text
stringlengths 245
34.4k
| id
int64 0
1.27M
|
|---|---|
A global report released by the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute estimates that every one in four pregnancies ends in abortion.
“Some 25% of pregnancies ended in abortion in 2010–14,” the report, published in The Lancet, outlines. “Because of population growth, the annual number of abortions worldwide increased by 5.9 million from 50.4 million in 1990–94 to 56.3 million in 2010–14.”
It found that abortion rates, however, decreased in more developed nations, while there was little change in third world countries.
“In the developed world, the abortion rate declined 19 points, from 46 to 27. In the developing world, we found a non-significant 2 point decline in the rate from 39 to 37,” the study explained.
The organizations also found that for women between the ages of 15 and 44, there were approximately 35 abortions for every 1000 births. Most mothers seeking an abortion were married.
“Globally, 73% of abortions were obtained by married women in 2010–14 compared with 27% obtained by unmarried women,” the report outlined.
Study co-author Dr. Bela Ganatra of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland opined that the results show a need for birth control. WHO said that there was no relation between the abortion rate and its legality.
Connect with Christian News
Follow @4christiannews
“Estimates of the proportion of abortions that are unsafe are under development but we already know nearly 300 million dollars are spent each year on treating the complications from unsafe abortions,” she said.
“The high rates of abortion seen in our study also provide further evidence of the need to improve and expand access to effective contraceptive services,” Ganatra added. “Investing in modern contraceptive methods would be far less costly to women and society than having unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.”
But Nola Leach of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) in London said that she found that the statistics rather indicate the need for Christians to be a voice for the unborn.
“While the number of abortions in more developed countries has come down the global figure is disturbingly high and a reminder of the international challenge we face in standing up for the unborn,” she told Christian Today.
“All too often, abortion is seen and sold as the only solution for mothers who are encouraged to view an unplanned pregnancy as a problem that needs solving,” Leach stated. “But we should be making sure mothers are fully aware that there are different options out there other than termination.”
“I would want to pay tribute to the work that many Christian organizations and Christian individuals do, especially in providing good quality pastoral care for women … and that certainly offers a real vision of how we can move forward in this,” added spokesman James Mildred. “There are other options out there other than just having an abortion.” | 1,269,900 |
MYTHOS NEUTRAL (click to view cards)
For much of Azeroth’s prehistory, the Old Gods ruled Azeroth along with their Elemental Lieutenants. Azeroth attracted the attention of the wandering titans, who fought the Old Gods in a war of ordering. With the help of their constructs, the titans allowed life to flourish on Azeroth. Satisfied, the Makers built hidden cities for their construct creations and created the Dragon Aspects to guard the planet before leaving on their cosmic journey. This led to a long period of relative peace that lasted until the War of the Ancients, a conflict that began when the Highborne Night Elves used the power of the Well of Eternity to summon forth the endless armies of the Burning Leigon.
The war reached its end when the Well of Eternity exploded, shattering Azeroth’s single continent into its formation today.
PRIEST (click to view cards)
In ancient Azeroth, faith was one of the most powerful weapons you could hold. Pledging your spirit and loyalty to the superpowers of Azeroth would keep you safe through the hardest of times. There were oracles who lived in fear of the Old God’s return, driven mad by their psychic whispers. There were temples dedicated to Elune, the moon goddess who had protected the Night Elves in their primal beginnings. The Demigods, the Dragon Aspects, Queen Azshara; whoever held power could wield both hope, and fear.
MAGE (click to view cards)
Abandoned by the titans, the Well of Eternity was the source of all man made magic on Azeroth. It was guarded by the Blue Dragonflight, abused by the Night Elves, and destroyed by the massive conflict that was the War of the Ancients. Its waters founded Highborne society, and the few vials saved created the Sunwell and the world Tree Nordrassil. Mages as we know them exist exclusively because of the Well of Eternity.
DRUID (click to view cards)
When Zin’Azshari was taken over by the legion, the night elves who didn’t stand with the rest of the Highborne sought refuge in the forests of ancient Kalimdor. There they found protection in the form of Azeroth’s demigods, in particular Cenarius, lord of the forest. These demigods bestowed some of their power upon their most loyal followers, and thus druids were created.
TIMEWALKER (click to view cards)
As head of the titanic Pantheon, Aman’thul could see everything in existence: past, present and future. He knew that everything had an order, and that order must be maintained. To keep the order, he bestowed some of his power upon the bronze wyrm Nozdormu. Finally, to make sure no arrogance would befall Nozdormu, Aman’thul showed the dragon its inevitable death at the end of time. | 1,269,901 |
Oklahoma Watch will host a public forum in Oklahoma City to discuss State Question 788, the Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, which seeks to legalize the licensed cultivation, use and possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
The “Oklahoma Watch-Out” forum is free and open to the public and will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, at The Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr.
Featured panelists will include Dr. Jean Hausheer, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association; Frank Grove, chairman of Vote Yes on 788 campaign and president of the Drug Policy Reform Network of Oklahoma, and state Rep. John Paul Jordan, who had authored legislation to provide a regulatory framework should the state question pass.
Oklahoma Watch Executive Editor David Fritze will moderate the discussion, and audience questions will be allowed. Those interested in attending are encouraged to register online and come with questions.
State Question 788 will appear on the June 26 primary ballot. The forum is intended to inform Oklahomans about the specifics of the proposal, the issues surrounding medical marijuana, and how Oklahoma’s question compares with similar measures passed or rejected in other states.
About the Panelists
Frank Grove
Frank Grove is the editor of State Question 788, chair of the Vote Yes On 788 Campaign and president of the Drug Policy Reform Network of Oklahoma.
Grove has worked in the health-care field developing applications for telemedicine and is a published research scientist. He graduated with a master’s degree from the University of Tulsa with funding from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Grove is a lifelong resident of Tulsa.
Jean Hausheer Credit: Dr. Jean Hausheer
Dr. Jean Hausheer is an ophthalmologist and surgeon and is current president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association. Hausheer provides refractive and comprehensive eye care for patients at the Dean McGee Eye Institute in Lawton.
She is an active member of the medical staff at Comanche County Memorial Hospital, the Lawton Indian Hospital and the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Oklahoma City.
A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Medicine’s six-year program, she completed ophthalmic residency training at the Mayo Clinic Department of Ophthalmology.
Rep. John Paul Jordan
Rep. John Paul Jordan was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2014, serving District 43 as a Republican.
Jordan introduced legislation last session proposing changes to current laws that he said would need to be made should State Question 788 be approved by voters. His bill did not pass; neither did legislation proposed on the Senate side.
Jordan is an attorney and former educator. He received a bachelor’s in education with a minor in history from the University of Central Oklahoma and taught eighth grade history at an Oklahoma City public middle school.
Jordan is running for district judge and says he takes no position on State Question 788. | 1,269,902 |
Researchers are currently conducting test flights in Argentina, and plan to ride the winds of Patagonia to reach record-breaking height.
In a spot in South America known for its powerful winds, scientists and engineers are gearing up to attempt a record-breaking feat: to fly a human-carrying glider to the edge of space.
The expedition, known as Perlan Mission II, aims to take the glider up to an elevation of 90,000 feet (27,000 meters). The project is more than an attempt at aviation history; it's designed to study the layers of Earth's atmosphere. The researchers plan to fly the glider on a series of flights to measure electromagnetic fields, pressure, ozone and methane levels, and more.
To reach such great heights, the glider was built to take advantage of an atmospheric phenomenon called stratospheric mountain waves. [Earth from Above: 101 Stunning Images from Orbit]
Normal mountain waves form between cold and warm air masses as they move across mountain ranges and create high-altitude winds. Stratospheric mountain waves, which the researchers plan to ride, form when the polar vortex — a large, low-pressure and cold air system — reaches peak strength, giving the high-altitude winds more energy.
"The strong winds will be perpendicular to the Andes, and as they come over the mountains, they cause a wave in the air that's invisible unless there are clouds present," Jim Payne, chief pilot for the Perlan Mission II project, told Avionics. "We fly in the area where the air is rising and propagates all the way up to 90,000 feet, although meteorologists say it may go up to 130,000 feet [40,000 m]."
Stratospheric mountain waves occur at peak strength in the Southern Hemisphere's winter months [summer in the Northern Hemisphere], so the Perlan Project team members recently traveled to Patagonia, in South America, where they will await ideal conditions for their first attempt at flying to the edge of space.
"Typically, the polar vortex, which causes the high-altitude wave, is best in August and September," Payne said. "So far, August has been disappointing; we haven't had the high-altitude winds. The one downside of this is that we're totally at the mercy of the weather."
If conditions are right and the flight is successful, Perlan would surpass the world altitude record for a fixed-wing aircraft. The current record of 85,068 feet (25,929 m) was set 50 years ago by the SR-71 Blackbird, a jet-powered spy plane, National Geographic reported. Unlike the Blackbird, the Perlan glider would achieve the feat without a drop of fuel.
Earlier this year, another aviation record was set without consuming any fuel. The Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered entirely by the sun, completed a journey around the world, becoming the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the globe without using any fuel.
Original article on Live Science. | 1,269,903 |
We've been here before. Pokemon Go was the first AR game to truly take off in the mainstream market and it's still going strong -- but it offers a cautionary tale for anyone dreaming of untethered AR gaming.
On mobile devices, AR is a massive battery suck. Plain and simple.
Playing Pokemon Go for an hour, with no other apps open, will drain about 30 percent of an iPhone 6S's battery, according to CNET. And with other apps open, it's easy to lose 45 percent of an iPhone 6S's battery life in just 30 minutes. Anecdotally, plenty of Pokemon Go enthusiasts using a range of phones have reported massive battery drain when playing for extended periods of time -- that's why they usually have portable-power-pack cables slithering out of their pockets and purses.
The iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X are more powerful than ever, and all of our smart phones are only going to get more sophisticated as time rolls on. However, no amount of dual-camera action, f/2.4 aperture or 12-megapixel sensors can save the new iPhones from themselves. Simply put, AR is useless if it drains your battery dry every time you flip it on.
This isn't just Apple's problem. Battery life was a major concern when we reviewed the ASUS ZenFone AR last month. The phone itself was pleasantly powerful, running AAA-style games like Afterpulse and VR experiences nearly flawlessly -- but the battery simply couldn't keep up. The ZenFone AR packs a 3,300mAh cell, far outpacing the iPhone 6S's 1,715mAh battery, but still, the phone couldn't stay charged for a full day. Here's how reviewer Chris Velazco explained it:
"I'd pull the phone off the charger between 7 AM and 8 AM, and it would be right on the edge of death by 6 PM. Things got worse when I spent time playing Daydream VR games or using Tango apps for more than a few minutes."
You catch that? Messing around with AR for just a few minutes has a drastic impact on the ZenFone AR's battery life, and that phone features one of the most powerful cells in the business.
There are no concrete battery details for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus or X, though Apple did reveal the iPhone X should last two hours longer than the iPhone 7, which features a 1,960mAh cell.
Apple is clearly excited about AR. In June, it opened up the tech to developers with ARKit, a platform that has already resulted in some truly freaky and fun experiences. However, these are early days for AR and the hardware is still catching up to this software explosion.
But, that may be just fine with Apple, at least for now. After all, the company generally makes billions each year from accessory sales alone, and a shorter, AR-driven battery life may mean they'll sell a few more AirPower mats this holiday season.
Follow all the latest news from Apple's iPhone event here! | 1,269,904 |
Bitcoin
It’s necessary to start with the most logical choice, and as expected Bitcoin has seen a steady rise in trade volume with investors looking to benefit from the proposed Bitcoin Gold fork taking place on October 25.
With investors hoping to bag some free Bitcoin Gold, the increase in volume saw Bitcoin break the $6000 barrier on Friday and the uptrend is expected to continue well into next week. Bitcoin is currently experiencing over $2 billion in 24-hour trade volume and is completely dominating the market with the best coins doing well to simply maintain their position. Depending on your own strategy, regarding the fork you may or may not decide to move into Bitcoin, regardless of your choice Bitcoin is clearly the most dominant currency of the week. That being said, there is value to be found in other areas of the market and there are a number of altcoins to keep an eye on as the week progresses.
OmiseGO
OmiseGO (OMG) is a token-based digital currency backed by the Plasma decentralized exchange and a digital wallet provided by Omise. It’s designed to facilitate payments for goods and services on the web to and to enable the cross-border transfer of assets.
Omise has been a consistent performer and has had many investors waiting for a suitable entry point. OMG started the week at around $8.22 and has seen a steady decline over the last few days to a price just above $7.21. Look for the trend to continue and for OMG to operate around the $6 mark until October 25.
OmiseGO has the potential to rebound quickly as it is a popular project with both Western and Asian investors as the OMG token has recorded returns of over 2000% since its recent ICO. OMG was trading at a price of around $9 at the beginning of October and savvy investors will be looking to make a move sometime in the next few days, making OMG a coin to watch this week.
NEO
NEO is a Chinese cryptocurrency that was originally known as AntShares before undergoing a rebranding exercise in 2017 and emerging as NEO. It has often been described as the Ethereum of China because NEO operates in a similar manner, allowing smart contracts to be delivered via its blockchain.
Neo is also coin to look out for and recently experienced a surge in trade volume around the time of the Red Pulse ICO. Neo is yet another popular currency and its fortunes are also linked to the ongoing Chinese Party Congress, which started on October 18. The Congress will take place over a number of weeks; however, any news related to a relaxing of state regulations will have a positive effect on the price of Neo.
The day after the Bitcoin Gold fork the Neo team will also be present at the Inaugural Global Fintech Blockchain China Summit in Shanghai with the markets poised for any new developments. Since reaching the price of $31.67 on October 17, Neo has slumped back to around $27. With Bitcoin holders guaranteed to receive the new fork of Bitcoin on October 25 Neo could see a resurgence in demand new the end of the week. | 1,269,905 |
Libya army chief of staff'resigns' after deadly clashes Published duration 9 June 2013
image caption Funerals for the protesters were held on Sunday in Benghazi
Libyan army chief of staff Youssef al-Mangoush has reportedly resigned after 30 people died in clashes between protesters and a militia in Benghazi.
The General National Congress accepted his resignation in a session on Sunday, sources at the assembly say.
The clashes erupted when protesters gathered outside the Libya Shield Brigade premises demanding it disband.
The government has struggled to tackle the presence of armed militias since Col Gaddafi's death in 2011.
The BBC's Rana Jawad says Mr Mangoush, who was due to be replaced soon anyway, was seen as ineffective and to blame for much of the country's problems with the militias.
media caption The Libya Shield Brigade say they are operating with defence ministry approval
The army chief submitted his resignation in a closed door session of the GNC, a member of congress told the BBC.
It comes as part of a wider decree, according to the same source, which also includes the appointment of a judge to investigate and break up the militias, as well as declare three days of mourning.
Mr Mangoush's deputy, Salem al-Gnaidy, will stand in as acting army chief until a new one is chosen, Reuters news agency reports.
Army takeover
A doctor at Benghazi's main hospital says that some of the deaths were caused by gunshot wounds to the chest and that there were six cases of amputations among the dozens of people injured.
Following Saturday's violence, the Libyan army said it would take control of all bases run by the Libya Shield Brigade in Benghazi.
The main headquarters, where the clashes took place, is already in the hands of a special forces unit in the city, an army spokesman said.
While it is not clear what the handover means in the long-term, it is clear that officials have not used the word "dismantle" - a key demand of the protesters - our correspondent says.
image caption Benghazi was also the scene of deadly anti-militia protests last year
The government has also promised to follow investigations into the incident closely and a GNC statement said it was saddened by the events.
However, the Congress did not issue any direct criticism towards the Libya Shield Brigade, which will be seen by many as the authorities tip-toeing around the issue of militias and semi-autonomous brigades, our correspondent adds.
It also illustrates the weakness of the government in facing the matter head on, she says.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Benghazi last year to eject a number of armed groups that they blamed for continuing lawlessness in the city.
This followed an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi that killed four people, including US ambassador Chris Stevens.
Some officials blamed the attack on some of the largest brigades in the city, saying they were operating under the ministry of defence, our correspondent says. | 1,269,906 |
Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity Launches First-of-its-Kind Digital Tools to Aid Local Homebuyers This week, Dallas Area Habitat launched two online "game-changers"—a mobile app and digital education library—to ease the process of purchasing a home.
The Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity is setting out to make buying a home easier than ever before with the launch of two digital tools: a mobile app and public education library.
Funded by donations from the Moody Foundation and The NBCUniversal Foundation, Dallas Habitat announced the release of its new technology this week. Dave Crawford, CEO for Dallas Habitat, said the contributions will help him and his team reach more potential homeowners across North Texas.
“Though most people know us from our home building activities, Dallas Habitat educates and counsels hundreds of families a year on the home buying process,” Crawford said in a statement. “These new online resources will be a real game-changer, as they allow potential homeowners to take classes when and where it fits into their schedule and prepare more individuals to purchase a home—whether it’s through us or on the open market.”
The mobile app, HomeSuite, is intended to better connect interested homebuyers and local Dallas Habitat homeownership counselors. Available in both English and Spanish, the app has various features to ease the process, like access to education courses, tracking of debt reduction progress and sweat equity, a savings calculator, and an action plan.
The first-of-its-kind digital education library is intended to boost users’ financial literacy to enhance decision-making. The only Habitat for Humanity affiliate to offer the tool, Dallas Habitat has equipped the platform with free educational courses on homeownership topics such as credit scores, debt-to-income ratios, and savings accounts.
But this isn’t the first time the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity has been a leader in housing innovation. In 2017, the organization announced an initiative—the first-ever in the national Habitat network—that would make homes available for middle-income residents.
Last year, Dallas Habitat was one of six North Texas nonprofits to be chosen for NBCUniversal’s Project Innovation. NBC 5, Telemundo 39, and the NBCUniversal Foundation issued a total of $225,000 in grants, with $50,000 going to Dallas Habitat.
“We applaud Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity for launching the area’s first-ever mobile app that gives individuals the information and tools they need to realize their dream of homeownership,” said Tom Ehlmann, President and General Manager for NBC 5 and Telemundo 39, in a statement. “This program exemplifies the ideals of Project Innovation, which is to help local organizations resolve everyday problems through innovative ways.”
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day. | 1,269,907 |
#GoldOpens for everyone!
Supporters around the world banded together to buy out screenings of “Crazy Rich Asians” as part of the #GoldOpen campaign on social media, and now the rom-com blockbuster’s director, Jon M. Chu, and star, Henry Golding, are returning the favor for another upcoming film spotlighting Asian-Americans.
Chu and Golding showed their support for Aneesh Chaganty’s new thriller, “Searching,” Wednesday on social media by announcing they had each bought out a theater screening the film during its opening weekend. The film stars “Star Trek” alumnus John Cho as the father of a missing teenager, played by Michelle La.
“Me and @jonmchu were at the theatre surprising audience members, but had to stop off at a @johnthecho poster for @searchingmovie,” Golding posted on Instagram, along with a photo of him replicating the “Searching” poster. “We both decided to buy out a cinema when it comes out and spread the support we have been receiving for CRA #GoldOpen… Can’t wait to see it, coming soon!!”
“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Searching,” along with the new Netflix movie “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” have garnered attention for headlining Asian-Americans, in a trend many on the internet are calling #AsianAugust. As part of a push to ensure the films succeed financially, digital media mogul Bing Chen kicked off the #GoldOpen movement by purchasing more than 100 screenings of “Crazy Rich Asians,” spurring a chain reaction of support from Hollywood and elsewhere.
Now, it’s “Searching’s” turn, and director Chaganty shared his delight at Golding and Chu’s gesture by sharing a tweet from Chu and thanking them.
“@henrygolding and I are Excited to be Buying out a theater for #SearchingMovie starring our brother @JohnTheCho!!” Chu wrote. “Go see this film!! Fellow trojan @aneeshchaganty directed it. #GoldOpen #AsianAugust.”
“OH MY GOD,” Chaganty wrote in response. “The star and director of #CrazyRichAsians are buying out a theater this weekend for #SearchingMovie. Thank you guys. This is super super super awesome. #AsianAugust.”
OH MY GOD. The star and director of #CrazyRichAsians are buying out a theater this weekend for #SearchingMovie. Thank you guys. This is super super super awesome. #AsianAugust https://t.co/2hHgEusDOx — Aneesh Chaganty (@aneeshchaganty) August 22, 2018
“Searching” hits limited theaters Friday. | 1,269,908 |
JOHN DICKERSON: Did President Obama give you any advice that was helpful? That you think, wow, he really was–
DONALD TRUMP: — Well, he was very nice to me. But after that, we’ve had some difficulties. So it doesn’t matter. You know, words are less important to me than deeds. And you– you saw what happened with surveillance. And everybody saw what happened with surveillance–
JOHN DICKERSON: Difficulties how?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — and I thought that — well, you saw what happened with surveillance. And I think that was inappropriate, but that’s the way–
JOHN DICKERSON: What does that mean, sir?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You can figure that out yourself.
JOHN DICKERSON: Well, I– the reason I ask is you said he was– you called him “sick and bad”.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Look, you can figure it out yourself. He was very nice to me with words, but– and when I was with him — but after that, there has been no relationship.
JOHN DICKERSON: But you stand by that claim about him?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t stand by anything. I just– you can take it the way you want. I think our side’s been proven very strongly. And everybody’s talking about it. And frankly it should be discussed. I think that is a very big surveillance of our citizens. I think it’s a very big topic. And it’s a topic that should be number one. And we should find out what the hell is going on.
JOHN DICKERSON: I just wanted to find out, though. You’re– you’re the president of the United States. You said he was “sick and bad” because he had tapped you– I’m just–
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You can take– any way. You can take it any way you want.
JOHN DICKERSON: But I’m asking you. Because you don’t want it to be–
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You don’t–
JOHN DICKERSON: –fake news. I want to hear it from–
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You don’t have to–
JOHN DICKERSON: –President Trump.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: –ask me. You don’t have to ask me.
JOHN DICKERSON: Why not?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Because I have my own opinions. You can have your own opinions.
JOHN DICKERSON: But I want to know your opinions. You’re the president of the United States.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Okay, it’s enough. Thank you. Thank you very much. | 1,269,909 |
of models from 0 to N. If statistics are insufficient for the model of order N, the N−1 model is used instead.But we still want to preserve the cardinality of data. In other words, if the source data had 123456 unique URL values, the result should have approximately the same number of unique values. We can use a deterministically initialized random number generator to achieve this. The easiest way to do this is to use a hash function and apply it to the original value. In other words, we get a pseudorandom result that is explicitly determined by the original value.Another requirement is that the source data may have many different URLs that start with the same prefix but aren't identical. For example:. We want the result to also have URLs that all start with the same prefix, but a different one. For example:. As a random number generator for generating the next character using a Markov model, we'll take a hash function from a moving window of 8 bytes at the specified position (instead of taking it from the entire string).It turns out to be exactly what we need. Here's the example of page titles:After trying four methods, I got so tired of this problem that it was time to just choose something, make it into a usable tool, and announce the solution. I chose the solution that uses random permutations and Markov models parametrized by a key. It is implemented as theprogram, which is very easy to use. The input is a table dump in any supported format (such as CSV or JSONEachRow), and the command line parameters specify the table structure (column names and types) and the secret key (any string, which you can forget immediately after use). The output is the same number of rows of obfuscated data.The program is installed with clickhouse-client, has no dependencies, and works on almost any flavor of Linux. You can apply it to any database dump, not just ClickHouse. For instance, you can generate test data from MySQL or PostgreSQL databases or create development databases that are similar to your production databases.Of course, everything isn't so cut and dried, because data transformed by this program is almost completely reversible. The question is whether it is possible to perform the reverse transformation without knowing the key. If the transformation used a cryptographic algorithm, this operation would be as difficult as a brute-force search. Although the transformation uses some cryptographic primitives, they are not used in the correct way, and the data is susceptible to certain methods of analysis. To avoid problems, these issues are covered in the documentation for the program (access it using).In the end, we transformed the data set we need for functional and performance testing and the Yandex VP of data security approved publication.Non-Yandex developers use this data for real performance testing when optimizing algorithms inside ClickHouse. Third-party users can provide us with their obfuscated data so that we can make ClickHouse even faster for them. We also released independent open benchmark for hardware and cloud providers on top of this data: clickhouse.yandex/benchmark_hardware.html | 1,269,910 |
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.
Overseas tax evasion by American corporations has become a political hot button of late: It haunted Mitt Romney in 2012, spurred President Barack Obama last year to crack down on so-called inversions, and has since been seized upon as a 2016 campaign issue by Hillary Clinton. American companies now have an estimated $2.1 trillion in untaxed profits stashed overseas, big sums of which belong to Apple, General Electric, and Microsoft.
Walmart is also a major overseas tax dodger, according to a new report from Americans for Tax Fairness, a liberal-leaning think tank and advocacy group. The world’s largest retailer has stashed $64 billion worth of assets in Luxembourg, Europe’s smallest and most notorious tax haven. These assets—including cash and the ownership of real estate holdings around the world—are worth more than Luxembourg’s entire gross domestic product. If they were liquidated and sprinkled around, it would amount to more than $100,000 per acre in this tiny country of 1,000 square miles that lacks a single Walmart store. Walmart has so much wealth in Luxembourg, in fact, that it could pay several times over to plaster the entire country in Nexus Granite Self-Adhesive Vinyl Floor Tiles, which sell at Walmart for $8.99 per box.
Since 2011, Walmart has transferred more than $45 billion in assets to a network of 22 shell companies in Luxembourg, the report says.
In fact, most Luxembourgers can afford flooring that’s considerably more posh. A primary source of the luxe in this city-state of some 500,000 people is its corporate tax rate. Between 2010 and 2013, Walmart reported paying less than 1 percent in tax to Luxembourg on $1.3 billion in profits. Walmart also generates $1.5 billion worth of tax deductions in Luxembourg each year by making “phantom interest payments” to its home office in the United States, according to Americans for Tax Fairness. These benefits may explain why, since 2011, Walmart has transferred more than $45 billion in assets to a network of 22 shell companies in Luxembourg, the report says.
Walmart disputed the report’s findings: “This is the same union-supported group that regularly issues flawed reports on Walmart to promote their agenda rather than the facts,” the company said in a statement to USA Today. “This latest report includes incomplete, erroneous information designed to mislead readers.” But the retailing giant did not go into any further detail.
UPDATE 6:00 p.m. PST: In an email to Mother Jones, a Walmart representative detailed the company’s objections to the report:
When calculating total assets, this calculation incorrectly includes intercompany assets, primarily investment in our wholly-owned subsidiaries and intercompany loans which both eliminate on consolidation. The methodology is flawed and based upon statutory reports prior to intercompany eliminations which occur during consolidation. | 1,269,911 |
The short answer is: it's safe if you use them safely :)
The snarky answer: tell me what you mean by traits, and maybe I'll give you a better answer :)
In all seriousness, the term "trait" is not well-defined. Many Java developers are most familiar with traits as they are expressed in Scala, but Scala is far from the first language to have traits, either in name or in effect.
For example, in Scala, traits are stateful (can have var variables); in Fortress they are pure behavior. Java's interfaces with default methods are stateless; does this mean they are not traits? (Hint: that was a trick question.)
Again, in Scala, traits are composed through linearization; if class A extends traits X and Y, then the order in which X and Y are mixed in determines how conflicts between X and Y are resolved. In Java, this linearization mechanism is not present (it was rejected, in part, because it was too "un-Java-like".)
The proximate reason for adding default methods to interfaces was to support interface evolution, but we were well aware that we were going beyond that. Whether you consider that to be "interface evolution++" or "traits--" is a matter of personal interpretation. So, to answer your question about safety... so long as you stick to what the mechanism actually supports, rather than trying to wishfully stretch it to something it does not support, you should be fine.
A key design goal was that, from the perspective of the client of an interface, default methods should be indistinguishable from "regular" interface methods. The default-ness of a method, therefore, is only interesting to the designer and implementor of the interface.
Here are some use cases that are well within the design goals:
Interface evolution. Here, we are adding a new method to an existing interface, which has a sensible default implementation in terms of existing methods on that interface. An example would be adding the forEach method to Collection, where the default implementation is written in terms of the iterator() method.
"Optional" methods. Here, the designer of an interface is saying "Implementors need not implement this method if they are willing to live with the limitations in functionality that entails". For example, Iterator.remove was given a default which throws UnsupportedOperationException ; since the vast majority of implementations of Iterator have this behavior anyway, the default makes this method essentially optional. (If the behavior from AbstractCollection were expressed as defaults on Collection, we might do the same for the mutative methods.)
Convenience methods. These are methods that are strictly for convenience, again generally implemented in terms of non-default methods on the class. The logger() method in your first example is a reasonable illustration of this.
Combinators. These are compositional methods that instantiate new instances of the interface based on the current instance. For example, the methods Predicate.and() or Comparator.thenComparing() are examples of combinators. | 1,269,912 |
Credit: Image Comics
And suddenly, with issue #193, it was over.
After 16 years, almost 200 issues, and a bunch of on-screen adaptations and spin-offs, The Walking Dead has finally come to an end. On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter surprised fans by reporting that Wednesday’s issue, #193, was the very last one.
(Spoilers ahead for issues 192 and 193.)
Per THR, the last issue–which is in comic book stores now–picks up a few decades after the huge twist that concluded issue 192. Acting as more of an epilogue to the story, the issue follows Carl Grimes–now a married man with a family–living quietly on a farm, only to find himself being put on trial for killing a walker who escaped from a zombie freakshow run by Maggie and Glenn’s son, Hershel Rhee.
The issue comes with a long farewell letter from creator Robert Kirkman (published in full on THR), in which he explained his decision to wrap up the story this way and talked about his personal philosophy about endings and surprises:
I hate knowing what’s coming. As a fan, I hate it when I realize I’m in the third act of a movie and the story is winding down. I hate that I can count commercial breaks and know I’m nearing the end of a TV show. I hate that you can FEEL when you’re getting to the end of a book, or a graphic novel. Some of the BEST episodes of Game of Thrones are when they’re structured in such a way and paced to perfection so your brain can’t tell if it’s been watching for 15 minutes or 50 minutes … and when the end comes … you’re STUNNED.
He also revealed that he knew what the comics’ final image–Carl reading a story about Rick to his daughter–would be since around 2013. The years in between were just spent figuring out, with artist Charlie Adlard, how to lead up to it.
Oddly, as unsure as I feel about ending the story, I feel confident in how I ended it. I’ve been building to this for years, and it does feel good to end on such a happy note. To know that everything these characters lived through meant something. To see that Michonne got to find her daughter, find peace with her life, and even have a grandchild… that feels good. That the world is fixed… and at peace, that in some ways it’s even better than before… that’s meaningful. And to see Carl in that rocking chair, reading happily to his daughter, to know that’s the life Rick wanted him to have… that makes me happy. I hope it makes you happy, too. Even if you’re upset at not getting to spend time in this world anymore.
Kirkland signed off with a whole page of thank yous, as well as one final twist: | 1,269,913 |
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Harry Mason ReidThe Supreme Court vacancy — yet another congressional food fight Trump seeks to turn around campaign with Supreme Court fight On The Trail: Battle over Ginsburg replacement threatens to break Senate MORE (D-Nev.) accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) of ignoring the party’s state-level organizations.
“The DNC does nothing to help state organizations,” he told BuzzFeed during a Tuesday interview at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. "That’s where they should be spending their time. We need the DNC to do that."
“One of my fundraisers... he said, ‘The DNC is nothing but a big, dark hole,’" the retiring Nevada senator added. "'The money comes and goes in that hole and nothing happens,’ and that’s right."
Reid questioned the DNC focusing its work on presidential election years.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The DNC operates for about eight or nine months every four years. [They should] work year-round and help state parties, and they have not done that.”
Reid said his work building up the Nevada Democratic Party's operation could provide the DNC a blueprint for moving forward nationally.
“What I’ve developed in Nevada should be a model for this entire country. We spend money, we work 12 months a year, we don’t take time off, a day or two for Christmas, and that’s about it.”
Reid added he hopes the DNC learns from Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersOutrage erupts over Breonna Taylor grand jury ruling Dimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death MORE (I-Vt.) and his campaign’s digital fundraising strategy during this election cycle's Democratic presidential primary.
“Bernie Sanders — I think what he did is really quite remarkable. He didn’t have a single fundraiser. He just raised over the internet. I would hope the people who are going to run the DNC look at that.”
Democrats are debating their party’s future after President-elect Donald 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 defeated Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida The Hill's Campaign Report: Presidential polls tighten weeks out from Election Day More than 50 Latino faith leaders endorse Biden MORE, their presidential nominee, in last month’s election.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) remains the front-runner for the next DNC chair in a race that includes several other contenders.
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley and South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison are in the running, and Labor Secretary Tom Perez is expected to announce his candidacy. | 1,269,914 |
-pointing continued Sunday as Kerry appeared on several network talk shows and blamed the downing of the jet on the separatists and, indirectly, on the Russian government.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kerry asserted that Russian forces had trained the separatists how to use the SA-11 antiaircraft missiles and that over the past month “a major flow of arms and weapons” had crossed the border from Russia into eastern Ukraine.
“We know for certain that the separatists have a proficiency that they’ve gained by training from Russians as to how to use these sophisticated SA-11 systems,” he said.
Kerry said imagery collected by U.S. intelligence agencies showed that a missile was launched Thursday from eastern Ukraine and that it was on a trajectory to strike the Malaysian jetliner. He also cited videos posted on the Internet that purportedly show an SA-11 system passing through two towns in eastern Ukraine “right in the vicinity of the shoot-down” within hours of the crash.
Kerry’s comments came a day after a U.S. official said Washington had confirmed that Russia supplied high-altitude missile launchers to separatists in eastern Ukraine this month and that attempts were made to move them back across the Russian border in the aftermath of Thursday’s aviation disaster.
Ukrainian government officials have asserted that they have proof that Russia provided rebels with the actual missile used to shoot down the airliner. The Obama administration has stopped short of making that claim but has built a steadily expanding circumstantial case that the Russians were at least indirectly involved.
“There’s an enormous amount of evidence, even more evidence than I just documented, that points to the involvement of Russia in providing these systems, training the people on them,” Kerry said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
At the same time, Kerry indicated that the United States lacked proof that Moscow was directly responsible for the deaths of the airline passengers. “There’s a stacking up of evidence here that Russia needs to help account for,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We are not drawing the final conclusion here, but there is a lot that points at the need for Russia to be responsible.”
Russian officials have not responded to the accusations that their forces supplied SA-11 units and training to the rebels. In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s crash, Russian President Vladimir Putin indirectly blamed the government of Ukraine, saying that it “bears responsibility” because it has not ceased hostilities with the separatists.
In a statement on Monday, Putin said international experts should have safe access to the site, yet also seemed to push back against the global accusations implicating rebels.
“No one should and has the right to use this tragedy to achieve their selfish political goals.”
Birnbaum reported from Kiev. Philip Bump in Washington and Karoun Demirjian in Moscow contributed to this report. | 1,269,915 |
news, local-news, orange, phil donato, philip donato, shooters party, shooters fishers and farmers, shooters and fishers, hunting
The state government’s draft hunting laws have “missed the target” according to member for Orange Phil Donato. If passed by the parliament, the Firearms Regulation 2017 bill would require landholders to supply names, addresses, dates of birth, drivers’ and firearms licences as well as contact details to police – if they host hunters on their farm. “Up until now, a verbal agreement was all that was required,” Mr Donato said. “This is only making it more cumbersome for hunters who want to go hunting legally.” The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MP said farmers weren’t likely to bother with signing off on the extra red and green tape to allow hunters onto their property. “Farmers are going to be concerned about handing over confidential information and what’s going to be done with it,” he said. “It’s not just whether it’s hunting game like deer or controlling feral animals, it’s the same conditions that will need to be complied with.” During his time in the courtroom, Mr Donato has prosecuted cases of illegal hunting in Orange. He said the draft legislation would not address illegal hunting. “You need to target criminals doing the wrong thing, not people doing the right thing,” Mr Donato said. “Illegal hunters will trespass whether or not they have the property owner’s consent.” Mr Donato said the current penalty for hunters trespassing on private property was around $550. “The government should be finding ways to enforce the law on people who trespass or poach,” he said. “If they want to get serious they have to increase the penalties for people trespassing.” Mr Donato said the changes risked endangering hunting’s economic contribution, which according to a report from the Department of Primary Industries is valued at $700,000 over 12 months and six jobs in Orange. “There’s a significant economic benefit to not only Orange, but Bathurst, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga, any regional community would receive an economic benefit. He said the people who would suffer were small businesses in regional areas including service stations, supermarkets and hotels. Mr Donato said the issue intruded on private property rights. “Who gives the power to the government for them to tell farmers who can and can’t go on a property with their permission?”
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/yRSj6DDuWivnNCc45BdLiH/3d73aee9-d38e-4842-8abd-06e87fc8c983.JPG/r898_806_5383_3340_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg | 1,269,916 |
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]
It is the United States that poses threats to China through repeated suppression, accusation and smearing, and not the other way around, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Friday.
Wang cited cases－such as the US Congress reviewing and adopting bills that interfere in China's internal affairs, US naval ships and airplanes flexing muscles at China's doorstep and the US suppressing Chinese companies－and said the issue is how to address the US threat to China.
In the far-ranging interview in Berlin, Wang said that countries with different social systems will not pose a threat to each other as long as they adhere to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, in particular the principle of noninterference in internal affairs, and respect each other's sovereignty.
Asked whether the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic would influence the recently signed China-US phase one trade deal, Wang said China is ready to implement the deal, and he urged the US to fulfill its commitment.
The epidemic will affect China's economy temporarily, but afterward, the Chinese economy will rebound and the Chinese market will continue to expand, he said.
There will be better conditions to implement the consensus in the deal as China deepens reforms and expands opening-up in accordance with its own timetable and road map, he said.
However, Wang added, the US curbs on movement of people between the two countries will objectively bring some difficulties in implementing the agreement.
Wang said he hopes the US will respect the World Health Organization's recommendation and avoids unnecessary travel and trade restrictions.
Regarding US accusations against Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, Wang said they are neither reasonable nor moral.
The US cannot accept other countries' companies displaying economic and technological talent because it doesn't want to see other countries and their businesses develop and flourish, Wang said.
Fu Ying, vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's 13th National People's Congress, dismissed US accusations that Huawei poses a threat to global political stability at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said at the conference that China is seeking to export digital autocracy through Huawei.
While introducing technologies from Western countries, China has maintained its political system and it is not threatened by these technologies, Fu said, asking Pelosi, "Do you really think the democratic system is so fragile it could be threatened by this single high-tech company, Huawei?"
The US has heavily lobbied other countries to follow suit and boycott the Chinese company.
German lawmakers remain divided on the Huawei question, and the United Kingdom ruled last month that Huawei may continue to operate in a restricted capacity.
There is no doubt that all countries should safeguard the security of their own telecommunications infrastructure, and also companies from all countries should be offered a level playing field and non-discriminatory business environment, Wang said in a Q&A session after his speech at the security conference. | 1,269,917 |
An unblinking red eye stares back at its user. The system speaks in a cold, unemotional voice. “I’m sorry, Dave,” it says. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” In this iconic scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the protagonist faces off against the world’s least helpful assistant, HAL 9000. In the name of self-preservation, the AI system overrides its orders, leading to the crew’s demise. This isn’t the future anyone wants to see. People want computers that assist humanity, not replace or impede it. They hope for a utopian, not dystopian, world in which technology helps find solutions, not more problems. Technology today is more powerful than ever - so the way we build and use it should be equally important to how it works. By putting humanity front and center, we can build technology that changes our future for the better.
Not that we have to wait until then, of course. Numerous assistive technologies powered by breakthroughs in machine learning are already making our daily lives easier and richer. Self-driving cars that have the potential to reduce congestion, pollution, and traffic accidents are beginning to surface on the horizon. While other technologies, like ML-aided translation tools, medical diagnostic software, and context-aware devices are part of many people’s daily routines. Features including Smart Compose in Gmail, which makes suggestions as users type messages; Live Transcribe in Android, which can help the deaf or hard-of-hearing receive instant speech-to-text captions in over 70 languages and dialects; or the ever-supportive Google Assistant, which helps millions of people stay on top of their daily schedules, showcase Google’s vision for creating a better future with technology.
Nowhere is this idea of helpful innovation more important than on mobile devices. Since Android launched in 2008, it has become the world’s most popular mobile platform. Advances in image recognition with machine learning mean that users can point their smartphone camera at text and have it live-translated into 88 different languages through Google Translate. And with mobile phones becoming the device of choice around the globe, especially in fast-growing markets in the developing world, it’s crucial that new tools are built with human-centered applications in mind. Helpful innovation has the potential to change the way we access, use, and interpret information, making it available when we need it, where we need it most.
This means forecasting floods and delivering warnings directly to those affected. Or even snapping a quick photo of an item, like a coffee cup, and getting directions to a nearby recycling point. Developing new technologies is not a straightforward path. It relies on advances in hardware, new discoveries in software, and the developers who build these new experiences. By focusing on “Helpful Innovation,” the Android Developer Challenge sets real-world examples of machine learning into action for users and inspires the next wave of developers to unlock what’s possible with this new technology. | 1,269,918 |
by BRIAN NADIG
A second-floor addition to a bungalow near Nagle and Raven avenues and the expansion of a church near Belmont and Austin avenues are among the items on the agenda for the Friday, Jan. 17, meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The owner of a home in the 6300 block of West Hyacinth Street is appealing a decision by the city zoning administrator to allow construction of a second-floor frame addition and a rear deck at a single-family home at 6339 W. Hyacinth St. A permit for the project was issued on Nov. 20, and work began two weeks ago.
"We are a row of historic bungalows," the neighbor who filed the appeal said. "All the roofs are the same height. This is going to change the character of our neighborhood, and anyone driving by would say that."
The resident said that dormers have been added to some of the bungalows on the block but that none of them have had a second-floor addition. A second-floor addition was constructed on a multi-family building at the end of the block on an oversized lot, according to the resident.
The resident said that addition to the bungalow will block windows and skylights on his house. "It is infringing on the use and enjoyment of my property," he said.
The issuance of the construction permit was made possible several months ago when the zoning administrator granted an administrative adjustment which allows reductions in the northeast side-yard setback from 4 feet to 2.37 feet, in the southwest side-yard setback from 4 feet to 2.86 feet, and in the combined side-yard setback from 9 feet to 5.23 feet. The resident said that if the appeal is granted, it could force a halt in the construction.
Manuel Galvan, a spokesman for Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th), said that the alderman does not plan to object to the second-floor addition at the zoning board’s meeting. "The addition is not out of line with the rest of the neighborhood," Galvan said.
The 958-square-foot bungalow was constructed 88 years ago and was sold to a developer last May, according to county records. The RS-2 zoning of the property restricts residential construction on the 3,750-square-foot property to single-family use.
The agenda for the meeting also contains a request by the Belmont Assembly of God for a special use to allow the expansion of its church at 6050-58 W. Belmont Ave. The application calls for the renovation of a mezzanine and a 9,311-square-foot expansion to the 450-seat church.
The bungalow item will be heard during the 9 a.m. session of the board’s meeting, and the church item will be held during the 2 p.m. session. The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St.
| 1,269,919 |
other-sports
Updated: Sep 02, 2017 20:15 IST
Roelant Oltmans has been sacked as the head coach of the Indian hockey team. The decision to end Oltman’s contract came at the back of a three-day Hockey India conclave that took some hard decisions following the nation team’s poor showing in the last two years.
Oltmans, who was initially appointed as a High Performance manager in 2013, became the head coach after Dutchman Paul Van Ass left controversially in 2015.
The Indian hockey federation thus maintained its record of firing international coaches intermittently. It started with Australian legend Ric Charlesworth and the list includes Spaniard Jose Brasa and Australians Michael Nobbs and Terry Walsh.
The decision to sack Roelant Oltmans was taken by Hockey India on Saturday. Current High Performance Director David John was take over as the interim coach. India will be hosting the final of the FIH Hockey World League in December this year in Odisha. India will also host the World Cup in 2018.
Roelant Oltmans (L) along with PR Sreejesh, who lead the Indian hockey team to the 2016 Rio Olympics ( PTI )
Harbinder Singh, the chairman of Hockey India’s selection committee, said the decision to sack Oltmans was taken after a review of India’s performance in 2016-17. India’s next major international assignment will be the Asia Cup in Bangladesh from October 11-22.
Singh said India’s performance in the Hockey World League semifinal in London in June was disappointing. India finished sixth in the tournament after losing 3-2 to a resilient Canadian side. The win enabled Canada to book a World cup ticket.
“To make results a reality, we need to make hard decisions for the greater good of the future of hockey in India. The current format of coaching was not showing results beyond a certain level,” said Harbinder Singh at the end of a high-profile meeting in Delhi where several top Indian players, including Khel Ratna Sardar Singh, PR Sreejesh and Manpreet Singh took part.
Indian hockey legend @imsardarsingh8 lauds the performance of the talented players coming through the ranks for India. #IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/AEgTT9W4uA — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 2, 2017
After the Hockey World League semifinal performance, India tasted some success in the recent tour of Europe where several junior players were given a break. The young team, led by Manpreet Singh, defeated the Netherlands 4-3 last month.
Oltman’s sporadic success with the senior team no more impressed the Hockey India bosses.
“Asia can’t be a benchmark for success any more. We need to show results beyond intent in key international tournaments where the sporadic success over the last two years is more incidental than deliberate,” said Harbinder. | 1,269,920 |
Formula One teams draft gamers to compete for £150,000 F1 Esports Series
Racing games are one of the less high-profile esports sectors. Although there are spectacular games and highly skilled drivers, it’s not as common to see high profile events in this area – that makes the ones that do happen stand out even more.
The event in question is of course the first F1 Esports series. It is an online gaming competition across PC, Xbox and PS4. In a pretty interesting move, most Formula One teams have nabbed themselves some of the pros to compete for them. All teams except Ferrari are taking part in this and each hired up to three gamers for their team.
Of the original 66.000 competitors, only 40 are left for the finals. The nine competing teams picked the best of the bunch through an American draft-style system. Ferrari chose not to compete, and Williams got the first pick. 18-year old Finn Tino Naukkarinen was their first choice to compete for the $200.000 prize pool.
That is a sizeable pool of winnings for the competition, but given the names of the participating teams, that’s no surprise. Since Ferrari is not participating, that leaves Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Haas, Force India, McLaren, Toro Rosso, Sauber, Williams.
As for the 40 remaining competitors, they were put through a series of assessment challenges at Silverstone before the teams made their picks. These included (real world) go-kart racing, reflex tests and a number of teamwork challenges to see how the competitors scored here. Of course, the competitors also played a variety of simulation races.
The teams really did examine all the candidates closely – from fitness tests to tests on knowledge of the racing world, no aspect went unnoticed. Robert Corr, F1Esports manager said in an interview that these assessments weren’t about their speed – after all, all the candidates would have to be fast to reach this stage – but about the person behind the gamer tag/wheel. Even a pit stop challenge was included as part of a team challenge – these lucky 40 really got to experience the racing world up close in those three days.
Only 16 of the 40 finalist racers were chosen to compete in the teams though. Of course, this led to several emotional scenes among the competitors – both the ones chosen and the ones that failed this all important hurdle. This is especially true for Sauber who had the final pick. Their final choice was Sonuc Saltunc. He was of course more than happy to be chosen, especially because his brother Salih, also a finalist, was Sauber’s first choice. The two were more than a bit emotional when they got to join the same team backstage.
Sonuc had already participated in 2017’s event, where he managed to snag a position as a finalist. The final championship event will be taking place this autumn. The chosen players will be racing on Codemasters’ F1 2018 title in three different live events. | 1,269,921 |
All I gotta say is, man, JuJu Smith-Schuster is a lot of fun to watch.
Not only for what he’s doing off the field. Though make no mistake, that is awesome. This 20 year old with a care-free attitude in spite of playing in one of the world’s biggest pressure cookers, the NFL. All the drama, all the noise, all stuff that would’ve been easy for a rookie to succumb to. But Smith-Schuster hasn’t let it bother him. He’s fought back and turned in his biggest game – and biggest play. A 97 yard touchdown, the longest pass in Pittsburgh Steelers’ history.
And Smith-Schuster’s impressive route running made it happen.
As Dave Bryan wrote about, Ben Roethlisberger said the coverage was 22 Man. That’s another term for 2 Man, meaning the defense is running with a two high look (two safeties) helping cover the outside receivers while the corners play man coverage. Essentially, the outside receivers are doubled. Which leaves the slot receiver in single coverage and the primary target.
Smith-Schuster is running a vertical downfield. But there’s nuance in his route running to create space. The best receiver is an open one, after all.
Off the snap, Smith-Schuster gives slot corner Quandre Diggs a slight inside release. That gets Diggs to jump inside. JuJu is selling the move with his whole body. Eyes, shoulders, hips, and feet. Anything else and the CB isn’t taking the bait.
As Diggs does that, Smith-Schuster plants and explodes upfield, attacking the corner’s outer half. That’s where the separation happens. Burst away at the top and JuJu does a great job of it. Diggs is late opening his hips and has to try to work and recover.
The corner now trailing. And with the safeties helping the corners over the top, the middle of the field is open. There is no safety support. Diggs isn’t able to get back in-phase (to the receiver’s inside hip) and Roethlisberger hits him in stride.
Coming out of college, many (myself included!) questioned how precise of a route runner he was. Especially knowing how much the Steelers wanted him to play in the slot, where route running trumps anything else. But he’s shown an advanced ability to create space working inside. He’s mature in personality and in player, a rare combo for a 20 year old.
Creating space as a receiver doesn’t mean you need to use 20 different nods and steps to get open. When you’re fluid, and when you commit to one move, and show explosiveness on your break, you’re going to create space. One look inside. Burst away. Finish the play. Be the hero.
This dude’s a lot of fun. | 1,269,922 |
XdN abbreviation. 2d6 was noted 2-12, d4+1 was 2-5, etc. I remember it being a bit of a math challenge when I was a kid. But I was thinking, this min-max damage notation could be used in a one-roll combat system (like in Macchiato Monsters, or if you wanted to make your D&D fights much shorter). Related to my last post, I was reminiscing about the old damage notation, before they systematically used theabbreviation. 2d6 was noted 2-12, d4+1 was 2-5, etc. I remember it being a bit of a math challenge when I was a kid. But I was thinking, this min-max damage notation could be used in a one-roll combat system (like in Macchiato Monsters, or if you wanted to make your D&D fights much shorter). "One of us is dead. Maybe both of us." Everyone loses HP
If you miss your attack, the monster hits you and you take damage equal to the higher value listed in their description. That orc bastard with the 2-7 (d6+1) scimitar wounds you for 7. Ouch. But you're a badass adventurer and you get to scratch him for 4 (your modified damage is d8+3, or 4-11). That actually has a good chance of killing him (assuming your referee has good taste and rolls for her monsters' HP).
If you hit, your magic sword does kill the orc with its max damage of 11. But fighting subterranean cannibal warriors is exhausting and you still lose 2 HP.
Of course, it's a system that makes strong fighters stronger, but it might be worth a try. Think about it: your combat round would go from four rolls to just one. 75% less rolling and math, who wouldn't want that?
Side notes
How do you handle non reciprocal attacks, like missiles and traps? Well, player characters attacks are the same, except the PC doesn't lose hit points on a miss - maybe just 1 to account for fatigue. Monster attacks can be either rolled by the referee, or they can call for a save.
Critical hits could be a choice: either do more damage or take none from the opponent. Maybe throw a couple more options in the mix: break melee, trip your opponent, set up an ally for advantage next round, etc.
I'm thinking a system like this might need ablative armour... maybe? That would depend on what the odds of hitting are (do you use THAC0 or roll under?) and the overall hit points progression.
"I need you to start rolling better, okay?"
In conclusion
It is really just an idea. I might try it if I was to run B/X or OD&D, but I'm too busy at the moment with Lunchtime Dungeons to pursue it further. If you do, drop me a note! | 1,269,923 |
Dr. Michelle Thaller is an astronomer who studies binary stars and the life cycles of stars. She is Assistant Director of Science Communication at NASA. She went to college at Harvard University, completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. then started working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Spitzer Space Telescope. After a hugely successful mission, she moved on to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in the Washington D.C. area. In her off-hours often puts on about 30lbs of Elizabethan garb and performs intricate Renaissance dances. For more information, visit NASA.
MICHELLE THALLER: A really fun question is that when astronauts are in space they're not experiencing gravity, so how does digestion work? We sort of think of food moving down in our bodies, it seems that maybe gravity would have something to do with that. The amazing thing is that it really doesn't and this was one of the first things we discovered when we sent animals first and then people up into space. Some people wondered if you could swallow, if you could digest at all without the force of gravity. And it turns out that the act of peristalsis, the way your throat and your intestines squeeze themselves, will actually move food and water through your digestive system without gravity at all and you can even test that with people lying in hospital beds. When you think about somebody that's actually lying down, there's no force of gravity that's pulling food in one direction or the other. The human body is actually pretty good at moving food through without the force of gravity. Now other part of this is what happens when the food comes out the other end, because this is a natural thing that all humans do every day.
Well, you've now reached the wonderful science of space toilets. They actually act with suction. Now if you've ever been to the dentist's office and the dentist wants you to spit and he holds up a little cup with a tube attached to it and there's suction that takes the water down the tube. A space toilet acts very much that way; there's suction, there's a current of air that actually draws the waste down so it can be disposed of. And, honestly, sometimes it doesn't work perfectly. This is one of the things that astronauts have to deal with. When you think about the word 'floater', that has happened, where something escapes and you need to go get it. Some of the worst parts of human space flight in the very early days, like in Gemini all the way back in the 1960s, was people would collect their urine in a little plastic bag and sometimes they broke. So there have been some people up there and some very bad circumstances. Today, the toilet on the space station works very well and suction brings everything down and the best thing I can compare it to is the dentist's spit cup.
They actually have a little video camera so you can see if anything is floating around in the toilet before you get up. Yeah.
| 1,269,924 |
Lawyers for an investigative reporting organization filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Philadelphia region's main transit agency after it refused to run ads about the group's stories on racial disparities in mortgage lending.
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with co-counsel representing the Center for Investigative Reporting, filed the federal lawsuit against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority over a ban on advertising involving "matters of public debate," saying the center's First Amendment rights were violated. SEPTA denied the center's January request to buy ad space on buses to run information from an investigation on racial disparities in mortgage lending practices.
"SEPTA as a governmental entity should not be restricting speech, and time and again courts have thrown out similar efforts by the government to regulate speech in forums such as this," said attorney John S. Stapleton, co-counsel with the ACLU.
A spokesman for SEPTA said the agency's advertising restrictions are constitutional and the center's claim is inaccurate.
"SEPTA's decision is consistent with its advertising policy, which is constitutionally sound and necessary to ensure that our vehicles and stations do not become forums for political debate — and distract from our core mission of providing safe and reliable public transportation in an environment that is welcoming to customers and employees," said spokesman Andrew Busch. "To protect this critical public service, SEPTA will vigorously defend against this lawsuit."
The lawsuit says the center wanted to advertise on buses in the neighborhoods most affected by their findings, but there is a lack of opportunities for effective advertising. Since SEPTA has declined the ads featuring comics that offer people a way to find out more about the center's investigation and findings, the center has contracted with the city of Philadelphia to run ads on some of its spaces. Stapleton said he wasn't sure where those advertisements would be.
SEPTA changed its advertising policies to prohibit all political speech after a 2015 lawsuit by the American Freedom Defense Initiative over the agency's refusal to run ads it deemed anti-Islamic. A federal judge ruled the agency must run the ads that featured a 1941 photograph of Adolf Hitler with a former Arab leader and the tag line "Jew Hatred: It's in the Quran."
The ads ran on about 84 buses for a month after the judge's ruling.
SEPTA added about six new restrictions on advertising after the ruling, including a ban on political advertising. The center's attorneys say it is too broadly defined.
The rules prohibit ads promoting or opposing a political party, election, candidate, or contain a political figure or issue that is "political in nature," or expresses opinions on matters of public debate including historical, religious and social issues.
In a statement released by the ACLU, the center's editor in chief called SEPTA's ability to define factual information as political advocacy a "dangerous slope."
"Getting important information into the hands of those most affected is a key tenet of both journalism and government," Amy Pyle said.
The Associated Press published the center's story on mortgage lending disparity after it independently reviewed and confirmed the data. | 1,269,925 |
look but “I’m not as ‘lionized’ as Werth,” he says.
At one level, Johnson plans strategic changes for the Nats. The little-ball style of ex-manager Jim Riggleman is dead, part of an ancient argument between the Cardinals and Orioles schools of thought on offense.
“With a 2-0, 3-1 count, we’re not going to try to draw a walk and steal second,” says Johnson tartly. “I’d just as soon they hit it off the fence and start out at second base.”
While theory of the game is great, and minute study of proper technique is a Johnson obsession, the manager’s central insight may be that talent wins in baseball far more often than tactics. Because he actually was a second-tier star player in his prime, he appreciates it. A team’s group psychology, its competitive disposition, may matter more than any hit-and-run if it helps promote each player’s ability to find a calm-but-focused place where peak performance can be achieved.
Johnson often praises his old manager Earl Weaver for his innovations or “competitive spirit.” But, like many who played for Weaver, he understands how hard it is for managers, especially who never played well, to release control, abandon their superstitions and trust their players.
“When Earl came up to Baltimore [from managing in AA], he fell into a gold mine,” said Johnson. “He’d be nervous and pacing. [Jim] Palmer used to tell him, ‘Just shut up, smoke another cigarette and let us play.’”
That’s close to Johnson’s own view of his role. Create a relaxed and playful, but studious and ultra-confident atmosphere in which players like Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Jordan Zimmermann, Danny Espinosa and Wilson Ramos can discover and fulfill their gifts.
Each day in Florida, the Nationals hear Johnson’s calming voice. “We don’t need any opening day snapdragons out there today,” he tells his pitchers, discouraging sharp curveballs to avoid injury.
“There are only three spots open on this [25-man] team,” he says. “A lot of guys don’t have to prove a lot to me. They’re not going to lose their job to somebody hitting.500 versus AAA pitching.” So, just improve, don’t fret.
Three of the four teams Johnson has managed have responded to this approach by developing individual confidence and a collective identity that allowed them to blow past almost every expectation — except their manager’s — and to do it quickly. Maybe those days are far in the past.
Or maybe not.
For Thomas Boswell’s previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/
boswell. | 1,269,926 |
John Fay
[email protected]
This is another in a series of periodic looks at the Reds, position-by-position. Today we'll look at first base.
Joey Votto is obviously the guy. He's going to play every day that he's healthy. And the Reds are convinced he's going to be healthy after missing most of this season with a strain of his distal left quadriceps.
Given that Votto missed all that time, the back-up could be of major importance.
But it's a Catch 22 here. Votto played 162 games in 2013, thus the back-up first baseman didn't matter. Votto played 62 games in 2014, thus the back-up first baseman mattered.
Still, given the other needs, it's hard to put payroll toward a back-up first baseman.
After Votto was hurt this year, the Reds scrambled. Roger Bernadina started a game at first. Jay Bruce started three. But the Reds eventually settled on a Todd Frazier-Brayan Pena combination at first. Pena was very good defensively and he gave the Reds about what they could expect as far as offense. He hit.253/.291/353 overall. He did a little better as a first baseman --.259/.311/.343.
Those numbers, of course, are anemic compared to what a healthy Votto would put up. When Frazier played first, either Ramon Santiago or Kristopher Negron played third. Both had nice years, but neither came close to replacing Votto's bat in the lineup.
Jack Hannahan, the nominal first base back-up, missed most of the year after shoulder surgery. When he returned, he was largely ineffective, hitting.188 in 48 at-bats.
The club has a $4 million option with a $2 million buyout with Hannahan for 2015. They'll almost certainly let him walk.
The Reds' first basemen went from second in the National League in OPS (on-base plus slugging) in 2013 to 11th in '14.
Still, it's unlikely that the Reds will add a back-up first baseman.
So what will they do? They'll hope that Votto can play 150 games or so. If he doesn't, they'll probably go with the Frazier/Pena combo.
If they sign a free agent like Mike Morse to play left field, he could play first if Votto misses time. Donald Lutz can also play first. But given his lack of playing time in September, the Reds don't seem to be counting on Lutz early in '15. He's playing Winter Ball. A strong showing there and in spring could change that.
It would also make sense to get Devin Mesoraco time at first base during spring. He's athletic enough to play there. That would get him in the lineup on days that Pena catches.
But, realistically, unless Votto is healthy, first base will be a problem. | 1,269,927 |
BANGKOK - Thailand said Tuesday that it was looking into requesting the extradition of the kingdom's fugitive former leader after he was invited to give evidence to a US government human rights panel. Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup and lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, is set to speak to the US committee on topics including deadly "Red Shirt" anti-government protests in Bangkok. The former billionaire telecom tycoon's invitation to Washington comes after the protracted legal battle for the extradition from Thailand of alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was eventually sent to America last month. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has rejected suggestions that there was a deal to swap Thaksin for Bout. Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said authorities in Bangkok were legally obliged to seek extradition. "Of course they have to act on it, they are just looking and evaluating what they have to do. This is a very normal procedure," he said. "It is expected that in normal circumstances countries will honour the (extradition) treaty, but they may have their own procedures and their own requirements." He said it was not certain that Thaksin would make the US trip. Neil Simon, spokesman for the Helsinki Commission, an official US watchdog overseeing human rights and other issues, confirmed late Monday that the event was planned for December 16. In a letter to Thaksin, the panel said the "recent crackdown on political protesters" was of "particular interest". The former prime minister - still a hugely divisive figure at home - was invited to give his "perspective on the human rights situation in Thailand, including freedom of the press and freedom of expression". He will also be asked to speak on the Thai government's efforts to quell a separatist insurgency in the south of the country, which according to activists has claimed over 4,400 lives since it began in 2004. Thaksin drew wide support from Thailand's rural poor when he was in office and is still held in high regard by many Red Shirts, who accuse the current government of being elitist and undemocratic. The Reds' rally demanding immediate elections overwhelmed parts of Bangkok for two months before a military crackdown brought the demonstration to a bloody end in May. More than 90 people were left dead and nearly 1,900 injured in unrest during the protests and many of those killed were civilians. "I welcome the fact that the US authorities have recognised that the horrific human rights atrocities that occurred in April and May this year are to be fully and independently investigated," Thaksin said in a statement responding to the invitation. Thai government spokesman Panitan said authorities were considering whether to send a representative to testify at the hearing. Thaksin is wanted by the Thai government for abuse of power during his time as leader. Thai courts have also issued a series of arrest warrants on charges including terrorism - an accusation linked to the violent street rallies. The authorities have accused him of bankrolling the protests and inciting unrest. Thaksin, a former owner of English football club Manchester City, has said the terrorism charges against him are "politically motivated". | 1,269,928 |
favorites:
@EvanReam Based on that club's triangle logo, will this be SF NASL's team sponsor? pic.twitter.com/2kqBtMVlwC — James (@LoneStarStriker) January 21, 2016
@EvanReam So is that a 3 pointed ninja star in the middle? pic.twitter.com/TZDnJo03UN — mattjf22 (@mattjf22) January 21, 2016
@EvanReam This crest is so awful that I can't even think of other badly designed logos to compare it to. It's bad in a completely unique way — Bhaskar (@xbhaskarx) January 21, 2016
@EvanReam Can't wait till this is available on a kick ass pog slammer! — Brian Riley (@superbrianland) January 21, 2016
@EvanReam I don't know why but it made me think of these things pic.twitter.com/wmXcAcF27R — Eryn Pimentel (@erynCA) January 22, 2016
And to put it quite plainly, this last one:
@EvanReam @WilliamsBob75 That might be the worst soccer logo (badge) ever! — Paul Mullin (@paulmullin13) January 21, 2016
Which brings me to today. Today the SF NASL group released its name via email. And it's bad.
So I guess SF NASL is going with "SF Deltas" as a team name...(h/t @smaloney17 pic.twitter.com/cUib8LymUA — Evan Ream (@EvanReam) January 31, 2016
And this was revealed as possible team "swag."
This is a real piece of merch that the SF NASL team sent me in an email. Does it get any more Tyson Zone? pic.twitter.com/LDwE0I4agr — Evan Ream (@EvanReam) January 31, 2016
It's really hard to say much more about the team.
Their stadium plan is unrealistic, and a temporary solution doesn't appear to be any better.
Their website is hilarious in every way.
Their logo is atrocious. And the name. The name is the worst part of it all.
Yes, there is a Delta in Northern California, but it's located in the Sacramento, and trickles into the Suisun Bay, which continues into the San Pablo Bay, which then finally pours into the San Francisco Bay.
Said Delta, called the "Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta," also doesn't lie in the area allegedly known as the "Red Triangle" (or the Emerald Triangle for that matter).
Coming from the West Coast, a lot of the things the NASL does haven't made sense to me. But this, this is on another level...in another zone. The Tyson Zone. | 1,269,929 |
The union representing Los Angeles teachers moved one step closer to a possible strike Friday after ending mediation sessions with the L.A. Unified School District.
Union officials accused the district of “failing to offer any substantial proposals to reinvest in our schools.”
For its part, district leaders announced that they had filed a complaint with a state oversight board. They allege that the union has failed to negotiate in good faith and that any strike would therefore be illegal.
The union “has trounced through the impasse procedure in bad faith, in order to have cover to initiate a strike,” trying to “shortcut the process and achieve its bad faith objectives,” according to the district filing with the Public Employment Relations Board.
The filing also accused the union of making “histrionical demands that the mediation process wrap up quickly.”
The two sides had three sessions with a professional mediator, starting Sept. 27 and ending Friday.
The district is offering teachers a 3% raise retroactive to July 1, 2017, plus an additional 3% retroactive to this past July. The second half would not be permanent unless the county certified the district as financially healthy for the length of the agreement. The district has settled with most other employee unions on terms similar to these.
The teachers have asked for a 6.5% raise that goes back an additional year, to July 1, 2016.
The dispute goes beyond wages.
“The district thinks they can buy us off with a modest pay raise, but our fight has never been just about salary,” UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl said in a statement. “What’s driving educators is the absolute need to fix what we see every day: too many overcrowded classrooms where kids have to share desks, schools with a nurse only one day a week, and overloaded psychologists and counselors doing their best to triage the socio-emotional needs of our students.”
L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner said he also would like to increase staffing and offer larger pay raises but that the district can’t afford it. Meeting the demands of what the union calls its last, best and final offer, Beutner said, would bankrupt the district within a year.
The official complaints on each side are piling up before the Public Employment Relations Board.
L.A. Unified also filed an earlier PERB complaint alleging bad-faith bargaining. And the union said it has filed three complaints, including one accusing the district of trying to smear Caputo-Pearl’s reputation.
The next step in the negotiation process is fact-finding. PERB will assemble a three-member panel. The board appoints the chair, and the district and the union each get to appoint one member. The panel will issue a report and recommendations. The process could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
[email protected]
Twitter: @howardblume | 1,269,930 |
Calling someone racist or bigoted should be serious business, but Democrats have come up with a new way to cheapen the accusation. Republicans, you see, are bigots for calling the novel coronavirus “Chinese coronavirus” or the “Wuhan virus.”
“This labeling of the illness is embarrassing, disrespectful, offensive and downright disgusting,” Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., vice chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, wrote in a statement. “Wrongly inserting ‘Chinese’ into the name of this disease only reinforces the disparaging and negative stereotypes of Asian Americans.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, backed her up in a tweet: "Calling it the 'Chinese coronavirus' isn't just racist, it's dangerous and incites discrimination against Asian Americans and Asian immigrants.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did, too, calling on the Republicans who spread such racist ideas to apologize.
ABC News, USA TODAY, the Guardian, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among other news outlets, all jumped on the controversy. But many of the reports left something out: just how common and innocuous geographic names are for diseases.
Here are a few:
Zika virus (a forest)
Guinea worm (a country)
Japanese encephalitis (a country)
West Nile virus (a river)
German measles (a country)
Spanish flu (a country)
Ebola (a river)
Marburg virus (a German city)
Lassa fever (a Nigerian town)
And disease names don’t have to come with a foreign flavor. Lyme disease is named for a town in Connecticut. Norovirus is named for Norwalk, Ohio. Rocky Mountain spotted fever!
And then there is the issue of facts. The Spanish flu was most likely misnamed; we don't know where it came from. But we do know that the novel coronavirus now sweeping the world emerged from a city called Wuhan in central China.
Yes, the World Health Organization was careful to name the virus (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease it causes (COVID-19) without a geographic component because of a desire to avoid stigmatizing groups of people or animals. And the WHO even has official policies on politically correct disease naming.
That's all fine. And surely it's hurtful and ignorant to shun Asian Americans, Chinese restaurants and made-in-China products because of coronavirus fears.
Nonetheless, we live in a time when racism is a serious issue, from the killing of unarmed black men by police to the abuse of immigrants by President Donald Trump. Finding excuses to hurl the racism charge over such minor issues as how to refer to a new disease cheapens the currency of a serious allegation.
David Mastio is the deputy editor of USA TODAY's editorial page. Follow him on Twitter @DavidMastio | 1,269,931 |
Saudi Arabia on the Hudson: NYPD Officer Stopped Cyclist For Wearing Skirt
When Jasmijn Rijcken, the general manager of the VANMOOF bicycle company, traveled from Amsterdam to New York in late April, she was excited to see what she’d heard described as a city that had embraced bicycling. It wasn’t NYC’s new protected bike lanes that defined her ride through the city, however, but the New York Police Department, currently in the midst of a major crackdown against cyclists.
Rijcken was in town for the New Amsterdam Bike Show on April 30. After she had dismounted on Broadway in SoHo, an NYPD officer stopped, berated, and threatened to ticket Rijcken for wearing a skirt while cycling, which, it must be noted, is entirely legal and common. Rijcken says the officer told her that her skirt was dangerous because she would distract drivers and potentially cause them to crash.
“I was standing there next to my bike, looking at my map, and then this police guy stops and starts telling me about my skirt,” reported Rijcken. “At first I thought he was making a joke or maybe even a compliment, but then I found out he was serious because he got really mad.”
The officer got out of his car and threatened to ticket her, said Rijcken, even though, it bears repeating, there is no law against biking in a skirt. The justification for a potential ticket was the danger her exposed skin posed to everyone on the street. “That was the bottom line, that I was very dangerous,” said Rijcken. “I think every woman, even when walking in a skirt, would be dangerous then.”
According to Rijcken, the cop’s words were not merely an empty threat. He took her ID and only began to back down when he saw that she was Dutch. She hurriedly explained that in Amsterdam, it’s common for women to bike in skirts. In the end, the officer told her she should change into pants and let her go.
At the time, Rijcken said, she wasn’t sure that she hadn’t broken the law. “If you’re by yourself in a different country and a police guy comes really angrily at you, you get scared,” she said.
This is not the first time an NYPD officer has stopped cyclists for completely frivolous non-offenses. In April, a private school administrator received a ticket for biking with a tote bag on her handlebars. The police have not responded to a Streetsblog inquiry about Rijcken’s allegations.
Her harassment at the hands of the police has colored Rijcken’s perception of not only New York City but the United States. “I was shocked,” she said. “In Holland, people refer to America as the country of freedom.” | 1,269,932 |
not been revealed. Without these numbers it is impossible for a third party to confirm the model is working as advertised. Essentially there is a ‘black box’ between the juror scores and the jury points awarded. If the Belarussian jury vote can be incorrect, can we have confidence in the rest of the jury voting process?
Returning to the suggestion that a juror has ranked incorrectly during Semi Final One, we cannot be certain of the impact on the qualifiers because we do not know the exact workings of the black box that calculates the jury points.
It is impossible for a broadcaster and member of the public to themselves calculate and ratify that the result is valid alone. We can model what the exponential curve acts like, but this is not the same as a clear and transparent system. One key model of integrity is ensuring that the model is replicable by others.
The San Marino Televote
As noted, it was a simple average of the juries in the same pot as Belarus that resulted in a correct calculation of the Belarussian jury vote. Each year since 2016 we have had to use a similar aggregate method to calculate not a jury, but a televote. Because San Marino uses the Italian telephone system, it is not possible to guarantee a televote is only made up of San Marinese voters. Instead San Marino’s televote system is “an average result of a representative group of televote results of other countries.”
San Marino’s televote construction sounds eerily similar to how Belarus’ jury result has been constructed.
Yet whereas the Belarussian jury score appears to have been mathematically simple to construct, it has not been possible to re-construct a San Marinese televote model since 2016. Even their Head of Delegation does not understand how the vote is constructed. Poland’s Tulia were two points away from reaching the Grand Final, and received five points from this constructed San Marino televote. It is easy to imagine if a different group of countries were selected Poland could have scored two more points and qualified for Saturday.
Hiding the process does not protect the integrity of the televote, it simply creates more mystery and raises more questions around the validity of the vote.
Improve The Design By Expecting Mistakes
Mistakes and human error happen, we all accept that. The key is to expect them and design systems that can allow them to be discovered and corrected. Having to change the results after the live show has embarrassed the EBU, Digame and Ernst & Young. Improvements to the design of the jury vote are needed to make sure it delivers the robust result that is expected by the millions of viewers and listeners to the Eurovision Song Contest every year.
However the EBU can not and should not stop now the Belarussian jury vote has been addressed.Clarity and integrity throughout the Song Contest’s voting systems are needed. This year’s incidents can be the catalyst for much needed improvements both behind the scenes and in the package that is presented to the public. | 1,269,933 |
I have previously reported that a coalition of 17 state attorney generals has formed (AGs United for Clean Power), which intends to promote the climate change agenda by targeting the fossil fuel industry.
The first victim of the Climate Change purge was the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a non-profit organization that has assisted businesses in countering climate justice activism, when Attorney General Claude E. Walker of the U.S. Virgin Islands issued a subpoena in an attempt uncover the content of CEI’s comprehensive work on climate change policy.
Now, in a dramatic turnaround, thirteen Republican members of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee Republicans sent letters to 17 state attorneys general and eight environmental groups requesting documents related to the groups’ coordinated efforts to deprive companies, nonprofit organizations, scientists and scholars of their First Amendment rights and their ability to fund and conduct scientific research free from intimidation and threats of prosecution.
“The Committee is concerned that these efforts to silence speech are based on political theater rather than legal or scientific arguments, and that they run counter to an attorney general’s duty to serve ‘as the guardian of the legal rights of the citizens’ and to ‘assert, protect, and defend the rights of the people,’” said the letter. The Republicans also requested information from eight environmental groups and activists pushing for prosecutors to pursue climate skeptics, as shown in emails and documents obtained through open-records requests by the Energy & Environment Legal Institute. The House letter asks for communications and documents between the attorneys general and environmental groups, including materials related to “the potential prosecution of companies, nonprofit organizations, scientists, or other individuals related to the issue of climate change.”
The letters are available online, but I must admit my favorite is to California Attorney General Kamala Harris (who is likely to be my state’s next U.S. Senator).
Meanwhile, the CEI has taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times decrying the thuggery of Gore’s group.
The ad is entitled: ABUSE OF POWER
The right to speak out is among the most fundamental principles of American democracy. It should never be taken away. Yet, around the country, a group of state attorneys general have launched a misguided effort to silence the views and voices of those who disagree with them. ….This abuse of power is unacceptable. It is unlawful. And it is un-American. Regardless of one’s views on climate change, every American should reject the use of government power to harass or silence those who hold differing opinions. This intimidation campaign sets a dangerous precedent and threatens the rights of anyone who disagrees with the government’s position—whether it’s vaccines, GMOs, or any other politically charged issue. Law enforcement officials should never use their powers to silence participants in political debates….
It is good to see that the AGs for Clean Power are not going to be allowed to practice climate justice “lawfare” unchallenged.
(Featured Image from the CEI Color Ad.pdf).
| 1,269,934 |
Minecraft is still one of the most popular games in the world. It has 91 million monthly active players, according to Microsoft. And now The Minecraft Team is working to ensure the game doesn’t open with any references to its old creator, Markus “Notch” Persson.
In the latest update to Minecraft, the game will no longer say “Made by Notch!” or “The Work Of Notch!” when you first boot up the game. Other messages will continue to show up randomly when you’re loading into the block-building phenomenon. But any reference to Persson is gone from that splash screen.
But this isn’t Microsoft trying to erase Notch’s contributions from the game. His name still shows up in the credits. But Microsoft no longer seems interested in celebrating him, either. While that may have more to do with establishing Microsoft as the sole owner and operator of Minecraft, it seems likely that the company does not want to associate with Notch’s edgelord shitposting behavior.
Microsoft deserves the credit for saving Minecraft from its creator
Microsoft purchased Minecraft and developer Mojang from Notch for $2.5 billion in 2014. Since then, Microsoft has worked to transition the game into a live service with cross platform capabilities and a thriving, community-supported marketplace.
Notch, meanwhile, has turned into a lonely, bizarre internet creep. Despite having billions of dollars and a Beverly Hill mansion with towering candy dispensers all along one of its walls, he spends time trying to provoke people on Twitter.
He regularly makes bigoted remarks and claims to believe in conspiracy theories like QAnon, which isn’t worth explaining. It’s likely that he doesn’t care about what he’s actually saying. He just wants to trigger snowflakes.
And that is the person that Microsoft saved Minecraft from. Notch released Minecraft 10 years ago, but it’s still most popular among young kids. When children grow interested in the game, it’s inevitable that some will want to learn who is making it.
One option is to tell children that it is like a holy text that came to us from aliens.
son: this minecraft game is great dad dad: it is indeed son son: who made it? dad: no one. it came from space — ⣝⣵⡎⣵⢗⣿⣫⢗⡎⣵ (@zarawesome) December 6, 2018
But Microsoft is solving this by taking ownership over Minecraft on a cultural level. Microsoft is the company that released the Xbox One Adaptive Controller to make games more accessible for disabled people. And now it’s the company that is tearing Notch out of Minecraft while continually building the game up. In the decades to come, Microsoft will get the credit for establishing Minecraft as a time-tested pop-culture icon.
And as a parent, that is such a relief. | 1,269,935 |
Chargepoint, an independent EV charging station manufacturer and charging network operator, announced today that it is introducing a new 400 kW DC fast-charging infrastructure, which is faster than even the most high-powered stations announced by other manufacturers for deployment toward the end of the year.
The first stations equipped with the new 400 kW technology will be deployed this year and available to customers starting in July 2017, according to the company.
It will work with both CCS and CHAdeMO standards and therefore, it should be compatible with most electric vehicles capable of DC fast-charging – though of course, no electric car is currently capable of taking 400 kW, but some upcoming EVs, including the Tesla Model 3 and the Porsche Mission E just to name a few, are expected to be able to handle this kind of power output.
It will also work with electric trucks and buses.
Chargepoint is calling the new platform ‘Express Plus’ and it’s an entirely new charging architecture for the company. It’s highly modular and separated into charging modules, which are stacked to create ‘Power cubes’ – pictured above next to the charging ports.
Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint, commented on the announcement:
“Express Plus is a platform built to support ChargePoint’s vision for the future of DC fast charging: ultra-fast, scalable and incredibly efficient charging that’s conveniently located where drivers need it for long trips. Express Plus charging centers can start small and grow as needed by adding charging capacity without further construction. Together with our commercial and residential charging solutions, Express Plus completes the technology offering required to make fully electric transit a reality.”
Here are the power modules and power cubes:
Depending on how you configure the number of the ‘Power Cubes’ and the number of charging ports, you can get a charging rate of up to 400 kW.
The company gave a few examples of configurations:
The total output is faster than the current best, Tesla’s Supercharger at 145 kW, and even what automakers have been calling ‘ultra fast-charging‘, which is 350 kW and coming around the end of the year for the first few stations in California and Europe.
The only thing that could beat the charge rate is the upcoming next generation of Tesla’s Supercharger, which could be significantly higher as CEO Elon Musk hinted to last month.
Chargepoint is also claiming “the thinnest, most flexible high-capacity charging cables on the market” enabled through a new liquid cooling technology they developed. We will check it out at CES later today.
Additionally, the company is also launching another DC fast-charing platform called ‘ChargePoint Express 250’ alongside the ‘Express Plus’, but this one is much less exciting at a 62 kW charge rate.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast. | 1,269,936 |
The NHL finals between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins is all tied up 2-2 as the action heads north again. We’ve got your live stream details for the crucial game five on June 8 at 8pm EST.
This has been one of the most explosive NHL finals in years, with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators completely dominating their home games while losing badly on the road. The Pens went up 2-0 while playing at PPG Paints Arena, then headed to Nashville where they were absolutely destroyed by the Preds. The defending Stanley Cup champs now get home ice once again and hope to bounce back in game five, as whoever wins this game will be one victory away from achieveing league dominance. Both teams have so much to fight for, as Pittsburgh wants to keep the iconic trophy for another year, while the Predators are chasing their first NHL title in franchise history.
The series has been all about the power of goaltending, as Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, 34, has proved. He gave up eight goals on just 36 shots in his two games in Pittsburgh, but saved 23 of 24 shots in game four alone. He now owns a 13-1 record in his past 14 home games, and is guaranteed at least one more game in Bridgestone Arena in game six.
“He was incredible today. He made some great saves [on shots] that you thought was going in but he battled back and kept it out of the net,” forward Viktor Arvidsson, 24, said after the Predators 4-1 victory in game four on June 5. “We never doubt Peks. He’s an unbelievable player. He steps up for us every night. He’s the key to our game.”
“I don’t want to look back. We have work to be done. I’m sure at the end of the day when you look back, it’s a roller coaster and an emotional ride,” Pekka said after his incredible performance. “The first two games we did a lot of good things. Personally I wasn’t very happy with my game. But obviously these two [last] games have been huge for us, and personally too. It’s a game of confidence, being a goalie.” He had one of the most epic moments of the finals with his huge double save on two Sidney Crosby back to back shots, then threw his body across the crease to block an open-net shot by Jake Guentzel. It was THE moment of the series and completely energized the Predators.
The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Nashville Predators in game five of the Stanley Cup finals on June 8 at 8pm EST. Hockey fans can watch this game online via NBC Sports official coverage (after entering in the appropriate login information.) CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE PREDATORS VS. PENGUINS GAME 5 LIVE STREAM
HollywoodLifers, who are you rooting for to win the Stanley Cup, the Penguins or the Predators? | 1,269,937 |
Kailyn Lowry Reveals If Newborn Son Will Appear On ‘Teen Mom 2’ The MTV star’s baby daddy Chris Lopez has refused to film for the show.
Kailyn Lowry’s baby daddy Chris Lopez refuses to appear on Teen Mom 2, but will the same go for their child? In an exclusive video interview with RadarOnline.com, Lowry reveals if their child will appear on the small screen.
Although Lowry’s son Isaac, 8, with ex-boyfriend Jo Rivera and Lincoln, 3, with ex-husband Javi Marroquin both appear on the MTV show, fans may only see Baby Lo on social media.
“I don’t know right now,” Lowry told Radar. “Chris and I are talking about it. We’ll see.”
Lowry’s third baby daddy has stayed out of the spotlight throughout her pregnancy. The couple split around the time she learned she was expecting and were on the outs at times.
“There we periods where we didn’t talk,” she explained. “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t care about his child. It was more about him and I.”
With Lowry and Lopez no longer together, she explained that she “doesn’t have a plan” when it comes to being a single mother to three children.
“We’re going to figure it out and we’ll make whatever work,” she said. “I have a really good support system with my friends right now who truly have been there through my pregnancy and helped me prepare for the baby to come home.”
Despite their rocky relationship, Lowry previously told Radar that he believes he will be involved in their son’s life.
“I think every child deserves a dad,” she previously told Radar. “I’m hopeful, I’m positive he’ll be around.”
Although he appeared on an episode before her pregnancy, his face was blurred out. She revealed on this week’s episode why he has chosen to stay out of the spotlight.
“He’s not shy, he just doesn’t like people,” Lowry said of Chris Lopez not appearing on the show. “He’s not hiding the fact he’s with me and we’re having a baby. That makes me feel good. He doesn’t have to put his entire life out there and I respect that. Someone who likes their privacy makes me feel good.”
Do you think Baby Lo will appear on the show? Tell us in the comments!
We pay for juicy info! Do you have a story for RadarOnline.com? Email us at [email protected], or call us at (866) ON-RADAR (667-2327) any time, day or night. | 1,269,938 |
Andrew Helms and Eloise Van Wynbergen were selling Dutch style doughnuts today at Ozone coffee roasters to carry on a Dutch New Year's Eve tradition.
Oliebollen and New Year's Eve are a match made in heaven for New Plymouth woman Eloise Van Wynbergen.
In keeping with Dutch tradition, Van Wynbergen and her fiance Andrew Helms staked themselves outside Ozone's The Bean Store Cafe in New Plymouth on Wednesday morning to sell traditional Dutch oliebollen - deep fried dough with apples and currants mixed through it and doused with a generous layer of icing sugar, or cinnamon sugar.
On New Year's Eve, oliebollen is the treat of choice in the Netherlands, to help soak up the cold and some of the alcohol on the traditionally cold winter's night, Van Wynbergen said.
Despite their pop-up store appearing on New Year's Eve eve, it was still a great opportunity to spread around some Northern Hemisphere cheer, she said.
"It's as close to New Year's Eve as we could get.
"It's quite weird making the oliebollen in the heat of summer, because of course it's in winter over there at the moment."
Van Wynbergen established her business Montfoort with partner Helms two years ago, selling traditional Dutch sweet foods including stroopwafels, poffertjes, bitterballen and oliebollen.
Just saying the names of the foods was a bit of a mouthful for customers but she tried her best to encourage correct pronunciation of the treats, rather than Dutch pancakes (poffertjes) or donuts (oliebollen).
"You don't want to make it too difficult because then people get scared off ordering, so donut is the trigger word, but then when they order it's oliebollen."
She taught herself the recipes and her father created a cast iron poffertje pan instead of trying to ship one over, Van Wynbergen said.
The New Plymouth couple, now based in the capital, have established themselves in the market scene and now distribute stroopwafels in Wellington supermarkets and a few venues in Taranaki, including the Ozone bean store.
Their next venture would be to find a food truck to take their treats on the road, she said.
"We did originally think about having a Montfoort store but we came to the conclusion that a food truck or a caravan is just so much better - you get to travel and go to festivals."
Van Wynbergen had worked in the New Plymouth hospitality industry for years and said it was incredible the connections she'd made her along the way.
When the couple come home they try to run a pop-up store or get to the Seaside Market, she said. And next year they will be part of the world of foods on offer at Womad in March.
"It's great because you're basically serving to family and friends here." | 1,269,939 |
daniel libeskind’s mons congress center opens in belgium
image © hufton + crow
a convention center in mons, belgium – designed by daniel libeskind – has been completed in time for the town’s inauguration as the european capital of culture. situated close to the french border, the building has been conceived as a bold architectural landmark for the region, connecting the historic town center with the region’s new development.
the building has been conceived as a bold architectural landmark for the region
image © hufton + crow
the building is topped with a steel viewing platform, which offers sweeping views of the surrounding landscape – including the 17th century beffroi tower, and a railway station by santiago calatrava that is currently under construction. the structure’s cladding reveals the interior of the scheme, with lower walls finished with upright timber slats. the design’s contrasting upper section boasts vertical bands of anodized aluminum that follow the wall’s curvature.
the building is topped with a steel viewing platform, which offers sweeping views of the surrounding landscape
image © hufton + crow
internally, concrete ribbon walls allow for a greater flexibility of space, providing more floor area for the site’s various facilities. alongside three auditoriums, the complex also houses a grand entrance hall, a multi-purpose space, various conference rooms, offices, a restaurant, underground parking and a green roof. an expansive public forecourt surrounds the building, completed using a polished, earth-colored concrete, flecked with bands of blue belgian stone.
the building will open to the public in january, 2015.
internally, concrete ribbon walls allow for a greater flexibility of space
image © hufton + crow
an expansive public forecourt will eventually surround the building
image © hufton + crow
the design connects the historic town center with the region’s new development
image © hufton + crow
project info:
client: city of mons
building size: total floor area: 12,500 sqm (134,548 sqf)
status: under construction
estimated completion: 2015
photography: hufton + crow
architect of record: H2A IR architecte & associes
cost & site supervision: CIT blaton (cost) SEMACO (site supervision)
structural engineer: ney & partner
mechanical engineer: energys
electrical engineer: putman
contractor: CIT blaton/galère
façade engineer: somec group
auditorium seats: poltrona frau/cassina (‘tangram’ libeskind design)
technical review: SECO
Save
Save | 1,269,940 |
GENEVA (Reuters) - Tests have cleared the way for the start-up next month of an experiment to restage a mini-version underground of the “Big Bang” which created the universe 15 billion years ago, the project chief said on Monday.
In this artist's impression provided by the journal Science, swirling clouds of hydrogen and helium gases are illuminated by the first starlight to shine in the universe after the Big Bang. REUTERS/David Aguilar (CfA)/Handout
Lyn Evans of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said weekend trials in the vast underground LHC machine in which the particle-smashing experiment will take place over the coming months and years “went without a hitch”.
“We look forward to a resounding success when we make our first attempt to send a beam all the way round the LHC,” said Evans, who heads the multinational team of scientists that shaped the project and the machine, the Large Hadron Collider.
The final tests involved pumping a single bunch of energy particles from the project’s accelerator into the 27-km (17-mile) beam pipe of the collider and steering them counter- clockwise around it for about 3 kms (2 miles).
Earlier in the month a clockwise trial in the LHC -- which runs deep under French and Swiss territory between the Jura mountains and Lake Geneva -- had been equally successful, CERN said.
The LHC team now plans to send a full particle beam all the way around the collider pipe in one direction on September 10 as a prelude to sending beams in both directions and smashing them together later in the year.
That collision, in which both particle clusters will be traveling at the speed of light, will be monitored on computers at CERN and laboratories around the world by scientists looking for, among other things, a particle that made life possible.
The elusive particle, which has been dubbed the “Higgs boson” after Scottish physicist Peter Higgs who first postulated nearly 50 years ago that it must exist, is thought to be the mysterious factor that holds matter together.
Recreating a “Big Bang,” which most scientists believe is the only explanation of an expanding universe, ought to show how stars and planets came together out of the primeval chaos that followed, the CERN team believes.
Efforts to track it down in a predecessor to the LHC at CERN, and in another experiment in the United States, failed. But scientists are confident that the vast leap in technologies represented by the LHC will make the difference.
Higgs, a 79-year-old Edinburgh University professor who as an atheist angrily rejects the idea of calling the boson the “God particle” -- believes it will show up very quickly once the beams are colliding in the LHC.
“If it doesn’t,” he said during a visit to CERN earlier this year, “I shall be very, very puzzled.” | 1,269,941 |
There’s this thing called Google that protects you from sticking your foot in your mouth.
Minister David Brassfield of the Newalla Church of Christ in Oklahoma must not have discovered it yet, because he gave members of his church the following handout over the weekend, suggesting that atheists can’t be found in times of crisis:
After our recent major loss of life and property, thousands of people and many organizations stepped up to help. The list included churches, benevolent groups with religious ties, and even local casinos. What you did not see on the list were groups who have been critical of religion and are unbelievers in God. The Freedom From Religion group got the 10 commandments removed from an Oklahoma school, but they could not be bothered with helping the victims of the storms. Neither could you find the ACLU, any agnostic or atheistic organization, nor anyone or anything associated with the Humanist Movement on the list of those who were helping the hurting. People who are members of these organizations are conspicuously absent whenever people need comforting, whether it is from natural or manmade tragedies.
Like I said, you have to try really hard to avoid finding evidence of atheists helping out tornado victims.
Kai Tancredi does a nice job listing what atheist organizations have done for Oklahomans at Red Dirt Report:
Foundation Beyond Belief: The Humanist Crisis Response program of Foundation Beyond Belief has raised $44,100 in online donations as of May 28th specifically for Oklahoma recovery, in fulfillment of its mission statement to “serve as a focal point for the humanist response to major humanitarian crises. Our purpose is twofold: to bring resources to those in desperate need, and to raise awareness of that need in the humanist community and beyond.” … Local atheist organizations: Members of local atheist communities the Oklahoma Atheists, Atheist Community of Tulsa, the Lawton Area Secular Society, Norman Naturalism Group, the Oklahoma State Secular Organization, (and others) have been on the ground since the first storms on May 19th, organizing volunteer, resource and blood drives. To be fair, these groups have no tax exempt status and therefore can’t exactly afford to have the t-shirts for everyone to wear so that you know when they are out in force during a volunteer effort.
Kai’s list is much longer that that — and it’s worth checking out in full so you can see how much generosity is in the atheist community given our limited resources. While a lot of media attention has gone to Rebecca Vitsmun and the amount of money raised just for her family, the atheist outreach in Oklahoma has gone far beyond that.
I’ve sent a message to Brassfield asking for a response to the piece and I’ll provide an update if/when I hear back. I’m guessing he’s going to ignore the message, though, since he’s already proven he tunes out anything that tries to poke a hole in his bubble.
(Thanks to Andrew for the link!)
| 1,269,942 |
Credit: Shutterstock
As malicious hackers find ever more sophisticated ways to launch attacks, China is about to launch the Jinan Project, the world's first unhackable computer network, and a major milestone in the development of quantum technology.
Named after the eastern Chinese city where the technology was developed, the network is planned to be fully operational by the end of August 2017. Jinan is the hub of the Beijing-Shanghai quantum network due to its strategic location between the two principal Chinese metropolises.
"We plan to use the network for national defence, finance and other fields, and hope to spread it out as a pilot that if successful can be used across China and the whole world," commented Zhou Fei, assistant director of the Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, who was speaking to Britain's Financial Times.
By launching the network, China will become the first country worldwide to implement quantum technology for a real life, commercial end. It also highlights that China is a key global player in the rush to develop technologies based on quantum principles, with the EU and the United States also vying for world leadership in the field.
The network, known as a quantum key distribution (QKD) network, is more secure than widely used electronic communication equivalents. Unlike a conventional telephone or internet cable, which can be tapped without the sender or recipient being aware, a QKD network alerts both users to any tampering with the system as soon as it occurs. This is because tampering immediately alters the information being relayed, with the disturbance being instantly recognisable. Once fully implemented, it will make it almost impossible for other governments to listen in on Chinese communications.
In the Jinan network, some 200 users from China's military, government, finance and electricity sectors will be able to send messages safe in the knowledge that only they are reading them. It will be the world's longest land-based quantum communications network, stretching over 2 000 km.
Also speaking to the Financial Times, quantum physicist Tim Byrnes, based at New York University's (NYU) Shanghai campus commented: "China has achieved staggering things with quantum research… It's amazing how quickly China has gotten on with quantum research projects that would be too expensive to do elsewhere… quantum communication has been taken up by the commercial sector much more in China compared to other countries, which means it is likely to pull ahead of Europe and US in the field of quantum communication."
However, Europe is also determined to also be at the forefront of the 'quantum revolution' which promises to be one of the major defining technological phenomena of the twenty-first century. The EU has invested EUR 550 million into quantum technologies and has provided policy support to researchers through the 2016 Quantum Manifesto.
Moreover, with China's latest achievement (and a previous one already notched up from July 2017 when its quantum satellite—the world's first—sent a message to Earth on a quantum communication channel), it looks like the race to be crowned the world's foremost quantum power is well and truly underway.
Explore further China's launch of quantum satellite major step in space race | 1,269,943 |
A Mogadishu court has sentenced an alleged rape victim and a Somali journalist who interviewed her to one year in prison each, court officials say, in a decision that has enraged press freedom groups.
Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, the freelance journalist, and the 27-year old unidentified woman who claimed to have been raped by security forces, faced charges including insulting a government body, making false accusations and seeking to profit from the allegations.
Tuesday's ruling was based on alleged medical evidence that showed the woman was not raped, Somali officials said.
"Journalists should be allowed to report freely on issues of public interest and should never face reprisal for their reporting" - Joel Simon, executive director of CPJ
Ibrahim, who has been under detention since January 10, will begin serving his sentence immediately.
The woman is to begin her sentence after nursing her baby.
"The court finds that he offended state institutions by making a false interview, and entering the house of a woman whose husband was not present," said Judge Ahmed Adan.
The journalist's arrest followed increasing media attention on reported sexual abuse by Somalia security forces. Earlier in January, Universal TV - a local television station - and Al Jazeera's website separately published stories about allegations of rape in the city's crowded camps for displaced people.
Ibrahim had not been involved with either story, does not work for either organisation, and had not published anything of his own investigation before he was detained.
Verdict criticised
Human rights groups said the trial was politically motivated, designed to cover up rampant sexual abuse of women by Somali security forces.
The court's decision was "a terrible miscarriage of justice and sends a chilling signal to victims of sexual assault", Daniel Bekele, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organisation, said after the verdict.
The trial of the alleged rape victim, her husband, and the freelance journalist on charges of insulting a government body, sparked international concerns over sexual violence and press freedom in the country.
"Journalists should be allowed to report freely on issues of public interest and should never face reprisal for their reporting. We trust that you will help us in bringing this matter to his attention," said Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in the statement sent on Friday.
But Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of Somalia, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that his government "is the only government that has proven" it is dedicated to improving the lives of women in the nation, he will not directly interfere in the ongoing court case.
"I don't have the right to interfere in the judicary system... My interference into the judiciary system, will never help the rule of law in Somalia", Mohamud told Al Jazeera.
The president's statements did little to assure rights groups. "The case was built on groundless charges and serious due process violations and should have been thrown out," Bekele said. "The government should swiftly move to exonerate and release the defendants." | 1,269,944 |
President Donald Trump is preparing to issue his first presidential veto after the Republican-controlled Senate approved a resolution to block his national emergency declaration.
Just after the vote passed, the President issued a statement on Twitter, saying that he “looked forward” to vetoing what he called the “Democrat inspired” resolution.
I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country. I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2019 -ADVERTISEMENT- Powered by Ads Pro
However, 12 Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting to pass the resolution, which was approved by the Democratic-controlled House, where 13 Republicans also broke with the President.
This is the first time in U.S. History that Congress has voted to terminate a national emergency declaration from a President. However, should President Trump veto the resolution, it is unlikely that Congress will be able to gather enough votes to override the veto.
Republicans reportedly worried that the declaration would set a precedent for future Democratic presidents to use the national emergency declaration as a way around Congress’ constitutional authority regarding budget approvals for policies like a single-payer healthcare system or the Green New Deal. The President scoffed at such notions, insisting that they were “overthinking” it.
Republican Senators are overthinking tomorrow’s vote on National Emergency. It is very simply Border Security/No Crime – Should not be thought of any other way. We have a MAJOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY at our Border and the People of our Country know it very well! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2019
According to Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) “Such a declaration would undermine the role of Congress and the appropriations process; it’s just not good policy.”
According to Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) “Never before has a president asked for funding, Congress has not provided it, and the president then has used the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to spend the money anyway.”
Even if the emergency declaration is veto and fails a veto override vote, it is likely that it will still face legal challenges.
This resolution is the second time in two days that the Senate as rebuked Trump, a sign that Republicans are increasingly willing to break with the Trump administration. Earlier this week, the Senate voted to approve a resolution ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, a clear rejection of Trump’s foreign policy. He is expected to veto that resolution as well.
Jenn Bentley is a writer and editor originally from Cadiz, Kentucky. Her writing has been featured in publications such as The Examiner, The High Tech Society, FansShare, Yahoo News, and others. When she’s not writing or editing, Jenn spends her time raising money for Extra Life and advocating for autism awareness. | 1,269,945 |
TOOL, who recently took home the GRAMMY Award for Best Metal Performance for the song “7empest,” has added an extensive Spring tour for North America.
The tour news arrives as the Los Angeles-based band wraps up a sold out Australasian tour, with the final two shows of the trek, back-to-back sold out performances at Auckland’s Spark Arena, happening later this week. The Sydney Morning Herald described the live offering as “an immersive art-rock experience that forced you to feel a little of everything. It was an intricate collage of light, sound and imagery.” The Fear Inoculum tour, which has seen the band performing in some cities for the first time in over a decade, has received widespread accolades with the Los Angeles Times calling it “impeccable,” the Chicago Tribune describing the performances as a “twisting multimedia rollercoaster of a concert” and The Arizona Republic describing the shows as “a visually breathtaking night of dystopian art-rock spectacle.”
The newly announced dates are:
April 16 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
April 17 Orlando, FL Amway Center
April 19 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
April 21 Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center
April 22 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
April 24 Baltimore, MD Royal Farms Arena
April 25 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
April 28 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
April 29 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
May 1 Wilkes Barre, PA Mohegan Sun Arena
May 2 Buffalo, NY KeyBank Centre
May 4 Toledo, OH Huntington Center
May 5 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
May 29 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
May 31 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
June 2 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
June 4 Winnipeg, MB Bell MTS Place
June 6 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
June 7 Sioux Falls, SD Denny Sanford Premier Center
June 9 Madison, WI Kohl Center
June 10 Moline, IL TaxSlayer Center
June 12 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival
June 13 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center
June 16 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena
June 17 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Center
June 19 Colorado Springs, CO Broadmoor World Arena
June 22 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
June 23 San Francisco, CA Chase Center
Tickets for the above dates are on-sale this Friday, Feb. 28 at 10 am local time, with the exception of Sioux Falls and St. Louis which are on-sale at 12 noon local time. A limited number of VIP packages available exclusively to TOOL Army members via Toolband.com/vip-package this Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 10 am local time. Blonde Redhead opens April 16 to May 5; The Acid Helps opens May 29 to June 23 (except Bonnaroo performance). | 1,269,946 |
the hashed key the query consumed only 4MB of additional disk space. That is ~10% of the previous size of 30MB. This means the size of the sort key has significant impact on the amount of storage consumed by a sort.
In the example above we used md5 to hash the blob. Hashes generated with MD5 are supposed to be 16 bytes. However, using md5 we get bigger output size:
select pg_column_size ( md5 ( 'foo' ) ) as md5_size md5_size ------------- 32
The size of the hash is exactly double the size we expected. This is because md5 provides the hash as text represented in hexadecimal.
There is another way to hash with MD5 in PostgreSQL using the pgcrypto extension. pgcrypto can produce MD5 as bytea (binary):
create extension pgcrypto ; select pg_column_size ( digest ( 'foo','md5' ) ) as crypto_md5_size crypto_md5_size --------------- 20
The size of the hash is still 4 bytes larger than we expected. This is because the bytea type uses an additional 4 bytes to store the length of the value.
To strip off these 4 bytes, we can resort to some hackery. As it happens, the uuid type in PostgreSQL is exactly 16 bytes, and it supports any arbitrary value. We can use that fact to strip off the remaining 4 bytes:
select pg_column_size ( uuid_in ( md5 ( 'foo' ):: cstring ) ) as uuid_size uuid_size --------------- 16
And there you have it. From 32 bytes using md5, down to 16 bytes using uuid.
To check the impact of this change I had to use a bigger dataset than the one I used in this article. Since I can't share the actual data, I'll only share the results:
expression size disk used blob 780 309MB md5(blob) 36 11MB uuid_in(md5(blob)) 16 7MB
As the table above shows, the original query which caused us grief used 300MB of disk space (and woke us up at night). After we changed the query to use a uuid key, the sort used only 7MB of disk space.
The query with the hashed sort key runs much slower, even though it consumes less disk space:
query run time blob 160ms hashed blob 374ms
Hashing utilizes more CPU. This caused the query with the hash to be slower. In our case, we were trying to solve a disk space problem. The task ran at night so we weren't concerned with the execution time. We were willing to make this compromise to solve the disk space problem.
This case was a good reminder that tuning a database is not only about making queries run faster. It's all about balancing the resources at our disposal and doing as much as possible with as little as possible. | 1,269,947 |
At the stroke of midnight, thousands of same-sex couples who married in overseas jurisdictions had their vows recognised under Australian law.
For many who decided not to wait for same-sex marriage to become a reality back home, they instead exchanged vows under foreign laws in countries like New Zealand.
Others, like Amy and Amanda Keeling from Sydney's northern suburbs, found a means to tie the knot closer to home. Two years ago, they decided to marry at the British consulate in Sydney.
"We didn't want to wait for marriage equality in Australia because we were starting a family and we thought it was important for us to begin that journey of marriage," explained Amanda, who is a dual Australian-British citizen.
Amy and Amanda are among 450 couples in Australia who have taken this diplomatic route to tie the knot.
"I was always taught that you would grow up, go to school, maybe meet someone special, get married, have kids, and so on," Amanda said.
"I wanted that whole dream."
Amanda and Amy did not want to wait to get married because they were starting a family. ( Supplied )
There were tears in the Keeling household on Thursday, as they watched the extraordinary scenes unfold in Parliament on TV.
"Our two-year-old came up and said, 'What's wrong Mummy?"' Amanda said.
"I was like, 'Nothing's wrong. For once, nothing is wrong'."
"He knows that we are excited about being married," Amy said.
"Whatever that means to a two-and-a-half-year-old!"
First weddings able to happen from January 9
Under the Marriage Amendment Bill, Australian law will not only recognise marriages undertaken overseas, but also marriages sworn in the presence of a diplomatic officer of a foreign country.
For the Keelings, last night marked the end of a very long journey.
"It means I can say with faith to my sons that we are just as valued as a family unit as anybody else, and that he can see that reflected in the laws and practices of our society," Amy said.
Amy and Amanda said there would be no partying for them after the decision, because they could not find a babysitter. ( ABC News: Greg Heaps )
The momentous occasion was not marked with late night partying though — Mrs and Mrs Keeling could not get a babysitter on such short notice.
"[We'll be] just hanging out at home, making dinner, doing bath-time, putting them to bed, reading stories and probably having a little chat to them in two-and-a-half-year terms about the significance of what happened today."
Attorney-General George Brandis has said couples would have to give a month's notice of their intention to marry, so the first same-sex weddings will be able to happen from January 9, 2018.
Accordingly, ceremonies for same-sex couples will continue in British consulates until at least January 9. | 1,269,948 |
No rumored 9.7 inch iPad Pro can replace the iPad Air, for now.
When Apple introduced the iPad Pro to the world, last year, the sheer size of the device was a shocker, more than the Apple Pencil, the latter of which were expected for some time already.
As it happens for most Apple products, the initial response to the premium-sized tablet was overwhelming, however, owners of iPad Air 2 have been a little more difficult to persuade.
This is precisely the reason for Apple to try a different route, and create a new iPad Pro with the same form factor as the iPad Air, but with better hardware, better features, and better accessories.
The big question is whether this new, leaner, meaner version of the iPad Pro will be seen as a worthy replacement of the iPad Air, also in the short term.
The iPad Air 2 was introduced in October of 2014, and no other version was unveiled ever since, for the very same reason it’s extremely unlikely that an iPad Air 3 will ever see the light of day: it was, and still is, the perfect iOS tablet.
Weighing in at 14.5 ounces, and with a form factor of 9.7 inches, the iPad Air 2 is portable enough, and comfortable enough to be used anywhere, with enough battery life to perform daily tasks like email and web browsing, almost all day long. The Retina display resolution on the sixth-generation iPad is 2049 x 1536 pixels, which is still higher than most mid-range laptops.
The specs of the iPad Air 2 are high enough to render the making of an iPad Air 3 a pointless rehash, even in 2016, no matter how much thinner, or lighter a potential new version will be.
With that said, the answer to the above question about the iPad Pro potentially killing the iPad Air 2, is no, at least for those who already own an iPad Air 2. The reasoning behind this statement is simple: While most manufacturers build devices to replace the older version of the same models from the previous year, Apple builds devices for the long run.
The logic is undeniable when thinking about the iPad 2, the iPad Air 2, and a long list of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops from as far back as 2011, and still being anything but obsolete today, With that said, Apple is well aware of this fact, which is indeed by design, under a strategy of long-term profits on devices that consumers will buy, not because they are new, but because they are simply amazing products to own and enjoy.
Just as the iPad Air once replaced the original iPad, the iPad Pro is created to take the iPad product line to the next level, this time through the addition of companion accessories, such as the Apple Pencil, and the Smart Keyboard. Advanced features, mere rumors at the moment, may include a flash, and a more powerful camera sensor, as well as the same high-end A9X CPU that powers the 12.9 inch version of the iPad Pro.
| 1,269,949 |
When the government buys property that for years has featured a memorial with a large cross on it honoring those killed in war, must it remove the cross to "separate church and state?"
Common sense says of course not, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments about it on Thursday. The case, which we've discussed before, involves a 40-foot memorial honoring 49 people of Prince George’s County, Md., who died in World War I. The apt words, “endurance,” “valor,” “devotion,” and “courage,” are inscribed on the memorial, which was paid for in 1919 with money raised by 10 mothers who lost their sons. In 1961, the town of Bladensburg bought the land for traffic safety improvements.
Now, three aggressive atheist groups say the cross must be eliminated because it is on government land and unconstitutionally is an “establishment of religion.” Tendentious drivel!
The government owns burial grounds everywhere, such as in Normandy, France, and Arlington National Cemetery, where thousands of graves are marked with crosses. Congress, state legislatures, and the armed services employ chaplains. The First Amendment does not prohibit voluntary or casual interactions with religion or religious symbols; it merely forbids the government from coercing people into specific denominational faiths or practices.
A cross to honor war dead, perhaps especially one that existed before the government owned the land, coerces nobody. What the atheist groups want is not to prevent the establishment of religion but to expand the state, and in doing so, to invoke the separation of church and state to force religion out of as many nooks and crannies of public life as they can. The First Amendment is not intended to be a club with which the state can smash the church. Indeed, the opposite is true; the amendment exists to make sure government lets religions flourish.
As two women whose uncles are memorialized by the Bladensburg cross wrote in a Washington Examiner op-ed on Tuesday: “The Celtic cross was a symbol of sacrifice, then and now. … It would be a tragedy of the highest proportions to destroy our uncles’ memorial or others like it.... Destroy the Peace Cross and you rob the next generation of the memory of their historic sacrifice.”
If the "land of the free" is not to be a phrase uttered only with grim irony, atheists, while free to ignore religious symbolism, should not be allowed to harass religious people from the free exercise of their faiths, nor be permitted to despoil honorable symbols of tribute and love.
The memorial cross has served for 100 years as a unifying tribute to patriotic devotion. We hope and trust that the Supreme Court will recognize the atheists' suit as a baneful attack on freedom. In a way, the suit is frivolous, but not when it is acknowledged that it would, if successful, force another of the fine, gentle, honorable customs once central to our understanding of America to retreat yet further toward the fringes of our suffering culture. | 1,269,950 |
ONE of the world’s greatest cricketers has gone into bat to boost the profile of Tasmania.
Under a sponsorship arrangement with the University of Tasmania, Sri Lankan master cricketer Kumar Sangakkara is set to boost the state’s international student numbers.
The deal, which is the result of a partnership between the Hobart Hurricanes and UTAS, is also expected to boost Tasmania’s image among cricket worshippers across the globe.
The international superstar, who is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time, will promote the university and a new scholarship specifically for Sri Lankan students.
UTAS is offering the Kumar Sangakkara Scholarships to eligible Sri Lankan undergraduate and postgraduate students. As well as lending his name to the scholarships, Sangakkara will make appearances.
n Sri Lanka and India to promote UTAS.
He will also appear in video blogging and direct marketing.
Hobart Hurricanes general manager Michael Roberts said cricket was a religion in Sri Lanka, and Sangakkara was the biggest force.
“The power of Kumar is huge,” Roberts said.
“In Australia we follow teams, but over there they follow players.”
He said Sangakkara’s association with UTAS would be a boost for not only the university but for Tasmania.
The keeper-batsman, who has four million Facebook fans, has signed on to play for two years with the Hobart Hurricanes.
Sangakkara will be coming to Tasmania with his family for the Big Bash in December and January.
UTAS executive director of international students Ben Jones said the university was proud of the scholarships and the sponsorship.
“This is our 125th year and, as a university of global standing and impact, we have had a strong focus on our international ties,” Mr Jones said.
“There are many similarities between Sri Lanka and Tasmania: we are islands of similar size with diverse economies, including a robust tourist sector.
“Our cultures are very different but there are many things which bind us, such as a love of cricket.
“It is fitting Sri Lanka has given the game Kumar Sangakkara, just as Tasmania has given the game another modern great, Ricky Ponting.”
He said the scholarship was expected to be attractive to Sri Lankan students because UTAS has research strengths in many fields of importance to the country, such as marine and earth sciences, agriculture, forestry and environmental science.
UTAS intends to double its on-campus international student numbers in the next four to five years, from the 3600 now.
Roberts said Sangakkara was a fitting match for UTAS because of the cricketer’s own academic background.
A voracious reader, Sangakkara was studying law until he put his studies on hold in 1999 because of the demands of his international cricketing career. | 1,269,951 |
Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke in an interview Friday about this week's impromptu half-hour meeting with former President Bill Clinton in Arizona -- a gathering that she said has "cast a shadow" over the Justice Department's investigation into his wife's private email server.
"I certainly wouldn't do it again," Lynch said during an interview at Colorado's Aspen Ideas Festival. "Because I think it has cast a shadow over what it should not - over what it will not touch."
"The most important thing for me as the attorney general is the integrity of this Department of Justice," the attorney general said. "And the fact that the meeting that I had is now casting a shadow over how people are gonna view that work is something I take deeply, and seriously, and painfully."
Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox Click here to view related media. click to expand
Lynch declined, however, to say whether she regretted the tarmac meeting with the former president.
Instead, she said of the appearance of impropriety: "No matter how I viewed it, I understand how people view it."
"It has now cast a shadow over how this case may be received," she said.
CBS News reported early Friday that Lynch would accept the recommendations of career prosecutors in the emails case, though the attorney general stopped short of formally recusing herself from the case.
Lynch reiterated her position at the Aspen festival.
"The matter is being handled by career agents and investigators," she told journalist Jonathan Capehart, noting that those involved are "acting independently -- they follow the law, they follow the facts."
For review, their recommendations will be sent to "career supervisors" at the Justice Department, including senior FBI officials.
"I'll be briefed on it and I will be accepting their recommendations," Lynch said. She added that if she had completely stepped aside for the investigation, she would not even receive briefings on the case.
While she admitted that it's unusual for the DOJ to discuss its investigative process during an open case, the attorney general made an exception because of her meeting with Clinton, husband to the Democratic party's presumptive presidential nominee.
"It's important to talk about how this matter will be resolved and how the review and how the determinations and decisions will be made," Lynch added.
As CBS News has reported, Lynch also confirmed that the decision to accept the recommendations of the DOJ's career investigators had been made prior to her controversial Phoenix airport meeting with Clinton.
"I had already determined that yes, that would be the process," she said.
The attorney general talked about her conversation with the ex-president, describing it as a "social meeting."
"He said hello," Lynch recounted. "I congratulated him on his grandchildren...It led to a conversation on those grandchildren, who do sound great." She added that they also spoke of Clinton's travels in Phoenix.
"It was a social meeting," she said. "It really was in that regard...And then we moved on." | 1,269,952 |
This marks the beginning of a week long adventure in Geneva Switzerland at CERN, to work on a hack project.
The project is to rebuilding the very first web browser, aptly called WorldWideWeb (though shortly thereafter being renamed to Nexus, since…the whole world wide web thing being a bigger deal). This browser was written by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 and the project marks the 30th anniversary of the web.
This event also reunites most of the team that made up the 2013 hack project to recreate the Line Mode Browser. On being asked if I was interested in returning, I jumped at the chance. It's CERN. There's some proper smarties rolling around here. Maybe some of that will rub off on me!
The project is a quasi historical restoration mixed with simulation as we bring the original browser to the public via modern technology, specifically and ironically, via today's browsers.
Day 1
The first day is always a lot of finding our feet. Trying to articulate (to ourselves) what the scope of the problem is, what we need to achieve and what we want to achieve.
This time around is made a little trickier (or interesting?) as there's more mixed overlap in arrivals of team members. It'll only be a single day on Wednesday that we'll be at full capacity, but compared to 2013's efforts, we have a full week to pull the job off rather than 3 days.
The WorldWideWeb
The aim of the morning is to grasp exactly what this browser did, how it did it, and what it looked like.
We've sourced videos, emulators and most importantly, and impressively, a NeXTcube machine straight from the museum has been delivered to our (war room?…I want to say war room, but there's not much fighting going on…) room.
One of the main challenges we faced (and still face at time of writing) is that we want the WorldWideWeb to run on the NeXTcube - and oddly this machine has a number of browsers, but none of them are the WorldWideWeb :-\
Somehow we'll deliver the WorldWideWeb.app directly to the machine…if only we could work out how to network the machine…
Simulation
My role in the team is code. Firstly the server side aspect to the simulation. Then once that's solved, any interaction in the browser where we'll simulate the NeXTcube desktop and opening windows to the WorldWideWeb.
The server part is relatively small and involves:
Proxying requests to collect HTML and return it the client Blocking all internal.cern.ch sites with a handful of whitelisted exceptions In the returned HTML, strip out any unsupported tags (like IMG which appeared later in Mosaic - TIL: was named because it would fit together pieces like HTTP, FTP, Gopher and NNTP).
This part was partially lifted from the original Line Mode Browser source and cleaned up for the 5½ years worth of new knowledge I had :) | 1,269,953 |
along the temporary barrier of plywood and 40,000 sandbags protecting downtown.
"If you look at this wall behind us, it seems to me that it is a symbol of what our country does when everybody pulls together and works together and forgets about their differences and focuses their attention and their hearts and their minds." -- President Bill Clinton, standing in front of "Vera's Wall" along Tom McCall Waterfront Park during his visit on Feb. 14, 1996.
President Bill Clinton surveying the devastation of the Willamette Valley flood on Feb. 14, 1996.
Flood of 1996 numbers
7.12 inches: Precipitation in Portland from Feb. 1-13
5.35 inches: Normal average for all of February
18: Number of Oregon counties declared federal disaster areas
21,843: People evacuated
10,089: Number of damaged homes in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana
760: Number of cattle killed in Tillamook County
More than 100: Mudslides in Portland
50,000: Weight in tons of mudslide on Interstate 84 east of Troutdale
$27 million: Highway damage in Portland/Salem areas
40,000: Sandbags along Portland harbor wall
600: Plywood sheets
438: Highway dividers (Jersey barriers)
664,600: Sandbags dispensed by Army Corps of Engineers
26: Oregon rivers reaching or exceeding flood stage
6,008: People sheltered by Red Cross
797: Oregon National Guard soldiers on duty
180: Points along state highways closed by mud or water
Seriously damaged: The Oregon City navigation locks at Willamette Falls, which all but disappeared in the swollen river.
The Willamette Falls in Oregon City all but disappeared in the February 1996 flood, severely damaging the navigation locks.
Flood of 1996 toll
The Flood of '96 killed eight Oregonians, four on one day alone.
Lessons
Storage dams on tributaries and other flood control projects in the Willamette Basin during the 1930s worked exactly as designed, said William F. Willingham, historian for the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
In February 1996, the Corps used the tributary dams to manipulate flows and hold back water, which likely eased flooding by two feet in Portland and prevented an additional $1.1 billion in flood damage, Willingham said.
"It would have had a far more devastating effect on the economy," he said. "The city's bridges would have been in greater danger, too."
Two decades later, however, climate change is changing the calculations of what goes into a 100-year flood, Willingham said. “We’re in a very unpredictable age now,” he said.
-- Joseph Rose 503-221-8029 [email protected]
Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. | 1,269,954 |
Transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi with Swami Agnivesh in the Capital. Transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi with Swami Agnivesh in the Capital.
The transgender community in the country believes there is a long way to go before Indian society recognises them even one year after the Supreme Court's landmark judgment, which created a third gender status for the community.
"A year has passed but the plight of our community remains the same. There are few places where our gender has been recognised but still a lot of work needs to be done," says Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transgender activist.
Members of the transgender community, including Tripathi, participated in the anniversary celebrations of the apex court's judgment at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Wednesday. The occasion also saw them pledging their eyes to the Eye Bank Association of India.
"Eyes do not discriminate, the perspective and perception of people do. We have decided to pledge our eyes as a thank you gesture to Justices A.K. Sikri and K.S. Radhakrishnan who had passed the landmark judgement," Tripathi said.
"The third gender category has been recognised in certain legal documents in certain states but where is the recognition for us in hospitals and in education institutions? In hospitals they don't know where to put us. There are no separate bathrooms for us. Such issues need to be looked into," says Amitava Sarkar a transgender activist from Kolkata.
The apex court had asked the states to construct special public toilets and departments to look into special medical issues related to transgenders, according to its order on April 15 last year. The apex court had also asked the Centre to treat the community as socially and economically backward.
The UGC had also notified transgenders as the third gender in July last year to make them eligible for scholarship schemes and fellowship programmes in higher educational institutions.
However, Sarkar feels that discrimination can only be stopped if children can be taught the difference between all the three genders in school. "The problem is at the grassroot level. If children can be taught about different sexual orientations of all the three genders then there will be no dropouts of such children or individuals from schools or colleges. We can pursue our dream of higher studies and make a living," Sarkar said.
Abhina Aher, chairperson of the South Asian transgender community says the need of the hour is to spread awareness about the rights and facilities available for the transgender community, including reaching out to those who have not yet come out. "You have us but you don't want to accept us. A total of 40,90,000 people are registered as third gender in the Census because they have come out and identified themselves," Aher says. "Corporates too should come forward and give us an opportunity to work with them," she says.
Tripathi has urged the government to open a dialogue with the community on issues like education, health, medical facilities, equal opportunity to work and proper census. | 1,269,955 |
Dear faithful,
I write to you with a heavy heart. Over the past several months, new revelations of sexual abuse and coverups have been reported by ecclesiastical, legal, and media sources the world over. The resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick over credible allegations he abused minors and seminarians for decades was soon followed by the stunning testimony of Archbishop Carlo Viganò which implicates the Holy Father himself in covering-up McCarrick’s unspeakable crimes. Additionally, judicial and independent inquiries continue to turn-up further evidence that the sex-abuse crisis which rocked the Catholic Church over a decade ago is far from over.
It is against this sorrowful backdrop that I wish to reiterate that the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) takes any and all reports of illicit and illegal behavior on the part of its clergy, religious, employees and volunteers with utmost seriousness. Every report is submitted to a thoroughgoing investigation by the appropriate authorities within the Society and full cooperation is given to all law enforcement and official investigative agencies concerned, particularly when reports involve minor children. Moreover, any priest or religious of the SSPX found guilty of immorality is subject to sanctions under canon law, including removal from active ministry and laicization.
In an effort to forestall the spread of sin within its ranks, the SSPX abides by the Church’s longstanding and prudent prohibition on admitting men harboring same-sex or other unnatural sexual attractions to any of its seminaries, including St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Virginia. If, after admission to either seminary or holy orders, credible evidence is found of immoral inclinations or acts by an individual, said individual is immediately expelled from the seminary and/or the Society. And, if the evidence warrants, the matter is immediately referred to the ecclesiastical and secular authorities.
I understand that in this time of confusion and crisis, there is a temptation to look for easy answers and a simple causal chain to explain away the corruption in the Church. Be careful. While we cannot discount the adverse effect the Second Vatican Council and its aftermath has had on the Mystical Body of Christ, I fear that the roots of the sexual-abuse crisis run much deeper. For now, we must do everything we can to uphold the tenets of divine and natural law in our daily lives while working to re-spread the Gospel in a world that has forgotten that what it needs most above all is God.
I ask that you beseech the Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all of the saints, especially St. Michael the Archangel, in lending us here below the spiritual assistance we need to weather this storm. Pray, too, for the priests, religious, and seminarians of the SSPX, along with those charged with their formation. Pray that we have the wisdom and discernment to form holy clerics dedicated to serving Jesus Christ through the administration of the traditional sacramental rites and the promulgation of sound catechesis.
With blessings in the Lord,
Fr. Jurgen Wegner | 1,269,956 |
Human capital and China
By Ezra Klein
Matthew Yglesias posted last night about our tour guide at the Forbidden City: A guy with a curious accent (Australian? Scottish?) who, it turned out, had "learned English from a native Chinese speaker who himself had learned from a native Chinese speaker who in turn had learned from a guy from Leeds in the UK." As Matt notes, this wasn't just a wacky story of language acquisition: China has made English classes a major priority. But what's striking about Shanghai and Beijing is that few people -- even in the hotels that cater to Westerners -- actually speak much English. Or even a bit of English. It's a noticeable difference from other major cities (like Rio de Janeiro) where English is not the native tongue, but there's nevertheless a longer experience with it.
The reason for this is that there's no one to teach English to a nation of 1.3 billion. The people who are proficient in both Chinese and English have better job opportunities than public school teacher. So you've got a lot of English classes, but fairly few English teachers, and so not much in the way of English proficiency. Maybe computer software will eventually make up the gap, but settling on a program and rolling it out across the country is a major project.
I spent some time tonight with some ex-pats who run a small company trying to spread Western educational techniques. Their argument was that the quality of China's schools was, even more so than in the United States, dependent on the quality of China's teachers. Competing in the new Chinese economy doesn't mean learning about as much as the average person in your town, as it does in much of America. Instead, it means learning way more than the previous few generations, as the 20th Century saw a razing of China's human capital.
In practice, that means learning up to the educational level of your teachers, as your parents and neighbors won't be able to compensate for their failings the way they can in America. But how many good teachers are there? For that matter, how many good teachers can there be in a country where there's enormous demand paying Western-influenced prices for the most skilled and educated workers?
This is the big difficulty as China tries to transition from an economy based mainly on cheap labor to one powered by innovation and knowledge industries. The country has enough humans to do it. What they need is the human capital. But it's hard to go from having few workers ready to participate in the global economy to having a lot of workers ready to lead it. The hope is that the foreign firms will provide a kind of secondary schooling for China's workforce, giving employees skills and perspectives that will allow them to strike out on their own. But the foreign firms are still mainly using China for cheap, low-skill labor, and that translates into a much slower form of economic advancement. China's offering a lot of incentives for foreign investors who want more than that, but they don't have the natural advantages in that area that they had when it came to offering a massive labor force. | 1,269,957 |
Video
Published: 12:05 PM July 17, 2019 Updated: 6:18 PM September 17, 2020
Nigel Farage was visibly rattled by some simple questions from a caller into his LBC show. Picture: LBC - Credit: LBC
Nigel Farage seemed in a hurry to end the call of an LBC listener who pinned him down on his bluster about the legitimacy of political leaders.
Luke Shaw from Worcester, calling into Farage's regular show, took the Brexit Party leader to task by asking him to apologise for calling the EU 'undemocratic'. "Today you voted on the EU Commission president," he pointed out.
Immediately Farage started yelling into the mic. "We only had a choice of one candidate Luke! You call that democracy, a choice of one candidate?"
But Luke, who is a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Renew Party, pressed on with a killer question: "Can I ask you who voted you in as the Brexit Party leader? How many votes were cast for you to be leader of the Brexit Party?"
Farage said: "Well I founded it," although the party was formally registered as a company by Catherine Blaiklock, who later stood down when her racist comments emerged on social media.
If its of any interest here is the video of Nigel getting angry because I wouldn't let him shout over me or dominate the conversation, showing him up for what he is a hypocrit and a liar! He told me to shut up and then hung up on me! pic.twitter.com/LooXoVR4tl — Luke Shaw (@LukeShawWorcs) July 16, 2019
READ: Leader of Nigel Farage's Brexit party resigns after exposé of tweets showing racist viewsFarage didn't have an answer when Luke asked him how party members could remove him as leader if necessary.
You may also want to watch:
"That sounds undemocratic to me, and almost like a dictatorship," said Luke calmly.
"I have said the EU is fundamentally undemocratic, I will not apologise for that," said Farage, doubling down on his stance.
"But you took part in a democratic vote today," said Luke, referring to the vote for EU Commission president.
"If you think a choice of one is a democratic vote then you belong back in Soviet times," said Farage, before ending the call.
Farage is fond of making outlandish comparisons to communist states, having accused Ursula von der Leyen of wanting to impose an "updated form of communism" in response to her broadly social-democratic pitch to voting MEPs.
WATCH: Farage slapped down in EU parliament after bizarre 'communism' rantThe issue of there being only one nominee on the MEPs' ballot paper for election has come under scrutiny from both eurosceptic and Remain MEPs alike in the new parliament. The commission's nominee for president is voted for by the European Council, which is made up of heads of member states. This nominee is then voted for by MEPs. | 1,269,958 |
Tibet and Hong Kong Activists Demonstrate at Raptors, Nets NBA Game
Videos on social media showed the protestors carrying signs that read "Human Rights Matter! Here + There!" and "NBA Stand for Freedom."
A group of Tibet and Hong Kong activists demonstrated side-by-side at Friday night's NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets in clear protest of the sports league's recent handling of pro-Hong Kong activism.
Videos on social media showed the protestors carrying signs that read "Human Rights Matter! Here + There!" and "NBA Stand for Freedom" while wearing T-shirts that read "Free Tibet" and "Stand With Hong Kong" at Barclay Center in New York City. A representative for the group reported that the protestors continued chanting until security guided them out of the venue and that they will continue to appear at NBA games to come.
The protest responded to the NBA's recent statements about Hong Kong after Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey tweeted a message of support for anti-government Hong Kong protestors earlier this month. Morey's message was quickly followed by statements from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, which said the statement did not speak for the team, and the NBA, which called it "regrettable" that the tweet may have offended some in China. The Chinese Basketball Association ended its relationship with the Rockets after the tweet, while a China state broadcaster and Tencent Sports said they would suspend airing Rockets games.
The NBA, meanwhile, has come under harsh criticism for its statements from social media and China critics, who say the league is seeking to preserve its relationship with China because they do not want to lose its business while Hong Kong is seeking to preserve its autonomy.
"It is crucial people of conscience around the world speak up for Hong Kongers who are battling for their freedom right now, and also for the people of Tibet, East Turkestan (Xinjiang) and China itself, where Chinese authorities are carrying out an unprecedented human rights crackdown” Tenzin Dorjee, senior researcher and strategist at the Tibet Action Institute, said in a statement about the Raptors-Nets protest. “Daryl Morey was right to speak out, and while we applaud the NBA for ultimately supporting his right to free speech, we are deeply disturbed that LeBron James and [Nets owner] Joseph Tsai have chosen to prioritize profits over people’s rights."
Eight hundred million viewers watched NBA games on multiple platforms in China last year, while earlier this year the league inked a reported $1.5 billion deal with Tencent.
BREAKING: Tibet activists protest alongside Hong Kong activists at Nets v Raptors game in NYC. Signs read: "Tsai & LeBron: Morey was right - NBA: Stand for freedom” & “Don’t let China buy our silence, people are dying to be free”. #FreeTibet #StandWithHongKong @dmorey pic.twitter.com/mn6l3BdmzU — lhadon (@lhadon) October 19, 2019 | 1,269,959 |
Here is a classic Essential Mix from Chemical Brothers that was first aired back in 1995 and recently aired on 6 Music. They later become one of the biggest artists within electronic music.
Check out other Essential mixes in my archive and subscribe to the feed to get good music in the future. You can also follow Core News on Facebook and Twitter.
BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix 1995-03-05 Chemical Brothers [Classic Essential Mix] [Filesonic]
Tracklist:
1. Jean Jacques-Perrey – EVA
2. Meat Beat Manifesto – Cutman [Play It Again Sam]
3. Schooly D – Housing The Joint [Jive]
4. Funkmaster Flex – Nuttin But Flavor [Wreck]
5. Spank Da Monkey – Down Side Up [Monkey Funk/Soul Trade]
6. Gunshot – Children Of A Dying Breed [Vinyl Solution]
7. John Schroeder – Money Runner [Polydor]
8. Jedi Nights – Funk You [Clear]
9. DJ Battery Brain – 8 Volts [Techno Hop]
10. The Beastie Boys – 33% God [Capitol]
11. Bobby J – Check Out The Style [Stripped]
12. Double D & Steinski – History Of Hiphop Part 1 [Tommy Boy]
13. Carlos Barrios – Can’t [After Dark]
14. Carlos Barrios – Doin It After Dark [ATCO]
15. Yes – Owner Of A Lonely Heart [ATCO]
16. Tim – Love – Lee – Again Son [Peace Feast]
17. Freestyle – Don’t Stop The Rock [Pandisc]
18. 4E – 4E Speaking (Force Inc. Music Works)
19. Link – The First Link EP (Evolution / Universal Language Productions Ltd.)
20. The Chemical Brothers – Leave Home [Junior Boys Own]
21. DJ Who – Give A Little More [Defective]
22. Xpando – To A Nation Rockin [Metro]
23. La Metro – To a Nation Rockin (Metro)
24. Josh Wink – Higher State Of Consciousness (Original Tweekin’ Acid Funk Mix) (Manifesto)
25. Emmanuel Top – Lobotomie [Nova Mute]
26. The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows [Parlophone]
27. God Within – Daylight [Hardkiss Music]
28. The Chemical Bros – Life Is Sweet [Junior Boys Own]
29. Patrick Pulsinger – City Lights [Disko B]
30. Colourbox – Edit The Dragon [4AD]
31. The Specials – You’re Wandering Now [Chrysalis Music]iz
35. The Buddha Baboons – Say Uptown
Help keeping the site running - Support Core News :) | 1,269,960 |
DEA press release, emphasis added by VDARE.com:
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Jamal Brown was sentenced by United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco to 90 months’ imprisonment for distributing and possessing with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl between July 2017 and February 2018. Brown pleaded guilty to the charge in May 2018.
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge for the New York Division Ray Donovan announced the sentence.
“Brown preyed on vulnerable addicts to enrich himself, exposing them to significant risk of overdose with fentanyl, a drug that is a leading factor in the opioid crisis plaguing Long Island and the United States,” said United States Attorney Donoghue. “To facilitate his illegal drug distribution, Brown even involved his teenage brother. Thanks to the outstanding work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, Brown has now been held accountable.”
United States Attorney Donoghue also expressed his grateful appreciation to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for its assistance during the investigation and the DEA’s Long Island Heroin Enforcement Team, which is comprised of the Nassau County Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department and New York State Police.
“Drug trafficking is inevitably linked to corruption, crime and addiction,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Donovan. “Jamal Brown turned his younger brother into a drug dealer, exposed his newborn child to fentanyl and encouraged drug use by addicts seeking treatment. Today’s sentencing is a result of the hard work and collaboration between the Heroin Enforcement Team, ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office EDNY.”
According to court filings, sentencing submissions and facts presented during court proceedings, between July 2017 and February 2018, Brown possessed and sold more than 40 grams of fentanyl, along with quantities of cocaine, which he stored at locations in Bay Shore and Huntington Station, New York. As part of his drug-trafficking operation, Brown used his 17-year-old brother to sell fentanyl and cocaine for him and to store sale proceeds, which he gave to Brown. Telephone calls intercepted over a court-authorized wiretap revealed that Brown also relied on an individual – who had told Brown of his struggles with addiction and of his plan to enter a rehabilitation facility – to transport narcotics and pick up drug sale proceeds.
On Feb. 27, 2018, search warrants executed at Brown’s Long Island drug locations resulted in the recovery of more than 76 grams of fentanyl, more than 150 grams of cocaine, a.32 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, ammunition and other evidence of drug trafficking. At the time of the execution of the search warrants, Brown’s newborn child was inside the Huntington Station location where approximately 10 grams of fentanyl were recovered.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Bradley T. King is in charge of the prosecution. | 1,269,961 |
Prof shocked to find that women don't want to gain 100 lbs
An Arizona State University professor was distressed to discover in a recent study that her female peers do not desire "the stigma of extreme weight gain.”
Professor Breanne Fahs, a self-described “fat woman,” recently published an article in the Women’s Studies International Forum in which she declared that “the fear of fatness is far more extreme, exaggerated, and terrible than the lived realities of living in a fat body.”
"No participants described gaining 100 pounds as a positive thing to imagine."
[RELATED: ‘Fat shaming’ by doctors is ‘physically harmful,’ prof claims]
Fahs interviewed 20 random females for the article, asking them questions about their current weight and what they thought of the prospect of gaining 100 pounds.
Not surprisingly, not a single one of the women she surveyed was enthused about the idea, leading Fahs to remark with dismay that “no participants described gaining 100 pounds as a positive thing to imagine” [emphasis in original].
During the survey, in fact, four women “shrieked in disgust” or “started laughing uncontrollably” in response to Fahs’ questions, thinking the professor was joking.
[RELATED: College provides safe space for ‘fat identified’ LGBT students]
Fahs also bemoans the fact that not a single woman in the study “mentioned any positive aspects of fatness, and no women identified fatness as physically or personally important (even hypothetically)” [emphasis in original].
Fahs, who praises fatness as a potentially “liberatory” experience, argues that obesity should not be viewed negatively, since, according to “feminist theory,” stigmatizing fatness is “connected to patriarchy, sexism, and the oppression of women.”
“That women did not identify the liberatory, political, or social implications of fatness seemed to reveal much about the contemporary framing of fatness as purely negative and solely based in stigma,” she writes, later adding that “thin women imagining fatness mostly see it in highly unrealistic (and intensely dreadful terms) rather than in more moderated, realistic terms.”
[RELATED: ‘Fat studies’ course deems ‘weightism’ a ‘social justice issue’]
“If fat women in particular are to have dignity, respect, and pride about their bodies,” then “a more realistic understanding of weight gain is crucial to that goal,” she adds, concluding that “interventions that seek to lessen or buffer the intensity of women's fear of weight gain could impact not only fat women's lives, but all women's lives.”
Campus Reform reached out to Fahs for comment, but did not receive a response.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen | 1,269,962 |
New Comment Policy
All comments are now going into moderation.
Most of the comments are reasonably thoughtful and add to the general discussion about the content of a blog post. Occasionally I get a hater. There are also some very painful, angry, and unhappy comments from men. I understand those negative comments and that’s why I almost always let them through. Men need a safe space to vent their spleens.
The problem is that the comments are directly affecting my personal life. What my readers don’t know is I have publicly announced on my online dating profile that I am a popular blogger. I haven’t yet posted the actual URL, but if anyone requests it, I give it to them. I did this for two reasons – firstly, to see if the change to my profile results in a better response rate; secondly, to get more local women to visit Red Pill Dating,
Several times since I’ve made the change to my profile, I have lost dating opportunities because women have read my blog(s). It wasn’t my posts, it was the comments. My own relatively optimistic outlook is being associated with the those very dark and negative comments. It’s guilt by association and it sucks. That’s the reality of the situation and as everyone knows, I deal with reality.
So, those very negative comments are impacting my dating life. I can live with that to a point. However, my two blogs are now more closely linked so that means any comment-driven negative perceptions of this blog and me as a person are also applied to Red Pill Dating, part of my livelihood. That’s intolerable to me. Guy code clearly states that one man never messes with another man’s livelihood, even if unintentionally.
I have to address this. I have the option to disable commenting completely. This will cause a serious hit to my traffic. Since this blog doesn’t generate any advertising revenue, I can live with that but my ego, less so. This is the thermonuclear solution and I don’t want to go there.
So, I have already implemented a less slash-and-burn approach to those dark and sometimes vicious comments. All comments are now going into moderation. I don’t get a huge number of comments and I have the mobile app for WordPress so this is a manageable task. This requires that I delete older comments, a daunting prospect give the over 10K comments I have received. Also, some regular commenters may find their comments moderated out.
So, if any reader wants to make a comment, consider that one of my potential dates or potential class participants is reading it. I’m asking commenters to mind their words very carefully. I do thank you for your cooperation.
There will also be other changes to my blog.
TL,DR: Nasty comments are ruining Andrew’s dating life and potentially his business. All comments are now moderated. For a comment to get through, it better be good and it better be polite. | 1,269,963 |
ial (“I don’t want one.”), Anger (“I never get to eat anything good!”), Bargaining (“After the day I’ve had, who would blame me for needing a little treat?”), Depression (“Guess I’ll never stick to my diet.”), and Acceptance (“I’ll start the diet tomorrow.”).
But when I went to college in Michigan, months would go by without the hometown icon, and, somehow, I survived. Driving home for Christmas through the snow, coming down through Fancy Gap, Virginia, on U.S. 52, almost as heart-stirring as the silhouette of Pilot Mountain against a sky of stars was the red neon of my hometown Kreme on Stratford Road, waiting up for me, wondering where I’d been. I was eager to see my family, but they could wait five little minutes until I secured the first bite of a hot glazed doughnut that meant that this Southern refugee was back home again.
For much of the 20th century, you acquired your hot glazed doughnuts down South. On my route north, Alexandria, Virginia, was the northeastern reach of the true Kreme habitat. I knew how to get off I-95, sidle over to U.S. 1, load up on boxes of Kremes that I’d promised to friends in Brooklyn, and hop back on the highway with no more than a half-hour sacrificed.
There were some boreal Kreme franchises (Syracuse, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania), but until the 1990s, beyond the Mason-Dixon Line lay the waste places, a tundra ceded to Dunkin’ Donuts and Tim Horton’s. Little Rock, Arkansas, was the last-chance doughnut for the pioneers headed west; Biloxi, Mississippi, was my southeastern outpost when headed to the Gulf.
In that most Southern of cities, New Orleans, there was no Krispy Kreme franchise until the 1980s. Perhaps this was because the only rival on earth to the hot glazed doughnut resides there: golden-brown beignets covered in drifts of powdered sugar, served with coffee and chicory at the Café Du Monde. Important fact: Krispy Kreme founder Vernon Rudolph bought his recipe off a doughnut-maker in Louisiana, so the beignet and the hot glazed are, I suspect, first cousins.
Now, Krispy Kreme is worldwide. On my way to visit friends in Oxford, England, I can grab a Kreme at Paddington Station. An Australian buddy sends reports of Krispy Kreme gorging taking place in Perth. Now the hot glazed wonder has made its way to Bangalore, Beirut, Bahrain, Bogotá … and that’s just the B’s.
It used to be our secret, but, I suppose, it’s better that we share. | 1,269,964 |
AMD Gizmo: Developer board with G-T40E, two 1GHz Bobcat cores and a Radeon HD 6250.
Source: AMD AMD is inviting developers to join GizmoSphere, a new community centred around a small motherboard that uses AMD's x86 combi processor, the G-T40E; the board has been developed by US company Sage Electronic Engineering and is manufactured by Pounce Electronics. It seems that AMD has taken some inspiration from the Raspberry Pi, although the starter kit does cost $199 before taxes and without shipping. For this price, however, customers will receive a complete package that includes the motherboard as well as a suitable power adapter, a PCB for experimentation (Explorer Board) with an LCD display, a number keypad and, most importantly, a JTAG debugger module – as well as all required leads. The Gizmo board is currently only available to order via email in the US, but the developers say that they are working to make it available via online vendors "soon".
Gizmo in detail
Source: AMD One interesting Gizmo feature is the SageBIOS coreboot firmware that can, the developers say, boot operating systems such as Linux and Windows. SageBIOS is a distribution of the free software, GPL-licensed Coreboot which allows motherboard developers to ship boards with a substantially freer firmware.
The G-T40E is an embedded version of AMD's C-60, which has been used in netbooks. Instead of a TDP of 9 watts, AMD lists only 6.4 watts of TDP for the G-T40E. For the entire Gizmo board, AMD promises a TDP of about 10 watts, including the A55E chipset (Hudson) and add-ons such as the Realtek sound chip, a gigabit Ethernet controller (RTL8111DL) and 1 GB of DDR3-SDRAM. The developers say that the APU offers 52.8 GFlops; of these, 44.8 GFlops are contributed by the Radeon GPU's 80 shaders, which can be used via OpenCL 1.1 if the operating system offers the appropriate drivers. Running at 1 GHz, the two Bobcat cores' SSE units offer 8 GFlops at single precision.
As well as the LCD display and keypad, the Explorer Board also offers interfaces such as SPI and I2C, GPIO pins and a stepping motor controller.
Gizmo Explorer Board with LCD and stepper motor controller.
Source: AMD
The package also includes a 30-day trial version of the SageEDK development environment, which is particularly helpful for troubleshooting and testing when combined with the SmartProbe debugger module. The purchase price includes 20 hours of use. On the GizmoSphere web site, AMD also hosts "mini contests" and plans to present projects and provide support.
See also:
The Open Source BIOS is Ten - An interview with the coreboot developers from 2009
(djwm) | 1,269,965 |
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton says he is not expecting his sixth Formula One world championship to be recognized with a knighthood at the end of the year.
Slideshow ( 3 images )
The Mercedes driver’s supporters are pushing for him to join other British sporting sirs like Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, runner Mo Farah, tennis player Andy Murray and cricketer Alastair Cook.
Hamilton, by far his country’s most successful racing driver with twice as many titles as the knighted great Jackie Stewart, doubted that would happen.
“I don’t really like to think too much about it,” he told reporters at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “Just the fact that people have mentioned it, it’s already an honor, but it’s not been something that I’ve been chasing in my life.
“If, at any point, that was to happen, I don’t particularly know how I would handle it.
“I have stood in front of Her Majesty The Queen before and it was pretty incredible and I think she’s just awesome. Again, I don’t think it’s going to happen, and again, it doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not British. It doesn’t mean I’m not continuing to try and raise the flag as well as I can,” he added.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said frequently that he feels Hamilton’s achievements are not recognized enough in his home country and may not be appreciated fully until he has left the stage.
When Hamilton won his fifth title last year he was runner-up in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year to Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas.
Britain, which has produced more champions than any nation in Formula One history, has certainly never known anyone like him and only German great Michael Schumacher, with seven, has won more championships.
Hamilton has won 10 races a year on average for the last six seasons, a success rate that would leave him on course to overhaul Schumacher’s record of 91 victories some time next year.
Even if he played it down, the prospect of him getting a knighthood tickled the fancy of Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“Do you get a sword? That would be cool if you get to keep the sword,” said Vettel, a four times world champion.
Informed that he would have to call Hamilton ‘Sir Lewis’ if the Briton were to be knighted, 22-year-old Verstappen sounded doubtful.
“You don’t have to, do you?” asked the Dutchman, who starts Sunday’s penultimate race of the season on pole position. | 1,269,966 |
jet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine.
The X-37B space plane was to separate from the Centaur about 19 minutes after liftoff. The Centaur continued firing separately with the CubeSat deployment, including the Planetary Society’s LightSail test demoonstration, into a different orbit later.
Overall this was ULA’s sixth launch of the 501 configuration the 54th mission to launch on an Atlas V rocket. This was also ULA’s fifth launch in 2015 and the 96th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.
The OTV is somewhat like a miniature version of NASA’s space shuttles.
Boeing has built two OTV vehicles. But it is not known which of the two vehicles was launched today.
Altogether the two X-37B vehicles have spent a cumulative total of 1367 days in space during the first three OTV missions and successfully checked out the vehicles reusable flight, reentry and landing technologies.
The 11,000 pound (4990 kg) state-of -the art reusable OTV space plane was built by Boeing and is about a quarter the size of a NASA space shuttle. It was originally developed by NASA but was transferred to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2004.
All three OTV missions to date have launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Future missions could potentially land at the shuttle landing facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The first OTV mission launched on April 22, 2010, and concluded on Dec. 3, 2010, after 224 days in orbit.
The following flights were progressively longer in duration. The second OTV mission began March 5, 2011, and concluded on June 16, 2012, after 468 days on orbit. The third OTV mission launched on Dec. 11, 2012 and landed on Oct. 17, 2014 after 674 days in orbit.
The vehicle measures 29 ft 3 in (8.9 m) in length with a wingspan of 14 ft 11 in (4.5 m). The payload bay measures 7 ft × 4 ft (2.1 m × 1.2 m). The space plane is powered by Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells with Lithium-Ion batteries.
Among the primary mission goals of the first three flights were check outs of the vehicles capabilities and reentry systems and testing the ability to send experiments to space and return them safely. OTV-4 will shift somewhat more to conducting research.
“We are excited about our fourth X-37B mission,” Randy Walden, director of the USAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office, said in a statement. “With the demonstrated success of the first three missions, we’re able to shift our focus from initial checkouts of the vehicle to testing of experimental payloads.”
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news.
Ken Kremer | 1,269,967 |
opley, board chairman of Faith Voices Arkansas and the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, first met Griffen more than 20 years ago at an interfaith conference. He considers him a close friend and an ally on issues of social justice.
He said that Griffen has never believed his role as a judge precluded him from having deeply held convictions and expressing them publicly and that he wasn’t surprised to see him at the rally in Little Rock on Good Friday.
Rutledge, in the court filing, argued that that act alone should have precluded him from issuing the temporary restraining order.
Rutledge, in the request for the state Supreme Court to vacate the order, wrote: “Judge Griffen has demonstrated that he is unlikely to refrain from actual bias regarding the matters related to the death penalty, and at a minimum, he cannot avoid the appearance of unfairness and his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Michael Gerhardt, constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina, said that Griffen’s public actions struck him as “unusual” and that judges are required to adhere to judicial codes to maintain an appearance of impartiality.
“He is entitled to a private life and his opinions,” Gerhardt said. “But the code of ethics don’t shut off when he goes home.”
Griffen has argued otherwise in the past.
Griffen made judicial free speech a part of his campaign while running for a seat on the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2006, a race he lost to Paul Danielson by 15 percentage points. He had lost a previous bid to sit on the high court before being elected to the Pulaski County Circuit Court seat in 2010 with 51% of the vote.
He made his case to those points again when he wrote about his ruling in a blog post published on Wednesday.
“Whether I attended the Good Friday vigil or not does not change property law. Whether anyone approves or disapproves of me attending the Good Friday vigil does not change property law,” he wrote. “Whether I support or am opposed to capital punishment does not change property law. I am entitled to practice my religion — whether I am a judge or not — even if others disapprove of the way I practice it.”
[email protected]
Twitter: @davemontero
ALSO
Supreme Court urged to give church schools an equal right to state funds
The Cleveland killer wasn’t the first to post a gruesome crime. Welcome to the dark side of sharing
Neo-Nazi website unleashed Internet trolls against a Jewish woman, lawsuit says
UPDATES:
April 20, 3:40 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect the state Supreme Court’s ruling canceling one of two executions planned Thursday night while clearing the way for the other.
This story was originally posted April 19 at 1:35 p.m. | 1,269,968 |
Indian online detergent boycott misfires By News from Elsewhere...
...as found by BBC Monitoring Published duration 14 March 2019 Related Topics Holi
image copyright Surf excel/YouTube image caption Ten million people have watched the advert
A social-media campaign against a brand of washing powder in India has raised eyebrows by taking an accidental sideswipe at a Microsoft app.
The advert for Surf Excel uses the upcoming Hindu spring festival of Holi to illustrate a story about cross-communal harmony, India's Telegraph newspaper reports.
The advert shows a girl on a bicycle enjoying the popular Holi practice of being pelted with balloons full of coloured paint and water, then taking a small boy dressed in pristine white Muslim clothes to prayers at his mosque before promising to play Holi games with him afterwards.
The ad received more than ten million views and 100,000 "likes" on YouTube, but angered some viewers.
'Colours unite'
Critics of the advert have organised complaints against Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), who make Surf Excel, accusing its Colours Unite (Rang laaye sang) advert of being "anti-Hindu" and "anti-national".
They have posted pictures of used HUL products like flattened toothpaste tubes along with the hashtags #BoycottSurfExcel and #BoycottHindustanUnilever.
But some of their followers have confused the washing powder with Microsoft Excel, giving the mobile spreadsheet app single-star ratings on the Google Play Store - much to the amusement of other social-media users.
You may also be interested in:
"I have not laughed this hard in a long time," tweeted software engineer Dhiraj Kumar, as he and others came across the Google Play reviews.
'Collective facepalm'
"Twitter collectively facepalmed," was how News 18 TV characterised the choice selection of mockery and incredulity that it showcased on its website.
The Times of India reports that "some good Samaritans" have been giving five-star ratings to the Microsoft Excel app, in order to "counter out-of-context reviews".
The Surf Excel advert has attracted many online defenders, some of them very high-profile.
Sanjay Nirupam, the leader of the opposition Congress party in Mumbai, tweeted: "He who objects to this ad by #SurfExcel is nothing but against the idea of India. Hatsoff who created this beautiful film."
And the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir State, Mehbooba Mufti, was not alone in thinking the campaign was the work of the "bhakts" - a term often used to describe the online supporters of the governing BJP, a party associated with Hindu nationalism.
"I have a better suggestion. Bhakts should be washed properly with Surf Excel," she tweeted.
image copyright Twitter image caption Some observers suspect a political motivation
Reporting by Alistair Coleman and Martin Morgan
Next story: | 1,269,969 |
The FCC is currently in the middle of a fight between internet providers and state regulators over ads for internet service. In short, the telecoms industry wants to use an FCC rule about internet speeds claimed in adverts — namely that advertising a “maximum” speed that isn’t really achievable isn’t false advertising — to protect itself from lawsuits from individual US states. Two industry groups have already filed a petition with the FCC to this effect.
As you’d expect, states aren’t wild about giving up consumer protection powers to a decidedly non-consumer-friendly FCC, and 35 states have banded together to lobby the FCC to ignore the industry petition. The list of states backing the comment to the FCC serves a useful secondary purpose: giving us an idea of which state governments actually give a crap about internet companies screwing over consumers.
The original petition was filed on May 15th by two industry groups, US Telecom and the Internet & Television Association. The petition calls for the FCC to issue a ruling stating that the current practice of advertising speeds “up to” a certain threshold is OK. Internet companies are seeking that ruling from the FCC because state Attorneys General have started investigating ISPs for false advertising. Most notably, NY state AG Eric Schneiderman went after Spectrum back in February for advertising broadband speeds well under what were actually delivered.
In short, the telcos are claiming that because lawsuits like those filed by New York State use real internet speed tests that test actual download speed, rather than a hypothetical line speed, they’re unfair and too picky. The telcos have 10% of a point — there is an old agreement with the FCC that outlines a testing methodology for ISPs to use, which is extremely favorable to ISPs — but it’s not really the point.
Individual states want to assert their right to enforce consumer protections, including that ISPs provide the kind of internet service that they advertise. “Like others providing goods and services to consumers in our states, providers of broadband Internet service must be truthful in their advertisements,” the AGs’ letter to the FCC reads. It goes on to outline how an FCC ruling to pre-empt state action would likely be a constitutional violation.
The full list of state AGs that signed the comment to the FCC is below. Check if yours is on there, and if not, it’s time to break out the angry letters.
ARKANSAS COLORADO CONNECTICUT DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FLORIDA HAWAII IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MAINE MARYLAND MASSACHUSSETTS MINNESOTA MISSISSIPPI NEBRASKA NEW MEXICO NEW YORK NEVADA NORTH CAROLINA OKLAHOMA OREGON PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS VERMONT WASHINGTON WEST VIRGINIA WISCONSIN | 1,269,970 |
Ben Walke, Global Community Lead on Star Wars games, recently tweeted out support for single-player games.
Single-player and multiplayer games seem to be in a constant war with each other.
In reality, a balance between the two sides is really important.
The battle between single-player and multiplayer games has been raging for decades. Many companies seemed convinced that multiplayer gaming was the future, but a slew of top-notch single-player titles proved them wrong. The past year has been great for single-player gaming.
Apparently, the global community lead for Star Wars games, Ben Walke, agrees. He recently tweeted an homage to single-player games not long after the release of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order. The tweet sparked many rallying cries from other gamers, proving that single-player is around to stay.
The Resurrection of Single-Player
Multiplayer got a little big for its breaches over the years. I personally blame Grand Theft Auto V Online for that one. It becomes the biggest selling entertainment product in the world, smashing global records. Ever since then, everyone wants to create a ‘live service’ that people will play forever.
It started long before that really. As soon as COD became more popular than breathing, companies were scrambling to create online shooters. Over the following years, single-player games declined in the triple-A space, mainly consisting of token campaign modes bolted onto multiplayer-focused titles.
Then some sort of cultural shift happened. Horizon Zero Dawn came out, and people loved it. It gave confidence, especially to PlayStation, to really push some single-player only titles: God of War, Spider-Man, even the Witcher III. Things have been riding high for more than 12 months for Single-Play.
Single-Player Games Will Always Be Necessary
I think that if the resurgence of single-player games has proven anything, it’s that they’re always going to be needed. Online-based multiplayer games can be as engaging as you like, but they have no permanence at all. A good story can be retold again and again, but those matches will eventually end. Once the servers are dropped, your multiplayer game becomes worthless.
That isn’t to say that multiplayer games cannot be fun, but they need balance. Every major studio cannot be focused on producing the same thing. This is part of the reason that Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order has been so highly anticipated. For the longest time, the only Star Wars games we’ve seen are crappy mobile skinner-boxes or micro-transaction shooters with token campaigns.
Fallen Order seems to be getting a decent amount of positive press. It’s a great sign that when gamers eventually got what they asked for, it turned out to be decent and hopefully successful. In the future, more games companies would be wise to invest in a single-player title that’ll be talked about for years rather than a shallow multiplayer ‘experience’ which will be forgotten about once the servers shut down. | 1,269,971 |
The parents of a boy with special needs are speaking out after he was allegedly left on his bus, hours after he should have been dropped off at school in north Minneapolis.
“I’m angry,” said LaSandra Parker, the boy’s mother. “I am in disbelief. I’m sad for my son. I am scared.”
Parker has so many questions about what happened on her son’s special needs bus Thursday.
“It’s all coming back just because I’m thinking about him, how he felt in that whole situation, how scared was he?” said Parker.
Seven-year-old Miles, who is on the autism spectrum and can’t communicate verbally, was allegedly left strapped into his seat for nearly an entire school day. The driver and an aide apparently didn’t account for the youngster after making their run to Jenny Lind Elementary in the morning.
The bus, operated by Metropolitan Transportation Network, was then returned to the garage. Still nobody noticed, until someone with Metropolitan Transportation spotted the child still harnessed in his bus seat about five hours later.
“He would’ve been hysterical,” said Parker. “He can’t unstrap himself. He doesn’t know how that works. I am sure he was jumping up and down in his seat thrashing around.”
"My son could've died yesterday,” said Steven Berglund, Miles’ father. “Literally, I could have got a call at work instead of hearing my wife hysterical and hearing what happened. I could have heard Miles is dead. There's no coming back from that."
Both the school district and the bus company reported to Fox 9 that investigations are underway into what happened and why.
Metropolitan Transportation Network released the following statement, in part:
"The situation that occurred Thursday is simply unacceptable. We want the community to know that student safety is of paramount importance to us. We are doing everything we can to ensure that these types of situations do not occur in the future."
Minneapolis Public Schools released the following statement:
"We are investigating this situation to fully understand what happened and why. We understand that families trust when a child leaves home for school each day they will be cared for and kept safe — and we recognize student safety as a priority. Our standard procedure for drivers, including contracted drivers, is to check for children on the bus before exiting. The idea of any child being left unattended on a bus is absolutely unacceptable. We are confident our investigation will determine the facts of this particular report and the District will take appropriate actions based on our findings. We are unable to share any additional, specific details about the student or staff involved due to data privacy laws."
Miles’ parents want police to investigate for possible child endangerment violations.
Thankfully, a day later the boy appears to be okay, but for LaSandra and Steven, trust has been shattered. | 1,269,972 |
Episode 014: Derek Ernest Percy, Part 1
July 20, 1969 – Warneet, Westernport Bay, Victoria, Australia, about 45 minutes outside Melbourne. 11-year-old Shane Spiller is going to Ski Beach with his friend, 12-year-old Yvonne Tuohy.
Shane thinks Yvonne is ok for a girl. She is kind of a tomboy, and doesn’t ever want to play with dolls.
He’s bringing everything they might need for a trip to the beach, matches, a water canteen, food, and a hatchet. “Just in case”, he says.
They head off at about 10:30am. It takes more than an hour to get to the beach.
Being the middle of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, the beach is deserted except for an empty station wagon and a second car with a man sitting it in. The second car is also a station wagon, but smaller. A Datsun or something.
Shane is really into cars, and notices that the second car is a light color, with a luggage rack on top. As they walk by, he notices what seems to be a couple of rugs in the back, and a parking sticker with the word “Navy” printed on it in the window.
The driver glances at them as they walk by.
The two children argue about which direction to go, and Shane heads off to the right on his own. When he realizes that Yvonne isn’t following him, her turns to walk back to her.
The man from the car is now standing behind Yvonne. He has a knife at her throat. Yvonne is petrified, in sheer, silent terror.
Shane grabs his hatchet and holds it over his head, like he might throw it. “Put that down or I’ll hurt the girl,” the man says in a high-pitched voice.
What scares Shane even more is the calm, detached manner the man has.
Loudly, he hisses to Yvonne, “Tell your friend to come back here.”
Shane is frozen for about two seconds, and then breaks into a dead run into the bush to get help.
Shane’s movement brings Yvonne back to her senses, and she cries out, “Shane, Shane, help!”
The man drags her along for thirty or forty yards, following Shane, and then gives up the chase.
As Shane runs away, he hears Yvonne cry out again, “Shane, Shane, help! He’s going to cut my throat!”
Unfortunately, for Yvonne, help does not come in time.
You can also download the episode directly.
Skip to Derek Ernest Percy, Part 2.
And feel free to use the comments below for episode discussion. | 1,269,973 |
This significant struggle/situation has been wiped out from the media, except for some references in the business press.
The struggle of 3000 Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) workers of Tapukara plant in Alwar, situated at Haryana-Rajasthan border, in the face of brutal repression from the management-police-administration side, has emerged as an important and intense workers struggle at the present time. As the workers saw commonality and forged unity across internal segmentation, initiated the process of Union formation on 6 August 2015 and submitted a collective Charter of Demand on 14 December 2015, they faced attacks in various forms. It included a criminal conspiracy by the Management to suppress the workers collectivity and Union process using deceitful legal and manifestly illegal means via labour department and the Court, transfer-suspension-termination of Union leaders and retrenchment of around 800 active contract workers.
On 16th February, 2000 workers across categories of permanent-casual-trainee-contract came together to stop work and do a sit-in strike inside the factory. The immediate reason was an Executive Engineer physically attacking a contract worker in the Paint Shop, forcing the physically unwell worker to work overtime for the fourth consecutive day. Long standing demands of reinstatement of terminated workers and ceasing management attacks on Union formation were stated. The same evening, instead of any negotiation, the workers leadership was immediately abducted and at the behest of the management, the assembled workers were brutally lathi-charged and repressed by Joint Police forces of Rajasthan and Haryana combined with illegal bouncers, Continuous arresting, hounding, and slapping false cases ranging from attempt to murder, rioting to looting, is going on.
At present, over 2000 workers have not returned to work, the management is sending mass suspension letters to hundreds of workers, as they bring in contract workers from far-away states to illegally resume production at the cost of workers livelihood. But production continues to drop to a few vehicles from the daily normal output of 5000 units.
This repression from the management-police-administration comes as an expressed move to suppress the workers legitimate right to Union formation and collective bargaining, right to permanent jobs, respect and dignity at/of work, and more importantly, the emerging collective strength and subjectivity of workers in the factory and beyond. Even as company profits are soaring to record heights, this repression is to facilitate the continuing unabated exploitation of an insecure and unorganized workforce forced to work, work, and work more without relief, in the underbelly of new industrial regions (like in Tapukara-Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana-Bahror) and industrial corridors under ‘Make in India’ through a coercive surveillance and militarized regime. This is the disciplining of, by and for ‘the nation’ that the authoritarian Modi government means when the recent RSS attacks on students, dalits and religious minorities increase by the day.
See the full report here:
The Massive Honda Workers' Protest That's Going Unreported | 1,269,974 |
"Once nicknamed Terminus, since the city acted as the ending point of a railroad stretching north to Tennessee, Atlanta has surely come a long way from its beginnings as a sleepy southern city," Thrillist writer Nneka Okona wrote in the special Atlanta feature. "Today, its suburbs are bursting with character and offer a draw away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown areas. More greenery. More space to live. Lower cost of living. A chance to build true community."
As metro Atlanta, which is currently experiencing the third-largest population gain in the country, continues to grow, millennials looking to put down roots may want to consider a move to Smyrna, a Cobb County city less than 30 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta.
» RELATED: This is the best suburb in Atlanta
The “Jonquil City” features 33 acres of parks and green space and a lively restaurant and bar scene and, as the moniker suggests, several blossoming jonquil flowers during the spring and summer months.
DeKalb County’s Avondale Estates/Scottsdale came in second on the list of nine suburbs for a variety of reasons, including its local eateries, the popular Your DeKalb Farmers Market and outdoor PATH trail.
The up-and-coming suburb of Brookhaven, another DeKalb city, also earned the honors. Home to sprawling parks like Blackburn Park and Murphey Candler Park, the neighborhood is the perfect place for nature lovers.
» RELATED: Millennials among us: See where they live in metro Atlanta
Gwinnett’s Duluth suburb, situated about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta, came in fourth in Thrillist’s list. This neighborhood is best known for its tight-knit immigrant community and global eateries.
And last but definitely not least: Roswell. The North Fulton town oozes historic charm. With the Alive in Roswell street festival, the family-friendly Chattahoochee Nature Center, it’s a prime spot for young adults.
But these five neighborhoods aren’t the only Atlanta suburbs that have received some well-deserved recognition for being attractive options for millennials.
Niche.com recently ranked the metro's suburbs using factors such as access to bars, restaurants, cost of living, crime, safety and more and lited DeKalb's North Druid Hills the 10th best suburb for millennials in America. Others of note: Vinings, North Decatur, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Decatur and Peachtree Corners. Both Brookhaven and Smyrna also made Niche.com's list.
The five best Atlanta suburbs for millennials, according to Thrillist:
Smyrna (Cobb County) Avondale Estates/Scottsdale (DeKalb County) Brookhaven (DeKalb County) Duluth (Gwinnett County) Roswell (North Fulton)
Explore more at thrillist.com. | 1,269,975 |
The 28-hour countdown for the launch of a record 104 satellites by India on board a single rocket from the spaceport of Sriharikota, about 125 km from Chennai, commenced on Tuesday.
India will become the first country to script history if it succeeds in launching the 104 satellites in a single rocket.
The countdown for the launch of PSLV-C37/Cartosat2 Series satellite mission began at 5:28 AM soon after the Mission Readiness Review committee and Launch Authorisation Board gave its approval for lift off, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
Scientists have commenced filling of the propellant for the rocket, it said.
The space agency's trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37, on its 39th mission, would launch a record 104 satellites belonging to international customers.
What is significant about the launch is the number of satellites carried by a rocket. Compared to successful launch by the Russian Space Agency launching 37 satellites in one go, India will become the first country to script history if it succeeds in launching 104 satellites in a single rocket.
It will also be ISRO's second successful attempt after launching 23 satellites in one go in June 2015.
PSLV will first launch the 714 kg CARTOSAT-2 Series satellite for earth observation and then inject 103 co-passenger satellites, together weighing about 664 kg at lift-off into polar Sun Synchronous Orbit, about 520 km from Earth.
ISRO scientists have used the XL Variant - the most powerful rocket - earlier used in the ambitious Chandrayaan and during the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).
Of 101 co-passenger satellites, 96 belong to USA, five from International customers of ISRO - Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, respectively.
Two other Indian nano satellites, totally weighing about 1,378 kg, will also ride piggyback in the rocket
The nano-satellites belonging to international customers are being launched as part of the arrangement by Antrix Corporation Ltd (ANTRIX) the commercial arm of the ISRO. Cartosat-2 Series, which is the primary satellite, will be similar to the earlier four satellites in Cartosat-2 Series.
After coming into operation, it will provide remote sensing services.Images sent by it will be useful for coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, distribution of water and creation of land use maps, among others.
Cartosat-2 Series has a mission life of five years. The two Indian Nano-satellites INS-1A and INS-1B were developed as co-passenger satellites to accompany bigger satellites on PSLV.
The primary objective of INS (ISRO Nano Satellite) is to provide an opportunity for ISRO technology demonstration payloads, provide a standard bus for launch on demand services.
INS-1A carries Surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Radiometer and INS-1B caries Earth Exosphere Lyman Alpha Analyser as payloads. | 1,269,976 |
"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade complained Wednesday about the reported racial makeup of special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's grand jury, saying that the grand jury isn't even "demographically pursuing justice" because of its reported lack of white men.
Kilmeade referred to an anonymous source who told the New York Post that the grand jury room looked like a 'Black Lives Matter rally' or an event for Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersMcConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters Why Democrats must confront extreme left wing incitement to violence MORE (I-Vt.). The source said that the only white man in the room was the prosecutor himself.
"So it's not even emblematic of something that might be, perhaps, demographically pursuing justice," the host said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Here's Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade saying that Mueller isn't "demographically pursuing justice" because the federal grand jury has 11 Black jurors: pic.twitter.com/UdixHpjkgk — Melanie Schmitz (@MelsLien) January 3, 2018
“Maybe they found these jurors in central casting, or at a Black Lives Matter rally in Berkeley [Calif.]," the New York Post's source said, claiming that 11 of the 20 jurors were African-American.
“That room isn’t a room where POTUS gets a fair shake," the source said.
The grand jury is based in Washington, D.C., where nearly 48 percent of residents in the latest Census identified as African-American. That means it wouldn't be unusual for a grand jury drawn from Washington residents to be majority African-American.
Mueller, who is investigating possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, impaneled a grand jury in August, giving him the power to subpoena documents and require testimonies from witnesses under oath.
The grand jury has indicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortBannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention Ukraine language in GOP platform underscores Trump tensions MORE and his associate Richard Gates on charges of conspiracy against the U.S. and money laundering.
Trump has accused Mueller of hiring Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonHillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden MORE supporters onto his investigation, which he has called a political "witch hunt." | 1,269,977 |
A new law in South Carolina would make it unlawful for people to expose skin or underwear by wearing their pants below their hips. The move is an attempt to curb the apparent popularity of saggy pants across the state.
South Carolina House Bill 4957 would make it illegal for a person to appear in public wearing trousers which are "three inches below the crest of his ileum exposing his skin or undergarments". It is presumed the lawmakers meant the ‘ilium’, (the hip bone) rather than the ‘ileum’ which is part of the small intestine.
Read more
"It's unbecoming, it's unprofessional", Democrat Representative Joe Jefferson from Berkeley County, one of the bill's sponsors, told WLTX.
Violations would not lead to a criminal record however, he assured his audience.
"I understand that some people are assuming that if one is caught, then they won't be allowed to go to college, grants, loans, all these other opportunities will be taken away. That's not the case at all. This is just to prevent these fellas and giving them at least an obligation to realize that they're walking around and they're convincing others to follow them.” Jefferson said.
Saggy pants could lead to offenders getting caught short in more ways than one. A first-time violation would incur a fine of $25. Thereafter, it would be $50 or three hours of community service for a second offense, and $75 or six hours of community service for a third offense or more.
Civil rights groups fear that the bill unfairly targets ethnic minorities, and African-American men in particular.
“Introducing a bill to criminalize sagging pants will disproportionately affect minorities in communities and schools, is a waste of taxpayers’ money, and an attempt to sustain debtor’s prisons in South Carolina,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) posted on Twitter on Thursday.
Read more
In 2015, a 38-year-old African American man, Ervin Leon Edwards, was tasered to death by police in Louisiana police after being arrested for wearing ‘sagging pants.’
Jefferson denied that the bill will unfairly target minorities.
"It's no more than a warning to allow these fellas to be more responsible. It is not just targeting African-American men. I see men of all races walking around with this same problem. It is just disingenuous, we should not have this. There ought to be a better way," he said.
Another Democrat, Rep. Wendell Gilliard of Charleston, agreed that something needs to be done about pants now being worn below the knees.
“If a female was to go around in the same fashion, pants down by their ankles or below the waist, we would see that as indecent exposure,” he told WCIV.
The bill has been referred to the state’s Judiciary Committee.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! | 1,269,978 |
President Trump’s ‘deep state advisor,’ Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince, revealed during a November 30th testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee, that the Obama administration spied on him and then leaked details to the Washington Post.
According to the Washington Post, Prince met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian investor, for roughly half an hour while in Sychelles. The Prince-Dmitriev meeting was ‘proof,’ that Trump team had multiple backchannels to the Kremlin, claimed the paper.
“Prince suggested that the Obama administration “unmasked” his name from intelligence reports which were then leaked to the Post, and that the article damaged his relationship with the UAE,” reported ZeroPointNow.
Zerohedge reports:
TRENDING: BREAKING: Senate Finance and Homeland Security Committees Release DEVASTATING Report on Hunter Biden, Burisma and Corruption -- CROOKED BIDEN FAMILY ENRICHED THEMSELVES AND OBAMA KNEW!
Prince says he was told that an Obama National Security Council staffer provided the intelligence to the Washington Post, after the administration opened a counter-intelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in July 2016 based in part on a salacious dossier funded by Hillary Clinton and the DNC. […] Congressman, Erik Prince, a private citizen, traveled to the Seychelles to meet with some Emirati people that he’d known for a few years. And while there, they said, ‘Oh, there is this Russian guy that’s also here to see us. Might be useful for you to meet him.’ And like I said, I met him for a maximum of 30 minutes, probably much less than that because it doesn’t take me that long to drink a beer in a bar.” […] “What are you doing to prevent the illicit use of the intelligence apparatus by a political party, particular the previous one that did that to me,” Prince asked Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), adding “I’m really bothered by that – and any American should be, particularly as Congress votes to reauthorize significant ability for the intelligence community to dig into our lives, whether you’re a private citizen or not, from all the electronics that you do.
As reported by The Intercept, the Trump administration is considering proposals developed by Prince and a in an effort to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would go around the U.S.’s official SWAMP-INFESTED intelligence agencies…
Reportedly, the proposals would see an army of spies with no official cover in numerous countries that are “denied areas” for current American intelligence personnel – like North Korea and Iran. Included in the proposals are the consideration of creating a new global rendition unit with the goal of capturing terrorist suspects around the world. A propaganda campaign in the Middle East and Europe to combat Islamic extremism was considered in the proposals as well. | 1,269,979 |
90/10), C 71500 (Cu-Ni 70/30), UNS No. C 10100, 10200, 10300, 10800, 12000, 12200.
Slip On Flanges Supplier
We Supply Slip On Flanges in Tehran, Ho Chi Minh City, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Abu Dhabi, Ludhiana, Sharjah, Baroda, Caracas, Thiruvananthapuram, Busan, Ernakulam, Pune, Karachi, Bhopal, Madrid, Ankara, Nagpur, Gimhae-si, Chandigarh, Ulsan, Rio de Janeiro, Lahore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, New Delhi, Montreal, Kuwait City, Vadodara, Faridabad, New York, Dubai, Bogota, Houston, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Indore, La Victoria, Jamshedpur, Al Jubail, Milan, Jaipur, Ranchi, Geoje-si, London, Lagos, Toronto, Al Khobar, Chiyoda, Hanoi, Melbourne, Coimbatore, Vung Tau, Port-of-Spain, Manama, Atyrau, Surat, Istanbul, Jeddah, Los Angeles, Granada, Petaling Jaya, Chennai, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Aberdeen, Nashik, Calgary, Howrah, Doha, Colombo, Moscow, Secunderabad, Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Muscat, Ahmedabad, Noida, Mexico City, Dammam, Bangkok, Santiago, Ahvaz, Courbevoie, Sydney, Riyadh, Brisbane, Rajkot, Seoul, Edmonton, Jakarta, Perth, Singapore, Bengaluru, Haryana, Cairo, Algiers, Thane, Mumbai, Dallas.
SORF Flanges Availability Worldwide
We Export SORF Flanges in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Malaysia, Thailand, Bhutan, Ecuador, France, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Macau, South Korea, Ukraine, Kenya, Austria, Venezuela, Gambia, Mongolia, China, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Qatar, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Puerto Rico, Estonia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Argentina, Angola, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Namibia, United Kingdom, Algeria, Mexico, Serbia, Afghanistan, Denmark, Costa Rica, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Gabon, Turkey, Croatia, Lebanon, Indonesia, Chile, Greece, Spain, Nepal, Italy, Trinidad & Tobago,Tunisia, United States, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Iran, Sweden, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Taiwan, Pakistan, Finland, Portugal, Morocco, Australia, Azerbaijan, Norway, Tibet, Israel, Poland, Nigeria, Japan, Libya, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Peru, Iraq, Chile, Bulgaria, Yemen, Bolivia, Egypt, Vietnam, Mexico, Philippines.
Slip On Flanges Other Available Products | 1,269,980 |
Netflix has canceled Iron Fist and now Marvel fans are rallying to see that decision reversed.
Iron Fist fan Melissa Hodge has launched a Change.org petition to “Bring Back Iron Fist.” The petition currently has 3,400 digital signature.
Here’s the missions statement provided by Hodge:
“Netflix has made a terrible decision in canceling Iron Fist after 2 seasons. There are many fans of the character and the series and most people said that the second season was excellent. I think it's unfair that Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Daredevil get a third season and their shows get mixed reviews too yet Iron Fist gets the shaft. There is so much more potential and stories to be told and it's not great fan service to end the last season on a cliffhanger and not go along with it especially when the second season was more well received with critics and fans. So Netflix and Marvel please revise your decision and greenlight a third season for Iron Fist.”
While Iron Fist the series may be canceled, Marvel has confirmed that Danny Rand will continue to appear in other Marvel Television shows.
Following the show's cancellation, star Finn Jones issued a statement.
“I have an enormous amount of love and respect for everyone involved with the last two seasons of this show,” Jones wrote. “Defending the greatest city in the world amongst the most talented and warmest people has been a privilege and a joy. Blessed to have taken this journey and grateful for the ongoing support.”
Jones played Danny Rand through two seasons of Iron Fist, the Marvel’s The Defenders event series, and an episode of Marvel’s Luke Cage Season Two. When discussing the potential for a third season of Iron Fist, Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb has always made it clear that the decision was never really up to Marvel.
"Speak to our friends at Netflix," Loeb said. "Unlike the movie studio, which can announce a Captain Marvel movie will be out in 2019, the television studio will always be beholden to our networks, and so if our networks want another season of Iron Fist, we’re ready to go. We’re just waiting for the answer. The show’s been out of a week."
Fans are already speculating about where Iron Fist could show up next, perhaps teaming up with Heroes for Hire partner Luke Cage once again since Marvel’s Luke Cage is expected to be renewed for a third season. Others wonder if the end of Iron Fist could make room for a new Marvel Television series to take its place in the Netflix rotation.
What do you think of Netflix canceling Marvel’s Iron Fist? Let us know in the comments!
Marvel’s Iron Fist is available to stream in its entirety on Netflix.
Marvel’s Daredevil Season Three premieres on Netflix on October 19th. Marvel’s Jessica Jones Season Three and Marvel’s The Punisher Season Two have already been ordered by Netflix and are expected to premiere in 2019. | 1,269,981 |
ron wyden.JPG
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is taking fire from some conservatives for promoting legislation that would give every newborn a $500 savings account
(AP Photo)
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is suddenly getting a flurry of attention for proposing earlier this month that the U.S. set up a savings account for every child born in the country.
The Democratic senator,
, said one model might be legislation proposed in 2005 by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and then-Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., that would set up a
that could be later added to with tax-free contributions to help save for college, down payment on a home or other purposes.
The idea didn't get much attention initially, but after
this week, conservatives have been jumping on the proposal in blogs and on Twitter.
"I'm convinced Democrats really believe money grows on trees," said
, who was repeatedly cited on Twitter.
However, none of the critics mentioned the prominent conservatives who helped develop the concept -- perhaps because Fox played up Schumer's role in the legislation but never mentioned Santorum (even though Wyden mentioned both by name in his remarks).
Santorum was a favorite of many conservative Christians when he ran for president in 2012 and was the closest competitor to the eventual GOP nominee, Mitt Romney.
In addition to Santorum, another key sponsor of the 2005 legislation was then-Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a Tea Party favorite who now heads the Heritage Foundation, one of Washington's most prominent conservative think tanks.
Santorum, in an article written at the time for The Hill newspaper, presented the plan as a way to encourage low-income Americans to become investors and part of what he called the "ownership society."
:
Wyden told his audience at USC he was interested in the savings accounts because research shows that children with a savings account -- no matter their family's income -- are much more likely to go to college.
"Even a few hundred dollars of savings can significantly impact a child's educational attainment," said Wyden, who also noted that the U.S. already provides large tax benefits to wealthier savers.
Wyden also spoke of this program as a way to help tackle rising income inequality, which was the subject of the conference he attended at USC. His speech is online and his comments on the child savings accounts come at the 17-minute mark.
As entitlement programs go, the proposal made by Schumer and Santorum would be relatively modest. With about 4 million births annually, the program would cost about $2 billion, which is a small fraction of the $3.7 trillion federal budget.
Wyden didn't explain how he would finance the program, but he could be looking to include it in his broader effort to revamp the U.S. tax code and pay for it by adjusting other tax provisions.
-- Jeff Mapes | 1,269,982 |
Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne to Star in Richard Linklater's Next Movie (Exclusive)
Linklater's long-gestating project is a sequel to 1973's Jack Nicholson classic 'The Last Detail.'
Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne are in talks to star in Richard Linklater's next movie, Last Flag Flying.
The project is Linklater’s long-in-the-works "sort of" sequel to the classic dramatic comedy The Last Detail.
Last Flag was author Darryl Ponicsan’s follow-up — published in 2005 — to his own 1970 landmark novel that was made into the 1973 comedy-drama directed by Hal Ashby and starring Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid and Otis Young. The Last Detail was nominated for three Oscars, and Nicholson won a BAFTA for his work.
Linklater first spoke about his interest in adapting Ponicsan's book into a film back in 2006 and was at the time hoping to reunite Nicholson and Randy Quaid, with Morgan Freeman taking on the part played by Otis Young, who passed away in 2001.
Now it looks like Linklater is finally hoisting it up the flagpole, with sources telling The Hollywood Reporter that Amazon Studios has landed the pic. It will be filmmaker's first project with the streaming giant, which recently released Woody Allen's Cafe Society and Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon.
The original story centers on two Navy men (Nicholson, Young) who are ordered to bring a young offender (Quaid) to prison but decide to show him one last good time along the way. Last Flag reunites the reader with the trio, now living a post-9/11 American life: The former Naval petty officers come to the aid of their former prisoner, who needs their help to bring home the body of his son who was killed in Iraq. The request sends them back retracing their journey from Norfolk, Va., to Portsmouth, N.H.
A November start is being eyed.
Carell recently starred in the Oscar-nominated The Big Short as well as Cafe Society. He’s the creator — along with his wife, Nancy — of TBS comedy series Angie Tribeca, and he’ll next be seen in the film Battle of the Sexes opposite Emma Stone. Carell is repped by WME and Media Four.
Cranston has been working nonstop since wrapping up his acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad. He recently starred in The Infiltrator and has a slew of upcoming films including comedy Why Him? with James Franco, Franco’s directorial project The Masterpiece and the new Power Rangers film. Cranston is repped by UTA.
Fishburne, most recently seen in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, has Passengers with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence coming up. He also will be seen in John Wick: Chapter Two. Fishburne is repped by Paradigm and Landmark Artists Management. | 1,269,983 |
News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email
The off-duty police officer who was seriously injured in the London Bridge terror attack has been presented with a honorary WWE Championship belt.
Legend Triple H, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative, jetted into the capital to personally pay tribute to PC Charlie Guenigault.
The 25-year-old is making good progress in his recovery just two weeks after he suffered stab wounds to his head, leg, back and stomach when he ran towards the knife-wielding attackers to protect others.
At the time of the attack, Guenigault was wearing a t-shirt of his favourite WWE superstar Sami Zayn.
(Image: WWE) (Image: WWE) (Image: WWE)
And the WWE paid him the ultimate honour as they presented him with a championship belt, inscribed with a touching message: “To Charlie. Thank you to a true hero”.
Unbeknown to the police officer, Guenigault was transported in secret to a London hotel in a limo to meet his idol Triple H, who hailed the Londoner’s “exceptional bravery”.
Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, said: “The highest recognition a WWE Superstar can get is winning the WWE Championship. But this honour is also reserved for those in real life who go above and beyond.
Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now
“To run in the direction of a scary situation that can’t even be described in words, to help others, for that to be your instinct to help others – that is a hero.
(Image: WWE) (Image: WWE)
(Image: WWE)
“People say a lot of times that they watch WWE because these guys are like real-life superheroes. Well, Charlie is a real hero."
Following the encounter, Charlie said: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet one of the greatest Superstars ever.
“My comments when he first walked in the room are probably not suitable for a PG audience!”
Triple H also played out a personal video message recorded by Sami Zayn to Charlie.
“You put yourself in the line of danger at a time when you really had no obligation to do so,” said Sami.
“I can’t tell you how much respect I have for you. The fact you were wearing my shirt at the time really puts it into perspective for me.
“Sami Zayn has always been the guy known to stand up to the bad guys, but you did it in the most horrific of circumstances.
"Man, I’m just blown away, I really am.” | 1,269,984 |
Unable to get enough help from social services, an Ottawa family says they had no choice but to leave their son — who is living with severe developmental delays — in the hands of the government.
Amanda Telford said she brought her 19-year-old son Philipp to a provincial developmental services office on Tuesday and left him there.
"It's the most heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching feeling in the world to have to do this," she told CBC News.
"I felt dizzy, nauseous, upset, I've spent a very teary-eyed day today. This hasn't been a very fun thing to have to do."
Functions at 2-year-old level
Telford said Philipp is living with a severe form of autism that has him functioning at the level of a two-year-old. He also has Tourette's syndrome and insulin-dependent diabetes.
Amanda Telford says three incidents over the weekend made her realize she can't keep her son Philipp safe any longer. (CBC)
He often wanders away and puts himself in danger, she said.
"[A few days ago], he ended up four kilometres away at a restaurant at Ogilvie [Road] and St. Laurent Boulevard," she said.
"Ogilvy and St. Laurent is an extremely dangerous intersection."
Philipp also swallowed 14 pills of high-blood pressure medication, which required seven hours of hospitalization on Monday, Telford said.
After he got home, his mother said he wandered away again.
Politicians little help
Telford said she's asked for help from both provincial and City of Ottawa agencies, as well as her MP and MPP.
She said the response has been that there's no room for Philipp in the over-burdened, under-funded social system.
"My husband and I are absolutely exhausted and medically unwell," she said. "I am not able to do this anymore."
Autism Ontario caseworker Anne Borbey-Schwartz said the situation the Telfords find themselves in is not unique. There has been a rise in the number of developmentally delayed adults with autism.
"This family is very brave, first of all," Borbey-Schwartz said.
"[They] represent many families across the province, if not across the country, that are facing aging adults with autism, with a variety of needs, with very little support and very little services."
Telford told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning host Hallie Cotnam her family has been getting "passport" funding from the province, but it's been frozen for eight years and now only lasts six to eight months of the year.
She said her son is getting medical and social care at a south Ottawa hospice, a place he's been at on and off since he was 16 and somewhere she said he's "very happy."
His mother said it's a temporary solution that she hopes will lead to a permanent placement. | 1,269,985 |
San Francisco: The fact that the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack is big news in itself. And worry not, because the converter that makes your existing headphones and earphones compatible with the Lightning connector will be shipped with every iPhone. However, what stands out is the push towards wireless, at least as far as music is concerned.
First up, Apple has announced the AirPods, the wireless earphones. How they work is that you get two earpieces, which connect to each other through an infrared wireless standard, and in turn connect with your iPhone also, wirelessly, for music playback.
Also Read: What Apple has announced, and when you can buy them in India
The AirPods run the new W1 chip to deliver the audio processing capabilities.
Each of these earpieces has multiple sensors (dual optic and accelerometer), which can monitor things such as whether you have removed one earpiece from your ear—in that case, the playback automatically pauses, and resumes when you put the earpiece back in your ear.
Incidentally, this isn’t new tech because some headphones over the past 12 months have included something similar to us, but it is the first time that we see this in a wireless earphone.
The AirPods are automatically detected by your iPhone and simply allowing them to connect once sets up the pairing and the link. There really is no step 2 needed to make these work, unlike a lot of Bluetooth headphones and earphones.
Since these earphones will also be used for voice calls, there are a bunch of features that focus on your sound and block out ambient noise. However, we will need to test these features in detail to see how much improvement they offer overall.
Also Read: Apple unveils iPhone 7; Pokemon Go coming to Apple Watch
Double tapping on any earpiece will activate Siri on your phone, from where on you can proceed to do multiple tasks that Siri allows as standard.
But, the AirPods do not come cheap. These are available for ₹ 15,400 and will hit stores in India in the second half of October. Each earpiece can run five hours on a single battery charge, and the charging case (also used to store these when you are not using the earphones) makes that a total of 24 hours before you need to reach for the charger again. Incidentally, the AirPods run only on iOS devices running iOS 10, which is scheduled for release next week, Watch OS 3 for the Apple Watch and MacOS Sierra if you are using them with an iMac or MacBook.
While it is all fair and good to look forward to the next big change that defines comfort and ease of use, it will still take some time for products similar to the completely wireless earphones such as the AirPods to become truly affordable, and only then will they really come on the consumers’ radar.
Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Share Via | 1,269,986 |
intimacy and closeness are actually the last thing he's after.
Maybe his body somehow blocks the path of oxytocin, the "connection hormone" released during orgasm. It's the same chemical that also floods into mother's bodies during breastfeeding, strengthening the mother-child bond. Sex, even when it starts out as something with no meaning attached to it, therefore always carries the danger that at least one person involved ends up wanting something more.
Read more: Does the penis ever get bored?
People who live in a monogamous partnership try to overcome this danger by simply prohibiting sex outside the relationship. Rebecca, too, after her eventful past, has now arrived back at a monogamous relationship. She describes her boyfriend as rather conservative, as someone who doesn't share her joy of experimentation.
"I don't miss not being able to have other men," Rebecca told DW. "But sometimes I miss the excitement."
Rebecca hopes that at some point her boyfriend will also long for more freedom and will at least take their sex life out of the bedroom, which feels like a cozy cage to Rebecca. But what if this desire isn't fulfilled?
Another third of Gertrud Wolf's clients come to her because their sexual needs seem incompatible.
When one partner wants more, or different, sex than the other one does, then the appeal of sex with strangers finds more fertile ground — and cheating no longer seems like that much of a stretch.
A relationships can emerge stronger from a crisis, if both partners are willing to work on it
Wolf says there's no one solution that fits all couples across the board. For some, it can make sense to open the relationship for a while and let go of sexual exclusivity. That's exactly what Kathrin and her boyfriend did.
The couple decided that sex with others should no longer be forbidden. Kathrin is aware that this experiment comes with risks and that it isn't just fun and games.
"To me, this open relationship doesn't mean I can do whatever I want," she told DW.
Because there is no longer a ban that defines borders, Kathrin says, she must take responsibility and decide what she can and cannot do while staying true to herself and her partner.
An affair is also an opening of the relationship — except it's one the cheater's unwitting partner has never agreed to.
"Whether it's an affair or an open relationship, all of this can lead to crises in a partnership," Wolf said. "But these crises can also lead the partnership to grow."
Monogamy not 'the only meaningful relationship concept'
The therapist insisted that "monogamy is neither the only meaningful relationship concept, nor has monogamy failed."
Which form of relationship makes sense for two people can change again and again and must be decided by each couple individually.
"Of course, sexuality is very personal," Wolf said.
But in a partnership, she added, sexual decisions are no longer made by just one person. They become a matter of negotiation. | 1,269,987 |
Paris lost out to London in the race for the 2012 Games, while Los Angeles hosted the Games in 1932 and 1984
Paris and Los Angeles are set to stage the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games - provided they can agree which should go first, as both want to host in 2024.
The International Olympic Committee has voted in favour of naming hosts for successive Games on 13 September with just Paris and Los Angeles bidding.
The IOC - which oversees the Olympic movement - wants the cities to reach an agreement on who hosts in 2028 by then.
If there is no agreement, a vote to select just the 2024 host will be held.
Budapest, Hamburg and Rome withdrew from the race for the 2024 event.
IOC president Thomas Bach told reporters after the meeting he hoped the agreement would be reached next month.
And LA organisers said they were "thrilled" with the decision, adding: "We look forward to working with the IOC and Paris in the weeks ahead to turn this golden opportunity into a golden future together."
Paris v LA: Brinksmanship in 2024 Olympic bids
In June, Los Angeles bid chair Casey Wasserman appeared to concede to Paris when he said: "We have never been only about 2024."
However, a spokesman later told BBC Sport: "LA is the ideal host city for 2024 and is not conceding anything in the race for the 2024 Games.
Paris has said it has to go first as the site it has earmarked for the Olympic Village will not be available for redevelopment after 2024.
Analysis
Alex Capstick, BBC sports news correspondent:
It took a while and it was a little confusing but Thomas Bach eventually got what he wanted - unanimous backing for Paris and Los Angeles to become Olympic hosts.
It's dependent on all parties reaching agreement but with the mayors of the two cities, who are friends, holding hands while thanking the IOC members for their approval, it would be a major surprise if a deal isn't struck.
And there could be a quick decision. Discussions will begin in the next few days - it's in no-ones' interest for any uncertainty to linger longer than is necessary.
It's been dressed up as a win-win scenario. In truth one of them will be a bigger winner. Both cities started out bidding for 2024, now either Paris or Los Angeles will be asked to accept 2028 instead. It's still better than losing.
For the IOC it buys them time to revamp the bidding process, to encourage other potential contenders who have been scared off, especially in Western Europe. After years when competition was fierce to stage the prestigious event, there's been a declining number of cities that are interested.
Hamburg, Rome and Budapest pulled out of the current campaign, just two candidates competed for the right to host the 2022 Winter Games. The costs involved and a lack of public support were to blame.
Paris and Los Angeles have promised to do what is best for the Olympic movement. Greater collaboration, it seems, is the future of Olympic bidding. | 1,269,988 |
, says Martin. He also mentioned that Orvium would require contributors to upload used data and other resources, in order for reviewers to accurately assess every aspect of the published research: not just the end product.
“Of course collecting data that is used in research papers is often the most costly and time-intensive part, and there’s nothing to stop a scientist also putting a paywall on the raw data as well, should they want to”, Martin added.
The Platform the Sector Deserves.
There are other blockchain platforms out there that also harness blockchain technology with plans to overhaul the publishing status quo.
Chief among them is Po.et, which protects intellectual property by tracking ownership of all digitally created assets across the internet, enabling creators to know how their content is being used.
But Martin sees Orvium as more than just a DLT publishing house. Instead, he sees it more as a framework which can facilitate collaboration and research in the scientific community.
“Using blockchain, we can create a platform that can be used to crowdfund new research lines or highlight contemporary issues which require the community’s urgent attention”, says Martin. “It is already common for institutions to offer prizes to mathematicians say, to solve complex problems: we can do the exact same thing on the blockchain.”
“We can also offer decentralized journals or publications that use the Orvium platform to coordinate research and find reviews for published work”, Martin added.
New projects come along almost every other day which use blockchain technology in ways which seem unfeasible or completely unnecessary: does society really need blockchain to reward people for feeding their cats or to introduce a whole new paradigm of Buddhist economics? Is it little more than a gimmicky attempt to make the most out of crypto-mania?
But Orvium makes sense and not just because it may actually offer the first real opposition to the oligopoly enjoyed by publishing companies.
As well as the perceived injustices of making substantial profits from donated work, by determining what is and isn’t published, companies decide what the scientific community reads and effectively set the research agenda.
In a 2008 paper, one of the heads of the National Institutes of Health, which funds and conducts medical research for the US Government, argued that because of the importance of innovation for society, “there is a moral imperative to reconsider how scientific data are judged and disseminated”.
Elsevier, which is the largest scientific publishing company in the world, had 1.5m articles submitted by 14m contributors to its publications last year, of which 420,000 were published with the help of 800,000 voluntary peer-reviewers.
The way it stands, a community au fait with splitting atoms or curing what was thought to be incurable (e.g. HIV) is being held hostage by centralized organizations concerned with private interests and profit margins.
If ever a sector required overhauling by blockchain it is the world of scientific publishing: disruption is needed here…and needed now. | 1,269,989 |
the "ancient homeland" of the Palestinians - and stripped its residents of their Jordanian citizenship. Accordingly, a persuasive claim can be made that the "stateless" status of the Palestinians was brought about not by any Israeli action but by that of the Jordanian monarch. In the words of a prominent Palestinian legal expert, Anis F. Kassim: “…over one-and-a-half million Palestinians went to bed on 31 July 1988 as Jordanian citizens, and woke up on 1 August 1988 as stateless persons.”
Take back the narrative
The Gaza example shows how ludicrous Ashrawi's accusations are, for all Gaza settlements were razed to the ground, hi-tech greenhouses trampled, synagogues desecrated and even cemeteries uprooted. Yet none of this brought any peaceable Palestinian initiative, irrefutably demonstrating that the settlements are an excuse for Palestinian enmity, not a reason for it. Any attempt to ascribe this hostility to" the blockade" should be summarily dismissed with the contempt it deserves. After all, the quarantine of Gaza is a consequence, not a cause, of Palestinian violence against Israel.
So if Israel cannot be blamed for the fate that befell collective rights of the Palestinian - what about their rights as individuals?
In this regard the facts are irrefutable and documented. The lot of individual Palestinians improved beyond recognitions under Israeli administration, from 1967 until the early 1990s when "Oslophilic" wisdom began to dominate the discourse and induce the retraction of Israeli presence in the "West Bank" (and Gaza).The hard facts are unequivocal. Israel elevated Palestinian living standards from the virtually medieval levels under the Hashemite regime into those of the 20th Century.
Under Israeli administration, GDP per capita soared by over 10-fold to overtake nearly all Arab countries other than the major oil-exporters, life expectancy climbed from barely 40 to over 70, Infant mortality (deaths per 1000 births) plummeted from 60 to 15 (18 for Gaza), access to safe water grew by 500%, and agriculture underwent a modernizing metamorphosis, adopting modern methods of cultivation irrigation, and processing. Output increased dramatically, transforming it from a subsistence enterprise to a commercial industry.
Similarly, Palestinians were given access to due process within the Israeli judicial system, which often ruled in their favor. Thus although Ashrawi contends that Palestinians "rights and protections enshrined under international law" are trampled by Israel, they were in fact safeguarded manifestly more effectively than under any other regime – whether the Hashemite predecessor or the Palestinian successors. Just ask any Fatah member who was pitched off a multi-storey Gaza high-rise, or had his kneecaps blown away by a kindred Hamas "militant."
Surely the time has come for Israel to take back the narrative - and rewrite it on the basis of historical realities, not political distortions; on the basis of prevailing realities rather than fabricated fantasies; on the basis of events as they actually occurred, not as they are deceitfully contrived. | 1,269,990 |
For those outside of Los Angeles, we give you the details on the venue where Michael Jackson's memorial is taking place.
On Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, thousands of fortunate fans will file into Staples Center to watch Michael Jackson's memorial service in person, while the rest of the world will watch the service at home on their televisions. But unless you're a devoted L.A. Lakers fan or a native Angelino, you might not know what the Staples Center is.
Located in downtown L.A. and privately financed for $375 million, the arena opened on October 17, 1999, with a concert by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. When configured for concerts and boxing matches — and MJ's tribute — Staples Center has a capacity of 20,000 spectators.
Staples is also home to a number of sports franchises: the NBA's Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. The Lakers won an NBA championship in each of their first three seasons at the arena, and the Sparks won two WNBA championships in their first two seasons there.
The arena has hosted the Grammy Awards nine times, many professional All-Star games (the NBA's game will return in 2011), the 2000 Democratic National Convention, and was the proposed venue for gymnastics for the city's 2012 Olympic Games bid.
Groups and artists who have performed at Staples include Prince, U2, Usher, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Britney Spears, Eric Clapton, Janet Jackson and John Mayer.
Covering an area of over 950,000 square feet and with a 20,000-person capacity (almost 19,000 for NBA basketball), Staples provides 1,200 television monitors throughout the venue, 23 refreshment stands, a 300-seat restaurant, an outdoor restaurant, five concourses, 11 escalators, 10 elevators, a SkyBox seating area and an eight-sided, center-court scoreboard and videoboard. The arena contains 2,500 tons of structural steel, 73,000 cubic yards of concrete and 3.8 million feet of broadcast production cable. In terms of production, Staples has 34 camera positions and two fully equipped television control rooms.
In total, 8,750 fans were selected from the MJ memorial-service lottery system and were able to receive two tickets and two wristbands each. Others will watch a simulcast across the street from Staples at the Nokia Theatre. And, of course, countless millions will tune in on TV sets across the world. MTV's own coverage begins on Tuesday at noon ET.
MTV's live coverage of the Michael Jackson public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles will begin on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT.
For complete coverage of the life, career and passing of the legendary entertainer, visit "Michael Jackson Remembered."
Share your Michael Jackson memories by uploading video and comments to Your.MTV.com or joining the discussion below. | 1,269,991 |
In the Irish pubs around Covent Garden ex-pats were examining the 4% margin of victory that has delivered a body blow to an established way of life.
In London where the remain camp polled over 75% there is disbelief that the nation could betray the capital.
Outside Waxy O’Connors, off Leicester Square, Aisling McSwiggan from Galway and her work mates were in collective shock.
Ms McSwiggan, who has been in London for years, said she hadn’t met a single person who was voting in favour of Brexit.
“I have been working in London for years. Not a single person who I knew in my network was voting leave,” she said. “We are not celebrating, we are drowning our sorrows.” She put the out vote down to the economic problems in the North of England, which voted in favour of leaving the EU.
“I know things have been tough in northern England economically but I didn’t think it was this bad,” she said.
In the Porterhouse bar in Covent Garden, part of the Porterhouse group based in Dublin, Fiona Carey from Westmeath said she couldn’t believe the outcome of the vote.
“London is so diverse and full of foreign people that I just assumed that they would stay in,” she said.
The result of the Brexit vote is already playing into people’s plans for the summer.
Ms Carey said one of her friends who was planning to come over to London to work for the summer, was now reconsidering where to go in search of work.
“My friend is reconsidering coming to the UK because it is leaving the EU,” she said.
Back upstairs in Waxy O’Connors the Watson family from Belfast are split down the middle. Chris Watson, who has been working for Sainsbury’s in London for the last year-and-a-half, said he voted to leave the EU.
Immigration and Brussels bureaucracy were what pushed him towards Brexit.
“You can spend a whole year negotiating with suppliers to get contracts only for legislation to be changed and you have to renegotiate everything,” he said.
Chris’s father Mark Watson also voted to leave. He said there are a huge number of immigrants who contribute nothing to the economy. He is hoping that the UK can implement an Australian style points system to slow the flow of people into the country.
However Ben Watson voted in favour of remaining in the EU.
As another round of drinks arrived he argued that it was OK for his parents to vote leave as they were approaching the end of their careers and wouldn’t have to deal with the uncertainty that Brexit brings about.
“I think that the EU will introduce trade tariffs and make an example out of the UK,” he said “It will be my generation who will have to deal with it.” | 1,269,992 |
MILWAUKEE — The 2020 Democratic National Convention is set for Milwaukee in July of next year, but nearly half of the United States' delegations have been placed in hotels in northern Illinois, as first reported by our partners at NBC 5 in Chicago.
Just in @MaryAnnAhernNBC reporting 26 delegations for 2020 DNC in Milwaukee will be staying in Illinois. https://t.co/9iET2uI4j9 — Charles Benson (@CharlesBenson4) August 22, 2019
The hotels closest to Fiserv Forum will go to the delegates who have been big names in the Democratic race and those from swing states including Wisconsin.
Joe Biden (Del.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Corey Booker (N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.) will stay closest to the arena. Pete Buttigieg of Indiana will stay in Wauwatosa.
Just in. DNC spox @BrandonBG_ on delegations staying in Illinois for 2020 DNC in MKE: “We see this as a regional Convention designed to engage with communities that will be critical in taking back the White House.” https://t.co/ujSmaIZt1W — Charles Benson (@CharlesBenson4) August 22, 2019
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was awarded to Milwaukee in the battleground state of Wisconsin in early 2019 in an attempt to win the swing state.
Swing state delegates from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and Colorado will stay in hotels in Lake County and Rosemont, Illinois.
Delegates will stay in Milwaukee's western suburbs, but there is no report of hotels being selected in Racine, Kenosha, Ozaukee or Sheboygan counties.
A complete list of hotel assignments:
WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Downtown
Delaware
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virginia
Wisconsin
Milwaukee Airport
Arizona
Democrats Abroad
District of Columbia
Iowa
Louisiana
Mississippi
Nevada
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Wauwatosa
Indiana
Maine
Montana
Oregon
West Virginia
Brookfield
Ohio
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands
Pewaukee
Illinois
Michigan
ILLINOIS
Lake County
Alaska
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Hawaii
Idaho
Kansas
Kentucky
New Mexico
North Carolina
Northern Marianas
Pennsylvania
Utah
Rosemont
Alabama
American Samoa
California
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
Wyoming
| 1,269,993 |
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, one of the world's wealthiest people, is arguing that wealthy people like him should pay more in taxes, amid a push for higher taxes on the rich from Democratic presidential candidates.
"I think the rich should pay more than they currently do, and that includes Melinda and me," Gates wrote on his blog earlier this week, referencing his wife, Melinda Gates.
Gates said that he thinks the rich need to pay more in taxes because the U.S. currently doesn't receive enough in revenue to meet its obligations, and because the wealth gap in the country is growing. He floated several ways for the U.S. to raise taxes on the wealthy.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said that the U.S. should raise taxes on capital gains, probably to the point where capital gains and labor income are taxed at the same rates. He also said he supports raising the estate tax, lifting the cap on the amount of income subject to payroll taxes and closing the "carried interest" tax break that benefits investment fund managers. Additionally, he said he supports "taxing large fortunes that have been held for a long time (say, ten years or more)."
"Very wealthy people often have large investments they’ve held for long periods, and if those investments aren’t sold or traded, the money is never taxed," Gates wrote. "That doesn’t make sense."
Gates made similar comments about taxing the rich at a conference hosted by The New York Times in November. He said then that his position on taxes falls "in the middle" between the tax cuts supported by Republicans and the 6-percent wealth tax on net worth over $1 billion supported by Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenNo new taxes for the ultra rich — fix bad tax policy instead Democrats back away from quick reversal of Trump tax cuts It's time for newspapers to stop endorsing presidential candidates MORE (Mass.), a Democratic presidential candidate.
When asked at the event if he'd be willing to meet with Warren, Gates said he's "not sure how open minded she is — or that she’d even be willing to sit down with somebody who has large amounts of money.” Warren replied on Twitter that she'd be happy to meet with Gates.
Warren's proposed wealth tax is one of a number of proposals to raise taxes on the rich that have been floated by Democratic presidential candidates.
ADVERTISEMENT
In his blog post, Gates said he won't be taking a position on specific tax-the-rich proposals being debated on the campaign trail, and instead would be focusing on climate change and the issues his philanthropic foundation tackles.
Gates said he thinks policymakers need to be "thoughtful" about how high to raise taxes and shouldn't destroy incentives to innovate, but that policymakers nonetheless have plenty of room to increase taxes on the wealthy.
"In the 1970s, when Paul Allen and I were starting Microsoft, marginal tax rates were almost twice the top rate today," he wrote. "It didn’t hurt our incentive to build a great company." | 1,269,994 |
Mike Williamson spoke to nufc.co.uk about his determination to be a key United player this season
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
Mike Williamson is determined to prove himself once again at St. James' Park, as he bids to help Newcastle United climb back into the upper reaches of the Barclays Premier League.
The centre-back has made 169 appearances for the Magpies in all competitions since arriving from Portsmouth in January 2010, and new head coach Steve McClaren will be the fourth boss he has played for on Tyneside.
Competition at the heart of United's defence is expected to be stiff next term, with Williamson, captain Fabricio Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Paul Dummett and Jamaal Lascelles all currently in the running for a central berth.
But Williamson is relishing the battle to pull on the famous black and white shirt - just as he has always done - and believes he still has plenty to offer Newcastle.
"Whatever team I play for, I will always back my ability and back myself to play," the former Watford man told nufc.co.uk.
"I know I can have a good, positive effect on the team. That's what I have done since I arrived here and hopefully that's what will happen this season, too.
"I feel like I'm growing, learning and maturing all the time and I still have a big contribution to make to Newcastle.
"It's been an exceptional time here. I can't speak highly enough of the fans, the Club, the good and the bad.
"I have enjoyed every day of it, even the pressure that comes with playing for Newcastle. You have to enjoy that - it's why we are in the game, and if you can't handle the pressure, you are in the wrong job.
"I've loved every time I have pulled the shirt on and hopefully this season there will be plenty more."
Williamson is currently en route to Somerset where, for the third consecutive year, he and wife Jade will enjoy Glastonbury festival.
It is a chance to switch off from football following a gruelling season in which Newcastle only avoided relegation on the final day of the campaign.
And while Williamson is keen to ensure they have plenty to play for again when it comes to the last game next May, he means at the other end of the table.
"We showed character right at the end and pulled it out of the bag when it was needed," he continued, of that final fixture against West Ham.
"Hopefully everyone has gone away, recovered and we can build and make sure that doesn't happen again.
"I'd love to make sure there is pressure on the last game this year but for a very different - and better - reason. It would great to be pushing back into the top seven, where this Club should be.
"We have to learn from what happened last season, take lessons from it and ensure we are stronger for it this year." | 1,269,995 |
The University of Wisconsin—Madison will no longer require counseling or medical recommendation before administering hormone therapy to transgender students.
Beginning May 17, the school will begin administering hormone replacement therapy to transgender students without requiring any sort of medical or psychological evaluation or recommendation, according to UW's Gender and Campus Sexuality Center Assistant Director Katherine Charek Briggs.
“We are very pleased to share a workflow change at University Health Services that helps students access hormones for gender transition without going through counseling or getting a letter,” the health center announced.
The justification for the new procedure is based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health “Informed Consent model,” which, according to the university, “reduces barriers to accessing medically necessary treatment.” While this may be a true assessment, certain “barriers” are often in place for the purpose of insuring that treatment is needed and “medically necessary.”
By removing the requirement for counseling or a letter of recommendation, the school eliminates a vital step in ensuring that its actions are indeed necessary. The suggestion that students are capable of making such a decision without consulting a medical or mental health professional raises the question of whether or not it is a procedure that should be handled by student health services in the first place.
Under the new "workflow," as the college is refers to it, those seeking hormone replacement therapy will be able to do so simply by fulfilling the listed criteria for informed consent: First, “Have correct information about HRT,” second, be “able to understand the information about HRT that has been provided…” and third, be “able to use this information to make a decision.”
Effectively, such a "workflow" ensures that the only practical action now required of UHS before administering hormone therapy to students is that they first provide the student “correct information about HRT.”
The university reassures that “as of early 2018, five medical providers at UHS have been trained to provide care related to gender affirming hormones, including initiation and maintenance,” who “in addition to medical training,” have participated in a 12-hour training course to qualify them for such roles.
HRT is included in “transition services” that are covered by the school’s Student Health Insurance Program. According to the university website, “SHIP covers up to $25,000 of transition care, including hormone prescriptions, surgical procedures, electrolysis, and other transition-related medications or procedures.”
Meredith McGlone, the director of News and Media Relations at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, told Red Alert Politics that new option for students to receive hormone therapy without requiring medical or psychological evaluation or recommendation is not a new policy but rather a change in workflow "to make the process for receiving hormone replacement therapy consistent with the process for receiving other medications provided by the medical staff." UHS will continue to offer mental health services including individual counseling to students who request it but it is no longer required. | 1,269,996 |
Will Smith dominated the Suicide Squad panel at San Diego Comic-Con Saturday sharing stories of the various traumas he experienced on set, at the hands of Jared Leto, who plays the Joker, and director David Ayer. He shared a story of Leto sending a particularly disgusting gift to Margot Robbie.
“This dude walks in and goes I have a message from Mr. J. And he puts a box down in front of Margot being like this is a gift from Mr. J in honor of your relationship,” said Smith.
“Margot starts to open the box, and there’s a note from the Joker. And I was like, ‘That’s cool. That’s funny. Jared is like taking it real serious,'” he went on. “And Margot opened the box and there was a live rat in the box. I was playing Deadshot, but if I had pearls on I would have clutched them.”
Jared Leto’s method acting wasn’t the only psychologically challenging part of the film. Director David Ayer also pushed the actors to their mental limits, Smith said.
“We all shared really deep stories about ourselves and our pains and our triumphs,” said Smith. “And then on set you thought he was being a nice guy you were trying to share your life, and then in the middle of a scene he throws your childhood trauma back at you and says, ‘Dude, the Joker did it.'”
Later, Will Smith said that the cast (and its crazy antics) earned him cred with his kids. “No matter how cool you think you are, your kids think you suck. So this is like the first time where I’m cool for real,” he said. “My kids are doing what I say for the next couple of months, but it’s a really good look.”
The cast also talked about how they did many of their own stunts on the film. “Whatever anyone did in the film, I did in a pair of heels,” said Robbie. “I learned how to hold my breath underwater for like five minutes, that was cool.”
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.
Write to Eliana Dockterman at [email protected]. | 1,269,997 |
14:37
Palestinians look at smoke billowing from burning tyres during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
In theory, at least, the Israeli military’s rules of engagement for demonstrations are largely clear.
In general terms - as has been exposed in court cases, commentaries and remarks by officials - soldiers are only permitted to open fire during a demonstration if lives are deemed to be under threat. In reality, however, that has often be interpreted either in omission or with such latitude that outside observers have criticised lethal live fire as excessive force.
In the case of the weeks-long Gaza fence protests, which culminated today with scores of fatalities from Israeli fire, that criticism has only become louder.
During the weeks leading up to Monday’s protests well over 40 Palestinians had been killed demonstrating close to Gaza’s border fence with little evidence that any posed a serious threat to Israeli troops.
According to Mitch Ginsburg, writing in the Times of Israel on Monday:
“The orders are meant to be simple and clear. They cannot read like a UN resolution. They are repeated to soldiers before each operational action, sunk into the soldiers’ minds like an anchor. “In the West Bank, for example, the rules often sound something like this: If you see someone with a weapon and feel in immediate danger, shoot to kill. If you feel danger but have time, instruct the person to stop, then fire once in the air, then fire to wound, then fire to kill.”
As Ginsburg points out, the rules of engagement are not set in stone, but their general thrust is supposed to avoid the risk civilian casualties and to be proportionate.
And Gaza has often been treated differently.
On Sunday, amid warnings that Palestinians would be allowed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to try and storm the border fence, that distinction appears to have been seriously blurred with Israel warning in advance in an air drop of leaflets that Gaza residents they will be risking their lives if they approach the border during a planned mass protest and that it will “act against every attempt to damage the security fence or harm IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians.”
In other words, Israel had defined Monday’s demonstrations in advance – regardless of whether Israelis are targeted from the Gaza side of the fence – as a cover for Hamas ‘terrorism’ a point made clear in the leaflets.
“The Israel Defence Forces is determined to defend Israel’s citizens and sovereignty against Hamas’ attempts at terrorism undercover of violent riots,” the leaflets say. “Don’t get near the fence and don’t take part in Hamas’ show, which endangers you.”
According to the Israeli military at least one group on three men was fired on while reportedly placing an explosive device near the border fence, while an explosion near Jabaliya – which appeared to be an air strike – followed reported gun fire from that area. | 1,269,998 |
New Study Suggests Future Global Warming at the Higher End of Estimates: 4°C Possible by 2100
Posted on 8 January 2014 by Rob Painting
In everyday terms, climate sensitivity refers to the amount of warming of global surface temperatures with a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide - a potent planet-warming greenhouse gas emitted by human industrial activity. In practice, establishing Earth's actual climate sensitivity has proven very problematic. A large part of this likely stems from the emerging realisation that climate sensitivity is not a fixed value, but varies with the background state of the planet (Armour [2012], Meraner [2013]).
The recent (2013) AR5 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report published a summary of peer-reviewed research on climate sensitivity and found that the likely values (greater than 66% probability) ranged from 1.5°C-4.5°C (for a doubling of atmospheric CO 2 ). This range was lower than the previous (AR4) IPCC assessment because it included climate model/observationally-based research which implied a lower climate sensitivity (see Otto [2013] for example).
However, a research paper just published, Sherwood (2014), suggests that climate sensitivity of relevance today is in excess of 3°C - near the upper range of estimates from the latest IPCC report. Climate models exhibit a large range of climate sensitivities and the main reason for this is down to the way that each model handles cloud feedback. In brief: an increase in cloud cover in response to global warming would act as a negative (counteracting) feedback - reflecting more sunlight back out to space and thereby cooling the Earth, whereas a decline in cloud cover would act as a positive (reinforcing) feedback - as more sunlight reaches the Earth's surface and this leads to greater warming.
The authors of Sherwood (2014) looked at the way that the various climate models handled the cloud feedback and found models with a low climate sensitivity were inconsistent with observations. It turns out that these models were incorrectly simulating water vapour being drawn up to higher levels of the atmosphere to form clouds in a warmer world. In reality (based on observations) warming of the lower atmosphere pulls water vapour away from those higher cloud-forming levels of the atmosphere and the amount of cloud formation there actually decreases. The diminished cloud cover leads to greater warming (a positive feedback).
Of course, this is just one study on one aspect of climate sensitivity and is certainly not the last word on this topic. But Sherwood (2014) is consistent with, and builds upon, another peer-reviewed paper, Fasullo & Trenberth (2012), which found only those climate models with high climate sensitivity correctly simulated drying in key cloud-forming regions of the atmosphere.
Professor Steve Sherwood talks about his research paper in the video below (thanks to Peter Sinclair at Climate Denial Crock of the Week). If correct, this research indicates that business-as-usual fossil emissions may lead to globally-averaged surface temperatures rising in excess of 4°C by 2100 - a formidable threat to global civilization. | 1,269,999 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.