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MR. RHODES: Good morning, everybody. So we put out our schedule at the end of last week, but I'll just give a brief overview of the trip and some of its goals, and then Evan can speak more broadly to where we are on our Asia policy, and then we'll take your questions.
This is the President's fifth trip to the Asia Pacific region, which has been a focus of our foreign policy. It makes up in part for the trip he was not able to take last fall because of the government shutdown, with the stops in Malaysia and the Philippines, and also allows us to go visit two of our closest allies in the world, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
I think you'll see all aspects of our Asia policy manifested on the trip: Our security relationships and our commitment to our alliances, our trade and commercial relationships and our efforts to expand U.S. commercial ties in the region, and also the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement; also our people-to-people exchanges and the education and cultural ties that bind the United States to the Asia Pacific region.
We'll begin in Japan, where the President will have an opportunity to have his first state visit to Japan as President, his third visit overall; a chance to meet with Prime Minister Abe to discuss the modernization of our security alliance and partnership with Japan; a chance to continue to build on the progress we made in The Hague in terms of trilateral cooperation between Japan and Korea; but also a chance to talk about the progress of the TPP negotiations and the economic and commercial ties between the U.S. and Japan with a focus on innovation. The President will be doing an event to lift up our cooperation on science and innovation while he's there in Japan.
Then in the Republic of Korea – this is the President's fourth visit to Seoul as president. His first, though, since President Park took office. First of all, he will have an opportunity to express his condolences for the tragic loss of life in the recent ferry accident. The U.S. continues to support however we can the rescue and recovery efforts, and he'll have a chance to speak to the Korean people about how much we've been impacted here in the United States at the terrible loss of life, especially among young people.
Then they'll have the opportunity to discuss our alliance, our shared security cooperation, particularly our efforts to stand up to provocative acts from the North Koreans, but also our broader defense and security cooperation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. We'll also be able to discuss the implementation of our free trade agreement with Korea, which is moving forward and allowing for a greater opportunity for both U.S. and Korean businesses and workers.
In Malaysia, this is the first visit of a U.S. president since Lyndon Johnson, so it's a truly historic event. Malaysia has been an emerging partner of the United States just as it's been an emerging economy. We'll be able to discuss the TPP negotiations in Malaysia as a party to, as well as a growing economic and commercial relationship. We've also been expanding our defense and security cooperation with the Malaysians. I'm sure we'll also have a chance to discuss, as we will at each of the stops, some of the maritime security and territorial issues that are currently front and center in the region.
The President will also be able to launch an initiative around outreach to young Southeast Asian leaders at a town hall meeting that will bring together leaders from across all 10 ASEAN countries, as well as Malaysia. So an important visit for the President, and I think one that can really elevate U.S.-Malaysian relations to a new stage.
And then last, the Philippines. And this is the final treaty ally that we'll be visiting. This has been a growing relationship, as well. On the security side, we have been expanding our cooperation in the region more generally, and also we'll be able to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the security of the Philippines as they deal with a range of challenges in the region. We also have, obviously, deep ties to the Filipino people, with a large number of Filipino Americans, who'll be very excited about the visit.
So a busy agenda, four countries, and Evan, I think, can give a brief overview of some of the more strategic aims, and then we'll take your questions.
MR. MEDEIROS: Great. Thank you, Ben. It's a pleasure to be back at the Foreign Press Center. What I'd like to do today is to describe a little bit the top-line policy goals related to the trip.
The first and the most important one is that this trip is the latest manifestation of the President's firm commitment to his policy of Asia Pacific rebalancing. The United States is all in when it comes to the Asia Pacific, and we're there for the long haul. This is a result of a calculation of our economic and our security interests. It's not a geopolitical fad, it's not a political expediency; it's about protecting American economic interests, security interests, and continuing to build our people-to-people ties that we've had for many decades in the Asia Pacific.
There are often questions raised about whether or not we get distracted with Ukraine or the Middle East, and this trip is yet one more example that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. There are huge parts of the government – I'm part of them – that are devoted to advancing U.S. interests in the Asia Pacific. We understand that there are questions out there: Is this more rhetoric than reality? There was a very long article in The Washington Post last week that raised all sorts of questions. And to those that raise questions, I would just simply respond: Number one, I would encourage you to measure our substantial accomplishments and successes of the rebalancing, and not just focus on those areas that we haven't completed yet; and number two, judge us by the standards that we put out for ourselves.
From the very beginning, when we outlined our Asia Pacific strategy, we focused on modernizing our alliances, redoubling our contributions to regional institutions, advancing our relations with emerging powers, and stepping up U.S. economic engagement in the region. And in those four categories, we have a very, very impressive story to tell, and the President will make even more progress in those areas in the week ahead.
The second major point that I'd make is that this trip highlights the truly comprehensive nature of our Asia Pacific rebalancing strategy. The President's visiting two Northeastern Asian countries, two Southeast Asian countries. He's visiting two advanced market economies, two emerging economies. He's visiting three allies and one close friend and security partner. Two of the countries he's visiting are TPP members, two are TPP aspirants.
And then of course, the conversations the President is going to be having with his counterparts in the four countries, as well as his public comments, reflect the broad range of America's engagement with the Asia Pacific. That means talking about the critical diplomatic and security challenges facing the region. It means raising and talking about our enhanced economic engagement and how trade and investment ties with the region are growing in a mutually beneficial way. And then of course, there's the important cultural and people-to-people dimension that form the bedrock and the foundation of our relationships with these countries across the Asia Pacific. So it's a truly, truly comprehensive strategy.
And the third and final overall policy point that I'd make is keep in mind that the President's trip is part of a sequence of consistent, high-level, substantive U.S. engagement with the Asia Pacific. It's only April, and already this year Secretary Hagel and Secretary Kerry have both visited the region. They're both going to be going back in the coming months. And then Secretary Pritzker is going to lead a very high-profile delegation of CEOs to key Southeast Asian countries to advance our economic engagement with them. Then, of course, the President plans to travel back to Asia in the fall to attend many of the big summits – APEC, EAS and G20.
So that gives you a flavor and sense of the momentum and the commitment of this Administration to the Asia Pacific. And now, why don't we open it up for your questions? Thank you.
MODERATOR: Before we go to questions, I'd just like to remind you, please wait for the microphone because we are transcribing. Please do identify yourself by name and outlet before you pose the question. We also have a lot of people, and in the interest of having the most time for those questions, keep them concise and to single-part. Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Nice to see you again. My name is Atsushi Okudera from Asahi Shimbun, the Japanese daily. Let me ask about the alliance between Japan and the United States. Yeah, I know you're tired of these questions on maritime issues.
MR. RHODES: Never get tired of that question.
QUESTION: (Laughter.) Could you tell me how the United States – this time, in this trip, the United States express the strengthen of the alliance between Japan and the United States in terms of national security of Japan in this – and in these regions, and the cooperation between both countries, particularly East China Sea issues and then the Senkaku issues? I'm talking about – I would like to know just about how the United States respond to the Japanese concern in terms of maritime issues. I know that Secretary Kerry and Secretary Hagel both has already expressed their concern and the commitment of the alliance, but I just want to know that President Obama will also express at the same level. Thank you.
MR. RHODES: Sure. I'll say a couple of things and see if Evan wants to add to it. First of all, the alliance with Japan is really a cornerstone of our Asia strategy. We have been building out relationships in Southeast Asia and other parts of the region, but the foundation that we're building on is a strong U.S.-Japan alliance. At the center of that is our commitment to modernize the alliance so that the U.S. force posture and cooperation with Japan is moving forward into the 21st century. Secondly, to be there as a friend and ally when needed. That relates also to issues like disaster response, where the U.S. was able to provide support after the tragic tsunami. But of course, it also means keeping our ironclad defense commitment to Japan. We have a mutual defense treaty that we take very seriously, and there should be no question that the United States will always honor its obligations to the defense of Japan.
With respect to the territorial disputes, in a broader sense, of course we are going to reaffirm and reassure our Japanese ally at a time when there are regional tensions. At the same time, I think we have made clear that the best way to resolve those issues in the East China Sea and related to the Senkakus is through a process of dialogue between Japan and China. And so that's what the United States will continue to support.
There's also tensions of course with North Korea and some of the provocative actions and rhetoric we've seen out of Pyongyang. And there too, I think, not just a bilateral cooperation but the potential for increased trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan, and Korea, I think would send a strong message in northeast Asia about our solidarity in standing up to those types of provocations.
But I don't know if you want to --
MR. MEDEIROS: No. That's great.
MR. RHODES: Yeah. Sure.
QUESTION: Hi. Thank you, Evan and Ben. My name is Nadia Tsao with the Liberty Times from Taiwan. I know South China Sea will be one of the issue you guys – when the President visit might be discussed. Recently, there's some scholar in town urging Taiwan to – Republic of China to clarify their claim on the nine-dash line in the South China Sea. I wonder, is that the government's position as well, because most of them are from academia? And if that's so, would the U.S. encourage other country, other claimant to have a dialogue with the Taiwan, even including Taiwan in a multilateral dialogue, like the code of conduct. That's my question. Thank you.
MR. MEDEIROS: Great. Nadia, thanks for your question.
What I'd say is, on that question, given that Taiwan is a claimant, we would encourage Taiwan to have conversations with other claimants, because our policy goal at its core is to ensure that these territorial disputes are resolved peacefully through dialogue and through diplomacy. And a point that the President will highlight during his trip is the fact that we think that the code of conduct that ASEAN and China are currently talking about is a very important mechanism for addressing these issues, and we think that work on that code should be accelerated, because that will create a very positive and constructive framework for managing these territorial disputes.
The United States cares very much about the behavior of countries in how they address territorial disputes, and we oppose any effort for any state to use intimidation, coercion, or aggression to resolve them, because these territorial disputes have the potential to affect broader regional peace and stability in the Asia Pacific.
QUESTION: But is that the government's position to ask Republic China to clarify its nine-dash line?
MR. MEDEIROS: What I would say is that our position on the South China Sea is very clear at this point, and I just articulated some of the core principles at the heart of that.
MR. RHODES: Yeah. And we're not going to – we wouldn't speak for the governing authority in the Republic of China. I do think that the broader point is, whether it's Taiwan or any other claimant, we want to see this resolved consistent with international law. The U.S. is not a claimant, so we don't take a position on a particular claim by a particular country. What we want to reinforce is that there is a framework of international law that should allow for the peaceful resolution of these disputes through, again, diplomacy and legal channels, and not through any type of coercion.
QUESTION: Thank you for doing this. My name is Donghui Yu with China Review News Agency of Hong Kong. It was expected that this time the United States will sign a new military cooperation agreement with Philippines. My question is: How could President Obama convince China that this is not aimed at China? This is not a containment tool, even if he did not say any harsh words about China? Thank you.
MR. RHODES: The very simple answer which is that we have a long-standing alliance with the Philippines. So we are not starting from scratch in terms of pursuing defense and security cooperation with the Philippines. We've had a long-standing commitment and partnership dating back to World War II, and we are looking at ways of increasing our defense cooperation with countries across the region. And frankly, a lot of that defense cooperation is focused on the mutual interests of all the countries of the Asia Pacific – disaster response, counter-piracy – but also I think the U.S. has been a stabilizing presence in ensuring the free flow of commerce, open sea lanes. And so this type of cooperation is not any country's expense; it's certainly not at China's expense. It's in support of the broader stability of the region, and in particular the security of our ally, the Philippines.
Again, our point has always been that the U.S. engagement with Southeast Asia is not at China's expense, but rather as part of a broader strategy in which we can deepen our ties with ASEAN countries, but also maintain very constructive ties with China as well, and ultimately we're – what we're seeking to build, together in partnership with other Asian and Pacific nations, is a rules-based architecture for how you resolve economic disputes, how you resolve territorial disputes, so that there doesn't need to be tension and conflict. And I think that's consistent with the new model of great power relations that President Xi has laid out, which is that an emerging power does not inherently have to come into conflict with an established power like the United States.
So that's the framework in which I think people should see our increased cooperation with the Philippines and the President's trip more broadly.
QUESTION: Thank you, Ben and Evan. Ching-Yi Chang with Phoenix TV. Actually, I have a question for Evan. The other day you gave a speech in Brookings and you spoke about importance of the new model relationship between the U.S. and China, yet you also mentioned U.S. and China should more focus on their common interests instead of the core interests of China, and that is actually quite something new. So is there any change, even slightly, on your policy towards China?
I also just want to follow up with that question: Will the President sign any military – new military access agreement with Philippines? Thank you.
MR. MEDEIROS: Regarding your question about my comments at Brookings, I and the U.S. Government stand firmly behind the comments I made at Brookings, which is to me – which is simply to highlight the fact that in order for the United States and China to build this new model of relations, we need to focus on our common interests, and that means more and better cooperation on the critical regional and global challenges that threaten peace and security and prosperity globally. If we're going to build this new model, that will be determined largely by the extent to which the U.S. and China are able to find space to work together on those issues.
So we were very aware of this question that's out there in Asia: Is the President's trip – is it focused on containment of China? And the simple answer is no. And for us, it doesn't even make any sense. The U.S. has a $500 billion bilateral trading relationship with China. How could that possibly be containment? The President just met Xi Jinping several weeks ago. They had a very constructive conversation. He invited President Xi for the historic meeting at Sunnylands. The pace, the scope of our engagement with Chinese leaders is historic, and that's in effort to build this new model. So from our perspective, we need to find more and better ways for both of our countries to solve the problems that challenge security and prosperity globally.
Regarding the Philippines, as you know, negotiators are working on an agreement that's been very public. I don't want to get ahead of that particular process. I would just underscore the comment my colleague Ben Rhodes made, which is the U.S. and the Philippines have had an alliance for decades. One of the principal goals of our Asia Pacific strategy has been to modernize our alliances. What does that mean? What that means is as our allies face new and different threats – that's both traditional security threats as well as non-traditional security threats – we need to update our alliances to ensure that these alliances can meet the new challenges presented by them.
One of the most obvious ones that was very evident to the international community was Typhoon Haiyan and the fact that the Philippines needed our assistance and the assistance of the international community. Now, luckily because of our close alliance with Japan, we had forces on Okinawa that could very quickly arrive in southern Philippines to provide that assistance. Now obviously, if we had the ability to have some of those capabilities already in the Philippines, it would contribute to that humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operation. So when we talk about modernizing our alliances, especially with the Philippines, it's first and foremost focused on those goals, as well as making sure that we're meeting our classic alliance commitments as well.
QUESTION: Hyodong Roh with Yonhap News Agency of South Korea. As you told, South Korea is suffering a tragic ferry accident with the lives of so many young student, and now Asia is in deep distress. Does the President have any other plan to do with respect to the accident during his visit to Korea?
And my second question is: Our biggest concern is North Korea's possible future provocations. We need deterrence. And South Korea, the U.S., and Japan already sent a strong message against North Korea. But in the meantime, a South Korean official said he is considering possible various methods for the resumption of the talks with North Korea. So could you tell us exactly where you stand and where you are going? Thank you.
MR. RHODES: Sure. Well, first of all, we will obviously be watching how events are unfolding related to the ferry accident and the recovery efforts over the coming days. And I'm sure the President will want to find a way to express to those families and to the people of the Republic of Korea how much we support them in this difficult time.
I don't have a particular scheduling update for you, because we want to be sensitive to how this unfolds in the coming days, but I can certainly expect that this will be a big part of his trip and how he addresses the South Korean people while he's there. We've already, again – one thing he has done concretely is order that we provide whatever assistance we can through our Navy and through our recovery capabilities to assist the government in what is a very heartbreaking situation. And the President himself wanted to go out of his way to address this, not just in the statement he released but in his comments at the beginning of his press conference the other day, because it has been weighing on him as he sees the reports – again, not just as the President of a country that has an alliance with South Korea but as a father of two young daughters. When he sees parents suffering the type of loss that we've seen, I think it's heartbreaking for him as it is for all of us.
On the issue of North Korea, first of all, I think it is important that we show our commitment to South Korea and our commitment to deterrence and, more broadly, Northeast Asia. The joint military exercises that we carry out as a matter of course with South Korea, I think, are an important part of sending that message. The President will have the opportunity to be briefed by our commander in Seoul while he's there about those efforts. But also the type of trilateral cooperation we're trying to build on the defense side between the United States, Korea, and Japan, I think, is an important part on that message as well.
With respect to those negotiations, we have said that the United States – we would never close the door on diplomacy, and we're willing to pursue those types of negotiations, but only if they're based on North Korea demonstrating it's prepared to keep its commitments, that they're serious about coming to the table for the purpose of denuclearization, and they're serious about meeting their commitments under previous agreements. And unless and until we get that type of signal, we don't want to enter into talks just for talks' sake. So in our discussions with China and our discussions with South Korea, Japan, and the other countries involved in the Six-Party Talks, again, we've made very clear we're willing to come to the table, but North Korea has to indicate that they're coming to the table to actually make progress on denuclearization, and we have not yet seen that to date.
QUESTION: So your policy has not changed?
MR. RHODES: No. No. And – but that doesn't mean that – obviously, we will adjust to events as they unfold, but again, we need to see some type of signal from the North that they are serious about negotiations.
QUESTION: Andrei Sitov from Tass, from Russia. Thank you, Ben, and thanks to our friends at the FPC. I'm sure you will be talking about Ukraine, among other things, on the trip, so I wanted to ask you about Ukraine. Two things: one, the recent incident in eastern Ukraine where a block-post was attacked. Will the Vice President be using his current visit in Kyiv to try and press the current authorities to prevent further violence like this in the future?
And then secondly, the U.S. and Russia, working together at the IMF to help the Ukrainian economy, which badly needs help, which is very good – the work. But then on the other hand, you want to impose sanctions, and supposedly biting sanctions, on Russia. The IMF or the World Bank will tell you that in hurting Russia, you hurt Ukraine. So please explain to me the logic of those sanctions or the sanctions plans. Thank you.
Will you be announcing the sanctions before the trip? Thanks.
MR. RHODES: Sure. Thanks, Andrei. So on your first question, we are aware of this incident. We're looking into it with the Ukrainian Government as well. We've been very clear that we do not support any types of unnecessary violence in eastern Ukraine, and we want to see a de-escalation of the situation, so I think – as a matter of U.S. policy – we're opposed to escalation and violent actions that could precipitate further escalation.
I will say, though, that the roadmap as laid out in Geneva requires those pro-Russian forces that have occupied buildings in certain towns and cities in eastern Ukraine to lay down their arms and to vacate those buildings. As long as they are there, the risk of this type of confrontation, I think, is acute. And that's why Russia, the United States, the European Union, and the Government of Ukraine agreed to this roadmap.
We have seen the Ukrainian Government begin to follow through on their commitments, and this is where I think we'd have a difference with Foreign Minister Lavrov's comments today. For instance, the president and prime minister made a speech to the nation underscoring the unity of Ukraine. They began to move an amnesty law through the Rada that would, again, allow those protestors in eastern Ukraine to have amnesty if they follow through on the agreement. They've made commitments to respect the language rights of Russian speakers. And they've put on the table some ideas about decentralization of power, constitutional reform that I think could lead to a constructive outcome.
So we'd like to see that agreement followed through, but in order for that agreement to follow through, we need to see those groups leave those buildings, just as, by the way, we would say the same thing about any paramilitary groups in the West, Andrei. You know, the Russians have raised concerns about some of the more extreme nationalist factions in the West. The same thing should apply to them, that we don't want to see any armed paramilitary group occupying a government facility.
On sanctions, you characterized it as us wanting to do so. The best thing would be that we don't need to pursue more sanctions because we see a reduction in tensions and we see Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity respected. We are only going to move to additional sanctions if we continue to see this type of destabilization in eastern Ukraine, and we will do so if there's not progress in the coming days.
So again, our preferred course for there never to have been a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity – the fact that there was in Crimea and now with these destabilizing actions in the east has led us to impose sanctions and to prepare additional sanctions with the Europeans that we'll be pursuing should there be continued tensions there and the Geneva agreement is not followed through on.
On the IMF and World Bank, again, I think we'd like to see everybody working together to help stabilize the Ukrainian economy. That could include Russia, of course, as well, as one of Ukraine's principal neighbors. At the same time, however, if we are assessing what's best for Ukraine, we need to do two things at once as the United States: We need to help stabilize the Ukrainian economy; we also have to help try to deter further encroachments on their sovereignty by Russia. So it's a mix of making sure that you are serious enough about your sanctions that Russia knows that there will be a cost for moving into continued encroachments of Ukraine's territory; at the same time, we've got a package of well over $10 billion that we've put together with the IMF to try to immediately stabilize the economy.
But in the long run, the best thing for everybody, I think, would be if there could be a working together to help stabilize the Ukrainian economy rather than the type of tensions we've seen.
I don't know if we want to go to New York or --
MODERATOR: They stepped away from the podium, so I think we're –
MR. RHODES: Okay. We'll move in the back there, on the right. Yeah.
QUESTION: My name is Igor Dunaevskiy from Russian newspaper. Continuing with Ukraine, United States lately made a lot of effort with European Union on imposing sanctions, and of course, for Russia and like making a coalition to isolate Russia. Will this policy be on the table during the Asia trip, and do you imagine anybody in Asia joining, like, sanctions regime? Thank you.
MR. RHODES: Yeah. So I think it will come up on the trip, and I'd just say a few things. Number one, Asian countries, I think, were very strong at the UN General Assembly in the vote that condemned the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, so we've had a strong response from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia in condemnation of Russia's actions. Even China abstained from that vote, which is an unusual occurrence at the United Nations.
Secondly, we have worked very closely with Japan through the G7. So when the decisions were made to both suspend Russian participation in the G8 and move to a G7 meeting this June, and also when that communique was issued indicating a commitment to sectoral sanctions should we see a further escalation such as a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan was in lockstep with the United States and our European allies. So Japan has been a key member of this coalition through the G7.
I think on sanctions more broadly, it's really the United States and Europe that are in the lead, although we've seen, again, Japan make some announcements. At the same time, I think it's important that our Asian allies and partners don't seek to fill the space left by those sanctions. So as we do in other sanctions regimes, we coordinate with other countries to make sure that the cost is imposed with the sanctions that the U.S. and Europe are going to pursue if we have to. And again, our preference would be that this situation de-escalates and we don't need to move to those types of sanctions.
And then the third point I'd just make is that territorial disputes, of course, are very much on people's minds in the Asia Pacific. I think one of the reasons why you saw that vote at the UN is because Asian nations don't like the precedent being set that a nation's sovereignty or territorial integrity can be violated with impunity or that a bigger country can simply bully a smaller country in pursuit of their own interests. So the international order that is at stake here in Ukraine is also very relevant to the Asia Pacific as we look at territorial disputes, as we look at maritime security. And so for those reasons, I think what we'll be making clear is our policy on Ukraine is not targeted at Russia, for instance, specifically; it's targeted at upholding the international order that we believe Russia has violated. And that's something that should be of interest to every country that we're visiting.
Yeah. In the middle there.
QUESTION: Hi. Lee from KBS. Just a short follow-up to your answer regarding North Korea. So you think President Obama will us show some kind of new initiative for the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem (inaudible) North Korea chose the change of the attitude of followership regarding the issue. Is that right?
MR. RHODES: Yeah. We would want to see that North Korea would be coming into diplomacy with a real commitment to denuclearization and to its past commitments. But I don't know if you want to add anything to it.
MR. MEDEIROS: No. I would just simply say that given the recent North Korean statements threatening a new type of nuclear tests, a new type of missile tests, we're not – it's clear that North Korea is not signaling any interest in what we would consider to be credible and authentic negotiations. And in that context, we're looking for some sign they're actually committed to denuclearization and dialogue would be productive. But right now we're going into an environment where there's a growing number of threats and risks of provocation.
QUESTION: Mikyung Kim from Seoul Shinmun Daily. I am a new correspondent. Anyway, I want to say nice to meet you all.
MR. MEDEIROS: Nice to see you.
QUESTION: Yeah. Could you be more specific on the agenda between the U.S. and Republic of Korea at their summit? Does it include 123 agreement and transfer of OPCON? Thank you.
MR. MEDERIOS: Great. Thanks, and welcome to the foreign correspondents pool. At the heart of our message, the President's message to President Park and the Korean people, is basically forwards: We are with you and we have your back. And so that means that we're going to do everything possible to ensure that our alliance with the ROK remains rock solid. So of course, the issues of wartime OPCON transfer will come up. Of course, the issues of the bilateral nuclear cooperation will come up, our economic relationship, because we often talk about the U.S.-ROK relationship as both an alliance as well as an emerging global partnership in which we're working together to address some of the core economic challenges at the heart of the relationship as well as where we can cooperate in the international space, specifically on issues related to clean energy and climate change as well.
So the issues you raise, we expect to come up, as well as some of those broader issues. Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you. My name is Jumpei Yoshioka from Japanese broadcaster NHK. I want to ask a question about the message which the President is going to convey in Tokyo regarding the collective self-defense which the Japanese Government is considering right now. Thank you.
MR. MEDERIOS: Great, thanks. Well, our position on this is quite clear, and Secretary Hagel spoke to it publicly when he was in Japan. And we think, first and foremost, that Japan plays an important role in encouraging and bringing about peace and security in the Asia Pacific and globally, and we encourage and support all efforts for Japan to do that. Regarding the issue of collective self-defense, we support Japan's reexamination of the legal basis of collective self-defense insofar as we believe that that supports efforts to enhance interoperability in our alliance, and also for our alliance to be more capable at contributing to peace and security in the Asia Pacific.
QUESTION: Hi. I'm Zhang Weiran from China News Service. My question is about the regional relations. Right now, the relations between Japan and China is very tense, and I know you always encourage the two sides to resolve their disagreements through dialogue, but will the President do some concrete steps in his visit to encourage dialogues? Thank you.
MR. RHODES: Well, I think, first of all, it's important that Japan is confident that the U.S. maintains its security commitment, that there is an assurance of our commitment to the security of Japan and the stability of Northeast Asia generally. That creates, I think, a positive atmosphere, frankly, for dialogue. So that strong reaffirmation of the alliance, I think, is an important foundation for dialogue between Japan and China.
I think, secondly, a message that we have said publicly to both countries is that there needs to be an investment in finding a peaceful resolution and not a ratcheting up of the rhetoric or the tensions that we see in both countries around historical issues or other differences that have long divided China and Japan – that you have to create an environment within which, again, dialogue can succeed. And so, again, I think that too is a part of how we move this forward.
And then, third, again, I think just making clear to all parties involved in these territorial disputes that nobody is going to benefit from an escalation of tensions in the Asia Pacific; that our economies are so intertwined, our mutual security is so intertwined, that any escalation could prompt, I think, severe setbacks for the economy of the region and the global economy generally. So therefore, people should feel that they have an interest in resolving this peacefully rather than seeing it escalate.
So the ability for the Japanese and the Chinese to communicate directly about these issues, I think, is important, and an environment that is conducive to progress is important, and the President will be able to speak to both of those.
Yeah, all the way in the back there.
QUESTION: Thank you. Peter Gold, Fuji TV. I'm wondering if you can say why it is this time that Mrs. Obama is not traveling with the President, and then generally how it's decided whether she would go on a foreign trip or not. Thank you.
MR. RHODES: So Mrs. Obama does not go on many of the President's foreign travel. The principal reason is that she tends to focus, again, on her responsibilities not just as First Lady but as a mother. And if you go back and look at the times that she's traveled overseas, it tends to coincide with summer breaks or other breaks that facilitate her daughters traveling with her or – in some of those cases. So the fact is she can't go on every trip that – and many of those trips – again, the recent trip to China, for instance, was over the spring break for the two girls, so they were able to travel with her to China. So those types of considerations, I think, play some role here.
But the fact of the matter is she goes on a small number of these. She's not able to attend this trip. That doesn't mean that she doesn't feel just as strongly as the President about the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship or our relations with all of these countries. It's more an issue of scheduling for her.
But again, I think the President's commitment to Japan, I think, is demonstrated by the fact that this is his third visit, this is a state visit. He'll spend two nights there, be able to spend a significant amount of time with the prime minister and with the emperor. He's also looking forward to seeing his ambassador, Caroline Kennedy, who is a very close personal friend of his and a very prominent representative of the United States in Japan.
QUESTION: Thank you. My name is Daisuke Igarashi from Asahi Shimbun Japanese daily. I think the TPP is another big part of your trip. And – but Japan and the U.S. are – it looks like they are in a stalemate in the negotiations. So what kind of message do you think you can send to the public at the state summit meeting in Tokyo? And also, I think Malaysia is another TPP member, and Korea and the Philippines are expressing their interest to join the TPP. So can you tell us a little bit more about what kind of discussions do you expect to have at each country on your trip? Thanks.
MR. RHODES: Well, with respect to Japan, we've been in these TPP negotiations for a number of years now – Japan joined them in the middle of those negotiations – and we've made a lot of progress. And when you make progress towards the conclusion of an agreement, it's always those final issues that are the most difficult for the countries involved. So with Japan, as with other countries, we're talking about issues of market access in very particular areas that are very sensitive to the interests of both countries. So it's not surprising to us that as you get down to those final handful of issues, and there are not many of them, that those are the toughest ones. If they were easy they would've been solved by now.
So I think the issue is that we just have to have our negotiators continue to hammer out these issues around market access so that everybody can feel that their interests are protected and that this is a win-win deal. I think the message that we deliver to Japan and to other countries is this agreement has the ability to unlock a lot of potential in all of our economies, that whatever risks we may feel that go along with this trade agreement will be far outweighed by the benefits of greater market access, enhanced trade, greater protections in certain areas, and that we can build a trading bloc with these 12 countries that is going to be a true global powerhouse, and that's going to create jobs and opportunity in Japan and the United States and the other TPP countries. Again, I think that this is a centerpiece of our Asia Pacific strategy. We talk in all these different areas about setting standards and rules. This would be a high-standards trade agreement that would be the foundation of, I think, the economic architecture of the Asia Pacific for years to come.
It's also flexible enough that other countries can join. Again, we've seen Japan join, Mexico, Canada join these negotiations in the last year or two. So we'll be having conversations in the Philippines and in Seoul about what are the interests of those countries in potentially looking at TPP. We have already a very strong trade agreement with – free trade agreement with South Korea that we recently ratified. So we'll also be discussing with them the issues around the implementation of that agreement.
But again, I think for Japan and Malaysia in particular, the focus will be on how TPP is a win-win outcome for all the countries involved, how we all have to work together to overcome these final issues, and then doing so, we can set an architecture of trade in the region that is going to benefit our countries for years to come.
I think we have time for like one more. Yeah, in the back there. Yeah.
QUESTION: Do you think that Prime Minister Abe and the President is talking about historical issue this time, like at the private dinner or something? And what kind of advice does President going to give the Prime Minister Abe?
MR. RHODES: I'd just say a couple things, and then Evan may want to address this, too.
Our consistent message to all the countries in the region has been to find means of dialogue to address these historical issues in ways that are not provocative, that respect the sensitivities involved. We believe that there's been good progress made – in recent weeks, for instance – between Japan and the ROK in initiating a dialogue about their historical issues. It helped facilitate the trilateral meeting that we recently had in The Hague. So I think our general message, again, is one of respect for the sensitivities of others, of addressing these issues through dialogue, and of understanding that if we can move forward with respect for history but without being constrained by our history, there's great potential for cooperation.
Because one of the things that the United States wants is we want our allies to be good allies, too. So we want to see in particular Japan and the ROK be able to move beyond the recent tensions they've had.
I don't know if you --
MR. MEDEIROS: Great. Thanks, Ben. I would just simply add that we want to ensure that all parties act in ways that address these sensitive issues in a manner that promotes healing, in a manner that promotes additional dialogue. And as Ben said, we are very positive about the recent comfort women talks that occurred between Japan and the ROK. We appreciate the public statements that Prime Minister Abe made reiterating both the Kono and the Murayama statements. We think that this is important, it's responsible. We appreciate the fact that we worked very closely with Japan and the ROK to have a trilateral heads of – leaders meeting in The Hague, which was an important step forward that I think created some momentum and opened space for additional trilateral consultations and dialogue, especially on defense issues including missile defense.
So addressing these history issues really is in the U.S. interest. It's in the interests of regional security, because as Ben mentioned, what we want is for our allies to get along as well because trilateral security cooperation is an essential component to dealing with the multiple security challenges facing Northeast Asia. Thank you.
MR. RHODES: Just to say one last thing, since we have so much Japanese and Asian press here: I would note that as a Met fan, I attended the game yesterday, all 14 innings, and Dice-K pitched three scoreless innings, helping us secure that win. So it was a good signal heading into this trip of the strength that the U.S.-Japanese alliance that it helps out even the Mets, who need all the help they can get.
So thanks, everybody.
MODERATOR: And on that, that is the official close to the briefing. Thank you very much for attending today. Thank you.
# # #


text: Someone beat the Vikings into the North Atlantic by 500 years 23 August 13 by Josephine Lethbridge The rugged coast of the Faroe islands don't lend themselves to easy colonisationStig Nygaard/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 The Faroe Islands, a remote archipelago between Scotland and Iceland, could have been inhabited 500 years earlier than was previously thought, according to a startling archaeological discovery. The islands were thought to have been colonised by the Vikings in the 9th century AD. However, dating of peat ash and barley grains has revealed that humans had actually settled there somewhere between the 4th and 6th centuries AD.The Faroes were the first stepping stone beyond the Shetland Islands for the dispersal of European people across the North Atlantic. The findings therefore allow speculation as to whether Iceland, Greenland, and even North America were reached earlier than previously thought. Mike Church from the University of Durham said he and his research partner, Símun V. Arge from the National Museum of the Faroe Islands, had not expected to find such evidence. "Símun and myself sampled the site in 2006 to take scientific samples for environmental archaeological analysis from the medieval Viking settlement," he said."We uncovered some burnt peat ash containing barley grains under the Viking longhouse. It was not until we had it dated that we realised what we had found."It was a common practice across the North Atlantic for peat to be burnt for warmth before being spread on fields and grasslands to improve soil stability and fertility. Barley is not indigenous to the Faroes and so must have been either grown or brought to the islands by humans. Their findings are therefore conclusive evidence that the Faroes were colonised in pre-Viking times.Andrew Jennings, a Nordic historian at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said the idea of a pre-Viking settlement was not new. "Christian Matras, for example, was convinced there were pre-Viking settlers in the 1950's. He believed there were old field systems that didn't seem to tie into later settlements. But he had no evidence."It is not yet known whether these mysterious settlers hailed from the British Isles or Scandinavia. "There is evidence of Irish hermits sailing into the North Atlantic islands in a passage by an Irish Monk called Dicuil in 825AD," Church said.The passage from Dicuil's geographical book describes islands that don't turn up in any other writing of the time:Many other islands lie in the northerly British Ocean. One reaches them from the northerly islands of Britain, by sailing directly for two days and two nights with a full sail in a favourable wind the whole time […] Most of these islands are small, they are separated by narrow channels, and for nearly a hundred years hermits lived there, coming from our land, Ireland, by boat.Jennings described how the identification of the Faroes in the text was a subject of debate. "However, it now seems pretty conclusive that Dicuil was referring to the Faroes."However, Church stressed that their results are not necessarily tied to these voyaging Irish monks. "Our findings indicate even earlier colonisation, and more research is needed before any conclusions as to the origin of these settlers can be drawn. We would need to find evidence of the type of settlement to compare to those we know about in that period before forming any opinions on this matter."The uncovering of any further evidence of the early inhabitants, however, may be a way off. The remains of early settlements are "very ephemeral, and very hard to find," said Church. This means that future research in the area will be time-consuming and difficult. There are only a few places that humans can settle in the Faroe Islands and, when the Vikings did settle there, they destroyed any structures that may have been present.Despite this, Jennings is confident that the settlers derived from the British Isles. "I personally would think that any pre-Viking settlers in the Faroes would have come from the Hebrides or Shetland rather than Norway," he said. "The civilisation in Shetland at the time was Pictish, and had boats.""There is also good evidence that they had sails: there is a model boat from Ireland that dates from about 100 BC that has a mast, which could be a model for Celtic boats more generally," Jennings said. "There is not so much evidence of sails in Norway until as late as 700 AD. It is therefore more likely that these early Faroese settlers came from the British Isles."This story originally appeared on ars technica Image: Stig Nygaard/Flickr/CC Latest on wired.co.uk

subset: commoncrawl


text:
No Interest if Paid in Full Within 18 Months1
on major appliance purchases totaling $599 and up. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the purchase balance is not paid in full within 18 months.
Suggested Payments of $XX per month2. Making 18 suggested payments would pay the purchase of $XXX by the end of the promotion.


text:
The Creatures From the Sandwich Shop
Behind the singing rodents in the Quiznos ad.
Also, believe it or not, there is some classic marketing strategy going on here. As others have pointed out, this spot—unlike shock-spots with, say, flatulent horses—actually centers on product attributes. We're told that Quiznos subs are tasty, crunchy, warm, and toasted. We're introduced to the concept of the pepper bar, which one imagines is a bar stocked with a menagerie of peppers. (Not really my thing, but still, a selling point of sorts.)
Last week, I wrote about spokes-humanoids and the value of creating a brand icon. The spongmonkeys clearly fit in the former category, but they may never grow into the latter. "We don't necessarily have those kinds of aspirations for the spongmonkeys," says Hall, completely deadpan. And that's OK. Not every spokes-being is built for the long haul. But I'll miss the spongmonkeys when they're gone.
Grade: A. You're either gonna give this one an A or an F, and I respect those of you who go with F. The spongmonkeys are no doubt divisive characters. But what can I say? I love the subs! They got a pepper bar!
Correction, Wednesday, March 3, 2004: This piece originally reported that Joel Veitch makes television shows for the BBC. In fact, he works with Britain's Channel 4. Return to the corrected sentence.


text:
Corn and Lentil Salad Recipe
- 1cuplentils, sorted,rinsed,and drained
- 2 1/2cupsvegetable broth
- 2cupsfrozen corn, thawed
- 1cup choppedcelery
- 1cup choppedparsley
- 3/4cup choppedred onions
- 1/4cupbalsamic vinegar
- 2tablespoonsolive oil
- 1tablespoonfresh marjoram
- 1teaspoon dried gratedorange zest
- salt and pepper
- In a medium pan, bring lentils and broth to a boil; reduce heat and simmer.
- Cover and cook 25- 30 minutes or until tender.
- Drain lentils and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add corn (thawed), celery, parsley, and onion.
- Allow to cool.
- In small bowl, whisk vinegar, oil, marjoram, and zest.
- Drizzle dressing over salad and toss lightly.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Posted in Recipes | No Comments »


text:
FLEFF has been intoxicated with the cinematic rigor, exquisite acting, and unrelenting realism of place and space of the Romanian New Wave--it epitomizes microtopia.
We're proud to announce we are screening Tuesday After Christmas by Romanian filmmaking legend Radu Muntean, thanks to FLEFF collaborative partners Kino Lorber International.
Two screenings ONLY:
Thursday, March 29 at 7:30 at Cinemapolis
Friday March 30 at 9:10 at Cinemapolis.
Admission charged.
Tuesday After Christmas screened at the Cannes Film Festival, then the New York Film Festival, and now the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival.
Tuesday After Christmas (Radu Muntean, Romania, 2011; 99 min.)
The Romanian New Wave of the past decade has yielded such internationally acclaimed gems as 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and 12:08 East of Bucharest. Add to them Tuesday, After Christmas, an elegant, emotionally resonant drama of a middle-class couple whose 10-year marriage is rocked by the husband's illicit affair with their daughter's sexy dentist. In many respects it's an oft-told tale: Paul must choose between the easy rapport and stability of his family life and the uncertainty and excitement of a relationship with a much younger woman. The fact that the two leads are actually a married couple adds to the verisimilitude.
The 15th Annual Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, exploring the theme of Microtopias, runs march 25-April 1, on the Ithaca College campus and downtown at Cinemapolis.
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text:
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Each robot comes equipped with a suite of sensors. For example, the Pioneer robots have sonar sensors, bumpers, and a camera. The Khepera robots have infrared sensors, light sensors, and a camera. The Pioneer's sonar sensors and the Khepera's IR sensors are both active range finders which can be used to sense distance to obstacles. Although these two robots have different kinds of sensors, Pyro unifies the way you will use them in your programs. In this section, we will first introduce Pyro range sensor abstractions, and then we will also present the basic sensors present on Kheperas and Pioneers and get you familiarized with these. We will also include the interfaces for vision sensing.
Let's start up Pyro in the Stage simulator with the tutorial world. You can do this, as you've seen earlier, by selecting a server, a world, and a robot through the GUI. It is also possible to configure this on the command line, as shown below:
pyrobot -s StageSimulator -w tutorial.cfg -r Player6665
First, let's see what devices are available on the robot. Press the "View" button next to the "Robot" section of the GUI. Notice that the robot has three types of devices: position, sonar, and simulation. Open up the sonar devices folder. A robot may have many sets of a particular type of device. In this case there is only one set of sonars, known as sonar[0].
Range Sensing
Whether a robot has sonars or IR sensors for range sensing, you can access range information from a robot by using the range abstraction. All robots have a predefined range attribute. Without knowing about the specific robot you intend to use, you can access range information by asking the robot to supply you the attributes of range sensors it has.
On a Pioneer-sytle robot, the range attribute is always associated with sonar[0]. To see that this is the case, first look at the title attribute in the "View" window. Then at the command line of the GUI, type:
You can see that robot.range is simply a reference to sonar[0].
The power of Pyro comes from these abstractions. You should always use the range abstraction rather than refering to sonar[0] directly. Why? Because if you refer to sonar[0]], then your program will only work on a robot with sonar-style range sensing. However, if you use the range abstraction, then your program can run on any robot with a range device. All range devices have a distance() method that returns the estimated distance measure to the nearest obstacle.
From the "View" window we can see that sonar[0] includes 16 sensors numbered 0 through 15. So we can read one of these sensors by typing the following at the command line:
which in this case returned 1.63157630574. Before we go any further, we should figure out how to interpret the value returned by this distance() method.
Sensor Units
In Pyro, each robot has a set of customizable sensor units. Each sensor has a setting called, units that specifies the units used in reporting sensor values. There are six choices of units:
By default, the robot's range values are set to ROBOTS. Therefore the value returned above indicates that there is an obstacle approximately 1.6 robot units away. This is another important abstraction. By using robot units, rather than specific measures such as meters, we can write one program that will work in a similar way on a tiny Khepera robot as well as the much larger Pioneer robot.
Note that if no obstacles are detected, the range sensor will return its maximum distance. This value varies from sensor to sensor and can be seen using robot.range.getMaxvalue() and reported in the current units.
You can change the units of the value(s) reported by using setting the units as shown below:
robot.range.units = 'SCALED' robot.range.getMaxvalue()
Next time we get a value from any of this range's sensors, it will be reported in SCALED units, i.e. it will be a value between -1.0 and 1.0. Let us try this out:
robot.range[3].distance() => 0.174168110034
You can also get the scaled value for just the current reading. First, we reset the default units to 'ROBOTS', and then dynamically get a reading in 'SCALED' units:
robot.range.units = 'ROBOTS' robot.range[3].distance() => 1.73560416834 robot.range[3].distance(unit = 'SCALED') => 0.172406364997
Try another example:
robot.range[3].distance(unit = 'CM') => 132.269729654
That is, the object is 132.3 centimeters away.
Using "list comprehension", you can also issue a query to the robot to obtain the values of all sensors as an array. This is done as follows:
[s.distance() for s in self.robot.range["all"]] ==> [0.44869176209701611, 0.60781655423635583, 1.0306817554080976, 1.6410707396430828, 1.6409799177705537, 3.356085956557429, 4.5856911255788146, 5.5352539385124544, 2.2594415826628422, 2.9820154908926448, 3.2250401855054704, 2.9169203443595531, 2.7410097599697201, 0.9660035806647439, 0.59385700232428629, 0.41781141653037679]
You will soon realize that this interface is very versatile and can be used to retrieve or change various other attributes of the robot.
Sensor Topology
While it is good to be able to access values of various range sensors, it is also essential to know the location of all the sensors on a robot's body. So, in addition to knowing that a Pioneer has 16 sensors, it would also be useful to know where they are located and how they are numbered. This is shown below for both the Pioneer and Khepera robots:
One could ask the robot to tell you where it hit something. For example, you could write robot.range[2].hit() which will return the (x,y,z) of the hit:
robot.range[3].hit # returns x, y, z
and the geometry of the originating ray of the sensor:
robot.range[3].geometry # returns x, y, z, theta in radians, arc width
Named Sensor Groups
For convenience in programming, each robot class also defines named sensor groups for all of the basic sensors available on the robot. The range sensors on the Khepera are IR sensors while they are sonar on the Pioneer. Given the direction in which a particular set of sensors is pointing, a logical sensor group provides access to the values reported by each group. The 15 groups and their names for any robot are shown in the table below.
all - all sensors front-all - all front sensors front - the very front, center sensors front-left - front sensors on the left front-right - front sensors on the right left - all sensors on the left (Pioneer has 2, Khepera has 1) left-front - on the left in the front left-back - on the left in the back right - all sensors on the right (Pioneer has 2, Khepera has 1) right-front - on the right in the front right-back - on the right in the back back-all - all of the back sensors back - the very back, center sensors back-left - back sensors, on the left back-right - back sensors, on the rightBy using these names (rather than specific sensor positions) you can write behaviors that can run on different kinds of robots. Combine these abstract names with the units set to "ROBOTS" and you can almost ignore the underlying hardware.
The diagram below shows the locations of these sensor groups on a robot body.
The specific sensors that make up a particular sensor group vary depending on the type of robot being used. This is shown below:
List comprehension can be used to retrieve sensor values from sensor groups. For example:
[s.distance() for s in robot.range["front"]]
You may want to perform some computation on the list of values returned. Using just Python, you can get the min or max of the values, or the average:
min([s.distance() for s in robot.range["front"]]) max([s.distance() for s in robot.range["front"]]) from pyrobot.brain import avg avg([s.distance() for s in robot.range["front"]])
Consider finding out the direction of the nearest obstacle around a robot. Pyro knows the angle of each sensor (often called theta, and abbreviated "th"), and you can retrieve that information using list comprehension:
[s.angle() for s in robot.range["all"]] [s.angle(unit="radians") for s in robot.range["all"]] # in radians
These commands will return the angles of the sensors in degrees and radians, respectively. But that doesn't tell you which direction has the smallest range reading. You can get that information with:
min([s.distance() for s in robot.range["all"]])
But that doesn't give you which sensor had that reading. You can get the position using the "pos" keyword, like so:
[s.pos for s in robot.range["all"]]
That just shows you the positions of each sensor associated with the keyword "all". You can get both the angle and the position:
[(s.angle(unit="radians"),s.pos) for s in robot.range["all"]]
You can then easily pullout the min or max:
min([(s.angle(unit="radians"),s.pos) for s in robot.range["all"]]) max([(s.angle(unit="radians"),s.pos) for s in robot.range["all"]])
The range attribute nicely generalizes the functionality of various robots that may use different sensing devices for range finding. However, it is also nice to be able to access the values of a robot's specific sensors since each type of sensor may be able to provide additional information. This tends to make things robot-specific, but sometimes that is necessary.
Regardless of the kind of robot, and hence the kind of sensor used, the way to access these values is quite uniform. The simplest command to get the value of a specific sensor is:
SENSOR_NUMBER could be a named sensor group, but could also be a specific sensor number ([0..15] for Pioneer). Thus, on a Khepera robot you can use the 'ir' SENSOR_TYPE to access the IR sensors directly, or you can use the 'light' SENSOR_TYPE to get the values of its light sensors. INDEX will be 0, unless you have more than one SENSOR_TYPE (for example, two sonar rangers). robot.range is the only device that you don't need to follow it with the INDEX. robot.range is a device object, whereas robot.sonar is a list of device objects (albeit typically just one of them).
SENSOR_NUMBER could also be a range (a "slice" in Pythonese) or comma-delimited set:
robot.range[1].distance() # a single distance value [s.distance() for s in robot.range[1:5]] # list of data for 1-4 [s.distance() for s in robot.range[3,4,6]] # list of data for 3, 4, and 6
Similarly, for a Pioneer, you can access the values of its sonars by using the SENSOR_TYPE 'sonar'. For example:
returns the range distance of the sonar sensor in position 4.
Where am I?
Another use of the robot object is to ask where it thinks that it is. When you get these data, you don't specify '.distance()' as that is the not the only option. So you could:
robot.x robot.y robot.th
These values are similar to the ones that we saw in the simulator, but they are only where the robot 'thinks' that it is, and what absolute direction it 'thinks' that it is facing. Because there is some play in the motors, gears and wheels, any time the robot moves, it must compute (based on some math, physics, and heuristics) where it thinks it is now. This is called dead reckoning and is used quite often in robotics.
min([s.distance() for s in robot.range["all"]])and
min([(s.distance(), s.angle()) for s in robot.range["all"]])Try them both and report the differences.
Bump Sensing
You can read the bump sensors (if a robot or simulation has them) with the following:
where the number can be a value from 0-4 (back only), with 0 back right, 2 is the back middle, and 4 is the back left. Currently Stage has not yet included bump sensing in its latest version.
[s.value for s in robot.bumper[0]["all"]] => [0,0,0,0,0] //if none are pressed [s.value for s in robot.bumper[0]["all"]] => [1,1,1,1,1] //if all are pressed.
Next: Pyro Devices Up: PyroModuleIntroduction
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text:
FARNE Archive Search :: Results
Title : Since aw hev been away
Format : song
Composer : Smith, J.K. ; Author : Marcke, J.L. ; Author : Ross, C.H.
Production details : publisher : J.W. ChaterClayton Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
Date : 1871
Collection name : Keelmin's comic annewal, for 1871, gi'es ye the best bits o' wit an' wisdim, be the clivvorest cheps aboot Tyneside; awl my'ed oot o' thor awn heeds and 'lustrayted wi' lots iv' curius an' clivvor comic cuts
Song about the recent changes to Newcastle. Between 1824 and 1860 Richard Grainger embarked on an extensive scheme of town planning, which involved the destruction or relocation of many of Newcastle's oldest districts. Despite providing the town with new markets, railway stations, houses and shops, not all the inhabitants of Newcastle were pleased with Grainger's changes and this is one of a number of songs which expresses concern at the loss of the 'old town'.
The song is taken from Chater's canny Newcassel diary, a collection of local facts, tales, songs and other ephemera. The book was published by local printer J.W. Chater and forms part of a series of similar annuals and almanacs published by the same printer. A large majority of the songs were written especially for the publication, many as competition pieces which were judged by Chater. The various annuals contain contributions from many well known local composers such as Joe Wilson and would have been popular in their day. The books are now held at Beamish Museum.
Collection description : Local almanac including selections of local songs.
Melody used : An' sae will we yit
Subject heading : urban growth
Keywords : construction & demolition
Period : 1861-1900
Height : 23 cm
Width : 18 cm
Held by : Beamish Museum
Copyright : Item reproduced by kind permission of Beamish Museum
t :: 0191 433 8430
f :: 0191 433 8424
e :: email@example.com
© Gateshead Council 2003


text:
Some people on Twitter are wondering: Wha' happen'? Well, since I've been writing about my ridiculous battle with the law since its inception, and it's rather long, here's the cheat sheet: (more…)
Some people on Twitter are wondering: Wha' happen'? Well, since I've been writing about my ridiculous battle with the law since its inception, and it's rather long, here's the cheat sheet: (more…)
Previously in this seemingly endless legal saga, which began over two years ago when I was arrested for videotaping a cop at a National Organization for Marriage (NOM) anti-gay marriage rally in Buffalo, NY, my lawyer Paul Fallon successfully stayed my jail sentence pending the outcome of our appeal.
"Hey, boss! I didn't get any toilet paper." The 2:30 – 3:30 lockdown is imminent. And so is potentially explosive mud-butt.
"Hold your horses," says the guard, bolting through Echo block. "I'll get you some."
"Thanks! The booklet says…" I trail off. He's gone. The booklet also says I should have a pillow. Nope.
"Lockdown!" he shouts. That's our cue to gtfo of the common area–a little hallway between a long set of bars and our individual cells. The block's split in half, with 10 or 12 cells on each side. There's only 3 other dudes in my half. I welcome the solitude. The two older dudes are chill, but the younger dude thinks he's hard, or maybe he is hard. He keeps looking me up and down, wearing an indiscernible expression between "let's fuck" and "let's fight." Maybe it's both. Maybe I'm just hyper-aware of my asshole because I've been damning a river of shit for hours. He's just trying to size me up, in all likelihood. I cut my own hair last night. Hopefully, it gives off that dangerous-mental-patient vibe I was going for. And Judge Joe Brown does the rest. (more…)
"Bang on that window again, motherfucker, and see what the fuck happens!" the bald cop barks at me.
"But–but," I turn to my new cellmates, incredulous. "you–he just let me in here to piss! My bail's been paid!"
"Watch them process you all over again," one guy jokes–says. "They don't give a shit."
Fear washes over me. I was locked in this room six hours ago–the first in a series of seemingly arbitrary cages the pigs herd you through at the Erie County Holding Center. I'd been bussed here with eleven other dudes from the courthouse across the street, handcuffed to a black kid who looked like he was about fourteen. But I can never tell how old black people are. Or how tall they are. I find professional basketball incredibly confusing. (more…)
We bump into four of the six jurors in the lobby of the courthouse. "So why'd you do it?" asks Fallon.
"We just couldn't get over how that one guy was 'disgusted,'" says the young UB cog sci major.Âą They never considered the NOM rally a "religious service." They didn't believe Donna Donovan. They didn't believe Roland Cercone. They didn't believe the Mount Olive security guard. And they didn't believe Swanson. But they did believe Josh Bunting.
"But you don't know what that guy thought!" Fallon marbled. "Maybe he liked it — he wasn't here!"
They shrug.
"You know," I say. "They originally charged me with filming the police — and they changed it, three months later, to obscenity after they found the dildo-phone pic online."
They shrug.
"And they erased my camera."
A glimmer of understanding comes over the foreman — a Born Again Skeletor look-a-like — and then he says, "So, you work at CFI, huh? I work near there." He scowls. Or smiles. There's literally no way to know.
1:00 PM — Fallon and I are sitting on a bench in downtown Buffalo. It's an incestuous ghost town. There's not many people on the streets, but they all seem to know each other. Most of them are wearing some bureaucratic lanyard or another. They're all stakeholders in this repugnant perversion of justice. I eat a hot dog. (more…)
"May I remind you, Mr. Fallon, that your client is entitled to a speedy trial."
-Judge Susan M. Eagan
"A 'speedy trial' means he was supposed to be entitled to a trial soon after being falsely accused! It doesn't mean we should rush through this thing like it's a goddamn Chinese McDonald's!"
-Attorney Paul Fallon
Susan Eagan is a political appointee who breezed into incumbency. She knows who she works for. And she doesn't know much else. She's the former president of a Christian homeschooling association, for example. Before the jury comes out, she brings the lawyers back to her chambers to scold Fallon for rolling his eyes at her. That was his highly disciplined response to being told not to question witnesses so thoroughly. (more…)
PREFACE:Â The following was written after midnight on Wednesday May 23, but I failed to post it…it gets a little crazy and spiteful, as you'll see. Then I fell a few days behind in reporting the latest news because of family obligations. While I already know the ultimate outcome, I'm going to post this, and the final two installments of "Murphy's Law" in chronological order. Due to no one giving a shit (thanks for coming to support me in court, assholes), I have a monopoly on this news, so deal with it. And if you do know the verdict, as a few of you out there do, I'd please ask you to refrain from mentioning it on social media or in the comments. Sorry, but I want people to read these essays, you know? Thanks.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012, THE YEAR OF OUR LORD — So Judge Eagan says that if I'm sworn in over a can of spaghetti I'll go to jail for contempt of court. Only real fake religions are allowed. That's the bad news. The good news is that…there's no good news. (more…)
"The straw that broke the camel's back was that he called us 'assholes.'"
-Arresting officer Donna Donovan
"Is that illegal?"
-My lawyer, Paul Fallon
-Donovan (more…)
Jury selection is like playing poker for your freedom. And before I get into all that, I should say hello to the jurors. Hello! The judge explicitly told you not to visit The BEAST, so I presume that's exactly what most of you are going to do. It's kind of like that time my buddy told me never to Google "Goatse". I also do not recommend that. But you're probably curious about that now, too, so…I told you! Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I'm going to pretend like you fine, and very reasonable, people are not reading this. Otherwise, I'm going to keep talking about how I live with and care for my disabled mother. It's true. I'm a good person. I prepare all her meals, do all the household chores, and have generally sacrificed my well-being for hers. No shit. I also used to roam the streets of Buffalo at night handing out sandwiches to homeless people. Sometimes I even let them crash at my place. And let's not forget that time I saved a kitten from certain death. I'll stop now. Sorry. See how polite I am! Seriously, though, I'm done…but, by the way, you looked amazing today! Have you been working out? It shows!


text:
Posts Tagged 'google'
V8 improvements on ARM
We don't often comment on articles written by staff members at our favourite technology company, but its latest article piqued our interest. It explains the relevance of the Open Source V8 Codec and how the contributions made by ARM and many other companies and individuals have led to significant improvements in performance.
We know that ARM processors are improving at a phenomenal pace, but what we often forget is the impact of the software they run. The article highlights how the latest V8 codec is many times faster than the version available just 12 months ago. Using the same hardware platform, the benchmarks highlight an improvement of up to 500% – impressive. The jump from a single-core Cortex-A8 to a dual-core Cortex-A9 is an approximate 2x gain in performance. Any software gain in software will seem like even more.
The author points out that the current V8 Codec will not be available in products until sometime in H2 2011, and goes on to tease us with even more optimisations in the pipeline for the upcoming Cortex-A15 super-processor. Well worth a read.
Motorola Xoom tablet looks impressive
We knew Motorola would be demonstrating their first ever tablet at the CES show, and it seems that they are onto a sure-fire winner. The Xoom is the first tablet to support Android 3.0, and the it's clear to see that the Operating System has been radically changed for the high specification devices such as tablets.
The video below shows a Motorola representative show casing the Xoom and all the changes and improvements to Android. It really looks like a very impresive tablet, and because it is powered by the Nvidia Tegra 250 processor we know it has all the power you require to handle games, videos and all other internet related tasks.
When asked about the launch date, the rep confirmed sometime within Q1 2011, which means it will potentially going head-to-head with the iPad 2. We must admit to being rather impressed with the Android 3.0. It looks very stylish and we would go so far to say that it makes Apples iOS look dated. Watch the video and enjoy.
Notion Ink news
The Adam tablet by Notion Ink has managed to get a lot of people excited since it was revealed almost 12 months ago. Whether it was the because of the choice of the powerful Tegra 250 processor or the inclusion of the Pixel Qi screen technology or simply because it's a beautiful looking Android tablet with loads of inputs and outputs it's hard to say. The latest official blog update from Notion Ink reveals the price range for the four variants of Adam they intend to sell; LCD or Pixel Qi with either Wi-Fi or 3G. $399 to $498 USD seems to be the price point they hope to meet,but as always allow some room for movement up or down.
In addition, they also reveal that they hope to get the tablet certified for use in the US in October/November, and provide some tantalising snippets of information about a much improved User Interface they have created for the Adam. And SlashGear web site published their second part of the Notion Ink interview with loads more exciting information; Support from a leading game developers and even information on the third generation Tegra processor.
For a relatively unknown company to receive so much "Adam-specific" software support suggest to us that a very large and well known company is helping Notion Ink become the first serious iPad rival. You like us, think it's Google. Let's hope we're right because the Adam tablet sounds very impressive and we really hope it sells in high volume when it's released. Could it be the very first dual-core Cortex-A9 device on the market?
Important days ahead for ARM
This week could herald some new snippets of information relating to the future of ARM processors and we thought you might be interested. The first big piece of news is Google hosting their largest developer event of the year (May 19 – May 20) where it is expected by many to see the release of Android 2.2.
As the Operating System is integral to ARM's plans to expand beyond the smartphone market, we are hoping for some big announcements coming from the 2 day event. Some rumours suggest that the final version of Flash 10.1 comes as standard with Android 2.2 which would be a very welcome piece of news to all ARM fans who have been waiting many months to finally use Flash on the move.
The second piece of news coming from the Android camp is a significant speed increase that the new version provides. A massive 450% improvement in running application code is due to Google implementing a JIT compiler into Android.
It is also hoped that more information on the forthcoming Chromium OS will be made available. Google announced the OS to the world last July and since then very little has been seen or heard of it. With major companies such as Acer and HP getting ready to launch netbooks/tablet using Chromium in the second half of this year we expect more information soon. Although with Computex just round the corner perhaps we just need to be more patient.
Google, Intel and Sony is supposedly in partnership with developing the next generation of Internet enabled TVs. Very little (if any) hard facts about this development is known, so we hope to find out a little bit more this week. We hope that ARM technology will be involved, but we're not holding our breath on this one.
Investor Events
Both Nvidia and ARM Holdings are hosting their own Analyst days this week on Wednesday 19th May 2010. We hope that analysts in attendance will ask some important questions so that we mere mortals can try and make sense of the mobile phone and consumer electronics space.
Luckily for us, both companies provide webcasts so we can get the information directly.
|19 May, 10:00 am (BST)
|3 hours
|19 May, 9:00am (PT)
|2 hours
We'll be sure to keep you updated if anything significant is announced.
Google gets ARM'd and Dangerous
Please excuse our title for this article – we are sure it has been used many times before when describing an important ARM announcement. This time the announcement comes from Google's regarding their Native Client technology (NaCl), For those of you who are unaware of what it is and the potential importance of it, let us explain.
Today, Google confirmed that their NaCl software now supports ARM processors as well as 32-bit and 64-bit x86. This now means that ARM binary files can be downloaded via the web, and can successfully run on ARM devices regardless of the underlying OS; assuming the native client software is running in the background.
Google also produced a white paper which provides a lot of very interesting information such as benchmarks between x86 and ARM. Because the NaCl software must check each instruction to ensure it is safe to execute along with numerous other complex tasks, this adds a level of complexity and overhead which reduces the speed at which the binary files can be executed.
Google compared several basic linux applications on both x86 and ARM and clearly ARM Native Client binary files had a much lower overhead. An ARM Cortex-A9 had a maximum overhead of 4.2%, where as an Intel Core 2 was 20.0%. Very impressive.
Although Google Native Client technology is still not ready for prime time use, there is little doubt that it will play a part in Google's new Chromium Operating System. Because Chromium is simply a browser, it makes sense that a method of running binaries is available to run complex applications such as Video Editing. The fact that ARM can run NaCl binaries closer to the speed of an unmodified executable means fast and more responsive apps than their x86 counterparts.
Rumours are currently circulating that Google, Intel and Sony are working together to create a new TV platform that aims to provide Internet, Video, Music and of course TV. With the launch of the Chromium OS later this year, this does not come as a great surprise to us, as we always thought that Chromium was an ideal OS to use in Digital TVs and STBs.
The ARM architecture is ideal to the next generation of TVs, but Intel is desperate to move into new markets so it's no surprise to see Intel being mentioned. We'll keep an eye on this rumour and see if more information comes to light over the next week or two. We assume that ARM in conjunction with the Chromium OS will play a significant part in this.
Final thoughts on MWC 2010
The Mobile World Congress has been and gone and proved to be a most interesting show for lovers of ARM technology. The show is not as well known or publicised as the Consumer Electronics Show but it continues to the be the number 1 show for the mobile world, where ARM is lord of the manor.
Many new hardware and software products were on display and several companies made important announcements that affect the ARM ecosystem. We have put together a short summary of our highlights from the show.
Windows Phone 7 Series – Steve Ballmer made the long trip to Barcelona where he hoped to make up for the rather poor press conference at CES last month. This time Steve and his company Microsoft hit the bullseye with the clever demonstration of their new mobile phone Operating System. Designed as a direct replacement to their current lacklustre version 6.5, it shows great features and a well thought out interface for both enterprise and consumer markets. Phones with the OS are not expected to be available until the end of the year which is a very long time in the rapidly changing mobile phone market. Currently, it only runs on the Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm which is a clear signal that Microsoft considers the processor a potential winner in the mobile phone CPU market.
Snapdragon processor – The ARM based processor from Qualcomm looks like it is ready to dominate the mobile phone market. Almost every major manufacturer was showing phones based on a Snapdragon processor, which came as a surprise as it is not known to be the fastest ARM SOC in the market. We assume that because Qualcomm has integrated its own highly acclaimed 3G mobile broadband technology, it is making it a very attractive proposition for handset manufacturers. The 1 GHz Cortex-A8 snapdragon is however to be replaced with a 1.5 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 version later this year. With a raft of manufacturers adopting the Snapdragon and Microsoft choosing to base their newest Windows Phone 7 Series OS using the Snapdragon chipset it looks like Qualcomm is in pole position.
Marvell – This is a company that we have ignored for far too long. They have an architectural license that grants them with an exclusive right to modify ARM designs such as re-using the old FPA coprocessor opcodes for their own iwMMXt FP unit in their sheeva class cores. This company has invested a great deal of resources into developing a new class of ARM cores that look ready to compete in the ferociously competitive ARM SOC market. They seem to have some very impressive technology at their disposal, but it remains to be seen if they can win designs from the incumbent Qualcomm.
Software support – Flash and Air are two leading pieces of software that is currently only available for computers. However, Adobe, Nvidia and ARM who are all members of the Open Handset alliance are working hard to rectify this situation. This isn't simply a matter of dedicating resource to port the software to ARM, this is a strategic change by huge billion dollar corporations. They now believe that investing huge sums of money into the ARM architecture is the right thing to do. This is not a decision that it made lightly. We believe that ARM could be on the threshold of wide spread software support from other major companies such as Corel and game companies such as Epic who showcased their Unreal Tournament 3 running on a Tegra 250 (on Windows CE).
Android – The Operating System continues to gather momentum in the mobile space with many more handsets now adopting the OS. Although the OS has been ported to run on x86 and MIPS, the native SDK is for ARM and remains the CPU of choice. Google continues to commit major resources to Android and almost each month a new iteration of Android becomes available for download. We know that Google has high hopes for its Chromium OS, but it looks like Android could well dominate the handset and netbook market in the coming years. Many different companies continue to demonstrate Android on a variety of device form factors and we don't see anything on the horizon that will change this.
Multi-core ARMs – 2010 is undoubtedly the year of dual-core ARMs; everywhere you looked there were devices taking advantage of the Cortex-A9 processor. The Tegra 250 from Nvidia is a 1 GHz dual-core processor speed demon. Texas Instruments had their new OMAP 4xxx platform on display that uses a 1.5 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 which has enough power to drive three independent displays which looked very impressive. NEC Electronics announced they had developed a quad-core processor and Snapdragon is going dual-core later this year. And of course we cannot forget the dual-core ST-Ericsson U8500 platform and Marvell's dual-core and multi-core processors too. With the hardware almost in place, it just remains to ensure that Operating Systems such as Android are written to take advantage of multi-core designs. A dual-core Cortex-A9 is approximately 4x faster than a similarly clocked single-core Cortex-A8. We can expect to see some amazing hardware launches this year.
It was an amazing show that seemed to demonstrate the speed at which the mobile market is changing. Undoubtedly there is going to be some losers in the market, but with the growth in the smartphone market set to continue at least throughout 2010, there some serious financial rewards for the winners. The ARM phrase 'Internet Everywhere' looks like its going to be more than a buzz word – it's going to be reality. And right now, only ARM has the technology to make this happen. Intel continues to beat its chest talking about the merits of their Atom chip, but looks like it could be another 24 months before they have a processor that can seriously compete with anything ARM have at the moment. And of course, ARM technology continues to improve at a tremendous rate. Fun times are ahead.
Predictions for 2010
It has been an amazing twelve months for ARM, with so many new and exciting products containing their technology. But instead of looking back over the year, we want to look forward and highlight some of our predictions for 2010. Although we don't expect all our predictions to materialise, we certainly believe we could get a respectable 50%. So in no particular order let us have a look in to our crystal ball.
AMD to obtain ARM license
AMD announced this year that they intend to enter the mobile CPU market with their own version of their Atom – codenamed Bobcat. This is an x86 processor dedicated to winning share of the netbook market from Intel. We do not doubt that AMD are capable of producing an impressive low power x86 processor, but we believe that AMD will also license an ARM core and use it for same target market.
They may be able to include the ARM core inside their Bobcat processor, but is more likely to be two separate processors. Nvidia are staking their future on their ARM based Tegra, while Intel is basing theirs on the Atom. It makes sense for AMD to obtain an ARM license so they can ride the Tsunami wave of ARM products in 2010. After all, the ARM market is considerably larger than the netbook market. Why spend a great deal of development on a possibly shrinking x86 netbook market?
Google Chromium OS to help ARM in new markets
When Google announced their new desktop Operating System, the world stopped and took notice. When Google demonstrated their Chromium OS in November, most people including us were rather deflated to see the OS was no more than a web browser. Since then, we've had time to reflect and visualise the benefits and use for such an Operating System, and firmly believe that when it is introduced at the end of 2010, will help ARM move into new markets.
Contrary to what everyone believes, Chromium OS will not just be found in netbooks. An OS that is secure, self-updating, with an up-to-date browser that can handle Flash, sounds like it would be an ideal OS for digital TVs and STBs. We believe that during 2010, several TV manufacturers such as Samsung, LG and Toshiba will use Chromium OS as the basis of their new range of TVs.
MIPS to lose market share to ARM
This prediction follows closely on from the adoption of Chromium OS for Digital TVs and STBs. MIPS is the dominant supplier of processors in these markets, but with ARM technology being supported by many of today's largest software companies, such as Adobe, Google, Microsoft and Apple, we believe that ARM will inevitably take market share away from MIPS in their core market.
STMicroElectronics, one of the world's leading STB manufacturers has already switched from MIPS to ARM for their future range of consumer products. This is a huge win for ARM, and is a clear signal that ARM is well on its way to become the dominant player in this multi-billion dollar market.
Dual Core 2Ghz product launched
On the 16 September 2009, ARM announced the availability of two new super ARM processors capable of being clocked beyond 2Ghz. Using all their knowledge gained in the past two decades, they created a high performance chip that still uses a fraction of the power of comparable chips.
What makes this dual-core processor so special is its ability to mix the processor cores, the speed-optimised core can be used (say when plugged in to the main power supply), and the power-optimised core can be used when on-the-move. We believe that a company will launch a product that uses the dual-core 2Ghz ARM chip, where each core will be used depending on the user requirements. Performance or power saving. Something that Intel simply cannot do.
Delivery of the silicon is in Q4 2009, so it is quite feasible that a product will be in the shops by Q3 2010. ARM is stating that it can deliver 5x the performance of an Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6Ghz, while still within the same power envelope. Impressive.
ARM to buy Wolfson MicroElectronics
Wolfson MicroElectronics is a British company dedicated to providing world-class audio processors using with incredibly low power usage. The technology is found in high profile products such as the iPhone, and produces solid revenues each quarter. The company's strategy of providing the best performance at the lowest power fits in well with ARM's. They also have a fabless business model and is a global player in the semiconductor market.
We believe that the company currently valued at approximately £150 Million is an attractive acquisition target. A sound processor would complement ARM's CPU and GPU range of licensable technology. Wolfson's Q4 results are expected at the end January, and the current share price is 128.75p.
ARM to join FTSE 100
We've said this before, but it's worth saying again, we believe that ARM will gain entry to the FTSE 100 during 2010. The company is currently valued at £2.213 Billion, and is ranked as the 95th most valuable company in the UK stock market. However, for a company to gain entry to the FTSE 100 one of the following criteria must be met:
1) Any company rising to position 90 or above, gains automatic entry
2) Any current FTSE 100 company falling to position 111 or below will be relegated, and the highest ranked non-FTSE 100 company promoted
The FTSE quarterly review dates in 2010 are:
1) 10th March
2) 9th June
3) 8th September
4) 8th December
ARM has an amazing future ahead of it, and we believe that the share price will reflect this.
Well, that it folks, some of our hot predictions for 2010. It will be interesting to see how many we get right, as we have tried our best to think about things logically and strategically, rather than the usual Apple tablet, Google phone and 'faster chips' predictions.
It is important to note that the author of this article owns shares in ARM Holdings Ltd, and is not responsible for any movement in ARM's share price. Prices can go down as well as up.


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Next month, Colorado voters will decide whether to impose a 15 percent excise tax and a 10 percent sales tax on retail sales that start Jan. 1. The first $40 million in collected revenue would go to school construction needs. But after that, 15 percent of the revenue would go to counties that approved retail sales.
The Grand Junction Sentinel reports ( http://goo.gl/KsW2CQ) Friday that Colorado Counties Inc., the lobbying organization for counties, wants state lawmakers to consider also distributing the revenue to counties that don't permit marijuana sales.
Colorado Counties argues the impacts of pot sales will be felt statewide, regardless of where pot is sold.
Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com


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The BamaBikes Program is a Student Affairs initiative designed to provide a low-cost bicycle rental system for The University of Alabama. The program was developed to help students move around campus in a quick, safe, and sustainable fashion. Modeled after similar initiatives at Colorado State and Duke University, BamaBikes draws upon the best features of bicycle rental systems from across the country to bring you an effective and efficient means of public transportation.
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