. We'll need a linear model, created with lm(), for the residuals so we can calculate the “PRESS” statistic, and then we need the sum of squares of the terms so we can calculate a predictive R2. Since the predictive R2 depends entirely on the PRESS statistic, we could skip the added work of calculating predictive R2 and just use PRESS, as some authors advocate. The lower the PRESS, the better the model is at fitting future data from the same process, so we can use PRESS to compare different models. Personally, I'm used to thinking in terms of R2, and I like having the ability to compare to the old R2 statistic that I'm familiar with. To calculate PRESS, first we calculate the predictive residuals, then take the sum of squares (thanks to (Walker’s helpful blog post) for this). This is pretty easy if we already have a linear model. It would take a little more work in Excel. pr <- residuals(my.lm)/(1 - lm.influence(my.lm)$hat) PRESS <- sum(pr^2) PRESS ## [1] 19.9 The predictive R2 is then (from a helpful comment by Ibanescu on LikedIn) the PRESS divided by the total sum of squares, subtracted from one. The total sum of squares can be calculated directly as the sum of the squared residuals, or obtained by summing over Sum Sq from an anova() on our linear model. I prefer using the anova function, as any statistical subtleties are more likely to be properly accounted for there than in my simple code. # anova to calculate residual sum of squares my.anova <- anova(my.lm) tss <- sum(my.anova$"Sum Sq") # predictive R^2 pred.r.squared <- 1 - PRESS/(tss) pred.r.squared ## [1] 0.5401 You'll notice that this is smaller than the residual R2, which is itself smaller than the basic R2. This is the point of the exercise. We don't want to fool ourselves into thinking we have a better model than we actually do. One way to think of this is that 29% (83% – 54%) of the model is explained by too many factors and random correlations, which we would have attributed to our model if we were just using Excel's built-in function. When the model is good and has few terms, the differences are small. For example, working through the examples in Mitsa's two posts, we see that for her model 3, R2 = 0.96 and the predictive R2 = 0.94, so calculating the predictive R2 wasn't really worth the extra effort for that model. Unfortunately, we can't know, in advance, which models are “good.” For Mitsa's model 1 we have R2 = 0.95 and predictive R2 = 0.32. Even the adjusted R2 looks pretty good for model 1, at 0.94, but we see from the predictive R2 that our model is not very useful. This is the sort of thing we need to know to make correct decisions. Automating In R, we can easily wrap these in functions that we can source() and call directly, reducing the typing. Just create a linear model with lm() (or an equivalent) and pass that to either function. Note that pred_r_squared() calls PRESS(), so both functions have to be sourced. pred_r_squared <- function(linear.model) { lm.anova <- anova(linear.model) tss <- sum(lm.anova$"Sum Sq") # predictive R^2 pred.r.squared <- 1 - PRESS(linear.model)/(tss) return(pred.r.squared) } PRESS <- function(linear.model) { pr <- residuals(linear.model)/(1 - lm.influence(linear.model)$hat) PRESS <- sum(pr^2) return(PRESS) } Then we just call the function to get the result: pred.r.squared <- pred_r_squared(my.lm) pred.r.squared ## [1] 0.5401 I've posted these as Gists on GitHub, with extra comments, so you can copy and paste from here or go branch or copy them there. References and further readingTigres won their first title in 29 years by beating Santos 4-1 over the two legs of the Mexico Primera Division apertura final in December. In the 56th minute of the second leg, referee Marco Antonio "Chiquidracula" Rodriguez decided to increase his card-showing efficiency in a match that included seven yellows and three straight reds by showing two yellows at the same time. This, of course, is not conventional procedure for referees, who are supposed to book players one at a time. So this week it was announced that Rodriguez's flair for the dramatic and use of the extra yellow card he brought earned him a five-match ban. Said FMF secretary general Decio de Maria (via Univision): Scroll to continue with content Ad "The situation of having drawn two yellow cards at the same time is outside the role, not something that is considered in the arbitration rules and is considered as if he had not responded to what happened and did not sanction it." OK, so two yellow cards at the same time is frowned upon. Next time, Rodriguez should just pull out one giant yellow card for the both of them. It was a silly move and one that Rodriguez should've known would draw unwanted attention, but a five-match ban seems a bit harsh for an act as trivial as this. Even Santos' Carlos Morales, one of the players booked in that moment, couldn't hide his enjoyment of the referee's showmanship. Then again, a match as big as this one probably wasn't the place to get cute with it. Story via 101gg Other popular content on the Yahoo! network: • U.S. women's soccer team puts together record-setting 14-0 rout • What team deserves label of Super Bowl favorite? • Y! Movies: 'Haywire' star Gina Carano beats up leading menI’m a game player, mostly, that’s about it. I’m pretty dull, actually. — Joel Billings Joel Billings is about as close to a literal lifelong gamer as it’s possible to be. His father taught him to play the old Avalon Hill wargame classic Tactics II in 1965, when he was just 7 years old. Robert Billings, who regarded gaming only as an occasional pleasant diversion, soon had cause to wonder whether that introduction has been a wise move; young Joel got obsessed right from the first. Instead of playing with cars or model trains, Joel re-fought the major battles of World War II and the American Civil War on his bedroom floor, having simultaneous and almost equally pitched real-world battles with the family dog, who wanted to play too. While other boys played sports, or merely watched them, Joel was determined to simulate them. He tried to recreate every single game of the 1969 football season for every single team — hundreds of individual matches — using Strat-O-Matic Football, finally stopping out of sheer exhaustion with just twenty or so matches left to play. Encouraged to find a more social outlet for his “hobby,” he raided his high school’s chess club to form a wargaming club with himself as founder, president, and, it seems safe to say, most passionate member by a country mile. The same could be said of the company he would later found. But it was awfully hard in those early days for Joel or anyone in his family to imagine how he could turn his passion into a living wage, especially given that he wasn’t and would never be so much a start-from-scratch designer as an avid, gifted player. After doing well at his suburban Los Angeles high school despite the lure of wargames — he graduated 19th in a class of 572 — he proceeded to Claremont Men’s College in 1975 to pursue a degree in Economics. There he continued with his beloved wargames, betwixt and between and every chance he got. He would sometimes enter three divisions of a wargaming tournament simultaneously, an obligation later described by Al Tommervik of Softalk magazine as “roughly akin to playing a couple of dozen simultaneous chess matches against near masters.” The late 1970s were a good time to be a wargamer. In terms of dollars and cents, this period was the tabletop-wargame industry’s golden age. Annual sales grew at a rate of 40 percent or more for the better part of the decade, peaking in 1979 at $15.5 million. Those may sound like small numbers in comparison with many another entertainment industry, but for wargaming, always the very definition of a niche hobby, they were very good ones indeed in comparison to what had come before and, less happily, what would soon follow. Surveys reckoned over a quarter of a million Americans were active wargamers, with an average age of just 22 years. (In the years to follow, one of those numbers would plummet while the other rose precipitously.) Joel Billings — smart, from comfortable circumstances, and 21 years old in 1979 — was practically the prototypical specimen of the breed. In those days wargaming was absolutely dominated by a Coke and a Pepsi, whose combined sales accounted for 80 percent of the industry as a whole. Wargaming’s Coke was Avalon Hill, the big, traditionalist institution whose Tactics, generally regarded as the urtext of the modern wargame, had birthed the industry back in 1954. Its Pepsi was the younger, slightly smaller, slightly hungrier, arguably more innovative Simulations Publications, Incorporated, universally known as SPI. The two companies were each regarded with great love and loyalty by their respective fans, who felt they could discern a distinct personality not only in the marketing and packaging of each company’s games but in the games’ rules as well. Plenty of wargamers were stalwart loyalists to one camp or the other, refusing to buy or play a game by the rival company. Joel wasn’t quite that extreme, but was always an Avalon Hill man when push came to shove. Joel Billings, the man destined to bring the culture of chits and dice into collision with that of bits and bytes, had his first run-in with computers early in his time at Claremont College. He wound up, more by happenstance than desire, in a BASIC programming class conducted with the mediation of a big DEC PDP-10. This first encounter didn’t rock his world the way it did that of so many characters we’ve met on this blog — Joel had already found his lifelong passion when he had first played Tactics II all those years ago — but he did find the experience interesting, and found he had a certain aptitude for it as well. It started him to musing about the changes computers might wreak on his own favored hobby. For his final project in the class, he wrote a simple little two-player tank game. It was a wargame in only the most generous definition of the term, but it was a start. In the meantime, he parlayed that class into a six-month internship at Amdahl Corporation, a maker of mainframe computers located in Silicon Valley, during his senior year at university. After graduating from Claremont College in May of 1979, Joel traveled up the coast again to take a summer job with Amdahl before he went on to graduate school at the University of Chicago. As he had before, he stayed in a spare apartment above the house of David Rubinfien, an uncle. Immersed in the world of big mainframe iron as he was, Joel had only recently become aware of the nascent PC revolution. But as soon as he’d seen his first TRS-80 he’d begun wondering what these new microcomputers might be able to do for his hobby. Rubinfien, as always supportive of and helpful to his nephew and possessed of some connections in the Valley to boot, encouraged him to find out. Joel first talked to some programmers who worked for IBM, but they told him flat-out that his idea of creating a wargame reminiscent of the tabletop games he loved on the microcomputers of the day was absurd. Undaunted, Joel hung flyers in several of the local computer shops. With the moment of decision looming ever closer — did he stay here and try to make a computerized wargame or did he go off to graduate school? — he was contacted in early August by one John Lyon. Eighteen years Joel’s senior, Lyon was an experienced programmer currently working for Control Data who loved wargames almost as much as Joel. He had never programmed a microcomputer before, but he didn’t let that stop him. “This is what opportunity looks like when it knocks,” Lyon had told the sales clerk standing by the store’s bulletin board. “And I’m going to answer it.” Pressed for time as they were, Joel and John settled on a rather blatant computerized clone of an old Avalon Hill classic called Bismarck, a simulation of the legendary German battleship‘s ill-fated attempt to break out into the Atlantic shipping lanes in 1941. In addition to offering a completed design to start from, Bismarck seemed ideal in a number of other ways. For one thing, its was a popular subject known even to many non-military-history buffs thanks to the classic war flick Sink the Bismarck! But there were also other, less obvious considerations. Joel had long since realized that the computer had the potential to bring two hugely salable advancements to the traditional tabletop wargame, and a Bismarck game would be well-nigh ideal for demonstrating both of them. One advancement would be true hidden movement. Implementing a proper “fog of war” presented an obvious problem for a tabletop wargame where each player was tracking moves on the same game board and needed to be able to make sure the other wasn’t cheating. The problem of fog of war was so vexing yet so essential to any realistic simulation of military conflict that some of the most elaborate wargames had taken to requiring a third participant, a referee who could serve as a neutral arbiter and keep track of each player’s units in relation to the others; you can imagine how popular that thankless role was
This is an area where you can see a lot of variation in Dutch fighters. In part 1, we saw that Thai fighters tend to use pretty limited footwork, instead planting themselves inside and throwing shots. Defense there is more achieved through checks and slips than footwork. In the Dutch style, that's not always the case. Many Dutch fighters use a more Western boxing style of defense, utilizing a lot of footwork to get in and out and to create angles. Here's Andy Souwer using small hops to get in and out of range, allowing him to only be at a range to be struck when he himself is ready to initiate the action. Note how light he is on his feet here - a far remove from the more planted Thai fighters: In Thailand, movement like this would be looked down upon - an indication that a fighter was nervous or unwilling to engage. This lightness on the feet and use of movement frequently creates a faster pace to Dutch fights than you often see in Thailand (that fast pace is exacerbated by both the trend towards 3 round fights rather than the Thai 5 rounders, and the fact that Thai fights often start slow to allow gambling to occur during the opening rounds). For many Dutch fighters, this is the preferred method of defense: get out and avoid the shot altogether instead of check it. Glory Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven frequently employs a teep or front kick for this same reason - pushing an opponent outside of range to keep himself out of danger. Note here how the push kick combined with a slight lean of the head puts Verhoeven just outside the range of his opponent: As I mentioned above, while this is a common style of movement for Dutch fighters, it is not the only style. Some lean towards that more Thai style and prefer to stand and trade. We've already looked at Robin van Roosmalen above, and he is a good example of this, as shown in particular in his series of fights with Davit Kiria. The result of that style is that van Roosmalen is more likely to take shots in an exchange so that he can land his own offense, as opposed to someone like Verhoeven, who will do his best to avoid them. PRACTITIONERS AND EXAMPLES There are so, so many great names that could be mentioned here, and we've already touched on a lot of them, but here are a few specific fights and fighters worth an extra look: Ernesto Hoost - I touched on him above, but Hoost truly is one of the masters of this style, and is arguably the greatest Heavyweight in the history of kickboxing. Here is Hoost using the Dutch style beautifully to win the K-1 Grand Prix crown in 1999 over Mirko Cro Cop: Ramon Dekkers - Any discussion of Dutch kickboxing and Muay Thai would be remiss without a mention of The Diamond. Born in The Netherlands, Dekkers started his career in his home country, but soon challenged himself by fighting the best in Thailand. He became a massively popular fighter due to his exciting style and his never say die attitude, as he worked out how to use his European/Dutch style in Thailand (not always effectively, it must be said). Dekkers died in 2013, and his shadow looms large over all Dutch fighters today. Andy Souwer vs. Buakaw Por. Pramuk - Here's an example of the differences between the two styles we have discussed so far, as epitomized by one of the greatest rivalries in K-1 MAX history. Here is Dutch fighter Andy Souwer vs. Thai fighter Buakaw Por. Pramuk. For four years these two men traded the K-1 MAX Grand Prix crown between them in a series of tremendous fights that showcased how these two styles work against each other. Here's their classic encounter from 2006: Thanks for reading! All feedback is welcome, and join us next time for part 3 - Brazilian Muay Thai.Corecraft Connection Guide a guest Apr 13th, 2016 3,298 Never a guest3,298Never Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features! rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 1.21 KB 1. Download any TBC 2.4.3 client. The official stance is that you have to have bought the client and used the CDs to install it, BUT they have no actual way of knowing and this was stated repeatedly. https://www.burning-crusade.com/download/ https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/calebolt/Vanilla243.zip magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f9499fb1525f0dd23a19c4548805243632d420d1&dn=Excalibur+WoW+Burning+Crusade+2.4.3+-+With+Basic+AddOns&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.publicbt.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.istole.it%3A6969&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.ccc.de%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337 2. Connect to the server Go to https://www.rizon.net/chat Enter a nickname In the text box next to "Channels:", type: #corecraft Connect Type:!account At the top left corner of your "irc window" there should now be a box with the text "ccbot" all in red. Click on that and follow the instructions Read the entire paste 3. Make sure your realmlist is set correctly. You need to edit your realmlist.wtf file (don't rename it to.txt). You may need to NOT have your client installed directly on your C: drive. This can lead to permission problems making it impossible to change your realmlist. RAW Paste Data 1. Download any TBC 2.4.3 client. The official stance is that you have to have bought the client and used the CDs to install it, BUT they have no actual way of knowing and this was stated repeatedly. https://www.burning-crusade.com/download/ https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/calebolt/Vanilla243.zip magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f9499fb1525f0dd23a19c4548805243632d420d1&dn=Excalibur+WoW+Burning+Crusade+2.4.3+-+With+Basic+AddOns&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.publicbt.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.istole.it%3A6969&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.ccc.de%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337 2. Connect to the server Go to https://www.rizon.net/chat Enter a nickname In the text box next to "Channels:", type: #corecraft Connect Type:!account At the top left corner of your "irc window" there should now be a box with the text "ccbot" all in red. Click on that and follow the instructions Read the entire paste 3. Make sure your realmlist is set correctly. You need to edit your realmlist.wtf file (don't rename it to.txt). You may need to NOT have your client installed directly on your C: drive. This can lead to permission problems making it impossible to change your realmlist.If you are looking for a growth area in the job market, look no further than the field of business intelligence. As many other sectors in the economy are either on a hiring freeze or laying off, many companies are ramping up their business intelligence programs. This means more jobs and opportunities if you can do this type of work. Practicing Intelligence realized that to survive and be successful, long-term, they must invest in programs that help them be a better business – business intelligence is a program that can do that. Because business intelligence is so hot right now, jobs in the BI field are readily available. This is perfect for someone with business intelligence experience. 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From Marketing to IT, you will need to be able to speak the right language and present the right information to show the worth and value of business intelligence. There are many skills needed in a business intelligence job, but you probably already have many of them! It is important that you focus on the skills you have from your past that directly translate to what you’ll be working on in a business intelligence job. Read the job description, carefully pay attention to the interviewer’s words, and read up on the company so that in an interview you’ll be well prepared to discuss how your skills and abilities will allow you to complete the job of a business intelligence analyst. The Advantage of business intelligence Services. Any business that’s hoping to compete in the marketplace can have to be compelled to have sufficient business intelligence. The aim of the right business intelligence services is to permit the corporate to form reports and analysis on their own business. 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Like several of the custom alternatives, Saas permits you to own adequate business intelligence at a fraction of the price you’d normally pay. You even have the chance to pay just for what you employ. Regardless of that methodology, you decide on; it’s necessary to implement business intelligence into your company. This can keep you getting into the correct direction from the start.The driver of a Tesla vehicle involved in a crash in Minnesota on Saturday has denied that its Autopilot system caused the incident, according to an email released by the automaker on Monday. The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department said in a statement on Sunday that the driver of the 2016 Tesla had said that when he engaged the Autopilot system it caused the vehicle to suddenly accelerate and then roll over, resulting in minor injuries to himself and four passengers. But the driver said in the email released by Tesla Inc on Monday he believed he had disengaged the Autopilot system at the time of the crash. Tesla shares fell in trading on Monday after the crash was reported. The driver, David Clark, 58, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "I did not intend to put the blame Tesla or the auto pilot system as I am aware that I need to be in control of the vehicle regardless if the auto pilot system is engaged or not," Clark said in an email to the sheriff's department released by Tesla. The sheriff's department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla shares, which fell as low as $313.45 on Monday, rebounded later and were down 2.8 percent at $318.69 in afternoon trading. Autopilot has faced intense scrutiny in the past from U.S. regulators. Tesla said in a statement it had "no reason to believe that Autopilot... worked other than as designed." "Every time a driver engages Autopilot, they are reminded of their responsibility to remain engaged and to be prepared to take immediate action at all times, and drivers must acknowledge their responsibility to do so before Autopilot is enabled, the auotmaker added. Joshua Brown, a former Navy SEAL, was killed near Williston, Florida, in May 2016 when his Model S collided with a truck while it was engaged in Autopilot mode. The incident raised questions about the safety of systems that can perform driving tasks for long stretches with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human driver. In January, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had found no evidence of defects with Autopilot following Brown's death. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)Want to get lucky? Then run as a couple! In a nationwide survey of runners, we found that 66 percent of runners believe they have more sex when they run with their significant other. Men (71 percent) are more likely than women (62 percent) to think that a couple that runs together has more hanky panky. In other findings from the Brooks Run Happy Nation Report, guys enjoy chatting on the run more than their female counterparts. Seventy-six percent of men surveyed pass the miles by discussing their team’s latest victory (sports, 51 percent) or their cool new gadget (34 percent). Ladies, on the other hand, choose to use their running time as therapy – they are most likely to talk about relationships (47 percent), both the good and the bad. Surprisingly, all runners ranked their happenings in the bedroom as their least favorite running topic. “We hear from runners every day about how hitting the road is an integral part of their daily routine, and wanted to test just how big a part running played in their relationships, travel habits and friendships,“ said Heather Snavely, Brooks senior director, brand marketing. “The results of the report were both fun and surprising.” More juicy tidbits related to relationships, running while traveling and runner pet-peeves were uncovered in time for the start of the spring running season. BRINGING SEXY BACK Everyone knows running is good for the body, but how does it affect personal connections? Distance matters. The longer you run the better your sex life, the survey found, as nearly half (49 percent) of couples who run six or more miles together claim it pays dividends in the bedroom. Runners ages 18-39 (72 percent) are more likely to think running together as a couple leads to more nooky than runners ages 40 and older (59 percent). Overall, 69 percent believe their sex life is affected, for better or worse, by running together as a couple, and when running with friends, both men and women talk equally about knocking boots (21 percent). Runners from the West (42 percent) are most likely to claim that running increases their time spent rolling in the hay versus the South (38 percent), Northeast (33 percent) and Midwest (32 percent). ON THE ROAD AGAIN Being away from home doesn’t mean taking a break from running. If the running shoe fits: 67 percent have left something out of their suitcase to fit in their running shoes, with an extra pair of shoes (30 percent), an extra outfit (26 percent) and a blow dryer (21 percent) topping the list of omitted items. Runners are committed! More than three-quarters of those surveyed (78 percent) keep up their run while traveling, and men are more likely to keep up the routine than women (82 percent vs. 73 percent), as are those who are parents (82 percent vs. 74 percent). Nearly three out of four (74 percent) runners who hit the pavement one to five times a week at home keep up their running routine when on the road. If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to pack your running shoes. San Francisco ranked as the top runner-friendly city (46 percent), followed by Portland (34 percent), Boston (32 percent), Boulder (30 percent) and New York City (30 percent). NO SOUNDS OF SILENCE For a large majority of runners, listening to music helps keep them on track. Those who can’t find the perfect running buddy shouldn’t despair; there’s always an audio download to keep company. Eighty-seven percent of runners like to listen to something to keep them motivated, whether a rump shaker playlist (music, 78 percent), audiobooks (11 percent), even meditations (10 percent) or motivational speakers (9 percent). Just 13 percent feel that silence is indeed golden and choose no audio companion. PET PEEVES: Detour Ahead The survey also discovered that honking drivers, traffic lights and speeding bicyclists are among the top pet peeves that runners encounter. Difficulty dressing for the weather is a bigger pet peeve for females (30 percent) than males (17.3 percent). Runners are torn about the worst type of runner they encounter on their favorite trail or running spot: The Spitter (30 percent claim this is their “most hated runner” category): runners who spit or hock a loogie while running;. The Double-Wide (29 percent): runners who run in a group and take up a lot of space; The Superhero (14 percent): runners who are completely decked out in unnecessary gear; The Flasher (14 percent): runners who don’t wear enough clothes even when it’s cold out. Which statistic surprises you the most? Let us know in the comments. Study Methodology The Brooks Run Happy Nation Report was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18+, who run at least once per week, between Feb. 22 and Feb. 28, 2013, using an email invitation and an online survey. The margin of error for this survey is 3.1 percentage points.This shot-for-shot recreation of the opening credits for Full House made entirely in Grand Theft Auto 5 is amazing in so many ways. There's the fact that the team who put it together managed to capture the basic look of that well-known intro despite the lack of appropriate props or even, in some cases, characters. Actually, that's what REALLY sends this video remake over the top. Don't have a set of adorable baby Olsens to use for your remake? No problem, just use Chester the Molester. Turns out he's pretty spot on for the role, in a creepy GTA way. Even better? Trevor Phillips as Bob Saget. The more you watch the remake, the more you realize how perfect it is. Just as awesome are all of the liberties the team took with those scenes. Somehow they still manage to capture the golden glow of a classic TV show while filthing it up with guns, drugs and tons of inappropriate innuendo. You can watch the full opening play next to the original in the YouTube Doubler below. (Make sure you click the left one first and let the short ad play first.) And if Full House really floats your boat, definitely check out the news about its return.Seattle’s income tax on wealthy households failed its first legal test on Wednesday. Seattle’s income tax on wealthy households failed its first legal test Wednesday, with a King County Superior Court ruling that the measure is illegal. In a summary judgment, Judge John R. Ruhl agreed with multiple challengers that the city ordinance adopted in July is not authorized under state law. Opponents of Seattle’s so-called “wealth tax” immediately hailed the ruling as proof that the city long has known the tax was legally flawed, but nonetheless pushed it into law. “The city knowingly violated several laws in imposing this tax,” said Brian T. Hodges, a senior attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented several Seattle residents challenging the law. “This ruling is probably the worst scenario for the city and the best scenario for the opponents of the income tax.” While Wednesday’s decision is “disappointing,” the city intends to appeal it directly to the State Supreme Court, where officials always expected the question to be decided, a spokeswoman for Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said in an email. In a joint statement, Holmes and Seattle Mayor Tim Burgess said their goal is to eliminate the state’s overreliance on regressive sales taxes and ensure the wealthy pay their fair share. Washington’s tax system has been called the most regressive in the country, meaning that low-income people pay a much higher percentage of their earnings than wealthier residents. Passed by a unanimous City Council vote in July and subsequently signed into law by former Mayor Ed Murray, the Seattle measure would impose a 2.25 percent tax on total income above $250,000 for individuals and above $500,000 for married couples filing together. The city estimates it would raise about $140 million a year. Proponents say that money could be used to lower property taxes, help the homeless and expand provide affordable housing. The tax was immediately challenged by private citizens and organizations, including the Olympia-based free-market think tank The Freedom Foundation. Wednesday’s ruling undercut most of the city’s legal arguments for the tax, pointing out that state law explicitly prohibits taxes on net income. The city had argued that its tax would apply to “total income” instead of net. The city also described it as an excise tax, imposed on those who live in Seattle in the same way excise taxes are imposed on companies that do business in the city. The judge disagreed. “ … the City’s tax, which is labeled ‘Income Tax,’ is exactly that,” he wrote. “It cannot be restyled as an ‘excise tax’ on the … ‘privileges’ of receiving revenue in Seattle or choosing to live in Seattle.” The judge did not rule on whether the tax violates a provision in the state constitution requiring all property taxes be imposed uniformly. The opponents argue that income is property, so it’s not legal to single out the wealthy for taxation, Hodges explained. “In order to uphold its income tax, the city would have to convince a court that individual income is not protected by the constitution,” he said. At the Supreme Court, Seattle officials hope to attack the long-standing interpretation that income taxes are property taxes, opening the door to what proponents see as a fairer tax system statewide. “In order to build a more just and equitable society for all, we need a serious overhaul of our state’s tax structure,” Holmes and Burgess said in their statement.It's a known fact that chairs squeak. But when you're on live TV, the airs are a little, uh, murkier. It's a known fact that chairs squeak. But when you're on live TV, the airs are a little, uh, murkier. On this morning's TODAY, Lisa Wilkinson set her co-host Karl Stefanovic straight after he suggested that the squeak of her chair was perhaps something more sinister. Oh no he didn't! Lisa immediately told a curious, concerned Karl: "That was my chair. How dare you suggest anything else?" He replied: "Just that everyone had heard it. You couldn't suggest it!" Sylvia Jeffreys suggested a spot of WD-40 oil to solve The Great Squeak of February 7, 2017 (which you can't really hear on camera, but it definitely happened). Karl had one last gag up his sleeve involving some cheeky advice from former TODAY newsreader Georgie Gardiner. Well, a quiet chair never made anyone LOL. Happy Tuesday! Catch up on TODAY's latest interviews and more on 9Now.In January I wrote a post after long research how League of Legends is rigged. It wasn’t well received, because my claims were pretty outlandish and most people don’t bother to read charts when they can just say “lol conspiracy”. Why do I repost? Because my “outlandish” claims were patented by Activision and were reported by Rolling Stone. So my claim went from “Riot does this crazy thing that only I described” to “Riot uses Activision technology”. At this point it’s irrelevant if this usage is licensed or stolen or Activision stole and patented Riot technology, though the court porn would be delicious. At first, let me summarize what the Activision patent declares: it purposefully matches a non-buyer with a someone who is expertly using a P2W item to make him envy the powers of the whale and spend money if the player is focusing on one type of gameplay (like sniper), they don’t just let a whale assassin pwn him, they send a whale sniper to make it clear that it’s not the class that’s op, but the item and make him buy the op rifle recent buyers are placed into games where they can devastate their opponents so they are happy about their purchases OK, but how do I know if a player is a recent buyer in League of Legends without insider information (just having a skin means nothing, it can be old)? There is a very good way to guess it: someone uses a new champion. You can still see my old stats on third party sites like op.gg and see what champions I’ve used. You can also look for a champion and see my stats (or lack of) with it: I’ve never played Aatrox, so if you see me play it, after you’ve seen such empty stats, you can assume that I just bought Aatrox. If you check the stats of your teammates during pre-game, you can determine if they play a champion they haven’t played yet. Sure, they could win it or could be in their stables for ages, but most likely using a new champion means buying a new champion. My first test contained 27 games that I classified into four groups, based on the amount of new champion users – amount of average ones (see definition below) in the team: That’s pretty convincing that the games are rigged and the matchmaker does what the patent says: give easy wins to paying players. Then I played 298 games and classified the teammates into 4 groups: New: using a champion he haven’t used before, or used only once, recently: likely a buyer Good: using a champion he has 60%+ winrate Bad: using a champion he has 40%- winrate Average: using a champion with 40-60% winrate I’ve found that games with buyers are usually having good players too and these games have very high, 77% winrate: This is obvious: buyers+boosters who carry them. I’ve found that games with no buyers are practically always lost, but I’ve also figured out a way to turn it around and it shed a light to how exactly they rig: Instead of playing “properly”, I turned the laning phase upside down with forcing teamfights early on. The rigging works by matching the boosters with players they can defeat 1v1 (the average and bad ones), causing the infamous 0/10/0 at 12 mins Yasuo, while the buyer is facing a bad player who can’t farm him that bad. But if I don’t let them 1v1 in peace but force a 3v3, then I actually force a 3v2+buyer which won’t end well for them, as the buyer who is learning the basics of his champion will perform horribly in a messy teamfight: I tested this exploit mode in a very aggressive manner: queued in as support and picked Warwick, smite and went for second jungler. Of course I lost almost all “easy win” and “fair” games. But I won most of the “Sure loss” games since everyone was running around as headless chicken and fights happened in random locations where my average teammates defeated the wallet warriors. Finally, lets see the rest of the games, which had 53% winrate: These have lot of buyers and bad players. There is two explanation for these: either these “buyers” were not buyers just someone who pulled and old champ out of the closet, or az unexpected champion pick. You see, the matchmaker selects players and lanes, but not champions. So they can assume, based on statistics that if they place Joe mid, he’ll likely play Katarina and wins, so they place him as booster. But Joe feels like playing LeBlanc today and he isn’t that good, so he can’t roflstomp. Anyway, see it for yourself! Pull up the stats of your teammates and watch how the zero-experience, new champion teammate predicts victory. Or buy one yourself, jump into a ranked game without practice and see how easily you’ll win, despite having no idea what you’re doing. So the Riot rigging does exactly what the Activision patent suggests: it places someone who has a champions for a long time (but not particularly good with it) in a lane against someone who plays their counter to produce 0/10/0 laning phase result, both to lose the game and to make the player buy the counter the laning mechanism guarantees the second point, ADC mostly faces ADC and not top recent buyers are placed into games where they win so they are happy about their purchases I suggest not to play League of Legends. Or at least demand them to make a clear, binding statement that the matchmaker does not get purchase nor asset ownership info as input, just MMR and preferred lanes. . Update: I made a reddit link for this post and it got shadowbanned fast. It’s still there if you look by the link, but you can’t see it on /new: If they’d consider it trolling, they’d just ban it openly and give me timeout from their subreddit. They know it’s true and have to be buried. Spread the word, link it, tweet it, contact journalists! We are talking about the single biggest seller video game that poses as an e-sport, but actually just a rigged moneygrab.buy-black Offline Activity: 238 Merit: 100 Full MemberActivity: 238Merit: 100 Re: [ANN] BlackCoin (BC/BLK) \| PoS \| No Premine - No IPO - ONLY OFFICIAL THREAD May 16, 2014, 02:22:28 AM #2086 ALWAYS BET ON BLACK - Update 31 WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN AND VICE VERSA. DRK became very attractive and different from the rest with dark-send which allows anonymous transactions in the blockchain. Why are traders forced to cash out of many altcoins to support the rise of another altcoin? This behavior shows we operate in relatively small market with limited capital as a result of the lack of acceptance of this market by the masses. Here is the correlation between DRK rise and BC fall: The euphoria of dark-send should be reaching its limit of capital sucking power which will put a brake on a run to the moon. Also we are dealing with open source, so dark-send can be added to other coins like Bitcoin and I suppose BlackCoin too. The me-too syndrome will also catch up with dark-send sobering up some of the traders and putting a cap on the rise of DRK. I expect a strong rebound from BC anytime soon and we have seen some capital returning to BC to support the selling by the last minute traders who think they will reach their dark moon by tomorrow. If we have further selling pressure BC could reach as low as 15K from Fibonacci Extensions but the recent activity shows that selling pressure is diminishing and sellers have not been able to take the price below 18K after 4 attempts. Buy Buy Buy! Buy-Black P.S. If you want to read the other reports go here: The continued strong move by DRK has sucked the life out of many altcoins and BC has been significantly waken by all of the traders that did not want to miss the rocket to the dark moon.DRK became very attractive and different from the rest with dark-send which allows anonymous transactions in the blockchain.Why are traders forced to cash out of many altcoins to support the rise of another altcoin? This behavior shows we operate in relatively small market with limited capital as a result of the lack of acceptance of this market by the masses.Here is the correlation between DRK rise and BC fall:The euphoria of dark-send should be reaching its limit of capital sucking power which will put a brake on a run to the moon. Also we are dealing with open source, so dark-send can be added to other coins like Bitcoin and I suppose BlackCoin too. The me-too syndrome will also catch up with dark-send sobering up some of the traders and putting a cap on the rise of DRK.I expect a strong rebound from BC anytime soon and we have seen some capital returning to BC to support the selling by the last minute traders who think they will reach their dark moon by tomorrow.If we have further selling pressure BC could reach as low as 15K from Fibonacci Extensions but the recent activity shows that selling pressure is diminishing and sellers have not been able to take the price below 18K after 4 attempts.Buy Buy Buy!Buy-BlackP.S. If you want to read the other reports go here: http://www.dailyblackcoin.com/category/market-analysis-by-buy-black/ BC + XC + DRK Luckybit Offline Activity: 714 Merit: 500 Hero MemberActivity: 714Merit: 500 Re: [ANN] BlackCoin (BC/BLK) \| PoS \| No Premine - No IPO - ONLY OFFICIAL THREAD May 16, 2014, 03:25:18 AM #2089 Quote from: buy-black on May 16, 2014, 02:22:28 AM ALWAYS BET ON BLACK - Update 31 WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN AND VICE VERSA. DRK became very attractive and different from the rest with dark-send which allows anonymous transactions in the blockchain. Why are traders forced to cash out of many altcoins to support the rise of another altcoin? This behavior shows we operate in relatively small market with limited capital as a result of the lack of acceptance of this market by the masses. Here is the correlation between DRK rise and BC fall: The euphoria of dark-send should be reaching its limit of capital sucking power which will put a brake on a run to the moon. Also we are dealing with open source, so dark-send can be added to other coins like Bitcoin and I suppose BlackCoin too. The me-too syndrome will also catch up with dark-send sobering up some of the traders and putting a cap on the rise of DRK. I expect a strong rebound from BC anytime soon and we have seen some capital returning to BC to support the selling by the last minute traders who think they will reach their dark moon by tomorrow. If we have further selling pressure BC could reach as low as 15K from Fibonacci Extensions but the recent activity shows that selling pressure is diminishing and sellers have not been able to take the price below 18K after 4 attempts. Buy Buy Buy! Buy-Black P.S. If you want to read the other reports go here: The continued strong move by DRK has sucked the life out of many altcoins and BC has been significantly waken by all of the traders that did not want to miss the rocket to the dark moon.DRK became very attractive and different from the rest with dark-send which allows anonymous transactions in the blockchain.Why are traders forced to cash out of many altcoins to support the rise of another altcoin? This behavior shows we operate in relatively small market with limited capital as a result of the lack of acceptance of this market by the masses.Here is the correlation between DRK rise and BC fall:The euphoria of dark-send should be reaching its limit of capital sucking power which will put a brake on a run to the moon. Also we are dealing with open source, so dark-send can be added to other coins like Bitcoin and I suppose BlackCoin too. The me-too syndrome will also catch up with dark-send sobering up some of the traders and putting a cap on the rise of DRK.I expect a strong rebound from BC anytime soon and we have seen some capital returning to BC to support the selling by the last minute traders who think they will reach their dark moon by tomorrow.If we have further selling pressure BC could reach as low as 15K from Fibonacci Extensions but the recent activity shows that selling pressure is diminishing and sellers have not been able to take the price below 18K after 4 attempts.Buy Buy Buy!Buy-BlackP.S. If you want to read the other reports go here: http://www.dailyblackcoin.com/category/market-analysis-by-buy-black/ Bitcoin already supports CoinJoin. Why would you need Darkcoin when you can just use Blockchain.info? Bitcoin already supports CoinJoin. Why would you need Darkcoin when you can just use Blockchain.info? tygarbyte Offline Activity: 300 Merit: 250 4mnth old Miner :-) Sr. MemberActivity: 300Merit: 2504mnth old Miner :-) Re: [
still stands today, before the world, as an unsolved enigma And watches over a burnt rock from between clouds of heresy. During the early 1880s, Alexandru Macedonski and his Literatorul attempted to preserve Heliade's status and his theories when these were faced with criticism from Junimea; by 1885, this rivalry ended in defeat for Macedonski, and contributed to the disestablishment of Literatorul.[111] Although a Junimist for a large part of his life, Ion Luca Caragiale himself saw a precursor in Heliade, and even expressed some sympathy for his political ideals. During the 1890s, he republished a piece by Heliade in the Conservative Party's main journal, Epoca.[103] One of Caragiale's most significant characters, the Transylvanian schoolteacher Marius Chicoş Rostogan, shares many traits with his counterparts in Heliade's stories.[103] Developing his own theory, he claimed that there was a clear difference between, on one hand, the generation of Heliade Rădulescu, Ion Câmpineanu, and Nicolae Bălcescu, and, on the other, the National Liberal establishment formed around Pantazi Ghica, Nicolae Misail and Mihail Pătârlăgeanu—he identified the latter grouping with hypocrisy, demagogy, and political corruption, while arguing that the former could have found itself best represented by the Conservatives.[112] Comments about Heliade and his Bucharest statue feature prominently in Macedonski's short story Nicu Dereanu, whose main character, a daydreaming Bohemian, idolizes the Wallachian writer.[113] Sburătorul, a modernist literary magazine of the interwar period, edited by Eugen Lovinescu, owed its name to Zburătorul, making use of an antiquated variant of the name (a form favored by Heliade). During the same years, Camil Petrescu made reference to Heliade in his novel Un om între oameni, which depicts events from Nicolae Bălcescu's lifetime.[114] In his Autobiography, the Romanian philosopher Mircea Eliade indicated that it was likely that his ancestors, whose original surname was Ieremia, had adopted the new name as a tribute to Heliade Rădulescu, whom they probably admired.[115] Notes [ edit ]PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire — US President Barack Obama joked Friday that he should appoint Bill Clinton as his “Secretary of Explaining Stuff” following his acclaimed speech at the Democratic convention. Clinton is expected to follow his address, which even some Republicans admitted was a masterful summary of the election arguments and Obama’s presidency, with appearances for Obama in crucial battleground states. “President Clinton made the case in the way only he can. You know, somebody — somebody emailed me after his speech and said,’You need to appoint him secretary of explaining stuff,'” Obama joked in New Hampshire. “That was pretty good. I like that. Secretary of Explaining Stuff.” Obama’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One Friday that the campaign would be keen to have Clinton’s help again on the campaign trail ahead of the November 6 election clash with Mitt Romney. “We’d love to have him out there as much as he is available,” Psaki said. “He’s been an incredible advocate for the president for quite some time,” Psaki said. Clinton told Americans at the convention in North Carolina on Wednesday that Obama had placed them on a path to renewed prosperity and deserved four more years to finish the job. Lending his signature dazzle to Obama’s re-election campaign, the two-term former president told the Democratic convention that he believed “with all my heart” that the 44th president had led a remarkable, if incomplete, recovery. “No president — not me or any of my predecessors — no one could have fully repaired all the damage he found in just four years,” Clinton said. “He has laid the foundations for a new, modern successful economy of shared prosperity, and if you will renew the president’s contract, you will feel it. You will feel it.”Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) speaks in Hot Springs, Ark. Jindal is calling on the Republican Party to, “recalibrate the compass of conservatism.” (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File) In a speech Monday in London, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), who is running for president in 2016 (this is a decidedly relevant piece of information) said there were places in Europe in which Islamic law was enforced and where non-Muslims were afraid to go. He called these places, appropriately, "no-go zones," and insisted that a willingness to allow communities like these to exist within countries was at part of the world's problem with Islamist extremists. While Jindal's comments drew criticism, he was unbowed, insisting in an interview with CNN that he was speaking truth to power. That interview shows what Jindal's underlying motives here may well be. In the space of 74 seconds, Jindal makes two references to "the left" -- despite the fact that the interviewer isn't asking questions about "no-go zones" in the context of politics. "The radical left wants to pretend like this problem isn't here," Jindal says at one point. "I know the left wants to make this an attack on religion... and that's not what this is," he says at another. Here's what Jindal is up to: He is struggling for political oxygen in a Republican field that includes (or might include) the likes of Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush. So, how do you solve that problem? Throw red meat to the Republican base while simultaneously trolling the left. It worked. Conservatives leaped to Jindal's defense. Erick Erickson at Red State pointed out that CNN had done a report on these so-called "no-go zones." And, when Arsalan Iftikhar said on MSNBC that Jindal's comments amounted to him "trying to rub some of the brown off his skin" (Jindal is Indian American), the right responded with fury. (MSNBC said it would not have Iftikhar on as a guest again.) Disgusting --> MSNBC Guest: Bobby Jindal ‘Trying to Scrub Some of the Brown Off His Skin’ http://t.co/OKbcSlm6Y3 pic.twitter.com/sw5PaQ1RHT — Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 19, 2015 "It's embarrassing for MSNBC to give voice to such shallow foolishness," Jindal told the conservative Washington Examiner on Tuesday. "Much like Michael Moore denigrating our military servicemen, these comments deserve no comment." Curt Anderson, a consultant to Jindal, was more blunt in an e-mail to me: "Liberals hate to hear what Jindal is saying. They cannot in public argue the main points of what he is saying, so they are trying to make hay out of noting the obvious -- that 'no-go zones' are not official or part of the law. Duh." Regardless of Jindal's motives, here's what he's accomplished: In the eyes of the random Republican activist, he's gone from the guy they vaguely remember giving a widely panned State of the Union response to the guy who is willing to stand up not only to radical Islam but also to the political left. The important thing to remember here is that in politics, the worst thing you can be is irrelevant. Jindal's stance on radical Islam and "no-go zones" makes him a topic of conversations all over cable and the Internet. (Witness this blog post.) And for someone running for president in 2016, that is relevance -- at least this far from the election. Point, Jindal.Once upon a time, a resentful, angry woman of the lesbian persuasion coined the term “cis-male privilege” to excuse the majority of her personal and professional failings. Seven hundred and fifty million rebuttals later, Steven Crowder and Not Gay Jared proved once and for all that actually, gays have all the privilege fun… Do not try this at home. But if you do, get it on camera. Because while some of these women were good sports about Steven hitting on them in ways one can only describe as Creepy Frat Guy Loses a Bet (proof that not all women are shrieking, man-hating feminists), many of these ladies were two ticks short of a full on slap-attack. Which, as Steven points out, would’ve been deserved. Let this video be the definitive, conversational ending point you can employ in any and all arguments surrounding “cis-male privilege” and the alleged gay victims which get caught in its vortex. Gay men get all the love, tolerance, and sympathy. So when schools and municipalities claim gays and transgenders are getting bullied, show them this video. Then inquire as to whom is engaging in all this bullying. Curious minds want proof. This hidden camera segment came from our full daily show. Studies show membership to the Mug Club improves motor function and penmanship. Wow your friends and family with a pretty signature, join now! JOIN THE MUG CLUB AND GET ACCESS TO NEW CONSERVATIVE MEDIA VIA CRTV! ORDER YOUR MUG CLUB MEMBERSHIP NOW!British intelligence swept up private communications of journalists of some of the largest media outlets in the UK and U.S., a new Guardian analysis of whistleblower Edward Snowden's NSA files reveals. Emails exchanged between journalists and editors at the Guardian, the BBC, Reuters, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Le Monde, the Sun, and NBC were harvested, saved, and shared in November 2008 among intelligence agents during a Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) test exercise, according to the analysis by Guardian reporter James Ball, published Monday. The surveillance sweep collected 70,000 emails in less than 10 minutes. Press releases, story revisions sent between reporters and editors, and other communications were all harvested as part of a test of a GCHQ tool that was developed to "strip irrelevant data out of the agency's tapping process," Ball writes. After being retained, the emails were made available on GCHQ's intranet to cleared personnel. While there was no evidence to suggest whether those reporters were intentionally targeted, a separate set of UK intelligence documents show that "investigative journalists" were placed on a security threat assessment list alongside terrorists and hackers. One internal document intended for army intelligence stated that "journalists and reporters representing all types of news media represent a potential threat to security." Monday's analysis of the NSA files comes amid heated debate over government surveillance and its risks to civil liberties. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has repeatedly called for stronger surveillance power for British intelligence, proposing legislation in the wake of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo that would allow British police to break into encrypted communications of "suspected terrorists." In response to those heightened demands and continuing Snowden revelations, more than 100 editors signed a letter Monday coordinated by the Society of Editors and Press Gazette urging Cameron to put an end to police spying on journalists. "The code needs to balance the seriousness of the alleged crime against the public interest in protecting the confidentiality of all journalistic sources and potential whistleblowers," the letter states. Records obtained under RIPA without warrants must be kept as one of the agency's top secrets, the NSA files show. A GCHQ spokesperson defended the agency's policies, telling the Guardian, "[T]he UK’s interception regime is entirely compatible with the European convention on human rights."The American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines for most Americans advise doing some of everything: exercises that increase your heart rate, weight lifting, stretching and balance exercises. But the purpose of its recommendations is overall health, not performance. If that is your goal, researchers say, it is not so clear that cross-training in an alternate sport will help. Hirofumi Tanaka, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas in Austin, came to that conclusion more than a decade ago in a review of published papers. Studies comparing athletes, both trained and untrained, had found that only one factor mattered if performance was the goal: training in that sport. Since then, he said, there have been numerous small studies, asking the same question and coming to the same conclusion. For example, two subsequent recent studies — one involving moderately fit runners and the other trained runners — found that adding cycling to a running program did not improve running performance. The results make sense, Dr. Tanaka said. Each sport uses highly specific muscles and nerves. Using an elliptical cross-trainer may feel as if it is exercising your running muscles, but it is not giving you the same kind of training that running does. Nor does it train the muscles you need for cycling. Photo “You can maintain your cardiovascular capacity by cross-training, but it is extremely difficult to maintain your performance when you rely on cross-training,” Dr. Tanaka said. “This is because you are violating the principle of the specificity of training.” Anyone who has been injured and forced to do an alternate sport knows this already. If you cannot run and end up substituting workouts on a bicycle for running, almost invariably you will end up losing running speed and endurance. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But if an alternate sport doesn’t help endurance athletes, resistance training might. It’s a bit counterintuitive — if you are training for an endurance sport like running, your workouts increase your ability to perform the same motion over and over again but do not markedly increase your muscle strength. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Lifting weights is just the opposite — you do a few repetitions with the goal of increasing muscle strength and size. Yet in a review of published studies, Dr. Tanaka found that resistance training improved endurance in running and cycling. The effect occurred both in experienced athletes and in novices. A more recent study of experienced runners by a group of Norwegian researchers confirmed that weight lifting could increase performance. One group did half squats with heavy weights three times a week while continuing a running program. The other group just ran. Those who did the squats improved their running efficiency and improved the length of time they could run before exhaustion set in. Similar studies also have found the effect in cyclists, but not in swimmers, Dr. Tanaka said. Swimmers do get faster, however, when they try a very specific type of resistance training, done while in the water, that concentrates on the movements they use in their strokes. It is not known why weight lifting would improve performance, but investigators speculate that it may train supporting muscle fibers in the legs, allowing runners or cyclists to use them to augment muscles that get tired. In swimmers, the investigators say, the research suggests that mastery of the highly technical swimming stroke is the most important factor in performance and endurance. Upper-body strength plays at best a minor role. But even when cross-training doesn’t improve performance, might it prevent injuries? It’s a difficult question to answer, because it is not easy to do the necessary studies. Dr. Willem van Mechelen, head of public and occupational health at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, looked at data on injuries in runners and tried to tease out the factors that were linked to them. And he concluded that the only way to prevent running injuries is not to run. The harder you run and the longer your running distances, the more likely you are to get injured. And, he wrote, among the factors “significantly not associated with running injuries” is “participation in other sports.” Unless cross-training means you simply do less of your primary sport, then, don’t expect it to protect you from injuries.Sally Yates, former acting U.S. attorney general. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post) Opinion writer Former acting attorney general Sally Yates, who first alerted the White House to ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn’s lies and who was fired for refusing to defend the first travel ban (which was subsequently struck down, and then dropped by the administration) gave a recent interview. Her remarks should be taken to heart: It is a long-standing tradition—and an essential one to the rule of law—that the Department of Justice operates independently.... At the risk of sounding preachy, the DOJ has to be able to make its decisions about investigations and prosecutions free of any political influence whatsoever. In Democratic and Republican administrations alike, that has been a time-honored norm, a time-honored tradition that the White House has absolutely no involvement in that. She then explained what this meant in practice: That means that, from my perspective, the president shouldn’t be trying to shame the attorney general for recusing from the investigation that it was frankly a no-brainer, I think, to recuse from. That [the president] shouldn’t be trying to goad [the attorney general] into re-initiating an investigation of a political rival or calling him up and trying to get him to drop a criminal prosecution of Sheriff [Joe] Arpaio. [Trump’s incompetence will not save us from his malevolence] We are confident she would agree that this also means the president shouldn’t be hectoring the special counsel, shouldn’t be falsely hinting at the existence of White House tapes or threatening to bring spurious charges against the former FBI director, shouldn’t be drafting a defense for his son to give a false explanation for his attendance at a meeting with Russian officials and shouldn’t be blaming immigrants for increased crime in some cities. Nor do I think she would find it acceptable for the president to dub the media’s right to publish what it wants “disgusting.” She’d, I am sure, agree that falsely claiming millions of people illegally voted undermines our entire electoral system. Yates did not bring up the propriety of impeachment, but that is the avenue the framers devised for a president who cannot uphold the rule of law and thereby abide by his oath. Most if not all the actions identified above are not facts one can legitimately dispute. We actually do not need the report from the special prosecutor to know President Trump publicly harangued Attorney General Jeff Sessions or pardoned Joe Arpaio or called for Hillary Clinton to be re-investigated. These were public actions and, as Yates, makes clear a violation of our democratic norms. “Democratic norms” is perhaps too polite a phrase. In reality what we are talking about is the set of responsibilities that flow from the president’s oath. So to rephrase Yates’ admonition slightly, let’s say that under this president the DOJ cannot make its decisions about investigations and prosecutions free of any political influence whatsoever. In Democratic and Republican administrations alike, that has been an implicit part of the president’s oath. A president who cannot honor that aspect of his oath and who seeks to undermine the First Amendment and the sanctity of elections should be removed. Here is where I think Democrats have dropped the ball. They seem not to want to discuss impeachment at all, likely for fear of being painted as wide-eyed radicals bent on ousting the elected president. They’d prefer to push all of this off onto the special counsel. However, there is plenty already known, facts beyond the confines of that investigation, that are powerful evidence the president is incapable of or unwilling to uphold his oath office. We don’t need to know if he also conspired with Russia or also instructed aides to create a phony cover story for his firing of James B. Comey. Sure, those matters might lead to additional articles of impeachment. But honestly, if Trump’s contempt for an independent Justice Department, attacks on the First Amendment and all the other public actions he has taken don’t in and of themselves satisfy an honorable member of the House that he should be impeached, then we might as well give up on the notion a president can ever be impeached for violating his oath of office except for violation of the criminal code. Maybe Democrats in the House want to keep their gun powder dry for understandable political reasons, but that leaves a void where an informed public debate should be taking place. There is surely a need for a group of Democrats and Republicans, respected for their fidelity to the law, to begin to educate the public and make the case for impeachment on the evidence already before us. Yates would be an ideal figure to organize and lead such an effort.20th episode of the third season of Seinfeld "The Good Samaritan" is the 37th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 20th episode of the third season, and first aired on March 4, 1992. This is the only episode of Seinfeld to be directed by one of the show's stars, Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza. Plot [ edit ] Jerry witnesses a hit-and-run driver hitting another car. He is on the car phone with Elaine, who tells him he has to go after the driver. He does, but when the driver steps out he sees that she is a beautiful woman named Angela (played by Melinda McGraw) and decides to date her. Jerry lies to Elaine, saying he pursued the driver into Queens and intimidated him with karate moves. After dating Angela, Jerry finds out that the car that she hit belongs to Becky Gelke (an uncredited Helen Slater),[citation needed] who he has always wanted to date. He tells Becky that he will do something about the damage. Meanwhile, Kramer has convulsions from Mary Hart's voice. George and Elaine go out to dinner with a married couple, Robin and Michael. Elaine makes up an elaborate story that she once dated a matador from Spain named Eduardo Corrochio. When Robin (Ann Talman) sneezes, Michael (Joseph Malone) does not say anything, and after several seconds George says "God bless you". When George makes light of Michael's rudeness, he gets mad. Robin falls for George due to the incident, and they have an affair. As George and Robin are in bed together, Michael calls Elaine, wanting to speak to Robin. Not knowing that Robin used her as an alibi, Elaine tells him she isn't there, and Michael figures out Robin is with George. Jerry confronts Angela about Becky's car, but she threatens him with bodily harm should he tell anyone of her guilt. Elaine walks in on the exchange and realizes Jerry lied. Jerry goes to Becky's house to write out a check for her damages and then ask her out, but Becky assumes he is the hit-and-run driver, seeing no other reason why he might want to pay for the damages. George escapes from Michael by joining Jerry on his out of town gigs. Kramer uses the accident as an excuse to talk to Becky and gets a date with her. But when he rings the bell at her apartment and she opens the door, Mary Hart is on the TV and Kramer has another convulsion. Production [ edit ] The cast and crew had hoped the saying, "You are so good looking", would catch on with fans just as "These pretzels are making me thirsty" did, but it proved to be a comedic flop.[1] One subplot concerns Kramer having seizures every time he hears Mary Hart's voice. This bit is based on an actual case reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.[2]To the West, Shimon Peres is the ‘Nobel laureate’ and the ‘tireless dove’ who has been widely respected for his ‘achievements’ regarding the peace in the Middle East. However, behind this image Peres -who died on Wednesday- represents the real face of the bloody and colonial policies adopted by the Zionist regime. Over seven decades, Peres served as prime minister (twice) and president. He was a member of 12 cabinets and had stints as defense, foreign and finance minister. He is perhaps best known in the West for his role in the negotiations that led to the 1993 Oslo Accords which won him, along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Poland in 1923, Peres moved along with his family to Palestine in the 1930s. As a young man, he joined the Haganah, the militia primarily responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages during the Nakba in 1947-49. Despite the violent displacement of the Palestinians being a matter of historical record, Peres has always insisted that Zionist forces “upheld the purity of arms” during the establishment of the Zionist entity, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported. He even claimed that before ‘Israel’ existed, “there was nothing here”. Nuclear Weapons and Qana Massacre He was also seen as a driving force in the development of Israel’s undeclared nuclear program. Peres has been described as “an architect of Israel’s nuclear weapons program which, to this day, “remains outside the scrutiny of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 1975, as secret minutes have since revealed, Peres met with South African Defense Minister PW Botha and “offered to sell nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime.” In 1986, Peres authorized the Mossad operation that saw nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu kidnapped in Rome. Peres then had a key role in the military regime imposed on Palestinian citizens until 1966, under which authorities carried out mass land theft and displacement. He has been also known for supporting illegal settlements in the West Bank. As prime minister in 1996, Peres ordered and oversaw “Operation Grapes of Wrath” when Israeli armed forces killed some 154 civilians in Lebanon and injured another 351. The operation, widely believed to have been a pre-election show of strength, saw Lebanese civilians intentionally targeted. The campaign’s most notorious attack was the Qana massacre, when Israel shelled a United Nations compound and killed 106 sheltering civilians. Defending Blockade, Wars on Gaza Perese also defended the collective punishment and military brutality against the besieged Gaza strip. In January 2009, Peres urged “national solidarity” behind the ‘Operation Cast Lead’, describing the campaign as “Israel’s finest hour.” During “Operation Pillar of Defense” in November 2012, Peres “took on the job of helping the Israeli public relations effort, communicating the Israeli narrative to world leaders,” in the words of Ynetnews. In 2014, during an unprecedented bombardment of Gaza, Peres stepped up once again to whitewash war crimes. After Israeli forces killed four small children playing on a beach, Peres knew who to blame – the Palestinians: “It was an area that we warned would be bombed,” he said. “And unfortunately they didn’t take out the children.” Source: MEMOBP says it will defend unprecedented claim by trade union leader Gilberto Torres in case that spotlights role of big carbon in one of Colombia’s darkest periods Colombian takes BP to court in UK over alleged complicity in kidnap and torture A Colombian trade union leader is beginning an unprecedented claim for damages against BP in the high court in London, alleging the oil company’s complicity in his kidnap and torture 13 years ago. Gilberto Torres, 52, was abducted in February 2002 while driving home from an oil-pumping station in Casanare, eastern Colombia, and was released after 42 days, only after workers threatened a national oil strike. The case, which begins on Friday, will throw a spotlight on one of the murkiest periods in Colombia’s history, and the role of big business in it. His lawyers say that it is the first time a union leader has been able to lodge a claim for human rights abuses against a multinational oil company in the high court. They believe his claim could pave the way for scores more similar actions. Gilberto Torres survived Colombia's death squads. Now he wants justice Read more BP denies any involvement. It says it will “vigorously” defend the claim. Torres tells his story for the first time in a Guardian online documentary. The film includes the extraordinary testimony of his kidnappers when they finally faced trial. The UN estimates that 3,000 union activists were murdered and 6,000 more disappeared in the Casanare region in the last 30 years. The targeting of them by pro-government paramilitaries went largely unnoticed outside Colombia because of the civil war raging between the Colombian government and Farc, the leftwing guerrilla group. Torres was abducted at gunpoint shortly after he organised a strike in protest over the murder of another union leader. He had received increased threats in the days leading up to him being taken. He tells the Guardian how he watched as his captors, who later claimed they were paid to protect the pipeline by the oil companies, questioned a suspected Farc rebel. “They hit him. They insulted him. They spat on him. They battered him, until he confessed that he was part of Farc. With that admission, he signed his death warrant. “They shot him twice in the neck. They cut his head, his legs and his arms off. And at the end the commander with a machete started to puncture his corpse. I understood then that this was going to happen to me.” After six weeks in captivity, 10 days in a flooded outdoor pit infested with red ants, and days of interrogation aimed at getting him to confess to being a member of a leftwing guerrilla movement, Torres was unexpectedly handed over to the Red Cross. He is only the second trade union leader in the history of 40 years of conflict in Colombia to have survived an abduction. Torres worked for the oil workers’ union USO, representing 400 members working on the 515-mile (830km) Ocensa pipeline, which carried crude from Casanare to the Caribbean Sea. Ocensa was set up by major oil companies including BP, Colombia’s state-owned enterprise Ecopetrol, and four other multinational companies, to build and own the pipeline. It was pumping $7m (£4.5m) worth of crude oil every day. BP was the biggest oil producer in the area. The Guardian view on climate change: keep it in the ground \| Editorial Read more Union protests sanctioned by Torres were disrupting production. He wanted to draw attention to the disappearance of union colleagues and had been highly vocal the previous week about members of an army brigade, charged with protecting the pipeline, training on company grounds. BP, like other oil companies operating in Colombia at the time, paid a government tax of $1 a barrel to help finance army and police protection of oil facilities. According to journalists who carried out an investigation into BP’s security provision in 1995, the company signed a three-year collaborative agreement with the Colombia defence ministry worth $11.6m, of which BP would provide $2.2m. Much of that was spent on the 16th Brigade, an army unit assigned specifically to protect the company’s oil installations. The army is accused of contracting out that work to local pro-government paramilitaries – with often lethal results. In the wake of the oil boom, the Colombian army and paramilitaries brought to Casanare a US-designed counter-insurgency strategy of dirty war, known locally as “quitarle agua al pez” or “draining the fish tank”. Instead of fighting the guerrillas, they would target people they considered sympathisers. Sue Willman, partner in Deighton Pierce Glynn, the London firm representing Torres, said there would be no accusation that BP was directly involved in his abduction. But the company had failed to take action to halt paramilitary activity. Willman said: “Amnesty International went to BP a number of times warning them about the murders and disappearances. But BP failed to act effectively on the warnings.” Revealed: BP's close ties with the UK government Read more Pro-government paramilitaries who were convicted in Bogotá of kidnapping Torres claimed that Ocensa had paid for the murder. As well as its arrangements over the pipeline, BP had a 15.2% stake in Ocensa. Their testimony is heard in the Guardian documentary for the first time outside Colombia. Ocensa said it “did not commission, order or pay for Gilberto Torres’s kidnapping”. It said it never caused displacement, kidnapping or murder in 20 years of operating in the Casanare region. BP, Ocensa and Ecopetrol all deny they paid paramilitaries to guard the pipeline. BP is one of the fossil fuel companies that the Guardian is calling on two of the world’s two largest health charities, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, to divest from through its Keep it in the Ground campaign. The Gates Foundation’s Asset Trust has a £243m holding and Wellcome has £118m in BP, according to the most recent figures. For more information on Gilberto Torres please go to www.crowdjustice.co.uk For more informaton on BP’s corporate responsibility policies please go to www.bp.com Read this article in German on Der Standard (Austria) as part of the Climate Publishers NetworkThe Fugates, a family that lived in the hills of Kentucky, commonly known as the "Blue Fugates"[1] or the Blue People of Kentucky, are notable for having been carriers of a genetic trait that led to the disease methemoglobinemia, which gives sufferers blue-tinged skin. Ancestry [ edit ] French-born Martin Fugate, orphaned as a child, settled near Hazard, Kentucky, circa 1820. Because of the remote rural area in which they and other nearby families had settled, there was a very high level of consanguinity in marriage between families.[2] His wife Elizabeth Smith[2] was a carrier of the recessive methemoglobinemia (met-H) allele, as was a nearby clan with whom the Fugates intermarried. As a result, many descendants of the Fugates were born with met-H.[3][4][5] Descendants with the disease gene continued to live in the areas around Troublesome Creek and Ball Creek into the 20th century, eventually coming to the attention of the nurse Ruth Pendergrass and the hematologist Madison Cawein III, who made a detailed study of their condition and ancestry.[2][6] Cawein treated the family with methylene blue, which eased their symptoms and reduced the blue coloring of their skin. [7] He eventually published his research in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1964.[8] As travel became easier in the 20th century, and families spread out over wider areas, the prevalence of the recessive gene in the local population reduced, and with it the probability of inheriting the disease.[citation needed] Benjamin Stacy, born in 1975, is the last known descendant of the Fugates to have been born exhibiting the characteristic blue color of the disease, and lost his blue skin tone as he grew older.[5] It has been speculated that some other American sufferers of inherited methemoglobinemia may also have had Fugate ancestors, but searches for direct links have so far proved inconclusive.[6]Our next Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha patch will bring a number of changes to the out-of-game Leveling System, Hero Quests, Player Profiles, and much more. Many of the changes that we’ve decided to include in this patch were made entirely because of the feedback that the Heroes community has shared with us on the official forums. Thank you very much for your help during Tech Alpha testing thus far; we’re looking forward to hearing much more from all of you in the future so that we can continue to make Heroes the best game it can possibly be. For now, we’d like to make sure you’re completely prepared to level up and earn rewards come patch day. Let’s take a look at some of the major features that have been reworked in the next Tech Alpha patch, starting with the new Player Profile layout. Player Profile Upon logging in to Heroes of the Storm once our next Tech Alpha patch is released, you’ll immediately notice that the Leveling System progress bar and reward icons have been removed from the home screen. Never fear, they haven’t gone far! They’ve just found a new home in the freshly revamped Player Profile screen. Access your Player Profile by clicking the Hero portrait found in the top right corner of the home screen. Once you do, you’ll see your current player level and Hero portrait are now located at the top of the profile screen, and several tabs have been added to the left-hand side which can be used to navigate the your profile. Hero Progress Use this tab to track of the Experience Points and Rewards you’ve earned by playing games with each Hero. Rewards Here, you’ll be able to see which Leveling System Rewards you’ve earned, as well as those you have yet to unlock. Daily Quests Select this tab to keep an eye on which Daily Quests are currently available to you. Profile Summary and Match History Have been disabled during Tech Alpha testing. Hero Progress and Rewards In our next patch, the Hero Quests tab has been renamed Hero Progress, and Hero Quests have been replaced by Hero Levels. The Hero Progress tab is where you’ll be able to keep track of each Hero as you earn XP, level them up, and unlock new rewards. In previous versions of the game, Hero Quests could only be completed by playing in Versus games. Thanks to your feedback, however, that restriction will soon be a thing of the past. Once the patch is released, the experience points you’ll receive after playing games in Cooperative and Versus modes will not only count toward your overall player level, but carry over toward progress and rewards for the Heroes you use during those matches, as well. Better still, you’ll no longer need to reach player level 10 with the Leveling System in order to start leveling up your favorite Heroes. Instead, you’ll begin earning XP toward Hero progress with your very first game -- Even if you’re starting from scratch with a brand new account! Hero Rewards Each Hero begins at level 1, and the more you play with a particular Hero, the closer you’ll get toward his or her next level. Progress caps at level 10 for each Hero, and every level after the first will unlock rewards that are specific to that hero. The table below details which rewards you’ll earn at each Hero Level: Hero Level Reward 1 Heroes Start Here 2 Second Heroic Ability 3 Six Additional Talents 4 All Remaining Talents 5 500 Gold 6 Hero Portrait / Mount Variation 1 7 Skin Variation 1 8 Skin Variation 2 9 Hero Master Portrait / Mount Variation 2 10 Master Skin Unlocked There’s quite a bit of information there, so let’s break down a few rewards that you may not be familiar with yet: Heroic Ability Following the patch, each Hero will begin with one Heroic Ability, and the second can be unlocked by reaching Level 2. Talents Tal
read letters from viewers criticizing Costas' stance. On Megyn Kelly's afternoon show, there was a debate on whether Costas should be fired. Rock star and gun advocate Nugent was quick to criticize via Twitter: "Hey Bob Costas we all kno (sic) that obesity is a direct result of the proliferation of spoons and forks. Get a clue." Former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell, however, tweeted "way to go, Bob Costas." His former NBC colleague, Keith Olbermann, observed that it was "amazing that all those ripping my friend Bob Costas would, had he taken opposing view, be defending him for using the 1st." There was no immediate comment on Monday from NBC Sports or from Costas. Before the Olympics this summer, Costas criticized the International Olympic Committee's decision not to hold a moment of silence to mark the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by Palestinian gunmen in Munich in 1972. But he stopped short of repeating that criticism on the air.In Game Update 5.x, Bioware has introduced several new currencies into the game: Command Tokens, Unassembled Components, and Unassembled Gear Pieces. With these currencies, you will be able to obtain the gear originally introduced in Game Update 5.0 via Command Crates. Here is an overview of how these currencies work: Unassembled Components Unassembled Components are a way for PvP and GSF players to work towards a specific piece of gear. The table below shows how many Unassembled Components you will receive based on the content you play: Unassembled Component Sources Content Components Received (Win) Components Received (Loss) Warzone 8 3 Arena 4 2 Solo Ranked Warzone 8 3 Group Ranked Warzone 10 4 Galactic Starfighter 8 3 Repeatable Mission Components Received Warzone Daily 12 Warzone Weekly 40 Solo Ranked Warzone Daily 16 Solo Ranked Warzone Weekly 30 Group Ranked Warzone Daily 20 Group Ranked Warzone Weekly 60 Tier 1 is the only tier that you can directly purchase for Unassembled Components. In order to get a Tier 2 or 3 Unassembled Gear Piece, you will need to turn in the previous tier armor piece along with X amount of Unassembled Components (listed below). Example: If you wanted to get the Tier 2 Unassembled Chest Piece, you would need to go to the vendor with a Tier 1 chest piece and 150 Unassembled Components. This will then give you a Tier 2 Unassembled Chest Piece which you can turn in at the Unassembled Gear Piece Vendor along with Command Tokens for your wearable gear piece. All of the Unassembled Component Costs are listed below: Unassembled Component Vendor Gear Piece Costs Gear Piece Component Cost Tier 1 230 Rating Component Cost Tier 2 236 Rating Component Cost Tier 3 242 Rating Chest 100 150 + Tier 1 Piece 225 + Tier 2 Piece Legs 100 150 + Tier 1 Piece 225 + Tier 2 Piece Head 100 150 + Tier 1 Piece 225 + Tier 2 Piece Hands 100 150 + Tier 1 Piece 225 + Tier 2 Piece Feet 100 150 + Tier 1 Piece 225 + Tier 2 Piece Waist 75 115 + Tier 1 Piece 175 + Tier 2 Piece Wrist 75 115 + Tier 1 Piece 175 + Tier 2 Piece Implant 80 120 + Tier 1 Piece 180 + Tier 2 Piece Earpiece 80 120 + Tier 1 Piece 180 + Tier 2 Piece Relic 80 120 + Tier 1 Piece 180 + Tier 2 Piece Mainhand 120 180 + Tier 1 Piece 270 + Tier 2 Piece Offhand 120 180 + Tier 1 Piece 270 + Tier 2 Piece TOTALS 1,130 1,700 + 12x Tier 1 Pieces 2,555 + 12x Tier 2 Pieces If you wanted to obtain your gear through Unassembled Components alone, you would need 1,130 Unassembled Components for a set of Tier 1 gear (230 rating), 2,830 Unassembled Components + 12x Tier 1 Pieces for a set of Tier 2 gear (236 rating), and 5,385 Unassembled Components + 12x Tier 1 Pieces + 12x Tier 2 Pieces for a set of Tier 3 gear (242 rating). Because this way is very slow to obtain full gear sets, it is recommended to use this method primarily for filling missing set bonuses, and to instead use Operations as a primary method for obtaining gear (see below). Unassembled Gear Pieces While you can trade in Unassembled Components using the method mentioned above, the best way to obtain Unassembled Gear Pieces is through Operations. In the new system, all Operations Bosses have a chance to drop a random gear piece, and the final boss of each Operation will always be a guaranteed drop. Below are tables that list the gear pieces available from each Operations Boss. Operations Loot By Piece By Boss By Piece By Boss By Piece Story Mode Veteran Mode Master Mode Unassembled Gear Piece Operations Sources (By Piece) Gear Piece Tier 2 Legendary 236 Rating Tier 3 Legendary 242 Rating Tier 4 Prototype / Artifact 244 / 246 Rating Tier 4 Legendary 248 Rating Implant Explosive Conflict Zorn and Toth Terror From Beyond Kephess the Undying Scum & Villainy Thrasher Temple of Sacrifice Revanite Commanders Explosive Conflict Zorn and Toth Terror From Beyond Kephess the Undying Scum & Villainy Thrasher Temple of Sacrifice Revanite Commanders Explosive Conflict Zorn and Toth Terror From Beyond Kephess the Undying Scum & Villainy Thrasher Temple of Sacrifice Revanite Commanders Explosive Conflict Warlord Kephess Earpiece The Eternity Vault Soa The Eternity Vault Soa Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Head The Dread Palace The Dread Masters The Dread Palace The Dread Masters The Dread Palace The Dread Masters The Dread Palace The Dread Masters Relic Karagga's Palace Karagga the Unyielding Karagga's Palace Karagga the Unyielding Gods from the Machine Tyth Explosive Conflict Warlord Kephess Temple of Sacrifice Revan Gods from the Machine Tyth Explosive Conflict Warlord Kephess Temple of Sacrifice Revan Chest Explosive Conflict Warlord Kephess Explosive Conflict Warlord Kephess Scum & Villainy Dread Master Styrak Scum & Villainy Dread Master Styrak Legs Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Hands Scum & Villainy Dread Master Styrak Scum & Villainy Dread Master Styrak Scum & Villainy Dread Master Styrak Scum & Villainy Dread Master Styrak Waist The Eternity Vault Colossal Monolith Gray Secant Xenoanalyst II Heart of Ruin Colossal Monolith Gray Secant Xenoanalyst II Heart of Ruin Colossal Monolith Gray Secant Xenoanalyst II Heart of Ruin Colossal Monolith Gray Secant Xenoanalyst II Feet The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes Wrists Toborro's Courtyard Golden Fury Lair of the Eyeless The Eyeless Toborro's Courtyard Golden Fury Lair of the Eyeless The Eyeless Toborro's Courtyard Golden Fury Lair of the Eyeless The Eyeless Toborro's Courtyard Golden Fury Lair of the Eyeless The Eyeless Mainhand Temple of Sacrifice Revan Temple of Sacrifice Revan The Dread Palace The Dread Masters The Dread Palace The Dread Masters Offhand The Ravagers Ruugar & Corratani The Ravagers Ruugar & Corratani The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes - 8-person final bosses drop 2 pieces each and 16-person final bosses drop 4 pieces each. - Final bosses will always drop a gear piece. - * Bosses from "The Gods from the Machine" will drop Tier 3 pieces in Story Mode and Tier 4 pieces in Veteran Mode. By Boss Unassembled Gear Piece Operations Sources (By Boss) Operations Boss Story Mode Tier 1 230 Rating Veteran Mode Tier 2 / 3* 236 / 242* Rating Master Mode Tier 3 242 Rating The Eternity Vault Soa Implant Earpiece Implant Earpiece Karagga's Palace Karagga the Unyielding Relic Relic Explosive Conflict Warlord Kephess Chest Chest Relic Implant Terror From Beyond The Terror From Beyond Legs Legs Legs Earpiece Scum and Villainy Dread Master Styrak Hands Hands Hands Chest The Dread Fortress Dread Master Brontes Feet Feet Feet Offhand The Dread Palace The Dread Masters Head Head Head Mainhand The Ravagers Ruugar & Corratani Offhand Offhand Implant* Implant Temple of Sacrifice Revan Mainhand Mainhand Relic* Relic Toborro's Courtyard Golden Fury Wrists Wrists Wrists* Wrists Lair of the Eyeless The Eyeless Wrists Wrists Wrists* Wrists Heart of Ruin Colossal Monolith Waist Waist Waist* Waist - 8-person final bosses drop 2 pieces each and 16-person final bosses drop 4 pieces each. - Final bosses will always drop a gear piece. - * Some bosses in Veteran Mode have a chance to drop a tier 3 rating 242 piece. Each boss will drop 1 Unassembled Gear Piece in an 8-person Operation and 2 Unassembled Gear Pieces in a 16-person Operation. Final bosses will drop 2 Unassembled Gear Pieces in an 8-person Operation and 4 Unassembled Gear Pieces in a 16-person Operation. For older Operations: Tier 2 (236 Rating) Legendary Gear – Story Mode Tier 3 (242 Rating) Legendary Gear – Veteran Mode Tier 4 (244 & 246 Rating) Prototype and Artifact Gear – Master Mode (Non-Final Bosses) Tier 4 (248 Rating) Legendary Gear – Master Mode (Final Bosses) For the "Gods from the Machine" Operation: Tier 3 Gear – Story Mode Tier 4 Gear – Veteran Mode Command Tokens Command Tokens are a new currency that comes from Command Crates. Each Command Crate will drop Command Tokens based on the tier of the crate: Tier 1 (Command Rank 1-89): 5 Tokens Tier 2 (Command Rank 90-179): 8 Tokens Tier 3 (Command Rank 180-299): 12 Tokens Tier 4 (Command Rank 300): 12 Tokens These tokens are a legacy-wide currency and will be retroactively granted (based on your Command Rank) when 5.1 launches. If you are level 300 Command Rank at the launch of 5.1, for example, you will receive 2,585 Command Tokens (445 + 712 + 1,428). Once you have both Command Tokens AND Unassembled Gear Pieces (see previous tables), you can trade them in at the Unassembled Gear Piece Vendor for your final, wearable tier gear pieces: Unassembled Gear Piece Vendor Tier Gear Costs Gear Piece Command Token Cost Tier 1 230 Rating Command Token Cost Tier 2 236 Rating Command Token Cost Tier 3 242 Rating Command Token Cost Tier 4 248 Rating Chest 10 15 24 29 Legs 10 15 24 29 Head 10 15 24 29 Hands 10 15 24 29 Feet 10 15 24 29 Waist 7 10 15 18 Wrist 7 10 15 18 Implant 8 12 18 22 Earpiece 8 12 18 22 Relic 8 12 18 22 Mainhand 12 18 28 34 Offhand 12 18 28 34 TOTALS 112 167 260 315 Note: All pieces above require a corresponding Unassembled Gear Piece in addition to the Command Token cost. Command tokens can also be used to purchase 15% Command XP Boosts for each tier. These do NOT stack with the Cartel Market Command Boost, but they WILL stack with the 10% Legacy Perks. Their costs are listed below:Etymology History Government and politics Environment Economy Demography Culture See also ^ [1] "God Save the Queen" is officially a national anthem but is generally used only on regal and viceregal occasions. ^ de facto official language due to its widespread use.[2] English is aofficial language due to its widespread use. a b Ethnicity figures add to more than 100% as people could choose more than one ethnic group. ^ [4] is (357526 + 81936) / (26821559 – 92499–26033 – 19216) = 1.6%. If estuarine open water, mangroves, and herbaceous saline vegetation are included, the figure is 2.2%. The proportion of New Zealand's area (excluding estuaries) covered by rivers, lakes and ponds, based on figures from the New Zealand Land Cover Database,is (357526 + 81936) / (26821559 – 92499–26033 – 19216) = 1.6%. If estuarine open water, mangroves, and herbaceous saline vegetation are included, the figure is 2.2%. ^ The Chatham Islands have a separate time zone, 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand. ^ [9] Daylight saving time is also observed in the Chatham Islands, an additional 45 minutes ahead. Clocks are advanced by an hour from the last Sunday in September until the first Sunday in April.Daylight saving time is also observed in the Chatham Islands, an additional 45 minutes ahead. ^ jus soli).[135] A person born on or after 1 January 2006 acquires New Zealand citizenship at birth only if at least one parent is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident. People born on or before 31 December 2005 acquired citizenship at birth (). ^ [243] The population is increasing at a rate of 1.4–2.0% per year and is projected to rise to 5.01–5.51 million in 2025. ^ te reo Māori. Of these speakers, 64% use Māori at home and 50,000 can speak the language "very well" or "well".[272] In 2015, 55% of Māori adults (aged 15 years and over) reported knowledge of. Of these speakers, 64% use Māori at home and 50,000 can speak the language "very well" or "well". ^ Of the 86,403 people that replied they spoke Samoan, 51,336 lived in the Auckland Region. ^ Religion percentages may not add to 100% as people could claim multiple religions or object to answering the question. Citations References Further readingCinnamon rolls are under threat following an EU directive limiting how much of the spice can be used in baked goods. Cinnamon contains the chemical coumarin, which is moderately toxic to the liver and kidneys. In an effort to reduce intake of the chemical, the EU has set two limits for its use. Traditional and seasonal baked foods will be allowed to contain much higher levels of coumarin – 50mg per kilogramme – while everyday baked good will be limited to 15mg per kilo. READ MORE: Life after Marmite: leaving nostalgia behind to reflect changing tastes Not a traditional food The Danish food authorities, Fødevarestyrelsen, have determined that cinnamon rolls – commonly called kanelsnegler – are neither traditional nor seasonal and therefore will have to be adhere to the lower limit. “Most can tolerate the higher threshold [of coumarin] but there are others who can’t,” Fødevarestyrelsen spokesperson Birgit Bønsager told DR. She added that Fødevarestyrelsen disagreed with Sweden’s decision to classify cinnamon rolls as a traditional food. “We have interpreted the rules in such a way that limits the amount of this chemical that consumers eat," Bønsager said. " So cinnamon rolls and other cinnamon products will have to follow the lower threshold." READ MORE: The patsies whose favourite pastries aren’t really Danish Death of the cinnamon roll Bakers are, predictably, up in arms following the decision. “Cinnamon rolls are of course a traditional Danish baked product,” baker Hardy Christensen, the chairman of the association of Danish bakers, told DR. “There is no point in limiting cinnamon. We have used it in Danish baking for as long as I can remember.”Shortly after 5 p.m., the activists and allies of Occupy D.C. started gathering in McPherson Square for their most-notorious “action” so far. They would march a couple of blocks downtown, towards the White House, to 729 15th St. There, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would be hosting a fundraiser, with tickets between $5000 and $75,000, to bank money for the people who may wrest the House of Representatives away from Republicans. The Occupiers would have none of it. They met in McPherson and announced that they would protest “pay for play” right in front of the Democrats. They marched down 15th, accompanied by TV cameras, and parked outside the building that Democrats had rented a room in. For 20 minutes, Occupiers led chants and shamed the Democrats inside, as DCCC staffers stood watch, making sure no one snuck in. Shortly after 6 p.m., word spread that the Occupiers were protesting only one of the DCCC’s events. There was a smaller-dollar fundraiser a short walk away, at the W Hotel, near the White House. Most of the protesters got up and moved, bringing themselves to the north and west doors of the hotel, where they started testing their abilities to get inside. On the west side, they were thwarted by security, and a small scuffle broke out. When they failed to get in, and security roped off the door by locking it with an extension cord, a bevy of Occupiers sat down, attempting to block any exit or entrence. That protest ended amicably, with hotel security and cops informing protesters that they were violating safety law, and action committee organizers coming up with a quick compromise: Protesters would stand, leaving the sidewalk clear. On the north side of the hotel, protesters sat in a circle, leaving a wide path for people to enter the hotel, and “mic checked” stories of why they were protesting. It was, in the end, a loud but peaceful series of protests.The question is whether Wild coach Mike Yeo and forward Zach Parise were still being cautious or just being coy. Parise, who has missed 14 consecutive games with a foot injury, had his second full-contact practice with the Wild today. It was his first while part of a regular line. He bumped, he battled, he went into the corners, worked on the top power play unit. And yet, after it was over, he assessed his chances of playing at “50-50.’’ Yeo? He said he didn’t know if Parise would be back Thursday against Chicago at Xcel Energy Center. The idea was to get him into a full practice as part of a line and see how he felt. He will be checked again after Thursday morning’s pre-game skate, at which time a decision should be made. “If he feels good to go, then obviously he’s in,” Yeo said. “It’s got to be, basically, that he knows, and he’s confident, that he’s up to full speed. And that he’s ready to come in and play at the level we need him to.’’ Greetings from Xcel Energy Center. Kent Youngblood here, filling in for Mr. Russo, who is away tending to a family matter for a few days. But back to Parise. It’s hard not to think that the decision has already been made for Parise to return to action at home against Chicago. That is unless there is some unforeseen setback. After all, Yeo trotted out some line combinations that were, given recent history, at least mildly surprising, indicative of a coaching staff haven given this a lot of thought. Conventional wisdom had suggested that, with Mikko Koivu out with a foot/ankle injury of his own, that Yeo would use this opportunity to see how Parise looked on a line with Mikael Granlund. But, when practice got going today, here were the lines: Parise on a line with center Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter; Granlund centering Dany Heatley and Jason Pominville; Kyle Brodziak centering Matt Cooke and Justin Fontaine and Erik Haula centering Jason Zucker and either Stephane Veilleux or Torrey Mitchell. That means Yeo would consider breaking up the Coyle-Heatley-Zucker line which has been productive for the team. His thinking? “We know he’s had chemistry with Charlie,” Yeo said. “And there have been a couple times the last couple games – they haven’t played a lot together – where Charlie and Nino have shown some chemistry together, too. And you have some big bodies with Zach who can help him out in some of the dirty areas out there on the ice. And so that’s what we thought we’d give a shot at today.” As for breaking up the Coyle-Heatley-Zucker line? “It wasn’t that hard,” Yeo said. “We take things game-by-game. It’s a matter of what we need going forward.” The other interesting note is that Zucker, usually a top-six forward when he’s in the lineup, will join the fourth line, making an already quick line that much faster. That is, assuming, that Parise is ready to return. In other news: --As expected, goalie Niklas Backstrom returned to practice after having received an injection of cortisone for a nagging lower body injury on Monday, his second injection this month. Yeo said the expectation was Backstrom would be able to be the backup Thursday; the Wild sent goalie Johan Gustafsson to the Iowa Wild today. --Yeo offered no update on goalie Josh Harding, calling the ailing Harding day-to-day.'I won’t back down when the stakes are so high,' said Sharron Angle. \| REUTERS GOP braces for Angle's encore run She’s back. After unceremoniously crashing the Nevada Senate race last year — raising record amounts of money and becoming a headache for establishment Republicans while also endearing herself to tea party activists nationwide — Sharron Angle is returning for an encore performance with a run for the U.S. House. Story Continued Below Seated at a kitchen table in a campaign video, Angle announced her candidacy for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday, instantly transforming the fight for a sleepy rural open House seat into a what will likely become a nationally watched contest. “The effort to bring the people’s voice back into government did not end in 2010,” said Angle in the video, posted on her website and on YouTube. “I won’t back down when the stakes are so high and when the job needs doing,” she continued, previewing her slogan in a subsequent e-mail to supporters. “Now she’s in, so let the games begin,” said Nevada national GOP committeewoman Heidi Smith, who spoke to Angle by phone about her decision Wednesday morning. Angle’s return to the electoral arena was greeted among Republican operatives from Las Vegas to Washington with more eye-rolling and regret than surprise. “This was the worst-kept secret in Nevada politics. She was going to run for whatever Dean Heller didn’t run for. Sharron is on the ballot pretty much every other year. It’s a bit of shame, she could’ve advanced the conservative cause more by not being on the ballot,” said GOP consultant Ryan Erwin, who is advising Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, a likely rival of Angle’s for the party’s nomination to the seat. For the National Republican Senatorial Committee — which struggled managing Angle’s 2010 jumbled operation — her decision to pass on a Senate bid is welcome news. Heller, who on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the seat being vacated by Sen. John Ensign, has likely dodged the biggest obstacle to the nomination. “We don’t want Dean Heller to have a primary,” said Smith. Their House campaign committee colleagues, on the other hand, are now burdened with a high-profile candidate who is widely viewed as erratic, undisciplined and unpredictable. Angle’s entry raises the prospect of a divisive primary fight that could leave the party hamstrung for the general election. “We’re not horribly excited about it,” said one House GOP aide, who requested anonymity in order to candidly discuss the party’s views of Angle. “She lost to Reid and is polarizing. She got so battered in the last election.”After helping to lead Minnesota into online physical education courses almost 10 years ago, Minneapolis high schools are adding a wrinkle that automatically records a student’s physical activity. Ten online PE students donned Movband step-tracking wristbands this fall in a pilot test aimed at automatic recording of their activity. When the second semester begins this month, at least 200 are expected to wear the $35 bands to make sure they meet the course’s requirement for physical movement. Students who demoed the bands like that they download data as a substitute for having to do the online course's required computer logging of physical exercise. “It’s a heckuva lot easier than entering [data] in every single day and hoping that they qualify,” said Washburn junior Noah Solfest. To qualify their day’s activity, students must do at least 15,000 recorded moves (up from 12,000 in the pilot period) in a day, the equivalent of more than half an hour of activity; 30 such days are required per quarter. The advantage for a student like Solfest is that activities ranging from pickup football to shoveling snow to participating in rehearsals for the school musical can add to his moves. For example, shoveling snow at home after a heavy snowfall can lead to as many as 6,000 moves, Solfest said. The bands can also modify behavior. Some days, for example, Solfest has walked the two miles home from Washburn to his Northrop neighborhood home to top off his activity quota. Online physical education includes a combination of computer-based study of healthy habits and exercise. It allowed Solfest to preserve time in his school calendar to take French and another elective. With Minneapolis students typically having just two periods a day open for elective classes, which often are consumed by a foreign language and a music ensemble, fitting in the district’s physical education and health requirements can be a challenge. That’s one reason that a number of districts across Minnesota have piggybacked on the Minneapolis district’s entry into online physical education in 2005. Goodrich said state education officials have told him that tens of thousands of students across the state to date have taken online gym using the Minneapolis approach. Nicola Lowry, a Southwest sophomore, took her health class in a classroom but opted for online physical education to preserve time for electives like wind ensemble, where she plays clarinet, and also painting during her freshman year. She likes the Movband, which she prefers to wear on her ankle, because it lessens the need to log activities on a computer. Lowry finds that her typical activities record between 6,000 and 10,000 moves a day, depending on how much she’s walking. So she sometimes adds activities to hit her 12,000-move threshold. “If I see that I’m close, I’ll do something like walk a little extra,” she said. She was able to use the device to record hiking and cross-country skiing on the North Shore recently. Frank Goodrich, a district physical education teacher who works with online students, said the wristbands are another way to integrate technology many students already use. He said the district hopes to add a Facebook siteA “Green Dream” on 2 wheels, this electric bike built in Modena (the Italian Motor Valley), Energica is promoted as a machine with Superbike feelings offering thrill without compromising nature and the environment. Maximum speed is 150 mph (240 km/h). Range is 93 miles at 50 mph (150 km at 80 km/h) – 55 miles at 37 mph (90 km @ 60 km/h) – 31 miles (50 km) on the race track. A Vehicle Control Unit implementing a multi-map adaptive energy and power management algorithm manages the vehicle. During drive, the system carefully monitors 100 times per second the motor’s power, throttle command; chosen engine map, battery status and speed. System also handles regenerative engine braking and regenerative electrical brake, interfacing with the ABS unit. This allows great efficiency in battery energy management and a great drive performance and experience. It constantly monitors batteries, even in key off position in order to ensure battery protection even in long winter storage. Energica Superbike.The Guinean town that overcame Ebola "When we got the results from Conakry confirming that Ebola had reached our place, we were scared,” says Dr Maurice Ony Beuvogui, the Director of the district hospital in Telimele, a Guinean town located some 270 kilometres north of the capital Conakry. “But we knew that we, health workers, have the responsibility to fight it.” WHO/T. Jasarevic Telimele district, with its 300 000-strong population, was relatively far from the country’s Ebola epicentre in the south-eastern forest region. Dr Beavogui believed his 44-bed hospital was ready to meet the challenge. It was one of a few in the country with quality certification for infection prevention and control. As the outbreak progressed across the country, the national preparedness plan was activated and the district hospital staff attended training sessions on infection prevention and received Ebola protective equipment. They hoped it would not be needed. The transmission chain Early in May 2014, a woman from the nearby village of Sogoroya visited her sick uncle in Conakry. Soon after coming back, she came to the Telimele hospital with symptoms that were believed to be caused by typhoid fever. A few days later she returned and died after admission. Her mother and another family member came the same week with similar symptoms and also died in the hospital. Two more people from the same household visited Sogoroya health centre. They did not want to go to Telimele because 3 of their family members had died there. Staff at the Telimele hospital suspected Ebola was at large, and the laboratory team went to the village to take samples. By the time results came in from Conakry, it was clear that Ebola was in town. Five people were suspected to have the disease, and 3 had died. All of them had come from Sogoroya village. Among the patients infected early on was Mohammed Issa Cisse, a nurse who was taking care of the first patients affected by Ebola. “The 2 weeks I spent in the treatment centre were the worst in my life. I was seeing people dying around me while I was fighting for my own life,” he says. The community response Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF) was quick to respond; its team transformed one of the Sogoroya health centre’s wings into an isolation area while building a treatment centre nearby that was opened within days. WHO also sent a team of Ebola experts to provide technical support for overall coordination, surveillance and data collection. The district authorities immediately put in place a crisis committee involving leaders of all aspects of life in Telimele. The committee agreed that it was critical to put out one strong message: Come early for treatment – you survive; you come late – you die. “We wanted people to trust our interventions,” says Dr Beavogui. "Setting up the treatment centre fast and near the sick people was vital." Dr Beavogui, Director of the district hospital in Telimele MSF ran the treatment centre with increased transparency, allowing family members to talk to their loved ones from a distance. Local health workers had credibility and were connected to the community – an essential factor in encouraging people to follow public health advice. Religious and traditional leaders and the Griots – influential musicians in the villages – worked together to counteract unfounded rumours and gain the trust of the community. The district health authority rapidly organized a 14-person contact tracing team that cruised throughout the district on motorbikes. At the peak of the Telimele outbreak, the health of around 250 contacts was monitored. All the additional confirmed cases – a total of 26 – were identified through contact tracing. Of the 26, 10 people died. The mortality rate of 38% was much lower than the approximately 60% average for Guinea overall. Setting an example Telimele has been Ebola-free since the end of July. How did they do it? "Setting up the treatment centre fast and near the sick people was vital, and having strong infection prevention measures at the hospital level reduced the risk of infection of health workers,” says Dr Beavogui. “There were some rumours about the origin of the disease, but once people saw that even health workers like myself could be infected, they trusted us more,” says Mr Cisse who, after 2 weeks in the treatment centre, tested negative for Ebola infection. He then immediately went to work at the MSF treatment centre. Elsewhere in Guinea – especially in the south-eastern part of the country and in the capital, Conakry – Ebola transmission continues. Dr Beavogui is cautious. “We know that if we don’t stop Ebola elsewhere in the country, the virus can come back here again. We have to be ready.”Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has been struggling to gain traction in the Democratic presidential primary, proposed an ambitious climate plan this week calling for the U.S. to go 100% clean energy by 2050. O’Malley, who is Catholic, pegged the roll out of his plan to the release of Pope Francis’ new encyclical calling for urgent action to address climate change. “We have a moral obligation to act immediately and aggressively to stop climate change,” O’Malley wrote in a white paper released by his campaign. O’Malley, who says he would make transitioning to clean energy his No. 1 priority as president, rejects so-called “all-of-the-above energy” strategies that call for continued use of fossil fuels in addition to renewable sources of energy. Instead, he wants to move to complete dependence on “clean, renewable energy” over the next 35 years. RELATED: Martin O’Malley hires digital director The Democrat made environmentalism a hallmark of his governorship, and O’Malley says he would use executive action to advance his plan in the White House. That would include new Environmental Protection Agency regulations; the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline; stricter energy standards on the 90,000 buildings and 250,000 vehicles operated by the federal government; and the prohibition of new oil and gas drilling in Alaska and offshore. O’Malley would also end all subsidies for fossil fuels, while expanding subsidies to renewable energy. Meanwhile, O’Malley says the plan would create millions of new jobs and he envisions a federal Clean Energy Jobs Corps that would employ people to retrofit buildings and improve green spaces. The sweeping plan, in its current form, is light on details and feasibility, but could help O’Malley stand out and excite Democratic primary voters who care about this issue. The proposal found a quick fan in Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist who has long supported Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. “Governor O’Malley is presenting real, concrete solutions to climate change that will secure our country’s economic security—and break with the dirty energy politics of the past,” Steyer said in a statement. “This is exactly the type of leadership on climate change the Pope, military and business leaders are calling for—and that we need from our next president,” he added. Despite holding a fundraiser for Clinton last month at his San Francisco home, Steyer seems fond of O’Malley, and the two were spotted leaving a green building conference in New Orleans together last fall. O’Malley earned plaudits from environmentalist as governor, with the environmental website Grist calling him “a real climate hawk” in a lengthy profile. In keeping with famous embrace of data-based governance, O’Malley created a program he called ClimateStat to monitor Maryland’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. RELATED: Martin O’Malley’s first challenge While climate has not yet become a central issue of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, all four major declared candidates have taken strong progressive stances on the issue. In her kick-off speech Saturday on New York City’s Roosevelt Island, Clinton called for making America the “clean energy superpower of the 21st century.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, while on the stump, often calls climate change the greatest threat facing the country. And former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who proudly drove a Toyota Prius in office, pushed new environmental and climate regulations in both his roles as governor and senator. Republican candidates, meanwhile, are generally skeptical man-made climate change is even real. Catholic candidates like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have sharply disagreed with the pope over climate change.Almost 40 million people in the United States suffer from migraines, a condition that can severely impact sufferers’ lives. Yet, for those who are fortunate enough to not be inflicted with the condition, it can be hard to understand just how debilitating a migraine can be. “Isn’t it just a bad headache?” they might ask. Now, thanks to a virtual reality experience created by the painkiller brand Excedrin, non-migraine sufferers are being given the chance to experience a migraine firsthand. “Even with the number of sufferers out there, migraines are still widely misunderstood -- largely because those who don’t experience the condition can’t
warheads outside the earth's atmosphere. The program has an uneven track record of success -- a major test of the system in 2010 was deemed a failure -- but it has recently turned in better results and MDA is committed to maintaining 30 interceptors plus associated radars and command systems at locations in Alaska and California. One interception system that has figured prominently in recent coverage of the Korea story is the Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, a transportable land-based system built by Lockheed Martin with major Raytheon content. The system is being deployed to Guam as a defense against potential North Korean missile attack. The program, which employs hit-to-kill technology in its interceptors, has performed well in tests. Perhaps the most important asset in the U.S. missile-defense architecture, though, is the Navy's Aegis combat system. Aegis began as a sea-based defense against hostile aircraft, but over three decades has evolved to become the most versatile missile-defense system in the world, due in no small part to the fact that destroyers and cruisers hosting the system can get wherever they need to be quickly. The Aegis system is integrated and managed by Lockheed Martin, relying on a variety of interceptor missiles manufactured by Raytheon. A version of the system is also operated by Japan. The Obama Administration has selected Aegis as the centerpiece of its plans for defending against future Iranian ballistic threats, but the system is even more relevant in a Korean context due to favorable geography. Under the Obama plan, dozens of Aegis vessels will eventually be upgraded to defend against the full range of ballistic threats, including intercontinental-range missiles. Two Aegis warships have recently been deployed near North Korea. Collectively, Aegis and the other elements of the U.S. missile-defense program are capable of coping with the North Korean nuclear threat as it exists today. Whether that remains the case will depend on how much funding is provided to continue producing and improving systems like Aegis and the Ground-based Midcourse Defense. In that regard, it is surprising to note how little money the Pentagon spends on missile defense, given the high priority of the dangers it addresses. At $7.8 billion, MDA's fiscal 2013 budget request represented only about one-percent of U.S. military spending. The bellicose behavior of North Korea's leaders in recent days will undoubtedly lead to calls for increased spending by the U.S. government on missile-defense efforts. The public has grown accustomed to living in a world where Chinese and Russian leaders have the capacity to destroy much of America in an hour, because those countries appear to be run by level-headed leaders. North Korea's mercurial Stalinists are another matter. So missile defense is one mission likely to escape any downturn in military spending, and with good reason. Also on Forbes:An internal investigation into UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of African and Afro-American Studies has found evidence of academic fraud involving more than 50 classes that range from no-show professors to unauthorized grade changes for students. One of the no-show classes is the Swahili course taken by former football player Michael McAdoo that prompted NCAA findings of impermissible tutoring, and drew more controversy when the final paper he submitted was found to have been heavily plagiarized. The investigation found many of the suspect classes were taught in the summer by former department chairman Julius Nyang’oro, who resigned from that post in September. The university now says Nyang’oro, 57, who was the department’s first-ever chairman, is retiring July 1. “Professor Nyang’oro offered to retire, and we agreed that was in the best interest of the department, the college and the university,” said Nancy Davis, associate vice chancellor for university relations. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer The report, released Friday, evolved from the athletic and academic scandal that engulfed UNC’s football team, but it said there is no evidence that student-athletes received more favorable treatment than students who were not athletes. It also said that no student received a grade without doing course work. The report has been shared with the NCAA, which could not be reached for immediate comment. The 10-page report said the findings are a blow to the university’s academic integrity. The findings were so serious that the university consulted with the district attorney and the SBI about investigating forgery allegations, as some professors said their signatures were forged in documents certifying that they had taught some of the classes in question. Professors also said they had not authorized grade changes for students that the department submitted to the registrar’s office. Law enforcement officials declined to investigate because they did not think the forgeries, if proven, rose to the level of criminal activity, according to the report. “We are deeply disturbed by what we have learned in the course of our review,” said Jonathan Hartlyn and William L. Andrews, two senior faculty administrators who conducted the investigation. “Our review has exposed numerous violations of professional trust, affecting the relationship of faculty and students and the relationships among faculty colleagues in this department.” They added, “These violations have undermined the educational experience of a number of students, have the potential to generate unfounded doubt and mistrust toward the department and its faculty, and could harm the academic reputation of the university.” ‘Surprised and shocked’ Less than a year ago, Chancellor Holden Thorp expressed full confidence in Nyang’oro as concerns about his instruction began to surface. But Friday, in an interview, he was hard pressed to recall a more serious case of academic impropriety at UNC-CH, which is considered one of the top public universities in the nation. “I was surprised and shocked and sad that these things could happen here, and that some students didn’t get the full benefit to a Carolina education,” Thorp said. Hartlyn and Andrews looked at all courses taught within the department starting with the summer 2007 sessions and ending with the summer 2011 sessions. Nearly all the problem courses took place in the summer sessions of 2007, 2008 and 2009. They are a small minority of the nearly 620 courses taught during that period. The report said the department’s long-time administrator, Deborah Crowder, would have overseen much of the course scheduling and grade recording. She retired in September 2009 and declined to be interviewed for the internal investigation. Crowder made $36,130 a year before retiring. She could not be reached. The NCAA investigation The problems first surfaced two years ago during the NCAA’s investigation into improper benefits for football players. The NCAA found that a tutor, Jennifer Wiley, had provided impermissible academic help to three football players. Wiley was a student when she began tutoring for UNC-CH’s athletic department, but by the time she had graduated, the university had dropped her for being too friendly with student athletes. But in the summer of 2009, Michael McAdoo, a defensive end for the Tar Heels, asked Wiley to help him on a paper for an intermediate Swahili class taught by Nyang’oro. Wiley, the NCAA found, had supplied a bibliography and footnotes for the paper, work that McAdoo was expected to do. The impermissible help played a big role in the NCAA’s decision to revoke McAdoo’s remaining two years of eligibility. McAdoo sued in state Superior Court to try to get back on the team, and in doing so, he included the paper as an exhibit. Rival N.C. State fans quickly analyzed the paper and found several passages of plagiarism that the university, its honor court, university athletic and academic officials, and the NCAA did not catch. The Wolfpack fans buzzed about the plagiarism on message boards, and the media, particularly a blog known as SportsbyBrooks, took notice. The N&O confirmed the plagiarism in a follow-up report. Professor-less classes But the plagiarism was just the beginning of the questions for Nyang’oro, who was the department’s first chairman when it was formed 20 years ago. The N&O later obtained a partial academic transcript of Marvin Austin, another football player caught up in the football scandal. The transcript showed that Austin took an upper-level summer class from Nyang’oro before Austin began his first full semester as a freshman, and before he had taken a remedial writing class. Nyang’oro gave Austin a B-plus on the course. Nyang’oro could not produce a syllabus for that class, Bioethics in Afro-American Studies, or the Swahili class that McAdoo took. That was another red flag, particularly because syllabi provided by other professors teaching intermediate Swahili focused on reading and writing in Swahili, not writing papers about Swahili culture in English. Nyang’oro told the university investigators he did not teach the Swahili class. The plagiarized paper McAdoo submitted lists Nyang’oro’s name as the course professor. The investigation found it was one of nine classes in which there is no evidence that any professor “actually supervised the course and graded the work, although grade rolls were signed and submitted.” Other professors who were listed on grade rolls for those classes said their names were forged on course documents. McAdoo was one of 59 students taking those classes. The investigation found more than 40 other courses, most of them during summer sessions, in which Nyang’oro was the instructor of record but there was little evidence of teaching. The instructor would provide an assignment and grade the class paper, “but engaged in limited or no classroom or other instructional contact with students.” Austin’s class was one of them, Hartlyn said. The report also found a “strikingly high” percentage of cases in Nyang’oro’s classes in which temporary grades were converted to permanent ones. Several other faculty said they had not authorized grade changes for students. Independent study courses While the investigation casts no blame on the athletic department, information obtained by The N&O showed the department’s independent study courses were popular with football players, and that Nyang’oro was often teaching them. Such courses have drawn suspicion in athletic circles because they do not require attendance and often allow students to produce a paper at the end of the course. Athletic programs have gotten into trouble at other universities after questions surfaced as to whether the athletes were doing actual academic work. Athletic advisers said Nyang’oro was a favored professor, not because he made it easy for athletes to pass, but because he was willing to work with them in getting the classes they needed. But his relationship with the athletic department came under question when he hired a sports agent – a former athletic department academic adviser and adjunct professor – to teach a summer class last year while the NCAA was investigating the football team for allowing other agents and their runners to have too much access to players. Nyang’oro’s credentials Nyang’oro has taught at UNC-CH since 1984, and his résumé lists two teaching honors – one from undergraduate students for the 1990-91 academic year, and the outstanding faculty award from the Class of 2000 – and four pages of published books and articles. Nyang’oro has a law degree from Duke University, and masters and doctoral degrees from Miami University of Ohio, according to his résumé. He received his bachelor’s degree from a university in Tanzania. He could not be immediately reached for comment. His final salary is $159,249 a year. The university also reviewed independent study courses across the College of Arts & Sciences, which includes the African studies department. That report did not find misconduct, but it made several suggestions for more accountability in tracking independent study classes and making sure professors are actively engaged with the students taking them. The African studies department will have strict requirements for those courses. They will only be open to juniors and seniors, and only if they carry a 3.0 grade point average.Only 17 indoor ice rinks existed in Minnesota, and none of them were in St. Cloud, making every Huskies game a Winter Classic of sorts during the 1960s. Few were bigger than a Saturday afternoon showdown against Bemidji State on Jan. 27, 1962, the centerpiece sporting event during St. Cloud State College Sno Days. One year earlier, the Beavers dealt St. Cloud what was to be its only defeat of the season, a 4-1 setback in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader in Bemidji, and now the Huskies hoped to serve revenge cold, on their home ice, amidst the snow sculptures and pageantry of their annual winter carnival. Bemidji came to the Granite City with eight Canadians on its roster including Paul Lafond, a senior center from Rainy River, Ontario, who paced the team in scoring for three straight seasons. St. Cloud countered with a Minnesota-made roster. Ed Noble, a senior wing from Minneapolis, and Henry “Skeeter” Hawkinson, a sophomore center from Wayzata, were the headliners, along with goaltender Rod Pickett, a junior from Baudette. Now on opposite sides of the Bemidji-St. Cloud rivalry, only the Rainy River separated Lafond and Pickett during their schoolboy days. In fact, they played high school hockey together, in Baudette, due to Lafond moving in with his aunt and uncle south of the border. Then they went west together, enrolling at the University of North Dakota and skating with the Fighting Sioux freshmen. The prairie proved an ill fit for both, with Lafond packing for Bemidji and Pickett thinking about the Army after a single year in Grand Forks. Pickett’s sister, who lived just outside the St. Cloud city limits, suggested a less drastic alternative. “She talked me into coming (to St. Cloud State),” said Pickett. “Her and Bill Fritsinger.” A former high school teammate from Baudette, Fritsinger was already skating with the Huskies when the long-distance call came from North Dakota. He told Pickett to pack his pads and enroll. Changing schools, and hockey programs, was less bureaucratic in the early 1960s. Three days later, Pickett was starting in goal for the Huskies. He soon discovered that many of his teammates were also refugees of a sort. Pickett became the fifth of St. Cloud’s front-line standouts to transfer in after a year of freshman hockey at the University of Minnesota or North Dakota. Others had served Army stints. Almost all of them were in their early 20s and most of them were looking for a fresh start. “There was a group of us who realized, ‘geez, we need to get serious and graduate at some point,’” recalled Nobel, who would serve as the Huskies captain. “The University of Minnesota was big – there were so many students – so it was impossible to get the classes you needed. It wasn’t conducive to graduating. St. Cloud State was a smaller school, it was affordable, we could get our degrees and we could play hockey. That made it attractive for us.” Phil Gens, another Minneapolis product, joined Nobel in St. Cloud. He remembered paying something like $50 for a quarter’s worth of credits and having enough gas money left over to play weeknight senior hockey games back in the Twin Cities. For him – and for so many of the Huskies – it was a perfect fit at the perfect time. Sno Days Showdown Temperatures hovered near zero, which made the still-falling snow crunch stiffly under the boots of St. Cloud students who lined the wooden boards. Among them was King Bruce Bauer and Queen Alma Shay, the newly minted Sno Days royalty, who joined the frozen festivities. The Sno Ball was still to come – maybe a cold beer and a warm slow dance too – but it would all be sweeter with an afternoon triumph over Bemidji. St. Cloud entered the game undefeated in five contests, having bested Hamline University, Carleton College (twice), Northland College and the University of St. Thomas. Bemidji was 4-1, with its only loss coming at St. Thomas. The Huskies and Beavers were not only combatants for statewide small-school superiority, but on a more personal level as well. St. Cloud’s Baudette trio – Pickett, Fritsinger and Jim Humeniuk, a defenseman – was raised 100 miles north of Bemidji and just across the border from some of the Beavers’ Canadian imports, stoking back-home rivalries that were friendly, but much more pleasant for the winning side. “We had to beat Bemidji during the winter because we had to live with them during the summer,” said Pickett. “Any time we beat Bemidji, it was special for the three of us from Baudette because we could pour it on those guys all summer long.” But before they could battle for bragging rights, the St. Cloud contingent had to clean the ice. There was no Zamboni and no arena crew to help. If the Huskies wanted to skate, they had to flood and scrape themselves – before, after and during the games. “Our season didn’t start until winter quarter and that was always somewhere around the first week in January,” recalled Pickett. “Many of us would come back early from Christmas break to help build the ice. The maintenance crew would put up the boards and the rest was left up to us. On game days, we flooded and prepared the ice before the game and we scraped the ice between periods while our opponents rested. If it happened to be snowing that day, the official would stop play during the period and we would be responsible to remove the snow.” Most of St. Cloud’s players came from the Twin Cities, where even the high school games were played inside, so the transition back to the elements was harsh, but not necessarily unpleasant. “There was definitely some culture shock going from playing at the Minneapolis Arena, the St. Paul Auditorium or Williams Arena to playing outside, but that kind of added to the whole program at St. Cloud,” said Harry Stanius, a sophomore defenseman on the 1961-62 squad. It was common to find a handful of Huskies, dimly lit by a frigid mid-winter moon, dousing the ice at midnight. On those late nights, covered in wool, leather and frozen slush, the St. Cloud boys forged a sturdy bond. “We’d go to class, go to practice, go home to get something to eat, then come back to the rink to shovel and flood,” recalled Pickett. “It was a helluva effort, but we did it because we wanted to play. That was part of the reason our team had such great camaraderie – all that extra work we did together to take care of the rink.” The Sno Days showdown against Bemidji was aptly named, with a steady snow falling throughout. That meant St. Cloud would have to beat the Beavers and the elements. With the festive crowd shuffling to stay warm, Gary Thorp, a junior center from Minneapolis, gave them reason to cheer with an early goal for St. Cloud. Bemidji tied it late in the first period, but St. Cloud struck twice in the second period with goals from Denny Songle and Les Etienne. The Beavers closed the margin to 3-2 late in the second, but as he so often did, Hawkinson put the game out of reach with a third-period goal. A mid-1950s prep standout at Minnetonka High School, Hawkinson paired with Francis Rapley to lead the Skippers to their first taste of major success when, as seniors, they posted a 14-4-1 record in 1956. Both eventually found their way to the college hockey ranks – Hawkinson after an Army stint – becoming the first Minnetonka players to do so. Hawkinson starred in St. Cloud, while Rapley played for the Huskies’ bitter rival to the west, St. John’s University. “Skeeter was the heart and soul of our team,” said Noble, who skated alongside him and Gens on the Huskies’ top line. “Some athletes are skilled, some have a head for the game and a love for the game, and some are fiercely competitive. Skeeter was all of this, along with having the speed to take the game to its highest level. He was someone special.” Hawkinson’s goal gave St. Cloud a two-goal margin, which proved to be just enough as the Beavers scored late in the third, but couldn’t produce an equalizer.SPOKANE, Wash. --- The Rocket Market summer concerts have become quite the debate in Spokane’s Comstock neighborhood. Four households are suing the local event venue and store near the corner of Hatch Road and High Drive because of the noise and the alleged rowdiness of the people who attend the concerts. Another neighbor, Kate Pogue Rau started a Go FundMe account to rally support and money for Rocket Market after hearing news of the suit. Thursday, lawyer for the neighbors behind the lawsuit sent Pogue Rau a letter claiming she defamed them in the text of her GoFundMe page. In a letter, the lawyer Jed Barden cites the following paragraph from the GoFundMe page as defamatory: “The plaintiffs are a very small number of neighbors (three households) who are demanding that they stop their live music series. These events take place twice a week, in the summer months only… The plaintiffs complain that the music is so loud that they cannot hear their televisions, and are asking not only that the music series stop…” Barden said it was not his clients’ intent to stop the concerts, and that was what was defamatory about Pogue Rau’s GoFundMe account. “My clients have been painted as these uptight music-hating people,” Barden said. “That’s just not the case.” Barden said if the Rocket Market stopped amplifying the music that would be a “reasonable offer.” Pogue Rau, who also lives in the area, said she had not been served with the documents as of Friday afternoon. “The fact that Barden has shared this letter/lawsuit with the media before serving me is a blatant attempt to intimate me and it will not be tolerated, by me or by my attorney. Now I have been slandered by their insinuation that I have mislead/duped Go Fund Me Donors,” she said in a statement. “Furthermore, the paragraph from the Go Fund Me page that they take umbrage at and call ‘defamation’ is from their own (public) law suit. I have never once identified the plaintiffs in any way; I have taken the high road and will continue to do so.” Pogue Rau said she planned to keep up her GoFundMe page up, and that her attorney told her she could post their lawsuit but chose not to in an effort to protect the other neighbors’ privacy. As of Friday, the Rocket Market GoFundMe had raised more than $7,415. Barden also argued that Rocket Market should not need money from the community because the company insurance should cover any legal expenses. “We’re not talking about a park, this is a private business making a lot of money [off of the concerts],” he said. “The community should be supporting the victims here, not the perpetrators.” “What’s going on here is this corporation is profiting at the expense of the health and well-being of my clients,” Barden said. One of the Rocket Market owners, Alan Shepherd, said they are just one local business, though Rocket Bakery in Spokane does have interest in the market. “It’s a free concert, a beer costs like $1.25. I’m trying to figure out where this corporate greed thing comes in,” he said. “This was a community event that we thought hopefully the community would like and shop with us in the future.” Shepherd said the market has a lawyer now they are working with while they wait for insurance to assign one. Then, their lawyer will work in conjunction with the insurance assigned representation. “If our insurance company pays for everything, fantastic,” Shepherd said. “Then will give all of it, every penny to Som’s kids and they go to college. We won’t take a penny of this.” Any unused proceeds from the GoFundMe fundraiser will go to the college fund for Isamu 'Som' Jordan's children. He was a local musician and writer, who died in 2013. Before filing the lawsuit this past summer, one of the neighbors told KREM 2 he believed the only way to make things right would be to stop the concerts all together, so Thursday’s filing indicates a shift. Shepherd said he believed they have until May to respond to the latest development.Just hours from now, physicists could announce they're 99.9936 percent sure the Higgs boson exists, according to experts on the hunt for the so-called God particle. The combined findings of two teams at the proton-smashing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) should help explain why objects in our universe have mass—and in so doing, why galaxies, planets, and even humans have any right to exist. "There are very few people even in ATLAS and CMS who know what's going to be presented on Wednesday. It's kept that secret," said particle physicist David Evans, leader of the U.K. team that works on the LHC's ALICE experiment. The rumor mill, though, got a late-breaking boost Tuesday, when, according to Science News, an official CERN video clip surfaced briefly, publicly, and—presumably—prematurely. In the video CMS spokesperson Joe Incandela reportedly says, "We've observed a new particle... we have quite strong evidence that there's something there" in the expected mass range for the Higgs boson. "This is the most massive such particle that exists, if we confirm all of this—which I think we will." On Higgs Hunt, It's "Easy to Fool Yourself" Results in particle physics are ranked on a scale from zero to five "sigma." Last December the ATLAS and CMS teams said their data showed a two-sigma likelihood that the Higgs particle has a mass of about 125 gigaelectron volts (GeV)—about 125 times the mass of a proton, a positively charged particle in an atom's nucleus. "For the first time there was a case where we expected to [rule out] the Higgs, and we weren't able to do so," said Tim Barklow, an experimental physicist with the ATLAS Experiment who's based at Stanford University's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. A two-sigma finding translates to about a 95 percent chance that results are not due to a statistical fluke. While that might seem impressive, it falls short of the stringent five-sigma level that high-energy physicists traditionally require for an official discovery. Five sigma means there's a less than one in a million probability that a finding is due to chance. "We make these rules and impose them on ourselves because, when you are exploring on the frontier, it is easy to fool yourself," said Michael Peskin, a theoretical physicist also at SLAC. God Particle Discovery a Safe Bet? Based on CERN's June announcement that the teams now have more than double the data they had last year, ALICE's Evans thinks it's likely the groups could announce they've reached a four-sigma level of certainty—that is, they are 99.9936 percent confident—that the Higgs particle exists in the 125 GeV mass range. While that result still won't be enough to count as an official discovery, "it would be strong enough that most physicists would be quite comfortable betting a month's salary that an announcement of the discovery of the Higgs will come by the end of the year," said Evans, who's based at the U.K.'s University of Birmingham. Alternatively, the two groups would also have enough data to determine if last December's results were a statistical fluke. A negative result would be equally exciting for physicists, Evans added, because it would hint at completely new physics, forcing a rethink of the laws of the universe. Higgs Holds It All Together? The Higgs boson is one of the final puzzle pieces required for a complete understanding of the standard model of physics—the so-far successful theory that explains how fundamental particles interact with the elementary forces of nature. The so-called God particle was proposed in the 1960s by physicist Peter Higgs to explain why some particles, such as quarks—building blocks of protons, among other things—and electrons have mass while others, such as the light-carrying photon particle, do not. Higgs's idea was that the universe is bathed in an invisible field similar to a magnetic field. Every particle feels this field—now known as the Higgs field—but to varying degrees. If a particle can move through this field with little or no interaction, there will be no drag, and that particle will have little or no mass. Alternatively, if a particle interacts significantly with the Higgs field, it will have a higher mass. The idea of the Higgs field requires the acceptance of a related particle: the Higgs boson. According to the standard model, if the Higgs field didn't exist, the universe would be a very different place, said SLAC's Peskin, who isn't involved in the LHC experiments. "It would be very difficult to form atoms," Peskin said. "So our orderly world, where matter is made of atoms, and electrons form chemical bonds—we wouldn't have that if we did not have the Higgs field." In other words: no galaxies, no stars, no planets, no life on Earth. "Nature Is Really Nasty" to God Particle Seekers Buried beneath the French-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider is essentially a 17-mile-long (27-kilometer-long) oval tunnel. Inside, counter-rotating beams of protons are boosted to nearly the speed of light using an electric field before being steered into collisions. Exotic fundamental particles—some of which likely haven't existed since the early moments after the big bang—are created in the high-energy crashes. But the odd particles hang around for only fractions of a second before decaying into other particles. Theory predicts that the Higgs boson's existence is too fleeting to be recorded by LHC instruments, but physicists think they can confirm its creation if they can spot the particles it decays into. If, based on these observations, the Higgs does turn out to have a mass of around 125 GeV, as previous evidence suggested, the result would help explain why the God particle has avoided detection for so long. This mass is just high enough to be out of reach of earlier, lower-energy particle accelerators, such as the LHC's predecessor, the Large Electron-Positron Collider, which could probe to only about 115 GeV. At the same time 125 GeV is not so massive that it produces decay products so unusual that their detection would be clear proof of the Higgs's existence. In reality the Higgs appears to transform into relatively commonplace decay products such as quarks, which are produced by the millions at the LHC. "It just so happens that nature is really nasty to us, and the range that we've narrowed [the Higgs] down to is the range that makes it most difficult to find," ALICE's Evans said. To detect the Higgs's signal amid this high background noise, scientists must calculate very precisely what the distribution of a particular decay particle for a collision will be at a given energy, and how many extras of that particle they'd expect to see if a Higgs boson has been created. Additionally, to ensure that a signal is not a statistical fluke, LHC physicists require lots of collisions—the atom smasher can produce about 800 million per second—to generate enough Higgs-creating collisions. "You need the total number of collisions to be large so you can see this rare event happening," explained ATLAS physicist Michael Tuts of Columbia University. Going for the Gold While the search for the Higgs was a primary motivation for the construction of the LHC, activity at the world's largest atom smasher won't stop if the Higgs boson is confirmed. For one thing, lingering questions will require years of follow-up work, such as what the God particle's "decay channels" are—that is, what particles the Higgs transforms into as it sheds energy. The answer to that question will allow physicists to determine whether the particle they have discovered is the one predicted from theory or something more exotic, Tuts added. Something the public often forgets, too, is that ATLAS and CMS make up only two of the LHC's four major experiments, Evans said. The other two—LHCb and Evan's own ALICE— are investigating other physics arcana, such as why the universe contains so little antimatter. (See "Antimatter Atoms Trapped for First Time—'A Big Deal.'") "If you want to compare it to the Olympics, finding the Higgs would be like winning just one gold medal," Evans said. "I'm sure most countries would like to win more than one gold medal. And I think CERN is going to deliver a lot more gold medals over the years."As the muffled boom of a distant bomb set off by militants gives way seconds later to the clatter of government soldiers’ automatic gunfire, Satu Mari listens in the car park of the hotel he owns in Maiduguri, a city in Nigeria’s turbulent north-east. “Bomb is our daily bread,” he says casually. “Bomb is our good morning and good night.” Maiduguri is sliding towards a full-blown guerrilla war and Mr Mari runs one of the few businesses with a bright future. He lodges army officers. The government is sending thousands of troops to Nigeria’s north to fight Islamist militants said to have emerged from a small cult in the past decade. Known as Boko Haram, it is blamed for nearly every act of violence now occurring in Africa’s most populous nation, some 160m-strong. After a wave of attacks on banks and prisons in late 2010, the militants are said to have moved up a notch, murdering politicians and poll workers in the run-up to elections in March and April last year. They are also blamed for bombs that went off at the heavily guarded national police headquarters and at the offices of the UN in the capital, Abuja. And for the second year in a row Boko Haram is said to have attacked Christmas church services. All of this seems well beyond the capabilities of a small cult known mainly for its views on secular education. Boko Haram in Hausa, the main language of the north, means “Western learning is forbidden”. The frequency and sophistication of the violence has led many, especially in America, to suggest that the group is getting support from international terrorist networks. Algeria’s branch of al-Qaeda and, more improbably, Somalia’s Shabab have been mentioned. Nigeria’s government, keen to win lucrative grants as a front-line ally in the West’s “global war on terror”, has encouraged such explanations. Religious and political leaders in the mainly Muslim north, however, see things differently. To them, the internationally connected, ferociously active Islamist fringe group described by officials is largely an imaginary bogeyman. They say there are some genuine religious fanatics in the north but suggest Boko Haram has been co-opted into a murky mix of criminal opportunists and disgruntled political operators. “It’s something like a Bermuda triangle.” says Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State, where the group originates. “Boko Haram has become a franchise that anyone can buy into.” Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president, seems in two minds. He has claimed that Boko Haram and its sympathisers have infiltrated all branches of the government, including the army and police. “Some continue to dip their hands and eat with you, and you won’t even know the person who will point a gun at you or plant a bomb behind your house,” he told a church congregation in Abuja. The president, a Christian who is unpopular in the Muslim north, is following the advice of his top security men baying for blood. He has put much of the north under a state of emergency. He appears ready to give the armed forces and police a free hand to run large-scale operations. And he is set to spend an astonishing 20% of the federal budget on security this year. Some fear that such measures may make matters worse. Already deployed in parts of the north, troops are seen by locals as occupiers. Their high-handed, sometimes violent behaviour stokes rebellious feelings. A backlash is already happening. The north’s most urgent need is economic development. Whereas the oil-rich south is booming, nearly three-quarters of northerners live on less than $200 a year, far below any poverty line. Few government programmes really help the region. The country’s 80m Muslims blame a loss of political influence. When the army ruled Nigeria, northerners were largely in charge, but that ended 12 years ago. A sense of marginalisation has stirred political dissatisfaction which northern extremists feed on. Yet the intelligence services charged with hunting them down rarely seem to find them, whether they are religious extremists or political opportunists. While the spooks persevere, the government must quickly attend to legitimate and longstanding grievances. So far the opposite has been happening. The government’s bold decision to cut fuel subsidies from January 1st, however much economic sense it might make, has further widened the gap between rich and poor. Nationwide strikes have ensued. Tension and lawlessness have risen. Yet the Nigerian state has shown it can end an insurgency if it plays its cards right. Until a few years ago most political violence in Nigeria took place in the Niger delta in the south. Just as in today’s north, residents complained of corruption, poverty, inequality and lack of development. Some delta people backed armed groups; others benefited from their largesse. In the first nine months of 2008, 1,000 or so people were killed in the unrest and nearly 300 taken hostage. Over the years, the cost to Nigeria through pipeline sabotage and oil theft was estimated at nearly $24 billion. But a deal in 2009 that included an amnesty brought relative peace to the region. Militants were offered an unconditional pardon and cash. Around 26,000 accepted. According to official figures, 15,000-plus former militants have had vocational training or a formal if belated education. Though the delta is much safer, the amnesty programme has yet to bring total peace. And it has been expensive. Repentant militants each got $393 a month in cash plus food allowances during rehabilitation. In this year’s government’s budget, $458m will be spent on sustaining the amnesty—more than is given to the Universal Basic Education Commission, which provides free primary education. Some say Boko Haram’s real aim is not an Islamist state but a slice of the amnesty cake. If so, the government should at least explore such a possibility.After the initial thrill of the announcement, many fans and observers both locally and beyond the Bay inevitably asked the question: “Why?” Why should Tampa Bay get another MLS team? Ralph’s Mob marches for the Rowdies while acknowledging a fallen friend. The question is a fair one. Tampa Bay, of course, was part
, and to the fit of models can pay dividends in thinking about the management of common pool resources. Indeed, the Institutional Analysis and Development framework (see, e.g. Ostrom 1998 ; 2005 ) functions as an elegant machine for channeling scholarly attention in meaningful analytic directions and synthesizing the results (see Ostrom 2007, pp. 25–27). Thinking about property in this way emphasizes its potential, as a human institution, to adapt dynamically to changing circumstances. When the incentive misalignments associated with a particular mixed property regime become too great, the law can react by moving the wall between common and private elements (e.g. converting some privately owned elements, like grazing animals, to common ownership, or, conversely, privatizing some commonly owned elements, as through the parcelization of land) or by changing the shape or content of the entitlements on either side of the wall (by, for example, placing limits on use or alienability, or altering the way in which private elements interact with ones held in common, as through the use of scattered farming strips in a common field). Incentives can be realigned by altering the rules or payoff structures in other ways as well, whether through regulations, taxes, harvesting caps, or limits on the time, place, or manner of harvesting (see, e.g. Rose 1991, pp. 8–12; Krier 1992, pp. 334–335). Smith suggests that the scattered-strip ownership pattern, by interweaving property interests, controlled the impulse toward self-serving behavior (ibid., pp. 146–154). 7 Without a contiguous parcel of one’s own, actions designed to benefit or burden one’s own land become more difficult to carry out; one cannot help oneself without also helping others or harm others without also harming oneself (ibid.). Similar functions are served by the cattle “wintering rules” used in Swiss villages, which prohibit sending more cows to the grazing lands than one can feed during the winter ( Ostrom 1990, p. 62), as well as by schedules that mingle positive payoffs like festivities with “work days or days of reckoning” (ibid., p. 65). In all these cases, thoughtfully designed links between private and communal elements help to soften the disjunction in incentives that might otherwise occur in these hybrid systems. Property theory, then, largely boils down to intelligently confronting (and, as necessary, adjusting) the interface between individual and collective entitlements. Theoretical work on the semicommons offers a useful starting point in thinking about that challenge. As Smith explains, medieval common fields accommodated two activities – farming and grazing – carried out at different scales under different ownership regimes (2000, pp. 135–136). Strips of farmland were private property, with each farmer owning a number of strips scattered throughout the common field, but the field itself was collectively used as a grazing area on a seasonal basis (see ibid., p. 132, 135–137). Interacting combinations of individual and collective entitlements are also found in the what we might ordinarily view as “the commons” or even in wholly open-access contexts. Indeed, the prototypical tragedy of the commons is produced not by common ownership alone, but rather by the interface between a communally owned element (the pasture) and individually owned elements (cows, and the grass they ingest) (see Fennell 2011, citing, e.g. Alchian and Demsetz 1973, pp. 22–23). Many modern resource interactions similarly represent instances of “partial propertization” that are capable of being resolved in more than one way (see Rose 1998, pp. 152–153, 169–173). Privatizing ownership of more elements is one option, but as long as some resources cannot be reduced to individual control, propertization must remain partial [see ibid., p. 173 (noting “the ease of propertizing land in comparison to the diffuse resources to which land is attached, like air, water and wildlife”)]. Alternatively, more elements could be placed under common control, as where the commoners share rights in the cattle as well as the grazing land (see Alchian and Demsetz 1973, p. 23). But this, too, is an incomplete move. Insofar as labor inputs remain under private control, efforts to restrain grazing must be replaced by efforts to control shirking (ibid., pp. 23–24). Property, as experienced on the ground, is never wholly individual nor wholly held in common, but instead always represents a mix of ownership types. Indeed, two of the most foundational institutions in modern life – the neighborhood and the corporation – plainly constitute “mixed systems of communal and individual property rights” ( Ostrom 1999, pp. 351–352). A family may privately own a house and the lot it sits on, but that family also holds interests in common with other households with respect to the neighborhood’s ambience and the community’s amenities. 6 If we look inside the house, we will see that much is owned in common by the household, although certain elements (food harvested from the refrigerator, or rooms reserved for certain occupants) are effectively privatized (see Ellickson 2006, pp. 319–320). In all of these instances, operational details in the real world offer property theorists an important gauge against which to test their theories. Property has a job to do, and watching how things get done under different working conditions gives us important insights into what property’s occupational requirements look like. Such a functional approach to property can retain skepticism of an unconstrained bundle of rights while directing attention to the rich and complex ways that property rights can work both inside and outside a commons. Significantly, a theory’s ability to accommodate within-commons entitlements is not an esoteric frill of interest only to a small cadre of subspecialists. The reason is simple: we are always operating at least partially within a commons of some sort. The next section explains. Property theorists also have much to learn from the complex ways in which resource users slice and dice entitlements into special-purpose “tenure niches” (ibid., p. 340, citing Bruce 1995 ; see Bruce et al. 1993 ). For example, various forms of “tree tenure” have evolved in many localities that control who may access which trees at what times and for what purposes ( Fortmann and Bruce 1988 ; see Bruce et al. 1993 ). In addition to reopening questions about whether property can or should be conceptualized in terms of individual use rights, such entitlements stand in some tension with the numerus clausus principle, which calls for constraining the menu of permissible property forms (see, e.g. Merrill and Smith 2000 ). These issues offer important – and largely unexplored 5 – avenues for further interdisciplinary work. The fact that governance rather than outright exclusion is required within a commons does not mean property rights are absent (see, e.g. Smith 2002 ), but it does limit what a vision of property that focuses on exclusion alone can tell us about them. Katz’s (2008, p. 277) observation that boundary-exclusion theories focus more on the implications of non-ownership than on the complexities of ownership has particular traction here. Similarly, an exclusion-focused account of property tends to be relatively inattentive to other potential adjustments to property packages that might prove useful within a commons – including alienability restrictions (see e.g. Rose-Ackerman 1985 ; Fennell 2009 ). This omission is significant, given that resource entitlements featuring less than full alienability are frequently observed in CPR institutions, where they appear to perform the core property functions of incentivizing production and investment (see Ostrom 1999, p. 341). In one sense, the answer appears to be yes. An understanding of property based on exclusion dovetails with Rose’s important insight that a limited-access commons constitutes “property on the outside” (1998, p. 144). That exclusion can help transform what would otherwise be an open-access regime into a manageable commons has been well noted, even if more than mere exclusion is necessary to make a commons work (see Ostrom 1990, pp. 91–92; 2009a, 32). But an exclusion-focused view of property also carries some limitations that are especially relevant in the context of common-pool resources. Most obviously, much of the relevant action for such resources occurs “on the inside,” where participants share a commons (see Rose 1998, pp. 144, 155). Blunt boundary-based exclusion mechanisms would be non-sensical within such a shared resource setting, and giving each participant a right to block the use of the others would likely lead to the problematic underuse often associated with the tragedy of the anticommons (see Michelman 1982, p. 6; Heller 1998 ; 2008 ). Merrill and Smith criticize the bundle metaphor’s implicit message that property is infinitely decomposable, comprising nothing more than “a list of use rights” (2001, p. 397). Schlager and Ostrom’s (1992) taxonomy of property rights dodges this concern. The five resource control rights they identify – access, withdrawal, management, exclusion, and alienation – are cumulative in nature and available only in functionally meaningful combinations (ibid., p. 252). As they explain, “to hold some of these rights implies the possession of others. The exercise of withdrawal rights is not meaningful without the right of access; alienation rights depend upon having rights to be transferred” (ibid.). This vision of property does not, then, contemplate a bundle that can be thrown together – or pulled apart – in just any old way. But can it be squared with the growing tendency to equate property with exclusion rights that are good against the world? Although property is sometimes treated as an all-or-nothing concept, ownership and control over resources comes in shades and degrees (e.g. Schlager and Ostrom 1992 ). One influential model for understanding that fact has been the “bundle of rights” idea of property associated with the work of John Commons (1893, p. 92) and the legal realists (see Stone 2009, pp. 9–10). Yet property theorists have increasingly challenged the “bundle” metaphor (see e.g. Penner 1996 ), focusing instead on property’s in rem nature (e.g. Merrill and Smith 2001 ) and emphasizing the significance of boundaries and exclusion (e.g. Merrill 1998 ; Smith 2004 ). How does Ostrom’s nuanced treatment of ownership in common-pool resource contexts, which draws in part on the “bundle” idea (see, e.g. Ostrom 2009a, pp. 28–29), fit together with these ongoing conceptual debates about property’s meaning? Two substantive areas of mutual interest to Ostrom and legal scholars implicate some of the most foundational issues in property theory. The first surrounds the meaning of property itself, while the second focuses on the prevalence of mixed systems of private and shared property rights. The interchanges on these topics have been and continue to be true conversations – iterative and ongoing. 4. Scale and the commons As the discussion above suggests, mixed ownership regimes are neither unusual nor avoidable. Understanding why requires examining the question of scale, another theme prevalent in Ostrom’s work, and one that has some of the deepest and most interesting connections to law. 4.1. Diverse endeavors: different efficient scales The fundamental reason that mixed systems are inevitable is that different activities are best pursued at different scales. For example, sheep might be grazed on a common pasture if the costs of fencing, the habits of sheep, or other factors produced economies of scale that made the minimum feasible pasture size larger than any one shepherd could cost-effectively own and maintain. Yet there may be diseconomies of scale when it comes to pooling ownership of the sheep themselves. If sheep-raising is best pursued through individual ownership of the animals, while grazing is best carried out on a communal pasture, some care must be taken to ensure that the ownership of the private element does not become a platform for visiting disproportionate harms on, or reaping disproportionate benefits from, the communal element (see Smith 2000, p. 132). In some instances, the resource system itself exists at a certain scale, as in the case of oil and gas reserves.8 In effect, the activity of fuel production has already occurred at a scale that is defined by the edges of a given reserve, and presumably the associated activity of fuel storage cannot be efficiently conducted at any other scale [cf. Ostrom 1990, pp. 104–106 (making an analogous point about groundwater in the Los Angeles area)]. It is of course possible to pursue the activity of fuel extraction at a different scale, perhaps using land ownership to ration access. But property lines established to accommodate differently scaled activities (such as farming) will be positioned arbitrarily with respect to the reserves. Uncoordinated access to a fugitive resource through separately owned surface parcels can quickly degenerate into costly forms of “extractive anarchy” (Libecap and Smith 2002, pp. S591–S592). If the owners of the overlying land can coordinate their efforts and act as a single body with respect to the resource, however, wasteful extraction efforts can be avoided (ibid., pp. S595–S596). This is the goal of unitization agreements (see ibid.), which effectively rescale extraction to better fit the scale of the resource system. Here, as elsewhere, forming a collective to make decisions for the unit as a whole can offer a lower-transaction-cost alternative to bargaining over each choice (see Coase 1960, pp. 16–17; McKean 1996, pp. 229–230).9 But achieving unitization in the first place can be extremely difficult if it requires the consent of all affected landowners (see Libecap and Smith 2002, p. S596). Thus, state law often calls for mandatory unitization once a certain percentage of owners reach agreement – a solution that is not without some risks and costs of its own (see ibid., pp. S596, S606–607). As this example illustrates, an ad coleum vision of property – one in which three-dimensional columns (or wedges) of ownership reach up to the heavens and down to the depths (see, e.g. Banner 2008, p. 17) – fails to account for the possibility of multiple efficient scales at different levels. The unsustainability of strict adherence to the ad coelum doctrine becomes even clearer when we look skyward to consider the most efficient scale at which to carry out another important modern activity: air travel. Working out agreements with every underlying landowner would be prohibitively costly (see, e.g. Heller 2008, pp. 27–28). Unsurprisingly, the law ultimately rejected any right of landowners to exclude airplanes from the navigable airspace above their parcels, where the overflights did not disrupt the use of the land itself (see ibid., p. 29; see generally Banner 2008). Although flight paths over parcelized land offer a particularly striking illustration of scale misalignment, more mundane examples abound. Neighborhood ambience cannot be produced at the individual lot level, even if that is the most efficient scale at which to consume residential housing services. Information may be best consumed in large aggregations, but best produced by individual creators. Fishing may be best conducted at a small scale by individuals and firms, but sustainable levels of fish reproduction must be carried out across entire ecosystems. Choices about how and when to use one’s talents might be most efficiently placed under the control of the individual herself, but a large construction project requires the pooling of many workers’ mental and physical exertions. And so on. In each case, choices must be made about how to accommodate these multiple scales and how to manage any resulting abutments between different ownership regimes. Two additional wrinkles relating to scale deserve attention. The first has to do with the appropriate scale at which various sorts of rules should operate, which relates in turn to higher-order limits on the permissible content of localized arrangements. The second relates to the relationship between scale and time. 4.2. Scaling rules The local management of common pool resources generally takes place within one or more larger jurisdictional frameworks that are designed to serve the needs of a broader community or population. Ostrom’s focus on “nested enterprises” (1990, pp. 101–102; 2009a, pp. 42–43) reflects this fact, as well as the possibility that complex resource systems may themselves require more than one level of local management (1990, pp. 101–102). An important challenge, then, is determining the appropriate scale, and hence the appropriate jurisdictional level, at which to make resource-related decisions (see Marshall 2008, pp. 79–82). The notion of subsidiarity, which calls for delegating authority to the smallest jurisdictional unit that is competent to handle it (see, e.g. ibid., pp. 80–81; Ellickson 1998, p. 80; Ostrom 2009a, pp. 42–43), offers an important starting point, especially given the importance of localized knowledge and norms in crafting enduring solutions (see generally Ostrom 1990). Given the vulnerability of CPR institutions to intrusions on functions like rulemaking and exclusion (see, e.g. ibid., pp. 201, 205), it is perhaps unsurprising that one of the design principles Ostrom associates with enduring institutions is “minimal recognition of rights to organize” (ibid., 101). Such recognition might be said to exist where “[t]he rights and ability of appropriators to devise their own institutions are not challenged by any other authorities, internal or external, that have the ability to undermine the institution” (Morrow and Hull 1986, p. 1651; quoted in Ostrom 2009a, p. 42). This principle is often violated; Ostrom’s work is replete with accounts of localized solutions thwarted by governmental action. Diverse examples from Canada, Brazil, and Nepal show how national law and policy can threaten local institutions and the resources they are managing (Ostrom 1990, pp. 175–178).10 Yet a “hands-off” governmental policy is not always the answer, nor is devolution to local appropriators always indicated. There are two sets of reasons that rules developed at a higher jurisdictional level might appropriately limit the content of local institutional arrangements: to protect those outside the local group from spillovers, and to protect those inside the local group from oppression or exploitation. The first motivation, protection of outsiders, often replicates the same basic concerns we have already seen in managing the interface between private property ownership and common property ownership. As Ostrom and Schlager explain, “[j]ust as individuals can find themselves in commons dilemmas if they fail to coordinate their use of shared resources, so too can local-level organizations” (1996, p. 146). For example, a local fishing collective might band together to maximize their collective yield but visit externalities on others drawing from the same population of fish (ibid., pp. 146–147). The second motivation, protection of insiders, is even more interesting. For example, the development of a free and democratic state (a large-scale endeavor) requires that people not be allowed to enslave or exploit each other. Similarly, localized management systems that place disproportionate burdens on, or disproportionately withhold benefits from, people based on morally arbitrary criteria like race, ethnicity, or sex can run afoul of important projects and normative commitments of the larger jurisdiction within which the commons is nested.11 The question of which additional side-constraints should apply within private communities that people join voluntarily remains a robust area for discussion. A more complex set of issues relating to the protection of both outsiders and insiders can be traced back to Commons’s observation that property rights inevitably implicate governmental power, and hence embody distributive choices (1893, pp. 107–111). For example, deciding whether certain rights will be held in common or turned into private property for individuals, households, or firms, will influence relative wealth levels among different members of society – and not always in the ways one might initially expect (see Chander and Sunder 2004). Here too, we must confront the implications of heterogeneity: “Rarely do all the participants using a resource have identical investment or harvesting power” (Ostrom 2009b, p. 222). While it is not possible to do more than flag these normative issues here, it is worth underscoring that one of the places where law touches Ostrom’s work most interestingly and controversially is in deciding which decisions must be made at which level.President Clinton? Maybe, if Democratic voters have their way. While the Republican faithful are split between a number of contenders and not particularly enthusiastic about any of them, a new poll finds Democrats overwhelmingly united behind a Hillary Clinton candidacy for 2016. A commanding 82 percent of the party, according to the CBS News/New York Times poll, wants to see her run. It is, of course, way too early to be taking polls seriously. But perhaps an observer can nevertheless be forgiven for being heartened at the prospect of a Clinton campaign, much less a Clinton victory. Either would send a much-needed message to those who are still waiting for America to get back to normal. You know the definition of “normal,” right? A world wherein straight, white Christian men still call all the shots. That world has been under assault for the last 50 years and the pressure has only increased in the last 10 as gay people roll back restrictions of their human rights, as a black man with an exotic name makes an improbable ascent to the presidency, as a woman positions herself to make the same climb. The political right has responded with apoplexy, a temper tantrum of epic proportions: On gay rights, for instance, we are seeing attempts to reinstitute honest-to-Bull Connor Jim Crow, laws legalizing discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Meantime, the aforementioned black president has endured a nearly unprecedented barrage of resistance and name-calling from right-wingers who long ago decided to render the country ungovernable rather than let him govern it. Indeed, just the other day, GOP spokesman Ted Nugent called the president a “subhuman mongrel” and one was only surprised that one was not surprised. Which brings us to the woman who would be president. Given what we’ve seen thus far, you have to wonder, albeit with sickened fascination, what they will do to her — especially since she’s already one of the more polarizing political figures of the last quarter-century. If she sheds a tear, will they say she is too emotional for such a tough job? Or that she’s using femininity for political gain? Will she be allowed to have an opinion on reproductive rights, domestic violence or income inequality or will they say she’s playing the “gender card”? Who will be the first pundit to use the “B-word,” comment upon her figure or crack a rape joke? 205 0 0 0 3 208DETROIT – There hasn’t been much player reaction this summer to the change behind the Red Wings’ bench for the upcoming season. Most of them left town before Mike Babcock split for Toronto and Michigan native Jeff Blashill made the move to Detroit from Grand Rapids where he coached the past three seasons. However, based on Riley Sheahan’s endorsement on Monday, it seems like the players overwhelming applaud Blashill’s ascension. “I think we’re all really happy,” said Sheahan, who was at Joe Louis Arena as a guest counselor for the first day of the Wings annual youth hockey camp. “You can see the job that he’s done in Grand Rapids and so many of us have played there and played with him, especially the Calder Cup team,” Sheahan added. “He’s had so much success everywhere that he’s gone, so I think all of the guys are pretty happy. “The guys that played with him before know how he reacts to different situations and knows what he expects. I think in that way some guys will be a little bit more confident, which always helps. It’s definitely a good thing.” The move is definitely a good fit for the Wings, mainly because so many guys on the current NHL roster spent time in the American Hockey League during Blashill’s tenure, which included winning the Calder Cup in 2013. So, from a leadership standpoint – as well as from not having to learn a new system and terminology from an outside hire – Sheahan said he anticipates a seamless transition from Babcock to Blashill. “I actually thought they were really similar,” Sheahan said. “The system is pretty similar, there are a few tweaks here and there, but I think obviously, Babs leaving that’s tough to deal (with). He’s such a good coach, but Blash coming in, I think there’s a lot of positivity and a lot of happiness with the guys.” Sheahan returns for a second full season with the Wings after a solid performance in 2014-15 where he produced 13 goals and 36 points in 79 NHL games. A strong center, he played valuable minutes, primarily in the No. 2 and No. 3 holes last season. But a past knock on him was his skating – which he made improvements on last season – and Babcock always hounded him about shooting more. “I think I was happy with it,” he said about last season. “I think this year I really want to focus on playing every game a little bit better. Maybe achieving more, getting more points, and just being an every-day player and contributing a little more on the score sheet. I think that’s the biggest thing for me, and offensively I think I have to keep taking steps forward.” The Wings know they will begin the season without Pavel Datsyuk, who had ankle surgery in June. How long they will be without the Magic Man is anybody’s guess. But it’s easy to assume that newcomer Brad Richards will fill the center role on the top line until Datsyuk returns, and Sheahan will more than likely play in the middle on the second line. The Wings signed Richards and defenseman Mike Green on the first day of the free-agency period on July 1. Both veterans will bring experience and influence to the Wings locker room only adding voice to the team’s core leadership group of Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall and Datsyuk. “They’re both amazing players,” said Sheahan of his new teammates. “Obviously, Richards playing on the Stanley Cup team knows what it takes to get there. Green is a great defenseman. Don’t know them personally, but I’ve heard that they’re great guys, and obviously they bring some veteran experience to our team.” While the line combinations won’t be solidified prior to the team’s main training camp next month in Traverse City, Blashill did say last month that he would consider playing Sheahan on the wing once the team returns to full health. Should Sheahan be moved to a wing position, it’s conceivable to think that he would play opposition Darren Helm with Luke Glendening centering one of the most formidable third lines in the league. Unfamiliar with Blashill’s assertion, Sheahan said he’s fine with whatever role he’s given. “Whatever I have to do, whatever position I’m put in I think I’ll be comfortable with,” he said. “We’re confident in the decisions that he’ll make and if that’s one of them it’s OK with me. “You don’t like seeing guys get injured, but if someone’s gonna have to step up and hopefully that can be me. It’s huge shoes to fill but I think he’ll be back soon.”Garrett to Browns, Watson to 49ers in PFF's 2017 Mock Draft By Steve Palazzolo • Dec 13, 2016 It’s hard to believe that it’s already playoff time in college football, and that means draft season is right around the corner (or in full swing, depending on your viewpoint). It’s definitely in full swing here at PFF and we’re back with Mock Draft 2.0 as the NFL draft order is starting to shake out with three weeks to go. The strength of this draft is in the edge defenders and cornerbacks – two cornerstone defensive pieces – with the quarterbacks always a huge story as there is no clear cut No. 1 option at the position. The running back position will be another fascinating case on draft night as it’s a loaded class and we’ll see just how highly the NFL values the position. Here’s Mock Draft 2.0 for 2017, as always, done from the perspective of what I would do as general manager of each team. (Note: Order is determined based on record, with tiebreakers due to strength of schedule, with teams currently in the playoff field listed by record in Nos. 21-32.) With the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft… pic.twitter.com/HNIOvMshtM — Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 14, 2016 1. Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, Edge, Texas A&M The big question will be at quarterback for the Browns and trying to decipher if any signal-caller is worth taking at the top of the draft. There are certainly questions at the top and the Browns have two first-round picks to play with, so they do have some flexibility, especially with what is shaping up to be a very deep defensive draft. That said, they add the best pass-rusher in the draft in Garrett who graded at 91.0 as a rusher this season despite playing while banged up for much of the year. He has the burst, bend and power that teams are looking for off the edge and his three-year production is outstanding. Coming into the year, we wanted to see Garrett improve against the run and he did just that by grading at 86.8 to finish fourth among all edge defenders. 2. San Francisco 49ers: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson While Cleveland can afford to wait on a quarterback, the 49ers will make the move for Watson despite some of the question marks to his game. He made a few too many bad decisions with the ball this season and his accuracy was inconsistent, but Watson continued to bounce back from his mistakes and his work down the stretch has been outstanding, grading as the nation’s top quarterback from Week 9 through the end of the year for the second straight season. Watson has the tools to make the necessary throws, whether zipping one up the seam or throwing downfield with touch while his mobility is an added bonus, particularly if Chip Kelly is finally looking to add more of a quarterback running component to his offense. 3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jonathan Allen, DI, Alabama There’s still room to improve on Jacksonville’s defensive line, even with a number of new additions over the last couple of seasons. Allen brings a versatile threat, capable of playing on the edge or on the interior and he’s coming off one of the most dominant seasons in the nation. He led all interior defensive linemen with a 93.3 pass-rush grade and also led the way with 60 total pressures while playing strong in the run game. Allen took on more of a full-time role this season, playing a career-high 620 snaps and his production didn’t slow down one bit after playing 903 snaps the previous two seasons. Allen is a cornerstone piece up front on defense and he’s too good to pass up at the top of the draft. https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/807986168977625088 4. Chicago Bears: Derek Barnett, Edge, Tennessee While Barnett may not have the classic edge rusher look that Garrett possesses, the two true juniors have had similar production since coming into the SEC in 2014. Barnett is strong against the run and his 92.3 pass-rush grade ranked second among edge defenders. Even in Chicago’s 3-4 scheme, there’s room for Barnett to play some outside linebacker on the edge while rushing the passer in subpackages. Even with Chicago spending their first-round pick on edge defender Leonard Floyd last year, they shouldn’t shy away from Barnett who adds even more potential star power to the front-seven. 5. New York Jets: Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson With holes all over the roster, the Jets add one of the draft’s top cornerbacks in Tankersley. He’s a long cornerback who can get physical in press coverage while showing enough movement skills to mirror receivers. Tankersley had the No. 5 overall grade among the nation’s corners and he’s a good fit for the man coverage schemes head coach Todd Bowles likes to deploy. 6. Tennessee Titans (from Los Angeles Rams): Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida The Titans are one of the more fascinating teams in the draft as they have two first-round picks, and they’ll go with Tabor to kick things off. He closes on the ball as well as any corner in the class and his big-play style reminds of Aqib Talib of the Denver Broncos. That aggressiveness will get Tabor in trouble with double moves — but he got his hands on 10 of 39 targets this season (four interceptions, six pass breakups) — and that big-play ability will be a much-needed addition or the Titans. 7. Carolina Panthers: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State Here’s where the imagination can run wild. Cook represents the perhaps the draft’s best big-play threat and when paired with QB Cam Newton, the Panthers can do special things with their run game. Current running back Jonathan Stewart brings a power component, but he’s getting up there in age and no running back and take it to the house like Cook who has angle-changing speed and led the nation with 80 missed tackles forced this season. 8. New Orleans Saints: Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama The more I watch Foster, the more he looks like an excellent three-down linebacker at the next level. The nation’s top-graded linebacker this season, Foster can play with power in the run game, often making blockers pay while finding his way to the ball quickly and efficiently. But perhaps most impressive his agility that allows Foster to stay with shifty running backs and avoid second-level blocks in the run game. The Saints have many holes to fill on the defense, but the linebacker play has been poor the last couple of years and the value of a three-down linebacker is higher than ever. 9. Cleveland Browns (from Philadelphia Eagles): Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina The second quarterback of the first round comes off the board in Trubisky who is creeping up the PFF Draft Board, though we have him as more of a back end of the first round player. However, the Browns are in position to take a chance and they look to Trubisky who is coming off a breakout year at North Carolina. He has the size, arm and athleticism to catch the attention of scouts, but he was also accurate as a first-year starter and he made good decisions with the ball in his hands. It all led to Trubisky ranking 10th in the nation among quarterbacks, and it would be even higher if not for a disastrous game in a hurricane against Virginia Tech. While he has the tools to build around, the risk with Trubisky is the lack of sample size as he only has the one year of starting experience, but it was an impressive season and there’s a chance he goes even higher on draft day. 10. San Diego Chargers: Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin I went away from the board more than I usually would, but watching QB Philip Rivers throw from a collapsing pocket the last two years has inspired an offensive line selection. Ramczyk burst onto the scene this year with outstanding play both as a pass protector and in the run game, making the rare transition from Division III college football to FBS competition look easy. With the power to block in-line, the speed to block on the move and the pass-blocking skills to hold up against top edge rushers, Ramczyk is the first step toward a re-vamped offensive line in San Diego. 11. Arizona Cardinals: Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan The No. 2 cornerback spot has been a trouble area for the Cardinals and Lewis is a good fit for their man-heavy scheme. He doesn’t have the size of some other corners, but he brings a feistiness to the position that allows him to play tight man coverage and the results have been fantastic over the last three years. He’s been targeted 175 times, allowing only 36.6 percent of his targets to be completed while getting his hands on 33 passes (six interceptions, 27 pass breakups) and he’s only given up two touchdowns. 12. Cincinnati Bengals: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan The Cincinnati offense ran much smoother when WR A.J. Green had a strong running mate on the other side and Davis fits the bill as a perfect complement. He’s an exceptional route runner and he has the ball skills to make plays down the field. Davis has ranked among the top receivers in the nation for three straight years and his presence opposite Green will make the Bengals a dangerous offense to defend. His ability to separate quickly off the line of scrimmage should also help the offensive line that has taken a step back this season and it plays well with QB Andy Dalton who likes to get rid of the ball quickly. 13. Indianapolis Colts: Tim Williams, Edge, Alabama With holes all over the defense, the Colts can go a number of ways here but they look to attack the pass rush with perhaps the best pass-rush specialist in the draft in Williams. That’s been his role at Alabama the last three years and he’s excelled, pressuring the quarterback on 27.8 percent of his rushes (NCAA average is 10.0 percent for edge defenders). He has 20 sacks, 18 QB hits, and 78 pressures on those 418 rushes and while he’s only played 146 snaps against the run. That inexperience in the run game may be a concern, but Williams has shown impressive power when taking on blocks and the potential may be there to develop into an every-down player. Regardless, he’s getting drafted to rush the passer and it’s an area that the Colts desperately need to improve upon. 14. Buffalo Bills: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU Even with RB LeSean McCoy on the roster, Fournette brings a dynamic combination of speed and power to a Buffalo offense that would like nothing more than to run the ball downhill under head coach Rex Ryan. With QB Tyrod Taylor in the backfield with Fournette and McCoy, the Bills can run their own version of “exotic smashmouth” as Fournette is a good fit for their power scheme. He forced 85 missed tackles to lead the nation in 2015 before battling injuries in 2016, but he still showed the power and burst that made him a special college player. 15. Tennessee Titans: Malik McDowell, DI, Michigan State The Titans go defense once again, this time adding great size to the defensive front in the six
awaits. FACT: The New York Times network’s user name and password were “intern” and “Ochs1234.” Come on. To hacktivists like me that’s like an engraved invitation — if we ever even used paper, which we don’t. FACT: The boys in corporate don’t want anyone to know, but 70 percent of company revenues last year came from Times New Roman font royalties. Advertisement Continue reading the main story FACT: Tom Friedman’s column has, for the last three years, been written not been by Tom Friedman but by a consortium of Malaysian university students studying artificial intelligence. T.F. has agreed to keep this quiet because the Malaysians agreed to give him the book rights to the whole thing. And for my last trick FACT: Most amazing of all — now the world can be told — Maureen Dowd ==> Congratulation reader! Our very good reputation firm has now possession of Yakutsk gold mine but needs financing wired to Moscow for financial purposes. Due to short time we have re-hacked newspaper Web site for spreading word to smart Op-Ed readers ==> HEY. MY NAME'S DAVE. I'M NOT WEARING UNDERPANTS. Vidlink: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vbz ==> Arghh, sorry. Hacker Steve here again. Clearly some bugs to work out. Go read “Thomas L. Friedman” for a few minutes? I gotta go ask my Estonian what to do here. Check back next Tuesday. That’s the slot I’ve decided I want.BSD (Berkely System Distribution) was a research operating system based on the original AT&T Unix, developed by the University of Berkeley, California. It has been Open Source right from the beginning, and after the university lost interest in developing it further, several community projects started up (the very first ones were NetBSD and FreeBSD in the early nineties) to continue developing BSD. Anyway, Linux was born roughly at the same time, but a pending lawsuit about copyright infringements prevented the BSD projects to become as successful as Linux (though you could argue about the exact reasons). This led to Linux having great media coverage, while the BSD projects – though still having fresh innovations and being actively developed – except for new releases rarely make it to the press. Community As already covered on OSNews there was a debate about increasing incompatibilities of third party tools with BSD. This has always been an issue, especially for everything but FreeBSD, which has some coverage by hardware vendors as it is often used in servers. Though this was raised on an OpenBSD mailing list, developers are frustrated everywhere. But to understand the reasons for the concern, it’s important to understand the different philosophies of BSD and Linux developers. BSD guys are conservative folks, and they have to be: Every decision they make will immediately influence the whole operating system, as the whole BSD userland is bundled together and developed by the same persons and teams. Thus they tend to discuss more of the decisions part of any technical design. With Linux, you don’t have this problem. The GNU/Linux world consists of many independent software projects and distributions bundling them. A distributor can easily decide not to adopt a special version of a tool, but rather stay with an old one in order to preserve compatibility. So the major issue in this case is not only that there are incompatibilities — it is a general technical refusal of several implementations, but at the same time being forced to implement things to be compatible with the rest of the Open Source world (and especially desktop environments). As an example, just browse a random BSD board, mailing list or chat, and search for discussions about systemd. You’ll most probably find the worst trolling and ranting about it, while the Linux world in most cases took it with a shrug. DragonFlyBSD DragonFlyBSD is a fork of FreeBSD after the core developer of DragonFlyBSD, who was a FreeBSD developer at that time, didn’t like the technical decisions taken in the project and decided to found his own one. In 2012, DragonFlyBSD released two new versions: 3.0 on February 22nd, and 3.2 on November 2nd. The ongoing work to improve SMP and clustering support resulted in exceptionally good PostgreSQL benchmarks also beating Linux, but there were also several other important changes: VFS accounting/vquota — DragonFlyBSD introduced a quota subsystem in their VFS (Virtual File System) layer, which is the subsystem used for accessing the real filesystem modules. Thus, they are able to have quotas on any filesystem, no matter if the filesystem supports it or not – but with the current implementation, those quotas are only stored until the machine is shut down. TRIM support — DragonFlyBSD now supports the TRIM command to improve communication of the operating system with their solid state drives. USB4BSD import — The USB4BSD USB stack originally written for FreeBSD was imported to DragonFly, allowing easier maintenance and a broad range of drivers, including XHCI (USB 3.0) support. TrueCrypt/tcplay — TrueCrypt, a disk encryption tool, though being Closed Source, gained a wide distribution among computers due to its ease of use and cross-platform compatibility. DragonFlyBSD developers decided to write a compatible Open Source implementation. This implementation has already been ported to Linux and imported into some distributions, e.g. Fedora. When it comes to filesystems, DragonFlyBSD is famous for its HAMMER filesystem, which, informally speaking, is something like a ZFS, but with DragonFlyBSD’s more powerful vfs layer. In February 2012, with the conclusions and experiences gained from HAMMER, the development of HAMMER2 started. While DragonFlyBSD currently uses pkgsrc, the package system primarily used by NetBSD (but being cross-platform), there are intentions to introduce a new system. It is named DPorts, providing binary packages on top of FreeBSD’s packaging system, ports. Though it is rather experimental for now, the final goal is to make binary packages and the new pkg tool from FreeBSD the default for coming releases. Users won’t be forced to compile packages anymore. FreeBSD/PC-BSD FreeBSD is by far the most active BSD when it comes to sheer numbers, having the largest user and developer base (roughly 80% of the whole BSD community). In 2012, a new minor version of FreeBSD 8 (8.3-RELEASE in April) was released, as well as a new major version (9.0-RELEASE in January) and its first minor release (9.1-RELEASE in December). With 9.0-RELEASE, there came a long list of changes: HAST — HAST, the Highly Available STorage is an easy way to mirror block devices over the network and create high availability solutions with them. Essentially, it’s a RAID with synchronisation which is geared for networking. Capsicum — The capabilities framework Capsicum has been added to FreeBSD but tagged experimental. It enables applications to use fine-tuned capabilities. There is a dedicated developer for Capsicum, being funded by Google (which is apprently interested in using it for Chrome). Softupdates journaling — FFS now supports softupdates journaling, enabling you to use softupdates in conjunction with journaling, which have been two competing technologies until now. bsdinstall — The new bsdinstall(8) replaces the old installer which got a bit rusty in the end, not supporting many of the features FreeBSD introduced in the last years. bsdinstall provides more functionality and is more extendable by just being a bunch of sh scripts with dialog(1). NFSv4 — FreeBSD 9.0 supports the fourth version of the network file system NFS. Though it has been specified in 2000 (and again in 2003), there were only few implementations so far. Playstation 3 — FreeBSD now officially supports the Playstation 3 game console. This might be a bit late, but the Playstation 3 has been useful for several number crunching applications due to its processor and its low price. RACCT — A new Resource Accounting framework (RACCT) has been added: rctl(8) now supports limiting the resources on a per-jail, per-user, per-process or per-login-class model, but not percentual CPU time yet. gpart — The ancient tools for labeling disks (fdisk, *label) have been dropped in favour of gpart(8), though they will remain in base for compatibility reasons. The new tool should mainly be used with GPT partitions, the old types (MBR and disklabel) are not endorsed anymore. Clang/LLVM — In FreeBSD 9.0, the new compiler has been imported. It is not used for building 9.0, but in November 2012, all platforms were switched to use Clang by default, i.e. FreeBSD 10.0 will build with Clang instead of GCC by default. With 9.1-RELEASE, there was a change indicating an interesting development: ZFS changes from Illumos were pulled in. Maybe there is hope for an Oracle-independent development of ZFS? As many Open Source projects do, FreeBSD had a fundraising campaign at the end of the year, this time achieving a record result: About 750k USD were collected, showing the commercial size of FreeBSD well in comparison to the other BSDs. The money is spent for maintaining infrastructure and funding new projects, some of which promise interesting results: standard ARM platform — A standard ARM platform, the Genesi Efika MX SmartBook and SmartTop (ever heard of it?) with an ARM Cortex A8 SoC was determined, and developers got free devices to start development for. NAND flash — The goal of this project is to improve the support for devices running on small NAND flash memory, i.e. a filesystem, a driver framework for controllers and memory chips and tools shall be developed. growfs — The tool for enlarging filesystems shall be modified to be able to grow filesystems online. Until now, growfs is only capable of handling offline filesystems, i.e. unmounted filesystems. For FreeBSD, there were two unpleasant events in 2012: First, the security advisories on the best possible date, 23rd of December (the day just before Christmas holidays, when most administrators had already left). And second, there was another broad security issue this year: a security breach, published on November 17th. Administrators might have noticed that for about one week, there were no portsnap updates to ports trees. The reason was that one week earlier, the security team found an SSH key of a developer compromised as of 19th of September, with access to two ports development machines. Eventually, the security team announced they didn’t find anything security-relevant, but still recommend not to trust binary package installations made in that time frame. In December, everything was completely back online. NetBSD NetBSD is the oldest BSD derivate still under development. A few years ago, its developers mostly focused on supporting many platforms and providing a good abstraction to achieve this. Nowadays, the focus slightly shifted to provide a clean operating system. Here, clean means that code should be clean, and new features should be introduced thoughtfully, not just to be removed again after some releases or break compatibility. Three years after the last major NetBSD release (5.0), NetBSD 6.0 was finally released on October 17th. The NetBSD 5 branch was updated to 5.2 on 3rd of December and NetBSD 4.0 support was dropped five years after its initial release in 2007. Nearly three years after the last release, there are a lot of changes for 6.0: apropos — During the Google Summer Of Code (GSoC) 2011, there was a project to rewrite apropos(1) to not only have a dumb full-text search, but a relevance-weighted search. This apropos is now included in NetBSD 6.0. project to rewrite apropos(1) to not only have a dumb full-text search, but a relevance-weighted search. This apropos is now included in NetBSD 6.0. posix_spawn — POSIX finally decided to specify an interface to spawn a new process, named posix_spawn. In a GSoC project, this was implemented and is now part of NetBSD. netpgp — Due to many large dependencies GnuPG has, and the fact that it is GPL licenced (remember: BSD folks don’t like that), there was a rewrite of PGP/GPG, named netpgp. The implementation is not yet as feature-rich as gpg, but it is being further developed and is already capable of doing basic encryption and signing. v7fs, chfs — The ancient Unix 7th Edition file system has been reimplemented. The reason behind it is to have a very small filesystem alternative to FAT, and to be able to read old disks from PDP-11s. On the other hand, there is a new filesystem named CHFS which is intended to be used on small flash devices. npf — In NetBSD 6.0, a new firewall solution named npf was introduced. It was written as a replacement to overcome the problems with the two which were already implemented (ipf and pf). Recently, Antti Kantee (pooka@) provided two more nice applications of his rump anykernel concept: He ran NetBSD kernel modules on Linux and even in a browser, using JavaScript. In July, there was an interesting post on a mailing list from a Google developer. It addressed the bionic C library used in Android devices, which apparently uses many parts from several sources. The goal of the developer was to merge the code used by Android back with upstream, eventually taking one single C library, and not several different ones. Though the discussion just ended without a result (at least without a public result), it is still nice to see how many projects are actually using parts of NetBSD’s code somehwere. This is also the case for MINIX. On March 7th, MINIX 3.2.0 was released. As the developers of MINIX are mainly researchers who want to use MINIX for researching, and not for developing software, and their userland was fairly old, they decided to use another one: NetBSD’s. Thus, from MINIX 3.2.0 on, there are large parts of the ordinary NetBSD userland as well as pkgsrc, the package management from NetBSD contained in MINIX. OpenBSD OpenBSD is a fork of NetBSD after personal issues between the now-OpenBSD main developer and the rest of the development team back in the nineties. Nowadays, OpenBSD is famous for its focus on security and its radicalness in not accepting Closed Source software, leading to the development of common tools like OpenSSH. As every year, OpenBSD released two new versions (5.1 in May, 5.2 in November) – they have a fixed periodic release schedule. OpenBSD releases always have a motto and an accompanying release song, sometimes also with a story behind it. 5.1 had the generic motto Bug Busters, while 5.2 had the motto Aquarela Do Linux, referring to the problems Marc Espie pointed out as mentioned before (see “Community”). The major changes in 2012 were: NAT64 — OpenBSD 5.1 introduced NAT64 for their packet filter pf. Books — The preorder of Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd Edition, a famous book about OpenBSD, started. pthreads — Until then, pthreads in OpenBSD had been user-level only. This year, rthreads were introduced, mapping pthreads of a userland utility directly to kernel processes, improving SMP capability and speed, now making better usage of multicore machines. In June 2012, the project Bitrig forked from OpenBSD. Their philosophy, as opposed to OpenBSD, is mainly about being less conservative. Its developers want to drop the main focus on security and supporting old platforms, but focus on using Clang as their default compiler (OpenBSD uses GCC), providing better KVM (virtualisation) support, providing filesystem journaling by porting NetBSD’s WAPBL, supporting only x86 machines (i386, amd64), improving OpenBSD’s SMP support. Note You should have in mind that I’m part of the FreeBSD and NetBSD community myself, so this report might have been biased towards these two. I also excluded all the general improvements operating systems go through over time: improving performance, adding drivers, becoming more stable.In the wake of a massive US Department of Agriculture report highlighting the continuing large-scale death of honeybees, environmental groups are left wondering why the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to approve a "highly toxic" new pesticide. The continuing mass death of honeybees, known scientifically as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and a “pollinator crisis,” could well strain production of over 100 crops in the US including apples, zucchinis, avocados and plums. The agriculture value of these products is estimated at over $200 billion globally per year. As RT recently reported, a new USDA report has taken a broad look at the decline of bee colonies in the country, highlighting a dire situation as the number of colonies has plummeted from 3 million in 1990 to 2.5 million this year. Demonstrating that the decline is a long-term issue, that same report points to the existence of 6 million honey bee colonies in 1947. Though dire, the report does not offer any immediate solutions, as scientists continue to examine the potential causes for the mass colony collapses, during which adult bees abandon their hives, along with the queen, brood and food supplies. The USDA cites “multiple factors… including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure,” while also citing last summer’s drought as a contributing factor. Many environmental groups seem convinced that pesticides are a main factor in the continuing colony collapse situation. One group, Beyond Pesticides, has called the EPA’s recent green light for use of a new insecticide known as sulfoxaflor irresponsible in light of its “highly toxic” classification for honey bees. In late April, the European Union voted to enact a two-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (sulfoxaflor is considered by many to be a "fourth-generation neonicotinoid") in light of scientific studies that indicate their harm to bees. As in the US, a number of European countries have also been monitoring declining health and colony collapses in their bee populations, including France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Groups such as the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) have praised the continent-wide ban. “The EU vote comes after significant findings by the European Food Safety Agency that these pesticides pose an unacceptable risk to bees and their use should be restricted. Along with habitat loss and pathogens, a growing body of science points to neonicotinoid pesticides as a key factor in drastically declining bee populations,” said a statement by PAN. Meanwhile, major pesticide manufacturers scoff at the two-year European ban. “As a science-based company, Bayer CropScience is disappointed that clear scientific evidence has taken a backseat in the decisionmaking process. This disproportionate decision is a missed opportunity to reach a solution that takes into consideration all of the existing product-stewardship measures and broad stakeholder concerns.” Unlike the straight-cut decision taken by the EU, the same USDA report highlighting plummeting bee colony numbers in the US seems to undermine the possibility of even a temporary ban on potentially harmful pesticides. According to one veteran environmental reporter, Bryan Walsh of Time Magazine, the USDA report in introducing several “potential” factors in CCD skirts the issue of pesticides altogether. “The USDA report mostly withholds judgment on neonicotinoids, citing the need for more research, and the Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a very slow review of the evidence,” says Walsh. The review cited by the agency is slated to take an additional five years. Meanwhile, the domesticated bee population in the US has reached a 50-year low. According to Walsh, in a normal year the commercial bee industry would expect to lose 10 to 15 per cent of its colonies, but over the past five years mortality rates have increased dramatically, ranging from 28 to 33 per cent. Unlike in the EU, where at least in terms of policy lawmakers were not willing to take a chance on pesticides, the USDA’s report points to various possible causes for the massive colony collapse, including: A parasitic mite called Varroa destructor; a bacterial disease called European foulbrood; and the use of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, a neuroactive chemical. Yet, almost paradoxically, the USDA seems to lend further study a time frame which seems glacial compared to its own dire estimates of mass bee die offs. “Currently, the survivorship of honeybee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of US agricultural crops,” the USDA report said.Q:What will happen when China rules the world? A: This is a fascinating topic which has been in discussion in Western think-tanks and political meetings as well as Chinese think-tanks and political meetings for over a decade. First of all let us consider the existing Hegemonic Superpower of Today - USA. The USA is a powerful country not because of its worldwide 800 bases or its 11 Aircraft Carrier fleets or 10 Helicopter carriers or its immense ICBM stockpile or its Stealth Aircraft Fleet but mainly because of its huge economy. PAX AMERICANA which exists informally from 1919 and formally from 1946 looks like the above map and is not disappearing soon. The US’s GDP per capita based on PPP is $56000 which is tremendous and is among the top 10 of the world in per capita terms and Highest among countries having more than 50 million population. (considered as a minimum for power projection). List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita China as of 2015, was at $14300, giving competition to the likes of South Africa and Algeria and Serbia. Of-course, since an Indian asked this, India is at an abysmal $6187 which is in the league of Nigeria and Vietnam and way below China. So, basically China has only about 1/4th the US Per capita income based on today’s GDP. So, we can safely assume that the next 20–30 years the Americans will be way more richer than the Chinese and thus ahead of them. As more income will mean more investments in R&D, Defence etc and more rewards. China wants to topple Pax Americana and establish Pax Sina is not something that is hidden from others, though the Chinese leaders have displayed way more patience than Kaiser Wilhelm did in the early 20th century. Earlier, the end of the Punic Wars helped the Romans establish Pax Romana and the end of the Napoleonic Wars helped the British establish Pax Britannica and netted both of them i.e Rome and Britain huge advantages, similarly the USA is benefiting today from its worldwide empire. China wants the same despite all its posturing (verbal diarrhoea) to the contrary. Once and IF China becomes the world’s largest economy and also among top 10 in the world as per per capita income based on PPP, say by 2050, we can see the following (the end results have already started in some places)- East Asia and South Asia will become puppets of China and pay tribute. West Asia (middle east) will become a quasi-colony and give raw material and tribute. Africa and South America will become a major raw material supplier, again quasi colony. The Chinese sickle will till the crops of Africa and South America. (Pun Intended). The Americans will be thrown out of Asia. Central Asia and former USSR areas will become part of the Sino-Sphere. Russia will become a close ally of the Chinese just like the UK is to the USA, a special relationship will be hammered out. (Pun Intended). As a funny take on this argument, a much circulated map on the internet shows how China views the rest of Asia- (this is posted solely for fun and not to disrespect anyone or any nation) However, i don’t think all of this happening so easily, the US for all its faults is a much more benevolent hegemon compared to what China will be and this has already been realised by many countries and alarm bells are ringing in the corridors of power of East Asia, South-East Asia and most of South Asia and Australasia. Summary- Long Term projections are often flawed and we never know how things turn out till they do. Thus, such projections are to be taken with a pinch of Salt.When Michel Therrien was first hired to coach the Montreal Canadiens there was public outcry. The majority of this displeasure stemmed from wounds of the past, which still hadn’t healed since his failed debut behind the Habs bench during the early 2000s. After one of the worst seasons in modern Canadiens history, the fanbase was looking for management to go in the complete opposite direction: maybe bringing in a coach more along the lines of the franchise’s new GM hire. It was a text message that seemingly overnight changed the public’s perception. Sidney Crosby, the planet’s best hockey player, sent a message to Therrien congratulating him on receiving a new position with the Canadiens. The fact that Crosby still had a positive relationship with his former coach after things went south in Pittsburgh was an indication to many of Therrien’s worth. Suddenly, the narrative changed and he was viewed as a coach who would be beneficial for the youth movement in Montreal. The fanbase and media, just like pretty much everyone else in the hockey community, would continue to warm up to Therrien as the 2011-12 NHL laughing stock would climb their way to the top of the league. Even after an immense struggle in the last month of the season, coupled with a disappointing playoff campaign, he was deep in the conversation for the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year. However, it is a well-known fact that the fanbase and media in Montreal have very short memories. In a sense you are only as good as your last performance in a city that has a history of incredible hockey performances. The second winning is no longer a constant blame starts to be distributed at a surprising pace, leaving no stone unturned in the quest to find underachievement. At this point last season, the Canadiens had a stunning record of 12-4-3, at the summit of the NHL’s Eastern Conference. Now, less than a year later, they are 9-8-2, clinging to one of the final playoff spots. This stark contrast has those surrounding the team up in arms. The majority of those arms are pointed squarely at Therrien. Since his return to Montreal, Therrien has often been a coach who identified with making decisions that were not necessarily embraced by the public, otherwise known as “bizarre”. Between his line combinations, who he puts on the ice in certain situations and even when he elects to use his timeout, Therrien does very little that is conventional. The difference is that last season this non-conventional thinking worked, this season it has just caused more frustration. In fact everything has gone a bit opposite for the Montreal. Last year the team found success in a sort of offense by committee system that finished third in the NHL in goals for. This year that offensive has essentially dried up. In terms of goals per game, the team has 2.5, significantly lower than the 3.1 they posted last season. That.6 more goals per game would have made all the difference thus far, as seven of the Habs ten losses this season have been by only one goal. Therrien’s insistence on using his fourth line extensively is frustrating, especially when the team’s offense has gone quiet. But it is the poor performances of certain forwards that has truly made the wrong kind of difference up front. David Desharnais has continued his downward spiral. Max Pacioretty, when healthy, hasn’t been close to the player who has led the team in scoring two years in a row. Daniel Briere has been less than an ideal replacement for Michael Ryder. Rene Bourque’s lack of effort sticks out extensively on a team built from character and hard work. Captain Brian Gionta looks his age. Meanwhile, singled out last year as the bump that triggered the Habs stumble over the finish line, Carey Price has been the least of the team’s problems this year. His play has positioned him well both in terms of the Vezina Trophy conversation and the Olympics. But what it surprisingly hasn’t done is carry the team to the heights of last season. Before the season began, I wrote that “Price finally has a team in front of him that will lose because of him, not despite his efforts”. After Tuesday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning I could not have been more wrong. This may not be the fault of Therrien, but since the club seems to have removed the “extra” for last year’s “extraordinary” season the fanbase is looking for reasons. Almost ironically, the moment he addressed one of his biggest criticism, the excess of icetime given to Desharnais, he turned the fanbase’s anger in his own direction. As for how he will react to this it is unclear as he has faced very little adversity since being hired. Another controversy surrounding Therrien, and possibly the biggest thorn in his side currently, is his relationship with star defenceman PK Subban. Subban, coming off a Norris Trophy season, has seen his icetime diminish more than once this season due to mistakes he has made. The media has suggested, and not for the first time, that this has strained the relationship between the two. The story goes that it has been strained to the point where Subban would consider options other than resigning with the Canadiens when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. The feeling of the fanbase is that Subban is not replaceable and that Therrien can be easily replaced. End of discussion, if the Habs coach cannot get along with the team’s star than there are others who can. It’s not worth losing Subban over a coach who is struggling to get a team labeled and “Eastern Conference contender” back into the playoffs. Calls to fire Therrien are premature, as is often the case in the Montreal market, but they do exist, and in sizable numbers. Those fires will continue to be fueled if the team cannot climb out of the early season mediocrity to which it has succumbed. Therrien had best be careful, fan opinions carry more weight than ever in this day and age. Things will only get worse if the team continues to struggle when they return to full health as Emelin and Prust return this weekend. However, as it stands Therrien appears to be well liked within the Canadiens organization. Other than Subban, with whom the media has a tendency to exaggerate, few stories of player/coach tension have emanated from the dressing room. In this, Therrien has built a team dynamic that has legitimately caused his group to overachieve. Furthermore, The media itself seems to be accepting of Therrien, who has been highly accommodating thus far in both languages. As for actually being relieved of his duties, it is unlikely that he will be fired prior to the end of the season. That would only take place should the team miss the playoffs, the mantra in the dressing room is “no excuses” after all. But this initial fan displeasure could be seen as the first seed should the 2013-14 results fail to improve. Blame has to be placed somewhere, and Therrien is in one of the most vulnerable positions in the entire sport. While it is too early to say for sure, should things go south this could be pinpointed as the beginning of the end.Netsparker Web Scanner Automatically Identifies DOM XSS Vulnerability in WordPress Default Theme Today we published advisory CVE-2015-3429 about a DOM based cross-site scripting vulnerability in the default WordPress theme Twenty Fifteen. This WordPress theme has been included by default in WordPress since version 4.1, which was released on the 18th of December 2014. Millions of WordPress Websites Vulnerable to DOM XSS Since the Twenty Fifteen theme is included by default in WordPress, many WordPress users do not delete it from their installation even when they use another theme. Even though the theme is not activated, the vulnerable files can still be accessed by attackers, thus rendering such sites vulnerable to DOM XSS. When you consider that WordPress powers around 20% of the websites on the internet, there could be millions of WordPress websites vulnerable to this DOM XSS vulnerability. How Are DOM XSS Vulnerabilities Typically exploited? To exploit a DOM based cross-site scripting vulnerability such as this one, after identifying a vulnerable website the attacker sends an email to the website users with a link that will exploit the vulnerability and triggers a script that steals the users' cookie. Instead of an email the attacker can also post a comment on the website itself with the malicious link. To encourage users to click the link attackers typically send legit like emails where they advise the users to click on the link to update their profile, or to change their password etc. Even though the link is malicious, it still points to the legit website's domain hence typically users, even administrators sometimes fall for such type of tricks and click on the link. Once a user clicks on the link and the attacker gets hold of the users' cookie, the attacker can easily input the cookie in his browser to emulate the users' session. Should the victim be the WordPress administrator, the attacker gains administrative privileges on the target and vulnerable website. Typically at this stage the attacker creates another user with administrator privileges to retain access to the vulnerable website and operate unnoticed. For more detailed and technical information on this vulnerability read our article DOM based cross-site scripting vulnerability. How to Fix this WordPress DOM XSS? WordPress just announced WordPress 4.2.2, a security and maintenance fix that addresses this and other issues. If you have automatic updates enabled most probably your WordPress websites have been updated. Alternatively, if you do not want to update your WordPress to 4.2.2, which is not recommended you can: a) update the theme Twenty Fifteen only, or if you are not using it simply uninstall it from your WordPress website or b) delete the vulnerable file example.html which can be found in the following WordPress directory /wp-content/themes/twentyfifteen/genericons/example.htmlSticky Studios released a game under the same name, which Apple featured. It keeps the same premise but follows an alternative plot with three people gathering data on Earth to locate a rogue satellite. The game is a turn-based puzzler, and generally has had very positive reviews. See more Goofs Just after Cheng Long is hit by the car Secret Service Agent Sarah Wilson follows a vehicle down a street with the dome of The United States Capital clearly shown in the background. There are no streets off of Dupont Circle that would show The Capital building in the line of sight. The closest point would possibly be along Pennsylvanian Avenue via Washington Circle Park which is.6 miles away and that would still require looking through The White House and Executive Building Complex. See moreMy memories of George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead are of my brother and I staying up late to watch it on Bob Wilkins' Creature Feature show in the '70s after wolfing down a Salisbury Steak Mystery Meat Hungryman TV dinner and herding our Golden Retrievers inside for protection against shambling zombies. That threat returns with the indie horror flick, Night of the Living Dead: Genesis, featuring the actual Barbra, played by Judith O'Dea, reprising her role as the tormented girl that shuffling deadheads just love to come get! Zoom In Zoom In Since Romero's seminal film is in the public domain, this is an unofficial prequel/sequel reimagining that pays homage to the original by injecting some of the unintentional camp and no-budget craziness seen in the source material. Since Barbra was a tender feast for the undead in the first film, it will be interesting to see how she got out of that putrefying predicament. Hey, if Glenn did it on The Walking Dead, why not her? Directed by Matt Cloude, Night of the Living Dead: Genesis also stars Sarah Snyder, Mike Lord, Sr. and Cyrus Samson. Here's the slim but official synopsis: Night of the Living Dead: Genesis pays homage to the timeless classic while expanding upon its storyline to explore more of the night when the dead began to rise. There's no release date yet but we'll keep you posted. Have a look at the first bloody trailer and tell us if this looks appetizing to you. Video of 41LnVpVnA3g (Via Dread Central)One of the most dazzling insights of the sages was to connect the dots – the three places in the Torah where children are spoken of as asking questions, and the fourth where we are commanded to “teach your child on that day” – and turn them into the series of vignettes known as the arba banim, the four children of the Haggadah, one wise, one “wicked,” one simple and one not yet able to ask. Most fascinating and perplexing is the rasha. Today we would probably call him the rebel, the sceptic, the delinquent. I for one find it hard to describe any child as a rasha, hence the quotation marks. One puzzle is simply this: what is wicked or subversive about the question, “What is this service to you?” (Ex. 12: 26). It seems straightforward. The child wants to know why his parents are doing what they do. That is what most inquisitive children want to know about the behaviour of adults. The Torah itself does not treat the child as a rebel or the question as a provocation. The passage continues: “You must answer, ‘It is the Passover service to God. He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, sparing our homes’” (Ex. 12: 27). This is a straightforward answer to a straightforward question. Nonetheless, the sages heard something discordant and dissident in the text, leading them to conclude that something is not quite right. What was it? To this, there
who’s receiving what drugs for which psychological ailment, who watches what kind of bizarre/outlandish/illegal pornography etc. The power of our secrets to hurt us would be diminished by the knowledge of how common our greatest vices actually are. We would truly see that we all live in proverbial glass houses and perhaps we would stop casting proverbial stones at others, recognizing them as more similar to us than we would currently admit. But like I said, whomever controls the secrets controls the access to secrets, and will only expose those who are troublesome and need to be discredited. And compared to the whole of humanity, the number of people outed and exposed will be miniscule, but it will be enough to scare everyone else and keep them in line. Unless we decide not to be afraid. You see, when I was a kid I tried to blackmail my sister, Tarah into doing the dishes for me by threatening to tell on her for putting a steel pot in a microwave. I played it up as a big deal, telling her how she could have burnt the house down and people could have died, and I even fabricated a story of how my Mom caught my other sister, Tanya doing the same thing and she got smacked for it (I was a kid and kids are retarded, sadistic assholes). Tarah got so scared that she was in tears and was ready to do the dishes for me. But of course, my mother probably wouldn’t have cared, seeing as it was an accident, and my little sister need not have been afraid. Knowing her mistake didn’t actually give me any power over her; it was only her fear of reprisals that gave me any power over her. I think this is an incredibly apt example of how we are controlled through our fear of consequences. Any reprisals she would have faced were nothing compared to the nightmare scenario she had concocted in her brain, and I think this holds true for most, if not all cases of blackmail.* What’s that you say? My tale of childhood blackmail was small potatoes compared to real blackmail that could cost people careers, spouses, money and/or freedom. Well, I would argue that fear is in the eye of the beholder, and that the fear a scared child has of a beating is just as palpable and real as the fear an adult feels when facing “grown-up” repercussions. In the long run, if they value freedom, it is better for both the adult and the child to take their proverbial lumps and not live under someone else’s thumb. Or do like Dave Letterman and fuck ’em on national TV. This is how you handle fear Realistically though is everyone gonna face their fear of public embarrassment like Dave? Probably not. Did he have a lot to lose? Most certainly. But at the same time I think its safe to say that his indiscretions were relatively benign. Its not like he was fucking little boys or anything. But whatever your particular vice or indiscretion, as soon as you claim it you take the bullet that can hurt you out of the chamber. This is actually a picture of someone putting a bullet IN a chamber but since its a snapshot it works. #themagicofstilllife So while I wait for everyone to reject fear and voluntarily out themselves, thus nullifying the power of spying, what would I like to see happen? Well, the prevailing mentalities among the “spied upon” seem to be either trying to legislate privacy, or blithely accepting greater surveillance and by extension, isolation. But what if we the public were to be “wikileaked?” Imagine if you will, one day you woke up to discover that some industrious group of hackers hacked the NSA’s database where they store everything they know about your masturbation habits and everyone else’s, then took this information and uploaded to the ether for anyone to download off Pirate Bay? Or it could be an NSA insider. Fuck, we already had Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning, so at this point there’s a precedent. It would be like in Fight Club when they blow up all the credit card company buildings, essentially leveling the playing field by starting everyone back at zero. Noone would be able to leverage anything on you cause there would be so much shit that we’d stop caring. Secrets would cease to be like diamonds, valuable as they are for their artificial scarcity, and instead become like air: free and abundant and taken for granted. I’ll leave you with an observation from Orwell’s classic, 1984. Everyone in that book might as well have been committing thoughtcrime, because even if they weren’t they would eventually have a moment of weakness and frustration and get reported on by their neighbours or directly observed by the Party. They were all chafing under the oppressive weight of the Ingsoc monolith and while they likely all harbored subversive thoughts, they all looked around and saw other people smiling blithely (as a survival mechanism) and thus felt isolated among fellow dissidents. And this is what a party interested in power counts on; people feeling ashamed and thus isolated from fellows who share the same human traits and frustrations they do. We may not be ready yet to come forward with all of our own sins, but we can get the ball rolling by judging, ostracizing and condemning less, and doing our part to create a more open world where people with secrets, vices, and other problems don’t need to shoulder the triple burdens of shame, isolation, and fear of exposure. DOX THE WORLD! Best, -Andre Guantanamo On a poetic note, after I had gotten her to agree to do the dishes for me, my mother, who had told me to do them, entered the kitchen and asked why there weren’t done. I couldn’t say, “Oh because I spent the last fifteen minutes trying to blackmail Tarah into doing it.” Nor could I say that Tarah had voluntarily agreed to do it, because then she would become curious and my sister would crack under her questioning exposing the whole sordid affair. So I told her I was about to do them, and thankfully it didn’t occur to my sister to come clean and out me as a blackmailing coward. This just shows that while the blackmailer benefits from the threat of exposing partial truth, they abhor the full disclosure of the whole situation and their dirty role in it. This is why complete truth, and complete disclosure should be sought. AdvertisementsUnable to put America to work during the eight years of Barack Obama, now at least some part of the radical left is trying to infuse a little cash into the system. An organization called Fight For The Future is looking to pay an “A-Team” of anti-Trump foot soldiers up to $15k for the first month of working to “resist” the President of the United States. To start, we’re going to select some of the strongest teams for funding. So if you’ve got a 2-3 person A-Team and a target, you should apply. We’d potentially give you $15,000 for the first month, just to see what you can do. The group paying these anti-Trump activists is called “Fight For The Future” a which until now organized online protests against things like Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act. Most recently it fought against the removal of net neutrality rules, with a “Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality.” And some of their other efforts have included #HugsforChelsea (Manning) and #PardonSnowden take our poll - story continues below Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? Yes, they've gotten so much wrong recently that they're bound to be on their best behavior. No, they suffer from a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Jussie who? Email * Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Completing this poll grants you access to The Lid updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Trending: CRAZY CNN Op-Ed Suggests Military Action If Trump Refuses To Concede Defeat In 2020 But this is a major expansion of their efforts; You can call Congress, or attend a protest. And you should. But is that it? Why stop there? Why set aside everything you’ve learned, everything you are, to be simply one more terrified person on a phone line, or marching in a street? What if you did the following, as well? Find someone you love to work with. Pick an issue area and angle. Do activism full-time using every connection, skill, tool, and trick at your disposal—until you win. Our goal: to convince you to take exactly these steps, give you a playbook, and then potentially fund you. This is a proposal for defending the world. And it’s a good one. If you’re feeling like the world needs defending right now, keep reading. Among the issues Fight for Freedom suggests for their A-Teams are: Healthcare / ACA Climate [Change Hypothesis] [supporting illegal] Immigration The Wall (not the Pink Floyd album) Impeachment Police Economic populism Racism / Fascism Renewable energy And many more. But before you quit your job to get the quick fifteen big ones, please note: they aren’t just giving out the money “A-Teams” have to apply for it: The plan is to describe the key ingredients for something we’re calling an Activism Team, or A-Team. First, we’ll tell you what that is. And then… The plan is to convince you to start an A-Team, join one, or volunteer for one. And then… The plan is to start dozens of A-Teams focused on issue areas where humanity faces serious political challenges or opportunities. You, one team, many teams. Then the plan is to help the best A-Teams find the support they need to do this full-time, going forward, for as long as it takes. You probably have some questions! (…) (…)Activism Teams, or A-Teams, are new, small, interdisciplinary teams focused on defending or improving some aspect of the world. An A-Team is like a special ops team for activism, with all the skills needed to create political change. Sort of, actually. A-Teams can write persuasively; speak with a strong voice online (with design, images, video, and code); size up their target’s internal power structures and weaknesses; and build strategies to rally the public, focusing collective action at the right pressure points, at the right time. When you work in politics, it’s shocking how incomplete most political pushes are, even major ones. Once you get the first month’s cash…that may be all she wrote: If you are granted $15k, there’s no guarantee of further funding. That being said, we’d work with teams to develop a fundraising plan for what happens after that. If we find people who are awesome at this and they’re working on a primary issue like one of the ones we listed above, we’re hopeful that we can get them ongoing funding. There’s some risk we won’t be able to, but we think it’s more likely than not that we will. “Fight For The Future” is a 501(C)(4) which means it can participate in some political activity. Unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, 501(c)(4) organizations can legally participate in political activity in support of or opposition to candidates for office. These political activities cannot be the organization’s primary activities and cannot be direct donations to a candidate for office or a candidate’s committee. So depending how much time and cash they spend on the fight Trump project, the effort may be perfectly Kosher to the IRS. The group is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and similar extreme left groups Instead of paying groups to fight against the legitimately elected president of the United States, why doesn’t fight for the future advocate FOR something, even the issues they care about…rather than against people. It is this attitude by the left-wing of the country that is splitting the population and feeding politicians like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to dedicate their lives to “resistance” rather than legislating. This organization isn’t Fighting for Future, they are fighting for divisiveness and political gridlock. But then again what do you expect from an organization at least partially funded by George Soros.Overwatch Update - RT please First off I wanted to start by saying that for the first time in Overwatch I am a free agent and will most certainly be looking for another team because I love this game and I love competing. I will play just about anything because I want to help a team win and will put as many hours needed into whatever my role is (although I do enjoy flex). For anyone wondering why I switched to Winston for a little it was because we didn't have anyone who was comfortable playing it and I volunteered to play it because I knew I would put in a ton of time to improve on it. A thing many people don't know is that I randomly played Roadhog for the first time about 2 weeks after we got to the house. I just do my best to put the time into what my team needs and have a team first attitude. These last few months have been absolutely amazing. I want to thank Brad and Steve so much for having faith that one day we could create a team that has success. When Brad first moved us to the team house we had no idea what was going to happen and he had full faith that we had the talent and pieces but just needed some time. One thing that people don't know is that for first few weeks we struggled a ton because we didn't find out how we wanted to play and didn't have an image of how we wanted to play. One thing that people don't really understand about us as a team is that we had insane chemistry that I haven't seen on many teams that I've been apart. We all got along in and out of game and would spend countless hours after scrims/matches just hanging out and talking. This is a very rare thing that I find in teams or games where people will just play then disappear until the next day. While being at a team house made it easy, it's still rare that you find everyone just getting a long and having a good time. Whether it was watching movies, joking around watching streams or just overall hanging out in the kitchen we always enjoyed each others company. All of us had a massive passion for this game and the drive to win and we just worked so hard to try to become one of the best teams. I'll never forget the amazing runs we would make through tournaments where we had to play a ton of matches and make it all the way to finals. We always played for each other in tournaments. We all wanted to make each other look good rather than just worrying about ourselves. Everyone that had moments never took credit away from their teammates and if they did make an amazing play we made sure that person knew how awesome it was. I saw so many people on this team grow into players that they never thought they could be. I want to circle back a bit to Brad (sephy). We owe so much to him because he let us live our dreams and gave us the tools to help us improve. I want to thank him so much for giving me this opportunity and having faith that whatever role I played in that I would give it my best and try my hardest (aka switching to Winston because we didn't have one). I don't think anyone even comes close to how many scrims Brad has sat in on and watched. He's not one of those people who just sits there, minimizes and just watches streams or movies. He would watch almost every single scrim we played in since the beginning of Selfless and always had positive feedback for us that we could use. He cared so much for this game, his passion was something I have never seen from someone who owns a team. I want to thank all of my teammates for making these past 5 months a great time. From the coaches, to the players I became such good friends with all of you and you all made this whole thing an awesome experience. Also thank you to all the fans who supported Selfless and followed us through everything. You guys were always so supportive and we all seriously appreciated all the kind things you guys would say. For now I will continue to stream (twitch.tv/emongg) and do youtube videos (youtube.com/emongg) and hopefully soon enough we can find a team. I still have a massive passion for this game and I want to give my best to wherever I go next. I have full confidence that Overwatch will succeed and I would not give up on it just like that. This is the first game in a long time that I've actually enjoyed playing and I wouldn't just ditch it. <3 Reply · Report PostA recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBY) study suggests that millennials are retreating from big ticket purchases. After examining the trends, the study found that student debt reduces other types of borrowing such as mortgages and auto loans. After taking a closer look at the student debt numbers, it appears that the buying power of millennials has been significantly impaired. The majority of students are now graduating college with a negative net worth. This purchasing behavior shift could also be a symptom of the ongoing decline in disposable income growth. The following statistics from FRBNY frame the issue students are facing: student debt has increased from $260 billion in 2004 to $1.2 trillion in 2013 an estimated 37 million Americans have outstanding student loans the average student debt upon graduation has increased from $9,000 in 2004 to $30,000 in 2013 Matt Taibbi’s article Ripping Off Young America: The College-Loan Scandal, in the August 2013 edition of Rolling Stone magazine, sheds light on the hardships facing college graduates as education costs are spiraling out of control. It is worth noting that seven million of those 37 million borrowers are currently in default. The outstanding student debt now dwarfs both outstanding auto loans ($800 billion) and credit card debt ($700 billion). As student debt levels have quintupled over the last decade, it is fair to assume that it’s having a significant impact on the U.S. economy and the way millennials will consume in the future. The real question is whether this is a permanent or a temporary shift in consumer behavior? See Also: Engaging Consumers to Create a Circular Economy Climate Change: What is Real, Happening and Expected Food Labeling: Confuse and ConquerNeal Stephenson's newest book, ReaMdE, which is fecking rad, glared me in the face as I opened the box. It's intense orange visage held my eyes, as if mocking me "Go ahead, look at the other things in here with me, I dare ya!" But press on I did, whereupon I discovered not one, but two individually wrapped packages, both bearing a card with a cryptic, hand scrawled note "Happy Arbitrary Day! Reddit" Within the first a multifaceted collection of clear gemstones etched with blue elven runes, slightly glowing in the fading light of my living room (I think my neighbor may be an orc). Within the depths of the next, a pouch, simple in design, yet covered in yet more elven runes, a single large rune ringed by with smaller ones, as though to contain the mighty power of the great central word. (if you're curious, q-workshop.com)New meat-eating dinosaur alters evolutionary tree Related images (click to enlarge) Paleontologists, aided by amateur volunteers, have unearthed a previously unknown meat-eating dinosaur from a fossil bone bed in northern New Mexico, settling a debate about early dinosaur evolution, revealing a period of explosive diversification and hinting at how dinosaurs spread across the supercontinent Pangaea. A live embargoed webcast with the scientists will be held in advance of publication for credentialed reporters on Dec. 9. See details below. The description of the new species, named Tawa after the Hopi word for the Puebloan sun god, appears in the Dec. 10 issue of the journal Science in a paper lead-authored by Sterling Nesbitt, a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences. Nesbitt conducted the research with his colleagues while a graduate student at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the American Museum of Natural History. The fossil bones of several individuals were recovered, but the type specimen is a nearly complete skeleton of a juvenile that stood about 28 inches (70 cm) tall at the hips and was about 6 feet (2 meters) long from snout to tail. Its body was about the size of a large dog, but with a much longer tail. It lived about 214 million years ago, plus or minus a million. The specimens are remarkable because they show little sign of being flattened during fossilization. Tawa is part of a group of dinosaurs known as theropods, which includes T. Rex and Velociraptor. Theropods for the most part ate meat, walked on two legs and had feathers. Though most went extinct by 65 million years ago, some lineages survived to spawn modern birds. One of Tawa's most important contributions to science has to do with what it says about another dinosaur, Herrerasaurus, the center of a lively debate since its discovery in Argentina in the 1960s. Herrerasaurus had some traits in common with theropods—including large claws, carnivorous teeth and certain pelvic features—but lacked other theropod traits such as pockets in vertebrae for airsacs. Some paleontologists claimed it was so unusual it was outside the evolutionary tree of theropods, or even of dinosaurs. Others placed it among the earliest theropods. "The question was did those carnivorous traits arise in Herrerasaurus and in theropods independently or were they traits from a recent common ancestor that got passed down," said Nesbitt. "We had so few specimens of early theropods that it was hard to answer that question. But now that we have Tawa, we think we have an answer." Tawa had a mix of Herrerasaurus-like characteristics (for example, in the pelvis) and features found in firmly established theropod dinosaurs (for example, pockets for airsacs in the backbone). Therefore, the characteristics that Herrerasaurus shares uniquely with theropods such as Tawa confirm the characteristics didn't arise independently and that Herrerasaurus is indeed a theropod. The firm placement of Herrerasaurus within the theropod lineage points up an interesting fact about dinosaur evolution: once they appeared, they very rapidly diversified into the three main dinosaur lineages that persisted for more than 170 million years. Herrerasaurus was found in a South American rock layer alongside the oldest members of two major lineages—the sauropods and the ornithischians. "Tawa pulls Herrerasaurus into the theropod lineage, so that means all three lineages are present in South America pretty much as soon as dinosaurs evolved," said Nesbitt. "Without Tawa, you can guess at that, but Tawa helps shore up that argument." Tawa skeletons were found beside two other theropod dinosaurs from around the same period. Nesbitt noted that each of the three is more closely related to a known dinosaur from South America than they are to each other. This suggests these three species each descended from a separate lineage in South America, rather than all evolving from a local ancestor, and then later dispersed to North America and other parts of the supercontinent Pangaea. It also suggests there were multiple dispersals out of South America. The first Tawa fossils were discovered in 2004 by volunteers taking a week-long paleontology seminar with experts at the Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology in Abiquiu, New Mexico. The dig site, known as Hayden Quarry, is in a hillside on Ghost Ranch made famous by the painter Georgia O'Keefe. Alex Downs, an instructor for the course, contacted Nesbitt and a colleague to ask if they'd like to take a look at the fossils. There was a thigh bone, part of a hip and what later turned out to be some unrelated vertebrae. "When we saw them, our jaws dropped," said Nesbitt. "A lot of these theropods have really hollow bones, so when they get preserved, they get really crunched. But these were in almost perfect condition." He was also surprised by how much material was preserved at this one site. He and his colleagues began a full-scale excavation in 2006. Every summer since then, they've continued to unearth new material. The fossil bone bed extends for tens of meters along the hillside, promising years of painstaking work and perhaps additional significant discoveries.So my Santa basically read my mind as far as gifts go. I got a Star Lord Bobble Head which will keep my Dancing Groot Bobble Head company at work. They can go on adventures when I go home for the day. Also got a new mini credit card tool. I am really getting into EDC and lost all my cool gear in November when I lost my bag. I have been slowly rebuilding it and this is perfect. Also been having a problem with credit cards falling out of my wallet. I had to pick them all up off the floor just last night at a restaurant. This is just the perfect thickness to fit the gap in my wallet and keep everything snug and not loose anymore. In a word. Perfect.A record-setting amount of rain fell on the Harrisburg area Friday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service at State College. The area officially received 1.6 inches of rainfall at the Harrisburg International Airport on Friday. The previous record for any August 4 was 1.3 inches, set in 1915. The National Weather Srevice has been collecting data in the Harrisburg area since the 1880s. But much more rain was recorded by unofficial spotters around the area, according to Aaron Tyburski, a meteorologist with the weather service. 4.76 inches was recorded at the water plant near the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. 3.24 inches was recorded at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Cooke Township, Cumberland County. 2.91 inches was recorded in Mechanicsburg. 2.47 inches was reported in Carlisle. 2.1 inches of rainfall was recorded at Safe Harbor Dam in Manor Township, Lancaster County. Additional rainfall totals were not immediately available. The heavy rains occurred during several rounds of storms over the afternoon and evening hours on Friday, unlike the nearly five inches of rain that fell on the Middletown area last month in about an hour, Tyburski said. Check with PennLive for all of your weather updates. You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below. Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com. Tweets from https://twitter.com/PennLive/lists/weatherTwo of the five unnamed individuals cuffed this month in Romania on suspicion of spreading ransomware face US computer crime charges – for their alleged role in taking over 123 out of 187 networked computers that control Washington DC's CCTV cameras earlier this year. According to Europol, which led the arrests, this week, two of those arrested are suspected of attacking American computer systems using the Cerber ransomware. The Euro plod noted that the US Secret Service is also investigating those malware infections. In an affidavit obtained by CNN – unsealed by mistake and then resealed – Secret Service agent James Graham laid out the basis for the US Department of Justice's computer fraud case against two Romanian nationals, Mihai Alexandru Isvanca and Eveline Cismaru. In an email to The Register, a justice department spokesperson confirmed the linkage of the arrests and the US court filing. "These are separate but related investigations and the people you name are among those arrested by Europol," the spokesperson said. "Any court documents are not publicly available." In other words, the Isvanca and Cismaru nabbed in Romania by police as suspected Cerber ransomware extortionists are the Isvanca and Cismaru accused in the US of attacking the American capital's CCTV camera system. Traffic cameras Graham described how around January 9, 2017, and January 12, 2017, the pair, as part of an alleged ransomware scheme, took control of the networked Windows computers used by the Washington DC Metropolitan Police to run their traffic cameras. On January 12, having recognized that some of the cameras were offline, DC police IT staff and a Secret Service agent used Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) software to connect to one of the servers controlling the cameras. They observed the device with a number of open desktop windows running unexpected software. The windows displayed: a tracking number for a European shipping company, Hermes; a browser window with a Sendgrid account with activity for multiple email addresses; a browser window with Google search results for "email verifier online"; a browser window for http://emailx.discoveryvip.com/; a desktop window with a notepad program showing programming code and text files; and a window showing the splash screen for Cerber ransomware. The IT administrator subsequently blocked network access for the compromised device, which was subsequently removed, along with two other computers, for forensic analysis. Investigators determined that two ransomware variants, Cerber and Dharma, had been installed on the computers. They also found a text file, USA.txt, that contained 179,616 email addresses, used to spam intended ransomware victims. A text file with the same checksum was subsequently found in an email account associated with one of the defendants. Among the various email addresses used in the scheme, analysts identified vand.suflete@gmail.com as being of particular interest. According to Graham, the Romanian phrase "vand suflete" translates to "selling souls" in English. Remote control Graham explained that records for that Gmail address obtained from Google included a message with a link to what is believed to be a Cerber control panel. Allegedly, Isvanca and Cismaru were renting access to Cerber in order to infect victims, scramble their files, and extort money from them to restore the data. "In my training and experience, within the Cerber business model, the owner and creator of the Cerber malware leases out Cerber resources to affiliates (essentially, customers)," he explained in the court filing. "A Cerber control panel is a website that allows a Cerber affiliate to control the Cerber framework without having access to the source code, thereby allowing the owner and creator to retain for themselves the intellectual property of the malware and thus to generate additional income from other affiliates." The Europol release calls this "crime-as-a-service." Tracing the connections across the various email accounts led to Isvanca and Cismaru. Investigators contacted some of the people and organizations mentioned in the vand.suflete@gmail.com email account to determine whether their systems had been compromised. An unnamed company, confirming that it had been hacked, responded with screenshots of the Cerber splash page on its systems. The Hermes shipment tracking number seen on one of the compromised DC computers was traced to an address in London, UK, but an inquiry by the UK National Crime Agency found no evidence the recipients were involved in the ransomware scheme. UK healthcare biz hacked The IP address used to create the order, found on a DC computer, was traced to a UK healthcare company. That IP address was also found in an email in the vand.suflete@gmail.com account. The company, which confirmed to investigators that a user account on its eXpressApp Framework (XAF) system had been compromised, is left unnamed in the affidavit. A quick lookup of the IP address indicates that it is associated with the Newcastle office of healthcare firm WellWork Ltd, a name that's also spelled out in what appears to be an RDP connection string in the court filing. The various email accounts and IP addresses, cross-references with fraud databases, provided enough details to ask Romanian officials for further digital data linked to the defendants. Facebook and YouTube posts helped too. Graham said that in his experience, people often make slight alterations to their social media accounts to disguise their identities. Those alterations proved insufficient to hide from investigators. ®I don’t know about you, but it has been a busy, busy week. In fact, Mrs. All in WDW didn’t even catch up on my posts until yesterday! She wasn’t entirely pleased. “The people are going to think all we do is go to Disney to eat, Bob!” Well, in my defense, the pictures I displayed this week [ here and here ] were taken over the course of several years. We certainly didn’t eat all of these items on one trip! To be honest, we probably eat no more food per trip to WDW than any other Disney fan! Before I move on with today’s “business”, I want to stop back to my appearance on this week’s WDW Main Street Podcast. I promised to post this picture … Proof positive that Dennis Conroy did indeed enjoy a plate of the Rose & Crown’s Bangers and Mash. Delicious, wasn’t it, my friend? Now, on to my other pal’s favorite … Doug Davis’s beloved [did I just “say” that?] Epcot Quick Service venue – Liberty Inn! Located on the left side [as you look at the building from the promenade] of the American Adventure Pavilion, Disney bills this restaurant as a salute to American fast-food favorites. Looking at the menu, you’ll find quite a wide selection of burgers, ‘dogs’, salads and more. They even offer a vegetarian “chicken” option. In addition, although it wouldn’t typically be considered a fast-food choice, you can select Liberty’s New York Strip Steak! Yum! [Photo courtesy of Disney’s site.] Sporting a ton of choices, and with plenty of seating – both inside and out – I can see why Doug loves Liberty Inn so much! Full disclosure, it hasn’t made our target list, as yet, but I can assure you that Mrs. All in WDW and I will find a way to fit this popular stop into our plans in the near future. What about you, my friends? Have you been to the Liberty Inn? Do you like it? What did you [or would you!] order? Let us know … below!Alright, Apple fans, it's time to face the truth: Your Macs aren't as safe as you might think. According to PCWorld, a report recently released by Internet security firm Trend Micro shows that Apple posted the highest number of reported security vulnerabilities during the first three months of 2012, leading all other OS and software vendors with 91 vulnerabilities. LOOK: In addition, Apple issued a record-breaking number of patches to its Safari 5 web browser this past March. Computerworld reported that the month saw 83 vulnerabilities, which the company hoped to fix with a browser update. Perhaps the biggest security problem Apple has faced in the last several months was the spread of malware like the Mac Flashback trojan and, more recently, the Sabpab trojan, both of which took advantage of vulnerabilities in Java software. On April 13, Apple released a Java update (the third in just nine days) meant to both patch up said vulnerabilities and remove variants of the Flashback malware. According to Forbes, this update should also help protect Mac users from the Sabpab trojan; however, those who have installed the update should still be wary. Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at computer security firm Sophos, recently reported that a new version of the Sabpab trojan is "exploiting malformed Word documents," rather than relying upon Java vulnerabilities for entry into a victim's computer. While it's unclear how many Macs have been infected with the Sabpab trojan, those infected with the Flashback trojan -- which had previously spread to more than 600,000 devices across the world -- has recently decreased to around 30,000, IT security company Kaspersky Lab told Ars Technica. According to Ars, in an April 19 press conference, Kaspersky Lab researchers stressed the importance of anti-malware software for Mac users and explained that "Mac OS X invulnerability is a myth." In addition, Ars explained that, according to Kaspersky Lab, Mac malware has recently increased due to "a critical increase in Mac market share." "Market share brings attacker motivation," Kaspersky Lab researchers said, as reported by Ars. "Expect more drive-by downloads, more Mac OS X mass-malware. Expect cross-platform exploit kits with Mac-specific exploits." Cluley added his own words of wisdom to the end of his report on the Sabpab trojan: "It's time for Mac users to wake up and smell the coffee. Mac malware is becoming a genuine issue, and cannot be ignored any longer."Grateful Dead Illustrated: A Conversation With Scott McDougall, Cover Artist For Road Trips, The Europe 72 Box & More The 40th anniversary of the landmark Grateful Dead 1972 spring tour of Europe was indeed something to celebrate. Of course, re-listening to my favorite shows was on the agenda to commemorate the occasion. But I also found myself reflecting, and diving into a series of written pieces: tweets reviewing each show on the tour from Jesse Jarnow (@bourgwick) and some lovely essays about select performances over the Steel Cut Oats crew at Hidden Track. I began to notice that these pieces often featured the artwork from the Europe '72: Complete Recordings box set, a 73 CD set released last year, and it became clear that this product introduced a whole world of Grateful Dead imagery that is now being incorporated by the band in the marketing -- from their best-show-of-the-tour bracket to an online memory game. The imagery was actually quite stunning and oddly comforting -- consistent in theme and spirit with the iconic LP sleeve made by Stanley Mouse and Anton Kelley for the original live album, and exploring concepts in a way that were decidedly Grateful Dead. I began to dig. Who was responsible for opening the door into the world of the Ice Cream Kid, the Bolos and Bozos once again? My queries led me to Scott McDougall, an artist who resides in the Pacific Northwest, who not only produced the images for the re-release, but also covers for the Road Trips series, the newer Dave's Picks releases and many other works that evoke the energy associated with psychedelic culture. What follows is a conversation we had about his influences, techniques and wild trip into the world of Grateful Dead, which began in Eureka, CA on 1/20/68 as a thirteen year old, standing just a few feet away from Bob and Jerry. How and when were you first approached about doing work for the Grateful Dead? What was your initial reaction? “When” is easy – Grateful Dead contacted me in 2005 to design a 40th anniversary, commemorative poster. “
Tour with England prevailing 38-21 on that occasion.Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump's adviser on foreign policy Walid Phares described donations from members of a group seen as terrorists by NATO ally Turkey to the Clinton Foundation as shocking. Phares, speaking at the American-Turkish Council's annual meetings, said Trump desired closer ties with Turkey. He said the Republican candidate did not have detailed knowledge on the July 15 coup by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) but knew about the Turkish people's stance against the coup attempt and their support for the democratically-elected government. Once he is elected, he would be briefed on the matter by the time he takes office early next year, said Phares, who used to work at Istanbul Bahçeşehir University's Washington office before joining the Republican's campaign. Phares said he did not think any progress will be made in Turkey's extradition request on FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen before the new president takes office no matter who is elected. When asked about the donations made by well-known FETÖ members to the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, he said everyone knew about the serious concerns voiced by the Trump campaign over the issue. It will be one of the first issues the Trump administration will investigate, the adviser said. Conflict of interest issues have been raised over Hillary Clinton, the Democrat candidate for president, and the donations received by the Clinton family's foundation in U.S. media. When asked about the PKK terrorist organization and its links to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), he said the issue will be focused on no matter who becomes president. "As a representative of the Trump campaign, I can say this: For the U.S., the PKK is a terrorist group. Any group that has operational links with the PKK will be assessed. As you know, the PKK had ties to the Assad regime in the past." The Obama administration has been refusing to acknowledge that the PKK and the YPG [he PYD's armed wing, People's Protection Units] are one and the same, justifying its military aid to the PYD terrorist group by arguing that they are two distinctly separate groups. Ankara has been critical of the Obama policy of using the PYD as foot soldiers in its campaign to fight Daesh in Syria. Phares also said that Trump will closely collaborate with Turkey on declaring a no-fly zone and safe-zone in the north of Syria, a proposal Turkey has repeatedly raised but was ignored by the Obama administration.The goal of social work is to work yourself out of a job. A simple statement that I heard in my first social work class at Temple University from one of the leading anti-poverty advocates in the country. It is a statement that resonates with me and focuses my work. I spend the bulk of my time working to support people recovering from homelessness, poverty, mental health symptoms, addiction and trauma, while at the same time maintaining a vision of the bigger picture. From a human rights perspective, I advocate to end homelessness, give people housing, end untreated addiction and mental health symptoms, give people treatment to end poverty, give people the ability to fulfill their basic human needs. Simple, right? Wrong. These “simple” solutions that would work me when out of a job are not easy in a society with differing viewpoints and opinions; ones based in values and principles like the Protestant work ethic and individualism. But, where does social work fit into this? Whatever happened to the kind of social work that built movements in communities, the field that encouraged its workers to identify injustices and use their power to bring change? Granted, some of this still exists. Yet, the profession as a whole, in my opinion, has taken a road of professionalism that mirrors the medical model of Western medicine —- we not only have to go to school, but we now have to register and pay to have the privilege of using the “social worker” title. In 2011, Oregon changed its statutes for licensing social workers, prohibiting the use of the title without authorization and regulation from the state. Fees range from $150 (for those who have an undergraduate degree) to $460 (for those wanting the highest license of licensed clinical social worker). All fees are paid to the state board of social workers. This effectively devalues and removes the natural helpers in our communities from being paid for the work they do, and creates a system where agencies only hire “social workers.” I myself acquiesced and recently completed my master’s program but have not yet paid the fee to use the title. This professionalization of social work is leading us away from the roots of our work and changing the profession as a whole. The relationships that we historically had with people and communities is being replaced by a stale, clinical setting where people are easily mistaken for their diagnosis, their problems, and we lose the space to bear witness to people’s stories. We lose the ability to learn from them and support them in ways that may at times mean a behavior change for them, but more frequently means challenging the oppressive systems that place barriers in the way of people moving from survival to thriving. I wear my social work badge with pride. At the same time, I rail at the professionalization of the work that puts far too many labels and limitations on people — both the social workers and those we seek to serve. Over the next few months, we will explore and challenge some of the impacts, like sustainability, the loss of the use of self reflection, racial oppression within the field, and how the issue of homelessness is viewed, that this over-professionalization has had on a profession that I love and believe can find its roots once again. Shannon Singleton has worked in homeless services for over 12 years, the past 6 in Portland. Prior to that, she worked with social action groups in Philadelphia.Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), seen here in a file photo, is joining the law and lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs. (EPA/MIKE THEILER) Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who resigned last year after repeatedly clashing with the more conservative wing of his party, is joining the law and lobby powerhouse Squire Patton Boggs. [House Speaker John Boehner to resign at end of October] Boehner will be a “strategic adviser” at the firm — a common designation for former legislators who take K Street jobs after leaving office but do not register to lobby. The firm said Boehner will not lobby Congress and will instead advise corporate clients on global business development. A Boehner spokesman did not say whether Boehner will have an equity stake in the firm. His start date has yet to be announced. He will split his time between Washington, Ohio and elsewhere the firm has clients. Squire Patton Boggs is the nation’s sixth-largest lobby firm by revenue, earning about $25 million in lobbying fees in 2015, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks lobbying activity. The firm is also home to former senators John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who have carved out one of the most successful post-Congress lobbying careers in Washington. The announcement is the second in as many weeks that Boehner, who ran a plastics distributing business in Ohio before being elected to Congress in 1990, is stepping back into the corporate world. Last week, tobacco company Reynolds American announced Boehner, a longtime smoker of Camel cigarettes, is joining the company’s board. [Former Speaker Boehner, who loves a good smoke, joins tobacco company board] Boehner also co-headlined, along with Lott, Squire Patton Boggs’ reception at the GOP Cleveland convention in July. “I left the private sector and got into public service decades ago because I wanted to help remove government barriers to economic growth and job creation, and that’s still the mission that drives me,” Boehner said in a statement. “My role with Squire Patton Boggs will give me the opportunity to engage with leaders in business and government throughout the world and help them work through the challenges they face.” Squire Patton Boggs represents a wide swath of industries and companies including Airbus, Amazon (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post) and Nissan North America. Recent notable work by the firm includes working for the embattled air bag maker Takata. Longtime Boehner aides John Criscuolo and Amy Lozupone will also be joining the firm. Former Boehner deputy chief of staff Dave Schnittger has worked in Squire’s lobbying group since 2015. “With his reputation and combined experience in both business and government, there are few people better equipped than Speaker Boehner to help us take things to the next level and bring our services to clients around the world,” Squire global managing partner Steve Mahon said in a statement.Samsung is apparently not keen on letting Apple's recent Maps mishap in Australia go unnoticed, and is poking fun of its rival in downtown Sydney today. CNET Australia has snapped pics of a little guerrilla marketing by Samsung featuring a muddied-up vehicle with a tent and other camping supplies. Next to it is a sign that says, "Oops, should have gotten a Samsung Galaxy S III. Get navigation you can trust." Nic Healey/CNET Australia Nic Healey/CNET Australia The lost vehicle and signage, of course, are referring to recent incidences of people getting stranded in a wilderness area around Australia's Murray-Sunset National Park instead of the town of Mildura after searching for the latter in Apple's Maps software. Over the weekend, local Australian police put out a notice encouraging iPhone owners to rely instead on paper maps or an alternate GPS system. The issue has since been fixed and attributed, in part, to a double listing in the national GPS database. Samsung's poke at Apple is just its most recent marketing attack. The company has put considerable resources into a TV advertising campaign knocking Apple's devices as under-featured, and those who shop for it as out of touch. The two companies continue to duke it out in the courtroom, with some of the fallout from the August verdict -- which found Samsung had infringed Apple's patents involving the iPhone and iPad -- to be determined over the next few weeks.The French government was forced to backtrack Wednesday on an effort to tighten visa regulations for foreign students who want to stay on and work in France after graduating from elite French schools. The shift back to a more open policy came in response to an outcry from foreign students, university groups and the French Business Confederation. They said that the new rule not only betrayed France’s long tradition of welcoming foreigners but also risked depriving French universities of their standing abroad and French companies of valuable assets for winning lucrative foreign contracts. “We messed up,” Higher Education Minister Laurent Wauquiez acknowledged on French television. The policy was altered in May by Interior Minister Claude Gueant as part of a general tightening of visa requirements and an attempt to limit the number of foreigners who receive authorization to reside here. The move jibed with a popular hardening of policy toward foreign residents, particularly those from Muslim countries, ahead of a two-round presidential election this April and May. In a circular, the ministry said authorities should consider “with vigor” requests to move from student visas to work visas and should carry out a “deepened control” before making a decision. The clear message to officials at the visa window, critics pointed out, was to cut back on the number of visas. In the summer, student groups, business executives and university authorities noticed that a growing number of graduates — including those already recruited by French companies — were having trouble getting work visas. More than 500 were held up, authorities reported, but 300 of those were eventually granted on appeal. About 2.3 million post-secondary students are enrolled in France — about 12 percent of whom are foreign. Of those, 40 percent come from North African and sub-Saharan countries with mostly Muslim populations. But the number of foreign students who attend the elite “great schools” — whose graduates are often recruited by French companies and whose future was at the center of the controversy — is relatively small. Nabil Sebti, a Moroccan who graduated from the prestigious Superior Commercial Studies school and had trouble getting a work visa, founded a group called the May 31 Collective. Through appeals on the Internet and interviews in the news media, the group attracted wide attention. After the Interior Ministry called to say he could have a visa, Sebti said, he decided to return to Morocco rather than let down the collective by seeming to accept favoritism. By that time, a petition demanding a return to the status quo had been launched with 18,500 signatures, including that of Albert Fert, a Nobel Prize-winning physics professor. Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who has wide contacts in the academic world, then said on television that he personally had a problem with the change but could not challenge it as a minister. Charles Givadinovitch, who is in charge of anti-poverty programs in President Nicolas Sarkozy’s parliamentary coalition, found no problem challenging it. “The change goes against economic logic,” he said, “since our companies really need these qualified employees who bring their double culture, which is a real asset.” Sarkozy, who has promoted a policy of selective immigration favoring the most qualified, called in Gueant last month. After a conversation at the Elysee Palace, the interior minister announced that his May circular would be clarified. As a result, Gueant, Wauquiez and Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand met Wednesday with the presidents of the Conference of Great Schools, the Conference of University Presidents and the Conference of French Engineering School Directors to present a new version of the directive. An Interior Ministry communique said it orders officials to grant temporary work visas to foreigners with master’s and higher degrees.>> a2b630.jpg Noon Flitter a2b630 Voice of Reason[?] 2015/05/15(Fri)13:48 No. 640662 ID: a2b630 " You know, I find it funny. You talk about ME holding off the inevitability of death, when last I recall, YOU'VE been keeping her waiting an awful long time, too. " Maybe try not to go for the cross openly. If the Padre is hesitating, I'd recommend diverting his attention from you trying to get the pendant back. Either with talking or with fists, but the latter I wouldn't recommend. Among potential distracting comments I could only offer the following, if that's the route you take - " You've been keeping an awful lot of folks waiting, Padre. Whether they're all my memories or the memories of others, the congregation trusted your decision in trying to purge the evil I'm now looking at. They gave their lives to try and purge that evil, as many others have after them, and as I'm probably going to as well, if I don't get out of this." " But whether you get all holier-than-thou to me or not, whether I'm some Beast mimicry involving the memories of countless others, or taking countless memories for myself, whether I get out of this alive or I fail like so many others, or whether you meet your end here or break loose and send hell upon Earth, it's not going to stop me from trying anyway. " " I'm not sure what place you have to talk, anyway. Are you sure there aren't any memories you're still... attached to, if that's the right word? Because when I spied you in your quarters with the bible, from the closet, you didn't look half as menacing as you do now. And... you saw me, but left me alone, back there. I still have to ask why." " Not to play any offense, because let's be honest, you're plenty menacing here. I'm shaking in my fur. "MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 20, 2017) – Christopher Bell heads to Iowa Speedway in Newton, the track where he finished fifth in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) debut in June of 2015. This weekend will be another first for Bell, as he pulls double duty for the first time in his career as he is set to wheel the No. 4 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in the NCWTS M&M’s 200 on Friday night and then gets behind the wheel of the No. 20 ToyotaCare Camry Saturday night for his second career NASCAR XFINITY Series start for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell has gotten off to a hot start in his second full-time season in the Truck Series. The 22-year-old wheelman leads the series in wins (two), poles (three), playoff points earned (13), driver rating (114.8), laps led (339) and fastest laps run (160). The Oklahoma native is also tied with reigning Truck Series champion and current points leader Johnny Sauter with seven top-10 finishes. Outside of an accident that ended his day early at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Bell has run up front, led laps and been in a position to win in the other seven events completed this season. Now the No. 4 team heads to Iowa Speedway, a track where KBM currently holds a three-race winning streak, including the last two with Bell’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, calling the shots. Erik Jones led a race-high 112 laps en route to victory in the 2015 event and William Byron visited victory lane last year after leading a race-high 107 laps. Fugle also had an influence in KBM’s 2014 win at the 0.875-mile oval, when he was the race engineer under crew chief Eric Phillips when Jones led a race-high 131 laps and ended the night in victory lane. Iowa has certainly been a place of firsts for both Bell and KBM. Bell will now take aim at harvesting a pair of first-place finishes in the Hawkeye State as he tries to earn his first weekend sweep in NASCAR. Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 4 NCWTS Toyota Tundra: Are you looking forward to your first shot at doing double duty this weekend at Iowa? “I’m looking forward to an exciting weekend at Iowa, it is the track where I made my Truck Series debut and had a good run that day. Last year I felt like we struggled a little bit, so I’m looking forward to going back with Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and hopefully we’ll be able to keep his winning streak alive. He’s been the winning crew chief the last two years and was the engineer for Erik (Jones) when he won in 2014, so he knows how to prepare a really fast Tundra for Iowa. We’ve been really good everywhere we’ve raced this year and I expect that we will be able to continue that trend this weekend. We weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be at Gateway last week, but at the end of the day we still had a chance at the victory so that was encouraging. I’ll be getting a lot of extra track time by running both the truck and the XFINIY car, which I think will help me in both series. Friday is going to be a long day with four practice sessions, qualifying and the Truck Series race, so I’ll have to make sure I start working on staying hydrated this week before we get to the track.” Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 4 NCWTS Toyota Tundra: Your drivers have won the last two Truck Series events at Iowa. What does it take to be successful there? “Iowa is a short track, but it races like a mile-and-a-half, so you have to have a fast truck but you also have to have a really good short-track package — it needs to turn well and have a lot of rear grip. One of the biggest things at Iowa is you usually have to run a long way on tires and the tires wear a decent amount, so you have to have a truck that is consistent over a long run. I think that is one of the things that we do really well there, our trucks have good long-run speed and hopefully we will be able to accomplish that again Friday night.” Christopher Bell’s No. 4 Toyota Tundra: KBM-28: The No. 4 Toyota Tundra team will unload KBM-24 for Friday night’s M&M’s 200 at Iowa Speedway. It is the same Tundra that Erik Jones lead a race-high 112 laps with en route to victory at the 0.875-mile oval in the 2015 event. Friday’s 200-lap race will be the first time that the Toyota has seen race action this season. The Fugle File: Ryan “Rudy” Fugle begins his fourth season as a crew chief at KBM and sixth overall with the organization. The New York native has guided his team to an Owner’s championship in all three of his seasons (2013, 2015 & 2016) atop the pit box at KBM, including a combined Owner’s/Driver’s Championship with Erik Jones in 2015. His drivers have combined for 18 wins, 12 poles and 38 top-five finishes across his 76 races calling the shots for the organization. Under his tutelage last season, William Byron collected a Truck Series’ rookie record seven wins while leading the No. 9 Tundra team to KBM’s fourth consecutive and fifth overall Owner’s championship. Fugle’s NCWTS drivers have posted two wins, one pole, three top-five and four top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 3.2 across four starts. Erik Jones led a race-high 112 laps en route to victory at Iowa in 2015 and William Byron made it back-to-back wins leading a race-high 107 laps in last year’s event. Fugle was also the race engineer for Jones’ victory in the 2014 event.In a Friday press conference following his homophobic remarks about a state lawmaker, Maine Governor Paul LePage (R) called people of color and people of Hispanic origin “the enemy” and implied they should be shot. “A bad guy is a bad guy. I don’t care what color he is. When you go to war, if you know the enemy, the enemy dresses in red and you dress in blue, you shoot at red,” he said. “You shoot the enemy. You try to identify the enemy. And the enemy right now, the overwhelming majority of people coming in are people of color or people of Hispanic origin.” .@Governor_LePage calls people of color the "enemy" in an attempt to apologize for homophobic & racist remarks. pic.twitter.com/ug0oi9Jutn — Maine Democrats (@MaineDems) August 26, 2016 The governor has offered a veritable potpourri of racist and homophobic remarks over the years. In his voicemail to state Rep. Drew Gattine (D) on Thursday, in an apparent attempt to convince people that he is not a racist, he said, “I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that I’m a racist. I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker.” On Wednesday, he called Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim soldier, a “con artist.” During a town hall on that same day, he said nearly all of Maine’s drug dealers are black or Hispanic. “I don’t ask them to come to Maine (to) sell their poison, but they come,” he said. “And I will tell you, that 90 percent-plus of those pictures in my book — and it’s a three-ring binder — are black and Hispanic people from Waterbury, Connecticut, the Bronx and Brooklyn.” Advertisement LePage grabbed national headlines earlier this year when he said men named “Smoothie, D-Money, and Shifty” were dealing drugs in Maine. He added, “Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue that we’ve got to deal with down the road. We’re going to make them very severe penalties.” Among his other comments, he told the NAACP to “kiss my butt,” accused asylum seekers of bringing the “ziki fly,” and told the president to “go to hell.” LePage is an enthusiastic supporter of the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump. “Make sure he knows before he leaves here that we have picked a winner,” LePage said of Trump when he joined him at a campaign event in Maine last month.We’ve shown you the “Leaf Grip Remote Controller” a few weeks ago, but its maker, Japanese tech company Murata, decided to wait until the CEATEC 2011 exhibition to present it to the public. The device can theoretically be used for a number of applications, but Murata is pitching it first and foremost as a remote control for TV sets. The Leaf Grip Remote Controller lets users change channels with a twisting motion while the volume can be adjusted by bending it. Shake the device, which doesn’t require batteries to work, to turn the TV on or off. Murata explains: This remote control is made using a special polyester piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric film detects unique motions like bending and twisting, and produces a voltage in response. This film is attached to both sides of a plate. The film on one side reacts to bending, and the film on the other side reacts to twisting. The films are transparent, so we’ve built in a photoelectric cell. The power from the cell is stored in a double-layer capacitor, and used to produce the signals that control the TV. This video – in English – shows how the remote control works (video provided by Diginfo TV, Tokyo):I’m pleased to inform you all that my good friend and owner of Buzzeri, Leri, was accepted as a designer for the upcoming round of Kustom 9! From December 15th, you can pick up some really lovely and beautifully made makeups in 7 stunning colours. The Enchantress packs include eyeshadow, lipstick tattoo and Loud mouth appliers. There’s also a very pretty and versatile eyebrow tattoo which you can tint to match any wild or crazy colours imaginable. In the photos, I’m wearing only the lipstick applier in Poison apple but if you take a browse through the gallery at the end of this post you can check out the eyeshadows and loud mouth appliers too (one colour isn’t shown due to technical difficulties I had, but it’s a very lush ruby red colour ❤). No Enchantress is quite complete without her spellbooks and potions right? Well you can grab this very nice set of Witchy decor from Zigana. The Cauldron and potion drawer (on my head) and the scattered books (held) are both group gifts from the store. The best part? The group is free to join! Also in freebie news, the skybox from The Black Forest I shot these photos in is actually totally free too! All the furnitures, bookcases, furnaces and Chandeliers are included in the set and it’s 100% mesh goregousness! I’m not done yet though, this cute ponytail hair is a free group gift from Cheveux and comes in both brown and blonde versions, scripted and unscripted versions as well as scalp tattoos to ensure your hair fits perfectly on any shape. Cheveux switches their gifts around very often so keep an eye on their free group for more information. And finally, a new round of Pure sales room has once again opened it’s doors to the public and I decided to show you all one of Loordes of London’s pretty outfit for their booth! The top and skirt are all in one mesh pieces so you don’t have to faff about with which size shirt will fit on which size skirt and I thought it gave off a very urban Witchy vibe as well as being cosy for the coming winter months! This slideshow requires JavaScript. X AdvertisementsTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally signed off on the involvement of Turkish banks in a scheme to cheat U.S. and U.N. sanctions on Iran, the architect of the scheme testified in U.S. federal court on Thursday. “The prime minister at that time, Recep Tayyip Erdogan... had given instructions, had given an order, for [Ziraat and Vakif banks] to start doing the trade,” Reza Zarrab testified. The allegation is explosive given that Turkey is traditionally a U.S. ally, a member of NATO, and home to a major U.S. air base that has been key to the war against the so-called Islamic State. Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader, is the star witness in a trial relating to a scheme that used his companies to help Turkey covertly buy Iranian oil and gas, in violation of U.S. and United Nations sanctions. Prosecutors say Zarrab and his co-defendant, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, used a number of Turkish banks and Zarrab’s companies to trade cash for gold, and allow Iran to pay its international debts with proceeds from its oil sales. Since Zarrab's arrest in 2016, Erdogan has tried to get him released from U.S. custody through a series of diplomatic negotiations. Zarrab fought the charges against him for over a year before beginning to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors this fall. In his first day of testimony on Monday, Zarrab admitted to bribing the former Turkish economy minister, Zafer Caglayan, with more than €45 million ($53.5 million) to facilitate the sanctions-cheating through Turkish state-owned banks. Turkish observers have been eager to see how the trial, which relates to a quashed Turkish corruption scandal from 2013, would also impact the president. In the bombshell revelation Thursday morning, Zarrab said that Erdogan and former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan personally approved the involvement of Turkish banks in the scheme. The revelation stems from Zarrab's extensive conversations with Caglayan, the former economy minister. Zarrab said the whole scheme—including bribe payments to heads of Turkish banks—occurred with Caglayan's approval. "At the end of the day we did not hide anything from Zafer Caglayan, we did everything within his knowledge," he testified. Erdogan, meanwhile, appeared to address the allegations in the trial in his own meetings this week. “We have trade and energy ties with Iran. We did not breach the sanctions [on Iran]. Whatever the verdict is, we did the right thing,” Erdogan told ruling Justice and Development Party deputies Thursday morning, Hurriyet Daily News reported. "We have never made commitments to the U.S. [on our energy ties with Iran]." “The world is not only about the U.S. We also have trade and energy relations with Iran,” Erdogan said.By Sally Bage in Blog on \| UT is often highly ranked for its academics, its value, and its diversity, among other criteria. Now we can add one more accolade to the list: Austin has been named one of the best places to go to college. The ranking is from college discussion website Unigo, which has compiled a new ranking of colleges based on location. UT, which received 753 Unigo reviews by real students, is the only Texas school on the “Top 10 Best Places to Go for College.” The list is made up of schools with interesting campuses, some with less traditional settings, within a city that provides activity and variety for students. Here are the others schools to make the cut: Boston University College of Charleston New York University Tulane University University of California, Berkeley University of Colorado-Boulder University of Oregon University of Vermont University of Wisconsin-Madison What do you think? Share your favorite UT stories with us.May 20, 2011 " If everyone began using this defence tomorrow, in all of the Commonwealth courts and in the United States, the entire legal system could be brought to its knees in a matter of weeks if not days." by Debra Siddons (henrymakow.com) For those of you who have been following the John Anthony Hill (JAH) Case, it is great to be able to share that he was acquitted, on the 12th of May 2011, of the ridiculous and politically-motivated charge of attempting to "pervert the course of justice". For those of you less familiar with this landmark case, John Anthony Hill is the Producer of the documentary film "7/7 Ripple Effect". For more details about this extraordinary case and the trial itself, please visit the following links:- http://mtrial.org http://jamesfetzer.blogspot.com http://terroronthetube.co.uk/2011/05/12/muaddib-acquitted/ There are two very important precedents that were established with this case that need to be studied in detail. There was a preliminary argument presented to the court to challenge both the jurisdiction and the sovereignty of Elizabeth Battenberg/Mountbatten, which was based on two distinct points. The first point being she was knowingly, and with malice aforethought, coronated on a fake stone in 1953 and thus has never been lawfully crowned. There are those who may wish to argue that this point is irrelevant, as Judge Jeffrey Vincent Pegden did at the trial, wrongly thinking the Coronation is just a ceremony because she has been pretending to be the monarch for over 58 years. In actual fact the Coronation is a binding oath and a contract, requiring the monarch's signature. Which brings us to the second point. At that Coronation ceremony, Elizabeth signed a binding contract, before God and the British people, that she would do her utmost to maintain The Laws of God. This she solemnly swore to do, with her hand placed on the Sovereign's Bible, before kissing The Bible and signing the contract. Please note well that in The Law of God, found in the first five books of The Bible, man-made legislation is strictly prohibited. The very first time that she gave "royal assent" to any piece of man-made legislation, she broke her solemn oath with God and with the British people and she ceased to be the monarch with immediate effect. To date, she has broken her oath thousands and thousands of times, which is a water-proof, iron-clad, undeniable FACT. She is therefore without question not the monarch, but instead is a criminal guilty of high treason among her other numerous crimes. All of the courts in the U.K. are referred to as HM courts or "her majesty's" courts, which means every judge draws their authority from her. All cases brought by the state are "Regina vs. Xxxxxxx", which means they are all brought in the name of the queen. So if she isn't really the monarch, then she doesn't have the authority or the jurisdiction to bring a case against anyone else. And neither do any of "her majesty's" courts or judges. Bearing in mind the legal maxim that no man can judge in his own cause, it should be crystal clear that no judge in the Commonwealth could lawfully rule on a challenge to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the monarch. It is a question of their own authority, so they are obviously not impartial to the outcome. That is why the ONLY way the question of jurisdiction can lawfully and impartially be decided is by a jury. And that is exactly why John Anthony Hill requested a jury trial to decide his challenge to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Elizabeth. No judge under any circumstances can deny someone their right to request a jury trial. No judge can lawfully rule in their own cause. That doesn't mean they won't try, it only means that when they do, they are committing a criminal act (just as Judge Jeffrey Vincent Pegden did at John Anthony Hill's trial) and that their decision is immediate grounds for an appeal and for a citizen's arrest. The fact that the court and its corrupt judge tried to ignore this particular point is proof that they are well aware they have no lawful authority. That is one of the reasons why this is a landmark case. If everyone began using this defence tomorrow, in all of the Commonwealth courts and in the United States, the entire legal system could be brought to its knees in a matter of weeks if not days. The signed by E2 coronation oath (Exhibit 1) and the Bible she swore on at that Coronation (Exhibit 2) clearly orders judges and lawyers to obey the Laws of God. These two factual pieces of evidence ought to be presented at the start, as defence in every single victimless case, or those in progress, where you have been wrongfully charged, and to proceed forth Lawfully. To make this perfectly clear, the way is available with the two pieces of evidence to shift the cases to begin to use only God's Laws which demands a trial by jury, to proceed forth maintaining only God's Laws with judges roles clearly defined. Whilst E2 is committing treason, explained in full detail in the Lawful Argument, the signed oath orders obedience to all subjects to maintain only the Laws of God. Judges/lawyers have taken an oath (B.A.R.), thus ordered to comply to Exhibit 1, and Exhibit 2 (Bible), and it is as simple as that. People lacked awareness of that which was in place, and there for people to use, but didn't know. We know now. For those of you in the United States who may be thinking "hey, we aren't a Commonwealth country, why would this affect us?" all you really need to know is that these three little letters:- B.A.R., stand for the British Accreditation Registry. It doesn't matter whether it is the Australian BAR or the Canadian BAR or the American BAR association; they ALL report to the British monarch, who is the head of the BAR. So thanks to John Anthony Hill and this amazing precedent, we now all know a peaceful way to bring the system down. If enough people ACT and use this simple, bullet-proof defence, we can put an end to this insanity and injustice. All that is required now is for YOU to spread the word to as many as possible so that this peaceful rebellion can begin immediately. Or you can watch the last remnants of your freedoms swept away as the Global Elite plunge the entire world into bankruptcy and WW3 to usher in their "New World Order". For additional details about this bullet-proof defence, please visit: http://jahtruth.net/britmon.htm#crimes By now some of you may be beginning to see the Light at the end of this very dark tunnel and are so enthusiastic about putting this simple plan into motion that you may have forgotten there was a second precedent set during this landmark case. While the official reason for this trial was to address this trumped-up and frivolous charge of attempting to "pervert the course of justice", the real reason for this trial was so the authorities could punish John Anthony Hill for making the "7
within an hour. Doesn't this defeat the entire purpose of the ATM though? Wouldn't it be easier for people to simply buy Bitcoin online? “Yes, there is no point of the ATM,” Torica says with a wry laugh. “I used to like the idea of Bitcoin but now i realise its volatility is a major problem. Setting up the ATM was a really stupid idea." Ivaja's co-founders Jonas Abrahamsson and Lyon Siegmund. Photo: Ivaja New Bitcoin ATM on its way to Malta Meanwhile, local Bitcoin start-up Ivaja has ordered its own Bitcoin ATM - partially through a crowdfunding campaign - and hopes to install it in Valletta or Sliema within the next month. Unlike Torica’s ATM, Ivaja’s version will be a two-way machine, allowing people to both buy and sell Bitcoin through it. Swedish co-founder Jonas Abrahamsson said he is confident his start-up’s version will be far more of a success than Torica’s, arguing he and fellow co-founder Lyon Siegmund, from Germany, have done their research properly. “[Torica] went into the project without understanding anything about the Bitcoin business, he just ordered the ATM and installed it,” he told Lovin Malta. “If he didn’t know from the start about Bitcoin being volatile, then he shouldn't have got into it in the first place. We understand the business, which is why we’re taking longer than he did to install it. We will ensure our machine always has Bitcoins in its account and make sure no customer ever orders Bitcoin without receiving it.” He confirmed he will contact General Bytes - which Ivaja also purchased it from - to confirm whether the problem with Torica’s ATM is a glitch in the system or a result of Torica not setting it up correctly. Does Malta have a future as a Bitcoin island? Let us know what you think in the comments sectionOnce in a great while, ideological opponents find themselves on the same side of a debate. And, though both parties find one another repulsive, that's what's happening, however tenuously, with Andrew Sullivan and those "God Hates Fags" crazies. The issue at hand: President Obama's plans to address elitist gay group Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner in DC. Now, some of you may not be hip to Obama's same-sex politics, but that's okay: they don't amount to much. Despite all those campaign promises, the Big O's dragging his feet on, well, basically every important LGBT policy. And that lackadaisical approach has many, like Sullivan, arguing that Obama's simply in it for that sweet, sweet gay dough: In some ways, Obama's fealty to the big gay lobby rather than to the real gay community is testimony to why Democratic party politics remain repulsive to me. HRC has achieved nothing substantive for gay equality on a federal level in the twenty years I've been observing them. ... If Obama wants to support gay equality, he knows what to do.... So spare us the schmoozing and the sweet-talking and do it. Until then, Mr president, why don't you have a nice steaming cup of shut-the-fuck-up? Sullivan's not alone in wagging a finger at this weekend's event. The rag tag Westboro Baptist Church, which was founded by the scary Fred Phelps and has a knack for getting press, announced that it will also wag a finger, and some questionable placards. That's no surprise. Nor is their hateful press release, which comes awfully close to Sullivan's criticism: You stupid fags think Obama gives a darn about you? No, he hates you. He is going to use your money and your resources and then when he shows himself for what he is, he will merely destroy you along with the rest of this nation of self-loathing hypocrites. Their release, however, does top Sullivan in one respect (other than the national damnation bit): it delves into the event's dinner menu: "What, you're going to have an all the feces you can eat bufet [sic]? YUCK!" Yuck is right! What self-respecting gay eats feces from a buffet? How pedestrian!As expected, July 1 came and brought with it a wave of seemingly nonstop player movement. Actually, before free agency opened, Steven Stamkos re-signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and we had the blockbuster P.K. Subban-Shea Weber and Taylor Hall-Adam Larsson trades -- then the signings reshaped the landscape. Then everyone basically went on vacation and the offseason newsfeed slowed to a lazy stroll. But not all big signings are made on July 1. Just ask the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Two of their biggest additions last summer were depth forwards Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen, who were signed July 28 and Aug. 6, respectively. "[July 1 is] the time you look at your needs and you try to go after free agents who really can help your team," said former Los Angeles Kings general manager Rogie Vachon, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 14. "But sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes you're looking for one guy and all of a sudden he's gone and you have to wait until the end of July or even September and training camp... whenever you can get the players you're really looking for. It doesn't matter what the date is." Here's the short list of players still waiting for the phone to ring who could potentially have a real impact. Sam Gagner, C: The 2007 No. 6 pick hit rock bottom with the Philadelphia Flyers last season. After establishing career lows in goals and points while struggling through a stint in the American Hockey League, Gagner is essentially starting over. It's hard to believe but he's still only 26 and isn't far removed from a 41-point output in 2014-15 with the Arizona Coyotes. So what does a team in search of depth down the middle really have to lose? The numbers don't bear it out, but Gagner did have his moments with the Flyers last season. He made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut, setting up Ryan White's winner in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Washington Capitals, and enjoyed a run following the All-Star Game in which he collected five goals and nine points in 18 games. James Wisniewski, D: The veteran will definitely be taking a pay cut from the six-year, $33 million deal he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011. The Carolina Hurricanes bought out the final year of his contract in June, but at only 32 years old Wisniewski should have something left to offer a team in search of veteran power-play help. A torn left ACL mere seconds into his Hurricanes debut limited Wisniewski to a single game last season. But in 2014-15 split between the Blue Jackets and the Anaheim Ducks, he scored seven power-play goals. The season prior, he ranked ninth in the NHL with 29 power-play points. Considering the importance of special teams, someone could come calling soon enough. Jiri Hudler didn't exactly light it up last season. Norm Hall/NHLI/Getty Images Jiri Hudler, RW: Who ranked ninth in NHL scoring in 2014-15? If you're a general manager who correctly answered "Jiri Hudler," you might want to consider taking a chance on the Czech forward. Hudler had a dip in production between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers last season and failed to contribute in six playoff games with the Panthers. Hudler should provide scoring depth at a nice discount. His point production with the Flames in 2014-15 certainly turned some heads, but Hudler's greatest contribution that year might have been his work grooming young prospects Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, who now make up the Flames' core. Hudler shouldn't be labeled a playoff underperformer because of his stint in Florida. He scored eight points in 11 playoff games with the Flames in 2015 and won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, scoring the winning goal against the Penguins in Game 4 of the Cup finals. Kris Versteeg, RW: Few players offer the big-game experience of this well-traveled winger, who has skated for six different teams in his nine NHL seasons, including two separate stints with the Chicago Blackhawks. Of course, Versteeg completed each of those Chicago tenures by hoisting the Stanley Cup. Even before the deadline deal that sent him to the Los Angeles Kings last season, Versteeg was a helpful mentor on a Hurricanes club teeming with young talent. Versteeg won't be expected to match the 54-point production he showed with the Florida Panthers in 2011-12. And despite joining a talented Kings team eyeing a playoff run, Versteeg never really found chemistry on any one forward line. But his big-game experience could become more attractive as free agency rolls on. Brad Richards is looking for a new gig. AP Photo/Alex Gallardo Brad Richards, C: Has any remaining free agent done more than Richards? The two-time Stanley Cup champion has played in a whopping 83 playoff games -- and that's just in the past five seasons. Richards' statistical disappointment in his lone season with the Wings marked the sixth straight year in which his point-per-game output has dropped. That's an indisputable decline for a dynamic forward once considered among the NHL's best. But he also provided a much-needed calming veteran presence on a young team transitioning from legendary coach Mike Babcock to his understudy and replacement, Jeff Blashill. No one will be looking to Richards to provide an offensive boost but there isn't a free agent available with more big-game experience. At age 36, he's made it as far as the conference finals five times with four teams. That's exactly the kind of playoff experience many teams covet. Editor's Picks Offseason grades for all 30 NHL teams Which teams did the best in free agency, trades and the draft? Craig Custance grades every team heading into 2016-17, including an A-plus for a team that made no notable moves. Five best value signings in the NHL What can NHL GMs get for $2 million or less on the free-agent market? Usually, not much. But these five players will provide quite a bang for the buck, according to Rob Vollman. 1 Related Luke Schenn, D: Teams in search of depth on their blue line could be eyeing the 2008 fifth-overall pick. After struggling with expectations early in his career, the physical defenseman has established himself over the past few seasons. There shouldn't be any more misconceptions about exactly what he provides: a physical presence with limited versatility and no offensive upside. Still, what he does bring could make him a good fit in the right place. That might have been most apparent after Schenn was traded, along with Vincent Lecavalier, to the Kings on Jan. 6. While much of the attention surrounding the deal was on the veteran Lecavalier, Schenn brought his lunchbox with him from Philadelphia, contributing depth and consistency to a Kings defense that desperately needed it. His work on the penalty kill was especially helpful.Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico as travel by U.S. government employees to these areas is prohibited or significantly restricted. U.S. government employees may not travel between cities after dark, may not hail taxis on the street, and must rely on dispatched vehicles, including from app-based services like Uber, or those from regulated taxi stands. U.S. government employees may not drive from the U.S.-Mexico border to or from the interior parts of Mexico with the exception of daytime travel within Baja California, and between Nogales and Hermosillo on Mexican Federal Highway 15D. Read the Safety and Security section on the country information page. Do not travel to: Colima state due to crime. . Guerrero state due to crime. Michoacán state due to crime. Sinaloa state due to crime. Tamaulipas state due to crime. For detailed information on all states in Mexico, please see below. If you decide to travel to Mexico: Use toll roads when possible and avoid driving alone or at night. In many states, police presence and emergency services are extremely limited outside the state capital or major cities. Exercise increased caution when visiting local bars, nightclubs, and casinos. Do not display signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive watches or jewelry. Be extra vigilant when visiting banks or ATMs. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter. Review the Crime and Safety Reports for Mexico. U.S. citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist. Aguascalientes state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Baja California state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. Criminal activity and violence, including homicide, remain a primary concern throughout the state. While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations and turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Bystanders have been injured or killed in shooting incidents. Due to poor cellular service and hazardous road conditions, U.S. government employees may only travel on Highway 2D between Mexicali and Tijuana via “La Rumorosa” during daylight hours. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees in Baja California, which includes tourist areas in: Ensenada, Rosarito, and Tijuana. Baja California Sur state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. Criminal activity and violence, including homicide, remain a primary concern throughout the state. While most homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations and turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Bystanders have been injured or killed in shooting incidents. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees in Baja California Sur, which includes tourist areas in: Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, and La Paz. Campeche state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Chiapas state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees in Chiapas state, which includes tourist areas in: Palenque, San Cristobal de las Casas, and Tuxtla Gutierrez. Chihuahua state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are widespread. While most homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations and turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Bystanders have been injured or killed in shooting incidents. Travel for U.S. government employees is limited to the following areas with the noted restrictions: Ciudad Juarez: U.S. government employees require prior approval to travel to the downtown area (i.e., the area south of Calle Malecon, west of Calle 5 de Mayo, north of Calle 18 de Marzo, and east of Avenida Francisco Villa). They may access the Paso del Norte (Santa Fe) Bridge, the Bridge of the Americas, and the Stanton Street Bridge via the border highways only. They must access the San Geronimo Port of Entry through the United States or the Anapra-San Geronimo Highway in Mexico. U.S. government employees require prior approval to travel after dark to areas east of Bulevar Independencia. They must travel to and from the airport after dark via Mexico Highway 45, using the most direct route north of Bulevar Zaragoza to access the highway. U.S. government employees require prior approval to travel to the downtown area (i.e., the area south of Calle Malecon, west of Calle 5 de Mayo, north of Calle 18 de Marzo, and east of Avenida Francisco Villa). They may access the Paso del Norte (Santa Fe) Bridge, the Bridge of the Americas, and the Stanton Street Bridge via the border highways only. They must access the San Geronimo Port of Entry through the United States or the Anapra-San Geronimo Highway in Mexico. U.S. government employees require prior approval to travel after dark to areas east of Bulevar Independencia. They must travel to and from the airport after dark via Mexico Highway 45, using the most direct route north of Bulevar Zaragoza to access the highway. Chihuahua City: U.S. government employees must travel from Ciudad Juarez to Chihuahua City during daylight hours via Highway 45, stopping only at the shops at Highway 45/Miguel Ahumada in the town of Villa Ahumada. They may not travel to the Morelos, Villa, and Zapata districts of Chihuahua. U.S. government employees must travel from Ciudad Juarez to Chihuahua City during daylight hours via Highway 45, stopping only at the shops at Highway 45/Miguel Ahumada in the town of Villa Ahumada. They may not travel to the Morelos, Villa, and Zapata districts of Chihuahua. Nuevo Casas Grandes Area (including Nuevo Casas Grandes, Casas Grades, Mata Ortiz, Colonia Juarez, Colonia LeBaron, and Paquime): U.S. government employees must travel to the Nuevo Casas Grandes area during daylight hours through the United States. U.S. government employees should enter Mexico at the Palomas Port of Entry on New Mexico Route 11 before connecting to Mexico Highway 2 to Nuevo Casas Grandes. U.S. government employees must travel to the Nuevo Casas Grandes area during daylight hours through the United States. U.S. government employees should enter Mexico at the Palomas Port of Entry on New Mexico Route 11 before connecting to Mexico Highway 2 to Nuevo Casas Grandes. Ojinaga: U.S. government employees must travel to Ojinaga via U.S. Highway 67 through the Presidio, Texas Port of Entry. U.S. government employees may visit the city during daylight hours only. U.S. government employees must travel to Ojinaga via U.S. Highway 67 through the Presidio, Texas Port of Entry. U.S. government employees may visit the city during daylight hours only. Palomas: U.S. government employees must travel to Palomas via U.S. highways through the Palomas Port of Entry in Columbus, New Mexico. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Coahuila state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Coahuila state. Travel for U.S. government employees is limited to the following areas with the noted restrictions: Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña: U.S. government employees must travel directly from the United States and observe a midnight to 6:00 a.m. curfew in both cities. U.S. government employees must travel directly from the United States and observe a midnight to 6:00 a.m. curfew in both cities. Highway 40 and areas south Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Colima state – Level 4: Do Not Travel Do not travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are widespread. Travel for U.S. government employees is limited to the following areas with the noted restrictions: Colima City: U.S. government employees must travel on toll road 54D to reach Colima City from Guadalajara. U.S. government employees must travel on toll road 54D to reach Colima City from Guadalajara. Manzanillo: U.S. government employees may travel by air or on route 200 from the Jalisco border. U.S. government employees are limited to the tourist and port areas between Marina Puerto Santiago and Playa las Brisas. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Durango state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Durango state. U.S. government employees may not travel to the area west and south of Highway 45 and the city of Gomez Palacio. There are no additional restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Estado de Mexico state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Both violent and non-violent crime is prevalent in the Estado de Mexico. Mexican government statistics indicate criminal incidents in the Estado de Mexico occur at a significantly higher rate than much of the rest of Mexico. Pay particular caution to areas outside of the frequented tourist areas, although petty crime occurs frequently in tourist areas as well. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S government employees. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Guanajuato state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. The majority of gang-related violence occurs in the south of the state, near the border with Michoacán, and is often linked to the widespread theft of petroleum and natural gas from the state oil company and other suppliers. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Guerrero state – Level 4: Do Not Travel Do not travel due to crime. Armed groups operate independently of the government in many areas of Guerrero. Members of these groups frequently maintain roadblocks and may use violence towards travelers. U.S. government employees may not travel to the entire state of Guerrero, including Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa, and Taxco. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Hidalgo state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Jalisco state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Jalisco state. In metropolitan Guadalajara, turf battles between criminal groups are taking place in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Shooting incidents between criminal groups have injured or killed innocent bystanders. U.S. government employees may not travel to: Within 20 km (12 miles) of the Jalisco/Michoacán border, south of Route 120 Highway 80 south of Cocula Highway 544 from Mascota to San Sebastian del Oeste There are no restrictions on travel for U.S government employees to: Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, Riviera Nayarit (including Puerto Vallarta), Chapala, and Ajijic. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Mexico City – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. Both violent and non-violent crime is prevalent in Mexico City. Mexican government statistics indicate criminal incidents in the capital city occur at a significantly higher rate than much of the rest of Mexico. Pay particular caution to areas outside of the frequented tourist areas, although petty crime occurs frequently in tourist areas as well. Neighborhoods such as Tepito and Guerrero warrant additional vigilance, especially at night. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Michoacán state – Level 4: Do Not Travel Do not travel due to crime. Travel for U.S. government employees is limited to the following areas with the noted restrictions: Highway 15D: U.S. government employees may travel on federal toll road (cuota) Highway 15D and to those parts of Michoacán north of Highway 15D and can utilize Highway 15D to transit between Mexico City and Guadalajara. U.S. government employees may travel on federal toll road (cuota) Highway 15D and to those parts of Michoacán north of Highway 15D and can utilize Highway 15D to transit between Mexico City and Guadalajara. Lazaro Cardenas: U.S. government employees must travel by air only and limit activities to the city center or port areas. U.S. government employees must travel by air only and limit activities to the city center or port areas. Morelia: U.S. government employees may travel by air and by land using Highway 15D to Highway 45D that leads directly to Morelia. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Morelos state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Morelos state. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Nayarit state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Nayarit state. U.S. government employees may not travel to: Tepic San Blas There are no restrictions on travel for U.S government employees to: Riviera Nayarit (including Nuevo Vallarta and Bahia de Banderas) and Santa Maria del Oro. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Nuevo Leon state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Nuevo Leon state. U.S. government employees in Monterrey must stay within the San Pedro Garza Garcia municipality, south of the Santa Catarina River, between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., except for direct travel to and from the airport. There are no additional restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Oaxaca state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. U.S. government employees may not travel to: Isthmus region of Oaxaca, defined by Highway 185D to the west, Highway 190 to the north, and the Oaxaca/ Chiapas border to the east. This includes the towns of Juchitan de Zaragoza, Salina Cruz, and San Blas Atempa. Highway 200 northwest of Pinotepa. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees to other parts of Oaxaca state, which include tourist areas in: Oaxaca City, Monte Alban, Puerto Escondido, and Huatulco. Puebla state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. Gang-related violence is often linked to the widespread theft of petroleum and natural gas from the state oil company and other suppliers. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Queretaro state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Quintana Roo state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. Criminal activity and violence, including homicide, remain a primary concern throughout the state. While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations and turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Bystanders have been injured or killed in shooting incidents. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees in Quintana Roo state, which include tourist areas in: Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya. San Luis Potosi state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of San Luis Potosi state. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Sinaloa state – Level 4: Do Not Travel Do not travel due to crime. Violent crime is widespread. Criminal organizations are based and operating in Sinaloa state. Travel for U.S. government employees is limited to the following areas with the noted restrictions: Mazatlan: U.S. government employees may travel by air or sea only. U.S. government employees are limited to the Zona Dorada and historic town center, and must use direct routes when traveling to and from those locations and the airport and cruise terminals. U.S. government employees may travel by air or sea only. U.S. government employees are limited to the Zona Dorada and historic town center, and must use direct routes when traveling to and from those locations and the airport and cruise terminals. Los Mochis and Topolobampo: U.S. government employees may travel by air or sea only. U.S. government employees are restricted to the city and the port, and must use direct routes when traveling between these locations and to and from the airport. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Sonora state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Sonora is a key location used by the international drug trade and human trafficking networks. However, northern Sonora experiences much lower levels of crime than cities closer to Sinaloa and other parts of Mexico. U.S. government employees may not travel to: The triangular region west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, east of Sonoyta, and north of Altar. The district within Nogales that lies to the north of Avenida Instituto Tecnologico and between Periferico (Bulevar Luis Donaldo Colosio) and Corredor Fiscal (Federal Highway 15D), and the residential areas to the east of Plutarco Elias Calles. The eastern edge of the state of Sonora, which borders the state of Chihuahua (all points along that border east of Federal Highway 17, the road between Moctezuma and Sahuaripa, and State Highway 20 between Sahuaripa and the intersection with Federal Highway 16). All points south of Hermosillo (south of Highways 100 to the west and 20 to the east) including San Carlos, Guaymas, and Empalme. In addition, U.S. government employees may not use taxi services in Nogales. U.S. government employees may travel between the Nogales border crossing points of DeConcini and Mariposa in Nogales to and from the Hermosillo Consulate during the day only on Highway 15D. U.S. government employees may stop in the towns of Santa Ana and Imuris and at restaurant/restroom facilities located along the highway. U.S. government employees may travel to Puerto Peñasco via the Lukeville/Sonoyta crossing during daylight hours on Federal Highway 8, or by using Federal Highway 15 south from Nogales and east via Federal Highway 2 and State Highway 37 through Caborca during daylight hours. U.S. government employees may also travel directly from the nearest U.S. Ports of Entry to San Luis Rio Colorado, Cananea, and Agua Prieta, but may not go beyond the city limits. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Tabasco state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no travel restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Tamaulipas state – Level 4: Do Not Travel Do not travel due to crime. Violent crime, such as murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion, and sexual assault, is common. Gang activity, including gun battles and blockades, is widespread. Armed criminal groups target public and private passenger buses as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers hostage and demanding ransom payments. Federal and state security forces have limited capability to respond to violence in many parts of the state. U.S. government employees may only travel within a limited radius between the U.S. Consulates in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros and their respective U.S. Ports of Entry. U.S. government employees may not travel between cities in Tamaulipas using interior Mexican highways and they must observe a curfew between midnight and 6:00 a.m. in the cities of Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Tlaxcala state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no travel restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Veracruz state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Yucatan state – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution Exercise increased caution due to crime. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees in Yucatan state, which includes tourist areas in: Chichen Itza, Merida, Uxmal, and Valladolid. Zacatecas state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel Reconsider travel due to crime. Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Zacatecas state. There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.national Veteran actor Anupam Kher, while leading his 'March for India' campaign in New Delhi on Saturday said that India is a 'tolerant country' and nobody has the right to call it 'intolerant' New Delhi: Veteran actor Anupam Kher, while leading his 'March for India' campaign in New Delhi on Saturday said that India is a 'tolerant country' and nobody has the right to call it 'intolerant'. Anupam Kher. Pic/ANI Kher said, Every country has some problems but nobody has the right to call our country intolerant." The actor and BJP supporter, who believes that India is a tolerant country, is leading a march from India Gate in central Delhi. From there, the gathering will march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Some popular names that have joined Kher for the march include filmmakers Madhur Bhandarkar and Ashoke Pandit. Kher also said that he will meet President Pranab Mukherjee and deliver a message to him that India is a very tolerant country. "We are secular people, we don't believe in pseudo-secularism or selective outrage," Kher said. On Saturday early morning, Kher tweeted, "Patriotism gives us a feeling of self worth. Join us on this historical day at National Museum, Janpath at 10 a.m." Anupam had earlier shared on Twitter: "This #AwardWapsiGang has not insulted the government, but the jury, the chairman of the jury and the audience who watched their films."Molecular imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may benefit from the ferrimagnetic properties of magnetosomes, membrane-enclosed iron biominerals whose formation in magnetotactic bacteria is encoded by multiple genes. One such gene is MagA, a putative iron transporter. We have examined expression of MagA in mouse neuroblastoma N2A cells and characterized their response to iron loading and cellular imaging by MRI. MagA expression augmented both Prussian blue staining and the elemental iron content of N2A cells, without altering cell proliferation, in cultures grown in the presence of iron supplements. Despite evidence for iron incorporation in both MagA and a variant, MagAE137V, only MagA expression produced intracellular contrast detectable by MRI at 11 Tesla. We used this stable expression system to model a new sequence for cellular imaging with MRI, using the difference between gradient and spin echo images to distinguish cells from artifacts in the field of view. Our results show that MagA activity in mammalian cells responds to iron supplementation and functions as a contrast agent that can be deactivated by a single point mutation. We conclude that MagA is a candidate MRI reporter gene that can exploit more fully the superior resolution of MRI in noninvasive medical imaging.So, this is NJ huh? Second Amendment activist, James Kaleda, was forcefully removed from a hearing on a new gun control bill in NJ during his testimony. Yes, James’ testimony got a little heated, but he was still making an intelligent argument. Notice in the video the legislators laugh as they have their security (armed with guns of course) remove Kaleda before he finished his testimony. Kaleda receives a standing ovation from the gallery during his ejection. From the Youtube description of the video: James Kaleda explains that the proposed NJ Gun Bills will not save any lives but will endanger them. He is ejected by Committee Chair Senator Norcross. This took place at the NJ Senate gun control hearings in Trenton on April 30, 2013. I guess this is how they handle dissent in NJ, remove it from the building with armed guards. Follow up added 5/17, 8pm: Apparently this is what happened next. Brings a tear to my eye.View All 5 Images A few weeks ago, Festival Queen Anivia brought the spirit of Carnaval to the Rift. It was all costumes and celebrations—until bug reports about the icy bird started flying in. Riot’s QA teams quickly confirmed her ultimate wasn’t properly applying the debuff that doubled Frostbite’s damage. The bug was game-breaking enough to warrant a disable while we found a fix, and that fix would then have to be QA-tested overnight before implementing to live servers. That means it’d be Friday afternoon, at the earliest, that Anivia would be playable…but we don’t send out hotfixes on Fridays unless the game is severely broken: The risk of unintentionally causing a major problem during peak weekend hours is too high. Thus, the party was to be cut short as soon as it begun, with Anivia evicted from the Rift until Monday. But wait—Anivia didn’t actually get disabled for the entire weekend. What allowed us to save The Cryophoenix from that terrible fate? To answer this, we have to dive into the glamorous world of game servers, clients, redeploys, and micropatches. Let’s Get (a Little) Technical Game data is held in two locations: the client and the server. Client data is downloaded onto everyone’s computer, and changing it requires that you download a patch. The
lessly. You can find the source code on GitHub and the Skill on Amazon. Please try it out in your daily Flash Briefing and let me know what you think! If you find it useful, I'd be very happy about a positive review on Amazon.Image copyright AFP Image caption Last year, the murder of two teenagers caused widespread outrage A 10-year-old boy who worked in a spinning mill in Bangladesh has died after other workers inserted a high-pressure nozzle into his rectum and activated it, local media reports say. Police in Narayanganj say it is unclear why Sagar Barman was assaulted. Last year, a 13-year-old boy was killed in the same way in a vehicle workshop in another part of the country. Two men were sentenced to death over the case, which sparked large protests. Bangladesh boy killings: Six sentenced to death Rakib Hawlader died in August last year after air was pumped into his body in retaliation for leaving his job. His death followed the killing of another teenager, Samiul Alam Rajon, who was beaten to death by a mob after allegedly stealing a bicycle. Four men were sentenced to death over that killing. Child labour is common in Bangladesh, with many children working in unofficial garment factories, often in harsh conditions.A couple of years ago, we reported that a brewpub and brewery in Waltham had shut down and that a local group of restaurants and brewpubs might open another location within the space. Now we have learned that this is no longer the case and that an eclectic restaurant and craft beer bar will be opening there instead.According to an article from Eater Boston, Brewer's Tap & Table is opening on Moody Street in the former Watch City Brewing space, with the place promising to be a New American restaurant (with Asian, Latin American, and American Southern influences) and bar with a number of local beers available on tap and a variety of bourbon options as well. The post says that owners Matt and Nancy Sargent come from Vermont, where they hosted underground events called "Phantom Dinner" and also ran a Phantom food truck before opening Phantom Restaurant in Waitsfield (which is no longer in business).Watch City Brewing closed its doors in June of 2014, with the space subsequently being looked at by Beer Works; it appeared that they were going to open at the site, but those plans fell through at some point.The address for the upcoming Brewer's Tap & Table is 256 Moody Street, Waltham, MA, 02453. Its Twitter page can be found at https://twitter.com/BTT_Waltham[September 6 update: Wicked Local states that Brewer's Tap & Table will have seating for 250, 48 taps of mostly local craft beer, and--pending approval from the city of Waltham--monthly live music possibly being in the works.][November 7 update: A Twitter post from the place indicates that Brewer's Tap & Table has soft-opened, with an earlier message sent from them saying that it is possible they could open for real sometime this week, though this is not a definite as of yet.][November 9 update: Eater Boston mentions that Brewer's Tap & Table officially opens today, though with a "small starting menu."]Follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston Labels: beer bars, eclectic restaurants, Moody Street, New American restaurants, restaurant openings, Waltham restaurantsFlash Thompson’s Agent Venom design has really grown on me during his tenure as the character. A couple months ago I did a rewaorked Marvel Lgends style, black and white suit. Here is Agent Venom in his red and black suit that he wears in the super cool Thunderbolts series. This one was made completely from scratch, and was such a cool job that I’m going to do a tutorial on him after the auction. This guy comes with all the bells and whistles, including 3 alternate magnetic heads (one Agent Venom, one Flash Thompson, and one full on monster Venom). The Monster Venom head is a completely original sculpt. The Thompson head has the ghosted eyes and beginings of his transformation. He also comes with alternate symbiote hands, and tendrils that attach to his back. He comes with a complete set of custom painted guns including 2 matching pistols, one laser sighted handgun, 2 rifles, and a space blaster! Venom was made from a Steve Rogers base, Red Skull arms, Super Patriot legs, Sup Spidy head, Sentry, and custom heads, everything else is fodder and sculpted detail, including his entire chest peice. Enjoy! See you in the future! ACThursday on CNN’s “The Lead,” Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton defended her husband former president Bill Clinton against the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in his career by attacking his accusers when she knew he was lying. Kristol said, “It’s probably smart politics for Donald Trump. One is able to be anti-Trump and anti Hillary Clinton at the same time. Here’s a fact, Bill Clinton lied in 1992 about Jennifer Flowers when running for president. He lied under oath about Paula Jones. He lied about Monica Lewinsky. Hillary Clinton defended him, I think in some of those cases knowing he was lying and defending him. It is legitimate to say is that really the record of someone who stands up for women in all cases. And she in fact, had people going out and attacking Monica Lewinsky and calling her crazy and delusional.” He continued, “Monica Lewinsky was telling the truth. Paula Jones was telling the truth. That’s just a fact.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNENThe EU has made significant funds available for a migration partnership with African countries, so that asylum seekers can be intercepted before they reach the bloc’s external borders. EURACTIV Germany reports. It almost snuck under the radar as Brexit fever gripped the continent, but EU leaders made a significant announcement at the summit on Tuesday (28 June). “In the central Mediterranean area, the influx of migrants, who are predominantly economic migrants, has not decreased in comparison with last year,” they announced. Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini has therefore been tasked with making the necessary preparations to “return irregular migrants before the end of the year”. Repatriation, irregular migrants, “before the end of the year”, have become part of Brussels’ everyday jargon since the shameful mess of the Balkans route began to unfold. This time, however, it appears they are going to be followed up with action. After its declaration, the EU has ceased its mere lip service to migration policy and has green lit a Commission paper that is set to open up a new era in tackling irregular migration. Refugee crisis and EU migration policy to blame for Brexit, says Hungary's Orbán Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán today (29 June) blamed the British vote to quit the European Union on the EU’s inability to handle the refugee crisis. So-called “migration pacts” are in the pipeline with selected African countries, in an attempt to stymie the number of migrants making their way from Africa. Countries such as Nigeria, Sudan and Mali will act as outer defence posts, charged with filtering migrants thousands of miles before they reach the EU’s external border. In return, the EU hopes to provide participating countries with investment programmes and development aid worth a staggering €62 billion. Sachs: 'China's development strategy is more successful than Europe's' One of the world’s leading economists, Jeffrey Sachs, has told EURACTIV’s partner WirtschaftsWoche why Africa needs more development aid. He also urged Europe to be more like China. The core idea of the new refugee programme is to increase European border security by reducing the number of people making the often lethal voyage across the Mediterranean and tasking African governments with doing a more thorough job of processing migrants than is currently being done in the EU. So far, the measurable success of European countries in dealing with the migration crisis has been negligible. To date, its policy has been less about sustainable solutions and more about national governments working alone and a general lack of ideas. The EU’s much criticised deal with Turkey, touted as the way forward by the European Commission, has been shown to be more of a desperate act brought about by pressure exerted by Angela Merkel, than an actual solution. While the Commission highlighted sustainable strategies intended to tackle the reasons people leave their countries in the first place, including the involvement of private investors in supporting local markets, its position on where refugees’ final destination should be has been made clear: it is not Europe. The executive maintains that migrants and refugees should be able “to remain as close as possible to their homes and avoid dangerous migration routes”. To achieve this, the executive is prioritising closer cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries. NGOs warn EU against opening 'dark chapter in its history' on migration More than 100 NGOs have called upon the European Commission to put a stop to its controversial migration plan. EURACTIV Germany reports. It is set to be very much a carrot-and-stick approach, as participating countries will be rewarded with generous incentives, while uncooperative states will feel “consequences” in nearly “all policy areas”, like education, energy, climate change an agriculture. The European Commission had not replied to a request for comment by euractiv.de at time of publishing. But human rights organisations have been quick to denounce the plan. “As Europeans, we cannot close our eyes to the things that cause flight and the people that need protection,” said the CEO of Pro Asyl, Günter Burkhardt. He added that this kind of plan was evidence of an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude. Médecins Sans Frontières also criticised the Council for its decision and warned of the “serious humanitarian consequences of the agreement, especially in Greece”. However, it is unlikely that these criticisms will force any kind of rethinking, as the project has huge political support and financial clout to boot."100k" Making $100,000 in one summer is nothing to scoff at. Compared to other rappers' boasts, though, Antwon's is actually quite modest. Drake, for example, has said he makes five times that much for just one show, but he's spending all summer looking for revenge. Where's the fun in that? Antwon, confident as ever, actually sounds like he's enjoying himself throughout "100k," gliding over Lars Stalfors' production. Stalfors has worked with Chelsea Wolfe and HEALTH, which shows in the song's refined use of space and almost industrial clangs and synths. Antwon matches the minimalism with punchlines that blend in, never sticking out like anomalous one-line haymakers. His friendly bellow sounds downright Notorious, too, even as he raps about having night terrors. "100k" is casually brilliant, becoming massive without extraneous parts or desperate pleas for more. Earning $100,000 is impressive—it shows the work of someone who can and will maximize his abilities without concern for meeting anyone's expectations but his own. Antwon takes what he needs on "100k" and does the most with it.A new report is proposed Halifax municipal council consider banning gas-powered vehicles and electric bicycles that go more than 30 kilometres per hour from city parks and trails. The report was prompted by a former municipal councillor, Linda Mosher, who spoke in July 2016 about complaints she received regarding motorized vehicles travelling on the Chain of Lakes trail. In response, staff looked at policies in other cities across Canada and recommended Halifax enforce its bylaws on vehicles in parks by using the province's definition of bicycles as laid out in the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act. Halifax municipal council will be asked to consider a ban on gas-powered bicycles being used in city parks and trails. (CBC) The bylaw says wheelchairs and bicycles are the only vehicles permitted in parks and on trails. The Motor Vehicle Act definition of bicycles excludes gas and high-powered electric vehicles. "In order to prevent any public confusion and assist in enforcement, consistency is needed in determining what types of bicycles are permitted in parks and trails. Adopting the definition for bicycle from the Motor Vehicle Act appears to be the most appropriate way to do this," the report says. "Adoption of the definition for bicycle will enable the use of electric-assist bicycles of a modest size and power, but will not allow the use of gas-powered bicycles." Some cities, such as Calgary, Windsor, Hamilton, Vancouver and Montreal, do not allow any bicycles in parks and trails unless they are human propelled. The report will be discussed at council's regular meeting on Tuesday.Retired U.S. Army general Keith Alexander was in charge of the NSA when the agency discovered Heartbleed. ASSOCIATED PRESS If you needed further motivation to change your passwords, it turns out that the NSA has been utilizing the giant security vulnerability known as the "Heartbleed bug" to gather information about Internet users, Bloomberg reports. The bug, which takes advantage of a previously unnoticed programming error in a widely used encryption standard to trick Web servers into giving up valuable user data, has affected nearly everyone on the Internet. As we explained on Tuesday, as many as 66% of websites use the software containing the flaw, including major services like Facebook, Yahoo, and Gmail. That makes it an extremely useful tool for the NSA's data collection efforts, though its use throws into question the NSA's intentions and efficacy. After all, it's difficult, maybe even impossible, to determine which puts American cybersecurity at greater risk: leaving American citizens' data vulnerable for two years, to a method that doesn't leave a trace; or the threats that the NSA is fighting against using the bug itself. The NSA denies that it has been using the Heartbleed bug. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the NSA found the vulnerability so quickly after its introduction. Since it was a small error that didn't obviously break anything in the functionality of SSL, no one in the open-source community thought to look for it. That's exactly the kind of bug the NSA and its small army of security experts would try to look for: something widely used that's hard to notice. Bloomberg's Michael Riley reports that sources familiar with the matter claim that the bug quickly became "a basic part of the agency's toolkit for stealing account passwords and other common tasks." Just because the fix to Heartbleed is slowly making its way onto servers doesn't mean that the NSA is cut off from user data. Riley's sources confirm that the agency has a database of thousands of vulnerabilities, many of which likely still haven't been noticed by independent computer security researchers. The NSA however, has denied the Bloomberg report, tweeting that the agency "was not aware of the recently identified Heartbleed vulnerability until it was made public."As we all know, Survivor strategy can be twisted and conniving. In order to get to the end, players might have to do some dirty deeds to people they trust and work with. Some players can do that with no real issues. Think of Tony Vlachos or Sarah Lacina flipping around willy-nilly. They might catch some flak for their strategy but no one is going to take it personally because they have demonstrated in the past that it’s in their nature to move around. If you get caught by Tony after thinking you were allied with him, it’s more on you than on him. You should have known better. With someone like Cochran? It’s completely different, especially in South Pacific. Throughout the season, Cochran sends out weak and timid vibes to the Upolu tribe. Part of that is being stuck with guys like Ozzy, Jim, and Keith Tollefson. All the type of guys who like to play sports and consider themselves fairly athletic and stereotypically manly. Cochran is many things but athletic and stereotypically manly are not part of his personality. Fitting in with the Savaiis thus proved extremely difficult for Cochran. He made this face a lot on Savaii. Because the tribe sees him as somebody they are carrying, they see him as weak. To the rest of Savaii, Cochran is a number out of necessity and at the very bottom of their totem pole. When Cochran decides to flip over to Upolu, Savaii is being undone by the same guy they saw as useless and flaccid just minutes ago. Nobody likes being beat but it’s even worse when it’s at the hands of somebody you don’t think should ever be able to beat you. In Cochran’s case with Savaii, that’s exactly what happens and that’s why there is much vitriol towards him. This isn’t the only time that something like this happens to Survivor contestants. In Kaoh Rong, Tai found himself in a similar Cochran-like situation with the jury. He decided not to save his ally, Scot Pollard, with his half of the super idol. Tai felt that the way Scot and Kyle Jason were playing the game wasn’t the way he wanted to play. By not saving Scot from being voted off, Tai was making a strategic decision that was never accepted by Scot or Jason. Tai was too friendly and likable to suddenly turn on his allies without in turn harming his standing within the game. In fact, in a very similar way, the older women “mom” archetypes of the group are often undone by their inability to backstab someone without losing popularity in the jury. Think of players like Monica Culpepper and Cochran’s buddy Dawn. Nobody expects their mom to stab them in the back. By becoming the tribe’s matriarch, these players are putting themselves in a situation where any kind of betrayal will be met with a huge uproar. Sure, Cochran played a masterful game in Survivor: Caramoan but who was with him every step of the way? Dawn played a very good strategic game but because she was seen as the mom of the group, everybody who was at the receiving end of her vote felt extra slighted. It doesn’t help that Dawn spent the majority of the season on the edge of mental stability but Dawn had a hand in almost every big vote-off and Cochran received all of the credit. That’s why players need to be careful when falling into a role. Dawn’s motherly side was probably very helpful to her when trying to survive the first few votes in South Pacific. She was able to bond with Ozzy who felt the need to keep her safe and that propelled her into the merge. By Caramoan, Dawn didn’t need to be that mother character. She came in with some solid alliances already established and was ready to play a more cutthroat game. The only problem is that despite wanting to change how she played, she wasn’t able to change how people perceived her. On the other hand, Cochran was successful in re-writing his narrative. Back in South Pacific, he was the weak dodgeball target nobody could stand. Now he was at the head of a large alliance, with Phillip Sheppard as his figurehead, and he was calling all the shots. Even though that wasn’t entirely true, Dawn and Andrea Boelkhe in particular were definitely being consulted, Cochran was able to sell it to the jury as gospel. Once the perception on Cochran changed, so too did his potential to actually win the game. In the end, you can play as flashy and cutthroat as you like. The only thing that matters is if people are going to be okay enough with you beating them to give you the win. In Kaoh Rong, Scot and Jason were never going to be okay with Aubry Bracco outplaying them. These are things that will happen in Survivor and while it can be tough to swallow for some people, it’s something players will always have to account for. The person you choose to be out there on the island is the person the jury will choose to evaluate with their own set of criteria. You just have to figure out how to appeal to as many of those checkmarks as possible."JV Fitness does not have adequate liquid resources to continue its operations and therefore all outlets in Singapore will be closed from today until further notice," liquidators said in a media release. SINGAPORE: All California Fitness gyms in Singapore will be closed with immediate effect. In a media announcement shortly after midnight on Wednesday (Jul 20), Tim Reid and Theresa Ng of Ferrier Hodgson said they have been appointed as Provisional Liquidators of JV Fitness Pte Ltd, by the order of the High Court on Jul 19, 2016. Advertisement JV Fitness owns and operates the California Fitness centres located at Bugis, Raffles Place and Novena. "JV Fitness does not have adequate liquid resources to continue its operations and therefore all outlets in Singapore will be closed from today until further notice. "The Provisional Liquidators will quickly explore options that may be available to enable the business to operate but for time being, it is necessary to cease the operations of the fitness centres with immediate effect," the media release said.Last year at LaveCon (the annual Elite: Dangerous convention) I took my Oculus DK2 along and ran a "VR Shipyard" to let people who had never experienced VR, or seen the amazing cockpits of the ships in game, to have a go. This year I will be doing the same, however there are now 29 ships in game, so "prospective buyers" will be able to sit in the cockpit of 25 ships at Mars High station. No flying, just trying! The rebuy on my Imperial Cutter is quite a lot. I will be letter people have a go with the SRV on Europa at some point too. Anyway, to make the wait for each person's turn less dull, I have created ship manufacturer brochures (modelled on car showroom brochures) to flick through while they wait. UPDATE: The complete finished set is now available here.On Monday, Donald Trump gave a speech billed as a major address on terrorism policy. It was nonsense, meant literally: not merely wrong but actually incoherent; a mishmash of logical fallacies, lies, and contradictions. Over the course of a single speech, Trump managed to: completely contradict many of his most important past positions on foreign policy; reject nation building even while endorsing an indefinite occupation of Iraq; and make embarrassing factual errors about a whole host of topics ranging from NATO to the rise of ISIS. Trump has been running for president for more than a year, and his foreign policy vision still doesn’t cross the basic threshold of "being logically coherent and grounded in actual facts." It’s time to accept that the GOP’s nominee won’t change — that he really will never learn the most fundamental stuff you’d expect a presidential candidate to have mastered before he began his campaign. Trump reversed his past foreign policy stances without explanation Trump’s speech was at its most nonsensical when he actively argued with himself — contradicting his past positions on key foreign policy questions without even acknowledging the shift. For example, Trump decried the war in Libya, calling it "Hillary Clinton’s disaster in Libya." But in March 2011, at the time the war was launched, Trump full-throatedly supported the war. "Qaddafi in Libya is killing thousands of people, nobody knows how bad it is, and we’re sitting around," Trump had said in a March 2011 vlog post uncovered by BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski and Christopher Massie. "We should go in, we should stop this guy, which would be very easy and very quick. We could do it surgically, stop him from doing it, and save these lives." Trump repeatedly argued against himself, with no justification other than that it’s politically convenient In a later interview, Trump went further, endorsing outright regime change: "if you don’t get rid of [Qaddafi], it’s a major, major black eye for this country." Likewise, in his speech, Trump decried the Obama administration’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011: "After we had made those hard-fought sacrifices and gains, we should never have made such a sudden withdrawal." Except Trump himself had called for an even earlier troop withdrawal from Iraq than Obama ended up doing. "I'd like to get out as soon as possible," he said in a 2008 interview with Wolf Blitzer. "Most people wanted to get out right away." There’s no acknowledgement of these contradictions in Trump’s speech, no accounting for why he changed his mind. It’s doubly contradictory in a speech that focused heavily on Clinton’s foreign policy record, attacking her for "one episode of bad judgment after another." Trump repeatedly argued against himself, with no justification other than that it’s politically convenient now for him to forget his own past. Trump’s speech wasn’t even internally coherent Trump’s speech didn’t just contradict his own past comments. It actually contradicted itself. My favorite example is Trump’s claim, repeated over and over, that the US should have stolen Iraq’s oil after the Iraq War. "I was saying this constantly and to whoever would listen: Keep the oil, keep the oil, keep the oil, I said — don’t let someone else get it," Trump said. "In the old days, when we won a war, to the victor belonged the spoils." This nakedly colonialist policy would have been opposed, to put it mildly, by Iraqis — 99 percent of the Iraqi government’s revenue comes from oil. Taking and holding the country’s oil deposits would have required a massive financial investment and a major troop deployment to defend it. The latter point, at least, Trump admits: "This proposal, by its very nature, would have left soldiers in place to guard our assets." Yet in the same section of the speech, Trump decried nation building as costly and counterproductive: "If I become president, the era of nation building will be ended," he promised, bemoaning the "thousands of lives" lost during the Iraq War. The fact that his oil grab would be a similarly grand project just doesn’t register in the speech. Similarly, Trump proposed allying with various different dictators to fight Islamist terrorism: "We will partner with King Abdullah of Jordan, and President Sisi of Egypt, and all others who recognize this ideology of death that must be extinguished." Yet in the same speech, he extolls the need to defend American values as part of a strong counterterrorism policy: "We have to promote the exceptional virtues of our own way of life." No word on how allying with an Egyptian dictator who murdered 817 people in a single day upholds "the exceptional virtues of our way of life." It is difficult to discern a consistent doctrine in here, because it doesn’t really seem like there is one. It’s just Trump advocating whatever seems to make sense in the moment. Trump’s history of the modern Middle East was wildly wrong Nor was the only problem that Trump contradicted himself. His core argument against the "Obama-Clinton" foreign policy, as he terms it, consists of a basic logical error. Consider this, which is supposed to be Trump’s damning indictment of the past eight years of foreign policy: What have the decisions of Obama-Clinton produced? Libya is in ruins, our ambassador and three other brave Americans are dead, and ISIS has gained a new base of operations. Syria is in the midst of a disastrous civil war. ISIS controls large portions of territory. A refugee crisis now threatens Europe and the United States. In Egypt, terrorists have gained a foothold in the Sinai desert, near the Suez Canal, one of the most essential waterways in the world. Iraq is in chaos, and ISIS is on the loose. This is what logicians would call a post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy. Trump assumes that because something happened after Obama took office, it therefore happened because Obama took office. Except a lot of stuff happened in the Middle East between 2009 and 2016 that had very little to do with anything Obama or Clinton did. In 2011, the Middle East experienced a massive wave of protests that transformed regional politics. Those protests toppled the Tunisian government and led to a temporary collapse in dictatorship in Egypt. Both the Libyan and Syrian governments decided to respond to the protests with violent repression, leading to civil wars in both countries and contributing to the rise of ISIS. You may have heard of this; it’s called the Arab Spring. Trump’s speech never mentions a single protest. Instead, he insists it was "the Obama-Clinton foreign policy" that "unleashed ISIS [and] destabilized the Middle East." ISIS, in Trump’s telling, is the endpoint of US foreign policy: "The rise of ISIS is the direct result of policy decisions made by President Obama and Secretary Clinton." Never mind the vacuum created by the civil war in Syria, or the Iraqi government’s decision to repress the Sunni minority, or the decision by regional players like Saudi Arabia and Qatar to shuffle arms to radical groups in Syria. It was all Clinton and Obama’s fault. Trump is going beyond blaming Obama and Clinton for mishandling the post-2011 crisis in the Middle East, which many Republicans have done. Instead, he suggests the entire crisis was their fault, as if the Arab Spring protesters were doing their nefarious bidding. Most troublingly, he doesn’t have some kind of sophisticated argument for this position, beyond hand-waving at the Iraq withdrawal and Libya interventions being bad. Nor does he have an explanation for what a better foreign policy during this period might have looked like. He just asserts that the entire Middle East is on fire because of Obama and Clinton’s decisions. Again, this argument is nonsense in the strictest sense of the word: It isn’t so much wrong as it is meaningless. Trump simply has no cogent theory as to what Obama and Clinton did wrong or what an alternative might look like, so he just chooses not to present one. Things in the Middle East were better before Obama took office; therefore, everything is Obama’s fault. Trump’s speech made a bunch of other random errors No Trump speech would be complete without a series of factual whoppers. This one was no exception. A partial list: Trump lied about opposing the Iraq War, despite overwhelming evidence (documented by Kaczynski’s team at BuzzFeed) that he did not. Trump said that neighbors of the San Bernardino shooters saw bombs on their floor but didn’t report it because "they didn’t want to be accused of racial profiling." There is no evidence for this whatsoever. Trump implied that NATO created a new counterterrorism position because of his past criticism of the alliance ("since my comments, they have changed their policy and now have a new division focused on terror threats.") This is false, according to... NATO. Trump claimed, "If we had controlled the oil, we could have prevented the rise of ISIS in Iraq." Except ISIS didn’t rely on Iraqi oil funds to grow strong — ISIS’s major oil revenue came from Syria, not Iraq. These errors aren’t anything all that new. With the exception of that last claim about taking the oil, I have seen each of those Trump assertions debunked prior to this speech. Yet he repeated them anyway, even defending his claim to have opposed the Iraq War at length despite it being demonstrably false. Trump is never going to change The point of listing all these errors is that Trump’s nonsense approach to these issues isn’t just a one-off. Trump’s post-fact, post-logic approach to foreign policy isn’t just this speech. It’s the way he has approached this issue for his entire candidacy, and one that’s not likely to change. Trump is not going to all of a sudden come up with a sophisticated and factually grounded take on foreign policy. He will instead continue to tout the brilliance of a colonial plan to "take the oil" and insisting that he opposed the Iraq War when the proof he didn’t is just a single Google search away. This is the real Trump, and this is the real thinking that could be shaping foreign policy in the world’s most powerful country come January. Donald Trump's NATO comments are terrifyingPORTUGAL: Salazar ‘Greatest Portuguese Ever’, TV Viewers Say Mario de Queiroz LISBON, Mar 30 2007 (IPS) - News media and academic circles in Portugal are vying with each other to explain why the public chose former dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (1932-1968) in a poll on state television channel RTP as “The Greatest Portuguese Who Ever Lived.” Economic problems, unemployment and the lack of opportunities, frequent corruption scandals and Portugal’s laggard position in terms of development in Europe are the most commonly cited reasons for the number of votes for Salazar, the major figure in the 48-year-long dictatorship (1926-1974) which was overthrown by leftwing army captains on Apr. 25, 1974. “Great Portuguese”, a television programme based on the BBC show “Great Britons” which has inspired similar shows in several other countries, was aired on the night of Mar. 25 and ended in the early hours of Monday Mar. 26. Audience votes gave Oliveira Salazar a comfortable win at 41 percent, followed by the late communist leader Álvaro Cunhal, with 19 percent. Historian and former parliamentary deputy José Pacheco Pereira told the newspaper Público de Lisboa on Tuesday that he was not surprised at the result, “because the programme format encouraged the mobilisation of vocal supporters of either Salazar or Cunhal, who in a way personify the divisions among Portuguese in the 20th century.” The 10 finalists also included Admiral Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) who discovered the sea route to India, King Alfonso Henríques, the 12th century founder of the nation, 15th century King João II, Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), Sebastião José de Carvalho de Melo (regent of Portugal in the 18th century), the poets Luiz Vaz de Camoes (1524-1580) and Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), and Arístides de Sousa Mendes (1885-1954), who as consul in France saved the lives of thousands of Jews in the Second World War. How is it possible that the founder of the authoritarian “New State” (1933-1974), the longest-lived European dictatorship of the 20th century, was preferred by such a margin to the greatest figures of Portugal’s rich history? José Rebelo, professor of sociology of information and vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights in Portugal, gave IPS one possible answer. The result does not reflect a desire to go back to a dictatorship like Salazar’s, because “it wasn’t a uniform vote for Salazar, but a mixture of different votes for Salazar, with different intentions which ranged from voting for him to express disenchantment with present-day politics, to voting out of a sense of rebellion or defiance, or even as a provocation,” he said. “A contest is just a contest. One could easily argue that the members of the audience who decided to participate weren’t a sociologically representative sample. It’s all true, but when over 40 percent of the thousands of votes received by RTP demonstrate a preference for Salazar, it’s food for thought,” he said. Adelino Gomes, the chief editor of Público said, “Everyone is saying that Salazar won a contest, not an election, but some people talk of ‘the symbolic death of Apr. 25’ when they see the dictator’s resounding victory over great kings, explorers, poets and politicians from throughout our history.” In the TV poll they were all left standing by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, a professor at the University of Coimbra who was invited to become finance minister by the military dictatorship that overthrew the republican government in 1926. Salazar, who lived 1889-1970, assumed full power and became the regime’s strongman. At a time when politics was carried on with pistols on the table, Salazar’s political project, the New State, had a corporatist economic structure, and was the first to be clearly inspired by the doctrines of the Catholic Church as defined in the papal encyclicals Rerum Novarum (1891) and Quadragesimo Anno (1931). In 1930 Salazar founded the National Union party, inspired by Benito Mussolini who had ruled Italy since 1922. In 1932 he assumed the presidency of the Council of Ministers. His regime was intended to supercede liberal democracy. Enjoying unrestricted power, he created the International State Defence Police (PIDE), banned any opposition, and in spite of international pressure insisted on maintaining a worn out empire which included colonies in Africa (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tomé and Príncipe) and Asia (Goa, Diu, Daman, Macao and East Timor), under the motto “Proudly Alone.” Salazar’s first major international defeat was at the hands of India in 1961, when then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru dispatched an overwhelming force to retake the Portuguese enclaves of Goa, Daman and Diu. The Portuguese military garrisons received peremptory orders from Lisbon to defeat the invaders or die in the attempt. The inevitable surrender by the governor of Portuguese India, General Antonio Vassalo e Silva, was the spark that detonated independence wars in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique which resulted in thousands killed on either side, and ended when the leftist captains wrested power from Marcello Caetano (1968-1974), Salazar’s successor in Lisbon. The dictatorship’s dark record included thousands of people who were tortured by the PIDE, and more who were transported to concentration camps in Africa and East Timor. Augusto Vilela, a journalist closely connected with Diario de Lisboa, the only newspaper that held out untamed against the regime, told IPS that the choice of the old dictator as the greatest Portuguese who ever lived “by public vote organised by the state television channel, brought shame upon the programme directors and on the political authorities who allowed it.” “It was repulsive to democratic sectors, while it caused carefully concealed satisfaction among the right, who have been patiently biding their time since the 1974 revolution,” he said. What happened is part of a phenomenon involving “a significant number of media outlets all over the world, especially television channels, that are directed by persons of no intellectual stature or integrity, without principles or values, who are merely gangmasters of their reporters and purveyors of infotainment shows,” he said. Visao Online weekly columnist Miguel Carvalho said that all the complaints and bitter comments he had heard on the street from taxi-drivers, bus and train passengers led him to think that the Portuguese chose Salazar “out of revenge,” because of the dire situation in the country. “Portuguese people have a strange mentality. They bite their tongues and rarely speak out directly. But since they spend all day and all night in front of the television, I think they slyly took up their remote controls and chose Salazar, who was conveniently at hand, as a sort of coded protest, using the old tyrant to symbolise the many petty ‘little Salazars’ that make their lives miserable today,” Carvalho concluded.
35-0, and will disqualify anyone whose name is on the FBI’s terrorist watch list from obtaining a New Jersey firearm ID card or permit to purchase a handgun. This expands New Jersey’s current law that denies a permit to a person who is considered a danger to “public health, safety or welfare.” Other proposals that passed today would redefine a “destructive device” and ban.50-caliber weapons and/or anything larger, upgrade the penalty for criminals caught with guns to a first-degree crime, require criminals who are caught with a firearm to post full cash bail, and increase the statute of limitations for gun thefts from 5 years to 10 years. Like the centerpiece bill, these all now move forward to the general assembly and if passed there will go to the governor’s desk.MILWAUKEE — Sixteen miles separated Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on Monday night, but the distance between them felt much greater. Trump, the national front-runner, arrived to a half-empty auditorium at the Milwaukee Theatre in a defensive crouch, beaten down by days of bad headlines and growing signs that Wisconsin — and perhaps even his best shot at winning the GOP nomination outright — was slipping from his grasp. He had his wife, Melania, make a rare campaign speech in the hopes that she might extinguish the recent fierce criticism over his remarks regarding women. She spoke for only two minutes, reading from notes. Story Continued Below Trump was not in his usual loquacious mood, at least initially. “I know you have a baseball game and a basketball game, we’re going to go really quickly tonight,” Trump began, as he looked out at empty balconies. In the nearby suburb of Waukesha, the scene was much different. Cruz, the challenger, was energized, reveling in the support of the Wisconsin political establishment, prominent talk radio hosts and evangelical leaders — a powerful alliance that, polls show, have him on the precipice of a blowout win. While he trails in overall victories, Cruz boldly predicted Monday that Wisconsin would be “a turning point” in the race. “The entire country, its eyes are on the state of the Wisconsin,” Cruz said, pushing to further raise the stakes in the state. He only took the stage after a parade of prominent endorsers, including Scott Walker, Carly Fiorina, and influential conservative talk-radio host Charlie Sykes, sung his praises and pilloried Trump. It was a fired-up the crowd in the key GOP suburb that repeatedly bellowed out Cruz’s name in a collective baritone, as if he were a star ballplayer (“Cruuuuuuuuuz.”). Cruz himself was feeling so confident that he even waded into unusual territory with a Trump hair joke, suggesting that Walker could put Trump in the sidecar of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. “You’re right, it would mess up his hair,” Cruz said, responding to someone in the crowd. Then Cruz added, "Actually, I don’t know that it would." The final events for the two Republican candidates before Wisconsin’s primary day arrives were reflective of both contenders’ standing in the state: Cruz has the momentum, as Trump is scrambling to catch up — and get through the day. While Cruz brought key Wisconsin leaders, Trump was introduced by only two surrogates — a pastor and a former Senate staffer—and the crowd size paled compared to his usual audiences. (John Kasich, befitting his second-tier status in the race, wasn’t in Wisconsin at all, already looking ahead to the future contests, as he’s done since February as his losses have continued to mount.) For the last week, the Wisconsin primary has been dominated by negative coverage of Trump’s posture toward women, as Cruz has made not-so-subtle attempts to drive a wedge between the GOP front-runner and half the electorate. First, Trump threatened to “spill the beans” on Cruz’s wife on Twitter, and then he sent a controversial retweet of an unflattering picture her. His campaign manager was charged with simple battery for grabbing a female reporter. And then Trump said that women should be punished for illegal abortions (and subsequently backtracked on the assertion). "You may have heard that Donald Trump has a woman problem,” Sykes said at the Cruz rally Monday night. "Gee, I wonder why.” Trump tried to address the situation at his own Monday rally, as he was joined onstage by his wife, Melania, who described him with a string of supportive adjectives: tough, smart, kind, as well as a “great communicator” and “great negotiator.” “No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal,” Melania Trump said, though the crowd cheered loudest when she remarked, “as you may know by now, when you attack him, he will punch back ten times harder.” She was followed by Melissa Young, a former Miss Wisconsin who received assistance from Trump as she battled illness. Those two women dominated the first 10 or so minutes of his rally, which lasted for less than an hour in total. Trump’s surrogates also appeared sensitive to the criticism that Trump was struggling with women. “Betcha there’s a few women in the building tonight that love Donald Trump!” Pastor Mark Burns said earlier as he warmed up the crowd. A smattering of women in what was then a quarter-full auditorium cheered. He continued, “We will not be dictated by the media!” Cruz, for his part, has dispatched several prominent female surrogates across Wisconsin: his wife, Fiorina, Wisconsin first lady Tonette Walker all campaigned here for him. And on Monday, Cruz pointedly took part in a town hall with Fox News' Megyn Kelly, the network’s most prominent female journalist and Trump’s most prominent journalistic nemesis. "She totally misrepresents my words and positions! BAD.” Trump had tweeted of Kelly just last Friday. Cruz’s lighthearted mood Monday matched one of a man headed to victory as he was joined by Heidi Cruz and his two daughters at the Mars Cheese Castle, sampling jalapeno cheese bread and aged cheddar, urging reporters to try the fare, and laughingly refusing to wear a cheesehead, the iconic Wisconsin hat shaped like a block of cheese, as his daughter tried to put it on his head. “There is an ironclad rule of politics, which is, no funny hats,” he told reporters as he dug into the cheddar samples. “And any hat is by definition defined as a funny hat. Michael Dukakis powerfully demonstrated that when he put on a helmet and when he rode in a tank.” He added, “I think the people of Wisconsin wear their cheese heads so powerfully, that I would not presume to intrude in the elegance with which the people of Wisconsin wear those hats.” He had two different retail stops Monday, where he talked up his love of cheese — which he insists isn’t a Wisconsin pander — as well as a town hall and a rally. Trump has spent the last several days ramping up his schedule with a mix of rallies and retail stops — an earlier rally drew thousands, he said — though has not campaigned in the state for as long, or as aggressively, as Cruz has. Still, Trump said here Monday that a friend told him he could win Wisconsin. “I said, ‘But I’m not seeing polls that are great, I’m a little bit down, I’m down in some, I’m a little bit down,’” Trump said. “He said, ‘No, you’re going to win, but you have to be here, you have to come in, you have to talk to the people.'” So, Trump continued, “I’ve been making speeches, three today, four the other day. We’re here constantly, you’re going to get so sick of me, you’re going to say, ‘get the hell out of here.’” Around half an hour later, he was gone.The Obama administration has rejected efforts to reschedule marijuana to a less restrictive drug category, keeping it classified as a Schedule 1 substance—illegal for any purpose. That means states that allow marijuana for medical or recreational use will remain in violation of federal law. The decision, announced by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday, follows efforts by lawmakers and activists to reschedule marijuana to a category in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that would loosen restrictions on its use. In a letter to the petitioners—Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, and New Mexico nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm—DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg wrote, "Simply put, evaluating the safety and effectiveness of drugs is a highly specialized endeavor." The Washington Post explains the impacts of the decision: Legalization advocates were disappointed by the ruling, but saw a minor victory in the DEA's decision that it would end its monopoly on marijuana research, which Michael Collins of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) said would remove some obstacles. It's "a bad day for legalization efforts and a good day for scientists." —Kevin Sabet, Smart Approaches to Marijuana "Keeping marijuana in Schedule I shows that the DEA continues to ignore research, and places politics above science," said Collins, the DPA's deputy director of national affairs. "In reality, marijuana should be descheduled and states should be allowed to set their own policies." SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts Ending the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA) monopoly, however, "is a very welcome move that will enable more research," Collins added. For years, the University of Mississippi has been the only institution in the U.S. to grow marijuana for research purposes. NIDA funds the school's program. "This restriction has so limited the supply of marijuana federally approved for research purposes that scientists said it could often take years to obtain it and in some cases it was impossible to get," the New York Times noted on Wednesday, and loosening that particular restriction "will have a significant practical effect." Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a former Obama administration drug advisor, told USA Today that the decision signals "a bad day for legalization efforts and a good day for scientists." Mason Tvert, spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project, agreed. "The DEA's refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling," he said Thursday. "It is intellectually dishonest and completely indefensible. Not everyone agrees marijuana should be legal, but few will deny that it is less harmful than alcohol and many prescription drugs. It is less toxic, less addictive, and less damaging to the body." "We are pleased the DEA is finally going to end NIDA's monopoly on the cultivation of marijuana for research purposes," he continued. "Removing barriers to research is a step forward, but the decision does not go nearly far enough. Marijuana should be completely removed from the CSA drug schedules and regulated similarly to alcohol." Currently, 42 states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws that recognize marijuana's medical medical value, and four states—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington—have legalized recreational use. At least eight more states will consider marijuana-related issues in November, including ballot measures for full legalization in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada.#LIRR spokesman say "the objective is a normal morning rush hour" on Ronkonkoma Branch after plane crash in Bethpage. pic.twitter.com/0AD4epUJDr — N. J. Burkett (@njburkett7) August 16, 2015 LIRR service on the Ronkonkoma Branch was restored Sunday night following a fatal plane crash onto the railroad tracks on Long Island.Police say the pilot of the plane is dead and another person was injured.According to the FAA, the Hawker Beechcraft BE35 made an emergency landing about 7:45 am. on South Oyster Bay Road in Bethpage. The pilot's desperate maneuver saved his passenger, who was pulled to safety by an eyewitness to the crash.Police say the aircraft had left Francis S. Gabreski Ariport in Westhampton Beach and was en route to Morristown when the pilot reported to the Farmingdale Airport that he was having difficulty maintaining altitude. Moments after the pilot made a mayday call, controllers at Republic Airport warned other aircrafts to prep for an emergency landing, but the plane had already went down. The accident occurred three miles northwest of the airport.A survivor, 55-year old Carl Giordano of New Vernon, N.J., suffered a broken jaw and is being treated at Nassau County University Medical Center. The pilot's name has not yet been released.LIRR service on the Ronkonkoma Branch was fully restored Sunday night. The first eastbound train was the 7:12PM train from Penn due in Ronkonkoma at 8:31PM. The first westbound train was the 7:40PM train from Ronkonkoma due at Penn Station at 8:59PM. Both trains will be operating with delays.The LIRR expects no issues for the Monday morning rush hour.Earlier, service was suspended between Hicksville and Farmingdale.The cause of the crash is under investigation.A woman who works in the area said one of her co-workers heard the plane coming down, ran outside and pulled at least one person out of the plane."My co-worker saw the plane upside down and said that plane's going down. He told me to call 911 and then I saw him pulling somebody out of the plane and putting them on the ground," said eyewitness Luz Perez.She said the person talked to her co-worker and said there was one other person still in the plane.I’m a delegate to the Republican National Convention. I was initially excited about the prospect of going to Cleveland for the convention and being part of the election process, but based on my first few days here, I’ve concluded that the entire convention process is a major farce. We have no voice here, we have no say. It’s all for show so the Republican Party can dishonestly paint a picture that they represent the democratic process of balance and fairness. I’m totally disgusted. ADVERTISEMENT What I witnessed Monday on the convention floor was one of the most blatant acts of dishonesty and corruption I’ve ever seen. To quote Utah Senator Mike Lee Michael (Mike) Shumway LeePush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback The Hill's Morning Report — Emergency declaration to test GOP loyalty to Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump escalates fight with NY Times MORE, "I have never in all my life, certainly going on six years in the United States Senate, prior to that as a lifelong Republican, never seen anything like this. There is no precedent for this in parliamentary procedure. There is no precedent for this in the rules of the Republican National Convention. We are now in uncharted territory. Somebody owes us an explanation.” What Lee was referring to was a transaction that occurred at Monday's convention in which the RNC flat out lied and completely ignored the majority of delegates from 11 states who demanded a roll call vote on the adoption of the rules of the convention. These states have major reservations about the rules package adopted by the Convention Rules Committee the previous week that gave increased power to the RNC and stripped power from the GOP state delegations (per Rule 12). Some in the media, though, have wrongly reported that our aim was to strip Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE of the nomination, but this is simply not the case. Among the objectionable rules submitted by the Rules Committee was the addition of binding language to Rule 38 of the Standing Rules of the Convention for only the second time since the creation of the Republican Party. The first time was in 1976, but the Ronald Reagan convention of 1980 removed this language. If we had been successful in forcing a vote on the rules, it is true that this would have opened the door for delegates to vote their conscience (something delegates in the past have been free to do for over 130 years) — but this was just one issue among many. To force a roll call vote, we had to have a majority of signatures from 7 states per Rules 37-39. As mentioned above, we were successful in gathering sufficient signatures from 11 states: Virginia, Iowa, Colorado, Maine, Alaska, Washington, Minnesota, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Utah, and North Dakota. After ignoring us when we initially called for a point of order (and had to then yell since the chair wouldn’t turn on our microphones), and then after the chair walked off the stage for several minutes (something unheard of), he then returned and finally let us make a motion for a roll call vote. He called for a voice vote and allowed the entire convention hall to participate — not just the delegates — and subsequently determined the motion had failed. He then stated that only 9 states had submitted signatures, but that several delegates from three or four states withdrew their support. He claimed that two additional states had submitted signatures but they didn’t meet some supposed deadline — which is an outright lie since there is nothing in the rules that mentions such a deadline for roll call votes (only for nominations via Rule 40). We have no way of verifying the claim that delegates withdrew their signatures, or determining from which states this supposedly occurred. We only have the RNC’s word, despite our requests for proof. If three or four states withdrew, that would still leave 7 or 8 states, which was sufficient to require a vote from the entire delegation. Additionally, the RNC tried to hide the Convention Secretary from us in a nondescript hallway with armed guards standing at the entrance, in an effort to prevent us from delivering the signatures. After two or more hours of trying, we were finally successful in delivering the petitions. After the RNC and the Trump campaign received the petitions, they tried to intimate and strong-arm delegates who had signed to withdraw their names for the sake of “Party unity.” After the “vote,” we were again harassed and bullied. One delegate from my delegation was even cornered in the women’s’ bathroom by two female Trump supporters who told her she and the entire Utah delegation “should all die.” Is this a glimpse of what a Trump presidency will look like? The nickname many conservatives have for Trump supporters is the “Brownshirts” — in reference to the Nazi regime’s gangsters who threatened and even killed those who wouldn’t fall in line behind Hitler. There’s not a consensus among conservatives or delegates in support of Trump, and bullying tactics and threats by the Trump campaign or the RNC aren’t going to win over the support of principled conservatives. To quote Alexander Hamilton: “For in politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution” (The Federalist Papers #1). If Trump wishes to win us over, he should start by showing us that he has a principled vision for this country beyond meaningless clichés or hype; that he will defend the Constitution (as written); and that he will embrace and implement the principles of Ronald Reagan in a Trump administration. Reagan was the last president to truly unite the Republican Party (and the nation). He did so by persuasion, not by force or intimidation. We will see over the remaining few days of the convention if Trump intends to try to follow Reagan’s example. Stefani Stone Williams is a Republican national delegate. She is a former deputy chief of staff to Alan Keyes, and she and her husband, a former law enforcement officer and retired Lt. Col. in the USAF, have five children. The views expressed by Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.A group of French mathematicians introduced an entirely new vision of their discipline. Yet despite decades of international recognition, Bourbaki remains shrouded in mystery. Eighty years of continuous scientific activity: for any other researcher, such longevity would be extraordinary. Not for Nicolas Bourbaki, one of the main figures of 20th-century mathematics. Although still somewhat confidential, his eternal youth is no enigma: the name is the shared pseudonym of a society of mathematicians, whose members—renewed over time—endeavor to publish a structured presentation of the discipline in the form of a monumental treatise. Updating the axioms The collective started out with modest ambitions. In July 1935, nine mathematicians met in the town of Besse-en-Chandesse, near Clermont-Ferrand in central France, and assumed the name Bourbaki. All aged about 30 and graduates of the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris—with the exception of Szolem Mandelbrojt—these young professors in provincial universities knew each other from their days in the Latin Quarter. It was in a café on the Boulevard Saint Michel that they set out to update mathematical analysis manuals, which they felt were no longer adapted. The group, which included André Weil and Henri Cartan, as well as Claude Chevalley, Jean Delsarte and Jean Dieudonné, decided to adopt an axiomatic presentation for their treatise, clearly formulating the basic rules (axioms) and deducing the related theorems by logical reasoning, expressed in simple terminology. Their goal was to give a “backbone” to mathematics, with a hierarchy of abstract structures. “In order to provide a strict definition of the fundamentals of analysis, you have to start with a little algebra, topology, function theory, etc.,” explains Antoine Chambert-Loir, a mathematician at the Université Paris Sud. The project was gradually developed and published under the title Éléments de Mathématique. The use of the term “elements” was a conscious reference to the work and axiomatic approach of the ancient mathematician Euclid, while the choice of “mathematic” in the singular (although the English title became Elements of Mathematics) reflected Bourbaki’s perception of the discipline’s deeply-rooted unity. The first volume, released in 1939, was devoted to set theory. Schoolboy humor and intellectual precision Éléments de Mathématique achieved rapid success, both within and outside of France, and became a fixture in all specialized libraries. In its volumes, Bourbaki set forth an entirely new vision of mathematics, complete with new terminology. Many of the terms and symbols introduced by the group are now part of the common mathematical vocabulary, for example the use of “Ø” to represent the empty set. The strict, pared-down style of the writing contrasted with the members' own personal interactions—at least as far as we know: along with Bourbaki’s success came an atmosphere of secrecy. Among themselves, the young mathematicians indulged in all manner of self-mockery and schoolboy jokes, in the grand tradition of the École Normale. Even the choice of the name Bourbaki was based on a student prank: according to one version of the story, it refers to a parody lecture given in 1923 by an ENS student to his classmates, which culminated in the incomprehensible demonstration of an absurd “Bourbaki’s theorem.” Nonetheless, the group worked relentlessly at its meetings, which were held several times a year. Each chapter intended for publication was read out loud, point by point, to the assembled members and subjected to detailed, sometimes vehement criticism, based upon which another member drafted a revised version. This process was repeated until an agreement was reached on the content. In parallel with the publication of Éléments, the group organized the Bourbaki Seminar, which also contributed to its reputation. Several times a year, mathematicians from around the world were invited to give presentations on contemporary research topics chosen by the collective. Over time, Bourbaki renewed its ranks (members must withdraw at the age of 50), always acting in secret. Many renowned mathematicians have however been associated with the organization, including Jean-Pierre Serre, Laurent Schwartz and Alexandre Grothendieck. The years 1950-1970 marked the “golden age” of the institution. It was a very active, vibrant period for French mathematics, in particular with the development of algebraic geometry. Bourbaki became influential, imposing its vision in academia. Drawing criticism Opinions were, however, divided. The group began to draw criticism for its influence, as well as its style—deemed too dry—with too few examples and diagrams. Indeed, the treatise is blamed for certain biases, for example its presentation of the measurement theory, and the absence of the category theory. Bourbaki has also been decried for its role in the “new math” movement. Introduced at secondary school level in the 1970s, it was ambitious in principle but abstract to the point of absurdity in application, and the effort ultimately failed. In actual fact, Bourbaki probably had no real influence in its promotion. While it is true that Jean Dieudonné was a member of the commission that engineered the reform, he had resigned in 1970. I belong to a generation for which the term ‘Bourbakist’ is derogatory, but I am one of those people who think that the group's heritage is of fundamental importance. Since the 1980s, the organization's presence has considerably declined. The stream of publications in the Éléments series has slowed to a trickle. The last volume dates from 2012, and its predecessor was released 14 years earlier, in 1998. The initial goal of offering a general vision of mathematics has become dauntingly complex as the discipline expands and diversifies. Yet young mathematicians still have Bourbaki in mind. “I belong to a generation for which the term ‘Bourbakist’ is derogatory, but I am one of those people who think that the group's heritage is of fundamental importance,” explains Cédric Villani, director of the Institut Henri-Poincaré. The latter is actually the venue for the Bourbaki Seminars today. “This generalist gathering is a relic of the initial utopia,” comments Chambert-Loir, who admits to being closely involved in its organization. When asked whether he is a member of Bourbaki however, he evades the question with a smile. Secrecy remains the rule. Rumor has it that a new volume of Éléments de Mathématique could be released soon. After eighty years, Bourbaki lives on.RHONA WISE / AFP \| This file photo taken on November 27, 2016 shows a woman holding an Obama Care sign in front of a medical center in Miami The US House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in passing a critical measure that marks the first major step toward repealing outgoing President Barack Obama's landmark but controversial health care reforms. ADVERTISING Read more The House's near party-line vote of 227 to 198 approved a budget blueprint which provides Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, with a framework for dismantling the Affordable Care Act. But one week before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a sense of urgency has swept over Washington about what his party will put forward as a replacement for the law, with Democrats warning of disastrous consequences should Republicans act too hastily. "This resolution essentially fires the starting pistol... for repealing Obamacare," said Representative Bill Johnson, an Ohio Republican. "This is a critical first step to deliver relief to Americans struggling under this law," House Speaker Paul Ryan told fellow members, describing as a "rescue mission" the latest effort to unwind Obamacare. "This experiment has failed," and "we have to step in before things get worse." The Senate passed the resolution Thursday. It received no Democratic support in either chamber, highlighting the intensely partisan fight that lies ahead. The resolution provides Republicans with a powerful tool, called reconciliation, which allows repeal legislation to proceed through the 100-member Senate with a simple majority, protected from a Democratic filibuster that requires a 60-vote threshold to overcome. Trump made repeal of the law a central plank of his insurgent campaign, and he sounded triumphant ahead of the vote. "The 'Unaffordable' Care Act will soon be history!" he tweeted early Friday. Days earlier he said the Republicans ought to repeal and replace Obamacare quickly and "simultaneously." During a Thursday town hall style event Ryan said he was on board, and that he envisioned action on a plan "within the first hundred days." 'Cut' and run? Unwinding Obamacare will be a monumental task. Republican leadership is moving carefully, stressing it does not want to "pull the rug out from anyone" who might lose coverage if there is no replacement plan on offer. But there is debate among Republicans about how -- and how fast -- to proceed. Charlie Dent, one of nine House Republicans who voted against the resolution, expressed "reservations" about quickly repealing parts of Obamacare without a credible replacement at the ready. "I think the repeal plan needs to be fully developed and better articulated prior to moving forward," he told CNN. The White House touts Obamacare as a success, saying more than 20 million Americans have gained health insurance through the law. The "Unaffordable" Care Act will soon be history! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2017 The Affordable Care Act forbids insurance companies from denying health care due to pre-existing conditions, abolishes lifetime caps on care, and allows children to stay on their parents' plans until age 26, three provisions that have proved popular nationwide. Ryan insists the Republican plan that moves forward will include its own versions of such provisions. Democrats warn that scrapping the law could result in tens of millions of Americans losing coverage. "They want to cut benefits and run. They want to cut access and run," House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said of Republicans, and accused Ryan of peddling "mythology" about the law. House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries offered harsher criticism about Republican efforts to swiftly dismantle the reforms, despite not formulating a viable replacement plan in the last six years. "All you have is smoke and mirrors, and the American people are getting ready to get screwed," Jeffries said on the House floor. (AFP)1000 dancers assume random positions on the dance-floor. Each randomly chooses one "friend" and one "enemy". At each step every dancer moves 0.5% closer to the centre of the floor then takes a large step towards their friend and a small step away from their enemy. At random intervals one dancer re-chooses their friend and enemy Randomness is deliberately injected. Here is the dance... n = 1000; r := RandomInteger[{1, n}]; f := (#/(.01 + Sqrt[#.#])) & /@ (x[[#]] - x) &; s := With[{r1 = r}, p[[r1]] = r; q[[r1]] = r]; x = RandomReal[{-1, 1}, {n, 2}]; {p, q} = RandomInteger[{1, n}, {2, n}]; Graphics[{PointSize[0.007], Dynamic[If[r < 100, s]; Point[x = 0.995 x + 0.02 f[p] - 0.01 f[q]]]}, PlotRange -> 2] Thanks to Vitaliy for posting this on my behalf, complete with animations :-) Background: I had read somewhere that macro-scale behaviour of animal swarms (think of flocks of starlings or shoals of herring) is explained by each individual following very simple rules local to their vicinity, essentially 1) try to keep up and 2) try not to collide. I started trying to play with this idea in Mathematica, but it was rather slow to identify the nearest neighbours of each particle. So I wondered what would happen if each particle acted according to the locations of two other particles, regardless of their proximity. The rule was simply to move away from one and towards the other. The contraction (x = 0.995 x) was added to prevent the particle cloud from dispersing towards infinity or drifting away from the origin. I tweaked the "towards" and "away" step sizes to strike a balance between the tendency to clump together and to spread apart (if you make the step sizes equal you get something more like a swarm of flies). With each particle's attractor and repeller fixed, the system finds a sort of dynamic equilibrium, so to keep things changing I added a rule to periodically change the attractor and repeller for one of the particles. The final adjustment was to make the "force" drop towards zero for particles at very close range. This helps to stop the formation of very tight clumps, and also prevents a division-by-zero error when a particle chooses itself as its attractor or repeller. The description of the system as a dance was an attempt to explain the swirling pattern on the screen without using mathematical language. I'd love to see what other "dances" can be created with other simple rules. The latest way I have found to use my expensive math software for frivolous entertainment is this. Here's is a way to describe it.Randomness is deliberately injected. Here is the dance...Thanks to Vitaliy for posting this on my behalf, complete with animations :-)Background: I had read somewhere that macro-scale behaviour of animal swarms (think of flocks of starlings or shoals of herring) is explained by each individual following very simple rules local to their vicinity, essentially 1) try to keep up and 2) try not to collide. I started trying to play with this idea in Mathematica, but it was rather slow to identify the nearest neighbours of each particle. So I wondered what would happen if each particle acted according to the locations of two other particles, regardless of their proximity. The rule was simply to move away from one and towards the other.The contraction (x = 0.995 x) was added to prevent the particle cloud from dispersing towards infinity or drifting away from the origin. I tweaked the "towards" and "away" step sizes to strike a balance between the tendency to clump together and to spread apart (if you make the step sizes equal you get something more like a swarm of flies). With each particle's attractor and repeller fixed, the system finds a sort of dynamic equilibrium, so to keep things changing I added a rule to periodically change the attractor and repeller for one of the particles. The final adjustment was to make the "force" drop towards zero for particles at very close range. This helps to stop the formation of very tight clumps, and also prevents a division-by-zero error when a particle chooses itself as its attractor or repeller.The description of the system as a dance was an attempt to explain the swirling pattern on the screen without using mathematical language. I'd love to see what other "dances" can be created with other simple rules.When IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer won its famous chess rematch with then world champion Garry Kasparov in May 1997, the victory was hailed far and wide as a triumph of artificial intelligence. But John McCarthy – the man who coined the term and pioneered the field of AI research – didn't see it that way. As far back as the mid-60s, chess was called the "Drosophila of artificial intelligence" – a reference to the fruit flies biologists used to uncover the secrets of genetics – and McCarthy believed his successors in AI research had taken the analogy too far. "Computer chess has developed much as genetics might have if the geneticists had concentrated their efforts starting in 1910 on breeding racing Drosophila," McCarthy wrote following Deep Blue's win. "We would have some science, but mainly we would have very fast fruit flies." According Daphne Koller – a professor in the Stanford AI Lab who still carries the torch for McCarthy's orthodox vision of artificial intelligence – it's a quote that sums up both McCarthy and his work. "The word that bests describes him is 'uncompromising'," she tells Wired. "He believed in artificial intelligence in terms of building an artifact that could actually replicate human level intelligence, and because of this, we was very unhappy with a lot of AI today, which provides some very useful applications but focuses on machine learning. "He wanted AI to pass the Turing test." LEARN MORE The WIRED Guide to Artificial Intelligence John McCarthy died on Monday at the age of 84, according to Stanford University, where he served on the faculty for almost four decades. In organizing the Dartmouth Summer Research Conference on Artificial Intelligence in 1956, McCarthy not only added a term to the popular lexicon, he founded an entirely new area of research alongside fellow pioneers Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon. In the years to come, he would go on invent LISP – one of the world's most influential programming languages – and he played a major role in the development of time-sharing systems. "Without time-sharing, you wouldn't have the modern internet," says Lester Earnest, who worked with McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late fifties and later at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL), the research operation McCarthy helped found in 1962. But for all his influence over today's world, McCarthy envisioned something much greater. Says Google's Sebastian Thrun, who revived SAIL in 2003 before joining Google to build the company's self-driving cars: "When it came to artificial intelligence, he was a philosopher." Sharing Time Lester Earnest first encountered McCarthy at MIT while working on the government's Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) defense system – an early computer network that allowed multiple users to access the system at the same time – and according to Earnest, SAGE inspired McCarthy's work on time-sharing. "He was first to come up with an idea of how to do time-sharing in a general purpose way, as opposed to special purpose," Earnest says. A McCarthy paper gave rise to the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) – which was demonstrated at MIT in 1961 – and a similar system McCarthy helped build at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, a private consultancy that would later play a big part in the founding of the internet. But for McCarthy, time-sharing took a backseat to AI. At MIT, he founded an "AI group" alongside fellow Dartmouth artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky, and this eventually spawned the university's Project Mac, a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)-funded effort that would help lead the field for years. While at MIT, McCarthy developed LISP, which became the standard programming language of the artificial intelligence community, but would also permeate the computing world at large. Today, it's the second oldest high-level programming language still in use – after Fortran. But unlike Fortran, it's still feeding new languages. "[McCarthy] really encapsulated what computation meant," says Peter Norvig, the director of research at Google, pointing to modern languages like JavaScript and Python as Lisp's successors. "To some extent, that had been done before. People like Turing had a mathematical way of defining computing. But he was the first one
between Mrs May and Mr Kenny on the issue. However, the officials were told that the phone call would not happen, and that Mr Kenny was sticking to his guns. RTÉ News also understands there were phone calls to Dublin from the Northern Ireland Office, and calls from Downing Street to European Council officials in Brussels to try to get the declaration delayed until an EU summit at the end of June. Throughout, British officials made it clear that it could damage Mrs May in the middle of an election campaign. This followed the uproar over Gibraltar, after it emerged that the Spanish government had sought a veto over the impact any EU-UK deal might have on the disputed territory. In the event, Mr Kenny requested the clause, and it was unanimously adopted by the other 26 member states. A senior EU source confirmed that Downing Street had attempted to derail the Irish unity clause. The source said that Downing Street was told in no uncertain terms that if Mr Kenny requested the unity clause it would be accepted. The source said Downing Street was reminded that because of the Brexit result, Mr Kenny was still, "around the table", whereas Mrs May was not.Image copyright PA Uber is to hide surge pricing notifications for more of its users to make its app less "complicated". During busy periods, the taxi firm's customers are currently told they will be charged a "surge price" such as 1.7 or 2.3 times the standard fare. Customers will instead be shown a fixed fee with a notice that "fares are higher due to increased demand". One analyst said hiding the surge price multiplier could stop people being discouraged from using the service. "I've been in the situation myself, where I've held off using an Uber during a surge," said Jim Clark, research director at Econsultancy. "We are sensitive to price - as a nation we do like a bargain and that's one of the reasons they'll be making this change." Uber told the BBC it was moving to a system where riders would know the cost of their journey before booking. Presently, factors such as waiting time in traffic can increase the cost of a journey In a blog post, Uber said it had started rolling out the change in the US and India in April. It said more cities would follow suit, but told the BBC it had no timescale for implementing the change in the UK. 'Complicated math' In addition to hiding the surge price multiplier, Uber is also removing an option that notifies customers when the surge price drops. Uber said the changes made the app "clear and simple". "There's no complicated math and no surprises - passengers can just sit back and enjoy the ride," it said. However, Mr Clark said hiding the surge price multiplier could also have a financial benefit for Uber. "There is the argument that it becomes quicker and easier to see the price," Mr Clark told the BBC. "But I think that's an argument only Uber might make rather than anybody else. "From a business perspective, it makes sense - it encourages people to use the service. "But it's important to give users a choice of whether to wait - being given all the information is the spirit of the sharing economy. At the very least they could give users the option to switch the surge information on or off."Lealiifano is ready to prove himself in Melbourne The 25-year-old Brumbies centre will also assume the kicking duties after the errant boots of James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale cost the Wallabies what may have been a relatively comfortable victory in Brisbane last weekend. Lealiifano said of that game, when he was stretchered off in a neck brace following a clash with Jonathan Davies: "I had a few minor headaches, but all the protocols and the tests that you go through during the week with the doctor I passed quite well and I was quite happy with. "No serious side effects. I probably thought I would be a bit groggy after having a nap on (Brisbane's) Suncorp Stadium, but I pulled up pretty well. "We'll roll out the team on Saturday and have the same kind of nerves and hopefully have more than 30 seconds." "I remember most things, the hardest thing was the doctor asking me if I remember the Tahs (Waratahs) and Lions score from two weeks before and I have a struggle remembering that now. "They quickly ruled me out for going back on. I am feeling disappointed that I couldn't contribute to the side but they did very well under the circumstances. "I remember coming back out and watching the boys play and just soaking up the atmosphere again... I'm sure everyone is still excited again. "Hopefully we can keep players out on the field for long enough to execute our game plan and contribute. We've looked at (the Lions defence) and it is difficult but I think we can try to get the ball to Izzy (first Test two-try hero Israel Folau) as much as we can."Sixty years ago, in the summer of 1950, a small Californian business was preparing to introduce the world to a new musical invention. The Fender Electrical Instrument Company was based in Santa Ana, 30 miles south of Los Angeles, and it had already come up with the Esquire, an electric guitar that broke with convention by being built from a solid piece of wood. Now, 41-year-old Leo Fender had radically improved on the original to produce the Broadcaster – which, after a spurt of legal hoo-hah, was renamed the Telecaster, and sold to the world. You know one when you see it: gloriously simple, gracefully contoured, and a byword for how enduring the electric guitar has proved to be. As a sumptuous new coffee-table book titled Fender: The Golden Age 1946-70 puts it: "It is a simple, no-frills instrument, yet still regarded as one of the finest electric guitars ever produced... There are very few mass-produced items that can boast the same uninterrupted lifespan." In other words, it beggars belief how an object designed six decades ago doesn't look – or, more importantly, sound – kitsch or outdated. The Telecaster's younger and less elegant sibling, the Stratocaster, tends to go wildly in and out of style, but this guitar remains as unimpeachably cool as ever. It has long been responsible for the metallic twang that runs across American country, blues, and rock'n'roll. Over here, in the hands of an Essex native named Wilko Johnson, it contributed the distorted buzz to the best records by the British R&B band Dr Feelgood – a sound that bled into punk – and became a constant in 21st-century indie-rock. The Telecaster unites Status Quo and Hot Chip. It has been the signature guitar of Keith Richards, Chrissie Hynde, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and the Clash's Joe Strummer. It's all over records by Elvis Presley, Booker T and the MGs, PJ Harvey, Blur, the Eagles, Manic Street Preachers, and hundreds more. Mention it to its devotees, and they talk about it with an amazing passion. Sharleen Spiteri, Texas I'd always played an acoustic guitar as a little girl – there was never an electric guitar in our house. But when I first joined Texas, when I was just about to turn 18, I got my first electric. I knew exactly what I wanted: a black-and-white Telecaster, the same as Joe Strummer. For me, the Clash have always been the ultimate rock'n'roll band. It was made in 1967, the same year I was born. I've got two spares, but I will do anything not to change my guitar. It goes on tour with me, and it comes home. Even now, I'm getting goose bumps talking about this because I'm thinking, "Some bastard might break into my house and steal my Telecaster." It's super-light – just the perfect weight. And that nasally, stringy, cutting sound [sings guitar part from Texas's Halo] – it just breaks through everything. But it's weird, because it's not an irritating, high-pitched thing: it always has a warmth to it. It's such a beautiful sound. I recently did a charity thing with Mick Jones from the Clash. He picked my guitar up, and I was like, "Get your hands off! I don't give a fuck if you're Mick Jones!" Graham Coxon, Blur I think my first encounter with a Telecaster was when I had a go on [Blur producer] Stephen Street's, years ago. It looked like a piece of pine with a pretty scratchplate, but it made a really nice sound. I suppose it was the guitar I'd been searching for; I used to draw Teles a lot when I was at school. It's versatile, simple and strong. You can make it sound old-fashioned and warm, like something you'd have in a doo-wop band, or totally the other way: trebly and trashy. And it's quite difficult to describe, but they have a kind of creak underneath the sound – something you only really get with a Telecaster. The first one I got was very shiny, butterscotch job: a reissue of one from 1959. I used that throughout the whole of Blur's career. It ended up with a Mr Smiley sticker, and an Air India sticker on it, and a really bad drawing that I did on the back. That was my workhorse, and I've still got it. It just feels really, really nice: like a BMX, as opposed to a big, heavy bike. The one I use now had been butchered by its previous owner, but the neck was so beautiful, I couldn't resist it. It looked like it had been creosoted, so I call it the Shed. Francis Rossi, Status Quo I've got loads of them: three in the room with me at the moment. I got my first one in 1968, in Glasgow. Another guitar broke, and I got it second-hand for either 45 or 75 quid – I can't remember now. I wasn't a good enough player to say, "Oh, I really like this." I just picked it, and got used to it. Originally, it was sunburst. And then I started to mess with it. I wanted it to be blond, and then natural wood, and then I painted it black, and then green, finally, with a tin of Ronseal paint. I did it on the kitchen table; it's still got marks on it from where I didn't sand it down properly. But that's the one I still play onstage. When Rick Parfitt first joined the band, he had a Gibson. And then he too bought a Telecaster, and that's the way it stayed. The Telecaster is a byword for Status Quo. They're beautifully simple guitars: Rick's always like, "Just turn it on, thank you." He's even had his tone control deactivated: it's just set to full-on, all the time. I really love the shape. And it's workmanlike. Solid. Basic-looking. No-nonsense. There's no fragility about it. It's like a tool. Andy Summers, the Police I think it's one of the greatest designs of the 20th century. It has never been bettered – partly because it fits the human body so well. With something like a Gibson Les Paul, it's a very heavy chunk of wood. I always had a problem holding it, especially standing up. But the weight of the Telecaster is just right. And its sound just cuts through everything. Everything I did in the Police was on a Telecaster. I actually ended up with a kind of hybrid model, with some added features. Before I joined the Police, I got it in LA: I was teaching guitar, and some kid came in wanting to sell it. It was pretty beaten up, and I got it off him for 200 bucks. I said, "This is a pretty great guitar – are you sure you want to sell it?" But that was the guitar that transformed my life: it brought me back into playing rock, I came back to England with it, and you know the rest of the story. I would never, ever get rid of it: it's like a great talisman. In 2007, Fender made 250 clones of my guitar. They took the original to pieces, and photographed it, and made this map of where all the scratches and cracks are. It's like my guitar had babies. I've got six of them. They cost $15,000 each [laughs].Lego’s fan-driven Ideas program has resulted in some of the nerdiest sets in recent memory. There’s the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, and The Big Bang Theory living room, just to name a few. Now, the toy company is adding Tron to the list. Lego just revealed that it’s going to create a Tron: Legacy Lightcycle set, based on the design of a Lego fan named BrickBrosUK. The final version hasn’t been revealed yet, but here are a few images of the BrickBrosUK set, which will likely be similar. Advertisement 1 / 5 (See more of the original entry at this link.) Since the set was just announced, Lego hasn’t revealed pricing or a release date, though we should know more in the new year. For now, just dust off a place off on your shelf. And hope that this thing is successful enough that classic Tron lightcycles won’t be far behind. Advertisement [Lego Ideas via Brick Fan]Uhh yea, BB cushion review time HAHA. You guys all know BB cushions are my absolute weakness like Kryptonite is to Superman. I mean heck, I have 44 cushions and counting. Someone help me!! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) On a second thought, let me be to enjoy my one hobby that I have. LOL well that’s depressing. Anyways, I was window shopping couple weeks back and was looking for some interesting K-beauty products to buy that also had to have some sort of discount, sale or gift with purchase. Since this BB cushion was just released, Beauty people had a exclusive deal that caught my eye. 14,500 won with a free refill too!! I was about to buy both versions but had to knock some sense in myself and just picked up the one that would actually work with my skin. Since a lot of you guys are really interested in this BB cushion, I hurried up to do a full review for you guys so those of you who voted on my Instagram, here ya go. Let’s get started!! ＼(^▽^＠)ノ Full name of product: Beauty people absolute radiant girl cushion foundation Limited edition/ Permanent?: Permanent Description of product: “Meet “absolute radiant girl cushion foundation” and glow brighter then ever. Lilium tigrinum extract, rose extract, mentha piperita (peppermint) leaf extract will softly blur imperfections for an even skintone. This 3-in-1 foundation will leave the skin highly moisturizing while weightlessly bring out out the ultimate sheer in your skin.” This BB cushion is built for all skin type with a slight dewy finish but also has a strong adherence to the skin, moistures and also brightens all in one. It includes UV protection along with a triple function which has sunblock, whitening and anti wrinkle effects. Formulated with spherical powders, this BB cushion perfectly covers blemishes, bumps and also colour corrects. Sunscreen: SPF 50+/ PA+++ Price: 26,000 won Amount of product: 18 g Refill included?: No Duration before expiration: 3 years Country of Manufacture: Made in Korea Where to buy: Amazon Testerkorea Beautyboxkorea Shades available: This radiant version of the cushion has only two shades unfortunately. There is #21 natural beige which is slightly lighter then #23 natural sand and has a yellow undertone whereas #23 has a pink undertone. Versions available: For those of you who don’t like a satin dewy finish, there is also a matte version offered which comes in a gorgeous black and gold compact and another design on the compact. I personally love the black compact more but the formulation definitely would not work with my dry skin type. Ingredients: I hope you guys can see the list. If not, click on the image and it should bring you to a separate window and you can zoom in as well. How to use: After you have finished up with your regular skincare routine and primer if you wish to use, apply this cushion foundation by simply taking the air puff provided and dabbing it into the sponge. Once you got enough product onto the sponge, pat the product onto your face until you get the desired look. Product packaging: Of course, the packaging is always the first thing that we see since most of us do shop over the internet for our K-beauty fix am I right? It’s pretty much K-beauty tinder, swipe left for no and swipe right for yes (did I get that right? LOL I don’t use tinder). Beauty people is a brand that is in the mid range price tag so this BB cushion full price ain’t cheap compared to a lot of roadshop brands ranging from 5,000 won-20,000 won at most. Also refills are not included so that is also taken into consideration. This BB cushion caught my eye since it was just released about three weeks ago and the packaging is absolutely GORGEOUS! There is two versions and depending on if you want the matte version which is the black one or the moist version which is this one, you get two completely different graphic designs as well. I’m actually really impressed with the box since it is actually 80% in English!! The ingredients list was also in full English and there doesn’t seem to be broken English too. The compact itself is in the basic BB cushion compact where you press the front button to release the lid. The height of the compact is slightly bulky then the usual ones like Etude House’s or A’pieu’s. From the side view, you can see that the graphic design part bulges out since it has that pop up stickers I always thought were the luxe stickers I used to get when I was a kid at the dollar store. The rest of the compact is coated in a gorgeous rose gold colour. Take note Apple, THIS IS ROSE GOLD not that pink shit you release and call it rose gold. Still annoyed when I saw it because it just makes me think their team is colour blind. One major thing I do have to note about the compact is the lid not being secure. I’m not sure if it is just mine or all of them, but I can easily pop open the lid even though it is snapped shut. And I did make sure everything was secure and shut nicely inside but nothing seems to help. The air puff that it comes with is white on the back side and beige on the applicator side. I usually prefer the dark blue kind since it doesn’t look as dirty as the beige ones but meh, I’ll still use it. Texture wise, the air puff is the same as any other air puffs I get in BB cushions. Opening up the compact, there is always a seal on the sponge itself to keep things sanitary. By the way, there is also a nice sized mirror in the compact but I didn’t want to rip off the protector since it would cause glare in my camera when I take pictures. Colour/ pigmentation: This BB cushion comes in two shades like usual, shade #21 natural beige and #23 natural sand. #21 has a yellow undertone and is lighter while #23 is a darker colour with slight pink undertones. I bought #23 since that usually looks the most natural on my Mac NC25 skintone but since I have yellow undertones, the pink undertone in shade #23 looks subtly off. On my skin, this shade is alright and when it settles into my skin, it looks natural and doesn’t make me look like a pale ghost which I am really enjoying. Texture/ Finish: Formulation wise, I was expecting this BB cushions to just be another dewy finished cushion foundation but to my surprise, it isn’t! Another BB cushion this one reminds me of is the J.one jelly cushion which I reviewed not too long ago, in a sense that they both have a satin finish. This one from Beauty people is very similar in finish to J.ones but this one has a slightly more moisturizing effect and a more subtle glow too. The formulation adheres to the skin extremely well, it might be one of the best adherence formulation that I have tried so far from all the BB cushions I have tried. Most of the time, better adherence means it is usually a more dry formula and just looks sad on my already dry skin. This one somehow manages to be super moisturizing but sticking to my skin without sticking to any dry patches. It’s kind of 24K magic (Yes.. Bruno mars fan here). Coverage: With one layer, it already covers all the target concerns I have which is slight redness around the cheeks and nose and just give me an even skintone without looking too made up. Lasting power: When you first apply this cushion onto the skin, it leaves a nice satin finish with a visible healthy looking shine. Since I have dry skin and I’m usually indoors with the heaters on, the cushion settles a little but and turns to a true satin finish but it still manages to keep my skin moisturized. My usual wear time is about 8-10 hours and within that time, my skin looked great and nothing really budged. That’s frinkin’ amazing considering I don’t usually like to set it with any type of powder. Fragrance?: There isn’t much of a scent to it but a very faint soapy smell. It isn’t strong and the fragrance is gone after application. Smell-o-scale: 3/10 in terms of the strength of the scent. With all that being said, let’s get to the demo! Also do let me know how you guys like the collage style. I thought many I can somehow compress it so you guys won’t be scrolling for ages. Here is my bare skin with nothing on it at all. I also didn’t use any skincare or primer so we can test it to the fullest. My usual skin concerns is to cover up the redness around the cheeks and nose, dryness, dry patches and my dark circles although I don’t use my base make up to cover my under eye circles. I also have been testing this cushion out without spritzing any water onto the air puff. I have found that before when I do do that, it effects the adhesiveness of the formulation so to test it out in it’s true form, no water it is! Left side: close up of before Top right: Before Bottom right: After with just one coat. Closer up of after. I absolutely love the finish!! No dry patches here and it also glides over my pores on my nose. YASSSS Both sides are done, you can definitely see my skintone is a lot more even, the redness is covered and my skin just looks like skin. I likey! Closer look~ Now with full face of make up (contour, blush, highlight, brows, eye make up and lipstick). If you look closely, you can see the subtle glow. No that isn’t all highlighter, it is half highlighter half cushion foundation. Pro: -adheres to the skin perfectly -long lasting -medium coverage, buildable to a light full coverage -moisturizing for even dry skin -truly for all skin types Con: Nothing! Repurchase?: Most definitely! I’m already looking into maybe getting the refill and their liquid foundation!!!!! Stars given out of 5: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Overall thoughts: I’m super pleasantly surprised but very pleased to tell you guys I have found another holy grail BB cushion!! If you guys like the J.one jelly cushion, you’ll definitely loveeeee this one from Beauty people. Formulation is amazing, adherence is impeccable, finish is flawless, everything about this cushion is just right! The colour matches my Mac NC25 skintone well, I’d say about 95%. Overall I’m super impressed with this cushion and am already looking into getting more of Beauty people’s base make up products. If their cushion is this good, their foundation must be amazing too! P.S. Those of you who do want to get their hands on this cushion and don’t want to pay the full 26,000 won price, here is the link of where I bought it. Do keep in mind you do have to use a buying service to get it but even then, it is still worth it since there is the deal for 14,800 won + free refill. If you guys don’t know what a buying service is, please check out my “guide to buying K-beauty online” or even check out my latest Boyahshop haul which I explain what a buying service is and the ones I personally recommend. So what do you guys think about this cushion? Are you already on your way to get it? Do you already have it and what are your experiences (please also mention what version you got and what skin type you have). Don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms to see what I’m doing and what I’m getting in the mail :D. Mail time is always fun time for me. ⋋(◍’Θ’◍)⋌ Bloglovin: www.bloglovin.com/christinahello FB: www.facebook.com/xtinahello IG: @christinahello Twitter: www.twitter.com/xtina_hello Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/xtina_helloA jury awarded photojournalist Daniel Morel $1.2 million on Friday afternoon, to be paid by defendants Agence France-Presse and Getty Images for infringing on Morel's copyright. Back in 2010, when a violent earthquake hit Haiti, Morel was one of the few photojournalists on the ground at the time of the disaster. He posted his images to Twitter, explaining that the images were available for purchase. However, a resident of the Dominican Republic named Lisandro Suero claimed the photos as his own and sold them to AFP. AFP licenses some of its photos to Getty Images, which made the photos available to its clients, including the Washington Post. When Morel discovered that his copyright had been violated, the two news agencies issued kill notices for the images, but not all of the photos came down, in part because some were still listed under the name “Lisandro Suero.” When Morel hired a lawyer and began handing out notices of copyright violation, the AFP launched a preemptive lawsuit arguing that Twitter's Terms of Service say that the company could actually take pictures from Twitter for free (that, of course, is not the case, as Twitter has taken a "you own your content" approach to social media). In January, US District Judge Alison Nathan ruled that AFP and Getty Images did infringe Morel's copyright. Now, almost a year later, a jury has decided the damages for the case, and they're hefty. Morel's award is actually the maximum that the jury could have awarded the photojournalist: a day rate of $275 times 1,000 for copyright infringement (coming to that total of $1.2 million), plus $400,000 for 16 violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act on 8 different photos. The jury found that “the corporations acted willfully in violating the copyright act and that they were not innocent in their actions,” wrote Photoforward. Originally, AFP and Getty took the unusual step of going to court rather than settling the case, possibly because Morel had demanded pretty extraordinary restitution upfront. “Morel had urged the court to find that every illegal reproduction of his photograph by all of Getty's and AFP's members was an individual infringement, entitling him to statutory damages under the DMCA, which would range from $2,500 to $25,000,” Ars wrote in January. “That would entitle him to a minimum of $4,445,000, and up to more than $44,000,000. (Doing the math in reverse, that means Morel's lawyer found 1,778 instances of infringement.)” The news agencies will end up paying much less than that, but they haven't gotten off easy.SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers in California deflected a Republican resolution on Thursday calling for the expulsion of a state senator who was convicted of eight felonies, a move Republicans say was aimed at preserving Democrats’ two-thirds majority. Democratic State Senator Roderick Wright, who represents parts of Los Angeles and the suburb of Inglewood, was convicted last month of voter fraud and perjury after prosecutors said he did not physically live in the district he represented. Earlier this week, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg granted him a paid leave of absence, saying that although a jury had found Wright guilty, the judge had not yet formally endorsed the verdict. After Knight and two other Republicans objected, Steinberg said he would hear their resolution to expel Wright if it came to the senate floor. When the resolution came up on Thursday, Steinberg did allow debate. But, in a move that angered some Republicans, he and most Democrats then voted to move it to the Senate’s rules committee, where it is expected to languish. “The Senate should be afforded the opportunity to expel a member who has violated legal and ethical boundaries,” said Republican Steve Knight, who represents desert and suburban communities north of Los Angeles. “Anything else does a disservice to California voters.” Steinberg defended the move before the vote, calling the Republican resolution “political theater, pure and simple.” “Here we are spending the peoples’ time, today, on a resolution that would make zero practical difference on the status quo as it stands today,” he said. For the past year, Democrats have controlled both houses of the state legislature as well as the governorship in California, with large “super-majorities” that allow them to raise taxes and take other actions that require a two-thirds vote. But Democrats could at least temporarily lose two seats in the Senate currently held by Wright and by Ron Calderon, who is under pressure to step down after his recent indictment on corruption charges. Should both lawmakers be unseated, Democrats would be one vote short of a two-thirds majority. “It has been suggested by some in this chamber, and some commentators, that a leave of absence is a tactical maneuver to assure that Senator Wright or Senator Calderon could be brought back to cast a deciding vote under our vaunted super-majority,” Steinberg said before the vote. “That is insulting. “I give you my word on this floor - and when has my word not been good? This will not happen,” Steinberg said. Wright’s lawyer, Winston McKesson, said Wednesday that the senator planned to ask the judge to reject the verdict, arguing that the jury did not properly apply state law defining a domicile for the purpose of running for political office.Five questions with Cydonia: "There are a lot of encouraging signs for Hearthstone at the moment" Julien “Cydonia” Perrault was nobody before the 2016 Summer Championship in the Americas until the HCT system did its thing: Take a player out of obscurity and turn him into one of the fastest rising stars in Hearthstone. Cydonia’s flourishing career came as a savior to the struggling North American scene and Canada’s presence on the Hearthstone world map. After losing Austin “SilentStorm” Li to semi-activity after his Legendary Series championship in 2015 and Ryan “Purple” Murphy-Root after his run in winter of the same year, the Maple Leaves didn’t have a strong representative until Cydonia’s discovery. Today, Cydonia represents one of Americas’ best hopes for a dominant 2017 alongside swiss mastermind Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang and up-and-coming Raymond “Rayc” Cipoletti. Not even a year old, his career features an HCT AM Championship, a top eight from Blizzcon, a top four from PAX East Major, an all-kill against China in CN vs. NA Championship and a contract deal with Team SoloMid, one of esports most decorated brands. Catching him in his short home break between two majors, I chatted up Cydonia regarding his recent move to TSM and the worrying trend of big teams dropping their Hearthstone divisions. Previously on “5 questions with” Lifecoach: "The direction Hearthstone is headed contradicts what the pros want" * * * You are now officially with Team SoloMid. How long have you and the team been negotiating the move? TSM was actually one of the first teams to approach me last year a bit before World Championships so they have been following my progress for a while. Negotiations got more serious in January when I came back from China. TSM has traditionally favored popularity streamers over competitive pros, you are basically their first. Don’t you feel lonely? TSM made it very clear that they wanted me as a competitive player and that they expect me to compete in many events and perform. For example, they sent me to PAX East, SXSW, and I will be at Dreamhacks as well this year. However, it's important to them that their Hearthstone pros also have a big community presence and I will be streaming a lot more between events with their support. I really love going to events and interacting with the community so that is great for me, too. There has been a recent unfortunate trend of high profile teams dropping their Hearthstone divisions, most recently CLG. How secure would you say is the employment of up-and-coming stars and what needs to change first and foremost in Hearthstone so that stability can be achieved? It's always disappointing to see players getting dropped, especially if they were working hard and performing well. Teams have shown recently that they were willing to sign players to participate in team events like Trinity Series and there seems to be a lot of potential for team events in Hearthstone with the Global Games pioneering a new format as well. Hopefully, we see more of these tournaments which will incentivize teams to keep a stable Hearthstone roster and build rivalities with other teams like we see in other esports. North American Hearthstone looks to be on the rise this year after struggling in 2015 and 2016, most recently proven through the results at PAX last weekend. Is this the year where AM finally wins the EU vs. AM rivalry? The top NA players play at a really high level right now and I think the results of last weekend were no fluke. We'll have a better idea where every region stands after Winter Champs in Bahamas and after majors happen on both sides of the ocean but I have high hopes for NA this year. You are one of the most successful products of the 2016 HCT system, together with players such as DrHippi. What are your thoughts on the direction competitive HS has been going, both last year and now in 2017? I'm a competitor at heart so I am very happy to see the major circuit expanding with ONOG and Dreamhack, HCT growing, the introduction of HGG, Trinity Series, NA vs. CN, etc. There are a lot of opportunities at the moment for pros to compete and for amateurs to make a name for themselves as well like I did last year, though it has gotten more difficult with the level of the competition increasing so much. As far as the game itself, there has been a lot of dissatisfaction about the metagame lately but it is very difficult to balance a game with such a large competitive community that has four months to figure out a meta before the next expansion. I think Blizzard will figure it out though, possibly with more frequent card releases in the future. I think there are a lot of encouraging signs at the moment and I can't wait to see the next expansion and the HGG voting results. Bonus sixth question: You spent a week fighting China at CN vs. NA Championship. What wisdom did you learn from the hosts? I learned that it's ok to copy your opponents' decks after they beat you like they did with our questing rogue. laughsThe day has come: America's most lewd and offensive card game has officially gone too far. A transphobic Cards Against Humanity card reading "Passable Transvestites" drew an apology from the game's creator on Tumblr a week ago. A Tumblr user going by the name "horriblepeople" (his real name is Jonah, Fusion and Mic report) recently found the card, lit it on fire, and posted the pictures on his Tumblr with the all-caps note: "DEATH TO TRANSPHOBIA." Jonah's note was posted a week ago, and as of this writing it had more than 50,000 notes attached to it. Jonah ended up with a personal response courtesy of Max Temkin, the co-creator of the game that describes itself as "a party game for horrible people." I regret writing this card, it was a mean, cheap joke. We took it out of the game a while ago. The Apples to Apples-style game started with a Kickstarter and quickly became a sensation. Because of that, Temkin said, many of the cards didn't initially take into account such a wide audience. Still, that doesn't make the card OK, which Temkin seemed to acknowledge to Fusion. We were writing jokes for ourselves and we weren't really thinking about how it would affect other people. But when you have something that starts to be part of pop culture, you can't help but see how it makes people feel and feel some sense of responsibility for that.... It's embarrassing to me that there was a time in my life that that was funny. One user, turrtles, wrote that the joke just wasn't funny. Because that joke isn’t tasteful. Offensive humor is fine if it’s done right. With that card the joke is tranvestites look strange, which is not funny, just offensive. Others, though, thought the controversy was curious given that Cards Against Humanity is meant to be offensive. The generally-caustic National Review jumped on that train, calling the note and Temkin's response a politically-correct move pushed by the "terminally humorless." Because jokes at the expense of transgender people are hilarious! But Temkin told Fusion he disagreed with the detractors. And at the end of the day, he's the one with the power to decide. We talk about the idea of 'punching up, not punching down' all the time. It's something that we stand behind: making fun of those power structures, because they're already powerful. Making jokes about rapes, making jokes about trans people, they don't have the same cultural power. Makes sense. So we're inclined to agree with Tumblr user almost-eventually-right
U.S. annually. Meanwhile, for every dollar spent, companies commonly see a $2.90 profit increase and a $9.50 rise in revenue. The corporate world can make it tough for a business to establish itself, however, which is why Certify is a top solution for firms that want to control their travel costs for years to come. Certify helps companies save both time and money, as firms are able to use the solution to track employee bills on the go. This software automatically creates expense reports, enabling workers to submit timely, accurate materials to their superiors quickly. The current economic climate often forces businesses to make difficult decisions that may affect them for extended periods of time. If a company makes cuts in the wrong areas, though, it may put its reputation and profits at risk. Starbucks is one of many businesses that has seen the effects of a challenging economy. The Southern, an Illinois publication, reports that the company recently raised its prices 1 percent, which could deter many consumers from buying from the business. A company that depends on Certify, a state-of-the-art expense reporting solution, can cut travel expenses immediately. Down the line, this business may be able to avoid increasing prices for customers as well, as it can understand how to effectively control its operating expenses. To download the infographic, click here.. More from CertifyApparently, HealthCare.gov isn't just having a few backend problems. A software quality researcher studying the besieged online health insurance exchange has discovered a number of issues that could expose the personally identifiable information of applicants to third parties and leave that information vulnerable to attacks by hackers. Those problems may be in part due to the long-delayed security testing of the entire integrated exchange system, which was put off as last-minute development work that was done to ready the site for launch. Recently published internal government documents indicate that the site was only given provisional security approval before launch because a substantial amount of testing had not been completed just days before the site's October 1 launch date. The problems uncovered by researcher Ben Simo hint at how slapdash some of the coding done to integrate the site was. He found personally identifiable information embedded both in Web addresses sent to reset user passwords and in data being sent to third-party sites not directly involved in the health insurance certification process. HealthCare.gov's website also pushes personal data having nothing to do with site functionality back to browsers. While that data is sent over an encrypted connection, it could be vulnerable to exploits targeting HealthCare.gov users. Security alert On September 27—just three days before HealthCare.gov's legislatively mandated go-live date—the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner signed off on a request to buy more time for the Security Control Assessment (SCA) of the site. CMS Deputy CIO Henry Chao and Consortium Administrator for Medicare Health Plan Operations James Kerr submitted the request, noting: From a security perspective, the aspects of the system that were not tested due to the ongoing development exposed a level of uncertainty that can be deemed as a high risk… Although throughout the three rounds of SCA testing all of the security controls have been tested on different versions of the system, the security contractor has not been able to test all of the security controls in one complete version of the system. The proposal approved by Tavenner outlined a set of steps CMS would take to cover its assets during the first year of HealthCare.gov's operation, including the use of continuous monitoring tools to perform daily and weekly assessments of activity and weekly testing of all the "border devices" between the Internet and the overall system, "including Internet facing Web servers." The plan also included a full SCA evaluation on the HealthCare.gov "stable environment" within 90 days of the site's launch. CMS' CIO Tony Trenkle, Enterprise Information Security Group Director Teresa Fryer, and Chief Operating Officer Michelle Snyder all signed off on the recommendations, acknowledging the elevated security risk. One of the mitigating factors cited in the plan was that the whole HealthCare.gov infrastructure would be migrated once the site went live into CMS' Virtual Data Center, a set of geographically dispersed data centers operated by a collection of eight contractors. The Virtual Data Center facilities have all already passed security certification, and migration of the site from the temporary capacity provided by Verizon Terremark during development was supposed to begin this month. In retrospect, the decision to move HealthCare.gov into the distributed data center might have come a little bit too late—Terremark's single data center hosting the HealthCare.gov site has suffered two outages since the launch. Privacy problems Whatever security assessments were done on the code that shipped October 1, analysis by Ben Simo shows it didn't include checks against the site's own privacy policy. First, Simo found holes in the site's password reset function. While a bug that revealed the e-mail address and password reset code for a user through a Web debug tool was repaired, another flaw in the reset process remains: the username and reset code are sent in clear text in e-mail as part of the link users are asked to click on to perform the reset. Also, the password-reset code is apparently permanent—meaning that if it is compromised, someone could use the code and username over and over to attempt to hijack a user's account. The latest vulnerability unearthed by Simo is in a pile of data passed by the site to the user's browser and in the information sent to analytics sites used to track the site's performance. That data, Simo discovered, includes the user's username and password reset code. HealthCare.gov sends data to analytics providers such as Google's DoubleClick and Pingdom. As Simo reviewed the Web requests being made as part of his movement through the HealthCare.gov site, he found requests sent to these two providers that included his visit to the password reset page—and all of the user data that was generated by the page. That runs counter to the privacy policy on HealthCare.gov, which states that no personally identifiable information will be collected by site analytics tools. This is the same sort of behavior that the Federal Trade Commission has fined social networks such as Facebook and MySpace for in the past. Even more information gets pushed back to the browser as a user moves through the site. Simo found a JSON data structure being pushed back to his browser that included most of the personal information for his account, including various unique user IDs and his name, address, date of birth, phone number, and e-mail address, plus a field for his social security number if he had provided it—along with the password reset code. While all this data is transmitted over a secure connection and isn't stored as a cookie or in some other relatively permanent form, Simo told Ars, "it's increasing the harm if an account can be compromised." The information isn't used by the site once an account is created, so it shouldn't be sent back to the users each time they log in, he said. "I get the impression they weren't thinking about security as they designed these pieces of the site.""They would be a four-win team without their star quarterback." It's a sentiment you hear often in the NFL, but it's usually directed at the Indianapolis Colts, or the New Orleans Saints, or perhaps the Carolina Panthers. It's time for the Green Bay Packers to accept that it also applies to them. And it's time for them to take the steps necessary to change that. Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback on the planet and may end up as the unanimous choice for the best ever to play the game. But Rodgers can only win so many games without a rushing attack behind him, or a defense to prop him up during the rare moments when he struggles. Sunday, the Packers saw that fact laid bare in front of them. Matt Ryan's Atlanta Falcons came out red-hot, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive for an eighth straight game. The Packers offered very little resistance the rest of the way, eventually succumbing 44-21 after being thoroughly outclassed by the likes of Ryan, Julio Jones, and Devonta Freeman. After Rodgers' magic to carry the Packers to the playoffs, and against the Dallas Cowboys a week ago, he just couldn't keep pace. Now it's time for the Packers' decision-makers to ask themselves whether their core principles might prevent them from reaching the top of the mountain again during Rodgers' prime years. Principle #1: Loyalty The Packers have traditionally been one of the NFL's most loyal and conservative franchises, some of it owing to the team's unique public ownership structure, which prevents a fickle owner from making snap decisions to fire staffers. That loyalty has saved head coach Mike McCarthy's job in years that it probably shouldn't have. The same can certainly be said for defensive coordinator Dom Capers, whose performance over the past half-decade has been far below most teams' standards but who nonetheless remains employed. It will be painful, but the Packers must make changes to their coaching staff. McCarthy's message has worn thin, his X's and O's aren't good enough, and it's time for fresh voices. The Packers need to look no further than across the field in Sunday's game to see the kind of innovative thinker that could alter the course of their franchise from the top down. Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has built the NFL's deadliest offense around Matt Ryan; imagine what he could assemble with Rodgers as his centerpiece. Principle #2: Build through the draft The Packers don't participate in free agency. While most of the NFL goes on a spending spree every the spring, the Packers stay home with their wallets firmly shut. The Packers believe in building by finding value in the draft and retaining their homegrown talent. Go down their roster and you'll find only a few players who have ever played a snap for another team. It's time for that to change. The Packers' defense needs reinforcements at all three levels, and Rodgers needs more weapons around him (particularly in the running game). There are landmines in free agency, sure, but for every overpaid bust there's a player who is the final piece to a championship roster. Just ask last year's Super Bowl champions - they added Peyton Manning, Emmanuel Sanders, DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, and T.J. Ward, among others, in free agency. You could say they bought a championship. The Packers have a projected $35 million in cap space entering free agency, and can free up even more with a few releases. Imagine a Packers roster with Rodgers handing the ball off to LeGarrette Blount and throwing it to a receiving corps of Jordy Nelson, Alshon Jeffery, and DeSean Jackson. Or a Packers defense with twin pass-rushers Jason Pierre-Paul and Chandler Jones. Far-fetched? Maybe a little, but far from impossible - if the Packers are willing to admit their stubbornness has put a cap on what they can accomplish.Image caption Aziz Dweik was arrested by Israel in 2006 and spent almost three years in prison An Israeli military court has ordered Hamas MP Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian parliament, to be held without trial for six months. His lawyer told Reuters news agency that the detention order says his client is "liable to be involved in hostile actions against Israel". Mr Dweik was detained on Thursday near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which Israel has designated a terrorist group, condemned the arrest. Hamas said Israel wanted to undermine its attempts at reconciliation with the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. 'No specific reasons' Mr Dweik, an influential figure in Palestinian political circles, was the first of five Hamas MPs to be arrested by the Israelis in the past five days. On Tuesday evening, his office said a military court in Ofer had ordered that he be placed in administrative detention for six months. "As is almost always the case, it gave no specific reasons why Dweik should be held," his lawyer Fadi Kawasmi told Reuters. "It said only that he was being detained because he was liable to be involved in hostile actions against Israel," he added. Mr Dweik was arrested by Israel in 2006, not long after Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, and spent almost three years in prison after being convicted of belonging to an illegal organisation. The Islamist group seized control of Gaza from forces loyal to President Abbas in 2007, since when the PLC has not functioned formally. On Friday, a day after Mr Dweik's arrest, Israeli soldiers detained Hamas MP Khaled Tafesh at his home in a village east of Bethlehem. And on Monday, Israeli police arrested another two senior Hamas MPs who had been sheltering for more than 18 months in the compound of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in East Jerusalem. Former Palestinian Jerusalem Affairs Minister Khaled Abu Arafah and Mohammed Totah took refuge after their Jerusalem residency permits were cancelled. Then early on Tuesday, Hamas said its MP Abdul Jaber Fuqaha had been taken from his home in Ramallah by Israeli soldiers. The Palestinian Authority cabinet condemned the arrests on Tuesday and demanded Israel "immediately free all lawmakers".When Apple introduced 3D Touch with the iPhone 6s, I was impressed by what a great job the company did in implementing the feature. The careful detection of forceful presses on the screen, combined with feedback from the Taptic Engine, meant that I could activate 3D Touch when I wanted to, and I’d know when it happened. Unfortunately, after six months of using an iPhone 6s, I’m afraid that I’ve completely stopped using 3D Touch, to the point where I forget it’s there. My opinion about how brilliantly implemented this feature is hasn’t changed a bit, but I feel like Apple needs to rethink the meaning of the 3D Touch in iOS 10 for it to be a more useful feature. The good of 3D Touch I should be clear: I know that some people use 3D Touch, and like it. Those people aren’t monsters. But I’ve also talked to a lot of people who have been, like me, left cold by the feature, abandoning it after the novelty has worn off. This is a cool feature and it should be more useful. One place where I feel like 3D Touch is executed well is the Quick Launch menu that appears on individual apps. This is an entirely new feature that makes the Home screen more useful than ever before. But it’s extremely limited, with just a few options. I’d like for it to be more dynamic. Imagine being able to 3D Touch on the MLB At Bat icon to see your favorite team’s current score and jump straight to audio or video of the game. Apple I’m still disappointed that you can’t 3D Touch on the icons in Control Center; the Camera icon, in particular, would be more useful if it offered the same options as using 3D Touch on the Camera app itself. I’d love to 3D Touch on the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi icons to pick networks or devices to connect to or disconnect from. It also seems strange that so few other contexts in the system offer extra options via 3D Touch. If I 3D Touch my phone’s wallpaper, wouldn’t it make sense to offer me a quick link to the Wallpaper section of the Settings app? Could Notification Center be improved by 3D Touch interaction? This is, I realize, One of the reasons I stopped using 3D Touch so much. It seemed like so many places I attempted to use the gesture resulted in a whole lot of nothing. After a while, I gave up. 3D Touch needs to be pervasive. It needs to be a gesture that works all over the place, so that using it becomes second nature. Room to improve Although Apple’s proud of the peek/pop interface that it unveiled with the iPhone 6s, I’m skeptical of its utility. Most of the time, when I accidentally initiate a “peek” of the content behind whatever I’m pressing on, it’s content I was already trying to see by tapping. Loading a “peek” doesn’t really take any more time than actually tapping on an item and loading the result, and returning back to the previous screen seems a lot less work than holding your finger on the glass while you peruse a “peek” to see if it’s worth opening the rest of the way. In other words, most of the time I don’t see any benefit to using 3D Touch to reveal content in apps over just tapping to reveal that content the usual way. It’s a solution to a problem we didn’t have. And this says a lot about the problem with the way Apple has deployed 3D Touch in iOS. 3D Touch is only on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, so app developers (including Apple) can’t count on it being there. As a result, apps are designed so that the most common tasks users want to perform are the easiest ones to perform. Tapping on content to view it, then tapping or swiping to get back where you were before, is the most common gesture on almost every app I use. We’ve perfected it! 3D Touch adds little or no value to that function. But as long as app developers can’t count on 3D Touch being available everywhere, they are right to not use the feature as anything but an Easter egg, and focus on features that 100 percent of their users can access. Apple (I’m also a user of Apple’s new Magic Trackpad 2, which features a Force Touch trackpad. This device has the same issue: The “force touch” is an oddball third touch, since most Macs can’t make the gesture and all key features are based on clicks or control-clicks. What’s the most common gesture I make on my trackpad? The two-finger click, which is just a control-click or right-click.) That’s why the right thing for Apple to do is to change the behavior of 3D Touch in a future version of iOS so that it has a non–3D-Touch equivalent. In other words, 3D Touch should just be a faster, more efficient version of a gesture that every iOS user can perform. That way, users of devices with 3D Touch will get a benefit, but app developers don’t have to think about implementing a feature that won’t work with most devices. The logical gesture to use is the long press, a gesture that’s common on Android but used a lot less frequently on iOS. When you tap and hold your finger on the screen for a long time? That’s a long press. It’s the one most commonly used to enter “wiggly app” mode on your home screen. It’s the perfect gesture for declaring you want more information about whatever you’re touching on the screen–the iOS equivalent of a control-click. If Apple declared that a 3D Touch was the moral equivalent of a long press, it would have to make some adjustments to the iOS interface (including changing how we reorder app icons), but in the end I think we’d have a more cohesive set of common iOS gestures. 3D Touch users would benefit by not having to wait for the OS to pause and see if you intended to long-press an item, but users of non–3D-Touch devices wouldn’t be left out of the party. Right now, on both iOS and the Mac, Apple has introduced clever force-sensitive technology that gives us the ability to interact with our devices in new ways. This new technology is a triumph of hardware and software that’s largely wasted in service of weird, optional features. 3D Touch and Force Touch need to be removed from the periphery and brought front and center. Hopefully this year. (No pressure.)Liberal activists are ramping up the pressure on Congress to impeach President Donald Trump. The increased pressure comes as the White House has been hit with a series of damaging leaks regarding Trump’s relationship with former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump abruptly fired last week. Trump reportedly asked Comey to let go of his investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to a memo Comey authored after meeting with the president in the Oval Office. Part of the memo was leaked to the New York Times by one of Comey’s associates after Trump fired the unpopular FBI director. One group of activists is organizing nationwide “Impeachment Marches” on July 2 to pressure congressional representatives to “do their job and start the process to impeach this president.” The organizers of the Impeachment March were also behind the Tax Day protests against Trump’s withholding of his tax returns. The marches are set to take place in at least 14 cities across the country, although that number may grow as frustration continues to build with the scandals surrounding the White House. The Impeachment March in Los Angeles has already received more than 11,000 confirmed attendees, according to the event’s Facebook page. “Donald Trump has been in violation of the Constitution from the day he was sworn into the office of President. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach an official, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials,” a description for the Impeachment March reads. “It is time that congressional representatives do their job and start the process to impeach this president. We believe president Trump has committed constitutional breaches, consistently lied, cheated, and enforces laws that primarily benefit him and his billionaire friends at the expense of the country.” Other left-wing activist organizations are also pressuring Congress to impeach the president, less than four months into his term. “This latest move by the Trump administration is too little, too late. With each passing day, we are learning of new ways in which Donald Trump is placing our country and our institutions in greater danger. Mueller was appointed by the same man who gave Trump cover for firing Comey, and his chain of command leads back to Donald Trump himself,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of left-wing advocacy group Democracy for America. “We cannot afford to have Congress sit back and watch this play out the same way it just did, with Trump and his stooges obstructing another investigation into their corruption and high crimes. Congress needs to act now to impeach Trump, the first step of which is empowering a committee to do its own investigation into impeachable offenses.” (RELATED: Trump Impeachment Talk Started Before He Was Even Nominated) Some Democratic representatives have already begun calling for impeachment. California Rep. Maxine Waters raised the impeachment issue before Trump ever took office, and has continued to do so since then, even leading a crowd in a chant to impeach the president. Waters’ colleagues are beginning to follow suit — 24 House representatives have now discussed impeaching Trump, according to CNN’s count. A spokesperson for New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat told CNN that “Rep. Espaillat is calling for Trump’s impeachment.” New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne Jr. said in a statement Wednesday that “All options — including impeachment — should be on the table for President Trump.” That same day, Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green became the first congressman to call for Trump’s impeachment on the House floor. “Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart. I rise today with a sense of responsibility and duty to the people who have elected me, sense of duty to this country, a sense of duty to the Constitution of the United States of America,” Green said. “I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to call for the impeachment of the President of the United States of America.” Follow Hasson on Twitter @PeterJHassonIn the late 1960s, NASA sent a series of unmanned Surveyor spacecrafts to the Moon and encountered a mystery that's still unsolved today: Viewed from certain angles before sunrise, part of the Moon's horizon seems to glow. Why's this weird? Because with the moon having barely any atmosphere, there's seemingly nothing that could be doing the glowing. Later, during the Apollo missions, Moon-walking and orbiting astronauts also reported the same inexplicable phenomenon. They took notes and snapped photos. And before the three members of Apollo 17—the last men to walk the Moon—left for Earth, they even sketched the glow, trying to make sense of the mystery. Today, a team of astrophysicists led by Mihály Horányi at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has come as close as we've ever been to explaining the mysterious phenomenon. Thanks to the the recently launched lunar orbiter LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) the team has discovered that an a incredibly thin but ever-present cloud of dust that hangs over part of the Moon. It's the first lunar dust cloud ever discovered. Horányi's discovery lends credence to our best theory explaining the lunar glow: that it's caused by sunlight energizing small flakes of floating Moon-dust. Their study appears in Nature. According to Horányi, the newfound cloud is composed of lunar soil that's continually kicked up by the surprisingly heavy rain of debris from comets. This debris is the same thing that can cause shooting stars and meteor showers like the Perseids here on Earth. "Every day the Earth receives around 10 tons of cosmic debris, which burns up in our atmosphere. That's not the case for the Moon, which receives about 5 tons of material each day," Horányi says. The cloud even ebbs and flows with cometary meteor showers (like the Geminids and Northern Taurids) which Horányi says is even more evidence that comets are the cause. So why hadn't scientists ever identified this cloud before? "The cloud is so thin that any sort of optical instrument would have an incredibly hard time finding it," he says. It took LADEE, which was specifically designed to look for such clouds, passing through the cloud to detect the miniscule amounts of dust particles. Still, though, this cloud doesn't entirely solve the lunar glow mystery. Horányi says that his cloud is too thin and too close to the surface to explain what the Apollo astronauts saw. However, Horányi says, the existence of this cloud makes is more likely scientists could find a higher, denser cloud responsible for the weird effect. "We certainly can't discount the possibility," he says, "but this isn't the last page on the mystery."The Glee of Gold Bond. posted by Chad on 2/16/02 Everybody has an addiction: perhaps not an “addiction” per say, but definitely a reoccurring indulgence that frequents their life. Some drink on a daily basis: BEER = GOOD! Weed seems to be crawling towards legalization after years of campaigning by potheads’ consistent indulgence. A lot of woman can’t make it through the day without a chocolate fix. Caffeine, donuts, cigarettes, watering plants, sleeping pills, solving complex mathematics without a calculator, anti-depressants… we all have compulsive needs, and that’s okay: it’s what makes us human. However, sometimes these little crutches become the only thing we stand on. Faithful readers, I once was overwhelmed by an all controlling dependence. I too have an addiction: but this addiction dictated every waking moment of my life. It was no longer a small indulgence, but rather the center piece my tiny world revolved around. It was great when I got my fix, but the cost was becoming too much for my small income, and my tolerance grew out of control. I always needed more than before, and I no longer could afford the mounting costs. I tried to quit, but always broke down, finding sympathy in the drug that haunted my existence. This drug consumed me more than I consumed it. I know, I know… it’s a horrible, filthy habit that can’t be justified. What? You don’t know about Gold Bond?!?? Seriously? Despite the all encompassing nature of Gold Bond, you are truly missing out if you haven’t tried it. Gold Bond is a bottle full of “Medicated Body Powder” that causes some very special effects when applied to your most sensitive body regions. For guys, the target is the sack; as for girls … the bottle says “For external use only,” so don’t let that powder seep too far south. The bottle also says “poudre médicamenteuse pour le cops à triple action,” which translates to “Best genital feeling ever possible TRIPLE ACTION.” Now I understand my affliction may sound a bit obscure, but there is good reason for the translation to cap lock “TRIPLE ACTION.” Gold Bond invokes otherwise dormant sensations, giving new life to an area already packed with fun. I’m going to attempt to describe the Gold Bond experience without sounding overly pornographic, but this is no easy task: it’s like describing a great orgasm. You can speak of all the nitty gritty moves, positions and props, but words don’t come close to illuminating the sensation of climaxing ten seconds into the encounter. Step one is to… well, there is only one step: dump this powder on your nether regions and conceal the evidence. I recommend the bathroom as an application area, for Gold Bond attaches itself to anything and everything – floor, skin, towels, thumb tacks, counter tops, rap music, small pets, book ends, and most dangerously, everything that you’re wearing – it’s going to be messy the first few times you score. The only thing to do after coating your privates is to relax, loosen up, and let the powder soothe your groin. I recommend light music and dim lights, but I’m romantic that way. Now breathe in and out slowly, and don’t panic: the incredible burning sensation is natural and short lived. I know it feels like torture at first, but calm down: it’ll be okay. Whatever you do, don’t cop out… no pain, no gain. The more it burns, the better it’ll feel – you see, the burning will soon be replaced with slight tingling… and the tingling slowly spreads and increases. It’ll feel good and you’ll dig it: like an icy breeze on your most private of parts, chills will spread up your spine. The feeling continues to grow, and your body doesn’t know what to do: you’ll become visibly horny multiple times throughout the encounter, and that’s because it feels like an orgasm that lasts at least 20 minutes. Twenty glorious, smooth, calming minutes of delight and grandeur. The tingling will slow down, but the smooth dryness remains, leaving a satisfaction that no sex can replace. It’s masturbation with TRIPLE ACTION effect and minus the labor, and it’s available in drug stores, supermarkets and Kwik-E-Marts everywhere. My addiction to Gold Bond started innocently enough. A few friends came over while my parents were away, and we were just having a good time. Playing Super Mario Kart, drinking cheap domestic beer, simply enjoying the benefits of being a teenager. In between one of the Battle Mode matches, a buddy pulled out a bottle of Gold Bond. He told me about the application process, and I responded with the typical teenage banter of “gay fagot.” But as the beers continued to take effect, I became more curious. Soon, I locked myself in the bathroom, sat up on the counter while my pants lay crumpled on the floor, and began covering my scrotum with Gold Bond. All of my masturbation paled in comparison: this invoked a true sexual awareness in my body. I realized the power of physical feelings, and fully embraced the possibilities of sensuality over any notion of reason or thought. Simply put, my spirit had been awakened, and it felt damn good. Have you BONDED today? Indulgence is my greatest sin. I can never have just a bit: I always want the whole damn kitten-kabuital. I started applying Gold Bond on a daily basis, and then with a higher potency… soon, I was Bonding up twice a day. My tolerance was growing, and I didn’t care: it made everything brighter, including my outlook on life. In retrospect, I can see how ill I was, but hindsight is 20/20, and back then, the only thing I felt was happiness. Before long, I became truly hooked - not only was I irritable and unable to concentrate without this “Medicated Body Powder,” but I picked up a little known called swamp balls. Only the magical Gold Bond could remove the stickiness and moisture from my testicles, which yearned for the powder more than a fat person craves gravy on their salad. The administering of powder was no longer a sensatory overload: it’s became a simple necessity. The feeling of being embraced by utopia was now shorter lived and less climatic. It still felt good, but not like it once used to be. It’s like traveling to the big city for the fiftieth time: sure, the lights are still bright, but they no longer carry the magic. The mystery had been removed, and my body had grown immune. REJOICE! HEAVEN BE PRAISED! EXTRA STRENGTH! It seems God has taken pity on me! The Green Bottle offers Extra Strength TRIPLE ACTION! Oh, the initial application of this stronger drug was bliss in its truest form – I once again felt the burning rush and drawn out erotic sensations. The orgasmic vibrations lasted over an hour, rolling my eyes back into my skull, and rejuvenating every nerve ending throughout my body. Blessed be the man responsible for this, for he is truly worthy of praise. After a few guilty days of complete indulgence, I sat back and realized that I was headed down the same road. This new wave of salacious sensations would eventually become mundane and ineffective, and what is after this? The drug doesn’t get any stronger, and I realized that this was my final chance to save myself. The green bottle is where I am now, and I feel like I’m regaining control. I only Bond Up once a day, and the amount of powder being used is slowly but surely decreasing. Some days are hard, and I’ve admittedly fallen off the wagon a couple of times: but in general, I’m regaining my freedom. It’s still a problem, but a problem that is being tamed. Soon, I’ll be able to live a normal lifestyle, interact and act like any other human being, and maybe, with a lot of effort and a bit of luck, be able to return to the orange bottle of Gold Bond. I may still need my fix from time to time, but I’m making progress towards independence: and I’m pretty proud of that. Testimony aside, if you haven’t tried Gold Bond once, then your ass hasn’t lived. -Chad, fouff, that BigMeats asshole, and a pure breed Gold Bond user. fouff@whatever-dude.com I’m too lazy to dig up the code to link to my AIM name… but all that information is in my staff profile. Best segue ever. Anyway, if you haven’t noticed, Paul has put the staff profiles section of the site back online, so be sure to check it out.KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A man suspected of fatally shooting four people at his neighbor's home in Kansas before killing another man about 170 miles away in a rural Missouri house was taken into custody early Wednesday morning after an extensive manhunt, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. The Highway Patrol told CBS News Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino was arrested without incident near New Florence, Missouri. Troopers said he had a rifle on him. The Kansas City Star reports Serrano-Vitorino was found lying on a hill just north of Interstate 70. CBS Jefferson City, Missouri affiliate KRCG-TV says he was apprehended in Danville, Missouri. Pablo Serrano-Vitorino, suspected killer of five people, is in custody according to Highway Patrol pic.twitter.com/YpzHsh5UlW — Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 9, 2016 "He looked exhausted," Sgt. James Hedrick said. Officers put suspect from ambulance into an unmarked car, appears to be in handcuffs pic.twitter.com/zCuU0tEdbr — Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 9, 2016 The Star reported the area where Serrano-Vitorino was nabbed is near a McDonald's restaurant and several motels. Serrano-Vitorino, a Mexican national who authorities said was in the country illegally, is accused of fatally shooting four men late Monday night at his neighbor's home in Kansas City, Kansas. He was also wanted in connection with the shooting death of 49-year-old Randy Nordman in New Florence. The manhunt, which included helicopters, police dogs and at least one SWAT team, began late Monday after the first shooting. One of the four men managed to call police before he died, but it's unclear how the men knew each other or what may have prompted the shooting, Kansas City police officer Thomas Tomasic said. The manhunt shifted Tuesday, when a truck Serrano-Vitorino was believed to be driving was found about 7 a.m. abandoned along I-70 in central Missouri, about 80 miles west of St. Louis. About 25 minutes later, sheriff's deputies responded to a shooting about 5 miles away at a Montgomery County home and found Nordman's body, according to troopers. Highway Patrol Lt. Paul Reinsch said a witness who called 911 reported seeing a man running from Nordman's property, launching a manhunt in the area. The patrol said Tuesday that Serrano-Vitorino was considered dangerous and might have been armed with an AK-47. Reinsch said investigators weren't aware of any connection between Serrano-Vitorino and Nordman, whose home is near his family's campground and a racetrack for remote-controlled cars. KRCG reports investigators are looking into 40 leads associated with the case in Montgomery County. Authorities haven't released the names of the four Kansas victims. Serrano-Vitorino was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in their killings, Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Tuesday night that Serrano-Vitorino was deported from the U.S. in April 2004 and illegally re-entered "on an unknown date." ICE said it would place a detainer on Serrano-Vitorino if he was taken into custody.The hypocrisy of the “faithful” knows no bounds, even when it comes to the “shepherd of the flock.” A Bible Banging Boss vehemently denies stealing from an elderly member of her congregation. Her story however, is as full of holes as a head with a crown of thorns. Read the summary of the story here: Dallas preacher Sandy McGriff says she wasn’t breaking into a congregant’s house on Christmas Eve to rob her—she did it to protect the woman from other burglars. McGriff, who was arrested when police caught her loading $10,000 worth of valuables into her car, says she stopped by to check on Serita Agnew’s house when she saw two men exit it. She says she climbed through a window they’d already broken, and grabbed Agnew’s fur coats, designer purses, and a laptop to protect them in case the thieves returned. “I thought I was helping,” she tells the Dallas Morning News. That, needless to say,
on Friday. We do know it's to play a hero role, not a villain. Oscar wants to show his lighter more comedic side which is one of the reasons he's interested in Uncharted. I think he's one of the best actors of his generation. Seth read Jamie Dornan and Aaron Taylor Johnson this weekend and there are others reading this week but I'm waiting for a full breakdown. </div> <div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="display:initial"></div> <div style="font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div> <table width="100%" style="background-color:white;border-spacing:0px;"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div id="_persistentHeader" style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); border-top-width: 1pt; padding: 3pt 0in 0in; font-family: Tahoma, 'BB Alpha Sans', 'Slate Pro'; font-size: 10pt;"> <div><b>From: </b>Belgrad, Doug</div><div><b>Sent: </b>Monday, November 3, 2014 7:29 AM</div><div><b>To: </b>Kadin, Jonathan</div><div><b>Cc: </b>Pascal, Amy; Minghella, Hannah; DeLuca, Michael</div><div><b>Subject: </b>Re: Oscar Isaac</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(186, 188, 209); border-top-width: 1pt; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><br><div id="_originalContent" style="">I just spoke with Chuck, who thinks he's a really great actor and has star potential.<div>Chuck produced the MOJAVE movie, which he said he's great in. </div><div>He will secretly try to get us some scenes from that movie, where Oscar plays the villain.</div><div> </div><div>Oscar certainly has a lot of pictures coming…I know Mike has seen Ex Machina (how was he in that?)</div><div>And if he's great in Star Wars that will put him on the map for the world. Perhaps we should call or email Kathy Kennedy to get her opinion.</div><div><br></div><div>Chuck told me Travis Fimmel is out because he's unavailable next year due to his TV series VIKINGS.</div><div>I guess Jamie Dornan is in the mix, but what are the other options at the moment?</div><div><br></div><div>I assume Fox is offering him X-Men:Apocalypse, which is on the calendar for summer '16 and shoots next year. Is it going to be p-o-p?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><div>On Nov 2, 2014, at 8:34 PM, Kadin, Jonathan wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="auto"><div>I think he could be a fantastic Nathan Drake. He's such a talented actor. He can kick ass, he's sexy/hunky, he can play vulnerable and really intelligent. Feels like a modern take on the character. <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He can play anything, kind of a chameleon. </span></div><div><br></div><div>In Star Wars the buzz is that he pays Han Solo's son. </div><div><br></div><div>I like these clean shaven or light scruff, full-haired looks for him as Drake...</div><div><br></div><div><span><image1.JPG></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span><image2.JPG></span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span><br><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And he's coming out in JC Chandor's next movie....</span></div><div><br></div><div>Below are a bunch of links to his wide ranging roles...</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> "Molly Rose (Volchok)" <<a href="mailto:RoseM@unitedtalent.com">RoseM@unitedtalent.com</a>><br><b>To:</b> "Kadin, Jonathan" <<a href="mailto:Jonathan_Kadin@spe.sony.com">Jonathan_Kadin@spe.sony.com</a>><br><b>Cc:</b> "Volchok_K" <<a href="mailto:Volchok_K@unitedtalent.com">Volchok_K@unitedtalent.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>Oscar Isaac/ Client Materials </b><br><br></div></blockquote><div><span></span></div><blockquote type="cite"><div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252"> <style> <!-- @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"} @font-face {font-family:Calibri} @font-face {font-family:Verdana} p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:#0563C1; text-decoration:underline} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:#954F72; text-decoration:underline} p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph {margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"} span.EmailStyle18 {font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:windowtext} span.EmailStyle19 {font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D} span.EmailStyle20 {font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D} span.EmailStyle21 {font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D}.MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt} @page WordSection1 {margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in} div.WordSection1 {} --> </style> <div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">October 31, 2014</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Jonathan Kadin </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><u>Via E-mail</u></i></p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>RE: Oscar Isaac/ Client Materials</u></b></p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">Dear Jonathan, </p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">Per our conversation, below and attached please find materials on Oscar Isaac. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>OSCAR ISAAC</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><object width="356" height="369" id="Picture_x0020_1" alt="http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a505/BlueEvenstar/ONTD/ISAAC2_2778275c_zpsce72abd8.jpg" data="cid:image001.jpg@01CFEED9.14037AC0" type="application/x-apple-msg-attachment"></object><u></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Oscar Isaac </b>is currently filming the HBO miniseries “Show Me A Hero” written by David Simon and being directed by Paul Haggis with Catherine Keener and Alfred Molina. Also, this year Oscar just wrapped “Star Wars: Episode VII” directed by JJ Abrams and alongside Harrison Ford, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, and Adam Driver. </p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">He will soon be seen in JC Chandor’s "A Most Violent Year,” which will open this year’s AFI Film Festival. Oscar stars in the film with Jessica Chastain. </p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">He can be seen playing the lead role of Llewyn Davis in Joel and Ethan Coen’s "Inside Llewyn Davis," which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and winner of the National Society of Film Critics’ Best Actor Award. This year Oscar can be most recently be see in Hossein Amini’s "Two Faces of January," a three-hander thriller alongside Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst, and Charlie Stratton’s "In Secret" starring opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Jessica Lange. Oscar was last seen in Universal’s "Bourne Legacy" with Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton, "Ten Years" with Channing Tatum, Anthony Mackie, and Chris Pratt, and Fox’s "Won't Back Down" as the male lead opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal. Besides these recent releases, Oscar has a slew of other exciting, upcoming projects including: Alex Garland’s "Ex Machina" with Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander, William Monahan’s "Mojave," where he stars alongside Garrett Hedlund. </p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">Oscar can also be seen in Nick Refn’s "Drive" with Ryan Gosling, Warner Brothers’ Zack Snyder film "Suckerpunch," and Ridley Scott’s "Robin Hood." Oscar’s credits also include Alejandro Amenabar’s "Agora" opposite Rachel Weisz, Soderbergh’s "Che," Catherine Hardwicke’s "Nativity Story" as the lead role of Joseph, The Weinstein Company’s "W.E." opposite Abbie Cornish, playing the co-lead of Scott Burns’ "PU239," and multiple high-profile Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including "Romeo and Juliet" in The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park in the title role.</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Demo Reel</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><a href="http://vid.unitedtalent.com/o_isaac">http://vid.unitedtalent.com/o_isaac</a></span></p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS trailer</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://ildatthegaslight.com/"><span style="color:windowtext">http://ildatthegaslight.com</span></a> </p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>A MOST VIOLENT YEAR trailer </i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P549wrvkLQg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P549wrvkLQg</a></p><div><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>EX MACHINA trailer </i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-HiQ9K2uf4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-HiQ9K2uf4</a></span><b><i></i></b></p><div><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">We look forward to hearing your thoughts.</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal">Kevin Volchok</p><p class="MsoNormal">KV/mr</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:#9C9A9C"><br> </span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:#9C9A9C">Molly Rose<br> Assistant to Kevin Volchok<br> <br> 9336 Civic Center Drive <br> Beverly Hills, CA 90210</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:#9C9A9C">T: 310.273.6700<br> F: 310.247.1111<br> <br> <br> </span><span><image002.png></span><span style="font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; color:#9C9A9C"></span></p><div style="margin-bottom: 12pt; "> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div> </div> <br> <hr> <h4><font color="gray">NOTE: This message contains information which may be confidential and/or privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy, distribute, or disclose any information contained in the message. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message. Please note, all rights of concurrent review and comment are hereby reserved. Thank you. <br> <br> United Talent Agency<br> 9336 Civic Center Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (TA-56599-1)<br> 888 7th Ave 9th Floor New York, NY 10102 (DCA-2011819)</font></h4></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div><br></div><br><!--end of _originalContent --></div></body></html> ----boundary-LibPST-iamunique-1369549809_-_---With Detroit expected to run out of cash this spring, state officials in Michigan proposed a restructuring deal with the city leaders on Tuesday that would establish a joint advisory board to address the city’s financial troubles without a state-appointed emergency manager. The proposed agreement was framed by Gov. Rick Snyder’s office as a “cooperative” solution for Detroit leaders, who have strongly opposed such a state takeover as the city races to avert fiscal ruin. But a number of city officials, including Mayor Dave Bing, voiced displeasure with it and indicated they were unlikely to approve it without changes. The offer, Mr. Bing said in a statement, “circumvents the role and power of the City Council as the legislative body, waives the ability of elected officials to contest any aspect of the agreement, and dismisses the unprecedented effort and concessions made by the City’s labor unions to avoid an economic catastrophe.” The reaction suggested that the standoff over how best to address Detroit’s fiscal problems is likely to continue. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In December, state officials were called in to review the city’s financial woes, which they have said amount to more than $12 billion in long-term debt and a general deficit of $196 million, with no clear path toward a solution. The review team is scheduled to complete its work by March 28, and to make a recommendation to Mr. Snyder about whether Detroit, the state’s largest city, needs an outside manager whose power would trump local officials. Photo The agreement proposed Tuesday, which must be signed by the mayor and the review team, would establish a nine-member Financial Advisory Board that would have authority to approve budgets, the sale of assets and changes to contracts, including collective bargaining agreements with the 48 unions that represent city workers.by Over the years I’ve met all kinds of anime fans, both in real life and online, who love anime in different ways. I’ve come to realize that there are perhaps two main relationships to anime that fans could have… The first main reason for liking anime is for its aesthetically pleasing or analytical elements. These fans love the discussion-inducing aspect of anime, whether it’s exalting a series for how great it is or deriding it for its flaws. They praise things like a creative story, good animation techniques, and faithfulness to the source material while condemning things like cliches, fan pandering, and poor marketing. These fans often become quite knowledgeable about things like anime directors and studios, and they often watch a variety of genres because they like to and/or it allows them to be more active in all fields of anime discussions. Their discussions are mostly comprised of things like “[insert name of anime] could have been better if [list reasons]” “[insert name of character] was flawed because [list reasons], “[insert name of studio] should have done such-and-such with [insert name of anime].” The majority of anime blogs I’ve seen tend to lean toward this way of relating to anime. I’ve personally encountered many fans who like anime for this reason. But sometimes it seems like they spend more time talking about their criticisms or analysis of anime than simply being pleased with it. I often think “Do they truly love anime or do they just like talking about it and compartmentalizing it?” This doesn’t apply to everyone of course, and there are plenty of fans who can analyze anime but also passionately love it for whatever reason. Which brings us to our second reason for liking anime, which is almost the opposite of the first – loving anime pretty much unconditionally. These fans have certain aspects of anime that they love, whether its a fan girl who loves bishounen or a fan boy who loves mecha or moe girls. They often don’t care to dwell on anything intellectually stimulating about anime – they just love certain characters, genres, or story elements, whether they’re cliche or not. Often times, they don’t care to watch a variety of anime genres and like to stick to the ones that have what they’re looking for. They rarely engage in any analytical discussions about anime or think about things like the competence of the staff behind the anime. They just love the anime at face-value for what it offers. Their discussions are mostly comprised of things like “[insert name of anime] was so good!,” “[insert name of character] is so cute/cool/hot/funny!” The majority of fangirling/boying/gasms and guilty pleasures come into play with relating to anime this way. To give a personal example of this, I have a couple of friends who adore action/fantasy anime, and the occasional cool characters. They never dwell on things like narrative quality, plot flow, fan pandering, animation studios, etc,. They never read editorials or anything intellectual about anime. They just love the anime for providing what they want and don’t care about why or how. I usually feel that I’m somewhere in between these two reasons, though I tend to lean more towards the second. I love to analyze and discuss certain anime titles and anime fandom in general, to a point at least. But on the other hand, I like 90% of the anime I’ve watched simply because of my unconditional love for anime that doesn’t need a reason other than the fact that it’s anime and has some things I like about it. One recent example of when I was really feeling this division is when the new starter pokemon for Black & White were revealed. Me and a couple of my other friends were like “Whee, new pokemon finally! They’re so cute! I can’t wait for these games!,” while many others were like “Ugh, they’re so ugly! Why can’t Game Freak be more original? The old games were better.” To me it seems like my friends and I were looking at the new pokemon for the second reason – unconditional love – while others were looking at them for the first reason – analyzing/criticizing their creativity. I got a similar feeling during Haruhi’s “Endless Eight” fiasco. I thought that the true fan is the one who can have intellectual discussions about anime, but at the same time can passionately love it and accept it for what it is. But I feel that I’m probably just being biased. Do you feel that the fandom is divided, more or less, between those who love the intellectually and aesthetically stimulating part of anime, and who like to analyze, criticize, and dissect anime they watch and put the fandom under a microscope, and those who love anime unconditionally and often for trivial reasons, who don’t care to dwell on any deeper aspects of it? Or do you believe that most fans exist somewhere in between these two reasons, so there’s no need to think of it this way?The affirmation of the ban comes in a new Vatican document — even though it's widely acknowledged that there are many gay priests in the church. Pope Francis, who once famously said “Who am I to judge?” on the subject of gay priests, has approved a new Vatican document reaffirming that “persons with homosexual tendencies” are barred from Roman Catholic seminaries and the priesthood. The document, called “The Gift of the Priestly Vocation,” was released today, Catholic magazine America reports. It was written by the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, and Pope Francis signed off on it. Francis has often been perceived as more LGBT-friendly than his predecessors. In 2013, asked by a journalist about the presence of gay priests in the church, he said, “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” He has said the church should apologize to LGBT people for mistreating them. A group of LGBT Catholics making a pilgrimage to Rome in 2015 received VIP seats for his weekly general audience. He has met with a transgender man from Spain, who described the pope as warm and supportive, and while in the U.S. last year he met with a gay former student and the man’s partner and friends. But Francis has not changed church doctrine; indeed, only the most wildly optimistic would expect him to do so. The church continues to consider same-sex relationships unequal to heterosexual marriages (and sinful as well), and the concept of gender transition or fluidity a violation of God’s plan for humanity. And even though it’s widely acknowledged that there are gay priests, who like heterosexual priests take a vow of celibacy, “The Gift of the Priestly Vocation” makes clear that the official line is they’re not welcome. It quotes from a 2005 document on the same subject, saying the church cannot admit those “who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture’” to seminaries or holy orders, the latter of which includes the priesthood. “One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies,” it continues. It does say that men — the Catholic priesthood is limited to men — who have experienced “transitory” same-sex attractions can be admitted to seminaries, but “such tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate.” A deacon is a ministerial position that ranks lower than priest. LGBT Catholics and their supporters were disappointed by the document. “The writers of the document seem to have closed their eyes to the fact that thousands upon thousands of gay men are already serving faithfully and effectively in the Catholic priesthood,” said a statement issued by Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBT equality in the church. “Indeed, without gay men, the Church would not be able to operate. (Add to that the multitude of lesbian women who serve in diverse ministries in the Church, whose service allows so much good to happen.)” “Had the document not been approved by Pope Francis, it could easily be dismissed as the work of over-zealous Vatican officials,” DeBernardo continued. “But the pope’s approval of this text is a great disappointment to many people — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual supporters — who held out greater hopes for this pontiff who had done so much to open church discussion on matters of sexual orientation and gender identity. So much of the language about gay men is simply a restatement from the 2005 document issued by Pope Benedict XVI. In his three-and-a-half years as pontiff, Francis has shown that he has moved away from Benedict’s approach to issues of sexuality.” DeBernardo called on Francis to either retract the document or at least “explain exactly where he stands, given the blatant contradiction between ‘Who am I to judge?’ and this most recent document.”At least seven people were injured when an attempt to illegally tap into a Pemex oil pipeline caused an explosion near Mexico City on Sunday. The blast shortly before 5 a.m. sent plumes of smoke and flames hundreds of feet into the air in Tonanitla, about 25 miles north of the capital city, according to The Associated Press. More from GlobalPost: Deadly Pemex explosion in Mexico caused by gas leak, authorities say Five of the injured were police officers, and two worked for the fire brigade. The 30-inch pipeline is owned by Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, which said the fire was under control several hours after the explosion. Pemex said those who were injured got too close to the blaze and were hurt in a secondary explosion. Two patrol cars were incinerated by the fire. More from GlobalPost: Mexico's president stresses need to modernize Pemex Illegal pipeline taps are a frequent menace to Pemex, which claims it loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year to oil theft. In January, 37 people were killed at Pemex's Mexico City headquarters when an accumulation of gas in its basement ignited. A Pemex gas distribution plant in the northern city of Reynosa exploded in September 2012, killing another 30 people. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.Biopics have been a cinema institution since 1900, when French actress Bleuette Bernon starred as Joan of Arc in George Melies silent film of the same name, but such a role comes with far more pressure than usual for the starring actor. The portrayal needs to remain true to the character as the audience already knows it, and this requires something that even the most talented of actors can struggle to bring to the screen: authenticity. The job, then, becomes even more of a challenge when it comes to biopics of figures who are in the acting profession themselves. For an actor to play an actor requires a level of imitation that encompasses the whole of the character's on-screen and off-screen persona, and this inevitably means being measured up to and compared against the skill and integrity of the very actor being portrayed. Can anybody really capture the elegance and grace of Audrey Hepburn? Can Andy Kaufman's instinctive comic timing be replicated? Can anybody pull off an impression of not just Peter Sellers, but all of his voices and characters too? Its a hit-and-miss business which relies on more than just a physical resemblance or a matching wardrobe. The believability of a part can hang solely on the likes of genuine emotion and subtle mannerisms. If its not right, its just a caricature. In a long list of stars playing stars, some stand out far more than others though not always for the right reasons. Here are ten of the most notable instances of Hollywoods finest being resurrected by other actors, shining a spotlight on the ones that got it right, and the ones which were shy of the mark.NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has found some more bright stuff on the Red Planet, scientists say. The Curiosity rover had dumped out a recent sample of Mars dirt after spotting shiny particles inside the hole dug by the shovel-like scoop on its robotic arm. Mission scientists were concerned that the bright material might be debris from the rover itself, so they ordered Curiosity to toss the Mars sample as a safety precaution, mission managers said in a statement. As it turns out, the bright particles are actual Martian in origin, they added. Curiosity is scooping up Mars dirt in a spot called "Rocknest" in preparation to deliver the first samples to a pair of instruments on its car-size body. The rover scooped its first Mars sample on Oct. 7, but further work was delayed when the rover's cameras spotted a bright object --likely a piece of plastic --on the ground in the area. Scientists had cleared Curiosity to start scooping Mars dirt again ahead of the first sample study when they spotted the new bright material. Curiosity's initial Mars dirt scoops are designed to clean the rover's sampling system. [Mars Rover Curiosity's Latest Amazing Photos] "Other small pieces of bright material in the Rocknest area have been assessed as debris from the spacecraft," NASA officials said in a statement Monday (Oct. 15). "The science team did not want to put spacecraft material into the rover's sample-processing mechanisms." A new review of the latest bright material suggested it is actually a Mars phenomenon, and not litter from Curiosity. With that analysis in hand, rover scientists cleared Curiosity to take a third scoopful of Mars dirt. "Confidence for going ahead with the third scooping was based on new assessment that other bright particles in the area are native Martian material," NASA officials said. "One factor in that consideration is seeing some bright particles embedded in clods of Martian soil." Curiosity's third scoop of Mars dirt will be the first sample to actually be processed by the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, known as CheMin. A later Mars sample will be scooped up and deposited inside the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument. The CheMin and SAM tools are two of the core instruments on Curiosity designed to determine if Mars may have once been habitable for microbial life. The $2.5 billion Mars rover Curiosity has been exploring the Red Planet since Aug. 5, when it landed inside the planet's vast Gale Crater. Currently, the rover is driving toward its first major science target, a spot called "Glenelg" that offers a glimpse at interesting Martian terrain, scientists said. The rover is about the size of a Mini Cooper car, making it the largest rover ever sent to another world. Curiosity is expected to spend at least two Earth years exploring the Red Planet. NASA will provide an update on Curiosity's science work on Mars today (Oct. 18) in a teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT. You can listen in on the teleconference via SPACE.com's NASA feed here. Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Longbox Graveyard #43 The long and winding road that has been the Longbox Graveyard has taken some unexpected side trips. When I began this blog I intended it only as a means of keeping myself on track as I cataloged and sold off my Accumulation of unwanted comics. But a funny thing happened on the way to eBay … I started reading my comics again, and found that I kinda sorta still liked them. After decades away from funny books, suddenly I was hip deep in the buggers, not only reviewing favorite books like Conan and Thor, but also looking at newer series like Ed Brubaker’s run on Captain America, and even exploring the intersection of comics and technology with books like Operation Ajax and the vintage comics on offer through Marvel’s Digital subscription service. Surprises all! What I never expected — with so many issues of Master of Kung Fu, Fantastic Four, Batman, Daredevil, and Swamp Thing as yet unexamined — was that I would devote an entire column to Marvel’s Godzilla. Inspiration comes when you least expect it. There I was, arguing the merits of John Carter with fellow blogger Mars Will Send No More when the conversation turned — as it will among learned men — to the merits of fictional T-Rexes. Before I knew it I was committed not only to reviewing Godzilla, but also to participating in a March Madness T-Rex Beat-Down tournament (for the results of which, mouse over to Mars’ blog). Mars and I don’t always see eye-to-eye, but I echo his blog comments excluding Godzilla from our tournament, and not merely because Godzilla isn’t a proper T-Rex. As Mars put it, “… Godzilla annihilates everything, everyone, everywhere, always. And any story where he didn’t is a lie.” Godzila is an outsized character who can’t help but dominate any scene he enters, whether he’s sharing the stage with a field of cinematic dinosaurs or the headline characters of the Marvel Universe. Godzilla annihilates the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier (and the Golden Gate Bridge for good measure) And so what of Marvel’s Godzilla? Does this big green galoot annihilate everything and everyone, everywhere and always? Or is Marvel’s version of the King of Monsters a big pile of lies? My plan was to review just those Godzilla books I had in the Accumulation — issues one to six or so — but after the first half dozen books I found myself unaccountably caught up in the admittedly thin story. So rather than dump my Godzillas for pennies on eBay, I instead went into WonderCon determined to fill out my run, but found that the dealers on the convention floor thought their Godzilla back-issues were worth ten bucks a pop. Hey, I like the book, but there’s a limit. My first impulse was to review what I had and offer the first “incomplete” grade on the Longbox Graveyard report card, but then thirteen bucks and a trip to eBay secured a copy of the black & white Essential Godzilla, and the great Godzilla review project was on once more! So what was the deal with Godzilla, anyways? The year was 1977, and Marvel would try just about anything, including adding the Godzilla license to the Marvel Universe. What could have been a disaster was instead a workman-like book in the tradition of late 1970s Marvel, where solid editorial standards and dependable mid-list talent ensured a firm floor for the entire comics line. It’s rare to find a truly dreadful Marvel book from the late 70s, and thanks to an energetic effort from the Doug Moench on scripts and a professional job from penciller Herb Trimpe we have two years of Godzilla books that for the most part deliver the goods — neither very good nor very bad, but always entertaining and probably better than the series had any right to be. A snappy first issue introduces Godzilla to the Marvel Universe (and you can read that issue online, in it’s entirety, over at Mars Will Send No More). It does feel like Marvel was hedging their bets, at least at first. Pitting Godzilla against S.H.I.E.L.D. was an inspired choice, but we get the S.H.I.E.L.D. B-team here, with secondary Helicarriers commanded by Dum Dum Dugan rather than the iconic Nick Fury. When Godzilla stomps Alaska, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Diego in short order, it really should get the attention of the Avengers and Fantastic Four (but we will have to wait until the end of the series for that moment). Rather than scrambling even the B-team Defenders to the rescue, we get the forgettable Champions for a serviceable superhero battle with the Big G most memorable for Hercules taking down Godzilla with a judo flip. The Marvel Universe has always been New York-centric, but you figure it would get national attention when Godzilla destroys Hoover Dam, stomps Las Vegas, and wrecks Salt Lake City during a battle with bizarre space monsters … but Godzilla is still regarded as a hoax when he finally makes it to Manhattan in issue #20, and only then do Marvel’s most iconic heroes scramble for a pretty decent superhero fight against Godzilla. (image grabbed from Comic Vine) But I’m not sure Moench could have handled Godzilla any other way. In contemporary terms, Godzilla attacking the United States would warrant a summer’s worth of Marvel Comics cross-overs, bleeding into every book in the line, but in 1978 Moench and Marvel elected to keep Godzilla partitioned in his own little bubble of the Marvel Universe. The only alternative would have been to go right at it — to deeply integrate Godzilla in the line with increasingly improbable cross-
continent and other parts of Asia, which provided new ingredients to spice up traditional Indian stews. After the year 1000, Muslims brought their own cooking traditions from the west, including heavy use of meat, while Indian traders carried home new and exotic spices like cloves from Southeast Asia. And when the Portuguese built up their trading centers on the west coast of India in the 16th century, they threw chilies from the New World into the pot. (Your spicy vindaloo may sound like Hindi, but actually the word derives from the Portuguese terms for its original central ingredients: wine and garlic.) But the original curry predates Europeans’ presence in India by about 4,000 years. Villagers living at the height of the Indus civilization used three key curry ingredients—ginger, garlic, and turmeric—in their cooking. This proto-curry, in fact, was eaten long before Arab, Chinese, Indian, and European traders plied the oceans in the past thousand years. You may be wondering how on earth anyone can know what people were cooking 4,500 years ago. While the ancients left behind plenty of broken pots and mud-brick house foundations, they generally didn’t leave us their recipes. And foodstuffs, unlike pots, rapidly decay. But thanks to technological advances, scientists can identify minute quantities of plant remains left behind by meals cooked thousands of years ago. It is no easy task; researchers must gather crumbling skeletons and find ancient dirty dishes before using powerful laboratory microscopes to pinpoint the ingredients of ancient meals. But the effort is paying off, in the form of evidence that curry may be far, far older than previously thought. The Indus society began to flourish around the same time that the ancient Egyptians built their pyramids and Mesopotamians constructed the first great cities in today’s Iraq. Though less well known than its more famous cousins to the West, the Indus civilization boasted a half-dozen large and carefully planned urban centers with sophisticated water and sewage systems unmatched until Roman times. During its peak, between 2500 B.C. and 1800 B.C., the Indus dominated a land area larger than either ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia, covering much of today’s Pakistan and most of western India, as far west as the Iranian coast, as far north as Afghanistan, and as far east as the suburbs of New Delhi. But unlike the hieroglyphic and cuneiform writing of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian scribes, the strange symbols left behind by their Indus counterparts has not yet been deciphered by today’s scholars. Deciphering their food traditions has, until recently, been equally challenging. Archaeologists have long known how to spot some ancient leftovers. The biggest breakthrough came in the 1960s, when excavators began to drop soil from their sites—particularly from places where food likely was prepared—onto mesh screens. The scientists then washed the earth away with water, leaving behind little bits of stone, animal bones, and tiny seeds of wheat, barley, millets, and beans. This flotation method allowed scientists to piece together a rough picture of an ancient diet. “But spices are absent in macro-botanical record,” says archaeologist Arunima Kashyap at Washington State University Vancouver, who, along with Steve Weber, made the recent proto-curry discovery.* Working with other Indian and American archaeologists, the two applied new methods for pinpointing the elusive remains of spices that don’t show up in flotation tanks. Instead of analyzing dirt from Indus kitchens, they collected cooking pots from the ancient town of Farmana, a modest settlement that prospered in the late third millennium B.C. (Today, it’s a two-hour drive west of Delhi.) They also obtained human teeth from the nearby cemetery from the same era. Back in their lab, Kashyap used what is known as starch grain analysis. Starch is the main way that plants store energy, and tiny amounts of it can remain long after the plant itself has deteriorated. If a plant was heated—cooked in one of the tandoori-style ovens often found at Indus sites, for example—then its tiny microscopic remains can be identified, since each plant species leaves its own specific molecular signature. To a layperson peering through a microscope, those remains look like random blobs. But to a careful researcher, they tell the story of what a cook dropped into the dinner pot 4,500 years ago. Examining the human teeth and the residue from the cooking pots, Kashyap spotted the telltale signs of turmeric and ginger, two key ingredients, even today, of a typical curry. This marked the first time researchers had found unmistakable traces of the spices in the Indus civilization. Wanting to be sure, she and Weber took to their kitchens in Vancouver, Washington. “We got traditional recipes, cooked dishes, then examined the residues to see how the structures broke down,” Weber recalls. The results matched what they had unearthed in the field. “Then we knew we had the oldest record of ginger and turmeric.” Dated to between 2500 and 2200 B.C., the finds are the first time either spice has been identified in the Indus. They also found a carbonized clove of garlic, a plant that was used in this era by cooks from Egypt to China. They found additional supporting evidence of ginger and turmeric use on ancient cow teeth unearthed in Harappa, one of the largest Indus cities, located in Pakistan west of the border with India. Why would cattle be eating curry-style dishes? Weber notes that in the region today, people often place leftovers outside their homes for wandering cows to munch on. There are numerous ancient Indus images of cattle on terra-cotta seals, suggesting that during Indus times, people may have regarded cows as sacred, as Hindus do today. The Harappan ruins also contain evidence of domesticated chickens, which were likely cooked in those tandoori-style ovens and eaten. And what would a proto-curry be without a side of rice? Many archaeologists once thought that Indus peoples were restricted to a few grains like wheat and barley. But Cambridge University archaeologist Jennifer Bates, part of a joint Indian-U.K. team, has been examining the relative abundance of various crops at two village sites near today’s Masudpur, also west of Delhi. She found that villagers cultivated a wide array of crops, including rice, lentils, and mung beans. Finding significant quantities of rice was a particular surprise, since the grain was long thought to have arrived only at the end of the Indus civilization. In fact, inhabitants of one village appear to have preferred rice to wheat and barley (though millet was their favorite crop). What does this mean for how we think about South Asian cuisine today? Thanks to Kashyap and Weber, we know that curry is not only among the world’s most popular dishes; it also may be the oldest continuously prepared cuisine on the planet. Vasant Shinde, an archaeologist at Pune University in India who directs the dig at Farmana, is delighted with the discovery. He says the find demonstrates that the Indus civilization pioneered not just good plumbing and well-planned cities, but one of the world’s most loved cuisines. “I have been arguing for a long time that the [Indus people] are responsible for introducing most of the traditions in south Asia,” he says, “and that includes tandoori chicken.” Correction, Jan. 30, 2013: This article originally misidentified Washington State University Vancouver as the University of Washington at Vancouver. (Return to the corrected sentence.)Tasmania could become 'battery of Australia' through increased dam storage, Turnbull says Updated Plans are in the pipeline to double Tasmania's hydropower output by re-using water, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing new feasibility studies to investigate. Mr Turnbull visited Tasmania's Trevallyn Power Station to make the announcement, flanked by Premier Will Hodgman and Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg. The studies will support feasibility work into redeveloping the aging Tarraleah scheme and enhancing the Gordon Power Station. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is also considering an application from Hydro Tasmania to explore several new pumped hydro energy storage schemes that could deliver up to 2500 MW of pumped hydro power, which could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment. "What we're seeing here in Tasmania is the opportunity in this state to provide even more renewable energy, wind and hydro, than it does today," Mr Turnbull said. "There's the opportunity here in Tasmania to double the capacity of Hydro Tasmania with new investment and with pump storage, and of course it has the best wind assets in Australia — the Roaring Forties." Mr Turnbull said, if implemented, the plan could see Tasmania become the "battery of Australia". Vision to double capacity ARENA has contributed $2.5 million to the studies, but much more money will be needed. Hydro Tasmania chief executive Steve Davy said the state-owned-company was in discussions with ARENA on two studies. "One study looks at how to increase the energy output from our system," Mr Davy said. "The biggest component is the replacement of the Tarraleah Power Station which was built in 1938, that would increase the output by 40 per cent. "The second study looks at 13 separate pumped hydro opportunities to test them for feasibility." The pumped hydro projects add up to 2500 MW, which would double the capacity of the hydro system in Tasmania. It would not require new dams, but would re-use water by pumping it back up to be used again. The energy used to pump it back would likely be sourced from South Australia when wind power is cheap during the night. It would require better connection with the mainland, which is where a second Basslink cable would come into play. Premier Will Hodgman said the plan would set Tasmania up for the next 100 years. "This will place us as the renewable energy battery of the nation," Mr Hodgman said. Mr Hodgman said the plan would lead to Tasmania being able to power 500,000 more homes. The studies will be completed "as soon as possible", Mr Turnbull said. Topics: hydro-energy, electricity-energy-and-utilities, alternative-energy, government-and-politics, tas First postedMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella received a cash bonus of $3.6 million for the company’s 2014 fiscal year —141 percent of his target award — along with stock worth more than $7 million, according to a regulatory filing by the company this afternoon. The awards are part of the broader pay structure for Nadella that was announced in February, after he was appointed the third CEO in the company’s history. Under the plan, Nadella could have received a cash award of as much as 300% of his target. Nadella received a base salary of $918,917. Factors considered by the board included “Mr. Nadella’s performance against his core priorities, the financial and operational performance of the Company, and the financial performance of the Company relative to a group of large technology companies,” according to the filing. By comparison, former Microsoft CEO received a base salary of 697,500 and a bonus of 550,000, representing 79 percent of his target, during the 2013 fiscal year. Ballmer, the largest individual Microsoft shareholder, didn’t receive stock as compensation when he was chief executive. Nadella enjoyed a honeymoon period in his initial months as Microsoft CEO, winning praise for encouraging a more open and nimble culture at the company, before stumbling recently in his public comments about women and pay in the technology industry. Earlier today, he again addressed the situation in an interview with USA Today, saying he “was just wrong.” Here’s a chart from the filing, showing compensation for Nadella and other named Microsoft execs.New Delhi: Arresting the trend of withdrawals that began in December, the net balance in Jan Dhan accounts swelled by Rs1,000 crore to Rs63,971.38 crore during the week ended 5 April. The net balance in the accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was Rs62,972.42 crore on 29 March, as per the finance ministry’s data. Total deposits in these accounts had increased to a record high of Rs74,610 crore on 7 December and thereafter, started declining gradually. As per the PMJDY data for 5 April, it is for the first time the net balance in the accounts has shown an increase on a weekly basis. PMJDY was launched in August 2014 to increase banking penetration and promote financial inclusion in the country. Meanwhile, the number of Jan Dhan accounts have increased to 28.23 crore of which 18.50 crore have been seeded with Aadhaar. The deposits in the accounts had surged following demonetisation of old Rs500/1,000 notes in November last year. After setting a cash deposit limit of Rs50,000 in Jan Dhan accounts, the government had on 18 November cautioned account holders that they will be prosecuted under the Income Tax Act for allowing misuse of their bank accounts through deposit of black money in Rs500/1,000 notes during the 50-day window till 30 December. The directive came against the backdrop of reports that some persons were misusing other people’ bank accounts to deposit demonetised notes.In a new INET paper featured in the Financial Times, economist William Lazonick lays out a theory about how corporations can work for everyone – not just a few executives and Wall Streeters. He challenges a set of controversial ideas that became gospel in business schools and the mainstream media starting in the 1980s. He sat down with INET’s Lynn Parramore to discuss. Lynn Parramore: Since the 1980s, business schools have touted “agency theory,” a controversial set of ideas meant to explain how corporations best operate. Proponents say that you run a business with the goal of channeling money to shareholders instead of, say, creating great products or making any efforts at socially responsible actions such as taking account of climate change. Many now take this view as gospel, even though no less a business titan than Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, called the notion that a company should be run to maximize shareholder value “the dumbest idea in the world.” Why did Welch say that? William Lazonick: Welch made that statement in a 2009 interview, just ahead of the news that GE had lost its S&P Triple-A rating in the midst of the financial crisis. He explained that, “shareholder value is a result, not a strategy” and that a company’s “main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products.” During his tenure as GE CEO from 1981 to 2001, Welch had an obsession with increasing the company’s stock price and hitting quarterly earnings-per-share targets, but he also understood that revenues come when your company generates innovative products. He knew that the employees’ skills and efforts enable the company to develop those products and sell them. If a publicly-listed corporation succeeds in creating innovative goods or services, then shareholders stand to gain from dividend payments if they hold shares or if they sell at a higher price. But where does the company’s value actually come from? It comes from employees who use their collective and cumulative learning to satisfy customers with great products. It follows that these employees are the ones who should be rewarded when the business is a success. We’ve become blinded to this simple, obvious logic. LP: What have these academic theorists missed about how companies really operate and perform? How have their views impacted our economy and society? WL: As I show in my new INET paper “Innovative Enterprise Solves the Agency Problem,” agency theorists don’t have a theory of innovative enterprise. That’s strange, since they are talking about how companies succeed. They believe that to be efficient, business corporations should be run to “maximize shareholder value.” But as I have argued in another recent INET paper, public shareholders at a company like GE are not investors in the company’s productive capabilities. LP: Wait, as a stockholder I’m not an investor in the company’s capabilities? WL: When you buy shares of a stock, you are not creating value for the company — you’re just a saver who buys shares outstanding on the stock market for the sake of a yield on your financial portfolio. Public shareholders are value extractors, not value creators. By touting public shareholders as a corporation’s value creators, agency theorists lay the groundwork for some very harmful activities. They legitimize “hedge fund activists,” for example. These are aggressive corporate predators who buy shares of a company on the stock market and then use the power bestowed upon them by the ill-conceived U.S. proxy voting system, endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to demand that the corporation inflate profits by cutting costs. That often means mass layoffs and depressed incomes for anybody who remains. In an industry like pharmaceuticals, the activists also press for extortionate product price increases. The higher profits tend to boost stock prices for the activists and other shareholders if they sell their shares on the market. LP: So the hedge fund activists are extracting value from a corporation instead of creating it, and yet they are the ones who get enriched. WL: Right. Agency theory aids and abets this value extraction by advocating, in the name of “maximizing shareholder value,” massive distributions to shareholders in the form of dividends for holding shares as well as stock buybacks that you hear about, which give manipulative boosts to stock prices. Activists get rich when they sell the shares. The people who created the value — the employees — often get poorer. Agency theory provides academic cover for a process I call “downsize-and-distribute” —something that corporations have been doing since the 1980s, which has resulted in extreme concentration of income among the richest households and the erosion of middle-class employment opportunities. LP: You’ve called stock buybacks — what happens when a company buys back its own shares from the marketplace, often to manipulate the stock price upwards— the “legalized looting of the U.S. business corporation.” What’s the problem with this practice? WL: If you buy shares in Apple, for example, you can get a dividend for holding shares and, possibly, a capital gain when you sell the shares. Since 2012, when Apple made its first dividend payment since 1996, the company has shelled out $57.4 billion as dividends, equivalent to over 22 percent of net income. That’s fine. But the company has also spent $157.9 billion on stock buybacks, equal to 62 percent of net income. Apple calls these distributions to shareholders its “Capital Return Program.” Yet the only time in its history that Apple ever raised funds on the public stock market was in 1980, when it collected $97 million in its initial public offering. How can a corporation return capital to parties that never supplied it with capital? It’s a very misleading concept. The vast majority of people who hold Apple’s publicly-listed shares have simply bought outstanding shares on the stock market. They have contributed nothing to Apple’s value-creating capabilities. That includes veteran corporate raider Carl Icahn, who raked in $2 billion by holding $3.6 billion in Apple shares for about 32 months, while using his influence to encourage Apple to do $80.3 billion in buybacks in 2014-2015, the largest repurchases ever. Over this period, Apple, the most cash-rich company in history, increased its debt by $47.6 billion to do buybacks so that it would not have to repatriate its offshore profits, sheltered from U.S. corporate taxes. As I have detailed in an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, there are many ways in which the company could have returned its profits to employees and taxpayers — the real value creators — that are consistent with an innovative business model. Instead, in doing massive buybacks, Apple’s board (which includes former Vice President Al Gore) has endorsed legalized looting. The SEC bears a lot of blame. It’s supposed to protect investors and make sure financial markets are free of manipulation. But back in 1982, the SEC bought into agency theory under Reagan and came up with a rule that gives corporate executives a “safe harbor” against charges of stock-price manipulation when they do billions of dollars of buybacks for the sole purpose of manipulating their company’s stock price. LP: But don’t shareholders deserve some of the profits as part owners of the corporation? WL: Let’s say you buy stock in General Motors. You are just buying a share that is outstanding on the market. You are contributing nothing to the company. And you will only buy the shares because the stock market is highly liquid, enabling you to easily sell some or all of the shares at any moment that you so choose. In contrast, people who work for General Motors supply skill and effort to generate the company’s innovative products. They are making productive contributions with expectations that, if the innovative strategy is successful, they will share in the gains — a bigger paycheck, employment security, a promotion. In providing their labor services, these employees are the real value creators whose economic futures are at risk. LP: This is really different from what a lot of us have been taught to believe. An employee gets a paycheck for showing up at work — there’s your reward. When we take a job, we probably don’t expect management to see us as risk-takers entitled to share in the profits unless we’re pretty high up. WL: If you work for a company, even if its innovative strategy is a big success, you run a big risk because under the current regime of “maximizing shareholder value” a group of hedge fund activists can suck the value that you’ve created right out, driving your company down and making you worse off and the company financially fragile. And they are not the only predators you have to deal with. Incentivized with huge amounts of stock-based pay, senior corporate executives will, and often do, extract value from the company for their own personal gain — at your expense. As Professor Jang-Sup Shin and I argue in a forthcoming book, senior executives often become value-extracting insiders. And they open the corporate coffers to hedge fund activists, the value-extracting outsiders. Large institutional investors can use their proxy votes to support corporate raids, acting as value-extracting enablers. You put in your ideas, knowledge, time, and effort to make the company a huge success, and still you may get laid off or find your paycheck shrinking. The losers are not only the mass of corporate employees — if you’re a taxpayer, your money provides the business corporation with physical infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and human knowledge, like scientific discoveries, that it needs to innovate and profit. Senior corporate executives are constantly complaining that they need lower corporate taxes in order to compete, when what they really want is more cash to distribute to shareholders and boost stock prices. In that system, they win but the rest of us lose. LP: Some academics say that hedge fund activism is great because it makes a company run better and produce higher profits. Others say, “No, Wall Streeters shouldn’t have more say than executives who know better how to run the company.” You say that both of these camps have got it wrong. How so? WL: A company has to be run by executive insiders, and in order to produce innovation these executives have got to do three things: First you need a resource-allocation strategy that, in the face of uncertainty, seeks to generate high-quality, low-cost products. Second, you need to implement that strategy through training, retaining, motivating, and rewarding employees, upon whom the development and utilization of the organization’s productive capabilities depend. Third, you have to mobilize and leverage the company’s cash flow to support the innovative strategy. But under the sway of the “maximizing shareholder value” idea, many senior corporate executives have been unwilling, and often unable, to perform these value-creating functions. Agency theorists have got it so backwards that they actually celebrate the virtues of “the value extracting CEO.” How strange is that? Massive stock buybacks is where the incentives of corporate executives who extract value align with the interests of hedge fund activists who also want to suck value from a corporation. When they promote this kind of alliance, agency theorists have in effect served as academic agents of activist aggression. Lacking a theory of the value-creating firm, or what I call a “theory of innovative enterprise,” agency theorists cannot imagine what an executive who creates value actually does. They don’t see that it’s crucial to align executives’ interests with the value-creating investment requirements of the organizations over which they exercise strategic control. This intellectual deficit is not unique to agency theorists; it is inherent in their training in neoclassical economics. LP: So if shareholders and executives are too often just looting companies to enrich themselves – “value extraction,” as you put it – and not caring about long-term success, who is in a better position to decide how to run them, where to allocate resources and so on? WL: We need to redesign corporate-governance institutions to promote the interests of American households as workers and taxpayers. Because of technological, market, or competitive uncertainties, workers take the risk that the application of their skills and the expenditure of their efforts will be in vain. In financing investments in infrastructure and knowledge, taxpayers make productive capabilities available to business enterprises, but with no guaranteed return on those investments. These stakeholders need to have representation on corporate boards of directors. Predators, including self-serving corporate executives and greed-driven shareholder activists, should certainly not have representation on corporate boards. LP: Sounds like we’ve lost sight of what a business needs to do to be successful in the long run, and it’s costing everybody except a handful of senior executives, hedge fund managers, and Wall Street bankers. How would your “innovation theory” help companies run better and make for a healthier economy and society? WL: Major corporations are key to the operation and performance of the economy. So we need a revolution in corporate governance to get us back on track to stable and equitable economic growth. Besides changing board representation, I would change the incentives for top executives so that they are rewarded for allocating corporate resources to value creation. Senior executives should gain along with the rest of the organization when the corporation is successful in generating competitive products while sharing the gains with workers and taxpayers. Innovation theory calls for changing the mindsets and skill sets of senior executives. That means transforming business education, including the replacement of agency theory with innovation theory. That also means changing the career paths through which corporate personnel can rise to positions of strategic control, so that leaders who create value get rewarded and those who extract it are disfavored. At the institutional level, it would be great to see the SEC, as the regulator of financial markets, take a giant step in supporting value creation by banning stock buybacks whose purpose it is to manipulate stock prices. To get from here to there, we have to replace nonsense with common sense in our understanding of how business enterprises operate and perform.Tweet Week 4 (the week of bye weeks) is over and even though it was a light week for MVFC games, it was a pretty good one. 2-1 in non-conference games, with both wins being VERY dominating and the 1 loss still a very impressive performance, all things considered. #14 Illinois State at Missouri State (Alumni Day) Birds go 3⃣–0⃣ No. 1 2 Illinois State dominates the second half to defeat Missouri State 34-9 pic.twitter.com/U3vY0FLDD6 — FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) September 23, 2017 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final ILSU 3 3 28 0 34 MSU 6 0 0 3 9 Quick Hits: ISU – QB Jake Kolbe threw for 312 yards and 1 TD with 1 INT ISU – WR Spencer Schnell went into triple-digits with 135 yards receiving ISU – Threw down coming out of halftime with 28 points in the 3rd quarter to put the game essentially out of reach for the Bears ISU – P/K Sean Slattery was 4-for-4 on XP attempts, hit FGs from 48 and 28 yards, and had 4 TBs on kickoffs (helping keep MSU’s dangerous kick returner from making any game-changing plays). For his efforts he was awarded the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award. MSU – WR Deion Holliman scored MSU’s only TD in the game with a 53-yard TD run 42 seconds into the game MSU – Bears defense held the Redbird offense to 6 points in the first half, taking a 6-6 tie into halftime MSU – PK Zach Drake hit a 28-yard FG for the only other Missouri State points in the game, but had 2 blocked and 1 missed kick in the first half. The first half was something of a defensive battle. MSU struggled on kicks, and ISU struggled on holding onto the ball, with a fumble and an interception. The second half however, ISU’s Coach Spack must have found the missing pages of his playbook somewhere under his ‘stache because the Redbirds blew things open with TDs on the next four possessions. Overall outcome was pretty well expected, but took a while to really develop. Illinois State moves to 3-0 and will head back home to take on the 0-3 Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State drops to 1-4 and will face probably their toughest test of the season at the Fargodome, taking on 3-0 North Dakota State at their Homecoming game. My Pick in Review: I said: Redbirds by 14 It was: Redbirds by 25 Fairly close…game was closer than I expected in the first half, but I didn’t really expect the 3rd-quarter offensive explosion. Not too far off with my pick though. Robert Morris at #2 North Dakota State (Trees Bowl) Anyone else think the “Trees Bowl” should be when they take on Indiana State, or is that just me? No doubt in Fargo! The No. 2 Bison blank RMU, 56-0, behind Lance Dunn’s monster game! pic.twitter.com/xYnBsBpCnQ — FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) September 23, 2017 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final RMU 0 0 0 0 0 NDSU 35 14 7 0 56 Quick Hits: NDSU – RB Lance Dunn touched the ball 4 times (3 rushes, 1 reception), had 121 total yards and 4 TDs….yes…4 touches…4 TDs…oh, and a MVFC Co-Offensive Player of the Week Award. NDSU – QB Easton Stick threw for 132 yards and 2 TDs NDSU – had the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the game and Bison defense held RMU to 57 total yards NDSU – R-FR LB Jabril Cox had 8 tackles and a fumble recovery and received the MVFC Newcomer of the Week Award. RMU – Defense had 4 sacks on NDSU QBs Unexpected…nope. Impressive (especially Lance Dunn)…yup. After rolling up 35 points in the first quarter, the Bison eased off the gas a bit, with 14 in the 2nd, and 7 in the 3rd. I generally pay pretty close attention to team’s rosters and I didn’t recognize the names of any of the Bison players who touched the ball in the second half other than the kicker. So..idk…second…maybe third string? Or were they playing intramural flag football dudes by then? NDSU moves to 3-0 and gets another home game next week…against 1-3 Missouri State…for Homecoming. RMU is even at 2-2 and heads down to take on newly-returned Eastern Tennessee State (2-2) next weekend. My pick in Review: I said: Bison by 43 It was: Bison by 53 Pretty hard to get the exact margin on games like this…you never really know exactly when the coach is going to ease up and if they’ll still pop off one or two extra scores or not. I think my pick is pretty solid on this. #19 Western Illinois at FBS Coastal Carolina (Youth Day) D-O-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N! Western Illinois tops Coastal Carolina in 52-10 victory for the Leatherneck’s 2nd straight #FearTheFCS win since 2002 pic.twitter.com/vEEvp1HQFj — FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) September 24, 2017 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final WIU 7 14 21 10 52 CCU 10 0 0 0 10 Quick Hits: WIU – QB Sean McGuire hits 17 out of 19 passes (one just a throw-away due to WRs being covered) for 276 yards and 3 TDs, and had 1 receiving TD. He received both the CFPA FCS National Performer of the Week award and the MVFC Co-Offensive Player of the Week Award. WIU – RB Max Norris had 80 yards and 1 TD, and All-MVFC RB Steve McShane returns after an ankle injury early in game 1 to run for 32 yards and 1 TD and catch for 39 yards WIU – LB Brett Taylor had 8 tackles, 2 for loss and the defense as a whole had 10 tackles for loss (4 sacks), 3 interceptions (one was the last play of the game though…when the CCU QB was just throwing it out to nobody in particular). Taylor received the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week Award for his performance. WIU – Leathernecks defense held CCU scoreless past the first quarter and held them to their lowest rushing yardage and total offensive yardage performance of the season, and held CCU’s top RB (had averaged 112 ypg and 2 TDs per game) to 18 yards and 0 TDs WIU – PK Sam Crosa was 7/7 on XPs and hit a 23-yarder late in the game. CCU – WR Malcolm Williams had 79 receiving yards, and RB Alex James had the only TD for the Chanticleers CCU – PK Evan Rabon hit a 52-yard FG for the first score of the game Well, as a Leatherneck fan, I obviously was hoping we’d win. I don’t think I ever even imagined a beatdown like this to be within the realm of possibility though. The game started off looking like it’d be a back-and-forth battle, but WIU came on strong in the 2nd quarter and went into halftime with an 11 point lead. They then opened up their usual 3rd quarter explosion (45% of our points have come in the 3rd quarter…someone is really good at halftime pep talks), and by the start of the 4th, it was pretty much over. Western Illinois starts the season 3-0 with a FBS win for the second year in a row, despite what that stupid graphic on ESPN said about us starting 3-0 for the first time since 1935…it’s actually the first season we’ve started with 3 games on the road since 1935. Next weekend, WIU welcomes a very impressive USD Coyotes team that includes 8 coaches who were on WIU’s staff two years ago and another coach who played at Western in the ’80s and started his DI coaching career at Western in the early ’90s. So, to say that this one could be a bit personal is something of an understatement. Oh…and it’s WIU’s first home game…and it’s Homecoming…yup. Coastal Carolina drops to 1-2 in their first season as an FBS team and heads to UL-Monroe for their first Sun Belt game next weekend. My Pick in Review: I said: Leathernecks by 1 It was: Leathernecks by 42 Well…I did get the pick right. I’m not going to count this one as a win for me though…Western won, but by an order of magnitude more than I thought they would. That doesn’t count. Southern Illinois at FBS Memphis 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final SIU 14 7 3 7 31 MEM 7 10 17 10 44 Quick Hits: SIU – QB Sam Straub threw for 290 yards and 4 TDs with 1 INT SIU – WR Connor Iwema caught 118 of those yards and 1 TD and WR Darrell James had 43 yards and 2 TDs MEM – QB Riley Ferguson, who threw for 398 yards and 6 TDs against #25 UCLA last week, was held to 288 yards and 2 TDs MEM – RB Tony Pollard had a 100-yard kickoff return for TD at the end of the 3rd quarter A very strong start gave SIU a 7 point lead after 1 quarter and 3 point lead at halftime. Memphis was able to come back in the 3rd, but SIU stayed close, being down by only 3 points late in the 3rd quarter. Tony Pollard’s kickoff return for a TD immediately afterwards was the hammer that crushed any momentum that the Salukis were building at that point. A mistake-prone (and bad-call-prone) 4th quarter ended SIU’s hopes of getting the MVFC’s second FCS upset of the day (and 3rd of the season). Still, when one of the lower teams in the MVFC is down by only 1 score until 1:21 left in the game, against Memphis…that’s still an impressive performance. Southern Illinois drops to 2-1 and heads home for Family Weekend, where they’ll host the 1-2 UNI Panthers. Memphis is now 3-0 and was supposed to play Georgia State next weekend, but cancelled that game to play at Central Florida, as a make-up game for one that was cancelled due to hurricane. My Pick in Review: I said: Tigers by 28 It was: Tigers by 13 I think I’ll count this as a win. I was fully expecting SIU to be able to put up points on Memphis…they’ve got a good offense (last year, the 4th best passing offense in the FCS), but was particularly impressed with the ability of their defense to keep Memphis from completely running away with the game. Overall a rather exciting week, despite a lot of teams being off. Next week though, all 10 MVFC teams will be in action…in all-MVFC games. The Meat Grinder is in full effect now and in two of the games, one top 15 team will win and another will lose.
, highly distorted sensory episode is the last thing humans experience before the end. Consider the consequences of this: what if you die in physical pain or great psychic distress? Seems you would have the Bad Trip of a Lifetime on your way out. Seems like more trouble than most people would ask for, but that’s probably true of many things. Regardless, probably something everyone ought to try to mentally prepare themselves for. I mean, holy shit. Hot Tip: Everything in life can be quantified positively or negatively. Your friend says hello to you: +5 pts Your mom thinks you are mad at her: -10 pts You watch an episode of Frasier on Netflix with your brother and identify with the main characters because they are also brothers: +10 pts You don’t have a very close relationship with your adult siblings: -15 pts You know your dad doesn’t like your music very much: -15 pts He pretends that it is alright but just not for him: +5 pts Sometimes I feel like everything I’m doing and saying is a rude parody of the truth and my reward for this witty satire is being sad. One time a girl put a blanket over my head and said You Are Now Dad but she meant to say Dead and she was embarrassed and then we had sex. I am afraid of men but I am a smart boy so I intellectualize my fear in the form of Cool Shaming and Tight Blaming. If I’m being honest, I would like to be the Number One Dude. I admire strong guys. I like to watch them play sports. I relate to the idea of a Buff Bro. I like a dude so top heavy I can topple him with a good push. I like to push dudes into pools in the summertime. But I guess what I most want is to be in actual love with a woman who actually loves me back until we die painless, unexpected deaths simultaneously, but someone told me this was already done in a bad movie. Regardless, I should probably try to be less of a Fucker and more of a Lover if this is what I really want out of life. Its hard when you’re designed to fuck and kill. 2/5 fucker 3/5 lover is the optimal formula for a Good Man, I think, but I’m addicted to being an idiot and it’s a problem. Imagine if on warm summer nights in the suburbs, the neighborhood dads all hung out on the corners and rough housed and didn’t want to go home. Accidentally went to http://facebook.cop/ and, guess what, now I’m in prison. It’s kind of cool, actually. They let you sleep as much as u want in here. Quick role-playing exercise: a tall man wants to be nice to you. What do you do? (You are a beautiful female dog.) Last night I went to a taping of my roommate’s brother’s rap performance on public access with some friends. They sat us next to the stage and told us to act like we were excited. It was unorganized and no one seemed to know where to look or what to do and the lights were very bright and hot. At the end they had the whole audience get on stage and dance in a soul train line. I didn’t know what a soul train line was and a large black woman took my hand and said Come Here Honey and showed me where to stand. There was an old man who danced with a girl and his main move was that he would stomp his cane on the ground. They kicked me off stage because i was staring into the camera too long after completing my second soul train line. When we left some people said Bye Addams Family and we couldn’t figure out if they meant Addams family like the TV show because we were white or if they meant Atom’s family because my roommate’s brother the rapper calls himself Grizzly Atoms. Incidentally, i can trace the root cause of my disillusionment with the human condition to finding out that all hair is dead. Less incidentally, it is monday and i am wearing a teal t-shirt. I am hiding in a potted plant at the food court. What if you did something really sexy and the only one who saw was your dog. Would you have to get married? Probably not but it’s fun to think about. You can see a lot of Rare Vids of Young Dudes hanging out at home and doing funny voices if you search Just Chillin on YouTube. Go ahead and try this and maybe then you will learn how to love without needing to receive anything in return. Go ahead and admire this bear it doesn’t cost you anything ○”⌒○ ( ・(ェ)・) / ⌒ヽ人＿__つ_つ I think people are prone to suicide because we can experience so much joy. It’s a risk reward thing and its treacherous as shit but v profitable. I like to think of my life as a business and I am the CEO. Haha. I think I am making a lot of money all the time. From 23-25, I lived with a girl I was deeply dedicated to. It didn’t work out, she left me for a guy who used to teach at my high school and tried to sleep with a lot of the freshman girls (he got fired.) People in my social circle and from my hometown, students my age he had pursued while teaching them, would tell me stories about him and I would feel increasingly humiliated. I remember feeling an intense sense of dissociation from myself for extended periods of time, not being able to sense my own body or remember my thoughts. I am convinced that in a certain sense, I died, although I am not sure how this works, to die and keep on living. I moved back in with my parents and started spending 14 hours a day on the internet. I didn’t look for a job and instead would exercise intensely for hours on end, swimming and running, eating a diet of protein shakes and vegetables. I had a new body and couldn’t really feel it. I didn’t have sex with anyone and kept in contact with one close friend from high school who was in his first year of teaching, about to get married, living his life with hope and joy. We would go for long walks and bike rides and talk about everything we thought mattered. We would share stories with the aim of solving problems. I would go home and sit on the computer alone in my room and try to do the same with strangers. People seemed to appreciate it. I certainly did. After a year in the womb, I gave myself permission to start living my life in the real world again. I feel like I have grown years in months, making up for lost time. I am living with old friends, spending my time with them, having conversations, living to the point of exhaustion because it feels necessary. I am working a part-time job and learning how the resale hustle works with my neighbor so I can supplement my income and have some degree of economic freedom. Buying people’s old shit and selling it on the internet seems like the only way a person can live off the land in an urban environment anymore. I guess you could sell drugs too, but I digress. I believe the Marxist idea, that people are alienated from their work and that this has severe consequences, is true and describes our present condition accurately. People were probably only designed by evolution to live in tribal societies, but it seems amazing that we are figuring out how to live in this world that our innate urge to take advantage has helped us build. When I think about people like this, I cannot help but respect us so deeply, and I can only imagine how many problems we will solve in the future. Sometimes think I deserve to be treated like Shit by a Beautiful Woman. I’m jogging 4-5 times a week now, getting fit for this crucial life experience. Incidentally, there actually are full sized alligators in the sewers of New York City and I know because I had sex with one of them. If a meteor can take the dinosaurs away it can bring them back. My grandmother is dating a 90-year-old man with three brown teeth named Carl. She and my grandfather met him at either the church or a swimming facility when grandpa was still alive. I’m not implying that Carl killed him, this isn’t that kind of story, but he did move in pretty quickly after he had passed. I guess grandma didn’t know what to do without having someone to take care of. She is from a farm in southern Illinois and once showed me a picture of her family from the 40s. Her father and brothers were all wearing overalls without shoes. She told me she had made the dress she was wearing with a sewing machine she had saved up to buy. Carl was hiding out in Mexico during the 40s to avoid the draft upon his father’s advice. Toward the end of the war, Carl got worked up and came back with the intent to register for service, but the war ended while he was on the bus. Carl is a man who is always burning to discuss the Big Issues. I visited my grandma’s the other day after work and had a talk with Carl on the back porch. He greeted me by asking me “what’s important?” A life-long Marxist, he says he doesn’t associate with the communists anymore because he is an “independent thinker,” but my dad says he just doesn’t go to the meetings anymore because they stopped picking him up. My dad thinks it’s because Carl is irritating, but that may have something to do with the fact that Carl is sleeping with his mother and refuses to pay for rent or utilities. My grandma insists he doesn’t have to. That is not the point of Carl. After a moment’s thought, I tell Carl that I Am Important. “Let’s talk about you then,” he says with a smile and his three brown teeth make an appearance. They smell and I find it endearing for reasons I have yet to investigate. I tell Carl that I am considering going to law school. He gets excited, his white eyebrows twitch, and he exclaims “Ah! Law! Your ticket to power!” I wait while he raises a finger before gathering his thoughts to make his point. “Being a doctor–that’s a lot of prestige, little power,” he continues. “A teacher–a little prestige, no power. A lawyer–lots of power, no prestige. Well, at least in my opinion.” He tells me he suspects I am “money hungry” and I assure him that I’m not, just tired of working at a bowling alley and writing on the internet and looking for a challenge. He says to me, “When I was your age, I was handsome. But I wasn’t as handsome as you. Now that’s power.” I laugh and suspect he is buttering me up so that I’ll keep talking to him. Carl loves to talk and it can be challenging to listen to him because of 1.) bad breath 2.) he is virtually deaf and you have to shout and speak slowly so he can read your lips 3.) no one likes him because he doesn’t pay any bills even though he has money. I ask Carl what I should do with my power. He says, “well, I wouldn’t cheat.” If you like this article, please subscribe to n+1.The climate event that helped supercharge global warming to record levels in 2015 and 2016 is 50-60% likely in 2017, says World Meteorological Organization The El Niño climate event that helped supercharge global warming to record levels in 2015 and 2016 is set for an early return, according to a forecast from the World Meteorological Organization. What is El Niño? Read more El Niño events are prompted by natural fluctuation in ocean temperatures in the Pacific but have a global impact, leading to flooding, droughts and heatwaves. They also exacerbate the increased extreme weather events occurring due to the continued heating of the world as a result of human-caused climate change. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday that a new El Niño was 50-60% likely before the end of 2017. “Memories are still fresh of the powerful 2015-2016 El Niño which was associated with droughts, flooding and coral bleaching in different parts of the world and which, combined with long-term climate change, led to the increase of global temperatures to new record highs in both 2015 and 2016,” said Maxx Dilley, director of WMO’s climate prediction and adaptation division. It is unusual for El Niño conditions to return so swiftly, said Tim Stockdale, principal scientist at the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), one of the leading prediction centres around the world and which contributed to the WMO forecast. “Normally we would expect a longer interval before another warming. But, having said that, El Niño variability is really rather irregular.” Friday’s forecast is a early one, based on observations, climate models and historical trends. At present the likelihood is that any El Niño event will be a moderate one. “It will become clearer in the next couple of months,” said Stockdale. However, regional warming associated with El Niño has already caused very heavy rains and floods in Peru and Ecuador, after the sea surface temperatures in the far eastern tropical Pacific ocean rose to 2C or more above average during February and March. This phenomenon has in the past sometimes been followed by a global El Niño. Australia placed on El Niño 'watch' as weather bureau puts chance at 50% for 2017 Read more Another concern is that the variation in El Niño over decades may be switching to a new, hotter phase. “For the last decade, the tropical Pacific has tended to be on the cold side, and that has helped keep global temperatures down. With this warming coming back so soon, it makes you wonder if the decadal trend is a bit more on to the positive side,” said Stockdale. “Obviously if that were sustained over the next five to 10 years, it would make the global warming signal stand out more strongly than it has done over the past decade.” The impacts of El Niño events vary but often lead to hot, dry conditions in south and eastern Australia, as well as in Indonesia, the Philippines and south-eastern Africa. The Indian monsoon rainfall, upon which millions depend, also tends to be lower than normal. Wetter than usual conditions are typically seen along the Gulf coast of the US, and the west coast of tropical South America. Facebook Twitter Pinterest El Nino explainer It remains unclear whether climate change is affecting the frequency or severity of El Niño events, partly because with complex phenomena many years of data are needed to distinguish the human-caused and natural influences. The ability to forecast El Niño events has improved in recent years, enabling authorities to make preparations. “Accurate predictions of the most recent El Niño saved untold lives. These [are] essential for the agricultural and food security sectors, for management of water resources and public health, as well as for disaster risk reduction,” said Dilley.A person uses the crosswalk to cross Delaware Avenue at the intersection of Bertha Street on Friday afternoon, June 13, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) A person uses the crosswalk to cross Delaware Avenue at the intersection of Bertha Street on Friday afternoon, June 13, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) Photo: Michael P. Farrell Buy photo Photo: Michael P. Farrell Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Churchill: Black or white, crossing Albany streets isn't easy 1 / 5 Back to Gallery Albany Ty Stewart and I stood like statues at the side of Delaware Avenue, watching and waiting as car after car passed by. We were there because a study from Portland, Ore., said black pedestrians wait at crosswalks 32 percent longer than their white counterparts. Blacks also get passed by twice as many cars before one stops, the study found. Wow, I thought. Would that hold true in Albany? So I enlisted Stewart, a graphic artist at the Times Union, to help me conduct a study. I wanted to see if cars would stop for me, a white guy, more frequently than for Ty, who's black. Our study wouldn't be as thorough as the one in Portland, but we tried to replicate it. The Portland researchers, for example, tried to control for other biases, so they matched six pedestrian volunteers based on weight and height, and dressed them neutrally. Likewise, Ty and I are roughly the same size and age. On the morning of our experiment, we were each wearing plain T-shirts. The Oregon researchers conducted their study at an unsignalized but marked crosswalk. We found something similar at the intersection of Delaware Avenue and Bertha Street, where there's a bright-yellow sign alerting drivers to a well-marked crosswalk. The spot near Cardona's Market seemed ideal in other ways, too. Delaware — dubbed Albany's Main Street — passes through a diverse neighborhood, and it's used by locals and commuters alike. The intersection is also just a half block from the Delaware Community School. Ty and I agreed to meet at 8:45 a.m. Thursday. I assured him he probably wouldn't be hit by a car. The plan was for each of us to cross the street 10 times, and we'd come up with an average of how many cars passed before one yielded. It was gray and humid when Ty launched the study by stepping up to the crosswalk. He stood as a string of cars zipped past before there was a break in the traffic. The Portland researchers had said bias was immediately clear when they conducted their study. So obviously, these Delaware Avenue drivers were a bunch of racist pigs. My turn at the crosswalk. Nobody stopped. Not one car. Ty tries again. Same result. More Information Contact Chris Churchill at 518-454-5700 or email cchurchill@timesunion.com "That's crazy how they just blow right through," Ty said. Me again. No change. In time, it became obvious that no car was ever going to stop for either of us, black or white, purple or green. The Portland study, it turns out, relied on basic civic courtesy that doesn't exist on Albany roads. We couldn't test for bias, because Albany drivers are jerks to everybody. Small cars passed without stopping. Big SUVs did the same. Even an Albany police cruiser refused to yield. "I would have put my money on that school bus," Ty said as it roared up the avenue. One car that passed Ty advised him to "Eat More Kale." It should have said "Eat More Kale While You Breathe My Exhaust." In fairness, traffic wasn't especially heavy. We waited for strings of cars before stepping to the intersection, but drivers probably realized we wouldn't have to wait for long. Still, a crosswalk is a crosswalk, and yielding isn't optional under state law. It's required. The Portland study, conducted by researchers from Portland State University and the University of Arizona, noted that yielding is influenced by judgment. Past studies have shown that drivers are more likely to stop for pedestrians in their own age group, or for pedestrians with canes. I saw an example of that selective kindness on Delaware when a driver actually stopped for a woman standing at the crosswalk with a small child. My eyes nearly welled with tears at the generosity. But Ty and I had no such luck. Maybe we didn't do enough to tug on heartstrings. Some drivers, it's true, looked guilty as they failed to yield. They probably feared being rear-ended. The Portland study's authors say crosswalk bias might explain why black pedestrians are more likely to die in motor vehicle crashes. They may feel compelled "to adopt unsafe crossing behaviors." As time passed on Delaware, I adopted unsafe crossing behaviors of my own. I strayed farther from the curb to show I was serious about getting across. Eventually, I strolled across the northbound lane to stand in the middle of the road. Lo and behold, that's what it took to get a southbound car to yield — the only car that stopped for either of during our 45 minutes of standing alongside the street. cchurchill@timesunion.com • 518-454-5442 • @chris_churchillDavid Cameron will use today's speech to the Business in the Community charity to warn that "we've heard some dangerous rhetoric creep into our national debate that wealth creation is somehow antisocial, that people in business are out for themselves". Cameron's on dodgy ground here. First, he's flip-flopping, which is amusing to see when Labour has opened a clear lead on this issue. But more important, he's completely missing the point. The problems that those of us who campaign against business abuse have are that there aren't free markets, and as such wealth creation is not taking place but has been replaced by corporate abuse and that is not socially progressive and has instead proved to be massively socially destructive. Let me explain. When Cameron refers to business leaders he's invariably talking about the leaders of big business. All, just about without exception, are monopolists or oligopolists. They exploit markets to make excessive profits at cost to consumers. They use those excessive profits to pay themselves vastly inflated sums. That's not wealth creation – that's rent-seeking behaviour that is straightforwardly abusive. In fact, it's just an act of redistribution, but from the 99% to the 1%. We object to that. We demand information so we can appraise what's going on so it can be stopped. That's one of the reasons for demanding country-by-country reporting – which Cameron and the Tories have been cool about. Cameron has shown himself to be on the side of abuse as a result. And those big business leaders exploit their position to avoid tax using tax havens. Cameron and the Tories are encouraging that. First they're doing it by passing new legislation that is going to positively encourage large companies (and only large companies, mind: smaller ones are excluded) to set up their treasury functions outside the UK in future and pay just 5.75% tax on them as a result. Second, while Labour strongly supported country-by-country reporting that would require companies to disclose just what profits they made in tax havens and other countries, and where they do or don't pay their tax, the Tories have gone out of their way to support proposals from big accountants like PWC that do just the opposite because their proposals would ignore all places where no tax was paid – like tax havens. To break monopoly power and rent-seeking behaviour that exploits tax loopholes by exposing it would support wealth creation rather than wealth abuse, but Cameron isn't taking the steps to support that wealth creation. He seems to prefer the continuing secrecy that has supported the abuse. And there are also aren't free markets because government won't provide the regulation to make sure all businesses comply with regulation or pay their taxes, as I've shown. So there's an unlevel playing field. That's a profoundly anti-business policy on the part of the Tories. The result is that Cameron's policies encourage shifting of profits to the greedy, the monopolist, the abuser of the consumer, those who ignore regulation and those who are fraudulent. That's not socially progressive. That's socially harmful. That's why we object to his policies. And whatever the story, while he does not walk the walk, those campaigners like the Tax Justice Network – who believe that being pro-business means being pro-transparency and accountability, being pro-everyone paying their tax and being anti-market abuse measures like tax havens and opacity – will continue to pursue their arguments. Because they're the real pro-wealth creators and real pro-free marketeers, when free means people have the information they need to make proper decisions freely available to them – which is the pre-condition of free markets as anyone who has done some training in economics knows.While the country is broke and Americans whose forefathers founded this nation and paid into the system for generations are being saddled with massive student debt, illegal immigrants are getting $282,220 scholarships and bragging about it on twitter. These pictures were highlighted earlier today by Jared Wyand on Twitter. California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas and Washington all give illegal aliens millions in financial aid. Many states allow illegals (like the ones who rioted last week in San Jose) to get in-state tuition, which is subsidized by taxpayers. Wyand shared the following infographic from FairUS.org showing the cost of illegal immigration in the US. It shows the biggest cost by far is for education. The 13 million illegals number should be taken as a low estimate. As Ann Coulter has noted, the government doesn’t even know how many illegals are in its prisons, let alone the entire nation. Coulter has speculated the total number of illegal immigrants in the US could be 20 or 30 million. Despite Americans being looted to the hilt and giving so much of our money away, we’re still demonized as “racist bigots.” It’s high time we stopped being a nation of cucks and started putting Americans first.Just weeks after federal regulators rejected Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable, Time Warner has a new suitor, Charter Communications. Charter announced a plan to buy Time Warner Cable on Tuesday. Simultaneously, Charter is also planning to buy another, smaller cable company, Bright House Networks. The deal could have big implications for customers of the three companies. Greater efficiencies could lead to lower prices and better technology. But the new, larger company could also make the already bad customer service at these companies even worse and might even threaten competition in the media and internet markets. Here are five things you should know about the deal. 1) The new company will be huge, but not as huge as Comcast Right now, Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable company in the country, after Comcast. Charter is significantly smaller than either of them. Charter says that once it acquires Time Warner Cable and Bright House, the combined company will have nearly 24 million customers, a bit less than Comcast's 27 million. 2) This merger has a better chance of approval than Comcast's did The Comcast deal died because officials at both the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission told Comcast they would try to block it. This deal, too, will require regulatory approval. But there are a couple of reasons to think Charter has a better chance of getting signoff from regulators than Comcast did. The Comcast deal involved the nation's two largest cable companies, and the merged firm would have dwarfed other firms in the industry. By contrast, this latest merger will produce a firm that's still a bit smaller than Comcast, making competition concerns less urgent. Regulators were also concerned about the fact that Comcast owns NBC Universal. There were concerns that Comcast would use its even larger cable footprint to give NBC content an unfair advantage over content from other media companies. In contrast, none of the three companies involved in this deal have significant media holdings (Time Warner Cable was spun off from the Time Warner media company in 2009). So regulators don't need to worry about the newly merged firm favoring its own content over that of competitors. 3) But the merger is not a sure thing While the new post-merger company won't be quite as big as Comcast, it'll still be enormous. And it's conceivable that regulators could oppose it. Charter has a better chance of getting signoff from regulators than Comcast did The Obama administration has been highly skeptical of big telecom mergers in recent years. Not only did they block Comcast's acquisition of Time Warner Cable this year, they also blocked AT&T's attempted purchase of T-Mobile in 2011. And the Comcast decision came shortly after the FCC approved tough new network neutrality rules — both decisions were likely influenced by growing public concern about the power of big broadband providers. On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal reports that regulators are expected to approve AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV. 4) Big cable mergers are about boosting bargaining power with content companies Cable companies operate in what economists call a two-sided market. On one side, cable companies offer cable and broadband internet service to consumers. On the other side, cable companies must acquire content from — and negotiate interconnection deals with — media companies. And these media companies have a lot of clout. The best example of this is ESPN. The sports channel has enough loyal fans that most cable companies feel they can't offer cable packages without it. That gives Disney, the channel's corporate parent, a great deal of leverage, and the company used that leverage to gain ever-higher fees from cable providers. The Charter mergers would give the company more leverage in its negotiations with media giants like Disney. After all, ESPN needs cable companies to distribute its content as much as the companies need content. The larger a cable company is, the more credible its threat to walk away from the table and deprive media companies of revenue and viewers. 5) The consumer benefits from the deal are uncertain There are two ways that — in principle — the merger could benefit consumers. The merged company could play hardball with content providers, get lower fees, and pass those savings on to consumers. The larger company could also have more resources to devote to research and development and upgrading old infrastructure. On the other hand, size has some notable disadvantages. It's probably not a coincidence that Comcast and Time Warner Cable are the least popular cable companies — and two of the least popular companies, period — in America. Enormous bureaucracies tend to be bad at customer service, and making Time Warner Cable even bigger is unlikely to improve the situation. There's also reason for concern that the larger company could undermine the decentralized structure of the internet. In the last couple of years, Comcast has played hardball with large media companies such as Netflix, demanding that they pay tolls to reach their customers. Some consumer advocates view this as a threat to network neutrality. They worry that this kind of pay-to-play scheme could disadvantage smaller online services in the long run, reducing online innovation. Charter's acquisition of Time Warner Cable won't make a huge difference in this debate, but it will increase the dangers of abusive behavior by the merged company.Image: Exxpedition Last November, an all-woman team set out to sail the Atlantic, collecting samples of seawater and plastics as they went. They travelled from Lanzarote to Martinique over three weeks, some of them barely having stepped on a boat before. Their mission, which they named Exxpedition, was to shine a light on several "unseens": the unseen plastics and chemicals polluting the oceans; the unseen women vastly underrepresented in science and adventure; and the unseen research on women-specific diseases, which they feel has a low public profile. The 14-strong crew recently premiered a documentary based on their adventure, Exxpedition: Making the Unseen Seen. In a Skype call, the mission's cofounder Emily Penn explained that she has long been interested in plastic pollution in the oceans; she runs Pangaea Exploration, the company that owns the Sea Dragon vessel the team used to sample plastics. Her focus has recently shifted specifically to the toxic chemicals associated with plastic pollution. "It's become more apparent that the real problem with these plastics in the ocean is actually the toxics that are adhering to these plastics, which then have the potential to carry into the food chain because these microplastics are being mistaken for food and many other animals in the ocean," she said. This hypothesis is set out in a Nature study by ecologist Chelsea Rochman, which found that fish took on chemical pollutants by ingesting microscopic plastic fragments. There's still further work needed to figure out exactly how plastics and toxic chemicals relate and interact. But it's partly the lack of conclusions on this topic that brought the team and their interests together. Enter Exxpedition co-creator Lucy Gilliam, who also sails a lot: She trades goods like rum, chocolate, and spices the old-fashioned way in an engine-less cargo boat with her company New Dawn Traders. When she met Penn three years ago, she was working for the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on policy issues to do with plastic pollution and endocrine disruptors—chemicals that affect the hormone system. Image: Exxpedition Some studies have shown that we have over 700 chemicals we haven't chosen to put in our bodies, some of which fall into that category. "And we don't know what impact they're having on our health," she said. These chemicals have a huge impact on health, and could have some women-specific effects; again, we don't know exactly how they work or what impact they have (hormone regulation is a complex business), but some suggest they could play a role in things like rising breast cancer rates and puberty hitting girls earlier. Then there's the potential of women's health affecting future generations, and Gilliam reckons there's been a disproportionate interest in how chemicals disrupt male fertility. "I think that's partly because the policymakers are men, and they've been focusing on telling that story to try to get them to act," she said. And so the idea of an all-woman team to tell their side of the story was born. "We really wanted to create a platform to ask these questions, because we don't have the answers," said Gilliam. Shanley McEntee and Constança Belchior deploy the trawl. Image: Exxpedition The team conducted a range of different experiments throughout their trip. They regularly collected plastic using a Manta Trawl net, which was capable of gathering fragments above 0.33mm in size. One team member, Jenna Jambeck, was part of a recent Science study that quantified the amount of plastic in the oceans as 8 million tons. She used nano filters to look at pieces smaller than this and is analysing the results in her lab. Jambeck also created an app, Marine Debris Tracker, which the team used to track the floating plastics they came across and record the results of microplastics in their trawls. Citizen scientists can also use the app to record their own findings in a shared database. Constança Belchior, who was also onboard, led development of Marine Litter Watch, another app aimed as a tool for people doing beach clean ups. Swedish scientist Anna Kärrmen's research focuses on toxics, and she carried out a "body burden" study on the women around their trip, to identify some of the chemicals the team had in their own blood. She tested for 30 key indicator chemicals to get an idea of what they'd been exposed to. "Twenty-nine of the chemicals between us were inside us," said Penn. Carrying out the "body burden" test. Image: Exxpedition She had high levels of flame retardants (PBDEs), which the group hypothesised could be down to time she spent around burning electronics while on a waste management project in the Pacific Islands. Another, older member of the team was upset to find DDE, a breakdown product of notorious pesticide DDT, which has been banned since the 70s but that she was likely exposed to as a child. The point of this personal investigation was to show why people should care about issues around these chemicals: They really affect us all. The Exxpedition crew is now working on related projects such as putting together educational resources and presenting to policymakers. Then later this year it's back on the boat for the next mission, which is already recruiting participants. There are certainly less adventurous ways to do science. xx is a column about occurrences in the world of tech, science, and the internet that have to do with women. It covers the good, the bad, and the otherwise interesting gender developments in the Motherboard world.I really like this TED talk from Daniel Kahneman who researches how we perceive happiness. He reveals that we’ve been researching this topic the wrong way by failing to distinguish between our “experiencing self” and the “remembering self”. Our experiencing self really only focuses on the “now” moments, which according to Kahneman, only last about 3 seconds. So the question “how happy are you?” requires people to tap into their experiencing self and judge their happiness in that particular moment. Whereas asking the question “how happy are you when you think about your life” calls on the remembering self to reflect on past experiences and rate the emotion. This year Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, released a book on the topic called Thinking, Fast and Slow, which appeared on quite a few Best Books of 2011 lists. In his talk Kahneman tells a story of someone who had listened to 20mins of beautiful music, at the end of which was a terrible screeching sound. The person recalled that the screeching sound ruined the whole experience, when in fact all it had ruined was the memory of that experience. The happiness that the person felt while listening (experiencing) the beautiful music still remained the same. Another way of talking about the remembering self is to ask “how good is the story of this experience going to be when I tell it later on?”. In the same way that we simplify past and future events, I think we can influence our brains to focus on the positive experiences we have already had, and the good things that will come from events in the future. In doing so, we’ll be able to improve the happiness of our remembering self and feel better about our past decisions, giving us better perception on our future decisions and making for a more satisfied life overall. Have a watch of Kahneman’s fascinating presentation here.Now you see it and now you don’t. Where is the $5 million donation that the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) received from the controversial supplement company Blackmores? And for that matter, where are the two separate $300 000 donations received from the very same company? A number of weeks ago it was listed on Western Sydney University’s (WSU) researcher portal, under Prof Alan Bensoussan’s projects, but now it has been deleted. Maybe because we have written an article about this controversial issue a while ago? It puts us in a spot of bother because the said article had to be updated to clarify that this information has now been deleted from WSU’s website. The only remaining donation from Blackmores is their scholarship funding program to the value of $330 000. The likely reason why this hasn’t been deleted is because these scholarships were reported on in the news, and once that happens it is always difficult to get rid of the information (and yes, scholarship funding is somewhat different than a fist full of cash to be spend on refining your techniques of how to hoodwink people). The same goes for the $500 000 received from the extremely controversial Jacka Foundation of Natural Therapies – this was also in the news and hence it is still listed. But this is also the reason why neither the NICM nor WSU published a press release proudly telling the world about one of the biggest ‘industry’ donations ever received by WSU – once it is in the
animal care team named him Noland and discussed how to save his life. "The team decided the best option would be to try placing Noland with a stray mom cat named Lurlene who had, two days before Noland's arrival, delivered a litter of four kittens," APL director Sharon Harvey said. "Remarkably, Lurlene welcomed Noland into her family, nurturing and nursing him as if he was one of her own. And the kittens were fine with him, too." Noland's mother, Molly, was found later that day, chained behind the home, but she was too emaciated and frightened to care for her puppy, Harvey said, so Noland stayed with Lurlene and her kittens during the day and was bottle-fed at night. When Molly's owner was convicted of animal neglect, Noland and the kittens were thriving together. They were placed in a foster home until they were old enough to be neutered for adoption. "We were a little concerned that Noland would get to be too big and rough for his less robust feline family, but Lurlene had things under control and it didn't take the kittens long to learn how to put him in his place," Harvey and APL director of development, Judy Hunter, wrote to Petco. "Actually, Noland blended in with the family so well, he was even found using the litter box a few times." Noland then was placed in a foster home with a litter of puppies his age, and learned how to be a dog, while Lurlene and the kittens returned to the shelter and all were adopted. When Noland returned to the shelter, he and his mother, Molly, were reunited for play sessions. "Noland had certainly thrived with Lurlene, his feline siblings and foster families as he was nearly 18 pounds when he went home with his new family," Hunter wrote to Petco. Molly fully recovered and learned to trust people, and she, too, was adopted. "Truly, Noland and Lurlene's story encompasses everything we do at the APL -- protecting animals from cruelty and neglect, staff members and volunteers working together to nurse them back to health, finding them wonderful new homes, and learning from them about the power of forgiveness and unconditional love and acceptance," Harvey said. "And when you get right down to it, that's really what it's all about, isn't it?" Rescued horses: Maggie’s Mission horse rescue near Wadsworth offers Stevie for adoption. He is an older quarter horse gelding who, alone or with other horses, is steady on trails. Adoption fee is $200. Contact: gummocat@aol.com. Cleveland pets: The Cleveland Animal Protective League offers various adoption discounts daily through Christmas. Details: Facebook, Cleveland Animal Protective League; 216-771-4616; 1729 Willey Ave. Parma cats: Neutered, vaccinated kittens are $50 and cats are $25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Parma Animal Shelter, 6260 State Road; 440-885-8014, parmashelter.org. Neutering Cleveland cats: The Euclid Beach Feral Cat Project has paid for 70 cats living in the 44110 and 44119 ZIP code areas to be neutered at the PetFix Northeast Ohio low-cost clinic at 885 East 222nd St., Euclid. The group hopes to neuter 30 more this month. Make an appointment by calling 216-732-7040 and mention the project. Details: ebfcp.org, petfixnortheastohio.org. Pet-Santa photos in Valley View: The Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter offers $12 to $30 pet-Santa photos from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at 9500 Sweet Valley Dr. Details: cuyahogadogs.com, 216-525-7877. Brunch for cats in Cleveland: Waterloo Alley Cat Project and deejay Bad Kitty host a holiday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Beachland Tavern, 15711 Waterloo Road. Cat food donations can be brought to the event. Donating pet supplies in Westlake: Dr. Thomas Murphy, an oral surgeon, is collecting pet food and care supplies to distribute to local animal shelters in memory of his dog Rocky. Donors' names will be entered in weekly drawings to win $100 Visa gift cards. Dog and cat food and treats, leashes, collars and cat litter can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and between 8 a.m. and noon Wednesdays and Fridays through Jan. 31 at 28871 Center Ridge Road. Bluebirds: The sixth annual Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp photo contest features the eastern bluebird. Thanks to hundreds of Ohioans who maintain nest boxes, the state’s bluebird population is at an all-time high, according to the Division of Wildlife. The winning photographer receives $500. Submit entries between Aug. 10 and 23. Teen photographers can compete in the youth category. Details: wildohiostamp.com. Stamp sales have raised more than $100,000 to support wildlife diversity through habitat restoration, land purchases, conservation easements, wildlife and habitat research and endangered species protection. Labels for pets: Heaven's Homeless Angels in Wickliffe seeks the weight circles from Purina pet food labels to help pay for food and veterinary care for the shelter's elderly or disabled dogs and cats. Mail labels to Box 654, Wickliffe, 44092. Volunteers needed in Euclid: Euclid Pet Pals needs volunteers Wednesday and Thursday mornings to help clean the shelter at 25100 Lakeland Blvd.; euclidpetpals.net, 216-289-2057. Dog bathers needed in Lorain County: Volunteers are needed to bathe dogs at the Lorain County Dog Kennel, 301 Hadaway St., Elyria. Contact United for Animal Justice; loraincounty.com/ufaj. Pet food: Rescue Bank distributes free pet food to small, nonprofit rescue groups; rescuebank.org, 800-765-6920. North Collinwood cats: Waterloo Alley Cat Project volunteers neuter and feed feral cats in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood. Donations are needed. Checks made out to Northeast Shores Development Corp., with WACP in the memo line, can be mailed to Box 19246, Cleveland, 44119. Details: 216-481-7660. Neuter in Parma: The Northeast Ohio SPCA offers low-cost pet sterilization by appointment Monday through Friday; $26 for male cats, $45 for females, $55 for small male dogs, $65 for small females. Vaccinations are given between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday, at 9555 Brookpark Road; 216-351-7387, northeastohiospca.org. Neuter in Medina: The Quick Fix Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic alters female cats for $50, males for $35 and female dogs for $85, males for $75. Low-cost vaccinations, deworming, flea treatments and heartworm tests are offered without appointment from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays at 930 Lafayette Road, Medina; 330-558-1540, kittenkrazy.org. Cat sanctuary in Lake: Caroline's Kids Cat Sanctuary in Lake County needs cash to help pay its veterinary bill. Mail a check earmarked for vet bills to Box 24068, Mayfield Heights, 44124, or use PayPal at: carolines-kids.org. The sanctuary cares for nearly 300 cats at 7394 Morley Road in Concord Township and is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., or call 440-449-3496 to make arrangements to send a check directly to a veterinary clinic. Cat sanctuary in Geauga: Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary needs Purina dry cat food, Friskies or Nine Lives canned cat food, scoopable cat litter, cat beds, towels, blankets, paper towels, bleach, trash bags, gift cards and cash, that can be mailed to Box 581, Chesterland, 44026. Call 440-759-0076 or email to arrange a time to drop off donations. Volunteers and foster homes are also needed as the shelter is full. Collies, shelties: Almost Home Dog Rescue of Ohio seeks foster homes. The group pays for veterinary care and food for its rescued collies and shelties. Details: almosthomeohio.org, 740-369-6600. Golden retrievers: G.R.I.N., Golden Retrievers in Need Rescue Service, seeks members interested in fostering and fundraising; 216-229-0295, grinrescue.org. Veterinary game: The American Veterinary Medical Association has created a game for pet owners to test their skills at diagnosing and treating animals. AVMA Animal Hospital is available for free through Apple’s AppStores, Google Play and the AVMA website. Clients bring their pets to the virtual veterinary clinic and players race the clock to learn about each animal’s condition, diagnose it and provide treatment. Suitable for children as young as 10. “Games are a great way to learn, and we hope AVMA Animal Hospital helps educate and inspire the next generation of veterinarians,” AVMA CEO Rob DeHaven said. Dog fighting: Anyone with information on dog fighting in Cleveland is asked to call the city kennel, 216-664-3069, or police, 216-621-1234. The Humane Society of the United States offers $5,000 rewards for information on animal fighting; call your local police or sheriff's office and the Ohio attorney general's office at 1-877-244-6446 (1-877-AG4OHIO). If the animal fighter is convicted, ask the law enforcement agency involved to write a letter to the Humane Society stating that your tip helped lead to a conviction. Send it to Reward Program, HSUS, 2100 L St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, or fax 301-721-6414. Puppy mills: The Humane Society of the United States offers $5,000 rewards for information leading to animal-cruelty convictions of puppy mill operators. Call 1-877-645-5847 (877-MILL-TIP). You can remain anonymous. Pet food pantry: The People Care Pet Pantry in Portage County provides free pet food to Ohio families facing hardships and is seeking donations of pet food, toys, collars, blankets, beds, cat litter, gasoline cards, index cards, printer paper and cash. Details: peoplecarepetpantry.webs.com, 330-389-5116. Paying for vet care: The Jake Brady Memorial Fund, named after a beloved Dalmatian, helps low-income families pay for veterinary care for pets with serious injuries or illness; myjakebrady.com, 440-937-4000. Since May 2006, the group has raised more than $80,000 and assisted more than 85 pets. Donations are welcome. Feral cat book: Children can learn about caring for feral cats by reading Linda Elder's new book, "Fairminded Fran and the three small black Community Cats." The 47-page paperback follows Fran's successful campaign to neuter and feed three cats living near her school's Dumpster. Elder is an educational psychologist and president of the Foundation for Critical Thinking. Order it at criticalthinking.org or call 800-833-3645. Ohio rescue: Rescue Me Ohio shares information on rescued dogs, dogs in danger of being euthanized at county pounds, legislative updates, fundraising events, links to pet transportation and financial assistance for pet owners and more; rescuemeohio.org and on Facebook. Free soothing shelter music: Rescue Animal Mp3 Project, founded by North Canton veterinarian Pamela Fisher, gives MP3 players loaded with music to animal shelters and rescue groups to calm caged pets and boost adoptions. Details: rescueanimalmp3.org, 330-266-2500. Send animal news to dJmiller@plaind.com; fax 216-999-6374; 216-999-4852. Get more animal news at cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/animals/index.html and blog.cleveland.com/missing-pets.The latest NHL 18 content update is now available for download worldwide on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. With new and updated arenas across the league, be the first to play in Little Caesar’s Arena, the new home of the Detroit Red Wings. EQUIPMENT: Play like Mitch Marner with new True Hockey brand items: True Hockey True Hockey A6.0 SBP Hockey Stick True Hockey XC9 ACF Hockey Stick True Hockey A6.0 Player Glove True Hockey XC9 Player Glove UNIFORMS: The following uniforms have been updated to NHL 18: NHL – National Hockey League Updated Edmonton Oilers Pants with updated logo Updated Calgary Flames Home and Away Socks AHL – American Hockey League Added Rockford IceHogs Alternate uniform Added WBS Penguins Alternate Uniform ECHL – East Coast Hockey League Added Atlanta Gladiators Alternate uniform Updated Colorado Eagles Home and Away uniforms Added Norfolk Admirals Home, Away and Alternate uniforms CHL – Canadian Hockey League Added Brandon Wheat Kings Home uniform Added Erie Otters Home Uniform Added Saskatoon Blades Home and Alternate Uniforms Added Sudbury Wolves Home and Away uniforms Added Val D’Or Foreurs Alternate Uniform DEL – Deutsche Eishockey Liga Updated Home and Away uniforms for all DEL teams to 2017-18 season National League Updated Home and Away uniforms for all National League teams to 2017-18 season SHL – Swedish Hockey League Updated Frolunda Indians Home and Away uniforms Updated Karlskrona IK Home and Away uniforms Updated Malmo Redhawks Home and Away uniforms Updated Mora IK Home and Away uniforms Updated Orebro Hockey Home and Away uniforms HockeyAllsvenskan Updated Timra IK Home and Away socks EBEL – Erste Bank Eishockey Liga Updated EHC Linz Uniforms Updated Graz 99’ers Uniforms Updated Medvescak Zagreb Uniforms Added 2017-18 Red Bull Salzburg Uniforms ELH – Czech Extraliga Rebranded PSG Zlin to Aukro Berani Zlin (Logos, Uniforms and Center ice logo) ISSUES FIXED: Game Modes Fixed an issue where game rarely crashed when sim intervening into a game due to injuries Fixed a crash during league creation in Franchise Mode HUT Fixed an issue where a user would encounter a crash in gameplay after using the auction house to get a new player Fixed an issue where playing with 12 friends in a HUT game will cause a crash after the first goal is scored Fixed an issue that caused a rare crash at the end of a game in Competitive Seasons Fixed an issue that caused a rare crash when entering your team name and abbreviation in the Team setup screen Fixed Eric Eschweiler’s player portrait EASHL Fixed a crash that was happening on the EASHL Team Matchup screen when entering the screen Fixed an issue where when playing a 6v6 match it would sometimes cause a crash at the opening face-off Fixed an issue where a rare crash occurred on Xbox 1 when a user edited their player’s last name in Player Creation or Edit Player Online Fixed an issue where users could not find an opponent when playing with a local guest Buy your copy of NHL® 18 today. EA SPORTS NHL® 18 delivers the creativity of today's young NHL with new Creative Attack controls and the first-ever Defensive Skill Stick. Play the fast-paced, arcade-inspired 3-on-3 EA SPORTS™ NHL® THREES mode, or reshape the league entirely with the new Expansion Draft and your own custom 32nd NHL team. Do it all with the most co-op and competitive multiplayer options ever delivered in an EA SPORTS NHL game. NHL® 18 is available worldwide now./! jQuery JavaScript Library v1.5 * http://jquery.com/ * * Copyright 2011, John Resig * Dual licensed under the MIT or GPL Version 2 licenses. * http://jquery.org/license * * Includes Sizzle.js * http://sizzlejs.com/ * Copyright 2011, The Dojo Foundation * Released under the MIT, BSD, and GPL Licenses. * * Date: Mon Jan 31 08:31:29 2011 -0500 / (function( window, undefined ) { // Use the correct document accordingly with window argument (sandbox) var document = window.document; var jQuery = (function() { // Define a local copy of jQuery var jQuery = function( selector, context ) { // The jQuery object is actually just the init constructor 'enhanced' return new jQuery.fn.init( selector, context, rootjQuery ); }, // Map over jQuery in case of overwrite _jQuery = window.jQuery, // Map over the $ in case of overwrite _$ = window.$, // A central reference to the root jQuery(document) rootjQuery, // A simple way to check for HTML strings or ID strings // (both of which we optimize for) quickExpr = /^(?:[^)[^>]$\|#([\w\-]+)$)/, // Check if a string has a non-whitespace character in it rnotwhite = /\S/, // Used for trimming whitespace trimLeft = /^\s+/, trimRight = /\s+$/, // Check for digits rdigit = /\d/, // Match a standalone tag rsingleTag = /^(?:)?$/, // JSON RegExp rvalidchars = /^[\],:{}\s]$/, rvalidescape = /\\(?:["\\\/bfnrt]\|u[0-9a-fA-F]{4})/g, rvalidtokens = /"[^"\\ \r]"\|true\|false\|null\|-?\d+(?:\.\d)?(?:[eE][+\-]?\d+)?/g, rvalidbraces = /(?:^\|:\|,)(?:\s\[)+/g, // Useragent RegExp rwebkit = /(webkit)[ \/]([\w.]+)/, ropera = /(opera)(?:.version)?[ \/]([\w.]+)/, rmsie = /(msie) ([\w.]+)/, rmozilla = /(mozilla)(?:.? 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" " : "") + selector; } else if ( name ) { ret.selector = this.selector + "." + name + "(" + selector + ")"; } // Return the newly-formed element set return ret; }, // Execute a callback for every element in the matched set. // (You can seed the arguments with an array of args, but this is // only used internally.) each: function( callback, args ) { return jQuery.each( this, callback, args ); }, ready: function( fn ) { // Attach the listeners jQuery.bindReady(); // Add the callback readyList.done( fn ); return this; }, eq: function( i ) { return i === -1? this.slice( i ) : this.slice( i, +i + 1 ); }, first: function() { return this.eq( 0 ); }, last: function() { return this.eq( -1 ); }, slice: function() { return this.pushStack( slice.apply( this, arguments ), "slice", slice.call(arguments).join(",") ); }, map: function( callback ) { return this.pushStack( jQuery.map(this, function( elem, i ) { return callback.call( elem, i, elem ); })); }, end: function() { return this.prevObject \|\| this.constructor(null); }, // For internal use only. // Behaves like an Array's method, not like a jQuery method. push: push, sort: [].sort, splice: [].splice }; // Give the init function the jQuery prototype for later instantiation jQuery.fn.init.prototype = jQuery.fn; jQuery.extend = jQuery.fn.extend = function() { var options, name, src, copy, copyIsArray, clone, target = arguments[0] \|\| {}, i = 1, length = arguments.length, deep = false; // Handle a deep copy situation if ( typeof target === "boolean" ) { deep = target; target = arguments[1] \|\| {}; // skip the boolean and the target i = 2; } // Handle case when target is a string or something (possible in deep copy) if ( typeof target!== "object" &&!jQuery.isFunction(target) ) { target = {}; } // extend jQuery itself if only one argument is passed if ( length === i ) { target = this; --i; } for ( ; i < length; i++ ) { // Only deal with non-null/undefined values if ( (options = arguments[ i ])!= null ) { // Extend the base object for ( name in options ) { src = target[ name ]; copy = options[ name ]; // Prevent never-ending loop if ( target === copy ) { continue; } // Recurse if we're merging plain objects or arrays if ( deep && copy && ( jQuery.isPlainObject(copy) \|\| (copyIsArray = jQuery.isArray(copy)) ) ) { if ( copyIsArray ) { copyIsArray = false; clone = src && jQuery.isArray(src)? src : []; } else { clone = src && jQuery.isPlainObject(src)? src : {}; } // Never move original objects, clone them target[ name ] = jQuery.extend( deep, clone, copy ); // Don't bring in undefined values } else if ( copy!== undefined ) { target[ name ] = copy; } } } } // Return the modified object return target; }; jQuery.extend({ noConflict: function( deep ) { window.$ = _$; if ( deep ) { window.jQuery = _jQuery; } return jQuery; }, // Is the DOM ready to be used? Set to true once it occurs. isReady: false, // A counter to track how many items to wait for before // the ready event fires. See #6781 readyWait: 1, // Handle when the DOM is ready ready: function( wait ) { // A third-party is pushing the ready event forwards if ( wait === true ) { jQuery.readyWait--; } // Make sure that the DOM is not already loaded if (!jQuery.readyWait \|\| (wait!== true &&!jQuery.isReady) ) { // Make sure body exists, at least, in case IE gets a little overzealous (ticket #5443). if (!document.body ) { return setTimeout( jQuery.ready, 1 ); } // Remember that the DOM is ready jQuery.isReady = true; // If a normal DOM Ready event fired, decrement, and wait if need be if ( wait!== true && --jQuery.readyWait > 0 ) { return; } // If there are functions bound, to execute readyList.resolveWith( document, [ jQuery ] ); // Trigger any bound ready events if ( jQuery.fn.trigger ) { jQuery( document ).trigger( "ready" ).unbind( "ready" ); } } }, bindReady: function() { if ( readyBound ) { return; } readyBound = true; // Catch cases where $(document).ready() is called after the // browser event has already occurred. if ( document.readyState === "complete" ) { // Handle it asynchronously to allow scripts the opportunity to delay ready return setTimeout( jQuery.ready, 1 ); } // Mozilla, Opera and webkit nightlies currently support this event if ( document.addEventListener ) { // Use the handy event callback document.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", DOMContentLoaded, false ); // A fallback to window.onload, that will always work window.addEventListener( "load", jQuery.ready, false ); // If IE event model is used } else if ( document.attachEvent ) { // ensure firing before onload, // maybe late but safe also for iframes document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange", DOMContentLoaded); // A fallback to window.onload, that will always work window.attachEvent( "onload", jQuery.ready ); // If IE and not a frame // continually check to see if the document is ready var toplevel = false; try { toplevel = window.frameElement == null; } catch(e) {} if ( document.documentElement.doScroll && toplevel ) { doScrollCheck(); } } }, // See test/unit/core.js for details concerning isFunction. // Since version 1.3, DOM methods and functions like alert // aren't supported. They return false on IE (#2968). isFunction: function( obj ) { return jQuery.type(obj) === "function"; }, isArray: Array.isArray \|\| function( obj ) { return jQuery.type(obj) === "array"; }, // A crude way of determining if an object is a window isWindow: function( obj ) { return obj && typeof obj === "object" && "setInterval" in obj; }, isNaN: function( obj ) { return obj == null \|\|!rdigit.test( obj ) \|\| isNaN( obj ); }, type: function( obj ) { return obj == null? 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its piece by simply asserting without evidence that "distracted driving has reached dangerous levels") explains AB 1785: The law is designed to stop people from holding their phones for a variety of uses that have become popular in recent years, including checking and posting on Facebook, using Snapchat, scrolling through Spotify or Pandora playlists, typing addresses into the phone's mapping system, or making videos and taking photos. A California Office of Traffic Safety study this year determined that 1 out of 8 drivers on the road is paying as much attention to his or her smartphone as to the road. State road safety officials estimate that some form of distracted driving is a factor in 80 percent of crashes. That's prompted numerous education and enforcement efforts in California aimed at reducing distracted driving. Note the subtle shifting of facts in the second paragraph. More drivers are paying attention to their smartphones, causing distractions. Distractions factor into 80 percent of all crashes. But there is a huge failure there to actually connect smartphone use to an increase in crashes. Crash stats had been going down in recent years but the trend had recently started reversing. A very, very relevant contributor to the shift is that more people are driving more miles as the economy has recovered. That's naturally, statistically going to lead to more collisions. Ed Krayewski looked over the fatal collision stats back in September and found the evidence that phones are making driving more dangerous underwhelming. But politicians see little downside or negative consequence in passing laws that make people feel safer even if they don't, so here we are. The law does allow use of smartphones with voice activation and to touch the phone simply for the purpose of activating or deactivating an app, but the phone must also be placed in a mounted spot inside the car. So anybody sitting there with the smartphone in their lap while having their GPS recite instructions to them is going to be breaking the law, even if they aren't holding it up to their ear or being "distracted" by it. California drivers could face additional fines if they get pulled over even when they aren't using a phone in a way that distracts them simply because it doesn't comply with the very restrictive rules on how the state says you should attach the phone to your car: "either a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the passenger side, or a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield to the driver's left." The fine is $20 for the first offense and $50 for each additional offense. If only there weren't some sort of way for police to evaluate and cite people for behavior behind the wheel that is dangerous to others that is not attached to an absurdly overbroad ban on a piece of technology, blaming it for the behavior and not the driver. Maybe something about those who engage in reckless driving habits without regard to others? Something like that? Read more about the new law here and wonder if it'll still apply when we're all using self-driving cars.Allied troops and ISIS are set to battle for a collapsing dam that would spew nearly 600 times the water of the River Thames onto Mosul if it breaches. Engineers from an Italian company have been tasked with fixing the Mosul Dam's foundations to stop more than 11 trillion litres of water (11.11billion cubic metres) from flooding Mosul. Experts are warning their work could be in vain, and should the catastrophe happen, it is estimated 1.5million people could be killed by the floods in an impact described as 'worse than a nuclear bomb'. Waves of up to 45ft would be unleashed if the dam breaks, and the equivalent to 4.4million Olympic size swimming pools would flood the surrounding areas amid a constant threat from Islamic State terrorists fleeing the Iraqi city. An aerial shot of the Mosul Dam showing the 11billion litres of water it is holding at bay Experts have stated that waves of up to 45ft would be unleashed if the dam breaks A bottom outlet for the Mosul Dam controls the water flow, but the foundations are crumbling This satellite image of the Mosul Dam from February 11, 2007 was coupled with an audit report stating nine years ago it was risk of collapse The Mosul Dam on the Tigris River, around 50 km north of the Iraqi city of Mosul, which would be flooded catastrophically should the structure collapse E ngineers from Italian firm TREVI have 18 months to solidify the dam, which is located 60km north of Mosul. But professor of water resources and environmental engineering at Lulea University in Sweden has said the structure is doomed regardless of who has control of it. 'No matter how much grouting and maintenance the company will do, it may expand the life span of the dam, but it is just going to delay the disaster. 'It is just a matter of time. It will be worse than throwing a nuclear bomb on Iraq,' he told Al Jazeera. The Mosul Dam is holding back the equivalent to 585 times the water in the River Thames at any one time 11billion litres would flood Mosul if the dam were to collapse - the equivalent to one and a half Loch Ness' Meanwhile, some 250 miles away, a battle for another Middle Eastern dam is imminent. Kurdish troops are now just three miles from the Euphrates Dam in Syria, which is under Islamic State control. Talal Sillo of the Syria Democratic Forces said the fighters, with the support of US, French and British special forces, have driven IS from dozens of villages and farms in recent days and now have the strategic dam in their sites. Unlike Mosul Dam, the structure near Raqqa is nowhere near as treacherous as the its Iraqi counterpart. Mosul Dam collapsing would be seen as a 'humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions' and could kill 1.5million people, a US ambassador warned earlier this year. Governments were urged in March to move quickly to prevent a breach of Iraq's largest dam, which would unleash a wave as high as 45ft, devastating Mosul and flooding much of the capital Baghdad. After hosting a meeting with Iraq's UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim to hear briefings on the potential disaster, US Ambassador Samantha Power called on all UN member states to take immediate steps. 'It is crucial that all UN member states quickly get informed about the magnitude of the problem and the importance of readiness to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions,' said Power. If the dam, pictured here, were to breach, waves of up to 45ft would hit the surrounding areas Italian engineers are desperately trying to fix the Mosul Dam and have been given 18 months to do so The ambassador described briefings by technical experts, engineers and representatives from UN aid and development agencies as 'chilling.' The dam in northern Iraq was built on an unstable foundation that continuously erodes, and a lapse in required maintenance after the Islamic State jihadist group briefly seized it in 2014 weakened the already flawed structure. 'In the event of a breach, there is the potential in some places for a flood wave up to 14 meters high that could sweep up everything in its path, including people, cars, unexploded ordnance, waste and other hazardous material, further endangering massive population centres that lie in the flood path,' said Power in a statement released by the US mission. After six months of planning, the Italian company were given the $300million contract which is funded by World Bank to attempt to save the lives of those living near the Tigris river. The dam in northern Iraq was built on an unstable foundation that continuously erodes, and a lapse in required maintenance after ISIS briefly seized it in 2014 weakened the already flawed structure Kurdish Peshmegra forces guard the dam, which is in an area close to land controlled by ISIS fighters The engineers are guarded in the war-torn city by 500 soldiers from Italian and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, according to Al Jazeera. They are tasked with injecting cement mix into the foundations in a process called grouting. A European Commission's Science Centre study published last year stated seven million Iraqis could be affected by floods from the dam.Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Famed Puerto Rican boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho, seen here in 1993, died Saturday, November 24. A gunman shot him in the face two days earlier in front of a bar in his hometown of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Camacho gives the peace sign while watching a 1991 bout between Julio Cesar Chavez and Lonnie Smith in Las Vegas. Camacho was considered a promoter's dream because he was a showman in the ring against some of the greatest fighters of his era. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – In 1992, Camacho sits in his corner between rounds of his fight against Eddie Van Kirk. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Before his 1992 fight against Eddie Van Kirk, Camacho stands in the ring wearing a firefighter hat and an outfit adorned with flames. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Camacho lands a punch to his opponent, Roberto Duran, during their IBC middleweight fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1996. Camacho won in a 12-round decision. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Boxers Sugar Ray Leonard, sitting second from left, and Hector Camacho, right, pose with kids from a New Jersey school during a benefit luncheon at Planet Hollywood in Atlantic City on February 28, 1997. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Camacho pins Sugar Ray Leonard to the ropes as referee Joe Cotez looks on during a bout in Atlantic City on March 1, 1997. Camacho won with a knockout in the fifth round, ending Leonard's comeback effort. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Before the 1997 fight with Leonard, Camacho heads toward the ring dressed as a Roman soldier. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Oscar De La Hoya battles Camacho during a match in Las Vegas on September 13, 1997. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Camacho gets water in his corner during his 1997 fight against Oscar De La Hoya. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years 'Macho' Camacho through the years – Camacho and his son, undefeated super lightweight champion Hector "Macho" Camacho Jr., celebrate their wins in Miami on February 3, 2001. They were the first father and son tandem to share the same boxing card since 1975. Hide Caption 11 of 12Of course, as the global financial crisis so painfully reminded us, markets are far from perfect and it's folly to leave them inadequately regulated. Markets are actually a creation of government, and governments have to continuously supervise them to ensure they don't run off the rails. It's this need for continuous government involvement that can cause problems. Can we be sure government intervention is always aimed at benefiting customers rather than making life easier for the few big companies that dominate many of our markets? Then there's democracy. What if it becomes too easy for capitalists to take advantage of the institutions of democracy to get the rules of the game bent in their favour? Of all the columns I wrote last year, the one that drew the biggest reaction was called ''The four business gangs that run America'', quoting a book by Professor Jeffery Sachs of Columbia University. Sachs wrote that four key sectors of US business exemplified the takeover of political power in America by the ''corporatocracy'': the military-industrial complex, the Wall Street-Washington complex, the Big Oil-transport-military complex and the healthcare industry. I ended the column by saying that ''fortunately, things aren't nearly so bad in Australia''. It's true, they're not. But, in a paper to be issued on Wednesday, ''Corporate power in Australia,'' by Dr Richard Denniss and David Richardson, of the Australia Institute, we're reminded that things here are far from ideal. The authors argue that ''big business exerts influence through campaign contributions, influence over university funding, sponsorship of think tanks and in other ways''. The four most disproportionately influential industries in Australia, they say, are superannuation, banking, mining and gambling. Employers in Australia are required by law to remove 9 per cent of employees' pre-tax wages and deposit it in a superannuation account the employees can't touch until they retire. The industry has now persuaded the Labor government to gradually increase this to 12 per cent. Thus the government has compelled almost all employees to become the customers of a particular industry. The average management fee paid by Australians with a retail super fund is about 2 per cent of their fund balance each year. So someone with a balance of $100,000 is paying a fee of about $2000 a year, or nearly $40 a week. This is more than the average Australian pays for electricity. After the compulsory contribution rate is raised to 12 per cent, these annual fees will have increased by a third. To be fair, the government is working to oblige the super industry to give its captive customers a better deal. But it is encountering - and yielding to - much push-back from the industry. According to the authors, our big four banks are among the eight most profitable banks in the world, with the International Monetary Fund saying we have the world's most profitable banking system. Over the years, the big four have been allowed to acquire or merge with 15 of their rivals, with the authorities continuing to insist the industry is competitive. Since the global financial crisis, the big four's market share has risen from 74 per cent to 83 per cent, the authors say. Both sides of politics profess to be highly disapproving when the banks seek to protect their profit margins by failing to pass on all of a cut in the official interest rate. But the pollies rarely match their words with deeds. Their efforts to increase competition are quite timid and some measures actually make life easier for the banks. Last year the mining industry accounted for more than a fifth of all the profit made in Australia, even though it had a much smaller share of the economy. This was mainly because the royalties charged by the state governments failed to capture enough of the market value of the minerals the largely foreign-owned miners were being permitted to extract. When the Rudd government tried to correct this with a resource super profits tax, the industry set out to bring about its electoral defeat, Tony Abbott saw his chance and sided with the industry, and Julia Gillard backed off rapidly, settling for a new tax that seems to be raising little revenue. Gambling is a small industry, but incredibly lucrative, partly because it's so tightly regulated. Whether it's the way the O'Farrell government is accommodating James Packer's ambition to expand in Sydney or the way Gillard welched on a written agreement with Andrew Wilkie under pressure from the licensed clubs, the industry's political power is apparent. When politicians worry more about pleasing certain industries than about serving the people who elect them, we have a problem.We’ve gathered the details found on this page from the most reliable sources available to us. Since we did not set up any of these shows the information we provide is not a guarantee. If you want a show added, please use this form. May 18 PEARS, HiGH, Hard Pipe Hitters, New Cold War The Dive \| 21+ \| 8pm May 24 Agent Orange, Guilty By Association, Spider, Shiners Club Beauty Bar \| 21+ \| 8pm MAY 24 Mad Sin, Nekromantix, Turbo A.C.’S, The Creepshow and more Fremont Country Club \| 21+ MAY 24 The Bronx, The Dwarves, The Shrine, Fireburn, Sciatic Nerve,One Square Mile Bunkhouse Saloon \| 21+ MAY 25 Fishbone, The Aggrolites, The Steady 45’s, Monkey Place On 7th \| 21+ MAY 25 7 Seconds, Youth Brigade, Pistol Grip, Stretch Marks, Brand New Unit Fremont Country Club \| 21+ MAY 25 Hagfish, Radioactivity, Bar Stool Preachers, Bothers Backstage Bar & Billiards \| 21+ MAY 25 Joey Cape, Tim Barry, Joe Mcmahon, Elvis Cortez Beauty Bar \| 21+ MAY 26 Punk Rock Bowling ft. Rise Against, Suicidal Tendencies: Cyco Punk Set, L7, GBH, The Marked Men, D.O.A., Noi!se, Resistance ’77, The Father Figures Downtown Las Vegas Events Center \| All \| 3pm MAY 27 Punk Rock Bowling ft. Nofx, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Turbo Negro, The Partisans, The Briefs, Swingin’ Utters, Larry and His Flask, Noi!se, Crazy & The Brains, The Atom Age Downtown Las Vegas Events Center \| All \| 3pm MAY 27 Secret Guest, Days N Daze, Rats In The Wall, Fiends Backstage Bar & Billiards \| 21+ MAY 27 The New Darkbuster, The Beltones, The Generators, The Bad Engrish Place On 7th \| 21+ MAY 27 Hot Water Music, Strike Anywhere, Dead To Me, Cobra Skulls, Nothington, Modern Terror Bunkhouse Saloon \| 21+ MAY 27 Greg Lee, Jesse Wagner, Chris Murray, Dj Low Life Sound System Beauty Bar \| 21+ MAY 28 Punk Rock Bowling ft. At The Drive In, X, Suicidal Tendencies: Cyco Punk Set, Against Me, Steve Ignorant & Paranoid Visions (performing CRASS), Angelic Upstarts, Slaves (UK), Buster Shuffle, The Birth Defects, Svetlanas Downtown Las Vegas Events Center \| All \| 2pm MAY 28 Punk Rock Karaoke, The Phenomenauts, Agnostic Blunt Fremont Country Club \| 21+ MAY 28 Laura Jane Grace, Lenny Lashley, Darius Koski, Devin Peralta Beauty Bar \| 21+ JUNE 26 Warped Tour feat. Reel Big Fish, Knuckle Puck, State Champs, Four Year Strong, Simple Plan, Real Friends, The Used, Every Time I Die and more Downtown Las Vegas Events Center \| All \| 11amEverything NASA’s been saying about Mars is a lie. Curiosity isn’t real. Neither are mohawks. I know this because I’ve been to Mars. I’ve shed blood and tears there. I’ve gardened there. Or at least, that’s the reality Waking Mars presented me with when I played it on iPad, and I refuse to believe that the real deal could be any less magical. In essence, you run around playing incredibly irresponsible god in a giant red sandbox of ecological possibility. Most of the plants are practically animals in nature, and watching different species hunt/be hunted/confuse the hell out of each other is a total joy. But will Waking Mars preserve that feeling of constant discovery during its rather giant leap to PC? I think so! And I’ll tell you why in a moment. But first, the concrete details: Joystiq brings word that Waking Mars will finally touch down in our corner of the platform galaxy on November 6th via the Humble store and its own official website. (Alternatively, it’s been trying to climb the semi-invisible ladder in Greenlight land for a couple months. I suppose you could always wait and see how that goes.) Upgrades include full voice acting, snazzy high-res visuals, and all-important mouse-and-keyboard support. As for the actual viability of Waking Mars as a PC game, I think it’ll be just fine. Actually, I feel like it’s a much better fit for this type of interface, all told. Controls involve a lot of pointing and aiming (to plant seeds), and exploration unfolds very similarly to a simple Metroidvania – but with more jetpacking. So assuming Tiger Style handled the port with its typical, large-cat-like precision, I don’t think there’s much to be worried about. You want to learn more, you say? That’s a good attitude. We could use more folks like you on fictional animal garden Mars. In the meantime, though, this video ought to bring you up to speed.Building The 606, Bridge By Bridge By Gina Provenzano in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 9, 2014 3:00PM Photo credit: BlueFairlane Deciding to overhaul 2.7 miles of abandoned elevated train tracks, as you might expect, is a huge undertaking. But this Saturday, Oct. 11, you can learn exactly how crews are working to turn The 606 Trail into Chicago's first recreational greenway park of its kind. The Bucktown-Wicker Park Library will host Bridges: Up, Over, Through and Down, the latest installment of the Trail Mix Series presented by The Trust for Public Land. At this kid-friendly event you can take an in-person look at construction of the Milwaukee Avenue Bridge and learn how crews worked to knock down and reinstall over 38 bridges and viaducts that span the trail. You can even get hands on and engineer your own toy bridge to take home. This talk runs from 11 a.m. until 2p.m. and is free to the public. An RSVP is recommend. For a full list of Trail Mix events check out the606.org The Bucktown-Wicker Park Library is located at 1701 N Milwaukee AveTrudeau courtship of labour at odds with Liberal criticism of NDP union office Liberal leader Justin Trudeau takes part in a TV interview on budget day on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 21, 2015. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's courtship of the labour movement has hit a rocky patch. He's facing a backlash from labour leaders after Liberals complained earlier this week about parliamentary office space provided by the NDP to their staffers' union local. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's courtship of the labour movement has hit a rocky patch. He's facing a backlash from labour leaders after Liberals complained earlier this week about parliamentary office space provided by the NDP to their staffers' union local. Three union leaders have sent angry letters to Trudeau, accusing the Liberals of unfairly dragging the labour movement through the mud in order to score partisan points against the NDP. And they're questioning the sincerity of Trudeau's commitment to labour rights. To frame the existence of the union local office on Parliament Hill "as somehow illegitimate is not only partisan and unjust," wrote Paul Meinema, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada. "It also sends a message from the Liberal Party of Canada that unions and the labour movement can be abused... as cannon fodder in a partisan political battle." While labour expects union-bashing from the governing Conservatives, Meinema added it's "certainly not expected from a Liberal opposition party that, in advance of the next election, has pronounced its commitment to labour rights, the union movement and fairness for working people." Trudeau has been making a concerted effort of late to woo support from the labour movement, which has traditionally been more aligned with the NDP. In a speech to firefighters on Monday, he promised a Liberal government would repeal "anti-union" legislation introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives and offered effusive praise for unions, which he described as "one of the few remaining forces that fight effectively for the fair wages that Canada's middle class needs." But only a few days later, union leaders were infuriated by comments from Liberal House leader Dominic LeBlanc, a member of the secretive board of internal economy which polices the use of parliamentary resources by MPs. LeBlanc called it "very bizarre" that the NDP are "using taxpayers' money to fund their union operation out of their leader's office." The arrangement "completely blurred the lines" about the proper use of parliamentary resources, he said. A Conservative MP later lodged an official complaint against the arrangement with the board of internal economy. The NDP is the only federal political party whose staff is unionized. As part of its collective agreement with staffers, the party has provided office space on Parliament Hill since 1997 for the union local. In separate letters to Trudeau, the leaders of the UFCW, United Steelworkers and Canadian Union of Public Employees argue that it's routine for union locals to be provided office space in the workplaces of those they represent. CUPE national president Paul Moist said the arrangement is aimed at fostering timely and productive labour relations and is a common feature of collective agreements in the public sector, as well as the private sector. "We have encountered no partisan critiques of this labour relations practice such as a member of your caucus has launched," Moist added. The House of Commons provides office space in the parliamentary precinct for other union locals, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Steelworkers national director Ken Neumann said LeBlanc's comments betray "a total lack of understanding of the most basic principles of trade union representation." "We are very concerned that he would choose to attack a basic trade union right that has been freely negotiated and, in so doing, attack the legitimacy of the trade union movement." Neither LeBlanc nor Trudeau's office responded Friday to a request for comment on the union leaders' letters. In Regina, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair made no apologies for providing office space. "Like all unionized workplaces, the employer does provide space for the union. That's been provided for years and years under our collective agreement. There's never been any secret about that," Mulcair said. He professed to be "terribly surprised" that the Liberals would question the practice, characterizing it as an "attack labour's right to organize and represent workers." Since last year, the NDP's more than 600 staffers have been represented by UFCW local 232. They were previously represented by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, which merged with the Canadian Auto Workers in 2013 to form Unifor. Follow @jmbryden on TwitterEdmonton's maximum-security prison is operating on a dystopian system of fear, harassment and bullying — where a handful of employees have seized control and abuse their power to stay on top, according to an internal report obtained by CBC News. Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) ordered the report around the time it came to light that some male guards missed some inmates' calls for help while they had sexually explicit conversations about their female coworkers, using work phones. The report describes a toxic culture at the Edmonton Institution, where bad behaviour is on full display but often goes undisciplined, and employees are afraid to tell managers about infractions, like abuse of co-workers or inmates, for fear of retribution. The toxicity in the Edmonton prison was so prolific that the investigators compared it to "the Blob," from the 1950s sci-fi movie. "Many of the people who become part of it are good people but helpless against its power," reads the report. "How do you get rid of something so all-consuming?" 'Truly broken' Last fall, the CSC's deputy commissioner Peter Linkletter tasked an independent consulting firm with looking into the Edmonton Institution's working environment. The firm picked 83 current and past employees at random to answer a set of questions during hour-long interviews. The firm also interviewed 23 others, including experts, union representatives and senior managers. Employees reported harassment, bullying and intimidation at most levels, the report said, from management down. They also referred to five or six people in particular who used bullying and intimidation tactics to wield power. While those people are not named in the report, it suggests employees knew who they were and feared them. "Some felt guilty that they had turned away from watching actions that others did that were wrong — abuse of other staff or inmates. Why? In part, because they feared retribution from bullies," the report reads. The report offers 40 recommendations for change at the maximum-security prison. (CBC) The report's summary goes on to describe how people who raise concerns at the prison are reportedly bullied, gossiped about or left without backup while on the range with prisoners. The employees said they interpret these actions as threats to their careers and personal safety. "There was a strong sense among interviewees that EI is truly broken. It can only be described as a culture of fear, mistrust, intimidation, disorganization and inconsistency," the report said. There were also allegations that employees used lockdowns, searches and safety complaints to "rile up inmates, to shirk their responsibilities, or to get back at management." The report notes that the Edmonton Institution has seen a spike in searches since 2015. The document — dated March 12, 2017 — offers 40 recommendations for change. They include sending new employees elsewhere for training during the first six weeks of employment, putting the six kingpin employees on notice, and designating a "respected person" to take on harassment complaints for at least three years. Sexual harassment underreported CBC has spoken with four correctional employees who have direct knowledge of the conditions in the prison. They are not being named due to concern for their safety and their jobs. Their accounts not only corroborate the report's contents, but they say in some cases, the issues described are worse in reality. Sexual harassment, for example, is mentioned in two short paragraphs that open with "our observations of the interactions between men and woman at EI were generally collegial and respected [sic] … There are still staff who have not overcome the view of women as sexual objects, rather than equal colleagues." Federal correctional investigator Ivan Zinger called the report's findings'shocking.' (CBC) Sexual harassment amongst staff at the prison is rampant, the sources say, and can begin from day one. Male trainers have been known to suggest that female recruits must offer them sexual favours in order to "pass" their training, they say. "There needs to be an independent second party for people's grievances and complaints. They need someone who feels safe to go to, to initiate the investigation, and to protect these people," one source said. "I don't see how anything can change without a management change and specialized corporate people involved." The CSC turned down multiple requests for an interview. But spokesperson Jeff Campbell wrote in an email that the organization supports the recommendations and has struck a committee to address them. "We do not tolerate any breach of our policies and all allegations are thoroughly investigated regardless of the source," he said in a statement. 'It's like Lord of the Flies' Canada's correctional investigator Ivan Zinger said his office has recently received so many human rights abuse allegations from the Edmonton Institution that his team wrote to the CSC commissioner directly to ask for an independent report on the workplace. It was only the second time in his office's history that they have asked for action on a labour issue. "It is shocking. There's no doubt some strong intervention is required," Zinger said. Glenn French, president of the Canadian Initiative on Workplace Violence, said the report shows there's been "a failure in leadership" at the Edmonton Institution. "I was appalled, frankly," French said. "It's like Lord of the Flies." He said he was particularly struck by the mentions of harassment or assault against inmates, and by the fact that the toxicity was reported to have saturated all levels. "Something quite dramatic needs to happen, in my view."There's not a dime's worth of difference between Senator McCain and Senator Obama. The viewers of this first presidential "debate" missed the opportunity for a true debate because the viewpoints I represent were not raised. This was clearly a debate between big government and bigger government. The proposals for spending taxpayers' hard-earned money for everything from bailing out Wall Street to bailing out Georgia (theirs, not ours) are simply irresponsible. We, the United States, are living way beyond our means, and in this debate, there was not a single recognition--let alone an alarm cry--for the runaway spending of our government. Senators McCain and Obama honestly believe that the American taxpayers have endless amounts of money available for Washington politicians to hand out to their favorite cause of the day. We have been told that the Wall Street bailout is needed in part because there is a credit crunch. If our government wasn't so fiscally irresponsible, and we had not amassed a $9.5 trillion dollar debt, there would be more money available for the private sector to deal with this credit crunch. Second, there should be no mad dash to pass any legislation; let alone legislation that can cost taxpayers a trillion dollars. Legislation creates lasting obligations, which are easier to create than to cancel. Already, the initial three-page bailout bill has swelled to more than 100 pages. Bailing out some of the financial institutions, like Bear Stearns a few months ago, encourages other companies to forego typical market place measures for dealing with their bad investments in hopes of receiving immunity, and a reward, for their mismanagement from Washington bureaucrats. With Bob Barr in the debate, you would have heard about the need to involve the Justice Department to find out if fraud or any other criminal behavior led to this Wall Street crisis. Accountability was not present in tonight's debate; just the repetitive refrain that the taxpayers have to pay for the mistakes of Wall Street, no matter what the cost might eventually add up to. On foreign policy, I was getting dizzy with all the places they want to inject our military forces. Both McCain and Obama need to be reminded that our military comes under the Department of Defense, not the Department of Offense. I will defend the US from attack, but I will not use force except when an attack on the US is an imminent, clear and present danger, or in response to an attack. Our service men and women are not the world's policemen, and we have no business occupying other countries like Iraq. The debate tonight convinced me that neither McCain nor Obama want to, or can, change the direction of our country. With roughly 80 percent of all Americans saying our country is headed in the wrong direction, I am the only candidate who embodies their hope for true change. The Washington establishment doesn't want to face up to the challenges next administration will inherit. If you're part of the 55 percent or more of voters who think the debates would be enriched by having me in them, let the news media know your feelings. The establishment will respond if public opinion is strongly in favor of my inclusion in the next two presidential debates.Daniel Eran Dilger Regular readers will recall that when Safari for Windows shipped, I suggested Apple was likely looking to move its Mac OS X Cocoa development model into the Windows arena in order to broaden Cocoa’s visibility and adoption. Over the last year, I’ve also outlined Apple’s efforts to starve Adobe’s Flash and AIR (and by extension, Microsoft’s me-too Flash plugin called Silverlight), at a time when pundits have insisted that Flash was a vital missing element on the iPhone and that Apple could/should/would be scrambling to port Flash to it. It might be a surprise to find that Apple’s air supply attack on Flash and its interest in dusting Windows with Cocoa are actually related. Cuckoo for Cocoa: Is Safari on Windows the next iTunes? Safari’s Controversial Potential as a New Yellow Box for Windows Gone in a Flash: More on Apple’s iPhone Web Plans Flash Wars: Adobe in the History and Future of Flash A Few More Surprises. It might also come as a surprise that Apple will soon release a suite of apps that will join QuickTime, iTunes, and Safari on the Windows platform. Like Apple’s existing Windows apps, the new ones will all put the Mac OS X user interface in front of millions of new users. Additionally, they will also advance Cocoa-style development in front of a much larger audience, because Apple is also giving away the frameworks it used to create those new apps. Another surprise is that all those apps will also run cross platform on Linux. How will Apple do this? Not by shipping a large, cross platform Yellow Box runtime for various other operating systems as it attempted to do back in 1997. Instead, Apple is refining Cocoa for deployment within the web browser to enable developers to build those so called “Rich Internet Applications” that Adobe wants users to build in Flash/Flex/AIR, Microsoft in Silverlight, Sun in Java, and so on. Cocoa and the Death of Yellow Box and Rhapsody RIA MIA. Despite the marketing efforts of Adobe, Microsoft, Sun, and other RIA toolkit vendors to generate a level of RIA hype that echos the client Java excitement of the mid 90s or the thin client enthusiasm of the late 90s, RIAs haven’t really taken on the world by storm. Instead, Flash, Silverlight and other proprietary tools and their required runtime plugins are all still aiming at some future date when they can claim the status of being the platform monopoly in RIA development. However, many of the most popular rich web apps today are from Google, including Maps, Reader, Docs, and Sheets. Google’s rich web apps take on Microsoft Office desktop apps without even needing Flash, Silverlight, or Java. Instead, Google simply uses open web standards: HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. If Google’s leading rich web apps avoid using those proprietary plugins, why should anyone else resort to using Flash or something similar? Google’s frequent partner Apple has been thinking along the same lines, scrubbing its website of all unnecessary Flash elements and building everything in those same open web standards: HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. The Challenge of Funding Open Tools Development. One might think that all web developers would flock to free and open solutions rather than selling themselves into slavery to a propriety web-like platform such as Flash or Silverlight. After all, once they’re dependent upon those runtimes, the power will lie with Adobe and/or Microsoft and competitive pressures to improve those tools will dry up, just as Windows and Internet Explorer flatlined after reaching their monopoly critical mass. Of course, one might also think that PC makers would
that might seem insignificant to outsiders. For instance, IS members have begun to mask their faces while walking in the markets and punishing civilians in public, out of fear that the tables might turn on them. What scares Mosul residents most is that they cannot leave the city. Mosul resident Ahmad Hamdani and his family have been trying to relocate to any region controlled by the Iraqi state for two weeks but to no avail. Khaled Younis, a travel agency manager, told Al-Monitor, “Many families are seeking an escape, as they feel the danger is approaching. The expected military operations will be harsh, but IS militants have ordered us to suspend flights and close travel agencies.” A doctor from Mosul told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the new instructions issued by IS only allow sick people to leave, provided they give proof of the impossibility of treatment in Mosul hospitals. A committee led by a Tunisian doctor who is an IS member was delegated with distributing medical reports. Healthy people can no longer obtain travel permits. The Iraqi doctor is one of the few who is allowed to travel to Baghdad to visit with his family. They have been apart for four months, and he stayed only two weeks in Baghdad before returning to Mosul. He was only allowed to travel on condition of his return, which one of his relatives had to guarantee, lest he be killed. These unprecedented measures have intimidated many citizens and made them all the more aware that IS militants will fight until death. IS is playing a very dangerous card by using Mosul's 1.5 million residents as a human shield. A humanitarian catastrophe is looming. The majority of Mosul residents are no longer free to make decisions in their lives. Most have caved to the pressures and accepted their fate. Meanwhile, they await the imminent battle. Many families have even started storing food supplies in anticipation of an unknown future.Share. The endangered series list is no more, now that final decisions have been made. The endangered series list is no more, now that final decisions have been made. Update (5/21/14): Welcome to the 2014 edition of the IGN TV Show Obituary, formerly known as the "Endangered Series" list. With all of the broadcast networks having announced their fall lineups last week (and thus making their final renewal and cancellation decisions) it's time to put another endangered list to bed... Per usual, you'll find shows below that ended for very different reasons. A lucky few got to end "naturally," with pre-announced final seasons and true series finales. But for the unfortunate remainder, whether after one season or five, the show was more abruptly cancelled - some series with more closure than others when last we saw them. Note that our focus here is specifically on broadcast network series that ran during the traditional TV season, so cable shows (which don't operate under the same September-May TV season cycle) or summer series are not included. Almost Human This J.J. Abrams-produced series, from Fringe's J.H. Wyman, never found the larger audience Sleepy Hollow did in the fall, yet it also averaged only slightly lower ratings than The Following (which is renewed) on Mondays. However, The Following's audience was larger when DVR usage was factored in, and with FOX having already renewed many series and ordering a lot of news ones early, the decision was made to end the buddy cop series after one season. Exit Theatre Mode The Assets This semi-experimental series, produced, oddly, by ABC's news division, was a quick bomb out of the gates and yanked after two horribly-rated airings. Back in the Game Among ABC's new fall comedies, this little league-centered one, starring Maggie Lawson and James Caan, was the only one not to make it into the spring, cancelled with three episodes left unaired. Exit Theatre Mode Bad Teacher Picked up to series after the usual Upfronts announcements last year, and then debuting very late in the season, it was hard not to feel CBS was somewhat just throwing Bad Teacher out there. Unfortunately, while it only was on the air for a few weeks, its ratings dropped below the also-cancelled The Crazy Ones and CBS decided to end the show. Exit Theatre Mode Believe While it debuted to okay numbers, Believe quickly fell subsequent weeks, despite the notable pairing of J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron. Exit Theatre Mode Betrayal There was no way ABC was bringing back this dud, which was virtually ignored on Sundays in the fall. The Carrie Diaries Friday nights are certainly not a death sentence on The CW, but The Carrie Diaries, moved to Fridays in Season 2, did not find the same foothold other shows have in the past for the network. Community Yeah, this one hurts. Community had been on the bubble for years, yet always managed to get a last-minute renewal. The shows chances seemed more optimistic this season than before, but ultimately, NBC decided to end the show after Season 5 - breaking the prophecy of six seasons and a movie! There is some hope that Sony, who produce the series, will find another outlet for Community, but for now, the show is over. Exit Theatre Mode The Crazy Ones Despite the star power of Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Crazy Ones -- standing out as a single camera series among multi-camera fare --- didn't draw the same size audience as any of the shows on CBS' Thursday night comedy lineup. Crisis Like the show it was paired with on Sundays, Believe, Crisis didn't find a lot of viewers in its early weeks, leading to its quick demise. Exit Theatre Mode Dads This Seth MacFarlane comedy was a critical punching bag in the fall, yet actually was sometimes getting better ratings than other shows on the same night, including the now-renewed The Mindy Project. Still, with no real buzz to accompany it and the number of episodes ordered cut in Season 1, it was one and done for Dads. Exit Theatre Mode Dracula Like Hannibal, Dracula was an international coproduction, making it less expensive for NBC. However, its critical reception was mainly the opposite of the series it shared a timeslot with and it wasn't believed to be as cheap for NBC as Hannibal on a cost level. Enlisted While Enlisted had a lot of critical support and a small but passionate fanbase, it had an uphill battle to fight from the moment it premiered, given how much smaller the sampling would be for it on Fridays. The show was eventually pulled from the schedule with four episodes left unaired, and alas, finally cancelled. Exit Theatre Mode Friends with Better Lives CBS gave this midseason series a terrific launching pad, airings its premiere after the high-rated How I Met Your Mother finale. However, when it began to fall in the weeks after, it was given a quick cancellation. Exit Theatre Mode Growing Up Fisher While did better than the entire Thursday night lineup does for NBC, it was still dropping from About a Boy's lead-in, which itself was obviously benefiting from The Voice running before it. Not feeling there was much of a fanbase for Fisher on its own, NBC ended the series. Exit Theatre Mode Hostages CBS' attempt to launch a serialized, shorter-season show, outside their usual procedural comfort zone, Hostages failed to resonate in the fall. How I Met Your Mother Going from a bubble show to a strong hit, How I Met Your Mother was a big success story for CBS - ultimately going for a rather amazing nine seasons. Some criticize the show for going on too long, but regardless, this was the year CBS, the producers and the well paid cast decided to wrap up Ted's very detailed story to his children. Exit Theatre Mode Intelligence While performing slightly better than Hostages, which it replaced on Mondays, Intelligence was still was way below par for the hits on CBS. Exit Theatre Mode Ironside NBC's latest attempt to reboot an old hit (see Bionic Woman, Knight Rider... or don't, since they didn't make it either) was a dud, despite the presence of the charismatic Blair Underwood. Exit Theatre Mode Killer Women The promos touted the involvement of Sofia Vergara as executive producer, but few tuned in to this story of a Texas Ranger, played by BSG's Tricia Helfer. Here's hoping Helfer can find the right project for her down the line. Exit Theatre Mode Lucky 7 The show to have the unwanted "honor" of becoming the first cancellation of the fall was this ABC remake of a UK series about a group of gas station attendants who win the lottery. Exit Theatre Mode The Michael J. Fox Show NBC won a bidding war for Fox's return to the sitcom world that first made him a star and not only bypassed the pilot stage, but gave The Michael J. Fox Show a full 22-episode commitment. However, the network continued to be unable to launch a new comedy hit on Thursday nights, leading to MFJ being pulled from the schedule. Exit Theatre Mode Mind Games Poor Kyle Killen can't seem to catch a break. The creator of Lone Star and Awake went for a broader, more proceduralized tone with Mind Games, but the show still didn't connect with audiences, and was the latest ratings dud for ABC in their troubled Tuesday, 10pm timeslot. Exit Theatre Mode Mixology Eyes rolled when ABC choose to put this poorly-reviewed series in its best comedy timeslot, following Modern Family - though ABC has had little success getting a show to hold onto that hit comedy's lead-in ratings, regardless of reviews. Ultimately, Mixology was another ho-hum performer and the plug was pulled after one season. Exit Theatre Mode The Neighbors Overcoming initially scathing reviews, The Neighbors did well enough with families to get a second season - while critics began to come around on the series, finding it increasingly clever and fun. But ratings were on a downward trajectory, causing ABC to cancel it. Nikita While it's too bad Season 4 was only six episodes, it's still hard not to be thankful that Nikita got a fourth and final season, giving the creators the chance to give this ever-cool, ever-underrated series a proper conclusion. Exit Theatre Mode Once Upon a Time in Wonderland ABC's president, Paul Lee, has admitted he made a mistake not sticking with the original plan to air Wonderland as a shorter-season series that would occupy Once Upon a Time's timeslot in the winter, in-between the fall and spring runs of Once Upon a Time on Sundays. But the damage was done and Wonderland, despite some positive response, was virtually ignored on Thursdays, turning it into a one-season spinoff. Exit Theatre Mode Raising Hope Well-liked but rarely hyped, Raising Hope was moved to Friday's this season. Having reached a syndication-ready 88 episodes, the show's end was announced, making this the second Greg Garcia series, after My Name is Earl, to have a four season run. Rake Rather than yank Rake off the air, after its first very low-rated episodes, FOX moved the Greg Kinnear series to Fridays - and then burnt it off on Saturdays. Revolution Moved from its cushy Voice lead-in, Revolution predictably lost a lot of viewers in Season 2, coming off a year where it creatively struggled and was perceived as a disappointment, given its pedigree. I'm of the mind, as are others, that Season 2 saw Revolution turn into a much better show, but that didn't change the numbers and while it was a down to the wire decision, NBC chose to cancel it. Exit Theatre Mode Sean Saves the World NBC's other new Thursday comedy featuring a former NBC Thursday night comedy star, Sean Saves the World, like The Michael J. Fox Show, didn't find anywhere near the audience the network had hoped for. Exit Theatre Mode Star-Crossed The CW have done quite well with both genre series and shows with a lot of female appeal, but this attempt to blend a sci-fi story with a Romeo & Juliet type romance failed to resonate. Exit Theatre Mode Suburgatory While Suburgatory's fate was precarious last year, things were looking better for the show this season for a little while... Only for ABC to decide to end the comedy after three seasons. Super Fun Night There was a lot of disappointment over this series, which took such a notable rising star in Rebel Wilson and failed to capitalize on her appeal. Exit Theatre Mode Surviving Jack Airing after American Idol would once have been a huge deal, but with that series showing its age -- in the form of much lower ratings -- FOX didn't do this new Bill Lawrence-produced comedy a lot of favors airing it after Idol on Thursdays at 9:30. Though it had its fans, the 90s-set comedy came to a quick end. The Tomorrow People The CW hoped to have another superhero themed hit with this remake of the cult British series, and accordingly paired it with Arrow in the fall. Unfortunately, it failed to retain Arrow's ratings and the success of The 100 -- which held up better in the same timeslot -- likely sealed its fate. Exit Theatre Mode Trophy Wife There was a lot of critical love for Trophy Wife, but it struggled enormously in the ratings. It's failure to hold onto much of the audience of its lead-in, The Goldbergs, which it debuted with, ultimately led to its demise. Exit Theatre Mode We Are Men CBS' critically-lambasted comedy about a guy who is left at the altar becoming buddies with three advice-ready dudes was quickly yanked by the network, when it became clear it wasn't drawing anywhere near the norm for the high-rated network. Welcome to the Family The NBC comedy, about two men who dislike each other becoming connected by their kids' relationship, was the first of NBC's new fall comedies to be cancelled. Exit Theatre Mode The X Factor The failure of The X Factor has to sting for both FOX and Simon Cowell. The show is an enormous hit in the UK and expectations were that it could be a big success in the US as well. But The Voice stole much of its thunder and while the show got three seasons, there was never any excitement around it - even when they added the likes of Britney Spears. With a ton of new scripted series already ordered for next season, FOX threw in the towel. Continue to Page 2 for the shows that are safe and will be back for sure next season.System for sale, cultivation remains another matter for City Council Barring a federal challenge, Loveland residents will continue to legally possess and use small amounts of marijuana as a new state law provides. But any local system for buying, selling, growing or distributing pot -- or manufacturing products that contain it -- likely will be stalled, according to a City Council consensus hatched during a Tuesday night study session. Eight of nine councilors, with member John Fogle absent, directed City Attorney John Duval to redraft provisions of municipal law to reflect the legalization of possession and use of less than one ounce of marijuana by residents 21 and older. But they also asked Duval for a resolution declaring a moratorium on retail sale and commercial cultivation of pot until councilors learn how Colorado's legislature, and the U.S. Justice Department, will deal with voter-approved Amendment 64. Duval suggested keeping a lid on any local commercial pot industry through Oct. 1. "We'll know well before that what the state is going to do and, I would hope, what the feds are going to do," Duval said. Voters in Colorado and Washington on Nov. 2 put the states at odds with federal law that makes marijuana a Schedule 1 controlled substance -- just as heroin and cocaine are. Loveland police chief Luke Hecker made the fact the centerpiece of his argument against provisions of the new law that would regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol. "My recommendation as your police chief is not to allow retail distribution of marijuana," Hecker told councilors. "I implore you to say 'no.' This amendment clearly allows you to make a wise decision." Provisions of the new law make possession and use legal statewide, but allow local communities to opt out of allowing licensed retailers and growers to operate within their jurisdictions. Backers of Amendment 64 on the path to the ballot box said the law would generate taxes for schools, prevent thousands of prosecutions for possession, use and sale of small amounts of pot, and free law enforcement officers to concentrate on more daunting crimes. But those arguments didn't surface during the council discussion of how the city should chart its post-64 course. Councilor Hugh McKean said that aside from the law's provisions allowing retail sale, its other features presented enough of a problem for local communities. "We're creating kind of a culture of tolerance for something," he said, adding that a "casual distribution system" made up of private users and home growers would inevitably lead to possession of pot by minors. Councilor Joan Shaffer said she shared the concerns voiced by Hecker about the local-federal conflict, and that the outcome of a prior local election banning medical marijuana businesses should be heeded. "Voters showed very clearly they were not ready for that," Shaffer said. "But the real issue is at the federal level. I'm disappointed in the outcome of the 'war on drugs.' We've spent a lot of money and not gotten very far." City Hall was outfitted for an overflow crowd at Tuesday's session, with a television monitor and seating in the building's lobby. But public interest was limited to fewer than 10 council chamber visitors. Tom Hacker can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 521, or thacker@reporter-herald.com.You've had ice cream made with chocolate and strawberries, but have you tried it with rosewater and orchid flowers? A new ice cream parlour is set to open soon at the old Banana Boat location at the corner of Osborne Street and Don Avenue under new owners and a new name. It's a familiar idea with some unfamiliar flavours. As a second-generation cheese-maker, Joseph Chaeban knows a lot about dairy — but he admits he had limited experience making ice cream before he decided to open the new store. "But I know the science behind it," he said in an interview with CBC's Up to Speed. "When I did decide to start doing ice cream, I said we have to make it with a twist." Chaeban Ice Cream is set to open in the old Banana Boat location on Osborne Street in mid-December. (Facebook/Kristi Nikkel) Chaeban used his background in cheese to find ingredients and flavour combinations that might seem strange at first to a North American palate. But he says any initial reservations melt away once people taste the final product. "We wanted to do something with beets. People, when I say to them, 'You want to try our beet ice cream?' they look at me and they're like, 'No,'" he said. Chaeban assures his customers they will not taste what they are expecting. First he roasts the beets in the oven, then he mixes them with sour cream to mellow the flavour and ricotta cheese to give it a satisfying texture. He then finishes it with orange zest and poppy seeds. The flavours reflect Chaeban's heritage — his parents are Lebanese and his wife is Syrian. Chaeban Ice Cream's beet and poppy seed ice cream may seem unusual, but it's not what people expect, Joseph Chaeban says. (Facebook/Kristi Nikkel) Chaeban's banana Nutella ice cream is a little more traditional than some of the other flavours. (Facebook/Kristi Nikkel) Fans of the mojito might want to try this flavour: mojito mint chocolate. (Facebook/Kristi Nikkel) He'll offer an Arabic flavour, with ricotta cheese, blossom water, rosewater, pistachios and cashews, as well as orchid flowers, which he says bind the ingredients together and give the ice cream a good texture. Chaeban said he spent the most time working on his simplest flavour — vanilla. "I wanted it to be beyond expectation," he said. He uses pure vanilla beans, cottage cheese and honey. Chaeban, 35, was born in Germany and moved to Canada in 1988. He eventually settled in Hamilton, Ont., with his wife, Zainab Ali. He moved to Winnipeg in 2015 after accepting a job at Santorini Dairies, but when Ali's family started coming to Canada as refugees about a year ago, he wanted to do something to help them find work. At first he thought of starting a Lebanese restaurant, but his friend Darryl Stewart encouraged him to use his experience in dairy. Stewart also told Chaeban about the Banana Boat closing down. "Then I got like fireworks in my head," Chaeban said. "It all jumped so fast and I go to Darryl, 'Be my partner,' and he said no in the beginning. And I asked him a few times. Finally he said, 'Ok, let's do it.'" Stewart met Chaeban through the South Osborne Syrian Refugee Initiative, which helped to sponsor Ali's family. "Eventually I gave in. Just seeing how hard he was working, I'm convinced this is going to be a success," Stewart said. "I came to understand how hard-working he was, how smart he was, and what a great sense of humour [he has]. And those are three key ingredients, I think, in being able to be an entrepreneur." An entrepreneur himself, Stewart has experience starting several other businesses in Winnipeg, including Ibex Payroll and Inclusion System, which makes software for agencies working with people with intellectual disabilities. Stewart also owns the South Osborne Exchange building. Ali and Stewart are co-owners of Chaeban Ice Cream. The old Banana Boat building was demolished in 2016, and construction of the new building is nearing completion. Chaeban Ice Cream is expected to open in mid-December.Cutlery maker Calphalon is recalling two million knives due to a laceration hazard.The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the blades can break during use, increasing the risk. Calphalon has received 27 reports of finger or hand lacerations, including four that required stitches, in addition to about 3,150 reports of broken knives.Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled cutlery and contact Calphalon for a replacement cutlery product.The company can be reached at 800-809-7267 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online at Calphalon.com. Click on "Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery Recall Information" for more information.The recall involves Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery carving, chef, paring, santoku and utility knives, sold individually and in sets, made between August 2008 and March 2016.The following models are included in the recall:--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 4.5" Parer KNR10045C--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 7" Santoku KNR0007C--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery Contemporary Paring Knife Set 1821332--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 5" Santoku KNR0005C--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 8" Chef Knife KNR4008C--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery Fruit/Vegetable Set - 3.5" parer & 6" utility KNSR002C--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery Carving Set - 6" fork & 8" slicer KNSR0102C--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 21-piece set 3.5" parer, 5" boning knife, 5" santoku, 5.5" tomato/bagel knife, 6" fork, 6" utility, 7" santoku, 8" bread, 8" chef's knife, 8" slicer, 10" steel, kitchen shears, 8 steak knives, and knife block 1808009--Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 17-piece set 4.5" parer, 6" utility, 7" santoku, 8" bread, 8" chef's knife, 8" slicer, 10" steel, kitchen shears, 8 steak knives, and knife block 1808008--Calphalon Contemporary SharpIN Cutlery 14-piece set 4.5" Parer, 6" Utility, 8" Bread, 8" Chef's Knife, 8 Steak Knives, Kitchen Shears, Sharpening Knife Block 1922890--Calphalon Contemporary SharpIN Cutlery 15-piece set 4.5" Parer, 6" Utility, 7" Santoku, 8" Bread, 8" Chef's Knife, 8 Steak Knives, Kitchen Shears, Sharpening Knife Block 1922971--Calphalon Contemporary SharpIN Cutlery 18-piece set 4.5" Parer, 5" Boning, 5.5" Tomato, 6" Utility, 7" Santoku, 8" Bread, 8" Chef's Knife, 8" Slicer, 8 Steak Knives, Kitchen Shears, Sharpening Knife Block 1932810--Calphalon Contemporary SharpIN Cutlery 20-piece set 4.5" Parer, 5" Boning, 5" Santoku, 5.5" Tomato, 6" Fork, 6" Utility, 7" Santoku, 8" Bread, 8" Chef's Knife, 8" Slicer, 8 Steak Knives, Kitchen Shears, Sharpening Knife Block 1922976The items were sold at J.C. Penney, Kohl's, Macy's and other stores nationwide, and online at Amazon.com from September 2008 through December 2016. The recalled knives were sold from September 2008 through December 2016 for $25 for a single knife to $300 for a knife block set.For more information, visit the CPSC Recall PageImage copyright Sony Image caption Sony said there were more than 50 titles in development for its virtual reality headset Sony has unveiled a raft of new games that will be playable in virtual reality on the PS4. New Star Wars and Resident Evil games were among those revealed at the E3 video games trade show in Los Angeles. Virtual reality clips for Batman and Final Fantasy games were also shown off. The titles will require gamers to use the PlayStation VR headset, which will cost $399 (£280) when it is released on October 13. "It's not for the faint of heart in terms of the type of game experiences they're going for, it's really that hardcore ethos," games industry analyst Lewis Ward at IDC told the BBC. Mr Ward had just tried a demo of sci-fi space shooter Farpoint in PS VR following the press conference. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption WATCH: PlayStation's chief explains why he plans to release an upgraded PS4 "It's very intense," he said. "I was sweating." Mr Ward added that while the selection of titles was likely to attract gamers, the titles themselves might be a little overwhelming. "The first wave of VR probably has to be careful with the amount of motion in games because of motion sickness," he explained. In an interview with the Financial Times prior to E3, Sony confirmed that it was planning to release an upgraded PlayStation 4 called "Project Neo" that will be capable of outputting 4K graphics. Besides the virtual reality titles, Sony also previewed several exclusives including long-awaited adventure game The Last Guardian, first announced in 2009. The game's release date has been set as October 25, 2016. However, highly anticipated space simulator No Man's Sky did not make an appearance. Image copyright Sony Image caption Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission is also presented from a first-person perspective Analysis: Dave Lee, North America technology reporter Sony's virtual reality offer may not end up being the best, but it will be a first: the first affordable, high-end VR headset for the masses. Sony made a point of saying its PS4 is already powerful enough to run VR - a dig at Microsoft, which had earlier announced a new console to offer that, in late 2017. The truth is that PS VR is just less sophisticated than the Oculus Rift and HTC's Vive. Resident Evil was an apt title to show off. Image copyright Sony Image caption Resident Evil VII will be playable from beginning to end in virtual reality Back in the days of the first PlayStation, the game used to have these tense, creaky door moments. They would take 20 seconds or so to open, building the fear... but also allowing the console time to load the room ahead. Smart! In PS VR Resident Evil, your view is lit by torchlight, a narrow and eerie field of vision - therefore much less intensive to render. With restriction comes creativity, I guess. Many of the other PS VR experiences were not quite full games. Single missions rather than whole titles. Image copyright Sony Image caption Horizon Zero Dawn is one of several new games at E3 with a female protagonist Exclusives showcase Sony's press conference featured a live orchestra, which played throughout the event, on occasion providing accompaniment to live demos of some of the games. After an extended overture from the musicians, Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Shawn Layden made reference to the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida which this weekend left 49 club-goers dead. "On behalf of the PlayStation community, I just want to say that our thoughts are with the victims and the families and the community of Orlando," he said. Image copyright Sony Image caption Warrior Kratos returns alongside a child in a Norse-mythology set God of War Image copyright Sony Image caption A new Spiderman video game by the developer Insomniac Games was teased Mr Layden's remarks were followed first by a preview of an upcoming PS4 exclusive, God of War, featuring Kratos - a character from earlier games in the series. Other exclusives showcased included Days Gone, a third-person zombie-filled title from the development team behind the Syphon Filter series. And there was gameplay footage of Horizon: Zero Dawn, in which a female protagonist battles robotic dinosaur creatures in a lush natural landscape. Superhero fans weren't left out either - a teaser trailer for a new Spiderman game was shown. Image copyright Sony Image caption Walking Dead star Norman Reedus stars in Hideo Kojima's new game Death Stranding There was also a surprise appearance from critically acclaimed game designer Hideo Kojima. "Hello everyone," he said, addressing the audience, "I'm back". Mr Kojima unveiled a new game, Dead Stranding, with Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus in a lead role. No gameplay footage was shown, however, and the title does not yet have a release date. Image caption Sony's press conference got plenty of praise from game industry fans and journalists on Twitter The line-up appeared to play well with game industry watchers. "That was easily one of the best E3 press conferences I've seen", tweeted Rob Crossley, UK editor of games website Gamespot. "What a show," added Daniel Dawkins, editor in chief of Games Radar. Read and watch more E3 coverageOne of the most unusual things about my success is that my critics are often the drivers of my good fortune. The progressive Left’s attempts to beat me resemble a man standing in a bucket trying to lift himself up by the handle, as the old saying goes. They don’t realize what a Herculean task it would be to defeat me. In fact, if the thirteenth Labour of Hercules after defeating Cerberus was “Get Milo to Shut Up” he probably would have failed miserably. Incidentally, I think I met Cerberus last night in an L.A nightclub and yes, the teeth were a problem. If you read the headlines, you’ll know that I always win. Media coverage of my Dangerous Faggot Tour around university campuses has exposed social justice warriors’ collective inability to remain calm in the same room as me. My tour has revealed their irrationality and their blatant intolerance for new ideas. They hate me so much that if I were to give a blueprint on how to beat me, they’d reject the offer. You can’t really blame them — such a blueprint could only involve cloning me so I’d have a genuinely challenging debate partner. And even then, they’d just complain it was “debate rape.” Still, I don’t like fighting the handicapped (everyone who isn’t me), so, in the interests of fairness, I’m going to give you some tips. If you disagree with me, you’re retarded, but I believe in giving the disabled a leg up. I win because I understand my opponents better than they understand themselves. Most of those who challenge me end up frustrated because I force them — without affirmative consent — to think beyond their Women’s Studies talking points. It’s the lack of understanding of their own positions that has made my job so easy. Because of my success, I have accumulated a large audience. I have over 181,000 Twitter followers, 54,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 75,000 subscribers on YouTube, which I barely even pay attention to. It’s not unusual for me to receive more than 50 million impressions on Twitter in a month, which is more impressions than some big news sites. It’s gone as high as 75 million. These numbers are climbing more quickly every day. I’m the next big thing and everyone’s super excited about it! Of course, much of this rapidly-acquired fame can be attributed to my transcendent hair, amazing voice (I sing too, by the way — look out for my debut single later this year), Adonis-like good looks and astonishing fashion sense. But I begrudgingly admit that some credit also goes to more substantial qualities: namely, the fearless stances I take against an increasingly regressive Left and the hard work I put in to preparing my public appearances. Or at least the hard work my researchers, assistants and make-up artists put into making me look good. (Did I mention I have more money than God?) There’s also my army of supporters, of course: educated, well-adjusted, and equipped to handle any tactic that a social justice warrior might throw their way. Alinsky? They’ve read him. Bell Hooks? Read it — and laughed. Feminist Frequency? Watched, disliked, downvoted. When engaged in debate, my fans never resort to childish emotional outbursts, because they know that would be the point at which they lost. How often do you hear about one of my supporters disrupting a campus event? If you want to beat me, you’ll have to start acting more like these fine young men and women. So. Here comes my guide to winning — a strategy I know you won’t follow. But when the Milo army inevitably wipes social justice warriors off the face of the planet, I’ll at least be able to say I gave you a fighting chance. 1) Don’t act like a rabid animal If you’re going to rush into the event venue with red paint dripping down your face, making shrieking noises in an attempt to drown me out, I will win. Thanks to your bizarre antics at Rutgers, the attention of the world’s media was drawn to me and my message. Much like violence at Trump rallies (probably committed by the same people), your wild-eyed exploits only grows my army and gives me attention. 2) Do your homework The most significant handicap for progressives is that they often don’t understand their own positions. If you’re going to challenge me, make sure you understand your own argument. I have no problem making you look foolish for being unprepared. I sympathise with the fact that nothing triggers Gender Studies activists more than actually studying, but reading and understanding data is critical, regardless of what your Marxist professor taught you. Emotionally-charged positions are usually the easiest for me to dismantle, so leave your emotions at the door. You need to challenge me with substantive and rational arguments if you want a chance to come out on top. Your emotions serve you no purpose in our debate. (Apart from amusing me — which shouldn’t be discounted.) Basically, I don’t care about your feelings and neither does anyone else. 3) Stump me in the Q&A, not during my speech Because I like to dedicate the largest portion of my events to questions from the audience, refrain from disruptions during my speech. The airhorns, chanting and yelling aren’t helping your cause as much as they are helping mine. If you want to challenge my positions, wait your turn like everyone else. As Teddy Roosevelt almost said, speak softly but carry a big glittery stick of Truth wrapped in bitchy one-liners. I know quietly listening goes against every feminist bone in your body and big stick is a horrifically gauche anatomical analogy for a strong question, but… like I said, fuck your feelings. 4) Whichever side resorts to violence, intimidation or aggression, loses My army never does this. They may be high-testosterone alphas, but they aren’t going to waste their energy on you. 5) Your University’s reputation is in your hands. Remember that Remember that it’s not just you and your mates who acquire a negative reputation for your loony behaviour: it’s your university too. I’m sure some of your peers won’t be happy when you devalue their diplomas with infantile behaviour that only serves to increase the size of my army. Alumni who pay for your Women’s Studies courses with their donations are going to think twice after seeing their alma mater mentioned as the locus of your anti-free speech antics. I mean, do you really want your dad asking you about me over Thanksgiving dinner? I could go on, but that’s enough for you to work on. I’ve realised that if we are going to have anything approaching a fair chess match, I might have to move both sets of pieces. If you follow these simple suggestions, you may get closer to beating me than you thought possible. Not that I expect you to listen, because progressives and hard work go together like Bernie Sanders supporters and economics qualifications. To paraphrase Auric Goldfinger: “No, Mr. binary otherkin SJW, I expect you and your headmates to cry and blog about it.” Follow Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) on Twitter and Facebook, or write to him at milo@breitbart.com. Android users can download Milo Alert! to be notified about new articles when they are published.12:50 PM EST Leaving Ft. Meade base. More updates soon. Also, have an upcoming TV appearance on RT America at 4 pm EST. 12:45 PM EST Judge granted government motion to take “judicial notice” of AUMF as fact that Al Qaeda is an enemy of the United States. Judge granted defense motion to take judicial notice of David Finkel’s book, The Good Soldiers, and that it was published before the leak of the “Collateral Murder” video. She would not
es unde veniet auxilium meum. Rex! It is very politically incorrect to call someone asinus. What does that say about special education? And don't cast your eyes to the mountains for aid--the Holy Gore will rescue you with the Bio-Solar I (indicating it's only the first--get that). Please know that the Holy Gore is not stupid. He's deceitful, entitled, hypocritical, smarmy, dishonest, with a flat-line personality. With all of that, he doesn't have the time to be stupid. Three sessions at Jiffi-Lobo for you! Do I get the room at Jiffi-lobo overlooking the sewer drain? Cool. But, again, since you're a most-equal Mad Prog, let me offer you a special treatment. You can have the special ministrations my favorite Jiffi-Lobo technician, Dr. Mengele, and I'll let you have the Speakerette Room: you will be surrounded by pictures of our dear Speaker of the House, the Honorable Nanski Peloski. When your treatment is finished you'll wake up, unfortunately pissing your pants, under the benign and smiling, super-botoxed gaze of Nanski. You will instantly forget the sewer drain. Rex, such is your culpability that you will require enough treatments that the visuals just won't be important. Although since you are elevated in the party you may if you want have the room overlooking the sewer drain.But, again, since you're a most-equal Mad Prog, let me offer you a special treatment. You can have the special ministrations my favorite Jiffi-Lobo technician, Dr. Mengele, and I'll let you have the Speakerette Room: you will be surrounded by pictures of our dear Speaker of the House, the Honorable Nanski Peloski. When your treatment is finished you'll wake up, unfortunately pissing your pants, under the benign and smiling, super-botoxed gaze of Nanski.You will instantly forget the sewer drain. No. Please, please, please, essence of gelfling... This is what Nanski looks like without her makeup. The next Oscars will have a special award--Best Makeup in a Horror Movie--and the people who turn Nanski out every day are a shoo-in. It is lookist to insist that Nanski conform to conventional standards of femininity and beauty. Nanski has her own subtle beauty. She is proof that ugly goes right to the bone, and what's wrong with that? Nothing, I tell you, nothing. What if Nanski looked like Sarah Palin? Would we love her so? No, I don't think so. Nanski is the only Mad Prog who has even come to the Rancho that Bruno didn't want to do a makeover on. "Theocritus, there's just nothing to be done with that withered old gash," he said. "Bruno," I riposted, "you're not often right but when you are, you are, and today is my day for tautological banality. Nanski is perfect in and of herself. A sand gator could learn from her rapacity. Mao could learn from indifference. And pancreatic cancer could learn from her greed." Praise the holy State! It warms my heart to hear that good ole Manifesto-thumping religion again. In honor of Thanksgiving for our Marxist National Government, I've composed a new prayer for the holy Inner Party and Marxist State. Our infallible State who art on earth; hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, nowhere else but on earth. Give us (the proletariat class and the ruling Marxist class) this day the daily bread of the middle class, and forgive us our trespasses against the State, as we will not forgive those (middle class owners of property) who trespass against the State; and lead us not into temptation against the Inner Party or the holy State, but deliver us from evil (human liberty and the creative pursuit of happiness - private property). For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen Comrade Doktor Theocritus "Bruno," I riposted, "you're not often right but when you are, you are, and today is my day for tautological banality. Nanski is perfect in and of herself. A sand gator could learn from her rapacity. Mao could learn from indifference. And pancreatic cancer could learn from her greed." Perhaps all she needs is a little exfoliation? Did Bruno try the belt sander that has the 18V DC motor? Perhaps all she needs is a little exfoliation? Did Bruno try the belt sander that has the 18V DC motor? But it's hard working with Nanski, you know. He tried that, Zampolit, he tried that. Finally the exfoliation was carried out by a tree chipper driven by a 600-HP Cat diesel.But it's hard working with Nanski, you know. Some of our best brains have tried It seems that God has heard our prayers from the previous years and He fell in love with the world so much that He gave us His one and only doppelgänger. Time for a progressive prayer 2010.It seems that God has heard our prayers from the previous years and He fell in love with the world so much that He gave us His one and only doppelgänger. The Progressive Prayer for 2010: O Holy Spirit of Social Justice, we Thy humble servants confess that we have failed Thee, but in fairness, it wasn't our fault. We did as we saw fit to promote the destruction of the family, the economy, and the evil companies that think "profit" is a meet and fit motive to labor. We seized control of industries in Thy name and mandated that all shall come beneath the benevolent wing of The Government to have decided for them how they shall be healed. We bowed before tyrants and kings and bloody-handed dictators to show a proper humility for the sins of our fathers, misguided fools who promoted values and concepts like freedom and liberty, concepts we know to be abhorent in Thy sight. We tried to guide the sheep over which You gave us dominion, using sexual slurs and charges of Fascism, Racism, and Ignorance as our reasoned arguements, but their hearts were hardened and they turned their faces away from The Glorious World of Next Tuesday. They actually had the gall to accuse us of violating the Constitution, as if the oaths we swore to protect and defend that outdated Eurocentric document were to be taken as anything other than mere adherence to protocol. Their lies led others astray into rejecting the dictates of their obvious betters and into voting against their class interests, despite our repeated efforts to educate them in the proper hatred of anyone who had more wealth than they did (except of course, for us, the annointed political class, for whom profits and kickbacks are but the just compensation for our ceaseless efforts). Thus, it is not our fault that the election (a practice we will have to do something about) cast us down from our exalted position, but rather the fault of the Tea Baggers and Bitter Clingers and other minions of evil who rebelled against our benevolent despotism. We now call upon You, and upon Marx, Lenin, Mao and Alinsky, and upon all the communist communion of saints to guide and strengthen us as we walk in the political wilderness. Strengthen our resolve to destroy individual responsibility, individual rights, and bring about a pure redistribution of wealth to ourselves and our union supporters. Bless our efforts to castrate the nation economically during this lame duck session, and may the damage we cause prove catastrophic. Give us our revenge against the short-sighted voters who have cast us out of power, and give us Hope for a return to that power and glory so that we may truly punish this nation for the sin of failing to appreciate our wisdom. Remind us always that ninety years of continuous failure means nothing, and that our ideology is the only truth and light and hope for mankind. Comrades, Barry is so religious, he cannot pass a mirror without breaking into a chorus of "How great I art". The state is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want It maketh me to lie more for green pastures The state is my shepherd there is nothing I shall wantIt maketh me to lie more for green pastures It restoreth my goals. It leadeth me in the paths of sanctimoniousness For its name's sake. Even though I walk through the valleys of the shadow of WalMart I fear only those evils approved by the collective For the state is in me Its probes and cavity searches comfort me. Surely free housing and healthcare shall follow me All the days of my state-sponsored life And I shall dwell in the house and the senate through a Democratic majority Forever. It leadeth me beside Maxine WatersIt restoreth my goals.It leadeth me in the paths of sanctimoniousnessFor its name's sake.Even though I walk through the valleys of the shadow of WalMartI fear only those evils approved by the collectiveFor the state is in meIts probes and cavity searches comfort me.Surely free housing and healthcare shall follow meAll the days of my state-sponsored lifeAnd I shall dwell in the house and the senate through a Democratic majorityForever. Comrades, Was not this "prayer" stolen form Teddy Kennedy's Wholly Roman Prayer Book?It is far better to tax and take, there is no future in giving. It Is So Enervating To Me That My Kamerads In The New World Order Are So Dismissive Of Bushitler. And Yet They Recognize The Insane Rightward Drift Of Our Dear Leader. Can He Be Trusted To Continue The Progressive ReInvention of The Nation Formerly Known As America? Is This not a Haiku? Rex, I do love your Prog's Prayer. After all, where was this when I was growing up, afflicted by my horribly reactionary parents into being responsible? The State is my shepherd. And my salvation too. I just heard a man from the American Enterprise Institute, spit spit, who said that the most generous people, in percentage, are the working poor. They may get as much money in salary as people on the government suppurating tit roles for people unemployed by the Bu$hitler, but they give money to other people out of purely charitable impulses. Whereas the people who describe themselves as secular humanists give the least. As it should be. If people are allowed to choose whom to give to, that is an unnecessary, and dangerous, amount of freedom. Charity should be outlawed. All money must be collected by the State and distributed by the State. And tomorrow is my court date to have my middle name changed from Austin to State. And in this year of B.O. 2 (Beginning Obama) let us also give thanks to Blessed Barack, and the Precious Progressives that martyred themselves on November 2, 2, in order to progress His progressive agenda. Let us also give thanks to Our Omnipotent Obama for the upcoming 1/1/3 tax increases which we so look forward to. Thank you Dear Leader and please bestow life on the un-blessed bourgeois only until that glorious day of 1/1 when the glorious Death Tax returneth. Amen Akbar Obama Winter Solstice Celebration, next month. Now where to send the appropriate orders to? Does the People's Collective have a milliner? And my dear Theo,....charity is out-lawed, as of January 2011. Why, to save the People's money, the USSA Post Office won't even hold a "can drive" this year! Not that the People's Commissary does not feed the proles properly nourishing food. This is utter nonsense! I proclaim this as Uber-Commissar of FoodService: THERE IS NO HUNGER IN THE USSA!!!! BTW Why do you have a "middle name" like Austin, anyways? I, heartily concur with you that a change is most necessary, and appropriate! See you for an incredible dinner at the Politiburo on....errr.....what's it called again??.......Turkey Day? Or perhaps a cocktail of two at the People's Pub? I heard a rumor that Lord Soros is stopping by. Don't worry, Michael Moore won't be, after the last wild party, LOL Si, Comrade Rex, I too enjoyed your Prog's Prayer! It should be embroidered as a sampler for all proles for the, next month. Now where to send the appropriate orders to? Does the People's Collective have a milliner?And my dear Theo,....charityout-lawed, as of January 2011. Why, to save the People's money, the USSA Post Office won't even hold a "can drive" this year! Not that the People's Commissary does not feed the prolesproclaim this as Uber-Commissar of FoodService:Why do you have a "middle name" like Austin, anyways? I, heartily concur with you that a change is most necessary, and appropriate! See you for andinner at the Politiburo on....errr.....what's it called again??.......Turkey Day? Or perhaps a cocktail of two at the People's Pub? I heard a rumor that Lord Soros is stopping by. Don't worry, Michael Moore won't be, after the last wild party, LOL Comrade Theocritus - Your Revolutionary Zeal is to be applauded. If history and economics prove anything, it is that the state is the True Owner of all wealth. Taxes are merely the rightful return of wealth to its True Owner from grateful subjects citizens. And by the way: Private "charity" is simply a ploy by crafty counter-revolutionaries to cheat the state People Peoples Leadership of their rightful due. Thank Obama for Obama. oh my oh my, I went through a box of Kleenex reading that lovely delight. What would we do and where would we be, without our bloated government? Government is like god, is it not. Taking what needs to be taken and giving to whom it sees fit.Thank Obama for Obama. Why only yesterday, my Party-approved mate said, "The TSA is just a means for the Demoncrats to punish us for voting them out, (and what better way to tell you to shove something up your teabagging butts!) and wait until the Lame Duck session starts. It will take two years for the Republicans and Tea Party newbies to straighten out the mess the Dems have made" I give thanks that we took back the House, at least, but it's going to take longer than two years to fix the mess the USSA is in. Why only yesterday, my Party-approved mate said, "The TSA is just a means for the Demoncrats to punish us for voting them out, (and what better way to tell you to shove something up your teabagging butts!) and wait until the Lame Duck session starts. It will take two years for the Republicans and Tea Party newbies to straighten out the mess the Dems have made" I give thanks that we took back the House, at least, but it's going to take longer than two years to fix the mess the USSA is in. Thank Obama for Obama indeed! Having a can drive for the post office is a good thing. I wish all of them could be canned! Red Square Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? A.Rex, The answer is one of two things: 1. Everyone in history is somehow a victim of the evil George Bush. or 2. People are inherently messed up, but that's the last thing they would ever admit. Comrade Krasnodar, By locating all the predetermined behavior directors [genes], everybody is officially a victim! Whether genes are controlled by George Bush is not the point, he or his family have been responsible for every great calamity in the US since the sinking of the Maine in Havana Harbor. Time did not allow for further research. To: Comrade Tooorisky cc: Commissar of Time Tooorisky - Apparently time did not allow for FUTURE research as well, for I'm sure you would have detected a host of horrific crimes committed by the Bush clan in the future, if only you would find time to use our time machine that's been sitting unused in the basement of Karl Marx Treatment Center ever since I ran away from the future to warn my American comrades of what's coming! Exalted Comrade Square, When advised of the availability of this machine, I began to peck my way around the barnyard. You may have seen chickens do this, I will wait to see how everything unfolds. Thank you for your most generous offer! Deal me out of that hand. Comrade T.....I performed that additional scientific research. Some guy on Twitter was talking about doing a computer simulation concerning the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. He said that he was fairly certain they would prove to be yet another one of " W's " manifestations of evil. Now that's as scientific as you can get......with the possible exception of global warming....... climate change..........climate disruption conclusions by the U.N. Comrade Krasnodar, That is exceptional information. It could be related to the first earthquake energy equipment, know as the Bush-Anderson seismograph and everyone knows the Bush-Richter scale. The deeper you dig the more sheet you find. All of the above and the prayer inspired me. I'm off to occupy Thanksgiving. (Someone pass the Turkey leg and mashed taters please) Che, my mother's maiden name was Austin. Which is of course, and here I buff my fingernails on my velvet vest--red of course--Augustus, after a passage through he bowels of French. There is no limit to what can be occupied: Wall Street, and the STD clinics! Go to Pahrump, NV, and occupy the whorehouses. Better yet, go to Washington and occupy the whorehouse on Capitol Hill. Thanksgiving: A holiday that commemorates some long ago event in which greedy white anti-government Christofascists decided they wanted to fend for themselves, go it alone, be rugged individuals and all that other crapitalist tradcrap. “We don’t want government telling us what to do!” they said. So they invaded America, stole a bunch of food and other stuff from the Indians, and then asked the Indians to sit down with them to share that stuff, and be thankful to some mythical being for all that was stolen from them. Then they went on to build a wealthy colony on the backs of the poor Indians, who back in those days didn’t even have a government to look out for them and protect them from greedy Colonial fatcat interests. Thanks for what? Where was the Giving? Seems to me the Pilgrims did nothing but take—just like today’s greedy, wealthy Wall Street fatcats. And somehow, saying “Thanks,” is supposed to make their thievery all right. Comrades, the Pilgrims’ system didn’t work then, and we need only look around us to see that it still doesn’t work now. Be thankful for what? My student loan that I’m expected to pay back with my own money? How the hell am I supposed to do that when there aren’t even any jobs out there for someone with a degree in Elizabethan fashion analysis? Be thankful for the leaky tarp I had to buy out of my own allowance, when Sears has a whole line of luxurious multi-room tents that they ought to donate to me and my fellow Occupiers? Be thankful for the huge carbon footprint that’s going to severely damage the planet this weekend, as millions of people travel hither, thither and yon just to eat with others of the same DNA? How non-inclusive is that? Be thankful for a so-called celebration that only encourages people to gorge themselves on unhealthy food, thus contributing to America’s Obesity Crisis, which in turn drives up health care costs that put more money in the pockets of insurance companies? Be thankful for a celebration that generates obscenely huge profits for corporations that produce turkeys, stuffing, pumpkin pies, etc? Instead of giving those profits back to us, they keep them for themselves—AFTER making us pay for their products! Comrades, do you see what I see? You need only go back over the last five paragraphs. How do they all start? With Being THANKFUL when there’s nothing for which to be thankful—and why? Because with Thanksgiving, there’s clearly too much Thanks and not enough Giving! In fact, there’s no Giving at all! Therefore, I mean to raise awareness of the need for more Giving! What kind of Giving, you ask? Well, how about Giving the following: GIVE ME the same bailout given to the banks and automobile manufacturers for my student loan. At the same time, I also want a bailout on the loans for my car, my house, and all my credit cards. GIVE ME a job in Elizabethan fashion analysis! Tell Congress to pass Obama’s jobs bill now, so the government can create that job and put more Elizabethan fashion analysts to work! GIVE ME a nice tent with separate rooms for eating, sleeping, living, and a reception area, along with central heat/air. I’d also like it fully furnished to include a Sleep Number mattress. GIVE ME airline vouchers so I don’t have to damage the planet traveling anywhere this weekend. Give me vouchers that I can transfer or exchange for cash. Those of us who care enough about the planet to stay put this holiday deserve a reward for our generous sacrifice. GIVE ME a free Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, so I can send a message to all those fat cat corporations that produce the food that they will NOT make obscene profits on MY back (or off my stomach)! But will I still gorge myself and possibly contribute to America’s Obesity Crisis, thus driving up health care costs that put money in the pockets of insurance companies? As long as it's free, of course I will. And that’s okay because I care. Happy Comrade Thanksgiving A beautifully written peice, comrade, but prayer and "God" are outmoded concepts! ThePeople’sPolitsayski: Right church, wrong pew (if you’ll pardon the expression). It’s the notion of an invisible, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnivorous god who dwells far away from our planet that is outmoded—the so-called Judeo-Christian God who’s nothing but a fabricated front for a bunch of old white guys who hide behind their God (when they’re not clinging to him and their guns) by using Him to dictate to the rest of us how we should live! They want to control every aspect of our lives, and threaten us with some imaginary, miserable, blazing hot place if we don’t march in lockstep with their jackbooted thuggery like the sheep they expect us to be (don’t ask me how I know this, but that Bible of theirs contains a lot of metaphorical references to people as “sheep” which should tell you something), and obey their every command. Yes, Politsayski, that God and that idea of prayer is indeed outmoded, grounded in nothing more than superstition and reliance on the profound, pervasive stupidity of the masses. Besides, when has that God ever answered any “prayers”? For example, We the People have been wanting free health care for years. Has praying to the Judeo-Christian God given it to us? How about a free mortgage, and free gas? Has their God ever given us that? Has their God ever been able to make the wealthy pay their fair share? Have we ever stood in line for hours, perhaps days, to get our fair share of free God money from God that He gets from—oh, I don’t know—from God’s secret stash? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO! Ah, but Obama! Thanks to HIM, we don’t even have to get on our knees and meekly request these things as if we don’t deserve them. No, with Obama we can stand up and loudly demand what we want—and not just because we deserve to get what we want, but because we’re ENTITLED to it! We the People DEMANDED free health care! And Obama heard our screaming and yelling, and lo, he bestowed upon us free health care. And so on with the mortgage and the gas and the free Obama money that comes from Obama and that he gets from I don’t know, maybe his secret stash. Follow Obama! Join his Government, through which all things are not only possible, but given to us for free—and we don’t even have to do “good works” and behave ourselves to get it. Are you In? Have you taken a picture of yourself holding a sign stating that you’re In, and sent it to Obama For America so everyone will know that you’re In? Because if you’re not In, then you’re Out. And if you’re Out, there’s only one possible fate for those stupid enough to hand power back to the Republicans. The Republicans will destroy this planet with Global Warming—and those who follow them will be forever damned by ending up in a miserable, blazing hot place. Shovel-wielding Pinkie Because with Thanksgiving, there’s clearly too much Thanks and not enough Giving! In fact, there’s no Giving at all! Rem acu tegisisti, as Jeeves said. You have touched it with a sharp stick. It's really the yin and the yang of it, isn't it, dear Comrade? After all, being progs we cannot be thankful because it would suppress our sense of entitlement. I personally think that the doctrine of self-esteem is the most useful of our prog inventions--when you get right down to it, it means that thanks are never necessary. Everything is owed. Sum ergo debeor. I exist therefore I am owed. Hear any word of thanks in that? I didn't think so. And so there's no reason not to expect the giving. Which we can accept with, as proven above, with no thanks at all but as our inalienable right. Rem acu tegisisti, as Jeeves said. You have touched it with a sharp stick.It's really the yin and the yang of it, isn't it, dear Comrade? After all, being progs we cannot be thankful because it would suppress our sense of entitlement. I personally think that the doctrine of self-esteem is the most useful of our prog inventions--when you get right down to it, it means that thanks are never necessary. Everything is owed. Sum ergo debeor. I exist therefore I am owed. Hear any word of thanks in that? I didn't think so.And so there's no reason not to expect the giving. Which we can accept with, as proven above, with no thanks at all but as our inalienable right. Theocritus, you're the one who wields the sharp stick upon which you impale all enemies of Truth and Hope and Change and Progressiveness! I touch with a shovel. Yes, being a prog means never having to say thank you. Thanks for what, when there is so much more we haven't been given? Ah yes, why be thankful when we haven't been given all? I personally am feeling resentful that I don't actually know what, when I am given it, will make me happy. Isn't that repression? I have a Stalin-given right to know what will make me happy, so I can steal it. What's the world coming to when I don't know what to steal? Or accuse? Or contemn? Or damn? I am twisting on the spit of my own creature comforts here at the Rancho and no one will help me! Help! I'm comfortable and I can't bitch up!feardragon Profile Blog Joined October 2010 United States 864 Posts Last Edited: 2016-01-09 21:10:29 #1 JonSnow vs PiLiPiLi Best of 69 The climate for Starcraft is going to change in 2016. We will not be able to rely on the age old foreigner versus Korean story to be excited for every tournament any more. We're going to need to take a harder look at some of the rivalries that exist in the foreign scene that may always exist on the surface level. [Flipsid3] JonSnow + Show Spoiler + In April of 2013 a young kid named Jarod "JonSnow" George played in the first WCS America qualifier in the new system. Knocked out by KawaiiRce, followed by the tyrant Jaedong himself, his first premier onto the the WCS circuit was less than impressive. It wasn't until later that year that JonSnow would make his run to qualify for the last season of WCS 2013 whilst defeating two up & coming NA players, the Taiwanese player Slam and the Korean MotoK. His challenger league run was shut down by a combination of Revival and TaeJa but he would go on to become a name that other NA players were starting to be wary of. He would go on to win Copa America Season 3 with a 4-3 against HuK as the first player to win Copa America since Major had entered the playing field. But his tournament victory came in October of 2015 where he took first place 3-1 over MacSed in the World Series of Video Games for a $10,000 prize. [PSISTORM] PiLiPiLi + Show Spoiler + PiLiPiLi was just a boy from Kazakhstan playing in NA ZOTAC cups in late 2013, getting knocked out by players such as StarNaN, JonnyREcco and Jjakji. In 2014, PiLiPiLi started to make some headway in advancing himself as a North American player. His style was considered gimicky and reliant on tricks and all-ins, but as he played in more and more events, he started to refine his macro and round out his play as a condtender with a lot of versatility. Despite making multiple Ro8 runs PiLiPiLi had more success with his streaming numbers than he did with results. Finally, it wasn't until Rotterdam saw his potential and invited him on for a showmatch vs HuK, despite his co-caster's skepticism at his capabilities. There PiLiPiLi defeated HuK with some impressive play with a 3-2 and set the stage for his rise. A month later in the WCS 2015 Season 2 qualifiers, PiLiPiLi made his run to qualify with a 2-0 over the foreign hope, Scarlett herself. While the young Protoss still seeks his big tournament win, he's undoubtably become of of the top North American players. The Rivalry 2015 was the year these two players became enemies. Every season of WCS they met and fought each other in the qualifiers to make it into Challenger league. And not just in WCS but in weekly tournaments like the ESL NA Open and BasetradeTV Corsair Cup, monthlies like the Ladder Heroes Monthly Finals, and even leagues like the Rival Starleague, these two continued to face each other as if drawn to each other like magnets. Their playstyles have At the end of Heart of the Swarm, the two players were at a perfect stalemate in terms of games won: 10 wins for PiLiPiLi, 10 wins for JonSnow. The two have played two more series in Legacy of the Void though and PiLiPiLi has taken a lead in map score 15-11. With LotV meta and balance changing so rapidly and Zerg currently having a large advantage in the matchup, where will things stand? Both of the players have a tendency toward being aggressive players with the potential to fall back on macro. This match is definitely expected to be an exciting one full of action and cheeky play. The Prize The starting prize will be $500 but will be open to donations to increase the prize pool. The winner will receive 60% and the loser will receive 40% of the prize. If you'd like to donate to the prize pool, you can do so here on Matcherino. When and Where Sunday, Jan 10 6:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) over at: http://www.twitch.tv/feardragon64 The games will be cast by Temp0 and feardragon with MasterDalk observing. The matches will begin onover at:The games will be cast byandwithobserving. Giveaways Matcherino and Flipsid3 Tactics are both doing giveaways for completely free stuff you can get by tuning in for the match! Here are the giveaways: Matcherino giveaways will be awarded to people actively watching the show and that are in the chat, as well as a copy of overwatch for those that follow and retweet them on twitter. Keep an eye out for the giveaways and if you get picked as a winner since you'll have to respond! There are no restrictions on region for these! Matcherino Giveaway #1 - 5 giveaways for the Matcherino Giveaway #2 - 1 giveaway for the Matcherino Giveaway #3 - 1 giveaway for the Flipsid3 Tactics is also giving away a free Flipsid3 Tactics Jersey! The jersey comes with the ability to put YOUR name on them as well! More details to come on how to win this but get your twitters ready and make sure you're following the Matcherino Giveaway #1 - 5 giveaways for the Cute But Deadly Vinyls Matcherino Giveaway #2 - 1 giveaway for the Nova Covert Ops Mission Pack Matcherino Giveaway #3 - 1 giveaway for the Overwatch Digital Edition Flipsid3 Tactics is also giving away a free Flipsid3 Tactics Jersey! The jersey comes with the ability to put YOUR name on them as well! More details to come on how to win this but get your twitters ready and make sure you're following the Flipsid3 Tactics twitter! Maps + Show Spoiler + 1) Central Protocol - JonSnow 2) Dusk Towers - PiLiPiLi 3) Lerilak Crests - JonSnow 4) Orbital Shipyard - PiLiPiLi 5) Ulrena - JonSnow - JonSnow 6) Alterzim Stronghold - PiLiPiLi 7) Prion Terraces - JonSnow 8) Nimbus - PiLiPiLi 9) Iron Fortress - JonSnow 10) Secret Spring - PiLiPiLi 11) Dash & Terminal - JonSnow 12) Shakurus Plateau - PiLiPiLi 13) Metalopolis - JonSnow 14) Moonlight Madness - PiLiPiLi 15) Daybreak - JonSnow 16) Vaani Research Station - PiLiPiLi 17) Merry Go Round - JonSnow 18) Tal'Darim Altar - PiLiPiLi 19) Daedalus Point - JonSnow 20) Ruins of Seras - PiLiPiLi 21) Antiga Shipyard - JonSnow 22) Cloud Kingdom - PiLiPiLi 23) Inferno Pools - JonSnow 24) Jungle Basin - PiLiPiLi 25) Frost - JonSnow 26) Bridgehead - PiLiPiLi 27) Habitation Station - JonSnow 28) Echo - PiLiPiLi 29) Star Station - JonSnow 30) Coda - PiLiPiLi 31) Whirlwind - JonSnow 32) Neo Planet S - PiLiPiLi 33) Kylskada - JonSnow 34) Deadwing - PiLiPiLi 35) Scrap Station - JonSnow 36) Overgrowth - PiLiPiLi 37) Reflection - JonSnow 38) Incineration Zone - PiLiPiLi 39) Xel'Naga Caverns - JonSnow 40) Heavy Rain - PiLiPiLi 41) Newkirk Precinct - JonSnow 42) Yeonsu - PiLiPiLi 43) Ulaan Deeps - JonSnow 44) Bel'shir Vestige - PiLiPiLi 45) Klontas Mire - JonSnow 46) Polar Night - PiLiPiLi 47) Bel'shir Beach - JonSnow 48) Catallena - PiLiPiLi 49) Foxtrot - JonSnow 50) Metropolis - PiLiPiLi 51) Way Station - JonSnow 52) Micro Tournament - PiLiPiLi 53) Korhal Compound - JonSnow 54) Cactus Valley - PiLiPiLi 55) Delta Quadrant - JonSnow 56) Akilon Flats - PiLiPiLi 57) Steppes of War - JonSnow 58) Fractured Glacier - PiLiPiLi 59) Penninsula - JonSnow 60) Neo Arkanoid - PiLiPiLi 61) Quicksand - JonSnow 62) Zerus Prime - PiLiPiLi 63) Engines of War - JonSnow 64) Red City - PiLiPiLi 65) Shattered Temple - JonSnow 66) Resupply Tanker - PiLiPiLi 67) Derelict Watch - JonSnow 68) Blistering Sands - PiLiPiLi 69) Steppes of War(must worker rush) The climate for Starcraft is going to change in 2016. We will not be able to rely on the age old foreigner versus Korean story to be excited for every tournament any more. We're going to need to take a harder look at some of the rivalries that exist in the foreign scene that may always exist on the surface level.2015 was the year these two players became enemies. Every season of WCS they met and fought each other in the qualifiers to make it into Challenger league. And not just in WCS but in weekly tournaments like the ESL NA Open and BasetradeTV Corsair Cup, monthlies like the Ladder Heroes Monthly Finals, and even leagues like the Rival Starleague, these two continued to face each other as if drawn to each other like magnets. Their playstyles have At the end of Heart of the Swarm, the two players were at a perfect stalemate in terms of games won: 10 wins for PiLiPiLi, 10 wins for JonSnow.The two have played two more series in Legacy of the Void though and PiLiPiLi has taken a lead in map score 15-11. With LotV meta and balance changing so rapidly and Zerg currently having a large advantage in the matchup, where will things stand? Both of the players have a tendency toward being aggressive players with the potential to fall back on macro. This match is definitely expected to be an exciting one full of action and cheeky play.The starting prize will bebut will be open to donations to increase the prize pool. The winner will receive 60% and
and copyright holders." The report prompted demands for action by consumer groups. Choice urged bipartisan support for the recommendations, including a possible end to geo-blocking, which prevents consumers using the internet to buy products cheaper from overseas. “Our research shows Australians cop a raw deal on digital prices,” Choice director of campaigns Matt Levey said. “Today's report provides a much-needed trigger for government action to terminate the so-called 'Australia tax'.” The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) said higher tech prices were particularly hard on those with disabilities and low incomes. It cited the example of a screen-reading software package, designed to help people with sight disabilities, which it says costs $1095 in the US and $1420 in Australia. ACCAN urged both sides of politics to commit to a government-led accessible IT procurement policy, saying it could help drive down prices. Australian parliament's IT pricing inquiry recommendations: 1. The Committee recommends that the ABS develop a comprehensive program to monitor and report expenditure on IT products, hardware and software, both domestically and overseas, as well as the size and volume of the online retail market. 2. Considering the importance of IT products to education, and in the interests of greater transparency in this area, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government, in consultation with Universities Australia and CAUDIT, conduct a comprehensive study of the future IT needs of and costs faced by Australian Universities, in order to provide clearer financial parameters for negotiations. 3. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider a whole-of-government accessible IT procurement policy, to be developed by relevant agencies including AGIMO, and in consultation with relevant stakeholder groups including ACCAN. 4 Copyright, circumvention, competition, and remedies": The Committee recommends that the parallel importation restrictions still found in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) be lifted, and that the parallel importation defence in the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) be reviewed and broadened to ensure it is effective in allowing the importation of genuine goods. 5. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government amend the Copyright Act’s section 10(1) anti-circumvention provisions to clarify and secure consumers’ rights to circumvent technological protection measures that control geographic market segmentation. 6. The Committee further recommends that the Australian Government investigate options to educate Australian consumers and businesses as to: * the extent to which they may circumvent geoblocking mechanisms in order to access cheaper legitimate goods; * the tools and techniques which they may use to do so; and * the way in which their rights under the Australian Consumer Law may be affected should they choose to do so. 7. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government, in conjunction with relevant agencies, consider the creation of a ‘right of resale’ in relation to digitally distributed content, and clarification of ‘fair use’ rights for consumers, businesses, and educational institutions, including restrictions on vendors’ ability to ‘lock’ digital content into a particular ecosystem. 8. The Committee recommends the repeal of section 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. 9. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider enacting a ban on geo-blocking as an option of last resort, should persistent market failure exist in spite of the changes to the Competition and Consumer Act and the Copyright Act recommended in this report. 10. That the Australian Government investigate the feasibility of amending the Competition and Consumer Act so that contracts or terms of service which seek to enforce geo-blocking are considered void.User Info: AMetroid AMetroid 6 years ago #1 [Will be updating as other provide feedback] Offensive: Shot range: Increase the range your shots will travel Shot homing: increased the arc that your shots will travel towards an enemy Melee dash attack: Increase the damage of your melee attacks when dashing Melee combo: (increase the damage of the last attack in a melee combo)(Increase each subsequent attack in a combo) Standing ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while not moving Forward-dash ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing forward Side-dash ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing left or right Backward-dash ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing backward Standing cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when fired while not moving Forward-dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing forward Side-dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing left or right Backward-dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing backward Dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing in any direction Dashed ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing in any direction In-perial attack boost: Increased your damage when you are in Crises Mode Full-health boost: (Increased the power of your attacks when at full health) Shot cancellation: (Increases the value of your shot cancellation [for negating enemy attacks and other negating yours]) Power attack: Increase the damage done by your attack powers [Mega Laser, Land Mine, ect] Item attack: Increase the damage done with attack items Defensive: Overall defense: reduces the amount of damage received Melee defense: reduces the amount of damage received from melee attacks Shot defense: reduces the amount of damage received from ranged attacks Knockback defense: (reduce recovery time when knocked down by melee attacks) Evasion: (Increased the invariability time after preforming a successful dodge) Health: Increase your total amount of health In-peril autododge: you will sometimes auto dodge when in Crises Mode Stat effects: Confusion: (causes your circle [direction] pad to be inverted [or de-inverted depending on your setup]) Petrification: target is turned to stone and is unable to move or take any action Freezing: target is frozen and is unable to move or take any action Paralysis: greatly reduces the movement speed of the target Shaking: (in PVP this cause the targeting reticle to go haywire [not sure if this has any effect on enemies in solo mode]) Burning: causes the target to take damage over time Poison: causes the target to take damage over time Effect duration: increases the duration of any stats effects you apply Weakening: (Reduce the amount of damage done by target) Recovery effect: Negative status effects will not last as long when applied to you Status resistance: reduces the likelihood of a status effect being applied to you Movement: Speed: Increases all movement speed Walking speed: Increases your movement speed when walking Running speed: Increases your movement speed when running Stamina: Increase the length of time you can run and dash Other: Heart bonus: Increases the number of hearts you get from defeated enemies If you see any errors, have a better explanation of an ability, notice an ability missing, ect. please let me know. Like I mentioned above I'll update as see new modifiers, and get feedback. Modifiers are the bonus properties you get on your weapons. I haven't seen a good explanation of them anywhere so I figured I'd get one together. Here are the bonuses I've seen so far and what they do. Modifiers I'm not sure of, or could use a better description of, are in (parentheses).[Will be updating as other provide feedback]Offensive:Shot range: Increase the range your shots will travelShot homing: increased the arc that your shots will travel towards an enemyMelee dash attack: Increase the damage of your melee attacks when dashingMelee combo: (increase the damage of the last attack in a melee combo)(Increase each subsequent attack in a combo)Standing ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while not movingForward-dash ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing forwardSide-dash ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing left or rightBackward-dash ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing backwardStanding cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when fired while not movingForward-dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing forwardSide-dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing left or rightBackward-dash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing backwardDash cont. fire: Increase the damage of your regular shots when dashing in any directionDashed ch. shot: Increase the damage of your charged shots when fired while dashing in any directionIn-perial attack boost: Increased your damage when you are in Crises ModeFull-health boost: (Increased the power of your attacks when at full health)Shot cancellation: (Increases the value of your shot cancellation [for negating enemy attacks and other negating yours])Power attack: Increase the damage done by your attack powers [Mega Laser, Land Mine, ect]Item attack: Increase the damage done with attack itemsDefensive:Overall defense: reduces the amount of damage receivedMelee defense: reduces the amount of damage received from melee attacksShot defense: reduces the amount of damage received from ranged attacksKnockback defense: (reduce recovery time when knocked down by melee attacks)Evasion: (Increased the invariability time after preforming a successful dodge)Health: Increase your total amount of healthIn-peril autododge: you will sometimes auto dodge when in Crises ModeStat effects:Confusion: (causes your circle [direction] pad to be inverted [or de-inverted depending on your setup])Petrification: target is turned to stone and is unable to move or take any actionFreezing: target is frozen and is unable to move or take any actionParalysis: greatly reduces the movement speed of the targetShaking: (in PVP this cause the targeting reticle to go haywire [not sure if this has any effect on enemies in solo mode])Burning: causes the target to take damage over timePoison: causes the target to take damage over timeEffect duration: increases the duration of any stats effects you applyWeakening: (Reduce the amount of damage done by target)Recovery effect: Negative status effects will not last as long when applied to youStatus resistance: reduces the likelihood of a status effect being applied to youMovement:Speed: Increases all movement speedWalking speed: Increases your movement speed when walkingRunning speed: Increases your movement speed when runningStamina: Increase the length of time you can run and dashOther:Heart bonus: Increases the number of hearts you get from defeated enemiesIf you see any errors, have a better explanation of an ability, notice an ability missing, ect. please let me know. Like I mentioned above I'll update as see new modifiers, and get feedback.Energy drinks packed with caffeine can change the way the heart beats, researchers warn. The team from the University of Bonn in Germany imaged the hearts of 17 people an hour after they had an energy drink. The study showed contractions were more forceful after the drink. The team told the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America that children and people with some health conditions should avoid the drinks. Researcher Dr Jonas Dorner said: "Until now, we haven't known exactly what effect these energy drinks have on the function of the heart. "The amount of caffeine is up to three times higher than in other caffeinated beverages like coffee or cola. "There are many side effects known to be associated with a high intake of caffeine, including rapid heart rate, palpitations, rise in blood pressure and, in the most severe cases, seizures or sudden death." The researchers gave the participants a drink containing 32mg per 100ml of caffeine and 400mg per 100ml of another chemical, taurine. Short-term impact They showed the chamber of the heart that pumps blood around the body, the left ventricle, was contracting harder an hour after the energy drink was taken than at the start of the study. Dr Dorner added: "We've shown that energy drink consumption has a short-term impact on cardiac contractility. "We don't know exactly how or if this greater contractility of the heart impacts daily activities or athletic performance." The impact on people with heart disease is also unknown. However, the research team advises that children and people with an irregular heartbeat should avoid the drinks. The British Soft Drinks Association already says the drinks are not for children.There are 4 different grilling methods. To be able to grill great tasting barbeques, you need to be familiar about what method to use for best results. Direct Grilling It is the most used technique. It is when the heat is directly under the food. It can be applied in both charcoal and gas grills. This is the best method for grilling small amounts of food in thin slices, which can be cooked in less than 30 minutes –such as chicken, prawns, steaks, fish, burgers and even vegetables. With this technique, the heat and smoke is quickly transferred to your food. The best way to setup a grill for direct barbecuing is to create 3 zones – a hot zone, a cooking zone and a cool zone. This will prevent the food from getting overcooked. To setup your charcoal grill for direct grilling, just spread the charcoal on an even layer under the grate and pre-heat the grate. Make sure to lightly brush the meat with oil before cooking it. To create 3 zones, the coals should only be on one third of the grill, piled 2x higher than the coals on the cooking zone right beside it. The last zone should have no heat under it. This is where you can place the meat when it is starting to burn. As an example, you can sear a steak by placing it on the hot zone, then moving it to the cooking zone to cook the inside of the meat and then transfer it to the cool zone to keep it warm. On a gas grill, you can also create 3 zones by adjusting the burners to high, medium and low depending on how many burners you have. Cooking through direct grilling is most often done on an ordinary open barbecue grill. However, when you grill directly using a grill with a lid, the steam gets into the food making it juicier and more tender. Indirect Grilling It is best when cooking larger foods and tougher meats which would require a longer time to cook at a moderate heat– such as whole chicken, turkey, briskets and ribs. The food is not cooked over the heat source but rather right beside it. A grill with a lid is best when using this technique as the heat is retained, which allows the food to absorb more smoke and flavors. To setup your charcoal grill for indirect grilling, spread the coals under the grate and light the charcoal with a lighter fluid or newspaper until they start to glow red. Move the coals on the opposite sides of the grill, leaving no coal on the middle. Put a drip pan with water (some use beer or juice to add flavor) between the glowing embers. Cook the meat on the center of the grill over the drip pan. The purpose of the drip pan is to catch the drippings which can cause flare-ups that will burn the food. Always keep the lid of the grill closed to maintain the temperature. If you keep opening, it will lengthen the cooking time and you won’t maintain the heat at 275 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. It would help if you have a temperature gauge. Your grill has to have vents where you can adjust the temperature via the airflow. To barbecue indirectly on a gas grill, light one side of the grill and then cook on the other side. If you have 3 or 4 burners, light the outside burners and cook on the center. Circular Method It is a technique which uses briquettes. The stones are placed in a circle around the grill. This method can be used when grilling really big meat cuts such as whole turkeys, but is most often used for making bread and pizza – and can only be done on a charcoal grill. Setting up your grill using the circular method is the same as setting it up for indirect grilling. The difference lies in the way you arrange the hot briquettes. In this method, you will place it around the grill in a circle, along the edges. A drip pan should also be placed in the middle to catch the drippings and avoid flare-ups. 50/50 Method This grilling technique is used when your food needs to be “browned” first and then cooked for a long time. It’s grilling 50% on direct heat and 50% on indirect heat. For this, you need 2 zones. Set up your grill the way you would when grilling indirectly. One side should have a pile of hot briquettes and the other side a drip tray with hot water. Once the briquettes are hot enough, position the grate and place the food above the briquettes. Once brown, move the food to the cooking zone, above the drip tray – where it will cook in indirect heat. You can also do this on gas grills with 2 burners. Once browned, just transfer the meat on the side of the burners that are not lit. For single burners, turn the knob to the lowest setting when the food is brown.I would like to set out, beyond all reasonable doubt, why I fight religion. I wish to do this so that those people that ask, “why not just leave religion alone”, can refer to this article for the absolute definition why. You see, I am now convinced beyond any reasonable doubt, that religion is simply the biggest source of hatred in the world. It is a morally bankrupt delusion, baseless and poisonous to society and humanity in general. I have come to the conclusion that if there is anyone, absolutely anyone, who can claim to be rational. Or moral. Or good, then religion would be abhorrent to them in the most extreme sense. They would realise that it is nothing more than a way to lead the good people of this earth in fear, and hatred. It is a tool to demonize humanity. It will surprise some of you, that I read the bible every day. I do this for different reasons than you may do so. The more I read it, the more I realize that it is an immoral and sadistic tool, used to force people to commit wholly wicked acts in the name of a God. Everything from Genocide, to slavery, to rape, to sexism is condoned, and in fact commanded to be done in the name of God. To this God I will say, NO. I reject you. You are not moral. You are the opposite of what any free thinking rational human being could in his right mind hope for. Go away. It is a tool that is used to legislate. These are now your laws as well as mine. It’s your fault you’re a homosexual, now get off my streets. Burn in Hell, you faggot. And to you - it’s your fault you were raped, now you will have to live with it, you cannot have an abortion. Next time don’t dress like that. It’s your fault you were born a woman, now it’s my right to beat you. And humiliate you. And subject you to my will. It’s my right, because God says so, and if you don’t agree, then I condemn you to eternal torture. That’s what I say is moral. That’s my creed, and if you disagree, then I will strap a bomb to my back and take you with me. No ladies and Gentlemen, I won’t accept this. No, I cannot accept it. I will fight it. I will fight it alone, I will fight it with anyone who will join me. I will shout its misgivings and belittle its preachers. I will not stand by and let this go on. I have a moral obligation, and so does everyone to eradicate this evil from the planet. As quickly and as effectively as possible. Join me when I say, I will never turn to a God for answers ever again. Ladies and gentlemen, I appeal to anyone who is not sure. Anyone that is still seeking the truth, for the sake of humanity’s future. For the sake of your children. For the sake of the people living here today, right now, reject this cultist delusion. Kind regards PeteThe footage was filmed on December 28 on the Routt County slopes As if there weren't already enough potential perils on the slopes, skiers in Steamboat Springs in Colorado had to contend with a charging moose this week. In footage shot on Sunday, December 28, a moose wandered onto the popular ski fields of Routt County and took aim at a red jacket-wearing ski patrolman. Luckily for the patrolman, who was not on skis, he was fleet of foot enough to evade the largest member of the deer like a matador. A moose charges a ski patrolman on the slopes of Steamboat Springs in Colorado The moose was seen wandering up the piste of a popular ski resort in Routt County Like a matador, the patrolman evades the largest member of the deer family Moose are commonly found in the area after being introduced in the late 1970s. Run-ins between the creatures and people aren't entirely uncommon. A woman walking her dogs in February was injured when charged.By now, you've probably seen images of the leaked Seattle Sounders shirt. For the most part, reactions were somewhere short of universally enthusiastic, but far short of apoplectic. Reactions to today's leak have not be so constrained. At first glance, you might not get the indignation. Sure, this image is a bit underwhelming but it's also clearly a replica. And, yes, the jock tag does run the risk of annoying hard-core supporters who use that phrase in chants. But to understand the uproar, you need to look a little closer. Notice something missing? Like a comma maybe? And then it hits you... like a ton of bricks. If our English teachers taught us anything it's that commas can entirely change the meaning of a sentence. The missing comma turns what should be a call to arms into a potentially gross act. Let's hope someone at adidas gets this fixed before it's too late.This library is a straightforward combinatorization of the well-known technique of memoization. Let's start with the canonical example: fib = (map fib' [0..]!!) where fib' 0 = 0 fib' 1 = 1 fib' n = fib (n-1) + fib (n-2) I interpret what you said to mean that you know how and why this works. So I'll focus on the combinatorization. We are essentiallly trying to capture and generalize the idea of (map f [0..]!!). The type of this function is (Int -> r) -> (Int -> r), which makes sense: it takes a function from Int -> r and returns a memoized version of the same function. Any function which is semantically the identity and has this type is called a "memoizer for Int " (even id, which doesn't memoize). We generalize to this abstraction: type Memo a = forall r. (a -> r) -> (a -> r) So a Memo a, a memoizer for a, takes a function from a to anything, and returns a semantically identical function that has been memoized (or not). The idea of the different memoizers is to find a way to enumerate the domain with a data structure, map the function over them, and then index the data structure. bool is a good example: bool :: Memo Bool bool f = table (f True, f False) where table (t,f) True = t table (t,f) False = f Functions from Bool are equivalent to pairs, except a pair will only evaluate each component once (as is the case for every value that occurs outside a lambda). So we just map to a pair and back. The essential point is that we are lifting the evaluation of the function above the lambda for the argument (here the last argument of table ) by enumerating the domain. Memoizing Maybe a is a similar story, except now we need to know how to memoize a for the Just case. So the memoizer for Maybe takes a memoizer for a as an argument: maybe :: Memo a -> Memo (Maybe a) maybe ma f = table (f Nothing, ma (f. Just)) where table (n,j) Nothing = n table (n,j) (Just x) = j x The rest of the library is just variations on this theme. The way it memoizes integral types uses a more appropriate structure than [0..]. It's a bit involved, but basically just creates an infinite tree (representing the numbers in binary to elucidate the structure): 1 10 100 1000 1001 101 1010 1011 11 110 1100 1101 111 1110 1111 So that looking up a number in the tree has running time proportional to the number of bits in its representation. As sclv points out, Conal's MemoTrie library uses the same underlying technique, but uses a typeclass presentation instead of a combinator presentation. We released our libraries independently at the same time (indeed, within a couple hours!). Conal's is easier to use in simple cases (there is only one function, memo, and it will determine the memo structure to use based on the type), whereas mine is more flexible, as you can do things like this: boundedMemo :: Integer -> Memo Integer boundedMemo bound f = \z -> if z < bound then memof z else f z where memof = integral f Which only memoizes values less than a given bound, needed for the implementation of one of the project euler problems. There are other approaches, for example exposing an open fixpoint function over a monad: memo :: MonadState... m => ((Integer -> m r) -> (Integer -> m r)) -> m (Integer -> m r) Which allows yet more flexibility, eg. purging caches, LRU, etc. But it is a pain in the ass to use, and also it puts strictness constraints on the function to be memoized (e.g. no infinite left recursion). I don't believe there are any libraries that implement this technique. Did that answer what you were curious about? If not, perhaps make explicit the points you are confused about?An affable old sea barnacle has washed up along the shores of Hertel Avenue. Earnest “Earnie” Thomas left Buffalo 31 years ago, and spent most of that time as a seafood inspector for the Alaskan Department of Environmental Conservation. Eventually Earnie made his way back to Buffalo, to be with members of his family, including his daughter who he opened a seafood store with in Eden in 2010. Living in Alaska for 25 years has given Earnie an insight into the world of seafood that has made him an expert among experts when it comes to procuring the freshest fish in the region. Ernie’s connections in the industry means that he gets what he wants, when he wants it. I walked into Earnie’s new seafood shop (an old gas station) as he was waiting on a customer. As he talked to the woman, he meticulously folded wax paper edges over a piece of fish that she had just purchased. As he folded, and taped, and folded… he told her a story about his days in Alaska. The man was literally reliving his adventures in his mind as he packaged her purchase. Upon her exit, he told her a quick joke and said, “My name is Earnest – I cannot tell a lie.” After she walked out, I walked up to the counter. Right off the bat, he said, “My name is Earnest, I cannot tell a lie. Want to try some seafood chowder?” I told him that I was mainly curious about his business endeavor, which was probably the wrong thing to say, because for the next two hours (or so it seamed), we hunkered down over an electric burner and a frying pan, cooking up seafood chowder, fish, eating and slurping, and talking about Earnie’s explorations of The Last Frontier. There are two things that you need to know about Ernie. Don’t talk politics with the man, and don’t try to out-joke him. He’s got small town political grudges a mile long, and a never-ending supply of jokes. There are a couple more things that you should know about this saltwater sea skipper – he’s got a story behind every piece of fish, and he has a tendency to wander around the store pointing to Alaskan maps, flipping through scrapbooks, extracting newspaper clippings and every so often pointing out his wolverine hat – the last wolverine to live on some island in Alaska – a unsuspecting vermin that he shot, through the body of another animal that the Wolverine happened to be devouring. According to Earnie, it’s the warmest hat on the planet. The thickness of the animal’s coat was the only way that it could have lived in the harshest of Alaskan conditions… that is, until it came across Earnie. Needless to say, the hat is not bullet proof. Ever since the incident, Earnie was able to combat the same winter elements that the wolverine was formerly able to endure. Survival of the fittest I suppose. As Earnie talked, and I tried to keep him on track, my eyes continually wandered around the shop, which looks like a bait and tackle shop on a wharf in Alaska. I couldn’t help but notice that the menu featured an array of food items that looked to be sort of unusual, but I guess it all made sense considering where this guy was coming from. Until Friday, I had never heard of reindeer hotdogs and caribou jerky. But there they were, along with a lot of other recognizable fish, along with some that were a bit more obscure. As we talked, with the frying pan sizzling before us (he was preparing seafood pierogi with pineapple), I began to hunker down, kinda feeling like we were heading out on some grand Alaskan adventure. In my head, Earnie took me along the banks of the Yukon River in search of Eskimos making squaw candy. At times, we headed out to sea, inspecting bulkheads and sleeping in freezing conditions, with rolling waves and salty dogs barking out in the night. We visited canneries and a crazy German guy smoking salmon in unsafe conditions in Juno. We collected fish samples, and even escaped near death from foxes that were tracking us down during a whiteout. We even paid a visit to Earnie’s cabin in Alexander Creek – “You can stay there,” he said. “What?” I replied. “You can stay there… at my cabin. Anyone can – I arrange expeditions to Alaska.’ Along with expeditions, Earnie also bottles mashed up king salmon fish heads that he says is the elixir of life – pure Omega 3. “You take some of that everyday, and you’ll be the healthiest guy around,” he told me. “All of this is healthy [pointing around the hut]. I want my customers to be healthy because I want them to live to 150 [laughing]. I need to keep my customers healthy, or I won’t have any customers in a hundred years. This fish is the freshest. There’s nothing bad for you. When you come back, I’ll have more recipes for you, and more fish to try. My customers will be healthy – they won’t be eating the bad stuff that’s out there. I call in an order of seafood by a certain time today, and UPS has it to me the next day – it doesn’t get any fresher or healthier than that. I know what I’m ordering because I know the people who are sending it to me. I know what to look for, because that was my job for 25 years.” Looking at the time, I am realizing that I could write about Earnie all day… the stories, the people, the fish, the animals, the maps, the cooking, the Omega 3… the line of gloves that he is coming up with, made from tanned fish! “It’s all healthy, all natural, wild and all American!” Earnie exclaimed, incrementally raising his voice. I didn’t have time to tell you about the parking ticket that made him curse off Elmwood and head to Hertel. Or the Vietnam vet loan that he never got. Or the drywall guy who screwed him over. Or the local developer that shafted him. Or his plan to export veggies from Eden to Alaska. I’ll gladly leave some of these stories for you… along with an array of fun-loving jokes that he’ll be shouting out after you, as you’re walking out the door with, hopefully, a perfectly wrapped filet of fish in your hand. Exclusively Alaskan Good \| 1650 Hertel Avenue \| Buffalo NY \| 716-369-6961A view of Nokia's head offices in Espoo, Finland, April 15, 2015. REUTERS/Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva/Files FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Nokia, once the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, plans to start designing and licensing handsets again once an agreement with partner Microsoft allows it to in 2016, its chief executive told Germany’s Manager Magazin. “We will look for suitable partners,” Rajeev Suri said in an interview published on Thursday. “Microsoft makes mobile phones. We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license.” Finland’s Nokia sold its phone business to Microsoft in 2014 after years of declining sales as it failed to keep up with innovations led by Apple’s iPhone. But months later it launched a new brand-licensed tablet computer, produced under license by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, with an intention to follow up with more devices. Many analysts expect Microsoft to write off all or part of the $7.2 billion it paid for Nokia’s handset unit, a deal that left Microsoft with a money-losing business and only 3 percent of the smartphone market. Microsoft manager Stephen Elop, whom the U.S. software giant installed as Nokia chief executive for a time, is now leaving Microsoft in a sign the company is turning away from the hardware devices business he headed and back to its core software business. Nokia in April announced a 15.6 billion-euro ($17.8 billion) takeover of Alcatel-Lucent in a bid to boost the network equipment business that is now its mainstay. It is also hiving off its mapping business, which has drawn interest from German premium carmakers BMW, Audi and Mercedes, as well as Silicon Valley and Chinese Internet and technology businesses. Upon being asked whether there were any preferred bidders for the HERE high-definition maps business, Suri told the magazine, “Anybody who can improve the business in the long run is a good buyer.”Episode 1: The Angels of Abaddon If you enjoyed Divergent or Wool, enjoy Future's Fight. "What some call terrorists... others call Hope" Don't Miss It! #FuturesFight 647 views Copy and paste the embed code on your website, blog post or article. Make sure Javascript is enabled. Sci-Fi 0 publishers interested View publishers • Express interest Question: Where did the idea for Future's Fight come from? Answer: I, Scott M. Britner, created the idea for the book series and pitched the idea to Stacy Welsh who wrote Episode 1. I am coordinating the creation of the book assets including covers, character illustrations, audio book version, etc. (with feedback from Stacey). Question: What is the Future's Fight book series about? Answer: Check out the book trailer below... Question: What are the funds for this proposal to be used for? Answer: Your investment will be used specifically for the marketing and expansion of Future's Fight - Episode 1: The Angels of Abaddon. 1.) Expansion Printed Book: the story will be expanded into a Printed Book (paperback and hardback) for those who still enjoy the feel of a physical book in their hand. Audio Book: the story will be expanded into an Audio Book for those who have a long commute to work or simply prefer to hear the story rather than reading it. This expansion is all about increasing the user experience - giving people the option to consume the story the way they desire. 2.) Marketing I am convinced there is a large audience of people around the world who will love and appreciate this dystopian sci-fi story and its characters. While the traditional audience for this type of story are women 18-35, I do believe this story will resonate a broader audience due to the various sub-storylines - such as government control, social segregation (the 1% versus the rest of society), populace control by propoganda, and certainly the rise of a resistance group and their fight for the rights of the people. Additional marketing is not about selling more books... it's about reaching more fans... and getting them engaged in the experience. I don't want books sitting on shelves... I want fans who care about Sophie, Elizabeth and the other characters. I want fans who engage in friendly discussions about whether the resistance group are 'terrorists' or future Robin Hoods. I want fans who care about what's going to happen next and even offer their own suggestions about what future Episodes should include. I will not let you down. I will try to provide you more value than you invest in us. And I will do everything in my power to ensure your investment is used to the best of its ability to create the best audience experience. Question : So why did I create the science fiction series "Future's Fight"? Answer : I grew up with science fiction (books, TV and movies). I've seen it both entertain and inspire. I've seen the science fiction of yesterday turn into the science fact of today. There's something special about science fiction. And I wanted to start this journey with something special. :) I believe there's something'special' about this story and these characters. I'm curious to see which characters become your favorite. [a little secret... Sophie is my favorite...] Question: Why do I refer to myself as the Producer? Answer: This is not about having a fancy title. It is about my desire to give credit where credit is due. I had the idea for this story but I did not write the words that brought the characters to life. That was Stacey. She is an amazing author. So if I wasn't the 'author', I tried to describe my role... and "idea creator and production coordinator" was a lot of words. So I boiled my role down to one word - Producer. Question: Why do you
additional vector corruption to open up full range memory control. Figure 7: How vector corruption occurs After the vector corruption, the exploit builds an ROP chain and shellcode by reading into the process memory and collecting the required gadget locations. The exploitation creates a FileReference object on the memory and overwrites its cancel method to the attacker-controlled code. After that, it calls the FileReference.cancel method to pass control to malicious code. Figure 8 Calling FileReference.cancel method In conclusion, this vulnerability resides in the old ActionScript 2 engine, an area that was ignored by malicious attackers for some time. However, now that a vulnerability in this legacy code has been revealed, we might see more exploited. When the vulnerability itself is a type confusion, exploiting it is relatively easy for an attacker utilizing old methods of corrupt vector objects. The predictable behavior of vector allocation and layout implementation of Adobe Flash Player has been exploited for some time. Using the vector corruption method, an attacker can gain a reliable entry point to further exploit vulnerabilities that are otherwise not so simple to exploit. Understanding how this exploit works helps us to be better prepared to detect and patch future exploits. Exploits such as this are usually delivered through exploit kits. Jeong Wook OhCLOSE Students walked out of their classes, over Vanderbilt's campus and into the student center, chanting "not my president" before heading toward 21st Avenue on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016. Adam Tamburin/The Tennessean Buy Photo Vanderbilt University students protest Friday on campus. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)Buy Photo Hundreds of Vanderbilt University students walked out of their classes Friday in protest of President-elect Donald Trump, and they are marching on the sidewalks and streets. Students left their classes at 12:30 p.m., walked through Vanderbilt's campus and into the student center, chanting "not my president" before heading toward 21st Avenue. They marched across West End Avenue — briefly shutting it down — and traveled down 21st Avenue and back to campus through the law school. The students chanted loudly in the school as other students studied or watched from the hallways. Studying while protest passes by. pic.twitter.com/6tEHDlObNv — Adam Tamburin (@tamburintweets) November 11, 2016 Many students are carrying flowers and discussing implications of the Trump presidency. Metro police blocked traffic and redirected drivers. Some motorists honked at the students as they marched in and along the streets. The group marched into Kirkland Hall, which is where the university's top administrators work. They crammed into the space just outside the executive offices, and are chanting and beating a drum. The students left the administration at about 2 p.m. and continued their march on campus. They headed for the central dining hall and chanted, "We love you" to the dining workers, which is a reference to their long fight for better wages on campus. The march concluded in front of the library at about 2:40 p.m. Vanderbilt University Police Chief August J. Washington, who walked behind the group the entire march, said there were no issues during the protest. Organizers have another demonstration planned for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Hard to get a sense for the size of the crowd, but here's a sense. pic.twitter.com/W387AO8lD6 — Adam Tamburin (@tamburintweets) November 11, 2016 The scene at @VanderbiltU, where hundreds of students are marching into the student center to protest Trump. pic.twitter.com/4VklbmifAS — Adam Tamburin (@tamburintweets) November 11, 2016 Large crowd, but pretty mild mannered by protest standards. Taking it through campus now. pic.twitter.com/ItBfetKtnp — Adam Tamburin (@tamburintweets) November 11, 2016 Reporter Holly Meyer contributed to this report. Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets. Buy Photo Vanderbilt University protesters gather on West End at 21st Ave. South in Nashville protesting Friday against the presidential election results. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean) Buy Photo Vanderbilt University protesters march down West End Ave. near 21st Ave. South on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, protesting against the presidential election results. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean) &amp;amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;amp;lt;!--iframe--&amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;nbsp; Buy Photo Vanderbilt University protesters gather on West End Ave. at the intersection of 21st Ave. South in Nashville protesting Friday against the presidential election results. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean) Read or Share this story: http://tnne.ws/2fK3IvIAmazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0446581844, Paperback) Dean Karnazes has run 350 continuous miles through three sleepless nights, ordered pizza during long runs, and inspired fans the world over with his adventures. So what does a guy like this do when he wants to face the ultimate test of endurance? He runs 50 marathons in 50 states-- in 50 consecutive days.With little more than a road map and a caravan packed with fellow runners and a dedicated crew, Dean set off on a tour that took him through a volcanic canyon in Maui in high humidity and 88-degree heat; to an elevation gain of almost 4,000 feet at the Tecumseh Trail Marathon in Bloomington, Indiana; to a severed moose leg found alongside an Anchorage, Alaska trail that compelled him to sprint for safety.Now in this heart-pounding book, Dean reveals how he pulled off this unfathomable feat with a determination that defied all physical limitations. But Dean goes beyond the story of the Endurance 50 marathons to share his invaluable secrets and advice for athletes of all levels. These are the tips that kept Dean going during the 1,310 miles he covered and 160,000 calories he burned while averaging sub-four-hour marathons and often sleeping fewer than four hours each night. Learn how to:· Recover more quickly· Adapt to extreme conditions· Prevent muscle cramps and overheating· Pace yourself when you "hit the wall"· Stay motivatedPacked with practical advice and including training regimens, 50/50 will inspire you no matter what your fitness goal is, whether it's simply walking around the block, running a 10K, or completing yet another Ironman.I’ve been reading A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson all month, and it’s been so healing and inspiring. I had gotten too caught up with chasing goals and ambitions in January that I started to feel scatterbrained, like there was a piece of the puzzle that was missing. This book literally brought me back to love, and reminded me to put love first, because love should always be our first priority. Here’s the idea that can make your world more beautiful: “Be a living expression of love” We already are a living expressions of love; we just don’t always choose to express that love within us. We’re conditioned to hide it or hold it back to protect ourselves. But we want to choose love over fear, and tap into our power to bring love back into the world. All it is is a shift in perception— To put love first. To express love in all that you think, say, and do. When you put love first, you’re choosing to see the world through the eyes of love, which immediately makes your world more beautiful. You see the good, the positivity & the hope, rather than focusing on the fear and negativity. You see the good in people and how perfect they already are, rather than focusing on their human flaws. As you choose to see the love in the world, you start to find it everywhere, and notice all the miracles happening every day. As I’m shifting my perception to love, I’ve noticed examples of love in places that I normally would take for granted: a great conversation at dinner, laughing with my cousins, simple acts from people that show they care, etc. When you express love in all that you think, say and do, you are contributing to the world in the best way. Love can be expressed in so many forms: it’s compassion, kindness, helping, supporting and uplifting others, giving, serving, being genuine and authentic, loving yourself & being confident, or doing things that make your soul happy like singing, dancing, playing sports, anything… When you think, speak, and act out of love over fear, you affect the people and environment around you in a positive way, making the world around you more beautiful. The world genuinely needs more love—and I know we all have a lot to give. So be a living expression of love, and you will make your world and the world around you more beautiful. xx1 The Hand in the Desert, Chile Vacation spots in South America are extremely popular, from the Copacabana Beach in Brazil to hiking the Machu Picchu to experience the Inca tribes past. However, Chile offers one of the most unique and breathe taking sports in all of the South American continent, The Hand in the Desert. An 11 meter high monument created by the sculptor, Mario Irarrazabal, The Hand in the Desert offers a breath taking image. However, it is not the sight of the image that visitors should worry about, it is what it could represent. When looking at the sculpture, it appears to be something of a giant, emerging through the ground and back onto earth after years of being buried underground. Could this be the hand of god’ that Chile’s neighbours, Argentina, are so famous for? It is for you to decide!The Thunder trail the Spurs 2-0 in the series. (Juan Ocampo/Getty Images) The Thunder trail the Spurs 2-0 in the series. (Juan Ocampo/Getty Images) Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks says center Serge Ibaka will start for the team in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, according to Royce Young of ESPN. Ibaka said after Game 1 he would not be available at all this series due to a left calf injury he suffered in the final game of the team's Western Conference semifinal victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. However, the team later announced he recovered ahead of schedule, and would be available for Game 3. Brooks also said the team had no playing time limits for Ibaka in his return, although the center would likely spend much of his off-court time on a training bike. Scott Brooks says Serge Ibaka will start tonight. — Royce Young (@royceyoung) May 25, 2014 Brooks says Ibaka will probably be on the stationary bike most of the time when he's not playing. — Royce Young (@royceyoung) May 25, 2014 Brooks says no restrictions on Ibaka. — Royce Young (@royceyoung) May 25, 2014Everton finished 11th. That may not mean much to you right now, desensitized by the difficulty of maintaining long term schadenfreude (unless you’re unhealthily obsessed Arsenal fans on St Totteringham’s Day), but it’s pretty insane and has kind of gone completely under the radar (pun intentionally not avoided). In his StatsBomb preview for the 2014/15 season, Paul Riley predicted that they would finish 5th-7th. And that was pretty reserved, especially for a fan – when Everton signed Lukaku, it was seen as a declaration of intent; not to languish in midtable or, indeed, even Europa, but to compete for the Champions League. Yet here we are, a year later, with all the joys of hindsight and the destruction of a 38-game implosion in front of us. Magnifying glass in hand, we start to sift through the debris, an aching question on the periphery of our minds: Dafuq happened to Everton? The overall picture Everton’s TSR, 10th highest in the league, doesn’t present us with anything initially shocking, although they slightly underperformed according to the metric. Everton’s Expected Goals Ratio ranks them 13th in the league. Their season doesn’t seem to be one of huge ExpG over-performance like Chelsea or Swansea, or under-performance like QPR, though their Expected Goal Difference (-7.7) was 5.7 goals lower than their actual Goal Difference (-2). But that should, in theory, mean that Everton’s poor (relative to last season) point performance is explainable by the model. Through separating attack and defence, we may be able to find out more about the difference between this Everton and the one of yesteryear. Woeful attack Everton of 2014/15 scored 13 less goals than the year before, and took the 11th most shots (471) in the league, which ties up pretty well with their league position. But, if we look at Expected Goals For, the picture drastically changes. According to Michael Caley’s Expected Goals model, Everton had the second worst attack in the league last season. That’s an attack worse than Sunderland. That’s an attack worse than West Bromwich Albion. You get the picture, you understand rankings – you fully comprehend that’s an attack worse than EVERYONE other than Hull City. And that’s backed up by Paul Riley, who said, of this season, “It’s the worst attacking performance from Everton I have on record”. But, why? What about Everton’s shots isn’t translating into Expected Goals? Everton take 49% of their shots from outsize of the box, according to WhoScored, while only 4% of their shots were in the 6 yard box. I’m sure all of us, even you, Charlie Adam, can see why that’s stupid. To contextualise a bit, Chelsea took 41% of their shots from outside the box, and 7% from the 6 yard box. Stoke, with aforementioned punter on the books, took 48% of their shots from outside the area but managed 9% in the six-yard box. Shot location being an issue for Everton explains, at least in part, why Expected Goals rates their attack so poorly. The message is echoed in volume, too. Everton managed the 3rd fewest shots in the danger zone, and according to Paul Riley, “along with Hull, the lowest number of danger zone SoTs last season”. Interestingly, Paul goes onto say that “in two of the the three years I have for Martinez at Wigan they were in the bottom two on this measure”, which would imply that this is a direct consequence of Martinez’s idiosyncratic tactics. You have to feel sorry for Romelu Lukaku. On the surface, his mere 10 goals in the league seems poor for someone bought for £28m, but being a striker is as much about finishing chances as getting them. Looking at shots per 90 and key passes per 90 as a crude measure of selfishness/creativity, we can see how uncreative the attackers behind Lukaku are. Ozil is there as a sort of altruistic benchmark – it may be that you can only have one designated creator in a 4231, but Everton have none in their attack (except…err…arguably…Aaron Lennon…). Everton lean on Baines for his creative ability – in 13/14, he assisted 0.13 per 90; in 14/15, that number rose to 0.29. This could just be random variance, but Baines of the season to just finish played 0.58 more key passes per 90 too. From 13/14 to 14/15, Everton had a marked drop in attacking strength according to Expected Goals. Since there hasn’t been a huge personnel change (signed Lukaku, replaced Deulofeu with Atsu), it may be that Martinez’s tactics are failing to create as many chances as they used to. Perhaps teams have clued up to the Spaniard’s game-plan, or maybe the attackers just had really poor seasons (Mirallas’ assist rate dropped from 0.31 P90 to 0.06, though his NPG90 increased from 0.31 to 0.44). Figuring out the exact cause of Everton’s attack becoming so blunt would probably take more granular analysis, but that it is blunt is there for all to see. This isn’t ExpG under-performance that could be classed as unlucky or variance, this is a massive observable difference in the team’s ability to create chances. Average defence and the R word In terms of Expected Goals Against, Everton rank 13th in the league. Their defence isn’t particularly bad, but it’s by no means brilliant either. They were expected to concede 7.7 goals more in 14/15 than in 13/14 – in reality, Everton’s 14/15 defence was 11 goals worse off than the one of the year before. A big difference that the model won’t be picking up (and may account for the extra goals conceded) between this season and last year can be found just behind the defence, in between the goalposts. Tim Howard’s save % from the danger zone was 57% last year, while the league average is 44%. This year, Everton’s was 43.59%, worsened only by Liverpool and Newcastle. As I pointed out in my piece on Swansea, and Paul did in his Everton season preview, danger-zone save percentage isn’t the most repeatable of metrics. Furthermore, according to Objective Football, Everton’s overall save % (half of the make-up of PDO) of 61.2% was the lowest in the league this season. Paul’s prediction of the effect of the inevitable regression in save percentage was almost perfect: “the numbers suggest it’s far more likely that more of the same next season will result in nearer 50 goals conceded than 40.” In the end, they conceded 50. Conclusion Dafuq happened to Everton, Bobby of a thousand words and countless graphs ago? Well, two extremely noticeable things, as far as we can tell: their attack retired, and Tim Howard regressed from Superman to Clark Kent. The former is a way bigger issue, because attacking prowess is something that can (in theory) be rectified and repeated, whereas danger zone save percentage is always likely to regress to the mean. The difference in Expected Goals For was also much bigger (16.7 goals) than in Expected Goals Against (5.3 goals). If the defence and attack were boats, the defence has a slightly bigger hole in the bottom this year round, while the attack has capsized altogether. Quite why Everton’s tactics worked so much less than the year before, considering a minimal amount of change in personnel, is a harder question to answer. The evidence is there – a lack of danger-zone shots, not enough creative play from attackers, too much shooting outside the box – but pinning the exact causes would probably take far more granular and comparative analysis. It may be infinitely more complex than needing a creator in attack, but I do wonder how this Everton team would play with someone like Gylfi Sigurdsson behind Lukaku. Martinez has to fix his attack, or his promise to Bill Kenwright of Champions League football will become increasingly laughable. Thanks for reading, and many thanks to Paul Riley and Michael Caley for data. I can be found on Twitter if you wanna discuss the piece. Related Article by Bobby GardinerAbbott reveals his plan for a more selfish Australia Updated Such a sharp cut to foreign aid deserved far more than a 24-hour debate, but it nevertheless caps a smart and disciplined election campaign from the Coalition, writes Barrie Cassidy. Well, now you know. Under Tony Abbott Australia will be a wealthier and more selfish country. The Coalition finally revealed - less than 40 hours before Australia votes - that it will create a $6 billion improvement on the budget bottom line and start paying down debt. But to get there, an Abbott government will cut $4.5 billion from foreign aid. The alternative treasurer, Joe Hockey, promised that Australia will do more to help out the rest of the world when it has a better economy. But rarely has the economy been better comparatively with the rest of the world than it now is. At the very least, such a sharp cut in foreign aid deserved far more than a 24-hour debate competing with the absolute cacophony of the last day of an election campaign. However, politically, the announcement will probably not hurt the Coalition very much at all. Many Australians will be satisfied that the last minute cuts didn't impact on them personally, or on key areas like health and education. So with the final long-awaited piece of the jigsaw puzzle in place, nothing much will change. There is a certain rhythm to Australian politics; a consistency that goes back 50 years or more. Part of that rhythm is that when governments change hands, it's rarely close. Governments have held on narrowly, and sometimes with less than 50 per cent of the two party preferred vote. But when they lose, they lose decisively. To demonstrate the point, here is the winning team's two-party-preferred vote when governments most recently changed hands. 1972 (Whitlam): 52.7 per cent 1975 (Fraser): 55.7 per cent 1983 (Hawke) 53.2 per cent 1996 (Howard) 53.6 per cent 2007 (Rudd) 52.7 per cent The latest polls, when averaged out, suggest Abbott this time around will achieve something like 53 per cent, similar to or better than Whitlam in 1972 and Rudd in 2007. But once again, Australians will make a judgment not on who ran the best campaign, but on whether the government performed well over time. Good government will be rewarded and poor government punished. Reserve Bank board member Roger Corbett caused a stir when he said Rudd was a leader discredited by his own conduct since being ousted in 2010. But his comments probably struck a chord with the electorate, and with many Labor supporters as well. Rudd was a sitting duck for Labor's failures and yet unable to run hard on the genuine reforms like disabilities insurance, the Murray Darling Basin plan, education reform and the NBN. Rather than spruik Julia Gillard's achievements, he was reduced to embarrassing scare campaigns like that on the GST, or silly thought bubbles like the "troppo tax" in the north and moving Garden Island to Queensland. The fact is, Rudd had no real achievements of his own to fall back on. His government did steer Australia through the global financial crisis, and he did apologise to Indigenous Australians, but where were the big policy initiatives, either in his first three years or the second 70 days? Where were the initiatives like Medicare, superannuation, and the floating of the dollar, quite apart from the Gillard achievements already mentioned? There were lots of thoughts for the future, but nothing finished. Neither was there a record of sound, stable and constructive leadership. A campaign at times chaotic and rarely focussed underlined that situation. Rudd can argue that the media, and particularly News Ltd, made his job more difficult. But however the media coverage impacted on his campaign, it was nothing compared with how the leaks undermined Gillard's 2010 campaign. Tony Abbott by comparison hadn't quite sealed the deal when the campaign started. He had to dispel fears that he was not up to the job; that he was impulsive and erratic. He did that gradually over time with a measured, calm and controlled performance. He emerged strengthened from an essentially mistake-free campaign. Undoubtedly, Abbott has come a long way in three years. He once early in his leadership said on Insiders that interviews made him anxious. Last Sunday, he was different; far more self assured and confident. Not once throughout the last five weeks has he been thrown off course by an interview, and he did scores of them. The Coalition's campaign was not without its faults. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to buy boats from impoverished Indonesian fishermen? But overall, Abbott was able to nail a daily theme. That theme wasn't always picked up, but you were left in no doubt what it was he was trying to highlight. There was never that kind of clarity at the end of Rudd's long monologues. In summary, a positive from the campaign was that the major parties and the media finally found a workable formula for debates. The town-hall style forum that takes questions from the public and allows the leaders to engage one another works well. The challenge is to take that formula back to free-to-air television. The biggest negative was, as already discussed, the last minute announcements of significant spending cuts. On a less serious note, the best headline had to be the Courier Mail's "Send in the Clown" when Peter Beattie was brought out of retirement. Even he enjoyed it. With apologies to program hosts around the country, the best interview has to go to Channel Ten's John Hill, who embarrassed the hapless Liberal candidate for Greenway, Jaymes Diaz. And the best images? The five-year-old Korean boy, Joseph Kim, who so spectacularly photo bombed a Kevin Rudd picture opportunity at Ryde United Church; and Abbott joining the army for a cardio training session in Darwin. Abbott's best moments were probably those that drew the most derision; his sex appeal comment, "baddies versus baddies" on Insiders, and the "does this guy ever shut up" interjection during the first forum. Short, sharp observations that resonate. Rudd's moment of passion was the spirited defence of gay marriage on Q&A on Monday. It will be an election night to remember, but beyond the night, there will be much to observe on both sides of politics before this political year is done. Barrie Cassidy is the presenter of ABC programs Insiders and Offsiders. View his full profile here. Topics: federal-election First postedMiscellaneous - In the schools, one can see the war coming Loading... Loading... This is written by a high school teacher and published on the Swedish alternative news site Avpixlat, where he pretty much predicts a civil war coming: As I work in the Swedish school I put myself at great risk by publishing these thoughts, but after Peter Springare bravely challenged the establishment, like David against Goliath, through his Facebook posts, I feel that I am ready to give the image of how I, and more and more other teachers with me, think about the school. It is not a pretty image. Previously I have published opinion pieces about the school, but now I'm thinking it's time to seriously talk about this. READ: Swedish policeman reported to the police for telling the truth I have worked as a teacher since 2005, with a break for sick leave, and I have a background from the Swedish left movement. Nowadays I work as a high school teacher in English and history. I accuse the current government of being non-legitimate. When parties are denied the right to show commercials, have their meetings sabotaged, their members are beaten with government approval, and the party constantly is attacked by state media, then the democratic process has disappeared and the governments formed during such elections is, in my view, not legitimate. I am not loyal to any party, should be added, not the Sweden Democrats either, but Stefan Löfven is #notmyprimeminister. There is a rising public opinion even among the teachers, who believe that scientific teaching should come before political indoctrination. I know several teachers at several schools who are critical to how schools are acting like useful idiots for politicians and the media. I myself have participated in inquisitorial pogroms against critical thinking students at the time when I believed the media and politicians. It is something I deeply regret. I accuse the Swedish non-legitimate governments since the 1960s, as well as the established media for this development. Personally, I know many non-assimilated youths and feel a strong sympathy for many of them. Many want nothing more than to be naturalized Swedes. But they know that the price is a racist stamp on the forehead, broken family contacts, no support from the surrounding community, and in many cases open death threats and in some cases even torture and murder. All while the new Soviet media and its easily frightened lackeys in politics, are happily talking about the "humanitarian" superpower. I know students who were raped by relatives, but did not dare to proceed with the complaint because they were convinced that their other relatives would kill them. I know students who lived in areas where they have not dared to testify about murder, and teachers from the academic middle class who talked about them as if they lacked courage. I know students who have not dared to take off the hijab because they were afraid of being beaten and raped by male acquaintances. I know students who did not dare say which religion they believe in, because they were afraid of groups of students with sympathies for the Islamic state who would beat them up. I know ethnic and naturalized Swedish students who talk with an accent, when they in fact know Swedish well, just to avoid being ostracized. I know students who use "fuking whore" or "fuking fagot" as the standard greeting to ethnic and naturalized Swedes. I accuse the governments I consider non-legitimate to have fueled all the present conflicts. The Swedish "feminist" Government is #notmygovernment, the Swedish media is #notmymedia. Some non-assimilated students have openly said that they hate white people, they hate Jews, they want Sweden to have Sharia law. I have met students who had a lengthy discussion about their vision for a world "where all the whites have been killed" and that therefore "racism does not exist anymore." Unlike the academic left-liberal middle class, I talk to these students. I respect them, regardless of their views or values. They are people whether they advocate Sharia laws or claim to want to execute anyone who is like me. Opinions are respected but countered politely and objectively. As an individual, I work to try to give them a good life, as a citizen, I see civil war's cruel mechanisms creeping ever closer to my school everyday. Wars are fought not by a monster, but by ordinary people with ordinary prejudices, who happen to be on the opposite side in a conflict. That the grades have plummeted as a result of the lack of assimilation should hardly come as a surprise. I accuse the Swedish non-legitimate governments, and the established media for this development. I do not believe for a second that developments are due to the naivete of the rulers. They know that their whole power rests on division and falsehood. The non-assimilated students sometimes get the impression that the ethnic and naturalized Swedes are "gay" or "whores" to put it drastically. The effect is that the Swedish and naturalized Swedes pull back into their own groups, as teachers and other adults completely ignore their concerns and prejudices quickly spread that all the Muslim and black youths are beating and gang raping both boys and girls, all because politicians and the media refuse to release relevant information to the citizens. The more we hate each other on the ground floor, the more power they get on the top, and the more money they can put in their own pockets. Since many years, we have built a segregated school, with non-Muslim students in one group and Muslim and African students in the second group. It is no "racist view." It is a description of the reality in Swedish schools today. A situation created by politicians and the media who will do everything to deny that what I write is true and therefore portray it as if I attack all immigrants. I see them every day. The ethnic and naturalized Swedish youths. They almost hide in the classrooms. All the space is left to the non-assimilated youths. The exception is the occasional people who have been completely indoctrinated and put all the blame for all the problems on "racists" and "men". They also take up much space with their hate-filled tirades, accusing everyone except the guilty politicians and the media. I accuse the Swedish non-legitimate governments, and the established media for this new Soviet development. And I know colleagues who ignore it or even encourages behavior that allows the non-assimilated students to behave any way they want, because they "have a hard time," happily watching how the ethnic and naturalized students are creeping farther back in the classroom. They know that they are no longer wanted. Screaming "racist whore" or "ISIS will fu*king cut you" is the new black. Gently asking if the Swedish culture is also good sometimes, means ostracism, assault, threats and bullying. I've seen it happen many times and I understand that the ethnic and naturalized Swedish students, as well as the still non-assimilated students who love the Swedish society as it once was, are almost 100% silent. No one wants to appear with "racist" written across the forehead. Fortunately, the social climate is slowly changing. But I know what kind of future we'll get if no one dares to speak. I know and have known many immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. I know how most of the civil war starts. They start by groups forming after ethnic or cultural fault lines, they start by established media unilaterally inciting against certain groups, they start by the responsible politicians constantly trying to divide the population and use certain groups as a weapon to retain power. Some teachers react. They are not so many. But they are some. I know several women teachers with a background from North Africa and the Middle East who refuse to accept the circumstances. If the non-assimilated youths will become naturalized Swedes and good citizens, or if they will turn into a professional criminal army, like the militias in the Kongo-Kinshasa or the former Yugoslavia, depends entirely on whether the rest of society dares to follow in these brave women's footsteps. To even mention that the newly arrived students are often channeled into the regular high school classes within one year of arrival, and thereby destroying every opportunity to engage in proper education because their Swedish in many cases is on a small preschool student's level, seems almost petty in this context. The individual teacher are given the full responsibility for the teaching success, with the result that the entire class' academic performance drops. For these students, the approved score that municipal leaders incite their teachers to put, is not worth more than the ink. I know that even ethnic and naturalized young people have difficulty getting jobs. What will happen to the non-assimilated students who did not even manage to reach the watered out grade that the teachers are forced to put? Crime awaits for some, and the route there is lined with good intention and slogans from power-hungry politicians and an equally power-hungry media elite. That many Muslim students do not feel at home in Sweden because Sweden does not have Muslim laws is nothing new. I understood this when I started working as a teacher in 2005, when 90% of all non-assimilated immigrant students saw themselves as "Kosovars", "Bosniaks" and so on. Then I was even strongly leftist. Anyone who wants to solve the problems has to accept that today we have a deeply fragmented population, segregated by ethnicity and culture. We therefore need to solve the problems of the same type as Lebanon. Please do not label me with some ridiculous hashtag like #noracism without grasping the problems for once in your power-hungry politically correct small white middle class life. I could list worries - the mother who said it was good that her son had assaulted a school bus driver because he "did not respect him"; the brother of a student who showed up at school with a weapon to threaten another student, even though he knew the student was innocent, just to preserve the "family honor"; the student who was ostracized by her family because she had had sex before the marriage; the student who was threatened with murder by his brother who wanted to defend the "family honour" because he had found a girl of his same age; the student who wanted to "circumcise all the Swedish girls"; all the ethnic and naturalized Swedish students who nowadays no longer receive proper support and help because the large majority of resources go to the newly arrived; or the teacher who without blinking claimed that Donald Trump advocated nuclear war with Russia, without any factual background. But all of these examples are just like little grains of sand on top of a school where all moral concepts are set on hold and ethnic divisions are cemented, deepened and celebrated, using the Orwellian term "multiculturalism." I accuse all of Sweden's non-legitimate governments of divide and rule since freedom of expression began to be put as an exception in the 1960s. Gradually they have transformed a prosperous country with a strictly regulated but generous immigration policy, where immigrants assimilated to naturalized Swedes, to an anarchist society where the school is the first front line in a cultural war that is driven by the political and media elite, a society that no longer even can be regarded as a multicultural country, but, and this is surely the most terrible of all, an ethnically divided country, as Tito's Yugoslavia or Mobutu's Zaire. In school, the effects are seen every day. The legendary Swedish cohesion is dead. A new unstable semi-developing country has been created. Remember that when the Olympics were held in Sarajevo in 1984, there was hardly anyone who believed that the country just eight years later would be the scene of the most heart-breaking civil war in Europe since 1945. Eight years. That is how long it took for the ethnically divided country, on the surface so peaceful, to move from the Olympics to full-scale civil war. That means it's in 2025, if society continues the way it does. When the militia one day arms the students with automatic weapons and start shooting all Muslims or all non-Muslim pupils, it's too late. In Srebrenica in 1984 they probably didn't think that no more than ten years later, the city would be surrounded by mass graves. In Umeå, Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg, there are few who even dare to think about the future if non-legitimate politicians continue the power madness in symbiosis with the media. In the schools, one can see the war coming. If you want to see. Which you do not want if you receive a hefty Minister salary. Sweden is not immune from civil war. Especially not when the media and politicians help to whip up hatred between the ethnic groups that exist in reality. The media and the politicians are fully aware of the situation. They divide and rule in order to maintain their power. Lack of seeing the reality can not explain it. Everything is clear to all who choose to see. Those who seek power will always find ways to divide people and call it compassion. I do not care about
141 million in career earnings (not including endorsements), according to Basketball Reference. His posts are free of expensive cars, exotic trips and famous friends. There's barely even an acknowledgement on there that he played professional basketball. Rather, he posts constantly about his wife and kids, golf, MMA and the Pittsburgh Steelers. When you talk to him, you quickly discover how easy going, funny and likable he is. "He has a great sense of humor. He's a great guy," said former teammate Brook Lopez, who fondly recalls the epic Halloween parties Williams hosted. "A lot of people might think he's stoic, but that's not him at all." In this respect, there are things he does not miss about working in the public eye. Being a humble family man can contradict a profession that comes with constant invasiveness and scrutiny. Politics, internet trolls and, especially, the media, top his pet peeves list. It is not surprising he has had a rocky relationship with reporters—most notably during his tenure in Brooklyn. "I'm the type of person who gets annoyed easily with the same questions or dumb questions," Williams said. "So, I don't like questions about me. I don't like to talk about myself, honestly." Williams feels he has been burned multiple times in the press, particularly by the New York media. There was the time he raved about living in New York City to local lifestyle publication Resident but admitted he faced challenges in sending his four young children to different schools. "It was a tough situation, but that doesn't even matter," he said of a resulting New York Post article. "The title of the story is like 'I don't like New York.'" He also scoffs at circumstantial stories constructed by "sources." In one instance, he reportedly argued with coach Jason Kidd in practice. That resulted in their playing one-on-one to settle it. In another, Deron decided to coach practice after Avery Johnson was fired. Williams quips: "Me and Donald Trump don't agree on anything except fake news." Media personalities such as Stephen A. Smith were often critical of Williams' inability to be a franchise player and live up to his massive contract. Williams shrugged it off. "People like that just like to hear themselves talk and to bring other people down," he said. "They get off on it; they have bigger egos than half the NBA." "I definitely think there are some unfair assumptions that were created by the media, but it's always tough playing in the market we did out there," added Lopez, who was traded to the Lakers in the offseason. "They were always looking for something." Tom Hevezi/Associated Press But if you can't beat them, join them. During his stint with Cleveland, Williams appeared on then-teammates Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson's popular podcast Road Trippin' and instantly enjoyed the experience. He felt it was a platform he could be himself, without being jaded and where no journalist could take his words out of context. In the offseason, he teamed up with Riche, a former local MMA fighter in Utah and TV commentator, and Sean O'Connell, a UFC veteran and sports broadcasting professional. They have had guests from Jefferson to UFC fighter Court McGee. "This is something that we can enjoy and make it about MMA, but also we talk about anything," said Williams, a former high school wrestler. "We're not just going to have MMA fighters on. We'll have basketball players. We had a hockey player, a golfer, all sports. We talk about what they go through, relate it maybe to MMA if they have a love for it or any stories or whatever. It's just a fun way to shoot the crap really." Riche says Williams has advanced knowledge on MMA, and the former fighter can envision MMA commentary in Williams' future after his playing days. "If he picks a guy he thinks is going to win, he's really going to lay it all out why that guy is going to win," Riche said. "And not just because of that guy's persona, but Deron is almost a statistician. He knows their wins, their losses, how they've lost. He's like an encyclopedia of fight knowledge. He's cool, calm, collected on the radio because it's truly what he knows and he loves talking about it." Williams says his top-five dream guests would include LeBron ("gotta have the King on"), James Harrison from the Steelers ("I just think he's awesome"), Phil Mickelson and Barack Obama ("just because"). His last one? There is a long pause followed by an awkward chuckle. He hates talking about himself. "Hmm…this is a tough question right now. See, this is why I don't like doing media. I'd want Mike Tyson for sure." So about that Warriors series… Williams wasn't on the court much during the Finals. He averaged just 12.2 minutes in five games (versus 20.3 minutes in 24 regular-season games with the Cavs), as his role and minutes steadily decreased as each playoff round passed. When he did see action, his play seemed a step behind his matchups. He couldn't get around Warriors defenders, and on the other end, he couldn't stay in front of them. His 12.5 field-goal percentage became an unfavorable storyline. "I definitely didn't go out the way I want to," Williams said, "if this is how it ends." Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports It was a performance that was not indicative of his output earlier that season, where he averaged a respectable 7.5 points and 3.6 assists in a backup role with Cleveland. The matchup was unfavorable for him against the Warriors, which also was a poor reflection of his accomplished career, where not long ago, he was the scouting report nightmare for opposing teams. "Deron was a very, very good player," Hall of Fame power forward and former NBA coach Kevin McHale said. "The one thing is, he shot it well so you had to get up on him. He could make plays for others, so if you got up on him and he got by you, he could draw two and kick the ball. He finished in the paint well—he wasn't a Kyrie Irving-type finisher—but he was big and strong: get a little contact and get to the line. He was a hard guy to defend." The University of Illinois product was drafted third overall by the Jazz in 2005, a spot ahead of Chris Paul. Particularly in his early years in Utah, the mainstream public used to debate who was the better point guard. "I definitely had my best years in Utah—as a team my best years, individually my best years and the most fun playing the game of basketball early on," Williams said. Despite receiving All-Star nods and All-NBA accolades with the Jazz, he was clashing with legendary head coach Jerry Sloan by the 2010-11 season. Midway through that campaign, he was shipped off to the Nets. Paul Beaty/Associated Press "I don't think Deron was ever the same [after] he left Utah. He just…I don't know, there was just something about it," said McHale, now a TV analyst for TNT and NBA TV. "His numbers may have looked the same, but his game wasn't the same." After a 2011-12 campaign where he averaged 21.0 points and 8.7 assists, the Nets rewarded Williams with a five-year, $98.7 million deal in the summer of 2012, as the team transitioned from Newark, New Jersey, to Brooklyn. With the combination of Williams, Lopez and the newly acquired Joe Johnson, from Atlanta, the Nets were poised to dethrone the Knicks as New York's team. But the results were tepid, if not disappointing. Despite its high payroll, the team never advanced past the second round. There was a carrousel of coaching changes. There were chemistry issues, and high-priced gambles such as trading for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett flopped. Injuries slowed Williams, and he reportedly fell out again with coaches—this time, Avery Johnson and Kidd. "Being injured sucks. It ruined my confidence, not being able to do the things I could do, because I was playing on two bad ankles so long, it just took a lot out of me," said Williams, who added he and his family enjoyed living in New York City and building lasting friendships. "Caused me to be depressed, hate basketball at times." Teammates could sense their point guard's frustration. "I wouldn't say standoffish. He and I were never standoffish. I would say he probably kept to himself a little more as he was getting through injuries," said Lopez, who played four-and-a-half seasons with Williams. "I get that. I've been through my share of injuries, no question. You are in your own little world." In July 2015, the Nets bought out Williams' remaining contract. He spent a season-and-a-half with a struggling Mavericks team before the powerhouse Cavaliers threw him a lifeline midway through last season. "When he went to Cleveland, I thought, OK this is going to be good for Williams," McHale said. "And he had moments there. It just didn't seem like that was a great fit either." A traditional point guard, Williams often looked lost in Cleveland's LeBron- and Kyrie-dominant system. His lowest point came in the Finals. "I feel like things would have been different if I were there from the start and I would have got a whole camp in and been there through the whole season," Williams said. "But it's also tough because who you are playing with. When you are playing with the greatest player in the game and I'm playing behind arguably one of the best point guards in the game in Kyrie, who is a phenomenal one-on-one player who can do anything. I'm just not used to sitting in the corner and having to hit shots." He continued: "I've never done that. I'm not a Derek Fisher-type point guard where I can sit in the corner and all of a sudden just hit a big shot. I'm a rhythm player. I usually have the ball in my hands. It's just hard for me to play just four minutes and have to hit the two shots that come to me without getting in any flow, getting warmed up or anything." In between golf, podcasting and father duties, Williams has been in the gym. It is not dad-bod season yet. "I'm still young. I still love basketball. I'm definitely still staying in shape," Williams said. "Just in case something happens, and the right situation comes along—that's a big if right now." "We just had Justin Anderson on our podcast, and I could tell when Deron was talking to Justin that he was inquisitive, like, 'Hey, how's training camp going?' 'What's happening with the league?'" added Riche. "To me, I could see that light in his eye. I could see he was still really interested in the game." Finding the right NBA situation would be complicated. He does not want to uproot his family again. With kids who include a daughter in high school and an autistic son, their comfort and happiness is Williams' top priority. Embarking on a new NBA journey solo doesn't appeal to him either. "I really didn't like being in Cleveland away from my family, even for the four months that I was there," Williams said. "I need them in my everyday life for me to function right. I'm not interested in doing that either, so that's why I'm not on a team right now. Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press "I'm not sure what's going to happen this year. I'm just kind of taking it day to day. If Jeff [Schwartz, Williams' agent] brings me something that interests me, then I'll talk to my wife about it and go from there." Finding the right fit from a basketball standpoint would be challenging as well. Does he need to be the primary ball-handler? Is he a starter or a backup? "He can still play in this league," McHale said. "I still think he can help a team. Unfortunately for a lot of guys, Father Time catches up to you, and that's a very unforgiving position, trying to play in the backcourt in the NBA." "I feel like I can adapt to anything," Williams said. "I would like to play more than 10 minutes a game. Like I said, I never wanted to be a guy who plays eight minutes a game and is stuck on the bench, so I've made enough money, there's other things that I could be doing." For now, that's what he's doing. It's his way of stalling. Everything is in place for a successful transition for life after basketball, but conflicting feelings and a desire for a better ending are keeping him from moving on and accepting just being a spectator. "I don't know if I'm done playing basketball. I got to wait and close that chapter first before anything else happens." In the meantime, he seems to be OK in his role as an ordinary citizen.Shane Watson's first three innings as a batsman have not been promising © Getty Images Shane Watson will try to regain his batting touch at international level after he was recalled to Australia's ODI team against the West Indies. Recalled in place of Usman Khawaja, Watson is set to take part in the remainder of the series before departing for India as part of the last of three groups of Test players to journey to the subcontinent. Since returning to the game as a non-bowling batsman following a calf injury, Watson has managed scores of 30 and a duck for Sutherland in Sydney grade cricket, while he also made a scratchy six for New South Wales against Western Australia in a domestic limited overs match at the SCG. He will now be afforded the chance to bat in the third ODI on the exceedingly friendly Manuka Oval pitch, which gave up almost 650 runs when the West Indians played the Prime Minister's XI in their opening tour fixture last week. In naming the squad for the ODIS, the national selectors also outlined how the India squad will depart, with Watson, the captain Michael Clarke, Xavier Doherty, Mitchell Starc, Phillip Hughes and Mitchell Johnson to miss the opening warm-up game in Chennai in order to take part in the remainder of the West Indies matches. David Warner, Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell will fly out to India on February 9, in time to take part in the first tour match, joining the advance party of Jackson Bird, Ed Cowan, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Steve Smith, who are all slated to leave on February 7. The 19-year-old West Australian spin bowler Ashton Agar was also included in a development capacity, after a trio of striking domestic displays since his debut for the Warriors against New South Wales at Blacktown Oval. "[Agar] will be in India for the period 9-16 February and will play in the first warm-up fixture," the national selector John Inverarity said. "He will provide ideal practice for the batsmen in the lead-up to that first Test in Chennai. "Last year we took Mitchell Starc to the West Indies to further his development and this is a similar opportunity for Ashton." Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.We’re nearing the end of our projections for the draft’s second round, and today we have an intriguing prospect in Dillon Dubé. Dubé is a gritty, albeit undersized player that can play all three forward positions. He has flashes of skill but is likely to make himself known through his tenacity and work ethic. Dubé emerged as one of the Kelowna Rockets’ strongest players this year while they dealt with various injuries. He was a point per game player while being on the younger end of 2016 draft elgibles – projection models with smile upon him. Bio: Age: 17 (July 20th, 1998) 17 (July 20th, 1998) Birthplace: Golden, BC, CAN Golden, BC, CAN Frame: 5′ 10″, 181 lbs 5′ 10″, 181 lbs Position: C C Handedness: Left Left Draft Year Team: Kelowna Rockets Kelowna Rockets Accomplishments/Awards: WHL Champion (2014-15); CHL Top Prospects Game, Ivan Hlinka Gold Medal (2015-16) Dubé was drafted in the first round, 21st overall, in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. Stats: pGPS n pGPS s pGPS % pGPS P/PG pGPS R 50 23 46.00% 0.53301 0.03072 Read about pGPS here. Scouts: NHL CSS ISS FutureConsiderations HockeyProspect Pronman McKeen’s McKenzie Button 41 (NA) NR NR NR 44 NR NR From Iain Morrell of McKeen’s: A speedy and skilled playmaker with excellent vision and creativity. Excellent fluid skater – light on his feet with great flow to his footwork, turns, transition sequences. Skating is both quick and fast; pivots, lateral skating exceptional. He is arguably among the fastest in his draft class. Quick off the hop – the swiftness of his first few strides is a trait he takes advantage of to create space. Brings a real urgency and purpose to his puckmoving – stays in motion while handling and moving around with the puck. Slick and elusive as a passer – has a gift for deceiving opponents with his intentions. Senses pressure well – lets gaps close to draw checkers in and then makes plays to open spaces. Shows good anticipation away from the puck and healthy attention to defense. Intercepts passes by reading the play and exploiting quick, skilled stickwork. Effective at getting his stick on pucks, aided by excellent reach for his size. Can elongate his body and has good skill at full extension. From Bill Placzek via Draft Site: Undersized forward from an athletic family who is a great skater, excellent on I’ve vision, and shoots the puck very well. One of Kelowna’s key guys when they are killing a penalty, he is a shot blocker, and can transition those blocks in to short-handed breakaways. In the attack zone, he uses his feet and and to get behind the defenders. Has a high level hockey IQ, a really good face-off man, vision, and plenty of playmaking ability. Gets right in on the forecheck, and when he takes the puck away, walks out to the front, and can quickly snap his wrist shot on net. Really strong on the puck down low and on the wall. Has a touch pass. His separation gear causes problems in so many parts of the attack zone. Fast enough to split the defense, get around from the outside, or bust into an open area quicker than expected. Plays like a larger guy in the battle areas and surprises big players when he outmuscles them. Longer term development is needed, but no coach will say he doesn’t leave it all out there. Our Take: Dubé was one of the Rockets’ best players this season. He was third in points and tied for second in primary points, while being nearly a full two years younger than the teammates that outscored him. He was also tied for third in primary points among 2016 draft eligible WHL players. Born in late July, Dubé is towards the younger end of the draft class, which makes his production all the more impressive. Dubé is a player whose results are largely predicated on his effort level. He’s a bit undersized, but he more than makes up for that deficiency with his speed and strength. As the saying goes, he plays a larger man’s game. His speed and acceleration allow him to catch defenders flat footed and position himself into prime scoring chances. He’s a tenacious player with a hard shot, though he needs to work a bit on his accuracy. He could also stand o use his teammates a little bit more. Dubé also struggled in this year’s WHL playoffs, scoring just two goals and five assists in 18 games after going a point per game in the regular season. He spent a lot of time at both centre and on the wing, and though he was proficient in both spots, some scouts felt that the constant switching of his position was detrimental to his play at times. It’s left him with occasional patches of inconsistency and some hot and cold play. Some stability could do him well, and he seemed to be more comfortable at centre than the wing, according to Western Hockey Scout, Andy Levangie. ESPN’s Corey Pronman (paywall warning) saw flashes of high-end talent, but not often enough to justify top six upside. He projects as a gritty bottom six forward who can chip in offensively in the NHL. Dubé is seen favorably in the eyes of pGPS. With 23 of his 50 matches (40 per cent) going on to play at least 200 NHL games, Dubé has the predicted level of success associated with a late first round pick, though he may go ten spots later than that. He has a variety of impressive matches including Ray Whitney, Russ Courtnall, and Brendan Morrow. His predicted NHL points per game of 0.53 is similar to that of other matches like Clarke MacArthur and Stu Barnes. Nation Network Draft Prospect ProfilesA former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor who founded the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch alleges Rupert Murdoch’s publishing company, HarperCollins, killed his autobiography because he criticized Fox News in the book. Murdoch is chairman of News Corp., which owns both Fox News and HarperCollins, as well as the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal and numerous other media outlets. Larry Klayman, who led Judicial Watch in numerous lawsuits against then President Bill Clinton, is the author of “WHORES: Why and How I Came to Fight the Establishment.” The book was scheduled to be published by HarperCollins, but met difficulties when Judith Regan, the HarperCollins representative on the deal, left the company. Klayman said he noticed the company was doing pre-sales for the book last year, but was subsequently informed the project had been dropped. He alleges the company declined to publish his work because he criticized Fox News in the book. “They were skittish about my criticism and tried to censor me on that and I wouldn’t do it,” Klayman told Raw Story. “Fox would do things like call my clients and try to put them on TV, without letting me know–which jeopardized their legal cases,” Klayman said. He added that Fox host Sean Hannity had once tried to book Klayman’s female clients who were involved in a string of lawsuits against former President Bill Clinton. When the women declined to appear on his show, Klayman alleges Hannity called him and told him they had agreed to go on and asked for his help in getting them there. A HarperCollins spokeswoman told Raw Story that Rubert Murdoch was not involved with decisions about the book. “Rupert Murdoch had nothing to do with this book,” spokeswoman Erin Crum said. “Over three years ago we rejected a manuscript submitted by Mr. Klayman–we had the specific right to do that under our contract. We did not deem it acceptable.” Klayman, who has sued people at The Washington Post, the National Law Journal and even his own mother, disagrees and says he believes one reason the project may have been killed is that he calls Fox “the Al Jazeera of network news” in the book. He told Raw Story that “Fox News says they are fair and balanced, but they’re not. They’re propaganda, I may agree personally with their political slant but I don’t want propaganda given to me as news, I really do want fair and balanced coverage.” The former prosecutor also says he believes Murdoch was nervous about his book’s criticisms of Judge Denny Chin, of the U.S. District Court for Southern New York, who has heard cases involving Fox News. Klayman points to previous reports of HarperCollins canceling book deals that could jeopardize other Murdoch projects. The New York Times reported in 1998 that HarperCollins executives had canceled a book written by the last British governor of Hong Kong that was critical of China because Murdoch is heavily invested in China. “Worried that the book would jeopardize Mr. Murdoch’s relationship with China’s leadership,” the New York Times reported HarperCollins executives ordered a top editor at the company and the person editing the book to inform the author it “was being dropped because it was below standard.” “Mr. Murdoch ordered that the book be canceled because of its highly critical stance toward China, a country in which he has considerable business interests and even more considerable financial ambitions,” the paper said. Klayman’s book is now available in stores after being published by New Chapter Publishers. He said it discusses “how corrupt the government, legal and media systems are.”The Batman: Arkham Collection packs the series' three open-world Batman simulators into one bundle, and will be released Nov. 22 in the U.K., publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today. Rocksteady Studios' Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) and Batman: Arkham City (2011) are included along with the latest entry in the franchise, this year's Batman: Arkham Origins from Warner Bros. Games Montreal. PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Xbox 360 versions of the package are on the way, although only Arkham Origins comes on a disc; the Collection includes download codes for the previous two games. Those who pick up the Collection on Windows PC will receive Game of the Year Editions of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, while the copy of Arkham Origins in the PS3 version of the bundle includes the game's Knightfall add-on. No pricing was announced for the bundle. We're reaching out to Warner Bros. Interactive to ask about the cost, as well as whether the Collection is coming stateside, and will update this article with any information we receive. You can read our full review of Arkham Origins, which was released last month, here. Update: A Warner Bros. Interactive representative provided no information on the bundle's price, but told Polygon, "Currently there are no plans to release the collection in North America."The College Republicans president at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas claims that one of his professors ridiculed him in class and graded him harshly because of his political views. [RELATED: Former OCC prof publicly insults conservative student] "Limitations or penalties associated with free speech from a public institution [are] a deprivation of rights." A press release issued this week by the UNLV College Republicans alleges that an instructor subjected Chapter President Jacob Deaville to“unfair grading practices” and “inappropriate jokes and remarks regarding President Trump’s administration and Deaville’s political affiliation.” According to the press release, the behavior continued even after several meetings with the Department Chair, prompting Deaville to file a formal complaint with the UNLV Faculty Senate. Deaville told Campus Reform that he was taking a summer course in “International Cuisine,” and that the professor reacted with outward hostility to his political beliefs and began grading him unfairly. “Situations like this are serious threat to the foundation of America,” Deaville declared. “They simply prevent American Students from expressing their ideas in fear of being marked or failed by the professor. Any limitations or penalties associated with free speech from a public institution constitutes a deprivation of rights.” [RELATED: Student has grade docked for using ‘mankind’ in English paper] Deaville claims that the instructor resigned from UNLV following his formal complaint, and that the department has agreed to rectify his grade. The UNLV Faculty Senate, however, did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for confirmation. Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @MrDanJacksonNEW YORK -- Already short-handed, Miami lost its starting center to a concussion just more than six minutes into its NIT semifinal. Leading scorer Sheldon McClellan was still on the court, though, and he and the rest of the Hurricanes made just enough big plays to rally from an 11-point first-half deficit and beat Temple 60-57 on Tuesday. "We've been like a M.A.S.H. unit," coach Jim Larranaga said. "But somehow, some way," he added, "these guys find a way to stick together." With point guard Angel Rodriguez out for the third straight game because of a nagging wrist injury, 7-footer Tonye Jekiri didn't return after he was inadvertently struck in the face. But McClellan scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, when Miami held the Owls to 22.5 percent shooting. Temple's Quenton DeCosey missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Owls (26-11) went 0-for-15 from beyond the arc after halftime. "Any other day, they are probably going in," Temple freshman Obi Enechionyia said. "We just didn't make them today." After missing six of his first eight shots, McClellan hit two 3s in a row with about eight minutes left to put Miami (25-12) in front for good. He added 11 rebounds and was the only Hurricanes player in double figures, but his teammates made contributions in plenty of other ways. "The first half we played kind of passive," McClellan said. "Wasn't being as aggressive as we normally are, and second half we came out and played more aggressive." Ja'Quan Newton was steady at the point despite playing with a torn ligament in his thumb, while fellow freshman Omar Sherman energized Miami off the bench with Jekiri out. Redshirt freshman Deandre Burnett made a huge shot with 34.1 seconds left, snapping a scoring drought of more than three minutes, after Temple had pulled within a point. Davon Reed had seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks while playing shutdown defense against several different Owls. "Once Tonye went down, Coach said, 'We need to do this for Tonye,'" Reed said. "Everybody dug deep, did what they could, and rebounded the ball and defended extremely well." The 6-foot-9 Enechionyia often had his way inside with Jekiri out, setting career highs with 17 points and five blocks. He also matched a career best with eight rebounds. "He's got a great future ahead of him, and he played terrific tonight," coach Fran Dunphy said. Burnett missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13.2 seconds left for the Hurricanes, and they decided not to foul, giving DeCosey the chance to send the game to overtime. Miami faces Stanford on Thursday, seeking its first NIT title. The Owls were the top seed in the NIT as the first team left out of the NCAA tournament. CUMMINGS' CAREER ENDS Temple leading scorer Will Cummings, who had averaged 22 points in the NIT, shot just 3-for-15 in his final game. "They made it hard for us to finish in the lane sometimes and they are just very active," the senior point guard said. TIP-INS Miami: Rodriguez and Jekiri had combined for more than 20 points per game, with Jekiri averaging 10.1 rebounds. But the Hurricanes outrebounded Temple 45-41 on Tuesday despite the absence of Jekiri. Temple: Forward Jaylen Bond limped off with less than eight minutes left and didn't return.... The Owls had averaged 7.2 made 3-pointers per game since transfers Jesse Morgan and Devin Coleman became eligible in December.Asset Management The CMDB delivers a constantly organized relational data warehouse for CIs that are regarded as IT assets. Persons accountable for IT asset management can refer CMDB to know about the association of assets with the organizational entities, workforces, cost centers, best practices in use, and so forth. This not only lets you know what CIs are regarded as assets, but also who is using what assets, where the assets are positioned, who is disbursing for the assets, and what IT processes are linked to those assets. The CMDB allows you to spontaneously resolve and analyze data about your implemented assets and their alignment with professional business services. Possible hard benefits: Lesser asset TCO and procurement expenses, removal of unnecessary redundant asset acquisitions, extra proficient resource sharing, more precise financial arrangements and forecasting Possible soft benefits: More positive control and superior analysis of your IT assets during the course of their working lifecycles Project Management The CMDB, alongside the change and release management process, is responsible for the process to classify, strategize, analyze, modify, and manage the projects that generate new CIs, update CIs, or implement cases of CIs. Having change and configuration management combined into the project management lifecycle is critical for guaranteeing an uninterrupted project-to- production changeover and precise CI status. Possible hard benefits: Better realization rate and decreased expenses during projects Possible soft benefits: More team and client gratification because of smoother deployment of projects Service Performance and Quality Management The CMDB offers the facility to associate incidents and problems to services and resource groups, so you can assess the services, support, and organizational statistical data. A clearly written CMDB is a reference of the info to support processes, value reporting, service design, and records. Possible hard benefits: Improved assessment of performance to increase effectiveness and decrease expenses Possible soft benefits: Increased user approval rates through quality service of highest quality Contract Management The CMDB delivers essential statistics about how to efficiently accomplish an agreement with a service client. Such info comprises of real performance traced against agreed upon goals, bills and expense particulars, contract time period, and extension information. This information is willingly accessible for i ncident-by-incident contract management as well as overall performance. Possible hard benefits: Decreased expenses through more active management Possible soft benefits: Clear & transparent client relationships Audit, Governance, Compliance, and Control Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) framework, for instance, endorses IT controls that can efficiently influence information from a CMDB. COBIT is an industry - standard control structure that delivers a set of high - level control The CMDB delivers an important source of control-related statistics valuable for both internal and external audits. Theframework, for instance, endorses IT controls that can efficiently influence information from a CMDB. COBIT is an industry - standard control structure that delivers a set of high - level control objectives for IT practices and is used to evaluate the control system of an IT organization. Possible hard benefits: Better capability to deploy IT controls required to meet various guidelines that influence IT operations Possible soft benefits: Greater confidence in audit and compliance skills Author : Arunavo Banerjee Click Here for ITIL CourseBrian Taylor Most academics, including administrators, spend much of our time writing. But we aren't as good at it as we should be. I have never understood why our trade values, but rarely teaches, nonfiction writing. In my nearly 30 years at universities, I have seen a lot of very talented people fail because they couldn't, or didn't, write. And some much less talented people (I see one in the mirror every morning) have done OK because they learned how to write. It starts in graduate school. There is a real transformation, approaching an inversion, as people switch from taking courses to writing. Many of the graduate students who were stars in the classroom during the first two years—the people everyone admired and looked up to—suddenly aren't so stellar anymore. And a few of the marginal students—the ones who didn't care that much about pleasing the professors by reading every page of every assignment—are suddenly sending their own papers off to journals, getting published, and transforming themselves into professional scholars. 2-Minute Tips: Produced by Carmen Mendoza and Julia Schmalz The difference is not complicated. It's writing. Rachel Toor and other writers on these pages have talked about how hard it is to write well, and of course that's true. Fortunately, the standards of writing in most disciplines are so low that you don't need to write well. What I have tried to produce below are 10 tips on scholarly nonfiction writing that might help people write less badly. 1. Writing is an exercise. You get better and faster with practice. If you were going to run a marathon a year from now, would you wait for months and then run 26 miles cold? No, you would build up slowly, running most days. You might start on the flats and work up to more demanding and difficult terrain. To become a writer, write. Don't wait for that book manuscript or that monster external-review report to work on your writing. 2. Set goals based on output, not input. "I will work for three hours" is a delusion; "I will type three double-spaced pages" is a goal. After you write three pages, do something else. Prepare for class, teach, go to meetings, whatever. If later in the day you feel like writing some more, great. But if you don't, then at least you wrote something. 3. Find a voice; don't just "get published." James Buchanan won a Nobel in economics in 1986. One of the questions he asks job candidates is: "What are you writing that will be read 10 years from now? What about 100 years from now?" Someone once asked me that question, and it is pretty intimidating. And embarrassing, because most of us don't think that way. We focus on "getting published" as if it had nothing to do with writing about ideas or arguments. Paradoxically, if all you are trying to do is "get published," you may not publish very much. It's easier to write when you're interested in what you're writing about. Advertisement 4. Give yourself time. Many smart people tell themselves pathetic lies like, "I do my best work at the last minute." Look: It's not true. No one works better under pressure. Sure, you are a smart person. But if you are writing about a profound problem, why would you think that you can make an important contribution off the top of your head in the middle of the night just before the conference? Writers sit at their desks for hours, wrestling with ideas. They ask questions, talk with other smart people over drinks or dinner, go on long walks. And then write a whole bunch more. Don't worry that what you write is not very good and isn't immediately usable. You get ideas when you write; you don't just write down ideas. The articles and books that will be read decades from now were written by men and women sitting at a desk and forcing themselves to translate profound ideas into words and then to let those words lead them to even more ideas. Writing can be magic, if you give yourself time, because you can produce in the mind of some other person, distant from you in space or even time, an image
"We must continue to stand together with our friends, family and neighbors who serve in law enforcement and as public servants in our local government. They make our community strong." State Representative Al Pscholka: On July 11, 2016 there was an incident at the Berrien County Courthouse in which two court officers were shot and are deceased. The gunman was shot by other officers and is deceased. Also injured in this incident were a Berrien County Sheriff's Deputy and a civilian. The deputy and civilian sustained non-life threatening injuries and are currently being treated at an area hospital in stable condition. The courthouse is secured and the scene is rendered safe. No further victims are involved. The investigation into this incident is being handled by the Berrien County Homicide Task Force, the Berrien County Sheriff's Office, the Saint Joseph City Department of Public Safety, the Michigan State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. No further information is available at this time and periodic press releases will be forth-coming, as more information is obtained. The next press conference is scheduled for 6:00 pm today at the corner of Ship and Court Street in the City of St. Joseph. Senator Gary Peters: "I'm deeply saddened by the tragic shootings at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph. I join my fellow Michiganders in grieving for all those affected by this senseless tragedy, including the two public servants who lost their lives. We are still awaiting more details of what happened during this heartbreaking event, and I will continue to monitor the situation as more information becomes available." Senator Joe Donnely: South Bend's own Mayor Pete Buttigieg also released a statement:Declared Snow Emergency Rules A Declared Snow Emergency is when snow accumulates to 3" or more and all the streets in the downtown Snow Emergency Zone must be plowed. When this occurs, people who park in the Snow Emergency Zone must abide by the alternate side parking rules for a minimum of the next two nights. A Snow Emergency is declared whenever it becomes necessary to plow ALL residential streets. A Snow Emergency will always be declared prior to 9 p.m. if it is to take effect that night. If conditions warrant, a Snow Emergency can be extended beyond the 48 hours. A Snow Emergency is a City-wide policy. Please note: During a Snow Emergency, if you violate the Alternate Side Parking rules, the fines are $60, plus a $65 towing fee. Don't let the snow lead to a ticket or a tow! Sign up to get notified via Text Messaging Sign up to get notified via email lists Call the Winter Parking Hotline at (608) 261-9111 Find us on Facebook Follow us on TwitterPresident Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Wednesday for about 15 minutes before boarding Marine One from the White House en route to Dallas, Texas. He was asked about the recent deadly military operation in Niger. Trump said he didn’t “specifically” order the operation in Niger on October 4 that left four U.S. soldiers dead and two others wounded. He said his generals did. “My generals and my military, they have decision-making ability,” Trump said. “As far as the incident that we’re talking about, I’ve been seeing it just like you’ve been seeing it. I’ve been getting reports. They have to meet the enemy and they meet them tough and that’s what happens.” Trump’s comments about the deadly operation in Niger begin at the 8-minute mark. Here is the full exchange, which took place on the White House lawn on Wednesday afternoon: Q: What can you tell us about the mission in Niger and what went wrong? TRUMP: “Well, we’re going to look at it. Now, I have to say we are decimating ISIS in the Middle East. What’s happening is they’ll go to parts of Africa, they’ll go to other places. When they get there, we meet them. It’s a dangerous business, I have to say. It’s a dangerous business.” Q: Did you order the mission? TRUMP: “No I didn’t. Not specifically. I have generals that are great generals. These are great fighters. These are warriors.” Q: Did you give them authority? TRUMP: “I gave them authority to do what’s right so that we win. That’s the authority they have. I want to win and we’re going to win and we’re beating ISIS very badly. You look at what’s happened in the Middle East, we have done more in eight months than the previous administration has done in many years.” “Now what happens is you decimate them and that’s what we’ve done, we’ve decimated ISIS in the Middle East. They go to Africa, they go to places. When they get there, we meet them there. That’s what goes on. It’s a tough business, it’s a tough war, but we are winning it and you know what? We’re going to continue winning it.” “With that being said, my generals and my military, they have decision-making ability. As far as the incident that we’re talking about, I’ve been seeing it just like you’ve been seeing it. I’ve been getting reports. They have to meet the enemy and they meet them tough and that’s what happens.” Marine One can be seen in the background as Trump prepares to leave for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to board Air Force One to Dallas, Texas, where he will get a hurricane relief update after Hurricane Harvey hit the state in late August and speak at a Trump rally. On October 4, U.S. troops were conducting a routine operation in Niger when they were ambushed and four soldiers were killed. Army Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio, and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia, were killed. During a press briefing at the Pentagon on Monday, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, updated reporters on the investigation into what happened and asked for “a bit of patience to make sure that what we provide to you when we provide it is factual.” “And the other thing I think that’s also important is when this information is finally available, the first thing we’re going to do is go visit the families in their homes should they welcome us,” Dunford said. “And we will have a team go in of experts — and I’ve done this personally myself several times — a team of experts go in to the family and share with them all the facts that are available as a result of the investigation, and give them an opportunity to ask questions.” “And as soon as we’re done with that we’ll come back in here and we’ll share exactly that same information that we share with the families. And so, when I tell you today we don’t know it will be a fair answer — we don’t know,” he said. “And I’ll tell you everything we do know definitively. And I’ll tell you what the key elements are of the investigation that we hope to find out in the coming weeks,” Dunford said. “But again, with regard to being transparent I think we do owe the families and the American people transparency in incidents like this and we intend to deliver just that.”Although seemingly every project featuring either a zombie or an apocalypse—to say nothing of a zombie apocalypse—lands a deal on title alone, somehow one of the most promising of that unstoppable, lurching brood may have its brains splattered prematurely. Paramount’s Brad Pitt-starring adaptation of World War Z, the Max Brooks book that represented one of the cleverer spins on an increasingly tapped-out genre, is currently facing a financial crisis, with the studio balking at the film’s estimated $125 million budget. Vulture reports that executives are currently reaching out to David Ellison, part of the Oracle CEO Larry Ellison clan that—along with his more independently minded sister Megan—has quietly become one of the most influential investors in Hollywood. Without someone like Ellison cracking open the checkbook, however, the project looks increasingly imperiled, unless a bunch of ragtag kids can maybe put on a last-minute breakdancing show. World War Z seemingly has a lot to appeal to Ellison, as in addition to a rock-solid genre premise and a commitment from Pitt, it also has Quantum Of Solace director Marc Foster—and unlike the similar imbroglio over Guillermo del Toro’s At The Mountains Of Madness at Universal, Forster has agreed to a far-less-risky PG-13 rating. Of course, judging from some of Ellison’s past passion projects (Flyboys, Mission Impossible IV, Top Gun II), they might need to stick some planes and/or Tom Cruise in there. Anyway, should Ellison or someone else fail to step up, Paramount may scrap World War Z entirely, leaving us the cold comfort of 10 to 12 other, lesser zombie apocalypse films in the next couple of years.on • THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — I first reported this story a year ago — a video taken by a cell phone clearly shows trans woman Brooke Fantelli being tased by a Bureau of Land Management Park Ranger, now identified as J. Peter, following a confrontation. Fantelli claimed the ranger tased her because ‘she used to be a man’ and is now suing the ranger and the federal government. I wrote then the gist of what the video showed: ‘A trans woman standing still, outside of her vehicle, with her hands held high in the air, is tasered in the abdomen. Shortly after she fell to the ground, she was tasered again in the crotch.’ I also suggested that Fantelli didn’t appear to be an immediate threat to the two BLM rangers in the video — clearly something that did not warrant this kind of force. It appeared to be a BLM blunder and I suggested they settle the matter. In the months that followed, there was no further news from the BLM or Fantelli on the matter, even though I searched a couple of times. And now, a year later, the lawsuit. I have this feeling that we are missing quite a bit of other information that would give us a clue as to what exactly transpired in that incident. As a result, I no longer know what to think about this. We may have to wait for the outcome of the lawsuit. My earlier report: https://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/transgender-woman-tasered-in-crotch-by-blm-ranger Newer link to the cell phone video of the tasering: Video: Brooke Fantelli Claims She was Tased by Park Ranger for Being Transgender. UPDATE Nov. 12, 2012 — this new article has a few more details: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/12/transgender-woman-sues-blm-over-crotch-tasering/ ——— You’re welcome to share this entire article! Follow this topic on Lexie Cannes’ Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/lexiecannes Support this site, get the transgender-themed feature film “Lexie Cannes“ DVD here: http://www.lexiecannes.com/id13.html Share this: Twitter Facebook Reddit LinkedIn Tumblr Google Print Pocket Email Pinterest Like this: Like Loading... Categories: Judicial, Courts, Law Enforcement, Police, Transgender, Transsexual, TransThis weekend marks the beginning of Ramadan. Nearly one-fourth of the world will observe the annual fast and eight million Muslims in the United States will abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during the holy month. A gruelling task at any time of the year, Ramadan this year will be especially daunting during the long and hot summer days. Islam in America is rapidly expanding. It is the fastest-growing religion in the nation, and the second most practiced faith in twenty states. These demographic shifts prompted a prominent Los Angeles-based imam to comment, "Ramadan is a new American tradition." The cleric's forward-looking pronouncement marks Islam's recent arrival in the US. However, this statement reveals a pathology afflicting a lot of Muslim Americans today - an inability to look back and embrace the opening chapters of Muslim American history written by enslaved African Muslims. Social scientists estimate that 15 to 30 percent, or, "[a]s many as 600,000 to 1.2 million slaves" in antebellum America were Muslims. 46 percent of the slaves in the antebellum South were kidnapped from Africa's western regions, which boasted "significant numbers of Muslims". These enslaved Muslims strove to meet the demands of their faith, most notably the Ramadan fast, prayers, and community meals, in the face of comprehensive slave codes that linked religious activity to insubordination and rebellion. Marking Ramadan as a "new American tradition" not only overlooks the holy month observed by enslaved Muslims many years ago, but also perpetuates their erasure from Muslim-American history. Between Sunnah and slave codes Although the Quran "[a]llows a believer to abstain from fasting if he or she is far from home or involved in strenuous work," many enslaved Muslims demonstrated transcendent piety by choosing to fast while bonded. In addition to abstaining from food and drink, enslaved Muslims held holy month prayers in slave quarters, and put together iftars - meals at sundown to break the fast - that brought observing Muslims together. These prayers and iftars violated slave codes restricting assembly of any kind. The breadth of Muslim America's racial and cultural diversity today is unprecedented. For instance, the Virginia Slave Code of 1723 considered the assembly of five slaves as an "unlawful and tumultuous meeting", convened to plot rebellion attempts. Every state in the south codified similar laws barring slave assemblages, which disparately impacted enslaved African Muslims observing the Holy Month. Therefore, practicing Islam and observing Ramadan and its fundamental rituals, for enslaved Muslims in antebellum America, necessitated the violation of slave codes. This exposed them to barbaric punishment, injury, and oftentimes, even death. However, the courage to observe the holy month while bonded, and in the face of grave risk, highlights the supreme piety of many enslaved Muslims. Ramadan was widely observed by enslaved Muslims. Yet, this history is largely ignored by Muslim American leaders and laypeople alike - and erased from the modern Muslim American narrative. Rewriting the history of Ramadan in the US Muslim America was almost entirely black during the antebellum Era. Today, it stands as the most diverse Muslim community in the world. Today African Americans comprise a significant part of the community along with Muslims of South Asian and Arab descent. Latin Americans are a rapidly growing demographic in the community, ensuring that Muslims in America are a microcosm of their home nation's overall multiculturalism. In the US today, Ramadan dinner tables are sure to include staple Arab or Pakistani dishes. Yet, many Muslim Americans will break the fast with tortas and tamales, halal meatloaf and greens. Muslim diversity in the US has reshaped Ramadan into a multicultural American tradition. The breadth of Muslim America's racial and cultural diversity today is unprecedented, making this year's Ramadan - and the Ramadans to follow - new in terms of how transcultural and multiracial the tradition has become. This Muslim American multiculturalism comes with many challenges: Namely, intra-racism, Arab supremacy, and anti-black racism prevents cohesion inside and outside of American mosques. These deplorable trends perpetuate the erasure of the Muslim slave narrative. Integrating this history will not only mitigate racism and facilitate Muslim American cohesion, but also reveal the deep-rootedness of the faith, and its holiest month, on US soil. This Ramadan honouring the memory of the first Muslim Americans and their struggle for freedom and sharing their story with loved ones at the iftar table, seems an ideal step towards rewriting this missing chapter of Muslim American history into our collective consciousness. Khaled A Beydoun is the Critical Race Studies Teaching Fellow at the UCLA School of Law. Follow him on Twitter: @KhaledBeydounpolitics How Council’s Committees Could Change for the Second Half of John Tory’s Term Josh Matlow gets shafted, again. Every two years, council picks its new dodgeball teams. Since council doesn’t actually have dodgeball—which is unfortunate—this takes the form of council committees. Some committees, of course, are more desired than others. Executive Committee (which basically functions like the mayor’s cabinet), Budget Committee, the TTC, and public works are the big prizes for councillors who want to be seen and heard. Halfway through each term, the committees get re-shuffled, and it tells us something about council’s dynamic to see who winds up where and to speculate why. Committees play an important role at council. Various committees look at issues in detail before passing on recommendations to council. More often than not, council upholds these recommendations—after all, the committee had a chance to look at the issue in greater detail. These committees are put together by Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East), in part based on ranked preferences submitted by each councillor. The recommendations are forwarded to council, where they will likely approve most of them (sometimes there are changes at that later stage, but they tend to be minor). Michelle Holland (Ward 35, Scarborough Southwest) is off executive at mid-term, and she’s replaced by Mary-Margaret McMahon (Ward 32, Beaches-East York), who is now the chair of the Parks and Environment Committee. Holland will become the “Innovation Economy” lead on council, a new role appointed by the mayor. She’s proposed a bunch of member motions about SmartCars and SmartCities and the disruption economy and so on, so it makes some sense. One of the most significant committee concerns was municipal licensing and standards, which was in large part responsible for the Uber fiasco. The circus-like atmosphere at the committee was the result of putting a bunch of grandstanding councillors on one committee so they didn’t affect others. Josh Matlow (Ward 22, St. Paul’s) was the pitiable outlier on the committee, often pleading for some semblance of civility. Matlow won’t return, and will likely be thankful for that. Instead, Jim Karygiannis (Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt), Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre), Frances Nunziata (Ward 11, York South-Weston), Frank Di Giorgio (Ward 12, York South-Weston), and Jon Burnside (Ward 26, Don Valley West) comprise the committee that continues to be chaired by Cesar Palacio (Ward 17, Davenport). Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West), who was often the source of much noise on the committee, gets a quasi-promotion to public works. John Tory will continue to sit on the Police Services Board, which fulfills a campaign promise he made. This decision has been the source of some discomfort, as it puts him in the spotlight on issues like carding, the police budget, and the subject of protests from Black Lives Matter. Downtown councillors continue to be shut out from key committees like executive. Left wing councillors complain this trend shuts out important perspectives on issues like the East Gardiner, pedestrian safety, shelters, and more. Not all was well for Matlow, though. As first noted by the Star‘s Jennifer Pagliaro, the councillor was the only person to be removed from chairing a committee he wanted to lead. Although the Ward 22 councillor has more tenants in his ward than any other, Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul’s) will now lead the tenant issues committee. Hey, someone has to be picked last for dodgeball.A community swimming pool called the Richmond Plunge has just opened in Richmond, California, and it may be the most efficient swimming pool in the country. The Richmond Plunge has many efficient features: it’s heated by solar collectors, it’s entirely chlorine-free, and the building is powered by solar panels on the roof. The Plunge is a historic pool — it was first opened in 1926. Now, after ten years of renovation it has been reopened. It’s a huge pool — it holds 324,000 gallons of water and measures 60 feet by 160 feet. The water is heated by being circulated through eighty Heliodyne Gobi solar collectors on the roof. The pool also contains no chlorine. Instead, a saline solution is used, coupled with an ultraviolet disinfectant system. This means children and other swimmers can swim without goggles, and they will avoid the other health hazards of chlorine (which we detail in this recent article). The use of natural ventilation and the reduction of chloramines in the water will make swimming in the Plunge a healthy experience. The pool also has an array of solar electric panels that produce 30 kilowatts for the building. This large, solar hot water heating system was installed by Sun Light & Power, a San Francisco/Bay Area solar installation company. Link: Richmond PlungeFor the first time, MIT neuroscientists have shown they can control muscle movement by applying optogenetics — a technique that allows scientists to control neurons’ electrical impulses with light — to the spinal cords of animals that are awake and alert. Led by MIT Institute Professor Emilio Bizzi, the researchers studied mice in which a light-sensitive protein that promotes neural activity was inserted into a subset of spinal neurons. When the researchers shone blue light on the animals’ spinal cords, their hind legs were completely but reversibly immobilized. The findings, described in the June 25 issue of PLoS One, offer a new approach to studying the complex spinal circuits that coordinate movement and sensory processing, the researchers say. In this study, Bizzi and Vittorio Caggiano, a postdoc at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, used optogenetics to explore the function of inhibitory interneurons, which form circuits with many other neurons in the spinal cord. These circuits execute commands from the brain, with additional input from sensory information from the limbs. Previously, neuroscientists have used electrical stimulation or pharmacological intervention to control neurons’ activity and try to tease out their function. Those approaches have revealed a great deal of information about spinal control, but they do not offer precise enough control to study specific subsets of neurons. Optogenetics, on the other hand, allows scientists to control specific types of neurons by genetically programming them to express light-sensitive proteins. These proteins, called opsins, act as ion channels or pumps that regulate neurons’ electrical activity. Some opsins suppress activity when light shines on them, while others stimulate it. “With optogenetics, you are attacking a system of cells that have certain characteristics similar to each other. It’s a big shift in terms of our ability to understand how the system works,” says Bizzi, who is a member of MIT’s McGovern Institute. Muscle control Inhibitory neurons in the spinal cord suppress muscle contractions, which is critical for maintaining balance and for coordinating movement. For example, when you raise an apple to your mouth, the biceps contract while the triceps relax. Inhibitory neurons are also thought to be involved in the state of muscle inhibition that occurs during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. To study the function of inhibitory neurons in more detail, the researchers used mice developed by Guoping Feng, the Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, in which all inhibitory spinal neurons were engineered to express an opsin called channelrhodopsin 2. This opsin stimulates neural activity when exposed to blue light. They then shone light at different points along the spine to observe the effects of neuron activation. When inhibitory neurons in a small section of the thoracic spine were activated in freely moving mice, all hind-leg movement ceased. This suggests that inhibitory neurons in the thoracic spine relay the inhibition all the way to the end of the spine, Caggiano says. The researchers also found that activating inhibitory neurons had no effect on the transmission of sensory information from the limbs to the brain, or on normal reflexes. “The spinal location where we found this complete suppression was completely new,” Caggiano says. “It has not been shown by any other scientists that there is this front-to-back suppression that affects only motor behavior without affecting sensory behavior.” “It’s a compelling use of optogenetics that raises a lot of very interesting questions,” says Simon Giszter, a professor of neurobiology and anatomy at Drexel University who was not part of the research team. Among those questions is whether this mechanism behaves as a global “kill switch,” or if the inhibitory neurons form modules that allow for more selective suppression of movement patterns. Now that they have demonstrated the usefulness of optogenetics for this type of study, the MIT team hopes to explore the roles of other types of spinal cord neurons. They also plan to investigate how input from the brain influences these spinal circuits. “There’s huge interest in trying to extend these studies and dissect these circuits because we tackled only the inhibitory system in a very global way,” Caggiano says. “Further studies will highlight the contribution of single populations of neurons in the spinal cord for the control of limbs and control of movement.” The research was funded by the Human Frontier Science Program and the National Science Foundation. Mriganka Sur, the Paul E. and Lilah Newton Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, is also an author of the paper.I decided I needed another cigarette when we were in the car, so I lit one up and I've discovered that if you only crack the window instead of rolling it down that the smoke ventilates much better, so I have no idea why the kids were coughing and fussing for me to roll the window all the way down. They were just being dramatic, I swear. Naturally I didn't listen to them. Bill's going to be so mad at me. I spent an entire $27.00 at the grocery store this week. Prices are so high these days. It's just ridiculous. I don't know how the A&P is going to stay in business. I bet Gerald Ford has something to do with this. Or the Russians. I sent the kids back outside again. This time I made the girls take the baby with them, which was fine because they were just going into the woods to play. Gave me some time to watch The Edge of Night in peace. I'm planning a big night out with Bill this weekend for our anniversary. I thought maybe we'd go have fondue, drink some Harvey Wallbangers and go to a disco. I called the eleven year old down the street and told her we'd pay her three whole dollars to babysit all night and not to worry if the baby woke up and cried. I told her if you ignore it, the baby will eventually stop crying and go back to sleep, so just turn the record player up louder or something and that if the other three want to stay up late and watch television, it's okay but make them go to bed after Carol Burnett goes off and if they want some Jiffy Pop, that's fine too. They know how to make it themselves. Hilda called while I was making dinner (cube steaks and crinkle fries) and we got to talking about playing cards and then she said she liked Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore better than The Godfather II and I had to agree with her. I told her they ought to make a TV show after Alice. She said it would never work. I told her I had to get off the phone because I needed to mix up my Brandy Alexander and the phone cord didn't reach all the way to the liquor cabinet. Fed the kids and Bill dinner. Then Bill went off to Bob's for poker night and the girls all came over here to play Gin Rummy with me. We had some Chex Mix and Linda brought over her famous pineapple upside down cake, which we had with Sanka. We all talked about what we were going to do for the bicentennial and then Debbie started going on and on about how she likes this Jimmy Carter guy from Georgia for President and she and Doris got into an argument because Doris is a Republican. The kids tried to peek out of their rooms, where I'd put them for the evening, but I yelled at them and told them it was grown-up time and to keep playing Candyland and Lincoln Logs until they fell asleep. I asked Debbie what color she thought I ought to redo the kitchen in - harvest gold or avocado green and she said she thought rust or Colonial blue would be even prettier. Good lord. Too many choices! After the girls left I had to clean up the kitchen. Thank God for Corelle ware because I keep dropping coffee cups in the sink. This stuff just will not break, I tell you! It's a miracle. I mixed up another pitcher of Tang for breakfast, went and filed my nails into long, pointy ovals and then painted them a new shade called "Shimmering Ecru." When they dried I put on a polyester negligee, touched up my blue eyeshadow and sprayed my hair. Then I added a spritz of Charlie. I feel like celebrating our anniversary a little early! I have an IUD now after all. I'm not really worried about hemorrhaging or getting an infection from it. It's just a bunch of hype like that whole thalidomide scare. I knew lots of women ten years ago who took that and only one of their kids was born with a weird hand. She's not very crippled from it though. The kids in school tease her but middle schoolers are like that and it will build character. Anyway, I think I'll have a cigarette and read some of Waiting for Mr. Goodbar. Maybe I'll put on a Streisand record until Bill gets home. Good night!HOUSTON - A Houston police officer died in floodwaters Sunday morning while reporting for duty, according to Houston police Chief Art Acevedo. The chief said Sgt. Steve Perez was trying to get to his primary post in downtown Houston about 4 a.m. Sunday. He said Perez tried unsuccessfully to get to downtown for more than two hours. He said Perez followed protocol, contacted his chain-of-command and then tried to get to his secondary post in Kingwood. WATCH: HPD Chief Acevedo announces flood-related death of Sgt. Steven Perez Acevedo said that when roll call was taken Monday morning, authorities noticed Perez was missing. He said officers contacted his wife and she advised them that she had not seen Perez since 4 a.m. Sunday. That was when a search was launched to find him. Officers searched along Perez’s route and by 10 p.m. Monday, officers narrowed the search to Hardy Tollway and Beltway 8. They called for a dive team and members of Cajun Navy to help look for Perez, but could not locate him, Acevedo said. Because the waters were “too treacherous,” the decision was made to call off the search, Acevedo said. According to Acevedo, a dive team was deployed for a second time at 8 a.m. Tuesday and Perez’s body was found within 20 minutes. Acevedo said that Perez drove into more than 16 feet of water at the underpass while trying to navigate through the dark and drowned. Acevedo said Perez’s family begged him not to go to work, but he told them, "I've got work to do," Acevedo said. Acevedo said he asked Perez’s wife, “If the Lord was going to take him today, how do you think he would have wanted to go? Lying in bed, watching all the disaster, or doing what he’s done for the last 34 years?" Perez’s wife smiled and said, “If it was his turn to go, this is the way he would’ve wanted to go.” Acevedo said. On Sept. 4, officers held a Wall of Honor for the hearse carrying Officer Perez's casket. VIDEO: Wall of Honor for fallen Officer Perez The Houston Police Department issued the following statement regarding Perez’s death: It is with a heavy heart that we announce the tragic in-the-line-of-duty death of Sergeant Steve Perez. Sergeant Perez was bravely serving the city of Houston in the face of this unprecedented weather-related disaster when his vehicle entered high water. The death of Sergeant Perez reminds us of the dangers that police officers willingly face every day in order to serve this great city. We will go through this extremely difficult and trying time with heavy hearts sadly reminded of the ultimate sacrifice one of our own paid. Words cannot adequately express the sense of loss the Perez family and their extended Houston police family are experiencing. Our hearts and prayers go out to Sergeant Perez’s family, his friends, neighbors and colleagues. He is survived by his wife Cheryl, a grown son and daughter and extended family. We ask that everyone keep him and his family in their thoughts and prayers. We are proud of the courage of this 34-year veteran. Like Steve, we will not waiver and we will not stop until we meet the immediate safety and security needs of the community Steve and his family love to serve. Acevedo said, “We’ll apologize now when we mess up traffic, but the least we can do is the day that we say goodbye that this family and community get a chance to say goodbye. Acevedo described Perez as one of the sweetest men on the force. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Perez reported for duty and completed his mission. Download the Click2Houston news app in your app store to stay up-to-date with the latest news while you're on the go. Sign up for KPRC 2 newsletters to get breaking news, sports, entertainment, contests and more delivered straight to your email inbox. Copyright 2017 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.Recently a number of Russian media organisations and media professionals have found themselves under pressure. The news here is that, for a change, we are not talking about the kind of pressure that independent media experience when they are harassed by the authorities, when their journalists are attacked, sometimes killed, or threatened to leave Russia. This time, it is the embarrassment that media loyal to the Kremlin experience when independent media investigate the working methods inside these otherwise very closed organisations. In the course of the summer, new stories have emerged from inside pro-Kremlin media with testimonies from whistle-blowers and anonymous sources in these organisations. Among the most interesting are the stories serialised by the Russian independent platform “The Insider“. These publications have highlighted a number of illustrative details about how Russian propaganda television is managed and produced. “We received orders” According to an anonymous source working for the state TV channel Rossiya-1, no political news is covered without checking with government authorities. And sometimes the initiative for topics to be covered comes from the government: “When Trump became a candidate, we received orders to only give him positive coverage”, the source told. The same source also told about how some state agencies pay state TV for avoiding any negative mentioning. Talk shows are about intimidation Another source, in this case from the state-controlled channel Pervy Kanal, told about the presence of “Curators from the President’s administration” in key positions of the channel’s management. The source also said that managers on Pervy Kanal were keen to see as many guests as possible with “shouting-capability”, so as to sustain a high level of explicit hostility and intimidation in the studio towards guests described as token Russian opposition members, token Americans or token Ukrainian guests. Interestingly, the source described how it is rather the level of shouting than the actual ratings of the talk shows that are seen as success criteria among Pervy Kanal’s management. Similarly, the source described how many guests in talk shows are paid in cash to play certain roles in accordance with pre-defined scenarios. “Jeans” means air time for sale Another important aspect of the work of Russia’s national television is the practice of selling air time with advertising presented as editorial material – a phenomenon known in Russian journalistic jargon as “jeans”. In testimonies from sources who work for, or have previously worked for Kremlin-loyal NTV, we learn about this practice in detail, for example how appearing as an interviewee in a documentary or news program on NTV is something that can be purchased, and that this practice is more of a rule than an exception. Interestingly, The Insider explains as a part of its reporting that when this particular story was prepared, its editors were contacted by people who offered them money not to publish it. Read The Insider’s two stories about the “jeans” hidden advertisement here and here (in Russian). Disinformation and corruption go hand in hand What can be concluded from the examples above is that the government-controlled disinformation campaign goes hand in hand with corruption. Apparently, when journalism starts selling out with regards to being independent and critical, other parts of the professional ethics and integrity are also likely to be abandoned. As mentioned, the source of this series of stories is the small, privately owned, Moscow-based online media outlet, The Insider, whose brand is becoming more and more associated with investigations into the shadier sides of the Russian media scene: The Insider runs special sections on its website dedicated to topics like “anti-fake“, “corruption” and “testimonies“. Not unlike the way some NGOs can challenge the dominance of a government, independent media such as The Insider try to challenge large, dominating, media outlets – even if these enjoy the support of a powerful government. But do The Insider’s and similar investigations make any difference in Russia’s media landscape? Popular TV host calls it quits There are signs of at least some cases when Russian journalists are haunted by second thoughts about their professional integrity when reporting like The Insider’s starts surfacing. One sign is the increasing number of whistle-blower stories, which make the sort of reporting we see from The Insider possible. Could it be that when repeated reporting about these problems raises awareness over these issues, people who work inside the media organisations start feeling less comfortable and less proud about their job? Even highly paid pro-Kremlin journalists don’t live in a vacuum. Thus recently, Andrey Malakhov, a popular Russian TV presenter who has hosted his own talk show on Pervy Kanal since 2005, decided to resign for what was presented as “editorial reasons”. According to BBC sources, Malakhov had been opposing his management’s plans to put even more political emphasis on his generally socially oriented talk show in the run-up to next year’s presidential elections in Russia. Interviewed by the Russian online magazine Women’s Day, Malakhov reflected on his television career as follows: “I have always been subject to subordination. I’m a soldier kind of person, one who obeys orders.” Suggested further reading: Three things you should know about RT and Sputnik Temnik – the Kremlin’s route to media control “We don’t promote the English Queen’s anniversary!!!” COMMENTARY: Means, goals and consequences of the pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign- The driver who hit and killed a 15-year-old on skateboard Thursday night has turned himself in, according
run. Both of these efforts are currently awaiting fixes to the ARM support in libffi. The biggest outstanding technical issue at this point is the test suite and Buildbot integration, he said. The next step is to be able to build the test suite as an app, push it to the device, run it there, and retrieve the test results. Scripts need to be written to do that, but there is also a problem of hardware availability. Either someone needs to buy a bunch of devices and hook them up to a system somewhere or the community could engage a company that provides a service with many different mobile platforms for building and testing. One decision that needs to be made by the Python core developers is how the platform identifies itself via the sys.platform variable. There are two schools of thought. One is that the platform should be "ios" or "android" as appropriate, while the other is that it should be "linux" for android (and presumably something else for iOS, but he didn't say). At least notionally, programs for other Linux distributions could run on Android, he said, which is why some advocate for the latter. Building fat binaries/libraries is currently done with a meta- Makefile that runs configure and the standard Makefile multiple times, then merges the resulting targets into the fat files. That work could be moved into the standard Makefile instead, though there are still some difficulties because configure must be run each time for different architectures. The current approach is to build all of CPython into a single library because Apple does not allow dynamic linking for iOS apps. That makes for large app file sizes, but that size can be cut down by only putting the modules needed by the app into the library. The patches for iOS provide a mechanism to do that, but it may be a desirable feature for more than just that platform, he said. Apps will need to access native system services to do things like draw widgets on the screen. There are a number of different projects that allow Python to bridge to the native runtimes, but Keith-Magee wondered if some kind of bridging was in-scope for the standard library. If other services like geolocation or access to the accelerometer are to be provided by a mobile framework in the standard library, some form of bridging would be needed. After the video, several attendees seemed pretty adamant that those kinds of features were not at all in-scope for the standard library—at least in their minds. There is also a question of what gets shipped. Apps are self-contained, so the project can't just ship a "Python app" that other apps use. For Android, the project could build a library for each platform; for iOS, a single fat library could be created. The problem is that apps are likely to want customized builds that are stripped down to only what that app needs. There is also the question of which CPU versions and platform versions will be supported by the project. For Android, the platform problem is particularly acute because there are so many different versions of Android running on devices. In fact, Android 2.3 ("Gingerbread") is shipping on brand new devices being made today, he said. Third-party modules also raise questions. Pure Python modules are easy—just put the code somewhere on the PYTHONPATH —but C extensions raise some other issues. They will need to be built into the library somehow; will there be a standard mechanism to do so? Ethan Furman has volunteered to shepherd the Android patches moving forward. As far as he is aware, there is no one currently doing so for iOS, Keith-Magee said. Many of the issues he raised could be deferred for a while, but there are a few that really need to be resolved before any forward progress can be made. Changes to the build system to support the mobile operating systems, as well as the platform identification issue, are the most pressing, he said. Comments (1 posted) The Python Requests module is a popular alternative to the standard library's HTTP handling (e.g. urllib2). Kenneth Reitz, who is the "benevolent dictator for life" (BDFL) for Requests, came to the Python Language Summit to discuss the possibility of adding the module to the standard library. It is oft-requested, but is a bit controversial, he said. In addition, he wanted to use his slot as a forum to discuss the criteria for adding things to the standard library. Requests has security as its top priority. It focuses on using industry best practices for things like SSL/TLS, connection pooling, encodings, headers, and so on. It removes a significant amount of the complexity for writing programs that interact with the web. It is also the most popular package on the Python Package Index (PyPI, though Reitz used its other name: The CheeseShop), having been downloaded some 42 million times. That is more downloads than either setuptools or virtualenv. That popularity leads to frequent suggestions that Requests be added to the standard library. The development of Requests is mostly done by Reitz and two core contributors. It has been feature-frozen for the last two years. It has a stable API and a stable development community, he said. There are two major dependencies for Requests that would also have to be added if Requests moved into the standard library. One is chardet, which is an encoding detector that is based on Mozilla's character-recognition algorithm. It is quite useful when dealing with Unicode because servers can't always be trusted to specify the encoding correctly. It would be a good addition to the standard library regardless of what happens with Requests, he said. The other dependency is urllib3, which provides thread-safe connection pooling, file posting, and more. It is under active development and receives updates frequently. The Requests project sees the module as "critical infrastructure for the Python community", Reitz said. For example, it is used by the pip Python package installation tool. There are a number of arguments for inclusion into the standard library. If the Python community wants to provide libraries that embody best practices, then adding Requests would be "the right thing to do". From a sustainability standpoint, having Requests in the standard library would make it easier to get funding for the core contributors. Also, chardet would be good from a "batteries included" standpoint. Reitz also relayed some observations that might make it difficult for Requests to be included. To start with, it comes with its own "carefully curated" (and frequently updated) bundle of certificates from certificate authorities (CAs) for SSL/TLS verification, while Python relies on the system CA bundle. Relying on the system certificate bundle would likely reduce the security of the library, he said. Beyond that, the HTTP specifications and recommended usage change significantly over time; the Requests module keeps up with those changes. There are also situations where the project has turned around a release for a security fix in 12 hours, which would be difficult or impossible to do if it were included in the standard library. The "biggest pitch" for Requests is that it is better than the parts of the standard library that cover the same ground. Pulling Requests into the standard library properly would require a bunch of work to integrate it and replace pieces of the standard library with parts of Requests. The project would also lose the ability for fast turnaround changes based on security problems or specification/usage changes. He also wondered about the goals of the standard library. Now that Python ships with pip, is inclusion in the standard library really needed for modules like Requests? The "official stance" of the Requests project is that it is critical infrastructure, as he said earlier, but also that it is too critical to be included in the standard library. That conclusion seemed largely agreeable to those present. One attendee said they would not be happy if they had to update Python to get a new Requests. Nick Coghlan noted that network security needs make the update cycle for Requests quite different from that of Python as a whole. It is also impossible to maintain network security for a release that has a "no new features" policy (e.g. Python 2.7). There needs to be a way for new people to get the recommendations to use "external" modules like Requests, Łukasz Langa said. But there is a problem for some users (and companies), though, because they don't want to install additional, third-party dependencies, Thomas Wouters said. Requests is in a somewhat different category, though, since it is already installed for pip, Coghlan said. Someone suggested that there be a set of modules that are vetted and endorsed by the core developers or the Python Software Foundation. Langa wondered what would happen if the maintenance stopped for an endorsed package, however. He suggested that the documentation get changed so that there is a section on deprecated modules and their suggested replacements. There were some other concerns expressed. Glyph Lefkowitz argued that one of the big hurdles for users adopting Requests and other PyPI modules is the command line. Adding some sort of user interface to pip would help with that, he said. Alex Gaynor noted that Python 3.4 added the asyncio module, but that Requests does not support it. He wondered how Requests could even be considered for inclusion in the standard library without asynchronous support using asyncio. Brett Cannon pointed out that there is a need for an informational PEP that describes the goals of the standard library. Larry Hastings kind of summed up the session when he said that "batteries included may not make so much sense for everything anymore". Certainly the feeling in the room seemed to indicate that there is a mismatch between the frequency of Python releases and the needs of some modules, which means their users are better served by remaining separate. Comments (44 posted) Romain Guillebert, who is one of the PyPy developers, introduced his PyMetabiosis project at the 2015 Python Language Summit. The idea behind it is to make it easier for people to use alternative Python implementations (such as PyPy) by making C extensions available to them. The biggest barrier to using alternative implementations is the availability of the C extensions, he said. PyPy and others cannot just support the C API because it is too closely tied to the CPython implementation details. For example, it assumes reference counting for garbage collection, which is known for being inefficient and for making it difficult to get rid of the global interpreter lock (GIL). PyPy doesn't use reference counting; it can emulate it, but that is slow. So he has come up with a "hackish way to make C extensions work" for PyPy. PyMetabiosis embeds CPython into PyPy, which allows importing C extensions using CPython. PyPy wraps a proxy around a CPython PyObject that implements the needed methods, which call out to an extension via the C API. PyMetabiosis allows a lot of Python extensions to be accessed from PyPy. For example, it allows sharing NumPy arrays between PyPy and CPython without any copying. It also did not take much code to implement PyMetabiosis; Guillebert said he spent about two weeks getting it working. It is, unfortunately, still slow. It also makes PyPy dependent on CPython, which is not ideal. It doesn't work on Windows either. PyMetabiosis uses an environment variable that must point to a CPython virtual environment. Another limitation is that PyPy objects that are passed to CPython and get altered (e.g. lists) do not have those changes reflected in PyPy. Ultimately, though, PyMetabiosis is just another slow compatibility layer that has different properties from other choices, he said. He would like to see an effort to incrementally improve the C extension API. He suggested looking at the APIs provided by other languages, such as those for Java (using the Java Native Interface), V8 JavaScript, Lua, or Julia, which are "way more" implementation independent. Someone asked about "going the other way around" and embedding PyPy into CPython for use by performance-sensitive code. Often the numerical crunching done by NumPy and SciPy needs all of the performance boost it can get, while the rest of the code could be terribly written, but it doesn't really matter performance-wise. Guillebert agreed that both ways would work. The current situation, with both a NumPy and a NumPyPy for the two different Python implementations, is "not a great long-term solution", an attendee said. Users really just want one version, but they need some path to get at PyPy's just-in-time (JIT) compiler. If there is an effort to rewrite or enhance the C API, providing that path should be considered. Nick Coghlan said that the C Foreign Function Interface (CFFI) should be refactored so that it can serve as an extension module generator. CFFI is based on Lua's C API. Glyph Lefkowitz suggested that extension developers are often ignoring CFFI; when they actually try to use it, CFFI generally solves their problems, he said. The key is to get people to stop hand coding their C extensions, Coghlan said. Comments (5 posted) In his session at the 2015 Python Language Summit, Stefan Richthofer described a project he has been working on for the last two years to enable Jython (Python on the Java virtual machine) to use Python's C extensions. It is called Jython Native Interface (JyNI) and it provides an adaption layer between Jython, which, like Java, uses the Java Native Interface (JNI) to access native code, and Python's C API. Jython reimplements various built-in Python types (e.g. PyIntObject, PyStringObject,...) in Java. The idea behind JyNI is to create a C-compatible view into these objects that stays in sync with them. The C API is "large and complex", which is one obstacle that needs to be surmounted. In addition, CPython uses macros in some places to access data objects; those macros cannot be switched out at runtime by dynamically loaded functions. There are also a few minor obstacles to JyNI, including exception handling and the global interpreter lock (GIL), but the biggest problem area is garbage collection. Making it all work without leaking memory is challenging, he said. There are three approaches that are being used to unify objects between Java and Python (i.e. to allow access as either a PyObject or a jobject ). For Python object types that have Java versions available, a PyObject wrapper for the jobject is used. If there is no object of that type available in Java, the reverse is done (a jobject wraps a PyObject ). The third option is used when macros are used to access the object in Python. It is a data structure that mirrors the object state between a PyObject and a jobject version. JyNI tries to avoid mirroring but it cannot be avoided for some kinds of objects. CPython provides garbage collection for extensions, so some extensions may be relying on that for their memory management. Java does not provide any garbage collection to native code, so extensions must manage their own memory. Resolving that will, seemingly, be the biggest challenge for JyNI going forward. Comments (2 posted) Steve Dower took over the maintenance of the installer for Python on Windows a year ago, just after PyCon 2014. Since then, he has gotten a lot of feedback that the installer is not doing what is needed. He spoke at a 2015 Python Language Summit session to explain what the installer is doing and to describe some scenarios that it might support. The Windows installer for Python 3.4 and earlier had a rather large security hole in that it allowed any user to modify the system Python installation. Dower has fixed that for the 3.5 installer by putting system-wide installations into a directory ( Program Files ) that can only be modified by the administrative user. There are three different categories for installations that Dower identified. He wondered which the Python project should be delivering. The first type of installation is the "as if bundled" by the operating system. That is really a Windows-only question because the other operating systems' installers already do this. An important consideration is that adding modules to this type of installation must be governed by having administrative privileges. There is also the "just for me" case, where Python is installed only for one user. That is an important use case and for Python 3.5 it is supported by the installer. The downside is that those installations don't get security and other updates from the system administrator. The final installation scenario is one that is private to an application. The result would not make Python available to anything other than the application that was installed. In addition, no changes to the modules available would be allowed except via the application's update process. There could be a ZIP file created as part of the Python build process that would be stored on python.org. Applications (e.g. the Mercurial version control system) could then bundle a particular version of Python. Thomas Wouters noted that this scenario is not Windows-specific, as applications for other operating systems might also want that ability. No real conclusions came out of the session. It was more informational, seemingly, to update the developers present on the installer and Dower's thinking about it. Comments (none posted) The final session of the day at the 2015 Python Language Summit was from Jacob Kaplan-Moss, who is a core contributor to the Django web framework and the director of security at cloud-application hosting service Heroku. He presented some numbers on how Python fits into the Heroku ecosystem, though he asked that attendees not share the numbers themselves. However, a general idea of Python's place at the company can be extracted from his talk. Ruby is the most popular language used on Heroku, which is not a surprise since the other languages have only been supported on the platform for two years or so. JavaScript using Node.js is the second most popular, with Python in third place. Node.js is roughly half as popular as Ruby with "active developers", while Python has a quarter of the popularity of Ruby. PHP is next after Python; Java and Scala make up a fairly small portion of the languages used by Heroku's active developers. A graph of the change in relative popularity (as compared to Ruby) showed Node.js "exploding", while Python is experiencing steady growth in popularity. Python is the second fastest growing language at Heroku after Node.js. The list of most popular add-ons (packages that Heroku offers its Python developers) was not terribly surprising. The list reads something like a "who's who" of internet products and technologies: New Relic, logging, Redis, email, Memcached, MongoDB, and so on. He noted that Heroku users always get PostgreSQL, so it does not appear in the list. Python 2.7 totally dominates the Python versions being used by Python applications in the last year, though it should be noted that it is the default version. Python 3.4 is next, but is smaller than 2.7 by a factor of ten. All other Python versions are less than one percent and the numbers for PyPy are "abysmal", which he found surprising. If you look at the numbers from just the last month, though, Python 3.4 has made some significant progress against 2.7. Part of that may be because the Django tutorial now uses Python 3 by default, he said. In terms of Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI) servers, Gunicorn completely dominates, while only Waitress has anything more than a small fraction of use by active Python applications. In terms of Python web frameworks, a bit less than two-thirds of active applications use Django and roughly one-third use Flask. That obviously doesn't leave much room for alternatives, with Tornado taking up the bulk of what's left. It is important to note that these numbers are not general Python usage numbers, he said. The numbers come from "Python users doing web things", which definitely skews the results. Comments (1 posted) Page editor: Jonathan Corbet Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly EditionPresident Donald Trump is expected to announce a surge of "several thousand" troops to Afghanistan in a speech he will deliver to the nation from Fort Meyers at 9:00 ET tonight. Despite Trump's wildcard tendencies, the contents of tonight's address should be fairly predictable. Whatever anti-establishment foreign policy rhetoric Trump may have deployed during the campaign, his administration appears to have coalesced into a fairly establishment-minded group, particularly on foreign policy. Here are three things we can expect to hear about in tonight's address: 1. The Surge Itself Ultimately, the decision on Afghanistan is a binary one: Either the U.S. stays, or it goes. Surging means staying. In 2013 Trump lambasted America's "stupid leaders" for signing a deal to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan until 2024, adding that the U.S. had "wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan" and got "zero appreciation" from the Afghan government. Such rhetoric has been missing more recently. The conflict barely got mentioned during the 2016 presidential campaign, and for the most part it has receded from the public consciousness. President Barack Obama announced a troop surge of his own in a December 2009 address, bemoaning an Afghan government "hampered by corruption, the drug trade, an under-developed economy, and insufficient security forces." Trump may say something similar. Eight years after the Obama troop surge, there's nothing positive to show for it in Afghanistan. That surge, like the one Trump is expected to announce, simply prolonged our presence in the country. Trump has already authorized the Pentagon to send an additional 3,900 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, so tonight's announcement will probably stay within that limit. There are currently about 8,000 U.S. troops in the country. 2. Pakistan and other regional partners The administration is mulling several possible ways to pressure Pakistan. According to CBS News, these include "reducing aid, taking away its status as a non-NATO ally, and threatening to name Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism." Terror groups like the so-called Haqqani network operate out of Pakistan, and in 2011 the U.S. found and killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, in a posh Pakistan neighborhood. The Russians, who seem to have cut and run on any possibility of converting any pro-Russian sentiments Trump expressed on the 2016 campaign trail into improved U.S.-Russian relations, have signaled that Washington should withdraw from Afghanistan if it's "unable to do anything serious." Nevertheless, instability in Afghanistan poses a security concern for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russia's response to a post–Cold War NATO, and it would be worthwhile to try to engage Russia, as well as China, on what complete withdrawal from Afghanistan will look like. A negotiated withdrawal involving the Afghan government and the Taliban would probably work best if it included Pakistan as well as other regional powers, who ought to be more vested in a stable future for Afghanistan than the U.S. is. Tonight's address would be a good place to articulate that, though Trump is more likely to scapegoat Pakistan than to sketch out any new efforts at regional cooperation. 3. Blaming Obama Whether or not Trump mentions his predecessor by name, he's probably going to lay most of the blame for the mess in Afghanistan on Obama's doorstep. He may also, as he was wont to do before becoming an elected Republican official, criticize George W. Bush for allowing the conflict to fester for its first seven years instead of bringing it to a close after obliterating the core of Al Qaeda and removing the Taliban from power. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has blamed a lack of "strategic guidance" across presidential administrations for years of failures in Afghanistan. But for years now there has been a lot of ambiguity about why the U.S. remains in Afghanistan in the first pace. That ambiguity isn't resolved during presidential campaigns, and it isn't resolved in the addresses new presidents give to the nation about the war's purported progress. Trump will likely continue the tradition of blaming his predecessor for Afghanistan. But without interrogating why the U.S. has stayed in Afghanistan for so long, that's a useless exercise.*Printable Schedule* NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference released its full 2015 football schedule on Friday which features eight conference games for each of the league’s 11 teams as well as 45 regular season non-conference matchups. The Sun Belt Conference returns all 11 members that competed in conference play last season. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will be eligible to compete for spots in postseason bowl games after both finished above.500 in their first season as members of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Georgia Southern claimed the Sun Belt championship with a perfect 8-0 record in conference play. Arkansas State (four straight GoDaddy Bowl appearances), Georgia State, Idaho, UL Lafayette (winners of four consecutive R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowls), UL Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama (played in its first ever bowl in the inaugural Raycom Camellia Bowl), Texas State, and Troy round out the Sun Belt football membership for the 2015 season. Idaho and New Mexico State are football-only members. Arkansas State will travel to South Alabama on Oct. 13 to kick off the 2015 nationally televised Sun Belt schedule. The Tuesday night contest will be one of two Sun Belt games scheduled for ESPN2. The Oct. 20 contest between UL Lafayette and Arkansas State will also be featured on ESPN2. This will be the third consecutive season the Red Wolves and Ragin’ Cajuns will play each other on ESPN2. The Thursday, Oct. 22 rivalry game between Georgia Southern and Appalachian State will be carried on ESPNU for the second consecutive season. Other ESPNU contest include Texas State at Georgia Southern (Oct. 29), Arkansas State at Appalachian State (Nov. 5), UL Lafayette at South Alabama (Nov. 12), and UL Monroe at Texas State (Nov. 19). For the third consecutive season all Sun Belt Conference teams will have all their home games available on an ESPN Platform. A television schedule for the first three weeks of the regular season plus game times for midweek contests will be announced at a later date in June. For games in the fourth week of the season and beyond, networks will be determined 12 days out from the contest. Sun Belt teams will play 45 non-conference games during the 2015 season, 19 of which come against Power 5 conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, and Southeastern). The Sun Belt will face off with its peer conferences (American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, and Mountain West) 15 times. SEC East champion Missouri will make the trip to Jonesboro, Ark. to take on Arkansas State on Sept. 12. South Alabama will play host to NC State on Sept. 26. The 2015 season will conclude with the Sun Belt being guaranteed a minimum of four spots in postseason bowl games – the highest number of bowl games the Sun Belt has ever had. The Sun Belt maintains partnerships with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl, the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl and new for 2015 – the AutoNation Cure Bowl. Additionally, the College Football Playoff guarantees that a spot among the premier bowl games in college football will be given to the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Five” conferences: the Sun Belt Conference, American Athletic Conference, Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA. 2015 Sun Belt Schedule Notes Breakdown of matchups by conference: AAC (2), ACC (4), Big 10 (2), Big 12 (1), C-USA (5), MAC (5), MW (4), PAC 12 (3), SEC (9). The Sun Belt will have 24 non-conference games against teams that competed in bowls last season. The Sun Belt opponents combined to go 14-10 in bowl games. The 2015 Sun Belt schedule is a mirror of the league’s 2014 schedule in that all teams play the same opponents they did a year ago, but the site of the game is flipped. Idaho will play the first game of the season by a Sun Belt team as it hosts Ohio in the Kibbie Dome on Thursday, Sept. 3. UL Monroe will play 13 games during the 2015 season, while all other Sun Belt teams play 12. The Warhawks travel to Hawaii on Nov. 28, which allows them to play five non-conference games. UL Monroe will play Tulsa on Oct. 10. – the Golden Hurricane are the only American Athletic school to oppose a Sun Belt team in both of the past two seasons. Texas State defeated Tulsa 37-34 in triple overtime during the 2014 campaign. Georgia State is the only team that will play all six Sun Belt teams that finished with a record of.500 or better during the 2014 season (Appalachian State, Arkansas State, UL Lafayette, Texas State, South Alabama, and Georgia Southern). For the second consecutive season, a Sun Belt school will travel to Gainesville, Fla. to open the season as New Mexico State will play the Gators on Sept. 5. It should be noted though that Idaho’s contest against Florida was cancelled immediately following the opening kickoff last season due to severe weather in the area. With a game scheduled against Georgia on Nov. 21, Georgia Southern will have played every FBS team in Georgia in the last two years after playing Georgia Tech and Georgia State last year. The Eagles finish their 2015 slate on Dec. 5 by hosting Georgia State. South Alabama will play more teams that finished.500 or better last season than any other school in the Sun Belt. The Jaguars take on eight teams who finished at least 6-6 (Nebraska, San Diego State, NC State, Arkansas State, Texas State, UL Lafayette, Georgia Southern, and Appalachian State) Arkansas State, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy will each face five bowl teams from the 2014 season. Appalachian State will look to continue its six game winning streak dating back to last season when it hosts Howard on Sept. 5 at Kidd-Brewer Stadium. New Troy head coach Neal Brown will lead the Trojans against four bowl teams in five games including trips to NC State, Wisconsin, and Mississippi State. New Mexico State and Georgia State open Sun Belt conference play with a matchup at Aggie Memorial Stadium on Sept. 12. It will be the second consecutive year these two teams have opened the Sun Belt schedule. UL Lafayette plays three games against opponents from Louisiana including conference rival UL Monroe on Halloween night. UL Lafayette will also take on Northwestern State (Sept. 12) and Louisiana Tech (Oct. 3) in non-conference action. Arkansas State plays three games on national television, the most of any Sun Belt school. The Red Wolves face off with South Alabama and UL Lafayette on consecutive Tuesdays in October which will both be televised on ESPN2. Arkansas State plays Appalachian State on ESPNU on Nov. 5. 2015 Sun Belt Football Schedule September 2 or September 4 Charlotte at Georgia State Thursday, September 3 Ohio at Idaho Saturday, September 5 Howard at Appalachian State Arkansas State at Southern California Georgia Southern at West Virginia Charlotte at Georgia State UL Lafayette at Kentucky UL Monroe at Georgia New Mexico State at Florida Gardner-Webb at South Alabama Texas State at Florida State Troy at NC State Saturday, September 12 Appalachian State at Clemson Missouri at Arkansas State Western Michigan at Georgia Southern * Georgia State at New Mexico State Idaho at Southern California Northwestern State at UL Lafayette Nicholls State at UL Monroe South Alabama at Nebraska Prairie View A&M at Texas State Charleston Southern at Troy Saturday, September 19 Missouri State at Arkansas State The Citadel at Georgia Southern Georgia State at Oregon Wofford at Idaho UTEP at New Mexico State South Alabama at San Diego State Southern Mississippi at Texas State Troy at Wisconsin Saturday, September 26 Appalachian State at Old Dominion Arkansas State at Toledo * Georgia Southern at Idaho Akron at UL Lafayette UL Monroe at Alabama NC State at South Alabama Texas State at Houston Saturday, October 3 Wyoming at Appalachian State * Idaho at Arkansas State * Georgia Southern at UL Monroe Liberty at Georgia State UL Lafayette at Louisiana Tech New Mexico State at New Mexico * South Alabama at Troy Saturday, October 10 * Appalachian State at Georgia State * Texas State at UL Lafayette UL Monroe at Tulsa New Mexico State at Ole Miss Troy at Mississippi State Tuesday, October 13 * Arkansas State at South Alabama (ESPN2) Saturday, October 17 * Appalachian State at UL Monroe * New Mexico State at Georgia Southern Georgia State at Ball State * Idaho at Troy Tuesday, October 20 * UL Lafayette at Arkansas State (ESPN2) Thursday, October 22 * Georgia Southern at Appalachian State (ESPNU) Saturday, October 24 * UL Monroe at Idaho * Troy at New Mexico State * South Alabama at Texas State Thursday, October 29 * Texas State at Georgia Southern (ESPNU) Saturday, October 31 * Troy at Appalachian State * Georgia State at Arkansas State * Idaho at New Mexico State * UL Monroe at UL Lafayette Thursday, November 5 * Arkansas State at Appalachian State (ESPNU) Saturday, November 7 * UL Lafayette at Georgia State * Idaho at South Alabama * UL Monroe at Troy * New Mexico State at Texas State Thursday, November 12 * UL Lafayette at South Alabama (ESPNU) Saturday, November 14 * Appalachian State at Idaho * Arkansas State at UL Monroe * Georgia Southern at Troy * Georgia State at Texas State Thursday, November 19 * UL Monroe at Texas State (ESPNU) Saturday, November 21 Georgia Southern at Georgia * South Alabama at Georgia State Idaho at Auburn * New Mexico State at UL Lafayette November 27 or November 28 * Troy at Georgia State Saturday, November 28 * UL Lafayette at Appalachian State * Arkansas State at New Mexico State * South Alabama at Georgia Southern * Texas State at Idaho UL Monroe at Hawaii Saturday, December 5 * Appalachian State at South Alabama * Texas State at Arkansas State * Georgia State at Georgia Southern * Troy at UL Lafayette * New Mexico State at UL Monroe * denotes Sun Belt Conference game Schedule is subject to changeAnd now, for those who want to know what’s going on but don’t want to keep up: An abridging of today’s story. Tezzeret: Soldiers! Take all the inventions immediately! Crush our enemies! Why are Jace and Liliana even here?!? Soldiers: Yes, sir! (They beat civilians, steal inventions, and arrest people) Dovin Baan: You know, you could get this done without inciting a riot if you were willing to take another five minutes to actually explain to the citizens what the hell is going on. Tezzeret: NO TIME! The Gatewatch is after me! Hey, Dovin, buddy, pal, who I love, how about you handle the Gatewatch that you totally invited here? Dovin: How about I keep your stupid master plan from destroying the city? Tezzeret: I’ll give you a Masterpiece. Dovin: No. Tezzeret: Twoooo masterpieces? Dovin: No. Tezzeret: Literally everything except Rashmi’s teleporter which I’m going to use for my evil plot next set! Dovin: …Alright. (Dovin heads off to deal with the Gatewatch. The city is rioting around him.) (Bastion Mastadon attacks) Soldiers: Oh no, this elephant is going to kill us all! Dovin Baan: Have you tried attacking the weak point for massive damage? (Soldiers attack the weak point for massive damage. Bastion Mastadon is defeated.) Dovin: Citizens! This is what the hell’s going on! Observe as I explain clearly and precisely the things Tezzeret wouldn’t because he was panicking, so everybody can line up in an orderly fashion, give your inventions to us for careful storage, and then return to your homes for tea. (Citizens cease panicking.) Dovin: Well, that was easy. Now, to stop the Gatewatch… and then play with all the Inventions.Where will Huawei go next? That’s a question the high tech industry is going to be asking quite a bit over the next several years. Founded in 1987 by a civil engineer with the People’s Liberation Army, the company began to pop up on the radar in 2002 as a competitor in network equipment to Cisco. By 2006, it was one of the largest names. By 2012, it surpassed Ericsson to become the largest supplier of telecommunications equipment. In 2010, it began to make smartphones under its own brand name after serving as a contract manufacturer. By 2015, Huawei was number three in the world, growing shipments by 37% over 2014. (By contrast, number two Apple grew shipments by 0.4%). In solar, it took over the top spot in inverters when measured by unit shipments and came in at number two in terms of revenue, according to GTM Research. It’s a remarkable feat in many ways. Inverters are the Achilles ’ heel of solar installations: quality, reputation and track record often account for more than price and plenty of high quality incumbents exist. In 2013, Huawei was only ranked ninth. In 2011, inverters from China barely constituted an asterisk in the overall market. The company is also delving into cloud technologies, consumer devices, the Internet of Things and supercomputers as well as collaborating with major research institutions like the University of Toronto. Executives at its analyst event in Shenzhen this month declared that the company wants to become as pervasive in enterprise technologies and consumer markets as it is in communications. Put another way, that’s like Cisco declaring it wants to become Apple and Dell as the same time. It will be a daunting challenge. History is littered with examples of tech companies that tried and failed to conquer new or adjacent markets. Remember HP TVs and Intel ’s consumer electronics? Or Cisco’s foray into video cameras? Or Google ’s attempt to sell smart thermostats? (Let me check on the status of that last one.) Skeptics will increasingly look for stumbles every time Huawei launches a new venture. On the other hand, you can also analogize Huawei’s overall strategy and market position to Samsung. Forget Samsung’s titanic posture in the world today for a moment. Back in 1999, the company was a second-tier manufacturer when it launched its “barbell” strategy. Under the strategy, Samsung invested heavily in critical components like DRAM, flash memory and LCDs. At the same time, it began to hire industrial designers and marketing execs to elevate its consumer profile. The end result was a compelling combination:
is not performing for anyone. Leslie is completely authentic through and through, she doesn’t care what people think of her, necessarily, or whether she comes off as cool, or any of the stuff Michael Scott or David Brent cared about.” Thus, when Schur realized that Leslie did not need to be performing for a camera, the conceit that she was being filmed fell to the wayside. When Daniels brought The Office to the United States, the mockumentary style was not nearly as ubiquitous as it is in the sitcom world today. There were Christopher Guest films, but mostly the filmmakers behind The Office were tasked with familiarizing the American audience with a new style of sitcom complete with new pacing and beats for laughter. To do this, the show had to be – and was – committed 100% to its style, even going so far as revealing the men behind the camera in the desperate later years. Of course, people forget how well it just worked in the prime Steve Carell years. The mockumentary style was perfect for The Office because it was a show about people who were ultimately just co-workers. Yes, some become romantically involved, but it is really a rare occasion when the employees of Dunder-Mifflin hang out outside of the office. Mostly, the show leans on that awkward, distanced, stilted social relationship of co-workers. People who you see every day but don’t really want to be your absolute true self around. So, in order to inject realness and fullness, constantly being watched by the camera, the characters had to wink at the camera when someone else was looking away, the camera had to hide behind a plant to catch a clandestine conversation, the “documentarians” had to recount an experience in the interview portions. This is all to say that a strict adherence to that style was in the DNA of the show. Commitment served the narrative and the humor. However, when Parks and Recreation returned for its second season renewed with the optimism and good feels that would come to define the rest of the show’s run, the inherent snark of the mockumentary form came to serve the show less well. So, the got rid of it – mostly. Without the veneer of an actually documentary cooked into the narrative diagesis of the show, I’d argue that it would be more accurate to call Parks and Recreation’s style cinema verite than documentary. Cinema verite, translated directly to “truthful cinema”, is a style of documentary filmmaking that uses improvisation and an active camera to find truth in reality. Pioneered by ethnographic French filmmaker Jean Rouch and later adopted by American filmmakers like D.A. Pennebaker as “direct cinema”, cinema verite employs a hand-held camera to present a simple, direct portrayal of events as they were seen, eschewing typical documentary techniques like voice over narration or text on screen. The goal is for the viewer to feel a closeness – a direct or true connection – to the material presented so they can decide how to interpret on their own. Rather than strictly adhere to the mockumentary style and therefore make the camera operators characters in the world of the show, Schur and the Parks crew used that style of close access, direct looks at the camera, and occasional talking head sets ups without being forced to hide behind plants to catch intimate moments and feign a real documentary that ultimately would have hurt rather than helped the show as a whole. For example, when acclaimed indie director Nicole Holefcener wanted to shoot a Leslie and Ben’s first kiss in close-up, she could, and the moment is much more effective than it would have been had the characters been forced to acknowledge the existence of a camera. Throughout seven seasons in Pawnee, the town and its characters become so built out, detailed, specific, and realistic that revealing itself as a documentary to expose its truth becomes redundant. Instead of a conceit, Parks and Rec has a style, and like any style should, it serves and enhances the narrative and performances. While the documentary conceit The Office distances the viewer and positions them as another member of Michael Scott’s audience, to share a look with Jim over the absurdity of the situation, the verite style of Parks brought the audience onto Leslie’s team, into her life, and established a closeness that came to define the viewers relationship with the show. Brad Becker-Parton is a film person living in Brooklyn. Follow him on Twitter; you’ll regret it during Knicks games.Women through a Bollywood lens What impact does the multi-billion dollar film industry have on women in India? Storified by The Stream· Thu, Jun 12 2014 17:58:36 Bollywood is the world's largest producer of movies, producing over 1,000 films a year with a global fan base. However, India's film industry has faced growing scrutiny. A recent viral video examines scenes in popular Bollywood movies and ties them to incidents of assault in India. NO COUNTRY FOR WOMENnocountryforwomen @AJStream The greatest fallacy when it comes to gender norm in India is BOLLYWOOD. RAPE is a prevalent issue that BOLLYWOOD constantly denys#JusticeForTylerFray An opinion piece published in Forbes magazine weighed in on the issue. Portraying women as sex objects has far-reaching ramifications from normalizing eve-teasing and stalking, to glorifying rape and murder. Women feeling a sense of safety in India is unquestionably in danger.forbes.com @AJStream An agreeable statement. Bollywood has reinforced prevailing stereotypes just to make money.Aakash Gupta @AJStream Yes. Especially the item number songs which are ususally projected as USP of a film. Why only females in such obscene roles?#IndiaRonita Bollywood dance sequences or "item numbers", like the one below, have taken a lot of heat for how they portray women. Jalebi Bai (item Song) - Double Dhamaal (2011) HD 1080p BluRay Music Videomissdilbarak According to Bollywood Journalist, item numbers are special songs, which are not connected with the story line. It is often thought to be made purely for commercial value. @AJStream The marketing strategy of All" Bollywood films is to add sleaze thro' "item" numbers objectifying women. #NocountryforwomenDr Uzma Indori @AJStream Most bollywood movies not only objectify women but also promote stalking. Most Hero's in bollywood think Stalking women is coolSameer Khan @AJStream lol, the vast majority of Bollywood films objectify women. A handful have women in leading roles.Sumbz Many tweeted The Stream on Bollywood's social responsibility. @AJStream If you judge Indian women by just watching Bollywood mainstream films then its not showing them in a good light.Dev Chatterjea @AJStream #Bollywood what happened to their "agenda setting" role? They should portray what ought to be, not what is!tolulope sangosanya @AJStream True but #Bollywood has been really influential in shaping people's thinking. Should challenge rather than encourage #stereotypesFai While mass media does impact social values and norms, it is simplistic to hold a commercial film industry responsible, especially one that is as diverse as 'Bollywood.' While much of the representation of women (or indeed, men, families, and society in general) is problematic, 'Bollywood' is not a monolith and represenations vary not only with every movie but often within a film.stream.aljazeera.com The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a conservative political body in India, told The Hindustan Times they had plans to encourage more value-based films. the party's arts and culture experts are planning to create a department that would encourage the film industry to concentrate on "developing and promoting films [focused] on Indian tradition."hollywoodreporter.com Several shared their views on the BJP's plan. @ajstream That's a good move in a positive direction, there's a general decline in cultural identity lately,Galadima Shettima @AJStream I think we need to keep their definition of "Indian values" as far away from #Bollywood as possible.Prerna Lal @AJStream They don't have any rights to kill the movie maker's cinematic liberties. Values are mostly vague and subjective.Mayank JainSo much for the argument that religion inherently contradicts support for marriage equality. A majority of religious Americans say they support marriage equality according to new numbers by the Public Religion Research Institute — a sign that more people of faith are reconciling their beliefs and improving their understanding of LGBT people and families. The breakdown: The report, released Wednesday, shows that 62% of white mainline Protestants, 77% of Jews, 84% of Buddhists and 55% of Hindus are in favor of same-sex marriage becoming a reality coast to coast. Despite Catholic Church leadership remaining firmly against same-sex marriage, 60% of Catholics expressed support. So what is causing people of faith to change their minds about same-sex marriage? What a difference a decade makes. When Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004, roughly two-thirds of religiously unaffiliated Americans supported same-sex marriage. But, at the time, there weren't any major religious groups in which a majority favored marriage for same-sex couples, according to the Public Religion Research Institute report. Today, 78% of religiously unaffiliated Americans support mariage equality, and Americans of faith are following suit. As more states enacted laws treating same-sex couples equally, through landmark state and federal court cases, eventually giving way to a stream of victories last year, public opinion shifted. By the end of 2014, roughly two-thirds of Americans lived in states issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to the advocacy group Freedom to Marry. "A decade ago, the most supportive religious groups were white mainline Protestants and Catholics, with 36 percent and 35 percent support, respectively," Robert P. Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, said in a blog post. But these days, with groups like Catholics, "support among rank and file members is now at odds with official church opposition." The steady trend toward legalization has given way to increased support across the board. Looks like "religious freedom" isn't simply a matter of respecting others' beliefs — clearly, followers can remain just as faithful while arriving at their own conclusions on social issues. And with popular denominations such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) having recently approved same-sex marriage, church leaders may be catching up. Still, not everyone has come around. Although the increased support across faith groups is great news for same-sex marriage supporters who have navigated religious opposition for years, some major faith groups still remain opposed. For example, Public Religion Research Institute's research showed that 66% of white evangelical Protestants are still opposed to marriage equality. The same goes for Mormons (68% oppose) and Jehovah's Witnesses (75% oppose). Although 51% of Muslims don't support same-sex marriage, 44% are in favor, perhaps signaling a shift. What religious support could mean: Mainstream opposition to same-sex marriage has not only been rooted in homophobia, but also in public figures and others espousing their belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. Religious attitudes, as it stood, represented a major hurdle toward legal recognition and rights for same-sex couples. With that barrier now significantly diminished, it could ease the way toward a Supreme Court ruling to settle the issue this year, with the court scheduled to hear four cases next week. With religious opposition on a steady decline, it becomes all the more difficult to use faith as an excuse to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer people. That's a kind of freedom worth celebrating.It may seem quaint to some, but at a fundamental level, there are ethical, moral, even spiritual motives for we humans to do our best to conserve wilderness, ecosystems and biodiversity. Then, of course, there are the most pragmatic and self-interested: all our economic activities and the health and well-being of all our societies is dependent on healthy ecosystems, and biological diversity is central to assuring health ecosystems. Though perhaps best known, and criticized, for bankrolling development of large-scale infrastructure projects such as coal-fired and hydroelectric power plants, the World Bank has likewise been instrumental in helping conserve biodiversity and sustainably utilize the numerous and varied services diverse ecosystems provide. The World Bank has also been a key agent in helping realize the eight U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Though results to date are very much mixed, researchers, agents and policy makers have found that there are ways of achieving the MDG goals that are self-reinforcing and effective. Such synergy exists, for instance, when it comes to achieving two MDGs: reducing poverty and ensuring environmental sustainability. Biodiversity conservation and alleviating poverty The ongoing existence and success of our species rests on some 4 billion years of evolution of life on Earth, and the interaction of all that life with Earth's physical, inorganic environment. Our ability to survive, much less thrive, is predicated on the health of ecosystems, the services they provide, and our ability to act in harmony with the self-regulating processes manifest in nature. The World Bank makes the point simply and succinctly: “Animal, plant and marine biodiversity keeps ecosystems functional. Healthy ecosystems allow us to survive, get enough food to eat and make a living.” There's a direct linkage between the MDG goals of conserving biodiversity, maintaining the health and integrity of ecosystems, and alleviating poverty. It's estimated that nearly half the world's human population – more than 3 billion people – live on less than $2.50 a day. At least 80 percent live on less than $10 a day, and the income gap is widening globally: More than 80 percent of the world's population lives in countries where income differentials are widening. Some 75 percent of the world's impoverished, moreover, live in rural areas and depend on nature for their water, food and livelihoods. As the World Bank states: “The loss of iconic species is a tragedy with broad and deep impact. Animal, plant and marine biodiversity keeps ecosystems functional. Healthy ecosystems allow us to survive, get enough food to eat and make a living. When species disappear or fall in number, ecosystems and people—especially the world’s poorest—suffer.” But you can't eat scenery, or can you? All well and good, but in a day and age of less and less in the way of government-sponsored public infrastructure and services, there isn't any private profit motive in conserving biodiversity, or alleviating poverty for that matter, is there? The World Bank, along with other international organizations, national governments, NGOs and local communities, has been stepping into the breach. As JustMeans' Vikas Vij writes in a recent blog post: "The World Bank has actively invested more than $1 billion to protect nature and wildlife. The Bank is also the largest provider of development assistance to fight environment and natural resources crime, with $300 million invested in forestry, fisheries and wildlife law enforcement. At a time when habitats are disappearing and poaching is on the rise, collective action to protect biodiversity has become crucial." Throughout the world, countries are being threatened by the degradation and loss of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems and biodiversity, poverty, and growing disparities in income and economic opportunities. Ironically, it's often economic development often brings this about. Well aware of this seeming paradox, the World Bank since 1988 has invested $4 billion in biodiversity projects. That's spurred another $4 billion in co-financing. With the MDG end date of 2015 right around the corner and the U.N. in the midst of formulating a succeeding, post-2015 agenda centered on sustainable development, the multilateral development bank is working to raise the profile, and the stakes, of its biodiversity and poverty alleviation initiatives. As the World Bank explains: “Developing country partners are increasingly aware that biodiversity and ecosystem services can be an engine for inclusive green growth and an important part of the solution to emerging global challenges, from climate change to food insecurity. It has also been learned—through long and often hard experience—that good nature conservation is possible. The "Greening Development" environment strategy Greening national income accounts by working with organizations such as the Global Partnership on Wealth Accounting of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) to strengthen and intensify efforts to support countries factoring natural capital into economic decision-making. Building partnerships that span government, science groups, businesses, NGOs, legal and law enforcement and others with the aim of strengthening the institutional and legal frameworks for formulating, assessing, implementing and enforcing actions that address biodiversity loss and improverishment. Establishing and expanding protected area systems through programs such as the Amazon Region Protected Areas program in Brazil, and a similar effort to protect the Upper Guinean Tropical Rainforest in Liberia. Engaging communities in co-management, including initiatives such as Pakistan's Protected Areas Management Project and the Wildlife Conservation Leasing Demonstration Project in Kenya. “Conservation can also be affordable and cost-effective as well as beneficial to poor communities when it is done right. To do it right—especially in an era of diminishing public expenditures for biodiversity conservation—innovation, communication and effective partnerships are needed between governments, communities, financial institutions, companies and conservation organizations.”At the core of such efforts, forging “green, clean, resilient” development paths is the driving theme of the “ World Bank Group Environment Strategy 2012-2022.” Key to realizing the goals expressed in its environment strategy, the World Bank is taking a wide range of steps, including: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Sy4hXw53_P8 Image and graphic courtesy of the World BankOne in ten MPs has announced they plan to reject an 11 per cent pay rise but the vast majority have refused to say if they will accept it, an analysis by The Daily Telegraph found. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) has unveiled a report recommending that MPs' annual salaries are increased from £66,396 to £74,000. The Telegraph wrote to all of Parliament's MPs asking if they would accept or decline the pay rise. Just 50 have replied, showing the reluctance on the back benches to publicly say whether they would accept the controversial salary increase. Of those who responded, 46 MPs said they would not accept the pay increase. Only one MP was prepared to say he would take the money while three said they had not yet decided. It came after David Cameron threatened to scrap Ipsa over its "unacceptable" proposals. The head of Parliament’s spending watchdog has accused David Cameron and Ed Miliband of trying to kick the issue of MPs’ pay into the long grass. The Prime Minister has threatened to scrap the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) after it recommended an 11 per cent pay rise for MPs. Mr Cameron said he is not ruling anything out if Ipsa does not back down. Ipsa has insisted that nearly half the public supported its plan to increase MPs’ annual salaries from £66,396 to £74,000. The increase will come in after the general election in 2015. However, Ipsa insisted that pensions will be curbed and other benefits trimmed to ensure the overall changes are cost-neutral. Sir Ian Kennedy, the Ipsa chairman, said: "For the first time, MPs' pay and pensions will be set independently, and away from political deals cooked up in Westminster. "We are sweeping away the out-of-date and overly generous benefits, and introducing a one-off uplift in pay. Crucially, thereafter MPs' pay will be linked to everyone else's." Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, told LBC 97.3 radio this morning the hike was "incomprehensible and wholly inappropriate" at a time when rises in the rest of the public sector were limited to 1 per cent. Labour leader Ed Miliband has also called for it to be dropped. Sir Ian said that a failure to increase MPs’ pay could result in scandals like the one over parliamentary expenses. Writing in The Times, Sir Ian insisted he would not be deterred by pressure from politicians. He said: "I can see why some would want to wish the issue away, hoping we will do nothing or that a 'cross-party' review will provide the cover for kicking it into the long grass, just as happened with party funding years ago. "Parliament was clear in the wake of the expenses scandal that it was wrong for MPs to set their own expenses, salary, pensions and benefits. "That remains a position hard to argue with. We all know that MPs made a mess of these things for decades; the result was a disaster. "We were given the job of tackling this issue independently for a reason. You are not independent if all you do is bend to the will of the Government or the Commons." Sir Ian said the plan will involve a one-off rise, with MPs' wages then increasing at a more measured pace in line with other workers, in a plan designed to fix the issue for a generation. Ipsa is planning a tougher-than-expected squeeze on MPs' pensions in a bid to cancel out the £4.6 million cost to the public purse. A £2.5 million saving by downgrading the final-salary scheme to career average - matching the rest of the public sector - had already been proposed alongside a crackdown on various perks. Sir Ian said: "Reform is long overdue. Some of the benefits are unjustifiable. The pensions are too generous, the old resettlement payments too handsome and some of the expenses need further tightening. "But the pay. The interest so often comes back to pay. We are in no doubt - MPs' pay needs a one-off uplift. Whatever measure you choose - including international comparisons and historic trends - they all lead to the same conclusion: MPs' pay has fallen behind. It needs to catch up. "We will announce a one-off pay rise. Thereafter MPs' pay will move with the pay of the rest of us. That's a sensible way forward, which we will implement after a further review of conditions in 2015. "Despite some of the suggestions to the counter, this is also a good deal for taxpayers, as the overall package of reforms will not cost them a penny more." What do you think MPs' should do with an 11 per cent salary increase? Compare the MPs’ proposed salary of £74,000 a year with average earnings in other areas of work: Chief executives and senior government officials: £120,830 Marketing and sales directors: £82,866 Aeroplane pilots: £77,906 MPs’ salary if the Ipsa recommendations are implemented: £74,000 Doctors: £69,741 MPs’ current salary: £66,396 Air traffic controllers: £63,855 Senior police officers: £60,814 Actuaries, economists and statisticians: £60,672 HR managers: £54,229 Solicitors: £45,585 Train drivers: £43,843 Architects: £42,563 Barristers and judges: £40,242 Police officers at the rank of sergeant and below: £39,809 Army Captain: £38,463 Paramedics: £37,120 Chartered surveyors: £36,642 Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors: £35,213 Secondary school teachers: £33,274 Hotel managers and owners: £32,682 Driving instructors: £29,844 Midwives: £29,248 Probation officers: £28,871 Plumbers, heating and ventilation engineers: £28,262 Nurses: £25,970 Painters and decorators: £23,435 Farmers: £23,229 Bus and coach drivers: £22,411 Clergy: £21,489 Traffic warden: £20,526 Musicians: £19,974 Street cleaners: £18,303 Soldier: £17,767 Butchers: £17,384 Taxi drivers: £15,690 Beauticians: £12,562 Waiters and waitresses: £7,010 The average UK wage: £26,500So a while back I came across this Ted Talk. Which led me to this company: Hampton Creek Foods. Which led me to the store to find their products of which I only found Just Mayo. Which is great. But then we made contact and they sent me the GREATEST THING EVER! Oh look how adorable. It’s like a one of those little ice creams from when you were a kid. The kind you ate with a flat wooden spoon. Wait a minute. What’s this in the lid? A spoon? They sent me three of these little cups. I ate one. Amazing. Over too soon. I gave one to a friend (mistake). Then with the third one I managed to stop eating enough to squeeze out two (one and half) cookies that I actually baked to see how that works. EVEN BETTER THAN THE DOUGH! WHY AM I SCREAMING?! Because you can’t get Eat the Dough in stores. You have to know someone or meet someone like I did. So you have to start bothering these guys to get this stuff in stores pronto. My work here is done.Katsuobushi shavings from a package Katsuobushi Steam animates Katsuobushi (Japanese: 鰹節) is dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). It is also known as bonito flakes when young bonito is used as a cheaper substitute for skipjack tuna. Katsuobushi or similarly prepared fish is also known as okaka (おかか). Shaved Katsuobushi and dried kelp – kombu – are the main ingredients of dashi, a broth that forms the basis of many soups (such as miso) and sauces (e.g., soba no tsukejiru) in Japanese cuisine. Katsuobushi's distinct umami taste comes from its high inosinic acid content. Traditionally made katsuobushi, known as karebushi, is deliberately fermented with Aspergillus glaucus fungus in order to reduce moisture. Katsuobushi has also been shown to impart a kokumi flavour.[1] Traditional production process [ edit ] Katsuobushi is sold in wood-like blocks The fish is beheaded, gutted, and filleted, with the fatty belly, which does not lend well to being preserved, trimmed off. The fillets are then arranged in a basket and simmered just below boiling for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on their size. The rib bones are then removed and the fillets smoked for up to a month using oak, pasania, or castanopsis wood. They are smoked for 5–6 hours in one session, left to rest for one day for the condensation to rise to the surface, then fired and smoked again the next day, repeating this smoking and resting cycle 12–15 times. The built up tar from the smoke is cleaned from the surface using a grinder.[further explanation needed] At this stage the fillets are called aragatsuo (荒節) and most commonly found in stores shaved and packaged for sale under the name katsuo-kezuri-bushi (鰹削り節) or hanakatsuo—they are not true katsuobushi without the last fermentation stage, but still valued as a good substitute. The last stage of creating a katsuobushi is to allow the fish to sun-dry using the assistance of mold. The fillets are sprayed with Aspergillus glaucus culture and left for 2 weeks in a closed cultivation room. The mold ferments the fillets and also draws out out any residual moisture. The mold is continually scraped off, with further sun-drying increasing hardness and dryness until the fillet resembles a piece of wood, with less than 20% of its original weight. By definition, only fillets that have been treated in this manner may be referred to as a katsuobushi. However, after repeating this process of mold growth and sun-drying at least twice, the katsuobushi can also be called karebushi (枯節, "dried fillet"), and fillets repeating this process more than three times can be called honkarebushi (本枯節, "true dried fillet"). When tapped together lightly, they sound almost metallic, and unlike their dull beige outer appearance, when broken open they are a translucent deep ruby color inside. Rarely, very high-end honkarebushi repeat this drying process for over two years.[2] In the Edo era, it was common for katsuobushi to go through an extra step, the so-called tebiyama style (手火山式, tebiyama-shiki) process. After the fillets are boiled and their rib bones removed the fish are put in steaming baskets stacked atop one another for one to two hours a few meters above a burning wood fire. These are rotated to assure an equal exposure to the smoke. The result is more flavorful and resistant to deterioration. Due to the extra cost and facilities required only a few factories following tebiyama-shiki remain. Shaving [ edit ] Traditionally, chunks of katsuobushi were shaved as needed with an instrument similar to a wood plane called a katsuobushi kezuriki. Today katsuobushi is typically sold in bags of small pink-brown shavings, which vary by thickness: smaller, thinner shavings, called hanakatsuo (花鰹), are used as a flavoring and topping for many Japanese dishes, such as okonomiyaki, while the larger thicker, called kezurikatsuo (削り鰹), are favored for making the widely-used dashi stock. Uses [ edit ] In addition to making dashi, other popular uses of katsuobushi include: Health [ edit ] The mycotoxin beta-nitropropionic acid has been found on katsuobushi as well as in miso and in soy sauce, two other Japanese fungal fermented products. Certain strains of A. glaucus are reported to produce mycotoxins.[4] Due to the smoking process which involves tar and charcoal, amounts of Benzopyrene exceeding EU standards, as much as 37μg per kilogram, have been detected in commercially sold katsuobushi.[5] As a result, they have been once banned for sale in the European Union.[6] See also [ edit ]Griffin: 'I don't think I will have a career after this' Kathy Griffin broke down in tears during a news conference the comedian and her lawyers held Friday to discuss the fallout from the comedian posing with a likeness of President Donald Trump’s severed head. Griffin addressed the backlash that followed the photo being published on Tuesday, telling reporters her career is over after she says the Trump family systematically "mobilized their armies" against her. "I'm going to be honest," she said through tears. "He broke me, he broke me, he broke me." This is the first time Griffin has spoken out since she was relieved of her duties Wednesday as CNN’s New Year’s Eve host. When asked by a reporter if she has heard from her New Year’s Eve co-host Anderson Cooper, she shook her head while holding back tears. "It's hurtful to me," Griffin said. "There's a bunch of old white guys trying to silence me and I'm just here to say that it's wrong." She did not mention being dumped as Squatty Potty's celebrity spokesperson. Griffin, 56, said she stands by the apology she issued hours after the photo first broke Tuesday saying she "feel[s] horrible" people took the photo as a threat of violence. She said she plans to continue to make fun of the president as is her First Amendment right, her lawyer, civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom reiterated at Friday’s press conference. "I made a horrible, horrible call," she said. "Trust me, if I could redo the whole thing I'd have a blow up doll and no ketchup." She also repeated her claim that the video was a parody, meant as a pointed comeback to Trump's remark last summer that journalist Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of wherever." The comedian confirmed she has been contacted by the Secret Service and said she fears being arrested. The outcry against the comedian continues to grow with at least four venues announcing that they had canceled her performances. Venues in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania have canceled shows. The Community Arts Theater in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, posted on its website that the show had been dropped "due to the recent controversy surrounding Kathy Griffin and the concern for the safety and security of our patrons and staff." "The message is clear," Bloom stated. "Criticize the president lose your job and that's what happened to Kathy...it stops here, it stops now." The Associated Press contributed to this report.Molly Shannon is best known for her outrageous “Saturday Night Live” impersonations, but the woman behind Mary Catherine Gallagher impressed Sundance Film Festival audiences with her subtle, serious turn as a woman struggling with terminal cancer in “Other People.” The film, a dramedy about a gay man (Jesse Plemons) who moves home to Sacramento to take care of his mother (Shannon), kicked off the 32nd edition of the Park City, Utah festival. As the credits rolled on the film, loud sobs echoed across the Eccles Theater, as many members of the crowd stood and cheered for first-time director (and “SNL” writer) Chris Kelly as well as his cast — including Bradley Whitford and Maude Apatow — and producers Adam Scott and Naomi Scott. Kelly revealed that the story was mostly autobiographical. “This is sort based on my life,” he said. “When trying to cast this movie, I wanted funny people. That’s what I remember — death isn’t just sad all the time.” He noted that there are humorous moments even when watching a loved one grapple with a debilitating illness. “There’d be this horrible, sad, depressing experience and then my mom would be like, ‘I just got done trying medical marijuana,” said Kelly. Related 'Lorena' Director: Howard Stern Owes Lorena Bobbitt a Public Apology Sundance Film Review: 'Sea of Shadows' Shannon drew the loudest applause as she took the stage and the buzz in Park City is that the actress could get some awards attention if the right distributor picks up the film. During the audience Q&A, Shannon talked about how she started her career as a dramatic actress studying at NYU, and had to catch her breath after reading the script. “It’s just so touching when someone pulls straight from his heart,” she said. A stream of older audience members left mid-way through the film, perhaps because of its frank depiction of sex between two men, but part of “Other People’s” charm is that it’s the rare movie that features gay characters as three-dimensional figures. Plemons character David is unable to connect with a father (Bradley Whitford) who refuses to accept that his son is gay. “This is as much about loss as it was acceptance,” said Plemons. Another scene-stealing performance is from 14-year-old J.J. Totah, who plays the flamboyant younger brother of one of David’s hometown friends and stages a drag dance show for his neighbors. Totah said he helped developed the character with Kelly, including his character’s obsession with carrara marble. “My character is unique and comfortable with himself,” he said, when an audience member noted he’d never seen anything like him in a movie before. “Use color and paint a picture, honey. That’s what we should all do.”Recent revelations that the United States killed an innocent American in a drone strike in Pakistan confirm what a new study, “Death by Drone,” of civilian harm caused by U.S. drone strikes in Yemen shows — that claims about the precision of drone strikes are overstated. The revelations also underscore the stark asymmetry between how the U.S. treats drone strikes that kill its own citizens and those that kill others. While the Obama administration has now publicly acknowledged that it has recently killed three U.S. citizens in drone strikes, it has refused to acknowledge countless other drone strikes around the world which have killed non-U.S. civilians. In Yemen, the U.S. has been conducting drone strikes since at least 2002, with estimates of the total number of strikes ranging from 91 to 203. While the American and Yemeni governments have lauded the drones’ precise targeting, they have refused to meaningfully disclose key details about the strikes, including how many have been conducted, who has been targeted, or, crucially, the number and identities of civilians killed. In a May 2013 speech at the National Defense University, U.S. President Barack Obama offered assurances that, outside the Afghan war theater, no drone strike would be carried out unless there was “near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured.” Obama also claimed that the U.S. targets only “terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people,” and that it does not launch drone strikes when it has “the ability to capture individual terrorists.” “Death by Drone,” which includes first-hand testimony from eyewitnesses and survivors of drone strikes in Yemen, tells a different story. The nine case studies documented in the report, four of which cover attacks that came after the 2013 speech, provide credible evidence that U.S. drone strikes have killed and injured Yemeni civilians, suggesting that the “near-certainty” standard is not being effectively implemented. The report also casts doubt on Obama’s other claims, with evidence indicating that targets of drone strikes, though perhaps posing a threat to Yemen, may not have posed a direct threat to the U.S., and that their capture may have been possible. In other words, Yemeni civilians have suffered and died from drone strikes that may not have been necessary. More generally, the report provides a window into the experiences of Yemeni civilians directly affected by U.S. drone strikes. The testimonies of these individuals, vital for assessing the U.S. drone program, are all too easy to overlook because these individuals are poor and have no political influence, and because the strikes are conducted in secret, far away from the U.S. As Yaslem Saeed bin Ishaq, whose son was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Wadi Sir on Aug. 1, 2013, observed, “They just kill. They do not know what havoc their missiles have caused. They are unaware of the suffering they create for our families.” Indeed, if the U.S. never acknowledges the specific strikes, how can ordinary Americans possibly know that Rasilah al-Faqih, a pregnant Yemeni woman, was killed in Walad Rabei’, along with her husband and 10-year-old daughter, as they headed home from a visit to the doctor? Or that Abdoh Mohammed al-Jarraah’s house in Silat al-Jarraah had 19 people,
The Associated Press via Skype. "The skin around their eyes and noses was greyish." Activists in nearby Zamalka told Abu Ahmed that an additional 200 people died in that town on Wednesday. Syria denies using chemical agents Syria's information minister, Omran al-Zoubi, denied government troops used chemical agents, calling the activists' claim a "disillusioned and fabricated one whose objective is to deviate and mislead" the UN mission. The head of the UN team, which has a mandate to investigate previous claims of alleged chemical attacks, said he wants to look into the latest claims. Speaking to Swedish broadcaster SVT, Ake Sellstrom said the high numbers of dead and wounded being reported "sound suspicious." A survivor from what activists say is a gas attack rests inside a mosque in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus. (Bassam Khabieh/Reuters) "It looks like something we need to look into," Sellstrom, who is Swedish, was quoted as saying. He said a formal request from a member state would have to go through UN channels and Syria would need to agree — and there is no guarantee that it would. French President François Hollande said the latest allegations "require verification and confirmation," according to government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. Hollande said he would ask the UN to go to the site "to shed full light" on the allegations. In addition to the U.S. and Britain, Germany, Turkey and the EU called for immediate UN access to the site of the alleged attack. The Syrian government did not immediately respond to the demands. Mohammed Saeed, an activist in the area, told the AP via Skype that hundreds of dead and injured people were rushed to six makeshift hospitals in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. "This is a massacre by chemical weapons," he said. "The visit by the UN team is a joke.... (Assad) is using the weapons and telling the world that he does not care." Photos posted on Facebook by an activist group in Arbeen showed rows of Syrian children wrapped in white shrouds, and others with their chests bare. There appeared to be very little sign of blood or physical wounds on the bodies. In an amateur video posted online, a young girl with curly brown hair wearing a Minnie Mouse shirt lay on the ground, her head lolling on the tile floor as doctors injected medicine into her arm. Next to her, paramedics attended to two young boys who appeared unconscious, their bodies limp. The photos and videos distributed by activists to support their claims were consistent with AP reporting of shelling in the area, though it was not known whether the victims died from a poisonous gas attack.A tool is only as good as how it’s used. It seems like such a simple concept, yet it’s amazing to see how many people get caught into the trap of thinking that because a tool is there, they are safe. We see it all the time in almost any industry. Company X pays untold millions of dollars for a product, just to find out later that it didn’t do what they needed. It’s such common sense that it’s hard to think of someone logically arguing against it. Yet the same mistake is made over and over and over and over again. And on August 18th, we saw a really blatant example of this with PHP’s 5.3.7 release. The Backstory PHP version 5.3.7 was released gold on August 18th. But a critical level bug was filed on the 17th. The bug was seen as so important, that 5.3.8 was released just 5 days later to fix it. It was a bug in the crypt() function which hashes passwords. So all sites that use MD5 crypt() would not be able to verify their users’ passwords. And worse yet, any new passwords hashed with MD5 crypt() would be stored in a unverifiable state. So it’s actually a fairly significant bug. Shouldn’t Tests Have Caught This? Yes, a test should have caught this bug. That’s why we write tests, isn’t it? To catch big issues like this? Well, as it so happens, there was a test that was able to catch this bug. As a matter of fact, the test did catch the bug as well (as seen from a comment by stas on the bug report). So why was 5.3.7 released if this test failed? Right now, PHP 5.3 has 200 failing tests. 5.4 has even more at 218 failing tests. The tools to improve quality and prevent regressions are there. It’s not like no tests exist. If we look at the graphs, we can see a rather disturbing trend: over the past year, about 100 failing tests have existed in the core (5 releases in that time), and in the past 2 months, that number has doubled. That’s actually a very good sign. It means that the tools are doing their job. They are pointing out things that are broken, and that need to be fixed. Let me say this again. A failing test is a good thing. It shows you that something broke and must be fixed. But that last part is the key. It MUST be fixed (even if the test needs to change, it still needs to be fixed). The Process Is At Fault So the problem is not that there weren’t tests (there were). The problem is not that the tests weren’t run (they are run nightly). The problem is that releasing PHP with failing tests has become not only acceptable, but actually the norm… If nobody wants to fix the bugs, then edit the tests to test for the failing issue (hence turning the failing result into a passing one), and mark the issue a “Known Issue” in the bug tracker to be fixed in a future minor/major version. The reason is that looking at the number of failing tests tells you nothing. How do you know one test wasn’t accidentally fixed and another failed? What if the reason for a specific test failing changed? The only sane solution is to not ship unless there are literally 0 failing tests. And it seems that Rasmus seems to get that. The simple fact of the matter is that PHP has gotten complacent. They have been releasing with failing tests for so long and maintained reasonable stability that there’s no apparent incentive or benefit to do so. There was a saying when I was on the Fire Department: “ Complacency Kills “… It’s one of the worst possible things that can happen to someone with responsibility (especially responsibility that people depend upon, either for their job or for their life)… Another way of saying it is that an expected failure is a dumb idea. Failure is failure. An expected failure would be like you saying “Officer, yes I am drunk, but I expected to be, so I am fine to drive home”… A tool is only as good as how it’s used. You will get absolutely no benefit from using a tool unless you adjust your process to utilize that tool effectively. Just having and using a tool won’t help you one tiny bit. This latest PHP fiasco is proof positive of that much at least… It’s kind of odd posting this, since this seems like such common sense to me that I feel like everyone reading it will simply say “duh, that’s common knowledge”. But apparently it’s not, since the mistakes are still happening (and PHP is only an example, these kinds of mistakes happen every single day)… So please don’t take this as bashing on the PHP developers. I just wanted to use this incident as a basis for pointing out that the process is more important than a tool…A look at India’s favourite hour of the day—teatime—around the country. Looking at its omnipotence in the Indian geographical and cultural landscape today, one would scarcely believe that tea wasn’t a popular drink in this country till even 200 years ago. Photographers from all over India were asked to show what this hour, where everyone slows down to enjoy the last few dregs of the evening sun with a hot beverage and an indulgent snack, looks like in their town or city. Juhi Sharma The restless kettle. The watchmaker next door says Mumbai’s Café Delight has been around since the “English days.” There is a kettle at the back, where the stove is always alight and the tea forever brewing. Cutting chai is ordered with conversations on economy and government policy on the side. When they saw the photographer capturing ‘chai time,’ she was promptly offered a cutting chai and invited to join the conversation. Pankaj Singh A sip for the spirit. Monks conducting a holy recital in Leh, Ladakh, take a break at a home. Traditional tables called Choktse are laid out to serve them butter tea, biscuits, and Thukpa. Sheena Class apart. Tasting the Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe at a tea garden in Darjeeling. Vinay Aravind Suspended animation. The tea shops in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, open at around 5am and stay open late into the night, often beyond midnight. There’s always tea and milk simmering on the stove. The chap who does the pouring ends with a flick of his wrist, leaving a long trail of tea suspended in the air for one glorious, theatrical moment. A glass of tea costs Rs8 and “special” tea costs Rs10. Kunal Chandra Never too old for tea. At Haji Mohd. Hussain’s Chicken Fry Shop, the proprietor and his grandson prepare for a long evening ahead. There’s an easy banter between the two; it’s easy to see how food transcends generations. And yes, in Old Delhi, people wait their turn to eat fried chicken, even at 5pm! Pankaj Singh Neighbours rush to Thakar C Bhai’s Keshod home in Gujarat’s Junagadh district, to hear his predictions for rain this year. He is the “drought man,” a traditional forecaster known to accurately predict rainfall and harvest. Divesh, the grandson, pours tea into saucers as the men listen intently. Sheena Family time. Tea with my grandmother in Pune must include snacks. Figs and blue cheese for this gluten-free girl. Punya Arora One for the road. Nunthala is a small, colourful village in Ooty, ahead of Lovedale. The photographer usually stop here for chai after the day at college, or on her way back from a shoot. Lovely chai and the best samosas and bhajjis one could ask for; perfect for the weather in Ooty. Sajad Rafiq On the outskirts of Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, farmers take a break from harvesting paddy. Noon chai, typical to Kashmir, is salted tea, usually eaten with the local bread called girda or lawasa. The older folks like to carry their hookah around, and a small firepot with burning coal, to keep themselves warm. The fire pot is seen nesting in a basket made from Kashmiri willow that insulates the earthen pot inside. Pratik Dey Chowdhury The ultimate adda. Dating back to the 1800s, Albert Hall on Kolkata’s College Street was later renamed Indian Coffee House in 1947. More than a cafe, it is a cultural hub. It has long been the regular hangout spot for students and the meeting place for intellectuals and aspiring artists, witness to friendships and courtships, personal and political debates. The Indian Coffee House has a range of coffees and snacks on offer, including the famous black coffee infusion, sandwiches, chops, cutlets and rolls. Coffee shops like Cafe Coffee Day and Starbucks may dominate the market, but in Kolkata the charm of Indian Coffee House remains untarnished. Aysha Tanya Three’s not a crowd. In the old part of Kerala’s Kannur town, three friends enjoy a cup of tea with “kadi” or snacks under the evening sun near a tea shop overlooking the Mappila Bay. El Dhar In Shillong, Meghalaya, a romantic evening often means a cup of rich black tea accompanied by some soul-stirring slow food: here, freshly made fluffy Putharo (rice pancakes), from a local baker named Judy, and a sinful bowl of spicy dohkhu (beef offal stew) made by the photographer’s mother-in-law. This post first appeared on goyajournal.com. We welcome your comments at ideas.india@qz.com.Last week, time was spent applying a pavement texture to the surface of the plastic base. With all the holes filled or covered with plastic the surface was ready. First thing done on the base since the last update was to till in the hole that I cut out. For this, I glue in some metal mesh, and for some detail, I glued in some styrene structure. Once that set up, I grabbed some clear acrylic medium, a sponge brush, baking soda, and a wire mesh for sifting the baking soda. The acrylic medium is painted on to the surface of the base, and while wet, the baking soda is sifted over the wet surface. The base is left to sit over night while the medium dries. The following day, the excess baking soda is brushed off the surface. And the surface is lightly sanded to level things a bit. Now the surface has a little bit of a rough layer. Next, the base was flipped over and balsa wood is glued to the underside to raise the base from the wood platform. The base is flipped back over and white base is sprayed and a quick test with more resin cast containers, the worked on storage silos, small storage tanks as well as some additional work on the base’s building. Things are progressing along. Share this: Reddit Print Email Twitter Facebook TumblrA Cleveland man is taking the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority to federal court, accusing its police of illegally entering his apartment following a drug raid at the unit below and shooting his two dogs that had been barking in a closed room. The incident happened in July 2013, following a raid on the bottom of unit of the duplex, where CMHA police arrested the guy they were investigating for dealing ecstasy. The investigation was led by Detective Clinton Ovalle, who failed to note on his search warrant application that the E. 123rd St. building they'd be entering was a duplex — two completely separate units with separate entrances — instead calling it a single family home. After police got their guy in the bottom unit, the complaint says, Ovalle went up to the top and knocked on resident Demaroe Colbert's door, where he was inside with his young son, a fourteen-year-old nephew and two pitbull terriers. Colbert "answered the door while holding his dogs," telling Ovalle that his apartment was completely separate from the one they just raided," the suit says. "You better put those mother-fucking dogs up or I'm going to kill them," Ovalle is accused of saying. Colbert put them in his son's empty bedroom and closed the door. Ovalle then ordered Colbert and his nephew to the lay face down on the floor, and police "began their warrantless search" of the apartment. While police were going through his place, the two dogs had been barking from the other room. One of the unnamed officers "raised his gun, opened the door slightly, and begin firing into (Colbert's child's) bedroom" and "fired numerous shots into the room killing both dogs." After CMHA police were done with the search, they left, leaving the two dead dogs on his son's bedroom floor and dispatched the animal warden to pick them up. The room "was left a bloody mess. The floor was blood stained and bullet holes were visible in the door, walls, and floor." Colbert and his son were handcuffed and taken to the downstairs apartment, it says. "Since the dogs were killed," the child "refuses to sleep in his bedroom." He "now sleeps on the floor of his sister's room rather than sleep in his own room." Colbert is suing the CMHA, detective Clinton Ovalle, and 10 unnamed police officers in federal court. They are being sued for unlawful search and seizure (Fourth Amendment), intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent destruction of personal property. Read the full suit here:Sen. Rand Paul says he’s pretty used to return trips to the armoire. A typical scenario for the Kentucky Republican includes having his longtime spouse, Kelley, request he take a repeat stab at putting together a fashion-forward outfit. “Typically, I come out in things, [and] I’m made to re-dress on occasion at home,” says the lawmaker. ADVERTISEMENT “Unconventional and or uncoordinated,” Paul says of his style. When asked to describe his fashion sense, he exclaims, “It’d probably be a lack thereof, is what my wife would probably tell you.” The dad to three sons doesn’t need an assist in at least one task though: barbecuing. “Anything that’s on the grill is in my bailiwick,” he explains. While flank steaks and chicken are up his flame-broiled alley, anything requiring oven mitts is strictly off-limits. Paul notes, “I don’t fix anything fancy, pastries or anything.” There’s a hard-and-fast rule to remember what the junior senator is willing to whip up: “If it’s outside, I cook it. If it’s inside, I don’t,” he deadpans. Outside is where you’re likely to find the potential 2016 candidate breaking a sweat too — usually doing laps in his Endless Pool (sort of like “swimming on a treadmill,” he says,) golfing, picking up sticks to make a bonfire with his kids or tending to his lawn at home. “I have to have time to mow my grass on the weekends. You’ll see me mowing if you come in my neighborhood,” he says. When he’s in Washington, he’ll often hop on the treadmill or go for a run to the Lincoln Memorial. All that calorie burning is sure to come in handy when Paul can’t avoid a post-Capitol pretzel binge. “The worst thing I probably do is I go home, eat some chips, or eat some snacks. I’m not the best after work. If I would just avoid that, I’d probably be better off.” He’s not often spotted wearing any specs, but the 51-year-old ophthalmologist does use glasses for reading. But don’t get him started on fellow baby boomers who claim a life free of eyewear. “There’s almost nobody above 50 who can read without [glasses,]” he says, “The people who can, they brag constantly, ‘Oooh, look at me! I can read without glasses.’ They typically don’t even know it, but they have a little bit of myopia in one eye.” Although he has performed Lasik eye surgeries, Paul says the procedure is primarily for improving distance vision, which isn’t an issue for him. So he’s sticking with glasses. “I have achieved enough birthdays that I need them for reading now,” he says before adding in his typical dry sense of humor, “Only if I want to see things, I have to have them.” — Judy KurtzOnce upon a time, on a planet called Earth, in a place called the U.S.A., folks who cared about such things knew what space stations were meant to look like. If they weren't big spinning wheels, they were fat drums with multiple decks. Radial and axial ports provided docking places for smaller specialized modules and reusable crew and cargo delivery vehicles. Back in those days, they had big rockets that could put an entire 12-man space station up in one launch. Lest anyone worry about putting all our space station eggs in one rocket basket, those rockets were tough enough to shrug off lightning strikes and still launch men to the moon. Alas, something went wrong and the tidy drums shrank and metastasized into elaborate, inelegant, multimodular monstrosities. The cargo and crew delivery vehicles grew and became frail and costly and the tough big rockets became lawn ornaments long before their time. The neat thing, however, is that, when we mess up our technology choices, we can have a second chance if we decide that we want one. This is why I am excited about NASA's new big rockets. I hope they get them right. Big rockets = big opportunities. But I digress. This post is made up of illustrations from a 1970-ish NASA brochure called Space Station: Key to the Future. I've long been fond of this one NASA publication. The illustration style screams early 1970s, and there are other hints of those ancient days to be found as well. Here's a cutaway drawing of the 33-foot-diameter core space station with labels and a caption. Below is the same illustration without the text to make it larger so that the details stand out better. NASA NASA The drum-shaped station was designed to be used part-time for artificial-gravity experiments. In the image below, the spent Saturn V S-II rocket stage that boosted the station into Earth orbit is attached to it by multiple cables. The 33-foot-diameter stage acts as a counterweight as the whole assemblage spins end over end. Spinning creates acceleration which the crew feels as gravity. "Down" is away from the center of rotation, about midway between station and stage. This artificial-gravity capability is why in some of the images that follow men can be seen standing with their feet planted firmly on the floor. Artificial gravity was, however, not meant to be a permanent feature of the drum-shaped space station, which was designed mainly to explore the possibilities and problems of weightlessness. NASA The following illustrations display station decks and compartments outfitted for various kinds of scientific investigations. Here is the biomedical laboratory. Four cabinets with compartments housing living biological specimens - plants, monkeys, and rats - line the far wall. NASA This illustration hardly needs a caption. I will point out, however, that artificial gravity holds the astronaut to the floor. NASA This space physics laboratory was intended to be isolated from the deck around it so that it could be depressurized. I suspect that the faceted box at the center of the lab is in fact the space station's cloaking device, but don't quote me on that. NASA Putting subsystems such as life support and electricity distribution on one deck, behind tidy numbered panels, contributes to a station decor very different from those we have seen on real space stations so far. There's a hint of Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey here. NASA NASA On NASA's drum-shaped space station, everyone got their own wood-paneled private cabin. Note the restraint bar extended across the bed above the station crewman's waist; presumably it is intended to keep him from floating out of bed. Note also the image on the cabin wall; it displays the only female we see in this 42-page NASA brochure. One would like to think that it's a picture of the NASA Administrator or the President of the United States, but this was 1970, after all. NASA Apollo space suits relied on zippers and were made mostly of soft parts. Internal air pressure, combined with multiple layers of fabric and plastic, made getting around in one a real workout. NASA space suit engineers had in mind major improvements for the space station space suit. These would have included features such as articulated hard joints. The suit would have been less a balloon and more an exoskeleton. Space-suited station astronauts would have had available to them sporty transportation, such as the space scooter depicted below. It includes a docking fixture at the front for linking up with satellites and free-flying modules in need of servicing. The drum-shaped space station is visible in the background. NASA The space shuttle was originally proposed in 1968 as a low-cost space station crew rotation and resupply spacecraft. Those tasks didn't require a very big spacecraft. The shuttle grew large only after it became obligated to be all things to all customers willing to say they might use it (principally the Air Force, which dictated the 15-foot-by-60-foot payload bay). The Shuttle Orbiter launched and assembled part of the multimodular International Space Station; shuttle engineers in 1968 would have considered that bizarre. By 1970, NASA had more shuttle designs than it could keep track of. Engineers hoped that the Shuttle Program - whenever it was permitted to begin formally - would receive enough development funding to produce a fully reusable spacecraft with a low operating cost. The idea was to spend enough money up front to make it cheap and reliable to operate for years afterwards. Engineers spoke of a cost of $10 million per flight and flights every few days. That early optimism seems ludicrous now. In fact, it's quite likely that the Space Shuttle would never have been that cheap or reliable, no matter how much we spent to develop it. It's a certainty, however, that we could have built a reusable spacecraft much more representative of our national technological prowess than we did. I think that doing it wrong brought us down in ways we barely understand - but never mind that for now. I've always had a fondness for the triamese Shuttle design shown below. The aim was to save money through use of common hardware; in this case, a common fuselage and common engines. The single piloted Orbiter, sandwiched between the two Boosters, would have included a crew cabin, a cargo bay, and tanks of liquid propellant to complete insertion into Earth orbit. The Boosters would probably each have had a crew cabin, but otherwise would have been full of propellants. Orbiter and Boosters would all have included turbofan engines for atmospheric flight. The triamese concept probably wouldn't have worked out quite as well as its proponents claimed - commonality demands compromise which limits capability - but damn, it still looks awfully nifty.Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. The Government Press Organization invalidated the press credentials of an Al Jazeera reporter on Wednesday, after he said his journalism was part of the Palestinian “resistance.” Communications Minister Ayoub Kara sent the information about Elias Karam, a senior reporter at Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau, to the GPO as part of Kara’s efforts to shut down the Qatari-owned cable news channel in Israel. Karam said in an interview to the Muslim Brotherhood television channel Dar Al-Iman in May 2016 that “as a Palestinian journalist who is in an occupied area or a conflict area, journalistic work is an integral part of the resistance and of political and educational action.“A journalist fulfills his role in the resistance through his pen, voice or camera, because he is part of this nation and is resisting in his unique way,” he added.Karam was asked to attend a hearing, at which the GPO will make a final decision about his credentials.He will be asked to explain how his claim to be part of the Palestinian resistance does not contradict journalistic ethics.The GPO said Karam’s comments call into question his ability to be a professional journalist, representing a foreign network, if he is taking an active part in the conflict.GPO Manager Nitzan Chen said that, although Kara asked him to revoke credentials from all Al Jazeera journalists, the credentials depend on universal journalistic ethics.“It appears that the Al Jazeera reporter... went very far in his sharp statement that every Palestinian journalist is a part of the resistance,” Chen said. “Whoever takes an active part in a political struggle should do so in the framework of the law, but without a press card from the State of Israel.”Karam, 40, is an Israeli citizen who resides in Nazareth, and has had a GPO card as an Al Jazeera reporter since 2011.Al Jazeera representatives told Reuters that they would go to court to challenge moves to close it.Joint List MKs Ahmad Tibi and Osama Saadi called the move a blatant violation of freedom of the press.“This is a vengeful and anti-democratic step. This decision should be canceled and Elias Karam and his fellow journalists should be allowed to act freely,” the lawmakers said.Earlier this month, Kara announced plans to close Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem office and stop the channel from being broadcast in Israel, on grounds of incitement.“I want to make clear: Our citizens’ security and welfare takes precedence over freedom of expression in times of terrorism, period. Freedom of expression is not freedom to incite,” Kara said. “Democracy has limits. When we ask what takes precedence over what, I have no doubt at all. I prefer our civilians and soldiers to be alive.”Kara also pointed to Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries that called to shut down Al Jazeera entirely as part of their pressure on the Qatari regime. The countries campaigning against Qatar are not democracies that purport to have a free press.“We identify with the moderates in the Arab world who are fighting terrorism and religious extremism,” Kara said. “Here in Israel, there is no place for a channel that backs terrorism either.”The Foreign Press Association declined to comment, saying it is studying the case. Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>The interwebs is exploding today with news we've known for awhile: Frankie Muniz and his girlfriend Elycia Marie, are totally unstable. readers been privy to this information for almost a year (the whole sordid tale of Elycia and Frankie's Twitter-based vendetta against me is here ). But today, TMZ Perez and the gang are tuning in watch Phoenix's soap opera as a police report with lots of gory details about a domestic disturbance involving guns, exes and Frankie's bandmates was released. You can read the police report (note: "Francisco" is Frankie) telling the very disturbing story here. Like in any episode of, though, the couple is still together. Elycia hasn't tweeted anything since the news broke but Frankie tweeted out the above picture of his Valentine's Day spread last night with a love note @ Elycia. So that's good, I guess. Continue Reading The couple's stories vary a lot, so who knows what's true and what's not. Either way, a scary evening at Frankie's Arcadia home Elycia says Frankie grabbed a gun, put it up to his head and threatened to kill himself during a heated domestic dispute about "prior relationships." According to her statement, she called one of Frankie's You Hang Up bandmates to take him to the hospital. We can only imagine the look on the poor schmuck's face as he was called in to babysit the disturbed former child star. Was it then he finally started regretting the Faustian bargain he took on when the band recruited Frankie, a guy they'd never seen play drums, to join their nice little pop-rock band no one had ever heard of? Sure, they got some small potatoes fame as a result -- but was it worth it? I wish they'd talk... I'll probably have to wait several more months before the band implodes and they dish. Anyway, according to Elycia, while Frankie was at the hospital she hid his gun, but when he came back, he punched her in the back of the head and threw her into a wall. The cops on the scene said they didn't see any injuries on Elycia but that "she showed signs and symptoms of drinking alcohol." As someone who used to compile a police blotter, which necessitated reading through several hundred pages of police reports every week, I can tell you that, in cop-talk, that means the officers think she's a drunk liar. Frankie says he grabbed the gun "case" but "not the gun," assuring police that it's not loaded. According to his story, he was sound asleep when Elycia woke him up by "yelling at him and hitting him in the face." Muniz said he was defending himself from the assault when "Elycia fell to the ground and started to kick the bedroom door." When asked if he hit Elycia Frankie said, "No, I love her too much -- she is the woman I want to marry." Awwww. So, yeah there's a happy ending (for now) as neither Elycia or Frankie is dead and cops confiscated the gun. Hopefully, they'll also end up on one of those Don't Sell a Gun to This Crazy Person lists. If Arizona even has such a thing. Which we very well may not... Let's hope this is the last twist in this tale and both halves of this couple get their shit together, grow up, and find something meaningful to dedicate their lives to. The current path isn't headed anywhere good, and I really don't want to have to write a very sad story about them in the future.The UK National Archives currently has in its collection 1.5 million pages of handwritten diaries kept by soldiers of World War I. They're some of the most requested documents in the National Archives reading room, but until now have been accessible only to anyone who's made the trip to London. But now the archivisits are working to put them online, and you can help them. The project is called Operation War Diary, and it comes from a partnership between the National Archives, the citizen science initiative Zooniverse and the Imperial War Museum in the UK. The diaries have all been scanned and posted online for citizen historians to look at and transcribe. According to the project: The war diaries contain a wealth of information of far greater interest than the army could ever have predicted. They provide unrivalled insight into daily events on the front line, and are full of fascinating detail about the decisions that were made and the activities that resulted from them. To participate, users just pick a diary and get started. They’re then given a scanned page to classify and document. Users are asked to take notes of particular data points—the date of the entry, whether the entry lists casualties, what people it mentions, if it has a map and more. The project has been running for eight weeks now, and already participants have created: Over 260,000 tags relating to named individuals Over 332,000 tags relating to places Almost 300,000 tags relating to activities The amount of volunteer effort put in so far is equivalent to one person working 40 hours a week for four years. And while they've been creating all that useful data, they've also had the chance to immerse themselves in these documents. If you're interested in hearing first-hand stories of World War I, you can take a deep dive and help the archives, all in one go. H/T Alexis MadrigalCommentary: This short list contains several apps that can help you out in an emergency ( provided you have battery power to run it) as well as some ideas that can help to entertain you during a blackout. Below are the apps that I have on my personal phone 1. SAS survival lite ( has a quiz that helps you test your preparedness 2. Survival guide ( digital version of the F.M. 21.76 survival manual) 3. ZS prepare ( zombie survival app that has a google location finder that will point out all of the nearest gas stations, grocery stores, pawn shops etc How do you use technology to your advantage? Hurricane Sandy could bring flooding and power outages if it touches down in D.C. (NASA) You’ve hoarded bread, water and toilet paper in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, but the modern emergency kit isn’t complete without a well-stocked smartphone. Along with the Capital Weather Gang, whom you can follow on Twitter, these seven apps can help you track the weather, pass the time and even find a shelter in case of the worst. Just make sure to charge your phone before Sandy hits D.C. on Sunday night. Hurricane Tracker ($1.99, iPhone): Anything and everything you’d want to know […] Check out these related articles from our site: CSave Related Comments comments CommentsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hoping to gain the high ground in an escalating war of words over Obamacare, the U.S. administration on Thursday forecast sharply lower than expected insurance costs for consumers and small businesses in new online state healthcare exchanges. A Tea Party member reaches for a pamphlet titled "The Impact of Obamacare", at a "Food for Free Minds Tea Party Rally" in Littleton, New Hampshire in this October 27, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi//Files The exchanges represent the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and their success could depend on the cost of so-called “silver plans” with mid-range premiums, which are expected to attract the largest number of enrollees. A report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said data from 10 states and the District of Columbia shows preliminary 2014 premiums on the lowest-cost mid-range silver plans in those marketplaces to be 18 percent lower on average than earlier administration and congressional estimates. Rates for businesses with fewer than 50 employees that purchase small-group coverage through exchanges could also be 18 percent lower than what the same plans would cost without the healthcare reform law, based on data from six states, HHS said. The report was released in conjunction with a speech by Obama on how healthcare reform is already benefiting consumers. [ID:nL1N0FO0ZY] It represents the administration’s latest bid to counter Republican allegations that consumers and businesses will see sharply higher costs from the exchanges than the individual insurance plans already on the market. The new exchanges are slated to begin enrolling as many as 7 million uninsured Americans for 2014 on October 1 in federally subsidized health plans ranging in quality from platinum, with the highest premiums, to bronze, with the lowest. “Today’s report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working to increase transparency and competition among health insurance plans and drive premiums down,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement accompanying the report. The actual rates consumers see could be lower than current estimates, the HHS report concluded, saying that rate reviews and negotiations under way in the District of Columbia, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont have already reduced prospective costs announced in the spring. It was not clear whether the lower rates contained in the report would be reflected nationwide. The report’s authors cautioned that some states could see costs closer to earlier projections. RATE SHOCK, OR RELIEF? Speculation about Obamacare’s ultimate effect on health insurance costs has led to a rankling debate between opponents who warn of a coming “rate shock” for consumers and healthcare reform advocates who have become increasingly confident as states have released data suggesting no disaster. Republicans in Congress responded to the new HHS forecasts by reiterating longstanding predictions of crippling upward spikes in insurance premiums and other costs when compared to health plans available on the
a “thinking man’s theology is equally good for a thinking woman.” The crux of Saiving’s argument is that the focus on pride–characteristic of traditional Christian interpretations of sin–reflects male experience in a way that is inappropriate to the experience of most, if not all, women. A landmark in both feminism and religious studies, Saiving’s article was the first to insert gender in the study of religion. Within two months of its publication in the Journal of Religion, Time magazine ran a 700-word article on Saiving and her paper. Read the Time article here. I feel ashamed and very uneducated that I never heard of Valerie Saiving prior to researching this article. I’m grateful to have discovered her now. Her analysis was the starting point for the modern development of feminist theology. 20 years after her article, author and religious studies professor, Judith Plaskow, took up and developed Saiving’s analysis in Womenspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion. I think it was intriguing for Mgr. Gierytch to partner with Fr. Roberta Busa, known for his usage of computers for literary and liturgical analysis. I was a little scandalized he used confessional data (I thought it was sacroscant?) and, the sampling was probably pretty small and select, since not that many people go to confession anymore, and most of the examples Mgr. Gierytech cites are nuns.Two Russian teenagers from the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk have sent internet users into complete shock by posting brutal online content showing how they tortured and killed cats and dogs they took from animal shelters. The girls posted images and videos online showing the various instruments of torture they used on the animals, including baseball bats, chemical liquids, tongs, and ropes. Internet users found the place where the girls had carried out their bone-chilling slaughter – an abandoned crematorium in Khabarovsk. Хабаровские живодерки decían los voluntarios, que toman el perro de la abuela: https://t.co/ASBjEiH1Itpic.twitter.com/98Q3AIfRJh#Rusia — Rus to En Fr Es News (@Rus_Eng_News) October 20, 2016 What people found most striking and horrifying, were the cold-blooded conversations between the murdering duo, Alina and Kristina, in which they discussed which victims to kill and what weapons to use in torturing them. One screen shot shows a comment from one of the girls suggesting that they should start killing humans too. An online petition urging that the perpetrators be found and punished got the police involved. It is a criminal offence to torture animals in Russia. #новости Хабаровские живодерки последние новости фото видео https://t.co/0ji2FbZonf — Новости дня (@newsdaily2015) October 20, 2016 One of the girls, aged 16, was detained in Novosibirsk and will be escorted back to Khabarovsk under police escort on Friday. The girl was trying to board a flight to Saint Petersburg when the police caught her. READ MORE: Croydon’s Cat Ripper may be keeping animal’s heads, tails as trophies “The girl was on the federal wanted list, but no charges had been filed yet, so our goal was to keep her away from the police station; she’s only a teenager. So we decided to place her in our center (the Rassvet minors’ facility). At the moment she isn’t saying much, or communicating,” Olga Potapova, deputy minister for social development in the Novosibirsk region, told RIA news agency. The mother of the other girl, who is being charged as a witness, filed for slander, telling the police that her daughter is being threatened.UPDATE: Facebook is down 13% as of 10AM today, May 21, in heavy trading. Last Thursday, Facebook executed the world largest IPO in history based on value. Valued at over $100B, the investment bankers like Morgan Stanley and Facebook should be congratulated and giving each other high-fives, right? It really depends on how you look at it. Many people are getting rich, but given most of the people who matter going forward view it as a total failure, this could be one of the biggest tech IPO strategy blunders ever. Facebook's IPO strategy was inherently flawed as it didn't incorporate the long-term impact of a fizzle with important, future constituents on opening day. Facebook raised $16B yesterday based on selling approximately 420M shares. This gives the eight year old company a valuation of $104B. The perceptual problem, though, was that it closed 23 cents or.61% above its opening price of $38. Google, in comparison, rose 20% on its first day of trading back in 2004 and was considered the day after the IPO as one of the hottest stocks going. So how are the press and blogs reacting to the Facebook IPO? Just do a Google News search on "Facebook IPO disappoint" and see what I am talking about. Of course, this isn't a formal quantitative messaging assessment, but it is a decent proxy on just how much negative press this generated. The issue with all the negative sentiment will translate to a few things. Consumer brokerage houses know that their potential clients have read all this bad news, so I cannot see them pushing Facebook until that sentiment lifts. How about the day traders and the casual do-it-yourself traders? They will likely stay on the sidelines for a while, maybe jumping back in when they can short-sell the stock. How about the institutional guys who have the 401Ks? Do they really want to add that to their portfolio knowing their consumers are watching the stock and reading the same negative sentiment? Of course they won't. How about Facebook users? I am sure many are aware of the perceptual failure and I just cannot imagine any possible scenario where this is positive. Time will tell, but I believe the negativity surrounding the IPO will degrade user's perception of the Facebook service. What Facebook and their investment bankers failed to respect was the importance of a first day increase to carry the excitement out a few years. Either that or they over-valued the stock. Any way you look at it, Facebook stock is now handicapped until there's some kind of resolution and visibility into their future. Hindsight is always 20-20, but it seems that if the perceived value was around $38, Facebook and their investment bankers should have priced the stock at around $32 to allow for the $6 increase and then let everyone write about how amazing Facebook and the IPO was. The bankers seemed to have the right idea when the offering was priced between $28 -$35 a share. I believe had the stock been priced at $28 on IPO day, it could have closed in the $50s due to the positive energy and buzz. I am not an IPO expert, but I am in strategy and marketing, and isn't this about marketing and selling a company to investors? With the Facebook IPO, I observed a flawed strategy that failed to incorporate the value of the perceptual image of its most important future constituents. Isn't it ironic that Facebook, viewed as the most successful social media company out there, ignored the impact of the social graph?Sine Mora EX for Nintendo Switch Gets US and International Release Dates Tomas Franzese September 12, 2017 3:03:24 PM EST The enhanced version of Sine Mora will finally hit the United States later this month with the rest of the world following in October. Today, THQ Nordic announced both the US and international release dates for the Nintendo Switch version of Sine Mora EX. The game will launch on September 26 in the United States, while the rest of the world will have to wait until October 10 to get their hands on this remake. While Sine Mora EX released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One in all territories on August 8, the Switch version only had a vague “summer release” window before now. This enhanced re-release of Sine Mora includes quite a few new features, including a 16:9 aspect ratio, local co-op, full English voice acting, three new versus modes, and some brand new challenge levels. For those of you who don’t know, the original Sine Mora released back in 2012, and is a side-scrolling shoot ’em up, that features a notable story mode and arcade mode. The next-gen release of the title was originally unveiled by developer THQ Nordic in March alongside the announcement of the PC port of deBlob. Shortly after in June, the Nintendo Switch version was announced. You can check out the Nintendo Switch version’s previously released trailer below to get a better feeling for the gameplay. Sine Mora EX is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.I’ll give you a serious answer because I think I know where it’s coming from (you are a student). EE is an unforgiving field for many reasons, but the biggest problem for a newbie is that it’s extremely difficult to build anything on your own. First you have the 100+ years of arcane knowledge to catch up on. Next you have the prohibitive cost of tools and production. Finally you have a super competitive and mature market in almost every niche, where your product has to work perfectly the first time. The end result is that most graduates are useless in industry, and will be nobodies for a very long time. Not only this, a company only needs so many designers, so if you didn’t start off on a good footing, you can end up fewer career options with a hard time building a product of your own. Lastly, the implication most students are unaware of is that EE graduates have much less bargaining power due to the above. Currently EE may be enjoying 50% less pay than their CS counterpart engineers, since EE has not had a boom for 20 years. There is no ‘build fast and break things’ or ‘disrupt’ kind of investment in hardware. Hardware companies are also extremely cost conscious whereas software companies have their main cost in people, which they value the highest. If you love EE and can make it to the top of your field, there is opportunity like any other. But if not, take the path of least resistance (pardon the pun).Scientists have come up with the first comprehensive map of global shipping routes based on actual itineraries. The team pieced together a year's worth of travel itineraries from 16,693 cargo ships using data from LLoyd's Register Fairplay and the Automatic Identification System, which tracks vessels using a VHF receiver and GPS. A few hot spots logged the majority of journeys. The busiest port was the Panama Canal, followed by the Suez Canal and Shanghai. "There is a strong similarity of statistical properties between shipping and aviation networks," lead author Bernd Blasius, a mathematical modeler at Carl von Ossietzky University, wrote in an e-mail. "But different ship types (e.g., container ships vs. bulk carriers or oil tankers) are characterized by different movement patterns." The study will be published in a forthcoming Journal of the Royal Society: Interface. Factoring in both the volume of ships and the number of other ports each is connected to, these are the top ports in the world: 1 Panama Canal 2 Suez Canal 3 Shanghai 4 Singapore 5 Antwerp 6 Piraeus 7 Terneuzen 8 Plaquemines 9 Houston 10 Ijmuiden 11 Santos 12 Tianjin 13 New York and New Jersey 14 Europoort 15 Hamburg 16 Le Havre 17 St Petersburg 18 Bremerhaven 19 Las Palmas 20 Barcelona Image: Bernd Blasius Citation: "The complex network of global cargo ship movements" Pablo Kaluza, Andrea Kölzsch, Michael T. Gastner and Bernd Blasius, J. Royal Society: Interface See Also: Follow us on Twitter @tiaghose and @wiredscience, and on Facebook.What a crazy week it’s been. After four (long. very long.) months of living with my parents – me and D finally headed back home yesterday morning. I can’t believe how much stuff we managed to collect in our little basement suite over the summer but unpacking was no amounts of fun. None of the fun if you will. When we got into the city I felt like I was going to wake up and have to go back to my horrid job again. Ahh but it’s all over now… on to my crazy busy semester of school! Eep! I’ll worry about that when I get there… I packed up a hefty amount of left overs so we wouldn’t be panicked for food (so that I wouldn’t be panicked for food. Let’s face it, D can eat anything anywhere and I have much more annoying food specifications). On Wednesday we get our first order of local, organic veggies! I am ridiculous amounts of excited at the prospect of this. RIDICULOUS. We also stopped by the farmer’s market on Saturday and picked up a sac (literally. It was on sale!) of assorted cuts of pork. There’s going to be a looooot of slow cooker ribs in this house once leftovers are all done! I also brought with me a handful of avocados (mmm my favorite non-sweet fruit) that I had to use up quick so I thought I’d throw them in a salad. The lighting in my condo is SO much better for taking pictures! I didn’t even really spend much time/make a decent attempt and already the pictures I took are way better than the ones in the basement. So excited! It also helps that my camera here doesn’t suck. Anyway – the condo is a mess and this was just a quick deal so the pictures are pretty simple but I just wanted to share this salad cause it was phenomenal! Super simple, super easy, super quick. Ingredients: Bowl full of mixed greens Shredded chicken breast or thigh (omit for a still yummy veggie salad) 1/2 avocado 2-3 T roasted pumpkin seeds 1-2 T Paleo Garlic & Dill Mayo + 1/2t lime juice Of course, I had to add extra garlic to the mayo – feel free to do so also! A note about the roasted pumpkin seeds – you can use raw if you like but here is what really makes the salad shine – chili lime roasted seeds. I bought them at the farmer’s market the last time I was visiting and they are PHENOMENAL. I’ve probably eaten way more than I should have but I don’t care – they are amazing! Here’s how you can make them at home. Roast 1 1/2 – 2 C of pumpkin seeds at 275F for 10 – 20 min stirring every 5 min and watching to make sure they don’t burn. Seasoning is simply a drizzle of melted ghee, 3 – 4T chili powder, 3-4 T lime juice, 1 1/2 t salt. Throw it all in a bowl and munch away 🙂 Advertisementssize? Restocking Coveted Air Jordans Tomorrow 4.31 / 5 35 VOTES This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. The opinions and information provided on this site are original editorial content of Sneaker News. In case you’re still missing any of these highly coveted Air Jordan retros, or just need to double (or triple) up on your pair listen up: UK sneaker retailer size? is ready to restock the Air Jordan 4 “Oreo”, Air Jordan 6 “Black/Infrared”, and Air Jordan 11 “Columbia” tomorrow, February 25th. We’re not sure where size? managed to unearth all of these sneakers over a year after their first releases, but what matters is that they do indeed have them and will be dropping all three at retail price tomorrow afternoon. Visit the size? Instagram account for more details, and good luck if you’re trying to grab any of the restocked retros. Deadstock Jordan – Launching online tomorrow afternoon #sizeHQ A photo posted by sizeofficial (@sizeofficial) on Feb 24, 2016 at 12:44pm PST Deadstock Jordan – Launching online tomorrow afternoon #sizeHQ A photo posted by sizeofficial (@sizeofficial) on Feb 24, 2016 at 12:43pm PSTWhen HTC launched the One (M8) earlier this year, we called it the best Android phone the world has ever seen. With a few substantial hardware upgrades and some smart software additions from the (M7), HTC had built one of the best smartphones on the market. Microsoft saw the praise the device was receiving from press and consumers and hatched an idea: What if the best Android phone became the best Windows Phone? The HTC One (M8) for Windows is the device the Windows Phone market so desperately needed. It isn’t quite on par with the latest Android releases, but the hardware is still impressive, even months after the initial launch of the phone. The specifications are the same as before, so we’ll be quick about it. HTC’s One (M8) for Windows features a 5-inch full HD display, 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 32GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, HTC UltraPixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and BoomSound stereo speakers. If you’d like to know how these specifications translate to the actual experience of using the phone, be sure to read our original review. Much of HTC’s software from the custom Sense 6 update has also made the transition over to Windows Phone. The BlinkFeed app looks identical on the Windows device, creating a custom news feed which pulls in stories from a list of your preferred sources. Wrapped in the Windows Phone UI, BlinkFeed fits naturally in the center of the screen, scrolling through the latest news. Sense TV has also returned on the new One (M8), providing full listings for your network provider and a universal remote which you can pair with your TV, your cable box and your home entertainment system. The One (M8) for Windows also ships with Windows Phone 8.1, bringing all the added benefits of the latest system software to the phone. Of course, the stand-out feature of the 8.1 update is Cortana. Cortana is a news feed, a music ID service, a weather app and a voice-activated virtual assistant. It might not be as robust as Google Now, but in its first stages of release, it has a lot to offer. There’s plenty more Microsoft-branded software on the phone as well, including Skype, Microsoft Office and an Xbox Games app which syncs with your Xbox Live profile. All of the prototypical Windows Phone apps have been preinstalled as well: News, Sports, Weather, Finance — everything you’d expect from a modern smartphone. This is just a personal preference, but the Windows Phone UI feels even better suited to the One (M8) than Android. With adjustable tiles and a clever background display that intelligently adjusts to the app grid, none of the screen’s real estate is wasted. It might be the minor updates to the interface in 8.1, but Windows Phone really shines on the One (M8). Windows Phone has a long way to go. As shipments continue to decline and sales fail to pick up, Microsoft is looking for a lifeline. It’s too early to say whether or not the HTC One (M8) for Windows will be that lifeline, but it’s an incredible showcase for the platform and a phone any Windows Phone user should consider picking up. The Windows Phone OS has never looked better than on HTC’s stellar device.Dextromethorphan In some countries, this medicine may only be approved for veterinary use. In the US, Dextromethorphan (dextromethorphan systemic) is a member of the drug class antitussives and is used to treat Cough. US matches: UK matches: Scheme Prop.INN ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification) R05DA09 CAS registry number (Chemical Abstracts Service) 0000125-71-3 Chemical Formula C18-H25-N-O Molecular Weight 271 Therapeutic Category Cough suppressant Chemical Names (+) 3-Hydroxy-N-metylmorphinan (WHO) Morphinan, 3-metoxy-17-metyl-, (9α,13α,14α)- (USP) Foreign Names Dextromethorphanum (Latin) Dextromethorphan (German) Dextrométhorphane (French) Dextrometorfano (Spanish) Generic Names Brand Names Glossary Term Definition BAN British Approved Name BANM British Approved Name (Modified) DCF Dénomination Commune Française IS Inofficial Synonym JAN Japanese Accepted Name OS Official Synonym PH Pharmacopoeia Name Prop.INN Proposed International Nonproprietary Name (World Health Organization) USAN United States Adopted Name USP Pharmacopoeia of the United States WHO World Health Organization Further information on drug naming conventions: International Nonproprietary Names. Important Notice: The Drugs.com international database is in BETA release. This means it is still under development and may contain inaccuracies. It is not intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgement of your physician, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to indicate that the use of any medication in any country is safe, appropriate or effective for you. Consult with your healthcare professional before taking any medication. Further information Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances. Medical DisclaimerSearch anus.com: Cultural Revival To look at the topic of the political rights of Indo-Europeans in the current society is to dismay; we are viewed as those who control it, and thus those responsible for stewardship of others. In short, we are the oppressors and providers, and the nagging schoolteachers, over a horde that views us with distrust, as they should - for any population ruled by another is in an unstable and submissive state. Part of the goal of any Indo-European nationalist movement, then, is to escape this classification and to return to a phase where it is seen as acceptable and logical that we assert our right to be ourselves as a tribe. For us to do this, we must first construct an ideal, next purge ourselves of counterproductive behaviors, and finally take action in a unified way. To miss any one of these steps is to give in to disorganized behavior, at which point we will undoubtedly commit the classic error of revolutionaries: to strike against the appearance of the system we wish to replace, without seeing the chain of ideas underlying the symptoms that make up the appearance we abhor; to do this is to literally repeat the same error under a new appearance. For this reason, most revolutions become power struggles that upon achieving their visible aims collapse from within, giving way to a form of government strikingly like the one they replaced. As regards the first step, constructing an ideal, it seems to this writer that while the goal of many in the Indo-European nationalist movements may be to lash out at symptoms, what is meant by the broader sense of our goal is a cultural reconstruction and replacement of our current society with one that harmonizes with the goals of Indo-European culture. Although most “white nationalists” content themselves with merely saying nasty things about Africans, if they were to sit down and list the things they would change in our world, it would become clear the “race issue” does not exist in a vacuum: far from a cause, it is one of the final symptoms of a decline that grips our race and is manifested in many aspects of modern society. This does not mean that we should soft-pedal the race issue, or be illusory about it, but that we should be honest. Regardless of whether other races are “superior” or “inferior,” our goal is preserve our own kind, which to a studied mind recalls that every population is defined by both ethnicity and culture; without either, that is, without both, no population exists independently of the broadest mass of humanity, who have seemingly always been of indeterminate racial origin. For this reason, there is nothing wrong with Africans, nor with Asians, nor with mixed-race people, unless they exist among us, in which case we must eject them because they threaten our existence. We do not have to judge them, or to insult them, or even to wage war upon them, but by making this clear when we redesign society, we will induce them to leave, as no person feels safe where they know they are not wanted - regardless of how much we like them as individuals. When we reach this state of honesty, our desire for racial separation becomes natural alongside other good ideas, no matter how demonized, such the breeding of smarter, stronger people of better character in general, and developing our culture through art, learning, food and ideas. By seeing the “racial issue” as one component of a cultural revolution, we address the root problem of our racial decline, which is that our culture has been replaced by industry and social and religious morality. It is because of this lack of culture that few see the point in preserving themselves racially; they do not perceive they are part of a larger population group except that of international citizens, who are those who get ahead in commercial society and a generalized learning (science, sociology, economics) without having a specific cultural tradition. In this mindset, people do not belong to population groups, but are atomized individuals attempting to advance in a single world order where money and popularity define success. Nationalism, by its very nature, is opposed to internationalism, because with the replacement of culture comes a loss of uniqueness and a lowest common denominator culture composed of media, politics, economics and generalized learning. When culture is lost, the population is lost, and all that its ancestors have done to make it powerful is dissipated. Astute observers of history will note that a mixed, cultureless population is what is left after the fall of every great empire; to most it seems inconceivable that an empire could fall by means other than warfare, but when one examines every great defeat, behind it is a lack of unity in the population. Nationalists value unity in populations because it creates localization of power, and allows each tribe to define itself, meaning that specialization can occur as well as the only form of advancement which applies to populations: the creation of ascendant, or highly adapted and idealistic, civilization. Such civilization is the rarest thing on earth; the earth however is littered with the remnants of such civilizations, which when they decay do so through internal strife, usually a conflict between workers and elites, and end without any dramatic consequence in what we know today as third-world republics. One of the symptoms of such decline is race-mixing, which regardless of the excellence of the races mixed, produces a population without heritage which loses the uncountable specialized traits bred into a population by its distinct ideals, which regulate which traits breed most widely. Another symptom is democratic, or passive, government, and a transition made from traditional culture to abstract, quantitative entities such as commerce and science. In this light, we see the goal of nationalism is not racial partisanism, but a distinction and separation between all races such that each tribe can retain its own culture and ethnic heritage as part of a broader revolution which, in contrast to the last two millennia, pits cultural revival against the utilitarian forces of industry and democracy, which together constitute the fundamental tenets of modern society. Although few take a broader historical view today, if we back up and view history through the lens of aeons, we see that since the middle ages Western civilization has been engaged in the process of replacing traditional civilization with such a modern society. While modern society brings many short-term benefits, as its shortcomings become visible, we see the long-term damage it creates and thus can realize that it is unfit for any form of enduring civilization. This cultural revival is our goal, and it cannot take reactionary forms, e.g. solely aiming to restore something from the past, or it will collapse from our lack of direct knowledge about the past. Rather, like every diligent worker, we must take what we know of the past and join it with what we know to be sensible to the values of the past to create a society of the future. This society is the aim of our cultural revival; when viewed in this light, our movement is not a passive or reactionary one, but an assertive direction which replaces a fractured system with a better one. We do not make our demands in the context of the current society, but so that its successor can arise, and humanity can move forward lacking the widespread - but invisible to most people, by the very nature of their limited function and belief in their own political efficacy - failings of the current system. Our keystone realization is that, as Indo-Europeans, despite our different tribes, there is more that unites us than divides us, and that except for those who are already of mixed Indo-European tribes, we can continue to divide into our traditional societies and will not have to live under a one-size-fits-all bureaucratic government administering a sterile “culture” to us all. On top of that, we can recognize that whatever religions or cultural traditions we wish to uphold, we can keep those by finding within them that which is compatible with our spirit, and rejecting the rest. Like society itself, beliefs must be remade in the context of our culture. Most Indo-Europeans are not politically active as they see no culture, thus nothing worth preserving, and therefore are afraid to take on mass opinion (commerce/social/media/religious) in defense of something to which they have no immediate connection. When we realize that our preferences as a people unite us, and that we have more in common than in difference, we can begin to work on this culture, meaning the methods and ideals of our learning and art and lifestyles, and use it to unify our disparate opinions with those we have in common. It is important that we realize that without such unity, we are divided in the face of our real enemy, which is a values system that emphasizes modern society as the only rational future for humanity, and thus continues the death march toward ecocide, loss of culture and heritage, and loss of personal integrity as we find nothing of meaning except earning money and buying things; in that state, we are drones, and fodder for the machine of corporations and governments. In that state, we do not command, but we submit. All peoples in the multiculturalist system have this type of identity, except those of Indo-European heritage, for the reasons mentioned: we are perceived as the guardians of this modern civilization, and not a culture within it. Giving our people a cultural identity - including their unique tribal identity, such as French, German, Italian, Irish and so on - is essential toward moving forward. Defensive and passive ideals such as conservatism and bigotry have failed, and there is no point repeating a failing attempt without changing method, as it will undoubtedly fail again. When we leave these reactionary and panicked emotions aside, we can achieve a cultural identity and begin working on ourselves to strengthen and develop a new society in the ashes of the old. This can be achieved by democratic means, and is the only revolution worth supporting. Site map Copyright © 1988-20158 A.N.U.S.Bikes go missing from Mountain Mayhem, which is not OK We’re sad to have to report that someone made off with a number of mountain bikes at last weekend’s Mountain Mayhem at Gatcombe Park. Bikes that didn’t belong to them. While we don’t have an exact count, bikes thought to value a total of £15-20k were taken and one witness believes them to have disappeared into a Ford Transit Connect registration number CN58*. This was apparently an organised theft and, needless to say, the sort of thing that should be actively discouraged. At least three of the bikes were Giant Trances: two 2013 Trance X 29ers (one pictured above) and one medium 2010 Trance X 3 (stock photo below). After waking up and visiting the toilet at 3.30am I settled back down and was then woken again at 4am to do my next lap. I looked out of my caravan and the bikes that were there at 3.30am were now not there! I borrowed a teammates bike and went out looking for anything… After riding around I saw a White Ford Transit Connect (reg no. CN58*) coming out of the tarmac drive that lead to the back of the arena (marked “strictly no entry”) I tried to flag it down but he drove off waving. I saw this van again around 15 minutes or so later leaving the lane that leads to the bottom of the campsites (where we later discovered was where the bikes had been passed over the hedge!) again I tried to flag the van down but he sounded his horn at me, waved and drove off. Unfortunately I only managed to catch the first part of the reg. This was reported to the police when they finally arrived but may as well repeat it. My bike was a 2013 Giant Trance X 29er 0, which was apart from the Bontrager carbon “side entry” bottle holder was fairly standard. My friend Stuart had the same bike but had done various modifications to it (blue bars, shorter stem, Hans Dampf front tyre and a charge saddle). If anyone saw anything suspicious or catches wind of these or any other suspicious bikes, please take note of the seller’s details and contact local law enforcement as well as newsdesk@singletrackworld.com. We will then pass any information back to the owners and Mountain Mayhem team.Columbus Day First Landing of Columbus on the Shores of the New World; painting by ; painting by Dióscoro Puebla (1862) Observed by Various countries in the Americas, Spain, Italy, various Little Italys around the world. Type Historical Significance Celebrations honoring Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas in 1492 Recognize contributions of Americans of Spanish and Italian descent Date October 12 (actual/traditional); second Monday in October (observed in the United States) 2018 date October 8 ( 2018-10-08 ) 2019 date October 14 ( 2019-10-14 ) 2020 date October 12 ( 2020-10-12 ) 2021 date October 11 ( 2021-10-11 ) Frequency Annual Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492 (Julian Calendar; it would have been October 21, 1492 on the Gregorian Proleptic Calendar, which extends the Gregorian Calendar to dates prior to its adoption in 1582). Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a faster route to the New World. His first voyage to the New World on the Spanish ships the Santa María, Niña, and La Pinta took approximately three months. Columbus and his crew's arrival to the New World initiated the Columbian Exchange which introduced the transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, and technology between the new world and the old. The landing is celebrated as "Columbus Day" in the United States but the name varies on the international spectrum. In Latin America, October 12 is known as "Día de la Raza" or (Day of the Race). Some countries such as Spain refer the holiday as "Día de la Hispanidad" and "Fiesta Nacional" where it is also the religious festivity of la Virgen del Pilar. Belize and Uruguay celebrate it as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas). Argentina's former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner officially adopted "Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural" (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity) November 3, 2010. "Giornata Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo or Festa Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo" is the formal name of Italy's celebration as well as in Little Italys around the world.[1][2] United States observance [ edit ] History [ edit ] Celebration of Christopher Columbus's voyage in the early United States is recorded from as early as 1792. The Tammany Society in New York City [3] (for whom it became an annual tradition)[4][5] and the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston celebrated the 300th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the New World.[6][7] President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus's landing in the New World on the 400th anniversary of the event.[8] During the anniversary in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These rituals took themes such as citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and the celebration of social progress.[9][10][11] Many Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage, and the first such celebration was held in New York City on October 12, 1866.[12] The day was first enshrined as a legal holiday in the United States through the lobbying of Angelo Noce, a first generation Italian, in Denver.[13] The first statewide holiday was proclaimed by Colorado governor Jesse F. McDonald in 1905, and it was made a statutory holiday in 1907.[14][15] In April 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and New York City Italian leader Generoso Pope, Congress and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 be a federal holiday under the name Columbus Day.[14][16][17][18] Since 1971 (Oct. 11), the holiday has been attributed to the second Monday in October,[19] coincidentally exactly the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada since 1957. It is generally observed nowadays by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, other federal agencies, most state government offices, many businesses, and most school districts. Some businesses and some stock exchanges remain open, and some states and municipalities abstain from observing the holiday.[20] The traditional date of the holiday also adjoins the anniversary of the United States Navy (founded October 13, 1775), and thus both occasions are customarily observed by the Navy and the Marine Corps with either a 72- or 96-hour liberty period.[21] Local observance of Columbus Day [ edit ] Actual observance varies in different parts of the United States, ranging from large-scale parades and events to complete non-observance. Most states celebrate Columbus Day as an official state holiday, though many mark it as a "Day of Observance" or "Recognition" and at least four do not recognize it at all. Most states that celebrate Columbus Day
her desk, relaying that, ‘He took me to this other room, and when we stepped inside, he pushed me against a wall and stuck his tongue down my throat. Melania was upstairs and could have walked in at any time,’” said Mary Green, deputy East Coast news editor for People. The sixth source, Stoynoff’s friend Lisa Herz, said that she remembered walking with Stoynoff when they encountered Melania on the street, and that the two “chatted in a friendly way” — which contradicts Melania’s claims to the contrary and the basis for her threats to sue People. Stoynoff’s story shows why it’s so hard for many victims to go public The Trump campaign has flatly denied Stoynoff’s allegation, as it has done for the other 11 women who have accused Trump of sexual assault either now or in the past. Denying these accounts essentially means calling the accusers liars. But these denials have gone further: attacks on the women’s characters, attacks on their looks, threats to sue the journalistic outlets that have published (and vetted, often with multiple corroborating witnesses) the women’s accounts. It’s nasty stuff. But it’s also a sadly predictable example of what can happen to victims of sexual assault when they come forward — especially when they accuse a powerful man. And it helps explain why many victims wait years or even decades to report their assault, if they ever report at all. “The power dynamic that allows an assault to happen in the first place is the same power dynamic that can make it so difficult for victims to have their stories heard in the aftermath,” Vox’s Sarah Kliff explained. The account from Stoynoff’s journalism professor, Paul McLaughlin, is a perfect example of this. McLaughlin says Stoynoff called him in tears the night of the attack, and that he advised her not to say anything publicly because of how Trump might retaliate. It was tough decision but in a he said/she said we believed she would lose. He seemed rather nasty at the time. — Paul McLaughlin (@paulmcl) October 14, 2016 “She wasn’t sure what she should do,” McLaughlin told People. “I advised her not to say anything, because I believed Trump would deny it and try to destroy her.” It’s a common fear, and many perpetrators know that. It’s why many of them think they can get away with what they’re doing, and why many of them do indeed get away with it for decades. But in reality, sexual assault often isn’t just a “he-said she-said” situation. There may be multiple “shes” saying the same thing about one “he” — as in Trump’s case, and as in other high-profile cases like that of Bill Cosby and Roger Ailes. And many victims, like Stoynoff is alleged to be, have other witnesses to back them up — friends or family whom they told about their attack, even if they didn’t “go public” right away. And contemporaneous accounts from corroborating witnesses like these add a lot of credibility to victims’ stories. Watch: Women accusing Trump of sexual assaultFrom start to finish, the Gunfight at the OK Corral lasted 30 seconds which, incidentally, is about how long it takes to grasp the concept of Hard West. CreativeForge Games has produced a turn-based strategy game with a dark, supernatural story set in the wild west. Think XCOM, but with cowboys (howdy, commander). The reasons why it's an interesting game, however, require a more detailed explanation. Hard West is deeply ambitious; it boasts a few mechanics that could prop up a game like this on their own. Combined, they make for a refreshing take on the genre that - in spite of its faults - is rather special. We'll start, as all good westerns do, with a bit of story. Hard West Publisher: Gambitious Gambitious Developer: CreativeForge Games CreativeForge Games Platform: Reviewed on PC Reviewed on PC Availability: Also available on Mac and Linux Hard West's campaign is split into eight separate chapters or scenarios; each one centred around a particular character. These scenarios (each one of which can be completed comfortably in one sitting) often intertwine, allowing you to explore the same story from both sides. In one instance, the person you just spent a whole chapter controlling becomes the elusive figure your new character is hell-bent on killing. It's an interesting approach that keeps the campaign from feeling like one long slog, and it offers up a good deal of mission variety. While the obligatory gunfights play out in turn-based missions, much of the narrative substance comes from wandering and role-playing your way across the game map (this portion of the game is the equivalent of base building in XCOM). Exploring locations on the map will help you acquire new items, new posse members and, crucially, advance the story. How you fare in this text-based adventure determines what shape you enter your next combat mission in - the choices you make impact on your finances, your health and, in some cases, even your sanity. Nuns with guns. This section of the game gives a surprising amount of narrative heft to Hard West, making it one of the more memorable stories I've encountered in a turn-based game. It's a pity, then, that it's hampered so badly by an over-emphasis on conciseness. Consider this passage: "Solomon locked himself in the workshop for an entire day. He built a mining drill to extract the meteor from the crater. He also built an insanity gauge, so that whenever he visited a location, he could observe the gauge to check that area's Madness level." While the desire to avoid swamping the player with a wall of text is understandable, that's an awful amount to absorb in just three sentences. Too often story beats like these feel so rushed as to seem amateurish. By contrast the game's narrator, death, is fantastic. The understated voice acting punctuates the game's tragedy-laden story brilliantly. In narrating key moments during combat missions, it also spoon-feeds you some tactical information from time to time. These are always worth exploring; not only do they give you an advantage in combat, but they pad out the story in ways that make the missions memorable, rather than just another gunfight next to some tumbledown buildings. The combat missions in Hard West are solidly executed and will be familiar fare for anyone who's played a turn-based strategy game before. Where Hard West's combat gets interesting, though, is in the card system. Eschewing skill trees and class systems, all of Hard West's special abilities are tied in to playing cards that can be assigned to any character. Characters have between three and five slots available, allowing you to play around with different character builds before beginning each combat mission. Equipping shadow salve and shadow cloak, for instance, means you not only regenerate health when out of direct sunlight, but you're also completely invisible to enemies. These cards allow for a tremendous amount of character flexibility, opening up a vast range of tactical options. It's just a shame that your card stash resets at the start of each scenario - the abilities are so much fun to play around with that it would have been nice not to have to unlock them all again each time. Some of the text is pretty cringeworthy. Hard West is also interesting in that it doesn't rely on random dice rolls to determine whether an attack hits or not; instead, you have the luck system. Every combatant in Hard West has a luck stat. When a shot is fired, the percentage chance to hit is compared to the number of luck points the target has left. If the luck value is higher the shot goes wide, however the target loses luck points to cover the cost. Conversely, if the bullet connects, that character gains luck points back, making them harder to hit next time. It's a slightly more open-faced approach that encourages a more aggressive playstyle. For instance, if an enemy is in full cover and you only have a 20 per cent chance to hit, it's still worth taking that shot. You'll either do some damage or whittle away some of their luck, making the next shot more likely to connect. Wyatt Earp once said "in a gunfight... you need to take your time in a hurry". I couldn't have put it better myself. Using a character to soften up targets like this while sending someone round on a flanking manoeuvre is immensely satisfying and helps reduce the amount of chin-scratching that so often occurs with turn-based strategy games. It also, bizarrely, sometimes has you hoping one of your characters gets shot. The thing is, the majority of special abilities in Hard West are powered by luck - some requiring a whopping 75 points to activate. While you can use consumables to boost your luck, the easiest way to fill the meter is to get shot. Hoping someone would wing one of my characters so I could use their shriek ability and deal 3 damage to every enemy in sight was a strange feeling, but in some ways that's the essence of Hard West's combat. It's a more ragged take on turn-based strategy; taking lumps is a central part of the experience. Hard West is a game about falling down six times and getting up seven. While the combat for the most part in Hard West is really enjoyable, there's one major drawback in that your enemies don't trigger when discovered for the first time. While in games like XCOM they'll dash to cover when revealed, Hard West's cowpokes remain perfectly still. As a result, it's remarkably easy to move forward into cover and, in doing so, flank an enemy you didn't even know was there. After that, it's simply a matter of turning around and killing them outright (if you still have an action point left) or wincing as your character gets plugged on the enemy turn. Get used to this card screen - you'll be studying it a lot. Making kills this way feels like failing upwards or playing dirty. I could make a hackneyed reference to 'gettin' the drop on a varmint' at this point, but frankly these moments don't feel like the actions of a slick gunslinger. They feel more like robbing yourself of an interesting tactical challenge. There is, however, an element to Hard West in which you can legitimately get the drop on your enemy. In a fisftul of missions, you start out in the setup phase, whereby the enemy hasn't been alerted to your presence yet. You're free to position your shooters to your heart's content before slapping leather, though straying into an enemy's cone of vision will cause them to become suspicious and eventually attack. This phase can make all the difference at the start of a combat, letting you level the playing field in a way that doesn't feel like cheesing - mostly because each mission with a setup phase tends to be crawling with bad guys. Despite its limitations, then, Hard West is a game that punches well above expectations. Its developers took some bold design decisions that, for the most part, really pay off. It's occasionally clunky and frequently exploitable, but it's also genuinely memorable. CreativeForge Games may not be the best writers in the business, but they sure as hell ain't no snake oil salesmen.Google Cloud Storage has always been a high-performance and cost-effective place to store data objects. Now it’s also easy to build workflows around those objects that are triggered by creating or deleting them, or changing their metadata. Suppose you want to take some action every time a change occurs in one of your Cloud Storage buckets. You might want to automatically update sales projections every day when sales uploads its new daily totals. You might need to remove a resource from a search index when an object is deleted. Or perhaps you want to update the thumbnail when someone makes a change to an image. The ability to respond to changes in a Cloud Storage bucket gives you increased responsiveness, control and flexibility. Cloud Pub/Sub Support We’re pleased to announce that Cloud Storage can now register changes by sending change notifications to a Google Cloud Pub/Sub topic. Cloud Pub/Sub is a powerful messaging platform that allows you to build fast, reliable and more secure messaging solutions. Cloud Pub/Sub support introduces many new capabilities to Cloud Storage notifications, such as pulling from subscriptions instead of requiring users to configure webhooks, multiplexing copies of each message to many subscribers and filtering messages by event type or prefix.You can get started sending Cloud Storage notifications to Cloud Pub/Sub by reading our getting started guide. Once you’ve enabled the Cloud Pub/Sub API and downloaded the latest version of the gcloud SDK, you can set up notification triggers from your Cloud Storage bucket to your Cloud Pub/Sub topic with the following command:Editor's note: Patriot Prayer said Friday afternoon that it is canceling a planned rally in San Francisco on Saturday for safety reasons, but authorities were maintaining plans for a heavy police presence. Joey Gibson, a Washington-based, Japanese-American activist whom some describe as a member of the "alt-lite," is on his way to San Francisco. He has organized a rally scheduled for Saturday at Crissy Field that is setting off alarms about another possible showdown between protesters on the left and the alt-right, including white supremacists. But Gibson swears he's not a racist. “Fuck white supremacists! Fuck neo-Nazis!” Gibson said to the hundreds gathered at Westlake Park in Seattle on August 13th at a rally he organized. “I have no use for that kind of thinking. It’s wrong.” But experts, and many others, aren't sure how seriously they should take Gibson's denouncements. In fact, he and his Patriot Prayer supporters have often been lumped in with hate groups. A week before Gibson’s Seattle rally, he and others gathered in Portland, where according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a number of white nationalists appeared. Fights broke out at what was planned as a protest of “left-wing violence.” The rally, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “threatened to turn into a riot several times.” Among those in the crowd were Jake Von Ott, a local leader of the white supremacist group Identity Evropa. In addition, the white supremacist on a Portland train in May who screamed anti-Muslim insults at two teenage girls and who later fatally stabbed two men who intervened, had attended Patriot Prayer rallies. Just one week after the killings, Gibson and his supporters held a "Trump Rally for Free Speech" in the city. In June, Gibson participated in an anti-Sharia march in Seattle. The march was organized by ACT for America — "protect and preserve American culture," reads the group's website; the Southern Poverty Law Center considers the organization a hate group. Later that month, Gibson marched onto the campus of Evergreen State College in Olympia where he was met with fierce opposition, despite earnestly attempting to talk to, and shake hands with, black-clad anarchists. In the end, Gibson walked away bleeding. Members of the Proud Boys, which espouses an “anti-political correctness, anti-racial guilt” agenda in “an age of globalism and multiculturalism,” have also showed up at Gibson’s rallies. So have members of the Three Percenters, an anti-government group that is part of the larger militia movement; it believes individual liberties — such as free speech and gun ownership — are in jeopardy. Militia groups in the U.S. have grown since the presidency of Barack Obama and the housing crisis and recession of the late 2000s, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Political leaders have spoken out against Gibson and even attempted to put a stop to Saturday's San Francisco rally. In a press release, U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi referred to Gibson’s gathering as a “white supremacist rally,” and said she was “deeply alarmed by the hateful and dangerous nature of the event, its timing so soon after the horrors in Charlottesville.” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee also said he was disappointed the National Park Service issued a permit for the event, noting that the “the shameful, anti-American trend of hate-filled extremist rallies will unfortunately be allowed to continue this weekend in our city.” “Do not engage with the members of this group, whose only priority is to incite violence through divisive rhetoric,” Lee said. But Gibson, who lives in Vancouver, Washington, says the San Francisco rally will have a diverse group of speakers including black and transgender people. He says the motive behind organizing these rallies is to engage others. “I don't go into these areas just so I can give a speech to people who support what we do the whole time. It’s been to speak to the protesters. That’s really what it’s been about,” Gibson said in a recent telephone interview. Gibson also said he didn’t “want to be involved with anyone that uses race to further their agenda.” “We’re trying to get beyond the labels,” he said. The 33-year-old Gibson grew up in Camas, on the Columbia River just east of Vancouver, with two siblings. He says he attended decent schools and had good parents who raised him Catholic. (His father is Irish, his mother Japanese.) He played high school football, got into some trouble with the law that included, according to The Columbian, probation violations and a break-in at a restaurant. Gibson, however, eventually turned his life around, graduating from Central Washington University with a degree in psychology. About religion, Gibson says he didn’t like certain aspects of the Catholic faith, like the concept of hell. “It actually really turned me off from religion and just put me more on the path of being spiritual and reading the New Testament,” he says. He launched a scrappy political career because he felt the country was beating up on Trump supporters. In 2016, Gibson attended the Republican National Convention in Cleveland where he tore up a protester’s anti-police sign only to turn around and apologize, handing him a $20 bill. When he returned home “for a long time all I did was hold flags on the streets,” Gibson said. “I was concerned people were afraid to say what they believed in because of all the hatred right now.” But then, wearing a Hillary for Prison T-shirt, Gibson organized his first political rally. “I’ll admit, I really, really did not like Hillary. I had some major issues with her, but that’s done and over with,” Gibson said. “It’s an issue I’ve had. I’ve had quite a bit of anger and hatred toward our establishment in D.C.,” he said. “The one thing I appreciate about Trump is he pretty much destroyed the Republican establishment.” He continues: "I don’t care about who people vote for anymore. I don’t want to be divisive like that.” Gibson, however, stands by his views about Islam, though he adds that he’s starting to realize some of what Muslims believe is influenced by culture. He says Islam is problematic because it can be oppressive to both women and gays. “To have a problem with Islam is not racist,” Gibson said. “That’s having an issue with someone’s ideology, not race.” “I will speak out against that because I do believe in human rights.” Experts on hate groups tend to classify Gibson as a “kindler, gentler, alt-right guy.” “He’s completely out of his element and doesn’t really understand what he’s unleashed, but he seems to enjoy the limelight,” said Randy Blazak, a sociology professor at the University of Oregon who has studied hate crimes and hate groups for 25 years. Blazak said although Gibson and others may purport to hold events in the name of free speech, they often don’t really care about the free speech of, say, Muslims or Black Lives Matter. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino, said part of the reason Gibson has been successful in attracting attention is because he's perceived as sincere. “Dancing with bigots either by accident or on purpose is less important than authenticity,” Levin said. But Levin said he’s still not sure whether Gibson’s efforts to separate himself from others who hold racist views are heartfelt. “People who are hardened bigots are attracted to his forum. He’s either ineffective, incapable or tolerating it,” Levin said. “The bottom line is over time is he going to sustain a toleration of loathsome, unmistakable bigots in his tent or not? The test of this will be time.” “Denunciations when the kitchen gets hot are different when the stove is not on a boil,” Levin added. For his part, Gibson, who is married with two children, says he can count on his family to believe in what he’s doing. “I think they’re really proud that I’m doing what I believe is right,” Gibson says. About his parents, he adds: “It drives them crazy when they see things like I’m a white supremacist and stuff because they know exactly who I am.” Gibson also thinks the attention on white supremacists has been overblown. It’s a problem, he admits, but “kind of like people running around trying to find ghosts in a way.” At the Seattle "Freedom Rally" earlier this month, Gibson — full beard, baseball cap worn backward with an imprint of "GIBSON" — opened the stage to Black Lives Matter activists and others with opposing viewpoints. Gibson appeared comfortable even as some spoke about police brutality and other obstacles African Americans face. Gibson's San Francisco "Freedom Rally," according to its Facebook page, has 408 planning to attend and more than 1,000 people interested in attending. "This is an opportunity for moderate Americans to come in with opposing views. We will not allow the extremists to tear apart this country," reads a description of the event on Facebook. After San Francisco, he plans to return to Portland for a rally on September 10th. “I’ll tell you this much, it’s not easy, it’s not necessarily fun doing this,” Gibson said when asked whether he believes what he’s doing is accomplishing anything. “Sometimes, though, I leave a rally and think this world would have probably been better off if I didn’t do that.”LONDON: An Indian-origin man has been given a suspended jail term in Britain for secretly feeding his wife steroids so that she becomes overweight and stays at home to cook and look after their children. In the bizarre case, Leicester-based Dalwara Singh, secretly laced his wife’s food and drink with the drug between November last year and January, which caused her to sprout hair on her face and back and made her skin itchy and spotty. When the wife said she needed to see a doctor, Singh told her she was worrying over nothing. At the Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday, Singh admitted administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy.Singh was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to attend a domestic abuse programme. He was subjected to a restraining order, banning contact with his wife other than through solicitors. After several weeks of secretly feeding the steroid, he was caught when their teenage daughter heard him grinding a pestle and mortar in the bedroom. The wife then found the steroids in a locked cupboard.It's 1989. I'm ten. My older brother is 14 or 15. One of his buddies is sleeping over. The ten-year-old me thinks my brother's the coolest guy in the world, and aside from him making a regular habit of rolling me up in a sleeping bag, pounding on me, and insisting that I'll "never get out, NEVER GET OUT," he's pretty good about letting his kid brother hang around him and his friends. Only this night, I'm not supposed to be hanging out with them, my parents say, because they're in the basement watching a movie that I'm too young to see. So naturally, at the first opportunity, I sneak down there, the dark orange shag carpet muffling the sound of my footsteps on the stairs. I duck behind the couch, and my brother just sits there, letting me think I'm pulling off some great act of stealth. I've got this great view of the old Sony Trinitron with the fake wood trim, which is hooked up to a VCR that also sports fake wood trim. I can't make a lot of sense of what's happening on the screen, but there's a highly polished golden sphere chasing people around. And then it happens: the golden ball finds its victim. It burrows into the guy's lower back with a series of drills and blades. Blood pours out, and from the inside, it starts churning the guy up. All the while, this guy's alive, and he's screaming in agony, and the silver sphere is just drilling and grinding his guts up from the inside, and the guy's getting flung around like a puppet controlled by some kind of maniac. And as I'm watching this, I can only think of two things. The first is how the guy on the screen is acutely aware of what's happening to him, of how he's being killed. Accordingly, he's filled with unimaginable agony but also pure terror and only wants it to end. And then the second thing I keep thinking about is my mother's blender, and its silver blades, and how it liquefies just about anything she puts into it, and how that blender is just like this metal ball, only the blender also sports fake wood trim, and has the word 'Osterizer' on it. Finally, the guy stops screaming and gasping for breath. He's been Osterized from the inside. One of the other characters slowly, fearfully, carefully turns him over, and there's the ball, deadly sharp blades sticking out of its entire surface. The sphere is stuck inside the guy's face. The thing blended its entire way from the base of his spine, through his stomach and chest and throat, all the way up into his mouth, where it became entangled in the flesh of the dead man's face. And that does it. I sprint upstairs to the bathroom, barely making it on time, and I vomit. I had never thrown up from a movie, and never did again after that. That was the only time -- the time I watched just a few minutes of Phantasm II. Video of Phantasm II (1988): The Golden Sphere "In our first public screening of the original Phantasm a woman brushed by me during the sphere drilling sequence and went straight for the bathroom," Don Coscarelli wrote to me over email. Coscarelli is the creator of the Phantasm franchise, having directed four of its five installments (he produced and co-wrote the fifth, but did not direct it), as well as films such as Bubba Ho-Tep, Survival Quest, John Dies at the End, and many others. I reached out to him for this essay, and before I asked him any questions, I told him the story about me throwing up. "Very sorry for your distress," Coscarelli wrote, "but I think it is good luck for us that the second film had that impact on you like the first." I also spoke with the film's lead actor, James LeGros, who played Mike Pearson. He laughed raucously, and said "oh my god, the only movie to induce vomiting! That's high praise!" Sadly, high praise is not something the film received a lot of. Even Phantasm fanatics expressed disappointment with the film, their chief complaint being the casting of LeGros, who took over the role of Mike Pearson from A. Michael Baldwin, who played the character in the first film (then parts III, IV, and V). Reggie Bannister (who co-stars in all Phantasm films as Reggie) was interviewed for the book More Giants of the Genre by Michael McCarty (2005, Wildside Press). About the casting of LeGros, he said, "There was some controversy about that. It is always difficult when you see an original film and you fall in love with it and the characters. Michael was much beloved…" Coscarelli acknowledges that "fans were unhappy with that casting choice," adding "which I still regret to this day." But he also says that for "phans," the priority is more Phantasm, and in Phantasm II, that's what they got. So, he says, "I don't think it made them not like the film." Video of Phantasm II (1988) Official Trailer I'm sorry to learn that Coscarelli regrets the casting choice. I always liked Le Gros as Mike Pearson (not to mention his many other roles, especially as Chad Palomino in Living In Oblivion). After seeing the first Phantasm, I liked Le Gros even more in the role as Mike Pearson. First, because I think Le Gros is a much more dynamic actor than Baldwin. Second, because the first Phantasm creates a world in which nothing the viewers (or characters) see can be trusted, and dreams blend with reality to a point where it's almost impossible to tell one from the other. So having an entirely different actor portray the same character adds another surreal element in an already distorted world. But none of this bothers LeGros. I asked him if he was aware of the criticism, and he immediately started laughing and said "no." He laughed harder. I asked him if he cared. He laughed harder still. "No, no," he said, "I don't care." Which is not to say he's dismissive of the film. In fact, he's "very proud of it" and also noted that it was his first lead role. "I learned so much about filmmaking during the course of that movie. So I will always be grateful for that experience." He's gives high marks to his costars, in particular Angus Scrimm, who played the franchise's antagonist, the Tall Man. He's not a gruesome spectacle of melted flesh such as A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, or a masked murderer such as Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees. He is a stern-looking undertaker and he's pure malevolence. "It's all about presence," LeGros says about Scrimm's performance as the Tall Man. "That's what I liked about it. He didn't really rely on any gags. He was just this iconic evil. That's what I loved about Angus' performance. It was just wow." Credit: YouTube The Tall Man commands three metal spheres armed with razors and drills and other weaponry. So brutal are these spheres, even the other bad guys in Phantasm II are terrified (and killed) by them. The balls don't care. They just want blood. Scarier still, the Tall Man is not just intent on killing people, but he's even more dedicated to exhuming corpses---entire cemeteries' worth. For what? Honestly, I'm not sure. But the senselessness of it just makes the film that much more unsettling. The movie features embalming and cremation and graveyards and corpses. And while Phantasm II itself is obviously a bizarre and fictitious spectacle, those elements are all real. Adolescence is a time when you start becoming more aware of and fascinated by things like death, and this film pushed all those buttons for me: What happens when we die? Is our blood really sucked out and replaced with some kind of fluid? And what kind of person would want to do that for a living? Phantasm II (as well as the original) offered horrifying answers to those questions. I wonder if that's why the franchise struck such a chord. I asked Coscarelli and he replied, "I think very! The great Stuart Gordon says that horror films are a rehearsal for our own deaths. I agree." Death haunts the movie in ways that last longer than the time it takes for blood to dry. It's also a road movie about two lonely figures going from ghost town to ghost town in what is perhaps one of the coolest cars ever: a 1971 Plymouth Hemicuda. All the while, the protagonist mumbles about his visions and nightmares in a moody voiceover. Characters drift in and out, appearing to be dead at times, then alive again. When not following our heroes on their journey, a good portion of the film is dedicated to a funeral for an elderly man attended by three relatives and a highly troubled priest. Rather than using it as an opportunity for cheap scares and blood, it's played as an atmospheric, unsettling and intense meditation on grief, loneliness, and religion. I told James LeGros about this, but I wasn't the first. "I've heard people say [Phantasm II] creates this dystopian desolation," he says. "And I think that's a good way to put it." When the Tall Man appears, this movie does not mess around. At one absolutely disgusting point, the Tall Man's finger is pierced by a long pin. He holds it up, and we see that it's not dripping with blood; it's dripping with some kind of thick, yellow fluid. He licks it and smiles. There's also a scene that features a character getting embalmed with sulfuric acid. (Enough said.) The scene that made me throw up when I was a kid actually has a little less blood than I remembered, but it didn't keep my wife from covering her face with both hands and saying, "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD" over and over again when we rewatched it recently. In fact all of the sphere scenes are fantastic. LeGros chuckled when he recalled what it was like to shoot those back before the widespread use of CGI. "It was a f*ing completely different world... the illusion had to be created in-camera... To get the effect of the thing the whizzing past my head and gently grazing me, they basically threw a f*ing silver orb at my head as hard they could," he says, starting to laugh. "Sometimes I'd get beaned in the head that with that thing but they wouldn't catch it on camera. So we had to do it like a lot. Which nobody in their right mind would put up with [now.] ‘You're gonna throw a softball at my head? Are you kidding me? Forget it!' But I didn't know anything. I was a kid, I didn't know any better." Back then, I didn't know any better, either: I threw up, but then the next morning, I was back for more. I snuck downstairs and watched the entire thing. And ever since, I've been obsessed with the movie. It's not perfect. It's got its flaws. But it might just be my favorite horror movie. It's not better than The Shining. But then, I really don't think of The Shining as a horror movie. Maybe I'm being semantic about it. But I don't watch Kubrick's The Shining and think about my own mortality. I don't watch Carpenter's The Thing and think about what will happen to my body or my soul after I die. But Phantasm II, despite how completely outlandish it is, does make me think of my own mortality. And it does that while being an unconventional, vaguely Lynchian road movie with an absolutely awesome car. Phantasm II and films like them, Coscarelli posits, "help us all become desensitized to real death." "Plus," he writes, "they just look so cool!" Indeed, they do.Google Ventures has just invested an undisclosed amount in Recorded Future, a company that is working to accurately predict the future. As its name implies, the web application uses a wealth of quantifiable data from the past and present to forecast trends and predict outcomes. It likely has around the same level of accuracy, give or take, as a weather report. Recorded Future offers alerts on topics such as financial markets, geopolitical news, industry changes, public figures, technology and information security. The app can be customized to return results for an individual or other topic, as well. Predicting the future is big business in industries such as finance, marketing and bookmaking. The way the analysts in these areas make their predictions is also through quantifying and parsing massive datasets. Applying the same principles to other topics makes sense, and we're interested to see what Recorded Future does with this investment and onslaught of press and user attention. Here's the company's demo, showing how its product works for users who want to know about the future: In fact, we recommend browsing the company's YouTube profile for an in-depth look at their cool visualizations and case studies. What do you think about Recorded Future? Can a data-based, scientific approach to prediction really give us insights about the future? Will you be trying out the app yourself? [img credit: Svenstorm]Wendy Pepper, a contestant on the first season of Project Runway, has died. She was 53. Pepper, whose real name was Anne Eustis Pepper Stewart, died on Nov. 12, according to an obituary in the Washington Post. She appeared during the first season of Project Runway in 2004, making it to the finals at Fashion Week and ultimately coming in third. While on the show, she won several challenges, including the opportunity to have one of her designs sold at Banana Republic and the chance to design Nancy O’Dell’s Grammy dress. Pepper also made an appearance during the second season of Project Runway All Stars, which aired in 2012 and 2013. Additionally, she appeared on two other Bravo reality shows — Celebrity Poker Showdown and Battle of the Network Reality Stars. Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1964, she was raised in Washington, D.C. She debuted a fashion line in D.C. in 2006 and sold her designs out of a boutique in Middleburg, VA. She is survived by her daughter Finley, her parents, three brothers, a sister and several nieces and nephews.Merkel was born Kasner, a name invented by her grandfather Ludwig Kazmierczak in 1930 after he had moved to Germany from Poznan, the new book which was published on Thursday says, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. The new details of Merkel's family background were revealed in the book Angela Merkel - the Chancellor and Her World. It says Merkel's father was born Horst Kazmierczak. Her grandfather Ludwig, born 1896, was the illegitimate son of Anna Kazmierczak and Ludwig Wojciechowski, taking his mother's name and growing up with her and her later husband Ludwig Rychlicki in Poznan. The troubled history of Poznan, switching between Germany and Poland several times, indirectly contributed to Germany being led by a East-German Protestant woman. Poznan was part of the German empire until the defeat of World War One and the 1919 Versailles Treaty which returned it to Poland. It was then that Merkel's grandfather moved to Berlin, and met and married his wife Margarethe. They had Merkel's father Horst in 1926, and changed their name from Kazmierczak to Kasner in 1930, meaning the future Chancellor was born Angela Kasner. She became Merkel when she married her first husband, taking his name and keeping it even after marrying her second husband Joachim Sauer. The Süddeutsche Zeitung said that Merkel's father's
now. In their latest edition, the ‘great defenders of free speech’ have featured a front page cartoon mocking Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach recently, sparking international outrage at he treatment of refugees. Under a strapline ‘Welcome to migrants’, the main text reads, ‘So Close To His Goal’, and then depicts a McDonalds billboard in the background with the (inexplicable) line, ‘Two Menus Of Children For The Price Of One’. Apart from the fact it’s not funny, it also makes absolutely no sense. Maybe the ‘humour’ is lost in the translation. A second cartoon is entitled, “The Proof that Europe is Christian,” and depicts a drowned child next to Jesus, whose standing on the water. The caption reads, “Christians walk on waters… Muslims kids sink.” Charlie Hebdo was at the centre of western outrage in January this year, when gunmen – upset at the magazine’s constant mocking of the prophet Mohammed – burst into their headquarters in Paris and murdered 12 people, including editor Stéphane Charbonnier. The attack saw an outpouring of support for the magazine in western nations around the world, and the next edition of Charlie Hebdo sold more than 1 million copies. In stark contrast, a photo of the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi – a young boy fleeing the civil war in Syria – also sparked an outpouring of international support, leading to extraordinary scenes in Europe of people both welcoming and rejecting Syrian refugees. In Australia, it sparked a curious dialing down of the rhetoric used against refugees by both the Abbott Government and the Shorten opposition, with Australia announcing it would take 12,000 refugees from Syria before July next year. At the same time, Australia announced it would widen its bombing campaign in Iraq to include Syria, and the government announced the 12,000 places would focus on the most ‘oppressed minorities’ – a dog whistle to earlier calls to restrict the places to Christian, rather than Muslim, refugees.Hockey players often face inane questions in media interviews. They need to have a little fun sometimes. Enter Ray Kaunisto. The 27-year-old forward with the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings (a Vancouver Canucks affiliate) skilfully snuck seven "meows" into an interview in a video that was posted to YouTube late last month. "Right meow we came out and hit a few guys quickly there, we've got to get in the corners meow and maybe pass the puck a couple more times down in the neutral zone there meow," he said. It's a testament to Kaunisto's skill that he managed to keep a straight face the whole time. The "Meow Game" was made popular by the 2001 film "Super Troopers," in which one officer challenged another to say "meow" 10 times in an interaction with a motorist. As Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo! Sports pointed out, Atlanta Falcons player Thomas DeCoud played the very same game in a 2012 interview. Being hockey lovers, we'll hand this round to Kaunisto. Like Us On Facebook Follow Us On Twitter ALSO ON HUFFPOST:That first Sunday puzzle consisted mostly of direct one-word solutions "with a flavor of current events and general information," as the accompanying box described it. A smaller puzzle in a lighter vein appeared at the bottom of the page. Now, more than 2,500 Sunday crossword puzzles later, the crossword comes in a welter of bewildering guises. Its answers may skid giddily through the entire reach of the diagrams and may consist of many words, truncated words, punning words, words that read backward, words that are doggerel, words that are fiendishly misleading and mercilessly elided. For a feature whose main purpose is entertainment, it is for many an emotional, serious Sunday business, by turns frustrating and heartwarming. "My husband, Moss Hart, and I used to do the puzzle together -- and together we finished it. Now, alas, I cannot always finish it, but I always enjoy it," Kitty Carlisle Hart, the actress who became head of theNew York State Council on the Arts, wrote to the puzzle editor in 1977, after her husband, the playwright, died. Beverly Sills, the opera star and executive, whips through the puzzle in short order (15 or 20 minutes), in pen yet. "There is no better puzzler than I am," she said. "I am 62 now and have been doing it for 45 years. A fan? I'm a fanatic! "You are never famous until you've had your name in a crossword puzzle," she said. "There is a group of people who mail the puzzle to you when your name comes up in it." THE VIRTUOSITY OF THE Times crossword stems from the independence of the three editors who have shaped it: Margaret Farrar, who was a dedicated pioneer from the pastime's beginnings and an arbiter of standards that still apply today; Will Weng, a former head of The Times's metropolitan copy desk, who ruled the puzzle roost from 1969 to 1977 and injected a broad streak of humor and unorthodox orthography, and Eugene T. Maleska, the present editor, an educator, poet and leading authority on the art who has made them, edited them, written about them and created the famous (or infamous, if you find them difficult) thread of connected words known as the stepquote, a quotation that cascades through the puzzle. The origins of the crossword in the Times have rarely been examined. It's not the Pentagon Papers, but for devotees, its birth is a matter of interest. Why, at the beginning of World War II, when the world was exploding at its seams, was The Times fussing about a crossword? Advertisement Continue reading the main story It seems likely that a prime mover in this innovation was Arthur Hays Sulzberger, the publisher, who enjoyed wordsmanship in many ways and was reported to have long been chagrined at the need to buy The Herald Tribune to do a crossword. But the first relevant document in The Times archives is a memo dated Dec. 18, 1941, less than two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to Sulzberger. It came from Lester Markel, the Sunday editor whose fascination with solutions for the cosmos did not seem to extend to crosswords, but who nonetheless conceded that they deserved space, considering what was going on in the world. His note referred to a number of meetings with Margaret Farrar, one of the pioneers of across-and-down, and reported on his conclusions: "We ought to proceed with the puzzle, especially in view of the fact that it is possible that there will now be bleak blackout hours -- or if not that, then certainly a need for relaxation of some kind or other. (That, in turn, raises the qustion of whether we ought not to have a crossword puzzle in the daily also -- but that's a different story.) "We ought not to try to do anything essentially different from what is now being done -- except to do it better." Attached was a memo from Farrar. She wrote: "The great majority of puzzle solvers want a large, challenging, rather hard puzzle, with terse dictionary definitions plus occasional literary, historical and news references. Such a puzzle gives an hour or two of real satisfaction to everyone who tries it. "The smaller puzzle, which would occupy the lower part of the page, could provide variety each Sunday," she continued. "It could be topical, humorous, have rhymed definitions or story definitions or quiz definitions. The combination of these two would offer meat and dessert, and catch the fancy of all types of puzzlers. "The Herald Tribune runs the best puzzle page in existence so far, but they have gotten into a bit of a rut. Their big puzzle never ventures even one imaginative definition, and lacks the plus quality that I believe can be achieved and maintained. Their two diagramless puzzles have, in my experience, a limited appeal. We could, I dare to predict, get the edge on them with the above plan. "I don't think I have to sell you on the increased demand for this kind of pastime in an increasingly worried world. You can't think of your troubles while solving a crossword...." THE FACT THAT relevance would have the last word in defining The Times's puzzle was obvious from the first word of the first crossword. Definition: "Famous one-eyed general." Answer, in six letters: "Wavell," the British general of Western Desert fame. Distraction might be in order, but not enough to make one forget. The puzzle, under Farrar's direction, was an instant success, at least with Sulzberger and Charles Merz, the editor of the editorial page. They competed with each other in solving speeds and constructed puzzles that were published before the first year was out. They were in the company of the finest crossword constructors in the business. Puzzles constructed to Times standards take time to create and, although newcomers and one-shot constructors are welcomed, there are names that show up more often than others at the top of a puzzle. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Maleska has estimated that there are about 500 constructors who can be relied upon for a Times-standard puzzle, about five times as many as he counted 40 years ago. (The reasons, he guesses, are more leisure time, more college-educated people, more interest in crosswords.) Puzzle construction is not the domain of an inside few, although you will see the same names recurring; nor is it anything that anyone, outside of a fortunate few, can make a living out of. Times constructors do other things with most of their time. The roster includes professors, lawyers, housewives and insurance executives. To fashion the orthographic jungle gym that is a crossword puzzle, one must have the talents of a poet and punster -- limited only by the bounds of a good standard dictionary -- and a willingness to keep it clean and tactful. Will Weng says that he never used "tan" as the response to a clue that mentioned the result of sunbathing because he feels that the answer would be meaningless to darker-skinned solvers. Among the many precedents established by Margaret Farrar was the avoidance of the mention of diseases. The Sunday puzzle is usually a 21-box square and features about 140 words, except for once a month, when it goes to 23 boxes across and down and is filled by about 170 words. The black boxes are about a sixth of the total, and all words must meaningfully intersect in a symmetrical pattern that requires the constructor who puts a 14-letter across below or down the side to do the same in the opposite portion. Why? "Because it is prettier," Farrar reportedly explained." Asking how a constructor creates a puzzle is like asking where a poem comes from. Mike Miller, who had displayed constructor genius when he was only 13 years old and gave a course in the art at the New School, wrote that there are two kinds of crossword constructors. The structuralists are attracted by diagrams first of all; they love a good-looking layout. The materialists start with a theme and then set about finding an appropriate diagram it will fit. A constructor may work, logically enough, with paper printed in puzzle-size squares. It is one thing to think of a lollapalooza of a word, but quite another to shoehorn "lollapalooza" into an appropriate dozen-letter space in a puzzle, particularly because, in deference to puzzle symmetry, it must be balanced by another 12-letter word in the mirror quadrant. SOMETIMES A SEASON OR event (Christmas, Labor Day, April Fools' Day) may prompt a theme, and all Sunday puzzles have themes. John M. Samson, the master puzzler who is commissioned to construct the September Book Fair and Christmas puzzles each year, saysthe first challenge is research. "First, you have to get your theme words on a list," he said. "Last Christmas, I was locked in, because I was doing the 12 days of Christmas with all of the things that are in the song. But for the Book Fair puzzle last September, the theme was children's books. I collected the names of many, many books. "Then you have to see what sizes your theme words are. You put down your longer words and make a diagram around it. Unless they're across the center, long, long words must be matched. You enter the longer words in the diagram, to intersect as needed. You may have to change it as you go. What if you've got a nine-letter entry that you find ends in a J, because it intersects with that letter in another word. You try not to deal in too many J's and Q's." Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. The Times prefers to be sparing in the use of proper names that lack specific distinction ("girl's name," "boy's name" and so on) and even of celebrities whose eclat may dim by the time the puzzle is actually published. Brand names are unwelcome and so are "strained re-words," that is, the likes of "rehesitate" and "redrown." The constructor is urged, but not absolutely commanded, to avoid difficult crossings, as in intersection by two words that almost no readers will easily recognize. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Many constructors agree that the hardest part of their job is forging new definitions. "You can take a simple puzzle with ordinary words and search in libraries for clues that can make a puzzle extraordinarily difficult," said A. J. Santora, a constructor who was actually in the building construction business. "On the other hand, you can take difficult words and have them cross, but with easier clues. Everything depends upon the clues." Maura B. Jacobson is an unabashed punster, as shown by her "International Double Plays" of last Nov. 3, in which "GrandKenyanSwede" was the answer to "Ferde Grofe opus." "In that puzzle, I had the answer 'trees,' but how to define it?" she said. " 'Nesting places?' 'Poem by Kilmer?' Those are common. You could go to the dictionary for many definitions, but if you want something more interesting, you may have to look further. I came up with 'arboretum specimens.' How about 'ex-ember' for 'ash,' which might otherwise be'shade of blond' or 'cigarette dropping.' "It takes me four days to make a Times Sunday puzzle," she said. "Some do it faster. I spend at least 10 or 12 hours making definitions. My research takes a day, then a day to get the words into the diagram to make them cross. But the hardest is making the definitions." Maleska added: "I and all editors change about a third of the definitions. I have a notebook filled with definitions so that I don't repeat them. For instance, 'eel,' which I try not to define as 'conger.' Here are four definitions: 'one of the apodes,' 'to sniggle,' 'kingklip,''spitchcock.' " FOR MANY PUZZLERS, happiness is finding an error. Maleska established a New York Times Crossword Puzzle Gotcha Club, which awards a certificate to those who spot slips. This editor, who blends academic discipline with poetic fancy with humorous vagaries and is probably the most knowledgeable storehouse of crossword lore, has learned from every error: Bambi is a stag, not a doe; frets are not violin attachments; "Et tu, Brute?" were Caesar's penultimate words; a tuba's sound is "oom," not "oom-pah-pah." On the other hand, he has heard from more people who thought they were right, although they were wrong. Farrar used to tell of complaints from readers who had telephoned the Globe Theater in New York to get the answer to her "Manager of the Globe Theater," only to learn that the manager's name didn't fit the 11-box opening in the puzzle. Of course not: the correct answer was "Shakespeare." Maleska has rebutted failed Gotchas for criticisms of mots justes attested in the bible of editors, Webster's New International Dictionary (Second Edition), exasperating but orthographically correct words like "fillet," "indexes," "mumpsimus" and "calepin." Will Weng, a Midwesterner, was somewhat taken aback early in his puzzle career when readers were ineluctably drawn into writing a common word of abuse -- in Yiddish, the word is a vulgarism for the male sex organ -- as a down-word meaning "oaf." Weng, one of nature's born checkers, pointed to the definition he had in his dictionary, which made no mention of vulgarisms. That is an example of how words travel through time and culture, dressing in different meanings as they go. Advertisement Continue reading the main story There is a remarkable individuality that emerges from a study of each editor's Sunday puzzle. Farrar, who died at the age of 87 in 1984, made inroads on stodginess, all the while maintaining standards of language and decency. She engineered the breakthrough, quietly inserting, as the puzzle became popular, new looks, multiwords, themes and puns. Farrar, whose husband was John Farrar, co-founder of the publishing firm Farrar, Straus & Giroux, had as much experience as one could have had with crosswords by the time she inaugurated The Times's puzzle. She had come as secretary in 1919 to the Sunday department of The New York World, where crosswords had been born six years earlier and where she assiduously double-checked the puzzles. In 1924, Simon & Schuster, the publishing house that at that time consisted of only two young men named Simon and Schuster, with no books to publish, retained Farrar and two World colleagues to produce the first crossword-puzzle book. It was instantly successful. The company now publishes 16 crossword-puzzle books a year under its Fireside imprint, with annual sales of several hundred thousand, including previously published books and six books of new crosswords a year, now edited by Maleska and Samson, one of the few constructors who says he makes a full-time living at it. It was from this background that Farrar ascended to the post of Times puzzle editor. Weng's stewardship embodied the spirit of sheer fun, at least for the more adventurous puzzlers. "I can't say that I did more than loosen things up," Weng said. "Margaret Farrar had broken a lot of puzzle taboos, and then she felt there was so much battling that she sort of gave up after a while. "When I came along, I didn't have to contend with people who took the old-fashioned view that a word in an answer should only be a word, not two words, not a phrase." ACCORDING TO WENG, who is still active as head of a puzzle club, there are no rules. "Each editor picks up what works for him and has the final say on what can or cannot be run. My only limitations are the bounds of decency, the laws of libel or anything like that. I probably leaned over backward so as not to get controversial or sexy." Maleska's first New York Times puzzle appeared within a year after the introduction of crosswords there. He has innovated, he has kicked over the traces and he has always kept an eye open for new talent. Those who criticize him for pedantry overlook the sprightly doggerel that constantly crops up in the puzzles he constructs and edits. For instance, perfectly normal words will be broken into inconceivable solutions, like "stonewalled," which is satisfied by "boulderstreetmcmahon." Advertisement Continue reading the main story "Entertainment is the first goal," said Maleska. "But there is a role to enlighten. 'Foe' used to be defined as 'enemy.' I like to say 'Howe to Washington' or 'Wellington to Bonaparte.' I'm 76 years old now, but I was once a young Turk. When I was about 20, I fretted over things in the puzzle world, like the strict definitions that were always the same. "When I constructing puzzles for The Herald Tribune during the 1930's and 1940's, crosswords were in decline because the same old definitions were appearing time after time. I asked if I could try some sparkling definitions. I gave them 'when both hands are up,' for which the answer was 'noon,' and 'nutcracker's suite' for 'nest.' In the mid-1960's I was contributing to The New York Times puzzle. During that time I invented the first stepquote and copyrighted it. That one brought a phone call to Margaret Farrar, the editor. It was a doctor who wanted her to explain it, because he had two nurses in the office who were so busy trying to do it that they were not doing their jobs." Alfio Micci started constructing puzzles about 20 years ago, a decade before he retired as a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. His first Times Sunday puzzle punned on composers, with answers like "Bizet signal," "Handel with care," "Haydn go seek." "I was a violinist with that orchestra for 31 years, and I constructed puzzles during intermissions and on the bus going from Manhattan to home in New Jersey," Micci said. "Funny, I got more attention for doing puzzles than for playing the violin. Leonard Bernstein was a big puzzle fan. So was Erich Leinsdorf, and that was remarkable because his native tongue was German." Frances Hansen has become famous in crossword squares for her lively humor and for puzzles that included rebuses in the shape of words that crowded, rebuslike, into one square, like "flag," or "owl." "As soon as I finish one, I think about the next one," she says. "Even if I'm at the dentist, I'm thinking about it in the chair." And while there is no record of a crossword taking a human life, an anecdote from Hansen suggests further study. "I know nurses do them," she said. "When I was in the hospital, they posted the puzzle on the bulletin board and, every time one passed it, she penciled in a word." Richard F. Shepard recently retired from The Times, where he was a reporter and editor for 40 years.Advertisement It may not be appreciated by the disillusioned masses, but there are at least two very good reasons to keep an eye on Manchester United and Chelsea this season. The goalkeepers. David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois were quite exceptional. Faultless, one might say, and not just because they didn’t have much to do. This was really quite a good game, despite those twin zeros. Manchester United were livelier than they have been for some time and Chelsea carved out some extremely good chances, although not many of them, due to the absence of a specialist goalscorer. Even so, the reason the match stayed goalless, beyond some wasteful finishing, was De Gea and Courtois. Both made outstanding saves and, when Courtois could not, the woodwork came to Chelsea’s rescue. It was a useful point for the visitors, more so than Manchester United, but it is not a result that should affect Louis van Gaal’s job prospects dramatically. This is United’s longest run without a win since 1990 and their sixth 0-0 draw at Old Trafford this season, and that is not a good look on any manager. Nemanja Matic wasted the best chance of the match by firing the ball over David de Gea's goal when he had plenty of time and space The Serbia international reacts by putting his hand on his protective mask after seeing his effort sail over the woodwork at Old Trafford Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera came close to scoring from close range however Thibaut Courtois dived down to his left Herrera hides his face in disappointment after squandering a golden opportunity for Manchester United during the second half Belgium international Courtois was already diving the right way when he kept out Herrera's effort with minimal fuss MATCH FACTS, STATS, PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE FROM OLD TRAFFORD MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea 8.5; Young 7, Smalling 6, Blind 5.5 (Jones 81), Darmian 6 (Borthwick-Jackson 70, 6.5); Schneiderlin 7, Schweinsteiger 6.5; Mata 6 (Depay 77, 5), Herrera 7, Martial 7.5; Rooney 6 Booked: Smalling, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Rooney Subs not used: Romero, Carrick, Fellaini, Pereira CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois 8; Ivanovic 5, Zouma 6.5, Terry 6.5, Azpilicueta 6; Mikel 6, Matic 5; Willian 5.5 (Ramires 70, 6), Oscar 6 (Loftus-Cheek 93), Pedro 6.5; Hazard 7.5 Booked: Mikel, Hazard Subs not used: Begovic, Baba, Traore, Djilobodji, Kenedy Referee: Martin Atkinson 7 Attendance: 75,275 Ratings by Chris Wheeler Wayne Rooney's pitch map shows his touches in the attacking third — click here for more of our brilliant Match Zone Yet Ed Woodward, the Manchester United chief executive, does not want to sack Van Gaal – not least because it would reflect poorly on him – and this game did not give him great reason to act. Swansea and Sheffield United at home, and Newcastle away, are up next, all winnable matches, and Woodward will be hoping Van Gaal’s luck changes naturally. The league table continues to make unpleasant viewing though; United are in sixth place, nine points off leaders Arsenal, and could be 11 points shy if Leicester beat Manchester City. Not that a Manchester City win would be hugely preferable – that would leave United trailing their annoying neighbours by eight points. Of course, Chelsea would swap places in a heartbeat. They are 15 points off the Champions League spots and three points off relegation. When Chelsea’s fans mocked Manchester United’s Champions League exit with a chant of ‘Thursday night, Channel 5’ – an insult that would have hurt BT just as much, having had the rights to Europa League football since the start of the season – they were crushed instantly with a riposte of ‘Going down, going down’. It rather summed up the reduced status of this fixture. When the list came out it would have been seen as a potential title decider, after all. Delightfully, though, it was not the damp squib many expected. The scoreline may have been predictable but the football was not. It didn’t look like sixth versus 16th – the position of both teams at kick-off – and United in particular were vastly improved. Not dull, not dour, not cagey – for the first hour at least they went at it hammer and tongs, on the front foot like the good old days. Manchester United could have been awarded a penalty when Willian raised his hand to control the ball inside the penalty area The attacking midfielder was not penalised despite touching the ball with his hand despite not being pressurised by a United player Wayne Rooney could have been sent off for a late lunge on Oscar, however referee Martin Atkinson deemed the foul to be a yellow SUPER STAT FROM OLD TRAFFORD Manchester United have gone eight games without victory in all competitions - their last win was against Watford on November 21. This is their longest winless run since January 1990. Considering the torpor that had preceded this, even in home games, it was hard to tell whether United’s players had sniffed the wind and decided to ignore Van Gaal’s conservative instincts, or whether a retro blast of high tempo attacking football was the manager’s last attempt to keep his job. Either way, it worked. United went in at half-time goalless, but not to the familiar derision. This was their best 0-0 of the season – an ambitious 0-0, at least until late in the game when the rigours of holiday football seemed to take their toll. United started early, the game just three minutes old when Rooney fed the ball back to Juan Mata, whose shot was smacked against the bar. It seemed to set the standard – seven minutes later, Rooney laid the ball to Morgan Schneiderlin, from an Ander Herrera cross, and the Frenchman’s shot flew narrowly wide. Anthony Martial, deployed on the left, came close after 18 minutes, cutting inside and striking a shot that defeated Courtois but not the near post – and Rooney had an ambitious effort from a full 30 yards out athletically tipped over by Courtois approaching the half hour. His best was yet to come, however. In the 56th minute, Herrera was in an excellent position to convert a Martial cross from close range. The Belgian scrambled across and somehow met the ball, saving and clearing at the same time. Late on, substitute Cameron Borthwick-Jackson found Rooney at the far post, but his shot was wild. It was a pity. He had played well until that point, linking excellently and working hard, as usual. That does not mean Manchester United would not benefit from a 25-goal striker, though. Rooney is a different player to five years ago. Rooney failed to test Courtois earlier on in the game when it looked like the United captain was going to put his side in the lead Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea stretches out his hands to deny fellow countryman Cesar Azpilicueta during the 0-0 draw De Gea also saved from fellow countryman Pedro before getting back on to his feet to keep out Azpilicueta Manchester United captain Rooney and Kurt Zouma compete for the ball as they do battle during an aerial challenge Chelsea attacking midfielder Willian (left) and Morgan Schneiderlin (right) stretch as they compete for the ball during a challenge EA SPORTS DISTANCE STATS Mins KM Miles Manchester United 113.5 70.5 Ander Herrera 90 12.0 7.5 Bastian Schweinsteiger 90 11.9 7.4 Morgan Schneiderlin 90 11.8 7.4 Chelsea 109.4 68.0 Nemanja Matic 90 11.6 7.2 Eden Hazard 90 11.5 7.1 Oscar 90 11.2 7.0 Chelsea were short of a striker, too, although their problems are temporary. Diego Costa – who scored two goals in a game for the first time since January, then picked up the yellow card that triggered a suspension to ensure he, and his club, could not capitalise on it – was absent and Loic Remy stayed on the bench, meaning forward duties were shared between Eden Hazard, Oscar and Pedro. Hazard was the most central figure and took the requisite kicking. They were queuing up for him – Chris Smalling, then Herrera, then Daley Blind. Referee Martin Atkinson could definitely have afforded more protection. Rooney was fortunate too, in the second half, when a quite dreadful challenge on Oscar only drew a yellow card. He was high, late and seemed to ignore the ball for the man. It could easily have been a straight red card. And, earlier, a penalty to United, too. Willian, in lots of space, miscontrolled the ball and brought it to order only with what appeared the deliberate use of his left arm. Atkinson was already anticipating the clearance and was looking upfield. Where the linesman was looking, God knows. Yet, while Chelsea rode their luck, they also produced several quite excellent chances that could have won the game with better finishing and less efficient goalkeeping. In the fifth minute, John Terry met a corner from the right and forced a brilliant save from De Gea and, at the start of the second half he was needed again. Hazard set Pedro clear and he jinked into the penalty area only for De Gea to block his shot. Cesar Azpilicueta was first to the rebound and De Gea saved again. He didn’t have a whole lot to do, but what he did was impressive. Fortunately, on the one occasion he could have been in trouble, Chelsea blew the chance. Nemanja Matic broke through alone after a sweet pass from Pedro but, a full stride ahead of the pursuing pack, he snatched at his finish and ballooned it over the bar. It’s fair to say he’s a better screen than a shot. Bastian Schweinsteiger goes down under a challenge by Matic as fellow midfielder John Obi Mikel keeps a close eye on the ball Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata was playing against his former side, he left rivals Chelsea in January 2014 Herrera (left), Matteo Darmian (centre) and Schneiderlin (right) line up a defensive wall as Chelsea prepare to take a free-kick The Spanish midfielder knew he should have done better when he was allowed to test Chelsea's No 1 from close range De Gea puts his right hand in the air to deny Chelsea skipper John Terry the chance of opening the scoring against his side Rooney (centre) exchanges words with former international team-mate Terry (right) during the contest at Old Trafford Under-fire Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal waves to the Old Trafford faithful ahead of the Premier League clash against Chelsea Mata touches hands with Van Gaal after the Spanish playmaker is replaced by team-mate Memphis Depay in the 77th minute Van Gaal closely watches proceedings alongside his assistants Ryan Giggs (right) and Albert Stuivenberg (left) Van Gaal's opposite number and long-time rival Guus Hiddink watches on as his Chelsea laboured to a goalless draw with United Former team-mates Eden Hazard, who led Chelsea's forward line, and Mata embrace as they make their way off the pitch at Old Trafford Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands to watch his former side in action at Old Trafford Red Devils chief executive Ed Woodward, his predecessor David Gill and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton were all watching A supporter exchanges words with Van Gaal following the final whistle at Old Trafford, United are without a win in their last eight gamesA popular ingredient in beauty products could be creating a new environmental threat. The potentially dangerous contaminants are known as "microbeads," and are no bigger than a grain of salt. The tiny plastics are common in face and body washes. Scientist Marcus Eriksen says the beads soak up pesticides and chemicals after they are washed down the drain. "By the time the plastic gets downstream towards the ocean, they become these toxic pills," he said. "Even a small microbead, as it tumbles down stream, is picking up all kinds of industrial chemicals." Eriksen is the executive director of the environmental advocacy group, 5 Gyres, and says up to 300,000 microbeads can be found in one tube of face scrub. Eriksen believes many water treatment plants cannot filter out the tiny plastics, allowing them to flow into the ocean or waterways,where they can be mistaken for food. "Big fish eat little fish, eventually the fish is on your dinner plate," Eriksen said. "And you're eating that fish, along with all the toxins it consumed along the way." The Environmental Protection Agency is looking into potential dangers after Eriksen and his team uncovered high concentrations of microbeads in the Great Lakes. "The same size, the same color, the same texture, in the same composition as the microbeads that we found [in the Great Lakes], we collected from common facial scrubbers on store shelves," Eriksen said. "They were the same color--little blue and red perfect spheres." Several major cosmetic companies, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate-Palmolive have already pledged to phase out the use of microbeads. Johnson and Johnson's Senior Communications Director, Carol Goodrich, says the company will eliminate microbeads from half its products by the end of next year.This article is from the archive of our partner. A presidential candidate who wants to be taken seriously probably shouldn't come across as willing to accept a VP nod on the ticket of another contender. Jon Huntsman made that mistake Monday night in an interview with CNN's crafty Piers Morgan. The candidate remarked that he'd "absolutely" serve as the veep for Michele Bachmann, and today's headlines pounced on the admission. However, to be fair to Huntsman, in the actual clip he merely gives a meandering confirmation to Morgan that ended with the word "absolutely." To which Morgan segues, "that's an unusual admission, I would say," before equating the sentiment with "potential defeat." At this point, the moderate Republican seems to catch on and claims the digression was a "hypothetical conversation." By the end of the clip, it also looks like Huntsman was wishing he was back on ABC News's This Week. This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.• Striker is back with the Seagulls as a former England player • Zamora will add firepower to the club’s Championship campaign Brighton & Hove Albion have re-signed their cult hero Bobby Zamora on a one-year contract. The former England international, who left Queens Park Rangers at the end of last season, made his name with Brighton, scoring 83 goals in just over three seasons between 2000 and 2003. Chris Hughton, the manager, told Brighton’s official website: “We are absolutely delighted to have brought Bobby back. He needs absolutely no introduction here. The Albion fans know everything about him, from his achievements in a Brighton shirt and right through his time with Spurs, West Ham, Fulham and QPR. “I also know Bobby well, having worked with him during his time at Spurs, and he is a great professional; I know he will bring plenty of experience
Gen. P. N. Thapar, is brother-in-law of Nayantara Sehgal, the daughter of Vijaylakshmi Pandit and niece of Jawaharlal Nehru. Gen. Thapar’s son is pro-Congress journalist Karan Thapar. Gen. Thapar’s sister is Romila Thapar, a famous “top” typical JNU Nehruvian communist ideologue historian, who gets to write our textbooks and pollute them with pro-Congress Marxist propaganda.15. Or even what about little known Lokmat (and IBN Lokmat) that is Marathi newspaper (and channel) in Maharashtra? Owner and editors-in-chief are the brothers Vijay Darda (Congress MP) and Rajendra Darda (Congress MLA in Maharashtra, and minister in state govt).17 Vinod Mehta - Outlook editor has been well known to take anti BJP stand.The typical JNU Nehruvian communist left-libbers ideologues have really perpetrated some kind of stranglehold on India’s journalism, media and intellectual space.But very few centre-right ideologues are left in India’s media space today, that too in minor publications like The Pioneer. Almost all the mainstream media houses have been thoroughly infiltrated and coerced into towing the Congress’ line, sometimes just through ideology and relationships, and not even money power.(thanks toIt's become an article of faith among politicians, investors and entrepreneurs that the Internet — and access to it — is an economic engine. It helps connect Americans to education and government services. It serves as a platform for new ideas and companies that wind up changing the world. And it reduces costs for consumers and businesses everywhere. With that in mind, a new study finds that access to next-generation Internet speeds may be connected to better economic growth. According to a report by the Boston-based Analysis Group, cities that offer broadband at 1 gigabit per second — roughly 100 times the national average of 10 megabits per second — report higher per-capita GDP compared to cities that lack those Internet speeds. Of course, all the normal caveats apply: It's hard to draw a causal inference from the study, and it's possible there's something else about the 14 gigabit cities that made them better off to begin with. Still, the paper's methodology seems relatively straightforward. Drawing from federal statistics, the Analysis Group identified 14 metropolitan areas, such as Chattanooga, Tenn., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Salem, Ore., where over half of the population had access to gigabit speeds in 2011 and 2012. Then the researchers compared those areas against 41 neighboring cities where gigabit Internet wasn't widely available. Cities with gigabit connections reported 1.1 percent higher per-capita GDP than their slower counterparts, the study found. That might not sound like much, but consider that per-capita GDP in the entire United States has been growing at a pace of one to two percent a year since the recession, according to the World Bank. If you add it all up, that amounts to $1.4 billion in extra growth, the study says. The findings are consistent with predictions from economists that Internet access will enhance U.S. productivity. More than a decade ago, Alice Rivlin and Robert Litan observed in a Brookings Institution report that investments in information technology helped drive annual productivity growth in the 1990s past three percent. "Isolating the potential impact of the Internet on productivity is important," they wrote, "because even a few tenths of a percent impact on the growth rate could represent a significant portion of any permanent surge in productivity that is maintained in the future."CALL FOR WRITERS – REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience Inspiring Future Generations: Challenging the Forced Incarceration through Acts of Resistance Graphic Novel Deadline: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 4:30pm. Applications must be received by the deadline, no postmarks. PROJECT SUMMARY The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (The Wing) seeks one (1) professional writer to write the text and related curriculum for a graphic novel to share the history and significance of the Japanese American Resisters during World War II. The Wing is working with community stakeholders to develop content for a graphic novel, stand-alone chapter and curriculum guide, which will be distributed to schools and libraries, through The Wing and other outlets. An animated short produced by the Seattle Channel will also be made based on the stand-alone chapter. The Wing will be facilitating ongoing meetings with a group of 14 community members to guide the project. This project is generously supported by the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program. MUSEUM BACKGROUND The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (The Wing) is the only pan-Asian Pacific American museum in the nation, the first Smithsonian Institution affiliate in the Pacific Northwest, and an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Our mission is to connect everyone to the rich history, dynamic cultures and art of Asian Pacific Americans through vivid storytelling and inspiring experiences. The Wing is nationally recognized for its community-based exhibition model. For more information on our community-based process, visit our website (http://www.wingluke.org/; see LEARN tab; then Community Process). BACKGROUND INFORMATION The stories of Japanese Americans who fought for Constitutional and civil rights by challenging the forced incarceration and military draft during World War II are ones of courage, valor and sacrifice. Deemed “disloyal” by both the U.S. government and some within the Japanese American community, these Resisters became outcasts. Those who defied the forced removal were arrested and imprisoned. So called “No-No Boys” and renunciants were segregated in the Tule Lake concentration camp. And those who resisted the military draft were sent to federal prison. Resisters in the military, legal challengers, and protesters within the concentration camps reflect the many different ways Japanese Americans resisted the World War II incarceration. Through their experiences and actions, we explore what it means to be an American; come to greater understanding the words “liberty and justice for all”; and are inspired to protect Constitutional and civil rights today, ensuring that these injustices never happen again. The stories of the Resisters present the other, necessary, side to those who chose to serve in the military and are indelibly linked to the Japanese American confinement sites. Through "Inspiring Future Generations: Challenging the Forced Incarceration through Acts of Resistance," The Wing will connect these uncommonly told confinement site stories to the present and future generations through creation of a graphic novel based on the challenges of and sacrifices made by approximately five World War II Japanese American Resisters. Interpretation and Education through Graphic Novel, Stand-Alone Chapter, Animated Short and Curriculum Guide The graphic novel will be comprised of five chapters, each based on a real life World War II Japanese American Resister. An example is Seattle-born Gene Akutsu, a second-generation (Nisei) born in Seattle who spent his pre-war childhood in Seattle’s Japantown (Nihonmachi), was incarcerated at the Minidoka concentration camp, refused to participate in the military draft, and was imprisoned at McNeil Island Penitentiary. In addition to the graphic novel, a stand-alone chapter and animated video short focused on the experience of one (1) Resister will be produced. A curriculum guide that can be used both with the full graphic novel as well as the stand-alone chapter and animated video short to provide best flexibility for classroom use will also be created. In addition to distribution of the graphic novels and curriculum at schools and libraries and at The Wing, a project website page will be created to provide access to the novel, stand-alone chapter, animated video short and curriculum further extending the project’s impact. This project is the second in a series of graphic novels. The first told the story of six World War II Japanese American military veterans. For more about the project, Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers, visit its website page at: http://www.wingluke.org/fighting-for-america. SCOPE OF WORK This project includes: - Text for graphic novel and curriculum guide as per deliverables schedule - Consultation with The Wing staff, project illustrator, and review by the community committee - Coordination with the Seattle Channel team for production of the animated video short - Deliverables include: text drafts and final text for graphic novel and curriculum guide - The size and page number of the graphic novel is TBD. SELECTION CRITERIA Selection criteria will be based on demonstrated excellence in writing, collaborative experience, and experience with Asian Pacific American communities. Prior experience writing graphic novels, comic books or poetry is preferred. Familiarity with the Resisters experience and Japanese American incarceration is preferred. K-12 education experience preferred. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS This Call is open to Writers residing in the U.S. Please submit: - Cover letter (no more than 2 pages) - Resume - 1-2 samples of previous work, printed hard copies or on a CD or emailed, of relevant work to the project - Annotated publication list (including publication, and title and date of work) Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage for return of CD. The Wing will make every effort to protect submitted materials; however, the Museum will not be responsible for any loss or damage. Please mark clearly on your cover letter “Resisters Graphic Novel” and/or email subject line for your submission’s consideration. Please send submissions to: Wing Luke Museum Resisters Project Attention: Cassie Chinn 719 South King Street Seattle, WA 98104 Email: cchinn@wingluke.org Submission deadline: Required materials must be received no later than 4:30pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. Applications must be received by the deadline, no postmarks. We will not review incomplete or late submissions. * * * CALL FOR ARTISTS – REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience Inspiring Future Generations: Challenging the Forced Incarceration through Acts of Resistance Graphic Novel Deadline: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 4:30pm. Applications must be received by the deadline, no postmarks. PROJECT SUMMARY The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (The Wing) seeks one (1) professional artist to illustrate and design a graphic novel to share the history and significance of Japanese American Resisters during World War II. The Wing is working with community stakeholders to develop content for a graphic novel, stand-alone chapter and curriculum guide, which will be distributed to schools and libraries, through The Wing and other outlets. An animated short produced by the Seattle Channel will also be made based on the stand-alone chapter. The Wing will be facilitating ongoing meetings with a group of 14 community members to guide the project. This project is generously supported by the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program. MUSEUM BACKGROUND The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (The Wing) is the only pan-Asian Pacific American museum in the nation, the first Smithsonian Institution affiliate in the Pacific Northwest, and an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Our mission is to connect everyone to the rich history, dynamic cultures and art of Asian Pacific Americans through vivid storytelling and inspiring experiences. The Wing is nationally recognized for its community-based exhibition model. For more information on our community-based process, visit our website (http://www.wingluke.org/; see LEARN tab; then Community Process). BACKGROUND INFORMATION The stories of Japanese Americans who fought for Constitutional and civil rights by challenging the forced incarceration and military draft during World War II are ones of courage, valor and sacrifice. Deemed “disloyal” by both the U.S. government and some within the Japanese American community, these Resisters became outcasts. Those who defied the forced removal were arrested and imprisoned. So called “No-No Boys” and renunciants were segregated in the Tule Lake concentration camp. And those who resisted the military draft were sent to federal prison. Resisters in the military, legal challengers, and protesters within the concentration camps reflect the many different ways Japanese Americans resisted the World War II incarceration. Through their experiences and actions, we explore what it means to be an American; come to greater understanding the words “liberty and justice for all”; and are inspired to protect Constitutional and civil rights today, ensuring that these injustices never happen again. The stories of the Resisters present the other, necessary, side to those who chose to serve in the military and are indelibly linked to the Japanese American confinement sites. Through "Inspiring Future Generations: Challenging the Forced Incarceration through Acts of Resistance," The Wing will connect these uncommonly told confinement site stories to the present and future generations through creation of a graphic novel based on the challenges of and sacrifices made by approximately five World War II Japanese American Resisters. Interpretation and Education through Graphic Novel, Stand-Alone Chapter, Animated Short and Curriculum Guide The graphic novel will be comprised of five chapters, each based on a real life World War II Japanese American Resister. An example is Seattle-born Gene Akutsu, a second-generation (Nisei) born in Seattle who spent his pre-war childhood in Seattle’s Japantown (Nihonmachi), was incarcerated at the Minidoka concentration camp, refused to participate in the military draft, and was imprisoned at McNeil Island Penitentiary. In addition to the graphic novel, a stand-alone chapter and animated video short focused on the experience of one (1) Resister will be produced. A curriculum guide that can be used both with the full graphic novel as well as the stand-alone chapter and animated video short to provide best flexibility for classroom use will also be created. In addition to distribution of the graphic novels and curriculum at schools and libraries and at The Wing, a project website page will be created to provide access to the novel, stand-alone chapter, animated video short and curriculum further extending the project’s impact. This project is the second in a series of graphic novels. The first told the story of six World War II Japanese American military veterans. For more about the project, Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers, visit its website page at: http://www.wingluke.org/fighting-for-america. SCOPE OF WORK This project includes: - Sketches and design drafts as per deliverables schedule - Consultation with The Wing staff, project text writer, and review by the community committee - Coordination with the Seattle Channel team for production of the animated video short - Deliverables include: production-ready illustrations and text in graphic novel format, including art panels and full page layouts and production-ready cover art and design; electronic images that are ready for website and other promotion - The size and page number of the graphic novel is TBD. SELECTION CRITERIA Selection criteria will be based on artistic excellence, collaborative experience, and experience with Asian Pacific American communities. Familiarity with the Resisters experience and Japanese American incarceration is preferred. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS This Call is open to Artists residing in the U.S. Please submit: - Cover letter (no more than 2 pages) - Resume - 4 samples of illustrations and 3 additional samples of illustration or design work, jpegs on a CD or emailed, of relevant work to the project (total size of emailed files must be less than 10MB) - Annotated image list (including brief description, and title of work, dimensions and medium, if applicable) Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage for return of CD. The Wing will make every effort to protect submitted materials; however, the Museum will not be responsible for any loss or damage. Please mark clearly on your cover letter “Resisters Graphic Novel” and/or email subject line for your submission’s consideration. Please send submissions to: Wing Luke Museum Resisters Project Attention: Cassie Chinn 719 South King Street Seattle, WA 98104 Email: cchinn@wingluke.org Submission deadline: Required materials must be received no later than 4:30pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. Applications must be received by the deadline, no postmarks. We will not review incomplete or late submissions. Calling all writers and artists! The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is launching a graphic novel project, and they're looking for a professional artist and writer to help make it happen. The project, entitled, shares the history and significance of the Japanese American Resisters story.The Wing is working with community stakeholders to develop content for a graphic novel, stand-alone chapter and curriculum guide, which will be distributed to schools and libraries and through the museum. An animated short produced by the Seattle Channel will also be made based on the stand-alone chapter.This project is the second in a series of graphic novels. The first book Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers by Lawrence Matsuda and Matt Sasaki, told the story of six World War II Japanese American military veterans.Required materials for the submission deadline must be received no later than 4:30pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. For further information about the project, including the submission process, selection criteria and scope of work, view the two requests for qualifications below.For further information, contact Cassie Chinn at (206) 623-5124 x131, or cchinn@wingluke.org.The European Union and Mexico accelerate trade talks at the same time as America turns its back on the world. The European Union and Mexico have committed to deepening their economies ties in the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States. In a statement released last week, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Mexican economy secretary Ildefonso Guajardo announced that they would hold talks in April and June to renew a 2000 trade agreement between the two sides. The EU hopes to expand the trade deal to broaden property rights protection, lower tariffs and include public tenders as well as trade in energy products and raw materials. Standing up I suggesting here last week that updating the EU-Mexico trade agreement would be one way for Europe to reaffirm its belief in open borders and shared prosperity in the era of Trump. Guajardo and Malmström recognized the pact is about more than economic benefits. “Together, we are witnessing the worrying rise of protectionism around the world,” they said. “Side by side, as likeminded partners, we must now stand up for the idea of global, open cooperation.” Making Mexico pay Immediately after taking office, Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans Pacific Partnership, a proposed free-trade zone for East Asia and Latin America. He has also vowed to make Mexico pay for a border wall, possibly in the form of tariffs (which would really be paid by American consumers), and raised the possibility of withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has been a huge boon to the Mexican economy since coming into force in 1994. The EU is Mexico’s third largest trading partner after the United States and China. Trade in goods has more than doubled since the 2000 deal, to €53 billion in 2015.Partitioning with the STL Partitioning a collection consists in reordering it so that the elements that satisfy a given predicate are moved up to the beginning, and those that don’t satisfy it are moved down after them. The first element that does not satisfy the predicate is called the partition point. This is also the end of the subrange of elements that do satisfy the predicate: Performing a partitioning with the STL std::partition accepts a range and a predicate, and reorders the elements of the range so that they are partitioned according to this predicate: template<typename ForwardIterator, typename Predicate> ForwardIterator partition(ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator last, Predicate p); 1 2 template < typename ForwardIterator, typename Predicate > ForwardIterator partition ( ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator last, Predicate p ) ; std::partition returns an iterator to the partition point of the reordered range. Its complexity is O(n). std::partition does not guarantee to keep the order of elements that satisfy (resp. don’t satisfy) the predicate. If you need this guarantee, use std::stable_partition. std::stable_partition also returns an iterator to the partition point of the reordered range. EDIT: As Jason Turner pointed out when discussing this article on CppCast, std::stable_partition, contrary to the other algorithms, is allowed to attempt to allocate a temporary buffer. Its complexity is then O(n) if it there is enough extra memory to allocate it, and O(n.log(n)) otherwise. If you need to leave the range unchanged and have the output somewhere else, use std::partition_copy. It writes outputs in 2 ranges: the first one for elements that satisfy the predicate, and the second one for elements that don’t. std::partition_copy returns a pair of iterators, pointing respectively to the end of the first output range and to the end of the second one. Here is its interface: template<typename InputIt, typename OutputIt1, typename OutputIt2, typename Predicate> std::pair<OutputIt1, OutputIt2> partition_copy(InputIt first, InputIt last, OutputIt first_true, OutputIt first_false, Predicate p); 1 2 3 4 5 template < typename InputIt, typename OutputIt1, typename OutputIt2, typename Predicate > std :: pair < OutputIt1, OutputIt2 > partition_copy ( InputIt first, InputIt last, OutputIt first_true, OutputIt first_false, Predicate p ) ; Checking for partitioning properties of a range To check whether a range is partitioned according to a certain predicate, use std::is_partitioned. Here is its interface: template<typename InputIt, typename Predicate> bool is_partitioned(InputIt first, InputIterator last, Predicate p); 1 2 template < typename InputIt, typename Predicate > bool is_partitioned ( InputIt first, InputIterator last, Predicate p ) ; And to get the partition point of a partitioned range, use std::partition_point : template<typename ForwardIterator, typename Predicate> ForwardIterator partition_point(ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator last, Predicate p); 1 2 3 4 template < typename ForwardIterator, typename Predicate > ForwardIterator partition_point ( ForwardIterator first, ForwardIterator last, Predicate p ) ; Much like std::is_sorted_until that we saw in Sorting with the STL, Boost adds an is_partitioned_until function. This algorithm takes a range and a predicate, and returns the iterator of the first position from which the range is no longer partitioned. Thanks to Alexander Zaitsev for pointing out this algorithm! Examples of things that can be achieved with partitioning lower_bound, upper_bound and equal_range As pointed out in Elements of Programming, std::lower_bound can be implemented by using partitioning algorithms. Indeed, every element x preceding the the lower bound of a range for a given value a satisfies the predicate x < a. The lower bound is the first element that does not satisfy this predicate, so the lower bound of a is effectively the partition point for the predicate x < a. So a possible implementation for lower_bound is: template<typename ForwardIt, typename T> ForwardIterator lower_bound(ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last, const T& value) { return std::partition_point(first, last, [value](const auto& x){return x < value;}); } 1 2 3 4 5 template < typename ForwardIt, typename T > ForwardIterator lower_bound ( ForwardIt first, ForwardIt last, const T & value ) { return std :: partition_point ( first, last, [ value ] ( const auto & x ) { return x < value ; } ) ; } The same applies for std::upper_bound, with the predicate!(a < x). And lower_bound and upper_bound can themselves be used to implement std::equal_range. gather This example is taken from Sean Parent’s very popular talk C++ Seasoning that he gave at GoingNative 2013. How to gather up at a given position all elements of a range that satisfy a predicate? That is, how to get from here…: …to there? This can in fact be achieved fairly easily with std::stable_partition. The idea is to view the initial range as 2 parts: [begin, position[ and [position, end[, and apply a stable partition on [begin, position[, that puts all the elements that satisfy the predicate at the end (so partition with the negation of the predicate) apply a stable partition on [position, end[ that pulls up all the elements that satisfy the element of the range. Each call to std::stable_partition returns the corresponding partition point, which happen to be respectively the beginning and the end of the gathered range. This range can be returned from the function. template<typename BidirIterator, typename Predicate> Range<BidirIterator> gather(BidirIterator first, BidirIterator last, BidirIterator position, Predicate p) { return { std::stable_partition(first, position, std::not_fn(p)), std::stable_partition(position, last, p) }; } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 template < typename BidirIterator, typename Predicate > Range < BidirIterator > gather ( BidirIterator first, BidirIterator last, BidirIterator position, Predicate p ) { return { std :: stable_partition ( first, position, std :: not_fn ( p ) ), std :: stable_partition ( position, last, p ) } ; } (thanks to /u/tcanens on Reddit for pointing out the not_fn function from C++17 that supersedes the old std::not1 to negate a function). Range being a class that can be initialized with 2 iterators representing a begin and an end, like boost::iterator_range or the one in range-v3 for example. An std::pair of iterators could also be used, like it is for std::equal_range, but in a more clumsy manner (as seen in How to (std::)find something efficiently with the STL for more on this type of interface). Note that the gather algorithm is available in boost with the boost::algorithm::gather function, that returns a pair of iterators. In conclusion, knowing how to achieve partitioning with the STL is useful, as this concept appears in more situations than meets the eye. It is yet another tool in our C++ toolbox. Share this post! Don't want to miss out?A person test-driving a Mercedes-Benz struck four other cars in the parking lot of a Virginia dealership Friday morning and sent the luxury vehicle on its side. The Arlington County Fire Department said about 11:30 a.m. a female driver and three passengers were taking a Mercedes for a test drive at the Mercedes-Benz of Arlington dealership on North Glebe Road in Ballston. The driver hit the gas and accelerated at a high rate of speed, striking four vehicles in the parking lot of the dealership, fire officials said. She then took a sharp turn and crashed the white SUV on its side. Fire officials said there were no reports of injuries, but a dealership employee who was in the SUV asked to be checked out by medics. No further information was immediately available.Rumors have been circulating that the iconic Station North bar Club Charles is set to close, and after talking with five sources, City Paper has learned the bar's doors will shut for the foreseeable future on Aug. 1. "The bar will be closing indefinitely for renovations," said one source close to the operations of the 66-year-old club. "That's all we're saying right now. It will close on August 1 and we're not sure when it will reopen." Other sources City Paper spoke to, all of whom are intimately familiar with the operations of the bar, were unsure if Club Charles would reopen at all. It was not clear if there would even be renovations. Nobody entirely knows what it means for Club Charles to be "closing" or for how long, and some City Paper spoke to cited Club Charles owner Joy Martin's unpredictability. Martin had no comment when contacted about the impending closure. The mystery surrounding Club Charles invited speculation about Martin's other properties in Station North. Some wondered why Lost City Diner was closed at times during Artscape—presumably a time when the restaurant would receive the most foot traffic—when it was open last year. Martin's mother, Esther Martin, opened the popular Charles Street bar in 1951, when it was named The Wigwam. The name was changed to Club Charles, according to the Sun, in the '70s, when Joy and her siblings were brought in to run the bar. Known for its art-deco interior, well-curated jukebox, neon lights, and off-kilter decor, Club Charles has become a home for luminaries such as John Waters and other members of the city's arts scene, as well as moviegoers at the Charles Theatre.If you need a break from the perpetual din of technology, social media, and the 24/7 news cycle—and really, who doesn’t?—consider participating in the National Day of Unplugging to carve out your own temple in time. The screen-free initiative, which begins this week on Shabbat, from sundown to sundown, is an annual event organized by Reboot, a nonprofit that sponsors creative projects that both uphold and reimagine Jewish traditions. Envisioned as a universal day of rest, people across the country and the world are invited to set their smartphones, computers, and other gadgets aside regardless of their faith. (The initiative’s website even advertises “cell phone sleeping bags”—adorable pouches that ensure that digital temptation remains out of sight—as well as mindfulness kits, which include such old-school delights as a Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 camera and David Sax’s book The Revenge of Analog, reviewed here by Tablet’s editor-at-large, Mark Oppenheimer. According to Reboot, the digital detox day boasted 70,000 total participants over the past three years from all 50 U.S. states and 206 countries, including locales as distant as Bhutan and Kazakhstan. Religions represented by participating organizations and community partners encompass Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, in addition to Judaism. More than 40,000 people are projected to sign off to celebrate this year. “The overall idea is really rooted in the tradition of Shabbat, taking time to reconnect with yourself, taking time to nurture yourself, taking time to reconnect with the people around you,” said Reboot’s communications manager, Tanya Schevitz. Although Reboot launched the National Day of Unplugging in 2010, the organization has also held a yearly summit in Park City, Utah since 2002—a gathering that has attracted famous names, including Hollywood writers like Jenji Kohan and Jill Soloway. The day itself emerged from a conversation that media entrepreneur Dan Rollman, co-founder of Record Setter, had at the 2008 summit. He and fellow event-goers brainstormed ideas to rethink the Sabbath for the modern world. They ultimately created the Sabbath Manifesto, a community built around 10 tenets “designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world,” whose website launched the same year as the first National Day of Unplugging. “I really felt an imbalance in my life and, as a startup entrepreneur, a pressure to be connected to the web 24/7,” Rollman said. “[The Sabbath Manifesto] allowed me to change my life and take that weekly pause to step back and reconnect with the offline world and recharge my batteries for the week ahead.” For this year’s National Day of Unplugging, about 250 religious and secular community partners are on board, spanning Catholic high schools, Canadian board game cafes (yeah, that’s a thing!), and even a thematic art exhibit in Tel Aviv. The exhibit is sponsored by Undigitize.Me, a social venture designed to reframe our “addicted” relationship with our smartphones. “It’s scary and liberating to leave home without a phone in one’s pocket,” Rollman said. “I’ve come to enjoy the challenge.” Zoe Miller is Tablet's editorial intern. Follow her on Twitter here.Natus Vincere has clawed their way back into the game after trailing 5-10 at half to defeat NiP 16-12 with an 11-2 counter-terrorist side on de_dust2_se in SLTV StarSeries V. The match started with both sides trading rounds early on as NiP won the opening pistol but Na`Vi made them pay for their over-aggression on the following anti-save round which saw Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund push to death in the middle area. Tied at five each a few rounds later the Swedes showed their standard Counter-Strike: Global Offensive form and started pulling away, eventually changing sides with a comfortable 10-5 lead. Edward & co hand NiP their fifth online map loss Now on the harder side of the map, the bootcamping Natus Vincere team wouldn't give up, and some important AWP shots by Yegor "markeloff" Markelov allowed the team to win eight straight rounds. NiP mounted a comeback at 10-13 with two rounds of their own, Na`Vi were too determined to allow the Swedes back in and closed the door with three more rounds for a 16-12 win. SLTV StarSeries V Best of 1 Natus Vincere Matchpage 16 12 NiP 16 Dust2 12 With Na`Vi bootcamping in Kiev and everyone but Richard "Xizt" Landström in the NiP game room of Inferno Online, the match definitely upps the ante coming into the weekend's TECHLABS Cup where both teams will be present.Various homeopathic remedies (Photo by Wikidudeman via) Dr Richard Hiltner is a really nice guy. He's in his sixties (but seems younger, in that way that Californians often do) and has a very West Coast way of making everything sound super positive all the time, up to and including the fact that, a few weeks ago, he and three other practitioners flew to Liberia to try and treat Ebola patients using homeopathy. Hiltner says, "We landed in Monrovia on the 17th of October, then had to spend three days training to use the PPEs – the personal protective equipment, those big suits you see everyone wearing – before heading up to the hospital in Ganta." It was only when they got to Ganta, a province hit hard by the Ebola epidemic, that problems arose. The team suited up, broke out their homeopathic treatments and tried to get to work on some patients. At which point the medical staff and administrators at the Ganta Hospital realised what it was they were attempting, before completely banning them from the ETU (Ebola Treatment Unit). It turned out that no one in the hospital – or, it seems, the entire Liberian medical administration – had any idea that this team would be using homeopathy. The Liberian government had approved the expedition and issued visas on the basis that all four were medical doctors coming to support local staff. So, Hiltner and his colleagues got in their jeeps and drove back and forth to Monrovia in a continued effort to sort out the paperwork. "It took over five hours to drive 100 miles – it was probably the scariest part of the trip," he tells me. "We did that journey five times in all." But the authorities were clear: there was no way they were going to let Ebola patients be treated with what are essentially sugar pills soaked in water. Non-homeopath Ebola response volunteers in Nigeria (Photo by CDC Global via) For those who haven't yet been prescribed it on the NHS, homeopathy was developed in 1796 by the German scientist Samuel Hahnemann, based on the idea that "like cures like". It works like this: hay fever makes your eyes water, right? Guess what else makes your eyes water? Onions! Just soak a minuscule piece of onion in distilled water, then dilute that water a few hundred times, give it a shake and you're all done – hay fever will trouble you no more. The Ebola virus kills you by essentially dissolving the walls of your veins, making you bleed to death from the inside in a massive internal haemorrhage. It's absolutely fucking horrific. Dr Hiltner says his team went to Liberia carrying 110 potential homeopathic Ebola remedies. Based on the "like cures like" principle they needed other substances that kill you by haemorrhage. Among their brightest hopes were arsenic and rattlesnake venom. So exactly the kind of thing you want to put in your body when you're already laid out in the ETU. Aside from the whole deliberately feeding sick people arsenic thing, the real controversy of homeopathic practice is that the remedies are so heavily diluted that no molecular trace of the supposed active ingredient – be it onion, venom or any other – actually remains. In chemical terms, it's literally just water dropped onto sugar pills. The theory is that the homeopathic agent "re-programmes" the "energy" of the water, in the same way one saves information on a hard drive – and it's the "water memory" that supposedly cures you. An ETU in Liberia (Photo by CDC Global via) Despite the claims of practitioners – and celebrity endorsements from MP Peter Hain, Prince Charles and other people who are basically too rich to ever get ill – there is absolutely no peer-reviewed scientific literature indicating that homeopathy works any better than placebos. So, it is perhaps understandable that, with the eyes of the world upon them, the Liberian authorities were unwilling to let this stuff anywhere near Ebola patients. The thought of four experienced medical doctors stretching the resources of a poverty-stricken country in the grip of an epidemic, when they could be really helping, is kind of galling. This is certainly the view of Mike Noyes, head of ActionAid, who is quoted on the MailOnline: "With this crisis, you can't be offering false hope. There is no scientific evidence that homeopathy has any impact on dealing with viral disease like Ebola. Coming in from the outside with these unproven approaches is damaging to the response and bringing the disease under control." The team did eventually get to treat non-Ebola patients in Ganta with homeopathy, and reported good results. Of course, every one of those patients was also receiving all the prescribed conventional treatments, so those results are totally meaningless from any scientific or therapeutic perspective. Actual real doctors and nurses practicing their medical skills at the army's Ebola training centre near York (Photo by Simon Davis/DFID via) All in all, the whole trip just sounds like a massive disaster – four doctors running around Liberia, banned from peddling their quackery by bemused local medics. Even the obvious question of whether they underwent quarantine on their return – or were just planning on curing themselves with snake venom – is irrelevant, as they never actually came into contact with an Ebola patient. While the expedition itself may come off as merely chaotic, there's also a slightly
March 2008, for example, he famously declared: “I can no more disown [Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother.” Several weeks later, Obama left Wright’s church–and, according to Edward Klein’s new biography, The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House, allegedly attempted to persuade Wright not to “do any more public speaking until after the November [2008] election” (51). Obama has been known frequently to fictionalize aspects of his own life. During his 2008 campaign, for instance, Obama claimed that his dying mother had fought with insurance companies over coverage for her cancer treatments. That turned out to be untrue, but Obama has repeated the story–which even the Washington Post called “misleading”–in a campaign video for the 2012 election. The Acton & Dystel biography could also reflect how Obama was seen by his associates, or transitions in his own identity. He is said, for instance, to have cultivated an “international” identity until well into his adulthood, according to Maraniss. Regardless of the reason for Obama’s odd biography, the Acton & Dystel booklet raises new questions as part of ongoing efforts to understand Barack Obama–who, despite four years in office remains a mystery to many Americans, thanks to the mainstream media. Larry O’Connor contributed to this report.Europe's "Good Terrorists": Because They Might Destroy Israel? Translations of this item: Dutch German Polish Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri would like the Europeans to understand that they need not worry about terrorism by the Islamist movement because the attacks will be directed only against Israel. The European Court of Justice (EJC) is sending the message to Hamas that Europeans see no problem with Hamas's desire to destroy Israel and continue to launch terrorist attacks against Jews. This message also undermines those Palestinians who still believe in a peace with Israel. The EJC recommendation to remove Hamas from the EU's terrorism blacklist comes at a time when countries such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and even Saudi Arabia, as well as the Palestinian Authority, are doing their utmost to weaken Hamas. Appeasing terrorists is a dangerous game: it has already backfired on its foolhardy players and will continue to do so. This is exactly how Muslims conquered Iran, Turkey, North Africa and much of Europe, including Hungary, Greece, Poland, Romania, and the Balkans -- countries that still recall a real "occupation," an Islamist one, and abundantly want none of it. The EU and the ECJ need to be stopped before they do any more harm to Palestinians, Christians and Jews -- or to Europe. Once again, the Europeans seem to be in Alice's Wonderland when they consider Palestinian affairs in particular and the Middle East in general. The renewed attempt by the European Union to remove the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas from its terrorism list is a case in point. Recently, an advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recommended that Hamas be removed from the EU's terrorism blacklist. In 2014, the EU's second-highest court ruled that Hamas should be taken off the list on "technical" grounds. It argued that Hamas's listing was not based on evidence, but on "factual imputations derived from the press and the internet." However, the European Council then appealed this judgement, arguing that Hamas should remain on the terrorism blacklist, citing a 2001 decision by the UK and the US that designated both Hamas and the Tamil Tigers as terrorist groups. But the recent opinion by the ECJ advisor dismisses this argument. "The council cannot rely on facts and evidence found in press articles and information from the internet," Advocate General Eleanor Sharpton said. She explained that the council could not rely on terrorist listings by countries (the UK and US) outside the EU. This latest highly dangerous European attempt to strike Hamas from the terrorism blacklist will, as the EU knows perfectly well, only serve further to embolden the Islamist movement to replace Israel with an Islamic empire. Removing Hamas from the terrorism list would obviously be seen as a severe blow to Hamas's rivals in the Western-backed and funded Palestinian Authority (PA), and to the efforts to revive any peace process between the Palestinians and Israel. As this is not the EU's first attempt to do this, it is hard not to conclude what many Palestinians have suspected all along: that the EU and its affiliates do not care if the Palestinians and others in the area are overrun by Hamas terrorists and are forced to live under the rule of despotic Islamist militants. The recent opinion by the European court advisor lightheartedly ignores Hamas's own statements concerning its true intentions and continued preparations for war against Israel. It is hard not to conclude that this is what the EU secretly wants -- perhaps for Muslim voters, who brought to power France's President François Hollande, perhaps in the hope of buying off terrorists so that they avoid further attacks in Europe, perhaps to continue good business deals with Arab and Muslim countries, and, of course, perhaps all of the above. It came as no surprise, therefore, that Hamas was quick to "welcome" the opinion of the European Court advisor to whitewash and legitimize the Islamist terror movement. "Hamas considers the recommendation a first step towards removing the sin committed by the European Union towards the Palestinian people when it demonstrated bias in favor of Israel by placing Hamas on the terrorism list," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, who welcomed the opinion and called on the Europeans to abide by it. Hamas, he added, has always been keen on openness towards the West and on building strong humanitarian and political relations with it. Israel is the only enemy of Hamas, Abu Zuhri stressed. In other words, Abu Zuhri would like the Europeans to understand that they need not worry about terrorism by the Islamist movement because the attacks will be directed only against Israel. Hamas wants "openness" and "strong" ties with the Europeans because it believes that this will advance its goal of implementing its charter, which calls for the elimination of Israel. This is how Hamas understands the renewed bid to have it removed from the EU's terrorism blacklist. And it is improbable that the EU, which for decades has sought "good relations" between the two sides of the Mediterranean, does not understand it that way, too. Even more improbable is that some Europeans believe that Hamas should not be on the terrorism only on the basis of press articles and information on the internet -- as if what is being said about Hamas and its goals are rumors or unsubstantiated charges that need to be verified, and for which there is no basis. What of Hamas's own charter, which calls for Jihad (holy war) against Israel. "There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad," the charter states. It goes on to say that the "liberation of that land (Palestine) is an individual duty binding on all Muslims everywhere. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad...We must spread the spirit of Jihad among the (Islamic) Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the Jihad fighters. The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine has been an Islamic Wakf throughout the generations and until the Day of Resurrection, no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of it." Okay, one might argue, so the Europeans will not take seriously the Hamas covenant. Yet what does the ECJ make of the incessant rhetoric of Hamas? Here is what Fathi Hammad, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, had to say after the recommendation: "Resistance is the only way to liberate Palestine from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river." Praising the recent wave of Palestinian knife and car-ramming attacks on Israelis, Hammad called on Palestinians to rise against any peace process with Israel. "The path of negotiations has dissipated the Palestinian cause," he added. In a statement marking the first anniversary of the anti-Israel attacks, which is being referred to by many Palestinians as the "Jerusalem Intifada," Hamas said this week that the wave of terrorism will not stop "until the occupation is driven out of Jerusalem, the West Bank and all Palestine." Reiterating its refusal to recognize the "Zionist Entity's" right to exist, Hamas said that the Palestinians maintain the right to "resistance in all its forms." Let us translate that for a moment: When Hamas talks about "resistance in all its forms," it is referring to killing Jews with suicide bombings, rockets, knives and vehicles. As far as Hamas is concerned, Palestinians are entitled to use all these methods to kill as many Jews as possible and drive them out, to "liberate all of Palestine." Notably, this statement was issued after, not before, the recent recommendation by the European court advisor to remove Hamas from the terrorism list. This is far from simply another "press article" or "rumor" published on the internet; this is an official statement released by the Hamas leadership. Thousands of armed Hamas troops showed off their military hardware at a Dec. 14, 2014 parade in Gaza, marking the organization's 27th anniversary. (Image source: PressTV video screenshot) To its credit, and despite the clearly genocidal ECJ recommendation, Hamas has been utterly transparent concerning its intentions. In fact, Hamas has never hidden its desire to destroy Israel and prevent any peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. This position and strategy has not changed since the establishment of the Islamist movement nearly thirty years ago. And if the officials of the EU and the ECJ do not know that, they should be replaced. Further evidence of Hamas's intentions and policies was provided by another leader of the movement, Mahmoud Zahar, who assured supporters in the Gaza Strip last week that Hamas will never recognize Israel's right to exist. "We will not give up one inch of the land of Palestine to the Israeli entity," Zahar declared. He then praised Palestinians for using "stones and knives" to attack Jews. These are only some of the recent statements by Hamas leaders and spokesmen that leave no room for doubt as to the movement's intentions to continue using terrorism as a means to destroy Israel. Perhaps EU officials might go to the numerous Hamas websites and read what is being said there by the movement's leaders. The words speak for themselves. Hamas's threats do not stop at rhetoric. Hamas's current actions also attest to its goals. Hamas and other terror groups openly continue to dig tunnels that will be used to attack Israel. Only days after the ECJ recommendation was published, another Palestinian was killed while working in a tunnel. He was identified as 30-year-old Ahmed As'ad. Other men were wounded in the incident, in a tunnel that was supposed to serve Hamas and other terrorist groups to attack Israel. Meanwhile, last week, in the context of these preparations, the terror group Al-Naser Salah Eddin Brigades unveiled a new rocket called Koka 70 (named after one of its leaders, Abu Yusef Koka). The European recommendation to remove Hamas from the terrorism blacklist comes at a time when Hamas and other groups are not only talking about attacks, but also actively preparing to launch new rockets and infiltrate Israel via attack tunnels. These are not unverified press reports, but facts -- facts that fly in the face of the European whitewashing and legitimizing of this terrorist group. The ECJ is sending the message to Hamas that the Europeans see no problem with Hamas's desire to destroy Israel and continue to launch terrorist attacks against Jews. This message also undermines those Palestinians who still believe in a peace with Israel. Moreover, the recommendation comes at a time when countries such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and even Saudi Arabia, as well as the Palestinian Authority, are doing their utmost to weaken Hamas. Those who embolden Hamas also strengthen ISIS, Islamic Jihad and the Muslim Brotherhood, not only in the Middle East, but also in Europe. Appeasing terrorists is a dangerous game: it has already backfired on its foolhardy players and will continue to do so, not less, but more. This is exactly how Muslims conquered Iran, Turkey, North Africa, the Crimea and much of Europe including Hungary, Greece, Poland, Romania, and the Balkans -- countries that still recall a real "occupation," an Islamist one, all too well, and abundantly want none of it. The Ottoman Empire at its largest size. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons/Mevlüt Kılıç) The EU and the ECJ need to be stopped before they do any more harm to Palestinians, Christians and Jews -- or to Europe. Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem. Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on Twitter © 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute. Related Topics: Israel Recent Articles by Khaled Abu Toameh Palestinians: "The Slap of the Century", 2019-02-21 Palestinians: "Journalism" Hamas Style, 2019-02-14 Why Palestinians Oppose an Anti-Iran Coalition, 2019-02-09 Preparing for Peace - The Palestinian Way, 2019-01-29 Palestinians: The 'Political Detainees' No One Talks About, 2019-01-23 receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free gatestone institute mailing list en 17 Reader Comments Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Reply-> Top Issues Europe's Migrant Crisis Iranian Nuclear Program National Defense Persecution of Christians Syria Threats to Free Speech FREE SHAKIL AFRIDI! Dr. Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani physician who helped the U.S. locate Osama bin Laden, has been in jail in Pakistan since he was arrested days after the raid on bin Laden's compound in 2011. In 2013, he was granted a retrial, with a new charge that appears politically motivated: charged with murder in regard to the death, eight years earlier, of a patient he had treated. Afridi has gone on a hunger strike protest his unspeakable prison conditions -- including torture. His former lawyer, Samiullah Khan Afridi, was murdered by the Taliban in March 2015. The Obama Administration appears to have abandoned him. Tweets by @GatestoneInstThe story of a boy and his cyborg protector completed entirely in lines and phrases taken from the plays of William Shakespeare. Each line and phrase is taken from original folios, with only proper nouns, pronouns and corresponding verb tenses subject to change. In doing so, the authors were able to accurately recreate the story of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, while remaining true to the words of Shakespeare in form, if less so in intent. Developed by the creative team at Husky Jackal Theater for fun and laughs with a one-night only run, the project caught the attention of a number of influential websites and publications, including the SyFy channel, Gawker science blog i09, and Mental Floss magazine, and was reaching supporters as far-flung as Brazil, the Philippines, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Bootless will present the first officially licensed, fully staged production of this outrageously spectacular adaption. Enjoy safe, free parking! Visit one of the many restaurants within walking distance before the show or a Trolley Square pub after the show. Easy access from I95 and close to public transportation. $15 General Admission (Online), $18 General Admission (At the Door) Tickets available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/812601 September 26, 2014- 8:00 pm September 27, 2014 - 8:00 pm September 28, 2014- 3:00 pm October 2, 2014 - 7:30 pm October 3 - 8:00 pm October 4 - 8:00 pm October 5 - 3:00 pmHow do you turn the enemy of privacy into an ally? Smartphones have long been derided as an invader against digital privacy and anonymity. They watch you, hear you, and most likely know you better than any other device you own. Hackers, telephone companies, governments, and a variety of third parties gleen all sorts of personal data from your phone, often with little consent or knowledge from you. “Cellphones are tracking devices that make phone calls,” software developer Jacob Appelbaum said in 2013. That’s not good. Mobile devices like phones and tablets are the most popular, affordable, and fastest-selling devices on the planet. If we can’t figure out privacy for phones, anyone who cares about privacy is losing the battle. On home computers, a wide range of tools exist to help guard against unwanted eavesdroppers. For instance, the Tor anonymity network is one of the most popular and powerful privacy programs ever, with over 150 million downloads in the last year alone. Tor has been available on Android phones for some time, but its utility has been somewhat limited. Now, a new suite of programs allows users to anonymize every app they run, giving them the kind of strong protection needed to maintain real privacy. Here are the three apps you should download right now. 1) Orwall The newest weapon in your mobile privacy arsenal, first released in July, is Orwall. As its name suggests, Orwall is like a firewall for your phone. It forces almost all applications through the Tor network, and it prevents other applications from having any other kind of network access. To put it in simple terms, Orwall helps built a barrier between your phone and the outside world. It then opens only a single door to walk through towards the Internet: Apps can only make connections through Tor, or they can’t connect at all. Thanks to longtime Tor developer Mike Perry, Orwall has recently received increased attention from the Tor community itself. It was developed by Cédric Jeanneret, a Swiss computer scientist and privacy activist behind EthACK.org, the “Swiss privacy bootcamp.” Orwall requires root access to your phone (find out how to do that here), so it’s a little bit of work compared to a simple Google Play installation, but it pays off in expanded usability and protection. 2) Orbot The next app in your arsenal, and likely the most essential, is Orbot. Orbot is what allows you to actually make that connection to Tor. It’s extremely easy to download and install—just grab it in the Google Play store—but it also allows some advanced configuration, if you’re willing to put in the work. Developed by the Android anti-censorship wizards at the Guardian Project, Orbot has several important functions. Like Orwall, it can push many of your mobile apps to use Tor. However, Orbot’s functionality is limited to apps that have proxy options, so using it with Orwall significantly expands the kind of Android apps that can use Tor and locks down the apps that don’t. “Consider Orbot as a simple connector to Tor,” developer Cedric Jeanneret told the Daily Dot. “Orwall is the glue helping stupid apps without any knowledge of proxies to connect through Tor.” That “simple connector” can be fairly called the most important part of the equation. 3) Orweb The final program you’ll need is Orweb, the private mobile Web browser. Orweb, also developed by the Guardian Project, is Orbot’s sister app. It’s the most private mobile browser on the market. Utilizing the Tor network and configured to keep your data private, Orweb acts as the Android phone counterpart to the famous Tor browser that allows you to access the Internet anonymously as well as surf Tor’s hidden services. These three programs do not add up to a silver bullet of perfect privacy—because a silver bullet doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as 100 percent security, and anyone who promises you an “NSA-proof” computer program is a snake-oil salesman. Using these programs is a start, however, to flipping your phone from soft target to hardened privacy tool. Photo via Opopododo/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)What can PC roguelikes stand to learn from mobile games? Not from their nearest equivalents, like the uncluttered deep delve of Pixel Dungeon, but the likes of Galaxy on Fire – the space combat and trading sim that twinned player freedom with an ethos of instinctive, instant gratification. We’re going to find out. A 12-strong Hamburg team have broken off from Galaxy’s Fishlabs to put together a roguelike space shooter in Unreal 4 – something that eschews the pixel art and grid mazes that are easier bedfellows of procedurality in favour of high-end production values. “Those are the things that we took from Galaxy on Fire to Everspace and said, ‘This is how we want to make a PC space shooter’,” says Rockfish co-founder Michael Schade. “There are those fantastic simulations like Elite and Star Citizen – I think that’s cool. But we won’t have travel times of 10 minutes from one system to the next. “With a blink of the eye, you see a planet in the distance, you click on it, and bang, you’re there. We know that’s not the reality, but our game’s not about reality. Our game’s about fun.” Schade’s team had played lots of Rogue Legacy and Binding of Isaac – but he was concerned initially about the frustration inherent in roguelikes. Reassurance came from an unlikely source: Middle-Earth. “I have to be honest, I was at least on the fence, if not critical of that working with a high-end game,” he remembers. “[But] I got a feeling when I played Shadow of Mordor. I’m not very good at Shadow of Mordor – I died a lot. And I was so mad about those bigger orcs and such. “Then I realised that every time I die I get a little bit of XP, and I can improve my skills. Next time, I’m better and I kick their butts. That was very satisfying.” Everspace is similarly selective about the belongings it rips from you upon death. You’ll keep your credits, blueprints for ship parts, and any permanent upgrades – perhaps a powerful engine you’ve engineered. What you’ll lose are the resources you carry around: ore for repairs, and fuel to keep you moving. As you drift through the void, support characters can show up to offer missions; a pirate trader, maybe, carrying cool weapons. But these are no static NPCs – turn them down, and they won’t come back. “It’s the same in real life,” notes Schade. “If you meet somebody on the street, you don’t know when you’re going to meet them the next time, or if. We like that.” Everspace’s storytelling will sidle up in much the same manner. You’ll begin the game with just one bit of information – a destination. And each time, Rockfish will throw you “bits and pieces” of the plot. Scraps of story will be delivered upon death, and after you’ve killed any of Everspace’s 11 bosses. “The whole puzzle sooner or later fits together”, claims Schade – and the big picture promises to be, well, a bit odd. “The core loop includes dying,” notes the former Fishlabs co-founder, carefully. “So we need to come up with some where you can die and be reborn, and it still makes sense. Your death and the death of all the bosses has a meaning and fits together.” Not so long ago, Rockfish uploaded a.gif to Reddit which showed a ship cleaving an asteroid in half with its mining lasers – cutting a precise path through the rock. It clocked 1.4 million views. “People definitely like to slice asteroids with a laser beam,” laughs Schade. “So that needs to be in there.” There are plans for more targets to blast apart – parts of stations and capital ships in particular – but Rockfish are wary of pushing Everspace’s hardware demands through the roof. “That’s something that we have learned from mobile,” explains Schade. “We need to make sure the game is fun even on lower hardware specs.” The asteroid-splitting came about through Rockfish’s experiments with PhysX in Unreal 4 – the engine which has allowed the studio to do with 12 staff a lot of what they did with 80 at Fishlabs. “It became an uphill battle to compete with middleware providers who have something like 100 engineers,” says Schade. “Our guys can do things within days that would have taken us weeks if not months with our own tech before.” The team have stayed away from the expensive photorealism of Eve and Star Citizen – but wound up with a broader-brushed style that’s still competitively lovely. Everspace’s environments are defined by their contrasts – vivid blues giving way to bright oranges. Now in the mid phase of a Kickstarter campaign and well on the way to their goal, Rockfish are tentatively relieved. “It’s unbelievable,” says Schade. “You’re working so hard for something for such a long time, and you don’t know how it’s going to be received. You don’t know until you know – but so far it’s been received really well.” It’s not just Rockfish’s new backers who are enthused about this non-linear space slice-’em-up. Schade confides: “We have to send our guys home late at night because they are so excited.” Everspace is estimated for release in October 2016. Unreal Engine 4 development is now free. In this sponsored series, we’re looking at how game developers are taking advantage of Unreal Engine 4 to create a new generation of PC games. With thanks to Epic Games and Rockfish Games.This post may contain affiliate links; please read the disclosure for more information. Just a few weeks ago, the turkey leg was retired from Hollywood Studios and Fairfax Fare on Sunset Boulevard added some large baked potato dishes to their menu. We decided to head over last weekend to try these out, and here is what we found on our starchy expedition: Small Southwest Salad (Side) The side salad (served with each of the large baked potatoes) was a surprisingly good offering, so much so that I would rather they devise a full entree out of this. Looking at this, I was prepoared for the worst, but it actually was pretty tasty, blending fresh, healthy ingredients with a sweet corn flavor. Seriously WDW, please make this a counter service entree. Loaded Fairfax Potato ($9.49) This wasn’t bad, but it was mediocre at best. I love baked potatoes, so even the most poorly prepared one is probably something I can stomach. There was nothing special about this, but it’s probably a good addition in a park with fairly limited counter service options right now. The potato was cooked well enough and the toppings are what you would expect from any counter service location. It is large and filling for the price, but doesn’t deliver on the flavor. It’s not the worst quick serve meal and it’s not the best, it’s just sort of middle of the road. I don’t know how many other ways I could possibly say “meh” in this review. Fairfax One-Pound Baked Potato ($10.49) While the potato was of the same quality here, the tri-tip with brown gravy was fairly gross. It reminded me of the infamous “stewed beef” from the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon at the Magic Kingdom, and if you remember that review, you know why that is a bad thing… a very bad thing. Vanilla Cupcake with Strawberry Buttercream ($5.59) The strawberry buttercream on top tasted like warm strawberry ice cream, which somehow isn’t gross. A quality cupcake that blends well with the strawberry cream on top, yet probably pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of Walt Disney World desserts. This is a pleasant dessert offering and a cute photo-op if you love Minnie Mouse, probably no the best dessert option unless you absolutely need a Strawberry snack and are eating here. Overall, I’m happy about the loss of the turkey leg from another park (as the sight of them makes me fairly ill), but I was hoping for something more here. Honestly, the loaded baked potato was solid, but would work better as a smaller side item. It is better than the Disney counter service french fries without a doubt, bnut does little to warrant being a full meal at a counter service location. Also, the one-pounders toppings are vile… OVERALL SCORE FOR FAIRFAX FARE BAKED POTATOES – 3 OUT OF 7In the beginning there was the parent’s basement. This was followed by our improperly zoned residential house. Then we got kicked out and moved up to a currently vacant strip mall bay. Two months ago we started the ball rolling on a permanent studio build-out and as of now we are about a month out from completion! The new studio is located under the Broadmoor apartments at Aksarben Village and will double the working room we have currently as well as add in a conference room and offices! For starters our furniture might consist completely of cinderblocks and plywood until we get off the ground but this will mark the first permanent residence of SkyVu and will get us nice and cozy with UNO. It is our current goal to host OGDA meetings at our new location once settled as well as ad-hoc after school tutoring and classes offered by our Staff. We will also be opening up internship positions once moved that will be elaborated on in the near future! In the mean time, here is what our team and space currently look like! Updates will come in as relevant milestones are passed!South Korean bitcoin exchange Coinplug has some big plans ahead. The company is distributing pre-paid bitcoin gift cards to about 24,000 convenience stores across the country. Thus far, about 8,000 of those stores are part of the 7-11 franchise, and other major chains are slated to be selling the cards by the end of the month. The company confirmed in a Reddit post: “We are in the process of distributing the cards to convenient stores.” Coinplug’s Richard Yun talks a little about how the process works: “When users redeem okBitcards, they automatically get an instant wallet. It’s good for people who find it hard to buy BTC like teenagers, and buying for gifts etc.” The way it works is pretty straightforward. The customer must first purchase a card over the counter. The cashier must then print out a receipt for the customer which bears an individual PIN code. Whoever purchased the card may then redeem the coins through either the okBitcard mobile app or through the website. The actual card itself represents only fiat value and does not actually carry any bitcoin. In other news, Coinplug has also partnered with ATM operator Nautilus Hyosung to bring two-way bitcoin ATMs to the country, and is currently launching a new one to be placed in the computer science department of Korea University. The company is also further experimenting in offline-to-online (O2O) payments.HEATHER HUMPHREYS, THE new Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Minister, has said she hopes to ‘squeeze in’ some Irish lessons shortly after previously admitting she had lost the the ability to speak the language fluently. Humphreys and her junior minister Joe McHugh, who has specific responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs, have been criticised in recent weeks after it emerged that neither of them were fluent in the language. Both were surprise promotions in the reshuffle of ministers and ministers of state in July and have faced criticism for their lack of Irish, particularly McHugh. But while McHugh has made much of his efforts to re-learn the language in recent weeks, Humphreys, a Fine Gael TD for Cavan-Monaghan, admitted today she has been too busy to begin lessons. She said in July that she was prepared to “brush up” on her Irish. But speaking at the launch of Culture Night 2014 in Dublin today she said she has been “very busy” in recent weeks having just returned from a culture summit in Edinburgh. Humphreys said: “No I haven’t started Irish lessons yet, but I do hope to get some squeezed in at some stage shortly. I can’t give you a timescale because the schedule is very busy.” - reporting from Aoife BarryIn the past, researchers would have gone to department tea to seek out solutions to intermediary problems, but these discussions were often limited to the faculty and resources of a given institution. Online mathematics forums are a more recent development, existing on sites like sci.math, group wikis like the Polymath Project, or in the comments on well-read math blogs. But organizationally, Math Overflow stands apart from its predecessors. Math Overflow is a community-moderated forum; users vote on the most accurate answers to the questions posed and gain reputation points based on participation, the most active of whom are granted various moderation privileges. The best answers are voted to the top of the page, while the worst ones are voted to the bottom. At first glance, MathOverflow looks like a scaled-down version of popular social news sites like Reddit or Digg. But users aren't voting on the most entertaining content or debating each other in sprawling threads. Math Oveflow is almost an anti-social network, focused solely on productively addressing the problems posed by its users. Heavily moderated, the guidelines for asking questions are designed to discourage unnecessary chatter and keep the community's focus on a question at hand. "Math Overflow is not for homework help," blares the FAQ page. "Math Overflow is not for discussion. Math Overflow is not your encyclopedia." Open-ended conversations are relegated to a separate meta thread. "We've tried to make the forum as 'professional' as possible," said Scott Morrison, a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley's math department and moderator at MathOverflow, when asked about the interactive nature of Math Overflow "We've been pretty strict about good behavior, too, absurdly beyond what is common on the Internet. If it wouldn't be appropriate at department tea or particularly during a seminar, it's not at Math Overflow, either." The Math Overflow team has made a conscious effort to differentiate the site from social media in the minds of research mathematicians. "Mathematicians as a whole are surprisingly skeptical of many aspects of the modern Internet, despite having been early adopters of email, etc," said Morrison. "In particular, things like Facebook, Twitter, etc. are viewed as enormous wastes of time." Math Overflow does give rise to some social collaboration outside of the forum; Geraschenko notes that participants have on occasion authored papers with the "answerer" to their questions. Geraschenko and Morrison both assert that the success of the community-moderated forum is inherently tied to its software, StackExchange. The software powers Stack Overflow, a programming Q&A site founded in 2008 and original Stack Exchange site now utilized by nearly 18 million people worldwide each month. "One of the things awesome about the Internet is the ability to chat, making communities, and forming friendships. On the other hand, we see that as not the same as getting answers to difficult questions," said Joel Spolsky, CEO of Stack Overflow Internet Services, during a phone conversation. "This is a different kind of activity."Buy Photo The Michigan House of Representatives at the Capitol building in Lansing. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo In addition to ballot proposals and city elections across Michigan on Tuesday, voters in two districts for the state House of Representatives will choose replacements for politicians who are no longer in office. CLOSE The election will determine who fills the state Houe seats left vacant by Brian Banks resignation, John Kivela suicide. Kathleen Gray/Detroit Free Press Former state Rep. Brian Banks, D-Detroit, left the House in January after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing false financial statements in a 2010 application for a loan, the latest in a string of financial crime convictions for Banks. Former state Rep. John Kivela, D-Marquette, committed suicide in May, a day after his second arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. Both had been re-elected in November despite their problems being well-known in their districts. Hoping to replace Banks are Democrat Tenisha Yancey, a Harper Woods attorney; Republican Mark Corcoran, a home contractor from Grosse Pointe Woods, and Libertarian Gregory Creswell, a Detroit resident who has run for governor and for a congressional seat four times. Yancey, a former Wayne County prosecutor and current member of the Harper Woods school board, is a prohibitive favorite in the race because the district, which includes portions of Detroit, Harper Woods, Grosse Pointe Woods and the Village of Grosse Pointe Shores, votes heavily Democratic. Banks won the 2016 race with 68% of the vote. However, Yancey has had criminal troubles of her own. More than 20 years ago, as a teenager, she was convicted twice of retail fraud in Portage and Battle Creek, and stalking and failure to leave the scene of a property-damage accident in Detroit, in what has been described as a fight with a romantic rival. She has alluded to the problems during the campaign, saying that she has been able to overcome bad decisions to become a lawyer. Since the primary, Yancey has only raised $3,183 of the $57,666 she raised mostly before the more competitive primary race in August. Corcoran, a self-described Tea Party activist, said he wasn't going to raise or spend more than $1,000 for his campaign. More: Two vacant seats in the state House of Reps are up for grabs in August primary elections. More: Michigan's no-fault auto insurance reform defeated in House of Representatives Endorsement: Yancey is best choice in special election for Detroit House seat The 109th district is far more competitive, even though it's traditionally been a Democratic stronghold that hasn't elected a Republican to the House of Representatives since 1952. The candidates — Democrat Sara Cambensy and Republican Rich Rossway — are waging a fierce battle for Kivela's seat. Both are getting extensive support from their political parties and members of the current House of Representatives and both are diligently knocking on doors throughout the Upper Peninsula district that includes the counties of Schoolcraft, Luce, Alger and Marquette. "What I see is that people are feeling left behind in Michigan. I look at cities and townships having to operate with less and less from Lansing," said Cambensy, a Marquette City Commissioner and director of adult and continuing education for Marquette Community Schools. "They have to go to voters to increase millages for road fixes. Seniors who can’t afford prescription drugs. The cost of energy for some of the district is twice what it is in the city of Marquette. And people are really sick of big corporate tax breaks that they’re handing out in Lansing." Ros
negotiations in 2015. (Photo: Gil Yohanan) The core subjects requirements were part of a platform put forth by the Yesh Atid party during the time of the previous government, specifically by former Education Minister Shai Piron. According to the plan, the amount of funding educational institutions would receive would be commensurate with the empahsis placed on the teaching of core subjects, with those choosing to negelect their teaching receiving no government funding at all. These core subjects include languages, literature, mathematics, nature, and science and technology. The actions are based on a coalition agreement put in place before the formation of the current government, as part of the ultra-Orthodox parties' conditions for joining it. Minister of Science Ofir Akunis. "This cancellation is an error." (Photo: Gil Yohanan) While the ultra-Orthodox parties agreed to postpone the cancellation, they did not give up their efforts to stymie the new laws which were set to be implemented at the start of 2017. Around 430,000 pupils are currently studying in ultra-Orthodox education institutions and he new turn of events will affect some 30,000. Officials from Yesh Atid responded to the government's actions by saying, "The Israeli government is leading an underhanded move to cancel mathematics and English studies for Israeli children. The government continues to move Israel backwards. All it cares about is politics in order to hold onto its seat. Everything is permitted."The FIA have confirmed they do not plan to launch an investigation into Nico Rosberg’s actions in the Belgian GP despite Lewis Hamilton's claim his team-mate confessed to causing their crash during a Mercedes debrief. According to Hamilton, his solitary title rival Rosberg “basically said he did it on purpose” when the two drivers were called to account by their team after the race. However, the FIA regard the incident as closed after the Spa stewards adjudged the second-lap crash, in which Rosberg punctured Hamilton's W05, as a racing incident. Hamilton’s explosive comments cast an altogether different interpretation on events, with close examination of the collision revealing that Rosberg suddenly swung back into the sister Mercedes in a second movement through the chicane, but the governing body have no plans to retrospectively review the clash. FIA spokesman Pierre Regent told The Daily Mail: "The FIA will not intervene in this issue. Only a 'new element' that would have appeared after the results became final could justify us opening an investigation. A comment alleged to have been made in an internal briefing and later denied by the team itself does not constitute such a 'new element'." Mercedes are yet to formally comment on Hamilton's allegations although a spokesperson for the team did confirm that the Englishman's account of their internal debrief was "broadly accurate". We look back at the incidents between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the Belgian Grand Prix. We look back at the incidents between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the Belgian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, proving a case against the World Championship leader would be rife with difficulty. It is understood that Mercedes did not make a recording of Sunday evening’s summit meeting and according to team boss Toto Wolff, who immediately condemned Rosberg’s driving as “unacceptable” after the race, claims that the German admitted crashing deliberately “are nonsense”. A critical distinction appears to rest between Hamilton’s testimony that Rosberg “said he did it on purpose” and Wolff’s insistence that the German merely acknowledged “he could have avoided crashing but didn’t to make a point". With Mercedes refusing to elaborate further on what precisely was said inside the sanctuary of their motorhome, and a fine line existing between reputedly admitting to deliberately causing a crash and deliberately not avoiding a crash, there is no appetite at the FIA to launch a formal investigation. The tenure of President Jean Todt has already proved to be far less confrontational than that of predecessor Max Mosley while earlier this season the race stewards were themselves encouraged by the teams to adopt a more hands-off approach when adjudging incidents during races. In retrospect, Mercedes themselves may regard that request with a degree of regret. The onus is now firmly on the World Championship leaders to put a lid on the fallout from the seemingly-irrevocable breakdown in relations between Rosberg and Hamilton, with the Englishman clearly sceptical about the prospects of the team punishing his title rival for a lapse that was, at best, an uncharacteristic aberration of judgement. "It reminds me of being at school … teachers will talk but they don’t do nothing," Hamilton retorted when told of Wolff’s immediate post-race fury. "You just get a detention. They won’t even do that. There’s nothing you can do.” Niki Lauda, Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg give their reaction to the clash between the Mercedes teammates in the Belgium Grand Prix. Niki Lauda, Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg give their reaction to the clash between the Mercedes teammates in the Belgium Grand Prix. Told of Hamilton’s response in a later interview, Wolff assured reporters: “If Lewis said there’s going to be a slap on the wrist and no consequence then he’s not aware of what consequences we can implement. [Mercedes can do] a lot. I’m not going to comment on this right now. "Today we have seen the limits of the slap on the wrist. Maybe the slap on the wrist isn’t enough.” One possibility is that the team will punish Rosberg by ordering him not to challenge Hamilton for victory in two weeks’ time at Monza in the event of his rival taking the lead of the race. “I am extremely upset because we have defined rules and we have broken those rules. I feel let down and I feel the team has been let down,” added Wolff. “We are all fans and we owe it to everyone out there to let them race but today that philosophy has ended with Mercedes losing many valuable points and we don’t want to end up in Abu Dhabi with a season [where] we lost a title because we are race fans. “It is one thing enjoying great races and letting race each other but another looking like a fool at the end of the season if you haven’t won anything.” A second internal debrief into events at Spa is expected to be held when the Mercedes team reconvene for the two Italian GP next week, although the sense that the time for conciliatory talks is over was reinforced by Hamilton’s description of the disastrous clear-the-air summit held at Spa on Thursday night following the team orders controversy of Hungary. “It was interesting because we had that meeting and Nico literally expressed how angry he was," disclosed Hamilton. "I was thinking ‘It’s been three weeks you’ve been lingering [on this]’. He sat there and said how angry he was at Toto and Paddy.” In Monza, the anger is likely to run in opposite channels with the Mercedes management under mounting pressure to adopt a hard-line approach with their feuding divers as what ought to be a record-breaking season threatens to spectacularly derail in recriminations and rancour. What happens now? The views of the Sky F1 pundits Martin Brundle ”My interpretation of his words is ‘I refuse to get out of the way’ rather than going and hitting him. If you run into somebody – and they don’t practice front nose and wing changes all-day long for no reason – you’re guaranteed to break your wing, you’re nowhere near guaranteed to puncture another driver’s tyre, although it’s possible. It seems to me he’s saying that ‘I deserved more space’ – which he didn’t. Unless you’re fully alongside, the rules are the driver in front’s allowed to take the normal racing line, although he can’t force you off the road necessarily, and there is an escape road there. “I think it also explains why Rosberg initially moved his car left and then slightly turned back in again actually, there was a secondary move. You can’t see that front wing from the cockpit and we do see them broken quite regularly. Lewis has picked up on that – unsurprisingly given he’s 29 points behind in the championship – and he wants to maximise the pain and destabilise his team-mate. He’s got to do that.” Johnny Herbert ”It was outrageous. I think with everything we’ve seen and know about now, with Nico saying he didn’t want to back out of a collision that was obviously going to happen – if you don’t back out you’re going to hit something. He’s got history; we have to go back to 2012 where he actually drove Lewis Hamilton off the track in Bahrain, and Fernando Alonso in exactly the same race. “Can they do anything in the team? I’m not so sure because as soon as you leave the drivers on the grid and they have to do their race, you can tell them over the radio, you can tell them before they get in the car, but they will only do what they want to do. They want to win a race, they want to win a World Championship. If the FIA can get involved that’s another matter. I don’t see how they realistically can because it’s really down to the team to try and control it. But it’s a very difficult thing to do.” David Croft “I think there is a big distinction between a driver deliberately causing a crash and a driver saying that he didn’t back out because he wanted to make a point. You’ve got to prove that he didn’t back out because he wanted to make a point and also that it wasn’t said in the heat of the moment to antagonise his team-mate. If the FIA want to reopen this case they’re going to have to get the evidence as to what was said in the heat of the moment in that Mercedes debrief.” Anthony Davidson “The rules say you have to have a significant part of the car alongside [to attack] but there’s not a significant part alongside, he was never in a position to mount a challenge. It was clumsy driving from an experienced driver. There was a double movement on the wheel, [he] went to turn in once and then again and it was on that second time that the contact was made. If that was an inexperienced rookie driver, he would be hammered. Hamilton is on the normal racing line and Rosberg is an area where he had to back out. I can understand why people are so unhappy with the move." Ted Kravitz “If Mercedes nip this in the bud and make sure it doesn’t happen again then it won’t affect their chances of winning the Drivers’ World Championship because the car is still the fastest one. Yes, the Red Bull is coming up, but there is still a bit too much room to be made up by Daniel Ricciardo. He is only 35 points behind Lewis Hamilton so it is possible that if they continue to clash like this they could leave the door open for Daniel Ricciardo to come through and win the World Championship – really that is the worst possible result for Mercedes and they want to make sure that doesn’t happen. “So I think actually this has come at potentially the right time for Mercedes if they can knock this on the head – give Rosberg a fine or a public dressing down, which I think is the most likely outcome, but make sure he does drive at the next race at Monza and for the rest of the season – then they can make sure this won’t happen again and it won’t affect their chances of winning the World Championship.” This week's Midweek Report will first be shown at 8.30pm on Wednesday on Sky Sports F1 with Reuters' Alan Baldwin and Alex Brundle joining Anna Woolhouse in the studio to dissect the Spa fallout1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Do vintage synth bargains still exist? Most people would say no, but we disagree. Some of the best keyboards and modules of all time are still surprisingly affordable. We choose our ten most underrated classics and explain why you should buy them before everyone else realises just how good they are. As the prices of most vintage synths continue to rise, we regularly kick ourselves when we realise the bargains we’ve missed. Those apocryphal tales of people throwing away ‘outdated’ TB-303s and TR-909s in the early 90s have become an ingrained part of dance music folklore. But the remaining bargains continue to disappear. Minimoogs which seemed overpriced at £500 just a few years ago now fetch £2,000. Korg MS20s would have been a a safer investment than the stock market over the last few years, rising in value exponentially. Even the global financial crisis hasn’t halted the appreciation of these vintage analogue legends. It’s hard to deny that the chance to find serious bargains has passed. Savvy producers snapped up all the £50 303s and rescued all the abandoned 808s from skips long ago. Gone are the days when Roland Jupiter 8s and Yamaha CS-80s regularly changed hands for under £500, but that doesn’t mean all the bargains have disappeared. Even in the age of the eBay bidding war, there are still good deals to be had. In absolutely any field you’ll find unsung heroes. They might have minor flaws, live in the shadow of more highly regarded rivals or simply fly under the radar of most buyers. In this list we’ll reveal what we believe to be the top ten most underrated hardware synths in the world right now. Not just the rarest, not just the most expensive, but the ones which simply don’t get the credit they deserve. Most of the synths on this list are easily available, many for little more than the price of a couple of plugins. There are no mega rarities here. You can probably find all of them for sale within a few minutes searching eBay or scanning classified adverts. Keep your eyes open for a few months and you won’t have much trouble picking them up for bargain prices. But, just like those Minimoogs and 303s which we never believed would get much more expensive, the prices of these underrated gems will inevitably rise as producers cotton on to the fact that they’re seriously, seriously undervalued. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Related 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Seeking greater rights and recognition for their work as research and teaching assistants, graduate student workers at Columbia are organizing to become a union. More than 1,700 student workers have signed cards supporting the effort since September. If successful, Columbia will become the second private university in the U.S. to have unionized graduate workers after students at NYU formed a union last fall. Organizers made a visible demonstration of their efforts on Friday afternoon, when more than 100 graduate students marched from Butler Library to Low Library carrying banners from their academic departments and chanting, "Who are we? The union." A smaller group entered Low Library to hand-deliver a letter to administrators asking the University to recognize the union, the Graduate Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers—named so because the students' union is being formed as a subsidiary of UAW Local 2110, which represents full-time clerical workers at Barnard, Columbia, and Teachers College. In the letter addressed to University President Lee Bollinger, GWC-UAW said students lacked job and wage security, citing issues like unpredictable funding, late paychecks, rent increases, poor medical coverage, and a lack of transparency in administrative policies. "The security we will enjoy when we are able to negotiate the terms of our employment will allow us to take greater pride in the work we do for the university and ensure the integrity of our own education and research," the letter said. "Collective bargaining will make us full members of the academic community and make Columbia University a stronger and more democratic institution." If Columbia chooses to recognize union, the students will become part of UAW Local 2110. If the University does not recognize them, organizers said they will file a petition seeking certification through the National Labor Relations Board. A University spokesperson said on Friday that he was checking to confirm receipt of the letter and declined to comment on the unionization effort. Olga Brudastova, an first-year engineering Ph.D. student at SEAS who also works in the department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, was one of those who went into Bollinger's office. She said that while Bollinger was not present, the group delivered a copy of the letter and read it in front of his office staff. "We hope that they'll respect the choice of the majority of the student workers and they show that respect by recognizing us as workers," Brudastova said. "We're trying to achieve neutrality from the administration so that they do not get in our way to democracy." Maida Rosenstein, the president of UAW Local 2110, said the union has been involved in graduate student organizing since 2000, including helping to coordinate the NYU campaign. Expanding that to students at Columbia was the natural next step, she said. "Although it is very different kinds of workers, we all deal with the same employer—Columbia University," Rosenstein said. "We all need a voice on this campus, so that we can address our working conditions, whatever variations there are." The current campaign at Columbia was inspired by NYU students' move to unionize last year. Organizers started circulating cards among Columbia graduate students this September to gauge the level of interest before seeking formal recognition. "We wanted to make sure that graduate student workers have had a chance to weigh in about this on their own before going to the administration," said Seth Prins, a fourth-year epidemiology PhD student at Mailman School of Public Health and one of the group's spokespeople. "The momentum of NYU's voluntary recognition is a big part of why this is happening now at Columbia," Paul Katz, a second year PhD student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said. On Friday afternoon, the graduate students who rallied in front of Butler Library said they were hopeful of the outcome. "We're really excited. We're hopeful that the University will respect our right to unionize and that there will be a positive reaction," Lyudmila Kovalchuke, a fourth year Ph.D. student in GSAS, said. "This is the outcome of a year's plus work. A lot of graduate students from disparate departments coming together, staking out a principle," said George Aumoithe, a fourth year Ph.D. student in GSAS. "We're very hopeful." yasemin.akcaguner@columbiaspectator.com \| @y_akcagunerSpread the love Deming, NM — A video uploaded to Facebook this week shows what it looks like to attempt to pay a fine with quarters — in a police state. The video, uploaded by the teen’s father, Kevin Weaver, shows police swarm the young man after his form of payment for a fine was not accepted because it was in quarters. Whether or not the teen was attempting to make a point by using quarters, or that was all he had, is unknown. However, it is entirely safe to assume that since he was a teenager, the quarters were all he had. As the video begins, it is unclear what lead up to the Deming police officers swarming the teen. However, what happens next is perfectly clear. Officers, apparently upset with the teen for attempting to pay a fine in quarters, demanded that he take his hand out of his pocket. But, before he could comply, he was assaulted. The scene quickly turned chaotic with multiple cops bringing the teen down to the ground. Not wanting to be hurt by police, the teen appears to resist to protect himself. Eventually, police get him face down on the ground and in handcuffs as an officer kneels on his head. The boy’s mother can be seen in the video screaming out in sheer horror as police attack her son. When the mother asks why this is happening, one of the cops replies, “If the judge doesn’t want to accept them (quarters)…they told him, ‘roll them.'” Apparently, this judge has either never heard of, or is choosing to ignore U.S. Code 31.5103, which states, “United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.” Sadly, there are many supporters of the attack in the comments on the Facebook post. The majority of the comments say that had Weaver’s son simply obeyed everything the cops were telling him, then none of this would’ve happened. However, that is simply not true. The officers gave him almost no time to take his hand out of his pocket before attacking him. Also, what right did officer’s have to attack a young man for having his hand in his pocket in the first place? The teen’s fate is unclear as of now. However, he was arrested and taken away from the scene in a police cruiser. The Free Thought Project reached out to the Deming Police department for any information about this incident but we have received no response thus far. Below are the two videos of the incident.Some 815 million voters are taking part in the biggest democratic exercise on the planet (Keystone) As elections get underway in India this week, much of the campaigning debate has centered around corruption, the flood of illicit money fleeing the country and the tax havens, like Switzerland, that are believed to shelter these assets. “Black money leaving the country has become a symbolic issue during the elections,” Arun Kumar, a professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told swissinfo.ch. “People are demanding that the trillions of dollars that have gone to tax havens over the last 70 years are brought back. If that happens, people believe their tax burden can be reduced.” For decades, successive governments have been blamed for being more a part of India’s ‘black money’ problem than solving it. Observers are sceptical if anything will come of the hard line being taken by the incumbent regime towards Switzerland or if promises by other political parties to crack down on tax evasion will bear fruit after the election. “While there is a lot of show at the moment, whether politicians will actually do anything about it is another matter,” Kumar explained. The Swiss stance The current impasse between Switzerland and India over administrative assistance to help track Indian tax evaders is centered on Switzerland’s refusal to cooperate on matters involving stolen bank data. India’s request for assistance appears to derive from data stolen from the Geneva branch of HSBC by former employee Hervé Falciani. Falciani sold a CD of client names to the French authorities who have since passed the details on to other countries. Some 782 names are of Indian nationals, according to Swiss media reports. The Swiss authorities were once renowned for hiding behind banking secrecy in practically every call from other countries to share information in the hunt for tax cheats. Since the 2008 financial crisis, Switzerland has been forced by the international community to relax its stance and renegotiate dozens of double tax treaties. However, Switzerland has stood firm against fishing expeditions (seeking data without enough evidence of wrongdoing) or evidence derived from illegally obtained sources. Stolen data became a real problem for Switzerland in the years after the financial crash, with ex-bank employees turned whistleblowers selling client information, particularly to the German authorities. The Swiss finance ministry has confirmed the letters it has received from India finance minister P Chidambaram and said that a reply would be sent ‘soon’, without revealing the contents of the response. As recently as January, Swiss finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf reiterated Switzerland’s rejection of administrative assistance based on stolen data. end of infobox Dead end request In recent weeks, Indian finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram has been publically turning up the heat on Switzerland with increasing demands on the Swiss to hand over information on suspected tax cheats. But Switzerland has steadfastly refused to cooperate on the grounds that India is acting on data stolen from the Geneva branch of HSBC. Nonetheless, Chidambaram has vowed to take further action through the G20 while his office gives journalists access to correspondence sent to his Swiss counterpart. The Indian media has reacted with some scathing responses. “While trying to emulate the track record of the US and other countries that have successfully collected taxes and prosecuted hidden offshore accounts, [India’s tax authorities] show no appreciation of the spadework that goes into a successful anti-evasion campaign,” the Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial last month. More column inches have been dedicated to recent Supreme Court criticism of the government’s efforts to get on top of the black money problem. Tainted politicians Measuring the amount of black money sloshing around India is a difficult task given that it is prevalent in all walks of life and that people do not advertise their attempts to cheat the tax authorities. Kumar, who has authored a book on the phenomenon, believes that it is growing and currently accounts for half of India’s gross domestic product (GDP: $1.8 trillion or CHF1.6 trillion). The authorities are coy about publicising their own calculations, but hint that the sum of money being passed under the table is shrinking and is now no more than 20% of GDP. The general public perception is that many politicians, government and local authority officials are also tainted with the smell of corruption, according to Kumar. “Traditionally, political parties have benefited from corruption when building their finances, particularly during elections,” he said. So I doubt they will do anything to curb this phenomenon.” Kumar’s research suggests that most money illegally derived from bribes, kickbacks for public contracts, undeclared cash payments or corporate accountancy tricks remains in the country. Only around 10% ever leaves India, he argued, and some of those assets later return after being laundered. Black money outflows Putting exact figures black money exiting the country is even harder than gauging the total volume generated thanks to the ingenuity of opaque financial structures such as shell companies and trusts. The figure being touted around by the Indian media is around $1.4 trillion currently lying in foreign accounts. But the Washington-based NGO Global Financial Integrity (GFI) puts the figure at nearly three times higher - $3.4 trillion. Neither of these figures can be conclusively verified. Furthermore, GFI believes the trend of illicit money pouring out of India is on the increase. By comparing Indian trade statistics with international trading partners, GFI estimates that black money flowing out of India reached $34 billion in 2011. In 2002 it was under $8 billion. By far the biggest scam, according to GFI, is Indian firms using shady offshore shell companies to pay over the odds for goods and then pocketing the difference. Put own house in order GFI chief economist Dev Kar, who hails from India, argues that while clamping down on offshore tax havens is a laudable exercise, the Indian government should be doing far more to reform tax laws and clean up domestically. That exercise could start by making the tender process for government contracts, such as infrastructure projects, more transparent. “Of course India needs to take a strong position in the international forum but there are a whole slew of internal reforms that are necessary to make things more transparent,” Kar told swissinfo.ch. “Making strong noises against Switzerland during the election campaign is just kicking the can down the road to avoid responsibility.” “Every government says it will bring the money back, but this is shutting the stable door once the horse is bolted. It is far too simple to move assets out of the country. The rule of law and order and corporate governance needs cleaning up in India from top to bottom.” with input from Priti Patnaik, swissinfo.ch Neuer Inhalt Horizontal Line SWI swissinfo.ch on Instagram SWI swissinfo.ch on InstagramExplore The Life of The Great Alexander III of Macedon ★ ★ ★PLEASE NOTE: You DON'T need a Kindle to buy this. Available for immediate reading with your Amazon virtual cloud reader. ★ ★ ★ There are a number of historic people who have lead a life of power and impact. They have contributed so much in history that up until now, their accomplishments resound in our ears very well, and remain unforgettable. One of the greatest people to ever live is the famous Alexander the Great, well known as the conqueror of Persian Empire and considered to be one of the most significant military geniuses of all time. If you want to go back in time and taste the life that this man lived, this book is for you! Here, you will find the nitty-gritty of Alexander’s life. When you purchase Alexander the Great – you will get to know more about this important conqueror who is full of bravery and wit. In This Book, You Will Learn About: •Who is Alexander the Great?•Conquering Persia — Then the World•The Siege of Tyre•His Last Few Triumphs•Alexander’s Many Alexandrias•The Spread of Greek Alexander the Great is a man with vision; he wanted to set up an empire of his own. It is quite impressive to know that he never lost a battle in his 15 years of conquest! He was also privileged to name more than 70 cities after himself, and who wouldn’t? Surely, no one can dim the memory of Alexander, so what are you waiting for?! If you want to dig deeper and find out more about this historic man, download your own copy of Alexander the Great and enjoy the ride! This book is FREE – For Kindle Unlimited Users. Just scroll up and click theButton for instant access.A MAN was stabbed in the neck with a meat thermometer after he asked a woman to turn off her mobile phone at a cinema in Lancaster, Los Angeles. He was apparently attacked by the woman's boyfriend, who grew enraged at the request. "The movie was on and a woman was on the phone, likely one of the suspects' girlfriend, and the victim asked her to turn it off," said Detective Richard Cartmill of the Lancaster sheriff's station. "He was attacked by the two suspects and stabbed in the neck with a meat thermometer." The man was hospitalized but is expected to survive following the attack at the Cinemark 22 last weekend. Two other people who tried to defend him also were injured. Law enforcement officials appealed for public help at the weekend in catching the suspects. They were described as black males, one wearing an orange hat and orange jersey or jacket and the other a black hooded sweatshirt. Originally published as Moviegoer stabbed in neck over phoneWhile most of the talk today was about the dissolution of the Dáil and Seanad ahead of the next election, there were some last minute matters still being resolved. Among these is legislation which may benefit some cannabis users that have a conviction. I am referring to the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Bill 2012 which is also known as ‘Spent Convictions’ legislation. The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Bill 2012 was passed in the Dáil last Wednesday (27th January) before being passed in the Seanad today. The legislation has been sent to President Michael D. Higgins and becomes law once he signs it. Before today Ireland was the only EU state without such legislation. As the title of the law suggests the process has been underway since before 2012. During that period it looked like the legislation would be passed only for it to be stalled on more than one occasion. However today’s actions mean its one of the last measures to be introduced by the outgoing government. Other legislation such as the Technological Universities Bill 2015 and the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 weren’t as fortunate and have been killed off So what are spent convictions? Such legislation helps remove some of the barriers that exist for the successful reintegration into society of former offenders and prisoners. As the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) states “certain minor convictions more than 7 years old will become ‘spent’ and no longer have to be declared, thus removing barriers to employment, education, training, housing and insurance for tens of thousands of people in Ireland who have moved on from past offending behaviour.” Once it becomes law the following convictions may become spent after 7 years: Convictions for certain minor motoring and public order offences received in the district court, for which the sanction received was less than a 12-month custodial sentence or 24-month suspended sentence not subsequently revoked. There is no limit to the number of these convictions that become spent after 7 years. One other conviction received in the district or circuit court, for which the sanction received was less than a 12-month custodial sentence or 24-month suspended sentence not subsequently revoked. A number of exclusions and conditions apply. For example, convictions for sexual offences are excluded from the scheme, and convictions for insurance fraud have to be disclosed in specified circumstances. If you want to see the legislation in full then click here Groups such as the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) have been advocating for such legislation for over a decade. In their press release on today’s news the Executive Director Deirdre Malone said: “Thousands of people in Ireland with old convictions have demonstrated that they want to move on with their lives – go to work, volunteer, contribute to their communities. This legislation will realise that goal for many people, but it is disappointing that it did not go further. We will be asking the next Government to review the operation of the spent convictions legislation in the future in order to ensure that it fully supports the rehabilitation and reintegration of those with previous convictions.” The IPRT have already highlighted that they will undertake “a review of the operation of the legislation in future with a view to widening its reach”. The IPRT believes the legislation could have been strengthened through the following measures: Raising the limit on the type of custodial sentence that is eligible to become spent from <12 months to <30 months (in line with Northern Ireland) or <48 months (in line with England and Wales) Removing the cap on the number of convictions that may become spent: IPRT maintains that it is the length of time since a person offended and not the number of times they may have offended in the past that indicates the likelihood of reoffending. Retaining a proportionate relationship between the nature of the sanction and the rehabilitation period: the blanket 7-year rehabilitative period for all sanctions, whether a small fine or a sentence of up to 12 months in prison, is disproportionate. It was stated in the Dáil on the 27th January by the Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald that the legislation should be operational by early April 2016. While the new law is limited it is certainly long overdue and can be seen as progress, even if minor. Hopefully lobbying by groups like IPRT and Help Not Harm to the next government will see the legislation made more effective. Please visit the IPRT FAQ section for more. Alternatively you can contact IPRT directly if you think you might benefit from such legislation but have questions. Organisations such as FLAC may also be of assistance for those wanting to know more. AdvertisementsApple is missing out on iAd sales opportunities because the company is too “slow, cocky and downright stingy” according to Madison Avenue media buyers cited in a piece in Advertising Age. One exec told Ad Age that Apple doesn’t even have official sales targets for its ad business. Cary Tilds, chief innovation officer for GroupM, said that Apple doesn’t have a big sales team. “It’s not their main focus to tell everyone in the world how amazing advertising in iAd is,” she said. “It’s just not as loud” … NordVPN Apple came in for particular criticism for its unwillingness to share anonymized information about the behaviours of its customers, which media buyers say would be incredibly valuable when it comes to targeting ads at the right customers. Apple’s refusal to share data makes it the best-looking girl at the party, forced to wear a bag over her head. Apple had originally aimed iAds at big-name brands, with a $1M minimum spend, later reduced to $500,000 and then $100,000 before introducing the iAD Workbench program which allows micro-campaigns to be created from just $50. Apple is believed to be focusing its ad sales efforts on iTunes Radio, with in-app sales taking a backseat.Robert Merton Solow, GCIH (; born August 23, 1924), is an American economist, particularly known for his work on the theory of economic growth that culminated in the exogenous growth model named after him.[28][29] He is currently Emeritus Institute Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been a professor since 1949.[30] He was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal in 1961,[31] the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1987,[32] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.[33] Four of his PhD students, George Akerlof, Joseph Stiglitz, Peter Diamond and William Nordhaus later received Nobel Memorial Prizes in Economic Sciences in their own right.[34][35][36] Biography [ edit ] Robert Solow was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish family on August 23, 1924, the oldest of three children. He was well educated in the neighborhood public schools and excelled academically early in life.[37] In September 1940, Solow went to Harvard College with a scholarship at the age of 16. At Harvard, his first studies were in sociology and anthropology as well as elementary economics. By the end of 1942, Solow left the university and joined the U.S. Army. He served briefly in North Africa and Sicily, and later served in Italy during World War II until he was discharged in August 1945.[37][38] He returned to Harvard in 1945, and studied under Wassily Leontief. As his research assistant he produced the first set of capital-coefficients for the input–output model. Then he became interested in statistics and probability models. From 1949–50, he spent a fellowship year at Columbia University to study statistics more intensively. During that year he was also working on his Ph.D. thesis, an exploratory attempt to model changes in the size distribution of wage income using interacting Markov processes for employment-unemployment and wage rates.[37] In 1949, just before going off to Columbia he was offered and accepted an assistant professorship in the Economics Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At M.I.T. he taught courses in statistics and econometrics. Solow's interest gradually changed to macroeconomics. For almost 40 years, Solow and Paul Samuelson worked together on many landmark theories: von Neumann growth theory (1953), theory of capital (1956), linear programming (1958) and the Phillips curve (1960). Solow also held several government positions, including senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers (1961–62) and member of the President's Commission on Income Maintenance (1968–70). His studies focused mainly in the fields of employment and growth policies, and the theory of capital. In 1961 he won the American Economic Association's John Bates Clark Award, given to the best economist
is making all the difference. NEWSLETTERS Get the News Alerts newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Be the first to be informed of important news as it happens in Greater Cincinnati. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for News Alerts Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Marijuana contains several hundred active ingredients called cannabinoids that work in the human body like a key in a lock. The ingredient THC generates the psychoactive response – it’s what gets you high. Buy Photo THC marijuana patches sit on the counter of the Benton family home as therapy dog Preston lays nearby. (Photo: The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann) But in Addyson, THC induces a calming that can stop or even prevent seizures. When Addyson cries or is upset, her brain’s electrical system gets scrambled, triggering seizures. But Heather Benton said a touch of THC oil on Addyson’s gum brings the neural chain reaction to a halt. On her foot, Addyson wears a transdermal patch, changed twice a day, with another ingredient of marijuana, THC-A. Heather Benton also has a pen that pumps a small dose of a gel with yet another ingredient that can be “rescue” medicine when Addyson’s brain cascades with seizures. “The first day we applied the patch, we saw a difference,” Heather Benton said. “When we saw that, we were angry. Angry that we had to move to Colorado to get medicine that helps our daughter.” Buy Photo Addyson wears a medical marijuana patch on her right foot as she swings in the backyard. (Photo: The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann) Addyson Benton is under the care of Margaret Gedde, a Colorado Springs physician who since 2009 has dedicated her practice to helping patients use medical marijuana. The journey for a doctor, she said, is realizing that patients know more about marijuana than she does. “I kept hearing from people about how they were using marijuana, and I was astonished,” Gedde said. “I have a Ph.D in chemistry, so I decided that I would be a scientist and ask everybody how this worked for them.” Today, Gedde said she treated seizures in 400 patients, many of whom have moved to Colorado to get medical marijuana. She sees improvement in all of them. She expects that as long as Addyson uses marijuana, her prognosis brightens. Gedde believes the whole nation could respond the same way. “Cannabis is the future of medicine,” she said. “There is a potential for cannabis to change medicine, to change how medicine is practiced.” The prospect of Ohio legalizing marijuana could contribute to such a paradigm shift, Gedde said. As more patients use marijuana, more doctors get educated. “But then, of course, you’ll have people moving to Ohio.” Buy Photo Addyson plays in the backyard with her therapy dog, Preston. Her parents, Adam and Heather, have noticed a big difference in their daughter since she started using medical marijuana, which is given to her through a patch she places on her foot. Addyson wears the patch every day and it doesn't contain any of the active ingredients of the plant that would get a person "high." (Photo: The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann) 'I'll tell the world' A Cincinnati Bengals doormat lies at the entrance to the Bentons’ rental house. Colorado is nice country, Heather Benton said, but it’s not home. Yet even if Ohio voters pass Issue 3, the Bentons will stay in Colorado until they can put together the money to return. And now, they face a new medical worry. Years ago, Heather Benton said, she was successfully treated to remove precancerous cells on her cervix. But recent medical testing has returned mysterious results, and she requires a CT scan. She said she is prepared: “If it’s cancer, I can promise you, I will use medical marijuana first, and I’ll tell the world. I want to show that I can save my life with this so that I don’t have to kill myself with chemo.” Suddenly, a cry arose from the backyard. On her Barbie trike, Addyson somehow scraped her heel to bleeding. Heather Benton scooped up her child and brought her into the house. The crying went from distress to a piercing note of panic. This is where the child's seizures typically start and exponentially expand. Heather murmured, “It’s all right, it’s OK, let’s check it out,” and sat the weeping Addyson on the kitchen counter. Heather examined the wound, found it superficial, wiped it and applied a green bandage. Addyson shrieked again. Buy Photo Heather Benton helps her daughter, Addyson, settle down after scraping her ankle. (Photo: The Enquirer/Amanda Rossmann) Heather reached for the small bottle of THC oil, put a few drops on her fingertip and swiped Addyson’s gum. Addyson didn’t blink. In seconds, she stopped crying. She relaxed. She smiled. “All done!” said Heather. “All done!” Addyson chirped. “High five?” Heather said, and Addyson smacked her palm. Then, suddenly tired, Addyson leaned against her mother. “Ready for a nap?” Heather asked. “Yeah,” Addyson replied, and as her mother carried her off to bed, she waved bye-bye. Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1S38ikvThere's a well-known phenomenon in churches where young families, many of whom have not been involved in organized religion since before college, return to a community of faith once they have kids. If asked why, many of the parents say they come back because they want their children to learn the importance of the values promoted by that religion: compassion, patience, love, generosity, humility. But what if that same religious community actually is making their kids meaner than they'd be without it? As the father of two children who attend church, and as the husband of a pastor, I found a recent study published in the journal Current Biology both intriguing and disturbing. The study examined children ages 5 to 12 from Christian, Muslim and non-religious backgrounds, assessing their altruism and their degree of judgment of other child peers. The study was broad, spanning nearly 1,200 kids from the U.S., Canada, China, South Africa, Jordan and Turkey, engaging them in a game called the "Dictator Test." Each was given a certain number of stickers, and they were told there weren't enough to share with their entire group. Also, they were asked to assess the morality and behavior of their peers. Finally, the scientists assessed the perception of the parents of these children to see how they perceived their own kids compared to others. Their conclusions were sobering: Across all countries, parents in religious house- holds reported that their children expressed more empathy and sensitivity for justice in everyday life than non-religious parents. However, religiousness was inversely predictive of children's altruism and positively correlated with their punitive tendencies. Together these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children's altruism, challenging the view that religiosity facilitates prosocial behavior. In fact, the study found that the longer the children were exposed to the religious environment, the less generous and more judgmental they became. The "secular kids," meanwhile, were more forgiving of, and more generous with, other kids. My initial response was, Fine, but it's commonly known that, as adults, religious people are more generous than those not involved in church. Not exactly, it turns out. Taken simply at face value, yes: people in church give more of their income to charitable causes. But we have to dig a little deeper to get down to what that really means. In 2012, the Chronicle of Philanthropy released a study (since taken down from their site) that did, indeed, demonstrate that U.S. Christians in particular did give more to tax-exempt organizations than others. But although that finding was trumpeted by religion advocates, they were nearly universally silent about where that money actually went. In 2o13, a follow-up study by the National Study of Religious Giving released a report called "Connected to Give: Faith Communities" that said 73% of the money American Christians were giving went to a religious organization. About seventy-five cents out of every dollar they donated to charity went to the Church. And this would be fine if, in fact, the churches were living out their claim to fulfill a principal purpose of serving the poor. But they're not. A 2014 study issued by the Evangelical Christian Credit Union broke down how our churches are spending their money. On average, they dedicate 58% to personnel expenses, 18% to facilities and maintenance, 6% to administration and 3% to cash reserves, paying off debt and to building funds. This leaves 14% for "Programs," which includes 5% for child and adult education, 2% for worship and 3% for evangelism/outreach (advertising, recruitment and P.R.). If you're tracking so far, this leaves 3%, 2% of which goes to overseas charities, and 1% of which is given to local and national causes outside the building. And though it can be argued that the programs inside church buildings do benefit both those who attend the church and sometimes those in the surrounding community, the fact remains that only $3 out of every $100 we give to our churches leaves the building. In short: when we are given a large pool of resources, we share less of it with people we're not personally connected with than those outside of the Church. OK, I thought to myself, so the altruism/generosity findings in the children study seems to bear out in the adults of those kids found to be less altruistic. But what about them being more judgmental of others? Sadly, it isn't good. My wife, Amy, and I did a survey of about 750 young adults for a book we wrote together years ago about how both Christians and non-Christians perceived people within the Christian faith. Given a wide range of adjectives to choose from, both religious insiders and outsiders overwhelmingly picked two words first and foremost to describe Christians: "Judgmental" (78 percent) and "Hypocritical" (72 percent). But that's an anomaly, right? Certainly we were unscientific in our findings, attracting skeptical peers from our own circles that were influenced by what they thought we wanted to find. In 2012, researchers at Baylor University did a study, assessing the narcissism of three groups of college students: devoutly religious young adults, nominally religious young adults and non-religious/skeptical young adults. Here's a summary of what they found, as stated by Baylor's Dr. Marjorie J. Cooper and Chris Pullig, the latter of whom was the author of the study report: Both the nominal and devout groups show degrees of poor ethical judgment equal to that of the skeptics when accompanied by higher degrees of narcissism, a finding that suggests a dramatic transformation for both nominals and the devouts when ethical judgment is clouded by narcissistic tendencies. For both of these groups as narcissism increases so does the tendency to demonstrate worse ethical judgment. (Pullig) Devout people who are narcissistic and exercise poor ethical judgment would be committing acts that are, according to their own internalized value system, blatantly hypocritical. (Cooper) So their findings were that narcissistic religious students were no more ethical in their decision-making than those not involved in organized religion. And in as much as those religious institutions promote and preach selflessness, compassion and generosity, those religious people, rightly then, are perceived as hypocrites. So in this case, though religion doesn't make adults have poorer judgment, it also doesn't have a positive effect. And on top of that, the values promoted by their religion and claimed by its faithful don't match their behavior, which makes them hypocrites. To top all of this off, the Current Biology study cited at the top of the article found that parents of the young children tested in the altruism-and-judgment study pervasively perceived their own children to be more generous and less judgmental than their secular counterparts, despite the evidence yielded by the study. So despite the evidence, we think religion is making our kids more giving and forgiving, when actually it seems to have exactly the opposite correlation. But because it's what we tell ourselves, we see what we want to see. Further, we continue to model these negative, un-Gospel, un-Christ-like attitudes and behaviors as we get older, and even within the very institutions we entrust our children to teach the values we so desire for them to live out. All the while, the rest for the culture sees the hypocrisy and the cognitive dissonance in our attitudes toward others and where we place our money. And as Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." The conclusion that seems to emerge from all of this validates in some ways what vocal atheist scholar Richard Dawkins claims, which is that organized religion's mission, first and foremost, is self-sustenance. And at the risk of distilling down a number of scientific studies into plain language summaries, when we identify with these institutions bent on survival, we pool our resources to that end, and then tell ourselves it makes us better people in doing so. Otherwise, committing so much of our time, energy and money to an institutional system whose primary desire is to keep going for the sake of itself is...kind of insane. "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."At first sight, Baba Ramdev looks like the world’s oddest tycoon—and with his infectious, lopsided grin and bright saffron robes, surely the most harmless. But India’s favourite yoga teacher has expanded his presence beyond the country’s multitude of religious channels, which are full of his sermons, and even its news channels, where he’s a strong supporter of the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now he’s moving into India’s grocery stores with his Patanjali brand of “traditional" cosmetics and processed foods. The company—which is owned and run by his closest followers, not the supposedly ascetic Ramdev himself—grew 150% last year. Ramdev has said he intends it to grow as fast for the next five years. Patanjali products have developed an audience by purporting to be organic and quality-conscious. With them, and by helping to popularize yoga in its country of origin, Ramdev may have kept more than a few members of the notoriously overweight Indian middle class from toppling over. But the way Patanjali has chosen to market its products is disturbingly xenophobic. And their popularity may force other retailers to follow suit. Ramdev himself is, sadly, the most regressive shade of social conservative. Indian lawmakers have accused him of selling medicines that claim to encourage the birth of male children. He advertises “cures" for homosexuality in his ashram and has a running feud with Bollywood’s actresses, whom he has condemned as “characterless." He fought against the decriminalization of homosexuality all the way to India’s Supreme Court and eventually won. (He also believes that only racism stops him from winning a Nobel Prize.) With Patanjali, Ramdev and his followers have promoted a stridently nationalist line. They would claim that when you buy a Patanjali toothpaste, you aren’t just preventing cavities but also buying freedom from the West. Newspaper advertisements underscore the argument: “Though we got political freedom 70 years back, economic freedom is still a dream.... The way [the] East India Company enslaved and looted us, multinational companies are still doing the same [sic]." Some of these ads have featured a map of India overlaid with a cross to symbolize the rapacious British East India Company, which for some reason upset Indian Christian organizations. Patanjali’s messaging thus effortlessly links nationalism, Hinduism and the virtue and quality of the company’s goods—and Ramdev’s multitude of TV programs gives him plenty of scope to spread the message. Patanjali has also been remarkably nimble at casting competitors as outsiders, even though most of them—even the multinationals—have been operating here for decades and are almost completely Indian in management and marketing. Last year, after Nestle India’s best-selling Maggi instant noodles ran into regulatory trouble, Patanjali rushed an all-Indian variant into stores to take advantage of the gap in the market, with Ramdev promising a “healthy alternative." (Unfortunately for Patanjali, its alternative almost immediately ran into similar regulatory trouble.) Patanjali’s rivals are clearly worried. Now that selling “Indian-ness" is an advantage, even the most foreign of companies are trying gamely to keep up. Several are hastily reviving “herbal" and “ayurvedic" divisions and brands that they had sold off or shut down years ago. Lufthansa’s current ad campaign in India features the line “More Indian than you think." Even phones from Chinese electronics major Xiaomi arrive with big “Made in India" stickers across the front of the box. This festival season—we’re moving towards Diwali, the festival of lights and of massive sales—Ramdev has upped the ante, calling for an old-fashioned boycott of Chinese-made goods. He complains of the Beijing regime’s solid support of Pakistan. (His plans to launch a line of “swadeshi," or indigenous, jeans are no doubt just a coincidence.) Campaigns across social media have taken up the call; schoolchildren have launched protest marches and vowed to not to buy Chinese firecrackers. This is going to be a headache for Modi’s government, not just foreign companies. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the family of organizations that includes Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has seized on the idea of a boycott of Chinese imports, which totaled $62 billion last year. The government has already given in to the Manch by making things very difficult for the US-based biotech company Monsanto. It’s now going to have to deal with this fresh demand, at a time when relations with China are already fraught. As for multinationals, one thing is clear: India’s not as uncomplicated a market as it used to be. Previously, companies had to worry about political risk in China, with demonstrations outside American fast-food restaurants and mobs burning Japanese cars. India, on the other hand, would lap up anything imported and ask for more. But that was an older, perhaps less self-confident country. Ramdev’s India may not be quite as friendly a place to do business. Bloomberg This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Having been harshly criticized by the mainstream media during his electoral campaign, Trump continues to battle them in his Twitter page from the White House! According to a report by IFP, Trump has never been the favourite candidate of the elite, particularly in the mainstream media. That said, many experts were sure that he would be defeated by Hillary Clinton who had the support of the American elite and celebrities. They had forgotten about the recent trends in public opinion, though: Trump won the US presidential elections and started to struggle against the mainstream media, calling them “Fake News”. The new US President also uses his Twitter to respond to media attacks. Every day a new Twitter message by Trump provokes controversy alongside his other actions. So there is no surprise that the majority of the Internet is today occupied by Tramp and his actions and counteractions. Now take a look at some creative cover pictures of important international press on Trump, published in recent days: “The Week” was one of the first journals to raise the subject of Trump’s Twitter war against the media. The cover of this magazine’s past week issue was headlined “The Twitter presidency: Trump’s war on the press, the EU, and NATO, and ethical norms.” The cover picture shows a man, as the symbol of press, running away in the rain of the White House tweets. As the controversy went on over Trump’s Twitter war, the next issue of “The Week”’ also ran his cover: We see Trump who rules the White House wearing the virtual glasses! The latest issue of the English weekly “The Economist” also brought up the subject of Trump and his radical acts on its cover, which is headlined “An insurgent in the White House”, accompanied by a picture of Trump throwing Molotov cocktail: the new US President strives to disrupt the established order of American political apparatus. Another notable cover picture was one of “Der Spiegel” German weekly, showing Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty, symbol of Democracy in the United States, in the way the ISIS terrorists do. Finally, a Polish media has won lots of attention by headlining the struggle of Trump with Iran. Talking about Iranian officials’ response to the US threats by insisting on this country’s defence power, this website wrote “Iran rubbed Trump’s nose in the dirt!”This rip-roaring, record-breaking South Korean zombies-on-a-train romp barrels along like a runaway locomotive – The Railing Dead. Owing as much to Bong Joon-ho (director of creature-feature hit The Host) as to George A Romero, Yeon Sang-ho’s breathless cinematic bullet train boasts frantic physical action, sharp social satire and ripe sentimental melodrama designed to reach into your ribcage and rip out your bleeding heart. Faster on its feet than 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake, wittier than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and more thrillingly spectacular than World War Z, Train to Busan joins The Girl With All the Gifts in breathing new life into a genre that simply refuses to lie down and die. We open with a truck driving through a biochemical quarantine zone (“tiny leak, my arse”) and hitting a deer that promptly springs back to life with milky malice in its eyes. Meanwhile, divorced fund manager Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) scans news reports of “Mysterious Fish Death”. He is too tied up with a big business deal to attend his daughter’s singing recital, while all young Su-an (Kim Su-an) wants for her birthday is to visit her mother in Busan, a request to which Seok-woo grudgingly accedes. But as father and daughter board the high-speed KTX train from Seoul to Busan, so too does a wildfire plague that will give new meaning to the phrase “passenger disturbance”. Moving nimbly from the confrontational animation of The King of Pigs and The Fake to the more mainstream live action of Train to Busan, Yeon retains a sharp graphic sensibility that pays snappy dividends. A platform attack eerily glimpsed from the window of a departing train gives a shiversome taste of what’s to come, alongside a homeless man’s traumatised declaration that they’re “all dead, everyone’s dead” (“Hey kid,” Su-an is told, “if you don’t study hard, you’ll end up like him!”). Before you can say Snowpiercer meets 28 Days Later, a thundering tide of flesh-eaters is pouring through the aisles, over the seats and down the corridors, a necrotising, limb-cracking wave of contorting, gnarly nastiness. “At a time like this, you only look out for yourself,” Seok-woo tells Su-an when she gives up her seat, reinforcing her belief that “you only care about yourself – that’s why Mum left”. It’s no surprise that, as the ensuing carnage escalates, this failing father will be forced to reassess his insular view of the world, but as with all the film’s disaster movie tropes, familiarity does not detract from the fun. Indeed, there’s an impressive efficiency to the introduction of disparate characters through Airport-style thumbnail sketches (the bullish, blue-collar husband and his pregnant wife, the young baseball player and the cheerleader etc), all facing broad-strokes life-lessons that may or may not see each of them through to the final reel. Scenes of carnage often offset by stirring melancholy melodies As with Yeon’s previous work, a healthy distrust of authority underpins the action, a theme amplified here in the wake of the 2015 Mers outbreak. “Fellow citizens, please refrain from responding to baseless rumours,” burbles an authoritarian voice on TV, even as social media is awash with apocalyptic images of bodies falling from the skies and bloodshed on the streets. “We must stay calm and trust the government. We believe that your safety is not in jeopardy!” Crucially, the virulence of this outbreak is clearly equated with poisonous traits already embedded in society, with Seok-woo being pointedly described as “a bloodsucker” who “leeches off others” even as zombies sink their teeth into passengers. Have we reached peak zombie? \| Emma Brockes Read more When reports of rioting hit the onboard TVs, someone sneers that “in the old days, they’d be re-educated”. Later, a selfish mob who bar their doors against our ragtag band of heroes seem indistinguishable from the ravenous hordes eating their way through the train, with Yeon playfully conjuring mirror images of horror crushed up against the opaque glass. Kim Eui-sung is in splendidly hissable form as the snotty executive who becomes the embodiment of first-class fiendishness, while Lee Hyung-deok’s agile camerawork and Yang Jin-mo’s dextrous editing crank up the ferocious pace as the undead swarm like insects up escalators and along tracks. Jang Young-gyu’s music alternates from squishy stabs and honking alarums to more lyrical piano tinklings, with scenes of carnage often offset by stirring melancholy melodies that emphasise heartbreak over horror. Those looking for more back story may seek out Yeon’s animated scene-setter Seoul Station, but you don’t need a primer to be swept up in the torrential momentum of Train to Busan’s non-stop thrill ride.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nicola Sturgeon won the backing of her 63 SNP MSPs Nicola Sturgeon is to be reappointed as first minister of Scotland after she was backed for the job by MSPs. Ms Sturgeon's SNP won its third consecutive Holyrood election on 5 May, but finished two seats short of an overall majority. Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie was the only MSP to stand against Ms Sturgeon. Ms Sturgeon, who won 63 votes to Mr Rennie's five, is now the official nominee for first minister, to be confirmed by the Queen. During the vote, 59 members abstained, backing neither candidate. Despite the Liberal Democrats finishing fifth in the election after winning just five seats, Mr Rennie said he wanted to underline the fact Ms Sturgeon will lead a minority administration. Ms Sturgeon became first minister on 20 November 2014, after Alex Salmond stood down in the wake of the independence referendum. At the time, she defeated Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson - whose party is now the second largest in the parliament - by 66 votes to 15, with 39 abstentions. Ms Davidson did not stand this time, after pledging during the election campaign to form a strong opposition. Image caption Willie Rennie ran against Ms Sturgeon but won only 5 votes Ms Sturgeon said she wanted to use the position of first minister to change Scotland for the better. Calling on MSPs from all parties to support her nomination, she said the SNP had won an "overwhelming mandate to govern", and that she had a "mandate to continue as first minister". 'Outward looking' She added: "I will lead a government that seeks to win votes, not simply by the force of our numbers, but by the strength of our arguments - and by the support we are able to build for our policies in the country as a whole. "And we will not assume a monopoly of wisdom. Good ideas exist across the parliamentary chamber and I promise that we will always seek to judge them on merit, rather than on their party of origin. "That is the open, inclusive and outward looking approach to government that I will endeavour to take." Image copyright PA Image caption Ms Sturgeon said if the vote was tied, she and Mr Rennie would race down a giant inflatable slide for the job Ms Sturgeon paid tribute to the "colourful" campaign Mr Rennie had run during the election, and joked that if the vote were tied, they would race down a "giant inflatable slide" to decide who got the job. Mr Rennie said he had put himself forward to underline that Holyrood does not have an overall majority government, saying all the parties are minorities. He joked that when he told his son that he was going to put himself forward for the post of first minister, he said "oh dad, you're not are you?" The Lib Dem leader also took the chance to underline his party's top policy priorities, including education, mental health and civil liberties. Image caption Each of the opposition party leaders gave a speech following the election Each of the party leaders was given a moment to speak after the vote, with each congratulating Ms Sturgeon on her victory. Ruth Davidson, speaking for the first time as the leader of the biggest opposition party after her Conservatives leapfrogged Labour in the election, said she would provide "strong opposition" to the SNP. She said Scotland was about to "embark on a new chapter for devolution". Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she hoped Ms Sturgeon used her mandate as first minister to be bold. She said Holyrood had to "shape the future" and not be held prisoner by the past. Patrick Harvie, whose Greens overtook the Lib Dems into fourth place, urged Ms Sturgeon to "look to those who oppose austerity" for support when deciding budgets, and called for the government to raise its game on climate change. Image caption Five politicians have served a first minister since the devolved Scottish Parliament was created in 1999 The SNP has said it will form a minority government after winning 63 of the 129 seats in the election, which also saw the Conservatives win 31 seats, Labour 24, the Scottish Greens six and the Liberal Democrats five. The post of first minister has previously always been held by the leader of the largest single party in the Scottish Parliament. But Liberal Democrat Jim Wallace, who was then the deputy first minister - stepped in on a temporary basis when Labour's Donald Dewar became ill, and again when Mr Dewar died in October 2000. Mr Wallace also found himself in the hot seat when Labour's Henry McLeish quit as first minister in 2001 following a row over the sub-letting of his constituency office in Glenrothes.Since the foundation of Bhutan, spirituality and compassion have been integrated with governance. Furthermore, this integration has occurred at both the personal and the institutional level. This report opens by tracing the history of this imaginative integration, which was crystallized by His Majesty the Fourth King into the idea of GNH. As Bhutan has developed and encounters with other societies expanded, the spirituality of compassion that earlier was embedded in civil servants’ via personal practice has been made more explicit, more articulate and uses modern technologies. One expression of this is the development of the GNH Index, which opens a wider angle onto people’s lives. Survey data are used to provides information on all of these relevant areas. And the GNH Survey and Index are used to clarify areas in which the conditions for happiness exist and those where public action is required to establish the conditions of happiness. As the GNH research of the Centre for Bhutan Studies is designed to inform action, the first chapter also describes the associated policy and programme screening tools as well as other actions by which GNH has been advanced. The remainder of this report presents the findings of the 2015 Gross National Happiness (GNH) Survey, which collected information from across Bhutan on many aspects of Bhutanese people’s lives that relate to wellbeing measurement and analysis. The Survey was used to construct the 2015 GNH Index, and to compare levels and the composition of GNH across groups, and across the period 2010-2015. The GNH Survey and the GNH Index created from it are designed to guide actions to advance GNH across Bhutan This report, called A Compass Towards a Just and Harmonious Society, presents the detailed findings from the survey for use by both experts and the general public. It also gives strong guidance for action in public policy, by the private sector, and among civil society organisations.The true costs of helicopter money Biagio Bossone Some economists see helicopter money as a free lunch, because it can prompt growth without requiring higher debt financing. This column argues that if there are costs associated with the permanent injection of cash into the economy, they would diminish its effectiveness. Economists from both left and centre have recently proposed we use 'helicopter money' – the direct injection of cash into the hands of consumers, or the permanent monetisation of government debt. They argue that central banks can prompt output and price growth without requiring higher debt financing by issuing money. It is, apparently, a free lunch. Is that really the case? Turner (2015) concludes that the stimulative impact of helicopter money is never inferior to that of a debt financed deficit, but he assumes HM is a costless way to increase agents’ nominal purchasing power through permanent additions of (fiat) money into the economy. The same consideration underpins Buiter’s (2014) formal demonstration that HM always succeeds in boosting aggregate demand, even in a liquidity trap. If we want to understand how effective helicopter money would be as a policy instrument relative to other ways to help economies out of persistent stagnation and lowflation, we also need to appreciate its costs (Bossone 2013a, 2013b). If there are costs associated with the permanent injection of cash into the economy, they would diminish its effectiveness. Is it really a free lunch? Kocherlakota (2016) comments that, in a situation in which the money issued by the central bank pays interest, helicopter money would not provide much extra lift than financing the deficit with government debt – because, like a government debt, money is a costly liability. Similarly, Borio et al. (2016) argued that the central bank may give a permanent injection of non-interest bearing money liability (reserves) and accept a zero interest rate forever. The cost to this would be that the central bank gives up completely on monetary policy. To avoid this outcome: The central bank could pay interest on reserves at the policy rate, transforming its issuance into a source of perpetual financial obligation equivalent to debt financing. The central bank could impose a non-interest bearing compulsory reserve requirement on the reserves issued as helicopter money – which makes the operation equivalent to tax-financed deficit spending, since someone in the private sector must bear the cost (Borio et al. 2016). The central bank pays interest on reserves. It recovers the interest cost on the portion of reserves issued under the HM by applying a separate levy on banks (Bernanke 2016). These policies mean that lunch would not be free. The key issue here is the relationship between the interest rate on central bank reserves and debt versus tax financing. Unlike the interest rate paid on debt obligations is a price mechanism that signals the value of central bank reserves, the positive remuneration of the excess reserves that commercial banks hold with the central bank does not (and is not designed to) reflect their value. Those reserves are a perfectly liquid asset and do not bear credit risk. Remunerating them does not reward their holders for sacrificing liquidity or for taking risk. The remuneration adds to the reserves’ intrinsic liquidity premium and introduces a price incentive under a deliberate central bank policy decision. This incentive is a form of subsidy, through which the central bank alters liquidity preferences in the economy. As a subsidy, it eliminates the opportunity cost that banks would otherwise have to factor in when determining at the margin how many reserves to hold optimally compared to other, less liquid, assets. It breaks the link between interest rate formation and the amount of reserves in the system (Goodfriend 2002). Its use as a tax, on the other hand, is evident when the central bank applies negative rates as a way to discourage commercial banks from hoarding reserves. Therefore, while a positive remuneration on excess reserves transforms them into fiscal liabilities (analogous to debt financing) in the consolidated public sector balance sheet, its suppression (or recovery through a separate levy, as proposed by Bernanke) does not imply an increased opportunity cost for banks – it removes the subsidy and re-establishes the true opportunity cost of money. (In equilibrium, this opportunity cost equals the implicit own rate of return on money.) Suppressing or recovering the interest rate paid on the reserves issued under HM re-introduces a constraint on the exercise of monetary policy. But it is not, and should not be considered as, a form of tax financing. What is the impact of helicopter money on the conduct of monetary policy? Helicopter money may also impose a constraint on future monetary policy decisions. It becomes more expansionary than a debt-financed programme only if the central bank credibly commits never to raise rates in the future and never to withdraw the increase in reserves (Borio et al. 2016). This is monetary policy surrender. It is also not what a HM policy would require. Muellbauer (2016) observes that a future rise in interest rates would be state-dependent – it would depend on an economic recovery, and the escape from deflation. If helicopter money has achieved its objective of improving the economy, it would only be appropriate for interest rates, and the future cost of government finance, to rise. The underlying argument for making the injection of reserves permanent rests on an incorrect concept of 'permanence'. The addition to the economy’s stock of nominal wealth should be permanent under helicopter money, not the stock of newly created money – the latter may well change over time as a result of future monetary policy decisions. To see this, consider that helicopter money injections can be effected by: Financing the government budget: A central bank issues reserves to purchase government debt on the primary or the secondary market; Financing the private sector directly: A central bank crediting the accounts of selected categories of individual economic agents with newly created reserves, which resembles the original concept of helicopter money as created by Friedman (1969). If helicopter money is conducted through the government budget, the 'permanence' would be the central bank’s commitment to purchase the debt and to hold it perpetually (Turner 2013). In this situation purchases of government debt via helicopter money operations can take place in the primary market, whereby the government would get the money and finance the extra deficit deriving from larger expenses or tax cuts, or in the secondary market, whereby an equivalent amount of public debt obligations would be cancelled and the government would use the related budgetary savings to finance new spending or tax cuts. Under
in the station before a commercial options is available. While discussions are underway to extend the lifetime of the $100 billion-plus International Space Station beyond 2020, there is concern about the station's overall usefulness and price tag to operate, so much so the station may face a fiery demise in Earth's atmosphere at the end of the present decade. Also at issue is whether an unraveling of the 15-nation partnership driving the space station program is afoot — a collaboration that is being viewed by cash-strapped countries as too costly and politically a hard-to-sell project. The overall health, utility, and longevity of the Earth-orbiting complex, as well as the willingness of nations to continue to take part in the program, were front-and-center topics during a July 29 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council’s (NAC) Human Exploration and Operations Committee. [Building the International Space Station (Photos)] The NAC provides the NASA Administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the U.S. space agency. A space station in good shape Five different space organizations — NASA, Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and the space agencies of Europe, Canada and Japan — oversee the space station's daily operations for the many countries involved. There are currently six astronauts living on the station, including three Russians, two Americans and one Italian spaceflyer. They are the 36th crew of the orbiting lab. Construction of the station began in 1998 and is now, nearly 15 years later, largely complete. The first crew, Expedition 1, took up residence in November 2000, and the station has been crewed by rotating teams of astronauts and cosmonauts ever since. Chris Hadfield snapped this shot of a "bullet hole" created by a micrometeoroid or piece of space junk in one of the space station's solar arrays. (Image: © Chris Hadfield (via Twitter as @Cmdr_Hadfield)) During the recent meeting, William Gerstenmaier, NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said space station component failure rates have been less than anticipated. "The hardware is looking pretty good overall," he said. But micrometeoroid and orbital debris hits to the station are still considered "a major risk," Gerstenmaier advised. Such strikes are being monitored closely, with a big survey recently performed to seek out evidence of impacts on the station's exterior hull, he said. While not alarming, there are quite a few hits to the station's huge, power-generation solar panels, Gerstenmaier said. "They look like a west Texas stop sign." [The Worst Space Debris Events of All Time] Space station survival in 2028? Concerning the attitude of the many space station partners about continuing operations through 2028, Gerstenmaier said: "I think this is probably an area where the U.S. is going to have to lead." The international partners "are still looking more for a positive, demonstratable return on investment," he added. For the United States, "we're seeing some benefits from station that the partners have not yet realized. They are doing more traditional kinds of research, in my words. So they are not quite seeing that return on investment. They still see the cost side," Gerstenmaier added. "The cost side is very easy to measure. The benefit side is not so easy to measure." Unique situation in orbit Sam Scimemi, Director of the International Space Station in NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, also spoke before the NAC committee. Extending the ISS through at least 2028 would mean loads of more research being done and would also prompt added commercial use of the space station, he said. "Part of our mission is to enable a demand-driven market in low-Earth orbit," Scimemi said. In regard to the ISS international partners, Scimemi said: "We have not had serious discussions with the partners to go beyond 2020 as yet. Each one is in a different place." "We’re in a unique situation with each of the other partners. Some are more willing than others … the Canadians, the Japanese, and the Europeans are in a different place — each of them," he said. "It goes to politics in their own countries." Japan, in particular, is struggling with a more severe budget environment, Scimemi said. The country's economic woes were worsened by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011, followed by the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown. From a personal standpoint, Scimemi said his understanding is that the Russians probably want to go beyond 2020. "Obviously, we want all the [station] partners to continue," Scimemi said. "But we couldn't fly the station without the Russians." "We want them all," Scimemi said. "I think we've built something in this partnership … the partnership is more important than the platform itself." It's "something that probably will never come about again," he added. Beyond the hope of keeping all partner nations onboard with the space station effort, using the facility to shoulder crucial research needed for future NASA goals was discussed at the NAC committee gathering. One of the chief questions: Could a human mission to Mars be achieved if the space station were not still in use beyond 2020? "Most likely not," Scimemi responded to a NAC committee member's question. "We are so far away," Scimemi said, referring to the human research data that are still required, as well as shake-out tests of critical life support and environmental monitoring system hardware. [Giant Leaps: Top Milestones of Human Spaceflight] Without extending utilization of the space station and carrying out studies on astronaut health and safety, "there is no way we'll solve all the medical and other human things" to get to Mars, Scimemi said. For one, due to the number of subjects that are slated to live and work on the space station, gathering vital medical data wouldn’t be done until the 2026 time frame. Secondly, initial analysis of Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) equipment and other crew health gear is headed for a similar target date, Scimemi said. Will the space station have a longer life? The debate over how long to pay for the International Space Station is something that has long loomed over the program, one expert said. "This is a little bit like smoker's cough. It's something that nobody wants to notice," said John Logsdon, professor emeritus of political science and international affairs at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, D.C. An expert in space policy and history, Logsdon said his bottom line is that "the odds, in my view, are heavily against the continuation of the station post 2020." Logsdon told SPACE.com that he did not think it likely that either Japan or Europe have any enthusiasm to pony up money for the ISS after 2020. "That presumes that there’s no major breakthrough," Logsdon said, referring to any potential discovery on the station that turns out to have either great scientific or economic value. Looming in the background of the space station's future beyond 2020 is talk by Russia of starting a second-generation space station on its own, Logsdon said. "And of course you have the Chinese station in the same time period," he added. China has launched two crews to its first space laboratory module, Tiangong 1, and plans to construct a 60-ton space station by 2020. Should anybody care? Even given its $100 billion-plus price tag, should anybody care about the International Space Station's ultimate prognosis? "We don't know whether we should care, because the utilization [of the ISS] is really still in its early stages. The station hasn't had a valid chance to demonstrate its research value," Logsdon said. But Logsdon again added the caveat that perhaps the next four or five years can show a remarkable technical breakthrough that shows unequivocally that the orbiting facility is well worth its cost of operations. No doubt, just bringing multiple nations together to create the International Space Station has been a remarkable achievement, he said. "But it has been done. We proved that," he added. By 2020, the International Space Station will have had nine years of operation after the completion of its primary construction phase, Logsdon said. "So I think we will have proven in those nine years that a consortium of countries can work together to do things in space. I don't think you need the station to continue to prove that over and over." As for taking an abandon-in-place mindset, Logsdon doesn't think the space station partners would agree to just leave the orbiting lab vacant in orbit when they're through. It will have to be de-orbited eventually. "You can't really leave it up there," he said. The judgment ahead is whether the investment in the orbiting outpost was justified in terms of its payoff, Logsdon concluded. "The motto of 'build it and they will come' isn't, as yet, a great success story," he said. Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and is co-author of Buzz Aldrin's new book "Mission to Mars – My Vision for Space Exploration" published by National Geographic. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.Saudi Arabia has reportedly banned Iranian oil tankers from entering its waters in an effort to slow Iran’s oil exports. The FT reports that Iranian ships are restricted from entering Saudi ports, and Bahrain, a Saudi ally, has issued similar restrictions. Also, Iran has been unable to access some oil in storage at a facility in Egypt, which is partially owned by Saudi Arabia. The efforts may have had an impact, as even Iranian oil executives admit that they have been somewhat stymied. Oil sitting in floating storage off the coast of Iran has climbed by 10 percent this year to 50 million barrels. Before western sanctions Iran used to send oil by the SUMED pipeline across Egypt, allowing oil to move from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The FT says that Saudi Arabia is blocking Iran from access to the pipeline, which would ease oil exports to Europe. Related: Oil Prices See-Saw After Friday’s Rout On the diplomatic track, the two countries are also at odds over the pending OPEC production freeze deal. Several major OPEC members plus Russia are set to meet in Doha on April 17, but Iran has said that it will not abide by any freeze deal. Saudi Arabia said last week that it would only participate if Iran also signed up, raising doubts about the viability of the deal. Even with Saudi Arabia, the freeze would amount to little without Iran, since the participating countries have little scope for raising production. Related: Horizontal Land Rig Count Summary 1st April 2016 Meanwhile, despite the Saudi campaign to slow the growth of Iran’s oil exports, Iran is lifting exports. Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on April 3 that Iran managed to increase oil and gas condensate exports by 250,000 barrels per day in March, allowing exports to surpass the 2 million-barrel-per-day mark. Iran is still struggling to obtain full access to insurance for its shipments, and ongoing U.S. banking restrictions are throwing hurdles up for Iran’s oil sector. Still, it is making steady progress ramping up exports. By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:This article is about the video games genre. For platformer units in petroleum refining, see Catalytic reforming Dustforce, a 2012 computer game, shows many platform game features, such as enemies, obstacles, double jumping, and wall jumping. The trailer for, a 2012 computer game, shows many platform game features, such as enemies, obstacles, double jumping, and wall jumping. Platform games, or platformers, are a video game genre and subgenre of action game. In a platformer the player controlled character must jump and climb between suspended platforms while avoiding obstacles. Environments often feature uneven terrain of varying height that must be traversed. The player often has some control over the height and distance of jumps to avoid letting their character fall to their death or miss necessary jumps. The most common unifying element of games of this genre is the jump button, but now there are other alternatives like swiping a touchscreen. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay as well, such as swinging from objects such as vines or grappling hooks, as in Ristar or Bionic Commando, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines, as in Alpha Waves. These mechanics, even in the context of other genres, are commonly called platforming, a verbification of platform. Games where jumping is automated completely, such as 3D games in The Legend of Zelda series, fall outside of the genre. Platform games originated in the early 1980s, which were often about climbing ladders as much as jumping, with 3D successors popularized in the mid-1990s. The term describes games where jumping on platforms is an integral part of the gameplay and came into use after the genre had been established, no later than 1983.[1][2] The genre is frequently combined with elements of other genres, such as the shooter elements in Contra, Beat 'em up elements of Viewtiful Joe, adventure elements of Flashback, or role-playing game elements of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. While commonly associated with console gaming, there have been many important platform games released to video arcades, as well as for handheld game consoles and home computers. North America, Europe and Japan have played major parts in the genre's evolution. Platform themes range from cartoon-like games to science fiction and fantasy epics. At one point, platform games were the most popular genre of video game. At the peak of their popularity, it is estimated that between one-quarter and one-third of console games were platformers.[3] No genre either before or since has been able to achieve a similar market share. As of 2006, the genre had become far less dominant, representing a two percentage market share as compared to fifteen percent in 1998,[4] but is still commercially viable, with a number of games selling in the millions of units. Since 2010, a variety of endless running platformers for mobile devices have brought renewed popularity to the genre. History [ edit ] Single screen movement [ edit ] Donkey Kong (1981) level demonstrates extensive jumping between platforms, the genre's defining trait. This(1981) level demonstrates extensive jumping between platforms, the genre's defining trait. Platform games originated in the late 1970s - early 1980s. Most, but not all, early examples of platform games were confined to a static playing field, generally viewed in profile. Space Panic, a 1980 arcade release by Universal, is sometimes credited as being the first platform game,[5] though the distinction is contentious. While the player had the ability to fall, there was no ability to jump, so the game does not satisfy most modern definitions of the genre. However, it clearly influenced the genre, with gameplay centered on climbing ladders between different floors, a common element in many early platform games. A difficult game to learn, Space Panic remained obscure as an arcade game, but the 1981 unauthorized clone Apple Panic was a hit for home computers. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu's Crazy Climber, which revolved around the concept of climbing vertically-scrolling skyscrapers.[6][7] Donkey Kong, an arcade game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981, was the first game that allowed players to jump over obstacles and across gaps, making it the first true platformer.[8][9] It introduced Mario, a modern icon of the genre, under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision,[10] and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982.[11] The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in the video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr.. The third game in the series, Donkey Kong 3, was not a platformer, but it was succeeded by Mario Bros, a platform game that offered two-player simultaneous cooperative play. This title laid the groundwork for other popular two-player cooperative platformers such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble, which in turn influenced many of the single-screen platformers that would follow. Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged that did not feature scrolling graphics, but had levels that spanned several connected screens. Pitfall!, released for the Atari 2600, featured broad, horizontally extended levels. It became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers. Wanted: Monty Mole won the first ever award for Best Platform game in 1984.[12] Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission, which further expanded on the exploration aspect and laid the groundwork for such games as Prince of Persia. Classification of early platformers [ edit ] The term platform game is somewhat ambiguous, particularly when referring to games that predate the widespread, international use of the term. The concept of a platform game as it was defined in its earliest days is somewhat different from how the term is commonly used today. Following the release of Donkey Kong, a genre of similarly-styled games emerged characterized by a profile view of tiers connected by ladders. These included Kangaroo, Ponpoko, Canyon Climber, Miner 2049er, Lode Runner, and Jumpman. The two most common gameplay goals were to get to the top of the screen or to collect all of a particular item, both of which are found in Donkey Kong. The North American press, including leading magazine Electronic Games, labeled the genre "climbing games."[13] London-based TV Gamer magazine listed "Climbing" as a game category in the March 1983 issue, calling Donkey Kong "the most famous of all climbing games."[14] Circa 1983-4[vague] some UK press began referring to the in-game tiers as "platforms" and started calling these titles "platform games" not long after.[citation needed] The terms platform game and platformer have since gained wide use in North America, and across Europe, and since the earliest uses the concept has evolved, particularly as the genre peaked in popularity during the early 1990s. Many of the games that were part of the early platform genre, such as Donkey Kong and Miner 2049er, are still regarded as platform games in the modern sense. Scrolling movement [ edit ] Jump Bug (1981) introduced scrolling to the genre. (1981) introduced scrolling to the genre. The first platform game to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became a trend.[15] Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland[16] and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong.[17] Players control a bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. As part of a nascent genre, its development was not strongly influenced by existing conventions, nor was it said to be a major influence on games immediately after it. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, independently suspended platforms and levels that scroll both horizontally and vertically.[15] Only a few home systems of the early 1980s had hardware support for smooth background scrolling—most notably the Atari 8-bit family. Nevertheless, Sierra On-Line released B.C.'s Quest For Tires in 1983 on the ColecoVision and several home computer platforms.[18] The game features large, smooth-scrolling levels and simple platform gameplay in which players jump over oncoming pitfalls and obstacles, much like Moon Patrol. The same year, a scrolling platform game appeared on the Commodore 64 and Atari home computers called Snokie.[19] It added uneven terrain and an emphasis on precision jumping. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than the maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade platformer with walking, running, jumping, springboards, and a series of unique levels.[21] Nintendo's platform game Super Mario Bros., released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for many platformers to follow. The title was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and went on to sell over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records. Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platform games as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the 8-bit console generation. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which began in 1986 on the Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World. It's a platformer that features horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops where the player can buy power-ups and vehicles. Some of the bosses are fought through a minigame of rock-paper-scissors where others you have to fight or crash the Sukopako "motorbike" into a pirate bear. The environments are varied, including mountains, caves, oceans, forests, and underwater segments.[22] Another Sega platformer series that began that same year is Wonder Boy. The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros, and features skateboarding segments that gives the game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time,[23] while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, takes the series in a new direction by combining action-adventure and action role-playing elements with traditional platforming.[24] Wonder Boy in turn inspired platformers such as Adventure Island, Dynastic Hero, Popful Mail, and Shantae.[23] Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land, and the genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many titles released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. Because of their small size, technical constraints, and blurring associated with the LCD technology, fast-paced action-based platformers were more difficult to develop for these handheld systems. Because of this, many early handheld platformers leaned towards slower-paced play styles and a greater emphasis on puzzles. During Sixth Generation and early Seventh generations, home consoles largely transitioned to 3D games and handhelds became a bastion for traditional side-scrolling platform games, until the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009) revived interest in the subgenre on consoles. New Super Mario Bros. (2006) is a very successful traditional platform game, selling more than five million copies in Japan and North America during its first year of release.[25][26] One of the first platform games to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement is in a vector game called Major Havoc, which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer, a shoot 'em up sequence, a landing sequence, and a Breakout clone.[27] One of the first raster-based platform games to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1984's Legend of Kage.[citation needed] In 1985, Enix released an open world platform-adventure game, Brain Breaker.[28] The following year saw the release of a more successful open-world platform-adventure, Nintendo's Metroid, which was critically acclaimed for having a balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon's Super Pitfall, was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai, a platform-action sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps, which were necessary to navigate the giant, vertically oriented levels.[29] Telenet Japan also released its own take on the platform-action game, Valis, which contained anime-style cut scenes.[30] In 1987, Capcom's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they completed the games levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid. GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as the basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest-heavy games.[31] Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando, a multidirectional-scrolling platform-action game which introduced a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of later platform games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider.[32] Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) showed what new technology could do for the genre. (1991) showed what new technology could do for the genre. The advent of 16-bit home consoles marked an evolutionary step for the genre. By the time the Genesis and Super NES launched, platform games were the most popular genre in home console gaming and were seen as vital for winning the console war. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a format, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle. The title was only modestly successful, and Sega realized it needed a stronger mascot to move Genesis units. That same year, Capcom released the platformer Strider, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence (AI) partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies.[33] Sega's Shadow Dancer, released the same year, also featured an AI partner, a dog who would follow the player around and aid in battle.[34] In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure, featuring a character that was positioned as NEC's mascot.[35] The following year, Takeru's Cocoron, a late platformer for the Famicom, introduced true character customization, allowing players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts.[32] 1990 marked the release of the Super NES, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World. In order to fend off the new competition, Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog.[36][37] Whereas Nintendo's offering featured a conservative design, true to the Mario tradition, Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware. Sonic featured large stages that scrolled effortlessly in all directions, as well as all manner of uneven terrain, curved hills, and a complex physics system that allowed players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Lastly, there was the game's eponymous main character. Sega decided to give Sonic a rebellious personality in order to appeal to older gamers,[38] and super speed to help show off the Genesis' hardware capabilities. The game proved to be a massive hit, was a successful pack-in with new systems, and cemented the view that platform games would make or break a console.[citation needed] The Sonic character was seen as a new model for mascots in the early 1990s, particularly for his perceived attitude, which characterized him as a rebel. This attitude would soon become the status quo, as companies attempted to duplicate Sonic's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms.[39] Very frequently these were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. These mascots, which included Gex, Mr. Nutz, Aero the Acro-Bat, Awesome Possum, and Bubsy, have mostly faded from relevance. A second generation of platform games for computers appeared alongside the new wave of consoles. Prince of Persia featured an unprecedented level of animation. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that platformers on the Atari ST and Amiga could be respectable in their own right, while many others were forgettable attempts to mimic the titles flooding the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo markets. The 1988 shareware game, Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for the IBM-compatible PC.[40] It inspired Commander Keen, released by id Software in 1990, which became the first PC platformer with smooth scrolling graphics.[41] Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers on the PC, including Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem II, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, and Dark Ages by Apogee Software, all of which helped fuel the shareware model of game distribution. Decline of 2D [ edit ] The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to shift away from traditional 2D genres.[4] The Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured a number of successful 2D platform games. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom's Mega Man character. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platform gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing the visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D.[42] The first such game was the Sega Saturn launch title, Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country. Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between the foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation. In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Goemon's Great Adventure, and Mischief Makers—and most met with a tepid response from critics at the time.[43][44] Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US,[26] and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release.[45][46] The third dimension [ edit ] The term 3D platformer usually refers to games that feature gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers, while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on a 2D plane are called 2.5D, as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first attempts to bring platform games into 3D used 2D graphics and an isometric perspective. These games are nearly as old as the genre itself, one of the earliest examples being Sega's Congo Bongo in 1983. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami's platform game Antarctic Adventure,[47] where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles.[47][48][49] Originally released in 1983 for the MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year,[49] including an arcade version,[47] NES,[49] and ColecoVision.[48] 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure, which was designed by Hideo Kojima.[50] It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment,[51] and multiple endings.[52] In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner, designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli.[53][54] Using a forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier.[53] 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games.[54] Square released its sequel, JJ, later that year.[55] Alpha Waves (1990) was an early 3D platform game. (1990) was an early 3D platform game. The earliest example of a true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves, created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST, Amiga, and PC.[56][57] Bug! (1995) extended traditional platform gameplay in all directions. (1995) extended traditional platform gameplay in all directions. Bug!, a Sega Saturn game that was released in 1995, offered a more conservative approach to true 3D platforming. It allowed players to move in all directions, but it did not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player could move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like the earlier Clockwork Knight. The game played very similarly to 2D platformers, but it was considered a true 3D title, and let players walk up walls and on ceilings. It was a moderate success, and spawned a sequel called Bug Too!. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their popular 2D platformer Flashback. Entitled Fade to Black, it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platform game series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, and bore a strong resemblance to its predecessor, it did not meet the criteria of a platform game, and was billed as an action adventure.[58] It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D, in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Fade to Black would set the stage for other series, such as Metroid and Duke Nukem, that would gradually shift away from the traditional platform formula while retaining many of its gameplay conventions. There was a great deal of pressure on Sony, Sega, and Nintendo to release mascot platformers before the 1996 holiday season. Sony chose to adopt an existing project by developers Naughty Dog, a small developer at the time, who had recently released the questionable Way of the Warrior. The move paid off; their game, Crash Bandicoot, beat Nintendo's new console to market in North America and was released in time for the holiday in Japan. Crash would remain Sony's unofficial mascot for the next several years before switching to multi-platform releases in the following console generation. Sega did not fare as well. They had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute, with bringing Sonic the Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme, was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug!. Its development was rocky, due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, and the game never made it to market. Reshaping the genre [ edit ] In 1991, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto had conceived of a 3D Mario game, Super Mario FX, while working on Star Fox.[59][60] Miyamoto developed most of the concepts for the game during the era of the Super NES and considered using the Super FX chip to make it a SNES game, but decided to develop it for the Nintendo 64 due to the former system's technical limitations.[61][62] The game was renamed Super Mario 64 and went into development in 1994.[59] In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal. The game was a fully 3D polygonal first-person shooter hybrid with a pronounced platform jumping component. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air, as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies was a primary means of attack.[63] This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform nor released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West.[64] The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal as an early title for Sony's new PlayStation console. Jumping Flash!, released in April 1995, is generally regarded as a direct continuation of the gameplay concepts in Geograph Seal,[65] and was likewise a mix of first-person shooting and platforming, with similar controls and camera-work, in free-roaming 3D environments. The frog-like mech was traded in for a more cartoony rabbit mech, called Robbit. Beyond this, the level design had an even greater focus on platform hopping, and it was released in Europe and North America as a launch title, helping it gain a much higher profile. The title was successful enough to receive two sequels, and is remembered as the first 3D platformer on a console.[64] Rob Fahey of Eurogamer highlighted that the game was arguably one of the most important ancestors of any 3D platform game at the time.[66] Jumping Flash holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records.[67] Another early 3D platformer was Floating Runner, developed by Japanese company Xing and released for the PlayStation in early 1996, predating the release of Super Mario 64. Floating Runner used D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective.[68] Super Mario 64 (1996) replaced the linear obstacle courses of traditional platform games with vast worlds. (1996) replaced the linear obstacle courses of traditional platform games with vast worlds. Nintendo released Super Mario 64 in 1996. Before then, there was no established paradigm for bringing platform games into 3D. Mario
’s, which was open by July 1973 and closed on July 30, 1980; and the Central, which operated in the 1980s. There was, of course, one other headline-grabbing incident on the sidewalk outside 8852 Sunset. It was there, not long after the Viper Room opened, at just after midnight on Oct. 31, 1993, that actor River Phoenix collapsed in toxic shock from a drug overdose. He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died just before two a.m. He was 23 years old.I love Cozmo. In fact, there are very few things on this planet that bring me more joy than the sight of that alien. I am not alone in this. The entire league loves Cozmo, as evidenced by him coming out on top of the league's mascot power rankings. Cozmo's appeal is a wide one, and no matter the club allegiance or enthusiasm or disdain for mascots, people pretty universally just seem to dig Cozmo. And how could you not? He's goofy, eccentric, and most importantly, engaging. The Galaxy have created something incredibly special in Cozmo. If you follow him on twitter, you probably already know all the inside jokes-- the taco stand excursions, the car chase alerts, the #soccer #fun hash tagging, etc etc. This in itself is extraordinary social media branding, but it's through twitter interactions with fans that Cozmo takes things to a whole new level. Now I'm a cynic in nature and my natural inclination should be to brush Cozmo's twitter account aside as nothing more than a vehicle for quirkily packaged Galaxy marketing, however, I simply can't do that because what the Galaxy do with Cozmo on twitter is so much more than that. The Cozmo twitter experience is a personal one. If you engage with Cozmo, he will engage you back, and, if you engage with him enough, he'll legitimately get to know you. It's basically everything we were promised in a Furby, minus it being a piece of junk. Few if any mascots in sports interact with fans on the level that Cozmo does, and, thanks to recent events on twitter, it recently struck me just how unique this relationship is in the world of sports. Let me explain: At the beginning of the year, we here at LAG Confidential decided to start an MLS Fantasy league for our writers and readers. Cozmo saw us advertising the league on twitter and, being the awesome little alien that he is, decided to join. When I created the league, I opted for the weekly head-head format instead of a cumulative point table. I did this solely because I wanted to avenge my previous season's head to head loss to editor Mike Gray (I did not), but when Cozmo surprised us all by joining, the head to head factor became all the more cool because it meant that everyone in the league would get to go toe to toe with the Galaxy's mascot at some point during the season. I was excited. When the league schedule was generated, I immediately circled round 19 as that would be the first match-up between my team, Soccer Daikessen!!, and Cozmo's team, Los Taqueros. Well round 19 has finally arrived. Hoping to score a few free tacos off him, I proposed a "taco wager." Now, if you've ever seen Cozmo's wardrobe then you know that Cozmo is not a fan of doing things small, so it should be no surprise that Cozmo not only accepted the challenge but upped the ante tenfold. @SeanSteffen If you lose, you have to wear the #taco suit on the 17th in the press box and when/if you attend any press conferences/practice — Cozmo LA Galaxy ⚽️ (@CozmoLAGalaxy) July 7, 2015 Now, my team happens to be 12-0-6 (although I'm pretty sure Mike Grey cheated by using a psychic, so let's say 13-0-5), while Cozmo's team is 5-1-12. Reasonably, I shouldn't have all that much to worry about. But Cozmo is a master tactician. Cozmo knows that deep down I know two things: Nothing is a sure thing, and nothing could be more terrifying than interviewing Bruce Arena in a taco suit. The Alien was in my head, but what could I do? I try to live my life by a certain code, and I'm fairly certain that code involves not chickening out when a sports mascot accepts my invitation to rumble in a game of pretend soccer. I couldn't back down. It was at this point, finding myself engaged in a bizarre taco suit bet with the mascot of a professional sports team, that I realized just how special the Cozmo experience is. Now some might say that my case is a special one because, as a blogger, I am more visible in the Galaxy twitter-sphere. They might claim that the average Galaxy fan could never find themselves in a similar situation simply by tweeting with Cozmo. This couldn't be farther from the truth. This isn't happening because I cover the team. This is happening because Cozmo and I are, to you his terminology, #soccer #friends. This is happening because the Galaxy have created in Cozmo something that fans can not only be entertained by on the field, but legitimately become friends with off the field. And this isn't some superficial claim. This is the type of friendship where you can find yourself embroiled in a bet involving a taco suit. This is the real deal. I, like many Galaxy fans, can honestly claim that I am friends with my team's mascot, and when you think about it, that's remarkably special. So thank you, Cozmo. You are the absolute best.I had a thought yesterday about the San Diego Chargers and their changing image. Long gone is the gruff former-genius General Manager, and his handpicked repeated-failure-of-a-Head-Coach went out the door right behind him. The new face is young, unproven and confident. Mike McCoy, former Offensive Coordinator of the Denver Broncos, is now the Head Coach. It's his first go-around as Head Coach. He hired Ken Whisenhunt, recently fired from being the Arizona Cardinals' Head Coach, as the team's Offensive Coordinator. He has only been an Offensive Coordinator in title for 3 of his 16 seasons as an NFL coach. Those things only happened because Team President Dean Spanos hired Tom Telesco, who has never been a GM before, to be his General Manager. The air is filled with hope, but the rustling through the trees sounds vaguely like someone whispering "There's no proof that this will work." Still, these things are besides the point. The identity of the team, the face of the franchise, is on the players, the style and the effectiveness of the team on Sundays. The Chargers were never "Marty Schottenheimer", they were a team with a great offensive line and a Hall of Fame running back. The team that made it to the AFC Championship was not "Norv Turner", it was a squad that had taken its former identity and added to it a Hall of Fame Tight End and a fearsome pass-rush. The "identity" of the San Diego Chargers for the last few years has been muddled. Has it been Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and a once-dominant passing attack? Well, yeah, but only because everything else (rushing attack, defense) has been somewhere between terrible and mediocre. In the last month of the 2012 season, that changed. A new identity was starting to form, but on the opposite side of the ball from where many were looking for it. Defensive Line With injuries to Vaughn Martin and Aubrayo Franklin, the Chargers' defensive line was even younger than it was thin. The starting group was Corey Liuget, Cam Thomas and Kendall Reyes. Liuget started all season, but Thomas was viewed as a situational Nose Tackle. Reyes was a rookie that was still earning his way into the rotation before Martin's injury. What happened over that last month, with these three on the line, was nothing short of dominating. The Defensive Ends combined for 6.5 sacks in just four games and they helped hold the Jets and Steelers to just 69 total rushing yards each. With Vaughn Martin hitting free agency in a few weeks, expect to see more of this trio on the field in 2013. Linebackers Quick, name all of the Outside Linebackers on the 2012 Chargers that had more than 1 sack for the season. Go ahead, I'll wait. Done? Got yourself a nice little list in your head? Well, then, let's see how wrong you were: Now, guess which of those four guys are Unrestricted Free Agents in just a few weeks. Yup, Phillips and Barnes. Phillips isn't likely to return and Barnes would continue to be a situation player if he were to return. If the Chargers' defense is going to do anything in 2013, it's going to need a pass rush. If it's going to get a pass rush, it's going to need to come from Melvin Ingram. No pressure or anything, rook. The good news about the Linebackers on this team is that between Ingram and Donald Butler, there's a ton of potential. One could argue that Butler (who had 3 sacks in 2012, by the way) might be the best player on the Chargers' defense or the entire roster, for that matter. Once you start looking at a team and saying "Their 3 best players are all on defense", or "Their best position group might be their defensive line", you know that the offense has started to take a back seat and the identity of the team has shifted. Secondary Mr. Eric Weddle was signed to a contract that many fans believed was too large a few years ago. However, A.J. Smith actually knew what he was doing with this one. Weddle was then showing signs of being one of the league's best Safeties, and it could be argued that he's now ascended to being the best in the league. Between himself a Butler, the debate over which player on the roster has the most talent doesn't even get to the offensive side of the ball anymore. What's Left? Sure, there's some barren cabinets. The Cornerback spots are currently big question marks. Strong Safety is a position that hasn't been right since the days of a dominant Chargers pass rush. These are not necessarily bad things, because whoever fills these spots (free agents or rookies) are going to generate excitement and hope from the fanbase. That's the opposite of the offensive side of the ball, where the major spots (QB, WR, TE, RB) are pretty much set in stone with guys that we already know and can already see the flaws in. While it may be true that the new Head Coach has an offensive background and probably has "Fix Philip Rivers" high on his list of priorities, due to the unbalanced drafting of the last few years this has become a defensive team. The sooner the coaching staff admits to that, the better off everyone will be.As we enter a second season of protest of our country’s flag by young, wealthy black NFL athletes, millions of fans will continue to turn off America’s favorite past time. The NFL, whose brand was once our country’s most uniting one, is rapidly re-branding itself as a divisive one. In a sport where a player’s lack of decorum deemed detrimental to the game – such as celebrating in the end zone – is met with harsh penalties, the NFL’s corporate leadership has taken a knee as they allow their platform to be used for political anti-America sentiment. It is possible that by visiting our past, Americans might gain insight as to why successful black American athletes feel compelled to kneel as we honor our flag and white corporate leaders refuse to take a stand to defend it. In a world where slavery, totalitarianism and kingdoms were the accepted norm, the young American experiment was indeed a paradox. Though it was America that introduced to the world game-changing concepts like “We The People” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” it would take another 87 years and over 600,000 American lives to atone for slavery and to begin to align itself with our Founders’ vision. In the meantime, there was another reality for millions of African slaves whose experience mirrored that of a young African boy brought to America in 1848. He arrived in the belly of a slave ship and was sold with his mother at an auction house in Charleston, South Carolina. Orphaned by age eight, his harsh, abusive and deprived American experience was just beginning. How can our nation reconcile the depravation of that young eight-year-old slave with inspirational success stories of other Americans during that same century? For an example, the American culture that granted opportunity to a middle-aged Texan, a Republican, whose “federally protected” freedom allowed him to pursue his dreams, to work, risk, overcome and to prosper. Respected as a pillar of his community, he was a successful entrepreneur who owned over 100 acres of farmland, which he paid off within two years. He also founded the first church and elementary school in his region of the state. He was referred to as fiercely independent and a very proud American. This successful Texan farmer's gratefulness and unique connection to an eight-year-old South Carolina slave boy gave him an enduring love and respect for his country and his flag. The two, after all, were one and the same – my Great-Great Grandfather Silas Burgess, whose name I’m honored to carry. Is it possible to embrace a national history today that is such a dichotomy regarding the human experience? The liberal Left says that we shouldn’t. They feel that all reference to that part of American history should be destroyed and our country should transfer wealth to atone for the deeds of white strangers who died 150 years ago. They suggest that slavery is the root cause of the misery found within today’s urban community. Conservatives, on the other hand, point to the success of the Texas Republican as an example of the possibilities available to all Americans when individuals are granted a choice to adhere to the principles and values of success. The middle-aged Texan proved the truth of this philosophy as he partook the fruit of his labor. His gratefulness and unique connection to an eight-year-old South Carolina slave boy gave him an enduring love and respect for his country and his flag. The two, after all, were one and the same – my Great-Great Grandfather Silas Burgess, whose name I’m honored to carry. Millions of other Americans from every other culture share this American experience. It is the gratitude of our present generation for our ancestors’ grit and tenacity that forges a spiritual connection that gives us pride in our country’s flag. It is this connection that most black Americans do not have due to the sanitization of their history. So why do I stand? I Stand- in gratitude to an eight-year-old boy, my great-great grandfather, who remained hopeful, tenacious and faithful as he grew to proudly serve his family, community and country. I Stand- in gratitude to a grandfather whom at the age of 15 years old, volunteered to serve in WWI. As a successful farmer, he raised 12 children who would all earn college degrees and taste of the mid-1900’s American dream. I Stand- in gratitude to a father who succeeded in the day of institutional racism in the arenas of academia, as a researcher, an entrepreneur, a dedicated father and husband and a pillar of his community. He once recounted that his greatest life decision was volunteering and returning home as a proud WWII veteran. I Stand –in gratitude for the proud, successful, entrepreneurial and segregated Tallahassee, Florida, community where I grew up. The people of that community were determined that they would never be looked down upon or pitied as a race of victims. I Stand- as an example for the millions of black youth who have not been taught to love God, country, family and themselves by the liberal Leftist overseers who have controlled the urban community for the last 60 years. I Stand- against the sanitizing of our history. The Left has already done so within the black community, resulting in the lack of gratitude seen on today’s NFL sidelines. I Stand- as a voice to the NFL corporation leadership…it’s time to Stand Up, Man-Up and defend our country and culture. This will only occur when patriotism is valued over popularity, profit and politics.Winners of the women's race in Belgium were flanked by girls in bikinis Organisers of the Lotto Cycling Cup have apologised after the winners of a women's race in Belgium were flanked by models wearing bikinis. A picture of the podium was posted on Twitter after Wiggle-Honda's Jolien d'Hoore won the Antwerp to Nijlen stage of the Flanders Diamond Tour. Dutch racing cyclist and journalist Marijn de Vries described the scene as "an utter disgrace". Lotto Cycling Cup organisers apologised but added they were not responsible. In a series of tweets, they said plans had been made by local organisers and they found the podium "inappropriate". The models were recruited by Hostessen Service No Limit, which - among other services - also offers striptease acts. Its manager, who gave his name as Gerrid, told the BBC: "I don't understand what the problem is." He laughed when it was put to him that some of the cyclists found the incident sexist, adding: "Sometimes during the race, women race with their shirts open." He said he did not intend to apologise as "it's not our problem". Twitter user Anna Zivarts mocked up a version of what a men's podium could look like, entitled "podium equality" Johan Molineaux, the local organiser of the event, told the BBC he would not be using Hostessen Service No Limit again and planned to personally apologise to the competitors. "For a lot of women it is damaged. For me it is a sad day," he said. Molineaux explained he was elsewhere during the presentation and that the women were supposed to wear cycling shirts but took them off. The UCI, world cycling's governing body said it had looked into the incident and had contacted the organisers, who apologised. Defending champion D'Hoore, on her return from a six-week mid-season break, beat fellow Belgian Kelly Druyts in the penultimate race of the seven-stage competition. The Women's Tour of Britain starts on Wednesday and speaking at the launch of the event, British cyclist Helen Wyman gave her views on the podium model issue. "I think podium girls should be a thing of the past," she told BBC Sport. "It's 2015. I'd much prefer to see the race sponsors on the podium, as it's their money that allow us to do what we do, and we'd prefer to see them rewarded."DISCLAIMER: This project plugs in to the mains, which has dangerous voltages and can kill you. Never plug in the device working on this project – you can re-program using an external 5V supply wired up to the same pads that the red and black wires connect to (CONN1). I have a Rancilio Silvia coffee machine, that needs time to warm up correctly in the morning – 30 minutes gets everything up to temperature, allowing me to draw excellent coffee shots. For the past couple of years, I run a simple mechanical timer that turns on at 6am, and goes off at 8am which is fine for the days I go to work, but if I work from home, or it’s the weekend, I’m left with a cold coffee machine unless I turn it to manual mode – which often results in me forgetting to turn it off! To get around this, I’d been planning on getting a smart switch which would integrate with my Home Assistant setup. I looked at the Belkin Wemo, but it seems a little expensive at $80 a pop. I thought about designing and building my own one, but the prospect of messing around with mains power didn’t excite me, nor did 3D-printing a case – 3D printing plastic, by definition isn’t very fire resistant. Browsing Hackaday.io, I stumbled across this project, and it got me wondering if I could find an ESP8266-based Australian WiFi outlet. After a bit of googling, I found something that at least looked the same for $AU20 delivered. Even if it wasn’t ESP8266, I could probably gut it and insert a custom board, so I ordered one. It arrived pretty quickly. I promptly pulled it apart. There was a daughter board that looked suspiciously like a ESP8266 although the footprint wasn’t the same as any reference design I could find. So, I pulled the little metal shield off, and low-and-behold! An ESP8266! Now that I knew we were in business, I installed the iPhone application that comes with it, to try and work out how it was wired up. The device This particular switch has an obnoxious blue LED that is used to indicate power, and network connection (it flashes when not connected). It also has a red LED that is on when the relay is turned on. Finally, there is a button that allows you to turn the relay on and off manually. Pins A quick google, and I found the pin out of the ESP8266 chip – now it was just a matter of tracing the wiring back to each LED and the switch. I also needed to find where the TX, RX, Reset and GPIO0 were so I could program it. Here is what I found: GPIO 4 is the Blue LED GPIO 5 is both the Red LED and the Relay GPIO 13 is the button I’ve marked the TX, RX, Reset and GPIO0 pins on the above image. By wiring these pins up to a FTDI cable, I was able to reprogram the switch, thus freeing me from the shackles of the crappy iOS app, and allowing my home-assistant.io server to talk to the switch. Now, thanks to a Home Assistant and a NodeRed flow, the coffee machine will turn on between 6:30am and 1pm everyday UNLESS it detects that I’m not home. Nice! You can see the code that I use (It’s based heavily on my garage door opener project). If that code is too complicated, I’ve uploaded some example code that will turn the switch into a simple web server.Have you noticed that during the month of October, the NFL suddenly becomes intensely concerned with making sure you're aware of breast cancer? Pink jerseys! Huge Ass Pink Ribbons at midfield! Pink motherfucking cleats! Fans interested in aware-ing on their own can even click on over to the NFL's store and purchase ugly pink crap of their own under the assumption that their good intentions will actually contribute to the fight against cancer. Well, I hate to burst your Pepto Bismo Pink bubble, wearers of dangly earrings that contain both ribbons and tiny footballs, but you've been had — the NFL's Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign does raise itsy bitsy amounts of money for the fight against cancer, but the amount of money it raises pales in comparison to the amount of money it raises for billionaire NFL owners. The NFL claims that its pink philanthropy efforts "support the fight against breast cancer" by "promoting awareness" and providing funds to the American Cancer Society. But what they're mostly promoting is, uh, buying NFL gear, the profits from which are overwhelmingly pocketed by the NFL. According to Business Insider, the NFL's October Breast Cancer Awareness Month fundraising effort is multi-pronged. There's the on-field onslaught of pink (AWARENESS), the off-field auction of autographed or otherwise noteworthy NFL paraphernalia (MONEY FOR THE CURE!), and the part of the NFL store that entices shoppers to purchase officially licensed NFL breast cancer gear, a portion of which goes to FINDING A CURE. According to the League, 100% of the proceeds from the specialty auction go to the American Cancer Society, but the total percentage of purchases of officially licensed gear that actually goes to FINDING A CURE is actually kind of pathetic — 5%. If you want to look at this cynically, in a way, the on-field wearin' o' the pink serves as an ad to direct consumers to purchase pink fan items. BUT WAIT, you might say, AT LEAST THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING. And 5% is still something! Well, kind of. As BI pointed out, if NFL products are sold at a 100% markup and only 5% of sale proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, then the NFL is pocketing 90% of sales of Breast Cancer Awareness products, many of which would not be purchased if they didn't come with a promise that consumers were "helping." And, more perspective: while the American Cancer Society isn't, say, Komen, they still don't use 100% of the money they receive to "fight" breast cancer. Only 70% of donations taken in by the organization go toward cancer research. So, if you spend $10 on pink stink from the NFL, only about 35 cents is going to finding a cure for breast cancer. And $4.50 goes right back to the NFL, where I like to imagine that it's spent on gas for a Lake Minnetonka pleasure cruise. For the cure. Advertisement But what about awareness?! Surely the NFL is helping keep people aware and alert and vigilant that at any moment, breast cancer could be lurking around a corner in a dark alley waiting with a hot pink switchblade to steal your purse and boobs. The thing about awareness is that it's all but impossible to quantify — and everyone knows about breast cancer. If you asked 100 people if they're aware that breast cancer is a thing and that it's almost impossible to predict and most often affects women, I'd bet that most of them would nod before slowly backing away from you. Breast cancer awareness is so ubiquitous that if deadly diseases attended the same high school, breast cancer would probably be voted prom queen. The "awareness" that comes from the NFL's sales of pink branded items doesn't justify the extent to which the league is taking advantage of consumers' good intentions to pad their wallets. Even if no NFL player ever touched another pink thing again, Americans would go right on being aware of the disease. Unless the Buffalo Jills or New Orleans Saintsations cheerleaders are holding up signs that show women how to give themselves breast self-exams or tickets come with 5 page printouts of places low income women can obtain breast health screening for low or no cost, the type of awareness the NFL is providing is useless, vague garbage. Since the program's inception four years ago, the NFL has raised $3 million for breast cancer. In 2009, the League made $8.5 billion. Last year, they made $9.5 billion. Commissioner Roger Goodell has set a revenue goal of $25 billion per year by the year 2027. A million per year out of between $8.5 and $9.5 billion in revenues? Pardon me while I don't slobber all over the NFL's pink-drenched marketing campaign. Want to cure breast cancer? Give directly to an organization that cures breast cancer, or to an advocacy group that seeks actual cures, not marketing and corporate profits. Besides, wearing those horrid pink NFL breast cancer rain boots actually causes cancer. Of the eyes. Advertisement [Business Insider]Rumors around the next smartphone from OnePlus, allegedly called the OnePlus 3T, have been making rounds for past few weeks. The forthcoming device will reportedly come equipped with various new features that will set it apart from the ultra-successful OnePlus 3. While we have heard some pretty impressive things about OnePlus 3T, the most startling one that has just emerged on the web is that it could be the first phone in the world to include a whopping 8GB of RAM. The crazy bit of information comes by the way of The Verge, and if this turns out to be true, the updated version of the OnePlus 3 could ship with twice the capacity as that of the Google Pixel. Considering Pixel isn’t any slouch at all and delivers a buttery smooth performance, the 8GB RAM on the OnePlus 3T could be overkill. The insane amount of fire power could be a power hog, but the idea of having a smartphone with that much amount which we normally see on PCs and Macs, is astounding in itself. As for other specs, the 3T will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.35GHz. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has also confirmed that the device will stick with an Optic AMOLED display, despite rumors that the firm is having difficulty sourcing enough AMOLED panels and could revert back to a full HD LCD screen. OnePlus will be staying with Optic AMOLED displays for the foreseeable future. — Carl Pei (@getpeid) October 13, 2016 Moreover, the phone is rumored to run an updated version of OnePlus’ OxygenOS based on Android 7.0 Nougat. On the imaging side of thing, you should expect a bare minimum of 16-megapixel Sony IMX 298 sensor with optical stabilization, and an 8-megapixel shooter on front. The phone is also said to get a battery bump up to 3,500 or 4,000mAh power pack coupled with the company’s fast Dash Charge technology. In terms of the pricing, the updated handset could carry a price tag of as much as $479. This is all speculation at this point though, so we would advise to take the report with a pinch of salt. The good thing is you won’t have to wait long to find exactly what OnePlus has in store as the new phone is set to launch on November 15th.Despite the 190 million people that Google says use its social network every month, Google Plus has always struggled to escape Facebook’s shadow and seem like a hopping social destination. With the 41 new features the company announced would be rolling out this week, Google Plus is now morphing into something that makes greater use of what Google does best—anticipate the needs of its users, show them relevant news and information, and help them manage massive amounts of data. The new Google Plus will go so far as to auto-generate animated GIF files from photos that people upload from their devices or desktops. “We just put the Google into Google Plus,” says Vic Gundotra, a senior vice president for engineering at Google, who presented the features at the company’s annual conference for developers. The new additions could make the network more competitive with Facebook, especially now that Google is more aggressively encouraging outside websites to let people log in with their Google Plus username. It has also expanded its “hangouts” chat service with a new standalone app launched today. Many people use social networks to hear about news or find information. But unless someone tags a post, it can be hard to drill down further into a topic, especially on Facebook. Google will run algorithms that automatically add hashtags to posts, links, and images in a redesigned social stream. The new additions will make use of several of Google’s technology assets. For example, if someone posts a photo of the Eiffel Tower, Google Plus would use image recognition and the content from its Knowledge Graph (see “Google’s New Brain Could Have a Big Impact”) to recognize that it is the Eiffel Tower and add a tag. People could then click on a post, and a card would flip around to give more information or show them other related posts. Similarly, a person could click on a tag about a news story, and a similar card would suggest relevant links, ranked and personalized according to that person’s social network and the entirety of Google’s information store. Photos are fast becoming an important part of all social networks, and Google hopes it can lure more users to Google Plus by providing better ways to manage all the images people are taking on their devices. “We can do some of those labor-intensive tasks automatically for you,” says Gundotra. When you upload hundreds of new vacation photos, Google Plus will share the best ones with others, eliminating blurry or unfocused photos and even analyzing whether people look happy. Using Knowledge Graph, it might recognize where a person is located and prioritize photos taken at important landmarks. It will also prioritize photos of people recognized to be in a user’s close Google Plus circles, like family members. A photo rating system is being trained by hundreds of human raters, which will help the photo engine begin to account for “aesthetics and human tastes,” says Gundotra. The redesigned Google Plus also resembles an automated version of Photoshop. Google has implemented sophisticated facial recognition so it can more finely auto-tune images to fix a person’s blemishes or skin tones. Other fun features can generate GIFs from a series of photos or even create a mashup image—for example, from a sequence of photos of a group of people, so that everyone’s eyes are open and everyone is smiling. “We’re creating a new image that did not exist before,” Gundotra says.INDIANAPOLIS -- Leonte Carroo didn't meet his goal in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, but the former Rutgers receivers still managed to generate buzz after his on-field workout. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said that Carroo and TCU's Josh Doctson stood out the most during the morning workout group. "Carroo has shown strong hands and body control in drills," McShay wrote. "Also ran a good 40 time of 4.50 at 6-feet, 211 pounds." Carroo was aiming for a 40-yard dash under 4.50 seconds. His time tied for 11th out of the 37 receivers that ran the 40-yard dash. Only Notre Dame's Will Fuller (4.32 seconds) and TCU's Kolby Listenbee (4.39 seconds) broke the 4.4-second mark in a draft class that lacks elite speed. Per NFL Network, this group of WR's 40-yard dash times were the slowest since 2011 when it was 4.57. This year was 4.56. Last year, 4.50. -- Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) February 27, 2016 Carroo's 35.5-inch vertical jump tied for 11th among receivers, while his 120-inch broad jump ranked 24th. Carroo didn't participate in many route-running drills and he skipped the 3-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle run. The decision to limit Carroo's involvement was likely a precautionary measure, as he has been dealing with a high ankle sprain. Carroo will have another chance to perform in front of NFL scouts on March 9 at Rutgers' pro day. The Combine likely won't have much of an impact on Carroo's draft stock (second/third round) because his results weren't extraordinary good or bad. Scouts have three seasons worth of Carroo's game film to watch to make their evaluation of his NFL potential. Carroo already has made a strong impression on one NFL head coach. Bucky Brooks talked with a recently hired HC who said "this is the player I will put my star on" https://t.co/OVAwgGFQyi -- Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) February 27, 2016 Rotoworld explained the "star" system: Some teams allow personnel members and coaches to put their star on one player in each draft class, which points to their "favorite" prospect or one they want the team to draft most. Many times it is not one of the top prospects, but one the evaluator or coach fell in love with. For this coach, Carroo is that prospect. Here are the results from Saturday's workouts for all 43 wide receivers at the Combine: WRs #1-21: WRs #22-43: Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.Popular 'green' products test positive for toxicant A cancer-causing chemical is found in almost half of 100 such goods studied. For The Record Los Angeles Times Saturday, March 15, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 43 words Type of Material: Correction "Natural" products: In Friday's Business section, an article about tests on 100 "natural" and "organic" products showing that nearly half contained a cancer-causing chemical gave the wrong last name for the consumer advocate who directed the study. He is David Steinman, not Steinberg. Of the 100 products tested, 47 had detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane, which the Environmental Protection Agency has declared a probable human carcinogen because it causes cancer in lab animals. The findings of the Organic Consumers Assn., a consumer advocacy group, are sending a jolt through the natural products industry. Gathering today in Anaheim for a national trade show, many leaders worry that the test results will taint the industry in the eyes of the public. Many items that tested positive for the carcinogen are well-known brands, including Kiss My Face, Alba, Seventh Generation and Nature's Gate products, sold in retail stores across the nation. New tests of 100 "natural" and "organic" soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that nearly half of them contained a cancer-causing chemical that is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing. ");document.close();})();' frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="649" height="160"> Most traditional soaps and shampoos contain 1,4-dioxane. But the discovery that the chemical is present in many housecleaning and personal care products, including some for babies, that are advertised as being natural, organic or "green" comes as somewhat of a surprise. "For companies to knowingly or even carelessly put a carcinogen into commerce in this day and age is barbaric, I think, particularly products that have the moniker of natural or self-proclaimed 'organic,' " said consumer advocate and author David Steinberg, who directed the study. The compound is not intentionally added to products; it is a byproduct of a process used to soften harsh detergents. It is formed when foaming agents, or surfactants, are processed with ethylene oxide or similar petrochemicals. Said Martin Wolf, Seventh Generation Inc.'s director of product and environmental technology, "The natural world is filled with things that can harm.... All we can do is work as hard as we can to keep the levels
neither of them is bigger than the board they control. Ecclestone is more like the Michelin-starred chef of Formula One. He cooks the dishes, so he runs the kitchen, and by extension the restaurant too, because without his skill there'd be no business. If anyone tries to challenge him, he can simply take his services elsewhere." There is only one sports administrator of recent vintage who can match Ecclestone's chutzpah on the world stage. For the first three extraordinary years of the IPL's existence, Lalit Modi really did become bigger than the board he controlled. The fact that no one could agree whether this was a blessing or a curse only exacerbated the sport's turmoil. "Does cricket need a Bernie Ecclestone? I think definitely it does," says Modi in an interview for Death of a Gentleman, a forthcoming film about cricket's dysfunctional governance. Modi even studied Ecclestone at close quarters by shadowing him for a year prior to setting up the IPL, and when he bypassed the BCCI's state associations to sell his franchises to a combination of venture capitalists and big businesses, he pulled off a coup of which his mentor would have been proud. Not just cricket: Brand IPL is not only about events on the field © Getty Images "The IPL didn't just come out of nowhere," says Modi. "I studied television patterns of leagues for 14 years. Fan patterns, licensing, merchandising. I ran a business, I understood the psyche of the people. And then we applied all of that to the IPL and it was a great product. "But moving forward, we are getting sloppy as administrators," he warns. "The internet is everywhere, consumers have a million times more options than I had in my childhood. How do we keep our fans coming and watching us and not watching a live entertainment show, or tennis or football? This is Marketing 101, which is what our cricket boards have zero understanding of." Formula One, like Test cricket, is a sport of intense complexity if you're looking to get immersed. The rules are detailed and ever-evolving (in stark contrast to, say, football, which took several decades to endorse goal-line technology and is still recovering from the introduction of the back-pass rule in 1992). Both sports even use the same acronym, DRS, to describe a layer of technological advancement that would baffle any ordinary passer-by. But Formula One, like T20, is also a sport of crash, bang, wallop - open to anyone with a passing interest in fast-paced action, done and dusted in a digestible three-hour window. Personally speaking, I know as much about option tyres and homologation deadlines as the average IPL fan might know of Don Bradman's average, but that did not prevent me from revelling in the thrill of the chase during last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton sliced his way through the field from the back of the grid to finish third and reignite his World Championship challenge. In the world of sports business, some people are simply worth the hassle, which is why the ECB's banishment of Kevin Pietersen was a strategic brain fade Counter-intuitively, my ignorance of the sport has helped me warm to the sportsman. Those who know him better than I ever will say that Hamilton is a self-centred man-child, prone to mood swings and tantrums, not to mention prickly relationships with his team-mates. Yet I found myself rooting, with a fervour I could never have previously imagined, for a brash young Brit with diamonds in his ears and a talent so tangible it transcended his machinery. In the serious world of sports business, some people are simply worth the hassle, which is why the ECB's banishment of Kevin Pietersen was a strategic brain fade on any number of levels. After all, if "star players" are integral to the IPL's appeal, how on earth can Test cricket possibly claim the sporting high ground without them? I clearly wasn't alone in my appreciation of Hamilton's performances. In December he was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year - a peculiar but prestigious award that is less a definitive verdict on the Best of British and more a barometer of national relevance. You might disagree with the choice of recipient but you can never deny they've captured the public's imagination, and it is here that Formula One once again gets the jump on its rivals. The success of Ecclestone's travelling circus, like that of the Olympics and the football World Cup, depends on it retaining a genuinely global appeal. Hamilton sealed the Championship in Abu Dhabi live on terrestrial TV, in front of millions of armchair viewers, which gave him a larger slice of the attention than the bookie's favourite, golfer Rory McIlroy, who at least had his BBC-televised win at the Open to keep him in second place. As for Moeen Ali, unlikely bowling hero of England's Test series win over India and potentially one of the most important cultural icons the game has ever produced, his Sky-restricted efforts were so invisible to the great British public, he didn't even get a nomination. Synergy anyone? Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel tries his hand at batting on Melbourne's St Kilda beach © Getty Images It wasn't always thus for Test cricket, especially not in England. In 2005, it encountered a perfect storm, the conditions for which can never be recreated. That summer's Ashes was the heavyweight championship of the world, the undefeated holders against the eager young challengers in five rounds of ceaselessly gripping action. This was cricketainment as no marketeer could ever have conceived - the perfect blend of talent and personality, drama and narrative, played out on national free-to-air television across an entire summer, like a soap opera or a prime-time reality TV show, only better because it served the needs of diehard fans and casual consumers alike. It ought to have been the springboard to new and greater things for Test cricket. Instead the sport shrivelled, almost from the moment the ticker tape had been cleared from Trafalgar Square, and England found themselves being outplayed in front of deserted stadiums on their subsequent tour to Pakistan. The loss of terrestrial coverage was critical, of course, but the loss of nerve was more galling. "Test cricket is marketed like medicine, or broccoli," says Gillis. "The message is 'get it down you, it's good for you'. The people and organisations running it display a fundamental lack of confidence in the product." Who has the gumption to sugar Test cricket's pill? As Sanjay Manjrekar once astutely noted: "For Test cricket to survive, Rahul Dravid must earn more money playing Tests than Suresh Raina does playing T20." Ecclestone's ideal consumer, the 70-year-old rich man, would doubtless prefer the Saturday of a Lord's Test to a mass-marketed evening of T20 The fact that he did not, and the fact that the mass market doesn't appear to care that he did not, implies that the format is about as accessible to such consumers as vinyl is to the average music fan. It embodies the glories that have brought the business to this point, and its aficionados would argue that, in terms of its immersive qualities, the format has never been bettered. But in the age of the easy download, how many first-time listeners are realistically willing to make the space on their shelves? Some might argue that Test cricket is "too big to fail", as the City once said to the bankers. But the challenge of finding it a sufficiently roomy window in cricket's calendar, let alone redressing the inequalities among its teams, requires the sort of enlightened governance that the sport so manifestly lacks. The question is not so much whether there's a will to save Test cricket, because wishful thinking alone will never restore a public-sector ethos to the world of sports administration. The question is whether there's a market that could make the saving of Test cricket financially worthwhile. Until a few years ago, golf's trans-Atlantic showpiece, the Ryder Cup, suffered from many of Test cricket's problems. It is another team game played by individuals, in this case multi-millionaires who saw little point in paying their own way to win a mildly prestigious trinket. So, many of the best players were either unavailable or under-committed because they had got a better deal elsewhere. Now look at the event, a corporate behemoth with the power to define a player's legacy, escalate their appeal to sponsors, and produce miracles at Medina as a not-insignificant side effect. In theory, it is the obvious model for Test cricket to copy - and the Ashes, in particular, has begun schmoozing the corporate pound with alacrity. After all, Ecclestone's ideal consumer, the 70-year-old rich man, would doubtless prefer the Saturday of a Lord's Test to a mass-marketed evening of T20, just as he might buy a ticket for the men's final at Wimbledon, or take a spring break to Augusta for the Masters. Test cricket's core clientele includes the exact same fans who have helped turn Roger Federer and Tiger Woods into two of the highest-paid sportsmen the world has ever seen. All things being equal, it's a huge opportunity to cash in. Brake for cash: Ecclestone walked away from the Indian Grand Prix when the authorities proposed taxing it as entertainment, not sport © Getty Images But, of course, all things in Test cricket are far from being equal. Who, with the greatest respect to the nations involved, would be willing to pump the necessary investment into matches involving, say, Bangladesh or West Indies - or frankly, any of the teams outside the Big Three - especially if they were to be hosted not at Lord's or Edgbaston but at one of those expensively refurbished grounds such as Cardiff or the Ageas Bowl? Test cricket is a hard enough sell but when supply is not merely erratic but completely outstripping demand, the problem becomes exponentially more complicated. What would Ecclestone do in such circumstances? He would do exactly as he does in his Formula One paddock, of course. He would load his investment into the teams that bring home the revenue, and leave the rest to be pecked at by the crows. And that, in essence, is what England, India and Australia set out to emulate when they seized control of the ICC's finances last year. A less paranoid sport would never have countenanced such a retrograde step but cricket's vulnerability is writ large across its features. Hence Clarke's litigious attitude towards all threats, real and imagined, and his determination that whatever shape the revolution may take, he will keep himself on the side of the guys with the most guns. However, by shrinking its own horizons in such a calculated manner, cricket succeeds only in cramping the style of its finest exponents. Whether it is Pakistanis excluded from the IPL, West Indians at war with their board, or adopted Englishmen who don't fit into their team ethos, the sport's prevailing mood is one of rebellion. The notion of loyalty, the founding principle of international sport, is becoming an increasingly dirty word. As Packer showed almost four decades ago, every man in this sport has his price. However, only a handful of cricket's competitions seem capable of delivering the value that the best players place on their all-too-short-lived careers - and unless an accident of birth (or, increasingly in England's case, an act of migration) has landed that player a chance to ply his trade for England, India or Australia, those options are limited still further. Imagine how Test cricket would look if the likes of Viv Richards and Aravinda de Silva had been denied their opportunities simply because their employers lacked the clout to raise a team - that is how the future is in danger of playing out. The IPL has some serious flaws, as the Mudgal Report has emphatically demonstrated; however, as a competitive entity it is hard to fault. Thanks to the US-style draft system on which it is founded, there have been five different winners in the space of seven seasons, and its meritocratic ethos has turned overseas recruits like Chris Gayle into megastars. "Power has shifted to the franchisee… [they] could, if they wished, simply buy out the players and create their own cricket structure…" Could a franchise structure be adapted for Test cricket's purposes? Could Kumar Sangakkara and Kane Williamson form the engine room of a formidable five-day outfit, spearheaded by Dale Steyn and backed by Shakib Al Hasan as the spinner? The question may be sacrilege but the answer depends on how desperately we want to save a mighty sport. For if there's one unequivocal lesson to be learnt from the past 40 years of sports business, it is that the devil will always take the hindmost. Andrew Miller is a former editor of the Cricketer. @miller_cricket © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.About so many ways to hold a bike The Swagger bike stand was designed to be the most versatile bike stand on the market, keeping your bike upright and off the ground in all conditions to allow for easy access, cleaning and display. The stand is collapsable and portable making it especially useful for those who stage for rides out of the trunk of a car. The stand works on flat and sloped surfaces and holds any kind of bicycle, including 29 inch, 27.5 inch, 26 inch, 24 inch and fat bikes. Back us now and receive your bike stand this fall. Perfectly balanced to keep you forks off the ground OK so you may never hang your bike off the edge of the local reservoir pump house. But all riders have been in situations that require the need to prop the bike up without the front or rear wheel attached. no rear wheel no problem The swagger bike stand uses the weight of the bike for stability and balance and can support your bike without the front or rear wheel attached. Stability comes from the bike's own weight Provides stability - even on sloped or rough surfaces Compatible with any pedal Bottle opener for post ride refreshments Construction The bike stand is CNC machined out of high-quality birch plywood, which is similar to the material used in wooden skateboards. The artwork is digitally printed, finished and sealed for long-lasting durability. Recycled bike chain supports the stand legs. Credits Thanks to Jerry, Jay, Mark, Karen, Susie and Patrick for providing design feedback and to Sasja Lucas for creating the artwork. Most of all, thanks to my wife and kids for putting up with my obsession with the Swagger bike stand. Music provided by Bensound.com Song Title: Little Idea PressQueensland election 2015: Vote Compass finds voters uneasy about bikie sentencing laws Updated Queenslanders are deeply uneasy about the LNP Government's mandatory sentencing laws targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs, data gathered by Vote Compass indicates. Of the 41,000 Queenslanders who have used the tool, 66 per cent disagree with gang members receiving tougher sentences than the general public for the same crime. The Newman Government made a crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gangs a centrepiece of its first term in power, but there has been widespread opposition to many of the measures pushed through Parliament to facilitate the blitz. Under the legislation members of motorcycle gangs face mandatory sentences of 15 years if found guilty of crimes committed as part of gang activity, and office bearers in clubs face another 10 years on top of that. While support was higher among LNP voters, almost half still opposed the measures, with only 34 per cent agreeing with the idea of harsher sentences for bikie gang members. However, despite the strong opposition to mandatory sentencing, it seems the majority of people in the state have accepted the Newman Government's tough stance against bikies - with 37 per cent people said the laws should stay the same as now and another 21 per cent saying they should be stricter. QUT criminologist Dr Mark Lauchs says the key outcome from the survey is that members of motorcycle clubs should not be treated differently in the courts to everyone else. "Everybody wants to see something done about the criminal activity of people who are members of motorcycle gangs," he said. "Tough but fair is exactly right so people want to see results but they like the rule of law. "They love the fact in Queensland everyone gets treated the same. "They don't want to see any group, even if it's a group they don't like being treated harsher than everybody else." On the issue of domestic violence, there was overwhelming support for tougher penalties for perpetrators, with voters across all parties united. In 2013, there were 64,246 reported incidents of domestic violence in Queensland, up from 57,963 in 2012, and 18 of the 49 homicides committed in Queensland were related to domestic violence. Former governor-general Dame Quentin Bryce was last year appointed as the chair of a new taskforce aimed at reducing domestic violence incidents in Queensland, and is due to report its findings by the end of February. Voters also largely supported the idea of a greater police presence in the state, with just under 60 per in favour of more frontline police officers. Professor Kerry Carrington is head of the School of Justice at QUT and specialises in domestic violence research. She said it was clear that women want tougher penalties for domestic violence. "That is not surprising given women comprise the overwhelming majority of victims of domestic violence and men overwhelmingly the majority of perpetrators," she said. "Now Victoria has announced a royal commission into domestic violence because it is such a serious issue. "Most domestic violence is not reported, it's a very complex crime to address. "Whilst in the answer to the survey people said they wanted a tougher response what they really mean is we want somebody to do something about it." However, there was a sharp divide when Vote Compass asked whether clubs and bar should not be allowed to sell alcohol after midnight. The question divided the 41,000 respondents, with 46 per cent opting for the ban, 11 per cent in the middle and 42 per cent against. Party support or gender had no bearing on this result, and instead age was the single biggest factor. About 70 per cent of the over 55 age group wanted the restriction in place whereas two thirds of those under 34 wanted clubs and pubs to keep serving after midnight. Dr Lauchs said people's attitudes to pubs and clubs selling alcohol after midnight differed with age. "People who don't go to clubs would like to see less alcohol after midnight," he said. "That is a reaction of people who have children who are going to clubs and they're worried about their children. "So if you're looking at alcohol-fuelled violence if you're a parent, you're seeing all these things happen. "Your first response is going to be I want my children to come home safely on Friday and Saturday night." But Dr Lauchs said most people regardless of age would be upset if they were having a good time and the bar they were in closed at midnight. FAQ What is this? The ABC launched Vote Compass Queensland on Monday, January 12, in the lead-up to the state election. It is a tool that allows voters to see how their views compare to the parties' policies. The data was weighted across a range of demographic factors using the latest population estimates to be a true representation of opinion at the time of the field. The findings are based on more than 41,000 respondents to Vote Compass from January 13 to January 19, 2015. Vote Compass is not a random sample. Why are the results being represented as though it is a poll? Vote Compass is not a poll. It is fundamentally an educational tool intended to promote electoral literacy and stimulate public engagement in the policy aspect of election campaigns. That said, respondents' views as expressed through Vote Compass can add a meaningful dimension to our understanding of public attitudes and an innovative new medium for self-expression. Ensuring that the public has a decipherable voice in the affairs of government is a critical function of a robust democracy. Online surveys are inherently prone to selection bias but statisticians have long been able to correct for this (given the availability of certain variables) by drawing on population estimates such as Census micro-data. The ABC applies sophisticated weighting techniques to the data to control for the selection effects of the sample, enabling us to make statistical inferences about the Australian population with a high degree of confidence. How can you stop people from trying to game the system? There are multiple safeguards in place to ensure the authenticity of each record in the dataset. Vote Compass does not make its protocols in this regard public so as not to aid those that might attempt to exploit the system, but among standard safeguards such as IP address logging and cookie tracking, it also uses time codes and a series of other measures to prevent users from gaming the system. Topics: government-and-politics, elections, political-parties, liberal-national-party, alp, law-crime-and-justice, qld, australia First postedcharliezzz uploaded a new video Second Life: Text-Based Bad... I made this video due to popular demand! Strangely large response for a... more We're going to continue doing these videos, I've already got a huge amount of footage, and I doubt we'll be able to stay away from getting more. I also have a big project planned with a dreamcast game, that I'm really excited about. Just need a good capture card where I can play through my PC with a low response time and get high recording quality, message me with any recommendations. Enjoy! I made this video due to popular demand! Strangely large response for a low viewcount haha :DWe're going to continue doing these videos, I've already got a huge amount of footage, and I doubt we'll be able to stay away from getting more.I also have a big project planned with a dreamcast game, that I'm really excited about. Just need a good capture card where I can play through my PC with a low response time and get high recording quality, message me with any recommendations.Enjoy! lessIt is the world's most famous train journey, beginning in Moscow and ending in the dingy Pacific port of Vladivostok. Along the way are Russia's most picturesque vistas: Siberian rivers, the elegantly curving Lake Baikal, and the hazy Barguzin mountains. There is also a lot of steppe. But for those who always dreamed of travelling on the epic Trans-Siberian railway, but who never quite managed to stir from the sofa, help is at hand: a new website that takes you on a virtual tour of the 5,752-mile route. The multiplatform portal by Google Russia and Russian railways allows you to watch the view in real time as it unfolds from the train's window. Simultaneously you can plot the locomotive's virtual progress eastwards on a Google map, looking at the satellite view or tracking the actual terrain and mountains. The video footage covers the whole six-day journey. You can choose different sounds to accompany it: the rumble of wheels, sugary Russian pop tunes, or the evocative playing of a balalaika. Alternatively, you can listen to readings of Russian classics (in Russian) of Leo Tolstoy's 1,400-page War and Peace or Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls. "We wanted to show the beauty of our country. The Trans-Siberian railway is Russia's unique calling card. The idea was to bring the journey to people who may have thought about doing the trip but who never got round to booking it," Alla Zabrovskaya, a spokeswoman for Google Russia, told the Guardian today. Asked what her favourite view was, she said: "Baikal. It made a big impression on me. It was a beautiful day when the video was shot with brilliant sun and blue sky. The Trans-Siberian express train passes Lake Baikal. Photograph: Wolfgang Kaehler/Corbis "Looking at the landscape is a very good way of relaxing." The website, which launched last Thursday, had received "an avalanche" of positive reviews from all over the world via Twitter, she said. Train fans can watch all 150 hours of the epic journey, which starts in Moscow, trundles past suburban orange tower blocks, and goes on through 12 Russian regions and 87 cities. For virtual travellers, of course, there is no need to queue for the loo or shower, and no danger of sharing a cabin with an omnipresent snorer. (The downside is that you don't get the scalding black tea served in a silver-leaf and glass holder.) Alternatively, you can hop on and off – skipping to the highlights and diving into Russia's rarely visited far east. The website also offers a virtual guide, DJ Yelena Abitayeva, who gives a three-minute tour of key cities if you click on a red TV icon. She starts off in Moscow and ends up in Russky Island, one of the furthermost points of Russia's sprawling empire. In Ulan-Ude – six time zones from Moscow, and close to the Mongolian border – Yelena shows off a giant statue of Lenin's head. She visits a Buddhist temple and spins some prayer wheels. In the background a cow can be seen wandering across the road as a Lada drives past. Filming took place in August 2009, during Russia's scorching summer, and was a major logistical feat. Two video crews were involved, shooting out of the window as the train rattled across half of Europe and most of Asia. Instead of the usual six days to reach Vladivostok, the camera team took 30 days, filming only in daylight and staying overnight in towns along the way. Baikal from the virtual Trans-Siberian railway journey. Photograph: Google "This project is very special. We want to demonstrate how unusual and fascinating Russia really is and how much it can offer to a devoted tourist. I know few people who travelled along the Trans-Siberian railroad but I am sure that a lot of people feel enthusiastic about this trip. That's why we hope that this project will become the starting point not only for the virtual but for real trips across Russia," said Konstantin Kuzmin, the marketing director, Google Russia. The project isn't entirely without its flaws. The Moscow Times noted that "the simulated clickety-clacking of wheel over jointed track can become monotonous after a while. But the paper also praised the site for cleverly showcasing' Google's latest technical advancements including the geo-tagged video allowing the trip to be plotted on a map in real time, and "the new YouTube support for ultra-high-definition video". Today, Russian railways said that the Trans-Siberian Express remains extremely popular with foreign tourists, who make up 80 to 90% of its passengers. A one-way non-stop ticket costs 6509 roubles (£145) for a basic seat, and 17,500 (£388) to 19,800 roubles (£440) for a bed in a shared carriage. Special tourist trains allowing you to stop off en route cost more. Cheaper, and far easier, of course, to do it from home. The Trans-Siberian in numbers 5,753 Miles from Moscow to Vladivostok 2 Continents crossed, Europe and Asia 7 Time zones crossed 6 Days a one-way journey time takes without stopping 87 Russian cities en route 30 Days taken by film crew to shoot continuous view from window 150 Hours of high-definition video footage available for virtual travellers 6509 Roubles for a basic single one-way ticket.Image copyright NASA Image caption If you can see a face in the Moon, the Imbrium crater is the right "eye" (top left of this image) One of the Moon's biggest craters was created by an asteroid more than 250km (150 miles) across, a study suggests. It smashed into the lunar surface about 3.8 billion years ago, forming Mare Imbrium - the feature also known as the right eye of the "Man in the Moon". Scientists say the asteroid was three times bigger than previously estimated and debris from the collision would have rained down on the Earth. The research is published in the journal Nature. It would have been a catastrophic period of time Prof Peter Schultz, Brown University The asteroid was so big it could be classified as a protoplanet - a space rock with the potential to become a fully formed world. Lead author Prof Peter Schultz, a planetary geologist from Brown University in the United States, said: "One implication of this work is that the asteroids may not have been these small chunks flying around - there may have been many more of these very large protoplanets. "It would have been a catastrophic period of time." Image copyright NASA Image caption Scientists believe the asteroid that created this crater was 250km-wide The Imbrium crater measures more than 1,200km (750 miles) across. Until now, scientists used computer models to estimate the size of the asteroid that led to its formation. But for the new assessment of the collision, Prof Schultz recreated the smash in the lab. Some of these asteroids were humungous Prof Peter Schultz, Brown University Using a three-storey-high, hyper-velocity gun, his team fired small spheres of metal travelling at more than 22,000km per hour (13,000mph) into a curved aluminium plate. "We film it with high-speed cameras: things that go up to one million frames a second," Prof Schultz told BBC World Service's Science in Action programme. By analysing the slowed-down footage and the pattern of debris, the researchers were able to calculate the size of the asteroid that crashed into the Moon. "We know there were big asteroids, but we have increased the size significantly," explained Prof Schultz. "The previous estimate for the Imbrium asteroid was in the order of 80km, and we've increased that by a factor of three." Image copyright Peter Schultz Image caption To recreated the collision here on Earth, the researchers fired this massive gun The researchers say it would have been travelling at more than 70,000km per hour (40,000mph), hitting the lunar surface at an angle of about 30 degrees. The colossal high-speed impact not only left a giant dent in the near-side of the Moon, it also would have sent billions of tonnes of debris hurtling towards the Earth. Prof Schultz explained: "At that time, the Moon would have been much closer (to the Earth), only half of its present distance, if even that. "So anything coming off the Moon would have covered us in lunar debris." Image copyright Peter Schultz Image caption The team studied the experimental collision to assess the size of the Moon-smashing asteroid But in this period of the Solar System's turbulent history - aptly known as the Late Heavy Bombardment - asteroid collisions would have been commonplace. "This was a time when Jupiter and Saturn were changing their position in the Solar System," said Prof Schultz, "And as a result it stirred the pot, so to speak. It sent asteroids between Jupiter and Mars into chaos - and they sent material into the inner Solar System, colliding into the inner planets. "And what this study says is some of these asteroids were humungous." The researchers now plan to use the same method to re-analyse other huge craters scattered across the Solar System. They believe we may have under-estimated just how cataclysmic these past bombardments were. Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @BBCMorelle“I don’t believe he can remain on the committee,’’ said Speier, who is the first member of the Intelligence Committee to call for Nunes' removal from the committee itself. \| AP Photo Speier on Nunes controversy: 'Absolutely convinced it started in the Oval Office' SAN MATEO, California — Rep. Jackie Speier, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Saturday she is “absolutely convinced” the White House generated the bizarre scenario that has embroiled committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes — in which he reportedly obtained information from administration officials regarding foreign surveillance of Trump campaign officials and then presented it to the president. "I am absolutely convinced it started in the Oval Office,'' Speier (D-Calif.) said of what she called the resulting "wild goose chase" in the three weeks since President Donald Trump launched an unfounded tweet accusing former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. Story Continued Below “There’s no question in my mind that the president, with the aid of his national security adviser staff, came up with some kind of a ruse to try and suggest there was some kind of validity” to his accusation, which has been debunked by intelligence officials, Speier said after a town-hall event in which she and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul examined Russia-Trump connections. McFaul, in his appearance with Speier at San Mateo City Hall — a standing-room-only event that drew some 200 people inside the council chambers — agreed that he had never witnessed such behavior by a House Intelligence Committee chair and that the actions of Nunes, and of Trump and his White House associates, make it even more important to "get to the bottom of this." In an interview with POLITICO, Speier leveled blistering criticism at the intelligence chairman, saying Nunes' apparent desire to play “Maxwell Smart” — a reference to the bumbling TV secret agent — and to present to Trump information that he received from the White House itself constituted “reckless behavior.” Saying that he has “ruined his career,” which is now “tainted,’’ Speier said it is no longer enough that he should recuse himself from the investigation. “I don’t believe he can remain on the committee,’’ said Speier, who is the first member of the Intelligence Committee to call for Nunes' removal from the committee itself. “This wasn’t done to him,’’ she said, adding Nunes voluntarily “took an action that impeded his credibility.” Asked what she believes may be driving the Intelligence Committee chair, Speier told POLITICO that the Republican congressman from Tulare, in California's Central Valley, “came here [to Congress] very young, and he is enamored with the klieg lights and being close to the president.“ After Trump fired off the tweet about Obama, she said, “the president clicked his fingers and Devin went running over,’’ apparently to assist him in validating his accusation. A New York Times story Saturday reported that two White House staffers relayed intelligence information to Nunes that Trump and some of his associates were "incidentally swept up" in foreign surveillance also relayed to American spy agencies. That story came days after Nunes set off a firestorm with what critics like Speier have called "cloak and dagger" activity — diverting an Uber ride, heading to the White House, and obtaining classified information about the surveillance, then giving a news conference about it before he even informed fellow committee members. Nunes, in interviews, has specifically denied he received intelligence information from White House officials, a statement that Speier said shows the chairman has "been infected with the same virus the president has about lying." She added: “We have a president who makes this a full-time job." Speier, in an April Fools' tweet, jabbed at the president — who on Saturday alone issued four tweets denouncing the media for focusing on what he has called a "fake news" story related to his links with Russia. "I will be introducing a bill next week which will prohibit @POTUS from posting unsupervised tweets,'' she tweeted. Speier later added in a retweet: "Wish I could introduce such a bill. #aprilfools."Is the tide turning for Twitter and Facebook? One in four young people is 'bored' with social media Fatigue: One in four young people is 'bored' with social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, according to research One in four young people is 'bored' with social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, according to researchers. Some 24 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds admit to using social media increasingly less than when they first signed up, while 31 per cent said the fun of social media is wearing off. But a survey by technology research firm Gartner also found that 37 per cent of respondents claim to be using social networks more. Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, said: 'The trend shows some social media fatigue among early adopters, and the fact that 31 per cent of younger consumers indicated that they were getting bored with their social network is a situation that social media providers should monitor, as they will need to innovate and diversify to keep consumer attention.' Gartner surveyed 6,295 people, between the ages of 13 and 74, in 11 developed and developing countries in December 2010 and January 2011. Consumers were asked about their use of and opinions about social media sites with the aim of examining usage trends and how enthusiastic users were about social media in general. Given that 24 per cent of respondents said they were using their main social site 'a little less or 'a lot less' than when they first started using it, they were asked what negative factors might be influencing their decision. Thirty-three per cent said they were concerned about online privacy. Furthermore, attitudes to privacy were also age-related, with teenagers citing privacy concerns significantly less often than older respondents - 22 per cent of teenagers agreed or strongly agreed that privacy concerns were decreasing their enthusiasm, against an average of 33 per cent. Lead researcher Charlotte Patrick said: 'Teenagers and those in their twenties were significantly more likely to say that they had increased their usage. 'The level of consumer concern around privacy will require ongoing vigilance for brands concerning customer opt-in and education. 'Lessons should be learned from the likes of Facebook as they test the boundaries of consumer tolerance in search of more revenue.' From a geographical point of view, some of the more mature social media markets - Britain Japan, and the U.S. - corresponded to the global average trend, with roughly 40 per cent of respondents using the site more than when they first started, 40 per cent using it the same amount, and 20 per cent using it less. Markets where enthusiasm was higher included South Korea and Italy, where nearly 50 per cent of respondents said they used their social media sites more.NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia police department has released surveillance video of a brutal attack following Monday's Winter Classic game in an effort to identify the three suspects involved in the beating of two men wearing New York Rangers jerseys outside a South Philadelphia cheesesteak shack. The graphic video shows three suspects wearing Philadelphia Flyers jerseys beating and kicking the two victims outside Geno's Steaks in South Philly at 7:15 p.m. ET. One of the victims was an off-duty Woodbridge, N.J., police officer, according to Woodbridge Township spokesman John Hagerty. NBC New York identified him as Neal Auricchio, 30, who the station says also served as a Marine in Iraq. "He got banged up pretty badly," his father, Neal Auricchio Sr., told NBC New York Wednesday. "Stitches in the one eye, and the other eye is pretty puffed up. He went for a CT scan today, and we're waiting for the results on that." Hagerty confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com that Auricchio, who is currently on medical leave until cleared to return to work, has been released from the hospital. "He's in fine condition," Hagerty told ESPNNewYork.com. "He's resting and doing well." Hagerty said the "invest
9 c. (b) DEM derived from Mastcam images, thin white line indicates the profile shown in Figure 9 c, and (c) a height profile comparing the slopes derived from the Mastcam and HiRISE DEMs. The slope profiles were fit to an origin of 0 m for comparison. Images: 2010 HiRISE DTM: DTEEC_018854_1755_018920_1755_U01 (1 m/pixel spatial resolution); 2015 HiRISE DTM: DTEEC_040770_1755_039280_1755_A01 (1 m/pixel spatial resolution); and HiRISE ESP_018854_1755 and HiRISE ESP_039280_1755 were used for dune and ripple measurements collocated with the 2010 and 2015 DEMs, respectively, but is not displayed, Mastcam image sequence: mcam05491, Sol 1198. The primary and secondary lee slopes of Namib Dune were investigated using HiRISE and Mastcam images, as well as DEMs derived from each of these instruments. The primary lee slope of Namib Dune measured 77 m in length, 4.0 m high, and changed aspect by 43° between 183° and 226° azimuth. Slopes sampled between 20° and 35° have a mean of 27° with standard deviation of 4.6° ( n = 485) (Figures 3 b and 10 a). A DEM generated from Mastcam images indicates an average lee slope gradient of 29°, which compares well with the HiRISE‐derived slope values measured along the same transect (Figure 10 b). Slope profiles from two HiRISE DEMs and the Mastcam DEM, all acquired at different times, show good agreement in the lower reaches of the slope but some divergence at the top of the slope (Figure 10 c). Mastcam image and topographic profiles from a DEM generated from Mastcam stereo of large ripples at Gobabeb. (a) Mastcam image showing part of Gobabeb shown in Figure 7 prior to wheel scuffing and scooping activity. The ripple in the background is the same as that shown in Figure 7 a. The two ripples in the foreground are not visible in Figure 7. Note the difference in orientation between the large ripple in the background and the smaller, large ripples in the foreground. The large ripples in the foreground aligned with impact ripples, unlike the larger ripple in the background, which are oriented oblique to the impact ripples. (b) Topographic profile across the largest ripple in the background. The total height is ~28 cm. The stoss slope is nearly flat and the lee slope angle measures ~29° at its maximum slope. (c and d) Ripple profiles in Figures 9 b and 9 d are somewhat different from (Figure 9 b) with steeper stoss slopes and over all lower slope angles. The high‐frequency roughness of the topographic profiles arises from noise in the DEM generated by ranging errors (see methods for discussion). Images: mcam05597, Sol 1221 (Figure 9 a). A DEM generated from Mastcam stereo images was used to extract large‐ripple topography at Gobabeb (Figure 9 ). Figure 9 a shows the area prior to the rover scuff and scooping activity. A profile across the large ripple in the background of Figure 9 a shows a relatively flat stoss slope, a steep lee slope (Figure 9 b), and a maximum relief of 28 cm. The steepest part of the profile reaches 29°, which is consistent with the presence of grainflows on the ripple slope. The large ripples in the foreground are spaced 1.4 m apart and have lower angled lee slopes than the large ripple shown in Figure 9 b (Figures 9 c and 9 d). The relief on the large ripple in Figure 9 c ranges up to 16 cm, and the slope profile shows a steep upper slope that reaches ~25° and gives way downdip to a shallower basal apron. The large‐ripple profile shown in Figure 9 d has a maximum relief of 12 cm and a shallow, consistent overall lee slope at 15° with no apparent steep upper area. Neither large ripple shown in Figures 9 c or 9 d has grainflows, but, based on the images, both have smooth, featureless sand characteristic of grainfall in their lee. On Sol 1242, an undisturbed ripple crest (target “Otavi”) near Gobabeb (Figure 8 a) was imaged with MAHLI from a ~ 1 cm standoff distance at a spatial resolution of ~16 ± 0.2 μm per pixel (Figure 8 b). The diameter of grains at Otavi ranges from coarse silt to medium sand (e.g., ~50 to 350 μm) (Figure 8 c). The average maximum and intermediate axis diameters were measured as fine sand 135.4 ± 1.7 μm and very fine sand 113.6 ± 1.4 μm, respectively. The median intermediate axis was measured as 102 μm. No spatial variation in grain size was observed across the ripple. A similar size distribution from this area was also found by Sullivan and Kok [ 2017 ]. Similar to the large ripples atop the crest of Namib Dune, the Gobabeb large ripples have both grainfall and grainflow on their lee slopes. Grainfall forms the smooth and featureless areas on the lee slope that are punctuated along slope by grainflows with a typical hourglass shape, which extends from large‐ripple brink to base. The grainflows show a typical thickened toe region that tapers to a wedge. The flows downlap onto the basal apron where the toes are overprinted by and interfinger with along‐slope migrating impact ripples. Some degree of grain sorting by the avalanche process is inferred by color differences between the flow edges and their interiors with the expectation that relatively coarser grains are more abundant in the toes than elsewhere (Figures 7 a and 7 b) [ Allen, 1970 ]. Where the rover scuffed the large ripple and triggered grainflows, this type of sorting was visible as coarse, white grains, interpreted to be calcium sulfate deflated from the interdune bedrock, preferentially concentrate at the edges of the flows (Figure 7 a) [ Bridges et al., 2017 ; Elhmann et al., 2017 ]. Large ripples and impact ripples at the Gobabeb site on Namib Dune. (a) Two prominent large ripples at Gobabeb show a strong asymmetry and evidence of feedback between ripple topography and airflow where impact ripples are deflected by the large ripple, and grainflow and grainfall form on the lee slope. Note the orientation of the small ripples on the stoss slopes of the ripples are oblique to the primary crest line orientation. (b) A zoomed portion of the same Mastcam image showing the details of the grainflow and interfingering of grainflow and along‐slope migrating small ripples. Color differences at the edge of the grainflow shown in Figure 7 a may indicate sorting of grains during the avalanche process. (c) Millimeter‐scale parallel lamination exposed in a wheel‐trench superposed by impact ripples and interpreted to be wind‐ripple stratification generated by the migration of impact ripples. Images: mcam05600, Sol 1221 (Figures 7 a– 7 c). Large ripples and impact ripples were examined in detail at the Gobabeb site (Figure 7 ). The large ripples in Figure 7 a are spaced ~2 m apart and have a clear asymmetry defined by stoss and lee slopes. The stoss slopes are mantled by impact ripples, which contour over and around the large‐ripple topography. The impact ripples intersect the largest ripple crest lines obliquely such that the impact ripples are migrating along the large‐ripple crest (Figures 7 a and 7 b). The impact ripples terminate at the brinkline of the large ripple and give way downslope to grainflow and grainfall. Where the rover wheel scuffed the ripple and exposed a cross section of impact ripples, millimeter‐scale, parallel laminations are apparent in the upper centimeter and interpreted as stratification developed by the migration of the impact ripples (Figure 7 c). The defects or termination of the large ripples are curved to become parallel with the impact ripples and appear to be being reworked by the impact ripples (Figure 7 a). Located at the western margin of the secondary slip face of Namib Dune, the Gobabeb site was the final area visited by Curiosity before departing Namib Dune. At this site, Curiosity's scooping campaign evaluated the relationship between mineralogical variations and grain size [see Achilles et al., 2017 ] and imaged the grain size of the ripples and scoop dump piles [ Elhmann et al., 2017 ; Edwards et al., 2017 ]. Gobabeb is located near the intersection of the edge of the secondary lee slope, the upper stoss slope, and the dune crest. Mastcam image of the crestal area of Namib Dune. (A) Mastcam image highlighting sinuous crest lines and the asymmetry of the ripples. The solid lines trace primary large‐ripple crest lines and the stippled lines indicate secondary, crest lines orthogonal to the primary crest lines that likely form the cross‐hatch pattern seen in HiRISE images (Figure 2 ). The dashed white arrows show the airflow pathway over the ripples based on the sedimentary processes visible. Grainfall indicates the presence of flow expansion and lee slope ripples indicate secondary, deflected flow. (b) Mastcam image of the ripples on the stoss slope‐to‐crest area of Namib Dune. Different styles of grainflows are present typical “hourglass shaped” and translational slides. Differences in the color of the grainflows may indicate the relative activity of the flows, where the darker grainflows are likely younger. Images: mcam05410, Sol 1192 (Figure 6 a). The stoss slope‐to‐crest area of Namib Dune was imaged from the interdune area between High Dune and Namib Dune as Curiosity navigated toward the lee slope of Namib Dune (Figures 2 and 6 ). The large ripples atop Namib Dune have sinuous crest lines, but, unlike the ripples at the base of High Dune, are strongly asymmetric in their profile and have distinctive stoss and lee slopes. The large‐ripple stoss slopes are mantled by impact ripples that contour over and around the large‐ripple crests and lee slopes. The lee slopes exhibit grainflow, grainfall, and impact ripple sedimentary processes. Grainflows on the large‐ripple lee slopes occur as translational slides in which part the lee slope surface detaches from the underlying slope and moves downslope as a cohesive block. More typical sand flow avalanches are also present with concave amphitheater‐headed scarps at their source and convex‐shaped toes that reach to the base of the ripple. Grainfall is indicated in the smooth, featureless areas of the large‐ripple slip faces. Mastcam multispectral images show grain color differences within the grainflow and grainfall, which imply some sorting by size and density [ Johnson et al., 2017 ]. Although the large ripples on Namib Dune have a strong asymmetry and are dominated by NW‐SE oriented crests, secondary crest lines orthogonal to this orientation are visible in the Mastcam images (Figures 4 a and 4 b) and likely account for the cross‐hatch pattern observed in HiRISE (Figure 2 ). Large ripple at the base of High Dune. (a) Mastcam mosaic of a ripple. Note the coarser‐grained crest and interripple area as compared to the finer‐grained slope of the ripple. Note the greater abundance of coarser grains on the east facing slope of the ripple. Barby and Kibnas refer to ChemCam targets to assess the chemistry of the sand [.,]. (b) Topographic profile of the ripple from a DEM derived from Mastcam stereo images. The east facing side of the ripple crest is slightly oversteepened. The total ripple height is around 12 cm from the trough. Images: mcam05372, Sols 1184 (Figure 5 a). At Curiosity's closest approach to High Dune, Mastcam stereo and MAHLI high‐resolution images characterized detailed ripple morphology and grain size (Figure 5 a). Geochemical analysis by the Curiosity Chemical Camera (ChemCam) [ Maurice et al., 2012 ] was also done here on targets named Barby and Kibnas (Sols 1184–1186) and is described by Cousin et al. [ 2017 ] and Elhmann et al. [ 2017 ]. The Mastcam images show distinct grain size differences between the large‐ripple crest, basal apron, and interripple areas (Figure 5 a). Qualitatively, coarser grains are more common at the crest and interripple areas than on the flanks. Total relief on the large ripple is 12 cm (Figure 5 b). The large‐ripple profile indicates a slight asymmetry toward the east at the crest (Figure 5 b). Impact ripples within the interripple area and on the flanks of the large ripple have an average wavelength of ~8 cm [ Lapotre et al., 2016 ]. Mastcam images of the stoss slope of High Dune shows an abrupt transition from the bedrock interdune area to the stoss slope (Figure 4 a). The large ripples in this area have sharp crest lines, which are nearly symmetric in profile, a lower angle apron, which defines their basal slopes, and a sand covered interripple area (Figure 4 b). The complexity of crest line orientations on High Dune is shown in Figures 4 a and 4 b where, although a rough trend of crest alignment is apparent, most crest lines intersect other crest lines at angles up to 90°, which gives the ripples a more star‐like appearance. At this locality on High Dune, impact ripples form preferentially on the NW flanks of the large ripples, whereas the SE flanks host featureless smooth sand inferred to be grainfall in the leeward side of the large‐ripple crests. Mastcam and HiRISE images of the stoss slope of High Dune. (a) Mastcam image showing the stoss slope of High Dune and the transition from the bedrock interdune area to the stoss slope. (b) Mastcam image showing ripples at High Dune. Note the sinuous large‐ripple crest lines, impact ripples superimposed on the large ripples, and grainfall on the SE side of the large ripples. (c) HiRISE image showing the approximate same area as the Mastcam images. The largest ripples at the base of High Dune are brighter and straighter crested than those higher on the dune. (d) Plot of position of ripple on relative dune elevation versus wavelength along the stoss slope of Namib and High Dunes shows the lack of a trend in wavelength up the slope. This differs from superimposed dunes on Earth, which change wavelength over distance []. Images: mcam05312, Sol 1173 (Figure 4 a); mcam_05329, Sol 1176 (Figure 4 b); HiRISE image: ESP_018854_1755 (Figure 4 c); DTEEC_040770_1755_039280_1755_A01 (1 m/pixel spatial resolution) and HiRISE ESP_039280_1755 were used for the collocated dune and ripple measurements but are not displayed. The most striking aspect of the Namib and High Dune stoss slopes is the superposition of two scales of bed forms on the dune [ Lapotre et al., 2016 ]. Meter‐scale bed forms, which are visible from orbit, cover the entire stoss slope and have been interpreted as large ripples [ Lapotre et al., 2016 ]. Small bed forms, which are only visible from the ground, mantle the large ripples and have been interpreted as impact‐generated wind ripples (Figures 4 a– 4 d) [ Lapotre et al., 2016 ]. The term large ripples and impact ripples are used herein to describe the two different size populations of ripples. In HiRISE images, the large ripples on High Dune and Namib Dune are broadly similar in scale and shape. Large ripples on each dune have a mean wavelength of 2.1 m ( n = 158) and a distinctive cross‐hatch ripple pattern that dominates the dune crest. There, large‐ripple crest lines are oriented to the NW and the NE [ Silvestro et al., 2013, Lapotre et al., 2016 ]. Although, the large ripples vary little in wavelength (Figures 4 c and 4 d), those that occur at the base of the slope have the longest wavelengths and appear slightly brighter overall. These give way to shorter wavelength, darker large ripples within a few meters upslope. Beyond a few meters, no significant variability occurs in large‐ripple wavelength upslope (Figure 4 d). Variability in large‐ripple orientation on High Dune occurs in the transport direction and laterally across the dune. Although a cross‐hatch texture is ubiquitous across High Dune, the prominence of the different crest orientations varies. At the dune base, a NE‐SW trending crest line pattern is most prominent, which is approximately 40° to the primary slip face dip direction of 190°. Near the crest, a prominent NW‐SE trending crest line pattern nearly parallels the slip face. Distribution of slopes on Namib and High Dunes and on a terrestrial barchan dune. Histograms of dune slopes of (a) High Dune, (b) Namib Dune, and (c) White Sands Dune Field, New Mexico, USA show approximately the same stoss slope modes in their distribution. A secondary lee slope mode occurs at the same slope across all histograms, but is somewhat lower and less prominent in the Martian dunes. A black arrow and notation indicating the secondary mode are shown on the histograms. A slope map of the dune cropped from the DEM is subset within each histogram plot. (d) Dune topographic profiles normalized by their length and height for Namib and High Dunes are similar to a representative barchan dune profile from White Sands. Images: HiRISE DEM: DTEEC_040770_1755_039280_1755_A01 (1 m/pixel spatial resolution) (Figures 3 a and 3 b) and 2010 airborne lidar‐derived DEM of White Sands ( www.opentopography.org ) (Figure 3 c). The stoss slopes of High Dune and Namib Dune were investigated using HiRISE images and DEMs, and Mastcam images. The size of the dunes and Curiosity's route precluded full imaging of the stoss slopes by the rover cameras, but a lateral and vertical assessment of the slope was made by correlating orbital and ground images. From orbital data, the slope distribution on High and Namib dunes was similar to distributions measured on terrestrial dunes of comparable size and shape (Figures 3 a– 3 c), with stoss slope modes occurring between 7° and 10° [ Finkel, 1959 ; Hesp and Hastings, 1998 ]. Topographic profiles showed some variability among the shapes, but within a typical barchan dune range. (Figure 3 d) [ Finkel, 1959 ; Hesp and Hastings, 1998 ; Baitis et al., 2014 ]. 5 Interpretation of Sedimentary Processes of the Namib and High Dunes 5.1 Ripples Observations from Curiosity's traverse through the Bagnold Dunes demonstrated that Martian dunes host two scales of ripples [Lapotre et al., 2016]. The large ripples have been recognized from orbit [e.g., Bridges et al., 2007], and the smaller ones were discovered on dunes for the first time upon arrival to the Bagnold Dunes [Lapotre et al., 2016]. Whereas the low‐relief profiles and straight‐crested planform geometry of small ripples are typical of wind impact ripples, the larger ripples, with sinuous crests and angle of repose slopes, are unlike any wind‐blown ripples that develop on dunes on Earth [Lapotre et al., 2016]. Lapotre et al. [2016] applied the term “wind‐drag” [cf., Bagnold, 1941] ripple to the large ripples as a reference to the apparent important role played by fluid viscosity on ripple size and stability [e.g., Southard and Boguchwal, 1990; Lapotre et al., 2017]. Two main ways by which viscosity was proposed to come into play are through the thickness of the laminar sublayer [e.g., Yalin, 1985] or through the turbulence of the wake past the bed form crests [e.g., Bennett and Best, 1995]. Though their precise formation mechanism is not well understood, the large ripples do not appear to be coarse‐grained ripples or large impact ripples [Lapotre et al., 2016]. Lapotre et al. [2016, Figures 1e and 1f] show MAHLI images of the crest of a large ripple in which no discernable grain size variation is visible between the crest and the slopes of the ripple. Our Figure 8 shows that the grain size distribution of the undisturbed grains on an impact ripple at Gobabeb ranges between 50 μm and 350 μm with an average, intermediate axis size of 113 μm. No discernable difference between the body of the ripple and the crest is visible, and the grains are similar in size to grains in an adjacent wheel scuff (~80–350 μm diameters) [Elhmann et al., 2017]. The grain size similarity between the undisturbed ripple and the nearby wheel scuff indicates that surface and bulk grain sizes are similar at Gobabeb. This supports the conclusions of Lapotre et al. [2016] that the large ripples at Gobabeb formed within a unimodal grain size distribution and not from a strongly bimodal grain distribution as would be the case for coarse‐grained ripples. Evidence against an impact‐ripple mechanism for the large ripples beyond that discussed in Lapotre et al. [2016] includes the similar orientation of the large and impact ripples shown in Figure 9. The impact ripples in Figure 9 are oriented parallel to the large ripples shown in Figures 9c and 9d, which implies that these large ripples formed coincident with the surrounding impact ripples or, as discussed below, were reoriented to the same orientation. In both cases, the large ripples remained stable through impact ripple movement, and no current model of wind impact ripple formation can generate two superimposed stable wavelengths of impact ripple [Durán et al., 2014]. If the large ripples shown in Figures 9c and 9d are incipient forms of the larger, large ripples (e.g., Figure 9a), this may explain their somewhat different topographic profiles (Figures 9c and 9d). The large‐ripple profiles, while asymmetric, have overall shallower lee slopes, which would be consistent with nascent bed forms (e.g., protodunes). In this case, these ripples would be proto‐large ripples that exhibit the transition toward developing an angle of repose slip face similar to their larger counterparts. This also implies that the ~1 m wavelength is near the emergent wavelength. One meter is also consistent with the scale of the large‐ripple crest lines beginning to develop on the lee slope of Namib Dune (Figure 10). Different from the large ripples at Gobabeb (Figure 9) and at the secondary lee slope of Namib Dune (Figure 13), the large ripples that occur at the base of the stoss slope of High Dune have coarser‐grained crests, a more symmetric topographic profile, greater wavelengths, and an overall brighter appearance (Figure 5). The grain sizes measured near “Barby” targeted on Sol 1184 range between ~150 and 600 μm, which is a wider range and coarser than that measured at the ripple Otavi (Figure 8) [Elhmann et al., 2017]. The large ripples at the base of High Dune are most similar to the large, coarse‐grained ripples identified by Sullivan et al. [2008] at the El Dorado ripple field in Gusev crater and more typical of coarse‐grained ripples on Earth [Sharp, 1963; Yizhaq et al., 2012]. Their position at the base of High Dune likely arises because of spatial sorting between the coarser and finer fractions of the sediment supply. Whereas the fine fraction is mobilized into the dune, the coarser fraction remains at the base as a lag deposit, which renders the ripples relatively immobile under current conditions [e.g., Lapotre et al., 2017]. The grain size contrast and commensurate increased stability probably accounts for the greater brightness compared to other large ripples upslope on High Dune. Given the juxtaposition of coarse‐grained ripples and typical large ripples on High Dune's stoss slope, some potential process relationship is implied, yet remains unknown (e.g., the different ripple types may represent two distinct formative mechanisms or a single mechanism in which the large‐ripple instability creates a template for the coarse‐grained ripples). 5.2 Relating Wind to Spatial Variations in Sedimentary Processes on the Lee Slope of Namib Dune The type and distribution of sedimentary processes on a dune are strongly affected by dune shape [Sweet and Kocurek, 1990; Wiggs et al., 1996; Eastwood et al., 2012]. On the lee slope, the distribution of processes reflects the instantaneous magnitude and direction of the wind with respect to the local crest line orientation, which is known as the incidence angle [Sweet and Kocurek, 1990; Walker and Nickling, 2002; Eastwood et al., 2012; Pelletier et al., 2015; Swanson et al., 2016]. Given a range of crest line curvatures and wind directions, the processes on a lee slope are expected to vary spatially and temporally related to the fluid dynamics of dune‐modified secondary flows [Tsoar, 1983; Sweet and Kocurek, 1990; Walker and Nickling, 2002; Eastwood et al., 2012]. Field and laboratory studies show that flows that strike a crest line with incidence angles between 70° and 90° generate a two‐dimensional eddy in the recirculation zone that promotes gravity‐driven deposition on the lee slope such as grainflow and grainfall. At lower incidence angles, an along slope three‐dimensional vortex develops that generates both gravity driven and traction transport and results in the progressive transition from grainflows with wind ripple bottom sets (70°–40°) to fully wind ripple covered surfaces (40°–25°). At yet lower incidence angles when the wind is blowing nearly parallel to or toward the slip face, <25°, bypass and erosional reactivation surfaces develop. Given the reasonably tight control on the relationship between incidence angle and sedimentary processes, the distribution of sedimentary processes can be used inversely to point to the formative winds [Ewing et al., 2010; Eastwood et al., 2012]. Spatial variations of sedimentary processes across Namib Dune primary and secondary lee slopes and the ripples at Gobabeb imply recent changes in the winds (Figures 7, 11, and 12). The Mastcam mosaic of Namib Dune shown in Figure 12 shows fresh grainflows occurring at an aspect of 202° near the point of maximum curvature of the dune. The aspect of the primary lee slope ranges between 183° and 226° and the secondary lee slope between 280° and 230°. Based on the ubiquitous impact ripple coverage on both lee slopes and the incidence‐angle zones given above, recent winds that formed the structures were unlikely to be from between 320° and 90° clockwise azimuth. Winds within this zone would have been sufficiently orthogonal to the Namib Dune crest line to generate more widespread, unrippled, grainflows than observed. Winds from between the southeast and west‐northwest clockwise azimuths could account for the presence of impact ripples on the slip faces. Although, any single wind within the range of possible winds would be sufficiently oblique or longitudinal to generate impact ripples, the ripple orientations and other structures on the different slopes indicate that two winds were acting on the dune. Based on the presence of grainfall on the westward side of the incipient large ripples along the slip face and at the base of Namib Dune [Figures 10a and 11a], the most recent winds at the time of observation affecting the primary lee slope were likely from the southeastern quadrant. Any southeasterly wind would deposit grainfall on the west‐facing lee slope of the large ripples. On the secondary slip face, the large and small ripples all appear to be oriented to a westerly or west‐northwesterly wind. Westerly winds are also consistent with the asymmetry of the High Dune ripple and the presence of grainfall in the east‐facing lees of High Dune ripples. These estimates compare well to the possible winds proposed to generate the ripple and dune distribution in the Bagnold Dune Field [Silvestro et al., 2013; Day and Kocurek, 2015], wind reconstructions from REMS data and models [Newman et al., 2017], and observations of grain motion [Bridges et al., 2017], all of which indicate both westerly and easterly winds. The cooccurrence of opposing ripple orientations on the dune implies that the dune slopes shield parts of the dune from some components of the wind regime, consistent with REMS data [Newman et al., 2017]. Although REMS data collected at the primary lee slope of Namib Dune indicate westerly winds, these winds do not appear to have strongly affected the slope. Because of the orientation of the rover, easterly wind directions could not be measured, but high wind speeds were detected during the evening putatively easterly winds [Newman et al., 2017]. Given the presence of palimpsest grainflows across the lee slope and the overall shape of the dune, it is unlikely that the recent winds that modified the dune are the dominant transporting winds responsible for the bulk of the dune shape or dune migration. The shape more likely reflects dominant north‐northwesterly winds that would generate grainflows. 5.3 Angles of Repose on Namib Dune The angle of repose is defined by the maximum slope at which granular material rests [Allen, 1970; Lowe, 1976]. Although this is thought to be primarily controlled by the properties of the granular material (e.g., angularity and roughness) [Carrigy, 1970], the role of lower gravity on the angle of repose has been the subject of some controversy and may have implications for bed form dynamics and the rock record on Mars [e.g., Kleinhans et al., 2011]. In reduced‐gravity experimental tests done during parabolic flights, grain avalanches were recorded under different accelerations [Kleinhans et al., 2011]. Kleinhans et al. [2011] found that at 0.1 g acceleration the static angle of repose (i.e., the angle to which grains can build before avalanching and also known as the angle of initial yield or critical angle) increased by 5° and the dynamic angle of repose (i.e., the angle at which avalanches come to rest, also known as the relaxation angle) decreased by 10°. As a consequence of the effects of gravity, Kleinhans et al. [2011] suggested that the size of the avalanches would also increase. Their results at Martian gravitational accelerations showed that differences from Earth would be minimal for static angles of repose but might vary by ~5° for dynamic angles of repose. Potential problems with the reliability of the outcomes arise because the study was conducted in flight with little control on changing accelerations during flight or vibrations that might have caused the avalanching to behave differently. In another study, Atwood‐Stone and McEwen [2013] determined the lee slope angle on Martian sand dunes using HiRISE DEMs. They found that angles ranged between 29° and 35°, which is within the range of expected angle of repose for dunes on Earth [Allen, 1970; Lowe, 1976; Kleinhans, 2004, Sutton et al., 2013] and consistent with other measurements of lee slope angles on Mars [Silvestro et al., 2013; Cardinale et al., 2016]. The presence of fresh grainflows and the abundance of palimpsest grainflows on the lee slope of Namib Dune points to the expected aerodynamics in the lee of a dune in which flow across the brinkline separates, which allows grains mobilized over the brink to settle out onto the lee slope as grainfall. Although no primary grainfall was present on the dune lee slopes, widespread grainfall on the slope is implied by the presence of grainflows, which initiate as a buildup of grainfall to the static angle of repose. The grainfall buildup relaxes into a grainflow that represents the dynamic angle of repose. Thus, the majority of Namib Dune's primary lee slope reflects an angle near the dynamic angle of repose. A Mastcam DEM of the lee face of Namib Dune shows the average slope from brink‐to‐base to be 29°, which is within the range of the dynamic angle of repose measured by Atwood‐Stone and McEwen [2013], determined for Earth [e.g., Allen, 1970, Sutton et al., 2013], and measured by HiRISE for Namib Dune (Figure 8). The DEM was not sufficiently resolved because of the range from Mastcam to the dune to measure centimeter‐scale areas of the Namib Dune slip face, which prevented a comparison between the slopes of the grainflows and the wind rippled areas. The presence of impact ripples on the lee slope indicates that the slope is below the angle of repose, but the widespread presence of fractures, some of which have triggered grainflows, indicates that the slope is likely to be close to its natural angle of repose. Although detailed topographic measurements of grainflows on the Namib Dune lee slope were not feasible with the Mastcam DEMs because of the large ranging distance of Mastcam from the lee slope, measurements of the width of the theater‐headed scarp and the grainflow lobe at the toe were gathered using the orthoimages (Table 1). The scarps and lobes are somewhat larger than those measured on a barchan dune of similar size on Earth [cf., Nield et al., 2017]. The Martian grainflows are more similar in size to grainflows generated on an experimental dune that was 4 times smaller than Namib Dune [Sutton et al., 2013]. This difference likely arises from the statistically insignificant sampling, but feasibly could also relate to differences in grain shape that result from the diverse mineralogy of the Bagnold sands [Achilles et al., 2017], differences in gravity [Kleinhans et al., 2011], or release of rarefied gas through the porous sand [Schmidt et al., 2017]. Table 1. Comparison of Terrestrial and Martian Grainflow Characteristics From Field and Laboratory Studiesa Planet Location Bed Form Type Measurement Type Author Scarp Width (m) Scarp Length (m) Lobe Width (m) Lobe Length (m) Thickness (m) Static Angle of Repose (deg) Dynamic Angle of Repose (deg) Earth Namibia dune field Nield et al. [ 2017 0.23 0.4 0.3 1.19 0.0149 36.6 31.9 Earth Brazil dune field Pelletier et al. [ 2015 no data 32.27 32.16 Earth Brazil dune field Pelletier et al. [ 2015 32.48 32.15 Earth Canada dune experimental Sutton et al. [ 2013 0.54 0.58 0.71 1.25 no data 34 32 Earth Canada dune experimental Sutton et al. [ 2013 0.63 0.7 0.8 1.14 34 32 Earth Canada dune experimental Sutton et al. [ 2013 0.58 0.72 0.71 1.06 34 32 Mars Gale crater, Namib Dune dune – primary lee slope field dune grainflow (Figure 12 – GF1) (mcam05491) 0.67 1.6 0.66 6 no data no data 29 Mars Gale crater, Namib Dune dune – primary lee slope field dune grainflow (Figure 12 – GF2) (mcam05491) 0.54 1 0.57 2.9 29 Mars Gale crater, Namib Dune large ripple on secondary lee slope field large‐ripple grainflow (Figure 13 – GF3) (mcam05418) 0.43 0.25 0.32 0.81 32 29 Mars Gale crater, Namib Dune large‐ripple onsecondary lee slope field large‐ripple grainflow (Figure 13 – GF
Sep 30, 2031 Sep 30, 2031 Details > 2034 Jul 1, 2034 Jul 1, 2034 Jul 31, 2034 Jul 31, 2034 Details > 2037 Jan 2, 2037 Jan 2, 2037 Jan 31, 2037 Jan 31, 2037 Details > 2037 Mar 2, 2037 Mar 2, 2037 Mar 31, 2037 Mar 31, 2037 Details > 2039 Oct 2, 2039 Oct 2, 2039 Oct 31, 2039 Oct 31, 2039 Details > Depending on the exact time of the Blue Moon it is possible that some places in the world don't technicly have a Blue Moon. As an example the Blue Moon on August 31, 2012 occured exactly at 13:58 UT. The Blue Moon will occur on August 31 for South America, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, India, and Austrialia but New Zealand will just miss out. For New Zealand the Full Moon occurs just past mid-night on September 1st. For exact times of the Full and Blue Moons see the Full Moon Calendar. Original Blue Moon Definition The modern definition of a Blue Moon was derived from an earlier idea of what a Blue Moon was. This earlier definition says a Blue Moon is when there are 4 Full Moons in a season rather than the usual 3. The Blue moon is the 3rd Full Moon out of the 4. This definition gets a bit complicated and it's origins are murky. One school of thought has to do with the naming of the Full Moons. Many cultures named the Full Moons each month to reflected the times for planting, harvesting or seasonal conditions. When an extra Full Moon was thrown in it was referred to as a Blue Moon to keep the Full Moon names constant throughout the year. Another origin could be from the Christian ecclesiastical calendar. This one gets even more tricky but basically has to do with the idea that there are usually 12 Full Moons in a year. The Full Moons on this calendar were important markers for determining curtain dates such as Easter. When a 13th Full moon was thrown into the year it made things messy so giving it a name allowed the calendar to stay on track. The idea of a Blue Moon being the extra full moon in a season (or when there were 13 in a year) was widely used in 19th and early 20th center Farmers Almanacs and the more modern version seems to have come from an article written in the 1930's that misinterpreted the Farmers Almanac definition. The article was names "Once in a Blue Moon" and from that point on the term became part of popular culture. Year 3rd Full Moon of season 2016 Blue Moon – May 21, 2016 – May 21, 2016 Details > 2019 Blue Moon – May 18, 2019 – May 18, 2019 Details > 2021 Blue Moon – Aug 22, 2021 – Aug 22, 2021 Details > 2024 Blue Moon – Aug 19, 2024 – Aug 19, 2024 Details > Is the moon ever the color blue? This is a very rare event but it does happen. There are a few recorded events when forest fires or ash volcanic eruptions have given the moon a bluish color. The moon can also has a blueish color on very cold winter nights when ice crystals in the air form a ring around the moon. Of course the idea of the moon being blue is very subjective and left up to ones own interpretation. Dark Moon An interesting twist to the idea of a Blue Moon is the idea of Dark Moon. Sometimes the reference of a Dark Moon is given when there are 2 new moons is a calendar month, the opposite of a Blue Moon. Other definitions say it is when there is no Full moon is a calendar month. Neither of these definitions or the term Dark Moon is used very often. Neither has any scientific bases and is more a part of popular culture. To get a better idea of how Blue Moons and Dark moons all fit together, have a look at the Full Moon and New Moon calendar.Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2017 February 25 All Planets Panorama Image Credit & Copyright: Tunç Tezel (TWAN) Explanation: For 360 degrees, a view along the plane of the ecliptic is captured in this remarkable panorama, with seven planets in a starry sky. The mosaic was constructed using images taken during January 24-26, from Nacpan Beach, El Nido in Palawan, Philippines. It covers the eastern horizon (left) in dark early morning hours and the western horizon in evening skies. While the ecliptic runs along the middle traced by a faint band of zodiacal light, the Milky Way also cuts at angles through the frame. Clouds and the Moon join fleeting planet Mercury in the east. Yellowish Saturn, bright star Antares, and Jupiter lie near the ecliptic farther right. Hugging the ecliptic near center are Leo's alpha star Regulus and star cluster M44. The evening planets gathered along the ecliptic above the western horizon, are faint Uranus, ruddy Mars, brilliant Venus, and even fainter Neptune. A well labeled version of the panorama can be viewed by sliding your cursor over the picture, or just following this link.In a lot of ways, NVIDIA's SHIELD (not to be confused with this SHIELD or that SHIELD) is a typical set-top box. And in many ways it isn't: though NVIDIA has built its living room invader on Android like the previous products in the line, the OS underneath is merely a means to an end. And that end is selling you games, in every form and fashion that the company can come up with. SHIELD will release its Android TV-powered console sometime in May with a suggested retail price of $199. We took a good long look at both the hardware and the games that NVIDIA hopes you'll play on it. Hardware The SHIELD set-top box is a nondescript slab of black metal and plastic with a few distinctive angular accents. Though it's much smaller than the PlayStation 4, the design reminds me of Sony's console if it were shrunken down and viewed through a funhouse mirror. A single green LED light shaped like a check mark sits on the top (or if you use the sold-separately vertical stand, the side) of the unit, with one capacitive "NVIDIA" button for power. On the back is the array of ports. You get a proprietary power port, a single HDMI 2.0 port (no Google TV-style pass-through capability), two USB 3.0 ports, another MicroUSB port (for data, not charging - handy for ADB and side-loading), a MicroSD card slot, a wired Ethernet port (for those whose local Wi-Fi network isn't fast enough), and the grille for the internal fan's air exhaust. There is no optical or 1/8" port for audio, though both the included controller and the optional remote have standard headphone jacks. The unit is deceptively heavy at a pound and a half, much more so than the Nexus Player or Razer's upcoming Forge TV. It's also more than twice as big as both of them at 130mm by 210mm by 25mm - about the size of two 8-inch tablets in a stack. But considering the fact that NVIDIA crams its Tegra X1 and an active cooling system (which was still too quiet to hear in a small office cubicle) into the box, that's not surprising. Specifications NVIDIA's Tegra X1 processor is obviously the star of this machine. You can read more about it and the various eye-popping comparisons to older gaming tech in the SHIELD announcement post and the X1 announcement back at CES. Suffice it to say the SoC is one of the most powerful mobile chips around, though whether or not it's the fastest will have to wait until we can compare it with the latest silicon from Qualcomm and Samsung. It's paired to a generous 3GB of RAM and a not-so-generous 16GB of storage. The Tegra X1 is paired to a generous 3GB of RAM and a not-so-generous 16GB of storage When we asked NVIDIA representatives about the relatively tiny amount of on-board storage, especially on a machine meant to play high-end and inevitably large games, we were told that the designers expected users to take advantage of the MicroSD card slot and the USB 3.0 ports for expandable storage. (Unlike stock Android, the software builds on the original SHIELD Portable and SHIELD Tablet can move apps and games to external storage, as can the SHIELD set-top box.) The representatives said that 16GB of on-board storage was chosen specifically to keep the price below the $200 mark. That makes sense, but it isn't going to make moving software around various storage drives any easier. Users will also need fast storage for the best experience - at least Class 10 speed for cards, and USB 2.0 external storage is not recommended. The SHIELD supports 4K video output at 60 frames per second, and can also record at that quality. Both 5.1 and 7.1 Dolby surround sound is output on HDMI, and the on-board Wi-Fi is 802.11ac at 2.4 and 5Ghz. Bluetooth 4.1 is thrown in almost as an afterthought. Controller and other inputs The SHIELD includes one controller in its $199 package. Compare that to the upcoming (and similarly game-focused) Razer Forge TV, which will be available with a standard TV-style remote at $100 and in a bundle with a controller for $150. Separate SHIELD controllers are currently sold for $59.99, and the SHIELD console can handle up to four at a time. The SHIELD controller is exactly the same one that was sold alongside the SHIELD Tablet. It uses the near-universal Xbox 360 shape and button layout, with a small tweak that swaps the D-pad and the left thumbstick in a PlayStation-style layout. As with the original SHIELD Portable, the buttons, triggers, and sticks are fantastic, more or less a perfect copy of its inspiration. But there are a few notable differences between a standard console controller and SHIELD's controller. First of all, the top button array includes capacitive Android controls: back, home, and recents. In between all of them is the NVIDIA button, which can be long-pressed to access built-in Twitch streaming and the screenshot menu. Underneath the two thumbsticks you'll find a laptop-style touchpad cleverly hidden with silver styling (which I'm told is disabled on the SHIELD set-top box, even in games) and a handy volume rocker. An integrated microphone lets you perform voice commands or even chat in compatible games. Unlike the original Xbox 360 wireless controller, the SHIELD controller is easily rechargeable with any MicroUSB cable. NVIDIA claims it can last through 40 hours of gaming on a single charge (which probably means weeks and weeks of standard Android TV navigation). It also has a headphone jack for listening to the SHIELD's audio output privately. The controller is Wi-Fi direct, not Bluetooth, so it won't work with standard Android phones or tablets. NVIDIA chose Wi-Fi direct for its low latency. A more typical Roku-style Bluetooth remote will also be available for the SHIELD as a separate purchase. This tiny remote includes basic navigation and volume controls, a rechargeable battery, a headphone jack, and a microphone for voice commands. The SHIELD also supports a variety of other inputs. The controllers can be plugged into the back of the console with a standard MicroUSB cord for wired play and/or charging, and both wired and Bluetooth mice and keyboards are supported for PC-style controls. Even wired Xbox 360 controllers can be used, for those who want four-player local games on the cheap. Additional supported inputs include typical Bluetooth controllers, Logitech webcams for video chat, and an IR port for Harmony remotes and other infrared controls. Software NVIDIA's new toy has access to quite a lot of software and games, some local, some streamed via a compatible gaming PC, and some streamed from NVIDIA's GRID service for a subscription fee. Let's break it down. Android TV The SHIELD runs Android TV. Android TV is Android TV - the core experience is pretty much the same no matter what company you buy it from, like a homogenized auto platform that serves as a basis for pickups, SUVs, and delivery vans. (Um, in a good way.) You have near instant access to apps, movies, TV shows, and deep integration with almost all of Google's entertainment services. Apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, and SlingTV are natural fits. Aside from a few visual elements and the services below, it's very familiar to anyone who's used Android TV before. This is the fastest and smoothest Android TV machine I've seen yet SHIELD and Android TV games That said, this is easily the fastest and smoothest ATV machine I've seen yet. All the stuttery jankiness of the Nexus Player is gone, replaced with smooth transitions and animations. Even the bombastic Tegra X1 system can slow down when gaming or when using the GRID service, but the SHIELD is surely the best way to experience Android TV. It ought to be, since it's also the most expensive option available. The SHIELD set-top box will (presumably) play any games released for Android TV so far. It will also play a whole host of games specifically made for the SHIELD only (whether that be specifically for the X1 Android TV machine or games made for the older SHIELD and SHIELD Tablet). The only requirement is that the game be enabled for Android TV and accepted by the Play Store, which NVIDIA curates to create its "SHIELD Store." This isn't an actual store so much as a highly selective skin, tying into the Play Store for game descriptions and screenshots, but popping you out into the Play Store itself for actual purchases and downloads. It looks like NVIDIA is preparing most or all of the older SHIELD-enabled and SHIELD-enhanced games for the new set-top box. That's a good move, considering that the majority of the vast library of Android games haven't been enabled for Android TV, and are thus off-limits to the SHIELD console. The company has also partnered with major Android and PC game developers to release a host of new titles for the system's launch and later this year. The highlights among these are former high-end PC and console games that are getting their first run on a mobile system of any kind - they'll be exclusive to the SHIELD set-top box at launch. These high-end games include Doom 3: BFG Edition, an enhanced and upgraded version of the 2005 Id shooter, The Talos Principle, a first-person puzzle game broadly similar to Portal, Metal Gear Rising: Revengance, a fast-paced action game set in the Metal Gear Solid universe, and many, many more. Stand-outs from NVIDIA's press presentation include older PC and console games like Resident Evil 5, Crysis 3, and Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel. Almost all of these are at least a couple of years old, some of them much more than that. While the demos of local Android games we've seen are impressive, they're far from new - there's very little that NVIDIA has shown that dedicated gamers won't have sampled on some platform or another. The exception is Borderlands. The third entry in the series known for outlandish characters and massive amounts of loot came out for PCs and consoles a little less than five months ago, and even then it was a AAA game with top-tier graphics. Getting it to run on any ARM-based system, even the super-powerful Tegra X1, is an impressive feat. There's very little that NVIDIA has shown that dedicated gamers won't have sampled on some platform or another That said, Borderlands was the least polished of the games that NVIDIA showed on stage, with noticeable slowdown and frame drops, and none of the live demonstrations at NVIDIA's event or on the Game Developers Conference floor included Borderlands. An NVIDIA representative told us that the developers at 2K and Gearbox had only been working on the SHIELD version of the game for two weeks, so it's an understandably early build. While NVIDIA provides its partners tons of support for SHIELD-compatible games, even going so far as to publish some of them on the Play Store under the Tegra Partners name, I'd be surprised if many of the games above were available for the May launch. If NVIDIA is interested in pushing the SHIELD as a stand-alone, Android-based "game console," it's going to need to try as hard as possible to secure more developers to make Android-based games. And not just any games - old titles like Doom and Resident Evil won't impress gamers who want the latest and greatest that they see advertised on television and gaming sites. They need new titles with a minimal delay between release on PCs, Xboxes, and PlayStations, and their release on SHIELD. A couple of months would be good, day one would be better... if somewhat unlikely. This won't make Android gamers in general very happy. NVIDIA has already been accused of fostering fragmentation by encouraging developers to make games that don't work with other Android hardware. Of course, local Android games may be a secondary consideration for NVIDIA, which is busy preparing for the full rollout of its GRID streaming game service. See below for more elaboration. Once again, I have to highlight NVIDIA's questionable decision to equip the SHIELD with only 16GB of storage, especially considering its designation as a "game console." Consider that many of the high-end Android games today are easily passing multiple gigabytes in size, and all these PC and console ports will only tax the storage more. Doom 3: BFG Edition is an 11GB install on the PC. While it's technically possible to install as many games as you want on expanded storage and clear out space by uninstalling old games, this is a tedious process that also requires extra hardware. A higher-tier SHIELD system, perhaps a 64GB or 128GB option, would be very welcome. GRID Subscription NVIDIA's GRID subscription gaming service may well be the primary reason that the SHIELD set-top box exists. GRID has been in beta test mode for over a year, offered as a free perk to owners of the original SHIELD Portable and SHIELD Tablet. In practice, GRID is very much like the existing Onlive system: it hosts full PC games on remote servers and streams them to users, who can play them instantly through a minimal local software layer. GRID has the potential to transition the company from one primarily focused on hardware designs to one that manages a vast network of dedicated and loyal users NVIDIA is hoping to usher in a new era of gaming with GRID - go ahead and insert comparisons to Netflix and Spotify here. By serving games on its own hardware and collecting service fees and sales for games, it hopes to become the center of the gaming world for its users. The idea is appealing: pay a small fee and play a library of great games whenever you want, plus have access to the latest games via a purchase. And if NVIDIA can make it stick, it will certainly be worth it: GRID has the potential to transition the company from one primarily focused on hardware designs to one that manages a vast network of dedicated and loyal users, not unlike the way Steam transformed Valve from a developer and publisher to a global software vendor. But this road is not without potholes. First NVIDIA has to sell the hardware: though GRID will continue to be available on the SHIELD Portable and SHIELD Tablet, it won't be coming to PCs, non-NVIDIA Android hardware, or other set-top boxes, at least for the time being. The SHIELD console is meant to be a consumer portal to this service first and foremost. Next NVIDIA will need to make the service appealing. Pricing will be key here, and it's still unannounced. Two tiers of streaming will be available, 720p at 30 frames per second and 1080p at 60fps. Setting aside for the moment that gamers will need excellent broadband connections to take advantage of GRID at all (a representative estimated 60mbps for reliable 1080p/60fps gaming), pricing for the subscription service will have to be low enough for consumers to try it out first. Anything more than $20 a month seems unlikely to woo users, especially ones increasingly used to free or cheap mobile games, and anything less than $10 a month seems like it wouldn't cover NVIDIA's cost to deliver GRID in the first place. For reference, Onlive's full service tier currently costs $12.95 per month. And finally, NVIDIA needs to offer a compelling library of "free with subscription" games. The appeal of "all-you-can-eat" subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify is the wide selection and regularity. NVIDIA is off to a decent start here: they estimate that 50 games will be available at launch and 100 will be available by the end of the year (some of which will be paid, but most of which are going to be included). But when you compare that to stiff competition on both Android and the PC, it doesn't seem nearly as impressive. Stand-out titles already available on GRID for free include Borderlands 2, Batman: Arkham Origins, Saints Row: The Third, Ultra Street Fighter 4, Darksiders 2, and no fewer than six LEGO games. Like Netflix, NVIDIA is now a content company. It will have to court (read: pay) developers and publishers to offer their games on the GRID service. Gamers will inevitably be disappointed when they find that the one PC game they really want to play isn't available, or isn't available at no additional cost. Throw in the fact that NVIDIA's potential library is limited to PC games (Xbox and PlayStation games can't be had on GRID, for obvious reasons), and the company is suddenly facing a more narrow window. Consider also that major publishers with their own distribution platforms, including Valve, Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Activision, are unlikely to release new games on GRID for any price. GRID Purchases This is where things get tricky. In addition to a collection of PC games that come free with a GRID subscription, NVIDIA will also sell full-priced, stand-alone games for users to access. At its press event and at MWC, NVIDIA was showing off recent PC hits like Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Dying Light as well as high-profile upcoming games like The Witcher 3 and Batman: Arkham Knight. Most of these games will be sold at their typical PC prices, which means $50-60. An NVIDIA representative said that the company will try to issue PC game codes along with purchases When you buy a game on GRID, it's accessible from a SHIELD set-top box, SHIELD Portable, or SHIELD Tablet. Like the "free with subscription" games, there is no multi-gigabyte download to worry about and you get high-end PC-quality graphics (720p or 1080p, depending on tier). But that game is also tied to your GRID account, and thus limited in ways a traditional PC game isn't. An NVIDIA representative said that the company will try to issue PC game codes along with purchases, which would allow SHIELD players with typical gaming PCs to install them on Steam or similar services. But the representative cautioned that this might not be possible with all developers and publishers. What happens if you buy a PC game on GRID and then you end your service? You don't get to play it anymore. That nixes a lot of the appeal of that $60 purchase, even if the user does have a compatible PC... and NVIDIA isn't even targeting those users. Getting over the limited selection of GRID (both in free with subscription and paid games), not to mention possible consumer confusion arising from the limitation of a PC game-based system in the first place, won't be easy. The potential benefits of building a thriving service are nearly unlimited for NVIDIA, but they have a lot of ground to cover, and it's all uphill. GRID is still in the beta stage and will be free to SHIELD Portable, SHIELD Tablet, and SHIELD console users until June 30th. The paid service tiers and extra paid games will be available on July 1st. GameStream Though playing games from a local gaming PC via the GameStream system was a huge selling point for both the SHIELD Portable and SHIELD Tablet, NVIDIA didn't even mention it in the announcement of the SHIELD set-top box. The capability is still there for the new Android hardware (as is the requirement for a late-model NVIDIA GTX graphics card), but it's clear that NVIDIA's enthusiasm for streaming games that customers already own has waned as the full launch of GRID comes near. Marketplace SHIELD lives in an odd spot in both the video game and set-top box markets. At $200, it will be the de facto super-premium offering for Android TV when it launches. But at the same price, it's undercutting both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 (and sliding neatly under the Wii U, too). NVIDIA would argue that the GRID streaming service makes the SHIELD competitive with all three of them, hence the "console" label in the promotional material. It's hard to compete with the established players in the console world - just ask OUYA and Mad Catz, which made a similar gambit hoping a low price would allow gamers to overlook a relatively limited selection of Android games. NVIDIA will also have to sell gamers on the GRID service in order to compete - the local Android games, impressive as they are, won't sway gamers who want new titles. Offering a subscription with a console isn't necessarily a point of weakness: after all, the Xbox practically requires Xbox Live for full functionality, and Sony has made its PlayStation Network service attractive by giving away old games and other perks. But those are also sold to people who have invested years in those respective brands and spend hours and hours every week engaged with them. Trying to get gamers who want a high-end experience to invest in both a new platform and a new subscription service will be a Herculean task, if not a Sisyphean one. The SHIELD set-top box is fantastic Android hardware. Unless there's some major pitfall between now and release, it will be the Android TV device to beat. Whether or not NVIDIA's push for high end Android gaming will bear fruit, both locally and via the GRID service, remains to be seen. SHIELD could be an important shift in the gaming market as a whole... or a piece of niche hardware that's quickly forgotten. NVIDIA's execution at launch and shortly thereafter will make all the difference.Corporations have ideas, but executing them is another matter. (Bigstock) The lion’s share of corporate innovation projects are not making it to the market, according to a survey from Fahrenheit 212. The innovation consulting firm asked 100 chief innovation officers from multinational corporations what percentage of their innovation projects make it to market. Forty-five percent of respondents said fewer than 10 percent of their projects did. Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said between 10 and 25 percent of their projects made it to market. “This was a bit of an eye-opener for understanding the challenge that innovation practitioners have in actually getting initiatives and getting projects through their organization,” said Jon Crawford-Phillips, a partner at Fahrenheit 212. Crawford-Phillips said for incremental innovations, the success rate should be about 60 to 70 percent. In the past five years, he’s seen an increase in corporations having an employee serve as a chief innovation officer, but just giving someone the title and asking that person to come up with ideas isn’t enough to guarantee a company innovates. The system for promoting innovation must be designed correctly. “It’s not about producing great ideas or even taking good ideas to market. The primary value of the chief innovation officer is the connectivity between the company’s growth strategy and the decisions and focus of the senior leadership team and the translation of that into an innovation agenda,” Crawford-Phillips said. Too often corporations don’t align potential innovations with their financial interests, which makes them unlikely to see through new plans. “The more successful companies that we see are ones that approach innovation as a portfolio that they manage. There’s a strategic way in which they allocate resources to core innovation, and there’s clear metrics around the performance of core innovation and a clear understanding of the financial impact of that innovation on the company’s balance sheet,” Crawford-Phillips said. The survey of 100 innovations officers also asked what company is the most innovative at the moment. Google was named most often, with 19 percent of the vote. Samsung received 8 percent and Apple 7 percent.W. Somerset Maugham wrote: “An author is probably the last person who can write fitly about his own work.” I personally agree with what he said. In the process of submitting your work to the publishers and agents, you are advised to write outstanding queries about your manuscript. The queries have to be so convincing that the editor, agent or publisher will be so captivated by your novel, short story or poetry that he or she will ask to see more of your work. As a writer you believe in your work. You know that you have attained that level of perfection you were aiming at when you first started to write. However, Roger Martin du Gard, a French novelist, once told the following story about Marcel Proust. Proust wanted a certain French periodical to publish an important article on his great novel and thinking that no one could write it better than he, sat down and wrote it himself. Then he asked a young friend of his, a man of letters, to put his name to it and take it to the editor. This young man did, but after a few days the editor sent him a reply. “I must refuse your article,” he told him. “Marcel Proust would never forgive me if I printed a criticism of his work that was so perfunctory and unsympathetic.” So how do you go about it? How do you promote your work? Most writing instructors will tell you that selling yourself is sometimes almost half the problem. They advise you to market your book intelligently and with the same passion you created it. But they also tell you that sometimes a beautiful work of literature is also rejected. Often these manuscripts are lost in mail rooms and never reach the desks of publishers, agents or editors. Roger Burlingame, in his book “Of Making Many Books”, talks about publisher Scribner’s reaction to “This Side Of Paradise” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “Often mistrusting his own judgment, Scribner spoke about many books and asked to take them home to an erudite sister to read. His sister was supposed to be infallible, and it was true that many of the novels she had “cried over” sold prodigiously. So when it was known that he had taken “This Side Of Paradise” home for the weekend, his colleagues were all agog on Monday morning. “And what did your sister say?” they asked in chorus. “She picked it up with the tongs,” he replied “because she wouldn’t touch it with her hands after reading it, and put it into the fire.”” Needless to say the book was a great success. So what do you do? In Ray Bradbury’s words: “You fail only if you stop writing. I have written about 2000 short stories: I have only published about 300 and I feel I’m still learning.” ChK Advertisements(Newser) – Three members of a Florida family of fortune tellers confessed this week that they weren't really communicating with Michael the Archangel and other divine spirits as they took in a staggering $25 million from customers, reports the Sun Suntinel. Their guilty pleas mean that eight of the nine family members charged have now fessed up to charges such as conspiracy and wire fraud, though alleged ringleader Rose Marks, 61, still intends to go to trial in Fort Lauderdale. One of Marks' daughters-in-law admitted convincing one poor soul who was hearing voices to turn over $400,000 in gold coins. When he eventually asked for them back, she said they "were buried in a cemetery and she could not remember where... that only Michael the Archangel would know." The fortune tellers have to pay back their victims and face fines and prison time to boot. (Read more fortune teller stories.)Whoever wants to know Switzerland should have a look underground (Keystone) Swiss historian Jost Auf der Maur has written a book 'Die Schweiz unter Tag' about underground Switzerland. His journey took him from beautiful drinking-water reservoirs to the negative consequences of power politics and gives a new perspective on Switzerland. Luzerner Zeitung: What fascinates you about underground Switzerland? Jost Auf der Maur: This realm beneath Switzerland is a significant size, and I’m interested in our country and its history. Without its expensive underground infrastructure, Switzerland definitely wouldn’t function. So anyone who wants to know Switzerland must also investigate below the surface. Luzerner Zeitung: How did you experience underground Switzerland? What can you see there? J.A.d.M.: The smell of underground Switzerland isn’t the same everywhere: each train travelling through a tunnel smells different. The odour inside the earth is not generally inviting. It’s damp and dank. The architecture is prosaic; it has to counter the incredible forces trying to close these wounds in the mountains. It’s easy to lose your bearings. And there is much that is unfamiliar to an amazed amateur like myself, so you don’t notice it unless someone’s there to explain it. Jost Auf der Maur (Tom Haller/Echtzeit Verlag) Luzerner Zeitung: What made the biggest impression on you? J.A.d.M.: The variety. And I was struck by the underground caverns of the waterworks built in the middle of the last century. These aesthetically constructed cathedrals of progress celebrate unbroken faith in technology – the eternal singing of the generators is an appropriate accompaniment. On top of that, a lot of the drinking-water reservoirs are simply beautiful. The preciousness of water is apparent here – it is immediately clear that drinking-water reservoirs are more important than underground bank vaults. Luzerner Zeitung: What did you find most depressing? J.A.d.M.: The ill-conceived constructs of power politics. The false investments by technicians and politicians who operated with tunnel vision to build things that were not grounded in common sense. Among these is the enormous bunker city Sonnenberg in Lucerne, conceived as a civil defence complex, and tunnels such as the so-called Bedretto Window. It’s more than five kilometres long but a train never went through it. Much of the fortification building is also questionable. The fortresses were built mostly in anticipation of wars that had already happened. Luzerner Zeitung: But your book reveals that underground Switzerland is only partially connected to our army. J.A.d.M.: That’s correct. The Swiss Army has built three generations of fortifications since the founding of the Swiss Confederation. The last was completed only after the Cold War and was quickly abandoned because it was obsolete. But the army built only about 8% of the underground constructions. That is 250 kilometres of accessible hollow space. Transport accounts for 1,240 kilometres, water services 800 kilometres and civil defence 1,200 kilometres, so these are much more extensive. Luzerner Zeitung: Relative to its size, Switzerland is world champion in building underground facilities. What do you conclude from that? J.A.d.M.: Switzerland has extended its territory towards the centre of the Earth; that’s an objective fact. This can be very practical – and “practical” is a hallowed term to the Swiss. There are two further qualities and they are contradictory: one is about connecting, the other about sealing off. Both obviously fulfil strong needs. We want to cross the Alps quickly to go south or north. But we also want reinforced concrete over our heads in case it comes to the much-discussed Ernstfall, or “emergency scenario”. Since 1847, our country has been spared this Ernstfall, but it remains the most serious of all words in our vocabulary. During the Cold War, almost everything could be justified and pushed through on the grounds of a potential Ernstfall. Luzerner Zeitung: Much of what was built then seems completely crazy now, Sonnenberg for example. And yet it’s not wholly absurd to want to protect citizens, even if this sometimes seems to go beyond the requirements. J.A.d.M.: The Sonnenberg bunker city is a relic of Cold War thinking. The question of whether to invest billions in concrete bunkers for Day X or to use the resources to improve society is also a philosophical one. We were almost the only people in the world to decide on a concrete cover. This is unique to Switzerland. Luzerner Zeitung: Perhaps we will still be glad of the reinforced concrete cover: the US and North Korea are threatening each other with nuclear weapons. Where can people protect themselves from the possible consequences other than underground? J.A.d.M.: The best protection starts long before the panicking. We have to stop the fear-merchants, which requires culture, self-confidence, civil courage, enlightenment and communication. Luzerner Zeitung: You view the defence aspect of underground Switzerland with scepticism, even criticism. Can’t this also be seen in a positive light? And doesn’t the country’s topography force the Swiss to bore holes? J.A.d.M.: It’s true that the topography invites us to do nothing other than bore hole after hole. I’m not saying that just to criticise it, I’m simply making an observation. And I’m impressed and full of respect for many achievements. But when the army sinks CHF12-15 billion ($12.4-15.5 billion) into the rocks in canton Uri without the people’s approval – as it is doing at the moment with its computer project Network Enabled Operations (NEO) – then I become sceptical. NEO is intended as a kind of commanders’ viewing station from which the generals can observe the Swiss battlefield in real-time. I’m afraid that something is brewing there which will make the 1961 scandal over the spiralling costs for Mirage fighter planes look like child’s play. I’m waiting with interest to see which media will be courageous enough to investigate the case. Luzerner Zeitung: In your book, you conclude that the Swiss feel safe underground because they are a country of agoraphobes: they are afraid of empty, open spaces. What makes you say that? J.A.d.M.: Perhaps because it’s painful for us to leave a space empty, unused, not serving any commercial purpose. Perhaps as inhabitants of a peasant republic, we just can’t
-year-old Loreal Tsingine five times, killing her. The Winslow Police Department says Tsingine was armed with scissors and got into an altercation with Shipley while he was trying to take her into custody for allegedly shoplifting at a nearby Circle K. On February 16, a memo from Winslow Police Sergeant Q.L. Hayes to Chief Stephen Garnett investigates an allegation of "excessive force violation of Winslow P.D. policy 304.5." According to the documents, Shipley responded to a "fight-in-progress" call, that later turned out to be horse play, with multiple subjects, including a 15-year-old girl. Shipley commanded everyone involved to sit on a curb, but the girl did not comply and began walking away from the group. The officer commanded her to come back and the girl complied, walking back toward the group. Sign up for the daily Snapshot newsletter Sign up for the daily Snapshot Newsletter Something went wrong. The most interesting and talked-about stories from Arizona and beyond delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons! Thank you for signing up for the Snapshot Newsletter. Please try again later. Submit The narrative states Shipley instructs the girl to get on the ground, which she did not do, and the officer deployed his Taser. The officer stated he used his Taser because "he felt that [the girl] was reaching for something in her waistband." After reviewing the body camera footage, Sgt. Hayes states the girl was wearing baggy pants and, from his observations, was pulling them up because they were falling down. Hayes also states the girl never made any abrupt movements toward the officer or acted aggressively. Shipley also states he used his Taser because he was the only officer on scene and needed to use the weapon to keep the situation under control. The officer said he reviewed the use of force policy involving the Taser and admitted his actions were a violation of policy. Shipley also stated glass bottles were being thrown in his direction from a bystander after he deployed his Taser. Those claims were unfounded, according to Hayes' memo. Shipley was suspended for one day and was put on six months of probation for the incident. In November 2013, Shipley was disciplined for offensive language he used toward a 15-year-old girl on Oct. 29th. Shipley was transporting the girl from the police station to the Little Colorado Medical Center when the officer claims the girl began calling him offensive names. In response, the officer responded by calling the girl an offensive term, which he admitted. The mother of the girl also claimed Shipley used excessive force while transporting her daughter, claiming he injured her arm and shoulder. The department stated that video of the officer escorting the girl from the holding cell into his patrol car had been deleted at the time they attempted to review it. Footage from the Little Colorado Medical Center showed the officer did not use excessive force with the girl when transporting her inside the facility. The department requested to speak with the doctor who checked the girl's injuries, but, according to the documents, the department said the girl's mother declined to move forward with the use of force allegations. Shipley was suspended for one day and was required to attend diversity training. Copyright 2016 KPNXJust to make this more complicated, yesterday Saad al-Hariri, the Prime Minister of Lebanon and son of Rafiq Hariri, the Lebanese PM assassinated by Syria in 2005, came to visit Riyadh and abruptly announced his resignation, claiming that Iran and Hezbollah were planning to assassinate him, as well. He is currently hiding out at an “undisclosed location.” Damned if I know what this means. Brief summary, for those not up to date on today’s news: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS, has decided to consolidate his power rather forcefully, arresting ten prominent princes, including the leader of the National Guard, ministers, and the like for corruption, and simply killing two others. This comes a month after Jared Kushner visited, spending several days staying up well into the night with MBS. David Ignatius gives a good summary at the Washington Post. 1. This takes either balls of steel or brains of jell-o. These people are not only powerful, some of them — like Miteb ibn Abdullah, head of the National Guard and son of the previous king, or al-Waleed bin Tilal, who controls the Kingdom Holding Company — have sizeable power bases of their own. It looks like at least one of the killings, of Abdul Aziz, youngest son of the prior king, wasn’t intended specifically as a hit, but was “killed while resisting arrest.” (The other one, of Mansour bin Mukrin, was a “helicopter crash” that lacked a certain subtlety) So there’s a short window during which MBS is effectively holding them hostage to guarantee the obedience of their factions, but that’s not likely to last very long, and if he fucks up and any of them die, that card goes away immediately. Given that he does not control the National Guard, this could go very badly very quickly. 2. As a result, MBS has to consolidate power pretty much completely in the next 24 hours, or very nasty things will happen to him. The good option is if he’s simply executed and we return to power-struggle-as-usual; the bad option would be if he partially consolidates power, and this turns into an all-out civil war. 3. The Sunni part of the Islamic world is basically propped up by a combination of Saudi money (generally distributed as part of the princelings’ complicated internal power struggles) and Egyptian influence. A civil war knocks the pillars out of that, and would largely leave the Sunni world in chaos. This eliminates pretty much any systematic opposition to Iran’s expansion of power into border regions, and means that places like Bahrain and Kuwait are likely to increasingly fall into their orbit. 4. Saudi Arabia produces about 12% of the world’s oil. Together with the countries in its immediate vicinity, who would likely be directly affected by a major war in their area, we’re looking at about 23%. (That doesn’t count Iraq or Iran, who are another 10%) If that much oil is no longer predictably in circulation, the value of oil from other sources suddenly goes up by a lot. 5. The world’s largest single producer of oil, at 13%, is Russia. NB also that Russian global influence tends to be very correlated to its ability to use oil and gas as negotiating leverage with recalcitrant countries, especially in Europe. Also note that the value of a stake in Rosneft, the Russian state-owned exploration company, is correlated quite sharply with this. (So who has that 19.5% that was mysteriously sold last December again?) 6. None of this is to say that Prince Mushn — I mean Kushner came up with some kind of dastardly plot on his own. I would frankly find it shocking if he did. 7. It is getting towards the end of 2017, the time of year when people are likely to make statements about how glad they are that this damned year is over and they hope 2018 will be better. Do. Not. Tempt. The Fucking. Fates. Remember what you were saying around the end of last year? Now think about this year. Consider, also, that 2017 was the year that the chaos of Trumpism — the rule of the “American Yeltsin,” as I recently argued — started to spread across the US. 2018 is likely to be the year in which that power vacuum starts to really make itself felt around the world, in addition to continuing its spread through the US. This smells like the very small beginning of a lot more trouble. 2018 is not going to be pretty; it will be the first full year of the post-American century.In two years, NASA hopes to introduce a new line of spacesuits that will replace the 30-plus years old existing spacesuit, which has been used on the space shuttle and is currently in use on the international space station. During the 1980’s researchers at the NASA Ames Research Center developed the prototype AX-5 high pressure, zero-prebreathe hard space suit. The suit achieved mobility through a constant volume, using a hard metal and composite rigid exoskeleton design. However hard suits required additional internal padding for astronauts in order to reduce the risk of injury due to contact with the hard interior of the suits which were not very comfortable to use. NASA decided to develop a hybrid spacesuit and went another way with the existing Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit, which has been in use since 1982. – Now however, NASA is looking forward to a new generation of spacesuits that will bring several key advantages over more or less anything, which had been in use so far in outer space. Probably, the most important innovation brought in by the Z-1 is its rear-entry hatch. Instead of putting the suit like a two-piece clothing, you get into the Z-1 as if it were a spacecraft, through its back hatch, which is part of the unit. The hatch can also be docked to an external hatch on a rover or space vehicle. This has several important advantages: – It potentially eliminates the need for a dedicated airlock on a spaceship or a space vehicle (making them smaller and simpler to build and get into orbit. – It makes it simpler for an astronaut to climb in and out of a space suit (a complex task with the current Extravehicular Mobility Units. – It also more or less the problem of bringing lunar dust into the spaceship. The dust contains lots of sharp glass particles, such as volcanic dust, which can do a lot of damage to equipment and even puncture the lungs if inhaled. – The concept of a rear hatch is actually not entirely new. The Russian Orlan spacesuit used since 1977 has a rear hatch pretty similar to the Z-1 design. Another interesting innovation is the bubble helmet which allows for a wide field of view (much more than existing spacesuit. – The Z-1 also has a completely new life-support system. The Portable Life-Support System (PLSS as it is known) removes carbon dioxide will be continuously from breathing air, thus eliminating the need for canisters of CO2-absorbing lithium hydroxide. – There are many other improvements such as newly-designed shoulder joints, that have greater mobility and many other changes, but probably the most basic difference between the Z-1 and the existing Extravehicular Mobility Unit is going to be where it could be used. While the EMU has very poor surface walking capability, the Z-1 is being designed with both Extravehicular capability and surface walking capability in mind. This is done as part of NASA’s forward looking initiative, which in the future could include manned missions to the moon, the asteroids and eventually Mars. – Z-1 is only a prototype spacesuit and will not be used in space. However, NASA has been testing it on earth in preparation for more advanced models that will come in the next few years with the aim of having the first next gen space suit ready by 2015. – The following NASA videos demonstrate the Z-1 and its capabilitiesDENVER – Yasiel Puig is expected to officially be assigned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Thursday. He will have 72 hours after that to report to his new team. Whether he ever plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers again is very much in doubt. “I don’t want to handicap that situation,” Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi said Tuesday at Coors Field. “It certainly is a possibility. Beyond that, it’s just speculation.” The Dodgers certainly didn’t offer a clear process for Puig to work his way back to Los Angeles. In fact, Zaidi gave the impression that Puig was given the news about his demotion – when the Dodgers were unable to trade him before Monday’s non-waiver deadline – through his agent and not directly from the Dodgers. Manager Dave Roberts said he has not spoken with Puig since the outfielder was told not to show up at Dodger Stadium for Monday’s flight to Denver. “I don’t want to get into that level of detail,” Zaidi said. “But suffice it to say, he understands the message from us and what we hope he accomplishes down there.” Roberts spoke vaguely of swing mechanics and a more consistent approach, both off the field and at the plate. But what the Dodgers really hope Puig accomplishes in Triple-A is to regain enough value for them to eventually trade him, whether it is later this month (after clearing waivers) or in the offseason. “Everything is on the table right now,” Zaidi said. “We have discussions with almost every team about a lot of our players. So I wouldn’t want to single him out and talk about that.” Puig’s behavior has been less of an issue this season. While Zaidi said Puig’s demotion was “a domino effect” of being able to upgrade in right field with the acquisition of Josh Reddick, neither Zaidi nor Roberts went so far as to call the move strictly a baseball decision. Asked if he had found himself devoting more time and energy to Puig than any other player, Roberts responded with just one word – “Yes.” If Puig’s time with the Dodgers can be salvaged it will clearly require a commitment on his part to become more professional in his preparation and work ethic. “We can all continue to grow. But – Yasiel can continue to grow. I’ll leave it at that,” Roberts said. “I mean, there’s definitely been good moments of quality work. But that needs to continue to be consistent. “This is something that we expect him to understand is not punitive. It’s for his growth, to become ultimately a better baseball player.” Late arrivals at the ballpark, poor work habits and a lack of preparation might have been tolerated when Puig was playing at an All-Star level. But he has been a fairly mediocre player – for all his highlight-reel physical skills – for some time now. Puig has no longer been able to overpower the game with his athleticism as he did when he burst onto the scene in 2013. Since the start of last season, he has hit.258/.321/.411 with 18 home runs in 160 games while always being just another sprint down the first-base line away from a hamstring injury. But Zaidi said it was not fair to characterize this week’s move as a sign that the Dodgers had simply run out of patience with the 25-year-old outfielder. “Look, a lot of this is circumstantial as I have said. You can never assume you’re going to make a trade,” the GM said. “The fact that we were able to get a right fielder that we believe is an upgrade for this team right now did have a little bit of a domino effect in terms of what his role was going to be and where he was going to play moving forward. That’s really the primary element here. “So I don’t think that (saying the team ran out of patience with Puig) is a fair description because there are a lot of ways the last 48 hours could have unfolded where he would be playing right field for us today. The primary thing was the trade deadline, looking for targets, looking for ways to improve the team. That was the primary driver.” Contact the writer: bplunkett@scng.comDemocratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersSenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Bernie Sanders Town Hall finishes third in cable news race, draws 1.4 million viewers Woman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid MORE saw 28,000 supporters attend his rally in Portland, Ore. on Sunday, setting a record for the largest number of supporters at a political event in the 2016 race. “Whoa. This is an unbelievable turnout,” Sanders said after walking onstage at an NBA arena. Michael Lewellen, an arena spokesman, said that more than 19,000 people filled the center, with thousands more lined up outside, according to Sanders's campaign. Sunday's showing smashed Sanders's attendance record of 15,000 set the previous day in Seattle. The independent Vermont senator, who has emerged as the main Democratic presidential foil to front-runner Hillary Clinton, has repeatedly garnered attention for drawing huge crowds on the campaign trail. "Excuse me, I don't think he is drawing bigger crowds than me," Donald Trump, who currently sits atop the GOP presidential field, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Have you drawn a crowd of 25,000?" Bloomberg's Mark Halperin pressed. "No, 15. But I haven't — excuse me, I'm not finished yet," Trump said. During Sanders's rally on Sunday, he spoke of income inequality, as well as a push for criminal justice reform. “There is no candidate who will fight harder to end institutional racism in this country and to reform our broken criminal justice system,” he said. According to CNN, Sanders’s campaign employed a chant Sunday to drown out shouts from protesters after being dogged by Black Lives Matters activists at several events. Newly minted National Press Secretary Symone Sanders, an African-American woman, told the audience to chant, "We stand together," if a protest were to break out, according to CNN. That came after Sanders was blocked from speaking at another event in Seattle on Saturday due to protestors.Please enable Javascript to watch this video ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)-The U.S. attorney for Eastern Missouri has found no truth in an alleged baby theft from the former Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis. The investigation determined that the daughter of Zella Price Jackson was not born at Homer G. Phillips, but actually born three months prematurely at City Hospital No. 1. Jackson Price and her attorney, Al Watkins are thankful for the federal investigation, but say medical records released to them are ambiguous. Watkins said “The only hospital records that link her to City One are records that were created 12 days after her discharge; they were final diagnosis forms.” He described the other records as generic medical forms used at both Homer G. Phillips and City Number One Hospitals. Watkins says their investigation into what happened fifty years ago will continue. In April, Zella Jackson Price reunited with her daughter, Melanie Diane Gilmore. Jackson Price said she gave birth at the now closed Homer G. Phillips Hospital and that staff told her that her daughter died after birth, 50 years ago. In fact, the baby, Melanie Diane Jackson, now Gilmore, was alive. U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said Friday that records show that Jackson Price arrived at City Hospital No. 1 on November 20, 1965 with pregnancy complications. She gave birth on November 25, 1965, three months prematurely. She was discharged on November 29, 1965. Records show that Melanie Diane Jackson was deemed healthy enough to be discharged in April 1966 and placed with a foster family in July of that year. The investigation focused on the birth of Melanie Diane Jackson and the allegation that she was stolen from her mother. “We can now say with complete confidence that there is absolutely no truth to that allegation,” Callahan said in a news conference. “Therefore, our investigation is closed.” Price's allegations led to many other women seeking medical records to confirm if their babies really died. No other cases were investigated because the Jackson Price case was the only reported case where the mother was told that the infant had died and it turned out the child has lived.A mentally ill death row inmate convicted of shooting a city inspector in 2005 was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday evening in Huntsville, Texas, only hours after an appeal for a ban filed by his attorneys was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. Adam Kelly Ward, who was found guilty of murder in 2007, was refused his last appeal two hours before his execution despite efforts from his attorneys, who argued that his mental impairment constituted sufficient grounds for a stay on his sentence. “The crime for which Mr. Ward received the penalty of death was an act inextricable from the delusions and paranoia fed by his disabling bipolar disorder,” Ward’s lawyers stated in their petition. Ward was pronounced dead on March 22 at 6:34 P.M., according to Reuters. In June 2005, Ward came across Michael Walker, a city code inspector who was observing a pile of junk outside of his home in Commerce, Texas, and taking pictures with a camera. An argument ensued between the two men. Advertisement When the city official told Ward he was going to dial for assistance, Ward became convinced that the police were en route to kill him. After that, Ward procured a.45-caliber pistol from his home and repeatedly fired at Walker, hitting him nine times. At the time of the incident, “Ward said [in a videotaped confession] he believed Commerce officials long conspired against him and his father,” according to the Associated Press. Ward also was “described in court filings as a hoarder who had been in conflict with the city for years.” Ultimately, he claimed he had killed Walker in self-defense. Advertisement “Only time any shots were fired on my behalf was when I was matching force with force,” Ward said in an interview with the AP in February. “I wish it never happened but it did, and I have to live with what it is.” While a camera and a cell phone were found on the victim, it was confirmed that Walker was not carrying a firearm on the scene. During his first trial in 2007, Ward’s attorneys submitted evidence to prove that he suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, which resulted in paranoia and delusional behavior. After he was convicted, his lawyers then pressed for them to be presented in proceeding appellate hearings. Advertisement Ward’s case centered around the meaning of mental impairment, which the high court ruled to be appeal “improper and without merit.” As the AP reported: “The justices have ruled that mentally impaired people, generally those with an IQ below 70, may not be executed. However, the court has said mentally ill prisoners may be executed if they understand they are about to be put to death and why they face the punishment. State attorneys, who said evidence showed Ward’s IQ as high as 123, said the late appeal did not raise a new issue, meaning it was improper and without merit. They also disputed claims of changing attitudes about executing the mentally ill.” Advertisement In a report published by the ACLU in 2009, there are estimations that “five to ten percent of death row inmates suffer from a severe mental illness.” As of now, there have been 535 executions in Texas since 1976, ranking it at the top for cumulative executions in the U.S. since that year. Ward will be the fifth man to be executed in the state, and the ninth nationally, since the beginning of 2016. Contact the author at jamie.reich@jezebel.com.At six o’clock or so every morning — significantly later if you’re lucky — phones and clocks around the world start beeping and buzzing and doing all sorts of other noisy things. Often, those devices met with a grumble and a slap of “too soon!,” but hey, we’re the ones who told them to do that in the first place. Waking up can be hard to do, but if you want to get to work or school or wherever-else on time, alarm clocks are pretty important. But alarm clocks are relatively new (and phones that can accomplish that same task are even newer). The first mechanical alarm clock was patented in the late 1800s, but this was before the Industrial Revolution. Society’s ability to mass-produce mechanical ways to wake us up wasn’t coming until at least the 1920s. Workers, though — and that constituted someone in just about every family — still needed to be woken up each morning. Absent a mechanical solution, how did people wake up in the morning? One answer? A person with a very long stick. Here’s a picture: That was the case in England, at least. These people were called “knocker-ups” or “knocker-uppers,” a name which described the act they’d perform each morning. The knocker-up would come to your window, give it a few taps, and then wait to make sure you had awoken. If you had, great — he or she moved onto the next house. If not, they were typically charged with trying again, as knocker-ups were often only paid if they waited to ensure that the customer had, indeed, woken up. The job paid a few pence a week and was often performed by the elderly, by women, or by off-duty policemen while moonlighting, per Wikipedia. Mental Floss notes (in an article about six other alarm clock substitutes) that some factories would hire their own knockers-up to wake factory employees. And a letter to the editor of the Guardian (from New Zealand) says that some mining communities would pay a “knocker,” who knew what time to wake each person based on a slate sign on each door — some of which are still visible today. Regardless, the solution was human-intensive and rather low tech. And it was phased out pretty quickly — once alarm clocks could be produced cheaply, the job of knocker-up quickly disappeared. Bonus Fact : During World War II, U.S. factories stopped producing whatever they were normally producing and instead began making items for the war effort. That switch included a temporary end to the production of alarm clocks, as the parts and labor were needed elsewhere. But while most of the wartime manufacturing restrictions lasted until (or even past) the end of the war, alarm clocks were given a special dispensation, and were allowed to be produced again beginning in November of 1944. As Wikipedia explains, that’s because the pre-war alarm clocks began to break down. With no new clocks to replace the broken ones, an ever-increasing number of workers weren’t waking up on time — and therefore, were missing their factory shifts. The U.S. government decided to allow for the production of new alarm clocks in order to solve for this problem. From the Archives: Telling Thyme: Using spices as a clock. Related: A book about the history of clocks. It has an unnecessarily long title but has decent reviews.Defense hawks are hunkering down for a fight to get all $640 billion they say is necessary to rebuild the military after President Trump’s budget proposal fell short of their expectations. Budget experts predict a battle in the coming months between the administration, appropriators, party leadership and congressional committees that may fall short of delivering even the $603 billion Trump has proposed. Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainGOP lobbyists worry Trump lags in K Street fundraising Mark Kelly kicks off Senate bid: ‘A mission to lift up hardworking Arizonans’ Gabbard hits back at Meghan McCain after fight over Assad MORE (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services committees, have the power to push a $640 billion defense policy bill regardless of how the budget shakes out. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s going to be a heavy lift to even get close to Trump’s proposal,” said Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “With that said, the authorizers can go off and mark to something that’s completely different.” Trump’s $603 billion base defense budget leaves out much of what was on defense hawks’ wish lists, as well as items Trump himself promised throughout his 2016 White House campaign. The budget includes no additional ships from what was planned under former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaChicago's next mayor will be a black woman Obama portraits brought more than 1 million visitors to National Portrait Gallery in first year With low birth rate, America needs future migrants MORE, though officials have said the administration supports adding another littoral combat ship and has promised to issue a correction to the budget. The budget would also add no new soldiers and buy eight fewer aircraft than Obama had planned. The Pentagon has said this budget proposal is about fixing the readiness of the force it currently has and that Congress can expect the buildup to start in fiscal year 2019. But defense hawks say that’s an unnecessary and potentially harmful delay. Both Thornberry and McCain insisted this week they do not yet know whether their respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would eschew Trump’s budget and follow their $640 billion proposal, saying the budget process needed to progress further before making a decision. But both were highly critical of Trump’s proposal. In front of a crowd at the Brookings Institution on Monday, Thornberry dismissed the budget as “the Obama approach with a little bit more.” McCain, meanwhile, blasted the budget as “inadequate to the challenges we face, illegal under current law and part of an overall budget proposal that is dead on arrival in Congress.” In a hearing Thursday specifically on the Army’s request, McCain added that the budget “ignores what Army leaders have testified to this committee, which is that inadequate end-strength is forcing the Army to consume readiness as fast as it produces it.” By contrast, appropriators have taken a somewhat softer tone on the budget. Rep. Kay Granger Norvell (Kay) Kay GrangerThe Hill's 12:30 Report: First test for Trump emergency declaration Senate plots to avoid fall shutdown brawl On The Money: Trump declares emergency at border \| Braces for legal fight \| Move divides GOP \| Trump signs border deal to avoid shutdown \| Winners, losers from spending fight \| US, China trade talks to resume next week MORE (R-Texas), chairwoman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said earlier this month that while she supports the $640 billion proposal in theory, she doesn’t think it’s achievable “unless something drops from heaven.” And after Trump's budget was released, she called it "a start." “As the defense appropriations chairwoman, it’s my job to make sure our leaders in uniform have the resources they need to protect the nation,” she said in a statement. “To that end, we will look closely at the defense budget to make sure our priorities are where they should be.” Likewise, Sen. Thad Cochran William (Thad) Thad CochranTop 5 races to watch in 2019 Bottom Line Races Dems narrowly lost show party needs to return to Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy MORE (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its defense subcommittee, said Trump’s budget “is an opportunity for Congress” and promised that his panel would work on "appropriations bills that responsibly provide for our national security and other priorities.” Tom Spoehr, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, said he anticipates McCain and Thornberry to put up a fight. “They really have signaled that they are really unhappy with [$603 billion], that they’re going to push,” he said. “They don’t want to disrupt the entire Congress. They don’t want to tip over the apple cart. But also the mere fact that they put out their numbers before the White House is an indicator that they feel really strongly about it.” Conversations he’s had with House and Senate Armed Services committee staffers support that they haven’t yet settled on a $640 billion defense bill, he said, adding they wanted to talk with appropriators “before they staked out some ground.” He predicted that Congress would fall somewhere in the middle of $640 billion and $603 billion, which would provide enough money for some of the procurement defense hawks want. Spoehr argued that while it’s theoretically possible for McCain and Thornberry to pursue a $640 billion NDAA regardless of what budget Congress reaches, it would be be a bad idea. “There’s continued uncertainty then about where defense is going to go,” he said. “You want to have some measure of consensus, some neighborhood, or no one knows what to believe, and so all of Congress kind of looks foolish at that point.” Harrison, of CSIS, likewise said discrepancies between the defense spending and policy bills would hurt the Armed Services committee. “It undermines some of the authority of the authorizers when they authorize things that don’t ultimately get appropriated,” he said. “You can’t spend an authorization.” He also predicted continued tension between the Armed Services committees and appropriators in the months to come. But ultimately, he said, it will be up the party leadership to negotiate a budget deal to get anything more than the $549 billion annual defense spending cap set by the 2011 Budget Control Act. He’s predicting a budget deal that’s about $40 to $45 billion above the budget cap – which would fall below Trump's proposal. “It’s not the $54 billion Trump is requesting and it’s only half of the way to the McCain-Thornberry proposal, but $40 billion above the caps instead of $54 [billion] in the grand scheme of things” isn’t that big a difference, he said. “You might have to reprioritize, maybe delay a few weapons systems. But Congress is always good at sweeping up money that hasn’t been spent. You know, shake couch cushions and a few dollars fall out.”The physical limits of how small a transistor can be have been tested following the creation of a single-molecule transistor, but not without great difficulty. The concept of a single-molecule transistor was first proposed way back in 1990 by a team of researchers at IBM who managed to manoeuvre single atoms to form the company’s acronym with the help of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). Now, however, a joint international research effort from Germany, Japan and the US has finally created a working single-molecule transistor by placing it on a semiconductor surface made of indium arsenide, with the findings published in Nature Physics. To function, the single-molecule transistor can operate as a field-effect transistor, but only when it is surrounded by charged atoms that act as the transistor’s gate. According to IEEE, the researchers encountered fewer challenges than had been expected as, typically, molecules on semiconductor surfaces are difficult to shift, but by using a molecule of copper phthalocyanine, thereby offering less resistance when using the STM, they encountered fewer issues. “We created a certain electrostatic potential ‘landscape’ on the surface by placing [charged] atoms in a certain geometry through which we are moving the molecule on a fixed line,” said Stefan Fölsch, lead researcher on the project. “In each new position, the molecule feels a different electrostatic potential created by these atomic-scale gates.” There is still a long way to go, however, before we can begin implementing almost-atomic level transistors commercially, largely due to the fact that the process in which it was created is still not really understood by science. Equally challenging is the fact that it was created in an ultra-high vacuum at temperatures of just four degrees Kelvin (-269ºC). Circuit board image via ShutterstockIn less than a month, big changes are coming that will usher in a new era of pick-and-pay television. But it appears none of the major cable and satellite TV companies wants to talk about it. CBC News examined many of the big TV provider websites — from Rogers to Bell to Shaw to Telus. We couldn't find any information about the low-cost, "skinny" basic TV package or added pick-and-pay channel deals they must offer by March 1. The silence is frustrating some customers who are eager to learn more. "You'd think because they're coming soon that they would have these options available to be seen," says cable customer Chris Mooney, who's shopping around for a better deal. Some industry watchers believe customers could be kept in the dark until the March deadline. They suspect TV providers don't want to spread the word about a basic, low-cost TV package — until they have to. "It's a seismic shift that they don't really want people to know about," says Daniel Bader, a columnist with the tech site MobileSyrup.com. "Of course, if it was in their best interest, they would be advertising it," he adds. "They have absolutely no incentive to tell people there's a cheaper option." The skinny on changes Last year, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced new rules to give viewers more options. The regulations were sparked by viewer complaints that they were forced to buy big bundles of channels at high prices just to get the handful they wanted. By March 1, TV providers must offer a so-called "skinny" basic package priced at $25 or less. It has to include mandatory local and regional stations, as well as public interest Canadian channels such as APTN. Providers can also add selected U.S. networks like NBC and PBS — but the price can't go up. Companies must also let customers top up their "skinny" package with pick-and-pay channels. They can offer them either individually or in "reasonably priced" small bundles. Come December, companies must offer both. In the dark Cable customer Mooney recently downgraded his current TV package to save money, but he had to give up a favourite sports channel — TSN. He's anxious to know whether the new offerings will let him get all the channels he wants at a decent price. So he went online to check out Cogeco and Bell — two TV providers serving Oakville, Ont., where he lives. To his surprise, he couldn't find any information about the upcoming deals. "It would be nice to know what they're going to be so I know what my options are," he says. "It's very frustrating." There are no rules forcing the cable and satellite companies to advertise early. The CRTC has only mandated that TV providers must promote the "skinny" package by the March 1 deadline "so that customers are aware of its availability, price and content." Tech analyst Bader believes that even when providers start promoting the new deal, they won't go all out, because it's not in their best interest. "They're only going to do the minimum amount required to appease the CRTC," he says. Stay tuned In recent days, CBC News contacted many of the big providers to find out what deals they will be offering come March. Not one shared any details. We also asked the companies why they haven't posted any information yet. Bell told CBC News in an email that it hasn't announced anything yet, because "we're still more than a month out from March 1." Rogers said, "We'll have more to say about this soon." Eastlink stated it will be sharing details on March 1 and to "please feel free to circle back at that time." Shaw said it will be spreading the news "in the coming weeks." Cogeco stated: "It is too early for us to disclose any information. We will publicly announce our new offerings in due time." Telus never responded. Small player tells all At least one provider is already offering details. VMedia is a small internet-based TV service with just 18,000 subscribers. The Toronto-based company has a new Skinny Basic Package already available for purchase, which it boldly promotes on its site. The package costs $17.95 and includes the mandatory Canadian channels plus five American networks. Co-founder George Burger said that as a newer competitor, his company was eager to offer its deal
44-year-old current city council president and mayoral candidate, can’t remember a time in his life without a black mayor. In the late ’70s, when Mitchell was 9, Mayor Jackson spoke at the funeral of Mitchell’s father, one of the first black officers to integrate Atlanta’s police force, which showed him that a mayor’s personality could set the tone for his city. “I saw somebody that looked like me,” Mitchell said. “It gave me all the confidence to do what he had done.” The progress made through black politics—marked by Atlanta’s overall increase in household income and a decline in poverty during the 1990s—was followed by backlash. Some of Jackson’s successors exacerbated inequalities among communities of color, got caught in corruption scandals of their own making or led the city into financial deficits. In 2009, as the black population continued to decline, Norwood’s first mayoral campaign surprised many in a city where whites had long lacked political clout. Running on a platform that was critical of Atlanta’s black-led government, she polled consistently in first place, at times close to 50 percent, suggesting she might have enough votes to avoid a runoff. Barack Obama’s election in 2008 had prompted idealistic talk of the advent of an era of “post-racial” politics, but in Atlanta, political power had consolidated in the black community, and many people were loath to give it up. With less than three months to go in the race, a memo written by two scholars at Clark Atlanta University circulated. The memo, which called for voters to consolidate support around a single black candidate to advance a “black agenda,” leaked—thrusting a local race into the national news. “They feared that if the mayoralty goes [white], we should expect to see municipal workforce change, and the distribution of contracts change, and dispatching of services change,” said Michael Leo Owens, a political science professor at Emory University. Kasim Reed, who then trailed another black candidate, City Council President Lisa Borders, refused to abandon his childhood dreams of becoming mayor. Reed, a mentee of former Mayor Andrew Young, rallied to get enough votes to defeat Borders and force a runoff against Norwood, which seemed much to his advantage, as registered black voters outnumbered whites by more than 30,000 in the general election. Reed won the runoff. But in a runoff that had more voters than the general election, blacks cast only 89 more ballots than white voters. A mere 714 votes kept Norwood from becoming mayor. The pendulum of racial power was clearly swinging. *** A self-described independent, Norwood is the closest this nonpartisan race comes to having a Republican. In 2013, four years after losing to Reed, Norwood, a communications consultant who once oversaw a company that owned R&B radio stations, was reelected to an at-large city council post. Back in office, she advocated for higher police pay and greater transparency amid an ongoing federal corruption investigation into city employees linked to the Reed administration. Her citywide position, combined with her willingness to attend even the smallest of civic functions, has generated strong name recognition. Her grass-roots popularity is perhaps fueled most by her reputation as a master of constituent services, the kind of council member who makes sure that a complaint about overgrown grass outside an abandoned property not only gets handled fast, but also with the touch of a seasoned salesperson. “A lot of times the city thinks it’s communicating with citizens but it’s really not,” Norwood told POLITICO Magazine. “That’ll be a major part of how we re-establish trust in city government: Put all the city services online—and people know where the city workers are, and know they’re here today, and will be in your part of the city two weeks from now.” Norwood says her responsiveness extends to just about every neighborhood, black or white, in the city. But her critics say these appearances around town rarely come with substantive policies to create lasting change. In one campaign appearance, Norwood promised to clamp down on “drug boys” dealing in black neighborhoods without specifying solutions to address the underlying social problems. “Appealing to us is more than showing up at black funerals,” is how the leader of the NAACP’s Atlanta chapter responded to her skipping its mayoral forum. Peter Aman, a white consultant from Buckhead, says Norwood’s struggle to speak on issues of race reveals a disconnect that makes her “unfit to be mayor of Atlanta.” A political novice self-funding much of his campaign, Aman is running as an outsider who touts an insider’s knowledge of city government after serving as Mayor Reed’s first chief operating officer. To earn trust with black residents, he has tried to have candid conversations about race. He also opened his campaign headquarters in the historic black neighborhood of Sweet Auburn—near an iconic mural of Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights legend who marched with MLK. “I refuse to ignore the fact that far too many Atlantans have already segregated the candidates based on race, and not record,” Aman said during one campaign stop. “I will not shrink from talking about it.” “I chuckle when I hear candidates say that,” said Mitchell, who doesn’t believe he needs a translator on issues where race manifests itself, having grown up in predominantly black southwest Atlanta. “I’m not going to spark a conversation about race,” the council president said. “I’m going to say, ‘Let’s get to work.’” Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms, the only black woman running for mayor, believes her experiences transcending childhood poverty—her father was incarcerated for a drug conviction—allow her to connect with residents across class or race. A mother of four, she has described having the “life or death conversation” with her son about how to handle police encounters. In a recent radio ad, she called upon Atlantans to elect a mayor who can recognize that “racial profiling is a problem everywhere.” “Mary can’t change something that she doesn’t even know exists,” Bottoms said in the ad. A week after Norwood’s hesitation on answering the racial profiling question, mayoral candidates were asked during a forum held at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to talk more about community policing. One black candidate spoke candidly about the formative experience of having an officer pull a gun on him at age 12; Norwood spoke about police wages but avoided the topic of racial profiling. In her interview with POLITICO Magazine, Norwood said “there’s no question” that racial profiling happens but that she had only been seeking clarification the week before so she could provide a nuanced answer to a complicated question. “My support across the city has been strong,” she said. “I don’t break it out racially. I’ve had tremendous support from a diversity of citizens.” So far, Norwood hasn’t been dinged in polls for skirting candid conversation about race: A recent Landmark poll placed her second among black residents. Harvey Newman, a retired Georgia State University political science professor, believes it shows that “she could be a uniting candidate.” “I don’t know if mayors can really be the mayors of all communities,” Owens, the Emory professor, said. “They have to make choices among places and spaces. At the end of the day, there will be winners and there will be losers.” Hobson, the Atlanta historian, said the city’s potential election of a white mayor could say more about the waning influence of the city’s black leadership. Unlike past elections, where influential “kingmakers” delivered thousands of votes to a single candidate, six leading black candidates are now sparring for splintered factions of the city’s black population. Bottoms, who has polled in second place, believes that even though racial tensions have grown nationally, the issues affecting Atlanta remain the same as in 2009. “Those critical issues must be my focus,” she said. Norwood, for her part, professes hope that in a city as diverse as Atlanta, voters will judge her candidacy based on her track record of service rather than the color of her skin. “I am who I am,” Norwood said. “When people know who you are, and they know how much you care, and they know what you’ve done for them, what you look like is actually superficial.”A member of FIFA's financial watchdog panel has been temporarily suspended while implicated in the Cayman Islands corruption investigation. Canover Watson was questioned last month by police anti-corruption and financial crime units in his native Cayman Islands on suspicion of corruption and money-laundering. He denies wrongdoing. FIFA said audit committee chairman Domenico Scala 'decided to temporarily relieve until further notice Canover Watson, to whom the presumption of innocence applies, of his duties on the FIFA Audit and Compliance Committee'. The eight-member audit panel is next scheduled to meet on December 16 in Morocco. It scrutinises FIFA's $1billion-plus annual revenue and commercial contracts. Local media reported the case involves a 2010 contract to supply public hospitals with swipe-card billing technology. Scala said that although preliminary investigations had not established any connection between the allegations and Watson's role in football, Watson had been relieved of his duties while the investigation continues. In a statement, FIFA said: "After a preliminary clarification of the facts of the case and the allegations of the Cayman Island investigating authorities against Canover Watson, no connection with football and/or his role at association level has been established at this stage." "The investigation continues. "This should not be regarded as routine procedure, because cases like this or of this nature must always be assessed on their individual merits." Watson, one of eight members of the committee and a vice-president of the Caribbean Football Union, has denied the charges and been released on bail in the British overseas territory. The allegations refer to Watson's time at the head of Cayman's Health Service Authority and follow a police investigation into the introduction of a swipe card system. Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Commissioner David Baines, in a statement to local media, said Watson was suspected of 'breach of trust contrary to section 13 of the Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Law, as well as abuse of public office... and conflict of interest'. Baines also cited'suspicion of money-laundering contrary to section 133 of the Proceeds of Crime Law' in the Watson case.New Haven police investigating ice cream shop robbery Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Video NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- New Haven police say Ashley's Ice Cream was robbed Tuesday night. Police say Ashley's Ice Cream, located at 280 York Street, was robbed. Police say they are looking for a female suspect. The female implied she had a weapon, but police say no weapon was displayed. Police believe she got away with a few hundred dollars. The store clerk described the suspect as a white female in her 40s or 50s with an average build. She was wearing a black beanie-style hat, black winter coat and black pants at the time of the robbery. She then fled on foot toward Grove Street. No one was injured during the robbery. Anyone with information is asked to call New Haven police.An IAS officer in Tamil Nadu has become the target of Islamic parties who are on a warpath against him for stopping a marriage of a 17-year-old girl to a 36-year-old man An IAS officer in Tamil Nadu has become the target of Islamic parties who are on a warpath against him for stopping a marriage of a 17-year-old girl to a 36-year-old man. The dynamic district collector of Perambalur, Dr Darez Ahamed, is the one who has earned their wrath. The confrontation with the collector has taken religious overtones with the Islamists accusing the IAS officer of transgressing into the personal law of Muslims. "Transfer him," is their demand. Hours before a marriage was to be solemnised on June 25, authorities stopped it and took the bride and the groom - Shahul Hameed of Periya Ammapalayam and Euresha Begum of Arumbavur - along with their parents to the police station. The reason: The girl has not yet attained the age for marriage. Later the groom was remanded to custody while the bride was sent to a government home for women by a judicial magistrate. This action followed a directive from Ahamed, who has thus far prevented over 110 child marriages in this district. Restless Islamic outfits staged a protest in front of the Collectorate at Perambalur last week to condemn 'interference' into the affairs of the minorities. They had a conclave at Chennai to chalk out further steps. "When we told the collector that Shariat sanctions marriage for girls once they attained puberty, he countered us that the same law has laid down to sever limbs for theft and so on and asked whether we would do all that," said A K Haneefa, one of the organisers of the protest. Citing a recent Delhi High Court judgment which quoted the Shariat on marriageable age for girls and rejected a mother's plea to retrieve her daughter, he maintained that the wedding which was stopped was perfectly legal. "Officials are ignorant about Islamic Law. They could not deny the community of its personal law. This is a serious issue," says Prof Khader Mohideen, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president. But, Ahamed remains unmoved. "The Child Marriages (Prevention) Act 2006, clearly states that those under 18 years could not get married as they are considered children. The law is common to all," he said. "After taking charge in this district, I have prevented 112 child marriages. I am myself a doctor with an MBBS and I know at what age a woman becomes physically fit to conceive and deliver a healthy child. This is a backward district where there is a high incidence of mortality during childbirth which requires the statute to be implemented with seriousness," he explained. Official sources said the collector had issued a circular to all schools to inform the administration of girls leaving school after 9th class or parents seekingtransfer certificates of their daughter to keep a tab on child marriages. Asked about the present instance, he said that he had acted as per law and the parents could approach the judiciary if they felt aggrieved.US Secretary of State John Kerry sought but failed to get backing from President Barack Obama to confront Israel over its objections to his peace proposals, and therefore his bid to try impose terms for peace on Israel and the Palestinians has “pretty much collapsed,” an Israeli TV report claimed on Sunday night. Citing unnamed sources close to the negotiations, Channel 10 news said that Kerry, who had hoped to impose a binding “framework” agreement on the two sides, covering all the key core issues for a peace agreement, sought Obama’s “political backing for confrontation primarily with Israel,” but got the presidential cold-shoulder. It was deemed that now was “not the time for such moves” for the president, the report said. As a result, Kerry’s effort to put together a substantive framework agreement “has pretty much collapsed for now.” Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up There was no independent confirmation of the report. The document the secretary is finalizing, the TV report said, still includes clauses providing for a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 lines and for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. But its formulation regarding Jerusalem, a “very problematic” clause for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is “amorphous,” the report said. Critically, the report noted, the status of the framework accord is no longer to be binding on the sides. The emerging framework document is so unthreatening even to Israeli hardliners that it is unlikely to prompt any kind of coalition crisis, the TV report said. Kerry himself said in a Washington Post interview published Saturday that Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would have a chance to “express reservations” over the framework agreement, adding that such caveats provide “the only way for them to politically be able to keep the negotiations moving… For them as leaders to be able to embrace an endgame, they need to have the right to be able to have some objection.” Sunday night’s TV report said that Kerry’s intention was that the framework agreement, however emptied of substance or authority, would govern talks that would continue for the rest of the year. However, when Kerry announced the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks last July, he set a nine-month time period, during which he said he aimed to broker a full, permanent peace accord. Those nine months end in April, and the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said last week he saw no reason for extending the talks beyond that deadline. Reports last weekend suggested that Netanyahu and his senior colleagues were inclining to accept the framework accord as a non-binding document. Persistent reports have indicated, by contrast, that the Palestinians intend to reject it, and are already preparing for a legal and diplomatic war against Israel. With his framework accord so weakened, the Channel 10 report said, Kerry would now face an even greater challenge to persuade the Palestinians to accept it.How You Are Reading This Page We use the Internet every day and most of us take it for granted that you click on a link and your computer Or your phone, or tablet, or console. All these devices are just computers in disguise. displays the new page for you to read. But how does that work? What happens to get a web page from wherever they are stored to your eyes? The short answer that you have probably read before is that the page is transferred from a web server to your browser over the internet. This is true but what does it mean? It would be a lifetime's work to explain every facet of the process but what follows is broadly speaking the series of steps taken for you to see this page. The Internet First things first; some quick definitions: Here I am ignoring firewalls that restrict what can be sent, and NAT devices which complicate the story somewhat The Internet is a worldwide network of computers that can pass information to each other. If your device is "on the Internet" it can send and receive information to any other public computer on the Internet. Information is transferred in small blocks called packets that are sent to the destination computer's IP address The IP just stands for Internet Protocol. A packet works like a postcard - it has a sender, a destination, and a short message. The Internet works much like a postal service in this analogy. When you send a postcard you write your return address and the destination address along with your message and put it in a postbox. The card gets picked up and taken to a depot where the destination address is looked at. The card is then placed on a appropriate vehicle and taken to a depot that is closer to the destination. This process might be repeated several times if the destination is in another country. Eventually the card will be delivered to the destination having passed to several mail centers on the way. These intermediate computers are called routers. If you are connected through a residential ISP the little box with the blinking lights they gave you is a router and it is the first port of call for packets sent from your computer. The Internet works the same way. Your computer will send a packet to the closest computer which will examine the destination address and send the packet onwards. A package can go through dozens of intermediate computers before reaching the destination IP Address. Technically what I describe here is a IPv4 address. There is a newer addressing system, IPv6 which looks like this: 2607:f8b0:4007:804::200e. For the purposes of this document they work the same way. I am also ignoring private address behind NATs. The IP Address of a computer is basically like a street address that postcards are sent to. They are written as a set of 4 numbers separated by periods. For instance, the IP Address of the server that hosts this website is 45.55.153.122. Packets sent over the Internet are often broken up and reassembled before delivery, something that doesn't happen (usually) to postcards. Packets can also arrive out of order or even be delivered twice. The postcard analogy only goes so far.Postcards get delivered whether they are transferred by foot, horse, boat, truck or airplane. Depending on how you connect to the Internet and the destination, a packet might be transferred via a physical wire, a radio broadcast over your wireless network, a radio link to your nearest cell-phone tower or orbiting satellite, or an undersea fibre-optic cable. Most likely a single packet will end up being transferred in multiple ways before it gets to the where it needs to be. And that is all the Internet is. All the cool stuff we do over the Internet is built on this foundation. The Web Browser and the URL A Web Browser is the software that requests and displays web pages like the one your are viewing now. The web browser displaying a page. The URL is visible near the top. Internet Explorer, Chrome (pictured), and Safari are all web browsers and they all perform the same basic functions. When you click a link, the web browser uses the URL Universal Resource Locator to make the request. The URL points to a specific page, in most browsers you can see the URL being requested in the location bar at the top of the page. For instance, the URL of the page you are reading is: The (simplified) anatomy of a URL showing the different sections The URL is made up of several different sections: The scheme is the protocol that browser will talk when making the request. In this case, the scheme is https. Web pages always requested using either https or http although other protocols exist. We will come to how https works eventually. is the protocol that browser will talk when making the request. In this case, the scheme is. Web pages always requested using either https or http although other protocols exist. We will come to how https works eventually. Technically speaking, this part of a URL is called the authority and it can contain several sub-components of its own, but in practice they are seldom used in web browsers. Also, to be really pedantic, the domain name part is actually called the host. The domain name is the human-friendly name of the web server that will receive the request. A web server is just another computer running software designed to handle requests from browsers and send back web pages. Remember that everything happens over packets sent to IP addresses. How the friendly domain name gets converted into an IP address is the topic of the next section. The is the human-friendly name of the that will receive the request. A web server is just another computer running software designed to handle requests from browsers and send back web pages. Remember that everything happens over packets sent to IP addresses. How the friendly domain name gets converted into an IP address is the topic of the next section. I have skipped some other optional parts of URLs because they are not used in this example, namely the query and the fragment The path specifies how the web server computer will locate the page amongst the files it stores. In this case, the path refers to a simple file on disk but much more complicated paths are routine. The URL contains everything needed to make a request over the Internet, but first your browser must look up the domain name to find the IP Address it needs to send the request to. It is time to talk about the Domain Name System Domain Name System (DNS) Remember that addresses on the Internet are just quartets of numbers ( 172.217.12.174, for example), but URLs typically contain a human readable domain name such as google.com or sheep.horse. The Domain Name System consists of computers on the internet programmed to act as name servers which can look up domain names like you might look up a name in an old fashioned phone book. Take sheep.horse for example. To find the ip address, your browser first sends a packet to the name server that your computer is configured to use Normally this will be set by your ISP if you are using a home network, or your cellular data provider if you are using your phone. If you are at work or school, they might have their own local name server.. That name server doesn't know anything about sheep.horse but it does know the addresses of the root name servers so it resends the query in a packet addressed to one of them. The root name server doesn't know anything about sheep.horse either but it does know the address of the name server that knows about the.horse domain so it sends that back. Block diagram showing the parties involved in the DNS query process Again, this description is a simplified overview of the process. In reality there are multiple levels of cacheing going on, domains can have more than one address, and requests and responses can be too large to fit into a single packet. DNS requests always follow this basic process though.Your local name server then sends a query to the.horse name server asking for sheep.horse again. The.horse name server doesn't know either, but it does know the authoritative name server for sheep.horse because I pay money to the owners of the.horse name server to register that domain name with them. Your local name server gets the address of this authoritative name server The authoritative name server is not unique to sheep.horse, it stores the addresses for lots of web sites. It is run by the company I pay to host the computer that serves this web site. and performs one final query to it for sheep.horse, the authoritative name server knows the address and returns the result. In this case the answer is 45.55.153.122. The whole process takes a fraction of a second. Once your local name server has seen the answer to the query it will store it locally for a period of time so that subsequent queries for the address of sheep.horse will be even quicker. Now the browser has the IP address of sheep.horse it is time to actually make the request. But there are a more things to explain first. TCP The Internet works with packets and packets only contain very short messages. Web pages are huge by comparison - they will never fit. What we need is a system of sending large amounts of data via very short packets. Going back to the postcard analogy, imagine you wanted to send a short novel to your friend on the other side of the world but all you have access to was a stack of postcards and a lot of stamps. What you need is a system to pack the contents of the novel into the postcards in a way that your friend could reassemble the whole novel on the other side. TCP is, of course, more complicated than this, mainly because the simplified system outlined here would not perform well in the real world. I have also skipped over the 3 way handshake that initiates a TCP connection. It is all just packets though.You could start by copying the first paragraph to a postcard and sending it, then the second paragraph to a second postcard, numbering each postcard so your friend know which order to reassemble them into. This would be all you needed if the postal service was infallible but in reality some postcards are likely to go missing en route. However, since you numbered your postcards, your friend knows which ones went missing and could send postcards back to you saying "Hey, could you resend postcards #263, #264 and #265? They never arrived." Once you resend these postcards your friend has the whole novel. Or, stretching the analogy slightly, he might send back a postcard saying "Hey, stop sending these postcards for a few days, I can't read that fast". Eventually at the end of the process he will send back an acknowledgement saying "Thanks, I received all 2873 postcards and I read all the way to the end. What else you you have?". The important thing is that the two of you have established a way of sending large streams of information reliably using only small unreliable postcards. The Internet version of this system is called TCP Transmission Control Protocol and it works in pretty much the same way. It allows computers to set up a two-way communication channel that allows large amounts of information to flow back and forwards. This channel is still operating using packets but the software using the channel can act as though the packets don't exist, all it sees is the reassembled information. Most things that get transferred over the Internet are sent via TCP, this web page was no exception Making the Connection to the Web Server Your browser has looked up the IP Address of sheep.horse's web server (45.55.153.122) and has a means of communication (TCP). The web server is a computer that I rent You don't get a whole computer for the $5 a month I pay, in reality this web site runs off a Virtual Machine - one of many running on a single physical computer with a split personality. It doesn't matter for the purposes of this document. specifically to run a program that just sits there 24/7 waiting for TCP connections from browsers like yours. In case you are wondering, I believe it is physically located somewhere in New York; I have not gone to visit it. There is a problem I haven't mentioned. TCP works over IP packets, and IP packets are just like postcards in yet other way - anyone who handles your postcards (a corrupt mail sorter, for instance) can read them. You don't want people to eavesdrop on your web browsing. Even worse, somebody could manipulate the packets in order to make this page appear to say something I never wrote. Or they could intercept the packets your browser sent and answer themselves, sending back whatever they want. How can you be sure that you are reading the real sheep.horse? None of this matters much for this web page but you don't want people listening in on your banking transactions and personal emails, or manipulating the information you send and read. The solution to all these problems is yet another protocol called TLS Transport Layer Security. TLS works on top of TCP and it ensures that anything transmitted over the connection is encrypted (to prevent eavesdroppers) and authenticated (preventing someone else pretending to be sheep.horse). TLS works by having the server send back an tamperproof certificate that contains the name of the site (sheep.horse) and a key This is called the public key, the server has a corresponding secret private key that it never divulges. Data encrypted with the public key can only be read with the private key and visa versa. How does that work? The answer is maths - lots of maths. that can be used to encrypt data in such a way that only the server can decrypt it. But if people can intercept and modify packets, how does the browser know that this certificate is legitimate and not somebody sending back a fake one? The certificate was created and signed by a Certificate Authority. A Certificate Authority is just a third-party organization that I managed to convince that I owned sheep.horse - they did some minimal amount of work to confirm that this was true and issued me with a certificate. I am deliberately glossing over how certificate signing works. Suffice to say that the browser can detect that the certificate was issued by who it claims to have been issued by. The CA signs certificates with its own private key and the browser knows the CA's public key. Again, the answer is lot of maths.Your browser contains a built in list of Trusted Certificate Authorities that it knows it can rely on. The certificate for sheep.horse was signed by an organization called Let's Encrypt which is on this list so your browser can use its built in knowledge of how it expects a certificate signed by Let's Encrypt to look. If this fails then the browser will not continue with the request. Since you are reading this the certificate was found to be valid and the browser could be sure that it was talking to the real sheep.horse web server. Next the browser generates a random key and encrypts so that only the sheep.horse web server can read it This is done using the server's public key and the aforementioned lots of maths and transmits it. Now both the browser and the web server have a secret key that only known to them. For here on all data transmitted between these two sides will be encrypted using this key. This all may seem overly complicated but now we have a reliable (thanks to TCP), private, tamper-proof, and authenticated (via TLS) channel of communication built entirely on just the unreliable and easily manipulated packets that are sent over the insecure Internet. All this work has taken a fraction of a second and now your browser is in a position to actually request the page. It has been a long road but we are nearly at the end. Requesting the Page With a secure and reliable connection, your browser can now request the page from the server. It does this using a protocol called HTTP/2 Hypertext Transport Protocol version 2. Older websites might use HTTP version 1 which is conceptually much the same that all web sites understand. First your browser sent a request to the server, similar to this one: ---HEADERS--- :method = GET :scheme = https :authority = sheep.horse :path = /2017/10/how_you_are_reading_this_page.html Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,/;q=0.8 Accept-Encoding: br, gzip, deflate Accept-Language: en-us DNT: 1 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_13) AppleWebKit/604.1.38 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/11.0 Safari/604.1.38 I am skipping over vast parts of the HTTP/2 protocol. The requests and responses don't look exactly like this and in practice the responses are broken up into smaller sections. I have edited out some headers from the examples to keep things clearer. Each line of this request helps specify exactly what the browser wants back. In this case the browser wants to GET (the method) the data at /2017/10/how_you_are_reading_this_page.html (the path) from the website sheep.horse (the authority) using https (another name for HTTP/2 over TLS). The rest of the lines make up the headers of a request, and specify how the browser expects the data to be returned, or information about the browser that the server can use to modify the response. For instance, the Accept-Language: header in this case is en-us, for US English but if you are in France your browser might send fr_fr, for French. This would tell the web server that it should return the french version of the requested page sheep.horse is not clever enough to do this. The web server saw this request and sent back the following response: ---HEADERS--- :status = 200 ETag: W/"59beb7fe-18fd" Content-Type: text/html Date: Sat, 07 Oct 2017 18:09:25 GMT Last-Modified: Sun, 17 Sep 2017 17:59:26 GMT Server: nginx/1.10.3 (Ubuntu) Expires: Sat, 07 Oct 2017 19:09:25 GMT Content-Encoding: gzip Cache-Control: max-age=3600 Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=15768000 ---DATA--- <!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>How You Are Reading This Page</title> <meta name="author" content="Andrew Stephens" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://sheep.horse/2017/9/how_you_are_reading_this_page.html" />... You may be familiar with the infamous 404 status code which is returned when the server can't find the requested information, usually this means that somebody mistyped a URL.The first line is the status code, in this case 200 which simply means that the server has found what the browser requested and is sending the data. The response also contains some other headers, these are mainly concerned with how the data is returned and for how long the browser should cache the response. Finally, after the headers comes the actual data, in the form of an HTML Hypertext Markup Language page. This consists of structured text that contains the contents of this page interspersed with tags that tell the browser how the text should be displayed. You can look at the HTML source to this page right in the browser by right-clicking on the page and selecting View Page Source from the menu You probably won't be able to do this if you are using a mobile device. But web pages don't just consist of text. Within the HTML source code to this page are references to additional image files that the browser needs to download and insert into the page as it is displayed. Each image has its own URL that your browser uses to make another request back to the server. To speed things up, your browser will reuse the same TLS connection so that the overhead of validating the web server's certificate does not have to be repeated. It is not unusual for the browser to have to make hundreds of requests back to the original server before everything on the page can be displayed. It is also possible for a page to include a resource that exists on a completely different server, in which case the browser has to make a whole new connection. Sheep.horse is a very simple website, on other sites your browser could be keeping track of dozens of simultaneous connections. Table showing the files that were downloaded by your browser to show this page. This is actually a short list - it is not unusual for a single page to require hundreds of files. File Name Purpose how_you_are_reading_this_page.html The HTML source for the page tufte.css Stylesheet that contains general instructions on how the page should look (colors, etc) view_page_source.png 404_error.png dns.svg uri.svg webbrowser.png Each image in this document is stored in a separate file et-book-blod-line-figures.woff et-book-roman-old-style-figures.woff et-book-display-italic-old-style-figures.woff et-book-roman-line-figures.woff The stylesheet specifies that the text be displayed using certain typefaces, these need to be downloaded as well Conclusion I hope this gave you some understanding of the enormous complexity that underlies viewing a webpage - something that we all do hundreds of times a day. I did not even go into some other important details such as how exactly your browser lays out what you see on that page - itself a very involved process. I sometimes curse when a web page fails to load properly but the fact that the Internet works at all is something of a modern miracle. Read similar articles in Computing, Popular or NotableThe sriracha industry is on fire --and is about to get hotter. Amid uncertainly about the future of sriracha hot sauce maker Hoy Fong Foods, family-owned McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco, quietly released its own version of the sweet and garlicky sauce. According to the Tabasco Country Store website, the new “Premium Sriracha Sauce is a masterful blend of spicy, sweet and savory flavors, that is authentic to South East Asian cuisine.” Tabasco’s new sauce is currently only available through the company’s official online store. So why release the hot product in secrecy? GrubStreet is predicting that this is just a test run, and product or packaging is likely to change before a national roll-out. A company statement said that the new product is only a “limited edition.” While the sriracha may be synonymous with H
// browsers like Safari, older Internet Explorer and older Chrome. switch (e.code \|\| e.key \|\| e.keyCode) { case 'KeyW': // This is 'W' on QWERTY keyboards, but 'Z' on AZERTY keyboards case 'KeyI': case 'ArrowUp': case 'Numpad8': case 38: // keyCode for arrow up changeDirectionUp(); break; //... Other letters: ASD, JKL, arrows, numpad default: return; } e.preventDefault(); doSomethingUseful(); }); // touch handling // A real implementation would want to use touchstart and touchend as well. window.addEventListener('touchmove', function(e) { // don't forget to throttle the event }); Try the full version! What’s missing? The API itself is quite well done, not much is missing. Yet I miss something. There is no way to know what the current keyboard layout is. This would be really useful for writing the instructions to control the game: press WASD/ZQSD/... depending on the layout. An API to know which letter is behind a specific key would also be useful. Yet I don’t know for sure if the underlying operating systems offer the necessary low-level calls to provide that information. Other useful things Without entering into too much detail, let’s fly over some other significant functionalities in the API: The keypress event is deprecated. Now you should always use keydown instead. The event beforeinput is also planned but isn’t supported to date by any stable version of a browser (Chrome Canary has an implementation). The event input is a higher-level event supported by all browsers that is also useful in some situations. event is deprecated. Now you should always use instead. The event is also planned but isn’t supported to date by any stable version of a browser (Chrome Canary has an implementation). The event is a higher-level event supported by all browsers that is also useful in some situations. With the location property on KeyboardEvent, if a pressed key exists in several locations — e.g. the Shift or Ctrl keys, or the digits —, then you can know which one was actually used. For example, you can know whether the pressed key is in the numeric pad or on the digit top bar. Note: This information is also contained in the code property, as every physical key gets its own code. property on, if a pressed key exists in several locations — e.g. the Shift or Ctrl keys, or the digits —, then you can know which one was actually used. For example, you can know whether the pressed key is in the numeric pad or on the digit top bar. Note: This information is also contained in the property, as every physical key gets its own. The repeat property is set to true if the user keeps a key depressed and an event is sent repeatedly as a result. property is set to if the user keeps a key depressed and an event is sent repeatedly as a result. If you want to know if a modifier key is depressed while handling another key’s KeyboardEvent, you don’t need to keep track of the state yourself. The boolean properties altKey, ctrlKey, metaKey, shiftKey, as well as the method getModifierState, can give you the state of various modifier keys when the event was triggered. Oddly enough, the keyboard events don’t seem to work properly on mobile platforms (iPhone untested). So be sure to have a touch interface as well! You can use it now This is my conclusion: You can use this now! It’s possible to progressively enhance your game controller code by taking advantage of the newer API for modern browsers while supporting older browsers at the same time. Your international users will thank you for this… by using your product :-)(CNN) Michael Paramasivan was watching a film in bed in his West London apartment when he smelled something "plastic-y." "I heard shouting, 'It's getting bigger, it's getting bigger!'," he told CNN Wednesday. By the time he had grabbed his daughter and ran down the stairs, Paramasivan said half the building was on fire and the other half was catching fast. "If I'd fallen asleep, we would have all been dead... There weren't no warning, there weren't no proper noise to let us know what was happening. We lost everything. Everything in the house is gone," he said. Witness Michael Kyriakou told CNN the fire spread quickly, with one side of the building ablaze around 15 minutes after it started. "Within an hour it had engulfed the top part of the building," he said. "There are people in bathrobes and slippers all around us, so hopefully as many as possible got out." Witness Michael Kyriakou told CNN the fire spread quickly, with one side of the building ablaze around 15 minutes after it started. "Within an hour it had engulfed the top part of the building," he said. "There are people in bathrobes and slippers all around us, so hopefully as many as possible got out." Residents from nearby Barandon Walk wait outside their building. The building was evacuated around 2 a.m. Police told residents that heat emanating from the fire could affect the structure of their building. Residents from nearby Barandon Walk wait outside their building. The building was evacuated around 2 a.m. Police told residents that heat emanating from the fire could affect the structure of their building. Smoke could be seen billowing over the heads of residents who gathered in nearby streets to watch the blaze. Smoke could be seen billowing over the heads of residents who gathered in nearby streets to watch the blaze. The building, built in the 1970s, was home to 125 families. The building, built in the 1970s, was home to 125 families. Children wear masks that were distributed near the site of the fire. Children wear masks that were distributed near the site of the fire. Police officers asked people to step back so they could expand the cordon and make more space for emergency services. Police officers asked people to step back so they could expand the cordon and make more space for emergency services. Witnesses reported terrifying accounts of people trapped in the tower. Some people were reported to have jumped from the tower. Witnesses reported terrifying accounts of people trapped in the tower. Some people were reported to have jumped from the tower. Burning debris falls from Grenfell Tower as a massive fire engulfs the London apartment building early on June 14, 2017. Seventy-two people are confirmed to have died in the fire. Burning debris falls from Grenfell Tower as a massive fire engulfs the London apartment building early on June 14, 2017. Seventy-two people are confirmed to have died in the fire. Fire crews are still working after an enormous blaze engulfed the Grenfell Tower building in North Kensington in the early hours of Wednesday morning. There is no word on how many people are still inside but officials have confirmed there are "a number of fatalities." Many residents who evacuated said the fire had spread incredibly quickly with almost no warning. Some people told CNN they didn't even hear a fire alarm. Khalid Ahmed, a 20-year-old student who lived on the eighth floor, was playing video games when he smelled smoke. As he walked to his kitchen to investigate, he saw "sparks coming up" from the window. Twitter user @Natalie_Oxford uploaded this image of the fire earlier Wednesday. Ahmed woke his aunt and started knocking on his neighbors' doors. "One of my neighbors... came to his door, looking confused, and asked what was wrong. When he stepped out there was suddenly smoke everywhere, the whole corridor was engulfed. Everyone started coughing and couldn't breathe." Ahmed and his neighbors escaped to safety through the only communal stairwell for the whole building. "I watched flames burst out of our window and our flat was engulfed in flames," he said. On Friday, Ahmed had noticed a white powdery substance on the floor in his corridor. He thought that maintenance workers were possibly trying to cover exposed red pipe, believed to be gas pipes, on the eighth floor. Neighbors woke to screams A photo of the building in the early hours of Wednesday. Matt Kane, who lives in the building next to the Grenfell Tower, said he was woken by screams and sounds of people running. "I got dressed, went downstairs and saw a neighbor. She said 'fire' and I thought it was the school across the road. I walked out and saw the tower on fire," he said. One local man, David Phippen, said he was woken by residents of Grenfell shouting for help, and saw the lights were still on in one side of the building while the other side was in flames. "I thought there was a row going on," he told CNN. "I came out to my back garden and saw (the fire). You could hear people screaming. Whoever is at the top of (the tower), I pray to god they got out." Some said the speed of the fire made them nervous about the state of their own buildings. Ubah Yusuf said she and her neighbors, who lived close to Grenfell, would ask their building manager about their own tower block. "The fire started from the bottom, people on upper floors couldn't get out. I'm worried about my building now," she said. "I'm worried if a fire happens, who is going to help?" Residents jumped from windows Numerous witnesses also described seeing people trapped inside their apartments; banging on windows, shining lasers and lights or calling for help. Two women who watched the fire break out said they saw multiple people jump from the top floors of the tower to try to escape. JUST WATCHED Witness: People were jumping out of windows Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Witness: People were jumping out of windows 01:27 Samira Awil said she had seen multiple bodies, including children, covered in sheets outside Grenfell Tower where they had fallen. "Luckily for me, my little brothers and sister were safe in their beds, but people their age (were) dying," she said. "We literally watched a man burn to death in his flat," her friend, Tamara Eastmond said. "We saw the flame enter his flat and (overcome) him." Another witness, Abdullah Barraq Mohidin, said the fire began as a small one "but no one left their houses." "I can't believe that no one went inside to help them," he said. "There was people trying to break their windows... a woman and a child waiting for people to help them for three hours. Three hours there shouting for help." A baby was'miraculously' saved Samira Lamrani, a mother of two who lives next to the Grenfell Tower, describes hearing the pleas for help pic.twitter.com/qsG09hSG1Y — Ryan Hooper (@RyanJHooper) June 14, 2017 Samira Lamrani, who lives next to the Grenfell Tower, told the Press Association that she watched a woman throw her baby from a window. "A woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch her baby," Lamrani said. The baby was "miraculously" caught by a member of the public, however is not clear what happened to the mother, she said. "Endless numbers of people" remained trapped inside and were screaming for help at the windows, Lamrani added. "Us members of the public were reassuring them, telling them we've done what we can... but obviously the look on their face was death. "I could hear them screaming for their lives," she said. Friends, relations caught in blaze Ahmed Chellat, who lives opposite the Grenfell Tower, is anxiously awaiting news from his brother, who lived on the 21st floor of the complex along with his wife and their three children. Chellat told CNN he last spoke with his sister-in-law by phone around 2:20 a.m. During the call, she said that emergency services had arrived and had instructed the family to remain inside their smoke filled house. "'They are coming to get us,'" she told Chellat. But more than 12 hours later, Chellat still doesn't know where his family is, and is calling on authorities to provide him with any information. "If you saved them, let us know where they are," Chellat said. "I'm hoping for the better, because its a whole family that would be wiped out." Local resident Ness Davis said a close friend of hers had been trapped inside in the building. "(When I called) all she said is, 'It's hot, it's hot, it's hot," she told CNN. When Davis attempted to contact her friend later on, she didn't answer the phone. JUST WATCHED Report: People trapped in burning building Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Report: People trapped in burning building 02:05 Tales of heroism were already beginning to emerge Wednesday morning. Ayyub Asif told CNN his family lived on the 18th floor and as soon as he saw the flames from his own house, miles away, he ran toward the blaze. Police wouldn't let him through when he arrived but eventually he made his way inside. "We brought them out and we held them in our arms, and the paramedics brought them to the hospital," Asif said. "You can't get away from a fire on the 18th floor, but God's grace, they got away." "Seeing your little cousin in your hands and not breathing properly, it's a mad thing," he said.Palestinians inspect a destroyed poultry farm in Gaza. (Sameh A. Habeeb) Since the ceasefire was enacted, I have toured throughout Gaza to document some stories and accounts. Although I wrote many articles, I decided to focus on the untold stories of the war: the brutal massacre of thousands of chickens. On 5 January, many Israeli tanks, troops and bulldozers advanced into the al-Zeitoun neighborhood south east of Gaza City. In this area, called al-Samouni, Israel killed 49 members of the Samouni family, after soldiers ordered them to gather into a single home, which was shelled several hours later. A number of chicken farms are located only a few meters away from the Samouni house. These farms came under fire by Israeli forces and were totally bulldozed. Thousands of chickens were caught in their sheds, as the bulldozing destroyed their cages. Some died immediately, others slowly without food or water for four days. Abu Ahmed al-Sawafari, an owner of a chicken farms owners, was sitting amidst the rubble of his destroyed farm. He explained that “I have been working on that profession for long years. I have been growing my business by all efforts. Israelis came then left causing an earthquake in the area. They have killed these chickens, they are equal to human souls. They were suffocated and died due to hunger. I wonder why the Israelis killed these chickens? Were they firing rockets into Israel?” I continued touring farms in the area where the smell of death filled the air. Surviving chickens roamed around surrounded by thousands of their dead kin. It was an overwhelming scene leaving one to ask only: why? If this question was directed to the Israeli army their response would be swift and predictable. They would likely contend that “rockets” were being fired from the farms, or that there were Palestinian resistance fighters in the area. However, unless the Israeli army is prepared to claim that these chickens were resistance fighters or were firing rockets nothing can explain why the self-proclaimed “world’s most moral army” would engage in the wholesale slaughter of civilians and chickens alike. Sameh A. HabeebÂ is a photojournalist, humanitarian andÂ peace activistÂ based inÂ Gaza, Palestine. He writes for several news websites on a freelance basis. Related LinksThe Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will launch an all-out war against the New People’s Army (NPA), the country’s defense chief said on Tuesday. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the NPA remains a “security threat,” saying that state forces will “hunt them down.” ADVERTISEMENT “Yes, it’s an all-out war. Ano ba ang pinagkakaiba nila sa Abu Sayyaf (How different are they from the Abu Sayyaf)? They are there to terrorize people to get money. That’s extortion; we will hunt them down,” Lorenzana told reporters in a Palace brieifing. On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte tagged the communist group as “terrorist,” saying he no longer believed they were a rebel organization. READ: Duterte orders arrest of NDF men, calls CPP-NPA a terrorist group “From now on, I will consider the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army—National Democratic Front) a terrorist group,” Duterte said. The President earlier lifted the unilateral ceasefire with the communist rebels and terminated the peace talks. IDL/rga READ: Be ready to fight’: Duterte ends ceasefire with CPP-NPA Read Next LATEST STORIES MOST READKevin Durant has an endorsement deal with Nike and he toed the company line against Under Armour in a podcast interview with Bill Simmons of The Ringer released Monday. "Shoe companies have a real, real big influence on where these kids go," Durant said, via Josh Stirn of 247Sports. "Nobody wants to play in Under Armours, I’m sorry. The top kids don’t because they all play Nike." "Everybody knows that [nobody wants to play in Under Armour shoes]. They just don’t want to say nothing," the former MVP added. "But the kids that play that grew up in an Under Armour system. They go to Maryland." Durant nearly signed a 10-year contract in 2014 with Under Armour worth $250 million, but ended up sticking with Nike for a deal worth up to $300 million. Interestingly though, the Golden State Warriors star just won his first title with the help of Stephen Curry, who is one of Under Armour's biggest stars. The two-time MVP is signed with UA through 2024. Durant also credited the Under Armour connection with helping Maryland land recruits, even though he personally chose to play for Texas despite growing up close to College Park in Prince George's County. He explained his decision came from the fact "he didn't want to stay home." With founder and CEO Kevin Plank graduating from the school, it remains a flagship program of the company as Oregon is with Nike. Considering the ever-growing list of schools changing apparel like UCLA, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and more, however, the Terrapins have plenty of competition even on the UA circuit.Popular vlogger Arielle Scarcella -- known for her YouTube series "Lesbians Explain," in which a panel of lesbians take on a variety of topics from "How Two Girls Have Sex" to "Why Straight Girls Love Lesbian Porn" -- has taken on an important undertaking, with fascinating (if not entirely scientific) results. Her inquiry: Why do straight women prefer penetration, while lesbians overwhelmingly prefer oral sex? Scarcella did a bit of background research in the weeks before she released her new "Straight Girls Explain" video, asking 500 of her straight-identifying female viewers and 500 lesbian viewers whether they prefer oral sex to penetration. She found that while 55 percent of straight women preferred penetration, just 25 percent of lesbian viewers felt the same. So, for her follow up, Scarcella tried to figure out why. Advertisement: According to the "straight girls," there could be any number of reasons for the disparity, but most have to do with social construction. A few common themes emerged in the descriptions: many of the women who have sex with men and prefer penetration felt that oral sex requires a greater level of vulnerability, and that to receive pleasure without giving it in return is uncomfortable. As Scarcella puts it in her analysis of the responses, "straight women are very uncomfortable with the idea of receiving sexual pleasure without giving it at the same time." She might be on to something. While there are certainly other explanations for the 30 percent difference, like simple personal preference, the larger issue seems to be one of normative sexual expectations, especially for women who have sex with men. Scarcella sums it up well: it "all relates back to misogyny and how women feel about their bodies." Watch the video below: (h/t Huffington Post)SAN JOSE, Calif. — Even the San Jose Earthquakes themselves can admit it: Their days of sneaking up on people are pretty much at an end. A six-match unbeaten streak — the third-longest current mark in MLS — will do that to a team. “To go on a run like that,” Quakes defender Jason Hernandez said, “people notice, and are going to give you their best effort.” This is San Jose’s longest unbeaten stretch since a nine-gamer in the second half of 2008, the Quakes’ first season after being reborn in the wake of the previous franchise’s scampering off to Houston. The main difference is that while that streak came too late, following a 3-9-3 start, this one has given fresh life to the Quakes, who sit at 5-4-4 heading into their match Friday at Kansas City (8:30 pm ET, FOX Soccer) and are in the thick of the playoff race. To coach Frank Yallop, it’s all a matter of trying to maintain the same course and heading up the table, racking up points even in the absence of star Chris Wondolowski and effective winger Ryan Johnson. “[We’ll] just continue the training that we’ve been doing and continue the belief that we can win any game,” Yallop told MLSsoccer.com. “I think that’s been really good with our guys. Once we got it all figured out and working like a unit, we found that we started to win games.” And in impressive fashion. San Jose have not only won four of their last five matches, but three of those wins have come by multiple goals as the Quakes have finally located their killer instinct. Not that goalkeeper Jon Busch wants to entertain such thoughts, preferring instead to adhere to the “keep it simple, stupid” theory of preparation. “We’re the Bad News Bears,” Busch told MLSsoccer.com. “We just go and play. We don’t really talk about the streak. We’re not concerned about the streak. We’re just concerned about picking up points every game and moving up the table.” To that end, San Jose will look to build on their 4-2 win at D.C. United last week. It was the Quakes’ first four-spot on the road in nearly eight years and highlighted the fact that just because Yallop wants to be rock-solid in the back, it doesn’t mean he’s willing to play for a scoreless tie — even against a Kansas City side that hasn’t lost in four matches. “We played a team that was unbeaten in five on Saturday and something had to give, obviously,” Yallop said. “There’s no difference to this game.... We’re not going out to sit back. We’re going out to try to get points.” Geoff Lepper covers the Earthquakes for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at sanjosequakes@gmail.com. On Twitter: @sjquakesIn numerous interviews and articles, including my essay 'Globalist Strategy: Use Crazy Leftists And Provocateurs To Enrage/Demonize Conservatives', I have warned leftists that they are being exploited by globalists as a means to drive conservatives towards greater centralization under Trump and the federal government and that if they continue on the path they have embraced, a totalitarian response may be imminent. I have also made it clear to conservatives that cultural Marxist groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter as they exist today are paper tigers; they are not physically or strategically capable of backing up the viciousness of their ideologies. Meaning, a totalitarian response is not warranted (a totalitarian response is NEVER warranted) and would in fact only help the globalists in their long term efforts to destroy our Constitutional principles. To summarize, the goal of the establishment is to use extreme leftist groups like a short stick to prod the real tiger — conservative movements. The goal, I believe, is to enrage liberty champions to the point that they are willing to "bend the rules" and rationalize the abandonment of their morals in order to defeat what they think is a great evil. Like all morally relativistic shifts in society, there is always the claim that it is for "the greater good of the greater number", or, "the other side is much worse, therefore we are justified in our tyranny...". In the end, groups like Antifa will be thrown to the wolves, because the globalists do not intend for them to "win" any engagement with conservatives. This was never the plan. If you want to measure the speed at which our nation is destabilizing under this agenda, it is helpful to watch how quickly government institutions and politicians abandon or turn on the leftists. The faster they do so, the more likely it is that a major crisis event is in the making. In the past week alone, the entire narrative surrounding the mainstream relationship to Antifa has turned sour. For example: According to documents obtained by Politico, the FBI and DHS have now officially classified Antifa as a terrorist group. The DHS has stated that these documents were not meant to be made public. The mainstream media, the largest backers of cultural Marxist groups, must have received a memo, because their tune has quickly morphed to the negative when dealing with Antifa. The Washington Post chastised them for attacking "peaceful right-wing demonstrators" (did you EVER think you would see the words "peaceful right-wing protestors" in an establishment rag like The Washington Post?). The Los Angeles Times also admonished far-left violence, while The Atlantic warned of the "rise of the violent left." Even crazed leftist zealot Nancy Pelosi has publicly turned against Antifa, stating that violent members should be "locked up." This is a rather fascinating 180-degree turn from a couple of weeks ago when all eyes were on "white nationalist" groups as the primary threat to America. But does this mean that the establishment did some soul searching and realized who the real purveyors of violence and conflict are? No, it does not. As I have been predicting since before the 2016 elections, the left's usefulness has a shelf life. If the establishment was interested in following through with the concept that Trump must be "unseated," then they would retain full public support behind groups like Antifa. Instead, the establishment is playing the game of the hidden hand. Right now,it would seem that Antifa groups are to take on the role of the underdog — the battered but still active insurgency against an "increasingly fascist regime." A few events need to take place in order for this narrative to hold any weight in the national consciousness, however. For example, while globalists may back away from support of extreme leftists in public, they will most likely continue with private support and funding as men like George Soros have always done. Leftists will also have to be inspired to even greater violence than they have already committed. As I discussed in my article 'Militant Leftists Are More An Annoyance Than A Real Threat To Liberty', published in May, regular Antifa protest organizations are not a true threat. That said, eventually there will be Antifa groups that are directly trained by government agencies to commit terrorist acts, much like The Weather Underground in the U.S. in the 1970s, or the controlled and well armed terror groups in Europe during Operation Gladio from the 1950s to the 1990s. In the end, all leftists will be associated with the actions of these false-flag groups. In the meantime, the Trump administration is playing its part by preparing the ground for a future martial law-style crackdown. Trump's latest executive measure? Bringing back Department of Defense program 1033, which funnels considerable amounts of surplus military hardware to police departments across America. What happens next? Well, in my view the next most logical step for the globalists would be to initiate an attack of some kind on a civilian or government target and ensure that leftists are involved or blamed. With the fanaticism of the left today almost on par with the fanaticism of Islamic fundamentalists, I imagine it will not be very hard to find some useful idiots to carry out such an action. Most likely attack scenarios in my view? Leftist terror groups supported covertly by governments have often gravitated towards bombings as their preferred method. On a larger scale, I would not rule out assassinations of politicians or even a FAILED assassination attempt on Donald Trump. These would be perfect triggers for a wider federal crackdown on leftists, fueling even greater animosity for Trump by progressives and providing a rationale for martial law for conservatives. For some people uneducated on the finer points of false flag terrorism, this will sound like "conspiracy theory." Some of it is indeed speculation on my part, but all of it is based on exposed programs of past high profile operations by various establishment entities to engineer civil unrest or to manipulate one part of a society to support more centralization and less freedom. Again, as I have said all along, the real target has always been conservatives. Conservative principles are the primary threat to globalism. In order to eliminate these principles, it is not enough to attempt to eliminate the people that hold them dear. This will only inspire the spread of such ideals; the globalists would achieve the opposite effect they desire. Therefore, they need to manipulate conservatives into voluntarily abandoning those principles of constitutional liberty and limited government. Conservatives must be made into tyrants. Only then will conservative principles truly die out. Leftist groups like Antifa are meant as a catalyst for this transition, much like their communist forebears were a catalyst for the rise of fascism in Italy in the early 1920's. They will not be the only mechanism, but they will be an important mechanism. As we witness the mainstream turning on the extreme left, the temptation will be to assume victory — that we have won and that the fighting will soon be over. Nothing could be further from reality. Antifa is not going away, it is merely changing into something worse; something more useful to globalists like Soros. If we find ourselves distracted from Constitutionalism and our pursuit of the globalists by this new and more violent incarnation, it will be conservatives, not leftists, that will end up becoming the pinnacle threat to our own ideals. If you would like to support the publishing of articles like the one you have just read, visit our donations page here. We greatly appreciate your patronage. You can contact Brandon Smith at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it With global tensions spiking, thousands of Americans are moving their IRA or 401(k) into an IRA backed by physical gold. Now, thanks to a little-known IRS Tax Law, you can too. Learn how with a free info kit on gold from Birch Gold Group. It reveals how physical precious metals can protect your savings, and how to open a Gold IRA. Click here to get your free Info Kit on Gold.By C.G. ESTABROOK A Green Party president, such as Jill Stein, would stop the vicious war-making over which the current U.S. president presides. Like all American presidents for more than a generation, President Barack Obama is making war around the world. And now his administration is threatening Russia with war in Syria — and beyond. Since World War II, U.S. presidents have killed more than 20 million people in 37 nations. The U.S. remains during the Obama administration what Martin Luther King called it long ago: "... the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." When the new president is inaugurated next January, Barack Obama will have become the first U.S. president — ever — to have been at war throughout two presidential terms. He has attacked eight countries (two more than George Bush), and he is today conducting what has been called "the most extreme terrorist campaign of modern times" — his drone assassinations. He has killed thousands of civilians with drones, including U.S. citizens and hundreds of children. The New York Times says he chooses the targets himself, from lists prepared by the CIA. In addition to conducting wars throughout the Mideast, the Obama administration is acting with belligerence toward China and promoting an ongoing proxy war against Russia in Ukraine; that war has already killed more people than Israel killed (with U.S. permission) in Gaza in 2014. The president is risking war with both Russia and China, even nuclear war. He also commands a 70,000-member private army, the Special Operations Command, active in more than 130 countries. Their activities include kidnapping ("rendition"), murder and torture. Not only is the Obama administration risking nuclear war, they're preparing for it: President Obama has launched a 10-year trillion dollar program to update nuclear weapons — and make them more usable. The Obama administration is also responsible for the vicious civil war in Syria, which has killed thousands and flooded Europe with refugees. Hillary Clinton — responsible for horrors in Honduras, Libya, Syria and elsewhere — as president would only continue and intensify the warmongering of the Bush and Obama administrations, the blowback from which is now producing terrorist attacks in Europe and America. The Green Party says instead, "Establish a foreign policy based on diplomacy, international law and human rights. End the wars [in the Mideast and elsewhere] and stop the drone attacks; cut military spending by at least 50 percent and close the more than 700 foreign military bases. [Neither Russia nor China has more than twelve.] Stop US support and arms sales to human rights abusers [notably Israel], and lead on global nuclear disarmament." That's a call for a reversal of the Obama administration's foreign and military policy. The positions of the Green party's presidential candidate, Jill Stein, on both foreign and domestic policy — to say nothing of climate catastrophe — are far better than those of the major party candidates. And we shouldn't be dissuaded from voting for Stein by the argument that voting for a third party helps Trump — because even his positions on war and the economy are substantially better than Clinton's. Clinton is the candidate of the "defense" industries and Wall Street because they see accurately that she is both neoconservative (which means more war) and neoliberal (which means more austerity) — and that Trump isn't. Not only do the leading neoliberals support Clinton, but also the leading neocons have fled the Republicans to support her. With Clinton as president, we're certain to get more war, in the tradition of the last 25 years. With Trump as president, we might not. The Australian journalist John Pilger writes, "The CIA has demanded Trump is not elected. Pentagon generals have demanded he is not elected. The pro-war New York Times — taking a breather from its relentless low-rent Putin smears — demands that he is not elected. Something is up. These tribunes of 'perpetual war' are terrified that the multi-billion-dollar business of war by which the United States maintains its dominance will be undermined if Trump does a deal with Putin, then with China's Xi Jinping. Their panic at the possibility of the world's great power talking peace — however unlikely — would be the blackest farce were the issues not so dire." But there is in fact a candidate talking peace — and a reversal of Obama's war policies — even more than Trump, and that's Jill Stein of the Green Party. Opponents of more American war should consider voting for the Green Prty's nominees, Jill Stein for president, Ajamu Baraka for vice president, and Scott Summers for U.S. Senate. C.G. Estabrook of Champaign ran for Congress in Illinois' 15th District in 2002 as the Green Party candidate.Just a few days after Apple's mega Apple Music announcement at the company's WWDC conference in San Francisco, Digital Music News got its hands on an allegedly leaked contract detailing the services royalty payment policies. According to the leaked documents, Apple Music will pay the right's holders 58 percent of the royalties earned through the subscription service, but no royalties will be paid through the company's three-month free trial run, which begins June 30th. This runs in contrast to its biggest rival, Spotify, which claims to pay out 70 percent of earned revenue to the rights holders after all taxes and other fees are accounted for. A figure which is actually closer to Apple's 58 percent (check out the comments in the Digital Music News article). Spotify, in its ongoing preparation to battle with Apple Music in the coming months, announced today that it has retained 75 million active users, 20 million paid subscribers, and raised over half a billion (USD) in funding. The prevailing issue, as many early signees may be concerned, is not the 58 percent royalty payment but rather than beginning zero percent payment. Artists from smaller labels will be virtually earning nothing during the three month process, which could be a death sentence for those releasing new material within that time frame. The news comes out after reported secret deals with major labels were cut by Apple, so the issue seems to be more systemic than one may have hoped. Read The 405's spotlight on Apple Music: 'Why Apple Music Won't Be a 'Spotify Killer'.Abstract An intact forest landscape (IFL) is a seamless mosaic of forest and naturally treeless ecosystems with no remotely detected signs of human activity and a minimum area of 500 km2. IFLs are critical for stabilizing terrestrial carbon storage, harboring biodiversity, regulating hydrological regimes, and providing other ecosystem functions. Although the remaining IFLs comprise only 20% of tropical forest area, they account for 40% of the total aboveground tropical forest carbon. We show that global IFL extent has been reduced by 7.2% since the year 2000. An increasing rate of global IFL area reduction was found, largely driven by the tripling of IFL tropical forest loss in 2011–2013 compared to that in 2001–2003. Industrial logging, agricultural expansion, fire, and mining/resource extraction were the primary causes of IFL area reduction. Protected areas (International Union for Conservation of Nature categories I to III) were found to have a positive effect in slowing the reduction of IFL area from timber harvesting but were less effective in limiting agricultural expansion. The certification of logging concessions under responsible management had a negligible impact on slowing IFL fragmentation in the Congo Basin. Fragmentation of IFLs by logging and establishment of roads and other infrastructure initiates a cascade of changes that lead to landscape transformation and loss of conservation values. Given that only 12% of the global IFL area is protected, our results illustrate the need for planning and investment in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation efforts that target the most valuable remaining forests, as identified using the IFL approach. Keywords Wildlands forest biodiversity carbon storage intactness ecosystem services remote sensing intact forest landscapes INTRODUCTION Human modification of terrestrial ecosystems has a range of impacts, from a complete
Code to Inspire is about.” But, this noble project needs your support to succeed. Code to Inspire is running an Indiegogo campaign with an aim to raise $20,000. In case, you were considering how to spend your spare Bitcoin the best possible way, this may be a worthy option to consider. You can stay connected with their latest works and developments via Facebook or via Twitter: @codetoinspire.Casey at Dead River, 207 474-2667 says they would be happy to deliver to anyone who voted for Trump, voted for someone else, or didn't vote at all. Irving Energy 888 310-1924 says yes they will deliver to Trump voters. They said it is a private matter who people vote for and none of their business. Bob's Cash AKA Downeast Energy 696-3040 says YES! They will deliver no matter who you voted for. Suburban Propane would be thrilled to deliver to anyone who has an account or sets one up 453-4991. Fabian 465-2000 does not discriminate. Will be happy to deliver to anyone who pays. Spring Brook will deliver no matter who you voted for. Laughed and said, "we will deliver to anyone who will pay us." 872-5526. No shortage of propane dealers who want to be in the business of delivering propane to paying customers no matter who they voted for or even if they didn't vote.BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra proposed a referendum on her future on Sunday and promised to resign if that was what the people wanted, as anti-government protesters prepared for a final push to try to force her from power. Anti-government protesters dance during a rally at Government complex in Bangkok December 8, 2013. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha Protesters have been on the streets of the capital for weeks, clashing with police and vowing to oust Yingluck and eradicate the influence of her self-exiled brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The demonstrations are the latest eruption in nearly a decade of rivalry between forces aligned with the Bangkok-based establishment and those who support Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won huge support in the countryside with pro-poor policies. Underscoring the divide, the pro-establishment Democrat Party said all of its members of the House of Representatives would give up their seats because they were unable work with Yingluck’s ruling party. The leader of the protesters, Suthep Thaugsuban, a former Democrat Party deputy prime minister, has called for a final demonstration on Monday to force Yingluck out. Yingluck said in a televised statement her government was searching for ways to end the conflict. “We should conduct a referendum so that people can decide what we should do,” she said. Suthep, aware that Yingluck would likely win an election if one were called, has been urging the setting up of a “people’s council” of appointed “good people” to replace the government. Yingluck has dismissed the idea as unconstitutional and undemocratic. She did not spell out the specifics of any referendum but said it was in line with the constitution. “I’m willing to listen to proposals from the protesters. I’m not addicted to this title,” she said. “I’m ready to resign and dissolve parliament if that is what the majority of the Thai people want.” Suthep has told his supporters they had to take back power from what he calls the illegitimate “Thaksin regime”, but he told them they could not rely on the army to help. The army, which ousted Thaksin in 2006, has said it does not want to get involved though it has tried to mediate. Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid a graft conviction but has remained closely involved with his sister’s government. The protests were sparked last month by a government bid to introduce an amnesty that would have expunged his conviction. “VERY BRUTAL” Critics of the government say it is illegitimate because it is corrupt and buys votes though analysts say it has built real support. Thaksin’s critics have also accused him of undermining the monarchy, which he has denied. Thaksin had not commented on the protests but took to Facebook on the weekend to say he had been following the opposition rallies and rejected accusations of disloyalty to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. “Thai politics is very brutal,” Thaksin wrote on his Facebook page. “I have been hard done by, especially being accused of disloyalty to the monarchy.” “Whether people love me or hate me it is their right, but they should not be led by people who spread lies or... say that I have ambitions to be president.” The protesters have missed successive deadlines for forcing Yingluck out and their numbers have been dwindling. Suthep said if they were not successful on Monday he would give up. Adding to a sense of crisis, a spokesman for the opposition Democrats said all members were resigning from the lower house of parliament, where Yingluck’s party has a comfortable majority, and would join Monday’s march. “We can’t work with the government MPs,” spokesman Nipit Intarasombat told the Nation Television. “This government has no legitimate power.” Slideshow (16 Images) Without the Democrats, the 500-member lower house will have 347 members. The government has not used excessive force against the protesters and Yingluck said on Saturday the police would act with restraint if people tried to occupy public buildings, including their main target, her Government House offices. There was no sign of any fortifications going up on Sunday. Five people have been killed in clashes between activists and scores have been hurt, many by teargas the police have been firing to keep protesters out of government buildings. The protesters occupy the Finance Ministry and a government administrative complex.The 2018 Pi Day art celebrates the 30th anniversary of `\pi` day and connects friends stitching road maps from around the world. Pack a sandwich and let's go! The art of Pi (`\pi`), Phi (`\phi`) and `e` This section contains various art work based on `\pi`, `\phi` and `e` that I created over the years. Some of the numerical art reveals interesting and unexpected observations. For example, the sequence 999999 in π at digit 762 called the Feynman Point. Or that if you calculate π to 13,099,586 digits you will find love. `\pi` day art and `\pi` approximation day art is kept separate. All of the posters are listed in the posters section. Some also appear in the methods section, where I describe how they were made. Most of the circular art was made with Circos. Circular and spiral art based on the digits of `\pi`, `\phi` and `e`. Read about how they were made and browse through the posters. Some of the art shown here has been featured in a Numberphile video.Five years ago, the open source Xen hypervisor was the primary technology that big vendors like IBM and Red Hat were adopting and pushing. In 2010, that's no longer the case as the rival KVM effort is now getting the attention of both IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Red Hat (NYSE: RHT), as well as many others in the Linux ecosystem. IBM, once a lead backer of the Xen open source hypervisor, reveals that it's fully in the KVM camp now. So what does this mean for the KVM community and the future of Xen? An IBM study looking at who's most involved in KVM may provide some answers. Mike Day, chief virtualization architect for open systems development at IBM, noted during the Red Hat-sponsored Open Source Cloud Computing Forum this week that the KVM development community has become very active in 2009 -- encompassing a wide array of organizations. He said that after examining the project's mailing list to gauge the activity taking place in KVM development, he found that there were some 884 unique participants in the mailing list, roughly equivalent to the number of active KVM developers. Those participants were spread across 382 unique address domains from somewhere in the range of 250 to 300 separate. According to Day, organizations that participate in KVM range from large corporations, to government and educational organization, as well as individual contributors. That data also helped Day determine the top four contributors to KVM as measured by activity on the development mailing list. In first place is Red Hat, with 9,471 messages out of a total 18,303 messages, representing nearly 52 percent of list traffic for 2009. Red Hat's interest in KVM flows in part from the company's acquisition of Qumarent in 2008 for $107 million. Qumranet is the vendor that originated the KVM technology. As of late 2009 with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 release, KVM is also the preferred method for virtualization on its platform. Red Hat isn't the only group active in KVM development, though. Day's list put IBM in the No. 2 spot with 1,382 messages or 8 percent of the KVM developer list traffic. Novell and Intel round out the list with approximately 5 percent each. What About Xen? IBM began contributing to Xen around January 2005 and has continued its work with that technology. Xen had also been a part of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, which was released in 2007, though Red Hat has since moved to KVM. But with IBM so clearly embracing of KVM, is Big Blue likely to follow Red Hat? And where does that leave IBM customers that are running Xen? "IBM is still actively supporting our RHEL and enterprise Linux customers who use Xen," Day told InternetNews.com. "We validate our System X platforms on Xen and fix problems reported by our customers. We will continue to do so as long as we have customers using Xen." Moving forward, though, the future for IBM's current Xen users isn't terribly bright. "In terms of new feature development, we are focusing on KVM and we have not directly been involved in upstream Xen development since 2008," Day said. Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals. Follow ServerWatch on TwitterFor nearly 20 years, Ed Ring and his wife, Maggie, got together once a month or so for dinner and conversation with two longtime friends. Soon after, Ring recalls, their dinner conversation grew tense. How, the couple demanded, could he possibly support Trump? Then a few weeks later, to Ring’s surprise, his old friends made it known their relationship — and dinner dates — were over. “‘I don’t want you around my children,’” Ring, who calls himself a moderate Republican, remembered the wife telling him as she broke off the friendship in a message on Facebook.  “That really hurt," said the 59-year-old Sacramento writer and policy analyst, still smarting months after the election. (The couple, contacted through Ring, declined to be interviewed.) It’s not easy being a Republican in California, where the Grand Old Party could soon join the Yosemite toad and Mohave ground squirrel on the list of threatened species. It’s harder still being a Republican in left-leaning strongholds such as Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. But it’s hardest of all living in those blue bulwarks and supporting President Trump. Living behind the Blue Curtain requires certain survival skills, backers of the president say. No bumper stickers, lest someone key your car. No signs, in the window or planted on your front lawn, to prevent vandalism. Steer clear of Facebook and other online forums, and don’t discuss politics in the real world if you can help it.   Trump supporters behind California's Blue Curtain Ed Ring, a policy analyst in Sacramento, talks about why he voted for Trump and why he thinks those fearing "the apocalypse" are overreacting. Ed Ring, a policy analyst in Sacramento, talks about why he voted for Trump and why he thinks those fearing "the apocalypse" are overreacting. f m See more videos “You kind of keep your head down,” said Danny Turner, 29, a Trump supporter in the East Bay suburbs of San Francisco who waits tables as he prepares to launch a stock-picking newsletter. “You can’t be very loud about it.” He learned that when someone in Turner’s Livermore neighborhood put up a Trump lawn sign last fall and had their car and home plastered with blue spray paint. The word “fascist” — misspelled, Turner said — was left as a calling card on the sidewalk out front. Trump received just under 600,000 votes in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area and nearly 200,000 more in nearby Sacramento County. That’s more than his totals in 21 states and the District of Columbia. Still, he was swamped by Democrat Hillary Clinton, who carried California in the biggest landslide since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Here in San Francisco, Trump won a blink-and-you-missed-it 9% of the vote. Across the bay, where Turner lives in Alameda County, he mustered just 15% support. In those liberal bastions of California, supporters of the president stand out like red pinpoints on a vast blue canvass — if, that is, they’re willing to reveal themselves publicly. “Someone gave me a Donald Trump T-shirt with Tupac on it,” Turner said, referring to an improbable pairing of the president with the late rapper, Tupac Shakur, who attended high school in the Bay Area and claimed Oakland as his home. “It’s pretty funny.” He has yet to wear it outside, however. Living as a political pariah has dampened what might otherwise be a time of celebration — the end, as some Trump supporters see it, of a dark eight-year period in the country’s history. Dee Dee, 66, a part-time substitute teacher in Contra Costa County, where Trump scratched out 25% of the vote, said for years she put up with grating talk about the virtues of President Obama and, more recently, Democratic presidential nominee Clinton. (She asked that her last name not be published, to avoid harassment.) When Trump won, she said, the lunch-room conversation turned to shock and horror, and pretty soon that grew tiresome as well. “I finally said, ‘Excuse me, I’d like to have a safe zone where I can come and eat peacefully and not listen to all this moaning and groaning.’” Gloating, of course, would be out of the question. “You don’t bring up the subject,” she said. Clinton’s landslide margins in California are part of a broader social and political trend, as Americans continue to sort themselves into like-minded enclaves. Across the country, more than six in 10 voters cast ballots in counties that backed Clinton or Trump with at least 60% support. About half the voters lived in such landslide counties in 2012, compared to fewer than 40% in 1992. Of the nation’s 3,113 counties or their equivalent, less than one in 10 — just 303 — were decided by single digits, said David Wasserman, an elections analyst with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Even in bluest California, where they make up a distinct minority, not every Trump supporter feels oppressed or intimidated. Katy Grimes, 54, a reporter and Sacramento columnist for the Flash Report, a conservative blog, proudly wears a pink camo baseball cap and a tank top emblazoned with “Make America Great Again” on runs through her Land Park neighborhood. “I don’t make it a secret at all,” she said of her fervent Trump support, though she has a hard time understanding the hostility that abounds in the leafy, upscale community near the Capitol. “People here — neighbors, friends — they’re just seething.” (Trump won 34% of the vote in Sacramento County.) She’s heard some gasps and endured some hisses as she sports her pro-Trump regalia, Grimes said, but no one has tried to mess with her. “I do have a big German shepherd,” she said. As for Ring, the Sacramento policy analyst, he managed to salvage at least one long-standing relationship. For a time, he said, he feared his pro-Trump stance had gotten him banned from the home of another close friend, who’d been the best man at his wedding. “I was pretty upset,” Ring said, but after he posted a lament on Facebook his chum’s wife called to say it was all just a misunderstanding and he was welcome to visit. Still, he’s proceeding with caution. “We probably won’t talk about politics,” Ring said, “and if we do it will be because she wants to. I will not bring the subject up.”  Caption Gov. Jerry Brown promotes California agenda in Washington Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., after a meeting with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., after a meeting with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. attr(data-pagenumber),'/ ', attr(data-pagecount) Caption Gov. Jerry Brown promotes California agenda in Washington Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., after a meeting with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., after a meeting with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. attr(data-pagenumber),'/ ', attr(data-pagecount) Caption FBI Director James B. Comey on investigation FBI Director James B. Comey confirms his agency is investigating possible cooperation between Russia and Trump campaign associates. FBI Director James B. Comey confirms his agency is investigating possible cooperation between Russia and Trump campaign associates. attr(data-pagenumber),'/ ', attr(data-pagecount) Caption FBI Director James B. Comey on Trump's wiretap claims FBI Director James B. Comey comments on President Trump's assertions that President Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower. FBI Director James B. Comey comments on President Trump's assertions that President Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower. attr(data-pagenumber),'/ ', attr(data-pagecount) Caption LA 90: What happened to Ivanka? The liberal hope of the Trump administration remains silent While she may have softened President Trump’s view on equal pay for women and childcare for working mothers, he's pushed conservative measures on other issues. While she may have softened President Trump’s view on equal pay for women and childcare for working mothers, he's pushed conservative measures on other issues. attr(data-pagenumber),'/ ', attr(data-pagecount) Caption California farm worker shortage tests the theory that immigrants steal jobs The flow of labor began drying up when President Obama tightened the border. Now President Trump is promising to deport more people, raid more companies and build a wall on the southern border. That has made California farms a proving ground for the Trump team’s theory that by cutting off the flow of immigrants they will free up more jobs for American-born workers and push up their wages. The flow of labor began drying up when President Obama tightened the border. Now President Trump is promising to deport more people, raid more companies and build a wall on the southern border. That has made California farms a proving ground for the Trump team’s theory that by cutting off the flow of immigrants they will free up more jobs for American-born workers and push up their wages. attr(data-pagenumber),'/ ', attr(data-pagecount) ALSOImage caption Millions of years of evolution in the dark have led to this Somalian cavefish losing its eyes, scales, and pigmentation. A blind, cave-dwelling fish in Somalia knows what time it is, but its "day" is twice as long as ours. Most animals have an internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, that lasts around 24 hours and is modified by the light-dark cycle of a day. But an international team, whose research is published in the open access journal PloS Biology, shows that certain blind cave fish have a circadian rhythm that lasts almost two days. The cavefish, Phreatichthys andruzzii, has evolved for nearly two million years in the isolated darkness of caves beneath the Somali desert. Professor Nick Foulkes, of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, said that this particular species was chosen "because it was such an extreme example, having been isolated from a day-night cycle for so long". In the course of its evolution it has lost its eyes, colouration and scales, having no need for them in the pitch-black of an underground cave system. But it appears that the absence of day and night has caused a much more profound change in the fish's life rhythm. Light sensitivity The internal body clock of most mammals is slightly longer than 24 hours, although it is unique for each person and is modified by light. If we look again at them in a few million years, they may have no trace of a circadian rhythm Nick Foulkes, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology This is most obvious to us when we travel across time zones, as jet lag is caused by the delay in our circadian rhythm synchronising with the new daylight times. On a smaller scale, the body clock can be measured by the switching on and off of certain "clock genes" at different times during the day. This happens automatically daily, but is synchronised with the day-night cycle through exposure to light. Light is detected primarily by the eyes, but most cells in the body have some reaction to light levels. In non-mammalian animals, such as fish, these "peripheral" detectors play a more important role. This means that, even though the cavefish have lost their eyes over the course of evolution, their bodies should still be able to react to changes in light. When comparing the reactions of the circadian rhythm of the cavefish to those of a "normal" zebrafish, however, the blind fish showed none of the responses to external light changes that the zebrafish did. After two million years in the dark, the cavefish have no need to react to the light, and their body clocks have permanently changed to reflect this. Alternative triggers But these blind fish do still have a body clock, which can be reset by triggers other than light. Feeding the fish at regular times showed that both the zebrafish and the cavefish responded by resetting their circadian rhythms. Furthermore, when the cavefish were left to reset their clock according to their natural rhythm, the researchers found that their "day" is 47 hours long. Professor Foulkes said that this was "possibly linked with food availability, or we could have caught them in the process of losing their clocks. If we look again at them in a few million years, they may have no trace of a circadian rhythm". The team plans to investigate whether this gradual loss of body clock is a common feature among all species of fish living in perpetual darkness.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Hassan Rouhani succeeds Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran's president Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged the West to drop sanctions and treat Tehran with respect, during his inauguration speech to parliament. MPs cheered as he said: "If you want an adequate response, you shouldn't speak the language of sanctions, you should speak the language of respect." Mr Rouhani, 64, nominated a cabinet that included as foreign minister ex-UN envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif, a moderate. The US said it would be a "willing partner" if Iran "engages seriously". The White House said Iran should meet its international obligations and deal with international concern over its nuclear programme. Mr Rouhani, a former nuclear negotiator who has worked as a diplomat for three decades, won a surprise victory in June's election. Analysis The President has few formal powers. All important decisions are made by the supreme leader. But crucially the presidency comes with a stage - the opportunity to deliver a message to a wide audience. This afternoon in Tehran, Hassan Rouhani made his first full use of that presidential pulpit. Mr Rouhani promised a government of "wisdom and hope." It was a phrase he chose to repeat throughout his speech. He also repeated the word "moderation" and said that he would distance himself from fantasy - that's perhaps an implicit criticism of his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In his speech, Mr Rouhani also criticised international sanctions. But he also offered a clear opportunity for dialogue with the rest of the world - including the West. He said that there should be "transparency" on all sides. That is a key word. Since 2002, the West has accused Iran of a lack of transparency about its nuclear programme - the issue that has provoked sanctions. The president's call for mutual transparency may be welcomed by Western governments. Those governments may soon have someone to talk to. Mr Rouhani has nominated a former UN envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif as his foreign minister. He's a man who has plenty of experience living in and negotiating with the West. He gained support from reformists by hinting at a more moderate stance than his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 'Yes' to moderation In his speech, Mr Rouhani told parliament: "All of those who voted, whether they voted for me, someone else, or even if they didn't vote, all of them are Iranian citizens and have citizenship rights." He said the people had voted "yes" to moderation and hope. He promised to advance women's rights and freedoms and to reduce the government's interference in people's lives. He also said he would work to turn around the ailing economy, with inflation currently running at about 40%. Most experts say the economy was grossly mismanaged under Mr Ahmadinejad. But it was further crippled by sanctions, which stopped Iran from bringing in hard currency from its main export, oil. Although Mr Rouhani is president, the final say on policy issues still resides with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. State news agency Irna reported that 11 foreign presidents were among those watching as Mr Rouhani took the oath of office in parliament, the Majlis. Among the foreign dignitaries attending was senior North Korean official Kim Yong-nam, who held talks with Mr Rouhani on Saturday. Hassan Rouhani Born in 1948 Islamic activist prior to Iran's 1979 Revolution Influential figure in Iran-Iraq War MP (1980-2000) National security adviser to the president (1989-97, 2000-05) Chief nuclear negotiator (2003-05) Regarded as a centrist politician but favoured by reformists Rouhani inauguration: Iranian voices Profile: Hassan Rouhani Iran and North Korea have close ties and both face opposition to their nuclear programmes from the West. Mr Rouhani used to be Iran's chief negotiator on nuclear issues and has held discussions in the past with former European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who is also in Tehran for the swearing-in. Mr Solana said on his twitter feed that he had known Mr Rouhani since 2000, adding: "It's good to have channels open." One of the leaders unable to attend was Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Saudi Arabia refused to allow a plane carrying Mr Bashir to enter its territory, forcing it turn back to Khartoum.Not to add to the level of fright surrounding Hurricane Irma – currently barreling toward Florida – but the hurricane is so powerful that it’s confusing seismographs into thinking it’s an earthquake. According to seismologist Stephen Hicks at the National Oceanography Center Southampton, seismometer recordings from an island group in the south Caribbean sea show Cat 5 Irma’s impact is mimicking a tectonic disturbance. Seismometer recordings from the past 48 hours on Guadeloupe show Cat. 5 #Hurricane #Irma driving closer toward the Lesser Antilles pic.twitter.com/9y3Nuv2Z9E — Stephen Hicks (@seismo_steve) September 5, 2017 Hicks clarified that waves crashing upon the shore, and trees blowing in the wind are transferring enough energy into the ground to cause the readings to mimic an earthquake according to the Independent. According to Hicks, this “background noise” often happens with major storms. It was last seen in Houston during Hurricane Harvey as well. “We saw this for Hurricane Harvey on seismometers located close to Houston,” Hicks told USA Today. Hicks added that as the hurricane nears American shores “we will see a dramatic increase in the amplitude of the seismic recordings.” Irma’s growth and power is such that it is now larger than the state of Florida itself – matching the size of Texas – according to weather specialists. The hurricane force winds in #Irma are wider than Florida. You won’t need a direct hit to get Wilma-type winds & storm surge on both coasts. https://t.co/qz5xsVSuUT — Bryan Norcross (@TWCBryan) September 5, 2017 Overlaying an image of #Irma over the state of Texas to give you an idea of the size of the hurricane. pic.twitter.com/EmfBWHYbJ3 — Brian James (@BrianJamesNBC5) September 5, 2017 Irma may have already caused an extreme amount of damage. According to CNN, officials have not been able to make contact with the tiny island of Barbuda for hours now. Officials haven’t heard from the tiny island of Barbuda since #Irma struck. It’s been 6 hours. https://t.co/QaTJySwhtO pic.twitter.com/rUmNk8vCQa — CNN (@CNN) September 6, 2017The sparkly enigma moth a unique species By Bec Crew \| This recently discovered moth has been labelled by scientist as one of the most exciting entomological finds 40 years Share this story Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Contributor Bec Crew Becky Crew is a Sydney-based science communicator with a love for weird and wonderful animals. From strange behaviours and special adaptations to newly discovered species and the researchers who find them, her topics celebrate how alien yet relatable so many of the creatures that live amongst us can be. YOU KNOW WHEN you buy cheap Christmas decorations of little reindeer, robins, or rabbits, and they’re super-sparkly and just a little bit ill-proportioned because they were mass-produced with several million other reindeer, robins, or rabbits? That’s kinda what this little moth looks like. Slightly off, but so Christmassy. Meet Aenigmatinea glatzella, commonly known as the enigma moth. Recently discovered (and reported in January 2015) among the native pine trees of Kangaroo Island, which sits 112km south-west of Adelaide, the moth is so entirely unique, scientists are calling it one of the most exciting entomological finds in the past four decades. Why so special? Well for one, it’s the only member of the Aenigmatineidae family of moths, because there’s not another known species of moth on Earth that exhibits features close to what the enigma moth has. And on top of that, the defining features of the enigma moth – its mouth parts and genitals – are oddly primitive, meaning they don’t show evidence of millions of years of evolution like the vast majority of moth and butterfly species we know about do. “The most primitive moths have jaws, with one of the first steps in the evolution of advanced moths and butterflies being the development of a tongue. Aenigmatinea has neither – its mouth parts are almost entirely reduced,” say two of the scientists who found and identified the new species, Douglas Hilton from the University of Melbourne, and Ted Edwards Australian National Insect Collection at CSIRO, on The Conversation. You can also tell you’ve found a primitive moth if the females have a single genital opening. Primitive moth a mind-blowing find According to Hilton and Edwards, a new species of primitive moth has not been discovered anywhere in the world since in 1970, and it’s mind-blowing to find one, because they comprise less than 1 percent of all extant moths and butterflies. These primitive moths can tell us a lot about the evolution of these insects. “The discovery of a new family of moths tells us about the early steps that led to the evolution of the more typical moths and butterflies, which are more familiar,” Douglas and Ted say. Publishing the find in the journal Systematic Entomology, the team identifies the females as having sparkly purple wings, and the males sporting golden ones. These moths are tiny – their entire wingspan is a mere 44mm – as is their lifespan. When they emerge from their cocoon, they will mate and die, all in the space of a single day. While the species’ name sounds pretty fancy, it’s actually a cute little play on words that refers to its round little partially bald head – which is exactly what ‘glatze’ means in German.An Islamic State member waves the group's flag in Raqqa on June 29, 2014. (Reuters) A young Israeli Jew suspected of planning to join the Islamic State has been found in Turkey and returned to Israel, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem told reporters Tuesday. The 21-year-old had been taken in by police in the city of Iskenderun after the Israeli Embassy requested help, Haaretz newspaper reports, and family members flew to Turkey to escort him home. The man has not been named, and it is not clear whether he will face charges. Sources in the Israeli Foreign Ministry have told reporters that they are treating the matter as a humanitarian rather than a security issue. Despite his age, the man was still under his parents' legal guardianship, and Israeli authorities have not provided more details about the case due to what Haaretz describes as its "sensitive nature." Postings made by the man on Facebook had led his relatives to fear that he would attempt to reach Syria and join the Islamic State. According to the Jerusalem Post, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alon Lavi said the ministry had received a call Thursday from the man's parents, concerned that their son had traveled to Crete with the intention of reaching Syria. The man then traveled from Crete to Izmir in Turkey and onward to Adana and finally to Iskenderun. Israeli authorities have said they believe a few dozen Arab Israelis have traveled to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State, an extremist Islamist organization. In March, the Islamic State released a video that appeared to show a young child killing a man described as "an Israeli spy." In the footage, 19-year-old Mohammad Said Ismail Musallam, originally from East Jerusalem, said he had been recruited by Mossad to spy on the Islamic State. His parents have denied that Musallam worked for Israeli intelligence and instead told The Washington Post that the Islamic State had "tricked" their son. It is not clear whether other Israeli Jews have attempted to join the Islamic State. Last year, however, one French government official said that a number of Jews were among the 1,000 or so French citizens believed to have joined the Islamic State. More on WorldViews Map: There are 10 world heritage sites in Iraq and Syria. Nine are in danger. This viral video of an Israeli soldier trying to arrest a Palestinian boy says a lotLoot Crate, the leading fan-based commerce and community platform, today in partnership with WWE, announced the WWE Slam Crate, a bi-monthly mystery subscription crate to deliver exclusive products and content that surprises and delights fans. Each crate will feature authentic items including WWE apparel, and other collectibles that won’t be found anywhere else. "Through our partnership with WWE, Loot Crate is furthering its commitment to serving all genres in the world of fandom,” Chris Davis, CEO, Loot Crate said. “We’re very excited about partnering with WWE to create the best products and experience that will bring fans closer to the Superstars they love.” To celebrate the crate’s debut, the first month’s theme will be “The First,” and celebrate a few of the iconic “firsts” in WWE history. "We’re thrilled to partner with Loot Crate to engage with our global fan base in new ways and provide them with exciting experiences year-round,” Casey Collins, WWE Executive Vice President, Consumer Products said. "The WWE Slam Crate is perfect for our fans who crave exclusive content and products.” Over the past 12 months, Loot Crate's product offerings have dramatically expanded as the company has increasingly focused on connecting fans with the brands that they are passionate about. As part of the Loot Crate subscription, Looters and fans alike have access to exclusive products that authentically represent their favorite characters and universes every month. Crates feature items that will never be available again — all at a great value. For more information about Loot Crate, click here.This story has been updated to include responses from Tinder and GlobalWebIndex. The sad truth has been confirmed: Tinder users are fibbers. They're not necessarily lying, but according to a new study of user demographics, it appears a large chunk of them aren't being entirely forthright with their intentions. Research by GlobalWebIndex found that 42 percent of people using Tinder are already in relationships—and many of them are men. First instinct is to call Tinder an app for cheaters, but perhaps it's not all so devious. In its own defense, Tinder says the firm behind the study is "making guesses without having any access to real data on our millions of users worldwide. Here are the facts: the single largest age group on Tinder, making up more than half of our entire userbase, is 18-24, and 93 percent plus of them have never been married according to the UK's Office of National Statistics. Without revealing any data about our users, simple logic should reveal that it's essentially impossible for any of these claims to be accurate." GlobalWebIndex, however, backs up its survey. "[The] data is based on interviews with a panel of more than 170,000 internet users worldwide, the largest on-going study into the digital consumers—it's not guesswork, and not just the UK, as Tinder has suggested," a representative told me. "Our Tinder findings come from a recent study of 47,622 internet users aged 16-64 across 33 countries. "Tinder's assertion that our methodology is severely and fundamentally flawed is simply not correct. We only publish statistically robust numbers, and self-reported survey data is widely recognized as an effective way of understanding consumer behavior." Anecdotally at least, there's no denying that plenty of people in relationships are indeed using the app. In fact, At one point, former Tinder CEO Sean Rad postulated that Tinder wasn't so much a dating app as a "social discovery app." As a non-single who's used Tinder, I don't think that's how I'd describe it; it's more like a social gaming app. I use Tinder exclusively to act as something of a wingwoman for my friends who are legitimately on Tinder. Two thumbs swiping through profiles are better than one, right?I've also used it purely
emerge from the late imperial European soup that also gave us Nazism. You can literally build Hitler or Wicca from the same beliefs. But hey... the space programme and psychiatry also emerged from this soup, so maybe we’re in ‘good’ company? Some of that entanglement may have been more direct, like the potential incorporation of the Golden Dawn grade structure into pre-Nazi secret societies. Once more from Unholy Alliance: At the foundation of major organisations that laid the foundations for today's western esoteric currents are some really, really shady dealings. This does not mean that the OTO is a Nazi plot or that Crowley's oeuvre is wartime propaganda. The well isn't poisoned... but someone may have slightly pissed in it. Rather than arguing about whether or not Crowley was anti-Semitic or who was the proper king of whatever little hill you favour, a greater degree of sophistication is required in analysing your sources. There are some unsavoury entanglements here. And there are going to be more. 1920 - 1946 Sybil Leek, who we will return to, tells us that Crowley; a friend of her father; used to read his poetry to her as a child. (Poor kid!) More interestingly, she said that she and her father used to go for long walks with HG Wells -creator of the best alien invasion prank yet- where they would discuss occultism and metaphysics. This will be pertinent later on. In 1926, Israel Regardie was initiated into a Rosicrucian group in Washington, D.C. in 1926... a group that leads us right to David Ferrie... meaning he was, at most, three steps removed from the assassination of JFK. Obviously he wasn't involved, but it points, once again, to that particular entanglement. Then, of course, we have the war. And Crowley. Again. In World War II Crowley allegedly offered his services again to the NID. In the 1930s he became friendly with Maxwell Knight, the assistant director of the Security Service (MI5), Ian Fleming, the assistant-director of Naval Intelligence who later penned the James Bond spy novels, and Dennis Wheatley, the occult thriller writer who served on Winston Churchill’s top-secret planning committee for total warfare. When war broke out in 1939, Spence says that Crowley was interviewed by the NID and in his diary he recorded that the meeting went “as satisfactory as could be expected.” Crowley was first introduced to Dennis Wheatley by a member of the Labour Party and MI5 mole inside Britain's communist movement, Tom Drieberg. Wheatley, one of the twentieth century's most famous occult novelists, went on to introduce Crowley to Maxwell Knight.... who was the actual spymaster that Ian Fleming used as the template for 'M'... who was, himself, fascinated with the occult and kept in regular contact with Crowley, often asking him questions about the field. Peter Levenda stitches it together for us: Himmler was obsessed by the idea that British Intelligence was being run by the Rosicrucian Order and that occult adepts were in charge of MI5... How would he have reacted had he known that the formidable Maxwell Knight, head of Department B5(b), the countersubversion section of MI5, was a disciple of Aleister Crowley himself? And that Dennis Wheatley -he of the occult novels favored by Göring- was also a student of Crowley's and simultaneously working for Churchill's Joint Planning Staff? [...] Particularly if Himmler had also been told that yet another British secret agent -this time James Bond novelist Ian Fleming of the Department of Naval Intelligence- was plotting to bring Reichsleiter Rudolf Hess to England on an occult pretext involving... Aleister Crowley. Both Crowley and Sybil Leek would subsequently claim that they were the ones who were hired to create false astrological charts to convince the astrology-obsessed Hess to fly to Scotland in an attempt to secure peace between the Nazis and Britain. This doesn't strike me as an either/or situation. If you're an astrology fan, you tend to check more than one interpretation. Leek may seem a really random choice, at first, but she has always claimed a connection with this world... and later in the piece you will see she resurfaces again in spook land... which makes it more likely that she had some prior experience working with intelligence agencies. (Crowley may have recommended her given their alleged shared past, but she was already notorious in her own right by this point in time.) Fleming claimed it was his idea to use false astrological predictions... and he certainly had a head for wacky ideas, which we'll come back to. But the Crowley/Hess angle gets a bit weirder: When a combined NID/SIS sting operation managed to lure the top Nazi Rudolf Hess to Britain on his ill-fated ‘peace mission’ in 1941, Commander Ian Fleming of NID suggested to his superiors that he should be interviewed by Crowley. It is claimed in this book that Crowley did in fact interview Hess several times at a secret MI5 interrogation centre at Ham Common in south London. Coincidentally this was not far from where Crowley was living at the time in Kew after leaving Central London to escape the Blitz. I Didn’t know this. He lived two stops from me. Anyone have an exact address? These connections have always been speculative, in that no official documentation has been forthcoming from MI5. Don't hold your breath. What has previously prevented me from taking Crowley and Leek (and Fleming) at their words is Churchill's fleshly pragmatism. But in the last few years, it's emerged that he was receiving reports that his planes were encountering UFOs off the north east coast of England. (UFOs like the ones described by HG Wells, friend of Leek's father? Keep that in mind.) Had some of these incidents occurred prior to the Hess mission, it may certainly have influenced his opinion of whether there was something to all of this. It also begs the question of whose opinions he would ask for given he had a bunch of wizards and freaks on staff. (Somebody's spinning somewhere.) Following a meeting with Eisenhower after the war, Churchill would request a full scientific report into the phenomena. It is therefore not unreasonable to suggest that the British originally had a more Magonian interpretation of UFOs and only moved into a more 'nuts and bolts' interpretation afterward. That may be relevant. The Hess incident is important and hasn't been properly told. Fake horoscopes put together by a wizard spy who used hallucinogens as truth sera in New York while in the employ of the British military... a wizard who may have interviewed Hess... Hess, who had this to say about truth sera. From Sinister Forces: Rudolf Hess, at his trial at Nuremberg for war crimes, began speaking of this phenomenon in his one and only statement to the court before he was cut off by the judges. He made reference to Soviet show trials of the late 1930s, in which accused prisoners freely confessed to their guilt even though it meant their deaths at the hands of Stalin’s executioners. He referred to doctors who had visited him in prison—including one with a Scottish accent who might have been Cameron—and what seemed to be their efforts to hypnotize him. (In an intriguing sidebar, Dulles, who asked Cameron to examine Hess, was actually worried that the prisoner claiming to be Rudolf Hess was a double; he asked Cameron to get Hess to remove his clothing so that he could locate a specific scar that the real Hess would have. This was a strange request, since it should have been easy to have Hess physically examined at any time during his incarceration, but evidently Dulles did not entirely trust the British. Unfortunately, Cameron was unable to examine Hess physically, since he was in shackles and the guards did not have authorization to remove them.) That would be Dr Ewan Cameron. We will certainly return to him. And that would be Allen Dulles... whom we have met repeatedly. The man who absorbed the Nazi spy network into the creation of the CIA, approved MKULTRA, and was fired by JFK but nevertheless found himself sitting on the Warren Commission. Whatever went on here... it was a cornerstone moment in the hijacking of the twentieth century. And it is covered in wizards and spooks. Curiously, Fleming later resurfaces in that strange axis of Castro/JFK/Dulles/NASA and the spy games of the next decade. He was part of the swirl of vacationing American blue bloods, including the Kennedy's, by virtue of being a reasonably permanent fixture in the Caribbean from this point onwards. In fact, he apparently gave some bizarre advice to the President on how to kill the Cuban leader with some kind of exploding cigar. Whether he was still on Her Majesty’s Secret Service is not known. (Yes.) Also, you know Allen Dulles had a huge man-crush on him, right? He was obsessed with Bond. What might they have discussed over brandy and cigars, given their shared involvement in the Hess/possible-truth-serum incident? Is it unreasonable to claim that Crowley is the grandfather of MKULTRA? And, of course, there is that whole fake moon landing bit in Diamonds are Forever. An interesting scene to write for someone with this kind of back story and these kinds of connections. (Fleming had quite the thing for the moon, didn't he?) Whatever the real story is, some very strange stuff tumbled through those last years of the war; astrology, UFOs, hallucinogens and a menagerie of occultists. Perhaps that's why the next year get's its own section? The 1947 pivot This year gets its own section. Because of reasons. These ones: Creation of the CIA Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting The Roswell crash The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Churchill's Iron Curtain speech The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigating Hollywood Arthur Young leaves Bell Labs to devote his life full time to the paranormal. (He was at this séance.) US Navy begins Project CHATTER, the quest for a truth serum The Corporal Missle, using Jack Parson's solid state fuel, is launched. (At least one is destroyed in the upper atmostsphere by a UFO.) Crowley dies at Netherwood As Levenda points out, this is also the year Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play: "Twenty years ago today, Sergeant Pepper taught us to play." That would make it June 1947. (The Kenneth Arnold sighting happened June 24.) Weird, right? Jim Marrs refers to this period of 20th century history as a power vacuum. He may have been more ectoplasmically correct than he realised. 1948 - 1960 We might otherwise describe these as the years the Anglo-American power elite tried to make sense of a post-Nazi-science, post-Crowley, post-Roswell, post-hallucinogen, post-atomic world. Musta been weird. So let's start with Jack Parsons. Who, according to FBI file 65-1753, was being investigated by the Army's CIC (Counter Intelligence Corps) in May of 1948. This investigation was conducted by a Major Sam Bruno (a delightfully magical name!). He was chief of security at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, shown below: Wright-Patterson?! The home of Project Blue Book and the rumoured destination of the Roswell debris from a crash that had happened less and than a year before Bruno's investigation? Whatever could that have to do with a Thelemic swinger from California? Maybe it was because Wright-Patterson was also the home of fellow rocket scientist, Walter Dornberger, brought over as part of Operation Paperclip. In 1950 he would go on to work for Bell Labs (where Arthur Young had invented the Bell helicopter and then left to become a fulltime wizard three years before). Bell Labs, you will recall, is one of the ratlines I think were used to, pun intended, 'channel' the Roswell tech safely into the private black world. According to Nick Redfern's information, Bruno actually met with Parsons in person after the Kenneth Arnold encounter. So this wasn’t a remote investigation, it was a direct connection between UFOs and an interpretation more familiar to magicians. That meeting had to have happened around the same time handsome Jack was out in the desert with the future founder of Scientology, L Ron Hubbard (himself possessed of a military intelligence background), trying to invoke Babalon to earth. In fact, Parsons would write to Crowley while he was still alive and say that Hubbard is the "most Thelemic person" he's ever met, and that he was definitely in touch with some higher intelligences. This is from 'Duke', Nick Redfern's main point of contact in Final Events: “The second thing that the available FOIA material on Parsons does not tell us, Duke explained, is that the Air Force “also had reports on Parsons knowing [Robert] Goddard out at Roswell. We all knew something happened at Roswell with the crash in ‘47 that wasn’t a weather balloon. We knew that; grapevine things, rumors you hear. But, there were some of those guys in OSI who said it had to mean something that Jackie-boy was linked with Arnold and with people like Goddard at Roswell.” Given that Parsons had loudly proclaimed UFOs would ultimately “play a part in converting the world to Crowleyanity,” this makes the official interest in Parsons’ activities of a flying- and saucer-shaped variety all the more understandable. The next phase was very simple, but of deep significance, said Duke: “They [the AFOSI] planned a meeting with Parsons and asked him—this was sometime in ‘48, I think—if, with his things with Crowley and Hubbard and trying to bring in equivalent things like the Crowley Lam [sic], there was something he wanted to tell them about what he knew on all this.” Swinging back to Hubbard -who always maintained his involvement with Parsons was an op- he had this to say (on my birthday) in 1951: that he exposed "a carefully guarded secret of certain military and intelligence organizations." This was in a book that he released that year, called Science of Survival: "It required Dianetic processing to uncover pain-drug-hypnosis. Otherwise, pain-drug-hypnosis was out of sight, unsuspected, and unknown." Hubbard denounces its use as a "vicious war weapon" that may be "of considerably more use in conquering a society than the atom bomb." The next year, as we all know, Jack Parsons, a man with many years of experience in both explosives and alchemy, managed to accidentally blow himself up. (Eyebrow raise.) A working group known as the Collins Elite forms immediately after. According to Redfern, these two events appear to be related. The Collins Elite had developed a theory that Parsons, and to a lesser extent Hubbard, opened some kind of portal to ‘dark forces’. They viewed this particular subset of The Neighbours in entirely demonic terms, but that is what you’d expect an all-male, all-white, hetero-protestant, conservative, military group to conclude. It’s a buzzcut version of Vallée's hypothesis. More from Final Events: As a result, Duke further expanded, a small project—“probably just two or three [people]”—was established at Wright-Patterson that made subtle and secret approaches to experts within the fields of demonology, ancient religions, and occult practices who could hopefully provide some answers with respect to what it was that Parsons might have set in motion, wittingly or not, and which the military was now struggling to comprehend. And they were successful, asserted Duke, in that copious amounts of background data were obtained on the work of Crowley, as well as on Parsons himself, some of which came from Britain: “They had used [Crowley] at some point with intelligence, and shared it with us.” ... “We were asked—this was people like me, a couple of G-2 [Army Intelligence] boys, two fellows from Naval Intelligence, several of the Air Force fellows in on the early Parsons thing at Wright, and a few more—if we would look at running an op to continue where the old Parsons project stopped. We were ready for it because of the interest that had come with watching [Parsons]—but a bit amazed the Pentagon was ready to fund what was, really, a study on if the disks had devil beginnings. “And this is exactly why it was all kept so secret in the beginning. Everyone—particular the Pentagon boys—knew the hammer was going to come down on all this if Congress found out good U.S. dollars were being used to pay for [a study of] demonology and flying saucers. Maybe a little more mundane than you might want to hear. But that really was the first reason for the secrecy with us: not a big conspiracy about what we were doing, but a lot of anger and probably a hell of a lot of ridicule that would come tumbling out if anyone else found out. “We all got an offer to relocate, with our families, to the D.C. area. The funding, we were told, was going to start coming through in a few months, after everyone was settled in D.C. The money and resources wasn’t [sic] going to come exactly to us, but onto us through the [CIA’s] Directorate of Plans [which was created a few months later, on August 1, 1952] to keep it all out of everyone’s eyes—Congress. This wasn’t really the Directorate’s area at all though. It was more along the approach of flowing the money through them to us, a group no one would think to look at to find us.” Moving the money through the CIA? Allen fucking Dulles's CIA?! With its MKULTRA and hallucinogens and Nazi spies and truth sera? This is critically, critically important, because, according to Richard Duke's recounting of the story to Nick Redfern, the Collins Elite had worked out that most of Crowley and Parson's experiences had occurred in an altered state of consciousness. Much like the ones that gave us magic in the first place. The group had reached the conclusion that it was a manipulation of consciousness that opens the portal, so to speak, to the realm of 'UFO' intelligences. So let's turn to Bond-fan and Nazi collaborator, Allen Dulles, and see what he was up to around this time. From Sinister Forces: Buried in the voluminous files of the Ahnenerbe-SS are also references to the use of mescaline and cannabis as “truth serums,” programs that—according to John Marks in his ground-breaking study of CIA mind control projects—have been kept classified by US intelligence since 1945. Here and there we come across the names of Paperclip scientists involved with military and CIA mind control programs, such as Friedrich Hoffmann, a Nazi chemist who advised the CIA on matters relating to psychotropic substances for use in interrogation and “brainwashing.” Hoffmann has been linked to Edgewood Arsenal, where CIA maintained TSS (Technical Service Staff) personnel involved in various aspects of chemical and biological warfare, including—according to John Marks—the implantation of new memories in amnesiac patients.” Edgewood? That's an interesting location. Welcome back to the blog, Andrija Puharch. More Sinister Forces: The story of Puharich is central to any study of the US government’s postwar interest in how psychology and parapsychology could benefit the intelligence agencies. It was arguably Puharich who was the first to bring the potential uses of paranormal abilities in military applications to the attention of the United States Navy; it was Puharich who introduced the Israeli psychic, Uri Geller, to American audiences… and to American intelligence. Further, it was Puharich who formed a mysterious cabal that numbered many important and influential Americans among its members, a cabal that would deliberately attempt to make contact with alien beings and—according to some commentators—actually succeed. This cabal included a man with shadowy connections both to Operation Paperclip on the one side… and to the Kennedy assassination on the other. Thus when we speak of the Doors of Perception, we must turn our attention to one of their most unique, if somewhat eccentric, Doormen. In his own words, he was giving a presentation on ESP and hallucinogens in the Pentagon in November of 1952, titled “An Evaluation of the Possible Usefulness of Extrasensory Perception in Psychological Warfare.” He was redrafted the day after, which may imply he was given a specific agenda. Guess where he was assigned in Feb of the following year? Edgewood. The home of Nazi chemical boffins. In other words, he was at Edgewood, working for the Army at the same time as Frank Olson was at Fort Detrick, and in and out of Edgewood, working for the Army. And as Olson was involved in research and development of biological weapons at Detrick, Puharich was involved in paranormal communication and ESP experiments at Edgewood. It is tempting to speculate whether Olson and Puharich had ever met; it is doubtful they would have been colleagues, as Puharich was involved with biophysics and cybernetics, with a little spiritualism on the side. Olson’s work was purely in the biological warfare arena (Gordon: except when he was chosen as a guinea pig in an LSD experiment that would ultimately lead to his'suicide' in a New York hotel.) His role at Edgewood was to develop chemical substances that would stimulate psi abilities, which couldn't possibly sound more MKULTRA if it tried. Building on Nazi experiments, he was looking for a molecular key to unlock the doors of perception. As is well-known by now and referenced in many studies of the LSD problem, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency was the nation’s first “LSD connection,” providing the drug to researchers all over the country, including to young professors such as Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, Ralph Metzner, and others who would popularize use of the drug among their students and, by extension, among the rest of the nation’s youth. The purpose behind this unprecedented largesse was not altruistic: it was to further the research into what Richard Helms and others involved in scientific R&D at the Agency believed was a super-drug for behavior modification and mind control tasking. In other words, the Agency needed a much larger base of test subjects than was available to them from within the Agency’s own personnel pool. They began by farming the drug out to hospitals—for instance, to Dr. Abramson at Mount Sinai in New York—and to prisons, such as Dr. Harris Isbell’s program at the Addiction Research Center at Lexington, Kentucky. Isbell’s operation was part of the Federal Penitentiary system and although his subjects were referred to as “patients,” they were, in reality, inmates of the prison system. In charge of this LSD dispensation was none other than Sidney Gottlieb, best considered as Allen Dulles's Darth Vader. For a while, he was top dog for the MKULTRA programme. Let's jump back across the pond and meet the William Sargant, the psychiatrist running what we might consider the British wing of MKULTRA. It was while visiting Porton Down to view some of these experiments that CIA scientist Frank Olson first became so disturbed. You'll find the story in this documentary about Frank Olson's murder: http://youtu.be/prQpG1k9UcY Bringing it back to wizards, William Sargant was a personal friend of none other than Robert Graves, author of The White Goddess. According to Levenda, it was while visiting Graves on the isle of Majorca in the mid-1950s (presumably after Olson’s murder) that Sargant was encouraged by him to complete Battle for the Mind, and indeed that textbook of brainwashing, behaviour modification and mental science actually includes a chapter written by Graves himself. Sinister Forces: That this paragon of paganism—whose White Goddess was warmly embraced by a generation or more of New Agers as a kind of Wiccan bible—should have been on intimate terms with the man who was at the center of the West’s mind control experiments (a man who was experimenting on living human beings, a man who also numbered poor, murdered Frank Olson as one of his colleagues, and who possibly ratted him out to the Agency) is yet another disturbing nexus point in this study, for these forces that occupy our attention call to themselves whatever they need, from whatever industry or field, without regard to social niceties, class ties or appropriate acquaintance. What rich material for a novel! The Poet-Pagan and the Psychiatrist-Spy. Like Arthur Koestler’s The Yogi and the Commissar, such a novel could offer a wealth of contradictions to be resolved in an uneasy truth. The trinity of Olson, Sargant and Graves can be mirrored in Parsons, Hubbard and McMurtry, or McMurtry, Crowley and MI5… or Crisman, Arnold and Shaw… While traditional historians tend to focus on single themes (military personalities seen from the perspective of military matters, for instance, as if generals are as single-minded as their biographers), our view must be at once broader and deeper if the history of the twentieth century is to mean anything to us at all. You begin to discern the need to lay this out chronologically, yeah? It's an arbitrary organisational method with subjects such as these, but it does appear to be the best way to discern inter-related objects tumbling through the background. Once again, it's important to be realistic with what we are looking at here. Certainly from 1948 onwards, we can see responsibility for whatever was happening split into multiple pieces, tumbling through the military, the private sector and various working groups. A working group does not constitute official government policy, it is not the secret, all-pervading conspiracy. It is, however, a strong indication that Jacques Vallée is correct when he says that the real thing 'the government' is trying to hide is not how much they know about these phenomena, but how little. So it's not surprising to see Dr Vallée show up in the tale of the Collins Elite very soon. But first, a little departure into the private sector, courtesy of this lengthy article on Scientology's involvement in remote viewing, found via Chris Knowles's face-meltingly good post about Star Trek and Heaven's Gate. Circa July 1958 U.S. corporations, including Westinghouse, General Electric, and Bell Telephone have begun telepathy research. Saturday, 8 November 1958 The Herald Tribune in New York reports that Westinghouse Electric Corporation has begun to study ESP using specially designed apparatus. L. Ron Hubbard discovers measurable sentience in plants, first using an E-meter with geraniums in his greenhouse at St. Hill, England, later with tomatoes. Saturday, 25 July 1959 Westinghouse Corporation's Friendship Laboratory undertakes an experiment in ESP with the U.S.S. Nautilus, linking one person on land (the sender) with another person in the submarine (the receiver),while the vessel is submerged. Representatives of the U.S. Navy and Air Force are present during the experiments, which run for sixteen days under Air Force Colonel William H. Bowers. The experiments result in a 70% success rate. Back to Vallée and the Collins Elite: According to a classified report prepared by Project Blue Book’s Major Robert Friend —which Air Force consultant J. Allen Hynek showed astronomer and computer scientist Jacques Vallee—a secret meeting was held on July 9, 1959 at a CIA office in Washington under the direction of Arthur Lundahl of the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center. Present at the meeting was a representative of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and seven CIA officers—three of whom, Richard Duke maintained, were attached to the Collins Elite. Three days prior to the July 9 meeting, a Naval Intelligence officer, one Commander Larsen, discussed with Lundahl the failed Frances Swan/Naval Intelligence contact experiment of the summer of 1954. Larsen was encouraged to repeat the experiment, which involved him “going into a trance,” Friend later told writer and filmmaker Robert Emenegger. This time it was successful: a flying saucer suddenly appeared on the scene. According to an official report on this incident, what was seen in 1959 was an aerial craft described as being “round with the perimeter brighter than the center.” But when checks were made with radar operatives in Washington, “for some unknown reason radar return from the direction in which the ship was supposedly seen had blocked out at the time of the sighting.” The report also noted that, “The Navy indicates that through these contacts Mrs. Swan has been able to answer technical questions beyond the level of her education or background.” Before we leave the fifties, there are two more pieces to look at. In 1954, the CIA published a 27-page document titled "A History of Ouija and Intelligence Applications" that indicated the agency was attempting to uncover whether the planchette could be a tool in their spy games. Redfern quotes Unmasking The Enemy, written by two ex-USAF personnel: “The CIA began infiltrating séances and occult gatherings during the 50s… A memo dated April 9, 1953, refers to a domestic—and therefore illegal—operation that required the planting of a very specialized observer at a séance in order to obtain a broad surveillance of all individuals attending the meetings.” 1954 is a suspiciously-timed date for the publication of a CIA document on séances. April comes before June, obviously, but I would bet you real money they were referring to Puharich. From Sinister Forces: [O]n June 27, 1953, the night of the full moon, Puharich gathered around him what was to be a core group of the Round Table Foundation for another session with Vinod. The membership of this group of nine members—á la The Nine—is illuminating. Henry Jackson, Georgia Jackson, Alice Bouverie, Marcella Du Pont, Carl Betz, Vonnie Beck, Arthur Young, Ruth Young, and Andrija Puharich. Dr. Vinod acted as the medium. Imagine the Fellowship of the Ring, with government funding and a security classification that was, well, “cosmic.” More here. And, of course, on the eve of the new decade, Doubleday published Puharich's little book. 1960 - 1980 The 1960s were the heyday for NICAP. At the time, its board director was Rear Admiral Herbert B. Knowles, who had served in the submarine command during the war. In one of those synchronicities that accompany these phenomena, he just happened to live down the road from Frances Swan. Frances Swan was an automatic writer, medium and channel, who had been receiving messages from alien beings in orbit since the early fifties. (Lot of that going around, it seems.) She even served as a consultant to Wilbert Smith when he was heading up Canada's official investigation into UFO phenomena. They both lived just down the road from Betty and Barney Hill. The Hills even lunched with the Admiral's wife at least once. From Final Events: The Collins Elite believed Swan was specifically chosen by demonic forces who carefully anticipated she would contact Knowles about her encounters, which she believed had alien origins, thus deceiving Knowles, and eventually NICAP, about what was really afoot, namely a Trojan Horse-like demonic invasion. In a near-identical fashion, Robert Manners opined that Betty and Barney were similarly selected because of their very close physical proximity to Knowles, who would surely interpret their encounter in a UFO context—and that, again, would help to further sow seeds of erroneous belief in aliens within the UFO research movement and steer people away from the demonic truth of the matter. Despite living near Swan and Knowles, the Hills never actually personally crossed paths with Swan. But about Swan, Betty Hill wrote: “A few miles from Portsmouth [New Hampshire, where the Hill’s lived] is a woman who claims she is in contact with the occupants of UFOs, through automatic writing. Almost daily she sits and receives messages. Although she and I share some of the same friends, we have never met. She refuses to meet me, for she believes that Barney and I are the wrong ones—the evil ones, the ones of wrong vibrations…” Wow. Be more wizardly, ufology. That argument could be between Edwardian magical orders. And again, I return to my conjecture that the perspective of the Collins Elite is more sophisticated than it first appears... sure, they're calling them demons, but at least they've worked out that they aren't spacemen and synchronicity and symbolic communication are involved. Not bad for some retired fly boys, eh? At around this point, Puharich goes to Mexico. Despite having precisely zero experience in archaeology, he claims he was on an archaeological expedition. What makes it weirder is that he took retired-helicopter-designer and séance attendee, Arthur Young, with him. Tell me they weren't combing the desert for mushrooms and cacti on the CIA's dime. I dare you. Levenda: What we do know, based on Young’s own statement, is that he wrote his two books, The Reflexive Universe and The Geometry of Meaning—in “the early 1960s,” even though they were not published until 1976. These books give a description of his theory of process, and address an “added parameter” to physics beyond mass, length and time. This added parameter he quantifies as process, or drive, or force, or consciousness as manifested in the photon, what he terms the “quanta of action.” His writings and lectures have had a great effect on an entire generation of thinkers, scientists, researchers, academics, and even novelists and artists. He was deeply concerned about what he called science’s “cleavage of our culture,” and sought to redress that disunity through a concentration on the physics of consciousness. His work has been picked up and elaborated—in spirit if nothing else—by quantum physicists such as Jack Sarfatti, who himself managed to walk the line between pure physics and culture. As an original member of the Round Table Foundation, and a member of the original Nine, Young, along with the other Brahmins, would try to bring about a kind of transformation on the earth—perhaps under the guidance of the very space beings who so fascinated him throughout his life. Does it strain credulity to think the CIA would pay for a mushroom hunt? Well, let's check back in with our man Hubbard, and what he was doing in the sixties. (I'm starting to think there is something behind Scientology's extreme paranoia.) Tuesday, 28 December 1965 L. Ron Hubbard issues a Scientology policy letter that forbids anyone connected to a "Suppressive Group" from being allowed onto the confidential Scientology upper levels unless and until the group is permanently disbanded. "Suppressive Groups" are defined as those that "seek to destroy Scientology" or specialize in "injuring or killing people or damaging their cases," or that "advocate the suppression of Mankind." They include "police spy organizations and government spy organizations" such as the CIA, IRS, FBI, National Security Agency (NSA), Department of Justice (DOJ), "or any other federal agency in any country." 1967 Ingo Swann begins to take Scientology services. At about the same time, Swann tenders his two-year notice for resignation from his permanent contract with the United Nations Secretariat in New York. NSA's Hal Puthoff enrolls in Scientology services. Beside my darling Dr Targ, Puthoff and Swann are the cornerstones in the Stargate Project. Two of them are Scientologists and one is NSA. What's this post titled, again? It gets weirder. According to former CIA officer, Victor Marchetti, in the late sixties, the CIA was attempting to contact and possibly debrief former agents. Dead ones. From Final Events: During the late 1960s, the CIA experimented with mediums in an attempt to contact and possibly debrief dead CIA agents. These attempts, according to Victor Marchetti, a former high-ranking CIA official, were part of a larger effort to harness psychic powers for various intelligence-related missions that included utilizing clairvoyants to divine the intentions of the Kremlin leadership,” wrote Dr. Nelson Pacheco and Tommy Blann in their book Unmasking the Enemy. This sounds very much like it would be part of the alleged MKULTRA subproject known as Operation Often. From Wikipedia: Project MKOFTEN was a covert Department of Defense program developed in conjunction with the CIA. A partner program to MKSEARCH, the goal of MKOFTEN was to "test the behavioral and toxicological effects of certain drugs on animals and humans". According to author Gordon Thomas' 2007 book, Secrets and Lies, the CIA's Operation Often was also initiated by the chief of the CIA's Technical Services Branch, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, to "explore the world of black magic" and "harness the forces of darkness and challenge the concept that the inner reaches of the mind are beyond reach". As part of Operation Often, Dr. Gottlieb and other CIA employees visited with and recruited fortune-tellers, palm-readers, clairvoyants, astrologers, mediums, psychics, specialists in demonology, witches and wizards, Satanists, other occult practitioners, and more. It begins to look less and less 'alleged' in view of Redfern's discovery of the Collins Elite, doesn't it? Note it fell under the purview of Dulles's Darth Vader, Sidney Gottlieb. So the guy dispensing LSD to the youth of America in the sixties was using CIA money to summon demons in an attempt to discern if they have any meaningful intelligence applications in the seventies. But it was this next bit that blew the top off my head. Final Events again: On January 31, 1970, a man attached to the Collins Elite, who Robert Manners described only as “Mr. Manza,” visited the offices of Operation Often. It appears from what Manners’ said, however, that the Collins Elite had heard of Operation Often’s very early work in the field of espionage and the occult, and wished to determine if some sort of liaison might prove profitable and significant for both parties. The date of the meeting certainly seems to have been significant as this occurred just six weeks after the U.S. Air Force closed its publicly acknowledged UFO investigative operation, Project Blue Book, on December 17, 1969. However, UFO investigator Brad Sparks has said that the last day of Blue Book activity was actually January 30, 1970, just one day before Mr. Manza’s little visit. One day. Before. Keep Operation Often in the back of your mind. Because we

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