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O-17-543, June 2017, p. 11.
50 U.S. Treasury, "United States Postal Service: A Sustainable Path Forward," Report from the Task Force on the United States Postal System, December 4, 2018, pp. 25, 49.
51 Don Soifer, "Universal Postal Services in Major Economies," Consumer Postal Council, June 2015.
52 The estimated cost of the current expansive USO is about $4.4 billion a year, but a narrower USO would cost less. U.S. Treasury, "United States Postal Service: A Sustainable Path Forward," Report from the Task Force on the United States Postal System, December 4, 2018, p. 25.
53 U.S. Treasury, "United States Postal Service: A Sustainable Path Forward," Report from the Task Force on the United States Postal System, December 4, 2018, p. 30.
54 European Commission, "Main Developments in the Postal Sector (2013-2016)," July 2018, p. 31.
55 Robert H. Cohen, Postal Rate Commission, Testimony before the President's Commission on the Postal Service, February 2, 2003.
56 Robert H. Cohen, Postal Rate Commission, Testimony before the President's Commission on the Postal Service, February 2, 2003. And see R. Richard Geddes, "Reform of the U.S. Postal Service," Journal of Economic Perspectives 19, no. 3 (Summer 2005): 224.
57 U.S. Postal Service, "The Household Diary Study 2017," March 2018, Tables E.2. and 3.1.
58 U.S. Postal Service, "The Household Diary Study 2017," March 2018, Table E.2.
59 Janet Granger, "How Americans Use the Postal Service: By the Numbers," Pitney Bowes, August 26, 2015.
60 The Radicati Group, "Email Statistics Report, 2019–2023," February 2019, www.radicati.com/?p=15792.
61 U.S. Treasury, "United States Postal Service: A Sustainable Path Forward," Report from the Task Force on the United States Postal System, December 4, 2018, p. 32.
62 Government Accountability Office, "U.S. Postal Service: Key Considerations for Restoring Fiscal Sustainability," GAO-17-404T, February 7, 2017, p. 1.
63 Escher Group, "The Future of Posts: Delivering Change in the World of Posts," 2019, p. 1. | 3,300 |
A Billion Ways to Make a Difference
10/18/2012
2 minutes to read
In this article
October is a magical month at Microsoft. There’s a sense of something powerful happening. There are clues everywhere, such as the frantic bidding for the (often quirky) items in the online auction and the brochures in the kitchens seeking submissions for the annual cat calendar. Or the thousands of employees and their families who take to the streets around our headquarters to participate in the 5k run.
The signs are different but the outcome is always the same – millions of dollars raised to help people in real need.
October is the time when employees on our Redmond campus and in offices across the U.S. unleash their creativity and passion to raise funds for nonprofit and community organizations in their home towns and around the world. This year is our 30th Employee Giving Campaign and today we announced that our U.S. employees have raised $1 billion in cash for more than 31,000 nonprofit and community organizations since the start of the campaign. It is an amazing milestone!
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Chairman and Founder Bill Gates commemorated Microsoft’s 30th Employee Giving Campaign during a special town hall event today and announced that Microsoft employees have raised $1 billion in cash since 1983 for more than 31,000 nonprofits and community organizations in the U.S. and around the world. Redmond, Wash. — Oct. 18, 2012.
The Employee Giving Campaign is emblematic of two of Microsoft’s core values: our respect and appreciation for our employees and our dedication to serving the communities where we live and work. Indeed, thirty years ago, 200 employees took the first step in our citizenship work by raising $17,000. We’ve been following their lead ever since.
Not only is our Giving Campaign one of the world's largest employee giving programs, we believe it sets us apart. It’s an integral component of our culture, and is one of the many reasons people come to work here. Microsoft employees want to make a difference in the world, and we’re delighted to support their giving to the causes and organizations they care about most.
We deeply thank our employees for their amazing generosity, which grows year after year. We are proud of them. And we honor our nonprofit and community partners for their incredible impact on the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the world. We are inspired by them and humbled to serve by their side.
Posted by Lisa Brummel, Chief People Officer & Brad Smith, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Microsoft | 3,301 |
A vegan all-day tofu breakfast burrito and dairy-free mac ‘n’ cheese are now available in select UK Starbucks locations according to post in the Vegan UK Facebook group.
The new items don’t yet appear on the global coffee chain’s website, but according to the photo the “Vegan All Day Breakfast Burrito” contains smoked scrambled tofu inside a spinach wrap. The vegan macaroni shows butternut squash, greens, and cheese.
Over the holidays, the chain launched a vegan “winter sandwich,” which features roasted squash, carrots, a cranberry dressing, a “kale leaf mix” and red cabbage slaw on pumpkin bread.
Vegan Starbucks
The new item launches appear to cement the international coffee chain’s commitment to the shifting market preferences. It’s long been criticized for its lack of vegan options. Last spring, the Seattle-based chain’s COO Rosalind Brewer told Starbucks shareholders that the chain receives more requests for vegan options than anything else.
“We have a line that we’d love to share with our customers later this year, so it is in our plans,” Brewer said. “We know our customers ask us that repeatedly, and we’ll be responding.”
And the chain has followed through; last year it launched vegan cold-brew protein shakes, a vegan cookie option in U.S. locations, as well as vegan oatmeal pots and lentil sandwich wraps.
In Europe, it launched a vegan version of its signature pumpkin spice latte sauce, as well as a recent exclusive launch with supermarket chain Asda for its iced coffee with almond milk.
“The opportunity for plant-based foods is huge,” Starbucks founder Howard Schultz said last spring at the Seeds and Chips conference in Milan.
Starbucks has begun moving away from longstanding signature drinks like its sugary frappucinos and toward healthier offerings that appeal to the changing tastes of its core demographic. It will be adding nitrogen charged cold brew coffee, commonly referred to as Nitro or “NCB,” to all U.S. locations by the end of the year.
It’s also turning toward more dairy-free options and more dairy-free specialty drinks. It recently launched a dairy-free “cereal” latte, there was a veganizable “Christmas tree” flavored latte during the holidays, there was a chia seed witch’s brew frappucino. | 3,302 |
Russia row over Nazi massacre site in Rostov-on-Don Published duration 24 January 2012
A row has erupted in Russia over the replacement of a Holocaust memorial plaque in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don which named Jews as victims.
In August 1942 Nazi German troops murdered at least 27,000 people at Zmiyevskaya Balka, regarded as the worst Holocaust atrocity in Russia.
More than half the victims were Jews, the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) says.
A new plaque does not mention Jews, but "peaceful citizens of Rostov-on-Don and Soviet prisoners-of-war".
The RJC, a secular foundation representing Russian Jews, says it will take legal action over the unauthorised decision to replace the former plaque, which spoke of "more than 27,000 Jews" murdered by the Nazis. That plaque had been put up in 2004.
According to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Centre in Israel, 15,000-16,000 Jews were murdered by the Nazis in Rostov-on-Don from August 1942 to February 1943.
In the Soviet Union memorials commemorating victims of Nazi massacres spoke of "Soviet citizens" rather than "Jews".
Violation admitted
The former plaque mentioning Jews has now been put in the Zmiyevskaya Balka memorial hall, Rostov's Deputy Culture Minister Valery Gelas told Moscow Echo radio.
He admitted that the rules for historical memorials had been broken, but said the new plaque would remain and "we've done all we can".
He said the wording was in line with historical research and data presented to the Rostov cultural authorities.
RJC president Yuri Kanner said the site was "Russia's Babi Yar" - a reference to the notorious Nazi mass shootings of Jews near Kiev during World War II.
He said it was important to specify exactly who was shot at Zmiyevskaya Balka, pointing out that in law the Nazi slaughter of Jews "is considered a separate crime, with separate prosecutions".
"There could have been refugees from Poland, not necessarily Soviet citizens, it's not a question of citizens," he told Moscow Echo.
He said he did not believe the plaque decision was a case of anti-Semitism, rather that it was a local official's "attempt to do something to please somebody".
A Communist MP on the Russian parliament (Duma) committee for nationalities, Tamara Pletneva, said it was time to "forget our bitterness and live in peace". | 3,303 |
10 to be a brilliantly versatile amplifier.
Any reservations?
Well, I previously mentioned my concerns about controlling an audio system using mainly a handheld device like a phone. While this is fine for selecting and playing music, I can see basic things like adjusting the volume or changing input getting annoying. The option of adding a remote is great, but it would be nice to have one included.
My only other concern is how the interface on the NAD M10 ages. People tend to own an amplifier for a long time and there’s a chance that in, say, ten years time, the NAD M10’s OS and hardware might be clunky and outdated. Still, over-the-air updates might help negate this shift.
I also quite like buttons and dials, of which the M10 has none, but I’m probably being too old fashioned and should just embrace the digital age.
Who’s the NAD M10 for?
Audio enthusiasts who want a digital-first amplifier that’s, well, different.
At $2,499 the NAD M10 isn’t cheap, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. While I can’t vouch for the amplifier completely, I did feel sad walking away from it. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to play with it again.
So, if you’re an audiophile who’s looking for something different, you should seriously consider the NAD M10, it’s truly the shape of amps to come.
(Some specs for you)
HybridDigital nCore amplifier
Continuous power: 100W into 8/4 Ohms
Dynamic power: 160W into 8 ohms & 300W into 4 ohms
32-BIT/384kHz ESS Sabre DAC
1GHz ARM CORTEX A9 processor
Dirac Live Room Correction
Bluetooth: aptX HD
Supported audio file formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, ALAC, OPUS
High resolution audio formats: MQA, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, DSD playback via the BluOS desktop app (only)
Gross dimensions (W x H x D): 215 x 100 x 260 mm
For more specs, head here. If you’d like to buy yourself an NAD M10, go here.
For more gear, gadget, and hardware news and reviews, follow Plugged on Twitter and Flipboard. | 3,304 |
dpm: DevicePolicyManager dpm.lockNow() Java DevicePolicyManager dpm; mDPM.lockNow();
Perform data wipe
You can use the DevicePolicyManager method wipeData() to reset the device to factory settings. This is useful if the device is lost or stolen. Often the decision to wipe the device is the result of certain conditions being met. For example, you can use setMaximumFailedPasswordsForWipe() to state that a device should be wiped after a specific number of failed password attempts.
You wipe data as follows:
Kotlin private lateinit var dpm: DevicePolicyManager dpm.wipeData(0) Java DevicePolicyManager dpm; mDPM.wipeData(0);
The wipeData() method takes as its parameter a bit mask of additional options. Currently the value must be 0.
Disable camera
Beginning with Android 4.0, you can disable the camera. Note that this doesn't have to be a permanent disabling. The camera can be enabled/disabled dynamically based on context, time, and so on.
You control whether the camera is disabled by using the setCameraDisabled() method. For example, this snippet sets the camera to be enabled or disabled based on a checkbox setting:
Kotlin private lateinit var disableCameraCheckbox: CheckBoxPreference private lateinit var dpm: DevicePolicyManager private lateinit var deviceAdminSample: ComponentName... dpm.setCameraDisabled(deviceAdminSample, mDisableCameraCheckbox.isChecked) Java private CheckBoxPreference disableCameraCheckbox; DevicePolicyManager dpm; ComponentName deviceAdminSample;... dpm.setCameraDisabled(deviceAdminSample, mDisableCameraCheckbox.isChecked());
Storage encryption
Beginning with Android 3.0, you can use the setStorageEncryption() method to set a policy requiring encryption of the storage area, where supported.
For example:
Kotlin private lateinit var dpm: DevicePolicyManager private lateinit var deviceAdminSample: ComponentName... dpm.setStorageEncryption(deviceAdminSample, true) Java DevicePolicyManager dpm; ComponentName deviceAdminSample;... dpm.setStorageEncryption(deviceAdminSample, true);
See the Device Administration API sample for a complete example of how to enable storage encryption.
Additional code samples
The Android AppRestrictionEnforcer and DeviceOwner samples further demonstrate the use of the APIs covered on this page. | 3,305 |
A jury on Monday found the city of Los Angeles primarily liable for a traffic collision that killed a scientist in San Pedro three years ago.
The jury awarded $23.7 million to the widow and young son of Thomas Guilmette, a 59-year-old Northrop Grumman employee who died three years ago after his motorcycle struck a car that had inched into traffic on a busy avenue in northwest San Pedro.
Attorneys for Guilmette’s family argued that he would not have died if the intersection had been properly designed. The jury found the city 95% liable for his death, attorney Don Liddy said.
Join the conversation on Facebook >>
“It’s a very significant judgment against the city,” Liddy said. He said residents of northwest San Pedro had complained for years about the blind corner at Summerland and Cabrillo avenues but the city was “not responsive.”
Drivers waiting on Cabrillo to turn left onto Summerland were forced to edge into oncoming traffic to peer around a blind corner, attorneys said. Cars parked on the street and a hill just before the intersection made it difficult for drivers to see each other on both streets.
City attorney spokesman Rob Wilcox called the judgment “outrageous,” and said Los Angeles would appeal.
On Feb. 23, 2013, Guilmette struck a driver who pulled into his path as he headed to work at Northrop Grumman. Witnesses estimated he was going about 35 mph at the time of the collision, Liddy said.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
The judgment was unusually large, Liddy said, because attorneys showed the jury that L.A. officials had planned in 2001 and 2009 to make changes to the intersection that could have improved visibility.
After Guilmette’s death, city officials added a stop sign on Summerland at Cabrillo and restricted street parking there in an attempt to improve visibility.
“It wasn’t until after the accident that they followed their own plan,” Liddy said. “Those changes would have allowed motorists to see each other at a dangerous intersection.”
For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter.
ALSO
Teacher falls in Eaton Canyon and is stabbed in the back with her pencil
California suburbs growing fast as many are priced out of cities, data show
Anti-Trump protester charged with trashing CHP cruiser, urging others to vandalize | 3,306 |
Oasis Ventures Entertainment, a Dubai-based investment fund, sued MoviePass on Monday, alleging that the loyalty-card company stole film titles to create its film unit.
Oasis has had a joint venture with action movie producers Randall Emmett and George Furla since 2013. In 2018, Emmett Furla Oasis went into business with Helios and Matheson Analytics, the parent company of MoviePass, to launch MoviePass Films.
In the lawsuit, Oasis alleges that Emmett and Furla entered the MoviePass deal without Oasis’ consent, in violation of their agreement. Oasis alleges that the terms of the deal were unduly favorable to Helios and Matheson, at Oasis’ expense, and provided generous producer fees to Emmett and Furla.
“Helios and (CEO Ted) Farnsworth knew that the Oasis Companies would never give their consent to such self-dealing and corporate greed, so they secretly entered into these agreements to squeeze out the Oasis Companies,” the lawsuit states.
MoviePass rocketed to success in late 2017, when it offered subscribers the ability to see one movie per day for $9.95 a month. The deal proved too good to be true, and MoviePass quickly collapsed amid hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. The firm recently announced that it would discontinue its service for remaining subscribers.
Farnsworth recently stepped down, and is now trying to buy MoviePass — including MoviePass Films.
According to the suit, Emmett and Furla approached Oasis in 2018 and tried to get them to sell back their stake in the firm for $5.5 million. The suit states that Oasis agreed, but then Emmett and Furla went quiet. The next Oasis knew, Furla and Emmett had entered into the deal with MoviePass.
The suit alleges that Emmett and Furla turned over the company’s rights in various films — including “Escape Plan 3,” “10 Minutes Gone,” and “A Vigilante” — to MoviePass without Oasis’ knowledge or consent. The company also guaranteed a $1.6 million loan to MoviePass for production expenses on “Axis Sally,” again without Oasis’ approval, the suit alleges.
The suit accuses Farnsworth and Helios and Matheson of intentional interference with Oasis’ contract with Emmett and Furla, breach of contract, and violations of California’s unfair competition law. | 3,307 |
Setting up eBot
[public.ebot.wedeho.be]
Setting Server
Creating Match
Team A and B: : Name and Flag for each team, either custom or predefined
: Name and Flag for each team, either custom or predefined Rules: Config, remember? Just type esl5on5 in here.#
Config, remember? Just type in here.# Password: Not important, can be left out. It doesn't do anything, besides creating a connect command, but you have already one.
Not important, can be left out. It doesn't do anything, besides creating a connect command, but you have already one. Max Rounds: Just as before, just leave it at MR15
Just as before, just leave it at MR15 Play all Rounds: Leave unchecked, or else you have to play all 30 rounds.
Leave unchecked, or else you have to play 30 rounds. Knife Round: Should there be a knife round?
Should there be a knife round? Overtime: Overtime or Tie? You decide.
Overtime or Tie? You decide. Map: Here you need to actually set the map you're going to play.
Here you need to actually set the map you're going to play. Server: Select the server you created earlier.
Select the server you created earlier. First Side: Self explanatory
Great! You should be by now on the server already, because eBot can be easily set up in the in-game browser.For eBot we need to go here: Click! There you have to create an account if you haven't already. Then you need to log in (obviously).On the left side you have to head over to. There you have to put the server IP including the port, a name for the server and the rcon password (it is safe to put it here, do not worry). You can leave GOTV empty because it's deactivated on the servers anyway.Now we go toFinally pressand on the left site head over toClick on the match and pressThe rest is pretty much self-explanatory, you can now use all common eBot commands like "!ready" and so on. The match starts with the warmup and the interface can be further used by the admin for various purposes (backup rounds, chat log, server log).You may have to refresh the page sometimes if you pressed a button.When you're done playing just leave the server, it will be shut down automatically. | 3,308 |
Remember in 2014, when Hawaii gave the homeless one-way tickets out of Hawaii? Why do we have to take refugees from terror nations who haven’t gone through “extreme vetting”?
They wanted to keep them away from tourists but somehow tourists won’t be aghast at thousands of poorly screened and potential jihadists from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Syria.
One of the reasons a Hawaiian judge gave for putting a halt to Trump’s travel ban from these extremely dangerous terror nations is it would hurt tourism!
Just two-and-a-half years ago. Hawaii launched a $1.3 million initiative to fight homelessness by flying them out of Waikiki to the lower 48.
They even allocated funds for a public relations campaign discouraging homeless people living on the mainland from moving to the state.
Why don’t we follow their lead and send the tens of thousands of refugees coming from terror-plagued countries this year and resettle them in Hawaii. It wouldn’t take any funds whatsoever and it will be good for Hawaii’s tourism.
Hawaiians might have to give up those luaus with pigs on a spit and bikinis on the beach though.
Of the total 123 refugees they “welcomed” to Hawaii, the largest number (66) were Vietnamese who came in the early years (FY03,04,05). Another 40 were Burmese (most Burmese are Christians). Only 5 from any Middle East country came. In 2004, 1 Iranian was resettled there and in 2013 they got a grand total of 4 Iraqis. None of the thousands of Syrians admitted to the US in the last 2 years were seeded in Hawaii!
The lawsuit in Hawaii stated: “It is damaging Hawaii’s institutions, harming its economy and eroding Hawaii’s sovereign interest in maintaining the separation between church and state as well as in welcoming persons from all nations around the world into the fabric of its society.”
The real power behind the suit—Muslim Association of Hawaii!
Via Seattlepi...
The state’s suit has a co-plaintiff, Ismail Elshikh, the imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, saying the Trump order “inflicts a grave injury on Muslims in Hawaii, including Dr. Elshikh, his family and members of his mosque.”
It’s hard to understand why they had a change of heart but one things for certain, the Russians did it! | 3,309 |
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Start Shopping Our Best Products: | 3,310 |
Just two months before lawmakers grilled executives from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google at a hearing held as part of a broader antitrust probe, some of Amazon's top executives made donations to the chair of the subcommittee leading the investigation.
Over a three-week period starting in late May, five senior executives from Amazon made individual contributions to Rep. David Cicilline, the Democrat from Rhode Island who's leading the House antitrust investigation into major tech companies, public filings show. Cicilline became the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee in January, when Democrats regained control of the House.
The executives include Amazon's CEO of worldwide consumer Jeff Wilke, CFO Brian Olsavsky, general counsel David Zapolsky, SVP of worldwide operations Dave Clark, and SVP of North America consumer Doug Herrington. They all contributed the max $2,800 allowed, except for Olsavsky, who donated $1,500.
No executive from other companies under the House antitrust investigation — Apple, Facebook, and Google — made individual contributions to Cicilline's campaign this year, filings show.
The donations serve as an example of how companies and executives work behind the scenes with lawmakers to try to advance their corporate interests -- albeit with mixed effectiveness. Corporate officers have always made individual campaign donations, but experts say the timing of Amazon executives' payments likely reflects the company's heightened urgency over growing regulatory scrutiny.
"It suggests a greater sense of pressure or threat of regulation from Congress, especially given the growing bipartisan attention being directed to this issue," said Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, a political science professor at Columbia University.
Amazon's spokesperson declined to comment for this story. Cicilline's representative told CNBC in an email that, on the day the subcommittee launched its antitrust investigation, the chairman put in place "a formal policy of refusing campaign contributions from companies and executives that may be subject to scrutiny." The donations by Amazon executives were made before the antitrust probe announcement, and before the July hearing was scheduled.
Amazon executives have other reasons to support him. Cicilline introduced the Equality Act, which prohibits employee discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or medical condition, and was a key supporter of raising the federal minimum wage -- two initiatives the company supports. Those are the only two issues that all of Amazon's registered lobbyists have lobbied for in the past, according to a person familiar with the matter.
At the same time, filings show that only one Amazon executive has donated to Cicilline in the past: Vice President of Public Policy Brian Huseman contributed $250 in 2012. | 3,311 |
University of Montreal researchers say that the drug metyrapone reduces the brain’s ability to re-record the negative emotions associated with painful memories. In other words, bad memories are effectively blocked from being recalled or remembered.
The team’s study challenges the theory that memories cannot be modified once they are stored in the brain.
“Metyrapone is a drug that significantly decreases the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that is involved in memory recall,” explained lead author Marie-France Marin, a doctoral student.
Manipulating cortisol close to the time of forming new memories can decrease the negative emotions that may be associated with them, the researchers said.
“The results show that when we decrease stress hormone levels at the time of recall of a negative event, we can impair the memory for this negative event with a long-lasting effect,” said Sonia Lupien, Ph.D., who directed the research.
Thirty-three men participated in the study, which involved learning a story composed of neutral and negative events.
Three days later, they were divided into three groups – participants in the first group received a single dose of metyrapone and a second group received a double dose. The third group received a placebo.
Group participants were then asked to remember the story. Then, in fours days after the medication had cleared from the body, individual memory performance was reevaluated.
“We found that the men in the group who received two doses of metyrapone were impaired when retrieving the negative events of the story, while they showed no impairment recalling the neutral parts of the story,” Marin said.
“We were surprised that the decreased memory of negative information was still present once cortisol levels had returned to normal.”
The research offers hope to people suffering from syndromes such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Our findings may help people deal with traumatic events by offering them the opportunity to ‘write-over’ the emotional part of their memories during therapy,” Marin said. One major hurdle, however, is the fact that metyrapone is no longer commercially produced.
Despite the inavailabilty of the medication, the proof in concept may spur future clinical studies.
“Other drugs also decrease cortisol levels, and further studies with these compounds will enable us to gain a better understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in the modulation of negative memories.”
Source: University of Montreal
The Drug Metyrapone to Erase Bad Memories? | 3,312 |
The idea that Canada's criminal law system may not be well-suited to addressing sexual assault — and the possibility that the country should explore alternative options — is the focus of a panel discussion at an international criminal law conference taking place in Halifax on Tuesday.
The talk, titled Sexual Assault Law in a Post-Ghomeshi World: Competing Realities and an Exploration of Possible Reforms, is scheduled to take place at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre on Argyle Street between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Denise Smith, Nova Scotia's deputy director of public prosecutions, organized the session. She told the CBC's Information Morning that the intense public interest surrounding the Jian Ghomeshi trial is what led her to focus on the place of sexual assault cases in the criminal law system.
"I think it very much is topical," she said. "Even though that case is long done, it seems to have struck a chord with the public and invited that type of discussion."
Myth and stereotypes
Smith said neutrality in sexual assault cases can be a challenge in the system as it exists now.
"The law offers significant protections, but human actors interpret the law," she said. "Though some of those legal protections have now been in place for close to 25 years, we still see in 2016 the application of myth and stereotypes in those prosecutions."
Fellow panelist and professor in the department of sociology and criminology at Saint Mary's University, Diane Crocker, said "we can tinker with law only so much," and it may be time to acknowledge that the criminal law system has a narrow mandate which "may not be well-suited to dealing with a problem like sexual assault."
Possible alternatives
Crocker said some options for reform include providing specialized courts, allowing victims to have lawyers, and more support for civil litigation. "From my perspective, they keep the inherent logic of the criminal law intact," she said.
The other option is to offer sexual assault victims a restorative justice approach, she said. Right now, if somebody chooses not to participate in the criminal law system, they don't have any other options, Crocker said.
"In order to get justice, or reparation, or some kind of redress for the harm you've experienced you have to deal with the burden of proof," she said — and that isn't always achievable.
Smith said she's looking forward to speaking with international attendees to learn more about how the law is applied in their jurisdictions. The panel discussion is not open to the public. | 3,313 |
Stunned Craig Brown got a gruesome shock when he opened his Dairy Milk bar - and found a moth stuck in the chocolate.
Craig, 21, says he found the winged insect embedded in the back of the chocolate bar after buying two from his local Costcutter.
Craig, of Scarborough, North Yorks, took a photo of the bar before contacting Cadbury to tell them of the ugly find.
He said: 'Luckily I opened it upside down and I saw it before anyone bit into it. The other one I bought went straight in the bin.
'Honestly when I first looked at it I thought it was one of those big bubbles of chocolate and I thought that doesn't look right. Then I saw some juice in the chocolate and I knew it was a moth straight away.'
The Dairy Milk fan claims he found the insect just moments before handing it over to one of his partner's children, on November 24.
He said: 'I thought that's disgusting. Cadbury are my favourite chocolate and I have been eating Dairy Milk for years. All I think now is that you don't know what is in the chocolate.
'I think some people who find things in their chocolate will just throw it away or ring up Cadbury. It doesn't solve anything and the public are none the wiser.
'Cadbury World said send the chocolate bar in to them. I thought if I do that and it goes in the factory it will never be seen again.
‘I’m a big lover of chocolate and I'm sat checking every bar. I wouldn't buy that chocolate bar again.
'It has dented my confidence in it massively. You want to feel safe in knowing what you are eating. I'm dismantling all the chocolate I eat now.
'I've put the chocolate bar in the freezer and away from the kids.'
A spokesperson from Cadburys said: 'This sounds very unpleasant for Mr Brown and we have sent him a pre-paid envelope so that he can send the product back to us. Once it's returned, we will carry out an investigation to see how this could have occurred.'
View photos Gruesome: The find in Craig's chocolate bar. (SWNS) More
View photos Craig said the find has 'dented his confidence' in Cadbury's. (SWNS) More
Related video | 3,314 |
SAN FRANCISCO — Well, this ought to be pretty good theater.
The Chicago Cubs come to Philadelphia for a three-game series on Tuesday and Cole Hamels is scheduled to start Wednesday night’s game.
Against Aaron Nola.
Not a bad matchup.
Hamels, who spent 10 seasons with the Phillies and won a World Series in Citizens Bank Park, has never pitched as an opponent in the ballpark. He returned with the Cubs last season, but did not pitch in the series.
Hamels pitched against the Phillies in Wrigley Field in May. He lasted just four innings, but his team did win the game, 8-4.
Nola, who ultimately succeeded Hamels as the Phillies’ top starter, was drafted in 2014. He rose to the majors in July 2015 and he and Hamels were briefly teammates. Nola was with the Phillies for Hamels’ last start with the ballclub — an unforgettable no-hitter in Wrigley Field against the Cubs on July 25 of that year. Hamels was traded to Texas a couple of days later. He joined the Cubs in a trade last season.
Hamels, 35, is 6-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 19 starts for the Cubs this season. He missed the month of July with an oblique injury but has made two starts, allowing four earned runs in eight innings in a pair of Cubs’ wins, since returning from the disabled list.
Hamels will be a free agent at season’s end. Back in May, he talked about the possibility of returning to Philadelphia to finish his career (see story).
The series kicks off with Jason Vargas taking on Jose Quintana on Tuesday night. Yu Darvish and Drew Smyly are the scheduled starters for the series finale on Thursday.
The Cubs lead the NL Central.
The Phillies enter Sunday night’s game 1½ games back in the NL wild-card race. They have lost four of six games in their West Coast trip and have dropped into fourth place in the NL East, passed by the once-presumed-dead New York Mets, who have won 15 of 16.
The Phillies led the NL East by 3 ½ games on May 29. They are 27-35 since then as they prepare to send Jake Arrieta to the mound Sunday night.
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
More on the Phillies | 3,315 |
Influenced by meet on biodiversity, Sudhakar of Chittoor turns a crusader
One fine morning in October, 2012, G. Sudhakar, a government teacher, was flipping through a newspaper at a tea stall in Chittoor when he came across news pertaining to the Hyderabad Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). One particular story on crows and their services as the best urban scavengers attracted him so much that from that day his outlook towards flora and fauna started undergoing a sea change.
Mr. Sudhakar (50), a native of Chittoor town, is currently working at the Government Upper Primary School, 70 Kothapalli village of Yadamarri mandal. The impact of the conference was such that he extensively collected the literature of the meet, including newspaper clippings, brochures, lectures and souvenirs. For about six months, he was immersed in the theme of biodiversity. He found himself moved by the urge to simplify the message and teach the same to the students and make them practically do something to protect the environment and cherish a love for flora and fauna.
Action plan
From the beginning of the academic year 2013, Mr. Sudhakar chalked out an action plan to spread the message on biodiversity. During the last five years, the teacher visited as many as 170 schools not only in Andhra Pradesh, but also in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, covering close to one lakh students. He would utilise the Casual Leaves to spread the message at NCC camps, social welfare hostels, exhibitions and environmental meets.
Mr. Sudhakar adopts a unique methodology to deliver his message and to create instant impact on the students. For instance, he extensively refers to the role of crow, the nearest dwelling bird of mankind. “It pained me so much as most people consider crow as a bad omen, going by its colour and voice. I kept repeatedly emphasising its role for mankind, as a scavenger. Now, many of my students have developed a sort of love and respect for crows,” says the teacher.
He would also speak about the role of sparrows, honeybee, butterflies and insects in pollination, which in turn would lead to the greater survival of greenery. “Each flower would serve many honeybees to collect the nectar. I observe with pride that many students and even several of my colleagues have altogether stopped plucking flowers and leaves in their surroundings. Flora and fauna are the best teachers,” says Mr. Sudhakar. | 3,316 |
to be the guardian of the ancestral spirits that they worship, according to Maya Erlinbayeva, an educational specialist at Sailyugem. Its depiction is found among the thousands of ancient petroglyphs in the region and in one of the tattoos on the Princess of Ukok, a 2,400-year-old noblewoman preserved in ice in her tomb in the Altai mountains.
But poverty and economic turmoil in the 1990s drove some locals to poach snow leopards for their pelts. Although that has declined thanks in part to a harsher punishment of up to seven years in prison, the simple snares that are still set for musk deer – whose glands provide a valuable ingredient for traditional medicines in China – frequently catch snow leopards instead. Rangers often find dozens of snares during expeditions into the park’s Argut river valley and say this is the main threat to snow leopards in Russia. Worldwide, an estimated 221-450 snow leopards are killed each year for trade, in retaliation for livestock losses or by non-targeted methods.
“Most snow leopard and musk deer habitats in Siberia coincide, so the irbis [snow leopard] gets caught in snares set for musk deer,” Karnaukhov said. “In most cases it dies; as a rule it’s a long and torturous death.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A leopard on Kuraisky ridge. In February, WWF Russia scientists and local nature reserves will conduct the first census of snow leopards across Russia. Photograph: WWF Russia
Another potential danger is climate change, which some local sheep and yak herders say is making the weather here more volatile. Although the effects of climate change on the Altai mountains have not been thoroughly studied, if large snowfalls grow more frequent they could prevent animals such as ibex and argali from grazing and deprive snow leopards of their prey, according to Alexey Kokorin, head of the WWF Russia climate and energy programme.
In addition, the thawing of permafrost soil has been infecting ungulates with diseases such as scabies and anthrax, which are then passed up the food chain, a WWF study of climate change in Tian Shan found. Snow leopards there have been killed by scabies, it said.
Kokorin said change was necessary. “If we better protect the snow leopard from poaching,” he said, “then we will raise its ability to adapt to climate change.” | 3,317 |
While many ICOs are run by experienced teams, there are also numerous frauds in the world of up-and-coming cryptocurrencies, and so it’s essential that you know what signs of trouble look like before investing.
You should be wary of any ICO that does not provide:
A whitepaper.
Any long-term plans beyond the ICO.
Names of the team members.
Community and social channels.
Proof they are seeking to be listed on official ICO registries.
A token-allocation plan.
Project roadmap.
Additionally, any ICO that promises all investors will ‘get rich fast’ should be viewed with skepticism, and avoided entirely. There is simply no way to guarantee a project will produce millionaires, and to claim as much is irresponsible and predatory marketing. Such claims are designed to encourage investors to pour money into a project and then leave them in the lurch rather than deliver on these promises.
However, when an ICO is legitimate they do abide by these guidelines. One example of this is EPIK Token, which powers BLMP’s virtual goods platform. The team behind the EPIK token project have done the following:
Written a comprehensive whitepaper.
Provided details on the long-term plans for BLMP as a B2B2C platform connecting brands and digital platforms as well as EPIK token, including the EPIK app and wallet.
Created vibrant social media and community channels where prospective investors can talk directly to the team, including the company founders.
Signed up with ICO registries.
Outlined the allocation of tokens.
Included a project roadmap extending far beyond the ICO.
Given the sheer quantity of ICOs which may be in progress at any one time, having a set of guidelines to use in order to sort the legitimate ones from probable frauds is invaluable, and makes it easy to invest in promising technologies with far less risk.
BLMP ©2018, Singapore
BLMP (Blockchain Licensing Marketplace) is a blockchain technology company working to remove obstacles and facilitate trust in the complex issues surrounding supply chain management transactions in the virtual goods industry.
BLMP Network uses blockchain technology to connect digital platforms around the world with global brands to monetize officially licensed virtual goods across any digital platform; from games to streaming services & social media, allowing millions of users access to a whole new world of branded virtual products.
Contact us:
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AngelList | 3,318 |
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:44 am
Posts: 236
axellslade wrote: Hey VW, question:
Would it be possible to make the game path you set permanent or use an ini file or something like that, where we can put the path to the.exe so the tool reads it? Not at all a critical thing, but would facilitate using the tool a bit.
Edit: Also, setting up a "mods" folder the same way. With so many mods out on the Nexus, it makes modding life a lil' bit easier.
Edit2: Making the Mod Manager a standalone tool? Dunno. I'm thinking about the people who are not computer savy enough who want to apply mods.
Someone should sign me up for the "make a wish" foundation... first off, I wont make it a standalone tool, it just automates the maintool and the plugins, so this is already a standalone tool, just build-in, I cant take it out without ending up with the same tool
anyway, now the maintool creates a settings file each time you load a FS and saves it. so on next start it will automatically load from the last position.
changes in modmaker:
- well, you have check boxes now
- you can load an entire folder (and all its subfolders) full of meamod files (but you could aswell save them all in one meamod file)
- you can run all or only the checked mods
- delete checked mods
- select all, none, or invert selection
now on github
greetz WV Someone should sign me up for the "make a wish" foundation... first off, I wont make it a standalone tool, it just automates the maintool and the plugins, so this is already a standalone tool, just build-in, I cant take it out without ending up with the same toolanyway, now the maintool creates a settings file each time you load a FS and saves it. so on next start it will automatically load from the last position.changes in modmaker:- well, you have check boxes now- you can load an entire folder (and all its subfolders) full of meamod files (but you could aswell save them all in one meamod file)- you can run all or only the checked mods- delete checked mods- select all, none, or invert selectiongreetz WV
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The French government is considering several measures aimed at combating sexism in video games, according to a report published this week by Le Figaro. Axelle Lemaire, the French Minister of Digital Affairs, met with representatives from the French video game industry last month to discuss the set of measures, Le Figaro reports, which include financial incentives and labels for games that give a "positive image of women."
A spokesman for Lemaire's office later confirmed the Le Figaro report to The Verge, adding that discussions are still in an early phase. A finalized proposal is expected by the end of this year, the spokesman said.
A direct response to "violent polemics"
Catherine Coutelle, a socialist deputy of the National Assembly, proposed legislation last year that would have excluded games that portray a "degrading image of women" from receiving government tax credits. The amendment was met with opposition from some industry groups, and was withdrawn in January. But in a response to Coutelle's proposition published on Tuesday, Lemaire signaled that her ministry still aims to "encourage the production of video games that promote equality between men and women," and to address "topics related to sexism and violence against women."
Among the proposals currently under consideration are bonuses or other financial incentives for video games that promote a positive image of women, as well as a label that would distinguish such games to consumers. Sweden considered a similar labeling system, based on the Bechdel test, in 2014.
Another proposal would categorize games that "incite sexism" as discriminatory, forcing them to be labeled with the highest age rating (18 and over) and barring them from prime time TV advertising. Under the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating system, the "discrimination" category currently applies to games that incite hatred against an ethnic or religious group. Lemaire is also considering measures to encourage more involvement among women and minorities in the video game industry, Le Figaro reports.
In the response published Tuesday, Lemaire said the push for greater gender equality in video games and the industry itself is a reaction to "violent polemics" on social media — an implicit reference to the "Gamergate" online campaign that targeted women and activists with threats and harassment. She also credited Feminist Frequency, the video series created by Anita Sarkeesian, with spearheading a broader conversation about how women are portrayed in games. Lemaire added that French developers are "at the forefront" of the movement, pointing to games such as Ubisoft's Beyond Good and Evil and Arkane's Dishonored 2 as examples in which "main female characters carry a positive image of women." | 3,320 |
Q. Is the Indiana law, as some critics have stated and Mr. Pence denies, a “license to discriminate”?
A. Mr. Pence is right when he says there has been exaggeration of the likely effects of the law and misunderstanding of how it works. It does not create an unchecked new right for restaurant owners, for example, to refuse to serve gay men or lesbians. And those who invoke the law to avoid fines or lawsuits must go through a judicial process in which the burden on their beliefs is compared with the state’s interest in carrying out a mandate or imposing a fine.
Many of those who pushed for Indiana’s law have explicitly said that they hope it will protect vendors who refuse to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies, helping them avoid actions that according to their beliefs are onerous and sinful. Less clear is how often that might occur, and how often those vendors might win in court.
To civil rights advocates, “religious freedom,” in this case, is code for simple discrimination and would not only inconvenience gay and lesbian couples, but also would relegate them to a form of second-class status. Those selling to the public should not be able to turn away customers because of their own private beliefs, these advocates say; the vendor is, after all, selling flowers, and is not required to embrace the beliefs of the customers. These critics ask: How would the public respond if businesses offered religious reasons for refusing to serve interracial couples?
Q. Are the new laws different from the original federal law and those in other states?
A. Mr. Pence has said that the Indiana law is identical to earlier renditions supported by Mr. Clinton when he was president and Barack Obama when he was a state senator in Illinois.
On Tuesday, Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said that the Indiana law was a “significant expansion” of the religious protections in the federal law.
In fact, the bills in both Indiana and Arkansas include provisions that are not in the federal law or most other states’ laws, and that could broaden the scope of protection for religious businesses. Both of them say that for-profit corporations that are substantially owned by members of a faith can claim protections under the law. And both of the versions broaden the definition of “state action,” stating, in the Indiana legislation, for example, that a person who feels his religious rights are being violated may assert protection under the law “in a judicial or administrative proceeding, regardless of whether the state or any other governmental entity is a party to the proceeding.” | 3,321 |
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THE Tony Macaroni Arena!
If you've never heard of it before it's the batty new name for Championship side Livingston's home ground after the club renamed their stadium once again.
Having been called the Energy Assets Arena last season the West Lothian club have teamed up with a pizza and pasta producing restaurant chain to give their Almondvale (that's what we'll be continuing to call it) home one of the most bizarre names for a football stadium we've ever heard.
Twitter went into a mini meltdown on Saturday as word came out of the name change when it appeared of the team sheet for their 1-0 home loss to Hibs.
Fans up and down the land thought someone was 'takin' the pizza' but we can confirm that Scottish football now has one of the most preposterously-named venues in the world game.
Here's a selection of grounds with incredulous names to rival Livi's new home..
Dumbarton FC - Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium
Another Scottish ground that's quite unbelievably had more names than Livingston's is the home of Dumbarton.
Having previously been the Strathclyde Homes stadium, Dumbarton football stadium, Dumbarton football stadium sponsored by DL Cameron, BetButler stadium and Dumbarton football stadium again the, eh, stadium belonging to Dumbarton is now called the Cheaper Insurance Direct stadium! Got that?
Drogheda United - Hunky Dorys Park
The home of League of Ireland side Drogheda United- the Hunky is named after a popular brand of crinkle cut crisps and replaces the stadiums real, and a bit unoriginal name of United Park. Drogheda renamed their ground after running into financial troubles in 2010.
Colorado Rapids - Dick's Sporting Goods Park
MLS side Colorado Rapids play their home games at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which though ridiculous, is at least a massive American company who've been around since 1948 and are one of the world's largest sports retailers.
(Image: THE MIRROR)
Lewes FC - The Dripping Pan
Isthmian League Premier Division side Lewes have played at the Dripping Pan since being founded in 1885, so albeit a bit of an odd name for a football stadium at least its not named after a local cafe and maintains a bit of history. | 3,322 |
property in this country. I have roots in Taiwan, but I was born in New Zealand; just because my face looks Chinese and my last name sounds Chinese should not disqualify me from being able to live my life here.
This sort of thing does affect our lives. It feeds into how we are perceived as Asian New Zealanders (and to be clear that’s all Asian New Zealanders because racists tend to not bother to ascertain whether you’re Chinese or not before forming a view about you). We are going to increasingly be criticised and challenged just for trying to live our lives, because someone thought it would be a good idea to use surnames as a determinant of ethnicity. The NZ Herald article even admits that only 40% of people in Auckland with the last name Lee are Chinese. The entire analysis is based on shoddy assumptions (even if the analysis of it is good), but the statistics and conclusions drawn will make people feel more secure in their prejudices and make them feel more justified when they say “yeah, those Chinese are buying too many homes”.
Most importantly, it makes me feel like I do not belong. It makes me feel like a drain on society, that I am somehow contributing to a problem when I have done my best for a country that I love. No matter how hard I work, I will always carry my last name with me, and if that is going to cause analysts and political parties to think that I contribute to a housing crisis, then there is little I can do. I can only throw my hands in the air at the futility of it all.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be educated, find employment, and live in this country. I have seen that our society has become more progressive and accepting as I’ve grown up. I want to be a fully contributing and participating member of this society. I don’t want to be part of the problem, I want to help. Phil Twyford is a good person who genuinely wants to make New Zealand better, and has said that he doesn’t want to offend local Chinese New Zealanders. I know that you didn’t intend to hurt people like me, but unfortunately we’re hurt all the same. To Phil and the rest of the Labour Party: if we have a housing problem, let’s talk about it, but let’s not make this a race/ethnicity problem too. This is not how we fix the problem, this is not how we get to a better New Zealand. My last name may be Chinese, but my identity is Kiwi. | 3,323 |
A FORMER Scottish Government official believes a coronavirus pandemic “would be quite useful” in clearing delayed discharge levels because “people would be taken out of the system”.
Professor June Andrews recognised her comments were “horrific” but gave an honest assessment of the potential consequences of a large-scale coronavirus outbreak.
Prof Andrews is a former director of the Scottish Government’s Centre for Change and Innovation. She was also previously the Scottish Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing and the director of nursing at NHS Forth Valley.
READ MORE: Hospital bed blocking worsens as NHS Scotland braces for coronavirus
Speaking at Holyrood’s public audit committee, she said: “If you’re on the board of a care home company, a pandemic is one of things you think about as a potential damage to your business because of the number of older people it’s going to take out of the system.
“Curiously, ripping off the sticking plaster, in a hospital that has 92 delayed discharges, a pandemic would be quite useful because your hospital would work because these people would be taken out of the system.”
She added: “That sounds like it’s a horrific thing to say – but it is the case that somehow or other, we’ve put people in the wrong places by not having the kind of strategic views that we should have.
“That means that politicians who don’t want to think about bad things before the election, need to think about putting income tax up even higher in order to pay for more care in care homes and they need to think about whether they reinstate geriatric hospitals.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Scotland confirms six cases of condition after 1,256 tests
Dr Lewis Morrison, Scottish chair of the British Medical Association, told the committee that “after the winter we have had and with the prospect of a coronavirus outbreak”, there is “potentially a clear big mismatch” between the health and social care needs and targets health leaders are asked to meet.
READ MORE: WATCH: Former nursing chief's 'horrific' coronavirus bed blocking comments
He added: “I actually think that one of the ill wins if we do have a significant viral outbreak is that I think it will teach us, probably some hard lessons, but it’s going to teach us some very, very important things about our services – which we must learn from.” | 3,324 |
More than 300 people on a list of registered voters who may not be citizens distributed by the Texas Secretary of State’s office to a local county are in fact citizens, The Waco Tribune-Herald reported Thursday.
Local elections officials were given a list by the state of 366 registered voters whose citizenship was called into question, according to elections administrator Kathy Van Wolfe.
The McLennan County elections office was informed last Friday that every voter on the list would need to be contacted for proof of citizenship.
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The state called back by Monday and canceled its initial request before anyone from Van Wolfe’s office had even downloaded the list.
“They sent out a list and called us and said it was a mistake,” Van Wolfe said. “All those people have proven citizenship.”
Texas Secretary of State David Whitley said last week that 95,000 registered voters had been flagged who to be reviewed to determine whether they are U.S. citizens. Of that group, 58,000 cast a ballot in at least one election from 1996 to 2018, The Texas Tribune reported.
Republicans and President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE over the weekend seized on the initial report, claiming it indicated "rampant" voter fraud in the state and a need for voter ID laws.
McLennan County, where about 140,000 residents were registered to vote during the November 2018 election, was one of several of Texas’s most populous countries contacted by the secretary of state’s office.
Officials in Harris County, the state’s largest county in the Houston area, have already cleared about 18,000 voters the state flagged as potential noncitizens, the Tribune-Herald reported.
Van Wolfe told the newspaper that verifying voter information occurs daily at various agencies.
“Voter registration is an ongoing process,” she said. “It never stops. It’s year-round.”
A spokesman for the secretary of state told The Hill on Tuesday that the state was giving information to counties as "part of the process of ensuring no eligible voters were impacted by any list maintenance activity."
"This is to ensure that any registered voters who provided proof of citizenship at the time they registered to vote will not be required to provide proof of citizenship as part of the counties’ examination," the spokesman said. | 3,325 |
PHOENIX – A Mexican national wanted in his native country for sex trafficking minors was handed over to Mexican law enforcement officials Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales.
Valentin Mendiola-Castaneda, 35, was transferred to the custody of Mexico’s Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) and Mexican immigration by deportation officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Mendiola was arrested in January by officers with ERO’s Fugitive Operations and special agents with ICE Homeland Security Investigations.
In addition to sex trafficking, the Mexican arrest warrant issued in June 2014 charges Mendiola-Castaneda with the aggravated sexual exploitation of minors. The charging document alleges Mendiola-Castaneda sexually exploited two young girls at hotels and residences in Toluca, Mexico, and participated in sexual acts with the minors.
“The removal of this sex trafficking suspect to face criminal charges in Mexico is the direct result of continued cooperation between ICE and our law enforcement counterparts in Mexico,” said Henry Lucero, field office director for ERO in Phoenix. “Foreign criminal fugitives who believe they can escape justice by fleeing to the U.S. will be apprehended and handed over to the proper law enforcement authorities.”
Relevant Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Mendiola-Castaneda has been repatriated to Mexico 11 times since 1998. He also has two federal convictions for entering the U.S. illegally and served prison time in both cases. ICE reinstated Mendiola-Castaneda’s prior removal order paving the way for Tuesday’s repatriation.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,700 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. In fiscal year 2016, ICE conducted 240,255 removals nationwide. Ninety-two percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.
ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States. Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE tip line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form. | 3,326 |
Sam Pringle insisted on an alluring pose to accompany this interview.
With the preseason looming – interest in the launch of the 2011-12 NHL season is high in this particular hockey-crazed market. But in reality, the preseason is boring, and with no real hockey news to discuss – local newspaper writer Sam Pringle was at a loss. How can one produce content that will drive traffic, when there’s nothing of any consequence going on?
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“I thought about it long and hard while walking my dog” said the portly, denim clad Pringle, sitting cross legged in his Ikea furnished home-office and rubbing his beard thoughtfully, “but I just couldn’t come up with a fresh, or gripping angle.”
It’s a common problem that all levels of sports-writers face at this time of year. Sure there’s the odd injury status to update – but for the most part, fans know who is hurting, and when to expect them back. You can cover the cuts, but the players being re-assigned to their junior teams don’t have sexy names yet. Unless the player cut was a recent early round draft selection, and there are solid grounds to criticize the team’s general manager for the pick– a late September re-assignment isn’t going to get anyone’s blood pumping. Or at least, no one outside of that small group of die-hards who sometimes call Sam “a hack” in nasty little messages on twitter. “That only lasts until I block them,” he says chuckling.
Says Pringle “often times, I just dredge up a controversial non-issue that has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue for the last six months, and I cover it again!”
Luckily for Sam, in this particular hockey market there is a massively polarizing superstar, a promising, unproven youngster who needs more ice-time, an oft-injured prospect with a do-or-die opportunity over the next few weeks, and a head-coach whose job is secure, despite his relative unpopularity among fans.
“Put all of those factors together, and I can basically pull a controversial story out of thin air! The best part is that the fan-base is so restless – they’ll eat it up, and argue about it. It’s actually quite funny.”
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| 3,327 |
Patrol officer suffers medical emergency, 3 inmates on road project help him, North Carolina sheriff's office says
When a patrol officer supervising inmates on a road project had a medical emergency, a lot more could have gone wrong.Rather than flee, the North Carolina inmates stopped traffic and got help, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office reported.When the officer appeared to have a stroke, three inmates who were picking up trash took his cellphone, called 911 and waited for authorities and EMS to arrive, the Bladen Journal reported.James Smith suffered a medical condition on Peanut Road in Elizabethtown, located between Fayetteville and Wilmington, the sheriff’s office reported."When you see no other reason — try to do anything else crazy or outrageous, so why not help him?" inmate Frank Edens Jr. said, WWAY-TV reported.The sheriff’s office said Thursday it hopes for a speedy recovery for Smith and hopes to have him return soon. Meanwhile, the three men were honored for their efforts: “Those inmates stood by with Mr. Smith and stopped traffic to get help for him,” the sheriff’s office said.“We would also like to thank the three inmates for standing by with Mr. Smith when (there) were so many other options they could have taken.”
When a patrol officer supervising inmates on a road project had a medical emergency, a lot more could have gone wrong.
Rather than flee, the North Carolina inmates stopped traffic and got help, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office reported.
When the officer appeared to have a stroke, three inmates who were picking up trash took his cellphone, called 911 and waited for authorities and EMS to arrive, the Bladen Journal reported.
James Smith suffered a medical condition on Peanut Road in Elizabethtown, located between Fayetteville and Wilmington, the sheriff’s office reported.
"When you see no other reason — try to do anything else crazy or outrageous, so why not help him?" inmate Frank Edens Jr. said, WWAY-TV reported.
The sheriff’s office said Thursday it hopes for a speedy recovery for Smith and hopes to have him return soon.
Meanwhile, the three men were honored for their efforts: “Those inmates stood by with Mr. Smith and stopped traffic to get help for him,” the sheriff’s office said.
“We would also like to thank the three inmates for standing by with Mr. Smith when (there) were so many other options they could have taken.” | 3,328 |
What is it with Burbank and its bridge battles? In the wake of the one percenters forcing cyclists off of what is supposed to be the people’s bridge, on Tuesday, the City of Burbank takes up the matter of a proposed span that looks to be quite useful.
Metro has funds available to help Burbank build a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across the LA River to link Bob Hope Drive with the future river bike path.
This is another important campaign that the good folks at Walk Bike Burbank have put a lot of time into on top off all the other great work they do.
What’s Mr. Ciclavalley’s opinion? Two thumbs up. I’d throw a third in there if I had another. One of my pet peeves is getting there never has been a route through Burbank into Griffith Park that has excited me.
Looking at google maps, Riverside Drive looks to be the easiest with bike lanes present and a seemingly direct path through. In practice though, the street is in bad condition, the traffic signals have a mind of their own and I’ve yet to see someone do something about the trash cans left out in cyclists way.
Most of the time, I’ll put up with the traffic on Forest Lawn or Alameda where despite what Pythagoras tells us, is much faster. This particular bridge would be right off of Riverside Drive and before facing the number of hazards on the eastern portion.
For people who aren’t me, this will provide a great link when the river path is completed to Disney Studios, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, NBC and the giant Whole Foods development going up across from the Warner Music Building.
I’ve always said that Burbank has a great layout that would see exponential gains if it embraced cycling. This would be a fruitful step, but it needs your help.
The Burbank City Council meets tomorrow night(Tuesday) and there’s a few things you can do:
1. Show up. The general meeting begins at 6:00pm at 275 E Olive Ave. in City Hall. Be there to share your thoughts as this item is definitely on the agenda.
2. Comment online. This should be compulsory. You can either leave your thoughts on the agenda page or email them directly at [email protected]. I suggest doing both to cover yourself.
This is an important link not just to Burbank, but to the whole valley. Please lend your support and help make this bridge a reality. | 3,329 |
Darfur war crimes suspect rebel Jerbo 'killed in Sudan' Published duration 24 April 2013
image caption Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus voluntarily surrendered to the ICC in 2010
A Sudanese rebel charged with war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been killed, his defence team has said.
Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus died on Friday afternoon during fighting in North Darfur, the statement said.
He was due to go on trial in May 2014 over a deadly attack on African peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007.
The BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague says the court must get proof of his death before the case is dropped.
Other suspects at large
Mr Jerbo and fellow Darfur rebel leader Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain face three war crimes charges relating to the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in an attack on the AU's Haskanita camp in September 2007.
The two men, who voluntarily surrendered to the ICC in 2010 to face the charges, have been free to leave the Netherlands and appear before the court when summoned.
In 2011, a pre-trial chamber found that there were "substantial grounds" to go ahead with their trial.
Mr Jerbo was chief of staff of SLA-Unity rebel group at the time of the 2007 attack but is currently in the Justice and Equality Movement group, the ICC says.
His defence team said he died in the north of Darfur on the afternoon of 19 April 2013 and was buried on the same day.
"Mr Jerbo was killed during an attack on his location by forces of the Justice and Equality Movement faction led by Gibril Ibrahim," AFP quotes the defence team's notification to the ICC as saying.
Sudan's president, two ministers and a pro-government militia leader have also been indicted by the ICC over Darfur and remain at large.
They deny the charges, saying the scale of the suffering in Darfur has been exaggerated for political reasons.
The conflict began 10 years ago when rebels began attacking government targets, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arab communities.
The mainly Arab Janjaweed militia was then accused of carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's black African population.
More than 300,000 people are thought to have died during the conflict, according to UN estimates.
The government in Khartoum puts the figure at about 12,000 deaths.
As many as 1.4 million remain homeless. | 3,330 |
Samsung held a press conference in Berlin yesterday and one of the new products shown off has us excited and eager about testing. We’re talking about a new pair of ear buds, but not just any old ear buds, new IconX or ‘Gear IconX’ for 2018.
Samsung is showing off a slew of tech right now at IFA 2017 including a Gear Sport smartwatch, a Gear Fit2 Pro fitness band and a fresh pair of Gear IconX. Surprises are hard to come by in the year 2017, but this is one of the few you’ll hear about.
The South Korean giant announced new Gear IconX wireless ear buds in full detail yesterday that are designed for modern-day. They’re super lightweight and have been adjusted to fit more conformable inside your ears. Samsung also improved upon the weaknesses of last year’s Gear IconX. Samsung claims that the new pair of buds has longer battery life and can last up to five, or perhaps even six full hours on a single charge with the new 82mAh battery cell. Samsung also has a charging case for the new Gear IconX, capable of holding 340mAh of power. This is good for four bonus charges if you happen to run out of juice.
New on Gear IconX is Bixby voice integration. This is set by default and can help guide you throughout the day. Just know that the Gear IconX will need to be paired with a compatible smartphone (Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy Note 8) with a network connection in order for most Bixby functions to work correctly. However, Bixby will be able to respond to simple voice commands such as “turn up the volume” or “play the next song” without any tethering. And thanks to new partnerships with Spotify and others, Gear IconX are capable of doing much more than what last year’s model could do. Gear IconX can track and record your daily activities, log your exercise and store up to 4GB of data.
Gear IconX (2018) will go on sale in Black, White and Pink color options “soon.” Pricing is expected to remain at $199.
View our constantly updating IFA 2017 guide at the link below.
http://devs.droidturf.com/ifa-2017-a-roundup-of-what-we-know-thus-far/
We’re covering IFA 2017 in its entirety; stay here at Droid Turf for coverage throughout the week.
SOURCE [Samsung] | 3,331 |
WASHINGTON — Two of President Donald Trump's personal attorneys welcomed a report Monday night that Attorney General William Barr had asked a U.S. attorney to look into the origins of the Russia investigation.
NBC News hasn't independently verified The New York Times' report that Barr had assigned John Durham, the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to review the FBI's decision to open a counterintelligence investigation into alleged ties between Trump associates and Russia's campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
But, asked about the report Monday night, Rudy Giuliani, one of the president's personal attorneys, told NBC News: "I believe Barr has selected an excellent person, someone who is a career prosecutor who has worked with Republicans and Democrats."
Giuliani, who said he wasn't consulted about Durham's reported assignment ahead of time, added, "As Barr has done throughout, he made a sensible choice."
Jay Sekulow, another of Trump's personal attorney, said: "The origins of this investigation have to be examined thoroughly, and the appointment of a U.S. attorney would be the appropriate course of action."
Barr testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee last month that he was reviewing whether federal authorities spied on the Trump campaign, saying he thought they had.
"I think spying did occur," he said. "The question is whether it was adequately predicated."
Representatives of Durham and the Justice Department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
If the report is true, Durham, a 37-year Justice Department official, would be in charge of the third publicly known inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation, which Trump and many of his supporters have consistently referred to as a witch hunt.
The office of the Justice Department's inspector general is already reviewing the warrants used to conduct surveillance of Carter Page, a campaign aide, in October 2016.
Separately, the U.S. attorney for Utah, John Huber, is also investigating allegations of surveillance abuses by the FBI, as well as suggestions that federal investigators failed to fully investigate questions about Hillary Clinton's connections to the sale of U.S. uranium rights to a Russian-controlled company through the Clinton Foundation.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have consistently defended the Russia investigation, which culminated in special counsel Robert Mueller's report in March. The report found "sweeping" and "systematic" Russian interference in the election and identified links between Trump campaign officials and figures associated with the Russian government.
The report said it didn't conclude that Trump committed a crime, but it said it "also does not exonerate him." | 3,332 |
Joe Willock has committed his long-term future to the club.
The 20-year-old has signed a new contract and expressed his delight at extending his stay in north London with his boyhood club.
We spoke to Joe after he signed the paperwork - and this is what he said:
Congratulations Joe, you've just signed your new contract. How does it feel to extend your stay at Arsenal?
To be at this club is amazing feeling and I've always wanted to play for the Arsenal first team. Now I'm doing that, since the age of four and a half, it's always been my dream. And to sign a new contract today is a brilliant feeling for me and my family.
What is it about Arsenal that makes you feel so at home and makes you know that this is the right place for you to continue your development?
As a young boy growing up through the academy, I've always wanted to play at the Emirates and play in front of the fans and stuff. So to do it, it's only right in my heart and my mind to know that this is the right club for me. And to carry on my own future here is brilliant.
Like you said, you've been here for as long as you can remember. So just how encouraging is it for you that Unai Emery and the club are willing to take a chance on youngsters who have progressed through our academy?
Yeah, as you see, the manager has put a lot of faith in not just in me but in a lot of youngsters so far already this season. It's so encouraging. In training every day he is encouraging us and to play in front of the fans with my best friends is amazing and I'm just trying to play my best and continue every day.
And on the pitch, you've had a great start to the season. Just how much more is there to come from you?
I need to continue working hard and striving to play at my best. I feel like I can add more goals to my game and more assists and keep on affecting the game in the best way I can and helping us to win. So yeah, I feel like I can score more goals.
Looking forward to the rest of the season, just what targets have you set yourself?
Obviously, I always want to be playing week in, week out in the first team and showing what I can do. So that's my main goal really, to break into the first team and establish myself and play week in, week out and show the fans what I can do. | 3,333 |
slightest.
"I don't see him as a test," Pimblett said. "None of these featherweights are a test--none of them. Erosa will be finished within in two rounds. Artem [Lobov] sparked him inside a round, but I'm a different fighter to Artem and styles make matchups.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMCTngdgulV/" hide_caption="0"]
"All Artem has is a big overhand right, and I've got a full arsenal. If I want to beat Erosa on the feet--I'll knock him out. If I want to outpoint and wrestle him for five, fives just for s**ts and giggles--I will. If I want to take him down--I will and I'll submit him. How ever I feel like I want to finish this on the night, I'll finish it that way."
Get ready for something you've never seen before in April 2017
Having nearly blown the roof off the Echo Arena back in September, Pimblett is well aware that a studio audience in London may not quite create the atmosphere he had back in his hometown. Suffice to say, the Liverpudlian knows there is a job to be done and already has his sights set on how he can recreate and even surpass that in 2017.
"We can't top the Echo Arena this time, especially because it's an invitation audience," Pimblett said. "We will do what we can though, and I got people coming down with me so you will hear them on the telly as loud as ever--don't worry about that.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLzEIF7AtWM/" hide_caption="0"]
"It's all about beating Julian Erosa and coming back to the Echo Arena in Liverpool and filling the full lot out in April. The full 11,000 people. After that, we will see what happens because that's next-level s**t. Youse aren't' going to be ready for it. It's going to be f***ing unbelievable. Youse talk about the UFC's in Ireland--you ain't seen f***ing nothing yet."
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| 3,334 |
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to attend an economic conference in Saudi Arabia next week, according to severalrecentreports.
The Future Investment Initiative, dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” comes roughly a year after the Saudi royal government reportedly ordered the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
The Washington Post first reported Kushner’s plans to attend the conference last month. Reports by The Associated Press and Quartz in recent days confirmed both he and Mnuchin are among the list of attendees.
Also scheduled to attend are Tom Barrack, a top Trump fundraiser and friend, David Malpass, the president of the World Bank, and Eric Cantor, the former Republican House majority leader who now serves as an executive at Moelis & Co., according to a guest list reviewed by The Washington Post. Senior executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and BlackRock are also expected to attend.
Many of these same guests, including Mnuchin, dropped out of last year’s conference in the wake of Khashoggi’s killing.
Khashoggi disappeared on Oct. 2, 2018, after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain a marriage document. He was a U.S. resident and a contributor to the Post at the time and had long been a critic of the Saudi royal government.
Foul play was immediately suspected in his disappearance, though Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman insisted he had played no role in the journalist’s murder.
A United Nations special rapporteur in June concluded that Khashoggi had been the “victim of a deliberate, premeditated execution” and said there was “credible evidence” the crown prince had ordered the killing. The CIA came to a similar conclusion in November.
Both Kushner and Trump have defended the crown prince, largely because they say Saudi Arabia is a vital ally and a key trading partner for oil.
As in previous years, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. is scheduled to host the Riyadh gathering next week in spite of numerous reports that the Saudi government has utilized its hotels to perpetrate human rights abuses. In 2017, the government imprisoned hundreds of rich Saudis in a supposed anti-corruption campaign while the crown prince consolidated power.
At least a dozen people were hospitalized after being tortured and physically abused during their stay at the Ritz. One Saudi military officer detained at the hotel later died in custody, according to The New York Times. | 3,335 |
It's second-and-2 from the 33-yard line. The Giants come out in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends), causing the Eagles to come out in their base defense with four defensive linemen and three linebackers. The coverage call is something the Eagles utilized a lot of in this game, with a Combo Cover 2 look on the back end.
At the top of the screen, away from Beckham, the Eagles are in a Cover 2 Invert look. Cover 2 Invert is basically the same as your normal, high school version of Cover 2, except the corner is dropping to play as a half-field safety and the safety is playing in the flat as a typical Cover 2 corner would. The two defenders switching – or inverting – their responsibilities in the scheme makes it a Cover 2 Invert call.
At the bottom of the screen, and this is the important part, the Eagles are playing Cover 2 over Beckham. Jalen Mills is up at the line of scrimmage and gives the Pro Bowl target a jam early with safety help over the top in the form of Avonte Maddox. This was an early sign of things to come in this game, but it had no effect on the outcome of the play. Eli Manning drops back and wants to hit tight end Scott Simonson on a sit route over the ball, and Jordan Hicks breaks on the throw perfectly. The veteran linebacker pokes his hand in, knocks the ball up in the air in athletic fashion, and Kamu Grugier-Hill comes over to pick off the pass and return it into the red zone, setting up the Eagles' first touchdown of the day. It was a great read by Hicks in his Cover 2 technique, as he opened up his hips to the three-receiver side of the formation (as any middle linebacker does in that coverage), and read the route perfectly to break up the pass for the turnover.
Let's go back to the coverage aspect of this, because the Eagles came into this game and clearly made it a point to not let Beckham beat them. They would count on their run defense to keep Saquon Barkley contained (which happened at times and didn't at others), but Odell was not going to beat them down the field. Mission accomplished.
Beckham caught six passes for 44 yards on the night. That was his worst yardage total of the season, so he was frustrated, but it gets worse. His 7.3 yards per catch was actually the lowest output of any regular-season game in his career (that's 53 total games for you counting at home).
So how did they do it? | 3,336 |
More than 800 so-called asylum seekers have withdrawn their applications in Norway and left the country, apparently deciding that the Scandinavian haven wasn’t as nice as they expected. In total, 31,145 people sought asylum in Norway last year.
One in eight of the 805 people who withdrew their applications last year came from Syria, a place deemed to be so dangerous by near neighbour Germany last year that it issued an open invitation to anyone holding a Syrian passport.
A further 137 were from Iraq, where Islamic State has taken hold, and a further 62 from war-torn Afghanistan, the Local has reported.
The majority returned home, although others headed elsewhere. Syrian applicants in particular moved on rather than return home, mainly to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
The figures were obtained from Norway’s Directorate of Immigration (UDI) by Vårt Land. Katinka Hartmann, the head of UDI’s returns unit has told that paper that the migrants’ motivations for withdrawing their applications were not fully understood as the Directorate doesn’t ask for reasons when an application is withdrawn.
However, she assumes that they had simply become disillusioned by life in Norway after experiencing it for themselves.
“We assume that many of them had an unrealistic and erroneous perception of the types of opportunities they would have in Norway. Probably those who do not have a need for protection release that there is little to gain in having their asylum applications processed here,” she said.
There is evidence that migrants are shopping for the best benefits deals to be had in Europe – and Norway has recently altered its policies on migrant benefits, cutting benefits for asylum seekers by 20 percent and increasing the wait for permanent residency from three to five years.
They are also working with the Iraqi and Eritrean governments to strike a deal on returning asylum seekers home, and have been offering grants of €10,000 to migrant families willing to leave the country. 230 families applied for the grant in December, more than twice the figure applying last summer.
However, it is clear that many migrants have unrealistic expectations of what is on offer in the West.
In a recent interview, a German social worker working in a Hamburg asylum centre revealed that the majority of migrants expect to be handed a job, a flashy car and vast apartment upon arrival in the country. When it is explained to them that those things are not on offer, many become abusive and violent.
“One Arab yelled at a colleague of mine ‘We will behead you!’” she said. | 3,337 |
Ex-Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell and XFL, a match made in heaven?
Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press
OK, so maybe the XFL went overboard in its first attempt to make football fun again. But in its reboot, it’s possible the league is over-correcting.
The XFL, conceived and run by pro wrestling magnate Vince McMahon, has hired former Lions coach Jim Caldwell as a consultant, Pro Football Talk reported Monday.
The match seems fairly odd, as Caldwell is as straight-laced as they come and the XFL was anything but when it debuted in 2001. But the new XFL, scheduled to kick off again in 2020, has promised to be more about football than fluff.
The league hired the respected Oliver Luck (Andrew’s dad and a former NCAA executive) as its commissioner, and according to Pro Football Talk, former Chicago Bears coach John Fox and ex-NFL quarterback Doug Flutie are among its other consultants.
More on Caldwell:
Caldwell has stayed mostly out of the media eye since he was fired after four seasons as Lions coach with a 36-28 record. He put his Franklin Village home up for sale in February — the sprawling 8,566-foot mansion remains on the market for just under $2.3 million — and moved back to North Carolina. He traveled to Jerusalem with ex-Lion Don Carey and current Lions safety Miles Killebrew in the spring. And he was spotted sitting courtside at a Pistons-Charlotte Hornets game in Charlotte.
Caldwell’s close friend, NBC analyst Tony Dungy, told the Free Press in January that he didn’t think Caldwell would return to the NFL unless it was as a head coach.
But being a consultant for the XFL is far less demanding than a return to coaching.
"The last I had spoke with Coach Caldwell, he said he is going to take good care of his wife and his grandkids and he’s going to enjoy life," Dungy said at Super Bowl LII. "If someone wants him to coach their team, he would love to do it, but he’s not going to seek out anything and we’ll see what happens. He’s going to leave it in the Lord’s hands and see where it goes.”
Contact Dave Birkett: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android! | 3,338 |
According to area dentists, one of the main culprits contributing to toothlessness in Central Appalachia is Mountain Dew soda (a PepsiCo product). Oral care practitioners are familiar with the term “Mountain Dew Mouth,” as the particular brand has far more acid and sugar in comparison to other sodas. Sugars and acid literally erode enamel and teeth over time, promoting cavities and tooth loss.
Area children are addicted to it, bathing their teeth in the highly-caffeinated sugary beverage every 20 minutes. It’s commonplace to see children gulping down a soda before bedtime, or parents supplying it to infants in baby bottles.
Dr. Edwin Smith, a dentist in Barbourville, Kentucky has invested $150,000 of his own money to build a Kids First Dental Care mobile clinic inside an 18-wheel truck. Smith offers free dental screenings and services in an attempt to combat the oral care crisis in the 16 eastern Kentucky counties he treks.
Smith as well as Dr. Stacie Moore-Martin of the Mud Creek Clinic in Grethel, Kentucky both agree the addiction to soda, Mountain Dew especially, is a contributor to rampant decay, according to ABC News.
Central Appalachia is primarily composed of coal producing states, regions of eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, western Virginia and southern West Virginia. The Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia (COHRA) has determined they hold the largest burden of oral health problems per capita in the entire US, making the association of toothlessness more of a fact than just an insensitive stereotypical notion.
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) outlined the disparities in oral health in Appalachia, indicating in West Virginia alone in 2006, 31,800 tooth extractions were performed on children. By the age of 65, less than 50 percent of the elderly population in the area do not have any of their natural teeth remaining.
A report from the Department of Economics of West Virginia University reveals Central Appalachia suffers an unusually high rate of poverty. The research notes the lack of economic diversification and considers the region nonmetropolitan. The poverty rate exceeds the national average, in some included Kentucky counties by more than double.
Initially PepsiCo told ABC News in a statement the idea of a beverage being at all responsible for this level of oral decay was preposterous, suggesting instead to promote proper oral hygiene as a solution. Company representatives have since reached out to dentists working to resolve the serious problem of tooth decay in eastern Kentucky in an effort to help.
[Image via Shutterstock] | 3,339 |
The film's set was created on the banks of the river Narmada in Maheshwar.
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan got embroiled in a controversy when photographs of a "Shivling" covered with wooden planks during the shooting of his film "Dabangg 3" surfaced on social media Thursday.
Salman Khan, who is shooting for the film in the religious town of Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh, later issued a clarification and said the "Shivling" was covered with wooden planks to protect the idol and maintain its sanctity.
The film's set was created on the banks of the river Narmada in Maheshwar.
The photographs, which went viral on social media, triggered a war of words between the ruling Congress and the main opposition BJP.
BJP lawmaker from Huzur in Bhopal district Rameshwar Sharma, in a statement, said incidents of religious sentiments of Hindus getting hurt have gone up ever since the Kamal Nath-led Congress government was formed in December last year.
He demanded registration of an FIR against those behind the incident, which he claimed, showed disrespect to Lord Shiva.
Talking to reporters, state Congress Media Department chief Shobha Oza said BJP leaders have a "narrow mindset".
"We are not required to respond to Sharma's statement, but due to narrow mindset of BJP leaders, the state did not see development during the 15-year rule of the party," she said.
Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh's Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Jitu Patwari defended the popular Bollywood superstar and hit out at the saffron outfit.
"Salman is such a wonderful actor who always spread the message of religious harmony. But, the BJP's thinking is full of hatred and this party want to take political advantage by creating enmity among people.
"The BJP should give up this kind of mindset and stop creating hurdles in development of the state," Mr Patwari said.
Salman Khan, hurt over the controversy, came in front of the media at Maheshwar and issued a clarification.
According to local media reports, the Bollywood star said the wooden planks were kept on the " Shivling'' to protect it and maintain its sanctity during the shooting of the movie. Later, the planks were removed, he said.
Salman Khan has been shooting for the movie, the third installment of the "Dabangg'' franchise, since Monday, while actress Sonakshi Sinha started shooting from Thursday. | 3,340 |
AST
Taiga: Justin Andrews
Hina, Takeru, Boy 2 & Cosmos’ Son: Anisa Vong
Anna: Linnea A. Sage
Lisa, Girl 1 & Boy 1: Elyse Bertani
Sawa & Girl 2: Lexi Eiserman
Misato: Sarah Jenks
Nonko & Girl 3: Theresa Croft
Maomi: Annie Knudsen
Ultraman Dyna & Boy 3: Bryan Forrest
Ultraman Zero: Daniel Van Thomas
Musashi/Ultraman Cosmos: Paul Stanko
Alien Bat & Nakajima: Adam Sartain
Ultra Seven: G. Larry Butler
Ultraman Leo: Phil Miler
Hibiki: Kent Shocknek
Kariya & Father 1: William Winckler
Ultraman: William Knight
Ultraman Jack: Brad Potts
Ultraman Ace & Kohda: Frank Gerrish
Yumimura & Takeru’s Mother: Lisle Wilkerson
Grandma & Mother: Linda Weinrib
Technicians & Father 2: Jay Dee Witney
Recording Studio: WILLIAM WINCKLER PRODUCTIONS, INC.
About William Winckler Productions, Inc.
William Winckler Productions, Inc. has produced and distributed English dubbed anime series in America since 1984. The Hollywood company, run by writer/producer/director William Winckler, has worked with many of the major studios in Japan on popular series and feature film titles such as TEKKAMAN THE SPACE-KNIGHT, GAIKING, DANGUARD ACE, STARZINGER, and dozens of others.
About Tsuburaya Productions
Tsuburaya Productions, creator and copyrights owner of the superhero ULTRAMAN series was founded in 1963 by Eiji Tsuburaya, world-renowned special effects wizard also known for his special effects work on the Godzilla series. With more than fifty years’ experience, it is one of Japan’s oldest and most respected independent film and television production houses. Its popular Ultraman TV and film series which premiered in 1966 has been seen in over 100 territories worldwide and has spawned over 3,000 licensed products. In addition to production, the company also handles character licensing and program distribution and staging live stage shows both domestically and internationally.
For more information on the American dubbed Ultraman movies, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan:
| 3,341 |
The Senate's top Republican said Tuesday that he's open to a proposal from the White House to pare back a hard-fought spending package that has come under assault from party conservatives.
Continue Reading Below
But at the same time, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said the idea of cutting billions of dollars of just-approved spending may not have enough support to pass the narrowly divided Senate.
The idea is being floated by the Trump White House with support from top Republicans like House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, though it's clear that there isn't enough support to pass such a package through Congress. Several Republicans on the Appropriations Committee, including Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, say they're against the idea.
"It's going nowhere," Graham said. "We made a deal."
On Tuesday, McConnell, who supervised the lengthy talks that produced last month's $1.3 trillion government spending bill, said he's open to considering the idea.
"It's no secret that the omnibus bill was larger than most Republicans would like. But it was a bipartisan negotiation," McConnell told reporters. "Having said that, I'm willing to discuss with the administration the possibility of some kind of a rescissions package. I think it's worth a discussion. Whether that's achievable is another matter."
The White House says work is underway to identify a possible package of rescissions for submission to Congress.
"The president has made clear that he is not happy with the amount of non-defense spending in the omnibus bill and will work with like-minded partners on Capitol Hill to see how we can reduce wasteful Washington spending within the law," White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said in a statement.
Under the Senate's arcane rules, an official presidential rescissions proposal could advance through the Senate without fear of a filibuster by Senate Democrats. The Senate, however, is split 51-49 in favor of Republicans, which means the defection of a single GOP vote is sufficient to kill legislation.
"I'm just very concerned about reopening a very complicated negotiation that was agreed to by all parties including congressional leaders and the White House," Collins said. "The president would be far better advised to focus on the upcoming year's fiscal budget rather than reopening an agreement that all parties signed off on."
Incoming Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is cool to the idea as well, saying, "We ought to keep our agreements." He added that he needs bipartisan cooperation to advance future spending bills through the Senate. | 3,342 |
IF Joel Ward makes a big play – Drink.
IF Joel Ward’s butt makes a big play – Drink, shout “Hump Day!”
IF Tom Wilson gets in a fight – Finish your drink, complain about how bad the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight was.
IF Alex Ovechkin scores – Finish your drink, jump forcefully into the nearest pane of glass.
IF Jason
Drink your neighbor’s drink faster than they can stop you.
IF Jay Beagle wins a face-off – Drink, bay like a hound dog.
IF Andre Burakovsky scores – Drink a glass of full-fat buttermilk, because if he can’t celebrate with a drink, neither can you.
IF Evgeny Kuznetsov scores – Chug for 92 seconds, shout “Avada Kedavra!”
IF
Pour your drink into a glass, throw it wildly over your shoulder.
IF Nicklas Backstrom records an assist – Gently and deftly pour your neighbor’s drink into their mouth, better than they could do themselves.
IF Braden Holtby takes his mask off on television – Pour your drink on your pants, pretend they weren’t already wet.
IF
Lord of the Rings
Drink, make a cheap Hobbit joke that betrays more of your truefandom than you’d like.
IF the Madison Square Garden crowd chants “Let’s Go Rangers” – Drink.
IF the Madison Square Garden crowd chants “Hooo-o-o-oooooltby” – Drink, with increasing impatience.
IF the Madison Square Garden crowd chants “We Are Loud-er” – Drink, take peace in the calming salve of knowing that you chose to live in the right city.
IF Mike Green misses a check/puck – Buy a drink at your nearest bar, pay way too much for it a year from now.
IF the NBC broadcast team questions Ovechkin’s leadership – Chug, for the entire duration of their cognitive dissonance.
IF
Finish your drink and get another, because how else will you survive the next one?
IF the NY Rangers win – Drown your sorrows in an unending deluge of sweet numbing poison.
IF the Washington Capitals win – Saturate your limitless joy in an unending deluge of your favorite freaking booze. | 3,343 |
are necessary stimulants in the “calcified” climate change debate, he says. “If I see an article with a climate headline, my eyes just slide right off,” he says. “And I suspect that’s a feature, not a bug, for the organisations who’ve spent a lot of money muddying the water with absurd technical falsehoods. They want us to be bored and to look away.
“It would probably require a pitched gunfight between the environment minister and a terrorist on the Parliament House flagpole at dawn to make me pay attention again. So I wrote Kill Climate Deniers. Stupid, over-the-top, flashy, ridiculous, fun. And angry, because I am angry.”
It’s a comedy, he says, because you have to laugh. “We have politicians subject to a competitive, two-party system driven by polls, the 24-hour media cycle and conflict. Then we have the massive, abstract, global phenomena of climate change, unfolding over a span of decades. The tools are manifestly unfit to deal with the problem.”
He is right. Driving to Canberra for the listening party, I realised I had no idea of the major political parties’ policies on climate change, even though an election campaign had just lapsed. It was the second sitting day of parliament yet I heard nothing about the environment. There was talk of new, even more alarming data on the Great Barrier Reef but according to Finnigan, data doesn’t help anymore.
“The assumption by the scientific community in the 90s was that all people needed was the evidence, provided clearly and straightforwardly,” he says. “Now we know about confirmation bias and the echo chamber effect and we can see evidence is never going to be enough to change people’s minds. What a thing, if that’s true! Climate scientists back in the 80s would shake their heads in disbelief if you told them that.”
Finnigan has plans for a solo show of Kill Climate Deniers at festivals in 2017 but he’s trying not to overthink the next instalment. “There’s a degree to which these project evolutions should be intuitive and driven by excitement and urgency, not market research. Dancing to a no-holds-barred club beat animated by political desperation feels right to me in 2016 – and reason enough to do it.”
• Kill Climate Deniers launches in Canberra on Wednesday 21 September and Melbourne on Friday 23 September | 3,344 |
deeply concerns me. Through examining the show, can I determine whether or not Pearl is capable of having a healthy romantic relationship? And if she is, why I am so terrified of her? What does that say about me? I, too, have experienced that Rose Quartz obsessive love, and usually, it’s not even about the other person; it’s about my personal abandonment issues. Who abandoned you, Pearl?
I have to examine Pearl’s all-consuming obsessive romantic love for Rose Quartz. How do I feel about the all-consumed-dependent-on-Rose-for-a-sense-of-purpose Pearl? If I dated Pearl, would there be a point where she’d transform from charming maternal neurotic Pearl to scary kidnapping Steven and trying to break through the atmosphere in a makeshift rocket neurotic Pearl (i.e. the Space Race episode)? Because you really should think about these things.
Also, it has been years since Rose got together with Greg. Years. Am I cold hearted for thinking she should have processed this by now, or am I just not a romantic? Maybe I just see romantic relationships as slow mutual degeneration.
I was so pleased to see Pearl wearing a top hat and finally processing Rose’s rejection of her while singing “It’s Over, Isn’t It?” (season 3, episode 8, “Mr. Greg”). I mean that is some really dapper processing. But let’s look at this scene a little closer. Isn’t it a little weird when you think about how much time has passed before she got to this emotional point? It took Pearl this long to realize a relationship with Rose Quartz was not going to happen, even though Rose has been dead for years (yes, she gave up her physical form; since I do not believe in souls, much less the transmigration of souls, I equate this to death.)
Maybe Pearl just hasn’t found herself yet (not that you ever really “find yourself,” because identity is in flux). I think she is getting there though. I mean that “Last One Out of Beach City” episode, when pearl flipped her collar up, I cooed. Sure she hit on a punk Rose knock-off (otherwise known as mystery girl), but she is putting herself out there, you know? I think maybe like, at least she’s trying to grow. So many people don’t even try. So yes, I think I would date Pearl from Steven Universe. | 3,345 |
that will question Cohen.
Democrats have been alternately suspicious of Cohen and eager to hear what he has to say. Sen. Mark Warner, the intelligence panel’s top Democrat, suggested in a brief statement to reporters outside Tuesday’s interview that Cohen had provided important information.
“Two years ago when this investigation started I said it may be the most important thing I am involved in in my public life in the Senate, and nothing I’ve heard today dissuades me from that view,” Warner said.
In addition to lying to Congress, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump.
Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen told a judge that he agreed to cover up Trump’s “dirty deeds” out of “blind loyalty.”
Cohen says in his prepared testimony that he lied to the first lady, Melania Trump, about the affairs. Trump has denied that he had the affairs.
“Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets,” he says. “She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly – and she did not deserve that.”
Cohen also says he will present the committee with a copy of the check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse him for the hush money payments. He claims he has other exhibits as well, including some financial statements.
On the matter of racism, Cohen says the president made racist comments “disparaging African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.”
Cohen is not expected to discuss matters related to Russia in the public hearing, saving that information for the closed-door interviews with the intelligence committees. House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings has said he doesn’t want to interfere with Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and links to Trump’s campaign.
Members of the Oversight panel are expected to ask questions about the campaign finance violations, Trump’s business practices and compliance with tax laws and “the accuracy of the president’s public statements,” according to a memo laying out the scope of the hearing.
___
Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Lisa Mascaro contributed from Washington. | 3,346 |
-- Tight end MyCole Pruitt had a safety attached to his hip yet still made a tremendous catch for a touchdown during one-on-one drills against the safeties.
-- Rookie safety Justin Reid had a pass breakup on the final play of the one-on-one drill as he covered fellow rookie Jordan Akins. Reid had to stay with Akins all the way across the field on a deep crossing route. It's not a route that safeties like to cover, nor are they successful doing it. Yet, Reid handled it beautifully.
-- One of the toughest parts of training camp for any offense is the familiarity the defense has with what the offense does regularly. Case in point, in team drills, linebacker Dylan Cole recognized a formation just prior to the snap during a team drill. He pointed to the spot where he knew the ball was going and ran right to the spot to help on the tackle.
-- Now, it does go both ways, but defenses are more apt to take advantage at this point in training camp. It's not cheating, but if it helped me get an "attaboy" from the coaches, I was all about it. Offenses didn't like it much, though, and still don't.
-- One of my favorite plays on the day didn't seem like much on the surface until I drilled down a little further. Quarterback Brandon Weeden had his unit at the line of scrimmage, ready for the snap. Just prior to, he sent a guy in motion to the other side of the field. When he did the defense shifted and rookie safety Justin Reid showed as if he were going to rush the edge. Before the ball was snapped, Weeden noticed it. He checked the protection and made sure that Reid was accounted for if he did blitz. He did and the O Line picked it up allowing Weeden to make a clean throw.
-- The communication was just so impressive during that 20-25 second time frame on both sides. Very cool to watch and listen.
-- The best catch of the day was ruled a no catch. Rookie Jester Weah made an outstanding over the shoulder catch right in front of us, landing in bounds, in the end zone. But, with no officiating crew to accurately determine complete/incomplete, it was ruled incomplete...by the defensive staff. Figures, huh?
-- Late in practice, Deshaun Watson was really dealing, especially during seven-on-seven.
-- The Texans worked some situations late in practice and will probably do some more of that this week heading into the last few days at the Greenbrier. | 3,347 |
”
Lavrov went on to unveil the development programs that Russia plans for Afghanistan: rebuilding the old Soviet cultural center in Kabul as a Russian cultural center, and reviving as many as 150 projects from the 1980s, the Soviet’s own decade-long intervention in Afghanistan.
On Friday, Viktor Ivanov, director of Russia’s Drug Control Service, joined the chorus, warning about chaos in Afghanistan after an American pullout in 2014. He told reporters in Moscow: “Apparently, after 2014 there will be an uncontrollable rise in drug production, some sort of heroin, hashish tsunami that will head both to Russia and the E.U countries along the Balkan route.”
But the people to persuade are American taxpayers, a group that is increasingly tired of spending $1-2 billion a week to keep the peace in a landlocked nation of minimal strategic value, on the far side of the globe from the United States.
Here’s an idea: Maybe Russia might want to pick up the Afghan baton again? Maybe Moscow would like to take over policing Afghanistan for the next decade?
Since many Russians today indulge in selective Soviet nostalgia, wouldn’t policing Afghanistan fit perfectly into the national mood? Back to the big power 1980s!
Russia has $505 billion in foreign reserves — good for a decade of Afghan stabilization.
And on spending money, the Kremlin has a huge advantage over the American White House.
Most of Russia’s federal budget comes from taxes paid by 15 large energy and natural resource companies.
In contrast, President Obama has to deal with 100 million tax payers, most of whom plan to vote on Nov. 6. Now that Vladimir Putin has won his reelection, he does not have to worry about playing nice to voters.
I’m sure that all the Russian teachers, doctors, soldiers and pensioners who were promised big pay hikes during last month’s presidential campaign will fully understand that their pay raises will be indefinitely delayed in order to try to stabilize Afghanistan.
So far, Americans have grudgingly agreed to do their bit. But now, having done our decade in Afghanistan, Americans might like to focus on rebuilding the United States.
Since there are 52 weeks in the year and 50 states in the Union, each week, one new state would win the $1 billion lottery! And, at the end of the year, we would have $2 billion left over for Guam, Puerto Rico and American Samoa!
Sound like a plan, Moscow? Start practicing your Pashto!
| 3,348 |
Five new images of Robo Recall for Oculus Quest were revealed today on the Oculus blog. The blog also revealed that the game was ported by Drifter Entertainment.
Drifter’s co-founder Ray Davis was Executive Producer for Bullet Train when he worked at Epic Games. Bullet Train was a VR FPS tech demo and prototype that eventually “evolved” into Robo Recall itself.
Robo Recall was the Rift’s flagship game for 2017. Developed by Epic Games and funded by Oculus with an estimated budget of up to $10 million. The graphical quality pushed the bounds of what was possible in VR games with action and physics.
That’s why when Mark Zuckerberg announced on-stage at Oculus Connect 5 that the game would come to Quest, the entire VR industry was rightly skeptical. Could a mobile GPU really play this game, or would this be a port beyond recognition?
“Early on, everybody had some skepticism,” David claimed in the blog. “But once we got Robo Recall playable on Quest, more and more people were like, ‘Wow, this is how the game was meant to be played.’”
While the game’s graphics required significant reduction to run on Quest’s mobile hardware, the gameplay apparently did not. From the blog post:
Throughout development, Drifter was adamant that the gameplay experience should be identical. “Our core principal was, ‘Do not change the gameplay,’” stresses Davis. “We want complete parity on Rift and Quest.”
Proving Quest’s Potential
Of course, images and videos don’t come close to representing how a game will feel in VR. The distances these shots were taken at may also hide low detail areas. So Drifter will be letting members of the press get hands-on with the game running on Quest this week. We’ll post our impressions after the event- we’re eager to see how it really holds up to the Rift version.
Oculus Quest opens up a new frontier for VR- fully untethered room scale with tracked controllers without needing a PC. While we know its mobile processing hardware can play games like Beat Saber or Job Simulator, questions have been asked about what more it can handle.
Oculus Studios now tells its developers to build for Rift and Quest, but will Quest truly get the types of full scale games these developers have delivered in the past? If Robo Recall truly does have the same gameplay as Rift just with reduced graphics, that may be an indication of the answer. | 3,349 |
key role in developing rational strategies to identify and extract specimens that are suitable for dating.
• 9 Anderson S.L. Luber E.J. Olsen B.C. Buriak J.M. Substance over Subjectivity: Moving beyond the Histogram. 10 Scot E.M. Models, Data, Statistics, and Outliers—A Statistical Revolution in Archaeology and 14 C Dating. Statistics. Even though it is usually possible to produce a large number of replicate samples in a lab, we as a materials science community do not usually insist on rigorous statistical analyses related to reproducibility assessments.On the other hand, archaeology has a strong tradition—and robust method development—of statistical analyses, especially as they relate to radiocarbon date modeling and interpretation.Bayesian statistics are powerful, yet materials science has yet to embrace them.
• Interdisciplinarity. Working across disciplines is more than just reading different journals and using different jargon. Science talks are practiced to appear off the cuff; archaeology talks are papers that are read from a script. Science prefers to have short, frequent publications; archaeology often prefers books and long reports. Science provides dates as numbers with error bars; archaeology places value on extracting dates from texts, often in translation. When people come from disciplines that have very different expectations for what constitutes good and productive scholarship, they need to work together—early and often—to define what a fruitful and successful collaboration looks like.
• Public participation. Large excavations often survive because of valuable contributions of volunteer labor from people with no prior experience with archaeology. Members of the public volunteer their time (and often pay their own expenses) to have the experience of participating in an archaeological investigation. This often turns into a very memorable experience for the volunteer and an incredible public-relations opportunity for the excavation leaders. Could versions of this approach help improve public science awareness? Figure 2 Archaeological Excavation at Phillips Garden, Port au Choix (Newfoundland), Canada Although links between archaeology and materials science are ever-growing, there are also incongruous aspects that require more effort to integrate. When one’s lab is an excavation site, research has to happen differently ( Figure 2 ). I believe that there are things that laboratory-based materials science can learn from archaeological science.
Flipping my understanding of materials analysis on its head, by working with archaeological materials, has been stimulating, challenging, and rewarding. This is just one example of how the problem-solving strategies in laboratory-based materials science can be translated to very different kinds of research questions.
I encourage others to give it a try. | 3,350 |
ability, which renders them useless to an extent.
A blockchain for healthcare record management can align the data mess in the healthcare industry. Irrespective of the medical centers and organizations patients visit through their lifetime, blockchains will enable the storage of all data in a single place. And the patients themselves will control and monitor all their data.
Interoperability of the blockchain system would mean that doctors can easily access a patient’s accurate medical history to better identify their health conditions and formulate a better and more specific operation process.
Blockchain would also ensure unparalleled security for patient’s data if used as an EHR system. The data can neither be altered nor be infected by a ransom to gain control over it and use it illicitly.
Moreover, patients will be in control of the parties they share their record with, and whether or not they want to reveal their identity while doing so. They can also get remuneration for sharing their health data with healthcare organizations for research and development purposes.
Challenges with Blockchain Application in Healthcare
In theory, blockchains are the quintessential solution for two of the biggest problems faced by the healthcare industry today. However, in practice, things are tougher than they seem to be.
While privacy was one problem for blockchain some years ago, the solution has been found with the development of private and permissioned blockchains.
But despite being quite advanced, blockchains still lack the capability to hold a large amount of data in its blocks. One Ethereum block is said to be capable of holding approximately 750kB of data. The same for Bitcoin is close to 1MB, however, the largest block ever mined on Bitcoin blockchain size to 2MB.
With the excessive amount of data that medical organizations produce day in and day out, it is important that blockchains are able to store larger amounts of data more efficiently to disrupt the healthcare industry.
While there are alternate solutions to store a large amount of data safely on the blockchain, none are direct and make the process complicated. There is fast-paced innovation going on in the industry and innovators are trying best to resolve the data storage issue of blockchains.
Conclusion
The solutions that blockchain can offer to the healthcare industry are very promising.
Medical science has shown commendable growth in recent times with high class medical solutions. It is now time that medical technology too grows to that level and synchronize every aspect of the industry into one secure place — the blockchain. And at this speed, it is not long before blockchains are an integral part of the industry’s data management and supply chain systems. | 3,351 |
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More than 15 supercars have reportedly been destroyed, causing an estimated £4 million worth of damage, following a huge blaze in an underground car park in Paris.
The fire, in the five-storey underground garage of the iconic Ritz Hotel, in Place Vendome, is believed to have started when a Ferrari collided with a scooter and caught fire.
Flames spread rapidly to vehicles parked nearby in the garage, which has 1,600 spaces and houses luxury sports cars including Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis.
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The super rich Place Vendome, which is home to the French Ministry of Justice, was evacuated as around 100 firefighters tackled the blaze, which spread through two levels of the underground car park.
Thick black smoke billowed from the fire, filling the air around the famous tourist landmark with the smell of burning tyres.
(Image: AFP)
(Image: Reuters)
One person was treated for smoke inhalation and around 60 people from local businesses were forced to flee after the alarm was raised at around 4.30pm, according to French reports.
At least 15 luxury cars are known to have been destroyed and witnesses reported around 40 others had been burned.
(Image: YouTube / magana1manuel)
(Image: YouTube / maganamanuel1)
(Image: YouTube / magana1manuel)
(Image: YouTube / magana1manuel)
(Image: YouTube / magana1manuel)
Businessmen were forced to wait behind safety barriers to discover if their vehicles had survived the furnace.
Bastien Bosigard, spokesman for the city fire brigade, said: “The fire broke out on the second level of the five-level car park under Place Vendome.
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“At least one person has been overcome by the fumes, and medics are treating others at the scene.
“We don’t know what caused it yet – out priority is to put it out.”
Hotels like the Paris Ritz and Hyatt Place Vendome advertise rooms well in excess of £300 a night, with suites costing many thousands of pounds. | 3,352 |
House Energy & Commerce Committee Democrats have introduced a wide-ranging infrastructure bill that includes a $40 billion broadband component, $10 billion of which could trickle down to subsidizing deployment in underserved areas.
The LIFT America Act's investment in secure and resilient broadband is almost as much as the combined investments in drinking water ($22.56 billion), energy ($17 billion), healthcare ($3 billion) and "brownfields" ($2.7 billion) investments combined.
The Democrats say the bill will "spur new high-paying technology jobs by supporting deployment of smart buildings, smart grid, and Smart Communities technology. "
According to a breakout of the bill, the broadband investment is spread out over five years and will use a reverse auction to subsidize broadband in "unserved" areas (75% of the funds, or $30 billion), with the remaining 25% (that would be $10 billion) going to states via a separate reverse auction.
But if there are no unserved areas in a state, that state could use the funds to serve underserved areas--or as ISPs see it, overbuild existing service--or for connecting libraries and schools or to deploy next gen 911.
The $30 billion would have to go to private entities, but some of the $10 billion could go to governments for 911. (This story initially said that money could go to municipal broadband buildouts, but that was incorrect).
The broadband will have to be high-speed--at least 100 Mbps downstream, and 3 Mbps up, with a carveout for remote areas, where 25 Mbps/3 mbps would qualify, and cost no more than $60 per month for residential service exclusive of taxes and fees.
Given that it has money for potential overbuilds, both of which the reigning Republican majority has issues with--as do ISPs--the bill's prospects are probably not very bright.
“We appreciate this latest contribution to the evolving debate regarding how best to promote access to broadband,” said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA The Rural Broadband Association. “While we’re still reviewing the details of this most recent proposal, its introduction and the amount of resources indicated reflect a clear recognition of the importance of broadband as a national infrastructure priority. The ultimate touchstones in any infrastructure discussion must be both how we can build these assets in the first instance and—especially in high-cost rural areas, where the ongoing operation of a network is itself a substantial undertaking—how we can make sure these investments are sustainable for the benefit of the consumers and businesses that depend upon them.” | 3,353 |
registration wall, and potentially you have very little opportunity to rank for those, plus you're doing a ton of link building and that kind of stuff. Better to leverage someone's platform, who can already rank, usually. Negative SEO attacks. You might remember the story from a couple weeks ago, in Fast Company, where Casper, the mattress brand, was basically accused of and found mostly to be generally guilty of going after and buying negative links to a review site that was giving them poor reviews, giving their mattresses poor reviews, and to minimal effect. I think, especially nowadays, this is much less effective than it was a few years ago following Google's last Penguin update. But certainly I would not recommend it. If you get found out for it, you can be sued too.
You might remember the story from a couple weeks ago, in Fast Company, where Casper, the mattress brand, was basically accused of and found mostly to be generally guilty of going after and buying negative links to a review site that was giving them poor reviews, giving their mattresses poor reviews, and to minimal effect. I think, especially nowadays, this is much less effective than it was a few years ago following Google's last Penguin update. But certainly I would not recommend it. If you get found out for it, you can be sued too. What about buying reviewers and review sites? This is what Casper ended up doing. So that site they were buying negative links against, they ended up just making an offer and buying out the person who owned it. Certainly it is a way to go. I don't know if it's the most ethical or honest thing to do, but it is a possibility.
This is what Casper ended up doing. So that site they were buying negative links against, they ended up just making an offer and buying out the person who owned it. Certainly it is a way to go. I don't know if it's the most ethical or honest thing to do, but it is a possibility. Monitoring brand and rankings. Finally, I would urge you to, if you're not experiencing these today, but you're worried about them, definitely monitor your brand. You could use something like a Fresh Web Explorer or Mention.com or Talkwalker. And your rankings too. You want to be tracking your rankings so that you can see who's popping in there and who's not. Obviously, there are lots of SEO tools to do that.
All right, everyone, thanks for joining us, and we'll see again next week for another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Take care.
Video transcription by Speechpad.com | 3,354 |
The Spanish government on Tuesday banned the symbolic referendum planned by the Catalan regional government for Nov. 9, despite Barcelona petitioning Spain's top constitutional court to allow it to hold an informal vote on independence.
Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said such a referendum would be against the country's 1978 constitution, Reuters reported. Spanish government said the region already has substantial powers, referring to Catalonia's own parliament, police force and education system.
According to Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, the Catalan referendum is nothing but a "perversion" of democracy.
Catalan leader Artur Mas disagrees, however. "I thought one of the principles of democracy is listening to people and allowing them to give their opinions," he told a news conference on Friday. "If people can’t express their opinions, it’s not a democracy of great quality."
Mas accused the government of "abusing its power and the law" by using the constitutional court to resolve political conflicts.
READ MORE: Tens of thousands of Catalans rally, demand early elections (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
The Catalan government, whose calls for an independence vote have recently been boosted by the referendum in Scotland, said it would push ahead with the citizens’ consultation, adding that over 900,000 people had visited its webpage on the vote.
According to recent polls, nearly 60 percent of Catalans support independence from Spain. With its own language and culture, the autonomous region has a population of 7.5 million and accounts for nearly one-quarter of Spain’s GDP.
With the referendum now banned, tens of thousands are still expected to take to the streets on Sunday, rallying for the region's independence.
Plans to hold a referendum were first blocked in September, when the Spanish government appealed to the Constitutional Court. Up to 110,000 people gathered in the center of Barcelona to call for snap regional elections after Catalonia was forced to cancel the referendum. The demonstrators flooded the city’s main Catalonia Square, waving the Catalan flag and carrying banners reading, "Now is the time" and "We are ready."
Among fierce supporters of the referendum are two Nobel Peace laureates: Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Argentine human rights campaigner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. Both have signed a petition calling for Catalans to be allowed "to vote on their political future."
Since the independence referendum was suspended by the constitutional court for an unlimited period of time, the November 9 referendum is expected to be held as a “consultation of citizens.” | 3,355 |
Canadian net farm income remains low, despite a modest recovery during the past decade. In the graph above, the black, upper line is gross farm revenue. The lower, gray line is realized net farm income. Both measures are adjusted for inflation. And, in both cases, taxpayer-funded farm support payments are subtracted out, to remove the masking effects these payments can otherwise create. The graph shows farmers’ revenues and net incomes from the markets.
The green-shaded area highlights periods of positive net farm income; the red-shaded area marks negative net income periods. Most important, however, is the area shaded blue—the area between the gross revenue and net income lines. That area represents farmers’ expenses: the amounts they pay to input manufacturers (Monsanto, Agrium, Deere, Shell, etc.) and service providers (banks, accountants, etc.). Note how the blue area has expanded over time to consume almost all of farmers’ revenues, forcing Canadian net farm income lower and lower.
In the 23 years from 1985 to 2007, inclusive, the dominant agribusiness input suppliers and service providers captured 100 percent of Canadian farm revenues—100 percent! During that period, all of farm families’ household incomes had to come from off-farm employment, taxpayer-funded farm-support programs, asset sales and depreciation, and borrowed money. During that time, farmers produced and sold $870 billion worth of farm products, but expenses (i.e., amounts captured by input manufacturers and service providers) consumed the entire amount.
Bringing these calculations up to date, in the 32-year period from 1985 to 2016, inclusive, agribusiness corporations captured 98 percent of farmers’ revenues—$1.32 trillion out of $1.35 trillion in revenues. These globally dominant transnational corporations have made themselves the primary beneficiaries of the vast food wealth produced on Canadian farms. These companies have extracted almost all the value in the “value chain.” They have left Canadian taxpayers to backfill farm incomes (approximately $100 billion have been transferred to farmers since 1985). And they have left farmers to borrow the rest (farm debt is at a record high–just under $100 billion). The massive extraction of wealth by some of the world’s most powerful corporations is the cause of an ongoing farm income crisis.
To leave a comment, click on the graph or this post’s title and then scroll down.
Graph sources: Statistics Canada, CANSIM matrices, and Statistics Canada, Agricultural Economic Statistics, Catalogue No. 21-603-XPE | 3,356 |
operations till August 11
Cochin International Airport Ltd, in a statement, said that operations at the Kochi airport has been suspended till 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 11, 2019.
Cochin International Airport has suspended operation following floods in its apron area | Photo Credit: H. Vibhu
Earlier, in view of the continuing rain, air operations from Cochin International Airport Limited at Nedumbassery have been suspended till 9 a.m. on Friday as a precautionary measure.
Emergency control room number at the airport: 0484-3053500.
Meanwhile, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has commenced special bus services from Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Ernakulam in view of diversion of flights due to closure of Kochi airport.
7.00 am
Train services via Alappuzha hit as overhead line got snapped after a tree uprooted and fell on track near Sherthala early morning.
In Kozhikode district, three persons missing after a landslip at Vilangad in Vadakara taluk. So far, about 1,500 persons have been relocated to relief camps in various places in the district.
On Kerala flood’s first anniversary, rain rattles Malabar
Roads turned into streams. Broken bridges. Overflowing rivers. Houses that are half under water. Household articles swimming in the street. Power outage. Mobile phones gone dead. Left-out cows and goats baying in scare at marooned homes. Thousands of people, scores of them bed-ridden elderly people, moved into makeshift camps. At least three persons dead.
This was the picture of a large part of the Malabar region on Thursday, exactly a year after last year’s worst-floods-in-a-century struck the region.
Pampa overflows in Sabarimala foothills
The Pampa breached its banks at Pampa-Triveni in the foothills of Sabarimala flooding the Pampa Manalpuram on Thursday morning. The floodwaters entered the Annadana Mandapam of the Travancore Devaswom Board as well as shops and hotels on the banks.
Emergency phone numbers
State Control Room: 0471 2331639 / 0471 2333198
State Toll-free number: 1070
State Emergency Operation Centre: 9446568222
KSRTC 24-hour control room numbers: 0471-2463799, 9447071021. | 3,357 |
After calling for the use of the controversial "stop-and-frisk" police practice to combat crime on Wednesday, Donald Trump clarified his comments to say he really only meant in Chicago.
"Look, we had tremendous shootings, numbers of shootings. Now, Chicago is out of control and I was really referring to Chicago with stop-and-frisk," the Republican presidential nominee said in a phone interview with Fox & Friends Thursday morning. "They asked me about Chicago and I was talking about stop-and-frisk for Chicago," he added.
Trump intended to clarify comments made in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that was broadcast Wednesday evening. In that interview, an audience member asked the nominee about addressing "violence in the black community," to which he proposed expanding the policy in which officers may stop and question individuals, possibly searching those they find suspicious. Critics of the practice say it can lead to racial profiling.
"I would do stop-and-frisk. I think you have to. We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well," he said. "You understand, you have to have, in my opinion, I see what’s going on here, I see what’s going on in Chicago, I think stop-and-frisk. In New York City it was so incredible, the way it worked. Now, we had a very good mayor, but New York City was incredible, the way that worked, so I think that could be one step you could do."
"I think Chicago needs stop-and-frisk," Trump said Thursday. "Now, people can criticize me for that or people can say whatever they want. But they asked me about Chicago and I think stop-and-frisk with good strong, you know, good strong law and order. But you have to do something. It can’t continue the way it’s going," he added.
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time the nominee has mentioned Chicago's violence, drawing harsh criticism for tweeting in August that the murder of Dwyane Wade's cousin is an example of why black voters will support him.
Just days earlier he also said that he met with a "top" Chicago officer who believed the city's violence could be stopped within a week using "tough police tactics," a claim that the Chicago Police Department refuted.
"No one in the senior command at CPD has ever met with Donald Trump or a member of his campaign," a CPD spokesperson said in a statement. | 3,358 |
The average human retina has five million cone receptors on it. Since the cones are responsible for colour vision, you might suppose that this equates to a five megapixel equivilant for the human eye.
But there are also a hundred million rods that detect monochrome contrast, which plays an important role in the sharpness of the image you see. And even this 105MP is an underestimate because the eye is not a still camera.
You have two eyes (no kidding!) and they continually flick around to cover a much larger area than your field of view and the composite image is assembled in the brain – not unlike stitching together a panoramic photo. In good light, you can distinguish two fine lines if they are seperate by at least 0.6 arc-minutes (0.01.Degrees).
This gives an equivilant pixel size of 0.3 arc-minutes. If you take a conservative 120 degrees as your horizontal field of view and 60 degrees in the vertical plane, this translates to …
576 megapixels of available image data.
Curiously – as a counterpoint to this – most people cannot distinguish the difference in quality between a 300dpi and a 150dpi photo when printed at 6×4″, when viewed at normal viewing distances.
So: although the human eye and brain when combined can resolve massive amounts of data, for imaging purposes, 150dpi output is more than enough to provide adequate data for us to accept the result as photographic quality.
But don’t forget that women have more cones and men have more rods – I kid you not.Therefore the ladies see colours brighter than gents but can’t see as well when it gets dark.
The new iPhone camera is 8-megapixels. Meanwhile, Canon is reportedly testing a new DSLR with 75-megapixels. But how many megapixels is the human eye? That is, how many megapixels would an image the size of your field of vision need to be to look normal?
Well, as Vsauce explains in its latest video, the better question is actually: What is the resolution of the human eye?
It’s a complicated question, one that must take into account the peculiar anatomy of the eye which is different than the less peculiar engineering of a digital camera. As such, it’s worth watching all ten minutes of the video, explaining not only how we see but also how well. Spoiler: the human eye is 576 megapixels—but really only about 7 megapixels matter. | 3,359 |
Five years after its launch, Michael Baltensperger and Uri Dadush reflect on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The plan to revive ancient trade routes has the potential to enhance development prospects across the world and in China, but that potential might not be realised because the BRI’s objectives are too broad and ill-defined, and its execution is too often non-transparent, lacking in due diligence and uncoordinated.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an international trade and development strategy. Launched in 2013, it is one of the ways China asserts its role in world affairs and captures the opportunities of globalisation. The BRI has the potential to enhance development prospects across the world and in China, but that potential might not be realised because the BRI’s objectives are too broad and ill-defined, and its execution is too often non-transparent, lacking in due diligence and uncoordinated.
This Policy Contribution recounts the background of the BRI and its context, what is known about the extent of the initiative and the intentions behind it. The initiative could address very large infrastructure investments gaps, which is welcome and needed. China’s goal of forging stronger links with its trading partners around the world is legitimate assuming, of course, the underlying intent remains peaceful.
Though many observers welcome the BRI, many others oppose it for good reasons, while others misunderstand it and oppose it for bad reasons. We identify and discuss concerns about the initiative that relate to its geopolitical objectives, its priorities, its geographic scope, the role of state-owned enterprises, the allocation of resources and issues of transparency and of due diligence. In particular, we show that this initiative deals with a vast number of countries that are at very different states of development, and that an apparent lack of well-defined priorities holds the initiative back. We also highlight the issue of debt overload which is distressing several BRI countries and discourages further projects.
There are improvements that China and other stakeholders in the BRI could make to get the most from their investments. The BRI, to be effective, needs to meet the basic conditions of a trade and development strategy, which are clear objectives, adequate resources, selectivity, a workable implementation plan, due diligence and clear communication. Involvement of multilateral lenders could help with this. Finally, China must improve the evaluation of the risks and costs of BRI projects and step up its approach to due diligence to demonstrate that it respects the long-term interests of those countries that are at the receiving end of its BRI projects. | 3,360 |
Mobile Security & Malware Protection RT @BullGuard [Infographic] Mobile Malware & What You Need To Know Mobile Security & Malware Protection - BullGuard.com Malware, cybercriminals, hackers – these are just some of the internet threats your mobile phone is exposed to. Beware and stay informed! Infographic
Did you know Smartphones are the most popular new target for threats such as malware and data theft? Our illustrators have been busy coming up with this snazzy infographic – loads of interesting info in there and some stats that might surprise you!
Android seems to have attracted the most attention from malicious code writers due to its popularity, but all platforms are potentially at risk. You’ll find info on what could potentially happen if a phone is infected, what’s happened so far, how we’re being targeted and how to avoid becoming a statistic with some handy dos and don’ts on modern phone use. Not meant to scare! Just meant to inform. And it can’t hurt to stay one step ahead! Also, bear in mind that you’re not alone. You can always count on us to get rid of and keep away digital threats. Here’s our Mobile Security software to help you do just that.
Embed this infographic on your site:
<a href="https://www.bullguard.com/bullguard-security-center/security-articles/mobile-security-what-you-need-to-know.aspx" _mce_href="/bullguard-security-center/security-articles/mobile-security-what-you-need-to-know.aspx"><img src="https://www.bullguard.com/media/767833/mobile_malware_infographic.png" _mce_src="/getmedia/bfdc5742-ad95-4f00-bc4d-d0ee364a83bf/mobile_malware_infographic" alt="Mobile Malware" width="600" height="5977" border="0" /></a><br />Courtesy of: <a href="https://www.bullguard.com" _mce_href="">BullGuard.com</a>
Mobile Security Mobile Security Mobile malware, mobile viruses, hackers. These are just some of the internet threats your mobile phone is exposed to. Beware and stay informed about how can you be protected against mobile malware. mobile anti virus, mobile security, mobile malware protection, bullguard Mobile Malware & What You Need To Know | 3,361 |
Canada and the European Union resume negotiations on a Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA) this week. The second round of talks comes as the EU's proposed chapter for the intellectual property provisions leaked last month, revealing demands for dramatic changes to Canadian intellectual property law. This would include copyright term extension (to life of the author plus 70 years), anti-circumvention rules, resale rights, and ISP liability provisions.
Now a second document has leaked, though it is not currently available online. The Wire Report reports that an EU document dated November 16, 2009, features candid comments about Canada and the EU strategy. The document, called a "Barrier Hymn Sheet" leaves little doubt about the EU's objective:
Put pressure on Canada so that they take IPR issues seriously and remedy the many shortcomings of their IPR protection and enforcement regime.
Having viewed the document, I can report that it goes downhill from there, promoting the key message that Canadian laws are inadequate, while liberally quoting a report from the Canadian IP Council and discredited counterfeiting data.
The document states that the trade negotiations are a "unique opportunity [for Canada] to upgrade its IPR regime despite local anti-IPR lobbying." It includes an assessment of recent copyright reform efforts, noting that two bills have died due to "political instability." The document adds that the copyright reform process was revived in 2009 with the national copyright consultation, but notes dismissively it may have been a "tactic to confuse."
It ultimately concludes:
our objective is to convince Canada to eliminate or reduce these shortcomings, by conducting the necessary legislative or other changes. However, optimism should be tempered since, despite pressure from the USA, high level commitments from Canada, and our commissioner's letter of April 2009, little concrete moves have been observed in recent years. We hope that the negotiation of the bilateral CETA will provide a good opportunity to exert pressure on Canada regarding the upgrade of its IPR regime
This document, combined with the leaked draft, provides ample evidence of the intent of the EU to use CETA to pressure Canada to fundamentally reshape our copyright and IP laws. Although the document discloses that IP was not discussed at the first round of negotiations in Ottawa last October, it is clear that it is a high priority future agenda item. Indeed, the Wire Report reports that IP is on the agenda for this week's negotiations. Although the Wire Report quotes a government official as saying that CETA will not override the copyright consultations, when combined with the ACTA talks that resume next week, the prospect of a made-in-Canada approach may be quickly slipping away. | 3,362 |
Bringing bears to Scotland to be debated at Lochinver Published duration 19 April 2013
image caption Bears will be among the animals up for discussion at Monday's event
Wildlife experts are to discuss whether large animals that were native to Scotland in the distant past could one day be reintroduced.
Monday's debate on the pros and cons of bringing back bears, wolves and lynxes will be held in Lochinver in Sutherland to mark Earth Day.
The event will include a visit to Inchnadamph Bone Caves where brown and polar bear remains have been found.
Bears are thought to have died out in Scotland in the prehistoric period.
Guest speakers at Glencanisp Lodge, will include environmental campaigner Mandy Haggith. Her new novel Bear Witness tells the story of an activist who fights for bears to roam free in Scotland.
Also attending will be Jim Crumley, author of The Last Wolf, and Roy Dennis who has had lead roles in the reintroduction of ospreys, sea eagles and red kites.
A representative from the Scottish Wildlife Trust, which is leading a trial beaver reintroduction in Argyll, is expected to join the panel.
'Weren't comfortable'
Alladale Estate, at Ardgay in Sutherland, had proposed releasing four wolves from Romania in a secure area as part of a reintroduction programme.
However, in May 2010 the plan was dropped in the interests of the animals' welfare.
image caption Ray Mears has in the past questioned the reintroduction of wolves
General manager Hugh Fullerton-Smith said it was still the long-term ambition of the estate to introduce wolves, but into a much larger area.
He said the plan for the wolves was to use information on them in outreach education projects.
Mr Fullerton-Smith said at the time: "We studied very carefully small enclosures throughout Britain and, to be frank, we weren't comfortable about bringing them into very small enclosures on welfare grounds."
Later in 2010, outdoors survival expert Ray Mears warned that reintroducing wolves to Scotland could lead to public resentment of the animals.
Speaking to Richard Madeley on BBC Radio 2, he said the predator could cause upset through its natural behaviour.
In the radio interview, Mr Mears questioned the reasons for bringing wolves back to Scotland.
He said: "If someone was saying we are releasing them because we think it will create an eco-system that was more harmonious and because their absence was felt in the landscape then I would agree with it. | 3,363 |
FOREIGN students and temporary residents will face tough new rules when buying a house and will have to sell on leaving Australia.
The Federal Government's crackdown, to be announced today, reverses its December 2008 decision to relax foreign ownership rules.
Bowing to public pressure, the Government will also introduce a hotline for concerned locals to "dob in" foreigners they suspect of breaching the rules.
Under the rules, temporary residents and foreign students will be:
SCREENED by the Foreign Investment Review Board to determine if they will be allowed to buy a property.
FORCED to sell property when they leave Australia.
PUNISHED if they do not sell by a government-ordered sale plus confiscation of any capital gain.
REQUIRED to build on vacant land within two years of purchase to stop "land banking".
Failure to do this would also lead to a government-ordered sale.
There have been growing claims that real estate prices have been forced up by wealthy Asian families, especially from China and Korea, buying up property and outbidding locals at auctions.
The Government is concerned by anecdotal reports that foreigners are "collecting" houses, often in the same street, and leaving them empty when there is a shortage of housing.
Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry said he wanted to ensure foreigners did not put "pressure on housing availability for Australians".
Treasury is investigating 50 suspicious residential buys by foreigners in Melbourne.
Senator Sherry said the changes would "ensure that investment is in Australia's interests and in line with community expectations".
He said the Government would catch cheats with new powers allowing it to cross-match information from Land Victoria and the Immigration Department.
It will also rely on members of the public to report suspicious property buyers to a new hotline: 1 800 031 227.
"I want to make sure everyone in the community has a direct line to report their concerns," Senator Sherry said.
"If you do the wrong thing, you will be found out."
New penalties, which may be linked to the value of the property, will apply to buyers, sellers and estate agents.
There is no data showing how many properties have been bought by temporary residents.
Since the Government's 2008 change, the median house price in Melbourne has risen from $450,000 to $524,500.
Foreigners living overseas are still prevented from buying existing homes and only allowed to buy or build new ones.
Originally published as Hands off our homes | 3,364 |
india
Updated: Sep 30, 2019 19:22 IST
The Calcutta High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on the anticipatory bail plea of former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha ponzi scam after the hearing concluded behind closed doors.
The puja vacation for the court starts from Wednesday.
Kumar remained untraceable for the 18th straight day Monday since September 13 when a Calcutta High Court order removed the protective shield around him in the Saradha investigation by the CBI, clearing the way for the agency to arrest him if it wanted to.
The petition in the high court was the third anticipatory bail plea by Kumar, who is currently posted as the additional director general of the Criminal Investigation Department of Bengal Police. Earlier, he applied for anticipatory bail at the district court in North 24 Parganas district which said it did not have jurisdiction, and then the Judges Court at Alipore which rejected his plea.
During the same time, CBI moved two petitions for nonbailable arrest warrant against the former Kolkata top cop. While a special court for MLAs and MPs in North 24 Parganas district said it did not have jurisdiction, the additional chief judicial magistrate at Alipore ruled that the agency could arrest Kumar without a warrant.
The CBI has accused Kumar of withholding and tampering evidence to shield influential persons who benefitted from the ponzi scam. Some of the items that the SIT allegedly withheld from the CBI were diaries and a pen drive containing details of payoffs made by the Saradha group to political leaders and influential persons.
Kumar has so far eluded a CBI manhunt which has checked out various places including his residence at Kolkata’s Park Street and office in Alipore apart from several other places in the city and neighbouring districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, East Midnapore.
Leaders of all opposition parties have slammed the leaders of ruling Trinamool Congress, alleging that its top leaders must be aware of the whereabouts of Kumar. They also pointed out that chief minister Mamata Banerjee launched a two-day sit-in demonstration in Kolkata in February to protest against the visit of a CBI team to the official residence of Kumar, who was the commissioner of Kolkata Police at that time.
The SIT investigated the Saradha scam till CBI took over the case in 2014 with the Supreme Court asking the agency to also probe the role of influential persons and the larger design behind the scam. | 3,365 |
naturist places have a different etiquette than the rest of the world. But we were wondering if there are “real” villages where nudity is perfectly appropriate. And in fact there are, other than some never explored places in the deep Amazon jungle.
Héliopolis on the French island Île du Levant, just off the coast near Toulon and Saint-Tropez, was started in the thirties by two brothers André and Gaston Durville who actually invented the term “naturist village”. It’s the oldest one in the world and because most of the rest of the island is military zone this is also the only village on the island. So you could technically even call it a naturist capital. Recently some protest against the nudity started to appear which resulted in naked counter protests organised by the inhabitants.
Talking about Spain, did you know that nudity has been declared a human right in this country and that you’re basically allowed to be naked wherever you want? Yet most naturists still prefer to go to their naturist resorts. In central Catalonia in Spain there’s a village called El Fonoll which exists since the 14th century. Over the centuries the village fell in disuse until eventually nobody still lived there and the buildings turned into ruins. Until 1995 when a businessman from Barcelona bought the whole thing and turned it into a naturist village. Today it’s one of the few places that can actually be called a “real naturist village”, although it has a maximum of only 200 inhabitants.Talking about Spain, did you know that nudity has been declared a human right in this country and that you’re basically allowed to be naked wherever you want? Yet most naturists still prefer to go to their naturist resorts.
UPDATE 2019: Unfortunately El Fonoll as meanwhile closed its business.
The largest known village where naturism is allowed and well practiced has more than 70 000 inhabitants. Well, at least one week in a year because the rest of the time this village just doesn’t exist. Black Rock city in the Nevada desert in the United States is the temporary city where yearly the Burning Man festival is organised. This whole event is clothing optional and does attract naturists from all over the world. If only for a short while.
Picture credit: The photos in this post are coming from Google and Twitter. If you find one of yourself and you don’t want it to be on our blog, let us know and we’ll remove it. | 3,366 |
John Wessels, AFP | A woman in a camp for displaced people in the Kwilu province after fleeing the violence in the Kasai
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday accused the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo of arming a militia carrying out “horrible attacks” against civilians in the Kasai region.
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“I am dismayed by the creation and arming of a militia, Bana Mura, which would support the authorities in the struggle [against the Kamwina Nsapu rebellion] but which has carried out horrible attacks against civilians from the Luba and Lulua ethnic groups,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
A UN spokesman told AFP that it was unclear which authorities had lended support to the militia.
The High Commissioner called for an international investigation to be opened, while the Human Rights Council is due to rule on a resolution plan, following a demand from the EU, on Thursday or Friday. A representative from the USA has endorsed his support, on Tuesday, for an investigation.
Alarmed by reports about the atrocities and given the difficulty of reaching the Kasai, the High Commissioner decided last week to send an investigation team to the region to meet the refugees fleeing the violence.
The DRC is strongly opposed to the UN investigation and sent its justice minister, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, to Geneva on Monday to convince diplomats to vote against it and to guarantee that “the government is determined to lead different investigations”.
Papal envoy says over 3,000 dead in eight months
The UN warning came as the Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday said more than 3,000 people have been killed in eight months of spiralling violence in Kasai.
According to figures compiled by the church and listed in a report by the papal envoy, a copy of which was seen by AFP on Tuesday, some 3,383 people have died in violence between security forces and a tribal militia.
The UN's MONUSCO peacekeeping mission had previously spoken of "more than 400 dead" while about 1.3 million people are estimated to have fled their homes in the Kasai provinces.
The papal envoy's note, which was dated June 19, said that 20 villages have been "completely destroyed", 10 of them by the DRC armed forces (FARDC), four by the tribal militias and six by unidentified forces.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe | 3,367 |
ary, Poland, Portugal and Spain have centre-right governments; in Malta and Slovakia, socialist parties are in charge. The map also shows an overall balance between centre-left and centre-right: socialist parties are present in 19 national governments and centre-right parties in 16, but the latter often serves as the senior coalition partner. “Right now, there is a pluralism in the Council,” says Hix.
“It is rare that you get an all-left or all-right dominance in the EU Council of Ministers [the assembly of the EU member states’ ministers in specific policy fields],” he adds. While it has happened in the past, chances are slim that it would ever be the case in an EU with 28 member states.
Experts have argued that the next European Parliament is likely to be dominated by the two largest political groups: the socialist S&D and centre-right EPP, as it has been the case in the past. Parties will look for a stable coalition and, says Hix, “the hunch is that this will be a grand coalition.”
Germany could serve as an example of what this would mean on a European level, he argues: “The government constellation in Germany casts a shadow on the Parliament. When you have a grand coalition in Berlin, you will have pressure on the EP to form a similar coalition,” he says.
Commission’s constellation
In the upcoming summer, Europe’s mainstream political families will negotiate the ins and outs for the next European Commission. While governments of EU member states nominate their commissioner to the EU executive’s president, they must do so “taking into account” the results of May’s poll, and after “appropriate consultations” with the European Parliament.
>>Read our LinksDossier: The EU top jobs: Who’s next?
The Commission president discusses portfolios with the future commissioners, before putting them up for scrutiny in a Parliament’s grilling session.
“The Commission’s constellation depends on the balance of power in all member states” at the time of EU elections, says Piedrafita. The incumbent Commission is made up of 13 centre-right members; eight liberals; and seven socialists.
“Looking at the whole map, there are plenty of coalition governments across Europe. The balance of political power will depend on these coalitions’ decisions.” As the list of potential nominees from different member states is long, the political balance of the Commission could shift either way. | 3,368 |
Following extensive discussions over the past 24 hours, the Force India Formula One Team has agreed to release Giancarlo Fisichella from his contract to join the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team for the remainder of the 2009 season, starting with immediate effect.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal, commented, ‘Giancarlo and his management team approached me yesterday with the proposal from Ferrari. For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception. No one should stand in the way of this. Furthermore the agreement will secure Giancarlo’s long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardise this, particularly when Giancarlo has made such a vital contribution to Force India.
‘We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari. This agreement has been made in good faith and for the good of Giancarlo and the sport in general. A competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for Formula One, which can only help raise the sport’s profile in these difficult times.
‘We would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one and a half seasons and for delivering us our first World Championship points last weekend. He has been an integral part of the team and we owe him a great deal for his input behind the scenes and performance out on track. We wish him all the best for the future.
‘For Force India, this sport is a team effort and removing one part, even a major one, will not significantly affect our performance. The competitiveness of the team seen in Belgium was a result of hard work in the factory and wind tunnel and we have further developments coming for the final races, so we are confident this momentum can be sustained. We are now looking forward to a strong finish to the season.’
Giancarlo commented, ‘I am very grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team. It is true that it has always been an ambition to do this, and for Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous. I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions. They are now a very competitive team and I wish them all the very best.’
A decision regarding the driver of car number 21 will be made in the coming days and no further comment will be made on this front. | 3,369 |
earning $50,000 a year.
Now, Ms. Edrington-Grant runs the Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministry, which provides services to ex-offenders and prisoners when they are about to be released and re-enter society.
Others who have overcome economic hardship also emphasize the assistance they received along the way.
Kristelle Coney, a 40-year-old single mother of three, worked at Washington Mutual for six years; she had never been to college. When her employer went bankrupt and was absorbed by JPMorgan Chase in 2009, she was laid off. She used her severance to pay for her first year of college at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland, Wash., studying for a pair of associate’s degrees, one for premedicine and one to be a medical assistant.
“Once that year was up, I was able to use opportunity grants and Pell grants and student loans and focus on school,” she recalled, adding that food stamps also helped her juggle kids and school without working full time.
Ms. Coney, who graduated this year, works as a medical assistant at an obstetrics and gynecology practice in Bellevue, Wash., not far from her home in Redmond, where she pays higher rent to send her children to better schools.
Houston is one of the few Southern cities where upward social mobility is as high as cities in the Northeast and West, exceeding the rates of cities like Charlotte and Las Vegas. Roughly 22 percent of Houston children who grew up in the poorest fifth of the national income distribution have ended up in the top two-fifths today, according to the study.
In Houston, programs like Capital IDEA assist underemployed individuals who have obstacles in the way of furthering their education. In addition to helping pay tuition, Capital IDEA fast-tracks students through the remedial courses that can otherwise divert them from finishing their degree.
Adeline Garza, 25, was raised by her grandmother after her parents died. She dropped out of Texas A&M when she could no longer afford it. After struggling to find work, she took advantage of assistance from Capital IDEA, where she was encouraged by others in the same situation.
“We would always have weekly meetings to discuss our hardships, trouble with class, and help each other out. It’s a really great social support group,” she said. She’s about to start as a radiology technologist at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, with a starting salary of $45,000. | 3,370 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook Inc and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday won dismissal of an investor lawsuit accusing them of deceiving investors about the likely impact of a privacy breach on its stock price, though the investors will be have a chance to refile their case.
FILE PHOTO: Attendees walk past a Facebook logo during Facebook Inc's F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California said the investors had failed to allege that Facebook or its executives knowingly made false statements that led to investor losses.
Facebook and lawyers for the investors could not immediately be reached for comment.
The class action lawsuit, which was consolidated from several investor complaints filed since last year, also targeted Facebook chief organization officer Sheryl Sandberg and chief financial officer David Wehner.
The investors focus on a privacy breach, first reported in December 2015, that allowed Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, to access data for an estimated 87 million Facebook users.
In March 2018, multiple media outlets reported that Facebook was still allowing third parties to access user data, and that data from the Cambridge Analytica breach had been used in connection with U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign. The reports caused the company’s stock price to drop more than 18 percent in two weeks.
In July 2018, Facebook’s stock price dropped sharply again, by nearly 19 percent, immediately after the company revealed in its quarterly earnings report that growth in the number of active users was slowing and total revenues was declining.
The investors claimed in their lawsuit that Facebook and its executives made dozens of statements downplaying the effect that the Cambridge Analytica leak and related user privacy issues would have on its stock price.
Davila, however, said Thursday that they had failed to identify specific instances of the company or its executives knowingly making false statements. He noted that some were forward-looking predictions and others were general expressions of optimism, which generally cannot be the basis for securities fraud lawsuits.
The judge gave the investors until Oct. 26 to file a new version of their complaint, saying it was “possible plaintiffs can cure their allegations by alleging, among other things, more particular facts as to why statements by the individual defendants were false when made.”
Facebook is separately facing a nationwide lawsuit from users seeking to hold the company liable under various state and federal laws for allowing third parties, including Cambrdige Analytica, to access their data. | 3,371 |
If you, like many Oculus Rift and Touch owners, downloaded Epic Games’ Robo Recall [Review: 7.5/10] when it launched for free yesterday, you’re likely still getting to grips with the game’s teleportation system.
The mechanic is designed to support those with only two sensors, thus can’t use their Touch controllers as well when turning away from them and blocking their view of the devices. As such, when holding down one of Touch’s two analogue sticks to teleport, you can rotate them to change the direction you’ll face when you move. It’s a little tricky, but it’s the best possible solution for those only with the sensors included in the Rift and Touch boxes.
But not everyone will be playing with two sensors.
Though Robo Recall only lists ‘Front-facing’ as its supported tracking mode, those with three sensors can still play the game without worrying about occlusion blocking the Touch tracking. Even in its earliest battles the game gets hectic, and you’ll need to spin on the spot to quickly take care of enemies rather than using the teleportation system, so three sensors are pretty handy.
The problem is if you teleport when you’re looking away from where the game considers the front sensors to be, you’ll end up facing the opposite direction to where you’re looking. Why? Because if you’re playing with a 180 degree setup, you’ll still then have to turn back towards those sensors to see what you wanted to see. That’s all well and good for players with two sensors, but the feature reportedly doesn’t turn off when using three sensors.
That means these players that are spinning around to natrually face enemies in the game are sometimes teleporting and finding themselves facing the wrong way. You can imagine how annoying that could get in the heat of battle.
Luckily, the game’s full mod support — an Epic Games staple — is already here to help. Huge Robot, the developer of the Freedom Locomotion VR system, has become one of the first to make a mod for the game, removing this feature, so 360 setups can be played trouble-free.
Mods are nice, official integration is always preferable, so we reached out to Epic Games to ask if they have any plans to allow three sensor-users to remove this feature. A spokseperson told us that the company will be releasing a patch later this month that will address this issue. Until then, you can download the free mod. | 3,372 |
[Insert This Year] Sucked! I’m so ready for [Insert Next Year]!
Dec 31, 2018
In what’s become a New Year’s Eve tradition, Mark Baker celebrates his 10th year of re-posting how much this year sucked, and how much he's ready for next year to be different.
“Man there’s so much hate in the world this year,” said Mr. Baker, a Los Angeles digital marketing specialist. “I can’t wait for [Insert This Year] to be over!! With all the insane problems and the lies and the freakin’ politicians not doing anything of substance. It’s been really hard on me personally. [Insert Significant Other] and I have had issues. My [Insert Beloved] died. Money is so tight. Is it [Insert Next Year] yet?”
Mr. Baker now celebrates his 10 year of posting the same post! What a milestone. What incredible dedication to the art of repetition. Here’s a look back at some of Mark’s highlights over the years:
New Year’s Eve - 10 years ago: “Wow. [Insert This Year]. Just wow. Can [Insert Next Year] start early??”
“Wow. [Insert This Year]. Can [Insert Next Year] start early??” New Year’s Eve - 6 years ago: “Wow, [Insert This Year] is officially the worst on record. I’m so ready for my hopes and dreams to finally start paying off next year. Here’s to [Insert Next Year] everybody! I love you!”
“Wow, [Insert This Year] is officially the worst on record. I’m so ready for my hopes and dreams to finally start paying off next year. Here’s to [Insert Next Year] everybody! I love you!” New Year’s Eve - 3 years ago: “[Insert This Year] enough said 😩. [Insert Next Year] 🙏 ”
“[Insert This Year] enough said. [Insert Next Year] ” New Year’s Eve - Last year: “The best part of [Insert This Year] is it being almost over! Seriously, will this f’in year just end already?!”
We wish Mark and all our readers here at The Tilted Glass a great [Insert Next Year]! Happy New Year!
| 3,373 |
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Wikileaks is planning to release files that show Turkey has helped al-Qaida in Iraq, according to London-based daily. The newspaper also reported that the US helped the PKK, a Kurdish rebel organization.One of the documents, a US military report, reportedly charges Turkey with failing to control its borders, because Iraqi citizens residing in Turkey provided al-Qaida with supplies to build bombs, guns and ammunition.A Wikileaks administrator also toldthat the site needs Turks to volunteer to translate documents about Turkey's role in the war in Iraq and its bid for EU membership.Other documents show that the US has supported the PKK, which has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984 and has been classified by the State Department as a terrorist organization since 1979. The US military documents call the PKK "warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens," and say that the US set free arrested PKK members in Iraq. The documents also point out that US forces in Iraq have given weapons to the PKK and ignored the organization's operations inside Turkey.On Wednesday, the Obama administration said that it had alerted Congress and begun notifying foreign governments that the WikiLeaks website is preparing to release sensitive US diplomatic files that could damage US relations with friends and allies across the globe.Officials said the documents may contain everything from accounts of compromising conversations with political dissidents and friendly politicians to disclosures of activities that could result in the expulsion of US diplomats from foreign postings.US diplomatic outposts around the world have begun notifying other governments that WikiLeaks may release these documents in the next few days."These revelations are harmful to the United States and our interests," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world."Crowley said the release of confidential communications about foreign governments probably will erode trust in the United States as a diplomatic partner and could cause embarrassment if the files should include derogatory or critical comments about friendly foreign leaders."When this confidence is betrayed and ends up on the front pages of newspapers or lead stories on television or radio, it has an impact," Crowley said.US diplomatic outposts around the world have begun notifying other governments that WikiLeaks may release these documents in the coming days, Crowley told reporters.A Pentagon spokesman, Marine Col. David Lapan, said the Pentagon also has notified congressional committees of an expected WikiLeaks release. He said the files are believed to be State Department documents, but they could contain information about military tactics or reveal the identities of sources.A statement on WikiLeaks Twitter site Wednesday said "the Pentagon is hyperventilating again over fears of being held to account." | 3,374 |
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Kimi Raikkonen is as fast as Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Sebastian Vettel but the German makes fewer mistakes, according to the team's technical director James Allison.
Allison can only recall Vettel making one error this season, when he ran wide at the final corner on lap 36 of the Bahrain Grand Prix, damaging his front wing and forcing an unscheduled stop.
Raikkonen has had a tougher time of things, particularly in qualifying, resulting in the fact he is 59 points adrift of Vettel heading into this weekend's race in Hungary.
Ferrari has sympathy for Raikkonen
Asked by Italian publication Autosprint to assess Raikkonen's season, Allison said: "There's no speed difference between he and Sebastian.
"Sometimes Kimi is quicker, other times it's Seb.
"The difference is Sebastian never, or almost never, makes mistakes.
"This year only in Bahrain have we seen after all, that he can make mistakes.
"But besides that weekend, he has practically never made any errors. Kimi instead, especially in qualifying, has had a few more slip-ups.
"I'd say the same thing if Kimi was here, and I think he would accept it.
"Sometimes you just need a small mistake to ruin a weekend, but the speed is there. Kimi knows that too."
Vettel hopes Ferrari keeps Raikkonen
Allison is also convinced Ferrari can again close the gap to Mercedes after falling away of late to undermine the positive start made to the year, with the highlight being Vettel's victory in the second race in Malaysia.
He has suggested that success "perhaps" came too soon and raised expectations but he has no doubt Ferrari will rediscover its form.
"You certainly can't refuse a victory when it comes," added Allison.
"The Malaysian Grand Prix was an incredible day, getting back to winning ways has given us a great push, and now I can't wait to re-live it again.
"If I look at what we have done since the beginning of the season, I see our work has produced good results.
"We have improved by 1.5 seconds per lap thanks to the development done on both the car and the power unit.
"If I have to bet on what's going to happen in the second half of the season, then I believe we'll reduce our gap to Mercedes and that we'll do better than Williams."
Translation by Michele Lostia | 3,375 |
“Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP,” Chidambaram claimed. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra/Representational) “Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP,” Chidambaram claimed. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra/Representational)
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability, saying only a “foolish government” would make such a disclosure and “betray” a defence secret.
Slamming the announcement by the prime minister, Chidambaram tweeted, “The capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise government will keep the capability secret. Only a foolish government will disclose it and betray a defence secret.”
In an address to the nation, Modi had on Wednesday announced that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite under ‘Mission Shakti’, describing it as a rare achievement that puts the country in an exclusive club of space superpowers.
The former finance minister also questioned the motive of the government in making the announcement.
“Besides, why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the sagging fortunes of the BJP,” Chidambaram claimed.
Following the prime minister’s speech, several Opposition parties had complained to the Election Commission alleging violation of the model code of conduct.
The Election Commission, however, said on Friday night that Modi’s address to the nation on the successful test-firing of an anti-satellite missile did not violate the model code of conduct.
Chidambaram also sought answers from the prime minister on high unemployment rate and job losses, citing data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
“Unemployment rate in India is at 7.1 per cent. It is the highest in 45 years. Why? Will Mr Modi answer? According to the NSSO, 4 crore 70 lakh jobs have been lost. Why? Will Mr Modi answer?” he said in a series of tweets.
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For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App. | 3,376 |
son and namesake, then just 10 years old, remembers as “a super nice lady.” They carried deportation orders. It didn’t matter that Bush’s father was president of the United States at the time or that a Secret Service agent had answered the door. Romero, who was in the country illegally but had a work permit, wasn’t getting a reprieve. “It was a difficult time for all of us, but most of all for Maria,” Jeb Bush said in an e-mail about that day. His son, Jeb Jr., hadn’t even realized she’d been deported. “I thought she just left,” Jeb Jr. said in a recent interview.
So, Bush is, partly, just getting this story out there really early, so that if anyone brings it up in 2015 or 2016 it will be an "old story." But between this and the weird book screw-up, which forced Bush to flip-flop on citizenship like four times in the space of a month, Jeb Bush's rollout as "the candidate to fix the GOP's Hispanic problem" is not going as smoothly as the rollout of George W. Bush as "a president who wasn't as bad as you thought at the time."
The Post story leaves out some really interesting details. The deportation was reported in the press in 1991. A brief Miami Herald piece from Jan. 14, 1991, has more. The agents knocked on the door and removed Romero while Bush was out jogging. Bush then reached out to the director of the Miami office of the INS, but not really to try to do anything for Romero:
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"[Bush] indicated they had no problem with the two agents coming to the house," [Miami INS head Richard] Smith said. "They were only concerned the lady got home safely. After three years, she kind of came to be a part of the family. We obviously verified that, and they're quite happy." It used to be that the district INS office sent letters to people who are going to be deported, giving them advance warning and letting them know they should surrender to the local office. "The law does not require that we do that anymore," Smith said. That's the new law: the Immigration Act of 1990. Signed into law Nov. 29. By Jeb's dad.
Shocking twist!* Jeb's dad, coincidentally, will also attend the dedication today. Romero, despite being "like a member of the family," will not. It is going to be so fun having the Bushes back in our lives! | 3,377 |
June 11, 2010 Vandals hit Anchorage Cathedral
ANCHORAGE, AK [OCA}—Vandals hit Saint Innocent Cathedral here on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, pillaging the altar’s liturgical appointments and burning pages of the Gospel Book. Several other items were stolen.
According to media reports, the suspects entered through windows in the back of the cathedral some time between midnight and 11:00 a.m. Wednesday.
“The Gospel that was thrown and ripped that we use during the Gospel reading and the hand cross that we use was totally destroyed, cannot be used again,” Father Peter Chris told KTUU Channel 2 News, adding that while the break-in was not the first at the cathedral, it was the worst.
His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West, Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Alaska, addressed the issue in a letter to the clergy and faithful of the diocese, the text of which reads as follows.
“It is with great sadness that I have to report the Cathedral of Saint Innocent in Anchorage was broken into the night before last and the altar pillaged and violated. Yesterday, I received a tearful call from Father Peter Chris who came to the Cathedral to find the altar in shambles. Many of the items in the altar were senselessly and shamefully damaged and defaced for no apparent reason. Several items were stolen. The reserved sacrament is intact, as are the relics and the antimensions. But, the Gospel Book on the
main altar had pages torn out of it and showed signs that the vandals tried to burn them. The police have investigated and are on top of things.
“We are grateful to God that more damage was not done and that no one was hurt. Please pray for the souls of the people who committed this crime against God and His Church. The condition of the Cathedral, in a very sad way, reflects the spiritual destruction and damage that exists in a human soul that would do such a thing. How truly sad it is that a human being, brought into being by God for no other reason than to share His incomprehensible, divine love, a human being created in His image could mar and deface that image in such a terrible way.
“What is lost or damaged in the Cathedral are only material things. The damage we human beings do to our own souls is much more serious. This should also be a reminder to us all that in this evil age, we need to be methodical about securing our churches from such desecration by mindless, fallen men.” | 3,378 |
Eight year veteran Florida police officer Christopher Geraci, 33, didn't appreciate a women he pulled over not following his "simple instructions."
When Abbi Bonds, 29, used her cellphone to phone someone for help, Geraci, who suspected her of being involved in a hit and run, walked up to her casually, took the phone out of her hands, grabbed Abbi's wrist and ordered her, "Turn around and put your hands behind your back."
Abbi calmly asked, "What am I being arrested for..."
Before she could finish her question, Christopher Geraci yanked her arm and viciously slammed Abbi face first into the side of her car. Rather than react to the astonishingly disproportionate use of force by apologizing or taking any remedial steps to correct his error, he decided to slam her again, all the while again ordering her to "put your hands behind your back."
Abbi noticeably was not putting up any resistance, she was flailing around like a rag doll with Geraci's every slam.
"I'm not fighting you, why are you hitting me?" Abbi asks on the brink of tears.
“There. Maybe now you can understand simple instructions,” Geraci responds after finally cuffing her.
“I'm [expletive] a girl, you don’t have to hit me like that,” Abbi says, now sobbing, shocked, and emotionally distraught.
“And you don’t have to sit there and argue with me and fight with me,” Geraci responds.
Geraci then proceeds to instruct Abbi that "pulling her hands" from behind her back, while he was violently slamming her into the side of her car face first, qualified as "resisting."
Therefore, he was totally in the right, and in fact he could charge her with the additional crime of "obstruction of justice."
Abbi never filed a complaint against the officer, instead a supervisor who reviewed the dash cam footage brought the issue to his higher-ups. Christopher Geraci was not only fired, but charged with battery.
Though he is only facing a potential one year jail sentence, the shame of assaulting a compliant woman, thanks to the internet, will stay with him forever.
Watch the video:
_
Chris runs the website InformationLiberation.com, you can read more of his writings here. Follow infolib on twitter here.
| 3,379 |
The natural pivot for this story is toward the Knicks, although ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan throws a bucket of water on the idea that Anthony will be traded there.
The other natural reaction is a deepening fatigue, although you can almost hear N.B.A. fans’ collective eye roll when Dwyane Wade proclaimed he was tired of hearing about Anthony deals. It is more than a bit priceless that Anthony keeps saying he doesn’t want to stray into LeBron territory because that’s exactly where he’s headed, writes Mitch Lawrence in The Daily News. Fanhouse.com’s Sam Amick writes hopefully that other young N.B.A. stars are learning from these sad spectacles, but you are allowed to suspect they are learning all the wrong things. (Hey, could I get Jim Gray to ask me inane questions for an hour on ESPN?!)
Perhaps the most amazing thing about Prokhorov’s news conference on Wednesday was that it almost completely blotted out the Jets from the New York metropolitan area news for a bit. Of course, the Jets are contributing to this by veering widely out of character and failing to insult anyone leading up to Sunday’s American Football Conference championship game against the Steelers. The Daily News’s Filip Bondy, for one, thinks this is just no fun at all.
At this point, the N.F.L. might consider paying Rex Ryan to spout off on something new, as a diversion from anyone pondering what Yahoo.com’s Dan Wetzel describes as the league’s latest performance-enhancing drug of choice, which involves deer antlers. (Insert “Huh?” sound here.) And the league definitely doesn’t want you thinking hard about the fact that it is charging $200 for the right to hang out outside Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl. They’re calling it the “party zone,” counting its participants in the game attendance and doing this all while everyone predicts a labor stoppage after the Super Bowl. Alex Marvez of Foxsports.com wants someone to explain how a league enjoying record television ratings and the gall to charge $200 for a parking lot party can cry economic hardship.
While you are contemplating gall, you might enjoy diverting your attention to a USA Today article about the N.C.A.A.’s response to recent criticism of its leadership by adding security. Or how Oregon built a new basketball court that is annoying everyone, partly because its questionable aesthetics do not include things like a halfcourt line. | 3,380 |
Fulham are on the verge of signing experienced defender Gary Cahill on loan with Timothy Fosu-Mensah's set to return to Manchester United, Love Sport can exclusively reveal.
Cahill has only played 21 minutes of Premier League football so far this season and is understood to be keen to reinvigorate his career at the age of 33.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has preferred the centre-back partnership of Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz with even Andreas Christensen recently preferred on the subs bench.
And Love Sport understands Fulham will send Fosu-Mensah back to Manchester to free up space in their squad for Cahill.
Arsenal are also interested in his services with their defensive ranks ravaged by injury but the west Londoners appear to have won the race for his signature.
Would Gary Cahill be a good signing for Fulham & Claudio Ranieri?
Let @JakeWatson_TV & @FulhamishPod know on the Fulham Fans Show on NOW until 10pm👇
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Cahill's stock at Chelsea, a club he joined from Bolton Wanderers in 2012, has fallen dramatically since appearing in all but one Premier League fixture for the Blues in 2016/17.
But new boss Sarri does not consider him a good enough player with the ball at his feet to fit the Italian's highly technical style.
"I respect him very much because he has won everything with this club," Sarri said last month.
"I have to do my job. Every match, I have to choose. For me, he is not able to [be] on the bench.
"Maybe he is the best in the box, but our defenders may play 100 or 110 balls in a match so I need very technical defenders. "It is not my decision, but it is up to him and the club.
"He is in the last year of the contract.
"He has to decide for a new contract here or another club.
"For the over 30 [players] the club usually offers only one-year contracts.
"If he has an offer of three years, he can of course choose something [a transfer away from Chelsea]." | 3,381 |
Video report by ITV News Security Editor Rohit Kachroo
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has told ITV News the UK faces a challenge to catch British IS fighters heading home from impending defeats in Syria and Iraq.
He said hunting down Britons who have been fighting for so-called Islamic State abroad is the "next stage of the campaign" against the shrinking but evolving terror group.
ITV News has learned at least one expat extremist had abandoned the battle as Kurdish fighters close in on victory over Isis in their former Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.
Correspondent John Ray, who is reporting from the frontline in Raqqa, was told the Brit had fled the city in the last few days and is thought to be heading home.
Questioned over the new threat by ITV News Security Editor Rohit Kachroo, Mr Fallon accepted catching returning extremists would become the next stage of the battle against Isis.
"Yes, we do need to track down those British citizens who have been fighting for (Isis)," he told ITV News.
"That's a criminal offence... if we can establish evidence (of their fighting) then they can be charged and prosecuted if they return home."
Sir Michael Fallon said the UK would attempt to prosecute returning fighters. Credit: ITV News
Asked how Britain can keep track of the numbers returning, Sir Michael said security services would work with other countries while monitoring the UK's border controls.
"We make sure that they can't easily re-enter the UK but we're also working with neighbouring countries, Turkey for example."
He added: "Let me assure you if we can find them, we will detain them and where possible they will be charged."
Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, led a group of British IS executioners in Syria before being killed in 2015.
Sir Michael hailed the likely fall of Raqqa and Mosul in Iraq as physical progress in the wider fight against the ideology.
"It is important to destroy them physically to destroy the idea of a physical caliphate," he said.
"You can see how this poison can catch hold in Africa, in the Far East, in the Philippines, around the world."
Pressed by Kachroo, he said, "And here in the UK."
The recent deadly terror attacks in London and Manchester have come despite Isis shrinking abroad.
But Mr Fallon insisted: "We're winning this battle militarily. It's important to do both; to win the military campaign and then to go on and win the campaign against the extremists in our own country." | 3,382 |
The Measurement template document is available at the archived version of this page on the UK Government Web Archive.
DfT Business plan
Geographical coverage: Great Britain
Information broken down by: Accident site. Data are available by geographical area, age, gender and type of road user.
Latest data
In 2013:
1,713 people were killed in reported road traffic accidents in Great Britain, 2% (41) fewer than in 2012. This is the lowest number of fatalities since national records began in 1926. The total number of people killed in 2013 was 39% lower than the 2005-09 baseline average
the number of fatalities decreased for pedestrians, pedal cyclists and car occupants, by 5%, 8% and 2% respectively, but increased for motorcycle users by 1%. Over the same period motor vehicle traffic remained broadly stable, with a small increase of 0.4% between 2012 and 2013
with the exception of 2011, road deaths have fallen every year since 2004. Adverse weather (heavy snow falls) experienced in the first and last quarters of 2010 but not in 2011, is likely to be the main factor behind the increase in fatalities recorded in 2011
View this data in an interactive chart
Year Road accident fatalities % change from previous year 2000 3,409 -0.4 2001 3,450 1.2 2002 3,431 -0.6 2003 3,508 2.2 2004 3,221 -8.2 2005 3,201 -0.6 2006 3,175 -0.9 2007 2,946 -7.1 2008 2,538 -13.8 2009 2,222 -12.5 2010 1,850 -16.7 2011 1,901 2.8 2012 1,754 -7.7 2013 1,713 -2.3
The complete set of data is available for download.
Background information
The indicator can be broken down by any geographical area (eg country, region, local authority) since a grid reference is collected for each accident. Information is also available by age, gender, type of road user and road type. Numbers will be relatively small for more detailed breakdowns of the total and may therefore fluctuate from year to year. This needs to be taken into account when assessing trends.
publishing schedule: annual
last updated: September 2014
next update: July 2015
Other related data and information
More detailed analysis and time series can be found in Reported road casualties Great Britain: annual report.
Record level data on accidents and casualties can be found in Record level data
Further information | 3,383 |
Less than one month after closing the doors at its original location, the iconic Starliner Diner reopened June 3 at 4121 Main St. in Old Hilliard.
Less than one month after closing the doors at its original location, the iconic Starliner Diner reopened June 3 at 4121 Main St. in Old Hilliard.
"I was hoping for the old feel and I think we got it.... After all, we brought everything with us," owner Molly Mahoney said.
From a reconstructed mural to a collection of clocks, Mahoney's first-day patrons concurred they would miss the old site but they warmly embrace the new one.
"It's great. I love the natural lighting... and the patio," said David Goldach, 36, of New Albany, who was having lunch with his sister, Jamie Hinesman, 33, of Bexley.
"My brother wanted to be here on the very first day," Hinesman said.
Both siblings noted all the decorations that were relocated from 5240 Cemetery Road, which closed May 8 -- Mother's Day -- after 22 years in business.
Starliner Diner was required to relocate to make way for the construction of Landmark Lofts, a mixed-use development that will feature apartments above ground-floor retail areas.
The former restaurant building already has been leveled.
"I saw the last part of it demolished (and) that was tough to watch," Mahoney said.
A mural of an outer-space walk that was on the outside of building was digitally imaged and reconstructed inside the new restaurant, where it is blended with the other decorations.
New additions include an outdoor seating area.
"They've done a great job, too, giving it a new, fresh look," Goldach said.
Among other first-day diners were Steve and Barbara Bechtel of Upper Arlington.
"We've been going (to Starliner) almost since it opened," Steve Bechtel said.
"We wanted to be here on the first day," Barbara Bechtel said.
The move was a lot of work but nothing that was unexpected, including its opening about one week later than planned to allow more time for all the required inspections and permitting, Mahoney said.
Mahoney said she looks forward to the new business being part of an increasingly vibrant Old Hilliard district.
One of those new features is a series of summer events at the nearby Hilliard's Station Park.
"I'm happy to be here," Mahoney said. | 3,384 |
In its E3 press conference Ubisoft has confirmed Just Dance 2015 for Wii U, the only title in the show coming to Nintendo hardware. While that is a positive, extraordinary comments have emerged from the company's CEO in which he admits that a completed game is sitting on the shelf, awaiting improved Wii U hardware sales.
In a roundtable event, Yves Guillemot said the following, as reported by MCV:
We did adapt the number of products and the level of quantity that we did on the machine. We will have Just Dance 2015 on Wii U, which is suited to the machine, we will have Watch Dogs. We have another couple of products that we are waiting for launch. Specifically, we have one game that we are waiting until the Wii U has a certain market size before we launch. We have a game that has been done for six months; it is on our shelf waiting until more families to have the machine. Nintendo is really coming with fantastic games, so they could – with the right price and very good games – get the machine to start.
If Wii U’s sales continue to multiply, it will quickly come to a mass market. We need the sales to increase so it becomes more mass market, and then we will have the volume we need to justify big marketing campaigns and TV marketing. This game could never come out and could instead come out on another format that offers the same sort of experience. We will know this year how the machine goes. We have to wait for Smash Bros to come. Smash Bros has always been a big, big property for Nintendo and for gamers. We all know that there are lots of Nintendo fans that are waiting for big games to come. We know they are coming. When I speak to the fans that come to E3, 90 per cent of them are crazy Nintendo fans. They really love Nintendo and the games they do. If they can quickly come and buy a Wii U, it would be good.
These are amazingly honest comments from the Ubisoft CEO, yet the revelation that a completed game has been "done for six months" will likely not sit well with many fans. It's clear that this is a family orientated title, based on the context of the full comments, and the publisher is keen to see a larger Wii U fanbase to make its release costs worthwhile. It brings up that classic catch-22 for Wii U — Nintendo can't attract many third-parties due to a low userbase, but the lack of third-party titles affects whether some consumers are attracted to the system.
Let us know what you think of this revelation in the comments below. | 3,385 |
s about harassment. But that puts GamerGate in an impossible position. Where it can’t speak at all because there is harassment around it.
[10/14/14 4:41:27 PM] Eron Gjoni: And it can’t distance its self from harassment, because the people likely to harass chase it around.
[10/14/14 4:41:38 PM] Eron Gjoni: Which is kind of the impetus for OperationDoxxYourself
[10/14/14 4:41:54 PM] Eron Gjoni: get as many people in GamerGate to use their real names as possible
[10/14/14 4:42:22 PM] Eron Gjoni: and it can start distancing harassers, because harassers prefer to stay anonymous
[10/14/14 4:42:48 PM] Eron Gjoni: which means GamerGate can say “it’s an anon, he’s not ours, he’s just an ass”
[10/14/14 4:43:38 PM] Eron Gjoni: From the view of the games journos, and many of the debs, GamerGate just looks like the longest fourchan raid in history. A bunch of anions being assholes. Or, being overly polite but uninvited
[10/14/14 4:44:01 PM] Eron Gjoni: so, OperationDoxxYourself is intended to get people to show they care enough about what they’re saying to put their real names behind it
[10/14/14 4:44:15 PM] joseph_bernstein: hmm
[10/14/14 4:44:24 PM] Eron Gjoni: and they are not an anonymous mob, they are actually real people with concerns
[10/14/14 4:45:02 PM] Eron Gjoni: devs- stupid autocorrect
[10/14/14 4:45:41 PM] Eron Gjoni: curious as to your thoughts?
[10/14/14 4:47:41 PM] Eron Gjoni: And, you know, at the least it will mean that people who are generally well meaning but might lose their temper when, let’s say, someone makes a meme comparing them to toddlers, will be more considerate in their response, as it is tied to their identity | 3,386 |
A major communal demonstration will be held outside the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party tomorrow amid escalating anger over Labour anti-Senitism and the specific response of Jeremy Corbyn.
The Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council have joined forces to call for community members “and all those who oppose anti-Semitism” to join the ‘enough is enough’ protest in Parliament Square tomorrow afternoon at 5.30.
Leaders will deliver what is expected to be an uncompromising letter to the PLP chair John Cryer for the meeting due to take place at 6pm.
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MPs have called on Corbyn to attend the meeting to explain his questioning the removal of a mural featuring classic anti-Semitic images in Tower Hamlets in 2012. However sources have indicated he will not attend, despite one backbencher suggesting he could have been facing disciplinary action in other circumstances.
MP Luciana Berger on Friday highlighted a Historic Facebook post in which Corbyn responded to the imminent destruction of the mural, saying: “Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller (sic) destroyed Diego Viera’s mural because it includes a picture of Lenin.”
Corbyn – who had not provided any explanation when the issue was raised two years ago – acknowledged he should have looked more closely at the image before posting on Facebook.
He said: “In 2012 I made a general comment about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech. My comment referred to the destruction of the mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera on the Rockefeller Center.
“That is in no way comparable with the mural in the original post. I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and anti-Semitic. I wholeheartedly support its removal.
“I am opposed to the production of anti-Semitic material of any kind, and the defence of free speech cannot be used as a justification for the promotion of anti-Semitism in any form. That is a view I’ve always held.”
The statement from Mr Corbyn came after a backlash against his initial response, issued through a spokesman.
“In 2012, Jeremy was responding to concerns about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech,” the spokesman said. “However, the mural was offensive, used anti-Semitic imagery, which has no place in our society, and it is right that it was removed.” | 3,387 |
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Jinyan Xiong, Chao Han, Zhen Li, Shixue Dou. Effects of nanostructure on clean energy: big solutions gained from small features. Science Bulletin 2015, 60 (24), 2083-2090. 60 (24), 2083-2090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-015-0972-z
Tian Zhang. More efficient together. Science 2015, 350 (6262), 738-739. 350 (6262), 738-739. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad6452
Eva M. Nichols, Joseph J. Gallagher, Chong Liu, Yude Su, Joaquin Resasco, Yi Yu, Yujie Sun, Peidong Yang, Michelle C. Y. Chang, Christopher J. Chang. Hybrid bioinorganic approach to solar-to-chemical conversion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2015, 112 (37), 11461-11466. 112 (37), 11461-11466. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508075112 | 3,388 |
TORONTO -- The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with Brett Cecil by signing the left-hander to a one-year, $2.475 million contract on Thursday afternoon.
Cecil had another strong season out of the bullpen for Toronto in 2014. He went 2-3 with five saves while posting a 2.70 ERA in 66 appearances.
The Blue Jays haven't gone through the salary arbitration process since 1997, and they'll look to keep that streak intact. The club has two remaining players eligible for arbitration this offseason: third baseman Josh Donaldson and infielder Danny Valencia.
Players and teams have until Friday to submit their salary requests. Negotiations are permitted to continue after that, but the Blue Jays have a club policy of not doing one-year contracts once the arbitration figures are exchanged.
The only time the organization would make an exception is on a deal that involves multiple years of control. Casey Janssen, Jason Frasor and Jose Bautista are relatively recent examples of players who appeared headed for arbitration until multiyear deals were worked out.
If the two sides are unable to agree on a new deal, an independent arbitrator is brought in to settle the dispute. Both parties would make their case at some point between Feb. 2-20, and the arbitrator then decides which of the salary figures is appropriate for the 2015 season.
Donaldson is the most prominent player on Toronto's list. He's eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career and could earn upwards of $4.5 million, which would be a rather substantial increase on the approximately $500,000 he made last year.
The 29-year-old was acquired by the Blue Jays in November after another impressive season with the A's. Donaldson finished the year with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs for Oakland, while finishing in the top 10 in the American League MVP Award voting for the second consecutive campaign. Toronto could eventually look to lock him up to a long-term extension, but with four years of control remaining, that doesn't appear to be a current priority.
According to MLBTradeRumors, Estrada is projected to earn $4.7 million through arbitration. Saunders projects at $2.9 million and Valencia should be in the range of $1.7 million.
The Blue Jays haven't gone through an arbitration hearing since right-hander Bill Risley had one in 1997. There have been some close calls, though, as Bautista was minutes away from a hearing starting in 2011, but the meeting was canceled after both sides agreed to a five-year deal. | 3,389 |
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, GOC-In-C Northern Command, in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur.
The top officer of the Indian Army's Northern Command on Monday said that the first surgical strike was carried out by India in September 2016, in the latest comment on a protracted political battle between the BJP-led government at the centre and the opposition over authorising targeted counterattacks across the Line of Control.
Referring to a recent reply by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to a Right to Information (RTI) query, Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh said that the first surgical strike by the armed forces took place in September 2016, to avenge the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri, in which 19 soldiers were killed.
"A few days ago, DGMO said in a reply to an RTI that the first surgical strike happened in September 2016. I don't want to go into what political parties say, they will be given an answer by the government. What I have told you is a statement of fact," Lt General Singh said at a news conference, according to news agency ANI.
Lt Gen Singh's response was to a question about Congress's claims of conducting six surgical strikes during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule in a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP's statement of being the first government to clear such a military action.
Congress leader Rajiv Shukla had also said that two surgical strikes were carried out when BJP's stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister - one in January, 2000 and another in September, 2003.
Lashing out at the claims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the Congress at an election rally on May 3, saying the party that questioned the surgical strikes is now saying "me too, me too." PM Modi also said bitingly that "it is no video game" and accused the Congress of carrying out surgical strikes only on paper.
However, a day later, the commander who oversaw the 2016 surgical strikes and was tasked by the Congress to draft its national security manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, backed the party saying strikes did take place before 2016. Lieutenant General (Retd) DS Hooda, the former chief of the Northern Command, also said that the armed forces will not benefit from the politicisation of military operations.
The 2016 surgical strikes, the subject of a Bollywood blockbuster released earlier this year, refer to the Indian Army's raids on seven terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in retaliation to the Uri attack. | 3,390 |
Barbara Daly Baekeland
One mother who most certainly seduced her son was Barbara Daly Baekeland. Born in 1922, Baekeland was a model whose face graced the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. After failing to make it in Hollywood as an actress, she married Bakelite heir, Brooks Baekeland and they had one child, a son called Anthony.
The Baekeland’s enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle of wild parties and infidelity until they eventually took to traveling the world- Anthony in tow. The boy wanted for nothing materially but was largely ignored by his self-absorbed parents.
Barbara finally became very concerned about her son when she discovered he was gay. Anthony had apparently been experimenting with boys from around the age of fourteen. In 1967, when the family was living in Spain, 20-year-old Anthony became involved with a bisexual Australian man, Jake Cooper. Anthony bought his way into Cooper’s circle of drugs, drink, and the occult – and quickly fell in love.
Barbara was horrified. She tried to get a young French girl Anthony was friendly with to marry him- only for the girl, Sylvie, to run off with Brook. Barbara then decided to ply Anthony with prostitutes, but when this failed too, she hatched a further plan to ‘cure’ him. Just before they separated, she told her husband: “You know, I could get Tony over his homosexuality if I just took him to bed,”
In 1969, during a holiday in Majorca, she seduced her drunk and high son, later boasting about it to friends. Barbara’s dubious therapy didn’t work. Tony’s already uncertain mental health began to decline rapidly. He became paranoid and angry, and doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia. ‘I am f***ing my mother,’ he told a friend. ‘I don’t know what to do – I feel desperate.’ He began to threaten his mother, brandishing knives at her during arguments. His therapist warned Barbara that her son was going to kill her. She didn’t believe him.
In 1972, Anthony Baekeland stabbed his mother to death with a kitchen knife at their London house. He confessed to the murder and was confined to Broadmoor. In 1980 when Anthony was released, he returned home to America- only to attempt to kill Barbara’s mother, who he had initially blamed for his mother’s death. He later committed suicide in prison. | 3,391 |
I have noticed a tendency of aro & ace projects which fundraise and then donate to a more general lgbtq+ org, which makes me think perhaps people are not really aware that there are various ace and aro groups which also rely on donations.
I think donating to a-spec organizations has more tangible beneficial effect on our community so I wanted to provide a centralized list with information to facilitate this and encourage people to keep these places in mind when considering lgbtqa+ advocacy groups to donate to. There’s typically good reception when there’s an active push for fundraising, but they do also accept donations all the time outside of active donation pushes.
These are groups which have online resources and advocate for the ace & aro communities either internationally or nationally in the United States.
Aromantic-specific:
AUREA: (Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy) AUREA is an aromantic-website which has many aro resources and seeks to advocate for the aro community through furthering recognition and education internationally. Link for donations here. (more info under link, but donations mainly go towards website hosting currently). (@aromantic-aurea)
Arocalypse: Arocalypse is an aromantic forum. Forums are a great centralized space for community discussion which are publicly available. Link for donations here. (more info under link, but donations mainly go towards server costs).
General A-spec:
TAAAP: (The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project). TAAAP is based in the DC metro area and works to advocate for aces and aros on the national level in the United States. Link for donations here. (@theaceandaroadvocacyproject)
Aces & Aros: An online resource that provides information on asexual and aromantic resources, in-person groups, events, and news. Link for donations here. (@acesandaros-blog)
Asexual-specific:
Asexual Outreach: They are an umbrella organization for supporting the ace (and aro) advocacy movement nationally in the United States and provides. They are run by the same group as Aces & Aros (so can donate to either). Link for donations here. (@asexualoutreach)
AVEN: (The Asexual Visibility & Education Network). They were the first organization dedicated to asexuality and have forums for the asexual community. Link to website here, donations link here. (@avenpt) | 3,392 |
Microsoft thought that by debuting their Surface tablet last year that they'd invade Apple's iPad space just in time for Christmas sales and grab instant market share away from Apple to make headlines around the globe. In reality, they embarrassingly had to write off $900 million worth of inventory as the desire for a Windows based tablet was close to zero. In round two, Microsoft began cutting prices aggressively in the beginning of July of this year. And the results were surprising.
Chitika is trying to help Microsoft out by creating all kinds of super-micro statistics that sound meaningful, bless their little hearts. The one that made me laugh the most was that web traffic "for non-iPad web traffic" between the beginning and end of September rose a a dramatic 159%." Now that's a number to be proud of right? Well, no.
Chitika later clarifitied that "It should be noted, that despite these recent gains, users of Microsoft Surface RT still generate only 1% of all North American tablet Web traffic." In contrast, Chitika reported that Apple had 81% of web traffic usage in North America on October 22. A statistic that Apple's CEO Tim Cook gladly used in his keynote on October 23.
So let's see if we say it in slow mo if it'll make a difference: o-n-e p-e-r-c-e-n-t. Nnno, no matter how we sing that tune it's still sounds silly. Imagine, a mature company with 1% market share of traffic after a year on the market. Sheesh, why exist?
Yet the funny thing is that the ever optimistic Chitika went on to state with a straight face that "while Surface undoubtedly still has room for growth, the most recent usage increases are a promising sign for the long-term viability of the tablet, with usage shares among the top five non-iPad devices."
Now some of the good folks over at Chitika should really get on the Comedy Club circuit because these guys are hiliarious comedy writers. Let's repeat the punchline again shall we: Microsoft usage increases are promising …. ha, ha, ha.
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A few days ago Pope Francis, enroute to the Catholic World Youth Day in Brazil, warned of a global crisis of unemployed young people. He said we run the risk of losing an entire generation of young people to unemployment. The pope has probably had a look at the OECD 2013 youth employment projections where Spain and Greece are expected to reach about 28 percent (in both countries) in 2014.
(Courtesy of Freedigitialphotos.net)
The Economist also addressed this issue a couple months ago. It was reported that about 300 million 15-24 year olds around the world are without work. How did all this begin? What can we do about this crisis? Is it failure of individuals or system failure?
I think that a close look at the ways our schools and other institutions of learning operate and the ways employers (especially industry) seek out, recruit and retain workers may provide some clues. In this post, I will address the school system.
A fair portion of young people without work are those who may have left school early or had to leave prematurely. Others have in fact attended university or a college and still find themselves jobless.
A key problem may be the expectation that spending a few years at university or college equips one for the world of work. It turns out that a whole new mindset is now required to avoid the unemployment trap. Young people should be encouraged to reach an engagement level where they aim to do something with what they know other than simply passing knowledge tests and qualification certificates.
Tony Wagner, a Harvard professor has outlined the skills our schools and homes should seek to impart if young people are to innovate in an increasingly competitive world. They are: critical thinking and problem-solving, collaboration across networks, agility and adaptability, entrepreneurism, effective oral and written communication, how to access and analyze information and curiosity and imagination.
School experiences of young people should engage them in real work and prepare them to work, not to seek work. The management consultant Charles Handy has observed that the work of the future is
portfolio work
. A portfolio worker will not depend on an employer in the long term. They will only look for individuals who require their services and once they get a job done (probably short contract), they move on to the next task. We can already see the rise of freelance work with such sites as
oDesk
and
Elance
Finally it is time to reform our schools to reflect the new circumstances in which we live. We must prepare young people to perform in the real world and not simply remember facts here and there. | 3,394 |
Robert Mueller
House Democrats are reportedly in direct talks with Robert Mueller’s team about his testimony before Congress.
NBC News reported that House Dems have begun discussions directly with Mueller’s team. Previously, the Judiciary Committee had been in discussions with the Justice Department regarding Mueller’s hearing.
Attorney General Bill Barr said Wednesday during the Senate hearing that he does not object to Mueller testifying before Congress.
A source familiar says House Judiciary has begun discussions directly w/ Mueller’s team about coming to testify before the cmte but nothing has been finalized at this point + no date has been set. Previously the Cmte had been in discussions w/ DOJ regarding Mueller’s testimony — Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) May 2, 2019
TRENDING: OUTRAGEOUS! Ohio State University President Sends Ignorant Text Message to Students Following Breonna Taylor Decision -- And a Crazy-Ass Video!
Dems are eyeing a May 15 hearing, however nothing has been finalized.
The House Judiciary Committee is now in direct contact w/ Robert Mueller’s team about a potential hearing w/ special counsel, per a source familiar w/ conversations. Previously, they were dealing with DOJ. Dems want May 15 hearing, but nothing has been finalized. — Ben Siegel (@benyc) May 2, 2019
MSNBC reported on the discussions as well.
BREAKING: The House Judiciary Committee is now directly in talks with Mueller's team about potential testimony pic.twitter.com/MDHJSs8YvV — TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) May 2, 2019
The Democrats exploded this week after a letter Mueller sent to Attorney General Bill Barr on March 27th complaining about the media coverage of Barr’s “principal conclusions” was leaked to the Washington Post and New York Times.
Democrat Senators grilled Barr about this letter on Wednesday and used it to accuse Barr of perjuring himself.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday morning at a presser that Bill Barr committed a crime when he lied to Congress in his statements related to Mueller’s letter.
Barr also had a conversation with Mueller over the phone about the letter and Mueller made it clear that Barr did not inaccurately represent his final report — rather Mueller was upset about the media coverage.
Under questioning from Senator Richard “Da Nang Dick” Blumenthal, Barr revealed contemporaneous notes were taken during his call with Mueller, but like a boss, Barr refused to hand the memos over to the committee. | 3,395 |
Traditionally, people have wanted to throw out the bums in Congress, but just not their own. Their own representatives were the good guys, it was everyone else who was a bum.
Not this year.
People want Democrats to control Congress after this fall's elections, a shift from April, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll released Saturday. But the margin is thin and there's a flashing yellow light for incumbents of both parties: Only about one-third want their own lawmakers re-elected. The tenuous 45 percent to 40 percent preference for a Democratic Congress reverses the finding a month ago on the same question: 44 percent for Republicans and 41 percent for Democrats. The new readout came as the economy continued showing signs of improvement and the tumultuous battle over the health care law that President Barack Obama finally signed in March faded into the background.
So good news, bad news. Good news, Dems are improving their numbers. Bad news, 59-60 percent of incumbents (in both chambers) are Democrats.
Still, the trends are definitely trending back our way:
The only pollsters currently showing the GOP with the generic congressional ballot are Rasmussen (of course) and Fox. But the generic ballot is only half the question. The other is voter intensity, and on that front, we're still lagging. The good news is that the gap is closing.
Republican registered voters' enthusiasm about voting in this year's midterm elections has declined significantly in recent weeks. As a result, Republicans' advantage over Democrats on this measure has shrunk from 19 points in early April to 10 points in the latest weekly aggregate.
We saw the same thing in our own weekly Research 2000 poll:
After spending a couple of weeks spreading back apart, the "enthusiasm gap" between Democrats and Republicans narrowed noticeably this week. Last week, that gap was ten points (with 75% of Republicans indicating certainty or likelihood of voting, versus 65% of Democrats). This week, that gap was whittled down to seven points. Democrats basically held steady (64%), but the GOP gave back some of their recent gains in intensity, with 71% of Republicans indicating their strong propensity for voting.
In both cases, note that Democratic intensity hasn't increased, but Republican one has decreased. That's not a safe place to be, but regardless, the less motivated they are and remain, the better off we'll be come November.
There's nothing we can do about dominating the ranks of incumbents. We just gotta work toward making sure Republicans feel the brunt of that sentiment as harshly as Democrats do. | 3,396 |
Friendly reminder:
“I shouldn’t like to punish anyone, even if they’d done me wrong.” —George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (1860)
“A person can’t help their birth.” —William Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848)
“But to expose the former faults of any person, without knowing what their present feelings were, seemed unjustifiable.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
“Every Fool can do as they’re bid.” —Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation (1738)
“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” —King James Bible, Matthew 18:35 (transl. 1611)
“God send every one their heart’s desire!” —William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (~1600)
“Now this king did keepe a great house, that euerie body might come and take their meat freely.” —Sir Philip Sidney, the Arcadia (1580)
“If … a psalme scape any person, or a lesson, or els yt they omyt one verse or twayne…” —William Bonde, The Pylgrimage of Perfection (1526)
“And whoso fyndeth hym out of swich blame, / They wol come up and offre a Goddés name” —Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner’s Tale (~1380)
“þan hastely hiȝed eche wiȝt on hors & on fote, / huntyng wiȝt houndes alle heie wodes, / til þei neyȝþed so neiȝh to nymphe þe soþe [Then hastily hied each person on horse and on foot / hunting with hounds all the high woods / ‘til they came so near, to tell the truth]” —William and the Werwolf (transl. ~1350-1375)
“Bath ware made sun and mon, / Aiþer wit þer ouen light [Both were made sun and moon / Either with their own light]” —Cursor Mundi (~1325) | 3,397 |
the training programme that is currently going active, and also expanding it to do combined arms training I think would have a huge impact. I do think that providing certain types of defensive, like especially anti-tank systems, would be very effective in deterring, or at least disincentivizing Russian attacks across the line of contact. and then there's other programs. I think supporting the Ukrainian navy, providing - perhaps - some limited mobile air defense systems - those could all be useful in deterring further Russian aggression.
You worked for Vice President Biden and there was always strong pressure from him in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. Can you elaborate more on that? Why and to what extent was the Vice President involved in that? What was his role?
Vice President Biden was very strong in his advocacy for pushing anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine. He met many times with anti-corruption advocates and anti-corruption NGOs. He really raised this issue almost every single he spoke with either President Poroshenko or Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, or later with Prime Minister Groysman. This was the core of his message to the Ukrainian authorities: we will help you to confront Russian aggression in the Donbas but you have to take this issue of corruption seriously because this is as great a threat to your sovereignty as anything else. And so he really was very passionate about the issue and I think rightfully so. I think this is one of the existential issues for Ukraine because it's not just about the economy and economic growth, it's about national security and `it's fundamentally about the sovereignty because right now, Russia sees corruption as the best opportunity to destabilize Ukraine and to subvert its sovereignty. So unless the government gets serious about pushing their reforms forward, Russia will have an easy way to undermine Ukraine and that would be a tragedy.
What are the major concerns right now?
I think the major concerns are having a credible set of institutions that can prosecute corruption. It is absolutely a travesty that this many years after the Revolution of Dignity that there are no high-level prosecutions of political actors for corruption. I think having the new institutions in place is great - having the NABU (the National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and the Office for the Prevention of Corruption. That is a good step forward, but until anti-corruption courts are in place, until we start to see actual prosecutions of officials for corruption, then what are we talking about? Then this is all a charade, then there's just simply institutions that are not actually carrying out what it is that they're supposed to be doing.
/By Nataliya Gumenyuk | 3,398 |
"I always read comic books as a kid, I always remember Eddie Brock, who was Venom in the Spider-Man comics. He was kind of a red head. I'd love to play the role of Venom and Eddie Brock. Venom was one of my favorite characters. It would be a dream come true for me to star in the next Spider-Man film as Venom."
With the folks at Sony and writer/director/producer Alex Kurtzman currently prepping a Venom movie as part of the expanding Amazing Spider-Man universe, it's only a matter of time before we start hearing casting rumors about who is being considered to star. It's not entirely clear when this will happen, and at this stage we don't even know necessarily which version of the goopy alien symboite we will see - but that's not stopping one of the WWE's wrestlers from throwing his hat in the ring as a candidate for the part.In an interview with Irish Central, Stephen Farrelly - better known to wrestling fans as the redheaded Sheamus - has revealed not only that he has some ambitious plans to get into acting, but also that he already knows exactly what comic book character he would like to play. Discussing his future career goals, which would include working alongside actors like Michael Fassbender, Robert Downey Jr. and Hugh Jackman, the wrestler noted that he has long been a fan of the Venom character in Marvel Comics and would cherish the opportunity to portray it on the big screen. Said Farrelly,Recent moves in the comic book world haven't exactly dismissed this idea as a complete impossibility. In just the last few months we've seen wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista absolutely kill it playing Drax The Destroyer in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - who made the aforementioned transition years ago, is now signed on to play Black Adam in DC Comics' Shazam movie. That being said, it's a bit hard to imagine that Sony would be willing to give the starring role in a huge blockbuster like Venom to a guy who doesn't have a ton of professional acting experience. But who knows? Maybe if he doesn't play Eddie Brock there could be an opportunity somewhere down the line for him to be the big screen version of Mac Gargan. You never know.On top of all that, there's the possibility that Venom might not even happen at all. Unlike Marvel Studios or Warner Bros./DC, Sony has not laid out a fully detailed plan for their future comic book movies, and rumors have suggested that the project may be in very real trouble.(Photo by: Ethan Miller/USA Network) | 3,399 |
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