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The Libertarian Party of New Mexico replaced its secretary of state candidate Sandra Jeff with Ginger Grider, of Portales, a known Libertarian Party activist and an advocate for medical marijuana and voting-rights issues.
According to LPNM’s chairman, Chris Luchini, Jeff left to pursue a position with the Navajo Nation.
Luchini said Grider was chosen because of her familiarity with the straight-party ticket voting issue.
Last week, the LPNM, the Republican Party of New Mexico, a state Democratic write-in candidate for the 46th District and others challenged New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in New Mexico Supreme Court to prevent her from creating ballots to allow for straight-ticket voting.
“She is very active in ballot access issues as well as a lot of the other issues Libertarians are interested in,” Luchini said of Grider.
Luchini also said Grider is knowledgeable about New Mexico party status law.
According to Luchini, Toulouse Oliver is threatening to take New Mexico Libertarian’s major party status away because the party no longer has a gubernatorial candidate on the ticket for this election.
“This issue of straight-party ticket voting is obviously one of the issues she’s interested in as well as the threat from the secretary of state who ignores the law on party status,” Luchini said. “The secretary of state had already previously promised that she was going to remove our major party status without following state law. Hopefully, that doesn’t get triggered until after the election and by then, we’ll hopefully have a new secretary of state.”
Luchini claims Toulouse Oliver’s interpretation of the state statutes governing state party status is incorrect, along with the legal opinion of former Democratic Attorney General Tom Udall.
Luchini and Libertarians have interpreted the law to say a party loses major party status if a party fails to run statewide or federal candidates for office.
A party can also lose major status if it fails to capture less than 5 percent of the vote statewide in a race for president or governor and that one percent of New Mexican voters register as Libertarian. In 2016, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, who is now on the ballot as the LPNM’s choice for U.S. senator garnered more than 9 percent of the vote in New Mexico when he ran for president in 2016. More than 1 percent of New Mexico voters also registered as Libertarians.
This Saturday, Luchini, who is also Libertarian candidate for Los Alamos County sheriff, and Libertarian candidate for Los Alamos county council, Helen Milenski, will host a fundraiser and barbecue at the Sheriff’s Posse Lodge. Milenski is also the LPNM’s vice chair. Senate Candidate Gary Johnson is expected to make an appearance.
Salmon and alcoholic beverages will be on hand. A $30 donation is suggested. The doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner is served at 6 p.m. | 1,270,500 |
The monthly rental price of one-room studio apartments in Seoul was highest in December and lowest in April last year, according to data released by South Korea’s real estate and housing listing site operator DaBang on Wednesday.
The Seoul-based studio apartments under consideration were those less than 33 square meters in size, DaBang said.
The results are based on monthly rent fees of 1 million studio apartments in Seoul that were listed on DaBang in 2018, after unilaterally fixing the deposit payment at 10 million won ($8,960).
According to DaBang, Seoul’s one-room studio apartment rent prices were the highest in December, presumed to be a time when many university students and young workers start looking for new housing.
In terms of price fluctuations, Yongsan-gu saw the biggest price difference of 230,000 won -- the region’s highest average monthly rent was 690,000 won while its lowest average monthly rent was 460,000 won.
Moreover, Yongsan-gu’s standard deviation for monthly rental fees was 6.14, the highest among Seoul’s 25 districts, followed by Nowon-gu (3.37), Seocho-gu (3.35) and Jungnang-gu (3.08).
In terms of absolute rental prices, the highest monthly rental fees were observed in Seoul’s four wealthiest districts — Gangdong-gu, Gangnam-gu, Songpa-gu and Seocho-gu, DaBang said.
The districts with relatively lower apartment rental prices were concentrated in southwestern and northeastern Seoul, including Geumcheon-gu, Guro-gu and Gwanak-gu as well as Dobong-gu and Nowon-gu.
By Sohn Ji-young ( According to DaBang, Seoul’s one-room studio apartment rent prices were the highest in December, presumed to be a time when many university students and young workers start looking for new housing.In terms of price fluctuations, Yongsan-gu saw the biggest price difference of 230,000 won -- the region’s highest average monthly rent was 690,000 won while its lowest average monthly rent was 460,000 won.Moreover, Yongsan-gu’s standard deviation for monthly rental fees was 6.14, the highest among Seoul’s 25 districts, followed by Nowon-gu (3.37), Seocho-gu (3.35) and Jungnang-gu (3.08).In terms of absolute rental prices, the highest monthly rental fees were observed in Seoul’s four wealthiest districts — Gangdong-gu, Gangnam-gu, Songpa-gu and Seocho-gu, DaBang said.The districts with relatively lower apartment rental prices were concentrated in southwestern and northeastern Seoul, including Geumcheon-gu, Guro-gu and Gwanak-gu as well as Dobong-gu and Nowon-gu.By Sohn Ji-young ( [email protected] | 1,270,501 |
The Texas Supreme Court has suspended the Texas family-law judge whose daughter secretly videotaped him belt-whipping her, suggesting to some observers that, even in the socially conservative South, where corporal punishment is seen as important in shaping character, the fine line between discipline and abuse is shifting.
Texas' highest court on Tuesday suspended Aransas County Judge William Adams with pay while the State Commission on Judicial Conduct investigates. Judge Adams, who makes rulings on whether parents are fit to oversee their children, found himself at the center of a national firestorm when his 23-year-old daughter, Hillary, posted a video to YouTube in October that showed him beating her. The incident had taken place in 2004.
Adams maintains that he did nothing wrong, and the investigation could exonerate him, but the fact that the Texas court took this step is significant, says David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire Crimes against Children Research Center.
"We're in a normative shift regarding views on corporal punishment, and what shifts the fastest are views on extremes of what is tolerated," says Mr. Finkelhor. "This video is in the cusp area where there's a lot of controversy right now."
In the YouTube clip, Adams says, "Go get the belt. The big one. I'm going to spank her now." As Hillary wails and begs her father to stop, he lashes her with a belt across the legs.
Ms. Adams says she posted the video to force her father to get help for personal issues. He said the beating looked worse than it was, and that he had the right to discipline a child who had been caught uploading pirated music. Moreover, he alleges that his daughter posted the video in retaliation for his demand that she either return to college or he'd take away her car and cell phone.
Though the statute of limitations for any child-abuse charges has passed, experts say the behavior in the video would likely not qualify as child abuse under current laws, anyway.
Socially, the South is more supportive of corporal punishment to discipline a child, laws and studies show. For example, all Southern states except Virginia allow corporal punishment in schools, while no states in the Northeast or on the West Coast do. In addition, a recent study by Southern Methodist University researcher George Holden, which videotaped 37 north Texas parents, showed that nearly all hit or swatted their child in a 36-hour period.
On Tuesday, Adams waived a preliminary hearing on his suspension, admitted no guilt, and agreed to cooperate with the investigation. How the court's judicial conduct board deals with Adams may be the ultimate indicator of how far attitudes on corporal punishments have shifted in society's eyes.
"I'll be interested to know whether the suspension is a fig leaf to say [the Supreme Court] is taking it seriously or are they really taking it seriously," says Finkelhor.
Another Texas court is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to uphold a restraining order on Adams that keeps him from visiting his 10-year-old daughter, who lives with his ex-wife. | 1,270,502 |
US rabbinical group lauds commutation of slaughterhouse exec's sentence. 'There was widespread sentiment the sentence was disproportionate.'
US rabbinical organization The Coalition for Jewish Values welcomed news that US President Donald Trump had commuted the sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, former head of the country’s largest kosher meat-processing company, who had been sentenced to 27 years in prison for fraud and money laundering.
The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), the largest rabbinic public policy organization in America, articulates and advocates for public policy positions based upon traditional Jewish thought.
Rabbi Pesach Lerner, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, said in a statement: "This was an extremely welcome decision from the Trump Administration. There was widespread, bipartisan sentiment that the prosecution was vindictive and the sentence disproportionate. His family has longed for this day for eight long years."
As Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel at the time of investigations into the management of the Agriprocessors Kosher Meat plant in Postville, IA that Rubashkin headed, Rabbi Lerner was one of the first public advocates for Sholom Rubashkin and his family.
On Wednesday, Trump commuted Rubashkin’s prison sentence, after the decision was “encouraged by bipartisan leaders from across the political spectrum, from Nancy Pelosi to Orrin Hatch,” said a statement from the White House.
Rubashkin is a 57-year-old father of 10 children. He previously ran the Iowa headquarters of a family business that was the country’s largest kosher meat-processing company. In 2009, he was convicted of bank fraud and later sentenced to 27 years in prison.
He was charged with defaulting on loans after his funds were frozen during a federal investigation into child labor violations that he was ultimately acquitted of, and immigration-related charges that the prosecution eventually declined to pursue.
“Rubashkin has now served more than eight years of that sentence, which many have called excessive in light of its disparity with sentences imposed for similar crimes,” the White House said.
“This action is not a Presidential pardon. It does not vacate Mr. Rubashkin’s conviction, and it leaves in place a term of supervised release and a substantial restitution obligation, which were also part of Mr. Rubashkin’s sentence,” the statement stressed.
“The President’s review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case and commutation decision were based on expressions of support from Members of Congress and a broad cross-section of the legal community,” it continued.
“A bipartisan group of more than 100 former high-ranking and distinguished Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, prosecutors, judges, and legal scholars have expressed concerns about the evidentiary proceedings in Mr. Rubashkin’s case and the severity of his sentence. Additionally, more than 30 current Members of Congress have written letters expressing support for review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case.” | 1,270,503 |
also cited as important to 76 percent of library users surveyed by Pew. About the same number said that the space of the library itself—as a quiet and safe place—was meaningful to them. All but six percent agreed that “public libraries are a welcoming, friendly place,” and a staggering 91 percent said they personally have never had a negative experience using a public library, either in person or online. Many people—including myself—have personal stories about libraries as deeply meaningful parts of our lives.
By being responsive to the unique needs of their communities, libraries have taken on sometimes surprising roles. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, the central branch of the City-County library has a case worker from the state’s Family and Children Services agency on hand four hours a day, five days a week. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, you can check out musical instruments, microscopes, telescopes, and home tools. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, New York libraries offered direct assistance to residents who needed help rebuilding. The Sacramento Public Library in California hosts Punk Rock Aerobics, led by one of its librarians. Outside Rochester, New York, you can check out fishing poles. In Dallas, Texas, a public library facilitates Coffee and Conversations, one-hour sessions for the homeless; more than 70 people attended the second meeting. And in Woodbine, Iowa, you can borrow cake pans.
Underscoring just how much an integral part of civic life public libraries are, about 91 percent of Pew respondents said they could point out the one closest to their home. While many of these are in classic Carnegie-era buildings, libraries that are renovating and reconstructing have become community leaders in creative re-use and green building techniques.
This is not to say that Americans who love libraries—nearly all of us apparently—shouldn’t be alert to the threats to those libraries. The recession catalyzed several consecutive years of budget reductions, which in turn were aggravated by the automated federal cuts that came in last year’s sequestration, a particularly big hit to libraries, especially those in schools. With its library threatened by closure in 2012, one city in Michigan was left to host a “Book Burning Party”—a clever hoax that is credited with saving a vital community resource. Eight states don’t give a single penny to public libraries.
Again and again, libraries have been there for us—to the point of becoming almost an invisible part of the civic fabric. Whether through their wealth of books and media or through their fierce agitation against censorship of all kinds (including the well-known Banned Books Week), libraries have stood up for our right to accessible knowledge, art, and literature. In turn, there has never been a better time to vote for a library millage, to volunteer for a “Friends” group, or to attend the regular library board meetings that are open to the public. It’s our moment to stand up for our libraries: to count them as essential to civic life, and to make sure that those making funding decisions in our community know it. | 1,270,504 |
WASHINGTON — The F-35 fighter jet was slated to fly into operational testing this month, but that entry date will be pushed back a couple months as the Pentagon’s independent weapons tester waits for the latest software to be delivered.
Robert Behler, the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation, has delayed the start of the F-35’s initial operational test and evaluation, or IOT&E, until his office gets the newest software release — a version of the jet’s 3F software known as 30R02 — according to an Aug. 24 memorandum obtained by the Project on Government Oversight.
Earlier this year, the DOT&E office began some testing of the F-35 prior to the official start of IOT&E using the stealth fighter’s 30R00 software, which is currently operational on the newest joint strike fighters.
That version was sufficient for those initial tests, which involved two-ship missions taking on low-end threats, Behler stated.
“Software version 30R02, which is fielding in the next two months, provides the latest instantiation of operationally relevant and production representative aircraft software that will better support the required testing to adequately address the remaining mission areas,” including air interdiction, offensive counter air, suppression of enemy air defenses and electronic attack, according to Behler.
Pentagon’s weapons tester slams new F-35 modernization plan as unrealistic A new report raises questions about how the Pentagon could execute the next phase of the F-35 program.
The Pentagon’s F-35 joint program office anticipates that IOT&E will begin after three conditions are satisfied: “When the IOT&E readiness criteria are met, the Defense Acquisition Executive certifies readiness to test and then DOT&E approves the test plan,” a spokesman said in a statement. "The operational test readiness certification is anticipated to be received in October with the start of formal IOT&E in November and completion is estimated by summer 2019.”
The Pentagon is expected to make a decision on whether to move the F-35 into full-rate production by October 2019, the Government Accountability Office wrote in a June 2018 report.
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In the memo, Behler goes on to say that the 30R00 contains deficiencies with regard to the Air-to-Air Range Infrastructure system — which allows for range-based testing and training, and is necessary for DOT&E to fufill its evaluation duties — that will be fixed in 30R02.
“AARI must be functioning adequately to ensure test results are accurate, understandable and defensible. Changing AARI software versions in the midst of IOT&E could potentially result in inconsistencies in data collection and affect the validity and adequacy of the test and evaluation," Behler noted. | 1,270,505 |
case of natural catastrophes, saving time will save lives."
Five further Sentinel-themed missions with different types of sensors should be in orbit by 2019.
The idea is that the satellites are flown as pairs so that the revisit periods to locations on the Earth to take the next swath of images are kept as short as possible.
Thus, a Sentinel-1b will be launched next year. Sentinels 1c and 1d will be sent up to take over observing duties when it looks like 1a and 1b might be about to fail.
In this way, Copernicus and its dedicated Sentinels will start to build continuous, cross-calibrated, long-term datasets.
These will be a boon to climate studies. But the EU hopes the data will prove to be a powerful tool also to help design and enforce community-wide polices, covering diverse areas such as fish stocks management, air quality regulation, and keeping track of waste disposal practices.
Copernicus is the EU's second major space project after the Galileo satellite-navigation system, which is also in the process of roll-out.
As with "Europe's GPS", Esa has been engaged as the procurement agent, designing the satellites' requirements and contracting with industry to produce them.
Sentinel-1a's construction has been led by Thales Alenia Space (Italy/France), with its C-band radar instrument and electronics coming from Airbus (Germany and UK).
Radar to forecast flooding
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The UK authorities made extensive use of satellite imagery over the wet winter
Radar scatters away from a satellite very efficiently over water surfaces
This makes it very easy to see those areas that are flooded
Radar is already used to assess the extent of flood inundation
Fast-return Sentinel data will permit flood forecasting as well
Radar to study earthquakes
Image copyright Tele-Rilevamento Europa Image caption Radar interferometry reveals fault locations. The L'Aquila quake damaged a satellite component factory
Radar imagery is used to monitor how the ground moves over time
In cities, series of pictures can reveal areas subject to subsidence
In quake zones, before and after imagery will pinpoint ruptured faults
Sentinel-1a's production was delayed by the L'Aquila tremor in 2009
Sentinel data super-highway
Image copyright ESA Image caption Sentinel-1a will test the laser-link technology needed for Europe's rapid data-relay system
Current satellites dump data when passing over ground stations
This will be too slow for the expected terabytes of Sentinel data
A European Data Relay System is being devised, to use laser links
Sentinel data will be bounced off overhead satellites in near real-time
Image copyright ESA Image caption Sentinel-1a will be followed into orbit by a fleet of other sensors
[email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | 1,270,506 |
Elizabeth Warren has been in office for a matter of days and she already has a win against Wall Street. As Addicting Info reported earlier, insurance giant AIG was threatening to sue the U.S. government over the terms of the company’s bailout, the taxpayer-sponsored $182 billion dollar deal that saved the company for destitution and, with it, the American economy. An ex-CEO referred to the Federal Reserve as a “loan shark” and complained that the terms of the deal just weren’t great enough for AIG and demanded recompense. He’s going after $25 billion in compensation from the government and the company itself has been contemplating joining the suit.
If you’re wondering, this is something akin to complaining that the firemen didn’t do quite a good enough job keeping your house from burning down. Why, just look at those scorch marks in the foyer! Do you know how long it will take Jeeves to buff those out?!?
Elizabeth Warren, a woman Wall Street already has plenty of reasons to fear, was having none of it. As reported by the Huffington Post, Warren blasts the inconceivable greed and lack of gratefulness represented by the suit, saying:
Beginning in 2008, the federal government poured billions of dollars into AIG to save it from bankruptcy. AIG’s reckless bets nearly crashed our entire economy. Taxpayers across this country saved AIG from ruin, and it would be outrageous for this company to turn around and sue the federal government because they think the deal wasn’t generous enough. Even today, the government provides an ongoing, stealth bailout, propping up AIG with special tax breaks — tax breaks that Congress should stop. AIG should thank American taxpayers for their help, not bite the hand that fed them for helping them out in a crisis.
The result? AIG has announced, wisely, that they will not be joining the suit.
None of us should be surprised they contemplated the move at all or that it’s a former AIG executive leading the charge. Since the 2008 bailout, AIG has proven itself to be extremely tone-deaf, having paid millions in bonuses to the very employees responsible for bringing it to the brink of ruin just shortly after having received the government bailout. The company has, since the very beginning of this disaster, patently refused to acknowledge that it was the mindset of its employees and the culture they were operating in – one of completely unchecked risk and greed – that caused the collapse in the first place. While it was hardly a rare phenomenon on Wall Street, it seems that even now, nearly five years later, the company’s leadership still hasn’t quite gotten the message and will only respond to the sort of newspaper-whack-to-the-nose that someone like Elizabeth Warren is capable of providing.
Check out more from The Rambling Fool on Addicting Info. Head over to the Facebook Fan Page or e-mail him with story ideas, comments, or scathing insults to his intelligence and personal hygiene. | 1,270,507 |
Former President Barack Obama last week lamented the state of political discourse in the US, saying social-media platforms like Facebook and Google were "shaping our culture in powerful ways."
Obama made the off-the-record comments at an MIT conference on Friday.
The former president is the highest-profile figure known to have challenged tech giants to take more responsibility for their effects on the social fabric.
Former President Barack Obama made some revealing comments about the state of political discourse in the US, suggesting last week that tech giants like Facebook and Google were compounding problems.
His remarks were captured in an off-the-record speech at a sports conference at MIT. Audio from the presentation was first reported by Reason, a libertarian-leaning publication.
Obama spoke on numerous topics at the conference, at one point riffing on how news coverage diverged sharply among competing media outlets — often to the point that the lines between fact and opinion are blurred as coverage seems governed by ideology rather than the public good.
And he said it's not just about Russian bots and fake news.
"This is Fox News versus The New York Times' editorial page," Obama said. "If you look at these different sources of information, they do not describe the same thing. In some cases, they do not even talk about the same thing."
Indeed, different news outlets have, at times, taken vastly different approaches to big political stories, perhaps most notably on developments in the Russia investigations.
While commentators on left-leaning media outlets have spent considerable time dissecting the federal investigation of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election, Fox News and other right-leaning publications have leaned toward casting doubt on the investigators themselves.
Obama said social-media platforms like Facebook and Google were exacerbating the problem. Regarding the power that the tech giants wield over the distribution of online content, Obama said those outlets could better acknowledge their effect on "shaping our culture in powerful ways."
He called the platforms a "hugely powerful potential force for good" but added that "what's also true is that our social-media platforms are just a tool."
"ISIS can use that tool," he said. "Neo-Nazis can use that tool."
Obama said the tech giants "have to have a conversation about their business model that recognizes they are a public good as well as a commercial enterprise."
In the case of Facebook, that particular comment hits at the heart of one of the social-media giant's most controversial arguments: that it isn't a media company and that it relies on its algorithms and isn't making editorial decisions about what types of content gets seen on its platform.
Facebook has taken heavy criticism for helping propagate conspiracy theories and intentionally false stories disguised as news, which were amplified in part by the algorithm that Facebook insists establishes the company's neutrality. Some of those algorithms have frequently promoted questionable content more prominently than news from reputable sources.
"It is very difficult to figure out how democracy works over the long term in those circumstances," Obama said.
Listen to the full audio of Obama's speech here » | 1,270,508 |
A primary need for any blockchain developer is access to trusted real-world data. Whether it is data from a big data database or an IoT sensor, the integrity and delivery of the information must be trustworthy to be used in DApps. This is where decentralized oracles come into play.
Oracles expand the capabilities of blockchains by locating / verifying real-world information and enabling it to be used in smart contracts. Oracles have evolved quickly, yet challenges still remain to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of all information delivered by oracles. IoTeX and Chainlink are excited to collaborate on oracle research and development to bring real-world data to blockchain applications.
“We are excited to work with IoTeX to introduce new IoT data and TEE technology to the blockchain industry and expand the capabilities of decentralized oracles.” — Daniel Kochis, Global Head of Business Development at Chainlink
Guaranteeing Trust for Oracles with TEE
IoTeX and Chainlink have both improved blockchain oracles using Trusted Execution Environments (TEE), a secure hardware element that empowers trusted computing. In short, TEEs provide a protected, confidential environment for processes to run. Due to their strong security features, TEEs can guarantee integrity and confidentiality when executing commands, such as blockchain queries for real-world data. TEE-powered oracles enable end-to-end trust and traceability (e.g. data, source, delivery) without leaking any sensitive information in the process.
In 2018, Chainlink acquired Town Crier, a Cornell startup led by TEE security researcher Ari Juels. Similarly, for the past year, IoTeX has been developing in-house trusted hardware (e.g. AvoBoard) with built-in TEEs and is developing Layer 2 TEE trusted computing platform on IoTeX blockchain. Both Chainlink and IoTeX share aspirations to explore different implementations of TEEs (e.g. Intel SGX, ARM TrustZone) to drive the next wave of oracle research and to develop developer-friendly capabilities for the blockchain industry.
“We look forward to integrating Chainlink to the IoTeX Network, as well as working with their team on new TEE-powered oracle developments.” — Raullen Chai, IoTeX CoFounder & CEO
Deployment Plans — What’s Next?
Chainlink integration to the IoTeX Mainnet will make off-chain data (e.g., public APIs, payment gateways, data feeds) available to IoTeX smart contracts and IoT applications.
IoTeX and Chainlink will also explore new data sources to “oracle-ize” in a trusted fashion. Chainlink’s partnership with Google BigQuery has already opened up new possibilities; however, a multitude of public / private data is still untapped. Perhaps the largest source is the Internet of Things (IoT), which generates roughly half of all new data today (and growing!). Together, Chainlink and IoTeX will create a fluid ecosystem for real world and IoT data. | 1,270,509 |
Despite pleas from Muniz, Johnson raised his gun before being shot dead by other officers
'No, you don't want to die,' Muniz said. 'I know you just shot me, but I'm not going to shoot you'
A dramatic and disturbing video recorded by a police body camera shows Cleveland patrol officers, including one whose ballistic vest had been struck by gunfire, trying to convince a man to drop his gun before four other officers shot him to death.
One of the videos released Wednesday shows Theodore Johnson shooting at the officers. One of the rounds struck the chest area of Patrolman David Muniz's ballistic vest.
Another video, recorded by Muniz's body camera, shows a despondent Johnson telling officers that he wants to die.
A dramatic and disturbing video recorded by a police body camera shows Cleveland patrol officers, including one whose ballistic vest had been struck by gunfire, trying to convince a man to drop his gun before four other officers shot him to death
Wanted to die: Patrolman David Muniz's ballistic vest was struck when despondent suspect Theodore Johnson opened fire
'I know you just shot me, but I'm not going to shoot you,' Muniz tells Johnson.
Johnson says he doesn't care. 'Do what you do, man.'
Seconds later, Johnson raises the gun and the officers open fire.
The video was released by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty the day after he announced that a grand jury had determined that the four officers were justified in using lethal force against Johnson on March 11.
Police went to Johnson's home that night after his wife went to a police station and told officers that Johnson had threatened to kill her and their landlady.
Video from an officer's body camera shows Johnson, 64, step out of a doorway and fire down at the officers as they climbed the steps toward his second-floor apartment. The officers retreat to the downstairs apartment and Muniz is heard yelling that he'd been hit.
Muniz's body camera records him and the other officers in a standoff with Johnson, who is holding a gun to his side, on the first floor. Johnson tells the officers to kill him.
Officers scream at Johnson to drop the gun.
Muniz, who is standing only 5 or 6 feet away, extended in a firing position, tells Johnson: 'Put the gun down. We don't want to kill you. Just drop the gun.'
'I wanna die,' Johnson says.
'I know you just shot me, but I'm not going to shoot you,' Patrolman David Muniz tells the man, Theodore Johnson
'No, you don't want to die,' Muniz replies.
When officers tell Johnson they'll get him help, he responds that he doesn't want or need it.
McGinty in a statement praised the officers for their'remarkable restraint.'
'These officers are commended for responding with courage and for heroically fulfilling their duty to protect the public,' McGinty said. | 1,270,510 |
NEW DELHI: A day after the 12-hour long debate session in Lok Sabha, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu travelled to Delhi on Saturday to assert that it was a battle of “morality versus majority.”
He said at a press conference here on Saturday that “the government may have won by a majority (of numbers) but morality was on our side,” as he thanked the other opposition parties for supporting TDP's no-trust vote.
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh's remarks at TDP and other parties for seeking a trust vote against a majority government on Friday, Naidu said, “Does BJP have unity, I am asking… political parties come together for a common cause, today in national interest we will work together and work out the future course… numbers decide politics in our democracy.”
The TDP chief who has been part of many coalition government in the past said, “records show that coalitions have worked better for the growth of this country,” while also mentioning that he is “not an aspirant” for the PM’s chair, when asked at a press conference called by him on Saturday.
Asked about a strong leader who can take on Modi, Naidu said, “it is people who decide on who is a strong or a weak leader depending on what they are getting... today people are unhappy.”
Naidu countered Modi’s allegations against him, made during the debate on the no-confidence motion sought by TDP and supported by other parties including Congress, late on Friday night.
Contesting Modi's remark that special status cannot be extended to the state “as the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FCC) does not allow it.” He claimed, “the FFC says it does not have any role in it... don't drag us into it. It is the government which has to take a call.”
Naidu said it was “unwise” on Modi's part to compare his “leadership with tainted politicians” in Lok Sabha. On the PM referring to Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao more “mature” than Naidu, the Andhra CM said, “I am senior to the Prime Minister himself. How can he say that?”
Referring to Modi's remark that “Congress killed the mother and saved the child. Had I have been there, I would have saved the mother too”, he said, “We have waited for years for him to do so.”
“We're still asking him to save the mother,” Naidu said.
On BJD staging a walkout from Parliament during the debate on the no-confidence motion, Naidu said, “He (BJD chief Naveen Patnaik ) is an old friend... They will be taken on board.”
| 1,270,511 |
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Jody Wilson-Raybould’s former party has named who will take on the now-Independent MP in October’s federal election.
The Liberals on Tuesday are set to acclaim Vancouver tech entrepreneur Taleeb Noormohamed as their nominee for the Vancouver-Granville riding, where Wilson-Raybould is seeking reelection.
Noormohamed has been a federal Liberal candidate before, when he ran to represent North Vancouver in the 2011 election before losing to Conservative Andrew Saxton.
WATCH: (May 27) Jody Wilson-Raybould talks about her Independent run
1:23 Jody Wilson-Raybould says she will run as Independent MP in 2019 election Jody Wilson-Raybould says she will run as Independent MP in 2019 election
Beforehand, he worked in the Privy Council Office under former Liberal prime ministers Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.
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Recently, Noormohamed ran to become the Vision Vancouver candidate in last year’s mayoral race, but was forced to drop out after he was hospitalized due to a “sudden cardiac event.”
Global News has reached out to Noormohamed for comment ahead of Tuesday’s nomination event.
The 41-year-old and the Liberals will be looking to unseat Wilson-Raybould, who is seeking another term without a party to back her.
The former minister of justice and attorney general was kicked out of the Liberal caucus in April for accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his senior advisers of attempted political interference in the SNC-Lavalin scandal.
Wilson-Raybould, a former Indigenous political leader, has sat as an Independent MP since her ouster.
She resigned as veterans affairs minister in February, following a report she faced pressure during her time as attorney general to interfere in the corruption case against the Quebec engineering giant.
She would later testify to the House of Commons justice committee that she faced a sustained effort from several key officials in the Trudeau government to override a decision from the director of public prosecutions not to grant SNC-Lavalin a legal deal known as a remediation agreement.
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WATCH: (April 5) What power do independent MPs hold?
2:13 What power do independent MPs hold? What power do independent MPs hold?
It’s remains unclear whether Wilson-Raybould could be reelected as an Independent; only a few MPs have successfully done so in Canadian political history.
Fifteen years ago, Chuck Cadman won reelection as an Independent in Surrey-North after losing the nomination for the Conservative Party of Canada, which had been formed by merging Cadman’s former Canadian Alliance party with the Progressive Conservatives.
The NDP has already nominated Yvonne Hanson to run for the riding, while Zach Segal will run for the Conservative Party and Louise Boutin will be the Green Party candidate.
—With files from Amanda Connolly and Kerri Breen | 1,270,512 |
one of the big ideas in the 2020 race, and certainly in the 2020 Democratic primary,” said Adam Ruben of the Economic Security Project, who has already consulted with Harris, Brown and Khanna’s congressional policy teams.
Ann O’Leary described Harris’ plan as exactly the kind of bold idea that could help with what might be the most important part of the 2020 primary—finding a way to steer the national conversation, instead of having it dictated by the president. Citing Trump’s recent announcement of his mysterious new tax cuts, O’Leary said, “She got him to pay attention, and he didn’t say ‘You’re a crazy spending lefty.’ He said, ‘You’re right, and I’m gonna do it better.’”
***
Of course, Trump’s attention can be a currency in its own right among top Democrats, regardless of the content of his message. Riding the fine line between harnessing that attention and letting the president dictate the terms of engagement will be a crucial part of any campaign against him; with their bold new plans for the economy and the social safety net, Democrats are clearly hoping they can hold that engagement on what they see as their natural turf.
It remains to be seen, however, whether economic grist alone can empower Democrats to take down Trump. It certainly didn’t work for Hillary Clinton. With his ability to command entire news cycles in his pajamas, Trump undeniably has the upper hand in driving the conversation, and Democrats will have to respond effectively to him no matter where he takes it.
Connie Razza, vice president of policy and research at progressive think tank Demos, argues that Democrats need to use policy ideas to directly counter the president’s identity-based appeal.
“If progressives are silent on race, then the other side gets to try and reframe it so that they can take what is clearly not in the interest of working and middle-class white folks and make it palatable because they’re vilifying people of color,” Razza said.
That will be no small feat for a party already dealing with its own world of internal conflict on identity politics. And as the primary draws nearer, new fault lines are likely to emerge.
“In a primary the incentive is to distinguish yourself and not necessarily be unified,” said Abernathy of the Roosevelt Institute.
And policy wonks are wary of the possibility that Democrats’ newfound appetite for redistribution may not last—or that the heat of electoral politics will see earnest, research-backed ideas watered down into something entirely different on the campaign trail.
“One thing we have to be careful in going forward with these bold ideas is to watch for the risk that they get watered down or turned into something else,” said Hamilton, the economist. “Someone could take a job guarantee and turn it into a welfare-to-work program, and we certainly don’t want that.” | 1,270,513 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher in light trading on Thursday, buoyed by gains in financial stocks and as technology stocks continued to slowly recover from a losing skid.
Tech stocks added 0.1 percent and notched their second straight gain on the heels of a five-session losing skid. The index has struggled somewhat to close out the year but remains the best-performing sector in 2017, up more than 37 percent.
“This needs to and has been an earnings-driven market and that is where you’ve seen a tremendous amount of the earnings momentum and visibility, we would expect that to continue into next year,” said Bill Northey, senior vice president, U.S. Bank Wealth Management, in Helena, Montana.
Apple shares closed 0.3 percent higher after relinquishing earlier gains and Amazon edged up 0.3 percent after Reuters reported the companies are in licensing discussions with Riyadh on investing in Saudi Arabia.
Volumes remained thin due to the holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The prior two sessions showed the lowest full-day trading volumes of the year.
“Clearly light volume, low volatility has been the flavor of the week, post holiday, and don’t expect that to change going into the close tomorrow,” Northey said.
A 0.6 percent gain in copper prices helped lift the materials sector 0.4 percent, led by a 3.1 percent gain in Freeport-McMoRan.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The benchmark S&P 500 has climbed nearly 20 percent this year, on track to record its biggest annual gains since 2013, boosted by robust economic growth and solid corporate earnings.
The rally is widely expected to extend into 2018, boosted by gains from a new law that lowers the tax burden on U.S. corporations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.21 points, or 0.26 percent, to 24,837.51, the S&P 500 gained 4.92 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,687.54 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,950.16.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 245,000, slightly above the 240,000 forecast, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a tightening labor market.
J.B. Hunt Transport lost 0.2 to $115.24 after the logistics services provider forecast current-quarter profit below estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.92-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.51-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 71 new highs and 21 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 4.26 billion shares, compared to the 6.6 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. | 1,270,514 |
A question and answer session after a Friday night performance of Jeremy O. Harris' controversial Slave Play was interrupted after a white woman accused Harris of racism.
According to Buzzfeed News, the woman "just freaked out," as stated by a 25-year old theater patron named Sydney. "The videos don't do it justice. She went off on him...She was screaming at the top of her lungs. She could not handle her own guilt or responsibility in her own feelings, and she demanded that Jeremy help explain and handle her feelings."
Syndey said the woman raised her hand during the Q&A, but Harris recognized someone else instead. This led to the woman unleashing her tirade on Harris. As has been recorded in a video posted to Twitter, the woman said she "doesn't want to hear that white people are the f****** plague all the time."
The woman also said she has been a victim of rape, has been falsely arrested, had her children taken away and was told that "as a white woman [she's] not good enough to f****** raise them." She went on to ask, with expletives, how is she not a "marginalized member" of society.
"I never said you aren't," replied Harris. "I never once said that you as a white woman were not a marginalized person. But if you heard that in my play, I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps read it or see it again."
The woman continued to berate Harris, trying to distinguish herself as a non-problematic white person while simultaneously displaying an inability to deal with white guilt, including her statement of feeling tired of hearing a "whole bunch of stuff about how white people don't get how racist they are" and about a time period "300 years ago."
"...You know, I spent my whole life trying to make a f****** solution," she continued after Harris didn't have an answer for her as to how to end racism in America.
Harris later posted a video of the exchange on Twitter.
Imma tell my kids this was The Blind Side pic.twitter.com/lAbc9D8KuP — Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) November 30, 2019
Harris told The Washington Post that he fielded the woman's outburst because "it would have been hypocritical of me as someone who said from the beginning, I want this to be a play that sparked conversations...Rage is a necessary lubricant to discourse."
Slave Play has created tons of discourse due to the sensitive nature of the plot. In the play, several interracial couples undergo unique therapy where they act out scenes of power and submission in a setting depicting slavery. The play is meant to analyze how race plays into desire, lust and attraction.
READ MORE:
'Slave Play': Off-Broadway Show On Sex Roleplaying, Interracial Couples Is Now Headed To Broadway
Photo: Getty Images
From Harlem to Hollywood, get the Black entertainment news you need in your inbox daily. | 1,270,515 |
April 5, 2019 — The Aries New Moon arrives Friday morning at 1:50am Pacific Time. This Moon marks the real start of the astrological New Year, providing us with fresh energy and courage. Forming a wide square to a Saturn-Pluto-South Node conjunction, we’re learning to let go of the past while embracing the unknown. And with Neptune conjunct Mercury, we’re also dissolving conceptual mind, letting ourselves dream and play. Aries, after all, is the child of the zodiac.
Saturn and Pluto’s dance with the South Node is encouraging us to dislodge Capricorn’s should’s and supposed-to’s. Rather than focusing on achievement, we can allow ourselves to stare at the wall, write poetry, and hike through the flowers. We’re defying whatever voices tell us we must achieve at the expense our own hearts, pleasure, and emotional well-being.
Of course, the North Node remains in Cancer for another fifteen months. Ignited by this New Moon, it continues to ask: How can we connect more deeply? What will fill our hearts with deeper meaning and fulfillment?
At the same time, we may be questioning what outmoded commitments and obligations are holding us back that we now need to break. However, this period is not about running away. Aries the Ram is confrontational, and we’re learning to face each other—to confront our feelings so we can work through the messier, illogical aspects of our lives and relationships.
We don’t need everything to make sense. Nor do we need to cut and run if they don’t. We can actually stay with ourselves and each other in the midst of our confusion. We can find the wisdom and lessons that arise when we avoid bolting.
In this way, the New Moon is presenting us with decisions to make. What serves us most in this moment for our soul’s evolution and our heart’s fulfillment? Is it to stay or go, or to lie around and allow ourselves to enjoy the day? Is it to work through something, rallying the courage to embrace our messiness and mistakes?
It’s up to each of us—which is the ultimate message of Aries. He’s the brave, impulsive decision-maker who foremost thinks of himself, and who’s imploring us to now do the same.
On this Aries New Moon, may we enjoy the day. May our hearts expand into the possibilities of play, magic, and connection. And may we find the courage to face each other without running away—knowing that we’re lovable, worthy, and allowed to seek joy in all that we do.
My book, The Stars Within You: A Modern Guide to Astrology, is now available for purchase.
Sign up for a personal astrology reading here, and check my events page here.
Also, I post videos regularly to my Patreon page. You can sign up here. | 1,270,516 |
egrigore:
One of the prominent things that we knew about Grisha from the very beginning of the series was his outstanding ability as a doctor and how he cured a plague.
But doesn’t this whole situation seem a little suspicious?
According to the internet, an “antibody” is a substance produced by the body in response to bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances in the blood. This protein is created when the body recognizes the invader and has already developed an immune response towards it.
And while characters like Hannes and Shadis make note of explaining how lucky it is that Grisha was able to find a cure… it is important to make the connection that IF the cure was an antibody, then the only place that it could have come from was Grisha Jaeger.
Which would mean that Grisha Jaeger would have had to already have an immunity to the mysterious plague.
Okay, that’s really suspicious.
But with the reveal of Grisha’s backstory, this makes a lot of sense.
The people from inside the walls were separated from the main land population for over 100 years. And over that century, the main land population would experience constant epidemics in the form of diseases and viral infections. The population would gradually become immune to these strains of disease and they’d no longer be affected by them.
But imagine if an individual who was separated from the main land population ended up getting infected with one of these strains.
Thanks to antigenic drift, these individuals would not have the immunity available to combat these new strains of disease.
But someone from the main land population would have a natural immunity because of generations worth of genetics.
Unfortunately, someone with a natural immunity can still carry infectious diseases with them- unknowingly. And when this unknowing carrier is introduced into a population that has no natural immunity, then it can cause havoc.
We’ve seen it in history.
When the Europeans arrived in the New World, they bought Smallpox and Influenza with them. They infected the indigenous population causing many deaths. The most vulnerable groups were those with a relatively small population and few built-up immunities.
And 100 years is more than enough time for a distinct immunity gap to be formed. Compare with Smallpox and how it was eradicated back in the 1980s leading to a stop in immunizations against Smallpox. Its been 30 years since then and the world population no longer has any immunity towards Smallpox.
What we can gather from this is pretty interesting…
The population inside the walls was infected with a plague because they were exposed to a disease that they had no immunity against. Grisha had an “antibody” that he converted into a cure; meaning he already had an immunity towards this disease.
So this disease was probably something from the main land.
And it only occurred after Grisha was allowed inside the walls.
Grisha didn’t just cure the plague.
He brought it with him. | 1,270,517 |
Retired Major Harris Khan Khattak, the director of Zamung Kor — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government's "model" home for street children — resigned from his post on Wednesday while levelling allegations of corruption against the institution's board of directors (BoD).
Khattak alleged that the chairman of Zamung Kor’s BoD, Imtiaz Gillani, used school funds to buy a car worth Rs2 million, adding that other members of the board were also involved in embezzlement of the organisation's funds.
According to Khattak, he has informed the KP chief minister of the situation.
Gillani, on the other hand, dismissed the allegations while talking to Dawn and said that all of the organisation’s decisions were taken according to a set procedure. “The car was bought through the board’s approval,” he said, adding that Khattak was “not taking enough interest in the organisation’s affairs”.
PTI says Khattak was'sacked'
Taking a contrary position, the provincial government said Khattak was sacked on Wednesday evening after being found guilty of embezzlement.
The Planning and Development Board had carried out investigations against Khattak and recommended that the provincial government remove him from his post, a party official told DawnNews.
“Zamung Kor is a historical establishment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for street children. Corrupt practices at any rank in the organization will not be tolerated,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shah Farman said. Farman is also president of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Peshawar region.
“No compromise is acceptable in regard to the future of the children,” Farman added.
Zamung Kor
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had announced the launch of the first-ever institute for street children in the province in November 2015.
At the time of the launch, the KP government had said that the home would accommodate 1,000 street children and provide them with education, health, recreation, sports, boarding, food, career, psychological counseling and other necessary facilities.
An additional 100 kanals of land had to be acquired by the government to build a sports ground, an auditorium and a cricket academy for the Zamung Kor children.
By May 2016, even though the project wasn't functional, it was surrounded by controversy.
Questions were raised about how the funds were being allocated and spent; meanwhile, activists of children's rights had termed the initiative a ‘vanity project’ by the PTI.
“Provincial governments should consult with child right experts before launching these kinds of projects,” Arshad Mahmood, a child rights activist in Peshawar, had told Dawn.com in 2016.
According to the home's official website, it was formally inaugurated on November 25, 2016.
With additional reporting by Fahad Chaudhry. | 1,270,518 |
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be launching a regulatory framework for ICOs in 2019.
Bitcoin’s price woes don’t seem to be hindering disruptive technology plans for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Arabian Business reports that 2019 will see the country introducing regulations for the ICO industry.
ICOs Deemed Securities
The UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), which has recognized ICOs as securities, will be collaborating with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market to actually create trading platforms for ICOs in the coming months.
The CEO of the SCA, Obaid Al Zaabi, explained:
We have signed agreements with law firms to come up with the sandbox and rule books for the issuance of ICOs. Legal requirements will be finished by the end of the first half of 2019… then there will be adoption of technology and development of infrastructure on the side of the exchanges.
He added that “our market is open. [ICO] registration and licensing is available for all kinds of companies, from across the world”.
While it’s no secret that crypto prices have taken quite the tumble over the last several months, Zaabi still believes that there is a market for the industry:
Bitcoin, Ethereum and others are not our business. We are more concerned about crypto issuance and how to bring them for trade [securities] on our exchanges. There is a demand… we have already received couple of requests for the issuance of the crypto assets and tokens.
However, Zaabi didn’t mince his words when it came to the issue of security. The cryptocurrency industry has been plagued by scams and fraudulent schemes costing victims millions of dollars. He added:
SCA considers security as main priority… we are going to authorise a very selected secured asset class in a way of issuing the ICOs. We are a regulator, we put money in regulations and we have sufficient budget in a way of delivering our responsibility.
UAE to Become an Attractive Crypto Destination
It’s no surprise that platforms in the country are welcoming the move. Hans Fraikin is the CEO of blockchain-based Libra Project in Abu Dhabi. He said that “the UAE is perfectly positioned to be a global leader in the ICO space” and added that “if they succeed as planned, they will be at the forefront of this new burgeoning global securities sector”.
Some experts also believe that the UAE could even give the “blockchain island” of Malta a run for its virtual money when it comes to being disruptive industry leaders. Andrea Bonaceto, the CEO of blockchain-based investment firm, Eterna Capital, added:
Owing to the government’s efforts to keep actively modernising its financial infrastructure, the UAE will become a competitive location to attract ICOs and blockchain related investments in 2019.
Do you think that the UAE will be the next disruptive industry hub? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Pixabay. | 1,270,519 |
At the beginning of freshman year, I told myself, “this year is going to be different.” I planned to step up my game. I was going to work hard to get the best grades I could possibly get so I could set myself up for an awesome future.
And then the real world shook me back into reality.
It’s hard to study.
Studying can be super boring. And given all the choices of stuff to do in life, it doesn’t happen to be on the top of any of my to-do lists.
It’s more like a necessary thing to do than a want-to-do thing.
Right?
Why Are You Studying Like Your Want-To-Do’s
I want to text my friends.
It’s automatic for me. Given all the choices of things to do in the world. That would be relatively high on the list below winning an Olympic gold medal, marrying a heart-throb that’s too good for me, and curing cancer.
Texting friends is practical and enjoyable.
So I do it whenever I have the time.
That fits in one category of life that I’d call, want-to-do’s.
Then there is the other category of need-to-do’s.
Brushing my teeth fits in that category.
I don’t brush my teeth because it’s fun. I brush my teeth because it would be totally gross if I didn’t.
To make sure I do it, I just do it at a few times of day like before I go out and before I go to bed.
Take note: I don’t do it whenever I have time. I do it at set times because I need to make sure it gets done.
Making Studying Is A Need-To-Do So You’ll Actually Study
I think most of my early struggles with studying for school were related to miscategorizing studying as a want-to-do.
I would come home from school and I’d “want to” study but as you probably know… wanting to do something doesn’t just get it done because there are other want-to-do’s.
I’ve recently begun treating studying like brushing my teeth.
After dinner, I study. I set specific goals. When I meet those goals, I stop studying.
And this has led studying to become a habit for me just like brushing my teeth.
Sure… it’s not my favorite thing in the world but I’m doing the right things more often because of this new way of thinking about studying. I don’t delay studying because I have a time.
How do you make sure that you study when you need to?
Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/herval/255985108 | 1,270,520 |
ORLANDO, Fla. (November 23, 2016) - Orlando City SC will not exercise contract options on defenders Kevin Alston, Luke Boden, Seb Hines and Tyler Turner, midfielder Pedro Ribeiro and forward Júlio Baptista, the Club announced today.
"We would like to sincerely thank all six players for their contributions to the Club, some of whom have been with us since USL. We will remain in discussions with a few of them about a possible return in 2017,” Lions assistant general manager Niki Budalic said.
Alston joined City prior to the 2016 season and started in 21 of his 24 appearances in the 2016 campaign. Off the pitch, the 2013 Major League Soccer (MLS) WORKS Comeback Player of the Year received the Club’s Community Award for his contributions in the local community and inspiring the youth of Orlando with his charitable appearances in 2016.
Alston is eligible for Free Agency. Players 28-years-old and older with eight years of MLS service who are out of contract, or have not had their option exercised, are eligible for Free Agency in 2016, allowing them the freedom to negotiate a new contract with any MLS club, including their previous club, subject to certain restrictions. A player has fulfilled a year of service if he was on a club’s roster prior to August 15 or played in at least one regular season or postseason game in the relevant year.
With over 130 appearances for the Club since its inception in Orlando in 2011, Boden played an important role in City’s success in the United Soccer League (USL) and its transition to MLS. The 27-year-old left back featured in 45 matches in two MLS seasons with the Lions, scoring one goal and notching seven assists.
Hines joined Orlando from English side Middlesbrough ahead of its inaugural MLS season. The English center back appeared in 49 league games for City, scoring four goals.
Turner, 20, spent the 2016 season on loan with Orlando City B in the USL and recorded four goals. The Connecticut native made five starts in seven First Team appearances in 2015.
A 2015 MLS Expansion Draft selection, Ribeiro scored two goals and two assists in City’s inaugural season and was instrumental in earning the Club’s first MLS win on March 13 in Houston. The Belo Horizonte, Brazil, native missed most of the 2016 campaign due to injury.
Ribeiro is eligible for Stage One of the MLS Re-Entry Draft held on Friday, Dec. 16 or for Stage Two on Thursday, Dec. 22.
Players who are available in Stage One of the Re-Entry Draft are players who are at least 23 years old, have a minimum of three MLS service years and whose options were not exercised by their clubs.
Baptista joined the Club three games into the 2016 season and was a major contributor as a substitute. Commonly known as “The Beast,” 35-year-old Baptista scored six goals and three assists in 23 appearances. | 1,270,521 |
to Big Tobacco—those staunch guardians of public health—while putting companies like mine six feet under.
Meanwhile, some of the actual guardians of public health are already coming around on the issue.
2 Many Health Organizations Recognize The Benefits
And they’re starting to say a lot of things like this:
American Council on Science and Health: “Tobacco firms already control 99 percent of the nicotine supply, and the firms could soon dominate the growing e-cigarette market. Unless constrained by the laws of the country concerned, tobacco firms could raise electronic cigarettes prices and their profit, decreasing the incentive for smokers to switch to safer products, and protecting firms’ tobacco cigarette sales revenue from competition.”
Royal College of Physicians, London: “On the basis of available evidence, the RCP believes that e-cigarettes could lead to significant falls in the prevalence of smoking in the UK, prevent many deaths and episodes of serious illness, and help to reduce the social inequalities in health that tobacco smoking currently exacerbates.”
Action on Smoking and Health, United Kingdom: “Electronic cigarettes are proving more attractive to smokers than NRT, while providing them with a safer alternative to cigarettes. There is evidence that they can be effective in helping smokers quit, and little evidence that they are being used by never smokers.”
It seems that when impartial public health organizations look at the available, impartial, peer-reviewed evidence, they tend to reach the same conclusion: More long-term studies should be undertaken but, based on what we’re seeing here, vaping is far, far safer than cigarettes and help people quit smoking quite effectively.
But what’s that? You say you’ve heard six dozen talking heads on TV saying that literally no studies have been done on e-cigs? Why, here’s a recent Chicago Tribune article that flat out states, “No studies have been done to examine the safety of e-cigarettes. As a result, there is no evidence that doctors can use to assess the impact this product may have on a person’s body. Also, no convincing evidence shows that e-cigarettes are useful in helping people to eventually stop smoking.”
The Chicago Tribune has just lied through its teeth. As I’ve demonstrated repeatedly throughout this list...
1 Tons Of Studies Have Been Done
Just tons of them. All the ones I’ve linked here—and many more—demonstrate that these products are far less toxic than cigarettes, more effective than pharmaceutical smoking cessation products, and pose no risk to bystanders. All the information is there but hard to find because it is largely marginalized, taken out of context, or ignored by the media. Many of the links I’ve used are compiled here, and this database is added to regularly—the ever-growing pile of evidence that the media is only giving you one side of the story.
I hope I’ve been reasonably effective in giving you the other side of the story. And now, back to our regularly scheduled lists. | 1,270,522 |
EXCISION MANIFESTED 30MINS OF ROTTUN BASS FOR THE BBC & NOW YOU CAN UNLEASH THIS PUTRID FILTH UPON THE UNSUSPECTING MASSES FEELING SAFE IN THEIR WHITE BMW’S, PLAYING TOP 40 FLUFF, SIPPING A STARFUCK’S MOCHAFRAPPAUCCINOGUIDO, FIST PUMPING AWAY, WITH 6 POPPED COLLARS & ENOUGH ED HARDY, BRONZER & HAIR GEL FOR ALL OF JERSEY SHORE TO CHOKE & DIE ON. SO PLEASE, DOWNLOAD THE MIX, FIND SOME DOUCHEDITCH’S FIST PUMPING TO LADY DUH DUH IN THEIR MOM’S WHITE BMW & PUT EXCISION ON BLAST UNTIL THEIR TWEEZED EYEBROWS RAISE IN HORROR & THEIR POUTY PINK LIPS FROWN IN FEAR!!!
Ctrl Z & Freestylers – Ruffneck (Excision & Datsik Remix) [Never Say Die]
Ivory – Hand Grenage (Excision & Datsik Remix) [Rat Records]
Bokator – Robot Seckz (Excision VIP) [Rottun]
Datsik – Want Some More [EX7]
Excision – No Escape (Datsik Remix) [Rottun]
Datsik – Retreat (Excision Remix) [Rottun]
Excision – Subsonic [EX7]
Excision & Noiz – Force [EX7]
Excision & Datsik – Boom (Skism Remix) [Rottun]
Davip & Encode – Vamonos [Breed]
Broken Note – Mask of Gas [Ad Noiseam]
Liquid Stranger – Ripple [Rottun]
Downlink – This is the Night [Rottun]
Kelly Dean – Teflon (Excision & Datsik Remix) [Scion A/V]
Excision & Datsik – Swagga (Downlink Remix) [EX7]
Excision & Datsik – Deviance [EX7]
Vaski – Zombie Apocalypse [Rottun]
Apex – Nowhere to Run (Excision & Datsik Remix) [Lifted]
Noisia – Machine Gun [Vision]
Noisia – Machine Gun (16 Bit Remix) [Vision]
Ajapai – Mobilized [Rottun]
Datsik – Firepower [EX7]
Foreign Beggars ft. Noisia – No Holds Barred (Excision Remix) [Never Say Die]
EXCISION~BBC RADIO 1 MIX
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude traders are bracing for increasing supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for benchmark crude futures, as unexpected refinery issues add to inventories that are already at the highest in more than a year.
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
Inventories at Cushing rose to 42.6 million barrels in the week to Feb. 1, the highest level since early January 2018, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Problems at a key Midwest refinery, along with upcoming seasonal maintenance, have traders believing supplies will rise more than expected at Cushing in coming weeks.
A fire at Phillips 66’s 330,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Wood River, Illinois, refinery and a unit closure at the Ponca City, Oklahoma, plant added to the bearish outlook for prices, traders said.
The discount for front-month U.S. crude for delivery in March and futures for delivery in April widened to as much as 39 cents a barrel on Monday, the most in nearly a year and a half, reflecting expectations of supply increases at the storage hub. Increased supply makes traders less inclined to pay higher prices for near-term oil.
The weakness in U.S. crude futures pushed the discount for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) versus international benchmark Brent to the widest level in nearly two months, at $9.52 a barrel.
“The outages, whether they’re unplanned, or even more importantly the planned ones, are going to be mounting here, and that’s going to engender a significant rise at Cushing,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York.
The second largest crude distillation unit (CDU) was shut by a fire on Sunday at Phillips 66’s joint-venture Wood River refinery, a source familiar with plant operations said. Phillips 66 also shut the second-largest CDU at its Ponca City refinery for a planned overhaul, a source said.
“It’s a perfect storm of bearish information this morning for WTI,” said Scott Shelton, a broker at ICAP in Durham. “Fears of tank tops will only worsen for the second quarter on this information.”
U.S. refiners were estimated to have about 1.8 million bpd of capacity offline in the week ending Feb. 8, increasing offline capacity by 629,000 bpd from a week earlier, research company IIR Energy said on Friday.
Moreover, traders said some barrels headed for Patoka, Illinois, have been diverted to Cushing following an outage on a section of TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline.
“You’re getting some additional flow into Cushing. That’ll put pressure on WTI,” one crude trader said. | 1,270,524 |
is also the message he relays to potential new signings. Signings who are deemed to have the necessary physical and mental attributes to work for Rodgers. The hunger to improve, to work hard to be part of a team going places.
There is no doubt that Martin Skrtel divides opinion amongst fans. I myself have been very critical of him this season. There is also no doubt that if an offer had come in that was acceptable then he would have been out of the door in the last Summer transfer window. However, since he came back into the side for the Manchester United home game he has not been out of the side. Circumstances may have dictated that there were not many other options but whether you think Skrtel is great or not, overall, he has done well for us this season.
The same can be said for both Jon Flanagan and Aly Cissokho. Prior to the Arsenal away game, if you had taken a straw poll from 100 fans I am sure at least 95 of them would say that Flanagan has no future at the club. If you did the same now I am sure that that number would be quite different. In fact, i’d suggest more than 50% would now be happy for him to stay and stay within the first team squad.
That sort of turnaround does not come about over night, it comes from hours and hours of hard work on the training pitch. It comes from a manager who is not prepared to cast off what many people would call rejects. Rodgers strikes me as a man who does not give up easily on something.
Again, the same applies to Aly Cissokho. Rescued from the fringes of the Valenica team, another reject if you like. This time only on loan but brought in to do a job and again, I have been critical of him, but he is showing us now that he is an accomplished defender. He offers nothing going forward but if he were to stay then I would expect to see a vast improvement in that department.
In fact, if you look at his tenure then it is really only Andy Carroll who he had very little time for and took no interest in trying to develop. Whether that says more about Carroll’s attitude than anything else is hard to say but Rodgers has tried to improve every player he has had to work with at Anfield.
He wants to see them working hard in training and he wants to develop young players. Look at the way he has blooded young players this season. Flanagan coming back into the team away at Arsenal, Brad Smith making his debut away at Chelsea, Joao Texeria being brought on away at Fulham when chasing the game.
Imagine the boost that must give to every player who walks through the gates at Melwood. Whether you are a young player, a player rescued from the scrap-heap, the reject pile at your former club or if you are one of the very best players in the world, the message is clear.
Do it here, do it now, do it for me on the training pitch and you will get your rewards. | 1,270,525 |
Thanks to the ongoing talk in Major League Baseball about Biogenesis, the topic of performance-enhancing drugs has been thrust into the dialogue around the sports world for the past several months.
Much of that talk has centered around the use of human growth hormone (HGH), which is the latest PED sports leagues are trying to combat. That includes the NBA, which is in the process of figuring out the best way to implement HGH testing as part of its drug-testing program.
“One of the changes that we know we’ll be making to our current drug testing is the addition of HGH testing, which requires taking blood from the players,” NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver told The Post last week. “We want to make sure, on behalf of our players, as well, that’s it’s done in the proper way, and that we understand what are the appropriate baselines for a natural substance, like HGH, so we can detect where there are aberrations. That is something we’re very focused on.”
Silver said while the NBA has been monitoring the Biogenesis case as it has developed over the past several months, the league isn’t aware of any involvement of its players with the clinic, contrary to a recent report.
“We’ve been actively working to understand the situation and to the extent possible to learn what is being uncovered by MLB’s investigation,” Silver said. “We are not aware of any involvement by NBA players.”
While the NBA is still in the process of implementing HGH testing, virtually all of its star players, including local headliners Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams, have been subjected to Olympic-level testing — the most thorough testing program available — as part of their participation in international competition.
The NBA has the same three-strikes penalty structure as MLB, with a 20-game suspension for a first PED offense, followed by 45 games for a second and a lifetime ban for a third. All players are subject to six random tests each year — four during the season, and two during the offseason.
Although the implementation of HGH testing is something that likely won’t be completed until the NBA Players Association has hired a new executive director — something it’s currently in the process of doing it — Silver said he has heard nothing but agreement from the players on the need to ensure fairness for all.
“It’s why, even in the collective bargaining agreement, this was not a point of contention,” he said. “Both for the player representatives and the owners who participated, this is an issue where it is in everybody’s interest to have state-of-the-art drug testing, and to have a level playing field for all players, because we recognize it’s not fair for a player to believe that in order to compete, and in order to keep his job, he has to do something that one could potentially harm his body and number two could potentially get him in trouble.” | 1,270,526 |
Karen Ford is today’s guest on The Segilola Salami Show. Karen shares with us her journey to becoming publishing her first book and shares tips with us on the principles of wealth building. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to all that Karen Ford has to say.
About Karen Ford
Karen Ford is a Master Financial Coach, Public Speaker, Entrepreneur, and Best- Selling Author. As an inspirational speaker, Karen encourages and inspires people to rid themselves of debt and dare to dream and make reality building wealth. It’s an opportunity to reach for your dreams and take and make happen what is meant for you.
Karen Ford’s #1 Amazon Best Selling Book “Money Matters” is a discovery for many. In “Money Matters” she provides keys to demolishing debt, shares how to budget correctly, and gives principles in wealth building. This book is not only motivational but practical.
Karen is a Master Financial Coach that has coached people with a variety of money issues; from just $500 in debt to $800,000 in debt. She has coached folks with up to 86 credit cards and taught them how to pay down and pay off those credit cards in record time.
Karen’s mission is to inspire others to rid themselves of debt and build wealth. She encourages other to break the shackles of debt and gives valuable insight into building wealth so they can experience financial freedom!
You can connect with Karen Ford on Twitter by clicking here.
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About The Segilola Salami Show
The Segilola Salami show is hosted by Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Her latest book is called Useless Warrior Princess.
The show is set in a virtual cafe and is about books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new.
The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to subscribe to be notified when a new episode is released.
If you would like to appear as a guest on the next episode of the podcast, please click here to book your slot.
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The intro music used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.
***
I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode Karen Ford: Principles of Wealth Building. Please leave a comment below. | 1,270,527 |
FDD’s pro-Iranian people posture was rarely accompanied by an explanation of their ideological project. The outfit—funded by big-name pro-Israel billionaires like casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus (who’s said that “Iran is the devil”) and Wall Street speculatorPaul Singer—are largely presented as bespectacled academics calling balls and strikes without a particular agenda beyond their self-proclaimed “defense of democracies.” (The name ought to provoke some skepticism, given the group’s eagerness to enlist the hereditary dictatorship Saudi Arabia in its anti-Iranian crusade—LobeLog, 2/26/16.)
This problem is not unique to FDD; as FAIR (8/12/16) has noted before, the overreliance by the media on deeply conflicted think tanks that present as neutral but are, in reality, glorified lobbyists for a political cause or corporate cohort misleads readers on an institutional scale. (In FDD’s case, it’s Israel’s right wing; for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, it’s weapons contractors—FAIR.org, 5/8/17, 7/17/17.)
FDD, it’s worth noting, also worked closely with the Trump administration and CIA to curate documents implicating Iran in the 9/11 attacks, as part of a broader anti-Iran strategy that rogue DoJ lawyers spelled out in November in leaks to the Washington Post (11/17/17; FAIR.org, 11/24/17).
Occasionally, editors will note they are “conservative” or “hawkish,” but FDD is mostly presented as a quasi-academic and impartial observer. The average reader, for example, would probably be surprised to find out the FDD “fellow” expressing concern for The Iranian People™ in the Times, Reuel Marc Gerecht, has long joked about wanting to bomb these same Iranians. As Eli Clifton noted in LobeLog (1/4/18), in 2010 Gerecht quipped: “Counted up the other day: I’ve written about 25,000 words about bombing Iran. Even my mom thinks I’ve gone too far.”
Shouldn’t someone so self-admittedly obsessed with killing Iranians be disqualified from posing as their protector in a major US newspaper? Failing that, shouldn’t readers be alerted that Gerecht was the director in the late ’90s of the Middle East Initiative at the Project for the New American Century—the most prominent advocacy group for the invasion of Iraq, a war that left 500,000 to a million dead?
Think tank addiction for overworked and often myopic reporters and editors has rendered such glaring questions unaskable. FDD are the “experts,” and the “experts” are needed to drive the bulk of commentary, regardless of their well-documented ulterior motives. | 1,270,528 |
��され、11月に発売される新しい13インチおよび15インチのMacBook Proに搭載されている。
5000件以上の特許を保有するIve氏は、米CNET NewsのConnie Guglielmo編集長とのインタビューに応じ、Touch BarがAppleにとって「非常に興味深い方向性の始まり」にすぎない理由を語った。
--Touch Barは珍しいコンピュータ操作方法です。なぜタッチバーなのですか。
Ive氏：われわれは、概念的に理にかなうデザインをいくつか検討しました。しかし、しばらくの間、それらのデザインをいわば実践的に日々使用してみると、魅力が薄れることもありました。どのプロトタイプを作る前にも、われわれはかなり長い期間試しました。従来型のキーボードに戻ったときに、その価値を強く実感したのです。
--あなたは何を成し遂げようとしていたのですか。
Ive氏：デザインチームから見て、われわれの出発点は、タッチと従来型のキーボードという両方の入力方法の価値を認識することでした。しかし、従来のキーボードには、奥深くに隠されたような入力も非常にたくさんあります。われわれがそうした複雑な入力を使いこなすことができるのは、主に習慣と慣れのためです。 | 1,270,529 |
those parents were up against a peculiar kind of historical ghost – the spirit of a powerful, state-centred ideology that had proved so useful in Japan’s catch-up modernisation of the 19th century. This ideology regards the people as servants of the state; those who quibble with the official line are seen at best as nuisances and at worst as selfish troublemakers who should be ostracised. It even survived the destruction of Japan in the second world war, despite the officialdom that thrived on that ideology having led the country into disaster. In such a statist universe, Lloyd Parry contends, even bad politics is considered a kind of a “natural disaster”, an “impersonal misfortune beyond the influence of common men”, meant to be “helplessly accepted, and endured”. The apparent danger is that people stop exercising the power of individual judgment, which can lead to deadly conformism, as was the case with the elderly family who parked their car on a hill after the tsunami warnings, and then dutifully walked down the hill to report at the evacuation centre, only to meet their death. The same traits – respect for order, a high tolerance threshold and aversion to making a fuss – that made the Tohoku people model evacuees, one might argue, hinder the making of active democratic citizens.
Yet hardship can also ignite the desire to fight for one’s rights. It is little remembered today, but Tohoku has a history of struggling for its democratic dues. In the 1870s and 80s, when Japan’s fledgling civic society was considering what kind of a constitution it would need, Tohoku thinkers who had experienced the region’s endemic poverty, inertia and bloody defeat in the 1860s civil war, led a grassroots debate, the subjects of which ranged from whether a female emperor should be installed, to press freedom and how a “backwater” like Tohoku could be integrated into the rest of Japanese society. Many of the problems debated then are still relevant today.
Of all such Tohoku-inspired democratic movements, the Itsukaichi constitution is worth noting now. This was a proposal in 1881 for a constitution drafted by the Tohoku native Takusaburo Chiba. More than half its articles are devoted to people’s rights. Chiba died at the age of 31 and his constitution had to wait nearly 90 years before being discovered in a neglected archive. It is to reformers such as Chiba that Tohoku and the whole of Japan today should be looking for inspiration.
Eri Hotta’s Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy is published by Vintage.
• Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone is published by Jonathan Cape. To order a copy for £14.44 (RRP £16.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99. | 1,270,530 |
Sigint mentioned the human cannon, the soldiers stopped taking Sigint seriously, and hung up when he mentioned the UFO aircraft.
"An expert in weapons, equipment, and cutting edge technology, his code name is short for "Signals Intelligence." Unable to find a job due to discrimination, he was invited by Major Zero to join FOX. Also vice president of the unofficial UMA Finders Club." ―Official description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
Along with Para-Medic, Major Zero and Ocelot, Sigint's appearance within the story line of Portable Ops is restricted to the radio, and the animated comic style cutscenes. His in-game model is only used once he has been recruited, an event of unknown status to the game's canonical story due to Sigint greeting Snake upon his return to the United States. Like Para-Medic, Sigint received a new model for Portable Ops.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Prior to the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, it was not clearly established that Sigint and Donald Anderson were the same character. Although similarities between the two were alluded to in previous games, namely their association with ARPA/DARPA, it wasn't until Act 3 of Metal Gear Solid 4, when Big Mama reveals to Old Snake the history of the Patriots, that the two were revealed to be one.
Donald Anderson makes a cameo appearance as a "ghost" near the Tank Hangar's cargo door shaft's entrance. His appearance as a "ghost" is based on his face portrait. In addition, one of his lines from Metal Gear Solid 3, "I am THE expert on weapons, equipment and cutting-edge technology" is the name of a trophy with the Metal Gear Solid 4 trophy patch, unlocked after collecting every single weapon and item in the game (excluding password-exclusive unlockables).
Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid V
Although Sigint doesn't directly appear in later games, he is mentioned in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker by Kazuhira Miller, during a phone call to Cipher (Zero), in which he states Sigint's view that "machines will just be machines."
Donald Anderson's character model appears in the "Déjà Vu" Extra Ops mission of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Should the player character utilize the Classic Snake skin, Anderson can be found in the same cage that Chico is imprisoned in the main game, shortly before succumbing to FOXDIE. His younger self also appears in the Ground Zeroes app as an officer character in the Mother Base Developer. He is unlocked by achieving the "Fastest Neutralization of Enemies" trial on the Ground Zeroes mission, by completing it within 9 minutes while connected to the app.
Donald Anderson is mentioned in several cassette tapes during Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. One has Zero mentioning Donald to Ocelot after the first phase of Skull Face's plans, and another has Ocelot mention Anderson to Venom Snake, regarding Cipher's current status.
Appearances
Non-canonical
Source
Gallery | 1,270,531 |
Bank of England: Central Bank Digital Currencies Can Jeopardize Commercial Banks
The Bank of England has issued a May 2018 staff working paper, which suggests that the adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could pose a competition threat to commercial banks.
Currently, the conventional - and profitable - business model of commercial banks relies on a plentiful and cheap supply of retail deposits, i.e. the storage of individuals’ and corporations’ cash holdings in their current and savings accounts. This underpins commercial banks’ net interest margin (NIM) profitability, but the paper warns that this situation could come under threat with CBDCs.
The paper engages with the “radical idea” that the public could be given the option to store their money at the central bank in the form of central bank digital currencies. As well as “perceiving” this to be a “safer storage facility,” consumers would moreover be able to continue to make payments and transfers seamlessly, using private operators of ‘digital wallet’ and transaction verification services. The paper adds a note that:
“With respect to the availability of overdraft facilities, it wouldn’t be unimaginable that the private operators could also provide lines of credit bundled with payment functionalities.”
The paper argues that such a scenario - involving universal disintermediated access to the central bank’s balance sheet, alongside preserved payment functionalities - could have critical consequences for the commercial banking sector.
Both individual and corporate depositors would have a potential substitute for the traditional deposit account services being offered by commercial banks, so that “banks may be subject to an outflow of retail deposits, in particular in a scenario of financial stress.”
The paper refers to a March report by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) that similarly suggested that “in times of financial stress, domestic (retail) investors are likely to consider CBDC attractive relative to bank deposits, with many possible side effects… for financial stability.”
Earlier this month, the Bank of England released a staff working paper laying out various risk and financial stability analyses for CBDCs. As Cointelegraph reported, the paper notably found that, after a first approximation, there was no reason to believe that introducing a CBDC would have an adverse effect on private credit or on total liquidity provision to the economy.
Two days ago, the Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney told an audience at the Riksbank Anniversary conference that he was open-minded about the prospect of a central bank digital currency, while stressing that any CBDC adoption would not happen soon. Carney has however leveled sharp criticisms at cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Source cointelegraph.com
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Binance
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Huobi
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Telegram Channel https://t.me/crypto_telegraph
Fintech, Blockchain and Bitcoin latest news and analyses on the future of money
| 1,270,532 |
longstanding shadow network of political, industry, media and corporate officials that sit invisibly behind the seat of government, yet literally write its foreign and domestic national security policies whether the administration is Democrat of Republican, by contributing ‘ideas’ and forging government-industry relationships.
It is this sort of closed-door networking that has rendered the American vote pointless. Far from protecting the public interest or helping to combat terrorism, the comprehensive monitoring of electronic communications has been systematically abused to empower vested interests in the energy, defense, and IT industries.
The state of permanent global warfare that has resulted from the Pentagon’s alliances with private contractors and unaccountable harnessing of information expertise, is not making anyone safer, but has spawned a new generation of terrorists in the form of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ — itself a Frankenstein by-product of the putrid combination of Assad’s brutality and longstanding US covert operations in the region. This Frankenstein’s existence is now being cynically exploited by private contractors seeking to profit exponentially from expanding the national security apparatus, at a time when economic volatility has pressured governments to slash defense spending.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, from 2008 to 2013, the five largest US defense contractors lost 14 percent of their employees, as the winding down of US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan led to lack of business and squeezed revenues. The continuation of the ‘Long War’ triggered by ISIS has, for now, reversed their fortunes. Companies profiting from the new war include many connected to the Highlands Forum, such as Leidos, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Boeing. War is, indeed, a racket.
No more shadows
Yet in the long-run, the information imperialists have already failed. This investigation is based entirely on open source techniques, made viable largely in the context of the same information revolution that enabled Google. The investigation has been funded entirely by members of the public, through crowd-funding. And the investigation has been published and distributed outside the circuits of traditional media, precisely to make the point that in this new digital age, centralized top-down concentrations of power cannot overcome the power of people, their love of truth and justice, and their desire to share.
What are the lessons of this irony? Simple, really: The information revolution is inherently decentralized, and decentralizing. It cannot be controlled and co-opted by Big Brother. Efforts to do so will in the end invariably fail, in a way that is ultimately self-defeating.
The latest mad-cap Pentagon initiative to dominate the world through control of information and information technologies, is not a sign of the all-powerful nature of the shadow network, but rather a symptom of its deluded desperation as it attempts to ward off the acceleration of its hegemonic decline.
But the decline is well on its way. And this story, like so many before it, is one small sign that the opportunities to mobilize the information revolution for the benefit of all, despite the efforts of power to hide in the shadows, are stronger than ever.
READ PART ONE | 1,270,533 |
Texas — Nestlé, the Swiss multinational corporation whose CEO has been known to say that clean drinking water is ‘not a human right,’ is at it again. Recently, the company paid only $524 to extract 27,000,000 gallons of California’s drinking water in the middle of one of the worst droughts the state has ever seen, but they’ve also been trying to steal water from residents living near Oxbow Springs in Cascade Locks, Oregon — only to then sell it back to them at inflated prices. This is Nestlé’s business model — privatize water that already belongs to citizens, and then sell it for a profit in plastic bottles that are riddling the oceans and waterways with trash. If you think Cascade Locks citizens are going to take this sitting down — think again.
The mega-company may capitalize on profits by telling their customers that the bottled water they sell is pristine, coming from a natural spring, and this would be true — but they don’t tell anyone that they are stealing it, without any concern for conservation.
If you live in Cascade Locks, the water that comes out of your tap is as pure as anything Arrowhead Springs, or Pure Life sells, both being brands of Nestlé. Your tap water isn’t promoted with television commercials and million dollar advertising budgets, but if you live in this part of Oregon, Nestlé’s stolen water is exactly the same water as what comes out of your faucet. What’s more, the tap water costs less than a penny for a glass, and Nestlé’s water costs anywhere from $3.79 to $4.49 for some 16 ounce bottles.
Despite legal challenges and public outcry, the company has done what it usually sets out to do — win the votes of a few city council members, discreetly take the water, and hope that no one makes a stink about it.
In Cascade Locks, the company has tried to circumvent the permitting process to extract water. Instead of obtaining the water through a gallon-for-gallon trade between the state and Cascade Locks city government, which would then sell the water to Nestlé, the company wants the state to trade its legal right to some of the pure spring water. Citizens are standing up and saying “think again” to Nestlé.
Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit known for battling Nestlé over bottled water, helped citizens pressure the city council to reassess their strategy. Nestlé has been fighting for a water deal in Cascade Locks since 2007. It wants permission to carry away millions of gallons of water annually, driving them through the downtown core in huge, 20,000-pound trucks at a rate of one every four minutes. The water would be bottled and sold right back to Americans — not on Cascade Locks’ watch, though.
The Story of Stuff has created a brief documentary helping to voice the concerns of Cascade Locks citizens, which can be seen here. Additional teasers for the documentary can be found on YouTube, including the following: | 1,270,534 |
A probe by the Haryana Police found that many students got answers over phone through carefully concealed listening devices.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday allowed two female candidates to write their All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Test-2015 scheduled on July 25 wearing their religious dress, subject to certain conditions.
Justice K. Vinod Chandran, while disposing of two writ petitions filed by two Muslim candidates challenging the dress code prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), observed that it could not be insisted in a nation like India with diverse religions that a particular dress code mandated by a religion should be avoided while writing examinations.
The dress code was ordered by the CBSE following a Supreme Court order in mid-June that a fresh test be held in view of large-scale irregularities at many test centres across the country on May 3. A probe by the Haryana Police found that many students got answers over phone through carefully concealed listening devices.
The petitions against the dress code were filed by Nidha Raheem of Palakkad and Asiya Abdul Kareem of Malappuram. While Nidha would write the examination at the Wadi Islam High School at Koduvalli in Kozhikode, Asiya would appear at the centre at the Bhavans Vidyasram at Chelembra in Malappuram.
The court ordered that an invigilator, along with a woman invigilator, or another authorised officer should be present at the two centres half-an-hour before the examinations commenced. The court also directed the petitioners who wanted to wear their religious dress to present themselves before the invigilator half-an-hour before the examination.
On any suspicion expressed by the invigilator, they should subject themselves to any mode of personal search as decided by the invigilators. However, the search should be carried out by an authorised person of the same sex. If the invigilator required that the head scarf or the full sleeve garments be removed and examined, the petitioner should subject themselves to such requirement. The CBSE counsel submitted that the dress code did not intend to harass any student. It was only to ensure that the irregularity did not recur.
The court also noted that the dress code as such could not be said to be wrong or improper especially considering the Supreme Court judgment. The petitioners said the CBSE had stipulated a dress code of “half sleeves shirt/T-shirt/kurta with trousers/salwars and open slippers.” The dress code was mentioned in the provisional admit card issued to the petitioners.
The petitioners said they were following the religion of Islam ardently. The insistence on the dress code was directly in conflict with the Koranic injunctions. Koran enjoined on women a strict code of dress — wearing Khumur (veil covering the head) and Jilbaba (loose outer garment was the dress code prescribed by Koran and Sunnah. They feared that they might not be permitted to write the exam if they wore the dress prescribed by the Koran. | 1,270,535 |
should have been a slam-dunk case.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You had a great case with Dekraai. You had confessions, you had witnesses, you had motive. Why risk it and use somebody like Fernando Perez as part of your case?
Tony Rackauckas: Well, look, we had a really good case, no question about it. When you listen to what it was that he had to say to Perez, it was a very clear statement of his-- of-- of what it was he was doing. His intent, his malice, his reasons.
Under mounting public and political pressure, the district attorney appointed a Blue Ribbon panel to look into what happened.
Sharyn Alfonsi: They described the office as a "must-win mentality," they described your office as a "ship without a rudder." They said, "There's been a failure of leadership."
Tony Rackauckas: You know, it's interesting they did say those things and they put that in the writing. And-- but I talked to them personally and they really didn't have that to say personally.
Tony Rackauckas: It's getting around that there's some kind of a conspiracy or there's some kind of-- or there's some kind of willingness to violate people's rights or to not give people a fair trial, that's a false narrative. That's just-- that's simply not true.
Sharyn Alfonsi: OK, so clarify it for me.
Tony Rackauckas: So the public defender made a lot of allegations, of all kinds of criminal conduct, of terrible things. And believe me-- and if those things were true-- we should be in jail, frankly; if those things were true, that would be very bad.
Sharyn Alfonsi: But what about the allegation that the office withheld evidence?
Tony Rackauckas: The office did not withhold evidence; we have not withheld any evidence.
He told us that even after the judge disagreed. The judge ruled jail deputies—working for the DA's office-- "intentionally lied or willfully withheld material evidence" about the secret informant program.
The judge went on to say that even if the prosecutors didn't know deputies were hiding evidence, they should have. And then the judge went even further...convinced Dekraai could not get a fair trial from Orange County prosecutors he kicked the entire office, all 275 of them, his entire office, off the case.
Dekraai still hasn't been sentenced and the informant debacle has led to a half-dozen cases unraveling, putting murderers and thugs back on the street.
As for Fernando Perez…Inmate F...his snitching paid off. Instead of life in prison, a judge sentenced him to spend another few years in protective custody and he'll be released as a reward for all his snitching.
The U.S. Department of Justice, the California attorney general and a local grand jury are all now investigating both the DA's office and the sheriff's department. | 1,270,536 |
50) So: what do the #UraniumOne traitors & DNC Media & Democrats THINK has been going on for the last 8 moths?
51) Trump has been STAGGERING on the ropes in desperate trouble trying to avoid a KNOCKOUT BLOW as Mueller relentlessly stalks him!
52) The reality? Mueller has been digging even deeper into #UraniumOne & into #FusionGPS & the Trump dossier.
53) He *has* found Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Do you know what it was?
Shall I tell you?
54) He found a MASSIVE Russian bribery scheme involving 1 of the Presidential candidates in which she compromised US nat’l security.
55) He *also* found this selfsame candidate illegally funding solicitation of info from Russian gov’t sources to smear the OTHER candidate.
56) And to compound THAT offense, this candidate also tried to HIDE her funding of this dossier by using a law firm, which is illegal.
57) The investigation is mostly over. Most of the indictments from the grand jury/juries have been made, sealed.
58) You’re all about to witness something that was deemed to be an impossibility.
59) A previous administration that was so corrupt across so many agencies with so many people involved, it made it invincible….
60) is about to be rolled up.
Dozens of people are going to prison. And you know most of the names.
61) Not until the hammer actually falls & all the indictments are unsealed will most people figure out what Trump & his team did.
62) DNC Media never had a chance to compromise/thwart the investigation of #UraniumOne & #FusionGPS because they fell for the COVER STORY.
63) It’s literally too late at this point to stop what’s coming. That window closed weeks ago.
64) Examples will be made out of these people. When Trump & Sessions are done, NO ONE will ever try this kind of treason again.
/end.
Later, from same poster…
Don’t worry guys. We got this. ;^)
[picture of Adm. Michael Rogers] This man gave Trump all the evidence he needed plus 2016 WH & IC “happenings”.
Far too late for them, anon. Have a little faith in us.
You’re not going to have much time to doubt cause there’s a hammer coming down soon.\
Tell everyone.
___
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=86909
—
http://themillenniumreport.com/2017/11/uraniumgate-explodes-the-white-hats-are-about-to-indict-the-black-hats/ | 1,270,537 |
? Perhaps the following quotation can help you to answer this question:
I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
These words would doubtless raise the ire of Mr. Ashcroft which, he would say, "aid terrorists" and "erode our national unity." One who spoke them, today, would likely be arrested, transported to an isolated military base to be held — indefinitely, incommunicado, and without benefit of a public trial — as an "enemy combatant." The man who spoke these words was, of course, a former American president and the draftsman of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson!
To generations of Americans long conditioned in the collectivist premises of the Pledge of Allegiance — which speaks of "one nation, indivisible" — the idea of the moral supremacy of individuals who, no longer "consenting" to be governed, had the "right to alter or abolish" the political system they had set up, is incomprehensible. It is not so much that most people disagree with the proposition as it is that they find it meaningless, as irrelevant to their lives as the provisions of Magna Carta!
Most Americans have contented themselves with their subservience to the state. When I was growing up, we understood a "patriot" to be as it is described in The Oxford English Dictionary: "one whose ruling passion is the love of his country," and "who maintains and defends his country’s freedom or rights." Such a definition was even extended to one who was "a factious disturber of the government." Today, "patriotism" — like "liberty" — has come to mean little more, to most people, than obedience to political authority!
Bear in mind that, on July 4th, 1776, the British were not an invading army, but the established government in America. But such men as drafted the Declaration had a deeper love for the country that transcended any duty of obedience the state sought to impose upon them. It was in this sense that those of my generation learned to regard Jefferson and his colleagues — not the Loyalists who supported the existing government — as patriots.
The Declaration’s appeal to the sovereignty of each individual has become weaker over the decades, as most of us accept the propriety of others exercising authority over our lives. We increasingly accept the proposition that we are not to be trusted with any genuine power over our lives and that, for our "own good," the state must act on our behalf. Even such limited power as is found in firecrackers, sparklers, and Roman candles, are deemed too "dangerous" to our well-being and so, on July 4th, we allow the government, with its fireworks displays, to celebrate our "liberty" and "independence" for us!
The liberating words of men like Thomas Jefferson are regarded as passé in modern America. Most of us now prefer the soothing assurances of our current George III!
The Best of Butler Shaffer | 1,270,538 |
India's retail inflation eased to 2.3 percent in November, according to data released by the government on December 12. It stood at 4.88 percent in November last year and was 3.31 percent in October.
CPI is the main price gauge that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tracks.
The central bank last week trimmed H2FY19 (October-March) inflation forecast to 2.7-3.2 percent from 3.9-4.5 percent earlier. It pegged H1 FY20 (April-September) inflation at 3.8-4.2 percent.
As per minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on December 5, former RBI Governor Urjit Patel said that broad-based weakening of food prices and the sharp decline in international crude oil prices imparts a downward bias to the headline inflation trajectory going forward.
However, he also acknowledged that there has been a broad-based increase in inflation in the non-food group.
Led by deflation in food items, softening crude oil prices and relatively stable domestic currency, the central bank kept key policy rates unchanged last week.
Consumer food price index recorded de-growth of 2.61 percent in November, from (-) 0.86 percent in October, mainly driven by cheaper vegetables, eggs, pulses and sugar.
Prices of vegetables witnessed a negative growth of (-) 15.59 percent versus (-) 8.06 percent a month ago.
Similarly, pulses continued witness deflation and contracted (-) 9.22 percent in November from (-) 10.28 percent a month ago and that of sugar grew (-) 9.02 percent.
“The sharp easing in the headline CPI inflation to a lower than expected 2.3 percent in November 2018, reflects a combination of favorable factors such as the correction in retail fuel prices, discomfiting factors such as a deeper disinflation in food prices, and base effects related to the waning impact of the HRA revision for central government employees. In our view, factors such as weak post-monsoon rainfall and lagging rabi sowing cast some doubt on how long food prices would remain in the disinflation zone,” said Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist at ICRA.
Fuel and light inflation for November was at 7.39 percent compared to 8.55 percent month on month, while housing inflation was 5.99 percent versus 6.55 percent MoM.
Experts expect inflation to remain to be benign in the next few months, with momentum for a rate cut by the central bank picking up.
“We expect CPI to remain below 4 percent till April-June 2019-20. We also expect a change in monetary policy stance to “neutral” from “calibrated tightening” in the February policy and expectations of a rate cut will now start building,” said B Prasanna, Head, Global Markets Group, ICICI Bank.
“However, we should remain cautious as CPI could pick up sharply towards October-March (2019-20),” he said. | 1,270,539 |
DC Comics Cancels ‘Blasphemous’ Jesus Series after 220,000 Sign Petition Share Tweet
DC Comics says it is canceling a series about Jesus that many Christians labeled heresy, although the writer implied on social media that the series may resurface elsewhere.
The series, Second Coming, presented Jesus coming back to Earth to fight evil alongside Sun-Man. The series plot described Christ as having limitations in knowledge and power.
“Witness the return of Jesus Christ, as He is sent on a most holy mission by God to learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind by becoming roommates with the world's favorite savior: the all-powerful superhero Sun-Man, the Last Son of Krispex!” the plot summary for the first issue read. “But when Christ returns to Earth, he's shocked to discover what has become of his gospel -- and now, he aims to set the record straight.”
The plot for the second issue was just as problematic: “An unexpected death leads to God showing off his heavenly kingdom to the son He wished He had, while the Son He has catches up on the earthly plane.”
More than 220,000 people signed a petition urging DC to cancel it. The first issue was scheduled to be released on March 6.
Scripture teaches that Jesus is God and thus, all-knowing and all-powerful.
Newsarama.com reported that DC has told retailers it is cancelling the series.
The series writer, Mark Russell, confirmed the cancellation and said DC had given him the rights.
‘The: DC/Vertigo’s cancellation of the orders for Second Coming, just so you know, DC did not do anything untoward to me,” Russell wrote on Twitter. “I asked for the rights back and they gracefully agreed. They’ve been a pleasure to work with and it will still be released, albeit with a different publisher.”
Prior to the cancellation, Russell had given more details about the plot: Jesus doesn’t know everything that is taking place on Earth until He arrives.
“God was so upset with the fact that he got crucified the last time that he wouldn’t even let him look through the celestial keyhole at Earth to keep up,” Russell said. “He still gets to talk to people when they come to Heaven so he has a rough idea of what’s going on down there. He doesn’t know how sideways things have gone until he’s come down to Earth and sees it for himself.”
The petition to DC described the plot as blasphemous.
“Would DC Comics publish similar content about other religious leaders, such as Mohammed or Buddha? This content is inappropriate and blasphemous. It should be immediately pulled from your publishing schedule,” it read.
Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.
Photo courtesy: Lena Rose/Unsplash | 1,270,540 |
Germany to start trials over Syrian war crimes, as refugee influx brings suspects into country
Posted
Germany will this week start its first war crimes trial over atrocities in Syria, as a mass refugee influx brings not only witnesses and victims but also suspects into the country.
Key points: Germany's federal prosecutor investigates suspected war crimes
Refugees coming into Germany provide new evidence
Suspects being trialled for kidnappings and torture
Aria L., a 21-year-old German national and suspected jihadist, posted on Facebook photos of himself posing next to two decapitated heads in Syria — and his case is not the only one from the war-torn country to occupy German justice.
"Ten investigations linked to Syria or Iraq are currently being examined by the federal prosecutor, on top of more than 30 cases against former jihadists over their membership in a terrorist group," said a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
Among other key war crimes suspects are Ibrahim Al F., a 41-year-old Syrian and the alleged leader of an Islamist rebel group known for kidnapping and torturing civilians in Aleppo.
Another suspect is Suliman A.S., a 24-year-old Syrian suspected of having kidnapped a UN soldier in 2013.
Such investigations have gained momentum particularly as 1.1 million asylum seekers arrived in Germany last year, about 40 per cent of whom fled the wars in Syria and Iraq.
Authorities dealing with asylum requests have picked up and sent 25 to 30 tips every day to prosecutors, as since 2013 Germany requires applicants to complete a form asking if they have witnessed war crimes or could name perpetrators of violations.
"The refugee influx has provided new opportunities for prosecutors to collect specific information," said Geraldine Mattioli, an expert on international justice at Human Rights Watch.
Search for justice 'has to start somewhere'
Investigators dealing with Syrian cases face the additional challenge of access — with the war still raging, they are unable to travel there to gather evidence.
Although propaganda images posted by jihadist fighters on social networks offer a glimpse of the atrocities, it is difficult to authenticate the photos or their provenance.
With the mass arrivals of refugees however, Germany is taking a proactive stance by collecting information bit by bit, and filing it away country by country, rather than wait for specific accusations before taking action.
The hope is that each minute detail being collected could one day help build a broader picture or point to a specific trend.
One shortcoming is that the process rarely targets high-ranking officials of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as comparatively few Syrian soldiers have become refugees arriving in Europe, Ms Mattioli said.
At the same time, Ms Mattioli said the search for justice "has to start somewhere."
The proceedings carried out by Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden and Finland, are, for the moment, the only ones that seek to curb impunity in Syria.
AFP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, law-crime-and-justice, syrian-arab-republic, germany | 1,270,541 |
School shootings are an absolute nightmare scenario. Parents, students, and teachers all shudder at the possibility of such an event and as well they should. I can only imagine how horrific such a thing would be.
Personally, though, I’d prefer at least one of the good guys to be armed as well. Someone like a teacher who can engage a shooter could save countless lives and maybe even end the threat before anyone loses their life. There’s a reason so many of us on this side of the gun debate advocate for allowing teachers to be armed.
In New York, though, Governor Andrew Cuomo is clearly making a statement that he’s on the other side of that debate by signing legislation that bars teachers from carrying guns at work.
Schools across New York are now banned from allowing their teachers and principals to carry guns on school grounds under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The new law, which took effect immediately, prohibits schools from allowing any employee to carry a firearm unless they are a police officer, school resource officer, peace officer or an armed security guard with the proper registration. State lawmakers approved the measure in January amid a national debate over school shootings and whether teachers should be armed. “The answer to the gun violence epidemic plaguing this country has never been and never will be more guns, and today we’re expanding New York’s nation-leading gun safety laws to further protect our children,” Cuomo said in a statement. Carrying a weapon on school grounds is a class E felony in New York.
Previously, New York law actually would allow teachers to carry if the local school board opted to allow it. Now, that possibility has ended.
Funny how local control when it comes to guns only goes one way with them. Down in Florida, Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is all about local governments doing whatever they want when it comes to guns…but only if it creates more gun control. Now we see just how the majority of Democrats see that local control. It’s fine if you want to be more restrictive, but not if you don’t.
Meanwhile, there’s no evidence for the previous law being any sort of a problem. That’s not really surprising. Teachers go through extensive background checks, as do concealed carriers. There’s absolutely no reason to distrust teachers who are also concealed carriers. They damn well should be carrying guns in school if they so wish.
Of course, Cuomo knows this isn’t a problem, too. If he’d suspect it was really an issue, why did he wait six months to sign the bill? It’s likely he knows damn good and well that armed teachers pose no threat to anyone. However, he probably also doesn’t actually care anything about that. He’s hitched his pony up to the gun control wagon and he’s going to ride it the whole way.
Meanwhile, how many kids could die because no armed teachers were there to protect them? How many might die just so Cuomo could score some political points? | 1,270,542 |
Pebble started shipping its new Pebble Steel hardware last week, but until today, the version of the companion app available to the general public didn’t contain any of the version 2.0 goodness that granted access to the Pebble appstore. The new appstore is being billed as the “first open platform for sharing apps optimized for wearables” by Pebble, and as of today, it’s available to the general Pebble-wearing public, so long as you’ve got an iOS device.
The Pebble appstore works with any Pebble running OS version 2.0, which you’ll be prompted to install on your device when you download and install the updated Pebble app. You’ll also get a completely new interface for managing your Pebble and the new apps you can install on it from within the software. As you can see in our review, the update introduces an app and watchface management tray that lets you see what’s already on your Pebble (each smartwatch supports a maximum of 8 third-party apps and faces).
Pebble’s new appstore features apps updated to work with SDK 2.0, and is divided into either apps or watchfaces, with subdivisions within each. The apps section features categories, including fitness apps and remotes, for example, and the watchface category can be organized by popularity, recency or staff picks. In my review, I noted that it struck me as a bit rudimentary, but it’s perfectly functional for a version 1 release, and sort of resembles the early days of Apple’s iOS App Store.
I’ve already got some favourites picked out from the inaugural batch of Pebble apps: Both Yelp and Foursquare’s official software never leave my wrist, and the third-party Huebble app is arguably a better Philips Hue remote than the iOS app itself in many ways. The PipBoy 100 Pebble watchface also provides some great utility, including battery indicator, connectivity loss alarm when you venture too far from your phone, and what amounts to a loose step counter via an XP display and level up system. And if my life was exciting enough that I owned a GoPro, I’d definitely use the remote app for that gadget.
Already, Pebble’s app ecosystem offers up a number of software titles that can replace entire gadgets, with software for tracking daily activity and progress towards a goal, as well as stuff that turns your Pebble into a hardware remote for controlling your smartphone camera’s shutter.
Grab the updated Pebble app now if you want access to all that appstore goodness. Even if you aren’t one of the few pre-orderers lucky enough to have a Pebble Steel, you’re going to feel like you’ve got a brand new device with this update. Android users, Pebble promises you don’t have to wait long – they haven’t put a specific timeline on when the appstore makes it to Google’s mobile OS, but it should arrive “very, very soon” according to the company. | 1,270,543 |
‘Crypto Dusting’ Attack Sends Illegally Obtained Bitcoin to Random Cryptocurrency Wallets
Crypto dusting attack, a hack on cryptocurrency wallets is used to distribute laundered money to the wallets of unsuspecting customers, which in turn, affects their reputation and draws the attention of law enforcement, reports DarkReading on January 8, 2019.
A New Way of Distributing Laundered Money
According to DarkReading, crypto dusting is a new attack which distributes illegally obtained funds from an unknown source to the wallets of innocent cryptocurrency holders.
These funds are usually sent to random crypto addresses, and as such, a person has no control over being a recipient.
Based on reports, the fraudsters use crypto mixers including BestMixer.io to facilitate the process of anonymously sending virtual currencies to addresses.
Commenting on the matter, Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency intelligence company said customers might only be aware of such transactions through a welcome notification message from BestMixer, contained in their transaction history.
In his own words: “They’re just putting it in your crypto wallet. When they do a run, they look at the last 75,000 addresses and send to them. When you open up your wallet, it’s there.”
Reportedly, the distribution of bitcoin may be welcomed by a recipient who assumes that it is a gift. This is because of the innocent nature of such transactions which can be just as harmful.
According to Jevans, some protocols monitor money laundering activities on some exchanges and as such, receiving these funds can “raise the risk on your accounts”.
Alternatively, a customer can choose to protect themselves from these attacks by blocking the received bitcoin from being sent, says the CEO.
He also adds that companies, on the other hand, will have to rely on their vendors to separate money received through crypto duster attacks.
Tough Time for Regulators?
At a time when regulators across the globe are hard at work trying to formulate measures to curb money laundering activities via cryptos, bad actors have turned to crypto dusting to cover their tracks.
This wallet fraud aims to make the distribution of laundered funds untraceable by law officials, as thousands of accounts become tainted through this means and algorithms which have been put in place to monitor illicit deals may be unable to detect them.
In the opinion of Mounir Hahad, Cyber Security expert at Juniper Networks, this cybercrime will not last long because the monitoring algorithms may change. He also says that this crime is shortsighted even though it is logical.
While transactions carried out via the Bitcoin network are much more traceable compared to privacy-centric coins such as Monero and others, the proliferation of coin mixers makes bitcoin transactions harder to trace.
In July 2018, BTCManager informed that a research result of blockchain research revealed that up to two-thirds of the total market activity involving bitcoin on a given day comprises of mixers and spam transactions. | 1,270,544 |
race was simply replaced with greatly increased global military expansionism. The plutocrat-owned media and the plutocrat-owned political class have fallen right in line with this and normalized the idea of US imperialism around the world. The cold war never ended, it just shifted its narrative and focus. Neoconservatism never went away, it just went mainstream.
But the thing about neocons and the rest of the increasingly indistinguishable proponents of American imperialism is that their underlying thesis is actually fundamentally correct: the US empire doesdepend on endless war in order to maintain its dominance over other nations. America doesn’t have the leverage to stay on top using economic prowess alone; it requires both the carrot of US military backing and the stick of US military aggressions. War is the only adhesive holding the US-centralized empire together, and the more its economic dominance slips away in the face of China’s economic rise, the more ham-fisted and desperate its warmongering is necessarily going to get.
This is completely unsustainable, especially in a world where the other major nuclear weapons force, Russia, is on China’s side of the new cold war dynamic. We’ve all now found ourselves trapped on a planet made of limited resources with two major alliances trying to out-consume and out-resource control each other, while hurtling toward a major military confrontation between nuclear superpowers. This puts us on a direct trajectory toward either nuclear annihilation or ecosystemic collapse in the near term. This means the argument that America needs to maintain its dominance at all cost is no longer a viable one, since that cost will almost certainly be everything in the world.
So we’ve all got some important questions to ask ourselves, haven’t we? Do we desire to stay in the familiar US-controlled world order at the price of omnicide and ecocide, or do we wish to roll the dice and bet on humanity instead? Do we wish to stay the course because it preserves a status quo that is all we’ve ever known, or do we take a leap of faith on the possibility that we can de-escalate all geopolitical enmity and move into collaboration with each other and with our ecosystem?
This choice right here is why I write so much about mankind’s need to transcend its old conditioning patterns and move into something wildly unprecedented. Our current fear-based mentality makes a populism-driven leap of faith into transcendence impossible and ensures that we remain on an oligarch-driven trajectory toward extinction. I firmly believe that we have the freedom to either pass or fail this test, but we don’t have the freedom not to take it. We’ll transcend our old conditioning patterns which we inherited from our evolutionary ancestors who lived in a wildly different world from the one we’ve created, or we will perish. It’s an A or B choice, but the choice is ours.
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/us-foreign-policy-is-a-war-on-disobedience-ae4e7e75ce02 | 1,270,545 |
By narrowing their scope, a group of former minor league players on Wednesday advanced their lawsuit against Major League Baseball. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero recertified Senne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball as a class action, amending a July decision that had ruled that minor league players' experiences were too broad to be appropriate for a class-action suit. At that time, Spero decertified the class under federal law and denied the minor leaguers' request to process as a class action under several state laws as well. When making his original decision, however, Spero noted that there was room for him to reconsider if the players limited their claim to those players whose experiences were most similar. In response, the suit was narrowed to players who played at least seven days in either California, Florida or Arizona. The certified collective under the new decision will be "any person who, while signed to a Minor League Uniform Player Contract, participated in the California League, or in spring training, instructional league, or extended spring training, on or after Feb. 7, 2011, and who had not signed a Major League Uniform Player Contract before then." "After reviewing more evidence and hearing more arguments, Judge Spero’s order re-certified a narrower class under federal and California law," the St. Louis law firm Korein-Tillery wrote in a release following the decision. The lawyers from Korein-Tillery, which is representing the plaintiffs along with lawyers from Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, include former minor league pitcher Garrett Broshuis. Major League Baseball declined comment on the decision, via the Associated Press. Ultimately, the players' suit seeks to raise salaries for minor league baseball players by having minor leaguers included under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes minimum wage and overtime rules for workers around the country. Because at present the players aren't considered full-time employees by their clubs—Minor League Baseball has compared them on numerous occasions to interns or apprentices—they aren't covered under the FLSA. The suit notes that minor league salaries have risen just 75 percent since 1976, while inflation over the same time period has been 400 percent. Moreover, the average major league salary has grown by 2,000 percent during the same time period. Minor leaguers are also paid during the regular season only, which means they are not paid for spring training, instructional league in the fall, and the offseason. To put that in perspective, Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens, who won Minor League Baseball's Joe Bauman Award for leading the minors with 40 home runs last season, joked when he accepted the award that the $8,000 prize that came with the award was more than his salary for the entire season. In anticipation of further action in this suit and for other lawsuits or legislation that may arise in the coming years, Minor League Baseball announced at December's Winter Meetings that it was forming a Political Action Committee. The next step for the suit is for the players and MLB to come up with a schedule for how the rest of the case will proceed. They must present their proposed schedule to Spero by April 28. | 1,270,546 |
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Biophysicist Kuo-Chen Chou has been removed from the editorial board of the Journal of Theoretical Biology after repeatedly manipulating the peer-review process to amass citations to his own work. Last year, Chou was also barred from being a reviewer at Bioinformatics. Investigations at both journals revealed that Chou asked authors of dozens of papers he was editing or reviewing to cite a long list of his publications — sometimes more than 50. Chou declined to answer questions about his citation practices.
Nature | 4 min read
An Argentinian research station has logged the highest temperature ever recorded on the continent of Antarctica: 18.3℃. “It’s only five years since the previous record was set and this is almost one degree centigrade higher,” notes climate scientist James Renwick.
The Guardian | 5 min read
Features & opinion
We are facing an epidemic of ‘truth decay’, as epidemiologist and former safety regulator David Michaels demonstrates in his excoriating new book about the corporate denial industry. Reviewer Felicity Lawrence lauds it as a brave and important work, filled with carefully documented, enraging examples of the systemic corruption of science.
Nature | 5 min read
Three major experiments are poised to take on the challenge of directly detecting dark matter. Two will search for elusive WIMPs, and will be shielded from a cacophony of other particles by being located deep underground in old mines. The other, in an ordinary lab, will attempt to coax out evidence of the uncountable trillions of axions that are theorized to surround us everywhere. So far, “you could say we’re the world’s best at finding nothing”, says physicist Murdock Gilchriese — but even a negative result will open up new avenues for exploration.
Smithsonian Magazine | 13 min read
After tweeting possibly the best out-of-office reply ever, epidemiologist Stephana Cherak was prompted to ponder her own approach to work-life balance. Hear more, plus catch up on the week in science, on this week’s Nature Podcast.
Nature Podcast | 26 min listenSubscribe to the Nature Podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts or Spotify.
Where I work
Pamela Yeh is an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.Credit: Sam Comen for Nature
For 22 years, evolutionary biologist Pamela Yeh has studied the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), focusing on a population that has settled at the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. “There is something so joyful, so wondrous, about going into the on-campus ‘field’ to study birds — sometimes I feel I know a little secret about the natural world, right here,” says Yeh. “It makes my heart sing.” (Nature | 5 min read) (Sam Comen for Nature) | 1,270,547 |
control through repression, ideology, and cooptation. It is rich and it intends to remain in power until it destroys the world. They seem to be intent on accelerating that process these days, at least that’s my opinion. We have a very difficult project ahead of us. I think it will take us twenty or thirty years or more to build the kind of organization, and not in isolation from other forces on the American Left, that will be strong enough to contend with our rulers—a party strong enough to help lead the working class to transform this system once and for all. If anyone is joining the ISO because they think the revolution is around the corner, I’m sorry to say it’s going to take a long time. We are up against a real fight here. And when we say you have to dedicate your lives to this project, we mean it. However, there’s a short-term urgency as well. The Bolshevik Party needed to go through every stage of development, from a few isolated people leading a couple strikes in one city to then becoming a mass movement and then a national movement and then being pushed back and then growing again in the middle of a terrible war and finally being in a position to lead a revolution. They had to go through every one of those stages, and as I said, they were fortunate in that their stages were compressed. We don’t know when our revolutionary situations are going to come, but if you look around our society today at the anger that’s out there, you can feel political change in the air. People are pissed off about this war, you only have to ask the soldiers. The immigrant rights movement is leading the American working class in relearning the lessons of struggle. The health care fiasco and prison crisis are out of control, and on and on and on. It is impossible to say when things are going to break, but ideas are already moving in our direction. Whether or not we can transform that anger into large struggles in the next six months or eighteen months or twenty-four months is difficult to say, but I think we are in a period in which the ideas we have embodied in the members we have now in the ISO will be widely appreciated by many, many tens of thousands of working-class people. So we have to live and organize in the conditions we face today. There’s no good wishing we were somewhere else or in some other time because the process of building the organization is the precondition to going on to those bigger struggles. The urgency we feel now toward rebuilding the social movements and simultaneously building up the basis for a real revolutionary party is not just because we think things will change some day in the future, but also because we can make a real contribution in the here and now to changing the world. I believe that this isn’t just rhetoric. Eugene Debs proved eighty years ago that socialism can be and should be—that it has been and it will be again—a core part of the working-class struggle to change this country. And if we can change this country, imagine the hope and inspiration that will bring to people around the world. | 1,270,548 |
A recent survey has spotted 1,600 Regent Parrots, considered an endangered species, in just two hours in northwest Victoria, delighting both scientists and twitchers.
Key points: Teams counted 3 times the number of adult Regent Parrots thought to exist in Victoria
Teams counted 3 times the number of adult Regent Parrots thought to exist in Victoria Parrot listed as threatened in Victoria, elsewhere in Australia it's considered endangered
Parrot listed as threatened in Victoria, elsewhere in Australia it's considered endangered Field Naturalists Club member calls for more research into endangered species
The Regent Parrot's population had dwindled as low as 500 in recent years.
The parrots were spotted near the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, located on the edge of the Murray River just south of Mildura, by a group of nature enthusiasts conducting a fauna survey at the Annuello Flora and Fauna Reserve.
Dr Mark Antos from Parks Victoria said they made the discovery one night when they noticed a large number of the birds flying overhead and decided to stop and do a count.
"So we counted 140 birds, and we thought this is pretty spectacular," he said.
"So we ended up going back the next afternoon and did it a bit more rigorously."
They then counted 1,600, which was more than three times the number of adult Regent Parrots thought to exist in Victoria, where it has been listed as a threatened species.
'This shows parks and habitats need more care'
The Murray River has been experiencing particularly high floods after exceptional rainfall throughout winter and spring, which could explain the increase in the population.
Dr Antos said the finding was significant as it showed that the parrots had experienced an "exceptionally good breeding season".
"So this is probably influenced by recent weather events, where we've had good rainfall over winter and spring," he said.
"And also due to the floods and environmental flows that we've had on the Murray River, where they actually nest."
The discovery comes at a time of renewed debate about water use in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Dr Antos said it showed the importance of caring for parks and habitats during the hard and dry times.
"[Regent Parrots] really have a lot of capacity to bounce back when the water and the rainfall does arrive," he said.
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'More research of endangered species needed'
John Harris, from the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, said while the discovery gave him hope for the Regent Parrot's future, it showed that more needed to be done.
"If four people sitting on two remnant roadsides can count 1,500 birds thereabouts in approximately an hour and a half and potentially increase the number of known birds in the state," he said.
"Then there's a long way to go in how much more research needs to be put in to our endangered species."
The group will return to count Regent Parrots again next Easter. | 1,270,549 |
Sarah Tew/CNET
The Alcatel One Touch Fire, one of the inaugural phones to sport Mozilla's Firefox OS, won't get version 1.2 of the browser-based operating system -- but it will get 1.3.
That's the word from Mozilla and Alcatel. And although it's an inauspicious start for the browser-based operating system, it's likely a relief to those who feared Firefox OS 1.1 would be the end of the line. One unpleasant aspect of low-end Android phones is that they often don't get OS updates, but Firefox OS hasn't been around long enough to establish much of a track record for staying up to date.
Alcatel was cautious after some troubles with the update to Firefox 1.1, the company said.
"Following reports of some users experiencing issues during upgrades to Firefox 1.1 in specific markets, we have temporarily paused the upgrade while we investigate and fix the issue," the company said. "This currently affects a small number of markets and has no effect on our current plans to support the upgrade of the One Touch Fire through to Firefox OS 1.3."
Firefox OS is Mozilla's attempt to extend the relevance it achieved in the personal-computer market to the mobile market. Firefox is widely used on PCs, but it's effectively barred from Windows Phone and iOS, and it's a rarity on Android.
Phone makers have a hard time keeping up with the rapid-release cycle that Mozilla uses for its mobile operating system, Mozilla said. The rapid-release cycle got its start with just browsers, which are easier to update than whole operating systems. Mozilla explained in a statement:
Firefox OS is developed on a much faster schedule than others and Mozilla currently publishes a new rapid release every 3 months. Most of our OEM [original equipment manufacturer] partners have decided to skip the update to 1.2 and will directly update their customers to version 1.3, which will offer additional features in comparison to version 1.2.
What will those Alcatel customers miss out on? Firefox 1.2 offers a number of features, including the following:
A status-bar notification showing when music is playing, with song and album art shown in the utility tray (the panel that shows when you drag down from the status bar)
Notifications for new e-mail messages
The ability to attach audio and video files to e-mail
An interface to let apps use the microphone
Support for CDMA mobile networks
Performance improvements, including faster app launching and scrolling
The ability to establish conference calls with up to five people
The ability to launch the camera app from the lock screen even with a passcode lock
The ability to share Web addresses from the browser
The addition of a stopwatch and countdown timer to the clock app
Support for CLIP and CLIR caller ID technology
A range of new Web programming interfaces
However, Firefox OS 1.3 is well under way, so perhaps they won't have to wait too much longer to get those and other updates. | 1,270,550 |
If you want to be a respected female journalist in America, you need to choose your jeans wisely.
On Tuesday, KARE 11 news anchor Jana Shortal came under fire for committing the terrible sin of wearing skinny jeans on air. In a column published and since removed from the Star Tribune, a columnist who goes by the name C.J. went after the journalist for her "inappropriate" attire.
SEE ALSO: Laura Ingraham declares war on man buns and skinny jeans
"I was among a number of media types who found them inappropriate and, given the gravity of the day’s subject matter, downright jarring," C.J. wrote in her column, a cached version of which remains here.
Shortal was reporting on the story of Jacob Wetterling, an 11-year-old boy who was abducted 30 years ago and whose remains were just recently found.
For C.J., Shortal's "hipness" was disrespectful to Wetterling's grieving family. Can you imagine what kind of damage seeing a woman in nice jeans could have done to the family? Mourning, interrupted by Uniqlo.
"While I cannot imagine they’ll want to read or watch every media take about the horror they have been living, I would think that hipness wouldn’t be a priority while covering one of the biggest, saddest stories in Minnesota history," C.J. wrote.
Real journalists, apparently, wear boot cut.
On Twitter, C.J. reached out to Shortal to ask her if she had any regrets, and Shortal responded, with more than a few retweets:
. @DishCentral IDK what my clothing has to do with covering the tragedy of Jacob's death. My only 'wish' on Tuesday was for Jacob's family. — janashortal (@janashortal) September 7, 2016
Shortal has received a largely supportive response from her fans on the Internet. C.J. even went so far as to compare Shortal's followers to the Beyhive:
These @janashortal fans are almost like riling up the BeyHive. — Dish Central by C.J. (@DishCentral) September 7, 2016
And, to emphasize her point:
Again:
She really likes this joke:
How perspicacious, @janashortal, of some on Twitter to be so outraged before they even read the item.Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz — Dish Central by C.J. (@DishCentral) September 7, 2016
Shortal has since responded in an emotional Facebook post:
"I wore my clothes. The clothes it took me a very long time to feel comfortable in no thanks to the bullies like you who tried to shame me out of them," Shortal wrote.
Though the column has since been taken down, C.J. has yet to apologize to the journalist publicly.
BONUS: Here, have a corgi tea party
| 1,270,551 |
on their in the indicated order. Once the player are on their third landmark hex, they can start digging for treasure. Treasure is buried on every hex directly connected to the third landmark hex indicated on their map, regardless if it is connected by a blank or bordered egde. Players can only dig for their own map's treasure ; they cannot "steal" another player's treasure. However, players may dig on the same hex so long as that hex is connected to the third landmark hex of their own map.
are on their third, they can start digging for. is buried on every directly connected to the third indicated on their, regardless if it is connected by a or egde. can only dig for their own ; they cannot "steal" another. However, may dig on the same so long as that is connected to the third of their own. Players must move to one of the hexes adjacent to their third landmark hex and begin digging. To dig, a player may risk to roll between one and three six-sided dice. When rolled, they expend the total value of all three dice in points, but only get the highest single value of one die worth of treasure.
must to one of the adjacent to their third and begin. To, a may risk to roll between one and three six-sided dice. When rolled, they expend the total value of all three dice in, but only get the highest single value of one die worth of. Players can expend as many points as they want in movement and digging as they want, for as many adjacent hexes as there are to his map's third landmark hex.
can expend as many as they want in and as they want, for as many adjacent as there are to his third. After digging as much as they want, the player must still keep enough points to move onto the ship hex. If a player expends all their points and does not have enough to move onto the ship hex, the crew gets impatient and leaves without him. That player is marooned and loses the game.
must still keep enough to onto the. If a expends all their and does not have enough to onto the, the crew gets impatient and leaves without him. That is marooned and loses the game. The players on the ship hex at the end of the game count up their treasure. The player with the most treasure becomes the new pirate captain and wins. If there is a tie in the amount of treasure, then the players count up any remaining unexpended points. The player with most left-over number of points is then the winner.
This is the basics. It ain't perfect, but at least I have it written down :) I'm at a point where I need to rope a couple of my more tolerant friends to help me out. I need to bounce ideas off others, I need them to try it out with me, I need to see if anything is fundamentally broken, and, most importantly, I need to see if its fun! From there, I'll have to rejigger and try again, naturally…
I'll let you know how it goes! | 1,270,552 |
Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration submitted its annual fishery stock report to Congress. It shows continued progress in rebuilding fisheries and curbing overfishing. Three fish stocks rebounded last year bringing the total number of overfished stocks down to 35 (15% of the total stocks).
Globally, fisheries are under serious pressure, with 90% of fisheries either fully fished or overfished. However, the United States’ success at recovering its fisheries is a welcome sign that overfishing can be dealt with.
Technology is making it easier and cheaper to develop good information about the health of fisheries. And catch shares (a form of property right to a fishery) help to align the incentives of fishermen with the long term health of the fishery.
Fisheries are a classic example of the tragedy of the commons. If fisheries are open to anyone, fishermen will have an incentive to overfish. If they exercise self restraint, they’ll receive no benefit since someone else may catch the fish anyway.
Catch shares can overcome this problem by assigning each fishermen a percentage of the overall allowable catch. That property right gives the fishermen a stake in the long-term health of the fishery. If the fishery improves, the value of the catch share increases. And, if overfishing occurs, that value declines.
That incentive can also encourage fishermen to develop better information about their fishery and new methods to reduce unintended impacts to the fishery. Catch shares for noncommercial species, for instance, are encouraging fishermen to reduce bycatch. Last year, PERC’s Tate Watkins described the impressive results of a U.S. experiment with using catch shares to reduce bycatch:
“Before catch shares, large proportions of the catch of many non-target species were discarded as bycatch,” reads a NOAA report from November 2015. “Now, whether in a fishing net or in the ocean, they are treated as the valuable resource they are.” That reality was reflected in the fishery’s catch data: The proportion of overfished species caught by trawlers fell by about half after catch shares were introduced. As a result, overfished species populations have begun to rebound. Miller and Deacon note a handful of ways that fishers changed their behavior to become more selective, even given the relatively indiscriminate nature of a titanic trawl net. A key aspect, as they stress, was that the flexibility of catch shares gave fishers the latitude to decide how to conform with the limits as efficiently as possible.
Addressing overfishing is a lot easier when fishermen are made partners in the effort. They likely have unique knowledge about their fishery and are in the best position to develop and evaluate changes to fishing methods. The traditional model of imposing strict regulations and limiting the fishing season can, perversely, incentivize fishermen to try to manipulate the process or circumvent the regulations, in pursuit of their private gain. But where fishermen enjoy the fruit of any effort to recover the fishery, they’re more likely to pursue such efforts. | 1,270,553 |
Women are harder to read, the study suggests
You can't hide your lying eyes: scientists have revealed that women can judge whether a man is likely to be unfaithful just by looking at his face but men are less able to spot a cheating woman.
Researchers at the University of Western Australia took a group of 1,500 people and showed them pictures of 189 Caucasian adults (101 men and 88 women), having first asked them if they had been unfaithful to their partners.
Respondents were then asked to rank these faces on a scale of one to 10, where one is "not at all likely to be unfaithful" and 10 is "extremely likely" to play the field.
The result, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, was that "both men and women were accurate in assessing men's, but not women's, likelihood to cheat and poach."
The scientists wanted to examine not only whether men and women could spot potential infidelity in each other but also whether it was possible to detect a possible "poacher" of the same sex.
They cited research showing that 70 percent of people across more than 50 cultures report an attempt to poach someone else's partner and 60 percent saying they were successful.
The results were "not as expected", the scientists admitted. Men were able to spot potential poachers among other men but even when other women were judging, the female of the species was inscrutable.
"Taken together, both men and women showed above-chance accuracy for men's faces but not women's faces. Therefore, perceived unfaithfulness may indeed contain some kernel of truth in male faces," the scientists wrote.
What makes women suspect men might sleep around?
According to the survey, it mainly boils down to perceived masculinity, although the researchers came up with another unexpected result, suggesting it's not the best-looking men that play away the most.
"Surprisingly, even though more attractive men were rated as more unfaithful, they were less likely to engage in actual mate poaching," the study said.
Despite the findings, one of the scientists involved in the report cautioned against jumping to conclusions on a first date.
Although men are marginally more likely to betray infidelity with their features, it is still difficult to spot possible cheats from one individual's face, said Yong Zhi Foo.
"If we are to rely solely on our first impressions to detect cheaters/poachers, then we will make substantial errors," Foo told AFP.
"Our results must not be taken to mean that first impressions can be used in any everyday situations," he added.
More information: Yong Zhi Foo et al. Sexual unfaithfulness can be judged with some accuracy from men's but not women's faces, Royal Society Open Science (2019). Journal information: Royal Society Open Science Yong Zhi Foo et al. Sexual unfaithfulness can be judged with some accuracy from men's but not women's faces,(2019). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181552
© 2019 AFP | 1,270,554 |
David Stockman summarizes a report from our friends at Goldman Sachs explaining that over $1 trillion in global oil investments excluding US shale are going to have to be either mothballed or run at a loss given the recent downturn in the price.
The Goldman tally takes the long view of project finance as it plays out over the next decade or more. But the initial impact of low prices may be swift. Next year alone, oil and gas companies will make final investment decisions on 800 projects worth $500 billion, said Lars Eirik Nicolaisen, a partner at Oslo-based Rystad Energy. If the price of oil averages $70 in 2015, he wrote in an email, $150 billion will be pulled from oil and gas exploration around the world. An oil price of $65 dollars a barrel next year would trigger the biggest drop in project finance in decades, according to a Sanford C. Bernstein analysis last week.
What happened here? Why did investors put so much money into sophisticated, high-cost oil production?
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk theorized that lower interest rates (indicating a lower cost of capital) encourage investors to put their funds into a ‘lengthening of the capital structure’ (meaning the physical as well as financial structure of production). Hayek, one of his students, noted that when interest rates are forced lower by state policy, it creates a false signal to invest more into earlier stages of production.
You have the Fed going to our respected friends & sponsors in the premier banking houses, giving them free money through various special mechanisms, and then those investors must find uses for that capital that they can credibly make a business case for.
This is what happened with the boom in unconventional oil production: a combination of high commodity prices, combined with nearly infinite available funds for long term capital investment, lead to a mad scramble in speculative development.
Because it’s paradoxically easier for investors to get credit than it is for consumers, you get the classic business cycle effect of excessive investment relative to real market demand. The thumb of the sovereign presses down on the ‘investment’ segment of the economy, while letting the ‘consumption’ segment languish.
The theory motivating this, per Keynes, is that directing funds towards investment through state action results in a ‘multiplier’ effect closer to the consumer. The theory frequently goes awry with the crashes, which are explained away as criminality, an outbreak of ‘animal spirits,’ ‘irrational exuberance,’ or other such statements.
In the contemporary case, the savings of consumers are actively suppressed through low interest rate policy, whereas accounts that might have been compounding at 5% per year at instead compounding at less than 1%. The consumer is being prevented from recovering his purchasing power, while investors are being supplied with ample credit for any scheme that can be credibly proposed, or are otherwise using the money to speculate in the financial markets.
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The future of the open and competitive Internet in Europe (so-called “net neutrality”) will be decided in Europe in the coming months. After regulators in India and the United States ruled that Internet companies are not permitted to undermine innovation, competition and free speech, now it is Europe’s turn. Failure in the EU will have dramatic consequences for European businesses and citizens alike.
Ahead of a flawed official consultation planned by the European regulators committee (BEREC – the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications) in June 2016, the European Save the Internet campaign has launched an alternative net neutrality consultation. The alternative consultation is necessary to help fix some of the fundamental flaws in BEREC’s planned consultation.
It is absolutely crucial that BEREC makes the right decisions. It is essential for everybody who supports freedom of communication, privacy and innovation to support the Save the Internet campaign. We need to make this consultation as decisive as the ones in India and the US.
Why is there a consultation after the legislative process ended?
The EU’s new rules on net neutrality, adopted at the end of 2015, aim to protect the open, competitive Internet in Europe. However, the legislation is somewhat unclear and could still allow restrictive, discriminatory behaviour by Internet providers if not clarified properly by BEREC. As a first step, BEREC is preparing guidelines to interpret the ambiguities of the law through a set of guidelines, which it will finish by the end of August 2016, the deadline established under the EU Regulation on net neutrality and roaming. However, it is impossible to carry out a meaningful consultation that respects the time limits that BEREC has foreseen.
After BEREC publishes the first draft guidelines at the beginning of June 2016, there will be six weeks to respond. Then, regardless of how many tens of thousands of responses it receives, BEREC will publish the final version of its guidelines by 30 August 2016. Bearing in mind the complexity of the issues and the likely number of responses, this is simply not feasible, unless any changes proposed as a result of the consultation are minimal and guaranteed not to be opposed during BEREC’s final approval procedure.
Save the Internet is convinced that pushing for real net neutrality right to the end of this process is essential for the EU to recreate the success of India and the USA.
Background Information:
Save The Internet
https://savetheinternet.eu
EDRi’s written response to BEREC stakeholder dialogue with representatives of end-users/consumers and civil society (15.12.2015)
https://edri.org/files/BEREC_Hearing2015_EDRiposition.pdf
EDRi’s first input to EU regulators on net neutrality guidelines (13.01.2016)
https://edri.org/edris-first-input-on-net-neutrality-guidelines/
Net neutrality: document pool II
https://edri.org/net-neutrality-document-pool-2/ | 1,270,556 |
A retired Philadelphia, Penn., police captain recently said the federal government routinely uses provocateurs against demonstrators to discredit them in the eyes of the public.
Capt. Ray Lewis, who retired from the Philadelphia Police Department in 2004 after serving 24 years and was present during the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests, said undercover provocateurs “infiltrated Occupy Wall Street like crazy” as a way to influence public opinion against the protestors, a strategy which is also used against other movements critical of the establishment.
“That’s the easiest way to destroy a movement,” he stated. “Let’s say you have Occupy. Either the police, Homeland Security or corporate America – Wall Street – will hire one of their security officers to go out there and burn the American flag, so now you have one of these guys burning an American flag and he’s not an Occupier, he’s not with the protestors, but guess what gets shown all across America?”
“All mainstream America, sitting at home in their middle-class neighborhoods, see this one guy burning an American flag or another one urinating on a police car who is also an undercover agent and then think ‘oh my God, that whole protest – that whole movement – is corrupt and I don’t want anything to do with it.'”
“So they never learn anything about it,” he added. “You can kill a movement that fast with provocateurs.”
The government can also use provocateurs to stir up violence at otherwise peaceful demonstrations to justify a draconian response to the protest and the militarization of local law enforcement.
For example, radio host Dave Hodges claimed a Department of Homeland Security source told him the violent rioting and looting in Ferguson, Missouri, last week “was encouraged and exacerbated by undercover DHS agents posing as members of the Black Panthers.”
The police used this violence to justify giving unconstitutional orders to peaceful protestors in Ferguson, who were the vast majority of those present, while armed with combat gear more suited for war in Iraq and Afghanistan than the American Midwest.
They receive the majority of this military arsenal directly from the Defense Department through the 1033 Military Surplus Property Program.
“They also have access to billions of dollars’ worth of funding from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, which they can use to buy military equipment from weapons manufacturers, who line their pockets with the spoils,” Kara Dansky, a senior counsel at the ACLU’s Center for Justice, wrote.
In summary, provocateurs give local police the excuse to transform into small armies by provoking violent confrontations between law enforcement and demonstrators which is then broadcast to the entire nation through exhaustive news coverage.
This unfortunately programs the population into accepting not only the militarization of the police, but also a vast expansion of government powers offered to supposedly stop the violence which in reality only eliminate individual liberties.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today! | 1,270,557 |
Recent discussions about the SegWit activation and the Lightning Network implementation it would bring to the Bitcoin network has sparked a round of debate on whether it would reduce Litecoin’s relevance and value in the market. This has been compounded by the fact that recently, also, there have been issues raised by the launch of Bitcoin Cash as eclipsing Litecoin.
Though Litecoin has proven strong in the market for several years, the latest development in the Bitcoin world has widened the gap between the two currencies’ values. While Bitcoin has started riding higher to even breaking an all time high record of over $3500, nothing has changed with Litecoin in the last few days. Rather than to have, at least, returned and sit comfortably at its $50 point since Bitcoin started the upward trend some days ago – Litecoin rose briefly to $50 some days ago – the silver to Bitcoin’s gold has maintained a catch around $45.
This in fact shows that there is no correlation between the change in the price of Bitcoin and that of Litecoin which is quite understandable as their prices are not expected to be hinged on another. Both should be independent of each other. However, while this may not be conclusive at this point – a couple more days would be needed to make a final conclusion, it seems that Litecoin’s value proposition has to be revisited for it not be considered to have run out of steam.
Bitcoin’s unfolding upgrade is a pointer that could translate into a complete lack of interest for Litecoin. Before SegWit was activated on the Litecoin network, the platform has been stagnant for far too long. After the SegWit activation and the subsequent Lightning Network implementation, the momentum gathered by this landmark feat didn’t take Litecoin far.
At the time, its price could have risen in value to, let’s say, $100 which could have pushed many investors to switch and hold on to it. But that didn’t happen. Rather, it stopped around $50 and has since been slipping back except for occasional rises.
Understandably, Litecoin is one of the best altcoins in the market and could be considered even far reliable than Bitcoin Cash. Its integrated LN, huge transaction size and speed as well as its being easily scalable are factors that have worked for it. However, now that SegWit and LN are coming to Bitcoin and considering the plethora of other platforms offering innovative solutions, something has to happen very soon to keep Litecoin where it is presently. Otherwise, it may drop in value in coming months.
Several LN projects are coming to Bitcoin – Blockstream, Lightning Labs, Eclair and Acinq. There is also the suggestion that the various LN projects are being worked on to be compatible with one another. Christian Decker is reportedly working on a cross-implementation test suite which all the LN developers will be using to test compatibility of all the implementations across several scenarios. All of these added together means more attention would be devoted to Bitcoin. This may leave out Litecoin as a viable option for making cheaper and micro transactions. | 1,270,558 |
When I first heard about the Nosulus rift a few weeks ago, I took it as a joke. A VR peripheral that emits the odor of flatulence? It’s not anywhere near April 1, though, so when my colleagues found out that it would be on display at Gamescom, a show I’d be attending, I started to get a little concerned. Jokingly, I told my boss that I’ve decided not to attend Gamescom. [Editor's note: The entire news team made him promise that he'd try it. He was a good sport about it, in the end.]
My Doom Approaches
The gaming show neared, and I had booked an appointment with Ubisoft for South Park: The Fractured But Whole (a title you need to read out loud to understand). As I arrived at the Ubisoft stand, I spotted the Nosulus Rift in a glass box, which gave me some hope that it was just there for pictures.
A Ubisoft spokesperson called me in to the South Park meeting room, at which point my hopes were instantly shattered. There was a working Nosulus Rift. It was mere inches away from me, staring me in the face. It sat there, smug, on its mirror pedestal, taunting me. "You know what I’m going to do to you," it seemed to say.
A key feature in the new South Park game is the power of flatulence, which you can activate at the press of a button. The point of the Nosulus Rift is to immerse you in this experience by unleashing an odor especially developed to smell like farts.
I’ve got to credit the creators on the scent they’ve made–it is truly awful. It smells like a burning toot that was kept in a balloon for some time, and then carefully sprayed directly into my nostrils. I could elaborate further, but in the interest of professionalism, I’ve held back here on describing just how rancid the smell is. As the Nosulus Rift expels its gas, you can feel a light wind blowing past your nose, which only worsens the experience.
This Thing Is Pure Evil
However, the smell itself isn’t the worst thing about the Nosulus Rift; what it does to you psychologically is its most repugnant quality. It's a strange thing to willingly [Editor's note: Partially willingly] put on your face, knowing what's about to happen. Even though it looked clean, and even though I saw a Ubisoft spokesperson wipe it down with a wet cloth, I was filled with fear and disgust. It’s not comfortable either, but the worst part by far is the moment you’re about to press the fateful button. You know what you’re about to do to yourself, and yet, you go through with it anyway.
I skipped lunch the day I had this demo, and I really hope that Ubisoft takes it no further than a promotional device. It does exactly as advertised, but it showed that truth in advertising isn't always a good thing. | 1,270,559 |
米HPは12日(現地時間)、Intelの第7世代プロセッサ“Kaby Lake”を搭載した13.3型のクラムシェルノートPC「HP ENVY Laptops」を発表した。10月26日に発売予定で、価格は849.99ドル(約88,200円)から。日本での発売時期は未定。
手頃な価格帯のプレミアムラップトップとしてデザインされ、1,000ドルを超えない価格ながら金属筐体を採用。底面後部が持ち上がるヒンジによって、キーボードに傾斜が付くためタイピングがしやすく、キーボードバックライトも内蔵。
昨年(2015年)のモデルよりもバッテリ駆動時間が4時間以上延び、14時間動作を実現。90分で90%充電するという急速充電にも対応している。オプションで、1TBのPCI Express SSDや16GBのメモリを実装可能。CPUはCore i7/i5を搭載する。
本体の厚みは14mm、重量約1.42kgとなっており、前モデルよりも若干薄くなりつつ、剛性を高めている。解像度は、4K(3,840×2,160ドット)、QHD+(3,200×1,800ドット)、フルHDを選ぶことができ、QHDではタッチ対応パネルも選べる。
インターフェイスは、USB 3.0×2(1基はスリープ時でも給電可能)、USB Type-Cポートなどを装備する。 | 1,270,560 |
The Jets finally had a real practice, which is to say they were in full pads. Thursday was the first day they were allowed to go in full pads, and it was the first day that free agents were permitted to practice -- once the CBA was ratified shortly before 5 p.m.
The Jets' group of free agents (and players that re-worked their contracts) entered practice at various times, but they were all participating by the end of the 2 1/2-hour session -- all except for WR Santonio Holmes. The $50 million man sat out because he didn't get a chance to warm up properly, according to Rex Ryan.
Other notes from practice:
• Rookie WR Jeremy Kerley, a fifth-round pick, was the player of the day. He made catch after catch, displaying acceleration and exceptional cutting ability. He had a couple of nice hook-ups with QB Mark Sanchez, who raved about him afterward: "He's a baller. There's always one big surprise at camp. For a guy who didn't know much of the playbook, he's picked it up really fast." With Holmes, Plaxico Burress (ankle) and Jerricho Cotchery (released) not available, Kerley got plenty of reps.
• For those who groaned when the Jets re-signed PK Nick Folk, you're not going to like this: Folk went 2-for-4 in field goals, missing from 41 and 45 yards -- both wide right. His competition, Nick Novak, went 4-for-4, converting from the same distances.
• FB John (The Terminator) Conner was up to his old tricks, punishing would-be tacklers with loud and crushing blocks during a kickoff-return drill. Ryan said he thinks Conner may have given one of his victims a concussion.
• It was a mixed day for rookie WR Scotty McKnight (seventh-round pick). On a one-on-one drill, he made a beautiful diving catch on a 'Go' route in the back of the end zone. It was thrown by Sanchez, his boyhood friends -- a play they've probably done a thousand times in their lives. Sanchez raised his arms in the air when McKnight came down with the ball. Later, in team drills, McKnight showed some alligator arms and dropped a pass.
• RB Joe McKnight had two drops in 7-on-7s... In a one-on-one, pass-rushing drill, rookie DE Muhammad Wilkerson was stoned two times in a row by G Dennis Landolt, a first-year free agent... S Jim Leonhard (leg) was in pads, but didn't work in team drills. Dwight Lowery worked in his spot. Just-signed Brodney Pool was with the second team... Veteran P Chris Bryan, formerly of the Bucs and Packers, outperformed T.J. Conley... Busy day for Vladimir Ducasse. He played RG with the starters (Brandon Moore is on PUP with a hip) and RT with the second team. | 1,270,561 |
Home India Set to join BJP, Raipur collector resigns: ‘Want to work for my land, people’
Set to join BJP, Raipur collector resigns: ‘Want to work for my land, people’
The Indian Express reported on Thursday that the 37-year-old was set to join the BJP and contest Assembly elections later this year, and would be projected as a “youth icon” by the party.
On Saturday, Choudhary released a statement in Hindi on his Facebook page and Twitter handle. (Express Photo/Tashi Tobgyal/File)
Raipur Collector O P Choudhary Saturday announced his resignation from the bureaucracy, saying he wanted to give his time to “my people and my land”. The Indian Express reported on Thursday that the 37-year-old was set to join the BJP and contest Assembly elections later this year, and would be projected as a “youth icon” by the party.
On Saturday, Choudhary released a statement in Hindi on his Facebook page and Twitter handle. “The 13 year journey from the bylanes of my village Bayang to the post of Raipur collector has given me many challenging opportunities. In this journey, thousands of people have supported me directly or indirectly, and there are not enough words in the Hindi dictionary to thank them. Now I want to work for my land, and for the betterment of my people, and give my entire time to them. That is why I have resigned from the IAS. Jai Hind, Jai Chhattisgarh,” the statement said.
A notification issued by Chief Secretary Ajay Singh said the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, had accepted the 2005-batch officer’s resignation and he had been relieved of his duties. The notification added that Deepak Soni, CEO, Zila Panchayat, had been given additional charge of Raipur collector.
Amid the discussion on Choudhary’s impending entry into politics, Congress leader Charan Das Mahant has said a lack of leaders within the BJP had led them to go for “parachute landings”, while Chhattisgarh Janata Congress has said the need to induct Choudhary had proved that the BJP has no new face to offer.
BJP president Dharamlal Kaushik said, “If a young IAS officer wants to join the BJP for betterment of the country, why is it bothering the Congress? If O P Choudhary resigns and joins the BJP, he will be welcomed.”
Choudhary was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2013 for his efforts towards creating the Education City in Dantewada.
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For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App. | 1,270,562 |
ORLANDO (CBSNewYork) — Explosive allegations have surfaced surrounding Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, after Mateen’s alleged male lover claims he did the shooting as “revenge” against Latino men.
The man, known only as “Miguel,” says Mateen was looking to be loved and embraced, CBS2’s Andrea Grymes reported. Despite that, he believes Mateen acted on revenge when he shot up the gay Pulse nightclub after being with a Puerto Rican man he later learned was HIV positive.
“He was terrified that he was infected,” the man said in an interview with Univision. “I asked him, ‘Did you do a test?’ Yes. He went to the pharmacy and did the test … it came out negative, but it doesn’t come out right away. It takes four, five months.”
Miguel says Mateen hated gay Puerto Ricans for the “bad things” they did to him.
Univision reported that the FBI told the network it had spoken with Miguel, but a law enforcement official would neither confirm or deny this to CBS News.
CBS News and the Los Angeles Times previously reported that Mateen used gay dating apps. He also frequented the Pulse nightclub before killing 49 people more than one week ago.
The man claims he and Mateen met around 20 times, with the last meeting taking place in December. He said Mateen never revealed his name to him, but told him that he was 35 and married with a son. He told Univision that he believed Mateen’s wife knew that he went to gay bars and that his marriage was to hide the fact that he was “100 percent” gay.
CBS News reported that on the night of the shooting Mateen went into the club and received a wristband and left. He then returned nearly two hours later to begin his attack.
Miguel’s interview comes as mourners continue to say their final farewells to the 49 people killed in the attack.
On Tuesday, loved ones remembered 25-year-old Enrique Rios at a church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
“He loved everybody, he made everybody happy,” Rios’ grandmother, Maria Perez, said.
Back in Orlando, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch visited a memorial for the victims and met with investigators. Lynch says they’re revisiting prior investigations into Mateen since he was previously on the FBI’s radar.
“We’re gonna go back and look at all of our contact with him and to see if there is anything that we missed,” Lynch said.
A Muslim man who worshiped at the same mosque as Mateen told CBS News he called the FBI on Mateen two years ago. He said he was concerned after Mateen spoke about watching videos from a radical Islamic cleric. The FBI investigated, but the probe was later closed due to lack of evidence. | 1,270,563 |
When was the last time you took a moment and celebrated your body? Not because it's well built or attractive — but because it's an impressive piece of functional art. Here are some interesting facts that will help you appreciate your body and keep you motivated to take care of it.
Boost your burning power. Did you know that for every 1 lb of muscle you gain, your body burns an extra 50 calories a day? If you can turn at least 5 lbs of extra "fat" into muscle, you will automatically burn an additional 250 calories per day. That's the equivalent to burning enough calories to melt 26 pounds over a year!
A mini-Charles Atlas. Muscles are comprised of muscle fibers. Each fiber is thinner than a human hair and can support up to 1,000 times its own weight.
Use it or lose it. By age 65, people who haven't engaged in regular exercise may incur a decrease in their muscular strength level by as much as 80%.
Make your move. A muscle moves by contracting and that motion, you move. As a machine for moving, a muscle is pretty efficient because it only uses about 35-50% of its potential energy.
More than a few. The human body has more than 650 muscles.
Unique in its own way. No two muscles in the body have exactly the same function. When one muscle is paralyzed, either stability of the body part is impaired or some specific movement is lost.
Watch your step. Forward locomotion such as walking or running is actually the process of losing and catching one's balance.
The cellulite myth. There is no such thing as cellulite. The skin sometimes appears lumpy in fatty areas of the body because strands of connective tissue attach the skin to underlying structures. These points of attachment may pull tight where the fat is thick, making lumps appear between them. The fat itself is not different from excess fat anywhere else in the body. So, if you reduce body fat, you will begin to lose the lumpy appearance.
Spot reducing de-bunked. Spot reducing will not reduce the fat itself in a specific area of the body. Strength training specific areas of the body will strengthen the underlying muscle, but fat reduction is only accomplished by burning more calories than you take in.
The cardiovascular chain. Your body has approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels that not only oxygenate the tissues of the body and unburden them of wastes, but also act as stringent regulators of the body's environment.
Stressful miles. If you are 25 lbs overweight, you have nearly 5,000 extra miles of blood vessels through which your heart must pump blood.
Taking a break. Your heart rests between beats. Over a normal lifespan, your heart stands still for about 20 years.
Now that's pressure. Your blood rushes through your arteries with enough pressure to lift a column of blood five feet into the air.
Safety valves. When you stand up, if you didn't have valves in your veins, all the blood in your body would literally fall downward, filling up your feet and legs. | 1,270,564 |
Report: Fortune 500 companies in Texas among dozens that didn't pay federal income taxes in 2018
Pioneer Natural Resources Headquarters: Irving, Texas Income: $1.3 billion Federal tax: $0 Effective tax rate: 0 percent
>>> See more companies that didn't have to pay federal income taxes less Pioneer Natural Resources Headquarters: Irving, Texas Income: $1.3 billion Federal tax: $0 Effective tax rate: 0 percent
>>> See more companies that didn't have to pay federal income... more Photo: Eddie Seal For The Texas Tribune Photo: Eddie Seal For The Texas Tribune Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Report: Fortune 500 companies in Texas among dozens that didn't pay federal income taxes in 2018 1 / 17 Back to Gallery
While millions of Americans forked over federal income taxes in 2018, a handful of Fortune 500 companies in Texas avoided paying federal income taxes altogether, according to a report from the Institute for Taxation & Economic Policy.
The report, highlighted in the Houston Chronicle, includes eight Texas-based companies that either didn't pay income taxes or received a rebate. In total, the report listed 60 Fortune 500 companies that avoided income taxes in 2018 under the new tax code, which President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans passed in 2017.
ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Under new tax code, oil companies get rebates, not bills
Houston-based companies Halliburton, Occidental Petroleum, Kinder Morgan and EOG Resources were on the list. Halliburton, which recorded $1.1 billion in revenue, received a $19 million tax rebate, according to the report. Independent oil company EOG resources, which reported 4.1 billion in revenue, received a $304 million rebate, the report said.
Other notable companies like Netflix, Amazon and General Motors were on the list.
According to reporting the Houston Chronicle, Trump touted the new tax law as a way to boost the economy and spur job growth. The administration has cited the law as a driving force in the national unemployment rate of 3.8 percent.
The tax reform in 2017 was supposed to get rid of many of the tax breaks that corporations and wealthy people use to reduce their tax bills. It was intended to simplify the tax code while reducing overall rates, the Chronicle reported.
While some loopholes that benefited large companies were eliminated, others stayed in place, the Chronicle reported.
"The oil industry really showed its muscle in Congress because it got its reduced rate while still retaining a lot of its exemptions," Tyson Slocum, the energy program director at the activist group Public Citizen, told the Chronicle.
>>>Click through the slideshow above to see more notable companies in and around Texas that avoided federal income taxes
Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | [email protected] | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. | 1,270,565 |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In an Alabama track and field weekend that encompassed two meets on different ends of the country and was drenched in Crimson Tide highlights, the strongest outing for the Crimson Tide came from Portious Warren.
The senior thrower continued her rampage through the Alabama record book on Saturday, bettering her own school record mark in the shot put and becoming the first UA woman to go over 57 feet in the shot put outdoors when she posted a toss of 57-02.25 (17.43m). Her mark came on her last attempt at the Florida Relays, where she took second place and was the top collegian in the event. With that throw, she is also ranked No. 1 in the nation.
"The cool thing about it was Portious had been throwing well technically throughout the meet but going into the last throw I told her to go out there and compete with emotion," UA throws coach Derek Yush said. "I told all three of them that and they did just that and while they were still good throws from a technical standpoint, they were able to get something extra and close things out with some really great marks."
Warren already bettered the school record in the indoor shot put on her way to winning the SEC title with a mark of 56-09.25 (17.30m). She also medaled at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships, taking third with another school record (57-01.5/17.41m) and helping push Alabama to a seventh-place team finish.
Fellow senior Haley Teel also put up a personal-best mark in the shot put with a throw of 56-02.5 (17.13m) at the Florida Relays, which ranks her third all-time at UA and third in the nation this season. Sophomore Nickolette Dunbar's mark of 53-00.0 (16.15m) in Gainesville has her sitting 13th nationally.
"It's setting us up for a special season," Yush said. "We've been going through some really hard training recently, so I was actually a little surprised - and really pleased - that we had these kinds of performances at this point in the season. If this is just the beginning, then we have a really bright season ahead of us."
All three women come out of the weekend ranked in the top-15 nationally, making Alabama the only school with three women in the top 40 of the shot put, much less the top 15.
"This is a very special group," Yush said. "To have three women throwing over 16 meters and two over 17 is awesome. There are not a lot of programs ever have that kind of fire power much less at one time. They are at practice everyday, trying hard, pushing each other and each success is spring boarding the others to continue to go harder and continue to get better."
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook. | 1,270,566 |
According to the World Meteorological Organization, this year is on pace to be the warmest in recorded history. Whether or not 2014 is awarded the gold, silver or bronze in the global warming’s equivalent of the 100 m dash will probably depend on the temperature dataset. The precise placement of any one year on the medal standings is, of course, immaterial to the broader issue of the longer term trend, described beautifully by Eric Roston.
What is remarkable to many observers is that a record might be set without the help of a “full El Niño”, to use the WMO’s term. In the last few decades, global average surface temperature records have generally been set by a combination of the long-term warming trend and the bump from everyone’s favourite Latin American weather nickname. An increasingly common way to plot global average surface temperatures is with additional labels for El Niño, La Niña and neutral years, as was done in the WMO report and this figure from Skeptical Science. The take-home message – El Niño, La Niña, neutral, it is all warming.
The labeling is the tricky part, for two reasons. First, El Niños normally develop and peak over the “boreal” or northern hemisphere winter, which means they span two calendar years. There’s usually a few months lag between the development of El Niño and the global temperature effect. Thus, for the global temperature analysis purposes, the “El Niño” year is the year after the onset of the event. The best example is the 1997/98 event which helped bump 1998 to a warmest year gold medal.
Second, there’s no one perfect way to classify El Niño events. For example, in the Skeptical Science plot, 2005 is classified as an El Niño year. In a plot in the WMO report, 2005 is classified as a neutral year. These conflicts arise with “weak” El Niño years because different groups use different classification systems. The U.S. agencies NOAA and NASA disagreed as to whether 2004/05 was an El Niño event.
The suggestion that El Niño events be divided into types or flavours may address some of this potential disagreement. The recent paper led by my former student Sandra Banholzer concluded that the global average surface temperature is anomalously warm – statistically-speaking – during the canonical or traditional “Eastern Pacific” El Niño events like 1997/98, but not during “Central Pacific” events or “Mixe d” events. A more nuanced classification system allows 2004/05 to get status as El Niño-ish, but not a classic El Niño.
There are a variety of ways to perform the classifications and it is safe to say that the scientists involved do not agree on the “best” method. Whatever method is used, the underlying surface warming trend is the same. As is clear from this figure from the recent paper, the warming trend is robust.
NOTE: We will have a poster on this subject at AGU on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 15th, 2014. | 1,270,567 |
the Lib Dem can beat the Tory. So don’t vote Labour, vote Lib Dem.
Rest assured I’m asking Lib Dem and minor party voters in other areas, where the Labour candidate is the obvious choice, to vote tactically too.
To defeat the Tories in this election, we all need to put aside our traditional tribal loyalties. The stakes this time are far too high.
Lend your vote to the Liberal Democrats in your area this time – it’s the only way to stop Boris Johnson.
With best wishes,
Alastair Campbell
Life-long Labour supporter and campaigner
P.S. Remember – in your area, only a vote for the Liberal Democrats can beat Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. Make your vote count on 12thDecember.
LETTER TO LIB DEM VOTERS IN LAB/CON MARGINALS
Dear {name},
Your vote can stop Boris Johnson on December 12th– but only if you vote tactically.
As Editor at Large of the New European, and as a relentless campaigner for a People’s Vote, I totally understand why Remainers want to vote Lib Dem, and why you might not be happy with Jeremy Corbyn. I’m often not happy with Jeremy Corbyn either, and he was not very happy with me when I was thrown out of the Labour Party for voting tactically for the Liberal Democrats in the European Elections in May.
But at this election I’m asking you to vote for the Labour Party in your {name of constituency} constituency.
Across the country there are many seats where if people think and vote tactically, Boris Johnson can be stopped from getting a majority. We have seen what he is like with a little hit of power. Imagine what he would be like with a lot of power.
In seats like your [name of constituency] constituency, the choice is between Labour, who do now at least back a Final Say referendum, and Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. Voting Lib Dem in seats like yours will just help the Tories.
My message to Lib Dem people in your seat is that only the Labour candidate can beat the Tory. So don’t vote Lib Dem, vote Labour.
Rest assured I’m asking Labour and minor party voters in other areas, where the Lib Dem candidate is the obvious choice, to vote tactically too.
To defeat the Tories in this election, we all need to put aside our traditional tribal loyalties. The stakes this time are far too high.
Lend your vote to Labour this time – it’s the only way to stop Boris Johnson in your seat. And only if we stop him do we keep alive the prospect of a Final Say referendum on Brexit.
With best wishes,
Alastair Campbell
Leading Advocate of a People’s Vote
P.S. Remember – in your area, only a vote for Labour can stop Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. Make your vote count on 12thDecember. | 1,270,568 |
assignment. Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members. At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce. About Jack Sullivan Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe. He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment. Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members. At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Several counting room employees joined O’Brien in urging the board not to shut down the in-house counting house.“For the life of me, I can’t understand why this board would want an outside company counting our money,” said Patrick Coughlan, of Weymouth, a 20-year T employee, the last four in the money room. “You’ll be bringing in workers making a lower wage, with much less dedication to the company.”
Board members opted not to take any action on the proposal.
SHARE | 1,270,569 |
Donald Trump scored a much-needed win Monday by focusing on his tax plan in a major policy speech.
It was such a win, in fact, that the New York Post declared that both parties should embrace it.
Adam Brodsky wrote for the Post Monday night:
In Monday’s speech laying out his economic vision, the billionaire businessman called for “the biggest tax revolution since the Reagan tax reform.” He vowed to slash income taxes wholesale, cut the nation’s top corporate tax rate (now among the highest in the world among industrialized nations) by more than half, and end the death tax, to boot. He’d also simplify the tax code. (Hallelujah!) More details to come, he promised, and it’ll be interesting to see how he pays for it all. But Trump’s impulse to roll back taxes to jump start the economy is hopeful news. Indeed, it’s something both Democrats and Republicans can support — or should, anyway.
Why should Democrats support Trump’s plan, according to Brodsky? He writes:
But liberals also think deficits stir demand and boost the economy; they just like to create those deficits with spending rather than tax cuts. President Obama, recall, raised taxes — but jacked up spending more, doubling the debt. So even if Trump can’t pay for his tax cuts by trimming outlays (or with more revenue from a juiced-up economy), liberals should be fine with any deficits that result.
Trump actually introduced his tax plan relatively early in the primaries, but many people had no idea what was actually in it. I wrote from the Wisconsin primary (during a bleak phase in the campaign that Trump managed to bounce back from):
It’s shocking how few people, even conservatives, know anything about Donald Trump’s tax plan. Trump’s tax plan closes corporate loopholes while slashing business and personal tax rates across the board, giving poor people who make less than $25,000 a year (or $50,000 for married couples) the privilege of not having to pay any income taxes. It sounds pretty conservative to me.
To be fair, Trump should have been promoting his tax plan like crazy when he was running against Ted Cruz so as to stave off the #NeverTrump movement, which claimed that Trump was not conservative enough.
Grover Norquist of Americans For Tax Reform defended Trump against other conservatives in June by praising Trump’s tax plan.
Norquist pretty much made his political career pushing for Reagan’s second-term tax reform bill and then just kept going with his anti-tax advocacy.
The Norquist support is pretty clutch, but it’s less important in this general election. But there is definitely an opportunity for Trump here, as the New York Post recognizes.
On the one hand, the plan is a conservative tax-slashing program that tops Reagan. On the other hand, it helps out the poor and closes corporate loopholes.
Bipartisanship, anyone? | 1,270,570 |
The Netherland's national railway company, NS, has announced that all of its electric passenger trains are now 100 percent powered by wind energy.
NS first announced their target for a wind-powered train fleet back in 2015, but they've hit their target a year earlier than planned - way ahead of their 2018 goal.
"Since 1 January, 100 percent of our trains are running on wind energy," said NS spokesman, Ton Boon, in a press release sent to the AFP. "So we in fact reached our goal a year earlier than planned."
In 2015, NS partnered with Dutch electricity company Eneco. Their goal was getting NS's entire electric train fleet wind-powered by January 2018.
Half of the fleet was already wind-powered, but in order to get the entire system away from fossil fuels, they needed to either build more local wind farms or buy in wind energy from neighbouring countries, such as Denmark.
But thanks to an increase in the number of wind farms around the country, and off the coast of the Netherlands, the collaboration has achieved that target early.
According to a joint NS and Eneco website, around 600,000 passengers every day are now travelling thanks to wind energy.
The Dutch have a long history with wind energy, and have been using windmills to drain water and mill grain since the 17th and 18th centuries. But now the nation is using more sophisticated wind turbines to generate electricity.
According to Eneco and NS, one windmill running for an hour can power a train for around 200 km (120 miles).
And although trains are usually thought of as pretty environmentally friendly compared to fuel-heavy cars, the NS fleet annually consumes 1.2 billion kWh of wind energy from Eneco - equivalent to the amount of electricity consumed by all households in Amsterdam in a year.
"Mobility is responsible for 20 percent of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands, and if we want to keep travelling, it is important that we do this without burdening the environment with CO2 and particulate matter," Eneco account manager Michel Kerkhof told Railway Technology back in 2015.
"This contract offers all Dutch citizens the option to make a climate neutral trip, regardless of distance."
The collaboration now hopes to reduce the energy used per passenger by a further 35 percent by 2020 compared to 2005.
And if global trends are anything to go by, it shouldn't be that hard. Just last year, Costa Rica was able to go 250 days without burning any fossil fuels, largely thanks to its hydro, geothermal, and wind energy.
Scotland was also able to generate more wind electricity than the entire country could use on a particularly windy day in 2016. And Denmark got 42 percent of its national electricity from wind power in 2015, despite having two of its biggest wind farms offline.
So, the planet might still be heating up, but we've finally passed the point where renewable energy has more power generation capacity than fossil fuels for the first time.
And thanks to countries like the Netherlands, there's no turning back now. | 1,270,571 |
It was her singing voice that first landed Mennel Ibtissem in the news.
On Saturday night, the 22-year-old French graduate student charmed the jury on The Voice, a popular reality TV show and singing competition, with her interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah in English and Arabic (Ya ilahi).
On the show which first started in the UK, but has been adapted and launched in several other countries, famous singers sit with their backs to contestants as they audition. If the stars like what they hear, they turn around to show their support.
Less than five seconds into Ibtissem's song, French singer Zazie turned around and exclaimed, "It's impossible!” She was followed by British-Lebanese singer Mika, then singer-songwriter Pascal Obispo and finally by musician and actor Florent Pagny.
"I have never opened my heart to my family by saying: 'Do you know what music does to me?'" Ibtissem said in an interview ahead of her audition.
"I was hiding a lot. I was doing music in my room. When I posted videos on the internet, the messages I got from people were very nice compliments."
But after her performance, Ibtissem has provoked many hostile reactions for opinions she posted on social media and has since removed.
Pro-Israel sites have accused her of being "a member of the Muslim far-right" and "conspiratorialist” after she took stands on Facebook against Israel and questioned the involvement of armed Islamists in the Nice terrorist attacks.
"The government is the real terrorist," she wrote in August 2016.
Islamophobic sites have criticised Ibtissem for sharing posts from BarakaCity, a controversial Islamic non-profit organisation, promoting books by Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan and also for her support of Lallab, a French feminist association that defends Muslim women’s voices.
Born in the eastern French city of Besancon to a Syrian-Turkish father and a Moroccan-Algerian mother, Mennel, a Muslim, clearly shows sympathy for the Palestinian cause. A video clip shows her singing Souris Palestine (Smile Palestine).
And she also told French daily Le Figaro earlier this month that she considers her turban "a more modern way of wearing a veil".
"It is inseparable from my look. You will never see me without it," she said, drawing a parallel with French rapper Maitre Gims who never removes his dark glasses.
This is not the first time that a hijabi-wearing female singer has tried her luck on The Voice: in 2016, psychologist Amina Skhiri participated in the Belgian version of the show with I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.
TF1, the TV channel which airs the show in France, has been clear in previous comments before Mennel's appearance on that show that she was "already known on social media" and did not comment on the uproar after the show. | 1,270,572 |
Georgia Southern Men's Soccer has a new home with the re-introduction of the Sun Belt Conference for men's soccer. The Eagles will compete in the six-team league beginning in the fall of 2014 with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line."Since last spring when we announced the department's move to the Sun Belt, we've been working hard to find a conference home for our Men's Soccer team," said Athletics Director. "It took some out of the box thinking and conference partnerships, but we were able to come up with a great solution that gives our student-athletes a chance to compete in a league for an NCAA Tournament bid."Full-time members Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, and Georgia State will play alongside affiliate members Hartwick, Howard, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in a single round robin schedule."The reintroduction of men's soccer to the Sun Belt Conference means that we will be able to provide valuable opportunities for student-athletes and deliver them a first-class championship experience," said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson. "Our new affiliate members provide us with a full field of competitive teams and we welcome them to the Sun Belt Conference."The Sun Belt will conduct a championship at one of the six institutions with the winner earning an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The championship format will see the top two teams from the regular season earning a bye into the tournament semifinals. A date and site for the championship will be announced in May."I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to compete in the Sun Belt Conference in 2014 and beyond," said Head Coach. "I believe this is going to be a very competitive conference and I know that our student-athletes are looking forward to the challenge of this upcoming season. I would like to applaud the efforts and hard work ofand Dr. Brooks Keel. Their leadership and vision in helping to create this league in such a very short time has been nothing less than extraordinary. I believe this is a real success story for college soccer and I'm proud that Georgia Southern is going to be a part of this league."The Sun Belt previously sponsored men's soccer from 1976 to 1995. In fact, the first ever Sun Belt Championship in any sport was the 1976 men's soccer championship."We are looking forward to having an automatic qualifier in the sport to represent us in the NCAA postseason," said Benson. "And we are optimistic at the possibility of sending multiple teams to the tournament field each year."With the addition of men's soccer, the Sun Belt will now sponsor 18 sports. On the men's side the conference now competes in basketball, baseball, cross country, the highest level of NCAA football, golf, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, soccer, and tennis. For women's sports, the Sun Belt offers basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis, and volleyball.Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics. | 1,270,573 |
When the first season of Star Trek: Discovery wrapped up it had Doug Jones’ Saru still in command of the USS Discovery as acting captain, but the ship was on its way to Vulcan to pick up an as yet unnamed new captain. Who this new captain might be is something we explored in detail in a previous article, but one of the possibilities was that somehow the situation will change and Saru could remain in command.
If you are a fan hoping for that long shot possibility, Doug Jones may offer some disappointment. In a new interview with ScreenRant the actor says he is not ready to see Saru take the big chair:
“I think the character of Saru, I mean he very much wants to be captain. He’s been on that deck for so long in the command track and as the first of his species to have gone through Starfleet Academy and have come out as a high ranking officer on a Starship, he’s the first of his kind to ever even come close to this, so he’s got a lot to prove and he’s got a lot to say. But, me personally, as Doug Jones the fan of Star Trek, I think the dynamic of that character works very well as a first officer; as second fiddle to a captain. And that’s me personally.”
When Saru was initially introduced in the pilot of Discovery, he was still a lieutenant commander and chief science officer of the USS Shenzhou under the command of Captain Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). After the destruction of that ship he was transferred to the USS Discovery and as of the season finale Saru had only held the rank of commander and position of first officer for less than a year. So, it is true there is more for him to explore before becoming the commanding officer of a starship.
While Jones feels Saru needs to spend some more time as first officer, he still notes the character has ambition. He talked to ScreenRant more about his thoughts on Saru’s path in the second season:
“I think [Saru will have] the captain’s chair one day. Early on, we’re only about to start filming season 2, there’s still a lot of room ahead of us. So I think for now, he still has more to learn in the leadership department and the courage department under a captain who’s been there and done that a lot, a seasoned captain.”
Who that new captain is remains a mystery. And as Michael Burnham has been restored to the rank of commander, it will be interesting to see if the sort of sibling rivalry between the two returns for the second season, because she has her eye on the big chair too.
Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusively in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on the Space Channel and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie. | 1,270,574 |
(Reuters) - If the Republicans' plan to dismantle most of Obamacare is approved later this month by the U.S. House of Representatives, where it cleared initial hurdles last week, it would go next to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain.
At least nine Republican senators have expressed concerns about the plan, which is moving forward in the House without a clear assessment of its impact on the federal budget or how it would impact the level of health insurance among Americans.
NEWS OF THE DAY: March Madness Spotlights Problem of Academic Integrity in College Sports ]
The plan would roll back much of former Democratic President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act, retain some parts of it and substitute other new parts. Democrats say it goes too far. Some Republican conservatives say it doesn't go far enough.
Republicans dominate the House, but have only 52 seats in the 100-seat Senate. Supporters of the Republican plan would need only a simple majority to pass it, under current plans.
Here are some Republican senators who have raised questions about the House plan, or outright opposed it:
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky: He has called the plan "Obamacare Lite," saying it stops short of full repeal. He has reintroduced a bill to repeal Obamacare that was approved by Republicans a little over a year ago, but was vetoed by Obama.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas: Cruz reportedly said on March 8 that he had "significant concerns" about the plan and that it could pass the Senate in its current form. But he added he would work hard to improve it. That night, he and his family dined at the White House with Republican President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for the House plan.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah: He said on March 7 the plan was a "step in the wrong direction" and expressed concern that it was not known how much it would cost and whether it would make health care more affordable.
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas: On March 9 he urged the House to pull back, saying the plan could not pass the Senate without changes.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine: She has concerns about the House bill. She voted against repealing Obamacare a little over a year ago because it would have taken federal funds from women's healthcare provider Planned Parenthood, which also provides abortion services. The current House bill would strip funds from Planned Parenthood.
Senator Rob Portman of Ohio: He and three other senators raised concerns in a letter last week about a Feb. 10 draft of the House plan, saying they wanted to be sure it will protect people enrolled in Obamacare's Medicaid expansion.
Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado: He signed the letter of concern about the plan. In a March 9 telephone town hall, Gardner reportedly did not say whether the current House bill met his standards on Medicaid.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska: She also signed the letter of concern about the plan's effect on Medicaid.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia: She, too, signed the letter of concern about the Medicaid impact.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Leslie Adler) | 1,270,575 |
Senior leaders in Iraq’s minority Yazidi community say their wives and daughters, forcibly held by Islamic militants, are being given a choice: Convert to Islam and marry jihadists — or else.
Mirza Dinnayi, a senior Yazidi leader and a former adviser on minority affairs to the Iraqi president, said he has spoken on the phone with several women who cry out to him: “I love my husband; my faith is Yazidi.”
Others have attested to harsh treatment bestowed on members of the religious minority by the Islamic State militant group since its gunmen captured parts of Iraq earlier this week.
As many as 200,000 Yazidis left their homes in the Sinjar region of northwestern Iraq. Untold thousands are believed dead and at least several hundred women and children are being held prisoners.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands are stranded on the Sinjar mountain range without access to food or water in an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Even in a long history marred by persecution, this week’s tragic events stood out.
Prince Tahseen Said, the 81-year-old leader of the community, who has lived through many exiles and massacres, has called it the worst violence against Yazidis in his lifetime and beseeched the international community to intervene.
Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking people who follow an ancient religion blending elements of Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity and local folk beliefs. Several hundred thousand followers live in Sinjar and Sheikhan, two regions just west and east of Mosul.
Smaller communities of Yazidis live in Syria, Armenia and Germany.
At their unique conical temples, they worship a peacock deity called Melek Taus and hold elaborate ceremonies that involve fire and water.
“Yezidism is a syncretic religion that takes from a variety of different traditions, some Zoroastrianism, Islamic and a little bit of animism,” said Austin Long, professor of international affairs at Columbia University in New York. “It’s a mixed religion with a long-standing history in Iraq. Most are Kurds, ethnically.”
Through the centuries, Yazidis have often been persecuted by Muslims who say the faith is forbidden. In 2007, hundreds of Yazidis in Sinjar died in a series of massive explosions orchestrated against them by al-Qaida in Iraq — the precursor of the Islamic State.
In recent months, Sunni radicals have made huge gains in northern Iraq, killing thousands of Christians, Shiites and other minority religious groups. But the fall of Sinjar, which was being protected by the robust Kurdish militia, came as a surprise.
Since then, the Islamic State has continued to push into Kurdish territory and is now threatening Sheikhan, the other area where Yazidis are concentrated.
“We have thousands now fleeing,” said Dinnayi. “We have no help. No support from international community.”
Copyright: For copyright information, please check with the distributor of this item, Religion News Service LLC. | 1,270,576 |
The bond market is starting to show signs of concern over budget deficits and the corresponding supply of treasuries. Please consider Treasury Yield Curve Steepest Since at Least 1980 After Auction.
Treasuries fell, with the gap in yields between 2- and 30-year securities reaching the widest margin since at least 1980, after a $13 billion offering of 30- year bonds drew lower-than-forecast demand.
The so-called yield curve touched 372 basis points, the most in at least 29 years, as the bonds drew a yield of 4.52 percent. The so-called yield curve has widened from 191 basis points at the end of 2008, with the Fed anchoring its target rate at a record-low range of zero to 0.25 percent and the Treasury extending the average maturity of U.S. debt.
Treasury officials on Nov. 4 announced a long-term target of six to seven years for the average maturity of Treasury debt and said the department wants to cut back on its issuance of bills and two- and three-year notes. The shift to longer- maturity debt has raised concern that investors will demand higher yields to offset the risk of inflation as government spending drives the deficit to a record $1.4 trillion.
“The market is continuing to worry about the massive amount of Treasury issuance that’s going to hit the market well into next year,” said Ian Lyngen, senior government bond strategist at CRT Capital Group LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “In the very short term, part of it is going to be supply accommodation.”
Yield Curve As Of December 10 2009
Historical Yield Curve
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Chart Symbols
Total Consumer Credit
Total Bank Credit
US$ Weekly Chart
2010 Forecast
- The Great Retrace
From President Obama on down, Americans are hoping Friday's stronger-than-expected November jobs report marked the beginning of the end of our national unemployment nightmare. Looking beyond the November jobs data, Shedlock says the odds of the unemployment rate coming down anytime soon are remote.
As confident as he is about the grim outlook for jobs, Shedlock was very reticent to make market predictions in the accompanying video, taped Friday evening at Minyanville's annual Holiday Festivus in New York City.
In a subsequent email, Shedlock was more willing to take a position, as is more typical of the opinionated blogger:
"In the absence of a war outbreak in the Middle East or Pakistan -- and/or Congress going completely insane with more stimulus efforts -- I think oil prices are likely to drop, the dollar will strengthen or at least hold its own, and the best opportunities are likely to be on the short side," he writes. "2010 is highly likely to retrace most if not all of the ‘reflation' efforts of 2009. If things play out as I suspect, 2010 will be the year of the great retrace as the economic recovery disappoints." | 1,270,577 |
The cryptocurrency market has been down since the start of the year but that has not deterred industry experts and analysts from making bold short- and long-term predictions about the price of the leading cryptocurrency.
Most recently, crypto bull Tim Draper has now revealed his latest prediction about the cryptocurrency market and the Bitcoin enthusiast seems to be very bullish about the chances of the general market.
During a recent talk, Draper predicted that the cryptocurrency market would grow from the current $200 billion to a whopping $80 trillion over the next decade and a half.
Crypto market predicted to grow by 400x
The current global market cap of all cryptocurrencies stands just above $200 billion but Tim Draper is confident that the market will rise by thousands of percentages to reach $80 trillion over the next fifteen years.
He is, however, not very bullish about the prices of Bitcoin and altcoins short-term as he believes that the prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will first have to drop before rising.
The tech investor made this known during a speech at the DEALSTREETASIA Summit in Singapore last week.
He noted that the internet started on the same path, referring to the crash of the Dot Com Bubble in the early 2000’s followed by the emergence of web 2.0 giants.
Much how the next wave of tech companies was much bigger having learned from the mistakes of those that fell before them, he expects the cryptocurrency market to see a similar second wave.
I think it’s going to have such a transformative effect on industries that we never even imagined would be transformable. The internet went after industries that were $10–100 billion dollar markets, cryptocurrency will go after trillion dollar markets — these are finance, healthcare and insurance, banking and investment banking, and governments.
Ignorance still a problem for Bitcoin
Draper also talked about the current bear market and why the prices of cryptocurrencies continue to be down. He attributes the drop in price to ignorance.
Draper believes that as people get accustomed to cryptos, multiple billion dollar industries across the globe would benefit and eventually enter the space.
Understanding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology would lead to the transformation of industries across the globe.
Draper has been a proponent of Bitcoin for a while now as he believes that cryptos and their underlying technologies have more revolutionary potential than the internet.
Earlier this year, he pointed out that the impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology would be much bigger than the industrial revolution, the Renaissance and the Iron Age.
In March, Draper stating that fiat currencies will be out of use in a decade and the world will be fully reliant on cryptocurrencies for financial transactions.
Five months ago, he gave his medium-term prediction on Bitcoin which he believes would reach $250,000 by 2022.
While doubts remain, Draper has had a good track record of reading the market. His 2015 prediction that Bitcoin would reach $10,000 by the end of 2017 was, if anything, an underestimate. The price of the leading cryptocurrency went on to surge almost double that to just under $20,000. | 1,270,578 |
Brief History
Horace Littleton was a scientist for the Weapon Plus program in the 60's, and eventually developed a LSD/Super Soldier Serum hybrid. However, Littleton's project had lost funding as well as test subjects (implied to be somewhat caused by Littleton's consistent recreational use of substances in a reckless manner) so, Littleton injected the serum into himself, which gave him psychoactive powers and the strength of a Super Soldier. After trying to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D, he was arrested and imprisoned for 50 years, with the Iron Nail failing to free him in 1969 thanks to the efforts of the Winter Soldier.
Return
Littleton was eventually broken out of prison by the Iron Nail in the present day, who had befriended him while he was working in S.H.I.E.L.D. Due to the effects of the Super Soldier Serum, he had not aged a day since his capture. He used his bubbles to give Nuke, who was dying of critical wounds, a peaceful and quiet death.
Littleton used his bubbles to control both Maria Hill and Nick Fury Jr, using their credentials to access the top secret Gungnir project, which was a experimental mech that also functioned as a Helicarrier as well. Both him and the Iron Nail planned to use this weapon to start a international war and expose S.H.I.E.L.D. When Captain America attempted to bring down the pair, Littleton was able to overpower him with one of his bubbles, knocking him out and allowing the pair to use him as a pilot for the robot. Steve's illusion tried to convince him that they were defeated, and that he had been safely taken to a hospital while his allies stopped Gungnir, with a massive parade going on for him as well as revealing that Sharon Carter, thought dead by him for a long time, was alive and well.
Death
Steve was eventually able to find out that this was just a illusion, and killed himself in the dream state to escape it. Littleton tried to subdue Steve again, but he was able to use his shield to smash the pipe connected to his head, sending all of his bubbles back into his own head and driving him crazy, to the point of throwing himself off the Gungnir Helicarrier. Through his body was never found, he is presumed to be dead.
Powers and Abilities
Dr. Mindbubble gets his power from a bowler hat he wears which has a pipe that comes out the front. The pipe creates large bubbles which, when encapsulating the head of a person, causes them to enter a mind-altering state. It has been shown that the only way for a subject to escape the consciousness-altering mind bubble and pop it altogether, is to kill yourself in the dream state. His bubbles were also shown to be bullet-proof and strong enough to carry Littleton around.
As well as this, he also has the standard strength and slowed aging that regular users of the Super Soldier Serum also have. | 1,270,579 |
era of diminished circumstances, when the 25th Dynasty had fallen, the new players of Assyria (modern-day Iran and Iraq) and (later) Rome had wrested control of Egypt, and safety was to be found further south.
Some 177 pyramids stand here, the majority in the Northern Cemetery, in various states of preservation and glory. They could easily have been lost. One notable destroyer was Giuseppe Ferlini, an Italian medic and amateur treasure-hunter who, accompanying Ottoman forces in 1834, decapitated several structures in a lust for gold. Even now, the devastation he wrought on the first-century BC tomb of Queen Amanishakheto is visually shocking, a cultural rape of brute ignorance which left much of the brickwork spilt over the dunes. Thankfully, he did not desecrate the whole area. Adjacent, the tomb of Naherka (built in 140BC) is a proud survivor, its “H-shaped” entrance – so distinctive of the Meroë pyramids – opening on to a funerary chapel where fine etchings of Isis and Osiris greet the dead king. Above both, the stark outline of Jebel Barkal is visible on the wall.
The keepers of keys at a tomb in El Kurru Credit: ALAMY
Two doorways along, the final fate of the Kushite kingdom is embodied in the pyramid of Queen Amanirenas. A Sudanese Boadicea, she took the fight back to Egypt – and to the Romans who were now in charge – in 27BC. She met with partial success in a war that lasted five years, and was concluded by a favourable treaty, negotiated with Emperor Augustus. This was, though, the last defiance of a civilisation that would fade in the next 300 years, condemned to irrelevance by a new world order on the Mediterranean.
I take my leave too, to Meroë Tented Camp, a luxury retreat a mile away. Here, I take a seat on the veranda, and gaze back across the rocky landscape at the pyramids - which sink gradually into the gloaming as the day ends. Would the Kushites be pleased with the song that these scattered tombs still sing of their former greatness? Surely so. Even if, for now, so few tourists are listening.
Birdlife in Sudan Credit: GETTY
How to get there
Cox & Kings (0203 642 0861; coxandkings.co.uk) is offering an 11-day Treasures of Ancient Nubia trip through Sudan which visits the pyramids at El Kurru, Nuri and Meroë, as well as Khartoum.
Prices start at £3,295 per person for a group tour, or £4,995 per person for a private journey – including high-end accommodation, international flights, chauffeured internal travel and guides. Ethiopian Airlines (0800 016 3449; ethiopianairlines.com) flies to Khartoum daily from London Heathrow, via Addis Ababa. | 1,270,580 |
Once again, the Verizon IndyCar Series has race control as a primary story.
During Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Simon Pagenaud exited the pits on Lap 55 of the 80 and remained ahead of Scott Dixon. Pagenaud’s exit from the pits, however, is where the controversy starts, as his right side wheels crossed the end of the yellow blend line after the pit exit.
The final portion of IndyCar rule 7.1.3.5 states: Taking improper position upon leaving the pit lane or failing to follow the direction of INDYCAR may result in a penalty. INDYCAR’s determination of the order is not subject to review and/or appeal.
Much was made of Pagenaud’s exit of the pits, but what seems to be the issue is that much is being made ONLY of his pit exit.
Several other drivers made similar exits during the race, but nothing was ever mentioned about them.
For example, take a look at Tony Kanaan and Takuma Sato’s pit exits on Lap 54. Screenshots courtesy of Steven Kilsdonk
Why was nothing said about these pit exits? Why were there no replays shown, especially after Pagenaud’s situation? It’s not like a long amount of time elapsed between pit exits.
Between Kanaan and Pagenaud’s pit exits, 63 seconds had elapsed, so it can’t be claimed that Kanaan or Sato’s exits were too early to be looked at on TV.
Another driver did some even more egregious track-cutting earlier in the race and not one reporter asked about it after the event.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Max Chilton undercut the inside curbing at Turn 5, and was only told not to do it any more.
After the race, not one reporter from NBC Sports Network asked Scott Dixon or Chip Ganassi about the course-cutting, despite it being more blatant than Pagenaud’s.
Why?
During the race, IndyCar tweeted that Carlos Munoz was also given a warning for a pit lane violation, but that was never mentioned on the broadcast, nor was any replay shown of Munoz’s exit.
Why?
IndyCar didn’t order drive-thru penalties for Chilton, Munoz, Kanaan or Sato. To remain consistent, they had no choice but to not issue one for Pagenaud.
It’s also not right that only one pit exit gets highlighted by the broadcast crew while similar exits by top-tier drivers were never heard about.
EMAIL CHRISTOPHER AT [email protected]
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The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of PopularOpenWheel.com, its owners, management or other contributors. Any links contained in this article should not be considered an endorsement. | 1,270,581 |
Whether you’re a machine learning enthusiast, researcher, or professional, setting up and managing your work environment can be a complex and distracting process. Even when you're done dealing with installation and version compatibility issues, you'll face challenges around cloning the latest models, sharing your results with others, and simply keeping track of your work. To make matters worse, many cloud GPUs are prohibitively expensive.
We are addressing these issues head-on with the announcement of Gradient Community Notebooks, a free cloud GPU service based on Jupyter notebooks that radically simplifies the process of ML/AI development. Now, any developer working with popular deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Keras, can easily launch powerful free GPU instances and collaborate on their ML projects. This marks the latest effort in our mission to make cloud GPU resources more accessible to the community.
Launch a Free Notebook
Gradient Community Notebooks are public, shareable Jupyter Notebooks that run on free cloud GPUs and CPUs. Notebooks can be run on any DL or ML framework, pre-configured to work out of the box. Use your own container or choose from a wide selection of templates complete with popular drivers and dependencies, like CUDA and cuDNN.
Gradient let you focus on building your models, not troubleshooting your environment.
Instance types available for the Free Notebooks include:
Free-CPU — C3 CPU instance
Free-GPU+ — NVIDIA M4000 GPU
Free-P5000 — NVIDIA P5000 GPU
5 GB of persistent storage is also included for free.
The Machine Learning Showcase: Ready-Made ML Projects
The ML Showcase is a repository of ready-made, complete ML projects that work out of the box. Now with free CPUs and GPUs, you can easily select a project and use it as the basis for your own work or exploration.
You can browse projects based on their type and category. Once you find a project you’re interested in, open it in Gradient to look through the code.
Make the project your own by cloning and running it on a free GPU. Adjust the parameters, swap the data set, or use it as the foundation for your own work.
How to Hit the Ground Running
Getting started with your first Free GPU Notebook is incredibly easy.
Create a free account Select your instance (M4000 or P5000 cloud GPU, or C3 cloud CPU) Launch your own Notebook, or fork a ready-to-run project from the ML showcase or Community
You can run an unlimited number of sessions for up to 6 hours at a time. Your Notebook will remain fully versioned, and you can restart your instance to run for another 6 hours as many times as you like.
Gradient Community Notebooks are focused on just that—the Community. All notebooks are set to public, and can be shared and forked by other Community members.
For more information check out the docs or try running your own notebook for free. | 1,270,582 |
Payday Loan Debt Consolidation – How to Consolidate and Eliminate Debt
Payday loan debt consolidation is one of the best things that can happen to you when you are in financial distress. It may be only for a short period of time, but you can get help paying off all your loans with payday loan debt consolidation.
A payday loan debt consolidation is a method of negotiating with your creditors and getting a reduced payment. This will usually come at the end of the month when your next paycheck arrives.
The reason that this is called short term is that the creditor can be flexible with you when it comes to how much money is required from you. Of course they are concerned that if you miss the payment, they will lose your business.
If you are in need of short term help with your financial problems, then payday loan debt consolidation is for you. You just have to know what you want out of the process and you will be able to get it.
Make sure that the company will provide cash advance loan
When looking for payday loan debt consolidation, it is important to look for a company that can provide a budget. This will help you make sure that you are able to pay off all your debt and still have some left over to pay for the rest of your bills.
Make sure that you look for a company that is able to provide cash advance loan debt consolidation as this is a good way to go. When you start the process, make sure that you ask about the fees that are involved in this program.
You may find that there are some that will waive the fees that you will have to pay if you do not fall behind on your payments and even if you have a poor credit score. This is a good way to ensure that you are not in too much debt.
A bad credit score can be made up for with a little credit card debt. There are a lot of people that are struggling with payday loan debt consolidation who have a poor credit score.
There are even companies that specialize in helping people that have a bad credit score. This is a good way to keep you from falling into the same situation that you were in before and make sure that you are paying off your payday loan debt consolidation in a timely manner.
Steps to be taken to take payday loan debt consolidation
Once you find the right company to work with, the process can be a bit easier than you might think. There are some steps that need to be taken that can help you get through the entire process and ensure that you get your payday loan debt consolidation.
You will need to take care of all of the correspondence with the company, making sure that you are able to pay off all of your bills and that you are current on them. Make sure that you call all of your creditors to see if they have any other options.
As long as you use this type of process when it comes to payday loan debt consolidation, then you will be able to stay out of debt. Of course, the last thing that you want to do is fall back into the same situation that you were in before you started the process. | 1,270,583 |
A smokeless cannabis-vaporizing device delivers the same level of active therapeutic chemical and produces the same biological effect as smoking cannabis, but without the harmful toxins, according to University of California San Francisco researchers.
Results of a UCSF study, which focuses on delivery of the active ingredient delta-9-tertrahydrocannibinol, or THC, are reported in the online issue of the journal "Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics."
"We showed in a recent paper in the journal 'Neurology' that smoked cannabis can alleviate the chronic pain caused by HIV-related neuropathy, but a concern was expressed that smoking cannabis was not safe. This study demonstrates an alternative method that gives patients the same effects and allows controlled dosing but without inhalation of the toxic products in smoke," said study lead author Donald I. Abrams, MD, UCSF professor of clinical medicine.
The research team looked at the effectiveness of a device that heats cannabis to a temperature between 180 and 200 degrees C, just short of combustion, which occurs at 230 degrees C. Eighteen individuals were enrolled as inpatients for six days under supervision in the General Clinical Research Center at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.
Under the study protocol, the participants received on different days three different strengths of cannabis by two delivery methods--smoking or vaporization--three times a day.
Plasma concentrations of THC were measured along with the exhaled levels of carbon monoxide, or CO. A toxic gas, CO served as a marker for the many other combustion-generated toxins inhaled when smoking. The plasma concentrations of THC were comparable at all strengths of cannabis between smoking and vaporization. Smoking increased CO levels as expected, but there was little or no increase in CO levels after inhaling from the vaporizer, according to Abrams.
"Using CO as an indicator, there was virtually no exposure to harmful combustion products using the vaporizing device. Since it replicates smoking's efficiency at producing the desired THC effect using smaller amounts of the active ingredient as opposed to pill forms, this device has great potential for improving the therapeutic utility of THC," said study co-author Neal L. Benowitz, MD, UCSF professor of medicine, psychiatry and biopharmaceutical sciences. He added that pills tend to provide patients with more THC than they need for optimal therapeutic effect and increase side effects.
Patients rated the "high" they experienced from both smoking and vaporization and there was no difference between the two methods by patient self-report of the effect, according to study findings. In addition, patients were asked which method they preferred.
"By a significant majority, patients preferred vaporization to smoking, choosing the route of delivery with the fewest side effects and greatest efficiency," said Benowitz.
Co-authors include Cheryl A. Jay, MD, UCSF neurology; and Starley B. Shade, MPH; Hector Vizoso, RN; and Mary Ellen Kelly, MPH, UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.
The study was funded by the University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. | 1,270,584 |
Progressives responded with a mixture of alarm and ridicule to news that President Donald Trump is planning later this week to sign an executive order to "protect" Medicare, a government-run program, from "socialist destruction."
The Washington Post reported that the executive order, which Trump is set to unveil Thursday during a trip to Florida, is part of a concerted attack on the push for Medicare for All, a proposal championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Yes, only Trump save MEDICARE, a government-run health care program, from socialism https://t.co/0oUmy01s3Y — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 29, 2019 Not only did Trump’s own budget make deep cuts to Medicare, but can someone explain to me how a socialist program can be saved from socialism? https://t.co/u7JvGqENQs — Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) September 29, 2019
Observers said Trump's planned executive order is reminiscent of the infamous "keep your government hands off my Medicare" line that was shouted at a Republican lawmaker during a town hall in 2009, in the heat of the fight over the Affordable Care Act.
"I understand why people like Trump and [Vice President Joe] Biden try to scare old people about Medicare for All. Scaring old people is time-tested!" HuffPost reporter Jeffrey Young tweeted Sunday. "But the idea that giving government healthcare to everyone somehow means taking it from people who already have government healthcare is just absurd."
KEEP THE GOVERNMENT'S HANDS OFF MY MEDICARE!!1! https://t.co/tBj5tBKjdV — Jeffrey Young (@JeffYoung) September 29, 2019
Others recounted Republicans' vehement opposition to the creation of Medicare in response to Trump's fearmongering executive order:
Republicans ca. 1965: MEDICARE IS SOCIALISM!!! It must be stopped. Republicans ca. 2019: Only we can protect your Medicare from the evil socialists who want to take it away from you. https://t.co/6SBZh0xH11 — Seth Cotlar (@SethCotlar) September 29, 2019 For those unfamiliar with the 1960s anti-Medicare argument, here it is put mellifluously by Ronald Reagan. https://t.co/u4ZG8mv95F — Seth Cotlar (@SethCotlar) September 29, 2019
While the full details of the executive order have not yet been released to the public, the Post reported that the order could call for further privatization of Medicare by expanding "plans offered through Medicare Advantage."
Progressives warned that, as with Republican calls to "save" Social Security, Trump's executive order could mean attempted cuts to the crucial program, which covers tens of millions of elderly Americans and people with disabilities.
"Donald Trump plans to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid," tweeted People for Bernie. | 1,270,585 |
on) runs. They do not want to get the locks by running T1 because they want to do T2 with their friends or kin later. The result is there are a lot less T1 runs being done. We are on update 4 now since the release of the raid and we have heard no discussion on addressing it, can you touch on that?
Dr.Octothorpe: Yes, we are aware of it and it pains us that it keeps players from enjoying the raid. It is unfortunately not a small feature, so we have been looking for a moment when we can dig in and fix it. We hope this will be soon, but we can’t make any promises.
Severlin: It actually has a lot to do with how loot is distributed. When we looked in to fixing the lock issue, we wanted to go to a boss by boss lock where you could just loot each boss once. So you could kill a boss multiple times but only allow you to loot once. The problem with that is it would force us to go to a personal loot system and there was some concern when we went to do that that the players who were used to the current system would have a problem with a personal loot system because you can’t trade; a raid can’t sort of stack specific items on to people. So the issue wasn’t actually the tech, it was the concern that the players themselves would find that a personal loot system, a system that drops loot from boss to boss for specific players would be a backstab. That was our concern; and when we realized we did not have time before the raid [release -ed.] to go through the process of bringing that to the Palantir players and discussing the differences between how loot currently works and how loot would work in the new system (going through all the nuance of it) and then getting them to give us feedback on it is a process that would take months just to get the players’ input from the raiding guilds. We just ran out of time. Believe me, we wanted to fix these problems before the raid [release -ed.] but we didn’t want the players to see a new raid and be used to looting one way and then change it on them. We just did not have the time to go through a due diligence process and throwing something like that on the players without a lot of feedback from the people who are raiding, would have been a bad idea on our part. We just did not feel the players would have appreciated us throwing that on them without enough time and feedback for us to polish it.
————————
In Part 2 we discuss;
The future of raids
The loot system
Burglar and Hunter love
Update 19
Imbuement
T2C of older content being relevant
Essences
Fellowship Maneuvers
A Russian translation is underway. If there is anyone that can assist with French and German please let me know.
If you have found this content to be enjoyable/useful please consider donating to keep the site running: | 1,270,586 |
FILE PHOTO: Workers cut pork at Park Packing -- one of the Chicago's few remaining slaughterhouses -- in Chicago
By Stephanie Kelly and Tom Polansek
NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - A slew of U.S. ethanol plants have shut down as fuel demand has collapsed during the coronavirus outbreak, and meatpackers have been hit by a worrying side-effect: less carbon dioxide is now available to chill beef, poultry and pork.
"We're headed for a train wreck in terms of the CO2 market," said Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association industry group. The RFA said 29 of the 45 U.S. ethanol plants that sell carbon dioxide, or CO2, have idled or cut rates. The U.S. ethanol sector is the top supplier of commercial carbon dioxide to the food industry, accounting for around 40% of the market, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
That has put the U.S. meat industry on high-alert. It uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant and preservative for meat, and also uses the gas to stun animals before slaughter.
The CO2 crunch is the latest supply chain disruption threatening the food industry as it struggles to keep workers on the job during the coronavirus outbreak while meeting rising demand at grocery stores. [nL1N2BU1AH]
Cargill Inc [CARG.UL], the world's biggest supplier of ground beef, and chicken processor Perdue Farms said they are seeking to make sure they have enough supplies.
"We are working with our partners to ensure they understand that we offer an essential service to the world – providing the ingredients, feed and food that nourish people and animals – and maintain our supply," Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan said. He added that the company is aware of "potential shortages or limited allocations" in certain areas.
Perdue Farms has enough CO2 "for now" and back-up plans if supplies run low, spokeswoman Andrea Staub said.
But if shortages of carbon dioxide worsen, meat companies may not be able to produce food at regular rates, said Rich Gottwald, president of the Compressed Gas Association.
"If they don't have CO2, then it will slow their production of those food products," he said.
The North American Meat Institute, an industry group that represents processors like Tyson Foods Inc <TSN.N> and WH Group Ltd's <0288.HK> Smithfield Foods Inc [SFII.UL], said it was helping connect carbon dioxide suppliers with meat companies that anticipated possible problems obtaining CO2.
While supplies remain available, Veronica Nigh, a farm bureau economist, said some meat companies already were paying more for CO2.
"They're certainly feeling the impact of limited supply and the price that ends up translating to," she said on a conference call on Friday.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York and Tom Polansek in Chicago. Additional reporting by PJ Huffstutter in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio) | 1,270,587 |
The U.S. government says it has developed the first ever self-guided bullets that can lock onto a target more than a mile away and maneuver midflight in order to hit its mark.
The.50 caliber target tracking bullets, dubbed Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO), are designed for military snipers, who must deal with changes in wind, light and ambient heat as they fire on a target.
The EXACTO technology is being developed by Teledyne Scientific and Imaging with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which researches new military technologies and is known as a key developer of the Internet.
An depiction of the EXACTO.50 caliber bullet (Source: DARPA)
The EXACTO round and optical sighting technology is expected to greatly extend day and nighttime range over current state-of-the-art sniper systems, DARPA said in a statement on its website. The system combines the maneuverable bullet with a real-time laser-guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target.
The EXACTO rounds, which are accurate up to 1.2 miles, are guided to laser-marked targets and should help snipers work farther away from intended marks, and therefore avoid detection after firing, DARPA stated.
While DARPA claims EXACTO is the first self-guided bullet, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) announced in 2012 that it had successfully fired a prototype self-guided bullet.
SNL's dart-like, self-guided bullet is four inches long and also uses an optical sensor in its nose to detect a laser guidance system that must remain on target for the bullet to track.
Sandia National Laboratories' first self-guided, small-arms projectile (Source: Sandia National Labs)
The EXACTO technology is now in phase II of development, which includes the design, integration and demonstration of aero-actuation controls, power sources, optical guidance systems, and sensors. The program's next phase includes a system-level live-fire test and technology refinement to enhance and improve performance.
"For military snipers, acquiring moving targets in unfavorable conditions, such as high winds and dusty terrain commonly found in Afghanistan, is extremely challenging with current technology," DARPA said on its website. "It is critical that snipers be able to engage targets faster, and with better accuracy, since any shot that doesn't hit a target also risks the safety of troops by indicating their presence and potentially exposing their location."
DARPA did not immediately return a request for information about how the bullet maneuvers mid-trajectory.
EXACTO Demonstrates First-Ever Guided.50-Caliber Bullets (Source: DARPA).
Lucas Mearian covers consumer data storage, consumerization of IT, mobile device management, renewable energy, telematics/car tech and entertainment tech for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at Twitter @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed. His e-mail address is [email protected]. | 1,270,588 |
Nvidia is teasing “something super” on its GeForce gaming YouTube channel. Quite what it means is anyone’s guess right now, but with Computex and E3 just around the corner, temporally if not geographically, it’s a good bet the green team has got something planned to make sure it’s not just AMD getting column inches over the next couple of weeks.
The ‘Super’ brand name reveal in the video is there in a similar way to how the GeForce and RTX naming is scored into Nvidia’s graphics cards, but the font and the way it’s cut out of a raised plate is very different. But given the GeForce branding it’s looking very much like this is something to do with its gaming GPUs.
We’ve had a full suite of RTX 20-series and GTX 16-series graphics cards from the big green GPU-making machine over the last year, so we’re not necessarily due anything brand new. But there is a case to be made for a refreshed RTX lineup. Maybe not with higher core counts, but with some slightly tweaked specs… Super Editions, if you will.
We wrote about the potential for a new range of RTX cards using 16Gbps GDDR6 last week, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an RTX 2080 Super was revealed, or even released, around Computex or E3. All the original RTX cards use the same 14Gbps GDDR6 memory, and by updating to the higher-clocked version Nvidia will be able to squeeze a little bit more performance out of its GPU range.
Pixel pushers: These are the best graphics cards around today
But given that we’re going to start hearing about the new AMD Navi GPUs in ever greater detail over the next few weeks, I’d expect that if this “something super” is a new graphics card range, it will be based around the same level as the prospective Radeon GPUs. I don’t think we’d see a Super RTX 2080 Ti just yet, but I can definitely imagine the RTX 2080, RTX 2070, and RTX 2060 getting the Super treatment.
Click here for more hardware videos from us!
Personally speaking, if this is about a new range of 16Gbps cards, I’m hoping Nvidia takes the decision to introduce the Super Editions at the same prices as the original MSRP for each GPU they’re replacing. That would then allow team GeForce to cut the prices of its first gen Turing cards to compete face-to-face with Navi, while still maintaining the same top-level pricing for the diehard Nvidia fans who just want the latest thing. And then not look like it’s just dropping its prices because of any fear of the upcoming competition.
But this 16 second teaser could be about anything GeForce-related, and not necessarily about a new graphics card. Maybe it’s a new GeForce USB stick using the same design notes as the RTX cards. Though that would be a little less exciting… | 1,270,589 |
Encourages Cleaner Energy
The Fronius smart meter helps in the effective management of energy, thus saving energy. Secondly, the devices promote the use of solar energy which is clean and renewable. Broad adoption of solar energy will also reduce the dependence on power which is not eco-friendly.
On top of that, it also quenches the demand for new power stations that produce gases that pollute the environment. Besides, these gadgets will assist in curbing the emission of greenhouse gases from the power plant in existence.
These smart meters encourage the adoption of greener energy as well as pollution reduction.
Disadvantages of Fronius Smart Meter
Some cons of the Fronius Smart Meter include:
Savings Require Proactive Use
Fronius smart meter alone cannot save your expenses on electricity bills. It requires an active engagement as well as behavioral change for the reduction in costs to reflect. The smart meter only provides information regarding energy usage.
Based on the usage collected, the user can analyze the data and decide the unnecessary energy consumption as well as where consumption can be minimized.
Privacy Concerns
One of the significant setbacks of digital devices is the privacy issue. Some energy consumers have raised a concern regarding the privacy of their data that is being collected by smart meters.
The customers need assurance that their data will not leak to any third party from the energy suppliers.
If any information has to be shared with a third party, the supplier must have explicit consent from the customer.
Setup Costs
Setting up these Fronius smart meters will incur some expenses on both the supplier’s and consumer’s end. On the supplier’s end, incurred costs include purchasing and replacement of the existing metering system.
Secondly, the training of personnel on how to handle the transition process will also incur some charges. On the customer’s end, he/she will have to incur additional fees for the new meter.
Loss of Jobs
The adoption of the Fronius smart meter will render the meter readers jobless. Technology has the naughty trend of replacing human workers since advanced machines tend to be smarter and efficient in what they do than humans.
Therefore, with the installation of a smart meter, the need to manually read the meter is eradicated.
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Conclusion On Fronius Smart Meter
It is undeniable that smart meters are the current trend in metering and more efficient than the traditional meters. The Fronius smart meter provides energy production, energy usage, and energy balance statistics daily which sets it above the bar when compared to other smart meters.
We can all agree that Fronius smart meter is a perfect choice to manage electricity as well as monitor a photovoltaic system.
What do you think about the Fronius smart meter? Please let us know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below.
Related Resources
Green Coast is a renewable energy community solely focused on helping people better understand renewable energy technologies and the environment. | 1,270,590 |
U.S. Election Assistance Commission National Award Commemorates Best Practices in Election Administration
Silver Spring, Md. – The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) today announced that El Paso County’s elections department won a national competition recognizing best practices in election administration. El Paso County was selected for its work to make the voting process more accessible for voters with disabilities. Born of the commission’s mandate to serve as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration, the annual “Clearie” awards recognize outstanding innovations in election administration that can serve as examples to other officials and jurisdictions.
“These awards celebrate the very best in election practices across the nation,” said EAC Chairman Matthew Masterson. “As we travel throughout the country, our commission sees first-hand the innovation and commitment to excellence that election officials and their partners bring to their work. These awards acknowledge that work and highlight best practices that other election administrations can emulate.”
Ahead of the 2016 federal election, the elections department partnered with the Independence Center – a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting independent living for the disabled community in the county – to improve voting accessibility. This included:
Hosting an open house for the community to practice on accessible voting machines prior to Election Day.
Coordinating with the Independence Center to provide disability etiquette training to over 200 election judges for the 2016 Primary and the Presidential Election.
Using the Independence Center as a voter service and polling center during the 2016 Presidential Election, which provided those with disabilities the opportunity to register and vote in a “highly accessible” center. The center had ASL interpreters on hand, and is also outfitted with several architectural features that facilitate better mobility for a range of disabilities.
Over 450 individuals voted at the Independence Center during the Presidential Election.
More than 35 million Americans with disabilities – roughly one-sixth of the total electorate – are eligible to vote in the United States. This accounts for a broad range of disabilities, including mobility, communicative, physical and cognitive impairments. This ever-growing population of voters also faces educational, cultural and political barriers that can make participating in elections difficult. The EAC has a strong commitment to working with both election officials and voters with disabilities to ensure that the election process, polling places and voting service are accessible.
For more information about the “Clearies” or to speak with Chairman Masterson, please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at [email protected] or 202-897-9285.
# # #
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with ensuring secure, accurate and accessible elections by developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as administers the use of HAVA funds. For more information, visit www.eac.gov. | 1,270,591 |
After teaming up with Presage Biosciences on preclinical cancer models and pitching into its series D financing, Celgene is at it again. This time, the Big Biotech is signing a research deal around Presage’s technology that injects tiny doses of experimental drugs directly into solid tumors. Celgene will use it to evaluate early-stage candidates in phase 0 trials—that's right, phase 0.
The platform, called CIVO, is designed to assess patients’ unique response to microdoses of multiple cancer drugs. It is Presage’s solution to a fundamental problem in cancer drug development—the failure of preclinical animal models to accurately predict how drugs will perform in humans. Because mouse data are not a perfect predictor, the most promising of prospects can still falter in phase 1, costing time and money.
The FDA introduced the idea of phase 0 trials in 2006 in an attempt to bridge preclinical and clinical work and head off costly discoveries in the clinic that a drug doesn’t work as expected. Instead of delivering small amounts of a drug systemically—as is typical with other phase 0 studies—CIVO delivers one or more candidates into part of a solid tumor. The technology creates columns of multiple fluorescent drugs that interact with tumor cells for one to three days. After that, the treated part of the tumor is removed for analysis.
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RELATED: Celgene, Takeda invest in intratumoral microdosing firm Presage
“Presage’s CIVO platform allows us to rapidly assess the effect of early pipeline agents and drug combinations with the potential for actionable insights from the tumor microenvironment,” said Kirsten Anderson, Presage’s newly hired senior vice president of clinical development, in a statement. “This approach offers truly novel acumen for oncology treatment that can help streamline drug development and offer targeted patient selection.”
Celgene initially teamed up with Seattle-based Presage in 2013, and, along with Takeda—another early partner of Presage—contributed to the company’s $6 million series D round last July. The first agreement, centered on preclinical models of cancer, “enabled Presage to build toward the Phase 0 offering they are focused on today,” said Presage CEO Rich Klinghoffer, Ph.D., via email.
Though Presage has experience carrying out phase 0 trials with CIVO, this is the first time the company will do so as part of an announced partnership, Klinghoffer said.
“Presage is in active discussions at various stages with other potential collaborators to offer Phase 0 studies with CIVO,” he said. | 1,270,592 |
ry it, the church has acted and we are called to live into this new way with humility and forbearance.
My hope and prayer is that we here in North Alabama Presbytery will remember that we have been here before! Divided opinions and votes on key theological, social, moral issues have confronted the church throughout its 2,000-year history, and the church still stands.
We have been here before: From the question of requiring circumcision of Gentile believers in the first century to ordaining women called to pastor in the 20th century, the church has struggled to discern the will of God and to live into it faithfully.
This is yet another such time. May we in this present age live as faithfully as we are given the grace, seeking to serve Jesus whom we all adore!
Vote violates biblical teaching
By Rev. Mark A. Looyenga, associate pastor of adult discipleship at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 301 Drake Ave. S.E. [email protected].
Editor's note: The Rev. Mark A. Looyenga made this statement to the North Alabama Presbytery during the February 2009 vote that had to do with gay ordination. This week, Looyenga gave us permission to reprint this as an accurate reflection of his, and many, Presbyterians' view of the issue of gay ordination.
Background: 'Fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness' is the section of the ordination requirement that this year's vote removed from the Book of Order, the Presbyterian constitution, lifting the church's official barrier to ordination of gay ministers who are in a committed relationship.
Striking the fidelity and chastity clause from the Book of Order is at its foundation about our view of marriage.
It's not about the heart someone has to serve God, nor is it about their ability to do so; it's foundationally about our view of marriage.
From Genesis to Jesus to Paul - from cover to cover - the Bible puts forth marriage as a gift from God, as a covenant between a man and a woman, and as an image of Christ's relationship with his church. I was therefore so encouraged by the 2008 General Assembly's affirmation of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman.
The fact that the recent GA also voted to remove the fidelity and chastity clause from the Book of Order, however, demonstrates a great contradiction in our thinking to me.
Marriage, between a man and a woman, is the covenant within which sexual union is ordained by God. That means any other sexual union is sin, including that of both heterosexuals and homosexuals who have monogamous relationships outside of marriage.
To approve this change to the book of order means more than just trying to be accepting of others; it means more than just clearing the way for a group of people to be ordained. It means disregarding the witness of Scripture about marriage. It means, practically speaking, redefining marriage.
For this reason, I am against this change to the Book of Order. | 1,270,593 |
(CNN) The parents of Danroy "D.J." Henry Jr., an African-American football player at Pace University who was shot and killed nearly six years ago by a white New York police officer, have accepted a partial settlement of $6 million.
The settlement, reached last week, resolves the Henrys wrongful death lawsuit against the Village of Pleasantville and Aaron Hess, the officer who fatally shot their 20-year-old son in October 2010, according to the family's attorney, Michael Sussman.
"The Henrys have been clear from the beginning that no monetary settlement could ever replace the deep loss of their beloved son DJ," Sussman said in a statement.
"Our life has been a life of protest, from October 2010 until now," Danroy Henry Sr., DJ's father, told CNN affiliate WCVB in 2014.
What happened in 2010
DJ Henry was with a group of friends outside of Finnegan's Grill in Thornwood, New York, on October 17, 2010, the night he was killed. A fight had broken out in the bar, but Henry was not involved, according to a statement released by the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
As a result of the fight, the owner of Finnegan's Grill closed for the evening and alerted police to the altercation. Police officers from both the Mount Pleasant and Village of Pleasantville Police Departments arrived at the scene, according to Bharara's office.
A Mount Pleasant officer knocked on Henry's car window, at which point he pulled away. Subsequently, Officer Hess stepped in front of his vehicle.
"Evidence indicates Mr. Henry's car was braking when it struck the Pleasantville officer, who wound up on the hood of the car, and that the Pleasantville officer then fired through the windshield into the car, wounding one of the passengers and killing Mr. Henry," according to Bharara's office.
Father disputes police account
Danroy Henry Sr. has long disputed the police's account that his son struck one of the officers with his car.
He told WCVB in 2012, "(DJ) didn't hit anybody. He wasn't speeding. Hess has now acknowledged there was nobody in the roadway behind him," Henry said.
"What DJ probably saw... was a guy literally running into the path of his car and opened fire almost immediately."
Sussman, in his statement, said that "while this aspect of their lawsuit has been resolved, they will continue to deal with their deep loss by focusing on faith, family and the important work of the DJ Henry Dream Fund," a nonprofit organization created in the wake of his death.
"The Henrys' related litigation continues against the Town of Mount Pleasant and officers from that Town who, plaintiffs contend, failed to respond to the grievous gunshot wounds inflicted by Mr. Hess upon their son," Sussman said in a statement.
The Danroy and Angella Henry could not be reached for comment on Monday. Neither the Pleasantville Police Department nor Hess immediately responded to CNN's request for comment Monday. | 1,270,594 |
Whether in hanging baskets or containers, you’d be hard-pressed to find a pretty Southern porch without a Boston fern or two. They’re favorite indoor and outdoor plantings for Southerners across the region, and they’re as familiar as peach cobbler and seersucker suits. Down here, you’ll find ferns waving in the breeze from their perches on summertime porches, often swinging beneath a haint blue ceiling or nestled beside a row of wooden rocking chairs. The deep green fronds and shade-loving natures of Boston ferns make them picture-perfect plantings South of the Mason-Dixon line. Read on to learn more about tending your own.
About Boston Ferns
Boston ferns are known by the scientific name Nephrolepsis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’. This species is a type of sword fern known for its hardiness. It’s widely planted in the U.S., and it can be found both indoors (as a houseplant) and out (as a container plant, as a ground cover, or in a hanging basket). This fern’s calling card is its lush green fronds. According to The Southern Living Garden Book, Nephrolepsis exaltata “is a tropical species, but it grows larger (to 7 ft. high and as wide) and has broader fronds (to 6 in. wide)” than other Nephrolepsis species. The named selection ‘Bostoniensis’ grows to 3 feet high. The Garden Book describes it as “the classic parlor fern, with spreading, arching habit and graceful, eventually drooping fronds broader than those of the species.”
Caring for Boston Ferns
This plant loves plenty of shade, well-drained soil, and regular watering. Careful on the water, though: Evenly moist, not overly soggy, is the way to keep your ferns thriving. It’s a hardy planting, but it can benefit from the occasional application of fertilizer, such a general-purpose liquid formula. In the cold months, frost will kill a Boston fern, so they should be appropriately overwintered.
Overwintering Boston Ferns
While some let their ferns die in winter, others choose to care for the plants year after year. Overwintering a Boston fern requires bringing the plant indoors when the cold weather descends. The Garden Book recommends, “In fall, use sharp scissors to cut back all side fronds to the rim of the pot, leaving the top growth about 10 in. high. Place the pot indoors next to your brightest window, and keep the soil fairly moist. By spring, your plant should be bushy again and ready for its return to the porch.”
WATCH: Shade-Loving Fall Planter with Buffy Hargett
Do you have ferns on your Southern porch? What’s your favorite fern for hanging baskets and outdoor spaces? | 1,270,595 |
must also be considered when trying to understand why more prisoners are committing suicide.
The Prison Reform Trust says there are 3,528 prisoners serving an Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection, or IPP.
People on IPPs have one of the highest rates of self-harm in the prison system and many remain stuck in prison not for what they have done, but for what they might do. Alex Hewson, Prison Reform Trust
Prisoners that are serving an IPP have been convicted of serious crimes such as sexual assault or manslaughter. They must serve a minimum sentence, or tariff, before going before a parole board that will determine if they are suitably reformed for release.
But it does not end there. An individual serving an IPP is released on licence, for at least 10 years and could be recalled to jail, if the parole board determines there is a risk to public safety.
The intention behind the IPP was to reduce the number of life sentences while remaining tough on violent criminals.
Cavendish says many of the prisoners serving an IPP have gone way past their tariff and are left languishing, with little hope of being released.
"We've then seen the situation where people that were initially sentenced for a minimum tariff of 18 months or two years, have served 10 years, or longer," he explains. "People in this position have described it as a form of mental torture. When it gets to the point that prisoners have served three or four times their minimum tariff, they give up hope. And their view is that there is no point in continuing to live, because there's nothing to look forward to."
The Prison Reform Trust says 83 percent of inmates serving an IPP have gone beyond their minimum tariff.
The IPP was abolished in 2012, after it was discovered that judges were using it for more minor offences. But the elimination of the sentence was not applied retrospectively, leaving thousands behind bars.
Alex Hewson from the Prison Reform Trust substantiates the traumatic effect IPPs have on prisoners.
"Our own research shows the growing toll of despair the IPP sentence is having on prisoners and their families, years after its abolition," Hewson told Al Jazeera. "People on IPPs have one of the highest rates of self-harm in the prison system and many remain stuck in prison not for what they have done, but for what they might do."
READ MORE: The sad - and the sadder - me
The record rise in suicides among prisoners in England and Wales seems to be just one symptom of a failing prison system, as Cavendish explains.
"There's no doubt that there's a crisis in the prisons. There's violence at every level. And it gets worse every year. And now we're throwing into the mix, riots. Last year, there were six major riots in a period of weeks. I think we will end up with a major prison riot, where staff may be taken hostage, where parts of prisons will be burned, where there may be prisoner-on-prisoner violence that leads to people being killed," he warns. | 1,270,596 |
Zongnan himself, who was reportedly infuriated when he learned that a close associate of his was a traitor. He was executed by firing squad in early 1947.
The capture and execution of this man – who remains unknown outside the circles of historians specializing in Chinese history – proved to be a pivotal point in the Chinese Civil War. At the time of his capture several important papers passed through Hu Zongnan’s office concerning an offensive that aimed to capture Yan’an, which had served as the CPC capital since the end of the Long March in 1935. Chiang made 150.000 troops and 75 aircraft available for the operation and Mao remained unaware of the pending Nationalist offensive.
The offensive commenced on
March 12th 1947
with an artillery and aerial bombardment that rudely awakened Mao and the communist leadership. This was followed by a massive infantry attack, supported by the small number of obsolete armoured vehicles that KMT forces had to their disposal, including captured Japanese tanks. Mao was forced into a pitched battle, which was exactly the type of battle he usually avoided because it played into the strengths of the KMT’s National Revolutionary Army. It had superior equipment compared to the People’s Liberation Army and in this case it also outnumbered them 2:1. The PLA’s flanks collapsed under enemy attack and Yan’an was encircled within a week’s time, after which it was a matter of wearing out the surrounded defenders. The food and ammunition supplies of the Communist garrison dwindled while the Kuomintang, despite constant harassment of it supply lines by guerrillas, was able to bring in fresh troops and supplies.
The remaining defenders surrendered on
May 7th 1947
, by which time 25.000 PLA soldiers had been killed while another 45.000 were taken prisoner, destroying an entire field formation. Their leader Mao Zedong was captured as well and his captors saw through his attempt to pass for a regular soldier. In fact, most of the CPC’s leadership had been captured in the fall of Yan’an and they were sent to
Nanjing
where they underwent a show trial and were then executed for treason. Though they were enemy combatants and therefore entitled to the firing squad, at least according to military protocol, Chiang personally ensured that they were sent to the gallows. He did this so as not to validate the Communists as a legitimate combatant, and also out of spite. The captured CPC leaders were executed almost simultaneously in their respective prisons, but Chiang chose to make an example out of Mao. He was ignominiously executed in one of the last public executions in
China
on June 18th 1947 in the capital of
Nanjing
at age 53 surrounded by a jeering and booing crowd. His last words went unheard as the crowd drowned them out with their shouting.
Inspired by abc123's naval thread, I've recently begun working on a TL wherein the ROC wins the Chinese Civil War ('winning' as in not being driven off mainland China). I hope everyone likes it | 1,270,597 |
Kids at Garden Elementary School in Venice can pick books from an automated vending machine
Kids crowd around a vending machine, pointing to what they hope to pick out when they get a chance. They’re not excited about candy or soda, but rather, books.
The first book vending machine in Sarasota County is at Garden Elementary School in Venice.
Third-grader Hannah Ferguson giggled as she picked out the book she’s been waiting to get from the machine.
>> READ MORE: See more stories about early childhood development and grade-level reading
“It’s a graphic novel,” she said proudly.
Each month, the school celebrates a character trait, like responsibility or friendship, and teachers give tickets when they catch a student in an act that demonstrates the trait. At the end of the month, teachers draw a ticket out of the pile for all 60 classes, and the winners receive a token that can be used in the machine.
“One of my students who doesn’t typically like to read got to vend a book today and he came back so excited, showing everyone in the entire class his book,” said first-grade teacher Tara Davies.
The $5,000 vending machine was funded through a nonprofit that takes online donations from people who want to support classroom projects. When Garden Elementary’s Reading Recovery teacher, Stacy Bellanca, started posting the project on Facebook and Twitter, people from across the country donated.
“It was a lot of work to get it funded and get it here, but it’s so exciting to walk down the hallway every day and see it there and see the kids excited about it,” said Theresa Butler, a first-grade teacher. “Just today, I saw some fourth-graders standing outside the machine and saying, ‘I want this one, I want that one.’”
Each classroom yields a winner each month, so 60 students a month get to pick out a book. The books to fill the machine cost $4,000, and were funded through the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“The initial goal was to get the kids excited about literacy,” Bellanca said.
As the Reading Recovery teacher, Bellanca works with first-graders who score in the bottom 20% of reading tests. After the kids improve their reading enough to discontinue the intervention program, she follows those kids and other struggling readers throughout first, second and third grades with small group instruction.
“We thought that this (machine) would be a great addition to help get that interest with our kids and help close the reading gap,” Bellanca said.
This story comes from Aspirations Journalism, an initiative of The Patterson Foundation and Sarasota Herald-Tribune to inform, inspire and engage the community to take action on issues related to Age-Friendly Sarasota, Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, National Council on Aging's 100 Million Healthier Lives and the Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition. | 1,270,598 |
A person attending President Donald Trump’s rally in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Wednesday shouted “Shoot them!” in response to Trump lamenting that he cannot be more forceful at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“When you have 15,000 people marching up, hundreds and hundreds of people, and you have hundred and hundreds of people and you have two or three border security people that are brave and great, and don’t forget we don’t let them and we can’t let them use weapons, we can’t,” Trump told the crowd. “Other countries do, we can’t. I would never do that. But how do you stop these people?”
“Shoot them!” a rallygoer replied.
Trump and the rest of the crowd laughed, and the president said, “Only in the Panhandle can you get away with that statement.”
Wednesday’s “joke” is just another in a long line of dehumanizing and harmful rhetoric against immigrants.
Trump famously called members of Salvadoran gangs “animals” and has routinely suggested that immigrants from primarily Central America are “infesting” the country.
“[Democrats] don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our country, like MS-13,” Trump tweeted in 2018.
“It’s an invasion,” Trump declared in February. “We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country.”
Trump has previously signaled that his more radicalized supporters would defend him with violence.
“You know, the left plays a tougher game, it’s very funny. I actually think that the people on the right are tougher, but they don’t play it tougher. Okay?” Trump told Breitbart in March. “I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”
In many ways, Trump is correct. His racist rhetoric has had a tangible impact on the communities where Trump supporters have felt emboldened to act out on their impulses and prejudices. According to analysis from The Washington Post, counties in the United States that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226% increase in hate crimes.
Along the border, armed, anti-immigrant militia groups like United Constitutional Patriots have stated that until Trump builds a wall, they will remain at the border.
“Why are we just apprehending them and not lining them up and shooting them?” one militia member said according to a police report obtained by The Young Turks. “We have to go back to Hitler days and put them all in a gas chamber.” | 1,270,599 |
Subsets and Splits