text:
Resistance State: California in the Age of Trump
Protestors wearing dolphin, shark and polar bear costumes joined the throngs who descended on Sacramento Thursday to speak out against the Trump administration's proposal to expand oil drilling in federal waters off the California coast.
After a rally outside the state Capitol they marched to a library a few blocks away where the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hosted the sole public meeting on the proposal in California. The agency is holding one meeting in each coastal state.
The format frustrated some attendees. Instead of the typical government hearing where long lines of people wait to comment at a microphone, visitors were directed to mill about a large room where federal employees were stationed at about a dozen tables. They explained different aspects of the national offshore drilling program—how leases are approved, how much money it brings to the U.S. economy, how the government responds to and tries to prevent oil spills—and answered questions from the public. A table with computers and comment cards was available for visitors to formally submit comments to the government.
But environmentalists—many wearing blue shirts saying "Californians against offshore drilling"—had traveled from around the state to attend the meeting and craved an opportunity to sound off.
"That one table? For hundreds of people?" Sharolyn Hutton of Eureka said, looking at the computer table set up for public comment.
At one point a few protestors began shouting in the middle of the room, "This is ridiculous! This is shameful!"
John Romero, spokesman for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said the format was meant to provide more meaningful dialogue between the public and the government.
A representative from the Western States Petroleum Association stopped by the meeting. He noted that Californians use almost 2 million barrels of oil each day. "We want to make sure folks understand our enormous energy consumption here," said Bob Poole, the associations director of production.
The oil association president, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, issued a statement saying that the exploration of potential drilling sites in federal water "is the first step in helping California increase our energy security through potentially increasing our domestic energy production. Currently, we import over 1 million barrels of oil in super tankers from overseas locations each and every day."
California's elected officials have already made clear that they oppose more drilling off the coast and will try to block it by making it difficult to transport oil through state waters, which extend three miles off the coast. With bipartisan support the Assembly passed a resolution Thursday criticizing the Trump Administration plan and the State Lands Commission, which oversees oil drilling in state waters, sent the federal government a letter this week saying it is "vehemently opposed" to more oil and gas drilling in the Pacific ocean.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
California is once again defending the Affordable Care Act, leading a coalition of Democratic states against a small army of Republican lawmakers seeking to undo the Obama administration's signature healthcare law.
This morning, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and 16 other attorneys general appealed last month's ruling by a federal judge in Texas that declared the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, unconstitutional.
"I've seen how the ACA has transformed lives and I've seen it up close," Becerra said in a phone call with the press this morning. "That is why so many of us are committed to defending the ACA."
Many legal experts, both liberal and conservative, have predicted that the Texas ruling will be overturned by a higher court. Last month, Judge Reed O'Connor of Fort Worth ruled on a lawsuit filed against the federal government by top law enforcement officers and other elected leaders of 20 states, including Texas and Florida. That legal coalition of red states argued that the individual mandate, which requires people to either buy insurance or pay a fee, was unconstitutional. The Texas judge agreed—and argued that the healthcare law should be nixed in its entirety.
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court gave the green light to the mandate, arguing that Congress had the right to penalize the uninsured through its power to impose taxes. When Congress eliminated that fee as part of its sweeping change to the federal tax code last year, Republican lawmakers argued that the mandate could no longer be upheld as a tax.
Though the federal Justice Department disagreed that the entire law should be struck down, it declined to defend either the individual mandate or the requirement that insurance providers offer coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Last month, Becerra and this same blue coalition of lawmakers requested that the Texas court's decision be suspended while the legal challenge makes its way through the court system. That process takes another step today as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals must now decide whether to take up the challenge.
"We are going to take it wherever we need to take it," said Becerra.
Since passage of the Affordable Care Act eight years ago, some 5 million more Californians get coverage through expanded Medi-Cal, private plans under the state's Covered California exchange, and the ability of young people under age 26 to stay under their parents' insurance. That represents a quarter of all Americans covered under the law. In addition, about an eighth of the state's budget is derived from the $25 billion the federal government provides to subsidize Affordable Healthcare Act plans and the expansion of Medi-Cal.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is labeling as unconstitutional the Trump administration's proposed rule that would block some legal immigrants from getting a green card if they've used—or may use in the future—public services like health care, food assistance and housing programs.
Just hours before a midnight Monday deadline for comment, Becerra submitted a 51-page denouncement of the "public charge" rule, warning it would have "dire consequences for the vitality of California and undermine our State's investment in our communities and our commitment to supporting working families."
Since the proposal's release, he has promised to take "any and all legal action to challenge this reckless proposal." Becerra already has sued the Trump administration 42 times, with nine of those cases contesting President Trump's immigration moves.
Becerra's latest comment contends that the Trump administration has "utterly failed to account for the potential impact the Proposed Rule has on states and their residents, especially in California. The Rule will have truly damaging and irreparable ramifications to our State's families, employers, economy, and public agencies for years to come." It says the proposal unconstitutionally
targets immigrant communities of color and interferes with California's administration of programs that benefit the health and safety of its residents.
The controversial proposal is viewed as another step in the Trump administration's efforts to reduce migration from developing countries and make it more difficult for poorer immigrants to stay and potentially pursue a path to U.S. Citizenship. More than 115,000 comments have been filed nationwide in anticipation of the federal government issuing a final determination.
Historically the federal government has subjected certain immigrants applying for legal permanent residency, otherwise known as green cards, to a test to determine if they have ever been or would ever need to be supported by taxpayers. This "public charge" assessment is done at two points in the process—when people from abroad apply to enter the U.S., and when they apply to become a legal permanent resident. It has long focused on judging a person's need for cash aid programs.
The new proposal would expand the list to include receiving food stamps, Medicaid (in California, Medi-Cal) health care and Section 8 housing assistance. It could affect immigrants here on worker visas who then apply for a green card, and those who apply for one after marrying U.S. citizens.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency, said it is making the change to better define guidance on how to determine if a person "applying for a visa, admission or adjustment of status is likely at any time to become a public charge."
"Since the 1800s, federal laws have required foreign nationals to be able to care for themselves without being a public charge," the agency's director, Francis Cissna, said in a statement. "As such, it is incumbent upon the U.S. government to evaluate applications in a manner consistent with federal law, and I believe the public charge regulation is a necessary step to achieving that goal."
The Trump administration estimates about 380,000 applicants nationwide may face additional scrutiny under the new rule.
But California forecasts a larger chilling effect because of the fear a rule change is likely to instill among the nearly 30 percent of the state's population who are immigrants. Becerra's letter said there are about 5 million Californians living in mixed-immigration status households, with at least one family member who is undocumented, and nearly 3 million children, most of them citizens, with immigrant parents receive public benefits.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research estimates that as many as 300,000 eligible people could cancel their enrollment in CAL Fresh, the state's food stamp program, equaling up to $488 million dollars in annual benefits. For Medi-Cal, the center estimates a decline of up to 741,000 eligible people, accounting for more than $1 billion in funding for the health care coverage. The center's research concludes the state could lose up to$1.67 billion in benefits, $2.8 billion from the economy and lose 17,700 jobs including in the health care, agriculture and other food related industries.
"The programs lift hundreds of thousands of Californians out of poverty," said Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA center. "There is a lot of confusion and fear and so children and families, parents, individuals who are wholly eligible and who have already adjusted to legal permanent status may be confused—and may think that this may threaten their continued pathway to citizenship, and so may dis-enroll."
Supporters, however, argue the country should reserve benefits for citizens, especially those who are homeless or jobless and need support.
"When you look at what a poor job we are doing with our most vulnerable people (citizens), our inability to provide meaningful work, living wages, what sense does it make to bring in someone who is indigent or very marginal and could be a burden to the taxpayer," said Kevin Lynn, executive director of Progressives for Immigration Reform, a group that supports limited immigration.
Becerra pointed out that most of the families using the supplemental services are working and need the assistance to make ends meet—especially low-wage workers in health care, agriculture and childcare. "Discouraging eligible immigrants from accessing Medi-Cal, (food stamps) and housing benefits, will ultimately transfer costs to state and local governments and community organizations, as those families rely on emergency services and public safety net programs, such as local shelters, homeless services and food pantries," said Becerra, who also predicted a major impact on California's agricultural and construction industries should immigrants choose to leave the state.
An analysis of the change by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, found that the new rule would shift immigration from Latin America to Europe. Researchers applied the new test to immigrants who have become legal permanent residents within the last five years and found that nearly 70 percent had at least one negative factor.
Currently immigration officers assess the public charge rule by considering a person's age, health, family status, assets and resources and education and skills. New factors could also include if someone is a child or a senior, those with limited English proficiency, limited education and medical conditions.
The only positive factor for avoiding being classified as a public charge: if someone has financial assets or earns at or above 250 percent of the federal poverty level. That's about $63,000 for a family of four.
Advocates say the new rules would favor wealthier immigrants, who tend to be white, and disproportionately harm women, children and the elderly. They report that legal immigrants are asking questions about how this rule will impact them and many are backing away from programs they qualify for, or that benefit their children.
"The majority of people who receive these benefits are working, so it's really an unprecedented departure of our understanding of public charge to say that a person who is working but now is receiving supplemental assistance would be considered a public charge," said Gabrielle Lessard, senior policy attorney for the National Immigration Law Center. "It's narrowing who is able to fit through."
Health providers, especially those in low-income immigrant areas, are already seeing the fallout from the proposal. People are afraid and asking to be disenrolled from programs or are refusing to sign-up even if they qualify.
"This is a vulnerable population and we are concerned about it because these residents are here legally and may be in need of health care, and we should be helping to keep them safe and well," said Erik Wexler, chief executive of Southern California's Providence St. Joseph Health, a health care provider that serves a predominantly lower-income Medi-Cal population.
Eisner Health, which provides health care to low-income residents in Los Angeles, said in its submitted public comment: "The effect of this rule could drive entire families away from enrolling in programs that help them stay healthy."
Among Eisner's patients is Cruz Cubias Castillo, who lives in South Los Angeles. She recently told an outreach worker there that she did not want to apply for CALFresh benefits after all. The 77-year-old green card holder wishes she could accept the benefit since she lives with her son and has no income except the few bucks she earns collecting cans and bottles to recycle. But she is afraid.
"I am embarrassed to not have any of my own food and I have to get from my son and his family," she said. "It really pains me—he has his family and has a daughter in a wheelchair. He is the only one that works."
Castillo has been in the United States for 17 years, and has held a green card since 2010. She worries that the government might come after her or her son later for whatever benefit she might receive, or that they might take away her green card if she accepts the food stamps. So she's going to go without.
She is, however, taking her chances on one program: Castillo is staying on Medi-Cal and says she can't quit because she suffers from diabetes.
In Los Angeles County more than 1 million immigrants receive CAL Fresh, cash aid through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medi-Cal, and Section 8 benefits. If a quarter of those families drop their benefits, the county estimates that the local economy would lose more than $60 million.
"Our government should never be in the business of punishing people who may need a little help making sure their kids are safe, fed, and have a roof over their heads," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in his submitted comment. "Creating fear and targeting legal immigrants who follow the rules does nothing to increase our security or strengthen our economy—it is nothing less than a public disgrace."
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
With a quarter-million Californians evacuated from their homes and wildfires so far claiming nine lives, President Donald Trump today took to Twitter and inflamed tensions—blaming California for causing the fires by mismanaging its forests and threatening to cut off federal funds.
Although he approved the state's request for a state-of-emergency declaration—freeing up funds to help the massive firefighting effort and recovery—the president couldn't miss the opportunity to aim a derisive shot at the nation's largest "Resistance State."
Donald J. Trump on Twitter
There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!
But Trump's shot was a bit off the mark: The deadly Camp Fire is burning in parts of the Plumas National Forest. To the extent that there is mismanagement, as Trump suggests, it could be said to be the responsibility of the federal government, which oversees the lion's share of the timberland covering the state. California owns and manages only about 2 percent of the forested acres in its boundaries.
And the Southern California blazes, the Woolsey and Hill fires, are raging in canyons and suburban subdivisions west of Los Angeles. The fires are racing toward beaches in Malibu, nowhere near a forest, federal or otherwise.
The president's response unleashed a flood of retorts from critics including Katy Perry, John Legend, members of Congress and everyday Californians, many of whom noted that California faces persistent drought and increasing wildfires as a consequence of climate change, which the Trump administration has largely dismissed.
The state's governor-elect, Democrat Gavin Newsom, offered this:
Gavin Newsom on Twitter
Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up.
While criticism abounds regarding appropriate forest thinning, controlled burns and other fire-management approaches, there are no simple solutions to the complicated management of forests.
A state commission recently reported on what it described as the neglect of the state's forests, but apportioned blame to a broad swath of agencies.
"The president's assertion that California's forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong," Brian Rice, head of the 30,000-member California Professional Firefighters said in a statement. He added "nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another two-thirds under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California.
"Natural disasters are not "red" or "blue"—they destroy regardless of party. Right now, families are in mourning, thousands have lost homes, and a quarter-million Americans have been forced to flee. At this desperate time, we would encourage the president to offer support in word and deed, instead of recrimination and blame."
President Trump has made comments about withholding federal funding from California whenever state events aroused his irritation, including when protests on the UC Berkeley campus kept right-wing speakers from being heard and when California moved to become a "sanctuary state" for undocumented immigrants. But he never followed through on those threats.
And California officials are fond of pointing out that California send more money to the federal government in taxes than it received back from Washington in federal funds.
Update: For all the blowback, the president later tweeted that he was issuing a "major disaster declaration" for California, which authorizes federal relief for these fires—adding "God Bless all of the victims and families affected."
Donald J. Trump on Twitter
I just approved an expedited request for a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of California. Wanted to respond quickly in order to alleviate some of the incredible suffering going on. I am with you all the way. God Bless all of the victims and families affected.
For a deeper look at the issues at stake, explore our wildfire tracker.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
California notched another legal victory Thursday in its bid to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation, as a federal appeals court agreed with the state's attorney general and the University of California that the Trump administration cannot dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is the first federal appeals court to rule on the fate of the Obama-era program, which provides two-year permits for some 800,000 Dreamers, allowing them to work and study in the country.
About one in four Dreamers live in California, according to Attorney General Xavier Becerra. He called Thursday's ruling "a tremendous victory for everyone who is a believer in the American dream."
The ruling upholds an injunction filed by a federal district court in January preventing Trump from ending DACA. Justice Department lawyers had argued that President Obama illegally overstepped his authority when creating the program, and that Congress should decide Dreamers' fate.
But the appeals court found that the executive branch has long used deferred action for certain groups of immigrants in order to better manage scarce enforcement resources. Programs like DACA "enable DHS to devote much-needed resources to enforcement priorities such as threats to national security, rather than blameless and economically productive young people with clean criminal records," the judges wrote.
The Trump administration will likely appeal the case to the Supreme Court. A new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives could also try to push legislation granting Dreamers legal status.
Barely a week after tweeting out a xenophobic midterm campaign ad, President Trump indicated at a press conference Wednesday that he was still open to negotiating with Democrats on DACA. "I think we could really do something having to do with DACA," he said. "We'll see how it works out at the Supreme Court."
Meanwhile, UC tweeted out a message Thursday urging students who already have DACA status to renew it. The program is not accepting new applications but is processing renewals.
Maria Blanco, the director of the university's Immigrant Legal Services Center, said her office had helped students file between 700 and 800 renewal applications since the lower court's injunction in January. An estimated 5,000 UC students participate in the program.
Blanco said that while the ruling won't change the advice she gives students, the fact that UC was the lead plaintiff in the case, and the subsequent legal victories, have encouraged them.
"Every time the program is not struck down, there's a little bit of hope that it might survive overall," she said.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
Speaking against the backdrop of a busy morning freeway, California officials this morning reaffirmed their opposition to a Trump administration proposal to roll back automobile fuel efficiency standards—noting the state had just filed 415 pages of comment strenuously objecting to the federal plan.
That plan would unravel two instruments critical to California's climate change policies: The previously-agreed upon benchmarks for car makers to roll out vehicles that consume less gas, and the legal right of the state to set its own auto emissions standards.
The federal rules change, which is not yet finalized, calls for freezing fuel-efficiency standards in 2020 at an average 35 miles per gallon. California had led negotiations that established more ambitious cuts and those rules were formalized in the waning days of the Obama administration.
The officials—Gov. Jerry Brown, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Air Board chairwoman Mary Nichols—were equally dismissive of the decision to eliminate California's longstanding waiver, which allows state officials to set car emissions standards that are more stringent that those imposed by federal regulators.
Nichols provided the morning's most comprehensive takedown of the federal government's justification for changing course, saying, "What they are proposing not only doesn't make sense from its own logic, it's poorly argued, poorly organized, not based in fact and illegal."
In announcing the rules changes, the federal Environmental Protection Administration and the National Highway Transportation Administration argued that, among other things, the lighter vehicles required to meet the fuel standards would make American drivers less safe. That analysis has been widely criticized, and runs counter to California's own review.
Gov. Brown noted that even as American automobile manufacturers are seeking to arrest the steady march toward cleaner cars, China is growing its market for electric cars and battery technology. He said that the administration's policy will negatively impact "jobs and American power in the world."
Brown chided Trump for rollbacks that he said "jeopardizes the health of millions and will cost billions at the pump. Wrong way to go Donald. Get with it. Bad."
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
An Orange County Superior Court judge has ruled that California's "sanctuary state law" conflicts with Huntington Beach's rights as a charter city, throwing some protections for undocumented immigrants into question in 120 cities throughout the state.
Senate Bill 54 or the California Values Act, authored by state Sen. Kevin de León, a Los Angeles Democrat who is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, doesn't actually make California a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Rather, it puts limits on the amount of work state and local government officials can do to expedite ICE enforcement.
Though many California cities support the law, arguing it makes immigrant communities less afraid to report crimes and promotes trust in local institutions, dozens of other municipalities have adopted resolutions opposing it in principle. Huntington Beach, in coastal Orange County, was the first to take its challenge to court.
Judge James Crandall did not issue a legal opinion about the case, but granted a writ of mandate, ruling that the state cannot enforce its sanctuary law there, based on Huntington Beach's status as a charter city.
Charter cities are organized under their own municipal codes, rather than under the state's general law. One hundred twenty-one of California's 482 cities share the designation, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego and San Francisco.
Lawyers for Huntington Beach argued that the state sanctuary law intruded on the city's local control.
"Huntington Beach is saying, 'If we want to volunteer to go above and beyond to help immigration officials, we should be able to do that.' Under SB 54 they can't," said immigration law expert Jean Reisz at University of Southern California's Gould School of Law.
It's unclear how the judge's decision will affect other charter cities, or whether it will inspire more legal opposition.
"It certainly could apply to all of them, but this is an injunction to keep the state from enforcing this law against Huntington Beach, not all charter cities," Reisz said.
The state Attorney General's office is expected to appeal.
"Preserving the safety and constitutional rights of all our people is a statewide imperative which cannot be undermined by contrary local rules," state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in an email. "We will continue working to ensure that our values and laws like the California Values Act are upheld throughout our state."
The ruling is separate from the federal lawsuit challenge filed last year by the Department of Justice to the sanctuary laws, which are actually made up of three pieces of legislation. A U.S. District Judge struck down one of the three, pertaining to business owners' interactions with immigration authorities, but upheld the other two, including SB 54.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Education's delay of rules meant to protect student loan borrowers from predatory practices was "arbitrary and capricious," granting a legal victory to the state of California and borrowers who say their colleges defrauded them.
If upheld, the ruling could make it easier for students like the tens of thousands of Californians left in the lurch when for-profit chain Corinthian Colleges abruptly closed its doors to recoup their investments.
Corinthian's 2015 collapse prompted the Obama Administration to issue new rules the following year allowing groups of students to apply for federal loan forgiveness en masse if their college closed, misled them or broke the law. The so-called "borrower defense rules" were hailed by consumer advocates and criticized by representatives of the for-profit college industry, who said they would put small vocational schools out of business.
The Trump administration has repeatedly pushed back implementation of the rules, and in August proposed a new plan that would make each individual borrower prove that their college knowingly lied to them in order to have loans discharged.
But Judge Randolph S. Moss agreed with the complaint filed by a pair of student borrowers, joined by the attorney generals of 19 states including California, that the department illegally "failed to offer a reasoned basis" for the shift in policy. The two sides are scheduled to meet in court Friday to discuss remedies in the case.
"This is a big win for students in California and the nation who were cheated of a quality education," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of student loan borrowers.
The Department of Education did not reply to requests for comment late today.
Track all of California's lawsuits against the Trump administration here.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
California's push to pass the nation's strongest net neutrality protections—and bring back Obama-era rules undone by the Trump administration—advanced today, one step in a high-stakes tech battle that's being waged from here to Washington.
The bill by Democratic Sens. Scott Wiener and Kevin de Léon survived intense negotiations to pass the Democratic-controlled Assembly with overwhelming support by a vote of 61 to 18. It goes back to the Senate for a final vote before the legislative session ends Friday. If passed, it would prohibit internet service providers from slowing or speeding content based on preference or extra payment.
"The core premise of net neutrality is that we get to decide where we go on the internet, as opposed to telecom and cable companies telling us where to go," Wiener said in a statement.
SB 822 aims to protect an open internet by replacing the Trump administration's repeal of federal protections established during the Obama administration in 2015. It is considered the strongest set of net neutrality provisions since Obama's were rolled back in June, and would be enforced by California's attorney general.
Wiener and de Léon's proposal would ban internet companies from charging businesses access fees in order to reach its online customers. It would also prohibit "zero rating," a practice in which providers charge consumers for accessing their competitors' content, but provide a free data incentive for accessing their own content.
Republican opponents of the bill slammed it as an overreach that meddles with a free market, creates a regulatory patchwork and invites litigation. Advocates, meanwhile, argued that such protections prevent internet service providers, such as AT&T and Comcast, from throttling internet speeds and creating so-called "fast lane" access.
Net neutrality proponents include not just technology companies such as Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Facebook, but also the Writers Guild of America and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The bill garnered national attention as it moved through the Legislature earlier this year. Facing strong opposition from internet companies and Republican legislators, Democrats anticipated a legal challenge as the state measure advanced.
In committee, the bill was heavily amended by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a Los Angeles Democrat. In response, Wiener almost withdrew his "hijacked" bill, which he said had been stripped of all its key protections.
But in July, the bill's original provisions were restored and lawmakers reached an agreement to advance it together. Santiago eventually came around and joined as principal coauthor.
"This bill is about value," Santiago said. "The question before us is, do you believe in a free and open internet?"
On the floor, Republican leaders charged regulation should be left to the feds. Assemblyman Jim Patterson, a Fresno Republican, said the issue will go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the state will lose. Other opponents argued it will chill the tech industry and result in a less robust market for consumers.
"The worst possible thing we can do is to create 50 different state FCCs," Patterson argued. "If you are really interested, the place to have this fleshed out is the federal level with federal elections and accountability. It takes several steps way too far."
"You're wading into an area where you have no business in," echoed Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, a Lake Elsinore Republican. "This is embarrassing."
Lobbying was intense as Thursday's vote neared. A group affiliated to AT&T was reportedly using robocalls to send out automated messages claiming the law would raise consumer cell phone bills. Earlier this month, Verizon was widely criticized for allegedly throttling data speeds for the Santa Clara County Fire Department during the Mendocino Complex fire, a complaint the company denied.
Ryan Singel, media and strategy fellow at Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society, says public pressure clearly helped secure Assembly approval.
"While it seems like getting net neutrality passed in California should be simple, the reality is that AT&T is incredibly powerful in California's legislature—which was made clear when the bill was gutted in committee in June," Singel said in an email.
In recent months, more than 20 states have introduced bills aiming to restore the federal net neutrality protections. Washington and Oregon have already passed legislation.
Meanwhile, the fight on the federal front is far from over. Tech groups including Amazon, Facebook and the Internet Association this month filed briefs with the federal appeals court supporting a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission to bring back net neutrality.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a federal records request today for information about the impact of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on immigrant children's mental and physical wellbeing.
The Freedom of Information Act request seeks all records related to the creation of the policy and the federal government's determination of its ability to care for the influx of children detained as a result of the policy.
The request follows a hearing last week in which federal health official Jonathan White said he warned the Trump administration of potential negative effects children could suffer if they were parted from their undocumented immigrant parents. "Separation of children from their parents entails significant harm to children," said White. "There's no question that separation of children from parents entails significant potential for traumatic psychological injury to the child."
"Last week's Congressional hearing shows that this President and his Administration received warnings about the impacts of the family separation policy and still acted," said Becerra in a press release. "We must have answers and accountability. We all deserve to know what went into the federal government's inconceivable decision to separate thousands of children from their families."
Becerra's request targeted the Justice, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services departments, and included disclosure of senior staff communications—including memorandums, emails, and notes of meetings or calls regarding the "zero tolerance" policy. He specifically is pursuing internal communications from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and the current and former secretaries of Health and Human Services.
President Trump has defended the policy as necessary to stem what he has characterized as a host of societal ills resulting from illegal immigration. "It's about keeping families together, while at the same time, being sure that we have a very powerful, very strong border," he said in a statement.
Becerra co-leads a coalition of 18 attorneys general that sued President Trump in June over the "zero tolerance" policy. He has sued the Trump administration 39 times times since March 2017.
Note: This post has been revised to correct the number of lawsuits Becerra has filed against the Trump administration.
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.
Update: The Legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed, SB 910.
Legislators in California appear ready to counter a new Trump administration move, this time on health insurance.
Last week, federal officials announced they would expand health insurers' ability to sell so-called skinny insurance plans, short-term policies that offer only bare-bones benefits. Those plans also are called "junk" plans because of the dearth of conditions and ailments they cover—for instance, most don't cover maternity care or cancer treatment, and some have high deductibles or exclude pre-existing conditions.
Less expensive because of the "skinny" coverage, the plans were launched under the Obama administration as a bridge to Affordable Care Act plans. They were limited to three months and could not be renewed.
The new federal rules allow low-benefit plans that don't comply with ACA standards to last a year and be renewed for up to three years.
A proposal making its way through California's Legislature, which returns from summer recess tomorrow, would ban such insurance in California.
SB 910, by Democratic Sen. Ed Hernandez of Azusa, would outlaw issuance or renewal of any health plan shorter than 12 months in duration. ACA standards require longer-term insurance, bar denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions and mandate 10 essential health benefits.
The short-term, low-benefit plans are fine as long as you stay well, Hernandez said. But people with those plans who get sick often discover they have to pay for treatment and medication themselves. Basically, he said, that's not health care coverage.
"California needs to ban junk health insurance policies in our state, not only because they are an affront to the basic principles of the Affordable Care Act, but also because they are dangerous and deceiving," Hernandez said by email Friday.
Dozens of Republican legislators have either voted No on his bill or abstained, but did not articulate that opposition in hearings. Attempts to contact several of them were unsuccessful Friday.
One health care expert said he had hoped the idea of limited-benefit plans had been put to rest, after the years of policy discussion before and during setup of the Affordable Care Act.
"There are significant costs to having skinny plans," said Micah Weinberg, president of the Bay Area Council's Economic Institute, a San Francisco-based business think tank. "People still get medical care, even if it's not covered, so the hospitals or the state end up holding the bag."
That means taxpayers are basically subsidizing people on limited-benefit plans, he said.
"It isn't actually insurance," Weinberg said. "It provides a sense that you're insured, but if you need it, you don't really have it."
- Short-term insurance expansion 'bad news for small businesses', by Mark Herbert, California Director for Small Business Majority on Aug. 8, 2018
Want to submit a reader reaction? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Dan Morain with any questions, [email protected], (916) 201.6281.


text:
Summer temperatures are rising throughout the Midwest, and with Russell Wilson now a Badger, Wisconsin especially can look forward to more heat.
In a press conference Tuesday, UW football head coach Bret Bielema expressed his excitement for what his new quarterback's presence on campus will mean for the team.
"He's very dedicated, very serious, on task with everything he does," Bielema said. "I've learned that over the last couple of months, recruiting him and talking with him. I'm very excited to have him in our program."
Bielema is confident Wilson will have a quick transition into Wisconsin's style of play. While learning the playbook and terminology will take some time, getting to know the team and meshing with his new teammates will be the biggest challenge for Wilson.
"Once he gets on campus, our players will be the best coaches," Bielema said. "He learns things very quickly, not only graduating in three years at N.C. State, but also I think it'll carry over into the football field"
"N.C. State's version [of football] and Paul Chryst's version are two totally different things," Bielema added. "Football language takes on a unique environment in each place that you go to. The transition will go quicker than you think, but the biggest challenge will be in the locker room, getting to know guys for the first time."
Some of the first players Wilson will interact with will be the rest of the quarterbacks, most notably redshirt sophomore Jon Budmayr, who was previously anticipated to be under center this fall.
With Wilson now on the team, Budmayr told Bielema it "wasn't going to change the way [he] prepares for this upcoming season."
Bielema, meanwhile, is looking forward to the competition Wilson's presence should foster at the position.
Can you say BCS Championship Game my fellow Badgers Fans? GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
InvisionFree has now closed. All active forums were preserved, and all inactive/abandoned forums were granted a six month grace period to request a restore after the servers were taken down back in August 2018.
If you see this message, it means that you are attempting to visit an abandoned forum for which no restore request was made within the six month grace period.
Any forums not restored at this time, can no longer be restored.
Please accept our apologies for any loss of data this might cause.


text:
Why do I want to jailbreak?
Note: This specific reasons video is outdated as of iOS 6. The Jailbreaking instructions throughout the site are not outdated. We are working on creating a new reasons video for iOS 8!
Watch a short video to see some of the top reasons to jailbreak your iPod Touch. Click play to begin!
Watch this video with Chinese subtitles here.


text:
The green procurement activities are successful only when a partnership is formed with our suppliers.
We ask that our suppliers also work positively and continuously to preserve the environment, and cooperate with the investigations, etc., which we periodically conduct.
Green Procurement Standards
At Yamaha, we have positioned activities to maintain and improve environment preservation as a priority within our corporate activities. We have continued to approach this from various angles. In 1994, we set the "YAMAHA'S POLICY ON THE ENVIRONMENT" outlining our basic policy regarding the environment protection. This clearly indicates our policy on the environment and the principles of our activity.
Based on this policy, we have promoted our environment load reduction activities through a life cycle which covers "extraction of raw materials, manufacture of materials, production of products, distribution, usage, disposal and recycle" so that we may provide eco-friendly products to our users. To promote these activities, we started our Green Procurement activities in 2002 to procure materials from suppliers who are positively taking part in environment preservation. This allows us to procure materials which have a small environmental load throughout the product's life cycle.
Our environment preservation activities aim to "reduce environment load substances", "conserve energy and prevent global warming" and "conserve resources and recycle materials", etc. We have set reduction of environment load substances as a main pillar of our Green Procurement activities while focusing on human health damage and environment pollution.
Environment management system, quality management system and chemical substance control are the foundation of environment-friendly products. The "Environment Preservation Activities and Green Procurement" confirm the situation of procured materials, and confirm the state of environment-conscious management in our business partner activities.
The green procurement activities are successful only when a partnership is formed with our suppliers.
Activities Report
Policies and Guidelines
- Yamaha Group Sustainability Policy
- Yamaha Group Human Rights Policy
- Yamaha Group Environmental Policy
- Yamaha Eco-Products program
- Yamaha Group Purchasing Philosophy
- Yamaha Supplier CSR Code of Conduct
- Yamaha Group Timber Procurement Policy
- Green Procurement Standards
- Yamaha Compliance Code of Conduct
- Yamaha Group Tax Policy


text:
ith bit of an integer
Major Section: PROGRAMMING
For a nonnegative integer
i and an integer
(logbitp i j)
is the value of the
ith bit in the two's complement
representation of
(Logbitp i j) has a guard that
i is a nonnegative integer and
j is an integer.
Logbitp is a Common Lisp function. See any Common Lisp
documentation for more information.


text:
Home » Before & After Photo Gallery » By Device & Product » HydraFacial MD® Treatments » HydraFacial MD® Treatment – Case #35931
HydraFacial MD® Treatment – Case #35931
Received HydraFacial MD® treatment for forehead wrinkles.
Home » Before & After Photo Gallery » By Device & Product » HydraFacial MD® Treatments » HydraFacial MD® Treatment – Case #35931
Received HydraFacial MD® treatment for forehead wrinkles.
As usual, I felt comfortable with the office staff. They are so friendly. Doctor Marina was helpful and didn't rush me. This is why I have been going there for 12 years.
GREAT EXPERIENCE Dr. Buckley is simply wonderful. He and all the staff there are kind, compassionate and very professional. I felt safe and very comfortable and knew I was in good hands. I will recommend you all to everyone I know. Thanks
BOTOX I am by no means a vain person…ok, I'm a vain person. I want to look good, look younger than I am, and look the best that I can. Dr Buckley has done wonders for me in that arena! Botox is a magical thing in the right hands, and Dr B is an art…
MilfordMD Cosmetic Dermatology
Surgery & Laser Center
303 W. Harford St, Milford, PA 18337
* DISCLAIMER: Individual results vary. Patient testimonials, images or videos do not constitute a promise or representation of any particular outcome or experience. Each patient's experience, recovery and results will be unique depending on their skin, age, health and other individual factors. Best results may be promoted with a proper diet and regular exercise. Users should review the "terms of use" before using the Web site. This web site is for information only. Do not use the information herein to diagnose or treat your cosmetic surgery or medical problems. You should contact your physician with all medical questions and concerns before using this website. Proudly serving the tri-state area for over 30 years, including New York cities such as Warwick & Middletown, New Jersey cities such as Sparta & Lake Hopatcong, and Pennsylvania cities such as Scranton & Wilkes-Barre © by Pocono Medical Care, Inc. and Richard E. Buckley, MD. All rights reserved.
Click here for information about Internal Medicine.


text:
Autumn Glazed Pork Chops
From: National Pork Board
Quick Facts
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 15 min.
Total: 25 min.
These chops are an easy weekday dinner that highlights autumn flavors of nutmeg, cider, and cranberry.
- 4 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider, or juice
- 1/2 cup whole cranberry sauce
- 2 Tbs honey
- 2 Tbs frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick coating. Heat over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of chops with pepper. Brown chops 2-3 minutes on each side in hot skillet. Add apple cider. Cover tightly; cook over low heat for 5-6 minutes or until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 160° F. Drain off juices.
- In a small bowl combine cranberry sauce, honey, orange juice concentrate, ginger and nutmeg. Pour over chops. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until heated through.
Recipe courtesy of the National Pork Board
Serving Suggestion: Serve with baked sweet potatoes and steamed cauliflower.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 219
Calories from Fat 21 (10%)
(3%)Total Fat 2g
(3%)Saturated Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
(17%)Cholesterol 51mg
(8%)Sodium 182mg
(16%)Potassium 556mg
Total Carbohydrate 28g
(2%)Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 26g
Sugar Alcohols 0g
(43%)Protein 21g
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Nutrition facts are calculated by a food expert using nutritional values provided by the USDA for common products used as recipe ingredients. Actual nutritional values may differ depending on the amounts or products used and can be affected by cooking methods.
Copyright © 2019 Healthnotes, Inc. All rights reserved. www.healthnotes.com
Read our healthy recipe definitions.
Learn more about Healthnotes, the company.
The information presented here is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires December 2019.


text:
I just realized it has been two months since I last posted. That is probably the longest I have ever gone without posting a single thing. The summer has been busy. I've been getting used to working full time again. We've taken short weekend trips to Gulf Shores and to southwest Louisiana to see our parents. We've also had my parents come to visit us with my niece in tow and took her to the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans (note to self: do not go there again on a hot weekend in the summer).
Some of the genealogy highlights of the summer:
1. I recently discovered that my great-great-great-grandfather's younger brother, Stephen Pemberton, has a Civil War pension record. I didn't think he would have one because according to my 3g grandfather's deposition in his own pension file, Stephen died during the War from disease and left no wife or children. However, I was searching on either Fold3 or Ancestry.com recently and found that there was a pension record for him applied for by his mother, Susanna. I paid the ridiculous fee of $75 and received the pension file this week (I can understand the fee for a file like my 3g grandfather's file, which had over 100 pages, but Stephen's file only had 14 pages). I now know Stephen's date of death (11 Dec 1863 in Limaville, Stark, Ohio), and the birth dates of several of his siblings who were under 18 years of age at the time of his death. According to my 3g grandfather, Susanna was actually present at Stephen's death. His story was that he and Stephen were serving in the same unit, and he was fed up with the doctors not treating Stephen properly. So he stole Stephen out of camp and started heading toward home in Michigan. They made it to Limaville before he had to leave Stephen there and go by himself to get their mother. He then brought Susanna to Limaville, where she made it just in time to see Stephen before he died. My 3g grandfather then turned himself in at Detroit and was sent back to his unit after spending a week or so in jail.
2. I have found many of my Pemberton relatives in the 1940 census, now that Michigan and Ohio have been indexed by Ancestry.com. I find that I prefer the Ancestry.com images over the official 1940 census images at 1940census.archives.gov. I have found all of my great-grandfather's siblings, and all of my great-great-grandfather's siblings. I've also found quite a few nieces and nephews of my 3g grandfather.
3. This is more of a spring highlight, but back in March, my mom found a bunch of files at my grandparents' house when she was cleaning out the shed. They turned out to be a genealogical gold mine. The papers included my grandfather's first marriage and divorce records and all the land deed/land contracts on all the properties my grandparents lived in over the years in Michigan and Louisiana. His marriage record surprised me because it was from Georgia. I knew he was stationed in Florida while in the military, but I would not have thought to look in Georgia for a marriage record. I still need to process them all and enter them in my database.
4. I am trucking along in my genealogy database cleanup of sources and events. I am now cleaning up the children and grandchildren of my 3g grandfather's sister, Eliza Jane (Pemberton) Finkle. I should be finished by the end of the year (maybe earlier). Eliza had seven children, but only one grandchild, so the cleanup is going by pretty quickly on her family. I am also adding a few new sources here and there, such as new city directories added at Ancestry.com and at the St. Clair County Library website.
5. A recent discovery is that Eliza's son, Hayes Wheeler Finkle, was a duck decoy carver and avid hunter in the Saginaw Bay area. His decoys are still around today. They are pretty pricey ($200 and up) because they are one of a kind and handmade. However, I did find that a collector of duck decoys wrote a book that includes a biography of Hayes and his brother, William (aka Bill - also a carver and hunter in the Lake St. Clair area). The book was much more affordable. I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery of the book. If you google Hayes' name, you will find pictures of his decoys on eBay and several collector and auction websites.
6. I finished two more classes at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I was slightly annoyed with both of them. The first was an intro to electronic resources. It hadn't been updated since at least 2008, based upon the course material and website links provided. None of the databases added at FamilySearch were mentioned. The description of FamilySearch only mentioned the older databases (IGI, 1880 US Census, 1881 Canadian Census, SSDI, Ancestral File, etc.) The second course was an intro to vital records in the U.S. This one was mostly fine, but my only problem was an error that was made in the lesson on birth records. It stated that delayed birth certificates will always be found in the state/county where the person lived at the time of applying and not in the state/county of birth. This appears to have been based on a particular example used by the author, which was a decree of birth registration filed for in the 1950s in Oregon. This was filed through the court system and not through the department of vital records in Oregon. A decree of birth registration is not the same as a delayed birth certificate. A delayed birth certificate is issued by a vital records office (not by the courts). I am also annoyed by the format of the reading materials for both courses. The lessons are in .pdf files, but the images of examples and such are not embedded in the .pdf document. One has to go to a separate section and open up each image file. VERY ANNOYING!!!! I think this may be because many of their students still buy the printed reading materials and just have to flip a page instead of clicking around and switching screens.
Anyhow, those are my summer updates. I hope to start posting more regularly soon.


text:
The Second World War: The Grand Alliance
Cooperation Publishing Company [by] Houghton Mifflin, 1948 - World War, 1939-1945 - 818 pages
From inside the book
89 pages matching Hitler in this book
Page 898
Where's the rest of this book?
Results 1-3 of 89
What people are saying - Write a review
Review: Their Finest Hour (Second World War)User Review - Joe Robertson - Goodreads
Interesting reading of the British view of World War II. This volume takes the reader through the end of 1940, the most trying period of the war f you were in England. Read full review
The Advance from Tobruk
The Campaign in East Africa
The Balkans 172
28 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Action this day Admiral Admiralty air attack Air Force aircraft airfields American April 41 Armoured Brigade Armoured Division Army arrived Atlantic Auchinleck Australian Balkans battalions battle battleships Belgrade Benghazi bombers bombing Britain British C.O.S. Committee Cabinet Cairo Chiefs of Staff command Commander-in-Chief convoys Crete cruisers Cyrenaica decision defence Desert destroyers Egypt enemy escort fighter fighting Fleet Foreign Secretary French front German German Air Government Greece Greek guns heavy Hitler hope hundred important invasion Iraq Ismay Italian Japan Japanese Kismayu land Libya Lord Beaverbrook losses Majesty's Government Malta Mediterranean ment Middle East military Minister to Secretary months Moscow Navy offensive officers operations organisation Persia ports possible President Roosevelt Prime Minister proposed reinforcements Russia Sea Lord sent ships Soviet squadrons Stalin strength supplies Syria tanks telegram thousand tion Tobruk tons transport Tripoli troops Turkey U-boats United Vichy victory Wavell whole Yugoslav Yugoslavia


text:
pfredland on Family Tree Circles
view: full | list
Journals and Posts
Looking for the family of Fannie Moskovitz
She was my great great grandmother and married Joseph Weise. They were Hungarian. Their daughter Minnie was born in Hungary and died in 1915 and all this information came from her death certificate. Minnie married Joseph Posnosky from Poland or Russia in the US and they had 3 children, Dan, Sadie and Francis.Sadie or Sarah was born in 1895 and was my grandmother. She married Nathan Wolberg whose father was Solomon Wolberg and whose mother was Rachel Weil. Rachel's mother was a woman withe the initials K.D.G. Her father was Jacob Weil.
Looking for the Parents of LOUIS LOWENSTEIN
LOUIS LOWENSTEINwas born in Frankfurt Germany on 8/30/1835. When he came to the US a woman with the same last name FRANCES LOWENSTEIN whose parents were BERTHA AND SOLOMON LOWENSTEIN. Together they had 7 children:GRACE, ROSE (ROSA), SOLOMON, SARAH, MINNIE, JULIUS, and
DAVID. When he arrived in the US he settled in Nashville TN and became a merchant of hides. He died on 6/22/1907 in Nashville TN.
Looking for the parents of JULIUS BLACH
JULIUS was born in Baden Baden Germany in 1821 and immigrated to the US in 1840. In 1853 he married HANNAH MAYER (also have seen it spelled MEYER) He died in Nashville TN on June 1. 1906. He also lived in Indiana where his wife was known as Jane and Birmingham,AL. He had 9 children: MAX, SIMON, CHARLY,COLEMAN, SAMUEL,SALLIE, MILLIE, FLORA, and BERDIE. He founded Blach's Department Store in Birmingham, AL. When he came to the US he was a peddler for a while.
- Displaying 1-3 of 3 Journals
- 1
- of1


text:
Volume 1
A word from Cellini about this long-anticipated video release:
"This video will do much more than entertain you. It will enlighten you and excite you. It can even change the course of your life. I have tried my best to explain this illusive art. You will learn how to attract, build, hold and entertain an audience, while making a good living. Those I have influenced found themselves transformed by the experience in ways they never imagined. All the secrets are here...it's up to you. It could change your life forever..it did mine!" - Cellini
Volume Two
This volume deals exclusively with magic and magicians. You will find my complete routine performed live in front of audiences on the streets of New Orleans. We then take it to the studio for an in-depth look and breakdown of that very routine and the effects I use. You will also be shown how to create a stage on the open streets and in other public spaces. This video expands on and reinforces the building blocks you learned from the first volume, "The Art of Street Performing." It is my hope that, with this video, you will further your education and become a better performer, as well as a bonafide street magician.
Volume Three
This video is the third volume of the "Cellini Presents the Art of Street Performing" series. I was inspired to create this video by the questions I am most frequently asked when performing or while lecturing. In this video you will experience live performances, and behind-the-scenes exposure, with tips from some of the top pros working on the streets today. We take you to Boston where you will learn why "funny means money." Through interviews with the performers, we hear their comments about the "Art", and learn from their years of experience on the streets. "As with my first two videos in this series, I have brought you the best, and held nothing back". - Cellini
Do you own this product? Write a review.


text:
If consumers drive the U.S. economy, then the economy went pretty fast in May. The best month of car purchases since 2007 is expected to boost U.S. retail sales in May by 0.7%, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. In April, retail sales rose a scant 0.1%.
Sales at U.S. retailers account for about one-third of consumer spending, and consumer spending reflects about 70% over U.S. economic activity. So a rising level of retail sales tends to point to a strengthening economy.
Lately almost all of the economic data are pointing up. In May, for instance, auto dealers sold enough cars and trucks to push the level of sales to a 16.7 million annual rate – a post-recession high. They did so in part by offering discounts up to 10% as well as zero-percent financing, although sales have been steadily trending up for several years.
Yet eve if autos are stripped out, sales at all other U.S. retailers likely rose at a solid 0.4% or 0.5% clip, economists predict. That's the sort of increase in spending the economy needs to shift into a faster growth phase later in the year as most analysts expect.
An especially disappointing number might get them to reconsider – but only if other economic reports also start to turn south. The retail report will be issued at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Jobless claims, meanwhile, are projected to remain close to a post-recession low. The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits is forecast to edge down to 310,000 in the week ended June 7 from 312,000 in the prior week. Claims will be released at the same time as retail sales.
Also Thursday, the import price index is seen rising 0.2% in May and business inventories are estimated to climb 0.4% in April.
-- Jeffry Bartash
Follow Jeffry on Twitter @jbartash
Follow Capitol Report on Twitter @capitolreport


text:
You have no courses added
We offer a range of first aid courses for people over the age of 16 who want to learn first aid for their day-to-day life, rather than as a requirement of their job*.
They cover first aid for babies and children (from birth to puberty) and adults (puberty onwards) and are available at venues across the UK, or at a location to suit you if you are learning with a group of friends or family.
You don't need to have any previous experience; just a willingness to learn and take part in practical exercises (led by our friendly trainers) which build your confidence in dealing with emergency scenarios.
* If you need a certificated first aid course, please see our workplace first aid courses.
Is your course for
Not sure which course to book? Try our course finder.
© British Red Cross 2019
Red Cross Training, Bradbury House, 4 Ohio Avenue, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 2GT. Phone 0844 871 8000. The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949), Scotland (SC037738) and Isle of Man (0752).
*Calls cost 5p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge.


text:
As a part of the Ubuntu Hardware Summit, I held a presentation on the topic "audio debugging techniques", focused on HDA Intel cards. I also wrote down some notes for some of those slides. I share the slides and the notes with the hope that you will find the information useful if you run into troubles with your audio hardware.
Audio stack overview
The audio stack can seem a bit complex, but first look at the line all the way from the applications to the hardware. This is the optimal audio path. If the audio path is different, complexity will increase and you might run into undesired behaviour, such as one application blocking another from playing audio. There are valid exceptions though – we have a separate sound server for professional, low-latency audio. But that's outside the scope of this presentation.
Let's start from the top. On the top we have different kinds of audio applications, which talk to PulseAudio. GStreamer is a library to help media playback, it can for example decode ogg and mp3 files. PulseAudio mixes these audio streams and send them down to the kernel. The ALSA library and the ALSA kernel core do not do much here but send the audio pointers through. The HDA controller driver is responsible for talking directly to the hardware, and so it sets up all necessary DMA streams between the HDA controller and memory. The HDA controller driver also talks to the HDA codec driver, which is different for every codec vendor.
As some of you probably know, between the HDA controller – which is a part of the southbridge in most computers – and the HDA codec, a special HDA bus is used. This means that the only way we can talk to the codec is through the controller.
Controlling audio volume goes the same path. When you use your volume control application, it controls PulseAudio's volume. PulseAudio in turn modifies the volume controls being exposed by the kernel, and the kernel in turn talks to the hardware to set volume control registers on the codec. There are two levels of abstraction here: first, the kernel might choose not to expose all of the hardware's volume controls, and second, PulseAudio exposes only one big volume control which is the sum of some of the volume controls the kernel exposes. So there is filtering on two levels.
Audio stack overview – codec
Let us have a look at the HDA codec chip and how its internals are represented to the driver. The codec is constructed as a graph, and on this slide one of the more simple HDA codec graphs is shown (just because it would fit the screen). A while ago upstream made a small program to extract this graph from the codec and make a picture of it. Thanks to Keng-Yü, who works for Canonical in Taipei, this tool is available as a package in Ubuntu 11.10. Just install the "codecgraph" package.
In this graph we have nodes correspondings to DACs, ADCs, mixers, and pins. In this example we can see what pins are connected to which DACs by following the solid line. The dotted line shows a connection that is possible but not currently active.
As the Linux codec driver code grows more intelligent, we depend more and more on this information to be accurate. This way we do not hard code as much in the driver, so we can adapt to future codecs without having to rewrite much code.
The information coming from the codec is usually correct. One problem we have from time to time is though, is that sometimes chip vendors add features which they choose not to document in this graph (and not in any other way either). There is a mechanism called "processing coefficients" in the specification, where the vendor can add its own functionality without telling anyone. When that happens, and it is required to use these undocumented "processing coefficients" to enable all inputs and outputs, we usually run into difficult problems that require vendor support to resolve.
Also, in some cases the graph cannot describe the functionality needed, e g if some hardware is depending on special pins on the codec. We need to know about this when it happens, so we can support it in the driver. So if you are a hardware designer, my message is: Try to use the standard way of doing things as much as possible. Do this and it will work out of the box on Linux, and likely other operating systems as well. If you do anything special, you're causing headache for driver writers, possibly causing a slower time to market.
An example of this would be how you control external amplifiers: you can use the EAPD pins, which is the standard way, and you can use GPIO pins, ACPI, or anything else, that will be more problematic and require special driver support.
Pin configuration default
We also depend on information from the writers of BIOS/UEFI, i e the computer's firmware. As a hardware designer, you have the freedom to choose which pins of the codec that go to what physical jack. You might decide that you want a digital out, or you decide that this machine should not have that functionality, and then you leave that pin unconnected.
Then the firmware engineer needs to know this, and program this into the codec when the computer boots. This is done by setting the "Pin Configuration Default" register. This register tells us not only the device type (headphone, mic, etc), but also the location (Internal, External, Docking Station), the color, and the channel mapping (to use for surround functionality).
Several years ago, we did not read this register much, but these days, we depend on that for all new computers for setting up the codec correctly. So what do we do if this register is wrong? Well, if we work with hardware pre-release, there might be a chance we can feed this information back to the firmware writers so they can correct the problem. If the hardware is already released, we have to create a "quirk". This means that the driver overrides the firmware's pin value(s) and instead uses its own value.
Because this value is so important, I've written an application where you can try out different combinations of this register.
Mixer problems
One of the most common problems with getting audio up and running on Linux is to make sure the mixer is correct. Typical symptoms of this would be that some outputs are working where others are not, or that there is something wrong with the volume control.
Here are some initial checks of these problems. We do this at the two levels of mixer abstraction. First, let's have a look at the PulseAudio volume control. You can do that in Gnome's volume control application.
Also, PulseAudio controls the volume of mixers at the ALSA level. You can see how this works by starting the alsamixer program. In this program, you can also see additional sliders, which you can also use to verify that they are in the correct to enable sound. You start alsamixer from a terminal (in Ubuntu the quickest way to launch a terminal is the Ctrl-Alt-T shortcut).
Mixer control names
So let's look at these two abstraction levels in more detail and how you can inspect what is actually going on. First, let's look at the codec level. If you are familiar with the codec's nodes and how they are connected, e g by running "codecgraph", you can also find out which ALSA level controls that are connected to which nodes on the codec. This is done by inspecting the "codec proc" file. Every codec in the system has this file, and its name is made up of the sound card name, and the codec's address on the HDA bus. In this file, you can also see a lot of other information about the codec.
So next, we will also take a look at PulseAudio's abstraction of these controls. This is done by looking at the files in /usr/share/pulseaudio/alsa-mixer. In this case, if we look at /usr/share/pulseaudio/alsa-mixer/paths/analog-output-headphones.conf, you can e g find the sections [Element Master] and [Element Headphones]. That means that the ALSA-level controls "Master" and "Headphones" are being merged in PulseAudio's volume control when the "Headphones" port has been selected.
So these two places are the keys to understanding what is going on when you have mixer problems.
PCM/Streaming problems
So up next is when you have problems with the streaming. That is usually shown as the audio is breaking up, crackling or glitching. Unfortunately these problems are typically quite hard to resolve.
Sometimes this can be a bug in PulseAudio, or in the driver. But more often the problem is on either the application side or the hardware side.
If an application is not submitting data to PulseAudio in time, the PulseAudio has no audio to play back, so therefore playback breaks up. Once some more data has reached PulseAudio, it starts playback again, and so playback is started and stopped repeatedly.
The other problem could be with bad position reports from the hardware. PulseAudio depends on being able to ask the hardware for its current position at all times, and this should be sample accurate. You can test this by trying to run PulseAudio with timer scheduling disabled, in this case PulseAudio will rely more on DMA interrupts and less on position reports. However, this will also make PulseAudio draw more power than necessary from the machine, so please avoid this if you can.
When I try to debug these problems I usually start with making a PulseAudio verbose log. It often takes some knowledge and experience to be able to analyze this log though.
Jack sensing
Over the last six months or so, one of the things I've been working with is trying to get better jack detection handling, throughout the audio stack.
"Jack sensing" in this context means what to do when something has been plugged in, or unplugged.
When this happens, an interrupt (IRQ) is triggered and control is passed to the HDA codec driver. The driver takes the first action itself. Now, this is an area, unfortunately, when things differ a lot between different drivers, mostly between different vendors, but also between different chips of the same vendor, or even between configurations of the same chip.
But as a general rule, and for the most common vendors – that means Realtek, IDT and Conexant – these rules are the ones that are followed:
- For headphones – when you plug them in, the Internal Speakers are muted. Remember, this is still all at the kernel level.
- For what we're doing with Line Outs – it's not completely standardised everywhere yet, but it seems upstream is leaning on having Headphones mute Line Outs and having Line Outs mute Internal Speakers by default. Some drivers also have a special control where the automute behaviour can be changed.
- For Microphones – the only rule here is that if we have only one internal microphone and one external microphone, the external microphone takes over when you plug it in, and the internal microphone regains control when you unplug. Should there be any other inputs, e g two external mic jacks, or a line in jack, no autoswitching is done at the kernel level.
After this has been done, a signal is sent to userspace. Hopefully – this also varies between vendors. We'll get back to that. What's new in Ubuntu 11.10, is that this signal is being picked up by PulseAudio. This is important, because it enables PulseAudio, to switch port for volume control. So this means, when you press your media keys (or use the sound menu) to control your volume, you control your headphone's volume when you have headphones plugged in, and your speakers' volume when your headphones are unplugged.
So this not working properly, is one of the more common problems. I have written a small tool that helps you to debug whether this issue is in hardware or software. This tool is called "hda-jack-sense-test". This program sends the "get pin sense" command to each codec and outputs the results. I actually had use for it earlier this week, and confirmed that it was a hardware issue: although the headphones were unplugged, the "get pin sense" command returned that the headphones were being plugged in and unplugged all the time.
If you can confirm that things are working at this level, you can also look in "Sound settings" to see if the port (this is known as a "connector") is automatically switched whenever headphones – or microphone – is plugged in. If it is not, the most common cause is that kernel driver does not notify userspace correctly about that change.
HDMI/DisplayPort Audio
One of the most common problem with HDMI these days are with newer chips supporting more than one output. These outputs could be HDMI, DisplayPort or DVI (with audio supported through a DVI to HDMI adapter). NVidia has supported four outputs for quite some time and Intel has supported three. But usually, not all of these are actually connected on the board.
Now, the problem is: How do we know what pin to output to? And the answer is, that there is no good way to figure that out until something is actually plugged in.
If you remember me talking about the pin config default earlier, you would say that maybe the graphics chip could mark the pins not connected to anything. If this was done, it would be a great start (and if they are, we make use of it to hide the outputs that are marked as not connected), but unfortunately, more often than not, these pins are set up as all pins connected and present. So if you write firmware for internal or external graphics cards, please do set up these pins.
So if we don't know, what do we do? Well, here's also work in progress at the userspace level. First, PulseAudio has to probe how many ports there are. Then we can use the new jack detection feature, to determine what has actually been plugged in. I'm currently working on redesigning the sound settings dialog so that the ports that are not plugged in will be actually hidden from the dialog, and I hope this will land in Ubuntu 12.04 which will be released in April next year.
And a final note, just so you don't forget it: For NVidia and ATI, they both require proprietary video drivers to enable HDMI and DisplayPort audio. The ATI driver used to have support for some of the cards in its open source driver, but this feature was recently removed because they had some problems with it.
Intel has no proprietary drivers at all, so there it works with the standard open source driver.


text:
Difference between revisions of "Arnold Schwarzenegger"
(should be obvious, but I clarified that it wasn't the first ever election in US history, also, added wikilinks)
(→References: new cat)
|Line 40:
|Line 40:
[[Category:California Governors]]
[[Category:California Governors]]
[[Category: Kennedy Family]]
[[Category: Kennedy Family]]
Revision as of 06:32, 14 December 2010
|Arnold Schwarzenegger
|Governor of California
From: November 17, 2003 - Present
|Gray Davis
|Incumbent (no successor)
|Maria Shriver
|Roman Catholic
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (b. Austria 1947) is an American actor, politician, bodybuilder, and businessman, who has served as the 38th Governor of California since 2003.
Recall Election
After sitting Governor Gray Davis mismanaged electric power deregulation and instituted a new registration tax by executive order, infuriated citizens initiated a petition to place a measure on the ballot to remove him from office. Despite Democratic predictions that the petition would fail, it was delivered to then Secretary of State Kevin Shelley with more than the required number of signatures. In accordance with the law, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante became Acting Governor and called a special election for October 7, 2003.
The election was the first of its kind in United States history. Approximately 180 citizens, from all walks of life, declared candidacy. Schwarzenegger was rumored to be considering a run for office, which was confirmed on an appearance on the NBC TV Tonight Show. Schwarzenegger easily defeated Cruz Bustamante in the election.
After the election was over, Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. After going through a period of sagging in the polls, Schwarzenegger did a strong turn around and was then reelected by a landslide on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election to serve a full term as governor by defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was at that time the California State Treasurer.
Political views
Despite being a Republican, he holds some liberal views. He is a supporter of gun control and environmentalism. He is a staunch supporter of a law that mandates the use of Californian taxpayer money to fund stem cell research - which is the cloning and killing of human embryos for experimentation; he is also pro-choice. Arnold officially approved an assisted suicide measure allowing nurses to sedate, dehydrate and starve depressed or confused individuals they consider to be "terminally ill." [1] (Compare euthanasia.) Governor Schwarzenegger also campaigned against the famous California Proposition 8. He is also married to Maria Shriver, a famous journalist who is a member of the historically liberal Kennedy family. Because of these and other policies he is often referred to as a "RINO," a "Republican in Name Only" by many conservative Republicans. Other sources have labeled him a "California Republican," meaning that his political policies are conservative but his views on civil liberties lean to the liberal side, reflecting the general attitude of most Californians.
External Links
- ↑ California approves nurse-assisted suicide Worldnetdaily, October 02, 2008


text:
Wolfram|Alpha provides carefully reviewed data and algorithms in a wide range of fields and disciplines. If you are a qualified academic, industrial, trade, or professional expert in virtually any field, Wolfram|Alpha can benefit from your knowledge, and we invite you to apply to join our Experts Network.
As a member of this distinguished group you will be able to influence the priorities of the Wolfram|Alpha project by suggesting data sources, reviewing the importance of possible directions for the project, and contributing to internal discussions on subjects of importance to the project. Experts Network members will receive invitations to special Wolfram|Alpha events and conferences we sponsor. And in some cases compensation is provided for particularly extensive consultation or review activities.
If you would like to apply for membership in the Wolfram|Alpha Experts Network, please fill out the form below:


text:
Welcome to Nazi-occupied Paris, a unique open world where you are The Saboteur. Play as Sean Devlin, a street-tough Irish racing mechanic seeking personal redemption on a Nazi officer that has taken everything away from him. Now, it's time for payback—with the help of the French Resistance, British intelligence, an arsenal of weaponry, your own street smarts and brawn, you must exact revenge on those who aimed to destroy your life. Motivated by retribution and armed with tactics of sabotage, blow up zeppelins, derail trains, implode bridges, destroy armored tanks, and level enemy facilities in the name of vengeance.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


text:
The Free Beacon has posted a video (below) of the vile Al Sharpton at work on MSNBC. You probably missed all this as it happened.
David Rutz explains his handiwork in the video:
Behold the greatest battle in television news.
It's not CrossFire or Meet the Press or reruns of Point/CounterPoint.
It's the Rev. Al Sharpton's war with the teleprompter and, to a greater extent, the English language.
Behold as he bungles names (who's Rush Lumbard?), places (Latvia becomes Lavita), book titles ("Hubris" is read as Hue-Brees), organizations (The Environmental Projection Agency?) and more in this new SuperCut.
Rutz's video arrives labeled volume 1. As befits a hit, there will be a sequel.
My friend Jay Nordlinger demonstrated in the pages of National Review a while back that Sharpton really isn't funny. Nevertheless, whoever first said that laughter is the best medicine had great insight into the human condition.


text:
IKPHY(4) NetBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual IKPHY(4) NAME ikphy -- driver for Intel i82563 Kumeran 10/100/1000 Ethernet PHYs SYNOPSIS ikphy* at mii? phy ? DESCRIPTION The ikphy driver supports the Intel i82563 Kumeran 10/100/1000 Ethernet PHYs. These PHYs are found on a variety of high-performance Ethernet interfaces. NOTES While not required for basic card operation, the lack of this device will mean that the wm(4) device cannot detect link and link-speed. SEE ALSO ifmedia(4), mii(4), wm(4), ifconfig(8) NetBSD 8.0 October 13, 2006 NetBSD 8.0
You can also request any man page by name and (optionally) by section:


text:
With tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters routinely making front page news, it's little wonder that IT folks are not sleeping as soundly as they once might have.
A new study involving 2,000 online interviews conducted by Coleman Parkes Research on behalf of CA Technologies finds a lot of IT downtime is still plaguing end users; worse yet, one-third of the survey participants did not have a disaster recovery plan in place.
As more businesses expand their reliance on IT, it's surprising to see so much tolerance for IT downtime, especially in an era of virtualization that can minimize IT downtime, if not make it unnecessary altogether.
Five Online Routes to the Recruiters' Short List Make sure you make it to the short list when professional talent scouts are looking for candidates.
Business Etiquette: Professional Networking Sites,
Including LinkedIn Tips to help you get the most out of your professional online networking.
Eight Presentation Tips to Make Your Eye Contact
More Powerful Improve the impact of your presentations through "eye connection."
Related Topics : Stimulus Package, IT Market Analysts, Supercomputing, Performance Management, Request for Proposals
Selecting the perfect consultancy firm may seem daunting, but keeping these five tips in mind will help organizations get off to a good start. ... More >>
Robotic hardware combined with cognitive intelligence and cloud computing capabilities signifies a host of new opportunities across many industries. ... More >>
Here are five key business areas in which service management can help streamline the infrastructure and process challenges of M&As. ... More >>


text:
This Privacy Policy applies to the use of this website (www.stefanoricci.com, the "Website") operated by STEFANO RICCI S.p.A. and the use of all services offered by the Website. It is our aim to ensure the protection of your personal information at any time. We kindly ask you to carefully read this Privacy Policy to learn which information is collected and for what purposes we use the collected information.
When you sign up for an user account at the Website, we ask you for personal information, such as first and family name, address, country of residence, gend-er, date of birth, nationality, email address, telephone number. In addition, you are requested to choose an username and a password for your user account.
When you communicate with us, for example by sending e-mails, we retain such communication in order to process your enquiries, respond to your requests and to improve our services.
In addition, we collect information, such as your IP-address, browser type and version, operating system and platform, automatically whenever you interact with us. On the Website, we use so called "cookies" and we collect the before mentioned information whenever your web browser accesses the Website. Coo-kies are some kind of data which we transfer to your computer's hard drive through your web browser in order to help us to recognize you when you access the Website, to remember your settings and to personalize the Website according to your needs. You may disable cookies in the settings of your web browser but please be aware that you may not use all of the services of the Website if cookies are disabled.
Since we want our customers to feel safe, we also use the collected information to detect, investigate and prevent fraud and other illegal activities. In addition, we use the information to provide you with special offers and information about products that might be of interest to you.
We retain your personal information only for as long as we have a legitimate business purpose or for as long as we are required by law. After this period, we will delete all of your personal information.
Protecting your personal information is really important to us and we want you to be certain that your personal information is in good hands. We share your infor-mation only as described below and with third parties that follow the applicable data protection laws and that ensure an adequate level of protection with respect to your personal information. We will share your personal information with STEFANO RICCI S.P.A..
STEFANO RICCI S.P.A. is contractually obliged to comply with applicable data protection laws and your personal information will therefore be properly protected at all times.
We will release personal information in case we are required by law, for enforcing our General Terms and Conditions and other agreements and in case of detection, investigation and prevention of fraud and other illegal activities.
In all other cases, we share your personal information with third parties only if we have your explicit consent. You will have the opportunity to choose not to share any personal information with any third party. If and when we transfer your personal information to a third party domiciled outside, we will ensure that your personal information is protected by adequate safeguards.
In order to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclo-sure and modification, we have implemented technical and other security meas-ures. We adapt these security measures from time to time and try to provide a high level of security at all times. Nevertheless, you have to be aware that, de-spite our best efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. In addi-tion and in order to help us to maintain a high level of security, we kindly ask you to keep your username and password confidential and not to disclose it to third parties.
Some of your information will be stored on a server provided by a third party, currently on a server of Critical Case based in Italy. We have chosen this third party provider based on our best knowledge and we might change the third party provider from time to time, especially if we are of the opinion that your personal information is no longer protected accordingly. Such third party provider is always endeavoring to provide for a high security standard. However, we cannot take responsibility for this third party provider's actions.
You can contact us anytime and request that we inform you about all personal information that we have collected and stored about you. In addition, you may request that we correct, amend or delete such personal information. Please note, that if you request us to delete your personal information, we will no longer be able to provide you with our services.
The Data Controller of personal information as provided by users is STEFANO RICCI S.p.A., Via Faentina, 171 - 50014 Fiesole FI - Italy.
If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy, the handling of your personal data, or if you wish to assert your rights with regard to the processed data, please contact the Data Controller or the appointed Data Protection Officer, at the following email address : firstname.lastname@example.com.
We take your concerns seriously and we will try to resolve any issue related to your personal information as soon as possible.
Please note, that we may change this Privacy Policy from time to time in order to better protect your personal information. We recommend that you regularly check this Privacy Policy when you access your account. Your continued use of the Website indicates your agreement to the new Privacy Policy.
Before using the Website, we kindly ask you to also carefully read the following documents:
Cookie Policy
With this document, pursuant to art. 13 and 122 of Legislative Decree 196/2003 ("Code on Privacy"), and in conformity with the provisions of the General Instruction by the Data Protection Authority dated May 8, 2014, we provide the site users with some information relevant to the cookies we use.
A "cookie" is a small text file created on the user's computer when he/she accesses a certain site, in order to store and convey information. Cookies are sent by a web server (which is the computer on which the visited website is in execution) to the user's browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.) and stored on his/her computer; then, they are sent back to the website on the next visits. While surfing, the user might receive on his/her terminal also cookies from different sites (the so-called "third party cookies"), directly set by the providers of said websites and used for the purposes and according to the procedures defined by them. This Site uses cookies in order to make its services more efficient and easier to use. By visiting this Site, a minimum quantity of information is entered into the User's device.
Technical Cookies
Technical browsing or session cookies, used to guarantee a normal browsing and fruition of the website, to enable the purchase and authentication to access the site reserved areas, and to monitor the site's correct functioning. Functionality cookies, to allow the user's browsing in function of a series of selected criteria (for instance, the language or the products selected for purchase) in order to improve the service provided. For the installation of such cookies, no previous consent from the users is required, while the obligation to provide information remains pursuant to art. 13 of the Code, which the site provider, should it use only such devices, may provide with the procedures that it considers best suited.
Instructions to manage cookies in the browser
In many browsers, it is possible to set the rules to manage cookies site by site, an option that offers a more accurate control of one's privacy. It is possible to disable the cookies of all sites, except those considered reliable.
All browsers contain the Tools menu the option Delete Browsing Data. Use this option to remove cookies and other site data and plug-ins, including data stored on your device by Adobe Flash Player (commonly known as Flash cookies).
Mozilla Firefox
Internet Explorer
Safari 6
Safari iOS (mobile devices)
Google Services
Another function present in the latest browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari) is the private browsing mode. You can browse in private mode when, to prevent your visits to websites or your downloads from being recorded in the download and browsing history. In private browsing mode, all cookies are deleted after closing all private mode windows.
Where can I find more information on cookies and third party cookies?
Personal Data Protection Authority: http://www.garanteprivacy.it/web/guest/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/2145979
All About Cookies (Independent Organization): http://www.allaboutcookies.org/
Your Online Choices: http://youronlinechoices.eu/
Google: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/
By accessing www.stefanoricci.com and the other Stefano Ricci official websites or any of their web pages, you unconditionally agree to the terms of this Copyright Statement and as they may be eventually modified and/or supplemented without prior notice to you. Please, check this webpage regularly for any modifications and/or supplements which may be made.
All the contents included in the www.stefanoricci.com and the other Stefano Ricci official websites, including web pages, texts, images, pictures, videos, music, sounds, drawings, figures, logos, graphics, colors and layout (hereinafter, the "Content") are the sole property of STEFANO RICCI S.P.A. and are protected by national and international Copyright laws and other Intellectual Property Rights. You are strictly forbidden to reproduce, publish, distribute, display, modify, create derivative work from, or exploit such Content in any way, in whole or in part, without the prior and express written consent of STEFANO RICCI S.P.A.
STEFANO RICCI S.P.A. shall have the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit in its sole discretion any commercial use, reproduction, publication, distribution, display, modification, creation of derivative work from, or exploitation – in whole or in part – of the Content, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials.
STEFANO RICCI S.P.A. shall have the right, at any time, to claim the ownership and the authorship of any Content posted on www.stefanoricci.com and the other Stefano Ricci official websites and to object to any use, distortion or other modification thereof.
Any reproduction, publication, distribution, display, modification, creation of derivative work from, or exploitation in any way of the Content with the express and written authorization of STEFANO RICCI S.P.A. shall be carried out by you for lawful purposes only and in compliance with all the applicable laws.
Download STEFANO RICCI's Code of Ethics (English)


text:
Hubble Portrait of the "Double Planet" Pluto & Charon
This is the clearest view yet of the distant planet Pluto and its moon Charon, as revealed by the Hubble telescope.
Hubble snapped this image when the planet was 2.6 billion miles (4.4 billion kilometers) from Earth, or nearly 30 times the separation between Earth and the Sun. The two objects are shown as clearly separate and sharp disks.
Pluto and Its Moon, Charon