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Brynn Anderson/Associated Press
New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps is reportedly not yet ready to engage in trade talks regarding disgruntled star Anthony Davis.
According to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin, a source said Demps is "not picking up his phone."
On Monday, Davis' agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Davis requested a trade and will not re-sign with the Pelicans.
Paul said the following regarding Davis' desire to play elsewhere:
"Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship. Anthony wanted to be honest and clear with his intentions and that's the reason for informing them of this decision now. That's in the best interests of both Anthony's and the organization's future."
The NBA fined Davis $50,000 "for violating a collectively-bargained rule prohibiting players or their representatives from making public trade demands."
The Pelicans later acknowledged the request in a statement:
"Although we are disappointed in this decision, our organization's top priority is to bring an NBA championship to our city and build our team for long-term success. Relative to specific talks of a trade, we will do this on our timeline. One that makes sense for our team and it will not be dictated by those outside of our organization. We have also requested the League to strictly enforce the tampering rules associated with this transaction."
The statement suggested that the Pelicans don't feel any pressure to rush a trade since Davis is still under contract for next season.
Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that the Pels won't deal Davis before the Feb. 7 trade deadline unless they are offered an "overwhelming" package in exchange for him.
He also noted that the Lakers plan on making an aggressive push to trade for Davis ahead of the deadline in order to pair him with another Paul client in LeBron James.
Davis is currently on the shelf with a volar plate avulsion fracture of his left index finger, but he is one of the NBA's top players when healthy.
The 25-year-old is a legitimate MVP candidate this season with averages of 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.6 blocks and 1.7 steals per game.
Given his status as perhaps the NBA's top big man, Demps and the Pelicans front office can afford to play the waiting game in order to get the best offer possible.
New Orleans could also opt to focus on first trading impending free agents like Nikola Mirotic, Darius Miller, Elfrid Payton and Julius Randle (player option for 2019-20).
Regardless of what the Pels decide to do, they appear to be in a position of power due to how highly coveted Davis is, and they have a chance to net a return that will allow them to remain competitive while also building for the future. | 1,267,300 |
A British model has revisited the Italian farmhouse where she was allegedly held captive as her suspected kidnapper stands trial for her abduction.
Chloe Ayling claims she was kidnapped and detained for six days in Italy's Piedmont region, after being grabbed during what she thought was a photo shoot.
Lukasz Herba, a 30-year-old Polish man, is on trial for her alleged kidnapping last July.
Image: Lukasz Herba is on trial in Milan over the kidnapping last July
He was arrested after he released Ms Ayling at the British consulate.
Evidence shown to the Milan court featured Ms Ayling leading police to the farmhouse where she was held for six days.
Model shows police 'kidnap' house
In the video, she walks up a grassy slope towards the farmhouse, before letting officers in with her.
She is pictured wearing blue rubber gloves and pointing to parts of the house where she says she was held at various points during the six days.
Ms Ayling also showed investigators the town where she went with Herba to get shoes and food.
Image: Some of the evidence shown in court during Herba's trial
In court, Francesco Pesce, Ms Ayling's lawyer, said: "The videos that were shown by the police were clarifying, she was explaining and describing everything without having any doubt and she was doing this in front of four policemen, this is self-explanatory.
"She was kind of indoctrinated to believe that these people were around the place and they were willing to kill her if she tried anything – that was not true of course but she couldn't know, she didn't even know where she was, she could have been in France, she had no idea she was in Italy.
Image: Ms Ayling was held for six days in a farmhouse in Italy
"The city.... the town is not far from the border so even if she wanted to there was no way to escape safely and she is a model, she's not a policeman or an agent, it's normal."
The court previously heard Ms Ayling was "drugged and stuffed in a suitcase" when she was captured.
Investigators have said the behaviour she exhibited during her capture is consistent with the effects of ketamine.
Image: Herba is standing trial for the alleged kidnap
Bozena Katia Kolakowska, Herba's laywer: "They wanted to create noise around this abduction, they wanted it to go into all the newspapers, they wanted people to talk about it. Everything was done so that it would become news, and for it to be spoken of."
She added: "I've never seen an abduction that ends like this."
Ms Ayling, from south London, insists she has told the truth about her captivity.
The trial continues. | 1,267,301 |
Pizza delivery driver Joey Grundl called 911 after delivering to an address in Waldo and seeing a woman with a black eye
Woman With Black Eye Mouths 'Call The Police' to Pizza Delivery Man, Leading to Ex's Kidnapping Arrest
Wisconsin police are saying a woman who’d allegedly been beaten by her ex-boyfriend may owe her life to an unlikely source: an alert pizza delivery man.
Numerous reports citing a criminal complaint against 55-year-old Dean Hoffmann state that Joey Grundl, a delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza, called 911 on Sept. 27 immediately after delivering a pizza to the Waldo home of Hoffmann’s ex-girlfriend.
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Grundl told Fox6Now that he knocked on the door and Hoffmann answered. As Hoffmann was paying Grundl for the pizza, the delivery driver glanced over the suspect’s shoulder, and locked eyes with the woman who was standing behind him.
That woman — who’d apparently broken up with Hoffmann in August — silently mouthed the words “Help me” to Grundl, he said.
“It’s kind of scary,” Grundl told the station. “Gave him his pizza, and noticed behind him was his girlfriend. She pointed to a black eye that was quite visible. She mouthed the words ‘Call the police.'”
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Once Grundl received money for the pizza, he returned to his car and called the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, the Sheboygan Press reports.
The paper reports that deputies responded and heard a woman scream, “Help me,” as well as, “Please come in.”
According to WHBL, Hoffmann allegedly blocked his ex-girlfriend from opening the door for police at first before finally letting the officers inside.
Hoffman has been charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, strangulation and suffocation, felony intimidation of a victim and burglary, according to online court records.
He is being held on an unspecified amount of bail.
Hoffmann has not pleaded to the charges and does not have an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
According to the Sheboygan Press, Hoffmann allegedly broke into his ex’s home at around 1 p.m. on Sept. 27, and began beating her when she tried to call 911.
Hoffmann allegedly tied the woman up with a power cord and tried to convince her to take him back. He allegedly untied her after 30 minutes, but prevented her from leaving her home. | 1,267,302 |
Two people died and more than 100 have been injured after two explosions at a Kurdish party election rally in south-east Turkey, the agriculture minister, Mehdi Eker, said.
The blasts occurred five minutes apart on Friday at the final election rally of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) as the party leader, Selahattin Demirtaş, was preparing to address the crowd in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish south-east.
It wasn’t clear how many of the injured were seriously hurt. Health minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu earlier said about 50 people were injured, with 20 to 24 of them being treated in hospitals.
Supporters carry a wounded man at a Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party rally in Diyarbakir. Photograph: Emre Tazegul/AP
Rally organisers first said a malfunctioning power distribution unit caused the explosions, but the energy minister, Taner Yildiz, later dismissed that explanation. He said they were caused by “external interference” with the power unit, though he did not say whether he believed a bomb was involved.
The explosions come at a tense time, two days before Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Turkey, in which Kurdish votes will be critical.
The party is vying to pass the threshold of 10% of total votes required to take seats in parliament. If it succeeds, it could make it impossible for the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) to reach a “super-majority”. That would scuttle the AKP’s ambitions to change Turkey’s parliamentary system, using a new constitution, into a presidential system that could give President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan executive powers.
The prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, said authorities would investigate the cause of the explosions.
“Whatever is behind this incident – whether it was a power transformer explosion, an assassination attempt, an act of provocation – we shall investigate it,” he said. “I call on my brothers in Diyarbakir: please beware of exploitation of the incident and provocations. No one should be involved in provocations.”
The rally was cancelled but a large group of youths remained at the site, protesting against the explosions. Some threw stones at a police water cannon that moved in to disperse the crowd.
Demirtaş urged calm. “Whatever the cause, I invite the people to retain their common sense,” he told CNN-Turk television. “Whatever happens, Turkey is in need of peace.”
He said some of the injured had lost limbs.
Earlier this week, assailants fired on an HDP campaign vehicle, killing its driver. Last month, bombs at two HDP offices injured six people in southern Adana and neighbouring Mersin. | 1,267,303 |
On August 27, 1916, after Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, formally entering World War I, Romanian troops cross the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the much-contested province of Transylvania.
By the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, Romania had long been at odds with Austria-Hungary over the issue of territory—specifically Transylvania, which was ethnically Romanian but then part of Hungary. Seeing Russia’s success against Austria on the battlefields of the Eastern Front during the summer of 1916, Romania hoped to make an advantageous entry into the war in order to realize long-held dreams of territorial expansion and national unity. On August 18, 1916, the Romanian government signed a secret treaty with the Allies; by its terms, in the event of an Allied victory Romania would acquire Transylvania, up to the River Theiss, the province of Bukovina to the River Pruth, and the entire Banat region, all territory under Austro-Hungarian control. On August 27, Romania fulfilled its treaty obligation by declaring war against Austria-Hungary.
As Romanian troops opened a new front of the war in Transylvania, British forces pressured Germany on the Somme River, and Austria faltered against Russia in the east, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany briefly panicked, telling close confidantes that “The war is lost.” He regained perspective quickly, however, and moved to strengthen Germany’s defensive position, replacing Erich von Falkenhayn with Paul von Hindenburg as chief of the German General Staff on August 28. Within two weeks, at a conference that included Turkish and Bulgarian leaders, Wilhelm sanctioned the creation of a Supreme War Command, effectively giving Hindenburg command of all the armies of the Central Powers in World War I.
The demoted Falkenhayn, meanwhile, took control of Germany’s operations against Romania; in this he was joined by another prominent German general, August von Mackensen. By December 1916, Falkenhayn and Mackensen had led their troops to a decisive victory against Romania, overrunning much of the country and occupying the capital city, Bucharest, on December 9, 1916. Though Russian troops entered Romania early the following year, the Russian army was on the verge of collapse; with the Russian Revolution that year, the rise to power of the Bolsheviks, and Russia’s subsequent exit from the war in early 1918, Romania was forced to surrender to the Central Powers at Bucharest that May, having suffered some 335,000 casualties during the course of the war, not including civilian deaths.
According to the Peace of Bucharest, Romania lost land along its coast to Bulgaria, as well as control of the mouth of the Danube River, which the Central Powers commandeered. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 reversed these losses, however; it also gave Romania control of the long-desired province of Transylvania. | 1,267,304 |
Ben Mutzabaugh
USA TODAY
Qatar Airways says it will add Las Vegas to its 2017-18 flight schedule, though details of the launch were vague.
The city would become the fast-growing Middle East carrier’s 11th destination in the United States and its first since launching nonstop service to Atlanta this past June.
The Las Vegas route was included as part of an eight-city expansion announced by Qatar Airways on Monday. The other new destinations were Canberra, Australia; Dublin, Ireland; Medan, Indonesia; Rio de Janeiro; Santiago, Chile; and the cities of Tabuk and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.
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Airline wars: Delta drops Atlanta institution over J-Lo concert for Qatar Air
“With today’s network announcement, we will be able to connect more people to more places than any other Gulf airline, and we will ensure our passengers will delight in the journey," Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways' often-outspoken CEO, says in a statement. "At Qatar Airways, we are going places together with our passengers, and we look forward to welcoming these new destinations in 2017.”
Despite issuing a formal announcement, however, Qatar Airways did not specify start dates for the new routes. Similarly, a search of the carrier’s booking engine found no nonstop Las Vegas flights operated by Qatar Airways for sale though the end of the company’s booking window (currently Nov. 24, 2017).
A Qatar Airways representative has subsequently informed Today in the Sky that the airline plans to begin its service to Las Vegas in "early 2018."
Now flying: The Airbus A350, the world's newest jetliner
Should the route launch next year as announced, it would be Qatar Airway’s 11th destination in the USA. Its others are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston Bush Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Philadelphia and Washington Dulles.
Qatar Airways is one of the three big and fast-growing “Gulf carriers” of the Middle East. The others are Emirates and Etihad, each based in the United Arab Emirates. All three have been expanding at a breakneck pace during the past decade, both in the United States and across the globe.
Their expansion has prompted allegations from some U.S. rivals that the state-owned Gulf carriers are unfairly subsidized. All three of the Gulf airlines vehemently deny those claims. Other U.S. carriers – notably JetBlue and Alaska Airlines – have voiced support for the Gulf carriers.
Qatar Airways completes move to giant new Doha airport
Airbus' newest, biggest version of the A350 makes its first flight
IN PICTURES: Behind the scenes: Airbus' A350 final assembly line | 1,267,305 |
A month before communications regulator Icasa is due in court to defend itself against legal action over its new data-expiry rules, Telkom has begun to implement the regulations.
The company said on Friday it will implement the suspended end-user subscriber service charter, starting with the introduction of revised usage-depletion notifications and changing the default out-of-bundle billing on all its tariffs, effective Saturday, 20 October.
In a statement, Telkom’s executive for mobile products, Andrew Dawson, said this is the operator’s “first phase” of the implementation of the charter. In this phase, Telkom focused on clauses pertaining to usage threshold notifications for voice, SMS and data services as well as out-of-bundle data charges.
FreeMe customers will now be redirected to an out-of-bundle page once their data has been depleted
It has revised voice, SMS and data depletion notifications across all mobile products to align with the new requirements where messages are sent to customers at 50%, 80% and 100% thresholds.
“Telkom Mobile subscribers will now receive an SMS indicating the actual amount of voice, SMS or data bundle balances remaining at the relevant thresholds,” said Dawson.
“The revised SMS notifications will apply to all current and legacy voice and data contracts, as well as to ad hoc voice, SMS and data bundles which customers may have purchased.” he said.
Telkom already complies partially to a clause in the regulations that states that “a licensee must ensure that an end-user is not defaulted onto out-of-bundle data charges upon depletion of data bundles”. To comply fully, Telkom will implement changes to its FreeMe mobile plans where subscribers automatically go out of bundle once their inclusive data has been depleted.
Bill shock
FreeMe customers will now be redirected to an out-of-bundle page once their data has been depleted, where they can select an appropriate option based on their needs, Telkom said. This means that no Telkom mobile customer will automatically go out-of-bundle on any mobile plan in future, thus reducing any bill shock for customers.
Telkom said it preparing to implement the second phase of changes, which will cover the remaining requirements of the charter. It expects to have fully implemented the charter, based on its interpretation of it, by the end of 2018.
The high court is expected to hear an application from Cell C and MTN next month over implementation of the new rules. The two operators contend they were not given sufficient time to make the necessary changes to their systems to comply with the new rules.
Icasa introduced the regulations in an effort to protect consumers from unfair practices by the mobile operators, including the risk of bill shock related to out-of-bundle data use. — © 2018 NewsCentral Media | 1,267,306 |
Image Credit: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
An independent government commission has urged President Trump to pass legislation to protect LGBT workers.
The former businessman has had a patchy record on LGBT rights since his election in 2016, coming under fire for attempting to ban trans people from serving in the military (something which he’ll be forced to give up on in just over a month), as well as trying to slash funding for HIV and AIDs prevention programmes.
Other moves since taking the top US position include pushing through the appointment of an anti-LGBT Supreme Court Judge and axing protections for trans children, just days after declaring his support for LGBT rights.
However, the US Commission on Civil Rights, an independent commission of the federal government set up to investigate and report on civil rights issues, has now urged Congress to pass more protections for LGBT workers.
It’s new report, ‘Working for Inclusion’, was published today stating the importance of addressing “workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans”.
Among the findings of its investigations, the commission noted that LGBT workers face “a long, serious, and pervasive history of official and unofficial employment discrimination by federal, state and local Governments and private employers.”
It added that an “inconsistent and irreconcilable patchwork of state laws against anti-LGBT workplace discrimination and federal court decisions interpreting existing laws”, leaves people at risk, as well as making it difficult to assess the true scale of the problem.
The study, which is address to President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, calls for a number of recommendations.
“Our primary recommendation is directed to Congress,” the group states.
“In order to effectively and consistently protect LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, Congress should immediately enact a federal law explicitly banning discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We also make particular recommendations that federal agencies should issue – and where relevant – reaffirm specific guidance for federal and private employers outlining protections for LGBT individuals in the workforce.”
They also added that federal agencies should start collecting data to assess the scale of the problem.
Currently, 28 states in the US offer no protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. A further two offer some protection for workers due to their sexual orientation, but not gender identity.
The US Commission has previously disagreed with the President’s stance, most recently in the case of the attempted ban on trans people serving in the armed forces.
However, despite a divided political stance on LGBT rights, there have been some successes for trans people in America.
Earlier this month the first ever trans women of colour was elected, as well as the first ever trans women to become a state official. | 1,267,307 |
Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and North Carolina State University (NC State) have developed cooperatively a new “green” technology which could lead to clean production of hydrogen from nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Thermotoga maritima (green/yellow rods)
growing in co-culture with Methanococcus
jannaschii (red spheres). T. maritima ferments
sugars to hydrogen and M. jannaschii
converts hydrogen to methane
(Credit: North Carolina State University)
In order to solve global energy shortages, renewable sources of energy — such as hydrogen — that don’t produce pollutants or greenhouse gases are needed. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are considered nonrenewable energy sources and have been accused of causing global warmingdue to their emissions of carbon dioxide.
The two research teams from ARS and NC State developed a novel way to identify strains of agricultural bacteria that produce hydrogen gas. Using a selecting agent to grow only these bacteria, the teams identified a gene that inactivates the bacteria’s hydrogen uptake system so that all of the hydrogen produced is released. Because the bacterial cells cannot recycle the hydrogen, the hydrogen they produce can be captured and used as a fuel whose byproduct is water and heat.
If successful, the invention holds the promise of hydrogen as a source for use in fuel cell technology. Fuel cell energy works by combining hydrogen and oxygen in order to produce electricity and water, which are considered more efficient, quiet, and pollution-free in comparison with other power sources. Currently, one of the biggest problems of what has become known as the future “hydrogen economy” is the cost of producing hydrogen – which currently requires large amounts of electricity produced either from polluting coal/oil/gas power plants or expensive solar/wind power plants. The new biological method for producing hydrogen could cut costs considerably and potentially solve another problem with hydrogen – transporting it. There is currently a huge hurdle in transporting and storing the fuel, as well as building a distribution network as far-reaching as today’s system of gas stations. If the new process will indeed be cheaper and simple enough to replace today’s huge gas and coal centralized production facilities it might be possible to distribute the production of hydrogen into many smaller facilities closer to gas stations or possibly in the gas stations themselves, although this could still be a long way down the line.
TFOT recently reported on a different new way for creating hydrogen developed by researchers from MIT. The method is rooted in a new catalyst material, based on cobalt phosphate rather than expensive metals like platinum, which can be used for hydrolysis in water. TFOT also reported on a new electrically-generated fuel cell developed by scientists from Monash University.
More about the new hydrogen-producing bacteria can be found on the North Carolina University website. | 1,267,308 |
Ms Harman said the incident had been portrayed wrongly in the media Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman has been fined £350 after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention. She reversed into a parked car in Camberwell, south London, last July, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. A second charge of driving while using a mobile phone was withdrawn. Ms Harman, who did not attend the hearing, said she "fully" accepted the judgement. She had three points added to her driving licence. The Camberwell and Peckham MP, who was at a cabinet meeting in Downing Street at the time of the hearing, was also ordered to pay £75 costs and a £15 "victim surcharge". 'Seen by neighbour' Prosecutor Michael Jennings said Ms Harman had been involved in a minor collision in Bushey Hill Road on 3 July, the day she visited constituents who had been made homeless by a fire at a block of flats. He said she had been attempting to manoeuvre her Rover 75 out from between two parked vehicles when she reversed into one of them. Ms Harman, who is also House of Commons leader and equality minister, was using her mobile phone when she got into the car and throughout the low-speed incident, the court heard. Ms Harman is pleased that it has been established that this was not a 'hit-and-run' accident as portrayed in some media reports
Harriet Harman's spokesman Mr Jennings said the owner of the parked car had been watching from his flat and called police to report the bump. But the prosecutor said no damage had been caused to either car and no insurance claims had been made. The court heard that Ms Harman already has six penalty points on her licence after being caught speeding in a 30mph zone, in 2007 and 2008. Motorists with 12 points on their licence face a ban. Ms Harman now has a total of nine. Solicitor Mark Haslam, who represented Ms Harman, said the matter could have been dealt with by a letter. He said: "This is a parking manoeuvre. It takes place in a very short time span. It takes place at a very slow speed, less than 5mph. "There is no injury, no damage and no insurance claim by either party in relation to either vehicle." A spokesman for the minister, who is also a QC and former solicitor general, said: "Ms Harman fully accepts the court's judgement. "Ms Harman is pleased that the potential charges of leaving the scene of an accident without exchanging particulars and failing to report an accident to the police have been dropped. "Ms Harman is pleased that it has been established that this was not a 'hit-and-run' accident as portrayed in some media reports. It was a parking incident and no damage was done."
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Spread betting company Sporting Index says more bets were placed on Clinton in the past 24 hours than in all of October. Here's a look at how the numbers have been rolling in.
Image: iStock / baphotte
In the homestretch of the high-stakes 2016 election all cards are on the table.
The smart money, according to the betting markets, is on Hillary Clinton. And so is the math, said Ed Fulton, political trading spokesperson at Sporting Index, a spread betting company that analyzes and models sports, entertainment, video game, and political markets.
According to their analysis of betting markets Clinton grabbed momentum in the final days of the campaign. "Since Friday, when Clinton was 280-290, bets have flooded in supporting Hillary," said Fulton. "Her predicted Electoral College Vote total is currently 320-330."
SEE: Enterprise encryption: Trends, strategic needs, and best practices (Tech Pro Research report)
"Rather than take bets for Trump to become president at 3 to 1," explained Fulton, "you can bet on the precise number of electoral college votes he will win, in addition to many other markets down to individual states. Spread betting is like trading stocks and shares. The buy and sell price will change according to the bets that come in. On Friday, November 4th, Clinton's [spread] was 280 to 290. If you 'bought' at 290, that means you think she will end up with more than 290 when it's all over. Say you did buy Clinton 290 for $1 and she mirrored Obama's win in 2012 (332). You would win $42. However, if she fell short like Al Gore (266), you would lose $24."
Data and image: Sporting Index
Note that TechRepublic's report on political betting market data is not an endorsement of gambling. Political betting markets can provide fascinating insight about how a portion of the market--gamblers--are forecasting results but are not always accurate oracles. Slate recently reported that several betting markets recently missed the Brexit vote, and CNBC claims that in the 2016 campaign betting markets sometimes wavered.
WATCH: How consumers are reacting to campaign 2016 (CBS News)
The company claims it correctly forecast Obama victories in 2008 and 2012, the Scottish referendum on independence, and 2015 UK General Election. "To predict the US Election," said Fulton, "we started by creating a probability of Clinton winning each state. We use polling results and publicly available information across political prediction platforms to create probabilities."
Data and image: Sporting Index
For example, "if Ohio goes to Clinton it would have a knock-on effect towards future state probabilities with similar demographics and voting tendencies. For each state, we assigned an importance and value to adjust future states in the running order," Fulton said. "Doing things this way allows us to offer prices all the way throughout the election night and update new prices as results roll in."
Read more | 1,267,310 |
Hotel.
Papadopoulos said that Millian seemed nervous during the meeting. He was pacing, sweating and wearing a scarf around his neck, even though they were indoors.
Then, Millian explained that the job would require Papadopoulos to continue to work for Trump after the election.
“He said, ‘You know, George, in Russia it’s very common for people to work both in the private and public sector at the same time,’ ” Papadopoulos recalled Millian telling him.
Papadopoulos said he knew the offer was unethical — and possibly illegal. “I told him, ‘Absolutely not,’ ” Papadopoulos recalled.
Later, Papadopoulos said he concluded that the meeting may have been a setup — perhaps, he thought, by the FBI, which he learned had arranged for one of its confidential sources, a Cambridge University professor, to meet with him that fall.
He said his suspicions were deepened over drinks during the inauguration at Russia House.
Millian, he said, was accompanied by a friend from Atlanta, a Moroccan American music producer named Aziz Choukri, who Papadopoulos said announced that Millian had been working for the FBI. Papadopoulos said Millian looked sheepish.
In an interview, Choukri said he recalled having drinks with Papadopoulos and Millian but insisted that he never said anything about the FBI. “I never mentioned that,” he said. “It’s a lie.’’
The Daily Caller first reported that Papadopoulos met with Millian and Choukri around the inauguration.
A week after the Russia House gathering, FBI agents showed up at Papadopoulos’s apartment in Chicago to question him about his contacts with Russians. Agents first told the young aide that they were primarily interested in his relationship with Millian, Papadopoulos’s lawyers have said.
In September, one week before Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in prison for lying to the FBI, Millian tweeted some news: He had launched a GoFundMe account to raise money to help him “protect our constitutional rights and fight against censorship!”
Titled “Friends and Enemies of Donald Trump,” the page featured the 2007 photo of Millian and Trump at the racetrack in Miami.
“The Fake News consortiums are active members of the Deep State who tread on our constitutional rights. Let us stand together to protect our Constitution!” he wrote in a long post.
“This page will serve as an assessment if the public is interested and ready to handle the truth no matter where it leads to from a first-hand account,” he continued.
The account carried a goal of raising $1 million. As of Wednesday evening, no donations had been recorded. | 1,267,311 |
SMIC has started volume production of chips using its 14 nm FinFET manufacturing technology. The largest contract maker of semiconductors in China is the first company in the country to join the FinFET club, as only a handful of companies have managed to develop fabrication processes that rely on such transistors. SMIC’s FinFET line is considerably smaller than those of other foundries, yet the fact that the company is using it is already a big deal for China.
SMIC’s previous-generation manufacturing technology is 28 nm, so the 14 nm process tangibly increases transistor density, boosts performance, and lowers power consumption, which naturally enables the company to produce more complex and expensive chips that were otherwise outsourced to its larger rivals. At present, SMIC ramps up production using its 14 nm process technology at one of its 300-mm fabs, so initial volumes are not high. Meanwhile, SMIC’s plans include building up a new 300-mm production line for 14 nm and thinner process technologies with a monthly capacity of 35,000 wafer starts per month. Construction of the fab was completed earlier this year and the company is currently installing production equipment.
In addition to ramp of its 1st Generation FinFET platform, SMIC’s development of its 12 nm process is well underway and there are customers who plan to use the technology. Furthermore, the company is developing more advanced processes, including those that will require extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) tools, that will be used next decade. In fact, the company has even acquired an EUV step-and-scan system from ASML, but it has not been installed so far.
Being relatively small foundry, SMIC is gradually closing the gap between itself and larger rivals when it comes to technology development. Meanwhile, because each new process costs more in terms of R&D, companies need to increase their production volumes to make development financially viable. Therefore, it is crucial for SMIC (and other foundries) to procure advanced production equipment on a timely manner and increase their manufacturing volumes for long-term success.
Dr. Zhao Haijun and Dr. Liang Mong Song, SMIC's co-CEOs said in their joint statement:
"Over the past two years, we have not only narrowed the advanced technology gap, but also expanded comprehensive mature node technology platforms. We have confidence that with the wave of 5G applications, we will enter a new stage of development. […] FinFET technology development continues to push forward: the first generation of FinFET has already successfully begun mass production and will begin to contribute revenue in the fourth quarter; meanwhile, the development of second generation of FinFET is steady, and customer engagement is smooth. We believe that SMIC will benefit from the extensive business opportunities brought by the upcoming 5G product migration, and we will exit this period of transition and re-enter growth."
Related Reading:
Source: SMIC | 1,267,312 |
BALI, Indonesia – More than 57,000 people have fled the surrounds of Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, fearing an imminent eruption, officials said Tuesday.
An increasing frequency of tremors from the volcano indicates magma is continuing to move toward the surface and an eruption is possible, said National Disaster Mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said more than 560 volcanic earthquakes were recorded on Monday, most of them shallow.
The alert status of Agung was raised to the highest level on Friday following a dramatic increase in seismic activity. It last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,100 people.
READ MORE: Bali volcano warning: Here’s what tourists should know about Mount Agung
Another disaster agency official, Waskita Sutadewa in Bali, said people have scattered to all corners of the island and some have crossed to the neighbouring island of Lombok. The evacuees are living in temporary shelters, sports centres, village halls and with relatives or friends. Some return to the danger zone, which extends up to 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the crater, during the day to tend to livestock.
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Officials have said there’s no immediate threat to tourists, but some are already cutting short their stays in Bali. A significant eruption would force the closure of Bali’s international airport, stranding thousands.
“It’s obviously an awful thing. We want to get out of here just to be safe,” said an Australian woman at Bali’s airport who identified herself as Miriam.
Nugroho said hundreds of thousands of face masks will be distributed in Bali as part of government humanitarian assistance that includes thousands of mattresses and blankets.
“The chances of an eruption are very high, but we cannot be sure when it will erupt,” he said at a news conference in the capital, Jakarta.
He said not everyone had left the danger zone because they didn’t want to leave livestock, were underestimating the risk or because of religious reasons.
“Officers continue to sweep the area and are appealing for people to evacuate,” he said.
In 1963, Agung hurled ash as high as 20 kilometres (12 miles) and remained active about a year. Lava travelled 7.5 kilometres (4.7 miles) and ash reached Jakarta, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away.
The mountain, 72 kilometres (45 miles) to the northeast of the tourist hotspot of Kuta, is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.
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The country of thousands of islands is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. | 1,267,313 |
No one I know irl follows my Tumblr so I’ll post this here:
2018 has been the hardest year of my life. I’ve done more crying than the year my stepfather died. More than when my sister and grandmother died. More than when I was fighting in court for custody of my daughter.
This is because I, myself, died. I am mourning the person I knew myself to be. I have spent this year watching in helplessness as my sense of self, my confidence, my joy, my strength, and my passion, were all destroyed piece by piece, inch by inch, in a spectacularly impressive display of manipulation that was so covert, so well disguised, that I was convinced I had done this to myself.
I know better now. I know that it was you. It was you when you said all those beautiful things to build me up. It was you when you set the bar so high that no one else could reach it. It was you when you looked me in the eyes and told me it was safe to unlock my gated fortress. It was you when my presence was desired and appreciated.
It was you when you slowly began to avoid certain topics that we used to discuss openly. It was you when keeping secrets were made to be acceptable in a relationship. It was you when personal privacy expanded to include private phone calls away from me. It was you when you started breaking promises.
It was you when you left for days without a trace. It was you when the game changed abruptly and I was no longer desired. It was you when you broke me the first time.
It was you when you still slept with me. It was you when you lied about being with me to other people. It was you when you decided you were still in love with someone else.
It was you when that someone else rejected you and you cried on my shoulder. It was you when you ran back to me. It was you when you broke me again later… And again, and again, and again. It was you when you told me it was me who was hurting you by being present.
It was you when you admitted fault and said “I’m sorry” and tried again. It was you when you stayed out of guilt. It was you when you spent days planning out your leaving again and it was you, able to act completely normal up until you packed up and moved out.
It was you when you said you still loved me after all that and it was you who stopped talking to me altogether after you were gone.
But it was me who sought help from people I thought were friends. It was me who clung to hope that people could be trusted. And it was me who forgot how to say “no” when one of those “friends” found me vulnerable and alone.
It was me who died. And you never even noticed. | 1,267,314 |
For Twitter's part, its decision came a day after the company’s chief executive, Jack Dorsey, testified to lawmakers about the tech giant's practices for moderating content online. Before the hearing began, Jones and his followers surrounded Oliver Darcy, a reporter at CNN who has covered Infowars. In a video broadcast over Periscope, the live-streaming site owned by Twitter, Jones called Darcy a "charlatan" and a "congenital liar," and said that CNN a "giant fraud."
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Earlier in the day, Jones also chased after Dorsey himself, and he got into a verbal spat with Republican Sen. Marco Rubio while the GOP lawmaker held a press conference. “You are literally like a little gangster thug," Jones said to Rubio.
Asked about the incidents, Twitter said Thursday that Jones’s attacks on Darcy was one of a series of incidents brought to its attention in the last 24 hours that violated its rules. Going forward, Twitter said it would now review "other accounts potentially associated with @RealAlexJones or @infowars and will take action if content that violates our rules is reported or if other accounts are utilized in an attempt to circumvent their ban."
“As we continue to increase transparency around our rules and enforcement actions, we wanted to be open about this action given the broad interest in this case,” Twitter added. “We do not typically comment on enforcement actions we take against individual accounts, for their privacy.”
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A spokesman for InfoWars did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. But InfoWars quickly published a post deriding Twitter. "This is what happens when you confront your censor," it said.
Twitter's ban marks a dramatic departure from its approach roughly a month ago, when it initially chose to allow InfoWars and Jones to continue tweeting even as other major tech companies -- like Apple, Facebook and Google-owned YouTube -- instituted bans and suspensions in response to his conspiracy-minded content. In the past, Jones had attacked the victims of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and he's previously claimed that the government is responsible for September 11. Twitter, in contrast, said Jones at that point simply had not violated its rules.
"We’ll enforce if he does," Dorsey tweeted on August 6. Days later, Twitter slapped Jones with a "time out" for threatening violence against users.
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The move is likely to inflame the increasingly heated debate over the role that Twitter and other tech giants should play in policing content online. Some would like to see Facebook, Google, Twitter and their counterparts take a heavier hand to stop hate speech, harassment and other digital ills. Others have encouraged them against inhibiting free speech. And still others, particularly Republicans, have alleged that tech companies' policies have resulted in censorship that unfairly targets conservatives. | 1,267,315 |
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah was heckled during Eid prayers. (File) Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah was heckled during Eid prayers. (File)
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah was heckled during Eid prayers at the 17th century Hazratbal mosque in Srinagar on Wednesday. Dozens of youth also showed shoes and disrupted the congregation, forcing the former leader to leave the prayer ground.
The people were reportedly angry with Abdullah for chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Jai Hind” when he was paying tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the all-party prayer meeting on Monday. Even before the imam leading the congregational prayers could begin the sermon at the Hazratbal shrine, Abdullah was heckled as people shouted slogans of “Farooq Abdullah go back” and “Hum kya chahte, azaadi” at the mosque.
When a section of youths tried to approach Abdullah, who was sitting on a chair in the front row because of his ill-health, some people joined hands to make a human chain to prevent them from doing so.
Playing down the incident, Abdullah said the slogans were raised by his “own people” who were misguided. “Some people were agitated but that does not mean I will escape. I have a task of keeping everyone united,” PTI quoted Abdullah as saying. Abdullah wondered why the issue was being blown out of proportion by a section of the media. “A politician, at times, has to face people’s anger. I only hope these misguided youths are counselled properly,” he said.
Later in the day, Abdullah said he was not a person to be cowed down. “Agar yeh samajhte hai ki ise azadi aayegi toh mein inko kehna chahta hun ki pehle begaari,beemari aur bhookmari se azadi pao (If the people want freedom, they should first get freedom from bonded labour, illness and shortage of food),” ANI quoted Abdullah as saying.
The Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar said the time was right to have a peaceful dialogue between India and Pakistan. “There is a need to get rid of hatred. This country belongs to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and all those who live here,” Abdullah said.
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© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd | 1,267,316 |
"Over the last 12 months we have acted for 13 of the top 20 ASX-listed entities."
Martinez has no intention of slowing the sustained growth in his firm, but is still interested in cultural fit.
"If a new partner is going to add to our pool of talent, while also offering access to new client relationships, we would be foolish not to take the time to determine whether they are culturally aligned to our firm," he said.
HWL Ebsworth's managing partner Juan Martinez. Luis Enrique Ascui
He explained that of the firm's 266 partners, 184 were equity partners and 82 were salaried partners.
"We don't operate a lockstep model of any kind, and everyone is rewarded based on merit having considered their performance during the previous year.
"I can't think of a better way to avoid complacency,"
HWL has not changed its hourly rate for prices for 10 years and – at about $450-500 an hour – it charges about half of what most top-tier partners bill clients. It does little high-value work such as M &A, but scoops up a lot of high-volume work with both the public and private sectors.
The phrase "poking the bear" was never more apt as Martinez ran through other claims put to him by Legal Affairs.
"We understand that other firms seek to position us as a cheap rather than quality option but this is a self-serving myth that is wearing thin," he said.
"The fact that we are offering rates at these levels is one of the few factors preventing other firms from happily increasing their rates further... to $1200 an hour or more?"
No private art collection or chefs
The firm "will not invest in nice-to-haves", he said.
"We wouldn't invest in a private art collection, we don't have teams of chefs.
"We don't hire teams of people to invent problems that need to be fixed, and we hold our annual partner conference in Albert Park in Melbourne rather than in Paris."
It was finally put to Martinez that HWL was regarded by some as a "hotel for lawyers" that provided more autonomy – aside from the financial and record-keeping disciplines imposed on practitioners – than other big firms. That Martinez takes care of the business and they take care of the lawyering (a plus for many), which means less meetings and management issues, but carries the downside of very little input into firm decisions.
"The phrase 'hotel for lawyers' doesn't ring true as it suggests a transience or a lack of ownership. We are completely transparent with our new partners," Martinez said.
"It's true though that my management team and I have responsibility for running all aspects of the business... the partners appreciate the freedom that provides them."
You can imagine the rest. And he's on holiday. | 1,267,317 |
The president of the South Dakota Board of Regents has revealed that he will investigate diversity offices on college campuses in the state to see if they are pushing a liberal agenda.
Kevin Schieffer revealed the opening of an inquiry into campus diversity offices in a guest column for Aberdeen News.
“We oppose proposals that would require ideological testing during faculty hiring or promotion. That would be destructively chilling"
The letter comes a month after conservative lawmakers in the state sent a letter to the Board of Regents, slamming the campus diversity offices for promoting “social justice causes,” and even threatening to slash funding for the offices, as Campus Reform reported.
[RELATED: SD lawmakers put ‘diversity offices’ on blast: ‘Taxpayers...would not approve’]
“It is our hope that the Diversity Offices and related programming will make the proper shift,” the lawmakers said in that letter. “However, if the current trend continues and Diversity Offices are not reformed...the legislature may be forced to explore options such as Tennessee has adopted that remove funding for these offices all together.”
Schiffer responded to the letter, saying that he opposes “eliminating or slashing” funding for the centers, but wrote that the centers should not push extreme agendas.
“We support suggestions to ensure that existing university diversity centers are balanced and focused on promoting and enhancing cultural diversity, and that they are not pushing excess liberal or extreme ideological agendas,” the Board of Regents president said. “We will explore that in greater detail and issue a separate report on our findings and actions. We oppose eliminating or slashing diversity centers’ funding, however.”
[RELATED: CSU students stage die-in to demand lower tuition, diversity funding]
The Republican lawmakers wrote in their June letter that diversity offices at South Dakota public universities will be allocated $5.9 million for FY 2019.
Schieffer did not seem too open to the letter’s suggestion that more conservatives be hired at the diversity offices.
“We oppose proposals that would require ideological testing during faculty hiring or promotion. That would be destructively chilling. We care how teachers teach, not how they vote,” Schieffer wrote.
While seeming to oppose specifically hiring more conservatives, Schieffer did seem open to creating policies that make sure students get an objective education.
“We will implement measures to ensure students receive a balanced presentation of ideological perspectives and provide student protections against being punished for contrary beliefs,” he wrote.
[RELATED: Feds pay $8M+ to promote ‘diversity’ in STEM]
Schieffer wrote that students support diversity and free speech “but oppose being forced to fund disruptions by media-starved extremists.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @asabes10 | 1,267,318 |
Toronto's police board is set to discuss cruiser design and modernization plans, but its Thursday meeting could be disrupted by a large protest over the beating of a GTA teenager.
Desmond Cole, the journalist-activist who was kicked out of the last police board meeting for demonstrating against how the police board was handling the Dafonte Miller case, has made a public call for people to attend the meeting at Toronto police headquarters on College Street.
"I am not asking you to do or say anything at this meeting, I am simply asking you to show up in peace and in solidarity with Dafonte," Cole wrote in a Facebook post that's been shared more than 700 times.
Miller, 19, suffered a broken nose, jaw and wrist and is awaiting surgery to remove an eye that was injured in December 2016, allegedly at the hands of an off-duty Toronto police officer and his brother.
Dafonte Miller was allegedly beaten by an off-duty Toronto police officer and his brother. (Leisa Lewis)
Const. Michael Theriault has been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and public mischief in connection with the case. Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, a police watchdog, has also charged Theriault's brother, Christian Theriault, who is not a police officer.
Waterloo Regional Police have been called in to probe how Toronto police handled the situation.
The board isn't expected to discuss the Miller case in any formal capacity.
Police cruiser debate back in spotlight
Toronto Police revealed the new prototype for their cruisers earlier this week. (Martin Trainor/CBC)
Chief Mark Saunders will, however, answer any questions the police board has about new design for Toronto police cruisers. The new look unveiled this week features a change to the design that was criticized as being too stealthy last year. The cruisers are still grey, but now have white doors.
Saunders will also provide an update on the force's modernization efforts, and ask the board to approve $80,000 in funding to allow Ryerson University to study its School Resource Officer program — which some have condemned and others want to keep.
Meanwhile, former mayor John Sewell is expected to speak to the board about a Toronto Star report that found prior to 2014, per capita, police arrested three times as many black people as white people for marijuana possession.
"There is no reason to believe that what occurred before 2014 is still not occurring," Sewell wrote to the board in a letter ahead of the meeting.
The board will also get a summary of the inquest into the death of Andrew Loku, a mentally ill man shot dead by Toronto police officers in 2015, from city solicitor Wendy Walberg.
The inquest deemed Loku's death a homicide, although the police officers involved were cleared of wrongdoing, and issued 39 recommendations to prevent a similar tragedy.
The meeting is set to begin at 1 p.m. | 1,267,319 |
Dozens of people whose names and addresses were literally stolen and used to submit fraudulent comments against net neutrality sent a letter this week to the FCC demanding the agency remove the fake messages submitted in their names [1][2].
But so far the FCC has done absolutely nothing about it, and outrageously they've even implied that they will treat the fraudulent comments the same as real ones [3].
Someone working on the side of giant cable companies like Comcast and AT&T -- who have a long history of funding shady astroturfing operations -- has been stealing hundreds of thousands of peoples’ personal information in an attempt to confuse the public and give the FCC cover for their attack on the free and open Internet.
The FCC knows these comments are fake. Dozens of media outlets have independently verified the fact that stolen names and addresses were used.
People have even come forward furious to learn that fake comments were submitted using the names and addresses of their deceased family members [4].
We need to turn up the pressure on the FCC by getting thousands of people to contact them about this right now.
Sign the petition calling on the FCC to:
Notify all who have been impacted by this attack
Remove all of the fraudulent comments, including the ones made in our names, from the public docket immediately
Publicly disclose any information the FCC may have about the group or person behind the 450,000+ fake comments
Call for an investigation by the appropriate authorities into possible violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (“making false statements”) and other relevant laws.
The FCC's final vote on the future of net neutrality protections is in just a few weeks, so we need to turn up the pressure by getting thousands of people to contact them about this right now.
After you sign, please share widely!
[1] Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/05/25/somebody-impersonated-these-people-to-criticize-the-fccs-net-neutrality-rules-now-the-victims-are-demanding-answers/
[2]Fight for the Future: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2017-05-25-letter-to-the-fcc-from-people-whose-names-and/
[3] Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybradley/2017/05/26/victims-demand-fcc-remove-fake-anti-net-neutrality-comments/
[4] Vice: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/dead-people-are-posting-anti-net-neutrality-comments-to-the-fcc-website | 1,267,320 |
to dissect the heterogeneity into smaller groupings. We find an association between runs of homozygosity and those with co-occuring intellectual disability and autism, but not in so-called ‘higher functioning’ autism.”
The study also found a gender difference. In general girls are much less likely to be affected by autism but they tend to have more severe cases when they are, said study lead author Ece Gamsiz, who holds a Translational Neuroscience Fellowship at Brown and the Lifespan health care system. As has been seen previously, in the new study’s data, girls were mysteriously abundant among the intellectual disabled patients, and those affected also showed a higher burden of runs of homozygosity compared to their sisters.
“In simplex families, [affected] females tend to have greater homozygosity compared to their same-gender unaffected siblings. This trend was not observed in same-gender male siblings,” Gamsiz said. “Our study presents among the first data to suggest that the genetic susceptibility to the disorder may have some distinct aspects in girls and in ‘lower-functioning’ autism.”
An eventual biomarker?
In their search for genetic explanations of particular autism disorders, researchers have focused mostly on spontaneous mutations and having too many or too few copies of a gene to explain how autism arises in otherwise non-autistic families, Morrow said. Runs of homozygosity appear to be another place to look.
It is too soon to say, however, that homozygosity is a clinically useful biomarker, Morrow said, but with much more work it could prove to be.
“It’s an exciting possibility,” said Morrow, who is also affiliated with the Brown Institute for Brain Science. “It could be in the picture where, if you have a person with autism and who has some degree of intellectual disability, and you see also they have large runs of homozygosity, then together you could say that constellation of symptoms might help us predict that they’d be less responsive to conventional treatments and we’d have to discern a new treatment pathway.”
In addition to Gamsiz and Morrow, the paper’s other authors from Brown are Emma Viscidi, Abbie Frederick, Shailender Nagpal, Michael Schmidt, Elizabeth Triche and Sorin Istrail; Stephan Sanders, Michael Murtha and Matthew State at Yale; Daniel Geschwind at the University of California–Los Angeles; Edwin Cook at the University of Illinois–Chicago; and Bernie Devlin at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Simons Foundation supported the research with grant SFARI 124827EM. Morrow is also supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the National Institutes of Health. Gamsiz’s fellowship is supported by Lifespan, the Brown Institute for Brain Science, and the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute. | 1,267,321 |
Paffett joins Mercedes management, gets reserve role
Gary Paffett will be the test and development driver for the Mercedes Formula E team and has been confirmed as an official sporting and technical advisor to the new squad.
Mercedes is making its FE debut in 2019/20 after taking over the entry that was used by its affiliate HWA last season.
Paffett raced for HWA in 2018/19, finishing 19th in the drivers’ standings with a best finish of eighth, which he scored in Hong Kong and Paris.
Mercedes picked Paffett’s HWA teammate Stoffel Vandoorne and 2019 Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries as its first FE drivers.
In his role as sporting and technical advisor, which was previously reported by Motorsport.com, Paffett will form part of the Mercedes FE management structure headed by team principal Ian James.
“On the one hand, I’m obviously a bit disappointed that I won’t be competing for Mercedes-Benz in Formula E this season,” said Paffett, who won two DTM titles for Mercedes in 2005 and ’18, its final year in the series before it left to concentrate on its Formula 1 and FE programmes.
“But on the other, I’m very excited to be part of the team and to be supporting Mercedes-Benz in their first year in Formula E as reserve and development driver.
“At the same time, it will be very interesting to help out on a sporting level at the race weekends, trying to get the best possible performance out of the two race drivers and the entire team.
“It’s very important to have a racing driver as part of the management team.
“I understand how drivers think and how to get the best out of them.
“In me, they have a partner to discuss their performance with and to talk about the car. It’s a new role for me and one that I’m looking forward to.”
James said: “Gary has been an important pillar of our motorsport programme for the past 16 years.
“Gary Paffett’s name is inextricably associated with Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.
“He is not only an exceptional driver but also a charismatic and judicious leader, which qualities he has repeatedly demonstrated in the DTM as our team captain.
“In addition, there is hardly any driver who is able to push forward the development of a car better than he can.
“We are therefore delighted to have appointed Gary as our sporting and technical advisor and as the reserve and development driver for the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team.
“There is no doubt that he will continue to play a major role in the future development of the team, as indeed he always has." | 1,267,322 |
Eric Feferberg, AFP | French Junior Minister for Gender Equality Marlene Schiappa (L) is seen during a session of questions to the government at the French National Assembly in Paris, on May 16, 2018.
Men who wolf-whistle or sexually harass women on French streets face fines of up to 750 euros ($885) after lawmakers in the National Assembly approved tougher legislation to combat sexual violence.
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However, a proposal to change age of consent laws to protect minors in rape cases was diluted after the highest legal authority, the Council of State, weighed in to warn it could be ruled unconstitutional.
The law, backed by a majority of lawmakers in an overnight parliamentary session, comes amid a worldwide wave of sexual assault allegations against men in business, entertainment and politics, which have sparked online protest movements.
President Emmanuel Macron has said the bill is meant to ensure “women are not afraid to be outside”.
'You can't put a policeman after each man'
In a drive to discourage sexual harassment on the street, cat-callers and aggressively lecherous individuals of either sex can be hit with on-the-spot penalties ranging from 90 to 750 euros.
Gender Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa had previously outlined plans to also change age of consent laws so that minors under 15 who have sex with adults over 18 would be presumed not to have given consent.
The measure was aimed at facilitating convictions, after a case where a man in his 20s was cleared of rape for having sex with an 11-year-old girl because there was no evidence she was coerced.
After the court said the bill’s automatic assumption of coercion might be unconstitutional, it was redrawn to state that sex between a person of 15 or under and an adult can be considered rape if the victim “lacked the necessary discernment to consent”.
Opposition lawmakers and some women’s rights groups decried that change as watering down the measure, though government ministers said the bill would still make it easier to obtain rape convictions.
The new legislation will also give underage victims of rape an extra decade to file complaints. The deadline will now be 30 years from when they turn 18, up from 20 years now.
Some critics have mocked the harassment measures as an end to French romance. During Wednesday night’s debate, far-right lawmaker Emmanuelle Menard denounced the legislation as a “witchhunt against men" that outlawed "a certain bawdy behaviour which cannot be compared to harassment.” Schiappa last year told Reuters the government was not looking to stamp out flirtatious behaviour and “kill the culture of the ‘French lover’”, but simply looking to establish that consent was key.
The legislation will now be debated in the Senate.
(REUTERS)
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe | 1,267,323 |
Dear Ursula, Joe, Rod and Sophia and many more,
I don’t know how many times I have been asked this question, or a version of it, in The Red Hand Files. Let me say this – the ‘harsh inner critic’ that you speak of is in no way unique to you. The truth is that virtually anybody who is trying to do anything worthwhile at all, especially creatively, has seated in his or her brain, a horrible homunculus that blows a dreadful little trumpet, and only knows one song – a song that goes, “You are not good enough. Why bother?” This evil little gnome is full of bad jazz, and is, in the words of author Sam Harris, “an asshole.” The enemy of aspiration, this atrocious inner voice demands you turn away from whatever your higher calling may be and become a second-rate, cut-price version of yourself. As your very own personal detractor it is deeply persuasive in its dark business. Many of us listen, many of us accept its message, and many of us throw up our hands and give in. The problem is, of course, that this inner voice, this monstrous homunculus, is you.
The creative act is an act of war – but as much as this inner critic is your adversary, it is also fundamental to the creative process. It is what anyone worth their salt is doing battle with all the time – we are in a perpetual dogfight with the lesser version of ourselves. To lose the battle is to become the embodiment of the homunculus itself. Defeated, we do nothing but sit in perpetual judgment of the world, idly watching, as it goes down in flames. As vicious as this fight with our own selves may be, it is this very conflict that puts the blood in the art, the tears too, and carves the battle scars deep into the work itself.
The world, for all its failings, is an extraordinary experiment in rampant human imagination. At its best, it exists because there were people who had the courage to follow through on an idea – who resisted the inner voice that said, “You are worthless. Why bother?”
I’ve said it before. Beautiful ideas abound. These ideas swim around us, ideas that can be of immense utility to world. Some ideas have our singular names inscribed upon them and it is our responsibility to reach beyond our lesser selves to the brightest version of what we can be and breathe life into these ideas. This act of reaching is almost always accompanied by the wretched homunculus and its dreary anthem of personal incompetence, but it is our sacred duty, to turn around and kick this little fucker in the balls. The fight with the dark force inside us is the forge in which true art is formed.
Love, Nick
P.S. A homunculus is a very small human or humanoid creature. | 1,267,324 |
of both its board of directors and its senior management team more aggressively.
Apple’s executive team currently is almost exclusively made up of white men; its eight-person board includes two women (one of whom, Andrea Jung, is Asian), and an African American man.
With a new pay equity law on the books in California, there is at least the basis for a lot more public discussion about what women in Silicon Valley are paid, in both absolute and relative terms. Women able to document that they are paid less will be able to seek redress.
But even if a wizard or fairy godmother were to appear and level the playing field,, it would not solve all the issues women face in the world of technology. Demographic data doesn’t tell the full story, and even being well compensated doesn’t mean you can put up with everything else that gets flung your way.
Sexism Valley: 60% of women in Silicon Valley experience harassment Read more
As Ellen Pao’s trials (literal and rhetorical) last year revealed, women who try to be in the vanguard can end up in a toxic work environment. Female entrepreneurs report being hit on for sex by potential backers; some female employees recount coping with casual sexism in a male-dominated workplace. More money and “leaning in” may not be enough.
Admittedly, we’ve got a long, long way to go before we can even talk about getting past the quantitative problem, when some companies don’t even acknowledge that there might be a problem.
But it’s all part of the same package. To the extent that women are under-represented in Silicon Valley technology firms, and that they are underpaid, it’s probably linked to the fact that some women who might be qualified to do those jobs feel unwelcome within what is still a “brogrammer” culture in many parts of the technology world, simply because of their gender.
Not convinced? Consider the now infamous 2013 Techcrunch Disrupt hackathon in San Francisco, when entrepreneurs presented ideas that included an app, Titstare, which, as its name suggests, lets you stare at tits, as well as CircleShake, a game app involving simulating masturbation.
So by all means, applaud and support Arjuna’s efforts. But until women are not just present and well paid but also welcomed as genuine peers at every level throughout Silicon Valley and the technology world, and are able to be productive and serve as mentors to younger women and men alike, we’ll just be left staring at data.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information. | 1,267,325 |
One of President Donald Trump’s special gifts is his ability to humiliate his underlings. He has called Attorney General Jeff Sessions “an idiot” to his face, and convened his cabinet so its members could sing Dear Leader’s praises in front of the press. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s bizarre press conference on Wednesday, called for the sole purpose of denying reports of a severe rift with the president, is the latest example of the indignity of working for Trump.
It’s undeniable that Trump and Tillerson are at odds over the most serious issues facing American foreign policy. As befits his position, Tillerson has tried to act as a diplomat, negotiating with North Korea, Qatar, and Iran. But time and again, Trump has undercut Tillerson’s position, most notably by tweeting earlier this month about negotiations with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un:
...Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017
According to The New York Times, the dispute earlier this year between Qatar and the other Gulf states was an even bigger issue. “The episode that Mr. Tillerson called a real breaking point, according to associates, came when he was trying to mediate a dispute between the Persian Gulf state of Qatar and its Arab neighbors,” the Times reported Wednesday. “The secretary had long told colleagues that relationships he built over decades in business made him uniquely qualified to broker a deal.... When Mr. Tillerson publicly called for a ‘calm and thoughtful dialogue,’ the president less than an hour later lashed out at Qatar as a financier of terrorism.”
That was in June. By July, according to an NBC News report on Wednesday, Tillerson “was on the verge of resigning” and had “openly disparaged the president, referring to him as a ‘moron,’ after a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials.” At his press conference later on Wednesday, Tillerson refused to deny this report, saying instead, “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that.” In a subsequent briefing, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert denied the “moron” comment on Tillerson’s behalf.
In his press conference, Tillerson reiterated his loyalty to Trump and desire to serve as long as the president desired. But as debasing as Tillerson’s performance was, it might not be enough. The Washington Post reports that Tillerson remains on a “death spiral” because “the already tense relationship between the two headstrong men—one a billionaire former real estate developer, the other a former captain of the global oil industry—has ruptured into what some White House officials call an irreparable breach that will inevitably lead to Tillerson’s departure, whether immediately or not.” | 1,267,326 |
The Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles have continued their success in the most important area of the field, the red zone. Last year they ranked tops in the league in converting trips to the red area into touchdowns (64%). This year they’re punching it in at an uber-efficient 70%.
You can point to a positive regression to red zone running, which would be true. Wendell Smallwood’s 4-yard touchdown makes the Eagles 3 for 5 when turning runs from within 5 yards of the end zone into scores. You could also point to Carson Wentz’s return, who connected with Dallas Goedert for a 13-yard touchdown on the opening drive using a design that looked very familiar.
Last year in Week 12, the Eagles beat the Chicago Bears with a variation on the “spot” concept. First, what is a spot?
From the Inside the Pylon glossary:
“The spot concept is a common pass game scheme run from the high school level up to the NFL. It is known for its simplicity and ability to create both a horizontal and vertical stretch. Spot is a half field “triangle” read, and features a flat route as a horizontal stretch, a deep corner as a vertical stretch, and the quick hitch route coming underneath at about 5 yards and settling in an open zone coverage.”
Reading the initial action of the play, Bears’ safety Adrian Amos banked on the corner route, which tight end Zach Ertz sells by stemming outside. But instead of running the corner, Ertz ran what the Eagles call a “copper route”. This is a corner-post or as it’s known in the “Air Coryell” system design by former Chargers’ head coach Don Coryell, a “bang-8”.
Combined with a familiar route combination that every defensive back has seen hundreds of times, the bang-8/copper route can be deadly.
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If it worked once, why not dial it up again? In Week 3 in their 20-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts, that’s exactly what the Eagles did. Exclusively utilizing 13 personnel (1 running back, 3 tight ends) paired with a busy tempo, they marched down to the Colts’ 13-yard line. On 2nd and 9, Wentz found Goedert on the same spot copper he found Ertz with months ago.
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The Eagles have a full bag of tricks with a bevy of new takes on old designs and dialing them up at the right time and in the red zone remains Doug Pederson’s specialty. With Wentz back and one game in the books during his return tour, expect more new and old wrinkles with the Eagles’ passing attack when they get within striking distance. | 1,267,327 |
3DMark Ice Storm giving us 5749 points.
Multimedia support is also good as the stock video player handles high bit-rate video files with ease and also comes with DTS audio enhancement. With it enabled, the rear mono speaker delivers decently loud audio for music and videos. The music app offers DTS audio as well as a customisable equaliser setting. The audio quality from the bundled headset is below average, and it doesn't have a good fit when worn.
We had a slight issue with light metering from the rear camera. Bright areas tended to burn out and the colours of close up shots were exaggerated. The pictures look passable on the phone's display but lack good detail and sharpness when you zoom in and look on a bigger screen. The camera app lets you play with multiple shooting modes, including a Pro mode. Low-light shots were pretty average as well, with the level of detail and autofocus speed dipping greatly.
Video recording maxes out at 1080p which is not so bad thanks to the software stabilisation. The rear flash does its job as long as the subject is not too far away. The front 5-megapixel camera takes decent selfies under good light.
Battery life
This is of course the main highlight of the Marathon series, and although the M5 Lite delivers, it isn't as great as we had hoped it would be. In our video loop test, we managed to get 11 hours and 47 minutes of continuous video playback. With everyday usage, it was more like a day and a half of battery life. While this is good, it isn't ground-breaking like we've come to expect from the Marathon series. For instance, something like the Oppo R7 Lite (Review | Pictures) delivered better battery life in our video loop test with a mere 2320mAh battery.
One pain point is getting the massive battery to charge fully, which takes nearly four hours with the bundled charger.
Verdict
With a street price of Rs 12,999, the Gionee Marathon M5 Lite misses the mark as it feels expensive when you consider the overall package. If battery life is what you're after in this price range, then you're better off with the older Marathon M4, since apart from the aesthetics, you'll barely notice the other changes.
We appreciate the slimmer, better-looking body and the all-day battery life of the M5 Lite, but apart from this, everything else leaves you wanting more. The quality of the bundled accessories is also pretty poor when compared to previous Marathon offerings.
Gionee might be compromising a bit too much with the Marathon series as it also recently added the M5 Mini to its range, which is also similar to the M5 Lite. Rather than milking the success of one phone by flooding the market with Marathon M5 variants, we feel the company needs to take a step back and evaluate what's really needed. | 1,267,328 |
LONDON (Reuters) - Three British Jewish newspapers said on Wednesday that there would be an “existential threat to Jewish life in this country” if the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, won power from the ruling Conservative Party.
FILE PHOTO: The leader of Britain's Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn attends a housing policy event in London, April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
The Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News and Jewish Telegraph said in a joint editorial titled “United We Stand” that the Labour Party had shown a tolerance of anti-Semitism since Corbyn was elected leader of the party in 2015.
It said their response was needed “because of the existential threat to Jewish life in this country that would be posed by a Jeremy Corbyn-led government”.
“The party that was, until recently, the natural home for our community has seen its values and integrity eroded by Corbynite contempt for Jews and Israel,” the editorial said.
A Labour spokesman said the party recognized the concerns raised by the Jewish community and acknowledged there was a “huge amount of work to do” to build trust and confidence.
“The next Labour government poses no threat of any kind whatsoever to Jewish people,” the spokesman said.
“The security and wellbeing of Jewish people is a priority for our party and in government we will always ensure schools, synagogues and institutions are properly protected.”
Labour is benefiting from turmoil in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives over Brexit, and has taken the lead in some opinion polls.
While an election need not be held for another four years, the wrangling over Britain’s divorce from the European Union has raised the possibility of a vote much sooner as May struggles to keep her government together.
But, Labour has been wrestling with accusations that it has been tolerant of anti-Semitism among some of its members, and in April leaders of Britain’s 270,000 Jews organized a protest accusing Corbyn of failing to address their concerns.
“With the government in Brexit disarray, there is a clear and present danger that a man with a default blindness to the Jewish community’s fears, a man who has a problem seeing that hateful rhetoric aimed at Israel can easily step into anti-Semitism, could be our next prime minister,” the newspapers wrote.
Corbyn has previously apologized for what he called “pockets” of anti-Semitism in the party and promised to stamp them out. He has responded to protests by meeting with Jewish community leaders reassuring Jews they are welcome in the party.
The latest flashpoint was the party’s decision to approve a new code of conduct which Jewish groups said watered-down internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism. Labour said it had concerns about part of the definition but had re-opened discussions on the code to take into account Jewish community concerns. | 1,267,329 |
Liberal Democrat vow to cancel Brexit not'realistic', says Ed Davey
The Liberal Democrats' policy of revoking Article 50 and cancelling Brexit was not "realistic", Sir Ed Davey has admitted.
The Lib Dem co-leader - who stepped into the role following the election defeat of Jo Swinson - said that while the pledge had only been "marginal" to Lib Dem plans, it may have confused the presentation of the party's anti-Brexit platform.
The Lib Dems ended up with 10 fewer MPs after election night, losing high-profile names including Ms Swinson and the party's EU spokesperson Tom Brake.
Every MP who defected to the party from Labour and the Conservatives over the course of the past year was also defeated in a torrid night for the Lib Dems.
Sir Ed told the i he had ordered a panel, including a team of independent experts, to investigate the result, as he cast his verdict on the pledge to revoke Article 50 if the Lib Dems secured a majority.
"One of the issues may well have been how it was presented, because in all realistic scenarios we were a People’s Vote party," he said.
"The revoke position was actually much more marginal than I think people were hearing.
"So we do need to look at it... but I think there were other issues that were playing badly on the doorsteps."
The pledge to revoke Article 50 without another referendum has already come under fire by former Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, who called it "a distraction and not a very helpful one".
'SCARING EVERYONE RIGID'
Sir Ed, who has been tipped to permanently succeed Ms Swinson, warned the Lib Dems not to be "seen as a one-message-only party", even as he argued that "history will prove us right" on the issue of qutting the EU.
The former Coalition-era Energy Secretary added: "I strongly believe we need to be talking about a green economy, green society, tackling fuel poverty, reducing people’s energy bills through the green revolution and creating new jobs for the future."
The Kingston and Surbiton MP also tore into Jeremy Corbyn, arguing that the Labour leader's unpopularity had pushed swing voters into backing the Conservatives.
"If there’s another Corbyn, we’re going to have to work out how to do well when the Tories and the Tory media are scaring everyone rigid about the impact of a left-wing Labour leader," he said.
Sir Ed added: "If it had been a Tony Blair, Keir Starmer if you like, what do we think the result would have been? It would have been very different."
Party president Sal Brinton is also leading the Lib Dems alongside Sir Ed. She said in the wake of the result that the party would elect a new leader in "the weeks ahead". | 1,267,330 |
July 21, 2018
Kiddie 'Commie Camp' Creating Antifa Flags - Teaching A New Generation Of Terrorists As Radicalism Becomes The New Norm For The Democratic Party
Bray spends most of his time tracing the history of the movement, but finally gets to the heart of the matter, and the argument isnt hard to follow. In essence: tolerance and reason dont work, and you dont wait for a small problem to get bigger, so lets start beating heads.
There are obvious objections to this. And though Bray struggles mightily to overcome them, hes simply not up to it. Of course, no one is.
But as a result of this close-minded thinking, weve got a violent movement convinced it has the right to be judge, jury and executioner because it has identified a deserving enemy.
Now even if this worked in theory, we already know it doesnt work in practice. Because the guardians of goodness who fill Antifas ranks dont just shout down neo-Nazis and other racists who deserve total condemnation (but not the loss of their constitutional rights). They also disrupt and commit violence at mainstream Republicans rallies, and attack anyone theyve deemed unacceptable.
In other words, Antifa gets to decide who the fascists are, and dont look now, but its you.
Mind you, Bray does attempt to explain what fascism looks like. Its hallmarks include a preoccupation with victimhood, a cult of purity, abandonment of liberty and redemptive violence.
I know, youre ahead of me that sounds like the Antifa movement. But they cant be fascist because... Bray says they cant. Fascists can only be the people who dont share the lefts views on race, gender and immigration (their views at present, that is not necessarily what they believed a generation or two ago).
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Months after winning the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, French director Ladj Ly’s “Les Misérables” will be vying for Oscar glory on February 9 when it takes on Palme d’Or laureate “Parasite” in the best foreign language category.
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Ladj Ly’s impressive debut feature was nominated for the 92nd Academy Awards on Monday, becoming the first French entry to get the nod since “Mustang”, by Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven, in 2016.
“Les Misérables” will face heavyweights “Parasite” by South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho and “Pain and Glory” by Spain’s Pedro Almodovar, along with “Corpus Christi” by Poland’s Jan Komasa and “Honeyland” by North Macedonia’s Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov.
Both a critical success and a box-office hit, Ly's film casts a spotlight on the festering issue of police violence in some of France’s most deprived suburbs, blighted by poverty, unemployment and injustice.
It is inspired by the riots that swept through the poorer immigrant-rich suburbs of Paris in 2005, following the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted in a power station while running away from police in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.
Ly has taken another incident in nearby Montfermeil, his hometown and the setting for Victor Hugo’s 19th-century classic “Les Misérables”, as the basis for his movie, which follows the consequences of a violent police blunder in a tense and racially divided suburb, seen through the eyes of a cop who has just joined its anti-crime unit.
While the film draws on Ly’s own experiences in the Paris suburb – he once covertly filmed and published a video of police brutality in Montfermeil, leading to an unprecedented internal police investigation – the filmmaker has described it as a "universal" warning cry about poverty and racism, one that “should speak to as many people as possible”.
In other categories, Todd Phillips’ supervillain origin story “Joker” topped the field with 11 Academy Awards nominations, while Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” and Sam Mendes’ “1917” all trailed close behind with 10 nods apiece.
Those four were among the nine films nominated for best picture, with Bong’s “Parasite” also in the running.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe | 1,267,332 |
October 10, 2017 – Thunder Bay, ON
Officials from Lakehead University and the International Institute for Sustainable Development Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to foster collaboration between the two organizations.
Thanks to this new MOU, Lakehead University faculty and students can visit and perform research at the IISD-ELA much more easily, staff from both organizations will be able to participate in seminars and workshops together, and students can benefit from being supervised by staff from both institutions.
Staff from both organizations hope to mutually benefit from their respective knowledge and to further understanding about what impacts fresh water systems, and what can be done to protect the world’s water supplies.
Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Lakehead’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation, emphasized how beneficial this agreement will be for students.
“The experiential learning that comes from performing research outside of the lab is invaluable,” Dr. Dean said. “I look forward to seeing the research that results from this agreement.”
This MOU will result in collaborative research projects that draw on the expertise of both institutions.
“What this means is that our two institutions can collaborate and share much more easily—all in the name of protecting the world’s freshwater supplies,” said Matthew McCandless, executive director, IISD Experimental Lakes Area.
“This is yet another step in IISD-ELA further opening its doors to the world, committing itself to educating the freshwater scientists of tomorrow, and building stronger partnerships with researchers across Canada and the globe,” McCandless said.
– 30 –
Media: For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media Relations Officer, at (807) 343-8177, or [email protected].
Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. In 2016, for the second consecutive year, Re$earch Infosource ranked Lakehead first among Canada’s undergraduate universities. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.
IISD Experimental Lakes Area is the world’s living laboratory. Comprised of 58 lakes and their watersheds in a remote part of Northwestern Ontario, it is the only place on earth where researchers can research on whole lakes, in order to discover more comprehensive answers to what is affecting fresh water supplies, and what we can do to protect them. | 1,267,333 |
HBO Documentaries American Winter
HBO Documentary Films, 1
“AMERICAN WINTER” is a timely documentary that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Filmed over the winter of 2011-12, the film presents an intimate snapshot of the state of the nation’s economy as it is playing out in the lives of many American families. It reveals the human consequences of cuts to social services, the decline of the middle class, and the fracturing of the American Dream.
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One Response to “HBO Documentaries American Winter”
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Georgia Democrat Jen Jordan (at right)
On Nov. 7, one of the nation’s key state legislative contests will take place in Georgia. A special election in the state’s 6th Senate District provides Democrats with the opportunity to break the GOP’s veto-proof supermajority in that chamber, and Jen Jordan is the best candidate in this race to flip this seat. Daily Kos is proud to endorse her.
This seat became vacant when its GOP occupant, Hunter Hill, recently resigned to run for governor. Hill’s Metro Atlanta-area district gave him just a 52-48 victory last fall, and at the same time, it went for Hillary Clinton by a 55-40 margin, making it the bluest GOP-held seat in the state. What’s more, the GOP field in the special election is badly fractured, featuring no fewer than five candidates. (All candidates will run together on a single ballot next month, with the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advancing to a Dec. 5 runoff in the likely event no one takes a majority in the first round.)
Democrats therefore have a real chance to flip this seat, but the race recently took a stunning turn when it came out that the the guy who’d held Hill to that tight 4-point margin in 2016 had repeatedly expressed shockingly homophobic and misogynistic views on social media. The silver lining, though, is that this candidate was just one of three Democrats in the race, and a true progressive fighter—Jen Jordan—can lead us to victory.
Jordan is a first-time candidate, but she’s no stranger to fighting for progressive causes. As an attorney, she’s stood up in court for victims of sexual assault and predatory lenders, and she’s fought on the front lines in the state’s voting rights battle. In 2006, when Georgia enacted one of the first and most restrictive voter ID laws in the nation, Jordan sued the state and prevented the law from taking effect in that year’s elections. Jordan is also a staunch advocate for public education, LGBTQ rights, raising the minimum wage, and expanding access to heath care, and local Democrats and progressive organizations have rallied around her candidacy.
This race is about far more than one seat, though. Next year, Democrats will try to win Georgia’s governorship for the first time in two decades, but if we’re successful at the top of the ticket, the last thing we’d want is to leave the GOP with a legislative supermajority that they could use to pass conservative bills and override Democratic vetoes at will—something that happens almost weekly in neighboring North Carolina, where this exact situation exists. Helping Jordan now will therefore help the entire state if we can win in 2018.
So please help elect this progressive fighter and break the GOP’s stranglehold on Georgia—give $3 to Jen Jordan today! | 1,267,335 |
is an original song by the band B.E.R. that is lip-synced by Cyborg in the episode, " Slumber Party " episode before his bedtime. In " 40%, 40%, 20% ", the song makes another occurrence.
This time around, though, the whole episode is centered around it, as Cyborg can't stop singing it, on account of it giving him all of his willpower and later in the series, the song made a third occurrence as the focal point of a movie special event, "The Night Begins to Shine."
A five-part sequel to the four-part special aired on July 10, 2020, marketed as "The Night Begins to Shine 2."
Lyrics
INTRO
VERSE 1:
I saw you dance
from the corner
I caught your name
in a conversation
BRIDGE 1:
Playing hard to get,
But I can't understand.
CHORUS:
When I look at you,
I see the story in your eyes.
When we're dancing,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine.
When we're dancing,
the night begins to shine.
VERSE 2:
Talk 'til dawn,
my heart was racing.
I took you home,
in the driving rain.
BRIDGE 2:
Had my mind made up.
I wanna feel your touch.
CHORUS:
When I look at you,
I see the story in your eyes.
When we're dancing,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine.
When we're dancing,
the night begins to shine.
VERSE 3:
The night begins to shine.
Tonight (the night begins to shine)
BRIDGE 2:
Had my mind made up,
I wanna feel your touch.
CHORUS:
When I look at you,
I see the story in your eyes.
When we're dancing,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine,
the night begins to shine.
Night begins to shine.
When we're dancing,
the night begins to shine (night begins to shine)
the night begins to shine (night begins to shine)
Night begins to shine,
the night begins to shine (the night begins to shine)
OUTRO
Trivia | 1,267,336 |
0:51 Speaking on The Debate, Paul Merson believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been a big miss for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this season Speaking on The Debate, Paul Merson believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been a big miss for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this season
Paul Merson believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a big miss for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this season.
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Ibrahimovic, who signed a new contract with LA Galaxy that will see the striker return for the 2019 MLS season as a 'designated player' earlier this week, left Old Trafford for Los Angeles last March.
The former Sweden international spent almost two seasons at United. He made a big impact in his first year, scoring 28 goals in all competitions to earn a new one-year deal. However, the 37-year-old was plagued by injuries last season, making just seven appearances before United agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect.
4:50 Paul Merson told the Debate that the Manchester United players are an embarrassment and have shown no professional pride in their performances under Jose Mourinho Paul Merson told the Debate that the Manchester United players are an embarrassment and have shown no professional pride in their performances under Jose Mourinho
Following Mourinho's sacking at Old Trafford, Merson thinks Ibrahimovic's departure left a huge void in the United dressing room.
"Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a big miss for Manchester United," Merson told The Debate.
"He was one of those players that Mourinho had in the dressing room where you didn't need to keep on listening to the manager's voice, and he would've picked players out."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic won two trophies in his first season at Manchester United
Mourinho was sacked by United on Tuesday morning following a string of poor results which culminated in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
Merson believes Ibrahimovic's strong character could have helped Mourinho in the dressing room in a similar way to how Roy Keane helped Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Zlatan would not have had what has happened in the last five or six weeks," he said.
Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrate Europa League success
"He would not have had some of the results, being 2-0 down at Southampton and being absolutely run ragged by Liverpool. People will say they were trying, but let's be honest, they got battered. It was embarrassing.
"I think Zlatan would've gone in there and he would've started to dig players out and years ago you would've seen the same with Roy Keane and Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Ferguson would've sat back and Keane would've come in and started to pick people out. Peter Schmeichel would've been going mad along with the other experienced players. They would've then all calmed down and Sir Alex Ferguson would've had his say." | 1,267,337 |
Reading Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of 23-year-old Romanian international striker George Pușcaș.
Pușcaș flew into the country to undergo a medical this afternoon and has now put pen to paper on a five-year contract, completing a transfer from Inter Milan for an undisclosed fee.
Manager José Gomes said, “George is a young, hungry, talented forward with a natural instinct to score goals. Without goals you cannot win games and we now have different options to choose from in the final third of the field. I am looking forward to welcoming him into our squad at Reading.”
Pușcaș’ professional career began in his native Romania but he joined the Italian giants as a young man, making his Serie A debut at the age of 18. A matter of weeks later, he came off the bench against Celtic in a Europa League win and his full debut for Inter came in a 1–1 home draw against Parma four days before his 19th birthday.
Regular football came the following season on loan at Bari, scoring five goals in 18 appearances during his season-long stay at Stadio San Nicola.
George then spent the next year-and-a-half on loan at Benevento, scoring another seven goals in his first campaign - earning promotion to the top flight in the process. Notably he bagged his maiden Serie A goal when he helped Benevento earn their first top flight point with a 2–2 home draw against AC Milan.
A short loan stint at Novara preceded a permanent move to Palermo in August 2018, scoring ten goals in Sicily last season before returning to the San Siro in the summer.
Meanwhile, on the international scene, Pușcaș’ has become a regular Romanian international. He represented his country at various youth stages and found prolific form as an Under-21, netting 18 times for that age group and top scoring alongside Portugal’s Diogo Gonçalves in the qualifying stages for the Under-21 European Championships this summer.
In the tournament itself, George scored from the spot against England and found the net twice against Germany in semi-final defeat in Bologna - and he has also represented the senior Romanian side.
He won the first of his eight Romania caps in May 2018 in a 3–2 win against Chile and scored the first of four international goals in a 3–0 Nations League win over Lithuania.
Now Pușcaș is a Royal until 2024.
Chief Executive Nigel Howe said, “All teams need goals in their ranks and, in George Pușcaș, we have another talented young striker who can get them for us. I am delighted to welcome him to Madejski Stadium and excited to see him represent the Royals.” | 1,267,338 |
The opposition groups represented at the meeting included the youthful supporters of ElBaradei, who are one of the main forces organizing the protests. ElBaradei was not invited and his brother said the statement by those who did attend does not represent his personal view.The Muslim Brotherhood and a number of smaller leftist, liberal groups also attended, according to footage shown on state television.The government offered to open an office that would field complaints about political prisoners, according to the state news agency. It also pledged to commission judicial authorities to fight corruption and prosecute those behind it. In another concession, authorities promised to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the yet unexplained disappearance of police from Cairo's streets more than a week ago, which unleashed a wave of lawless looting and arson.The offer to eventually lift emergency laws when security permits would fulfill a longtime demand by the opposition. The laws were imposed by Mubarak when he took office in 1981 and they have been in force ever since. They give police far-reaching powers for detention and suppression of civil and human rights.The government agreed to set up a committee that includes public and independent figures and specialists and representatives of youth movements to monitor the "honest implementation" of all the new agreements and to report back and give recommendations to Suleiman.Before the meetings, the Muslim Brotherhood made clear it would insist on Mubarak's immediate ouster. The fundamentalist Islamic group, which has been outlawed since 1954 but fields candidates in parliamentary elections as independents, did not organize or lead the protests currently under way and only publicly threw its support behind them a few days into the movement. It only ordered its supporters to take part when it sensed that the protesters, mostly young men and women using social networks on the Internet to mobilize, were able to sustain their momentum.There have been no known discussions between the Brotherhood and the regime in years — one of many startling shifts in policy after years of crackdowns by the Western-backed regime against the Islamists.Both Mubarak and Suleiman have blamed the Brotherhood as well as foreigners of fomenting the recent unrest. Mubarak is known to have little or no tolerance for Islamist groups and the decision to open talks with the Brotherhood is a tacit recognition by his regime of their key role in the ongoing protests as well as their wide popular base.The Brotherhood aims to create an Islamic state in Egypt, but insists that it would not force women to cover up in public in line with Islam's teachings and would not rescind Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel.At Tahrir Square, hundreds performed the noon prayers and later offered a prayer for the souls of protesters killed in clashes with security forces. Later, Christians held a Sunday Mass and thousands of Muslims joined in.Some of the worshippers broke down and cried as the congregation sang: "Bless our country, listen to the screams of our hearts.""In the name of Jesus and Muhammad we unify our ranks," Father Ihab al-Kharat said in his sermon. "We will keep protesting until the fall of the tyranny," he said. | 1,267,339 |
I had so much fun reading the comments posted over the past few days in response to my piece on Billy Squier’s unbelievably bad video for “Rock Me Tonite” that I couldn’t resist sharing another video. This one I’ve actually posted on DM before. It features blue-eyed soulsters Hall and Oates singing “She’s Gone” while in what appears to be a shared drug-like stupor. Pre-dating MTV by almost a decade, this “promotional video” for the album Abandoned Luncheonette was made in 1973 and not released until years later. It’s a real jaw-dropper.
The clothes, the glazed expressions, the parade of women passing in the foreground, the red-sequined devil costume, the guitar solo with flippers…it’s all so ridiculously strange that it had to be a parody, right? A punk-style “fuck you” to the music industry?
When I originally shared this vid on DM a couple years ago, I didn’t know its history. As it turns out, the video was an elaborate joke with very little sub-text. A “fuck you” of sorts. In a 2009 interview with John Oates, the truth came out:
Well, I’ll give you a little background about what happened with that “She’s Gone” thing. First of all, it was 1973. There was no MTV, there was no outlet for anything like this. You know, it might be one of the first music videos ever made. I really couldn’t say, honestly, but it definitely would be a contender. What happened was, we were asked to lip sync “She’s Gone” for a teenage TV dance show broadcast out of Atlantic City, New Jersey. And we really didn’t want to do that; we didn’t want to pretend to sing the song. It was supposed to be shot in a television studio in Philadelphia. So we thought, with the mindset that we were in at the time – and I won’t say more on that, either - We showed up at the television studio with a chair from our living room. The woman who’s walking through the picture – that’s Sarah…
Oh, wow. And the devil who comes through was our road manager at the time. And we brought Monopoly money, and those weird instruments, and they thought we were nuts. They really thought that. My sister directed that video. They thought we were completely insane. They actually didn’t air it; they wouldn’t air it. But we had it this whole time, and eventually I leaked it out to the internet, ’cause I just thought the world should see it.
Sounds kinda hip. You buying it?
| 1,267,340 |
this much about the Bill of Rights...
(Gage Skidmore/Flikr) I knowmuch about the Bill of Rights...
PAUL: I’m not for profiling people on the color of their skin, or on their religion, but I would take into account where they’ve been traveling and perhaps, you might have to indirectly take into account whether or not they’ve been going to radical political speeches by religious leaders. It wouldn’t be that they are Islamic. But if someone is attending speeches from someone who is promoting the violent overthrow of our government, that’s really an offense that we should be going after — they should be deported or put in prison.
Rand Paul, libertarianesque freedom-lover, makes me sad...
Like all good freedom-loving conservatives and libertarians, Rand Paul knows that sometimes, you just have to throw people in jail for saying things... well, not for saying things, but for being present while other people say things. This is known as the "unless we don't like you" subclause of the First Amendment, written in lemon juice and visible only during a full moon.
Should you be able to imprison someone for "attending speeches"? Not making a speech, mind you, but attending a speech? That seems rather far afield from the Founder's original intent, but more to the point, I wonder if Rand Paul would really be comfortable applying his proposed rule of imprisonment-for-listening-to-violent-rhetoric across the board.
Say, to the followers of people who advocate "Second Amendment remedies" if an election doesn't go the way they want.
Or to people who support politicians who make bold claims that breaking up the United States may be needed, if their particular state doesn't get to override the federal government.
Or to people that use gun-inspired imagery against their political opponents, or hold events in which they shoot live ammo at a representation of their political opponent. Well, not those people directly, but anyone present during such speech.
For that matter, what should we do with people who attend speeches by people who merely want to reform the country to do away with the more inconvenient sections of the Bill of Rights? Isn't that an "overthrow"?
I think what Rand Paul clearly means to say here is that he doesn't want to profile Muslim Americans... he's just suggesting we investigate their religious leaders and, if he deems their speech unacceptable, imprison their followers for listening to it. But somehow I don't think we'll be subjecting Christian ministers to that level of scrutiny. Or militia-affiliated groups like the "Minutemen". Or Republicans.
I credit Rand Paul for this much: he knows profiling would be wrong, which is an improvement over many conservatives. But he still seems to have a weak grasp of our other national values, especially for a supposed protector of our freedoms.
| 1,267,341 |
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida fired a member of the force for posting overtly racist comments on his Facebook page, on which he listed the police department as his employer, a local NBC affiliate reports. Now, he’s going to the media to make a case for his behavior.
“According to an internal affairs report,” the news outlet writes, “Deputy Jean Lopez was fired in April for posting racial comments on his Facebook page.”
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In March, Lopez posted a video of a black man talking about the company he owns. The deputy’s accompanying commentary: “Can someone please tell me what the [expletive] this monkey is saying?”
Lopez went on: “Get a real life [expletive] monkey.”
Police investigators report that, while Lopez says he and his friends refer to black people as “monkeys” in social settings, “he would never use the term in uniform.”
NBC 2 reports a laundry list of offenses Lopez committed on the force before his racist Facebook posts came to light, including:
Involvement in the shooting of Joshua Young in March 2014, for which the officer was placed on administrative leave.
Allegations of “having sex with a prostitute” in 2013.
Participation in a “domestic dispute” in 2009, for which Lopez was “reprimanded.”
Improper handling of “a suspect’s money” in 2008.
Threatening to kill his wife in 2008, which investigators say “violated policies.”
Lopez tells NBC 2 that calling people monkeys isn’t racist. “Lopez tells us it’s just something he calls people saying ‘stupid or funny stuff,'” the news outlet reports. “He admits he knows it has racial connotations, but doesn’t think the punishment is fair.”
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Lopez neighbor agrees.
“He has an opinion like anybody else,” neighbor Dennis Sweany tells NBC 2. “Just because he is a deputy doesn’t mean he can’t say his opinion I don’t think.”
Lopez’s superiors on the force have a different perspective.
“It’s not acceptable and that’s why he’s out of a job,” Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott says. The racist Facebook post “was so far contrary for what we stand for and what I expect for a deputy sheriff that we said bye-bye.”
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Watch former Florida police officer Jean Lopez defend calling black people “monkeys:”
NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral | 1,267,342 |
A newly discovered alien planet orbiting a nearby small star could be one of the best places to look for life beyond our solar system.
An international team of astronomers discovered a "super-Earth" planet dubbed LHS1140b, orbiting a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away in the constellation of Cetus.
The potentially rocky planet is 1.4 times the size and seven times the mass of Earth, and sits within the star's habitable zone, the scientists reported in the journal Nature.
Some of the things essential for life to exist on a planet include liquid surface water and an atmosphere.
Lead author and astronomer Jason Dittmann said the discovery ticked a lot of boxes.
"It orbits a quiet star, and orbits at a distance that might mean that there's liquid water on the planet," Dr Dittmann said.
It is also believed this super-Earth has retained most of its atmosphere.
Sorry, this video has expired Artist's impression of a trip from Earth to the exoplanet LHS 1140b
Additionally because of the planet's close proximity to Earth astronomers will be able to find out more about it, quicker.
"This star is only 40 light-years away, which is incredibly close," Dr Dittmann said.
"If we shrank the entire galaxy to the size of the United States, the distance between the Earth and this planet would be smaller than Central Park. So this planet is really Earth's next-door neighbour."
Dr Dittmann said it was close enough that scientists could feasibly answer these questions in the near future.
"So we can conceivably look at its atmosphere over the next decade and figure out whether the planet has an atmosphere that looks like the Earth's. So I'm very excited to begin this process," he said.
The planet was initially detected in a survey by MEarth-south telescope array based in Chile, which picked up tell-tale dips in light as the planet passed in front of its star.
The astronomers then used the European Southern Observatory to pin down more details about the planet such its mass, density and how long it takes to orbit its sun.
But Dr Dittmann said there was still a lot to do
"Discovering the planet is just the beginning," he said.
"We have been approved to use the Hubble Space Telescope to begin the first steps in probing this planet's atmosphere and to see what's there. There is also further work to done to know for sure whether the star is as inactive at high energies as believed."
Astronomers will also be awaiting the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope next year, which is tipped to revolutionise research into exoplanets.
"It will be able to find water, ozone, methane, and even carbon dioxide in this planet's atmosphere. So the future is very exciting indeed," Dr Dittmann said. | 1,267,343 |
Halloween is to either celebrate or be afraid of evil. In fact, I would argue that maybe it’s the opposite. Check this video. out.
This is a cute, silly video, but I think it makes a good point. Dressing up as something, making it part of games and fun, is a way to de-fang that thing. It actually takes the fear out of ghosts and devils when you see people you know, and little kids, prancing around pretending to be one. As the video narrator says, “The future is futile for forces of evil/And so they did scorn them in times Medieval.” Halloween, at least at my house, is not a time to affirm and celebrate the power of evil; it’s a time to have some fun with the concept while ultimately remembering that it can’t hurt me and will not ultimately win the day.
Let’s circle back to Ms. Blake’s (very accurate) statement that Christians aren’t to have a spirit of fear. I would like to humbly suggest that lending Halloween the kind of significance and power she does is actually closer to having a spirit of fear than, say, my view on Halloween as something fun that can’t hurt me.
And it’s worth pointing out that humans sometimes seek scary experiences or adrenaline rushes in order to overcome them. I don’t think she’s right in assuming that fright-seeking on Halloween is just about wallowing in fear; it’s about testing your mettle and proving you can overcome the thing you thought was so scary.
And really…Ms. Blake herself even admitted in the article that many people’s motives are just having fun.
Conclusions
So that’s it. Most everything that I think about why Halloween is okay. At the end of the day, most arguments about Halloween eventually boil down to what I addressed in Part 4 (even Ms. Blake’s many bullet points only hold true if her original assumption about the purpose of Halloween is true, making most of them pretty redundant…I could really do a whole blog post just deconstructing that one article! Hmmm….) So please, don’t be inconsistent in your theological application of this holiday. Don’t fall for alarmist arguments. Be cautious, but not superstitious. And really consider whether Satan is getting his kicks out of October 31st, or suffering a serious blow to his ego via that cherub-cheeked 3-year-old neighbor wearing red horns and smiling up at the candy bowl.
And now, my final parting thought: No one is ever again allowed to marry the title of Joshua Harris’ courtship book with an article about why to avoid Halloween. That, to me, is the scariest thing that happened this season. | 1,267,344 |
examples’ – real images that programmers alter so that the machine makes a mistake. Very small tweaks to images can be catastrophic: changing a few pixels on an image of a teapot, for example, can make the network label it an ostrich. It’s a mistake a human would never make, and suggests that something about these networks is functioning differently from the human brain.
Studying networks this way, however, is akin to the early days of psychology. Measuring only environment and behaviour – in other words, input and output – is limited without direct measurements of the brain connecting them. But neural-network algorithms are frequently criticised (especially among watchdog groups concerned about their widespread use in the real world) for being impenetrable black boxes. To overcome the limitations of this techno-behaviourism, we need a way to understand these networks and compare them with the brain.
An ever-growing population of scientists is tackling this problem. In one approach, researchers presented the same images to a monkey and to an artificial network. They found that the activity of the real neurons could be predicted by the activity of the artificial ones, with deeper layers in the network more similar to later areas of the visual system. But, while these predictions are better than those made by other models, they are still not 100 per cent accurate. This is leading researchers to explore what other biological details can be added to the models to make them more similar to the brain.
There are limits to this approach. At a recent conference for neuroscientists and AI researchers, Yann LeCun – director of AI research at Facebook, and professor of computer science at the New York University – warned the audience not to become ‘hypnotised by the details of the brain’, implying that not all of what the brain does necessarily needs to be replicated for intelligent behaviour to be achieved.
But the question of what counts as a mere detail, like the question of what is needed for true digestion, is an open one. For example, by training artificial networks to be more ‘biological’, researchers have found computational purpose in, for example, the physical anatomy of neurons. Some correspondence between AI and the brain is necessary for these biological insights to be of value. Otherwise, the study of neurons would be only as useful for AI as wing-flapping is for modern airplanes.
In 2000, the Belgian conceptual artist Wim Delvoye unveiled Cloaca at a museum in Belgium. Over eight years of research on human digestion, he created the device – consisting of a blender, tubes, pumps and various jars of acids and enzymes – that successfully turns food into faeces. The machine is a true feat of engineering, a testament to our powers of replicating the natural world. Its purpose might be more questionable. One art critic was left with the thought: ‘There is enough dung as it is. Why make more?’ Intelligence doesn’t face this problem. | 1,267,345 |
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The Armory team is highly experienced in cryptography and private key ceremonies. For example, they have collaborated with Verisign on developing an innovative Identity Verification Specification for establishing trust on the Internet. At Armory, we strive to constantly improve the best Bitcoin wallet with new security features.
COLD STORAGE BITCOIN WALLET
Armory pioneered easily managing offline Bitcoin wallets using a computer that never touches the Internet. Everything needed to create transactions can be managed from an online computer with a watching only wallet. All secret private key data is available only on the offline computer. This greatly reduces the attack surface for an attacker attempting to steal bitcoins.
By keeping all private-key data on the offline computer only someone with physical access to the offline computer can steal your Bitcoins. The actual process of creating a transaction and signing it with the offline computer can take less than a minute and then you can broadcast it to the network so Bitcoin miners can include it in a block. Plus, Armory employs many security practices so that even if someone physically stole your offline system then it still may take centuries for them to get through the advanced wallet encryption!
And multi-signature addresses are available using Lockboxes in a completely distributed way. Thus, there is no safer way to manage large sums of Bitcoins than with the best Bitcoin wallet, Armory!
OUR FOCUS AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
Armory Technologies, Inc.’s primary focus is developing the most advanced and secure Bitcoin wallet. From the start Armory was designed to never compromise Bitcoin security. Users completely control the generation and storage of the Bitcoin private keys. Consequently, users must take full responsibility to protect their bitcoins. To help we created video tutorials. | 1,267,346 |
Updated on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
On consecutive days, Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford (pectoral) and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (knee) suffered serious in-game injuries that may significantly affect their ability to participate in the 2013-14 NBA season.
For the second time in the last three seasons, Horford will miss a significant amount of time with a torn pectoral muscle. Horford, who tore his left pectoral on Jan. 11, 2012, subsequently missed 58 games (55 in the regular season) and only played in 17 total contests that year (three in the postseason).
On Thursday, Horford suffered a complete tear of his right pectoral muscle while trying to deflect an inbounds pass. The injury will sideline him indefinitely and most likely for the remainder of the 2013-14 campaign.
Horford was in the midst of the best season of his career, one which likely would have resulted in his third NBA All-Star nod in the last four years. He was averaging career-highs of 18.6 points and 1.5 blocks while shooting a career-best 56.7 percent from the field. Horford is currently one of just six NBA players leading his respective team in both points and rebounding (8.4 per game).
Beal, who as a rookie missed 26 games at the end of the 2012-13 campaign because of a lingering stress injury to his leg, spent the entire offseason recovering from the ailment.
After missing 10 games from Nov. 26 to Dec. 14 dealing with a reoccurrence of the leg issue, Beal looks to once again be sidelined with perhaps an even more serious injury.
On Friday, Beal banged his left knee against an opponent’s in the fourth quarter of his team’s game while trying to set a screen. The No. 3 overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft attempted to get up on his own but was unable to do so; two teammates eventually helped him leave the court as he favored the knee.
Washington head coach Randy Whittman noted in his post-game press conference that Beal’s precautionary X-ray was negative but said an MRI would be conducted on Saturday to determine the seriousness of the injury. Washington Post reporter Michael Lee noted that Beal “needed crutches as he walked down [the] hallway” after the game.
Update: According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the MRI on Beal’s knee revealed no structural damage. He simply suffered a bruise and should return to action soon.
Beal has been averaging 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists while playing 38.1 minutes per game (5.9 more than he did as a rookie) and shooting 45.3 percent from downtown (6.7 percent better than last year) for the Wizards. | 1,267,347 |
The decline in initiating treatment with any of the many medications known to reduce fracture risk is widely attributed to the outsize publicity given to the very rare risk of jaw necrosis and an uncommon fracture of the femur among patients who take bone drugs for many years. Yet the risk of a second hip fracture is far greater than either of these side effects, Dr. Bauer said. (The Food and Drug Administration just approved a new and different drug, Evenity, which builds bone, but it may have its own risks, this time a small increase in the chances of having a heart attack or stroke. Also, it is very expensive and may not be covered by insurance, and licensed only for postmenopausal women with a high risk of fracture.)
[Read more about a new osteoporosis drug that builds bone.]
In Dr. Desai’s study, treatment rates among those who broke a hip were even lower for men than for women, although men are nearly as likely to break another bone, including the other hip. In general, without preventive treatment, 15 percent to 25 percent of patients who suffer an osteoporotic fracture will experience another one within 10 years.
And with people living longer, hip fractures are increasingly likely. A report, published last year in the journal Osteoporosis International, revealed that, after a decade of declining rates of hip fractures, since 2012 the rates have plateaued in the United States, most likely because so many older adults, and their doctors, have turned their backs on bone-protecting medication. Among people enrolled in Medicare alone, Dr. Desai and co-authors wrote, this plateau “may have resulted in more than 11,000 additional estimated hip fractures between 2012 and 2015.”
The side effects associated with bone drugs “have gotten more hype than they should have,” Dr. Desai said in an interview. “People worry about them and with preventive therapy, they don’t see the benefits right away.”
However, Dr. Bauer wrote, “hip fractures represent only the tip of the iceberg; timely evaluation and consideration of drug treatment are appropriate for many other individuals at high risk of fracture.”
Many people at risk of breaking a bone because of osteoporosis are reluctant even to take vitamin D and calcium, nutrients critical to forming healthy bones. In a new national study reported recently by Dr. Spencer Summers, orthopedic surgeon at the University of Miami, to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, fewer than one person in five known to have osteoporosis met the daily recommended intake of both vitamin D and calcium.
More than 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 44 million are at increased risk of developing it. Osteoporosis, which means porous bones, is a chronic, progressive disease of increasingly fragile bones that can break from a relatively minor insult, like falling from a standing height. | 1,267,348 |
Dozens of DAPL protesters were arrested after police raided and cleared the Oceti Sakowin camp near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Some activists refused to leave peacefully and set fire to their makeshift housing.
The Oceti Sakowin camp was completely emptied shortly after 2:00pm local time (8:00pm GMT), the Morton County Sheriff's Department said, as cited by Reuters.
About 50 police in riot gear, aided by members of the National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers, entered the site.
At least 47 people were arrested, department spokeswoman Maxine Herr said.
On Thursday, military vehicles, bulldozers, and police in riot gear moved into the camp to clear out the remaining protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
READ MORE: 100 Dakota Access Pipeline protesters remain at camp site, defying eviction notice
About 100 people had remained in the camp, defying the Wednesday deadline for evacuation ordered by the governor of North Dakota.
“Things went very smoothly. We are very happy with the operations,” Herr said, adding that around 200 law enforcement officials took part in the operation.
The protesters set around 20 fires, and one vehicle was burned, the Morton County Public Information Office in Bismarck, North Dakota said, as cited by AP. The statement added that there were at least two explosions, and a seven-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were taken to the hospital with burns.
“It's really hard being here right now but we know we need to be here because we know that they are wrong and we are right,” Raymond Kingfisher, a protester, told Reuters.
“They have been pointing a gun at our head since day one, so the feeling of fear becomes pretty normal,” another protester, Jeremiah Barnes, added.
READ MORE: Riot police & military Humvees enter Standing Rock camp
Some protesters decided to leave the camp peacefully. Others set the wooden constructions on fire.
Phyllis Young, one of the camp leaders, told AP that the protests will continue.
READ MORE: DAPL protesters set tents ablaze ahead of camp evacuation deadline (VIDEOS)
“Freedom is in our DNA, and we have no choice but to continue the struggle,” she said.
“A lot of our people want to be here and pray for our future,” tribal chairman Harold Frazier added.
Oceti Sakowin, or “Seven Council Fires,” is the native name for the Sioux nation. The protest camp was set up north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The tribe has tried to stop the construction of the segment of the Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe, on the grounds that it could endanger their water supply. | 1,267,349 |
that what you do today, you will live in the fruit of tomorrow.
What this means is: you just keep going. You keep talking and you keep asking and you keep worshiping and you keep being open and you keep being real with the One who knows you best…even when you don’t feel heard. When you feel as if you’re talking to a freaking wall. Yes, I believe distance from God can be caused by something we’ve intentionally put between Him and us. But sometimes it’s just a particular season we’re in and since I know He’s in it all and He’s faithful to never let anything go to waste, there’s something to be learned; a new facet of Him to be grasped in these not so fun times.
So, I was asked those two questions: “What’s on your mind? How do you really feel?” jolting me out of a “just doing my duty” state of mind.
I stopped singing nonsense, honestly answered back and a little song came out of it.
You can listen here:
Real
What’s on your mind? How do you really feel?
Come on just be real, I’ll never leave your side
I always say what I think you wanna hear
So can I just be clear on where I’m at today?
I feel far from you, really far away
I know you’re as close as my next breath,
but it sure doesn’t feel that way
So this is when I hold onto everything I know
About who you are and what you’ve done
and all that is to come
You are faithful
You are patient
You are kind
And your hand never leaves mine
No matter how I feel
No matter how things change
You’ll never let me go
That will stay the same
After getting this song out, I didn’t necessarily feel all ooey, gooey close to God.
I still felt far away.
But after writing this song, I remembered again this is just a season and to God there is never wasted time. This season in my life is as important as (and maybe even more so) a “mountain top,” everything-is-awesome kind of season.
I felt less like someone going through the motions and more like His kid again. I’m.His.kid. and like any good Dad, He really likes me and wants to hear what’s up, regardless of how it comes out.
Once again, thanks for reading…and listening.
Now go tell Him what’s on your mind. : ) | 1,267,350 |
6 on offense, 7 on defense
Key Additions: WR Chris Dunkley, a transfer from Florida, gives B.J. Daniels another target.
Key Loss: RB Darrell Scott
Of Note: Last season, despite a 4-0 start, South Florida demonstrated a confounding tendency to lose close games late, allowing last-minute game-winning drives in four separate games. To add insult to injury, three of those late losses were to Big East foes Cincinnati, Rutgers, and West Virginia. Can new defensive coordinator Chris Cosh shore up the late-game defense? On offense, can fourth-year starter B.J. Daniels improve his consistency?
Can’t-Miss Game: If South Florida can hang with ACC power Florida State on September 29th, they’ll be a team to keep an eye on.
SYRACUSE ORANGE
2011-12 Record: 5-7 (1-6 Big East)
Returning Starters: 5 on offense, 7 on defense
Key Addition: True freshman dual-threat QB Ashton Broyld could see time at some point.
Key Loss: All-Conference DE Chandler Jones
Of Note: The Orange have a tough schedule, with non-conference games against Missouri, Northwestern, and presumed powerhouse Southern Cal. However, they have an experienced senior QB in Ryan Nassib, and several upperclassmen on defense.
Can’t-Miss Game: September 8th, as USC makes a rare trip to the Big East. At home, I think Syracuse will at least make the game entertaining.
TEMPLE OWLS
2011-12 Record: 9-4 (5-3 MAC)
Returning Starters: 2 on offense, 5 on defense
Key Loss: RB Bernard Pierce
Player to Watch: Dual-threat QB Chris Coyer, who had excellent numbers in four starts last season.
Of Note: Temple ranked third in the country last year in points allowed, behind BCS Championship opponents Alabama and LSU. How much will those numbers increase against stiffer competition?
Can’t-Miss Game: October 6 at South Florida could be a baptism by fire for the Owls as they face their first Big East opponent.
BIG EAST OVERVIEW
Conference Champion: Louisville
Possible Dark Horse: Cincinnati, with a very soft schedule
Bowl Teams: Louisville, Cincinnati, Pitt, South Florida
Coach On The Hot Seat: Doug Marrone, entering his fourth year with the Orange, is the Big East’s longest-tenured head coach. I don’t think he’s truly in danger of being fired this season, but his seat is probably the warmest in the conference.
Offensive POTY: RB Ray Graham, Pitt
Defensive POTY: S Jarrod Holley, Pitt | 1,267,351 |
Officials, police and Toronto residents want to see the perpetrator who defaced a war memorial on Remembrance Day caught and brought to justice.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said Monday he was disgusted to hear about vandalism on the Victory Peace memorial located near the city’s waterfront.
The words “Canada will burn praise Allah” were discovered on the monument in Coronation Park on Sunday, hours after a Remembrance Day service had taken place.
“For someone to stoop to that level, to go after people that sacrificed their lives for us to be here, is absolutely sickening,” Ford told reporters during a media appearance.
Minister of Veterans Affairs Steven Blaney also released a statement about the incident.
“Minister Blaney condemns these cowardly acts of vandalism which have no place, especially on such an important day of national remembrance,” Jean-Christophe de le Rue, a spokesperson for the minister, said in a statement. “Those responsible should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Police have asked a hate crime investigator to look into the vandalism.
City workers managed to scrub away the black lettering on Monday morning, but investigators are still trying to figure out who scrawled the message on the sculpture, which commemorates the end of the Second World War.
If the vandalism is declared a hate crime, the formal charge will remain mischief but the penalty accompanying a conviction will be much more severe.
“This is an identifiable group, the veterans should be respected. And that’s total disrespect for our sworn members and military members that have made that ultimate sacrifice,” said Det. Anthony Williams of the Toronto police.
That sentiment was echoed by Gord Pearce, a member of a Royal Canadian Legion branch in east Toronto.
“I think it’s just hoodlums that are doing it,” he said. “I don’t think they have respect for the country or Canada or what our soldiers have done for them.”
The Victory Peace monument features 50 words in 50 different languages, all of them meaning “peace.”
Sculptor John McEwen said it’s apparent that whoever defiled the piece did not stop to consider the meaning of the work.
“It’s a very stupid kind of vandalism because it ignores the real nature of the work, which is that it is a work about victory and peace,” he said.
Meanwhile, city residents also expressed their disgust with the vandalism.
“I think it’s horrible. There are people out there that are fighting for our country, fighting for a better world and to see stuff like this is horrible,” said Mark Xavier, a resident who jogs by the memorial every day.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Austin Delaney | 1,267,352 |
Federal Election Commission reports show that Pennsylvania’s leading Republican gubernatorial candidate Senator Scott Wagner donated $1,000 to Lyndon LaRouche’s Lyndon LaRouche PAC in October 2011. Senator Wagner made this contribution before he became a public official.
In the wake of the white supremacist riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, it took Senator Wagner almost an entire week to issue a statement on the white supremacist violence. The Senator published an op-ed with Pennlive condemning the violence but also making himself the victim of dirty politics for having to do so. In the op-ed, “in my private life, I have been a strong supporter of our Jewish community in York, financially supporting anti-hate programs,” but the following week, Wagner told a tracker that George Soros is a Despite calls from the religious community,.
So, exactly what conspiracy theory was Lyndon LaRouche, a perennial presidential candidate from 1976 to 2004, and his pack of cult-like followers peddling around the time of Scott Wagner’s 2011 donation?
Well, it was a political poster campaign with former President Barack Obama sporting an Adolf Hitler mustache. Underneath mustachioed Obama, there were slogans like “,” “,”,” “I’ve Changed” and probably plenty of others. According to the Anti-Defamation League, opposing the Affordable Care Act. In 2012, Nancy Lack, an elderly woman from Connecticut, Lack told a local news outlet at the time that “my generation went through the Second World War, and Nazism is about the worst there can be.”
Of course, this wasn’t the first time LaRouche’s movement was accused of using anti-semitic rhetoric. LaRouche built his cultist movement built by consistently running for President between 1976 to 2004 and having his followers run for local offices and hand out paper pamphlets during this time. In 1978, LaRouche wrote this about the Holocaust: “.'” and eight years later,.” Moynihan called on the Democratic party to expel LaRouche and his supporters from the party.
I reached out to Senator Wagner’s campaign manager, Jason High, through a Twitter message explaining what LaRouche’s political action committee was doing around the time of Senator Wagner’s donation and LaRouche’s prior brush ups with denying that the Holocaust happened. I asked him the following questions. Why did Senator Wagner donate $1,000 to the Lyndon LaRouche PAC in October 2011? Is Senator Wagner a LaRouche supporter? Does Senator Wagner share the same beliefs and conspiracy theories that LaRouche and his movement believe in? We will provide updates if Senator Wagner’s campaign responds to our request.
by on Scribd
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Oct 4, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) reaches for a pass while being defended by Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24) during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Recent Chicago Bears rumors have the team make a strong push for cornerback Stephon Gilmore in free agency.
The Chicago Bears figure to be one of the most active teams in free agency this off season. The Bears have no shortage of cap space and need to add talent to the roster.
Besides quarterback, the Bears’ biggest positional need is probably at cornerback. They will likely be connected to all of the premium corners on the open market. However, Stephon Gilmore is a name that we have been hearing early and often.
His name has popped up again, this time from Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Based on conversations with many sources across the league, it sounds as if the Bears are expected to make a strong bid for Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore — a replacement addition to the Pro Bowl last season after a career-high five interceptions — and Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon, Biggs wrote.
We addressed the Glennon rumors from Biggs’ piece earlier, so let’s take a deeper look into Gilmore’s fit with the Bears. On the surface, this makes a ton of sense. The Bears have huge needs at the cornerback position and Gilmore is one of the best in the game.
He is a true shutdown player on the outside who has a tendency to make big plays. Adding Gilmore in free agency would immediately make the Bears’ secondary a much better unit.
However, he is not going to come cheap. Expect any Bears’ deal with Gilmore to come in the $12-$14 million a year range. Gilmore is a great player, but that is a lot of money.
I could still see the contract being worth it, but there is certainly a ton of risk involved here. My biggest issue would be how it would affect the entire organization. Making a big play for Gilmore and Glennon would immediately put the Bears in win-now mode. I like a lot of the talent on this Bears’ roster, but I do not think that is the right play.
They should be taking a long-term approach. Spending huge in free agency is not a long-term approach. It is an approach that typically ends up being terrible for the organization.
Gilmore is an extremely talented player who would undoubtedly help the Bears immensely. However, that does not make signing him to a huge contract a wise decision. I guess we will just have to wait and see if these rumors come true.
If these moves do happen, Ryan Pace and John Fox better get this thing turned around right away. If not, the Chicago Bears organization will likely go in another direction sooner, rather than later. | 1,267,354 |
Russia's lower house of parliament has passed the bill in its third and final reading, despite criticism of censorship from the country's most popular websites.
The original proposal, which has been under review in the Duma since last week, implied that only “harmful information” would be censored.However, that phrase was amended on Tuesday night, and the list of reasons for which the government will be allowed to shut down a site is now strictly defined.The list includes web pages which advocate suicide, substance abuse, excessively risky behavior, and child pornography.But critics believe the blacklist of not-for-children sites will restrict internet freedom. The proposal aims to introduce a non-governmental internet watchdog, which would monitor the web for potentially harmful content and request hosting companies to restrict access to those pages. If hosting companies refuse, the page would then become blacklisted.Screenshot from Russian Wikipedia site. The logo is blacked out and the text reads "imagine a world where knowledge isn't free" Top Russian websites have joined Wikipedia in the fight against a bill which would restrict access to online information. Yandex, Vkontakte, and LiveJournal have spoken out against the draft law, which they claim will pave the way for internet censorship in Russia.Search engine Yandex responded to the bill by crossing out the word “everything” out of its logo which usually reads “You can find everything.”The company also provided a link to a statement which warned the legislation may stifle free speech, and questioned the bill’s “rash” adoption.“We think it’s necessary to maintain the balance of public interests and also consider technological characteristics of the internet, that’s why a review of the draft law must be postponed, with the legislation openly discussed,” said Yandex’s chief editor, Elena Kolmanovskaya, in the statement.The move comes a day after online encyclopedia Wikipedia declared a 24 hour blackout against the bill. Visitors to the Russian Wikipedia site were unable to access it on July 10. Those who tried saw a black censorship banner over the word Wikipedia, which read, “Imagine a world without free knowledge.” A statement on the Wikipedia homepage read, “Lobbyists and activists supporting the amendments claim they are only aimed against content like child pornography and ‘similar things’, but strict adherence to the wording of the bill proposed for consideration will result in the creation in Russia of a system similar to the ‘Great Firewall of China’.”In January this year, English-language Wikipedia and other internet giants participated in a blackout, in order to protest SOPA and PIPA bills in the U.S. Congress and Senate. Critics claimed they would empower the government beyond reason, and would damage the internet as a result. Both bills have since been put on hold.LiveJournal joined in the protest, crossing out the bill’s official registry number | 1,267,355 |
Image caption Robert Blay appeared to threaten to shoot rival candidate Ranil Jayawardena
A UKIP candidate has been suspended after being filmed apparently threatening to shoot a Conservative rival.
Robert Blay, who is standing in North East Hampshire, was secretly filmed by the Daily Mirror making the comments about Ranil Jayawardena.
The recording appears to show Mr Blay threatening to shoot Mr Jayawardena if he ever became prime minister.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the comments were "stupid".
North East Hampshire was held by the Conservatives at the last election with a majority of more than 18,500.
'Immediately suspended'
The Mirror published a video of Mr Blay speaking to its investigators at a public meeting on Saturday in Ramsgate, Kent, addressed by party leader Nigel Farage.
Ex-Conservative Mr Blay noted Mr Jayawardena had been tipped as Britain's first Asian prime minister.
Image caption Ranil Jayawardena has said he is shocked by Robert Blay's comments
The Mirror reported that he said: "If he is I will personally put a bullet between his eyes. If this lad turns up to be our prime minister I will personally put a bullet in him. That's how strong I feel about it."
Questioning Mr Jayawardena's background, he said: "His family have only been here since the 70s. You are not British enough to be in our parliament.
"I've got 400 years of ancestry where I live. He hasn't got that."
A UKIP spokesman said Mr Blay had been suspended as soon as the remarks came to light - and offered an apology to Mr Jayawardena.
"Any comments of this sort have absolutely no place in British politics or public life, and the party would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Mr Jayawardena for any distress caused."
'Fewer bad eggs'
Mr Farage said his was not the only party to have experienced problems with some of its candidates.
He said: "Just a sense of perspective - there've now been 319 Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative councillors who've been arrested, imprisoned or sacked since January 1st this year.
"I'm talking about paedophilia, racial assault and everything else, so actually we've had fewer bad eggs this year than the other parties have."
Mr Jayawardena said he was shocked somebody with Mr Blay's apparent views could be selected as a UKIP candidate.
He said: "My family believes in hard work. My father came to this country to do just that - never claiming a penny from the state.
"He's contributed to society as a magistrate - and I've done the same as a local councillor.
"I hope to contribute positively to our country by representing my community - the community in which I grew up - in parliament." | 1,267,356 |
on January 4 in Sarsfield, Victoria
Meteorologist Ms Tobin hit back, telling Mr Kelly that Australia had experienced its hottest and driest year ever on record 'with forecasts records that go back more than 100 years'.
She said: 'We want everyone in the world to lower the global temperature rise by 1.5C, you [Australia] can't even commit to 2C.
'You have the second highest carbon emission on earth and you are burying your head in the sand. You're not a climate sceptic - you're a climate denier.'
During the interview, Piers Morgan told the MP to 'wake up'.
Climate change and global warming are real and Australia right now is showing the entire world just how devastating it is Piers Morgan to Craig Kelly
'You are facing now one of the greatest crises you have ever faced, and there is you... who still doesn't think this has anything to do with a heating up planet,' Morgan said.
'Climate change and global warming are real and Australia right now is showing the entire world just how devastating it is.'
Talking to Australia's ABC on Tuesday, Mr Kelly claimed Morgan 'didn't want to hear the facts' and said 'the weather girl had no idea what she was talking about'.
He also defended Prime Minister's Scott Morrison's holiday in Hawaii while the fires were underway.
'The ultimate responsibility for fighting fires is the state premiers and the state emergency services,' Mr Kelly said.
'The only thing the national leader can actually do on this is basically wait until he gets response from those state premiers asking for more resources.'
Mr Kelly denied embarrassing the government with the interview, despite his comments putting him at odds with the prime minister.
'The only people who are denying things are those that think... these bushfires could have been stopped if we had sent more money to China to buy more solar panels,' Mr Kelly told ABC.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Kelly apologised to Ms Tobin, after his Facebook post criticising her attracted unfavourable comments.
Ms Tobin also then corrected Mr Kelly who said Australia had the largest growth in renewable energies in the world, telling him that was in fact India
'I apologise to Ms Tobin to referring to her as the weather girl, as I understood that this was her position on the TV show,' he told News Corp.
'However I now understand that she is a meteorologist who reads the weather for that station.'
Earlier, Mr Kelly had said Australia's resources were limited and needed to prioritise resources towards hazard reduction rather than renewable energy infrastructure.
The prime minister claimed on Sunday his government had always made the connection between climate change and extreme weather conditions.
Scientists have disputed claims a lack of hazard reduction burns have led to the size of the bushfires, with some ex-fire chiefs blaming the effects of climate change. | 1,267,357 |
CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was ejected after launching into a tirade after being denied a timeout, with teammates and even an umpire needing to hold him back Wednesday night in Cincinnati's 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Already having struck out twice, Votto had a 1-1 count with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth when he took a called second strike. He exchanged words with plate umpire Bill Welke, looked as if he was appealing to his dugout and was tossed. Votto slammed down his batting helmet, hollering and gesturing as he went nose-to-nose with Welke.
"My understanding is that Joey asked for time, and Welke didn't grant it," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "That's what got it started.
"When Joey looked over, that, to me, was my sign to get out there and make sure I had an understanding of what was going on in that situation. By the time I got there, Joey had been ejected," Price said. "At that point in time, I did not know, but by the time I got isolated with Bill at home plate, we did both come to the conclusion that Joey had asked for timeout, and Bill didn't feel like he was going to give him timeout for whatever -- due to whatever history had happened.
"So our argument is, of course, a guy asks for timeout, you give him timeout, and then you give him a certain period of time out of the box, and then you insist he gets back in the box or you put the ball in play. Those are some of the options."
The dispute quickly escalated, and Reds teammates intervened to restrain Votto, with first-base umpire Laz Diaz helping to prevent him from reaching Welke. Price also was ejected.
"You can argue about how you act when you're upset," Price said. "Joey was upset. Bill was upset. I was upset. There were a lot of upset people out there."
Votto had left the clubhouse when reporters arrived after the game. Welke declined to comment.
Votto was ejected after the Reds had scored once in the eighth to cut the Pirates' lead to 5-3. Ramon Cabrera batted for Votto and singled for his first major league hit.
The ejection was Votto's third this season. He also was ejected on May 6 in Pittsburgh and served a one-game suspension for bumping umpire Chris Conroy. Price was ejected for the third time also, including one before the start of a game in Cleveland on May 23.
Jung Ho Kang hit Pittsburgh's first grand slam of the season, a tiebreaking shot in the sixth inning that gave the Pirates a 5-1 lead. The Pirates hold the top spot in the NL wild-card race.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 1,267,358 |
on Feb. 13 following news reports indicating that the Trump White House had been warned by Obama administration officials that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak and was therefore compromised and potentially vulnerable to blackmail.
White House officials including Pence, who had declared publicly that Flynn never discussed sanctions, said they had been misled.
The court case Friday concerns a series of conversations that Flynn had with Kislyak during the transition period between the November election and the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Prosecutors say Flynn on Dec. 29 spoke with an unnamed senior transition team official about what, if anything, to say about sanctions that had been imposed on Russia one day earlier by the Obama administration in retaliation for election interference. Flynn then requested the Russian ambassador “not escalate the situation” and respond “in a reciprocal manner,” a conversation that prosecutors say he then reported to transition team members.
Two former transition officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter, identified McFarland as the unnamed official.
The court papers do not allege that there was anything illegal about Flynn’s conversations with the Russians — but his lies about the talks amounted to a felony.
Still, if the Trump transition made secret back-door assurances to Russian diplomats, that could potentially run afoul of the Logan Act, a 1799 law that bars private American citizens from attempting to intervene in “disputes or controversies” between the United States and foreign powers without government approval.
Another conversation with Kislyak occurred one week earlier after a “very senior member” of the presidential transition team directed Flynn to contact foreign government officials, including from Russia, about a U.N. Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. That “very senior member” was identified to AP as Kushner by a former transition official.
In a striking rupture with past practice, the Obama administration refrained from vetoing the condemnation of the settlement expansion, opting instead to abstain. The rest of the 15-nation council, including Russia, voted unanimously against Israel. At the time, Israel was lobbying furiously against the resolution and the Trump team spoke up on behalf of the Jewish state.
Former U.S. officials and foreign diplomats said Kushner led the effort to defeat that U.N. vote.
During his conversation with Kislyak, prosecutors say, Flynn requested that Russia vote against or delay the resolution, though he admitted in his plea deal that he later lied to the FBI by saying he had not made that request.
Mueller’s team announced charges in October against three other Trump campaign officials, former chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates, and a former campaign foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his own foreign contacts.
___
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Jonathan Lemire, Michael Biesecker, Desmond Butler and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. | 1,267,359 |
Mark Burgess built a £350 wooden shelter for the homeless and gave it to a couple in Cardiff (Picture: BPM)
A man built a cabin for homeless people to sleep in and then spent Christmas Eve looking for someone who could use the portable shelter.
Mark Burgess, from Llanrumney, made the wooden shelter – which can be moved around on wheels and comes with a fire alarm, light, insulation, ventilation and a lock – to provide a dry space for a homeless person to sleep and a safe place to keep belongings.
How to volunteer to help the homeless this winter
After creating the shelter, Mark spent his Christmas Eve looking for people sleeping rough to ensure they had somewhere dry to wake up on the morning of December 25.
Mark, 35, said: ‘I walked around Cardiff on Christmas Eve and when I got to St Mary Street I saw a couple with a dog. I talked to them for a while and even though I had built it for one person they seemed keen so I took the guy to see it.’
Mark said the couple – Sion, who is 34, and Sherrie, 28 – were on the street with their dog Taff.
The couple used the shelter on Christmas Eve (Picture: Wales News Service)
‘He had promised her they would be off the street by next Christmas,’ Mark said.
‘He was really happy about the shelter. It can be pulled like a wheelbarrow but it has removable wheels so they can take the wheels off if they find a spot.
Trump Tower evacuated due to a bag of toys
‘There’s a handle on the other end to pull it. The inside is covered in insulation and there’s an adjustible ventilation inside if it gets too stuffy.
‘I also put a battery-operated light switch and a fire alarm in there.
‘And it locks from the inside and out so they can leave their things there.’
Mark, who owns a repairs and recoat company for architectural metal, said he decided to build the mobile cabins following recent cold nights and wanted to help those on the street stay dry and warmer as temperatures fall.
The shelter has a lock and can be moved on wheels (Picture: BPM)
The shelter took three days to make and Mark now wants to create more shelters in a similar style but using lighter materials.
He added: ‘The one I just made was quite heavy. I could pull it but an older person would struggle so I want the next one to be lighter. This one cost around £350 so I’m trying to raise money to make the next one.
‘I want to continue making more so that more homeless people can have a dry and safe place to stay.’
You can make a donation to help Mark make more shelters here. | 1,267,360 |
NEW DELHI: Indian e-commerce major Flipkart has finally launched its customer loyalty program -- Flipkart Plus -- in the country. Flipkart Plus takes on arch-rival Amazon's loyalty programme Amazon Prime Starting today, Flipkart Plus is live for customers to join in. Interested users can either go to company's website or sign-in through the Flipkart app.Unlike Amazon Prime, Flipkart Plus has no annual subscription fee. To become a member, users just need to go to Flipkart Plus page and enroll for the membership programme. Those users who enroll today (August 15) for Flipkart Plus can enjoy the benefits for the next one year. This means that the membership will expire on August 15, 2019.As part of Flipkart Plus, the customers can enjoy exclusive benefits and rewards. The Flipkart Plus members will get free and fast delivery, early access to exclusive deals during Flipkart sales.Along with this, the Flipkart Plus members will also be eligible for priority customer support. One of the biggest benefits of Flipkart Plus is that it enables members to earn rewards in the form of Flipkart Plus coins with every purchase that they make on the e-commerce website. The coins earned can then be redeemed in the form of offers on beverages, food, entertainment, travel and more.Every spend of Rs 250 will earn Flipkart Plus customers one Flipkart Plus coin. As part of introductory offer the e-tailer is giving some offers for free. As part of welcome offers Flipkart Plus members will get Rs 400 instant discount on flight bookings from ixigo, buy one beverage and get one beverage free from ChaiPoint, Rs 100 off on movie tickets from bookmyshow and one beverage free on the purchase of Rs 499.Along with this, the company has also listed some upcoming offers which can be redeemed if you have a minimum balance of 50 coins. With the balance of 50 coins the customers can choose from various offers which include Flipkart voucher of worth Rs 1,000, voucher of Rs 1,200 from bookmyshow, annual subscription of Zomato Gold worth Rs 1,900, gift card of Rs 1,100 from MakeMyTrip and annual subscription of Hotstar Premium.In an official post the company said, "At Flipkart, we strive to make your shopping experience delightful. From introducing Cash on Delivery to No Cost EMIs, from Debit Card EMIs and Assured Buyback, to our much-loved Pay Later program, we have been innovating to make your shopping affordable and enjoyable. Ten years and counting, our motto “Customer First” continues to be the driving force behind all our initiatives. Now, on India’s 72nd Independence Day, we celebrate the spirit of “More” with Flipkart Plus — our very own customer benefits program, which treats you to a little extra each time you shop on Flipkart." | 1,267,361 |
What’s more, while Crimea and Sevastopol have both grown rapidly, they remain among Russia’s poorest regions.
“Measuring real incomes in Russia as a whole is tricky,” Hanson said. “The official numbers show a net fall in per-capita real disposable incomes for the Russian population between 2014 and the first half of 2019. If real incomes have declined in Crimea, it would be part of a national experience. The same is true of inflation, which touched an annual rate in Russia of 17 percent in 2015. The average money income figures for Crimea and for Sevastopol show them as rising relative to the national average in 2015-18, though remaining below that average figure.”
If Russian firms cannot supply certain products or services, then people have to leave Crimea to acquire them
Perhaps most troubling of all is the fact that, five years after the annexation took place, the peninsula’s long-term fate remains up in the air. Most of the world still considers it a Ukrainian territory, but Ukrainian citizens must pass through a government checkpoint before making their way to Russian passport control to gain entry into Crimea. Why would businesses, either domestic or international, choose to operate in such a climate of uncertainty?
Although Chinese firms may come to Crimea’s aid, even this is far from guaranteed. Crimea’s population stands at around two million – perhaps not large enough of an incentive for businesses to risk being hit by sanctions at a time when global trade tensions are already inflamed. As a result, the likelihood of the region seeing much long-term investment – outside of what Russia sends its way – remains slim.
The wider corporate world may have taken a dim view of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but that isn’t necessarily representative of the opinions being voiced on the streets of Simferopol and Sevastopol. “Surveys repeatedly show that the vast majority of Crimean citizens are happy about rejoining Russia – this mood has remained consistent,” Skorobogatov said. “My personal experience of talking with people from the peninsula is fully in line with the results of these polls.”
Gumenyuk has a different view, however: “No, I wouldn’t agree that there is optimism. I was in Crimea during the ‘anniversary’ and, yes, there was a small group of pro-Russians, but this is a marginal group. Most of the people are simply trying to adjust to the new reality of living in Crimea.”
Disinformation, unpredictability and confusion help explain why such opposing observations can exist alongside one another. These three strings of Putin’s political bow have proved hugely effective at catching the West off guard; they’re less successful when it comes to attracting investment. In Crimea – where the economy is concerned, at least – it appears there is more work to be done. | 1,267,362 |
Bitcoin News Bitcoin Traded Most With Asian Fiat Currencies: Report
There are many metrics to ascertain the popularity of bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading in different geographic regions across the world. One of them is the most traded fiat currencies chart which has revealed some interesting results.
Asia Still Big on Bitcoin
Unsurprisingly the US dollar was the top traded fiat currency according to statistics from Coinhills.com. With 64% of the 450,000 or so, BTC traded every day in USD, the greenback is the clear winner. This is not to say that America is necessarily the top country since many international exchanges offer trading pairs in USD. Bank accounts in USD are also popular across the world as it is currently the world’s dominant currency.
The second most popular fiat currency used to trade bitcoin is the Japanese yen. Japan alone has over 22% of the total trade since yen pairs are not likely to be offered outside the island nation. Crypto trading and adoption is big in Japan which has a very pro-active government and a solid regulatory framework. In this respect, the US is lagging way behind as lawmakers continue to procrastinate on approval of crypto-related investment products.
Thirdly came South Korea with the won accounting for almost 10% of the total. Again it is likely that these pairs will only be offered in Korea, unlike the USD which is a global currency. Time and time again market movements have been driven by the Asian trading session and with both Japan and Korea accounting for a third of all fiat-based bitcoin trading it is not surprising.
Little Love For BTC in Europe
After the top three, which accounted for a total of over 95% of all bitcoin/fiat trading, the numbers started to tail off sharply. The Euro came in fourth which is also not surprising since it accounts for a federation of countries. The Euro is the official currency of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union but it only accounts for 1.5% of all bitcoin trading. Europe is a long way behind Asia and the US in terms of crypto and bitcoin trading it seems but some nations are higher than others.
Although struggling to free itself from the grips of the EU, the UK came fifth with the GBP accounting for just one percent of all bitcoin trading according to the stats. Bitcoin adoption in the UK is virtually non-existent and trading is only done by a tiny minority. Poland is another country in the region that is a little higher than the rest but the Zloty accounts for less than 0.5% of the total.
The statistics show a clear dominance for Asia, specifically Japan and South Korea. China could not be measured since trading there is mostly OTC and the stats were derived from currencies, markets, and exchanges registered at Coinhills. Including China, and possibly India would probably have Asian dominance even higher.
Are bitcoin markets driven by Asian trading? Add your thoughts below.
Images via Shutterstock, Bitcoinist Image Library | 1,267,363 |
Holli McCann was sent home from a school trip for eating chocolate (Picture: Masons)
A girl of 11 was booted off a school trip to the Isle of Wight – after being caught tucking into a chocolate snack.
Holli McCann, 11, was told she would have to return home after enjoying a midnight feast with pals.
Her secret snack was discovered only when she wrote about it to her mother Kerri in a letter – which was read by a member of staff from Bromet Primary School, in Watford.
A search of Holli’s room at Beaufort House Hotel, in Sandown, was ordered and more chocolate was found – prompting staff to remove the lining of the youngster’s suitcase and empty her toilet bag.
Mrs McCann was then telephoned by headteacher Yvonne Graves and told that she would have to make the trip from her home in Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, to collect her daughter, claiming she had breached a behaviour ‘charter’.
Despite pleading for leniency, 47-year-old Mrs McCann was told that if Holli was not picked up she would be forced to attend all the planned activities on the week-long trip but would be banned from taking part in them.
‘I am still in shock, I complained to the head but she still hasn’t contacted me after making me go all the way to the Isle of Wight, which ended up costing me an absolute fortune,’ she said.
‘I am furious that they read her letter, it is like being in prison. It’s not like she is five – she is 11 and deserves privacy in what she writes to her mum.
‘Holli said she was really upset because they emptied her toiletry bag into the sink and pulled out the lining in her suitcase.
‘She was very upset for a few days after coming back.’
Mrs McCann has since taken Holli out of the school for the rest of her final term and made a formal complaint. She has also written to education secretary Michael Gove.
‘What Holli did was wrong but your own behaviour and handling of the situation was disgraceful,’ she wrote.
‘I am astonished at the way you behaved and have decided that Holli will not be returning to Bromet for obvious reasons.’
A Hertfordshire County Council spokesman said: ‘Before the Year 6 trip to the Isle of Wight, parents and pupils were asked to sign a behaviour charter which clearly outlines how pupils should behave during the trip.
‘This is to ensure that everyone can have a safe and enjoyable holiday. It was made clear that breaking any of the rules within the charter would result in parents being asked to take their child home, as was the case with this pupil.’ | 1,267,364 |
yet, in spite of the increased risks to a woman’s health and safety that are posed by having abdominal surgery as opposed to delivering vaginally, very few women are empowered to truly make informed decisions about the childbirth process. And even when women do access the information necessary to make such decisions, their actual options are often limited.
Homebirth and freestanding birth centers are rarely covered by health insurance—even in states with midwife-friendly legislation—which means that for many women anything but the typical medicalized childbirth is simply out of financial reach. And leaving aside the actual childbirth process for a moment, let’s think about the “depression, feelings of guilt, sleep disturbance, loss of interest in work or sex, or anger” that women must be told they might experience after an abortion. Where are the laws mandating that women be told they might experience depression and a diminished sex-drive while caring for a newborn?
Any notion of “informed consent” should also include a thorough, accurate, and non-biased education about healthy sexuality—an education that should start at a young age, and should empower everyone to increase their protection from STDs and to make truly informed contraceptive and reproductive choices. This education is vital for everyone, but perhaps even more urgently needed for female-bodied people, who tend to be given even less information about our sexual and reproductive health than men. One need look no further than Florida’s recent uterus debacle for an example of just how far away we are from a culture that truly informs us about our bodies.
It doesn’t take much to see the degree of hypocrisy at work. Our lawmakers only take great pains to detail every bit of information a woman must be given when their own agendas—not her health and safety—are at stake. Women should, of course, be given straightforward and accurate information about the nature of the procedure that will be performed, as well as necessary information about any possible complications and warning signs of those complications during recovery—the same that would be expected for any medical procedure, for anyone. But—and this feels like stating the obvious—the precise measurements and features of a fetus are simply not part of the information required to make an educated choice about abortion, nor do they have any bearing whatsoever on the safety of the procedure.
Informing and empowering women to make truly informed decisions about any aspect of sexual and reproductive health is simply not on the conservative agenda, and abortion is no exception to that rule. The very possibility of consent—whether one is consenting to a sexual encounter or a medical procedure—requires actually having choices, and being empowered to make an autonomous decision. Any legislation that aims to exert ideological influence over a woman’s reproductive choices is about attempting to control her choices, not about informing and trusting her to make choices of her own. And that’s anything but empowering. No coerced “choice” can ever truly be labeled “consent.” | 1,267,365 |
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange slammed efforts to officially class his whistleblowing organization as a “non-state hostile intelligence service” – branding it an attempt to put the ‘Pompeo Doctrine’ into law.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is proposing a provision in its annual ‘intelligence authorisation’ bill to declare WikiLeaks as such.
“It is the sense of Congress that WikiLeaks and the senior leadership of WikiLeaks resemble a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors and should be treated as such a service by the United States,” the bill states.
Published Friday, the bill was passed by the committee late last month on a 14-1 vote. Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon voted against the measure citing the “legal, constitutional and policy implications” that the WikiLeaks provision may entail.
.@RonWyden announces he voted against Intel Authorization Act due to concerns that language targeting @WikiLeaks could chill journalism pic.twitter.com/Ey3zBSTupt — Dustin Volz (@dnvolz) August 22, 2017
Assange tweeted a statement describing it as “absurd” to brand media organizations in such a way.
“It is equivalent to suggesting that the CIA is a media organization. Publishers publish what they obtain,” Assange said. “Intelligence agencies do not.”
My statement responding to the U.S. Senate Intel Committee's attempt to place the "Pompeo doctrine" into law.
More: https://t.co/ZmZenqzh7kpic.twitter.com/Kra0T7jSID — Julian Assange 🔹 (@JulianAssange) August 23, 2017
“It is an interesting thought experiment to consider where other media outlets lay on this spectrum. It is clear that if the 'Pompeo doctrine' applies to WikiLeaks then it applies equally if not more so to other serious outlets," he added.
US intelligence agencies have accused Russia of hacking emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and relaying the data to WikiLeaks for publication.
In April, CIA Director Mike Pompeo branded WikiLeaks a "hostile non-state intelligence agency" which should not be afforded the protections of the First Amendment under the constitution.
CIA Dir Pompeo claims "Assange has no 1st Amendment freedoms" after Washington Post Op Ed https://t.co/bhqFcXTzzehttps://t.co/1zZWAjJUVY — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 14, 2017
In March, WikiLeaks began publishing a series of leaks – codenamed ‘Vault 7,’ allegedly from the CIA, revealing the agency’s arsenal of hacking tools.
READ MORE: CIA’s secret spy tool helps agency steal data from NSA & FBI, WikiLeaks reveals | 1,267,366 |
Last updated on: December 20, 2013 14:33 IST
Corporate India will make their presence felt in big numbers in Bharatiya Janata Party’s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s rally at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex on Sunday, reports Prasanna D Zore.
Including the crème de la crème of the Mumbai’s financial world and their wives, almost 100 top corporate honchos will be in attendance to hear Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi speak at the Bandra Kurla complex, a nouveau business district that is home to their offices.
Maharashtra BJP Treasurer Shaina Nana Chudasama, who is coordinating with maximum city’s top-deck businessmen, confirmed that invites have been sent to “30 corporate couples”, and they are likely to attend Modi’s Maha Garjana rally on Sunday.
She, however, refused to name names when asked if invites have been sent to the Tatas, Birlas, Ambanis among other top-notch industrialists in the city. “You come there on December 22 and you will know who all will be in attendance,” she told Rediff.com.
Also Read: 8 lakh 'theplas', 2 crore emails for Modi's Mumbai rally
Significantly, if these numbers actually make their presence felt at the rally, says a BJP office-bearer refusing to be identified for this report, it will provide a huge fillip to Narendra Modi’s corporate-friendly image and “will be an indication of Modiji’s acceptability as a progressive, pro-reform, decisive leader among India’s top corporate leadership.”
Not that Narendra Modi had any dearth of support from industrialists if one were to take a look at the number of new industries being set up in Gujarat during his first two stints at the state’s helm as its chief minister.
While industrialists have openly mingled with BJP’s PM-in-waiting during Vibrant Gujarat summits and other business fora in India and abroad, this will be the first time industrialists and top honchos will be rubbing shoulders at a political meeting organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party rally, giving it a political hue.
Among other efforts to bolster Narendra Modi’s image as a reformist messiah, the organisers of the Maha Garjana rally said that as many as 14,000 participants belonging to various corporate entities in Mumbai have confirmed their participation in response to direct mailers.
Divya Dholay, Mumbai BJP secretary and also a member of the party unit’s social media team, said “online registration is our main focus” and mailers have been sent to every single business entity in Mumbai. | 1,267,367 |
President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE lashed out at two top Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday, accusing them of pushing a false narrative surrounding his conversation with the president of Ukraine.
At a press conference at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump went after Reps. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffSchiff to subpoena top DHS official, alleges whistleblower deposition is being stonewalled Schiff claims DHS is blocking whistleblower's access to records before testimony GOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power MORE (D-Calif.) and Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.), the chairmen of the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees, respectively.
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"When you see little Adam Schiff go out and lie and lie and stand at the mic — smart guy, by the way — stand at the mic and act like he's so serious. And then he goes into a room with Nadler, and they must laugh their asses off," Trump said. "They must laugh their asses off."
"But it's so bad for our country. People have said... they don't know if one man anywhere in the world with all the men they know — or woman — that could handle what I've had to handle," he added.
The president used his press conference to blast the Democrats' announced plans for an impeachment inquiry targeting him, calling it an excuse for Democrats to seek his removal in a manner outside of a voting booth.
Trump has battled criticism from Democratic lawmakers for days over his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It intensified on Wednesday with the release of a memo detailing the conversation between the two leaders.
The memo showed that Trump had urged Zelensky to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE, with Trump telling the Ukrainian leader he should speak with Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting CIA found Putin 'probably directing' campaign against Biden: report Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE about allegations against the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
The White House has maintained that transcripts of the call show that no quid pro quo was offered by Trump relating to Ukrainian aid and an investigation into Biden, while Democrats have argued that what was said in the call constitutes an impeachable offense. | 1,267,368 |
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
When it comes to making new friends, status symbols actually repel people from making friends with us, according to new research published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
"Often times we think that status symbols—whether a luxury car like a BMW, a brand name purse like Prada, or an expensive watch like Rolex—will make us look more socially attractive to others," says Stephen Garcia (University of Michigan). "However, our research suggests that these status signals actually make us look less socially attractive, not more."
The scientists conducted a series of six studies, where participants either presented themselves as possible friends, or they were the people evaluating who they would want to be their friends. Throughout the studies, people presenting themselves to a new group chose higher status items. Yet for the people asked about who they would want to be friends with, they preferred people with lower or neutral status symbols.
To control for the possibility that a luxury good might play a role in people's reactions, the researchers conducted a study where they asked people which of two plain t-shirts participants would wear to a picnic in their efforts to make new friends. One t-shirt had "Walmart" written on it in plain script, and the other t-shirt had "Saks Fifth Avenue" written on it in plain script.
While the shirts were not luxury items, 76% of the participants who presented themselves as new friends chose to wear the t-shirt that said, "Saks Fifth Avenue," whereas 64% of the would-be friends chose the person wearing the "Walmart" t-shirt.
The results appear to be consistent across socioeconomic groups. The only difference is that what is considered high status depends on one's socioeconomic status.
"At a societal level, we may be wasting billions of dollars on expensive status symbols that ultimately keep others from wanting to associate with us," says Kimberlee Weaver Livnat (University of Haifa). "And to the extent that close friendships are important to well-being, we may be inadvertently hurting ourselves."
One next step is to delve into the mechanism of why presenters are making this error, say the authors. Is it that people often fail to take the perspective of others who are evaluating them as potential friends? Or do they accurately understand the perspective of the potential friends, but for some reason, chose status symbols when presenting themselves anyway?
Does this mean that status symbols are always bad? "No, not necessarily" says Patricia Chen (National University of Singapore). "Our findings right now only apply to the formation of new friendships. Status symbols may very well be beneficial at other times and in other settings, such as when trying to establish new business contacts." Their last study in the paper finds that signaling high status symbols can, in fact, be helpful in attracting potential contacts, although not remarkably more than neutral status symbols.
Explore further Perceived socioeconomic status can affect how old we feel | 1,267,369 |
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (center) looks on with John Bolton, the national security adviser, as President Donald Trump met Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, in Washington last year. (The New York Times/File) White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (center) looks on with John Bolton, the national security adviser, as President Donald Trump met Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, in Washington last year. (The New York Times/File)
Written by Michael D. Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis
John Kelly, the retired Marine general tapped as chief of staff by President Donald Trump last year to bring order to his chaotic White House, will leave the job by the end of the year, Trump said Saturday, the latest departure from the president’s inner circle after a bruising midterm election for his party.
Trump, speaking with reporters on the White House lawn before departing for the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, said that he would announce a replacement for Kelly in the next day or two.
“John Kelly will be leaving — I don’t know if I can say ‘retiring,’” Trump said. “But he’s a great guy. John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year.”
The leading candidate to replace Kelly is Nick Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence’s 36-year-old chief of staff and a Republican political operative, who possesses the kind of savvy about campaigns that Trump has craved. Kelly, a career military officer before becoming Trump’s first homeland security secretary, lacked such experience.
Kelly’s coming departure leaves Trump with an ever-shrinking team of close advisers as he begins to navigate the new power structure on Capitol Hill that will be ushered in next month when Democrats assume control of the House.
Although the president had made a display of saying that Kelly, 68, would stay through the 2020 re-election effort, the chief of staff was blunt with several people in the White House that he planned to make it only through the midterms.
Presidents typically make changes in staffing after midterm elections.
Kelly’s departure adds another prominent name to the list of core advisers who have left after trying to manage the president through his nearly two years in office, often finding themselves shunned and sidelined for their efforts.
Kelly’s resignation had long been rumored, amid signs that he and Trump had grown irritated with each other. The president — as freewheeling as Kelly is methodical — privately fumed that he thought his chief was hiding things from him, and frequently upbraided him in the West Wing on matters large and small.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines
For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App. | 1,267,370 |
Responding to a book written by an author documenting his struggles as a gay Christian, a Baptist minister wrote the author a very un-Christian email saying “I pray that you will commit suicide.”
Pastor Logan Robertson of the Westcity Bible Baptist Church in Auckland, New Zealand wrote the email to Jim Marjoram, author of the book ‘It’s Life Jim,’ written to promote a more gay-friendly Christianity, reports The New Zealand Herald
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In the email, Robertson wrote, “We are not interested in your filthy lifestyle or book. The Bible says you are vile, strange (queer), reprobate, filth, sodomite, natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed. I pray that you will commit suicide, you filthy child molesting fag.”
After being informed that his email had created outrage on social media, Robertson denied doing anything wrong, telling NZME News Service, “I didn’t tell him to go and commit suicide. I said I prayed that he would. All I did was write what I wrote, and then I prayed about it that he would, and that’s it. There’s nothing more to say.”
Marjoram, who was previously involved in Christian ex-gay groups, said he wasn’t bothered by the email.
“I guess he just sort of epitomizes what a lot of fundamentalists and that type of really heavy religious people [have as] attitudes,” he said. “I realized it’s exactly the sort of reason why I created my support group, because of people like him and those attitudes that…creep through the church.”
An openly gay reporter from One News attempted to speak with Robertson to allow him to defend the email, but Robertson — who admitted he was familiar with the reporter’s sexual orientation — said he wouldn’t give an interview to a “filthy faggot,” adding that he hoped that reporter would commit suicide too.
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In a later interview, Robertson admitted, “I think every single one of them should be put to death. Christians shouldn’t be doing it, I’m not going to do it, it’s the Government’s job to be doing it.”
Robertson’s comments come right after a Baptist minister in Arizona promised an “AIDS-free Christmas” if all gays are killed, as God commands.
Recently, Christian anti-gay activist Scott Lively assisted the government of Uganda in instituting a ‘kill the gays’ law.
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Lively is currently being sued in federal court for violating U.S. law by trying to influence the laws of a foreign country.
Watch the video below from One News: | 1,267,371 |
Is this the world’s largest great white shark?
Is this the world’s largest great white shark?
WARNING: GRAPHIC, DISTRESSING
A fisherman and moderator of a popular Facebook group has used the body of a dead shark as a bong, prompting widespread criticism on social media.
The shocking video, which appears on popular group Fried Fishing Australia, shows the man holding the lifeless body of a small shark with a pipe stuck in its head and another pipe protruding from below its fin.
The man then lights the pipe, sucking from it before exhaling, appearing to laugh speak, while the “Baby Shark” kids song plays.
The group defended the post, explaining that the shark was “caught by my mate when we were fishing for mangrove jacks on Friday.”
“After two nights left in the ice box I came up with the idea. There is no possible way it was alive.”
In a follow up post, Fried Fishing Australia said the complaints have led to police have visiting the man in the video.
“I just want to say thanks to the bunch of sooks who have complained to the point of the police visiting,” he wrote. “Honestly I quit.”
The Facebook group is known for posting gory pictures and videos of sea creatures caught by an individual, who has once been identified as commercial fisherman Billy Brislane.
Mr Brislane posted photos of himself after catching five bull sharks in one day at the Macleay River. The posts were featured in the Fried Fishing group.
Fried Fishing also added a clarification that the substance being smoked through the dead shark wasn’t illicit drugs but was legal tobacco.
“It was tobacco I’d happily take a drug test to prove.”
In another video recently posted, a man who appears to be Mr Brislane holds a live fish up to his nipple until it bites him and he drops it on the deck of his boat.
The post attracted negative comments, however the fisherman has enjoyed some support.
“F*** the media and any b***hurt w***er on Facebook that is offended,” one fan wrote on Facebook.
“F*** them Billy!! Start doing FF fishing charters, and push the rats overboard,” another commenter wrote.
“Get some Fried Fishing shirts made up, I’ll buy one!”
Other commenters weren’t so impressed, writing: “Can’t say I’ll be buying any flake from the takeaway anytime soon.
“I hope all professional fisherman aren’t handling our food like this.
“Yuk.”
News.com.au spoke with Mr Brislane for this article. | 1,267,372 |
to flee or turn against you.
Librarian Space Marine (Paladin) – Psyker Archetype
The most powerful Adeptus Astartes are often those trained to develop their psyker talents, learning everything a space marine does as well as how to focus and harness the power of the aether to devastating effect. If the apothecaries are the heart of a chapter and chaplains their zealous voice, librarians are truly the soul of a company of battle-brothers.
Oath Spells
Level
3rd protection from evil and good, sanctuary
5th lesser restoration, prayer of healing
9th blinding smite, dispel magic
13th banishment, staggering smite
17th banishing smite, dispel evil and good (evil only)
Channel Divinity
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options.
Damn the Warp. As an action, you present your holy symbol and briefly unfetter your mind while willing your soul to the God-Emperor’s divinity. Blessed psionic energies roil outward from you, dealing 1d8 damage per point of proficiency bonus you possess to all daemons, Chaos, fiends, and Warp-spawned creatures within 30 feet. Half of this damage is psychic and half is radiant. A successful Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC halves this damage.
Sacred Weapon. As an action, you can imbue one weapon that you are holding with positive energy, using your Channel Divinity. For 1 minute, you add your Charisma modifier to attack rolls made with that weapon (with a minimum bonus of +1). The weapon also emits bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light 20 feet beyond that. If the weapon is not already magical, it becomes magical for the duration. You can end this effect on your turn as part of any other action. If you are no longer holding or carrying this weapon, or if you fall unconscious, this effect ends.
Focused Mind
Beginning at 7th level, you have resistance against psychic damage. In addition, you have advantage on saving throws to resist the charmed and frightened conditions.
Powerful Soul
Starting at 15th level, you have advantage on saving throws against spells or effects from daemons and Warp-spawn.
Master Librarian
At 20th level, you have achieved the peak mastery over your psyker talent and are counted among a select honored space marines. You have immunity to fear, the charmed condition, and psychic damage. Whenever you score a critical hit against a creature with the Psyker feat or feature, daemon, Chaos, or Warp-spawn creature, you automatically cast blinding smite or staggering smite (expending a spell slot as normal but not an action to cast the spell; if you have no spell slots available this feature does not activate). | 1,267,373 |
news, latest-news
It's the Australian Public Service level where you finally get to lead a team, have input into some major business decisions and, in most cases, take home a six-figure salary. Yes, most public servants aspire to be an Executive Level 1 (EL1) for most of their careers - and now there's a T-shirt to wear when you've finally "made it". Canberra creative agency Foundry has just released a new series of T-shirts, including our personal favourite - the very Canberran Acting EL1 shirt. Foundry creative director Mat Colley's clever design recognises that it's actually those people acting in an EL1 role who have the best perks - they get to take home an EL1 salary for a few months but also retain the option of returning to APS6 level and the benefit of flex leave. "It really is the best of both worlds," Colley said. He said he designed the Acting EL1 T-shirt as a cheeky tribute to his home town and as a Christmas gift option for hard-to-buy-for public servant friends. "I grew up in Canberra and I love all its quirks and how we all speak in acronyms and public service language," he said. "I did a short stint at the ATO before launching Foundry and was fascinated by the public service culture. "I wanted to design a shirt that was a bit of an in-joke - something that only Canberrans would get." Colley, a graphic designer whose client list includes several federal government departments, has been designing and printing T-shirts as a hobby for more than a decade. While the initial print-run of Acting EL1 shirts is small, Colley has a printing press in his Fyshwick office and is ready to print more quickly if the shirts prove popular. "It's designed as a conversation starter - my dream is to see all the Acting EL1s out there in their shirts having a pint in a beer garden over summer," he said. In other public service news, we understand Canberrans are now using "EL2" as a verb in situations outside of work - as in, "she EL2ed me". The verb apparently means to approach a problem in an unnecessarily complicated way, ensuring that a consensus is reached for every tiny step along the way. Read the story of a Canberra mum being "EL2ed" in a school playground here. Foundry's T-shirt collection can be found online at http://foundryco.com.au/store/ Follow Bree Winchester on Instagram and Facebook
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/d7031058-8193-4fbc-88f6-90467bb81169/r0_132_2000_1262_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg | 1,267,374 |
Ten of the best pictures which tell the story of the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Friday practice
Friday practice for Mercedes looked more like a dress rehearsal for the race with the two W04s running line astern. But it was Lewis Hamilton who finished ahead of Rosberg on Sunday after the latter was told to hold his position.
Tyre wear was a significant problem during Friday running as can be seen from the condition of Rosberg’s rear tyres.
Paul di Resta, Force India, Friday practice
Paul di Resta locks a right-front tyre at turn 15 during practice.
The same corner of the car gave the team a lot of trouble in the race as they found themselves unable to change the tyre due to problems with their new wheel nuts. As a result both Force Indias had to retire.
Romain Grosjean, Lotus, Qualifying
Romain Grosjean keeps cool in the pits. Saturday did not go well for the Lotus driver as he failed to make it into Q3 when the rain came.
But he recovered in the race to finish sixth ahead of team mate and round one winner Kimi Raikkonen.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Qualifying
The top ten shoot-out hinged on which drivers elected to put a fresh set of intermediates on. Sebastian Vettel did and won pole position.
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Malaysian Grand Prix
Ferrari marked Fernando Alonso’s 200th appearance at a race weekend ahead of the start of the race.
Sergio Perez, McLaren, Malaysian Grand Prix
McLaren shelter Sergio Perez’s car from the rain on the grid.
Malaysian Grand Prix start
Alonso nudged Vettel at turn two shortly after the start. “It was a surprise to find him there, almost stopped,” he said afterwards.
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Malaysian Grand Prix
Alonso tried to press on without changing his damaged wing but his gamble failed and he retired at the start of lap two.
Jules Bianchi, Marussia, Malaysian Grand Prix
Jules Bianchi kept Valtteri Bottas behind him for seven laps early in the race, and had the other Williams of Pastor Maldonado on his tail later as well.
Podium, Malaysian Grand Prix
Smiles were in short supply on the podium as Vettel realised the trouble his refusal to follow team orders had caused him, Mark Webber fumed at his lost victory and Hamilton was unhappy at his team telling Rosberg to hold station.
More Malaysian Grand Prix pictures
Share your Malaysian Grand Prix pictures and video
Were you at Sepang last weekend? Share your pictures and video from the Malaysian Grand Prix here:
2013 Australian Grand Prix | 1,267,375 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13/AP) — The California Assembly approved legislation Wednesday that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives, sending the proposal to the state Senate that is expected to endorse it.
Lawmakers in the state Assembly voted 42-33 after a lengthy and emotional debate during which many lawmakers invoked their religious faith in arguing for and against the legislation. Assembly members were seen as the stumbling block to advancing the bill.
“I as a Christian do not pretend to know what God has in mind for all of us, why there is pain or suffering in this world. But I do know he is a merciful God. And we have the ability to allow others to have a choice,” said Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Pleasanton, who supported the measure. “I believe it is cruel – nothing short of cruel – to deny them that choice in their final hours and final days.”
Members of the California Assembly have passionate debate over "Right to Die" legislation. Vote expected soon. pic.twitter.com/6S36GvzzUJ — Derek Shore (@DerekShore) September 9, 2015
It was the second effort by lawmakers this year to allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication following the highly publicized case of 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, a California woman with brain cancer who moved to Oregon to legally take her life.
An earlier measure stalled amid religious opposition and hesitant Democrats. The renewed push comes after at least two dozen states have introduced aid-in-dying legislation this year, though none of the bills has passed.
Doctors are permitted to prescribe life-ending drugs in Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana.
The right-to-die movement has been galvanized by the high-profile case of Maynard, who argued in widely viewed online videos that she should have been able to access life-ending drugs in her home state.
It’s not clear where Gov. Jerry Brown, a lifelong Catholic, stands on the issue.
Religious groups and advocates for people with disabilities opposed a nearly identical California bill introduced earlier this year, saying it goes against the will of God and put terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death. The measure passed the state Senate but stalled in the Assembly.
Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, introduced the latest bill as part of a special legislative session on health care financing convened by the Democratic governor.
Brown has declined to take a position on right-to-die legislation, although his spokeswoman said earlier this year that he did not believe a special session on health care was the appropriate venue to consider it.
Advocates also have turned to the courts, and the right-to-die advocacy group Compassion and Choices has said it would attempt to qualify a 2016 ballot measure if proponents lose in the Legislature. | 1,267,376 |
ANAND: Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has sought Amul ’s expertise to source 2,000 cows from India to the Himalayan nation.Tobgay, who is on a nine-day tour to India, visited Anand's Amul Dairy on Tuesday.“I have grown up experiencing Amul. I have heard about this lovely city — Anand. Of course, I am delighted and honored to be here to pay my respects to the spirit of Sardar Patel and Dr Verghese Kurien,” Tobgay said after visiting the butter plant along with his 19-member delegation that included his wife Aum Tashi Doma and daughter Gelek Yangzom.“I also come from a family of farmers. I still have cows in my home and I know the importance of milk. My daughter is 15 years old but she is tall and big. It is all because of the power of milk,” he said, to the delight of officials of Amul Dairy and the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).“Bhutan wants to source 2,000 cows from India for dairy development there. Tobgay has sought our expertise in this project and we have assured him all the required co-operation from our side,” RS Sodhi, managing director of GCMMF that markets India’s largest food brand Amul, told TOI.Talking to media, he said the tiny Buddhist kingdom too has dairy co-operatives. “All over the world, wherever dairy co-operatives have come up, they are getting inspiration from Amul and Dr Verghese Kurien,” he said.GCMMF exports around Rs 36 crore per annum worth Amul products including butter, cheese, tetra pak milk, dairy whitener and flavoured milk to Bhutan where it has 10 distributors.Bhutan PM writing in the guest book after his visit to Amul Dairy in Anand. (TOI photo by Ashwin Rajput)Last October, Bhutan’s Department of Livestock (DoL) had released a dairy breed called ‘Karan Fries’ at its Samtse-based National Jersey Breeding Centre (NJBC) to provide more options of dairy breeds for the livestock farmers in the country. DoL had imported 30 Karan Fries from Haryana which were developed at the National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal by crossing Holstein Friesian cattle with Tharparkar, the Indian milch breed.At the Dr Verghese Kurien Memorial located inside Amul Dairy premises, Tobgay appreciated Amul’s hospitality. “Honored to visit Anand to pay my respect to Sardar Patel, a giant among men and Dr Verghese Kurien, an inspiration for people world over. Thank you team Amul for your hospitality,” he wrote in the guest book. | 1,267,377 |
What exactly happened during the "once in a decade" stock market rotation earlier this month that rocked investors? It might've just been a one-off technical move and not based on fundamentals.
A huge rotation out of momentum into value names took place suddenly last week. Many read the phenomenon as a warning sign as stocks with superior growth have led the market's bull run in recent years and said a rebound in interest rates was the catalyst. However, the reversal in momentum, which seemed to abate this week, could be explained by a sudden stop in tax loss harvesting, some on Wall Street said.
The idea is that investors often sell losing stocks to lower their tax bill from the capital increases, a technical move that's quintessential of a momentum trade — chasing winners and dumping losers. The amount of such activity might have decreased significantly last week due to speculations the Trump administration would pass a bill to reduce capital-gain taxes, therefore reducing the incentive to sell their losers.
"It's quite possible some of the dominant robo advisors could have assumed that the U.S. administration would indeed follow through with its proposal on Sept. 9, and decided to change their optimization to take this into account," Barclay's head of equity derivatives strategy Maneesh Deshpande said in a note on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump earlier this month floated a proposal to tie capital gains taxes to the inflation rate, which could lower the taxes investors pay on profits from selling assets. He eventually ruled out such a plan on Sept. 11. But the discussion around the proposal last week coincided with the change in stock leadership that shocked many investors.
Tax loss harvesters might have stopped selling losers and adding winners on the prospect that capital-gains taxes would go down, which could make tax loss selling less beneficial. Such a change could have caused the downturn in momentum due to less selling of falling stocks and less buying of rising names.
The amount of active tax loss harvesting has ballooned over the years as robo-advisers, which automatically allocate assets in a tax efficient way, gained popularity on Main Street. Robo-advisers now manage about $1 trillion assets, up from $240 billion in 2007, according to Barclays.
"Of course, it is also entirely possible that some other investors would have put on the trade in anticipation of such a proposal," Deshpande said.
The iShares S&P 500 Value ETF hit its highest level since January 2018 on Sept. 11 as the rotation hit its pinnacle.
Value, cyclical companies with low prices relative to earnings and book values tend to be sensitive to economic growth. However, embracing the group without a material change in the economy doesn't make a lot of sense, analysts warned.
"Absent an improvement in underlying economics, we believe that the recent shift in leadership is unlikely to persist," Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at Credit Suisse said in a note Monday. | 1,267,378 |
with African poverty.
Corrupt governance, poor education, poor health and sanitation, and extreme geography that made trade with the rest of the world difficult (if not impossible in some places) for nearly all of human history are responsible. Nordic countries aren’t nicer than some African nations just because they’re populated predominantly by whites.
They’re cleaner because, like the rest of Europe, they benefited from millennia of contact and trade with one another and other nations and cultures.
Sub-Saharan Africans simply didn’t have as much opportunity because they are, well, sub-Saharan.
Finally, O’Rourke said, “Again, let’s be very clear about what’s causing this and who the president is. He is an open, avowed racist and is encouraging more racism in this country, and this is incredibly dangerous for the United States of America right now.”
Let’s be clear, Mr. O’Rourke. The president isn’t an avowed racist. That’s an absurd comment. He also isn’t encouraging racism.
You and your ilk are.
You are the ones who use Marxist identity politics to pit racial and ethnic groups against one another.
You are the ones who have changed black America from increasingly prosperous as late as the 1960s and damaged that culture through welfare and ghettos, leaving out of wedlock childbirth and incarceration rates at stunning levels.
And you’ve done that to create an underclass to which you can always play the hero. You use minorities to get to office, abuse them while you’re there to make sure they still need you next time, and then you tell them it’s not their fault that they’re poor, mistreated, and under-educated.
Well, you’re right. It’s not their fault. It’s yours, Mr. O’Rourke.
So, what’s the point of all of this from Beto?
He’s flailing in the polls and flagging in person. Following the age-old Democrat doctrine of “don’t let a good crisis go to waste,” he’s trying to jump-start his campaign from atop a pile of innocents’ bodies, using racially charged invective.
You owe the president an apology.
But more than that, you and your fellow Democratic demagogues owe American minorities an apology for the political rape you’ve committed against them for nearly 50 years.
Oh, and while you’re at it, why not apologize to the families of those innocent victims you just climbed atop to spout bile-dripping lies?
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. | 1,267,379 |
外の照明でも利用できるようになる可能性があります。LED照明の光が当てられた歴史的建造物にスマートデバイスをかざせば、建物の説明や歴史的な背景を映像で見ることができる――そんな使い方も考えられます。
また、LED照明器具そのものに、この技術をつけてしまうこともできるでしょう。そうなれば、もっと気軽に幅広い用途でこの技術を利用することが可能になります。今後、さらなる「LED通信技術」の研究によって、店舗の商品、美術品、人物、建造物など、ネットワークに直接つながっていないモノでも、手軽に動画やWEBサイトなど様々な情報の発信源となる世界が実現できるかもしれません。ライトアップのための「光」があれば、モノとコンテンツを簡単に結びつけることができる――そんな未来が、もうすぐそこまで来ているのです。
【関連リンク】
Fujitsu Technology and Service Vision 関連リンク 認証基盤の充実、プライバシー保護、セキュリティ・インテリジェンスの三つの柱で、お客様の安心安全なICT環境の運用を支援します。 ▶セキュリティと事業継続 | 1,267,380 |
Exploring HAProxy 2.0 – Take a Tour through the New Features
HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress Controller for High-Performance Ingress
HAProxy Data Plane API: True Dynamic Configuration Management
Following the road paved by past releases, HAProxy 2.0 brings a powerful set of new core features as well as completely new functionality further improving its support for modern architectures.In a series of three webinars we’ll cover:
All the webinars are between 30-35 minutes long and are in English.
Continue on this page to find out more about the webinars and how to register for them.
Exploring HAProxy 2.0 – Take a Tour through the New Features
HAProxy 2.0 is packed with capabilities tailored for container and cloud environments, including cloud-native threading and logging, end-to-end HTTP/2, gRPC, Layer 7 retries, the new Data Plane API, traffic shadowing, the Kubernetes Ingress Controller…and more. Join us to get an overview of what’s new in the latest version of HAProxy!
We’ll cover:
Exciting features in HAProxy 2.0
Why this release means better support for container and cloud environments
Future directions in store for the next release
You can register for the webinar on the following link.
HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress Controller for High-Performance Ingress
Considering the dynamic nature of scheduling containers into Kubernetes, routing external traffic into your cluster can involve a lot of moving pieces. When you plug the HAProxy Kubernetes Ingress Controller in, changes to pods and services are picked up automatically and exposing services to the public becomes a breeze. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to take full advantage of the HAProxy Ingress Controller to direct traffic to your pods.
We’ll cover:
How the HAProxy Ingress Controller adds high-performance routing to your cluster
Ways you can get started using it quickly and easily
What we have planned next
You can register for the webinar on the following link.
HAProxy Data Plane API: True Dynamic Configuration Management
Integrating HAProxy into automation tools, continuous-delivery pipelines, and service meshes just got a lot easier. We’ve introduced a new REST API that you can use to configure HAProxy fully at runtime and it’s called the Data Plane API. Tune into this webinar to learn about the many capabilities built into the new API and see how to get started using it to manage your HAProxy load balancer configuration.
We’ll cover:
What a true dynamic configuration API means for you
A peek at the many capabilities we’ve built in
How you can get involved in making the API even better | 1,267,381 |
Advertisement UPDATE: Highmark says it sent letters telling people pharmacies were out of network too soon Highmark sent letters before some pharmacies had a chance to renew their contracts Share Shares Copy Link Copy
A Highmark official says the mailing list for customers who go to pharmacies that weren't renewed was pulled on October 1. Some pharmacy owners say they didn't receive their renewal forms from Highmark until after that.This means some Highmark customers may have received letters telling them their pharmacy was out-of-network. A Highmark official says that may have been the case when the mailing list was formulated, but acknowledged that some pharmacies submitted paperwork after October 1.VIDEO: Watch David Kaplan's latest reportHighmark says it will be issuing a retraction letter to all the customers who got those letters.That official wouldn't comment on how many customers received letters.============On Oct. 30, South Hills pharmacy owner Dr. Kevin Evancic did something he does every year.He got a letter from Highmark confirming a spot in their prescription network for 2016 and set the letter back the next day to confirm his pharmacy will, in fact, be in their network for 2016.VIDEO: Watch David Kaplan's reportHe estimates a month later customers got a letter saying his pharmacy is not in network for this year.Evancic didn't know about those letters until a few days ago."No instructions in the letter to contact your present pharmacy for advice, it was just here are the guidelines for how to find a new pharmacy," Evancic said.Evancic called a representative for Highmark and Express Scripts and confirmed that the letter customers got was wrong, that he was in the network.What Evancic is worried about now is that he doesn't know how many letters were sent out.He also doesn't know which of his customers got letters."Is it 5 percent of my customer population, or is it 25 percent? I don't know," Evancic said."That's my biggest concern, is the people that aren't kind enough to call me or follow up to say,"Hey, can you tell me a little bit about this' and they just leave instead because of the letter, which I wouldn't be able to blame them for."Evancic hasn't been satisfied with the answers he's received from Highmark about how and why this happened.He said he wants some sort of retraction letter sent, or a list of all his customers who received letters so he can try to let them know that they're still able to come to his two pharmacies as normal."Situations like this, they bother me, you know? I look at something like this and say,"Geez, I had a contract, I complied with all the standards, I complied with all the timetables provided, and still people got the letter.' That's what's scariest to me," Evancic said.Pittsburgh's Action News 4 reached out to Highmark representatives Saturday afternoon and evening, but haven't yet gotten a response. | 1,267,382 |
A bitter pay dispute at Lufthansa will disrupt flights for a fourth consecutive day after pilots extended their strike through Saturday.
The strike began Wednesday and was originally planned for 24 hours. Over the four strike days, Lufthansa has been forced to cancel 2,755 flights, affecting 345,000 passengers.
Saturday's strike will affect all long-haul flights operated by Lufthansa. The airline said there may also be a few cancellations on short and medium-haul routes as a result of the previous days' strike. Other Lufthansa Group carriers -- which include Eurowings, Germanwings, SWISS and Austrian Airlines -- have not been affected.
The airline is encouraging customers to check the status of their flight online, saying most will operate as usual. It has also apologized to customers and said that passengers will not be charged a fee to rebook.
Meanwhile, it is trying to cope with stranded passengers. The airline has booked thousands of hotel rooms in Frankfurt and Munich, and set up folding cots at Frankfurt airport for passengers who can't leave its terminals due to visa restrictions.
Frustrated customers have taken their complaints to social media.
"Seriously @lufthansa? Canceled flight home for Thanksgiving canceled without any explanation?" complained one Twitter user.
Seriously @lufthansa? Canceled flight home for Thanksgiving canceled without any explanation? — Andrew Nazdin (@andrewnazdin) November 23, 2016
Lufthansa's pilots say they have gone without a pay rise for more than five years. They are asking for an average annual increase of 3.7%.
Related: Want to earn $300,000 tax free? Fly a plane in China
In support of their case, they point to record profits at the airline. They also claim that top company executives have seen their pay rise by as much as 30% in recent years, while board members have received even bigger hikes.
Lufthansa (DLAKY) said it had offered to enter arbitration with the union in an attempt to resolve the dispute. It said it pays pilots more than its competitors, and claimed the future of the airline was at stake,
"As members of the executive board, we are responsible for more than 120,000 employees and want to keep Lufthansa viable for the future," said Harry Hohmeister, a senior Lufthansa executive. "That will not be possible with a demand for a 20% increase in pay."
Shares in the airline have fallen by just over 2% this week.
Related: Taiwan airline TransAsia shuts down after 2 deadly crashes
Last year, a strike by flight attendants forced Lufthansa to cancel about 4,700 flights over seven days. The airline said about 550,000 passengers were affected by the strike, which was the longest in its history. | 1,267,383 |
It is true:
The President of the European Parliament (EP) called for massive investments in Africa on Tuesday, warning that millions of African migrants could arrive otherwise. In a forum with Italy’s ANSA news service, Antonio Tajani said: “If the problem of Africa is not tackled—drought, malnutrition—we will have millions and millions and Africans pushing (to enter Europe) and dams and walls will not be sufficient (to hold them back).” Tajani said that fixing Africa’s problems would require an investment of “billions and billions” of euros. The words of the EP President echoed recent remarks by European Council President Donald Tusk, who stated earlier this month that Europe cannot cope with the massive influx of migrants crossing from North Africa into Italy. Tusk called for measures to shut down the maritime migrant route across the Strait of Sicily.
Notice, the rabbit, extrapolating his rabbit urges to Africa, believes that to prevent the migration you need to flood Africa with free resource availability.
Africa will go from 13% of the worlds population at 2000, to 25% by 2050. That’s going from 811 million to 2.2 billion. Back between 1750 and 1800, before external support of the population with free resources provided from technologically advanced societies, Africa had a population of about 106 million. I’d view that as the carrying capacity of the environment, absent external intervention. If you had minimal intervention, of the sort I would expect in a global economic apocalypse, you might double that.
If the next economic Apocalypse is what it appears it will be, and it hit at around 2050, you would have about 2 billion Africans who would all feel their choice would be to stay put and starve, or to migrate to a land of increased resource availability, in this case, Europe.
Most K-strategist societies today use some of their wealth to buy the pacification of the r-selected savages, so they can enjoy the peace – while the r-strategists multiply. The problem is the r-strategists are modern day tribbles. Eventually they multiply up to the point that you cannot keep them all alive because there just aren’t enough resources.
If you have been buying your peace long enough, you may also have bought the long-term destruction of your own society, because once tribbles multiply to sizable enough numbers and the economic conditions collapse, it will be enormously difficult to stop your nation from being buried beneath a tidal wave of r-strategist tribbles. When the collapse comes, aid to Africa will plummet, and Europe will have a flood of African migrants of unprecedented proportions.
I suppose that will be one advantage to being in North America, provided we can keep our own liberals from importing a sizable enough seed population of r-selected tribbles between now and the collapse.
Tell everyone about r/K Theory, because the tsunami is coming | 1,267,384 |
Andres Herkel, an MP from Estonia – through which the Azerbaijani cash was routed – said Pace’s credibility had been damaged by the allegations. “Personally I never witnessed bribery in [the] strict and narrow sense. But I witnessed many strange interventions, opinions, voting,” said Herkel, who was the body’s rapporteur on Azerbaijan from 2004-10.
“Many people were manipulated and now they start to understand what happened with their participation,” he said. “I think the Azeri lobby was rather unique in having so many different contacts and capacity to mobilise their ‘political friends’.”
The investigation comes at a difficult time for Pace. Agramunt is expected to be voted out of the presidency in October, but continues to fight for his post. He says the case against him is “an entirely bizarre case and a regrettable spectacle”.
He was criticised for his slow response to the corruption allegations, but his position only came under threat after it emerged he had met the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, on a Russian government trip, days before a deadly chemical attack on civilians in Idlib.
Tiny Kox, head of the Unified European Left Group, a socialist delegation at the parliament, insisted Agramunt’s future would not hamper the investigation.
“The vast majority of this assembly has lost confidence in the president; that is the problem of the assembly and the problem of the president and that will come to an end in the next … session in October,” Kox said.
Investigators needed time to do their work, he said. “We now have the tools to find out what really has happened.”
The assembly published a report on Tuesday detailing concerns about the “increasing number of allegations of violations of certain human rights and fundamental freedoms” in Azerbaijan. The report also raises concerns about allegations of executive control of the judiciary in the country.
The report, drafted by Destexhe, draws milder conclusions than similar bodies. While the Pace report notes that “reform of the judiciary is a work in progress”, the council’s human rights commissioner states that arrests are used to “silence and punish” opponents of the regime. A 2016 US state department report strikes a more robust tone, describing a “crackdown on civil society”.
Destexhe’s call to avoid criticising the Azerbaijani authorities “harshly and publicly” is likely to disappoint critics, who argue that some international observers have been weak in calling out human rights abuses.
Volontè acknowledges receiving money from Azerbaijan but insists it was for his foundation, and has vowed to fight the legal case against him.
• This article was amended on 5 September 2017 to include the group that Tiny Kox leads. | 1,267,385 |
Show Info:
Marvel’s “Wolverine: The Lost Trail” is an epic quest that takes place in the Louisiana bayou. Following the events of Marvel’s “Wolverine: The Long Night,” Logan (Richard Armitage) returns to New Orleans in search of redemption, only to discover that his ex-lover, Maureen is nowhere to be found. And she's not the only one. Dozens of humans and mutants have gone missing, including the mother of a teenage boy, Marcus Baptiste. With Weapon X in close pursuit, Logan and Marcus must team up and follow a trail of clues that leads them deep into the gothic heart of the bayou, where they encounter biker gangs, Cajun thieves and a world of wonders that defies explanation. It is here that they find Greenhaven -- a refuge run by a powerful mutant named Jason Wyngarde. Award-winning comic book author Ben Percy (“The Dark Net,” “Red Moon”), director/sound designer Brendan Baker (“Wolverine: The Long Night”) and associate director/sound designer Chloe Prasinos (“Wolverine: The Long Night”) will return for the series, produced by Daniel Fink and Chloe Wilson of Marvel and Jenny Radelet Mast of Stitcher. Learn more at wolverinepodcast.com. Season 1 now available wherever you get your podcasts.Read more »
Marvel’s “Wolverine: The Lost Trail” is an epic quest that takes place in the Louisiana bayou. Following the events of Marvel’s “Wolverine: The Long Night,” Logan (Richard Armitage) returns to New Orleans in search of redemption, only to discover that his ex-lover, Maureen is nowhere to be found. And she's not the only one. Dozens of humans and mutants have gone missing, including the mother of a teenage boy, Marcus Baptiste. With Weapon X in close pursuit, Logan and Marcus must team up and follow a trail of clues that leads them deep into the gothic heart of the bayou, where they encounter biker gangs, Cajun thieves and a world of wonders that defies explanation. It is here that they find Greenhaven -- a refuge run by a powerful mutant named Jason Wyngarde. Award-winning comic book author Ben Percy (“The Dark Net,” “Red Moon”), director/sound designer Brendan Baker (“Wolverine: The Long Night”) and associate director/sound designer Chloe Prasinos (“Wolverine: The Long Night”) will return for the series, produced by Daniel Fink and Chloe Wilson of Marvel and Jenny Radelet Mast of Stitcher. Learn more at wolverinepodcast.com. Season 1 now available wherever you get your podcasts.Read Less | 1,267,386 |
is that the kind of politically correct norms we find in universities today are just the tip of a slippery slope leading us all downhill towards a kind of oppressive social conditioning. Besides that argument being independently flawed, I felt it was equally important to point out the dangers of conducting historical research through the lense of psychology alone, and with an agenda that distorts the facts. Whether Peterson’s crude view is intentionally one-dimensional in order to support his points or not, at the least it shows that he is attempting to operate authoritatively far outside of his academic domain.
In the Rogan interview, Peterson uses the example of a crude and early map in contradistinction with a more accurate modern map, to illustrate the “low fidelity” of an ideological viewpoint when compared to the intricate nuance of a more logical approach to theorizing. I can’t help but think that the historical maps Peterson continues to sketch in support of both his general view, and his claim that he is an “expert” on the Soviet and German regimes of the Second World War are, upon closer inspection, exactly these kind of vague approximate blobs, and not the intricate maps he claims to be capable of drawing.
Upon actual inspection of the details, rather than gesturing in their direction while we make our political points, it seems that, surprisingly, the young Nazis were more ordinary men than we imagine, and the ordinary men have more in common with the Nazis than we thought. It is a mistake to imagine that the Nazis invented the racial hatred they espoused or were even the first to formalize it, or that this hatred was more powerful an incentive to kill than the effects of indifference to killing produced by exposure to fierce combat situations on the battlefield.
Arendt also concludes that to attribute this violence solely to totalitarianism is to forget that we still do have agency over our actions, even in these situations (remember, many men did ask to be re-assigned from their genocidal duties):
‘[U]nder conditions of terror most people will comply but some people will not, just as the lesson of the countries to which the Final Solution was proposed is that “it could happen” in most places but it did not happen everywhere. Humanly speaking, no more is required, and no more can reasonably be asked, for this planet to remain a place fit for human habitation.’
The lesson to be learned from the “banality of evil” is not that of “The Wave” — Arendt did not mean just that we are all capable of what the Nazis did, but that Eichmann ultimately chose to go along with — in fact volunteered for — it all. What she wanted us to glean from this is rather that normal people are perfectly capable of heinous murder, and it is our responsibility to prevent ourselves from being used — not that we are simply bound by some blinding, all-powerful, subconscious ideological motivations. | 1,267,387 |
The former Seoul Station building will turn into a big live theater where artists, dancers and musicians will present a variety of arts performances that pay tribute to the history of the place.
Each room of the historic building will be dedicated to live performances and interactive exhibitions from Nov. 14 to 30 as part of the seasonal program of Culture Station Seoul 284, the current name of the space.
Seoul Station was built by a Japanese architect in 1925 during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and was the major train station in Seoul. It closed in January 2004 when a new train station building was completed to accommodate a growing number of passengers. The old building, now registered as a historic site by the government, opened again in 2011 to serve as a cultural space.
The second floor of the former Seoul Station, the former location of the first Western-style restaurant in Korea, will be serving meals again during the event period. The meals will be available only five times during the event period for guests selected through a social media event. The dining experience will be accompanied by a dance performance and live broadcast of the eight-hour cooking and dining process. Every step of the process will be recorded ― from shopping for groceries, cooking the food and serving the meals to cleaning up the dishes ― and aired during the exhibition period. The dining and performance will take place on Nov. 15, 16, 26, 29 and 30.“The old Seoul Station building has been an inspirational place for artists and performers. They have come up with great shows and displays. Audiences will be able to experience a whole new level of performances and exhibitions that are different from those taking place in traditional settings,” said Kim Seo-ryoung, director of the cultural program “Memory of Space.”Sound designer Yang Yong-jun and audio engineer Lee Kyung-hwan will stage an interactive sound performance, “Memory of Sound,” that will combine old stories about Seoul Station and real-time conversations of audience members. The spontaneous mix of different sound from the past and the present will be played through 36 speakers placed around the building.Visitors will be given a map or create their own route to explore every corner of the space. Installations and objects placed by the creative group Noni will reveal old memories of the former Seoul Station, represented by a small train model circling around the space and a model of a shoeshine boy from the Japanese colonial era.The VIP lounge for train passengers will turn into a water stage where audience members will need to wear boots to watch performances. Different types of performances will be conducted throughout the event period. Due to the small size of the lounge, the number of audience members will be limited to 40 per performance. Reservations for the event opened on Wednesday on www.seoul284.org. For more information, call (02) 3407-3502/3512.By Lee Woo-young ( [email protected] | 1,267,388 |
Image copyright Travel_Nerd Image caption The victims had been on a cycle tour of the Central Asian country (file image)
Four foreign cyclists killed after a car hit them in Tajikistan on Sunday may have been victims of a deliberate attack, local officials say.
Two Americans, a Swiss and a Dutch citizen died on Sunday in the Danghara district, about 70km (43 miles) south-east of the capital Dushanbe.
Three other tourists were also injured by the car, which then drove off.
Two people suspected of involvement in the incident were later killed by authorities in a special operation.
The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed it carried out the attack on "citizens of the crusader coalition".
According to the interior ministry, another four people were arrested in the same operation and a damaged car believed to have been involved was recovered.
Another three suspects were "rendered harmless" after being traced to a village, officials said. It is unclear exactly what this means, however, Prague-based privately-owned Tajik news website Akhbor suggested they had been killed.
Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda said police were looking into various possible reasons for the incident - a road accident, robbery or a "terrorist act".
He said the suspects "had knives and firearms".
A video which appears to be of the same incident seems to capture the moment the car is driven into the unsuspecting cyclists. The grainy footage also seems to show a number of people already on the ground.
According to the minister, three of the tourists died instantly and one on the way to a nearby hospital.
"One had knife wounds, he received medical help, now his condition is stable," Mr Rahimzoda told reporters.
"Another person is in a state of shock, he is receiving medical help as well. A third person, who fell behind the group, was not harmed so he was taken to the local (police) station, questioned and set free."
On Monday, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon sent notes of condolence to the US, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The victims were on a tour in the Central Asian country in a group with three other tourists from France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
In a statement, the US embassy in Dushanbe said: "We can confirm that two American cyclists were killed in the Danghara district on 29 July. Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to share further details."
The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed one of its citizens had died, telling news agency AFP that the man, 56, had been travelling with his 58-year-old partner.
Authorities gave no further details about the victims.
Tajikistan has struggled with poverty and instability since the former Soviet republic became independent in 1991. It had declared 2018 a "year of tourism", AFP said. | 1,267,389 |
There’s an old joke that you know you're in heaven if the cooks are Italian and the engineering is German. If it's the other way around you're in hell. In an attempt to conjure up a perfect city, I imagine a place that is a mash-up of the best qualities of a host of cities. The permutations are endless. Maybe I'd take the nightlife of New York in a setting like Sydney's with bars like those in Barcelona and cuisine from Singapore served in outdoor restaurants like those in Mexico City. Or I could layer the sense of humor in Spain over the civic accommodation and elegance of Kyoto. Of course, it's not really possible to cherry pick like this—mainly because a city's qualities cannot thrive out of context. A place's cuisine and architecture and language are all somehow interwoven. But one can dream.
As someone who has used a bicycle to get around New York for about 30 years I've watched the city—mainly Manhattan, where I live—change for better and for worse. During this time I started to take a full-size folding bike with me when I traveled so I got to experience other cities as a cyclist as well. Seeing cities from on top of a bike is both pleasurable and instructive. On a bike one sees a lot more than from a freeway, and often it's just as fast as car traffic in many towns.
A "livable city" means vastly different things for many people. In Hong Kong it might mean that your family is in a comfortable apartment while you play in the exciting mercantile world in a glass tower overlooking the harbor. In Dallas livability might mean that you live near an expressway that isn't jammed up, at least not all the time, and your car runs most days. For some it might mean super fast Wi-Fi, the possibility of lucky and lucrative business opportunities and plenty of strip clubs. If that's what rocks your boat then try Houston, though to me that city, oil money made physically manifest, is my worst nightmare.
Here are some things that make a city livable for me:
Size
A city can't be too small. Size guarantees anonymity—if you make an embarrassing mistake in a large city, and it's not on the cover of the Post, you can probably try again. The generous attitude towards failure that big cities afford is invaluable—it's how things get created. In a small town everyone knows about your failures, so you are more careful about what you might attempt. Every time I visit San Francisco I ask out loud "Why don't I live here? Why do I choose to live in a place that is harder, tougher and, well, not as beautiful?" The locals often reply, "You don't want to live here. It looks like a city, but it's really a small village. Everyone knows what you're doing" Oh, OK. If you say so. It's still beautiful. | 1,267,390 |
In a disappointing finale to what has been a truly disappointing Toulon Tournament, the United States lost to South Korea, 1-0, to finish their four games with just three points.
Cho Sung Gyu was the hero for South Korea, as his 62nd minute goal drew South Korea even with France at seven points in second place of Group A. However, France will advance to the third-place game with a better goal differential.
The first half of this game was a rather uninspiring affair.
Hyun Kim nearly got South Korea on the board in the 11th minute, finding himself with a free look at goal, but his curling effort couldn't find the back of the net and the United States escaped an early warning with no damage done.
And folks, that was pretty much the lone highlight of the first half. Both teams played sloppy football and didn't seem particularly sharp.
The United States at times looked threatening, but as FOX Soccer Trax noted, the team's basic lack of fundamentals was preventing any counter-attacks from developing:
The United States came out strong in the second half, with several positive opportunities to score. But two shots in the box would sail just over the bar, while Victor Pineda's headed attempt was saved nicely by South Korean keeper Han Sook Min.
But while the United States looked the more threatening side for much of the second half, it was South Korea that scored the game's first goal against the run of play in the 62nd minute.
Cody Cropper initially made a save after a terrible back pass put the United States in danger, but Cho Sung Gyu calmly scooped up the rebound, cut on his left foot as two American defenders slid past him and slotted his curling shot in the upper left corner of the net.
South Korea nearly doubled the lead in the 78th minute, but Cropper made a brilliant save on Cho Sung Gyu, who was wide open in front of the goal and nearly deflected a centering feed into the net.
Man of the Match: Cho Sung Gyu, South Korea
In a match that really lacked much flavor in the early going, the most logical choice for this award is Cho Sung Gyu, the game's lone goal-scorer.
He may also be a source of some disappointment for South Korea as well, however, as his failure to score a late goal ensured it would be France and not South Korea that competed in the third-place game. But in general, he was the game's most threatening force and a deserving Man of the Match.
What's Next?
Both teams, certainly disappointed by their results in this tournament, will now be focusing on the FIFA 13 U-20 World Cup starting on June 21st. The United States has a fairly brutal draw with Spain, France and Ghana to deal with, while South Korea has Cuba, Portugal and Nigeria in its group. | 1,267,391 |
AMMAN — The King Hussein School for Computing Sciences at Princess Sumaya University of Technology has announced the opening of a newly-accredited bachelor’s programme in data science and artificial intelligence.
The programme is the “first of its kind” in Jordan, combining several years’, worth of research into the international and local labour market and collaboration with experts from major companies and institutions, PSUT said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.
Several “internal and external bodies” have also evaluated the programme and found it “outstanding”, the statement indicated.
University President Mashhoor Al Refai has said that the programme will encourage student creativity, self-dependency and independent learning while continuing to fulfil the vision of HRH Princess Sumaya, chairperson of PSUT’s board of trustees.
The data science aspect of the degree will specifically focus on teaching students to analyse large amounts of data in order to make statistically informed decisions — a skill essential to jobs in “big data science” companies like IBM and Hewlett Packard, he said in the statement.
Commenting on the introduction of the new major at the university, Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan ([email protected]) CEO Nidal Bitar calls the programme’s focus a specialty that “puts Jordan on the right track” to fill a current “gap” in the Jordanian labour economy.
“We have been working with other stakeholders to produce bootcamps [for students] to gain new skills,” Bitar said, noting [email protected]'s role as a “bridge” between Jordan’s private sector and university faculty. He also believes that PSUT’s programme is the “first of many of its kind”, setting an example that will “encourage other universities to follow”.
Chairman of the National Sectors Skill Council Alaa Ensheiwat said his volunteer-based organisation is also working with PSUT’s faculty to “enhance” the new degree programme as well as other university programmes in information, communication and technology.
“We need to do something good for the students of Jordan,” Ensheiwat told The Jordan Times, noting that out of the 4,000 Jordanians graduating yearly in these fields, only 1,000 find a job.
According to PSUT’s statement, the fields of data science and artificial intelligence are some of the most quickly advancing in the world. Jobs in data science, in particular, are expected to come into high demand worldwide as more workers are expected to adapt in a rapidly-transforming digital environment.
The data science and artificial intelligence programme is the fourth BSc in science degree to be offered at King Hussein School of Computing Sciences, which also provides degrees in computer science, computer graphics and animation and software engineering. | 1,267,392 |
Unfortunately for Mikkel Boedker, he won't see the Ottawa Senators again this season.
Twice the Arizona Coyotes have faced the Senators, and Boedker had a hat trick both times.
The latest three-goal performance came Saturday night in Arizona's 4-3 victory. It's the first time in franchise history that a player had a hat trick twice against the same team in a season.
It hasn't been done by anyone in the NHL in three seasons.
"I don't know what it is about Ottawa this year," Arizona coach Dave Tippett said, "but Bods has had some pretty good fortune against them."
For which Boedker had no explanation.
"If I could, I would," he said. "I mean, getting a lot of opportunities and getting the puck in the right areas and for whatever reason it seems to find the back of the net."
Boedker's first hat trick against the Senators came in Ottawa on Oct. 24. He has three career hat tricks overall.
"He's developed into a real good player," Tippett said. "The biggest thing for him is now that consistency is there. We rely on him in so many parts of our game right now. When he capitalizes, it enhances his value, but right now he's an important player for us."
Dustin Jeffrey, recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, knocked it past goalie Craig Anderson on a second-period breakaway for the other Arizona goal. Jeffrey had a swollen lip repaired with six stitches when he talked to reporters after the game.
Mike Hoffman scored two goals, one on a power play, for the Senators. Mark Stone's shot bounced over Coyotes goalie Anders Lindback and into the net to cut the lead to 4-3 with 5:15 to play.
Boedker scored 38 seconds into the first period and 48 seconds into the second.
"For me it's not the time [it took to score], it is about how they scored them," Ottawa coach Dave Cameron said. "I thought we made it easy on them."
Boedker's third goal came on a rebound of Max Domi's shot that made it 4-2 with 6:31 left in the game.
The Senators outshot the Coyotes 38-19, and Lindback had 35 saves, including one that bounced off his toe in the third period. Anderson had 15 saves for Ottawa.
The Senators, at the end of a three-game trip, failed to score a point for the first time in eight games.
"Tonight's game could have made it a great trip," Cameron said. "But, like I said, we did a lot of good things, but not quite enough."
Arizona swept a three-game homestand and won its fourth straight home game overall. The Coyotes play the next six on the road. | 1,267,393 |
The conniving Christie aide ousted for orchestrating the George Washington Bridge traffic scheme that delayed ambulances and left schoolkids trapped on buses is a New Jersey soccer mom whose brother is an EMT.
Bridget Anne Kelly, 41 — fired Thursday by Christie for repeatedly lying about her political payback plan — was described by neighbors as a “typical suburban mom” who sends her four kids, ages 17, 14, 10 and 7, to Catholic schools.
“I am just shocked that she could be so petty and reckless,” a mom whose daughter attends the same school as some of Kelly’s brood told The Post.
Even more stunning, Kelly’s brother, Eamon Daul, is a longtime emergency responder who trains new EMTs, works as a firefighter and is the EMS supervisor at New Jersey’s St. Clare’s Health Care Systems, according to public records.
His sister’s September bridge stunt delayed responses to 911 calls, including one to the Fort Lee residence of a 91-year-old woman whom officials and family members said died before EMTs could reach her.
Another of Kelly’s brothers, state employee Liam Daul, was likely doing a slow burn Thursday at his $70,000-a-year trading gig in the investment unit of the New Jersey Treasury.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Kelly wrote in her now infamous Aug. 13 e-mail that signaled the go-ahead for the massive, three-day lane closure plan that wrought havoc on the GWB.
Christie said Thursday he was “embarrassed and humiliated” by Kelly’s actions — and he isn’t the first man blindsided by the cutthroat blonde, sources said.
Her husband, Joe — a golf pro at the Mendham Golf & Tennis Club, where Christie and wife Mary Pat are members — was stunned when his wife of 16 years came home in 2011 and announced she wanted a divorce.
“The guy was a wreck. It was completely out of the blue,” a source said.
Records show Bridget Kelly filed for divorce in December 2011, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was granted in February 2012. She got their Ramsey home, and he moved to Upper Saddle River. They have joint custody of their two daughters and two sons.
Neither Joe nor Bridget Kelly could be reached Thursday.
Bridget Kelly’s spectacular flame-out ended a nearly two-decade Republican political career. After graduating Maryland’s Mount St. Mary’s University in 2004, she went to work as a legislative aide.
She jointed the Christie administration in 2010 as director of legislative relations and in April 2013 was tapped for her $140,000-a-year job as a deputy chief of staff. | 1,267,394 |
Feb. 15, 2019
President Rita Hartung Cheng is one of 25 women being honored by the Phoenix Business Journal for significant contributions to their professions and communities.
Cheng, the 16th president of Northern Arizona University, is one of only two educators on the list. This year’s honorees were selected by a panel of former Outstanding Women in Business honorees.
“I am truly honored to be recognized by the Phoenix Business Journal and humbled by the fact that previous honorees made the selection.” Dr. Cheng said. “I believe this is a direct reflection of NAU’s partnerships in the Valley and throughout the state as well as the work of our exceptional faculty and staff who work hard every day to ensure Arizona’s students have access to and complete the degrees needed to enhance the economy of the state of Arizona.”
While raising her family, Dr. Cheng earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bishop’s University in Quebec, commuting across the Canadian border to attend classes, an MBA from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. from Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management. She is internationally recognized for research in government and nonprofit accounting.
During her tenure, NAU created the Honors College and the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences; expanded or created several new international partnerships, including with China, Japan, Israel and Mexico; increased outreach to Native American and Indigenous communities in Arizona and the rest of the Southwest; created the Teachers Academy in response to the request of Gov. Doug Ducey; increased diversity among students and faculty; improved its research ranking, breaking into the top 100 of universities without a medical school; and taken part in nationwide collaborations to increase access to college and success in college and improving pedagogy and assessment.
She also was influential in securing key financial support and partnerships, such as with TGen in developing patents in disease research, and between the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Health Equity Research on the NAU campus, addressing health disparities among diverse populations of the Southwest.
She recently was one of five higher education leaders appointed as a commissioner to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. She also works closely with the American Council on Education to provide shadowing and mentoring opportunities to other educators and leaders.
“Everything we do at NAU is designed to better the lives of those we serve, empower them for a lifetime of success and share that success within the wonderful communities throughout Arizona,” Cheng said of the relationship between NAU and Arizona business. “We may have our main campus in Flagstaff, but with 24 sites statewide and 67 percent of our students being Arizona residents, we are truly Arizona’s university.”
Cheng will be profiled in the April 5 issue of the Phoenix Business Journal and recognized at a banquet in Phoenix on April 4. | 1,267,395 |
Artifacts flown to lunar orbit are rare. Those carried in the lunar module to the moon's surface are rarer still. Artifacts carried out onto the lunar surface during the EVAs are perhaps the ultimate space collectible, and these miniature licence plates, carried on Apollo 15, the fourth moon landing, and the first mission to use the lunar rover for extended scientific exploration of the moon, are some of the few ever to have come onto the collector's market.
These miniature license plates were manufactured by Boeing (makers of the Lunar Roving Vehicle itself) especially for Apollo 15 commander Dave Scott as a memento of the first lunar rover. Scott beside the lunar rover
One of the miniature license plates carried by Scott The miniature plates were made of lightweight aluminum and measure just 1¼" x ½" (32mmx20mm) in size. They are marked with the registration number "LRV 001", with "MOON" as the home state, the year 1971, and the NASA and Boeing logos. The plates were prepackaged in a pack smaller than a pack of gum, which was stowed in the left knee pocket of Scott's space suit before the launch and remained there until after his return to Earth. They were in space for 12 days 7 hours from the launch on July 26 to the splashdown on August 7 1971. More importantly, they spent nearly 67 hours on the moon (from July 30 to Aug 2 1971), including 18h 30m of EVAs, and were carried on LRV itself for around 17 miles (27.9km) across the lunar surface. FLOWN availability - Dave Scott has stated that he does not know how many license plates were in the pack. Kim Poor of Novaspace, who was the first to offer them for sale on Scott's behalf, thought there were around 20 in total. Victoria Campbell of Aurora Galleries, who took over sale of the plates a few years later, thought there were around 12. It is estimated that around sixteen examples have been sold from primary sources to-date.
They were initially offered at around $22,500 each, although prices fetched at auction have varied significantly since then. The three examples sold in 2012 and 2013 fetched $15,808, $14,011 and $16,698.
'Full-size' replica license plates Although no examples are known to have been flown as souvenirs, it's also worth mentioning the 'full-size' replica LRV001 license plates produced by Boeing at the time of the Apollo 15 mission. These aluminum plates measure 7¾ x 4¾" (195 x 200mm) and are marked along the bottom "Replica of the Apollo 15 license plate for the first manned lunar roving vehicle". They were likely produced in limited numbers and distrubuted by Boeing as commemorative or promotional items to NASA and Boeing VIPs and key workers on the project. Examples sold in recent years have sold for upwards of $150 at auction. | 1,267,396 |
Image copyright Thinkstock and BBC
Teacher shortages need to be addressed before schools face major problems, the teaching regulator has said.
Figures show recruitment to secondary school teacher training courses was more than a third below the target for the second year in a row.
The chief executive of the Education Workforce Councils said a national campaign to attract more people to the profession is needed.
The Welsh Government said the teacher vacancy rate is "comparatively low".
Wales' three teacher training centres recruited 538 students to secondary school teacher training courses, starting in September 2016, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales figures show.
This represents a 38% shortfall on the target of filling 871 places, following a 37% shortfall in 2015-16.
Universities reported filling 683 primary teacher places despite a target of 750, a similar picture to last year.
Hayden Llewellyn, chief executive of the Education Workforce Council, said the situation was not yet a "crisis" but issues needed to be addressed.
The council is the regulator for the teaching profession and keeps a register of those working in education in Wales.
Mr Llewellyn said the key areas of concern are around recruitment of newly qualified teachers, head teachers, science and modern languages teachers and Welsh medium teachers.
"It needs to be monitored," he said.
"We are seeing some of these issues that previously we didn't have.
"In the past we always had an oversupply of people wanting to be teachers. It's acknowledging that this situation was different to 10 years ago.
"We haven't got a crisis, we've got some issues. The key is to start to address them before we get a major problem."
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood last month said there was now a "crisis" in teacher training in Wales.
Teaching unions have claimed the stress and workload associated with teaching has deterred people from joining the profession.
'Local difficulties'
Another key issue according to Mr Llewellyn is a scarcity of permanent jobs for newly qualified teachers.
He said: "An obvious area to look at would be that rather than new teachers starting on a supply basis or a temporary contract basis, to give them permanent employment.
"That would be a clear signal that teaching is a rewarding career and you start with a permanent job".
A Welsh Government spokesman said the overall teacher vacancy rate in Wales remains "comparatively low" despite some "local difficulties" in recruiting in certain subjects or sectors.
"We want teaching in Wales to be a first choice profession so we attract the very best," it read.
"We are working closely with partners including regional consortia and local authorities to identify and address issues relating to recruitment and retention."
Financial incentives are offered to graduates with the highest level of subject knowledge. | 1,267,397 |
Here at Soompi, we’re all about giving fans opportunities to get closer to their idols. And there’s nothing closer than debuting as an idol yourself!
Presenting Rising Legends, a worldwide audition event for international K-pop star hopefuls, presented by Soompi and our partner JYP Entertainment, home of legendary groups like Wonder Girls, 2PM, GOT7, Park Jin Young, and more!
If you’ve been around for the past few years, you may have noticed that our annual Soompi Ulzzang (Best Face) competition was notably absent from the events line-up last year. Consider Rising Legends as a revamped version, where we place more of a premium on your singing, rapping, and dancing talents. And just like our previous Soompi Ulzzang partners – Sidus HQ, Nega Network, and TS Entertainment – JYP Entertainment will be offering an interview to our finalists in each of those three categories. Our 2011 Soompi Ulzzang winner E.Den ended up debuting as a member of Nega Network’s LC9, so yes, this means you have a chance to join your favorite K-pop acts on stage for real!
Rising Legends will be held in three rounds. As always, the winners and finalists will be largely determined by audience vote, but this year we’re going all-in. For the last and final round, finalists’ scores will make up of 50% judges’ votes and 50% audience vote. Fuse’s Jeff Benjamin, Billboard contributor Tamar Herman, Buzzfeed’s Elaina Wahl, The Au Review’s Johnny Au, and Soompi’s very own founder Soomp will make up the experts judging panel as journalists at the forefront of international K-pop coverage.
SUBMISSION PROCESS
Record yourself singing, dancing, or rapping to a cover or original song. Songs must be under 2 minutes in length. Upload the video to Youtube, with the song title/artist, and “JYP x Soompi Rising Legends Audition” in the title.
EX: “BTS – Dope Cover – JYP x Soompi Rising Legends Audition” Fill out the submission form here.
*Personal information will not be revealed to the public. Will only provide information to JYP Entertainment if they’re interested in an interview with said contestant. If you are under the age of 18, make sure you have your parents’ permission before submitting.
Submissions will end on August 28, 11:59 a.m. KST / 7:59 p.m. PDT and is open to all users. Any incomplete entries or submissions after the deadline will not be accepted. Entries will be vetted by Soompi staff before Round 1, so be sure to send in your best videos! | 1,267,398 |
The Giants might have a chance to land quarterback Josh Rosen, after all.
Talk around Indianapolis among league sources was incessant during the NFL Combine that the Arizona Cardinals are legitimately considering Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick. If the Cardinals are shopping Rosen, the Giants should be the first team to pick up the phone.
According to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, the Giants would have “serious interest” in trading for Rosen.
As they should.
Last spring the Giants were among the teams interested in Rosen, before passing on taking a quarterback in favor of running back Saquon Barkley at No. 2. Meanwhile, the Cardinals traded up to No. 10 to take Rosen.
Rosen’s rookie season was underwhelming with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. However, the Cardinals’ offense was a mess under former head coach Steve Wilks, who was fired at season’s end, and Arizona’s offensive line was ranked worst in the league by Pro Football Focus.
Owners of the No. 6 overall selection in April’s NFL Draft, there’s no guarantee that either Murray or Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins will still be available when the Giants go on the clock. General manager Dave Gettleman made no secret he’d like to follow Kansas City’s model of pairing a young quarterback with a veteran such as Eli Manning in 2019.
Trading a second or third-round pick for Rosen would allow the Giants to target the best available player in a rich edge-rusher and offensive tackle class in the first-round, who can provide immediate help towards competing for a playoff berth this season and giving Gettleman a young quarterback of the future.
If the Giants trade for Rosen, he wouldn’t be forced to start immediately, could sit behind Manning for at least part of the upcoming season before taking over an offense that includes Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr., and Evan Engram.
From a team-building standpoint, the Cardinals have already paid Rosen’s signing bonus and he would be on a team-friendly deal for the next three years with a cap number of just $2.08 million per season.
Arizona would likely ask for a third-round pick in return, which the Giants do not have after taking cornerback Sam Beal in the Supplemental Draft last summer. However, it might be worth the Giants overpaying for the opportunity to draft the likes of Alabama’s Quinnen Williams, Michigan’s Rashan Gary, Houston’s Ed Oliver, or Clemson’s Dexter Williams to bolster the league’s No. 31 rated pass rush while bringing a potential franchise quarterback of the future into the fold as well.
Matt Lombardo may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL | 1,267,399 |
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