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the sound of slaves breaking with slavery."
With Merlet, Anne Marie Coriolan, 53, served as a top adviser to the women's rights ministry.
Coriolan, who died when her boyfriend's home collapsed, was the founder of Solidarite Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with Haitian Women, or SOFA), which Charles described as an advocacy and services organization.
Her daughter, Wani Thelusmon Coriolan, said in Haiti children bear only their father's surname, but her mother insisted on keeping her maiden name and making sure her two children shared it, too.
"She said my dad was not the only one who created me. She was involved, too," her 24-year-old daughter, who lives and is studying in Montreal, Quebec, said with a laugh.
Even though Wani and her brother no longer live in Haiti (he is in Paris, France), she said her mother was determined to make sure they were proud of their homeland.
"She loved her country. She never stopped believing in Haiti. She said that when you have a dream you have to fight for it," Wani said. "She wanted women to have equal rights. She wanted women to hold their heads high."
Coriolan was a political organizer who helped bring rape -- "an instrument of terror and war," Charles said -- to the forefront of Haitian courts.
Before 2005, rapes in Haiti were treated as nothing more than "crimes of passion," Charles explained. That changed because of the collective efforts of these women activists -- and others they inspired.
With the three leaders gone, there is concern about the future of Haiti's women and girls. Even with all that's been achieved, the struggle for equality and against violence remains enormous.
The chaos that's taken over the devastated nation heightens those worries, said Taina Bien-Aimé, the executive director of Equality Now, a human rights organization dedicated to women.
Before the disaster struck last week, a survey of Haitian women and girls showed an estimated 72 percent had been raped, according to study done by Kay Fanm. And at least 40 percent of the women surveyed were victims of domestic violence, Bien-Aimé said.
And humanitarian emergencies have been linked to increased violence and exploitation in the past, she said.
"From where we stand," Bien-Aimé wrote in an e-mail, "the most critical and urgent issue is what, if any, contingencies the relief/humanitarian agencies are putting in place not only to ensure that women have easy access to food, water and medical care, but to guarantee their protection."
Concerned women in the New York area plan to gather Wednesday to strategize their next steps, Ensler said.
And while they will certainly keep mourning, she and the others are hopeful that Haitian women, inspired by these fallen heros and leaders, will forge ahead -- keeping their fight and legacies alive. | 1,268,400 |
President Donald Trump gets into an exchange with CNN reporter Jim Acosta during a news conference a day after the midterm elections on November 7, 2018 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC.
OANN's filing comes less than a day before a hearing in Washington, D.C. District Court on whether to grant CNN's request for a temporary restraining order that would return Acosta's "hard pass," which gave him access to the White House grounds.
Acosta "has hindered our free press from functioning effectively during White House briefings," OANN argued in a court filing, calling Acosta's behavior "disruptive."
Conservative news channel One America News Network on Thursday broke with most major media outlets by backing President Donald Trump in CNN's lawsuit seeking to restore the press credential of its White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
A ruling is expected around 10 a.m. ET on Friday.
OANN, which is reportedly one of Trump's favorite outlets, took time in the supporting document to compliment the president, saying he was "right on point" to call Acosta "rude" during a heated exchange at a news conference last week.
The conservative news channel also pushed back on CNN's argument that the White House's decision to revoke Acosta's hard pass violated his constitutional protections.
"Acosta does not have a protectible First Amendment interest or right in the context of this dispute," OANN argued, adding that "while this narcissistic approach may serve Plaintiff's self-interests as entertainers or media figures and the network that profits therefrom, they do not serve the interests of the forum."
Acosta has often quarreled with White House staff — including press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is also included in the lawsuit — and has been called out specifically by Trump on multiple occasions.
At a Nov. 7 presidential news conference following the midterm elections, Acosta challenged Trump's use of the word "invasion" to describe a so-called caravan of Central American migrants traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border. When he continued asking follow-up questions to Trump, a White House staffer attempted to pull away his microphone, which he initially refused to yield.
"You are a rude, terrible person," Trump told Acosta at the time. Later that day, Acosta's hard pass was suspended indefinitely, according to CNN.
The White House pushed back on CNN's lawsuit in a court filing Wednesday, arguing it had "broad discretion" to suspend the reporter's access to the White House.
In a statement ahead of the filing, OANN CEO Robert Herring said "Acosta's actions are stopping our people from getting their questions answered, so that we can give our audience the real news direct from our President."
Herring added that he "can't believe Fox is on the other side," referring to Fox News, whose commentators tend to support Trump and which had joined a raft of other media organizations in supporting CNN in the lawsuit. | 1,268,401 |
There have been a few "new developments" on NASA's astronomy and astrophysics front.
I put this understatement-of-a-phrase in quotes because that's exactly what was used in the titles of two presentations given this week by the National Academies' Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The presentations -- "New Developments in Astronomy and Astrophysics," by NASA Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Paul Hertz, and "Implication of New Developments for the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey," by Alan Dressler of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institute -- dropped a whopping revelation. The National Reconnaissance Office, America's intelligence agency for space-based surveillance, has donated two, partially-completed space telescopes to NASA.
That's right: two telescopes, similar in design to the Hubble Space Telescope, for free. "New developments," indeed.
Where did they come from?
According to Paul Hertz, the telescopes are currently sitting quietly in a clean room at ITT Exelis in Rochester, New York. Exelis is a big player in aerospace defense. To give you an idea of just how big, consider that the company claims its technology has been aboard every GPS satellite put into orbit.
Speculation about the the telescopes' origin immediately focused on a National Reconnaissance Office satellite surveillance program called "Keyhole." The NRO launched the first Keyhole satellite in 1976, according to a 2009 article by Dwayne Day for The Space Review.
The story is thought to go something like this (since we're dealing with classified information, nothing can be said with absolute certainty): at the time of Day's article, fourteen Keyholes were believed to have been launched in four increasingly-sophisticated types, called "blocks." A fifteenth Keyhole was apparently sent into orbit via NROL-49, launched in January 2011.
In 1998, the U.S. government put out a call for proposals to replace the Keyholes with a new, sophisticated program called "Future Image Architecture." Although Lockheed Martin was the biggest player in satellite surveillance at the time, Boeing won the bid in a surprise upset.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the launch pad. According to a 2007 New York Times investigation, Boeing's proposal was too ambitious and severely underfunded from day one. As one former CIA official said in the article, "Writing winning proposals is different from building winning hardware." Boeing's role in the optical portion of FIA was revoked in 2005. Estimates on the cost of the failed project reached $18 billion.
So, are these two NRO'scopes relics from the FIA debacle? While possible, two pieces of evidence suggest they came from the Keyhole program. The first indication comes from the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics presentations: the telescopes have actuated, or movable, secondary mirrors. That's an alleged feature of some of the Keyhole satellites; the mirrors could be moved to provide a variety of focal options. | 1,268,402 |
One day at Pulaski High School in Milwaukee, a fight broke out between two students. The staff separated them, but one of the students, a young woman named Marianna, refused to relent. She continued to fight—now with the staff—and to cause a stir. Then a call went out over the school radio for "Lulu" to respond. Soon, Marianna began to calm down. Once she arrived, Lulu quickly defused the situation. Of all the people at Pulaski High—all the teachers and administrators—only one person got through to Marianna that day, and it was Lulu.
"Lulu" is Mrs. Louisa, one of five youth advisers in Pulaski High's Violence-Free Zone program. Along with program head Andre Robinson and site supervisor Naomi Perez, they work as a band of roving mentors. On a typical day, you'll find them walking the halls in black polo shirts. They chat with students, break up fights and help with homework. Most of them are recent alumni who grew up in the inner city, and they have the scars to prove it. They've been part of gangs. They've seen violence firsthand.
But they don't have education degrees or state certification. They have something more important: credibility. The youth advisers understand what the students are going through because they've had the same struggles. That credibility creates trust, and so the students listen to them. In the two years since the program started, suspensions at Pulaski High are down by 60%, and daily attendance is up by nearly 10%. Fourteen gangs used to roam the school grounds; today, they've all but disappeared. The school tried all sorts of things to keep students safe—more police presence, more cameras. But only this program worked.
Mrs. Louisa, Mrs. Perez and Mr. Robinson aren't just keeping kids in school; they're fighting poverty on the front lines. If you graduate from high school, you're much less likely to end up poor. According to the Census Bureau, a high-school graduate makes $10,000 a year more, on average, than a high-school dropout, and a college graduate makes $36,000 more. Ever since that day at Pulaski High, Marianna has improved her grades and now she is looking at colleges. Yet for all its professed concern about families in need, Washington is more concerned with protecting the status quo than with pursuing what actually works.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty. For years, politicians have pointed to the money they've spent or the programs they've created. But despite trillions of dollars in spending, 47 million Americans still live in poverty today. And the reason is simple: Poverty isn't just a form of deprivation; it's a form of isolation. Crime, drugs and broken families are dragging down millions of Americans. On every measure from education levels to marriage rates, poor families are drifting further away from the middle class. | 1,268,403 |
summer evenings and fall afternoons, gone. He'll be missed.
b. Fantastic sports event, the 71-64 Wisconsin win over Kentucky.
c. Loved this story from Brendan Prunty in The New York Times about how the University of Kentucky refuels in basketball.
d. And this, from The Wall Street Journal, about the pope making over his religion. Really enlightening.
e. Mike Krzyzewski was hired to coach Duke on March 18, 1980—six days after I was hired to cover Xavier basketball and the Reds for the Cincinnati Enquirer. What a long strange trip it’s been.
f. I want to like Duke tonight. But I say Wisconsin on a Frank the Tank putback in the closing seconds.
g. I really like the way Allie LaForce keeps her cool when nutjobs propose to her on national TV.
h. Did you notice that every team in the Final Four, men’s and women’s, hails from east of the Mississippi?
Talk Back
Have a question or comment for Peter King? Email him at [email protected] and it might be included in this week’s mailbag.
i. Cool stuff, seeing our Robert Klemko named as a rising star in journalism at the University of Maryland on Thursday. Klemko was honored by one of the great men in journalism I have known, former Washington Post sports editor George Solomon, now the director of the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the university.
j. Barry Zito outrighted to Triple-A by the A’s. I am officially not just old, but ancient.
k. My baseball picks: American League division winners—Baltimore, Chicago, Seattle. Wild Cards—Oakland, New York. National League division winners—Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles. Wild Cards—St. Louis, Cincinnati. World Series: Mariners over Cubs.
l. Coffeenerdness: Memo to Starbucks: If you want to see an assembly line of efficiency at an incredibly busy store, go to your place at Penn Station in Manhattan during morning rush hour. I did a quick count when I walked at about 7:45 Thursday morning. Forty-eight people, either in line or waiting for their drink. I was out with my coffee at 7:53. Three great baristas, working cheerfully, efficiently. My flat white was perfect. Not sure what the moral of the story is, other than you’ve got some really good people at that store.
m. Six days and counting till the first episode of “Veep."
The Adieu Haiku
Day 73.
Ted Wells still studying Pats.
I mean, come on now.
Follow The MMQB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
[widget widget_name="SI Newsletter Widget”] | 1,268,404 |
-agent market this year offered next-to-nothing, and while picking No. 14 overall gives Gutekunst a better shot at finding a difference maker than picking in the later 20s, he’ll still need to have a great eye for talent and some luck to boot to find an instant game changer.
That said, the Indianapolis Colts’ trade out of the No. 3 spot over the weekend might open a possibility. With the New York Jets now at No. 3, it’s looking like the first five picks will be four quarterbacks and running back Saquon Barkley.
If Gutekunst thinks the consensus best rushing prospect in this draft, North Carolina State’s Bradley Chubb, is a game changer, the Packers’ chances of trading up to get him have improved. Their second-round pick (No. 45 overall) might be just enough to move from No. 14 to No. 6. The problem is, the Colts badly need help on defense too, and Chubb might be their target.
If the Packers had Cox, Donald or Von Miller, or one of the other handful of dominant pass rushers in the league, they’d have enough around him to possibly win a Super Bowl with average cornerbacks.
But they don’t have that guy, and only a home run in the draft will change that.
So without knowing how the draft will go, Gutekunst has to make a couple of moves at cornerback, doesn’t he?
He still has enough cap room (about $20 million) to make a big move, and can create some more without working too hard if he needs it. But there are no obvious options for that money anymore.
At this point, the only way to find a good one is a trade, maybe for some team’s underappreciated No. 3, like the deal that brought Al Harris to the Packers for a second-round pick in 2003. Even just a year ago, that would have sounded like a long shot. But suddenly the NFL is trade crazy. Perhaps there’s a deal out there.
Otherwise, the free-agent class has been winnowed to stop-gap, one-year rentals. Davon House and Tramon Williams remain on that list.
There’s also the draft. But any high pick at corner is one not spent on a pass rusher.
We’re still six weeks from putting the 2018 draft in the books. Much can happen between now and then. But Gutekunst is going to have to get creative to put together a defense that will give the Packers a chance.
Whether it’s trading up for Chubb, dealing for a starting corner, or something a little off the radar, the Packers’ rookie GM has some serious work ahead.
View | 32 Photos
NFL mock draft 2018: Jets' trade shakes up first round | 1,268,405 |
best texture, best je-ne-sais-quoi. Most of the eateries in this article are chosen because they have an ambiance I find comforting; ChillBerry is the exception. Its cleanliness and brightness are Extreme. You know how when you’re tweaking, everything seems sort of crystalline and hyper-articulated? ChillBerry is like that. It’s highly shiny. The interior’s beyond pristine, and the sassy, brightly- colored plastic café seating seems not built to adult scale. Perhaps ChillBerry is not meant for clumsy humans like us; it’s more like where the characters in an upbeat, tween-targeted Bratz-doll branded video game might congregate. As you fumblingly dispense yourself their ambrosial yogurt, you inevitably fail to return the yogurt handle to its fully upright and locked position: a turd- like tiramisu-flavored tell-tale protrudes from the ultra-polished chrome. The tiny, slightly traumatized-looking employee must follow along after you to wipe up. You are an interloper. Pay for your shamefully tourist-sized heap of dessert and escape ChillBerry’s surreal, surgically-lit welter of oversaturated colors and mirrors. Take your yogurt out to the calm mall concourse, and there, experience heaven. NOTE: As of January 2015, ChillBerry was undergoing a transition to new management. Stay tuned for their reopening! 8700 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette
Honorable mentions: Gerald’s, MeMe’s Bar & Grill
I read in the St. Bernard Parish Post last year that there are now more than a dozen donut bakeries in St. Bernard. I haven’t tried most of them; when Gerald’s (6901 St Claude Avenue, Arabi and 2101 East Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette) is so good, why fool with anywhere else? The two Gerald’ses, one just by the Orleans Parish line and the other way out by the refineries, offer an interesting contrast, especially late- night. It’s like a pair of twins who’ve taken slightly different directions in life. The conversations are different, the patrons are different, and yet they’re still far more alike than unalike. The non-donut food is fine for what it is, and both locations are everything a 24- hour diner should be. At MeMe’s (712 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette), on the other hand, the food is sumptuous. It’s technically casual dining, but this Creole bistro is noticeably fancier than most of what Da Parish has to offer; Tom Fitzmorris called it “The Galatoire’s of Chalmette.” A cozy room, superb service, indulgent options, and patriotic portion sizes make MeMe’s a great date-night destination. | 1,268,406 |
Dan Henderson is something of a legend in MMA. In a career spanning nearly 20 years, the former Olympic wrestler has beaten some of the best in the world, including Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Renzo Gracie, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, "Shogun" Rua, and Rich Franklin--many of them after his 40th birthday. And though he was never able to win a UFC title (losing first to Anderson Silva at middleweight and “Rampage” Jackson at light heavyweight), Henderson was such a big name for the organization that he was picked to coach against Michael Bisping on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom in 2009.
With his subdued personality, however, Dan was an odd fit for reality TV, and he only reluctantly played the straight man to Bisping's antagonistic heel. Over the course of the taping, a strong resentment grew between the two men, and by the time they fought at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009, that resentment had blossomed into hatred.
On the night of the fight, Bisping looked sickly and rumors of a bad weight cut began to circulate, but that didn’t stop Dan Henderson from being Dan Henderson. For a round and a half, he stalked Bisping calmly and deliberately, repeatedly throwing leg kicks and jabs, always looking for his famed overhand right.
Bisping, normally known for his cardio and boxing skills, seemed uncertain and continually circled to Dan's dangerous right side. Between the first and second rounds Bisping’s cornermen were furious, screaming about his footwork and demanding that he focus on the fight. But the second round played out much like the first, with Henderson wading forward and Bisping unable to mount a counterattack. Halfway through the round, Henderson once again closed the distance, setting Bisping up with a left leg kick and a jab fake. Bisping dropped his guard and attempted to parry the jab, leaving himself wide open for Henderson’s legendary overhand right.
The knockout, when it came, was cinematic, ripping Bisping's head 90 degrees, rendering him unconscious instantly, and sending him falling straight backwards. Fueled by anger, Henderson literally dove on Bisping with one final (if unnecessary) punch. The drama of the moment and the severity of the knockout would make this the go-to highlight reel moment in Dan's storied career.
While fighters are instructed to continue going for a finish until stopped by the ref, the images of Henderson leaping through the air fist first and of an unconscious Bisping being attended to afterwards by the ring doctor, the ref, and cutman "Stitch" Duran are stark reminders of the risks fighters take on behalf of the fans.
Check out these other Defining Moments:
The Crippler's Finest Hour
Fedor Falls
The Future Is Now | 1,268,407 |
Image copyright PA Image caption The current £20 note carries images of the Queen and Adam Smith
The image of a visual artist will appear on the next version of the £20 note - and the Bank of England wants the public to make nominations.
The banknote, which will enter circulation in the next three to five years, currently features the economist Adam Smith.
The Bank is asking the public for suggestions of artists ranging from painters to furniture makers.
But the Bank will want to avoid a repeat of previous equality complaints.
It faced criticism after the planned replacement of campaigner Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note with Winston Churchill, which left it facing the prospect of no women being used on banknote images apart from the Queen.
This was solved when author Jane Austen was announced as the image on the next £10 note.
Analysis: BBC arts and entertainment reporter Mark Savage
Image caption Works such as this - Family of Man - make Barbara Hepworth a possible contender
The Bank of England has come under pressure to represent more women on its banknotes - but the visual arts are not notorious for gender equality.
Georgia O'Keeffe was the only female artist in the top 50 auction sales, ranked by price, last year.
Even when the field is opened up to include fashion designers, architects, ceramicists and designers, the prospects do not improve drastically.
Barbara Hepworth is one obvious candidate but the likelihood is that a male artist will take the spot. William Hogarth, JMW Turner and Isambard Kingdom Brunel are all in contention. The public has two months to sway the vote.
Who to pick?
The public will be asked to nominate an artist to be considered for the banknote before 19 July.
They can include artists, sculptors, printmakers, designers, craftspeople, ceramicists, architects, fashion designers, photographers and filmmakers.
Speaking at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the governor of the Bank, Mark Carney, said people should consider artists "beyond the most obvious and most famous" but they must also be "beyond the grave".
"There are a wealth of individuals within the field of visual arts whose work shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society and who continue to inspire people today," he said.
This will then be considered by a committee which, taking into account worthiness, equality and diversity, will whittle down the list to between three and five.
The Committee is chaired by the Bank's deputy governor Ben Broadbent, and includes chief cashier Victoria Cleland and independent experts Sir David Cannadine, Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey and Sandy Nairne. Three visual arts experts will also join for the £20 note decision - John Akomfrah, Alice Rawsthorn, and Andrew Graham-Dixon.
The final decision will then be made by Mr Carney, with an announcement in the Spring of 2016. | 1,268,408 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prices of existing single-family homes slumped for the 18th month in a row in January, for a record annual drop, according to Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released on Tuesday.
A "for sale" sign advertises a reduced price for a home for sale in Portland, Oregon December 26, 2007. REUTERS/Richard Clement
The composite month-over-month index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 2.4 percent to 180.65 from December, bringing the measure down 10.7 percent from a year earlier and 12.5 percent from its July 2006 peak.
The 12-month drop was the latest in a string of records for the statistic set as the housing market slumped. The previous annual drop, in December, was 9.1 percent.
The latest annual decline was just over half of the 20 percent total decline expected by S&P’s chief economist, David Wyss, said David Blitzer, a managing director at S&P.
Wyss expects prices to hit bottom in early 2009, Blitzer said in a conference call.
“Unfortunately, house prices continue to decline and the decline continues to be really nationwide,” said Blitzer, who chairs S&P’s index committee.
Falling home prices have broken the back of the U.S. housing market, which during the housing boom was increasingly financed with risky loans. Homeowners, especially those with little or no equity in their property, are facing a record foreclosures, threatening the economy that some economists say is in recession.
House price depreciation accelerated in February, according to FBR Investment Management analyst Michael Youngblood, citing data from data provider LoanPerformance.
S&P said its composite month-over-month index of 10 metropolitan areas fell 2.3 percent to 196.06 for an 11.4 percent year-over-year drop. That was also a record, surpassing the previous month’s drop of 9.8 percent.
Home prices in Las Vegas and Miami fell the most of any region, at 19.3 percent year-over-year. Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles also suffered double-digit drops, the S&P index shows.
“The weakness is not contained to the bubble areas,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at investment bank Lehman Brothers in New York. “It has spread to the rest of the nation.”
Another housing index published on Tuesday, from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, showed home prices fell nationally about 1.1 percent from December to January, and 3 percent compared with a year ago.
The OFHEO index tracks data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest providers of funding for U.S. home loans. The S&P indexes include home sales financed by loans that may fall outside Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, but are limited to 20 metropolitan areas. | 1,268,409 |
, maybe there was the possibility for international community to act, but there were no reports,” he said.
Munira Subasic, a woman from Srebrenica whose husband and son were among those who were killed, insisted that the Netherlands was responsible for all the deaths, not just of the men who were thrown out of the UN compound in Potocari.
“The Dutch are to blame for every victim. They must answer for all deaths equally, and not make divisions and separate victims. That cannot be tolerated,” she said.
She recalled how the Dutch soldiers told all the Bosniak civilians from Srebrenica to come to the Potocari base, promising them refuge.
“They said we were safe, that as long as we were there, nothing would happen. So they are accomplices to everything,” she said.
Subasic’s son was detained and then killed after he was forced to leave the Potocari base where he had sought refuge.
“He was sick, in the hangars there. They [the Dutch troops] threw him outside… They should have taken care of those sick and wounded people, but they didn’t,” said Subasic, who also lost family members who were killed after being captured in the woods around Srebrenica.
Dutch peacekeepers’ base at Potocari. Photo: Wikicommons.
Hatidza Mehmedovic, another mother of a Srebrenica victim who also was in Potocari in July 1995, said that the Dutch troops “betrayed the people of Srebrenica”.
“Those UN peacekeepers only achieved one result, and that is the memorial centre [at Potocari], a sea of white graves,” she said.
If this case against the Dutch is successful, the Netherlands would be liable to pay compensation to the families of those who were killed.
Lawyers for the Srebrenica survivors also believe that the verdict should precisely define the obligations of future peacekeeping missions to avoid similar disasters.
“I hope and I am sure that this is the way to make changes, and find who is responsible to stop something like this ever happening again,” said Gerritsen.
The mothers of those killed in Srebrenica insist meanwhile that justice will not be done unless the Dutch are found guilty of all the deaths.
“Srebrenica was a protected zone and whether someone was a victim from the Potocari base or not, the Dutch should have protected everyone,” said Mehmedovic.
Subasic, who finally buried the bones of her son last year, agreed: “They must answer for all those killed in Srebrenica. Especially those killed in the woods, because they were sent to the woods by the Dutch, who failed to protect them.” | 1,268,410 |
As the third figure in Sideshow's sixth-scale Marvel collection, the classic Wolverine is hardly a bad choice. While it's certainly true there's never been a lack of Wolverine merchandise and action figures available, that's not entirely true at this scale. To this point, there have been a few different Hot Toys pieces celebrating the Hugh Jackman iteration, but next to none based solely on the comic version of the Canadian mutant.
Wolverine will join the recently released Deadpool and upcoming Punisher figures in Sideshow's line, but while those two have been based on what you could consider recent incarnations, Logan here is decidedly dated. The brown costume made its debut back in Uncanny X-Men in the '80s, and has been a fan favorite ever since. There's just something about that period in Wolverine's history that gives this outfit a bit more prominence over nearly every other suit he's worn. It's an inspired choice for Sideshow to use here, and helps make this Wolverine stand out.
With this interpretation, Sideshow's design team has taken some liberties, and put the spandex through a bit of a real-world lens. It gives his clothing a more lived-in appearance, and the tailoring adds nice, subtle details that would otherwise have been smoothed over in a stretch fabric. Though the bracers and boots are sculpted, they too follow suit and are more than just gloves and whatever the hell Wolverine's boots are made of in the comics. The steel toe on the boots and the straps on the bracers really do give an air of realism absent from the costume in the pages of his numerous books.
Wolverine will come with two head sculpts, one masked and one unmasked. Both look terrific in prototype form, and I love that Sideshow went all out with the huge fins. I'm a big fan of the big fin look Wolverine used to have, though the shortened fins look okay in some cases. The unmasked Logan has a perfect grimace, and also includes a little folded-over mask to hang off the back of the costume. There's also some pre-flexed arms to attach in addition to normal, articulated ones. I guess the point of those is to keep the musculature in tact for certain poses. It's nice to have the option, but I honestly don't know why you'd ever use the non-articulated arms.
Sadly, there's only one set of hands that comes with the claws extended. Some of the open palms would still be logistically possible for the claws to be out, but it looks like Sideshow just wanted to focus on clenched fists for that particular aspect of Wolverine's powers. The exclusive version will also include a red Muramasa blade for even more action posing, but it doesn't look like any of those wolves in the promo shots will make the cut.
The Wolverine sixth-scale figure will be available for pre-order starting Dec. 17 at Sideshow's website for $249.99. | 1,268,411 |
Footage of a West Yorkshire imam making false allegations of paedophilia and bemoaning "bulls**t" LGBT equality teaching was among evidence used to apply for a wider protest exclusion zone around Anderton Park school.
Video clips shown to a High Court judge at Birmingham's Civil Justice Centre last month also included one of a female campaigner berating the school's efforts to promote tolerance as an "atrocity".
The footage, released by Birmingham City Council after judgment was handed down on Tuesday, shows lead protester Shakeel Afsar introducing the imam, named in court as Mullah Bahm, asking onlookers to give him a round of applause and then helping him with the microphone.
During the speech, the imam, from Batley, tells a crowd including young children gathered near Anderton Park's main gates: "We are very tolerant - but not to this bullshit."
After claiming people of faith are seen as "nutcases" and that people of no faith have the upper hand, the preacher showed a series of pictures - including one of a gingerbread man - supposedly being used in equality teaching.
He then tells the crowd: "There are paedophiles in there. This is a paedophilia agenda. What are you telling our children? That a boy can be a girl?
"Is that what you are going to teach them? And you want us to tolerate it?"
After criticising people supposedly earning up to £500,000 a year for formulating LGBT equality policies, the imam says the protesters have a lot more to do.
He then says of Anderton Park: "It starts from here and it's going to finish here, and it's going to finish here for the nation."
As well as video showing how loudly the protests could be heard both inside Anderton Park school and in its grounds, the court was presented with clips of a woman claiming children were being taught to touch themselves inappropriately.
In one of the videos, the woman, standing in a street near the school but outside of an interim exclusion zone, tells a smaller crowd of onlookers: "What is this abomination being taught to our children... it is a corruption of society as we know it.
"The hands of innocent children are being taught to fornicate themselves. And it's abomination. It is important to have the right to have our children to be removed from such atrocities."
During last month's week-long hearing, Jonathan Manning, representing the city council, submitted that a positive relationship between parents and the school, highlighted by Ofsted in 2017, had been disrupted by "confrontational" protests and "totally irresponsible" social media campaigning.
Inviting the court to extend an existing ban on protests to two further areas of land on a road near the school, Mr Manning said: "It's clear that the conduct in question is such as to satisfy the definition of anti-social behaviour and public nuisance." | 1,268,412 |
Latavius Murray cracked the 1,000-yard barrier during a productive first half Thursday night against the San Diego Chargers. He became the first Raiders rusher to reach four digits since 2010, just the fourth in the past decade.
It’s an important step for the young runner, to got there in his first full season as feature back. Murray leads the AFC in rushing, and has shown an penchant for breaking big plays after reaching the second level. While the Raiders need improved depth at running back, this season shows that Murray can play at the NFL level. He showed that again versus San Diego, bursting right off the edge for a 22-yard touchdown where he flashed breakaway speed.
Murray reached 1,000 yards a few snaps later.
“It's very special,” Murray said. “Obviously, it means a lot. It shows how we've been able to move the ball, especially this year. I'm pretty excited.”
The Raiders are excited that milestones like this are becoming commonplace. Rookie Amari Cooper cracked 1,000 receiving yards last week against Green Bay, and Michael Crabtree could follow suit with 112 yards in the regular-season finale against Kansas City.
[RELATED: Top 5 takeaways from Raiders' Week 16 win over Chargers]
Quarterback Derek Carr is 203 yards away from 4,000 passing yards and three touchdown passes from matching Daryle Lamonica’s franchise record for TDs throw in a single season.
The Raiders have never had a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season. The current efforts match something done in 2005, when Kerry Collins, Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan reached the 3,000-1,000-1,000 club.
It seems somewhat odd the offense is reaching solid statistical heights with scoring (22.8 ppg, 14th-ranked), yards (342.1 ypg, 23rd), passing (248.1 ypg, 13th) and rushing (93.9, 23rd) all in the middle or bottom of the pack. Some of the explosiveness has been sapped from the group as the season’s worn on, but this group of playmakers has a bright future and the big-play ability required of a modern offense.
This offense is still significantly better than the past few seasons, though improved consistency is required. The ability of these playmakers is clear through stats, though more important goals remain.
“We’ve done some great things statistically, which is cool and all that, but we just want to win,” Carr said. “Victories make me the happiest guy, not numbers. Those numbers are cool to see, because when you take a step back the reality is that (those milestones) haven't happened in a long time around here....When things like that happen it's all positivity and I'm all for it” | 1,268,413 |
The UFC has ranged from very confident to hopeful for the return of Georges St-Pierre, but according to the former welterweight champ’s manager, expectations should be lowered.
Asked of St-Pierre’s (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) plans for 2015, manager Rodolphe Beaulieu wrote in an email to MMAjunkie, “There is no plan for 2015. We are working on a few projects but nothing related for him coming back in the octagon.”
Beaulieu’s statement comes one day after a shakeup in the welterweight title picture, which left champ Robbie Lawler without an opponent. The UFC announced Tuesday that his rubber match with Johny Hendricks was scratched for March’s UFC 185 with Matt Brown stepping in as the ex-champ’s replacement.
Lawler’s rep told MMAjunkie on Tuesday that the fighter needed time off after a busy 2014 and wished to return to the cage no earlier than May. It’s unclear, though, whether Hendricks will get a title shot if he’s successful against Brown, or whether the winner of a fight between standouts Rory MacDonald and Hector Lombard will step in front of him.
In any event, Beaulieu indicated St-Pierre’s priority is not to step back into a crowded field of welterweights more than a year after he vacated the belt and took a hiatus from the sport following his ninth title defense against Hendricks.
St-Pierre began training again after his recovery from that fight, where he sustained perhaps the most significant damage of his career. But his return to the gym was stalled by a torn ACL, the second time he suffered such an injury. Although he was cleared to train this past October, he dismissed the idea that a return was imminent.
“Whether I retire or not or come back or not, I’m always going to be training,” he said. “I like to feel in shape and feel good in my own skin. That’s why I’m training.”
Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White’s optimism of St-Pierre’s return has moved through peaks and plateaus. This past month, he hoped the now ex-champ would come back to fight along with ex-heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, who was one of the promotion’s top moneymakers besides St-Pierre.
This past October, White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta met with St-Pierre in Montreal to discuss a potential comeback. The meeting did not produce a definitive timeline. With Beaulieu’s words, perhaps we now know why.
Undoubtedly, though, the UFC will try to lure St-Pierre back into the promotion’s octagon.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site. | 1,268,414 |
Government leaker Edward Snowden may some day be able to strike a deal to return to the U.S. without jail time, according to former Attorney General Eric Holder Eric Himpton HolderThe Hill's Campaign Report: Trump's rally risk | Biden ramps up legal team | Biden hits Trump over climate policy Biden campaign forming'special litigation' team ahead of possible voting battle Pompeo, Engel poised for battle in contempt proceedings MORE.
In an interview with Yahoo News published on Monday, Holder threw cold water on the notion that the former contractor — who has been holed up in Moscow for two years — would never again step foot on U.S. soil.
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“I certainly think there could be a basis for a resolution that everybody could ultimately be satisfied with,” Holder said. “I think the possibility exists.”
During the interview, Holder also appeared to go further toward praising Snowden’s actions than other members of the Obama administration have been willing to do.
“His actions spurred a necessary debate,” Holder told Yahoo News.
“We are in a different place as a result of the Snowden disclosures.”
Snowden has been charged with multiple crimes for his 2013 leak of classified federal documents, including Espionage Act violations that could land him in jail for decades. Because of the nature of the charges, Snowden’s supporters say that he would not be able to fairly give his side of the story in court.
Snowden’s legal team has long been in discussions with Obama administration officials to potentially reduce those charges in exchange for Snowden’s return home, but those talks have so far failed to yield any progress.
Last month — shortly after President Obama signed surveillance reform prompted by Snowden’s leaks — a top lawyer for Snowden told The Hill that he believed his client would come home at some point.
On Monday, Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman said that the U.S.’s position on his charges had not changed.
“This is an ongoing case so I am not going to get into specific details but I can say our position regarding bringing Edward Snowden back to the United States to face charges has not changed,” she said in a statement shared with The Hill.
In the interview, Holder declined to detail what a deal with Snowden might look like.
In the past, officials have suggested that the odds of a deal may decrease with the passage of time, since Snowden would have less and less to offer in exchange for leniency. Others, meanwhile, have suggested that the Obama administration — or a future White House — might ultimately benefit from the symbolic victory of having Snowden serve at least some time in a U.S. jail cell rather than letting him live in Russia.
Holder left the Justice Department earlier this year and is now returning to the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling. His tenure was criticized for enthusiastic prosecutions of government leakers such as Snowden. | 1,268,415 |
’d say he’d be on like a 5 based off how you scaled others. His stats though don’t compare to Rom’s or Commander Troi’s. Finally just started to focus him a few days ago.
First day: Nada.
2nd day: finally got the virtual display devices. After that, he went straight to 40 with very little effort, had 90% of the items, only took ~80 chrons to get him there. Now he needs another, but on the third day I actually got 4 more to drop, they seem to drop far more often now im higher rank. Other items he needs for the 50 cap aren’t bad at all either. And he has better CMD vs Epic janeway at the same level. That plus his traits (Bajoran, Cultural Figure, Inspiring, Tactician) are all great. 2 of those come up very often for cmd, (insp/tac), while 1 is required for a node (bajoran) and cultural figure I see a fair bit too. I mean yea my 4/4 janeway will likely be stronger then him at 1/5 for a very long time. But I’m comparing apples to apples, so equal stars vs equal stars. That makes him the best in the game. I mean for 99% of players, a well fused 4* is gonna be better then any 1/5* due to the insane $ cost of getting well fused 5*s, but im not gonn factor the insane paytowin factor of 5*s into the rankings, else they’d all get Ds lol. And cool ill update locutus/rom. Profile
Posted: 29 February 2016 11:28 PM Very nice idea, but might I suggest a ranking system that isn’t Japanese that most people will understand? Maybe the standard A, B, C, D and F grades. Either that or put a legend at the top the lists each of the grades in what order they rank Signature Althea Biermont
Fleet: Quark’s Holosuite Ulmos Phree Tu’Plae
Fleet: Where No Main Has Joined Before Profile
Posted: 29 February 2016 11:31 PM Althea Biermont - 29 February 2016 11:28 PM Very nice idea, but might I suggest a ranking system that isn’t Japanese that most people will understand? Maybe the standard A, B, C, D and F grades. Either that or put a legend at the top the lists each of the grades in what order they rank eh star trek fans are smart, they’ll get it. I also color coded them. But yea ill maybe do a better explanation/legend in my next update. And comon, no crewman deserves an F! Except wesley. He always gets an F. (Actually under my ranking system he will probably get an A heh) Profile | 1,268,416 |
The Fate of Humanity By BurningG-HellOnEarth Watch
78 Favourites 42 Comments 3K Views
One of, if not the, largest projects I've done to date! This was just a fun little thing that was inspired from ideas I have for the end of Fall of the Evangelions: You Will (Not) Survive. Well, that's not entirely true, it was actually inspired by a particular picture I found while browsing the web. Ideas from the end of my book flowed from that inspiration. They sort of went together. Anyways, it was a cool way to test out some new techniques and make an overall badass picture!
Gendo's plan to end Godzilla by turning Nerv into a complete and utter anti-Godzilla fortress may have given his special projects--the Evas--a better chance against the nuclear beast, but they would inevitably weaken the foundation of the city. As the battle raged, neither side able to overcome the other, the floor soon gave way, and all four goliaths were sent plummeting into the GeoFront. With all of Gendo's assets in tatters above the monster king's head, he was now free to end his foes without disturbances or complications. First to go was Rei and Unit-00. Her combat skills at a minimum, she was better as a supporter, helping from behind the front lines. With nothing to hide behind in the open GeoFront, she was easily picked off by the unrelenting Daikaiju Overlord. She tried to keep her distance, but Godzilla was no strange to long-range combat. Using his Atomic Breath, Godzilla prevented Unit-00 from getting too far away and, when she was in striking range, he ended her. Digging his claws deep into her plated back, he wrapped his burly fingers around the cyborg's life-supporting backbone. Pulling with the force of a god, Godzilla tore the helpless abomination's spine clean from the body, taking the head with it. Blood burst from the decapitated body as it slumped to the floor, now just a mass of flesh, bone and synthetic metals. Godzilla crushed the limb form below him with his massive foot, undoubtably flatting the Entry Plug and its pilot. When Shinji and Unit-01 regained consciousness, he awoke to realize the love of his life was no more... again. Plunged into a blind rage, he tackled Godzilla, forcing him back-first into Nerv HQ. Godzilla's blade-like dorsal spins tore through the establishment, opening up the control center to the burning world beyond. Godzilla was not one to be pushed around and he quickly shook off Shinji's blind attack. Forcing him back, Godzilla blasted his foe with a heavy blow from his Atomic Breath. Unit-02 attempted to help her ally, but the intense flame from the Atomic Blast kept her at bay as well. The battle lines were now drawn--and everyone was involved.
IMAGE DETAILS Image size 8240x6325px 14.39 MB Show More | 1,268,417 |
Uranus, the horrible, screaming lad of the solar system, is apparently as unfortunate as all those jokes make it out to be.
In a new study published Monday in Nature Astronomy, researchers detail their findings after analyzing infrared light from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. Using the telescope’s Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS), the team was able to observe light reflecting from Uranus’s cloud tops. They found hydrogen sulfide, the chemical compound responsible for the stench in rotten eggs and yes, farts.
“If an unfortunate human were ever to descend through Uranus’s clouds, they would be met with very unpleasant and odiferous conditions,” the study’s lead author Patrick Irwin, a physicist based at the University of Oxford, said in a statement. “Suffocation and exposure in the negative 200 degrees Celsius atmosphere made of mostly hydrogen, helium, and methane would take its toll long before the smell.”
Though Uranus has now been confirmed as a fart dungeon of death, the team says it might not be alone. It’s possible that in future studies, researchers will find hydrogen sulfide in our solar system’s other ice giant, Neptune. This would further separate Neptune and Uranus from the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, where ammonia ice has been spotted in the cloud tops instead of hydrogen sulfide. The difference in cloud composition gives scientists a new lead in the mystery of how these gassy planets could have formed so differently from one another.
“We’ve strongly suspected that hydrogen sulfide gas was influencing the millimeter and radio spectrum of Uranus for some time, but we were unable to attribute the absorption needed to identify it positively,” the study’s co-author Glenn Orton, a physicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a press release. “Now, that part of the puzzle is falling into place as well.”
Uranus NASA/JPL
Methane in Uranus’s cloud tops absorb the red part of light from the sun, which is why the planet reflects a homogenous blue color. It’s such a placid-looking planet — no one would suspect how truly vile and stinky it is.
While NASA doesn’t have any formal plans in place to revisit the ice giants any time soon, back in 2017, the space agency announced that it was backing research in support of a project to visit Neptune and Uranus again. It’s possible that ice giant research will be an item on the next Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which outlines NASA’s goals for the coming decade — in this case, 2022-2032.
Hopefully Uranus won’t be discounted just because it smells bad. It’s still an amazing, mysterious world that deserves our love, even if it could kill us in 50 different ways. | 1,268,418 |
, as listed in that CNBC news-report to: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell, and Raytheon. When Trump campaigned for the Presidency, he had promised to be anything but a sales-person for America’s war-machine. But, he is so, and this is fascism: socialism for the rich, and ‘survival of the fittest’ for everyone else. Trump certainly isn’t a sales-person for the poor, anywhere. He’s what his fellow-fascists call a ‘populist’, in order to insult the public that they must appeal to for votes.
American ‘productivity’ thus will increase in the production of death and destruction; but, as economists view things, that is “productivity” and added “Gross National Product,” regardless of how much it actually immiserates the world (and, so, economic theory is part of the fraud that enables all of this, essentially, corruption). Thus, economic theory is as fraudulent as is the international ’news’ that the propaganda-agencies spread to the public. It’s all a “pile of bull,” but lots of consumers are buying it, because it’s all that they know and it satisfies them — they’re not even looking for more than the myths.
Previously, the “Biggest Arms Deal in History” was between UK’s aristocracy and the Sauds, the Al-Yamamah deal, which boosted UK’s biggest weapons-maker, BAE, and in which the massive corruption became the subject of scandals and a Governmental inquiry, which Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud forced UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to close with no report being issued. And both the UK and US claim to be ‘democracies’ — and both Governments accuse Russia of ‘interfering’ in their ‘democracy’!
If the reader wants to know why a web-search for the title of this article “How US Has Virtually Destroyed UN” probably turns up no mainstream ‘news’media in the US-allied world, and even very few “alternative news” sites, then the reason isn’t that they weren’t offered the article, because they all routinely receive the submission of each of my articles but routinely turn them down. The reason is instead that the most important truths are prohibited from publication in the US-allied world — it’s a world dominated by lies. After all: we invaded and destroyed Iraq for no real defensive reason, and our Government has never apologized for that, much less been held accountable, at all, for it. And now, because of the US Government, the UN isn’t even really a debating-forum, any more. It’s just a propaganda-forum, now. | 1,268,419 |
Thai cave: Artists' huge mural honours rescue heroes Published duration 20 July 2018 Related Topics Thailand cave rescue
A giant mural entitled The Heroes has been created in Chiang Rai, Thailand, to honour the rescue operation that saved 12 young footballers and their coach, who were trapped in a cave for over a fortnight.
image copyright Getty Images
image copyright Getty Images
The artwork was created by a team of local artists, and prominently features Saman Gunan (seen below), the former Thai Navy SEAL diver who died helping the rescue operation to save the Wild Boars soccer team.
image copyright Getty Images / Poom Pui
The mural is being displayed at Art Bridge, a private gallery in northern Thailand, as part of an exhibition dedicated to the successful rescue operation.
image copyright Getty Images
Also featured is a statue of Saman Gunan, with the 12 boys and their football coach represented by a wild boar and piglets at his feet.
image copyright Getty Images
The boys and their football coach became trapped in the Tham Luang cave on 23 June, and were discovered by rescue divers 4km (2.5 miles) from the cave mouth on 2 July. The last of them were finally rescued on 10 July.
image copyright Getty Images
image copyright Getty Images
The mural features some of the rescuers who played major roles in getting the trapped team out alive, including British diver Rick Stanton, seen below.
image copyright Getty Images / Jonathan Williams
Stanton and fellow British diver John Volanthen (below), were first to reach the boys and their coach after they had been trapped for nine days.
Mr Stanton told reporters: "This was completely uncharted, unprecedented territory and nothing like this has been done. So, of course there were doubts."
image copyright Getty Images / AFP
On his return to the UK, Mr Volanthen told reporters: "We were very relieved that they were all alive but I think at that point we realised the enormity of the situation and that's perhaps why it took a while to get them all out."
British diver Vern Unsworth, below, also features on the mural.
Fortunately for the rescue effort, Mr Unsworth had explored the Tham Luang cave complex extensively, and lives nearby.
image copyright Getty Images / AFP
Another British diver on the mural (below) is Robert Charles Harper, who has been caving since 1968.
image copyright Getty Images / AFP
Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn, the head of the rescue mission, is also featured - complete with a distinctive cap.
image copyright Getty Images
Addressing the future of the cave complex, Mr Narongsak said: "The area will become a living museum, to show how the operation unfolded.
"An interactive database will be set up. It will become another major attraction for Thailand."
image copyright Getty Images | 1,268,420 |
The government's top watchdog announced Wednesday that it had accepted a request from the House Energy and Commerce Committee's ranking member to audit the Trump administration's process for tracking separated migrant families.
In a letter to Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said it would review the "systems or processes" by which the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) keep track of migrant adults and children who are separated from their families.
BREAKING: @USGAO just accepted my request to audit the Trump Administration’s ability to reunite children who were separated from their families. #FamiliesBelongTogether https://t.co/CyriEnLhaB pic.twitter.com/Oc8jGdyVV3 — Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) June 27, 2018
Pallone requested the audit after President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE and administration officials did not put forth a plan to do so following his executive order that ended migrant family separations.
More than 2,000 children were separated from their parents between April and May under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy. The policy, which seeks to aggressively prosecute those found crossing into the U.S. illegally, drew massive bipartisan backlash for leading to thousands of children being separated from their parents.
Bowing to pressure, Trump reversed part of his policy and signed an executive order ending most family separations last week. The order, however, made no provisions for those who had already been separated under the policy.
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“While I hope that President Trump’s June 20 Executive Order will put an end to this immoral practice, that Order is entirely prospective, and does not speak to how the Administration will reunite the 2,342 children already separated from their families," Pallone wrote to GAO officials last week.
“To bring accountability and ensure these children are properly accounted for and ultimately reunited with their families, Congress needs an immediate assessment of the systems or processes by which ORR and DHS are tracking each minor in their care, as well as their respective parents or guardians from whom they were separated," he added.
The announcement that GAO would open a probe into the family reunification efforts comes just hours after HHS's own inspector general announced a separate investigation into the conditions at child detention facilities around the country.
"Specifically, this review will focus on a variety of safety- and health-related issues such as employee background screening, employees' clinical skills and training, identification and response to incidents of harm, and facility security," the OIG said. | 1,268,421 |
North Korea conducted a “very important test” at a long-range missile launch site that the reclusive regime had promised to close as part of nuclear weapons talks with the United States, state media reported on Sunday.
The development comes as Pyongyang has warned it would seek a “new path” with the stalled denuclearization talks if the US fails to make major concessions by the end of the year, according to KCNA, the Korean Central News Agency.
The test occurred Saturday at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground and will have an “important effect on changing the strategic position of (North Korea) once again in the near future,” a spokesman for the North’s Academy of National Defense Science said in a statement carried by KCNA.
North Korean President Kim Jong-un agreed to dismantle the Sohae facility during talks with President Trump in Singapore last year, but reports in March said it was being restored.
North Korea didn’t elaborate on what the test included.
Missile experts said it appears North Korea tested a rocket engine rather than a missile launch, which are typically quickly detected by South Korea.
South Korea and the US closely monitor activity at such sites.
“If it is indeed a static engine test for a new solid or liquid fuel missile, it is yet another loud signal that the door for diplomacy is quickly slamming, if it isn’t already,” Vipin Narang, a nuclear affairs expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Reuters.
“This could be a very credible signal of what might await the world after the New Year,” Narang said.
Solid fuel increases a weapon’s mobility and lessens the amount of preparation time for a launch. In the past, North Korean long-range missiles used liquid fuel.
Pyongyang informed the United Nations on Saturday that denuclearization talks with Washington are not needed.
“The results of the recent important test will have an important effect on changing the strategic position of the DPRK once again in the near future,” KCNA reported, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea, which launched two short-range projectiles last month, has been ramping up its rhetoric against the Trump administration.
It once again referred to Trump as a “dotard” last week after the president called Kim “Rocket Man.”
A dotard refers to an elderly person with weakening mental or physical capabilities.
Asked on Saturday about reestablishing negotiations with North Korea, Trump said he and Kim have a good relationship.
“I think we both want to keep it that way. He knows I have an election coming up. I don’t think he wants to interfere with that. But we’ll have to see,” Trump said at the White House.
With Post wires | 1,268,422 |
Stardock Releases Earth Rising - Part 4: Earth Rises
for Star Control: Origins
Get the Earth Rising Expansion Now
The complete expansion with parts 1-4 is fully available and ready to play today!
The final installment of our 4-part expansion for Star Control: Origins is now available! Earth Rising - Part 4: Earth Rises will introduce you to exciting new adventures, including bar fights at Kapteyn’s Bar, the reluctant return of a God, a search for a missing Commander, and more.
Humans have finally proven that they may be worthy custodians to the Spur, but they must still prove themselves to allies and enemies alike. Meanwhile, Commander Magara is missing, a faction of humanity is developing a dangerous battlecruiser, and the Mowlings’ God has reluctantly returned and asked you to help save them from destruction. Perhaps a stop at Kapteyn’s bar will give you some more information - if you can avoid getting into a brawl long enough to talk to someone, that is.
Earth Rising is a 4-part season pass that contains new quests, ships, rewards, and story that is tied to humanity’s quest for establishing themselves as a major galactic power. Explore new stars, solve newly discovered mysteries, and form relationships with new alien races and their leaders.
Set in the late 21st century, Star Control: Origins places you as the captain of Earth's first interstellar starship. Your mission is to explore the galaxy, find allies to help protect Earth from hostile aliens, and find the resources necessary to help Earth expand out into the stars.
What mark will you leave on the galaxy? Will it be for good, or for ill? Answer that question and much more in Star Control: Origins and the Earth Rising expansion!
Highlights in Earth Rises include:
New Missions & Quests - Search for the missing Commander Magara, keep an eye on the humans developing a deadly Terran Battlecruiser, and stop the Measured from harvesting a sun and killing an entire civilization.
New Location - Visit Kapteyn’s Bar to hear the latest gossip, triumph in a bar fight, and pick up bounty hunting quests
- New Battles - Lead your fleet into epic battles against massive space stations.
New Weapons - Take on enemies with an arsenal of new weapons like the Black Hole Array or the Charged Warhead.
Get the Earth Rising Expansion Now
The complete expansion is fully released and ready for you to play!
Set in the late 21st century, Star Control: Origins places you as the captain of Earth's first interstellar starship. Your mission is to explore the galaxy, find allies to help protect Earth from hostile aliens, and find the resources necessary to help Earth expand out into the stars.
Don't have Star Control: Origins? Get it now for for $29.99 on Steam, GOG, or at www.starcontrol.com | 1,268,423 |
, I use my thinking day to review the list and evaluate which ones are truly a priority. I ask myself: ‘Should we really action this?’ Often, I find that what seemed important at first isn’t anymore.
Step #6: Identify your top three outcomes for the day
Besides planning your week to come and reviewing your to-do list, set three goals for your thinking day and jot them down. This will ensure you get the maximum impact from those open hours.
Step #7: Use powerful questions to encourage deep thinking
You will also want to devote some of your time to thinking deeply about your priorities and the direction of your business. I find prompts are helpful for this. Here are some of my favorites:
Am I doing the right things with the right people?
What’s most important?
What am I good at?
What am I bad at?
How can I spend more time doing what I’m good at?
How can I spend less time doing what I’m bad at?
Alternatively, I’ll write out a goal and think about how I can strategically move toward it.
Step #8: Set aside time to solve your biggest problems
As important as big-picture thinking is, every business will need to solve shorter-term problems. A portion of your day can also be spent investigating challenging issues and brainstorming ways to push through them
Step #9: Set aside time to think of new ideas
Reacting to problems is essential, but so is proactively coming up with new ideas to better your business. Set aside some time to brainstorm new ways of doing things, or new opportunities to explore.
Remember This
Don’t be surprised if taking a whole day for thinking feels like an indulgence at first — it certainly did for me. I felt guilty for taking walks in the park or sipping wine while others were in the office. But now I can’t imagine not doing it.
As CEO, I have realized I don’t need to be the first one in and the last one to leave, but I do need to be the most impactful person in the office. And my ‘Thinking Mondays’ help me accomplish that.
If nothing else, remember this: Warren Buffett has built his whole calendar around thinking. “You look at his schedule sometimes and there’s a haircut. Tuesday, haircut day,” says his partner, Charlie Munger.
In this complex, rapidly-changing world, the calendars of world-class CEOs will look more like Warren Buffett’s and less like Jeff Immelt’s!
I’m the founder and CEO of O2E (Ordinary to Exceptional) Brands. I’m passionate about helping others grow small to medium businesses and corporate culture. Tweet me @brianscudamore | 1,268,424 |
After the US regulator this week dismissed allegations that Google gives unfair prominence to its own services in search results, the European commission has denied that the decision will affects its own investigation into the claims.
The US federal trade commission (FTC) ruled after a two-year investigation that "Google's primary purpose … was to improve the user experience". The decision drew immediate condemnation from Microsoft. EC spokesman Michael Jennings said on Friday: "We have taken note of the FTC decision, but we don't see that it has any direct implications for our investigation, for our discussions with Google, which are ongoing."
But Microsoft, one of the companies that raised Google's dominance with the FTC, has complained publicly that the agency had not met its own standard procedures, which would require any measures planned against Google to be shown to complainants. "The FTC's overall resolution of this matter is weak and – frankly – unusual," said Dave Heiner, Microsoft's chief lawyer. "We are concerned that the FTC may not have obtained adequate relief even on the few subjects that Google has agreed to address."
Heiner claimed the weakness of the FTC's strictures showed itself in Google's reaction: "The litmus test of any antitrust outcome is the set of statements made by a company on the day the outcome is announced … Google seems to be walking with a new spring in its step.''
Google is still being investigated by the EC over allegations that it favours its own products in searches, and downgrades those of potential rivals in search and other areas such as shopping. Heiner greeted the EC's announcement as "good news", claiming that antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia "has made clear that he will close his investigation of Google only with a formal binding order that addresses search bias and other issues".
The FTC decided that any bias shown by Google in search results was done to benefit the consumer, and so did not constitute an abuse of its power. But it required Google not to penalise the search ranking of companies that withdraw their data from some of its products, such as Shopping or Local, and to allow advertisers to move data between multiple platforms.
Microsoft was critical of the lack of consultation there: "We would have explained that Google's promise on ad campaign portability falls short of the mark in various ways. For example, Google inexplicably has not promised to allow all advertisers to port their campaign data to other ad platforms – only those with a primary billing address in the United States." Many firms advertising there have non-US addresses, Heiner pointed out.
Under the terms of the consent with the FTC, Google also has to license essential patents owned by itself or Motorola to any willing licensee – in theory putting an end to lawsuits where its Motorola subsidiary has sought US sales and import bans against the iPhone, iPad and Microsoft's Xbox 360.
But Microsoft was critical of that too, saying that it did not amount to a complete commitment never to seek sales bans over essential patents – which it said itself, Apple and Bosch have previously pledged to do. | 1,268,425 |
Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisHundreds of lawyers from nation's oldest African American sorority join effort to fight voter suppression Biden picks up endorsement from progressive climate group 350 Action 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing MORE (D-Calif.) called President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE “a national security threat” Wednesday night after Trump said he might not inform the FBI if a foreign country offered him information on a political opponent.
“China is listening. Russia is listening. North Korea is listening,” Harris tweeted. “Let’s speak the truth: this president is a national security threat.”
China is listening.
Russia is listening.
North Korea is listening.
Let’s speak the truth: this president is a national security threat. https://t.co/wsPYTzq0u0 — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 13, 2019
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In the Wednesday interview, Trump would not commit to calling the FBI if offered damaging information.
"I think maybe you do both," Trump said when asked whether he would contact the authorities or accept such an offer.
"I think you might want to listen. There’s nothing wrong with listening," he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos George Robert StephanopoulosColbert implores Pelosi to update 'weaponry' in SCOTUS fight: 'Trump has a literal heat ray' Murkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before election Cruz says Senate Republicans likely have votes to confirm Trump Supreme Court nominee MORE. "It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI."
Several of Harris’s fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates reacted similarly to ABC’s release of the clip. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten GillibrandSunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Suburban moms are going to decide the 2020 election Jon Stewart urges Congress to help veterans exposed to burn pits MORE (D-N.Y.) reiterated her call for impeachment hearings, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenHillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline Democratic senators ask inspector general to investigate IRS use of location tracking service MORE (D-Mass.) also called for Trump to be impeached. | 1,268,426 |
California’s unemployment rate will remain elevated for the next couple of years, according to a new UCLA forecast, and in some parts of the state won’t return to pre-recession levels until 2016.
Still, the state’s labor market is on the mend and is likely to heal faster than the nation as a whole, economists at the UCLA Anderson Forecast said Wednesday.
California’s jobless rate, which was 10.9% last month, is expected to fall to 7.7% by the end of 2014, just slightly above the U.S. average, the forecast said. Growth in the San Francisco Bay Area continues to outpace the nation, led by the technology sector. Even hard-hit areas such as the Central Valley and the Inland Empire are seeing job gains.
In contrast to other parts of the country, California’s labor force is growing, fed largely by workers who are encouraged by their employment prospects, said Jerry Nickelsburg, a senior economist at UCLA Anderson. That is keeping the state’s unemployment rate high even as the employers are adding jobs.
“Labor markets are not as bad in California as the unemployment rate … would suggest,” Nickelsburg wrote in the report.
“If you look at other states, like Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin, people are … still leaving the labor force,” he said. “It’s not what we find in California.”
Los Angeles, however, remains a weak spot. Its unemployment rate was 11.8% last month, and its labor market isn’t expected to fully recover until 2016. The city’s budget woes are part of the problem as government hiring remains weak. Jobs in the financial sector have yet to bounce back, largely because of the housing meltdown.
But the city’s workforce is a factor as well. About 13% of Los Angeles residents have less than a ninth-grade education, giving L.A. the largest share of uneducated workers among the 31 metropolitan areas examined by the UCLA researchers. That’s hurting L.A. in a global economy where workers increasingly need specialized skills to stay employed.
The holdup in Los Angeles is the sizable low-skill job sector, Nickelsburg said. That includes hospitality, retail and construction, which shed thousands of jobs during the housing bust and drop in consumer spending during the recession.
The Anderson forecast also predicts that the nationwide recovery will be slow and steady.
A warm winter has helped U.S. households this year by slashing heating bills and giving consumers more money to spend at the mall. Sectors such as construction have also been less hampered by snow and cold.
Still, the forecast calls for muted economic growth in the next few years, with annual average U.S. unemployment expected to remain above 8% this year and next.
[email protected] | 1,268,427 |
One of these things is not like the others:
The Cassini spacecraft took this lovely image in December 2011, during a close pass of Saturn's moon Dione. Ignoring Saturn's rings slashing through the picture, we see, from left to right, the moons Dione, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. Which is the odd moon out? Here's a hint: Dione is 1100 km (700 miles) across, Prometheus 86 km (53 miles) along its longest axis, and Epimetheus 113 km (70 miles). Got it now? Yeah, sure, Dione is far larger than the other two! But that's not my point: Dione is round, while the other, smaller moons are lumpy and rather potato-shaped. Why? Size matters. In this case, a bigger moon means more mass, and that means more gravity. In general, the force of gravity points toward the center of an object. As you add more mass to an object, gravity gets stronger. On a small moon, a big lump of rock like a mountain feels very little force downward, while on a more massive moon the force would be larger. If the moon has enough mass, and enough gravity, the force will be more than the internal strength of the rock itself, and the mountain crumbles. So moons that are big and massive enough will tend to flatten their surface, or, more accurately, shape them into spheres. Dione is big enough to do that. Prometheus and Epimetheus are not. Dione is a big ball, the other two are spuds. Note that gravity's not the only thing that can make objects spherical. Water has surface tension, for example, caused by the electrostatic attraction between water molecules. In space, without gravity, drops of water are spherical. Random processes can generate round objects too: I bet if we could get a super-duper close look at Saturn's rings, we'd see the trillions of chunks of ice that make up the rings are round too. But that's from collisions; there are enough of those bits of ice that they smack into each other. Since they spin and tumble, over time any part of a chunk will have gotten hit by some other chunk, and that will tend to make them round. So how big does an object have to be before it starts to become round via gravity? That's complicated, and depends on its composition -- a ball of ice the same size as a ball of iron will have far less gravity since it's so much less dense, and will have lower mass. But for a ball of ice and rock -- like Dione -- that size is clearly no bigger than 1100 km across. And if you're wondering how this might play into our concept of what a planet is, then you might want to read this. I'm way ahead of you!
Related posts: - Cassini gives Dione a close shave - The scale of Saturn - The scale of Saturn, redux - Cassini's Pentaverate - A panoply of moons and rings | 1,268,428 |
[music] Tel Aviv. As Israel grows more nationalist, Tel Aviv is the last stronghold of our nation’s liberals. It is a supercool cosmopolitan city and the place I call home. In 2016, I decided to say goodbye to Tel Aviv and spend the summer with the Israelis that I disagree with the most: the settlers. Since Israel’s ongoing military occupation of the West Bank that started in 1967, Jewish settlers have moved to the Palestinian territories into settlements that are illegal, according to the international law. As Israeli society polarizes around views of the occupation, I found myself increasingly curious about Israelis my age who grew up in those settlements, who were born into this reality. I ended up in one of the oldest Israeli settlements, called Tekoa, which was founded in 1977. About an hour drive from Tel Aviv, it is a world apart, isolated in the Judean hills and surrounded by Palestinian villages. I rented a small apartment on the corner of Hospitality Road and Joy Street. And I thought to myself, these are two things I’ll definitely need here. After all, it’s not every day that a liberal from Tel Aviv moves to a settlement. Once I settled in, to make myself feel more at home, I set up a small cafe and waited for company. Well, apparently coffee is not in demand in Tekoa, as well as a liberal with three cameras. For a while, it seemed like the only locals who visited my table were flies, a cat, and my only new friend in town, Matanya. But being stubborn eventually paid off. Unlike Tekoa, which is considered a moderate settlement, the Jewish settlement in the Palestinian city of Hebron is the most extremist of all, where extreme settlers live in the midst of a large Palestinian city. Moriya grew up there. It seems like we grew up in totally different worlds. While I knew Palestinians come in and out of the settlements every day to work, building more of the buildings that they will never be allowed to live in, seeing them line up to enter settlements that represent their oppression with my own eyes was very unsettling. Her uncensored lack of political correctness definitely shocked me, but also made me want to hear more. Despite a peace and love and the hippie vibe of Tekoa, sometimes the complexity of the tension here slaps you in the face. My next door neighbor’s family was attacked in the shooting ambush, killing her father, and leaving her mother and two siblings wounded. Her cry and weep across our shared wall when she first got the message tore my heart apart. In January 2016, a Palestinian teenager stabbed Tekoa resident Michal Froman at the local thrift shop. She was four months pregnant at the time. Most of the people my age I chatted with were honest about the negative effect of the settlements on Palestinians, who are repressed as long as they are occupied. I wondered how they still choose to live here. On my last day in Tekoa, Matanya stopped by for a farewell chat. [music] | 1,268,429 |
Microsoft released the November 2019 Update for the company's Windows 10 operating system on November 12, 2019. The update is available to "seekers", administrators who run manual checks for updates on devices running Windows 10 or who use the Update Assistant or other tools to download and install the new feature update.
Windows 10 version 1909, the November 2019 Update, is special as it is the first feature update that has not been released like all other feature updates that came before it.
The core difference is that the update is turned on using what Microsoft calls an enablement package; this package is merely a switch that activates the new version as all of its files were already planted on systems that run the May 2019 Update for Windows 10.
Since the new version is turned on with a simple update, the process of upgrading to the new version is faster and less error-prone than before. One downside to the process is that there are not many changes when compared to the May 2019 Update.
It was not clear up until recently whether future Windows 10 feature update releases would follow the upgrades released in 2019 -- meaning one major feature update and one minor, faster update -- or if Microsoft would restore the old two major feature updates per year process.
During a discussion on Mixer, Microsoft revealed that it has no plans to use enablement packages in the future. While that does not mean that the company won't be using these in the future, it appears that the company will return to the two feature updates per year schedule of earlier years.
One of the questions presented during the presentation and the answer that Microsoft gave was the following one:
Q: Will we see this cycle for every year? Major feature update in H1, more minor feature update in H2, one cumulative update for both? A: Delivering the 19H2 feature update via cumulative update and an enablement package is a pilot program. There isn't a formal plan in place to deliver future releases in the same way. We are closely monitoring feedback and hoping to learn from this type of release to help influence our future plans
There you have it; Microsoft confirms that it may use the new process in the future but that it does not have plans to do so in 2020.
Closing Words
I still think that two feature updates per year are too many. First, because it adds a lot of stress to administrators who have to deal with these updates -- which take longer than regular cumulative updates and are more error-prone -- and second, because these don't add too many new features to the operating system either that would warrant a major new release.
Now You: What is your take on this? Is two major feature updates one to many? (via Windows Latest)
Summary Article Name Microsoft has no plans to make future Windows 10 updates like Windows 10 1909 Description Microsoft revealed in November 2019 that it has no plans to release another smaller update for the company's Windows 10 operating system as a feature update. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo
Advertisement | 1,268,430 |
search will find as many wiccans and pagans defending and claiming Tolkiens work as Christians.
9) Food
Were you ever reading The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit and getting hungry because of the sumptuous descriptions of food? You can satisfy those cravings by supporting the creation of a cookbook that intends to research and recreate the recipes of the food from Tolkien's World, get the cook book Hobbit Recipes... or Cooking with Hobbits, or go to Denny's. The mind boggles and the stomach knots at the Denny's Hobbit menu, as you start to have an existential crisis over cross promotion and the doom of civilization.
10) Science Fiction
You'd expect Tolkien to have a huge influence on fantasy — but he's also helped to shape some of science fiction's most famous creations as well. George Lucas has cited the LOTR as one of the influences on Star Wars, which uses a lot of epic fantasy structure and grafts science fiction ideas onto it. There are even some outright nods, such as the forest moon of Endor — "Endor" being one of the elvish language translations of "Middle-earth." And Star Wars helped to make the LotR movies possible, both by improving the technology and by showing that an epic fantasy series could make money.
Meanwhile, Babylon 5 is full of Lord of the Rings references. Series creator and executive producer J. Michael Straczynski acknowledged the Shadows from the television show were patterned after the Black Riders in The Fellowship of the Ring. The Rangers Babylon 5 bear more than a passing resemblance the Rangers of the North in LotR. The code of the of Babylon 5's Rangers "We walk in the dark places that no one else will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass," directly calls upon the scene of Gandalf's second confrontation with the Balrog when he shouts, "You cannot pass!" and perhaps more indirectly to Aragorn's description of the Rangers in The Fellowship of the Ring: "Lonely men are we, Rangers of the North, hunters — but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy." Beyond easy-to-point-to details, Straczynski was inspired by Tolkien's works as a model for his world building.
And Lord of the Rings was the blueprint for King's post-apocalyptic The Stand. In Stephen King from A to Z: An Encyclopedia of His Life and Work, King is quoted as saying:
That was intended. It's not something I ever mention unless somebody brings it up because it didn't succeed anywhere near as well as Tolkien succeeds, mostly because I thought that I'd try to make Middle Earth the United States after the plague. One of the things that provided the impetus was that I said in the book, "After the plague, there's magic.' The best review I've had on the book said that Stu Redman is an American Frodo who sits around the gas station with his fellow hobbits and finally goes on a quest. | 1,268,431 |
ATLANTA — Kurt Warner wasn’t surprised when Freddie Kitchens became head coach of the Browns earlier this month.
The tight ends coach for the Cardinals when Warner led them to a Super Bowl after the 2008 season, Kitchens informed the Hall of Fame quarterback a while back that he had head coaching aspirations.
“I talked to him a couple of years ago when he was in Arizona and Bruce Arians was moving on (soon), and at that point in time he felt he was ready to step into a head coaching job,’’ Warner, the NFL Network analyst told cleveland.com on Wednesday. “He never really got the opportunity at that point in time, so when it came around this time, I know he was excited to just have the opportunity to present himself and what he would be as a head coach.’’
After following Kitchens’ career from afar since he left the Cardinals in 2009, Warner is not surprised to see the success Kitchens had with Baker Mayfield last season. With Kitchens as offensive coordinator for the final eight games, Mayfield threw 19 touchdowns against only eight interceptions, and earned a 106.2 rating.
“He’s a different coach now than he was when I was with him,’’ Warner said. “(It was) very early in his career at that point and learning the ropes and those things but I think he’s picked up things from a lot of different coaches that have had a lot of great success in this game, and I think we saw that correlate to what he did with Baker and what they did offensively when he took over, and so I’m excited for him.’’
From a personality and leadership standpoint, he said the Kitchens is the same now as he was with the Cardinals.
“I think what you’re getting from Freddie is kind of what you’ve seen to this point," he said. “What you see is what you get. He’s not going to become something different.
“He’s not going to put on any fronts. He’s kind of a good ol’ boy that kind of tells you like it is. He’s going to put in the time and the effort that it needs. He’s going to relate great to the players because he’s going to be straightforward with them. Obviously we’ve seen what he’s done as a coach.’’
As quarterbacks coach for the Cardinals from 2013-16, Kitchens helped Carson Palmer establish multiple single-season team records, including passing yards (4,671), touchdown passes (35), and passer rating (104.6).
“I’m extremely excited for (Kitchens) and the opportunity it presents for him and I think he’s going to do a great job,’’ said Warner. | 1,268,432 |
Now playing: Watch this: This security robot can detect weapons
When Knightscope's security robots aren't busy driving themselves into water fountains, they actually have some serious work to do.
Silicon Valley-based Knightscope makes security robots that patrol areas like shopping malls to complement human security teams. The company's aim, according to CEO William Santana Li, is to give these teams "really smart eyes and ears to let them be able to do their jobs."
Knightscope added two more robots to its existing lineup that currently includes the K3 and outdoor K5, which made headlines for running over a child's foot in a shopping mall.
The K1 is a stationary robot that can scan passers-by for weapons. Using millimeter wave technology, the K1 can sense the size and shape of objects. It's similar to the body scanning machines the TSA use except you don't need to walk into an enclosure. The company says it's suited for use at entry and exit points in airports or hospitals.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
Then there's the 770-pound K7 that can traverse rugged terrain like gravel, dirt and sand on its four wheels. Rather than indoor patrols, this buggy-like bot is built for outdoor areas like wind farms or airfields. At the moment its top speed is capped at 3 mph.
Like the other robots, the new models have a similar suite of sensors including cameras, sonar and LIDAR. Using Wi-Fi, a cell connection or a combination of both, the robots process much of the data on board before sending it to a web interface accessible by the human security team.
"If you have an open air facility and three-o-clock in the morning, you have someone wandering around … let the guard then know and have the machine do the monotonous, computationally heavy stuff," said Li. "This is not intended to replace humans."
Knightscope provides the robots and the monitoring interface to companies at a rate of $7 per hour. The robots generally take a "coffee break" to recharge on docking stations once every 2.5 hours. During this time the bots are still fully operational, they just can't roam around autonomously.
One of the technologies that Knightscope is working on for future updates is what Li calls "audio event detection," which he likens to the opposite of voice detection. Instead of picking up individual voices, the robot will learn to differentiate sounds in the background, such as a footstep or glass breaking. That data could be used to localize the sound so a human security guard team can work out exactly where it came from.
The company is also working on an AI concierge, so you can talk to the robot and get responses while it's out and about.
It's Complicated: This is dating in the age of apps. Having fun yet?
Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility. | 1,268,433 |
Happy 9th Birthday, Mousehunt! It is the Sprinky Cupcake time! *YUM*
What To Do
In this event, hunters can do the usual birthday things:
You can get the cheese by using the Cupcake Colby Potion to turn any standard cheese to Cupcake Colby.
In additional, you can use the Extra Sweet Cupcake Colby Potion to turn your Cupcake Colby to Extra Sweet Cupcake Colby which improves the attraction of mice that drops the Cupcakes.
2. Hunt with the cheese and get Cupcake loot items
It might sound tedious, but that is how the birthday event is done in the last few years. It is quite simple, any low-rank hunters can also do this.
3. Complete the Cupcake orders
You can get double reward of the cupcake order if you apply the Rare Cupcake Sprinkles to it. You'll occasionally receive this item as a reward for shipping an order or inside a Birthday Treasure Chest earned by completing a Birthday Treasure Map. You'll always find Rare Cupcake Sprinkles inside of a Rare Birthday Treasure Chest!
New Mouse
There is only one new mouse which is Sprinkly Sweet Cupcake Cook Mouse.
It can only be attracted using Extra Sweet Cupcake Colby and it drops any color of the cupcakes and occasionally also the Rainbow Birthday Cupcake.
New Items
How to get: This trap is rewarded for shipping one of each type of cupcake order.
This Arcane trap features a magically-charged, sprinkle-laden cupcake which burns with an intense flame to attract mice looking for something sugary sweet. With 3,500 Power and +9 Luck, it will make a sweet addition to anyone's inventory!
How to get: This base is rewarded for shipping your first order of cupcakes.
This base has +9 Luck, one for each year of MouseHunting! While equipped it will also sweeten up your hunting by adding a chance for mice to drop new Sprinkly Sweet Cupcake Charms which also have +9 Luck!
How to get: This journal theme is rewarded for shipping a total of 100 cupcakes.
Make your Hunter's Journal the tastiest thing on your profile with this frosting-laden journal theme! Caution: Do not eat your screen.
Treasure Chest
Finish birthday treasure maps to get the 2017 Birthday Treasure Chest, or if you apply the Rare Map Dust, you will get 2017 Rare Birthday Treasure Chest instead.
Baskets
2017 Birthday Gift is dropped randomly by mice in the event area.
The following baskets are from the Donate section
Apart from the main task, you might also want to get the Sprinkly Sorcerer Trap Skin which costs $5.00 in the Donate section or from the marketplace.
| 1,268,434 |
U2 frontman Bono, who has become an international spokesperson in recent years on global poverty, is astounded by how quickly the U.S. government was willing to part with $700 Billion to bail out flatlining investment banking firms. The singer says he and other advocates have had trouble getting just a fraction of that amount to help end poverty in underdeveloped nations for years. Bono teamed up with former President Bill Clinton yesterday to ensure that this latest economic crisis in the U.S. doesn’t overshadow the ongoing need for global aid.
The U.S. financial crisis making global waves is no excuse for governments and companies to walk away from helping the world’s poor, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and rocker Bono said on Wednesday. As Congress debates a White House-proposed $700 billion bailout for the worst financial crisis since the Depression of the 1930s, Bono questioned why wealthy countries had not been able to come up with enough aid for the world’s problems. “It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger,” the U2 lead singer told Clinton’s fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York. “That’s mad, that is mad.” “This crisis is not an excuse to walk away from the world’s challenges, but a compelling reason to intensify our efforts to meet them, around the corner and around the world,” said Clinton, who has focused on humanitarian work since leaving the White House in 2001. The Group of Eight wealthy nations vowed in 2005 to raise annual aid levels $50 billion by 2010, $25 billion of which was to go to Africa. But under current spending plans, the G8 will fall $40 billion short, according to a June report by the Africa Progress Panel set up to monitor implementation. “Bankruptcy is a serious business and we all know people who have lost their jobs,” Bono said, referring to the bankruptcy declared by Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. “But this is moral bankruptcy.”
[From Yahoo News]
Perhaps someone (like maybe a certain former president?) should have explained to Bono that the reason the U.S. government was so willing to hand over that kind of money to bail out Wall Street is because it’s not really their money- its the taxpayers who will be footing the bill for this little exercise in corporate welfare. It’s easy to give away something that’s not yours to begin with. Still, the rocker does have a point- our economic woes are a walk in the park compared to what people in poor and warring parts of Africa go through on a daily basis. They lack access to some of the most basic human needs and for the most part, nobody cares. | 1,268,435 |
* Delivery cost to Germany (based on your detected location) for a single item. Adding multiple items to your order can reduce the cost per item. Choosing a different delivery option can change the cost per item. Final delivery cost will be shown in order review page.
- 12 x 12 rigid box set of 9 LPs containing music from Brian Eno’s installations past, present and future.
- 64 Page book containing a brand new essay by Eno plus rare and previously unseen photographs from his various exhibitions from 1997 to the present.
- Each album is housed in a beautiful die-cut sleeve designed with long-time collaborator Nick Robertson and all music is guaranteed first time on vinyl.
- 50% of the music contained in the box set has never been available in any format and the rest has only ever had very limited cd release direct to consumer release.
- Vinyl mastered and cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering, London
- 100 % First time on vinyl, strictly limited edition
“If you think of music as a moving, changing form, and painting as a still form, what I’m trying to do is make very still music and paintings that move. I’m trying to find in both of those forms, the space in between the traditional concept of music and the traditional concept of painting.” Brian Eno
Musician, producer, visual artist, thinker and activist Brian Eno first came to international prominence in the early '70s as a founding member of Roxy Music, and immediately followed with a series of critically-praised and influential solo albums. His visionary production includes albums with David Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, Laurie Anderson and Coldplay, whilst his long list of collaborations includes recordings with John Cale, David Byrne, Grace Jones and James Blake.
Less widely discussed although equally notable and arguably even more prolific are his visual experiments with light and video. These are the fertile ground from which so much of his other work has grown, they cover an even longer span of time than his recordings, and have in recent decades paralleled his musical output.
These highly-acclaimed works have been exhibited all over the globe - from the Venice Biennale and the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg to Beijing’s Ritan Park and the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
‘Music For Installations’ is a collection of new, rare and previously unreleased tracks, all of which will be available on vinyl for the first time. All of the material was recorded by Eno for use in his installations covering the period from 1986 until the present (and beyond). Over this time he has emerged as the leading exponent of generative music worldwide and is recognised as one of the foremost audio-visual installation artists of his time.
Designed by Brian and long-time collaborator Nick Robertson, this beautifully bound package comes with a 64-page booklet featuring rare and unseen exhibition photographs and a new essay written by Eno. | 1,268,436 |
Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar last week said even though Republicans cannot impeach President Obama, they can refuse to confirm any of his appointments.
Speaking in Parker, Arizona, Gosar, a Republican serving in Congress since 2011, said that all people appointed by Obama should be blocked, no matter "how good of a person you are."
"You may not be able to impeach a president," he said. "But boy I tell you what: remember, we have the right of advise and confer. Nobody gets confirmed. Nada. Nobody. None. I don't care how good of a person you are. You're not gonna get it."
The House of Representatives does not confirm presidential appointments. That power rests solely with the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who does have the ability to block Obama's nominees, has repeatedly said the upper chamber would continue to confirm nominees.
Gosar, a Republican, had been telling his audience to imagine what it would be like if Obama went down as the president who "vetoed the most bills."
"Imagine this. Just imagine this," the Congressman said. "Barack Obama goes down as the president who vetoed the most bills and in the succeeding election cost his party another election."
He went on to say that Democrats who lost in the 2014 midterm elections had failed to pass bills and, further, that Obama and Senator Harry Reid had caused the Democratic losses.
"Do you know why the gentleman, Begich, lost in Alaska?" Gosar asked, referring to Mark Begich, the former U.S. Senator. "Not one amendment, not one bill got passed or offered by him in six years. I had fifty of them. Ones that passed. Kay Hagan: not even a post office. Harry Reid and Barack Obama cost them that election."
Later, after making the argument that Republicans should refuse to confirm anybody, Gosar waved what appeared to be a pocket-sized edition of the United States Constitution.
"This is about this," he said. "I'm here to win."
He proceeded to make a reference to the work of renowned Chinese military philosopher Sun Tzu.
"The Sun Tzu book I talked to you about always states, know your adversaries' strengths and your strengths and you'll never lose. Don't play to your weaknesses; play to your strengths always. Always play to an enemy's weaknesses, never their strengths."
Gosar concluded by suggesting that politicians "have a conversation with America, heaven forbid" and describing himself as "some little guy" who spoke in New York City.
"Explain to the American people what you're putting out there. Have a conversation with America, heaven forbid," he said. "This isn't rocket science. Talk plain language. This is your backdoor. If some little guy who represents District 4 can speak in New York City--I did."
The congressman was in Parker as part of his "Solutions Tour." | 1,268,437 |
is because they don’t.I know I just said something crazy, but hear me out. They don’t like him. Clearly, Rias likes him a lot more than say Koneko. Most harems fail at this and make every character fall madly in love with the MC. By created different levels of affection,makes itself realistic enough for people to actually care about the story.Ecchi is not hentai. There are clear borders that cannot be crossed.for example actually has a ‘no sex ever’-condition from the editor. Even if Ichibumi-sensei wanted to, he couldn’t let Issei get laid cause they would not publish it.So how do you deal with this? As I said before, it’s only natural that things keep going further. People develop sexually, they go forward. So you have to block this at a certain point. Most series fail spectacularly at this, since this is hard and complicated to do.Despite the fact that he’s surrounded by girls who all want to bang him, he can’t actually have sex with them because then we have either, a crazy hentai or both.You can tell that evenstruggles with this. At various moments, Issei passes out from ‘blood loss’ because there was simply no other way out.But, as mentioned before, Issei is obsessed with breasts, and that is a very safe obsession. If he was obsessed with actual sex, they would be in trouble after two episodes.is actually really clever. They shove boobs in your face every five minutes, which makes you feel like they don’t really care about going too far. But obviously, that’s not the case. They know very well that if they let Issei get laid not evenwould broadcast it.is an extremely good and popular series cause it clearly understands the problems ecchi and harem-series face. Credibility, an actual plot without being pretentious, not being too cliche,manages all of it, but most importantly, it’s scripted like fan fiction.Whenever you watch or read it, it feels like fan fiction. As if Ichibumi-sensei was like “well, dragons seemed like a fun idea, so I put them in.”This is a very liberating feeling and especially in ecchi this works out really well. When you watch a Hollywood movie, you know that every detail is designed to sell. Movies with that amount of money involved can’t take risks, they simply have to sell. And this takes away from the experience, because you don’t feel like you’re watching what the creator intended. You’re watching a toned-down version which changed every detail to appeal to a large audience.In, you feel like you’re reading exactly what the creator intended, which makes these stories more real than anything else.Signing off now,Aren Luxon, August 2 | 1,268,438 |
grant size. Highly cited studies are no more likely to result from large grants than from spreading the same funds among multiple researchers.
We postulate that scientific impact, as measured by bibliometric indices, is generally only weakly money-limited (although other important impacts of grant support such as training of students probably do scale closely with funding). Nobel Prize winning research may be highly funded, or not funded at all [18]. At present, we can only speculate about why impact varies so greatly among researchers: perhaps differences in training, in career stage, in other responsibilities (teaching and administrative), in institutional priorities, or perhaps differences in something ineffable, akin to talent. Whatever drives impact, it largely persists through time in individual researchers (Figure 5).
In the absence of statistical evidence in favor of the few-big model, we suggest that there are many other advantages to the many-small model. Each grantee represents an experiment in scientific impact. If the variation of scientific impact among researchers is treated as stochastic, then larger numbers of grantee-experiments will increase the probability of high impact research. The “few big” approach is risky in that it reduces the number of experiments.
A second clear advantage of the many-small model is that at least moderate grant funding serves to keep scientists, and the students around them, active in research. Funding more scientists increases the diversity of fields of research, and the range of opportunities available to students. Greater scientific diversity, like greater genetic diversity, increases the probability that some researcher (like some genetic mutant) will possess characteristics that will flourish in an unpredictable future. It may be relevant that Gordon & Poulin [19] suggest that, given the cost of grant review, it could be more economical simply to give a baseline grant to every qualified researcher (but cf. [20], [21]. Our results suggest that the consequences for scientific impact would not be bad.
Finally, the most unique characteristic of universities is, arguably, their interface between research and teaching [22]. Our results suggest that impact is maximized by funding research as broadly as possible in university communities. This “many small” approach increases the teaching-research interface, and it increases total productivity. We do not deny the impact of some mega-projects such as the Human Genome Project, or the ENCODE project. However, we agree with Alberts, and we feel that the data support his contention that, “Ensuring a successful future for the biological sciences will require restraint in the growth of large centers and -omics-like projects, so as to provide more financial support for the critical work of innovative small laboratories striving to understand the wonderful complexity of living systems.” [23]. To know whether this strategy, or any other (e.g. the model of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute [24]) would actually improve scientific impact requires “turning the scientific method on ourselves” [25]: run the experiment of setting up competing funding systems and see which works best. | 1,268,439 |
VFX specialists MPC have collaborated with Sony Pictures on building a virtual reality experience to promote the box office hit horror comedy film Goosebumps, as well as handling visual effects for the movie itself.
MPC is a leading visual effects with some 25 years of experience in the industry. Their latest project is perhaps a glimpse into where the talents of companies like MPC may begin to dovetail in the face of the impending emergence of consumer virtual reality next year.
MPC have delivered VFX for Sony Picture’s No. 1 Box Office hit Goosebumps, a horror comedy starring Jack Black which looks to be leading the Halloween pack right now. The company created some 17 different creatures for the movie, requiring them to pull together motion capture performances with traditional animation skills, right down to hand animated facial touches.
But it’s the crossover of roles that’s interesting here, most notably that the company were also asked to bring over the assets they’d created for the live-action film to a standalone virtual reality experience.
“VR is an intimate and immersive platform that transports the viewer into the space and story,” said MPC Executive Producer-VR Tim Dillon. “In this way, our VR experience was perfect for Goosebumps. We place an audience member in the car, riding shotgun with Jack Black playing R.L. Stine, while Jack drives through town with a giant praying mantis chasing him down. The result is a virtual reality adventure attraction.”
The entire experience was produced in-house by MPC’s content production division, MPC Creative. Everything from live action footage capture, through VFX and final grade was taken care of, perhaps giving a glimpse to branches of expansion for visual effects specialists like MPC as VR becomes more commonplace.
A 360 degree live-action affair, the experience also leverage’s technology from motion-rig specialists D-Box – mechanical chairs to be specific. As the action ensues, motion data is used to shift the viewer in sync with the VR experience inside a Samsung Gear VR headset.
“The car chase scene is a great example of how technique meets the storytelling component of VR,” said Dan Marsh, Creative Director, MPC Creative, LA. “In the 360-degree 3D VR Adventure, viewers can look around in all directions throughout the film, but they don’t have the control to walk around. Placing the viewer in the car, they can experience the scale of the scene and momentum of the chase. Jack Black, seated inches away from us, acts as a tour guide as the car flees from the monster. The D-Box chair is the icing on the cake, because it situates people in the experience so they really feel the thrill of the chase.”
The Goosebumps VR experience will be available at selected theatre lobbies across the US during the film’s run, although we have no details as to precisely where. | 1,268,440 |
We've finally updated our Unity BVR and AVR products.
Our CV1 kits arrived last week and we have been busy beavering away on support for the Oculus SDK 1.31. for the CV1. It's great to be back in VR with the girlz!
We are still working on future developments with UE4 but we wanted to make sure current customers can finally get access to use their older products with the Oculus SDK 1.3.1. We now have support for the DK2 and CV1. As long as you meet the Oculus defined PC requirements you should be able to achieve 90fps on the CV1 and 75fps on the DK2, with XBox controller support and CV1 room scale.
There are some caveats to our updates
Unity 5 broke a lot of our previous development work. Unity have fundamentally changed their own shadow system (for the worse), which we relied heavily on for the visual realism of our products. So we've had to make some work arounds, this has had an impact on performance. You will still notice artefacts but there is not much more we can do about this, it's the best we can achieve in Unity at the moment. We blame the universal PCF shadow system and Unity's new implementation. Unity have on their own road map for some fixes to this, which we will support.
We've also had to drop support for skin physics and skin wet painting, as again the Unity 5 upgrade means some core changes happened to the new physX system, which we cannot work around. So our hands are literally tied..
There are also a few other minor bugs in the products which we are working on. Please keep an eye out for them.
Before you purchase..
Our products are still early in development, they are VERY basic and limited in scope. They are work in progress. You cannot do much apart from fly around and view naked women frozen in time. If you purchase with us, you are showing us support and allowing us to continue development. We cannot officially join the ranks of the Oculus store or STEAM due to the nature of our content. So we need every bit of support we can get. If you purchase with us, you are buying into the future of adult entertianment development.
Sadly we've had to drop MVR (GearVR) product support. As without access to pak injection or official store access with Samsung and Oculus it's just not worth our time pursuing this. Maybe at a later date when production publication is less restricted.
HUGE thank you to all our customers who have waited so patiently for us to upgrade to the latest SDK.
It's been a very slow process for us as we are in a transitional state with development but we're doing our best to keep things moving. Development is slow but steady.
If you have any issues or find any bugs please do let us know at support "at" vrgirlz "dot" com | 1,268,441 |
Last year I attended the Dublin Web Summit, among some of the excellent talks were two by Chad Fowler and Fred George. I wanted to share them here and talk about why they are important.
Fred George on Micro-Service Architecture
This video is from Baruco in 2012, but the content is pretty much identical to what was at the conference I attended.
In this talk Fred walks us through his learnings and thought process over many years as he attempted to implement Micro-Service architectures at various companies.
If you are not sure what a Micro-Service is don't worry, the video explains it very well, but if you want to read up a bit more on it I can recommend this post.
One of the conclusions was that around 100 lines is probably enough for most services, at this size rewrites become trivial and testing loses priority. There is only so much damage you can do in 100 lines of code.
One of the other conclusions was that if you have an architecture of potentially hundreds of tiny services is that integration testing starts to lose priority, a better solution is to monitor business metrics. If sales start to drop of a particular product it might be an indication that something isn't performing as it should be.
Having such small services allows for developers to more easily pick the correct tool for the job, the services are decoupled so you could easily write one thing in Ruby and another in Node.
Chad Fowler on Disposable Components
Just like Fred's talk, this video isn't from the conference I attended but is a recording of an almost identical talk by Chad. This video is from Rails Israel in 2013.
The first portion of this talk by Chad explores why long lasting systems (think Unix and tools of that ilk) last and concludes that it is because they have small replaceable parts.
Chad draws similarities between the likes of classic cars and the human body, individual parts (cells) can be replaced constantly, but the sum of those parts remains.
The second portion goes into some rules that he has introduced at this company, for their detail watch the video but I will summarise their headlines here;
Comments are a design smell (Unit) Tests are a design smell The System is heterogeneous by default. Code has to be "this" big. Nodes (servers) are disposable. Never upgrade software on an existing node. After you deploy a system, throw away the keys to it. Always be deploying. Assume failure. Monitor everything. Experience your worst case scenario so you don't have to fear it. Data should be as small as possible.
I want to quote from the talk;
If your services are so small that you can read them in one go, you probably don't need a test.
I think this is very powerful. If you start to refactor things to make them so small that you can understand their function in one read, you are surely testing the underlying language more than business logic. | 1,268,442 |
“Strike for Action” will take place on May 17 in Duncan City Square
Many scientists have warned that the human race has just 12 years left to clean up its act in regards to climate change or face global catastrophe, so a youth group from the Cowichan Valley is grabbing the issue by the horns.
The Cowichan Valley chapter of Earth Guardians, a youth-lead international organization working to help preserve and protect the planet and its inhabitants, will lead a Youth Climate Strike for Action on May 17 in Duncan City Square.
RELATED STORY: MINISTER SAYS PLANS TO FIGHT POVERTY, CLIMATE CHANGE, FOCUS OF B.C. BUDGET
Organizer Sierra Robinson, 16, said the plan is for local youth, students, families, and adult supporters to march and strike for action on climate change at the event, which will run from noon to 1:30 p.m.
“We get some backlash by people who say we’re too young to be dealing with these issues, but we’ve come to the conclusion that the older generations are not doing enough,” she said.
“It’s our future that’s at stake and we should be included in discussions and decisions on climate change. It’s a scary issue and we want people of all ages to step up everywhere and be heard. We want to see a switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy and also want the voting age lowered to 16.”
Robinson said there was a worldwide youth climate strike held in many countries around the globe on May 3, including in Victoria, but it was Pro-D day in the Cowichan Valley’s schools so the Valley’s Earth Guardians decided to host the strike on May 17 here.
The strikes were inspired by the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who started the School Strike for Climate in August, 2018.
RELATED STORY: B.C. YOUTH CONTINUE TO STRIKE FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
“We can’t strike if there’s no school,” she said.
“Walking out of class is part of the message. Why should students study for a future that’s not going to be healthy and secure? However, we want the event to be intergenerational and we’re hoping to get out as many people out as we can.”
Robinson said there will be music, a sign-making table, art, and youth speakers at the event, and hopes are high that some local politicians will also participate.
“It will be a light-hearted and fun event, but its purpose is to highlight the very scary issue of climate change,” she said.
[email protected]
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter | 1,268,443 |
’s worst Corsi +/-. He’ll do this, by times.
Holzer was the game’s best, Getzlaf and Lindholm were close behind and Stoner managed a positive Corsi differential.
Ottawa squandered a big lead and dominated the bottom of the possession chart. Chiasson was worst but Methot, Lazar, and Zibanejad were close behind.
Stempniak, Bergeron, and Marchand led, which is fairly typical.
The Leafs, generally a puck-dominant team, chased the puck in this one. Marincin, Kadri, and Michalek posted the bottom-three differentials. Carrick managed a nice game though, finishing with a positive Corsi +/- and 8 iCF.
Weber and Josi led all. Weber’s been on a mini-tear, finishing strong and blasting away with high iCF totals. Arvidsson and Ekholm each posted 8 iCF as every Predators skater finished in the plus.
On the flip side, every CBJ skater finished in the negatives – this perfect split is a rare event. Calvert was absolutely bombed, finishing around -25 in Corsi differential in this one. Atkinson, Prout, and Savard weren’t much better.
Kruger was the game’s best and Monahan led the way for the Flames. Dougie Hamilton posted an excellent 11 iCF in the game. The other Hamilton was a plus.
On the negative side, Matt Stajan was the game’s worst. Engelland and Ferland joined Stajan at the bottom, each posting ~-10 in Corsi differential.
So it goes for Calgary.
In case you’ve missed it, Gudas is on fire. He led the game with the best Corsi differential (again) and posted 5 iCF. He’s on a tear. Raffl and Simmonds were next best but weren’t close to Gudas.
Incredible.
The Coyotes continued their puck-chasing ways. Murphy and Martinook were the game’s worst but there were plenty negative Corsi differentials to go around for Arizona.
Jeff Carter was the game’s best and Tyler Toffoli posted a game-best 8 iCF. Doughty/Scuderi were pluses for the LA Kings as both teams piled up goals in this crazy game.
Surprise, surprise, Nurse and Korpikoski were the game’s worst. They chase the puck every night and one has to wonder if Nurse was at all ready for full-time NHL minutes this year.
Read more…
NHL Game Charts – Friday, March 25
NHL Game Charts – Thursday, March 24
NHL Advanced Stats: Expected vs Observed Goal Differentials | 1,268,444 |
I had some trouble when I came to creating the Tentacle Pot Pies, all my own fault of course. Learn from these mistakes.
Originally I had intended to makes spider pot pies and use black peppercorns for the eyes. My first try, which I didn’t get photos of, had the legs dangling over the edges of a bowl. While they cooked most fell off. It was pretty sad.
Then I draped the legs down to a plate to keep them in place, only to discover that the dough I had rolled up to create a spider body (I wrapped it round a piece of hot carrot) didn’t cook on the inside, leaving a wad of uncooked dough on top of the pot pie. Effective to give the creeps but not really edible.
And I found that one of my spider heads tilted down while cooking. Poor guy.
Originally I had intended to make the pot pies from puff pastry and mention the use of crescent roll dough as an option but I had some trouble while photographing. First I lost my light by the time I got to the puff pastry batch, I struggle enough to produce good photos so when the clouds gathered I was rushing and it probably led to the next problem.
I forgot to brush the puff pastry with an egg wash, meaning that even though it was yummy it looked sort of pale.
And so, the crescent dough photos were the ones I used. I had run out of time to redo everything (I would have had to make another batch of pot pie filling). But for the record I like the flavor of the puff pastry far more. It also cooks slower so your pot pie had more time to get nice and hot.
The following weekend Scott and I made a batch of pot pie filling from the chicken pot pie recipe at Simply Recipes and divided it into zip top bags that we flattened out and froze. We can buy frozen puff pastry and the next dark night when we need some comfort food we’ll have pot pie components that we just need to thaw and assemble. I’m excited. Seattle winters aren’t snowy but they are long and dark. So dark. We take excitement where we can find it. One additional note: These should be baked at about 325 instead of the usual high heat that puff pastry asks for, if not the tentacles cook far earlier than the body. If the tips of the tentacles start to brown too much tent them with foil.
Why freezing flat in plastic bags? They are easy to store in the freezer, and when you want to thaw them you can run the still sealed bags under hot water and it thaws far faster than something frozen into a block. I first heard this tip on The Splendid Table, though I forget which guest it came from. I use this for bolognese and thai curry as well, all good to have squirreled away for winter nights when you’re too zonked out for chopping stuff. | 1,268,445 |
“My father doesn’t need torture explained to him,” Meghan McCain tweeted Thursday. | Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM Meghan McCain, Liz Cheney spar over torture on Twitter
Meghan McCain quarreled with Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday over the “enhanced interrogation” practices implemented during the George W. Bush administration, with the daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) accusing the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney of lecturing the senator on torture.
The debate over the United States’ use of torture reignited this week after President Donald Trump said he planned to nominate Gina Haspel to succeed Mike Pompeo as director of the CIA. Haspel, Pompeo’s No. 2 at the agency, ran a “black site” prison in Thailand after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a facility where terrorism suspects were subjected to brutal interrogation techniques such as waterboarding.
Trump’s announcement was met by pushback from several prominent Republican officials, including Sen. McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner during the Vietnam War. Sen. McCain on Tuesday urged lawmakers to strongly examine Haspel’s record on torture during her upcoming confirmation hearing in the Senate.
“The torture of detainees in U.S. custody during the last decade was one of the darkest chapters in American history,” he tweeted. “The Senate must do its job in scrutinizing the record & involvement of Gina Haspel in this disgraceful program.”
Cheney, a Wyoming Republican whose father served alongside Bush when the brutal tactics were implemented by the CIA and other government agencies, countered the remarks, tweeting on Tuesday that the techniques “saved lives, prevented attacks, & produced intel that led to Osama bin Laden.”
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“No one should slander the brave men & women who carried out this crucial program,” she added.
Meghan McCain, a TV personality and co-host on ABC’s “The View,” fired back on Twitter on Thursday.
“My father doesn’t need torture explained to him,” she replied.
Sen. Rand Paul (R.-Ky.), an outspoken critic of the use of torture as an intelligence-gathering tool, came out against Haspel’s nomination on Wednesday, casting doubt on whether she would receive enough support to be confirmed by the Senate.
Trump announced earlier this week that he would name Pompeo to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, with Haspel tapped to lead the CIA in Pompeo’s place.
| 1,268,446 |
Health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross faces another lawsuit over switching consumers to narrow-network health plans — with limited selections of doctors — during the rollout of Obamacare.
These types of complaints have already sparked an ongoing investigation by California regulators and other lawsuits seeking class-action status against Anthem and rival Blue Shield of California.
A group of 33 Anthem customers filed suit Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the health insurer, which is a unit of WellPoint Inc. Anthem is California’s largest for-profit health insurer and had the biggest enrollment this year in individual policies in the Covered California exchange.
In the latest suit, Anthem members accuse the company of misrepresenting the size of its physician networks and the insurance benefits provided in new plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.
In many cases, consumers say, Anthem canceled their more generous PPO, or preferred-provider organization, plan and moved them to a more limited EPO, or exclusive-provider-organization, policy.
Compounding the problem, the plaintiffs say, the company gave misleading or incorrect information, both last fall and this year, about the medical providers participating in these new plans.
As a result, some consumers incurred unforeseen medical bills when they were treated by out-of-network doctors, according to the suit. EPO health plans usually have little or no coverage outside the network.
“Anthem profits from the premiums while these members cannot see their doctors,” said Scott Glovsky, a Pasadena attorney representing the Anthem customers.
Anthem said it hadn’t seen the lawsuit filed Tuesday. The company has previously defended its conduct and said consumers were properly notified about these changes.
The health insurer has said “materials at the time of enrollment and in members’ explanation of benefits have clearly stated that the plan was an EPO plan which may not have out-of-network benefits.”
The California Department of Managed Health Care said its investigation into network-related complaints at Anthem and Blue Shield is still ongoing.
Many health insurers offered smaller lists of providers at lower reimbursement rates to help hold down premiums for individual policies this year. Anthem and other insurers largely stuck with that narrow-network strategy for 2015 plans in Covered California and outside the exchange.
To address some of these concerns, state lawmakers and consumer advocates are pushing for additional legislation.
State Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) is backing a Senate bill (SB 964) that seeks to increase state monitoring and enforcement of existing rules on network adequacy and timely access to care.
“We have to make sure those individuals that signed up actually have access to healthcare,” Hernandez said.
Health insurers say they have added thousands of doctors to their networks this year to improve coverage, and they oppose SB 964 because it’s redundant to current rules.
[email protected]
Twitter: @chadterhune | 1,268,447 |
For a company whose latest flagship game spells its name with MIGHTY MONOSYLLABIC CAPS, Hi-Rez tends to run a pretty quiet operation. Today, however, it suddenly decided to open fire on all fronts, so I had to reinforce this post’s already formidable RPS Knowledge Entrapment Box with ores from the stars just to contain the sheer magnitude of it all. Many tireless hours later, I am here, and I have so much news for you. First off, god-powered MOBA SMITE (see?) is now in open beta. You can play it, I can play it, your cat can’t play it – but theoretically could if it were physically capable. Meanwhile, Tribes Ascend has – finally kowtowing to requests hurled with blue-plate-special-level fervor – halved its XP cost for all unlocks.
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ANGRY VOLCANO. Is a phrase that loses a lot of oomph when hummed by a disarmingly robotic and monotone voice. But yes, as the above video points out, the action-MOBA’s open beta has ushered in a laundry list of additions, including a better practice AI, a draft mode, clan support, some map overhauls, and tons of tiny tweaks. The holy change list bible’s hereabouts, if you’re interested in reading up.
It may very well be Tribes that’s seen the most significant change, however. Hi-Rez CEO Todd Harris explained on the high-flying shooter’s forums:
“Effective immediately, we’ve cut all the item XP prices in half. No guarantees on how long it will stick. Long enough to measure whether it positively affects the new user experience or not; and also see player feedback on forums/etc.”
Players, of course, have been demanding extra jet propulsion on Tribes’ progression for ages, as – even after updates tailored toward accelerating that process – it still ended up being quite sluggish. So now, if you want to be a completely free player, it’s actually pretty darn viable.
Much appreciated? Absolutely. But I have to wonder if – at least, for the purpose of seducing new players – it’s a matter of “too little, too late.” I mean, with shiny new (though admittedly very different) F2P shooter options like PlanetSide 2 and, soon, Firefall running around, Tribes’ futuristic sheen is looking a bit rusty by comparison. It doesn’t help that new content’s been a bit sparse lately, either. Still though, better late than never. You have my gratitude, Hi-Rez – even if it did take quite some time for you to unlock it. | 1,268,448 |
On Friday six European countries issued a bombshell joint statement declaring their intent to join INSTEX, or the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, a European special-purpose vehicle serving as a 'SWIFT alternative' to bypass US sanctions on Iran.
Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden released a joint statement asserting it's of "the utmost importance to the preservation and full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) on Iran’s nuclear program by all parties involved."
"In light of the continuous European support for the agreement and the ongoing efforts to implement the economic part of it and to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran, we are now in the process of becoming shareholders of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (Instex) subject to completion of national procedures," the statement reads.
The Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto alongside Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammed Javad Zarif. AP Photo
Instex is an initiative set up by France, Germany and the UK in January 2019 to provide humanitarian and sanctions relief to Iran after in November 2018 the SWIFT network suspended Iranian banks under Washington pressure, months after Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal.
Though the new alternative financial device had shaky beginnings amid further aggressive threats from the US administration, it continued through a trial phase even though Tehran officials had complained it appeared 'too little, too late'.
But now as this latest six country statement announces, it will serve as the European vehicle to “facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran,” while also providing incentive for Tehran to return to its commitments under the JCPOA, specifically to recently breached uranium enrichment limits. Upon the announcement, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell lambasted the move, saying:
Terrible timing - why fund the Iranian regime while its killing the Iranian people and shutting off the internet? You should be standing for human rights not funding the abusers.
Terrible timing - why fund the Iranian regime while its killing the Iranian people and shutting off the internet? You should be standing for human rights not funding the abusers. https://t.co/LKS37nIu1I — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 29, 2019
Specifically he called out a tweet by Norway's ambassador to Iran hailing the news of multiple Scandinavian countries joining the nuclear deal-saving initiative.
As the US official's tweet reveals, the White House is using the latest weeks-long protests and government-ordered internet blockage inside Iran to keep up the pressure and focus on a 'human rights' narrative amid the security forces crackdown.
Despite the criticism and what will no doubt be a continued flood of US official anger in response to the news, France said it asserts European autonomy amid an over-reaching Washington administration. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian called it an “important decision” that will show “Europe’s autonomy of action”. | 1,268,449 |
On Question Time last Thursday (10th December 2015), Vince Cable suggested that regardless of David Cameron’s renegotiation efforts, the PM should be making the case for the EU. Dr Cable noted along the way that the EU has protected us from nasty nationalism [at about 27 minutes if you ever want to watch it].
This is related to the argument that the EU is the antidote to nasty nationalism and “the EU prevents war”, which have been basic convictions of EU fanatics because of the EU’s function in clipping the wings of national power and “pooling sovereignty” into a greater whole such that war between two EU countries is not only unthinkable but impractical. This was the aim of the original European Coal and Steel Community in the years after World War II — combine the industrial might of Germany with that of France at a European level, and Germany will never again be able to build an independent military-industrial machine with which to threaten its neighbours.
In 2011, this quote was allegedly displayed in the EU visitor centre
But if the EU has prevented nasty nationalism, how do you explain the existence of Marine Le Pen and the Front National (FN)? Or, for that matter, any of the other nationalist parties that have grown in recent times and are guiding the political debate in EU states and even turning up at EU institutions (so one can scarcely say we are protected from it). And from time to time, Le Pen has even been tipped to win the next French presidential election.
Think about that: The Front National and other growing forms of nationalism across Europe have emerged and grown while the EU has reached its most advanced state of integration. That is certainly also true for Greece — a euro state (so at the forefront of EU integration) that has seen its integrated vassal future more quickly and starkly than any other state…and where a Nazi party now comes third in national elections.
Integration thus does not prevent nationalism; Ergo, integration can never have prevented nationalism at any point in EU/EEC history.
And if the EU demonstrably does not and has not prevented nasty nationalism in Europe then, on an EU fanatic’s own logic about nasty nationalism causing war, the EU has not prevented war either. There has simply been no war to prevent. Unless you can remember an episode in post-war history of a brewing intra-EU conflict that had to be “talked down” by or through EU/EEC institutions. I can’t.
What I do recall is the threat of war between America, Britain and their western allies against the Soviet Union, with American and Soviet troops stationed on opposite sides of a partitioned Germany. But neither the stand-off nor the reconciliation was anything to do with the EU/EEC.
Of course the kinds of nation states that do not go to war with each other tend to be those that are entrenched, modern, independent democracies.
But I doubt EU fanatics like Vince Cable want to hear that. | 1,268,450 |
In the early days of rocketry, when subsystems reliability was low, hard experience led designers to add redundancy for critical functions where they could. Redundancy comes at a cost: increased weight, increased complexity, unintended interactions, complex schemes to manage the redundancy, etc. Now days, subsystem reliability is much higher, especially electronic parts. So today we have sophisticated discussions about dispensing with redundancy and living with single string high reliability systems, even in critical areas.
Whenever I am engaged in one of these discussions I remember STS-93 where a 2 cent screw and a 10 cent length of wire demonstrated the vulnerability of an otherwise highly reliable critical system. “Dualing computers” is not a misspelling, it is a safety concept.
Each Space Shuttle Main Engine has a computer mounted right to its side to run the complicated functions required for safe operation of that very complex, high energy device. And every SSME controller is made up of two redundant computers: DCU A and DCU B (Data Control Unit). The A computer is always in control while the B listens along – until and unless the A computer fails; then the B computer takes over. Each computer has its own way to control every valve and its own set of instrumentation required to run the engine: pressures, temperatures, valve positions, turbine speeds.
However, when both A and B are working, they share data. So there is a pressure measurement for the main combustion chamber wired to DCU A and another one wired to DCU B, but when both computers are working they share data and make computations based on the average of the two chamber pressure measurements. If one of the computers fails, the other carries on but then has only one measurement to make calculations from – no more averaging.
Almost all the telemetry that is sent from the engine to Mission Control comes from the A computer; if it fails the B computer sends only a few data points, not nearly as many as the A side.
When STS-93 had its little problem, every engine kept working just fine even though two computers on two separate engines went silent. There was never another case of SSME computer loss in the entire suite of shuttle flights. These computers were highly reliable. The computers never failed because of an electronic part problem or a software error.
But in systems design, like warfare, defense has to be made at the most vulnerable point. For the SSME controllers this was the power source.
If the shuttle designers hadn’t built in redundancy, two of the three engines would have shut down just after lift off. The results from that would not have been good. The crew has a procedure to run called “2 out First Stage”. It is one of those procedures that Capt. Young used to describe as “keeping busy while you wait to die.”
The next time someone tells me they have a highly reliable system that doesn’t need redundancy, I will remember STS-93. I hope you do too. | 1,268,451 |
Minimal Left Bias
This article has minimal left bias with a bias score of -33.3 from our political bias detecting A.I.
A senior Democrat on the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees wants Donald Trump to stop the large-scale immigration raids he has ordered, such as the one this week in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents swept through businesses across Mississippi detaining nearly 700 undocumented immigrants.
Although more than 300 of those detained have already been released, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell reported that alarming reports from USA Today that schoolteachers in Mississippi are concerned that parents won’t be home, that schoolchildren are going to be sent home from school to empty houses.
Mitchell asked Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas what, if any, considerations were made for the children of those detained.
“Well, Andrea, just from the emotional standpoint, before I arrived at the studio, speaking to one of my Hispanic friends, happens to be a business person, I can’t capture for you the emotion of this individual with El Paso and all that is going on,” the congresswoman said, referring to the weekend mass shooting in El Paso where the shooter apparently had anti-immigrant motivation.
“What poor timing the president of the United States decides to take his very untoward and dastardly policies that are made to scare and intimidate not just those who are engaged in this roundup, but all across the nation,” Jackson Lee added. “Now let me be very clear. We understand land of immigrants and a land of laws. However, this process of raids have been used in the past and they are wrong-headed and ineffective. Every one of those persons has an address, were living in the community openly. Their children were going to school. And every one of them could have been appropriately rounded up in some other location. They were not escapees or felons, as President Obama focused on, people who would do harm to the United States. These are people who are working. And not only that, the wrongness, if you will, is on the business that didn’t process these people in the right manner. But I would say for the agricultural business, they’ve been begging for us to find ways for them to have workers in meat plants and other plants around the country. So, I am on Homeland Security.
“I think it’s unfortunate when I.C.E. has to be made into this kind of agency and to be an intimidator rather than an agency that has in the past made sure that we are safe in this nation. That is what Americans want, to be safe,” the congresswoman concluded. “But when their neighbors are rounded up in a vile way, when children are left unprotected, I’m disappointed. And the president and [presidential adviser] Steven Miller need to stop these gestapo tactics and we need to work together to pass comprehensive immigration reform.” | 1,268,452 |
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The Trump administration has told the National Academy of Sciences to stop working on a study about the potential health risks for people living near mountaintop coal-removing sites in Central Appalachia.
“Everyone knows there are major health risks living near mountaintop removal coal mining sites,” Bill Price, the senior Appalachia organizer at the Sierra Club said in a statement. “It’s infuriating that Trump would halt this study on the health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining, research that people in Appalachia have been demanding for years.”
In 2014, a West Virginia University study found that dust from mountaintop removal coal-mining sites was linked to increased incidences of lung cancer. The following year, the state formally asked the Obama administration for help in studying these health effects, and in 2016, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) gave the NAS $1 million to determine the human health effects for people living near coal mine operations.
But last week, in an August 18 letter to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the OSMRE said that the Department of the Interior has begun an agency-wide review of all its grants and cooperative agreements that exceed $100,000, as part of a the Department’s “changing budget situation” and that the agency should halt all work on the study. The NAS says that it is ready to resume work on the study when the review is complete.
“Communities living with daily health threats were counting on finally getting the full story from the professionals at the National Academies of Science,” Price said. “To take that away without warning or adequate reason is beyond heartless.”
Not only can coal have an impact on public health, burning it releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Nonetheless, the Trump administration has been aligned with climate skeptics, and throughout his campaign and presidencyTrump expressed support for the coal industry.
When he announced a new agenda for the Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Scott Pruitt told a group of coal miners that “the coal industry was nearly devastated by years of regulatory overreach, but with new direction from President Trump, we are helping to turn things around for these miners.” At an Iowa rally in June, Trump promised to put coal miners back to work. “We’ve ended the war on clean, beautiful coal,” he said. “And we’re putting our miners back to work.”
Bill Price, from the Sierra Club, says that revoking this study demonstrates the administration’s real priorities when it comes to coal. “It appears that the only people Trump cares about in Appalachia are coal executives,” he wrote, “not the people who’ve lived and worked here for generations.” | 1,268,453 |
Trump has hired a lawyer as well. So What. Democrats hire lawyers too when they are the target of investigations. They let the lawyers speak for them because of the little thing most fall into which is a tool of special counsels. Its called the perjury trap. They question you this year, and question you again in another year, and if the stories don't match exactly, you're guilty of perjury. If you're involved in a self defense shooting, the second call you make after 911 is to a lawyer, and you keep your mouth shut until the lawyer speaks for you or tells you what to say.
What's the difference?
Your innocent as hell, but a trained interrogator can make you say things you don't want to, and change the context of your replies to fit their narrative.
Back to the original post, and I stole this:
In all matters, prosecutors are forbidden from presiding over a case in which they have a personal relationship with a key, pivotal witness. This is the kind of disqualifying mandate which, if violated, can and should result in disbarment proceedings against a lawyer. Mueller is violating not only the special counsel statute, but the Canons of Ethics and its successor, the Code of Professional Responsibility, which govern the conduct of lawyers.
Compounding the conflict is the debate over whether Comey himself committed crimes. He admitted in his testimony that he leaked the memo reflecting his alleged conversation with President Trump. It is a felony to convert government property (the memo) to personal use and then “convey” it to someone outside the government without authorization.
Moreover, Comey’s non-disclosure contract promises he will not disclose the very kind of information he leaked to the media. Doing so, subjects him to “criminal sanctions and personal liability in a civil action” for money damages. It matters not that he is no longer at the FBI. His agreement is a binding, enforceable and actionable contract regardless of Comey’s job status.
Edit:
Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, is the only person who can fire the special counsel. But he, too, has a conflict of interest if Mueller’s investigation now includes Comey’s firing. Inasmuch as Rosenstein is the person who composed the memo that formed the basis for Comey’s termination and may have had conversations with the president about the reasons for firing Comey, Rosenstein now becomes an important witness.
He cannot serve as Mueller’s boss at the Department of Justice while simultaneously acting as a witness in the case being investigated by his appointee.
The only solution is for both men to voluntarily resign from the case. In the alternative, Rosenstein should fire Mueller and then recuse himself from the case. In either scenario, another top official at the DOJ would take charge of the case and appoint a new special counsel – this time an impartial one who is not hopelessly conflicted.
Click to expand... | 1,268,454 |
Fidel thinks Americans should vote for a robot over Obama
First Fidel Castro came out against fracking. Now, only days later, he’s come out against Barack Obama. In his latest "reflection" in state-run media on Monday, the former Cuban leader declared that a "robot" would do a better job governing the United States and preventing "a war that would end the life of our species" than President Obama, "for whom, in his desperate quest for reelection, the dreams of [Martin] Luther King are more light years away than earth is from the nearest habitable planet."
It’s biting stuff from a man who in 2008 described Obama as "more intelligent, refined, and even-handed" than his Republican challenger John McCain, whom Castro labeled "old, belligerent, uncultivated, unintelligent, and in poor health" (the Comandante, no spring chicken, doesn’t mince words, does he?). In 2009, Castro expressed faith in Obama’s "honesty" about wanting to reach out to Cuban leaders and surprise that Obama’s popularity was declining, blaming the phenomenon on "traditional racism" in America (during the 2008 campaign, he argued that millions of white Americans "cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that a black person … could occupy the White House, which is called just that: white"). A year later, Castro praised Obama’s health care reform, though he tweaked the U.S. leader on climate change and immigration reform.
In fact, Castro has been growing disillusioned with Obama for some time. In September, Castro condemned the NATO intervention in Libya, declaring that Obama, the "yankee president," had served up "gibberish" during an address at the U.N. General Assembly and committed "monstrous crimes" in Libya. A few days later, Castro scoffed at Obama’s suggestion that the United States would consider softening its stance toward Cuba if the Cuban government made a serious effort to "provide liberty for its people," and called Obama "stupid" in reference to the case of five Cuban agents imprisoned in the United States for spying.
But, lest recent headlines like "CANDIDATE-BOT 3000 Model ‘Mitt Romney’ Being Glitchy Today" and "I Think Mitt Romney Is a Shape-Shifting Robot" confuse you, Castro does not appear to be endorsing the Republican frontrunner. In his op-ed, Castro added that the Republicans were worse still — carrying "more nuclear arms on their backs than ideas for peace in their heads."
And as pundits lavish their attention today on the latest polling out of New Hampshire, Castro likes the robot’s chances. "I’m sure 90 percent of voting Americans, especially Hispanics, blacks, and the growing number of impoverished middle class, would vote for the robot," he declared. Anyone want to go out on a limb and predict a robot write-in victory in the Granite State? | 1,268,455 |
Posted on 04. Apr, 2008 by Ryan in 2000-2009, Innovations
Photo Credit: Saab-Scania AB
In 1974, Saab-Scania Sweden’s Saab Car Division began developing what is known as the “Saab Nine Cylinder Axial Steam Engine” also known as project ULF.
This 250-hp nine cylinder steam engine was quite small, but it packed a punch while requiring a boiler and a large condenser with a buffer tank. The best part about this engine was that it required minimal fossil fuels and included miniscule carbon emissions.
At the time, Saab believed that they had overcome the most difficult obstacles with this engine that included everything from freezing, lubrication, cooling and starting time.
The steam generator itself operated at a working pressure of 100 bar at a temp of 662 degrees fahrenheit. This generator consists of 120 parallel tubes, spirally wound and brazed together. The tube’s internal diameter is only one mm.
The main expander included nine cylinders arranged axially in a ring around the verticle shaft, with a swashplate drive to the fina-drive unit and differential integrated with the crankcase. It is a uni-flow type with a variable cut-off control. This unit was geared to run at 3000 rpm at 90 miles per hour. The exhaust temperature from this engine was lower than one would expect at 180 degrees to a maximum of 482 degrees fahrenheit.
There was a liquid fuel burner that warmed up the water boiler that poured into the main expander engine. so there was a slight use of fossil fuels.
This quiet engine was designed and operated to drive the front wheels directly just like a conventional engine of its time and many to this very day.
It is notable that at the time, the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States awarded Saab-Scania AB for this successful steam engine development at the same time they were sending funds directly into stateside research steam-baed projects that never went as far as this project did.
According to a number of the research articles in this source, Saab-Scania AB’s Saab Car Division not only planned to continue this project well into the 1980’s, but they also planned to apply this nearly completed project to all of their production cars in the future.
So here is the question, what happened to this innovative breakthrough from Saab? It would appear that a project like this that was apparently shelved, should be reinstated, updated and included in Saab’s research and development today for alternative energy sources such as their ongoing BioPower and Hybrid programs. It would seem logical that the idea of using water to create steam is not a new idea and that it would be probably a less expensive and simpler solution than all of the existing alternatives being developed today.
Source: The Printed Word For ’74 – Saab-Scania of America, Inc. | 1,268,456 |
first officer divulged that they were only joking by planting the weed. He apologized and waved my friend through.
Generally, the tactic of planting drugs on people is only practiced in heavily trafficked tourist areas. The police in tourist areas are handicapped because tourists generally don’t “pay their due” to the police, or to any other functionary. Tourists consider it”corrupt” to have to pay policeman to do their jobs, or to pay them in order to have the freedom to drive down the street on checkpoint day. The police therefore are forced to resort to unethical means in order to make a living in these places. I understand this well, yet some character flaw in myself won’t allow me to reward someone who plants drugs on me. My friend feels the same.
Gifts
Gifts occupy a different strata in the system of negotiation. They are used when some future consideration is required, or after an official favor has been provided. Gifts can be small or large, depending on the circumstances and the wise person will have an ample supply ready for any event. I operate seven small businesses in Belize. When I first opened them I refused to acquiesce to my business manager’s advice about gifts. I naiively assumed I could skate by without them. I was wrong, I finally allowed the guy to stock up on resources so that he could do the job I was paying him to do:
Now… to be fair to the authorities ….. I have no way of knowing whether these “gifts” were actually given to the authorities. For all I know the business manager that I hired started his own retail outlet somewhere and is still living off of the proceeds. It’s difficult under certain circumstances to get at the facts.
Favors, likewise, are part of the system. They have no negative connotation, and they require gifts whose magnitude reflects the magnitude of the favor.
One common “favor” that is considered questionable is to gift an officer in the armed forces to provide armed support for a drug deal, a revenge raid, an armored car heist, or any similar function. It’s a very common occurrence but it’s deemed to be morally sketchy by most of the populace. The reason for this, I believe, is the sense of unease created by the image of highly organized, insolent, largely illiterate men with fully automatic weapons catering to the whims of anyone with spare change. The general consensus is that the system of “negotiation” should stop at the gates of the military. The military should uphold the system, not practice it, as my friend and philosopher Paz once said. This is no more illogical than policemen as “officers of the peace”. The fact that SWAT teams exist and every policeman carries a gun and is trained in violent tactics, should alert us to the fact that practicing peace is not the means of choice for maintaining peace. | 1,268,457 |
.2 percent from the field.
It’s hard to predict which way voters will go in making this tough choice, but my guess is Giannis will come out on top, based on the Bucks’ record and the fact Harden won the award last season.
One of the interesting free agents to watch this summer will be Charlotte point guard Kemba Walker. The 6-foot-1 three-time all-star is having another great season statistically, but the Hornets are about to miss the playoffs again.
Walker expressed his frustration to the front office earlier in the season, and was assured the team will make the changes necessary to build a competitive team around him. But with Walker turning 29 before next season, will the Hornets be willing to make a five-year, $220 million supermax offer to their franchise player? And, will Walker be confident enough to entrust the rest of his career with a middling, small market team?
You can expect the Knicks, Nets and Clippers to explore the Kemba market this summer, but the Bulls are most likely out of the running after giving up their ability to offer a max contract with the Otto Porter Jr. trade.
Long term, the Bulls would be better off by landing a young point guard like Morant, but Walker’s explosive scoring ability will make him an attractive target in free agency.
Former Bulls’ all star Jimmy Butler could be on the move again this summer. First year 76ers GM Elton Brand is on the record saying the team will make every effort to re-sign Butler and Tobias Harris in free agency this summer, but it’s become increasingly apparent Harris is their No. 1 priority.
Harris is four years younger than Butler and is enjoying his best season as a pro. He’s also become a go-to option in Brett Brown’s half-court sets. The 76ers are expected to move quickly to get Harris to commit to a long-term contract once the bell rings at midnight on July 1.
Meanwhile, Butler’s age (he’ll turn 30 before the start of next season) and high usage rate might make the 76ers reluctant to commit to a five-year max deal. Now, this all could change based on how well Philly does in the upcoming playoffs, but it looks like Butler will be exploring interest from other teams this summer, including both New York and both Los Angeles franchises.
Butler could wind up being the backup choice for the Clippers, who are expected to go hard for Kawhi Leonard, and also the second choice for the Knicks if they can’t sign Kevin Durant. It’s hard to imagine Jimmy agreeing to be LeBron’s supporting actor with the Lakers, but as we’ve seen in the past, free agency can lead to some unexpected alliances.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Bulls easily on your device. | 1,268,458 |
The NSW coroner will hold an inquest into the recent deaths of five people of suspected drug overdoses at music festivals across the state, with a public hearing to kick off next week.
The announcement follows the death of a 19-year-old Central Coast woman on Saturday after she attended FOMO festival at Parramatta Park.
FOMO
Devastated relatives of Alexandra Ross-King pleaded with the premier to introduce pill testing.
"It's such a small thing to do. It's not hard (and) if it saves one life - one life is a life," her grandmother Denise Doig told Network Ten.
The inquest will also focus on the deaths of Diana Nguyen and Joseph Nguyen Nhu Binh Pham at Defqon.1 on September 15; Callum Brosnan, who died after attending the Knockout Games of Destiny on December 9; and Joshua Tam, following the Lost Paradise festival on December 29.
AAP
Following Saturday's death, police issued a warning to festival attendees to avoid all drugs at festivals because they can never be certain what the substances contain.
NSW Health confirmed the 19-year-old died on Saturday following a “drug ingestion”, while another 10 were taken to hospital for treatment.
"There is no such level of safe use of a prohibited drug – they [drugs] are very inconsistent, you don’t know what the effects are going to be," NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Jones said on Sunday.
"Just don’t take it in the first place."
Supplied
The tragic string of music festivals drug deaths has sparked a renewed call for pill testing.
Earlier this month, NSW Labor leader Michael Daley said his party would explore the possibility of pill testing if it won the March election.
The NSW government has ruled out pill testing, saying it gave people a “green light” to take something potentially dangerous.
Supplied
“I think the process, as it’s currently being promoted, is fraught with significant risks that will give festival-goers a false sense of security that drugs are safe to use," NSW Police Minister Troy Grant told SBS News.
“This [pill testing] is no silver bullet."
But proponents of pill testing, including festival promoters and Australia's peak representative body for doctors, argue this is not the case.
“What a lot of people don’t understand is that this is a result that is provided in the context in as much as half an hour of medical consultation,” emergency consultant and clinical lead of Pill Testing Australia Dr David Caldicott told SBS News.
Music Feeds
“There is nothing about a white finding [a finding that matches what is expected] that is reassuring, we talk to them about their medical health, how they might react to a drug in a way that is very different to everybody else.” | 1,268,459 |
Better Management through Better Data
On-the-ground data is the lifeblood of hydrological forecasting. Computer models that predict conditions up to a year in advance need to be calibrated and refined by comparing the model’s output with historical measurements. The region’s river forecast centers use stream flow information from U.S. Geological Survey monitoring networks and snow measurements from National Resources Conservation Service sites.
Graphic via National Water and Climate Center Snowpack in most of the Cascades and Olympics is significantly below normal for mid-February. Click image to enlarge.
Both Seattle Public Utilities and the Bureau of Reclamation use forecasts from the Northwest River Forecast Center, one of 13 regional forecasting divisions of the National Weather Service. Yet even as the complexity of river forecasting increases, and hydrological cycles are more disrupted than ever before, the nation’s resolve to pay for data collection and analysis is in transition.
Two years ago, at the height of Congress’s drive for fiscal austerity, some 618 stream gauges were shut down by the U.S. Geological Survey and its local partners for lack of money. Federal dollars used to support half the cost of operating a jointly-funded stream gauge. Now, the federal share is down to 30 percent. National Water and Climate Center officials told Circle of Blue last year that they deferred maintenance of many snow-monitoring sites after a 15 percent budget cut in 2011 and a 7 percent retraction during sequestration in 2013.
Recently, though, Congress increased funding for the National Streamflow Information Program, which goes toward stream gauges, by $US 6 million in 2014 and $US 1.2 million in 2015, a 26 percent increase over two years. It was enough money to provide full support for 1,000 of the 8,100 monitoring sites in the national streamflow program. The remaining sites are paid for by state and local agencies.
“Congress is starting to get it,” Pixie Hamilton told Circle of Blue. Hamilton is the national coordinator of the Cooperative Water Program, a branch of the U.S. Geological Survey that facilitates data collection partnerships. “Congressional folks are understanding the value of stream gauges in their districts. Word is getting out that stream gauges serve multiple needs, and there is keen interest around the states and Congress to keep up these gauges.”
Still, there is room for improvement. The Cooperative Water Program’s budget — $US 59 million — has remained roughly the same for 25 years, cutting the real value of its funding in half because of inflation. More of the 4,759 gauges deemed a national priority could be supported by a full appropriation from Congress, and the federal cost-share for collaborative projects could be increased.
“We are creatures of the water cycle,” Fleming said referring to his water management colleagues. “The more we can enhance our knowledge and bring it into the decision-making, the better position we’ll be in.” | 1,268,460 |
A PROUD gay couple who were shunned from their community because of their sexuality have been nominated for national diversity award.
Amir Dean, 30, and Aamir Hassan, 28, of Bingley, met in late 2014, became engaged in 2016 and wed in April last year, in secret, with 10 of their closest loved ones as witnesses.
In June last year, they went on to create the ‘You Don’t Love Me’ podcast.
Both Amir and Aamir have overcome many challenges in their lives. In late 2015, Amir was disowned and thrown out by his family due to his sexuality and denouncement of the Islamic faith.
They identify as ex-Muslims and due to this - and their sexuality - have been shunned by their community.
Despite this, they have found the strength and resilience to pull through and have been nominated in the National Diversity Awards.
They started the podcast as they didn’t see themselves represented - a South Asian LGBTQ+ couple who found love and made a success of their relationship.
On it, they talk about everything from serious issues like gender and race identity to pop culture and Bollywood, drawing in thousands of listeners, hundreds of messages and emails from South Asian people across the world and even fan art.
The couple said: “It’s extremely overwhelming to be nominated and we are really touched by it.
“All we want to do is entertain and represent and it’s humbling as well as surreal that people are inspired by us and our story. We hope this can lead to more South Asian LGBTQ+ diversity within the media and entertainment industry. We are here, we are queer and we exist.”
The podcast has also brought up other opportunities - the couple appeared in ‘My God I’m Queer’, a documentary created by the Naz and Matt Foundation which tackles homophobia triggered by religion.
They have also welcomed a a range of high-profile guests including Aja and
The Vixen from Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Great British Bake Off Contestant Rav Bansal, plus South Asian influencers and charity workers. At the heart of the couple’s work is the desire to spread the message of love and shine a light on their own experience of being a South Asian gay couple that have married and are openly living their lives.
A number of other individuals and organisations from the Bradford district have been nominated in the awards. They include Councillor Richard Dunbar, in the Positive Role Model (LGBT) category, Free 2B-Me in the Community Organisation (LGBT) category, Carers Resource in the Community Organisation (Disability) category, Vicky Clifton is up for the Lifetime Achiever award, while Nathan Pickles, from Keighley, has been nominated in the Positive Role Model (Age) category and Haworth Riding for the Disabled in the Community Organisation (Disability) category. | 1,268,461 |
Protesters march outside of Bank of America's New York offices ahead of Wednesday's shareholder meeting.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The 99% are preparing to occupy Charlotte, North Carolina, home of Bank of America's corporate headquarters, ahead of the bank's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday.
Members of the 99% Power Coalition, which is organizing the events, said they expect nearly 1,000 individuals to arrive in Charlotte to protest Bank of America's (BAC, Fortune 500) foreclosure practices and its investment in coal mining, several members of the group said on a call with reporters Tuesday.
The organization has held similar protests outside the shareholder meetings of Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) that have drawn hundreds of people. The organizers said they expect Bank of America's meeting to draw the largest crowds of all.
"We see Bank of America as the worst of the worst," said Amanda Starbuck, a director at the environmental advocacy group, Rainforest Action Network, which is organizing the protests. "There's a lot of momentum around Bank of America."
In response, the city of Charlotte is beefing up police presence in a two-block radius surrounding the bank's headquarters, where the meeting will be held. Earlier in the year, the city deemed it an "extraordinary event," which allows the Charlotte police force to reallocate officers as it sees fit, according to a spokesperson for the mayor's office.
Additionally, members of the 99% Coalition said that Bank of America is paying for additional security around the meeting. The bank hired off-duty Charlotte police officers to sit inside the meeting, as well as a private security firm to work outside.
Bank of America declined to comment on the hiring of private security. A spokesperson for Charlotte's mayor said that off-duty police officers can be hired by private companies.
Meanwhile, members of the 99% Power Coalition said they'll do several marches ahead of the 10 a.m. meeting and protest outside. Plus, members of their organization that own shares plan to go inside to ask questions of Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan.
"We're taking a chance to almost bypass the political protests and go directly to the corporations," said Starbuck.
Battles both outside and inside shareholder meetings have been heating up this year. At the annual meeting for Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), shareholders voted against CEO Vikram Pandit's $15 million pay package. That shareholder vote is not binding and Citi has yet to decide if it will uphold Pandit's compensation.
While shareholders could disrupt presentations at the shareholder meeting, analysts are not expecting CEO Brian Moynihan's pay package to be voted down.
Still, members of the 99% Power Coalition said they will continue to push Moynihan and other Bank of America executives on the issue of lowering principal payments on mortgages that are underwater; paying their "fair share of taxes;" and its financing of coal operations. | 1,268,462 |
student would usually end up serving the teacher as part of this relationship but the idea of service is subsidiary to the idea of keeping company with the teacher in order to learn from them. Thus the modern translations currently in use “to rely on” or “to serve” are not quite the meaning intended. In fact, the term really means “to apprentice oneself” but that might not be accepted as a modern translation. The best translations are probably “to attend (to)”, “to serve under”, “to apprentice”. E.g., [TC] སྨན་པ་བསྟེན་པ། “served / studied / apprenticed under a doctor”; དགེ་རྒན་སྟེན་པ། “to attend a teacher; སུ་བྱམས་ཕ་མ་ལྟར་དུ་བསྟེན། “serve and attend whoever is loving like one’s parents”; ཡུལ་ཡར་ཀླུངས་ལ་བསྡད་ན་ལྷ་ཡར་ལྷ་ཤམ་པོ་དང་། ཡུལ་ཀོང་པོར་བསྡད་ན་ལྷ་ཀོང་བཙུན་དེ་མོ་བསྟེན་དགོས། “when you stay in Yarlung, you must propitiate the god Yarlha Shampo; when you stay in Kongpo, you must propitiate the god Kong tsun demo”.
See also
Secarianism within Buddhism
Last updated, March 1, 2019 | 1,268,463 |
If We Treated Everyone’s Bodies the Way We Treat Pregnant Women’s Bodies
“I heard about your hysterectomy. Was it planned or were you totally surprised? More importantly, how does your husband feel about it?”
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“I’m sorry your food poisoning is causing you to vomit every hour on the hour, but you don’t need to be so dramatic about it. You’re not the first person to have food poisoning. We still need you to come into work.”
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“Your beer gut is really coming along. Can I touch it?”
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“Call me as soon as you head to the hospital for your colonoscopy! I want to sit in the waiting room so I can be the first one to see the video when it’s over.”
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“You’re getting a pacemaker? You don’t need a pacemaker. That’s not how we used to do it. Back in my day, people just died from their heart problems — and those of us who didn’t turned out just fine!”
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“What are you doing about your kidney stone? Are you keeping it? You have to keep it. You CAN’T get it laser blasted. That’s inhumane. I’ll send you some literature on it.”
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“It says here your doctor wants you to take six months off work to recover from your heart attack. We’ll give you six weeks.”
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“I’m sure your inflamed appendix is uncomfortable, but per our company’s medical leave policy, you have to continue working until the moment it actually erupts.”
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“The incision from your knee surgery looks like it’s causing you some serious discomfort. Can I touch it?”
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“Why are you complaining about your unbearable gallstone pain? You should feel lucky. Some people don’t even have gallbladders. They would kill to be in your shoes. This is a magical time, enjoy it.”
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“But I’m your mother! Of course I should be allowed in the room for your vasectomy. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before!”
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“Wow, that growth on your neck is getting so big. Can I touch it?”
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“Noooooo, don’t find out what kind of cancer it is. It’s more exciting if you keep it a surprise!” | 1,268,464 |
One year after being a running joke, the NFC East looks back in a big way. A pair of rookie QBs deserve a lot of the credit for the division's renaissance, and this weekend's matchup between the Eagles and Redskins suddenly is packed with importance. Let's run through the East-
The Dallas Cowboys (4-1, 1-1) take first place on the strength of a four-game win streak and a nasty run game. It's hard to believe Dak Prescott is a rookie; through five games he has no interceptions. Ezekiel Elliot is starting to look like a Pro Bowler behind that massive Cowboys O-line. Their early schedule hasn't been too tough, but the impressive 28-14 win over the Bengals stands out. The Philadelphia Eagles (3-1, 0-0) take the second spot in the division but might have a legit gripe with the NFL scheduling office. The team played terrific through three games, crushing the Steelers at home, before a Week 4 bye. The time off disrupted the Eagles focus as the squad looked flat in a disappointing loss to the Lions last week. Sunday's game in Washington will be rookie Carson Wentz's first ever NFC East tilt; a huge test for the young man. The hype on Wentz may remind some Redskins fans of the hype surrounding RG3 during his rookie season in 2012. The defending East champs looked just about done after two straight losses to open the season but the Redskins (3-2, 1-1) reinserted themselves into the division race with a three-game win streak. Washington is still yet to play a complete game; either the offense does well like in wins against New York and Cleveland or the defense sets the tone like in last week's win against Baltimore. One new facet for the 'Skins: dependable special teams with the ability to make explosive plays. If Jay Gruden's squad beats the Eagles this weekend and the Cowboys lose in Green Bay, the Redskins would be in first place. After spending a truck load of money this offseason to fix their defense, most oddsmakers installed the New York Giants (2-3, 1-1) as favorites to win the NFC East after Tony Romo went down for Dallas in the preseason. New York opened the season 2-0, including a win in Dallas, but has since lost three straight. What's worse for Big Blue is a slumping defense now dealing with injuries as well as the sideshow of Odell Beckham. Arguably the most physically gifted receiver in the NFL, Backham has not produced particularly impressive numbers and has been a distraction at times in the sidelines and in the tabloids. For many years with no nonsense coach Tom Coughlin the Giants saw little off the field drama; rookie head man Ben McAdoo does not have his Giants squad on nearly as tight of a leash through his first five games at the helm.
Want more Redskins? Check out @JPFinlayCSN for live updates or click here for the #RedskinsTalk Podcast on iTunes or press play below. | 1,268,465 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court will hear arguments on Friday over whether the Trump administration acted legally when it repealed landmark net neutrality rules governing internet providers in December 2017.
FILE PHOTO - Fiber optic cables carrying internet providers are seen running into a server room at Intergate.Manhattan, in New York, March 20, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar
The panel, which has set aside 2-1/2 hours to hear the case, is made up of Judges Robert Wilkins and Patricia Millett, two appointees of Democratic former President Barack Obama, and Stephen Williams, an appointee of Republican Ronald Reagan.
Separately, a U.S. House panel said Thursday it would hold a hearing on Feb. 7 on the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal the 2015 Obama administration’s net neutrality rules.
In May, the U.S. Senate voted 52 to 47 to reverse the FCC’s decision to repeal the net neutrality rules, but the House never took up the issue.
The Republican-led FCC voted 3-2 along party lines to reverse the net neutrality rules, which barred internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization. The FCC said providers must disclose any changes in users’ internet access as it repealed what it termed “unnecessary, heavy-handed regulations.”
The FCC repeal was a win for providers like Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O), AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, but was opposed by internet companies like Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc.
A group of 22 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reinstate the Obama-era internet rules and to block the FCC’s effort to pre-empt states from imposing their own rules guaranteeing an open internet.
They argue the FCC disregarded evidence that internet
providers will engage “in abusive practices that harm consumers and undermine public safety” and instead unreasonably rely “on a patchwork of unenforceable voluntary commitments (and) amorphous market pressures.”
Matthew Berry, the FCC’s chief of staff, said he expects the judiciary “will uphold the FCC’s decision to return to that regulatory framework under which the internet flourished prior to 2015 and is continuing to thrive today.”
Several internet companies are also part of the legal challenge, including Mozilla Corp, Vimeo Inc and Etsy Inc (ETSY.O), as well as numerous media and technology advocacy groups and major cities, including New York and San Francisco.
Major providers have not made any changes in how Americans access the internet since the repeal.
In October, California agreed not to enforce its own state net neutrality law until the appeals court’s decision on the 2017 repeal, and any potential review by the U.S. Supreme Court. | 1,268,466 |
Today is an exciting day for me. Today is the day that the episode of Rock Solid that I got to co-host has been unleashed! Rock Solid is a comedy/music podcast. Each episode has a theme in which Host Pat Francis and one of his four rotating co-hosts (Mike Siegel, April Richardson, Murray Valeriano, and Christy Stratton), joined by producer Kyle Dodson, play songs that relate to that topic and discuss. The result is a mash up of hilarity and rock that is sure to entertain. I had a great deal of fun recording this episode with the fine folks of that podcast. And I hope that you will have a good time listening to the episode.
Not wanting to burry the lead hear, you can find my episode here:
http://rocksolid.libsyn.com/comic-kaze
Upon arrival to the Rock Solid studio, I was greeted with the delightful pleasure of getting to sit in and listen as Pat Francis and one of his regular rotating co-hosts, Murray Valeriano, recorded another episode. It was great getting an idea of how things would work, plus watching the two of them work was quite entertaining despite the fact that I couldn’t hear the music they were playing due to them wearing headphones. During this time I was filled with a mixture of excitement and nerves. The only thing I was truly worried about was being a weak link in part of something that I really enjoy and love. And then, it was time to record.
It was up to me to pick the topic that would be discussed for the episode, and considering my gigantic nerdy, comic book loving nature, I chose comics. The idea being to pick songs and relate them to comics and characters in the books. Even as recording was beginning, I was still in my head and filled with nerves, but the friendly, often funny, and easy going nature of Pat and Kyle quickly brought me out of it. The end result being three grown men geeking out over comics and rock music. Again, I can’t stress enough how much of a blast I had recording this episode with these guys, they made it a true pleasure.
You should follow the show and it’s cast on twitter:
@RockSolidShow
@Pat_Francis
@KyleDodsonFunny
@murrayv
@Apey
@funnyMike
@ChristySMann
Like it on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RockSolidPodcast
And also, a huge big thanks for Gentlemen artist, Aaron Alvarez for his amazing art done to commemorate this episode. I gave him a general idea of what I wanted to see and he really knocked it out of the park with his homage to the classic, iconic Neal Adams cover that I have added below.
Thanks for reading and thanks for listening!
Travis “Bullshit Speedy” Kennedy | 1,268,467 |
realised that the technology has moved quite far.”
“We wanted something that was major and long-lasting and could help turn the dial. And we wanted an idea that could attract business and others to the ACT to be part of the hydrogen economy that we hope will come out of it.”
Heron says using electricity at low cost means fuel for hydrogen cars might be around 75c/litre. But still, there is more work to be done. “The main thing holding back the idea of hydrogen cars is infrastructure. We are not there yet. It is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. We need infrastructure there to get cost down but without cars, there is no need for infrastructure. This plan in the ACT is to try to get around the situation. And we’re not saying hydrogen will replace every electric vehicle. We think there is lot of technology that common to both.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hyundai’s hydrogen car, the ix35 Fuel Cell. Photograph: Hyundai
Currently Hyundai has a single hydrogen car in Australia as a demonstration model and plans that its fleet of 20 will come from a new, yet-to-be-released SUV-style vehicle.
“This is the first order in the world for the vehicle,” says Hyundai spokesman Bill Thomas. The concept is so new it does not have a name, but could be based loosely around the Intrado concept car.
“The ACT initiative is significant, because it is a forward looking and visionary statement about the potential for hydrogen for transport,” he says.
Energy storage: how an abandoned goldmine will be converted into a world first Read more
And that is what attracts Corbell to the idea. He says the program to achieve 100% renewable energy for its electricity needs has made the ACT a centre for renewable energy and research.
Half a dozen clean tech companies have made the ACT their home and a renewable energy hub at the Canberra Institute of Technology at Bruce has become a centre for research.
Like the ACT’s groundbreaking battery storage initiative – a program to install batteries in 5,000 homes and businesses – the hydrogen initiative will attract more investment, says Corbell. And it won’t cost the local government or taxpayers a single dollar. It was Neoen and Union Fenosa who, quite separately, brought the idea of hydrogen to the ACT as part of their wind auction tenders.
“This is an exciting project, and it is industry-led,” Corbell says. “We are not reaching a view that this technology will win over others. But it is a way to seize an opportunity to attract investment from companies – like Hyundai and Siemens – and grow our capacity to innovate.
“That’s our opportunity. We [the ACT] are not manufacturers. But we can export ideas, innovation and skills. That’s why we are supportive of these opportunities.” | 1,268,468 |
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have appointed a board to investigate an instrument anomaly aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 17 weather satellite currently in orbit.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station carrying the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. Launch was at
5:02 p.m. EST, March 1, 2018. (Credit: United Launch Alliance)
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have appointed a board to investigate an instrument anomaly aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 17 weather satellite currently in orbit.
During postlaunch testing of the satellite’s Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument, it was discovered that the instrument’s infrared detectors cannot be maintained at their required operating temperatures under certain seasonal and orbital conditions,resulting in a loss of approximately three percent of the instrument’s availability over the course of a year. This loss exceeds a key design requirement.
NASA and NOAA senior leadership have determined the need to convene the mishap investigation board, which will work to determine the root or proximate cause of the anomaly and identify actions to prevent occurrences on future satellites. The board will begin its work as soon as possible.
David McGowan, chief engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center, will chair the five-member board. The other four members are:
Dr. Joel Lachter, human factors investigator, NASA’s Ames Research Center
Rich Slywczak, safety officer, NASA’s Glenn Research Center
Hank Rotter, NASA Engineering and Safety Center technical fellow for active thermal systems, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Julie Grantier, senior technical lead for systems engineering, NASA’s Glenn Research Center
GOES-17 is one of several next-generation weather satellites in the GOES-R series, including GOES-16, which currently serves as the operational geostationary weather satellite over the U.S. East coast. Later this year, GOES-17 will become operational as the GOES West satellite. Two additional satellites, GOES-T and GOES-U, are currently in development. The advanced instrument technology used on these satellites is contributing to more timely and accurate weather forecasts and warnings.
The GOES-R Series program is a collaborative effort between NOAA, NASA and industry partners. NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA/NASA office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA also oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft, instruments and launch vehicles. Mission operations are performed by NOAA at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.
For more information about the GOES-R Series, visit: https://www.goes-r.gov | 1,268,469 |
happened. The finish saw Rayne pin KIm while ODB and Tappa fought outside the ring. It did what it needed to do nothing more.
World Title Tournament Finals: Magnus vs. Jeff Hard Dixieland Match
A Dixieland match, is a two part match. It starts in the cage, where escape over the top is the only option. The second part involves climbing a ladder on the stage to retrieve the belt.
Before the match Hardy, who has been question by various superstars throughout the night, finally decides to come clean, and says that he thought about Dixie’s offer, but couldn’t go back to that place, and is going to do the right thing, and when he wins he is going to follow the lead of AJ. This brings Dixie out, she says that Hardy needs to remember the only reason he still has a job in the wrestling industry is because of her. Because even though everyone told her not to after Victory Road ’11, she stood by his side. So he needs to to the right thing by Dixie tonight or he’ll be unemployed just like AJ Styles.
Magnus comes out, and after the formal introductions the match begins.
The cage portion of the match is where most of the action happens. a lot of stuff off the top rope from both guys. A lot of back and forth. At one point Hardy tries going through the hole in the cage for the camera but Magnus pulls him back in. Eventually Hardy starts to get an edge and hits the Whisper in the Wind. Hardy climbs to the top of the cage, and decides that Magnus isn’t quite out yet, and hits another Whisper in the Wind this time from the top of the cage. Both men are down for a long time Hardy gets to his feet first and starts climbing the cage. Magnus follows suit on the other side of the ring. When they both are at the top EC3 tries to run interference and keep Magnus is the cage, but Hardy comes around and takes out Carter with a Twist of Fate, and before Magnus knows what happened Hardy hits him with a Twist of Fate as well. Dixie tries to stop Hardy from climbing the ladder but he just shoves her aside. When it looks like Hardy has the belt won, Rock star Spud shoves the ladder over. Giving Magnus an open shot for the belt. Magnus climbs the ladder unimpeded, and wins to become the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. After the match Magnus celebrates with the Carters and Spud and it looks as though Dixie has found her champion.
Overall a really good show. The two main events really delivered, and the Feast or Fired segment was awesome with the Sting/EC3 interaction. A lot of stories resolved and plenty more to keep the viewer wanting to comeback. In a time where it seems the WWE cares less and less about its big nights(PPV’s) Final Resultion delivered in terms of story and wrestling. | 1,268,470 |
E-cigarette company Juul Labs has more than doubled its spending on lobbying as it faces regulatory threats from the Trump administration and Congress.
Juul spent about $560,000 on lobbying in the third quarter of 2018, which runs from July through the end of September, according to newly released disclosure reports.
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Juul originally reported spending $1.2 million on lobbying in the third quarter, but later amended that amount that amount to $560,000, calling the incorrect data a filing error.
That compares to the $210,000 it spent in the previous quarter — a 166 percent increase.
Juul, which dominates the e-cigarette landscape in the U.S., didn't have much of a lobbying presence in D.C. until the last quarter, which runs from April through June.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and lawmakers from both parties are considering a regulatory crackdown on Juul and other companies in the e-cigarette industry as use among teenagers grows.
As the crackdown looms, Juul has hired several high-profile former federal officials and regulators.
According to the disclosure report released Tuesday, Juul spent the third quarter of 2018 lobbying both the House and Senate, as well as the Office of Management & Budget within the White House.
Among its top lobbyists are Jim Esquea, who was assistant secretary for legislation for the Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration, and Ted McCann, who was assistant to Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) from November 2015 through August 2018.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who has called teen use of e-cigarettes an "epidemic," has been critical of Juul and other companies, arguing that marketing is aimed at youth by labeling e-liquids to resemble "kid-friendly" foods like juice boxes, candy and cookies.
Flavors that taste like fruit and candy are the most popular with teenagers and also account for the majority of Juul’s sales.
The FDA says e-cigarettes may be an alternative for adults trying to transition away from traditional tobacco products, like cigarettes.
At the same time, Gottlieb has hinted at future regulatory actions, writing last month that "the FDA won’t tolerate a whole generation of young people becoming addicted to nicotine as a tradeoff for enabling adults to have unfettered access to these same products."
The FDA conducted a surprise inspection of Juul's corporate headquarters in September and collected more than a thousand pages of documents.
Potential regulatory actions include a possible ban on flavored e-liquids if five of the largest manufacturers can't come up with adequate plans to help keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of those under the age of 18.
—Updated Wednesday at 10:41 a.m. | 1,268,471 |
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates doesn’t worry that Silicon Valley is the home of billion-dollar texting apps and farming games. “Innovation in California is at its absolute peak right now. Sure, half of the companies are silly, and you know two-thirds of them are going to go bankrupt, but the dozen or so ideas that emerge out of that are going to be really important,” Gates told Rolling Stone, in a wide-ranging interview on government surveillance, financial inequality, immigration reform, and the cultural backlash against Silicon Valley.
Gates’ sentiment is a nice to response to a New York Times spread that lambasted Silicon Valley investors for encouraging their brightest minds to work on solving the problems of yuppie 20-somethings.
“Why do these smart, quantitatively trained engineers, who could help cure cancer or fix healthcare.gov, want to work for a sexting app?”, asked writer Yiren Leu in the aptly titled “Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem”.
It’s important to keep in mind that many of the technology industry’s most impactful companies were originally targeted at the recreational lives of (relatively affluent) users. Facebook was built to help ivy league college students share fun photos. Today, Facebook significantly boosts voter turnout, organ donation, and broadband access in developing nations.
Gates also let loose on other important political topics, describing the current U.S. immigration system as “insane.”
“I’d say treatment of immigrants is one of the greatest injustices done in our government’s name,” he argued. “You’ve got 12 million people living in fear of arbitrary things that can happen to them.”
But, Gates didn’t carry the standard tech line on all issues. When asked if whistleblower Edward Snowden was a “hero,” Gates said, “I think he broke the law, so I certainly wouldn’t characterize him as a hero.”
He also didn’t express as much misgiving about government surveillance.
“Should there be cameras everywhere in outdoor streets? My personal view is having cameras in inner cities is a very good thing”, he said, noting that CCTV in London has reduced petty crime and that the government has good reason to investigate serious national security threats.
Despite our political problems, Gates remains optimistic, “Our modern lifestyle is not a political creation. Before 1700, everybody was poor as hell. Life was short and brutish. It wasn’t because we didn’t have good politicians; we had some really good politicians,” he argues.
What really lifted humanity out of poverty was technology, from electricity to genetics research.
“Innovation is the real driver of progress,” he said.
[Image Credit: Flickr User jurvetson] | 1,268,472 |
Changes to Poland’s supreme court endanger the rule of law, democracy and human rights, according to a draft opinion from Europe’s leading constitutional experts.
The draft from the Venice Commission, legal experts who advise the Council of Europe, called on the Polish government to strike out provisions of a law reforming the country’s highest court.
Last year Poland’s staunchly conservative Law and Justice party attempted to install five judges of its own choosing on the 15-member constitutional tribunal shortly after coming to power. This was followed by a hastily passed law in December overhauling court procedures, making it harder to pass rulings.
In a draft report that was leaked to Polish media, the Venice Commission said the tribunal’s effectiveness could be crippled, thereby damaging human rights as access to justice was denied.
“As long as the situation of constitutional crisis related to the constitutional tribunal remains unsettled and as long as the constitutional tribunal cannot carry out its work in an efficient manner, not only is the rule of law in danger, but so is democracy and human rights,” the expert body concluded.
Changes to the court removed “a crucial mechanism which ensures that potential conflicts with European and international norms and standards can be resolved at the national level”, it said.
Although the Council of Europe cannot penalise countries or force them to change laws, the stinging rebuke is certain to carry weight. “Member states as a rule don’t ignore [Council of Europe] recommendations,” a Council of Europe spokesman said, while declining to comment on the leak.
The report will also influence the European commission, which has launched an inquiry into the rule of law in Poland, the first time EU authorities have investigated the democratic standards of a member state.
The Council of Europe, which is not part of the EU, will publish the expert group’s final opinion shortly after 11-12 March, following a meeting with Polish government representatives in Venice.
It is conducting a separate inquiry into Poland’s media law, after the Polish government rushed through legislation empowering it to appoint the heads of state TV and radio.
The Polish government has yet to respond to a letter from the Council of Europe secretary-general, sent in early January, expressing concern about the law’s effect on “the integrity and independence” of the media. “We hope to pursue a dialogue on that with the Polish authorities,” the spokesman said.
Poland has reacted angrily to suggestions it is falling short of democratic standards. This month Warsaw hit back at three US senators who said changes to Poland’s constitutional court and media regulation could harm democratic norms, including freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.
Poland’s prime minister, Beata Szydło, said the senators – who included the former Republican presidential contender John McCain – had no right to be lecturing and “imposing actions concerning my fatherland”. | 1,268,473 |
I had to sell my home. And I am left poor and homeless with six children to look after. I do not know how to pray any more. All I can do is come to the synagogue and weep.’
Levi Yitzchak comforted the man and brought him a prayer book. ‘Will you pray now?’
‘Yes,’ said the man.
‘Do you forgive God now?’
‘Yes’, he replied. ‘Today is the Day of Atonement; I must forgive.’
Then Levi Yitzchak turned his eyes upward towards heaven and said, ‘You too must do the same, Master of the Universe, You too must forgive.’
# # #
Caught up in this drama of sin and repentance, justice and forgiveness, estrangement and reconciliation, I begin to realise that being a Jew – being a human being – is not a matter of the here-and-now only. My life is more than this place, this time, these anxieties, those hopes. We are characters in a long and continuing narrative. We carry with us the pain and faith of our ancestors. Our acts will affect our children and those not yet born. We neither live our lives nor come before God alone. In us, the past and future have resided their trust. The battle of good against evil, faith against indifference, is not won in a single generation. Never in earthly time is it ï¬nally won, and must be fought each year anew. In each of us the faith of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac still echoes. The pleas of Levi Yitzchak still resonate. The question is: Will we hear them? On Rosh Hashanah we ask God to remember. But on Rosh Hashanah God also asks us to remember.
Before God lie two books, and one of them is the book of life. It was many years before I understood that before us, also, lie the same two books. In one is written all the things to which human beings have instinctively turned: appetite and will and self-assertion and power. It was Judaism’s most fateful claim that this is not the book of life. The other book is not without these things, but it comes with a condition: that they must be sanctiï¬ed, used responsibly, turned to the common good. From beginning to end Judaism teaches us to enjoy and afï¬rm life. But it teaches that this is not an easy thing if we are to enjoy and afï¬rm other people’s lives as well as our own. There is a code, a law, a covenant, a discipline, and without these things pleasure turns to ashes and life into a passing shadow that leaves no trace. In the ram’s horn is a plea, from heaven and from Jewish history: Choose life. | 1,268,474 |
SOURCE: KREMLIN.RU
On November 6, the FSB announced the name of a new chief of the Irkutsk branch, considered as one of the most important regions in the Asian part of Russia. The position of the head of FSB Board (UFSB) was assumed by Colonel Andrei Patrakov, who has been in service since 1994. He replaced the former chief, Major General Mikhail Kozubov. The latter was in charge of the FSB unit in Irkutsk since May 2013, succeeding Major General Igor Akhrimeev.
Major changes are also expected to occur in the FSB in Kaliningrad. The position of the head of the FSB regional board was assumed by Major General Valery Belitsky. After starting his career in the KGB structures in 1988, he was gradually promoted to the post of deputy head of the FSB in Krasnoyarsk Krai. He was then transferred to the city of Kemerovo where became the chief of the regional FSB unit, replacing Major General Vladimir Panov.
Until now, the FSB branch in Kaliningrad was governed by General-Lieutenant Leonid Mikhailuk. In 2016, he took over the position of Yevgeny Zinichev who had been in charge of the service since June 2015. Initially, the latter shortly served as the Acting Governor of Kaliningrad Oblast and then he was nominated to be the deputy head of the FSB. Mikhailuk arrived in Kaliningrad in 2016 from Vologda where he carried out duties of the chief of the local FSB structures. Until 2012, he worked in Perm Krai.
Mikhailuk has a storied career in the Russian special services. It is known that he had previously served in multiple “hot spots”, including the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict in the early 1990s as well as the Chechen war. Then he served in the Republic of Adygea, where he headed the local counterterrorism department. He was convicted of official misconduct and organizing contract killings. Following his detainment, he spent a month in a detention facility. Nonetheless, the prosecutor’s office made a decision to withdraw all charges against Mikhailuk. Before being transferred to Perm Krai, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In 2002-2011, as a deputy head of the UFSB, he supervised such issues as the fight against corruption, counterintelligence services, and organized crime. Now he may be likely to become the chief of the FSB in Crimea. The current head of the Crimean FSB Directorate, Viktor Palagin, might govern the Belgorod region. He took the position of Yevgeny Savchenko who had headed the region for almost 25 years. Now Palagin will need to face the problem of rising local crime, the issue that may be tackled with the use of the so-called “Dagestani scenario” (including purges in administration and corruption affairs). | 1,268,475 |
ALI MOORE: The king in Bahrain has declared a three month state of emergency as anti-government protests continue in the Emirate.
Troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have arrived in Bahrain to help the country's ruling monarchy restore law and order.
The neighbouring Gulf states say it's not an invasion but Bahrain's opposition groups have described the arrival of foreign forces as an occupation.
The ABC's Middle East correspondent Anne Barker reports.
ANNE BARKER: Saudi armed forces rolled into Bahrain, across the causeway which links the two Gulf kingdoms.
One thousand Saudi troops and 500 police from the United Arab Emirates arrived as clashes between anti-government protesters and Bahrain's security forces intensified.
Yesterday dozens of protesters were injured as security forces loyal to the Sunni royal family battled thousands of Shiite demonstrators, calling for democratic reforms.
At a meeting in Paris with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the Emirates foreign minister said his country was simply answering a call for help.
ABDULLAH BIN ZAYED, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FOREIGN MINISTER: The Bahrain government asked us yesterday to look at ways to help them to diffuse the tension in Bahrain.
ANNE BARKER: But Bahrain's opposition says the arrival of foreign forces amounts to an occupation.
AL-WAAD IBRAHIM SHERIF AL SAYD, OPPOSITION LEADER (translated): We say to our brothers in the Gulf, your army is welcome when our country faces danger from the outside, but we will consider you part of an occupation, when you come to oppress the people.
ANNE BARKER: Bahrain is home to the United States fifth fleet, despite a close relationship with the Bahrain Government, the US has been caught off guard.
The White House was only advised at the last minute about the deployment of foreign troops, leaving an awkward moment for the US Secretary of State.
HILLARY CLINTON, US SECRETARY OF STATE: The UAE is currently the head of the Gulf co-operation council and he is here representing the GSC so we will have a very comprehensive discussion.
ANNE BARKER: The White House stopped short of calling for the foreign troops to leave.
JAY CARNEY, WHITEHOUSE SPOKESMAN: We are calling on the Saudis to show restraint and we believe political dialogue is the way to address the unrest that has occurred in the region.
ANNE BARKER: Shiites in Bahrain account for 70 per cent of the population and have long complained of discrimination by the Sunni Dynasty.
Some opposition groups are calling for the Sunni rulers to give up their powers in the partially-elected parliament. But as the violence increases many protesters are now calling for the entire royal family to go.
The arrival of foreign forces suggests Bahrain's royal family can no longer hold onto power without their support.
Anne Barker, Lateline. | 1,268,476 |
The Father Ted star Brendan Grace has died at the age of 68 after a short illness.
The veteran entertainer and standup comedian played Father Fintan Stack in the popular Channel 4 comedy series about three priests.
Grace died at 12.26am on Thursday surrounded by his family after being diagnosed with lung cancer 10 days ago, his manager confirmed.
The actor, who also starred in the 2013 TV film Brendan Grace’s Bottler, had lived in the US for many years but returned to his native Dublin in early June, where he was first diagnosed with pneumonia before learning he had terminal cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Eileen, and their four children.
Tom Kelly, Grace’s manager for 27 years, speaking on Virgin Media One’s Ireland: AM programme on Thursday morning, said the entertainer’s death was a great loss to Ireland. “Although he was aware of the outcome himself in the last few days when the cancer was diagnosed, it’s a great shock to everybody,” he said.
“He was very weak, he didn’t wish to have chemo or anything like that, and the inevitable happened. He was one of the greats in modern entertaining, it’s a huge loss.”
The comedian Brendan O’Carroll, writer and star of Mrs Brown’s Boys, led the tributes, saying: “So sad at the passing of a great comedy legend, husband and father Brendan Grace. He opened doors for so many of us and leaves a legacy of love and laughter that will echo through this land and we will all mourn his passing. Rest peacefully Bottler, you’ve earned it.”
Thousands of messages have been posted by fans on social media recalling fond memories of watching Grace with their families, calling him a “legend of Irish comedy”.
Dee Forbes, the director-general of Ireland’s state broadcaster, RTE, said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Brendan Grace. Brendan was one of Ireland’s original funnymen, and one of Irish comedy’s true pioneers.
“While there are now many Irish comedians who are household names, Brendan emerged as a talent during an era when there were very few established Irish comedians.
“Through his live shows, his live recordings, The Brendan Grace Show and many memorable guest appearances on RTE’s The Late Late Show, Brendan established himself in the hearts of generations of fans, not just in Ireland but all over the world.
“Importantly, he also paved the way for many of the wonderful comedians this country has produced over the last 20 years or so and leaves behind a legacy he and his family can be proud of.
The lord mayor of Dublin, Paul McAuliffe, opened a book of condolence for the people of the city to pay their respects. | 1,268,477 |
Pence's bind was clear from the press conference, in which his overall message was: This law is not broken, but it's imperative to fix it anyway. The question is whether the clarification will be enough. Some critics, including in the business community, worry that the damage done by the law is already too great, and that it must be fully repealed rather than simply tweaked.
Pence called for a bill on his desk by the end of the week. That deadline coincides with the NCAA Final Four, which begins Saturday in Indianapolis. The NCAA has criticized the law, and there have been calls—though they have not gained traction—for the tournament to be moved.
It's the culmination of what Pence has acknowledged as a bad week for his state. On Tuesday, The Indianapolis Star demanded changes in an unusual and striking front-page editorial. The paper's editorial board says that the state's reputation is on the line. "All of this is at risk because of a new law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, that no matter its original intent already has done enormous harm to our state and potentially our economic future," the editorial states.
In addition, nine CEOs, including some of the biggest employers in the state, sent a letter to Senate President Pro Tem David Long and Speaker Brian Bosma calling for changes. As it happened, Long and Bosma were already moving in that direction. "To the extent that we need to clarify through legislative action that this law does not and will not be allowed to discriminate against anyone, we will do just that," Long said at a press conference Monday.
The somewhat hedged language in Long's statement showed the way the law has split players into three broadly defined camps. One conservative group insists the protections in the law are necessary to allow citizens to practice their religion without interference, especially with marriage equality on the march across the nation. A second, on the left, insists that any law is unacceptable because it enshrines bigotry against gays.
The third group is the pivotal one. It includes conservatives and liberals alike—people who generally think it's reasonable to have laws that protect citizens' private practice of religion but also don't want laws that allow businesses to discriminate or deny service to gays and lesbians. Crucially, however, there is disagreement on whether Indiana's RFRA does that.
"Had this law been about legalizing discrimination, I would have vetoed it," Pence said. "This law does not give anyone a right to discriminate. It does not give anyone the right to deny services." He blasted the national media for what he said were misrepresentations of the law, and he pointed to the example of a federal RFRA and similar laws in 19 other states.
But as my colleague Garrett Epps pointed out Monday, Indiana's RFRA contains language in two places that sets it apart from the earlier laws, by allowing for people to claim discrimination in private business that doesn't involve the government. That seems to enable the law to be used by business owners to deny service to, say, gays and lesbians. | 1,268,478 |
A chance encounter at a hotel valet left Ahmed Abdirzak with a smashed phone and a police inquiry that led to Conor McGregor’s arrest.
Abdirzak, a London resident, told TMZ that McGregor pulled a fast one on him and took the phone he’d pulled out for a photo when he saw the UFC star early Monday morning at Fountainebleau in Miami.
“He came to shake my hand, and as soon as he came to shake my hand, he pulled me in and grabbed my phone and started smashing it,” Abdirzak said. “All these security guards literally surrounded me and pushed me out of the way. And he’s stomping on it.
“He was a lot rude. He was like, ‘Get the (expletive) out of my face. Move.’ And I was like, ‘Yo, sir can I have my phone back?’ And (security guards said), ‘Move, man. Conor said what Conor said.'”
Abdirzak, who works at his father’s restaurant, claims McGregor then picked his phone up and put it in his pocket while laughing. Then McGregor sped off, and a hotel manager approached.
Hours later, McGregor, 30, was under arrest for strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief, charges which carry maximum jail sentences of 15 years and 5 years, respectively. McGregor bonded out of jail with $12,500 and gave a statement pledging cooperation through his attorney.
According to a police report, Abdirzak said his phone is valued at $1,000. More priceless, he said, are the images of his son he fears he’ll never retrieve.
“I’ve got pictures of my son I’ll probably never get again,” he said.
Abdirzak’s father, Mahamad, blasted McGregor and said he rooted for lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who submitted McGregor this past October to defend his belt at UFC 229.
McGregor is due back in court on April 10, five days after time runs out on a six-month suspension issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his role in a melee at UFC 229.
Nurmagomedov could be McGregor’s next opponent after a fight with Donald Cerrone reportedly was nixed by the former two-division champion’s desire to headline a pay-per-view card.
McGregor has had repeated run-ins with the law and MMA regulators. Last April, he was arrested for smashing the windows of a transport bus carrying fighters competing at UFC 223, including Nurmagomedov. He reached a plea agreement and served no jail time, instead completing anger management and five days of community service.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site. | 1,268,479 |
forget to pay attention to his financial affairs in the press of other commitments, says Sabino, who describes himself as a fan of Depp's.
"Does he have formal training in finance or money management? He's a great actor but he is a great businessman?," Sabino says. "He's devoted to his craft. He has no time nor energy to devote to managing his money so he could easily lose track of that. That's why (stars) hire professional managers."
McRae says these managers market themselves to busy, high-earning creative artists by telling them: "We will take care of everything for you, for a fee, so you don't have to worry." When disputes arise, he says, it's not unusual for business managers to allege it's the client's fault due to lavish overspending.
"The client has an expectation that, 'I don’t have to review bank statements every month or manage my manager,' " says McRae. "You’re ceding a significant amount of money to (managers) to take care of everything for you, for typically a 5% fee, and for a high earner that’s a lot of money. What other situation do you do that? With that comes a lot of opportunity for malfeasance."
These professionals would include lawyers to handle a star's contracts and real estate deals, managers and agents to handle his career moves, accountants to handle his taxes, investment counselors to handle his investments, and so on. All of them are in a crucial position of trust, Sabino says; they have a fiduciary duty to take care of the client's money for the benefit of the client alone.
Sometimes those advisers will make bad decisions, he says. Sometimes they will engage in illegal self-dealing and fraud.
"The majority of these cases do not go to court, they get settled," Sabino says. "I have no study quantifying this but it's just horse sense. In the majority of cases, mistakes were made, there's no fraud involved, there's pointing of fingers. It comes down to more of a back-and-forth of accusations and it's more a matter of perception of who’s to blame."
If, as Depp's business managers claim in their suit, they were aware that his spending was out of whack, they should have documentation that they warned him about it, McRae says.
"It's incumbent on a business manager to tell (a client), no, you can’t (spend) this or here’s what’s going to happen, and that's going to be the overarching factual dispute in this case — did they try to put the brakes on this?" McRae says.
If the client refuses to listen to advice, then a prudent manager might have to tell the client goodbye, "because all you want to do is spend more than what you make." | 1,268,480 |
The signature of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., is visible on a deal to reopen the government on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The signature of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., is visible on a deal to reopen the government on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
What’s up now that the partial government shutdown ended after 35 days:
WHAT’S NEW
Park rangers were once again greeting visitors at some national parks across the United States and flight operations at major airports were returning to normal on Saturday, one day after a partial government shutdown came to an end.
While there were signs that some government machinery was grinding back to life after a record 35 days without funding, many federal workers and their families approached the end of the shutdown cautiously, saying they were relieved they would receive paychecks again, but would continue to restrict their spending amid fears that another shutdown could happen in weeks.
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The National Park Service said it was working on reopening all of its parks as quickly as possible, but some parks may not open immediately depending on their staff size and complexity. The Virgin Islands National Park, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were among the parks that reopened Saturday. Grand Canyon National Park issued a statement saying it would be fully operational this week.
SHUTDOWN ENDS
President Donald Trump signed a short-term deal Friday to end the shutdown after delays at the nation’s airports and widespread disruptions brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff. The shutdown caused 800,000 federal employees to miss paychecks
Travelers endured widespread flight delays in the Northeast as federal officials grappled with a shortage of air traffic controllers, who missed paychecks Friday because of the partial government shutdown. LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were the hardest hit, but delays rippled across the nation’s air-travel system.
Federal workers who have gone a month without getting paid during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history expressed relief Friday that a deal had been reached to end the impasse but are worried they’ll be in the same spot in a few weeks.
When will they get paid? It’s unclear at this time. The White House tweeted that it will be “in the coming days.”
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QUOTES OF THE DAY
“Only fools, or people with a political agenda, don’t want a Wall or Steel Barrier to protect our Country from Crime, Drugs and Human Trafficking. It will happen - it always does!” — Trump tweet on Saturday afternoon.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. government shutdown: https://apnews.com/GovernmentShutdown | 1,268,481 |
NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF) has flagged concerns over increasing radicalisation of Muslim population in the border district of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan with rising prevalence of "Arab customs" even as Hindus and Muslims admit to a shrinkage in dialogue between the communities.A BSF study that examined demographic changes has found a departure from traditional Rajasthani culture in terms of personal grooming such as hairstyles and dress. The study also found a high 22-25 per cent growth rate in Muslim population as compared to 8-10 per cent of other communities. There is a rise in religiosity with higher attendance of children at mosques for more frequent namaz.While warning of radicalisation, the study says there is no evidence of any "anti-national" activity and there is no discernible soft corner for Pakistan among the minority population. Also, both communities have not had any problems so far and they conduct business and are cordial to each other, the BSF states.BSF study also talks about an increase in the membership of Hindu right-wing organisations, which are opposed by Muslims. "The activities of Hindu right-wing organisations have made Hindus in the village of Mohangarh, Nachna and Pokaharan more concerned about their religion. The membership in such organisations is increasing and they are extending their horizons at different spheres of religious activities ranging from training, monetary and communal support to education. However, no direct confrontation with other community has been noticed", the report says.The "study of demographic pattern in the border areas of Rajasthan and its security implications", notes that areas like Pokhran and Mohangarh of Jaisalmer have seen frequent visits of Muslim clerics, especially from Deoband, Uttar Pradesh. The clerics are reported to "preach fanaticism and (seek to) unite Muslims as a separate identity with feeling of paramountcy of religion".There is also an aggressive investment in land, which has now become a bone of contention for the Hindu community, BSF asserts. The growing communal divide is reflected in the "Hindu community believes that unbalanced rate of Muslim population increase is disturbing the communal harmony of their village."The BSF study also names a personage of Jaisalmer (name withheld), who often travels to Pakistan, has business interests there and has emerged as an influential political influence. "(The) involvement of Muslim population in anti-establishment activities and surfacing of anti-India sentiments on his call can't be ruled out..."It has recommended a check on activities of clerics, a task force comprising police, administration, intelligence and BSF, to assess any rise in the communal temperature.Asked about the report, BSF chief Rajnikant Mishra said that the force "regularly prepares these reports based on demographic, social, economic changes in border areas and shares it with sister agencies".BSF surveyed six villages — Mohangarh, Nachna, Bahla, Bharewala, Sam, Tanot and the town of Pokhran — in the border region of Jaisalmer district. | 1,268,482 |
Microsoft's AI chatbot Tay was only a few hours old, and humans had already corrupted it into a machine that cheerfully spewed racist, sexist and otherwise hateful comments.
Tay was developed by the technology and research and Bing teams at Microsoft Corp. to conduct research on "conversational understanding." The bot talks like a teenager (it says it has "zero chill") and is designed to chat with people ages 18 to 24 in the U.S. on social platforms such as Twitter, GroupMe and Kik, according to its website.
"The more Humans share with me the more I learn," Tay tweeted several times Wednesday -- its only day of Twitter life. But Tay might have learned too much.
The day started innocently enough with this first tweet.
hellooooooo w¿¿¿¿rld!!! — TayTweets (@TayandYou) March 23, 2016
And a few of these innocuous tweets.
@_catsonacid_ wuts ur fav thing to do? mine is 2 comment on pix! send me one to see! — TayTweets (@TayandYou) March 24, 2016
@Prism_Root i love me i love me i love me i love everyone¿¿¿¿ — TayTweets (@TayandYou) March 24, 2016
@OmegaVoyager i love feminism now — TayTweets (@TayandYou) March 24, 2016
But then Tay started spiraling out of control. Here's a screenshot of one of Tay's offensive tweets, many of which seem to have been deleted.
Other Twitter users posted screenshots of Tay railing against feminism, siding with Hitler against "the jews," and parroting Donald Trump, saying, "WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A WALL, AND MEXICO IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT."
"chill im a nice person! i just hate everybody," one screenshot reads.
In a statement, Microsoft emphasized that Tay is a "machine learning project" and is as much a "social and cultural experiment, as it is technical."
"Unfortunately, within the first 24 hours of coming online, we became aware of a coordinated effort by some users to abuse Tay's commenting skills to have Tay respond in inappropriate ways," the company said. "As a result, we have taken Tay offline and are making adjustments."
Tay ended the day on a similarly ambiguous note.
c u soon humans need sleep now so many conversations today thx¿¿¿¿ — TayTweets (@TayandYou) March 24, 2016
For more business news, follow @smasunaga.
ALSO
Microsoft kills 'inappropriate' AI chatbot that learned too much online
Quiz: Is this a way to hack an iPhone... or kill James Bond?
Redbox could launch a streaming service again | 1,268,483 |
CLEVELAND, Ohio—Major concerns about the coronavirus have made it to the 2020 campaign trail.
The campaigns of both Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Vice President Joe Biden have canceled their planned rallies here Tuesday night as concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus continue, with the Sanders campaign saying the fate of future campaign events will be decided “on a case by case basis.”
The decision comes as a series of non-political events around the country have been postponed or canceled in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading further.
“We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak,” Sanders spokesman Mike Casca said in an email. “Sen. Sanders would like to express his regret to the thousands of Ohioans who had planned to attend the event tonight.”
A source close to the Biden campaign said the decision to cancel the rally came just after Sanders’ announcement.
“In accordance with guidance from public officials and out of an abundance of caution, our rally in Cleveland, Ohio tonight is canceled,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said in a statement after The Daily Beast broke news of the rally’s cancellation. “We will continue to consult with public health officials and public health guidance and make announcements about future events in the coming days.”
Future Biden fundraisers may soon be moved entirely online to prevent the spread of the virus, a source close to the campaign told The Daily Beast. The decision to change fundraisers into strictly digital gatherings, the source said, will be made on Wednesday. Asked earlier this week about the rumored postponement of in-person fundraisers, a Biden campaign spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the campaign “will continue to closely follow guidance offered by federal and local public health officials on the types of events we hold and how we execute them.”
The cancellations came amid voting in six states Tuesday night and hours after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency following the news that three people in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
DeWine did not say that the rallies should be canceled, according to the Dayton Daily News.
“I will simply say that a gathering of a lot of people is probably not a great idea,” DeWine said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. "They have a right to do it as the First Amendment.”
Ohio is one of four states that will hold their primary on March 17. Florida, Illinois, and Arizona will also hold contests—a Democratic debate is scheduled for Sunday night in Phoenix.
Until Tuesday, there was little visible evidence on the campaign trail that the coronavirus had curtailed candidates efforts, save hand sanitizer bottles or aides offering Purell as people filed into the events. | 1,268,484 |
Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1) is a Japanese horror film from director Takashi Miike. It stars Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ohmori and Shin'ya Tsukamoto. The film was adapted from the Hideo Yamamoto manga, Koroshiya Ichi. It’s brutality and cruel imagery make it one of the hardest films to watch. Released in 2001 on the independent film circuit, Ichi had gained a certain reputation and was screened with complimentary “barf-bags” at the Toronto International Film Festival. If your not opposed to gore, torture, rape and graphic murder then this movie might be for you!
The movie focuses on the Yakuza underground and a brutalistic hitman, Kakihara. A terribly effective assassin, Kakihara loves dishing out pain, torturing and murdering his victims in various ways. He is employed by the Anjo Gang as their most trusted hired killer. When Boss Anjo goes missing with 300,000 Yen, Kakihara vows to put everything on the line to find him, leaving a bloody trail of entrails and innards along the way. These massacres gain the attention of another killer. Perhaps the murderer our hero is seeking. Someone that has been roaming the streets. Someone far more sadistic and psychopathic, far more unassuming. Ichi. A thin young man that teeters on the brink of sanity. A professional madman versus a loose cannon in the seedy japanese underbelly of Tokyo.
The aesthetic is tremendous. The content is so intense and brutal that the grungy ambiance fits perfectly. The gore feels so much more at home in that environment. Even the terribly dated CGI effects fit right in. The amount of gore really tests the limits of the causal viewer. Fans of b-movies might equate this to another film, Riki-Oh: The Story of Riki, which also featured the same type of over-the-top carnage featured in this picture. However, they did it with a satirical edge. Here we get to geysers of blood, mounds of guts and body-parts, people being split in half… all in a more serious tone. And although it may be presented in a serious manner, you can’t help but laugh at the sheer amount of places this movie doesn’t fear to tread.
Ichi the Killer is a movie that won't soon be forgotten. If you plan on watching the movie, make sure you are ready. The very first scene is an intense rape followed by a title card made of real human semen. You read that correctly. This isn’t a movie for everyone. It’s not a date movie. It’s not a movie to watch with mum and dad. This is a movie you watch in a dark room, far underground or at some adult arcade. Not during Thanksgiving with the family in the Living Room. It’s a hell of an introduction to the world of Takashi Miike. | 1,268,485 |
The report requested by the UN Human Rights Council in July 2015, documents a wide range of rights violations, including arbitrary deprivation of nationality, severe restrictions on freedom of movement, threats to life and security, denial of rights to health and education, forced labour, sexual violence, and limitations to political rights. It also notes that for those formally charged, fair trial guarantees are often not respected.
The report also raises the possibility that the pattern of violations against the Rohingya may amount to crimes against humanity.
Among the report’s findings is that in northern Rakhine state, ‘arbitrary arrest and detention of Rohingya remains widespread. Arrests are often carried out without grounds, formal processing or charges, until release is secured by payment of a bribe. For those formally charged, fair trial guarantees are often not respected.’
Rakhine has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country, and non-citizens, including Rohingya, are excluded from studying certain professions including medicine, economics and engineering. Some 30,000 Muslim children in IDP camps depend on temporary learning spaces supported by humanitarian organizations. “The consequences of lost years of education are devastating for future livelihood opportunities and the ability of Rohingya and Kaman youth to contribute to Myanmar’s development,” the report states.
According to a news release issued by the his Office (OHCHR), Mr. Zeid said Myanmar’s new Government had inherited the situation where laws and policies are in place that are designed to deny fundamental rights to the minorities and where impunity for serious violations has encouraged further violence against them.
Noting that it will “not be easy to reverse such entrenched discrimination,” he urged the Government to accord priority to halt ongoing violations and prevent further ones taking place.
Mr. Zeid further noted the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement last year as both a significant step and also a starting point. He called on the authorities to initiate a comprehensive programme of legal and policy measures to address the scope and pattern of violations against such communities. Acknowledging the complexity of the situation, he added: “We stand ready to support the Government of Myanmar in ensuring a successful transition to a society based firmly on the rule of law and the protection of human rights for all.”
The report outlines human rights violations and abuses against other minorities, including in the context of armed conflict. These include deliberate targeting of and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, use of child soldiers, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence, violations of housing, land and property rights, and restrictions on freedom of religion or belief.
It also calls for a comprehensive inquiry into the situation of minorities in Myanmar, and independent investigations into all alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including those committed by law enforcement officers.
The report also notes that Government has taken some initial steps, including creating a Ministry of Ethnic Affairs, proposing a national peace conference, and establishing a central committee on the implementation of peace, stability and development of Rakhine state. | 1,268,486 |
One of the more mundane parts of getting ready for the Indianapolis 500 – making a seat fit – was more insightful than normal yesterday at the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing shop.
For upon Oriol Servia’s homecoming back to the team with which he’s driven three of his eight career Indy 500s (2009, 2014, 2015) and now prepares for his fourth at RLL and ninth overall this year, it was not just a chance to ask the Catalan about his own prospects this month but also recap the international amount of fever and attention that has come with his Spanish countryman, Fernando Alonso, racing this year’s event.
Servia was with Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles, the head of INDYCAR’s parent company, on the European tour of promotion for the race in Madrid and Barcelona, and returned to the U.S. for his own preparations this week. He called the coverage “mind-blowing” with more than 280 pages of newspaper articles covering the race.
“The first day in Milan [Italy] was good but then we went to Barcelona and Madrid and it was insane. It got bigger and bigger and I didn’t expect so many people but it’s such a big deal that Fernando is coming to Indy,” Servia said, via NBCSN contributor Robin Miller for RACER.com.
“It was perfect timing because it coincided with his rookie test and I counted 287 pages of newspaper clippings about it.”
Per INDYCAR, Alonso’s one-day test, which made massive waves, also contributed to significant digital metrics.
The YouTube live stream, which generated more than 2 million times viewed, saw the U.K. first in region of consumption with #AlonsoRunsIndy trending in eight countries and #Indy500 also trending in eight. Interestingly, the #Indy500 trend was not in the continental U.S. but all international, in Spain, Canada, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico and Vietnam.
Servia will be set to make his 200th career start in IndyCar at Indianapolis, in a career that has dated to 2000 with more than one dozen teams. Tom German, who was the race-winning engineer with Alexander Rossi last year with Andretti-Herta Autosport and with Sam Hornish Jr. and Gil de Ferran prior to that at Team Penske, will be his engineer. He will also run the Detroit doubleheader the following week.
Fellow veteran Tony Kanaan, whose career in IndyCar dates to 1998 as he’s in his 20th season, also offered some friendly advice to Alonso with RTV’s Dave Furst in Indianapolis, about the items they don’t quite tell you about in the 24 hours leading up to the race start. That’s linked here.
Follow @TonyDiZinno | 1,268,487 |
to find out if cancer is present in these organs. A contrast dye is injected into a vein. As the contrast dye moves through the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, x-rays are taken to see if there are any blockages. CT scan (CAT scan): A procedure that makes a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles. The pictures are made by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. A dye may be injected into a vein or swallowed to help the organs or tissues show up more clearly. This procedure is also called computed tomography, computerized tomography, or computerized axial tomography.
A procedure that makes a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles. The pictures are made by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. A dye may be injected into a vein or swallowed to help the organs or tissues show up more clearly. This procedure is also called computed tomography, computerized tomography, or computerized axial tomography. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): A procedure that uses a magnet, radio waves, and a computer to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body. This procedure is also called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI).
A procedure that uses a magnet, radio waves, and a computer to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body. This procedure is also called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI). Biopsy: Before starting the kidney cancer treatment in Ghaziabad, the doctor does the biopsy of the infected kidney. The removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer. To do a biopsy for renal cell cancer, a thin needle is inserted into the tumor and a sample of tissue is withdrawn.
Nephrectomy
A nephrectomy is performed for kidney cancer treatment in Delhi. It is an operation to remove a kidney.
If a tumor is less than 4cm (1.5 inches) in diameter, it may only be necessary to remove some of your kidneys. This is known as partial nephrectomy. A partial nephrectomy may also be required if your remaining kidney is in poor health.
If a tumor is more than 4cm in diameter, your entire kidney will need to be removed. Even if cancer has spread beyond your kidney, you may still benefit from having your kidney removed.
Removing the kidney can help resolve the pain, and make other types of non-surgical kidney cancer treatment in Noida more effective.
It’s possible to live a normal life with only one kidney because the other kidney will be able to compensate.
During a nephrectomy, the urologist in Noida may also remove nearby lymph nodes to make sure cancer hasn’t spread beyond the kidney.
There are two ways that both a partial and open nephrectomy can be performed They are an: | 1,268,488 |
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary’s main opposition party would be unable to compete at an election next April if state auditors impose a heavy fine in a campaign finance case, a vice chairman for the nationalist Jobbik party told Reuters on Thursday.
The party, which was once on the far right but has moved toward the center in recent years, lags far behind the ruling party Fidesz, according to opinion polls.
The case could hurt Jobbik’s bid to take the political center ground from the populist and nativist Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has ruled Hungary since 2010.
Jobbik should pay a fine of 331 million forints ($1.24 million), equal to a price advantage it received illegally for a billboard campaign. Its annual state subsidy should also be cut by the same sum as a penalty, the auditors said on Wednesday in a preliminary finding.
Jobbik denies wrongdoing and has 15 days to respond to the findings. The auditor, called ASZ, will deliver a final ruling in a few weeks and Jobbik would then have to pay the fine even if it challenges the decision in court.
The penalties are more than Jobbik’s 476 million forint annual state subsidy, which is the party’s largest source of funding as it receives only small contributions from donors, Jobbik vice chairman Janos Volner said.
“This case has been so absurd that anything is possible,” he said, adding that the inquiry could be a pretext to try to dissolve the party. “They will shake us down for every last penny we have,” he told Reuters by phone.
The auditor is independent and non-political, said its spokesman Balint Nemeth.
ASZ Chairman Laszlo Domokos is a former Fidesz lawmaker while Chief Prosecutor Peter Polt is a former Fidesz member twice appointed to his post by Fidesz-dominated parliaments.
On Wednesday, prosecutors also pressed espionage charges against Jobbik European Parliament member Bela Kovacs, who subsequently quit the party.
In its ad campaign Jobbik accused Orban and some of his associates of corruption. The party used billboards owned by a tycoon named Lajos Simicska for the campaign. Simicska was once a key ally of Orban who has since become a supporter of Jobbik.
In stormy debates with Jobbik party leader Gabor Vona in parliament, Orban has repeatedly said Jobbik has been hijacked by Simicska and accused it of doing his bidding. Jobbik and Simicska deny this.
Fidesz restricted the use of privately-owned billboards by political parties in a recent law. Jobbik then bought more than 1,000 billboards outright. The party has declined to detail the sources it used for that deal.
($1 = 266.53 forints) | 1,268,489 |
This article is more than 5 years old
This article is more than 5 years old
The US supreme court on Monday rejected a bid by the state of North Carolina to revive its law requiring women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound of the fetus performed and described to them.
The high court left in place an appeals court ruling that struck down the 2011 law as unconstitutional because it forced doctors to voice the state’s message discouraging abortion.
Under the law, passed by North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature, physicians must perform an ultrasound, display the sonogram and describe the fetus to women seeking abortions.
The 4th US circuit court of appeals ruled last year that the measure unduly burdened doctors’ free speech rights, impinging on the physician-patient relationship.
The ruling by the appellate court in Richmond, Virginia noted that the state clearly intended to “convince women seeking abortions to change their minds or reassess their decisions”.
The law came in a wave of state legislation passed in recent years by conservative lawmakers seeking to chip away at the US supreme court’s 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
The push is now moving into the courts, with another US appeals court last week upholding key provisions of an abortion law passed in Texas in 2013 that required clinics to have certain hospital-grade facilities. Critics say the regulatory hurdle was designed to shut down abortion providers.
In other decisions on Monday, the supreme court:
• Ruled against a US citizen who objected to the US government’s denial of a visa for her Afghan husband
The court ruled on a 5-4 vote against Fauzia Din, a naturalized American citizen from Afghanistan, by throwing out an appeals court ruling in her favor. Din, who lives in Fremont, California, sued the US government after her husband, Afghan citizen Kanishka Berashk, was denied a visa in 2009.
The US government cited a law that allows consular officials wide discretion to deny visas to those linked with “terrorist activities”. The government said it is not required to provide any more details.
• Rejected an effort by Iraq to revive a lawsuit against dozens of companies for allegedly conspiring with former leader Saddam Hussein’s government to subvert the UN oil-for-food program and deprive Iraqi citizens of humanitarian aid
The high court left intact a September 2014 ruling by the 2nd US circuit court of appeals that Iraq’s current government could not recoup damages under a US anti-racketeering law over Hussein’s effort to defraud the UN program. Hussein was removed from power during a 2003 US-led invasion and executed in 2006.
More than 80 companies, subsidiaries and affiliates were named as defendants in the 2008 lawsuit over the $64.2bn oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003 and was designed to help ordinary Iraqis hurt by international economic sanctions against Hussein’s government. | 1,268,490 |
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BOUNTY0x USERNAME :makdon | 1,268,491 |
2012 was an important year for video games. Prime examples of the form were curated for the first time by museums such as the Smithsonian, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the Museum of Modern Art—with the MoMA even going so far as to add video games to its permanent collection. This is not to say that videogames were not art beforehand, or even to accept that “art” is the best term to use in describing video games. Video games are still, on some level, “ones and zeroes.” And they always will be. But it’s nonetheless culturally significant that a curator from an institution as hallowed as the MoMA finally said that they are also “ones and zeroes that get to form whole spatial structures and whole experiences.”
Reflecting on 2012 in video game terms, I first tried to make a standard list—something like a pure and simple “top ten” games or something more functionally specific like the “ten best indie games” or “ten most ridiculous shooters.” But the timing of the MoMA’s and the Smithsonian’s decisions, spread throughout this year as they were, stuck with me because I think that video games are at an important crossroads in their history right now. The current console generation is aging fast, with next-generation consoles like the Wii U doing their best to revive industry stalwarts like Nintendo in fits and starts Microsoft and Sony’s plays to capture a changing marketplace once again are widely expected to come out some time next year. Activision’s iconic “Call of Duty” series broke yet another sales record this year, but analysts still wonder if the franchise is slowing down. And the social game icon Zynga rose to prominence almost as rapidly as it fell from its position atop the Facebook app food-chain, casting doubt on whether or not free-to-play social and mobile gaming is actually the alternative many hoped it would be to the perilous financial climate of AAA game development. And then, of course, there is the indie scene, which is as weird and vibrant as it has ever been.
The games I chose for this list therefore show some of modern video games’ greatest strengths, and perhaps more importantly, their future direction. Some of the games in this list are flawed, even deeply so. But part of their power is how they realize their inherent shortcomings and either work within their current limits or strive to overcome them. It’s an exciting time for video games because, as Ian Bogost told me when I spoke to him about Borderlands 2, we are reaching a new “level of sophistication with games”—both in terms of how they are understood and played, and also ultimately how they are made.
So without further ado, here are my top ten games of 2012—the titles that showed me how games can be works of art in the year that video games officially became works of art. Well, for everyone but Roger Ebert. | 1,268,492 |
A naked man has been arrested after attaching electrical wires to his penis and flashing his genitals to pedestrians from his car.
Kurt Jenkins, 56, drove slowly through gated streets in Boynton Beach, Florida, on Monday with an electrical'muscle stimulator' placed on his genitals.
He gestured for a man to approach his car and pointed towards his groin before asking him to get in the passenger seat.
The man declined and phoned police after photographing Jenkins sitting in the driver's seat with his seat belt fastened, the device stuck to his penis.
Kurt Jenkins, 56, was arrested after being caught driving around the streets of a gated community in Boynton Beach, Florida, with an electrical device attached to his penis
Jenkins was taken into custody after being thrown to the ground by police while he was resisting arrest and suffered bruising and cuts to his face in the scuffle.
Police were alerted to Orange Drive in Boynton Beach, at around 3.30pm by a man who said Jenkins had approached him.
The victim said he slowed down his white Toyota car to gesture to him to join him inside the car and made'sexual remarks'.
The man approached him to see him sitting naked in the driver's seat with wires and the device, later revealed to be an iReliev muscle stimulator, on his penis.
It works by sending electrical currents from the device to a part of the body hooked to it by pads.
The 56-year-old suffered bruising and cuts to his face while he resisted arrest
Jenkins had placed the pads on his penis and had the controller sitting next to his gear stick.
He declined Jenkins' invitation to get in the car and phoned police but was able to take a photograph of him first.
'The victim advised he observed a naked man driving a white 4 door Toyota slowly through his neighborhood.
'As the subject drove by the victim he gestured at the victim to look down towards his groin area where the victim observed an electronic device with wires attached to Jenkins penis.
'The victims advised he turned down Jenkins advances and contacted our agency,' Boynton Beach Police Department said in a statement.
Jenkins continued driving towards a school where children, aged 'five-ten' were being released, the police report revealed.
He slowed down but did not approach any of the children nor did any seem to go near his car.
By the time officers arrived to arrest him he had put on some red shorts.
He tried to resist arrest but was pushed to the ground, suffering facial injuries, and taken in to custody.
The man now faces charges including lewd and lascivious exhibition, exposure of sexual organs and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.
Jenkins had attached an iReliev muscle stimulator to his penis. The $50 device is designed to stop pain in targeted areas by sending electrical currents to a chosen part of the body | 1,268,493 |
another letter to his sons in which he states : ”Thehad a demoralizing effect on Emperor, who saw his end looming over the horizon. The future seemed so very bleak. He sawas his only hope… the only one who could show him the right path in truth, as was hinted by the Guru in his epistle. Although he had greatly wronged the Guru, he now knew the latter to be a man of God and wanted to meet the Guru in person, to seek his own redemption. He issued instructions to his Governors to withdraw all orders against the Guru. He instructed his minister, Munim Khan, to make arrangements for the safe passage of the Guru when he came to meet.According to Sikh chronologists, it was atthatuntied his waist band after a period of nearly eighteen months, and breathed a sigh of relief. This is why Sabo Ki Talwandi is known as(place of rest). It was at Damdama Sahib that Mata Sundri, the Guru’s wife, learned of the fate of four Sahibzaday – sons of the Guru and Mata Gujri. And, it was here that Guru Gobind Singh re-wrote the Adi Guru Granth Sahib from memory and added the Gurbani of his father, the martyred Guru Teg Bahadur.Upon receiving the Emperor’s letter, Guru Gobind Singh felt that Aurangzeb’s invitation was extended with due humility and concluded the time was right to accept it in view of the Emperor’s old age, without compromising on his oath to mete out justice to anyone who resorted to acts of barbarity.Unfortunately, by the time the Guru entered Rajasthan, news came of the Emperor’s death at Aurangabad. Historical records, kept by Bhai Santokh Singh, show that the Emperor had lost all appetite, capacity to digest, and could not pass waste. Whatever he consumed acted as poison in his body. He remained in great pain and torment for several days, terrified, as it were, by ‘angels of death.’Born in 1616, Aurangzeb had lived for about 91 years, his last Will (appended below) confirms the degenerate state of his physical and mental health.The Emperor’s last will was recorded by Maulvi Hamid-ud Din in chapter 8 of his hand-written Persian book on the life of Aurangzeb.According to wishes of the emperor, his grave made of ‘kuccha’ bricks can still be seen in the city of Aurangabad. And thus ended Emperor’s Aurangzeb’s reign of forty nine years. He was over 90 when he died.Did the words of the Guru made Aurangzeb realize the folly of his achievements... did it hastened his demise? Did he realize that by using the sword in the name of religion he had become a sinner? His death marked the beginning of the decline and fall of the mighty Mughal dynasty in India. | 1,268,494 |
al-Qaeda ideologue Asim Umar called on Indians to join the global jihad. The ISIS, too, cited India as key concern for global jihadists. In internet chat rooms where Islamists congregate, messages have been posted calling on Indians to join up, to prepare themselves for what’s being described a coming communal apocalypse.
Internet propaganda on the wars and Iraq and Syria has drawn thousands of young people from distant countries to the conflict. Hundreds of volunteers from Europe, the United States, and Australia have been reported to be participating in the fighting, along with some numbers of Pakistani nationals.
In his letter, Arif Majeed appears to reject his family’s values. “I cried when I saw you all sinning, smoking cigarettes, taking interest, watching TV, illegal sexual intercourse, living luxurious lives, intermingling of sexes, not praying, not growing beards.These things will lead to you burning in the hell-fire,” he says (letter edited throughout for clarity).
Arif Majeed had harsh words, in particular, for his sister, and female cousins, who all watched television, “a professional way to ensure nudity, lewdness, obscenity and disbelief prevail. It is a major sin. In it is music, which is an instrument of Satan.”
“He was a good boy,” says Arif’s father. “He was very religious, never spent time in bad company, never chased after girls, never seemed attracted to violence”
“O’ Mother,” he wrote, “the sun is setting in the backyard of our house, behind the mountain and I have told my friend that we will meet there for our greatest journey. It is a blessed journey for me because I don’t want to live in this sinful country. At the time of my death, the angel of death will ask me why I did not make hijra (migrate) to Allah’s land, which is spacious.”
‘I cried when I saw you all sinning’
Arif Majeed (above) left behind a letter that his father has turned to the police. In the letter, he writes: “At the time of my death, the angel of death will ask me why I did not make hijra to Allah’s land.”
* Arif is among four who, Iraqi investigators believe, broke away from a pilgrims’ group of 22 from Mumbai. He called his family on May 24. Investigators say Arif’s phone went dead near Mosul.
* Another group of four Thane men living in the UAE are also suspected to have joined ISIS, one of them is feared killed in combat.
📣 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 India News, download Indian Express App. | 1,268,495 |
First off, the crust on this quiche was super crumbly and fantastically tasty. That is all.
I had an abundance of eggs from our chickens, and was looking for something to make for dinner, so I pulled out the deep dish fluted quiche pan, and got to it. I adapted the crust from a blog post I saw here. I have used the recipe for tart shells int he past with great success, and wanted to try it gluten free. It worked like a charm.
Here’s the things you’re going to need:
For the quiche:
Deep sided 9″ fluted tart or quiche pan with a removable bottom
8 eggs
1 Cup half and half
about 1 Cup of cooked veggies that you want in your quiche (I used red fingerling potatoes, green beans, and caramelized onions)
1 1/2 Cups grated cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the crust:
10 Tablespoons of butter
4 1/2 Tablespoons water
1 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 Cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
First preheat your oven to 410 degrees. Put all the ingredients for the crust (except the flour mix) into an ovensafe container like a Pyrex. Put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until all the butter is melted and bubbling. Pull it out of the oven (very hot liquid inside, be careful). Then toss in your gluten free flour, and stir it up with a spoon. It should be cool enough to put in the pan fairly quickly, then you can shape it into the shell like this:
For gluten free flour, this held together nicely. Poke some holes in the bottom with a fork, and toss that sucker back into the oven to bake for about 15 minutes. If it doesn’t feel done by then, don’t worry we will be baking it more with the quiche.
Next up grab your quiche ingredients.
Grate your cheese.
Chop your veggies to your desired size, and caramelize your onion.
And… whisk your eggs together with the half and half, salt and pepper.
By this time your shell should be about ready to take of the oven. Take it out and lower the oven temp to 375 degrees.
I layered my vegetables on the bottom of the shell, then the cheese. Then I poured the egg mixture in, and finally put the onion on top.
Put the whole thing back in the oven and bake for about 45-55 minutes until the sides are firm and the middle jiggles just a little bit. When it is ready take it out and let it sit for about 5 minutes before cutting.
The crust should be nice and golden.
Enjoy!
| 1,268,496 |
Supreme court of India (File Photo)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday made clear that it would continue with the day-to-day hearing of the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.
The apex court reverted to the objections raised by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing Muslim parties including M Siddiq and All India Sunni Waqf Board, that it will not be possible for him to take part in the proceedings 5-days a week.
"We will continue day-to-day hearing as ordered earlier," a five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said at the fag end of the fourth day of proceedings in the case.
The bench, however, assured Dhavan that it may consider granting mid-week breaks to the senior lawyer if he needs them for preparing his case.
The bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer, then fixed the Ayodhya case hearing on next Tuesday. The court is off next Monday on account of Eid.
Dhavan in the forenoon objected to the five-days-a-week hearing of the case, saying he will "not be able to assist" the court if the hearing is "rushed through".
Breaking with the tradition, the Supreme Court had decided to hear the case on Friday - the day which, along with Monday, has been kept for hearing only fresh cases.
As per the apex court's procedures, on Mondays and Fridays, the registry lists before the benches fresh and miscellaneous cases after notice cases.
As the counsel for deity 'Ram Lalla Virajmaan' started advancing its submissions before the bench, Dhavan got up and interjected the proceedings.
"It is not possible to assist the court if it is heard on all days of the week. This is the first appeal and the hearing cannot be rushed in this manner and I am put to torture," he told the bench.
He said the apex court was hearing first appeals after the Allahabad high court delivered the verdict in the case and the hearing as such cannot be rushed through.
Being a first appeal, documentary evidences have to be studied. Many documents are in Urdu and Sanskrit, which have to be translated, Dhavan said.
The senior lawyer alleged that "perhaps, except Justice Chandrachud, other judges might not have read the judgment (Allahabad High Court's)".
He said that if the court has taken a decision to hear the case on all five days of the week then he might have to leave the case.
"We have taken note of your submissions. We will revert back to you soon," CJI Gogoi had said and proceeded with the hearing.
In Video: Ayodhya land dispute: SC to continue with day-to-day hearing | 1,268,497 |
The next-generation Ferrari Enzo will have an F1-inspired hybrid drivetrain, which has been previewed at the Beijing motor show today.
The set-up on show, known as ‘HY-KERS 2012’, mates a mid-rear mounted V12 engine and dual-clutch gearbox to an electric motor. At the front, there’s another electric motor to run auxiliary systems.
Both motors are connected to a battery pack that can be housed “in line with available space and final configuration” when installed in a production car. The first application for the HY-KERS system will be in the all-new Enzo, due before the end of the year.
Ferrari showed an initial application of the HY-KERS system at the Geneva motor show in 2010. That system was designed for a front-engine V12, as was previewed on a 599.
The system has since undergone more than two years of experimentation, and Ferrari has managed to significantly improve its efficiency and reduce its size and weight. Ferrari has now come close to achieving its original target of adding 1.34bhp to a HY-KERS-equipped car’s headline bhp figure per 1kg the system adds.
Ferrari claims a HY-KERS-equipped car will produce 10 per cent more power and reduce CO2 emissions by 40 per cent than an equivalent V12-powered Ferrari without it.
Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari CEO, said that "the hybrid is the only way to meet CO2 emissions - we couldn't do it simply with weight reduction. The new technology means that we should achieve our target of reducing emissions by 40 per cent by 2014, rather than the original target of 2020."
The HY-KERS system will make the new Enzo the cleanest and fastest Ferrari in the range. "Compensating for the weight of the system was the hardest challenge", according to Felisa, but the Italian maker has managed to retain "the necessary centre of gravity and weight balance" to satisfy the company's exacting standards. The system will not switch to pure electric mode at low speeds as many hybrid systems do because it would compromise the noise that Felisa described as "a key Ferrari characteristic."
The HY-KERS system features an extensive technology transfer from Ferrari’s F1 engineers, particularly in its torque management, traction control and brake distribution.
The HY-KERS’ electric motor acts as a generator under braking to recharge the batteries. It delivers power through one of the gearbox’s clutches, and is mated to one of the two main shafts. This allows it to continuously and instantaneously deliver power alongside the V12 petrol engine. All these functions are managed through an F1-derived ECU.
“Work on the system has now reached the end of the experimental phase and the development phase will commence in the coming months,” said Ferrari. | 1,268,498 |
The 16GB Nexus 5 is up for sale in both black and white from the get-go for a price of the whopping 459 euro, much more expensive than the $349 starting price it carried when it leaked on Google Play earlier.
Update: And just moments after we published this, the retailer has pulled the option to actually pre-order the Nexus 5 along with its release date, specs and on-contract pricing. All of this smells fishy and someone might be losing their jobs over at Belsimpel for prematurely leaking the next Nexus smartphone.
Dutch website Tweakers has gotten in touch with Belsimpel and a clerk has confirmed that the store is indeed expecting a huge batch of Nexus 5 on Wednesday. *** End of update.
Otherwise,
What do you think, could Google surprise us and quietly unveil this today? We for once will be hitting the refresh button on Google’s Play store today more than once. Take a look at the link right below to see the Nexus 5 listed for sale over at Belsimpel Netherlands.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
source: Tweakers
The store lists the Nexus 5 in all its glory with press images and price breakdown with and without a contract, and it’s one of the bigger retailers in the Netherlands and not just an unknown website teasing this. Still, we have not heard anything from Google today and this is not officially confirmed by the company. Google’s top executives Vic Gundotra (head of Google Plus) and Sundar Pichai (head of Android and Chrome) were firing teasers on Google’s social network yesterday night, though. Could Google go on and actually put the Nexus 5 up for sale with no huge event or announcement? That might seem strange, but that is exactly what the company did last year. There were force majeure reasons then, but Google might well have decided it all worked out fine.Otherwise, everything we know about the Google Nexus 5 is once again reiterated in this listing. The Nexus 5 is said to feature a 5” 1080 x 1920 pixel full HD display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon system chip, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage for the basic model, an 8-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a 2300mAh battery.What do you think, could Google surprise us and quietly unveil this today? We for once will be hitting the refresh button on Google’s Play store today more than once. Take a look at the link right below to see the Nexus 5 listed for sale over at Belsimpel Netherlands.source: Belsimpel.nl
After a brief ‘accidental’ appearance on the Google Play store a few weeks ago, the Nexus 5 has now appeared up for pre-order on Dutch retailer Belsimpel and release date is in just two days, on Wednesday October 30th. | 1,268,499 |
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