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Steve Young would be reluctant to sign Antonio Brown due to his lack of accountability for the situation he is in. (1:43)
Young: Brown needs to take responsibility for his actions (1:43)
Barring a significant turn of events, Antonio Brown is not expected to play again this season, league sources told ESPN.
Brown is continuing to push for his return to the NFL, and he is scheduled to meet with the league Thursday to address the sexual assault allegations he faces, but obstacles await the free-agent wide receiver at every step.
If Brown were to get an offer from any of the three teams that have been in contact with him, the NFL would be prepared to place him on the commissioner's exempt list, according to sources.
If Brown is placed on the commissioner's exempt list, the team that signed him would have to pay him until the league's investigation is resolved, which might not happen before the season ends.
Additionally, Brown has not turned over all of the evidence the NFL has requested to gain a broader understanding of his case, according to a source.
Brown's agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN that he is "confident Antonio will play again this season."
"I believe the NFL should clear him after they interview him this week, and I expect he will be signed shortly after that," Rosenhaus told ESPN.
There are teams around the league that believe that after the NFL completes its investigation, additional discipline could await Brown, further affecting his chances of playing again this season. That potential discipline could stretch well into next season.
Brown tweeted Thursday that he is "determined" to return to the NFL as soon as possible, backtracking from an earlier tweet in which he said he would "never" play in the NFL again.
Brown, 31, is being investigated by the NFL under its personal conduct policy following a lawsuit filed by his former trainer, Britney Taylor, that alleges she was sexually assaulted by Brown on multiple occasions. Brown also was accused of sexual misconduct at his home by an artist who was working there in 2017.
Brown has officially been served lawsuit papers from Taylor, sources told ESPN, and has hired attorney Camille Blanton to handle his case.
Brown has played in only one game this season -- Week 2 against the Dolphins. He was released by the Raiders before the season and by the Patriots before Week 3, after it was made known that he sent text messages to the artist accusing him of misconduct.
Brown has filed eight grievances against the Raiders and Patriots, a source told ESPN's Dan Graziano. He is seeking $39.775 million in lost salary, bonuses and guaranteed money. | 5,000 |
A massive, 1-mile-long (1.6 kilometers) chunk of ice has broken off Antarctica's fast-changing Pine Island Glacier, and NASA satellites captured the dramatic event as the icy surface cracked and ripped apart.
The Pine Island Glacier is one of the largest glaciers within the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, accounting for about 20 percent of the ice sheet's total ice flow to the ocean, according to NASA scientists. The immense glacier is also one of the least stable, and in recent years, the ice sheet has been quickly retreating and losing massive amounts of ice. Previously, icebergs the size of cities have broken off of the Pine Island Glacier. [Photo Gallery: Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier Cracks]
The glacier's last major iceberg break — an event known as calving — was in July 2015, when an iceberg measuring almost 225 square miles (580 square kilometers) separated from Pine Island Glacier.
The Earth-watching Landsat 8 satellite captured images of the latest iceberg event between Jan. 25 and 29, seeing the progression from the initial crack to the iceberg floating into the bay. Though this latest iceberg is about 10 times smaller than the 2015 event, measuring between 0.6 and 1.2 miles (1 to 2 km), NASA scientists said the recent break shows how fragile the ice shelf is.
"I think this event is the calving equivalent of an 'aftershock' following the much bigger event," Ian Howat, a glaciologist at The Ohio State University, said in a statement. "Apparently, there are weaknesses in the ice shelf — just inland of the rift that caused the 2015 calving — that are resulting in these smaller breaks."
More icebergs may break off of the Pine Island Glacier in the near future. NASA has previously photographed small rifts developing about 6 miles (10 km) from the ice front, and one such rift was observed on Nov. 4, 2016, during one of the agency's Operation IceBridge flights to monitor the region.
Climate change and the warming ocean have been linked to the the retreat and melt of the world's ice. According to Howat, such "rapid fire" calving is generally unusual for the glacier, but West Antarctic glaciers are eroding due to the flow of warm ocean water beneath them. A recent study found that the warming ocean was melting an ice crevasse of the Pine Island Glacier at the bedrock level, melting the glacier from its center.
These warmer ocean waters are causing the Antarctic ice shelf to break from the inside out. As such, scientists expect further calving along the glacier and have warned that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could collapse within the next 100 years.
Original article on Live Science. | 5,001 |
Green Party MLA Sonia Furstenau is being sued for defamation for comments she allegedly made during a rally against a contaminated soil dump.
article continues below
Michael Kelly and Martin Block, the president and vice-president of Cobble Hill Holdings, filed the suit in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday. Cobble Hill Holdings is the owner of a Shawnigan Lake quarry used as a landfill for contaminated soil.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The suit alleges that Furstenau “falsely and maliciously spoke” about Kelly and Block during a rally on the legislature lawns in front of hundreds, on or around March 15, 2015.
The rally took place before Furstenau was elected to the B.C. legislative assembly, while she was a director of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
The suit claims the speech seriously injured the businessmen’s character, credit and reputation, and caused them damages.
It alleges that Furstenau did not request a meeting with the men before making the speech and that she made the speech for political gain.
Kelly and Block are seeking general damages, special damages, punitive damages, aggravated damages, removal of the speech from Furstenau’s website, a public apology and special costs.
Furstenau has 21 days to respond to the civil claim. Her office said Friday afternoon that she had not received notice of the claim. She declined to comment, saying the matter is before the courts.
In a text message Friday, Kelly said he and Block have experienced damages as a result of Furstenau’s comments.
Furstenau, “over the past several years, has made statements regarding myself, my partner and our companies, that we feel are damaging to us as businessmen, and we look forward to correcting the records in the courts,” Kelly said.
Cobble Hill Holdings filed a separate suit in August against the province and former environment minister Mary Polak, the Liberal MLA for Langley.
In February, while environment minister, Polak cancelled the permit that allowed Cobble Hill Holdings to receive and store soil at its former rock quarry, upstream of Shawnigan Lake. Polak said the company failed to meet a government deadline for an irrevocable letter of credit that would serve as a financial security.
In that suit, Cobble Hill Holdings said the government had not specified any form or amount for that credit and had not approved the plans that would have been the basis of the financial guarantee.
As of Friday afternoon, no statement of defence had been filed.
[email protected] | 5,002 |
Jarrod Fairclough – Something’s seemed off this year. I couldn’t tell if it was the feeling of anxiety that came with a new job, or if it was weird feelings about turning 30. Maybe it wasn’t related to me at all, and instead the world felt off its axis just a little. Could it be the impending doom of climate change? Could it be the already overwhelming news cycle getting in to the 2020 American Election? Was it a bad sandwich I ate?
Then it hit me. I realised what’s been wrong recently.
Where the hell are The Muppets?
Seriously, think about it. Besides the stuff on social media, when’s the last time you saw Kermit, or Piggy, or Fozzie, or Gonzo, or any of those guys? Their YouTube page hasn’t been touched for 6 months, since they released the music video for ‘Can You Picture That?’. There’s been no new Muppet Thought of the Week, no appearances all year, nothing.
So, where are they?
It’s entirely possible that Sesame Street has stolen their thunder in 2019. With the 50th anniversary in full swing, Matt Vogel, Peter Linz, David Rudman and Eric Jacobson are all busy with their characters, whether it be filming special videos, or the upcoming road trip across America. So perhaps they don’t have the time to pick up their froggy and piggy pals, but couldn’t Bill Barretta and Dave Goelz have a go at something while we wait?
It’s also possible that Disney just aren’t 100% sure what to do with the characters at the moment. I’m told by a source that the Josh Gad series isn’t confirmed, and the last big thing The Muppets did was the live show at the O2 in London last year. Could Disney want to do more of that? Or are they still trying to figure out what’s next?
Personally, I’d argue it’s a mix of the two theories. It’s possible Disney have some ideas they can’t put forward until the performers are done on the Street, and when Sesame’s anniversary celebrations wrap up perhaps we’ll get some sort of idea of what’s next. Thankfully the tremendous Muppet Babies can hold us over until then. But still, it’d be nice to see our old friends in the felt, just to check in and assure us they’re still around. | 5,003 |
ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 16: Tarik Black #7 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a touchdown catch during the third quarter of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan defeated Michigan State 40-10. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
The Miami Hurricanes offense could be bolstered by a graduate transfer wide receiver from the state of Michigan for the second straight offseason. Former Michigan wide receiver Tarik Black who has two seasons of eligibility remaining has been contacted by Miami.
The losses of leading receiver K.J. Osborn and talented but mercurial junior Jeff Thomas to the NFL Draft a year early leaves the Miami Hurricanes wide receiver corps without a lot of experience. Rising senior Mike Harley provides a steady presence and maturity the Hurricanes need in their WR room.
Behind Harley, the Miami Hurricanes WRs need to grow up quickly. According to a report by Andrew Ivins of Inside the U, a source told him that the Miami Hurricanes football program have initiated talks with former Michigan four-star WR Tarik Black. Black retweeted the 2020 Miami football schedule last week.
The discussions seem to extend beyond Black as Ivins mentioned that Miami is open to adding a veteran at WR. The initial discussions with Black seem to be beyond him and more that the Hurricanes are interested in pursuing a WR with experience. Osborn led Miami in receptions, receiving yards and TDs in 2019.
Black could provide the Hurricanes with the same type of experience in 2020. Black and Osborn both have ties to the state of Michigan. Black who is originally from Hamden, Connecticut spent the last three seasons in the Michigan football program. Black started at Michigan as a true freshman in 2017.
Black is on pace to graduate in May. He would have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Osborn who is a Michigan native came to Miami as a graduate transfer from Buffalo in 2019. Black had 40 receptions for 507 yards and two TDs in his career with the Wolverines. Black would provide Miami good size at 6’3, 215 pounds.
Black signed with Michigan as a four-star WR from Chesire, CT Academy in 2017. He was the 116th player overall, 15th best wide receiver in 2017 and the top player in Connecticut in his class.
In addition to Harley, Miami also returns rising juniors Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope, rising redshirt freshman Jeremiah Payton and freshmen wide receivers Michael Redding III, Keshawn Washington, Dazalin Worsham and Xavier Restrepo. With the makeup of the young WRs on the roster adding a veteran would help D’Eriq King. | 5,004 |
Is Progressive Enhancement Over? Hi everyone,
Recently, Nolan Lawson wrote a post theorizing that perhaps the time for progressive enhancement was over. He focused mostly on whether or not the "no JavaScript" experience is still meaningful in today's world and argued that network connectivity is the biggest problem for most users (mobile and wifi users). If that is the case, he continued, then we should be pushing as much as we can to the browser and JavaScript so we can deliver a decent user experience where we aren't sure if we'll ever have a connection back to the server. A fair argument given recent history.
In response, longtime progressive enhancement proponent Aaron Gustafson wrote a response, in which he explained why he doesn't see progressive enhancement as diametrically opposed to approaches like offline-first. His primary point is that while service workers help with repeat visits, the first visit isn't well served, especially if the service worker script fails to load or execute. He echoes the old saying about progressive enhancement that it's not about the technology, it's about the user experience.
Those who have followed me for a while will know that I'm also a big proponent of progressive enhancement. It's been my go-to approach for over a decade and I've seen it work to improve existing web applications, build a solid foundation from scratch for new web applications, and help solve a bunch of problems when single-page, JavaScript-only apps started to include progressive enhancement concepts. Over the years, I've had to debate whether this is the correct approach or not several times. At the end of the debate, I'm usually left saying a couple of things.
First, that progressive enhancement isn't about having a JavaScript vs. JavaScript-disabled experience, it's about providing the best possible user experience throughout the entire lifecycle of the web application. Yes, native apps sometimes show up blank because they fail to load data from the server, but that doesn't mean it's a good user experience or that we should say it's acceptable for web applications. If we can do better, why wouldn't we?
Second, progressive enhancement isn't a strict prescription, it's a way of thinking about the software you're building. It doesn't say "no JavaScript" or "yes HTML," specifically. Instead, it encourages you to think more deeply about the problem you're trying to solve, and guides you towards solutions that work for the maximum number of users.
These two points are why I believe progressive enhancement is as relevant today as it has ever been. The only difference now is that we have more options for improving the user experience than ever before.
Be well.
-N | 5,005 |
Vans Warped Tour has cancelled its New Orleans area stop, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday, June 28 at The Shrine on Airline in Metairie.
A statement from Vans Warped Tour reads:
1) USE THE TICKET AT ANY OTHER VANS WARPED TOUR SHOW:
We welcome y’all at any other 2017 Vans Warped Tour show! You just need to bring your hard ticket to the yellow Guest List tent out by the main entrance gates. There you can exchange your 6.28 Metairie, LA show ticket for a ticket to that show. 2) REFUND – PURCHASED ONLINE VIA TICKETFLY:
Reach out to [email protected] to receive your refund. We recommend sending your order number and/or original confirmation email when you reach out. 3) REFUND – PURCHASED AT A JOURNEYS STORE:
Mail your physical ticket to below address to be directly issued a refund:
CCRL – Vans Warped tour
5200 West Century Blvd
Suite 810
Los Angeles, CA 90045 **DO NOT go to the Journeys store for a refund, they will NOT be able to process it for you.
Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman explained the cancellation in a video that was posted to festival’s Facebook page, though he didn’t offer many details beyond what was mentioned in the written statement.
Vans Warped Tour’s Metairie stop was slated to feature a variety of alternative, punk and metal acts like Hawthorne Heights, GWAR, American Authors, CKY, Anti-Flag, Hatebreed, The Adolescents, Boston Manor, The Acacia Strain and much more. It would have marked the second time that the festival has swung through the New Orleans area since 2001 (last year’s event at Mardi Gras World was the first). Fans that were planning on attending the event can check out the list of other stops via the Vans Warped Tour site.
Today’s news comes two days after the Outlaw Music Festival—another one day event that was scheduled to take place at The Shrine on Airline—announced the cancellation of its New Orleans area stop. That touring festival was to bring Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, The Avett Brothers and more to the Metairie baseball stadium. There’s no word on whether or not the two cancellations are related, but the Outlaw Music Festival did note that its decision was “due to a tour scheduling conflict.” | 5,006 |
In many ways, Edmonton's Queen Elizabeth II Planetarium represents Canada's neglect of Modernist buildings. Shuttered since 1983, the flying saucer-shaped structure is a sad reflection of our disregard for sites that haven't quite reached the undefined seniority or authenticity that the majority of protected buildings possess. "It's old, but not old enough," seems to be the prevailing sentiment when it comes to the notion of preserving most Modernist structures.
The planetarium emits a luminous glow in this September 1961 photo, image via Provincial Archives of Alberta
But there is hope for the building — and potentially other mid-century gems — after all. First, a history lesson. Canada's first public planetarium was designed by Walter Tefler and R. F. Duke for a prominent spot in Coronation Park. It was built to commemorate the July 21, 1959, visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, during which a tree was planted at the site. Construction began shortly thereafter, and the state-of-the-art complex officially opened to the public on September 22, 1960. Reaching a peak of 33,500 visitors in 1967, the planetarium became a showpiece for the park and a popular educational and entertainment resource in Edmonton.
A 1961 brochure advertises the facility's programming, image via Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
The opening of the nearby Edmonton Space and Science Centre — today the TELUS World of Science — sounded the death knell for the facility. Operations ceased on December 31, 1983, and the building has fallen into disrepair in the more than 30 years since. Fortunately, the City's interest in the space has been renewed, and a restoration project that recognizes its once-proud role as a community gathering place is currently underway. The project aims to enhance the function of the interior while protecting the historical and architectural importance of the exterior. In addition to the pursuance of long-deserved Municipal Heritage Resource designation, the initiative will install washrooms for park users and host public programming and events through TELUS World of Science's leasing of the space.
The building's current state, image by Flickr user Kurt Bauschardt via Creative Commons
Architecture | Tkalcic Bengert has been appointed the challenging task of restoring the building, whose key features include a concrete entrance canopy, a silver-painted (previously orange) dome, floor-to-ceiling glass, and gold anodized aluminum framing. With a construction start date tentatively set for early 2017, the building should be ready for a new generation of guests in 2018.
Have an idea for a future Throwback Thursday? Let us know by leaving a comment below! | 5,007 |
Trucks hauling cargo from Canada through the United States to Mexico and back navigate border crossings without the need for passports, visas or even a driver to steer them.
It's an idea that's not too far-fetched, says a group that met in North Dakota last week.
Marlo Anderson with the Central North American Trade Corridor Association says members are working to turn the idea into reality.
The plan is for an autonomous vehicle corridor along Route 83, which runs north-south through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. The road then continues into Manitoba.
A study into the feasibility of the project is being planned and Anderson says the group wants to travel to communities along the corridor to gain support.
"One of the challenges we have here in North Dakota is that we have a lot of energy production going on right now, but not enough pipelines to carry the oil from North Dakota to its destination point," he said.
That means other commodities, such as grain, need to fight for space on trains. A separate corridor could relieve that pressure, he said.
"We're hopeful that, working with the Canadian government, the Mexican government, the United States, we can create some kind of automated way... (to) streamline that process of border crossings."
The technology, though experimental, already exists in driverless vehicles that use tools such as GPS to navigate roads, Anderson said.
More efficient
Unmanned vehicles are more efficient, he suggested.
"They don't need to worry about a driver having too many hours in a day or in a week. Those types of things go by the wayside because the vehicle doesn't care."
Anderson said he understands why the idea is unnerving for some, but noted that unmanned vehicles have the potential to remove human error from driving.
"What we have to do is to educate people."
One of the concerns Anderson hears most often is that a vehicle's system could be hacked and taken over. "There have to be security measures in place so that doesn't happen."
Roy Ludwig, mayor of Estevan in southeastern Saskatchewan near the border, attended the association's summit and says he believes in the project.
"You have to flesh it out and take care of all the intricacies, but it's definitely worthwhile looking into it," he said. "I would support the new technologies and see where they go."
Ludwig added that such a corridor could foster trade with the United States.
"I think you'll see more and more people get interested as this gains momentum.
"It's not that far away." | 5,008 |
An adult man, an adult woman, a teenage girl and a very young boy are dead in what Mapleton police say may be a murder-suicide.
The individuals were identified Friday afternoon by the Mapleton Police Department as Timothy Griffith, 45; Jessica Griffith, 42; Samantha Badel, 16; and Alexendre Griffith, 5.
Badel is the daughter of Jessica Griffith, and the stepdaughter of Timothy Griffith. She was a sophomore at Maple Mountain High School. Alexendre is the biological son of both Jessica Griffith and Timothy Griffith, according to a Facebook post from Mapleton Police Chief John Jackson on Friday afternoon.
Jackson said in the post that the family had moved to Mapleton from Switzerland around July of this year when Timothy Griffith gained employment in the area.
Jackson said they received a call from a neighbor asking them to do a welfare check on Thursday because they had not seen vehicles move, a usually loud dog bark or lights turned on in a house near them for multiple days.
Police also had received a call from the employer of one of the individuals who said they hadn’t seen them in a few days.
When they arrived at the home, no one answered the door and officers began making an effort to contact family or friends of those that lived in the house, Jackson said.
Officers were able to remove a window and enter the home. Once inside the house, they found the four individuals and a large dog dead with gunshot wounds, Jackson said.
Jackson said the family had no prior interaction with the Mapleton Police Department.
The bodies of the family are currently at the Utah Office of the Medical Examiners, according to Jackson’s Facebook post.
“Once the examinations are complete we will be able to shed more light on what is believed to have transpired in the home,” Jackson said in the post. “We don’t anticipate that those examinations will be completed today.”
The Police Department, which has eight full-time officers, is receiving assistance from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office on the investigation, which went on through Thursday night and continued Friday morning, Jackson said.
”It is a big deal for our community and it’s going to rock our community,” he said. “It’s going to tear some people up because these people here care about each other, so this will hit them hard. But they will come together, they always do.”
Lana Hiskey, spokeswoman for the Nebo School District, said they will have grief counselors available at Maple Mountain for those who need assistance during this difficult time. | 5,009 |
It does no damage when rotating around Mega Man and 2% damage when thrown, though oftentimes it will combo into itself, hitting twice for 4%. It doesn’t travel very far when thrown, and loses the reflect quality as soon as it leaves Mega Man's hand. It's worth nothing that Skull Barrier does not *consistently* reflect certain particularly powerful projectiles, such as Samus’s and Lucario’s fully charged (and non-staled) Neutral Bs, so be sure to use your normal shield if you see one of those coming.Skull Barrier can be useful against characters who rely heavily on projectiles, obviously. Just because a character has a projectile doesn't mean Skull Barrier is the right choice, however. Fox's and Mario's projectiles, while annoying, aren't really worth reflecting, for example. Skull Barrier's reflect-boxes serve a fundamentally different purpose than Leaf Shield, and without the hitboxes you lose the ability to do a lot of the things I described above, like Leafstooling, and that trade-off can be very real.Plant Barrier is similar to Leaf Shield, but with slight differences that can be hard to see unless you're looking carefully. For reference, here are the known differences between the two moves. Green = better, red = worse, blue = equal, purple = different but debateable.LEAF SHIELD:PLANT BARRIER:In short, Plant Barrier is stronger, slower, has fewer active frames, won't disappear on hit, has more range when rotating and less when thrown, and does more knockback when rotating (and cannot Leaf Lock) and less knockback when thrown.At the end of the day, this one comes down to personal preference. In general, I find Leaf Shield the better tool in neutral and disadvantage, which Plant Barrier seems the better tool in advantage. I usually go with Leaf Shield myself, as to me its speed and knockback specs make it just a little bit more versatile. Plant Barrier is definitely good, though, particularly if you find yourself using your Shields/Barriers primarily for ledge guarding and pressuring landings.I hope you found this guide useful. If you think there are any tricks, techniques, or applications I missed here, please reply below and I’ll try to integrate them into the guide. Also, if there are any people I failed to credit with discovering a technique—anything not credited here is something I discovered myself, though someone else may have beat me to it—let me know and I’ll fix that.And now, just for fun, here's a video of me 2 stocking a Ness in For Glory by abusing some of these Leaf Shield tricks:Happy Leaf Shielding! | 5,010 |
"A grocery store, you might go to two or three times a week," Stranzl said in an interview. "A department store you might go to once a month... once a quarter or something."
The company declined to provide further details. But executive chairman Brandon G. Stranzl said he is confident the agreement will bring customers to Sears more frequently.
The Toronto-based retailer said it has signed a partnership with two specialty supermarket operators to run food markets at some of its revamped locations.
TORONTO — Sears Canada, which has been struggling with store closures and sagging sales, said Friday it will venture into the grocery business in an effort to lure shoppers.
A Sears store in downtown Vancouver. (Photo: Andy Clark/Reuters)
The announcement came as Sears Canada reported its third-quarter loss more than doubled from the same time last year.
"We're not, obviously, happy with where the business is financially," Stranzl said.
Sears Canada's loss rose to $120.0 million from $53.2 million during the same period last year as revenue declined. That amounted to $1.18 per share, compared with 52 cents per share a year ago.
Quarterly revenue was $625.2 million, down 21.1 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2015, when the company had $792.1 million in revenue.
"We're not, obviously, happy with where the business is financially."
Same-store sales at Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) — those at locations open during the third quarters of 2015 and 2016 — totalled $507.5 million. That's down from $616.8 million last year when the company had more stores.
Once a mainstay of the Canadian shopping experience, Sears Canada has seen its footprint erode over time.
It operates 211 corporate and hometown stores in the country, down from 306 in the same quarter last year. Most of the closures were franchisee-owned stores in rural areas, said Stranzl.
More than 60 years in Canada
The company's financial situation won't turn around "overnight," he added.
Sears has roots in Canada that date back more than 60 years. It has been attempting to stage a comeback by redesigning its stores, setting aside less square footage for its current merchandise and leaving more space to bring in new partnerships such as the ones it announced Friday.
Other companies such as Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart have also entered the grocery business in recent years. But Stranzl said he doesn't see the likes of Walmart as a competitor.
Also on HuffPost | 5,011 |
Former Baylor football player Logan Parker Compton, 18, was arrested Friday on a warrant charging manslaughter stemming from a fatal traffic crash in June in Falls County.
Falls County deputies arrested Compton and took him to the Falls County Jail after the county's grand jury returned a sealed indictment on Monday, Sheriff Ricky Scaman said.
The indictment was unsealed on Friday.
On June 16 Compton was driving north on State Highway 6 during a heavy rain, when he lost control of his Dodge pickup, which slid off the roadway, into the grassy median before crashing into a southbound car in which Hermaleen Haney, 30, and Jeremiah Haney, 37, were riding, the Department of Public Safety said in a crash report.
Hermaleen Haney, the driver, died at the scene.
Jeremiah Haney and Compton were injured and were taken to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center in Waco.
The DPS crash report says that a witness who was traveling at 75 mph told the trooper who responded to the accident that Compton’s truck passed him.
Compton, a tight end from Cypress, played at Tomball High School and was a top recruit, whose chose Baylor over Houston and Maryland and enrolled at Baylor in January to study engineering.
He was taken off the team’s roster after Baylor defeated the University of Texas San Antonio on Sept. 7.
According to Baylor he left the university in August as a result of the crash.
“We can confirm that Logan Compton withdrew from school as a result of the tragic accident and never attended fall semester classes. We will have no further comment,” the university said in a statement.
The university did not elaborate as to why Compton's name was still listed on the roster after he withdrew.
The fatal crash happened on the same stretch of Highway 6 south of Riesel as an accident on Oct. 11 during a rainstorm in which a Mazda sedan hydroplaned and struck Riesel police Chief Danny Krumnow and Falls County Deputy Matt Jones at the scene of an earlier traffic mishap.
Jones died at the scene.
Krumnow suffered a lacerated spleen, a broken back, a dislocated knee, a collapsed lung and nine broken ribs.
He was released from the hospital to a rehabilitation center earlier this week.
The Texas Department of Transportation told KWTX that an engineering study of that stretch of Highway 6 was planned.
Statement from Baylor:
"We can confirm that Logan Compton withdrew from school as a result of the tragic accident and never attended fall semester classes. We will have no further comment." | 5,012 |
Letter to the Editor
Last Sunday, Nov. 30, I attended my first Packer game at Lambeau Field. I met in Milwaukee with good friends (most diehard Packer fans with a few Pats people thrown in to spice it up) to attend this most anticipated game against the New England Patriots. I should also tell you I am a life long Dallas Cowboy fan.
Well, after taking a fun party bus to Green Bay, eating my weight in cheese curds, and tailgating in the frigid Wisconsin weather, it was time to make the journey to our seats in Lambeau. All layered up with woolens, a much beloved borrowed Aaron Rodgers jersey and snow pants, I made it to the historic and celebrated stadium.
What makes my journey a little more interesting and complicated than others, is the fact that I walk with crutches, war wounds from surviving childhood cancer. So stadiums can be a challenge, yet I am a determined sports fan and never let logistics keep me away from being one with the crowd.
Lambeau Field's stairs, being a bit older, are fairly steep. As I turned the corner to make my journey up to my seat in section 138 and attempted the first step, ascending these stairs was proving challenging. With a good friend helping on my left, it was onward and upward.
What happened next was very impressive and quite frankly still makes me misty. Each of the passionate Packer fans sitting at the end of their rows on my right, basically formed a human railing! And it was seamless... Young guys, teenage kids, girls, old guys all of you wonderful cheeseheads helped me up row by row, each taking the lead from the other in front of them!
One sweet boy, maybe 12 or 13 years old said, "now it's my turn to help her" and did so with a big smile on his face! An older spry Packer fan ran down to "take over" and basically helped me up those last few rows.
Now it was cold in Green Bay last Sunday, but the unbelievable kindness and consideration showed me by your incredible fans warmed me right up! Thank you, thank you, thank you fans in section 138 for making my experience outstanding. And what an awesome game, so happy the Packers won! You will win the Super Bowl because you are really good and have a lot of good karma coming your way.
Packer fans, not only are you among the best in the league, you are all just wonderful human beings. I will always have a special place in my heart for the Packers, Lambeau and the phenomenal people of Wisconsin!
Ellen Mary Fitzpatrick, Las Vegas | 5,013 |
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I’ve had a lot of 1st downs at UPMC, but you know being the defensive guy I am, my mind is on 3 and out. With that being said, I want everyone to know that I’m moving on to the next step of the process. Today’s a big day for me as I’m officially being released from the hospital. I want to take a moment to thank the people who have helped me the past two months. First and foremost, I want to thank God because at the end of the day I don’t think I’d be making progress without His vision and hands protecting me and my family. I will continue to trust in Him and thank Him, because it all starts with Him. To my family: you’ve been my rock. Words can’t express how thankful I am for you Michelle, RJ, Mom, Dad, and VJ for always being there for me. You’re my everything. To Jerome: my trainer and best friend. Thank you for being there from day 1 and every day after continuing to push me to be better every day. I’d like to thank Dr. Okonkwo, Dr. Harrington, Dr. Maroon, and Dr. Schroeder for their amazing work on my procedure and continuous care. I can’t appropriately express how grateful I am for how quickly you’ve helped me bounce back. I want to thank the medical staff at UPMC for their amazing care, support and therapy they have given me- especially Joe, Nikki, Karolina and Dani. I know the staff will continue to help me find a way to keep on pushing as we continue therapy. The support from my teammates has been truly amazing. From former players to current players and their families- they have helped me and my family day to day with visits and gifts. We can’t thank you enough. I want to thank Mr. Rooney, Coach T, Mr. Colbert, and the entire Steelers organization for the unwavering support they’ve given me. I knew they were an amazing organization, but more than ever they’re family to me. Lastly, I want to thank Jimmy, Candice, and the CAA Sports staff for being here when I need them most. I don’t know if I’d be where I’m at or making the progress I’m making without you guys. I want everyone to know that all of the support and prayers are absolutely being answered. I will continue to work hard and push and find a way back. #Shalieve #Steelers #prayfor50 | 5,014 |
This Orwellian worry isn't restricted to the political fringe: Democrat Ron Wyden, from sales tax–free Oregon, warns that allowing states to collect taxes from businesses outside their borders is just the first step down the slippery slope towards letting governments censor and control the Internet for more nefarious purposes. "The internet once again needs your help to push back against this unprecedented effort to apply local laws to a worldwide medium," he declares. "That hasn't happened in the past, and it's not going to work now."
It's true, the Internet has flourished as a zone largely free of government intervention. It's flourished so much, in fact, that purchases are migrating steadily online, and that trend will likely continue, with the rise of a generation of consumers for whom one-click buying is as natural as listening to music on their phones. It's not hard to imagine a future in which states' tax bases, without the revenue from online purchases, are whittled down to almost nothing. The Internet world is an ever growing part of the "real" world, and the two are becoming increasingly inseparable. If Internet commerce isn't held to the same basic standards, we could see our "real" world deteriorate at the expense of the virtual one.
Among the Internet's great virtues is its ability to make everything easy: setting up a business, communicating with customers, organizing records … and paying taxes. Opponents fret that it's unfair for online businesses to have to separate out different tax rates for 45 different states. But tools for managing sales and payments are already more than sophisticated enough to handle the task—every credit card has a billing address, after all—and the legislation requires states to provide appropriate software to the businesses it covers. Local governments that are legalizing online gambling are also legislating location-based online payments, having figured out how to pinpoint with near 100 percent accuracy where a customer is located. It might take a while for states to work out kinks in their systems, but to say it's impossible is to deny the reasons we value the Web in the first place.
Of course, there are better and worse ways to bring analog laws to the digital world—changing the underlying architecture of the Web to protect intellectual property, for example, would have done more harm than good. And certainly, there are times when the Web should just be left alone; just like in the real world, any kind of censorship or privacy-violating surveillance should be illegal. But saying we need to build a golden freedom fence around the Internet is like saying we shouldn't pass laws about the ocean or about the sky—two other frontiers of human enterprise that don't conform easily to local regulation, and yet need some rules of the road. | 5,015 |
They also have a skin type desirable to desert-born species and cartilaginous scalp crests. These are distinct visual advantages when attempting to attract a mate from another live birthing species, such as Humans, Turians, or Krogan, and the large numbers of Asari among the galactic sex trades demonstrate a cultural comfort level with their bodies and lack of shame in their appearance reserved for the asexual, as one would expect a parthenogenetic to be. However, most members of the species have been known to dress to accentuate their features with low cut and clinging clothing, demonstrating an awareness of the effect and willingness to utilize it to their own ends.
Lastly, as the Asari are universally compatible and desirable, they may choose from a variety of other species to mate with, while other species seeking to mate with the Asari suffer from a one-sided choice. The exotic but familiar aesthetic qualities of the Asari have made them almost universally appealing (head decoration, mammalian breasts, scaled skin, etc), creating a demand far in excess of their availability; this allows the Asari to choose their mates with relative impunity. This leads to their more often picking exemplary members of other species to mate with; a good example is Commander Shepherd of the NC7 Starship Normandy who is famed to have relationship ties to renowned xenoarchaeologist Liara T’Soni, and is demonstrably one of the most valuable exemplars of the human species in this century. If they mate for life, the entire Human race suffers for the loss of those genes.
In conclusion, the Asari represent a slow-acting parasitic threat to all other space-faring biological species in the known universe. Their history and genetic development, set traits, and cultural beliefs all indicate fluctuating or diminishing sources of genetic diversity, which leads to an important question: Who were the Asari mating with before going into space, if not with each other? If the Asari could simply mate with the local fauna to achieve diversity in their genome, why do Asari feel romantic attraction toward other humanoid races? Why did they evolve similar emotional tendencies and communication skills? Were there once multiple sexes or races of the Asari, and is that one of the reasons that they are capable of displaying differences in skin pigmentation? We are left with a number of questions, but only one certainty: monogamy with an Asari is the surest way to eliminate yourself from the gene pool.
Christopher Drake is a man of too many academic pursuits, scattered across Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology, and Anthropology, chasing the cognitive ghost of his mind. He also dabbles in fiction, rarely leaves his house, and has one of the least attended Twitter accounts ever. | 5,016 |
Palaeontologists have found more than 30 human fossils, which are claimed to be almost 300000 years old, at an excavation site in Dongzhi County in east China's Anhui Province.
The team also found over 100 stone artefacts used by ancient humans as well as mammalian fossils of more than 40 species. The researchers believe that these historic findings will help to understand ancient humans in the East Asia continent evolved.
The artefacts and the human fossils were found during archaeological excavations over the past 15 years at the site, which was first discovered in 2004 after mammalian fossils were collected on the surface by a local farmer.
One of the members of the team Wu Xiujie, who is also a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that it should be noted that as per the researchers this archaeological site is a collapsed cave.
He added that in this cave "we not only have discovered a large number of ancient human fossils, but also a variety of evidence of ancient human behaviour, which could shed light on their lives."
After conduction tests on these 16 human fossils, researchers determined that the buried age these ancient individuals is between 275000 and 331000 years, which indicates Mid-late Pleistocene period.
These ancient fossils include a human skull which contains a largely complete facial structure, most of the brain cranium and one side of the mandible. The features of the teeth show that the skull belonged to a 14 to 15-year-old male.
Liu Wu, another member of the research team said that the skull structure also showcases morphological similarities to other East Asian Middle and Late Pleistocene archaic human skeletons.
As per Wu there was a rock lying in front of the cave entrance but it protected the fossils from being wasted away or eaten by animals.
The features of the fossils, excavated from this site, which was named "Hualongdong," strengthens the study on East Asian remains in indicating an "evolutionary continuity" through the Middle Pleistocene and into the Late Pleistocene.
As reported by Xinhuanet, Liu said that "What we have found in the site could just be the tip of the iceberg," and "We will continue our excavation work until the very end."
In addition the vice head of Dongzhi County, Yu Hui said, "We are planning to upgrade Hualongdong to a national cultural relic protection site, so as to better protect and study the fossils."
This study was published on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). | 5,017 |
Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,
NASA will attempt for the first time, to knock an asteroid off course and away from our planet to prevent a collision with Earth in 2022. NASA has approved a mission that aims to slam a spacecraft into a “small” asteroid and bump it off course.
According to IB Times, the asteroid NASA will be attempting to punch is the 150-meter-tall moon asteroid named Didymoon. As hinted by its name, which originates from the Greek word for twins, Didymos, it is part of a double asteroid system and orbits another asteroid that is 800 meters tall. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the name given to this mission, would be the space agency’s first planetary-defense mission.
NASA has also touted lofty goals of drilling into Yellowstone to prevent a supervolcano eruption too, noting that one wrong move could set the caldera off.
Nancy Chabot, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and project scientist for DART, previously said that this mission is different from the usual NASA projects as it aims to solve a current problem in the solar system rather than study its past.
“That’s one of the big differences, is a lot of the science-driven missions seem to be focused on understanding the past of the solar system, the early solar system, how it all formed,” she told Space.com earlier this year. “Planetary defense is really about the present solar system and what are we going to do in the present.”
DART will be powered by a solar-electric propulsion system. It is scheduled to crash into Didymoon in October of 2022. The European Space Agency (ESA) will be helping NASA out in this project with its Hera spacecraft, which will gather data about the asteroid. Hera won’t be present at the actual collision, but it will observe Didymoon in the aftermath of the crash.
NASA is so far confident that this mission will be a success and Didymoon will be knocked off course.
“DART would be NASA’s first mission to demonstrate what’s known as the kinetic impactor technique - striking the asteroid to shift its orbit - to defend against a potential future asteroid impact,” Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement.
According to NASA, the spacecraft weighing 500 kilograms, will slam into Didymoon at 6 kilometers per second. This will change the asteroid’s orbital velocity by approximately 0.4 millimeters per second. | 5,018 |
, and to garner over $25 billion in remittances; and yes, corporations demand cheap labor in hospitality industries, construction, and agriculture. On the political front, La Raza activists want a steady stream of unassimilated immigrants in need of parity with U.S. citizens—and thus requiring self-appointed ethnic activists and a careerist industry of identity politics; and the Democratic Party hopes to turn the American Southwest from red to blue, given new demographics.
But physical work is central to all these considerations. Sometime in the 1970s and 1980s, millions of Americans—far more than just those constituting an economic elite—decided that a key to the good life was to be free from, say, the need to cook, watch children, mow the lawn, or rake leaves. Illegal immigration promised cheap help for the upper middle classes that had once been the exclusive domain of the aristocracy. In theory, skipping the gym for four hours a week would provide more than enough time to mow the lawn, prune the bushes, or vacuum the floor. Yet sweaty and studied exercise is often deemed preferable to rote labor, given that it is more scientifically calibrated to making one look and feel better. Repetitive muscular work is not seen as commensurately valuable, whether for the exercise it provides or for its psychic benefits. Yet for all one’s degrees and income, a person can still retain some sense of autonomy and an ability to master the surrounding material landscape, if only for a few hours each week, and to appreciate how the other half lives that does such physical labor for wages. It is a choice.
In his final play, Bacchae, the Athenian playwright Euripides explored the nature of wisdom and who possesses it. After a frenzy of killing and destruction, he seems to conclude that neither the rational and conventional King Pentheus (“You’ve got a quick tongue and seem intelligent, but your words don’t make any sense at all”) nor the ecstatic emotion of the divine Dionysus and his bacchants (“Angry gods should not act just like humans”) were models for emulation. Best, instead, is the day-by-day life without pretense: “Various men outdo each other in wealth, in power, in all sorts of ways. The hopes of countless men are infinite in number. Some make men rich; some come to nothing. So I consider that man blessed who lives a happy existence day by day.”
Victor Davis Hanson is a contributing editor of City Journal and the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution. | 5,019 |
In an age of Alexa, Cortana, the Google Assistant and Siri, Facebook wanted to provide the world with an assistant that could do more. In 2015 the company launched M in its Messenger chat app.
M wasn't just another chatbot that was trained to provide text responses based on previous conversations, using artificial intelligence. It had the power to take care of practically any task, as long as it wasn't illegal, because people were really doing the work. It was limited in its deployment, with M being made available to around 2,000 people, the Verge said, out of 1.3 billion Messenger users.
Last year Facebook altered M by introducing automatic actions and responses into Messenger conversations for millions of people. And on Monday, the company finally did away with the human-powered version of M altogether.
Relative to Facebook's expansive use of AI, M assistant was never very significant. Every day, for billions of people, Facebook counts on AI to make sense of text, speech, photos and videos.
Here's an incomplete list of ways Facebook uses AI at a bigger scale than the full-blown M assistant.
Predicting reasonable responses to messages users receive in Facebook Messenger.
Blocking offensive comments on Instagram posts.
Stabilizing photos and videos that people post to Facebook.
Figuring out which places people are referencing when they respond to friends' requests for recommendations in Facebook posts.
Recognizing users' faces in photos posted to Facebook and informing them of it.
Translating the text of posts that people publish on Facebook into different languages.
Adding interesting visual effects to videos that people record using the camera in Facebook's mobile apps.
Coming up with captions for the words people say in video ads that companies post to Facebook.
Identifying the most relevant "On This Day" memories to show to users in their news feed.
Removing content posted to Facebook from terrorist groups.
Spotting Facebook posts and Facebook Live videos that could indicate a user is having suicidal thoughts.
Filtering out Facebook ads and posts that lead to content that's not what it seems to be.
Writing out captions for photos that people share on Facebook so their visually impaired friends can better understand the content.
Ranking posts that will appear in each user's news feed.
Determining the best ads to show to Facebook users.
Selecting the right types of Facebook content to search through when a user types in the search box.
Facebook first established its AI research lab in 2013, and the company has for it. With that commitment, Facebook's use of AI is only going to increase. | 5,020 |
come to expect by now, plus a few new surprises. The story mode is present once again, this time offering a branching-path narrative with a few opportunities for players to jump into scripted matches. Versus play is also available, as is Ranked Online play, where matches are three-win one-on-one bouts carried out through a very plain and functional menu. It's a spartan sort of online offering, but there is at least an option to adjust preferred connection quality when seeking opponents.
Solo-oriented gamers will no doubt be checking out DOA Quest mode, a new offering that drops players into matches with pre-set conditions. If all three conditions are met, players unlock new background music, and Pattern Parts, which are used to unlock costumes. More on that in a moment. DOA Quest is great: the winning conditions are fun, there's plenty of missions to go around, and it's yet-another way to try out different fighters and combos. Functionally, it's the perfect way to get into DOA6 gameplay without pushing through the game's lengthy tutorials.
It's a shame, then, that DOA Quest mode's major rewards are used to unlock costumes, because unlocking costumes — or indeed customizing characters — is one of the most frustrating parts of the game. Every costume for every character must be unlocked using Pattern Points. However, players can't manage where their Pattern Points actually go. There's no pool; the Pattern Points appear to simply drop into the most recently-unlocked costume or whichever costume the game chooses otherwise. Despite earning several thousand Pattern Points during my time with Dead or Alive 6, I wasn't able to unlock a single costume for any of my fighters.
Mop not included
I've always found Dead or Alive games to be oddly charming, and the latest series entry hasn't proved to be any different. Dead or Alive 6 has complex, satisfying combat and enough variety to keep players of all skill levels happy. It has great graphics, it's stylish, and it's packed with bonuses. It's also full of what still feels like unintentional humor, which somehow makes the experience more of a spectacle. Sadly, the unimpressive online infrastructure and convoluted character customization serve as two big blots that mar the overall experience. Given that those two could change in a future update, there's really nothing more holding back the experience. Team Ninja has crafted a brilliant fighting game, and Dead or Alive 6 feels like the best the series has seen yet.
This review is based on a PlayStation 4 download code provided by the publisher. Dead or Alive 6 is available in retail and digital stores now. It has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB. | 5,021 |
“climate change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today.”
The Government Accountability Office, in a December 2018 report to congressional committees on long-range national security threats, said that climate-related extreme weather like hurricanes and megadroughts “could intensify and affect food security, energy resources, and the health care sector.” The report concludes that “tensions over climate change will grow,” since “more extreme weather, water and soil stress, and food insecurity will disrupt societies” and “sea-level rise, ocean acidification, glacial melt, and pollution will change living patterns.”
Experts have been warning policymakers about the national security implications of climate change for years. In 2007, the Council on Foreign Relations cautioned that climate change “presents a serious threat to the security and prosperity of the United States and other countries,” threatening to “overwhelm disaster-response capabilities” and “cause humanitarian disasters, contribute to political violence, and undermine weak governments” globally. In 2008, the Brookings Institution hosted a representative from then-U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government for a discussion on how climate change constitutes “the next global security threat.” The RAND Corporation warned in 2016 that “climate change poses risk to the Department of Defense’s readiness, operations, and strategies,” and that all DoD activities “will need to respond or adapt” if readiness is to be maintained. To that end, RAND noted that “many elements” of DoD “have taken steps to begin dealing with the implications of climate change and have published reports, directives and other documents to guide department actions.”
In January 2019, more than 80 U.N. member states spoke at a day-long Security Council meeting at which “virtually everyone except the United States agreed that climate change was happening.” To underscore the gap between the United States and the international community on this issue, on the very same day the original draft executive order establishing the Presidential Climate Security Committee came to light, senior military leaders from around the world formed the International Military Council on Climate and Security, a network focused on the security impacts of climate change. The United States’ refusal to acknowledge the impacts of climate change alienates our country from the international security community.
Allowing a fossil fuel industry-funded climate change denier and other climate skeptics to conduct an “adversarial peer review” of recent climate science will create an environment of inaction that needlessly threatens our national security. We respectfully ask that you do not move forward with this plan. | 5,022 |
-censoring blockbuster movies in order to get past Chinese censors for over a decade. To give three major examples: A Tibetan monk in Dr. Strange was replaced by a white actress, Tilda Swinton, to avoid any Tibet-related sensitivities; the sequel to Top Gun starring Tom Cruise omitted the flag of Taiwan on his jacket; and in Red Dawn, a remake of a Cold War–era movie, the Chinese army depicted invading the U.S. homeland was retroactively replaced with a North Korean army, after a leaked script was criticized by Chinese state media.
Apple has “given in to China” at least six times, according to Abacus. The most recent example is an app, HKmap.live, which lets Hongkongers track police movements. It was rejected, then approved, and then rejected again on the App Store.
LinkedIn is one of a few American companies to go all in on a censorship-for-market-access trade. See Inkstone for more. Facebook and Google have both flirted with launching censored versions of their products in China in recent years, but neither has done so.
In the wake of the NBA-China controversy, ESPN told all its staff to avoid talking about Hong Kong politics. Companies including Nike and Vans pulled products related to NBA teams or Hong Kong.
Other self-censorship related to Hong Kong: Tiffany and Co. removed an ad where a model had a hand over one eye, which is a symbol of the protests in Hong Kong. Google censored a Hong Kong protest-related role-playing game. Cathay Pacific warned employees not to participate in protests in Hong Kong, and allegedly fired an employee for her posts on Facebook about the protests.
The gaming studio Blizzard has doubled down on its policy to punish political speech from professional gamers, even after it was met with a huge backlash from gamers after punishing a player from Hong Kong for expressing his support for the city’s protests.
The Harry Potter–themed website, Wizarding World, backtracked on a decision to list Taiwan as separate from China after outrage on the Chinese internet.
Ray-Ban sunglasses “quietly changed its website description of ‘Taiwan’ and ‘Hongkong’ to ‘China Taiwan’ and ‘China Hongkong’” in February this year, according to Business Insider.
Global Blue, a Switzerland-based tourism shopping tax refund company, reportedly fired an employee for referring to Taiwan as “an independent country.”
Air New Zealand turned back a plane to China mid-flight after its paperwork “indicated Taiwan is an independent country.” | 5,023 |
Flynn’s interactions with Lokhova were reported to American authorities and Flynn should have notified the Defense Intelligence Agency about his contacts with a Russian national, according to The Journal’s news story.
The agency’s liaison in London, Dan O’Brien, dismissed the idea that Flynn should have reported his contact with Lokhova. O’Brien, who attended the February 2014 dinner, said “nothing rose to the level” of requiring such a disclosure.
According to The Journal, Flynn sat next to Lokhova at the CIS dinner. At one point, she showed Flynn an “erotic postcard” from 1912 of a young woman with Joseph Stalin. Flynn also mentioned hiring Lokhova as his translator for a trip to Russia he planned to make. He and Lokhova remained in email contact for a short time after the Cambridge event.
There was no evidence presented that Flynn or Lokhova did anything wrong other than arouse suspicions from a dinner attendee now known to be Halper.
Lokhova declined Tuesday to comment about Halper beyond her short statement. But she referred back to an interview she gave to the BBC on May 12, 2017 in which she denied allegations that she was a Kremlin agent or a “honey pot,” a spy term used to describe a woman used to seduce a target in order to gather intelligence.
“In Britain, I am now being accused of being a Russian spy. In Russia, some think I am a British spy. And I am neither,” Lokhova told BBC. “I am just a historian who writes about an area that has become incredibly politicized.”
“I felt betrayed that suddenly I had been turned on in such a horrible way for … attending a dinner to help Western intelligence services understand Russia better,” she continued.
Other Cambridge academics appear not to have shared Halper’s concerns about Lokhova.
Lokhova, who is the author of the forthcoming book, “The Spy Who Changed History,” presented research at CIS on Friday. Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6 and close colleague of Halper’s, is listed as a convener of the event.
Halper could not be reached for comment. The Cambridge Security Initiative also did not respond to a request for comment.
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The company has been on the defensive after reports that political data firm Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users without their permission. The scandal has led to broader questions about how Facebook and other social media networks manage data, and Facebook has been changing its privacy policies and tools in response.
"What we didn't do until recently and what we are doing now is just take a broader view looking to be more restrictive in ways data could be misused. We also didn't build our operations fast enough -- and that's on me," she added.
"I feel deeply personally responsible, because a lot of mistakes were made," Sandberg said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg echoed CEO Mark Zuckerberg's rhetoric on Thursday, by taking personal responsibility for letting third parties access Facebook user data without permission.
In an interview with press on Wednesday, Zuckerberg said he expects most of Facebook's users who had a specific search function enabled had their public data scraped by a third party.
"It is reasonable to expect... someone has accessed your information in this way," he said.
Sandberg addressed that comment as well, emphasizing that "all of that was public information." She also went into greater detail on how Facebook has begun and will continue to address its privacy issues.
Beginning Monday, Facebook will roll out tools to allow users to view which apps they've connected to an how to delete them. Facebook also intends to inform users if they have been impacted by the Cambridge Analytica leak. And by the end of the year, they will have doubled the amount of staffers they have dedicated to security. The company also plans to "invest massively" into smart technology to this effect.
Sandberg, like Zuckerberg in his chat with press on Wednesday, emphasized that data management and security improvements will likely take several years.
"This is a forever process, because security is always an arms race," Sandberg said during an interview with Bloomberg.
And Sandberg readily acknowledged such a huge effort would require a huge investment.
"We've never run this company for short term gains, we've run this for long-term health of our business. These investments are big and they will impact profitability and that's OK with us, because its the right thing to do," she said.
Sandberg said the company will likely dig into more specific estimates of how that might impact profitability in the next quarter.
When asked about Zuckerberg's fitness to lead, she fully backed him up.
"I believe deeply in Mark," she said.
Zuckerberg will testify before Congress next week on the social media site's privacy policies. | 5,025 |
Opinion: Satanic Display Shows Power Of The Bible
Enlarge this image toggle caption Christophel Fine Art/UIG via Getty Images Christophel Fine Art/UIG via Getty Images
There's a Satanic display in the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield this holiday season, near a Nativity scene and a menorah. It shows an arm, encircled by a serpent, winding up to a hand holding an apple, and below is an inscription: "KNOWLEDGE IS THE GREATEST GIFT."
A spokesperson for The Satanic Temple of Chicago, which sponsors the display, says the art piece called Snaketivity is inspired by the biblical Garden of Eden, where a serpent sent by Satan tempts Eve with an apple from a Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve bites the apple and shares it with Adam.
"We see Satan as the hero in this story," says the temple spokesperson, "because he gave Eve the gift of knowledge."
Four of the last 10 governors and dozens of other public officials in Illinois have been convicted of public corruption. Temptation and Satan would seem already well-represented in Springfield, though I've never known an Illinois politician who could be bought for just an apple.
The office of the Illinois secretary of state explains that the First Amendment guarantees the right of The Satanic Temple to mount this display. Atheist groups have provided exhibits across the country in past holiday seasons. But a display by a group that calls itself The Satanic Temple has brought about a new round of public attention.
Yet, a few clicks into its website will disclose that The Satanic Temple is not truly Satan worshippers. It says it is a "non-theistic religious organization" that seeks to "encourage benevolence and empathy among all people," which sounds almost discouragingly humanitarian.
The temple seems to take the name of Satan as a brand to make the point — as it puts it — among its tenets that, "The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend."
It's irresistible to note that a group that says it does not believe in God still expresses its beliefs with an image from the Book of Genesis.
You don't have to believe the Bible is literally true to see that it is powerful literature. It may have been written — as Christopher Hitchens memorably phrased it — in "the bawling and fearful infancy of our species," but the Bible endures as beguiling, inspiring and insightful stories about children, parents, kings, queens, loss, triumphs, floods, flames and everlasting lights, heroes with fatal flaws and villains with human faces. Satan wouldn't be a household name without the Bible. | 5,026 |
By CCN.com: The Dow and broader U.S. stock market limped into Friday’s close after disappointing financial results from a leading chipmaker highlighted the dangers of a prolonged trade war with China.
Dow Pares Losses; Nasdaq Endures Tech Blowback
All of Wall Street’s major indexes struggled out of the gate Friday, reflecting a weak pre-market for Dow futures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 118 points before rebounding later in the day. By the end of trading, it was down 17.16 points, or 0.1%, to 26,089.61.
The broad S&P 500 Index of large-cap stocks declined 0.2% to 2,886.98. Information technology led five of 11 primary sectors lower. Within the tech sector, semiconductors plunged more than 2%.
Meanwhile, the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5% to close at 7,796.66.
Broadcom’s Top Line Disappoints
Semiconductor stocks plunged anew on Friday after Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), a leading chipmaker, reported disappointing quarterly revenues and downgraded its outlook on fiscal 2019.
The San Jose-based company generated $5.52 billion in sales for its fiscal second quarter, well below forecasts calling for $5.68 billion. As a result, the company slashed its full-year sales estimates to $22.60 billion, well below the $24.31 billion expected by analysts.
Geopolitical uncertainties and export restrictions were cited as the main reasons for the disappointing sales numbers. Broadcom also said it would generate $2 billion less in annual revenue following the U.S. government’s ban on Huawei, China’s largest telecommunications company. As CNBC noted, Broadcom made about $900 million in sales from Huawei last year.
Broadcom’s share price declined by as much as 8.5% on Friday, dragging other telecom stocks along for the ride. AVGO shares last traded at $266.64 for a loss of 5.32%.
U.S.-China trade tensions have escalated over the past two months as a final agreement continues to elude negotiators. Beijing reportedly backed out of a deal in early May, prompting the Trump administration to pursue stiffer tariff penalties.
Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold face-to-face talks at the upcoming G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. It was previously hoped that the venue would allow both sides to finalize a trade agreement.
Click here for a real-time Dow Jones Industrial Average price chart. | 5,027 |
Heme oxygenase-1 is essential for the growth of blood vessels in the placenta and in establishing blood flow in the umbilical cord. Too little HO-1 can lead to a restriction in the growth of the fetus and even in fetal death and miscarriage. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Medical Gas Research has shown that low dose carbon monoxide therapy is able to restore placental function and prevent fetal death in mice, without any detrimental effects.
Intrauterine growth restriction due to problems in placental function and blood flow can result in a'small for gestational age' baby, miscarriage or perinatal death. Both miscarriage and pre-eclampsia are associated with low levels of HO-1 in the placenta, however research suggests that carbon monoxide can mimic the effects of HO-1. Researchers from the Otto-von-Guericke University, Germany tested carbon monoxide therapy on intrauterine growth restriction in mice. They found that an extended course of low dose (50ppm) carbon monoxide was able to reduce fetal loss from 30% to zero all the babies survived.
Prof Ana Claudia Zenclussen, who led the research explained, "At the levels used to prevent fetal death we found that inhaled low dose carbon monoxide was anti-inflammatory. It reduced the amount of cell death (apoptosis), and increased levels of the anti-apoptotic molecule BAG-1, in the placenta and additionally increased the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is associated with angiogenesis and blood vessel repair."
Intrauterine growth restriction is a serious complication of pregnancy. Surviving babies have a lifelong increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and renal disease. In the face of these fears carbon monoxide therapy may provide a lifeline to mothers at risk. However there is a cautionary note - higher doses of carbon monoxide were able to improve placental function but were damaging to the fetus, shorter treatment at low dose was not enough to prevent fetal death. Prof Zenclussen warned, "It is very important, given the inherent dangers in using carbon monoxide, that the dose and length of treatment are tightly controlled."
Explore further Study: Carbon monoxide exposure can be reduced during routine anesthesia in kids
More information: Exploring the potential of low doses carbon monoxide as therapy in pregnancy complications. Tarek El-Mousleh, Pablo A Casalis, Ivonne Wollenberg, Maria L Zenclussen, Hans D Volk, Stefanie Langwisch, Federico Jensen and Ana C Zenclussen, Medical Gas Research (in press) | 5,028 |
see if BI is good for employment. Thus, the government’s goal was rather limited and only when discussed in the parliamentary committees, the interest was laid in the wider wellbeing aspects of BI. However, the main interest still was – and still is – in the labour market behaviour of the BI recipients.
The preliminary results for the first year do not display any employment effects, making the opponents of the BI claim that the BI does not solve a low labour supply. However, we can turn the focus upside down. The zero result is an interesting one. According to the proponents of mainstream labour market policies in Finland, we should have witnessed a clear decrease in the labour supply among the basic income recipients compared to the control group. However, we did not observe anything like that. Neither was the employment rate better in the control group that remained in the current, conditional and punitive benefits system.
Hence, in regard to the long-term unemployed (which was the case for most of the recipients in Finland’s basic income experiment), the mechanism improving their labour market status is much more complex and perhaps more attention should be paid in the wellbeing effects of the experiment than on the employment effects. This is done in many other experiments outside Finland – in the evaluation of the experiments the focus in on the sine non qua for activity, namely wellbeing.
What should then the political decision makers do based on the results? Shall they abandon basic income, if it does not increase employment, even if it improves people’s well-being? Or shall they abandon basic income, while strengthening the conditionality of the existing system in order to more effectively “activate” labour, even if it decreases people’s wellbeing? Considering the recent developments in Finland’s labour market policies, one should perhaps bet on the latter option.
[1] If the unemployed person violates the Unemployment Security Act, he/she may lose the right to the unemployment benefits and he/she may to apply for last resort social assistance of in need for financial support.
[2] Explanations why the unemployed were the target group of the experiment are given at https://tutkimusblogi.kela.fi/arkisto/3316.
[3] The activity is monitored in periods of 65 days of payment. The activity requirement are met if an unemployed person, over the course of a single payment period, has been in salaried employment for at least 18 hours, or have earned an income of at least EUR 245.64 from self-employment, or if he/she has participated in five days of employment-promoting services or some other employment-promoting activity arranged by the Employment Services. | 5,029 |
Atmel unveiled new flexible film-based sensors that it said could revolutionize touchscreens.
The new XSense sensors could enable flexible touchscreens, screens with curved surfaces, and much larger touchscreens as well, said Steve Laub, chief executive of the San Jose, Calif.-based chip maker in an interview with VentureBeat.
“This is a completely new type of technology to build the mesh for a touchscreen,” Laub said. “It is very flexible, and for the first time you can have curved screens where the screen wraps around the edge.”It will change the designs of smartphones and tablets.”
Most touchscreens today use capacitive touch technology, which uses a brittle material under a layer to sense where a finger touches a display. The XSense sensors use a new flexible film from a company called Conductive Inkjet Technology. Atmel plans to print metal layers on the film, creating the electrical circuitry for the touchscreen. Atmel will do that work at a new factory in Colorado Springs. Colo.
Touch-enabled products based on the new technology will arrive in the third quarter of 2012. They will include thinner, lighter, edgeless, and curved touchscreens for smartphones and tablets. Eventually, they will also include larger touchscreens.
Laub (pictured) said the company has samples of the technology now and the first products will be three inches to 11 inches in size.
The XSense sensors can be manufactured as a roll-to-roll film, which is easy to apply to display surfaces.
“The combined touchscreen sensor and controller IC industry is over $10 billion dollars currently and is still growing rapidly. There is significant demand in the industry for larger, thinner and lighter touch sensors,” said Jennifer Colegrove, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. “ITO-alternative material, such as Atmel’s new touch sensor technology XSense, is penetrating into the touch sensor market to offer designers new thin, lightweight, flexible and durable designs.”
Atmel already makes controllers that make touchscreens more accurate. Laub said that the XSense products will be cost-effective at large sizes, such as flat-panel televisions. Atmel has an exclusive license on the technology.
“You’ll be able to do the big touchscreens like in Minority Report,” he said, referring to a futuristic Tom Cruise film.
Laub said the cost of the new sensors is much lower than current sensor technology. Atmel has 5,000 employees. Fujifilm is one of the competitors in the market. | 5,030 |
denials. Anti-Semitism is a tribal problem. Multiculturalism evolved into intersectionality, spawning more tribalism, more resentment, and an alliance of the resentful in which Jews are not full participants, but growing targets.As a society becomes more racially and ethnically tribal, it grows more anti-Semitic. The white supremacist attack on a synagogue in Squirrel Hill is one symptom of a much larger problem.The progressive Jews worry about the rare outbursts of white tribal anti-Semitism because that is the not particularly diverse population that these proponents of diversity live among. The working-class Jews of the inner cities worry far more about the daily diverse tribal anti-Semitism that surrounds them.That is a ubiquitous anti-Semitism that their progressive brethren neither understand nor care about because it is inconvenient to their politics and alien to their experiences.While Jewish communities around the world, from Crown Heights to Jerusalem, mourn for the massacre in Squirrel Hill, it often feels as if such outpourings of empathy are not reciprocated. When Jews were being stoned in Crown Heights by anti-Semitic mobs, the progressive Jews told them to stop embarrassing New York City’s first black mayor. When Rabbis were axed to death in a Jerusalem synagogue, the “innocent” progressives blamed Netanyahu and Israel’s imaginary ‘rightward’ drift.They did not care that their tax dollars were being used to pay the terrorists murdering Jews. Nor do they care that the MSNBC news network that they were watching was paying a pogromist.This “innocence” of theirs has a high price and for now, Jews in Brooklyn and Jerusalem are paying it. While progressive Jews live in the fading golden summer of the suburbs, working class Jews have lived through generations of looted stores, ransacked apartments, and random violent assaults. The dream of the former, their political policies and ideals, have been the waking nightmares of the latter.But the age of innocence is coming to an end.America is changing. The same forces that made Obama have also made Farrakhan relevant once again. Muslim migration will transform America the way that it did Europe. The cities will feel it first. But they won’t be the last. The combination of political radicalism and tribalism that is driving out the Jews of France, Sweden and now the United Kingdoms will not pass by the suburban shtetls of America.White supremacism is one vector for anti-Semitism. Identity politics has created a dozen more.The shootings at Squirrel Hill were not the worst of it. Unfortunately, tragically, and horrifyingly, the worst is yet to come. And when it comes, the old innocence will vanish as if it had never been. | 5,031 |
KITCHENER - After council sent it back to the drawing board, a developer has come up with a plan that will build a new highrise rental apartment while still saving two heritage homes.
Vive Development Corp. had applied in September to demolish three buildings to make way for the apartment building - the OneRoof youth shelter at 242 Queen St. S., as well as a 134-year-old Italianate-style house at 254 Queen St. S. and a 127-year-old house at 262 Queen built by prominent early industrialist C.A. Ahrens.
But council rejected the plan, saying the developer had to come up with a proposal that retained the two historic homes. At the time, the developer had said doing so would be difficult, given the small size of the property, the location of the historic homes and the costs of development.
"The economics are challenging," Heather Campbell of Vive said at the time.
But on Tuesday, the developer outlined a new proposal that would allow intensification of the property and keep the heritage homes.
Instead of the original plan for an eight-storey, 125-unit rental apartment building, Vive is proposing a 10-storey building with the same number of units, rising behind the heritage homes. The two homes would be stripped of later additions and remodelled into duplexes.
In the concept presented Tuesday to the heritage committee, the new building rises behind the two heritage homes, as a charcoal-coloured slab at the rear of the property. The proposal includes a handful of surface parking spots, as well as underground parking.
Nearby residents and committee members praised the new plan as a major improvement over what had previously been proposed.
"This preserves the two homes and gives us a streetscape that reflects the way it once was, and the city gets the intensification it wants," said Mario Chilanski, a resident of the Victoria Park neighbourhood who said Vive was quite willing to work with local residents to come up with a workable solution.
Several committee members praised the developer for being flexible.
"They worked together to create a solution that is a better fit for everyone," said committee members Steve Strohack.
Others hoped the design would be improved as it works its way through site plan approval and heritage approvals.
"I feel it is very much the minimum," said committee chair Ashley Reid. "Frankly, I find the building just kind of boring. I was hoping for something a little bit more creative."
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Twitter: @ThompsonRecord | 5,032 |
The US State Department has said the new US embassy in Jerusalem will open in May 2018, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence.
The state department called the move a "historic step" in a statement issued on Friday.
The announcement means the relocation comes much faster than expected. US Vice President Mike Pence in late January saidthe controversial embassy would open in 2019.
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The US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem prompted deadly protests in Palestine and solidarity rallies across the world.
For Palestinians, May 15 marks Nakba Day, or the "catastrophe", when they commemorate the mass displacement of Palestinians to make way for the state of Israel.
Between 1947 and 1949, at least 750,000 Palestinians, out of a population of 1.9 million, were expelled from or fled their homes in Palestine.
A senior Palestinian official told news agency AFP the announcement was "a provocation to Arabs" and a "blatant violation of international law".
Saeb Erekat, Palestine Liberation Organization secretary-general, said the result would be "the destruction of the two-state option".
Israel Katz, Israeli intelligence minister, thanked Trump for the announcement.
"There is no greater gift than that! The most just and correct move. Thanks friend!" Katz said in a tweet.
Israel proclaimed its independence on May 14, 1948.
Embassy location
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan said that it is still unclear where the new embassy will be located.
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"I am told that the ambassador, David Friedman, as well as a few aides, will take up their assignment in the current consulate general building in the Arnona neighbourhood in Jerusalem.
"The additional staff will be transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem over time, but there's also still the outstanding matter of trying to find a location to build a permanent embassy."
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Ramallah, Mustafa Barghouti, former Palestinian information minister, said the decision meant "adding insult to injury".
"When they want to move the embassy exactly on the worst anniversary in the history of Palestinians, the anniversary not of the establishment of Israel but of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and the creation of the system of racial discrimination and apartheid... this represents a very serious provocation to the Palestinian side," he said.
Clashes erupted in Gaza and the occupied West Bank on Friday during weekly protests against the US decision.
At least 20 Palestinians have been killed in protests against the move since December 6, Palestinian health officials have said. | 5,033 |
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says his party will vote against the Conservatives' proposed human smuggling legislation, Bill C-49, because it violates the Canadian Charter of Rights.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says his party won't support a proposed law on human smuggling, saying it punishes 'the victims, not the criminals.' ((Canadian Press))
Other opposition parties also lined up with the Liberals against the controversial bill, diminishing its chances of passing second reading.
"We feel after much thought and reflection that this bill is in violation of the charter," Ignatieff said Wednesday, after his morning caucus meeting.
"Mandatory detention is just not in the Canadian tradition. We think it's not charter-proof, as a result."
Bill C-49 would increase the minimum fines and jail terms for those caught bringing illegal aliens to Canada.
However, the proposed legislation would also affect the people being smuggled. Refugees could spend as much as a year in detention facilities while their claims were being processed.
In its current form, the legislation punishes "the victims, not the criminals," Ignatieff said.
Liberals will vote against the bill when it eventually goes to second reading, Ignatieff pledged.
But it isn't clear when that will happen. The Conservative government hasn't yet set a second reading date.
However, Ignatieff said the Liberals are still game to work with the Tories on "a bill that works."
According to Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, a former federal justice minister, the bill is "littered with charter violations."
"It authorizes mandatory detention for up to 12 months, without independent review — something the Supreme Court of Canada has already pronounced itself on, in the [Adil] Charkaoui case, as being illegal."
Bill crafted after MV Sun Sea incident
The Conservative government tabled its smuggling legislation in October, two months after the MV Sun Sea ship carrying hundreds of Tamil migrants docked in B.C.
At the time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the "abnormal" arrival of the MV Sun Sea created "significant security concerns" that could prompt his government to review current laws.
The government has the right to create measures to discourage future mass migrant arrivals, but Bill C-49 doesn't target the real problem, the Canadian Bar Association said in a statement Wednesday.
Both the Bloc Québécois and NDP said they aren't interested in supporting the bill. The Conservatives have so far refused any compromise, and the NDP won't support a law that "targets refugees," said New Democrat MP Olivia Chow. | 5,034 |
Reddit was a major landing point for Russian propaganda during the 2016 presidential election and more recently was a hotbed of harassment for victims of the school shooting in Florida.
But the company doesn’t want to talk about it.
This week, a report from The Daily Beast found that the “Kremlin-backed troll farm” at the center of the 2016 election interference was heavily involved in Reddit’s The_Donald, the subreddit dedicated to supporting Donald Trump. There had already been reports that The_Donald frequently shared content from Twitter users identified as Russian propagandists, but this report cited firsthand evidence in the form of documents from the troll farm itself.
But when given the opportunity to comment on the story, Reddit denied several. The company has also not addressed the allegations in any of its regular announcements posted to the site’s users. This is not the first time that Reddit has ignored issues that may be harmful to the brand. In a previous Inquisitr story on evidence of Russian propaganda shared on The_Donald, a public relations representative noted that the company would respond within 24 hours to questions about the find. Now nearly a week later, Reddit has never responded.
The company did eventually respond to the Daily Beast story several hours later, saying: “Reddit was not provided evidence of accounts or other data that would enable us to identify misuse or manipulation of the platform by users.” But this was disputed by The Daily Beast, which claimed that all evidence was shared with Reddit.
Some Reddit users have started to take matters into their own hands. Angry over the company’s perceived inaction over harassment of school shooting victims on The_Donald, some reached out directly to advertisers to show them the harassment. One, tax preparation TurboTax, responded that it would be taking its advertisements off the site.
There could be trouble ahead for Reddit related to the Russian interference, the BBC suggested. Other social media companies including Twitter and Facebook have come under congressional scrutiny for their failure to act on Russian propaganda being filtered onto the sites throughout the 2016 election. There are some who believe that Reddit will now be pulled into the Russia investigation as well, though there is no clear indication from Special Counsel Robert Mueller that the site will be called in for questioning.
Daily Beast says it has leaked docs from within Russia's Internet Research Agency. Shows how Russians struggled to remain authentic, and heightens (in my view) the pressure on Reddit to join Facebook, Twitter and Google in the wider investigation https://t.co/aOLpXV74Wt — Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) March 2, 2018
Reddit still has not responded to questions about the harassment of school shooting victims. | 5,035 |
Two female Democratic candidates cruised to victory in their respective House primaries in Iowa as women continue to dominate in high-profile primary battles across the country.
Both women will be looking to break into Iowa’s all-male congressional delegation in November. Iowa has never elected a Democratic woman to Congress.
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In Iowa’s 1st District, state Rep. Abby Finkenauer trounced her three opponents in the Democratic primary with more than 70 percent of the vote. Finkenauer was heavily favored to win the primary and is the preferred candidate of national Democrats.
She’ll now go on to face GOP Rep. Rod Blum, who has been a top target for Democrats. President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE won Blum’s district by a little more than 3 percentage points in 2016.
If Finkenauer, 28, wins in November, she’d be the youngest woman elected to Congress.
Meanwhile, in the 3rd District, businesswoman Cindy Axne easily won her primary against two male opponents, with more than 57 percent of the vote. She defeated businessman Eddie Mauro and Pete D’Alessandro, who ran Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersOutrage erupts over Breonna Taylor grand jury ruling Dimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death MORE’s (I-Vt.) caucus campaign in the state during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.
Axne will square off against GOP Rep. David Young David Edmund YoungEric Idle threatens to sue GOP committee over use of Monty Python song in ad Trump: DeJoy should be removed if it 'can be proven that he did something wrong' The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump's Labor Day news conference MORE. Trump also won Young’s district by 3 points.
Blum’s race is rated a "toss-up" by nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report, while Young’s seat is considered "lean Republican." But both races are viewed as top seats that could help Democrats flip the 23 seats needed to take back the House in the fall.
Finkenauer and Axne’s primary victories are another sign that 2018 is shaping up to be a major year for Democratic women. Female candidates running in other Tuesday primaries also fared well, including in New Mexico and New Jersey. | 5,036 |
By Nassim Elbardouh
Published June 12, 2014 04:20 pm |
I was one of the 28,809 teachers that voted yes in favour of a strike escalation. I did so with a heavy heart. As a new teacher, I can't afford to go on strike. As somebody who values public education, I can't afford not to.
Imagine you are a guardian of a child. You want the best for your child but you know that:
- B.C. is investing $1,000 less per student than the national average.
- There are 1,443 fewer learning specialist teachers in B.C. than in 2001–02, despite increased demand.
- BC has the worst student-educator ratio in Canada.
I worry that if the public school system continues to decline; parents will opt for a private system in which their child can receive the holistic, student-centred education they deserve.
The average cost of private school in B.C. ranges from $3,000 to $48,000 per year. Christy Clark can afford to send her children to private school, but can you? Is it fair that some students learn in small pods and take field trips to Paris while others compete with their 30 plus classmates for their overworked teacher's attention?
While teachers are certainly asking for a wage increase in line with the increasing cost of living, the point of this strike is not about increased wages. Teachers are asking for the resources they need so that they can give their students the quality education they deserve. Parents want what is best for their children, but unless we all advocate for a well-funded public system, we run the risk of creating a system of "haves" and "have nots."
People across the province are advocating for more funding so that B.C. students are not left behind, but the B.C. government refuses to invest in education, not because they do not have the money, but because they lack the political will. If we can afford $514-million retractable roof for BC place, surely we can afford to invest in a quality education that meets the needs of all children, regardless of their income.
I refuse to begin my teaching career knowing that I will spend year after year watching the students who need a good education the most fall through the cracks because I do not have the resources I need to help them. I am asking for the resources I need in order to do my job well and if I have to go on strike to get them, so be it. My students are worth it.
Nassim Elbardouh is a B.C. teacher. | 5,037 |
A teenager may be able to ejaculate daily with no ill effect. A man in his 20s, perhaps 3 times a week. A man in his 30s, 2 times a week. A man in his 40s, 1 time per week. A man in his 50s, once every two weeks. A man in his 60s, once a month. And so on. A prescription for excellent sexual health is to make love often but only ejaculate sometimes when men do that, they can maintain a young man’s libido and erection in an older man’s body. The fact is that testosterone which fuels male libido gradually decreases as a man ages. A man carries a program in his body for a certain quantity of ejaculation over his life span. If he overdoes or wastes this precious substance, his life force energy will decrease more rapidly. This is one reason why conservation of semen practice is really important.
There are two main ways to achieve conservation of semen. one being to overpower the build up of sexual desire and control it. The other way is to relax below the orgasmic threshold, becoming so relaxed that sexual tension and build-up to ejaculation is not possible. Men who are masters of conservation walk a tightrope between control and relaxation as a way to conserve semen. Energy follows intent, and so when you are able to place your intention very clearly and powerfully on allowing your sexual energy to move in and up instead of down and out, you will automatically discover a tube of light opening through the central channel of your body, from your perineum to your crown chakra. Send your sexual build up through this tube of light, all the way to your crown. By doing this, you will be able eventually to experience full body orgasm without ejaculation. And as you master this method, you will even be able to experience multiple orgasms in this
way. When you do this through masturbation, you can experiment till you know your own body perfectly, like listening to a good engine of a car purring in just the right way. People speak about horse whispering. Every man needs to learn, ‘Lingam whispering!’ When you are adept at this and then experiment with it in sexual union with a lover, you may be amazed how you and your woman will become much more deeply satisfied with this style of sexuality rather than the stereotype sexual
experience. I hope this answer is of help to you. We go deeper into this subject in the Master Lover group and also in the couples Tantra Training. Perhaps one day you will be able to attend a group. In the meantime, blessings for a wonderful self pleasuring adventure!
Love,
Sarita | 5,038 |
There’s a growing number of vegans in the world. Call it a trend or a fad, but the truth is every day more people are appreciating the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle.
But, the vegan diet is one that is solely for the creative types. If you don’t agree with that, surely, you think that vegetable diets are only for people in major and liberal cities — the people of New York and Los Angeles, or the citizens of liberal meccas like Portland or Seattle. Well, Arian Foster, running back for the Houstan Texans, has just dispelled all of these stereotypes with the tweet below.
He then went on to respond to barrage of positive and negative feedback by his fans on twitter. If you don’t believe Arian is serious about the transition to a plant-based diet, just check out his new twitter profile photo below!
People at the Green Seed Vegan Cafe that are familiar with veganism, reassured reporters about the new diet. One said “He’ll be leaner and faster.” Another patron Matti Merrel, described the ease of transitioning into veganism, “It’s just a process of elimination. You just start by taking away your meat. And then from meat, your dairy of course. Your cheese. Things like that.”
While those of us accustomed to plant-based eating know that many foods are both animal free and high protein, legumes, seitan, tofu, etc. Some fans aren’t sure about the affects of veganism on athletic performance. One was quoted “Hopefully he can keep that strength.” Many others seem to be fairly skeptical of the dietary decision, which let’s face it is less than the norm in the countries BBQ capitol.
I don’t think there is any better place for a new vegan to gain notoriety than Texas, the only state that shows up twice on the list of America’s most obese cities. People are already converting their diets in the wake of Foster’s decision tweeting comments that thank him for the push, “Arian, you have inspired me to go vegan, I hope I can do it. Gotta try to be healthier.” Believe it or not, Arian is not the first NFL player from a Texas team to go vegan. Tony Fiammetta, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys is 6 feet tall and 242 pounds is also fueled by a plant-powered diet.
We’re looking forward to watching Arian’s stats improve this season, as his diet gains a plant-based renovation!
Advertisement | 5,039 |
must be kept in the same order (except when told to shuffle them). Players may find out what you have through Item cards or deduction, and memory plays a big roll in knowing what to go after; conversely, players might try to get rid of “useless” safes by luring people in for a Robbery.
Another strategic aspect is making it to the final round, which requires you to be in the Establishment with the most Gold. Establishments are limited in how many people can be there, so you might have to Duel your way next to the person you think has all the money; similarly, be suspicious if people are shifting position, or else you might be left out of the Final Showdown.
These strategies are on top of the social aspect, where players may make promises, alliances, betrayals, etc. The more people playing, the higher the stakes and the more ruthless the game, as everyone tries to stock up, position themselves, and be the last one alive.
Deadwood has great variety and allows you to play anywhere from two to nine players, but the game is mostly intended for three to seven players (with slight rules differences for low or high extremes). We found around four to six players was the sweet spot, as it allowed for a lot of back-and-forths and jockeying for position.
Like Hancock’s other games, Deadwood is semi-historical – it presents a real location with historical figures, and even provides some history in its rulebook. Of course, like Salem 1692 and Tortuga 1667, the accuracy of the game itself is quite questionable; several of Deadwood’s characters were upstanding members of the community (not criminals), and few would have been robbing safes or participating in shootouts.
That doesn’t detract from the fun gameplay, the Wild West theme, or interest sparked in the real Deadwood. Even the packaging is made to look like a leather-bound book, adding to its historical feel.
Whether you want to play with several friends or bring in a whole table’s worth of people at a party, Deadwood works well both socially and strategically. It’s also simple enough for the younger crowd, although the violence (and backstabbing) might limit it to teenagers and older.
Regardless of how you play it, remember to protect that safe, keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer!
Deadwood 1876 should be on shelves in November. 2-9 players, 20-40 minutes, Ages 13+.
I give Deadwood 1876 an all-fired 4 pepper-boxes out of 5. | 5,040 |
Spoiler - Fixed crash when a war is invalidated because of no defender
- Fixed the "hostile against everyone" bug
- Fixed bug where the AI would keep their units attached to characters they no longer participate in a war with.
- Added alert for having high prio minor titles available to grant.
- Fixed various provinces in India that had no rulers scripted for some start dates.
- Monks and other people living in celibacy will no longer try to arrange stealth marriages if ruled by a patrician.
- Defensive religions now properly also give defensive modifiers for Camel Cavalry and Elephants.
So that time of the week again and its time for me to make something up to write about. Today I decided to talk about regions and forts, two new concepts in Crusader Kings II.First, regions isn't something that is going to affect you directly but it works somewhat like how it have done in the Europa Universalis Games. It's an area on the map that denotes a region with a name and it's mostly used to improve on our localization of things, such as hunting for tigers in India or hunting a deer in western Europe. So no longer will you find Tigers in the woods of Poland if you manage to move your capital of your Indian Empire out of the subcontinent. You can see these regions by opening up a province and click on the new region icon to get an outline of the region. It's also possible to search for regions in the old title finder.Next is a gameplay feature you will actually interact a bit more actively in. It's called forts which is an additional type of holding you can build in provinces next to the normal ones and trade posts. Because of this we had to extend the province view with a window you can open and close which will show "extra holding slots" which will contain the trade post and fort slots. The fort can be built anywhere from your own territory even enemy provinces that you have under your control. Their biggest advantage is that they are fortifications that you can build up really fast and very cheaply. The main point of them being to let you build up a region as your march towards a big neighbor which will let you slow down their advance but at the same time let you set up forward positions in the enemy territory.They do have some added bonuses though beyond that, for instance in Tribal land where you have the homeland attrition bonus, that bonus will be removed from the province as long as you have a fort there to supply your troops with. There is also a feature for the forts that is too related to the expansion so I can't delve into that any deeper.And again here's some more random changelogs | 5,041 |
Transexuals want you to use the phrase “birthing individuals” instead of “pregnant women” because, according to them, the latter promotes “trans hatred.”
LGBT activists have already convinced the Midwives Alliance of North America to stop referring to their clients as “women” and “mothers” and instead call them “pregnant people” and “birthing individuals” so transexuals won’t get offended.
“Pregnant individuals are the only direct care providers for themselves and their unborn babies, thus the most important determinant of a healthy pregnancy is the pregnant person,” MANA states on its web site. “The biological wisdom to give birth is innate, it has been held throughout time, and is experienced across cultures by all pregnant people.”
Numerous midwives protested this language change, calling it an attack on women in an open letter they wrote to MANA.
“By embracing the idea that any human other than those in a class called women carry offspring to term, give birth to them and nurse them, we are prioritizing gender identity over biological reality,” the open letter stated. “We are also contributing to the cultural erasure of women’s wisdom that the physiological power encoded in our female bodies is what creates, nourishes, and births live offspring and transmits culture.”
“Maintaining this understanding of women’s unique power to give birth does not preclude practitioners from taking into account how individuals in their care prefer to be identified.”
In response, one transexual activist called the open letter “highly offensive” to transexuals because it “denies” their gender and “implies the care provider decides the identity of the client.”
But in reality, the ability to give birth is based on the biological sex of the person, not the person’s “gender identity.”
In a similar incident, Democratic representatives introduced a bill this past summer that would ban the words “husband” and “wife” from being used in federal law because they are “gendered terms” and “discriminate” against gay people.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), would introduce new “gender-neutral” terms such as “spouse” or “married couple.”
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today! | 5,042 |
Scotland Yard today warned of the risk of violence at this weekend’s bonfire night Million Mask March amid growing fears it could descend into chaos.
Clad in V for Vendetta masks, thousands of activists are set to descend on central London on Saturday for the annual protest organised by activist group Anonymous.
Police announced a series of restrictions on the event this evening and said officers believe “peaceful protest is the last thing on the minds” of those who plan to attend.
Last year's march saw ugly scenes as missiles and fireworks were thrown at police. Four officers and six police horses were injured and 50 people arrested.
Chief Superintendent Pippa Mills said the force had “serious concerns” about a repeat of last year’s disorder.
She said in a statement: “We will always facilitate peaceful protest and have a strong history of doing so. However we have strong reason to believe that peaceful protest is the last thing on the minds of many of the people who will come along this year.
“Criminality at the event has increased year-on-year. Last year hundreds of Londoners on their way home from work, or out enjoying an evening in the Capital, were harassed and intimidated by people causing them huge concern. Public property was damaged, businesses had windows smashed and police officers and horses came under attack.
“Those who choose to behave like this are not protestors, they are committing criminal acts.”
But the protest’s organisers appeared to be putting on a defiant front, posting on their Facebook page: "the police are not your friends".
Police have imposed conditions on the march, limiting it to a three-hour period between 6pm and 9pm on a prescribed route between Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
Any static protest must only take place in Trafalgar Square, Richmond Terrace and Parliament Square and the Met warned anyone breaching the conditions could be arrested for public order offences.
Chief Superintendent Pippa Mills said: "We will always facilitate peaceful protest and have a strong history of doing so. However we have strong reason to believe that peaceful protest is the last thing on the minds of many of the people who will come along this year.
"Criminality at the event has increased year-on-year. Last year hundreds of Londoners on their way home from work, or out enjoying an evening in the capital, were harassed and intimidated by people causing them huge concern.
"We have such serious concerns about a repetition of such criminal behaviour this year that we have made the decision to impose conditions under the Public Order Act on the event on Saturday 5 November." | 5,043 |
The incidents of violence and protests have been continuing in Kerala since January 2 after the communist government sneaked two of its women activists inside the Sabarimala temple. While the communist government has been accused of using police atrocities against devotees and using excesses, now reports have emerged that CPIM and DYFI activists had vandalised a mosque in Perambra, Kozhikode and tried to blame it on the Sangh Parivar.
As per reports, activists and members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, which is the student wing of the CPIM, and the ruling CPIM goons vandalised and pelted stones at a mosque in Perambra. While initially the act was blamed on the Sangh Parivar and Hindu activists, after police investigations it has come to light that CPIM and DYFI activists were behind it.
News portal MyNation has accessed the police FIR which names the local CPIM branch secretary and 20 other persons who belong to the DYFI and CPIM. A case had been registered against them under section 153 for promoting enmity between two groups and attempting to cause riots.
Kerala: Perambra police registers case against 21 DYFI and CPIM workers under section 153A for promoting enmity between two groups and attempting to cause a riot. — ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2019
On 5th January, BJP MP V Muralidharan’s house near Thalassery was attacked and the RSS office in Kannur was set on fire, allegedly by CPIM workers. Before that, the CPIM goons had also vandalised the residence of an elderly RSS Sanghsanchalak in Kannur.
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Before that, On 2nd January, a 55-year-old member of Sabarimala Karma Samithi had succumbed to skull injuries sustained when CPIM workers allegedly pelted stones at him from the rooftop of their party office in Pamba.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had declared that the man died of a cardiac arrest which was later proven false by the autopsy report.
So far, the Kerala government has arrested 1369 people and detained 717 in connection with incidents of violence.
Before that, the communist government had also registered complaints against 1400 devotees who had participated in a peaceful protest by lighting lamps for the ‘Ayyappa Jyothi’.
Hindu organisations and devotees of Sabarimala temple have been protesting against the communist government’s excesses and attempts to desecrate the traditions of the temple which restricts the entry of women of reproductive age. | 5,044 |
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has urged the Supreme Court to direct all Delhi schools to declare a holiday on days air pollution levels are so high they are deemed particularly harmful for human health.
“Closure of kindergartens, primary and middle schools is one of the steps taken in China on days when pollution levels are high.
Such a measure is essential in Delhi,” the EPCA has said in a report submitted to the apex court. A steep hike in parking charges to limit the use of private vehicles, an additional 30 per cent cess on diesel vehicles to limit their use and blanket ban on commercial vehicles not fit for Delhi are some of the other suggestions made by the authority to the apex court to check pollution.
A typical smoggy day in Delhi, where pollution levels have been rising alarmingly
Submitted to the SC on Friday, the report also suggests that on days when the air pollution is severe and toxic, use of private cars should be banned, with only public transport allowed on roads, besides a complete prohibition on the entry of commercial vehicles.
“Delhi has lost the gains made through the introduction of clean fuel CNG as current pollution levels are high and toxic,” says the report submitted by environmentalist Sunita Narain to a bench headed by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu.
“It is clear that the city needs to bring urgent, drastic and long- term reforms to reduce this burden. The EPCA, in collaboration with the Centre for Science and Environment, is listing out an agenda for cleaning Delhi,” the report adds.
It said, in addition, the central government needs to advance the introduction of Euro IV (Bharat Stage IV) across the country from its current schedule of 2017.
“These actions are necessary to take for combating air pollution. As yet, government response is inadequate and the burden of ill health on people, particularly the most vulnerable, is huge and unacceptable,” it says.
The report points out that across the world, governments take actions based on the quality of air in their city on a particular day.
“This allows for advisories to the most vulnerable so that they reduce their exposure. It also takes emergency action to reduce emissions on these high pollution days," it says.
"About 80 per cent of government-owned cars have to be taken off the roads, private cars will be allowed on alternate days according to number plates. This is what needs to be done in Delhi."
Also outlined in the report is how rapid motorisation based on poor quality fuel and vehicle technology will make air pollution trend irreversible. | 5,045 |
a brilliant mimic and storyteller. Simply put, he was a joy to listen to! Andy, you truly are ‘The King of The North!!!’
But this isn’t the only tour group that he’s part of. On his Facebook page he is proudly displaying the Game of Thrones Touring Exhibition, which runs April 11 through September 1, 2019. It’s open at TEC Belfast and gives fans a chance to step inside Westeros and see authentic props, costumes, and set decorations. It’s located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On Reddit just a week ago, one poster noted that McClay was her guide at the exhibition.
So that’s another place you can find him, if you want to go on a tour led by McClay.
He Was Proud of Giving His Jacket to Kit Harington & Had Great Insight Into the King’s Landing Battle
Every extra is given a jacket each season to commemorate their work. He insisted that Kit Harington take his jacket at the end of the filming because he wanted to “give Jon Snow his jacket.” He was very proud of that moment.
ANDY MCCLAY THE EXTRA GIVING KIT A WRAP JACKET THEN KIT TELLING HIM ITS HIS FAV AND THEN ANDY ASKING HIM IF HE WANTS THE SEASON 8 WRAP JACKET IM—#GameofThrones #TheLastWatch pic.twitter.com/QYXDlZkYab — kiki (@keekerswag) May 27, 2019
McClay also had a great explanation for why the North army took part in the killing spree at King’s Landing along with the Dothraki and the Unsullied. “You can only push a man so far… His house so far,” he said. “It’s not a matter of how good he is…” No, he said, the men in Jon’s army joined in the destruction because it was their time to take revenge for the Red Wedding and for everything the Lannisters had done.
At the end, when Harington gave his speech after his final performance, McClay teared up too. He told the camera, “It’s what Kit was saying… Even though I was just an extra… It really has changed my life… It’s been the best five years of my life.”
Fans don’t see McClay as “just an extra” however. To them, he’s a star. | 5,046 |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James TrudeauCanada says former ambassador to US violated conflict-of-interest law No new Canadian COVID-19 deaths reported for first time since mid-March Trudeau announces millions for first 'Black Entrepreneurship Program' MORE on Monday condemned President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE for telling a group of female minority lawmakers to go back to the "crime infested places" they came from, saying that that is not how things are done in Canada.
"I think Canadians and indeed people around the world know exactly what I think about those particular comments," Trudeau said during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "That is not how we do things in Canada. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. The diversity of our country is actually one of our greatest strengths and a source of tremendous resilience and pride for Canadians and we will to continue to defend that."
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Trudeau did not address whether he thought Trump's latest statements were racist, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation noted.
Trump on Sunday sparked an uproar after telling four freshman House Democrats on Twitter to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came" before speaking out about how the United States government should be run.
The president also claimed that the progressive Democrats "came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe."
He did not identify the lawmakers in his tweet. But the comments came amid a week of rising tensions between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.).
Several Democratic and Republican lawmakers derided the comments as xenophobic and racist. Pelosi on Monday urged House Democrats to back a formal resolution condemning Trump's remarks.
Trump has meanwhile defended his statements about the congresswomen, accusing them of hating the U.S.
"They can leave. And you know what? I’m sure there will be many people that won’t miss them. But they have to love our country. They’re congresspeople,” he said.
The four congresswomen he targeted roundly rejected Trump's statements in a press conference late Monday night. Omar called the tweets "blatantly racist," adding that they were comparable to the "agenda of white nationalists." | 5,047 |
former slaves to exact revenge upon their former masters, but no major strikes have occurred yet as Farandi must do this work in secret since Siriana "doesn't understand" him. Mistress Thulla, his second in command, is his most trusted ally in this endeavor as he once freed her from slavery. His kindness has created in her an obsessive desire to both be the best, and be at his side. She has excelled in every aspect of her training and became the second in command at the Desert School after Farandi's previous apprentice disappeared under mysterious circumstances (yup, she did it).
Allies and Enemies : Manny communities that are not nearby the schools still view Siriana and sorcery with great superstition and fear. She counts some holy orders as allies, but is still fighting an uphill battle to gain acceptance throughout the realm. Due to jealousy of sorcerer's innate power, wizards and their academies despise Siriana.
The Execution
A young person is being hauled off to the town square to be publicly executed due to a fire that destroyed the local mill. A mysterious traveler appears before the axe can fall, disrupting the event, and possibly saving the child from execution. Vengeance must be had though and the local authorities will need someone to track down this fugitive.
The Shackles
A number of the students at the Swamp School have gone missing over the past two weeks, and panic among the sorcerers of that school is mounting. Curiously, only sorcerers that could control wind or water have been taken. An evil sorcerer, Revio, has infiltrated the school and is selling these children to a group of pirates that dock in a nearby town. He has developed sets of magical shackles that allow these sorcerers to be chained to the mast of a ship. Their wind and water magic enhance the ships mobility, but the shackled sorcerer cannot use their magic in any other way. Hilg suspects Revio but her pacifist nature has filled her with doubt.
The Civil War
Farandi hates slavery and everything it entails more than anything in the world. The fury is slowly pushing him away from Silas' teachings of strength through compassion, and creating a rift in the schools. He knows that sorcerers are capable of great power, he knows that kingdoms would grovel at their feet, and he knows that if he chooses to rule, he can bring about peace through might. He is spending more and more time actively freeing slaves, and less and less time at the school. This is troubling to Siriana, but not as troubling as the large number of young sorcerers that seem to agree with Farandi's vision of a sorcerer's "proper place".
| 5,048 |
The company continues to list rentals in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
A Palestinian campaign has called on people to deactivate their Airbnb accounts on May 15, because the home-sharing platform continues to list rental properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The global coalition behind the #deactivateAirbnb campaign asks people around the world to deactivate their Airbnb accounts on May 15, which is the 71st anniversary of the Nakba, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency said.
Widespread protests are expected in the Palestinian territories on the anniversary of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in 1948 as Israel was established.
Last November, Airbnb had announced that it would remove “listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians”, a statement on the Airbnb website said. It did not promise to remove properties in occupied East Jerusalem.
The delisting announcement prompted an outcry from Israeli officials and a flurry of legal claims against the San Francisco-based company.
In April, Airbnb said it would not implement the delisting of occupied West Bank settlement properties, which are considered illegal under international law.
The company said it would instead “donate proceeds from any of these bookings to international humanitarian aid organizations.”
‘War crimes’
In calling for the May 15 boycott, the coalition’s statement quoted by the Ma’an news agency said that “Israeli settlements are considered war crimes under international law and are responsible for the displacement of Palestinians and the theft of their land.”
“By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb and other international companies are contributing to the economic viability of settlements and are normalizing Israeli annexation of Palestinian land,” it added.
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Salem Barahmeh, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, said: “It is time to end this culture of impunity that has allowed the occupation, oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people to continue.”
“International companies are complicit in perpetuating this injustice and must be held accountable. Through the #deactivateAirbnb campaign, people can choose whether to be complicit in supporting war crimes or ending them,” Barahmeh added.
In January, human rights organisation Amnesty International issued a report that accused Airbnb and other travel firms of profiting from “war crimes” by “normalising” illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. | 5,049 |
flung women and men reaching out tentatively, reading Lisa’s first posts about Veggie Tales and gender roles. We didn’t know how to help ourselves, much less others. Today Mormon feminists are spearheading social action (Wear Pants to Church Day), writing books (The Book of Mormon Girl, Flunking Sainthood and Chaste) and informing the Brits about our awesomeness. We do all of that because you do all of that. You read, you write, you share, you make all of this happen and all of us here at fMh are profoundly proud to know you and to get to be a part of your lives.
*update- we got some of the facts wrong and want to apologize for speaking hastily and set the record straight. Bobbie Mathews has kindly given us permission to print her letter to us:
Hi Nikki,
Thank you so much for passing along our story. There are a couple of things that I feel need to be corrected though. First, we have a 3 year old daughter and our 9 week old is a handsome little boy. Second, the Bishop didn’t offer anything from the store house or vouchers but did bring to my parents home a small box of items (bag of diapers, can of formula and a few items of clothing) he was very kind as he knows my parents and lives right around the corner from them. It was later that night or the next day when he posted on his Facebook page that we were no longer in need of donations. I would have never known but another angel (such as yourself and the amazing readers of your blog) was appalled at his actions. I grew up in the church so I just let it go as my lifestyle goes against the doctrine of the church. He has his beliefs and I have to respect that. He did what he thought was right for him. We are grateful for the items he did bring and thankful for his service. I can’t expect him to understand our family, I just wish he would have seen that we are no different than any other family in the neighborhood. We love, we laugh, we cry, we raise our children to be kind and give to others, we will teach them to have high moral standards and instill in them a love of service to others.
Ash and I will be home tomorrow evening and are open to meeting R. and her children. I think it’s important for them to see first and foremost that we are just a normal family who just happens to have two moms. Families come in all sizes and types and all should be celebrated.
Thanks for everything, you are truly an angel!
Bobbie | 5,050 |
Southampton duo Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana are not in transfer talks with other clubs, says director Les Reed.
Left-back Shaw, 18, and attacking midfielder Lallana, 25, both made their England debuts this season and have been linked with Manchester United.
"Reports that some of our players are negotiating transfers are misinformed," said former Charlton manager Reed.
"As we stand, there have been no enquiries or offers for any of our players. That is the truth."
Shaw, nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, has produced several exceptional performances for manager Mauricio Pochettino's side this season.
quote There is not going to be a fire-sale, we want to keep all of our best players at the club and build for the future
He won his first senior cap in March when he replaced Ashley Cole at half-time in the 1-0 friendly win against Denmark.
Lallana is on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award. He has scored 10 goals for the Saints - eighth in the Premier League - this season and won his made his senior England debut in November's friendly against Chile.
"No club has been given permission to talk to any of our players," added Reed.
"We have had a great season and we want to improve on it. We want retain the players we've got. They are all contracted and we intend to honour those contracts.
"Any enquiries we get will probably be met with a 'no, not for sale'. Our intention is to keep this very good team together and build on it by bringing in players to improve on that. We have our targets and these are things we talk about on a daily basis."
Last month the club announced they owed £27m in transfer fees but Reed says that does not affect their ability to keep hold of their star players.
"There is not going to be a fire-sale, we want to keep all of our best players at the club and build for the future."
Reed also moved to quash any speculation surrounding Pochettino's future at the club, with the Argentine yet to commit his long-term future to Southampton.
However, Reed says both manager and club are "comfortable with the situation".
He added: "We would like to focus on the remaining fixtures of the season. We will pick up the contract talks over the summer. We are both happy with that.
"We talk about the future every day. We're both comfortable with the situation. We are planning for the future and the long-term future." | 5,051 |
ConsenSys Continues Restructuring Process with ConsenSys Health Spin-Off
ConsenSys, an Ethereum-based blockchain project led by Joe Lubin, has announced that ConsenSys Health has now become an independent entity, as part of its restructuring process, according to a Ledger Insights report on February 26, 2020.
ConsenSys Health Now Independent of ConsenSys
As reported by BTCManager, the ConsenSys project has been carrying out wholesale restructuring since last year, a process that has seen the firm close shop in India, as well as the Philippines, while also laying-off 14 percent of its workforce.
Now as part of the restructuring process, ConsenSys has made it clear that ConsenSys Health, a project under the firm which focuses on addressing the complex needs of healthcare and life sciences with the Ethereum blockchain, has now become an independent company.
Per sources close to the matter, ConsenSys Health will now be headed by Heather Leigh Flannery, who functioned as the division head of ConsenSys Health, and also spent nine years as founder and CEO of Obesity Prevention, Policy and Management.
Revolutionizing Healthcare with Blockchain
Explaining the reason behind ConsenSys’ decision to spin-off ConsenSys Health, Joe Lubin, Founder of ConsenSys and co-founder of Ethereum reiterated that the move will make it easier for the firm to focus solely on the health industry and provide highly functional blockchain solutions for the sector.
In his words:
“Technology for the healthcare ecosystem demands the foundational security, identity and efficiency that comes with distributed ledger technology, along with unique privacy and ethical considerations that deserve singular focus. Spinning off a separate company in this area is an opportunity for us to combine the powerful technology built by ConsenSys with a team of domain leaders to provide solutions to the biggest challenges in healthcare, many of which we feel the impact daily.”
Flannery is the Co-Founder and Board Chair of Blockchain in Healthcare Global (BiHG) an organization under the purview of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Giving voice to the latest development, Flannery said:
“Global leaders see the need for change in the current healthcare system, as it lacks the affordability, access and inclusivity that patients need. The combination of innovative technologies such as machine learning and blockchain enables us o approach old problems in new ways.”
In related news, on February 25, 2020, BTCManager informed that the FDA and top players in the pharma ecosystem have reached a consensus concerning the importance of blockchain technology in pharma products traceability. | 5,052 |
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the 100 meter sprint gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He ran the 100 meter race in 9.63 seconds. There are about 3.28 feet in a meter and 5280 feet in a mile. What was Usain Bolt's average speed for the 100 meter race in miles per hour?
IM Commentary
This task involves a multi-step conversion between two rates, going from meters per second to miles per hour. In this case, the units coming from the 100 meter race are meters per second and we do not have a good intuition for what this means in miles per hour. Most of us are used to thinking about speeds in terms of miles per hour since the speedometers in our automobiles use these units, so it is good for students to be able to convert between miles per hour and other units for speed that naturally come up.
The first solution shows all units in the calculations and does not make any calculations until the end. The second solution goes step by step and provides an excellent opportunity to discuss rounding error as it is important here to make all calculations (as in the first method) before rounding rather than using the rounded numbers for successive calculations.
In addition to the work on conversion of units, it might be interesting to compare the top speed of the fastest human being to some familiar animals:
Animal Top Speed (in mph) Hippopotamus 19 Kangaroo 45 Horse 47 Gazelle 50 Cheetah 70
Remarkably, of the animals in the table, the fastest human beings can only run faster than the hippopotamus. Note that the speed calculated in this problem is the average speed for 100 meters which is a little less than the top speed, but 23mph is significantly less than any of the other animals on the list. For a more creative implementation of this task, the teacher could provide the table of different animal speeds and ask the students how the fastest human beings would fair against them in a race.
The relevant practice standards for this problem are MP2, Reason abstractly and quantitatively, as students move between the context and the calculations, and MP6, Attend to precision, as students must focus on units and the accuracy with which they present their final answer. Note that both the time for the 100 meter race and the conversion from meters to feet are given with three digit, so only three digits should remain in the answer. Also, given the number of steps required to solve this problem, it is well aligned to MP1, Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Given the complexity of the problem, it would not be appropriate for high-stakes summative assessment but would be very appropriate in an instructional setting. | 5,053 |
THQ exec Danny Bilson has spoken out on rumours that THQ is planning to dissolve New York-based Homefront developer Kaos Studios and relocate staff to its new Montreal studio.
According to a Develop source last month, disgruntled staff have been concerned that THQ is planning to shut up shop once the game ships and move employees a few hundred miles north to save on the high cost of doing business in the Big Apple.
That's not necessarily the case, THQ core games VP Danny Bilson told Eurogamer today, but it is on the table.
"Y'know, I think that the power of the guys in that studio who really built this game I really have tremendous respect for them," he said, before explaining its fate depended on how well the game sold.
"I tell them the more successful a game is, the better the economics are for the franchise, and that will help to influence what we do. So we haven't made any decisions at the moment. That's the truth. We're going to look at how it goes. We don't want to relocate people just to relocate people.
"A lot of it has to do with how successful it is and how strong that core team comes out on the other side," he added. "I love those guys. I've worked very closely with them on this game for years. There's nothing disrespectful going on at all. We're trying to do what's best for everyone."
Bilson did give the Kaos team cause for optimism, revealing that Homefront was the most pre-ordered game in THQ history with 200,000 sales already locked down in the USA alone.
The shooter, which sees you helping to rid American soil of an occupying North Korean army, launches on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 11th March.
As revealed in October last year, THQ's new Montreal HQ will house around 400 developers and be headed up by poached Assassin's Creed creative director Patrice Désilets. When asked what the former Ubisoft man will be working on, Bilson insisted that he wasn't in the loop.
"He doesn't start until next summer when his non-compete [agreement] is over with Ubisoft," he explained.
"I understand that he has an idea of what he wants to do, but I honestly don't know what it is. Somebody who knows him said 'Oh, I've heard it, it's really cool' and I said 'Well, I haven't'. And that's the truth as I can't legally know. But I trust him he's a tremendous talent and I'm looking forward to it." | 5,054 |
Putin is due to speak to Trump later today (Picture: Getty Images)
A former KGB chief suspected of helping compile the controversial Trump dossier has been found dead, as the US president prepares to speak to Vladimir Putin today.
Oleg Erovinkin, a former general in the KGB and its modern successor the FSB, was found dead in the back of his car in Moscow on December 26.
Dog 'cries' after being forced to eat hot chilli in disturbing social media trend
The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have led to speculation that he was murdered.
Many are even suggesting that his death is somehow linked to the explosive dossier, which was compiled by British former spy Christopher Steele.
Erovinkin was an aide to Igor Sechin, a former deputy prime minister and head of the state-owned oil company Rosneft. Sechin is repeatedly named in the dossier, which sparked an international scandal when it was published earlier this month.
Donald Trump dismissed the dossier as ‘fake news’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Despite the dossier’s lurid claims sparking an international furore, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly dismissed it as ‘fake news’.
Happy Rosh Hashanah! When is it, greetings and what does Shana Tova mean?
RIA Novosti, the Russian state-run news agency, reported that Erovinkin’s body was ‘found in a black Lexus’ and that ‘a large-scale investigation has been commenced in the area. Erovinkin’s body was sent to the FSB morgue’.
The FSB continues to investigate, and the cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
Rosneft’s press secretary Mikhail Leontiev told the Moscow Times that the 61-year-old suffered from heart problems.
Patrushev says everything will be ‘positive’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Meanwhile, President Trump is getting ready for a phone call with Russian President Putin today – their first official contact since his inauguration last week.
Rapists to be castrated and given death sentence under new laws in Nigeria
Moscow apparently has high hopes for the call, with Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev saying that ‘everything will be positive’.
Ahead of the chat, however, Trump has been non-committal about whether he would lift American sanctions on Moscow.
When asked about the economic penalties on Friday, he told reporters: ‘We’ll see what happens.’ | 5,055 |
WASHINGTON — Average premiums for individual insurance plans on the national exchange created by the Affordable Care Act will be down next year after major spikes in 2017 and 2018.
According to a new report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the price for a benchmark "silver" plan through the federal HealthCare.gov site will be an average of 1.5 percent lower in 2019 after rising 37 percent in 2018.
There's wide variation from state to state. In Tennessee, premiums are down 26 percent after a 56 percent increase the previous year. In North Dakota, they're up 20 percent after an 8 percent increase in 2018. Open enrollment for plans begins Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15.
“President Trump’s administration took action to address the skyrocketing price of health insurance, and now we are starting to see the results,” CMS administrator Seema Verma said in a press release.
But much of the drop-off is due to companies raising premiums too much in 2018, experts say, amid a chaotic period when Republicans came close to repealing Obamacare and President Donald Trump announced plans to "let Obamacare implode" in order to pressure Democrats politically.
During this time, a number of insurers pulled out of markets entirely, briefly leaving some areas with no plans before state officials managed to attract replacements, in some cases by approving large premium hikes. This year, more insurers are expanding their presence instead. Thirty-nine percent of counties have only one insurer, versus 56 percent in 2018.
Democrats countered that the premiums would be even lower absent moves by the administration that experts say likely increased them.
“Here's the simple truth: People buying health insurance in America today are paying more for it than they should because of the relentless sabotage campaign by the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress and the states,” Leslie Dach, chair of the progressive group Protect Our Care, said in a statement.
Trump has recently claimed credit for stabilizing markets, but independent analysts say a number of White House actions increased premiums, including ending the individual mandate to buy insurance, cutting off payments to insurers for lower deductibles and promoting alternative short-term plans that do not have to cover pre-existing conditions.
"Premiums are going down because insurers overshot with premium increases this year that were too high," Larry Levitt, senior vice president for health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said on Twitter. “Premiums would be even lower if not for repeal of the individual mandate penalty and expansion of short-term plans.”
Other administration moves most likely contributed to the premium decrease, however, including approving state plans to stabilize their markets. | 5,056 |
CARACAS (Reuters) - A Vatican representative sought on Tuesday night to rescue faltering talks between Venezuela’s leftist government and the opposition, after President Nicolas Maduro’s rivals said they would sit out further meetings unless concessions were made.
Slideshow ( 4 images )
Venezuela’s opposition snubbed a scheduled meeting with government officials on Tuesday, saying the government’s earlier electoral and foreign aid promises had not been kept.
Hopes for real rapprochement during the formal talks, which began in October with facilitators from the Vatican, have always been slim.
The two sides are at loggerheads, with the opposition seeking the ouster of socialist Maduro, while authorities have vowed he would not leave office before his term ends in 2019.
“We’ll only sit down with the government again once they meet what was agreed on,” opposition coalition leader Jesus Torrealba said after a meeting with facilitators.
The two sides had previously reached tentative agreements, including potentially letting foreign donors provide food and medicine to the country and working toward replacing directors of the national elections authority, whom the opposition has called government puppets. The opposition has also pushed for the release of what it says is over 100 jailed activists. A few have been released since the start of talks, but the opposition said it was insufficient.
Both sides, however, will continue to meet with the dialogue’s facilitators, Torrealba said. He added that they had made proposals to restart the dialogue “so that it can be useful for the country and yield results.”
The Vatican’s envoy, Claudio Maria Celli, said after meetings with both sides that they would hold technical meetings until Jan. 13 to discuss issues including “justice and human rights” as well as “generating confidence in the electoral schedule.”
“We must begin a stage that will bring us towards the reactivation, consolidation and sustainability of dialogue,” said Celli, reading a statement supported by representatives of both sides. He did not provide details about the proposals.
Dialogue has divided the diverse opposition coalition, with some activists and politicians feeling the government was duping them to buy time.
The situation in oil-rich Venezuela has worsened in recent months, with a recession leaving millions unable to find or afford food amid shortages and spiraling inflation.
The opposition blames Maduro, who has an approval rating of around 20 percent, and has been vying to remove him via a recall referendum. The former bus driver and union leader has said the opposition is seeking a coup against him and has vowed to finish his term. | 5,057 |
situation in Tamaulipas is in many ways worse. Between January and March of this year, Michoacan had 72 kidnappings, while Tamaulipas had 103. Milenio reports that this is a 76 percent increase since 2010.
The conflict in Tamaulipas has received less coverage in part because local media has been censored by the cartels.
Journalist Diego Osorno, who has published a book about the Zetas called “La Guerra de los Zetas,” writes, “In Michoacan the situation is serious, but they’ve always had minimal civil liberties which allow them to at least talk about what is happening there. That is why the self-defense militias have been able to have ample media coverage in the last few months. Tamaulipas, on the other hand, does not get to enjoy those minimal protections Michoacan gets, and their situation is even more serious.”
Twitter has been pivotal in poking holes in that blanket of silence. While Michoacan’s self defense groups took up in arms, the outraged citizens of Tamaulipas took up in social media- reporting on issues local media do not dare to, through the twitter hastag #Reynosafollow. One well known account, @ValorxTamaulipas, has provided a provided live coverage of shootouts.
“#SDRTampico here’s a close up shot of Avenida Uni, loud explosions, an explosive has been thrown into this restaurant” he warns readers in one tweet. “#SDRTampico In the Pescadores burrough they were chasing a white truck and shooting at each other” he tweets in another.
But even twitter users have been threatened. Recently flyers were posted throughout Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, posting a reward for the man behind @ValorxTamaulipas.
“600 thousand pesos in exchange for precise information about the owner of ValorxTamaulipas, or his family: mother, father, wife or children…we will give you good money to shut up pendejos who think they are superheroes. Abstain from doing dumb shit, show some appreciation for your own life.”
In a recent interview with the online Mexican magazine Emeequis, @ValorxTamaulipas, responded “I am not a superhero, I am a coward, because I do this from an anonymous account. But what more can I do? Submit to them [the cartel]? No.” | 5,058 |
sters can't resist watching things go boom – even if it's their teammates in the spawn base. They're not above firing a rocket launcher into a group of comrades, giggling uncontrollably as the downed players groan in frustration and disbelief. Taking out a teammate is also their first solution to a location dispute. If you move into a position they feel entitled to, the teamkiller won't hesitate to put a bullet in your back.
3. The Armchair General
He's never been on a tour of duty in Iraq or held a gun in his life, but watching weekend-long Military Channel marathons has given this insufferable player an encyclopedic knowledge of mundane details he can't wait to shower other players with in Call of Duty. When he's unable to shoot a player across the map with his SMG, he snidely comments that the real MP5 has an effective kill range of 600 yards – the game designers clearly don't know how to balance weapons. When you successfully escape the blast radius of a napalm strike, he casually remarks that you wouldn't have survived in real life because one firebomb has the potential to lay waste to 2,500 square yards. Thanks for the fun facts, Cliff Claven – now can you shut the hell up and let me enjoy the game?
2. The Cheater
This unfortunate breed of d-bag ruins the competitive balance of a match by exploiting glitches the developer hasn't patched yet. Even when the devs squash known exploits, this devious community digs for new ways to gain the upper hand in ill-gotten ways. The worst of this breed may be the boosters – players so obsessed with having a prominent spot on the leaderboards that they go off in a corner with a Milhouse-like minion to start inflating their stats. Is a high prestige and an obviously forged kill/death ratio really that desirable?
1. The Rager
These jag-offs are the primary reason many gamers shun online multiplayer altogether. When the Rager isn't spewing hate speech by calling every downed enemy a "f-g" or "homo," he's blowing out your eardrum with primordial grunts, screams, and other baser expressions of emotion that call to mind the intellectual savvy of a wounded animal. These blowhards randomly select gamers to antagonize, threaten bodily harm on anyone who talks back regardless of the fact they they are often located thousands of miles apart, and inevitably turn on their own teammates when their side falls behind. The only saving grace of these agitators is that they can't handle losing, and often drop out of matches if they end up on the wrong end of a winning streak. | 5,059 |
BlackRock's global fixed income chief says the European Central Bank just turned up the pressure on the Federal Reserve, making it slightly more possible the Fed could cut rates Wednesday instead of waiting to do so in July as expected.
Rick Rieder, who is also head portfolio manager for BlackRock's Global Allocation Fund, does not expect a Fed rate cut until July, but he said the European Central Bank head's dovish comments signal the ECB is going to ease its policy even more.
"I do think there is a chance they go, but the odds are not high," Rieder said of a possible Fed move Wednesday.
ECB President Mario Draghi said Tuesday that Europe's central bank could cut interest rates again or conduct more asset purchases if inflation doesn't meet its target. That sent global bond yields tumbling, with the German 10-year bund yield falling to an all-time low of negative 0.32% and the French 10-year to its first negative yield ever.
"I think Draghi raised the bar. I think Draghi, his comments here are very aggressive. When he says inflation has to be above that level at some time in the future, that doesn't hit the bar, that says he wants to go beyond it. That raises the bar," said Rieder. The ECB has been aiming to keep inflation close to 2%, well above the May level of about 1.2% for the euro zone.
Rieder, whose firm manages $6.5 trillion in investments and is the world's largest asset manager, said Draghi is also putting his mark on policy that could remain in place after he steps aside in October. "I do think of this as his legacy statement. He is setting a framework out there so whoever the incoming president is going to consider this very highly and not reverse course. He's putting a stake in the ground."
As the European yields fell to record lows Tuesday, the U.S. 10-year yield reached 2.01%, its lowest level since 2016. The yield, which moves opposite price, rose to 2.05% later in the day. "I do think we're going to get below a 2% 10-year," Rieder said. "It has to do with trade. I do think the U.S. economy is in good shape, and I think ultimately rates can trend higher. I think you can get another 30, 40 basis points higher in yield The next steps are going to be a bit lower."
Rieder said if the trade situation between the U.S. and China deteriorated, the 10-year yield could fall to 1.8 or 1.85%. | 5,060 |
‘terrorist with box cutters’ narrative of 911.
“Russia Collusion’ is a false flag operation run by Robert Mueller.
Patriots are not going to let Mueller’s false flag operation be successful. We did our research and we know where truth is going to take us. Information warriors are using their circles of influence to get out memes, videos, posts, and tweets to make sure the people are getting real truth, from real people.
Let’s keep pressing forward with the truth, AIM Patriots. Keep educating and enlightening your circle of influence as you show them how Christopher Steele is related to Stefan Halper. Then take each name, step by step, and walk truth straight into the Privy Council.
Stefan Halper
Who is Stefan Halper?
Halper: Senior Executive Service Spy
International Esionage, Spygate, and All the Queen’s Men
These are breadcrumbs!
Sir Richard Dearlove
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Privy Council Interfered with the 2016 U. S. Presidential Election
EXPOSED: The British are Running a Coup Operation Against the President of the United States…Again
Sir Geoffrey Pattie
Queen’s Henchman Geoffrey Pattie Fails to Overthrow Donald J. Trump
Spygate was Directed by the Queen, not Russia
The Windsors Are Not Our Friends
The Biggest International Espionage Plot the World Has Ever Seen – SPYGATE
Sir George Mark Malloch-Brown
Diane Feinstein and Husband Richard C. Blum Control MSM Censorship with Lord Mark-Malloch-Brown Using Avid ISIS Leaderplus Election Management Software
Mark Malloch-Brown and the Shell Companies
Nick Clegg
Sir Nick Clegg was Lord President of the Privy Council and worked closely with Sir Geoffrey E. Pattie in communications and trade
Queen’s Privy Council Infiltrates Facebook
Richard B. Allan
FACEBOOK NO-NAME SENT TO SPOOK THE MARKETS
So there we go. Mission accomplished. We have connected the theft of social media to the Privy Council in an unbroken trail of evidence. And along the way, we have discovered that the globalists have been waging a 100-year war against humanity. We call it the Great Information War. It is an elaborate war of deception, propaganda, and brainwashing.
Best news is this. Now that we know who our enemy is, we know who are target is. And our opposition can’t meme. | 5,061 |
from the CT scan. According to Miller et al.37, who measured by Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pitch-related adjustments in ten healthy volunteers, high note humming was accompanied by increased craniocervical angles. In singing, the position of the atlas with respect to the true vertical (P < 0.001), the axis (P < 0.001) and the C4 vertebra both with respect to the horizontal (P < 0.001) and the axis with respect to the cranium (P < 0.001), were all significantly different to those at rest38. This prolonged condition in Pacchierotti, combined with his osteoporosis, can account for the eroded states of his cervical vertebrae. Di Carlo carried out a systematic X-ray study of cervical spine of three populations of subjects (professional singers, beginning singers and non-singers), which showed deformations of cervical spine after many years of intensive singing39.
According to research in phoniatrics40,41, the ideal posture of the neck in a singer is with the back of the neck elongated compared with the position of the shoulders, so that the rotation of the neck-head is not limited. This technique also permits to avoid passive tilting, lifting or stretching of the laryngeal box, allowing that freedom of management of the glottal-upper glottal system that promotes a greater ease of development of harmonics. An incorrect posture at this level has an influence not only on the stamp, but also on the respiratory dynamics. A correct postural attitude requires the cervical spine to be maintained in an erect position, in nuchal elongation, avoiding the lordosis, the extension and lifting of the jaw. This particular posture determined the progressive erosion of Pacchiarotti cervical vertebrae. A correct postural alignment of the head and neck, in fact, is a necessary element in the optimization of voice production38. Finally, the great bodily size of Pacchiarotti, in particular of his chest, was positively associated with the power of his voice, described as an “extensive soprano”41.
In conclusion, this research describes, for the first time, the occupational markers and the hormonal effect of castration on a whole skeleton of a castrato singer integrating the knowledge about castration in men and animals and its effects on the skeleton. It provides also an enlightening description of the occupational markers of professional singers.
“Today we can but guess what the great singers of the past can have sounded like; but one might hazard a guess that of all the castrati, could we hear them, Pacchierotti would please us most”42. | 5,062 |
Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
As TVNewser's Chris Ariens reported today: "CNN bore the brunt of the downward trend the news networks experienced this month and for much of the first quarter, when compared to the busy first few months of 2011.
For the month of March, CNN was down -50% in total viewers and down -60% in A25-54 viewers (Total Day). The net was down -21% in Total Viewers and down -26% in A25-54 viewers (Primetime) compared to March 2011."
The viewer exodus is not limited to CNN, though. Roger Ailes' aging heavyweight champion FOX News "was not immune to a loss in viewership for the month of March and for the first quarter of 2012. For the month, Fox News is down -17%," according to another post by Ariens.
Perhaps, if I may be so bold, this is what happens to you when you continue to report stories that no longer resemble -- even remotely -- what your own viewers see outside their windows and apartments.
CNN has barely covered the rapidly growing Occupy and Tea Party protests around the country, and as the clip from Current TV's Cenk Uygur below points out, CNN gave zero prime-time coverage to the NDAA's indefinite detention provisions, arguably one of the most devastating rollbacks of Americans' civil rights ever.
Perhaps viewers are sick and tired of the same half-assed recycled stories about Kim Kardashian, the same shiny Piers Morgan celebrity interviews, and perhaps a war weary public is also not so quick to slurp up CNN's incoherent Iran warmongering.
Perhaps viewers are disgusted with CNN's packaging of the 2012 election year -- a critical time regardless of where you stand politically -- into a crass sports event, heavy on special effects and "analysis," and quite thin on actual reporting.
Now, I don't think CNN's viewers have suddenly decided not to consume news any more. I just think they are going online to do it.
They are turning to independent shows, like mine, and like The Young Turks... they are turning to news sites like The Huffington Post and Daily Caller... and they are turning to each other: social sharing services such as Reddit and StumbleUpon now command a massive audience, and can lift an obscure blog post into the mainstream consciousness within a matter of hours.
Maybe your viewers no longer need you.
Cenk Uygur explores CNN's massive failure to cover the NDAA:
Follow David Seaman and The DL Show: http://twitter.com/d_seaman and on Google+.
| 5,063 |
By Ben Travis | Posted 23 Aug 2019
Disney’s D23 event is about to kick off in the States, sure to bring with it exciting updates from the worlds of Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Disney+, and everything else the studio has a hand in these days. But before all those major movie announcements arrive, the first thing to emerge from this year’s expo is a fresh look at the upcoming Marvel areas which will be popping up at Disney theme parks at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Now that the immersive Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge worlds are a go in Florida and California, Disney is going all-out in bringing the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its parks – with planned expansions which have just been announced to have the name ‘Avengers Campus’. According to the D23 site, those who visit the upcoming new comic book lands will “become part of an interconnected, global story spanning from California to Paris to Hong Kong, as the Avengers recruit new extraordinary people to join them.” No news yet on whether that means you'll get to punch Thanos in his big purple face or not.
View Gallery 4 photos 1 of 4 Credit: Disney Spidey-sense Disney teases a Spider-Man exhibit from the Avengers Campus theme park at D23.
Disney Unveils Avengers Campus Theme Park Concept Art 1of4 CREDIT: Disney Spidey-sense Disney teases a Spider-Man exhibit from the Avengers Campus theme park at D23.
CREDIT: Disney Stark imagery The concept art for the California version features the Stark Industries logo, and Spider-Man thwipping through the air.
CREDIT: Disney Big plans The other end of the concept art shows a Pym Technologies building, the Avengers logo, and the Quinjet.
CREDIT: Disney A global story The Avengers Campus lands will be launching in Disney's California and Paris theme parks.
First Images From George Clooney's The Midnight Sky
Excitingly for UK-based fans of the MCU, Avengers Campus will be coming to Disneyland Paris, our nearest Disney theme park, as well as the California park. Some new concept art – above – teases what the Campus will look like, and if you squint up-close you can spy the likes of a Stark Industries building, a Pym lab, the Quinjet and more in the designs.
Elsewhere, a Moana-themed land titled ‘Journey Of Water’ is being planned for Disney’s Epcot park in Florida.
Stay tuned for bigger news coming out of D23 over the next few days. | 5,064 |
Is Progressive Enhancement Over? Hi everyone,
Recently, Nolan Lawson wrote a post theorizing that perhaps the time for progressive enhancement was over. He focused mostly on whether or not the "no JavaScript" experience is still meaningful in today's world and argued that network connectivity is the biggest problem for most users (mobile and wifi users). If that is the case, he continued, then we should be pushing as much as we can to the browser and JavaScript so we can deliver a decent user experience where we aren't sure if we'll ever have a connection back to the server. A fair argument given recent history.
In response, longtime progressive enhancement proponent Aaron Gustafson wrote a response, in which he explained why he doesn't see progressive enhancement as diametrically opposed to approaches like offline-first. His primary point is that while service workers help with repeat visits, the first visit isn't well served, especially if the service worker script fails to load or execute. He echoes the old saying about progressive enhancement that it's not about the technology, it's about the user experience.
Those who have followed me for a while will know that I'm also a big proponent of progressive enhancement. It's been my go-to approach for over a decade and I've seen it work to improve existing web applications, build a solid foundation from scratch for new web applications, and help solve a bunch of problems when single-page, JavaScript-only apps started to include progressive enhancement concepts. Over the years, I've had to debate whether this is the correct approach or not several times. At the end of the debate, I'm usually left saying a couple of things.
First, that progressive enhancement isn't about having a JavaScript vs. JavaScript-disabled experience, it's about providing the best possible user experience throughout the entire lifecycle of the web application. Yes, native apps sometimes show up blank because they fail to load data from the server, but that doesn't mean it's a good user experience or that we should say it's acceptable for web applications. If we can do better, why wouldn't we?
Second, progressive enhancement isn't a strict prescription, it's a way of thinking about the software you're building. It doesn't say "no JavaScript" or "yes HTML," specifically. Instead, it encourages you to think more deeply about the problem you're trying to solve, and guides you towards solutions that work for the maximum number of users.
These two points are why I believe progressive enhancement is as relevant today as it has ever been. The only difference now is that we have more options for improving the user experience than ever before.
Be well.
-N | 5,065 |
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Horrified villagers searching for their missing pal were shocked when they found him in the stomach of a 7m-long PYTHON who had swallowed him whole.
Friends of Akbar Salubiro found him still wearing welly boots, short and t-shirt when he was cut from the belly of the beast.
The snake was sliced open with an 18-inch hunting knife after villagers hunting for Salubiro found it in his back garden.
The 25-year-old vanished after he set off for work harvesting palm oil in a remote village on the island of west sulawesi, Indonesia, on Sunday night.
(Image: Viral Press) (Image: Viral Press)
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When he didn't return home concerned friends and relatives began looking for him the next evening.
They found the stodged python sprawled out in Akbar's own back garden on Monday night at 10pm - and feared he had been suffocated and swallowed.
Locals gathered round as one man used an 18-inch long hunting knife to slice open the serpent - and found Akbar inside still intact.
(Image: Viral Press)
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Incredible footage shows the corpse being slowly removed from the killer reptile as the leathery skin is peeled away.
Neighbour Satriawan - who knew Akbar - said: "He was found in the location of the garden.
"Initially Akbar set out from his home to go to harvest palm, after not returning to his home people looked for him."
(Image: Viral Press)
Local media reported that Akbar's wife, Munu, was away at the time and only found out when pictures and video emerged in the news.
Village secretary Salubiro Junaidi said: "People had heard cries from the palm grove the night before Akbar was found in the snake's stomach.
"When the snake was captured, the boots Akbar was wearing were clearly visible in the stomach of the snake.
"Resident cut open the belly of the snake and Akbar was lifeless."
Reticulated pythons are boa constrictors that suffocate their victims before swallowing them whole. | 5,066 |
Back in February, NASA announced that it intends to bring back the X-planes, a series of experimental aircraft designed to test out new technologies that dates back to the first plane to break the sound barrier in 1947. Now the newest member of the family, dubbed the X-57, has been revealed. With 14 electric motors driving 14 propellors, the X-57 is designed to test greener propulsion technologies.
Nicknamed "Maxwell", the X-57 is the first X-plane that NASA has designated in a decade, and it marks the beginning of New Aviation Horizons, a 10-year initiative that aims to kickstart the general aviation industry's adoption of technologies that reduce fuel consumption, emissions and noise pollution.
Each of Maxwell's specially-designed wings will have seven propellors, each powered by their own electric motor. All up that's 14 propellors and 14 electric motors, 12 of which are positioned on the leading edge of the wings and will be used for taking off and landing, while a larger motor at each wing tip will be used at cruising altitude. That's a total of six motors less than the original HEIST wing design it appears to be based on.
The prototype's key mission is to demonstrate the energy efficiency of electric motors, specifically how spreading the power among multiple motors could allow the plane to consume just one-fifth of the energy that a normal private plane would while cruising at 175 mph (282 km/h).
Other benefits of the X-57 include the elimination of carbon emissions thanks to battery power, and as a result, decreasing the demand for the lead-based fuels which are still common in the aviation industry. The increased efficiency is predicted to reduce the operational cost by as much as 40 percent for small aircraft, and since the fuel consumption associated with flying at higher speeds will be negated, flight times may be shortened. And of course, quieter electric motors means less noise for people on the ground.
With 14 electric motors, the X-57 will run on battery power, eliminating local carbon emissions and reducing operational costs and noise pollution NASA Langley/Advanced Concepts Lab, AMA, Inc.
Maxwell is named after James Clerk Maxwell, the 19th century Scottish physicist famous for his research into electromagnetism. To build the prototype, NASA's Scalable Convergent Electric Propulsion Technology Operations Research (SCEPTOR) project will modify a Tecnam P2006T light aircraft, as part of a four-year flight demonstrator plan.
The X-57 will eventually be joined by up to five larger, transport-scale X-planes, which will also be designed to test greener technologies and speed their introduction into the marketplace.
Source: NASA | 5,067 |
and the message we are carrying just as much as young people. I am speaking not only for millennial progressives, but progressives from every generation that want to see common sense reform.
New Theory: How will you fix the current issue we are having with student loans?
Alex Law: The student loan crisis is an incredibly important issue for me. Along with raising the minimum wage, it is an issue that can immediately improve the lives of millions of Americans nearly overnight with a single piece of legislation.
We allow banks to borrow at 1% or less, meanwhile, the government makes students pay 9-10%. We are turning our banks into charity cases and our future leaders, our students, into profit centers. I fundamentally believe that students should never have to borrow at a higher rate than Wall Street. Good policy would be to allow refinancing of student loans on a federal level to whatever rate banks are currently borrowing at. Overnight, this lessens the burden of millions of Americans that are having their back broken by the 1.2 trillion dollars of student loan debt. I believe we should also look into exactly what we can do in terms of loan forgiveness plans and subsidizing certain forms of education such as community college.
New Theory: One of the biggest problems in the district you are running in is the high number of foreclosures throughout CD1 and abandoned homes in Camden. What will you do to fix these issues?
Alex Law: One of the biggest policy differences I have with my opponent and his brother, machine boss George Norcross—and we have many differences—is around economic development. They have given almost a billion dollars to huge corporations that are going to build new structures in Camden, but realistically not create very many new jobs. To me, economic development starts with small business. I’d have given that money to small businesses either through subsidized loans or grants. They would have created a huge amount of jobs and the economic infrastructure that would have attracted big companies because of the vibrant economic growth. Home-grown economic growth like that would make a significant difference in our foreclosure problem.
I would also advocate for new homestead legislation to promote home ownership in Camden. This policy would work to eliminate tax burdens on abandoned properties that currently make development prohibitive. It would also subsidize home ownership over classic Section-8 housing because when people own their homes, they take better care of them and the blocks that the homes sit on. So much federal and state money is being brought into Camden, but the machine and my opponent have seemingly directed it the wrong way every single time. If I can earn the voters of my community’s trust and win this election, this is one of the very first issues I will address. | 5,068 |
PETA has sent an urgent letter calling on the El Paso Police Department to investigate ongoing whistleblower reports that animals have sustained life-threatening injuries and are dying without veterinary care in severely crowded conditions at the El Paso Animal Services Center.
Texas law prohibits causing animals “unjustifiable pain or suffering”—and new information, including photographs and shelter documents, reveals that in recent weeks, severe crowding and consistently caging incompatible dogs together led to fighting and subsequent injuries so severe that some dogs had to be euthanized. The ear and leg of one dog were partially eaten off by dogs with whom she was being housed, and a Chihuahua died in a cage without any veterinary care.
PETA received whistleblower reports that dogs were being found unresponsive or dead in their kennels after having been mauled by other dogs—sometimes within hours of arriving at the facility.
A news report from earlier this year revealed that at least four dogs died during extremely low temperatures after they had been moved to outdoor kennels and a barn, which were built by the city’s animal services in an admitted attempt to become “no-kill.” A whistleblower told PETA that dogs too aggressive to interact safely with staff or to be released to the public were apparently warehoused for months—without any expectation of adoption—in order to avoid euthanasia. PETA urged city and county officials to investigate and enact policies to ensure humane and legal care of animals. We have received no response.
“It is not ‘no-kill’ but ‘slow-kill’ when dogs are so stressed and crowded that they maul each other to death,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “As these heartbreaking incidents show, ‘life at any cost’ policies are cruel and cause terrible suffering and even more death.”
PETA has urged the El Paso City Council to stop placing a higher value on “save rates” than on the health and safety of animals—and to save animals’ lives by enforcing the city’s spay/neuter law and prohibiting the unattended chaining and tethering of dogs. There are thousands of open-admission shelters across the country that never turn animals in need away and don’t have animals dying horrific deaths, either—because the shelters employ basic humane care guidelines and common sense.
Join us in speaking up for El Paso’s homeless animals. Demand a thorough investigation and new policies to prevent animals from suffering at the hands of the very people who are supposed to protect them.
No More Slow Kill in El Paso! | 5,069 |
Story highlights Stewart Scott-Curran, Tim Lampe: What will the phone be like in 100 years?
They imagine that in 15 years, we get smartglasses with augmented reality
In 50 years, the wristphone has hologram features and voice activation
Scott-Curran, Lampe: In 100 years, humans use rocks again to talk to each other
In the past 10 years we've seen cell phones transform into electronic Swiss army knives with a wild variety of functions and features. They are replacing the watch, the camera, the standalone GPS, the alarm clock, and many other tools.
But what will the smartphones of the future look like?
Here's what we envision...
In five years, the Patent Wars are over and Apple emerges victorious. The company has trademarks of many design features, including many types of curves. As a result, competing smartphone manufacturers resort to triangular or angular forms.
Fast forward 15 years. With Google's pioneering work, smartphones evolve into wearable devices with augmented reality. These smartglasses provide a constant stream of content and advertisement directly into the user's field of vision.
Stewart Scott-Curran
After the fad of wearable phone glasses, companies go mad with miniaturization in 25 years. Technology allows for extreme miniaturization and phones become single use, disposable devices.
Tim Lampe
50 years later, wearable phones make a comeback in the form of wristbands. The wristphone, as it is commonly known, is customized to fit each user's arm perfectly. It includes state-of-the-art voice-command features as well as holographic component that let you chat with your friends as though they are right next to you.
Technology takes a huge leap in 75 years. Microchip can be installed directly in the user's brain. Apple, along with a handful of companies, makes these chips. Thoughts connect instantly when people dial to "call" each other. But there's one downside: "Advertisements" can occasionally control the user's behavior because of an impossible-to-resolve glitch. If a user encounters this glitch -- a 1 in a billion probability -- every piece of data that his brain delivers is uploaded to companies' servers so that they may "serve customers better."
JUST WATCHED The battle of the smartphones Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH The battle of the smartphones 02:18
In the year 2112, civilization crumbles because of climate change and dramatic loss of natural resources. Communication comes full circle as dialogue between humans revert to individuals throwing rocks at each other. But rest assured -- people still laugh out loud.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion | 5,070 |
LeBron James‘ decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency and sign with the Miami Heat in 2010 is one of the most notable sports stories of the last decade. It changed the way free agency is thought of in the NBA, created a dominant team in Miami and influenced a number of NBA stars to reevaluate their own careers in the process.
It also heavily influenced countless young athletes, including one who was in the audience at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut, back in 2010. It turns out one young star was actually there in attendance when James decided to leave Cleveland: Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell.
Yahoo’s Dan Devine reported on Tuesday about Mitchell as part of a story about the younger generation of players in the league and their first interactions with the NBA. As it turns out, the Utah Jazz rookie and newest Slam Dunk Contest champion was indeed there when James made his now infamous Decision.
Mitchell told Devine that the first thing that came to mind was “The Decision,” which is understandable considering it was such a landmark moment. However, as Mitchell explained, he wasn’t just watching it on TV, but he was actually there and was one of the few that was pleased with the King’s decision to take his talents to South Beach.
“It was in Greenwich, Conn., and I went to school in Greenwich [at Greenwich Country Day School],” he said. “So, as a big LeBron fan in the sixth grade, I forced my mom to let me go. I wanted him to go to Miami. I wanted him to get his first ring.” Young Donovan was glad to see one of his favorite players chart a course for a more successful future. Not everybody at the Greenwich Boys & Girls Club shared his enthusiasm. “The people there who were Knicks fans … they weren’t too happy about it,” Mitchell said. “I almost got hit in the head with a Snapple bottle because they were just throwing stuff around outside. It was cool. I was just celebrating, so it was pretty cool.”
It’s a story that will almost certainly make you feel very old, but it’s also a pretty remarkable coincidence. Looking back on it, Mitchell understands just how significant a moment that was, not just for the Miami Heat.
“That really changed the league, from that point on,” Mitchell said.
The story has a lot of different cool memories in it, but Mitchell’s is certainly the most unique. It’s odd to think about how long ago 2010 was, and how much has changed since. | 5,071 |
By Fernando Bolaños, Frontiersin.org
Our romantic choices are not just based on feelings and emotions, but how rich we feel compared to others, a new study published in Frontiers in Psychology has found.
“We wanted a better understanding of the psychological importance of money in the development of romantic relationships because very little is known about this subject. That way people would have a better perspective of the relationships they are in,” explained Prof. Darius Chan from the Department of Psychology, at the University of Hong Kong.
Two experiments were performed on groups of Chinese college students already involved in heterosexual long term relationships. The couples were made to think they were either wealthy or poor to examine their mating behaviour.
In the first study they found the wealthy men were less satisfied with their current partners’ physical attractiveness and were more interested in short-term relationships than those who were made to feel that they had less money. However, women who felt wealthy did not make higher demands regarding the men’s physical appearance.
All of the wealthy participants in the second study found it easier to interact with an attractive member of the opposite sex than those belonging to a financially disadvantaged class. Interestingly and as expected, more men than women from both wealthy and poor conditions selected a closer seat to the more attractive people.
“We remarked that wealthy men attach more importance to a mate’s physical attractiveness setting higher standards and preferring to engage in short-term mating than those who have less money. However, for committed women, money may lead to less variation in their mating strategies because losing a long-term relationship generally has a higher reproductive cost,” explained Chan.
From an evolutionary perspective, conditional mating strategies helped our ancestors maximize their reproductive success.
However, by looking at how people reacted when they thought themselves to be wealthy or poor supports the evolutionary psychology hypothesis that individuals adopt conditional mating strategies in response to environmental conditions such as money possession.
Even though the study was applied to a specific culture, these psychological mechanisms still play important roles in human mating. “Whereas it remains as an empirical question to be answered, we expect that our findings are likely to be found in other cultures as well, because the basic mechanisms of mate selection have been found to be rather similar across culture,” Chan said.
Read the full article in Frontiers in Psychology
REPUBLISHING GUIDELINES: At Frontiers, open access and sharing research is part of our mission. Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our articles posted in the Frontiers blog – as long as you credit us with a link back. Editing the articles or selling them is not allowed. | 5,072 |
Disney’s live-action adaptation of Mulan is currently in production. Shooting in both New Zealand and China. Starring Liu Yifei, who will be taking on the titular role of Mulan. The film has caused a little stir from fans regarding some aspects of the film. Well we hopefully have some news that may ease your thoughts.
We have learned from a source working on the project that the film will indeed feature some of the music from the 1998 animated classic. Earlier this year director Niki Caro was asked by Moviefone if the rumor that songs wouldn’t appear in the film is true and Caro’s response was “Yes, from what I understand, no songs right now, much to the horror of my children.” The film was originally expected to start production earlier this year, so it is not known if production was delayed due to working the music in.
We also learned from the source that Mulan’s fire breathing sidekick Mushu will also appear in the film.
Mulan is the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.
Directed by Niki Caro (The Zookeepers Wife) the film also stars Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story); Jason Scott Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny); Yoson An (The Meg); Utkarsh Ambudkar (Pitch Perfect); Ron Yuan (Marco Polo); Tzi Ma (Arrival); Rosalind Chao (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine); Cheng Pei-Pei (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon); Nelson Lee; Chum Ehelepola; with Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha, Raise the Red Lantern) and Jet Li (Shaolin Temple, Lethal Weapon 4).
Disney’s live-action remakes have grossed over $4.5 billion at the worldwide box so far, and will look to continue that success with Mulan, and remakes of Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King, Sword In The Stone, Lady In The Tramp, Peter Pan, And The Little Mermaid all in active production and/or development.
Disney’s Mulan will hit theaters on March 27, 2020. | 5,073 |
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader on Tuesday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to permanently ground Boeing's 737 Max jet.
"The plane cannot be refixed," said Nader, whose grandniece was killed in a March crash of a 737 Max jet in Ethiopia. "It has to be recalled" and permanently taken out of service, he said.
Regulators worldwide ordered airlines to ground their 737 Max planes in mid-March after the crash in Ethiopia and one in Indonesia that occurred within five months of one another, killing a total of 346 people. Since then, Boeing has been preparing to get the Max back in the air.
Airlines have canceled thousands of flights due to the grounding and are planning to do so until at least November, a move that Boeing said it took a $4.9 billion charge for in its second quarter.
But the planemaker needs to "take their losses" on the jet, Nader said in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."
Crash investigators have pointed to an issue with the jets' software, for which Boeing said it has developed a fix, as the cause behind the two fatal crashes. But once a software upgrade is submitted to the FAA, it will likely take at least another month before the planes are back in operation.
On the software fix, Nader said it shouldn't be trusted since executives are "stuck in their bad decision" and are "ignoring preventable aerodynamic design."
"It's a new plane; they can't say it's just a little bit changed," he said. "It needs full certification."
A spokesman for Boeing on Tuesday, when asked about Nader's comments, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of those who died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 and we continue to assist the investigating authorities as they work to complete the accident investigations. Safety is our first priority as we work with global regulators and customers to return the MAX to service."
Nader has been vocal about recalling the 737 Max and the FAA's approval of the jet.
In May, Nader told CNBC that the FAA, which approved the Max two years ago, was beholden to Boeing.
"In all the product defects that I have worked on over the years, I have never seen so many whistleblowers [and] so many authentic aerospace experts condemning the Boeing practice here," Nader told "Squawk Box" in May. "The FAA has been in the pockets of the Boeing company for years — pressured by Congress and the White House on both parties to cut budgets, to cut staff, [and] reduce their talent pool to oversee Boeing." | 5,074 |
Nellie Ohr, wife of twice-demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr is refusing to appear for a Congressional deposition that was supposed to be conducted in a closed-door session Friday.
Chuck Ross of The Daily Caller:
Nellie Ohr, the wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, is refusing to appear before Congress for a closed-door hearing that was scheduled to take place this Friday, sources tell The Daily Caller News Foundation. The sources also said that former FBI general counsel James Baker is not cooperating with the committees’ request for an interview. TRENDING: OUTRAGEOUS! Ohio State University President Sends Ignorant Text Message to Students Following Breonna Taylor Decision -- And a Crazy-Ass Video! “The Committee continues to seek the testimony of Nellie Ohr and Jim Baker and will compel their testimony if necessary,” an aide to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees sought to question Nellie Ohr after her husband Bruce Ohr gave an explosive testimony to Congress.
The former Associate Deputy Attorney General told Congress the FBI knew his wife, Nellie Ohr worked for oppo research firm Fusion GPS yet failed to disclose that information to the FISC [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court].
Nellie Ohr was paid multiple large payments by Fusion GPS, the oppo research firm that commissioned dossier author Christopher Steele.
Mrs. Ohr also previously worked for the CIA and was a corrupt Communist sympathizer who spoke fluent Russian–both important pieces of information the fake news media glosses over.
It is time for the House Judiciary Committee to issue Nellie Ohr a subpoena.
Investigative reporter Sara Carter also said Thursday morning “Also hearing from a source former FBI SA Peter Strzok ( who was fired) is refusing to come back for additional testimony without a subpoena. I say subpoena Strzok, former Gen Counsel James Baker. Oh, and Nellie Ohr too. It May have something to do with all these texts were seeing”
Also hearing from a source former FBI SA Peter Strzok ( who was fired) is refusing to come back for additional testimony without a subpoena. I say subpoena Strzok, former Gen Counsel James Baker. Oh, and Nellie Ohr too. It May have something to do with all these texts were seeing — Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) September 20, 2018
Update: GOPers on House Judiciary Committee say they will compel testimony of Fusion GPS’s Nellie Ohr and former FBI General Counsel Jim Baker if necessary. | 5,075 |
The primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders triggered a civil war inside the Democratic Party, and that struggle is still ongoing. Rep. Nancy Pelosi has been the undisputed leader of House Democrats for about a decade and a half, but now, she too is getting pulled into the Democratic Party's internal fight: Stephen Jaffe, a pro-Sanders Democrat, will challenge Pelosi in her San Francisco-area district during the next congressional primary.
Jaffe is an employment trial lawyer who, according to his website, counsels only employees, not employers. What this means is that he represents workers who claim to have been wrongfully terminated, discriminated against, sexually harassed, or otherwise mistreated by their employers. Given that fair treatment of workers was a centerpiece of Sanders' campaign, it's no surprise that Jaffe is a fan of the Vermont politician. His campaign logo seems to emphasize this: It utilizes the same color scheme and curved brushstroke image that Sanders used during his 2016 run, and even contains an outline of a bird — a possible reference to the bird that fortuitously landed on Sanders' podium during the campaign.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Jaffe called himself a "pretty hard-core Bernie supporter." And indeed, he was. In addition to volunteering for Sanders' campaign, Jaffe co-filed a lawsuit on behalf of Sanders' supporters after the California primary, requesting that certain voters with no party affiliation be allowed to "re-vote" in the primary. Even though the lawsuit went nowhere, Jaffe told the Times that he was inspired to stay involved in politics after Sanders lost the primary.
Now, Jaffe is running against Pelosi to represent San Francisco in the House of Representatives, telling the Times that "there's a rumbling, a wave of activism here by people who have really never stepped forward before."
Needless to say, some Sanders supporters are very excited about Jaffe's candidacy — but they may want to curb their enthusiasm a little bit. Pelosi has a near-ironclad hold on her district, and it's going to be really, really difficult to beat her. In the last three primaries for her district, she's won about 78, 74, and 75 percent of the vote, according to Ballotpedia. She's never received less than 70 percent of the vote in a general election — and that includes the 2016 race, in which she was running against a genuine Sanders-esque progressive. Simply put, the voters in Pelosi's district like her.
Still, the 2018 election is far away. It's possible that the sentiments of voters in the district have moved to the left since Clinton's loss, and if they have, Jaffe may just have a chance. | 5,076 |
to disguise the exit of investors from the stock market. The purpose of the Working Group was to prevent private speculators from gaming the market or to make them pay a price if they did.
The Federal Reserve’s use of the Working Group has probably evolved with the crisis, just as the Federal Reserve has used its balance sheet in new ways that go beyond its normal operations. However, it is absurd to blame Reagan for the Federal Reserve’s different use or misuse of the Working Group twenty-four years later, if that is indeed what is occurring.
What explains the left-wing’s obsession with Reagan to the neglect of the serious war crimes of the Clinton, Bush, and Obama regimes and to the neglect of the destruction of the civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution? Reagan is not responsible for any of this. Reagan had no war on terror, no PATRIOT Act, and no police state. Reagan neither assassinated nor put in indefinite detention any US citizen.
As for financial deregulation, it began two presidents after Reagan with the Clinton administration’s repeal of Glass-Steagall.
By curing stagflation, Reagan gave the economy a new lease on life. By ending the cold war, Reagan made it possible to curtail Pentagon spending and to balance the budget. It is not Reagan’s fault that Washington responded to the Soviet collapse with a new militarism in pursuit of world hegemony. That goal appeared with the neoconservatives’ “Project for the New American Century” a decade after Reagan left office.
Yet, the left-wing remains obsessed with Ronald Reagan, wasting its energy in uninformed tirades against an administration that many leftists are too young to have experienced and know nothing about.
Paul Craig Roberts [email him] was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. His home page ispaulcraigroberts.org.
He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Francois Mitterrand. He is the author of Supply-Side Revolution : An Insider's Account of Policymaking in Washington; Alienation and the Soviet Economy and Meltdown: Inside the Soviet Economy, and is the co-author with Lawrence M. Stratton of The Tyranny of Good Intentions : How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice. Click here for Peter Brimelow’sForbes Magazine interview with Roberts about the epidemic of prosecutorial misconduct. | 5,077 |
Hundreds take to streets in Manila to protest against Beijing’s claim to South China Sea islands.
Anti-China protests have taken place in the capital of the Philippines over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
About 1,000 people gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Manila to protest against what they say are Chinese intrusions, as tensions increase in a long-standing dispute over the Scarborough Shoal islands claimed by both countries.
“Our protest is directed at the overbearing actions and stance of the government in Beijing, which behaves like an arrogant overlord, even in the homes of its neighbours,” said rally organiser Loida Nicholas Lewis.
The protesters carried placards that read: “China stop bullying the Philippines”, “Make Peace Not War”, and “China, Stop Poaching in Philippine Waters”.
China on Thursday warned its citizens that they were not safe in the Philippines and urged those in the country to stay indoors and stay away from demonstrations. Taiwan issued a similar warning to its citizen, while Chinese travel agents said they were suspending tours to the Philippines.
Philippine officials said they expected the Manila rally to be peaceful.
In Beijing, authorities stepped up security around the Philippines’ embassy, with squads of police waiting in streets near the mission and plainclothes guards also monitoring passers-by.
Tensions over territorial rights in the South China Sea have been building since a standoff between Chinese ships and a Philippine naval vessel near the Scarborough Shoal islands early last month.
China insists it has sovereign rights to all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coast of other countries and hundreds of miles from its own mainland.
The Philippines says it has sovereign rights over waters within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and that its position is supported by international law.
Apart from China and the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam, also have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and other resources, making the waters one of Asia’s potential flashpoints for armed conflict.
China’s official military newspaper said on Friday that a US shift in strategy to increase its influence in the south Asia had emboldened Manila, a key Washington regional ally, in its dispute with Beijing.
“The United States’ shift in strategic focus to the east and its entry into the South China Sea issue has provided the Philippines with room for strategic manoeuvre, and to certain extent increased the Philippines’ chips to play against us, emboldening them to take a risky course,” said the Liberation Army Daily. | 5,078 |
"With the thirty-fourth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select Anthony Brown from Stanford University."
He may not have been the best player on the 2014-2015 Stanford Cardinal NIT Championship team, but he was the only one drafted on Thursday night as small forward Anthony Brown will be taking his talents five and a half hours south of Palo Alto, California to Los Angeles to begin his NBA career for the purple and gold.
The six foot, seven inch, sharpshooter was the second collegiate Senior to be selected by the Lakers in a string of eight picks (twenty-seventh to thirty-fourth) as they took Larry Nance Jr. from Wyoming with the twenty-seventh pick.
Although Anthony Brown has average athleticism compared to others at his position, he is a spectacular three point shooter as he shot 44.1% from beyond the arc (better than lottery picks D'Angelo Russell and Frank Kaminsky). In fact, a little over forty-three percent of his points last season came from made three pointers! With his accuracy from downtown comes Brown's ability to rebound the basketball. In sixteen of the California native's thirty-seven games during his Senior season, he grabbed eight or more rebounds, including twelve pulled down in the 2015 NIT Championship against the University of Miami (Florida) and thirteen ripped down against conference rival Colorado on the road.
A concern in Brown's game rises at his inconsistency on a gamely basis and offensive passiveness during the course of a game. Even though there will be times next year that he will need to allow guards Kobe Bryant and D'Angelo Russell to penetrate and score the basketball, Brown must always be ready to catch a pass and knock down the open trey as a three point specialist.
2015-2016 Projected Starting Lineup
PG-Jordan Clarkson
***2014-2015 All-Rookie First Team
---11.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, & 3.5 APG.
SG-Kobe Bryant
---22.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, & 1.3 SPG.
SF-Nick Young
---13.4 PPG & 2.3 RPG.
PF-Julius Randle
---15.0 PPG & 10.4 RPG. (At University of Kentucky)
C-Jordan Hill
---12.0 PPG & 7.9 RPG.
6th-D'Angelo Russell
---19.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, & 1.6 SPG. (At Ohio State University) | 5,079 |
Story highlights GOP senator's tweet about White House being an adult day care center wasn't far off the mark, writes Michael D'Antonio
It reflects the frustration many Americans feel with President Trump, D'Antonio writes
Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book "Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success" (St. Martin's Press). The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
(CNN) In the end, Donald Trump finally pushed Sen. Bob Corker to the point of exasperation, frustration and exhaustion felt by vast numbers of Americans who despair of the President's behavior. "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center," tweeted Corker, referring to his fellow Republican as if he needs constant minding. "Someone obviously missed their shift this morning."
Corker was provoked by early Sunday morning statements from Trump. who said, via Twitter, "Senator Bob Corker 'begged' me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee, I said 'NO' and he dropped out (said he could not win without my endorsement)." Trump also said Corker asked to become secretary of state but, "I said 'NO THANKS.'" He also said Corker "didn't have the guts" to seek re-election in 2018.
The capital letters suggest the tweets came straight from the President. He loves capital letters. But the timing and content are more important indicators of authenticity. Trump's social media outbursts are more vivid on weekends, when he's likely home alone.
And true Trump tweets resonate with a tone -- "guts" and "begged me" are classics -- that makes it seem like he doesn't quite understand where he is, or what is required of him. (Never mind that Corker's chief of staff, Todd Womack, challenged Trump's account of the facts: "The President called Sen. Corker on Monday afternoon and asked him to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election and reaffirmed that he would have endorsed him, as he has said many times.")
The fact that Trump could conduct stream-of-consciousness carping from the confines of the same White House that had been occupied by the likes of Lincoln, FDR and Ronald Reagan suggests that he may not be aware of his surroundings. As he tweets about TV shows, we can see that his mind is too often fixed on matters beneath a president. And when he does focus on something important, like national security, he indulges in silliness about the "Rocket Man" (Kim Jong Un) or praises himself: "Wow, Senator Luther Strange picked up a lot of additional support since my endorsement."
Read More | 5,080 |
In the wake of President Donald Trump's controversial executive order Friday, businesses around the United States were left wondering what the impact of the travel ban of citizens in select nations would be. Among them, the NBA had concerns regarding two of its players -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng and Milwaukee Bucks center Thon Maker, both from South Sudan. The league went so far as to contact the state department in search of clarity regarding travel for when those players visit for a game outside the United States, like Toronto.
From Yahoo Sports:
Deng and Maker are from the South Sudan, which became an independent country in 2011. While the Sudan is one of the seven Muslim-laden countries included in Trump's immigration ban, the South Sudan is not on the list. Many top basketball prospects are from the South Sudan, not the Sudan. Before a federal court in New York issued a ruling to suspend Trump's order to ban, NBA spokesman Mike Bass issued a statement saying: "We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries. "The NBA is a global league and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world."
Source: NBA contacts U.S. State Department to understand how President Donald Trump's immigration ban affects players.
Meanwhile, Yahoo also reports that two U.S.-born players playing professionally overseas are now stranded in Dubai after Iran issued a retaliatory ban on U.S. citizens entering the country.
Two American basketball players, Joseph Jones and J.P. Prince, are stranded in Dubai after Iran's decision to ban U.S. citizens prevented them from returning to the country where they play professionally, Eric Fleisher, the agent for both players, told The Vertical. Iran's ban of U.S. citizens was in retaliation to President Donald Trump's executive order barring refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries -- including Iran -- from entering the United States.
Source: Two Americans who play professionally in Iran are stranded, unable to return to country.
Protests filled airports and other public places throughout the weekend over the measure as courts granted stays against deportations and detainments, but confusion seemed rampant with various agencies' interpretation of both the order and the stays granted by the courts. Many of the protests were regarding protection of religious discrimination as the order is regarded as a "Muslim ban."
Several NBA players are practicing members of the Islamic faith. No other NBA players are thought to be impacted by the current order, and neither Deng nor Maker has league-mandated business required outside the United States through the end of this season. | 5,081 |
Account Rights
The service account you use to run the tool needs to be a domain user who has local administrator permissions to all the machines within the scope of the assessment. The account should also have read access to the Active Directory forest that the in-scope computers are joined to.
Network Access
The machines you are trying to assess obviously must be reachable by the assessing machine. Therefore, there must be unrestricted access from the tools machine to any of the in-scope domain joined machines. By “unrestricted access” we mean you should make sure there are no firewall rules or router ACLs that would block access to any of the following protocols and services:
Remote Registry
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
Default admin shares (C$, D$, IPC$)
If you are using Windows Advanced Firewall on the in-scope machines, you may need to adjust the firewall to allow the assessment tool to run.
You can configure this using a Group Policy targeted at the in-scope machines. To do this, follow these steps.
Use an existing Group Policy object or create a new one using the Group Policy Management Tool. Expand the Computer Configuration/Policies/Windows Settings/Security Settings/Windows Firewall with Advanced Security/Windows Firewall with Advanced Security/Inbound Rules Check the Predefined: radio button and select Windows Management Instrumentation from the drop-down list. Click Check the WMI rules for the Domain Profile. Click Next Check the Allow the Connectionradio button and click Finish to exit and save the new rule. Make sure the Group Policy Object is applied to the relevant computers using the Group Policy Management Tool
You would then do the same thing for: Allow file and Print sharing exceptions
For the Remote Registry Service, you want to set the service to Automatic startup for the duration of the assessment.
Open the Group Policy editor and the GPO you want to edit. Expand Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > System Services Find the Remote Registry item and change the Service startup mode to Automatic Reboot the clients to apply the policy
That should be enough to get you started.
In the next post, I’ll walk you through the survey questions in the Rapid Cyberattack Assessment tool.
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/cloudyhappypeople/2018/09/10/every-question-tells-a-story-mitigating-ransomware-using-the-rapid-cyberattack-assessment-tool-part-2/
I think you’ll find the stories revealed by the questions to be quite interesting. | 5,082 |
Trump's Men In Moscow: Trump Disciples Suddenly Showing Up In Russia
Enlarge this image toggle caption Stephen Morton/Getty Images Stephen Morton/Getty Images
Donald Trump hasn't been inaugurated yet, but members of his campaign entourage are already riding the president-elect's coattails all the way to Moscow.
On Monday, Jack Kingston, a former Trump surrogate, briefed American businesspeople in Russia on what they might expect from the incoming administration.
Lifting Western sanctions that were imposed on Russia because of its armed intervention in Ukraine has become the top priority not only for the Kremlin but for foreign companies working in Moscow.
During the campaign, Trump indicated he would reconsider those sanctions and suggested he would get along fine with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Trump can look at sanctions. They've been in place long enough," Kingston told NPR in Moscow. "Has the desired result been reached? He doesn't have to abide by the Obama foreign policy. That gives him a fresh start."
Kingston said he had mostly met with businesspeople in Moscow and that there had been no meetings with Russian government officials or U.S. diplomats. Now was the time, he said, for business to step up and play a role in "soft diplomacy."
Although Kingston traveled as a private individual, the former Georgia congressman's bio on the website of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia didn't hide his connections to the stars of Team Trump such as Vice President-elect Mike Pence and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
"I was an active soldier in the foxhole, but not a general deploying troops," Kingston said about his role in the Trump campaign.
By chance, Kingston's Moscow trip coincided with the visit of another Trump disciple, Carter Page, who once claimed to advise the Republican candidate on energy and Russia policy. The Trump campaign later distanced itself from Page after he came under scrutiny for his ties to Russia.
On Monday, Page held a news conference at the headquarters of Sputnik, a Russian state-run news agency, where he complained about the proliferation of fake news.
Page lamented the "Cold War mindset" in the U.S. and sang the praises of Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil CEO who expanded his company's footprint in Russia and whom Trump now wants to be his secretary of state.
Tillerson's last public appearance in Russia was in June during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. When he was asked about the future of sanctions, Tillerson laughed and said only a U.S. government official could answer that question.
The next time he comes to Russia, Tillerson may not be able to dodge that question quite so easily. | 5,083 |
[Update II: A full two weeks later and WVNS-TV 59 is still engaged in a full-on purge-a-thon of this video from the internet. Video reposted from another source. [Here's another copy]
Update: Sure enough, WVNS-TV 59 is trying to censor this video by filing copyright complaints, thankfully other people have uploaded it, again I urge all YouTubers to upload this video as many times as possible to as many sites as possible, this act of censorship should not be allowed to stand. Here's another mirror on Liveleak. The female "news reporter" in the video has been identified as Jessie Gavin.]
In this shocking video out of West Virginia we see a police officer yell and scream at a veteran and treat him as though he's a dangerous armed criminal after the cop pulled him over for simply driving while using his cell phone.
A local film crew with WVNS-TV 59 was embedded with the officer and interviewed the man after the incident as part of a bizarre shaming ritual. They asked him if he was familiar with the new laws banning cell phone usage, to which he replied he wasn't, he thought he could talk on the phone, just not text.
The man told the news crew he was disturbed by how rude the officer was and he wanted to file a complaint against him, he then asked for the news reporter's name as well as her camera man's as they were witnesses to his rude behavior.
The news reporter suddenly goes silent and refuses to give him her name, then she bizarrely says she didn't see the officer being rude, the camera man says the cop yelling and screaming wasn't rude, he just feared for his life (during a traffic stop over a cell phone).
The man responds by saying he's a veteran and even in war he was never talked to so disrespectfully, nonetheless the media propagandists stonewall him and refuse to give him their names nor lend him any help.
According to the man who posted the video on YouTube, WVNS-TV 59 pulled this video after getting a host of negative comments, I can't find it anywhere on their site, so YouTubers would do well to repost it as many times as possible. Frankly, it's one of the most despicable acts of presstitution I've ever seen and the WVNS-TV 59 news team ought to be ashamed of themselves.
_
Chris runs the website InformationLiberation.com, you can read more of his writings here. Follow infolib on twitter here.
| 5,084 |
breaks and falls to the ground in pieces.
Her eyes turn to tears as they are slowly as her eyes began to turn to stone. She breaks down in her final moments nothing but tears running down her face.
"What is your name," I ask her
"Bi... Bianca, Bianca di Angelo" she said through all the tears. I walk over and put my hand on her cheek in the last effort to comfort her. She knew the end was here
"May you find your way to Elysium Bianca then to rebirth and then finally peace," I tell her, commanding her spirit to take that path. It was the least I could do for my savior.
I take my blade and I run it through her chest before she completely turns to stone. Releasing her spirit before she can experience my hell. As the last light in her eyes started to fade, the silver aura that protected her was gone, and her body crumpled to dust. She had moved on
Tell my brother Iʻm going home I heard her voice as she moved to the next life.
I wipe tears away from my eyes before I have the chance to form.ʻthis is not my faultʻ I tell my self ʻits theirsʻ the gods as well as the ones who betrayed me, the ones who lied to me the ones who cared little for me. They laugh and prod and mess with the lives of others as if it were some game. I will deal with them all, them and their protectors the liars and the killers. And her, I will destroy their world.
As the place begins, I fall and crash underneath its weight, I call upon my powers of Darkness and shadows and leave my prison forever.
And for then for the first time, I felt the sun scathing on my skin. I felt the wind try as it can to cool it down. I took in a deep breath and exhaled. Finally free
ʻbut not free from the memory and betrayalʻ I thought to myself.
For that, I needed blood, I desired revenge. For that, I collect the debt that I am owned.
And there was only one place to get it.
Camp Half-Blood
But before I set off, I noticed something in the distance something familiar.
The forgotten story begins.
A/N 2018 edit: welp that's finished its rewrite. I changed because I realized in the old version, the Narrator came off as an Ass. So I turned it down a little. Other then that there was not much else I could expand on in this chapter. | 5,085 |
Melbourne University cyber security expert Suelette Dreyfus says the attacks on yesterday's census could be the work of Chinese citizens unhappy about Australian swimmer Mack Horton calling his Chinese rival Sun Yang a drug cheat.
Key points: Census hack by Chinese unhappy at Horton v Yang saga 'not way out of left field'
Census hack by Chinese unhappy at Horton v Yang saga 'not way out of left field' Prime Minister insists data entered into census website is secure
Prime Minister insists data entered into census website is secure Attacks will be investigated, but there are calls for a Parliamentary inquiry
"It's not way out of left field [as a motivation]," she said.
She believes the "noisy" attack looks more likely to have been the work of civilians rather than a foreign government.
Despite the Australian Government saying the attack was from overseas, Dr Dreyfus still believes it could have come from within Australia.
"It could have just been literally bedroom hackers in Australia routing their traffic... through overseas in order to make it appear as though they were coming from there," she said.
But Dr Dreyfus believes it is unlikely China's Government would have committed such an attack if it was trying to hack into the census data.
"If they wanted to get the data, particularly a powerful state actor, they're likely to do it quite quietly because they don't want anyone to know that they're there," she said.
The Federal Government described yesterday's attacks as "denial of service attempts," meaning those responsible were trying to block people from accessing the census website.
Dr Dreyfus said a denial of service attack is "a particularly noisy way of attacking a site because you're visibly taking down the activities of the site."
'Too early to say' whether privacy protected
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull insisted the data that was able to be entered into the census website was secure but Dr Dreyfus is yet to be convinced.
"I think there's a big question mark around whether or not privacy has been protected; certainly functionality wasn't protected," she said.
"So I think we need to know much more information before we can have confidence that privacy was protected."
Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said he would conduct an investigation into the attacks.
However, Dr Dreyfus believes a parliamentary inquiry is now necessary.
"I think we need to have a very transparent inquiry into what has gone wrong, preferably at a Senate level," she said.
Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon is also calling for a Senate inquiry, as is former New South Wales deputy privacy commissioner Anna Johnston. | 5,086 |
First Listen: Vijay Iyer Trio, 'Accelerando'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jimmy Katz Jimmy Katz
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The musical directive "accelerando" means what it looks like it ought to: Play faster. It lends its name to the new trio album from composer and pianist Vijay Iyer, and to its ninth track, where the tempo speeds up, resets, speeds up, resets, speeds up, resets, and so forth. The result is a sort of hypnosis; your brain may not be able to precisely enumerate the arithmetic of it all, but your head figures out how to nod to the constantly changing pulse. Surprisingly — or perhaps not — Iyer actually wrote this variable-tempo piece for a dance company.
As Iyer might point out, humans naturally process rhythm as movement, as dance. It's one of the big ideas which gives jazz its mystery and magic. That might be a good opportunity to mention that the last Vijay Iyer Trio album was the jazz critics' consensus album of the year in 2009; this band generates a lot of fascinating rhythms.
But jazz has no monopoly on the concept. As Iyer writes in the liner notes, "this album is in the lineage of American creative music based on dance rhythms." So Michael Jackson ("Human Nature") is obviously fair game for a cover, as is the late-'70s/early-'80s disco band Heatwave ("The Star of a Story"). The electronic musician Flying Lotus and his virtuoso singing bass guitarist Thundercat are represented with their 2010 jam "MmmHmm." The pianist and composer Herbie Nichols ("Wildflower") went largely ignored in his own time, but not here. Reedman Henry Threadgill is still around, and he advised on the translation of his gleefully ungainly "Little Pocket Size Demons." A few more Iyer originals showcase his distinctively spiky sonorities. And Duke Ellington, who knew a thing or two about transcending idiom, wrote the closing number "The Village of the Virgins" for a ballet.
Accelerando (out March 13) is also a record of heavy grooves in flux, of improvising against one other, of driving instruments to their extremes. If this all sounds like a lot to ask of just piano, acoustic bass and drum set, it is. That's part of the appeal, hearing bassist Stephan Crump violently wrest the bow or drummer Marcus Gilmore slam, feather, crosshatch, overlay. The other part is sensing a band grappling with a long tradition of innovation, and risking everything to add to it. | 5,087 |
While the deadline to order a new Tesla and get access to unlimited free Supercharging is this week, Tesla confirmed that you will still be able to get the perk with its Certified Pre-Owned (CPOs) vehicles if they were originally purchased with Supercharging access.
It wasn’t exactly clear since Tesla had removed any mention of Supercharging from all the listings on its CPO website after the announcement of the new ‘Supercharging Credit’ program, but Tesla’s President of Sales, Jon McNeill, confirmed the information on Twitter today.
He confirmed that “all Teslas purchased with Supercharging for life carry that benefit for the life of the car”:
@jonmcneill @elonmusk Do we know why the mention of Supercharging went away from the CPO listings? https://t.co/BcIG8E3DE7 — Fred Lambert (@FredericLambert) January 9, 2017
It’s still not clear though why the mention of Supercharging was removed from the CPO listings.
Back in November, Tesla announced that it is changing its policy of unlimited free Supercharging for all vehicles in 2017. It’s going to be replaced by 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits (roughly 1,000 miles) included annually and more credits will have to be purchased to get more kilowatt-hours from the Superchargers.
Tesla has yet to disclose the pricing details of the program, but the price of the credits will vary by region.
CPOs are still a great way to get a Tesla with the free unlimited Supercharging and at a lower cost. The main downside being that almost all car listed don’t have the latest Autopilot hardware suite, but eventually, some of them will become available since there was an overlap of a few months between the start of production of the new hardware and the end of the unlimited free Supercharging.
Right now, Tesla is listing Model S CPOs from $50,000 (S 60) to $114,000 (fully equipped S P90D). Currently, it looks like all those cars would have free unlimited access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, though I would verify for the Model S 60 before purchasing since the early version had access only as an option. Only the vehicles originally purchased after January 15th that will become CPOs will not have access to the free unlimited Supercharging since it’s the deadline to order a new car.
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Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast. | 5,088 |
PUTRAJAYA: All of the approximately 800 employees of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) will be absorbed by the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Transport Minister Anthony Loke assured SPAD staff that they will not be dismissed from service following the Prime Minister’s announcement that the commission will be shut down.
“We have 1,000 vacant positions in JPJ which were frozen for new intakes, and we have decided to take in all the SPAD staff to fill these spots.
“Any overlapping will be reviewed and decided on later,” he told a press conference after chairing a meeting with JPJ here on Thursday (May 24).
Loke added that he will stop the practice of authorising certain NGOs to sell special number plates, with immediate effect.
“It is true that the minister has powers to allow this, but the practice ends now.
“From now on, any buying of number plates must go through JPJ, without exceptions. This is Government revenue and we intend to collect all of it,” he said.
On the bidding process, Loke said he had instructed JPJ to work on a system for e-bidding to replace the current manual system.
“At the moment you need to physically show up to bid for certain numbers at JPJ offices in certain states. We hope to roll out the online system by January 2019, which will allow more vehicle owners to bid for special number plates,” he said.
Loke also issued a series of plans for driving institutes, where he announced that there will be no more “pakej sampai lulus” or “guaranteed to pass” licence packages.
He said institutes can offer additional services – for example, transport to and from the institute – but these must be optional and clearly stated in an itemised bill to licence applicants.
“As for driving tests, we want to stop the practice of ‘kopi o’ licences. We are working towards full automation of the test process.
“Circuit tests will hopefully be fully automated by the end of the year. For on-the-road tests, we want driving institutes to install dashboard cameras in all test cars.
“By doing so, should an applicant feel he was failed because he did not pay the ‘duit kopi’, he can appeal with evidence from the dashboard cameras,” he said.
Loke said that the mechanisms for all these ideas would be fine-tuned later through discussions with driving institutes. | 5,089 |
ail and grits combines Southern-style oxtails in rich gravy with creamy grits infused with Italian-influenced citrus gremolata. The result is comforting and familiar yet new and exciting. But desserts are just as much of a draw as the stellar appetizers, entrées, and cocktails on the menu. Don't miss the buttermilk panna cotta with grapefruit granita and tallow shortbread, a treat that balances rich, creamy panna cotta with bright, citrusy, flaky granita. Finish the meal with a Vietnamese egg coffee, a foamy, velvety, layered coffee drink that's hard to find outside of Vietnam. 855 MacArthur Blvd., San Leandro, 510-777-977.
Los Carnalitos Restaurant
Even after a whole year of trying new restaurants, one of my go-to restaurants is the very first one I ever reviewed for the Express: Los Carnalitos. Carnalito means brother or friend in Spanish, and the two carnalitos behind the restaurant are Luis and Alfredo Santos, who hail from Mexico City. You'll find tacos, burritos, and tortas on the menu, but for my money, the stars are the items handmade with fresh masa. The quesadillas use thick, oblong, handmade tortillas that are airy with a little bite to them. The tortilla is packed with nutty, sweet corn flavor, making it the perfect foil to the creamy Oaxaca-style cheese, queso fresco, tomatillo salsa, and shredded lettuce inside. Choose from toppings like the earthy black corn fungus known as huitlacoche, the juicy, bright flor de calabaza, or the meaty chicharron drenched in zesty red salsa. The huarache is a thin, crisp oval of masa stuffed with a thin layer of puréed black beans, topped with two salsas, queso fresco, onions, cilantro, and optional nopales, or cactus. Particularly noteworthy is the version topped with costilla, flanken-cut short ribs marinated in a blend of spices using a Santos family recipe. Or try the panucho, a Yucatan-style antojito made with two handmade tortillas that are deep-fried, then stuffed with black bean paste. It gets topped with cochinita pibil — pork slowly simmered in orange juice and achiote — then topped with fiery habanero-pickled red onions and sweet mandarin orange slices. 30200 Industrial Parkway SW, Hayward, 510-324-8125. | 5,090 |
Hamburg election: Merkel party'slumps as Greens surge' Published duration 23 February
media caption Greens celebrated as the results came in
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party has suffered its worst-ever result in regional elections in the city state of Hamburg, preliminary results say.
The conservative CDU is suffering a leadership crisis after party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced her resignation earlier this month.
The Greens made big gains, while the centre-left SPD is set to remain the largest party.
The far-right AfD lost ground but may just qualify for seats.
The party is currently represented in all 16 German state legislatures and in some parts of the country polls in double digits.
The vote comes days after a racist gunman killed nine people in shisha bars in the western city of Hanau.
'Bitter day' for CDU
The result, if confirmed by final vote figures, will most likely lead to a continuation of the red-green coalition in the left-leaning northern port city.
The Christian Democrats (CDU) have slipped into third place with little more than 11%.
Party general secretary Paul Ziemiak said it was a "bitter day", and acknowledged that Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer's resignation announcement following a scandal in the eastern state of Thuringia had damaged the party.
The CDU there caused consternation by voting with the AfD to elect a regional leader, a move Ms Merkel described as "unforgiveable" and against the CDU's values.
The AfD has grown in popularity in recent years but has been condemned for its extreme views on immigration, freedom of speech and the press.
image copyright AFP image caption Social Democrat Mayor Peter Tschentscher seems likely to hold onto power
Meanwhile Greens national co-leader Robert Habeck told German TV the party's performance was a great success.
The preliminary results gave them 24.1%, almost twice as many votes as five years ago.
"We have a very challenging situation for democracy in Germany, and the CDU is tied up in its own problems... It will be up to us to give the land direction and trust," Mr Habeck said.
The party may have benefited from the presence of climate activist Greta Thunberg, who joined thousands of people in a demonstration in the city on Friday.
The Social Democrats (SPD) - Mrs Merkel's coalition partner at national level - received 39.1%, down about six percentage points from the 2015 election but enough for incumbent Mayor Peter Tschentscher to hold onto power. | 5,091 |
ROBBERY. One of the two jewelry stores robbed by nine armed men inside the Gaisano Grand Mall in Bacolod City on Wednesday night (August 7, 2019). A “martilyo gang” from Ozamiz City is believed to have perpetrated the crime, police said. (Photo courtesy of Jill Legislador)
BACOLOD CITY -- The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) is looking into a possible link between the illegal drug trade and the robbery in two jewelry stores inside a shopping mall here on Wednesday night.
As of Thursday morning, investigation and pursuit operations in connection to the incident believed to have been perpetrated by the so-called “martilyo gang” of the Ozamiz group.
The police report said at 6:30 p.m., nine men armed with firearms used hammers and axes, which they bought in the department store, to destroy the glass shelves and steal the items of F and C Jewelry and Haoling Jewelry Store inside the Gaisano Grand Mall.
Col. Henry Biñas, city police director, said investigators are determining the possible contacts of the robbers in the city as they are looking into reports they are part of the Ozamiz group.
“Actually, what we have identified is (they are) from Ozamiz. We are also checking drug personalities in Negros Island and the neighboring region. We are analyzing that most probably there is a connection to illegal drugs,” Biñas said in an interview with a radio station here on Thursday.
The city police chief noted that those involved in illegal drug operations would usually resort to this kind of diversionary tactic.
“Once the campaign against illegal drugs has intensified, they strike business establishments to divert the focus of the police,” Biñas said.
Initial reports showed the robbers took about PHP4.5 million worth of jewelry from the two stores, but Biñas said on Thursday, the estimate was about PHP3 million.
The perpetrators left the scene of the crime onboard motorcycles and a car.
The heist took place on the same day hundreds of policemen were deployed at the Bacolod South Ceres Terminal to ease the tension caused by the stand-off on the return of private security services at the bus terminal, which led to the halt in south-bound trips, amid the feud among its owners, the Yanson family.
Biñas said he doesn’t want to make excuses for the robbery incident as he acknowledged that the perpetrators apparently found the opportunity to strike since policemen assigned in the area have also been dispatched to the bus terminal. (PNA) | 5,092 |
in the Chinese market now is a great opportunity,” Wang says.
Aside from programs like Fashion Master, which give up-and-coming designers more exposure and recognition, e-commerce sites like Taobao, China’s Amazon, have made it easy for them to set up shop and connect directly with consumers online.
And a rising middle class with more disposable income is itching for brands beyond well-known international names like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel. They’re seeking clothing that expresses their own individuality and personal values, and that is a boon for local designers who know how to articulate what it means to be stylish in China today.
“It is not a closed system, right? While I am a Chinese person living in China, I can also access information and inspiration from anywhere, just by having a good internet connection,” Wang says.
Meng Yueming was one of the contestants on “Fashion Master,” China’s answer to “Project Runway.” / Photo: Courtesy of Meng Yueming
Meng, who used to work for Paris-based Chinese designer Gaowei, says the previous generation of designers was able to take advantage of lower manufacturing costs in China to sell Chinese-made clothes with a European price tag, but that opportunity is gone now.
“The cost of manufacturing clothes in China is no longer cheap,” he says. “The lowest rates are now in Southeast Asia, in countries like Bangladesh.”
That means many designers are competing in the Chinese market on quality rather than price.
“Eventually, I would be happy to share my designs with an international market,” Meng says, “but first I have to succeed in my own backyard. To do well in the Chinese market is not easy, even for a native Chinese designer.”
And online consumers can be fickle. A single negative comment can quickly erode a brand’s credibility. While establishing a popular Taobao store is an “I made it” moment for many designers, the achievement is precarious because customers are sending feedback 24/7.
“You have to be on your toes,” Wang says.
But Meng believes competition is healthy for local designers.
“I’m confident that if a brand can survive the domestic Chinese fashion market, it has the ability to do well in an international one,” he says. “The quality will be there, that’s for sure.”
Adapted from an article first published in the South China Morning Post. | 5,093 |
automatically blames him or herself for the violence done to them. They internalize the false belief that they deserve to be used and abused, that at the core level they are inherently flawed, evil and unworthy of love, that in fact it is their child role in the world of adults to be victimized. Unless they undergo often times years of intensive therapy and treatment, typically childhood victims of sexual and physical abuse are sentenced to a lifetime of pain and despair. Frequently their lives are cut short because they self-medicate their trauma through alcohol and drugs. They form relationships with abusive others in adolescence and adulthood. Child sexual abuse is likely the most under-reported and under-treated crime in America. They risk an ultimate fate of committing suicide at significantly higher rates than those who were not sexually abused as children. Suicide is the third leading cause of death between the ages of 15-24.
A brilliant 27-year old man studying in a PhD program at Princeton was a child sexual abuse victim. He wrote a suicide note expressing the deep sorrow and rage that victims rarely escape. An extract from that note:
My first memories as a child are of being raped, repeatedly. This has affected every aspect of my life. This darkness, which is the only way I can describe it, has followed me like a fog, but at times intensified and overwhelmed me, usually triggered by a distinct situation… The damage that was done to my body still prevents me from using the bathroom normally, but now it’s less of a physical impediment than a daily reminder of what was done to me… The darkness is with me nearly every time I wake up. I feel like a grime is covering me. I feel like I’m trapped in a contaminated body that no amount of washing will clean. Whenever I think about what happened I feel manic and itchy and can’t concentrate on anything else. It manifests itself in hours of eating or staying up for days at a time or sleeping for sixteen hours straight or week long programming binges or constantly going to the gym. I’m exhausted from feeling like this every hour of every day.
Joachim Hagopian is a West Point graduate and former US Army officer. He has written a manuscript based on his unique military experience entitled “Don’t Let The Bastards Getcha Down.” It examines and focuses on US international relations, leadership and national security issues. After the military, Joachim earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and worked as a licensed therapist in the mental health field for more than a quarter century. He now concentrates on his writing.
Author Details Author Details VT Senior Editors Sorry! The Author has not filled his profile. | 5,094 |
The Canadian dollar's sharp drop over the past year is beginning to stoke inflation.
The consumer price index rose 2 per cent in January from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Friday from Ottawa, the highest since November 2014 as the U.S. dollar's gain drives up food costs in Canada.
The jump in prices, which exceeded economist expectations, poses a problem for a central bank that is scrambling to shore up growth with historically low borrowing costs as the country struggles with a plunge in commodity prices. Worries about the impact of the currency kept Governor Stephen Poloz from cutting interest rates last month.
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"All those anecdotes about higher cauliflower prices certainly came through in this report," said David Tulk, chief Canada macro strategist at Toronto Dominion Bank. It "speaks to the concern the Bank of Canada had which probably made them more cautious about cutting rates last month."
Poloz's decision to keep his benchmark rate at 0.5 per cent at a rate decision on Jan. 20 halted a slide in the currency that saw the Canadian dollar fall to a 13-year low.
The depreciation sparked a wave of on-line discussions and news stories, with the price of cauliflower – which jumped to more than $7 – a lightning rod.
Fresh Vegetables
Food costs rose 4 per cent in January from a year earlier, including an 18.2 per cent surge in fresh vegetables and a 12.9 per cent rise in fresh fruit. Most of Canada's fresh produce is imported through the winter and the cost reflects a decline in Canada's dollar against U.S. currency.
The central bank has argued much of the "pass-through" effect from the weaker dollar will be temporary. A 5 per cent gain in the Canadian dollar since the rate decision will also help ease worries, Tulk said.
"It's probably transitory just given what the currency has done since," Tulk said.
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Inflation in January rose from 1.6 per cent in the prior month.
Transportation costs were the other major contributor to faster inflation, rising 2.2 per cent in January compared to a 0.6 per cent pace in December. Gasoline costs increased 2.1 per cent, the first gain since October 2014.
Clothing and footwear was the only major category where prices declined in January with a 0.3 per cent drop.
On a monthly basis, total inflation advanced 0.2 per cent in January and the core rate rose 0.3 per cent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted that overall monthly prices would little changed and the core rate would gain 0.2 per cent. | 5,095 |
PARIS — France has withdrawn an invitation to a delegation of Polish officials for the upcoming Euronaval trade show, reflecting anger over Warsaw's cancellation of contract talks for the Caracal military transport helicopter, a government source said Thursday.
The government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed a media report the authorities had withdrawn the invitation to the naval exhibition.
The Polish delegation had been among the national teams expected at Euronaval, which runs Oct. 17-21 at Le Bourget exhibition center in France.
Polish Deputy Defence Minister Bartosz Kownacki told the private news channel TVN24: "The French side officially invited us a long time ago and now they are showing us the door," Agence France-Presse reported.
The Polish decision to drop negotiations with Airbus Helicopters was "aggressive and unfair," Defence Ministry spokeswoman Valérie Lecasble told journalists. "This decision will undoubtedly have consequences on our bilateral defense relations."
France has shown solidarity with Poland through the European Union and NATO, but Warsaw has failed to reciprocate, she said, declining to comment on withdrawing the Euronaval invitation and also declining to comment on Poland’s reported relaunch of the helicopter tender.
France is reviewing its options on Poland and decisions are expected "fairly soon," she said.
The French Defense Ministry backs Euronaval, a showcase for naval equipment held every two years.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at a cabinet meeting that he deplored Poland’s "unacceptable manner," which called into question an agreement that had been signed with the Caracal helicopter, government spokesman Stéphane Le Foll said Wednesday. President François Hollande canceled his Oct. 13 trip to Poland in response to Warsaw’s reversal on the helicopter deal.
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Kownacki said Poland had taught the French how to use forks and perhaps that was why France had cancelled the invitation, AFP reported.
"But these are the people we taught to eat with a fork a couple of centuries ago, which may explain their behavior today," he said.
King Henry III of France, who had previously been king of Poland, had introduced the fork to the French nation in the 16th century, although that regal head of state went through Venice after leaving Poland and might have picked up the cutlery there, AFP reported. | 5,096 |
This is in response to the December 6 killing of Sai Reddy
In response to the December 6 >killing of journalist Sai Reddy, about 200 journalists, mostly from the seven districts of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, have decided to boycott news related to Maoists.
They convened a protest meeting on Saturday and unanimously decided to stop publishing and broadcasting Maoist press releases, unless the outlawed CPI(Maoists) clarified its position in respect of the death of Reddy, 51, at Basaguda market, 500 km south of Raipur. While the police and the journalists claim that he was killed by the Maoists, the rebels are yet to own responsibility. Maoists normally accept responsibility for killing anyone important.
The journalists demanded an explanation from the Maoists. “A few months ago, when another journalist Nemichand Jain was killed, Maoists accepted responsibility. They said they would not attack or assassinate journalists any more. They have violated the agreement, and we must stop releasing their publicity materials immediately,” said Ganesh Mishra, one of the conveners of the meeting
The meeting was organised within a few hundred metres of the spot where Mr. Reddy, who reported for a Hindi daily from Bijapur district, was hacked to death. The market is within a hundred yards of the police station and the battalion camp of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Journalists were surprised that security personnel were reluctant to fire even blanks from the watchtowers manned round the clock.
They also questioned the unethical business practices of media houses in the State. “Bastar journalists are not paid properly and exploited by their organisations. Now, they do not even have any security…Maoists are killing them without any warning, and no one cares, including the management,” said Anil Mishra, a senior journalist from Raipur.
Many other journalists later said lack of support from the employers was jeopardising the lives of those reporting from the partially Maoist controlled areas of south Chhattisgarh. “It is often said journalists take favours from the local administration to write reports. While it is true, let me also ask why newspapers or television channels never pay salaries to their employees in Bastar,” a senior said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The journalists demanded that both the Union and State governments play an active role in safeguarding the “salary and security” of journalists working in the conflict areas of Bastar. As a follow-up action, the journalists are expected to arrange for a meeting between Reddy’s family and the Chhattisgarh Governor within a week. | 5,097 |
A source tells PEOPLE Denise Richards "has wanted to join the show for years"
Denise Richards Is 'Very Close' to Joining the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Source
There’s a new potential housewife in town!
A source tells PEOPLE that actress Denise Richards is in talks to join the cast for the ninth season of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
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“It’s not final yet, it’s very close,” says the source. “Everyone is really excited about the possibility of having her on board!”
Richards, 47, is a mother of three daughters: Sam, 14, Lola, 13 and Eloise, 7. (Sam and Lola’s dad is Richards’ ex husband Charlie Sheen.)
The Wild Things star has been rumored to be in discussions with producers for years, but “the timing was never right,” says a second insider close to the show. “Denise has been wanting to join the show for a long time.”
Image zoom Denise Richards Peter Kramer/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Image zoom The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 8 cast Tommy Garcia/Bravo
“She’s a huge Housewives fan and watches all of the shows,” says the insider. “And she has close relationships with many of the women in real life, including Kyle Richards and Lisa Rinna. The timing was never right for her in the past, but the producers needed to shake the dynamic of the show up after a season without much conflict. She’s going to be a great fit. She’s not afraid of the drama. And she lives a glamorous, Hollywood life — which the show looks for.”
A rep for Bravo had no comment.
Richards is no stranger to reality television. Her show Denise Richards: It’s Complicated, ran for two seasons on E! before ending in 2009.
Image zoom Denise Richards and Kyle Richards on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Bo Powell/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Image zoom Lisa Rinna and Denise Richards Stefanie Keenan/WireImage
RELATED VIDEO: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Go Makeup-Free For PEOPLE’s Beautiful Issue
RHOBH premiered on Bravo in 2010. It was the sixth installment of Housewives franchise the network developed, following Orange County, New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey and the now-cancelled D.C. | 5,098 |
Description
We've got loads of rooms going in our massive shared house, right by the river, in the middle of London.
It's huge - literally palatial - so there's no shortage of space, although the roof does leak and it can get a bit draughty.
We share a kitchen, several kitchens in fact, and you'd have full access to the Robing Room and a cheap (I mean really cheap) bar. We've also got a big living room with loads of benches for when we want to have a house meeting, or watch Gogglebox (or just shout at each other). We're even filmed and put on telly sometimes - we shout louder then, especially at Ed.
We took it over from some guys called Tony and Gordon a few years ago and have been sharing it with a guy called Nick and some of his friends, but they're not sure they'll still be here after May and, to be honest, we'd be happy to see the back of them.
A guy called Nigel wants to move in but we're not too keen. He wants to make loads of changes and has insisted he can smoke in his room so I don't think it's going to work. Our mate Boris is hopefully coming to stay though - he's great, always up for a laugh, or just hanging about. He lives in a nice gaff right on the river by Tower Bridge at the moment but wants to come upstream to us instead. He's keeping the old place on for a year so won't be around full time - something to do with not being able to get out of his contract. He's bringing his Whiff Whaff table with him.
Here's the best bit - the rent is totally free, including bills. You even get expenses to cover some stuff (including having another house somewhere else - I know!). There's a whole team of cleaners so you won't have to worry about that either.
We're going to hold a vote to decide who gets in - kind of like the X-Factor but with fewer people taking part.
That's it!
It's available from May the 7th but it might take a couple of days (or weeks) to work out who's actually in and who gets which room etc
Looking forward to meeting you so I can talk to you about my ideas for a big society and George can explain our long term economic plan. Boris will most likely waffle on about his wacky scheme to build an airport on an island in the Thames and name it after himself - I told you, he's a fun guy!
Dave
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