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The cadet who claimed to be quitting West Point as a public protest over proselytizing and religious favoritism at the academy was already disqualified from receiving a commission because of clinical depression and anxiety.
Cadet Blake Page said West Point had told him he could graduate on time in 2013 with an academy degree, but he could not serve in the military.
“They said you’ve got a lot of opportunity, just stick with it. Just get out of here [as a graduate] and be a civilian,” Page told Military.com on Thursday. But Page said he wanted to bring attention to the influence of evangelical Christian faculty, staff and students at the historic school. He said he made his decision after talking through his choices and his views with counselors who work for the school.
He said he was also advised by Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of the watchdog group Military Religious Freedom Foundation, to complete his degree program at West Point. Blake headed up a campus branch of the MRFF and also was president of the West Point Secular Student Alliance.
“When I first told him [I was going to quit] he said that’s stupid, why throw away your degree?” Page recalled. “He didn’t want me to do anything. He opposed my decision. But when I said I was going to do it anyway he said, okay.”
Blake, a former Army enlisted man, said he was interested in being an officer and did not care about a West Point degree. He said today that once he found he would not be commissioned there was no reason to stay on and graduate.
Blake submitted his resignation about a month ago, but wrote about it in a column that ran on Tuesday at The Huffington Post. That he was disqualified by reason of a medical diagnosis from receiving a commission was reported Wednesday by The Associated Press.
West Point spokesman Frank DeMaro confirmed Thursday that Page was meeting academic standards at the school, was not having any disciplinary problems, and would have graduated with his class on time. DeMaro also confirmed the school would not to seek reimbursement for the cost of Page’s education.
In an interview with Military.com on Tuesday Page said he began having some academic problems in his second year after his father committed suicide but made no mention of having been clinically diagnosed with depression and that it disqualified him from receiving a commission.
Page said he has no regrets about his decision because it is important to focus attention on the influence of religion at the school. West Point, as well as the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and the Naval Academy in Annapolis have been the subject of reports and investigations into evangelical Christian faculty and staff exercising undue influence on the campus and attempting to proselytize.
The schools and the Defense Department officially reject illegal proselytizing and religious favoritism. | 1,265,800 |
Turkey was today (Wednesday) confirmed in next season’s FIA World Rally Championship calendar by the sport’s governing body.
The FIA’s WRC Commission rubber-stamped the country’s return after a seven-year absence following a successful dress rehearsal on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast last weekend.
M-Sport World Rally Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing sent representatives to the picturesque south-west holiday resort of Marmaris to observe the three-day dirt road rally, which was provisionally listed in the calendar a month ago.
They were joined by WRC Promoter management, WRC rally director Jarmo Mahonen and FIA safety delegate Michèle Mouton. All were impressed by the high standards of organisation, the quality of the special stages and the service park facilities.
“We wanted to observe a rally that is fit to take its place at the WRC’s top table,” said WRC Promoter managing director Oliver Ciesla. “The organising team at TOSFED delivered that and my congratulations go to them for securing a deserved place in the 2018 calendar.
“Next year’s fixture will be one of the most compact in the sport’s history. The special stages hug the coast with amazing backdrops overlooking the sea and WRC fans can look forward to stunning TV images.”
Large crowds watched the rally, which was won by Orhan Avcioğlu in a Skoda Fabia R5. Avcioğlu will compete in the WRC 2 support category at Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, this week’s penultimate round of the season.
Turkey’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Osman Aşkin Bak, attended Friday evening’s start ceremony in Marmaris and TOSFED president Serkan Yazici said it showed the importance attached to Turkey’s WRC return.
“We’ve worked incredibly hard to bring the WRC back to Turkey,” he said. “The Government has pledged its support and last weekend’s successful rally was the final piece of the jigsaw which confirmed our country’s return to the FIA World Rally Championship,” he said.
The final 2018 calendar is:
Round Rally Date 1. Monte-Carlo 25 - 28 January 2. Sweden 15 - 18 February 3. Mexico 8 - 11 March 4. France 5 - 8 April 5. Argentina 26 - 29 April 6. Portugal 17 - 20 May 7. Italy 7 - 10 June 8. Finland 26 - 29 July 9. Germany 16 - 19 August 10. Turkey 13 - 16 September 11. Great Britain 4 - 7 October 12. Spain 25 - 28 October 13. Australia 15 - 18 November
VIDEO
More News | 1,265,801 |
October 8, 2017
Societal presumptions have been telling us how millionaires are only after the looks and money. We have been told their version of love is different to those of the non-millionaires.
The truth is: Millionaires share the same feelings and concerns as other people do.
So if you ever come across a millionaire in your life, remember that they are just like normal humans who are looking for love, affection, and support from their partners. Accessing a millionaire's heart involves winning trust, but many people believe that it's just the looks that matter. With this in their minds, they work too much on their external appearance and miss the part that actually makes the difference, i.e. love, romance, and relationship.
Many top millionaire dating experts would tell you that it's the appearance that gives you a ticket to the millionaire's heart, but the reality is that rich people aren't really into others' wealth or looks. For instance, a survey by MillionaireMatch.com, revealed that rich men usually don't like to date rich women. The Study mentioned that around 79.6 percent of millionaire men prefer to seek out non-millionaire women, while 84.5 percent millionaire women go for a millionaire.
In another survey by Luxy that involved 286 male participants, only 15 percent consider other's wealth before dating them, while 14 percent said that they prioritize looks over everything else. Summing up: 71 percent actually prefer a cherishing relationship over money or good looks.
These kinds of studies leave an important mark: Every relationship requires affection, love, care, and respect. Millionaire people don't only want to be loved but they also give it back, exponentially.
Millionaire dating sites aren't meant to just get hold onto a rich guy or women; it's rather just another platform that's not too clustered.
So the next time you log into a millionaire dating site, ask yourself what you can give in response to what others are expecting. You can't have an amazing relationship without knowing what's there in other person's heart. If someone is getting into a millionaire relationship with expectations of companionship and love, you can't reciprocate with the expectations that your bills getting paid. This is a conflict of interest and there will always be misunderstanding in such relationships.
If you are feeling intimidated by the status of a millionaire, you aren't in the right spot. Remember that each one of you are rich in their own way. So if you want to make a permanent mark on someone's life, do it with your persona. There are many things that you can share like your time, attention and a shoulder to lean on when your partner needs it. Rich people have the experience of coming across people who pretend to love them for the wrong reasons. So if you don't have the right intent, you can't get along with millionaires. | 1,265,802 |
Denver Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly was arrested early Tuesday morning and is facing a charge of first-degree criminal trespassing, according to police in Englewood, Colorado.
A news release from the police department says officers responded to a call at 1:17 a.m. local time for a male standing outside of a residence on South Lincoln Street in the city.
While officers were responding, they were informed that the male had entered the residence.
According to the arrest affidavit, Kelly entered the home uninvited and sat down on the couch next to a woman who was holding her young child. Kelly allegedly “mumbled incoherently.” The male homeowner whacked Kelly with an aluminum vacuum tube and kicked him out of the house.
The man was chased out of the home by its occupant, and after a short search, the man described by the victim was found in a black SUV near the Gothic Theatre. Teammate Von Miller held a players-only Halloween party at the theatre on Monday night.
He was identified as Chad Kelly; Kelly was arrested without incident and was brought to the Arapahoe County jail on a charge of first-degree criminal trespassing. He was in court at 9:30 a.m. local time.
The Broncos have released a brief statement on the matter: “We are disappointed that Chad Kelly was arrested early this morning. Our organization has been in contact with Chad, and we are in the process of gathering more information.”
Kelly, the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2017 draft and nephew to Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, was chosen so low not just because of on-field inconsistency, but also off-field red flags: He was suspended and then dismissed from his first high school team, and he was dismissed from Clemson in April 2014 for conduct detrimental to the team. Several months after that, he was at a Buffalo nightclub when Kelly punched a bouncer in the face when the friend he was with was kicked out of the club; Kelly also threatened to “get my AK-47 and spray this place” according to a police report. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in that case.
Kelly was also in the headlines in 2016 while playing at Ole Miss. During the team’s bye week, he’d attended the game of his younger brother, and ran out of the stands and onto the field when a late hit on his brother, the team’s quarterback, led to a scuffle between both sides.
Kelly has one career snap, earlier this month against the Los Angeles Rams.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• WWE star makes stunning cancer revelation
• Popovich on giant LeBron billboard: ‘Horrifying’
• McGregor opens up about Khabib fight
• Chris Haynes: LeBron taking Lakers growing pains in stride
| 1,265,803 |
All personal data from your smartphone has been transferred to our secure cloud.
In less than 72 hours this data will be sent to every person on your telephone and email contacts list. To abort this action you have to pay a modest ransom of $50 (£38).
Please note that there is no way to delete your data from our secure but paying for them. Powering off or even damaging your smartphone won't affect your data in the cloud.
After WannaCry and Petya ransomware outbreaks, a scary (but rather creative) new strain of ransomware is spreading via bogus apps on the Google Play Store, this time targeting Android mobile users.Dubbed, the Android ransomware does not encrypt files on victim's device, unlike traditional ransomware, rather it secretly collects personal images, messages and browsing history and threatens to share it to their contacts if they don't pay $50 (£38).Researchers at security firm McAfee spotted the LeakerLocker ransomware in at least two apps — Booster & Cleaner Pro and Wallpapers Blur HD — in the Google Play Store, both of which have thousands of downloads.To evade detection of malicious functionality, the apps initially don't contain any malicious payload and typical function like legitimate apps.But once installed by users, the apps load malicious code from its command-and-control server, which instructs them to collect a vast number of sensitive data from the victim's phone — thanks to its victims granting unnecessary permissions blindly during installation.The LeakerLocker ransomware then locks the home screen and displays a message that contains details of the data it claims to have stolen and holds instructions on how to pay the ransom to ensure the information is deleted.The ransom message reads:Although the ransomware claims that it has taken a backup of all of your sensitive information, including personal photos, contact numbers, SMS', calls and GPS locations and browsing and correspondence history, researchers believe only a limited amount of data on victims is collected.According to researchers, LeakerLocker can read a victim's email address, random contacts, Chrome history, some text messages and calls, take a picture from the camera, and read some device information.All the above information is randomly chosen to display on the device screen, which is enough to convince the victims that lots of data have been copied.Both malicious apps have since been removed by Google from the Play Store, but it is likely that hackers will try to smuggle their software into other apps.If you have installed any of the two apps, uninstall it right now.But if you are hit by the ransomware and are worried about your sexy selfies and photographs being leaked to your friends and relatives, you might be thinking of paying a ransom.Do not pay the Ransom! Doing so motivates cyber criminals to carry out similar attacks, and there is also no guarantee that the stolen information will be deleted by the hackers from their server and will not be used to blackmail victims again. | 1,265,804 |
Margaret Todd lived from 1859 to 3 September 1918. She was a pioneering woman doctor and an author, and the woman who coined the word "isotope". The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline.
Little appears to be known about Margaret Todd's early years: even her date of birth seems to elude the sources we have seen. She is said to have worked as a schoolteacher in Glasgow before, in 1886 at the age of about 27, she moved to Edinburgh to become one of the first students at the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, founded in that year by Sophia Jex-Blake. Although she was 19 years younger than Jex-Blake the two formed a close personal relationship that lasted until Jex-Blake's death in 1912.
Margaret took eight years to complete her medical studies, partly because she was also writing the first of a series of novels, which she published under the pseudonym "Graham Travers". She graduated in 1894 before being awarded her M.D. in Brussels. She was then appointed Assistant Medical Officer at Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children. She retired in 1899 at the same time as Sophia Jex-Blake, and the two moved to live together in Sussex.
Margaret's first novel had been entitled "Mona Maclean, Medical Student". It was negatively reviewed by Punch magazine as "a novel with a purpose, no recommendation for a novel, more especially when the purpose selected is that of demonstrating the indispensability of women-doctors". The book nonetheless proved popular, and she wrote two more novels which were also successful. After Sophia Jex-Blake died in 1912, Todd published a detailed biography as "The Life of Dr Sophia Jex-Blake".
Margaret Todd's other claim to fame results from circumstances that are rather elusive. It seems she was a family friend of the chemist Frederick Soddy. At some point he described to her his work on radioactive elements that have more than one atomic mass, although the chemical properties are identical and they share the same place in the periodic table. He was apparently having trouble coming up with a satisfactory name. It is said that Margaret told him he needed a good Greek term: perhaps, she suggested, he should try "isotope" from the Green for "same place". Frederick Soddy went on to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1921, and has a (small) crater on the Moon named after him. He would doubtless have achieved these honours using a different name for the subject of his work, but it is good that the long-standing assumption that he coined the work "isotope" has been corrected in recent years.
Margaret Todd died at the age of 58 or 59, possibly as a result of suicide, just three months after her biography of Sophia Jex-Blake had been published. | 1,265,805 |
Welcome to the VPN section of the site!
If you don’t know about VPNs, this page will not be helpful to give you that information. This is only for people who are aware of VPNs and are looking for the best VPNs which work with Netflix. In addition, I would recommend you to read this article on common misconceptions about VPNs for Netflix.
Important: Netflix will not ban/block your account for using VPNs, but Netflix is making lot of efforts to block the IPs provided by VPN services. Hence, you should consider this aspect before committing to long term plans (1+ Year).
Currently lot of VPNs are facing issues, please confirm with their Customer Support before subscribing.
Here are my recommendations for the best VPNs available in the market for accessing Netflix in a different geolocation. I have listed them down based on:
No. of titles/regions they can unlock
Streaming quality
Popularity among users
Personal testing
ExpressVPN : ExpressVPN unlocks USA, Canada, UK, France, Australia, Germany and Netherlands regions for Netflix. Therefore, ExpressVPN can unlock 9500+ titles on Netflix across the regions (June 01, 2020). Already have ExpressVPN, check this page for catalogs and lists to watch.
NordVPN : NordVPN unlocks USA, Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, Netherlands, Spain, India, Brazil, South Korea and Portugalregions for Netflix. Therefore, NordVPN can unlock 12500+ titles on Netflix across the regions (June 01, 2020). Already have NordVPN, check this page for catalogs and lists to watch.
Surfshark : Surfshark unlocks USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Japan, India, Netherlands, Germany, France, Australia, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Poland, Portugal and Singapore regions for Netflix. Therefore, SurfShark can unlock 13500+ titles on Netflix across the regions (June 01, 2020). Already have Surfshark, check this page for catalogs and lists to watch.
I will keep updating the pages with more VPN specific lists.
Please connect with me if you want to suggest some VPNs you might be familiar with which work with Netflix or if I am missing any regions in VPNs.
Disclosure: The above links to the VPN sites are affiliate links. I get compensated, if you decide to subscribe to the service through these links.
The list below is of non-affiliated VPN(s). The pages have been created for their existing users. All the information for the region has been provided by the services, I have not verified the same.
WindScribe : Check this page for catalogs and lists to watch.
Ivacy : Check this page for catalogs and lists to watch. | 1,265,806 |
for which a HasTrie instance is already defined.) When these transformations are between function and trie form, I wonder how high the break-even threshold becomes. How might we avoid these transformations, thus reducing the overhead of memoizing? For conversion to isomorphic type during trie lookup, perhaps the cost could be reduced substantially through deforestation--inlining chains of untrie methods and applying optimizations to eliminate the many intermediate representation layers. GHC has gotten awfully good at this sort of thing. Maybe someone with more Haskell performance analysis & optimization experience than I have would be interested in collaborating. For trie construction, I suspect the conversion back from the isomorphic type could be avoided by somehow holding onto the original form of the argument, before it was converted to the isomorphic type. I haven't attempted this idea yet. Another angle on reducing the cost of the isomorphism technique is to use memoization! After all, if memoizing is worthwhile at all, there will be repeated applications of the memoized function to the same arguments. Exactly in such a case, the conversion of arguments to isomorphic form will also be done repeatedly for these same arguments. When a conversion is both expensive and repeated, we'd like to memoize. I don't know how to get off the ground with this idea, however. If I'm trying to memoize a function of type a → b, then the required conversion has type a → a' for some type a' with a HasTrie instance. Memoizing that conversion is just as hard as memoizing the function we started with.
Conclusion Existing accounts of functional memoization I know of cover functions of the unit type, sums, and products, and they do so quite elegantly. Type isomorphisms form the consistent, central theme in this work. Functions from unit, sums and products have isomorphic forms with simpler domain types (and so on, recursively). Additional isomorphisms extend these fundamental building blocks to many other types, including integer types and algebraic data types. However, functions over function-valued domains are conspicuously missing (though I hadn't noticed until recently). This post fills that gap neatly, using yet another isomorphism, and moreover an isomorphism that has been staring us in the face all along: the one between functions and tries. I wonder: Given how this trick shouts to be noticed, has it been discovered and written up?
How useful will higher-order memoization turn out to be?
How efficient is the straightforward implementation given above?
Can the conversions between isomorphic domain types be done inexpensively, perhaps eliminating many altogether?
How does [non-strict memoization][] fit in with higher-order memoization?
Memoization incrementally converts functions into data structures. It pays off when a function is repeatedly applied to the same arguments and applying the function is more expensive than accessing the... | 1,265,807 |
�t quite fit with the brutal out-of-supply rules, or that the sprinkle of card typos should have been spotted and fixed before release. You could point out that the AI, though adept at logistical interdiction, doesn’t value VLs as highly as it should. But you’d have to be a horribly soggy eiderdown to criticise the crafters of this entertaining freebie for going with fish-frogs and G-Men for a change.
Fetching counter art, a colourful custom card deck, and some disgustingly moist sound effects, ensure the pulpy theme thoroughly permeates the action. Dispersed, non-negotiable deployment positions mean the US player is faced with interesting tactical choices from the outset. To seize the VLs near the centre of the map*, three distinct US forces must be imaginatively coordinated. How do you secure Deep One strongholds like Gilman’s House and the Esoteric Order of Dagon Temple without exposing your supply lines to the lunges of a dangerously opportunistic AI? Where should Brockett’s Marines be put ashore in order to best aid the pushes from the SW and SE? What abominations lurk in that counter stack making for the supply source on the Bromley Road? There are few obvious answers.
*The most reliable source of Victory Points, although you can also garner VPs by winning large battles and slaying enemy leaders.
It’s rare for one of the fourteen multi-phase turns to pass without at least one nerve-racking battle (scraps are relatively simple dice duels, but no less gripping for that). Thought-provoking movement, card play, and spending decisions (region-linked income can be spent buying casualty replacements, or new units or random cards) grace most turns too.
I’d happily play a mini campaign set in this world of gills and gunboats, tentacles and tommy guns, but as Strategiae’s eclecticism doesn’t seem compatible with multi-episode add-ons, would probably have to resort to the editor to prolong things.
That powerful tool looks from a distance like a superb way for an amateur with strong ideas to launch a career in computer wargame design. One industrious fan has already used it to produce a scenario deemed payware worthy by the devs. Not available on Steam yet, Sicily 1943 offers WATW owners the chance to conduct Operation Husky in a manageable one and a half hours for a seemingly very reasonable £2.70. Reminded of Wars Across The World’s friendliness, colour, and pace by Innsmouth 1928, there’s a very good chance I’ll end up pummelling the soft underbelly of Europe between Cheapside Orient games this weekend.
* * * | 1,265,808 |
Phantasy Star Online. A PC (Originally on Consoles) Online RPG where you fight monsters across many different areas and grind to look for special rare items that will make your character stronger. The players start off in space and travel down to Ragol to investigate a mysterious explosion. Many of you have probably heard about it, many of you have played it, but this game was the game that brought Team Sky Nite together. It was the first game that many of us was able to spend countless Saturday nights on one TV rather than having to wait until we’re all on a computer to play together. Ever since Dj Knite X (Galago in-game) discovered an ad about PSO Ver 2. for Dreamcast in a gaming magazine, he knew that PSO would be the next game. It wasn’t until his 12th Birthday, that he was able to get Episode 1 and 2 for the Gamecube and that’s when it all started.
2004-2011 has been the craziest years for PSO. Many of tSn players played on Schthack for the longest time from PSO PC until the death of one of the biggest PSOBB Servers out there. Few of the clan members were lucky enough to experience the original Dreamcast feel by playing on that server as it was one of the few servers that supported Dreamcast. A handful of tSn players that played PSO has made their way back into the realms of Ragol.
Dj Knite X discovered various PSO BB servers but can never find that spark that the team once had. He played on Ultima and Schthack (reboot) but both servers have never been the same. He discovered Ephinea PSO BB which aims to be the closest to how the real servers worked. Better yet, no hackers or cheaters on it. Ephinea offers pretty much everything Sega PSO BB had, unlockable quests, events, and a working Team system. They added new features such as sandbox mode and voice chat. One of the greatest things to make its way to PSO BB is the option to have a custom HUD. While all the extras are optional, Team Sky Nite has been playing PSO BB like it was their baby again.
Dj Knite X was streaming and had 8 viewers which some of them were known in the PSO Community and even the Server Admin joined in on the fun. The team met new friends and have been slowly bringing back the clan to play the game they once grew up on. Come join us on the Ephinea Server @ http://ephinea.pioneer2.net. We hope to see you guys there. Below is a video of what we were doing and be expect to see more! Also join the live streams @ http://twitch.tv/djknitex and http://twitch.tv/somesillypanda | 1,265,809 |
Bengaluru: City-based researchers have come up with a made-in-India dialysis machine, which is expected to reduce cost of the medical procedure.
Designed by Renalyx Health Systems, the machine, RxT17, started undergoing clinical trials at JSS Medical College Hospital, Mysuru, from March 2. A 40-year-old renal disorder patient was the first to undergo dialysis on the new machine on March 2.
Dialysis machines are now imported from Germany, Sweden and China at a cost of Rs 10-11 lakh a piece. A dialysis session costs between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000. The new machine is likely to be priced at Rs 4 lakh and it could reduce the cost of dialysis to Rs 1,000.
The machine is cloud-enabled and can be connected to a mobile app, so that nephrologists can monitor its functioning and the patient’s response from anywhere.
“There are only 1,400 nephrologists in India and only 200 in Karnataka. There is a need to bridge the gap between patients and doctors through technological intervention. We can take the new dialysis machine to rural areas too, given its ability to connect seamlessly and its capacity to run on solar power. Such features are not available in dialysis machines imported from Japan, the US and Germany,” says Shyam Vasudev Rao, an Indian Institute of Science (IISc) alumnus and founder-chairman of Renalyx.
Work on the machine began in 2013, driven by the vision to “create innovative and inclusive solutions for comprehensive renal care.”
Dr Lloyd Vincent, a nephrologist and co-founder of Renalyx, said the objective was to reduce the cost. “We have a project monitoring committee with alumni from Bombay and Delhi IITs as well as AIIMS, Delhi. The clinical trials are going on successfully. The product has been funded by the department of science and technology, New Delhi,” he said.
The company has patents and active collaborations with premier institutions, including IIT Kharagpur, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and PESIT in Bengaluru.
Production may begin in August
“As manufacturers, we would not have control over how much the hospital charges once it is sold. But we want to make sure that dialysis will be cost-effective,” said Dr Ajay Sharma, chief research officer, Renalyx. He said production of the machine is likely to begin in August 2018.
Speaking to TOI, Dr Sankaran Sundar, president of South Indian Nephrologists Association, said the new machine provides the hope of affordable treatment to renal patients and nephrologists in India.
| 1,265,810 |
Ex-Chinese dissident found safe in Indiana
Brian Wilson | The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS -- A dissident who spent 17 years in a Chinese prison and had been missing for three days has been found safe on the city's northwest side.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Lt. Christopher Baily said Wednesday Yu Dongyue was located by "concerned citizens."
Yu was reported missing Sunday from Happy Hour Foot Spa, where his sister, Yu Rixia, works.
Yu's imprisonment -- after he threw eggs with red paint on a portrait of Mao Zedong during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 -- drew international attention as human rights groups pressed for his freedom. But he was released a different man, battered by abuse, with diminished mental and verbal abilities.
Yu, 46, was granted political asylum in the U.S. in 2009. He and his sister emigrated to Indianapolis that year, and he has spent much of his time at the spa.
According to police, a woman found Yu on Tuesday in her backyard, sitting underneath a tree with a bicycle parked nearby.
The woman gave the man water and food, she told police, and the man proceeded to spend the rest of the day sitting on the home's patio, she said.
Later in the evening, shortly before 11 p.m., the woman called police and asked them to check on the welfare of a man who had did not speak English, according to the report.
Reached by phone, the man's sister expressed relief her brother had been found.
"There were some nice people who helped take care of him and I am very thankful," said Rixia Yu.
According to a police report, Yu was last seen Sunday. He is described as 5-foot-5, about 160 pounds and was last seen wearing gray shorts and a blue shirt with a whale design on it.
Yu has a scar on the left side of his forehead from his imprisonment and subsequent torture, police said.
That description, along with a picture of him and his sister, was circulated locally by Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc., an organization that helps with resettlement in Indianapolis.
Carleen Miller, the group's executive director, said Yu has a history of wandering off. Her organization and Yu's family have tried to make sure local authorities look out for him.
"He was someone who's really been through a lot and hasn't been the same since," she said.
Yu was also reported missing in July 2009, and was found by Lawrence police.
What followed drew widespread criticism. A Lawrence policeman initially arrested Yu on suspicion of public intoxication due to his mental incapacity, and registered the then-unidentified man's name as "Jackie Chan." He was not charged in connection with the incident, and Lawrence police officials later apologized. | 1,265,811 |
Good morning, Angels — and Angel wannabes.
Sony Pictures Entertainment dropped a new trailer Friday for the second film reboot of the camp-classic 1970s series “Charlie’s Angels.” And, as one might expect, it’s full of guns, gams and glam.
The two-minute clip features Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska as three young women who are recruited into the Townsend Agency, a shadowy detective organization.
This time out, the agency is run by at least a trio of people named Bosley — played by screenwriter-director Elizabeth Banks, Patrick Stewart and Djimon Hounsou, in the role originally portrayed by David Doyle in the Aaron Spelling series and Billy Murray in the previous 2003 and 2000 reboots. (No word yet on who, if anyone, will be Charlie, who was originally voiced by John Forsythe.)
“I run a covert group of exceptional women,” says Banks’ Bosley as she takes the recruits on a tour of the agency’s headquarters, which includes a substantial clothing-and-gizmo room that is equal parts Vogue fashion closet and James Bond weapons warehouse.
During the new employee orientation, a naive Elena Houghlin (Scott) asks, “So, you guys are, like, lady spies?”
“We work outside the rules, in secret, together,” Bosley informs them. “You may not know we exist, but we are always watching.”
As a remix of Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” sets the mood, there are lots of short, shimmery dresses — concealing thigh gun holsters, of course — and matching neck and wrist tattoos of the organization’s logo. There’s also plenty of butt-kicking fights, skydiving, 180s in Audi sports cars and general strutting of the Angels’ best assets. Oh, and day-drinking, at least for Banks’ Bosley.
The soundtrack for the film, in theaters Nov. 15, includes new music by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, M-22, Normani, Kim Petras, Chaka Khan, Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey and more.
The 1976-81 series initially starred Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson as ex-cops looking to do more than write parking tickets and serve as school crossing guards. And they sure did — they took down criminals while posing as everything from models to roller derby pros. Two subsequent movie retoolings — 2000’s “Charlie’s Angels” and 2003’s “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” — starred Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz. | 1,265,812 |
A security camera perched above the blacktop parking lot caught sight of him, a figure in a dark shirt and light pants lumbering along the side of Little Caesars restaurant, four blocks from the Intercoastal Waterway in Holly Hill, Florida, north of Daytona Beach. The pizza place was closed for the night, the parking lot empty.
The camera footage showed the man walking the length of the building, a 2-inch by 4-inch board in his right hand. When he stepped into the glare of a streetlight, the camera caught his face: he was wearing a demonic mask, the mouth smeared in blood-red paint. Police would later describe it as a clown mask. But an internet search of similar looking masks suggested something closer to a vampire.
Inside the Little Caesars, 28-year-old Heriberto Feliciano was locking the store up for the night, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. Camera footage from inside the restaurant, released by Orlando’s News 6, showed Mr Feliciano push open the Little Caesers’s glass door, step out into the parking lot, and look to his right as the masked-man began attacking him with the board.
“This is unusual for the city of Holly Hill and we take this very seriously,” Holly Hill Police Chief Stephen Aldrich told News 6. “It was an ambush type of an attack and it does appear that [Mr Feliciano] was defending himself.”
The attack would prove deadly.
According to a police report cited by the News-Journal, Mr Feliciano was hit with the wooden board until it broke. The masked attacker then attempted to stab him with a pair of scissors.
Mr Feliciano, a conceal carry permit holder, was able to pull his gun on his attacker, firing four to five times into the masked man.
Holly Hill police quickly responded to the scene, arriving at the Little Caesars around 11.50pm on Saturday night. The suspect – who has not yet been officially identified – was found unresponsive in the middle of the parking lot suffering from gunshot wounds.
The scissors and clown mask were scattered on the ground nearby. The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
“I’m glad that he was able to defend himself and that he’s okay,” Mr Aldrich told ABC 9. “It’s just unfortunate that this whole episode occurred.”
Mr Feliciano reportedly suffered injuries to his face and shoulders and was treated at a hospital. His father told ABC 9 Mr Feliciano is “deeply affected” by the attack and has had trouble sleeping. The victim is scheduled to meet with investigators on Tuesday. | 1,265,813 |
WASHINGTON ― Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that Democrats won’t work with President Donald Trump unless he ditches the House Freedom Caucus and his “hard right” policies.
“The president campaigned as a populist against the Democratic and Republican establishments,” Schumer said on ABC’s “This Week.” “He ran as a defender of the middle class. The minute he got into office, maybe led by Vice President [Mike] Pence or some of the others, he moved so far to the hard right that it’s virtually impossible for us to work with him.”
“If he changes, he could have a different presidency, but he’s going to have to tell the Freedom Caucus and the hard-right special wealthy interests who are dominating his presidency,” Schumer added.
He said that Democrats will “certainly look at his proposals” if Trump ditches the policies that have been a hallmark of his presidency so far, noting that any future support would be “guided by our values.”
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the head of the House Freedom Caucus, said Republicans need Schumer to be a “willing partner” on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Schumer, however, stated clearly that any legislation that repeals the health care law is a nonstarter for Democrats.
Party members across the spectrum, from the somewhat conservative Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to the democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), are unified in opposition, Schumer said.
You cannot run the presidency like you run a real estate deal. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Trump’s inexperience with governance contributed to his inability to pass the health care bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, the Senate minority leader said, adding that Democrats can’t give their support if the president makes the same mistakes on tax reform or other important legislation.
“You cannot run the presidency like you run a real estate deal,” Schumer said, noting the president’s “basic lack of competence.”
Schumer also slammed Trump for his new policy of working to undermine the Affordable Care Act through administrative actions.
“For the president to say that he’ll destroy it, or undermine it, that’s not presidential,” Schumer said. “That’s petulance.”
“If he, out of anger, vengeance, whatever, starts undermining [the Affordable Care Act], it’s going backfire on him because he’s the president and the American people know he’s in charge and they want him to make things better,” Schumer added. | 1,265,814 |
Did Tyrannosaurus rex have feathers? The answer may surprise you!The answer is:Surprised? You shouldn't be. We only have a few small patches of tyrannosaurid skin from different parts of the body described so far (Bell et al. 2017), and we don't really know much about the interplay of feathers and scales (or reticulae, if you want to get into specifics) in coelurosaurian theropods. While there are good reasons to believe some feathers were present on Tyrannosaurus, the possibility remains that it had, for whatever reason, completely given up feathers the same way large ornithopods seem to have done.However, you can't just simply replace all the feathers on old rexy and be done with it. Tyrannosaurus persisted in a climate with a mean annual temperature of about 11 °C, which means it had to periodically deal with some unpleasantly cool temperatures for an uninsulated animal. How could scaly Sue survive in such an environment? The answer could be by getting fat. An insulating layer of blubber lets marine mammals to do without hair and appears to have enabled sauropterygians to thrive in frigid waters. Perhaps the scaly tyrannosaurids of yesteryear's paleoart aren't that inaccurate, they're just way too thin!This illustration aims to portray Tyrannosaurus rex (based on the Sue specimen, from a skeletal drawing by) the way it might have looked if it lacked feathers entirely (there are still some short quill-like highly modified ones left on the neck and arms, perhaps for display purposes or to discourage biting). Of course in the case of Tyrannosaurus, the scales are probably modified feather as well. The small patches of skin from Tyrannosaurus specimens show that the scales were so small, you'd have to get very close to the animal to actually see them. The "lumpy" look of Sue's face is based on Carr et al. (2017), who mention correlates for armor-like skin on several parts of the skull in Daspletosaurus, a close relative and possibly even a direct ancestor of Tyrannosaurus. Though very plump, Sue still has some loose skin folds around the neck and torso, as these regions need to be able to stretch to allow the swallowing of large food items and to engorge on a kill, that would presumably produce an even more rotund creature (while the meal is being digested anyway).Sources/Further reading:Bell et al. (2017) Tyrannosauroid integument reveals conflicting patterns of gigantism and feather evolution Carr et al. (2017) A new tyrannosaur with evidence for anagenesis and crocodile-like facial sensory system Arens and Allen (2014) A florule from the base of the Hell Creek Formation in the type area of eastern Montana: Implications for vegetation and climate | 1,265,815 |
Estimated reading time: 7 minute(s)
Today Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia spoke at the CeBIT. He had a lot to say about privacy concerns, the NSA scandal and Edward Snowden. When he was asked whether he thinks Snowden should be allowed to return home he responded “Yeah, and when he does I will buy him his first beer”.
As you can see in the above image he brought up what Bill Gates had to say about Snowden. And while he expressed great respect for Bill Gates he does not agree with this, and it has got Jimmy to lose a lot of faith in Bill Gates.
Personally I find it funny since Bill Gates is also a criminal if you look at it that way. At one instance Bill Gates actually got drunk and put a huge Internet Explorer logo made of wood in the fountain outside Netscapes office. I suppose that means that the success Bill had with Microsoft is somehow invalidated.
In October 1997, Internet Explorer 4.0 was released. The release party in San Francisco featured a ten-foot-tall letter “e” logo. Netscape employees showing up to work the following morning found the giant logo on their front lawn, with a sign attached that read “From the IE team … We Love You”. The Netscape employees promptly knocked it over and set a giant figure of their Mozilla dinosaur mascot atop it, holding a sign reading “Netscape 72, Microsoft 18” representing the market distribution.[8]
Using Bill Gates logic Rosa Parks should have been punished for not sitting at the back of the bus. And also she accomplished nothing, because it was a crime.
Jimmy Wales agrees that Snowden did in fact break the law, but nonetheless it was necessary. Throughout history there have been legislations that have tried to limit our freedom, and heroes who have stood up to them. Jimmy said that he thinks Obama should admit that what Snowden did, was indeed necessary. But he also stated that he thinks it would be reasonable for Snowden to receive a shorter jail sentence. He also said: “I don’t think he should be charged with treason, that is quite extraordinary.”
He hopes Obama will change his mind and compromise, but he seriously doubts it.
When asked if he thinks Snowden should be granted asylum in Germany Jimmy literally responded “Oh that’d be cool” And everyone laughed and applauded.
He mentioned how companies around the world are now hesitant to have their sensitive data stored on servers in the US. Because “to what extent are we giving away trade secrets when storing data in the cloud on servers in the US”
Jimmy Wales was not alone to stand up against the NSA at CeBIT, Steve Wozniak also expressed great dislike for the unconstitutional acts of the NSA. And how our freedom of speech is being greatly suppressed. | 1,265,816 |
Car design is a constantly evolving medium, with manufacturers constantly wanting to set their product apart from the others in terms of design and performance. Creating a strong and recognisable brand image is important to the modern automaker.
The latest of these trends to come out of the woodwork is the exposed gear linkage. First championed by the Spyker C8 back in 2000 having exposed gear linkages and moving mechanical parts in the cabin became an instant infatuation, showing us that not everything needed to be kept hidden in the transmission tunnel.
For years after Spyker showed us the way we found our first of the modern exposed trends in the Pagani Huayra. The car features a single clutch gearbox but the selector is made from bespoke carbon fibre and machined aluminium, to create this piece alone and the exposed linkages takes longer than it would take to build a regular hatchback on a production line. The results, however, speak for themselves and this is one of the defining parts of the Huayra that combines gorgeous design with functionality.
Sensing that their Italian cousins were on to something the team behind the Fiat Abarth 695 Biposto also saw fit to expose themselves with the Dog leg gearbox in the hot Italian hatch. The Italian offering is more utilitarian than that of the Pagani, but that functionality almost makes it more appealing as it feels instantly race car derived. The long shifter, and gate low down on the floor turn the city hatch into something that looks like it could devour any road with pleasure. The juxtaposition of exposed aluminium against the plastic and carbon of the dash set the gearbox out as a defining aspect of the car and transforms it into a serious piece of kit.
Similarly to the Abarth, Lotus’ new Exige Sport 350 and 380 editions have joined the trend of getting their kit off in search of a racier feel. Although slightly more British and conservative in its design than the Italians (obviously) the exposed linkages in the Lotus have the same effect of making it feel like an instant racer. The slight casing shields the linkage and shows off the metalwork in a suitable understated way, all the while showing the moving parts so giant children like us can oggle at what’s going on every time you shift a cog.
There is something oddly satisfying about seeing the inner workings of the gear shift as well as what makes the ‘clunk’ in the gearbox and the exposed linkage is a trend that we are incredibly on board with these days. If it turns out to be just a fad, at least it was a good one that delighted petrolhead the world over. This trend has by no means burned itself out, so which manufacturer will be the next to try their hand? Will it be Porsche with their new manual GT3 variant? Only time will tell, but for now enjoy these pictures of exposed linkages! | 1,265,817 |
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced its plans to withdraw all currency noted issued before 2005. Financial experts believe that the move is largely aimed at removing fake or counterfeit currency embedded into the financial system as well help uncover the big black market currency in the country. While the motives of RBI are unquestionably good, there has been some quantum of confusion amongst the general public as to whether the notes they have would need replacement or not. Read on to find out if the currency notes in your pocket or ones stashed in your locker needs to be changed.
Identifying Pre 2005 Currency Notes: Currently the Reserve Bank of India prints currency notes in the denomination of Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000. All the notes printed before the year 2005 do not have the year of printing marked on it. All currency notes printed post 2005 have is year of printing clearly printed in the middle of the bottom row on the backside of the note. If your bank note has no year of printing on the back, it means the note is printed before 2005 and needs to be exchanged with the bank as per the RBI deadline. All notes with the year of printing indicated on the currency note would stay in operation as all of them are posted after 2005.
Possible Reasons for Withdrawal: The possible reasons for the withdrawal of old currency is more to do with streamlining the number of currency variants than anything else. Of course the government is worried about the inflow of fake currency and hopes to tackle it by using all notes printed post 2015 which are far more technically superior and difficult to print for fake currency mongers.
How to Exchange Old Currency Notes: So now that you have identified your currency notes and shortlisted the ones that need to be changed, a simple exchange procedure is revealed by the press release of the Reserve Bank of India. First things first, there should be no reason to panic whatsoever as the RBI has clearly stated that all old notes would continue to be completely legal and can be exchanged at any bank after April 1, 2014.
All public sector as well as private banks have been asked to create a dedicated exchange counter where both account owners as well as non account owners of that bank or branch can exchange their old currency notes for new ones. These exchange counters will become operation from 1st April 2014.If you have a large amount of old currency notes with you, you may want to exchange them, before 30th June 2014. So why is this date important? All exchanges done before 30th June would be unconditional. For any exchange of more than ten pieces of old Rs 500 or Rs 1000 notes after that date would require identity proof and address to be shared with the bank if you are a non customer of that bank.
In Indian so far there has been no official declaration regarding the lifespan of a currency note. | 1,265,818 |
! Perhaps people spent more time at version A searching for right content, to the detriment of the user experience.
Importance Fallacies
Note: Experimental design also determines a p-value. If any aspect of the null hypothesis is incorrect, a large enough sample size or careful enough measurements will eventually lead to a small p-value. This will occur even if the deviation from the null hypothesis is extremely small and exists in some minor auxiliary assumption.
Twisted Tongues
Statistical significance is not clinical significance.
Error Rate Fallacies
Importance fallacies claim that a p-value can tell us the probability we have observed interesting/substantial deviation from the null hypothesis. As we have discussed, the p-value is not the probability that the null hypothesis is true, either in part or in whole. E.g., it is not the probability that the difference is zero. Thus, it also not be the probability that the difference takes on any other value, whether of any importance or not.Overlaps between statistical jargon and common English contribute to importance fallacies. Small p-values are commonly termedby statisticians. This is may be an oversimplification when communicating to non-statisticians. To defend each other against this fallacy, medical researchers often teach:Error rate fallacies assume the p-value is a equivalent to a false positive rate. For a p-value of 5%, researchers often believe that repeating the experiment will yield a p-value at least this low 5% of the time. Small p-values are usually deemed "positive" results, so this cutoff (α = 0.05) is termed the false positive rate.
When the null hypothesis is true and the same experiments/observations are made repeatedly, α applies to the situation. If we set a cutoff of α = 0.05 (5%) for our p-values, then 5% of the p-values generated will be at least this small. The p-value obviously cannot have the same meaning as α since it is being compared to it (and is free to take on any value between 0 and 1).
Note: In the cases where the null hypothesis is false, the false positive rate is always zero. It is not possible to falsely conclude a false hypothesis is false.
Conclusion
Despite a long history of controversy, the p-value enjoys widespread use for drawing conclusions in business, policy, academia, and even medicine. Misconceptions and misinterpretations are rampant, but spotting them is not an esoteric task. Users do not need a higher degree in mathematics to spot and avoid the logical errors. As seen above, many of the common fallacies suffer from the same underlying flaw. Specifically, the calculation of the p-value assumes the null hypothesis is 100% true and correct, so the p-value cannot possibly tell us about the possible scenarios where it is incorrect. | 1,265,819 |
JERSEY CITY (CBSNewYork) — Several local papers are outraged after hundreds of newspaper distribution boxes suddenly vanished overnight in Jersey City.
Now, the papers are accusing Mayor Steven Fulop of violating their first amendment rights.
Contributors for The Jersey City Independent placed what they say is the only remaining distribution box in the city in protest after officials removed the 240 others from sidewalks earlier this month.
For #JerseyCity residents: We continue to remove these from the streets as many are non functioning, they clutter the sidewalks, and many just become trash cans. We have 240 so far w/more to do. If we accidentally took one that has permits to be there please reach out to DPW pic.twitter.com/ecfVn4L4rn — Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) June 4, 2018
Fulop tweeted in part, “We continue to remove these from the streets as many are non functioning, they clutter the sidewalks, and many just become trash cans.”
“People should have been told, involved, or asked if this should happen,” contributor Erik Anders Nilsson said.
The paper’s editor says they were distributing up to 1,000 free papers per month in Jersey City.
“We had someone checking in on the box every few days making sure it was neat,” editor John Tarleton said.
Fulop says the boxes will be returned in a few weeks “in a place approved by City Council to make sure they’re safe and clean and appropriate for the city.”
The newspaper staff says they would have applied for a permit with Jersey City before putting placing their box in November, but any sort of application process wasn’t available. They charge the mayor is changing the rules mid-game.
“You don’t commit the crime and then create an ordinance to justify what you’ve done,” Anders Nilsson said.
So why wasn’t there a permit system in place?
“I can’t speak to why it was for 35 years, but there probably should’ve been and I haven’t been here that long but we’re fixing it,” Fulop said.
For their part, the papers say they’re protected by the Constitution.
“We don’t just want the box returned, we want the right to have the box back on the sidewalk,” Tarleton said.
The papers say they’ll continue to voice their concerns outside City Hall until their boxes are allowed back on the streets. Meantime, the boxes are being held at the Department of Public Works for owners to claim at any time.
Fulop says 50 have already been returned. | 1,265,820 |
GE and Apple announced a partnership today that will pave the way for putting utility analytics software Predix on iOS devices. The Predix software development kit will allow 77 utilities that work with GE to manage turbines, condensers, boiler feed pumps, and more from iPads and iPhones.
That, GE says, will ensure “that real-time data is captured and shared with field workers and remote operations using iOS devices.”
As part of the program, GE has agreed to standardize iPhones and iPads as the primary work devices for its 330,000 employees. The industrial machinery company will also make Macs available to employees who prefer them, according to Reuters.
Predix software takes data from sensors embedded in all kinds of industrial equipment used in the energy industry and uses that data to predict maintenance downtime more efficiently. This isn’t a novel idea—power plant and utility operations generally require some form of diagnostic system to avoid the kinds of catastrophic failures that cause, at best, money to be lost and, at worst, power outages to customers. Some equipment managers have home-grown systems tailored specifically to the machinery configuration that exists at their power plant. And other big companies like Siemens offer third-party diagnostic tools like GE.
Last month, GE announced that it would begin using Predix in its remote monitoring center in Atlanta, Georgia, where the company watches power plant equipment running in 60 countries from a distance. The system gets feedback from one million sensors set in industrial equipment, and when any of those sensors sends back data outside of their preferred parameters, the M&D (that is, monitoring and diagnostics) center can call the owners of those assets and recommend a solution. The system gives power plant owners some advance notice about potentially critical conditions, hopefully turning unplanned downtime into planned downtime (which is always cheaper for the power plant owners). Similarly, Siemens also has remote monitoring centers, much like GE’s center in Atlanta, in Europe and Orlando, Florida.
In a call with Ars last month, Scott Bolick, head of software strategy and product management for GE Power, called GE’s remote M&D center with asset management diagnostics the “largest industrial Internet of things use case in the world.”
GE's software will now be more accessible for customers using iOS devices. The Predix SDK launches on October 26, and GE told Reuters that it expects the partnership to help its digital arm pull in $12 billion in revenue.
In a press release, GE contextualized the partnership: “A Predix app on iOS can notify a worker on their iPhone of a potential issue with equipment like a wind turbine and allow them to collaborate with remote teams when performing inspections and repairs, collecting relevant data instantly,” GE wrote. “These industrial apps will close the information loop faster, ultimately increasing cost savings and minimizing unplanned downtime.” | 1,265,821 |
Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe Andrew George McCabeJudge will not dismiss McCabe's case against DOJ Graham: Comey to testify about FBI's Russia probe, Mueller declined invitation Barr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' MORE said Thursday that it was "absolutely" time to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE.
CNN's Chris Cuomo Chris CuomoCNN's Don Lemon: 'Blow up the entire system' remark taken out of context CNN's Lemon: 'We're going to have to blow up the entire system' if Democrats win back White House, Senate Giuliani criticizes NYC leadership: 'They're killing this city' MORE asked McCabe, "Do you believe that an impeachment inquiry is warranted based on what you understand and what has come out of the Mueller report?"
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"Absolutely," McCabe responded, pointing to special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's investigation, which found insufficient evidence to charge Trump with conspiring with Moscow to interfere in the election, but did not exonerate him with regards to obstruction of justice.
"I think we are clearly there with the results of the special counsel team," McCabe said. "There are so many witnesses who could provide important, essential testimony to Congress that can only be done in the scope of an impeachment inquiry."
"Action should be taken immediately," he continued, and it is "beside the point" whether the inquiry results in articles of impeachment.
McCabe was fired from the FBI last year after an internal report found he was not forthcoming with investigators.
He responded that his dismissal was part of a larger effort by the administration to discredit the FBI and the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Mueller's report detailed numerous contacts that Trump associates and campaign members had with Russian figures during the 2016 race.
The special counsel declined to make a prosecutorial decision about whether the president obstructed subsequent investigations into the interference, but outlined 10 “episodes” of behavior that his team investigated for possible obstruction of justice.
Several Democrats, and Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashInternal Democratic poll shows tight race in contest to replace Amash Centrist Democrats'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill On The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president MORE (R-Mich.), have called for proceedings to be initiated based on those results. | 1,265,822 |
Album Stream:
Smut
End of Sam-soon
~
words by tom johnson
We might only be able to offer you one extra day with the brilliant new album from Smut – it gets its full release tomorrow – but that might well prove to be invaluable time, given the way in which the record tries its very hardest to keep its secrets close to its chest, only gradually the listener little glimpses of what you could and should, eventually, find buried inside.
A thick-wedge of noise-pop, End Of Sam-soon arrives via the ever-dependable Broken Circles label, and it makes for a tremendously immersive undertaking, the elements of shoegaze mixed with that aforementioned noisiness resulting in a breathless, somewhat intoxicating record – and one of the more formidable, vehement guitar records that we’ve been treated to all year.
We’re very pleased to stream the whole album from the Ohio quintet here today – and you can listen to it below the band’s own extended introduction. Check it out:
End of Sam-soon is a really important record for us. It’s our first properly released collection of songs but also marks the end of an era for us as band. It comes from a very bittersweet place and it reflects within the songs. Musically, we wanted to try and see how many different ways we could mix melody and noise, harmony and dissonance. Each song is kind of a different dissection of a typical pop or rock structure. Lyrically, the album is very personal and observational, each song dealing with entirely different subject matter. “Video Cell” deals primarily with themes of isolation and neglect at the hands of technology, while “Rosewater” is about the anxiety and pressure that exists, even in the healthiest relationships. “Bones of Summer” is about losing something before it even really exists. “Blush” tackles the confusion of an adolescent crush. “Sam-soon” remembers something it wants to forget and “Shuteye” is about the frustration of insomnia.
– Smut
‘End of Sam-soon’ is released on October 27th, via Broken Circles
Tour Dates
(with Bully)
12/6 – Little Rock, AR – Stickyz
12/7 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada
12/8 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
12/9 – Houston, TX – Walter’s Downtown
12/10 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
12/12 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
12/13 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
~
facebook.com/smutohio
* | 1,265,823 |
The Cost of Care: How AI is Revolutionizing Healthcare and Driving Down Prices
The cost of healthcare is once again at the center of a national debate. With premiums rising, the baby boomers aging, and diabetes, the most expensive disease in the world, affecting 10% of the US population, the rising cost of healthcare in America is an issue that affects all of us. In the past, the implementation of new and emerging technologies in healthcare has contributed to the climbing costs. In contrast, the application of AI into healthcare is promising to drive those costs down.
Healthcare is an enormously expensive industry and the costs are steadily climbing. According to World Book, in 2014 healthcare made up 17.1% of the GDP of the United States– up 4% from 1995, and continuing to grow. The application of artificial intelligence into healthcare is promising to greatly reduce these expanding expenses while improving healthcare quality and access. By 2026, it’s estimated $150 billion could be saved annually in the US healthcare economy by AI applications. It’s no wonder that healthcare is currently the number one investor in AI.
One of the areas in healthcare that will be most significantly impacted by the application of artificial intelligence is clinical documentation. AI applications in medical workflow management are estimated to accumulate $18 billion in annual savings for the healthcare industry by 2026, the third largest estimated savings from AI technology in healthcare after robotic surgery and virtual assistants. Modern healthcare AI is capable of learning and comprehending and can perform clinical healthcare functions in much the same way as a human, minus human error.
Physician error in clinical documentation is an understandable yet costly complication in healthcare, and AI is able to streamline the tedious clinical documentation process and automatically generate accurate and complete reports. Many AI healthcare programs are capable of fully augmenting human behavior and can perform tasks from risk analysis to patient diagnosis. Physician engagement in clinical documentation is a critical component to the quality and costs of healthcare, and AI applications are proving to increase physician engagement and improve clinical documentation quality.
With so much potential to improve not only healthcare costs, but also access and quality, the AI health market is currently experiencing a boom, and is expected to grow into a $6.6 billion dollar industry by 2021. This growth makes sense when you consider that the nation and the world are currently facing a shortage of doctors and healthcare personnel, and AI offers hospitals and physician practices a way to combat their rising operational and labor costs, while enabling them to better perform critical administrative functions quickly, accurately, and cost effectively.
Artificial Intelligence seems like the wave of the future, but the reality is, the future is here. In today’s medical environment of value-based care, appropriate reimbursements are incumbent upon accurate, high quality clinical documentation. As AI continues to grow and evolve, AI enabled clinical documentation improvement technology will continue to transform the healthcare industry, improving patient outcomes and optimizing revenue. | 1,265,824 |
So then, a big problem of my is procrastination. I will begin a piece of Uni work, start writing a song or try to complete a task, and I will start to ‘find’ other things to do.
The internet is an incredible thing, it includes tonnes of useful and fun information, however, it can also be your own worst enemy. One site I usually find myself drifting to is Reddit. Reddit is a giant forum which contains many smaller forums known as ‘Subreddits’. These Subreddits include just about anything, which means it is very easy to get lost in the site for hours on end, resulting in the task you set out to do being left until the next day, or the day after that.
Ironically, whilst browsing on Reddit today I stumbled across a thread about how to tackle procrastination. One user posted a comment and said that to tackle procrastination you need to stop thinking about how to tackle procrastination. Confusing? He said you need to stop worrying about why its so difficult to stop procrastinating, stop worrying about all the tasks that are coming up in the future, and simply completely and entirely focus on the present and enjoy that.
His suggestion to break the cycle of procrastination? Meditation.
Funnily, this brings me onto my first long term goal. For just over a year now I have researched and strongly believed in the Buddhist way of life, I strongly believe in not stressing or worrying about anything. I never hold grudges against anyone and I respect everything.
Whilst researching Buddhism I started to look into meditation, it really interested me and I decided to give it a go. The type of meditation I decided to practice was called mindfulness and breathing, the basic idea of this was to shut your eyes and concentrate solely on breathing in, and breathing out. Whilst meditating your mind may wonder, you may think about what you are doing tomorrow, or what you did yesterday, but you should just let the thoughts float by and bring them back to your breathing, the present. This is meant to help you focus, and live in the present. Exactly what the Redditor was suggesting.
No surprise though, after a few weeks of meditating everyday for around 15-30 minutes I started missing days and eventually giving up completely, even though it was really helping me concentrate. So for my first goal, I would like to start meditating again, I will start by meditating just 5-10 minutes a day and gradually increase it. Hopefully this will help me concentrate on other aspects of my life.
Let me know how you have tried to tackle procrastination, or if you have meditated whether it has helped you or not!
If you would like to give meditation a go, here is a link to the help you out!
See you soon, take it easy! | 1,265,825 |
the 1970s, collectors would take out ads in the National Button Bulletin to tell people what kind of buttons they were looking for.
Collecting buttons initially became popular in the late 1800s, Franz said. She said girls often collected glass buttons and it was said that if she collected 1,000, she was ready for a suitor. Collecting became popular again during the Great Depression as a cheap hobby. Out of that, Franz said button collecting became increasingly popular into the 1950s.
Franz began collecting buttons 10 years ago when a member of her book club invited her to a meeting. She said she thought the woman was a little nutty, but after seeing the buttons and meeting the other women, she was all in. Now, she estimates she has about 3,000 in her collection.
At her home in Tualatin, there’s not much evidence of the thousands of buttons. She said she knows people who have button boards lining their hallways, and as much as she loves the idea, she knows her husband would never go for it.
A few button-themed decorations were in her living room, but they are a surprise for the national button convention, so she asked that they not be described or photographed.
Instead, her collection lives in her guest bedroom, ‘the button room’ as she calls it. Most were put away in small bins and boxes labeled with the type of button within. She keeps more in the closet.
Her collection includes a button from the mid-1700s hand-painted with watercolors. She bought it at the national convention two years ago in Denver. The seller told her it came from a collection owned by a member of King Louis XVI’s court or King Louis himself. Another button in her collection came from the estate of Carroll O’Connor, best known for his role as Archie Bunker in “All in the Family.”
She also keeps button reference books like “The Big Book of Buttons,” a huge red encyclopedia. The books are difficult to find and sell for hundreds of dollars online. Franz has pages tabbed and marked with labels such as “fables” or “theatre.”
Franz flipped through one book and came across a page of buttons from the 1800s. She warned that they were inappropriate. One button on the page showed a man riding an enormous penis like a man on horseback, reins and all.
“You won’t see that at Jo-Ann’s,” Franz said.
-- Peter Talbot
[email protected]
503-221-5772; @petejtalbot
Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. | 1,265,826 |
The Wolverine Mine, located north of Watson Lake, Yukon, is shutting down for several months — at least — because of low metal prices, according to a letter sent to suppliers by the company.
Wolverine, which produces zinc, is one of only two operating mines in the territory. The mayor of Watson Lake expects the closure to have a huge impact on the community of about 800 people.
"Suppliers in town do feed a substantial amount of resources to the mine to keep it going," says Mayor Richard Durocher. "But also the employees... I don't have exact numbers, but I anticipate it will affect between 40 to 50 people."
The Yukon Zinc Corporation, the owner of the Wolverine Mine, has not released any information to the public about the shutdown.
A letter to suppliers from the company's chairman and chief executive officer, Jingyou Lu, says low metal prices have "significantly" affected the company's revenues. He says the mine will be shut down for two to three months, but suggests it could last longer than that.
Yukon Zinc chairman Jingyou Lu says the company cannot continue to operate at current mineral prices. (yukonzinc.com) "Depending on market conditions and funding availability, we may elect to re-start operations after the temporary shutdown," the letter reads.
Jingyou says the operation will enter into a "care and maintenance" phase and layoffs have begun.
The mine is about 280 kilometres northeast of Whitehorse, and about 190 kilometres north of Watson Lake by road.
There's also no word from the company yet on how many people will be laid off.
Once had 300 workers
When Wolverine went into full production in March of 2013, there were more than 300 people working at the mine, but it temporarily laid off about 100 workers several months later because of low metal prices. Some of those workers were recalled in September 2013.
Jingyou says Yukon Zinc does not have enough cash on hand to continue operations given the low prices. He says it's waiting for its majority owner, a Chinese state-owned company, to complete a review of Yukon Zinc's situation.
Jingyou says it has enough money to pay all outstanding debts and promises the suppliers to have an update by Feb. 16.
News of the closure comes as the Mineral Exploration Roundup begins in Vancouver. None of the Yukon government ministers at the annual exploration conference have commented on the shutdown.
Jim Tredger, an opposition MLA representing the territorial NDP, says the closure is a blow to the Yukon and to the government's credibility.
"It's in direct contrast to the grand statements the premier is making about how wonderful our economy is and how wonderful it is for the mining community.
"The investors are definitely getting a mixed message." | 1,265,827 |
Massimiliano Allegri is to leave his post as Juventus manager at the end of the season after five years with the Italian champions.
A statement posted on the club website on Friday morning said: “Massimiliano Allegri will not be on the Juventus bench for the 2019-2020 season.
Ten big games to watch this weekend in the European leagues Read more
“The coach and the president, Andrea Agnelli, will meet the media together at tomorrow’s press conference – Saturday 18 May, at 2pm in the press conference hall of Allianz Stadium.”
Juventus wrapped up this season’s title four weeks ago, and have two matches remaining in 2018-19, at home to Atalanta on Sunday and at Sampdoria a week later. However, this season was still seen as a disappointment as the signing of five-times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo failed to prevent Juventus being knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Ajax.
Allegri arrived in 2014 after four years at Milan and led Juve to five consecutive Serie A titles, securing the league and cup double in his first four seasons. They reached the Champions League final in 2015 and 2017, losing to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Allegri, who spent much of his playing career as a midfielder in Serie B, arrived at Juventus six months after being sacked by Milan, whom he had led to the Serie A title at the first attempt in 2011 after earning coaching plaudits at Cagliari.
He was initially greeted with hostility at Juve; supporters hurled eggs at his car as he arrived for his first training session. But he quickly won over fans as the club continued their dominance of Serie A.
The Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, was quick to distance himself from the Juventus job. “I will not be going to Italy, how many times do I need to say it?” he asked reporters at his press conference to preview the FA Cup final on Friday. “I’m staying here for two more seasons, as long as City still want me. I’m satisfied working here and I’m not going anywhere. Like I keep saying, I am manager of Manchester City.”
That leaves the former Juventus coach Antonio Conte as the frontrunner for the soon-to-be vacant position. Conte led Juventus to the first three of their current run of eight consecutive Serie A titles. Conte left to coach Italy through the 2016 European Championship and then won the Premier League in his first season as Chelsea manager, in 2016-17. However, he was sacked before the 2018-19 season got under way and has been out of work ever since.
Conte said recently he wants to coach again in the 2019-20 season but without specifying where. | 1,265,828 |
5 bodies spotted in Himalayas during helicopter search for missing climbers Eight climbers are missing from one expedition.
NEW DELHI, India -- Helicopters searching for eight mountain climbers from the same expedition in the Indian Himalayas spotted five bodies Monday morning, an official confirmed to ABC News.
The missing climbers, which include two Americans, were part of a 12-person expedition on Nanda Devi, the second-tallest mountain in India, at 25,643 feet.
Authorities have been working on search efforts, although some have been thwarted by bad weather conditions, according to Pithoragarh district administrator Vijay Kumar Jogdande. A rescue team, including doctors is at the Nanda Devi base camp, could not go up the mountain on foot Sunday due to avalanches.
Helicopter rescue operations resumed Monday morning, leading to the discovery of five bodies. Rescue teams also spotted empty red tents at around 19,000 feet.
There had been avalanches in that region.
Authorities are doing a technical assessment to determine their next steps given the difficult terrain and high altitude.
Four of the group members -- Mark Thomas, Zachary Quain, Ian Wade and Kate Armstrong -- split off to climb its east peak, while the other eight went to climb an unnamed peak, according to Jogdande.
The four who headed toward the east peak were airlifted out from around 16,400 feet after getting stranded. They are now back in Pithoragarh, per Jogdande.
They had last been in contact with the other eight in the group on May 24. That group was supposed to return to base camp on two days later, but never did.
Authorities didn't learn about their absence until May 31, Jogdande said.
The eight missing climbers include two Americans -- Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel -- as well as four people from the U.K., one from Australia and one from India -- Chetan Pandey of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, according to Pithoragarh additional district magistrate R.D. Paliwal.
The other missing people are Martin Moran, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard payne from the U.K. and Ruth McCance from Australia.
It has been a particularly deadly climbing season in the Himalayas this year, with about two dozen deaths, although primarily on Mount Everest, where short weather windows paired with crowds and inexperience created catastrophes.
Eleven people died on the world's tallest mountain this season.
Other deaths in the mountain range this year occurred on the mountains Makalu, Lhotse, Annapurna, Cho Oyu and Kanchenjunga, officials previously told ABC News.
ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic contributed to this report. | 1,265,829 |
The US judge handling the Megaupload case noted today that it may never be tried due to a procedural error, a comment that has sparked the anger of Megaupload's founder. Kim Dotcom is furious with the US Government for destroying his businesses and rendering hundreds of people unemployed. According to Dotcom the case is the result of "corruption on the highest political level, serving the interests of the copyright extremists in Hollywood."
Earlier today the news broke that a Megaupload trial may never happen because the US Government failed to serve the now defunct file-hosting company.
While some defendants might respond with relief upon hearing such news, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is only becoming more furious at the people who destroyed his businesses.
“The US government has terminated Megaupload, Megavideo and 10 other subsidiaries, including a company called N1 Limited that was developing a clothing line,” Dotcom told TorrentFreak.
“They destroyed 220 jobs. Millions of legitimate Mega users have no access to their files.”
If Judge O’Grady is to be believed all this damage could very well have been for nothing because the authorities simply can’t serve foreign companies. This could lead one to wonder whether the whole setup was to simply destroy Mega’s businesses.
This is certainly a theory Dotcom subscribes to, and it’s not the only dirty trick Megaupload’s founder believes the US Government is playing. The US is structurally denying Megaupload the chance to put up a fair fight.
“We are refused access to the evidence that clears us, we are refused funds to pay our lawyers, we are refused to pick the lawyers we want to represent us and have any chance for a fair trial,” Dotcom says.
For Megaupload the worst part is that the damage can’t be undone. The site has been completely destroyed as well as the plans to become a publicly traded company.
“We have already been served a death sentence without trial and even if we are found ‘not guilty’ which we will, the damage can never be repaired,” Dotcom says.
And why?
According to Megaupload’s founder it is quite clear that the Mega investigation was a ‘gift’ to Hollywood, facilitated by corrupt forces.
“This Mega takedown was possible because of corruption on the highest political level, serving the interests of the copyright extremists in Hollywood,” he says. “Mega has become a re-election pawn.”
Nevertheless, Dotcom is confident that these forces will eventually be exposed.
“It is just a matter of time until the truth comes out. We are working on that and we are making good progress,” Dotcom concludes. | 1,265,830 |
EDMONTON, AB - "It's always nice to spend extra time in New York, but we were pretty burnt out," Oilers forward Milan Lucic said on Monday morning at Rogers Place.
More than two-straight weeks on the road, two trips plus change across the Atlantic Ocean, an exhibition game in Germany and three regular-season stops in Gothenburg, Boston, and New York can do that to you.
The Oilers technically continue their four-game road trip in Winnipeg against the Jets on Tuesday night, but a quick one-day pitstop in Edmonton to visit family and recharge the batteries was long overdue. The Oilers returned home Saturday night after earning their first win of the season in their matinee 2-1 victory over the Rangers.
"It's good to be home and get into a new change of clothes, get your laundry done and have a nice home-cooked meal," Lucic added. "The guys with kids got to spend the whole day with them yesterday, so it was a good day to get re-energized and refocused going into this stretch we have starting tomorrow."
The opportunity to bond as a team, alternatively, served as a positive for an Oilers team that spend the better part of half a month together on the road in Germany, Sweden, and the east coast United States.
"It was nice to be able to spend time on the road - I think we had about six team dinners which is a great thing if you ask me," Lucic said. "We were able to spend all that time together, but it was nice to have some alone time and nice to spend some time at your own home with your family."
Video: RAW | Milan Lucic 10.15.18
The decision to return home during their long road trip was a decision made after receiving the schedule earlier in the off-season.
"I think that was a smart decision on our behalf to come home and use the day to get organized and regroup," McLellan said. "We haven't skated in our building since we played Calgary two-and-a-bit weeks ago, but the road trip continues.
"The building we're going into is not an easy place to play, so we've got a tough task ahead of us. We've got that game, then we'll worry about what happens here at home."
Completing such a long travel stretch and only having three regular season games to show for it boils down to early adversity this season for the Oilers, says captain Connor McDavid.
"It's been a long, long half-month and that's a long road trip just to play three meaningful games. You're kind of waiting around and it just drags on," McDavid said. "Ultimately it was a good experience playing in Europe, but we look forward to getting back at it." | 1,265,831 |
Someone wants to build a $700 million data center codenamed Project Mountain in Des Moines, Iowa. It's anyone's guess who's behind it, but Apple and Amazon are the most likely candidates following Facebook and Google into the area. (Update. We now know who it is: Microsoft)
The price tag was found in state documents reported by The Des Moines Register on Thursday. The company behind Project Mountain wants $20 million in tax breaks and plans to create at least 24 jobs.
The Hawkeye State is becoming a hotbed for data centers. Last year a company using the codename Project Catapult bought a chunk of land Altoona, just outside Des Moines, and The Register noted that the city "has fielded interest recently from three or four site selectors looking to locate large data center projects." Facebook confirmed earlier this year that it's the company behind Project Catapult. Meanwhile, Microsoft already has a center in West Des Moines and Google has one in Council Bluffs, about two hours west of Des Moines.
There are but a few companies that could be building a data center of such scale in Iowa. Given that Facebook and Google already are there, that leaves Apple and Amazon as the most likely candidates. Twitter operates at a similar scale but doesn't build its own data centers. Other big tech companies like Yahoo and eBay seem unlikely to expand any time soon.
It isn't unusual to see tech companies follow each other into new areas. When Apple built a data center in Maiden, North Carolina three years ago to support its then-new iCloud service, Facebook followed suit with a center about an hour away in Forest City. At about the same time, Facebook selected Prineville, Oregon for another data center. Now Apple is building a data center across the street.
The House That Jobs Built also is building a data center in Reno, Nevada. It's worth noting, however, that Apple had job postings for the Reno gig posted long before construction began. So far, there's no such listings for jobs in Iowa, which suggests maybe Apple isn't looking to the land of corn and covered bridges.
Amazon has similar taste in real estate. The company opened data centers in Boardman, Oregon in 2011 and most likely is still expanding, though it's expected to build its next data centers outside the U.S.
While Apple and Amazon seem most likely, they're not the only possibilities. For example, Rackspace has been expanding and will soon join Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google in Oregon. But a spokesperson for Rackspace says the company has no plans to expand into Iowa.
And it's anyone's guess what the NSA is up to, what with that massive data center it's building in Utah and all the data it's siphoning from telecoms and tech companies.
Amazon and Twitter declined to comment for the story. Apple did not respond to our request for comment. | 1,265,832 |
Soil Biology
The creatures living in the soil are critical to soil health. They affect soil structure and therefore soil erosion and water availability. They can protect crops from pests and diseases. They are central to decomposition and nutrient cycling and therefore affect plant growth and amounts of pollutants in the environment. Finally, the soil is home to a large proportion of the world's genetic diversity.
Soil Biology Primer
The online Soil Biology Primer is an introduction to the living component of soil and how it contributes to agricultural productivity and air and water quality. The Primer includes chapters describing the soil food web and its relationship to soil health and chapters about soil bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, and earthworms.
The online Primer includes all of the text of the printed original, but not all of the images of the soil organisms. The full story of the soil food web is more easily understood with the help of the illustrations in the printed version.
Printed copies of the Soil Biology Primer may be purchased from the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Go to www.swcs.org
=> Copyright restrictions: Many photographs in the online Soil Biology Primer cannot be used on other Web sites or for other purposes without explicit permission from the copyright owners. P lease contact the Soil and Water Conservation Society at [email protected] for assistance with copyrighted (credited) images tagged throughout the online Primer.
=> The text, graphs, tables, non-credited photos, and graphics from USDA sources may be used freely; however, please credit the Soil Biology Primer or this Web site.
Acknowledgements
The Natural Resources Conservation Service, with assistance from the Conservation Technology Information Center, provided leadership for this project. The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Soil and Water Conservation Society thank many individuals, including the following, for their contributions.
Suggested Citation
Printed booklet: Tugel, A.J., A.M. Lewandowski, and D. Happe-vonArb, eds. 2000. Soil Biology Primer. Ankeny, IA: Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Online primer: Soil Biology Primer [online]. Available: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/health/biology/ [access date].
Authors
Elaine R. Ingham
Andrew R. Moldenke, Oregon State University
Clive A. Edwards, The Ohio State University
Editors
Arlene J. Tugel, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Ann M. Lewandowski, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Deb Happe-vonArb, Soil and Water Conservation Society
Illustrations | 1,265,833 |
Blood Cultures Origins
Origins is a recurring new music feature which challenges an artist to dish on some of the inspirations behind their latest offering.
Since their formation more than five years ago, psych pop outfit Blood Cultures have quite literally been all about the music. Purposely remaining elusive — their true identities are unknown to us and even their own publicist! — and clad in balaclavas, they specifically focus on the pure aural experience, unhampered and undistracted by the typical PR hoopla and music marketing.
For their first single of 2019, “Flowers for All Occasions”, Blood Cultures are offering up a very specific sonic incident, one based on actual event ripped right from the headlines. In the early ’90s, a number of local TV stations in their home state of New Jersey were hijacked, their regular programming replaced with audio from an unknown source. Today’s new song is meant to be a reimagining of that rogue incident.
“An individual (or group of individuals) known as ‘Blood Cultures’ has chosen to recreate the audio and imagery that they once heard, saw and felt,” a press release simply states. “Blood Cultures has no name or face, but are simply the vessel for resurrection of this once forgotten broadcast.”
“Flowers for All Occasions” succeeds in expressing the mysterious nature of that TV station hijacking. There’s something about the fuzzy vocals and quality of production that makes the song not only feel like it’s from another decade, but even another reality entirely. Meanwhile, soft handclaps and pastel, ballooning synths add a layer of sweetness and innocent charm — almost suspiciously so, given the track’s cryptic origins.
Check out the spooky yet enticingly saccharine tune below.
For more background on the song, Blood Cultures divulged to Consequence of Sound some specific inspirations that led to the birth of “Flowers of All Occasions”.
New Jersey Television Broadcast Hijacking:
In the early 1990s, several of New Jersey’s local television stations experienced one of the largest broadcast signal hijackings in history, replacing the networks’ regular scheduled programing with audio and imagery from an unknown source. Though the rogue broadcast reached many, it was mostly forgotten.
Sylvia Browne:
Television Psychic, Sylvia Browne.
The Demon King, Paimon:
“We all know him! We all love him!”
The Inevitable Nature of Change:
“Remember me as you pass by/ As you are now, so once was I/ As I am now, so shall you be/ Prepare yourself to follow me.” | 1,265,834 |
Marvel Comics Turning Away From Social Justice Warrior Storylines After Sales, Get This, Plunge It's almost as if the Social Justice Warriors claiming they want this and that in the comic books don't actually read comic books at all, just like they didn't play any of the videogames they claimed had to be changed so as not to disturb their delicate constitutions. BleedingCool's Rich Johnston, who spoke to connected sources who attended Marvel's recent creative summit, says that the company plans to return their classic comics to the status quo. Readers can expect Thor, Iron Man and Hulk to move away from the heavy-handed politics that made them difficult for readers to care about. Fans, he says, can expect to see a more "familiar looking Marvel Universe" by the fall. New characters will get to stay, though. Johnston added that while the plan is to depoliticize the Marvel universe, some very political comics like Secret Empire are far too deep for its creators to change direction. He said that the book will be a "bit of a last hurrah for this kind of storytelling from Marvel for a while." Thank goodness for that. This guy was talking about Marvel's plummet into SJW bullshit This guy was talking about Marvel's plummet into SJW bullshit last January. A bit of background: Marvel's sales have been bad for a while. A couple of years ago, competitor DC made a bunch of unpopular changes to characters. Not really political changes, just changes. A bit of background: Marvel's sales have been bad for a while. A couple of years ago, competitor DC made a bunch of unpopular changes to characters. Not really political changes, just changes. But their sales dropped due to that. But their sales dropped due to that. DC has now launched with a "Rebirth" branding where they've returned characters to their classic interpretations. Since then, DC has been kicking Marvel's ass in sales. DC has now launched with a "Rebirth" branding where they've returned characters to their classic interpretations. Since then, DC has been kicking Marvel's ass in sales. Based on Marvel's shitty sales -- inexplicable given that they're making a billion or two dollars on their movies every year -- Based on Marvel's shitty sales -- inexplicable given that they're making a billion or two dollars on their movies every year -- this guy predicted Marvel would be aping DC in its "Rebirth" rebooting, and getting rid of their "diversity push" to replace every iconic character with a more "diverse" replacement. Dropping the bullshit Social Justice Warrior crap is part of that. Dropping the bullshit Social Justice Warrior crap is part of that. Posted by: Ace at 06:27 PM
MuNuvians MeeNuvians Polls! Polls! Polls! Frequently Asked Questions The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick Top Top Tens Greatest Hitjobs News/Chat | 1,265,835 |
learning nothing from them becomes a negative point. Show them that you have learned a lot from your past mistakes.
Q8). What are your career goals?
Ans. Employers always want candidates who are highly committed. Therefore, tell them your career goal as a designer in such a way that will convince them that you are beneficial for their company.
Q9). How much you know about our company?
Ans. Employers become very much impressed when they come to know that you have deep knowledge about their brand. Because after all, you are going to increase their brand value through your design. Therefore, be well prepared for all the important information about the company, its philosophy and all of its key facts.
Q10). What are the brands that you admire the most?
Ans. The interviewer wants to know from this question whether you are aware of all the latest brands or not. Therefore, keep good knowledge on all latest designs of new and popular brands before attending the interview.
Q11). If we will say you to design for our brand. what would it look like?
Ans. Your answer to this question will help the employer in knowing about your thought process and how nicely you understand their brand.
Q12). How do you measure the success rate of your designs?
Ans. A good answer is through conversion rates, click-through and user ratings and reviews.
Q13). Can I have a look at your portfolio?
Ans. This is one of the easiest questions. You should at once handover your portfolio. But this can shoot back many other questions as well. These questions may arise from your portfolio information. Therefore, be prepared for all the possible questions that may come by looking at your portfolio, failing to answer this will make your employer assume that you have given false information.
Q14). What are your achievements?
Ans. Here you can discuss all your academic achievements, accolades. Through this question, the employer wants to know how ambitious you are.
Q15). How good are you in meeting deadline?
Ans. Every employer wants an employee who is good at meeting deadlines. Therefore, try to answer them that you respect deadlines, and do whatever is required to meet the deadline.
Final Words
As we all know “practice makes a man perfect”, therefore prepare as much as you can and don’t miss to prepare all 15 interview questions we discussed to get shortlisted with an ease.
If you are committed and preparing hard for the Graphic Designer Interview, then don’t miss to take a glance at the website of JanBask Digital Design. You can learn a lot from there and that will help you perform better in all the interviews. They are an expert player in this industry and have set many milestones. | 1,265,836 |
In 2017, South African agricultural exports grew past US$10.0 billion for the first time, boosted by growth in exports of edible fruits, beverages, spirits, vegetables, grains and other agricultural products. This is a 15 percent increase from 2016 – a year that was characterised by El Nino induced drought.
Africa and Europe continued to be the largest destination markets for agricultural exports, collectively absorbing 67 percent of total exports in 2017, measured in value terms.
In more detail, Africa remained South Africa’s largest market, accounting for 42 percent of agricultural exports, which is one percent increase from a five-year average share. The sector’s export growth to the continent was led by relatively competitive industries such as beverages, grains, fruits, sugar and vegetables.
Trailing Africa was the European Union region accounting for 25 percent share of South Africa’s agricultural exports in 2017, up by 13 percent from the five-year average share. South African agriculture’s export growth to this region was also led by industries such as beverages, wool, sugar, fruit and animal fats.
Asia is also an important market for South Africa’s agricultural exports, taking up 24 percent share in 2017, up by a third from the previous year. Wool, fruit, grains, beverages, vegetables and meat were the leading products exported to this particular region.
The Americas and the rest of the world accounted for 5 percent and 4 percent shares, respectively, which is a 3 percent and 14 percent increase from 2016 exports. Exports to these regions were also dominated by fruits, beverages, sugar, flowers and ornamental foliage.
Above all, a closer look at the trade statistics shows that South Africa’s agricultural sector recorded a positive trade balance of US$3.3 billion in 2017, which is also a record level in a dataset starting from 2001. The impact of the severe drought in the Western Cape will only transpire in the 2018 trade statistics.
Agricultural Imports
South Africa’s agricultural imports increased by 5 percent year-on-year to US$6.7 billion in 2017, according to data from Trade Map. This was driven by a notable uptick in grains, particularly wheat and rice, on the back of reduced domestic production as a result of the Western Cape drought and an increase in annual consumption. For the case of rice, South Africa is a net importer and saw rice imports growing by 10 percent year-on-year to 1.1 million tonnes in 2017. There were also large imports of sugar, tobacco and coffee, amongst others.
Follow me on Twitter (@WandileSihlobo). E-mail: [email protected]
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of new features to the wider game including a 'Story Mode' for easier and faster adventuring for those that can't help but feast on the dramatic story. It was delayed until next week.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead (PS4) - February 16th, 2016
Developed by Team17 Digital
"Merging the award-winning, smash-hit, indie game The Escapists with the worldwide phenomenon that is The Walking Dead, comes The Escapists: The Walking Dead. In this unique game, recreated entirely in the charming 8-bit pixel art style of The Escapists, you play as Rick Grimes as he takes on hordes of walkers let loose upon the world."
Alright, alright - technically this isn't upcoming as it's out already for PC but fans of both The Escapists and The Walking Dead will get to undertake the challenging life of Rick Grimes now on PlayStation 4. If the comics or TV show thought they had the best angle on the tale of Rick then just wait until things get all 2D and pixelated.
This Is the Police (PC) - Q1/Q2 2016
Developed by Weappy Studios
"This Is the Police is a strategy/adventure game set in a city spiraling the drain. You'll come face to face with the ugly underbelly of Freeburg, taking the role of gritty Police Chief Jack Boyd (portrayed by Jon St. John, the voice of Duke Nukem)."
A city mired in corruption and sleaze? That's Freeburg and we're the Police Chief who's sick of being the only one not on the take and getting rich, so when the Mayor finally decides to force our retirement it's time to work on that pension fund. Another project on the lamb from Kickstarter, the appeal of wielding the power of an entire police department with Duke Nukem calling the shots was just too good!
Pixel Piracy (PS4, Xbox One) - February 16th/17th, 2016
Developed by Quadro Delta
"Live the life of a pirate captain! Recruit a crew of salty buccaneers, outfit and customize your ship, and then set sail on the open seas in search of treasure and infamy. Using a combination of aggression, diversion, and trade, will you become the next Legendary Pirate King and the most feared pirate crew in all of Piracia?"
From the creators of Terraria we now go on the high seas with their brand of 2D side-scrolling adventuring, which includes an awful lot of dubious pirating. It's an 'open world' pirate simulator says I, I mean them: the developers. It's finally dropping anchor on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Don't just manage your scurvy crew but build a ship and plunder booty for more looty. | 1,265,838 |
Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday night when she became the first woman ever to lead a major party’s presidential ticket.
But national newspapers faced charges of sexism for forcing Clinton’s headline to share the spotlight with a photo of her husband, Bill Clinton, or the crowd, rather than a photo of the “change-maker” herself.
There was an obvious logistical reason that likely drove that editorial choice: Hillary Clinton didn’t appear in person last night in Philadelphia. And Bill Clinton won wide praise for a passionate telling of his wife’s life story, spotlighting her myriad achievements over a decades-long career of public service.
Hillary Clinton did appear by video late in the evening, but after the deadline had passed for many papers. A WSJ reporter pointed out that Hillary Clinton was pictured in the late edition.
Here’s the New York Times, which featured a photo of women supporting Hillary Clinton:
Front page of the day. Well done, NYTimes. pic.twitter.com/DH7g2SesuZ — Erin Ruberry (@erinruberry) July 27, 2016
The Washington Post featured a photo of Bill Clinton:
Woman: Makes history as a presidential nominee
Newspaper: Puts her husband on the front page pic.twitter.com/dpsna6y9bd — Erin Ruberry (@erinruberry) July 27, 2016
USA Today ran with a photo of Hillary’s video appearance:
The Chicago Tribune ran with a pic of Bill with the headline “Clinton claims nomination,” but many pointed out that it looked like they were celebrating the “wrong Clinton.”
Wednesday’s front page with coverage of Hillary Clinton’s historic night at #DemConvention pic.twitter.com/PhAySTk5JU — Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) July 27, 2016
More than a few Twitter users weren’t happy with the front pages:
simple proof of enduring sexism: no Hillary, or even a woman, on the front page after 1st woman nominated president pic.twitter.com/FvkxDfOAJK — Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) July 27, 2016
Same headline, but in 2008 and with pictures of the actual candidate, not just the spouse this shouldn’t be hard pic.twitter.com/vhsbUevRWo — Chappell Ellison (@ChappellTracker) July 27, 2016
Hillary Clinton, first woman to win the presidency! Let’s put a big pic of her husband on the front page! pic.twitter.com/hRzu9VxuSE — kelsey mckinney (@mckinneykelsey) July 27, 2016 | 1,265,839 |
A three disc dvd box set containing all ten episodes of season four of Orphan Black. Science fiction/thriller series based around cloning.
The show has built up a lot of back story by now, and this is therefore not a jumping on point. New viewers should start with season one.
Episodes run forty four mins [approx.].
Sarah's safe haven from the end of last season doesn't last forever, as new danger looms and it forces her to return home. The shadowy organisation that has been pulling the strings all along is making it's move. And they're not the only ones hiding in the shadows. A mysterious figure is conducting a solo war against them. A power struggle is going on. Horrible things are happening to people's bodies.
The answers might just lie with the one of her sisters that Sarah never got to know. Beth. What secrets did she discover before she died?....
After two four star seasons, this is a five star one. Simply down to some very impressive writing. It delves back into the past of the show and allows you to learn more about certain things and see others in a whole new light, and it does this without ever being confusing or going against anything that has already been established.
This being the penultimate season, it does feel like it has moved the main story along at just the right pace to get to this point.
There are twists and turns, shocks and surprises. And although it doesn't manage quite as much of the light comedy as it did in previous years, this element still does turn up on occasion and once again it does that very well.
There are new characters. Characters we've met briefly before. And a new clone or two as well. All once again showcasing the amazing versatility and acting talent of the leads.
It all ends with major developments and a huge cliffhanger, all in order to set up season five. And leave you desperate to know what will happen next.
The dvd has the following language and subtitle options:
Languages: English.
Subtitles: English.
There are some decent extras on disc three:
Three featurettes
Recreating the world of season one.
The clones of season four.
The FX of season four.
These run ten twelve and ten mins each respectively, and are good watchable and in depth looks at the features in question.
There are also ten closer looks, one for each episode. All run two to three mins, and all are brief but interesting. The first though does duplicate a little material from the other featurettes, but that's only a minor complaint.
A great bunch of episodes and some good extras make for a five star product. | 1,265,840 |
SCIENTISTS have created mind-controlled rats that can be directed through a maze by the power of human thought.
Researchers implanted micro-electrodes to the rat's brain and connected it to the brain of a human volunteer who was hooked up to a computer.
2 A rat with a similar brain control implant is pictured in a different experiment
Unbelievably, when the human'manipulator' thought about moving their left arm, the rat turned left.
The same with the right arm.
Blinking sent signals to the rat to move forward and after continuous research with six 'cyborg rats' the scientists were able to direct the rodents through incredibly complex mazes.
Movement-related thoughts in the mind of the manipulator sent signals to the computer, which then translated those signals into instructions and sent them to the brain of the rat.
The team at Zhejiang University first started with just a few tubes and then moved on to something to intricate designs with tight turns and multiple levels.
BRAIN-TO-BRAIN INTERFACE
Discover Magazine wrote: "The results showed that rat cyborgs could be smoothly and successfully navigated by the human mind to complete a navigation task in a complex maze,”
“Our experiments indicated that the cooperation through transmitting multidimensional information between two brains by computer-assisted brain-machine interfaces is promising."
Brain Machine Interfaces (BMI) already allow humans to control things with their minds, but this is the first time an animal has been controlled - creating a brain-to-brain interface.
In the future, the Zheijang researchers hope that “information flow will be made bidirectional and communicative between two human individuals."
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Andrea Stocco, a brain researcher at the University of Washington said that the results of the rat cyborg study were "impressive but believable".
"The holy grail of BBI would be sharing rich content that cannot be better expressed in words, such as emotions and feelings,” he told the magazine.
"We are still so far from that, but, of course, that would be the dream."
2 Another rat in a lab environment Credit: Getty - Contributor | 1,265,841 |
Regular commercial supersonic flight ended with the iconic Concord in 2003 but NASA in particular has been pushing research into a new class of quieter, greener high-speed aircraft.
+More on Network World: The most magnificent high-tech flying machines+
This week the space agency said it invested $2.3 million for eight research projects that will address sonic booms and high-altitude emissions from supersonic jets.
NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project, which picked the new projects, focuses on developing sonic boom reduction methods and defines the necessary approaches or techniques for objectively assessing the levels of sonic boom acceptable to communities living in the vicinity of future commercial supersonic flight paths.
+More on Network World: NASA: What cool future passenger aircraft will look like; NASA green-lights $16.5 million to advance future jets+
The titles of the studies and details of the awards include:
Global Environmental Impact of Supersonic Cruise Aircraft in the Stratosphere
$1.2 million over four years
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The Influence of Turbulence on Shaped Sonic Booms
$1.2 million over three years
Wyle Laboratories, Arlington, Virginia
Sonic Boom Display
$698,000
Rockwell Collins, Columbia, Maryland
Pilot Interface for Mitigating Sonic Boom
$686,000 over two years
Honeywell, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Quiet Nozzle Concepts for Low Boom Aircraft
$575,000 over two years
University of California, Irvine
Evaluation of Low Noise Integration Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for Future Supersonic Civil Transports
$599,000 over two years
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York
Waveforms and Sonic Boom Perception and Response Risk Reduction
$337,000 for one year
Applied Physical Sciences, Groton, Connecticut
Risk Reduction for Future Community Testing with a Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Vehicle
$393,000 over one year
Fidell Associates, Woodland Hills, California
NASA noted that the awards to Applied Physical Sciences and Fidell Associates are guaranteed only for the first year. One of the two will be selected to receive about $450,000 a year for two more years.
Check out these other hot stories:
DARPA wants to make complex 3D printing trustworthy, dependable, safe
DARPA wants you to verify software flaws by playing games
FCC ruling could bolster robocall battle
Feds want terabit-speed optical SDN-based system
FBI: Social media, virtual currency hit big time scam, fraud club
Energy Dept. wants big wind energy technology in all 50 states | 1,265,842 |
South Bend business competing in nationwide contest
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A South Bend business that helps people in Michiana feel their best now needs the community’s help to continue its mission.
South Bend Seamstress is one of hundreds of business across the country competing for the 2019 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest.
The shop says if it wins, the money would help expand their business and serve more people in the area.
“Bringing that money in here will help build our community and bring more businesses to the area hopefully,” said owner Jennifer Stephens.
Stephens opened South Bend Seamstress in 2015 after losing her job. She started the business in her home then eventually opened up a shop on the city’s northwest side. Since then she has altered thousands of dresses, pants, jackets, and shirts.
The Elkhart native says she loves seeing a customer’s reaction after she changes a piece of clothing so it fits the way it’s supposed to. Jennifer wants to see more emotions like that, so she applied for this year’s grant.
The contest awards 10 small businesses across the U.S. with grant up to $50,000.
South Bend Seamstress would use the money to hire two to three part time employees and upgrade its equipment. Stephens said this would help South Bend Seamstress take on more customers and continue serving nonprofits in the area. The shop offers free alterations to organizations like ADEC and homeless shelters. She added bringing the money to the area would help build the community and could encourage other businesses to open up.
“During the busy season we have more than just two of us can handle,” said Stephens. “Having those extra hands would allow us to bring in more business and also turn things around quicker for customers. As far as equipment, you’re always upgrading stuff. We would love to get a couple of industrial machines in here that way we can just be faster at our alterations and do more things.”
In order to move into the final round of the competition, South Bend Seamstress needs to be one of 100 businesses that receive the most votes. People can vote once every 24 hours from now until April 1.
“It’s very hard to get loans and things like that for small businesses,” said Stephens. “These types of grants just allow a small business to be able to operate in the way that they need to with either not going into a lot of debt or you know, I personally can’t get a small business loan, so it would just help fund the business and not put as much stress on myself or other owners trying to start up.”
Winners will be announced April 29.
If you would like to vote, click here. | 1,265,843 |
Tyson Fury’s anti-doping hearing is set to resume in December as his planned return to the ring gathers pace.
Fury has not boxed in two years since winning the world heavyweight championship from Wladimir Klitschko - since then, his boxing license has been stripped and he has been awaiting the resumption of an anti-doping case after being charged with "the presence of a prohibited substance" in June 2016.
"December, that's true," said Robert Smith, the British Boxing Board of Control general secretary, when asked by Sky Sports when Fury's hearing would resume.
The reason why this has taken so long, so I have been led to believe, is because Mr. Fury's legal team could not agree a date for the recommencement of the hearing. Robert Smith, BBBofC
"The reason why this has taken so long, so I have been led to believe, is because Mr Fury's legal team could not agree a date for the recommencement of the hearing. They obviously now have, and the hearing will recommence."
Fury issued a scathing criticism of UKAD in September as he awaited a new date to clear his name, but the organisation responded, saying: "From the beginning, UK Anti-Doping has pushed for resolution of the charges as quickly as possible and has invested significant resources in trying to achieve this. There are various reasons why, nevertheless, the charges have not yet been heard on the merits.
"It is therefore inaccurate to suggest either that UK Anti-Doping is failing to pursue these charges as quickly as possible, or that Mr Tyson Fury and Mr Hughie Fury [who was also charged] are being treated differently to other athletes."
Ever wondered what it's like to share the ring with the Gypsy King? @Tyson_Fury @HattonGym pic.twitter.com/znuttsmX9G — Hatton Boxing (@HattonBoxing) November 22, 2017
Fury will not be guaranteed a renewed boxing license if he is found not guilty by UKAD, it was confirmed by the BBBofC.
"It is publicly known that Mr. Fury has a number of health issues and we would have to look at that," Smith said.
Fury's desire to fight again in 2018 has been fuelled by footage that he has posted of his return to the gym, and promoter Eddie Hearn has explained his desire to fast-track a blockbuster clash against Anthony Joshua.
Tyson Fury challenged Tony Bellew most recently Tyson Fury challenged Tony Bellew most recently
"We would like to help him clear up his stuff with UKAD and start building a schedule that will lead to Joshua," Hearn said earlier this month.
UKAD refused to comment on the resumption of Fury's hearing when contacted by Sky Sports. | 1,265,844 |
tried to get creative by blowing the old tapes out for cheap, particularly at anime conventions, but most units ended up either in liquidation (and ending up in places like Big Lots) or in landfills.
By this time, anime publishers were also getting tired of relying on outside companies to make their product, and started looking into authoring discs on their own. Apple Computer, who had revolutionized desktop video with the introduction of Final Cut Pro a few years earlier, unveiled a retooled DVD Studio Pro in 2003, which was based on the professional authoring package Spruce DVD Maestro. While DVD Studio Pro had some limitations and was never fully embraced by the professional community, its release made publishers realize that authoring was something they might be capable of doing themselves. Some of the more technically ambitious ones took the plunge and bought full professional authoring suites such as Sonic Scenarist (the de-facto standard). ADV was the first to do this: they gave their in-house authoring department the tongue-in-cheek name of MOFC -- rumored to stand for "My Own F---ing Computer."
To this day, some anime publishers, such as Viz Media and Aniplex USA, still out-source DVD. Blu-ray is far harder and more expensive to produce, and only Funimation, Right Stuf and Sentai Filmworks regularly do that in-house. But VHS? The format did hold on for quite a while in some circles. A few series, mostly shonen fighting shows, tended to be more popular on VHS due to its appeal to younger kids and lower-income households that were less likely to own a DVD player. The format was quite durable as well. The anime publishers dutifully kept putting out VHS releases (albeit in very small quantities) until around 2005. Bandai Entertainment was the first company to go DVD-only with their release of Avenger, and everyone else followed suit not long after.
But now those days are a distant memory. I can't find what the last anime VHS release is or when it took place -- these things were phased out so quietly that nobody really seemed to notice at the time, and so documentation is now hard to come by. Anime fans tend to be early adopters of new technology, and so anime publishers also tend to be pretty quick to jump on new formats, as soon as they're within reach by someone other than major Hollywood studios. And it's in those new formats where the excitement lies.
Full disclosure: I work on or have worked on DVDs and Blu-rays for several publishers mentioned in this article.
Thank you for reading Answerman!
We are no longer taking question submissions. However, over the years we've answered THOUSANDS of your questions, and probably already answered yours! Check our our complete archives! Below are a few of the most popular ones... | 1,265,845 |
As a result of that, the company accrued a $3 billion expense this quarter, and its overall net profit dropped 51 percent compared to a year ago. In February, The Washington Post reported that Facebook was negotiating a multi-billion dollar fine with the FTC, which is now being corroborated by Facebook's financial results. The $3-$5 billion that Facebook expects to spend on the FTC fine would be the largest of its kind for a technology company, eclipsing the $22.5 million penalty Google paid to the commission following an investigation on its privacy practices.
"The matter remains unresolved," Facebook said in its earnings report, "and there can be no assurance as to the timing or the terms of any final outcome."
Elsewhere, Facebook reported 2.38 billion monthly active users in Q1 2019, an increase of 8 percent compared to the same period last year. Daily active users, meanwhile, were at 1.56 billion during the quarter, also an 8 percent increase compared to 2018. "We had a good quarter and our business and community continue to grow," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "We are focused on building out our privacy-focused vision for the future of social networking, and working collaboratively to address important issues around the internet."
During the earnings report conference call, Zuckerberg on how Facebook's main focus for the next few years will be its efforts to create the best possible privacy-focused social network. He pointed to WhatsApp as the perfect example of how the company is viewing these efforts, noting that the goal will be to offer private interactions, simple intimate spaces, end-to-end-encryption and reducing the permanence of posts. At the same time, he added, Facebook wants to make it easy for users to communicate with each other across its family of apps, including Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and, of course, core Facebook.
In addition to that, Zuckerberg talked about his proposal to regulate the internet, which he says will only help establish trust between Facebook and its community. "Any regulation may hurt our business, but it is necessary," he said. "The trustworthiness can have a much larger positive impact."
Zuckerberg also touched on how important artificial intelligence and machine learning is to keep Facebook and its products safe. "The only hope is building AI systems that can either identify things and handle them proactively, or at the very least flag them for a lot of people who work for us," he said. "99 percent of the [Al Qaeda and ISIS] content that we take down, our systems flag proactively before anyone sees it. That's what really good looks like."
As for the impending, record-breaking FTC fine, Facebook CFO David Wehner said, "This matter is not resolved so the actual amount of payment remains uncertain. Can't comment further as this is an ongoing matter."
Images: EFE (Mark Zuckerberg) | 1,265,846 |
After 30 years of fighting format wars, Sony is letting others do the dirty work when it comes to high-resolution music. Neil Young's Pono project is calling attention to high-res music in a way that no amount of in-store promotion or colorful Sony adverts could ever reach.
As a result, Sony's newest NWZ-A17 Walkman will ride the wave of publicity created by the Pono while coming in at a lower price ($300 versus Pono's $400; prices for the UK and Australia were unavailable at time of writing, but that converts to about £180 and AU$325). Though its design isn't as eye-catching as the Pono, the Walkman appears to be a lot more user-friendly, with a larger 2.25-inch display and a four-way selector instead of an up-down switch. It will play all popular formats, including WAV, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, MP3, AAC, and WMA, though surprisingly not Sony's own hi-res DSD.
The NWZ-A17 comes with 64GB of storage, and the device features a microSD memory card slot if you want more.
Unlike the flagship high-res ZX1--which may never make it to the States, Sony says -- the NWZ-A17 isn't based upon Android but an in-house operating system. What does the lack of Android mean? You can't expand the player's capabilities with more apps.
More crucially, while the NWZ-A17 has Bluetooth, the Walkman doesn't have the one thing you would naturally expect: Wi-Fi. Imagine that: a 2014 MP3 player -- a strange idea in itself -- that doesn't connect to the Internet! As a result, there'll be no streaming; this device is designed to play your existing music collection -- most of which the company is expecting would be high-res. It does have an FM radio, though.
The benefit to the eschewing of connectivity could be battery life. The Sony Walkman will feature up to 50 hours of battery life or a still-impressive 30 hours when playing full-fat 24-bit/192kHz files.
Luke Westaway/CNET
While Sony's last attempt at a high-res format, Super Audio CD, wasn't exactly a failure -- they're still being produced -- it didn't catch the public's interest at all, at least, not in the way the original CD did.
Will the NWZ-A17 have more of a market than SACD -- or the Pono? Only time will tell. But given that Pono's future is uncertain, what with key staff members leaving and the "buy a piece of Pono" campaign so soon after the "wildly successful" Kickstarter, I'd say Sony is a better bet. | 1,265,847 |
JEDDAH: Two people were arrested and referred to public prosecutors on Wednesday after a woman’s car was set on fire by arsonists.
Authorities in Makkah said one of the men bought gasoline at a garage and asked the other to help him set the car alight.
Meanwhile Saudis throughout the country have rushed to offer support and comfort to the victim of the arson attack.
Like thousands of Saudi women, Salma Al-Sharif, 33, who works as a cashier in Makkah, took to the roads when the de facto ban on women driving was lifted last month.
But her new freedom came to an end when a neighbor knocked on her door just before dawn on Monday, and told her father her car was on fire.
Al-Sharif said the car was deliberately set alight by men “opposed to women drivers.”
She said she had faced abuse from men in her neighborhood soon after she began driving in a bid to ease her financial pressures.
“Half of my salary of 4,000 riyals was spent on a driver to take me to my workplace and drive my elderly parents,” Al-Sharif said. “But from the first day of driving I was subjected to insults from men.”
Makkah police said the incident was being investigated, and “we are searching for the culprits.”
Saudis from across the social spectrum gave Al-Sharif their support. Lina Almaeena, a Shoura Council member and one of the first Saudi women to drive, said this was an “isolated incident, definitely,” and Saudi laws were strict.
Sahar Nassif, another driver, told Arab News: “This is no more than an isolated act, it will never make society back down on women driving. Saudi society is 100 percent ready and supportive of women driving. There is no conflict at all.
“These attackers are sick minded and they will be harshly punished by law. This is an objection to royal decisions, and a form of harassment, and I hope they receive what they deserve.”
Saudis on social media took the same view. Manal (@mnal50) tweeted: “I pray that they get captured, jailed, and pay double the worth of the car for the psychological harm they caused her.”
Hanouf BinHimd (@DrHanouf) said on Twitter: “Where are their education, morals, ethics, religious value?! I hope she gets compensation, and those offenders get captured.”
Some even volunteered transport for Al-Sharif until justice is done. @capt_haitham said: “I am ready to get her a car until things get easier for her.” | 1,265,848 |
Australians could get their first taste of unlimited mobile data within in the next 12 months according to Boost Mobile Founder and Director Peter Adderton.
"In my opinion we'll see everyone move to unlimited in less than 12 months, I honestly believe that," said Adderton, talking to media in Sydney this morning. "It's going to take one [provider to offer unlimited] and the rest will follow at 100 miles per hour."
His comments come off the back of Verizon introducing its first unlimited plans in the United States. Verzion's move has been considered somewhat of a milestone that could have ramifications around the globe, due to the carrier's insistence that it would never offer an unlimited service. In fact, Verizon even had an ad campaign dedicated to telling people they don't need unlimited data.
T-Mobile was the first American telco to kick off the current unlimited data trend in a last-ditch effort to save itself, and in turn, ended up forcing the entire industry to follow suit.
While Adderton would like for Boost to pave the way for unlimited data in Australia, whether the telco can will depend on Telstra, Boost Mobile's retail partner in Australia. He's optimistic though.
"Carriers are starting to look at brands like ours and understand that [we're not going to] cannibalise them," said Adderton.
"We're going to make changes in the market place."
Adderton also sees unlimited plans as an opportunity to help simplify a somewhat complicated industry, pointing to the US telcos like T-Mobile who now just have a single post-paid plan.
But while these plans might look simpler on paper, the US' unlimited data plans are typically rife with fine print. Some charge extra for high definition media streaming, there are restrictions on how much data you can use when tethering, and heavy users get their data deprioritised during congestion.
Cheaper unlimited plans from the likes of the US arm of Boost Mobile and Sprint have stricter restrictions in regards to network speeds. Video is limited to 480p, music to 500kbps (which only stops you streaming loseless audio on the go), and gaming to 2Mbps.
Even if Australia does see unlimited plans spring up in the next 12 months, it doesn't mean that plans with set inclusions will necessarily go away. For example, T-Mobile's unlimited plan goes roughly $90 per month before factoring in any handset fees. As such, most American telcos still offer more affordable prepaid plans with a fixed cap.
In the meantime, Boost is looking at unmetered services as an interim measure. The telco recently made Apple Music data-free and is considering other options.
"I would love to see something like YouTube unrated, I'd like to see things the kids are using, these are the discussions we're having internally." | 1,265,849 |
of staff when he was the economy minister, told Bloomberg that Trogneux attended agenda meetings. “She is a woman who’s involved in the life of her husband,” Kohler said.
“If I’m elected — no, sorry, when we are elected — she will be there, with a role, and a place,” Macron said on March 8, reports Bloomberg. “I owe her a lot, she helped make me who I am.”
A French documentary by France3 showed how Trogneux helped prepare him for a major speech. “Your voice drops at the point where you say ‘for,”’ she says in the documentary. “Raise your voice so we know what you are talking about.”
4. Her Family Makes Millions as Chocolatiers in Amiens
Trogneux’s parents were Jean Trogneux and Simone Pujol. They had six children, with Trogneux as the youngest, according to Geneanet.org.
L’Express notes that Trogneux’s family is well-known in the north of France for their chocolates. Her nephew, Jean-Alexandre Trogneux, leads the family business, which made four million euros in 2013 alone.
If you live in Europe, you can order their chocolates online. The company’s Facebook page has over 14,000 likes.
The company’s best-known product are their macaroons, or Macrons d’Amiens. In 2014, a local jokingly told Le Parisien that, “We already had the macaroon from Amiens. Now we also have the Macron d’Amiens!”
5. The Couple Decided Not to Have Children
During a BMFTV interview in April, Macron made it clear that he and his wife have decided not to have any children, Gala notes. He’s already the step-grandfather of seven children.
“We have chosen not to have children. A choice that was not selfish for me,” he told BMFTV. “It is a choice that has been assumed, which I had to make very young given the age difference. I did not need my biological children and grandchildren to give them as much love as I gave them.”
Macron’s unconventional marriage has led some to speculate that he’s secretly gay. Back in February, he laughed off rumors that he was having an affair with Radio France CEO Mathieu Gallet. “If you’re told I lead a double life with Mr. Gallet it’s because my hologram has escaped,” Macron said at a rally, The Telegraph reports. | 1,265,850 |
Rutgers University researchers have received U.S. government clearance for the first saliva test to help diagnose COVID-19, a new approach that could help expand testing options and reduce risks of infection for health care workers.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the test under its emergency powers to quickly clear new tests and therapies to fight the outbreak, the New Jersey university said Monday. The test initially will be available through hospitals and clinics affiliated with the school. The announcement comes as communities across the U.S. continue to struggle with testing to help track and contain the coronavirus.
The current approach to screening for COVID-19 requires health care workers to take a swab from a patient’s nose or throat. To lessen infection risks, many hospitals and clinics instruct staff to discard gloves and masks after close contact with anyone who may have the virus. And many institutions are struggling with shortages of basic medical supplies, including gloves, masks and swabs.
With the new saliva-based test, patients are given a plastic tube into which they spit several times. They then hand the tube back to the health care worker for laboratory processing.
“This prevents health care professionals from having to actually be in the face of somebody that is symptomatic,” said Andrew Brooks, who directs the Rutgers lab that developed the test.
An infectious disease expert not involved with the new test said it would help overcome some of the patient discomfort and difficulties in taking swab samples.
“You want to be in all types of situations with all types of options so that we can have as much testing as possible in whatever form is suitable,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University. Adalja noted that similar saliva tests have helped expand testing for HIV and other conditions.
Rutgers tested the accuracy of its method by taking both saliva and swab samples from 60 patients. The results from patients’ saliva samples had a 100% match with results from the swabs.
Rutgers developed the laboratory method for the test using saliva collection kits from Spectrum Solutions, a Utah company that provides similar devices for DNA-based ancestry testing services. The Rutgers lab can currently process 10,000 patient samples per day, according to Brooks.
In its authorization letter to Rutgers, the FDA said the test should only be performed “in a health care setting under the supervision of a trained health care provider.” The FDA has not cleared any COVID-19 tests for use at home, though several companies have announced plans to make them available.
Additionally, the FDA said patients who test negative with the saliva-based kit should have their results confirmed with a second testing method.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | 1,265,851 |
Crazy Uncle Joe Biden has received the much-coveted Michael Avenatti endorsement.
Joe Biden secures Michael Avenatti’s endorsement. pic.twitter.com/9ovQTcPEOY — Yashar Ali? (@yashar) April 25, 2019
Heh.
Ha.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
2019 just keeps getting funnier and funnier, unless you’re a Democrat.
Probably truer than any of us know.
Seems a Michael Avenatti endorsement may NOT be such a good thing.
Whoda thunk it?
Exactly.
I would have thought he’d be supporting @BernieSanders so that he can vote in prison. — Ryan Christensen (@rbchrist) April 25, 2019
OOF.
Poor Joe can't catch a break. pic.twitter.com/MXFvX0hcpz — Alonzo Loper, Jr. (@AJLoper71) April 25, 2019
He really can’t.
First, the Justice Democrats slam him, then Obama doesn’t exactly endorse him, and NOW he’s got Michael Avenatti endorsing him.
Ouch.
why this gif exists pic.twitter.com/7wLimUMI2M — Andrew S. (@shoutingboy) April 25, 2019
Aaaand he's out….. — Headline Hack (@HackHeadline) April 25, 2019
Not just yet buuuuut we’re pretty sure this won’t help.
That’s not something I’d brag about — Texasgal59 (@Texasgal5911) April 25, 2019
HA HA HA HA HA
Oh, and if you thought maybe Avenatti either wouldn’t notice or not care about getting dragged you’d be wrong … check out these DMs he sent to a vet.
Ain’t he a sweetie?
Uncle Touch Too Much and Creepy Porn Lawyer- a match made in heaven??? https://t.co/uR6TO1ahRG — Lizzy Lou Who? (@_wintergirl93) April 25, 2019
Grab your popcorn.
Related:
She MAD! Gay Conservative’s piece for The Federalist on NOT singling out LGBT at grad ceremony triggers Parker Molloy
Isn’t THIS a ‘big effing deal’?! Obama’s statement on Joe Biden’s pres. announcement has people scratching their heads
It’s SO on! Sharyl Attkisson calls Valerie Jarrett OUT for old tweet claiming Obama never ‘ordered’ surveillance on any U.S. citizen | 1,265,852 |
Newspaper review: The '£1m bomber' and'storm chaos' By BBC News
Staff Published duration 22 February 2017
image caption A picture of Ronald Fiddler was released by the so-called Islamic State group
The Brexit Secretary David Davis has said Britain will stay open to EU immigration many years after leaving the EU, according to The Times.
Speaking in the Estonian capital, Tallin, Mr Davis is quoted as saying: "Don't expect just because we're changing who makes the decision on the policy, the door will suddenly shut. It won't".
image copyright AFP image caption Brexit Secretary David Davis was speaking on a visit to eastern Europe
According to the Guardian, the City of London has warned that the loss of banking jobs to EU countries because of Brexit could threaten British and European financial stability
Interviews with several senior bankers and business leaders are said to reveal growing certainty that there will be a wave of relocations this year.
The front of the Daily Mail carries a picture of the former Guantanamo Bay detainee from Manchester, Ronald Fiddler - also known as Abu-Zakariya al-Britani - who is believed to have carried out a suicide bombing in Mosul over the weekend.
Referring to compensation he received after being released in 2004, the Mail tells readers: "You paid him one million pounds."
His brother, Leon Jameson, tells the Times: "It is him, I can tell by his smile". He says his brother "wasted his life"
"UK roads are ruined" says a headline in The Times. A leading economics consultancy has found that Britain's roads are in a worse state than those of many other developed nations - despite high fuel taxes.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research ranks UK roads 27th in the world and claims our main highways are in a worse state than those in poorer countries such as Malaysia, Namibia and Ecuador.
A 'fading dream'
The lead in the i says the dream of owning a home is fading for young families. Figures apparently show that house-buying rates among the "just about managing" have fallen far behind their foreign counterparts.
For those with incomes slightly below the national average, Britain is placed 32nd out of 37 countries - behind Romania, Croatia and Mexico.
The paper claims the figures have brought charges that ministers are failing a whole generation of aspiring home owners. But the government says its halted a decline in home ownership, which began in 2003.
A couple of the papers lead on the storm heading for Britain. The Express predicts plunging thermometers and "chaos". "Batten down the hatches," says the Mirror, "here comes Doris"
image copyright AFP image caption A picture of the Queen presenting poet Gillian Allnutt with a medal at Buckingham Palace shows an electric fire | 1,265,853 |
The illegally purchased dogs came from shelters, the street, even "free to a good home" pet ads. What the hell?!
You might have never given much thought to how medical researchers get dogs for their labs. The truth might be worse than you imagined.
On Thursday, according to a story by Philly.com, Floyd and Susan Martin pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally purchasing dogs to sell to research facilities. How many dogs? Hundreds of them. To what institutions? Big ones, like Johns Hopkins and Columbia University.
And they received hundreds of thousands of dollars for those dogs, between 2005 and 2010.
The case throws light on the sordid world of dog-dealing for biomedical research.
According to the Philly.com, the Martins, who are “random source” dog dealers, “bought their animals by the hundreds from shady individuals known as ‘bunchers,’ who collect dogs from auctions, shelters, the street, theft, and ‘free to good home’ pet ads.”
Authorities say that two bunchers bought hundreds of dogs from different sources in 10 states, then sold them to the Martins for $50 to $75 each. The Martins then sold the dogs to labs for hundreds of dollars in profit per dog.
“We’re talking about an abuse-ridden system of acquiring animals for research,” said Nancy Blaney, senior federal policy adviser for the Animal Welfare Institute, a national advocacy group. “‘Random source’ is what it sounds like it is. They can get animals from individuals who respond to ‘free to good home’ ads or animals being stolen. We know because they have been traced through microchipping.”
This is not what people had in mind with the Animal Welfare Act of 1966, which attempted to establish humane standards for animals in labs and regulate dealers who sold to them.
The Martins are Class B or “random source” dog dealers, a designation that is federally sanctioned but controversial. These dealers may purchase dogs from unlicensed bunchers, but no more than 24 dogs per buncher per year. The Martins ran into trouble by buying hundreds of dogs from just two bunchers.
The silver lining in all this is that only 3 percent of dogs used in biomedical research in the U.S. come from random-source dealers, and that number is decreasing because of the controversy of using former pets as lab subjects.
Most labs buy from facilities whose dogs are bred for research.
As for the Martins, they made a deal with prosecutors, with Floyd pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud, for which he will serve a year in prison, and Susan pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy, for which she will be placed on probation.
Via Philly.com | 1,265,854 |
Jun 07, 2018 at 13:15 // News
Coin Idol Author
India’s crime branch, the firm that operated for two full years under the garb of a real estate firm, exposed cryptocurrency scam worth 100 crores on 5th June in Thane, Mumbai.
A senior officer of police from Crime branch told Hindustan Times, a local news outlet that officers found an office in Vikhroli during the raid. Unfortunately, some big officers are connected in the scam scandals although their roles are under investigations by the crime branch.
Flintstone Group, a real estate company is strongly being asserted but not fully proved to have carried out the scam.
These courageous investors have offered citizenships in Caribbean and African countries in order to establish cryptocurrency legal tender in future. Now, the cryptocurrency of Flintstone Group is known as MoneyTradeCoin (MTC).
The raids and investigations were made after the businessman from Mumbai filed a complaint against MTC where investors invested hundreds of crores of money. It is believed that 1.7 crores were invested in the firm and investors received nothing even after the promised date expired.
Two people were arrested on Monday by the police although the main criminal of the scam, none other than Amit Lakhanpal, the managing director of Flintstone, escaped to an unknown place. Amit used to make his client easy to be persuaded and impressed using the photos he took with various major politicians and celebrities that were pinned whole over his office. Police also suspect that Amit invested in a Bollywood film featuring a distinguished male star though this is still undergoing verification.
“MTC is an intellectual property jointly owned by Dubai based firm Bitcoin Global FZE, UAE and MTC Ltd, UK. Mr Amit M. Lakhanpal is the Director of MTC Ltd (and is one of the key members of Bitcoin Global FZE and MD of Flintstone Group, India),” Lakhanpal’s website states.
Approximately 70 people were employed by Flintstone and Vikhroli, each with 20 and 50 employees respectively.
These employees were using MTC. The promise to investors came from Pal and his associates that they will get a 20-times return on investment in just six months. But after the expiry date, the company made enough excuses denying the money to be released.
The police officer noted that a few days back, some officers travelled to Dubai to meet Lakhanpal but they were being threatened and were also told not to ask for their money. Further, the police discover that Lakhanpal did not construct or buy any building although he strongly claims to be possessing and owning a real estate company.
According to police, a case was registered by the Indian crime branch under sections of the Indian Penal Code Maharashtra Protection of Investors and Depositors (MPID) Act, plus the Chit Fund Act. | 1,265,855 |
In late November 2019, hearings were underway in an impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump, in which he had been accused in a whistleblower complaint of attempting to extort damaging information on a potential political rival from the Ukrainians by withholding crucial military aid.
So when Snopes readers saw images online of Trump clutching notes written with a Sharpie pen that read in all-capital letters, in part, “I WANT NOTHING,” some people were skeptical.
President #DonaldTrump holds notes while speaking to the media before departing the White House for Texas 📷: Mark Wilson #QuidProQuo pic.twitter.com/9Ee3tqKL8Z — Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) November 20, 2019
The notes in fact were real. The image was shot by Getty photographer Mark Wilson on Nov. 20, 2019, which he managed to capture on the South Lawn of the White House. Trump was speaking to journalists just before departing on Marine One. In full, the notes said, “I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NOTHING. I WANT NO QUID PRO QUO. TELL ZELLINSKY [sic] TO DO THE RIGHT THING. THIS IS THE FINAL WORD FROM THE PRES OF THE U.S.”
The notes apparently refer to the debate during impeachment proceedings as to whether Trump had demanded a quid pro quo exchange of damaging information about former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s potential 2020 political rival, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for U.S. weapons.
However, some on Twitter used the opportunity for humor after noticing the words on the page seemed to echo the tone of melancholy rock music.
Inspired by @pattonoswalt, here’s Trump’s notes as if Morrissey wrote them into song, performed by me pic.twitter.com/Emka5wVwzM — Appa the Flying 🅱ison (@victoryrhoad) November 20, 2019
Emo Trump recites poem on White House lawn pic.twitter.com/rAD3xRjX4L — Nick Lutsko (@NickLutsko) November 20, 2019
somebody on twitter today: trump’s weird hand-scrawled denial today sounds like a ramones song. me: pic.twitter.com/mynZjx0E0M — Alex Kliment (@SaoSasha) November 21, 2019
Part of the reason the image of the notes went viral may have been due to another Sharpie-related Trump incident. In September 2019, Trump was widely criticized for displaying a map of areas that would be affected by Hurricane Dorian. The map had a Sharpie mark on it that falsely indicated Dorian would hit Alabama. | 1,265,856 |
You must have heard till now about the CORONAVIRUS!!
This is a novel coronavirus, not the normal coronavirus. Now you must be thinking about what is the normal coronavirus.
Let me explain to you the normal fever or viral fever spread from person to person or cough can also be caused by the normal coronavirus but the novel coronavirus is the virus that is said to spread from animals like a bat or snake to human.
Now how coronavirus is spread from animals to a human?
The animals first must be affected by this coronavirus then the person who is in direct contact with the animals get infected with the coronavirus. This coronavirus gets mutate inside the animals and then get transfer to the human body. This coronavirus gets replicate inside the human body and then starts spreading like normal viral fever.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
The symptoms of coronavirus will be
severe cold sneezing respiratory issues difficulty in breathing are common in few
and still, the research is going on.
The majority of the people affected are in china and till now the death toll rises up to 213 and may rise too and there are 10,000 confirmed cases. In India, there are 11cases reported and near about 100 people are kept under observation. India also took a step to bring all the Indians from China to India, until now around 370 India has brought to India. Then this Indian will be kept under observation for 14 days to check whether they have coronavirus or not, if not they will be released after 14 days.
Till now there is no treatment for coronavirus but there are some organizations that are working on this coronavirus. But there is support for this virus.
How to take precautions from the coronavirus?
If you are having the symptoms please call the doctors they can provide you the necessary treatment to help your immune system to fight from that virus. Do not make contact with the people having virus symptoms. If the person is sneezing maintain a 6-feet distance because that’s how long the virus can travel through airborne. Do not go to China unless it is very very necessary. Try not to make contact with the people who came from China. If you are infected try to be at home because that’s how the virus cannot be spread.
How to take prevention from the coronavirus??
Drink boiled water Stop non-veg Take vitamin C, Zinc, B complex daily RDA dose for prevention Strictly follow personal hygiene The decoction of tulsi, ginger, pepper, curcumin in hot water helps immensely Guduchi treats fever and enhances immunity Take hot rasam or vegetable soups
Antibiotics will not work on coronavirus | 1,265,857 |
After the largest single-handed mass shooting in US history unfolded in the early hours of Sunday (12.06.2016), celebrities were quick to take to social media to express their grief.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling posted a moving tribute to one of the victims, Luis Vielma, who had a direct connection to her work:
Many openly gay stars also showed solidarity with those killed and injured in the shooting at Pulse, one of Orlando's most popular gay nightclubs, and urged support for the LGBT community as a whole. Singer Ricky Martin refused to give in to fear.
Talk show host Ellen Degeneres simply tweeted "sobbing," while actor, director and activist George Takei used the trending hashtag #onepulse and a ribbon of solidarity. #LoveisLove and #GaysBreakTheInternet were also trending Sunday and Monday.
In a Facebook post, Takei quoted children's television show host Fred Rogers - "in times of crisis, look to the helpers" - and appealed to fans to donate to GoFundMe in support for the victims.
Tony Awards dedicated to Orlando victims
Just hours after the deadly shooting occurred, the Tony Awards - Broadway's most prestigious prize - were held in New York and were dedicated to the victims in Orlando. "Hate will never win. Together we have to make sure of that," said Tony's host James Corden. "Tonight's show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle."
In response, Orlando's Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, and Kathy Ramsberger, President and CEO of Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts posted this video message to Broadway:
In what was an emotional ceremony with many attendees sporting silver stars in solidarity, Lin-Manuel Miranda's wildly successful musical, "Hamilton," about the first US treasury secretary, won 11 Tonys, coming away just shy of "The Producers" 12-Tony record.
In a performance of "Hamilton" at the Tonys, the cast did away with firearms as a tribute to the Orlando victims.
"Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda posted a simple rainbow heart in solidarity on Sunday.
Calls for gun control
Some took the opportunity to speak out for tighter restrictions on gun ownership, like Oscar-winning filmmaker and producer Dustin Lance Black. Also an LGBT rights activist, Black received an Academy Award in 2008 for the film "Milk."
Similarly, Jesse Tyler Ferguson from the popular television series "Modern Family," posted not only his condolences, but also an appeal for gun control.
The gunman has been identified as Omar Mateen, a US citizen with Afghan roots. He pledged allegiance to the "Islamic State" (IS) in a 911 phone call he made shortly before the attack, and IS claimed responsibility for the attack on a website. | 1,265,858 |
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Email communication is a basic need in any company. For increased productivity,a company needs to buy and use verified Gmail Accounts.
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So,its better to buy gmail account as through it you can get it in a short time.
What Is Gmail PVA Accounts?
Gmail is the free google email service. that provides many benefits at the same place.
This is free of cost google web service that can be linked with many social media networks as well.
Now 1.5 million users depend upon the gmail accounts.
If you want to buy Bulk Gmail Accounts, then you can surely use that account in any part of life.
Either you want some kind of registration and wish to become part of any business work as well.
So do not need to miss the Gmail accounts in any part of life.
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This is a professional way rather accounts in any part of life.
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You can get old (PVA) gmail accounts from here also you can get newly created accounts as you want.
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What Is Our Gmail Accounts Service Pricing?
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says director David Yates. “Dumbledore sees Newt as a kindred spirit, an outsider, who is misunderstood. They recognize each other’s strengths and vulnerabilities.” The heroes face a formidable foe in the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), whose dangerous ideology involves "suppressing all non-magical beings, whom he views as inferior to wizards," Yates says. “He's a charismatic figure who uses his undeniable appeal to inspire others to blindly follow his cause.”
'Aquaman' (Dec. 21)
Justice League only dipped into the expansive undersea potential for Jason Momoa’s superhero, and director James Wan follows the epic ensemble with a solo film where Arthur Curry is caught between the surface and the watery kingdom of Atlantis. “He doesn’t quite fit in, but as the story progresses, he realizes he’s the best of both worlds,” says the filmmaker. “Circumstances allow him to grow as a human being and then realize the bigger picture of it all and what it means to have these abilities.” Designing Atlantis has given Wan a chance to “make something that is from our planet but at the same time, it’s a visual we’re not familiar with,” and he's also unleashing some seriously bad guys. Chief among them: Aquaman's archvillain Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), whose antagonism “is very primal, that classic revenge story,” Wan adds. “I love the simplicity of that human drive.”
'Mary Poppins Returns' (Dec. 25)
Emily Blunt acknowledges that it’s hard to put in words what it’s like to play author P.L. Travers’ iconic nanny, though “joyful” and “utterly magical” do come up in conversation. Julie Andrews played the role in 1964 and the flying umbrella passes to Blunt for a sequel set in 1930s Depression-era London, where Poppins revisits a now-grown Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane Banks (Emily Mortimer) when their family needs her again. Back in the day, a spoonful of sugar helped the medicine go down, but Blunt’s Poppins hews more to Travers’ literary character. “I just loved how eccentric and wacky she is in the books — incredibly vain and rude to the children,” Blunt says. “As a British person, I really responded to that lack of saccharine relationships. I find it comforting the idea of someone just sweeping in who’s no-nonsense and cleaning everything up and making everything right again in a magical way that's not sentimental.” | 1,265,860 |
Mark Greene asks, “Why is there a cultural bias against single men raising children?”
Did law enforcement officials who wrongly arrested celebrity photographer Paul Rusconi for child molesting and rape do so because he is gay or because he is a single male parent? Either way, it shows how quickly a man can have his children taken from him in our culture.
Rusconi had his twin daughters taken away based on the word of distant relatives and the girl’s nanny and her husband. The charges were based in part on a portrait Rusconi took of himself and his daughters in the bathtub. This intimate and loving portrait of the two infant girls resting on his chest triggered action by the authorities.
KTLA reports “The day he was arrested, June 17, 2011, Rusconi’s two daughters were taken away from him and given to his accusers, who had convinced authorities they were the best caretakers for the twins. Rusconi was held overnight in jail and then released on $220,000 bail.”
It took months for Rusconi to get his daughters back. He is now suing his accusers after being cleared of all charges.
KTLA reports, “Rusconi believes his situation as a single father made him vulnerable to the suspicions of others. And Rusconi believes the malicious accusations may have been motivated by the fact that he is gay.
‘They all called me a sexual deviant and a pervert,’ Rusconi says. ‘That’s all stemming from my sexuality.’
♦◊♦
Now we all know that 99.9% of parents, both men and women are great. We know this. But in the child welfare system of any major city, we sometimes hear of children who suffer horribly at the hands of mothers who are unfit to keep their children and yet were allowed to even though there were big signs of trouble. When reports surface of children dying, often it is after repeated visits by child welfare workers who failed to remove the child from the home. Paul Rusconi takes a loving photo with his daughters and has them yanked. What does this say about how we view single fathers in our culture? How quick are we all to a be skeptical of men as full time parents?
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And even more chilling, what happens to single fathers who don’t have Rusconi’s resources and connections?
• Is there a guilty until proven innocent standard applied to gay or single male parenting?
• Are single fathers allowed to show physical affection toward their children in the same intimate ways women are?
• Is male comforting or holding contact with children presupposed by law enforcement to be sexual?
Read and view the horrifying story at KTLA.com | 1,265,861 |
When the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell, the new Obamacarechallenge, its judges won't be the first to grapple with whether the health law's subsidies on the federal marketplace are legal.
Since early 2014, five separate courts have issued rulings on the issue in three separate health law challenges. Three courts have ruled in the Affordable Care Act's favor; two have ruled against the subsidies.
Even for those following the case closely, it can be difficult to keep track of all those decisions. That's why my colleague Anand Katakam and I put together this timeline of all the court decisions:
Here's a bit more on the three lawsuits:
Pruitt v. Burwell
This challenge, filed in late 2012 by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, was the first lawsuit to argue that Obamacare's subsidies on the federal marketplace were illegal. It's important because it marked the first time a plaintiff actually got on board with a legal argument that had been circulating in conservative legal circles for about a year. Even though Pruitt was filed first, it has moved the slowest through the courts. It was only this past fall that a district court ruled in Oklahoma's favor, finding the Obama administration's decision to administer subsidies on the federal marketplace to be " arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law."
Important documents:
Halbig v. Burwell
Challengers filed in court in May 2013, about six months after the Pruitt case. The Competitive Enterprise Institute is funding this case, as well as King v. Burwell. Halbig is different from Pruitt because it includes private citizens and businesses as its plaintiffs. This was strategic on the part of the law's challengers: they wanted to give courts as many different arguments as possible to choose from. In Halbig, a district court initially ruled in the government's favor — but the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed that decision in July. This is the other ruling against the law, alongside Pruitt.
Important documents:
King v. Burwell
This is the lawsuit that the Supreme Court decided to hear in November. Like Halbig, it also includes private citizens and business owners as challengers to the law. Both courts that have heard the King argument have ruled in the Obama administration's favor, finding the health law's subsidies to be legal.
Important documents
There is a fourth challenge to the health law's subsidies, Indiana v. IRS. This challenge includes the state of Indiana as well as dozens of Indiana school districts, also arguing against the health law's subisidies. We did not, however, include it in our timeline as there have not yet been any court decisions on the case.
This post is indebted to Michael Cannon, who has aggregated these documents (as well as many others) in his Forbes guide to the health law challenges. | 1,265,862 |
Hello PlayStation.Blog! I’m Sean Murray from Hello Games, part of the team making No Man’s Sky, with some exciting news for you: No Man’s Sky is launching on June 21st!
We’ve been a little quiet since we showed the game last year at E3, and it’s because we’ve been heads down and hard at work on development. It’s been a hectic but really exciting time for the team. Finishing a game is incredibly hard but lovely to watch as the pieces fall into place.
In No Man’s Sky you can trade, fight, explore, and survive in a boundless, computer-generated universe. It’s a vast, open game, and always a hard one to demonstrate quickly, but recently we let some people from the press loose in No Man’s Sky.
We pulled a few all-nighters this week in preparation! It was incredibly scary for us, but the moment we saw people start claiming discoveries, shouting and laughing at each other’s screens, we knew the hard work was paying off, and could collapse contentedly in the corner.
They got to see new features like how to survive on hazardous planets and how to learn alien languages, and for the first time we showed off some alien races you will be able to communicate with.
We’re excited for you all to play too, and we have some news a lot of you have been guessing at already. No Man’s Sky will have a full blown Blu-ray retail version! Sony has a history of working closely with indies, and this feels like some sort of culmination of that story. It means more people will have a chance to join us in exploring the universe than ever before. I can’t really imagine what it will feel like to walk into a shop and see our game on a shelf.
I remember when I sat in the audience and saw Sony putting LittleBigPlanet on stage for the first time, I knew that it no longer mattered how many people worked on your game, and that not every game had to start with a 10-minute CGI cut scene. I can’t believe we’re about to follow in their footsteps as an even smaller studio with their game in real, actual shops.
Most importantly, it gives us the best chance possible to keep supporting the game for free after it is released. No Man’s Sky will launch as a complete game in June, but there’s a lot we’d like to add post-launch, if we can.
Thank you, as always, for everyone’s support and patience as we head towards the home straight. We can’t wait for everyone to start their own adventures!
All the best,
Sean | 1,265,863 |
Apr 27, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Matt Kemp (27) in the on-deck circle during the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kenny Karst-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Padres: Padres Can Win it all Before Chargers
San Diego Padres: Padres Can Win it all Before Chargers by Jonathan Goehring
San Diego Padres: Could Carlos Asuaje be Dealt? by Jonathan Goehring
Matt Kemp’s second half numbers, Yoenis Céspedes’ free agency, and Wil Myers’ decline are factors proving that the San Diego Padres’ trade of Kemp was badly timed.
Back in winter 2014, Padres AJ Preller made a flurry of trades that won him the “Rock Star GM” accolade.
In one of them, he acquired Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers, in exchange for Yasmani Grandal and others.
Clearly, the centerpiece of the trade was Kemp.
Then, when the 2015 season started, the “plan” did not work and the ball club lost 88 games.
Last year, when the season was half way through and the team was not performing, the Padres decided to trade their veteran players to open spaces for their youth.
Among them Matt Kemp, who was traded to the Braves, along with cash, for Hector Olivera, who immediately was cut.
That is, San Diego didn’t get a player in return and are eating part of the Kemp salary.
The trade was not a bad idea. The problem is that SD got nothing in return for a very good power hitter.
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So why it was bad timing trading Kemp in July?
It is known that Kemp is a stud in the second half, the past three seasons he has averaged.293, 17 HRs & 52 RBIs. His overall numbers last year were.268, 35 HRs & 108 RBIs, similar compared to this years prime power hitting free agent Yoenis Cespedes (.280, 31 HRs & 86 RBIs). Wil Myers‘ numbers suffered in august (.216, 3 HRs & 9 RBIs), the first month without Kemp hitting after him.
In retrospect, Preller should have waited until the offseason to trade Kemp (even after Cespedes signing), to an AL team to serve as a DH-OF. His value would have been much higher, as several teams are looking for power hitters.
Whichever team lost the Cespedes sweepstakes would have seen Kemp as an alternative. After all, who wouldn’t like to have a 35 HR & 108 RBI hitter in the middle of their lineup? | 1,265,864 |
The letters of the railroad baron Leland Stanford, who later served as governor and senator of California, are full of embarrassingly frank details about bribes, kickbacks, and monopolies. During the golden age of vote buying in New York, Tammany Hall politician George W. Plunkitt famously explained the difference between “honest and dishonest graft.” In 1877, when the Georgia legislature banned lobbying, they did so after it came to light that lawmakers had sold 35 million acres of land to a business conglomerate for a scandalously low price. All but one of the lawmakers had been given shares in the business venture.
When Georgians discovered the scale of the corrupt land sale, they literally set fire to the documents used by the government to grant the land in a giant bonfire presided over by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate. It was like they were ceremoniously burning the possessions of a boyfriend or girlfriend who had scorned them.
It’s hard to say whether America has become more or less corrupt since then. Researchers who study the topic note that most hard data comes from subjective surveys, which are recently initiated and simply ask people about their perceptions of corruption. America does fairly well in these surveys, ranking 16th in the world as of 2015. But explicit bribery still exists: Between 1990 and 2002, 10,000 officials were convicted for corrupt acts.
The corruption that dominates headlines today, however, is mostly the legal kind: Bank regulators who act feckless so they can move onto plush banking jobs; Super Pacs that receive millions of dollars from companies that want access and influence; and lobbyists who take out lawmakers for expensive lunches.
The result is the cynical political culture that 19th century judges worried about when they refused to sanction even lobbying that seemed above board. Nearly half of all members of Congress now take lobbying jobs when they leave office. Congressmen have written that serving on a congressional committee is now “mainly valuable as part of the interview process for a far more lucrative job as a K Street lobbyist” and that it has “become routine to see members of Congress drop their seat in Congress like a hot rock when a particularly lush vacancy opens up.”
Since 2014, as journalist Ezra Klein points out, businesses have spent more money lobbying Congress than taxpayers have spent funding Congress.
We have traded an era in which bribery was widespread but provoked outrage and consequences when it was discovered for an age in which corruption is condemned but seen as inevitable, legal, and even constitutional.
Our next post looks at the organization raffling off a swank house amongst the housing scarcity of San Francisco. To get notified when we post it → join our email list.
If you’re a company that wants to work with Priceonomics to turn your data into great stories, learn more about the Priceonomics Data Studio. | 1,265,865 |
will not write source code for you. This is not how you learn. I will be happy to look over a little bit of your code, but will not write code for you. Q: Can I send you my source code and will you find the error? A: No. Again, I will not do your homework, so-to-speak. A good learning exercise is to find a way to narrow down the problem, finding the error using trial and error, until you have finally found the issue. Tools are created for just this purpose, and these tools are explained and/or included within the source code provided. Q: When will the remaining volumes be available? A: I write these books in my spare time, as a hobby, as an enjoyment. When time and interest allows, I work on updating existing volumes or completing other volumes. When I feel that a volume has reached a point for release, I will do so. Q: When will newer editions be released. A: When there is substantial changes and/or additions to an existing value, I will release a new edition. Q: Where can I get more information about these books? A: This page is the home for and first place to look for new information. After that, I have a blog and a Facebook page. Q: Where else can I get help on my Operating System Development needs? A: I frequent the OSDev Forum where you can ask questions and usually get a helpful response by myself or others within 24 hours. Q: What is the difference between Jan Axelson's book and your book? A: Her book explains quite well how to use the installed operating system and its functions (and additional libraries) to access the operating system's USB functionality, detailing the communication between the host and the device, but not how it actually gets sent and/or received through the host's installed hardware. My book explains how a (non-specific) operating system communicates with the attached hardware to pass the commands and data back-and-forth between the attached devices and the host operating system, those commands and data packets her book details. My book also explains the hardware side of the USB that is used to do this from the operating system's point of view, not from the user's point of view. Q: Are these books printed on paper from sustainably managed forests, e.g. with the FSC certification? A: Direct from the manufacturer: "Environmental consciousness is important to us as we continue to grow. Our ink is chlorine-free, and a Forest Stewardship Council-certified provider supplies our acid-free interior paper stock. While our laminated covers are considered a form of plastic, both our cream and white paper uses recycled materials. We maintain a commitment to recycling waste materials resulting from the printing process and from daily office operations. We will continue to review our practices to ensure we are doing our part to protect the environment."
Please provide feedback | 1,265,866 |
RIM is to release its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in the US and Canada on Tuesday 19 April.
The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will come in three models, featuring 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage at $499, $599 and $699 respectively, and go on sale in Best Buy stores and Best Buy Mobile stores in the US, as well as Best Buy and Future Shop stores in Canada.
And the UK? RIM tells us that it will be launched internationally in "Q2" (April to June), but that neither pricing nor distribution channels have been announced. The software for the machines now out in the field in certain hands is still "pre-final release", we understand.
Would-be customers in the US and Canada can place orders from today. "Previews of the BlackBerry PlayBook have generated tremendous excitement and we know that customers are eager to get their hands on one," said RIM's regional managing director for North America, Craig McLennan.
The pricing for the PlayBook puts it exactly level with Apple's iPad 2, which launched in the US on 11 March and will start selling internationally on Friday.
RIM has released a set of specifications for the PlayBook:
• 7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
• 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1" x 7.6" x 0.4" (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
• Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
• 1080p HDMI output
• Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
• 1 GB RAM memory
• Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
• GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
• Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
• Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR support
Many of those features give it parity with the iPad 2, and in some cases put it slightly ahead. The key difference is in the screen size, which at 7" gives it slightly less than half the total area of the 9.7" iPad. The iPad is heavier at 601g (1.33 pounds) and of course larger (9.5" x 7.31") though it is apparently thinner at 0.34in.
RIM has not, however, announced an expected battery life. | 1,265,867 |
Solar plants keep getting bigger: The new Topaz Solar Farm, in a remote part of southern California, sprawls over an area about a third of the size of Manhattan. In February, another solar farm of roughly the same size–with 9 million solar panels–opened in the Mojave Desert. Later this year, an even larger project will open in Antelope Valley.
Together, the three new projects will provide enough power for over half a million homes. But there’s a downside: They’re all in former open spaces that once provided habitat for wildlife, and because they’re in remote areas, some of the energy they produce gets lost along the way to consumers. A new study in Nature Climate Change says that plants like these actually aren’t necessary: We can get more than enough solar power by building in cities instead.
The study looks at California, because the state is aggressively increasing renewable energy, and finds that by using land that’s already developed, like rooftops and parking lots, solar power could provide the state with three to five times as much energy as it uses.
“I questioned whether we have a constraint on land,” says researcher Rebecca Hernandez. “It was striking to me that there seemed to be sort of this mismatch of available places to put solar. I wanted to really understand how much land do we have, how much land is available, all these land dynamics that really were not quantified before, and sort of paint a better picture.”
The study maps out developed areas that are best suited for either photovoltaic panels or concentrated solar power (CSP). California has an area about the size of Massachusetts that is well-suited for PV panels, and an area about the size of Delaware that is a good match for CSP. If these spaces were fully plastered with solar tech, they could provide over 20,000 terawatt-hours of power every year.
By building in and near cities, we could also add new solar power more quickly, because remote plants require new transmission lines. “We have to build out infrastructure to catch up to these places,” Hernandez says. “Really, our solar energy installations are now dictating the infrastructure of our grid, which is sort of backwards.”
Remote solar farms also lose power as it is transmitted over long distances, so it’s not as efficient. “There’s two problems with solar energy,” Hernandez says. “One is that we need to deploy it rapidly, and two we need to do it efficiently. We’re on track to meet our renewable energy goals, but is it fast enough? Many of us would probably argue it’s not, because we’re running behind climate change. The truth is that California’s not being effective.” | 1,265,868 |
failed to implement US demands,
“China acknowledges the likelihood that the United States will impose additional tariffs or other import restrictions on Chinese products, or on Chinese supply of services to such extent as the United States deems appropriate.”
Moreover, “China understands” that it “will not oppose, challenge or take any form of action against the United States’ imposition additional tariffs,” including action through the WTO.
China must also give up its opposition to US objections to it being declared a “market economy” under WTO regulations. The granting of full WTO market status to a country makes it more difficult for rivals to impose restrictions on it.
Chinese counter-demands included the lifting of the proposed 25 percent tariffs on Chinese exports to the US; open access for Chinese goods in US government procurement; equal treatment for Chinese companies in any national security review; an adjustment on the ban imposed on the Chinese technology company ZTE; and a commitment by the US not to initiate any section 301 investigation into China in the future.
As the US document itself indicated, there will be no concessions by Washington on any of these issues.
No doubt there will be conjecture over the coming weeks as to what concessions both sides could make in future talks—if any take place—now that they have set out their basic positions.
While there may be some moves in this direction, any assessment that regards the conflict as simply a “trade” dispute would completely misread it. The US trade war measures are part of a much broader agenda aimed at turning China into nothing less than a semi-colony, if necessary by military means.
The US National Security Strategy, issued last December, labelled China a “strategic competitor” practising “economic aggression” against the US. In January’s National Defense Strategy (NDS), Defense Secretary James Mattis declared that “great power competition,” rather than terrorism, was “now the primary focus of US national security.” The NDS designated China, along with Russia, as a “revisionist power” seeking to create a world consistent with its “authoritarian model.”
In July 1914, the crumbling and decaying Austrian regime issued an impossible-to-meet ultimatum to Serbia, following the assassination of Austrian archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Austria knew its demands would provoke war, but made a desperate attempt to maintain its threatened European empire.
Today, US imperialism, considering itself threatened on all sides by rivals, old and new, regards China’s economic expansion—above all, in the critical area of high-tech development—as an existential threat to its global economic and military dominance. In issuing its ultimatums to China, Washington has made clear that it is no less prepared to plunge the world into war. | 1,265,869 |
from you. You need to take a break from the battle that you are trying to fight within yourself.
When we are filled with anxiety a stress hormone is released into the bloodstream targeting specific areas causing physiological, psychological, and emotional responses which is known as the “fight or flight response.” To recover from these emotional responses you have to learn and apply recovery strategies that work for you. This can help understand what anxiety is and how your body responds to it.
Everyone is different and some people recover more quickly than others, but let it happen in its own time. Do not rush the process and put a time limit on it. Just be patient. You don’t have to fight this battle. Don’t let impatience hold you back. Even if old fears keep resurfacing, just let them go and don’t hang onto them. Some circumstances that you have suffered may be impossible to understand. You aren’t expected to understand. All that matters is you continue to find healthy ways to cope and feel as best as you can in your life right now.
I know everyone is not religious but, for me I try not to think about all the weaknesses in my life. Instead, I focus on who God wants me to be and what he wants to do in my life. There isn’t a better thing you can do to raise your confidence level than to start believing what God says about you. Often when I feel a certain way. I look up scripture with how I am feeling. For example, if I am anxious, then I look up scriptures for anxiety. As I read through the Bible I find a verse that speaks to me, I write it down on a card, look at it daily, and try to memorize it. Then I affirm it back to God. This has helped me tremendously. God always lead me to the right scripture that I need to hear to gain that confidence back.
Some days are easier than others and what makes sense one day won’t make sense the next. But don’t let your memories try to suck you back into old habits. Keep practicing your recovering strategies and accept that you may have a bad day here and there. Accept these days and keep practicing until your new habits are fully developed. You can regain that confidence back. Trust me, it worked for me and it can work for you. You just have to be patient and understanding with yourself and most of all DON’T GIVE UP!
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).
Talk it over: | 1,265,870 |
Science & Exploration Astronaut photography benefiting the planet 15/02/2019 6741 views 67 likes
When astronauts take photographs of our planet while orbiting 400 km above our heads, they are doing much more than just taking pretty pictures. They are looking after the health of our planet and, ultimately, us too.
Techniques used by astrophotographers looking at the stars and space exploration come together to measure the environmental impact of artificial lights at night. The only night images of Earth in colour that are freely available to the public are pictures taken by the astronauts from the International Space Station, and a few colour composites made by ESA’s Rosetta satellite. NASA has a public database with over 1.3 million colour photographs taken by astronauts since 2003.
Mapping the night Now researchers are looking at these nocturnal images in a different light. A team of scientists came up with a method to classify outdoor lighting using colour diagrams and calibration techniques. The resulting spectral information, such as colour temperature, is a useful tool to assess the environmental impact of artificial light. “We hope to take photography from the Space Station to a new level,” says Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, a research fellow at the UK’s University of Exeter and lead investigator of the Cities at night project that raises awareness of light pollution.
Human vision from space City lights are disruptive not only for the lives of nocturnal animals, who suffer from disorientation and behavioural and physiological changes, but also for people. An excess of artificial light before bedtime reduces melatonin production, a hormone linked to sleep. This suppression can lead to negative effects on our health, including breast and prostate cancer. In addition, streetlights account for a large chunk of a country’s energy consumption.
Alexander Gerst taking picutres “This is not only about being able to see the stars,” says Alejandro. “All living creatures on our planet, including us humans, suffer from artificial nighttime lighting. And only the humans living off planet Earth can help us.” Scientists use synthetic photometry to analyse the images, a mathematical technique that can help identify light sources under different light conditions and camera settings. The results give precise information about how colour and brightness of street lamps can suppress melatonin production or obstruct the vision of the stars.
Citizen science Milan is a perfect case study for this research. This Italian city replaced its orange sodium lamps with white LED lamps. The study proves that the whiter light sources are worse for the local environment. “We provide a basis for creating risk maps of artificial lightning. Governments could use this information to reduce light pollution,” says Alejandro. The next step is to open the door to citizen science. A future paper will show how to use any camera to capture light at home and analyse whether the light bulb is conducive to optimal sleep patterns. | 1,265,871 |
The World Visit system in Final Fantasy XIV allows players to travel to servers within the same datacenter, but Square Enix aims for a larger goal.
The World Visit system recently implemented in Final Fantasy XIV, allows players to travel to servers within the same datacenter, but the team at Square Enix has its sights set on a larger goal.
At the moment, players from servers included in different datacenters cannot play together. Yet, during an interview at Gamescom in Germany, Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida told Twinfinite that this could change in he future.
While the physical datacenters will remain, the team is looking for ways to break the barriers between the datacenters, allowing us to play with everyone else regardless of server and datacenter. That being said, this is a very challenging task.
Developers are discussing internally how to make this possible from an engineering point of view. Unfortunately, it can’t just magically happen, but they’re working on it.
While it isn’t guaranteed that it’ll work, they have some ideas on how to make this “magic” happen. According to Yoshida-san, they’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and he encourages fans to wait for further news on this.
To better explain the concept, Yoshida-san doodled the sketch below
The three big circles marked JP, EU, and NA are the physical datacenters for the three regions. Within each there are the “logical datacenters” like Crystal, Aether, and Primal in North America.
The big circle on the bottom right marked “E” represents what we have now, one enclosed logical datacenter in which players can freely move between servers.
The first step the development team is planning to take is breaking the boundaries between logical datacenters. Yet, those boundaries are very solid, so they’ll need some “magic” to make it happen.
The ultimate goal would be to remove the boundaries between physical datacenters (for instance between North America and Europe), but this will require “something extremely powerful like the Hydaelyn Kick” to be accomplished.
Of course, you should stay tuned for the full interview, coming soon here on Twinfinite.
If you’re interested in the game (which has recently been updated to version 5.05), you can read our review of the latest expansion Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers and our article explaining why it features the best story among all the tales told by the Final Fantasy series.
If you like roleplaying, Square Enix also recently released the naming conventions for the new Viera and Hrothgar races.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PS4 and PC. | 1,265,872 |
The Inamo restaurant in London's fashionable SoHo district isn't known for its splendid food or outstandingly accommodating waitresses.
Instead, the new Asian fusion eatery is getting raves for its use of a touch pad-projection system that allows diners to send food orders directly to the chefs and makes the dining experience fully interactive.
Every table at Inamo has its own image projector above (see pic at right), meaning every person essentially gets to eat off a giant computer screen. This allows the restaurant to offer several interesting experiences, like selecting the mood of the table by choosing between different 'place mat' images and videos. According to a recent diner, the rig is based on a flash/actionscript system.
When you're waiting for your meal to arrive, you can click on a kitchen camera that let's you see your food being prepared, play different types of computer board games (like Battleship), and when you're done, you can separate bills and boot up a map to figure out your next move around town.
But for me, the best part seems to be that when you're choosing through potential dining options, a picture of the food appears on the plate where you'll be eating it. I'm not sure if the size of the picture approximates the size of the actual meal, but I think this is better than just the syrupy, dramatized meal explanation one usually gets.
As for the circular touch pad, it seems pretty basic, though I do worry about whether the restaurant changes its surface once in awhile to clean it. Otherwise, you have to rely on other people's hand-washing abilities or dip your hand in a tub of Purella before taking a bite.
Even though your ordering experience is pretty much automated, every table does have a waiter that brings over the meal and answers questions about the system.
Check out a few more pictures of the Inamo restaurant after the jump.
The projectors at a standstill before the diners come in. Dan.Pan.*/flickr
You can check out the Kitchen cam from your own table. Phillie Casablanca/Flickr
This is how you choose the different color moods.Phil Hawksworth/flickr
Finding out the subway routes on the table. Phil Hawksworth/flickr
Playing Battleship and drinking now go together__. Phillie Casablanca/Flickr__
Actual food, looks too much like tapas''small plate' dining for my taste. Dan.Pan.*/flickr
Insert Photo: lauronsky/Flickr
See also:
Follow Jose Fermoso and the Gadget Lab at twitter.com/fermoso and twitter.com/gadgetlab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXc8YCeNJD4 | 1,265,873 |
Here at Team Xbox, we’ve had a long history in offering voice controls as a way to interact with your Xbox console through Kinect and headsets. Today, starting with select Xbox U.S. Insiders, we’re expanding voice support by introducing the Xbox Skill, which enables you to navigate and interact with Xbox One using voice commands through your Cortana and Alexa-enabled devices.
With the Xbox Skill, you can use voice commands to power your Xbox One console, adjust volume, launch games and apps, start and stop broadcasts on Mixer, capture screenshots, and more. It’s the fastest way to get into your games and one of the easiest ways to interact with your console for everyday tasks. For example, if you have the skill enabled on your Echo and you’re a part of the Insider preview, just say “Alexa, start Rocket League.” and this command will automatically turn on your console, sign you in, and launch your game.
The Xbox Skill integrates with your Cortana and Alexa-enabled device such as a Windows 10 PC, Amazon Echo, Harman Kardon Invoke, Sonos One, or Cortana and Alexa apps on iOS and Android, enabling voice commands to control your Xbox One console.
For Xbox Insiders* in the U.S. who want to try the Xbox Skill with Cortana or Alexa, here’s how to get started:
If you use Cortana:
Sign into the Xbox you want to control. On your Windows 10 PC, click here and sign in with your Microsoft account to link the skill. Try your first command! “Hey Cortana, tell Xbox to open Netflix.”
If you use Alexa:
Sign into the Xbox you want to control. Click here, sign in with your Amazon Account, and click Enable. Sign in with your Microsoft account to link the skill. Let Alexa discover your console, then follow the instructions to pair your console with Alexa. Try your first command! “Alexa, start Rocket League.”
Wondering what else the Xbox Skill can do? Just say “Ask Xbox what can I say?” to discover more commands for your console. For a full list of commands, troubleshooting assistance, and to give the team feedback and ideas, you can visit the Xbox Insider Subreddit.
As always, your feedback is important to us and our partners as we continue to evolve this experience and grow our voice integration across devices, digital assistants and voice services.
*Note to Xbox Insiders: We will be rolling the Xbox Skill out to Xbox Insider rings gradually. If the Digital Assistant setting is visible on your console in Settings -> Devices, then you are currently eligible to test the Xbox Skill. If it doesn’t appear, then please be patient as we are working quickly to add more Insider rings to the beta. | 1,265,874 |
Trimble has entered into an agreement to acquire Müller-Elektronik, a German company that specializes in implement control and precision farming solutions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Known for developing, producing, and selling electronic control units (ECUs) and embedded software that provides vehicle and implement control for tractors, combines, field sprayers, drill machines, seeders, spreaders, and slurry tankers to improve input management such as seed, fertilizer, and pesticides, Müller was a key contributor in developing the ISOBUS communication protocol. Regardless of color, ISOBUS standardizes the control settings, reduces downtime, and minimizes installation and interface challenges, which ultimately simplifies data exchange and machine control.
New, exciting solutions
By combining their expertise, the pair will have the ability to develop new and exciting solutions for farmers worldwide who are struggling to integrate and use various hardware and software products across different brands. Farmers, advisers, and retailers will now have access to an ecosystem that can easily build prescriptions for their fields and transfer those prescriptions to an implement, which will enable a farmer to more easily adopt a precision ag solution.
“Our planned acquisition of Müller-Elektronik recognizes the growing importance of the implement in variable-rate application solutions as well as the importance of an integrated platform that is agnostic to equipment brand,” says Darryl Matthews, Trimble senior vice president. “Müller's ISOBUS solutions are already compatible with a significant range of equipment manufacturers. This capability, together with existing Trimble competencies, will enable us to expand our role in the growing market for variable-rate applications. We plan to continue to fully support existing Müller customers and partners."
“Trimble is a leading provider of precision agriculture hardware and farm management software. Bringing Trimble together with Müller’s leading ISOBUS solutions will create an industry-changing opportunity to deliver a system-wide integration that is uniquely available through the combination of the companies,” says Christian Müller, managing director for Müller-Elektronik. “Our systems, combined with farm management software, will enable OEMs to provide integrated plug-and-play solutions straight from the factory, while also helping the growing aftermarket channel looking to support its customers with mixed fleet operations with an ISOBUS solution.”
The acquisition will also include Müller-Elektronik’s other operations, WTK Elektronik, a German-based company; ME-France; ME Sudamerica, an Argentina-based company; and Mueller Electronics Inc., a North American-based company.
To learn more about Trimble Agriculture, visit trimble.com/agriculture. For more information on Müller-Elektronik, visit mueller-elektronik.de/en. | 1,265,875 |
would of course be very painful, but a small amount of degrowth in the richest nations could be relatively harmless.
Today Qatar has a GDP of $130,000 per capita, and Luxembourg and Singapore enjoy $100,000 per capita. Brunei is around $79,000, Ireland $78,000, Norway $74,000, UAE $69,000, Kuwait $67,000, Switzerland $64,000 and the USA $62,000.
Happiness economists are increasingly finding evidence of a mismatch between levels of national GDP and national happiness. For poorer nations GDP growth is essential for happiness, but as nations become richer the benefits of GDP growth slow-down dramatically.
For richer nations GDP growth should no longer be a priority, and the focus should instead be reduced inequality, more leisure time, stronger community bonds, and workplace democracy. Many richer countries today are doing poorly in these areas. Fixing them could significantly increase happiness, and could offset the losses from some necessary degrowth.
At the end of his article Leigh contents that ‘an end to growth declares an end to technological development, an end to science, an end to progress, an end to the open-ended search for freedom—an end to history.’
Leigh is certainly right that material development has in the past brought significant cultural and political development. But the end of growth is itself a major material development that would bring about major political changes. Without economic growth, the established powers within capitalist nations, and within bodies like the IMF, would lose one of the major pieces of rhetoric used to suppress dissent. Without economic growth, the promise that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’ would vanish.
It is likely that international politics would shift, as poorer nations recognise that they will never catch up with the imperial powers without taking their wealth from them. Politics within nations would also shift, as the idea that children will automatically be richer than their parents vanishes. A greater focus will emerge on reducing inequality and increasing social mobility.
Likewise, the end of economic growth would see a shift in economic focus, away from increasing consumption, to increasing happiness. Some of the ways to increase the happiness of nations has been highlighted above, but much remains unexplored. Innovations in happiness economics could keep us busy for years or even decades, constantly improving society while keeping consumption the same.
Ultimately Leigh is right that a steady-state economy should not last forever. So long as we keep developing technologies to decouple growth and environmental damage, we will eventually be able to resume economic growth. But a period of no-growth should not be seen as the end of history. Rather, it should be seen as an important phase in our development – a time to reflect on our consumerist culture, to perfect everything beyond growth that makes life worth living, and to ensure the security and protection of our planet for future generations. | 1,265,876 |
][ k ] == n || S [ k ][ c ] == n || S [ r - r % 3 + k % 3 ][ c - c % 3 + k / 3 ] == n } S [ r ][ c ] = n succ. resume # We found a digit that works, try the next cell end } S [ r ][ c ] = 0 Fiber. yield } } } next_fiber. resume
Conclusion
So here it is, a backtracking Sudoku solver never going deeper than 9 stack frames, using only infinite loops and no break, with no state other than a single copy of the puzzle!
Fibers – Ruby’s coroutines – enable us to avoid keeping explicit state (such as the current digit being tried for an empty cell) and transparently switch between different tasks, even in the middle of a method or block. That sounds like concurrency and that’s exactly what Fibers are. Due to the lack of preemption, they switch on demand and deterministically, which makes it easy to reason about. Concurrency in this context enables us to structure the program in a new and different way. Fibers are a very powerful tool and an interesting alternative to solve many problems.
What do you think? Do you find this solution elegant?
Maybe this article made you want to use Fibers more? I got the original idea from an inspiring paper on coroutines: Revisiting Coroutines by Ana Lúcia De Moura and Roberto Ierusalimschy.
If you liked this post or got some ideas from it, consider submitting to TRICK 2018! The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2018. The judge panel is very impressive and even includes Matz!
Bonus
Here is an even shorter and cleaner version of the solver, based on @Maumagnaguagno ’s comment:
next_fiber = Fiber. new { loop { puts S. map { | r | r *'' } << '' Fiber. yield } } [ * 0.. 8 ]. product ([ * 0.. 8 ]) { | r, c | succ, next_fiber = next_fiber, Fiber. new { loop { ( 1.. 9 ). each { | n | if ( 0.. 8 ). none? { | k | S [ r ][ k ] == n || S [ k ][ c ] == n || S [ r - r % 3 + k % 3 ][ c - c % 3 + k / 3 ] == n } S [ r ][ c ] = n succ. resume # We found a digit that works, try the next cell end } S [ r ][ c ] = 0 Fiber. yield } } if S [ r ][ c ] == 0 } next_fiber. resume
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. | 1,265,877 |
Belizean cryptocurrency exchange platform 247exchange.com adds Sofort Banking as one of its payment methods, allowing its customers to make instant purchases of bitcoins from more than 400 banks in 10 different European countries.
On October 2, Belize City-based digital currency 247exchange.com announced its recently sealed partnership with online payment processor Sofort Banking. The move will allow its customers to purchase bitcoins from over 400 banks in Europe.
The 10 supported European countries include Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Poland. Along with instant payments made available from this partnership, customers can purchase bitcoins through bank wire (SWIFT) and SEPA transfer.
In an email communication with Cointelegraph, 247exchange.com Marketing Director Andrey Vereshchagin said the company has recently been working on adding credit cards as one of their instant payment methods for buying bitcoins, and were currently testing payments in altcoins including Litecoin, Peercoin and Namecoin. Vereshchagin said these features were likely to be added to the website before the end of October.
Started in early 2013, 247exchange.com is operated by Belize City-based enterprise InterMoney Exchange, Corp. In July 2014, the company received its Money Service Business (MSB) license delivered by the International Financial Services Commission, a Belizean governmental organ that seeks to "promote, protect and enhance Belize as an international financial services center". The next month, its website exited demo-mode and officially launched as an international digital currency exchanger.
By September 2014, the company had already concluded several partnerships with banks and financial services across the globe, including Munich-based online payment processor Sofort Banking. Through this collaboration, 247exchange.com received support from 99% of German banks (138 in total), 95% of Austrian banks (41), as well as 21 Belgian banks, 21 French, 3 Dutch, 22 Polish, 37 Spanish, 69 Italian, 22 UK, and 51 Swiss. Vereshchagin explained:
"We're focusing on instant methods, because of the float price of Bitcoin, so, nobody wants to wait hours or even days for Bitcoins they buy, and we clearly understand this."
Along with instant methods, 247exchange.com said to be also focusing on local payment methods, including cash deposit and local bank transfers, in different countries and regions. In fact, they have already started accepting bank transfers from Australia and Europe.
The executive said that unlike typical Bitcoin exchangers that focus on specific regions, 247exchange.com's aim was to make a worldwide service that would be convenient for people to use from anywhere in the world.
In 2015, 247exchange.com is planning to enter the North American market, added Vereshchagin as the company is currently seeking to get the appropriate licenses. | 1,265,878 |
Say goodbye to the International House of Pancakes. It’s no longer a thing.
IHOP tweeted Wednesday morning a short video that depicts the IHOP logo flipping its “P” into a “B” with the promise of a name change on the way.
“For 60 pancakin’ years, we’ve been IHOP. Now, we’re flippin’ our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18.” the tweet read.
For 60 pancakin’ years, we’ve been IHOP. Now, we’re flippin’ our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHOb pic.twitter.com/evSxKV3QmT — IHOP (@IHOP) June 4, 2018
Social media shared plenty of ideas for what the new name could be. "Breakfast" appeared to be the heavy favorite.
International house of breakfast? — Scott Hvozdovic (@hvozdovic_scott) June 5, 2018
My entire family is going insane trying to figure out what the b is. Send helb — Jennie Powell (@jennie_powell33) June 6, 2018
Is it because of the new burgers? Maybe? Lol — Yelissa Castillo (@YelissaCastillo) June 6, 2018
International House of Bacon!!!! :D — Fluffeh Pupper (@xBladeWolfx) June 5, 2018
Biscuits — marilyn poirier (@mjpoirier32407) June 5, 2018
As for IHOP, it offered responses to those ideas, saying "there are o-b-viously so many possi-b-ilities," "No need to b stressed, this is going to b great!," and "brebare yourself for something awesome."
IHOP even shared a poll about what the new name could be. “Biscuits,” “bacon,” “butternut squash” and “barnacles” were listed as options.
According to CNN, IHOP has been the restaurant’s acronym since 1973.
The breakfast joint has seen its stock rise 25 percent this year, showing no immediate need for Dine Brands to reinvent the restaurant.
“It's also hard to imagine why the company would want to mess with a name that's so well-known and beloved. It would also likely cost a big stack of pancakes (bancakes?) to change restaurant signs and menus at the nearly 1,800 IHOP restaurants,” according to CNN. | 1,265,879 |
Two men from Delaware, Ohio, who went viral after wearing custom-made T-shirts reading "I'd Rather Be A Russian Than A Democrat,” are pushing back on criticism that they are “traitors.”
Earlier this month, James Timothy "Tim" Alicie and Richard Birchfield captured national headlines after a photo of them wearing the controversial apparel at a rally for President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE in Lewis Center, Ohio, made the rounds on social media.
Shortly after photos of the two men wearing the shirts emerged on social media, TV host Bill Maher dubbed the pair "traitors,” echoing the sentiments of many others who were critical of their pro-Russia rally attire.
"We're not traitors by any means. And we're not Russian spies or cult leaders," Alicie said told Cleveland.com in an interview published on Tuesday, though the 60-year-old added that he liked that he and Birchfield had been dubbed "Russian hillbillies."
Alicie also said that although the shirts were meant to be a joke, he believes the message behind the shirts “is kind of serious if you think about it."
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"We've been working with Russia with the [International] Space Station, and doing a lot of things with Russia, not just that," Alicie said, adding that critics of the Russia shirts "need to be a lot better informed."
However, despite the barrage of complaints directed at the two men on social media about their clothes, Alicie and Birchfield told the outlet they have managed to largely avoid any negative comments about the apparel, as neither of them spend much time on the internet and both still use flip phones.
Alicie also added that not every response they’ve received about the shirts has been critical. As he pointed out in the interview, members of the Ku Klux Klan invited him and Birchfield to deliver remarks at a meeting in Columbus. But Alicie said they declined the invitation.
"I surely don't agree with any of their views," he said.
When pressed if he or Birchfield were bothered by the hate organization appearing to be in agreement with their stance on Russia, Alicie answered, "For the most part, they're probably not a hell of a lot different than anybody else. But I can't help it that they got a twisted mind the way they think about certain things."
Alicie also said the two "haven't made one nickel" from their shirts since the rally this month but are seeking to launch an online store to sell "authentic" versions of the tops. | 1,265,880 |
Despite Morocco’s popularity and the explosive growth of tourist infrastructure, it’s still a logistically intensive country to visit. Add kids to the mix and you have the recipe for the best – or worst – family vacation ever. Founder of CiaoBambino.com and Family Travel Expert Amie O’Shaughnessy shares the five tips for navigating the country with kids.
We recently visited Morocco with our then 8-year-old and hit many highlights including Marrakech, the High Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate, and the Sahara Desert dunes at Merzouga. Despite bad luck with the weather, we had a tremendous experience and I highly recommend traveling to Morocco with kids.
I found that Morocco is on the top of many travel bucket lists, particularly now that so many other places in North Africa are experiencing political turmoil. Here are our five tips to optimize travel in Morocco with kids:
1. Unless you plan to visit a single major city and stay there, use a reputable tour operator with years of experience in Morocco to manage and coordinate all ground logistics.
There’s quite a bit of driving down remote roads required to visit the different parts of the country. You need someone experienced who knows exactly how to manage the itinerary to be in charge. Once you are in the countryside, it’s as rugged and “foreign” as it gets — it’s the beauty and the reward of Morocco — but you don’t want to be navigating through this terrain unaided with kids.
We selected Kensington Tours for our trip and were thrilled. A private driver and guide accompanied us everywhere, and not once did we feel scared or vulnerable, as we knew we were in good hands.
2. Ease into the experience by starting the trip in Marrakech in a kid-friendly resort.
Although Marrakech isn’t Kansas, it has hosted Europeans for years and has familiar elements to it, which helps ease kids into exotic environment.
Although the old Medina is the heart of the city, it’s a chaotic place with zero room for kids to safely roam on their own. Opt to stay in a kid-friendly resort where children can be free to run and play. We stayed at the new Four Seasons Marrakech with a supervised kids’ club, glorious garden, and a wonderful family pool. It’s only a 10-minute drive from the action, but offers an oasis from the elements. Moreover, the kids’ club provides a way for parents to explore the city on their own.
We also stayed at Hotel Beldi and loved this boutique property for families. Although it has fewer amenities than the Four Seasons, there’s an immense garden, beautiful pools, and an incredible pottery workshop for children.
more>> | 1,265,881 |
conversation” with her son about how to handle police encounters. In a recent radio ad, she called upon Atlantans to elect a mayor who can recognize that “racial profiling is a problem everywhere.”
“Mary can’t change something that she doesn’t even know exists,” Bottoms said in the ad.
A week after Norwood’s hesitation on answering the racial profiling question, mayoral candidates were asked during a forum held at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to talk more about community policing. One black candidate spoke candidly about the formative experience of having an officer pull a gun on him at age 12; Norwood spoke about police wages but avoided the topic of racial profiling. In her interview with POLITICO Magazine, Norwood said “there’s no question” that racial profiling happens but that she had only been seeking clarification the week before so she could provide a nuanced answer to a complicated question.
“My support across the city has been strong,” she said. “I don’t break it out racially. I’ve had tremendous support from a diversity of citizens.”
So far, Norwood hasn’t been dinged in polls for skirting candid conversation about race: A recent Landmark poll placed her second among black residents. Harvey Newman, a retired Georgia State University political science professor, believes it shows that “she could be a uniting candidate.”
“I don’t know if mayors can really be the mayors of all communities,” Owens, the Emory professor, said. “They have to make choices among places and spaces. At the end of the day, there will be winners and there will be losers.”
Hobson, the Atlanta historian, said the city’s potential election of a white mayor could say more about the waning influence of the city’s black leadership. Unlike past elections, where influential “kingmakers” delivered thousands of votes to a single candidate, six leading black candidates are now sparring for splintered factions of the city’s black population.
Bottoms, who has polled in second place, believes that even though racial tensions have grown nationally, the issues affecting Atlanta remain the same as in 2009. “Those critical issues must be my focus,” she said. Norwood, for her part, professes hope that in a city as diverse as Atlanta, voters will judge her candidacy based on her track record of service rather than the color of her skin.
“I am who I am,” Norwood said. “When people know who you are, and they know how much you care, and they know what you’ve done for them, what you look like is actually superficial.”
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Environmentalists are threatening to sue French President Emmanuel Macron for eliminating stiff carbon taxes after a grassroots movement opposed to the measure spurred several mass protests.
Greenpeace and three other organization initiated a lawsuit Dec. 18 claiming France is not doing enough to tackle climate change. The organizations are giving the government two months to formulate a response, after which they will move forward with their lawsuit. The legal pursuit puts Macron in a bind.
The complaint comes less than a month after Macron dinged an unpopular gas tax that roiled activists associated with the so-called Yellow Vest movement. The anti-gas tax protest is a mix of left-wing and right-wing populist elements. One of the organizations leading the legal pursuit believes the protesters actually want a carbon tax.
“What they [yellow vests] want first and foremost is social justice and financial justice. And there will be no social justice without action for the climate,” In Our Common Interest President Marie Toussaint told reporters. Her group is one of the four non-government organizations seeking to sue France.
“Global warming feeds on inequalities and strengthens them. It strikes the most fragile first. It is destroying our economy and our territories. So, it can be a process that can be done in parallel,” Toussaint said. The best way to enact the carbon tax is to offset it with a subsidy for those who rely on transportation, she added.
Macron, for his part, promised to become one of the world’s leading climate warriors.
“If we do nothing, our children will know a world of migrations, of wars, of shortage. A dangerous world,” he said in a June 2017 statement rebutting U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the Paris accord.
Polls have not been kind to Macron since enacting the taxes. Only 26 percent of French people say they have confidence in the embattled president, according to a poll from Kantar Public, which surveyed 1,000 people in October.
Many French citizens see the gas taxes as an example of Macron’s inability to understand the plight of the country’s working class. (RELATED: France Suspends Climate Tax Following Weeks Of Anti-Macron Protests)
The price of gas rose in January by 7.6 cents per liter in France and the price of diesel by 3.84 cents. To put that into perspective, 3.8 liters of fuel is equivalent to about 1 gallon of gasoline in the U.S. Europe is on the warpath against gas-powered vehicles.
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Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]. | 1,265,883 |
Tokyo (AFP) - Japan, the world's sixth biggest greenhouse gas polluter, has pledged to cut emissions 26 percent from 2013 levels by 2030, a target observers judged inadequate to avert calamitous global warming.
In order to achieve this goal, nuclear energy, deeply unpopular and offline since the 2011 tsunami-induced Fukushima disaster, must provide about 20-22 percent of electricity production by then, said the country's official UN filing late Friday.
Renewable electricity production, including hydro power, would be expanded to 22-24 percent of the total from 11 percent for the year to March 2014, according to documents posted on the website of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other official reports.
"We have decided to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent -- an ambitious target that is in no way inferior internationally," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a meeting on Friday.
"It is urgently needed to boost efforts by the international community to deal with climate change," Abe said, adding that Tokyo was ready to help set up "a fair and practical framework" involving all major greenhouse gas emission countries.
Japan became the 19th party, including the 28-member EU bloc, to submit a carbon-cutting pledge to the United Nations ahead of a November 30-December 11 conference in Paris that must finalise a world climate pact.
A roster of national emissions curbs will support that agreement, which must take effect from 2020 with the goal to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
Greenpeace called the pledge "one of the weakest targets of any industrialised nation" -- pointing out it would amount to a mere 18 percent reduction by 2030 over Japan's 1990 emissions.
The EU's target is 40 percent from 1990 to 2030.
The Climate Action Tracker, a science-based tool to analyse countries' climate efforts, has described the 26-percent target as inadequate and said Japan could reach it almost without taking any further action.
Story continues
Japan's network of nuclear reactors, which once provided a quarter of the country's power, was switched off after the Fukushima accident, when reactors went into meltdown after their cooling systems were flooded.
As a result, the nation relied much more heavily on coal-fired power stations -- among the worst emitters of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
On Tokyo's own count, total greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 amounted to some 1.4 billion tonnes.
The global total is now about 50 billion tonnes per year, of which China, the United States and Europe account for about half.
According to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a two degree C pathway requires greenhouse gas cuts of 40-70 percent by 2050 compared to levels in 2010 -- and to zero or below by 2100.
| 1,265,884 |
Mirzapur: A case has been registered against a senior Banaras Hindu University official for allegedly removing a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) flag from its south campus in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district, officials said on Thursday.
A case under various sections has been registered at the Dehat Kotwali police station against BHU south campus deputy chief proctor, Kiran Damle for outraging religious feelings, SHO Abhay Singh said.
The case against Damle has been filed based on the complaint of RSS office-bearer Chandra Mohan and investigations are on, he said.
On Tuesday, Damle had allegedly removed the RSS flag and had taken it away while the members of the RSS and ABVP were practising yoga in a ‘shakha’ on the campus, Singh said.
Damle had allegedly said that the flag will not be allowed but members can go on with their yoga practice.
Terming it as disrespect of the flag, RSS members had staged a dharna at the administrative block demanding that they be allowed to continue their yoga sessions with the flag, Singh said.
Demanding her removal, the protestors had also alleged that Damle had misbehaved with students. Damle later resigned from the post and also apologised for removing the flag.
Also read: BHU Students Protest Posting of Muslim Professor in Sanskrit Department
The deputy chief proctor had said in view of the prevailing atmosphere she had asked for the removal of the flag and since it was not done, she handed it to her assistant attendant Satish.
“It was not a show of disrespect to the flag and the students were not stopped from doing yoga. I have been on the south campus for the past 10 years and it is my duty to maintain proper atmosphere,” she had said, adding that since ‘shakhas’ were not held on the campus, she had asked them not to organise it.
Her resignation has been sent to proctor O.P. Singh.
The protestors got the support of local MLA Ratnakar Misra and RSS ‘sah prant karvah’ Sohan who reached the spot soon after.
Meanwhile, SP Dharamvir Singh said the removal of the flag has hurt the sentiments of ‘swayam sevaks’ and Damle should instead have explained and prevailed upon them for getting it removed.
Reacting on the incident, local Congress leader and former MLA Lalitesh Pati Tripathi said that ‘shakhas’ should not be held on the campus of educational institutions.
“Moreover, why are the outsiders including RSS office-bearers interfering in the affairs of the university,” Tripathi asked. | 1,265,885 |
000. That would mean release of 42,920 inmates to meet the population ceiling of 115,080.
Some lawmakers welcomed the ruling while others vowed to fight it.
“It’s frankly a day of reckoning for those who have pushed for constant sentence enhancements, who would decimate rehabilitation programs and who oppose revenues to support state services,” said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), alluding to Republican lawmakers’ conflicting efforts to be tough on crime while cutting spending.
“Today’s decision by the three-judge panel is a nightmare come true for California families,” countered Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo. “Any fair-minded court will see there is no way to reduce our prison population by nearly 43,000 without letting out some very dangerous criminals onto our streets and into our neighborhoods.”
The judges pointedly rejected any notion that conditions have improved. Citing testimony during last year’s trial by some of the nation’s foremost prison administrators, the judges said the experts reported “they have never previously witnessed such appalling prison conditions.”
Until overcrowding is reduced, the state will be unable to provide “constitutionally compliant care,” concluded the panel comprised of U.S. District Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton, and U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt.
The judges said overcrowding at prison reception centers approaches three times designed capacity, frustrating prison intake officials’ ability to identify incoming prisoners with medical or mental health problems.
Overcrowding has led to conditions that contribute to the spread of disease, require increased use of lockdowns to control inmates, and impede authorities’ ability to provide essential healthcare, the judges said. It also “worsens many of the risk factors for suicide among inmates and increases the prevalence and acuity of mental illness,” they added.
Conditions are “often dangerous, and on many occasions fatal,” the judges said, alluding to reports that California inmates die of treatable or avoidable illnesses at the rate of one per week.
Henderson, a judge of the U.S. District Court for Northern California, seized oversight of the prison healthcare network in 2006 and appointed a receiver to fix the deficiencies.
J. Clark Kelso, the receiver, said in a recent interview that his staff was making progress on a daunting array of projects but that significant improvements remain at least a year away. He plans to computerize inmate medical records, replace a deficient pharmacy operation, build at least $2 billion worth of hospitals and upgrade existing ones.
--
[email protected]
Times staff writers Evan Halper and Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento contributed to this report. | 1,265,886 |
his own version of ‘Express Yourself' exclusively for Double J. Part of the song was recorded in the regional Victorian town of Ouyen, with a packet of cereal from the local pub used as a percussion instrument.
The Silencers – ‘Express Yourself', 1998
Yes, that is indeed Tim Armstrong from Rancid you hear spitting out the vocals for this great version of ‘Express Yourself' with The Silencers. Honestly, there's not much information about this version we can give you except for the fact it was included on a selection of demos for Rancid's 1998 record Life Won't Wait. It would have been pretty interesting if this had made the cut as a Rancid song...
Stretch Arm Strong – ‘Express Yourself', 2001
Another punk rock rendition, this time from South Carolina's Stretch Arm Strong, and another version that owes more to the N.W.A version than the Charles Wright original.
Statik Selecktah – ‘Express Yourself '08' {Ft. Talib Kweli, Termanology & Consequence}, 2007
Producer/DJ Statik Selecktah got his buddies Talib Kweli, Termanology and Consequence to lend a hand on a rejigged version of the N.W.A song for his second LP Stick 2 The Script.
Jack Johnson – ‘Express Yourself', 2009
Jack Johnson knows that his tune ‘Bubble Toes' sounds quite a lot like the Charles Wright classic and has acknowledged this in his live performances, as captured on this version from his En Concert album.
Labrinth – ‘Express Yourself', 2011
British producer Labrinth had a mega hit with his version of ‘Express Yourself' just a few years ago, proving that the tune still sounds fresh when put into a modern context. Elements of hip hop and modern electro styles have been added to appeal to the kids, but it's the iconic chorus that continues to carry the song.
Idris Muhammad – ‘Express Yourself', 1971
The year after Wright's original, the renowned jazz drummer Idris Muhammad cut a slightly more laidback, instrumental version of the tune. Driven by cool Rhodes keys, trumpet and of course some loose but groovy percussion, it proves you don't need the lyrics for this song to be brilliant.
Hopeton Lewis – ‘Express Yourself', 1973
And two years later, the great Hopeton Lewis decided he would cut a reggae version of the tune. His brutal shrieks and grunts, the winding flute solo midway and the general laidback reggae style of the track make it another great, less-wordy version of the song.
We'll be done with ‘Express Yourself' at midday this Wednesday when Myf Warhurst officially launches Double J. | 1,265,887 |
NPR: Conservatives Are Sad Because No One Likes Them
You have got to be kidding me with this shit:
Republicans hold more power than they have had in nearly a century. But apart from politics, some say the average American conservative feels bombarded daily with disrespect. https://t.co/hh5WS5Ehcy
— NPR (@NPR) April 27, 2018
The "average American conservative" spends the day attacking women, people of color, gays and lesbians, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, trans people, non-Christians, leftwing Christians, Democrats, progressives, liberals, sex havers, sex workers, people who've had abortions, people who use birth control, single moms, football players, basketball players, late night talk show hosts, teachers, actors, singers, Olympians, "Hollywood," high school students who survived mass school shootings, the poor, the disabled, Gold Star parents, Gold Star widows, environmentalists, news reporters, cable news anchors who don't work for Rupert Murdoch, rappers, college professors, college students, union members, scientists, non-scientists who believe in science, the elderly, "takers" on Social Security and Medicaid and Medicare, people who live in big cities and blue states... and then they run to NPR to whine about how nobody likes them. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. They bombard millions of Americans not just with disrespect and straight-up hate, but when they're in power they legislate against millions of Americans in an effort to make their lives harder and/or impossible. This shit may win you elections, thanks to our un-democratic and broken system, but what it doesn’t win you is friends.
And we're the snowflakes and they’re the rough-and-tough, gun-slinging personal responsibility crowd. And all they do besides attack is whine—good God, they ran crying to NPFuckingR. How fucking pathetic is that? Have the courage of your bigoted convictions, you pathetic whiners, and live with the consequences of your actions. Lord knows the rest us have to.
P.S. I'm old enough to remember when most of the attacks were directed at queers. Or that's how it felt in the 1980s, anyway, when I was a young queer. The AIDS Crisis, Robert Mapplethorpe, Anita Bryant, Jesse Helms, and Ronald Reagan. It felt like—what's the expression? Oh, right: like we were being bombarded daily with murderous disrespect. That I can sit down and make list of the people being attacked daily by conservatives now and that list includes football players, to say nothing of late-night talk show hosts, teachers, and the FBI... it blows my fucking mind. They don't like ANYBODY and they can't figure out why no one likes them? FFS. | 1,265,888 |
Even if the election did deliver a majority, there is another, bigger problem. Any vote held before October 31 is likely to be fought on a narrow, procedural question: Should Britain leave the EU on that date, whether it has a withdrawal deal or not? British election campaigns are fought in a matter of weeks, and there is simply not enough time, or political oxygen, to scrutinize the main parties’ non-Brexit-related plans for the country. Yet the result could see the winner installed in Downing Street for a full five-year term.
Every election is a crossroads, a chance for the country to decide its future. Yet for the past three years, hardly any attention has been paid to the very different visions the Conservatives and Labour, the main opposition, have for Britain. The parties are much further apart than they were even in the aftermath of the financial crisis, when both agreed that state spending needed to be curbed and welfare benefits should be reduced. Since then, Labour has elected a strongly left-wing leader, with a foreign policy sharply distinct from that of his predecessors: Much less friendly to the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, and more sympathetic to Iran, Russia, and Venezuela.
As for the Conservatives, their ideological gravity is now—where, exactly? For a small but driven section of the party, Brexit is an opportunity to remake the British economy. The usual shorthand is the Singapore model: low corporation taxes, disempowered trade unions, low regulation, reduced welfare benefits, and a large, but temporary, migrant workforce.
Johnson’s key lieutenant, Dominic Cummings, has a different set of priorities. He favors tax cuts concentrated on the lower-paid; greater investment in public services; a more punitive attitude toward crime, with longer prison sentences; and a move to a points-based immigration system. These are popular pledges, but tax cuts and higher state spending would be extremely expensive.
To which faction does the prime minister belong? It is hard to tell. His cabinet is a hodgepodge of libertarian free-marketeers and more community-minded advocates of blue-collar conservativism. Johnson was a pro-immigration social liberal when mayor of London, but was the face of what critics saw as a nativist campaign for Brexit. “With Boris, what people would call pragmatism in Theresa May or David Cameron is a bit more opportunism,” says Ryan Shorthouse of the center-right think tank Bright Blue, referring to Johnson’s two immediate predecessors. His government offers little ideological consistency, combining those who Shorthouse says have a “let the free market rip” attitude with more centrist politicians. For every cabinet member who wants to declare war on red tape, there’s another arguing for tougher regulation of the environment and animal welfare, causes that are popular with the young voters the party has had trouble attracting. | 1,265,889 |
Abhishek Singhvi (File photo)
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday asked why the government's top investigative agency, the National Investigation Agency ( NIA ), was not involved in probing the alleged plot to assassinate the Prime Minister in a " Rajiv Gandhi-type event to end Modi-raj".
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, "Does common sense tell that there is a possible assassination plot against the Prime Minister, which he condemned, but asked why the country's top probe agencies were not involved and it was left to the Pune Police to carry out investigations."
"I am gravely concerned about the security of the Prime Minister if you are leaving the matter like this to the Pune Police," he said.
"Nobody in the right mind should be supported who is trying to attack the Prime Minister of India. Do you think that an illusion of grandeur that the Pune Police is in charge of investigation and the NIA is nowhere to be seen, CBI is nowhere to be seen?
"The biggest investigative agency of our country are not to be seen in the PM's part of assassination attempt and the Pune Police is in charge? I find it absurd," he told reporters.
On being asked if the Congress wanted an NIA probe, Singhvi said one can imagine if the charge was credible and serious.
"The NIA, the home minister, the CBI, the RAW and the IB should be involved," he said.
He said the head of the government is involved as a possible target and "you are talking through the person who is having the press conference of the Pune Police".
Singhvi said he may not agree with poet-activist Varavara Rao on the way he writes or with rights activists Gautam Navlakha's views, but the true test of democracy is as Voltaire rightly said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
Police today claimed they have "conclusive proof" to link Left-wing activists arrested in June and this week to Maoists, saying one of them spoke of a "Rajiv Gandhi-type event to end Modi-raj".
An email between Rona Wilson, one of the arrested activists, and a Maoist leader, speaks of ending "Modi-raj" with a 'Rajiv Gandhi-type incident', additional director general (law and order) Parambir Singh told reporters in Mumbai.
The Pune Police had on August 28 raided the homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested five of them - Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, Sudha Bharadwaj in Faridabad and Gautam Navalakha in Delhi.
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power to block a consensus change in their advantage than to enact one. The obvious target was the 1 megabyte block size limit that Satoshi inserted into the code in 2010 to prevent a chain split. Satoshi himself said that this limit could be increased when needed:
Satoshi on the blocksize limit
By limiting the size of the blocks, user’s transactions are forced off the BTC block chain onto secondary layers where fees can be extracted. The Bitcoin Core developers failed to realise that, unlike gold, which holds a unique position in the table of elements, there is nothing at all special about the BTC token. Before the hard fork that created BCH in August 2017, Bitcoin was first and had the largest network effect. Now, the BCH fork is just as old as the BTC fork and its coins are just as fairly distributed. Also, since the realisation of the artificial fee-market in 2017, where average fees rose to upwards of $50 per transaction, BTC’s network effect has been decimated with market dominance dropping from 86% in February 2017 to 38% today.
ChainTip’s maintainer believes that cryptocurrencies will compete for dominance and that everyone will be better off if one of them becomes dominant through long term economic consensus. When one currency becomes the agreed upon store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account, people will be able to rely on it when saving for their retirement or funding their children’s education. They’ll lose no sleep over confiscation, quantitative easing, or another cryptocurrency becoming more dominant.
It is now extremely unlikely that BTC will turn out to be this dominant cryptocurrency with an unstoppable network effect. Even the long-awaited lightning network will not save it.
Thankfully, BCH managed to survive the hard fork in August 2017 and is the Bitcoin ChainTip now supports. Even though a flippening is now necessary, and will destroy some short term confidence in cryptocurrencies as a store of value, it will be worthwhile long term.
Trade-offs
For the increased control over your funds, there is a small usability trade-off: you have to take out your wallet to send a tip. The same effort is required when exchanging cryptocurrency through ShapeShift. If you think that is going to be too much effort, please reserve your conclusions until you’ve tried using the service. Multiple people have been surprised at how little effort sending tips with ChainTip is, contrary to their initial expectations!
reddit user on UX
tippr (reddit/twitter) and tipmebch (telegram) are other great Bitcoin Cash tipping bots that use an exchange-type model.
Next time you think about tipping someone on reddit or GitHub, give ChainTip a go. It may be easier than you think. It is definitely more secure to hold your own keys! Happy tipping!
Usage instructions: reddit | GitHub | 1,265,891 |
Footage has emerged that purports to show a North Carolina inmate being tased three times by an officer, despite the man being in shackles. The incident killed the inmate and his death was ruled a homicide – but no one has been punished for the crime.
The footage, released by The News & Observer, shows an officer unlocking Brandon Bethea's handcuffs in a cell at the Harnett County Jail in March 2011. Detention officer identified in a police report as John Clark is seen holding a stun gun behind the inmate's back while the cuffs are released.
Clark then strikes Bethea with the taser, causing the 24-year-old inmate to fall to the floor.
As five officers stand over Bethea, Clark stuns the inmate two more times.
Seemingly unconcerned about Bethea's state of health at that moment, Clark and the other officers take off the inmate's shackles and leave the cell.
Bethea can first be seen briefly moving his arms, but stops moving two minutes later.
Twenty minutes after that, another officer summons a nurse as they attempt to revive Bethea. Paramedics also arrived, but were unable to resuscitate the man. A state medical examiner concluded that Bethea died from the shocks of the stun gun, and ruled the death a homicide.
But despite that ruling, Clark and the other officers remain unpunished. In fact, Clark is still working at the same county jail, according to US media.
Evidence of contradictions
The video, which proves that Bethea was not being physically violent at the time of the incident, appears to contradict statements made by authorities at the time.
Read more
Sheriff Larry Rollins told reporters in 2011 that Bethea's death was unavoidable, and that Clark was left with no other choice than to deploy the weapon during an altercation with the inmate.
However, Rollins resigned in March, two years before his term expired, citing personal reasons. He refused to talk to the newspaper about the case.
A detective filed a report which backed up the sheriff's claims, saying that Bethea was “conscious and alert” when the officers left him in the cell.
But despite claims that Clark and the other officers acted appropriately, the county paid $350,000 to Bethea's family to settle a lawsuit just months after it was filed. The settlement forbids the family from speaking about the case.
Bethea, who was documented to be mentally ill, was in jail facing charges of rape, illegally possessing a firearm as a felon and armed robbery. He had previously served time for drugs, fighting, and violating his probation.
The video's release comes just one month after Arkansas officers became similarly trigger-happy with their stun guns, tasering a man after dragging him from his vehicle after approaching him for playing loud music. | 1,265,892 |
From a research note by Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius: The Rapidly Shrinking Federal Deficit
The federal budget deficit is shrinking rapidly....[I]n the 12 months through March 2013, the deficit totaled $911 billion, or 5.7% of GDP. In the first three months of calendar 2013--that is, since the increase in payroll and income tax rates took effect on January 1--we estimate that the deficit has averaged just 4.5% of GDP on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is less than half the peak annual deficit of 10.1% of GDP in fiscal 2009.
There are three main reasons for the sharp reduction in the deficit:
1. Lower spending. On a 12-month average basis, federal outlays have fallen by a total of 4% in the past two years, the first decline in nominal dollar terms over a comparable period since the demobilization from the Korean War in the mid-1950s.
2. Higher tax rates. The increase in payroll tax rates in January 2013 has boosted federal receipts by around $120 billion (annualized), or about 0.8% of GDP.
3. Economic improvement. Although real GDP has only grown at a sluggish 2%-2.5% pace since the end of the 2007-2009 recession, this has been enough to generate a sizable improvement in tax receipts, over and above the more recent impact of higher tax rates. Even prior to the tax hike that took effect in early 2013, total federal receipts had grown by 7% (annualized) from the 2009 bottom, nearly twice the growth rate of nominal GDP.
We expect the deficit to continue to decline and are forecasting a deficit of 3% of GDP or less in fiscal 2015. Some of this is policy-related.... But the more important reason, in our view, is that there is still a great deal of room for the economic recovery to reduce the deficit for cyclical reasons....
In our view, the most important implication from the reduction in the budget deficit for the near-term economic outlook is reduced pressure for further fiscal retrenchment. Partly for this reason, we expect the drag from fiscal policy on real GDP growth to decline sharply from around 2% of GDP in 2013 to around 0.5% in coming years. This is a key reason for our expectation that real GDP growth will accelerate from around 2% (annualized) in Q2/Q3 2013 to 3%-3.5% in 2014-2016.
It shocks people when I tell them the deficit as a percent of GDP is already close to being cut in half (this doesn't seem to ever make headlines). As Hatzius notes, the deficit is currently running under half the peak of the fiscal 2009 budget and will probably decline further over the next few years with no additional policy changes. | 1,265,893 |
Well this sequel is really shaping up to be better than expected. While still in the development stages, XXX: The Return Of Xander Cage has begun the casting process at full force. Besides previously announced Samuel L. Jackson and of course Vin Diesel himself, XXX: The Return of Xander Cage has just signed on another heavy hitter, literally.It has just been announced that actor and martial arts Jet Li will be joining the cast of XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. This seems like the perfect choice for the XXX franchise, as there was a common thread of extreme athleticism in the previous two incarnations.On a similar note, and apparently highlighting a focus on impressive fight sequences, martial artist Tony Jaa will be joining the cast as well, as reported by Twitchfilm. Jaa was previously seen in the highly successful Furious 7. Clearly, Vin Diesel enjoyed working alongside him and has since offered him a role in Return of Xander Cage.The third and final new cast member announced is Indian movie star Deepika Padukone. While Padukone will be a newcomer to American audiences, she is one of the most popular and highest paid stars in the Indian film world. She’ll be making her Hollywood debut in the new XXX.The original XXX was released in 2002 and was a box office success. The film starred Vin Diesel as Xander Cage, an extreme athlete and stuntman with a poor attitude. He is recruited by a National Security Agent, played by Samuel L. Jackson to assist the NRA and become a spy. While this might seem like a semi-ridiculous concept, the movie drew impressive numbers during its 2002 run.A sequel was eventually produced, although Vin Diesel’s schedule when filming The Pacifier made him unable to star as the title character, making it seem like an entirely different film altogether. Starring Ice Cube as the new lead character, XXX: State Of The Union was a box office failure as well as being panned by critics. So, news of a new installment in the series is a bit of a surprise.The new title, Return Of Xander Cage, seems like an appropriate one after the debacle that the first sequel was. However, with Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson returning to their 2002 roles, there is some hope. Vin Diesel has been doing rather well as a producer, and has announced his plans for expanding the universe of the Riddick franchise. With Riddick having an upcoming movie and television show, Diesel is sure to have quite the busy year.We’re in a film climate where reboots and nostalgia are ruling the day. After the massive success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and with Netflix granting new life to previously finished series like Full House and Gilmore Girls, it makes sense that Vin Diesel would try to cash in on this trend.Only time will tell if XXX: Return Of Xander Cage is any good. We’ll continue to update you as production moves forward. | 1,265,894 |
CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati fans will have added opportunities to pick up FCC merchandise for their friends and family ahead of the holidays when the club opens a retail pop-up experience at Kenwood Towne Centre (7875 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45236) this Friday, Oct. 25.
The FC Cincinnati pop-up will be located on the lower level between Starbucks and The North Face storefronts, which are also located near the lower inside entrance to Dillard’s.
A wide array of items will be available at the FC Cincinnati pop-up, including items from the club’s new fall/winter line. Men’s, women’s and youth apparel will be available, as well an assortment of accessories and knick-knacks.
The FCC pop-up will be open during all Kenwood Towne Centre operating hours. Currently, Kenwood Towne Center is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Hours will expand during the holidays, which will be noted here: Kenwood Towne Centre Hours. The pop-up will remain open through Friday, Jan. 31.
The club’s 25%-off text coupons from the club’s home games will be honored at the pop-up at Kenwood Towne Centre, as well as any other promotions* that are ongoing at the club’s downtown Team Shop (43 East Fourth St., Cincinnati, OH 45202).
FC Cincinnati’s identifiable blue and orange gear has been among Major League Soccer’s most popular in 2019, as the club ranks second – among the league’s 24 teams – in merchandise sales this season.
For more information about the FC Cincinnati Pop-Up, please contact the FC Cincinnati Team Shop at 513-977-6335.
FC Cincinnati will return to the field in early 2020 for their second MLS season. Season Ticket Memberships for the 2020 season are now on sale to the general public at fccincinnati.com/tickets or by calling 513-977-5425 (KICK). A 2020 Season Ticket Membership also secures fans’ place on the club’s priority list, which will be utilized when sales begin in the new West End Stadium for the 2021 season.
For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati.
* Discounts from the scratch-off tickets fans received at the Sept. 29 Fan Appreciation game will NOT be accepted at the FC Cincinnati Pop-Up, as noted on the ticket itself. Those are only valid at the team’s downtown Team Shop. | 1,265,895 |
Plague cluster reported in northeast DRC
By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
In a report published on ProMED Mail from Ituri Province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), officials from EcoHealth Alliance note a cluster of bubonic plague cases in the village of Omeyi in the Ongoyi health area.
A family of four cases, including one fatality was reported in late September. In addition, a rodent and guinea pig die-off was reported at the same time.
Health officials arrived in the area to spray the houses with deltamethrin, take human and wildlife samples, and raise community awareness of the measures to be taken. Hundreds of villagers were given prophylaxis.
Since late September, twelve suspected cases and three deaths have been reported from four villages in close proximity to the Uganda border.
Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. It is found inanimals throughout the world, most commonly rats but other rodents like ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, rabbits and voles. Fleas typically serve as the vector of plague.
People can also get infected through direct contact with an infected animal, through inhalation and in the case of pneumonic plague, person to person.
Yersinia pestis is treatable with antibiotics if started early enough.
There are three forms of human plague; bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic.
Bubonic plague: This is the most common form. In this form, the bacteria enter the body through the bite of an infected flea or rodent. Here the bacteria infect the lymphatic system. After a few days to week, the person will experience fever, chills, weakness, and swollen lymph glands. These are called buboes.
Untreated bubonic plague is fatal about half the time.
Congo, Madagascar top countries reporting most plague 2000-2009, US reports 57 cases
Septicemic plague: This form is also contracted from a flea or rodent bite. Sometimes it appears subsequent to untreated bubonic or pneumonic plague. It involves bloodstream dissemination to all areas of the body. Buboes do not occur. Symptoms are endotoxic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Untreated septicemic plague is nearly always fatal.
Pneumonic plague: Probably the most serious form of plague and it’s when the bacteria infect the lungs and cause pneumonia. It is contracted when the bacteria is inhaled (primary) or develops when bubonic or septicemic plague spreads to the lungs.
Pneumonic plague is contagious and can be transmitted person to person. It is highly communicable under appropriate climate conditions, overcrowding and cool temperatures. Untreated pneumonic plague is frequently fatal. | 1,265,896 |
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signs marijuana decriminalization bill
Effective immediately, possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana in Illinois is punishable by a fine, instead of a misdemeanor with possible jail time.
Years after Chicago and other Illinois cities began to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, the state of Illinois has changed its marijuana possession laws, too.
On July 29, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 2228, which decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana. Effective immediately, the new law makes possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana a civil offense punishable by a fine of between $100 and $200.
The bill also provides that law enforcement will automatically expunge the civil citation from the record of anyone charged with possessing 10 or fewer grams of marijuana. This would occur within six months after the resolution of the offense and would reduce the chance that possession of small amounts of marijuana will keep a person from finding employment and supporting himself.
Prior to the signing of SB 2228, the Cannabis Control Act made possession of up to 2.5 grams of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail. Possession of 2.5 to 10 grams was a Class B misdemeanor under the act, and punishable by up to six months in jail.
Not only does this reform stop wasting police resources that can be better focused on more serious crimes, it’ll save the state millions in enforcement and incarceration costs. According to a financial impact analysis by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council, exchanging criminal penalties for civil fines would result in a net benefit of up to $24 million to the state of Illinois over three years, including $15.1 million in avoided incarceration and probation costs and up to $9.1 million in estimated ticket revenue from the fines.
Marijuana possession is probably the most minor offense that can result in incarceration and is a waste of limited criminal-justice resources. Abolishing jail time for low-level marijuana possession can prevent the family hardship that often results when a person is incarcerated, as well as job loss, thereby preserving an offender’s long-term prospects for legal employment.
As the governor aims to reduce the prison population by 25 percent by 2025, reforming punishment for marijuana offenses is low-hanging fruit. A small but not insignificant number of inmates in Illinois prisons, 672 people at the end of fiscal year 2014, were serving time for violations of the Cannabis Control Act. Another 731 people were on parole for violations of the act. The $22,000 spent yearly per incarcerated offender would be better focused on more serious offenses.
It’s long past time Illinois stopped wasting taxpayer dollars and redirect law enforcement attention toward serious, violent crimes. Marijuana decriminalization is a small but important step to reforming low-level sentencing and right-sizing the state’s criminal-justice system. | 1,265,897 |
No matter your age, anyone who has delved into comic book collecting has no doubt heard the name of Jack “The King” Kirby. Aside from having worked on Marvel properties such as Captain America, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers in their earliest of days, the legendary writer/artist also made some valuable contributions to DC by creating Darkseid and the New Gods. Fortunately for us, another one of his brainchildren most beloved by readers was recently revived in the form of The Kamandi Challenge.
For those unfamiliar, Kamandi, “The Last Boy on Earth,” pretty much functioned as DC’s answer to Planet of the Apes when it originally arrived on the scene decades ago. But instead of having only talking apes ruling the Earth, other animals evolved physically and intellectually as well, most notably tigers. And in the time since, Kamandi has experienced some exposure in other media, more specifically in the animated series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
So, even if you don’t have much of an interest in the character himself, the premise of this 12-part series just might hook you: In short, each issue is handled by a different creative team who must build upon the previous one’s cliffhanger. To be quite honest, that concept alone sold me on the book, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve thus far read.
The Kamandi Challenge #10 Gallery 1 of 9
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Now, with the tenth issue, we see Kamandi as possibly being one step closer to finding his mother – or, at least, some kind of horrible truth we didn’t see coming. Regardless, the fact that he has to tango with sharks wielding machine guns is so wonderfully absurd, making this bad boy hard to pass up.
For more, be sure to check out the official synopsis below (do note a change in interior artist has been made, which will be clarified in the credits section):
After the suspenseful ending of issue #9, writer Greg Pak and artist Joe Prado bring our hero to the land of the Dead Worshippers! Now freed from captivity, Kamandi must help his new allies, the Shark People, escape their grisly fate as permanent displays in a horrific museum. Filled with long-kept secrets of the world around them, this museum could hold the key to finding Kamandi’s parents, but will he live long enough to find out? Not if the Commander of the worshippers has anything to do with it!
The Kamandi Challenge #10 arrives in comic shops on October 25.
Credits:
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Shane Davis
Cover: Francis Manapul
Variant Cover: Joe Prado | 1,265,898 |
Dennis Edwards has died at the age of 74 from complications related to meningitis.
He is best known as the lead singer of the Motown Records vocal group The Temptations.
His family told TMZ the icon passed away in Chicago on Friday, which was one day shy of his 75th birthday.
Gone too soon: Dennis Edwards has died at the age of 74 in Chicago. He is best known as the lead singer of The Temptations; seen in 2013
The good ole days: Studio group shot of the Temptations in 1968. Clockwise from top left: Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, Edwards, Otis Williams
He has a list of hit songs on his resume.
One is Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, which was released in early 1972 and hit the 24th spot on the the R&B Charts.
It was included on The Undisputed Truth's 1973 album Law of the Land.
Another big song was Cloud Nine as well as Ball Of Confusion and I Can't Get Next to You.
In 1989 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Temptations. In 2013, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
They made it big: The hits started coming in the Seventies like Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
In step: His family told TMZ the icon passed away on Friday, which was one day shy of his 75th birthday; seen with the band in 2016
Born in 1932 in Fairfield, Alabama, Edwards began singing as a child.
When the family moved to Detroit, he began singing in his church’s choir. He went on to join several different groups, but none of them stuck.
Then in 1968 he replaced David Ruffin in The Temptations and the hits started coming like Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).
He left the band in 1977 then pursued a solo career.
In the pink: He left the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career, but went back several times; seen in 1972
Yellow and mellow: The band attend the Homeward Bound Telethon at American Legion Hall in Los Angeles in 2013
His first solo album, Don’t Look Any Further, reached the number two spot on the R&B charts.
The title track of his next album, Coolin’ Out, was an R&B Top 30 hit.
He returned to The Temptations in 1980 when they left Atlantic Records to return to Motown.
He was wed to Ruth Pointer, of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters, from 1976 to 1977. They had daughter, Issa Pointer.
At the time of his death, the icon was married to Brenda Edwards. | 1,265,899 |
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